Church of the Archangel Michael in Malye Yasyrki
Ancient villages are the living history of our people. Villages in central Russia die humbly— once left without inhabitants, they soon disappear for good. Log houses are easily sold when they are no longer needed by their owners; more durable ones are sold for holiday villages, and dilapidated ones—for firewood. But it’s another story with southerm Russian villages where houses are built of bricks. Their deserted streets look like ghost towns…
Midday heat and quiet. But what is going on there? One, then another car appears... They are heading in one direction—towards the tall blue bell tower of the wooden church. We come up too and see a priest and the people who have arrived for the service. The village is not dead! The ancient church, which survived decades of persecution, still attracts people today, which means life.
We are talking with Igumen Anthony (Korolev), rector of the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village of Malye Yasyrki, the Voronezh region. The history of this village would be enough for a lengthy book, and maybe more than one. Fr. Anthony speaks slowly:
Igumen Anthony (Korolev) —The name “Yasyrki” is translated from Turkic as “captives”. Once Tatars led people they’d captured during raids on Central Russia through these areas. They were taken to the Crimea, to the slave market in Kefe (now Feodosia). A section of this road has survived. As you can easily guess, there is the village of Bolshye (“Great”) Yasyrki near Malye (“Small”) Yasyrki. Formerly, there used to be an impenetrable forest around, and nearby there was a corner of the steppe, and several springs. The captors would stop by these springs to water their horses, replenish drinking water supplies, and give their captives a break. But the village was not visible from the springs. I found information in the archives that Bolshye Yasyrki was founded by runaways—peasants who fled from their landowners and by others who preferred to flee from the powers that be. They lived quietly, not far from the road, but unknown to anyone. This went on until a certain Tatar named Izvek, returning after collecting tributes, spotted a man in the forest. He rode deeper and found the settlement. He decided that he could capture slaves there almost without a fight: the people were “nobody’s”. But he had few companions with him, and he feared he would not bring the captured people to the Crimea: they would run away or someone stronger would take them away. Then the Tatars decided to stay in the settlement. They subdued the locals, intermarried with their women (who, fortunately, were pretty) and settled down there. Over time, they became Russified and embraced Orthodoxy. Thus Izvek became Izvekov. Their descendants—people with the surnames Izvekov and similar ones, going back to those times—still live in Yasyrki and the surroundings today.
—And how did Malye Yasyrki appear?
—It was later: around 1710. The population grew, there was not enough space and arable land for everyone in Bolshye Yasyrki, so some of the inhabitants separated from the village, founding Malye Yasyrki and building a church in their new home. There used to be a church in Bolshye Yasyrki too, in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Unfortunately, it has not survived. The church in Malye Yasyrki was built with the people’s funds; its construction was completed in 1866. The grave of one of its first priests has been preserved behind the sanctuary. According to historical documents, the other clergy were interred there as well, but their graves have not survived.
—The church is very beautiful, with a tent-roofed bell tower…
—Sometimes it is said to resemble monuments of northern wooden architecture. For example, the “heaven” has survived inside: a composition of icons attached to the ceiling. There is an octagon with the image of the Trinity in the center, with icons of the archangels converging to it in sectors. Something similar can be seen in Kizhi and Kondopoga in the Republic of Karelia… But this is the Voronezh Region, and it is uncommon here. Perhaps our church was built or decorated by northern craftsmen.
—How was it possible to preserve this beautiful church during the years of persecution of the faith?
—In the Soviet era the church in Malye Yasyrki was a spiritual center where people came for prayer and spiritual guidance not only from all over the Voronezh region, but also from across the USSR. There was a secret convent here. And when the authorities repeatedly tried to close the church, the Lord helped the faithful save it.
—How was the secret convent formed?
—After the Second World War, the rector of the church in Malye Yasyrki was a real ascetic, Fr. Vasily Zolotukhin. People flocked to him. To begin with, I should tell you about his life. During the Second World War Vasily was still a layman. He was pious, raised in the faith from childhood, but most likely did not think about monastic life and the priesthood; he was married. During the war Vasily was captured and ended up in a concentration camp. There he had to endure the harshest conditions and hunger. But he firmly believed and fervently prayed to the Mother of God, asking Her for help and deliverance. He even vowed to become a monk if he survived. One day, Vasily heard a mysterious voice: “Recite the prayer, ‘O Theotokos Virgin, rejoice…’, and go to the gate. No one will seize you.” Vasily went with trepidation. It seemed to him that now the sentry would call out and start shooting, the dogs would be unleashed, and he would be beaten or killed… But the Mother of God made him invisible to the camp guards! He went out of the gate, walked on through deserted places and finally met a girl who he decided to ask for help. She brought him to a village and arranged for him to spend the night in a house. Vasily looked around in that house and saw an image of Great-Martyr Barbara, who he recognized as the young maiden who had helped him! The peasants sheltered him, fed him, let him have a rest; and after gaining strength, he was able to reach Russia.
Schema-Abbot Mitrophan (Myakinin) —But, as far as I understand, Vasily’s wife was waiting for him at home. How did he become a monk?
—At that time, Schema-Abbot Mitrophan (Myakinin), an ascetic and a man of prayer, struggled in this area. Now the faithful are collecting materials for his canonization. He associated with many elders, including St. Kuksha of Odessa, had gone through the labor camps, had returned, and by that time had the gift of clairvoyance. It was revealed to Fr. Mitrophan that Vasily had made a vow to the Mother of God and he reminded him of it, saying that the vow must be fulfilled. Vasily obeyed and, with the blessing of Fr. Mitrophan, secretly went to the Pochaev Lavra. There he labored for some time and was even the cell-attendant of St. Kuksha of Odessa, who lived in Pochaev at that time. But then pilgrims from Yasyrki or its surroundings came to the Lavra. They saw Vasily among the brethren, recognized him and, of course, told his wife (who had been searching unsuccessfully for her husband) about it. She came to Pochaev, spoke to the abbot and took Vasily home. But Fr. Mitrophan told both of them that the vow given to the Mother of God must be fulfilled. His wife replied, “If he’s a monk, then I’m a nun.” Then Schema-Abbot Mitrophan blessed them for monastic life. Fr. Vasily was tonsured by Metropolitan Zinovy (Mazhuga) of Tetritskaro, who was later canonized as one of the Glinsk Elders, and Mother Vera was tonsured by Fr. Mitrophan himself. Soon Fr. Vasily, who received the name Tikhon in the secret tonsure, was ordained priest and appointed to Malye Yasyrki. By the way, Fr. Mitrophan himself served in this village before the war until he was arrested: they seized him right from the church bell tower where he was sleeping at night.
Schema-Hieromonk Tikhon (Zolotukhin) with spiritual children
—Did the secret convent begin to develop under Fr. Vasily or even earlier, under Fr. Mitrophan?
—Fr. Mitrophan began, and Fr. Vasily became his faithful assistant and then his successor. At that time there were only two active churches in the area, both dedicated to the Archangel Michael: in the village of Yacheyka (I served there and restored it) and in Malye Yasyrki. And then, as they call it, a “heavenly”—that is, a secret—convent was being formed there. There is a book about it entitled, With the Cross and the Gospel. There were women ascetics: Schemanuns Antonia, Mikhaila, Seraphima and Sergia. Before his death in 1964, Fr. Mitrophan entrusted his spiritual children to Fr. Vasily, and a community of nuns gathered in Malye Yasyrki. Nuns from closed convents who had been released from the labor camps came there. People from all over Russia flocked to the village for spiritual guidance, many stayed for a while: to live, to pray, and to labor. They used the Pochaev monastic rule. And they were guided by the words from the testament of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh that “prayer and labor will grind anything down.” So, they “ground everything down” with their prayers and labors.1
To be continued…
