🙂 Lowest bow to my dear readers and guests of the site! The fates of people always develop in different ways. How many people – so many destinies. I hope this story about a man with a difficult fate will be of interest to you.
A long time ago, while going through folders with documents, I accidentally discovered a fragment of a congratulatory letter. I was struck by the amazing script of letters, beautiful syllable, impeccable literacy. Dad said that once this letter was sent by Pyotr Petrovich Novoseltsev, his mother’s brother.
Me, beeches, lead…
In the late 1870s, the Novoseltsev family moved from the Chernigov province to the Smolensk province. She settled in the village of Pustynka, not far from the town of Roslavl. They worked tirelessly on a small allotment of land, lived very poorly.
Of the three children, the eldest Novoseltsev sent his son Fyodor to the local two-year parish school. Daughter Praskovya was ordered to go there: girls were not taught at school.
Another son, Petya, was two years younger than his brother. But he did not go to school: his parents did not have the means to study. When the brother sat down to his lessons, a five-year-old boy was attached next to him. He watched with interest how the student completed the tasks on counting and literacy, repeated after him:
– I, beeches, lead, verb…
The clever Petenka began to ask Fedya to give him lessons, “as the teachers and the deacon explain at school.” He quickly mastered reading from warehouses, and then began to read the book of hours on his own. He asked Fedya to explain the meanings of incomprehensible words, learned all the subjects on the fly. The villagers said that Petya Novoseltsev had the gift of God.
First and last love
At the age of eighteen, Pyotr Novoseltsev was called up for military service. He was to serve in St. Petersburg for seven years. Surprisingly, although only his brother was involved in his training, Peter was appointed a clerk! Over the years of service, he never received complaints – only gratitude and encouragement.
It so happened that in St. Petersburg, serviceman Pyotr Novoseltsev met his first love. Anna was the daughter of a high-ranking official. She introduced Peter to the study of the history of the city, introduced him to the masterpieces of famous sculptors and architects. Their relationship was trusting and clean.
The term of Pyotr Novoseltsev’s end of service was approaching. The young man came to Anna’s father to ask permission to marry her. But the rich official did not want such a son-in-law. Angrily called him “a slave, a redneck, rubbish.” Shouted:
– You need to know your place! Get out! So that my eyes can’t see you!
Soon Novoseltsev learned that his beloved was hastily married off to another.
The hardest path
Peter decided to devote himself to serving God and went for a blessing to Archpriest John in Kronstadt. He said:
– You reject two ways: you don’t want to return to your relatives in the village after the service, you don’t want to stay in St. Petersburg. You choose the path to the monastery. This third path, the path of serving God, is the most difficult.
I realized that you are monogamous and you cannot imagine worldly life without your beloved woman. I’ll give you two weeks to make your final decision. I will wait for you for your blessing, if you dare …
Monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos. The first mention of the XNUMXth century. Foundation date – XI century.
Petr Novoseltsev, having considered his fate, chose the path of serving God. On the advice of John of Kronstadt, he went to Greece, to the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery. There he took monastic vows. After serving faithfully to the Lord for 49 years, he rested on Athos.
So this excerpt from the letter helped me learn about the amazing fate of my great-uncle, Hieromonk Gregory (in the world of Petr Petrovich Novoseltsev).
In Russian lessons, I sometimes showed my students a small fragment of the congratulatory letter from Hieromonk Gregory. The message from my grandfather from Athos, who did not study at school for a single day, made an amazing impression on the children. The children tried to write better, more accurately. So they wanted to please me.
Video
In this video you can watch the St. Panteleimon Monastery and learn a lot of interesting things.
The monastery and the fate of people
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