His life:
Fr. Nicetas Lekhan - was born in 1893 in the Poltava district. In 1923 he was ordained
to the priesthood in the Dnepropetrovsk diocese and served in the village of Ovsyuki, Cherkassky province.
In this village there lived some True Orthodox nuns, who had come there from various closed monasteries. They told him about sergianism - the way in which the official Russian Church under Metropolitan Sergius had surrendered to the communists. But he was young then and did not listen to them particularly.
But then, as he himself related, the Lord sent him a penance for his service in the "sergianist church" - he was arrested. Throughout his years in prison he considered it a punishment, and not an exploit. He thought the same with regard to those convinced sergianist bishops and priests who were arrested in spite of their agreement with the atheists. When Fr. Nicetas had worked out the real church situation, he even wrote a book about it.
After the end of the Second World War he was offered the chance to remain a priest and serve officially in a church, but for this he would have to join the communist party. He refused, was arrested on the denunciation of a komsomol member, and was given a 25-year sentence.
After being released in 1955, he led a life of wandering before settling in Kharkov.
Later in life, he was able to make contact with Metropolitan Philaret of the ROCOR. They both
had deep respect for each other.
In 1985, Fr. Nicetas passed onto eternity afterbeholding a vision of Sts. Basil the Great, John
Chrysostom and Dimitry of Rostov.
This faithful confessor of the Russian Orthodox Catacomb Church has been known to work miracles
for those who approach him with faith in prayer!
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His teachings:
1) Signs of spiritual deception (prelest) (Dedicated to R.B.E.)
Prelest is a false thought!
And we will also remind you of your mistakes in the words you uttered in that false society of believers.
But first, let us remind you, lest you be offended by us for speaking not in reproach, but out of love, for we share such spiritual bread only with our own! We fear strangers. We remind you from the teachings of St. Demetrius of Rostov that chrome leather, elastic and pleasant to hold, was previously subjected to many operations. The leather was soaked, scraped, beaten, soaked again, stretched, dried, ironed, painted, and varnished—and only then did it become pleasing, and lovely, and desirable to all! Every Christian who desires salvation must undergo such operations. We are rough logs, prepared for the construction of the Church. But logs with bark and knots are not suitable for the construction of a Temple! We, too, have noticed certain knots in you that make you unsuitable for the Temple's construction. They must be cut off, trimmed, hewn, and polished!
For example, you used to often repeat the words, "I'm the kind of person you can live with." And you repeated this in almost every conversation. We criticized you, and you dropped it. Now you've added something new. You often repeat, "Even if I raise my voice and shout, I don't harbor a drop of malice." And you've repeated this more than once, many times, and you remind everyone that you're not evil! It would seem that these two expressions of yours are insignificant, insignificant, sinless, and shouldn't even be discussed by adults. "Believers shouldn't bother with such trivialities! They need to pray, read akathists, and shed tears in prayer for their sins. That's the main thing! Otherwise, it's empty, and it's a waste of time to dwell on it." Perhaps that's how you and some others reason.
Oh no, my dears! Such reasoning is a profound and pernicious error. With these ingrained words: “You can live with me; I have no ill will; I am firm; I will achieve my goal; I will do this and that”—it is impossible to lay the foundation for salvation, much less be saved. Prayers, tears, repentance, sacrifices—all such efforts will be rejected by God. This is a sin, and the greatest sin! This is pride, blasphemous! “You can live with me; I have not a drop of ill will”—these words of yours, my dear, are pride! You pride yourself on your kindness, your meekness. “I serve the brethren, I am more than capable, I have not a drop of ill will, when I cry out, believe me,” and you also convince everyone of this: “Believe me”! You assure everyone that you are so meek, humble, and meek. What do the holy fathers say about such meek, humble and kind people?
They say, "Humility's self-importance is the most terrible form of pride! Pride is driven out with great difficulty when a person doesn't recognize it as pride; it seems humility to them!" This is called boasting! You praise yourself for being meek, kind, humble, and kind. And the Saints say of such people, "He who praises himself is one of the clear signs of spiritual delusion."
The signs of prelest are as follows:
1. They raise their heads as righteous people.
2. They raise their voices as if they were worthy.
3. They reproach as if they were the smartest.
4. They offer their own, as those who know.
5. They hate rebukes and get angry.
6. They have a desire to insist on their own.
Dear E., pay attention to yourself in just one case; then you'll see that you're proud. Let's believe the Holy Fathers that the sign of pride is self-justification. Don't you justify yourself with the words: "I'm livable, I have no pride; I serve the brethren, and I'm fit for anything." This is self-justification, and therefore, according to the Holy Fathers, it's pride!
Yes, we all don't understand our own benefit, our own advantage. We are ashamed to admit our vices and thereby hinder God's goodness. For if I say now, "I am blind," the Lord will say, "I want you to see!" "I am lame," the Lord will say, "Walk!" "I am a leper"—"I want you to be cleansed!" "I am deaf"—"I want you to hear!"
We read in the Gospel that the Lord hears such people and fulfills their requests. The Lord came for such people, to save the sinner! But if we don't say this, but justify ourselves like the Pharisee: "I'm not like that tax collector," then we too say: "I'm kind, you can live with me"—not like others, they say—"I'm meek, humble, kind, not proud." And if we speak like this, then the Lord will turn His face away from us, as from the Pharisee!
Do you really feel superior to the Holy Fathers, my dear? Consider this example. One father was being tested; the brothers came and said to him:
- Holy Father, many say that you are proud.
He answered:
- That's who I am.
- That you are a fornicator.
- That's who I am.
- What - angry?
- That's who I am.
- That you're stingy. That you're a slanderer.
- That's who I am.
— They say you are a heretic.
Only then did the Saint retort that he was not a heretic! "For a heretic is an enemy of God, and I have not been and do not wish to be an enemy of God! But other sins are the weakness of our nature." And if the Saints did not consent in word and deed, then the battle with thoughts is insurmountable, as all the Saints acknowledge. In particular, Macarius of Egypt, during a conversation with an Angel, said to Macarius: "God hears and accepts your prayer, but do not be exalted!" Then Macarius, shedding tears, said to the Angel: "Why should I be exalted when my soul is like a depraved harlot, fed by the stench of impure thoughts brought on by demons?!"
So, dear Sister E., you need to repent and improve, and no longer repeat the words: "You can live with me, I have no grudge, I'm not evil, I'm not proud, I serve the brethren, I'm fit for anything." For that is a lie and pride, and such will not inherit the Kingdom of God! True, you sometimes say: "I am a sinner, fallen, more sinful than everyone else," but in fact, as we see, you don't show yourself to be aware of this.
Barsanuphius the Great says: "He who acknowledges himself as a sinner and the cause of many evils does not contradict anyone, does not quarrel with anyone, does not get angry with anyone, but considers everyone better and wiser than himself. How then do you rise up against those better than yourself? Be careful, brother—this is not true. We have not yet reached the point of considering ourselves sinful... He who loves his rebuker is wise (Proverbs 9:8). But if you love him and do not fulfill what you hear from him, then this is more like hatred. We see from the parable of the publican and the Pharisee that the Lord came not to praise, but to condemn those who praise themselves. And therefore, if we too say in self-praise: "I am not evil, I am meek, I am humble, you can live with me, I serve the brethren," then we too will stand before God's judgment!"
Your entire household is sickly. They haven't gotten enough sleep and are unable to work all day, and so, Lyuba!
Don't show your will.
Never insist on your own.
You can give advice carefully.
Convince yourself that you alone are a worthless slave, and everyone else is a master.
That everyone is a saint, and you alone are a sinner. How can you open your mouth against your lords and angels?!
Get up early, quietly, so as not to wake anyone up or harm anyone, read the midnight office and the Psalter.
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2) The final Testament of the Confessor of Christ - Father Nicetas Lekhan
Said on 1st of March 1985:
Being in prison and spiritual confinement: in prison and physical confinement – always in fear.
Always in fear and trembling for my body, but most of all – for my soul.
The only consolation – God’s Mercy.
In God’s mercy, I, the huge sinner, fallen, the greatest offender, the violator of God’s laws, the lazy servant, the irresolute – the Priest Nicetas hear the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking in the Holy Gospel: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:40); “Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping” (Mark 13:35).
I hear the Lord’s voice – and am frightened.
Apart from this, overcome with weakness from my poor health, from day to day my body is enfeebled, expecting the unexpected hour of death which was announced by the Lord, and preparing according to my strength for the departure from this life.
I have a mass of sins – confessed and not confessed, which are before me every hour, while I don't have my fruits, worthy of repentance and equal to my sins: what will I render for my sins? I am feeble.
I REPENT AND REPENT!
The inclinations within me towards all types of sin are many, many.
How great and deep is our defilement of our nature through sin in its countless forms and directions!
This I acknowledge and feel every day, every hour, every minute.
Like a hurricane, sin is ready to embrace and stir me unexpectedly, to agitate my soul at the slightest inattentiveness and indulgence of its sensuality, to shake me either with:
Anger;
Irritability;
Bitterness;
Lustful thoughts;
Flattering reminiscences and the imaginative sweetness of sin;
Envy;
Hypocrisy and man-pleasing;
Vanity;
Disobedience;
Obduracy and sycophancy;
Sleepiness and yawning;
Faint-heartedness and pride;
Depression and weakening of the soul and body.
And through all types of sin the devil intensifies to push me away from God – the Source of our life, Light, Peace and Blessings.
My heart should attach itself to the Only God, but it stretches out nearly hourly toward the world and what is worldly – what blindness!
It forgets the past and puts aside repentance.
And it forgets the future – the flames of fire.
That’s why I will continue my repentance to the very last hour of my life.
I REPENT!
In leaving this earthly life unto the Eternal Heavenly joy, the Holy Fathers left their testaments on their earthly treasures, spiritual and material.
And I too will outline my wishes, so that it would be likewise after my death.
As everyone knows, our small commune grew both materially and spiritually. Likewise, everyone understands that our times are the final ones: many false Christs and false prophets have appeared on the earth (Mat. 24:24).
That’s why, upon my death, we will all be entreating the Lord for Him to send to our commune, a true-Orthodox pastor so that our commune will grow with abundant fruit. I have in mind that I am separating from you only in body: my soul is with you.
We must place all of our hopes on the Lord: but we ourselves shouldn’t slumber in a spiritual dream.
It’s essential for us to remember and firmly know that right from the beginning the devil raised:
Against the Prophets – false prophets;
Against the Apostles - false apostles;
Against the Holy Teachers – false holy teachers;
And that the devil fights to seduce the negligent with denigration - to slander the true Christians and praise the false ones.
And we should especially know and remember that the way we will be, the same way the teachers will appear to us. That’s why we shouldn’t seek, determine and accept a spiritual leader through our wisdom and mind, but through prayer, fasting, good deeds and charity.
Let God Himself be your Facilitator. By your prayers, God will send you a pastor. Then you can accept and please him as you would God.
Because the Lord said to His Disciples: “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me” (Luke 10:16).
This means to accept them like Christ Himself.
Because whatever you do to him, you do to Christ.
And on the contrary: whatever you render to the false teacher – is carried up to Antichrist himself, and those who accept them (false teachers) – accept the devil himself.
And let no one say to you that “we don’t know such people”. Who knows what lies in his soul?
The Lord, previously, gave commandments on how to recognize such people by saying: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Mat. 7:15).
It’s only essential for us to know what the fruits are from the Holy Spirit, and what fruits are false. Then we will be able to know who the true teachers are, and who the false teachers are.
And listen to what the Lord says:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit”, and the poverty of the spirit is meekness and humility.
Listen to what the Saints have to say: “There is no truth that is pleasing to God without the poverty of the spirit”. This means that if the teacher has good deeds – is prayerful, merciful, visits the sick, has an ardency toward God ... but will not have the poverty of spirit, then he will have animosity toward his neighbours, arguments and envy, he will be irate with others, and disharmony: such a person is not a true but a false teacher.
As Saint John the Chrysostom says: “What is poverty of spirit?” And he replies: “The poor in spirit are those who recognize their own insignificance, who don’t argue with anyone, don’t offend anyone and don’t judge. There is no poverty of spirit in a person that reproaches and convicts in malice”.
Blessed are those who mourn.
Blessed are the meek.
Love your enemies.
Do good to those who hate you.
Pray for those who create adversities for you (Mat. 5:44).
Let no idle word come from your mouth (Mat. 12:36).
If you don’t change and become like children, you will not enter the Heavenly Kingdom.
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35): i.e. you will live in the abundance of love.
And Saint John the Theologian says:” Do not love the world or what’s in it”. “He who loves the world, doesn’t have the Father’s love in him”.
From this strict appraisal, you can find out who are sons of God and who – sons of the devil: who is genuine and who is false.
And the Apostle says: “Where there are envy, strife and divisions among you, are you not carnal?” (1 Cor. 3:3).
Watch the preachers: if they argue with someone, even at home – they are false preachers.
And how do you recognize a true preacher? By his meekness – if he argues heatedly, he is not genuine.
And at this time there is no need to invite into our commune a pastor-teacher.
I leave my wishes.
With my departure into the eternity beyond the grave, I specify my wishes to transfer the spiritual and household management to the monastic servants of God.
By the blessing of Abbess Vera, the responsibility of managing the commune “Ozertso” both materially and spiritually will be taken up by the following servants of God:
The eldest – Nun Margaret:
Nun Nonna;
Nun Asinepha;
Nun Archelais;
And God’s servant Anna – the 65 year old widow, who left her house in her will to the spiritual commune, and named it “Pilgrims’ Retreat” (this is a house next to the commune “Ozertso”). She also bakes the prosphoras and is a psalmist.
May the Lord grant you love and fulfilment of the Gospel’s commandments, as Barsanuphius the Great says: “Everyone is a heretic and false teacher who doesn’t fulfil Christ’s commandments, even though he confesses His Name”.
Priest Nicetas
For more information please visit:
1. https://true--orthodox-narod-ru.translate.goog/harkov/Nikita/nl1.html?_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp
2. https://catacombhistory.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-revelations-and-life-of-fr-nicetas.html