The Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church in Primorsko‑Akhtarsk Venerable Gabriel of Samtavro has become the heavenly patron of many people. And not only those living in his homeland of Georgia, but also in Russia and all over the world. After all, the great gift of divine love that he was granted on earth only grows in eternity, and its streams pour out upon all who ask for help.
After the book Father Gabriel of Samtavro: “Do Not Cry!” was published, I was invited to its presentation in various places. I also spent time in the Kuban region: in the villages of Kavkazskaya, Novoivanovskaya, Timashevsk, and more… In particular Primorsko‑Akhtarsk, where my creative business trip took longer than expected, and during that time I got to know the parishioners of the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
This snow‑white, magnificent temple with a red roof and golden domes began as a small prayer room in the city hospital. And when, some time later, the question arose of building a stone temple, Matushka Pelagea, the wife of Fr. Georgy Belousov, and her daughter Maria went to seek the blessing of Elder Iliy (Nozdrin) at the Optina Hermitage.
Fr. Georgiy and Matushka Pelagea at the walls of their church
When Maria entered the monastery grounds, she was enveloped by such a wave of grace that she did not realize where she was—it was as if she had entered another reality!
“It was so calm, so serene,” she recalled, “as if an invisible dome had covered us. The parishioner who came with us said we would be back in a day. And I thought to myself: ‘What do you mean, a day? We would be lucky to get it done in a week! How are we going to get to the elder? We will have to find a hotel…’ We were at the service, we visited all the churches, prayed, and venerated the relics. And suddenly, Fr. Iliy came out to meet us!” Upon learning that we were planning to build a church, he was delighted and immediately blessed us: “Build, build, build!” Then I sat down on a bench and felt that time had stopped in Optina. I realized that it must be three or four o’clock now. It is light outside, and we have already resolved all the issues, and most importantly, we have the blessing to build the church. And all of this happened in one day! We did not expect such a thing; we did not even have return tickets. Glory to God, after that trip the church was built!
While it was under construction, services were held in a temporary facility. The church was built through great effort and prayer. The priest served often, and every day during fasts—in the morning and in the evening. And this feat of pastoral service has been going on for more than a quarter of a century. The priest is a chosen one of God. And yet, this priest had no idea that he would become a minister at the altar. He used to work as an engineer, and on weekends he served in the altar in the city’s main church. One year, on the night of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, when the entire universe rejoices and glorifies the risen Savior, he was granted a revelation from above in the altar. And this revelation turned his whole life upside down: Georgy quit his job, was ordained a priest, and entered the seminary.
“The soul of a priest,” says St. John Chrysostom, “is no different from a ship tossed by waves: it is wounded on all sides—by friends, by enemies, by close ones, and by strangers.”
Many people did not understand Georgiy back then; some even suggested that he was a little “touched.” But he always had the support of his other half. Matushka Pelagea, a faithful heart, helped in everything, and most importantly, she spoke about Christ with love and humility and consoled everyone who came to the church with their sorrow. Before her death, she was very ill, but she still continued to support others—now her loved ones. It seems that this quote from St. .Gabriel was about her:
“Faith will lead you to Heaven, goodness will open the doors of Paradise, humility will guide you inside, and love will show you God.”
Matushka Pelagea passed away on the feast of the Nativity of the Lord and was buried opposite the altar.
When the priest opened the donation box in the evening, he found the exact amount he needed. God’s scales are precise!
And the priest continues to serve in his church. This house of God was built over the course of seven long years by the entire community—hey carried bricks and removed construction waste. There were times when the rector himself mixed the mortar and poured the concrete. “We built the church ourselves, little by little, with God’s help!”, the parishioners would say. And through prayer, the Lord performed miracles, especially when there were no human resources or capabilities. At first, they could not find a suitable chandelier for a long time. And when they finally ordered one and the time came to pay for it, there was no money at all. They continued to pray and firmly relied on God’s help. And when the priest opened the donation box in the evening, he found the exact amount he needed. God’s scales are precise!
A good cause unites people: everyone rushed to help in whatever way they could. The first bell was donated by the regent Valentina—her husband gave the church a ship’s bell. Now it hangs in the altar. It was not easy, but the difficulties were quickly forgotten, and people remember that time with joy and a bright smile…
When I arrived at the church, which had been built with such love and effort, there was still no icon of St. Gabriel. Unexpectedly, I had the opportunity to change that. I received a call from Moscow informing me that a servant of God, Lyudmila, an iconographer, had come to the Church of the Presentation of the Lord in Biryulyovo to pray before our miraculous icon of Fr. Gabriel. She struck up a conversation with the attendant and said that she wanted to paint an icon of the venerable one in the true-to-life style of a portrait, like the one on the cover of the book “Do Not Cry!”.
The attendant replied that, if possible, we would purchase this icon from her. And Lyudmila hastened to seek her spiritual father’s blessing. She called back a month later: “Can you imagine, it is very difficult to paint—it is not coming! I went to my spiritual father again, and he told me sternly: ‘You do not pray enough. Do you know how you are supposed to pray?’ And we started praying together…”
A true iconographer is a brush in the hands of God, and his icon is prayer in colors.
I thank Father Gabriel: he helped me in everything; some issues were resolved, and his presence was felt in every little thing.
“I’m grateful to Gabriel (Urgebadze),” Lyudmila said. “At first, the work went slowly, but then, when the image began to take shape, I prayed and tried to remember some Georgian words so I could talk to it. And suddenly it dawned on me: I know a Georgian children’s song called ‘The Colorful Butterfly!’, and I started singing: ‘Chrelo‑pepela…’ What do you think? Heat. The balcony is wide open. I am singing, and suddenly a butterfly flies in, circles and flutters above the table, above my work, then flies up to the iconostasis, to the image of Jesus Christ, and flies out. Everything happened in an instant! Later, I was told: ‘You were singing about a butterfly, so Father Gabriel gave you a sign!’ And a few days later, when I started reading the akathist to Father Gabriel, a dove flew onto the balcony and came into the room. At first, I wanted to drive it away so it would not interfere, but then I thought: ‘A dove is a bird of God; I won’t touch it!’ Surprisingly, it listened attentively to the akathist, and when I finished reading it, it flew away! I thank Father Gabriel: he helped me in everything; some issues were resolved, and his presence was felt in every trifle. I thank the Lord and Father Gabriel for the fact that this image was written by the Holy Spirit!”
The image is truly beautiful. The venerable one looks alive on it; only his face is depicted, as if he is looking at you from a window and smiling. And then it became clear that this icon‑portrait definitely should not be placed in the church: people will kiss his face, and that is unacceptable!
It was necessary to urgently find another icon and manage to consecrate it on the relics of the venerable one. In Moscow, this can be done at the Georgian Metochion—there is a particle of the relics there. But where could one urgently find an icon of such a size? If one were to order it from an iconographer, it would take time, and there was practically no time left—the feast day of St. Gabriel was approaching.
Thank God, we did not dwell on these thoughts for long: the very next day, I received a message from Mother Thekla (Kudasova), abbess of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Belbazh:
“Good evening! I am currently in Georgia. Today is my birthday, and it just so happens that I managed to visit Fr. Gabriel in Samtavro today! We happened to give a ride to a Bulgarian man to the church. He said that the Bulgarians are very interested in the translation of your book ‘Don’t Cry!’, and he asked for my phone number. Maybe you could bring something back from Georgia?”
It was surprising, because Mother Thekla and I had only communicated once, and even then it was by phone. I was supposed to visit her at the monastery, but it had never worked out. A year has passed since then, and suddenly this message—and so timely! Still, I felt awkward about putting any pressure on her, so I wished her all the best. And in response, I got: “Thank you! And what should I bring?” And then something pricked my heart: it was St. Gabriel who reminded Mother about me! And I asked: “We need an icon of St. Gabriel for the church in the Kuban. If possible, please consecrate it on the relics of the venerable one: people are waiting!”
The next day it was discovered that the icon of St. Gabriel began to flow profusely with myrrh
And the very next day, she bought two identical icons of St. Gabriel: one for us, the other for her monastery. She rejoiced like a child: “Glory to Thee, O Lord! Wait: St. Gabriel will come to you soon!” A couple of days later, she was already in Russia and handed the icon to a girl who took it to Nizhny Novgorod. There she was received by a couple traveling to St. Petersburg via Moscow. Thus was the geography of the route. And the next day it was discovered that the icon began to flow profusely with myrrh: It was completely covered in oil streaks. Myrrh even drenched the table!
The meeting of the myrrh‑streaming icon of Fr. Gabriel The myrrh‑streaming began and then stopped, and a couple of days later the icon was taken to an icon‑painting workshop to select a case. And there, droplets of myrrh began to appear on the icon again. Those who saw it called it the “blessing” icon.
And Mother Thekla said:
"We bought two icons, and they were in different packages, that is, they did not touch each other. My opinion is that this is a clear predestination specifically for the parish for which the donation was collected, where they sincerely prayed, asked, wanted, and waited for the image of St. Gabriel, this is exactly what happened. And I do not regret it a bit, but I am sincerely glad that the myrrh-streaming icon is now where it should be! I think this icon began to weep oil after it was placed next to the relics of the Venerable Gabriel. And now, in Moscow, the weeping has simply intensified. These are tears of joy from Father Gabriel! It feels as if the Lord brought us together for some of His work, and a year later, this trip to Georgia of mine and the sudden request from the Bulgarians for your phone number. For me, it was like some kind of awakening: ‘Ask, maybe she needs something!’ It is really a unique story!”
The further journey of this icon to the Kuban was not without its trials. When it was delivered from the postal service, carefully wrapped and packed in boxes, and then placed in a thick wooden crate, it turned out that the glass of the icon case had been shattered, and the shards had scratched the icon. The warning “Caution, fragile!” and the fact that the icon was insured did not help. It was as if someone’s malicious hand had deliberately delivered a devastating blow to it. And I remembered the miraculous Bodbe-Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, which had been slashed with a scalpel. When the believers turned to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II for permission to restore it, he did not give his blessing: “This is also history. Let the icon remain in the state it is in!” And when Fr. Georgy, was told what had happened, he reassured them: “It is as it is! Yes, the icon has been damaged, but that is its story!”
And then, on the day of the commemoration of Venerable Gabriel, the icon was greeted with joyful ringing of bells. The priest received the icon with reverence. And when he climbed the steps, many felt that, invisibly, Mama Gabriele[1] had also entered with him…
When I was leaving for home, a thought flashed through my mind: “After all, this is just the beginning of the story; St. Gabriel will still remind us of himself!” And that’s exactly what happened. The following year, I found myself back in Primorsk‑Akhtarsk, at the Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
Liturgy was already coming to an end, and then, quite by chance, I found out that today was the thirtieth anniversary of Fr. Georgiy’s ordination! I thought: “This is true humility—on such a day, no one will congratulate him, because the parishioners do not suspect anything!” Thank God, we managed to buy a small gift and say some kind words. And then the whole church joined in with “Many years!” The priest was at first taken aback by such attention to his person, but then he resigned himself to it. And when he gave the kiss of peace and accepted congratulations, it seemed as if the entire long pastoral journey had passed before his eyes… “I bless you for humility!” St. Gabriel said. “Remember: if you are humble, God will love you, and virtue will be with you…”
Hieromonk Gabriel Shortly after that, I was invited to Holy Spirit Monastery in Timashevsk: on August 20, Fr. Georgiy was granted the opportunity to take monastic vows there. Monasticism is a great mystery of God, and it was ordained for him from above, just as the priesthood was…
That day was the feast of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh, and we decided that, most likely, the priest would be named in his honor. Along with Fr. Georgy, another Georgiy was being tonsured—a young novice. And these two Georgiys, in long white robes, crawled from the entrance to the church to the altar. Monks surrounded them, shielding them with their mantles from curious glances. The priests held burning candles in their hands. On the ambo, Bishop Seraphim was praying. The choir sang with deep emotion and sadness: “Thy fatherly embrace hasten to open to me…” It was impossible to look at it without tears. After all, the fact that the person being tonsured crawls on his knees in a simple shirt, without any outer clothing or shoes, likens him to a newborn infant or to a creature that, in awe and humility, approaches its Creator—God.
On the day of the tonsure. In the center—Bishop Seraphim of Yeysk and Timashevsk. And when Bishop Seraphim bestowed the name on Fr. Georgy, it came as a complete surprise and joy to everyone! Archpriest Georgiy died to the world, and an angel was born—Hieromonk Gabriel. The priest was named in honor of Venerable Gabriel of Samtavro! Later, we were told that he was the first in the Kuban region to be tonsured with the name of this saint.
“There is no greater heroism than monasticism! ” the venerable said. "And the one who goes to the monastery is accompanied by an angel.”
When I came to congratulate the priest on his entry into the heavenly army, he beamed: “And it is thanks to you that I was named after Venerable Gabriel!” And it became clear to me why, on the day of tonsure, I unexpectedly put on a locket with a piece of the coffin board of Mama Gabriele, and why his icon, which had been brought a year earlier for the church in Primorsko‑Akhtarsk, was streaming myrrh so profusely.
