Chapter Seven. Monk Iliodorus
Among the students at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy was a monk named Iliodor. He was distinguished by his spiritual fervor and heightened zeal. The Holy Fathers warn of such students that they can easily fall into "spiritual delusion," into spiritual self-delusion. This occurs because, out of self-confidence and arrogance, they begin to struggle without due humility, trusting in their own strength rather than in the Lord. And the Lord allows this to happen to them, or rather to us, in order to teach us reason and humble us, for falling into this spiritual malady of self-importance and self-delusion is the beginning of all terrible troubles. For Scripture says: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" ( Proverbs 16:18 ). "Before a fall, the heart of a man is haughty" ( Proverbs 18:13 ). “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” ( Luke 18:14 ).
And so Bishop Theophan had to endure much suffering with this monk. In his humility, Bishop Theophan had no confidence in himself and invited Father Illiodor to go to the elder, so that the elder, by the grace bestowed upon him, could guide his spiritual life along the true path... They gathered. While waiting for the train at a small suburban station, Bishop Theophan, so as not to give the monk any unnecessary cause for conversation, stepped away from him and, according to monastic rule, engaged in inner prayer. But, glancing in Illiodor's direction, he realized something was wrong. A dark-skinned boy, very much like a gypsy child, was spinning around him like a top. The boy was making some kind of dance with his legs and arms. "Where did this gypsy child come from?" – thought Bishop Theophan, watching as Illiodor, absorbed in the spectacle, stared intently at the boy.
Bishop Theophan called the monk's name, but he didn't hear. He was so captivated, seemingly hypnotized, by this dark-skinned boy. Meanwhile, the strange "Gypsy boy" danced faster and faster around Illiodor. Bishop Theophan called the monk again, but again he didn't respond. Bishop Theophan approached him and saw that he seemed out of his mind, unable to tear himself away from the strange spectacle. Then Bishop Theophan grabbed him by the sleeve of his cassock and pulled him along. Only then did he lead him aside.
And the “Gypsy boy” disappeared without a trace, as if he had never existed.
It was all very, very strange. Only later did it become clear that it was some kind of inexplicable, yet powerful, demonic possession. A most rare occurrence: demons frolicking on the platform in the middle of the day, in a crowded place.
This extraordinary incident on the way to the elder did not bode well for Illiodorus.
Bishop Theophan related everything that had happened to the elder in Illiodor's presence. But Illiodor himself was in a peculiar state: either overwhelmed by what had happened, or completely absorbed by what he had seen, remaining indifferent to what the elder was saying. Even the elder's words failed to touch Illiodor's emotions. He seemed to withdraw into himself. The elder spoke of God's greatness and the insignificance and sinfulness of man. He spoke of how the only path to God is the path of humility. But Monk Illiodor either didn't listen, or didn't even hear... Thus, Bishop Theophan and Monk Illiodor returned to St. Petersburg without any visible results. Here, Illiodor gradually began to come to his senses. But then something unlikely happened to him again.
On the elder's advice, Bishop Theophan never let Father Illiodor out of his sight. One day, after Liturgy, Bishop Theophan, Father Illiodor, and a novice boy returned to Bishop Theophan's apartment in the Academy building. It was midday. Bishop Theophan went upstairs, while they remained in the lower level. Suddenly, they saw three giants in the depths of the hall, their faces distorted with malice, armed with clubs. Turning to Illiodor, they shouted furiously: "We'll show you! We'll show you!"
Terrified beyond words, Illiodor and the novice boy ran into the kitchen and locked the doors behind them. The boy grabbed a long poker and, in terror, began banging on the windows, calling for help. People came running. The "victims" were completely distraught. The boy immediately ran home to his parents. Father Illiodor was also utterly shaken by what had happened. The bishop tried to calm him. He spoke of how in monastic life one must always be prepared for such experiences. These are demonic wiles. Demons cannot be trusted in anything. In their weakness, they take on the appearance of giants, both to frighten and to instill pride: look how dangerous I am, they say, that three fierce giants with clubs have come out against me. And they want only one thing: to arouse great self-conceit and pride. And through it, destroy a person... But even at that moment, Father Iliodor was “deaf” to all instructions.
The Holy Fathers call what happened in broad daylight in Bishop Theophan's chambers "demonic terrors," demonic intimidation. Demons attempt to intimidate the ascetic so much that he refuses to follow the ascetic path. To do this, they usually assume a terrifying, menacing appearance, as they did in this case. Although essentially weak, they are always very cunning and evil. And the apparition in the form of the "three giants," by their cunning, pursues not one but several goals. Having assumed a menacing appearance, they tailor their actions to the spiritual state of the tempted one. They simply intimidated the boy, and perhaps he will refuse to follow the monastic ascetic path in the years to come. But their main target was Illiodorus; they wanted to unsettle him from the rut of the ascetic life. And they acted very cunningly. First of all, they intimidated Father Illiodorus. And he was frightened. And Bishop Theophan witnessed his fright, both in the first instance—with the "little gypsy"—and in the second—with the "three giants." Illiodorus understood that he had been cowardly. And the consciousness of his cowardice evoked within him a painful feeling. "But even if anyone strives, he is not crowned, unless he strives lawfully," says Scripture ( 2 Tim. 2:5 ). He subsequently strove to prove both to himself and to Bishop Theophan, the witness of his fright, that he had not been intimidated by demons. And this was precisely what they desired, this was precisely what they were striving for: he was deciding to overcome them with his own even greater zeal, and not with God's power. And such zeal, of course, would be "a zeal not according to spiritual knowledge" ( Rom. 10:2 ). This is not the humble zeal that one asks of God and receives help from Him, but that proud, demonic zeal that one incites within oneself. This is what the Apostle speaks of: "Being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God" ( Rom. 10:3 ). This path is deeply mistaken, presumptuous, and delusional. Behind all this lies self-exaltation, pride. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" ( James 4:6 ).
And so Illiodor graduated from the Theological Academy as a hieromonk. He quickly gained widespread fame among the common people for his fiery sermons and speeches. Huge crowds flocked to him. The common people considered him their leader. Under this influence, he increasingly gave in to destructive pride... Finally, he donned a white "metropolitan" klobuk and appeared before the people on a white horse. And, having achieved this, he dared to perform his own kind of "great miracles." Thus, on the Volga, he announced to those gathered that a temple of God would be erected on this site in three days... "Let everyone bring a brick here. After all, there are thousands of us here!" he said. "And from these bricks donated by the people, with God's help, we will erect a great temple here with our own hands..."
These words contained a clear allusion to the words of the Gospel.
Illiodorus had a proud thought, born of a false interpretation of the Gospel, to do what Jesus Christ did not do.
An unprecedented enthusiasm gripped the crowds. They carried not just one brick at a time, but carts of all the necessary materials for the church's construction... The work began to hum. The people performed an unprecedented miracle. In three days, the church was ready. The self-proclaimed "Metropolitan" Iliodorus solemnly "consecrated" it and offered a service of thanksgiving within.
But there was a profound spiritual charm in all of this. He apparently dreamed of stopping the revolutionary unrest that had begun in Russia with his own hands. But the late Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov had warned of this : "Caution is necessary against any infatuation with the fervor of accomplishing God's work with human strength alone, without the agent and the One who accomplishes His work—God... Apostasy is permitted by God: do not attempt to stop it with your feeble hand..." 8
It was precisely in this "infatuation with passion" that Father Illiodorus attempted, through "human strength" alone, to keep the people from "falling away," while the Lord Himself, due to the people's impenitence, left them free to fall into the abyss. And it all ended more than tragically for Illiodorus. He renounced his priesthood, abandoned his monastic vows, and married...
And Sergei Vasilyevich Trufanov, the secular name of Illiodorus, while in "spiritual delusion," or delusion and self-delusion, committed many foolish acts. The ascetic writer Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov calls this state "a bloody, material, passionate inflamation" and attributes everything that happens to the deluded to "this sorrowful, destructive inflamation" (I. Brianchaninov. Ascetic Experiences. On Delusion, Vol. 1).
Having met G. E. Rasputin-Novykh, Illiodor immediately became his ardent supporter. But under the influence of Bishop Theophan, guided by the writings of the Holy Fathers, he realized that Grigory Efimovich could not be considered "true," and that infatuation with him as "delusional" led to delusion. As much as Illiodor had previously been devoted to Rasputin, he became his enemy, borrowing methods from the arsenal of political struggle, poorly understood, and not from the customs and rules of monastic life.
On the path to sobriety from his initial delusion, Illiodor failed to maintain proper, blessed boundaries because he himself was in a false spiritual state. And, accepting the tempting thoughts inspired by the "father of lies" and "the murderous devil ," pushing him toward the abyss, Illiodor reaches the point where, in his frenzy, he "sacrifices" himself and simultaneously "takes revenge" on... Rasputin. He marries the woman "deceived" by his former friend, renouncing his monastic vows and monasticism (see Prince Yusupov's recollection of this).
In the realm of spiritual life, as Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov says , delusion leads to suicide ("On Delusion," Vol. 1). And such spiritual suicide was committed by the erring Iliodorus in his state of spiritual delusion.
Archbishop Feofan received a letter from him, now Sergei Trufanov, a father of seven children, from America. In it, he lamented his great sin of delusion and apostasy. But the Lord showed him great mercy—his Orthodox faith was reborn. He wrote: "I acknowledge my unforgivable sins before the Holy Church and before you personally, and I ask, I beg Your Eminence, to pray for me, a perishing person, that I may offer to the Lord heartfelt repentance and be delivered from the deception in which I have found myself!"
Thus ended a tragic chapter of a presumptuous and proud spiritual life, a chapter that was very, very instructive. "God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" ( Gal. 6:7 ).
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” ( 1 Pet. 5:5 ).
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Feofan_Bystrov/zhizn-svjatitelja-feofana-arhiepiskopa-poltavskogo-i-perejaslavskogo/7