Reference Document 4
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History of the Monastery
"Beginning of Joy"

"Whatever is the will of God the future will show, but the present is so beautiful, we cannot help but be joyful . . . Truly we cannot help but rejoice, for only two months ago none of us thought that now, under the direct guidance of God's providence, there would be a new way towards the light and glory of our American mission . . .

"The lot fell to me to become the founder of the holy monastery. I admit that the way that still lies before me is hard and full of sorrows; many are the pitfalls awaiting me both from my own people and strangers, to add sorrow to these joyful labors, but I do not hesitate to take upon myself this lot that has fallen upon me and I hope to carry it out to the end. At the present time I am not afraid of any difficulties. I'm only afraid of one thing: to shrink back from the Divine Providence which has set the course for these holy acts. As to the presence of Divine Providence and the guidance of the right hand of the Almighty, they are very tangible to me and they would be very conspicuous to all the faithful if I only spoke just a few words as to how all this came about.

"Desiring to come to the pastoral aid of my parishioners who are farmers, and who had built a chapel, I offered to them the proposition: would they be willing to donate several acres of land so that from the proceeds of their cultivation, a monastic elder could be supported and by supporting him lay the foundations of a skete? Having received a positive answer, I presented [the idea] for approval to His Eminence [Archbishop] Tikhon who, despite the difficulties, did consent to come to the place and make inquiries. After having made a thorough investigation as to the conditions prevailing there, His Eminence Vladika decided to make another trip to other Russian farmers where conditions were found to be better and that is why the choice fell upon this second place.

"Preliminary plans were already in the making, and we saw that we would have approximately fifty acres of land and that this enterprise was about to succeed. But God's ways are not our ways! Instead of donated land, we had to buy a whole farm and this speeded up the whole enterprise. Having received a new blessing from His Eminence Vladika for such actions, I, with God's help, in a short time received in my charge a farm and now I, together with my co-worker, can say, 'Whatever is the will of God -- the future will show, but the present is so beautiful we cannot help but be joyful.' I have been made very glad and wonderful was the nature of the selected spot, which delights me greatly."

"It was a wonderful day! I took a walk through the woods, listening to the many birds singing. It was a wide expanse for the inhabitants of the woods and meadows. I kept going. Right under my feet a rabbit jumped out, made several hops, then stood still, and moving his long ears, he looked at me, as if saying 'I wonder if my new master will let me roam about in this area freely, or will I have to go into the thick of the woods?' I stopped without realizing it, took a look at that audacious jumper and, as if calming him, said, 'Just roam around, rabbit; no one will bother you here. Those who will live here will be peaceful and full of love, and they will not bother you if you leave their vegetable plots alone.' Hardly had the rabbit run away when two squirrels ran by, jumped into a tree and hid themselves behind its boughs. I continued on. Some bird with a long tail strutted between the trees; as soon as it saw me, it took off, without giving me a chance to look at it.

"Passing through the farm and enjoying the beauties of nature and its dwellers, I came to a fountain of water where trout and other small fish swam; I came to like this place for the making of a pond. Having proceeded further, at the slope of the hill I found a life-giving spring, pouring out wondrous, cool water from under a rock, where, undoubtedly, in the future, industrious monks would build a small chapel and Cross-processions would be celebrated there. I went further up the hill and found myself in an orchard of fruit-trees; although they were no longer young, they were still able to bear fruit annually and thereby provide the brotherhood with fruit.

"It was now lunchtime. What would I prepare for lunch? Remembering the old country and my life in the countryside, I started a fire, suspended over it a pot, and began to prepare kasha with fish . . . After lunch I took a hoe and went to work on the vegetable garden, without noticing when evening came and it became dark. I took the road leading to the meadow where the monastery was to be built and I became very pensive. My God! This wilderness in which very few people live, just think, will turn into a blossoming lily which was planted and blessed by God Himself. Under the shadow of its branches pilgrims will come who are tired out by the vanities of the world. How kind is the Creator towards us! Aged monk-missionaries will come here and will find a place of retirement. Many lay people will want to become monks and live the [monastic] life which spells difficulties in the beginning with poverty and lack of many things. I believe, however, that the Lord who keeps the poor and orphans, who gives nourishment to the hungry, who takes care for the birds of heaven and clothes the grass, how much more would he not leave us humble supplicants without his own care?'

"In my mind I was transported to the beautiful sites of the holy Gospel narrative where our Savior is portrayed, sometimes on the sea in a boat, sometimes in the wilderness, sometimes upon a mountain or in the garden of Gethsemane. 'Yes, the Lord who knows the hearts of everyone loved to speak with His Father in the bosom of nature, for soulless nature understood Him better than the proud Pharisees and Scribes; she defended Him from being stoned, while the people who received blessings from Him cried out, 'Crucify Him! Crucify Him!'

"The same goes for us monks -- we who are constantly being persecuted by the world which lies in sin; it behooves us, in imitation of Christ the Nazarene, to go into a desert place and there engage ourselves in prayer and spiritual struggles. It is a good thing to serve the Lord in the world, thereby fulfilling the commandment of love towards our neighbors; it is a holy enterprise to carry the light [of faith] to unbelievers through missionary endeavors, to live among people and to give ear to their needs; it is a highly commendable thing to give one's life for others. But all these feats require a certain amount of preparatory training for the growing up into perfect men. And where else would we get all this but in the prayer in the desert in conversation with the Lord face to face?

"It is a good and sensible thing to fill up one's shattered life with service to one's neighbor by taking up on oneself others' misfortunes and pouring into one's own cup of suffering the tears of lamentation. But what should we do when our soul is constantly asking to go into solitude, when she is willing to take an oath, gladly -- to express one's service to one's neighbors by constantly making supplication to heaven on behalf of sinners who are up to their necks in sins, diminishing their misfortunes and sorrows, so that they may have their daily bread? Can such a service be called monastic egoism? Of course not!

"He who experiences in his life only a minute of spiritual soberness, he who has the joy to be lifted up above everything vain and corrupt, in such enlightenment full of grace, knows how the heart opens itself and all those who are in sorrows and tribulations seem to be brothers creatures and children of the same heavenly Father; one has the desire to take them into one's own arms, to wash away their blemishes with bitter tears, and to erase their black spots! Who shall deny that spiritual soberness is given to those who make effort, who watch every single step, who open their mouths to prayer at midnight, in supplication to the Lord, who, living on earth, thinks about heavenly things? Such gifts are given primarily to those who do not drink wine and strong drink, those who put on skins, who find their abodes in clefts in the rock and who willingly take upon themselves poverty.

"And so, in the beginning of joy for all who are seeking spiritual soberness, this quiet refuge is being built -- the holy monastery -- which with joy will accept anyone who is ready for contests of prayer in solitude. Let the doors be opened wide so that the lamps of abstinence may shine and that they may gather around themselves anchorites for the glory of monasticism in America! So be it!"

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