Foreigners know little and hardly understand the inner life of the Russian
Church, and therefore their interest is usually directed to external cases and
legislation. Meanwhile, even great events of this order pass
past the very soul of the Church, partly in general because of its alienation from external forms.
Reforms, good and bad, are out of sight of the church people, and oh
when they talk about them, it is not for spiritual reasons, but rather for political ones.
The Russian Church and the entire church people always have in mind not reforms, but
transformation and spiritualization of personality and life. That's why feel for the pulse
life in relation to the Russian Church can only be those who are closer to her
leaders in whom the church consciousness recognized especially vital and
spiritualized their organs.
For Russian church history of the XX century, and especially time
revolution, one of these bodies was the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas on
Father Alexei Mechev to Maroseyka in Moscow. Despite the insignificance of this
church lost in the busy and noisy part of the city, Marosei Community
was of tremendous importance among believers not only in Moscow, but also significantly
outside its borders, throughout Russia; it could even be argued that its value
partly applied to unbelievers. It's not time to consider the impact yet
father Alexei and write a detailed biography of this wonderful person.
But a few pages about him should be of interest to friends of spiritual Russia.
II
O. Alexey Mechev was born on March 17, 1859 in Moscow. It should be noted
his connection with the Moscow Metropolitan Philaret, from whom he generally takes
the beginning of most of the bright phenomena of Russian church life in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Father Alexei Mechev - Alexei Ivanovich in childhood was a chorister in
the famous Chudovsky choir. One case when a child almost died from
frost and was saved by Metropolitan Philaret, brought them closer together, and the boy became
pupil of the Metropolitan, who was the spiritual leader of Russia for more than
half a century. He later made him choir director of the same choir, in the prime of his glory.
The Metropolitan tirelessly followed the life of the Mechev family and more than once showed his
clairvoyance in relation to Alexei, a future leader, and then a boy.
Reverence and love for Filaret filled the latter since childhood, and he always
pointed to him as the greatest example of shepherding; from him Fr. Alexei
Mechev accepted self-sacrifice and, to the point of ruthlessness towards himself,
attitude to their pastoral duty.
Studied about. Alexey, first at the Zaikonospassky School, and then at
Moscow Theological Seminary. He intended to become a doctor later, but from
obedience to his mother entered the psalmists at the Church of the Sign on Znamenka. Here
he had to suffer a lot from the rude abbot of this church, who
He treated his psalmist in every possible way, insulted and even beat him. "Sometimes you come
to him, - said the brother of Fr. Alexei, - and he is lying on the couch and crying. "
However, Fr. Alexei endured everything with patience and later thanked the Lord,
that He gave him such a school; and his abbot, Fr. George, he even
I remembered as a teacher with great love.
In 1884 Alexey Mechev married, and on March 19, 1893 he was ordained
one of the smallest churches in Moscow, St. Nicholas on Maroseyka. Poor
parish, small empty church, decayed rotten church house,
built over a pit where water flowed from all over the yard. That's what awaited him
in his new parish. Added to this was a very serious chronic
the illness of his dearly beloved wife. The new abbot had to look after
after years of lying motionless wife, take care of children and at the same time
to create the life of a parish that only existed legally. Its measures in
this direction were met with the ridicule of neighboring priests and
the ill will of the younger members of the