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| Archpriest Nicetas Ignatiev (left) and St. Nektary, Archbishop of Yaransk (right) |
It is not known where Archpriest Nicetas Ignatiev was born. Fr. Nicetas’ parents were named Hilarion and Euphrosyne. They were tortured by the Bolsheviks – starved to death.
Before this, their hospitable house was always open for wanderers. One old wanderer lived for a long time with his parents, and they buried him.
Many years later, Fr. Nicetas would be secretly buried, at great risk, by those who gave him his last shelter.
Fr. Nicetas had a Christian upbringing; he said that he had been close to the Church from his young years, and declined from playing games.
Fr. Nicetas was apparently born at the beginning of the century. Thus when the revolution came he was 16 or 17 years old.
He was caught by the reds with an appeal in his hands written by a starets named Jonah. The young man was taken to be shot, but on the way he lost consciousness and turned up in a hospital, where a doctor he knew helped him to escape.
He was exiled to Turkestan for refusing to serve in the Red Army, and it is probably there that he met the two people who were destined to be very important in his life: Archimandrite Seraphim, who came from a monastery near Tashkent, and Nun Catherine (Ilyinichna Golovanova).
When Fr. Nicetas’ term of exile expired, he set off for Moscow, where his brother Demetrius was, serving as a deacon. There also was Archimandrite Seraphim, who had come from Tashkent.
Fr. Nicetas was not registered in Moscow. His life there became more and more intolerable; they were searching for him, and at one point he had to save himself by jumping out of a moving tram.
His position became especially difficult after the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius in 1927.
Fr. Nicetas’ name’s day was May 24 according to the old calendar – the feast of St. Nicetas the Stylite.
In Moscow there was a certain matushka who was nicknamed ‘dark’, that is, blind. Once for some reason she started to abuse Fr. Nicetas:
“Schismatic, schismatic, you’ve left Vladyka Sergius?! I’m going to Sergius now; he’ll come for you in a van and take you with him – you’ll serve with him!”
But Fr. Nicetas, without panicking, firmly explained that he would never serve with Metropolitan Sergius, adding:
“He goes round Moscow in a van by day, while I walk the streets by night…”
“What’s your name? Nicetas?” asked the clairvoyant matushka (she did not know his name).
“Nicetas.”
“The Stylite?”
“Yes, the Stylite.”
At that point matushka as it were struck Fr. Nicetas on the head with the palm of her hand and said, “So be a pillar of Orthodoxy!”
She had been testing him by reviling him as a schismatic…
It was during his time in Moscow that Fr. Nicetas got to know Bishop (Saint) Maxim (Zhizhilenko), who had been consecrated to the episcopate with the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon specially for the Catacomb Church. They even rented a room together.
Fr. Nicetas became a priest of the church of "The Meeting" in Serpukhov. He belonged to the True Orthodox (Catacomb) Church under Bishop Maxims’ omophorion.
Before this, their hospitable house was always open for wanderers. One old wanderer lived for a long time with his parents, and they buried him.
Many years later, Fr. Nicetas would be secretly buried, at great risk, by those who gave him his last shelter.
Fr. Nicetas had a Christian upbringing; he said that he had been close to the Church from his young years, and declined from playing games.
Fr. Nicetas was apparently born at the beginning of the century. Thus when the revolution came he was 16 or 17 years old.
He was caught by the reds with an appeal in his hands written by a starets named Jonah. The young man was taken to be shot, but on the way he lost consciousness and turned up in a hospital, where a doctor he knew helped him to escape.
He was exiled to Turkestan for refusing to serve in the Red Army, and it is probably there that he met the two people who were destined to be very important in his life: Archimandrite Seraphim, who came from a monastery near Tashkent, and Nun Catherine (Ilyinichna Golovanova).
When Fr. Nicetas’ term of exile expired, he set off for Moscow, where his brother Demetrius was, serving as a deacon. There also was Archimandrite Seraphim, who had come from Tashkent.
Fr. Nicetas was not registered in Moscow. His life there became more and more intolerable; they were searching for him, and at one point he had to save himself by jumping out of a moving tram.
His position became especially difficult after the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius in 1927.
Fr. Nicetas’ name’s day was May 24 according to the old calendar – the feast of St. Nicetas the Stylite.
In Moscow there was a certain matushka who was nicknamed ‘dark’, that is, blind. Once for some reason she started to abuse Fr. Nicetas:
“Schismatic, schismatic, you’ve left Vladyka Sergius?! I’m going to Sergius now; he’ll come for you in a van and take you with him – you’ll serve with him!”
But Fr. Nicetas, without panicking, firmly explained that he would never serve with Metropolitan Sergius, adding:
“He goes round Moscow in a van by day, while I walk the streets by night…”
“What’s your name? Nicetas?” asked the clairvoyant matushka (she did not know his name).
“Nicetas.”
“The Stylite?”
“Yes, the Stylite.”
At that point matushka as it were struck Fr. Nicetas on the head with the palm of her hand and said, “So be a pillar of Orthodoxy!”
She had been testing him by reviling him as a schismatic…
It was during his time in Moscow that Fr. Nicetas got to know Bishop (Saint) Maxim (Zhizhilenko), who had been consecrated to the episcopate with the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon specially for the Catacomb Church. They even rented a room together.
Fr. Nicetas became a priest of the church of "The Meeting" in Serpukhov. He belonged to the True Orthodox (Catacomb) Church under Bishop Maxims’ omophorion.
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| St. Maxim, Bishop of Serpukhov |
As they were returning home one evening in 1929, Bishop Maxim and Fr. Nicetas noticed a light shining in the windows of their room. This put them on their guard. “Something’s not right: there’s a light burning in the house, and our room is lit up…”
Fr. Nicetas went to the back door: the landlady, recognizing him, waved him away. It turned out that a search was taking place in their room: one policeman was rummaging in their things, while the other was dozing at the table.
Fr. Nicetas tried to take Bishop Maxim away, but he decisively refused: “I have to go – my mitre and vestments are there!” He didn’t want to leave his hierarchical vestments in the hands of the police, so he went to the room and was arrested…
We don’t know whether this was the same arrest that brought Bishop Maxim to Solovki. But we know that on Solovki Bishop Maxim met the other Catacomb Bishops (Saint) Victor of Vyatka and (Saint) Nektary of Yaransk.
It was with the blessing of Bishop Nektary that Fr. Nicetas was later to carry out his service in Vyatka.
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After the arrest of Bishop Maxim Fr. Nicetas moved to Moscow, where he served in the Exaltation church. However, he was being hunted, and it became impossible for him to stay any longer in Moscow. Thus, he went to Fr. Seraphim in Yoshkar-Ola, and from there was sent by him to Bishop Nektary in Kazan.
“You go to Vladyka,” he said; “he’ll decide your course…”
Fr. Nicetas recounts: “I went to Kazan, and searched for the street, and the number of the house. I arrived – he was doing some carpentry. He was not tall, dressed in civil clothes and a jacket. “How can I find Vladyka Nektary and see him?”
“Right now,” he said, “you’ll see him.” He turned quickly – he was brisk, young, he’d only just left the Academy, He went up, put on his cassock, ryassa and klobuk, and said: “Here’s Vladyka Nektary for you.” Fr. Nicetas took his blessing!
During their conversation, Fr. Nicetas said that he had not signed the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius and after that was subject to persecutions in Moscow, so that it had become impossible for him to stay there.
“Archimandrite Seraphim advised me to come to you, Vladyka…”
“So go to Vyatka province,” said Vladyka. "Go to Sanchur, live there, it’s a bit quieter…"
And Bishop Nektary wrote a paper with approximately the following content: “I allow Archpriest Nicetas Ignatiev to serve in all the Orthodox churches of Yaransk diocese…” (At that time there still existed Orthodox churches subject to Bishop Nektary, which he ruled from Kazan).
“Vladyka, I just went to stay with Fr. Seraphim, just for two weeks…”
Vladyka slapped him on the shoulder: “Perhaps for twenty years…”
His prophetic words were fulfilled twice over – Fr. Nicetas was to spend, not twenty, but forty years in those regions!
It was about 1929, and he began to be followed. The police attacked him; first two, then four fell on him. They tried to force him to cut his hair, but he didn’t give in. They struck his head on the bench, and he lost consciousness. When he came to there were blood-covered hairs all round him – he had been shorn. They didn’t even let him gather up his hair. But they let him go.
Fr. Nicetas was being persecuted, for in addition to his rejection of the apostatic declaration of Metropolitan Sergius, he also taught people, “Even if you’re down to your last shirt, don’t go into the collective farms…”
Fr. Nicetas was soon forced to begin a life of wandering, for they had come to arrest him - however he was able to flee! His heart told him that he would not serve in a church again in this life.
It was difficult until the war, then it became still harder. During the war there was a kind of break in Fr. Nicetas’ life in Vyatka. Before the war he again went to Moscow, where Archimandrite Seraphim and many of their acquaintances were gathered. They had much to talk about. But it was impossible to stay long in Moscow, and the day came when Archimandrite Seraphim said to Fr. Nicetas: “Return to Vyatka.”
“You know, I have no documents.” replied Fr. Nicetas.
“There’s your document,” said Fr. Seraphim, pointing upwards with his hand, "- the Lord!"
It was impossible to travel in wartime without being checked; and this time guards were walking with torches from both ends of the carriage.
“The man checking me trained his torch on me,” said Fr. Nicetas. “I had no documents, only an icon of the Vladimir Mother of God hidden on my breast…”
The guard looked in silence at Fr. Nicetas for some time, while Fr. Nicetas looked at him. Those accompanying batyushka almost died from fear.
Then the second guard came up: “Well, why aren’t you checking him?”
“All done, let’s go,” replied his comrade unexpectedly.
Everybody was amazed that they hadn’t checked them. Fr. Nicetas especially venerated the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God, and she saved him more than once…
On returning from Moscow, Fr. Nicetas discovered that there had been a search at his last refuge, some valuable vessels and white vestments that batyushka especially valued (they were prepared for his burial) had disappeared. The strain from his emotions was too much for him and Fr. Nicetas fainted and fell, and hit his face so hard that a swelling appeared which remained with him for a long time. Eventually he healed it by anointing himself with oil from a lampada.
Were there any days in Fr. Nicetas’ wandering life when he experienced no feeling of alarm and which he passed in peace? We don’t know of any - his spiritual children remembered only unceasingly anxious days. It goes without saying that the authorities were tormented with the thought that Fr. Nicetas was hiding somewhere in the region.
Already all the other well-known catacomb priests had been arrested, including Fr. John Razgulin (he reposed at the end of the 1970s). Also arrested was the notable pastor Hieromonk John (Protasov), who was remembered with gratitude for many years and before his death in prison succeeded in transferring his flock to Fr. Nicetas.
And Fr. Nicetas remained the only priest in the whole region – his single combat with the atheist authorities had begun.
The police in five regions searched and searched for Fr. Nicetas, but could not catch him. Every day he was conscious that they were after him. Only God, Fr. Nicetas and his spiritual children know what this cost him. But this spiritual unity of theirs was worth more than life.
“For us he was irreplaceable,” remembered his children. “For us he was a great elder.” But they added: “Like every man, he wanted to live…” And he said to them: “If our Church will manage to come out into freedom, if I will be able to come out of the house without hiding – don’t tell me immediately, I won’t be able to bear it.”
Once, when hiding in a shed, they made a hole out of straw and put Fr. Nicetas in there. He lay there for three months without straightening up at all; he just cut out a little chink with his knife to see the light, and prayed. The mistress of the house did not always bring him food; if she didn’t bring him bread, batyushka would remain hungry. After these three months he could hardly stand on his feet, he continually fell and could hardly comb his hair…
It was difficult to find a refuge for batyushka. Some feared to have him in their house...
The situation was so dangerous that Fr. Nicetas’ parishioners decided to move him to another region 50 kilometres away, where they thought it would be less dangerous. But to move 50 kilometres was easier said than done. A simple matter of a walk by foot was turned into a complicated operation. Fr. Nicetas with his big beard was very conspicuous, so he had to pretend to be a hunched-up old man with a pile of bast shoes on his back going to the bazaar. The roads were covered by the police, so they had to go along a path through the fields of rye.
But when they arrived in their destination, the village of Sobolyak, another difficulty awaited them. It turned out that the woman had invited Fr. Nicetas only in order to serve some kind of need, and not at all in order to give him a place to stay. Those accompanying batyushka, his devoted spiritual children, were so filled with sorrow at the prospect of leaving him that they couldn’t restrain their tears.
“What are you crying for?” said the mistress of the house. “Take your batyushka back with you!” She was frightened of taking him.
Now it was time to weep for batyushka, whose legs were covered in blood after the long and dangerous journey. He was too weak to return, and besides, returning was very risky.
The woman’s heart softened when Fr. Nicetas foretold the return of her husband, from whom she had had no news for a long time. And indeed, after some time she received a letter from her husband, and he himself soon appeared with a wounded arm.
One nun of the Catacomb Church, remembering that time, says: “Can a man living in freedom understand what a hunted man experiences…?” It is hard for us to understand now how real and terrible that threat was. 40 people suffered for Fr. Nicetas at one time. Batyushka went from place to place, they couldn’t catch him, so they began to arrest his spiritual children. They tortured those whom they arrested, beat them, demanding the address where batyushka was hiding.
They tortured them so much that some of them couldn’t stand it and revealed the address where they could find Fr. Nicetas; but it seems that the pursuers had so despaired of catching Fr. Nicetas that they didn’t believe them even when they told them the truth.
While Fr. Nicetas’ spiritual children were going to suffer, he himself had another thirty years of suffering and wanderings ahead of him. And he was surrounded by the sufferings of the people...
Fr. Nicetas used to say, "There are no meeker or humbler people in Rus’ than the children of the secret batyushkas, the children of the True Orthodox Church. And there are no firmer, more unshakeable people in Rus’ than they."
It is known that Fr. Nicetas did not allow people to enter the collective farms or to vote. One could say: did he not demand too much from his spiritual children, if they were threatened with prison for that? In our lukewarm times we have different ideas, yet should we not remember the example of St. Sophia, who blessed her three children to go to torments for Christ. That was the position of Fr. Nicetas and other catacomb priests.
It looks strange when compared with the mass of Soviet clergy, who from the ambon blessed their children to go and vote, so as to give their voices for the communists, for “the ideal man” – Stalin, who blessed their flocks to lie and be hypocritical without limit, and to carry out all the demands of the antichristian authorities…
One young women was arrested, and for three days and nights they did not let her eat or drink or sleep, and every night they interrogated her. They asked her: why don’t you join the collective farm, why don’t you marry, why don’t you go to church? This concern that citizens should visit the sergianist church was very characteristic of Soviet power.
Conversely, charges such as: belonging to the True Orthodox Church of the Tikhonite orientation still produced long sentences. In 1958 a nun of the Catacomb Church was condemned on such a charge, and there were many like her.
Returning to Fr. Nicetas - he was now living in a shack, sometimes in a storeroom.
Once at Pascha Fr. Nicetas was serving in a narrow little store-room, half of which was curtained off. During the Paschal service the priest has to change his vestments, and Fr. Nicetas couldn’t do this without an assistant. He remembered a service in a big Moscow church where the choir alone numbered 70 chanters, - all of the circumstances of his long and much-suffering life appeared in a flash before his mental gaze, - and Batyushka fell onto the altar and wept – as an eye-witness remembers – like a child…
But Batyushka was immediately consoled, for the Saviour appeared to him at that moment and strengthened him. He ordered that this incident should not be related to others until after his death.
Fr. Nicetas, in time, and through information obtained in the camps by Matushka Catherine Golovanova, came under the omophorion of the catacomb Archbishop Anthony Galynsky-Mikhailovsky, and thus, he now commemorated Metropolitan Philaret, first-hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, as well as Archbishop Anthony.
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| The Catacomb Archbishop Anthony Galynsky-Mikhailovsky (†1976) |
Eventually, Fr. Nicetas was taken to where he spent the remainder of his life until his death in 1974. Surrounded by care and love, he could rest a bit…
But he had an illness which became worse. He tried to hide his increasing sufferings, because he knew that his death and burial would impose a heavy burden on those giving him shelter. How and where were they to bury a man whom, according to Soviet power, was not supposed to exist?
Fr. Nicetas reposed in the Lord on March 12/25, 1974 after confessing and receiving holy communion.
In order to bury Fr. Nicetas, they dismantled the floor in the room in which Fr. Nicetas died and hastily dug out a grave for him under the floor.
His parishioners came from the backwoods to say goodbye to their batyushka. There were so many of them that the neighbors were beginning to notice something. They had to hurry.
They made a coffin for batyushka and to the whispered chant, “With the souls of the righteous who have fallen asleep…”, they lowered him into the grave. Of course, the mistress of the house was especially worried, but they calmed her, saying: “Have no fear, the Lord preserved him for 40 years, He’ll preserve him now.”
At night the mistress of the house clearly heard angelic chanting in the place under the floor when Fr. Nicetas was buried…
For nine months Fr. Nicetas remained under the floor. Then Fr. Valentine ordered that his body be taken to the cemetery, which was done late in the autumn.
May we sinners have his holy prayers!