Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin is a well-known clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church. For many years he was the confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and was one of the most revered elders among the Russian clergy.
Biography
Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin was born in 1927 in the Novosibirsk region. He was born in the small village of Shubinka, in the Orda region. His parents were Alexander Efimovich and Pelageya Maksimovna Baiborodin. At birth, he received the name Nikolai.
Almost immediately after his birth, he was baptized in his native village in the St. Sergius Church. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Primorsky Krai. The hero of our article went to school in the city of Sovetskaya Gavan. He managed to unlearn only 9 classes.
Family
The parents of the future Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin were connected with the Russian Orthodox Church. For example, his mother Pelageya had the status of a schema-nun. There were seven brothers and sisters in the family, but they all died as babies. Therefore, parents raised only one son, who later became Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin.
GreatPatriotic War
Nikolai interrupted his secondary school education because the Great Patriotic War broke out. At the very beginning, he was too small to go to the front. He was mobilized into the ranks of the Red Army only in 1944. He served in the aviation technical units.
At first, Nikolai was assigned to a radio engineering school in the city of Frunze, then he was transferred to Riga, and then to the military units of Kaliningrad and Siauliai. Basically, Baiborodin was engaged in the maintenance of airfields. He did not take part in hostilities. In 1952 he was demobilized. By that time, Nikolai managed to get the rank of senior sergeant. For excellent service, he was solemnly presented with a photograph of the banner. The future archimandrite returned to the city of Pishpek (now the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek), where he continued his studies at an evening school. After graduating from it, he became a student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at the local Polytechnic Institute.
Spiritual Life
Nikolai could not complete his studies at the Polytechnic Institute. At the insistence of his parents, he left the “worldly” university in order to devote his life to serving God. His mother especially wanted this. In 1957, Baiborodin left for the town of Zagorsk near Moscow, where he became a novice in the capital's theological seminary. This was a very serious step for a person living in a Soviet society that banned the church and everything connected with it.
In the same year, Nicholas was enrolled in the brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. A year later, he was tonsured a monk and received the name Naum in honor of the Monk Saint Naum of Radonezh. The tonsure was carried out by Archimandrite Pimen Khmelevsky. At the end of 1958, Naum had already received the rank of hierodeacon. This happened at the feast of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Metropolitan of Barnaul and Novosibirsk Nestor Anisimov himself elevated him to the rank. Since 1959, Naum has been a hieromonk. In the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra, he was elevated to this rank by Metropolitan Boris Vik of Kherson and Odessa. The future archimandrite Naum Baiborodin, whose photo is presented in our article, graduated from the seminary in 1960. After that, he went to study at the Metropolitan Theological Academy. After graduating from it, he received a Ph. D. in theology.
Church career
In the future, the church biography of Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin developed very successfully. In 1970 he was promoted to abbot. After another 9 years, he received the rank of archimandrite.
Bayborodin's activities were connected with the popularization of the ideas of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was involved in the construction of several cathedrals and churches in different parts of the country. For example, in 1996 he contributed to the construction of the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Convent in his native village of Maloirmenka in the Novosibirsk Region, which was formerly called Shubinka. The monastery was erected on the site of a rural church destroyed during the Soviet era. Since 2000, Baiborodin has played an important role in the Spiritual Council of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At first he enters the council as one of the members, and since 2001 he has becometrustee of an orphanage in the village of Toporkovo near Moscow. This orphanage has long been patronized by the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
Bayborodin's Sermons
The sermons of Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin are widely known. In them, he tried to find answers to the most difficult questions that torment most of those around him.
For example, his sermon "The Will to Holiness", delivered in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in 1998, became popular. In it, he talked about the three main sins that exist in our world. After his death, his sermon, timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, began to spread actively. Baiborodin wrote it long before this anniversary. Unfortunately, in 2016, the elder fell ill and fell into a coma. In this state, doctors maintained his life throughout 2017. On October 13, Archimandrite Naum Baiborodin died. Early in the morning of October 15, he was buried in the Assumption Cathedral, located at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. He was 89 years old. In his sermon on the events of 1917, Archimandrite Naum noted how many saints there were in Russia before the October Revolution. After the events of 1917, the situation changed dramatically. He blamed the events of those years on the rulers who obey the devil, who hate everything that is connected with the Bible. It was they, according to Baiborodin, who organized the revolution in Russia. The elder saw the prerequisites for a revolution at the beginning of this century. He noted that a new Civil War did not start because Vladimir Putin did not allow it.
Memories of Naum Baiborodin
Many famous people met with Archimandrite Naum. He made an indelible impression on almost everyone. Singer Nadezhda Babkina recalled that it was possible to "drown" in his kind eyes. After a frank conversation with him, my soul became light and easy, a real feeling of happiness condescended. Metropolitan Kirill Nakonechny recalled the times when Archimandrite Naum received confession from parishioners. People walked in crowds, he talked to everyone and gave practical advice. He directed many not only in worldly life, but also in church life. Parishioners who had a chance to talk with the elder say that he knew how to look into the most hidden corners of their souls. It was impossible to hide anything from Naum Baiborodin. However, he never scolded for sins and did not reproach, but only instructed on the right path.
