In the old days, when pilgrims went to the Tikhvin Monastery along the Vologda Highway, they always went to the ancient Anthony-Dym Monastery, located nearby. They washed themselves here, changed into clean clothes, bowed to the honorable relics of St. Anthony of Dymsky, and only then went to the miraculous Tikhvin Icon. And they had this saying: whoever has not been to Anthony, Tikhvinskaya does not accept him. Moreover, the memory of Saint Anthony is just two days before the feast of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God: July 7 according to the new style.

Five years ago, in those days when the miraculous Tikhvin Icon was returning to Russia from America, I had the opportunity to visit the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery on the day of remembrance of the saint. The parishioners of the Assumption Monastery brought banners, a cross and a lantern onto the bus that left Tikhvin early in the morning; one banner was held by a young man in a vest named Andrey. He came from Vologda with the blessing of the abbot of the Prilutsky Monastery, spent several days in St. Petersburg and already venerated the Tikhvin Icon twice.

In St. Petersburg, when I was driving to the Kazan Cathedral, I saw two such rainbows in the sky! - Andrei said, while the rest of the pilgrims sang “Rejoice, Joy to the World...”. - Everyone was watching - both believers and non-believers. I bought a small icon of the Mother of God from the cathedral, consecrated it from the miraculous image, it helps me so much!..

How do you perceive the return of the Tikhvin icon: as a historical event or as something personal?

Historical, of course! This is of great importance for Russia! But also personal, of course. And then you come to us, in the Vologda region. In our monastery in June there is a patronal feast day, on this day the ancient, miraculous icon of Demetrius of Prilutsky is transferred from the museum to the church. And I’ll stay here - and in Diveevo...

The Liturgy at the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery was celebrated right on the mown grass in front of the Trinity Church. In front of the entrance to the temple, an altar was erected - an awning on long poles, the choir settled down under a large birch tree, and confession began near a haystack. I decided to walk through the monastery, which was just beginning to be restored, and passed a brown house with smoke coming from a thin chimney. In the house lived a strange man of short stature, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and at the door lay a shaggy dog, whose cheerfulness was strangely combined with vigilance and determination.

The iron monastery gates were open, but it was clear that they were locked at night: there was a chain and a lock hanging on them. True, they stood right in the middle of the grass, there were no walls, if you want, come in. Several years ago, near these gates, we met a real wanderer, long-haired, with a knapsack on his back and bare heels, who introduced himself as “the wanderer Michael, the servant of God, worthless.” Now rare pilgrims come through these gates: a girl with a thick white braid, in a light knee-length skirt and high rubber boots; A woman with a backpack behind her back is putting down her bike...

During the Liturgy, a small bent old man in a cassock, with a pectoral cross and a stick in his hand, walked past me and stood under a weeping birch tree. As if unnoticed by anyone - and yet this is the former abbot of the Tikhvin Monastery, Abbot Alexander (Gordeev). He was born in 1928, in a maternity hospital located on the territory of the Tikhvin Monastery. Stopping at a birch tree, Father Alexander quietly said to the man accompanying him: “Epitriahil and poruchi,” and began to pray alone. But as soon as the hymns ended and the reading of the life of St. Anthony of Dymsky began, Father Alexander was surrounded by many pilgrims. He blessed everyone, and then walked away and stood not far from the altar, refusing to sit on a chair, only asking to bring a wand.

After the Liturgy, we went in procession to Lake Dymskoye. They read the Akathist to St. Anthony near a small wooden chapel, and the lake, motionless, calm, waited for its water to be blessed. Dymskoe! One day it itself told me why it was called that way. We swam in it early in the morning, at about six o'clock, and it all seemed to be shrouded in clouds of smoke - a fog in which we floated and wandered, pushing the clouds apart with our hands. The same cross rises above the water - it was installed on a large stone, almost completely hidden under water. The Monk Anthony of Dymsky prayed on this stone at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries.

After the Akathist, one of the priests, right in his vestments, entered the water and immersed the cross into it three times. And then Father Dimitry Ponomarev, a priest from Kazan, addressed the pilgrims:

All-honorable fathers, brothers and sisters! The Lord showed a miracle today through the prayers of St. Anthony. What you see here is the life of the Church. Not only do we read about the history of the Church in books, but also the priests, monks and lay people standing here today are creating church history. And ten years ago, only five people came to this holy place! These people prayed to the Monk Anthony and installed a memorial cross in this holy place, near the stone where the monk prayed both in winter and in summer, kneeling in the water. And who would have thought that the next year eight people would come to this holy place? And in another year - twenty! And in another year - fifty! And now there are so many people here that I can’t even count: something like three or four hundred people. Today a monk of the Tikhvin Monastery came up to me and said: “What a joy, God! Well, our choir sang today! Who was in this choir! A regent from Arkhangelsk, a regent from Kazan, a regent from Rostov. And today eight of us served clergy." And then, ten years ago, there was only one priest among us.

And I assure you that once you come here, you will never be anywhere else on the globe on July 7th. Because the grace of God, which is given to us through the prayers of St. Anthony of Dymsky, is great. Today in this monastery we cannot venerate the relics of St. Anthony, because he cannot now leave the Tikhvin Assumption Monastery. Because, while making a pilgrimage, he, according to legend, was the first to see the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and venerate it - then it was still in Constantinople. It turns out that he became the forerunner of the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in our lands. Nowadays the veneration of St. Anthony of Dymsky is becoming greater. This is a wonderful saint! Almost everyone who carried a memorial cross here ten years ago became either priests or monks. The monk blesses very strongly. Through the prayers of St. Anthony of Dymsky, the miracle worker, may our Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly with his grace and love for mankind!

While the pilgrims were bathing in the blessed water, I asked Father Dimitri to tell us in more detail about how the worship cross was installed on the lake.

I don’t know if such an unusual cross still exists in Russia - on the waters! - said the father. - Well, this is the will of God, this is what the Lord put on his heart - that’s all. When we arrived here on July 7, 1994 in a truck and unloaded the cross from it, thunder rumbled for the first time. Father Gennady Belovolov, such a skeptical person, says: “This is an airplane, an airplane.” But there were no planes in the sky - we looked. And when they carried the cross, it thundered a second time!

When we were transporting the cross, along the way we found a metal funnel, into which we then placed the cross. We took a bag of cement with us, but we needed some kind of heavy load to put up the cross. We look: a dump of old ventilation items, and among them is this funnel. Then they made cement, then lit a fire so that the cement hardened. We loaded it all onto a pedal boat - there was a recreation center here - and it was already very late, at exactly 11:53 p.m., that the cross itself slid into the lake. And then thunder thundered for the third time! And the cross stood up very clearly, as befits an Orthodox cross. If it stood up unevenly, it would be impossible to correct it, because its base is very heavy. It truly was a miracle of God.

In general, the veneration of Anthony of Dymsky in our time began with the film “Build a Church,” dedicated to the monasteries of Russia, Northern Thebaid. In 1993, in November, Father Gennady and I came here with a film crew. And when we got here, we heard the bell ringing. We went down to the lake - there were no bells, there was no monastery, not a single church in the area.

We need benefactors here, wealthy people! And the Monk Anthony will atone for all their sins. Everyone who carried the cross then became priests or monks, all five of them. And before that, no one was going to! Amazing thing.

Then two grandmothers came up to me and Father Dmitry, wearing a white and a blue handkerchief:

We are coming from Novgorod, from Novgorod on foot...

From Novgorod on foot! - Father Dimitri repeated, blessing the grandmothers. - You see what is happening. You know, I was lying a little: in the first year there were not five laypeople, but one more. Because when we arrived at this place, we suddenly saw: a man standing, with a beard, gray-haired, praying, an icon hanging in front of him on a tree. He was so happy to see us, he was surprised! He stayed and stayed and disappeared, like an angel of the Lord. I saw this man several times later, he is from Tikhvin. So the latent veneration of the monk was always there, never stopped.

Come visit us in Kazan, at the Church of the Nativity of Christ! We have minarets at every intersection, and we baptize Muslims in batches. By the way, I was the last of those five laymen who came here ten years ago to be ordained. This was last fall.

Having said goodbye to Father Dimitry, I again meet Andrey from Cherepovets.

Well, did you take a swim?

“I don’t know how to swim at all,” he says, widening his eyes. - But I took a swim! One man named Anthony held my hands. I plunged twice, and then I shouted: “Oh, I can’t! I’m going to drown!” But for the third time he dipped me. What a miracle!

I walk up the path to the bus and catch up with strangers, a nun and a laywoman.

We took a cracker and some water with us, we don’t need anything else. What a day! How to live! - says one.

Yes, but how much we do that is superfluous, unnecessary, bad...

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

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

“Devoting myself entirely to God”

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

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

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

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

Constantinople

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

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

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

“The monastery betrayed him into his hands”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dymsky ascetic

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

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

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

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

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

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

Through the veil of years

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Veneration of St. St. Anthony Dymsky

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Troparion of St. Anthony of Dymsky
voice 4

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

Alexander Trofimov.
REVEREND ANTHONY DYMSKY AND HIS HOUSE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

alexandrtrofimov.ru

Miracles through prayers at the relics of St. Anthony and as a result of swimming in Lake Dymskoye

From about 1670, the compilers of the life of St. Anthony began to record miracles that had occurred from his relics before. The manuscripts of the life of the Dym ascetic have preserved for us descriptions of these numerous miracles.

For example, we learn how a resident of Tikhvin Posad, Simeon, two years after the onset of the illness, from which his eyes were very festered and blood was constantly oozing from them, having heard about miracles from the relics of the Dymsky Wonderworker, he came to the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery. Near the church, above the saint’s coffin, he scooped up morning dew from the leaves of the grass growing there and washed his eyes with it. Having received healing from this, Simeon went completely healthy to his home, giving praise to Anthony for this wonderful mercy of his.

Miracle of 1671

In 1671, it happened to Simeon, a resident of Tikhvin Posad, who had previously received healing from an eye disease, to fall into temptation again. He fell seriously ill and for seven weeks, burning with fire, he knew no rest, day or night. In the eighth week, awaiting the hour of death, he was honored to reverently prepare and fearfully partake of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries, the Body and Blood of our Savior Lord Jesus Christ, from Hier Priest John.

When the priest, having given communion to the sufferer, left, he began to pray fervently. From the very depths of his heart flowed the words: “I thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, the Heavenly King, for you have granted me, a sinner and unworthy, the desire to partake of Your Most Pure Body and Blood! For the sake of Your Immortal and Life-giving Mysteries, through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and Your venerable saint Anthony, the head of the Dymsk monastery, have mercy on me and rise from this mortal illness, since before his prayers I received healing for my eyes and found full health. Even now I believe, Lord, that Your mercy will be shown to me.”

And so, having prayed, the sick man bowed down in exhaustion and lay down on his bed. And then, in a subtle dream, as if in reality, he sees his house, where he lies, with the walls seemingly dismantled to the bottom of the windows, he sees the abode of the Queen of Heaven, and between his house and the Tikhvin Monastery there are no other houses.

Simeon sees how angels, not on the ground, but through the air, from this most honorable monastery, carry the miraculous icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God and the icon of St. Anthony, the ruler of the Dymsk Hermitage. And along with the icons, the angels carry a great cup filled to the brim with holy water swaying in it from edge to edge.

When the angels brought the cup to him, they exclaimed: “Rise, Simeon, and sit down! Why are you lying stretched out on your bed?” He answered them: “Lord! Most of all, I wish you such health that you can get up from your bed. I am exhausted for my sins!” Then the Monk Anthony also says to him: “Get up and sit!” After which he, taking a sprinkler, sprinkled the sick man with holy water brought from the monastery of the Queen of Heaven.

From this sprinkling, Simeon, feeling how the heavenly rain was falling on all his clothes, was horrified and greatly frightened by such a vision, quickly jumped out of his bed and felt complete health in all his limbs. And immediately, by God’s grace, the intercession of the Mother of God and the intercession of their saint, the Monk Anthony, he was able to walk.

Having received a grace-filled healing, which left no consequences of the disease, in joy and joy Simeon began to thank the Lord God and the Most Pure Mother of God, also praising the head of the Dymskaya monastery, the Monk Anthony.

Miracle of 1680

In 1680, under the rule of the pious sovereign Fyodor Alekseevich, the cleric of the Belozersky district Peter came to the monastery of St. Anthony. He begged the builder of the monastery, monk Simon, and the other brethren to leave him in the monastery. Then he lived there for some time, fulfilling his church obedience, but when he wanted to leave, he fell ill with tremors. For a long time the illness did not leave him. He suffered greatly, having no peace day or night.

One day, in a subtle dream, the Monk Anthony appeared to him and commanded: “Rise up, man, and swim in the local lake!” - promising that the sick person will receive healing. Waking up from such joyful news, during the morning prayer singing, Peter hurried to the lake, bathed in it and, with the Grace of the Light of Christ and the merciful charity of His saint the Wonderworker Anthony, immediately recovered completely.

Miracle of 1687

In 1687, a certain youth named Nikifor from the village of Nikiforova, which was located not far from Ustyug Zhelezopolsky, came to the monastery of the Monk Anthony and begged the abbot and the brethren to allow him to read psalms in the church. Three months had passed since then, and he planned to leave the monastery. But suddenly he fell ill with shakes, so much so that he was close to dying.

While awaiting his death hour, he was greatly grieved, but the monk showed him his mercy, raising him from his sick bed. The idea came to the sufferer’s mind to piously worship the Wonderworker. Getting out of bed, he went to church. Having prayed diligently, he took the dust from the holy tomb of Anthony, threw it into a bowl of water and washed his face. And from that hour of Christ, through the grace and prayers of St. Anthony of Dymsky, I immediately felt with my whole body that I had completely recovered.

The Miracle of the Cell Fire of 1687

On October 2, 1687, there was a fire in the monastery, which was associated with the miraculous intercession of St. Anthony for his monastery. In the evening, the saint of God appeared in a subtle dream to the builder of the monastery, monk Simeon Kleopinus. He dreamed that the monk came to his cell and loudly exclaimed: “Rise up, you careless one! You’ll burn out idlely!” Greatly frightened by such a vision, the abbot immediately woke up and saw that, due to a faulty stove, a fire was already raging in his cell. He managed to jump out of it and hit the beater. The brethren came running to this call. Turning with prayer to the Lord, the Mother of God, calling for help from the head of the monastery, they began to put out the fire. Through the prayers and intercession of the monk, the fire was soon stopped.

Miracle of the refectory fire of 1687

A month later, on November 14, after the evening service, the refectory and bakery had already caught fire. And again the Monk Anthony appeared as the deliverer of his monastery from misfortune. Sexton Pachomius, who was performing his obedience, in the evening after the service, leaving the church at the usual time, lit the stove in the refectory and closed it. Then he went to the kitchen to prepare food for the brothers for dinner. At this time, due to a malfunction in the pipe, the wall adjacent to it caught fire. Then the monk again appeared before the abbot and, seeing him sleeping, pushed him in the ribs with the words: “Wake up! The monastery is on fire! The abbot, frightened by the vision, jumped out of bed and hit the beater, calling the brethren and workers to the fire. Those with prayer, calling for help from the patron saint of the Dymskaya monastery, hastened to dismantle the roof of the refectory and put out the fire.

Miracle of the Painful Legs of 1687

And the Monk Anthony did not abandon those who came to him with faith through his intercession. About forty-five kilometers from the monastery in the Cherensky churchyard, the estate of the nobleman Savva Palitsyn, lived the peasant Lavrenty Yakovlev. In 1687 he fell ill and had leg pain for six months. He couldn't even stand on them. One day, dozing off, he heard a voice that said to him: “Man! Why are you lying there so carelessly? Promise to go to the Mother of God in the caves and to St. Anthony. Pray at his tomb, serve a prayer service, then you will receive healing!”

Waking up from sleep and not seeing anyone next to him, Lavrenty realized that this was not a simple vision. At that very hour, with tears, from the very heart, he promised to do what Anthony commanded him. And from that time he recovered and began to walk.

Miracle of 1689

On April 23, 1689, a cleric of the Anthony-Dymsky Monastery fell into a serious illness. The Lord visited him with His mercy. Burning with fire, Luka's mind became clouded and began to run around the monastery in a frenzy. He threw himself out of the windows of the church... He did ridiculous things. And so, after spending two weeks in illness, he did not allow anyone to help him. However, the monk did not leave the sufferer. Through the intercession and prayers of Anthony, it somehow came to Luke’s mind, in order to alleviate his suffering, to swim in the lake. Having fulfilled his plan, he barely reached his cell and fell asleep.

In a subtle dream, he saw how a certain monk in an ancient monastic vestment unfamiliar to him with a sword came into his cell and exclaimed: “Why are you lying in such an inhuman state! Completely crazy! You are dying in vain not from people, but from yourself and your madness! You come to the Church of God to serve God, but your thoughts are not church-like. There is no fear of God in you. Is this how clerics should behave?! You keep whispering, arguing, spending your time in foul language and sinful thoughts!”

The patient, having heard the words accusatory of him, wanted to move from his place, but could not. He felt as if his legs were tied with iron bonds. The monk, holding a sword with him, said to him: “Now I will give you relief from your illness, but you remember that you should, especially in church, have the fear of God. Do not tempt those gathered to pray and sing by talking, but remain silent. Don’t argue, don’t whisper, and don’t do other inappropriate things.”

Having said this, he struck with his sword and freed the legs of the bound sinner. From this strong blow, which cut through his iron, Luka received relief from his illness.

Having done all this, the unknown person said to him: “This is a small punishment for you, man, for your insolence. If in the future you do not come to your senses and remain chaste, if you come to the Church of God without reverence and stand in it without fear of tempting people, then a more severe punishment will follow. And not only to you, but also to others, to everyone who does the same thing.”

The patient, upon waking up, was frightened and surprised by everything he saw, especially since he felt relief from the illness in all his limbs. And therefore, without hesitating a minute, he went to the tomb of the saint, thanking the Lord God, His Most Pure Mother and Anthony of Dymsky himself for his intercession with them, for the small punishment, for the fear that he experienced, and for the mercy towards him from the Lord God.

Miracle of 1744

In 1744, after swimming in Lake Dymskoye, the St. Petersburg merchant Ermolai Ivanovich Kalitin received healing from a skin disease. He suffered from a skin disease for a long time. His body was covered with “cruel scabs.” Hearing about the miracles of the Monk Anthony, he came to the monastery and, having served a prayer service at the tomb, began to swim in the lake, after which he completely recovered. Kalitin, in gratitude for his healing, gave money to the church that was “rebuilt that same summer.” In addition, inside the newly built church, two iconostasis and a shrine were built over the relics of the Wonderworker Anthony using his donations.

Second miracle of 1744

At the same time, another merchant from St. Petersburg, John Vasiliev, was sick with his eyes. Arriving at the monastery, he served a prayer service at the shrine with the relics of the monk and swam in the lake. After bathing, his eyes received complete healing.

Miracle of 1796

In 1796, in the city of Tikhvin, the merchant John had a son, who was named Vasily. Until he was five years old, he could not walk. His parents were very sad about this. After a long treatment that did not produce any results, they decided to take him to the monastery of St. Anthony. Arriving at the monastery and praying at the tomb of the Wonderworker, the parents bathed their son in Lake Dymskoye, calling for help from the head of the monastery. From that time on, the boy began to walk on his own through his prayers.

Miracle of 1800

In 1800, in the city of Tikhvin, a merchant named Peter became very ill. When he was already dying, he fell into oblivion. Bowing to sleep, he saw the Most Holy Theotokos and the Wonderworker Nicholas and St. Anthony of Dymsky standing before her. And from this icon of the Mother of God a voice came to him: “Repent, man, and promise to live piously!”

The patient immediately swore an oath to the Mother of God to do what she advised him to do. He also appealed to the upcoming ones with a request to vouch for him. The Monk Anthony begged the Mother of God to help the sufferer, promising to be his surety.

Having begged the Mother of God, he turned to Peter with the words: “You promised and correct yourself! Go to my monastery, swim in the lake and you will be healthy. And remember your promise!”

From this vision the patient woke up and suddenly felt within himself that he had completely recovered. However, getting up from his sick bed, he hurried to the monastery of St. Anthony, served a prayer service at his tomb and swam in the lake. Having received his health, he went to his house rejoicing.

Miracle of 1802

In December 1802, a certain nobleman named Vasily, whose eyes hurt so much that he could barely see, promised to go to St. Anthony and serve a prayer service at his holy relics. After he prayed at the tomb of the founder of the monastery, his painful eyes received complete healing.