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| The Caucasus Mountains, Russia |
For a long time conflicting rumors have been circulating among Orthodox people about ascetics who live in hiding in the wilds of the Caucasus forests. They supposedly remain concealed in the alpine ridges of the western Caucasus near the city of -------, and are said to be the onetime inhabitants of the New Athos Monastery. The latter seems hardly plausible, since a complete 60 years has passed from the time of the disbanding of the monastery. Only but a few of its novices could have survived in the mountains until today.
A few years ago terrible news came over the airwaves: in their war against the influence exerted by the hermits on the local populace, the authorities, while stalking them, supposedly suffocated several people in a cave with the smoke from a burning can of gasoline.
In September (1988) one the subscribers of our magazine was vacationing in the environs of -------. He managed to meet a hermit hierodeacon who had left the Holy Trinity Lavra for the Caucasus about 10 years beforehand. Based on his account, approximately 50 desert-dwellers of various ages pursue the spiritual struggle in the western Caucasus. Living in dugout huts, caves, or mud-brick shanties, they dwell alone or in pairs, at quite a long distance from each other - one or two days journey along the steep trails.
The monks sustain themselves on fruits, grasses, honey, and fish, and also on voluntary donations from the inhabitants of the lowlands and the coast. For this purpose the desert-dwellers regularly, although not often, abandon their mountainous abodes. These abodes they deliberately establish at some distance from springs in order to make bringing water a struggle.
Monks of New Athos Monastery, in search of solitude for prayer and ascetic labors, had already begun to depart to the mountains. After the revolution they were joined by monks of the Glinsk Monastery, which was renowned for its piety in the tradition of the Optina Monastery and which was dispersed by the atheists in the 20's. According to the hierodeacon they are the founders of the contemporary eremitical life in the western Caucasus, which follows the rules of hesychasm and practices the Jesus Prayer unceasingly. There are hieromonks among them, and the monks receive Communion in the form of reserved gifts. They recite the complete daily cycle of services in their mountain cells.
When they happen to meet one another or a chance traveler, the monks prostrate themselves with humility. To meet someone in the mountains is quite uncommon. On the steep slopes an encounter with a wild animal is more likely. Once, the aforementioned hierodeacon encountered a bear on the path. The monk fell to the ground and began to pray, expecting to die. But the bear sniffed him and departed. However, for the desert-dweller, man poses a far greater threat than wild beasts. Various possessed people, followers of Hare Krishna, and big-city theosophists try to reach them. One hermit was killed by Svans (an indigenous people) who suspected him of giving refuge to one of their blood enemies.
Schema-Archimandrite V. received a sentence of 3 years imprisonment from the authorities for "parasitism". During this anti-parasitism campaign monks were sought out be helicopters, and their huts were laid waste and burnt by police forces. However, no one remembers about the gas-chamber cave - apparently it was only a rumor. [Note: this rumor proved to be true - some of the names of the martyred monastics have even been passed down to us.]
In spite of persecution and and oppression the number of monks in the mountains gradually but steadily increases. In the region of one of the rivers there have appeared in recent years cenobitic sketes for nuns, in which there are especially many young Chuvash women. The ideal of monastic life has not entirely disappeared from the consciousness of the people, and it appears that the Russian Thebaid ought to be sought not in the northern forests, but in the Caucasus mountains.
"It is good in the desert," concluded the former monk of Holy Trinity Lavra in his conversation, "but often despondency oppresses strongly. I look forward to meeting people, but when I descend, I regret having left the tranquility of the desert."
(Source: Orthodox Life, Jordanville, September-October 1989)
In spite of persecution and and oppression the number of monks in the mountains gradually but steadily increases. In the region of one of the rivers there have appeared in recent years cenobitic sketes for nuns, in which there are especially many young Chuvash women. The ideal of monastic life has not entirely disappeared from the consciousness of the people, and it appears that the Russian Thebaid ought to be sought not in the northern forests, but in the Caucasus mountains.
"It is good in the desert," concluded the former monk of Holy Trinity Lavra in his conversation, "but often despondency oppresses strongly. I look forward to meeting people, but when I descend, I regret having left the tranquility of the desert."
(Source: Orthodox Life, Jordanville, September-October 1989)