The life of blessed Nazarius abbot of Valaam

"THE RIGHTEOUS LIVE FOREVER"

THE LIFE OF
BLESSED NAZARIUS
ABBOT OF VALAAM
who is commemorated on the 23rd of February and the 14th of October

BLESSED NAZARIUS, ABBOT OF VALAAM
1735—1809

REJOICE in the Lord, O most blessed and most honorable Father

Nazarius, together with thy Valaam brethren in Christ! Thy paternal kindness and deeds of love toward my lowliness shall in no way ever be erased from my heart: neither the terrible impassable Siberian wilds, nor its dark forests; neither the rapids of great rivers, nor the mighty ocean can quench these feelings of mine; for in my mind I imagine my beloved Valaam, and constantly behold it across the waters of the great ocean.

ST. HERMAN OF ALASKA
(Letter of May 19th, 1795)


Although not yet officially canonized himself, the Blessed Elder of St. Herman of Alaska, and probably of St. Seraphim of Sarov as well, was the direct progenitor of a whole century of great ascetics of Valaam Monastery, whose lives comprise a splendid "Valaam Patericon," an adornment of the Church of Christ, and could be an abundant source of inspiration for true Orthodox Christians today.

The following Life – an essential part of the spiritual legacy of St. Herman himself – has been compiled and translated from material published in the late 19th century by Valaam and Sarov Monasteries.


AT THE TIME when Niphon was Abbot of Sarov Hermitage (1806—1842), there in retirement lived Abbot Nazarius, a man of virtue who loved the solitary life of silence in the wilderness. Out of a desire for desert dwelling, he left Valaam, where he was Abbot, and came to dwell in the wilderness three miles from Sarov Hermitage, where he lived in asceticism, spending his life in prayer and serving as an example of virtuous life for the brethren.

In his forest cell, where he pleased God by the ascetic feat of complete reclusion, transported in spirit he was wont to say, following St. Basil the Great: "O life of solitude, house of heavenly learning and divine knowledge, school wherein God is everything that we learn! O desert, paradise of sweetness, where fragrant flowers of love now blaze with fiery color, now shine with snow-like purity. With them is peace and quiet; and those who live beneath them remain unmoved by the wind. There, is the incense of complete mortification, not only of flesh, but, what is more praiseworthy, of the will itself, and the censer of perpetual prayer burns ceaselessly with the fire of divine love. There, are diverse flowers of virtue. resplendent with diverse adornments, blossoming with the grace of unfading beauty. O desert, delight of holy souls, paradise of inexhaustible sweetness! Thou art a furnace, the power of whose blazing flame the Three Youths make cool by prayer, and by means of burning faith they extinguish around themselves the fierce flame in which both arrows and chains burn away, but those in chains do not burn, only the bonds of sin are loosed, and the soul is led up to the singing of divine praise, exulting: Thou hast burst my bonds asunder; I will offer Thee the sacrifice of praise" (Ps. 115: 7. 8).

ABBOT NAZARIUS was born in 1735 in Tambov Province, in the village of Anosov. His father was a church reader, Kodrat, and his mother was named Mavra. His name in the world was Nicholas. Having come to love God, he left the world in his early youth. From his youth he was distinguished by his piety, and in the 17th year of his life he went to Sarov Hermitage, in order to lead the monastic life there. In 1760 he was tonsured a monk with the name Nazarius. In 1776 he was ordained Hieromonk.

A strict fulfillment of the monastic Rule was the constant concern of Nazarius. His whole later life was a labor of asceticism. From his very youth he loved the Lord, sought Him and clung to Him by the learning and keeping of His commandments The reading of the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers was the daily food of his soul. His soul became so penetrated by the thought of Divine things that the only subject of his conversations was what might profit the soul. As for worldly things, he knew not at all how to speak of them. But if he opened his mouth in order to speak of ascetic labors against the passions, of love for virtue, then his converse was an inexhaustible fount of sweetness. And both he himself, and those who listened to him, forgot the hour and the time in sweet converse. His words were correct, straightforward, and sharp. He did not like to begin a conversation without the word of God as a foundation; and so he taught others, in order that soul-saving counsels should be founded not on one's own mind but on the word of God. Severe and seemingly inaccessible in appearance, by his words he attracted the hearts of all to love and obedience toward him. Himself humble, to everyone who asked his instruction he taught first of all humility. He spent his life unchangingly in fasting and non-acquisition; for his clothing he had scarcely more than rags. He wore his shoes for six years.

About 1774 he retired into complete seclusion in the forest of Sarov. There his severe ascetic life so excited the envy of the demons that they more than once attempted to frighten him and lead him astray. He himself related later that there once came to him the thought of planting turnips, thinking to himself that the brethren would come, take these turnips, and would receive healing. No sooner had he conceived this prideful thought than he suddenly felt that someone had struck him on the head as if with a stick, and so powerfully that he could not stay on his feet, and he fell to the ground, smelling a stench and foul odor in the air. From this he was so frightened that he was scarcely able to crawl to the monastery.

The fame of the ascetic life of the desert-dweller Nazarius reached St. Petersburg. At that time Metropolitan Gabriel had decided to re-establish the monastery on the islands of Valaam, which for over a century had lain in virtual desolation. He sought an able and spiritual monk as Abbot, and his choice rested on Father Nazarius, of whom he had heard much from his cell-attendant Theophan, who was a close friend of Nazarius. In 1781 he summoned Nazarius to this work from Sarov, in order that in Valaam Monastery there would be introduced the Rule of the Sarov Hermitage. Father Nazarius humbly declined the heavy burden of becoming an Abbot, setting forth his unworthiness; and Abbot Pachomius of Sarov, wishing to keep the great ascetic, reported about him to Metropolitan Gabriel as of a man of little intelligence and inexperienced in spiritual life. The hierarch, however, penetrated the secret of Fr. Nazarius' humility and replied: "I have many of my own 'wise' men; send me your fool." Thus the fathers of Sarov unwillingly were compelled to let their humble ascetic go, and in 1782 Fr. Nazarius was confirmed as Abbot of Valaam.

THE MONASTERY OF VALAAM, situated on the islands of Lake Ladoga, with the coming of Nazarius soon became a great monastic citadel, bringing into reality the great Orthodox monastic ideals. Among the ever increasing number of the brethren there shone forth some truly great ascetics, uncanonized saints. But when Nazarius had come to Valaam there was just one tonsured monk, besides some novices and two lay priests, both of whom drowned shortly after his coming, so that Fr. Nazarius for almost a year had to conduct all the church services himself.

During the course of Abbot Nazarius' twenty-year governance, the Monastery was completely rebuilt and re-established. The Monastery's chief benefactor was Metropolitan Gabriel himself, who had the utmost love and respect for Fr. Nazarius. Even more remarkable than the outward was the inward renewal of the Monastery. Fr. Nazarius installed in minutest detail the whole Sarov tradition. He introduced a strict order into the church services and re-established the three kinds of monastic life which Valaam had had almost from its foundation many centuries earlier: c;nobitism, skete-life, and anchoretism. He began the building of the Great Skete in the woods beyond the Monastery enclosure as well as other sketes, and encouraged anchoritesmaking himself the first example of eremitic life.

The glory of Abbot Nazarius' deeds spread beyond the bounds of Russia, so that even from the Holy Mount of Athos monks came to Valaam and with wonder beheld a monastic way of life which they preferred even to that of the Holy Mountain.

The students of the great Elder Paissy Velichkovsky brought to Metr. Gabriel copies of the Slavonic manuscript of the Philokalia and other patristic writings, which the hierarch undertook to publish. Those who were occupied in the work of editing these writings in preparation for their publication, in accordance with the Metropolitan's instructions, had constantly to verify all obscure points with several spiritual elders, who knew in practice the elevated teaching contained in the Philokalia. Among these elders the first was Fr. Nazarius. "These fathers," Metropolitan Gabriel told the editors, "although they do not know the Greek language, out of experience know better than you the truths of the spiritual life and therefore understand more correctly the teaching contained in this book." Since its publication in 1795 the Philokalia has been an essential part of the Valaam tradition. It is known that St. Herman had the Philokalia in Alaska, where it was used by many people. When Fr. Nazarius returned to Sarov, it was through him that St. Seraphim obtained the Philokalia.

When Metropolitan Gabriel was forming a Spiritual Mission to be sent to America, he had Abbot Nazarius select its members from among his monks. This Mission left in 1794 and converted thousands of pagans to the Christian Faith. It is remarkable what love and devotion these preachers of God's word preserved for Fr. Nazarius, as may be seen from the letters sent to him from America. His devoted disciple, the head of the Mission, Fr. Ioasaph (Bolotov), was later consecrated bishop and left the first scholarly description of Alaska.

ONCE, AT THE TIME of a naval war with the Swedes near Petersburg in the reign of Catherine II, great fear came upon the residents of Petersburg. Metropolitan Gabriel had locked himself up in seclusion and was praying, when suddenly Elder Nazarius came and demanded that the Metropolitan be told that he had come. The cell attendant replied that Vladika had left word that he would not receive anyone. To this Fr. Nazarius answered: "This is something else. There is no need for him to 'receive' me. He might not have any business with me, but I have some business with him. I will simply go to him."

After finally being allowed to see Vladika, Fr. Nazarius resolutely told him that he should be calm and have expectation of victory and safety. He even pointed to the sky in the direction of the sea, indicating the souls of warriorsthose who had given their lives in battle – ascending to heaven on bright clouds. Metropolitan Gabriel immediately informed the Empress of this. Later, when Fr. Nazarius' words were fulfilled in reality, the Empress graciously received the Elder together with Metropolitan Gabriel.

Father Nazarius was once on monastery business in Petersburg, and was walking on the street with another Elder. At this time the Grand Duke Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) was crossing the Neva River in a carriage. Seeing the Elders in humble attire, he stopped the carriage and asked them: "Where are you from, and what kind of Elders are you?" And discovering that one of them was Abbot Nazarius, he thanked him for the successful reestablishment of Valaam Monastery and said that he had heard much of Abbot Nazarius, who was renowned for his spiritual experience and his care for the good of the Monastery.

In the reign of Paul I, the Elder Nazarius was once invited in Petersburg to the house of a certain K., who at that time had fallen into the Tsar's disfavor. The statesman's wife begged the Elder: "Pray, Father Nazarius, that my husband's case will end well." "Very well," replied the Elder; "one must pray to the Lord to give the Tsar enlightenment. But one must ask also those who are close to Him." The statesman's wife, thinking he was referring to her husband's superiors, said: "We've already asked all of them, but there is little hope from them." "No, not them, and one shouldn't ask in such a way; give me some money." She took out several gold coins. "No, these are no good. Haven't you any copper coins, or small silver ones?" She ordered both kinds to be given him. Fr. Nazarius took the money and left the house.

For a whole day Fr. Nazarius walked the streets and places where he supposed poor people and paupers were to be found and distributed the coins to them. Towards evening he appeared at K.'s house and confidently said: "Glory be to God, all those close to the Tsar have promised to intercede for you." The wife went and with joy informed her husband, who had become ill out of sorrow, and K. himself summoned Fr. Nazarius and thanked him for his intercessions with the high officials.

Fr. Nazarius had not even left the sick man's bed when news came of the successful end of K.'s case. Immediately K. in his joy felt already stronger, and he asked Fr. Nazarius which of the Tsar's officials had shown the more favor to him. Here he found out that these "officials" were paupers – those close to the Lord Himself, in the words of Fr. Nazarius. Deeply moved by the piety of the Elder, he always kept for him a reverent love.

BUT ABOVE ALL Blessed Nazarius was a true father to monks and nuns, possessing a tried experience and knowledge of the spiritual life in practice: its trials, its pitfalls, its paths to the ascetic heights. His watchful eye was keen, his actions precise, and his word had great spiritual power; for he was burning with an unquenchable flame of sobriety and love of truth. This alone worked miracles of spiritual instruction for monks.

One brother, the later Schema-monk Kiriak, was converted to Holy Orthodoxy through an evident Divine manifestation, after which he came to Valaam to Fr. Nazarius and became a zealous ascetic. After his conversion his prayer was always accompanied by a mysterious heavenly fragrance, a sign of grace to him. But one day, becoming excessively critical, in the manner of converts, he allowed himself to judge the Abbot, Fr. Nazarius – and immediately, being in church, he sensed a foul odor about him. After some agonizing confusion he realized and confessed his sin to the Abbot. Having forgiven him with love, the Blessed Nazarius said: "If you lose grace, it will not be easy to gain it back again." And indeed, it took him a long time of hard labor, through the prayers of Blessed Nazarius, to have this grace abide in him once more.

A certain Peter B., a disobedient disciple of Fr. Nazarius' friend, the renowned Blessed Abbot Theodore of the Sanaxar Monastery, left the latter's c;nobitic monastery out of pride, claiming that community life was not spiritual enough for him, and settled alone deep in the forest. He lived there for three years without any spiritual direction. He took the Lord's words, If thy hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off (St. Matt. 18:8), contrary to their proper understanding and decided to put these words into literal practice. Thus he chopped off his left hand. The blood 'had begun to flow abundantly, when suddenly he heard a stern voice – apparently an angel of God – saying: "What a presumptuous thing you have done! Tie your arm or you will die." He immediately tied the arm and did not feel great pain. When Fr. Nazarius heard of this he immediately recognized that Peter had fallen into prelest, and he was amazed at God's mercy to the poor man. Wishing to save him he deliberately went all the way from Valaam into the forest where he was and took him back to Valaam with him. Later he tonsured him, giving him the name of Paul. He lived in Valaam for some time and died and was buried there.

Father Nazarius was well known for his spiritual direction of nuns in various convents, especially during the latter part of his life. Once when he was travelling he stopped at the house of a noble family, Diartievs, who at that time were about to marry off their young daughter against her wish. The young Helen, seizing the opportunity, revealed to Fr. Nazarius her soul's desire to become a nun, and she begged him to intercede with her parents for her. Fr. Nazarius implored the parents to let the girl serve Christ, but it was to no avail; they were determined to see their daughter married. When the Elder was about to leave the house, Helen implored him to tell her what she should do. "Be a fool for Christ's sake," said the holy man; "cover your mind with madness, and by such a path you will save your soul and please God!" Such was the Elder's answer, coming not from his own reasoning but from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and spoken with the boldness of one having spiritual authority and clairvoyant insight into the girl's future.

And from that very moment the girl took upon herself – rather, was given by the Holy Spirit – this most severe ascetic exploit of foolishness for Christ's sake. She let the parents go through with the wedding ceremonies, although she answered negatively to the priest's question. After the service, when all the guests were solemnly seated at the wedding banquet, she got up and jumped from a window into a mud puddle and began wallowing in the mud, to the horror of all present. Thus on her wedding day, in her bridal attire, she became the bride of Christ and was recognized by all as a mad woman. Then for many years she wandered homeless until finally she was taken in by a convent at Arzamas, where she achieved great sanctity as a clairvoyant eldress, finally reposing in the Lord her Bridegroom on the first day of Pascha. A great multitude gathered for her burial, as for the burial of a saint, and her humble cell was turned into a chapel where the holy Psalter was read ceaselessly, until the coming of the godless yoke of Communism.

IN 1801, HAVING earned well a rest from the heavy burden of governing the monastery, Fr. Nazarius retired for a life of solitude and divine vision a mile inland from the monastery. While he was still abbot he had had a cell built for him, where he occasionally would retire in silence. But his love for Sarov Monastery, the place where he had laid his ascetic beginnings and given his monastic vows, kept summoning him to return there. So, after three years of seclusion in Valaam, he decided to retire to Sarov. He took with him his disciple, Fr. Ilarion, bade farewell to Valaam, and crossed the waters of Ladoga. At one of the rest halts the following incident occurred, which vividly illustrates the power of Fr. Nazarius' Orthodoxy in practice.

Having come on a Saturday to a certain village in a small cart with their own horse, they asked lodging at the priest's house. The priest gladly received the travellers, and after conversing with Fr. Nazarius he came to have great respect for him. The time came for the All-night Vigil before Sunday. But Fr. Nazarius noticed that the priest was not making preparations to serve the Vigil, and he asked him: "Batushka, do you then have the Sunday Vigil in the morning?" The priest replied that he very rarely served and had no intention to serve even the next morning. "Although my parish is large and there are no schismatics, still, none of the peasants come to church on feast days. They gather only for amusements in the church yard. They don't even take a look inside the church. The church is always empty. To such an extent have they grown cold toward the Church, and because of them I have grown lazy, thinking: when they don't come to church, there is no one to celebrate the service for."

Fr. Nazarius remarked to the priest that he was severely mistaken, and that this was a temptation from the enemy of our salvation. "If your parishioners do not fulfill their most important obligation, nonetheless you, being a pastor, should fulfill your own obligations without fail. A church of God can never be empty. From the time of the church's consecration, there is in it the guardian of the Lord's Altar, an angel; and what is more, even if your parishioners do not come to the Divine services which you celebrate, the church will always be filled with angels, the guardians of their souls. For at every Divine service, in their flaming love toward their God, the angels of God are the first ones who both concelebrate and attend with hymns of praise. And it is they who would fill your church while you serve. When you yourself zealously fulfill your obligations for the salvation of your own soul, and if you would pray for your flock that the Lord would warm their hearts and convert them to repentance and prayer – then the Lord, for the sake of your prayers, would command their guardian angels to approach their souls and arouse them to prayer and instil in them zeal for the Divine services which you celebrate in the holy temple, where you offer for them the sacrifice of mercy before the Lord in the Divine Eucharist. And what answer will you make in the day of the Lord's terrible Judgement for the doom of your own flock, when you on your side use no means for their conversion and salvation?"

Touched to the heart by the just words of Fr. Nazarius, the priest replied: "Help me, O Elder, and instruct me. I will try to do what you advise." Fr. Nazarius said: "Very well; now let us go to God's temple. Order the bell to be sounded for the Vigil and the Reader to prepare for the Allnight service. And Fr. Ilarion and I will help you."

The bell was sounded for the Vigil and the service began. And indeed, in the beginning there was no one in church. Then no more than ten people gathered in church, old men and women. Fr. Nazarius read the Six Psalms, and Fr. Ilarion the Kathismata. After the reading of the Gospel, it was brought out to the middle of the church. Fr. Nazarius and Fr. Ilarion went to reverence and kiss it, but those present, out of habit, did not do so. The Elder went up to them and explained to them concerning the benefit of the sanctification to be received at this moment from venerating the Holy Gospel. And the old people came, kissed the Gospel, and thanked the Elder. Father Nazarius spoke with them and advised them to tell those at home and their neighbors how profitable it is to participate in the Divine services and be sanctified by venerating and kissing the Holy Gospel as well as other holy objects in church.

After the Sixth Song of the Canon Fr. Nazarius read from the spiritual instructions of the Prologue. Several of the old people managed to go home and call their own people to church, until some thirty people had gathered. As the people left the church, the Elder spoke with them on the necessity and benefit of praying in God's temple.

In the morning the priest celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and Father Nazarius, at the time of the sermon, read from a book of spiritual instruc tion; rather more people were in attendance at the Liturgy than had come to the Vigil. Having rested after dinner, the Elder saw that many people had gathered in the yard around the church, and the priest explained that on all holy days the people gather for their own amusement. "Let us go too," said Fr. Nazarius to the priest. "Take the book of the Lives of Saints." Having chosen a convenient place near the church, they sat down, and the Elder had the priest read out loud the Life of the saint commemorated that day. The old people were glad to see Fr. Nazarius after having made his acquaintance the night before, and were the first to go to him. He persuaded them to sit down and listen to the Life of the saint. Once in a while he stopped the reading and himself gave instructive comments. The number of listeners increased, and Fr. Nazarius rejoiced with his whole heart that Orthodox people had been awakened to listen to spiritual converse.

The next day was the Feast of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, and the priest, at the advice of the Elder, celebrated both the All-night Vigil and the Liturgy, as he did also on all the succeeding feast days. The parishioners showed their evident disposition toward prayer, their number at the church's Divine services increasing from day to day. Fr. Nazarius, persuaded by the priest, spent more than two weeks there, not omitting a single opportunity of conversing with and instructing in true Christian piety both the peasants of this village and those who came to the Elder from neighboring places to take advantage of his instruction; and everyone came to have a heartfelt love for him. The priest, having become his spiritual son, fulfilled his counsels with all zeal, and he saw in Fr. Nazarius a God-sent tool both for his own salvation and for that of his flock. The Elder, bidding farewell to the priest and the parishioners, went on his way.

Some time later, after some deviations in their route, the travellers decided to pass through that village again and without fail to visit the priest: and it so happened that they came to the village while the bells were ringing for the Liturgy on Sunday morning. The people, gathered in large numbers at the church, saw the approaching Elder and almost took him from his cart and carried him into the church. The priest, gladdened by his arrival, was serving the Proskomedia. With tears the Elder thanked the Lord for such a grace-filled change, noting that the church was full of people. The people with reverence crowded around the Elder to receive his blessing, and the priest, having celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and embracing the Elder, indicated to him their mutual joy and told those who stood nearby that such a great gathering of people was the fruit of Fr. Nazarius' prayers. The church could no longer hold the multitude of people, who filled even the church steps.

Having spent some time in that village, Fr. Nazarius begged both the pastor and his flock to continue and grow from this good beginning, devoutly fulfilling their obligations. Then Fr. Nazarius made ready to depart. He was accompanied with tears by the priest with all his parishioners, who had gathered to bid farewell to their Elder, Father, and benefactor (for so they began to call him). They accompanied him for several miles from the village, and the priest remained in correspondence with Fr. Nazarius and to his very death took advantage of his counsels.

HAVING ARRIVED in Sarov, Fr. Nazarius made a secluded cell in the forest on the river Sarovka, three miles from the Monastery, and settled in it. When his strength allowed, he loved in the nighttime to walk in the forest, reciting from memory the ancient Rule of the Twelve Psalms, and he would return to his cell no earlier than sunrise. More than once he encountered bears in the dense forest, but they never touched him, and he would fearlessly walk on, always trusting the will of God. Many hermits and others living apart from the world came to him to verify their thoughts and their life, to see whether they were of God; and the instruction of the spiritually experienced Elder they accepted as the will of God. One of such was St. Seraphim, whose "Far Hermitage" was located two miles up the same river and five miles away from the Monastery. The two saints had a common care, that of the Diveyevo Convent, whose foundress, the holy Abbess Alexandra Melgunova, had a great reverence toward Blessed Nazarius. She had a portrait of the Elder, and whenever she had some important project to commence she would turn in prayer to the portrait as if addressing Fr. Nazarius himself, and would ask his blessing. And her prayers were always immediately answered, as are those of all others who do likewise. Shortly before her death in 1789 St. Seraphim promised her that he would take care of her "orphans," as Fr. Nazarius evidently had done earlier.

Under the guidance of Fr. Nazarius, many monastic communities for women sprang up in the region of Tambov, composed of those wishing to live a chaste and God-pleasing life. He directed and instructed the nuns mostly by means of letters. In the latter is revealed the character of his own spiritual life. "I do not know about you," he wrote to one nun, "but as for myself, I feel that I am at fault before everyone and am indebted to all; and how can one become angry at anyone after that? To love very much three or four persons – how very little; that is nothing! It is better to love everyone in the world! I have a loving simplicity: to all the gates of my heart are open. And even though there may be someone who is not happy with me, yet I am happy with him."

On February 23rd, 1809, Fr. Nazarius reposed and was buried in Sarov Monastery.

The Blessed Elder was meek and humble, and his heart was aflame with love toward God, so much so that at no time would he cease to say the mental Jesus Prayer, constantly going over the knots in the prayer rope in his hand. "Let us pray with the spirit and let us pray with the understanding also," he wrote to a nun. "Let us enter into the words of St. Paul: I had. rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in a tongue (I Cor. 14: 15, 19). I am unable to express how fortunate we are that we have become worthy to utter these five words. What joy! Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me a sinner. Just think! O Lord! Whose Name am I pronouncing? That of the Creator, the Founder of everything, before Whom all heavenly powers tremble! Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! Thou hast shed Thy blood for me, hast saved me, hast come down to earth... Put your understanding and heart together, close your eyes, raise your mental eyes to the Lord... O sweetest and dearest Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God..."

O Lord, through the prayers of our most blessed and most honorable Father Nazarius, have mercy on us, preserve us, and save us! Amen.