Archpriest Andrei Tkachev: biography, family. Orthodox sermons
These are the words of Francesco Petrarch, and they came to us from the distant 14th century. Looking back at history, Petrarch cites numerous examples of how besieged city dwellers ate rats and other animals that were inedible in normal times, thus fetching an unusually high price for creatures that were vile in peacetime. Having glided his thoughts over pearls, water and bread, Petrarch further says that the same patterns are observed in social life. And there “in the absence of fish, cancer is a fish.” And there “the one-eyed man reigns over the blind.” That is, if there are no worthy leaders among the people, or the system is built in such a way that the smart will be trampled and the good will be strangled, then the nonentity will rule the masses. And this will even be relatively commendable, because it is impossible not to rule at all, and chaos is a hundred times worse than a meager but orderly existence. In general, the ancients had everything just like us.
Petrarch's words, however, do not sound news to us. We remember (we must remember) what the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad ate, what the price of a can of condensed milk or a pack of refined sugar is in general under known historical conditions. In addition, today we all shine with economic literacy and know that, for example, the multiplication of the money supply is often accompanied by a depreciation of the monetary unit. We are familiar with the words “inflation”, “devaluation” and so on. We talk about the global crisis and cheating with reserve currencies. We remember (probably) how Garin in the famous novel by A. Tolstoy had the goal of dictating his will to the entire capitalist world by turning gold into dirt through easy mining. In short, we are literate people and the relationship between quantity, cost and market price is not a secret to us. As the poet said, “everything is clear to us: both the sharp Gallic meaning/ and the gloomy German genius”
And we also know that the word “mass” in combination with the word “culture” means anything but culture. Here, too, the increase in the commodity mass is inexorably linked with the loss of quality and the transition to anti-quality, to the world of changelings.
And although all these words are not news, they still need to be uttered to understand reality. After all, our era is the era of mass consumption. In this era (as in any other) you cannot simply live. You need to understand her.
Today we need a lot: services, goods, entertainment, news, TV channels, clothes in the closet, discount cards in the wallet. And since there is a lot of everything, the quality of this diversity decreases. It is not for nothing that consumer goods are abbreviated in their names and pronounced as “consumer goods”. But finally, now we note that everything that has been said concerns not only goods and services, authorities and banknotes, but also words.
The era of commodity abundance corresponds, with seeming logical inevitability, to the era of freedom of speech. It seems that everything is fine from the point of view of liberating the individual and getting closer to happiness. Lots of bread, lots of butter, lots of FM radio stations. Isn't this heaven or something like it?
But the era of freedom of speech is inevitably an era of multiplication of words. And the era of the multiplication of words is the era of their depreciation (see above). And the devaluation of the word is a threat of a total breakdown of interpersonal and intra-societal communication. Whoever does not understand, let him read the epilogue of “Crime and Punishment” with Raskolnikov’s visions. The inability to understand each other leads to a general fire and cannibalism. If everyone is talking, but no one really listens to anyone; if everyone speaks not in order to be understood and not because there is something to say, but in order to express themselves, then what will we come to if not to a new reading of the text about the Tower of Babel?
There is a lot of printed material on the layouts at newsstands, but there may be nothing to read. Just as the heroine Lyubov Orlova in the film “Volga, Volga”, swimming in the middle of the river, asked for water, so the average person, immersed in a sea of words, may not have food for the mind and heart. “Everything is there, but there is nothing,” this is what our era is called.
Of course, access to sources is open. It has been made incredibly lighter, but at the same time the demands on the person himself have increased. They used to take care of him, but now they abandoned him. And a person will have to learn to work with sources, analyze, sift out, select the main thing, and dig deep. Who will teach him this? If no one, then he will drown in a sea of empty chatter, and while I am writing and you are reading these lines, someone else is already choking.
Yes, gentlemen, we live in a time of words, multiplied in quantity, but devalued in quality. And people even cease to be surprised that neither the oath of allegiance, nor the declaration of love, nor the confession of faith already inspires such trust as before. “What are you reading, Hamlet? So. Word, words, words..." Everything written became simply “words”: the Bible, the Constitution, and the military oath. Only the bill of exchange and the trade contract are still believed. But that was until gold became dirt or paper money filled the world waist-deep.
Now it is difficult for us to imagine that former totalitarian regime’s fear of the printed word, when “Xeroxes” are registered everywhere, and for a couple of pages of typewritten Samizdat text you can go to prison. It was the ban on the word that “boiled” many geniuses and allowed them to splash out. Oddly enough, the system’s totalitarian fear of the word spoken and printed is a sure indicator of the true value of the word. And it was assumed by the fighters against the system that we would remove the system, break it, but leave the value of the word, and citizenship, and selflessness. But it didn’t work out. And the system collapsed, and the values it suppressed began to visibly evaporate. Very strange.
Does this mean that you need to “tighten the nuts”? No, you don't need to twist anything. If only because it’s no use. The thread is broken. But what is needed is to return value to words and meanings. Confucius spoke about this. Plato spoke about this. “Give words their true meaning,” they said.
The area of literature is an area of special Christian responsibility, since we worship God the Word Incarnate. Honestly, this is our job, not out of fear, but out of conscience. And you need to start by reading good books. On a small scale, how many names have we touched? Petrarch, Alexei Tolstoy, Dostoevsky. Plato, Confucius, Ortega y Gasset (not mentioned personally, but implied in the conversation about the masses), Blok (not mentioned personally either, but was quoted). In short, as the classic said: “Read good books, life will do the rest)
One of my friends complains that he wakes up unrested in the morning. It feels like I haven't slept. Heaviness in the legs. Head as if after wild fun. But there was nothing. He simply lived through the past day, without straining his muscles, without eating or drinking too much. He simply lived, and it was unbearably difficult for him to wake up in the morning of a new day, which he just had to live in the same way.
“If only we could postpone the heavy dawn, if only we could throw off this invisible burden!” - he once expressed himself. An invisible burden? A burden that is not visible, but the oppressive weight of which cannot be ignored. An acquaintance asked what to do, where to start treatment, in order to again experience that feeling of lightness that never left him in childhood and youth and wake up rested.
I could not help my friend in our conversations, but I really hope that he will find the answer to his question in this book about the secret, invisible life of our souls - the very organ that needs to be treated in order to stop feeling the weight of the invisible burden of passions.
Passion? Of course, everyone knows what it is. Or he thinks he knows. However, even those who know, as a rule, do not know what to do with their knowledge when it begins... When we see how those around us are “carried away,” for example, yesterday’s friends and even relatives suddenly become the worst, irreconcilable enemies, or we feel that we are controlled by some forces: we feel angry, we envy, we begin to obsessively desire something or someone, we yell at our subordinates, we unfairly scold our children, we offend our parents, and then we don’t understand: what happened? Why were we the way we were? Why didn’t they do what they wanted, and why didn’t they do what they didn’t want? And the next awakening will be even more difficult.
You need to understand all this in order to manage yourself. Many do not even suspect that the Orthodox tradition has always understood this topic deeply and subtly - as a special state of each human soul, which is affected by certain forces. The secret life of our souls is a life hidden from ourselves, and specifically ours - because this is a common experience, it concerns everyone: passions, temptations and the sins themselves.
I also hope that not a single reader of this book, having recognized his own experience in its contents, will never again wish to delay his dawn, not wanting to awaken and joyfully greet the new day of his meaningful life given by God.
Before you get into the fight
There are no separate sins and no separate virtues. Every good deed entails other good deeds, you just have to start. No matter what you take on, once you start moving, you won’t stop right away.
Prayer encourages reconciliation with offenders and almsgiving. Fasting will help you feel the power of Scripture and the secret poison hidden in empty pleasures. Feelings closed to idle sounds and sights will help thoughts gather together, like rays in a lens, warm the heart and give birth to heartfelt prayer. Any holy deed, like a chain, will pull another, and with this chain the ship of the soul will lift the anchor and slowly set off, gradually picking up speed.
There are no separate sins and no separate virtues. Every good deed entails other good deeds, you just have to start.
It's the same with sins. Demons do not walk alone, but bring with them “seven evil selves.” And they carry on until their name is “legion.” Therefore, no one at the Judgment will be condemned for just one sin. There is no such sinner who would commit only one sin. If there was one noticeable sin, it means that there were dozens of secret sins, invisible, accumulating, leading little by little to obvious deviations. There were then countless consequences, like circles on the water, diverging in different directions from a sinned person.
An attentive attitude to sin and responsibility forced F. M. Dostoevsky to say that “everyone is guilty before everyone.” These are genuine, true words born of the Gospel, and whoever felt them began to break out of the invisible captivity in which unrepentant humanity finds itself. “If I were better, it would be better not only for me, but for everyone around me, and even for everyone in general - every person can think so. “And humanity will not be healed of internal suffering until I begin to cultivate that small piece of the Universe that is given under my care.”
No one at the Judgment will be condemned for just one sin. There is no such sinner who would commit only one sin. If there was one noticeable sin, it means that there were dozens of secret sins, invisible, accumulating, leading little by little to obvious deviations.
This “piece of the Universe” is the human soul and its inner world, which is more expensive and greater than the rest of the world. Despite the fact that the Earth is a grain of sand in the unimaginably vast expanses of space, despite the fact that man is a grain of sand on the surface of the Earth, the inner world of man is wider and deeper, and most importantly, more expensive in the eyes of God than the entire vast world. The Lord did not say to any galaxy or huge cluster of stars: “I will live with you, and you will contain Me.” And God said to the people: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23).
And it may seem that we are preaching egoism and individuality if we emphasize such dignity of the individual soul. But this only “may seem”, as the contradiction between faith and knowledge, between justification by works and justification by faith, “seemed” and seemed to Christians in the West at the time.
Everything that happens in the Church, and everything for which it exists, is aimed at an individual soul in such a way that the beneficial effect will inevitably go beyond the boundaries of one soul, touch many and continue to act in the distances that escape the eye even until the Last Judgment.
Here in a certain family a child was born, and the parents were going to baptize him. We chose godparents and received their consent to become godparents for the baby. Here the priest, to whom the future godparents turned, did not take his duties formally and kept the future godparents for a conversation. He told them about the meaning of the sacrament and in especially detail about the redemptive Suffering of the God-Man and His Resurrection. He, in fact, retold in his own words what will be read in the apostolic reading of Baptism, but which will inevitably escape consciousness if the meaning of what was read is not explained to the person in detail.
Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-4).
The priest explained these words and touched the hearts of his interlocutors. They thought that they would hear how much money they needed to take, what kind of cross to buy, when to come, but they heard simple words that sank into the very depths of their hearts and gave birth to tears.
The child has not yet done anything good or evil. He had just been born, and we were just getting ready to baptize him. But the future baptism of the baby has already given birth to a sermon about Christ, the hearts of adults have already softened, faith has already become stronger in some, and faith has already been born in others! By the fact of birth and future baptism, a child leads to the faith of adults who are going to baptize him! Isn't this a miracle?!
Every labor and every seemingly imperceptible effort is very important.
But doesn’t the same thing happen in every sacrament and in every prayer? Doesn't the death of one person force many to pray? Does not the death of one throw upon many a bridle of abstinence and fear, a bridle of aversion from vanity and deep thought? Throws. Even in the midst of his weakness and helplessness, one saves many. This is the law. And where the army lined up for battle is not visible, the point is not that it is not visible. The fact is that there was no one person there around whom the army would rally.
The clergyman of the Kyiv church in honor of St. Agapit of Pechersk, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, is the host of Orthodox television programs and a regular author of the popular magazine for youth “Otrok.ua” in Ukraine.
The book consists of articles and interviews published in the magazine over the years. They are distinguished by the vividness of their presentation, their closeness to contemporary problems of young people, their attempt to find simple principles for building a real Christian life, and the lack of desire to give ready-made answers to complex and ambiguous questions.
We are eternal! Even if we don't want it. Book 2
The clergyman of the Kyiv church in honor of the Venerable Agapit of Pechersk, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, is the host of Orthodox television programs and a regular author of the popular magazine for youth “Otrok.ua” in Ukraine.
The book consists of articles and interviews published over the years. It, like other books by Father Andrei Tkachev, is distinguished by liveliness of presentation, closeness to modern problems of young people, an attempt to find simple principles for building a real Christian life, and a lack of desire to give ready-made answers to complex and ambiguous questions.
The book is addressed to everyone under 16 and older, and will be of interest to both the churchgoer reader and those who are looking for their way to the Church.
Fugitive from the world
O. Andrey does not forbid anyone, but teaches them to comprehend, to understand, without false correctness, without a pharisaical regard for authorities. Having read his essays about thinkers, writers, artists, poets, I want to re-read those mentioned by him, and then read his wonderful texts again. Which are exciting. Which teach. Which bring us closer to the Creator.
In the presence of God. Conversations on the Old Testament
God always has something to say to people, but in order for the thoughts and words of God to be understood, felt and written down, Job, Isaiah, David, and men like them are needed. It is the presence in human history of people with circumcised hearts and sensitive spiritual hearing that gave us the Holy Scriptures.
By reading it, we delve into someone else’s gracious experience and strengthen ourselves to make it our own.
Throughout life, every person is either David fleeing from his enemies, or a grieving Job, or a prosperous and thoughtful Solomon, or Abraham, horrified by the enormity of his calling.
The Bible should not be skimmed, but read with an inner feeling of the heart, comprehending from within both the complexity and greatness of communication with the Creator. This is worth learning throughout your life.
Return to Paradise and Other Stories
“Return to Paradise” is the most complete collection of stories and essays by the famous Orthodox writer and missionary Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, one of the most popular church publicists today.
He is the author of several books, many articles in Orthodox media, and a TV show host. His stories about the fate of believers and non-believers who meet us every day on the streets of our cities and villages are close and understandable, but at the same time surprising and unusual.
Air of the Heavenly City
Getting to know a saint is always a personal meeting with a resident of heavenly Jerusalem.
The stories of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, a famous missionary and publicist, about the holy saints of God are reminiscent of stories about people close and very dear to him. The collection also includes essays and sketches about Orthodox thinkers and artists in Russia and abroad.
Earthly angels, heavenly men
Getting to know a saint is always a personal meeting with a resident of Heavenly Jerusalem.
The piercing depth of feeling that it leaves in a person can change your life. The stories of the Kyiv priest, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev about the holy saints of God are reminiscent of stories about people close and very dear to him.
The author talks about those whom he seems to have known for a long time, recalls first meetings, and describes the very human characteristics of these people. The absence of the pomp usual in hagiographic texts, which is difficult for contemporaries to perceive, leaves the impression that an encounter with holiness can happen to each of us. You just have to want it.
patchwork quilt
Father Andrei's books are addressed to everyone who thinks about life, who seeks God, turning to Him for help, asking Him questions mentally.
The book "Patchwork Quilt" is composed of short notes, stories and poems. Scraps of thoughts, “sewn” into one book, seem to warm the soul with the author’s sincerity, warmth and trust.
This book includes stories from the book “Letters to God,” as well as new reflections, poems and stories by Archpriest Andrei Tkachev.
Missionary notes
A book by the famous Orthodox publicist Archpriest Andrei Tkachev about missionary work.
What do people expect from the Church? What can and should she give them? What does mission (preaching of faith) look like and how possible is it possible today? What is the role of the preacher? The author writes in simple and lively language about serious and important problems of Christian life, making them closer and understandable to each of us.
Thoughts on repentance
Someone is tired of repenting of the same thing and is ashamed of confession. Some have not gone to confession for years because they have lost interest in the faith or are offended by the priest. Someone dreams of their first confession. He dreams long and uselessly, because he is afraid of something. How to be and what to do?
Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, rector of the Church of St. Agapit of Pechersk (Kiev).
The first miracle. Conversations about marriage and family
There is no greater mystery than family life. And under the cover of this secret, as if in a bloody night battle, sins and virtues were intertwined in the struggle. The entire moral climate in the world directly depends on how strong the fathers are, how faithful the wives are, how restrained the children are with prudent severity, and how caring the elderly are. Family-related topics are difficult to talk about and cannot be kept silent about.
It is impossible, because the erosion of virtues from family life leads to the death of the family as such. And the death of the family has already given rise to diseases for which humanity has no cure.
Why do I believe. Simple answers to complex questions
In the book, the famous missionary and writer, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev invites us to make a journey from the beginning of the search for life’s meaning to finding this meaning in Christianity.
The author reveals his personal experience of faith and introduces the reader to the beliefs of great scientists and Church Fathers. Overcoming questions and doubts, he literally leads us “by the hand” to where faith and knowledge are realized in a meaningful and fulfilling life - Father Andrei introduces us to the Orthodox Church.
Preparation for death
What is death? A believer thinks of it not as a disappearance, but as a new life. You just need to properly prepare for this most important event in your earthly journey. Archpriest Andrei Tkachev reflects on this.
She is not a wall, death. She is the door. Or rather, the doors are Christ, who said: whoever enters through Me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture (John 10:9). Christ died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Now, thanks to His atoning death, in Him and through Him we, through the gates of death, will enter another life. Let us enter, we will go out there into wideness and freedom, and, like Christ’s sheep, we will find rich pasture.
But you need to seriously think about this throughout your life, and not at the very end, like a failed student before an exam.
Sermon about preaching
Silent Christianity is not Christianity.
The Lord whom we call Savior is God the Word. Consequently, wordless Christianity does not exist in nature. Meanwhile, this obvious truth is far from clear to everyone. The presence of temples, bells, national holidays and religious rituals seems sufficient to many.
This is wrong. Living life requires a living word, and who else should this word be spoken to if not the priest, who sees before him in the temple the people of God gathered for the liturgy. Reflections on this topic gave birth to the texts offered to the reader in this book.
Publications
In his publications, the author touches on many aspects of human life and reflects on the complexity of human nature; about the ability to choose the “royal path” in spiritual life, about charity and wastefulness, and about much, much more.
Path to Life
For everyone who is given the gift of being born human.
In the book “The Path to Life,” the famous Orthodox writer, publicist and missionary Archpriest Andrei Tkachev talks about the simple rules of life based on selected sermons, conversations on the radio and answers to numerous questions from believers asked in churches after services, on radio broadcasts, at meetings with readers .
This is the first publication in which Father Andrey covers such a wide range of the most pressing and topical topics of modern life from the perspective of faith and eternal values. The book is recommended by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Dust on straw shoulder straps
A collection of essays by the famous writer and preacher Archpriest Andrei Tkachev is devoted to complex and often difficult issues of relationships between the Church and society, believers and atheists.
The place of the Church in a modern society that has forgotten its Christian roots. Can Christians ignore the huge masses of people who have lost the meaning of life? Can society refuse to help the Church?
Religion of the heart
“The heart is the beginning and root of all our deeds.
We believe in our hearts or we don’t believe; whether we love or hate with our hearts; whether we are humble or proud in our hearts; we tolerate or murmur with our hearts; we forgive or get angry in our hearts; we reconcile with our hearts or are at enmity; with our hearts we turn to God or turn away; with our hearts we draw closer, we come to God, or we move away and move away; with our hearts we bless or curse” - these words of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk can determine the main theme of the new book by the famous missionary, writer and publicist Archpriest Andrei Tkachev.
Freedom of love or idol of fornication
Collection “Freedom of love or the idol of fornication?” - these are the thoughts of priests about the causes of the so-called “family crisis” and the demographic catastrophe that broke out in Russia. The articles are united by a common goal - to return Christian morality to Russian society as a necessary component of its revival.
As Solomon once said, everything has already been written and has long been known, however, despite this, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, whose biography has recently become familiar not only to Ukrainians, but also to Russians, does not stop and is not afraid to repeat what was said earlier. He serves, writes books and actively preaches, appealing to the heart of modern man and trying to know him.
Let's get acquainted with the creative and life experience of this wonderful person, writer, preacher, missionary and true shepherd.
The beginning of life's journey. Archpriest Andrey Tkachev
His biography began on December 30, 1960. It was then that a future priest was born into a Russian-speaking family in the beautiful Ukrainian city of Lvov. His parents, who wanted the boy to make a military career, sent him to study at the military school at the age of 15.
After graduating from a harsh military school, following the wishes of his parents, Andrei continued studying this difficult craft within the walls of the Red Banner Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense. For some time he studied at a department that trained specialists in special propaganda with a complex specialization in the Persian language.
This period of Andrei Tkachev’s life provided him with an excellent foundation for further literary development, which he spoke about in his interviews. Then the future priest became acquainted with the works of Russian classics, which had a huge influence on his worldview. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that, without graduating from college, he left the military path due to his reluctance to continue his studies and chose a different path. Apparently, the soul of the future shepherd was always drawn to battle, but not earthly, but spiritual, more complex and unpredictable.
Choosing a vocation
After serving in the army, Andrei Tkachev entered the Kyiv Theological Seminary in 1992. Two years of study there give him many new acquaintances with people who have also chosen a pastoral mission. Among Andrey's close friends are the future Archimandrite Kirill (Govorun) and the Sofiichuk brothers.
The future pastor perfectly combines his studies with service in the church; in the spring of 1993 he accepted the ordination of a deacon, and a little later, six months later, he became a priest. It was then that Archpriest Andrei Tkachev joined the staff of the Lviv Church of St. George. His biography shows that he dedicated twelve years of his life to this temple.
This period is also significant because Andrei’s father started a family. It is noteworthy that the priest does not particularly talk about her anywhere. It is only known that he is married and is the father of four children.
Missionary activities
This period was very eventful both for Ukraine as a whole and for Andrei Tkachev, who, in a difficult era of change, begins his pastoral service, implementing it not only in the church, but also in the world. He conducts active missionary work, supported by his own literary works. Father Andrei's sermons become widely known far beyond the borders of his hometown. The man himself notes in his interviews that he did not choose to become a missionary. The latter “chose” him herself.
The active position of the Orthodox priest, who is not afraid to call a spade a spade and does not flirt with the public, has opened up new opportunities for him. The first of them was an invitation to work on one of the Kyiv television channels.
Working on television
Here, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, whose biography was supplemented with another remarkable fact, received an excellent opportunity in television programs to speak briefly, but at the same time succinctly, on a variety of topics that concern modern people.
This goal was served by a television project called “To Sleep for the Future,” which was hosted by Father Andrei. Before going to bed, TV viewers had an excellent opportunity to discover something new for themselves in a ten-minute conversation with the priest, and hear answers to their questions.
The program found its viewers. Appreciative reviews poured in. These sincere evening conversations with the priest about the events of the past day, about the questions that life itself poses to a person, opened the doors to the audience into a completely different world. Andrei Tkachev could tell in a laconic form about the lives of saints, about prayer and interpretation of the sacred lines of the Gospel. So much was invested in these ten minutes that it is impossible to imagine. Moreover, the conversations “Bedtime” were not of any moralizing or edifying nature, but at the same time attracted the audience with their thoughtfulness and obvious soul-helping effect.
Later, another project called “Garden of Divine Songs” appears on the Ukrainian TV channel “Kievan Rus”. Here, in a spiritual and educational form, Andrei Tkachev introduces viewers to the depths of knowledge about the Psalter. When reading the psalms, the priest not only tries to explain what is being said in them, but also penetrates into the very depths of the content, connecting them with the events of the time when they were created.
Moving to Kyiv
Work on television, which brought fame to the priest, at the same time created many problems for him. Andrei Tkachev, who did not have a place of residence in Kyiv, had to come from Lvov every week.
This went on for six long years. Finally, in 2005, tired of being torn between two cities, he received an absentee letter issued by the Lviv diocese and moved to the capital. The step was quite risky, since at that time Father Andrei did not have any directions or parishes.
For some time he served in several churches. But a month later the priest was invited to serve in the Church of Agapit of Pechersk; a little later, with permission from the Kyiv metropolis, he became a clergyman here, and in 2006 - rector.
In 2007, Father Andrei took over another church under construction nearby, named in honor of Archbishop Luke Voino-Yasenetsky.
Active and selfless service brought Andrei Tkachev a special award - a miter, which Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' awarded him in 2011.
In 2013, the archpriest took over the leadership of the missionary department of the Kyiv diocese.
Writer and journalist
This is another role that Andrei Tkachev (archpriest) has. The books reveal another side of his service to God, because in them he tries to reach his contemporary. The author, calling himself a journalist, writes about the topical and topical, about what is on everyone’s lips, but at the same time he tries to ensure that every story and short story contains at least a drop of eternity. It is this quality that allows the work to survive. Andrei Tkachev, as he himself says, wants to write today about today, but in such a way that it will be interesting even in a hundred years.
“Return to Paradise”, “Letter to God”, “We are eternal! Even if we don’t want it” - all these names are a clear confirmation of what their author, Andrei Tkachev (archpriest), wants to say. These books are the fruit of the author’s thoughts, embodied in stories. They are, as a rule, small, but very colorfully and succinctly convey events and individual episodes from the life of both holy ascetics and ordinary Orthodox Christians - our contemporaries who came to the faith and live according to
Many books are written in the form of a dialogue with a priest and are based on answers to questions posed. There are a great variety of the latter, the topics are very different: about complexes, the birth of children, about art, attitudes towards sports, about gender relations, etc. In addition to such everyday topics, there are also deeper ones: about life and death, God and questions to him, old age and passions, etc.
The author, an Orthodox priest living in the world, knows human passions and problems, troubles and misfortunes. But at the same time, he is familiar with them much more deeply than ordinary lay people, and therefore knows the answers to many seemingly incomprehensible questions.
In addition to books, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev also takes part in the work of Orthodox websites and magazines. His articles and interviews can often be found on the portals Pravoslavie.ru, Pravmir.ru. The priest takes his part in the education of young people with the help of Orthodox magazines. One of these widely known projects is Otrok.ua. Father Andrey has been working here for many years as a member of the editorial board and a regular author.
About the Frying Pan
The book “Fugitive from the World” caused particular controversy. Archpriest Andrei Tkachev is not afraid to address complex and taboo topics. Here we are talking about a bright personality of the eighteenth century - Grigory Skovoroda.
Examining, as if through a magnifying glass, the personality traits of the philosopher, Andrei Tkachev does not sing his praises, as many of his predecessors did. He only notes the love of almost everyone for Skovoroda - from nationalists to communists, and they love not from great intelligence or from what they read, but just like that.
The priest, as always, looks at things sensibly and notes that reading Grigory Savvich is not easy work, and he himself is by no means as harmless as he seems, but it’s worth reading into him. However, one should certainly approach this “immersion” with prayer.
Sermons and Conversations
A special place in missionary activity is occupied by the sermons of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev. The priest addresses a variety of people. Among his listeners are church parishioners and atheists, students and pensioners, representatives of various social strata and religions.
He doesn't try to embellish anything or persuade listeners. Father Andrei speaks clearly, clearly, succinctly and in such a way that anyone can hear and understand: there is little time left, and no one will babysit with him.
This radical position makes the sermons of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev especially popular and controversial. His clear and modern language, seasoned with quotes from ancient thinkers, destroys illusions, reveals a real picture of the world and makes it possible to realize the regularity and inevitability of many events.
About love for people
In his sermon “How to Learn to Love People?” Archpriest Andrei Tkachev raises one of these important questions that many who have taken the path of faith ask themselves. Today people, spoiled by the housing issue, have lost themselves and their guidelines. And living in a kind of “hive” in which there is no love, you need to be able to find yourself. To do this you need to leave, but not for long. Such distance from people gives a person the opportunity to recover.
The conversations of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev allow us to trace the idea that loneliness and society are two sides of the same coin, completely impossible without each other. Personality is tempered in communication, but grows away from it. In addition to society, a person also needs loneliness. Living in a crowd gives rise to such a dangerous disease as underdeveloped personality. A person needs spiritual health, to preserve which he needs to retire in order to stop being infected by bad thoughts, passions and other nonsense from others.
Social network "Elitsa"
The activities of Andrei Tkachev are clear evidence that in his pastoral ministry he uses all possible means available to modern man: sermons in churches, television programs, books, websites and even social networks.
Elitsy.ru is one of the newest projects of the restless missionary thinker. Here, network users have an excellent opportunity not only to listen to the instructions of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, but also to ask him questions. Every morning, site visitors can receive parting words in the form of wishes and thoughts.
Where is Andrei Tkachev now?
The archpriest left Ukraine in the summer of 2014, hiding from the persecution that began in the country after the events of the Maidan. Considering the fact that Father Andrei always openly expresses his opinion, he was not afraid to express a negative attitude towards the revolutionary events that were taking place in Kyiv at that time. This was one of the reasons for the persecution of an Orthodox priest by representatives of the Kyiv authorities. As a result, he moved to live in Russia and served for some time within the walls of the home church of the martyr Tatiana, which was created at Moscow State University.
Now the place where Archpriest Andrei Tkachev serves is in the very heart of Moscow - in the Uspensky Vrazhka area. In the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, the priest continues to carry out his pastoral duty. In addition, he continues to preach from the media: he broadcasts on television, taking part in the work of one of the Orthodox channels (Union), as well as on radio Radonezh.
Pushing aside Pharisaic authorities and ostentatious correctness, he speaks about the main thing, and does it in such a way that it is simply impossible not to hear him. He wakes us up today, shakes us by the shoulders, invigorates us with his harsh words and unflattering comparisons.
Archpriest Andrey Tkachev
"Wonderland" and other stories
Second edition
UDC 821.161. 1*322.2 Tkachev BBK 84(2=411.2)644
Approved for distribution by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church
IS 13-222-1878
Archpriest Andrey Tkachev
T 48 “Wonderland” and other stories. – 2nd ed. – M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2013. – 256 p.: ill.
181Ш 978-5-7533-0770*5
UDC 821.161.1-322.2 Tkachev
BBK 84(2=411.2)6-44
© Sretensky Monastery, 2013 © Tkachev A., Archpriest, 2013
13VM 978-5-7533-0770-5
Sage and Preacher
There lived one man in the world who knew how to ask believers such tricky questions that the most convinced of them became embarrassed and walked away, pulling their heads into their shoulders.
There was another man who knew how to speak so beautifully about the Lord that the busiest people stopped their studies to listen to him. The funny ones stopped laughing, and the sad ones had their wrinkles smoothed out and their eyes began to glow.
Both of these people lived in the same city, but never met. The house of one stood in the place where the trade route from the north enters the city, and the house of the other was where this route leaves the city to rush further to the south. In addition, a lover of asking difficult questions got up late because he liked to sit all night reading a book. And the one who delighted the hearts of people with words about the future life, on the contrary, woke up early like a bird - and, like a bird, stopped singing when the sun set.
People loved listening to both of them. One frightened and at the same time attracted minds with a logic as cold as ice and sharp as the steel of a dagger. Another softened hearts with simple words, which for some reason made many cry, although no one was sad.
But one day, during the autumn fair, some joker suggested bringing them together in an argument. “Let them show us who will defeat whom, and we will listen to them. It will be more interesting than watching a fist fighting competition!” People found this idea fascinating. They were even surprised how such a thought had never occurred to any of them. An excited crowd, making noise, went to the city hall and began to demand that the city fathers write a decree in which they would order the two wise men to meet at a specified time in the city square for a competition.
On the same day, the postman carried the same letter with a massive wax seal to the future rivals. "Well? How did they perceive the decree of the city authorities? – people vying with each other asked the postman. “The one who gives irrefutable arguments was delighted and said that he had long dreamed of this day,” answered the postman. “Well, the one who tells fairy tales to old people and children silently took the letter and put a coin in my hand.”
Rubbing their hands and giggling excitedly, people went home that day. Many were impatient to hear the argument, and the long three days that they had to wait seemed like an eternity to them.
In anticipation of the appointed tournament, future rivals behaved differently. In a house on the northern outskirts of the night, a lamp burned all night long. The owner sat over his books, honing his arguments, preparing the most tricky questions. From time to time he got up and began to walk around the room. Then his nervously moving shadow was visible in the window, and those who saw it said that it looked ominous.
The preacher did not change his lifestyle. He woke up early and went outside the city wall into the nearby forest to listen to the birds. The lamp did not illuminate his window. He still fell asleep early. Of course he was worried. After all, he is a man. He has nerves, an ordinary human heart beats in his chest. But he remembered the words that there is no need to stock up on knowledge in advance and that at the right time the lips will utter the words of Truth, if you rely not on yourself, but on Another.
On the appointed day, the whole city poured into the central square. People were jealous of those who lived in the surrounding houses. Still would! They could look at the long-awaited spectacle directly from the windows without leaving home. Some even made good money by thinking of selling a place on their balcony to those who wanted it. The women put on their most elegant dresses and wove colorful ribbons into their hair.
Men made bets and shook hands, placing monetary bets on one of the possible winners. The owner of the tavern was looking forward to big earnings. No matter who wins, he will not lose. Everyone will come to him today: some to wash away their victory, others to drown their grief.
The cold-blooded sage, who spent three nights reading books, came to the square first. He was pale, but there was so much power in his posture, in the strong-willed sparkle of his intelligent eyes, that the preacher’s admirers involuntarily became frightened. “This one is going to win. Is it possible to defeat such a person in an argument?
But what is this? The sun has already reached its zenith, and the time for the dispute, appointed in the decree, has long arrived - and the second participant in the dispute has not appeared. Smartly dressed men began to unbutton their jackets and camisoles and light their pipes. The women kept remembering what was waiting for them at home: some dough, some an unfed baby. The murmur began to agitate people, like ripples running across the surface of a lake. The sage was the most nervous.
- He was scared! Send for him! Let him be brought in by force! – he fumed, and for the first time everyone saw him lose his composure.
Several messengers ran to the southern outskirts of the city, but when they returned, the murmur only intensified.
- He's not home. The door is closed. He’s nowhere to be found, they said.
The townspeople left the square with great disappointment.
“You have won,” they said to the sage, heading towards the tavern.
– I don’t want such a victory! - he shouted. - I will find him and prove that I am right, not him!
The preacher who did not come to the verbal competition really disappeared, as if he had sunk into the ground. He was not seen the next day or a week later. “Was he really that afraid of possible defeat? - people thought. “Or maybe we offended him with this stupid prank?” But the townspeople were even more amazed when the sage, who confused everyone who believes in the Lord, left the city. True, he left not secretly, but openly. Before leaving, he told the people:
“It became uninteresting for me to live here.” Previously, when the poison of useless fairy tales was poured into your ears, I saw my calling in teaching you to think, in turning your fantasies into dust with logic and solid knowledge. Now I have nothing to argue with and no one to refute. Although our debate did not take place, I know that he,” here the sage pointed his hand towards the southern outskirts, “is smarter than all of you.” Without him I have no worthy opponent. I'm going in search of him.
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