Residents of Irkutsk passed on word of mouth the news about the famous rich man Sibiryakov. They said that yesterday a nun came to him with a request to donate a little to the temple, and without thinking twice, he took out all the money from the safe - one hundred and forty thousand - and they also said that he apologized: I’m sorry, mother, I don’t have any more cash now !..
Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov, whose unheard-of generous act so amazed and delighted the townspeople, was the heir to gold mines that brought him three tons pure gold per year.
He was barely fourteen when he became the full owner of this literally gold business: in one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, his father died suddenly. The young man was in St. Petersburg at that time, studying at the gymnasium. Innokenty did not fall into joyful teenage euphoria from the millions that had fallen and did not throw cheerful student parties. The young man perceived what happened as the incomprehensible will of the Lord, and made a promise to himself and God to use the wealth for the benefit of people.
Very soon the opportunity to do this arose. The gymnasium where Sibiryakov studied was in need of repairs, but there were always not enough funds, and the building continued to deteriorate. A fifteen-year-old student bought the house, made significant alterations to it, and then returned it to the gymnasium, completely renovated, equipped with the most modern standards, building.
He did not forget his native Siberia. Schools, museums, libraries of Irkutsk and other cities gratefully accepted the generous help of the young benefactor. And in St. Petersburg, Innokenty Mikhailovich regularly provided financial support to the Higher Women’s Bestuzhev Courses, donated fifty thousand rubles for the creation of the First Women’s medical institute in Russia. He was an honorary member of the Society for the Care of Poor and Sick Children. Sibiryakov donated his fashionable dacha in the vicinity of Vyborg to the Society of Poor Women: an orphanage for girls was set up in it. Large amounts Innokenty Mikhailovich allocated scholarships for high school students and students. More than seventy young people received education at universities in Russia and Europe using his funds. He had great respect for science and funded several research projects and scientific expeditions.
Sibiryakov himself traveled a lot. Having traveled all over Europe, he realized with bitterness that people are often driven by the thirst for money, because they mistakenly equate wealth with happiness. Sibiryakov himself never thought so. “Here, I’m a millionaire,” he said . - But am I happy? No. All my wealth in comparison with what my soul thirsts for is nothing.”
Thirst souls Innokenty Mikhailovich was in God. It so happened that he did not start a family, and had long been thinking about becoming... a monk. He gave both his heart and his wealth to the church. He financed the construction of the Temple of the Kazan Icon Mother of God in Irkutsk, contributed twenty-five thousand to the construction of the Holy Trinity St. Nicholas-Ussuri Monastery. Two and a half million was distributed by them to the poor monasteries of Russia.
And soon Innokenty Mikhailovich fulfilled his long-standing desire. In one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four he accepted monastic tonsure and settled in the St. Andrew's monastery on Holy Mount Athos. In two thousand and nine, the Commission for Canonization of the Russian Orthodox Church began to consider the issue of glorification as a saint this benefactor and monk.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God.
(1 Cor. 3:19)
In 1867 in Geneva F.M. Dostoevsky began work on one of his most outstanding works, about which he wrote to his niece Sofya Ivanova: “The idea of a novel is my old and beloved, but so difficult that I did not dare take on it for a long time... The main idea is to portray positively wonderful person... There is nothing more difficult in the world than this, and especially now. There is only one positively beautiful Person in the world - Christ, so the manifestation of this is immeasurable, endless beautiful face, of course, there is an infinite miracle. The whole Gospel of John is in this sense; he finds all the wonder in one incarnation, in one appearance of the beautiful.” The novel was called “The Idiot,” which translated from Greek means “separate, isolated person».
A year and a half later, the work is published in the Russian Messenger magazine, and the world learns about the “poor knight” Prince Lev Myshkin. And a few years later in St. Petersburg it began funny story. Secular gatherings were alarmed by outlandish rumors: a certain fifteen-year-old student entered one of the private gymnasiums with the rights of a state school, who in the same year bought it out and actually rebuilt it from scratch. As it turned out, the story actually happened: the classical gymnasium of State Councilor Fyodor Bychkov (at Ligovka, no. 1), due to the extreme financial difficulties that befell it, came into the possession of a young representative of an old merchant family from Irkutsk - he remained its owner for almost 20 years . During this time, in certain circles he gained fame as a madman, receiving the nickname “timid Irkutsk merchant.” Others revered him as a kind-hearted unmercenary and an “enlightened philanthropist.”
In any case, jokes about how he “wasted” money, using it for charity, circulated for a long time not only in secular apartments, but also in the outskirts of St. Petersburg society. His teacher, famous professor-physiologist P.F. Lesgaft, to whom he later bequeathed 350,000 rubles along with the gymnasium building, wrote the following about his ward: “In the same way, he did not want to spend a selfish life, surrounded by all earthly comforts and satisfactions; he lived under the most modest conditions, and as he became acquainted with life forms... he became stricter with himself and tried more and more to avoid all bodily pleasures and whims. Sensitive to everything around him, he began to believe human needs and suffering and help everyone who turns to him.”
If you look closely at the behavior and actions young man, it is easy to notice that the “timid Irkutsk merchant” seems to have stepped out of the pages of F.M.’s novel. Dostoevsky's "Idiot". And even though, unlike the beggar prince, he was the richest heir of the Siberian gold miners, they had something completely different in common. The leitmotif of the life of the “enlightened philanthropist” was the main idea novel, expressed by Myshkin himself: “Compassion is the most important and, perhaps, the only law of existence of all humanity.”
“If you feel poverty next to you, being rich yourself, then you somehow feel uneasy”
In the 1890s, a young Siberian rented a modest apartment on Gorokhovaya Street, did not start a carriage, used a cab, and literally gave money to everyone. At first, he regularly helped student friends, and over time, word of his unprecedented generosity spread throughout St. Petersburg, and huge queues of people of all feathers lined up at his apartment. Sometimes he received several hundred people a day, refused no one and gave everyone exactly as much as they asked of him. Among the walkers there were not only destitute poor people, beggars, widows and orphans, but also squandered gamblers, drunken hawkmoths and dishonest scoundrels. It happened that even young brides came to him for a dowry, and he did not refuse anyone. “Our life is bright only then,” he said, “when everything around us smiles... But if you feel poverty next to you, being rich yourself, then you somehow feel uneasy.”
In the words of , “piety does not consist of giving alms, but of heartfelt participation.” Therefore, in the hands of the “timid merchant,” money was nothing more than an instrument of love. And there is no doubt that if Myshkin had been wealthy, his funds would also have been distributed left and right. So Fyodor Mikhailovich had no need to bestow millions on his prince, and even without that his childish piety and all-encompassing “heartfelt sympathy” illuminate the entire plot of the novel.
As for the young Siberian, his compassion was not selective: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). He himself said: “If they ask, then it is necessary: if you can give, that is, if you have the means, then you need to give without making a search.” Both heroes were given the opportunity to experience the world through love, through “heartfelt participation,” which F.M. wrote about in the novel. Dostoevsky: “By throwing your seed, throwing your “alms,” your good deed in any form, you give away part of your personality and accept part of another; you mutually join one another; a little more attention, and you will be rewarded with knowledge, the most unexpected discoveries.”
As often happens, among those in need and begging for a contribution from the generous benefactor, there were also those who could not resist the temptation of evil envy. The notorious “sorrow for the well-being of one’s neighbor,” “damage to life” and “desecration of nature,” as St. Basil the Great called this feeling, gave birth to slander in the souls of greedy spiteful critics, which spread in stinking streams throughout St. Petersburg. Captivated by the “shaking of minds” that was gaining strength in Russian society, populist students shamelessly reproached their benefactor for the lack of sacrifices for the common good, and the mayor Victor von Wahl himself, who had heard rumors about the generous millionaire, in turn suspected him of supporting secret revolutionary organizations.
One day in 1894, at the entrance to the Church of the Sign, a young man placed a silver ruble on the book of a nun standing on the porch. Accustomed to receiving small change, she was so amazed by the generosity of the unknown master that, falling on her knees in front of the icon, she began to thank God for her mercy in a loud voice for the entire church yard. Then the touched parishioner asked the nun her address and what monastery she was from, and the next day he came to her in one of the capital's courtyards and handed over a paper parcel. Inside there was cash in the amount of 147,000 rubles. After counting the money, the nun was horrified. Suspecting something was wrong, she hurried to the police station and reported on the young master.
A case was opened against him on suspicion of mental illness, as well as possible financing of revolutionary circles and meetings. During the investigation it was revealed interesting facts his life. A very strange young man, already at the age of 25, chose to participate in the political underground active work as an honorary donor and member of a number of charitable and trustee societies. He spared no expense on educational and scientific projects, published a lot of textbooks, books and magazines, allocated fabulous sums to open libraries throughout Russian Empire.
Moreover, while still a student, he actively participated in the construction of St. Petersburg University, the first Women's Medical Institute and the Bestuzhev Higher Women's Courses. With his own money, the eccentric built dormitories for students and approved scholarships for them. At the age of 26, he personally supported 70 scholarship students studying in Russia and Europe. He paid special attention to fellow countrymen from Siberia and often supported projects related to his native land. Among his many initiatives are several ethnographic expeditions to Siberia and Far East, construction of one of the halls of the Russian Geographical Society, a theater in Irkutsk, a people's house in Barnaul and much more. In addition, he established a capital of 420,000 rubles for benefits and pensions for the workers of his gold mines. Fabulous sums, estimated in millions, were spent on the construction of shelters, almshouses, hospitals, churches and monasteries throughout Russia. The young man donated funds for the establishment of libraries in Ishim, Krasnoyarsk, Nerchinsk, Achinsk, and Kurgan. And this is far from full list his good deeds, which he did quietly. Fortunately, his income steadily increased.
When all these details emerged, they tried to accuse him of insanity and uncontrolled waste of funds, after which a psychiatric examination was ordered. How can one not recall the words of the Epanchins’ lackey, characterizing Lev Myshkin: “The prince is just a fool and has no ambitions...” And the Siberian “madman” himself reasoned in this way: “How empty a person is in his life, how insignificant are all his needs, conditioned by profit alone; How greedy is all humanity in its desire for wealth! But what does it bring us... One sad disappointment. Here I am a millionaire, my “happiness” should be completely complete. But am I happy? No. All my wealth in comparison with what my soul thirsts for is nothing, dust, dust...”
It is possible that such considerations prompted the court to subject him to a second psychiatric examination. Fortunately, in both cases, doctors testified that the young man was sane, and the case ended in the complete acquittal of the suspect. Moreover, the mayor received a strict ban on interfering in his affairs in the future. According to some sources, the chief prosecutor stood up for the “timid merchant” Holy Synod Konstantin Pobedonostsev, and according to others - the emperor himself Alexander III, who shortly before his death honored the Siberian philanthropist with a personal meeting.
Prompted by spiritual inclinations, he put into practice the rule: give to the one who asks - and became known as a madman
After a while with this trial The chairman of the Petrograd provincial scientific archival commission, historian Mikhail Konstantinovich Sokolovsky, got acquainted, and this is how he assessed those events: “Society would not be surprised if he presented pearls and diamonds to dubious singers, if he built palaces for himself in the style of the Alhambra, bought paintings, tapestries, Sevres and Saxons, or broke mirrors while drunk to provoke the hoarse laughter of the Harp women - all this would be normal. But he moved away from this and, prompted by spiritual inclinations, put into practice the rule: give to the one who asks.”
This man's name was Innokenty Sibiryakov, and he was one of the six scions of a famous and influential merchant dynasty. Born on October 30 - on the same day as Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, only with a difference of 39 years. Innokenty's father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, was known throughout Siberia as the richest gold miner, who discovered rich deposits in the Bodaibo River basin in 1863. Since then, the capital of Sibiryakov’s factories and companies has grown stronger, and after 40 years the settlement he founded received the status of a city, which still remains the most important center of the gold mining industry in Russia.
Dostoevsky created his famous hero in 1867, when Innocent was 7 years old. In the same year, misfortune befell his large family: mother Varvara Konstantinovna died. And after another seven, the father died, leaving three sons and three daughters orphans. Having inherited a huge fortune, which was regularly increased by income from gold mining partnerships, factories, trading enterprises and shipping companies, the children, one after another, moved to St. Petersburg. In the capital, wealthy brothers and sisters remained faithful to the family merchant traditions and launched extensive charitable activities in the most various fields.
But only the youngest, Innokenty, gained fame as a madman on this basis. The young man might not have read Dostoevsky’s novel and know nothing about his main “poor knight.” Real personality and the fictional character was related by the image of a Hero from a completely different Book, whose commandment became the meaning of life for both: “As I have loved you, so let you love one another” (John 13:34). Another important coincidence between the two “madmen” suggests that their love was gained through the Cross they had borne since childhood. Both endured chronic illness: Sibiryakov suffered from consumption, Myshkin from epilepsy, and both were treated in Europe.
You can wonder for a long time whose phrase this is: “The lack of happiness in life oppresses my consciousness with an unaccountable feeling of grief, grief and despair. This is how I feel now, upon returning to Russia. Here, as everywhere in the world, I see only the suffering of people, only human torment, only worldly vanity. As if our whole life consists of this alone, as if the Lord God created us all for nothing but suffering in the world and there is no joy for man except the sad end - death... And I think that all this torture, all this torment, all sufferings are only things acquired by man, but not God’s heritage for us on earth. After all, the Kingdom of God is within us, but we neglected all this and fell into despair, into melancholy, into the hell of life. Yes, a person is weak, insignificant and cowardly in choosing his earthly goods, personal happiness.” Wasn't he trying to reveal this secret? great writer? But these words belong to Sibiryakov.
And Prince Myshkin in the novel seems to continue this idea: “The essence of religious feeling does not fit under any reasoning, under any atheism; there is something wrong here, and it will always be wrong; there’s something here that atheisms will always slip over and people will always talk about the wrong thing”; “Russian atheists and Russian Jesuits do not come from vanity alone, not all from bad, vain feelings alone, but also from spiritual pain, from spiritual thirst, from longing for a higher cause, for a strong shore, for a homeland in which they have ceased to believe, because they never knew her!”
The last words of Schemamonk Innocent were: “Forgive me, I can’t say anything except sins...”
As a result, none of our heroes stayed long in St. Petersburg. In a calculating, pragmatic world, they remained misunderstood guests and crazy heroes, which the “poor knight” Lev Myshkin predicted in advance: “I’m superfluous in society.” After the death of Nastasya Filippovna, his mental illness worsened to an extreme degree, and he was again taken abroad for treatment. About the same thing was said about the “timid merchant” Innokenty Sibiryakov, who in reality gave away all his millions and went to heal his “madness” in a monastery on Holy Mount Athos. There, at his expense, the largest Cathedral of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in Greece was erected.
According to the testimony of his fellow members of St. Andrew’s Skete, “he spent the days of his monastic life, taking advantage of little rest, in strict fasting and fervent tearful prayer. In monasticism, he fully fulfilled the commandment of non-covetousness and unquestioning obedience and could quite boldly say with the apostle: “Behold, we have left everything and have died after You.”
Schemamonk Innocent ended his earthly days at the age of 41: consumption worsened. His last words were addressed to the abbot entering his cell: “Father, forgive me, I cannot meet you properly; I can’t say anything except sins.”
Currently, the Russian Orthodox Church is considering the issue of canonization of Innokenty Sibiryakov.
Innokenty Sibiryakov. 1860-1901. He ends his life as a monk. And before, in the world, he was a millionaire, from a family of gold miners.
There is one difficulty, in misunderstanding, in rejection of monasticism itself, even among people who consider themselves “believers.” Monks are not considered “normal” people. Family? Family issue? Offspring?... Although, what can I say, you can find an example of a rich person who did not leave behind children... and sometimes children and young people, but not yet married, pass on to another world. But one cannot deny anyone the opportunity to achieve happiness!.. The purpose of life, obviously, is not in offspring...
This is what the millionaire himself said about his wealth: “I have wealth. How did it happen, I thought, that such funds had accumulated in my hands that could feed thousands of people? Are these funds that accidentally came to me, the property of other people, artificially passed into my hands? And I found that this is indeed the case, that my millions are the result of the labor of others, and I feel wrong in taking possession of their labors.”
Innokenty was born into the family of Irkutsk merchant and gold miner Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sibiryakov in 1860.
Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov strove to get an education and put a lot of effort into it. In 1880, he entered the natural and mathematical department of St. Petersburg Imperial University, then transferred to Faculty of Law. Due to health reasons, he interrupted his studies several times and went away for treatment. Trying to get private lessons, Innokenty Mikhailovich was faced with the fact that the professors to whom the student turned for help began to assign him fees that were unthinkable even by capital standards, knowing that they were dealing with a capitalist. This fact, as reported by contemporaries and acquaintances of Innokenty Sibiryakov, pushed him away from both the university and science.
Innokenty Sibiryakov's father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, is considered the discoverer of gold deposits in the Bodaibo River basin, part of the Lensky gold-bearing region, and the founder of the city of Bodaibo, important center gold mining in Russia today.
He bought the building of a gymnasium in St. Petersburg. It was repaired and rebuilt. Innokenty Mikhailovich remained the homeowner of this building for almost twenty years, allowing the educational institution to exist within these walls. This building has survived to this day at the address Ligovsky Prospekt, building 1.
Before leaving for the monastery, Innokenty Sibiryakov will give his St. Petersburg house and 200 thousand rubles in cash to his beloved university teacher, the famous physiologist P.F. Lesgaft. Pyotr Frantsevich, using the proceeds from the house, will build a Biological Laboratory building in St. Petersburg, which will house an educational institution for training specialists in physical culture. The biological laboratory became the basis modern Academy physical culture named after P.F. Lesgafta.
There are other higher educational institutions in St. Petersburg, the existence and emergence of which is associated with donations from Innokenty Mikhailovich:
Higher Women's Bestuzhev Courses (currently their buildings, built and acquired with the help of I.M. Sibiryakov, are part of St. Petersburg State University)
The first women's medical institute, now Medical University them. P.I. Pavlov, for the construction of which Innokenty Sibiryakov donated 50 thousand rubles.
He began to do charity work already from his high school days, helping his peers get an education. And, what is noteworthy, having received an inheritance of about 900 thousand rubles after the death of his father, constantly and extensively doing charity, Innokenty Sibiryakov, when leaving the world, had a fortune of ten million rubles! Truly, the hand of the giver never fails!*
About 30 thousand rubles. was spent by Innokenty Mikhailovich on the establishment of libraries and museums in the cities of Siberia (Minusinsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Ishim, Achinsk, Krasnoyarsk, etc.). Some researchers write that all cities in Siberia owe the creation public libraries namely Innokenty Sibiryakov.
In 1896, on the holiday of the Intercession Holy Mother of God, after a two-year trial, Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov was tonsured to the first angelic rank at the courtyard of the St. Andrew's monastery in St. Petersburg and on the same day he left for Athos.
Schemamonk Innocent died on November 6, 1901, after unction and communion, the death of a righteous man.
People began to “forget” his name long before the revolution: for example, brochures and even books were published about the consecration of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, but Sibiryakov was not mentioned in them. In Greece he is known and loved more than in Russia, and on Mount Athos he is revered as a saint.
Notes
* “He who gives to a beggar will not become poor; but whoever closes his eyes to him will have many curses.” (Prov. 28:27), “Everyone [give] according to the purpose of his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7)
Materials used:
http://www.pravmir.ru/innokentij-sibiryakov-zhizn-i/
http://www.pravmir.ru/pomogite-ya-strashno-bogat/
Our story about how Innocent lived his life
Mikhailovich Sibiryakov, what good deeds he has done,
how he became a servant of God.
Innokenty Sibiryakov was born, as they say, with
golden spoon in mouth. Belonging to an old family of Siberian
gold miners and merchants, he had everything from birth.
His father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, was a merchant of the 1st guild and
owned distilleries, gold mines, had
own river fleet. Mikhail Sibiryakov left his
six children have a fortune of 4 million rubles.
Innocent was youngest son merchant After graduation
Irkutsk technical school his father sent him
continue studying in St. Petersburg, at a prestigious private
gymnasium. Showing a great interest in history and literature,
Mikhail, however, after graduating in 1880, chose
Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University. But
He did not study there for long - his health failed, forcing him
he left the student bench in his first year.
In 1884 Innokenty Sibiryakov returned to St. Petersburg
university, but already as a law student. In the University
fate brought him together with Vasily
Ivanovich Semevsky, who taught a course on the history of Russian
peasantry. Semevsky was a populist, he criticized
power and instilled in students respect for ordinary people
to people. Therefore his career at the university quickly
ended - in 1886 he was removed from teaching. But
this did not stop Semevsky, and he taught classes for many years
at home. Both Sibiryakov and
supporter's hot speeches People's Will apparently deep
sunk into the young man's soul.
The second St. Petersburg acquaintance of Innokenty Sibiryakov,
influence on him strong influence, became a great Russian
anatomist and teacher Pyotr Frantsevich Lesgaft. For three years
Sibiryakov did not miss a single Lesgaft lecture,
who taught anatomy at the university, and literally
fell in love with this science.
However, Sibiryakov’s interests are not in university sciences.
were limited. The young merchant traveled a lot around Europe,
satisfying his insatiable curiosity while traveling.
Curiosity, but nothing more: scientists Innocent
Mikhailovich had no intention of becoming. Apparently, even then, in
80s, moving in the academic circles of the capital, he
decided what he would devote his life to.
To understand state of mind a person who grew up in
relatively prosperous Irkutsk, in greenhouse conditions
comfort and prosperity and then plunged into life
then St. Petersburg, just look through Dostoevsky or
Garin-Mikhailovsky. From the pictures of life they painted
the main city of the country, in which the splendor of palaces and temples
somehow does not fit in with the hungry and consumptive life of the workers and
students, breathes such melancholy and hopelessness that
you begin to understand the feelings of a noble soul, morally
burdened by her father's huge capital. And Sibiryakov
begins to spend his money for the benefit of those who are in it
needs.
His first business (together with his sister Anna) was
active financial participation in the work of the organization created in 1884
Society for the assistance of Siberian students in the capital. Can
one can only guess what kind of support this fund was for
distressed students stranded far from home.
Then there was help for higher women's courses, which,
given the then attitude towards women, in favor with
the authorities, apparently, were not. Sibiryakov spent on them
10 thousand rubles, and then gave them two houses for a common
the amount of 74 thousand.
Innokenty Mikhailovich donated his dacha in Roshchino
shelter for girls from 4 to 10 years old and donated
50 thousand rubles to the shelter.
Then Innokenty Mikhailovich actively supported
education of the only Tsarist Russia female
medical institute. If not for his 50 thousand rubles, then
this educational institution most likely wouldn't exist
at all.
Sibiryakov's house in St. Petersburg turned into a shelter for
suffering and disadvantaged, where they could always get
help and support. Every day they received 300-
400 people. As I wrote
contemporary, “Who among the capital’s poor has not had
him in the house, who did not benefit from his generous alms,
monetary assistance that exceeds all expectations!.. Not
there was a person whom he would have released without generous
alms. There were people who, before my eyes, received hundreds
rubles one-time assistance... How much, for example,
students, thanks to Sibiryakov, graduated in St. Petersburg
yours higher education! How many poor girls
those who got married received a dowry here! How many
people, thanks to the support of Sibiryakov, took on an honest
work!".
Sibiryakov paid much attention to book publishing. On
his funds were published "Siberian Bibliography" and
"Russian historical bibliography» V. Mezhova, work on
Siberian gold mining D. Golovachev “Siberian
foreigners..." and "Siberia as a colony" by N. Yadrintsev,
“Historical Review of Siberia” by P. Slovtsov,
“Verkhoyansk collection...” by I. Khudyakova, collection
poems “Siberian motives” and many other books.
He also paid attention to museums. One of
buildings of Irkutsk local history museum built on his
money.
Innokenty Mikhailovich built churches. One of them,
existing to this day, was erected during the 7th
Petersburg gymnasium in the name of the saint and wonderworker
Nicholas. In the First Real School (in the building of which
now the Marine Corps of Peter the Great is located) at
Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky on
Sibiryakov's money, a chapel was built in honor of the saint
Innocent of Irkutsk, whose name was soon
named brotherhood created to provide support
pupils and students - natives of Siberia.
Funded by I.M. Sibiryakov, a temple was built in the name of
St. Innocent of Irkutsk at the hospital building
Russian St. Andrew's Skete on Athos, as well as
a chapel in the largest temple of Athos is dedicated to him,
Greece and the Balkans - St. Andrew's Cathedral of the mentioned monastery.
The church of the saint was built with Sibiryakov’s donations
Innocent of Irkutsk at the monastery cemetery
Uglich Epiphany convent, and
Church of St. Innocent in Holy Trinity Nicholas
Ussuri Monastery. Irkutsk Kazan
The church was also built with money from a Siberian philanthropist.
This is only a small part of I.M.’s good deeds. Sibiryakova. About many
we will simply never know from them, because, according to
According to contemporaries, he was very modest and
shy person and often helped
anonymously.
In the mid-1890s, the worldly path of the merchant Sibiryakov
ended. Innokenty Mikhailovich dressed in
monastic robe and became a schema-monk in St. Andrew's
skete on sacred mountain Athos in Greece, where he died in 1901
year.
The degree of righteousness of a monk in the Athos monastery
determined by the color of the skull three years after death.
White color indicates that a person has saved his soul. A
amber, according to the monks, is irrefutable
proof that a person has especially pleased God. From
one and a half thousand skulls located in St. Andrew's
skete, only three have amber color, and one of them
belongs to schemamonk Innokenty Sibiryakov.
The initiative to canonize Innokenty Sibiryakov received
support of the St. Petersburg diocese. Now the collection is underway
necessary documents. The process may take a while
some years. Needed as proof of holiness
evidence of so-called miracles. Already in action
priests and parishioners of Irkutsk take part
Orthodox churches in which prayer services will be served in
honor of Innokenty Sibiryakov. "All believers, parishioners
can now turn in their prayers, order him
funeral services, perhaps treat some of your
personal needs. And if over time they begin to leak
some miracles, that is, facts of intercession will be revealed
this saint, the ascetic of God, the person who declares
this is a miracle, must testify to it before Christ and
The Gospel,” said Father Alexander (Abiduev).
So it is quite possible that soon the people of Irkutsk will be able to be proud
the fact that among their wonderful fellow countrymen is the revered
Russian Orthodox Church Saint Innocent
Sibiryakov.
IN THE PICTURES: Schemamonk Innokenty Sibiryakov; Athos
monastery in Greece.
Enlightened benefactor “Your broad charity, loving benefactor, ... may it serve as a model for all capitalists to live for the benefit of those disadvantaged by fate and the enlightenment of Russia”
Enlightened benefactor
"Your broad charity,
loving benefactor... may it serve
a model for all capitalists to live for the good
disadvantaged by fate and enlightenment of Russia"
This was what the contemporaries called Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov (1860-1901), and there were good reasons for this. He was not only a wealthy businessman who donated funds to support scientific, cultural and educational projects, but often he himself initiated scientific and cultural endeavors. At the suggestion of I.M. Sibiryakov, a series of scientific works, which have not lost their relevance in our time, an expedition was organized, which went down in the history of science with the name “Sibiryakovskaya”, individual trips of some scientists and writers undertaken for research purposes were financed.
Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov, the son of a gold merchant, began helping others while still a student at St. Petersburg University. The line of life outlined during these years to provide assistance in obtaining an education was preserved throughout the entire earthly path of the outstanding philanthropist. At the expense of Innokenty Mikhailovich, dozens and even hundreds of young people were educated in Russia and Europe, whom the millionaire not only helped to graduate from universities, but also gave them the opportunity to get on their feet. Many of his fellows subsequently played outstanding role in the formation of Russia as a major scientific power.
Originally from Siberia, Innokenty Sibiryakov actively participated in the work of the Society for Assistance to Siberian Students in St. Petersburg, his generous donations contributed to the development of scientific and cultural life native land. Many cities in Siberia opened their first museums, schools, and libraries not only with the funds of Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov, but often at his suggestion. A number of them have today become major centers science and education.
An outstanding benefactor made an invaluable contribution to the development of a number of existing educational centers Russia, as well as in the creation of new ones. Thanks to his donations, the Higher Women's (Bestuzhev) Courses worked rhythmically, which were largely able to acquire the patronage of Sibiryakov own houses: an academic building and two dormitories for female course students (later Higher women's courses became part of Petrograd, now St. Petersburg, University).
Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov donated 50 thousand rubles for the creation of the First Women's Medical Institute in Russia. Currently, this university has been transformed into St. Petersburg State University them. I.P. Pavlova.
St. Petersburg Biological Laboratory - now State Academy physical culture named after. P.F. Lesgafta also owes its emergence and existence to Innokenty Mikhailovich, who allocated huge capital to his beloved teacher Pyotr Frantsevich Lesgafta for the establishment of a scientific and educational center, a natural history museum attached to it and the publication of his own printed organ.
Innokenty Mikhailovich took special care charity organisations caring for children. He was a lifelong honorary member of the Society for the Care of Poor and Sick Children, donated his dacha in Raivolo to the Society of Poor Women for the establishment of an orphanage for girls, donated for the construction of churches at gymnasiums and secondary schools, for libraries for parochial schools and poor provincial schools.
And for them the words were spoken a hundred years ago to the already deceased Innokenty Sibiryakov: “Your broad charity, loving benefactor, ... may it serve as a model for all capitalists to live for the benefit of those disadvantaged by fate and the enlightenment of Russia.”
In 1894, at the age of 35, gold miner Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov decided to become a monk and went to live in the courtyard of the Old Athos monastery of St. Andrew in St. Petersburg. He transferred his capital to his relatives, and gave all the cash to his spiritual father for distribution to poor monasteries in Russia and for charitable causes.
On October 1, 1896, the rector of the metochion, Archimandrite David (Mukhranov), the spiritual father of Innokenty Mikhailovich, tonsured him to the first angelic rank. After tonsure, the monk Innocent leaves for Athos, but, as necessary, returns to St. Petersburg three more times, not abandoning his monastic work and charity work.
He finally settled on Athos in 1898. On the Holy Mountain, the monk Innocent was tonsured into the mantle with the name John in honor of John the Baptist, and less than a year later into the schema with the name Innocent in honor of Innocent of Irkutsk. According to the testimony of the brethren of the St. Andrew's monastery, Schemamonk Innokenty (Sibiryakov) led a strict ascetic life, leaving the Athonite ascetics a model of complete non-covetousness and humility. Schemamonk Innocent died on November 6, 1901. Its head, which is currently kept in the ossuary of the St. Andrew's monastery on Athos, has a characteristic amber-honey color, which, according to Athos legend, is considered an undoubted sign of holiness.
Russia needs the experience of life and charitable activities of Innokenty Mikhailovich Sibiryakov today, more than ever before, so that its young generation can find themselves and help their country. This experience is also needed today by our wealthy compatriots, who have not lost their love for the Motherland and connect their future and the future of their children with it.
The most famous donations of I.M. Sibiryakov in favor of the Orthodox Church:
The benefactor gave several hundred thousand rubles for the construction of the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in Irkutsk, as well as for the construction of a temple in the name of St. Innocent of Irkutsk in the village of Omoloi on the Lena River. He also participated in the construction of the house church of St. Mikhail Klopsky at the almshouse named after his father in Irkutsk.
147 thousand rubles from I.M. Sibiryakov received the Uglich Epiphany Monastery as a gift.
A benefactor contributed 25 thousand rubles to the construction of the Holy Trinity St. Nicholas-Ussuri Monastery.
2 million 400 thousand rubles I.M. Sibiryakov gave Fr. David, who distributed these funds to the poor monasteries of Russia, and also used for the construction of monastic buildings of the St. Petersburg metochion of the Old Athos St. Andrew's Skete, the construction of the most grandiose temple in Greece and the Balkans, the Cathedral of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the St. Andrew's Skete on Athos and a hospital building in a monastery with churches in the name of Innocent of Irkutsk and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The ktitor of the St. Andrew's monastery built a small monastery with a church in the name of the Great Church. Barbarians, St. Mikhail Klopsky and St. David of Thessalonica on Athos, where he labored.
At the expense of the former millionaire, a cell with a temple in the name of St. Innocent of Irkutsk and St. David of Thessalonica on Athos.
A benefactor donated 10 thousand rubles to the Valaam Monastery for the construction of the Resurrection Skete.
At the same time, he donated a three-story dacha to the Lintul women's community in Kauk-Jarve near Vyborg.
Schemamonk Innokenty (Sibiryakov) often gave alms in secret, and therefore it is impossible to keep track of all his donations.
http://www.miloserd.ru/p8. htm
Russian Civilization