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Archpriest Georgy Klimov

On the eve of the patronal feast of the central church of the Trinity Deanery, we asked the rector, Archpriest Georgy Klimov, to tell readers about the history of the Trinity Church at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery and about his own life path.

In the history of the Christian Church there were several saints named Paraskeva. Thus, we know the Venerable Martyr Paraskeva, who suffered for Christ in Rome in the 2nd century, the Venerable Paraskeva of Serbia, who became famous in the 11th century for her severe asceticism and pious life. In Rus', saints with the name Paraskeva were especially revered, because in translation it means “Friday” - the day of the Passion of the Cross and the death of the Savior. Roadside chapels were often erected in honor of Saint Paraskeva; they prayed to her when going on a trip; they asked for her help in illness and sorrow. The patrons of our church are also St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, and Hieromartyr Simeon, Bishop of Persia.

Historically, on the site of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery there was a wooden church in honor of the Venerable Paraskeva of Serbia. It did not appear by chance: in 1652, the relics of St. Philip of Moscow were found at this place during their transfer from the Solovetsky Transfiguration Monastery to Moscow. In memory of this event, a worship Cross was erected, and the area was named “At the Cross”. Pilgrims going on pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra performed prayer services here, and the road leading “from the Cross” to the monastery of St. Sergius was called the “Trinity Way.” Thus, the place where the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity now stands is truly unique. Here the Holy Trinity, St. Sergius and St. Paraskeva of Serbia, revered by the Russian people, “met.” Behind the temple is the famous Pyatnitskoye cemetery, founded in 1771, where many hierarchs and clergy of the Russian Church, pious laymen are buried.

When the wooden church of St. Paraskeva fell into disrepair, the need arose to build a new stone church. However, there were not enough funds, construction was postponed. Then the parish turned to Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret (Drozdov). Vladyka provided not only administrative but also material assistance. Through the prayers and diligence of the Saint, the stone church was finally built. The central altar was consecrated in honor of the Holy Trinity, the northern aisle - in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh, and the southern one - in honor of St. Paraskeva of Serbia. Many people always came to the church at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery. In 1917, through the diligence of parishioner Simeon Zaitsev, a stone chapel was built on the territory of the cemetery in honor of the Hieromartyr Simeon, Bishop of Persia. Funeral services for the dead were held in the chapel.

In the chapel of St. Paraskeva there is the burial place of Evdokia Nikitichna Drozdova (1853), the mother of St. Philaret. A miraculous incident is connected with her grave. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the grave of Evdokia Nikitichna was depersonalized and virtually destroyed - there was no gravestone inscription, no cross, no fence. In the 1950s, Saint Philaret himself appeared to one pious doctor, whose name was Victor, asking him to ensure that the grave was restored. Later it turned out that Victor was a distant relative of the Drozdovs. The doctor began to work hard to have the grave restored, going to different authorities, but to no avail. So two years passed. From the lack of results, Victor became despondent, his hands dropped, and he was no longer sure whether the Saint had really appeared to him. But one day the vision repeated itself. Saint Philaret encouraged Victor and urged him not to lose heart and continue his efforts. After some time, Victor received a call to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I. His Holiness listened to him, questioned him in detail and released him. After this meeting, the grave of Evdokia Nikitichna was restored and, by order of His Holiness the Patriarch, every year on the day of the death of the Saint’s mother they began to serve a memorial service for the ever-memorable servant of God Evdokia. This tradition continues today.

In the twentieth century, the history of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery was dramatic, like the entire history of the Russian Church. There have been repeated attempts to close the temple. From 1935 to 1944 it belonged to the renovationists. After the return of his Church, many famous clergy served in the temple, among them Archpriest Vasily Romankov and Priest Sergei Nedumov, who were buried behind the altar. A year ago, by the Decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', I was appointed rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity at the Pyatnitskoye cemetery. Of course, this was unexpected. When I started serving, I tried to learn as much as possible about the temple and was shocked by how interesting and rich its history was.

I can say about myself that I was born in Sergiev Posad, so I had the opportunity to often visit the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In my childhood and youth, I was not a churchgoer and came to the monastery of St. Sergius simply out of curiosity, wanting to become better acquainted with Russian culture. But over time, I began to realize that the Orthodox faith preserves the truth that a person is looking for and that his soul needs.

When I was drafted into the army, I ended up in a platoon where guys from almost all 15 republics of our country served. Many soldiers experienced a certain internal tension, because they often did not understand what kind of worldview and what national and religious traditions their brothers in arms had. On the one hand, the service was physically and psychologically difficult. On the other hand, such a test made me think: what is my personal worldview and attitude based on? It was 1988 - the year of the millennium of the Baptism of Rus', a very important milestone. Temples began to open, a lot of literature appeared, including the Holy Scriptures, which until that time had been impossible to find in Soviet Russia. Once, after combat duty on guard duty, one of my fellow countrymen gave me a book - the New Testament in the Synodal Translation. I still thank God for that moment when I first started reading it. Of course, I didn’t understand everything that was written, but my soul felt somehow joyful, calm and quiet. After the army, my attitude towards faith became clear, if I may say so, clearly expressed. I finished my service and entered the Moscow Aviation Technology Institute, after graduation I worked in my specialty for two years.

During my student years, I often visited the Moscow Danilov Monastery, and on weekends I invariably came to worship at the monastery of St. Sergius. There I had the opportunity to communicate with the inhabitants of the Lavra, among them Archimandrites Georgy (Tertyshnikov), Makariy (Veretennikov), Ilia (Reizmer), who had a great influence on me and helped me make the decision to enter the seminary. This is quite difficult to explain, but at one point a person realizes that he must become a priest in order to serve God and people. After graduating from the seminary, I continued to study at the Moscow Theological Academy, and shortly before graduation, I received an offer from the leadership of the Moscow theological schools to teach there. I am very grateful to the Lord and the teaching corporation for the fact that for many years I have been breathing the air of the large cell of St. Sergius!

While still studying at the seminary, I was ordained a priest. The first years of my priestly service were spent in the academic Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. Later I was transferred to the Moscow parish of the Patriarchal Compound to the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in the Sviblovo estate, where the rector is the dean of the Sergievsky district, Archpriest Sergius Kiselev. I served at the parish in Sviblovo for ten years. Moscow parishioners are educated, intelligent people who often have complex questions that require answers. Against the backdrop of a provincial town in the Moscow region, where I come from, this difference was especially noticeable. In the provinces, people are simpler, but in the capital’s residents there is an element of some kind of pretension, even distortion: people often perceive the church as an organization from the service sector, which is designed to serve the spiritual needs of a person. As a young priest, due to my inexperience and lack of understanding of many of the intricacies of serving in a metropolis, I often had to experience difficult moments and be under great stress. But over time, knowledge and experience came, confidence appeared, and it became easier to communicate with people. It gives me great joy to realize that in Orthodoxy you can find answers to any questions, and with faith you can solve any problem.

Now, having become a rector and dean, I experience many things anew, I have to learn a lot, rethink a lot. The main problem of our parish is the small number of parishioners. It should be remembered that 10-15 years ago there were a lot of people in the temple, and one cannot see the reason for the impoverishment of the parish only in the fact that many other temples opened around. This means there were other, internal reasons. Our task is to make sure that the parish begins to live a full life in all areas that guide a person in life and help to move towards salvation. Now we are actively involved in social and youth work. Other problems of the parish are the lack of premises for work and a lot of property issues. The areas that we currently occupy, which historically belonged to the temple, are in disrepair, and, as trivial as it may sound, there are not enough funds for repairs.

In conclusion, I will say: every day I thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve and work in this wonderful church, and I believe that the Lord, in His great mercy and love for mankind, will instruct, guide and establish our parish.