Saint Ignatius (born Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov) was born on February 5, 1807, in the village of Pokrovskoye, Gryazovetsky District, Vologda Governorate. His father, Alexander Semenovich, belonged to the ancient noble family of Brianchaninov. Its founder was the boyar Mikhail Brenko, squire to the Grand Duke of Moscow, Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. Chronicles report that Mikhail Brenko was the very warrior who, dressed in the garb of the Grand Duke and under the prince's banner, heroically died in battle with the Tatars on Kulikovo Field. Alexander Semenovich Brianchaninov maintained the good old customs in his family. He was a faithful son of the Orthodox Church and a zealous parishioner of the church he built in the village of Pokrovskoye.
Bishop Ignatius's mother was an educated, intelligent woman. Having married very young, she devoted her life entirely to her family. Sofia Afanasyevna loved her eldest son, Dmitry, most of all, recognizing his intelligence and beauty.
Dmitry learned to read early. His favorite book was "The School of Piety." This book, which recounted the lives and deeds of ancient ascetics in simple and clear language, had a profound influence on the impressionable soul of the future ascetic. Young Dmitry Brianchaninov developed a love for solitary, concentrated prayer very early on. He found joy and consolation in it.
A very capable and precocious boy, he received an excellent education at home.
When Dmitry turned 15, his father took him to St. Petersburg to continue his education. On the way to the capital, Dmitry openly expressed his desire to become a monk for the first time, but his father ignored him.
In St. Petersburg, the young Brianchaninov passed the entrance exams to the Military Engineering School with flying colors and, despite considerable competition, was the first to be enrolled immediately in the 2nd grade.
Throughout his years of study, Dmitry Brianchaninov was a top student, distinguished by his rare modesty and sincere piety, and was universally loved by his fellow students and teachers. But the future saint endured many sorrows at school.
A bright star that shone in this alien darkness was his friendship with Mikhail Chikhachev, who studied at the same Engineering School and, like his young friend, had dreamed of prayer and asceticism since childhood. Their friendship lasted a lifetime and is a wonderful example of true Christian friendship, for its foundation was not earthly interests, but a shared desire to serve Christ the Savior and mutual support along the path of this service. They attended church together and prayed together.
During his student years, Dmitry Alexandrovich was a welcome guest in many high-society homes. Family connections brought him to the home of Alexei Nikolaevich Olenin, president of the Academy of Arts and member of the State Council. At Olenin's literary soirées, Brianchaninov was a favorite reader and reciter, and his literary and poetic talents earned him the favorable attention of A.S. Pushkin, I.A. Krylov, K.N. Batyushkov, and N.I. Gnedich.
Secular society enticingly extended its arms to Brianchaninov, but it failed to capture him. The inquisitive youth occupied himself not with worldly pleasures, but with prayer, attending church, and studying science. He spent more than two years diligently studying science, and when the vast realm of empirical human knowledge opened up before his mind, when he studied chemistry, physics, philosophy, geography, geodesy, linguistics, literature, and other sciences, he asked himself: what, exactly, do the sciences give to man? "Man is eternal, and his property should be eternal. Show me this eternal property," he said, "which I could take with me beyond the grave." But "the sciences were silent."
During this time, the truth-seeker met the monks of the Valaam Monastery and the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. They helped him find what his soul yearned for.
Under the guidance of the monks, Dmitry Alexandrovich began reading the works of the Holy Fathers. This is how he himself describes the beneficial influence the patristic writings had on him: "What struck me most in the writings of the Fathers of the Orthodox Church? It was their harmony, a wondrous, majestic harmony."
Reading the works of the Holy Fathers, edifying conversations with the monks of the Lavra, through which he became acquainted with the later famous Optina elder Leonid - all this revived and finally strengthened in Dmitry's heart the desire of his childhood years - to go to a monastery.
It was not easy for Brianchaninov to fulfill this cherished desire.
Having graduated from the Engineering School in 1826 with the rank of lieutenant, Dmitry Alexandrovich, desiring to enter a monastery, immediately submitted his resignation that same year. But here he was forced to engage in single-handed combat with many "powers that be" and "set an example of unwavering courage, martyrdom, and forthright confession." His parents categorically refused to bless him for the monastic life. His superiors denied his resignation. Emperor Nicholas I himself opposed his dismissal.
Despite convincing requests, personal explanations, firmness of desire and rare tact, Dmitry Brianchaninov did not receive his resignation, and, as ordered by his superiors, was to leave for the Dinaburg Fortress within 24 hours.
But when in the struggle of life the ascetic’s own strength is powerless, God Himself comes to his aid and by His all-wise Providence arranges everything for the good.
In Dinaburg, Brianchaninov soon fell ill, and in the autumn of 1827, his petition for release from secular service was accepted. Dmitry Alexandrovich's spirits immediately revived; he went to the Alexander-Svirsky Monastery in Olonetsk Governorate to join the elder Hieromonk Leonid and became a novice there. However, Hieromonk Leonid was soon forced to move to Ploshchanskaya Hermitage in Oryol Governorate, and then to Optina Hermitage. Dmitry Brianchaninov followed him. Novice Dmitry's stay at Optina Hermitage was short-lived. The meager food at this subsequently renowned monastery took its toll on his health.
At this time, Dmitry's mother, Sofia Afanasyevna, fell gravely ill. Preparing for death and wishing to say goodbye to her eldest son, she insisted that his father send a covered carriage to Optina Monastery for him. Dmitry Brianchaninov, himself in grave condition at Optina Monastery, visited his ailing mother.
Novice Dmitry's stay in his parents' home was short. He soon retired to the Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery. Archimandrite Theophan, renowned for his holy life, lived in retirement at this monastery. The monastery's strict rule appealed to Novice Dmitry, but the harsh, damp climate adversely affected his health. He contracted a fever and was forced to return to Vologda to stay with his relatives for treatment. Having recovered somewhat, with the blessing of the Bishop of Vologda, he lived in the Semigorod Hermitage, and then in the more secluded Dionysiev-Glushitsky Monastery.
The years spent in the aforementioned monasteries enriched him with spiritual wisdom and strengthened his devotion to the will of God.
In 1831, Bishop Stefan of Vologda, seeing the fiery zeal of the novice Dmitry, decided to fulfill his heart's desire: on June 28, he tonsured Dmitry a monk in the Resurrection Cathedral and named him Ignatius, in honor of the holy martyr Ignatius the God-Bearer . This name seemed most fitting for one who had carried God in his heart from his youth.
On July 4 of the same year, monk Ignatius was ordained as a hierodeacon by Bishop Stefan, and on July 25 as a hieromonk.
Seeing Hieromonk Ignatius's spiritual maturity, Bishop Stefan soon appointed him abbot and builder of the Pelshem Lopotov Monastery, which was already slated for closure. Father Ignatius's tenure as abbot was relatively short (about two years), but during this short time, thanks to his wisdom, strong will, and unwavering energy, he revived the monastery spiritually and economically. Within a short time, the number of brethren increased to 30.
The young abbot treated the brethren of his monastery with a combination of fatherly sternness and touching love. Sensing this love, the monastery's inhabitants obediently obeyed the abbot, despite his comparatively young age.
On January 28, 1833, for his diligent work in reviving the monastery, Hieromonk Ignatius was elevated to the rank of abbot.
At this time, his activities became known in St. Petersburg. At the end of 1833, he was summoned to the capital and entrusted with the management of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
The Trinity-Sergius Hermitage was located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg. By the time Archimandrite Ignatius was appointed to it, it had fallen into severe disrepair. The church and cells had fallen into extreme disrepair. The small brotherhood (15) was not known for its strict behavior. The 27-year-old archimandrite was forced to rebuild everything from scratch: the churches, the buildings, and establish agricultural activities. He streamlined the monastery's services and assembled a fine choir.
From 1836 to 1841, the renowned church composer Archpriest Pyotr Ivanovich Turchaninov lived near the St. Sergius Hermitage in Strelna. Deeply respecting Father Ignatius, he responded to his request and took on the task of training the monastery choir. Father Pyotr Turchaninov wrote several of his best musical works specifically for this choir.
The great Russian composer M. I. Glinka was also a deep admirer of Archimandrite Ignatius; at his request, he studied ancient Russian music and, with his advice, contributed to the musical development of the monastery choir.
The director of the court chapel, A. F. Lvov, also took an active part in organizing the choir of the St. Sergius Hermitage.
Archimandrite Ignatius combined seemingly incompatible duties: he served the brethren of the monastery as an excellent abbot, administrator, and, at the same time, a kind elder and spiritual father. At 27, he already possessed the gift of embracing the thoughts of his flock and guiding their spiritual lives. By Father Ignatius's own admission, ministering through the living word was his primary occupation, to which he devoted all his energy. The feat of ministering to his neighbors through edifying words was a source of joy and consolation for him during the many sorrows of his life. Despite his extreme busyness, he also wrote most of his works at the St. Sergius Hermitage.
From 1838 onward, Archimandrite Ignatius's scope of activities expanded significantly: he was appointed dean of all the monasteries of the St. Petersburg diocese and was now able to more widely extend his beneficial influence on monasticism throughout the diocese. He contributed to the flourishing of the spiritual life of the ancient Valaam Monastery, facilitating the appointment of Abbot Damaskin, an experienced monk, as its abbot.
At the Sergius Hermitage, Father Ignatius was constantly visited by visitors of all ranks and positions. He needed to converse with everyone, and devote his time to each. He often had to travel to St. Petersburg and visit the homes of his monastery's distinguished benefactors. Despite this seemingly dissipated lifestyle, Archimandrite Ignatius remained an ascetic hermit in his soul. He was able to maintain inner focus under any external circumstances, constantly reciting the Jesus Prayer. In one of his letters, Father Ignatius wrote of himself: "Having spent the beginning of my monastic life in the most solitary monasteries and imbued with the concepts of strict asceticism, I maintained this approach at the Sergius Hermitage, so that in my living room I was a respectable archimandrite, and in my study, a skete."
There, in a secluded room, Father Ignatius spent sleepless nights in prayer and tears of repentance. But, as a true servant of God, guided by the spirit of humility, he knew how to conceal his exploits from public view.
In 1847, Archimandrite Ignatius, exhausted by illness, requested retirement, but was instead granted a long leave and traveled to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery in the Kostroma Diocese for treatment. On his way to the monastery, he stopped in Moscow and spent several days at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.
Father Ignatius spent 11 months at the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, after which he returned to the St. Sergius Hermitage. His busy days began again: guiding the spiritual life of the monastery brethren, receiving visitors, traveling to St. Petersburg, and building new churches.
According to the memoirs of Archimandrite Ignatius (Malyshev) , his spiritual father, Archimandrite Ignatius (Brianchaninov) , treated visitors very differently, depending on their state of mind when they came to Father Ignatius. His soul possessed a special ability to discern the state of others' souls. This special ability is shared by almost all blessed people, people of the spirit, not the flesh. Archimandrite Ignatius could grasp a person's soul with a single glance. With the petrified, he was silent. With the cunning, he sometimes played the fool. But with those seeking salvation, he was frank and conversed at length, infusing his interlocutor's soul with the saving balm of the word of God, the teachings of the holy fathers, and the advice he had gleaned from his own life.
Father Ignatius had a wide circle of acquaintances. Bishops, abbots of monasteries, monks, and ordinary laypeople turned to him with their requests, knowing that Father Ignatius's loving heart would respond to their needs.
Archimandrite Ignatius's name was known throughout all social strata. Father Ignatius corresponded with many clergy and lay figures. For example, N.V. Gogol, in one of his letters, spoke of Father Ignatius with great respect. The renowned Admiral Nakhimov, a hero of the Crimean War, reverently accepted an icon of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh sent to him in Sevastopol by Archimandrite Ignatius. His letter to the great Russian artist K.P. Bryullov is also remarkable.
In total, over 800 letters from Bishop Ignatius are currently known. These letters reveal the qualities of Archimandrite Ignatius's soul more vividly: his extraordinary compassion, spiritual discernment, and profound and accurate understanding of the life of his time.
The years passed. Father Ignatius's physical strength grew weaker. The thought of retiring, to spend the rest of his life in solitude and silence, came to him more and more often.
In 1856, he undertook a journey to Optina Pustyn, intending to move there permanently, but this intention was not realized, for the Lord wished that His chosen one would also serve the Holy Church in the rank of bishop.
In 1857, at the request of Metropolitan Gregory of St. Petersburg, Archimandrite Ignatius was consecrated Bishop of the Caucasus and Black Sea. The consecration took place on October 27, 1857, in St. Petersburg's Kazan Cathedral. Metropolitan Gregory performed the consecration along with a host of other hierarchs.
Father Ignatius never aspired to the episcopal rank. His constant dreams were not of a bishop's staff, but of a simple hermit's staff. In his ordination speech, he said: "In my youth, I longed for the deep deserts, but I never dreamed of serving the Church in any priestly rank. To be a bishop of my heart and to sacrifice to Christ my thoughts and feelings, sanctified by the Spirit—that was the height to which my gaze was drawn."
On January 4, 1858, Bishop Ignatius arrived in the city of Stavropol and assumed control of the diocese.
The newly established Caucasian Diocese was in a state of great disarray. The population was characterized by a restless, warlike disposition; therefore, Saint Ignatius's first word to the Stavropol flock was one of peace. "Peace to this city!"
Bishop Ignatius's tenure as governor of the Caucasus Diocese was short—less than four years. During this time, he visited many parishes in his vast diocese, brought order to the diocesan administration, secured salary increases for the diocese's clergy, introduced formal liturgical services, established a fine bishop's choir, built a bishop's residence, moved the seminary to new, superior buildings, and closely oversaw its internal affairs. He also preached tirelessly. In his dealings with the clergy and parishioners, Bishop Ignatius was a true peacemaker: strict with himself, he was lenient toward the weaknesses of his neighbors.
But Bishop Ignatius's grave illness continued to plague him in the Caucasus, and in the summer of 1861, he submitted a petition to retire to the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, already familiar to him. A few months later, his request was granted, and on October 13 of that same year, he and several devoted disciples moved to the monastery.
Some time later, he wrote to his friend Mikhail Chikhachev: "Never in my life have I been as content with my situation as I am now. It seems that my Guardian Angel, at God's command, dictated a decree concerning me to the Holy Synod—and this decree satisfies the requirements of my spiritual state and physical health."
Bishop Ignatius had carried out the difficult task of governing the diocese with dignity. And now he was retiring, to prepare his soul in solitude for the transition to eternity and for the best efforts he could to benefit his neighbors.
Bishop Ignatius arrived at the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery on October 13, 1861. And so began the years of solitary life in the little-known monastery.
By the time Bishop Ignatius arrived, the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery had fallen into dire straits. There was no food supply, and the monastery was heavily in debt. Many buildings, including the cathedral church, had fallen into disrepair.
The bishop's natural intelligence and practicality allowed him to quickly improve the monastery's financial situation, carry out major repairs to the buildings, and build a new church in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God.
In his free time, the saint occupied himself with revising his previous works and writing new ones. At the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, Saint Ignatius wrote "An Offering to Modern Monasticism" and "The Patericon." Many of his edifying letters date back to this period.
The author himself divided his works into three groups: the first three volumes, "Ascetic Experiences," include articles primarily written in the St. Sergius Hermitage; the fourth volume, "Ascetic Sermons," includes sermons delivered in the Caucasus; the fifth volume, "Offering to Modern Monasticism," contains advice and instructions for monastics on outward behavior and inner practice; and the sixth volume, "Patericon," was published after the death of Bishop Ignatius. This book contains the statements of more than 80 ascetics on matters of Christian asceticism and examples from their lives.
The writings of Bishop Ignatius are not the fruit of the reflections of a theological theorist, but the living experience of an active ascetic who built his spiritual life on the basis of Holy Scripture and the moral tradition of the Orthodox Church.
What must be said first of all about the works of Saint Ignatius is that they all bear the seal of grace-anointing. He wrote his works when a divine word touched his sensitive ear, when a word sent by the Lord appeared in his heart.
"There were moments in my life," he wrote to S. D. Nechaev, "either during times of grave sorrow or after prolonged silence, moments in which a 'word' would appear in my heart. This word was not mine. It consoled me, instructed me, filled me with incorruptible life and joy, and then it passed. I happened to write down the thoughts that shone so brightly in these blessed moments. I read them later, reading not my own, reading words that descended from some higher realm and remained as instruction." For this reason, Saint Ignatius did not regard his works as his own, but recognized them as "the property of all contemporary ascetics of the Orthodox Church."
The writings of Saint Ignatius expound the teachings of the Holy Fathers on Christian life, "applied to the demands of modern times." This is an important characteristic and merit of his works.
The theological legacy of Saint Ignatius was received by readers with great love and gratitude.
Even during the life of Bishop Ignatius, his works were distributed among many monasteries of the Russian land and received high praise.
The Sarov Hermitage received the "Ascetic Essays" with particular affection. At the Kiev Caves Lavra, Optina Hermitage, and in the monasteries of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, and other dioceses, the saints' works were recognized as edifying books, reflecting the ascetic tradition of Orthodox asceticism, adapted to the spiritual demands of monasticism at the time. Even on distant Mount Athos, Bishop Ignatius's works became famous and inspired reverent veneration for their author. The foremost hierarchs of the last century immediately recognized in Bishop Ignatius's writings a comprehensive guide to spiritual life. Metropolitan Isidore of St. Petersburg wrote to Bishop Ignatius on April 7, 1867: “Having received today 3-4 volumes of the works of Your Grace, I hasten to express my sincere gratitude to you for your useful works, which testify to your profound study of the soul-saving teachings of the God-wise ascetics of piety and true leaders in monastic life.”
During his first year at the Nikolo-Babaevsky Monastery, Bishop Ignatius's health improved somewhat. But soon his illness worsened again, and he remained there until his death.
The year 1866 arrived, and the third and fourth volumes of his works were being published. Bishop Ignatius himself had become so weak that everyone who came to see him was amazed at the sight of him. But his spirit was strong; he awaited death, for he had dedicated his entire life to serving Christ, and for him, life was Christ, and death was gain ( Phil. 1:21 ).
In the last days of his life, he was filled with extraordinary mercy for everyone, which seemed to be tempered by a kind of pity. But at the same time, an indescribable joy shone on the sick man's face.
On April 16, 1867, the first day of Easter, the bishop served his last liturgy with great difficulty. He never left his cell again, his strength visibly weakening.
The death of Bishop Ignatius occurred on Sunday, April 30, the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women.
On the sixth day after his death, the funeral service for the body of Bishop Ignatius was performed by His Grace Ioanafan, Bishop of Kineshma, according to the Easter rite.
5 thousand people attended the funeral of Saint Ignatius.
Everyone marveled at the softness of the hands and the overall peaceful position of the deceased's body, which emitted not the slightest of the usual odor of decay. The funeral service for the deceased seemed more like a celebration than a burial. One couldn't help but recall the words of the deceased: "You can know that the deceased is under God's mercy if, at the burial of his body, the sorrow of those around him is dissolved by some incomprehensible joy."
The coffin containing the saint's body was carried around the cathedral and, while "Christ is Risen," was lowered into the ground in the small hospital church in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. John Chrysostom , near the left choir.
It is quite remarkable that Bishop Ignatius, who devoted almost twenty-five years to serving the northern monastery of St. Sergius, also found his eternal rest in the Church of St. Sergius, only in the south.
In the autobiographical notes of M. V. Chikhachev, posthumous appearances of Saint Ignatius to his flock are noted.
Thus, on the twelfth day after the saint's death, one of his spiritual daughters, deeply grieved by his sudden passing, saw him in an indescribable light in the church. That same night, she heard the wondrous singing of a thousand voices. A rich bass rumbled rhythmically from afar, like the ringing of all Moscow's bells on Easter night, and this roar merged smoothly with the soft, velvety tenors, with the silvery altos, and the entire choir seemed like a single voice—so harmonious was it. And the words became ever clearer: "Champion of Orthodoxy, excellent worker and teacher of repentance and prayer, divinely inspired adornment of bishops, glory and praise of monastics; with your writings you have made us all chaste." “Spiritual trumpet, new Chrysostom: pray to the Word of Christ God, which you bore in your heart, to grant us repentance before the end!”
The singing of this troparion was repeated for three nights.
Bishop Ignatius's ministry of edification did not cease with his death. The saint's teachings on the spiritual life of a Christian, expounded in his works, serve the salvation of Christians of all subsequent generations. Numerous editions of Bishop Ignatius's works quickly spread among monasteries and individuals, throughout the Russian land.
In the year of Bishop Ignatius' death, Archbishop Leonid of Yaroslavl wrote: "I hope that the Orthodox Russian people will gradually come to understand the late saint; in his life and writings they will try to find and will find what can be salutary for the whole soul."
Interest in the personality and immortal works of Bishop Ignatius continues to this day. In the Orthodox East, Bishop Ignatius is considered an outstanding ascetic and Orthodox spiritual writer.
“Everything that Bishop Ignatius teaches on matters relating to Christian life is in full accordance with the Ecumenical Tradition of Orthodoxy and is based on this Tradition, expressed in the works of the Holy Fathers.”
And at the present time, Bishop Ignatius is the best spiritual leader, the best example of how, in the whirlwind of life, a person can remain faithful to Christ, constantly kindling in his heart the fire of love and devotion to God.
Bishop Ignatius was canonized for the holiness of his life, which is revealed in his works, written in the spirit of the authentic Orthodox patristic tradition. They continue to exert their beneficial influence on all who seek the path to Christian salvation.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Sergej_Smirnov/zhitija-russkih-svjatyh/177_1