I can’t say for sure, but I guess that many consider Holiness to be the destiny of the elect. The lot of units. Such giants of the Spirit as, for example, our venerable fathers Sergius of Radonezh or Seraphim of Sarov. But for us, ordinary sinners, this is an unattainable ideal. Beautiful, sparkling somewhere in Heaven, but unreal “by definition.” How, for example, can we, the laity, completely stop the hectic racing of thoughts in our heads “for half an hour”? Or is it absolutely worthwhile to prepare for Holy Communion? This is impossible! - we exclaim. This means that you don’t need to particularly strive for this - you can’t jump over your head. It is enough for us that in our souls we consider ourselves Orthodox, wear a cross and sometimes, in between sins, appear in church. Let's stick a candle and get out of there!!!

However, having visited the Alatyr Holy Trinity Monastery with our parish the other day and standing at the grave of Archimandrite Jerome, I remembered one of his interesting and instructive phrases.

But first, a little about the personality of this unique person.

FIGHTED A GOOD FIGHT... I’ll say right away that I was not part of the narrow circle of his spiritual children, but I listened to the priest’s advice. Sometimes he came, and called even more often. And he always answered thoroughly and completely - even from his cell, even from Moscow, even from Yekaterinburg... And he never interrupted the conversation, did not crumple it up and did not say: “Sergius, forgive me, I feel terribly bad today.” Only sometimes, suddenly stopping his speech, he fell silent for a long time... And when he received people here, in Ulyanovsk, I always visited him with my whole family. And the reason for this was his undoubted foresight.

Relations with him were clouded only by the need to hide these contacts from our first ruling bishop. We loved them both equally, but what kind of imp galloped between them? And when? I don’t know... They say that this has been going on since their youth in the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery. And, probably, it was I, the editor of an Orthodox newspaper, who suffered more than others from this. The Alatyr Monastery of the Chuvash diocese was actively being revived, information about it was flowing, but I could not print anything. But then one day, in 2000, the monastery in Alatyr, which had risen from the ruins, was visited by Patriarch Alexy II himself. And they finally met - two long-time Pskov-Pechersk workers - Archbishop of Simbirsk and Melekessky Proclus (Khazov) and the abbot of the monastery, Holy Archimandrite Jerome (Shurygin). Together, among a host of bishops, they served the Liturgy, received the Mysteries of Christ, stood in the same row on the salt and looked at each other quite friendly. I still keep this photo. I really hope that it was then that this whole sad story of theirs ended...

And now they both have rested - one in the crypt under the altar of the cathedral in Ulyanovsk (03/23/2014), and the other here - in the monastery cemetery of the Alatyr Monastery (08/28/2013). Two workers, two Shepherds, and now two neighbors. What should they share now? Both burned with love for God, both did not spare their health for the sake of church work, and both, in fact, sacrificed themselves for the sake of us sinners. By the way, this has given us a wonderful example, literally according to the Apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”(2 Tim. 4:7) .

GOD IS AWESOME IN HIS SAINTS... I think the fates of these two ascetics are still waiting for their attentive researchers, but I will still briefly mention the life path of Father Jerome (in the world - Viktor Fedorovich Shurygin). What do I know.

He was born in 1952 in the Urals, in a remote village. But he spent his childhood and youth in Anapa and Novorossiysk. His father, an NKVD officer, at one time was even the head of a camp in the Gulag. But, despite this “toxic” spiritual environment, the young man was able to find his way to God. You can easily imagine what this cost him in his family. And the external environment was still the same - the 70s, in the country - “developed socialism” and for being interested in religion one could easily end up “under treatment” in a psychiatric hospital. But the Lord was merciful.

The thirst for spiritual life, and obedience to the famous Caucasian elder Archimandrite Hilarion, brought the future Father Jerome to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery in 1976, under the tutelage of the great John (Krestyankin). Then, in 1987, already in the rank of hieromonk, he went to Greece, to Holy Mount Athos, and then, in 1993, to the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. And only in 1994 he came to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and asked to bless him to serve in the Cheboksary diocese.

So, in the end, Father Jerome ended up in the quiet and small Chuvash city of Alatyr, on the sad ruins of the former glorious monastery. After the revolution, it was here that the NKVD brought the Orthodox clergy from the entire then vast Simbirsk province. Everyone, along with their families. At night, they turned on the tractor in the yard, put a heavy brick on the gas pedal, and continued executions until the morning.

In subsequent years, there was everything here - the last one was a tobacco factory, in the current Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh... One day, in 1996, when I turned on the TV, I saw a story from Alatyr in Vesti. A priest unfamiliar to me spoke. He called on everyone to respond and come to revive the ancient Alatyr Shrine. He talked about difficulties, but joy, energy and absolute confidence in success shone in his eyes! Remembered. It's stuck.

But I first came here only a few years later, around 1998. And then they showed me two large plywood boxes - they were filled to the top...with skulls. This monastic brethren, raking up the remains of a tobacco factory, gradually reached a deeper layer. Indeed, everything secret sooner or later becomes clear - in front of me there was a huge number of human remains. But what caught my attention was that the seeds were mostly light or golden. Later, on Mount Athos, it was explained to me that this is a clear sign of holiness, a sign that the souls of these people have long been in the heavenly Heavenly Abodes.

But all the same, the remains of one large family do not leave the memory: father, mother and their five young children. All their light, yellowish heads had one common feature - holes in the back of the head of the same diameter. From revolver bullets...

The soul grows cold, the heart contracts, tears well up. Humanly sad...

ABOUT THE ASSIGNMENT TO HOLINESS... But then the day came when the concept of Holiness, from a beautiful and abstract literary allegory, instantly turned for me into a completely attainable and real possibility. And Father Jerome revealed this spiritual secret to us. Here is how it was...

In the frosty winter of 1998, having accumulated a whole list of questions on a piece of paper, I appeared at his monastery for a conversation. Then it was time for the meal and everyone gathered in the spacious room - monks, workers and pilgrims like me. Everyone ceremoniously sat down in rows and silently awaited the arrival of the abbot. The door opened and Father Jerome quickly entered the refectory. Joint prayer began.

Having finished it, the priest turned to those present and unexpectedly uttered words that I remembered forever. They sounded authoritatively, convincingly, from the heart. It was absolutely clear to all of us then that these were not the book truths he read at night, but some kind of “dry residue,” the practical experience of his own spiritual life.

He said:

- Fathers and brothers! I want you all(pause) ...became saints!!!

We were speechless and frozen. There was a tense silence...

- But in order to become saints, before that, you must become righteous!

Again silence and again a pause. Father silently and slowly peered into our faces...

- And in order to become righteous, before that, you must become pious!

Somewhere a spoon clinked deafeningly on a plate...

- And in order to become pious, first you must become churchgoers! Amen!!!

Of course, he left many good deeds on earth. But for me personally, these words will remain his most important and dear gift. They opened my eyes, inspired me and gave me hope - it turns out that Holiness is available to everyone?! Really for me too?!.

Sergey Seryubin , Orthodox director and writer, Ulyanovsk-Alatyr, August 2018

Hieroarchimandrite Jerome (Shurygin) with brethren

Father Jerome was born in 1934, in the village of Pesochny, Yaroslavl region. The church in the village was already closed, but Boris was drawn to church from childhood. The nearest temple was seven kilometers from home, in the village of Dyudkovo, and he went there on the sly from his family and friends. My grandmother was buried near the church. And when anyone asked where he was going, he answered that he was going to his grandmother’s grave. When coming to the service, Boris stood behind him, at the entrance to the temple, so that no one would notice him. And there were reasons to hide. It was a time of official atheism and uncompromising anti-churchism. Boris's parents were afraid to open their faith. His mother was a teacher. She understood that if they found out that her son was visiting the temple, she would not only be threatened with dismissal from her job, but even more serious reprisals were possible. Therefore, when she noticed that her son was sneakily going to Dyudkovo, she wailed: “You will destroy us all!”

Now, after more than half a century, Father Jerome has established warm relations with the clergy and parishioners of the Dyudkovo church. Every year he comes to his homeland and celebrates the Divine Liturgy with special trepidation in the place that was the holiest in his childhood.

Already as a young man, Boris traveled to the regional center - Rybinsk, where he visited the Ascension-St. George Church. Here he met its rector - Abbot Maxim (later - Bishop of Argentina and South America, then Archbishop of Omsk and Tyumen, Tula and Belevsky, Mogilev and Mstislavsky). In this temple, Boris first began to serve as an altar boy. It was Abbot Maxim who advised me to enter the Leningrad Theological Seminary and gave a recommendation.

Boris entered the seminary in 1956. This was the height of the “Khrushchev church reform.” The head of the Soviet state set out to put an end to the Church and proclaimed the idea of “perestroika” of church life. It, like everything in Khrushchev's policy, was contrasted with the previous Stalinist era, at the end of which the Soviet state made some relaxations in its open persecution of the Church. The purpose of the new policy was to prevent church preaching in any form. Many forces of the state were thrown into trying to isolate the Church from the youth and thereby undermine its supply with new forces.

The leadership of the seminary was obliged to submit information about those who entered it to study to the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, and he sent information about them to local authorities. After all, this was their “flaw”. At first, people from the district branch of the Komsomol came to Boris’s parents, who promised that if they insisted that their son leave the seminary, he would be enrolled in a good university and given vouchers to a sanatorium. After this, a meeting was held at the village club, at which accusatory speeches were made against the mother: “Shame on such a teacher! We trusted her with our children, but she couldn’t raise her own son!” Somewhat later, the family moved to Dubna, where, after graduating from higher education, Boris’s older brother was assigned to the Institute of Atomic Research. My father also got a job as an accountant at the institute. When information about his youngest son reached here, a special meeting was also convened. At it, Ilya Ivanovich was demanded to renounce his son. He refused. Academician Bogolyubov came to his defense and shamed those gathered: “What do you want: for him, like Ivan the Terrible, to kill his son?” With his speech, he softened the accusatory intensity. The father was given a severe reprimand, and his brother, who was supposed to go on a business trip to Poland, was prohibited from traveling abroad.

But the seminary period in the life of Boris himself was not so harsh. The leadership of theological schools tried with all possible forces to protect students from the attacks of a state hostile to them. The students were surrounded by noble and dedicated teachers, most of whom were graduates of the pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Therefore, Father Jerome remembers his years of study as the brightest time of his life.

In the first grade, he had the opportunity to meet Archimandrite Nikodim, who was then graduating from theological academy. Yaroslavl seminarians gathered around the archimandrite, who served in the Yaroslavl diocese. (One of these meetings was captured in a photo from 1956). In 1960, Archimandrite Nikodim was consecrated Bishop of Podolsk, and after some time he was appointed ruling bishop to the Yaroslavl and Rostov Sees. It was Archbishop Nikodim who tonsured and then ordained Boris Karpov, who graduated from the seminary, in 1961. For that time, these were such unusual events that they were reported in the central church printed organ - the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate.

It is significant that the priestly consecration of Father Jerome, which soon followed, took place on July 30 in memory of the Monk Savva of Storozhevsky. Only later did he understand the providential significance of this day.

Archbishop Nikodim appointed the young hieromonk as rector of the Annunciation Church in Yaroslavl, but soon changed his mind, and with the words “my monks must be educated,” he gave his blessing to enter the Leningrad Theological Academy. For four years, the young shepherd studied at the academy, and after graduation, for another three years - in graduate school at the Moscow Theological Academy, the last two years - in absentia, since he was appointed rector of the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross in Petrozavodsk and dean of the Olonets diocese.

Father Jerome

The Holy Trinity Alatyr Monastery was founded, according to legend, in the 16th century by order of Tsar John IV and was built at the expense of the Alatyr settlement and the Sovereign treasury.

During the history of its existence, the Alatyr Monastery has absorbed the most precious and great currents within Russian Orthodoxy. In 1615, the monastery was assigned to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, when the spirit of St. Sergius of Radonezh was especially strong in it. The Alatyr monastery was under the control of this monastery for almost 150 years. The 19th century became a period of prosperity for the monastery, which is associated with the activities of Abbot Abraham (Soloviev), whom the Monk Seraphim of Sarov himself pointed out as a possible governor, proposing him in his place, since he himself was preparing for the hermit life. The beginning of the 20th century - again a powerful spiritual flow, this time from the Russian North, determines another flourishing of the monastery: one of the most remarkable abbots in the entire history of the Valaam Monastery, Father Gabriel, becomes the archimandrite of the Holy Trinity Monastery. And finally, our time - Father Jerome, who brought here the traditions of Holy Mount Athos.

The ancient history of the monastery is also rich in its own pupils. And the greatest of the Alatyr saints is Schemamonk Vassian, who labored here in the 17th century. Fifty years later, his relics were found completely incorruptible, and many healings and miracles occurred from them. And pilgrims thirsting for healing flocked to the monastery from everywhere to worship. In 1904, a well was built not far from the tomb of St. Vassian, where, according to legend, he threw his chains and hair shirt, avoiding human glory. To this day, in the cave temple in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the Vassian spring flows, the healing power of its water helps against many diseases. The exact place of the ascetic’s last burial is unknown: before the monastery was closed, the monks, fearing desecration of the relics, hid them. But today's brethren pray earnestly and believe that over time the Lord will reveal this secret.

In 1919, the most tragic period in the history of the monastery began. The rector, the quiet man of prayer, Archimandrite Daniel, was arrested and sent to Solovki and executed there in the 1930s. Many monks suffered the fate of being killed. And in the temples and cells of the holy monastery there was a button accordion factory and an NKVD zone. Already today, the remains of more than three hundred innocently lost souls have been discovered on the territory of the monastery, among which are many children; they are all now carefully buried. The entire territory of the monastery is covered with the bones of Orthodox Christians - this is a tragic, holy place. During the war years, ski production and a tobacco and tobacco factory were located here, which existed until 1988.

It was not by chance that Father Jerome, a monk of the Pskov-Pechora Monastery and the spiritual son of its elder Father John Krestyankin, came to Alatyr. From Pechory in 1987, following his heart’s desire, he left for Athos, where he spent 5 years in the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, and then labored in the Holy Land for 2 years. Returning to Russia, he chose a poor parish in Chuvashia to serve in the diocese of Vladyka Varnava, then Archbishop of Cheboksary and Chuvashia (now Metropolitan). And so, a year after Father Jerome’s service in the Nikulinsky Church in the Poretsk region, Vladyka invited him to take upon himself the restoration of the monastery in Alatyr. When Father Jerome took the monastery under his care in November 1995, there was complete desolation and ruin. From the splendor of bygone times, only the skeletons of dilapidated churches and cells remained. Through the efforts of the governor and the brethren, the monastery gradually rose from the ruins. Benefactors appeared.

The amount of work ahead was enormous. But a special ascetic spirit kindled the hearts of all those who came to work for the glory of God. Miracles were created through selfless labor. There was not a single building left in the monastery suitable for habitation. Within a short time, the first monastic cells were restored, and in the spring of 1996, renovation of the church, named after the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, which saved the city from the cholera epidemic in 1748, began. The Kazan Church, consecrated by Archbishop Varnava on July 25, 1996, according to experts, has no analogues in the entire Volga region. Its ceiling and walls are covered with carved oak paneling of very fine and highly artistic work, which was carried out by craftsmen completely free of charge over a period of one and a half years. After the illumination, a daily series of statutory services was established in the monastery.

The second restored church was the “cave” one, where the tomb of the saint of God schemamonk Vassian was previously located. In the spring of 1997, the restoration of the largest church in honor of the patron of Russian monasticism, St. Sergius of Radonezh, began. The work continued for more than a year. The interior of the temple was redesigned, the roof was dismantled, and a dome was installed. And finally, spacious, bright, with graceful lines on the outside, like a ship, crowned with a Byzantine dome with a gilded cross, the temple was consecrated on October 3, 1998. In a short period of time, monastic buildings, a refectory, a hotel outside the monastery and a refectory for pilgrims, warehouses, workshops - sewing, icon painting, prosphora, bakery - were restored and rebuilt. The monastery was transformed before our eyes.

On July 8, 2001, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II visited the shrines of the city of Alatyr. The visit of the Patriarch became a historical event in the life of the city and a kind of result of the most important initial period of the revival of the holy monastery. On this day, His Holiness the Patriarch addressed the believers with a primal word: “The Lord destined us to live at a time when destroyed shrines are being revived, when people are once again finding their way to the temple and to God. I believe that the grace of the Lord will help the revival of this shrine of our land, and many monastics will glorify the Lord, pray for the world, for the earthly fatherland and for our Holy Church - this is the guarantee of the future. After many decades of fighting against God, people are again realizing that it is impossible to live without faith. I prayerfully wish that God’s blessing will remain with this revived monastery, that the Lord will help to continue to restore its former glory and beauty.” And the wishes of His Holiness the Patriarch came true.

All the newly rebuilt churches of the monastery - the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity and the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the gate temple of Vassian of Constantinople (spiritual mentor of Vassian of Alatyr) are extremely beautiful. They were created and painted thanks to the great love of God and the talent of the craftsmen. The splendor of churches, listening to the liturgy, sermons, confession and the sacrament of communion miraculously cleanse the soul of any person. The bell tower of the Holy Trinity Monastery is unique, which, as the tallest monolithic temple structure with a height of 83 meters, is included in the Russian book of records. The fountain located on the territory of the monastery is beautiful, and nearby, in an artificially created reservoir, fish of extraordinary beauty live. A single silhouette of white walls, rounded dark domes, an aster-colored cathedral and a luxurious bell tower with chimes dominates the city.

There were fires and destruction in the history of the monastery, but again and again it was revived, rebuilt, transformed and increased its spiritual power. The sacrificial brotherly love for all those suffering and seeking consolation within church walls remained unchanged. She is still alive today, this love. You observe it every day among the monastics, you see how attentive the monks are to the needs of pilgrims, to everyone who comes for spiritual support or asks a question. And the example of sincere, active love is set by the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Jerome (Shurygin). The love that Father Jerome radiates to everyone who comes to him is passed on to the brethren of the monastery. An extremely rare case in monastic practice: the priest not only acts as abbot, engaging in very troublesome economic and financial activities, not only serves many hours of divine services, but also receives dozens of people in his cell as a confessor every day - from morning to evening. Father Jerome himself says this about his ministry: “We are monastics, and this is a special class in the Church. Here they think more about the monastery, because we are one family. The main thing for a monk is prayer, the desire to achieve love for the Savior and your neighbors, the people who are next to you and need your support.”

For many years of fruitful work on the formation of spiritual and moral values of society, a significant contribution to the restoration of the Orthodox monastery, Archimandrite Jerome was awarded the title “Honorary Citizen of Alatyr” in 2006. He was also awarded the Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, 3rd degree, the medal of the Order of Merit for the Chuvash Republic, orders and medals of various public organizations.

On August 28, 2013, on the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, Father Jerome departed to the Lord, but his deeds live on...

On August 30, 2013, at the 61st year of his life, the abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery in the city of Alatyr, Chuvash Metropolis, Archimandrite Jerome (Shurygin) reposed in the Lord.
On September 1, 2013, a funeral service was held in Alatyr for the abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery of the city of Alatyr, Chuvash Metropolis, Archimandrite Jerome (Shurygin), who died on August 30.
The Head of the Chuvash Metropolis, Metropolitan of Cheboksary and Chuvash Varnava, Archbishop John of Yoshkar-Ola, Secretary of the Chuvash Metropolis Archpriest Nikolai Ivanov, clergy, parishioners and numerous spiritual children arrived to say goodbye to the abbot of the monastery.
The funeral service and the funeral service were led by His Grace Theodore, Bishop of Alatyr, co-serving the clergy of the Chuvash Metropolis.
Father Jerome was buried at the altar of the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity in the monastery, which the priest restored.

THE HOUSE RISING AGAIN
(from Orthodox Dialogues)
The only thing I had heard about Alatyr was that Samara was founded by an Alatyr governor. Consequently, this city is older than Samara. Later I learned that the year of Alatyr’s “birth” was 1552. It was at this time that the Holy Trinity Monastery was founded here. Passing by these places during his campaign against Kazan, Tsar Ivan the Terrible made a vow that if he defeated the Tatars, then, in order to thank God, he would establish a Holy monastery here. And so it happened.
The earth is full of rumors. I first learned about the Alatyr Holy Trinity Monastery from a conversation with the Togliatti priest Vyacheslav Karaulov. “Once my friends came to me in a car,” said Father Vyacheslav, “and offered to go with them to Alatyr. There, they say, there is an amazing monastery and a perspicacious elder. To be honest, I have always been sensitive to rumors about the perspicacity of this or that priest skeptical, because often overly exalted parishioners wishful thinking. But I thought: “Why not go?” - and went. And I didn’t regret it. The elder turned out to be the abbot of the monastery, Father Jerome, still far from an old man of about 60 ". You know, when I went to see him, he told me everything about my life - something that only my wife and I could know about... If you have the opportunity, be sure to visit Alatyr. It’s a wonderful monastery there!"

Latyrfond.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=128:arkhimandrit-ieornim-shurygin&catid=78:alatyr-fond&Itemid=482

Father Jerome
The Holy Trinity Alatyr Monastery was founded, according to legend, in the 16th century by order of Tsar John IV and was built at the expense of the Alatyr settlement and the Sovereign treasury.
During the history of its existence, the Alatyr Monastery has absorbed the most precious and great currents within Russian Orthodoxy. In 1615, the monastery was assigned to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, when the spirit of St. Sergius of Radonezh was especially strong in it. The Alatyr monastery was under the control of this monastery for almost 150 years. The 19th century became a period of prosperity for the monastery, which is associated with the activities of Abbot Abraham (Soloviev), whom the Monk Seraphim of Sarov himself pointed out as a possible governor, proposing him in his place, since he himself was preparing for the hermit life. The beginning of the 20th century - again a powerful spiritual flow, this time from the Russian North, determines another flourishing of the monastery: one of the most remarkable abbots in the entire history of the Valaam Monastery, Father Gabriel, becomes the archimandrite of the Holy Trinity Monastery. And finally, our time - Father Jerome, who brought here the traditions of Holy Mount Athos.
The ancient history of the monastery is also rich in its own pupils. And the greatest of the Alatyr saints is Schemamonk Vassian, who labored here in the 17th century. After a couple of hundred years, his relics were found completely incorruptible, and many healings and miracles occurred from them. And pilgrims thirsting for healing flocked to the monastery from everywhere to worship, and this is how this holy monastery became famous. In 1904, a well was built not far from the tomb of St. Vassian, where, according to legend, he threw his chains and hair shirt, avoiding human glory. To this day, in the cave temple in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the Vassian spring flows, the healing power of its water helps against many diseases. The exact place of the ascetic’s last burial is unknown: before the monastery was closed, the monks, fearing desecration of the relics, hid them. But today's brethren pray earnestly and believe that over time the Lord will reveal this secret.
In 1919, the most tragic period in the history of the monastery began. The rector, the quiet man of prayer, Archimandrite Daniel, was arrested and sent to Solovki and executed there in the 1930s. Many monks suffered the fate of being killed. And in the temples and cells of the holy monastery there was a button accordion factory and an NKVD zone. Already today, the remains of more than three hundred innocently lost souls have been discovered on the territory of the monastery, among which are many children; they are all now carefully buried. The entire territory of the monastery is covered with the bones of Orthodox Christians - this is a tragic, holy place. During the war years, ski production and a tobacco and tobacco factory were located here, which existed until 1988.
It was not by chance that Father Jerome, a monk of the Pskov-Pechora Monastery and the spiritual son of its elder Father John Krestyankin, came to Alatyr. From Pechory in 1987, following his heart’s desire, he left for Athos, where he spent 5 years in the Russian Panteleimon Monastery, and then labored in the Holy Land for 2 years. Returning to Russia, he chose a poor parish in Chuvashia to serve in the diocese of Vladyka Varnava, then Archbishop of Cheboksary and Chuvashia (now Metropolitan). And so, a year after Father Jerome’s service in the Nikulinsky Church in the Poretsk region, Vladyka invited him to take upon himself the restoration of the monastery in Alatyr. When Father Jerome took the monastery under his care in November 1995, there was complete desolation and ruin. From the splendor of bygone times, only the skeletons of dilapidated churches and cells remained. Through the efforts of the governor and the brethren, the monastery gradually rose from the ruins. Benefactors appeared.
The amount of work ahead was enormous. But a special ascetic spirit kindled the hearts of all those who came to work for the glory of God. Miracles were created through selfless labor. There was not a single building left in the monastery suitable for habitation. Within a short time, the first monastic cells were restored, and in the spring of 1996, renovation of the church, named after the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, which saved the city from the cholera epidemic in 1748, began. The Kazan Church, consecrated by Archbishop Varnava on July 25, 1996, according to experts, has no analogues in the entire Volga region. Its ceiling and walls are covered with carved oak paneling of very fine and highly artistic work, which was carried out by craftsmen completely free of charge over a period of one and a half years. After the illumination, a daily series of statutory services was established in the monastery.

The second restored church was the “cave” one, where the tomb of the saint of God schemamonk Vassian was previously located. In the spring of 1997, the restoration of the largest church in honor of the patron of Russian monasticism, St. Sergius of Radonezh, began. The work continued for more than a year. The interior of the temple was redesigned, the roof was dismantled, and a dome was installed. And finally, spacious, bright, with graceful lines on the outside, like a ship, crowned with a Byzantine dome with a gilded cross, the temple was consecrated on October 3, 1998. In a short period of time, monastic buildings, a refectory, a hotel outside the monastery and a refectory for pilgrims, warehouses, workshops - sewing, icon painting, prosphora, bakery - were restored and rebuilt. The monastery was transformed before our eyes.
On July 8, 2001, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II visited the shrines of the city of Alatyr. The visit of the Patriarch became a historical event in the life of the city and a kind of result of the most important initial period of the revival of the holy monastery. On this day, His Holiness the Patriarch addressed the believers with a primal word: “The Lord destined us to live at a time when destroyed shrines are being revived, when people are once again finding their way to the temple and to God. I believe that the grace of the Lord will help the revival of this shrine of our land, and many monastics will glorify the Lord, pray for the world, for the earthly fatherland and for our Holy Church - this is the guarantee of the future. After many decades of fighting against God, people are again realizing that it is impossible to live without faith. I prayerfully wish that God’s blessing will remain with this revived monastery, that the Lord will help to continue to restore its former glory and beauty.” And the wishes of His Holiness the Patriarch came true.
All the newly rebuilt churches of the monastery - the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity and the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the gate temple of Vassian of Constantinople (spiritual mentor of Vassian of Alatyr) are extremely beautiful. They were created and painted thanks to the great love of God and the talent of the craftsmen. The splendor of churches, listening to the liturgy, sermons, confession and the sacrament of communion miraculously cleanse the soul of any person. The bell tower of the Holy Trinity Monastery is unique, which, as the tallest monolithic temple structure with a height of 83 meters, is included in the Russian book of records. The fountain located on the territory of the monastery is beautiful, and nearby, in an artificially created reservoir, fish of extraordinary beauty live. A single silhouette of white walls, rounded dark domes, an aster-colored cathedral and a luxurious bell tower with chimes dominates the city.
There were fires and destruction in the history of the monastery, but again and again it was revived, rebuilt, transformed and increased its spiritual power. The sacrificial brotherly love for all those suffering and seeking consolation within church walls remained unchanged. She is still alive today, this love. You observe it every day among the monastics, you see how attentive the monks are to the needs of pilgrims, to everyone who comes for spiritual support or asks a question. And the example of sincere, active love is set by the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Jerome (Shurygin). The love that Father Jerome radiates to everyone who comes to him is passed on to the brethren of the monastery. An extremely rare case in monastic practice: the priest not only acts as abbot, engaging in very troublesome economic and financial activities, not only serves many hours of divine services, but also receives dozens of people in his cell as a confessor every day - from morning to evening. Father Jerome himself says this about his ministry: “We are monastics, and this is a special class in the Church. Here they think more about the monastery, because we are one family. The main thing for a monk is prayer, the desire to achieve love for the Savior and your neighbors, the people who are next to you and need your support.”
For many years of fruitful work on the formation of spiritual and moral values of society, a significant contribution to the restoration of the Orthodox monastery, Archimandrite Jerome was awarded the title “Honorary Citizen of Alatyr” in 2006. He was also awarded the Order of the Holy Blessed Prince Daniel of Moscow, 3rd degree, the medal of the Order of Merit for the Chuvash Republic, orders and medals of various public organizations.
You can listen to FRATE JEROME HERE.