Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) lived a bright life, equally devoting himself to Orthodoxy, archeology and history. In his studies, in addition to serving God and the church, there was a great love for the work of past generations, a desire to trace the origins of religion and the formation of peoples.
Childhood
Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) was born on August 12, 1817 in a large family. From the father's side, the Kapustins were servants of the Church and God for several generations. The mother of the future archimandrite also came from the family of a clergyman. At birth, the boy was named Andrei, he was one of six brothers, there were seven girls in the family.
The small homeland of the future archimandrite and scientist - Perm province, Shadrinsk district. Orthodoxy and the church way of life determined the style and meaning of the life of the whole family. Literacy education was started at home, and the first teacher was the father, and instead of the primer, the Ps alter.
By the time of the boy's formation, his father Ivan Kapustin was appointed rector of the Transfiguration Church (Baturino village). Family education was short-lived, in 1826the boy was sent for further education to the Dalmatov Theological School, where the charter of the life of students was strict, which saddened the boy a lot.
Youth
Five years later, having received a diploma of completion of the course, Andrei Ivanovich Kapustin continued his education at the Perm Theological Seminary, and later transferred to the Yekaterinoslav Seminary, where his uncle and priest Iona Kapustin was the rector. This period was fertile in the development of Antonin, as his many-sided abilities and talents were revealed.
Teachers noted the versatility of his interests - foreign languages (especially Greek), drawing, playing musical instruments, interest in astronomy and much more. The love of poetry remained with him until the end of his life. In 1839, the future archimandrite became a student of the Kyiv Theological Academy, at the end of the full course he was awarded a degree - a master of theology. He continues his activities at the academy as a teacher of the German language, and later as an assistant inspector.
Monasticism and teaching
The adoption of monasticism took place in early November 1845, the tonsure was performed by Metropolitan Filaret of Kyiv. After the allotted time, Antonin received the priesthood. By the nature of his service, he remained a teacher of several church disciplines at the Kyiv Academy.
Classes with students were given to him with difficulty, possessing a mobile character and high responsibility, Antonin did not know peace when preparing lectures and theoretical materials. He always seemed to bedid not do enough, the material was not informative or complete, sometimes he fell into insomnia, trying to perfect his lectures.
In the last years of his tenure as a teacher, Father Antonin was engaged in making proofreading corrections to the Russian translation of some of the works of John Chrysostom. Upon arrival at the Kyiv Academy, he began to keep diaries, describing events daily, and continued to write until the end of his days.
In the process of teaching, he studied a large number of historical documents, which aroused in him a craving for an in-depth study of the origins of Orthodoxy. He wrote about this in his diary and shared his dreams with loved ones. The Holy Synod decided to encourage the aspirations of the scientist and sent Fr. Antoninus to Greece for the post of rector of the Athens Mission.
Greek period
The Athenian period lasted 10 years, and, recalling it later, Antonin admitted that all the previous time he had been preparing for a meeting with the antiquity of the East and for understanding the unity of the Orthodox Universe. In 1853 Father Antonin was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. This period of his life was the beginning of his passion for archeology, history and culture of the East. At the same time, his articles appeared in the Orthodox periodical Sunday Reading, published by the Kyiv Theological Academy, and the book Ancient Christian Inscriptions in Athens was published.
Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) first visited Jerusalem in 1857, which made a great impression on him and was reflected in the book Five Days in the Holy Land. FROM1860 Father Antonin works in Constantinople at the embassy church. According to the type of activity and tasks of the Holy Synod, he regularly goes on business trips - to Athos, to Rumelia, Thessaly and other places, which is described by him in the literary work “Across Rumelia”.
For ten years of service in Greece, the scientist acquires a certain fame and authority among Greek and Russian Byzantologists. This is confirmed by his participation in four scientific societies, where he was accepted as an honorary member. His book on Athenian inscriptions was a huge success in the scientific community, it was referenced by other scholars, translated into many languages, and articles on history and archeology were printed and translated.
Jerusalem period
In 1865, the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem received a new head - Archimandrite Antonin. At first he was acting, and in 1869 he was approved in the position. In the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission of those years, there was discord among the priests, intrigues were woven, which caused the pilgrims and the very status of the church to suffer. The newly arrived archimandrite had to show miracles of diplomacy. In this field, Father Antonin accomplished many things, gaining fame for the Russian clergy and establishing the presence of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.
The period of his active work is still called the "Golden Age" of the mission, and Russian Palestine was founded and prospered by his labors. The creation of a powerful infrastructure became possible thanks to the efforts of the archimandrite. During hiswork, he strengthened the position of the Russian Orthodox Church by acquiring land plots, laying monasteries, building pilgrimage centers, and a school for Arab children.
In addition to strengthening the position of the church, he studied biblical culture and antiquities. He was the first to realize the need to preserve the Old Testament shrines and, in order not to lose them, began to acquire plots of land associated with legends. After excavating them, he built temples, founded monasteries and centers for pilgrims. With his arrival, the passions and intrigues in the mission did not subside, but he was able to find a common language with all parties to the conflict and even reconcile the antagonists to some extent.
Mamvrian Oak
Not wanting to take part in the strife, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) decided that he would focus his efforts on the monk's main task - serving God and the Church. Bearing in mind that one of the objectives of the mission is to provide shelter and security for the pilgrims, he began to expand the territory of Russian Orthodoxy in the Holy Land.
The very first of his acquisition was the Mamre oak in the city of Hebron. It was issued to Father Antonin's permanent assistant Jacob Halebi, which is associated with certain restrictions on the right to acquire land in the Ottoman Empire. Land could be bought by private individuals, subjects of the Port. It was almost impossible to buy the Mamre oak, but courage, perseverance, diplomacy and money made it possible to convince the owner of the deal.
Oak is one of the Christian shrines, near itThe Holy Trinity appeared to Abraham. To expand the territory, Father Antonin bought up plots of land in the district, which in total amounted to 72 thousand square meters. The first liturgy on this land was served in June 1869, the site was gradually ennobled, a large pilgrimage house was built. The temple was erected in 1925. Pilgrimage trips to the Oak of Mamre and today one of the revered destinations among believers.
Mount of Olives
The second major object, which replenished the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, was the monastery on the Mount of Olives. Knowing from the writings of Dmitry of Rostov that the head of John the Baptist rests in those places, and from other sources about the many Christian monasteries located on the Mount of Olives since the 6th century, he undertook to buy up land on its slopes. Excavations were carried out on the acquired properties. Their result was unique finds - the remains of ancient Byzantine churches with wonderfully preserved mosaic floors, a bust of the ruler Herod the Great, burial caves and much more.
The main shrines were the found stone, on which (according to legend) the Mother of God stood during the Ascension of the Savior, and the foundation of the ancient Christian church, where the altar was preserved. Almost immediately after the completion of all survey work, Archimandrite Antonin attended to the laying of churches, but the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish conflict stopped construction for some time.
The Church of the Ascension of the Lord was opened in 1886, its foundation was an ancient temple. Nowon the lands acquired by Father Antonin there is a convent, where the main shrines are the places where the head of John the Baptist was found, on the floor in the chapel there is a recess in the mosaic floor, indicating the place where the head of John the Baptist was found. Here, on the Mount of Olives, the ashes of Archimandrite Antonin rest, pilgrimage trips are made to him.
What else has replenished the Russian mission
The Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem through the work of Archimandrite Antonin gained weight, authority and took its rightful place in the hierarchy of Orthodoxy in the Holy Land. During his tenure, Father Antoninus increased the ownership of many lands, where the property of the church is now located, and pilgrims have the opportunity to touch the shrines:
- Air Karem, the place where John the Baptist was born, and the Mother of God spent three months visiting the righteous Elizabeth. Having first bought one house with a plot from a local resident, the archimandrite increased his holdings to almost 300,000 square meters. The estate began to be called Gorny. In 1882, a temple was consecrated here, the nuns were invited, each with a separate house with a small plot for a garden. The monastery exists to this day.
- Hospital in Jaffa near the burial place of St. Tabitha. In 1888, a temple was built on the acquired lands, consecrated in honor of Righteous Tabitha and the Apostle Peter. For a long time, this compound was considered the best in the Russian Mission of Jerusalem, it was called the "Golden Pearl".
- Pilgrimage shelter in Jericho with tropicalgarden.
- Hotel house on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias.
- The estate in Gethsemane, where the church of Mary Magdalene was built. It preserves the relics of Elizabeth Feodorovna, the Grand Duchess.
- In the village of Siloam, a land plot was purchased, including the caves of the Siloam monolith.
- Rumaniye Cave, located in the Suahiri Valley.
- On the Mount of Olives are located the "Prophetic Coffins", "the place of Callistratus" acquired by Father Antoninus.
- Plot of land in the birthplace of St. Mary Magdalene, in the city of Magdala. In the plans of Father Anton, he was intended for a pilgrimage shelter.
- Plot of land in Cana of Galilee, adjacent to the place where the house of the Apostle Simon Canonite was located.
According to general estimates, over the years of his work as director of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Antonin increased the church's possessions to 425 thousand square meters. meters of land, which in monetary terms is about 1 million rubles in gold. Unfortunately, much of this priceless we alth was lost during the Khrushchev era. According to some sources, much of the heritage was given away for meager money spent as a barter operation - buildings and land in exchange for oranges and cheap fabrics.
Literary and scientific heritage
The biography of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin is not limited to activities in the creation of Russian Palestine. He found time to study ancient manuscripts, study archeology, numismatics, Byzantine studies,translations and more.
In 1859, studies were carried out and ancient manuscripts stored in the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos were described. In 1867 Father Antonin studied the manuscripts in the Patriarchal Library of Jerusalem. A year later, he compiled a catalog of early printed editions and manuscripts of the Lavra of St. Sava the Sanctified. In 1870, in the library of the monastery of the Great Martyr Catherine (Sinai), he compiled a description and catalog of Greek (1310 items), Slavic (38 items), Arabic (500 items) manuscripts. For this work, a unique document was received as a gift - Kyiv Glagolitic Sheets (transferred to the library of the Kyiv Theological Academy).
The period of stay in Jerusalem for the archimandrite was the most fruitful in scientific research as well. His personal library of ancient manuscripts increased significantly, it included texts and books in Greek, Old Slavonic, and Arabic. The collection of antiquities collected throughout his life was constantly replenished with coins, ancient household items, monuments of Byzantine art. The collection of unique manuscripts collected over a lifetime is partially located in the Central Library of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and in the National Library of Russia, the Russian State Historical Institute of St. Petersburg.
Diaries
Archimandrite Antonin conducted an extensive correspondence, was engaged in scientific works. The bibliographic list of published lifetime and posthumous works today includes more than 140 titles. One of the important historical documents is his personal diaries, published under the general title "The Tale of Bygone Years" (30volumes). He led them daily from 1817 until his death in 1894.
The diaries of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin were considered lost for a long time, but they survived. The main part is in the Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg, Collection of the Holy Synod).
To date, two volumes of The Tale of Bygone Years have been published. The first volume contains entries for 1881 and describes the beginning of work in the East. The second volume was published in 2013, it contains records for 1850 - the beginning of the Athenian and Constantinople periods of the life of Archimandrite Antonin. The following volumes of diaries are being prepared for publication.
200th anniversary
In August 2017, the 200th anniversary of Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin was celebrated in Russia. In the homeland of the ascetic, in the village of Baturino, the Baturin Shrine festival was held. A bust of Archimandrite Antonin was erected near the ancestral Spaso-Preobrazhensky Church of the Kupustin family.
Jerusalem also hosted celebrations. On the Mount of Olives in the Savior-Ascension Convent, a divine service was held, which was conducted by Metropolitan Hilarion. At the end of the service, a memorial service was performed at the grave of the ascetic.
Panikhida was also served in the Russian Spiritual Mission. It was held in the house church, consecrated in honor of the holy martyr Queen Alexandra. A divine service, solemn ceremonies, and a festive reception were held at the Holy Ascension Church.
During the celebrations, a small exhibition of rare documents relating to the activities ofarchimandrite, presented the book “Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin). Sermons and Translations of the Kievan Years. She received a response from readers. Viewing of the documentary “Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) – Builder of Russian Palestine” took place.
The literary and scientific heritage of Archimandrite Antonin in its value can be the same pride of the country and the church, as well as all his activities in the creation of Russian Palestine.
