Nil Sorsky. The Great Elder Nil of Sorsk Complete Life of the Monk Nil of Sorsk

18.03.2022

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On the day of death, in the Cathedrals of the Athos venerable and venerable Russian Svyatogortsy

Descended from the boyar family Maikovs. He accepted monasticism at the monastery of St. Cyril of Belozersky, where he used the advice of the pious elder Paisius (Yaroslavov), later hegumen of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Then the monk wandered for several years with his disciple, the monk Innokenty, through the Eastern holy places and, having lived for a long time in Athos, Constantinople and Palestine monasteries, returned to the Cyril Monastery on Beloozero.

Retiring from there to the Sora River in the Vologda land, he set up a cell and a chapel there, and soon a hermitage monastery grew around them where the monks lived according to the skete rules, which is why Saint Nile is revered as the head of the skete monastic life in Russia. According to the testament of the Monk Nile, in his famous charter compiled in the image of the Eastern, the monks had to eat the labor of their hands, accept alms only in extreme need, avoid materialism and luxury even in church; women were not allowed in the skete, monks were not allowed to leave the skete under any pretext, ownership of estates was denied. Having settled around a small church in honor of the Presentation of the Lord in the forest, in separate cells for one, two, and no more than three people, on the eve of Sundays and other holidays, the wanderers gathered for a day for Divine service, and an all-night service, at which two or three were offered for each kathisma. readings from patristic writings continued all night. On other days, everyone prayed and worked in his own cell. The main feat of the monks was the struggle with their thoughts and passions, as a result of which peace is born in the soul, clarity in the mind, contrition and love in the heart.

In his life, the holy ascetic was distinguished by his extreme non-possessiveness and industriousness. He himself dug a pond and a well, the water of which had healing powers. For the holiness of the life of Elder Nil, the Russian hierarchs of his day deeply revered him. Reverend Neil was the founder of the non-possessor movement. He participated in the Council of 1490, as well as at the Council of 1503, where he was the first to vote for the fact that the monasteries should not have villages, but the monks would live by the labors of their hands.

Avoiding the honors and glory of this world, before his death, he bequeathed to his disciples to throw his body to be eaten by animals and birds, or to bury him without any honors at the place of his feat. The saint died at the age of 76 on May 7.

veneration

The relics of St. Nile, buried in the monastery founded by him, became famous for many miracles. The Russian Church canonized him among the saints.

In the legends of the Nilosor skete, there is a legend that during a visit to the Beloezersky monasteries, Tsar Ivan the Terrible was in the Nilosor monastery in a year and ordered that instead of a wooden church built by the Monk Nilo, a stone one should be founded. But, appearing to John in a dream, Saint Nilus forbade him to do so. In return for the unfulfilled enterprise, the sovereign granted the skete, signed with his own hand, a letter on the release of monetary salaries and a grain salary to the monastics. This certificate has been lost.

Proceedings

The charter compiled by Saint Nile and "Tradition by his disciple who wants to live in the wilderness" are the fundamental texts of Russian skete monasticism, the charter is one of the first monastic charters compiled in Russia. In it, the Monk Neil expounds in detail the steps of saving mental work.

Published in Russian:

Charter- in History of the Russian Hierarchy.
Our Reverend Father Nil of Sorsk is a tradition by his disciple about the residence of the skete, ed. Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn, Moscow, 1820, 1849 ( The Life and Writings of the Holy Fathers, vol. I).
Rev. Nil Sorsky, the founder of the skete life in Russia and his charter on the skete life, translated into Russian. With the appendix of all other writings of his extracted from manuscripts, St. Petersburg, 1864.

Prayers

Troparion, tone 4

Retiring, running around the world of David, / and everything else in it, as if he were smart, / and settled in a place of silence, / you were filled with spiritual joy, our father Nile: / and deigning to serve the One God, / you flourished like a phoenix, / and like a fruitful vine thou hast multiplied the children of the desert. / At the same time, we cry out with gratitude: / glory to Him who strengthened you in the ascetic labor of hermitage, / glory to the one who chose you in Russia as a hermit of a hermit, / glory to the Savior through your prayers.

John troparion, tone 1

He rejected the worldly life and the revolt of the worldly life, our reverend and God-bearing Father Nile, did not become lazy to collect the flowers of paradise from the scriptures of the fathers, and moved into the desert, you flourished, like a crown, from nowhere you passed into the heavenly abodes. Teach us, who honestly honor you, to walk your royal path and pray for our souls..

Kontakion, tone 8(similar to: Chosen Warlord)

For the sake of Christ's love, having retired from worldly embarrassments, with a joyful soul you settled in the desert, in it you labored for good, like an angel on earth, Father Nile, you lived: with vigil and fasting, you exhausted your body for the eternal sake of life. Even now, having been honored, in the light of the inexpressible joy of the Most Holy Trinity with the saints, standing, pray, pray, falling down, your child, save us from all slander and evil circumstances, visible and invisible enemy and be saved to our souls.

Ying kontakion, tone 3

Enduring, you endured the vain customs and worldly customs of your brethren, you gained desert silence, reverend father, where by fasting, vigil and unceasing prayer in labor, labored, with your teachings the right paths showed us to march to the Lord. We also honor thee, all-blessed Nile.

Prayer

Oh, reverend and God-blessed Father Nile, our God-wise mentor and teacher! You, for the love of God, moving away from worldly embarrassments, in the impenetrable desert and in the wilds, you deigned to move in, and like a fruitful vine, having multiplied the children of the desert, you showed yourself to them in word, writing and life the image of all monastic virtues, and like an angel in the flesh, having lived on of the earth, now in the heavenly villages, where the unceasing voice is celebrating, you are settling in, and from the faces of the saints standing before God, unceasingly bring praise and glorification to Him. We pray to you, blessed God, instruct us who live under your roof to unstumblingly walk in your footsteps: love the Lord God with all your heart, long for that one and think about that one, courageously and graciously go with the valley of the enemy’s thoughts and applications that attract us and those always win. Love all the crampedness of the monastic life, and hate the red world of this love for the sake of Christ and plant in your hearts every virtue, in which you yourself have labored. Pray to Christ God, and to all Orthodox Christians living in the world, enlighten the mind and eyes of the heart, and for salvation confirm them in faith, and piety, and in doing their commandments, save them from the flattery of this world and grant them and us the remission of sins and He will add to them, according to His unfalse promise, and all that we need for a temporary life, but in the desert and in the world living, quiet and silent life, we will live in all piety and honesty, and we will glorify Him with our lips and heart together with His unoriginal Father and the Most Holy and By His good and life-giving Spirit, always, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.

The famous figure of the Russian church. Information about him is scarce and fragmentary. Genus. about 1433, belonged to a peasant family; his nickname was Mike. Prior to entering monasticism, Neil was engaged in copying books, was a "scribe". More accurate information finds Neil already a monk. Nil got his hair cut in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, where from the time of the founder himself there was a deaf protest against the landowning rights of monasticism. The Monk Cyril himself more than once refused the villages that were offered to his monastery by pious laity; the same views were adopted by his closest students ("Zavolzhsky elders"; see). Having traveled to the East, to Palestine, Constantinople and Athos, Nil spent an especially long time on Athos, and perhaps most of all he owed Athos the contemplative direction of his ideas.

Neil Sorsky. Icon with life

Upon his return to Russia (between 1473 and 89), Neil founded a skete, gathered a few followers around him, "who were of his nature," and gave himself up to a secluded, solitary life, especially interested in book studies. He tries to substantiate all his actions on the direct indications of "divine Scripture", as the only source of knowledge of the moral and religious duties of man. Continuing to be engaged in the correspondence of books, he subjects the material written off to more or less thorough criticism. He writes off "from different lists, trying to find the right one", makes a set of the most correct: comparing the lists and finding "many uncorrected ones" in them, he tries to correct "as much as possible for his bad mind." If another place seems “wrong” to him, and there is nothing to correct, he leaves a gap in the manuscript, with a note in the margins: “From here in the lists it’s not right”, or: “If somewhere in a different translation it will turn out to be more famous (more correct) than this , tamo yes it is read "- and sometimes leaves entire pages so empty. In general, he writes off only what is "according to the possible according to reason and truth ...". All these features, which sharply distinguished the nature of Nil Sorsky's book studies and his very view of "writing" from the usual ones that prevailed in his time, could not pass for him in vain. Despite his book studies and love for a closed, solitary life, Nil Sorsky took part in two of the most important issues of his time: about the attitude towards the so-called. "Novgorod heretics" and about monastic estates. In the first case, we can only assume his influence (together with his teacher Paisiy Yaroslavov); in the second case, on the contrary, he acted as the initiator. In the case of the Novgorod heretics, both Paisiy Yaroslavov and Nil Sorsky apparently held more tolerant views than most of the then Russian hierarchs, with Gennady of Novgorod and Joseph Volotsky at the head. In 1489, the Novgorod bishop Gennady, entering the fight against heresy and informing the Rostov archbishop about it, asked the latter to consult with the learned elders Paisiy Yaroslavov and Nil Sorsky, who lived in his diocese, and involve them in the struggle. Gennady himself wants to talk with the learned elders and even invites them to his place. The results of Gennady's efforts are unknown: it seems that they were not quite as he wished. At least, we no longer see any relations between Gennady and either Paisius or the Nile; the main fighter against heresy, Joseph Volokolamsky, does not address them either. Meanwhile, both elders were not indifferent to heresy: both of them are present at the council of 1490. , who dealt with the case of heretics, and hardly influence the very decision of the council. Initially, all the hierarchs "became strong" and unanimously declared that "all (all heretics) are worthy of life" - and in the end the council is limited to cursing two or three heretic priests, depriving them of their dignity and sending them back to Gennady. The most important fact of the life of Nil Sorsky was his protest against the landowning rights of the monasteries, at the cathedral of 1503 in Moscow. When the council was nearing its end, Nil Sorsky, supported by other Kirillo-6 Elozero elders, raised the question of monastic estates, which at that time equaled a third of the entire state territory and were the cause of the demoralization of monasticism. A zealous fighter for the idea of Nil Sorsky was his closest "disciple", prince-monk Vassian Patrikeyev. Nil Sorsky could only see the beginning of the struggle he had initiated; he died in 1508. Before his death, Neil wrote a "Testament", asking his disciples "to throw his body in the wilderness, let the animals and birds eat it, because they have sinned against God a lot and are unworthy of burial." The disciples did not fulfill this request: they buried him with honor. It is not known whether Nil of Sorsk was formally canonized; in manuscripts there are occasionally traces of a service to him (troparion, kontakion, ikos), but it seems that this was only a local attempt, and even then it was not established. On the other hand, throughout our ancient literature, only Nil Sorsky, in the titles of his few works, left the name of the "great old man."

Neil Sorsky. Icon 1908

The literary works of Nil Sorsky consist of a number of messages to students and generally close people, a small Traditions to the disciples, brief fragmentary Notes, more extensive Charter, in 11 chapters, and dying Wills. They came in the lists of the XVI - XVIII centuries. and all are published (most and the most important ones are extremely faulty). The main work of the Nile is the monastery charter, in 11 chapters; all the rest serve as an addition to it. The general line of thought of Nil Sorsky is strictly ascetic, but in a more internal, spiritual sense than asceticism was understood by the majority of the then Russian monasticism. Monasticism, according to Neil, should not be bodily, but spiritual, and requires not external mortification of the flesh, but internal, spiritual self-perfection. The soil of monastic exploits is not flesh, but thought and heart. Intentionally weakening, killing one's body unnecessarily: the weakness of the body can hinder the feat of moral self-improvement. A monk can and should nourish and support the body “as needed without mala”, even “calm it in mala”, condescending to physical weaknesses, illness, and old age. Neil does not sympathize with exorbitant fasting. He is an enemy of any appearance in general, he considers it superfluous to have expensive vessels, gold or silver, in churches, to decorate churches: not a single person has yet been condemned by God for not decorating churches. Churches should be alien to all splendor; in them you need to have only what is necessary, "obtained everywhere and conveniently bought." It is better to give to the poor than to donate in the church. The feat of moral self-improvement of a monk must be rationally conscious. A monk must go through it not due to coercion and prescriptions, but "with consideration" and "do everything with reason." Neil requires from a monk not mechanical obedience, but consciousness in a feat. By sharply revolting against "self-initiators" and "self-swindlers", he does not destroy personal freedom. The personal will of a monk (as well as every person) should be subject, according to Neil, to only one authority - "divine writings." "Testing" the divine writings, studying them is the main duty of the monk. The unworthy life of a monk, and indeed of a person in general, exclusively depends, according to Neil, "from the hedgehog the holy scriptures do not lead us ...". With the study of divine writings, however, a critical attitude to the total mass of written material should be connected: "there are many writings, but not all of them are divine." This idea of criticism was one of the most characteristic in the views of both Nil himself and all the "Volga elders" - and for the majority of literate people of that time it was completely unusual. In the eyes of the latter, any "book" in general was something indisputable and divinely inspired. And the books of Holy Scripture in the strict sense, and the works of the Church Fathers, and the lives of the saints, and the rules of St. apostles and councils, and interpretations of these rules, and additions to interpretations that appeared later, finally, even all sorts of Greek "city laws", i.e. decrees and orders of the Byzantine emperors, and other additional articles included in Kormchaya - all this, in the eyes of the ancient Russian reader, was equally unchanging, equally authoritative. Joseph Volokolamsky, one of the most learned people of his time, directly, for example, argued that the mentioned "city laws" "are similar in essence to prophetic and apostolic and holy father writings", and the collection of Nikon Montenegrins (see) boldly called "divinely inspired writings" . Therefore, reproaches from Joseph to Nil of Sorsk and his disciples are understandable that they "blasphemed miracle workers in the Russian land," as well as those "like in ancient years and in the local (foreign) lands of former miracle workers, who believed in their miracle, and from the Scriptures sweeping away their wonders." One attempt at any critical attitude to the material being written off seemed, therefore, heresy. Striving for the gospel ideal, Nil Sorsky - like the whole trend he headed - does not hide his condemnation of the disorganizations that he saw in most of modern Russian monasticism. From a general view of the essence and goals of the monastic vow, the energetic protest of the Nile against the monastic property directly followed. Any property, not only wealth, Neil considers contrary to monastic vows. A monk denies himself from the world and everything, "even in it" - how can he then spend time worrying about worldly property, lands, wealth? Monks must feed exclusively on their own labors, and they can even accept alms only in extreme cases. They should not “not only have no property, but not want to acquire it”... What is obligatory for a monk is just as obligatory for a monastery: a monastery is only a collection of people with the same goals and aspirations, and what is reprehensible to a monk is also reprehensible for a monastery. To the noted features, apparently, religious tolerance was added already in Nile himself, which came out so sharply in the writings of his closest students. The literary source of the writings of Nil Sorsky was a number of patristic writers, whose works he became acquainted with especially during his stay on Mount Athos; the writings of John Cassian the Roman, Nil of Sinai, John of the Ladder, Basil the Great, Isaac the Syrian, Simeon the New Theologian, and Gregory of Sinai had the closest influence on him. Some of these writers are often referred to by Neil Sorsky; some of their works, both in external form and in presentation, are especially close, for example. , to the main work of Nil Sorsky - "The Monastic Charter". The Nile, however, does not obey unconditionally to any of its sources; nowhere, for example, does he reach those extremes of contemplation that distinguish the writings of Simeon the New Theologian or Gregory of Sinai.

The monastic charter of Nil Sorsky, with the addition of "Tradition by a student" at the beginning, was published by Optina Hermitage in the book "The Reverend Nil Sorsky's Tradition by His Disciple About His Skete Living" (Moscow, 1849; without any scientific criticism); the messages are printed in an appendix to the book: "The Monk Nil of Sorsky, the founder of the skete life in Russia, and his charter on the skete life translated into Russian, with the application of all his other writings, extracted from the manuscripts" (St. Petersburg, 1864; 2nd ed. M., 1869; with the exception of "Appendices", everything else in this book does not have the slightest scientific value).

Literature about Nil Sorsky is detailed in the preface to the study by A. S. Arkhangelsky: "Nil Sorsky and Vassian Patrikeyev, their literary works and ideas in ancient Russia" (St. Petersburg, 1882).

A. Arkhangelsky.

Nil Sorsky is a famous figure in the Russian church. Information about him is scarce and fragmentary. Born around 1433, into a peasant family; his nickname was Mike. Prior to entering monasticism, Neil was engaged in copying books, was a "scribe". More accurate information finds Neil already a monk. Nil took his hair in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, where, over the time of the founder himself, a deaf protest against the landowning rights of monasticism was kept; Archpriest Kirill himself more than once refused the villages offered to his monastery by pious laity. The same views were adopted by his closest students, the "Volga elders", with Nil Sorsky at the head. Having traveled to the East, to Palestine, Constantinople and to Athos, Nil spent an especially long time on Athos and, apparently, Athos was most indebted to his contemplative mood. Upon returning to his homeland (between 1473 and 1489), Neil founded a skete, gathering around him a few followers, "who were of his nature," and, indulging in a closed, solitary life, he was interested almost exclusively in book studies. Despite these activities and love for a solitary life, Nil Sorsky takes part in two of the most important issues of his time: about the attitude towards the so-called "Novgorod heretics" and about monastic estates. In the case of the Novgorod heretics, both Nil Sorsky and his closest "teacher" Paisy Yaroslavov apparently held more tolerant views than most of the then Russian hierarchs, with Gennady of Novgorod and Joseph Volotsky at the head. In 1489, Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod, entering the fight against heresy and informing the Rostov archbishop about it, asked the latter to consult with the learned elders Paisiy Yaroslavov and Nil of Sorsky, who lived in his diocese, and involve them in the struggle. Gennady himself wanted to "talk" to them and invited them to his place. The results of Gennady's efforts are unknown; it seems they were not quite what he desired. At least, we no longer see any relations between Gennady and either Paisius or the Nile; the main fighter against heresy, Joseph Volokolamsky, does not address them either. Meanwhile, both elders are not indifferent to heresy. Both of them are present at the council of 1490, which examined the case of heretics, and almost influence the very decision of the council: initially, all the hierarchs "became strong" and unanimously declared that "you can worthy all (all heretics)" - in the end, the council is limited only by cursing two or three heretic priests, depriving them of their dignity and sending them back to Gennady. .. The most important fact of the life of Nil Sorsky was his protest against the landowning rights of the monasteries, at the cathedral in 1503 in Moscow. When the council was nearing its end, Nil Sorsky, supported by other Cyril-Belozero elders, raised the issue of monastic estates, which at that time amounted to a third of the entire state territory and were the cause of the demoralization of monasticism. A zealous fighter for the idea of Nil Sorsky was his closest student, prince-monk Vassian Patrikeyev. Nil Sorsky could only see the beginning of the struggle he had initiated; he died in 1508. It is not known whether Nil of Sorsk was formally canonized; but throughout our ancient literature, only one Nil of Sora, in the titles of his few works, left the name of the "great old man." Literary works of Nil Sorsky - a series of messages, a small Tradition to the disciples, brief fragmentary notes, a more extensive monastic charter, a prayer of repentance, reminiscent of the somewhat great canon of Andrei of Crete, and a dying testament. The most important of these are the epistles and the charter: the former serve, as it were, as an addition to the latter. The general line of thought of Nil Sorsky is strictly ascetic, but in a more internal, spiritual sense than asceticism was understood by the majority of the then Russian monasticism. Monasticism, according to Neil, should not be bodily, but spiritual; it requires not external mortification of the flesh, but internal, spiritual self-improvement. The soil of monastic exploits is not flesh, but thought and heart. Intentionally weakening, killing one's body unnecessarily: the weakness of the body can hinder the feat of moral self-improvement. A monk can and should nourish and support the body “as needed without mala”, even “lay it to rest in mala”, condescending to physical weaknesses, illness, and old age. Neil does not sympathize with exorbitant fasting. He is an enemy of any appearance in general, he considers it superfluous to have expensive vessels, gold or silver, in churches, to decorate churches; the church should have only what is necessary, "which is everywhere found and conveniently bought." What to donate in the church, it is better to distribute to the poor ... The feat of moral self-improvement of a monk must be rationally conscious. A monk must go through it not due to coercion and prescriptions, but "with consideration" and "do everything with reason." Neil requires from a monk not mechanical obedience, but consciousness in a feat. By sharply revolting against "self-initiators" and "self-swindlers", he does not destroy personal freedom. The personal will of a monk (as well as every person) should be subject, according to Neil, to only one authority - "divine writings." "Testing" the divine writings, studying them is the main duty of the monk. With the study of divine writings, however, a critical attitude to the total mass of written material should be connected: "there are many writings, but not all of them are divine." This idea of criticism was one of the most characteristic in the views of both Nil himself and all the "Volga elders" - and for the majority of literate people of that time it was completely unusual. In the eyes of the latter, such as, for example, Joseph Volotsky, any "book" or "scripture" in general was something indisputable and divinely inspired. In this regard, the methods that Neil uses while continuing to copy books are extremely characteristic: he subjects the material he is writing off to more or less thorough criticism. He writes off "from various lists, trying to find the right one", and makes a set of the most correct; comparing the lists and finding in them "much uncorrected," he tries to correct, "a little uncorrected," he tries to correct, "as much as possible for his poor mind." If another place seems “wrong” to him, but there’s no reason to correct it, Neil leaves a gap in the manuscript, with a note in the margins: “it’s not right from here in the lists”, or: “elsewhere, in a different translation, it will turn out to be more famous (more correct) than this , tamo yes it is honored "- and sometimes leaves entire pages so empty! In general, he writes off only what is "according to the possible according to reason and truth ...". All these features, sharply distinguishing the nature of Nil Sorsky's book studies and his very view of "writing" from the usual ones that dominated his time, of course, could not pass for him in vain; people like Joseph Volotsky almost accuse him directly of heresy. Joseph reproaches Nil Sorsky and his disciples that they "blasphemed miracle workers in the Russian land", as well as those "who in ancient years and in the local (foreign) lands were former miracle workers - they did not believe in miracles, and from the writings of their miracles" . From the general view of Nil Sorsky on the essence and goals of the monastic vow, his energetic protest against the monastic property directly followed. Any property, not only wealth, Neil considers contrary to monastic vows. The monk is denied from the world and everything, "what is in him" - how can he then spend time worrying about worldly property, lands, wealth? What is obligatory for a monk is just as obligatory for a monastery... Evidently, religious tolerance, which came out so sharply in the writings of his closest students, was added to the marked features, apparently already in the Nile itself. This tolerance in the eyes of the majority again made Neal almost a "heretic". .. The literary source of the writings of Nil Sorsky was a number of patristic writers, whose works he became acquainted with especially during his stay on Mount Athos; the writings of John Cassian the Roman, Nile of Sinai, Isaac the Syrian had the closest influence on him. The Nile, however, does not obey unconditionally to any of them; nowhere, for example, does he reach those extremes of contemplation that distinguish the writings of Simeon the New Theologian or Gregory of Sinai. The monastic charter of Nil Sorsky, with the addition of "Tradition by a student" at the beginning, was originally published by Optina Hermitage in the book: "The Monk Nil Sorsky Tradition by his student about his skete residence" (M., 1849; without any scientific criticism); recently it was published by M.S. Maikova in "Monuments of ancient writing" (St. Petersburg, 1912). The messages are printed in an appendix to the book: "Reverend Nil Sorsky, the founder of the skete life in Russia, and his Charter on the skete life in Russian translation, with the application of all his other writings, extracted from manuscripts" (St. Petersburg, 1864; 2- e ed. M., 1869). With the exception of "appendices", everything else in this book has no scientific value. A prayer found in manuscripts by Professor I.K. Nikolsky, published by him in Izvestia of the II Department of the Academy of Sciences, vol. II (1897). - Literature about Nile Sorsky is detailed in the preface to the study by A.S. Arkhangelsky: "Nil Sorsky and Vassian Patrikeyev, their literary works and ideas in ancient Russia" (St. Petersburg, 1882). See also: Grecheva (in The Theological Bulletin, 1907 and 1908), K.V. Pokrovsky ("Antiquities" Materials of the Archaeological Society, vol. V), M.S. Maykova ("Monuments of ancient letters", 1911, ¦ CLXXVII) and her own introductory article to the "Charter" (ib., ¦ CLXXIX, 1912). A. Arkhangelsky.

The Monk Nil is the great father of the Russian Church, in his asceticism and instructions.

He was from the noble family of Maikov, born in 1433. He supposed the beginning of monastic life in the monastery of St. Cyril Belozersky. Here he used the advice of the intelligent and strict elder Paisiy Yaroslavov, who later became abbot of the Sergius Lavra and did not want to be a metropolitan. Then Nil traveled to the East in order to see spiritual life in experiments, he was, in his words, "on Mount Athos, in the countries of Tsaregrad and other places." Upon his return from the East, he lived for a short time outside the fence of the Kirillov Monastery in a solitary cell. Then, 15 miles from the monastery, on the river Sorka, he set up a cross for himself with a chapel and a cell, and for those who wanted to share exploits with him, he offered life not as a cenobitic life, but as a skete.

The history of his inner life was partly revealed by the monk himself in a letter to the prince monk Vassian, at his insistent request.

“I am writing to you,” he says, showing himself, “your love according to God compels me to do this and makes me crazy in order to write to you about myself. Was my removal from the monastery (Kirillov) not for the benefit of the soul? Yes, for her sake. I saw that they live there not according to the law of God and the tradition of the fathers, but according to their own will and human reasoning. There are many more who, acting so, they dream incorrectly that a virtuous life is passing by ... When we lived together with you in the monastery (Kirillov), you know how I withdrew from worldly ties and tried to live according to the Holy Scriptures, although due to my laziness I did not have time. I came to the monastery (Kirillov) and outside the monastery, near it, I arranged a cell for myself, lived as long as I could. Now I moved away from the monastery, I found by the grace of God a place in my thoughts, little accessible to worldly people, as you yourself saw. Living alone, doing tested receiving spiritual scriptures; First of all, I test the commandments of the Lord and their interpretation and the traditions of the Apostles, then the lives and teachings of the holy fathers. I meditate on all that, and what, according to my reasoning, I find God-pleasing and useful for my soul, I copy for myself. This is my life and breath. For my weakness and laziness, I put my trust in God and the Most Pure Theotokos. If something happens to me to undertake, and if I do not find it in Scripture, I put it aside for the time being until I find it. Of my own free will and of my own reasoning, I dare not do anything. Whether you live as a hermit or in a community, listen to Holy Scripture and follow in the footsteps of the fathers, or obey the one who is known as a spiritual man in word, life and reasoning... Holy Scripture is harsh only for those who do not want to humble themselves with the fear of God and depart from earthly things. thoughts, but wants to live according to his passionate will. Others do not want to humbly test the Holy Scriptures, they do not even want to hear about how one should live, as if the Scriptures were not written for us, should not be fulfilled in our time. But for true ascetics, both in ancient times, and in modern times, and in all ages, the words of the Lord will always be pure words, like refined silver; the commandments of the Lord are dearer to them than gold, and precious stones, sweeter than honey and honeycomb."

This letter shows, among other things, that the path of life chosen by the Nile amazed his contemporaries. Indeed, there was something to be amazed at, especially for the weak.

A wild, gloomy, deserted place, which the Monk Nil chose for his skete. This is not the area of Athos, where there are so many beauties of nature, where the air is life-giving, the fruits are luxurious.

The Sorka river, which gave its name to the Russian saint of God, looks more like a swamp than a flowing river, slightly stretches down. The whole area of the skete is low-lying and marshy. And here the Russian hermit labored. Still intact is the pond dug by the Monk Nil, and his labors well with delicious water, which is used for healing. Nile's clothes are still intact; her hair prickles like needles.

The entire skete society of the monk consisted of a hieromonk, a deacon, and 12 elders. Among them were from Joseph of the monastery Dionysius from the princes of Zvenigorod and Nil Polev - a descendant of the princes of Smolensk. The first of them, when he lived in Joseph, "worked in a bakery for two, and besides, he sang 77 psalms and performed 3,000 bows from the waist every day. But, having fallen in love with solitude, he asked and received a blessing to go to Fr. Nile, who then shone like shone in the desert at Beloozero," So says a contemporary.

For the needs of the brethren, the Monk Nilus set up a small mill on the river. When they decided to build a temple, it was necessary to undertake a lot of work. On the swampy soil it was necessary to make high embankments for the temple, especially since the fraternal tomb was also to be here. By the hands of the holy elder and his wanderers, a high hill was poured for the temple and the tomb. Each cell is set on a raised platform, and each is separated from the other and from the temple at a distance of a stone thrown. Skitniks gathered in their temple, following the example of the eastern ones, only on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. On other days, everyone prayed and worked in his cell. The all-night skete continued throughout the night, in the full sense of the word: after each kathisma, three and four readings from the fathers were offered. During the liturgy they sang only the Trisagion, Alleluia, the Cherubim, and Worthy; everything else was read in a long, sing-song voice. On Saturday, they came to the fraternal tomb, where a memorial service was performed for the repose of the dead. This is the church charter of the Nile.

The Monk Nilus was one of those who grieved with their souls for the corruption of church books, and tried to correct them. This, like the skete life, hitherto unknown, aroused displeasure against him. He patiently walked his way.

In 1491 we see the Monk Nilus at a council about Judaizing heretics. In the case of them, the zealot of Orthodoxy, Blessed Gennady, in 1492 wished to personally see the Monk Nilus in order to hear his judgments on the subjects of perplexity.

An unknown contemporary wrote: “Nil Maikov, a disciple of Paisius, was in the Holy Mountain. The Grand Duke kept them (Paisius and Nile) in great honor. sat at the monasteries, and would have lived by the labor of their hands. The Belozersky hermits also joined him. Another contemporary says the same thing: “Some fathers, who spend and love silence and a solitary life (among them the first holy Nile), firmly remembering the father’s instructions about the non-acquisitiveness necessary for the Chernorizians, grieved that monasteries own villages, and believed that the renunciation of the world by the monks is in vain, for they, just like the laity, are agitated and quarrel with the laity and among themselves, go to courts and conduct litigation. great virtue and as respected by the autocrat". According to the news of both contemporaries, at the cathedral Joseph Volokolamsky and others gave a different voice about the monastic property, and their voice was respected.

In his dying will, the monk, commanding his disciples to throw his body into the desert, as food for beasts, or to bury it in a pit with contempt, wrote: “It has sinned grievously before God and is unworthy of burial,” and then he added: “How much was in my strength, I tried enjoy no honor on earth, in this life; so be it after death." The monk reposed on May 7, 1508.

The relics of the saint rest under a bushel. The terrible tsar in 1569 wanted to build a stone temple instead of a wooden one. But the monk, appearing to John, strictly forbade him to build such a temple. So he remains a zealot of skete simplicity beyond the grave.

Just as the life of the Monk Nilus was special, so in his writings he is such a mentor, which until then was not in the Russian Church. He is the teacher of the contemplative life.

The Rule of the Skete Life of St. Nile, after a preface on mental activity, offers instructions:

1) About the difference in mental warfare;

2) About the fight against thoughts;

3) How to be strengthened in a feat against thoughts;

4) About the content of spiritual warfare;

5) About 8 thoughts;

6) About the struggle with each of them;

7) How important is the remembrance of death!

8) About tears;

9) On the preservation of contrition;

10) About death for the world;

11) About what everything should do in due time.

In conclusion, Saint Nilus says with what dispositions he proposed his charter. “Smart prayer,” he says, “is higher than bodily: bodily deed is a leaf, and inwardly, smart is a fruit. Whoever prays only with his mouth, but does not despise his mind, prays in the air. For God listens to the mind. Exercise in inner prayer brings a person to to a higher spiritual state, in which the spirit does not even have prayer, nor movement, nor autocracy, but is instructed by a different power. On this path, in addition to prayer, a struggle with thoughts is necessary. "If you cannot pray in silence, without thoughts, and even see them multiplying in your mind, do not be faint-hearted, stay constantly in prayer." St. Neil's instructions on thoughts contain deep psychological observations on the actions of the soul.

He decomposes the work of the soul into the most subtle, barely noticeable parts; shows how a sinless thought gradually passes into an action more and more criminal and dangerous. Regarding external activity, the Monk Nilus prescribes skete complete non-acquisitiveness and simplicity in everything. Necessary for life orders to acquire only by the labors of his hands, repeating the words of the Apostle: "If anyone is not willing to do, let him eat" (2 Thess. 3:10). “Monastic almsgiving is helping a brother with a word in time of need, comforting in sorrow with spiritual reasoning: spiritual almsgiving is as much higher than bodily as the soul is higher than the body. . The Monk Nilus often speaks in the words of the fathers and more often than others quotes the words of Gregory of Sinai and Simeon the New Theologian. About the first he says: "This blessed one, embracing the content of the writings of all spiritual fathers, according to their rank, commands to have diligent care for prayer."

NIL SORSKY

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

Nil Sorsky. The Great Elder Nil of Sorsk Complete Life of the Monk Nil of Sorsk

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