THE CENTURIES-OLD HISTORY
OF THE ST.-DANIIL MONASTERY
for International Day of Cultural and Historical
Monuments
By E. Andrusenko
A few kilometers south of the Kremlin one can see the gilded cupolas
of the St.-Daniil monastery towering above one of the busiest districts
of Moscow. A closer look at its facade and the surrounding area proves
that its constructors new how to 
combine
architecture and landscape. Today the monastery is surrounded with modern
buildings. But centuries ago its majestic towers encircled by a white toothed
wall blended in perfectly with the panorama of the river Moskva.
Moscow's oldest cloister, the St.-Daniil monastery was founded by Prince
Daniil in honor of Saint Daniil of Stolinik at the beginning of the 13th
century. Prince Daniil known for his peace-loving stance did much to promote
a unification of separated Russian principalities. Not long before his
death he took monastic vows and expressed a wish to be buried in the newly-founded
monastery. Back then it was just a small wooden church. This was followed
by a period of neglect that lasted nearly two centuries. In the 16th century
Czar Ivan the Terrible witnessed the recovery of a sick man who touched
St.-Daniil's remains. The czar was so struck by the miracle that he ordered
the monastery to be reopened and a stone church to be built instead of
the wooden one. In the 17th century Prince Daniil was canonized and his
remains were transferred into the newly-built Church of the Holy Fathers
of Seven Ecumenical Councils. Ever after Prince Daniil has been venerated
as the heavenly patron of Moscow.
Revolutionary upheavals in the early 20th century destroyed the centuries-old
traditions of the Orthodox way of life. Throughout the follow-up decades
of aggressive atheism and religious persecution, the St.-Daniil monastery
remained an unshakeable stronghold of the Orthodox faith. It brought together
priests who refused to put up with the "communist renewal". Many
of them ended their life as martyrs. In 1937 the head of the monastery,
Archbishop Fedor and some 50 monks were executed by shooting. The monastery
was closed and turned into an orphanage. With time its buildings changed
beyond recognition. In 1983 the former cloister was returned to the church.
The restoration proceeded at a surprisingly fast pace. 1986 saw a solemn
ceremony of the transfer of the parts of St.-Daniil's remains that had
been considered lost. They were handed over by the Archbishop of Washington,
Metropolitan of all America and Canada Feodosy. The remains had been hidden
by a group of monks and secretly ferried to America. At present the St.-Daniil
monastery is the residence of the His Holiness, Patriarch of Moscow and
All Russia Alexi II and the Holy Synod. It runs a Sunday school for children
and a course in catechism for adults, provides financial support to hospitals
and orphanages. Anyone seeking help may be sure he won't be refused .
"I'M CONQUISTADOR"
Marking the poet's 115th birth anniversary
On April 15 we marked the 115th birth anniversary of Nikolai Gumilyov,
one of the finest Russian poets of the early 20th century.
Nikolai Gumilyov was born in 1886 near St. Petersburg into the family
of a naval physician. As a little boy, Nikolai enjoyed watching ships and
dreamed of traveling to distant countries. Small wonder that his early
work is permeated with sea motifs and that his passion for travels lasted
a lifetime.
Gumilyov received an excellent education at the Imperial Gymnasium
in Tsarskoye Selo. Nearly a century before him, the great Russian poet
Alexander Pushkin graduated from this same institution. In Gumilyov's days
the gymnasium was headed by the prominent Russian poet Innokenty Annensky,
who was the first to recognize a poet in the young man.
A
romantic by nature, Gumilyov dreamed of seeing the entire world and reflecting
it in his poems. After a short course in law at St. Petersburg's University,
he left for Paris in 1906. He attended lectures at the Sorbonne, where
he studied French literature, painting and theater. Never forgetting about
traveling, Gumilyov set out for Egypt, a country that had an irresistible
mystic appeal for him. After Egypt were Italy, Spain, France and many other
countries. His main passion, however, remained Africa. He visited Africa
three times, each time bringing home exotic verses.
The first decade of the 20th century was an important period for Gumilyov,
the poet. In 1905 he published his first collection of poems entitled "The
Way of Conquistadors". 1908 saw his second book, "Romantic Flowers",
which carried signs of his own esthetics and his own beautiful and melancholy
style.
In 1910 Nikolai Gumilyov married Anna Gorenko, known in Russia and
abroad as the outstanding Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova.
A year later Anna gave birth to a son, Lev, the future prominent scholar.
Nikolai, however, kept leaving the family for travels. More and more often
he escaped into his own world of a lonely romantic. The marriage proved
to be a failure and three years after the wedding Anna and Nikolai separated.
Gumilyov ranked among the most prominent poets and writers of his day.
Andrei Bely, Osip Mandelstam, Vyacheslav Ivanov, and others created what
became known as the Silver Age of Russian literature. But the passion for
heroic and romantic deeds that singled out Gumilyov was not understood
by his contemporaries. His verses were the "songs of battle"
in imitation of ancient epic poems. His conduct matched his poetry as he
transferred the romantic spirit of conquistadors to daily life, overcoming
his weaknesses and preaching a personal cult of victory. At the beginning
of World War I Gumilyov joined the army as a volunteer and received two
St. George's Crosses, the highest combat award. According to recollections
of his contemporaries, he dared any danger and was prepared to run risks.
The revolution of 1917 seemed to change nothing in the poet's life
- so far was he from politics. On the day of revolution he was in France
and returned to Russia only a year later. But that year was the beginning
of a tragic end.
"The Strange Sky", "The Bonfire", "Quiver",
"Marquee" - Gumilyov published collections of verses one after
another. He wrote about his travels, the women he loved, about philosophy,
and never about the revolution. During 1918-21 he worked at the World Literature
Publishing House, delivered lectures for students, and taught in literary
studios. In the same years he translated English and French poetry and
published several collections of poems, including his best book entitled
"The Fiery Pillar". Nothing promised a near catastrophe. On August
7, 1921, another outstanding poet of the Silver Age, Alexander Blok died.
On that same day Nikolai Gumilyov was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy
against Soviet government. 17 days later he was executed.
"An incorrigible romantic, vagrant-adventurer, conquistador, and
a tireless seeker of dangers and strong impressions - that was the way
he was," recalls a contemporary, historian of the arts and literary
critic Erich Gollerbach. Though as children many people devour books about
adventure and travels, "almost no one lives a life of heroic adventure,
almost no one is inspired to translate into life the dangerous ideas and
undertake expeditions to distant parts. He did this. He lived as if he
was sixteen all his life. Love, death and poetry. At sixteen we know these
are the most wonderful things in the world. Then we forget about them.
Routine, trifles of daily life kill our romantic dreams. We forget. But
he did not forget. He did not forget them until he died."
18 April 2001
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