Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev

Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev is one of the mostvenerable elders of the Russian Orthodox Church. The life of this man was not simple and full of complex problems. However, the father never stopped hoping for God and believing in human kindness.

Childhood in the monastery

Appeared in the light of the monk from the simplecountry couple. Birthday is not exactly known. Some sources say that the present date is August 3, 1911, others call January 1910. However, the man himself celebrated his name day on the day of memory of Pavel Obnorsky, after whom he was named. Today is considered the birthday of the father on January 23, 1910.

His family was very poor. In addition to the boy, parents still brought up two younger girls. My father worked in a butcher's shop, so they still somehow survived. However, in 1914, the breadwinner was taken into the army, and he spent many years in the First World War.

Mom did not have to feed the children, solittle Pavel Gruzdev and his sister begged. They walked from house to house and asked for food. Good and poor peasants helped, than they could: potatoes, bread, vegetables. So the kids came to Afanasyevsky Monastery. They were recognized by their aunt, who served there as nuns. The women decided that they could take care of the children, so they took them to themselves. So, the future father Paul became acquainted with the spiritual life.

The Way of the Righteous

Within the walls of the monastery the boy was not idle. In the winter, he carried firewood to the stove, and in the summer he grazed cattle and pollinated vegetable gardens. Calm, prayers and services he really liked. Later he began to work as a servant. So, in the monastery walls a good and happy childhood passed.

In 1928, the guy was supposed to be drafted into the army. However, the commission decided that the young man was mentally ill.

Hard times came. The temples were burned, the holy places were robbed, and the faithful were persecuted. Closed Afanasievsky Monastery. Therefore, Pavel Gruzdev moved to Novgorod, namely to Khutyn monastery. However, the man worked in shipbuilding. In his spare time, he prayed, helped the sanctuary and followed the order.

However, in 1932 this monastery was also closedauthorities. Pavel found shelter in his own home. For some time he worked in a cattle farm. And when the territory of their village fell under the pool of the reservoir, they dismantled the house and sent it across the river to Tutayev.

In prison for the faith

For the first time they wanted to deprive their father of freedom in 1938year. However, then there was no evidence of his guilt. At the new place the layman continued to go to church and even sang in the choir. At this point he lived with his family until 1941. On May 13, he and a dozen others were arrested as "socially dangerous elements". So, Pavel Gruzdev came to the Yaroslavl prison. If not for these circumstances, perhaps a Christian would have been at the front.

The righteous did not hide his faith, so not oneonce was beaten for Orthodoxy. Then the man was knocked out almost all teeth and spoiled his sight. 15 people were kept in a small cell where there was not even enough air. Some of his comrades were shot, and his father was sentenced to 6 years of colony.

Conditions there were terrible: cold, crowded, without a normal meal. Over the good layman, both guard and other prisoners were bullied. He was called a "holy man." Once tied in the winter at night to a tree. After this incident, the father walked barefoot in the snow without problems. And somehow before Christmas, the man asked for a holiday for prayers for the holiday, promising that he would later work overtime. For such a request, the prison authorities beat him so severely that he lay for several weeks fighting for life.

Kind soul

Despite the terrible accusations, the guards knew thatgood-natured father Pavel Gruzdev is not capable of baseness and escape. He was appointed the lineman of the railway. Do not get tired to help the people priest and in prison. I went to the ways through the forest. In the summer I picked berries in buckets, and in autumn - mushrooms. The extraction was shared both with the prisoners and with the guards. In the war years, the food was especially tight, so forest gifts saved not one life.

Once he was late from work and did not find in hischamber of evening bread. An additional piece was to ask uselessly. Tired and hungry, he continued to work. And somehow he saw horses shot down by the train on his part of the tracks. It turned out that the shepherd fell asleep with fatigue, and the animals fled. When the father came to the culprit, he just put a noose around his neck.

Practically from that light the father of the shepherd was pulled out. Later, an unsuccessful suicide should have been judged as a supporter of the Germans, who tried to arrange a sabotage on the railway. However, the wise old man Pavel Gruzdev stood up for the poor fellow. Shepherd was acquitted, giving 5 years suspended. After this incident, my father found an extra piece of bread under the pillow almost every evening.

New penal servitude

After the war the priest was released. At home, he continued to live his life. However, he did not enjoy freedom for long. In 1949, the man was again convicted as dangerous to the criminal system. This time he was exiled to Kazakhstan as a free immigrant.

A few weeks the man got in closecar to a new place. And when he arrived there it turned out that he and two other priests were not on the list of criminals. The authorities said that they do not need these people, but so that there are no misunderstandings, they advised to go to the local police. Three men slept in the forest. And in the morning Pavel Gruzdev saw a church. The priests immediately went to the temple, put candles there, and all the money that they had left was given for charity. People approached the new arrivals and asked where they came from. When the local learned the history of the Orthodox, they fed them and sheltered them.

The Life of a Priest

Father Pavel settled with a married couple, where they accepted him as a son. He worked as a builder and helped with his grandparents' housework.

In 1954, the man was acquitted. However, the couple he lived with so much fell in love with him that he did not want to let go. Paul said he was going to visit relatives. But immediately knew that he would not return to Kazakhstan.

Subsequently, the man was tonsured into monks and given a dignity. His kindness and sincerity were known far beyond the flock. From all around came to listen to the sermon of a wise old man.

In 1983 he became an archimandrite. After a decade, the eye disease made itself felt. He left the service, but continued to help with good advice to all who asked. For all his life, Father did not save anything, dressed poorly, ate simply.

Life ended on January 13, 1996. The grave of Archimandrite Pavel Gruzdev is located near the parish burials in the city of Tutaev.

Even today the fathers come to the grave for help. And his instructive stories, which were written by the supporters, still touch and make you believe in the power of the Lord.