Biography of the governor of Optina Hermitage, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov). The abbot of Optina Hermitage, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), reposed in the Lord. The abbot of Optina Hermitage, Father Venedikt

In blessed memory of Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), abbot of the St. Vvedensky stauropegial monastery - Optina Monastery (June 24, 1939 - January 22, 2018). (ADDITIONED) + VIDEO




	Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov). Photo www.optina.ru

On January 22, 2018, at the 79th year of his life, after a serious illness, the abbot of the Vvedensky stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), reposed in the Lord.

Archimandrite Benedict suffered from a serious illness in recent years. At the same time, he found strength to strengthen and support his brothers and laity, showing sincere Christian kindness and care. Until his last days, Father cared about the fate of our common Fatherland and did not remain indifferent to what was happening in Donbass and Ukraine.

At the beginning of January, Archimandrite Venedict underwent a complex operation on his leg, a week after the operation he was still in intensive care - postoperative complications began. On January 19, the priest’s health deteriorated sharply, and on January 22 he left this world...

Father, the governor of the Optina Hermitage, will forever remain in the memory and hearts of the brethren of the monastery, spiritual children, friends and loved ones.

May the Lord rest the soul of the deceased in His Heavenly villages!

May our Lady Queen of Heaven intercede with Her Son to grant mercy to the newly departed soul!

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Archimandrite Venedikt (in the world Vladimir Andreevich Penkov) was born on June 24, 1939. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary, and in 1973 from the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate of theology degree. In the 1970s he was a resident of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

He was tonsured a monk at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra with the name Benedict in honor of St. Benedict of Nursia.

In 1990, he was appointed rector of Optina Hermitage and elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

Optina Pustyn is one of the centers of Orthodoxy, a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kaluga region. The main shrine of the monastery was the Optina elders. At all times, people came to Optina for peace; many famous personalities visited the monastery: Dostoevsky, Gogol, Zhukovsky, Tyutchev, Aksakov, etc.

In 2016, Archimandrite Benedict wrote a request for retirement, which was not granted.

On January 9, 2018, he underwent surgery to amputate the lower limb due to developing diabetes mellitus.

Archimandrite Benedict became widely known in the Orthodox community as an uncompromising zealot, defender of Holy Orthodoxy, and a determined opponent of church modernism, ecumenism, and electronic means of enslaving the individual.

He provided assistance to the Pro Life movement, which fights abortion. His Reverence rightly considered abortion to be a grave sin and participated in the prevention of abortions and was the only governor who provided such assistance to public figures.

All the faithful now offer prayers to the Lord for the repose of the soul of Father Benedict. Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven to the newly deceased Archimandrite Benedict!

Optina.ru /Kozelsk.ru/ Рravoslavie.ru

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The brethren of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, having served the litiya, prayerfully honored the memory of Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), abbot of the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage, who reposed in the Lord today, January 22, at the 79th year of his life.
Let us pray together for the repose of Father Benedict, because conciliar prayer helps both in earthly life and on the path to God, to eternal life, to eternal joy! And today all Orthodox Christians who sincerely believe in the Lord know that there is no reason for despondency and that our Holy Church perceives earthly life as preparation for eternal life.
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A monk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Benedict was appointed vicar of the Optina Monastery in 1990 and served the brethren of the monastery in this capacity for more than 27 years. During his management of the monastery, there were years of restoration of the famous monastery, which the state, then still the Soviet Union, returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1987.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' noted that Archimandrite Benedict did a lot “ to restore its former splendor" Optina Pustyn, “paying special attention to preserving the continuity of monastic traditions, enlightenment and moral education of our contemporaries.”

The Father-Vicar gave all his strength, spiritual experience, knowledge and talents to the Church and the people of God. People treated him with sincere love and respect. The outcome of his life’s journey can be summed up in the words of the holy Apostle Paul: “He fought a good fight, he finished his course, he kept the faith, and now there is in store for him a crown of righteousness, which will be given by... the Lord, the righteous Judge” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

The name of Archimandrite Benedict, governor, builder, confessor, will be inscribed not only in the annals of the monastery, but also in the history of monasticism in Russia.

The Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage has lost its beloved shepherd, the inhabitants and monastics, the clergy and flock are grieving for the deceased father-vicar.

Faith and prayer are a gift that we can all bring to the Altar of the Lord of Glory for the repose of the newly deceased Archimandrite Benedict. May Christ the Savior receive his soul in the villages of the righteous, “where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life.”

Kingdom of Heaven to the newly deceased Archimandrite Benedict! Everlasting memory!

Brothers of the Transfiguration of the Savior Valaam Stavropegional Monastery.

Vvedensky stauropegial monastery Optina Pustyn

Date of creation: beginning of the 15th century.

Story

The foundation of the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. According to legend, the monastery was founded by a repentant robber named Opta, or in monasticism - Macarius.

The all-Russian glory of the monastery begins in the 1820s, when, with the blessing of St. Philaret (Amphiteatrov), a monastery was built in the monastery in the name of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in which the elders began to live. 14 saints are venerated as saints. Elders of Optina: St. Leo (1768-1841), Rev. Macarius (1788-1860), Rev. Moses (1782-1862), Rev. Anthony (1795-1865), Rev. Hilarion (1805-73), St. Ambrose (1812-91), St. Anatoly (Zertsalov) (1824-94), Venerable. Isaac I (1810-94), Rev. Joseph (1837-1911), Rev. Barsanuphius (1845-1913), St. Anatoly (Younger) (1855-1922), Venerable. Nektary (1853-1928), Rev. Nikon, confessor (1888-1931), St. Isaac II, sschmch. (1865-1938).

In February 1918, the monastery was closed, the monks were expelled, many of them were arrested, exiled, or died in camps. On November 17, 1987, Optina Pustyn was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Temples

Currently, there are 7 churches in Optina Hermitage: Vvedensky, Vladimir and Kazan on the territory of the monastery; a temple in the name of Hilarion the Great at the gates of the monastery; Church in the name of John the Baptist in the monastery. The temple in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was re-erected on the site of the destroyed one. In 2000, on the territory of the subsidiary farm, a temple was built in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Control of the Loaves.”

In 1990-2018 the abbot of the monastery was Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov) (+2018).

VIRONARY OF THE OPTINA PUSTIN MONASTERY ARCHIMANDRITE VENEDICT (PENKOV)

Born on June 24, 1939 in Moscow in a family of workers.

In 1956 he graduated from Moscow high school. In 1958 he graduated from the Moscow construction school.

In 1964–1973 - graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary, then the Academy.

In 1968 he was enrolled in the brethren of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. He carried obediences to: the head of the library, the second assistant treasurer, on the choir, the confessor of the laity, the monastery leader of the Chernigov monastery.

On August 25, 1969, he was tonsured into the mantle in honor of Rev. Benedict of Nursia (namesake March 27)

1985 - club

1986 - Cross with decoration

1991 - rank of archimandrite

1995 - right to serve with a baton

1980 - medal of the teacher. Sergius of Radonezh 1st degree

1987 - Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh 3rd degree

1995 - Order of Venerable. Seraphim of Sarov, 2nd degree

On January 22, 2018, at the 79th year of his life, after a serious illness, the abbot of the Vvedensky stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), reposed in the Lord.

In early January, Archimandrite Venedict underwent a complex operation on his leg, a week after the operation he was still in intensive care - postoperative complications began. On January 19, the priest’s health deteriorated sharply, and on January 22 he left this world...

Father, the governor of the Optina Hermitage, will forever remain in the memory and hearts of the brethren of the monastery, spiritual children, friends and loved ones.

May the Lord rest the soul of the deceased in His Heavenly villages!

May our Lady Queen of Heaven intercede with Her Son to grant mercy to the newly departed soul!

Brief information

In 1990, he was tonsured a monk at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra with the name Benedict in honor of St. Benedict of Nursia.

In 1990, he was appointed rector of Optina Hermitage and elevated to the rank of archimandrite.

Optina Pustyn is one of the centers of Orthodoxy, a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kaluga region. The main shrine of the monastery was the Optina elders. At all times, people came to Optina for peace; many famous personalities visited the monastery: Zhukovsky, Tyutchev, Aksakov, Gogol, Dostoevsky; Tchaikovsky, Chizhevsky and Solovyov stayed here.

In 2016, he wrote a request for retirement, which was not granted.

On January 9, 2018, he underwent surgery to amputate the lower limb due to developing diabetes mellitus.

Archimandrite Benedict became widely known in the Orthodox community as an uncompromising zealot, defender of holy Orthodoxy, and a determined opponent of church modernism, ecumenism, and electronic means of enslaving the individual.

Archimandrite Benedict provided assistance to the “For Life” movement, which fights abortion. His Reverence rightly considered abortion to be a grave sin and participated in the prevention of abortions and was the only governor who provided such assistance to public figures.

All the faithful now offer prayers to the Lord for the repose of the soul of Father Benedict. Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven to the newly deceased Archimandrite Benedict!

In Orthodoxy, the loss of loved ones is perceived somewhat differently than among non-church people. No, this does not cancel sadness and sorrow, but it protects us from the terrible sin of despondency. So, for a believer, death is by no means a fatal and irreparable loss, and therefore all the sorrow of loss for us must be combined with the realization that in the reality created by the Lord, there is no death. On the contrary, this is only the beginning of a new stage of existence, the union of our immortal soul with God in Eternal life.

Today, January 22, 2018, in the 79th year of his earthly life, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov) reposed in the Lord. Good shepherd, preacher and confessor. And, of course, known to millions of Orthodox people, the abbot of the legendary Holy Vvedenskaya Kozel Optina Hermitage - one of the main monasteries not only of the blessed Kaluga land, on whose territory it is located, but also of the entire Russian Land. A man who was born in the difficult pre-war years and experienced the Great Patriotic War as a child, and during the years of Khrushchev’s persecution of the Church, who made the courageous decision to devote himself to church service.

A monk of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, who had a wonderful experience of monastic life in, to put it mildly, conditions that were not the most favorable for the Russian Church, Father Benedict became the second abbot of the Optina Hermitage returned to the faithful at the turn of 1987-1988. Since 1990, Father has been reviving this greatest Russian shrine, putting a lot of effort and truly his whole soul into it. It was under him that the monastery of the holy Optina elders shone again, becoming not only historical, but a true heir to the spiritual traditions established in the 19th century.

Those who are familiar with the history of the Optina Hermitage know very well that many creative people were warmed by the gospel warmth that the Optina elders emitted. Nikolai Gogol and Fyodor Dostoevsky visited Optina, the famous Slavophile philosophers, the Kireyevsky brothers, were buried within the holy walls of this monastery, and here in 1891, Konstantin Leontyev, the brightest Russian conservative thinker of the 19th century, took secret monastic vows, leaving many warm and warm words about Optina Hermitage. deep words:

“Here is the Russian spirit! Here it smells of Russia,” and in many respects, even a very old Russia, which is still successfully defending itself from the new, liberal and cosmopolitan Russia...”

And it was precisely this “Oasis of Holy Rus'” that Optina Pustyn again became during the years of the viceroy of Archimandrite Benedict. It was he who did a lot so that representatives of the Russian intellectual community would again come to the monastery as often as possible. And this is one of the most important educational Optina traditions. Thus, in the 19th century, many representatives of the revolutionary-minded liberal intelligentsia that was emerging in those years literally “took the path of correction,” largely thanks to the instructions of the Optina elders. In the 21st century, one of the ways to revive Orthodox identity was the creation in the spring of 2006 of the permanent Optina Forum.

“It is a great lie to claim that a person who does not bear sorrows on Earth will go to the Kingdom of God after death,”- Archimandrite Benedict emphasized more than once, including in a conversation with the author of these lines, recalling the Gospel words of the Savior Himself that “the Kingdom of Heaven is required,” that is, it is obtained with difficulty, with effort, sweat, and sometimes blood. And it was precisely these words that were always one of the main motivations for all the actions of the newly departed priest.

Of course, it is impossible to describe even part of what Father Benedict did in the format of a short article. But it is enough to come to Optina even for a short time to see the scale of what was accomplished during the years of his viceroy (from the monastery churches revived from oblivion to the monastic economy, which is striking in its scale). And most importantly, everyone who has visited Optina at least once returns from there as a spiritually transformed person. Among such people is the governor of the Kaluga region, Anatoly Artamonov, who, in an exclusive comment to Tsargrad, said the following heartfelt words about Father Venedikt:

“He was one of the great prayer books of the Orthodox Church. Not only a person enlightened in the field of Orthodox culture, as well as an excellent interlocutor and mentor, but also a true creator. If we remember what Optina Pustyn was like before Archimandrite Benedict became the vicar of this monastery, and to look at it now, the result of his righteous labors of all the brethren that he managed to gather around him evokes admiration.”

Also, the head of the Kaluga region especially noted that, despite his age, the priest always showed both the monastery brethren and thousands of guests of the Optina Hermitage the image and example of an eternal prayer book and worker:

"It is important that he did not shy away from any kind of work. He always showed the monastery to everyone who visited the monastery. Always, if there was time for summer work, he invited them to the fields. 800 hectares of land were always in exemplary order, received the highest yields, high milk yields, produced and produce honey and fish."

Anatoly Artamonov, who knew Father Venedikt very well, personally mourns this loss, which he shared with the readers of Tsargrad:

“This is a man who will be missed by many, many thousands of people, pilgrims, believers who go to the holy monastery to venerate the relics of the Optina elders. I would like to express words of sincere condolences to all the inhabitants of the Optina Hermitage monastery, the relatives and friends of Father Benedict, and everyone who knew him We will all mourn this loss together. I would like to hope that his followers will carry with honor the word of God that he tried to convey to us..."

Nothing to add. In addition to the very important words of the funeral prayer for every Christian. The prayer that now, on the days of farewell to Father Benedict, is heard in many churches of the Russian Orthodox Church:

“In the blessed Dormition, grant eternal peace, O Lord, to Thy departed servant, the newly departed Archimandrite Benedict, and create for him eternal memory!”

On January 22, at the 79th year of his life, after a serious illness, the abbot of the Vvedensky stauropegial monastery of Optina Pustyn, Archimandrite Venedikt (Penkov), reposed in the Lord. He was the creator and preserver of monastic life, as well as a sensitive spiritual father. This is what the archpastors and shepherds who knew him say about the newly deceased Archimandrite Benedict.

“Father Benedict, like the Apostle Paul, carried all his children in his heart”

- When I came to faith, I first went to the Moscow priests, confessed to them, then went to the Holy Trinity Lavra. I remember going into the Church of St. John the Baptist, and there Father Benedict was conducting a general confession. I listened to him and immediately stood in line to see him, the line was huge, and I didn’t get to see him the first time. But I purposefully tried to get to this confessor for confession. The next time I come, I listened to the general confession, and then the Lord vouchsafed me, apparently for my persistence, to confess personally to the priest.

I reached out to him as to my spiritual father

And then, having attended a spiritual conversation with him, I already realized that his image lay on my heart, I reached out to him as to my spiritual father. I began to visit him often and asked him questions.

Father held amazing conversations, and not only with the spiritual children themselves - we also came to him with our parents. And with unbelieving parents! My mother became a believer thanks to her communication with him.

Of course, the Lord brings people to Himself, but before my eyes and from my close circle He called many through Father Benedict.

Father constantly told me:

Go to Father Kirill, go to Father Naum.

When I found myself at Father Naum’s, he asked who I was confessing to. I said.

Father Benedict, like the Apostle Paul, carries all his children in his heart,” the elder said then.