"Spiritual Mines" by Ivan Okhlobystin, summary Automatic translate

The events revolve around parish life and the unconventional Orthodox priest Father Savva. The story was written in 2008. The protagonist has a paradoxical way of thinking, and his advice always hits the mark. This story has not yet received any major prestigious awards or been adapted into a film.

A look at spirituality

Deacon Andrei Kuraev describes the problem of excessive seriousness among church neophytes. Many parishioners forget how to smile over the years, mistaking melancholy for virtue. Kuraev defends the legitimacy of laughter, as the Church always remains a living world of ordinary people.

The danger of ostentatious holiness

In an American monastery, a young novice broke under the crushing weight of a contrived, unsmiling asceticism. The abbot of a Moscow monastery treated novices for spiritual delusion (self-deception) by reading a funny children’s book about Winnie-the-Pooh. An anonymous editor adds fresh notes to reveal the true image of a modern pastor.

Father Savva’s past

Father Savva had a difficult life before taking monastic vows. In his youth, he was married, raised children, and held a high government position. He led Soviet counterintelligence in the United Arab Emirates, hiding under the identity of a wealthy sheikh’s heir.

Protection from fanaticism

During his secret service, the future priest learned Persian and secretly took holy orders. After his widowing, Savva became an authoritative monk in a remote province. Escaping the blind adoration of the crowd, the elder began eating meat on ordinary days and riding a motorcycle.

Attitude to service

The saint rejects any extremes and ostentatious outward piety. When the abbot asks him to borrow flour from his wealthy neighbors, the monk refuses, saying that the rich are rude to others. He calls pastoral care his personal labor, and leaves hesychasm (the prayer of the mind and heart) to zealous hermits.

The Sacrament of Marital Union

The priest considers hermitism a purely private endeavor, while church weddings are a salvific sacrament. A loving, close-knit heart is more important than artificial angelic behavior at the expense of someone else’s patience. The elder condemns ecumenism (the desire to unite different religions), comparing Catholicism to a bomb-like car, unsuitable for a trip to the dacha.

Indulgence towards weaknesses

The old man gives the young bishop the most useful blessing — never to wear white socks with dark shoes. The elder discusses the theory of universal salvation with subtle irony, rebuking those who indulge in spiritual panic. The agitated poet Violentov, who wants to create a political party, is advised by the monk to find a stable job and drink less vodka.

Stubbornness and miracles

On a remote road, Savva’s motorcycle is stopped by local robbers. The bandits demand a spectacular miracle to strengthen their faith, but the priest refuses to violate his free will. The bandits release the stubborn monk, after which Savva miraculously finds hot sturgeon and fresh beer on a forest stump.

Secret breaking of the fast

The saint honestly confesses to the young monks that he tried to secretly break the strict fast. He was eating Italian Parmesan cheese on a high bell tower, but a crow flew up and shouted, "Are you going to skimp, you bastard?!" To keep his secret, he had to feed all the expensive cheese to the cunning bird.

Conversation with students

A curious young man asks the elder about the Big Bang theory and the birth of the universe. Savva replies that before the cosmic cataclysm, God created this young man’s foolishness. When a young student asks about the salvation of his soul, the priest gives the simplest advice: call your mother more often.

Conversation with an astronaut

A brave cosmonaut asks the elder for his blessing for a difficult orbital flight. Savva blesses the hero but worries about how future priests will find the east for prayer in zero gravity. The cosmonaut waves his hand and advises them to pray directly "in that direction."

Healing Paranoia

The radical poet Violentov brings a long list of priests of Jewish descent who are destroying the Church from within. Savva cools his guest’s ardor by reminding him that the poet’s real name is Rabinovich. The elder adds with a smile that he baptized this writer’s late father many years ago.

Practical tips for the chef

A wise father teaches a monastery cook to save himself through the mundane, practical means of work. The priest asks the novice to always salt his food and generously add fresh butter. The cook understands the hint and stops tormenting the busy old man with complex theological riddles.

Evaluation of human actions

Savva acknowledges the wild brawler who sacrificed himself to save another man’s child as a great Christian. This sinner’s last words before his death were words of fervent gratitude to the Creator. The saint considers blasphemy to be the most foolish offense, and fornication to be the most vile for an intelligent person.

A friend and the secrets of the past

The elder regularly gets his old shoes repaired by a local craftsman, Bahadyr. During a game of backgammon, the priest recalls his communist father, who was baptized in his old age in a foreign parish. It turns out that Savva and Bahadyr’s fathers secretly served together in Soviet intelligence.

Rescuing destroyed paintings

Stalin’s purges of the 1930s forced the terrified Father Bahadir to burn all his paintings in the city dump. Savva’s father secretly bought the few surviving canvases for a huge sum and returned them to the artist. The monk always communicates fluently with the young shoemaker in perfect Farsi.

Icon in the altar

Only one work by this repressed artist has survived. The master painted an icon for a noblewoman of royal blood, commissioned directly by the intelligence officer Kasim. This masterpiece now adorns the closed altar of a modest village church.

Attitude towards death

Savva buries his suddenly deceased friend Grigory with a feeling of profound sadness. Instead of beautiful, pompous quotes, he asks for a short soldier’s abbreviation to be carved on the stone cross. Father Savva believes that the Chinese will be the most numerous people in heaven due to their physical numbers.

The essence of true patriotism

A portrait of Yuri Gagarin hangs on the wall in Savva’s cramped cell. The Creator initially gives each person a homeland that is ideally suited for their salvation. The monk defines true patriotism as the courageous willingness to give one’s life for this native land.

Gratitude for minor troubles

The priest makes a point of avoiding speeding on the highway, considering haste the preserve of the restless foolish. When the engine breaks down, he joyfully thanks God for sparing him a terrible accident. The terrified passenger could have had his arm severed and would have been reduced to a miserable job as a park ranger.

Results of life’s journey

Father Savva’s favorite music is a difficult alternative, as it doesn’t interfere with reflection. The honest monk frankly calls crisp banknotes the most practical name-day gift. With these modest donations, he built ten magnificent churches, opened shelters, and bought his motorcycle.