The Life of St. Arseny Uralsky (Shvetsov)

A "modern" saint

Today (September 10/23) is the day of commemoration for St. Arseny of the Urals, one of the great choir of glorified Old Believer saints in contemporary history. St. Arseny is known for his large apologetic output, and was a prominent figure in public “disputes” with missionaries from other faiths (Nikonian and priestless Old Believers). These disputes were a marvel themselves, sometimes spanning several days, and probing deeply within the topics they debated. It is known that prior to joining the priested Old Believers, Agafya Lykova read from the works of St. Arseny.

There are certain elements of this life that call to mind the lives of Russian ascetics from the medieval period. Indeed the event of the youth who runs to the ascetic life, and the reaction of the parents, with whom we can relate even more personally (being almost contemporary with us) than those of old, is striking, and filled me, a parent, with a taste of the dread and panic the boy’s parents must have experienced to a harrowing degree.

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After 103 years in the crypt, the incorrupt relics of the glorified Old Believer saint—St. Arseny, Bishop of Uralsk and Orenburg—were uncovered. For this solemn event, dozens of clergy and laity from various parts of Russia gathered in the city of Uralsk (Kazakhstan). They had traveled a long way to venerate St. Arseny.

What was it that attracted so many devotees to this provincial bishop, who had passed away over a century ago? Why did people from different parts of the land come here on this day? The answer is simple: this was a man who labored greatly in the field of enlightenment, the author of numerous theological and apologetic works, a zealous confessor of Ancient Orthodoxy, and a good shepherd who dedicated his entire life to this holy cause.

The future saint was born in 1840 in the Vladimir province, in the village of Ilyina Gora, Vyaznikovsky district, into the family of Vasily Shvetsov, an Old Believer of the “Netovtsy” faction of the priestless Old Believers. These priestless Old Believers believed that the Church no longer existed, there was no liturgy, and no true priests remained, which is why they were nicknamed “Netovtsy” (from the Russian word for "none"). However, they called themselves the “Spasovtsy” (the Agreement of the Savior). The child was named Onisim according to the church calendar, in honor of the Holy Apostle Onesimus.

The boy grew up curious and deeply devout. At the age of ten, he was sent to a state-run three-year school, which he completed with distinction, becoming the best among all the students. The school was located 20 versts (about 21 kilometers) from his family home, and over the three years, young Onisim became accustomed to an independent and responsible life. After returning home upon finishing his studies, he frequently visited the priestless elders and pilgrims in the nearby villages, from whom, by the age of 15, he had learned the prayers and all the rituals, becoming their best student. The young man was devoted to reading spiritual books and prayer. Even during haymaking or fieldwork, he never parted with a book or his ladder (lestovka). Every free moment was dedicated to prayer or spiritual reading. He also engaged in copying Church Slavonic books, such as canons for various feasts and saints. For this work, he received a small payment, which allowed him to buy a book of Psalms with the money he earned.

Gradually, Onisim's resolve matured: he decided to leave "the world" and live according to the skete rule, as his elder teachers did. He asked the elders for help in this, and they agreed to settle him in a forest skete, where a few elderly hermits lived in dugouts.

Onisim was taught by the elders that every endeavor should be undertaken with a blessing from one's parents. He dared not even drink water without their blessing. The young man understood that his father and mother would not bless him to live a life of forest asceticism, so he decided to obtain their blessing by cunning, like the biblical patriarch Jacob from his father. One day, during haymaking, the adults sent Onisim to take a horse home and return. The young man decided to use this opportunity to flee. Entering the entryway of the house, he poured a mug of kvass and entered the house with it. After making three prostrations before the icons, he said to his mother, who was tidying up in the kitchen at the time, “Mother, bless me!” Seeing the mug in his hand, his mother thought he was asking for a blessing to drink and replied, “God bless you!” Onisim went back to the entryway, set down the mug without drinking from it, and hurried off with this maternal blessing to the elders. They escorted him to the Udelnaya Forest, to the skete.

The parents searched for the boy for a long time, visiting the elders and combing the entire region, but no one was able to help them in their distress. Some even suggested that Onisim had gone swimming in the Klyazma River and drowned. However, his parents refused to believe this. They prayed to God and gave alms in the hope that the Lord would have mercy on them and return their beloved child. Following someone's advice, they sold the Psalter their son had bought with his own earned money and distributed the proceeds to the poor, hoping for divine help. This happened about a year after the boy had left home.

The Lord had mercy on the parents' grief and inspired Onisim to secretly visit his parents to see if they were still alive and well. After asking for the elders' permission, he disguised himself as a young woman and, pretending to be a wanderer, asked to visit his family home. He asked for a drink of water and sat down to rest. Seeing that everyone was alive and healthy, he decided to leave quickly before anyone could recognize him. However, on his way, a neighbor recognized him and hurried to inform his parents.

His mother ran after him, crying and wailing loudly. Onisim initially refused to turn around, not wanting to reveal himself, but eventually, he took pity on his mother. He sat down by the roadside and waited for her. When she reached him, she grabbed hold of him, weeping, and said, "Come home, now I will not let you go anywhere!" Onisim tried to persuade her to let him return to the elders, but she remained firm, only allowing him to go to the elders to fetch his male clothing, change, and return home.

Onisim told the elders everything that had happened, and they did not hold him back, letting him return to live with his parents. At home, he continued to follow the spiritual rules he had learned from the elders. When he reached conscription age, Onisim was called for military service, which he dreaded, as he would not be able to pray or read sacred books while in the army. At that time, it was possible to hire someone to serve in your place, known as a "volunteer." A man in the village agreed to serve for Onisim in exchange for payment. The family did not have enough money, so they borrowed it and later had to repay the debt.

Onisim had to take a job with the Peshin brothers, merchants engaged in grain and fish trade in the city of Kovrov and throughout the Volga region. The Peshins were also priestless Old Believers, and they had a collection of old printed and manuscript books, which their new worker eagerly devoured. Through studying the sacred books, Onisim came to understand that the priesthood in the Church of Christ could not have vanished. He prayed to God to help him discover where the true priesthood had survived after the Nikonian reforms. One day, he heard from one of the Peshin's visitors that such a priesthood existed in Moscow. Onisim began praying earnestly to find it.

The Lord, who said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you," granted the young seeker’s request. He put it in the heart of one of the merchants, who was traveling to Moscow on business, to take Onisim along—not for any commercial purpose, but simply to show him the ancient capital. Upon arriving in Moscow, Peshin gave Onisim leave to explore the city, and Onisim immediately began praying to God to show him the way to the priesthood. The Lord helped him through a passerby, who told him where the apartment of the Old Believer Archbishop Anthony was located.

It was a miraculous event: for years, hundreds of police agents had scoured Moscow searching for the Old Believer archbishop to arrest him, but they had been unsuccessful. Yet, in a single day, this simple village boy not only found him but also had a conversation with him!

Archbishop Anthony, who himself had once been a priestless Old Believer, welcomed the young visitor with joy and love, discussing with him the legitimacy of the Old Believer priesthood. Opening sacred and historical books, he dispelled all of Onisim's doubts about the Belokrinitskaya priesthood. Onisim accepted the archbishop’s words with all his heart but did not immediately join the priesthood, as he had to repay his debt while living among the priestless Old Believers. He returned with Peshin to Kovrov, where he began writing his first ecclesiastical-apologetic work, which he titled “The History of the Existence of the Priesthood in the Christian Church that Holds to the Ancient Orthodox Confession”. This large manuscript consisted of 13 chapters and 331 pages, and he completed it at the age of 25. Books borrowed from Old Believer priests in the Volga region helped him with this work.

The Peshins noticed that their worker had developed an interest in the priesthood. As devoted and well-read priestless Old Believers, they began to argue with Onisim, trying to prove the "incorrectness" of the Belokrinitskaya priesthood. Onisim, however, relied on Holy Scripture, church canons, and historical books to try to convince them otherwise: the Church of Christ would always have a priesthood, and the Belokrinitskaya Old Believer hierarchy was the legitimate priesthood of Christ. More than once, the Peshins found themselves at a loss, unable to refute Onisim’s arguments. Their elderly mother would often say to her sons, "Onisim knows more than you do, and you will not defeat him!"

Having repaid his entire debt in 1865, Onisim immediately hurried to Moscow to see Archbishop Anthony. The archbishop warmly welcomed the young man and completed his priestless baptism with the proper priestly prayers and rites, as prescribed by the Nomocanon. Onisim’s formal reception into the Church took place in the Old Believer church of Vasilevskaya Sloboda in the Nizhny Novgorod province (now the city of Chkalovsk). The newly enlightened youth asked to stay briefly in the archbishop's apartment to read the books in his vast library, which contained rare manuscripts and old printed editions, some even dating back to the sixteenth century. Seeing Onisim's love for sacred books and prayer, Archbishop Anthony not only allowed him to stay but, after some time, persuaded him to take the position of his scribe, or secretary. Onisim agreed and lived there for 16 years, until the archbishop’s death, studying books and assisting the archbishop in church matters.

While serving as the archbishop's secretary, Onisim Vasilyevich, as he was now called, studied many spiritual and historical books gathered in the archbishop's library, becoming an outstanding expert, known as a nachetchik (a scholar proficient in religious texts, as such individuals were then called). He constantly engaged in self-education, even learning ancient Greek. For this, he attended lessons from a special teacher of Greek grammar and studied for three years with a native Greek, mastering the language perfectly.

Through his extensive knowledge in all areas related to the Church and his ascetic and pious life, Onisim Vasilyevich earned great respect among the Old Believers. People sought his advice on the most complex church issues, and he consistently provided sound guidance. Even Archbishop Anthony would often redirect visitors with their questions to him, saying, "Go to Onisim, he will sort it out." During these years, Onisim Shvetsov began his path as an apologist for the Old Believer Church and its priesthood, often engaging in public debates (called "disputes") with missionaries from the dominant church who sought to win over simple Old Believers. Onisim Vasilyevich astonished his listeners not only with his deep knowledge of old printed and manuscript texts but also with his familiarity with modern spiritual publications of the time. Whereas previous scholars did not read books published by the reformist Orthodox Church in Russian, Shvetsov included these in his arsenal, using the opponents’ own weapons against them, for which they were completely unprepared.

As the archbishop’s secretary, he was overwhelmed with clerical duties, so he hired two or three scribes to whom he dictated letters, responses to believers' questions, as well as his writings in defense of the Ancient Orthodox Church of Christ. He was never idle, often saying, "Our time is precious; to waste it is bad, and to misuse it is even worse." He did not allow himself to spend extra time even on eating: instead of lunch, he drank hot water and continued working, taking food only in the evening, like a true monk. He did not even light a samovar to avoid lingering over tea.

This talented polemicist and scholar, who had a great influence on the primate, caused irritation among some influential Moscow Old Believers. Especially since he sought to arrange church matters according to sacred rules, rather than the whims of wealthy patrons. They tolerated Shvetsov in his role as the archbishop's secretary only until the death of Archbishop Anthony in 1881. After burying his beloved archbishop, whom he revered as a saint and later wrote a biography of (a work titled The Life and Ascetic Struggles of Archbishop Anthony), Onisim Vasilyevich Shvetsov left for Romania, to the Manuilovsky St. Nicholas Monastery, where he continued writing books and even established a true Old Believer printing press. There, he published the Nomocanon with the addition of rites for consecrating antimensions, churches, and ordaining clergy, as well as several other books, including his own work The Truth of the Old Believer Hierarchy. In 1883, he returned to Moscow but maintained ties with the Manuilovsky Monastery, traveling there annually to collect printed books, which he actively distributed throughout Russia, including at the famous Nizhny Novgorod Fair.

In 1884, Onisim Vasilyevich was persuaded to accept the rank of bishop of the Saratov diocese, which was considered the second most influential among all Russian dioceses. He agreed, but with the condition of a slight delay to finish his affairs at the Manuilovsky Monastery in Romania. On January 27, 1885, he received monastic tonsure from Moscow Archbishop Savvaty, taking the name Arseny. The next day, he was ordained a deacon, and on January 29, he was ordained a priest. Afterward, Hieromonk Arseny left for the Manuilovsky Monastery to complete his publishing work, planning to return for his consecration as bishop. However, unrest began in the Saratov diocese, and Bishop Paisios was urgently consecrated there instead.

Returning to Russia, Father Arseny lived for a time in Moscow, actively engaging in the education and defense of Ancient Orthodoxy. One of his notable public appearances during this period was his participation in a debate with professors and students of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on March 23, 1886. Persecution against Hieromonk Arseny from his Moscow opponents continued, and he "gave place to wrath" by leaving the ancient capital. After living in the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod regions, he settled in 1887 in an Old Believer skete near the village of Bezzvodnoye in the Nizhny Novgorod province. There, he combined his sacred service and monastic asceticism with a large literary output, composing and secretly printing numerous works defending the Church. His closest disciple and companion, Ivan Grigorievich Usov, helped him in this work. The original books were handwritten with special ink on paper, after which the sheets were pressed against a hectographic mass (based on gelatin, like jelly). The mass produced a bright impression, to which white sheets of paper were then applied one by one, transferring the text. This method allowed for no more than a hundred copies to be made, with each subsequent copy fainter than the last. The sheets were dried, bound, and thus the banned books defending Old Belief were created.

Since the print run of such publications was very small, Father Arseny decided to organize a proper printing press with a press machine, modeled after the Manuilovsky press. The machine and type were purchased through donations from wealthy Old Believers. However, something unforeseen happened: just as the press in Bezzvodnoye was ready to begin work, the Volga River flooded, submerging the cellar where the secret printing house was located. Additionally, it became difficult to keep the press hidden in the village, as the transportation of ink, paper, and finished books could not go unnoticed. Father Arseny decided to move the printing house to Nizhny Novgorod.

His nephew and disciple, Priest Stefan Labzin, writes about this: "How much courage and energy were needed to publish such books in Russia at that time, when Nikonian missionaries were rampant and spying on Old Believers at every step! And on top of that, there were even Old Believers who hated what Father Arseny was doing for the benefit of Christ's Church. But as a true preacher, despite all obstacles, he worked tirelessly—writing and printing his works at great personal risk. He had many loyal people who lived with him and took the greatest interest in publishing the books; even one Nikonian lived with him and helped print the books. Father Arseny often said, 'Is it not a miracle?—in the heart of Russia, right under the noses of the missionaries, books are being printed in defense of the Old Believer Church of Christ!'" The title pages of the books printed at this press, for the sake of secrecy, indicated a foreign place of publication—Jassy, and the printing house "B.N. P...k," which stood for "God is Our Helper."

Father Arseny continued to engage in public disputes against the reformist Orthodox missionaries, consistently emerging victorious in these debates. The authorities sought a reason to punish the Old Believer preacher, and such an excuse was eventually found. In August 1890, Father Arseny was entrusted with an important task, which required him to secretly visit all the Old Believer bishops in Russia. On September 1, while traveling through the Chernihiv province, he was arrested on charges of "open promotion of schism" (several copies of his illegally published books and 1,000 rubles were found on him). Father Arseny spent more than seven months in custody and was only released in April of the following year on a large bail, which was paid by Old Believer merchants. He was held "as the most dangerous criminal," and for a time, even correspondence was forbidden to him. "All his necessary papers and many books were confiscated, and he was kept under the strictest supervision in prison. Various archimandrites came to him, urging him to convert to Nikonian Orthodoxy, promising him complete freedom if he did. But Father Arseny replied, 'Prove to me your Orthodoxy, and I will not resist—I will convert.' But no matter how hard they tried, the persuaders could prove nothing," writes Father Stefan Labzin.

After being released from prison, Father Arseny returned to Nizhny Novgorod, where he settled in the house of the merchant Vera Mikhailovna Sirotkina. While living in Nizhny, Father Arseny continued studying ancient church and patristic texts, and he began to collect a library, regularly ordering books from publishers, bookstores, and antiquarian shops. Within just a year, his library had grown to 664 books. In addition, he collected and reproduced photographic portraits of bishops and other prominent Old Believer figures. Father Arseny was eager to share his books with Old Believers in need and advised them on where to obtain the necessary publications. He continued to pass on his knowledge and experience to his students, including the future Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod and later Metropolitan of the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy, Ivan Grigoryevich Usov, as well as Fyodor Yefimovich Melnikov and others. He did not cease his preaching among his fellow villagers, leading first his parents, and then other villagers from Ilyina Gora, to join the Church.

In 1897, Bishop Victor of Uralsk and Orenburg passed away. Possessing the gift of foresight, he had long before predicted that his successor would be the great luminary, Father Arseny. The Old Believer Cossacks of Uralsk unanimously chose Father Arseny as their candidate for the episcopacy. They submitted a petition to Archbishop Savvaty, which read: “For our widowed diocese, we, the undersigned representatives from the towns of Uralsk, Orenburg, Ilek, Guryev, and other settlements, have unanimously, in public assemblies, elected Father Arseny Shvetsov, well-known to us in every respect, valuable for our region, and desired to be consecrated as the successor to the widowed episcopal throne.” All the bishops of Russia, headed by Archbishop Savvaty, agreed with this request. On October 21, 1897, a solemn service was held in the Old Believer church of the village of Elesino, in the Nizhny Novgorod province, where Bishops Kirill of Nizhny Novgorod and Joasaph of Kazan consecrated Father Arseny as the “Bishop of Uralsk and Orenburg, with oversight of the Asian side.”

Upon arriving in Uralsk, the newly consecrated bishop obtained permission from the local authorities to open a stone Old Believer church, which had been sealed for many years. This was the very Pokrovsky Church where St. Arseny later served and beside whose altar he was buried. He officiated services, managed the diocese, wrote works in defense of Old Belief, and visited parishes not only in his diocese but also in two others temporarily entrusted to his care, sometimes traveling more than 1,000 versts (about 1,065 kilometers) on horseback. He gathered a library valued at 10,000 tsarist rubles after his death. The money he received from benefactors was distributed to needy churches and priests, keeping only what was necessary for his needs and for buying books. He consecrated churches and provided them with everything necessary for worship. He wrote responses to the thousands of letters he received. He lived an ascetic and prayerful life, regularly performing divine services.

In 1898, by the decision of a council of bishops, Archbishop Savvaty was retired. The duties of locum tenens of the all-Russian primatial see were entrusted to Bishop Arseny. During his few months in this position, he achieved much. The Higher Spiritual Council, which had included wealthy laymen trying to impose their will on the bishops, was abolished, and in its place, annual councils were convened according to church canons. This could not be forgiven by some of the "offended" parties. They and their associates actively accused Bishop Arseny of various "heresies" and errors in the correction of liturgical texts. These accusations were aimed at preventing him from being elected as Archbishop. However, Bishop Arseny, in his humility, did not wish to leave Uralsk or become the primate. After organizing church affairs, he handed them over to the newly elected Archbishop John.

Priest Stefan Labzin wrote: “In the 10 years and 8 months of his episcopacy, he brought great benefit to the Old Believer Church. In his first year as bishop, he revived the councils. At the councils' request, he managed the dioceses of Moscow, then Nizhny Novgorod, and finally Saratov, for each widowed diocese wished to have him as its bishop or at least be temporarily governed by him, for all knew of his vigilance and care for the entrusted flock.

During his entire episcopacy, Bishop Arseny did not involve himself in any outside activities. He had no free time to rest, go to summer cottages, or visit monasteries. Winter and summer, day and night, his time was consumed with church and diocesan matters. Every year he toured his diocese, dedicating months to these travels, and when he returned, he would find an enormous pile of correspondence awaiting him—sometimes exceeding a hundred letters—and he personally wrote responses to each one. Even in the last summer of his life, despite his extremely poor health, he did not leave his flock without visits. After celebrating Bright Week, he traveled to the Saratov diocese during Thomas Week, returning to Uralsk only by Trinity Week. After celebrating the Feast of the Holy Trinity, he again set out on Tuesday to visit parishes in the Uralsk diocese, traveling more than 1,000 versts on horseback, returning to Uralsk on July 19, and then departing for Moscow for the council on July 22. After the council, he was asked to go to the city of Rzhev to reconcile the local parishioners. After visiting Rzhev, Bishop Arseny traveled to Nizhny Novgorod, where he celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration with a divine service. From Nizhny, he again departed for the Saratov diocese to visit several parishes, returning home only on August 24. On September 4, Bishop Arseny fell ill; on September 8, he was anointed, and on September 10, at 2:00 a.m., he received Holy Communion, and at 5:00 a.m., he quietly reposed at the age of 69.

The burial took place on September 14, a Sunday, which coincided with the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. The burial was performed by Bishop Innocent of Nizhny Novgorod, with the participation of 13 priests and two deacons. The number of people present was impossible to determine. Bishop Arseny was buried in Uralsk, near the altar of the church.

Upon his death, Bishop Arseny’s only possessions consisted of his library, which was worth over 10,000 rubles and had been collected by him personally. It was bequeathed to the Uralsk community, with the condition that his successor would make use of it. No money was left. Although he had received many donations from benefactors, he distributed them to poor parishes and destitute priests. Every newly ordained priest was provided with all the necessary supplies. He donated to new parishes and priests, not only in his own diocese but also to others, sending aid to the northern regions and the provinces of Olonets and Arkhangelsk.

Although he left no material wealth behind, Bishop Arseny left something far more valuable. He left behind numerous writings that serve the benefit of Christ's Holy Church. His memory is unforgettable, and in time, all his labors will be justly appreciated.”

Bishop Arseny left behind many writings and books that he republished. Concerned with the correctness of the sacraments and the proper performance of sacred rites, he issued his own editions of the Rite of Baptism and Rite of Confession, to which he added a personally compiled "Brief Nomocanon"—a handbook for priests on the penances prescribed by the sacred canons for correcting those guilty of serious sins.

Listing the titles of all Bishop Arseny's works in defense of Ancient Orthodoxy would likely fill many pages. The most significant and well-known include “The Truth of the Old Believer Hierarchy Against Accusations Leveled Against It”, “The Justification of the Old Believer Holy Church of Christ”, “In Response to Presumptuous and Puzzling Questions of the Present Time”, “A Demonstration of the Universality of the Two-Finger Sign of the Cross in the Ancient Orthodox Church and Errors Against the Holy Gospel in the New-Ritualist Greco-Russian Church”, “On the Essence and Properties of the Church of Christ, as Confessed in the Orthodox Creed, and An Explanation of the Faith in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church Between the Followers of the Greco-Russian and Old Believer Churches”, among others.

However, the most important of his works, summarizing his years of polemical activity, is a large but little-known work titled Confidence in the Truth of the Old Believer Church of Christ—a substantial hectographic publication on 304 pages. It is presented as a dialogue between a Belokrinitsky Old Believer, a New-Ritualist, a Priestless Old Believer, and a Fugitive Priest Old Believer, addressing the main objections to the accusations against the Old Believer hierarchy. This invaluable book came into the hands of the author of these lines in the 1990s and made such an indelible impression that I reread and took notes on it many times over several months. This work became a treasure trove of wisdom for subsequent Old Believer scholars, including those outside the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy. In a revised form, it was published in the secret Nizhny Novgorod printing press (with the place of publication listed as Chernivtsi, Austria) in 1901 by Bishop Arseny's disciple, the scholar Ivan Usov, under his name and with a new title: The Church of Christ Temporarily Without a Bishop. This same book formed the basis of the famous "Excerpts" by the young scholar V.T. Zelenkov, who had been converted from Priestlessness by Bishop Arseny during a chance meeting on a steamboat.

This book by Bishop Arseny also helped the author of these lines, though not immediately, to recognize the truth of the Belokrinitskaya Old Believer hierarchy and join the Church. For this, I am especially grateful to St. Arseny of Uralsk.

The veneration of St. Arseny among the people was very great, and even a century after his repose, it had not faded. In the summer of 1988, one of the priests, with the blessing of Metropolitan Alimpiy, secretly examined the relics of St. Arseny in the crypt of the Pokrovsky Church in Uralsk, which had been converted into a military officers’ club. The relics were found to be incorrupt. On October 16, 2008, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church almost unanimously recognized Bishop Arseny as a saint. On September 23, 2011, the 103rd anniversary of his repose, the solemn uncovering of his relics took place. Metropolitan Korniliy of Moscow and All Russia, accompanied by a large number of clergy and laity, traveled to the ancient Cossack town of Uralsk, now in Kazakhstan. In the presence of many local residents and visitors, the underground crypt containing the saint's relics was opened, and the wooden coffin, which had remained intact for over a century, was brought to the surface. The laity stepped back as a specially prepared curtain was drawn. From this point, only priests and deacons, led by the metropolitan, handled the relics. All of this took place in the courtyard of the Old Believer church in Uralsk, where the saint had served during his lifetime, to the south of the right-hand altar wall.

As sacred hymns were sung, the lid of the coffin was removed, revealing a second coffin made of zinc. Opposite the face of the deceased, there was a glass window in the lid, but nothing could be seen through it. The metal lid was removed, and before the assembled was the figure of a man, covered from head to toe with a dark cloth.

A sense of awe swept over everyone present: “What will we find beneath the cloth? Will the relics be truly incorrupt, with flesh and skin, or merely a skeleton?” With reverence and care, the covering was removed, revealing a remarkable sight: the saint lay in full vestments (instead of a sakkos, he was dressed in a crimson robe, as was customary for bishops of that time), wearing a dark red mitre, and his face was covered by a crimson liturgical veil, bordered with silver fringe.

“What is beneath the veil?”—this, too, was removed, uncovering the face of the reposed saint. A sigh of relief passed through the crowd. The face, eyelids, nose, lips, and ears were all intact and incorrupt, one hundred and three years after burial! Moreover, the face had smoothed out from the wrinkles of old age, and the saint now resembled his youthful portraits.

The relics, as is often the case, were brown in color, resembling a dark wooden sculpture. The saint was carefully disrobed. His ribcage was found to be remarkably intact. His fingers were arranged in the two-fingered sign of the cross—they had retained their position for an entire century! The vestments on his body were mostly intact, though they had partially decayed beneath his back. The wooden pectoral cross remained as new, and the cord on which it hung could not be broken by hand.

After the relics were uncovered, they were washed with clean water, and then a solemn rite of re-vesting was performed, with censing and appropriate hymns. The saint was clothed in white vestments and a new mitre, and his face was covered with a new veil, according to Orthodox custom. The curtain was then drawn back, and the new coffin containing the revered relics was brought into the church courtyard. Over a portion of the saint’s relics, the rite of the blessing of the waters was performed, and then the saint was carried in procession around the church.

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