Lavrenty Chernihiv

Born in the village of Karylskoye, Chernihiv province in 1868 in a poor family. Luke’s father died early, his mother was weak and often sick ^[1] . Possessed a beautiful voice; sang in a church choir. He studied at the elementary school of Zemstvo, which he graduated at 13, and was left as an assistant teacher. In Korop, he met with the former regent of the imperial choir, who appreciated the young man’s abilities and began to teach him regency art; mastered playing the violin . Upon returning home, he became regent of his choir. He studied sewing and began to earn money with his labor to help the family; By the age of 17 he had become a professional tailor .

After the death of his mother, he decided to leave for the monastery, but his elder brother Bartholomew insisted that he not leave his family. With his youth friend Simeon, he went on foot to Kiev to the old man Iona, so that he would bless to receive a spiritual education. But Elder Jonah told them: “Your seminary is with you” - and did not bless. Together with Simeon, he went to Mount Athos , where he stayed at the Panteleimon Monastery. In this monastery on Mount Athos, five fellow villagers prp. Lawrence from the village of Karilskoye. After persistent requests, Simeon was accepted into the brotherhood of the Athos Panteleimon Monastery. And Luka, one of the Athos elders, said: "Go to your homeland, you will need you there." the historian Sergei Shumilo could not establish who this elder was, “but it cannot be ruled out that it could be the Monk Siluan of Athos, who worked in the Panteleimon Monastery at the same time and with whom, probably, Luca Proskur communicated” ^[2] .

In 1912, at the 45th year of his life, Luke was tonsured a monk with the name Laurentius . Two years later he was ordained a hierodeacon , in 1916 - in a hieromonk .

During the renovationist schism, Father Lavrenty resolutely took the side of Patriarch Tikhon .

In 1930, after the closure of the temple, moved to an illegal position. Adjoining the movement of the “unremarkable", in 1936-1937. passed on the investigation of belonging to the anti-Soviet underground "True Orthodox Church" in the Chernihiv region, instituted by the NKVD in the Chernihiv region. He was interrogated, in the framework of the investigation, in which a whole group of Chernigov clergy was arrested, they wanted to send Fr. Lawrence, however, was released due to his seventy-year-old age, which is recorded in the protocol of the investigation. In 1930-1942 he secretly served at home, equipping a secret temple in the cellar and taking spiritual children at night . After Chernigov’s occupation by the German authorities during the war , he organized two monastic communities: male (35 people) and female (70 people). The latter was located in the Trinity Monastery of Chernigov, where on Easter 1942 opened a temple, which became one of the centers of religious life in the Chernihiv region.

After the war he was again persecuted and even removed from service. According to legend, about. Lavrenty Chernigovsky blessed the future Metropolitan of All Ukraine, Vladimir (Sabodan) , who came to him in childhood with his mother ^{[3] [4]} .

He died on January 19, 1950; buried in the small church of the former Trinity Chernigov Monastery ^[1] .

The name of the elder was surrounded by popular veneration during his lifetime. In 1993, his relics were transferred to the Trinity Cathedral of the former Trinity Monastery in Chernigov . On August 9 (22), 1993, the Consecrated Bishops' Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was glorified as a saint in the rank of saint .

Chernigovsky is credited with a lot of divination and utterances, which have spread among conservative circles of some Orthodox Christians ^[5] . Their authorship, according to some sources, may belong to the leader of non-canonical Orthodoxy, the self-proclaimed archbishop Cherubim (Degtyar) , the compiler of the elder’s first biography ^[6] . These data are refuted by the RTOC “Now, after the glorification of the father of Lawrence by the Moscow Patriarchate, a lot of different fiction, gossip and even slander appeared in her midst. The priest is already credited with what he, by his nature, could not have done or said. We are referring to a book published by the self-proclaimed “shiigumen” (previously impersonating the “secret archbishop”), but in reality by Hierodeacon Cherubim (Degtyar), who was banned from serving as a patriarch Pimen for moral crimes. Let us leave this and similar inventors to the judgment of God ” ^[7] .

February 3, 2016 by the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church was canonized for general church veneration ^[8]

• Lavrentiy (Proskura) website Russian Orthodoxy
• http://www.mgarsky-monastery.org/kolokol.php?id=136 (inaccessible link)
• http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life6694.htm
• Hear and See - a documentary about the life of the Monk Elder Lavrentiy Chernigovsky
• False Archbishop Cherub (Degtyar) and intra-church sectarianism “Religion in Ukraine” portal
• Church Gazette: The Spiritual Heritage of the Catacomb Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Sheikharchimandrite Lavrenty and his time. Essay on the church history of Chernihiv region (1868-1950)