The ruling bishop of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese, Metropolitan Lazar. Under the blessing of the saint

Memory 29 May / 11 June

From a book published by the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery.

Saint Luke (in the world Valentin Feliksovich Voino-Yasenetsky) was born in 1877 in the city of Kerch, in the Crimea, into a noble family of Polish origin. Since childhood, he was fond of painting and decided to enter the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. However, during the entrance exams, he was seized with doubt, and he decided that he had no right to do what he liked, but that he needed to work to alleviate the suffering of his neighbor. Thus, having read the words of the Savior about the laborers of the harvest (see Matt. 9:37), he accepted the call to serve the people of God.

Valentin decided to devote himself to medicine and entered the medical faculty of Kyiv University. The talent of the artist helped him in scrupulous anatomical studies. He brilliantly completed his studies (1903) on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War, and his medical career began in a hospital in the city of Chita. There he met and married a sister of mercy, they had four children. Then he was transferred to the hospital of the city of Ardatov, Simbirsk province, and later to Verkhny Lubazh, Kursk province.

Working in hospitals and seeing the consequences that come with general anesthesia, he came to the conclusion that in most cases it should be replaced with local anesthesia. Despite the meager equipment in hospitals, he successfully performed a large number of surgical operations, which attracted patients from neighboring counties to him. He continued to work as a surgeon in the village of Romanovka, Saratov Region, and then was appointed chief physician of a 50-bed hospital in Pereslavl-Zalessky. There he still operated a lot, continuing to conduct scientific research.

In 1916, in Moscow, Valentin Feliksovich successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on local anesthesia and began working on a large monograph on purulent surgery. In 1917, when the revolution rumbled in big cities, he was appointed chief physician of the Tashkent city hospital and settled with his family in this city. Soon his wife died of tuberculosis. While caring for a dying woman, the idea came to him to ask his operating sister to take care of raising children. She agreed, and Dr. Valentin was able to continue his activities both in the hospital and at the university, where he taught a course in anatomy and surgery.

He often took part in debates on spiritual topics, where he spoke with the refutation of the theses of scientific atheism. At the end of one of these meetings, at which he spoke for a long time and with inspiration, Bishop Innokenty took him aside and said: "Doctor, you need to be a priest." Although Valentine never thought about the priesthood, he immediately accepted the offer of the hierarch. On the next Sunday he was ordained a deacon, and a week later he was elevated to the rank of priest.

He simultaneously worked as a doctor, as a professor and as a priest, serving in the cathedral only on Sundays and coming to class in a cassock. He performed not so many services and sacraments, but he was zealous in preaching, and supplemented his instructions with spiritual conversations on burning topics. For two years in a row, he engaged in public disputes with a renounced priest who became the leader of anti-religious propaganda in the region and subsequently died a miserable death.

In 1923, when the so-called "Living Church" provoked a Renovationist schism, bringing discord and confusion into the bosom of the Church, the Bishop of Tashkent was forced to hide, entrusting the administration of the diocese to Father Valentine and another protopresbyter. The exiled Bishop Andrei of Ufimsky (Prince Ukhtomsky), while passing through the city, approved the election of Fr. Valentine to the episcopate, accomplished by a council of clergy who remained faithful to the Church. Then the same bishop tonsured Valentine in his room as a monk with the name Luke and sent him to a small town not far from Samarkand. Two exiled bishops lived here, and St. Luke was consecrated in the strictest secrecy (May 18, 1923). A week and a half after returning to Tashkent and after his first liturgy, he was arrested by the security forces (GPU), accused of counter-revolutionary activities and espionage in favor of England, and sentenced to two years of exile in Siberia, in the Turukhansk region.

The path to exile passed in terrible conditions, but the holy doctor performed more than one surgical operation, saving from certain death the afflicted, whom he had to meet on his way. While in exile, he also worked in a hospital and performed many complex surgeries. He used to bless the sick and pray before surgery. When the representatives of the GPU tried to forbid him this, they ran into a firm refusal from the bishop. Then St. Luke was summoned to the State Security Department, given half an hour to get ready, and sent in a sleigh to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. There he wintered in coastal settlements.

At the beginning of Lent, he was recalled to Turukhansk. The doctor returned to work in the hospital, because after his expulsion she lost her only surgeon, which caused grumbling from the local population. In 1926 he was released and returned to Tashkent.

The following autumn, Metropolitan Sergius appointed him first to Rylsk, Kursk diocese, then to Yelets, Oryol diocese as a vicar bishop, and, finally, to the Izhevsk cathedra. However, on the advice of Metropolitan Arseniy of Novgorod, Vladyka Luka refused and asked for rest - a decision that he would bitterly regret later.

For about three years he quietly continued his activities. In 1930, his colleague in the medical faculty, Professor Mikhailovsky, having lost his mind after the death of his son, decided to revive him with a blood transfusion, and then committed suicide. At the request of the widow and taking into account the professor's mental illness, Vladyka Luka signed permission to bury him according to the church rite. The communist authorities took advantage of this situation and accused the bishop of complicity in the murder of the professor. In their opinion, out of religious fanaticism, Vladyka prevented Mikhailovsky from resurrecting the deceased with the help of materialistic science.

Bishop Luke was arrested shortly before the destruction of the church of St. Sergius, where he preached. He was subjected to continuous interrogations, after which he was taken to a stuffy punishment cell, which undermined his already shaky health. Protesting against the inhuman conditions of detention, St. Luke began a hunger strike. Then the investigator gave his word that he would let him go if he stopped the hunger strike. However, he did not keep his word, and the bishop was sentenced to a new three-year exile.

Again the path in horrendous conditions, after which work in a hospital in Kotlas and Arkhangelsk from 1931 to 1933. When Vladyka had a tumor, he went to Leningrad for an operation. There, one day, while serving in the church, he experienced an amazing spiritual revelation that reminded him of the beginning of his church ministry. Then the bishop was transferred to Moscow for new interrogations and made interesting proposals regarding scientific research, but on the condition of renunciation, to which St. Luke answered with a firm refusal.

Released in 1933, he refused an offer to head a free episcopal see, desiring to devote himself to the continuation of scientific research. He returned to Tashkent, where he was able to work in a small hospital. In 1934, his work Essays on Purulent Surgery was published, which soon became a classic of medical literature.

While working in Tashkent, Vladyka fell ill with a tropical disease that led to retinal detachment. Nevertheless, he continued his medical practice until 1937. The brutal repressions inflicted by Stalin not only against right-wing oppositionists and religious figures, but also against communist leaders of the first wave, filled the concentration camps with millions of people. Saint Luke was arrested along with the Archbishop of Tashkent and other priests who remained faithful to the Church and were accused of creating a counter-revolutionary church organization.

The saint was subjected to interrogation by a “conveyor belt,” when for 13 days and nights, in the blinding light of lamps, the investigators, replacing each other, were continuously interrogating, forcing him to incriminate himself. When the bishop began a new hunger strike, he, exhausted, was sent to the casemates of state security. After new interrogations and tortures, which exhausted his strength and brought him to a state where he could no longer control himself, St. Luke signed with a trembling hand that he acknowledged his participation in the anti-Soviet conspiracy.

So in 1940 he was sent into exile for the third time, to Siberia, to the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where, after numerous petitions and refusals, he was able to obtain permission to work as a surgeon and even continue scientific research in Tomsk. When the Nazi troops invaded and the war began (1941), which cost millions of victims, St. Luke was appointed chief surgeon of the Krasnoyarsk hospital, and also responsible for all military hospitals in the region. At the same time, he served as a bishop in the diocese of the region, where, as the communists proudly reported, there was not a single functioning church left.

Metropolitan Sergius elevated him to the rank of archbishop. In this rank, he took part in the Council of 1943, at which Metropolitan Sergius was elected patriarch, and St. Luke himself became a member of the permanent Synod.

Since religious persecution somewhat eased during the war, he embarked on an extensive program of reviving religious life, devoting himself with redoubled energy to preaching. publication of various medical and theological works, in particular an apology of Christianity against scientific atheism, entitled "Spirit, soul and body." In this work, the saint defends the principles of Christian anthropology with the help of solid scientific arguments.

In February 1945, for his archpastoral activity, Saint Luke was awarded the right to wear a cross on his hood. For patriotism, he was awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."

A year later, Archbishop Luka of Tambov and Michurinsky became a laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree for the scientific development of new surgical methods for the treatment of purulent diseases and wounds, outlined in the scientific works "Essays on Purulent Surgery" and "Late resections for infected gunshot wounds of the joints."

In 1946 he was transferred to the Crimea and appointed Archbishop of Simferopol. In the Crimea, he was forced, first of all, to fight the morals of the local clergy. He taught that the priest's heart should become a fire, radiating the light of the gospel and love for the Cross, whether by word or by example. Because of a heart disease, Saint Luke was forced to stop operating, but he continued to give free consultations and provide advice to local doctors. Through his prayers, many miraculous healings took place.

In 1956, he became completely blind, but from memory he continued to serve the Divine Liturgy, preach and lead the diocese. He courageously resisted the closure of churches and various forms of persecution from the authorities.

Under the burden of the past, having fulfilled the work of bearing witness to the Lord, Crucified for the sake of our salvation, Bishop Luke rested peacefully on May 29, 1961. His funeral was attended by all the clergy of the diocese and a huge crowd of people, and the grave of St. Luke soon became a place of pilgrimage, where numerous healings are performed to this day.

Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius Simonopetrsky,
adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery Publishing House

The news that the Crimean dioceses have undergone Russian registration has stirred up a number of Ukrainian media. And this is understandable: any relationship with the Russian Federation is interpreted in the current conditions as a betrayal and treason. In general, the ideological opponents of the UOC blamed the Church for this crime. "KP" in Ukraine" tried to figure out where is the truth in this story, and where is the lie?

WHAT THEY SAY ON THE PENINSULA

Moscow does not receive money

The Crimean Metropolis operates on the peninsula under the leadership of Metropolitan Lazar of Crimea and Simferopol. It consists of three dioceses: Simferopol and Crimean, Feodosiya and Kerch, Dzhankoy and Razdolnenskaya. According to preliminary estimates, the metropolia covers more than a million Orthodox believers. All of them still remain parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and not the Russian one.

We think that all this was inflated to discredit the UOC-MP in Kyiv, - says the lawyer of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese, Archpriest John Pristinsky. - The diocese has brought its documents in line with Russian laws and continues to carry out its saving ministry.

- And what about cash contributions?

There were no deductions to the Kyiv Metropolis before. As well as in Moscow. Sometimes, the diocese transferred funds for the construction of a cathedral in Kyiv. But there are no monthly fees.

- Do bishops come to you from Kyiv now?

Now, perhaps, there are purely technical difficulties, but they visit periodically. Bishops have normal communication. Our Crimean Bishop Lazar was at a meeting of the Holy Synod in Kyiv. Got okay.

- Why did the status of dioceses in Crimea remain unchanged? - I ask the secretary of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese, Archpriest Alexander Yakushechkin.

We are above politics. We must unite and reconcile everyone, which we are doing now. I even find it difficult to say how many convoys our diocese has already sent to Donbass. Without any accompaniment and customs benefits, under the explosions, our priests are carrying humanitarian aid to the diocese of the southeast. Cross, cassock - these are their passes.

Priests are not offended

A peaceful-looking grandfather, Archimandrite Macarius (Shchipakov), a former naval officer, now a pensioner and priest of the Kyiv Patriarchate, walks in the park of Sevastopol.

- In addition to the disbanded Ukrainian military unit, did your parishioners decrease?

As they were before, they are. Little, both before and after. Nobody gives us territory in Sevastopol - neither under that government, nor under this one. We pray for apartments. If we talk about Sevastopol, then there are 50 people.

- And how many parishes were there throughout the peninsula?

I can not tell.

- Have you thought about leaving the peninsula?

How God will manage.

- Are you offended here?

Who can offend a priest from whom love comes?

The Jews have one problem - the lack of matzah

In the Presman family of radio operators, political disagreements are more of a gastronomic plan: whose sausage is there - Russian or Ukrainian. The hostess of the house, Lyudmila Presman, a member of the public council of the Federal Jewish National-Cultural Autonomy of Crimea, has gone through all the legal procedures and is getting used to the new conditions:

There is only one problem - lack of matzah. Crossing the crossing is hard. We used to have our own, we even supplied Kazakhstan. But a visiting rabbi from the USA called our matzo machine non-kosher, took it apart, promised a new one, and left. I had to bring it from Kyiv earlier. And now Moscow is giving matzah.

BY THE WAY

Has the Crimean diocese been re-registered?

Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimean UOC-KP Clement in an interview with Commander-in-Chief:

"... In any case, legal re-registration is necessary because without it, some churches will remain cut off from light and water, and there is also a threat of loss of property ... In order to register the structure, I must obtain a Russian passport and I am already consulting on this matter ... I appealed to the president, the government, the National Security and Defense Council and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada, Lutkovskaya, but, unfortunately, the leadership of the state of Ukraine did nothing to explain to religious figures how they should act in the conditions in which they turned out to be...

HELP "KP"

What the statute says

The charter of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese was registered on December 19, 2014 by the Russian Ministry of Justice, gave the following answers to the following rumors:

ABOUT STATUS

Rumors: Legally and de facto, judging by the changes made to the charter, it is directly written there that the seated center of the Simferopol and Crimean dioceses is the Republic of Crimea - a subject of the Russian Federation. Thus, the annexation of Crimea is actually recognized. In fact, there was a veiled transfer of these two dioceses to the Russian Church.

In the statute: "The diocese is a canonical division of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and is included in its hierarchical structure... The territorial sphere of activity of the diocese is the Republic of Crimea."

ABOUT THE PROPERTY

Rumors: According to the charter, all the property of the dioceses is the property of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In the charter: "The diocese is a legal entity, possesses separate property on the right of ownership, gratuitous use or on other property rights. The diocese is independently responsible for its obligations with all its property ..."

ABOUT SEALS AND FINANCE

Rumors: All copies of forms, stamps and seals are approved not only by the Metropolitan of Kiev, but also by Patriarch Kirill personally. The latter has the right of veto on a par with the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Church. And the most interesting thing is that all the finances of the Crimean eparchies of the UOC-MP will from now on be transferred to Moscow.

In the charter: "The sample seal is approved by the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine (locum tenens). The diocesan bishop is elected (removed from office) by the synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church ... The diocesan bishop is the head (sole governing body) of the diocese, heads the diocese and governs it. Diocesan bishop acts on behalf of the diocese without a power of attorney. The powers include the disposal of the property and financial resources of the diocese in the manner prescribed by this charter."

WHAT THEY SAY IN Kyiv

The Crimean Church is subordinate to Kyiv.

For clarification of the situation, we turned to the head of the Synodal Information Department of the UOC, Bishop Kliment (Vechera), and the deputy head of the Department of Public Church Relations of the UOC, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich.

The Holy Synod of the UOC has never adopted documents that would change the canonical subordination of the dioceses on the peninsula, Bishop Kliment assures.

- But tell me, did the church have to be re-registered according to Russian laws? Why didn't they do without it?

What is a religious organization? These are parishes, monasteries, diocesan administration, that is, legal entities. In order to exist, they must be allocated land, a communal infrastructure, and a current account. All this requires registration under the laws of the country that controls the territory. In connection with the changes that have taken place on the peninsula through no fault of ours, parishes and monasteries had to undergo re-registration, explains Vladyka.

The fact is that if religious organizations do not go through the re-registration procedure within the time period established by law, then they are subject to liquidation and, accordingly, cannot engage in liturgical activities, and also lose all the rights of a legal entity, ”Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich enters into the conversation.

- So, the Catholics, for example, went through the same procedure?

As far as I know from open sources, the Roman Catholic diocese registered its communities on the territory of the peninsula in accordance with the legislation that is currently in force there, and even changed its structure of subordination, - explains Bishop Clement.

- So, maybe, in the UOC, too, there was a resubordination and the Crimean diocese is no longer subordinate to the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine? Did the Holy Synod make a decision to change the subordination and transfer the property of the dioceses in Crimea?

After re-registration, the Crimean diocese remains a canonical division of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and is included in its hierarchical structure and, accordingly, is subordinate to the Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, commemorates him at divine services. The Holy Synod of the UOC has never made any decisions to change the subordination and transfer the property of the dioceses in Crimea, - Nikolay Danilevich assures.

The same applies to finances. As Bishop Clement assured KP, nowhere - neither in the charter of the Crimean dioceses, nor in the charter in the administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - is there any clause that the Crimean dioceses must transfer money or property to the Russian Orthodox Church.

- And the last. Since the UOC-MP is accused of betrayal, perhaps law enforcement agencies have already demanded an explanation from the church?

Personally, I have not had such requests. But the information department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church held a press conference, where they showed all journalists the original copies of the charters of the Crimean dioceses, which were adopted at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the UOC. I think we then exhaustively answered all the questions relating to the competence of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, - explained the head of the Synodal Information Department.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW

Nikolai DANILEVICH, Deputy Head of the Public Church Relations Department of the UOC: "A religious organization has no right to recognize or not recognize changes in borders"

The issue of recognizing the borders of countries is a purely interstate issue. In the realm of religion, it simply does not exist. Any non-governmental or religious organization must comply with the law in force in a given territory or legally cease to exist. Recognition or non-recognition of borders from any Orthodox Church is legally unreasonable, because it does not and cannot have the secular power necessary for such an action. The exception is the Holy See, which has international legal personality due to the tradition that the Pope of Rome was recognized as having temporal and spiritual authority.

Metropolitan Lazar of Crimea and Simferopol has been serving the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 60 years, since at the age of 15 he became a novice of the Holy Spirit Skete of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra. He was appointed to his current post 24 years ago and stood at the very origins of the revival of Orthodoxy on the peninsula. Metropolitan Lazar told the correspondent of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate about how this happened, what problems he had to face and what the main tasks are facing the diocese today.

Fateful meeting

— Your Eminence, this year we celebrate several anniversaries of St. Luke of Crimea. To what extent do you see yourself as his successor?

— Indeed, this year is a jubilee year for the Simferopol and Crimean diocese. 55 years have passed since the day of repose and 20 years since the discovery of the relics of St. Luke of Crimea. On the day of his memory, festive divine services were held in all Crimean churches, conferences, concerts, thematic exhibitions and films about St. Luke were held in memory of him in cities and towns. But it is rather difficult to answer the question of continuity. After all, even today St. Luke, invisibly present everywhere, manages the Crimean cathedra. He left us a great many of his wonderful sermons and books through which the world of holy Orthodoxy is revealed. How many of his orders remain relevant to this day! For example, about the performance of the sacrament of baptism by complete immersion, about the fight against sectarianism. And his theological and philosophical works for us to this day are a significant help in missionary service. For example: "Science and religion", "Spirit, soul and body". The Simferopol and Crimean diocese has repeatedly organized international and republican conferences dedicated to the spiritual and scientific heritage of St. Luke, in which theologians, clergy, scientists and doctors from Russia, Ukraine, Austria and Greece took part. I always feel his help and support.

— Did you know him?

It was God's will that one day our paths would cross. It happened in 1961. I then studied at the 2nd year of the Odessa Theological Seminary and was a cell attendant of Metropolitan Boris (Vik) of Kherson and Odessa. Archbishop Luke came to Odessa on his personal business and visited Metropolitan Boris. We met with St. Luke in the courtyard of the church in honor of the Holy Martyrs Adrian and Natalia, the residence of the administrator of the Odessa and Izmail diocese. I only managed to take his blessing and immediately left, so as not to interfere with the communication of the two bishops. But his noble appearance was forever imprinted in my memory: majestic posture, sad eyes, gray hair and a rosary that he held in his hands. This meeting left a good feeling in my heart for life.

Argentine flock

— You headed the Argentine Department for several years. What pastoral experience did you take away from there? What do you remember about this service?

– In 1980, by decision of the Holy Synod, I was appointed Bishop of Argentina and South America, Patriarchal Exarch of Central and South America. I carried out this obedience with a short break until 1985. However, my ministry in Argentina began back in 1975, when I became the secretary of Archbishop Platon of Argentina and South America (now Metropolitan of Feodosia and Kerch). We still keep in touch with him today. Literally at the end of May, together they consecrated a monument to Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II in Evpatoria, and on the day of memory of St. Luke they celebrated the Divine Liturgy.

I considered my main task there to be the creation of the Orthodox faith in the souls of many compatriots who were still far from Orthodoxy. By the grace of God, I managed to build a church in honor of All the Saints who shone in the Russian land, in the province of Lanus, as well as a hall for solemn receptions and apartments for priests. The temple in honor of the Monk Job of Pochaev in the province of San Martin was refurbished. In Buenos Aires, he built a five-story diocesan building and reconstructed a cathedral with a dome. At the same time, the main task for me then and now remained in the creation of human souls. Because the Church of Christ is not walls with a dome, decorated with paintings, but a living divine-human organism, the head of which is Christ.

Representatives of the Argentine Ministry of Religious Affairs always came to our public Christmas celebrations. I have repeatedly met with the presidents of Argentina. In honor of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' in 1988, the Lord allowed the Square of Charques in Buenos Aires to be renamed the Square of St. Prince Vladimir. There is also a monument to this saint, who still blesses the capital of Argentina with his cross, where many of our compatriots live. In the province of Lanus, Kirno-Kosta Street was renamed Vladimirskaya. I, as Patriarchal Exarch, opened a temple in Brazil in honor of the Holy Trinity.

- Why did the Argentines agree to all these renaming? Does Saint Prince Vladimir really mean so much to them, the Catholics?

- In total, I lived in South America for 14 years. During this time, we managed to unite many of our compatriots around the Orthodox church in Buenos Aires. I had to meet with local authorities a lot in order to positively influence their attitude towards the Orthodox Church, and also to convince them to allow renaming and erect a monument to the holy prince by the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'. What made all this happen? Thanks to the grace of God. For let us remember the words of the Savior addressed to us today: Without me you can't do anything(John 15:5). But, of course, it’s not for nothing that our people say: “Trust in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself.” I had to work hard and hard, learn the language, the peculiarities of the life of this country ... Thank God for everything!

- What do you remember from the life of emigrants whom you provided for?

- I will say right away: it was very difficult for them to live in a foreign land. But, despite the obstacles, the Slavic people for the most part demonstrate to the whole world not only endurance, but also diligence, and also the desire for spiritual communication with their compatriots. I also decided to use the last circumstance. So, in Argentina, on the basis of literary clubs for compatriots, Orthodox parish communities and a bishops' choir of 40 people appeared. And it began with just one singer - a 90-year-old servant of God Matrona. The Kingdom of Heaven to her, I always commemorate her, as well as many of my other "Argentines", when I serve the Divine Liturgy.

"Christened"

— You have headed the Crimean Department since 1992. How was Orthodox life revived here?

— Without exaggeration I will say that the leadership of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese, with the blessing of the hierarchy, the Lord judged me to take in a difficult historical period. Then there were about 50 parishes and not a single monastery. The diocesan administration huddled in two small rooms at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Simferopol. Within two years, three ruling bishops were replaced.

From the first months, a lot of effort and time was put into convincing the local authorities, and a considerable part of the people who had strayed from Orthodoxy over the years of atheism, to restore the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, destroyed in 1930, in the center of Simferopol. The solution to the problem dragged on for years. Finally, they created an organizing committee for the restoration of the cathedral, which included veterans of the Great Patriotic War, including holders of the Order of Alexander Nevsky, architects, heads of large enterprises and, of course, representatives of the Church. By 1999, we convinced the Supreme Council of Crimea to decide to build a spiritual and patriotic complex in Victory Square (the basis for the square was the trees that grew in the courtyard of the cathedral), which will include a cathedral church, a tank monument and an obelisk in honor of the liberation of Crimea from the Turks in the XVIII century (Dolgorukovsky obelisk). The cathedral was included in the list of outstanding architectural monuments requiring unconditional restoration. Construction began in 2003.

In 2005, we encountered a phenomenon that journalists called "crucifixion". It all started from the village of Morskoye, where hooligans knocked down a 10-meter bow cross. Then similar cases occurred in a number of other areas. Sometimes this was done openly by activists of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, who said that the sight of the crosses offended their religious feelings. In Sudak, on Mount Fereynaya, near the sanatorium for the military, a two-meter worship cross was burned. But the Cossacks instead installed a new one - a five-meter welded one - and began to guard it.

We discussed the issue of the inadmissibility of such provocations with the local and republican authorities. And with the help of the so-called soft power of the Interfaith Council of Crimea "Peace is a gift of God", created in 1992. From the very beginning to the present day, I have been its co-chairman. Thanks to the inter-religious dialogue in Crimea and our joint work, “crucifixion” is no longer repeated.

Youth is our future

How has the spiritual life of the diocese changed over the past two years?

- The revival of the Orthodox faith on the Crimean peninsula is quite difficult to divide into some periods or years. Today, as before, we are opening churches, restoring Crimean monasteries, including ancient cave ones, where tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to. So, we have 16 monasteries, 8 of them are cave ones. In any, except Simferopol Holy Trinity, you can stay for 2-3 days. But it should be borne in mind that living conditions there are modest.

We devote a lot of time and effort to the spiritual and patriotic education of young people, because they are our future. Sunday schools continue to work, but we put the main emphasis in religious education on interaction with general educational institutions and with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Crimea. There are two reasons: the first is that Sunday schools are attended by almost church-bound children, and the second is that a significant number of Crimeans and their children have not yet crossed the threshold of the church.

A whole system of cooperation between clergy, teachers and representatives of authorities has been created in solving the most important task of spiritual and moral education of children and introducing Orthodox values ​​into the educational process. We have an active society of Orthodox teachers of the republic, in which there are already more than a thousand people. Agreements were signed between the diocese and the Ministry of Education of Crimea, the curriculum "Fundamentals of the Orthodox Culture of Crimea", as well as the program "Revival of the Spiritual Values ​​of the Family" was approved. In some schools, the GPC course has been introduced from the 1st to the 11th grade. For example, in the Tauride Gymnasium School No. 20 in Simferopol. There are such schools in Sevastopol and Yalta.

There is also an extended advanced training program for teachers of the OPK course, which includes local history excursions, pilgrimage trips, conferences on the history of Orthodoxy in Crimea together with the Small Academy of Sciences of Schoolchildren of Crimea, competitions "Teacher of the Year" and "Lesson of Morality", "Family Hearth" and much more other.

— Tell us about your joint projects with nearby dioceses?

— Of course, the Diocese of Simferopol and Crimea actively cooperates with other dioceses. Above all, we invite everyone to join us in the spiritual heritage of the diocese, in the shrines and its history. The diocese organizes pilgrimages and various competitions, music and film festivals. In addition, the republican and international television competition of connoisseurs of Orthodox culture "The Grain of Truth" is being held in Crimea, which is attended by teams of classmates from many countries. In 2015, at the initiative of the Krasnodar diocese, the project “Train of Creative Ideas” was implemented: Orthodox teachers from Krasnodar came to us to exchange pedagogical experience.

By the grace of God, today Orthodox life in Crimea has received ample opportunities for fruitful development. God grant that in the future we will also be able to fulfill our duty of spiritual and moral education, the revival of spirituality and culture.

Happy man

- You have been in the church since childhood and, probably, more than once faced harassment for your faith.

- Once, back in elementary school, when they asked me what I want to be, I answered: "Pop!" After that, school teachers tried to keep me out of church, but my mother always protected me. Now she is 102 years old, God bless her. I also had to endure pressure in the army, where I was called up in 1958 after finishing my first year at the Minsk Theological Seminary. Three of us, seminarians, went into the army, and I returned to the seminary alone. Two managed to break morally. They also tried to “process” me accordingly - they sent me to a company where there were guys from different universities, the intelligentsia, so that they would “re-educate” me. And we became friends with them. In my home photo album, a photo card given by one of them as a souvenir with a grateful inscription “Thank you, Rostislav, for helping me become a believer” is still kept.

I served in the Moscow region, in Noginsk, and dreamed of getting into the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. But the command never let me go there. When I was demobilized, they did not give me a passport so that I could immediately go home, and not to the seminary. But the Lord vouchsafed me to endure all temptations and continue my studies.

– Who else besides St. Luke serves as a spiritual beacon for you?

- My heavenly patron is the Monk Lazar of Murom, to whom I constantly turn for blessings. This year our diocese is solemnly celebrating the 625th anniversary of his departure to the Lord. There was a case in my life when God's help was revealed to me, perhaps through his prayers. During my ministry in Argentina, I often had to fly back and forth. And one day the plane I was on had a plane crash. Our first stop was in Luxembourg. But, coming in for landing, the plane ran into a water tower and was forced to land on a clearing in the forest. Even in the sky, upon landing, the command to buckle up sounded three times. I wanted to fasten my seat belts, but something held me back. During the impact of the plane on the ground, I was thrown over the seat and I hit my back against the side wall. Didn't break anything and didn't even lose consciousness. When the plane landed, only those who could walk got out with me. And then there was a huge explosion! Part of the plane shattered into smithereens! Passengers wearing seat belts were severely injured, and many of them died in the explosion before they could get out.

In the hospital, during the examination, they told me: “You are a happy person!” And the representative of Aeroflot, who later came to me, was very surprised that this plane with a burning tail had not yet exploded in the air. I believe that this salvation is only the grace of God! Indeed, the finger of God saved me at that moment for my own, probably, repentance. Of all the voluminous luggage for church needs, only two wooden icons of the Kazan Mother of God survived, the rest was completely burned down. They are still in my possession.

Bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Biography

At the age of 15, he entered as a novice at the Holy Spirit Skete of the Pochaev Lavra.

In 1958-1961 he served in the Armed Forces of the USSR.

On March 5, 1971, he was ordained a deacon, on March 12 - a priest, served in the Intercession Convent and in the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv.

On July 25, 1975, he was appointed to the clergy of the Argentine diocese, where he performed the obedience of the secretary of the Archbishop of Argentina and South America.

In 1978 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest.

On April 1, 1980, he was tonsured a monk at the Pochaev Lavra, and on April 7 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

On April 18, 1980, he was consecrated Bishop of Argentina and South America and appointed Patriarchal Exarch for Central and South America.

In 1990, he ran for the Supreme Council of Ukraine in the Zbarazh constituency (Ternopil region), for - 38.3% of the vote, 2nd place, lost to the writer Dmitry Pavlychko.

On February 11, 1991 he was appointed Archbishop of Odessa and Kherson. Due to the active adherence to the idea of ​​autocephaly, the UOC “was literally expelled from the pulpit by its flock.” He justified the need to grant autocephalous status to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the hope that in this case the schismatics would return to the bosom of the canonical Church.

In 1992 he was transferred to the Simferopol department.

Conflicts and scandals. Socio-political role

As a bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, he often finds himself at the center of ethno-political conflicts in Crimea.

In 2007, he was accused by the Union of Russian Orthodox Believers of Crimea of ​​harassing ethnic Russian priests and replacing them with immigrants from Western Ukraine: “During the 16 years of Metropolitan Lazar’s stay in Crimea, almost all Russian priests with education from Moscow and Leningrad left the Simferopol and Crimean diocese theological academies and seminaries. Has also been criticized for allegedly wrong interfaith policy in Crimea, in particular towards Muslims; according to the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, deacon Andrey Kuraev, there is no wise interfaith policy in Crimea.

Awards

Church:

• order of st. Sergius of Radonezh III degree;
• order of st. Sergius of Radonezh II degree;
• order of St. equal to ap. book. Vladimir II degree;
• order of st. Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves.
• Order "Christmas - 2000" I degree;

State:

• Order of Merit, three degrees (1997, 2000, 2002);
• was awarded a diploma of the USSR Embassy in Argentina.
• awarded the San Martino medal by the Argentine government;
• Order of Friendship of Peoples (USSR);
• Order of Friendship (April 23, 2009, Russia) - for a great contribution to the development of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation
• Order in honor of the 10th anniversary of the creation of the State Department of Ukraine for Execution and Punishment (Ukraine);
• Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, V degree (April 21, 2009) - for many years of fruitful spiritual and educational activity, a significant personal contribution to the preservation and strengthening of interfaith peace, the affirmation of the ideals of spirituality and mercy