Father Mikhail: Power should be treated in the same place as ordinary people. Priest Andrei Shelomentsev: “The main thing for a priest of the Airborne Forces is the burning of the heart

He put on his first shoulder straps when he was four years old. These were old crumpled soldier's epaulettes with the letters "SA". He traded them for sleds from a boy from a neighboring yard, for which he was severely punished by his father, a tool-turner who worked at one of the factories in the Middle Urals. But the dream to wear real, well-deserved epaulettes someday, to become an officer, remained with him for the rest of his life. And although he was not tall, frail and sickly, he knew how to achieve his goal. When his parents moved to a harsh region - Magadan, he took up hardening of the body, sports, and the diseases receded.

Secretly from teachers and comrades, he applied to the Far Eastern Higher Military Combined Arms Command School, where there was a Marine Corps faculty. He “fell ill” with the Marines when, in the 8th grade, a Marine came to them for a lesson in courage: tall and handsome. In his elegant black uniform and famously broken black beret, he just drove the guy crazy. When a call to the school came from the RVC, Andrei drove off to Blagoveshchensk with the firm intention not to return back. However, they did not want to take him to the Faculty of Marines, despite the very successful results of exams and tests in physical fitness. “He didn’t come out with growth,” the company commander told him bluntly, and when Andrei realized that his dream was crumbling and decided to take a desperate step, he boasted that by that time he was a first-class Greco-Roman wrestler. This argument worked, and Andrey Shelomentsev became a cadet of the Faculty of the Marine Corps of the Far Eastern VOKU. It was 1977. Four years later, Lieutenant Shelomentsev departed for further service near Pechenga to the Sputnik garrison, where the Marine Corps brigade of the Northern Fleet was stationed, by that time also becoming the CCM in boxing.

The ways of the Lord are inscrutable, and in 1989 Andrei had to part with the army - his health failed. For the Marine Corps - it is limited fit, and the ambitious young captain refused to consider another branch of the military as an alternative to the "black berets" and, after commissioning, he left for Murmansk. By that time, he was seriously engaged in hand-to-hand combat, karate and could well earn a good living from this.

In 1993, Andrey Shelomentsev, a captain of the Marine Corps in the reserve, quite unexpectedly for him, suddenly called for Him by ... God. How it happened, he does not explain, believing that it happens to everyone. "If God exists, then I must go to him," - reasoning simply, he decided like a soldier and went to the temple. In the same year, he and his family moved to live with their parents in Magadan. So in March 1994 he became a parishioner of the church in the village of Ola, Magadan Region, and soon, with the blessing of the rector, he sang on the kliros. The neophyte did not leave the desire to serve the earthly Fatherland. And in 1995, he got a job in the police, as deputy head of the Olsky District Department of Internal Affairs.

And then in his fate there was a war. On his business trip to the North Caucasus, to Chechnya, he went after about a year of service in the police. There, at the headquarters of the combined group of troops and forces in Khankala, his new duties included coordinating the interaction between the army, police and internal troops.

In August 1996, the situation in Grozny escalated sharply. The militants managed to secretly enter the city and at dawn on August 6 they hit several important objects at once: the railway station, the complex of government buildings, the FSB, the coordination center (CC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and several checkpoints. The situation was threatening and stable communication was lost with many strongholds and command posts. The reconnaissance detachment, in which Captain Shelomentsev was, had to overcome several kilometers in the city controlled by the militants and unblock the complex of government buildings, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya and the KC.

About how dangerous and adventurous this occupation was, for example, such a fact can say. Twice the military columns of the 205th brigade tried to break through to the KC, with the support of tanks and aircraft, and both times they were forced to abandon these attempts, having suffered losses. The group, which included a Marine scout, police captain Shelomentsev, succeeded. At the same time, he, however, received a shrapnel wound in the neck, but most importantly, he remained alive. He is still sure that God kept him in this war! The task was completed, the business trip was over, and he was sent home on board to recover. There he found him the Order of Courage.

After serving for another three years, Andrei decided to take off his shoulder straps for the second time. But this time the reason was different. He imperiously heard in his heart the call of God to serve Him, realizing that the life given to him in a fiery alteration was a gift of God, and he did not want to combine work in the police with serving God. The then Bishop of Magadan and Sinegorsk, Anatoly (Aksenov), blessed him to accept the diaconate, and a week later he was ordained a priest. It was December 1999 outside. For the captain of the reserve, a new, unknown, but inviting life as a parish priest began.

In 2008, having received the blessing of the ruling bishop, he arrived in the capital, where, in the recent past, a military officer was appointed to serve in the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies. So he ended up in the Airborne Forces sector, which was then headed by a young but experienced "airborne father" - Archpriest Mikhail Vasiliev. And the Patriarch blessed him to serve in the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is not far from the headquarters of the Airborne Forces in Sokolniki. Two months ago Fr. Mikhail Vasilyev, wrote a report on the resignation of the head of the Airborne Forces sector of the Synodal Department of the Patriarchate in order to focus on the management of the Patriarchal Metochion at the headquarters of the Airborne Forces. Father Andrey Shelomentsev was appointed in his place. Thus, together they continue the work of feeding the paratroopers, begun many years ago by Father Mikhail.

- about. Andrei, what do you think is the situation with the spiritual care of the paratroopers? What are your nearest plans?

- The situation in this regard is very favorable. Father Mikhail, working in this direction even before me, laid a good foundation for relations with the military personnel of the Airborne Forces. To be frank, the troops know us, the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, very well and do not hinder our work. Moreover, with many commanders of formations and units, officers and generals of the headquarters of the Airborne Forces, personally commander - the hero of Russia, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov, we have excellent, businesslike, working relations. We coordinate all our work, and this brings noticeable results. This is easily explained, because the Airborne Forces are “troops for war”, and where there is war, where there is real work, people there quickly come to faith, to God. By the way, I have not met completely unbelieving people in the Airborne Forces. Almost everyone has a feeling of oneness with God. Before each jump, first or next, Marines are usually silent and focused, and many of them pray. At such moments, the paratroopers need not a commander, not a political officer, but a priest. How many times about Mikhail at such moments was not only nearby, but also jumped only because the pioneer soldiers were afraid to do it themselves. Then he, in the same way, put on a parachute, and went with them to the plane, and then he was the first to go out on the ramp. And looking at him, the rest walked. If the priest jumped, then the paratrooper - even more so. This is how the spirit of a soldier of the Airborne Forces is strengthened by personal example and the word of God.

My immediate plans in a new field include the creation of a system for training priests for the Airborne Forces. We need to clearly define the functional responsibilities of pastors, develop methodological manuals specifically for the priests who care for the airborne troops, where all experience, including foreign experience, will be summarized and taken into account.

- How are things going with filling the positions of full-time priests in the airborne troops?

- In many units, full-time positions of assistant commanders for work with religious servicemen have been introduced, and we are actively selecting candidates for replacement. Some are already under consideration in the apparatus of the Ministry of Defense. So far, only three of the full-time priests have been officially hired. But this does not mean that the rest of the paratroopers are left without the spiritual guidance of Orthodox pastors. In most units, for a long time already, on a voluntary, non-standard basis, many priests have been cooperating very closely with the troops. In all parts where there are clergy, there are temples, chapels, or prayer rooms equipped with all the necessary equipment.

- What do you see as the problem that positions are still not staffed?

- There are several problems. Firstly, it is very difficult to find worthy candidates for such specific troops. Among the priesthood, for various reasons, we do not have such a large number of priests who are ready for these vacancies. Secondly, each such person is personally approved by the Minister of Defense. Under the current minister, Sergei Shoigu, the process of appointments has moved off the ground, and today we are waiting for some real personnel decisions. I repeat, at the same time, in almost all parts of the Airborne Forces there are non-staff clergymen who, in principle, perform all the duties of a full-time one: they talk and meet with the command and military personnel, family members, conduct worship and fulfill the requirements, go to exercises, jump with a parachute, and in general care for military personnel and their families.

My immediate plans also include visiting all units and formations of the Airborne Forces, getting to know the situation on the ground, with the commanders, getting to know these shepherds who carry their cross of military service free of charge. Alas, it has already become a tradition of the Russian priesthood - to work with military personnel, to feed their army flock completely disinterestedly. And they all know that if some kind of trouble happens to them, neither they nor their orphaned families will receive any benefits or payments from the Ministry of Defense or the state. Although the full-time position of civilian personnel itself does not imply these payments either. This is another reason why not many priests are willing to work with the army. And one more thing - at the parish, people themselves go to the priest, but in the army, he must go to the people and, in fact, starting from scratch, tell who he is and why he came to them. There are also specific difficulties. In a parish, for example, the rector himself determines when to serve the Liturgy, and in part he is rigidly tied to the daily routine, and if, for example, the rise is at 6.00 and breakfast is at 7.00, then he must manage to hold the Liturgy during this time without violating the schedule .

- What do you think are the main qualities of a priest who will be appointed to the Airborne Forces?

- In my opinion, it doesn’t even matter whether he served in the army at all or not. The main thing is burning, this is a state of mind that will move you to active service to God and people, the desire to go to the soldiers and officers, to share your Paschal joy with them. If it is, then everything else is a gain, and if not, then you should not take it. And secondly, as Father Mikhail says, we need those who are ready to serve not for money, but for the Motherland! This inner feeling is a guarantee that you are a true patriot of your business, your service in the Airborne Forces. And if a priest also served in the army at one time, this, of course, will help him in communicating with military personnel.

- Father Andrey, what kind of young people are going into the army now?

– I can say not only about those who came to serve, but also about those who are still preparing for the service. Our youth are great. It is not true when they try with all their might to convince us of the opposite, they say, they are loafers, drunkards and drug addicts. There are those who hide, but they do not make the weather among the youth, no matter how some media try to convince us of this. If you love young people, work with them, give yourself to them, then they will definitely appreciate it, feel it, and there will be a return. Therefore, people who are able and willing to work with young people, inspire them to do the right things, charge them with positive energy are at a great price now. If such people are found, then there will be no need to worry about our youth either: we have our own Alexandra Matrosovs and Evgenia Rodionovs. Youth is always characterized by striving for the future, contact with real business, responsibility, and today's youth is no exception. We need to trust the young people more and give them a chance, then there will be a return.

I often meet such guys: both in educational institutions, and at pre-conscription camps and in parts directly. When I talk to soldiers regularly, I don't see much difference from the soldiers I had under my command when I was in the Marine Brigade. And that was thirty years ago. I have a feeling that those who want to convince us of the worthlessness of today's youth are showing us the white surf near the seashore - foam with garbage, forgetting about the depth in which the essence of the sea lies. Young people who get into criminal reports are only coastal foam, and the whole point is at depth. Our real golden youth is not really visible, because they are busy, they are busy. I am calm for our youth and for our future. If God is with us, who is against us?

Interviewed by Roman ILYUSHCHENKO

How a Moscow State University Philosopher Became a Priest in Vlasikha

Fate prepared military service for Mikhail Vasiliev. He was born in 1971 into an officer's family, grew up in remote northern garrisons, in closed towns. The father wanted his son to enter a military school, but Mikhail showed character: he chose Moscow State University, the Faculty of Philosophy, then became interested in the study of religions, then there was graduate school, and then he himself stood at the university department.

Michael came to the Church as an adult. The path to faith for a young man, unbaptized and not having a single believing friend, was not easy. He was assisted by a spiritual father, Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov. Once he asked Mikhail: “Are you from a military family?” And, having heard the answer, he made an unexpected conclusion: “So, you should be a father in the military garrison.”

In the spring of 1998, the philosopher was ordained a deacon, and then a priest. They were sent to serve in Vlasikha near Moscow - in the church of St. Elijah of Muromets and the Great Martyr Barbara at the headquarters of the Strategic Missile Forces. And a year later, Father Mikhail was sent on his first military assignment - to Chechnya.

Night of Prayer for a Soldier

In combat conditions, the priest changes his cassock for camouflage, only without shoulder straps, and in the buttonholes is not a military branch, but an Orthodox cross. The father is not supposed to have weapons. The main thing is to be close to the soldiers, where it is most difficult. Father Mikhail had a special friendship with the paratroopers, who were thrown into the thick of it. He felt how much they needed his support. Rumors about the "landing" priest spread throughout many units of the Airborne Forces.

Once in the mountains of Chechnya, he and a group of scouts were ambushed. Our fighters repelled the attack, but one was seriously wounded. We were waiting for a helicopter, it was bad weather. The guy was bleeding in the hands of the priest. Hour after hour passed. All night Father Mikhail prayed for help to arrive and for the soldier to survive against all odds. The paratroopers looked and could not believe their eyes: it seemed that their comrade was no longer breathing, and suddenly came to life ... In the early morning, a turntable chirped in the sky. By evening, the father learned that the wounded had been saved. Experienced field surgeons said that this was an exceptional case, on the verge of a miracle.

"... And I realized that I would survive"

With a parachute, Father Mikhail jumped many times, mainly during exercises. Once he set an example: when the plane took off, the young guys were clearly embarrassed, and then the priest got up and, with a prayer, was the first to go to the exit. Soldiers followed him confidently.

And in 2007, a tragedy almost happened near Vyazma. His parachute got into a turbulence zone, the canopy spun, he began to fall from a height of 600 meters.

“There was no fear,” Father Mikhail says. “I have a few seconds left. I, as taught, untwisted the almost extinguished dome, prayed. And when the parachute opened a third, I realized that I would survive.

He was saved by the presence of mind: at the last moment he rallied, springed to his feet, but still heard a crunch in his spine. Diagnosis: compression fracture of the vertebrae. But it turned out later. And then I had to quickly leave the field: following the soldiers, armored vehicles were dropped here ...

Often traveled with troops to hot spots: Bosnia, Kosovo, Abkhazia, Kyrgyzstan. And I got under fire, and I had to go through the minefield. But he doesn't like to talk about it. Here is what Father Michael says:

- Often this very point where you go turns out to be quite cool. For example, there was no longer active shooting in Bosnia, although it was still believed that there was a local conflict there. At first they fired at Kosovo, but then it somehow calmed down, and there was no particular danger. Yes, and in Chechnya, once upon a time, I didn’t have to.

From the "secret object" - the Cathedral of the Airborne Forces

About 10 years ago, in a conversation with special forces officers, Father Mikhail learned that there was an abandoned church in Sokolniki. Then his building was occupied by the courier service: there was a secret military communications center. The priest was not allowed in. Then Father Mikhail came up with a “military trick”:

- To understand the state of the interior of the temple, my paratrooper friends equipped a scout with a video camera under a pea coat. He went into the building and filmed the general interior.

Fears were confirmed: by that time there was not even a trace of its former splendor left in the temple. In place of the Holy See, there was a cast-iron firebox in the altar, a smoking room was set up in one of the aisles, there were partitions at every step, lagging plaster ...

Father Michael decided to return the former church to the Church. He was blessed and in June 2004 was appointed rector. Many high church and military officials joined in the revival of the temple. The final decision was made under the new commander of the Airborne Forces, General Vladimir Shamanov: in June 2009, the emergency building was given to believers.

- They raised the temple with the whole world. First, our paratroopers smashed unnecessary outbuildings and partitions with crowbars. Before the restoration, 150 dump trucks with garbage were taken out of here,” Father Mikhail recalls.

And then they put a new bell tower and the central dome, decorated the facade with mosaic icons. And at the end of last year, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performed the rite of great consecration here. Today it is the Cathedral of the Russian Airborne Troops.

Church of the Annunciation in Sokolnikispecial. This is the main church of the Airborne Forces, the construction of which was once supported by the Supreme Commander. The correspondent of RIA Novosti visited the unique church in the capital and talked with its unusual parishioners.

War with the Secretary of Defense

"I wish you good health, comrade pop!" - Archpriest Mikhail Vasilyev treats such greetings with humor. There are special people in the army, but in the Airborne Forces they are certainly "from a different test." Every paratrooper knows this tall "man with a cross and a beard" not only as the chief chaplain of the "blue berets", but also as a man with vast combat experience - the second Chechnya, Kosovo, Bosnia, Abkhazia, over a hundred parachute jumps, rescue of the wounded. Although the priest himself did not hold a weapon in his hands - this is prohibited by the canons of the Church.

“When I was at the headquarters of the Airborne Forces – it’s across the road – one of the officers pointed out to me: and here, father, the destroyed regimental temple. Annunciation in Moscow Sokolniki.

Only eight years later it was possible to achieve the transfer of the building to the headquarters of the Airborne Forces. The Church of the Annunciation was very lucky: not everyone in the Ministry of Defense was in favor of building churches in military units, despite numerous requests from commanders and veterans. In 2010, for example, the Church of Elijah the Prophet on the territory of the Ryazan Higher Command School of the Airborne Forces was miraculously defended: the then Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov personally arrived and demanded that the wooden church built on the "combat" payments of the paratroopers be demolished.

Fortunately, the Church of the Annunciation has passed this fate - there were influential sponsors and patrons. “Most of the money was given by my university friends and well-known companies. And Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu allocated about twenty million rubles. He was here several times, even gave the church an icon,” says the priest.

To the right of the entrance to the Church of the Annunciation in Sokolniki is a huge monitor. Father Mikhail enthusiastically runs his finger over it and, without looking up from the screen, tells where everything is located in the temple. A couple of movements on the "megatablet" - and the main temple of the Airborne Forces appears before the visitor in all its 3D beauty.

Scout in cassock

The iconostasis of the Church of the Annunciation is made of Afghan marble. How did you manage to get him there? Parishioners cryptically reply that "that's a different story." And they immediately begin to talk about the restoration of the church - especially how the priest Andrei Shelomentsev helped the rector, Father Mikhail Vasiliev.

"Father Andrei, after the service, changed into work clothes and went to build a bell tower. He is well versed in all these matters - an amazing person!" says parishioner Olga.

Father Andrey is really unusual: the rank of major in intelligence, two Orders of Courage, many wounds - three fragments remained in the back. But he never talks about it himself. And he cuts off questions like a soldier: “Firstly, it’s not interesting to talk about me, and secondly, it’s not at all interesting to talk about the war.”

But it is worth mentioning faith, it immediately revives. He literally explains complex theological questions "on the fingers", rolling up the sleeves of his cassock and showing his large hands with hardened palms. Once upon a time they held weapons, but now, as they say here, "a spiritual weapon", a cross.

Here, for example, is how he explained why the Orthodox need to take communion and confess.

“Somehow, after the battle, we dragged the wounded, 20 people. And now they bring (colleague) Pashka - he holds on to his stomach and yells so that his ears are pawned. And there is no blood! I go up to him, take out a knife, - father Andrei points to his thigh, where the scouts attach knives, - I tell him: "Pashka, it will be very painful now, you do what you want - yell, swear, beat me," and I stuff a dressing bag into his mouth so that his teeth do not crumble. First, he cuts off Pashka's body armor, and then all his clothes and sees in the area of ​​​​the shoulder blade "a large hole from which air whistles", the bullet pierced his lung. In such cases, the priest explains, death can occur at any moment. “I quickly found the wound and called the paramedic to plug it up. The guy was saved,” he says, and after a pause, adds: “It’s the same with the soul of a person — if you don’t open the wound in time so that God sees it and heals it, then she will perish. For this, confession and communion are needed."

When you ask why he decided to become a priest, Father Andrei shrugs his shoulders: "So God ruled." Before moving to Moscow in 2009, he served for ten years in a church in Kolyma, "where the bishop is 500 kilometers away."

"And who is harder to be: a priest or a soldier?" I'm interested.

“It’s harder to be a priest. In the army, everything is clear: there are commanders who give orders. And the priest is his own commander. Yes, there are dogmas of the Church, but he is essentially the only warrior in the field,” Father Andrei admits.

"I was a living target"

The main parishioners of the temple are paratroopers. Almost all of the orders, many have been in hot spots. Everyone helps the temple as much as they can. Alexey, for example, serves at the altar on weekends. And on weekdays, he "performs tasks as intended" - he has over 400 jumps on his account. This church serves as an outlet for the paratroopers in their difficult work.

"The second hand of the temple," the parishioners call the soldiers serving in the Airborne Forces headquarters. They are sent here at will to help - remove the snow, fix something. Some remain in the temple even after demobilization.

“While I was in the army, I came here to help. And after some time I returned from military service. I don’t know how it happened,” Alexander admits.

He went into the temple, leading under the arm of Archpriest Oleg Teor, confessor of the legendary 76th Pskov Airborne Division. In fact, this is the first chaplain of the Airborne Forces in Russia, he took care of the fighters back in the USSR, when priests were not even allowed to come close to the soldiers.

“They themselves came to our church and asked to be baptized. Or to give them some literature,” Father Oleg recalls. Behind him are two Chechen campaigns and Yugoslavia. History was being created before his eyes: in 1999, the priest was part of the airborne battalion that captured the Pristina airport.

"I was one of the first there. The commander said that a priest should be sent there, and they began to think who. Someone reported about me. They told me, I immediately got on a plane and flew. Not every country gave us an air corridor, although this "It was basically a peacekeeping trip. There were explosions, shots - before our arrival, the British bombed that area," says the priest. He does not like to remember shelling in Chechnya and Kosovo. He shrugged it off: "Maybe he got hit by them, they were constantly shooting there."

With a white beard and kind blue eyes, Father Oleg is more like a magician from a fairy tale than a regimental priest who went through hot spots. How can you not ask about miracles!

“I returned from everywhere safe and sound – that’s where the miracle is. I remember that in Chechnya we visited eleven positions. And I was in a cassock, even a bulletproof vest was not enough for me – they gave it to some journalists. ", he says.

And then a military man in guards uniform enters the temple. Seeing Father Oleg, he blossoms into a smile and rushes to embrace with the words: "I wish you good health, dear father!" Major General Vladimir Danilchenko heads the Council of Veterans of the Airborne Command. Himself in the "winged infantry" since 1959, the only BMD tester in a minefield. He is convinced that everyone in the Airborne Forces believed and believes in God. Even in times of the most severe persecution of religion.

“Then they made sure that they didn’t wear crosses, wedding rings ... And now, before we go out to the“ expanses of the Universe ”, they give the command to get ready. The first to get up is the commander - Colonel Mikhail Verbovnikov, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, who found himself in extremely difficult situations. The command sounded " Let's go!", and Verbovnikov, crossing himself, says three times: "Lord, have mercy!" And we repeat this after him," he recalls with a smile.

© RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich /

Cross and sword

Brotherhood is about paratroopers. Danilchenko and the parishioners of the Church of the Annunciation in Sokolniki have been helping veterans who find themselves in a difficult life situation for many years. And at the same time to the chaplains, who are also in a difficult situation now.

"The chaplain receives an average of 23-25 ​​thousand rubles a month. This is the rate of technical personnel - two times less than that of a contract soldier, although officially he is listed as an assistant commander of the unit. And at the same time, the priest must support his, most often large, family, my wife and six children are out. We try to show the highest degree of self-giving. But all the same, "the legs feed the wolf," Father Mikhail Vasilyev complains.

There are no "price tags" for notes and trebs in the temple. "Well, how can I measure not my grace, but God's with price tags?" the priest says. Although the temple pays more than 200 thousand rubles a month for the communal apartment alone, and 60 thousand more for security.

Batiushka generally likes to joke, but how else, according to him, to convey eternal and not always clear truths to the usually harsh military men. The task of the priests is to make sure that the paratroopers, despite the shelling and screams of dying comrades, retain their humanity. And there are no former paratroopers, as you know. This is what the inscription on the house reminds of: "God and the Airborne Forces are with us!"

The chief priest of the Airborne Forces, Priest Mikhail Vasiliev, did not crash, falling from a height of 600 meters during a recent exercise near Vyazma. Convinced: saved with God's help
For 15 years, more than 150 paratroopers have crashed in Russia. And although the contribution of the landing force to these figures is minimal, there are no absolutely safe jumps.
The theory says that the free fall speed of a medium-weight skydiver is about 180 km per hour. Flight from a height of 600 meters to the ground without a parachute takes 13 seconds. It takes 3-4 seconds and 250 meters of altitude to deploy the main parachute. If the parachute failed, then only a few moments remain for everything, 300-350 meters to the ground. What is an overlap? The sling grabs the canopy of the main parachute, the rate of descent increases sharply, the parachutist twists and throws in all directions. You need to have time to assess the situation, get rid of the main parachute, throw away the reserve. Panic - death.
Last year in Ukraine, it was because of the overlap of the lines that the commander of the metropolitan special police regiment "Berkut" died. On account of the 43-year-old colonel of special forces, there were five times more jumps than Priest Michael. But the colonel was not lucky, and the priest managed to land on a half-open parachute. The main secret is simple: nerves of steel and a bit of luck.
Of course, there were no injuries. We met with Father Mikhail at the Central Hospital of the Strategic Missile Forces.
“I myself am to blame for what happened,” the priest shields the parachute handler. - I opened the canopy early, got into a stream of turbulence, the lines immediately overflowed, and began to tear. But there was no fear.
According to him, father Mikhail was scared before: under fire and when somehow he had to walk through a minefield. And here, near Vyazma, he desperately fought for his life. As taught, "spun" the almost extinguished dome. "Unrolled" to an area of ​​20-30 square meters (in a fully opened state, the area of ​​​​the canopy of the landing parachute D-10 is 100 square meters). He even managed to roughly calculate the speed of the fall: 20 meters per second. And he realized that he would survive the landing.
- Grouped, landed on his feet, - cheerfully says the father, wrapped in a bandage and chained to a hospital bed. - I had great shoes on. "Pindosovskie", brought from Bosnia. But all the same, when landing, I heard a crunch - a vertebra broke. But then it wasn't even that that bothered me, but the fact that in fifteen minutes they were dropping bemdashes behind us. I also thought: there’s no time to lie down on the ground, otherwise the BMD will impress so much that it won’t seem small ...
Diagnosis: compression fracture of the vertebrae. Doctors promise that he will walk. Yes, and the father does not intend to refuse jumping.
Father Mikhail has to risk his life regularly. Somehow, during other exercises, a soldier's parachute did not open. The incident undermined the spirit, the young soldiers refused to jump. "Batek" with a prayer climbed into the An-2 and was the first to step out of the plane. They say it was superfluous: just the sight of the "father" in camouflage with a parachute made a strong impression on the personnel. The jumps went well, everyone's parachutes opened.
He is 36. The son of an officer, he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University in the Department of Scientific Atheism. Then graduate school, taught at the university for a year. In 1998 he became a priest. Married, three children. Combat experience - like a full-fledged batyani commander: over 30 business trips to "hot spots".
With the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, he met ships with landing forces in Thessaloniki, and then on the lead BTEer he made the well-known forced march to Kosovo. In the same place, in the Balkans, the An-22, on which he flew, had an engine failure. Nothing, they arrived. There are also military awards for Chechnya, where, by the way, he christened about three thousand fighters. According to the officers, he himself in a burnt-out camouflage cannot always be distinguished from a paratrooper. If it weren’t for the beard and the Orthodox crosses in buttonholes instead of the emblems of the Airborne Forces ...
- You see, the point is not at all that some priest did not crash, falling on a failed parachute, - Father Mikhail gets excited. - Much more important if people ask themselves the question: what does this priest do in the army ?!
Father's answers are ready. He even knows exactly how many priests are needed to ensure the right to freedom of conscience in the army. Approximately 400 Orthodox priests, 30-40 Muslim mullahs, 2-3 Buddhist lamas and 1-2 Jewish rabbis. The priest must be paid a salary - about 15 thousand rubles a month, plus another 10 thousand for expenses. This is what our state can do. The costs will pay off.
The position of Priest Michael, if brought into line with historical canons, is that of a general. Before the revolution, the chief military priest of the Russian army had the rank of protopresbyter, which was equivalent to the rank of lieutenant general. Mikhail Vasiliev - deputy. modern "protopresbyter" for the Airborne Forces (and in fact - for all other types and branches of the military). Accordingly, he should be a major general. In addition, he graduated from "general's" retraining and advanced training courses at the Academy of the General Staff with a degree in "command-staff operational-strategic training." In a word, an Orthodox general. Although he himself strongly disagrees with this.
“A priest should not be either a general or an officer,” explains the strategically prepared father Mikhail. - Our main task is not to raise the degree of patriotism. We help a person in uniform realize their right to freedom of conscience.
No military ranks - this is not his personal opinion, but the principled position of the church. But about the "degree of patriotism", you see, he said well. And in general, the main airborne priest does not climb into his pocket for a word.
“How do I celebrate the day of the Airborne Forces?” he asks mockingly. “But actually there is no time to celebrate, the holiday coincides with the preparation for the day of Elijah the Prophet, the patron saint of the Airborne Forces. And there is someone who can swim in the city fountains without me.”
Yes, about the holidays. Father Mikhail does not want to talk about his heroism, but he admits that he was really close to death three times. A priest cannot be afraid of death, but Holy Scripture does not prohibit celebrating not one, but three birthdays a year. Here are all three and notes.
Although now, apparently, he already has four of them.

City in yellow leaves. On the approach to the temple, a machine-gun shot of a jackhammer is heard. But here there is not destruction, but creation. Restorers carefully recreate the ruined beauty of yet another spiritual Moscow attraction. Our conversation with the Rector of the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in Sokolniki, Archpriest Mikhail VASILEV, Head of the Airborne Forces Sector of the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies.

Father Michael, what was he like your path to faith?

I was born in Vyshny Volochek, in the family of an officer. From childhood, he traveled with his parents to the distant garrisons of air defense units, having early felt all the delights of a hectic life. Many classmates followed in the footsteps of their fathers to military universities. I went to the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University, to study in the specialty "scientific atheism." For me, Jains and adherents of Zen Buddhism, Orthodoxy and some religion of the Hindus were equal.

After the collapse of the USSR, the place of the Soviet ideology was filled with a void. However, according to the laws of not only physics, but also society, there is no vacuum. It is always replaced by some ersatz. Such an ersatz from the East, the West began to fill the hearts of many fellow citizens. And at that time I spent hours in the library of the Moscow Theological Academy, requisitioned in the 1920s. Acquaintance with the materials of religious and philosophical disputes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, communication with graduates of the philosophical faculty of Moscow State University helped me find faith in Christ. Make your choice. In my second year, I was baptized and started attending church. In the Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in Petrovsky Park, he met his wife Maria. She is an artist and an art critic. In 1995 we got married. After graduating from graduate school, he remained a teacher at the Department of Philosophy of Religion.

My confessor, Archpriest Dmitry Smirnov, suggested that I go to serve in the church. And although the will of the confessor is the will of God, it took several years of reflection before I agreed with him and became a priest for the military. The first place of service was the temple at the headquarters of the Strategic Missile Forces. In 2005, already as a priest of the headquarters of the Airborne Forces, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, I was sent to the Higher Courses of the Academy of the General Staff.

What do you see as the main task in your post?

We do not serve in the military. We serve for the army. Blessing and supporting the soldiers who defend in hot spots not the "regime", as others say, but our Russia. You can kill for money, but you can't die. Let us recall the feat of 90 Pskov paratroopers, who on February 29 and March 1, 2000 opposed two thousand Khattab militants in the Argun Gorge. Only 6 soldiers survived. This battle has become a symbol of the military prowess of Russian soldiers, loyalty to the oath, to the Fatherland.

The priests take part in the exercises, together with the paratroopers, they move to the areas of local hostilities, share with them the hardships and hardships of military life. Following the army principle: "Do not do as I said, but do as I do ...", they jump with a parachute. More than once I was convinced that patriotism in that part of the society where I work is much higher than "on average in the hospital." Confidence in this has grown stronger in the days of difficult business trips. And there were more than three dozen of them to Kosovo, Bosnia, Chechnya...

Before the eyes of the tragedy of the Serbs. It was there that I first came under fire, learned what a minefield was, saw how blood was shed. June 23, 2000, the birthday of my first child, I have the right to consider my second birthday as well. Then in Bosnia, a crowd of Albanians blocked our armored personnel carrier, demanding the extradition of two Serbian monks, who were sheltered by paratroopers. We didn't go for it.

On one of the exercises during a parachute jump, the lines overlapped. I managed to open the spare canopy at the minimum height. It looked like a miracle that after landing I got to my feet, although there were some injuries.

The healthiest men are in the army, not in the offices of Gazprom. Another thing is upsetting: our jesters build palaces, and many officers live in dormitories, almost in huts. I console myself: time puts everything in its place. It is boring to live on your pocket, to do things that have no projection into eternity.

Divine services sometimes have to be held in the open air. That is why we have created two mobile altars. Such an altar can be deployed anywhere in just two hours.

How would you characterize the relationship between faith and medicine? ..

Medicine was originally part of the Church's ministry of mercy. In the church there is a special rank of holy unmercenary healers Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, Panteleimon and Yermolai, ancient Christian doctors who healed without thinking about profit. An excellent example of our time is the confessor and healer Archbishop of Simferopol VF Voyno-Yasenetsky. And among the current clerics there are dozens of professional doctors who combine their work with service in the church, continuing church traditions.

Military priests are in close contact with medicine. On the battlefield in hot spots, usually near a dressing station. Everyone is doing their own thing. I am not a doctor. But we all took a special course in providing emergency assistance in an emergency situation. We had to help each other out.

A long-standing interaction has developed with the military clinical hospital named after. P.V. Mandryka in Sokolniki, with Major General of the Medical Service V. Simonenko. For me, the staff of the hospital of the Strategic Missile Forces of the branch of the hospital named after N.N. Burdenko in Odintsovo, which is headed by Colonel of the Medical Service V. Karpalov, has become dear to me. Here I lay for several months with a broken spine after that parachute jump.

What can you say about the health of the younger generation?

It's terrible. We joke with pain: earlier the paratrooper was big and strong, and now he is small, but cunning ... Sad, of course, humor.

Therefore, it is important to revive the traditions of large families. I am not a theorist myself. I have five children three girls and two boys.

There is a need to make health a prestigious concept...

I agree. But for this it is necessary that the authorities and bureaucracy be treated in the same medical institutions as ordinary people. On a territorial basis. If you live on Rublyovka, be so kind as to use the village hospital in the village of Zhukovka... It's not a sin to remember the good things that were in Soviet medicine. If, however, to be treated in Zurich, Munich, then the population will reap the benefits, to put it mildly, of a reckless attitude towards their people. It's a shame to see how public politicians care about anything but people's health.

One of the emblems of healing a candle: "shone to others, I burn myself"... But is this incompatible with the increased desire to make money on someone else's pain?

The ministry of a doctor, teacher, priest, by definition, does not recognize profit. Market relations exist in many areas. Yes, work should be adequately rewarded. But in the operating room, the market is not very appropriate. Bargaining between the healer and the patient is the degradation of the personality.

Like doctors, priests also burn out. Keeping a tremulous heart for life is far from easy. I don't give prescriptions.

And how did the paratroopers get their own temple in Sokolniki?

The Church of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos was built in 1906 according to a standard project. Before the revolution, it belonged to the 6th sapper brigade. Its first rector was the military priest Vasily Slyunin, a participant in the Russo-Japanese War, one of the defenders of Port Arthur. After being transferred to Moscow, he served here until the church was closed in 1923.

During the First World War, a military hospital was located in Sokolniki next to the temple. Those who died from wounds were buried under its walls. After the revolution, the bell tower and the central dome were destroyed, the military cemetery was destroyed. A soldier's club was placed in the building, then a courier communication center of the Moscow Military District.

Years were spent negotiating with Defense Ministry officials.

Only General V. Shamanov managed to solve the problem. The first document that he signed on the very first day, heading the Airborne Forces, was an appeal to the country's leadership about the fate of the temple. We are familiar with Vladimir Anatolyevich from Chechnya. A remarkable Russian general, who is not accidentally compared with the famous M. Skobelev. This will not be a soldier's bodies pave the way to the award sheet.

How is the revival of the temple going?

The building of the temple turned out to be mutilated: divided into floors, with a leaky roof. The coal furnace was placed on the site of the Holy See in the altar. Not a trace of the pre-revolutionary decoration remained. Luckily, the old photo survived.

We managed to find the design of the temple. So the reconstruction did not start blindly.

Paratroopers officers and privates crushed interfloor ceilings with crowbars. They dismantled the stoker, black with coal dust. Having strengthened the foundation, they created a basement for the future museum of the Airborne Forces. They restored the dome, the bell tower with gilded domes. Communications, heating and ventilation systems have been re-laid. There is still a lot of work ahead, but the temple is again ready to receive 1200 people. Muscovites come to us, parents of dead soldiers, veterans. The Patriarchal Compound at the Headquarters of the Airborne Forces in the ranks.

The 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War is approaching. We are going to erect a monument to the fallen soldiers in the square. There are no former paratroopers. Those who have gone into business are participating in the revival of the former beauty. University friends help. But well-wishers are never enough.

And a personal question: how do you keep fit and is there time for leisure?

Poor support. Do you remember V. Dal's: "Only God and a rooster sing on an empty stomach"? In the morning to the service on an empty stomach. In the evening, a hearty dinner at home. No wonder priests are overweight. Of course, we should get rid of such estate diseases. Business trips with paratroopers help. I'm going to go to the pool more often.

It's nice to be able to go to the park with the kids. My wife and I try to go to the theater at least once every six months. In the summer, the family lives at the mother-in-law's dacha near Moscow. Sometimes I visit...