Leonid Denisov Biography

Born: September 25, shortly after his birth, Denisov moved to Nizhny Novgorod, it is also known that the mother of the future bishop was an actress of the Nizhny Novgorod Drama Theater for some time. The future archpastor adopted the basics of literacy from the exiled Pole by the name of Kozakevich, who wrote a Russian alphabet for the boy, according to which he learned to read and write.

The beginnings of Christian education belong to the same time. 1.5-2 miles from the then Nizhny Novgorod was the Ascension Pechersk Monastery, and a few ... Closer to the city was a stone chapel, later converted to the Vozdvizhensky church. It was here that Leonid Denisov and his comrades gathered, moved through the fence, arranged an “altar” on the porch, dressed up on home -made “ries” and played, making, according to Vladyka, “something between the lunch and prayer”.

At the same time, little Lena often fell out to play the “role of a priest”. In the year, Leonid Denisov entered the gymnasium, where he was especially interested in the study of ancient languages. Recalling later the gymnasium years, Vladyka Arseny especially identified the teacher of the church-Slavic language and Russian literature M. Velikanova died in the year in the dignity of Bishop Sarapulsky with the name Methodius, priest Andrei Svetlakov, who taught the Law of God later - Bishop of Kaluga and Borovskaya Alexander, died in the year, the director of the Gymnasium, the teacher of the Latin language A.

Mirotestsev, who encouraged the linguistic classes of the young man and introduced him to the beginning Sanskrit and comparative grammar. In the year, Leonid Denisov moved to Moscow and entered Moscow University, where he studied "on the language group" of the Faculty of History and Philology. To maintain existence, he had to engage in tutoring, and on February 26, when his poem was printed in the Moscow newspaper Vestnik, the literary activity of the future archpastor began.

A certain idea of ​​L. Denisov’s life gives the document he had written by him in his own way: “My day was divided into three parts almost daily: 1 from 8 hours. And you also need to comprehend and absorb lectures, read the necessary scientific book mainly, in a foreign language, get acquainted with the fresh book of the Tolstoy magazine, run out of two newspapers. Add to this chronic malnutrition, loss of time in travel or a passage from one lesson to another.

All this, in general, laid down a heavy moral and physical oppression on the young organism. ” At the university, Leonid Denisov studied seven semester, and after leaving the university he stayed in the capital, was married to Varvara Kozlova, the daughter of the famous Moscow icon painter Nikita Kozlov. From the first years of stay in Moscow, L. Denisov conducted great church and public work.

Since the year, he was a member of the Moscow Society of Fans of Spiritual Enlightenment, from the year he served as secretary of the editorial office of Moscow Church Vedomosti, where he published many articles on religious issues and church archeology. Since December 30, L. Denisov was a member of the commission for the inspection and study of monuments of church antiquity of the city of Moscow and the Moscow diocese.

Knowing the history of the capital of Russia well, he wrote a lot about it in verses and prose, knowing twelve languages, tirelessly replenished his church-historical knowledge by reading in the original creations of the Holy Fathers. In the year, L. Denisov published the book “The Life of the Monk and God -bearing Father of our Seraphim, the Sarov miracle worker”, which contained materials related to life, prayer exploits and miracles of the ascetic, his glorification, as well as a research essay on the icon images of the saint.

The veneration of the Monk Leonid Ivanovich is also evidenced by his two poems, which are now published. In the year, a new book by L. Denisov “Orthodox Monasteries of the Russian Empire” was printed, known to many researchers of church history and still. Along with this, the works of the future archpastor in church archeology and ancient iconography are of considerable interest. These include the “history of the genuine miraculous image of the Savior”, “what requirements should satisfy the Orthodox icon”, “On the monuments of the ancient Russian icon painting in the Berlyukov desert”, “The miraculous image of the All -Military Savior in the Chapel near the Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow” in the journal Vera and the Church, in the year, was published in the year of iconography of the reverend Serafima Sarovsky, read by Leonid Ivanovich at a meeting of the church-archaeological department at the “Moscow Society of Fans of Spiritual Education”.

The fate of L. Denisov is closely connected with the life of Metropolitan Tryphon Turkestanov. After the death of his wife, which occurred on March 15, which the future archpastor experienced heavily, Vladyka Tryphon advised him to enter the monastery. The next day, on October 25, the priest was appointed assistant to the Synodal Restich.In connection with this obedience, he had to meet with Russian and foreign scientists who visited the Kremlin, to study the history of the exhibits of the sacristy, corresponding to terminology, crafts related to the museum case.

Father Arseny and priestly duties performed: from November 25 to December 20, he was a grave hieromonk during the relics of St. Philip of Moscow in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, from January 24 he performed worship in the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “all mourning joy” under the shelter of the Brotherhood in the name of the Queen of Heaven, from May to the April of the year Church of the Twelve Apostles in the Moscow Kremlin.

Since March 17, Father Arseny was a member of the editorial commission of the Committee on the description of the Patriarchal Ridnitsa, from June 23 of the same year - an employee of the Moscow Archaeological Institute, and from October 15 - a member of the commission on the inventory of ancient antimins stored in the Patriarchal Ridnitsa. The priest was also a member of the Society of Remembering insufficient poor - comp.

From October 2 to a year, with the blessing of the Metropolitan of the Moscow and Kolomensky Macaria Nevsky, Father Arseny taught French in the Moscow Theological Seminary. The priest did not leave church-literary activity-in the year he was published the book “The Life and Suffering of the Holy Martyr Tryphon and Himitating in Russia”. After the revolution of the year and the closure of the Kremlin temples, the priest lived in Moscow, in the area of ​​Zubovskaya Square, in the "Popovsky House", where the same "former" as he was huddled.

Since March, Father Arseny was assigned to the Moscow Don Monastery and was engaged in public work. From December 23 to June, he was the secretary of the museum department of the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of Art and Antiquity under the Moscow City Council, from September 16 to October 15 he was an employee of the Main Directorate of Archival Affairs, from October 15 to December 15 of that year-acting archives of the 2nd branch of the 4th section of the State Archival Fund, the head of the Archive of the Moscow Spiritual Consistory.

From December 16 to March 15, the father worked as an employee of the Department of the Scientific Libraries of the People’s Commissariat of Education, from February 3 to August 15 - scientist secretary of the bibliographic department of the State Purchase, from February 16 to February, the secretary of the Central Book Chamber, from February 1 to July 14 - the head of the Book Museum under the same chamber.

At the end of December, he was elected a member of the Russian Bibliographic Society at Moscow University. For my part, I declare that I will attach all efforts to direct the religious life of the parish community to the proper spiritual channel. With means for this purpose, I consider lectures for intelligent segments of the population on religious topics, liturgical conversations for prostrates, catechism instructions for children - all these on days and hours by agreement with the parish council; The device is possible solemn services on holidays and Sundays, as well as in their eve; Moral sermons for worship; a general confession in a constantly expanding concentric circle, answers to questions proposed by parishioners; various kinds of spiritual and everyday councils and instructions given on the requirements of circumstances as they are soldered with the flock.

” Thus, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, Father Arseny returned to the constant performance of priestly duties and from March 25 to July the obedience of the abbot of the Znamensky Church, located in Sheremetevsky Lane Moscow, the honorary chairman of the church-Piroksky Council of which was the Lord of Tripono Turkestan. In the year, on the recommendation of Metropolitan Peter Polyansky, the patriarchal locomotor, Archimandrite Arseny traveled to Nizhny Novgorod with a request for ordination to the bishop and appointment to one of the Nizhny Novgorod vicaria.

In the course of the correspondence, the correspondence of the Nizhny Novgorod Sergius Stragorodsky wrote to Metropolitan Peter about the possible appointment of the priest on Lukoyanovo or Sergach Vicarism, but the case did not go further than the discussion. The new stage of the liturgical activity of Archimandrite Arseniy Denisov began in the year. From October 2 to September 25, after the bishop’s Hirotonia, Vladyka Arseny, the obedience of Bishop Efremovsky, Vicar of the Tula diocese, was obedient from September 25 to October 11, was Bishop of Mari, from October 11, from December 5 to May 4, he ruled the Kashirsky vicarism of the Moscow diocese.

Not much is known about the future fate of Vladyka Arseny. Since May 13, he lived in the city of Losinoostrovsk in the Moscow Region, on June 30 he concluded an agreement with the Moscow Publishing House of the Academy, for which he transferred the four -volume work of Juan Antonio Llorent “critical history of the Spanish Inquisition” from the French, Spanish and Latin, and since the spring, along with translation activities, he was engaged in bibliographic work on the religious movements of the East, West and Russia.During this period, Bishop Arseny again received support from Metropolitan Tryphon Turkestanov.

According to the memoirs of the spiritual children of the Lord of Tryphon, “this weak and timid man lived, as if holding on to the lord,” the help of the metropolitan more than once saved him from hunger. The exact date and circumstances of the death of Bishop Arseniy Denisov are currently not known. The latest documentary certificate of his life, discovered and published now, indicates that from April 25, he lived in the city of Taldom of the Moscow Region, where he arrived from Losinoostrovsk, and on September 19 he urgently left for Moscow.

According to available, unconfirmed documents, the Vladyka died during the Great Patriotic War from hunger in one of the villages near Moscow, and plunged him in absentia. Detailed biography.