This man is 78 years old, but at the same time he retained the vivacity of the body and clarity of mind. Anatoly Berestov is a well-known and authoritative person among believers, today he has helped hundreds of sick and needy people. By education, Berestov is a physician and once held the position of chief pediatric neuropathologist in Moscow. Many people know Anatoly Berestov not only as a spiritual mentor and priest, but also as the strongest neuropathologist who understands a number of mental pathologies, as well as the nature of human addictions. The rehabilitation center he created helps hundreds of drug addicts and alcoholics cope with their addictions.
Despite the fact that Berestov was brought up in a classical communist family of atheists, various miracles and God's providence often happened in his life, which helped him to convert.
Family and childhood of the future hieromonk
Anatoly Berestov was born in Moscow on September 11, 1938. In addition to him, the family had 2 more brothers: Mikhail and Nikolai. Berestov grew up as an ordinary child and did not particularly stand out among his peers.
The boy's family was completely unbelieving. At school, children were taught communist atheism, and going to church was considered stupid and shameful.
Prophetic joke
Being already an adult, Anatoly Berestov remembered a very significant story from his childhood, when his own words, dropped near the church as a joke, became prophetic. One day, together with his brother Mikhail, after school, he passed by the church and saw people coming out of there carrying birch twigs. This action seemed very funny to two inexperienced guys, and Anatoly jokingly told his brother that when they grow up, he will become a priest, and his brother will become a monk. The guy could not even imagine then that with these words he determined both his future life and the fate of his brother Mikhail.
After graduating from school, Berestov entered the medical assistant's school and began to work in his speci alty. Then he was called up for military service and served in the city of Podolsk. When receiving leave, he came to Moscow and always visited his parents' house.
The nun's fateful prediction
By that time, Anatoly's brother, Mikhail Berestov, had become a believer and turned to the church. On this basis, disputes often arose between the brothers, since Anatoly refused to take religion seriously. During one of the regular discussions, Mikhail said that he no longer intended to argue with his brother about God, because soon Tolik himself would understand everything and know the truth.
Shortly beforemeeting with his brother Mikhail happened to visit the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he met with a nun. She said that soon brother Anatoly would become a believer. Since the nun was a fairly authoritative person in her environment, Mikhail decided not to rush things and not put pressure on his brother. He simply gave him the Gospel, hoping that Anatoly would read it over time.
Decision to serve God
Meanwhile, Anatoly Berestov became seriously interested in medicine and decided to get a higher education in this field. To do this, he entered the second Moscow Medical Institute. The young man studied well and was one of the best students. In his second year, during the curriculum, he was recommended to read one of the works of Vladimir Lenin called "Marxism and Empirio-Criticism".
The book did not produce the desired effect on Anatoly. Instead of strengthening the foundations of atheism and communism in the mind of the guy, she caused him a complete misunderstanding. Berestov began to wonder that if this work is recognized as the height of philosophy, then what is the meaning of life.
It was during this period that he remembered the Gospel that his brother had given him. Anatoly came home with the firm intention of reading it, but, unfortunately, he could not find the book in the house. After searching all the places where she theoretically could be, the future priest decided to mentally turn to God and asked him to give him at least some sign.
Literally immediately after that, there was a knock on the door, and a neighbor appeared on the threshold,who came to bring back that gospel. She said that she took it to read from Mikhail and forgot about him, and only now she remembered and came to return the book.
For Berestov, this was a kind of sign, he read the whole book and believed absolutely everything that was written there.
A successful career in medicine
Simultaneously with the knowledge of God's teachings, Anatoly continued his studies at the institute. When he was in his second year, it became known in the educational institution that the guy attends the temple. This was the reason for the organization of a special meeting. They wanted to expel the student from the institute, believing that attending the temple was immoral behavior, unacceptable for a medical student. But the young man was defended by his fellow students, who, fortunately, felt that excluding a talented student because of his faith was at least stupid.
Thus, Anatoly Berestov remained at the medical institute. After graduation, his career developed very successfully. As the main direction, he chose neuropathology. In 1966 he became an intern, then a graduate student. Then he became an assistant professor of medical sciences, and soon a professor. For a long time he taught at the medical institute. Beginning in 1985, Berestov served as Moscow's chief neuropathologist for 10 years.
The personal life of a priest
The story of the marriage and further married life of the future priest was also not without miracles. After graduating from medical school, he was in love with his future wife and firmly intended to marry her. During this time, his spiritual mentor wasone famous elder from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. He strongly advised Anatoly to abandon the idea of marrying, but to choose the path of a monk, since it was precisely such a share that fate had destined for him. But the young man did not intend to give up and took a blessing for marriage from the highest rank of bishop.
Then the old confessor said that Berestov would live with his wife only 10 years, and then she would die, leaving him two children. Paradoxically, all the words of the elder turned out to be prophetic. Berestov's wife died in 1977.
Many years later, in 1991, Anatoly received the rank of deacon and began to serve in the Tsaritsyno Church. After 2 years, in 1993, he was nevertheless tonsured a monk, and in 1995 he was ordained a hieromonk.
Appointment to a senior position
Beginning in 1991, the priest gained experience in managing rehabilitation centers. It was in this year that he was appointed director of the children's center for the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy.
At the same time, until 1996, Father Anatoly Berestov did not leave medicine - in the status of a professor of science, he worked at the Department of Nervous Diseases at the Medical Institute.
Anatoly Berestov Rehabilitation Center
Over time, he had the idea to create his own center, where he could provide spiritual and psychological assistance to victims of various occult organizations and sects, which appeared in the country in the late 90s.
In 1996, Hieromonk Anatoly Berestov received the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch himself for this good deed. Thus was created the Counseling Center named after the righteous John of Kronstadt. As it was originally intended, it provided assistance to all those who became victims of pseudo-seers, Satanists and other sectarians. People who fell under hypnosis and mass zombification for a long time converted to the Christian faith and received spiritual food for healing. Since the head of the center was a neuropathologist with considerable experience, he understood and knew how to provide such victims with psychological rehabilitation, and, if necessary, psychiatric assistance.
Multi-profile assistance to those in need of healing
In 1998, an extraordinary event took place in the center: many people who suffered from the activities of one of the satanic sects were admitted for rehabilitation. The problem was that almost all the victims turned out to be drug addicts. After this incident, Anatoly Berestov, whose center until this incident was engaged only in spiritual rehabilitation, realized that he had to provide assistance to drug addicts and alcoholics.
Since then, he has developed a special program for drug and alcohol addicts, which has been successfully used for more than 10 years. The most surprising thing is that, according to Berestov, after undergoing rehabilitation, healing occurs in more than 90% of all cases.
Not just a spiritual savior, but also a high-class medic
The mostHIV infection and oncological diseases have become widespread and terrible diseases of our time. Those who are faced with such a disaster are looking for all kinds of support, and the Anatoly Berestov Center provides it. Despite the fact that it is very difficult for an ordinary person to believe in such statements, the priest says that their center has experience in treating AIDS. During repeated prayers, the disease recedes, and HIV infection passes into a kind of "sleeping" state, which allows the infected person to live a long and fulfilling life. Berestov states that at one time he counted 18 people who came to the center with this terrible disease and were healed, and after 1997 he simply stopped keeping such statistics.
The same thing happens with cancer patients. In addition to healing prayers, Father Anatoly offers those who turned to him for help consultations of his acquaintances oncologists-surgeons, because Berestov has strong connections in the medical field, and he is considered a very authoritative neuropathologist to this day.
Books written by a priest
Anatoly Berestov is a priest and an active public figure who also manages to publish his own books. This amazing person has a number of author's publications in the field of pediatric neurology and pediatrics. He also wrote a lot of author's works that are devoted to today's social problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, the occult.
And, as a real doctor, of course, in his works he could not but touch upon sucha problematic issue, like the relationship between church and medicine.
Among his works published in different periods of time, the following are especially popular with readers:
- "Conversations with an Orthodox Doctor".
- “The Spiritual Foundations of Addiction.”
- Wizards in Law.
- "The occult defeat of man."
