In 2007, Internet users got the opportunity to watch the documentary film "S alt of the Earth", which is part of the general cycle, consisting of five films, telling about the life of our contemporaries, who have acquired the reputation of elders among the people - spiritual mentors, marked by the special grace of God. The creators of the series were Sergei Bogdanov and Hierodeacon Abel (Semenov). The first film tells about Archpriest Nikolai Rogozin, a man who gained fame thanks to his prophecies, which were very ambiguous in church circles. Our story is about him.
Young worshiper from a peasant family
The future shepherd was born on May 9 (22), 1898 in the family of peasants in the village of Verkhoturka, Belgorod province - Guryan and Matrona, poor people, but pious and extremely religious (photo above). His birth coincided with the day when the Orthodox Church remembered St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, after whom he received his name.
It is known about the early years of Father Nikolai that in his village he graduated from threeparochial school class, and then was apprenticed to a local shoemaker. His main joy was attendance at divine services both in the village church and in the nearby monastery.
The heavy cross of Bolshevism
It so happened that 1917, which made a turning point in the life of the whole country, was marked for Nikolai Rogozin by two important events. Firstly, he got married, and secondly, he ended up in the ranks of the Red Army. As a true Christian, leaving for the front, the young man prayed to God only that He would not allow him to shed human blood. His words were heard, and throughout the Civil War, Nikolai worked in a shoe shop.
The first prophecy of the old man also belongs to this period - leaving the house, he predicted the future victory of the Reds. However, in private conversations, Father Nikolai later emphasized that he considers the coming to power of the Bolsheviks to be the connivance of God, sent down to people for their sins (you need to come to terms with it, and meekly carry this Cross).
Opponent of collectivization
Although Rogozin spent the pre-war years in his native village of Verkhoturka, he managed to live there without joining a collective farm, which he considered a blasphemous undertaking. He and his family, which grew up with two daughters, were fed from a small garden and a modest income, which brought them the repair of shoes of their fellow villagers.
The future shepherd of his village did not leave even during the Great Patriotic War, because he was released from the army due to heart disease. He visited the temple regularly, but only as an ordinaryparishioner, because the time for his pastoral ministry has not yet come.
On the Path of Church Ministry
Despite the fact that Orthodoxy from an early age was an integral part of his life, only in 1953 did Nikolai Rogozin begin to take a direct part in divine services as a psalmist. Two years later, Archbishop John (Lavrinenko) ordained him to the priesthood and sent him to the village of Chusovskie Gorodoki in the Perm Territory. There, Father Nikolai was destined to serve as a priest of the Church of All Saints until the end of his days.
From the recollections of visitors to the church where the priest served, it is known that he and his family lived extremely poorly. Even those meager funds that he got, he tried to spend on parish needs. This was largely due to the exorbitant taxes that the atheistic authorities imposed on the Church.
In this regard, Father Nikolai said that he was forced to give the state his last pennies, since in case of non-payment of tax, the church would be closed, and there would be no place to bury the dead fellow villagers. For a similar reason, in all the years of his ministry, he never took a vacation, because in his absence someone could die without being inveterate. The aforementioned film "S alt of the Earth" talks about this in sufficient detail.
A miracle on a snowy trail
While working on the film, the members of the film crew had a chance to hear many amazing stories about the life of Father Nikolai. So, the elder’s granddaughter told them about how one January morning he went from the temple of “All Saints” to the neighboring village, wherehad to unction the seriously ill. The winter that year turned out to be snowy, and the priest was walking along a narrow path laid between snowdrifts, when suddenly someone's huge dog blocked his path.
Not at all embarrassed, the priest raised the Holy Gifts that he carried with him above his head and in a calm voice ordered her to step aside. The dog's obedient step aside can be explained by natural causes, but the deep bow that followed from her side is beyond human comprehension.
The shepherd who soared in soul and body
Deserves attention to such a curious fact - according to fellow villagers, Father Nikolai (Rogozin) never began to serve the liturgy before the edges of the covers on sacred vessels began to stir, as if lifted by a breath of wind. In this phenomenon, he saw a sign of the influx of God's grace.
And the story of several witnesses about how, after completing the next service and leaving the temple, the priest, in front of the astonished parishioners, took off from the ground, slowly soared to the height of a five-story building, may seem completely incredible. However, the miracles associated with his stay in Chusovskie Gorodki can be heard differently.
Good glory of Father Nicholas
Nikolai Rogozin served as rector of a rural church for 20 years, during which time he gained many admirers in all corners of the country. Even in those deaf anti-religious times, the rumor about the miracles he performed, the height of spiritual life was passed from mouth to mouth, attracted to him many people who became hisspiritual children.
The father also led an active correspondence. Suffice it to say that later, when the archive that remained after it was sorted out, correspondence received from more than 200 addressees was discovered. Among them were such well-known religious figures as Metropolitan Zinovy (Mazhuga), Schema-Archimandrite Andronik (Glinsky), Schema-Archimandrite Savva, Reverend Kuksha and many others.
The end of the earthly journey
Father Nicholas departed to the Lord on December 16, 1981, since then he has been revered by many believers as a holy elder, although he was not canonized by the official Church, he acquired a worthy crown in the Kingdom of God. This belief is based on the miracles that were revealed to him during the days of earthly life, continued to be performed after his blissful death.
It is quite remarkable that in 2003, during the reburial, his relics were found incorrupt. Now they rest in the crypt of the Church of All Saints, located on Krasnaya Gorka.
Predictions of the deceased shepherd
It just so happened that the prophecies of the elders, made in the days of earthly life, after their death, excite the minds of people for a long time. This fully applies to everything that Father Nikolai once said and wrote. Special significance is attached to his words because, according to admirers, he could penetrate with a spiritual gaze into the thickness of future times, inform his contemporaries about what lies ahead for Russia and its holy Church, to which he devoted his whole life.
ShouldIt should be noted that the elder Archpriest Nikolai Rogozin, known for his prophecies, caused a lot of heated discussions in his time, replicated by the media. He predicted, in particular, the onset of global catastrophes caused by both foreign policy reasons and the spiritual fall of the Russian people themselves. He did not stop before describing the moral decay of the clergy.
Fear Tomorrow
All this largely determined how the Russian Orthodox Church treats Nikolai Rogozin. Without specifying the position of its individual representatives, we only note that their reaction to the elder's prophecies was ambiguous, sometimes containing diametrically opposed judgments. Recognizing that what Father Nikolai said on the whole corresponds to the Gospel prophecy about the Apocalypse - the end of the world and the coming of the Antichrist into the world, many religious figures reproached him for excessive pessimism and forcing fear of tomorrow.
The result of an incorrect and too literal understanding of the elder's prophecies can be the actions of a number of impressionable and out of his mind zealous adherents, as well as those who are trying to build their future life on the basis of what they heard.
Suffice it to recall, for example, the "Penza zakopantsy" - a group of sectarians of 35 people who went into the forests in 2007. There, sitting in damp dugouts, they expected the end of the world. Many other similar examples could be cited. Often, his gloomy prophecies are believed to be fulfilled by regularly appearing reports in the media.about various kinds of crimes, military aggressions, natural disasters and other troubles from which our perishable world is not immune.
On the basis of this, many people get the wrong idea about the humane mission that the true Christian pastor Father Nikolai (Rogozin) fulfilled in the days of his life. "S alt of the Earth" - a film dedicated to this amazing man, will help not only to know his life in more detail, but to correctly understand everything that he wanted to tell his descendants.
