"Bells are the voice of the church." Mother Beller about eight generations of clergy and her calling

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Mother Irina Andreeva from Klichev is known throughout the region not only as a churchgoer and deeply religious person, but also as a woman of amazing willpower and perseverance. There is nothing she cannot do. His character was tempered since childhood: the early death of his mother, a large family, his father a priest during the Soviet era of persecution of the church. She experienced a lot in order to give people goodness and hope through her wisdom, patience and faith. She told a BELTA correspondent about her life journey.

Early in the morning, even before the service begins, Mother Irina already greets guests at the church gates. At first glance, I didn’t even realize that this was my heroine: the stereotyped idea of ​​what a priest’s wife should look like was completely broken. In front of me stood an elegant and stylishly dressed woman in a fashionable beret and veil. My embarrassment was noticed by a parishioner who had probably heard about the arrival of a correspondent from Mogilev. She slowed down, said hello and skillfully defused the situation: “Our mother is a real model, where only she gets such beautiful outfits - we are always surprised.” We exchanged smiles and hurried to the church - the morning service was about to begin, which is traditionally announced to local residents by the ringing of bells.

I follow my mother up to the bell tower - and the silence of the fresh autumn morning is cut by a deep and joyful sound. Mother masterfully controls this brass chime and even with the first strike of the bell her face changes - she becomes more sublime and spiritual. Later she will tell you that she has had the desire to master bell ringing since childhood, although she did not graduate from music school or specialized courses. She is a primary school teacher by profession, and this is just one fact from her fascinating biography.

Mother Irina was born in the Vitebsk region into the family of a clergyman. Life was not easy: the father raised six children alone. After the death of his wife, he did not give them to relatives who wanted to take the brothers and sisters into their families. He said: rich or poor, but together, otherwise they will grow up and not know each other. The children were friendly, studied together and helped with housework. All responsibilities were distributed: some were responsible for washing, others for cleaning, and others for cooking. “My father will get up at about 4 in the morning in the summer, pick mushrooms in the forest, bring them home and say: prepare something for dinner,” recalls Mother Irina. “Only now I understand how difficult it was for him.”

And the Soviet period was not the most favorable: a time of persecution of faith, so the father did not tell the children much, and completely hid a lot. “Dad was warned not to take the children to church, otherwise they would take us to an orphanage,” recalls mother. “I remember that for major church holidays they signed up everyone who came with children - it was forbidden. But I still secretly ran to the temple, to see the bells ringing. But party members often came to dad at night to baptize children and grandchildren. In order not to spoil our lives, he even forced us to join the Komsomol and personally brought us into the party. He says: I checked the charter with them. And us They didn’t ask again, they accepted right away - they respected their father so much.”

Mother Irina argues that the father could not have acted differently - he understood that without this the children would have neither further education nor work. He was philosophical and often said that the time would come and everything would fall into place. By the way, despite persecution and prohibitions, everyone in my mother’s family followed the path of serving God. Her children will be the eighth generation of clergy: the son is a deacon in Bobruisk, and the daughter is the wife of a priest, lives in the Gomel region. The nephews also did not deviate from the family business: one of Mother Irina’s sisters had all 8 sons ordained. During the war, Mother Irina’s uncle was a priest in a partisan detachment. Because he gave a signal to our people, the punishers beat him to death right on the steps of the church.

Mother Irina is sure that there was no other path prepared for her except serving God. Although she was not preparing to become a bell ringer. “As a child, my dad “passed” me to the button accordion, I learned to play “Polyushko-Pole,” for which I received three points and never went there again,” she recalls. “I didn’t study music, although my dad was very musical, but I went to "sports school - I am a master of sports in handball. In fact, I learned the art of ringing from other ringers, and also applied diligence myself. I am sure that when a person is interested in something, he will always master it with God's help."

According to mother, bells are not a job or a calling, but an obedience. “The bell is the language of the church, and the ringing of bells is a conversation with God: through it you tell your sorrows, joys and requests so that more good will be sent to our land,” says Mother. “Every church where there are bells has its own voice "Through the ringing of bells, we become closer to the Almighty. You come to church tortured, with your pressing, everyday problems, go up to the bell tower and forget about everything - the worldly goes away."

According to her, ringing bells is not difficult, the main thing is to ask God for help and try yourself. “The Lord is long-suffering and much-merciful: when you pray to Him, He will definitely send you everything you want,” she says. “For me, bells are a state of mind: I came, prayed, called, talked to God, asked for good things for people. Before a church service, the ringing goes like a proclamation for parishioners to hurry to God. During Lent , we have fast ringings, that is, slower, sadder and thoughtful, and on holidays - cheerful and melodic. Easter ringing is the fastest and most joyful. Bells are also a living soul, through which "You show God your soul. I don't memorize melodies; each ringing depends on what's on my soul."

Mother told a real story that happened at the parish in Lepel, where she was also a bell ringer. One of her singers had a grandson who was sick, and no matter what the doctors did, nothing helped. The child's ears were rotting. A friend waited until the Easter service, wrapped the baby in a blanket and brought him to church, because she had once heard that ringing bells healed. The child slept soundly throughout the service, although usually he often woke up and cried in pain. And the next day he was completely healthy, his ears no longer bothered him. “This healing is even recorded in the miracles of Orthodoxy,” says Mother.

She also said that today bell ringing is no longer a purely male profession; women are actively showing interest in it. “Probably, a woman’s soul is subtler and more sensitive to God. It seems to me that it is even easier for a woman to ring, although male bell ringers are a real force. In general, ringing a bell is consolation, peace, the understanding that everything will be fine, and affirmation in faith.” , she noted.

By the way, the bells in the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary did not appear immediately, like the church itself: it was built during the reign of Mother and her wife, Father Sergius. For a long time there was no church in Klichev, and even now there is only one in the entire regional center. Previously, parishioners even went to pray in Berezino and Osipovichi. Historians wrote that the last temple in these places was destroyed in 1938, and only in 1996 a small wooden church was built here. 8 years later there was a fire , and this monastery also disappeared. And only thanks to the efforts of Father and Mother Andreev in 2011, the parishioners found a new church. Local residents note that none of them believed that the church would be built after all.

With the appearance of the temple in Klichev, a spiritual revival began. Not only residents of the region come here to pray, but also believers from MINSK, Lepel and Vitebsk. And parents take their children to Sunday school even from Mogilev, almost 100 km from here. By the way, the couple built the first church in Lepel, and reconstructed the temple in Verkhnedvinsk. They say that with God's help everything can be done.

The Andreevs have been together for almost 40 years. “Father, aren’t you tired of me yet?” - Mother Irina jokes affectionately and tells the story of their acquaintance. - It was very difficult without my mother, and I began to pray to Paraskevushka, the patroness of all women, so that she would send me a good husband - and so it happened. But the priest prayed weakly, so he got me.”

Jokes aside, Mother Irina and Father Sergius are a very understanding and harmonious couple, although the spouses are completely different in character: she is firm and strong-willed, and he is too soft and kind. “People say that mother is the father’s traveling staff, on which he leans,” says the husband. “Like in the film “Pop” with Sergei Makovetsky: father is one, mother is zero, and together they are already ten. Therefore, in the family there is always Unity and mutual respect are important."

And the couple go through life together, no matter where it takes them; in their youth they even lived in St. Petersburg . “It was the dashing 90s, a difficult time: small children, shortages all around, and also banditry and terrorism,” recalls Mother Irina. “One day we were standing in line for MILK with children - one in a stroller, the other in our arms. And then a car pulls up and from it they throw an explosive device into the crowd, miraculously they survived. Then I told the priest that we had to leave and save the children. So we moved to Belarus . We thought it was temporary, but, as it turned out, nothing is temporary. Now all that remains of Peter are memories and a great love for exquisite hats, I still wear them.”

The couple devoted their entire lives to serving the church. During this time, mother mastered many obediences: prosphora-bearer, choir DIRECTOR, bell-ringer, psalm-reader. In addition, she is the priest’s secretary and personal driver with over 20 years of accident-free driving experience. And now she is also a happy grandmother of eight grandchildren. “And a reader, and a reaper, and a trumpet player,” the husband jokes.

Today, parishioners are grateful that they have the opportunity to come and pray. “Probably everyone has their own path to God, and we want our Klichev residents to find it through the temple,” says local resident Elena Yaroshko. “It was built with the efforts of all people, and we are very grateful that it finally appeared. This is bright and a holy place where a person can find God's blessing for good deeds. Today, when the world is accelerating and changing, all our Christian values ​​should become a spiritual and moral guideline for finding ourselves and finding ways to the future. People should go to church and believe. We have a unique mother, who with the ringing of bells not only calls us to prayer, but also inspires and heals the soul.”

Alexander and Larisa Rudnitsky have lived in Klichev since 1995. They came to the temple as adults and even recently got married. They say that at first grief led to faith, and then there was a desire to return to church again and again - here we received spiritual peace. “Our mother and father are extraordinary people, because they not only serve in the church, but also always help parishioners,” the couple share. “We receive great spiritual and moral support from them, and for this we are very grateful to them. We are sure that today "We also need to introduce young people to the faith - literally take them by the hand and lead them to church in both joy and sorrow. Such upbringing is important and necessary. After visiting a church, the soul becomes calm, and a person begins to think differently."

Yulia EVMENKOVA,

photo of the author,

BELTA.