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Vera the Silent

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Vera la Taciturna (? - 6 [18] May 1861) was an Orthodox ascetic, hermit of the Syrkov Maiden Monastery in the Novgorod region, recluse who silence for 23 years.

Recluse

Vera la Taciturna
Bornunknown
Died30 May 1861
Syrkov monastery, Veliky Novgorod, Rusia
Venerated inOrthodox Church

Vera Molchalnitsa owes her fame to a legend in which she is identified with Empress Elizabeth Alexeyevna, wife of Alexander I, who allegedly followed his example after the emperor, having faked his death, became a Siberian elder Feodor Kuzmich.

Biography

Emergence

The unknown woman who called herself Vera Alexandrovna appeared in Tikhvin in 1834 and lived in the house of the landowner Vera Mikhailovna Kharlamova. She was respected for her piety and scrupulous adherence to religious rules, but she never talked about her past or gave her surname. She was often seen in the Tikhvin Monastery praying before the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God. She also made pilgrimages to other local monasteries. The Tikhvinians treated Vera Alexandrovna with great respect, often visiting her for spiritual talks and sending her to their children to teach them prayers and the law of God.[1] Thus, if we believe the surviving sources, she lived about three years. Then, having learned that the wife of the deacon of the Vinnitsa pogost in the province of Olonets was seriously ill, she left Tikhvin and voluntarily went to take care of her.[2]

Dormition Monastery, Tikhvin

A year later she returned to Tikhvin, but soon left the city for good, as is believed, burdened by excessive attention to herself. It was caused by the story of a Tikhvin landowner that in the Lent of St. Peter he saw how Vera Alexandrovna was transformed after taking communion and became like an angel[3] (this story became known in 1852 and in the Syrkov monastery, where Vera then lived, by the landowner Kharlamova, who came to visit her).[4] Vera moved to the Valdai village of Beryozovsky Ryadok, where she liked the worship and piety of the parishioners of the local church, and at the request of the peasant Prokopiy Trofimov agreed to stay there for some time. There she lived in a separate hut, where she took in only children, painted for them pictures of Christ and the Mother of God, taught them prayers and how to read.[5] Such a life of Vera lasted about 9 months and aroused the suspicion of the police. In 1838 Vera Alexandrovna was arrested for not having a passport. On a stage she was sent to Valdai prison, where, according to the legend, when asked about her surname and origin, she replied to the investigator: "Judged heavenly, I am the dust of the earth; judged earthly, I am above you".[6] The policeman continued to insist, and all he achieved was that Vera Alexandrovna finally stopped answering questions. After that, for 23 years and until her death, she did not open her mouth, answering questions only occasionally by means of notes or very rarely by scraps of sentences.[7]

The police considered the strange prisoner insane, and after a year and a half in Novgorod prison she was sent to the Kolomovsky Home for the Insane, where she spent another year and a half. During her stay in the asylum, Vera wrote the essay "The Lamentation of the Mother of God at the Passion of Her Son, the Lord Jesus on the Cross".[8] Vera Alexandrovna's notes on this period of her life have been preserved. About her stay in the asylum she wrote:[9]

"I felt good there; I was blissfully happy there... I thank God for allowing me to live with the prisoners and the poor. God has endured more than that for us sinners!"

Countess Anna Orlova (secretly tonsured Agniya)

Life in Syrkov Monastery

In the Kolomovsky house of the insane Vera was found by a local benefactress - Countess Anna Alexeevna Orlova-Chesmenskaya (daughter of Alexei Orlov) and offered the "silent woman" to settle in the Syrkov Convent. It is said that she received information about Vera from St. Petersburg.[10] For Vera, who gave her consent, the abbess of the convent came and took her to the convent. About Vera's transfer to a convent the decree of the Novgorod Spiritual Consistory from April 10, 1841 was issued, in which it was determined that Vera would be placed in a convent at the expense of Countess Anna Orlova.[11] According to the church historian Count M. V. Tolstoy, Vera in the convent took hostile. The abbess went to St. Petersburg Metropolitan Seraphim with a request to expel the silent woman from the convent. To this request the Metropolitan replied:[12]

"You stupid woman! You and I would rather be thrown out than her, and don't you dare mention it".

Vera lived in a separate hut cell, with a single whitewashed room and a small hall leading into it. The furnishings of the cell included a cupboard with books, a lectern for reading the Holy Scriptures, a copper samovar, two wooden chairs, a bed and a cuckoo clock (on which Vera pasted a picture of a shepherd's life with quotations from the Bible about death and the hereafter).[13] Supporters of the legend point out that her cell was an "exact copy" of the cell of Fyodor Kuzmich in Siberia (a hermit who, according to the legend of the House of Romanov, became Emperor Alexander I)[14] — which seems very problematic due to the great distance and complexity of communication with Siberian cities and especially with remote villages. Vera's bedside icon was the picture of Christ in bonds, which had been with her since the time of her stay in the home for the insane, in front of which she kept an unquenchable lamp. Vera slept on a bed covered with thin felt, with firewood placed on the sides, forming a kind of coffin for her, reminding her of the brevity of life.[15]

St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Syrkov

Vera's first cell-mate was the nun Mariamna, who suffered from a stroke. Like many sisters, she insulted Vera and once, according to N. Gruzinsky, the priest of the Syrkov convent, she twisted her leg after a disrespectful rebuke about the silent nun, which was considered God's punishment.[11] Countess Anna Orlova appointed a new cell-mate from among her courtiers. The nun Amfilohia (died in 1901) was deaf, and supporters of the existence of some mystery connected with the Silent Woman of Syrkov claim that the Countess, being initiated into it, specially chose a deaf servant so that she could not hear if Vera in delirium or by forgetfulness would say something about herself.[11]

In the monastery, Vera Alexandrovna until her death led a reclusive and very ascetic life, which limited her presence in the monastery cell and in the church (the exception was her traditional exit on Easter, when she climbed the monastery wall for prayer).[16] Vera's confessor was the priest John Lebedev, to whom she confessed by means of notes, which he burned in the flame of a candle after the sacrament. Most of the food brought to her (the hermit did not use the monastery refectory) was given to the beggars or fed to the birds. Vera was unpretentious in her dress: in her cell she wore a white knee-length dress and a bonnet, to go to the temple she wore a lustrine salop (in winter she wore an old cotton coat), a cap and a shawl.[17]

During her stay at the Syrkov monastery, Vera gained a reputation for clairvoyance, especially for predicting the death or recovery of sick children (she announced this by signs or gestures).[18] Many visitors approached her with requests to pray for them or their loved ones, which Vera immediately did, asking in return to pray for them. To those who wished to receive something from her as a memento, she gave small boxes made of plain paper, which she decorated with crosses, Scripture verses, and bread crumbs. Vera also knitted rosaries out of garus (wool yarn).

There is a legend that in 1848 the silent nun was visited by Emperor Nicholas I, who talked to her for several hours behind closed doors, and the nun responded to his words in writing, taking up several sheets of paper; when he left, the cautious (or graceful) emperor politely kissed the nun's hand and burned her notes with a lamp.[19] Other visitors to Vera included Metropolitan Gregory (Postnikov) of Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland, and the writer Count Mikhail Tolstoy.[20]

Death

The cenotaph of Vera la Taciturna in the monastery of Syrkov

On Holy Saturday (April 22), she confessed (gave the priest a written confession), and when he returned it to her after reading it, Vera knelt down and turned the page - there was written: "Father, pray to the Lord for the remembrance of my soul. My end is near and the days are dry".[21] On the 27th of April, Holy Week, as usual, she went up to the tower of the monastery, looked at Novgorod and prayed, then went to the northern gate of the monastery and looked at the Khutynsky Monastery from there. Having taken some twigs, Vera went to the southern side of the cathedral church of the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God, laid the twigs on the ground and, having made three earthen arcs, pointed to them with her hand, thus determining the place of her burial.[7][22] As the followers of the legend point out, this place was near the grave of the Abbess Alexandra Shubina, who was the godmother of the Empress when she converted to Orthodoxy in May 1793.[1]

When she returned to her cell, the hermit had a high fever. Witnesses of her last days report that she had pneumonia. On April 30, she was already very weak, she wrote confused letters, she wrote a note to the abbess asking her to be sobered up, she asked that this sacrament be performed only by the priest and the abbess, and she added: "I ask and beg you not to take me away", that is, not to perform the washing of her body after her death. On May 5, she was confessed and received Holy Communion, and the nun took the priest into another room and asked him to come the next day and give the dying woman Holy Communion again. At that time, Vera entered the room, crossed herself on the icon of the Redeemer and pointed her hand to the ground. With this gesture she foretold the death of the sick person.[23] About 6 o'clock in the evening of May 6, 1861, Vera la Taciturna died without revealing her true name and origin.

Vera's dying wish was not granted and her body was washed. They found a canvas corset with notes sewn on it at the level of the heart: the first was a prayer to Christ the Savior for the pardon of her soul, and the second, which could not be read because of its deterioration. On the third day after her death, an oil portrait of Vera on her deathbed was painted, and copies were distributed to many people.[24] The burial took place on the fifth day after her death in a grave dug on the spot that Vera had marked with twigs before her death.

The monument erected on Vera's tomb at the expense of a St. Petersburg merchant resembled a granite coffin on bronze lion's paws, standing on a granite pedestal. On the western side of the tomb an icon of St. Vera the Martyr was placed, on the southern side the following inscription was carved:[25]

Here is buried the body of the servant of God, Vera, who loved the Lord with all the strength of her soul and was known to Him alone, who died on May 6, 1861, at 6 o'clock in the evening, who lived in this convent for more than 20 years in seclusion and strict silence, who carried to the grave her prayer, gentleness, humility, true love for the Lord and compassion for her neighbors, and who peacefully surrendered her spirit to the Lord. Remember your servant in your kingdom, O Lord, and grant her heavenly rest from earthly toil and sorrow.

lUntil now the tomb has not been preserved, the cemetery was destroyed and a road was built through it. The memorial slab and the cenotaph of Vera Alexandrovna were restored near the walls of the Vladimir Cathedral of the Monastery.

Vera Alexandrovna's coded notes, which have not yet been published and researched, have been preserved.[7] Also left after her death were extracts from the Gospels written in her own hand, the monograms "EA" and "P" in ink and cinnabar, as well as hagiographies of saints written in ink and pencil, and a gilded cross with a lock of blond hair (the crucifix, together with a copy of Vera's portrait, was found in 1892 among the belongings of the late abbess of the Valdai Korotsky Monastery).

The rise of a legend

General view of Belyov from the Oka River


The legend and Vera la Taciturna

Vera la Taciturna's cryptographic note with monograms





Pros and cons

The official version of Elizaveta Alexeevna's death

Elizabeth Alexeyevna in mourning






The tombs of Alexander I and Elizabeth Alexeevna in the Peter and Paul Cathedral



An alternative version of the Empress' death

Monument in Belyov on the place of burial of Elizaveta Alexeevna's entrails




Other versions of Vera la Taciturna's identity

Veneration

The cenotaph of Vera la Taciturna with icons of Feodor Kuzmich and portraits of Empress Elizaveta Alexeevna installed by her devotees




Sources

In literature

The mystery of Vera la Taciturna became the subject of Elena Grushko's novel "The Silent Shadow. (Louise Elizabeth Alexeyevna and Alexander I)".[26]

See also

References

Bibliography

  • Грузинский, Н. (1911). Вера Молчальница (in Russian). СПб. p. 16.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Лебедев, И. (1868). Девица Вера Александровна Молчальница (in Russian). СПб.: Странник. pp. 95–116.
  • Мордвинов, И. П. (1918). Исторические загадки. Молчальница Вера // Тихвинец (in Russian). Странник. pp. 16–19.
  • Погожев Е.П. (Евгений Поселянин) (1910). Молчальница Вера Александровна // Русские подвижники XIX века (in Russian). СПб. pp. 169–176.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Силин, П.М. (1895). Молчальница Вера Александровна (in Russian). СПб. p. 27.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Цеханская, К. В. (1999). Мнимая смерть Императрицы? Или история монастырской Молчальницы Веры Александровны (in Russian). Наука и религия. pp. 20–23.
  • Цеханская, К. В. (2004). Вера Александровна (in Russian). Vol. 7. М.: Православная энциклопедия. pp. 696–697. ISBN 5-89572-010-2.
  1. ^ a b Цеханская К. В. Мнимая смерть Императрицы? Или история монастырской Молчальницы Веры Александровны // Наука и религия. — 1999. — № 12. — pp. 20—23. Продолжение там же. — 2000. — № 1. — pp. 18—22.
  2. ^ Мордвинов И. П. Исторические загадки. Молчальница Вера // Тихвинец. — 1918. — № 3. — pp. 16—19.
  3. ^ Погожев Е.П. (Евгений Поселянин). Молчальница Вера Александровна // Русские подвижники XIX века. — СПб., 1910. — P. 170.
  4. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 4.
  5. ^ Сорока Л.Н. Путешествие в историю. Дата обращения: 17 May 2009. Archive: 20 August 2011.
  6. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 7.
  7. ^ a b c Последний свидетель забытой обители // Новгород. — 13 February 2003. — № 6 (660).
  8. ^ Лебедев И. Девица Вера Александровна Молчальница // Странник. — СПб., 1868, June. — P. 110.
  9. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 11.
  10. ^ Грузинский Н. Вера Молчальница. — СПб., 1911. — P. 5.
  11. ^ a b c Грузинский Н. Вера Молчальница. — СПб., 1911. — P. 6.
  12. ^ Записки графа М. В. Толстого // Русский архив, 1881, pp. 134—136
  13. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — pp. 13—14.
  14. ^ Сахаров А. Н. Александр I. — М.: Наука, 1998. — 287 p. — ISBN 5-02-009498-6. Archive: 2 April 2018.
  15. ^ Лебедев И. Девица Вера Александровна Молчальница // Странник. — СПб., 1868, июнь. — P. 105.
  16. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — pp. 11—12.
  17. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 13.
  18. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 16.
  19. ^ Балязин В. Н. Тайны дома Романовых. — М.: Олма-Пресс, 2005. — P. 242. — ISBN 5-224-05233-5.
  20. ^ Грузинский Н. Вера Молчальница. — СПб., 1911. — P. 8.
  21. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 18.
  22. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 19.
  23. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 20.
  24. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — P. 21.
  25. ^ Силин П.М. Молчальница Вера Александровна. — СПб., 1895. — pp. 23—24.
  26. ^ Елена Арсеньева. «Тихая тень. (Луиза Елизавета Алексеевна и Александр I). Дата обращения: 6 June 2009. Archive: 20 August 2011.
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