ARCHIMANDRITE ILIAN, MONK IN HOLY
TRINITY LAVRA, DIES
FROM CORONAVIRUS, ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
Yet
another elderly
resident of the Saint Sergius Holy Trinity lavra of the RPTsMP,
Archimandrite
Ilian, has died from the coronavirus infection. This was
reported to a
correspondent for the Credo.Press portal by Father Ilian's
spiritual children.
They were unable to provide documentary confirmation of this
fact, so the
information is of a preliminary nature.
It was
reported on
the website of the Moscow patriarchate that in Holy Week of
2014, Patriarch
Kirill elevated Father Ilian to the rank of archimandrite. His
biography has
not been published on official church websites.
Commenting
on the
death of Fr Ilian from coronavirus, his spiritual children
called attention to
the widespread nature of the infection of priests and monks of
the RPTsMP from
this disease, but they are still inclined to associate it with
"external" causes, principally with "machinations of enemies of
the church."
Earlier,
our portal
reported that in the period since 1 May, Archimandrite Nikodim,
Hegumen Ignaty,
Hegumen Tikhon, Monastic Deacon Kallist, and Archimandrite
Lavrenty have died
in the Holy Trinity lavra. In the case of only two of them has
the diagnosis of
"coronavirus" been officially established, although it is
presumed
that all of the deceased were infected with it, but some of them
had other
serious illnesses, including cancer.
According
to
information as of 1 May, symptoms of coronavirus infection have
been manifested
in 150 of the approximately 170 residents of the lavra, many of
whom are in
extremely serious condition. Until recently, the personnel of
the medical
facility of the lavra worked with coronavirus patients without
protective
equipment, which led to the rapid spread of the virus. (tr. by
PDS, posted 11
May 2020)
ARCHIMANDRITE
ILIAN
REPOSED IN THE LORD
Website
of Saint
Sergius
Holy Trinity lavra, 11 May 2020
Archimandrite
Ilian
(secular name, Nikolai Nikolaevich Plemeniuk) was born 10 May
1944 in the city
of Viazemsky, in Khabarovsk territory. When Nikolai was six
years old, his
parents, in complete secrecy, summoned to the home a priest, who
baptized the
child. In 1965, at the age of 21, he was drafted into the ranks
of the Soviet
Army.
In 1972,
Nikolai
visited the Saint Sergius Holy Trinity lavra for the first time.
Like the
sainted Abbot Sergius, he was "stung by love for Christ," and
unable
to bear any more worldly fuss he wished to retire to Sergius'
cloister. Nikolai
remained as an employee of the monastery. After two years of his
labor, he
successfully passed the entrance exams for the Moscow
Ecclesiastical Seminary.
While
Nikolai was a
second-year student at the Moscow Ecclesiastical Seminary, the
abbot of the
lavra, Archimandrite Ieronim, tonsured him a monk in the Trinity
cathedral,
with the name of Ilian, in honor of the martyr Ilian, one of the
40 martyrs of
Sebaste [A.D. 320].
On 8
August 1976,
Archbishop of Dmitrov Vladimir ordained the monk Ilian a
monastic deacon, in
the church of the Protection in the Moscow Ecclesiastical
Academy. Two years
later, on 5 May 1978, on Good Friday, Vladyka Vladimir
consecrated Monastic Deacon
Ilian a hieromonk.
In 1987,
His Holiness
Patriarch Pimen promoted the batushka to the rank of hegumen.
Father
Ilian's first
assignments in the lavra were performed in the icon store,
behind the candle
box, and in the Trinity cathedral. When the work was begun for
restoration of
the lavra's skete of the Protection in the village of Saburovo,
Hegumen Ilian
was blessed to fulfill an assignment in the newly formed skete.
In 2004,
His Holiness
Patriarch Alexis II, in consideration for his labors to the
benefit of the
sacred cloister, awarded Hegumen Ilian a patriarchal
commendation.
Batushka
tried to
perform unstintingly all assignments entrusted to him. For a
long time, Father
Ilian's principal assignment was commemorating the synodics and
notes in the
cavities of the prosphora. Each day the batushka entered the
chapel of the holy
great martyr Irina and commemorated at the throne of God the
names of the
living and the dead.
In Holy
Week of 2014,
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill promoted Hegumen Ilian to the rank
of
archimandrite. In the same year, in consideration of his labors
for the good of
the holy church, and in connection with the 700th anniversary of
the birthday
of Saint Sergius, by order of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
Archimandrite Ilian
was awarded the patriarchal emblem "700th anniversary of Saint
Sergius of
Radonezh."
The name
Ilian is
derived from the Greek adjective "sunny," and this name applied
to Fr
Ilian like none other. The batushka was a sincere, noble,
joyous, and judicious
man. He illuminated everybody who came to him for help with warm
rays emanating
from his loving heart. All his life, Archimandrite Ilian pointed
to the
necessity for us, who are seeking Christ, to conquer the cold of
temptations
and to warm the spirit from the sinful cold, and, most
importantly, to console
the souls of our neighbors with internal light, the light that
he received from
the source of light, God.
Like the
holy martyr,
in honor of whom he received his name during tonsuring, he
suffered for Christ,
mortifying his flesh by fasting and prayer. Instead of the cold
of Lake Sebaste,
he perceived the cold of numerous temptations sent by the enemy
of the human
race, who tries to turn everybody from the path leading to
Christ. Like the martyr,
he bore all temptations confidently and steadfastly, without
deviating from
devout faith in Jesus Christ.
Over the
course of
many years, from the day of his becoming a clergyman, Fr Ilian
fulfilled his
assigned duties with amazing modesty, about which we were told
by the loving
brotherhood, which received with great sorrow the news about the
loss of the
great candlestick, like the sun in every way. Like Saint
Sergius, in whose
cloister the memorable archimandrite spent his long life, he
shone "like
the bright sun" by his amazing modesty, kindness, and a life
filled with
virtue.
The
brothers of the
monastery, recalling the residence of Father Ilian in the lavra,
note that there
was not a single day when the batushka would arrive late for the
liturgy. On a
day when he had some assignment, he arrived at the appointed
place long before
the designated time, always recalling the words of Christ: "be
alert,
because you do not know either the day or hour in which the Son
of Man will
come" (Mt. 25.13).
Alert in
spirit, but
weakened by the incapacity of the body, he accepted a blessed
death on 11 May
2020 from complications caused by the coronavirus infection.
Preserving
in memory
the good achievement of Father Ilian, let us pray to the
Almighty Lord that he
will give rest to his servant in the heavenly kingdom, where the
light of
Christ shines in full measure in his god-like soul. (tr. by PDS,
posted 11 May
2020)
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