Nikolai Guryanov, elder: predictions and biography

On the Pskov lake there is an island bearing the name of Zelit. For four decades, the rector of the church of St. Nicholas, located on it, was now the deceased archpriest Father Nikolai Guryanov. Through his service to God and people, he gained the glory of a wise and perspicacious old man, to whom Orthodox believers from all over the country gathered for advice and help.

What is old age?

In Russian Orthodoxy since ancient times, rooteda special form of service to God, termed eldership. This is a kind of activity that includes the spiritual leadership of believers, carried out by God's chosen people - the elders. They, as a rule, are persons of a spiritual rank, but the history of the church knows examples when in this role laymen also acted. And the very concept of the elder does not presuppose an age characteristic, but spiritual grace, sent down by God for carrying this feat.

People elected by the Lord for such a highservice, are often endowed with the ability to contemplate the future of the world with an inner gaze, and to see the emotional storehouse of each individual person. This gives them an opportunity with amazing accuracy to give all who turn to them for help and spiritual instruction, the only true advice.

The family of the regent of the church choir

Future Elder Nikolai Guryanov, predictionswho became famous in the future of Russia, was born in 1909 in the family of the regent of the church choir, who lived in the village of Chudskiye Zachody of St. Petersburg Gubernia Alexei Ivanovich Guryanov. Nicholas had three brothers who inherited musical abilities from his father, the oldest of whom Mikhail even taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

But their talent was not destined to develop - all of themwere killed during the First World War. The head of the family - the father of Nikolai Alekseevich left in life in 1914, and only his mother Ekaterina Stepanovna the Lord sent down longevity. She lived until 1969, helping her son carry his pastoral ministry.

Unsuccessful students

Already in the years of Soviet power Nikolai graduatedPedagogical College and then entered the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute. But he was soon expelled, because he found the courage to speak publicly against the closure of one of the city's temples. This happened in the late twenties, and the whole country was captured by another anti-religious campaign. With his desperate act, he could not stop the machine of atheistic obscurantism, but he lost the opportunity to continue his studies and fell into the field of view of the GPU bodies.

In order to earn his living, Nikolai wasis forced to give private lessons in biology, physics and mathematics, as in these subjects he had sufficient training. But the main thing for him was the church. From 1928 to 1931 he served as a psalm-reader in various temples of Leningrad and the region.

Years of imprisonment and work in Tosno

The policy of persecution of the church, conductedcommunists, presupposed first of all repression in the attitude of its ministers, many of whom found themselves in prisons and camps. Nikolai Guryanov was no exception. He was arrested for religious propaganda and, awaiting trial, spent several months in the infamous Leningrad prison of Kresty, and then was sent to the Syktyvkar camp, which at that time was one of the elements of the boundless archipelago of the Gulag. There, working on the construction of the railway, he received a serious injury of both legs, which made him disabled for life.

After serving five years in prison and returning toLeningrad, the repressed cleric could not get a city residence permit and settled in the Tosno District. Fortunately, there was an acute shortage of teaching staff, and Guryanov was recruited to a rural school, despite his previous conviction and lack of a diploma. He worked as a teacher until the outbreak of the war.

When the country declared a universalmobilization, Nicholas was not taken into the army because of his disability. They did not even give the chance to work in the rear - a recent conviction made him an outcast. When the front approached Leningrad, Nikolai found himself in the occupied territory, where, as in previous years, he served as a psalmist in a church.

The adoption of the priesthood and ministry in the temples of the Baltic States

During the years of occupation, Guryanov finally decidedto devote one's life to the service of God. In early February 1942, he was ordained deacon, and a week later as priest. This he took celibacy, that is, he vowed celibacy for the rest of his days. The sacrament over him was also committed by Metropolitan Sergius (Resurrection), who was in the occupation. After graduating from the same year theological courses, Nikolai Guryanov (elder) was sent to Riga, where he served as a priest in the women's Holy Trinity Monastery, and then spent some time as a charterer of the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery.

From 1943 to 1958, the period of his ministry in theLithuania in the Orthodox Church of the village of Gegobrosty. There, Father Nicholas is elevated to the rank of archpriest. Reminiscences of one of his parishioners are preserved, in which she writes that Nikolai's father was always distinguished by extraordinary inner kindness and affability, rare even for people of spiritual rank.

He was able to involve people in worship, carrying outall the prescribed actions are inspired and beautiful. For the parishioners of the church, where the priest served, he was a model of a truly Christian life. Not being a monk, Father Nicholas was a true ascetic, following Christian norms both in prayer and in relation to people.

Prediction, which determined the further life

Nikolay Guryanov was able to combine ministry inarrival with study. During his stay in Lithuania, he graduated from the Vilna Seminary in 1951, and then continued his studies at the correspondence department of the Leningrad Theological Academy.

According to the memories of those close to him, alreadyhaving completed his education, in 1958 Father Nikolai visited an old man whose name remained unknown, and he opened to him the place that the Lord intended for future service, and where it was necessary to arrive in the soonest time.

It was the island of Talabsk on the Pskov lake,He received the name of a prominent Communist Zilat in the Soviet period. Applying to the diocesan administration and receiving a favorable response, Father Nicholas arrived at the place indicated, where he spent forty years in constant service until his death.

Difficulties of the first years

It is difficult even to imagine all the complexities with whichcame on a new place arrived priest. This was a period when the country was embraced by Khrushchev's anti-religious campaigns, and the media did not cease to trumpet about a quick victory over obscurantism - they called the faith that underlies the whole history of our Motherland. So when Nikolai Guryanov (the elder) arrived on the island and settled with his mother on the outskirts of the village, he was met with suspicious looks.

However, very soon his mildness, meekness, andmost importantly, benevolence towards people erased this alienation pattern, which first arose. The church in which he was to serve, was then in a dilapidated state, and, having not the slightest support from the diocesan authorities, the father had to find the means for its restoration himself. With his hands he laid bricks, repaired the roof, painted and performed all the other necessary work, and when worship services began in the renovated building, he himself was a prosphora.

Life in a fishing village

But, in addition to fulfilling their ecclesiasticalduties, Father Nicholas spent a lot of time helping everyone he could help her with. Since the male population of the village was a fishing cooperative, and their families did not see their breadwinners for a long time, Father Nikolai did not hesitate to help women in the household, he could look after children or sit with sick and old people. So earned the trust, and then the love of fellow villagers future elder Nikolai Guryanov.

The biography of this person is further inseparablefrom the island, where God's will was destined to accomplish his feat, and where by his works were returned to the bosom of the church tens and hundreds of people, torn away from it by godless power. It was a difficult journey. In the first years of stay on the island, the father had to serve in an empty church. Residents of the village loved him, respected, but did not go to church. By bit, the Word of God had to be carried into the minds of these people before this good grain gave its germination.

Miracle revealed by the prayer of the righteous man

In that period, and these were the sixties,persecution of the church particularly intensified, under the pressure of the authorities, one of the villagers wrote a denunciation on the priest. The commissioner arrived rude and rude to the priest, and at the end he said that he would take it the next day. Father Nikolai Guryanov (elder) collected his things and spent the whole night in prayer.

What happened then, some consider a miracle,others - a coincidence of circumstances, but only in the morning on a quiet in this time of the year the lake rose a real storm, and for three days the island was cut off from the mainland. When the element had subsided, the authorities about the priest somehow forgot and did not touch again.

The beginning of the old ministry

In the seventies, the elder Nikolai Guryanov,the predictions of which were surprisingly realized, acquired an unusually wide popularity. People from all over the country came to him, and he did not know a single moment of peace. At all, the external manifestation of those gifts that were abundantly revealed to him by the Lord made an indelible impression.

For example, referring to a complete strangerpeople, he unmistakably called their names, pointed out their long-forgotten sins that they could not know about, warned about the dangers they threatened, instructed them how to avoid them, and committed many things that could not be rationally explained. It is also impossible to count people to whom he restored health, begging for God to heal, sometimes even when medicine was powerless.

A wise teacher and teacher

But most importantly, what was his ministry, thisthe help that the priest gave to people who wanted to change their lives, arranging it on a truly Christian basis. Not getting into general arguments and avoiding unnecessary words, he was able to give a person a specific instruction relating to him personally.

At the same time, seeing the inner world of everyone, with whomhad to communicate, and seeing much that is stored in the hidden corners of the soul and carefully hiding from others, the elder knew how to talk about it with an unusual tact, without causing a person moral trauma, and certainly not humiliating his dignity. This side of his gift is witnessed by many who visited Zalit Island.

The elder Nikolai Guryanov was, according to many hisadmirers, perhaps the only one to the whole country, a truly visionary old man. His ability to see the ordinary people hidden from the eyes was so developed that in the nineties he often helped both private individuals and government bodies to search for people who had disappeared.

Universal recognition

In the period of perestroika, when the radically changedthe policy of the state in relation to the church, received greater freedom in their service and the elders of Russia. Nikolay Guryanov was one of those whose names were then often mentioned by the media. This, of course, increased the number of his admirers who came to the island, and who often stayed there for a long time.

Special authority Nikolai Guryanov (elder)acquired after the entire country about him, said our other famous ascetic father John Krestyankin, who then worked in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. He described Father Nicholas as the bearer of God's Grace, endowing him with gifts of vision, wisdom and meekness.

At the same time, in the late nineties, became a propertypublic predictions of the elder Nikolai Guryanov on Russia. They sounded in response to a question from one of the visitors, who wished to know what was waiting for the country after the end of B.N. Yeltsin. The Elder was not very taciturn, and what he said seemed to contain a sense that we, the today's inhabitants of Russia, are not given to fully understand.

Elder Nikolai Guryanov: predictions about the future of Russia

On the question of who will replacewho was then in power president BN. Yeltsin, he replied that it would be a military man, and was right, since the current head of state does have a military rank. But the meaning of his further words for us remains a mystery, and it is difficult to understand what the elder Nikolai Guryanov meant. Predictions about the future of Russia, made by him on that day, predicted the future government, which he likened to the power of the Communists. According to him, the church will again be subjected to persecution, but it will not last long.

The old man finished on a very optimisticnote, predicting the arrival in our world of the Orthodox King. When asked about when this will happen, he said that most of those present will live to that day. This is the answer that the elder Nikolai Guryanov gave about the future of Russia. While avoiding the shadow of doubt about the fairness of his words, let us note, however, that Vladimir Putin, who headed the country after leaving Boris Yeltsin's post, is more in line with the image of the Orthodox Tsar than the persecutor of faith, had in mind the elder.

During the years of his reign, the church fullyReborn after decades of atheism, which dominated the country and was the main principle of state ideology. What, then, did the old man say? We can only guess about this.

It has been repeatedly suggested that NicholasGuryanov (Elder), whose prophecies cause so open bewilderment today, really saw in those days new persecution prepared for the Russian church. It is possible that this would have led to the course of historical events. But, according to the prayers of the zealots, one of whom was, undoubtedly, Father Nikolay himself, the Lord showed great mercy, saving Russia from the troubles that she experienced for seven decades. As a result of the prophecy of the old man came true, but the Lord, according to his ineffable philanthropy, saved us from repeating the nightmare that swept the country in the 20th century.

The Instructions of the Elder Nikolai Guryanov

In addition to the prophecies mentioned above, the fatherNikolai gained fame and the instructions that he gave to people who turned to him for advice and help. Much of what he said was preserved in the records made by his admirers who came to the island Zalit.

Elder Nikolai Guryanov first taught to live andpray to God as if tomorrow is destined to die, and, having presented himself to the Lord, to give Him an answer in their deeds. This, he said, will help cleanse the soul of impurity, prepare itself for the transition into eternity. In addition, Father Nicholas taught to love with love everything that surrounds us, because all this is nothing but the creation of God. He appealed to unbelieving people to treat without pity, with pity, constantly praying to God for deliverance from this diabolical defilement. Many, many other wise and useful teachings were received from him by visitors.

Posthumous veneration of the elder Nikolai

Like many formerly departed elders, ArchpriestNikolay Guryanov, after his death, which followed on August 24, 2002, became revered by many in our country as a saint, the canonization of which is only a matter of time. On the day of his funeral more than three thousand people came to Zalit Island, who wanted to pay the last debt to his memory. And although the number of admirers of the Elder has not decreased since many years.

In this regard, the words spokenanother famous representative of the Russian eldership, the Reverend Father Nektar, pronounced by him shortly before the closure of the Optina desert by the Bolsheviks. He taught nothing in this earthly life not to be afraid and always to pray to the deceased old men, for, standing before the throne of God, they pray for us, and the Lord will hearken to their words. Just like those elders, Father Nikolai Guryanov in the Kingdom of Heaven intercedes with the Most High about those whom he left in this perishable world.

It's no wonder that he deserved all his lifelove and memory of hundreds of thousands of his admirers humble servant of God archpriest father Nikolai Guryanov (elder). The island, which has been its home for the last forty years of its life, today has become both its monument and the place where Orthodox believers come to worship it.

Soon after the death of the Elder, they were establisheda society of zealots of his memory, whose members are already conducting work today, aimed at glorifying Father Nicholas in the saints' face. That this event will sooner or later take place, none of the members of the society doubts, and already today it is referred to as the Monk Nikolai Pskovoyozersky.