1. To His Grace Bishop Arkady (Afonin)

Your Eminence!

Please accept my congratulations on the 25th anniversary of your episcopal consecration.

Half a century has passed since you took monastic vows and decided to devote your life to serving the Lord and His Holy Church. For decades, striving to carefully fulfill the obediences entrusted to you, you were honored to accept the good burden of being a bishop.

On the occasion of this significant anniversary and in consideration of the labors incurred, I think it is fair to present you with a commemorative panagia.

I wish you strength of soul, good health and the guidance of the Greatly Gifted God on your path in life.

With love in Christ

KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL Rus'
http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/4435059.html

Of the 25 years of his “bishopric”, he was “retired” for 15 years. And in the previous ten they removed it several times, then they tried to restore it, but the well-known bishop’s love took its toll. However, this would be forgiven, but he has a long-standing conflict with Metropolitan Juvenaly.

At the Easter service, I believe, we will still see him next to the Patriarch with a new panagia.

2. The Komi version of Komsomolskaya Pravda accompanied the message about the confiscation of half of his diocese from Pitirim with the most “stylish” photo of the no-longer-ruler of the north.

Pitirim portrays wild joy and at the same time says the epoch-making: “ Now I will become closer to the people".
http://www.komi.kp.ru/daily/26518.5/3535078/

And then I remembered that the best way to rise above the crowd is the gallows.

I'm waiting for photos from the character's participation in the production of his own half-heir.

Defense Industry Olympics:
How many errors are there in this text? (I counted seven mistakes).

“The ordination ceremony of the bishops of the new dioceses on the territory of the Komi Republic took place in Moscow. A large delegation from Komi, led by the acting head of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sergei Gaplikov and the ruling bishop Pitirim (Volochkov), attended the liturgy and ceremonial reception at the patriarch’s place.

In addition, the delegation included clergy from both dioceses, heads of the administrations of Vorkuta and Usinsk Igor Guryev and Stanislav Khakhalkin, Minister of National Policy Elena Savtenko, Senator Valery Markov, representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the President of Russia Grigory Sarishvili, press secretary of the diocese Archimandrite Philip (Filippov) and others officials.

Let us recall that on April 16, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' issued a decree according to which two dioceses appeared on the territory of Komi instead of one: Syktyvkar and Komi-Zyryan and Vorkuta and Usinsk.

The first was headed by the ruling bishop, then still Bishop of Syktyvkar and Vorkuta Pitirim, who was elevated to the rank of archbishop. The head of the second was appointed a priest from the Shuya diocese of the Ivanovo region, abbot Ioann Rudenko, who also went for a “promotion”: in the near future he was to be ordained an archimandrite and then a bishop.

Today, after a service in the main cathedral of Russia - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the consecration of the Bishop of Syktyvkar and Komi-Zyryansky as archbishop, and Father John as bishop, took place. The liturgy was performed by the patriarch.

The Patriarch presented Archbishop Pitirim with the bishop's staff.

After the sacrament, the leadership of the republic and the heads of dioceses of the Komi Republic were invited to a reception with the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Polina Romanova"

More details: http://komiinform.ru/news/134373/
© IA "Komiinform"

Moreover, Pitirim re-published all this nonsense on his VKontakte page without correction.

Date of Birth: September 17, 1966 A country: Russia Biography:

Born on September 17, 1966 in the village. Bakaly of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1983 he graduated from secondary school No. 2 in the village. Groceries.

In 1984 he entered the art and graphic department of the Bashkir State Pedagogical Institute. After studying full-time for 3.5 years, he left school of his own free will and moved to live in Leningrad, where he got a job in the special scientific and production restoration workshops “Restorer”.

In 1990, he was baptized in the Trinity Cathedral with the name George in honor of the Great Martyr. St. George the Victorious.

Since 1992, he served as a laborer in various monasteries. Since 1996 - resident of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, Ivanovo region.

On February 28, 1998, Archbishop Ambrose of Ivanovo and Kineshma ordained him to the rank of deacon.

On April 17, 1998, he was tonsured a monk with the name Mark in honor of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark.

In 2009, he graduated from Shuya State Pedagogical University with a degree in law.

Since 2013, he combined monastic obedience with work in the Shuya diocesan administration as head of the property and legal department.

In 2017 he graduated from Ivanovo-Voznesensk Theological Seminary.

On July 14, 2017, he was appointed acting abbot of the Resurrection-Feodorovsky Monastery of the Shuya diocese.

On December 29, 2017, in the Church of All Saints, in the Russian Land, the Patriarchal Residence in Moscow, to the rank of archimandrite.

Consecrated as bishop on January 6, 2018 in the Throne Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. January 8 at the Liturgy in the Moscow Kremlin. The services were led by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.

Beloved in the Lord, all-honorable fathers, God-loving monks and nuns, brothers and sisters!

Christ is Risen!

Once again, after the grace-filled days of Holy Great Lent, we have the happiness of congratulating each other on the great and joyful holiday, the worldwide joy of the Bright Resurrection of Christ! In the language of church hymns, the holiday of the Holy Resurrection of Christ is called the holiday of all holidays and the triumph of all celebrations. The bright Resurrection of Christ is the triumph and affirmation of our Christian faith, the triumph of our Christian hope and the affirmation of Christian love. The triumph and affirmation of all that is good, bright and holy, dear to us.

We said that the Holy Resurrection of Christ is the confirmation, the triumph of our Christian faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having incarnated on earth, taking upon Himself our human nature, taught the human race the true teaching about everything that exists. And about God, about His works; about man and about the world, about their purpose and future fate. We see that the true teaching about everything that exists, given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, is Divine teaching, the true revelation of God - it bears the stamp of Divine origin and in its character, in its content and dignity it is, of course, more sublime and holy, and different at the root of the teachings of the sages of this world. There is no alien admixture of truth, lies and delusion in it, which we notice in the works of people, always imprinted with the limitations of the human mind.

Yes, in the teachings of Christ there are such mysteries that lead to bewilderment and doubt of some people who think humanly, that is, in a limited way. Therefore, His inner dignity cannot give them full evidence of the Divinity of Christ’s teaching; strong external evidence of His Divinity and the Divinity of His teaching is also required to certify them. Such external evidence is, first of all, the miracles that the Savior performs while preaching the Gospel. Announcing to people about His Divinity, proclaiming to them eternal life, the Lord at the same time opened the eyes of the blind, restored hearing to the deaf, healed the paralytic, cast out demons from the possessed, fed five thousand people, raised the dead and those already decomposed. And these testimonies fully confirm the truth that our Lord Jesus Christ is Almighty God and the teaching He taught is the Divine teaching. And these testimonies would have been quite sufficient for many, undeniable, if not for one event in the life of the God-Man, which temporarily shook this truth in them.

This event is the death of Christ the Savior. The Savior voluntarily went to it for the sake of our salvation. Through humility, through extreme self-abasement - for the sake of our salvation, the Lord goes to the feat of the cross, but those of little faith do not want to appreciate and understand this mystery of the redemption of the human race and see in Him Who was revered as the Great Miracle Worker and God, they see in Him only powerlessness, a reason for malicious ridicule. And if the Savior’s life had been limited only to suffering and death and there had been no Resurrection of Him from the dead, then what could we say to this malice? The Apostle Paul says: if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). Our faith is in close connection with the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our faith stands if Christ has risen. It falls if Christ is not resurrected. So great is the significance of the Resurrection of Christ for our faith! Christ rose from the dead. And He rose again by His own power. By this He showed that He is the true God, because only God has power over death and life. And our Lord Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, revealed Himself as Lord over life and death. And since our Lord Jesus Christ is the true God, then the teaching He taught is the Divine teaching. And our faith in Him is saving, but the mistrust that was revealed by the enemies of Christ is false. The miracles of Christ are also true. It was the Resurrection of Christ that resurrected this faith, this power of Christ’s miracles, again gave them meaning, and people understood that the Lord Jesus Christ only for the sake of our salvation accepted suffering and death, condescended to extreme self-abasement, that He could, as Almighty God, and avoid this death, this suffering, and come down from the Cross, and destroy His enemies. But He did not want to pass that cup of suffering that was prepared for Him by the Heavenly Father. Thus, the Resurrection of Christ is a triumph, a confirmation of our Christian faith.

It is also an affirmation of Christian hope. The good hope of every Christian in his life is the joyful hope that after temporary earthly suffering, sorrow, deprivation, misfortune, after bodily death at a time determined by God, people who believe in Christ will rise from the dead and enter eternity for an endless blissful life. This good, joyful hope sweetens the bitterness of earthly life, helps a believer to courageously and patiently endure all his sorrows and, without falling under their burden, courageously bear the cross placed on each of us by God's providence.

Both in the Old and New Testaments there are many indications that in addition to temporary life there is eternal life, that a general resurrection will come. So, the ancient prophets spoke about this: Your dead will live, your dead bodies will rise! (Isa. 26:19). The prophet Ezekiel, with his prophetic eye, saw the greatest miracle when, at the command of God, the bones came closer to each other, converged, then became covered with veins, flesh, blood, and then the spirit entered them, they stood on their feet - the greatest multitude of people (Wed: Ezekiel 37 , 1-10). In the Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ says that the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28-29). These words of Divine Scripture inspire the soul of a believer and, of course, inspire hope.

But in order to maintain this hope, strong faith in the word of God is required, because we constantly see death before us, when the body is destroyed, but we do not see anyone resurrected. Although we also have examples of the resurrection of the dead - the prophets Elijah and Elisha raised the dead, and our Lord Jesus Christ raised the dead, and His disciples, our Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, but these resurrections are not the general resurrection that will happen at the end of the world. For here the resurrected people were resurrected in the same mortal form in which we live. And then they died again. And with the general resurrection, people will rise incorruptible, spiritual and immortal. But there is a stronger testimony from the life of Christ the Savior, which fully confirms the hope of the general and our own resurrection, and of eternal blessed life - this is the resurrection of Christ the Savior Himself from the dead. Christ rose from the dead, trampling death, and death no longer has power over Him. Christ does not die. Christ rose again as the firstborn of the dead. And the time will come when all who believed in Christ will be resurrected in the same way, but will be resurrected in a new, glorified body, just as our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ is both the confirmation and triumph of our Christian hope.

Finally, faith in the resurrection of Christ is also the greatest affirmation of Christian love. Love, especially true Christian love, requires great sacrifices and great self-denial from a believer; sometimes even to the point of self-sacrifice, to death. To love God means to devote your whole life, all your strength to serving God. This requires self-denial and self-sacrifice, a willingness to sacrifice life for the glory of the name of God, for the sake of holy faith, for the sake of the Law of God. Love for neighbors requires tireless work, concern for their eternal spiritual salvation and well-being, for their bodily life, and also requires a willingness to sacrifice one’s property and life for the good of one’s neighbor. These are the sacrifices that love requires. But how can we decide to make these sacrifices when our self-loving nature always seeks benefit, benefit only for itself? When does our pride inspire us that we should live only for our own pleasure, enjoyment, for our own benefit? Isn't it really better to live for your own pleasure? But no. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. He who sows to his flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8). And an example of this is the love of Christ. The more selflessly a person sacrifices himself for the good of his neighbor, the more fruitful love is. And we see this in the example of Christ the Savior. The Lord loved God the Father with boundless love. For Him, food was to do the will of the Heavenly Father. And out of love for the Heavenly Father, out of obedience to Him, the Lord took upon Himself the greatest feat - redemption, the salvation of the sinful human race. And out of love for Him, the Lord laid down His life for his neighbor.

The Lord also loved the sinful human race. He betrayed Himself for his sake, for the sake of his salvation he went to all the suffering and to a shameful death. And what is the result of this His boundless love? The results are priceless. First of all, the Lord rose again after suffering and death - also for people. He was resurrected in a new, glorified body and received from God the Father power in Heaven and on earth, ascended into Heaven with glory and sat down at the right hand of the Father. The Lord redeemed humanity from sin, curse and death, granted it freedom, opened for it free entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, and resurrected the human race. And these fruits of suffering, death on the cross and the Resurrection of Christ are truly priceless. The Savior glorified the Heavenly Father with His suffering: He founded His Heavenly Kingdom on earth - the Church of Christ. And many believers, following the example of Christ the Savior, in response to His love, kindled in their hearts the flame of love for God the Father, and for the Savior, and for their neighbor.

This year we especially prayerfully remember many Christians in Russia who suffered persecution, humiliation and even martyrdom for confessing the faith of Christ during the century from 1917. Within the Vorkuta diocese, again and again we discover the names of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church who suffered here for Christ and who shone forth: the Venerable Martyr Ardalion in Adak, the Hieromartyrs Vladimir and Nicholas in Vorkutlag and Kozhva. Their life, exploits and death are the most striking, closest example for us of life-affirming following the path of Christ's love for the Church, for one's Fatherland and neighbors. The triumph of victory over the death of their love was based on the triumph of their faith and Christian hope. And this love brings us joy, as it brought joy to the whole world. These are the priceless fruits of Christ's love. Therefore, the Resurrection of Christ is also a confirmation of our Christian love.

May this day - the day of the Resurrection of Christ - be a day of joy for us. And always remembering that this holiday is precisely the affirmation of our Christian faith, let us love our holy faith, cherish it and try to manage our lives according to this faith. And remembering that the Resurrection of Christ is the confirmation of our hope, let us hope, and we will endure all the labors, sorrows, and hardships with joy in the hope of our future resurrection and our future eternal life. And remembering that the Resurrection of Christ is the triumph of our Christian love, let us put on the virtue of Christian love and bear abundant fruit, let us love each other. By this we will show that we are real followers of Christ, who came to earth out of love for the human race. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another, says the Lord Himself in His Gospel (John 13:35). May this bright holiday, the bright Resurrection, always be for us a holiday of joy, a holiday of the victory of life over death. And may he help us to patiently, uncomplainingly endure all the hardships of earthly life in the hope that the time will come when we will hear the longed-for voice of our Savior: come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Amen.

Christ is Risen!

Bishop of Vorkuta and Usinsk John

Last week, the new Bishop of Vorkuta and Usinsk, Mark, came to Vorkuta and told MV how he did not graduate from the art department in Ufa, worked as a janitor in St. Petersburg and became a lawyer in a monastery.

– Vladyka, it’s very cold here today, but what are your impressions?

– I have the most pleasant impressions, because minus 18 is not really cold. I was born in Bashkiria and when I was at school, frosts reached minus 50 in some years. Therefore, minus 40 is a completely natural temperature for me. I haven’t forgotten all this yet, and the snowdrifts are just as big. When we were children, I remember the snowdrifts allowed us to dig all sorts of underground castles, and this is also possible here. It seems to me that children should find it very interesting here in winter.

The fact is that I already lived in the North: my first monastery was Antoniyevo-Siysky in the Arkhangelsk region. I lived there for almost a year. I really like the North. In the Anthony-Siysky Monastery there were 200 lakes around, the beauty, of course, is indescribable. The Vorkuta and Usinsk diocese is very extensive, I watched the video - in the south there are also very beautiful places, and the Urals, the mountains are beautiful...

– How did you imagine Vorkuta?

– Somehow I didn’t think about it, there was a lot of work - obedience in the monastery, there was no time. And then you understand, the legal mindset: everything is factual.

– Have you already assessed the activities of your predecessor? Maybe we should pay attention to some developments?

– Thank God, I just arrived today, and I have to get acquainted with all this in the near future, so I’m not ready to answer this question now.

– Have you made any plans?

– In order to make plans, you must first assess the situation. After I evaluate... The fact is that February 1 is the anniversary of the enthronement of His Holiness the Patriarch and I have to go to the holiday, so I only have six days. First of all, I will get acquainted with the parishes that are located in Vorkuta, I will serve here as a priest. In fact, as far as possible, I will familiarize myself with the affairs of the diocese and the diocesan administration.

– Tell the people of Vorkuta about yourself.

- Very short. I was born in Bashkiria into a family of employees, then I studied in Ufa at the Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of Art and Graphics. So it happened, then I went to St. Petersburg, after three and a half years of full-time study, worked in St. Petersburg and was baptized there. And in 1992 I already went to the elder, to Father Naum in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and lived by his obedience all these years. In 1998, I took monastic vows and lived for 21 years in the Ivanovo region in the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, carrying out various obediences.

– And what did you work for in St. Petersburg, if it’s not a secret?

- In particular, the janitor.

- How did this happen?

– But I didn’t graduate from college then, I left because... I’m an artist, let’s say.

- Free?

– Free is a very broad concept. At the monastery I was engaged in artistic photography, I even have plans, if the local administration does not object, to hold an exhibition of my photographs. Just your Palace of Culture... miners, right? Very beautiful! But this will happen over time, because this is not the main thing for me. The main thing is the parishes, economic activities, the activities of the diocese and, of course, the parishioners - the main people.

– You mentioned a legal mindset...

– I also have a legal education. The main obedience that I carried out in the monastery was of a legal nature: registration of property, real estate, various tenders, courts of general jurisdiction, arbitration...

– So you left artists for lawyers?

– I didn’t go anywhere, I went to the monastery. And he received his legal education at the monastery. I didn’t decide there; everything is done there with the blessing. What's the point? Why don't many people go to the monastery? If everyone knew how good monks are, everyone would become a monk. And if they knew what temptations monks have, no one would ever go. As always, there are two sides to a coin, you know? And the worst thing for a worldly person in monastic life is his own will, a person is still a worldly person - he does whatever he wants, although this is also very conditional. Everything in a monastery is specific: you come to the monastery and you have to do what you are blessed to do. And this is difficult - to break yourself, the most difficult thing is to do not what you want, but what you were told.

– Was it difficult for you too?

– Again, this is an internal warehouse. I like it this way. Some are given, some are not.

– What do you wish for your flock?

– I would like to wish all residents of Vorkuta health, prosperity and peace. I would also like for people to have jobs, economic stability, so that people can raise and raise their children in decent conditions. I was told that here in Soviet times there was a city of the first category, and God grant that the Vorkuta land will be revived, as it was in pre-perestroika times. And as an archpastor, I will need to pray that the Lord will send grace for this to happen.

HELP "MV"

Bishop Mark of Vorkuta and Usinsk(secular name Rustam Mirsagitovich Davletov)

Born in 1966 in Bashkiria. In 1990, he was baptized in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra with the name George. In 1998, he was tonsured a monk with the name Mark in honor of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark. In 2009 he graduated from Shuya State Pedagogical University with a degree in law. Since 2013, he combined monastic obedience with work in the Shuya diocesan administration as head of the property and legal department. In 2017 he graduated from Ivanovo-Voznesensk Theological Seminary. By the decision of the Holy Synod of December 28, 2017, he was elected ruling bishop of the Vorkuta diocese. He was named bishop on January 6, 2018 in the Throne Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

Antonina Boroshnina

Photo by Vladimir Yurlov

Last week, the primate of the newly formed Vorkuta diocese, Bishop John (Rudenko), made his first archpastoral visit to Usinsk. The Bishop served the Divine Liturgy as a bishop in the city churches of the Resurrection of Christ and the Icon of the Mother of God “Softening Evil Hearts”, visited a nursing home, an orphanage, a Society for the Disabled, where, together with veterans, he watched a concert prepared by artists from the art school and the first school. Vladyka congratulated everyone he met on Easter and Victory Day. During his stay in Usinsk, Bishop John gave a short interview to the city newspaper.

– Your Eminence, this is your first time in our city, so for the readers of the newspaper, please tell us a little about yourself.

– All the years of my church life were spent in the Shuya diocese, which used to be part of the Ivanovo diocese, now the metropolis. The city of Shuya with a population of about 60 thousand people is located near the regional center - the city of Ivanovo. According to historians, it was formed more than 600 years ago. I have been asceticizing since 1997 within the walls of the Nikolo-Shartomsky monastery, which arose, according to historical data, in the 12th century. During the years of Soviet persecution it was closed, and at the end of the last century it was revived again.

– How unexpected was your appointment to serve in the North? Have you visited us before?

- This is my first time here. He was appointed here by the Moscow Patriarchate in the person of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, although, of course, he did not foresee such a turn of events in his destiny. The option of sending him to the Salekhard diocese was considered, but the issue of reorganizing this diocese was postponed. During my short stay, I already visited Vorkuta, Inta, Pechora, took part at the invitation of Archbishop Pitirim of Syktyvkar and Komi-Zyryan in the Easter cathedral service in Syktyvkar, met with the Minister of the Komi Republic for National Policy Elena Savtenko.

– Have you been anywhere else in our municipality, besides Usinsk?

– We went to Ust-Usa, Novikbozh, Kolva, Parma. On the banks of the Usa River in Parma there is a picturesque place where it would be possible to erect a temple. I noticed that on the territory of the Usinsk deanery there are churches, but there are not enough clergy. I intend to resolve this issue. We will train from among those who want to serve God and the church (and there are such) clergy who will also minister to rural parishes.

– What are your first impressions of your stay in our district?

- In general, not bad. Church life, in general, is organized: services are regularly held in the city, sacraments are performed. Parish activities need to be further developed. There are problems, they need to be studied and ways to overcome them need to be outlined. As for the diocese as a whole, one of the difficulties lies in the great distance between settlements and the lack of constant transport connections with many of them, especially rural ones. It is possible that there will be two centers in the diocese. I will travel around cities and regional centers, with more or less long stays in both Vorkuta and Usinsk.

– What would you wish to the people of Usinsk during these Easter days?

- To warm up, to preserve in their hearts for as long as possible the Easter joy, the grace of God, which they received during the days of the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Let her help in good deeds of mercy, professional and public service and work, raising children and grandchildren. And, of course, try to share this joy of Christ’s Love with your neighbors and relatives, so that they too feel it in their lives.

Interview conducted by Grigory Kozhevin
http://www.usnov.ru