Banned the day before in the service priest Dimitry Sverdlov gave a lengthy interview to the newspaper "Moscow News", in which he told how he was fired, why he wants to meet with Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina, and what the Russian Orthodox Church is missing. He also stated that he did not understand why a violent reaction to his dismissal was provoked in the media, since later someone might say that it was part of an anti-church campaign.
Dimitry Sverdlov once wrote for Moscow News several columns dedicated to the problems of the Church.
Let us recall that the official reason for the ban was Father Dimitri’s going on vacation, which was not agreed upon with the church authorities. The day before, the press secretary of the Moscow diocese, Bishop Nikolai (Pogrebnyak) of Balashikha, in an interview RIA News" stated that Dimitry Sverdlov was banned from ministry due to the fact that he “went on vacation without permission.” The bishop suggested that Dmitry Sverdlov could be given back the right to serve in five years if he “behaves with dignity.”
Dmitry Sverdlov, who was removed from ministry, told in an interview with MN how he was fired
On January 14, the former rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Pavlovsky, Dmitry Sverdlov, was “banned from ministry and counted as a staff member,” allegedly because he went on vacation without notifying his superiors. In five years, Sverdlov can return to work, “if he behaves with dignity.” In an interview with Moscow News, Dmitry Sverdlov told how he was fired, why he wants to meet with Maria Alyokhina, and what the Russian Orthodox Church lacks.
What did the press secretary of the Moscow Regional Patriarchate mean when talking about your vacation?
I didn’t quite understand what Bishop Nikolai Pogrebnyak was talking about. Indeed, this June I was late from vacation, returned a week late and missed one service because I was taking a sick child to the sea. I officially have 12 days of vacation a year, but I stayed in Bulgaria for another week. My child has very serious allergies, his health is very important to me. It seemed to me that I had given a comprehensive explanation on this matter to my church leadership, and from June to September there were no complaints against me. In September, I was transferred from the position of rector of a small church to the city cathedral in Domodedovo under the leadership of the dean. In private conversations in the diocese, they explained to me that the reason was my publications in the media, but not vacation. This was a disciplinary measure, but it was not formally justified in any way, and therefore I did not go to the service in this temple: I did not understand the nature of this penalty, and if I had left, I would have recognized its justice.
Has your attitude towards the Pussy Riot story changed since then?
I did not express my opinion in this story, I expressed my attitude towards the reaction of the Orthodox community. I was simply stating my sadness at this reaction.
Dmitry Sverdlov became widely known after he stated that he would like to ask for forgiveness from the members of the group Pussy Riot. In March 2012, the editors of the online magazine “Orthodoxy and the World” asked several priests to answer the question, what would they tell girls? Dmitry Sverdlov replied that he would ask them for forgiveness “... for the furious hatred that suddenly a part of the Orthodox community showed in connection with the events in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.” In his response, the priest also admitted that there were problems in the Russian Orthodox Church and expressed his readiness to help the girls.
In your opinion, has the Orthodox community become less tolerant?
The Orthodox community is very large, it is simply huge. It is very difficult to judge the mood of the silent majority by individual bright manifestations. I can only confirm that I find it difficult to agree with those voices that sounded cruelty. I think there are many people who perceive religion as some kind of legal opportunity to show their xenophobia, cruelty or rejection of others. They have always been and will be, and not only in Orthodoxy, this is not unique. What is unique is that aggression and hatred are accepted as the norm, justified or recognized as necessary. Over the past year, much has been said to justify cruelty and hatred.
Through the mouths of church leaders or Orthodox people in general?
There are a lot of priests, they have many different opinions. Of course, there are many who theologically justify hatred and cruelty.
Recently, so-called Orthodox activists have appeared who organized actions against blasphemers and homosexuals. How do you feel about such promotions?
I admit that I may understand the motives of these people, but my little experience as a priest suggests that such actions do not achieve the goals that these people formulate. Goals of Christian education.
My participation in the elections as an observer was not a manifestation of political or civic activity
The Patriarch said that there is now an information war going on against the church. Do you agree with this?
I certainly do not have all the information that His Holiness possesses. Probably, elements of bias and campaignism in media publications can be seen, but something fundamentally different: regardless of whether there is a campaign or not, it would be very important for the church community to analyze its behavior and the statements of its individual representatives for the reaction of the media and the reading public. And as a result of such an analysis, we can come to the conclusion that not all the criticism that has fallen on the church over the past year is caused by an anti-church campaign, if such a thing exists. It happens that the grounds for this criticism are rooted either in the practice of the church or in individual manifestations of this practice. For example, the situation with my resignation. It caused a strong media reaction, and I haven't done anything about it yet. Everything is seething: the heroic priest has been repressed! I don’t understand why there was a need to provoke such a reaction. After all, tomorrow someone will say that this is part of an anti-church campaign.
Why have there been so many reports of incidents involving representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church recently, the same accident involving Abbot Timofey?
Such incidents have always been and will be: priests drive cars and get into accidents, priests drink alcohol. Perhaps people have awakened an interest in the phenomenon that calls itself a church and claims to represent Christ on the territory of the Russian Federation. Maybe it's a desire for purity, honesty, righteousness. Our church is very large; in any huge community you can find both good and bad.
Do you now perceive yourself as a representative of the clergy?
I can’t say that the decree was completely unexpected for me, but I am confused. I still feel like I am part of the church community; my entire adult life has been spent in the church. I was baptized at age nineteen, and now my social circle consists of ninety percent church people.
Did the decree on your ban upset you?
I understand the church administration, although it is difficult for me to agree with the necessity of this decree, I am sure that it could have been done without it. At the very least, the reputational damage that the church suffered during these 24 hours could have been avoided if the church administration had chosen a more compromise solution, which I have repeatedly proposed. There are two forms of resignation of a priest. There is a ban - it’s like stripping a military man of his shoulder straps, but you can send him outside the state - it’s like sending him into retirement. I have been asking for a position for a long time, but, unfortunately, management made a different decision.
What have you been doing since you stopped serving, what are you planning to do now?
I put my affairs in order: a practicing priest has a lot to do, especially since my church was new, it was under construction, there were a lot of worries. Debts and unfulfilled obligations have accumulated. During these 24 hours, I received offers from various media outlets to work as a journalist and editor; I was offered to make a documentary about the church and write three books, including for a foreign publishing house. I need time to figure it out and make a decision.
Nadya Tolokonnikova is a completely closed person for me, I don’t understand her. I would like to talk to Masha Alyokhina
You were an election observer and went to Krymsk as a volunteer. Are there many priests in the Russian Orthodox Church who actively participate in public life?
My participation in the elections as an observer was not a manifestation of political or civic activity. This was a private experiment; I wanted to understand the essence of what was happening in the electoral process. Moreover, rather from a psychological point of view than from a political one. And if I had not encountered the phenomena that I observed, I would have written another article. My motivation was not to change the world, but to learn something for myself. But Krymsk turned me around, this is an impression that cannot be forgotten. It was a place and a moment of truth, and people were transformed, they were real, truly good. It was such an enema for the soul: the Moscow scum disappears, and you also become real, the coordinate system becomes clearer.
Would you like to meet the members of Pussy Riot now? What would you tell them?
I don’t know, a lot has already been said, they could have read all possible opinions. Ekaterina Samutsevich is free, and, thank God. I don't know if she wants someone to talk to her. Nadya Tolokonnikova is a completely closed person for me, I don’t understand her. I would like to talk with Masha Alyokhina as with a person who went through the church environment. Not to teach her about life - I have nothing to teach. But I would like to listen to her... She is interesting to me as a person in some sense of common experience with me - with regard to churchliness.
Dmitry Sverdlov actively participated in public life: at the December elections to the State Duma, he was an observer, and openly declared fraud in his area in a publication on the Orthodoxy and Peace portal. Later, he traveled as a volunteer to the flooded Krymsk and repeatedly wrote that the authorities were unable to protect people from danger. Every time Dmitry Sverdlov’s publications evoked many responses.
On January 15, a decree appeared on the website of the Moscow diocese: “Priest Dimitri Sverdlov, for unauthorized leaving the parish, is prohibited from serving in the priesthood for 5 years and is considered a part of the staff.” The decree is signed: “Juvenaliy, Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna.” Dmitry spoke about his “dismissal” on his own Facebook page on the evening of January 15: “Friends. My career in the Russian Orthodox Church ended yesterday. Today a friend called and said that a decree was posted on the website of the Moscow diocese stating that I was simultaneously sent out of state and under ban for 5 years. I do not accept condolences. Details later."
Once upon a time, Father Dmitry and I worked together in a trade union newspaper. This is one of the most talented journalists - but he chose to serve God. And yet, it always makes me happy: we at “Foma” published his artistic photos:
http://www.foma.ru/article/index.php?news=3952
But lately I have been constantly following the birth of a cycle of everyday dialogues, which he “snatches on the fly” from the flow of life.
He strives to avoid falsehood - therefore one should not expect any lessons of piety from the dialogues. This is - albeit magical in a writer's way - a mirror, such as Pushkin’s: “My little mirror, tell me...” - and in response it “gives out” all the “buts” about our life.
Only his “mirror” is still kind and non-judgmental in a Christian way.
http://dmsverdlov.livejournal.com/
Father Dmitry, just don’t stop!! You write so well, honestly, funny, sad, truthfully about us, about yourself, about our children... God help you!
Below is a large selection of miniatures, which I had the audacity to arrange into some kind of cycle. I hope Father Dmitry will forgive me...
Beware of traffic!
THE ROOKS HAVE ARRIVED
Sima? Somewhere here a fly has woken up. Did not see? Must be killed.
- No, don't, dad. This is the first sign.
ALL THE SECRET BECOMES CLEAR
Yes, old man... I am an archpriest.
- Well! Congratulations.
-...It’s been like five years now.
- Like this??
- Yes... Secret archpriest. There is a secret monk. But I’m a secret archpriest... The diocesan secretary got into my personal file. He says, listen, and you are an archpriest. Here is the decree. For 2004.
- And how do you feel about this?
- Nothing.
- That's great. Come. I am waiting.
THE PROBLEM OF FREEDOM
Sorry, Father Dmitry, I can’t talk about this freely now.
- And at the same time, you can now freely say what you cannot now freely talk about?
- Don't be surprised, yes.
FROM THE HEART
Eat, father, eat... I actually cooked this for Father Roman. But you eat too. You are also a father...
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH
Dad! Do you know who they appointed me?!
- By whom?
- Goddess of love!.. I don’t remember. Somehow on "u". Have you read the epic of Gilgamesh?
- Yes, bunny, we went to college. This, you know, is a very ancient work. It is older than some fragments of the Old Testament. It even tells the story of the global flood, and this is seen as confirmation of the biblical version of the origin of the world...
- Dad!
- Yes?
- Dad, don’t you remember if this goddess happens to fall in love with Gilgamesh?
- No, baby, I don’t remember.
- It's a pity... Because if it's Gilgamesh, then it's very bad. Serezha was appointed Gilgamesh...
HEREDITY
I look at my mother’s photographs and understand that I could be friends with her...
- With mom?!
- Yes. Well... well, if only she were healthy.
- Well, you know...
- What?
- That.
- That everything would be completely different if she were healthy?
- If she had been healthy, first of all you would not have existed.
TREND
Are you really in the hospital, or what?
- Well, yes.
- How are you feeling?
- Never mind.
- How are the conditions? How many of you are in the room?
- Conditions? The conditions are not bad. Room for six. But there are three of us in it. There were four last night. But at night one died. So the conditions are quite good... you see, they are even improving...
ERUDITION
I really liked the temple in Vladimir... well, this... Vedic one.
- Which??!
- Vedic?
- Why Vedic??
- Well, there are no icons there.
- Suppose the Bolsheviks took away the icons. And what does the Vedas have to do with it?
- Well, it was built before Christianity?
- St. Demetrius Cathedral??
- Is not it so? There are also stone carvings on the facade - ibex, octopus...
DEAD END-S
I have a problem, father...
- What's happened?
-...With my wife...
- ?
- He doesn’t want to move to the parish.
- Why?
“He says I won’t move until the rector completely vacates the parish house for us.”
- Well, that’s right, you have three children. And what?
- And the rector says that he cannot completely vacate the parish house for us until he is convinced that my family and I have completely moved there...
WITH COMING!
Some kind of terrible impression... Everyone is drunk. All. Men, women...
- Are there a lot of people on the subway in the evening?
- A lot of. So many.
- Well, yes, corporate parties... These are some unfortunate people of ours... who are trying...
- He’s not trying to do anything, calm down. He just drinks and doesn't try anything.
SKIS. AT THE STOVE. STANDING.
We then returned to our school...
- And they took you?!
- Yes. Can you imagine? Masha studied at the lyceum for three months, and then we asked to come back, and they took us. And this is also an indicator.
- After all, you said this is a good lyceum? What was wrong there?
- It’s hard to explain... Well, for example, a tourist rally. Have you already had a tour meeting? So there too. They invited chefs from a restaurant into the forest, and they cooked over a fire. And the waiters served food to the children... And they also invited a bard, and while the waiters served the food, he sang tourist songs to them with a guitar... This is such a tourist rally...
You imagine? I’m sitting there, silent... Taxit asks me: “What is this?” Well, I say: “Yes, life has become kind of strange...” And he - can you imagine? - he answers so calmly and confidently: “And I realized a long time ago that this life is completely meaningless.” Taxi driver! You imagine?..
Finally, father, I came to the conclusion that God exists. Unfortunately...
SINDBAD THE SAILOR
The scariest story when I went to sea?.. We once walked from China. Two million dollars worth of dolls on board. Children's dolls. The wave has gone. Seven points. And the wind is bad. Wow... And at one moment, you know, the ship is tilting so... well, strongly... and all these dolls, worth two million dollars, at one moment close their eyes and say: “Ma-ma...”
AGE-RELATED PSYCHOLOGY
Dad! Please! Don't look at me when I'm in the bathroom!..
- Sorry, baby. I won't. I understand.
- What do you understand? Is it dangerous! I am the Gorgon Medusa!
I DO NOT BELIEVE!
Dad... I don't believe... in progress...
- What??
- In scientific and technological progress.
- Yes?? Why?
- Well, look... For example... The air conditioner from the living room does not reach my room...
Have you retaken your Russian?
- Yes, dad, I retook it.
- Fine. What else is at school?
- Oh, dad... I wish so much that no one would fall in love with me again!..
WHAT DOES THE POST HAVE TO DO HERE?
Why else?!
- I'm a vegetarian now.
- Sima, what kind of nonsense is this? If there is a fast, you will fast. Now don’t make things up, eat normally, please.
- What does fasting have to do with it, dad? I'm an elf. And elves don't eat meat. Or are you not aware?
AUNTY
But what, Sima? Do you really want crazy women to run after me when I get old? How about this father?
- Well, dad... One aunt will still run after you. Do you understand who? Yes? No? It's me.
ELEPHANT-TEMPTER
Dad. And if... well... there were no people, and all the animals would then live not in paradise... but in the wild... Then would there be a snake?
- Serpent-tempter, do you mean?
- Yes.
- No I do not think so. The serpent-tempter... this, you know, refers to people... This is an image. It might as well not have been a snake... well... well, anyone.
- Elephant?
DAY ANGEL
Dad, let’s buy something for yourself, and it will be as if I gave it to you for Angel’s Day?
- Yes? Well... come on... Will you give me the money then?
- Money? No.
CHRYSLER
Dad! What a car!
- What? Where? Which one?.. Ahead?
- Around!
CALVARY. WITH DISCOUNT
"...Dear father. Our workshop has been performing various interior works for Orthodox churches throughout Russia for more than ten years. For your information, I am sending you the price list for the Calvary. We have discounts for churches under construction. Sincerely, Sales Manager... "
VEDEVE
Father? But the prophet Elijah, right?.. he... slaughtered three hundred heretics, right?.. on Mount Carmel?.. And the day of Vadeve, well, it’s a holiday today, right?.. It’s somehow connected, no? ..
WHAT'S IN A NAME?..
Father... I have a request to ask you.
- ?
- You don’t call me Tonechka anymore...
- ??
-...I have a name given to me by God...
- ???
-...An-to-no-na!
FORGIVENESS SUNDAY
Forgive me, Father Sergius.
- And forgive me, Father Dmitry.
- Forgive me, Father Peter.
- And forgive me, father. Pray for me, a sinner.
- Forgive me, Father Benjamin.
- Yes, yes... okay... it's okay...
YOU MUST FEDYA, YOU MUST
Listen, how did you become... well, this... priest?
- I don’t even know how to tell you...
- So you realized that it was good for you and went, right?
- Not that very good. Rather, it is necessary.
- Necessary?
- Yes, it is necessary.
- I don’t understand this. I understand when it's good. But when it’s necessary, I don’t understand. I don't understand yet. But maybe someday I'll understand...
By a decree of January 14, 2013, priest Dimitry Sverdlov, until July 2012 the rector of the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Pavlovsky, a regular author of the magazines “Thomas”, “Neskuchny Sad” and the portal “Orthodoxy and the World”, was counted as a staff member and banned from the priesthood for a period of 5 years for “unauthorized abandonment of the parish.”
In connection with the wide discussion of this decision, the website of the Moscow diocese publishes diocesan reports and the petition of priest Dimitry Sverdlov.
TO HIS EMPLOYMENT
dean of churches
Domodedovo district
REPORT
Your Eminence!
In February 2012, priest Dimitry Sverdlov (then the rector of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo district, now a cleric of the Cathedral of All Saints who shone in the Russian land in Domodedovo) submitted a petition addressed to you (attached to the report), in which he expressed his desire to leave for staff due to “pastoral burnout.” This request of his was rejected by you.
During 2012, priest Dimitry Sverdlov systematically violated church discipline in terms of traveling abroad without your blessing. This prompted me to write a corresponding report (No. 95 dated September 10, 2012, attached to this report). As a result, he was released from the rectorship and appointed a cleric on the staff of the Cathedral of All Saints Who Have Shone in the Russian Land in Domodedovo.
However, from the moment he received the decree on his new appointment, priest Dimitry Sverdlov did not attend a single service and did not present me with a single document justifying his absence.
On my instructions, my assistant Archpriest Vyacheslav Zavyalov spoke with him on the phone in December 2012 regarding his attitude to serving in the cathedral, but did not hear anything concrete.
At the beginning of January, Fr. Vyacheslav again tried to contact him in order to convince him to come to the Christmas service at the cathedral, but he did not answer phone calls and did not call back.
In connection with the above, I believe that priest Dimitry Sverdlov ignores the decree of Your Eminence on his appointment to the staff of the Cathedral of All Saints in the Land of Russia in Domodedovo and, thus, falls under the rule of 36 saints. Apostles (“If anyone, having been ordained as a bishop, does not accept the service and care of the people entrusted to him: let him be excommunicated until he accepts it. Likewise the presbyter and the deacon...”), as well as the text of the priestly oath (“Without his own will The archpastor must not leave the place of service to which he has been assigned, and must not move anywhere without permission”).
YOUR Eminence
unworthy novice
Ref. No. 2 dated January 14, 2013
Priest Dimitry Sverdlov is relieved of his duties as rector of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo region, and is appointed to the staff of the Cathedral of All Saints in the Russian Land who shine forth in the city of Domodedovo, Moscow region.
+Juvenaly
,
METROPOLITAN OF KRUTITSKY AND KOLOMENSKY
TO HIS EMPLOYMENT
TO THE HIGH REPRESENTATION JUVENALIUS
METROPOLITAN OF KRUTITSKY AND KOLOMENSKY
dean of churches
Domodedovo district
Archpriest Alexander Vasiliev
REPORT
Your Eminence!
I consider it my duty to bring to your attention the revealed systematic violation by the rector of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo church district, priest Dimitry Sverdlov, of the existing regulations in the Moscow diocese regarding clergy vacations.
So, this summer, with your blessing, Fr. Dimitri was on another vacation. He arrived from vacation a week late, which he did not notify me about. The fact of his lateness was established by me from third-party sources, after which he was called by me for explanations. All of Father Dimitri’s arguments were not convincing; he refused to write an explanatory note on this matter. Despite this, after having a conversation with him for more than an hour and a half, I hoped that I had persuaded Father Dimitri to enforce discipline regarding leave.
However, already in August of this year, he voluntarily went to Italy (Rome) for some Catholic conference. This became known after I tried to call him to the deanery office for an ordinary ordinary question. At this time he was already in Rome and was planning to return only the following Saturday. I invited him to appear immediately for an explanation, but he did not appear until the end of the next week.
During this meeting I pointed out Fr. Demetrius on the canonical rules and the priestly oath, which determine the movements of clergy only with the permission of the clergy. In particular, this is indicated by the rules of the Council of Laodicea (No. 41: “A sanctified or cleric must not travel without the correct charter from the bishop” and No. 42: “A sanctified or cleric must not travel without the command of the bishop”) and the text of the oath “Without the will do not leave your Archpastor’s place of service where he has been assigned, and do not move anywhere without permission.” In addition, everyone knows your direct instructions regarding vacations and departures of clergy outside the diocese. In response, he stated that he does not see a significant problem in the fact that the clergy will go somewhere between services, even abroad, since this does not infringe on parish and liturgical life. During the conversation, he also confirmed the rumor about his unauthorized trip to the city of Krymsk with a cargo of humanitarian aid and financial resources worth about a million rubles. He also said that his plans already include possible trips, including at the invitation of various organizations. I admonished him to refrain from these trips, again pointing out their non-canonical nature. In response to Fr. Dimitri asked for time to think until Monday, which I granted.
On the said Monday, Fr. Dimitri said that, at my insistence, he canceled planned trips until the end of this year and refused invitations, but again said that he does not see a significant problem in the freedom of movement of clergy between services, and, thus, does not share the practice existing in the Moscow diocese regarding vacations of the clergy. I suggested that he write an explanatory note about leaving the parish without authorization, to which he replied that he would write it only upon a written request from me.
As a result of all my meetings and conversations with Fr. With Dimitri, I got the strong impression that he still does not regard his actions as significant violations, which makes it possible for them to be repeated in one or another variation.
At all these meetings, the assistant to the dean, Archpriest Vyacheslav Zavyalov, was present, who is a witness to all the confessions and words of Fr. Demetrius, set out in the report.
Presenting to the court of Your Eminence the above-mentioned facts of the unauthorized abandonment of the parish by priest Dimitri Sverdlov, I ask that, as a possible candidate for the position of rector of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo church district, consider the cleric of the Cathedral of All Saints Who Shone Shining in the Russian Land, Domodedovo, Priest Evgeniy Nevodin, leaving him on the staff of the cathedral (legal name - Local religious organization Orthodox parish of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo district, Moscow region, Moscow diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church).
YOUR Eminence
unworthy novice
Archpriest Alexander Vasiliev
Ref. No. 95 dated September 10, 2012
TO HIS EMPLOYMENT
TO THE HIGH REPRESENTATION JUVENALIUS
METROPOLITAN OF KRUTITSKY AND KOLOMENSKY
dean of churches
Domodedovo district
Archpriest Alexander Vasiliev
REPORT
Your Eminence!
I respectfully present to you the report and explanatory letter of Priest Dimitry Sverdlov, rector of the Peter and Paul Church, village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo district, which sets out his request for inclusion on staff.
I became aware of his intention in December 2011 as a result of our conversation with him. I tried to convince him that the decision made was wrong and think again, to which he replied that he had already made the decision. After this there were two more meetings and conversations, at the last one I reminded Father Dimitri about the priestly oath, handing him the text of this oath.
But all our conversations did not force him to change his decision, and on February 15, 2012, priest Dimitry Sverdlov handed over to the dean’s office his report on the recruitment, which I present with regret to Your Eminence.
If Your Eminence satisfies the request of Priest Dimitry Sverdlov, I humbly ask you to appoint Priest Evgeniy Nevodin, cleric of the Cathedral of All Saints in the Russian Land who shone in Domodedovo, as rector of the Peter and Paul Church, village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo district, with the dismissal of the cleric of the cathedral.
YOUR Eminence
unworthy novice
Archpriest Alexander Vasiliev
Ref. No. 72 dated 02/16/2012
His Eminence
Moscow region
REQUEST
Your Eminence,
I ask you to remove from me the obedience of the rector of the Peter and Paul Church in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo district and to count me among the staff of the diocese entrusted to you by God due to the fact that I am experiencing a state of “pastoral burnout” and a feeling of chronic fatigue.
with gratitude and filial love
priest Dimitry Sverdlov,
rector of the Peter and Paul Church
Pavlovskoye village, Domodedovo district
His Eminence
Your Eminence Juvenalius,
Metropolitan of Krutitsky and Kolomna,
To the Administrator of the Moscow Diocese from
priest Dimitry Sverdlov,
rector of the Peter and Paul Church
Pavlovskoye village, Domodedovo district
Moscow region
Your Eminence,
You may not remember me, so in a few words I would like to tell you about myself and try to explain to you the reasons for my request to count me on the staff of the Moscow diocese.
I have been in the Church since I was 19 years old, since 1989, when, on my initiative, I was baptized by the late Archpriest Vasily Shvets in the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Kamenny Konets, Pskov region. Fr. Vasily was my first confessor. Very soon I became a parishioner of the Church of St. mchch. Flora and Lavra in the village. Yam, Domodedovo district, where for six years he sang in the choir and served as an altar boy. O. Vasily Shvets and Fr. Valery Larichev are two mentors who have significantly influenced my life.
At one time, I graduated from the Plekhanov Institute with a degree in economics and mathematics, and worked in large commercial companies as a specialist in corporate finance. At the same time, he began studying at PSTGU.
You ordained him to the priesthood in 2000 on the Week of the Cross in the Seraphim-Znamensky Skete - in a place especially dear to me. I have always perceived the place and time of ordination as a sign of God’s providence. I became acquainted with the fate of the new martyrs and, in particular, schema-abbess Tamar (Mardzhanova), Archbishop Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) and especially Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) long before my ordination. The first church book that I read in my life, besides the New Testament, was the reprinted life of Metropolitan Vladimir (Epiphany) of Kyiv.
For six years I served in the church with. I am the second priest, mainly carrying out the required obedience. I also taught Sunday schools - first for children, then for adults, and ministered to the community in the chapel for rights. Feodora Ushakov at military unit 56135 (under my leadership, the military unit checkpoint building was rebuilt into a chapel according to the design of the architect A.N. Neiman). Arrival in the village The hole is huge, obedience became exhausting over time. But I tried to do everything I was supposed to do until I had a relapse of a stomach ulcer and needed hospitalization (10 years before that I had undergone a serious operation, two-thirds of my stomach was removed). Then I asked you to transfer me to another parish, to my friend Fr. Oleg Mitrov in the village. Metkino.
In the Cosmodamian Church with. I served in Metkino for two years, while simultaneously working at the Institute of the Academy of Sciences SOPS (Council for the Study of Productive Forces) as a junior researcher, preparing for the defense of my PhD thesis in economics (with Academician A. G. Granberg and Doctor of Economics E. B. Ardemasov ), which, unfortunately, I was not able to complete.
In December 2007, you decided to form a parish in the village of Pavlovskoye, Domodedovo district, and appointed me as rector of Pavlovskoye. Services in Pavlovsky began immediately - in a construction shed.
Over the course of four years, a chapel was built on the site allocated for the church (essentially a parish house with a house church and premises for children's and adult Sunday schools). The temple and schools are fully equipped, the building is connected to all communications, the territory has been completely landscaped and a children's playground has been installed.
This, of course, is not the most ambitious construction project - during this period huge temples are built. But we built it in conditions of an economic crisis, without a general sponsor, and in fact, with the money of parishioners. I don't boast or make excuses - it is what it is. But the main, and for me surprising, result is the real community that has developed around the temple, given that in the immediate vicinity of Pavlovsky there are two successfully established powerful parishes - in the village. Yam and St. Nicholas Church in the village. Domodedovo. I don’t “abandon” people: the parish, as it turned out, consists of mature and truly churchly people and treated my desire to leave the staff with understanding and trust.
In addition to construction and parish obedience, I was involved in the care of two schools: in the village. Yam (military unit 56135) and No. 4 in Domodedovo. Last year, I had my first successful experience of cooperation with a university: I gave a course of lectures and conducted seminars on religious studies at the Domodedovo branch of the Russian State University for the Humanities.
This is, in brief, the external side of my church life over the past 12 years. I can also add that I have three children, the last two are boys, three and four years old. Even in the last year, I wrote and published a lot - in Foma, Neskuchny Sad and on the Pravmir website.
On December 30, 2012, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in his report at the Bishops’ Conference of Metropolitan Bishops, said in particular: “It happens that at a certain stage of life, a priest is faced with “pastoral burnout.” This is a state when a clergyman loses motivation to perform pastoral service, a state of chronic fatigue and apathy, accompanied by doubts about the presence of a pastoral calling and the correctness of choosing the priesthood as a profession and way of life. Here is the special responsibility of the bishop and diocesan confessor. It would be easier than ever to punish, ban, or turn away. But this is not what the archpastor is called to. It is at such moments that one should remember with particular poignancy the liturgical greeting “Christ in our midst,” addressed to “a brother and co-servant.”
It can be difficult, unpleasant, even internally unbearable to face indifference, ossification, or even embitterment. But we cannot ignore the call of the Good Shepherd, who goes and seeks the lost sheep, without waiting for it to return to the fold and caring for it more than for other sheep.”
I have no apathy, indifference or bitterness. But lately I have been living and serving with a feeling of strong, pronounced internal fatigue. I need to take a break. Stop a little and look at yourself, at your path from the outside. I beg you not to see my request to leave the state as an anti-church act or a betrayal. I think this is unfair. All my adult life (from 19 to 40 years old) I have lived in the Church.
I am not going to move to other jurisdictions, to another diocese, to other churches. I'm not going to perform house-to-house services. I am not going to engage in political activities.
My request to you: satisfy my request to be added to the staff and do not ban me from the priesthood. This will give me the opportunity to sometimes serve with my priest friends in your diocese - if, of course, there is your blessing.
In addition, I would like to finish my education at PSTGU (I have one course and a diploma left), and maybe continue it - the status of a banned priest will make this difficult. And one more thing: this year a children’s book by me should be published in one of the Orthodox publishing houses. The ban will make this publication impossible.
