An interview
with Abbess Euphrosinia (Laptik)
Abbess
Euphrosinia, the Mother Superior of St Elisabeth Convent, was tonsured in
honour of St Euphrosinia of Polotsk, the heavenly patroness of Belarusian land
whose name means «joy». St Euphrosinia is one of the most highly venerated
saints in Belarus, considered to be the patroness of arts and sciences. It may
be for this reason that the most creative people of this country come to this
convent in order to serve God with their talents in the numerous workshops of
the Convent. Other people whom the Convent helps to return to the right track
come here for rehabilitation. In an interview with our magazine, The Monastic
Herald, Abbess Euphrosinia speaks about her path to becoming an abbess; about
her obedience in the mental clinic; about some distinct features of her
community, which has been oriented towards helping people since the very
beginning of its existence; as well as about freedom and creativity in a
monastery, false Christianity, various faces of monasticism, and true culture.
Noah's Ark in
Minsk
The Russians
have always perceived monasteries as beacons of salvation or as Noah's Arks. In
this respect, St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk is a real shelter for people who
suffer because they lack proper guidance in life. However, can the Convent help
everybody?
We're going
through hard times when unemployment rates are soaring and people do not have
jobs to support their families. This is why they come to work in our Convent.
We provide jobs for about 1,500 people. It's surprising how the Lord finds
something to do for everyone. More often than not, these people are very far
from the Church. After they begin to work in the Convent, they gradually become
practising Christians, confess, and take communion.
When the
government allocated a plot of land with a demolished farm, a rotten-through
cowshed and a ruined horse stable for us in early 2000s, we were shocked: the
Convent was being built, and we feared we wouldn't be able to manage a farm in
addition to it. My obedience at that time consisted of visiting drug addicts in
the psychiatric hospital. Many of them had nowhere to go after the course of
treatment. That was how our farm turned into a shelter for drug addicts, and
some time later, homeless people or former prisoners started to come there.
In other words,
there is a place for everyone in your Convent, isn't there?
There are many
mansions in our Father's house (smiles). The Lord says, «Him that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out». (John 6:37). On the other hand, people are corrupt
nowadays: they cannot tolerate any criticism and retort immediately,
"Where's your love you used to boast of?" That is the hardest thing
to bear.
Take, for
instance, the brothers from the rehab. A person may have spent years on the
street but as soon as he comes to the Convent and gets plenty of food and
sleep, he begins to feel and behave like a hero. I'm guilty of that, too, I
have to admit. It seems that if you have come to the Convent, you should serve
God and wash everyone's feet, but we aren't satisfied: this sister said this,
that sister looked at me like that, and so forth.
The older
generation is different. Those people lived in scarcity and were grateful for
every penny. On the contrary, we have everything we need, like new and
comfortable dormitories. This is an enormous disadvantage: we've got spoiled by
abundance, and this is where all our problems begin. I read that in a convent
in Moscow in the past people would bring bags of potato and hang them on the
doors of nuns' cells, so the nuns ate only as much food as they had donated.
Compare this with us who have everything at hand. This is why our efforts today
should be aimed at spiritual practice.
Yes, we
present-day Orthodox are spoiled by the splendour of our churches and by the
comfort, typical of many monasteries today. Many monastics admit it.
The beauty of
our churches is a sermon. When an individual comes to a monastery and sees this
beauty, he can't but be impressed by it, and so he gets attracted to the Church
and to God.
Your Convent is
open to the world. In Russia, we are used to monasteries that are isolated from
lay people, but your Convent is different. Doesn't this openness harm the
monastic sisters, what do you think? How can they combine active help to other
people and prayer? How do you find the balance?
The Lord gives
everyone their own ministry. I feel that our Convent is what it is thanks to
God's Providence about us. We have nuns, lay sisters, mentally challenged
people, and socially vulnerable brothers and sisters who stay in our rehabilitation
centres. The Lord brought us together, so this must have been his will.
You don't need
to become a recluse in order to fight the sin inside you. The beast that sits
inside you is expressed in conversation through conflicts and disagreements. At
the same time, when we serve people, we receive God's grace. When your life is
limited to your church and your cell, all passions rise up inside your soul.
Not everyone is able to stand up against such spiritual struggle.
When our
Convent was in the very beginning, there was a question if the nuns should
visit the psychiatric hospital or not, and our spiritual father Archpriest
Andrew stated, «If you have to sit in your cells, you will hit the ceiling». It
doesn't mean we should abandon the cell, you know. It seems to me that there is
no contradiction.
Father Andrew
often quotes an episode from a well-known biography of a holy hierarch, when
bishops met a beautiful prostitute on the street one day. That holy hierarch
gazed at her for so long that other bishops were embarrassed. After a while,
the holy hierarch said, «If only we put as much effort into the embellishment
of our souls as she does to make her body look appealing!» He prayed for that
whore, and later she became a holy nun.
You know, I
read letters by Father John Krestyankin where he says that nuns and monks
nowadays should not confine themselves to the cells. So many people today need
spiritual help! It was the Lord who entrusted this ministry to us: we did not look
for it. So we cannot isolate our Convent from the people. If they come here, we
have to accept them.
Yes, you're
right, we may lose something important. However, I would like to point out that
when the sisters, who travel with products made in our workshops and take part
in various exhibitions, return to the convent, their faces are bright and
happy, as it they never left their cells: they're filled with life and God's
grace.
And vice versa,
a sister who is in the Convent all the time, may be gloomy and hard to please.
The spiritual
father of your Convent repeatedly emphasises the need for unity, the communion
of the nuns, the «white», i.e. lay sisters, and the Orthodox in general. Was it
the original plan for the Convent?
It developed
naturally because the Convent was born of the Sisterhood. There was no special
order or edict that a convent was to be built on this place. There were some
sisters of mercy who had their obediences in the mental hospital, and in the
meantime they decided that they wanted to live together. When we started
building St Elisabeth Church, no one even thought about establishing a convent,
but one year later, in August 1999, we performed our first tonsure. This day is
considered to be our Convent's birthday.
«The Blessing
of Your Parents Shall Always Be With You»
Mother, how did
you find yourself in the Sisterhood? What brought you there?
By that time I
worked as an aide in the operation theatre at the Institute of Oncology. I
liked my job very much and studied to become a nurse. One of the nurses at the
Institute of Oncology was a churchgoer and invited me to go with her. That was
how I started going to church.
Unlike today,
there were few easily accessible spiritual books in the 1990s, so I remember
how I copied the prayers by hand. The first church books I read were The
Mystery of Faith by the Rt Rev Hilarion (Alfeyev) and writings of St Silouan
the Athonite. I read a book about St Sergius of Radonezh for the first time in
Church Slavonic, as if I already knew this language. I understood everything.
I took
communion for the first time in 1994, on Pascha Sunday, in the Church in honour
of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Father Andrew served the Akathist to the Holy
Martyr Elisabeth Fyodorovna in that church on Sundays, followed by meetings of
the Sisterhood in the parish office. Coming to church for the Akathist, I
looked at the sisters of mercy with awe: there were about ten of them by that
time, and they were very different from other parishioners.
After the first
meeting that I attended together with Sister Tatiana (currently Nun Tamara),
Father Andrew blessed me to wear the white vestment of a sister and told me
that they needed nurses in the boarding home. That was how I started working in
the boarding home and visiting drug addicts in the psychiatric hospital as a
sister of mercy. I was 26 at the time.
Do your family
members go to church often? How did your parents react to the path you chose to
take in life?
My mum wrote a
letter to me, saying that, «Whatever you chose, your parents' blessing will
always be with you». My parents weren't observant Christians at that time.
The mental
hospital is near the Convent, the patients attend services in the churches, and
the sisters take care of them. Living side by side with such people must call
for a certain kind of personality, full of patience, doesn't it? How do the
nuns get used to it? Do some sisters have issues with this or they deliberately
choose your convent out of the desire to serve people?
First of all,
yes, sisters know where they come. Secondly, almost all nuns used to be sisters
of mercy who came to the Convent from the Sisterhood. «White» sisters continue
to become nuns but today there are other sisters who come directly to the
Convent, and even from other countries: we have sisters from Montenegro,
Serbia, and Poland. It is a natural process for us; we don't pay too much
attention to it. Of course, things may be tough for the sisters at times.
However, we have monastic meetings in our Convent on a weekly basis. These
meetings are an immense help for the sisters.
Unity That
Gives Birth to Salvation
Speaking of
meetings, your Convent has a very popular website with lots of useful
information, including recordings of meetings of the Sisterhood since 2008,
where sisters sometimes share their personal discoveries on their road to God.
These recordings are very useful and edifying, I must admit.
We have had the
meetings of the Sisterhood since the beginning of its existence, and we added
meetings of monastic sisters as soon as the Convent was founded. Nuns attend
both kinds of meetings. Additionally, we hold meetings of the Monastic Council
every week. The meetings of the «white» sisters and the nuns focus on dealing
with everyday problems, discussions, sharing opinions and personal insights.
These meetings are essential for us: they are a continuation of worship where
we all gather around the Chalice.
Three years
ago, a book titled How We Live and How We Should Live: A Dialogue of
Contemporary Christians, which contains excerpts from the meetings held in
2006-2011, was published by the Publishing House of the Convent. The spiritual
father of the Convent, nuns and lay sisters share their experiences and spiritual
knowledge. They discuss questions that are relevant for every Christian. Again,
unity is the central point of these meetings because it is thanks to unity that
the great salvation is born, as Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) used to say.
We appreciate
Father Sophrony very much. That's right, it is for the sake of unity that we
come together.
I'm not aware
of any other way to remain close, kind and thoughtful of each other. It is
easier to understand a person who expresses his thoughts.
I recall monastic
conferences for abbots and abbesses in Moscow. The Most Rev Theognost keeps
calling upon and invoking the audience to ask questions and not be silent. We
have similar situations when Father Andrew has to ask us, «Sisters, why are you
silent? Don't you have anything to worry about?» (smiles)
Have you been
to SS Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, established by Grand Princess Elisabeth
Fyodorovna, during your trips to Moscow?
I happened to
visit this convent during the Nativity conference in January of this year. It
goes without saying that the presence and the love of the Holy Martyr
Elisabeth, whose name our Convent also bears, is visible there. By the way,
there is an icon of St Sergius (Serebryansky), the confessor of SS Martha and
Mary Convent, in our St Elisabeth Church.
Mother
Euphrosinia, have you and your sisters found the answer to the question «How
should we live?» on the cover of that book?
We are looking
for the answer. You have to spend your entire life searching for the answer, it
seems.
Freedom and
False Piety
Do you have a
strict charter in your convent?
I don't think
it is strict. In my opinion, having freedom and learning how to use that
freedom is the hardest thing to do. We don't have limitations on where you can
or cannot go. There is a good tradition in many convents for the abbess to
assign daily chores to the sisters every morning. We can't do that because our
daily schedules are imposed on us by the very nature of our obediences. For
example, how can I order a sister who works in the legal department? They have
specific work to do and fixed business hours. Or take the House of Love of
Labour, where they have certain special schedules, too.
What do you
take into account when you assign duties? Do you ask the sisters what they
would like to do?
Naturally, I
factor in everything: their talents, inclination, and wishes. This is, again, a
sign of our time. People in the past used to do what they were told to do
without much consideration. Today, you ask a sister, «Where would you like to
work?» Perhaps, we have no other option, at least, that's what many people say…
This is one of
the reasons why we have regular meetings. It is during these meetings that we
are able to discuss not just our daily issues but also deal with conflicts and
disagreements, like you would expect from a family. You see, there is nothing
worse than false piety, rigidity, and stubbornness. I mean, when one says
«Forgive me», «Bless me» but secretly despises everyone.
It is not a
secret that lack of shared vision is a real problem for many monasteries. Why
do people come to us? Because we have a spiritual father, and there is no
conflict between the abbess and the spiritual father, which is very important.
In fact, this is the most important thing. When people in a monastery start to
take sides — one is for the abbess, another one is for the spiritual father —
it's tragic.
How to prevent
it? Who is to blame?
Everyone is to
blame. Nevertheless, the abbess and the spiritual father are to blame first of
all.
Can the sisters
of your Convent approach you directly with their problems?
Sure! We have a
simple, family-like way of doing things. At least, we would like it to be that
way and do our best to ensure it.
How do the
sisters contact the spiritual father of the Convent?
Father Andrew
is in the Convent every day, except Thursday. He spends more time here with us
than at home with his family. That's why, apart from his own children (who are
adult already), he has 111 children-nuns. He is like a father for us.
One of the
sisters likened Father Andrew to a monk.
He even has a
cell in the Convent. He serves in the Convent on an almost daily basis; he
hears the confessions of all sisters and many parishioners twice a week; he has
meetings with «white» sisters, nuns, parishioners, and people who undergo
treatment in our rehabilitation centres.
The «Least
Interesting» Person
Currently,
there are nine churches in the Convent, and yet another church is planned, the
fourth church on the territory of the Convent. Is the main cathedral of the
Convent — the Church in honour of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God — not
enough for everyone willing to take part in worship?
When the Church
in honour of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God was being built, we thought
that there would be enough space for everyone — it can accommodate 1,200
persons. However, many more people come to the Convent now, especially on
feasts: people have to stand outdoors on Palm Sunday and Pascha, and there were
about 1,500 people who took communion.
Interior of the
Church in honour of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God
This church is
impressive, of course, just look at the mosaics!
I read a story
about SS Martha and Mary Convent in your magazine. There was a woman who
criticised the sisters of this convent in the comments, saying that walls are
easier to build than the spirit. The reporter invited that woman to come to the
convent and see for herself how it is organised before criticising. People
criticise us, too. They call us «merchants» or «Euronuns». You can take any
exalted idea and distort and slander it.
Our widespread
activity and construction projects aren't goals in and of themselves. Do you
remember how monks criticised St Moses of Optina when he decided to build a new
guest house while the treasury was empty. He was doing it for the sake of
visitors. It was thanks to this construction project that lay people could earn
money and feed their families. We have the same situation, it's just that the
world is different, circumstances are different, but in general, things aren't
any different at all.
His Beatitude
Alexis II visited Minsk in 2008. It was him who consecrated the Church in
honour of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God. It was his last visit to
Belarus and his last consecrated church. In order to commemorate this event,
craftspeople who work in the Convent made a special «pencil», which His
Beatitude used to put his name on a clay panel in that church. Mother Abbess,
do you have some impressions of this visit to share with us?
It was a
historic event for our Convent. I recall it with great delight; I have only
bright memories of that day. We all had been looking forward to seeing the
Patriarch, so all our sisters were present in the Convent on that day. I
remember how, when we were meeting the Patriarch, the nuns lined up outdoors,
as usual, while the white sisters stood inside the church. It was truly
beautiful and solemn. When Patriarch Alexis entered the church and saw the
whole church occupied by sisters wearing white (there were about two hundred
sisters of mercy at that time), he was struck with amazement: he had not
expected it.
Frankly
speaking, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many people in the church on
weekdays: the Church in honour of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God is
packed with people even on Friday night, during the Akathist. Are the majority
of these people local to this neighbourhood?
No, most of
them come from other parts of the city or from other cities and towns.
What do you
think makes people come to the Convent?
Perhaps, this
is due to the fact that God's grace abides here. Beside that, they like our
spiritual father, the Rev Andrew Lemeshonok, very much.
Everything we
have now is thanks exclusively to his inspiration. He sets everything in
motion, and we follow his lead. Father Andrew keeps us awake and makes sure we
don't sit idle.
Yes, his vigour
is something we can attest to. We have already experienced this «generous wash
by Father Andrew»: he approached each person in the church after the Akathist
and generously sprinkled them with holy water two or three times. We have never
seen anything like this before. You wake up immediately, and that was great because
we were sleepy after travelling by train…
Yes, you're
right (laughs)! Our spiritual father is a creative person. The sisters who come
to the Convent are talented and creative, too. I'm the least interesting person
in our Convent. I'm not sure you will be able to make an interview out of my
answers.
Anyway, the
Lord has put you in charge of a convent with such an active social ministry.
Abbess Sergia (Konkova), the Mother Superior of Diveevo St Seraphim Convent,
told us in an interview that being an abbess is a cross. Based on your words,
can we assume that it truly is a cross for you?
Apostle Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 1:28: «And base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not». I can only say that
I have to humble myself down. Being an abbess is a straightjacket and a huge
responsibility for me. You become as quiet as a lamb, even if you don't want to
do so. In fact, I realise that another person should be the abbess instead of
me but God knows best. I sometimes wish someone would let me out of this
straightjacket and give it to somebody else (smiles).
As far as I
know, there was a different Mother Superior in this Convent at first. She
didn't spend a long time in this capacity, did she?
Yes, our first
Mother Superior had been the Senior Sister of the Sisterhood, but they
appointed me to this post in March 2000, a year after the Convent was founded.
The previous Mother Superior was dreaming of an isolated cloister but it wasn't
like that since the very beginning. There are several hospitals and a boarding
home nearby, and our sisters visited the ill but many other people needed our
help, too. Our first Mother Superior did not want the nuns to visit the ill. By
the way, her dream of a quiet convent has come true: today she is in a isolated
and quiet place.
On the
contrary, the Lord led me to becoming a nun via the Sisterhood, and I don't
quite get it why a monastic cannot help the ill and tell them about Jesus.
Sometimes people find it hard to ask a priest for advice with regard to their
personal issues; they find it easier to tell a sister about them, and then the
sister sends them to a priest, to church, and explains the need to confess and
take communion.
In a word, this
is what I mean when I say «practical Orthodox mission».
Mission, yes. I
will even go so far as calling it an apostolate. Yes, we do spoil everything
but the Lord acts through us for the sake of the people, you see? The sisters
tell me how God teaches them during their obedience and helps them to say the
right words.
A Catholic
saint Mother Theresa said that she was «a pencil in God's hands».
It turns out
that you need these people, not vice versa; it isn't you who helps them — it is
they that help you. You simply can't comprehend how you lived in this world
without it.
One of your
nuns remarked that if you didn't visit the ill on Pascha, you have missed
something and your joy isn't full.
Exactly. One
needs to share joy with someone else. If you want to be happy, you shouldn't
spare yourself, and God will grant you everything you need a hundredfold. You
should try to notice your neighbour and share something with them because you
can only be happy if you give something away.
Mother
Euphrosinia, you said that you had your first communion on a Pascha. Is the
Paschal joy of a monastic different from that of a lay person, in your opinion?
Do monastics have a unique experience of this main Orthodox holiday?
Pascha is a
transition. It seems to me that no one on Earth experiences it to the fullest —
neither monastics, nor laypeople. However, even if you aren't happy on this
holiday, your soul is still touched by the Resurrection.
You Simply Have
To… Die
St Elisabeth
Convent in Minsk is famous for its active educational and cultural outreach.
The Three Parables film series and chants by the Festive Choir of the Convent,
conducted by Nun Juliania (Denisova), the precentor-in-chief, have gained
widespread popularity. When this choir came to Moscow for the first time, we,
then students of the Orthodox university, were greatly impressed; later,
spiritual songs by Nun Juliana were sung practically by the entire Orthodox
world. Documentaries The Precentor and The Nun about her path to becoming a nun
were a hit, although critical voices were also heard. There was a similar
situation with Hieromonk Photius (Mochalov) who won at The Voice TV show.
Mother Euphrosinia, what do you think about creative self-expression by
monastics?
It wouldn't happen
if it weren't useful. No one treats Nun Juliania like a celebrity here. It is
just a given to us. There was some negative feedback after The Nun, but mostly
it was positive.
Does she as a
nun find it difficult to cope with increased attention? She woke up to become
famous; people ask her for autographs. A book she had written prior to becoming
a nun has seen the light recently.
She definitely
finds it a hard thing to deal with, and she admits it during our meetings.
That's how I look at it: you can do nothing, sit in your cell, never express
yourself in any way, hide from the world, but your pride won't disappear
because you can consider yourself great even if you don't do anything. The less
you do, the greater you imagine yourself to be. On the contrary, this situation
reveals everything that is hidden, especially pride and vainglory.
When someone
takes the veil, she dies for the world. How do we understand these words
correctly, if the monastic carries out her mission in this world? I don't mean
dying for the world per se; I'm trying to infer that monastic living may be as
diverse as it gets. Our perception of monastic life is often one-sided: a monk
is thought to be a person who doesn't talk to anyone, doesn't smile, stares at
the ground and sits in voluntary confinement.
Of course one
can read many books and find far-fetched quotations, but the truth is that
monasticism has had various faces since the beginning. For example, St Joseph
Volotsky and St Nil Sorsky had different callings but the same purpose, so they
had no problem dealing with one another, they liked one another. There were
three hospitals and a dedicated church for the mentally ill in the monastery of
St Theodosius the Great who is considered to be the founder of coenobitic
monasteries.
If our Convent
was established in a remote village or in the woods, we would live there
praying and working with our hands. Nevertheless, the Lord founded this Convent
here, where there are so many ill people in need of support and love.
People are reluctant
to forgive a monastic who has simple human weaknesses. They imagine that he
should not be annoyed or get angry, as if he were dead. Ideally yes, that's how
it should be. This is our goal but we haven't become Angels yet. Why is it so
difficult for some people to understand it?
You can't
expect us to be like St Poemen the Great or St Sergius of Radonezh. St Ignatius
(Bryanchaninov) said that monastics were superhuman in the ancient times, but
the lay people were stronger in faith, too: they prayed and lived in piety [1].
Where do I as
an abbess find the necessary experience to be like them? I was a lazy and
disobedient girl who came to church to be purified, cleansed, adorned by the
Lord who blessed me to become a nun and then an abbess. You can’t learn
everything at once. This is why we serve God to the best of our abilities and
we learn all the time. We make many mistakes and surprisingly enough, given our
unique ability to mess everything up, the Lord still manages to build
something.
You Simply Have
to Love, this song by Nun Juliania (Denisova) that many people consider to be
their favourite song, lists the virtues that lead to salvation. In fact, all of
these virtues boil down to one: you simply have to... die. Is such genuine,
authentic monasticism possible nowadays?
Of course, it
is. Everything depends on how the person responds to God’s calling.
Monastyrskii
Vestnik (The Monastic Herald)
Interview by
Christina Polyakova
June 26, 2016
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