FATHER ANATOLY

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On February 14, 1996, priest Anatoly Chistousov, rector of the Archangel Michael Church in Grozny (since March 21, 1994), was killed in Chechen captivity, an officer in the Russian army before his ordination.

Military, with two diplomas higher education, he could have had a good career. However, the desire to devote oneself to serving God outweighed all worldly arguments. In 1992, he began attending services at the Holy Cross Church in Stavropol, and a year later he submitted a report on his dismissal from the Armed Forces. The family were surprised by such a change in the life of the head of the family, and the wife even tried not to let him into the temple. Then she resigned herself.

The Church of the Archangel Michael was founded in 1892. During Soviet times, the temple was not closed. The staff of priests here in Soviet times consisted of five people. On the eve of the First Chechen War, some priests began to leave; during the campaign itself, only one priest remained - Father Anatoly Chistousov

March 21, 1994 Fr. Anatoly Chistousov was sent to the disposal of the dean of the churches of Chechnya, who was then Archpriest Pyotr Netsvetaev. When Metropolitan Gideon invited him to come here, he, of course, could have refused. Having received the appointment, Fr. Anatoly immediately went to Grozny, where already at that time it was turbulent and explosive.

Once his car was stopped during a trip to Stavropol, to Andreevsky Cathedral. They took all the money that was needed to purchase church utensils. After this, Metropolitan Gideon invited him to stay and not go back.
But Father Anatoly returned: “How can I leave my flock?” he said.

In December 1994, large-scale military operations began in Grozny.

According to the testimony of a participant in the fighting in Grozny - an airborne special forces officer - at a time when his unit was surrounded and held the defense in the building of the Grozny railway station, the Chechen militants, already desperate to take the station by storm, began to try to mentally break our guys. The main role in this case was assigned to human rights activist and now State Duma deputy Sergei Kovalev. As an Airborne Forces officer said, Kovalev used a loudspeaker to call on the paratroopers to lay down their arms, since they were “criminals and murderers.” After these words, the special forces did not open fire only because they saw an Orthodox priest in the group of militants next to Kovalev. Later it became known that this priest was Father Anatoly Chistousov, who was forcibly brought by Chechen bandits in order, like Kovalev, to call on the paratroopers to surrender. But Father Anatoly refused to say anything and only silently crossed our guys.

He performed divine services, despite the fact that the temple was in the epicenter of hostilities.
On New Year's Eve 1995, he was forcibly brought by bandits to the Grozny railway station, where he was ordered to appeal to the Russian soldiers holding the defense with a demand to surrender. In response to this, Father Anatoly blessed the soldiers for military service.

He performed divine services, despite the fact that the temple was in the epicenter of hostilities.
On New Year's Eve 1995, he was forcibly brought by bandits to the Grozny railway station, where he was ordered to appeal to the Russian soldiers holding the defense with a demand to surrender. In response to this, Father Anatoly blessed the soldiers for military service.

According to available evidence, after the abduction, Father Anatoly was kept in a camp of the State Security Department of Ichkeria near the village of Stary Achkhoy. Here the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church was shot, suffering a martyr's death at the hands of his captors.

This is confirmed, in particular, by the corresponding act dated February 14, 1996, which was drawn up by responsible officers of the security service under the President of Ichkeria and certified by the military prosecutor of the republic.

Among the documents handed over to the Moscow Patriarchate is a photograph of the body of priest Anatoly Chistousov, taken by his executioners after the execution.

Throughout the entire period when the fate of Father Anatoly remained unknown, the Russian Hierarchy Orthodox Church made decisive efforts to rescue the kidnapped priest, as well as other clergy and children of the Church captured in Chechnya. The remains of Father Anatoly were exhumed only in July 2003 in the mountains near Old Achkhoy and buried in Stavropol at the chapel of the city cemetery.

“According to available information, Chistousov A.I., born in 1953. actually abducted in January 1996 in the Urus-Martan region of the Chechen Republic of Ingushetia. The initiator and one of the perpetrators of the kidnapping of him and Fr. Sergius Zhigulina is Zakaev Akhmed Khalidovich, born in 1956, former employee of the Ministry of Culture, assistant to the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichryssia Z. Yandarbiev. Subsequently, at the direction of A. Zakaev, Fr. Anatoly was shot and buried on the western outskirts of the village. Krasnoarmeysky, Urus-Martan district of Chechnya. Former employee of the Grozny Thermal Power Plant Valery Roslyakov, who was taken hostage in the winter of 1995 and taken by bandits to Stary Achkhoi, said that there was a real concentration camp in the village, in which there were about 150 people. There were construction workers, military personnel and even local residents in the camp. That same winter, another 20 power engineers kidnapped at the Grozny CHPP-2, six employees of Rostovenergoremont and two priests - Fathers Sergius and Anatoly - were brought to the camp. All prisoners, according to a surviving power engineer, were kept in the basement of a local school, and with the approach of federal forces in the spring of 1996, they were transferred to underground casemates dug in the center of the village. “Those for whom a ransom was not given were taken away to build a road in Itum-Kale,” Valery Roslyakov told the operatives. “Many were deliberately tortured so that others would see and be afraid. Some, “unnecessary,” were simply shot.”

This is how priest Anatoly Chistousov, rector of the Archangel Michael Church in Grozny, was also killed. According to FSB operatives, the priest was kidnapped by Ichkerian special services, who took him to a camp in Old Achkhoi. It is quite possible that this death camp was a prison legalized by the Ichkerian authorities, and here, in addition to hostages from whom money could be made, they brought everyone who was not pleasing to the ruling authorities. Father Anatoly, suspected of having connections with the FSB, was shot in February 1996, shortly before the arrival of Russian troops. His body was buried on the local school's football field, and the field was mined.

A stunning testimony to the deep faith and high purity of Fr. Anatoly brought Fr. Sergius Zhigulin, when he spoke about the circumstances of their captivity. Captured by cruel, bestial people, Fr. Anatoly said with inspiration: “Listen, brother, can you imagine, it’s happiness to suffer for Christ, to die with His name on your lips.” It is this constant readiness of Fr. Anatoly testifying to his faith in Christ through martyrdom reveals a hero in him Orthodox faith XX century and a truly holy man. O. Anatoly Chistousov is the glory of the Stavropol diocese and the entire Russian Orthodox Church. Thanks to him and people like him, the world has yet another proof of the truth of the Orthodox faith, and the clergy and people of God are a bright, inspired example of selfless service to Almighty God and the Church of Christ.

An Irkutsk clergyman baptized Siberian soldiers in Chechnya. The business trip of employees of the diocesan department for relations with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies took place with a real risk to their lives. “If a priest or officer finds himself in the crosshairs of a Chechen sniper, he will not hesitate to shoot at a man in a cassock,” says the hero of our publication. “The priest returns the soldier to duty, encourages him, consoles him, instills hope. After all, Suvorov wrote in his “Corporal Notebook” : “Pray to God, victory comes from him.”

I got used to the shots on the third day
The trip to the Chechen Republic (the first in the history of the Irkutsk diocese) was timed to coincide with two holidays - Easter and Internal Troops Day. With the blessing of Archbishop Vadim of Irkutsk and Angarsk, Father Nikolai and retired lieutenant colonel Nikolai Kizimov went to the soldiers. And not empty-handed.
- The whole world collected funds for gifts for military personnel. Personal hygiene items, hair clippers, icons, crosses. I mainly went there to baptize the guys. Our Angarsk Internal Troops Regiment is located in the city of Shali, riot police are in Argun, and Sobrov officers are in Tsentoroi. It was necessary to meet with everyone, consecrate military equipment and barracks. The broader explanation for this trip is that the church is concerned about the salvation of the souls of its flock, so the presence of an Orthodox priest is simply necessary where there are believers. And especially in the ranks. A priest is not dependent on anyone except God, a person to whom a soldier can pour out his soul (it seems to me that such a frank conversation will not work with either a political officer or a military psychologist).
According to Father Nikolai, the current situation in Chechnya cannot be called calm:
- This is a mine war, the fight against gangs. After all, any war has its own rules, but there are none there. Judge for yourself, the soldiers are catching the kids. One of these is already a professional miner at the age of 14. He committed eight explosions with human casualties. “I earned money for a computer,” the boy explained to the soldiers, and after a long conversation he was released.
"We came on a peacekeeping mission"
The Chechens did not greet the Orthodox priest very cordially. As soon as rumors about the priest’s visit spread around the area, a wave of negative reaction began.
- On the night of April 27 (the eve of the Day of the Internal Troops), the commandant’s office in Shali, where we were staying, was fired at from under-barrel grenade launchers. It was scary, but there was no panic. In general, shots, and they shoot often in Chechnya, are wild to the ear, but already on the second or third day you begin to get used to it... The local population was not happy about our arrival, for some reason they were sure that the arrival of a priest did not bode well for them , everyone was preparing for a special operation. They said: “I came to bless the murder of our children.” We met with representatives of the Shali administration and explained that we had come to support the soldiers who were carrying out a peacekeeping mission here, that we were praying for the coming of the long-awaited peace.
By the way, the attitude of the Chechens towards Russian soldiers is also not clear. The guys have to endure insults from people who judge the entire army by the individual unworthy actions of individual servicemen. These are mainly contract soldiers, those who go to war to earn money.
All strength is in faith
But the conscript soldiers were happy about the priest.
- They were very willing to make contact. It was clear how they were transformed and felt encouraged after the sacrament. I had the opportunity to baptize a dozen soldiers who had just returned from a mission. Before Baptism they had no face, but after that their fatigue vanished as if by hand - they were transformed, they began to smile... All strength lies in faith, and weakness comes from unbelief. One day a young officer approached me; he commanded a company, I don’t remember, in the first or second campaign. The entire company died in the battle, only he survived. Since then, he has been looking for an answer to the question of who is to blame for this, he is offended by God, and says: “I prayed to him!” But it’s clear that he doesn’t believe in God, doesn’t know him. Relying only on yourself does not add strength; this is a wrong understanding of life. And how could he be helped if he himself does not seek help. Only time can heal such pains. And who is really to blame here? Everything is in the hands of the Lord. I explained to the officer that for those guys who died in battle for a piece of land, which from time immemorial was considered Russia, the Lord would prepare martyr’s crowns in heaven. By their feat, and their death cannot be called anything else, they were awarded the heavenly abodes.
"Our Father" helped to escape from encirclement
Father Nikolai moved around Chechnya in camouflage. But even in military garb he was recognized as a priest.
- There are not so few Orthodox Christians in the republic. For example, we visited school No. 14, there are many Russian teachers there. But not everyone advertises their faith. They are afraid of reprisals. There was only one in Grozny Orthodox church, it was destroyed during carpet bombing. Father Anatoly and Father Alexander served there even before the war. Father Anatoly was kidnapped and killed, five attempts were made on Father Alexander, after which he left Grozny. So since 1996 there has been no permanent Orthodox priest in Chechnya. However, services are still held in Grozny, a priest from Moscow comes to the church on holidays, the sacraments are performed in former house priest I was very pleased to meet the keeper of the temple, Antonina - without exaggeration, we can say that she fulfills her mission under pain of death. In this church I served a memorial service for those killed in the war.
The whole problem with religious confrontation, the priest believes, is due to ignorance:
- Here's an example. The priest comes to bless the barracks, sprinkles the rooms with holy water, and one of the soldiers pulls his cap over his eyes, trying to protect himself from the holy water. The priest asks if he is feeling well, to which the guy reports that he is a Muslim and is forbidden to participate in Orthodox rituals. The priest then asks if the young man has read the Koran, it turns out that he has not. “Read,” the clergyman advises, “in one of the suras it is written that the first friend of a Muslim is a Christian”... A true Muslim will not allow himself to threaten anyone’s life. It is the Wahhabis who can promise Allah’s mercy for murder, they are not devout Muslims - roughly speaking, this is totalitarian sect... You know, the militants themselves admit that they missed the moment when Orthodox priests began to come to Chechnya, and thereby lost the ideological war. You know, now, when the bandits shout: “Allah Akbar!”, ours answer: “Christ is Risen!” Here real case. Russian soldiers were surrounded. The death of the entire detachment seemed inevitable. And suddenly one of the guys began to read “Our Father” loudly, clearly, with his soul. And everyone became inspired, began to shoot and throw grenades so that they caused confusion in the enemy camp and were able to escape from the encirclement without losses. This is what the power of faith means...
According to Father Nikolai, murder remains one of the most serious sins:
- The Catechism of Philaret of Moscow, of course, does not consider murder in war or by court verdict a sin, but still the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” remains fundamental. People who have killed once carry this burden in their hearts all their lives. The Church constantly prays for those in power and the military. “By teaching a soldier to pray, we instill in him conscience,” said Suvorov. A person without conscience with a weapon in his hands is dangerous to society.
Orthodox cemeteries in desolation
The two Nikolai - a clergyman and a retired lieutenant colonel - had to take risks more than once.
- Nikolai Nikolaevich Kizimov lived in Chechnya for a long time, he studied here, worked here, his mother is buried here. At the request of my companion, we went to the cemetery, although the same Antonina warned that all cemeteries were mined. And this was evident from the desolation of the churchyard: people were afraid to come here. But everything worked out well, we installed a cross on the grave and served the litiya. True, I had to hide from the sniper, avoid vantage points...
The Irkutsk priest stayed in Chechnya from April 24 to May 6.
- The spring of 2004 in Chechnya is compared with August 1996 (on the eve of the second war). The calm before the storm. And so it happened, terrorists killed the president of the republic. Despite the fact that Kadyrov did a lot for Chechnya, the attitude of the local population towards him was mainly negative. Judge for yourself: the president’s guard and his security were staffed by yesterday’s bandits. Having received certificates, they continued to commit atrocities. The murder of Kadyrov now raises many puzzling questions. I wouldn’t be surprised if the president was killed by his own guards, the little snakes he had warmed on his chest...
Trips of Irkutsk priests to war will be regular:
- I have a desire to repeat the trip to Chechnya. They need a priest there. In addition, I really liked the republic - nature, mountains, people. And if everything goes well, already at the next shift change a special car with a big gift will leave for the republic. The Shali military commandant's office expressed a desire to install a chapel at its location. We are collecting funds for construction all over the world, we have already agreed with the head of the GUIN Pavel Radchenko that a chapel for about thirty people will be built in the 19th colony, the project will be the same as that of the chapel in Bozoi (it was also assembled in this colony). The name has already been chosen: In the name of St. Innocent, the first bishop of Irkutsk, all Siberia, wonderworker.
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Nikolai Denshchikov was born in 1980 in Irkutsk. He studied at a secondary school in the Bayandaevsky district and graduated in the Sverdlovsk region. Then he spent two years at the Novokuznetsk Orthodox Theological School, then received his education at the Belgorod Theological Seminary with a missionary orientation. After studying, he returned to Irkutsk, and on August 10, 2003, he was ordained to the rank of priest. IN currently is a cleric of the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross.)

Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev made a number of trips to Chechnya in 1999-2000, during the Second Chechen War. His story is about what the goals of these trips were, what mission a priest should have during such conflicts, why weapons are blessed, whether it is possible to preach Christ to Muslims and how.

Father, tell us how you ended up in Chechnya during the military campaign? What impressions did you gain from these trips?

It was a business trip. Went. And journalists from Moskovsky Komsomolets approached me, one of whom spoke about his trip to the Chechen Republic during the First Chechen War and how soldiers complained that they did not have church support. Journalists decided to raise the problem of the lack of spiritual care for military personnel. They said that they were ready to help me so that I could go to Chechnya and communicate with military personnel. I accepted this offer. My trip was also agreed upon with the army authorities.

From Chkalovsky airfields we first went to Dagestan, and from Dagestan, by helicopter at night, in silence and in darkness, because all the lighting was turned off, we crossed the Chechen border. We settled down near Gudermes. But we also visited other places and met with military personnel. I gave lectures. Before each lecture, the officers responsible for educational work drew my attention to the fact that some of the military personnel professed faith - these were boys from Tatarstan and Bashkiria. And at my lecture, I made sure to make a digression for Muslims - about the Islamic laws of warfare according to the hadiths of Al-Bukhari, so that they could compare how adequately our enemy adheres to the traditions of Islam or does not adhere to them at all.

I also had to communicate with local residents. The first trip was a fact-finding trip. I saw that people have problems. I saw that the local residents did not have enough warm clothes, and the cold weather was just beginning. And upon returning to Moscow, I immediately sent out a cry through Radio Radonezh: we need to collect warm clothes for children, and woolen hats, scarves, gloves for adults, to take them to the Chechen Republic. A lot of people responded then.

In war conditions, people can become embittered and fall into some kind of frenzy, and it was important to support them spiritually

We saw our task as helping the local population and military personnel who are there on duty - so that this service is accompanied by spiritual nourishment. In war conditions, people can become bitter, embittered, fall into some kind of frenzy, and it was important to support them spiritually.

Having gone to Chechnya for the second time, we already got there on our own in minibuses. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II gave his blessing to serve in any place where I deem necessary. Because on the territory of the Chechen Republic, almost all churches were destroyed, except for the church in the village of Asinovskaya. The Patriarch emphasized that we must provide assistance not only to the Russian-speaking population, but also to local residents, Chechens. That during charitable programs we should not divide people into friends and foes, so that it does not look like a war between Muslims and Christians.

One of the soldiers began to sew this children's letter under his shoulder strap. I asked: “Why?” He said: "This is better than any bulletproof vest"

There were five trips in total, and I took part in four. We entered through the Caucasus checkpoint and immediately went to the village of Asinovskaya, to the Orthodox church. Then - to Grozny through the Samashkinsky forest, and there in the square they distributed the aid that they had brought for the local population - warm clothes. For the military personnel they brought condensed milk, black knitted hats that do not interfere with their uniform, gloves... Children from the Radonezh Orthodox gymnasium and others Orthodox schools We wrote a “letter to a soldier,” and we put a letter in each cap. The content was approximately this: “I am Nikolai. I am 9 years old. I study at an Orthodox gymnasium. I know that you are fulfilling your military duty far from Moscow. We pray for you, we worry, we want there to be peace where you are.” When the soldiers found these letters in their caps, they could not hold back their tears. You should have seen this! One immediately began sewing the letter under his shoulder strap. I asked: “Why?” He said: “This is better than any body armor. I will wear it on my right shoulder."

There was such an interesting case. When we were distributing after the lecture, and among the servicemen there were, as I already said, Muslims, they too began to raise their hands. I was confused and asked: “Aren’t you Muslims?” - “Muslims.” - “Why do you need crosses?” And one of them replied: “So we are defending Russia.” I had tears in my eyes, it was so touching.

- What difficulties did you encounter in Chechnya?

The biggest one was when we were stopped by militants. We drove through the Samashkinsky forest. It was raining. People in camouflage are slowing down our car. It’s hard to make out who they are: fog, rain. We stopped. Look: bearded men! They open our car and ask: “Who are they? Where are you going? They didn’t understand who we were, because we were also bearded. We have Moscow license plates, and they might have thought that these were brothers, Moscow Chechens, who had arrived. I say: “Moscow Patriarchate, we are bringing humanitarian aid”...

Good never goes unnoticed in a good way this word. As the Bible says: Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again(Eccl. 11:1). Chechnya is small, there are all the movements of cars, different persons to one degree or another were recorded by both our and the other side. One man says: “I know them, they are not speculators, they give everything away for free.” Then the chief, as I understand it, said: “May Allah bless you. Go." But our car won’t start!

Someone moved away from that group, someone new came up... A man with a machine gun appeared, very dark, almost like a black man. Or maybe he was covered in mud. I tell the driver: “We need to leave quickly, some evil ones are approaching, not as friendly as the first ones... They will put us in a hole...” And the Chechens come up and ask: “Why aren’t you going?” - “We have something with the engine...” And they began to help us fix the engine. It was an interesting situation.

And those who came up pointed at us and asked something. I think: well, they’ll definitely put me in a “zindan” (pit). And I also think: in order not to freeze right away, you need to drink a little. And we were given a flask of alcohol with us. I poured myself a little, drank and somehow became cheerful, warmer, bolder. I go up to them and ask: “Why are you grabbing our priests?” At that time it was known that three priests were reported missing. They say: “No, we don’t touch priests.” - “Why don’t you touch? This one and this one.” They: “These are not priests, these are paratroopers.” - “Like parachutists?” - They: “These are security officers.” - “How do you determine who is a parachutist and who is not?” - “You are not a parachutist. You are fat, drunk and arrogant - you are a real Russian pop. Nobody will touch you here. Whoever touches you, Allah will punish him. And those, I saw them: fit, pumped up. Go, no one will hurt you." I remembered then the famous biblical saying: for My power is made perfect in weakness(2 Cor. 12:9).

They pushed our car, and we drove normally to Grozny, where they again distributed the warm clothes that they had brought.

Father, during that period many priests were captured and killed. Have you personally feared for your life?

There was a feeling of euphoria. Firstly, I understood that this is a dignified death, when you do not take anyone’s side in the war, but want to show concern for both. Our mission was of a peacekeeping nature. The Patriarch told us that we must help everyone. And to be afraid of death... We will all die someday. It seemed to me that if this happened now, here in Chechnya, it would be a worthy end to life.

- Were you ready to face death with dignity?

In war, any movement is an event. You reached some place, they didn’t hit you, they didn’t even shoot at you - that’s already a miracle

In a sense, yes. This feeling warmed me. The situation in war is different than in ordinary life. In war, a person can meet a person several times during the day, and each time they will greet each other, hug each other, as if they had not seen each other for a long time. Why? Because in ordinary life we ​​leave the house, go to the store, return home... There is no event here. And in war, any movement is an event. You reached some place, they didn’t hit you, they didn’t even shoot at you, and if they did shoot at you, they missed. No matter how many times people meet during the day, they still greet each other warmly and sincerely. I noticed this. Because people begin to value each other, and every moment spent in war is an event. This is a moment in which you have not yet given up on life, it continues, which means there is some kind of concern for you.

We often hear reproaches from non-believers that priests, by blessing military equipment and weapons, are blessing murder. You also blessed weapons. Tell me, what can be answered to these reproaches?

Yes, we performed the ceremony of blessing the weapons.

The Bible contains a direct call for the priest to bless the commission of military actions and even suggests the text of a possible prayer.

We read: When you begin the battle, then let the priest come and speak to the people, and say to them: Hear, O Israel! As you enter into battle today with your enemies, do not let your heart faint; do not be afraid, do not be dismayed, and do not be dismayed at them, for the Lord your God is coming with you to fight for you against your enemies [and] to save you.(Deut. 20:2-4).

The consecration of a weapon is, first of all, a limitation of its possible use

But when we consecrate weapons, this is an action restrictive for the use of weapons, and not vice versa. Those who reproach us do not take into account that the rite of blessing of weapons implies that some kind of prohibition is imposed on weapons. Blessed weapons cannot be used against civilians, against unarmed people. Against those who surrender. And if these restrictions are not met, then this borders on blasphemy.

Every time after the ceremony of consecrating weapons, I explained to our soldiers that consecrated weapons should under no circumstances be used in such and such cases. One even said to me: “Well, we got it!” Because now he could not use his weapon the way he might have wanted.

So the consecration of a weapon is, first of all, a limitation of its possible use. Because any religious action puts a fence around a person and a commandment that cannot be violated. Few people pay attention to this.

These trips changed a lot in my life. Friends appeared from among the Chechens themselves, some of them later came to Moscow.

- Please tell us about some other memorable episodes, maybe even miracles.

- Any true miracle leaves room for doubt. There is little difference between miracle and reality. It is a miracle that we survived there, because at that time there were active fighting. It is very important for us Christians to recognize miracles in everyday life.

And then there was intense fighting in Chechnya. And at first we were offered to travel as part of some military columns, but we completely refused this, since our mission was addressed to both of them, so we moved absolutely independently.

I would like to talk about the care we provided for military personnel. When we found ourselves in a military unit, we had a general conversation, then quite a long time was devoted to questions and answers. And then we made an announcement: those who wanted to confess can confess after the meeting, and with those who need baptism, we will have additional conversations on the Creed, and the next day they can come there and then - it will be the Sacrament of Baptism is performed.

And so we announced in one part about Baptism... In the morning I arrived at the appointed time at the appointed place, I saw: military personnel were going to baptism in pairs of two, as if one was leading the other. I didn’t understand a little, I asked: “Why are you so in pairs?”, and the soldiers said to me: “So there must be a godfather!” I remembered that I didn't pay attention to it. This is how the army Orthodox brotherhood was established, when the godson - the one who was baptized - received a godfather.

- How many people did you baptize during your entire stay in Chechnya?

Baptisms were carried out almost everywhere. But those who participated in those programs were afraid to impose our faith on the local residents. Maybe there was a guilt complex towards the local residents, because I saw what Grozny and other cities and villages had been turned into... This is a sad sight.

But I had a very interesting experience communicating with local residents in Grozny itself. When one of the officers invited me to go to something between a kebab shop and a tea house. In Grozny at that time there were such “contractual zones” where people could come just to eat. War is war, but bread stores are open and cafes are open. You have to live somehow.

And so we came to one of these places. Even if I’m wearing a padded jacket and boots, I still have a cross on my chest. It was almost impossible to walk in a cassock, but I put it on anyway... And there was dirt everywhere, broken roads...

And I already quite calmly tell him about Jesus Christ. This was not expansion - it was a missionary strategy

We arrive at the cafe, eat, and Chechen men are sitting opposite us. And they smell like gun grease, and gun grease eats into your hands so much that it’s impossible to wash it off—black stains remain. And here they are sitting opposite. They even smell like gunpowder - I already recognized these smells. And suddenly I decided to talk to the other side. I ask the person sitting opposite me: “What is your name?” He: “Why do you need this?” - and so aggressively. Me: “Tell me how. I can explain your name to you.” He called: “Jebrail.” And others immediately listened. The fact is that in the Caucasus a person is not given a name just like that. A name is a very important component in cultural and religious life Caucasian peoples. The name is given in honor of some significant ancestor for a reason. It is very serious. I tell him: “Jibrail” (i.e. Gabriel - O.S.) is not even a person.” And a Chechen sits next to him, pats him on the shoulder and shouts: “I told you that you are an ass!” “No,” I say, “Jebrail is God’s angel, an archangel, a friend of the prophets, who appeared to Mariam and other saints of God...” And he began to tell as best he could. Such interest is fantastic right away... A name for a Caucasian, especially for a Muslim, is the key to his heart. Another immediately: “My name is Musa.” I say: Musa is God’s prophet, I tell some significant events... And now the owner makes his way to us and says: “Let my name explain.” Such a homely-looking person. “My name is Isa. What it is?" And I already quite calmly tell him about Jesus Christ. This was not an aggressive expansion. This was a missionary strategy. Behavior rules.

- Were you not baptized later?

This was not discussed. But I had the opportunity to testify to my faith. If possible, I referred them to texts known to them, where the birth of Jesus Christ was told, to suras about the family of Imran... Where the significance of Scripture is spoken of in their sources. This has always been of particular interest. And when on one occasion I quoted the Koran in Arabic from memory, it made a fantastic impression, so much so that one even cried. They value their religious principles very much.

We parted as completely friends. The owner said: “You don’t have to pay anything.” They gave me lavash and meat for the trip so that we would have something to eat with us. I saw that dialogue was possible. People of different faiths can communicate as long as they respect each other. Common themes were found.

Raised the question of Islamic laws of war. He said: you have these laws, it is very important that you follow them. The laws are humane in their own way. For example, there are the following principles: “What you eat, so does your prisoner. The way you dress is the way your prisoner dresses. You can’t kill women during war, you can’t kill children.”

- Were these principles defined by Muhammad during his military campaigns?

Any missionary, when he finds himself in another religious environment, must survive his Areopagus

According to legend Islamic Ummah, they go back to Muhammad. And when you talk to people like this, it’s clear to them. All the time I felt like the Apostle Paul in the pagan Areopagus. Remember what he said: Athenians! I can see from everything that you seem to be especially devout...(Acts 17:22). Any missionary, when he finds himself in another ethnocultural environment, in another religious environment, must experience his Areopagus. Otherwise, it is better not to engage in missionary work. Then let him do something else.

What was the mood of the guys before the start of the combat operation? Did they come to you for a conversation, for a blessing? What words did you choose for the guys before the fight? After all, then everyone understood: just a little more - one of them would be pushed into death...

There was no front line in Chechnya. It was a guerrilla war: people simply went on duty and took part in cleansing operations. It is not that one army meets another army in the field. Nowadays they don’t fight like that anymore. Therefore, every duty, every departure from a military unit is a crucial moment. There, people treasured every moment, they saw the event in everything: that they remained alive, that during the day no one was fired upon or fired upon, but were not hit. Everything was seen as an event. Adrenaline was rising, so everyone was in such a slight euphoria.

I understood: in war there are no unbelievers, in war everyone is a believer. Unbaptized officers were baptized. There is a photograph: the head of a military unit congratulates an officer who was baptized. Military personnel were baptized, Russians from the local population were also baptized.

- Were there really no people who would openly speak out personally against you, against your preaching, against your lectures?

No, it was not.

- What did you feel when you saw the guys off to battle and then not all of them came back?

Still, I wasn’t there for so long to send someone into battle and then not wait to return. We moved from one part to another. Our task was to reach as many of our military personnel as possible with the religious message. Provide the necessary requirements, pacify people as much as possible.

Remember how soldiers came to John the Baptist and asked him... what to do? And he told them do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary(Luke 3:14). - We were talking about mercenaries.

We tried to act as prescribed by the Bible. Blessings and instructions must be given to warriors.

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The difference between the Chechen War and the Battle of Borodino and other national victories is that military glory Chechnya will not happen. A veteran of the Chechen war will not receive the moral reward of a grateful fatherland - the military glory of the winner. In this sense, assistance to veterans of the Chechen war, both from society in general and from a priest and psychologist in particular, may consist in identifying and updating civil, social and spiritual meaning the hardships and sacrifices suffered, the meaning of their soldier’s feat. But this requires a sober and spiritually verified attitude to the war in general, to the Chechen war in particular

12 years ago, in November-December 1994, a war called the Chechen war began in Russia.
There are several questions that constantly arise in connection with the attitude of the Orthodox Church to the Chechen war. This:
— Is it possible to say that the Russian Orthodox Church has an official position on the Chechen problem, and what does it consist of?
“Isn’t any murder a sin?” Is it possible for priests to bless weapons and fighting soldiers?
— Is this war fair? Shouldn't it be condemned as colonial and rapist?
—Are Russian soldiers always at their best in Chechnya? Are they committing military crimes, and if they are, why is the Church silent about this?
— Doesn’t the presence of priests in the ranks of the federal troops harm the mission among the Chechens, who perceive the “federals” as foreign aggressors?
— Is the Church doing something for the population of Chechnya - Chechens and Russians?
“Many soldiers in war are baptized, confess, and receive communion. Do they remember the Church “in civilian life”? And what about the Church about them?
Similar questions came to the website Mercy.ru.

The hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church has repeatedly made official statements on the Chechen issue. At our request, the Department for External Church Relations provided us with a complete selection of such statements - there are more than 30 pages. Here the peacemaking calls of the Church to the warring parties, respect for the will of the Chechen people and concern for the fate of peaceful Chechens suffering from a long war, grief for the Russian soldiers who fell on the battlefields found a place. We have a number of documents from the DECR collection, and in this article we present the three most, in our opinion, characteristic:

Statement by Patriarch Alexy of December 26, 1994 in connection with the exacerbation of the tragic events in Chechnya
The ongoing bloodshed on the soil of Chechnya is causing increasing concern in the Russian Orthodox Church. Without questioning the vital necessity of establishing legal order in the Chechen Republic, restoring peace and harmony between the inhabitants of this land and all peoples Russian Federation, The Church at the same time is deeply concerned by reports of a severe escalation of fratricidal warfare. What worries the archpastors, pastors and believers of the Russian Church most of all is the incoming information about numerous casualties among civilians - be they Chechens, Russians or people of other nationalities. Our hearts mourn the destruction of residential buildings in the zone of tragic events, which in winter conditions makes people’s existence unbearable, and the destruction of the entire life support structure. It is also of concern that the people of Russia do not know enough about what is happening in Chechnya, and the information reaching them sometimes turns out to be contradictory, consciously or unconsciously distorted.
In these conditions, the Church raises its voice in defense of the innocent victims of the bloody conflict. Not even the most fair and legitimate considerations of state benefit can justify the sacrifices and suffering of the civilian population. No goals, even the best ones, should be achieved by methods of violence, which could ultimately lead to a multiple multiplication of evil, which would be disastrous for all of Russia.
That is why I ask and implore Russian statesmen, Chechen leaders, everyone whose hands clench the sword, to immediately stop the fighting and return to the path of peaceful resolution of existing differences. There is still time for this, but there is not much of it left. Use this time not for death, but for life, not for evil, but for good, not for warfare, but for reconciliation.
Russia! According to the word of the Psalmist, let there be peace within your walls, prosperity in your palaces (Ps. 122:7).

Alas, before the parties heard and fulfilled the call to sit down at the negotiating table, they had to see with their own eyes the seriousness of the Church’s warning: two years of the first war claimed thousands human lives and sowed terrible seeds of hatred in human souls. These seeds sprouted three years after the belated peace and destroyed all its achievements. Since the fall of 1999, we have again been living in a country at war.
And again the Church calls for mercy in the midst of the hatred and indifference surrounding the Chechen issue in recent years:
Statement of the Holy Synod on the situation in the North Caucasus, March 7, 2000.
The anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya has entered its final stage. Holy Synod pays tribute to Russian soldiers and law enforcement officers who, fulfilling the duty of protecting the territorial integrity of Russia and the peaceful life of its citizens, extinguish a long-term hotbed of aggressive crime. We bow our heads to the victims among military personnel, police officers and civilians caught in the combat zone. May the Lord give rest to the murdered, and ease the pain and suffering of the wounded and those who have lost their relatives and friends, home and property. We also pray for speedy release hostages and all those who were kidnapped by terrorists, about their return home. Our grief is also about people blinded by enmity and refusing to lay down their arms. May the Almighty enlighten them, enabling them to return to creative work.
<...>
The completion of the fight against terrorism, which is the key to a peaceful future for Chechnya, must be carried out with attention to the plight of well-meaning civilians, whose victims cause us special pain. Even captured militants who have families left in the wild must be treated humanely and according to the law, without punishing them beyond what is required and providing them with the opportunity to atone.
By word Holy Scripture, “let us seek what serves for peace and mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19). Let the organization of life in Chechnya, the restoration of economy and order there, be combined with fraternal concern and loyalty to high moral standards, so that the people of this land feel safe, seeing friends and helpers in their Russian fellow citizens. This is the only way we can overcome hostility, which is fraught with new troubles.

Word His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation V.B. Rushailo, March 25, 2000.
Dear Vladimir Borisovich!
Dear military commanders and soldiers of the Internal Troops!
I congratulate you on the anniversary of the creation of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
The celebration of this day comes at a time of difficult trials. Together with you, the Russian Orthodox Church mourns the numerous victims among your brothers who died during the anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya. We pray for the repose of their souls and honor their feat, their loyalty to military duty. Sharing the bitterness of loss experienced by family members and friends of the killed soldiers, we ask the All-Good God to be their Comforter in the grief that befell them. We pray for the wounded officers and soldiers, may the Lord grant them relief from suffering and speedy healing.
Our love is with all the valiant sons of the Fatherland, who have shown devotion to it and readiness to sacrificially serve the cause of defending the Motherland and the peaceful life of all Russians. With special feeling we now repeat the words of prayers for our God-protected country, its authorities and its army. When we say them, our warriors in the North Caucasus appear before our mind’s eye, defending justice and law, hourly risking the most precious thing they have - their own young lives. Take courage, dear ones, be “firm and immovable” (Col. 1:23). The people look at you with hope and gratitude; The Lord also looks at you, Who said: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). May His almighty help be with you.
Anxiously awaiting news from the battlefields, we hope for the speedy completion of the main stage of the anti-terrorist operation. But there is still a long way to go before lasting peace is established on the soil of Chechnya and in the territories adjacent to it. Much needs to be done to end the suffering of civilians, to feed the hungry, to help the homeless, the wounded and the sick. Civilian casualties give us special grief. I believe not only in courage, but also in justice, humanity and mercy inherent in to the Russian warrior. We must remember that every wrong step can become a reason for new provocations from those who are not looking for peace, but are blinded by hostility. That is why it is so important to remember: we are not fighting against the Chechen people; We respect the traditions of Islam. As a shepherd of the Church of Christ, I urge you to treat humanely even captured militants, not to mention civilians, the elderly, women and children exhausted by war and lawlessness. May God grant that they can see you as their protectors and friends.
The Lord calls us: “Do not harden your hearts,” for “whoever hardens his heart will fall into trouble” (Heb. 4:13; Prov. 28:14). Invoking God’s blessing on all who stand guard over the law and peace, I pray that the Lord will protect you not only from physical, but also from spiritual wounds.
I believe that the words of the prophet will be fulfilled; “And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the fruit of justice will be peace and security forever” (Isa. 32:17).

Unfortunately, the people of Russia still do not know enough about what is happening in Chechnya, and the information reaching them sometimes turns out to be contradictory, consciously or unconsciously distorted. Therefore, the flow of questions on the topic of the Chechen war does not dry out, and people who trust the Church expect words of clarification and consolation from Her.

Two years ago, at our request, an employee of the Synodal Department for interaction with the army, Father Konstantin Tatarintsev analyzed in detail why military service does not contradict Christian morality and the commandments “Thou shalt not kill” and “Love the enemy.” “Alexander Suvorov said that while other warriors go into battle to win, the Russian warrior goes to die. Lay down your life for others. Do not kill your personal enemy, love him. But from an enemy who comes to your land to destroy your temple, your home, who is ready to humiliate or kill your relatives, you are obliged to defend your family and the Fatherland. The unselfishness and sacrifice of soldiers remove the apparent contradiction between the commandment “thou shalt not kill” and military service” - so. But questions - mostly related specifically to Chechnya - continue to come, and we again decided to revisit the Chechen topic. We again asked questions to Father Konstantin (read the full interview with him), and also Hierom. Feofan (Zamesov), confessor of the Sofrinsky brigade of the Internal Troops, caring for veterans of the Chechen campaign and other recent conflicts, Hierarch Andrei Lorgus, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology of the Russian Orthodox Institute St. ap. John the Evangelist, Abbot Varlaam (Ponomarev), dean of the Orthodox churches of Chechnya and Ingushetia, member of the Public Chamber of the Chechen Republic.

We asked Father Konstantin Tatarintsev about the causes and motives of the Chechen war. Of course, the war in Chechnya is both bloody and dirty, he said. “Like any war, it grinds the souls of people on both sides, it is a misfortune for everyone, and this wound will take a long time to heal.” History and the Lord will judge who is to blame for this war - both on one side and on the other. But this seems to remain outside the brackets of the war itself. Because the most terrible sins: corruption, the inhuman business of blood, which many critics of Russian policy in the Caucasus talk about, are committed when the mechanism is launched, a decision is made to begin military operations. Responsibility, of course, lies with politicians - with those who have long been on the sidelines, in the shadows, who will no longer be punished by the law with its obvious or imaginary justice.
I knew Dzhokhar Dudayev as a colonel, I was an officer, and he was a division commander. He was a Soviet officer, a brilliant specialist, dedicated to his cause - long-range aviation, at that already difficult time for the army. And when the valiant aviator general, having retired, took upon himself the care of his people, this was a good intention. His trouble is that he found himself in a situation where, under the influence of Yeltsin’s call to take as much sovereignty as possible, many nationalist forces went berserk. Immediately clanism arose and property was redistributed. Dudayev, being involved in this policy, defended, as he saw it, the interests of his people.
I remember how he came repeatedly and proposed to conclude an agreement, following the example of the existing one between Russia and Tatarstan, but did not achieve good contact with the President of the Russian Federation, the answer was cynical disregard. Feeling responsible for the people, he accepted the path of war dictated by the clans, and, having stood on it, like on rails, he could no longer turn aside. He was to remain the banner of the Chechen Republic until the end; he was greatly respected. A Chechen general was a rarity in the Soviet army. I am sure that he wished good for his people, he is not a villain, he was driven down this path...
It would be fortunate if our country did not have this purulent wound, if it could be treated with therapeutic (that is, political or police) rather than surgical methods. But it was impossible to tolerate the current situation. You are obliged to protect the weak entrusted to you. And the land, collected and watered with the blood of your ancestors, must be passed on to your descendants without being plundered. We cannot write off all the outrages that happened in Chechnya at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Russians who lived there were persecuted: they were expelled, made slaves, they were mocked, women were raped - all this had to be resolved somehow. I will repeat my thought from the article before last year: a lot of time must pass in order to objectively assess the entire situation and draw final conclusions about how adequate certain actions of the Russian side were.

It seems to many that soldiers in the Chechen conflict are gaining experience of impunity and cruelty towards, relatively speaking, non-Russians. And that when they return to civilian life, they join the ranks of radical nationalists, bringing with them this hatred, which results in conflicts along ethnic lines, as, for example, in Kondopoga. How justified is such concern?
- Surprisingly, I have never seen any of our soldiers have hostility, hatred towards “blacks” or Asians - answers O. Feofan (Zamesov). - In addition, not only Russian guys are sent to serve in each of our units, but also Tatar soldiers, Bashkir soldiers, Tuvan soldiers, etc. That is, army life itself teaches a person not to divide people into any kind. then nations.
And I don’t believe in impunity; I’ll even say that sometimes they don’t dare to do something, so as not to be held responsible for it later. Because now everything is brought into strict framework, every use of a weapon or something similar is controlled many times, so that even where a soldier or officer would have to use a weapon, he will think a thousand times, because all these cases are separately investigated by a special commission, you have to answer for everything. No, it cannot be said that soldiers or officers there right and left use force with impunity.

The activities of the Russian Orthodox Church among the population of Chechnya, according to Father Varlaam (Ponomarev), so far boil down mainly to the distribution of humanitarian aid and the provision of all possible support at the individual level. Recent initiatives can also be noted in temporary accommodation centers for displaced persons on the territory of Grozny, carried out by the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate with the support of the Federal Migration Service of Russia.
What else can be done for the people of Chechnya?
Father Andrew Lorgus: The Chechen people, in the full sense of the word, can be called victims. He is a victim of extremism, radical and religious on the one hand, and a victim of military violence on the other. As a victim, the Chechen population, of course, develops several national-social and personal complexes. The complex of those persecuted, and therefore unjustly punished, such as the complex of the Armenians after the Turkish genocide of 1915. We must not forget that the Chechens, along with other peoples, have already been “punished” by being evicted from their homeland on Stalin’s orders. The Chechens have already described a complex attitude towards the Russian authorities, towards the “federals”, as persecutors. “Feds” in the minds of Chechens are Russians, authorities, and soldiers. Among the personal complexes, we can name at least two: the complex of children of war, whose fathers died (I remember the film “Wounded Man,” N. Gubenko), and the complex of child soldiers who, without knowing the usual school sciences, deprived of childhood, know how to kill. What kind of work should be done to rehabilitate the Chechen population, and above all children and adolescents, can only be guessed at. To direct public thought, spiritual support, and civic assistance in this direction is a noble and valiant task.

However, there are also quite unpleasant opinions about Chechens in Russia. Very often you can hear from supporters of radical actions in Chechnya that there are supposedly no civilians there at all. That during the day they are peaceful, but in the evening everyone is ready to kill everyone. That Russians are still not liked. Father Varlaam objects to this: No, nothing like that. Now the situation is completely different. Maybe it used to be like that, or it seemed like that. Now the number of checkpoints in the city is even decreasing, there are much fewer of them, they have become more passable. I walk down the street in vestments, everyone looks at me differently, naturally, but I don’t hear any screams or any insults either towards me or towards my faith.
The common people are tired of the war. Politics is one thing; politicians will tell both sides anything they want, as long as it benefits them. It seems to me that the people have a common consciousness and desire to live and work. Nobody thinks about war there anymore.
Now we are going to paint the Church of the Archangel Michael in Grozny, and the Chechen Hussein Dzhabrailov will help us in this. He will pay for the painting of the temple. Moreover, the temple itself was restored by Chechens, 3-4 only Russians, the rest were all Chechens, young guys. There was no such resistance, like, why are we going to build an Orthodox church - people miss those times when everyone lived in peace, they want the Russians not to leave.
I don’t want to say that all Chechens are so exceptional that there are no problems. There are all sorts of problems, but they are exactly the same as here in Moscow, as throughout Russia. And the Russian offends and oppresses the Russian. This is a common disease, sin.

Basically, Fr. Varlaam communicates with the Russian and Orthodox population of the Chechen Republic, although the doors of the Church are open to everyone - if necessary, both Chechens and non-Orthodox Russians can come to the temple on any issue - and, according to Fr. V., there is no such day when A Chechen did not enter the church - some for humanitarian aid, some to “remove damage”, and some to pray. As a member of the Public Chamber of the Chechen Republic, Father Varlaam intends to first of all raise the issue of housing, because This problem is very acute in the post-war republic.
Mass baptisms, as in North Ossetia after Beslan, do not occur in Chechnya. Both Father Varlaam and Father Constantine warn against missionary indelicacy.
“The mission must be very tactical,” he says. Father Konstantin. “Since these people consider themselves to belong to a different religion, we must respect this and not take advantage of their position and not impose faith.” You must try to be respectful of any manifestation of what is sacred for another person, even if from your point of view it is a delusion. Here it is worth talking not about religious tolerance, but about religious respect. But if someone is trying to find answers to some questions in Christianity, such a person, of course, needs help. Historically, this population was not Christian, but there were Cossack villages and churches, and everyone lived peacefully shoulder to shoulder.
The mission must be the Christian life itself; if she calls someone, in this sense the mission is possible, but any obsession can, on the contrary, lead to anger and additional problems.
“The republic is Muslim, the Chechens themselves do not get baptized,” said Varlaam Island. “But they have a good, kind attitude towards the Orthodox Church. If they see an Orthodox person, a true believer, they respect him, and this is immediately noticeable. Very good, kind attitude.
I, a priest, was invited to Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday party, this says a lot. And I turned to him with a request that they give us a concrete pumping machine to fill the vaults of the temple with concrete - we are now building a temple in the village of Sleptsovskaya. This is the only concrete pump in the republic, and it was used for the construction of the mosque. So they gave him to us from the mosque, and he worked for us for three days.
There is no confrontation between religions in society, and the government facilitates this.

Still, priests who confess soldiers sometimes hear about crimes committed in war, but rarely. Basically - says O.Feofan, - it happens that a person was negligent in his duties, was lazy somewhere, but this cannot be called a crime. That is, these are minor violations. Basically, surprisingly, ninety percent of the soldiers begin confession (and I confess hundreds of them - both those who were in Chechnya, and those who were not in Chechnya, and those who will go, and those who returned) , as a rule, with repentance for the same sin: that in civilian life he upset, offended his parents, caused them grief, anxiety, etc. This is one of the first, important things that a person understands while in the army, especially more - in war.
Father Konstantin: On the icon of the holy warrior St. George the Victorious, the horse is most often white. This is no coincidence. You can enter into battle with evil and win - through your faith, courage, military valor and professionalism - only when there is absolute purity between you and evil, really. Like St. George the Victorious, you must be separated from that which is the subject of battle, with purity and truth. Only on a white horse can evil be defeated. If this is not the case, then while fighting evil, you can unnoticeably become a source of evil. So evil multiplies, is not defeated, but conquers, and even those who fight it become indistinguishable from those they fight. This paradox is very noticeable in law enforcement agencies - we saw this during the revelations of the so-called. werewolves in uniform: crime fighters themselves became criminals, and even with much greater capabilities.
The task of a priest in the army is to prevent looting and robbery, so that people do not become brutal, so that hatred is not projected onto the weak - women and children. It is necessary to help the soldier realize his human dignity. As in Suvorov’s style: Russian soldiers destroy the enemy in battle, and after the battle, starving and freezing themselves, they give the best to the prisoners. War is a dirty business. When the intoxication of despair and pain overwhelms a soldier, he is capable of inappropriate actions and cruelty. At confession, the priest calls on the soul to rise up and not fall, not become hardened. Of course, our soldiers there are still boys, and we have not yet warmed all of them as they should, with the warmth of prayer and spiritual nourishment; many do not rise to such heights. But this is how it should be, this is what the Synodal Department works for.
Father Varlaam also testifies to this from Chechnya itself.: An army is an army. It has its own charter, its own service. Naturally, people have to face, especially the military, with cruelty, they have to see death, and they have to kill. It cannot be said that these are angels. Seeing all this cruelty, they also have to show, perhaps, cruelty in order to protect society from the infection of terrorism.
After two wars, of course, the people also feel bitterness towards the Russian troops; there is nothing to hide. Someone’s brother, father was killed... We have to face the fact that the people don’t particularly trust the feds, the feds don’t really trust the people, there is confrontation, war is war. But at the same time, I constantly try to explain to the military that our enemy is not nationality, our enemy is evil, against which we must fight, without crossing the line of what is permitted, showing respect for the people among whom we have to conduct long military operations. The people are not to blame, the people themselves are hunted like animals. There is a spiritual illness, it is called sin, and hence the source of all evil. And a military man should feel this even more so, and not shoot left and right (but still, if there is a need, one must take life). And not to become bitter, but on the contrary, to always be a soldier of Christ, to carry love within yourself so that there is no hatred. In order for the people not to become bitter further, the soldier must show very high spirituality.
Despite all the cruelty, in the military, like nowhere else, the soul simply seeks holiness, as an outlet. Such an outlet is precisely faith, spiritual communication with a priest. And such preaching greatly affects the relations of soldiers with local residents.

They say that there are no atheists in trenches under fire. Couldn’t such a “trench” faith go away after demobilization as something superficial, useful in an extreme situation and unnecessary in everyday life?
In my experience, he says O.Feofan“For those who have been to hot spots, their attitude to life and faith, of course, changes. And they have faith in God. Many of them cannot be called deeply ecclesiastical, churchgoers, but, nevertheless, the majority of those who passed through the North Caucasus region, if there were non-believers, then believed, recognized God, turned to Him, believed in Him. And I have not encountered such cases that when it was scary, a person believed, and when it became easy and good, he somehow completely relaxed, forgot about God. There are examples when, after Chechnya, children joined the church, entered the seminary, and became priests. Some are now in monasteries.
— How is war different from any other life situation? – continues the topic Father Konstantin. - Because death is very close and you don’t know whether you will live in an hour or not. It is simply impossible for a young person full of vitality to remain in such a state for a long time. When you see death on TV, when it is somewhere far away, this does not happen. And when your close friend is torn to pieces by a grenade or died in torture, when you see the fading eyes of a dying person who is in pain, the question arises: after all, this could happen to me - and what then? Is my personality something more than a body that will sooner or later decay? Will she live after death, and if so, in what condition? Or am I like a plant – now I’m there, and then one day I’m not?
The proximity of death gives rise to fear for some, composure and responsibility for the life lived for others, but this is always a very deep religious feeling. When faced with this terrible truth you ask yourself: who are you? why are you? - a place appears for God, who may not be there in ordinary bustle. In ordinary life, we try to drown out these questions with bustle, loud music, rapidly changing circumstances, and television, where everything flashes by. In war there is time and there are no these irritants that seem to shield a person from himself. There it is more convenient to be alone with yourself and talk with God. And if such a dialogue takes place, then the question: are you an atheist or a believer is removed. Not because some knowledge was gained, but because the soldier inner man felt that there was Someone Who gave him this life, this personality. Of course, when the soldiers return home, they can again plunge into the hustle and bustle, but there is something that already remains unshakably in the soul, a certain experience that fundamentally builds a person as a person, as a person.
- Although, of course, in all honesty, it cannot be said that all veterans of the Chechen war became deeply religious people. Because there is a difference - to believe, acknowledge God and live a spiritual life - notes O.Feofan. — There are also sad examples, as there were after the Afghan events. When a person is internally broken, he can start drinking and this is how the guys get lost in this life. This is the so-called “Chechen syndrome”.
Father Andrey: By definition, the “Chechen syndrome” is a stable “set” of symptoms. Russian psychiatrists and law enforcement officials call this “set” the “Chechen syndrome,” drawing parallels with the post-traumatic stress experienced by American soldiers after Vietnam and Soviet soldiers after Afghanistan. The symptoms are identical: chronic fatigue, nightmares, problems concentrating, anxiety, aggression and stubbornness. Moreover, the specificity that worsens the clinical picture of the syndrome is that the soldiers who fought in Chechnya have a complex sense of guilt, because they fought on the territory of their country. The enemy in this war was their fellow citizens. In its civil essence it was a civil war. And this means that those very feelings, such as patriotism, love for the Motherland, pride in the state, which form the ideological basis of the moral climate of the units fighting in Chechnya, force us to look at ourselves differently, as soldiers fighting against part of their country. The ideological contradiction that accompanies this war in our society is that neither the goals nor the fruits of this war can be accepted by society. If the morally healthy part Russian society, not infected by either extremism or nationalism, recognizes the inevitability of this war, and the inevitability of the given political situation that has developed in “perestroika” Russia, then this recognition is accompanied by a feeling of guilt, but not by any means a winner’s complex. There can be no winner in this war. And this is another misfortune of the soldier who, returning from war, receives neither justification, nor respect, nor legitimate recognition of the importance of his sacrifices. Soldiers of the Chechen War cannot look at their friends and grandfathers as proudly as veterans of the Great Patriotic War do. Neither in society, nor in the army itself, Chechen veterans are greeted by applauding crowds. IN best case scenario awards and debts for payment of allowances, at worst, disability and oblivion. All this creates a negative specificity of the Chechen syndrome and complicates post-traumatic therapy. Despite the widespread recognition by both doctors, the authorities, and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church that soldiers coming from the Chechen war need adaptation, rehabilitation, and, of course, treatment, the majority of those experiencing the Chechen syndrome do not receive the necessary help. This also happens because the etiology of the syndrome does not include a spiritual and moral component, and as part of it, the national and civil meaning of war, without which there is no positive national consciousness. This is the difference between the consequences of the Chechen war, from the Battle of Borodino and other national victories, that Chechnya will not become a military glory. A veteran of the Chechen war will not receive the moral reward of a grateful fatherland - the military glory of the winner. In this sense, assistance to veterans of the Chechen war, both from society in general and from the priest and psychologist in particular, may consist in identifying and updating the civil, social and spiritual meaning of the hardships and sacrifices they suffered, the meaning of their soldier’s feat. But this requires a sober and spiritually verified attitude to the war in general, to the Chechen war in particular.
O.Feofan: There are guys who felt like a pawn in someone’s game. There were others who felt that they were defending the interests of our state. While carrying out our work, we are still trying to convey the idea that, firstly, the Chechen land is an original part of Russian territory - since 1781 it has been an integral part of Russian state. Secondly, from time immemorial Chechnya was inhabited not only by Chechens, but great amount There were Russians, there were Cossack settlements, and Chechens lived in the mountains, as a rule. Therefore, by protecting this part, we are protecting part of our Russian land. And the majority still comes to exactly this thought, because it is clear that if there were no army there, then terrorist attacks, explosions and the like would happen much more often throughout Russia. And the army, being there, held back this terrible onslaught of evil, which is pouring out from the Caucasus, in fact, onto our entire Russian land. And most of the military personnel, the veterans, understand this. At the same time, I was faced with the fact that many were disappointed. How? They seemed to understand that they were going for a just cause. But there was a lot of inconsistency on the part of politicians and the government. And to some extent they felt deceived, left to their own devices. There is such disappointment if a person did not mind giving his life for a just cause, but he felt that there was some deceit on the part of his superiors.
Still, I will say that for the majority, probably, being in such a difficult military situation teaches life and strengthens them spiritually. That is, a person comprehends some important concepts more, learns to better understand another person, the concept of sin appears, etc.
Father Konstantin: Even those who gave the orders to start it did not understand the meaning of the war, its deep goals. I remember how during the first campaign the Minister of Defense declared that we, with one airborne regiment and one tank regiment, would restore order in the republic and the Caucasus!
But when the war began, someone needed to lift its weight onto their shoulders. The people who did this are righteous.
War in any case is a spiritual process. Good and evil collide; It never happens that good collides with good. Evil happens and collides with evil, but only to tempt good. More often than not, good fights against evil.
Where this border lies in the Chechen war is very difficult to determine. There are many people in Chechnya who were orphaned by military operations and bombings; lost their elderly or children... The Caucasian mentality demands that the blood of relatives be avenged; they cannot rest until the killer of loved ones is punished. This pushed many Chechens to armed struggle with the feds (although I note that I really don’t like this term: “federals”)...
But I don’t want to evaluate this war. It took place, Russian troops resisted separatism, defended the integrity of the state, and they showed a lot of valor. I repeat once again that any war is a spiritual phenomenon, and on both sides people have spiritually rethought their existence, their inner world and the outer world.
The war is slowly fading. There are no longer the same battles as before. Life is returning, the economy is recovering. I heard on the news that an airport was built, and even people far from construction specialties gathered to meet the deadline - for Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday. A lot of money comes from Russia for restoration - both through taxes, and even some entrepreneurs donate. I know there was a time when police officers, going there on a business trip, took equipment and things with them for schools and children’s clubs. Perhaps this was also how the Russian people felt a sense of moral responsibility for what happened there.
And if outer peace comes step by step, then I think that over time, after the wounds of war are healed, inner peace will come.
Varlaam Island: In the two and a half years that I have been living here, I have seen progress towards creation. IN this moment in the republic they plow the land, in general, everything has become much livelier. Kadyrov Avenue, the former Lenin Avenue, has been rebuilt, life is being revived.

God grant that it be so. Unfortunately, there is another side to the coin. Until now, shots and explosions are heard almost every day in Chechnya, Russian military personnel and police officers, fighting separatists, officials and ordinary civilians are killed. News agencies give the following summary only for November: November 1: in a battle with a separatist detachment, an officer and two soldiers were wounded, at least 2 militants were killed; November 2: a car containing a large amount of explosives and weapons was detained; November 3: Oryol riot police were blown up by a radio-controlled mine; as a result of the explosion near the police department, one policeman was killed and four more were wounded; November 4: in the Sunzhensky district of Ingushetia, three militants were killed during a shootout; November 5: a large cache of weapons, ammunition and uniforms was discovered; November 6: three explosions occurred in Chechnya and Ingushetia: three servicemen were blown up by a mine (2 killed, 1 wounded), as a result of the terrorist attack, a riot police officer was killed, three policemen were wounded; November 7: seven policemen from Mordovia were shot. Two more were wounded; November 8: an explosive device on the highway was neutralized, and FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev stated that, according to his information, terrorists were planning to commit sabotage on hydraulic structures in the south of Russia; November 9: a policeman was wounded during shelling in Ingushetia; November 9: engineering intelligence servicemen defused an explosive device, and in the region of Ingushetia bordering Chechnya, an employee of the local police department was wounded as a result of shelling; November 10: a cache of weapons was discovered; November 11: an attack was carried out on employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya. Two were seriously injured; two servicemen were injured as a result of a landmine explosion; November 12: in Achkhoy-Martan, police shot at a car - the driver died, four women were injured, near the village of Makhkety a serviceman was killed in a battle with militants, two more were injured; November 15: a serviceman of the internal troops was killed as a result of the explosion of an unidentified explosive device; November 17: two servicemen were blown up by an explosive device of an unknown type; contract service, one died; weapons and explosives were found on the side of the road; November 18: unknown persons blew up two oil wells, no casualties; November 19: A policeman and two civilians, including one woman, were killed in gunfire by unknown gunmen; November 20: 2 caches of weapons and explosives were discovered, according to the Regnum agency, citing a source close to the security forces of Chechnya, protracted battles began near the village of Yandi-kotar; November 22: an armed militant was detained.
According to the Memorial human rights center, 158 people have been kidnapped in Chechnya this year. Eight of them were found killed, about sixty are considered missing, and over seventy have been released. Human rights activists note that their monitoring covers only a third of the territory of Chechnya.

Therefore we encourage everyone Orthodox people, on the next anniversary of the tragic date - the beginning of the first Chechen war - to especially pray for the pacification of Russia and the cessation of all violence and bloodshed on its territory.

Prepared by Mikhail LEVIN

You can read the full interview with Father Feofan (Zamesov), and Father Varlaam (Ponomarev).

In January 1995, having come under mortar or artillery fire in the center of Grozny, Chechen fighters quickly rolled back to the Church of the Archangel Michael to wait out the attack near it. The only Orthodox church in the city, marked on all maps, was guarded by troops, as were Muslim mosques.

This was the case at the beginning of hostilities. With the increase in mutual bitterness, the Orthodox priests of the Church of the Archangel Michael fully experienced all the horrors of the Chechen war. But throughout the confrontation, the temple in the city of Grozny remained a peaceful, kind, sympathetic place where everyone could find solace, be satisfied with spiritual food, water and bread.

During the most terrible shelling and firefights, the temple remained undamaged. His rector, Father Anatoly (Chistousov), did not abandon him, and he and his flock experienced many hardships.

When the Chechens tried to break the heroic resistance of our soldiers at the railway station, Father Anatoly was driven there under machine guns, demanding that he, together with State Duma deputy Sergei Kovalev, persuade the soldiers loyal to the oath to surrender.

In Grozny, Kovalev performed such a shameful mission. Father Anatoly, a former army major, did nothing but baptize those who would not surrender. A year later, the militants took revenge on this Orthodox priest by capturing him and launching an investigation that he allegedly led Russian soldiers to storm Chechen positions. Only in the minds of criminals could such an insidious fabrication be born.

In Chechnya, Father Anatoly was known as a bright, pure helper to suffering civilians - Russians, Chechens. Many simple, penniless workers had one consolation - prayer. People spent hours walking through the ruins to find peace and protection in the church.

Father Anatoly and Father Alexander, these two shepherds who did not leave the Church of the Archangel Michael, served their parishioners faithfully.

Father Alexander (Smyvin), a hereditary priest, could have been killed by militants long before the January 1995 assault. Early in the morning, two drunken Chechens, laden with weapons, stopped him near the church and the most aggressive one pointed a pistol in his face. "Leave me alone!" - the priest shouted to the bandit in Chechen. He laughed and hid his weapon.

Throughout January 1995, fleeing bullets and shrapnel, parishioners prayed in the church basement. Together with Father Anatoly and Father Alexander were faithful people, mostly old women and the seventy-year-old sexton Nikolai Denisovich Zhuchenko.

Leaving Grozny, the militants shot up the church domes with incendiary bullets and threw a grenade into the church. The Church of the Archangel Michael burned for forty minutes. But church people and Father Anatoly saved the Antimins, part of the ancient icons.

Federal and police forces who came to the city provided food assistance to the temple. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations provided a camp bathhouse, an electric motor, a trailer, and a drinking water tank. Many soldiers and officers of the United Group were baptized in the church and lit funeral candles.

The Temple of Michael the Archangel was guarded only by big holidays. On Easter 1995, soldiers of the first Odon regiment served around the church.

Every day after dark different parts In Grozny, firefights broke out, grenades exploded, and tank guns boomed. The Chechens waged a guerrilla war against the “federals.” With the increase in the number of mercenaries from Afghanistan, others Muslim countries the war began to fill up religious meaning. Dudayev's propagandists started talking more actively about jihad - a holy war against infidels.

The first victim of the militants in November 1995 was Father Alexander. He lived in a one-room apartment on the second floor. Having burst into his place in the middle of the night, the bandits beat the priest for several hours. Then they doused him with gasoline, intending to burn him alive.

Father Alexander found the strength to throw himself off the balcony. Fortunately, he fell on a pile of fallen leaves and disappeared from his pursuers. Having recovered his health, Father Alexander continues his work as a clergyman, but only in another Russian city. Father Anatoly, who put a lot of effort into improving the architectural appearance of the temple and repairing part of the church buildings in the summer and autumn of 1995, was attacked by militants in January 1996. Then he and Father Sergius, a Moscow priest sent to Chechnya, were returning from a trip to Urus-Martan.

Having visited the field commander Zakaev, where the Orthodox priests tried to find traces of the missing soldier, whose fate Patriarch Alexy II was concerned about. And then they themselves were captured by the militants. They were kept together for only three days. Then Father Sergius was transported to a concentration camp of the State Security Department of Ichkeria, where he spent five months. He was beaten and starved.

According to Father Sergius, Priest Anatoly was subjected to special bullying in an attempt to extract a confession that he had collaborated with the FSB.

The “investigation” into Father Anatoly was controlled by Dudayev himself. The capture of Russian priests, the abuse of them for the Afghan mujahideen - Dudayev's colleagues, and other Islamic fundamentalists served as proof that the Chechen leader had launched jihad, ghazavat...

Sick, emaciated, with a broken arm that had not healed properly, Father Sergius was returned from captivity with the help of international organizations, foreign ambassadors, search work of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Father Anatoly was shot by employees of the Department of State Security of Ichkeria in February 1996. Even under the most painful torture, he did not incriminate himself, did not renounce the Orthodox faith.

By the spring of 1996, criminal lawlessness had prevailed in Chechnya. Thousands of armed thugs, hiding under the demagogic slogan of the struggle “for the freedom of Ichkeria,” engaged in the most outright robbery and violence against people who had no means of defense. The presence of federal forces, albeit constrained by the negotiation process, at the very least, but restrained the barbaric onslaught of the bandits. By the summer of 1996, with the beginning of the liquidation of checkpoints in Grozny, unbridled criminals could afford to break into the Church of the Archangel Michael at any time of the day or night, grab an elderly woman selling icons by the throat, and steal a car.

With the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Chechnya, the temple was left without any protection at all...

Recently a message came from Grozny that the new rector of the church, Father Evfimy, who had been kidnapped and taken to an unknown direction, had been returned from captivity...

It is known that the Russian authorities are preparing an amnesty for Chechen militants. Will the torturers of Russian Orthodox priests really fall under it?

The Russian public, I know, expects that criminal cases on the facts of abduction, painful abuse Orthodox priests in Chechnya will be brought to its logical conclusion. Will they?..

1998.

Vitaly Noskov

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The famous publicist, holder of the Order of Courage Vitaly Noskov wrote this material 13 years ago, during the interwar period, when the metastases of a quasi-formation called Ichkeria were spreading across North Caucasus, and the surviving Russians, as now, left the South of Russia, fleeing actual genocide. Then the second campaign began, during which the areas above the Terek were cleared of gangs in just two months. Then Grozny was captured, and the war moved into the phase of confrontation with the terrorist underground.

Nowadays in Chechnya there is formal order and the rule of law. Ramzan the First rules here, as the head of the Chechen Republic is called in the republic itself. The Grozny Church of the Archangel Michael has been restored and well maintained. The trouble is that there is practically no one to go to it - the few Orthodox Christians remaining in Chechnya could be included in the Red Book. It is no coincidence that in order to create a “picture”, representatives of the Chechen Republic in the same Stavropol region annually, before Easter, participate in advertising excursions to Grozny, offering mainly elderly people to go on a trip to Grozny for 500 rubles. Easter service to the Church of the Archangel Michael.

These grandparents, getting off the bus, are filmed by television crews, presenting them as Russian-speaking residents of Chechnya. Such television tenderness! At least, this happened a couple of years ago - this very tolerant “picture” was demanded from Grozny. It is possible that this practice has now been stopped altogether...

Unfortunately, the answers to the questions that Vitaly Noskov posed in his material are known. The torturers of Orthodox priests were given an amnesty, as were the torturers of Russian people in general, and the murderers of Russian soldiers and officers. Moreover, some of those amnestied received new titles and positions, and some received such high positions that it’s scary to even talk about. It is no coincidence that in the 2000s, a bitter joke spread among the military of the Russian group in the North Caucasus: “What does it take to become a Hero of Russia? First, become a Hero of Ichkeria.”

Hence, apparently, it makes no sense to answer the extreme question of the publicist Noskov about whether the criminal cases on the facts of abduction and painful abuse of Orthodox priests in Chechnya will be brought to their logical conclusion.

Lord, help us to remain faithful to You to the end!

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