Abbess who treated drunkards with alcohol and dug caves at night

Abbess Arsenia (Sebryakova), whose memory day is celebrated on August 3.

Mother Arsenia (Anna Sebryakova) was born into a wealthy large family of a retired army colonel. At the age of six, she lost her mother, and her father took over all the care of her upbringing. Once he confesses to his daughter that he wanted to go to a monastery to spend the rest of his days there, but caring for children did not give him such an opportunity. After many years, the father's desire, unexpectedly for himself, will be fulfilled by his daughter. But this will happen later. In the meantime, Anna was still a child and her father was preparing her for social life.

Anna received an excellent education. She sang great, drew well, knew several foreign languages. But with all this, she often retreated into herself, loved solitude and practically did not let go of the New Testament, wrapping it in the covers of some secular books so as not to attract too much attention to herself.

When her daughter grew up, her father spoke to her about marriage. Many prominent suitors wanted to see Anna as their wife, they only had to choose. But, to his deep surprise, the father heard from his daughter what he did not expect at all. “ I love only the Lord. Didn't you yourself teach us to love Him? "

Anna asked her father's blessing to leave the world and devote her whole life to God. Mikhail Vasilyevich, deeply moved by his daughter's words, said: “ God bless you, my child! ”However, he was in no hurry to let his darling go to the monastery. He created all the conditions so that his daughter could pray in solitude. He invited a master icon painter to her to teach icon painting, assigned a separate servant and horses with a carriage so that Anna could attend church services every day.

So she spent several months, and at the end of 1850 she was appointed as a novice to the Ust-Medveditsky Transfiguration Monastery. Here Anna, accustomed to a carefree home life in abundance and with a servant, carried water, chopped wood, stoked stoves, cleaned kitchen utensils, served food to the sisters, baked prosphora, washed the floors, and at night it was her obedience to wake the nuns to pray at night. Anna led a strict monastic life, not disdaining any work. She always slept in a cassock, got up at night for prayer, never allowed her mind to be idle. Her favorite reading was still the Word of God.

Already an old woman, Matushka said: "Some people like to read acathists, canons, but I like the Gospel most of all. When I read the Gospel, some special knowledge is revealed to the soul. The Gospel is Christ Himself. The Word of God is a boundless, immense sea. Many throw their net into it, and the one that passes almost on the surface is drawn out with one froth. The one that passes through to greater depths retrieves the fish. And the one that sinks to the bottom of the sea collects precious shells and pearls."

In the first years of her life in the monastery, Anya often went on pilgrimages to holy places, saw many wonderful monasteries, striking in their splendor. But, looking closely at the spiritual life of the monks, I understood that external beauty is not a guarantee of the quality of the internal life of those who live in this monastery. A monk should not look for a place, but an inner state, which, regardless of the place, makes his soul closer to God.

In 1854 the novice Anna was tonsured into the monastic tonsure with the name Arsenia. Five years later she took the mantle, retaining her former name. The spiritual mentor of Mother Arsenia was the wise and insightful Eldress Ardaliona. At first the schema-nun seemed too harsh and straightforward, but over time she became convinced that she had deep spiritual experience and could help her in her difficult work on herself.

The wise eldress instilled in her spiritual daughter a deep humility and obedience. "The way to fight against the passions," the schema-nun said, "is the hardest way. It is indicated by Jesus Christ, and He also called it cramped and deplorable. The other way is the easier one, which many people follow - it is the life of passions. You see, many sisters do not even know, do not understand that there is another way than the one they are following. They go to church, read the known rule, set aside a certain number of bows - and they are convinced that they have fulfilled everything. They don't take up work on their inner man, they don't seek, they don't try to eradicate the passions at their root..."

Schema-nun Ardalion weaned her student from any, even the most insignificant attachments. So she once cut a small embroidered rug into pieces with scissors, which her novice treasured. Once Mother Arsenia gave a beggar woman fifty dollars (it was a lot of money). For this, the anger of her mentor fell upon her, since in her opinion, with such generous alms, her disciple singled out herself and rose above others. The schema-nun Ardalion forced Mother Arsenia to find this beggar and take her fifty dollars from her.

In 1862, the abbess of the monastery, where Matushka Arsenia ascended, filed a petition to dismiss herself from the position of abbess. But the ruling bishop did not satisfy her petition, but blessed the nun Arsenia to be her assistant and treasurer. So mother began to perform administrative duties, which were, of course, a burden to her. Her soul was looking first of all for solitude, silence and space for pure prayer. But for the sake of obedience, she took on this work.

Soon the abbess of the monastery died, and the sisters began to ask Mother Arsenia to take the position of abbess. But she was categorically against it, since she came to the monastery for a different purpose. Despite this, the mentor of mother Arsenia blessed her to agree and accept this cross: “And for yourself, for your salvation, such activity is necessary. From the very moment you entered the monastery, you lived a secluded life, if you passed obediences, then you did not put your heart into them. Your dispassion is only indifference to everything. When the abbot position brings you into close communion with other lives, and they reveal their sorrows and weaknesses before you, you will begin to perceive them as your own. And then you will understand what love for a person and the pain of the soul for him is. This love will fill your own life, and your prayer will be a prayer for the whole suffering human race. Convincing you to accept the abbess, I call you not for honor, but for a great feat of struggle, labor over your own soul and over the souls of the sisters . "

In January 1864, convinced by the words of the eldress, Mother Arsenia took upon herself the cross of the abbess position. Soon after, the schema-nun Ardalion died.

Becoming abbess, mother Arsenia aggravated her exploits. Giving all of herself to the abode, she did not forget about her inner man, cleansing her heart and mind so that they would become a repository of Divine grace. Despite her young years, the abbess managed to win over the sisters so that they not only respected her, but also revere her, although in her humility she never sought this.

Under her leadership, a free women's school was opened in the monastery, a new Kazan and Transfiguration temple was built, buildings for nuns and pilgrims, and a monastery courtyard was equipped. In addition, Mother Arsenia began to dig caves with her own hands, like the caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, going underground at night and spending many hours with the Jesus prayer. To many, this behavior of the abbess of the monastery might have seemed complete madness.

Taking care of her wards, the abbess of the monastery spent a lot of time in spiritual conversations with the nuns, explaining to them how to apply in practice what the Holy Fathers teach in the books. Her concern for her sisters earned them deep respect.

However, the life of any monastery is not complete without temptations. And during the abbess of Mother Arsenia, there were occasions in the monastery that served as a temptation for some nuns who could not contain the spiritual wisdom of the abbess's actions. So, in the monastery they lived an elderly nun suffering from alcoholism. She could not do anything about her illness, no matter how hard she tried. Periods of abstinence invariably ended in binge. Once, in such a drunk state, a nun went to a neighboring village, from where she was taken to the monastery almost without memory. The abbess was reported about this. Two days later, when she became sober, mother calls her to her. With fear, not daring to raise her eyes, almost with despair in her soul, the culprit crosses the threshold of the abbot's house in anticipation of punishment. But she heard something completely different: “I only ask one thing. Do not disgrace monasticism, do not leave the walls of the monastery in this form. If you are tempted to drink again, and you are not able to overcome it, come to me, I will give you as much wine as you want . "

Mother understood that she could no longer be cured of drunkenness, but she also did not want to disgrace the monastery. Not everyone approved that the abbess promised to give this nun alcohol, and even in her cell. But Mother Arsenia herself saw the oppressed state of this unfortunate woman and expected only one thing from her - humility and humiliation of herself. After this incident, one of the nuns of the monastery had a dream, how a drinking nun with tears in her eyes rushes at the feet of Mother Arsenia, and she, with love and tears, covers her with her mantle. God accepted the Mother Superior's love for his lost sheep and rewarded it to her.

Over the years, the strength of Abbess Arsenia began to weaken, but her labors and exploits did not weaken. She still, not sparing herself, worked in caves, prayed at all-night vigils, instructed the sisters of the monastery, took care of each nun as if she were her own daughter.

“ The goal of a monastic life,” said Matushka Arsenia in her conversations , “is purity of heart. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. And purity of heart is acquired by living according to the commandments of God. Therefore, constant work should be the direction of your heart to follow the commandments of God. First, love your neighbor as yourself, this is the first degree, and then love your enemies and lay down your soul for your friends . "

This is how Mother Arsenia herself lived, giving all her strength to God, the Church, spiritual children, praying and forgiving enemies. And such enemies were even among the sisters of the native monastery. Some from envy, some from anger instilled by the enemy of the human race, slandered and reviled their abbess.

The excessive labors and deeds of Abbess Arsenia, sleepless nights spent in damp, cold caves, a constant internal struggle to cleanse the heart, the severity of the abbot's position, which she carried for more than forty years, finally upset the health of mother.

In the winter of 1904-1905, she almost fell ill. Anticipating her imminent death, Abbess Arsenia decided to make a pilgrimage to the Sarov monastery to the relics of the Monk Seraphim, whom she loved and venerated with all her heart. It was in this holy place that the Lord called His chosen one to the higher abodes.

Her death was very significant. Having received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, Mother Arsenia lay down on her bed. Suddenly her eyes opened wider and her face brightened. It was evident that she was seeing something great and light. After that, having made two deep sighs, the holy old woman quietly and peacefully gave her soul to God.

The Monk Arsenia was buried in her native monastery in the crypt of the Transfiguration Monastery. Canonized as a local saints in October 2016.

Reverend Mother Arsenia, pray to God for us!