Osipov Alexei Ilyich is a well-known Orthodox apologist and catechist. Doctor of Theology, Professor. Brilliant lecturer and publicist. A man of modest, ascetic life. We will talk about him today.
Biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov. Personal life, wife
Alexey Ilyich was born on March 31, 1938 in the ancient Russian town of Belevo, which is located in the Tula region. But he spent his childhood and youth in the city of Kozelsk and the village of Optino, next to the famous Optina Hermitage, an Orthodox monastery, which was inactive at that time.
The biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov and his personal life was determined by his acquaintance with Abbot Nikon. This meeting took place in early childhood and influenced the rest of the boy's life and fate. He grew in a clear understanding of his path and tried to be like his teacher and confessor in everything. Father Nikon.
Pious life, asceticism and prayer practice filled the life and biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov. Wife and family in such an almost monastic setting were excluded. Alexey Ilyich is not married, leads a modest life and works for the good of the Church of Christ.
Aleksey's mentor is hegumen Nikon
Hegumen Nikon (Nikolay Vorobyov) is a priest and spiritual writer. A well-known ascetic in Orthodox circles, leading an exceptionally pure, ascetic life, filled with prayer and love for the people around him. The future elder Nikon went through the crucible of revolution, civil strife and war. The experience of losing faith, passion for sciences and philosophy did not pass him by.
After spending years, he figured out that the sciences do not study the human soul, do not deal with the issues of death and sin, but, on the contrary, have only a superficial knowledge of the most important, from his point of view, issues. Then he delved into the study of Orthodoxy and reached the depths of understanding the evidence of the Epiphany and the importance of the spiritual path. He followed this path of faith all his life. At the age of 36, Nicholas became a monk. In those years, the monasteries were closed, and therefore he had to lead the difficult life of a monk in the world. So he labored until his death in 1963. In his life there were camps, and exiles, and many other sorrows and misfortunes, but he did not become embittered, but remained a bright man, devoted to God and the Faith of Christ.
After hegumen Nikon left many articles of a religious and apologetic orientation, as well as a large numberletters in which his opponents were ordinary people who sought advice and prayers from the elder.
Growing in faith
Acquainted in early childhood with Abbot Nikon, Alexei Ilyich was imbued with the spirit of Orthodox piety, accustomed to a contemplative life and grew under the strict guidance of his mentor. The elder immediately drew attention to the inquisitive and diligent boy and taught him a lot. He gave Alyosha to read Russian classics, Greek philosophers and, of course, the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church - John of the Ladder and the collection "Philokalia".
The elder followed the boy's studies, his grades and leisure. He taught him, for example, how to play chess, but then, when Alexei Ilyich had already grown up, he forbade him to play chess, saying that it was a waste of time. To the bewildered questions of the young man, the elder replied that in the transitional age, chess is a lesser evil compared to other nonsense that can swarm in the head of a teenager.
Education
Classes with Father Nikon and his serious recommendations helped Alexei Ilyich enter the fourth year of the seminary immediately, having passed the exams for the first three. The elder took care of Alexei Ilyich until the very end of his life and was for him the main support in spiritual maturation. In the last year of his life, Father Nikon was seriously ill, but, while maintaining a clear mind and a pure heart, he did not cease to be a bright beacon in the biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov.
Teaching work
After graduating from the seminary, Alexei Ilyich entered the Moscow Theological Academy, whichIn 1963 he brilliantly graduated with a PhD in Theology. The following year, Alexei Ilyich entered graduate school and began his teaching career, which continues to this day. In addition to teaching, Professor Osipov conducts extensive church activities.
In different years, he was a member of the training committee under the Synod and a member of the theological commission, took part in Local Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church and various interchurch dialogues. But pedagogical work, conducting seminars and giving lectures are the most important obedience and stand out in the biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov. The professor's personal contribution to the cause of catechesis and apology of Orthodoxy is enormous.
Lecture activity
In his lectures, Alexei Ilyich talks about Orthodoxy, about spiritual life, about the heritage of the holy fathers. The professor's erudition not only in theological matters, but also in matters of philosophy, psychology and culture attracts the attention of more and more listeners. Aleksey Ilyich always finds the right words, speaks in simple terms about the complex issues of Being, motivates for further knowledge and growth in faith, pays great attention to raising children.
The biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov is in itself an example of the correct church life, an example of piety and humility. Through the life of this amazing and modest man, Orthodoxy appears before us in all its historical significance, in its spiritual grandeur, in its beauty and magnificence. The truth of Orthodoxy, as Professor Osipov tells in his lectures, is easily proved, you just need to approach this issue without prejudice and with an open heart.
Alexei Ilyich does not hide important issues of a negative nature - the problems of the church, his own mistakes, the ugly deeds of the clergy and the church clergy. He tells the audience about all this and frankly shares his reflections on church life.
Spiritual Life
Spiritual life in the biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov is a fundamental concept. She, as the holy fathers of the Church taught, is the only correct life. The only true and most difficult way. Father Nikon told young Alexei Ilyich that spiritual life is the greatest rarity among people in our time. People are used to confusing a highly moral life with a spiritual one. Many people are deceived in this and go the wrong way. Spiritual life, or the path of an ascetic, is a constant remembrance of death, clear awareness, purity of every second moral choice and majestic calmness.
Modern people are immersed in an anti-spiritual atmosphere of fuss. Vanity captures all the free time of such people and does not give them the slightest chance to stop and comprehend what is happening to them. First of all, to comprehend ourselves, our lives and the meaning of these lives. And if a person does not think about the meaning of life, gives it to the vanity, then his existence becomes meaningless, - says Osipov Alexei Ilyich. In the biographies of many ascetics of the church, this is repeatedlyis confirmed. Whatever a person may be in life, if he has a need to comprehend his being, then his life is gradually transformed, structured, and he gradually begins to move along the religious path.
Alexei Ilyich talks a lot about the patristic heritage, about the apostolic ministry and the holy martyrs of the twentieth century. His balanced attitude, deep faith and brilliant wit create an atmosphere of intelligence and trust during lectures. But the professor pays attention not only to the holy fathers, he cites many examples of piety from the lives of ordinary people, ordinary husbands and wives. In the biography of Alexei Ilyich Osipov, there are also such people - pure, generous Christians, acquaintance with whom transforms and beautifies the world.
Another problem of our time, according to Alexei Ilyich, is entertainment. Endless temptations and pleasures, like vanity, distract people from the main issues of existence. All these are attributes of a completely anti-Christian world, in which there is no place for repentance and prayer. A person has no time to stop, think, raise his head and peer into the sky. Comprehend Eternity.
Anniversary
In 2018, Alexei Ilyich celebrated his eightieth birthday and, despite such a venerable age, he is still wise, witty and generous.
Alexei Ilyich Osipov has been teaching piety throughout his long biography, working for the good of the church and waging invisible warfare.
