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Elder Naum. Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin: photo, biography, sermons

Elder Naum. Archimandrite Naum Bayborodin: photo, biography, sermons

Religious practices in modern Russia Team of authors

The mechanics of the work of a modern confessor: the case of Archimandrite Naum

Practice spiritual guidance on the part of Archimandrite Naum is, according to available evidence, common to confessors. It consists of five stages, with a relatively small number of followers reaching the fourth and fifth.

Stage one – difficult access. To the private old man, who has not collected enough spiritual children, It's not difficult to approach. Elders the first magnitude is always almost inaccessible. Archimandrite Kirill has been living in recent years at the Patriarchal residence in Peredelkino, where only spiritual children high level - episcopate, abbots of large monasteries, famous priests. Archimandrite John is completely blocked from outside visitors by the inhabitants of the monastery, and his spiritual children they cannot approach him, even when he goes from the temple to his cell. The recently deceased Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov spent the last five years of his life in a closed room of his hut, under the control of two cell attendants, allowing only high-ranking guests to see him.

The reason for such closedness and extremely selective admission may indeed be an excessively large number of applicants, health problems (all these confessors– very elderly people) or the desire of the church hierarchy to take confessors under control. However, Archimandrite Naum also uses the stage of waiting at the door to select the category of visitors who are most interested in receiving advice and are disposed to not only listen to it, but also perceive it as a guide to action.

There is a rich collection of evidence about this. One of his spiritual children, entrepreneur, says: “I came to him several years ago. It is very difficult to get to him - hundreds, if not thousands of people from all over the country, from Ukraine, who specially came to meet him. The elder receives him in the Lavra, where a special wooden temporary house has been built for him at the side, non-tourist entrance. Available from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. However, no matter how long he stood, he could not enter the house. There is, in fact, no queue as such. It’s like you’re standing and standing, already near the door, but they don’t let you in - all the time some people go around you and - through the door. Finally, I got to him once, got there twice, a third time, opened up to him, he noticed me and now I’m already entering this house without a queue - past the others” 37 . Young clergyman: “After seminary I came to enter the Moscow Theological Academy, but did not pass. I was advised to go to Elder Naum for advice. I had to wait a very long time, but I got to him” 38. Famous Orthodox teacher Fr. Anatoly Garmaev talks about the beginning of developing this reception scheme in the 1970s, when the number of visitors was not yet so large: “He always had a lot of people. There was just no queue. People sat or stood along the walls in front of his reception room, and also stood on the street. They waited in silence. There were no conversations. A reverent silence hung in the air. The priest would leave his room and approach one of those standing. Sometimes he went straight to the street. Received people standing there.<…>It happened that some of the people, having arrived from afar, stood idle for five days in a row from morning to evening, and the priest did not receive them. They were perplexed, and grumbled, and languished, and cursed. Until they completely come to silence and prayer, they stand along the walls. Someone didn’t wait and left. But there were few of them. From the newcomers" 39.

A certain “Archimandrite Savvaty,” a participant in an Orthodox online forum, reports about the modern form of reception: “It’s strange that around the elders there will always be a woman who will definitely try to “make” the life of the elder of God. Thus damaging both the authority of the elder and the church. Many of us know Archimandrite Naum. When he hosts a reception, two or three of these “benefactors” always stand near his door and give orders: “You go through first, and you wait a little longer.” 40

Despite the indignation of the forum participant (as well as many casual visitors of Archimandrite Naum) with such control, the presence of one or more cell attendants (cell attendants) - regulating the flow of visitors and providing for the everyday needs of an elderly person (laundry, cleaning, cooking, collecting donations) - an inevitable accessory eldership as phenomena and is recorded in all collections of memoirs about other famous elders And oxbow lakes

Stage two is the act of initiation. Patiently waiting for a meeting with a famous old man the visitor rarely gets the opportunity to make a full confession. He tells his request, which boils down to the desire to receive from old man resolution of doubts or advice on what to do in a difficult life situation. Professionalism and glory old man lies in the ability to immediately give the necessary advice. This skill is based on many years of experience in dealing with standard life situations, and old man acts here from the position of a psychoanalyst, although the genre variety of techniques and roles is quite large.

The current Archbishop of Gomel Aristarkh (Stankevich) recalls his work experience as follows: confessor in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra: “I had such an incident in my life. A girl came to confession, crying: “I’m such a rude person, I can be rude at work, I repent, I don’t know what to do.” I advised her something. Then I think: let me ask the elders what they will tell me. I went to the late Archbishop Sergius (Golubtsov), who lived in retirement in the Lavra. “Vladyka, such a thing, a girl has come.” - “We must give her penance.” - “Okay, thank you.” I went to Naum (Baiborodin): “Father, this is the case.” “You know, we need to think, see who her parents are, where she was brought up, how she grew up. Maybe this, maybe that...” - “Okay, thank you.” I went to Father Kirill (Pavlov): “Father Kirill, here’s the thing, the girl has come...” - “Tell her to read the Psalter.” All. Short and clear" 41.

Priest Anatoly Garmaev tells in detail about his experience of communicating with Archimandrite Naum: “I experienced it myself - when the priest approaches, you forget about those around you, you are left alone with him. And easy and simple. He won't be with you for long. Now he covers with the epitrachelion, absolves sins and blesses. You run home as if on wings. You just never know what time it will happen.

You would arrive at nine or even eight in the morning and think that by eleven you would be free. But now it’s already twelve, it’s already lunch, and the priest has gone to the refectory, and you’re still waiting. Everything in you will boil over, become agitated. And only when you calm down, completely resign yourself, he suddenly comes up to you - bright, kind: “Well, what have you got?” 42.

If the situation is unusual or there is not enough information, old man responds with a series of ambiguous narratives and metaphors. Professionalism and degree of fame old man lie in the successful author’s development of such statements, allowing for the widest possible interpretation by the person to whom they are addressed. A person who receives such an answer will either be satisfied with it to solve his own problem, or will keep it in his head, considering all the events that happen to him from the position of “maybe the elder was talking about this.” Logic in this case recedes into the background. People who believe in the prediction do not notice minor inconsistencies.

Here, for example, is a short note under the characteristic heading “The Prediction Came True” in an Orthodox publication:

Father Naum, Archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, predicted the collapse of the USSR 10 years before this event. This happened in 1979. A couple, Alexander and Natalia, Russian by origin, Orthodox and intelligent people, came to the priest from Paris: they asked Father Naum for a blessing for marriage. At parting, they asked him when they could still come.

– Come when Russia will be like under Ivan the Terrible. Without the Baltic states, Asia, the Caucasus and Crimea. Without everything.

They were perplexed: how to understand this?

The priest showed the limited space with his hands and explained:

– When Russia will be small, within the same borders as under Ivan the Terrible, then come.

In those days, the USSR was a powerful power, and no one then believed the prediction. And now all this has come true 43.

Here, even the degree of reliability of the event is not important (that is, whether the prediction was in this form, at the specified moment and to specific people). It is important that the reader of this text in the newspaper should be sure of the existence of old man the gift of foresight, which allowed him to predict the collapse of the USSR in advance. And it doesn’t matter to him that Russia has not yet returned to the borders of the Moscow state of the second half of the 16th century.

I note that the collapse of the country is exactly within the borders that I spoke about old man, was predicted by A. Amalrik in the book “Will the Soviet Union Survive Until 1984?” published back in 1970. 44 - a book widely known from samizdat and foreign radio, which the monks of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra secretly listened to in their cells 45. And in terms of predictions, A. Amalrik turns out to be more specific than Archimandrite Naum. Phrases: “... perhaps the granting of independence to individual Soviet peoples will happen peacefully and something like a federation will be created, like... the European Economic Community... It is even possible that Ukraine, the Baltic republics and European Russia will enter as independent units into the All-European Federation,” - let me remind you, were written by a secular publicist back in the late 1960s 46 .

Returning to Archimandrite Naum, we note that a significant part of visitors reject his narratives out of the gate, focusing on their own understanding of grace and salvation. It is not for nothing that texts dedicated to elders, are replete with examples where the authors visited many respected confessors, until they found what was “true” from their point of view. One of the existing stories about the fate of a man who rejected a blessing old man, is not only narrative, but also edifying, perhaps because it is posted on the website of one of the most radical fundamentalist monasteries: “Abbess Irina... grew up in an Orthodox family, attended church since childhood. After school I went to work as a hairdresser, but doubt arose whether this was the place for her. She went to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius to consult with an experienced priest, and there Archimandrite Naum blessed her to work in a kindergarten or hospital. Being young, she did not listen, returned to the hairdresser and immediately fell ill. For health reasons, I didn’t work anywhere for a year, and then I started singing in the choir in the Ascension Cathedral in Novosibirsk” 47 .

The third stage is the act of joining the number of spiritual children. If from the point of view of the person who addressed old man,“according to his prayers” or “prediction” something happened that justified his expectation, then a repeated appeal follows. From this moment the person joins spiritual family old man and begins to link the solution to his increasingly minor problems (vacation itinerary, major purchases, going to the doctor) with blessing- permission and prayers old man At this stage, the amount of information about activities is sharply reduced. old man or about specific instructions and teachings that he gives to his spiritual children. They value his advice so much that they prefer not to talk about it to outsiders and the uninitiated. In fact, the relationship becomes intimate, as it should be in a family.

Stage four - fulfillment of obedience. After inclusion in the number spiritual children follower old man may go through another stage. Elders unanimously say that for true salvation through their mediation it is necessary obedience their advice and instructions, as well as to overcome the tests that he assigns. At this stage, a person from the “client” visiting old man, in order to resolve the doubts that torment him (and bring him some kind of donation), he turns into an obedient student, “cutting off his will,” or into a child - spiritual son (daughter), pacifying himself in literally slavish obedience to the strict, but fair and all-knowing spiritual father.

These sentiments are recorded in great detail by a collection of memoirs about one of Archimandrite Naum’s students - Archimandrite Jerome (Verendyakin), in which his followers admitted that all issues - from the time of planting cabbage to the need to go to a neighboring village - were resolved only with the blessing of old man The authors of the memoirs carefully recorded the sad consequences of failure to follow his instructions and, conversely, how generously they were rewarded for obedience even in unfavorable conditions 48 .

Another student old man Nauma - Archimandrite Ambrose (Yurasov), who spent ten years in TSL and created his own clan of admirers, dispassionately recorded in his memoirs that back in the 1980s he sent his intelligent spiritual daughter clean out the street toilet, and then, without allowing her to wash, he sent her on a crowded train to Moscow 49 .

Perhaps this is the most striking episode we know of spiritual guidance, but it gives us an idea of the methods of action of the follower of Archimandrite Naum in relation to spiritual children. They must not only daily subdue their will in accordance with the instructions old man, but also to react to unexpected, often humiliating provocations, which are designed to test the degree of their submission.

Some fragments of texts by Archimandrite Ambrose dedicated to education obedience, allow us to gain some insight into the moral narratives and tales that elders broadcast strong in faith followers: “In one monastery a monk stayed for obedience, I was late for the refectory, walked in, and all the brethren were already sitting and eating. The abbot took a piece of bread and threw it to him: “Eat!” The piece fell to the floor. The monk knelt down, took a piece of bread with his teeth, crawled into the corner on all fours and began to eat. No offense, no irritation. They threw him like a dog - he behaved like a dog. This is already perfection, this state still needs to be achieved” 50. The rationale for this is as follows: “The Holy Fathers say: if obedience is given beyond one’s strength, one can tell the confessor about it, and the confessor will tell the abbot. If the abbot still does not cancel this blessing, and if the novice dies in obedience, he will receive the Kingdom of Heaven and the crown of martyrdom from the Lord" 51 .

Cases of martyrdoms on obedience I don’t know yet, but against this background the stories that in one of the monasteries in the same Ivanovo region, monks and workers(that is, voluntary workers in monasteries) for offenses are buried in a coffin in the ground for several hours 52. Archimandrite Naum himself only recommended to some spiritual children buy a coffin, place it in the entryway and spend there half an hour a day thinking about the day 53. However obedience could give quite harsh statements from a humanistic point of view - for example, Fr. Anatoly Garmaev, once visiting to the elder for a blessing 54, unexpectedly received it in the form of an order to go with a woman previously unknown to him somewhere in the province and build a stove in her house (which he did not know how to do). Moreover, within two to three months obedience to him was not blessed even call his wife and report his whereabouts 55.

The reasons why adults, who often have children themselves, build their social connections in this way lie in the field of practical psychology and psychoanalysis and are not considered by us in this study. We will only note that at the fourth stage from blessings- advice old man goes to blessings orders. They may concern very significant issues - place of residence, change of job, family status (blessing/unblessing for marriage - the mildest form of control in this case). The peculiarity of Archimandrite Naum is that he often quickly goes through the second to fourth stages in his relations with his followers. A person who comes to him for advice receives a practical referral to one of the structures under the control or spiritual care of the elder. Apparently, a significant portion of visitors ignore these tips, but others do not know how to refuse an influential old man, and takes these directions as obedience.

Entrepreneur: “Unique property old man is that he is remarkably good at connecting people and remembers it all very well. He never specifically looks for me, but, as Orthodox people say “by the providence of God,” at some point I understand that I need to come to him. I’ll drive up and talk, and he’s already waving his hand, calling someone over and telling me - I think this person needs help. This is how he ties knots. If you knew what kind of economic activity is going on around it. What a hard worker he is. Here, for example, is a monastery in Novosibirsk, to which he sends many children - disadvantaged and who have lost themselves. How many trucks with onions came from there to Moscow, how many building materials went there. That’s why so many people come to him without waiting in line - not just like that, but to solve specific issues. What, where and how" 56.

Clergyman: “He blessed me [on my first visit] to live and work in the Savvo-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod. I spent almost a year there. They courted me in every possible way to get my hair cut

[to become a monk], but what especially struck me was that they knew exactly what I would do later: you’ll go, they say, to pick grapes near Bakhchisarai [Republic of Crimea, Ukraine]" 57 .

The website of the Church of All Saints, in the Russian Land of the Shining Ones (Dubna, Moscow Region), contains indicative correspondence between a priest and a woman who turned to him for advice, whose son, with the blessing old man Nauma entered the Moscow Theological Seminary (and before that, immediately after school, he was sent to agricultural work in a monastery in the Ivanovo region). She wondered if she could, by violating blessing and having agreed with the rector of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Institute, to transfer his son to a new university 58.

Stage five - tonsure as a monk. An extreme form of membership in the number spiritual children is a blessing old man to become a monk or take holy orders. Naturally, most often such blessings are given elders, already living in monasteries, like Archimandrite Naum, although most of his followers (in cases known to me) become monastics, but not priests. In this case, there is a general assessment of the psychological state of the future monastery resident, but it very much depends on both the personal mood old man, so, apparently, from the needs of the monasteries located in prayerful communication with an old man.

Journalists from the Orthodox Syktyvkar newspaper Vera-Eskom discovered the father and son of the Gribovs in one of the monasteries near Yaroslavl. The father's story describes in sufficient detail spiritual growth son: “He began to read, pray, then began to go to church, and invested a thousand rubles in the restoration of the temple. I didn’t mind, because it was better than smoking... I met a girl, then broke up, went to Archimandrite Naum in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The elder blessed him to teach mathematics in Toporkovo, at an Orthodox demonstration boarding school (elder in 2003 he received a church award for his guardianship over her. – N.M.). There he received 7,500 rubles plus food and clothing. Well, I think at least it will help us. And then they started saying something about money, he again went to Father Naum - and he gave his blessing to come here to the monastery. Now at the monastery both my wife and I came after our son. My wife is nearby, in the women's monastery. Everyone suddenly found themselves here” 59.

But here is a story about a more independent object of religious space - blessed 60 Lyubushka Lazareva (1912–1997), who lived in the Leningrad region from 1974–1996: “In recent years, there was not a day when people did not come to us, it happened at night, and not only the laity, but also the monastics and the clergy. Father Naum, Archimandrite from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, often sent his children to us. He himself visited us in Susanino more than once. I remember offering Lyubushka tonsure as a monk; one day he sent me a doll in monastic clothes. But Lyuba stubbornly refused. She always said: “I am a wanderer. So remember me...” 61

Archimandrite Naum regularly travels to some dioceses (for example, Ivanovo, Novosibirsk and Alma-Ata) to monitor the activities of his followers. High-ranking employees of the Novosibirsk diocesan administration told me that Fr. Naum not only created a monastery in his homeland, but also appoints abbots of the monasteries of the diocese - despite the fact that formally this should be done by the Holy Synod, according to the proposal of the ruling bishop 62.

Taking the position of a sociologist of religion, we can state that in the modern Russian Orthodox Church an extraterritorial community has actually formed spiritual children Archimandrite Naum - with his own ideology, political and economic connections. It is based on existing authority old man, who, apparently, remains the only holder of the “keys” that allow the use of this mechanism. The reason why this community exists is, to a much greater extent, the personal authority of Archimandrite Naum, who helps solve everyday issues and guide indecisive people towards serving some common good (dedicating their lives to God), and his administrative talents, helping to manage thousands spiritual children, and not the unity of views of his followers on church or socio-political issues. At the same time, this community is an organic part of a broad fundamentalist coalition that exists within the Russian Orthodox Church and has a serious influence on its policies.

On the other hand, assessing the activities of Archimandrite Naum and his spiritual children from the position of a religious scholar, accepting it as a typical (albeit very significant in scale) manifestation eldership, we see that eldership in the Russian Orthodox Church is no different from the types of psychological assistance, communication between believers and the transfer of existential knowledge in other religious denominations. We can find analogues even in the post-Soviet space, remembering Buddhist gurus, Sufi sheikhs, and shamans.

The common features of all these spiritual teachers are:

– non-hierarchical (non-controllable by the formal and state-recognized religious hierarchy);

– adherence to the oral (“folk”) tradition of transmitting knowledge (as opposed to the written tradition of the “official religion”);

– focus on individual communication with an adept or a small group of followers (as opposed to mass preaching);

- offer

– offering specific recipes for help in difficult life situations (as opposed to general moral principles declared and controlled by the bearers of official religiosity).

Eldership in the modern Russian Orthodox Church, including its “sub-Soviet experience,” has not yet been properly reflected by the church consciousness and is an undeveloped problem for sociologists of religion. A set of scientific and theological works devoted to this phenomenon has yet to be created. The current political activity of Archimandrite Naum and his followers and the need for both ecclesiastical and secular authorities and the expert community to respond to this will, perhaps, increase the interest of specialists in the development of this topic.

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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.

Father Naum, even before the decades of church growth, said that many monasteries would soon open

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, and that’s all.

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.”

Through the prayers of Father Naum, our grandson, to the surprise of the doctors, got rid of not only his incurable illness, but also his blindness

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!

Archimandrite Naum - monk He was a devoted servant of the Orthodox Church and God. He was known throughout the country and beyond - both clergy and ordinary residents. Biography, life, death and service to God will be discussed below.

From the biography of Archimandrite Naum

Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was born in 1927 on December 19 (by the way, December 19 is the name of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Baiborodin in the world. The biography of Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra originates in the Siberian village of Shubinka, Novosibirsk region. Now called the village of Malirmenka .

From the Trinity-Sergius Lavra he was the son of peasants: his father was Alexander Evfimovich, and his mother was Pelageya Maksimovna. In addition to Nikolai, 7 more children were born into the family, but, unfortunately, they all died in infancy.

Later, the family moved to the Primorsky Territory, and Nikolai went to school, but the outbreak of the war did not allow him to receive a secondary education (Nahum completed 9 grades).

Army and studies

As you know, Orthodox are not born, but become. Nicholas's path to the church was long.

Since 1944, Nikolai, like all men of that time, was drafted into the Soviet army. The young man did not serve on the front line, but carried out military duties in aviation technical units (moreover, these were command troops; Nikolai was supposed to become a career military man). The service took place in the cities of Riga, Kaliningrad, Siauliai (Lithuania). In 1952, Nikolai was demobilized with the rank of senior sergeant, with encouragement - a commemorative photograph next to the unit’s banner.

After demobilization, he continued his studies at school, and in 1953 he was enrolled as a student at the Polytechnic Institute of the city of Frunze, faculty: physics and mathematics.

While serving in the army and studying at a higher educational institution, Nikolai actively attended church, and after graduating from the institute (1957) he moved to the city of Zagorsk, where he entered the theological seminary. The rector of the cathedral in the city of Frunze signed a letter of recommendation to Nicholas; he saw in the young man a minister of the church and the Lord God and told his clergy: “Time will pass, and Nicholas himself will teach you to read the Apostle.” And in the same year (in the month of October) Nicholas was enrolled in the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Almost a year later (1958, August 14), Nicholas was tonsured as a monk and given the name Naum (in honor of Naum of Radonezh).

Church way

The confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin, was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon on October 8, 1958 by Metropolitan Nestor of Novosibirsk and Barnaul, and exactly a year later Naum was ordained to the rank of hieromonk. The sacrament took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra, conducted by Metropolitan of Odessa and Kherson - Boris.

In 1960, Naum graduated from the theological seminary with the first category and entered the Theological Academy in Moscow, graduating with a candidate of theology (an academic degree recognized only by the Russian Orthodox Church).

The year 1970 was significant for Naum in that on April 25 he was elevated to the dignity of abbot by Archbishop Philaret Dmitrovsky, rector of the Theological Academy. In 1979, Naum was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite (the sacrament was performed before the holiday of Easter).

Helping people

Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1996 actively contributed to the construction of the Archangel Michael Monastery for women. Construction took place in Naum’s native village - Shubenka. The monastery was built on the site of a destroyed temple.

In 2000, Naum became a member of the Spiritual Council of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

The year 2001 was significant for Naum because from that moment on he was given the honor of becoming a trustee of the Lavra boarding school for children in the Moscow region (the city of Toporkovo). The boarding school is designed for 250 people.

This is a person about whom many believers speak with warmth - both ordinary parishioners and celebrities, in particular the artist Nadezhda Babkina. In reviews of Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, she describes him as a man with deep eyes in which you drown. After a sincere conversation between the elder and the singer, the latter’s soul felt warm and light, many problems were solved and new opportunities opened up.

In addition to his cell, Archimandrite Naum had a separate room for receiving and talking with visitors - those who needed help. People in need of advice came to him from all over Russia and beyond. Naum, overcoming pain and poor health, always found words of help and consolation. And his prayerful work always served as an example for the entire church brethren.

During the elder’s life, many wanted to meet him, but not everyone knew how to get to Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. To do this, it was necessary to come to the Lavra, and then the Lord himself would arrange everything. In general, he devoted time to parishioners every day after the prayer service (except for the Twelfth holidays) until 13:00, but the schedule often changed. The elder first of all received monks, priests, abbots, and then - ordinary people. And if you stood and waited a little, you could meet and talk, ask for Nahum’s blessing, and if you were really lucky, you could also pass a note with a prayer. There were cases when the archimandrite responded in writing.

Reviews about Archimandrite Naum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra are mostly positive. He helped many, saw a lot. The story of one woman is a vivid example of this. She came to Father Naum in the winter, there were a lot of people, and she stood and thought: “I won’t get to my father, there are a lot of people, and my question is not very serious...”. But still she stood, prayed and looked with lust at the door, behind which was the elder himself. And suddenly Lefty entered the cell, dressed unkemptly, one might say, the dregs of society. Then the door opened and Naum came out. Seeing Lefty, he said: “Well, Lefty, you don’t go to church, but you like to sleep, and what have you sunk to - you’re already collecting cigarette butts...” And left. And the whole line froze. And Lefty approached this woman and said: “But father is right. I arrived this morning, everything was closed. There is nowhere to buy cigarettes. Well, I shot a bull at a passerby. You see how Father Naum is, he sees such a small thing...” And that woman was literally scalded with boiling water - God has no small details. And Lefty shamed her. Like, this is not the first time you’ve gone to the Lavra and still can’t understand basic things, like a woodpecker.

Of course, it is impossible to be good to everyone, even if you are a righteous person or a Saint. There will definitely be dissatisfied people. For example, some say that Nahum destroyed several human souls. It seemed like he was dissuading them from the treatment they needed. But how true this is is difficult to judge. Perhaps in those cases there was nothing to help, all that was left was to pray and repent before one’s death.

Prediction

According to some reports (unconfirmed), there is information that Naum was one of the holy fools and had the gift of foresight. He knew how to approach a person, what to tell him so that he would calm down and find solutions to problems himself. And Nahum simply instructed. He was a very subtle and sensitive psychologist.

The archimandrite did not make predictions as such. But he said one thing, which, however, is a prediction. Archimandrite Naum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra said that the end of the world is approaching, but not because, for example, a meteorite will fall, but because there is a lot of dark power in the world that worships the devil, and not the church, God and the Gospel. According to Naum, there are 4 organizations that rule the world - these are the rich (Rockefellers and Rothschilds), a secret world government characterized by greed, cynicism, the ability to rob and kill, and also assumed the right to control the life and death of the nation - the people ("Committee - 300"), a secret conference of secret structures, consisting of influential politicians who are able to impose their idea of the development of world politics, which in turn can destroy humanity ("Bilderberg Club"). And if these forces spread in Russia, then the end of the world is inevitable.

Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra said that if modern Sadducees, Pharisees, thieves, murderers and libertines pull the rope over themselves, then the prayer of the righteous and those praying will no longer save. Evil will win. Disasters will be inevitable. And the rope is our life, our good and bad deeds.

Demise

The death of Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra occurred on October 13, 2017. For the last year, Naum has been in a comatose state. His death was not unexpected and occurred at the age of 89 (the old man did not live long enough to see his ninetieth birthday). The cause of death is not stated, but one can assume that Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra died of old age. The man lived a long life, and everything was in it. And now he is in the Kingdom of God, where there is no disease and evil.

Farewell to Archimandrite Naum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra took place in the Refectory Church, the funeral service took place in the Assumption Cathedral. After the funeral liturgy, Naum's burial took place.

The funeral of Archimandrite Naum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was performed in a cathedral-monastic rite. All the spiritual children of the elder from many regions of Russia and foreign countries, the entire monastery brethren, students, parishioners, and pilgrims came together.

The service for the repose was led by Arseniy, Metropolitan of Istra.

Funeral service

The funeral service for Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra took place at 7:30 am on October fifteenth, in the same Lavra, in the Assumption Cathedral.

The Metropolitan read out a message of condolences sent by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', addressed to the vicar of the Lavra - the entire monastic brethren and the spiritual children of the archimandrite himself.

At the end of the service for the repose, the coffin with the body of the deceased father Naum was carried around the Assumption Cathedral, to the sound of bells.

The funeral service for Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was served by:

metropolitans: Nikolaevsky and Ochakovsky - Pitirim, Ekaterinburg and Verkhotursky - Kirill, Astrakhan and Kamyzyaksky - Nikon;
archbishops of Sergiev Posad - Feognost, viceroy of the Lavra, Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka - Artemy, Salekhard and Novy Urengoy - Nikolai;
Bishops of Podolsk - Tikhon, Karaganda and Shakhtinsky - Sevastian, Arsenyevsky and Dalnegorsky - Gury, Iskitimsky and Cherepanovsky - Luka, Karasuksky and Ordynsky - Philip, Kainsky and Barabinsky - Theodosius, Kineshma and Palekhsky - Hilarion, Tara and Tyukalinsky - Savvaty, Kalachevsky and Pallasovsky - John, Anadyr and Chukotka - Matthew, Kolyvansky - Paul; Vorkutinsky and Usinsky - John, Vaninsky and Pereyaslavsky - Savvaty, Shuisky and Teikovsky - Matthew;
Archimandrites Pavel (Krivonogov), Dean of the Lavra, Ilia (Reizmir), Sergius (Voronkov);
Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov - Secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for Moscow;
Archpriest Vladimir Chuvikin, rector of the Pererva Theological Seminary;
inhabitants of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in holy orders and a host of clergy.

The head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan - Vincent, and the abbess of the convents also prayed for Naum.

Father Naum was buried behind the altar of the Spiritual Church of the Lavra next to Cyril (Paul). By the way, one of the current monks a long time ago (before his tonsure) had a dream in which, after his tonsure, two monks lay down at the altar... And now there are two lying behind the altar - Cyril and Naum.

A few words from Naum on the centenary of the revolution

Archimandrite Naum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was an intelligent and perspicacious man, capable of conveying information to every (or almost every) person. About the events of a hundred years ago (about the revolution), he said: “According to the preaching of one prophet Jonah, all the inhabitants of Nineveh repented and were saved, but their city had to perish. Before the revolution, there were a lot of saints in our country! These are John of Kronstadt, and blessed Pasha and Pelageya of Diveyevo and many others. After all, everyone had the opportunity to pray to the Lord God to prevent revolution. At that time, there were many seminaries and church schools operating in the country. But…. The country was no longer led by Orthodox Christians, but by Satanists. Orthodox believers were fired from leadership positions and removed from teaching positions. Previously, they taught the Laws of God.” According to Naum, his mother went to school in 1908 and after several days said that there was no point in going to such a school. The teachers of that time said: “We will now build a happy life without priests and without kings!” Naum is very indignant that visionary people did not take care of the people, why they allowed a revolution (a coup in the state). And, as practice has shown, there were traitors very often in the army.

According to Naum, the current government worships the devil, the same people allowed a revolution 100 years ago, and people like them have already tried to organize coups d'etat more than once in the current 21st century. But the country's president was able to take measures to prevent civil war. Fortunately, there was no shooting.

In order to defeat the Satanists, it is necessary to preserve the unity of the people. For Europeans, it still remains a mystery how the Soviet Union survived and won the most terrible war of the 20th century. Despite everything, the Soviet people quickly established the production of tanks and aircraft, so necessary for the front line, and in this difficult time for the country, science did not stand still, but was actively developing. The authorities, faced with miracles at the fronts, ordered the restoration of the Patriarchate in the country, as well as the opening of temples and churches. Churches and chapels were very actively opened in the occupied territories.

On September 4, 1943, a meeting took place in the Kremlin between Stalin and Sergius (Stragorodsky), Leningrad and Novgorod Alexy and Nikolai (Yarushevich). And at that moment it was decided to open the Lavra and resume theological courses.

Archimandrite Naum believes that our state needs good rulers. With whom you can consult and not blaspheme the name of God, then people will become kinder. And every Christian must necessarily keep the commandments, since they are given for everyone. Observance of the Laws of God must begin with the study of these very laws, you need to read the Bible, the Gospel, go to church, pray, take communion and confess.

The more often a person confesses, the more sins he sees behind him. And those who go to church from time to time or do not go at all do not notice their sins. And how can such people live happily...?

And the recognition of same-sex marriage is generally unacceptable for humanity, as is gender reassignment. Naum opposes the sale of lands of the Russian state, against the murder of children, including unborn ones, against sodomy and fornication. If such phenomena occur on Russian soil, then the end of the world is not far away.

Nahum was positive about the changes taking place in Africa. On this continent, many people accept Orthodoxy, renounce Islam and preach Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.

Before the revolution under the Tsar, people believed in God, the church was one with the state. The schools were church schools, and people there were taught the commandments of Christ. They taught how to raise a moral generation, value and preserve the family. Abortion was prohibited at that time, and the Russian nation was preserved and multiplied. During the twenty years of the reign of Nicholas II, the nation increased by 50 million, and after the revolution it began to shrink very quickly. Abortion in our time is not prohibited, unborn babies are killed and killed, but the country so needs people (and warriors, and scientists, and teachers).

Photos of the archimandrite

Photos of Archimandrite Naum of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra are presented in this material. Of course, there are few photographs where he is young and not yet a minister of the church, but there is somewhat more material from the present time.

Finally

Archimandrite Naum from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - elder, monk, confessor of the late 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. One might say, a contemporary. Even if not the whole world knew him, a considerable part of it knew him. My father went through life in the status of a military man, and now, after his death, he acquired the status of a warrior of Christ.

He had the gift of educating monastics. It is impossible to count how many abbots, abbesses, and bishops he trained to serve the Russian Orthodox Church and God. In fact, all those who attended his funeral and funeral were tonsured monks by him himself.

But he was not only for the monastic brethren, but also for ordinary people, pilgrims. He instructed those suffering and in need of help, gave them the opportunity to analyze themselves, their actions, and make the right choice, which subsequently had a beneficial effect on people’s lives.

Father Naum said to all the people who came to him: “Read the Law of God - the Gospel,” and blessed everyone to study it. Indeed, reading this literature helped solve many life problems. There were cases when he gave various divine literature to people.

Father Naum strove for his life to become the Gospel. And by the way, in this very book, in all its parts, there were 89 chapters, which is exactly how old the old man was when he died.

For the monastery brethren, Father Naum personified that very concept - “Christ is in his bosom.” No matter what the fuss is around, in the Lavra near Naum there is always peace and joy in the soul.

Nahum was not verbose, but every word he said was spoken at the time when it was needed. Just one word - and people had a lot of thoughts.

Father Naum left behind a legacy in the form of his works. Today’s monks and monasteries, both female and male, restored with the blessing of the elder, have already learned from his multi-volume patristic alphabet. And in addition to monasteries, they have gymnasiums, parochial schools, and orphanages. In general, Nahum always wanted church life to live, and now it is coming to life.

Rest in peace, faithful servant of Christ...

1On October 5, 2017, on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius held the funeral service and burial of the well-known elder and confessor of Archimandrite Naum (Bayborodin) throughout Russia, who died on October 13, 2017 at the age of 90.

At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the funeral service in the Assumption Cathedral of the monastery was led by Metropolitan Arseny of Istra, vicar of His Holiness the Patriarch.

Concelebrating with His Eminence were: Metropolitan Pitirim of Nikolaev and Ochakovsk; Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye; Metropolitan Nikon of Astrakhan and Kamyzyak; Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, Viceroy of the Lavra, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Archbishop of Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka Artemy; Archbishop Nikolay of Salekhard and Novo-Urengoy; Bishop Tikhon of Podolsk; Bishop of Karaganda and Shakhty Sevastian; Bishop of Arsenyevsk and Dalnegorsk Gury; Bishop of Iskitim and Cherepanovsky Luka; Bishop Philip of Karasuk and Horde; Bishop of Cain and Barabinsk Theodosius; Bishop Hilarion of Kineshma and Palekh; Bishop of Tara and Tyukalinsky Savvaty; Bishop of Kalachevsky and Pallasovsky John; Bishop Matthew of Anadyr and Chukotka; Bishop Pavel of Kolyvan; Bishop John of Vorkuta and Usinsk; Bishop Savvaty of Vanino and Pereyaslavl; Bishop of Shuisky and Teikovsky Matthew; Archimandrite Pavel (Krivonogov), dean of the Lavra; Protopresbyter Vladimir Divakov, secretary of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for Moscow; Archimandrite Elijah (Reizmir), monk of the Lavra; Archimandrite Sergius (Voronkov), abbot of the Joseph-Volotsk stauropegial monastery; Archpriest Vladimir Chuvikin, rector of the Pererva Theological Seminary; inhabitants of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in holy orders and a host of clergy.

The head of the Central Asian Metropolitan District, Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan Vikenty, and the abbess of women's monasteries prayed during the services.

Numerous of his spiritual children from all over Russia and abroad, the Lavra brethren, students of Moscow theological schools, monastics, parishioners and pilgrims of the monastery gathered to say goodbye to the deceased priest.

Before the start of the funeral service, Metropolitan Arseny read to those gathered the condolences of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', sent to the vicar of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, the brethren of the monastery and the spiritual children of the ever-remembered Archimandrite Naum (Baiborodin):

“To His Eminence The Most Reverend Theognostus, abbot of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, the brethren of the monastery and the spiritual children of the late Archimandrite Naum (Baiborodin).

Your Eminence! All-honorable fathers, dear brothers and sisters!

The news of the death of Archimandrite Naum, one of the oldest inhabitants of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, who was well known, revered and loved by his many spiritual children, resonated with pain in my heart.

Offering prayers to the Lord for the repose of his soul in the villages of the righteous, I express my deep condolences to Your Eminence, the brethren of the monastery of St. Sergius and everyone who gathered at the tomb of the deceased.

Now the Lord has called to Himself His faithful and zealous servant, who for many years warmed the hearts of those who came to him in large numbers for advice and spiritual consolation.

As we see off Father Naum on his last journey, let us pray to the Lord that He may rest His faithful servant in the villages of Heaven, where there is no illness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life.

Eternal memory to him.

+KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL Rus'"

Metropolitan Nikon of Astrakhan and Kamyzyak read a prayer of permission over the deceased elder.

At the end of the funeral service, the coffin with the deceased father Naum was carried around the Assumption Cathedral to the sound of bells.

The burial was performed with a conciliar monastic rite. Metropolitan Nikon of Astrakhan performed the litiya at the burial site. Father Naum was buried behind the altar of the Spiritual Church of the Lavra next to the grave of the ever-memorable Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov).

Brief information

Archimandrite Naum (in the world - Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bayborodin) was born on December 19, 1927, on the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, in the village. Malo-Irmenka, Ordynsky district, Novosibirsk region, in the family of the peasant Alexander Efimovich and Pelageya Maksimovna Bayborodin. On Sunday, December 25 of the same year, he was baptized in the Sergius Church of his native village. Soon the parents moved to Sovetskaya Gavan, Primorsky Territory, where the boy attended school. But due to the outbreak of hostilities in the country, Nikolai, having completed the 9th grade, was forced to interrupt his studies.

In October 1944, Nikolai Bayborodin was drafted into the ranks of the Soviet Army and served in military aviation units: first at the aviation radio engineering school in Frunze, then transferred to Riga (Latvia), served in military units No. 49722 (Kaliningrad) and No. 53972 (Šiauliai), provided airfield maintenance. Participated in the war with Nazi Germany and Japan. Subsequently, he was awarded the medal “For Victory over Germany” and the medal “30 Years of the Soviet Army.” In November 1952, he was demobilized with the rank of senior sergeant. At the end of his service before demobilization, Nikolai Bayborodin was awarded a commemorative photograph in front of the unit’s banner, which was a high encouragement for a serviceman. Returning home, Nikolai completed his interrupted studies, studying in 1952–1953 at evening secondary school No. 26 Art. Pishpek (Frunze) of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway of the Kirghiz SSR, and in the same year he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Kyrgyz State University (now KSTU named after I. Razzakov).

In 1957 he entered the Moscow Theological Seminary. On October 14 of the same year, on the Feast of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, Nikolai Alexandrovich was accepted as a novice into the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. On August 14, 1958, in the Trinity Cathedral of the Lavra, the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Pimen (Khmelevsky), tonsured the novice Nicholas into monasticism with the name Naum in honor of the Venerable Naum of the Trinity, a disciple of the Venerable Sergius (July 19). Two months later, on October 8 of the same year, on the feast of St. Sergius, hegumen of Radonezh and the wonderworker of all Russia, in the Sergius Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (Refectory Church) by Metropolitan Nestor (Anisimov) of Novosibirsk and Barnaul, monk Naum (Bayborodin) was consecrated as hierodeacon . Exactly one year later, to the day, October 8, 1959, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra, Metropolitan of Odessa and Kherson Boris (Vic) ordained Hierodeacon Naum to the rank of hieromonk. In 1960, Father Naum successfully graduated from the seminary in the first category. On April 25, 1970, the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, Archbishop Philaret of Dmitrov, elevated Hieromonk Naum to abbot.

In 1979, on the day of Holy Easter, Abbot Naum was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

Archimandrite Naum was a devoted and selfless servant of the Church, devoting all his strength to work for the glory of God. For many decades, he received pilgrims every day after a fraternal prayer service for confession and spiritual guidance. The flow of people to the priest did not dry out: people came to him from all over Russia and other countries, and Father Naum, not sparing himself, received them, overcoming illnesses and illnesses. On the most difficult issues, the priest found a word of edification and consolation in the patristic spirit. His tireless prayer work and zeal for service set a high example for the monastic brethren.

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.

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...