ABBA POEMEN THE GREAT

Among the Apophthegms - famous aphorisms of the ancient Hermit Fathers - so many sayings of Saint Pimen the Great have been preserved that a hypothesis has arisen that it is not a question of a specific ascetic, but of a collective image. After all, his name itself is literally translated from Greek as “Great Shepherd”. However, from the perspective of the twenty-first century, it seems that the image of Pimen itself was prophetic. He pointed to a lonely ancient Moscow parish church, which in atheistic times was never closed. It foretold a Russian patriarch named after Pimen the Great, whose ideal was the simplest monasticism.

1 Among the great multitude of wonderful, amazing, unique, large and small Moscow churches that once existed in ancient pre-revolutionary Moscow, churches whose number was figuratively called by the untranslatable phrase “Forty Forties”, after the great upheavals of the first half of the 20th century, only a very few remained open, continued to operate, pray and live. One of these churches that never closed was the church in honor of St. Poemen the Great. This is a very rare name for churches.

2 The memory of St. Poemen in the liturgical calendar of the Church ends the first decade of the first autumn month and is celebrated on September 9. Not so long ago, this was a very important tribute in the life of our Church. After all, in honor of this saint, Patriarch Pimen, who was the primate of the Russian Church from 1971 to 1990, was named in monasticism. On this day, the Patriarch celebrated the memory of his heavenly patron, which in the language of the Church is called a name day, or Angel’s Day.

3 Those who knew Patriarch Pimen speak of him as a kind, humble, deeply spiritual man, especially drawn to monasticism. The Patriarch loved what was perhaps the only monastery that had survived at that time, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, and visited there often. The monks reciprocated their Patriarch’s feelings. The era of another Church. An absolutely unique time, the era of the persecuted Church, which has left us irrevocably and which, except for learned historians, hardly anyone remembers these days. At that time, it seemed to many that our Church was experiencing its last, autumnal time. But it turned out that the era was the threshold of spiritual rebirth.

4 So, Patriarch Pimen was named in honor of the Venerable Pimen the Great (340-450) - one of the Founding Fathers of ancient monastic practices, schools, movements and teachings. Pimen lived in the Era called the Golden Age of patristic writing. At that time, the Great Fathers of the Church lived, prayed, served God, preached and wrote: Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory the Theologian and Amphilochius of Iconium, Ambrose of Milan and John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo. This time was also the era of the birth and flourishing of monasticism.

5 The era of early monasticism was a unique time for the Church. Of course, every time is unique. But, speaking about the “uniqueness” of that time, it is important to understand that in relation to the Golden Age, this is not a rhetorical figure, but a reality. 6 Perhaps, in order to somehow imagine that time, you need to have an imagination, to be able to dream. For example, imagine modern Moscow and the Moscow Region, and, at the same time, turn your mental gaze to the then Egypt and Alexandria. Imagine as if there, then, in those times, everything would be about the same as now. A huge number of people lived. In work, in stress, in entertainment. Alexandria of that time was a great Christian city with many churches. But, at the same time, it remained a great pagan capital. The City of Sin.

7 But what was happening then “in the Region”? It was all filled with … monastics. Everywhere and anywhere, people of all ages, ranks and biographies, righteous and sinners, blameless and having problems with the law, healthy and crippled, a great many men were looking for ways to get closer to God. They all lived a spontaneous monastic life. After all, even monastic vows did not exist then! Many lonely ascetics - and the word monk simply meant “lonely” - were looking for God everywhere. Some in the open air, some, as in the Syrian tradition, erected a pillar for themselves. Some wandered naked, or, like a bird or an animal, lived in caves and on trees. The Great Pimen also lived in this great, amazing time.

8 The name “Pimen” is translated as “shepherd”. Apophthegms, that is, collections of patristic sayings that in some way convey the special world in which he lived, have preserved many of his sayings. One of them is especially precious. The monks were discussing the question of what to do with a brother who fell asleep during the service. The answers were different: “Reproach, throw him out of the church. Excommunicate, impose a punishment in the form of a penitential rule.” But Pimen answered: “If I see a brother dozing in church, I will lay his head on my lap.” Another famous expression of Pimen also characterizes the worldview that inspired a great many people to go into the desert in search of a new fraternal monastic ideal: “He who lives in monasticism must consider all brothers as one.”

9 Over time, monasticism suffered a great misfortune. It began to turn into an institution. “From the promise of a good conscience to God” (1 Pet. 3:21), vows became a mechanism of canonical, and therefore - according to the laws of the Roman Empire - legal control. In the East, all power in the Church gradually passed to the monastics. Many began to perceive monasticism as a sacrament. But if this were really so, and monasticism were a sacrament, then this would mean that no matter what way of life a person who accepted monasticism led, he would still and in spite of everything remain a monk … And this, of course, is wrong. Reasoning in the language of theology, monasticism is a permanent ad hoc: here and now before God - in poverty, obedience and purity. A sacrament is irreversible. Thus, the sacrament of baptism cannot be cancelled or annulled. It does not depend on the personal qualities of the priest performing it. It cannot be performed again.

10 Obviously, holiness and its perception are a dynamic reality. The history of the Church and theology knows of saints who were highly revered before, but ceased to be so. Saints who previously seemed forgotten but later became highly revered. When such a modification occurs over the course of centuries, the explanation lies in the modified structures of society, theological necessity, and the spontaneous perception of certain saints by the people of God. It is more interesting and difficult to find an explanation when such dynamics of perception of the modification of holiness manifest themselves in a matter of decades and years.

11 When Pimen was the Patriarch of the Russian Church, one of the churches that was never closed and was constantly operating at that time was the church in honor of St. Pimen. This is a very rare name for churches. Thanks to him, the antiquity of the first Christian monasticism of the Egyptian land of the pharaohs was combined with popular piety and the perception of holiness by Orthodox believers of the late Soviet period. Our people slept in unbelief. And the great Pimen laid his head on his knees. Thus this dream became the threshold of awakening and rebirth, a great reason for gratitude.