The first of the Orthodox priests in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian fleet and the recent history of the newly discovered continent, a thanksgiving prayer service off the coast of Antarctica in January 1820 was served by a Russian priest. It was Hieromonk Dionysius.
There is no doubt that if for the first time in the history of mankind a clergyman of any other confession appeared in the coastal zone of Antarctica, his name would be inscribed in the church annals in gold letters. And in the published lists of the crew members of the sloops "Vostok" and "Peaceful" the priest was not even mentioned, he was not even mentioned in the memoirs of the head of the expedition, Lutheran Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen.
A journey into the unknown
It is hard to believe that among the volunteers who sailed into obscurity (at the beginning of the 19th century, the territories of the Southern Ocean on the sea map were indicated by a continuous "blank spot"), there was not a single strong-minded cleric. Or the carriages were manned by atheists (which is incredible for 1819).
In his memoirs about the voyage to Antarctica, the Orthodox Russian nobleman Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev also did not indicate the name of the spiritual pastor of the sailors at all. But in his published travel diary for 1820 there is an entry referring to the days before the discovery of the continent: “Today is the feast of the Nativity of Christ, everyone dressed in ceremonial uniforms and, despite the bad weather, I used the telegraph (as the sailors then called the flag semaphore, - author's note) invited a priest to the sloop, who arrived at 11 o'clock. Everyone listened to the prayer, except for the watchmen."
In January 1820, not far from Antarctica, Lieutenant Lazarev could call a priest only from board the sloop "Vostok", there was nowhere else. But the Ostsee aristocrat Bellingshausen never remembered his orthodox "political officer" in that historic voyage. But the time has come to remember and appreciate the spiritual, geographical and personal feat of the ship's priest of the first Antarctic expedition on the planet.
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Of the black clergy
Most of the readers are secular people, therefore they do not understand the meaning of the ranks of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. And what is the status of the ship's hieromonk, they do not understand. A hieromonk is a representative of the black clergy, that is, a person who has taken monastic vows, a monk who has taken a vow of an ascetic life, celibacy, and non-acquisitiveness. And most importantly, he had no right to refuse the obedience of the abbot of the monastery imposed on him. The abbot of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Metropolitan Seraphim, ordered to serve as a ship priest on the ships of the expedition sailing to the unknown continent at the South Pole - the monk had no right not to go. Officers, sailors, doctors, even professor of astronomy Ivan Simonov and painter of the Academy of Arts Pavel Mikhailov could refuse to participate in the voyage … to nowhere. Hieromonk Dionysius could not.
Hieromonk of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Father Dionysius, could have volunteered for such an ultra-long and extremely dangerous voyage (it is possible that the metropolitan, realizing this, could have called the volunteers). Which makes his feat even more significant. What was he doing on board the Vostok, which had his cabin? He encouraged the crew before the likely meeting with death. And this is not a pretty metaphor. There were no maps of the ocean where the sloops were heading. Ahead, beyond the horizon, anything could float out of the waves to meet. And most importantly - if a serious accident happened, the crews of the ships would have no hope for anyone, only for the Lord God! And you can't call for help - the radio has not yet been invented. And when in January 1820 the long-awaited and yet unknown continent froze in front of the sailors' eyes with eternal ice, they listened with pleasure to the prayer of thanks,which Father Dionysius read to them in an undertone. And on the way home, the sloops were severely ruffled by the fierce storms of the southern Indian Ocean for almost six months. The height and ferocity of the waves were such that the sailors hoped only for the prayers of their priest to the Almighty. And Father Dionysius again begged for mercy for them by the ocean.
Not awarded with anything
On July 24 (old style), 1821, the sloops Vostok and Mirny returned to Kronstadt. On those who returned from the campaign, rewards fell into nowhere. With military sailors and even with doctors, everything was simple: they were showered with orders, new ranks, cash bonuses and life pensions. Everyone - from the commanders of the sloops to the last orderly. The difficulty arose with the professor-astronomer, painter of the Academy of Arts and hieromonk. They did not serve anywhere and the officials of the Naval Ministry and the Court of His Imperial Majesty did not know "by what rank" to award these creative personalities? However, the Lutheran Bellingshausen - the head of the expedition - got out of it by sending a report to the Minister of the Navy in August 1821. In which he petitioned “among other things, for the reward, at the discretion of the spiritual authorities, of Hieromonk Dionysius, in respect of his labors,during this voyage they suffered. " But the tsarist officials still did not want to be ungrateful. Professor of astronomy Simonov, painter Mikhailov and hieromonk Dionisy were paid a one-time monetary bonus equal to the double salary of a naval lieutenant. And later, a lifetime pension was determined from the funds of the personal office of Emperor Alexander I: a professor of astronomy - 300 gold ducats a year, a painter of the Academy of Arts - 1,500 gold ducats. Hieromonk Dionysius received an annual pension in the amount of … 120 rubles in paper notes. But the ascetic monk did not have time to receive this modest pension from the king. And later, a lifetime pension was determined from the funds of the personal office of Emperor Alexander I: a professor of astronomy - 300 gold ducats a year, a painter of the Academy of Arts - 1,500 gold ducats. Hieromonk Dionysius received an annual pension in the amount of … 120 rubles in paper notes. But the ascetic monk did not have time to receive this modest pension from the king. And later, a lifetime pension was determined from the funds of the personal office of Emperor Alexander I: a professor of astronomy - 300 gold ducats a year, a painter of the Academy of Arts - 1,500 gold ducats. Hieromonk Dionysius received an annual pension in the amount of … 120 rubles in paper notes. But the ascetic monk did not have time to receive this modest pension from the king.
Apparently, the spiritual authorities did not have time to celebrate the feat of their brother. It is logical to assume that the abbot of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra could not send an old and decrepit priest on a long voyage (although, given the fact that many did not believe in the happy return of the expedition, he could silently sacrifice just such - who do not mind). Exhausted by the harsh and distant campaign, Father Dionysius, immediately upon returning to St. Petersburg, went to the hospital of the Patriarchate. And on October 9, 1821, he died and was buried at the churchyard of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, a little over two months after his happy return. What did the Metropolitan tell the officials when they asked - where to send the pension from the tsar?
The priest - the first in the history of the Russian Church, who approved the priority of his confession and served a prayer service off the coast of Antarctica - died, forgotten by everyone. His grave has been lost, and even his portrait has not yet been found - is it possible that Mikhailov can be found in the sketches of the polar explorer?
Not rewarded with anything, not even human memory, another person of high spiritual deed - Hieromonk Dionysius, who opened Antarctica for believers, went into the world.
Alexander SMIRNOV
