Pilgrimage trip to Optina Pustyn. Pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn: tips, the most important thing Go to Optina Pustyn on an excursion

At the beginning of my notes, a few words about the fact that literally exactly one month ago I drove myself away from thinking about a pilgrimage to the holy places of Russia for a number of reasons. Yes, and the life of Simeon the Stylite says that salvation is possible, and being in one place. But at the same time, the great saint of God, Nicholas the Wonderworker, made pilgrimages to holy places.

Arriving at the monastery, getting acquainted with the Assumption Cathedral, I saw the icon of the Cathedral of the Elders of Optina, with particles of the relics of the saints, then I thought that this would be at least some consolation about the impossibility of pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn today. My place during the morning and evening services during my stay in Zhirovichi, of course, was next to this icon. It is also worth mentioning that in the Assumption Cathedral, to my joy, there was also an icon of the Mother of God “Reigning”, for some time now I began to collect information related to it. In the monastery I met Ivan from near Brest, who shared his plans that he was going on a pilgrimage to Russia to the holy places with friends in a minibus, and only the driver had to pay the fuel costs. Estimated to be around $50. Information about the possibility of a $50 pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra did not leave me indifferent. Having exchanged phone numbers with Ivan, he asked that if there was a free place, then I would like to join their group. Ivan called...

The pilgrimage began with the fact that, already on the way from home to the meeting point of the minibus, Ivan called and said that they were late with the departure and that I was in no hurry to the agreed meeting place. After thinking, I decided to go anyway and spend the time that appeared at the meeting point, because. according to maps on the Internet, there was a gas station symbol at the crossroads, and gas stations located on the highways usually have buffets or mini-cafes. Arriving at the crossroads of the Brest-Moscow and Minsk-Mogilev highways, I did not find a gas station. But there was a new building on which the address of the site www.shate-m.by was written, I didn’t have to choose, I went to the building in the hope of finding a secluded place. Entering the building and asking the duty officer for permission to sit in the lobby while waiting for the bus, he sat down in the chair. Sitting and studying the hall of the new building, I saw the first 2 icons in my pilgrimage, and as it turns out later, they were somewhat iconic.

Firstly, the icon of the Savior, I don’t know what it is called exactly, but Christ sits on the throne on it, and one of the versions is that it is called the “King of Kings” (if anyone knows for sure, then share the information). The icon is quite rare, because a few years ago I bought myself an icon of the Mother of God “Reigning”, on which the Virgin and Child also sits on a throne, then in a pair of this icon I also wanted to have an icon of the Savior sitting on a throne, which I briefly saw on the Soyuz TV channel . But during the search over the past two years, sellers both at exhibitions and in church shops shrugged their shoulders, and there was no such icon in the Sofrino website in the catalog either. But nevertheless, during his recent pilgrimage to Zhirovichi, he finally acquired the icon of the Savior sitting on the throne there. But amazement awaited me at home on my return from the pilgrimage, on Thursday, 07/14/11, when I went to the Optina website and started watching the video “Memory of the acquisition of the holy relics of the Optina Elders, July 10, 2011” at 1:42 a minute the camera shoots the altar of the Kazan Church through the Royal Doors are open and it is clearly visible that behind the throne in a high place there is an icon of the Savior sitting on a throne (I did not see this icon when I was in Optina).
The most interesting thing is that the first icon that caught my eye in the temple in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "Kazan" by Optina Hermitage was the icon of the Mother of God "Reigning", painted by the icon painters of Optina and located to the right of the entrance on the column and is very similar to my home icon , made in "Sofrino".

Secondly, the second icon in the lobby of the office "Shate-M" was the icon of the Mother of God "Kazan" (if I'm not mistaken) in a very expensive design. As it turned out later, on the day of my first arrival, the shrine with the relics of St. Ambrose of Optina is in the church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, but this is only for the period of repair of the Vvedensky Cathedral. And in Shamordino, the cathedral, which was built with the blessing of the Monk Elder Ambrose, was also consecrated in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Seeing the photo of this temple, for the first time on the calendar, I was captivated by its architecture in the "Russian style". In addition, in the church of my parish, to the left of the royal gates, the icon of the Mother of God "Kazan" is also installed.

And this post was completed on the evening of July 21, 2011, on the day of the celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

Those are some interesting coincidences.

Let me return to my notes on the pilgrimage. At the Optina forum, I advertised that there was a free place for a pilgrim from Belarus. Nobody called. Forumchanka in the words of support wrote "Do not rule out the fact that your fellow traveler will meet along the way." And what do you think, when the guys drove onto the Brest-Moscow highway, they saw a young priest in a black cassock and with a cross in the area of Zhabinka, voting, which is actually unusual, because at this time of the year, especially in the heat, priests wear gray cassocks and then during services in the temple and the performance of trebs, the rest of the time they go in worldly clothes (from observations of the priest of their parish). Stopped. It turned out that the priest had to go to Orsha, and this is a 500-kilometer journey from the western to the eastern border of Belarus. What made the priest travel non-stop, I don’t know. We also noticed something interesting, from the Brest-Minsk highway there are two turns to the city of Orsha, from the first turn 15 km to Orsha, and from the next turn after it, after a few kilometers along the highway, only 7 km. Batiushka got out on the first one, seeing the direction indicator to Orsha. When he left us, naturally blessing everyone, the sun was shining and there was nothing that would portend bad weather. By the time we reached the second turn to Orsha, the sky was overcast with black clouds and a torrential downpour began. I hope the priest managed to get on a ride before the downpour reached the place of our parting.

Before dawn, getting lost and wandering a little around the Kaluga region, we arrived in Optina Pustyn by 6 in the morning. Entering the territory of the monastery and seeing that the entrance to the Kazan temple was filled with pilgrims, we decided to walk around the monastery and bow to the Optina New Martyrs.
Here I must admit that we got acquainted with Optina more on a whim than on some kind of compiled program of mandatory acquaintance with certain shrines. Unfortunately, being an active reader of the forum for almost a year, for some reason it did not occur to me to get acquainted with the shrines of Optina Hermitage in more detail on her website on the eve of the pilgrimage, where they are quite well described. Therefore, I advise those who, especially for the first time, go to Optina to find time and preliminarily work out the information on the site.

After worshiping the Optina New Martyrs, they returned to the Kazan Church and decided, despite the accumulation of pilgrims at the entrance, to slowly move inside the temple in order to at least submit commemoration notes and light candles. Entering the temple, my eyes fell immediately on the icon of the Mother of God "Sovereign", located immediately to the right of the entrance on the column. When we completed the minimum planned program (although we couldn’t put candles near the holy relics of Father Ambrose, and the idea that arose to at least confess the main sins, but not to take communion, because we weren’t preparing, also did not come true), then the pilgrims, after reading the akathist to St. Ambrose of Optina, began to be asked to retreat from the salt back, in connection with this, those who stood behind began to leave the temple, in addition, the remarks “we go out to meet” were heard. It turned out that people came out and lined up to meet the Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovoye Clement. When Vladyka passed, Ivan came up and said that Father Iliy was in the Transfiguration Church. The question of where to go next was not, of course, to the Transfiguration Church. When I entered the temple, I saw that Father Eli was confessing. The recent idea that did not come true to confess in the Kazan church turned into the idea of confessing to the confessor of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' himself.

Here I will interrupt the chronology of events and share my thoughts about Father Elijah and, in general, about the elders living in our time. I learned about Archimandrite Elijah at the Optina Pustyn forum. By that time, having read the biographies and memoirs of the elders of our contemporaries, such as Nikolai Guryanov, John Krestyankin and Anatoly Sidorenko, I would also like to hear the advice of a far-sighted old man, but no one in my immediate circle knew about such living people. But I caught myself thinking that I still want to ask Elder Elijah not for advice about the spiritual life that I am trying to live to the extent of my stupidity (the advice of my parish priest is quite enough for a beginner), but rather that he would dot the i in my troubles, and what to tell about them and in an hour you will not meet. From the lives of the Optina elders, I knew that they corresponded with them to resolve their issues, sent letters to which the elders, through their cell attendants, gave an answer. But when I called Optina and asked if it was possible to send a letter to the priest, I was told that Father Iliy did not have such a practice.
A few years ago, while reading the book “Memoirs of Elder Nikolai Guryanov” compiled by G.P. Chinyakova (“The Ark”, Moscow, 2007), I remembered an incident from the memoirs of Anatoly and Irina Zhbanov, described on page 108, which, in my opinion, can to become a parable-admonition to people who strive to get to the elder at all costs.
“Once Tolya and I arrived and, together with a large crowd, stood, waiting for Father Nikolai to come out. The door opened, the old man left the house and ran headlong along the path to the temple. The crowd ran after him. Father Nikolai ran into the temple and after a while quietly left it. Out of breath pilgrims were already waiting for him at the entrance. "Why are you running after me? You would run to the temple every day like you ran after me today."

Not immediately, but some time later, these words of the elder influenced the fact that I began to constantly go to church on Sundays and major holidays for the Divine Liturgy. For the most part, we were brought up on fairy tales, in which miracles always happen, and therefore we hope that after talking with the elder, all our questions will be resolved at once without making any effort on our part.

In the book "Island of Divine Love: Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov" compiled by L.A. Ilyunin (St. Petersburg, "Ladan", "Trinity School", 2008) on page 85 there are such moralizing words of one priest related to Father Nikolai Guryanov, but they are relevant today, just as then people "We did not seek the will of God, but We were already driving with a definite decision: “I know what needs to be done to make it good.” Well, the elder blessed, seeing such an inner attitude, and then the person stuffed bumps and began to learn a serious spiritual life, in which there is nothing mechanical. Often people went with exactly this wording: “Father, pray that…” Or maybe you need to pray for something completely different? "Father, bless for this and that." Or maybe you should first ask: “Do I need to do this?” But a person is already convinced in advance that “his cause is just”, you just need to receive a blessing. Therefore, the elder often answered all questions only: “Lord help you, save the Lord,” that is, as God Himself arranges everything, so it will be.” “Elders, ascetics are those who pray correctly. And God sends them his gifts. And we are all smart. We like to ask questions, we want everything in our life to be resolved as soon as possible and better. And what is needed is a true foundation of life for every person — to pray correctly and learn from the Church all his life, the rest will follow.”

In general, in the end, I gave up the thought that I should certainly get to the elder, and began to regularly attend services in the church closest to my house, judging if it was God's will that I need to meet with the elder, not necessarily with Father Eli then it will happen sooner or later. As for thinking that my parish priest is young and therefore inexperienced, I read the admonition when I was riding in the train. A man with a beard was sitting opposite me and reading a book, and just before I left, I looked into it and the first thing I saw was the words of Theophan the Recluse, “If there is no experienced mentor and a Christian goes to the confessor as he is, then the Lord will cover him for humility.” Fortunately, there was a little time before the release, and I managed to write this lesson in my notebook.

I read this on the forum a few days ago:
“Truly, if anyone directs his heart according to the will of God, then God will enlighten the little child to tell him His will. If someone does not sincerely do the will of God, then even though he will go to the prophet, and God will put the prophet in his heart to answer him according to with his corrupt heart." Venerable Dorotheus of Palestine († 620).
But back to my stay in Optina. Having settled down with those who wanted to confess to Father Elijah, he began to wait and think which sins should be mentioned first of all, and which ones could be omitted so as not to take up precious time from the priest. didn't prepare. But when there were ten people in front of me, the priest stopped confessing and went to the altar. The Divine Liturgy began, led by Schema-Archimandrite Eli. During the Liturgy, one of the deacons approached those who did not have time to confess to Father Elijah and said: “Give us notes for commemoration by Father Elijah.” As it turned out, this was unexpected for many, and everyone who had paper and a pen began to write notes. I wrote too. Passed on through the deacon. The Liturgy came to an end (at which, as usual, I was absent-minded and did not even remember what Father Eli was talking about at the sermon), somehow it turned out that I was next to the pulpit, and when the time came for the cross-kissing, Father Eli came out, and the Lord vouchsafed, among the few, to venerate the altar cross from the hands of the elder. Even during the cross-kissing in the temple, various new books and brochures began to be distributed (probably someone donated). I also got several titles, one brochure, in particular, with the instructions of Father Elijah and is called “MYSTERY OF ILLEGALITY. Two revelations of 1909” in which there are only two stories published in Russia in 1909: N.P. Ryshkovsky "Procession of the Destroyer" and the Easter story "It can't be".

This is how the Lord brought me, a sinner, to Elder Eli. To sum it up in the passive, I didn’t manage to confess to the elder, but in the asset: I was at the Liturgy (although I couldn’t concentrate, I was absent-minded) led by the priest, submitted a note about the health of relatives and friends, which the priest read and venerated the altar cross from old man's hands. I think that this is enough for me today, the Lord sees how much everyone needs and gives.

Leaving the Church of the Transfiguration, we decided, since many pilgrims still stand to worship the relics of Ambrose of Optina, so as not to waste time, visit the holy springs. We went to the well of Ambrose of Optina, the source of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa and Seraphim of Sarov. After that, having arrived at the monastery, we went to the Kazan temple and, without crowding, venerated the holy relics of Ambrose of Optina and bowed to the Monks Nectarius, Moses, Anthony and Isaac of Optina.

We went into the shop, which is located in the basement (crypt) of the Kazan Church. While buying something for himself, at the same time he spoke with a monk who carried the obedience of a seller in a shop. The result of our conversation was that he gave me a photo of the icon of the Mother of God "The Conqueror of Bread", painted with the blessing of Father Ambrose, and a lesson written on canvas on how to live, the Monk Ambrose (at the entrance to the monastery on the wall fresco on the left, the father is depicted with a scroll with this teaching), its price in the shop is 90 rubles. Arriving home, I decided (somewhere in imitation of the monastery) to hang this teaching in the corridor of the apartment near the front door: let everyone who enters read.

At the end, a wish for those who are engaged in the assortment of monastery church shops, unfortunately, did not find a separate icon of the Monk Nikon of Optina, there were only individual icons of the Monk Ambrose of Optina. My interest in the icon of Nikon of Optinsky was due to the fact that I was asked to bring his icon by a sexton boy (10 years old) of our parish, who just the other day had already had his 4th brother and was named according to the holy calendar in honor of Nikon of Optinsky. Of course, I bought for him an icon of the Cathedral of the Elders of Optina, but the wish was different.

So the pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn ended.

07:15 Gathering of the group at Oktyabrskaya metro station (the scheme will be sent along with the ticket)

Travel excursion
Excursion around the Kozelskaya Svyato-Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage - the territory of the monastery, monastery skete;
Kozelsk on the road. Photo stop at the observation deck.
Shamordino monastery territory;
Temples;
Holy spring (visit during the warm season)

Svyato-Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage is located near the town of Kozelsk, on the picturesque bank of the Zhizdra River. According to local legend, the monastery was founded by a former chieftain of a gang of robbers, nicknamed Opta, who repented and took monastic vows with the name Macarius. Gracious elders moved here from different monasteries, now glorified as saints.

Many famous people came to quench their spiritual thirst at this source of grace: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, Anna Akhmatova and many others. We invite you to tour to Optina Pustyn for one day with professional guides of our company. You will be able to get acquainted with the ancient monastery, which began in the 15th century and the whole history of the formation of the Russian state is closely connected with the history of the monastery. As part of bus excursions to Optina Pustyn we will visit the St. John the Baptist Skete, named after St. John the Baptist and the Baptist of the Lord, the ancient buildings of the monastery. Not far from the Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn Monastery on the banks of the Zhizdra River, there is another attraction that we will visit during tours of Optina Hermitage- a spring with a bath, consecrated in honor of the Monk Pafnuty Borovsky - Pafnutyevsky holy spring,

Our trip to Optina Pustyn in the village Shamordino, not far away . Excursion to Shamordino the second part of our educational journey. There is the Shamorda Monastery - Kazan St. Ambrose Hermitage (stauropegial convent of the Russian Orthodox Church). Founded by the Optina elder hieromonk Ambrose. With paternal love for the salvation of souls, the elder sent poor widows, orphans, poor and other destitute women who had no means to enter any other monastery to the community. To one of the novices who complained that in Shamordino “it is difficult and hungry, and crowded, and there is nothing there - there are only wattle fences,” Father Ambrose said: “Wait, the time will come - everything will be in abundance in Shamordino, and many would like to be there, yes, it will not be given to everyone, but only to those who have W written on their foreheads ... ".

The sister of Count Leo Tolstoy, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya, was a resident of the Shamorda Monastery, where she died, taking monastic vows three days before her death. Excursion to the Shamorda Monastery will introduce you to the history of the ancient monastery and its modern way of life. There are monastery shops on the territory, where you can buy products of the monastery.

You can always check outnext pilgrimage trips to Optina Pustyn.

We invite you to a one-day pilgrimage trip along the route Moscow - Kazanskaya Amvrosiev Women's Hermitage (Shamordino) - Optina Hermitage - Monastery of the Savior of the Holy Hermitage (Klykovo).

The trip can be either one day (see below) or two days.

By default, one-day and two-day trips to Optina Pustyn are made weekly, departure from Moscow from the Yugo-Zapadnaya metro station every Saturday at 7:00, on weekdays - when a group of 10 people is recruited.

The trip can be carried out on any day convenient for you in a small group format, which will allow you not to depend on a large bus, and not be tied to a rigid trip schedule. There are always a lot of pilgrims in Optina Pustyn on weekends, so you can choose a weekday for your trip. Thus, you will be able to pray and venerate the shrines without haste and crowds.

On this trip, we will visit the Kazan Ambrose Hermitage for Women, located in Shamordino, after which we will arrive at Optina Hermitage, attend a prayer service with an akathist to St. Sepphora).

Group: a group of 10 to 18 people is possible. For groups of up to 12 people, the trip is carried out on a comfortable minibus Ford Transit or Volkswagen Caravelle, for groups of 12 to 18 people - on a Mercedes Sprinter tourist minibus.

Travel time: 1 day.

The itinerary of the trip (can be adjusted at the request of the group):

7:00 departure from Moscow (metro Yugo-Zapadnaya). It is also possible to depart at 5:30 from Sergiev Posad.

10:00 arrival at the Kazan Amvrosievskaya women's hermitage, tour of the monastery, worship of shrines, visiting the springs. Those who wish can plunge into the font "Life-Giving Spring".

11:30 departure to Optina Pustyn

12:00 arrival in Optina Hermitage, prayer service with akathist to St. Ambrose of Optinsky, a tour of the monastery, worship of shrines, a visit to the source, a meal (on average - 200 rubles).

15:00 departure to Klykovo.

15:30 arrival at the Monastery of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the village of Klykovo, a tour of the monastery, visiting temples, the grave and the house of the schema nun Sepphora.

16:30 departure to Moscow.

20:00 arrival in Moscow (metro Yugo-Zapadnaya) or 22:00 in Sergiev Posad.

If desired, it is possible to send a group from one of the cities near Moscow (discussed individually).

The cost of travel:1 7 00 rub. per person

In case you plan to go with your group (less than 10 people) - 17 000 rub. from the group.

The cost includes transport and excursion support, and does not include the cost of a meal. lunch in the monastery everyone orders at will.

It is also possible in which you can attend the evening service and Liturgy in Optina Hermitage, and in addition to Klykovo and Shamordino, we will visit the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage. The cost of such a trip will be 2,700 rubles per person (a group of less than 10 people - 27,000 rubles).

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Optina Pustyn (Photo from the official website of the monastery)

Shamordino, Kazanskaya Amvrosievskaya female hermitage.

Source of St. Ambrose in Shamordino.

Klykovo, Monastery of the Savior Not Made by Hands (Photo from the monastery website)

You can watch a movie about Optina Pustyn:

Pilgrimage to Optina Pustyn from Moscow or Sergiev Posad.

Many people often ask: how to get to Optina Pustyn, and at the same time not depend on a large excursion group? The Makovets pilgrimage service has found the answer to this question: now everyone can choose a convenient day for pilgrimage trip to Optina Pustyn, and due to the mobility of a small group, it will be possible to devote more time to prayer and staying in a holy place.

The format of daily pilgrimage trips is very convenient for those who come from afar, so recently pilgrims have traveled with usfrom such Russian cities as: Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Arkhangelsk, Naryan-Mar, Kirov, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Tuapse, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Samara, Tolyatti, Kursk, Voronezh, Saratov, Belgorod, Orenburg, Perm, Tyumen, Chita, Nizhnevartovsk, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Novy Urengoy.

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Hello. I want to thank Obraz Mir for organizing a trip to Optina from April 25 to April 26, 2016. On the bus, we listened and prayed (morning prayers and canons of repentance were included). During the journey, we watched a film about Mother Sepphora, since the beginning of the pilgrimage is the Monastery of the Savior of the Desert (Klykovo village). We visited the house of mother Sepphora, received the anointing with love; here we were to have vespers, and by 2 pm we went to the monastery, to Optina, for the unction. They bowed to the shrines of Optina, to the murdered monks, and passed the sacrament of unction. In the monastery with Klykovo, in the church of St. Martyr Kuksha of the Kiev Caves, we were slowly confessed by hieromonk Father Seraphim. In the fraternal building we rest, and in the morning - the Divine Liturgy in the monastery of Optina Pustyn. So many things happened in those 2 days. I can’t even believe that it’s possible: ... bow to the shrines of Optina, come to the temple of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the village of Nizhnie Pryski to pr. We are going to the Shamorda convent ..., then to the museum of the Vladimir Skete of the Kaluga Monastery of St. Tikhon's Hermitage (diorama "The Great Standing on the Ugra"). Natalia (she led our pilgrimage from the "Image of the World") led us to a service at the monastery of the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage, where we were anointed by Archimandrite Tikhon and venerated the relics of St. Tikhon of Kaluga. A magnificent service combining monastic rigor, calm elevation, and inner joy. Thank you all, especially r.b. Natalia, for her interesting story during the trip, genuine love and care. God's help to all.R.b. Galina.