Abel (Makedonov)

Archimandrite Avel was born on June 21, 1927 in the village of Nikulichi near Ryazan in a peasant family.

On November 6, 1945, he was ordained deacon by his spiritual mentor, Archbishop of Ryazan, Demetrius (Degree) . On November 23, 1945, he was tonsured a monk by the same archpastor with the name Abel in honor of the holy righteous Abel .

On January 24, 1947, Abel was ordained a hieromonk and until 1950 served as the second priest in the village of Gorodishchi, Rybnovsky District, Ryazan Region . Over the past few years, he has earned a special love for the parishioners. However, under pressure from the Soviet authorities, he was forced to leave the region at 24 hours.

Since February 1950, a new period of his life begins - service in the Yaroslavl land . There about. Abel obeyed the rector of the temples of Tsarevich Dimitry in Uglich (from February to June 1950), from where he was also deposed at the direction of the local Commissioner for Religious Affairs; then in the Smolensk church with. Fedorovskoye (1950–1955), where Sergei Novikov, future Metropolitan Simon of Ryazan and Kasimov, became the spiritual child of Abel; then a cleric of the Yaroslavl Cathedral (1955-1960).

Zealous service did not go unnoticed by the relevant bodies of Soviet power. In the local Yaroslavl press against Abel, a slanderous campaign was organized, which, however, did not reach its goal. Nevertheless, the representative of the Council for ROC Affairs in the Yaroslavl region demanded the immediate removal of Abel from the clergy. The father was forced to leave the area.

Since April 1960, Abel again serves on the Ryazan land. In April - December 1960, he was rector of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the village of Borets, Sarajevo district, Ryazan Region (two years later John (Krestyankin) was appointed rector) . In 1969, he was already an archimandrite, rector of the Ryazan Cathedral.

On February 17, 1970, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, Archimandrite Abel sent the DECR to Mount Athos in Greece for monastic obedience in the Russian Panteleimon monastery . Obedience on the Holy Mountain lasted almost 9 years. On July 11, 1975, he was intronized as hegumen (abbot) of the Panteleimonov Monastery.

In 1978, already abbot of the Panteleimon Monastery, Abel went to Russia to participate in the funeral and funeral of his friend, Metropolitan Nicodemus (Rotov) , but he did not have a chance to return to the Holy Mountain. In the relevant authorities, his Greek passport was “lost”. It was necessary to restore it. However, Metropolitan Juvenal , then head of the DECR and in response to the request of the late Metropolitan Nicodemus, always taking care of Abel, gave him the order of the supreme church authority that he needed to stay in Russia.

In 1979, he was admitted to the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church and appointed honorary rector of the Cathedral of St. Boris and Gleb in Ryazan and the confessor of the diocese.

On May 16, 1989, Archimandrite Abel, by the definition of the Holy Synod, was appointed governor of the newly returned Church of the St. John the Theologian Monastery of the Ryazan Diocese. During the 15 years of its administration, the monastery, which had previously been in ruins, was transformed. The monastic life was revived, a long and magnificent worship was instituted, the old temples were restored and new ones were built. At the zeal of the viceroy’s father, his assistants and spiritual children, many Christian shrines (relics of holy ascetics, both Russian and universal, venerated icons, including those painted in the 19th century on Athos , church and historical relics), attracting many pilgrims, have been collected.

In the spring of 2004, according to Abel’s personal petition, in connection with the deterioration of his health and old age, the Holy Synod blessed him to retire.

At various times, his zealous ministry was marked by the priesthood of the Russian Orthodox Church with numerous awards. Father Abel was a member of the local cathedrals of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988 and 1990 .

In the summer of 2006, Abel was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city of Ryazan.

Archimandrite Abel (in the scheme of Seraphim) (Makedonov) died early in the morning of December 6, 2006 in the St. John the Theologian Monastery of the Ryazan Diocese after a short illness at 80. The funeral service was held on December 9 at the St. John the Theologian Monastery of the Ryazan Diocese. The burial of Abel's father took place on the territory of the St. John the Theological Monastery on the same day.

In 2009, Ryazan television makes a documentary about him ^[3] .

• Athos Elder Schiarchimandrite Ilian [(Sorokin) (obituary)] // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1971. No. 5. P. 11-12.
• Some features of services on Mount Athos // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1975. No. 3. pp. 45-47.
• Athos New Martyrs [Rev. Martyrs Euthymius (+ March 22, 1814), Ignatius (+ October 8, 1814) and Akaki (May 1, 1816)] // Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. M., 1977. No. 1. P. 71-72.

• Abel (Makedonov) on the site "Russian Orthodoxy"
• HOLIDAYS In a difficult time for Russia, they returned from St. Athos