Hieromonk Roman(in the world Alexander Ivanovich Matyushin; November 16, 1954, village of Ryabchevsk, Trubchevsky district, Bryansk region) - hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church, poet, author of poems and spiritual chants, member of the Russian Writers' Union.
“Many years ago he chose a solitary path for himself and is still asceticizing in the Vetrovo monastery in the Pskov region, among swamps and forests, where to get to an ordinary person very difficult. From his wilderness, Father Roman still closely follows the events and spiritual processes in modern world and responds to them in his accusatory poems, sometimes very vivid and emotional."
Hieromonk Roman - Rus' is still alive... Director Valentina Matveeva, 2012
Hieromonk Roman (Alexander Matyushin) was born in 1954, in the family of a rural teacher. He studied at the university and taught at school. In 1983 he took monastic vows, and in 1985 he was ordained a hieromonk.
Word from Hieromonk Roman Matyushin
The name of Hieromonk Roman is well known to millions of Russian people. The author of spiritual poems and songs, a member of the Russian Writers' Union, a simple Russian monk, he has long become near and dear to many adherents of pure patristic Orthodoxy. Cassettes with recordings of his songs are sold in churches throughout Russia. They are sung by professional singers and are well known abroad.
Without exaggeration, we can say that the most powerful poems of Father Roman are dedicated to his mother, Schema-nun Zosima. In the world, she was a village teacher and the first teacher of faith for her son.
Zhanna Bichevskaya - Spring (Song of Hieromonk Fr. Romana):
Alexander began writing poetry in his youth; already his early poems are distinguished by impeccable poetic literacy - Alexander Matyushin graduated from the Faculty of Philology. He felt the calling to monasticism (and there is evidence of this in poetry) already in his early youth, and perhaps (unconsciously) in childhood. He took monastic vows at the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, then served in the parishes of the Pskov region, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra after its opening and, finally, with the blessing of the ruling bishop of Pskov Eusebius, he became the only monk of the Vetrovo monastery.
Why, having already become a monk, did Father Roman return to poetry and sing?
The priest himself answers this question like this: “Maximalism still remains in me. When he entered the monastery, he gave away all his property and said goodbye to his past life. But one day they gave me a guitar. Of course, I was surprised, but I accepted the gift.
In Pechory there lived an old schema-montress who once told me: “I was familiar with many bishops, even royal ones. They said that the balalaika and accordion are from demons, but you can pray on the guitar.” And my doubts went away. Elder Nikolai Guryanov played the harmonium and sang poetry for many years. It was he who made me understand that singing can be a continuation of prayer. He gave his blessing to record my chants on cassettes.”
During one of our long-standing conversations with Father Roman, I asked him if he repented of the fact that he had already written so many poems, recorded twelve cassettes, and all this had brought him far from monastic popularity.
Father didn’t like the word “popularity,” and he responded, as always, “scourged everyone and everything,” including himself:
– Is popularity monastic? Nowadays it is simply dangerous, it acts like a litmus test: the more popular, the more painful it is. You don’t need any intelligence or special talent, the main thing is to get through to the microphone or screen, and then throw vomit on those watching and listening - they’ll eat you. If they don't eat it, they'll endure it. Alas, they still eat! There is a purposeful corruption of youth, the destruction of Purity, the destruction of the Future. For what is the Future without Purity? One thing consoles me: my unpopularity among the world. Who listens to my songs, reads my poems? A certain part of believers and seekers of the Truth. This is what makes me happy. Do I repent of my creativity? I know that people pray for me (this is also God’s mercy), thank God, some came to Church. What is there to repent of? Another thing is that, as a monk, it is more difficult for me to fight pride and vanity, because no one has ever been praised harmlessly. But thank God - “half the world praises, half the world criticizes.”
In the books of Father Roman, two images of our homeland appear: Rus', desecrated, desecrated by deception, and Holy Rus', not destroyed by anyone or anything. The attributes of the first appearance are expressed in deliberately colloquial, modern language. Words such as “rush”, “vomit”, “turn”, etc. are not uncommon here. This is a drunken, deceitful, corrupt Rus'. A country of actors, “star worshipers”, well-fed Christ-fighters.
Holy Rus' is white churches and springs, fields, roads, nightingale choirs, holy creatures and the silence of desert places. This is a country of ascetics, warriors of Christ - a people who were humiliated, but who did not lose their living soul.
What connects this is the animal form and the angelic face - the image of Rus'-Golgotha, Crucified Rus'.
Not all places have been visited yet,
Not until the last stanza was cried.
And everywhere is the face of the Crucified Christ,
And everywhere there is a continuation of Golgotha.
A poet-prophet, not a predictor, not a herald, but above all an exposer of popular untruths - a stable image in Russian poetry. Pushkin, Nekrasov, Blok felt like messengers of God, persecuted by people. But for real poets this is not only literary image, this is fate, life's doing. For Father Roman, this is his life’s work par excellence. He takes on the people's pain and prays to God for salvation in the midst of this hell on earth.
“My Rus'! - the poet constantly exclaims. “You’re on the very edge!” But, describing all the details of our fall, he concludes: “This is my people.” Many poems, especially those born from sleepy visions, warn us about the End; in them, everything that happens to us takes on an apocalyptic sound. Images of the Russian land, the dying Russian village...
Boarded up house. There is no sadder picture.
Someone built and lived, but a whirlwind came,
Everything is overgrown with the past, no people, no cattle.
Goy, Mother Rus'! I can't bear to look!
The late poems of Hieromonk Roman are striking in their diversity: these are historical ballads, and parables, and psychological paintings-sketches from nature, and philosophical thoughts, clothed in rhyme, and angry civil lyrics - poems reminiscent of leaflets.
How did we live? They insulted themselves
We didn't look for another method.
They stole, fornicated, robbed -
We drank, there was nowhere else to go.
The camps were not considered a punishment,
At the stages we had fun in different ways:
Some with cards, some with a guitar,
They fought noisily and quietly hanged themselves.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
And let the rootless sycophants
The crucifiers of the Motherland were glorified,
And in captivity we were freer,
Because we weren’t lying!
God does not tolerate the wicked - have you heard?
Those who sold out could no longer survive.
Well, it was no coincidence that we survived,
I believe in Supreme Truth having suffered!
In the monastery of Vetrovo, hidden from the noisy cities, a log church has now risen in honor of the icon Mother of God"Recovery of the dead." Here Father Roman prays in front of the icon of the Zealous Intercessor, painted by himself, for our long-suffering Motherland. On the eve of the anniversary, I was able to ask Father Roman several questions:
- Father, you live in solitude. Meanwhile, judging by your poems, your thoughts, feelings and prayers are inseparable from the destinies of the Russian people. What sources do you get your information from?
– From letters, Orthodox newspapers and magazines that believers send me. There are a lot of mournful letters. Everyone has their own pain. In response to such letters, I try to write at least a couple of words.
– In your latest collections there are many poems about which you cannot say that they are “about the eternal,” they are on the topic of the day and sometimes look like appeals “The Fatherland is in danger!”
– There is always a danger in a collection of overfeeding it with pure spirituality and causing yawning. What prompts such verses? Because I am a living person and I care about what is happening in my homeland. That’s why I left the state, so that I could always raise my voice in defense of my Fatherland, express my personal opinion, without attacking the Church.
– What books by contemporary Russian writers would you suggest young people read?
– Works by the faithful sons of Russia F. Abramov, V. Belov, V. Rasputin, V. Ganichev, A. Korolkov, V. Krupin, A. Segen, M. Shelekhov and other patriots of their homeland. In general, you need to read not for entertainment - to kill time, but for development. And no Western or domestic science fiction and detective stories are needed for nothing! Develop your brain, read the wonderful Russian thinker I.A. Ilyin. I believe that his books should be in the home of every true teacher. Listen: “A person creates in life only what he himself is in the religious dimension: an empty soul will not create spiritual wealth; a petty soul will not create greatness; a vulgar person will not see God and will not receive His rays, and will not pass them on to others.” This is the direction of correct education - bringing the soul to the religious dimension by eliminating vulgarity in oneself and in society. These words need to be hung on the streets in public places, in the corridors of schools, so that an adult is not proud of unbelief, but understands it as the blindness of the soul, so that a child from an early age is afraid of the emptiness and pettiness of the soul, which arises as an insurmountable barrier on the path to greatness and spiritual wealth .
Lyudmila Ilyunina
From the poems of Fr. Romana:
And sorrow, and famine, and sword - the road upward.Do not reject God's Deposit,
Thank you - accept it. Do not doubt:
All for the salvation of those who love God!
Who can harm a lover?
When even death is his gain!
Oh my God! Let your heart love!
Without Love there is no meaning, no salvation! January 31, 2004
YOUTH OF CHRIST
- Mom, christen my sister and me,
- Okay, son, somehow.
It was hard for her alone
Pull the heavy strap.
I remember - snowdrifts, blizzards,
Still, they took us...
Candles, candlestick, font
And the face of the Mother of God.
Don't forget a joyful day
There doesn't seem to be any sunshine.
How could there be light in my soul?
That amazing Light?
I remember returning home
I kiss the cross, I’m so glad!
- Lord God, I am Yours!
The Youth of Christ Alexander.
January 16, 2004
* * *
And they look at their loved ones endlessly,
They are afraid to be separated for a moment.
So the soul must love the Creator
And every moment to strive for the Beloved.
You can't have a wedding without a groom,
He is honored, eyes are raised to him.
And without the Lord there is no life,
And only in Him does she find herself.
Three brothers came to Abba,
He graciously accepted
But only two spoke
And the third, as always, was silent.
– Why are you sitting as a spectator?
If you ask me anything, I will be glad.
“And it’s enough for me to see you,”
The third brother answered quietly.
January 15, 2004
Hieromonk Roman Matyushin is a significant figure both for the Orthodox Church in Russia and for Russian poetry in general, a member of the Writers' Union.
He is also a wonderful performer, and in the meantime, when the priest, due to his age, could not continue to present to the public own compositions, they started doing this for him popular artists Russian stage(Sergei Bezrukov, Elena Vaenga), and famous writer, one of the most prominent representatives of village prose, V. Rasputin, once admitted that the writings of Hieromonk Roman Matyushin greatly impressed him.
Biography of Father Roman Matyushin
The future priest was born on a cold November day, the 16th of 1954. His cradle was the village of Ryabchevsk, Trubchevsky district in Bryansk. Little Alexander Ivanovich (the worldly name of the monk) was the son of a teacher teaching natural sciences, Zoya Nikolaevna, and a participant in World War II, Ivan Konstantinovich. In addition to the boy, the Matyushins had two more children - Tamara and Sveta.
Sasha's mother was a true believer. She secretly took the icons out of the suitcase under the bed, let her children kiss them and put them back - in the turbulent post-war times it was impossible to do otherwise. She read the Gospel to her little son. When the children grew up a little, Zoya Nikolaevna, her sister and the kids went to Bryansk to receive Holy Baptism. Even at this stage of his life, Sasha began to think about monasticism.
Alexander Matyushin was always close to literature and creativity, but life forced him to go through numerous trials before it allowed the creator to take up his favorite craft. After entering the Faculty of Philology state university in Kalmykia and his graduation, Sasha worked at a plant producing silicate materials, as a loader at a sawmill, and as a carpenter.
The priest’s next professions were different; they seemed to lead the future hieromonk to his true destiny. Alexander Ivanovich got a job as a music teacher at school, artistic director at the Palace of Culture. However, even working in difficult logging conditions, he could not refuse the gift given from above and was engaged in creativity - he wrote lyrics, prose, and songs.
In 1980, Alexander firmly decided to present his life to the service of God and went to enter the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery, and three years later he was tonsured a monk already in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, taking upon himself the honor of bearing the name Roman (in honor of the Greek saint Roman Sweet Singer). After two years of tireless service, he received the rank of hieromonk.
Creativity – spiritual poems and songs
Alexander began writing poetry back in best years of her youth, and even then she stood out for her poetic literacy and musicality.
Until the 80s of the twentieth century, the creator was an adherent of Yesenin’s lyrics, but later everything changed - he began writing more spiritual poems, more suitable for his position. The clergyman has reached impressive heights in the literary field - he is the bearer of many awards and the holder of an endless number of prizes.
In the early 90s, the clergyman published collections of lyrics “Russian Kukol” and “Hearing God’s Command” after receiving permission from the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
The poems turned out to be so beautiful that they began to be set to music and performed famous singers national stage, among which the amazing Kuban Cossack Choir stands apart.
For this purpose, some celebrities (for example, Sergei Bezrukov) visited the monk’s monastery to obtain his personal permission. However, one of the surprising things about the recluse is that he does not recognize copyrights.
One of Roman’s largest works is the book “There Is My Serbia”, which tells the story of a hermit's trip to a war-torn country in 1999 and describes his impressions of what he saw there. Interesting piece, which exposes the vices of power and human suffering, should not be ignored either in Serbia, about which the story is being told, or in Russia.
Where he lives and serves
Priest Roman Matyushin served for parishioners in the village of Kyarovo in the city of Kamenets, and with the beginning of the functioning of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra - in it.
Since 1994, the priest was blessed to live and serve in the Vetrovo monastery, where he retired from everyone in 2003.
Conclusion
Without such clergymen, such as the hero of this article, without such righteous people, as they say, the village does not stand. In the words of this man there was (and is) always one truth, one desire to make this world better, to lead people to the main victory - victory over themselves and spiritual purity and beauty.
In his interviews, he always says that Orthodoxy is not a goal, but the goal is God, and he is, of course, right about this. Roman Matyushin-Pravdin (as the poet began to sign his name in 2015) is a man whose life is left not only to God, but also to the people for whom he brings beauty and grace to this world.
The voice of the Russian monk Hieromonk Roman (Alexander Ivanovich Matyushin) was born in 1954, in the family of a rural teacher. He studied at the university and taught at school. In 1983 he took monastic vows, and in 1985 he was ordained a hieromonk. The name of Hieromonk Roman is well known to millions of Russian people. The author of spiritual poems and songs, a member of the Russian Writers' Union, a simple Russian monk, he has long become near and dear to many adherents of pure patristic Orthodoxy. Cassettes with recordings of his songs are sold in churches throughout Russia. They are sung by professional singers and are well known abroad. Without exaggeration, we can say that the most powerful poems of Father Roman are dedicated to his mother - schemanun Zosima. In the world, she was a village teacher and the first teacher of faith for her son. Alexander began writing poetry in his youth; already his early poems are distinguished by impeccable poetic literacy - Alexander Matyushin graduated from the Faculty of Philology. He felt the calling to monasticism (and there is evidence of this in poetry) already in his early youth, and perhaps (unconsciously) in childhood. He took monastic vows at the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, then served in the parishes of the Pskov region, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra after its opening and, finally, with the blessing of the ruling bishop of Pskov Eusebius, he became the only monk of the Vetrovo monastery. Why, having already become a monk, did Father Roman return to poetry and sing? The priest himself answers this question like this: “Maximalism still remains in me. When he entered the monastery, he gave away all his property and said goodbye to his past life. But one day they gave me a guitar. Of course, I was surprised, but I accepted the gift. In Pechory there lived an old schema-montress who once told me: “I was familiar with many bishops, even royal ones. They said that the balalaika and accordion are from demons, but you can pray on the guitar.” And my doubts went away. Elder Nikolai Guryanov played the harmonium and sang poetry for many years. It was he who made me understand that singing could be a continuation. Here you can listen to mp3 online for free and without registration.
› Biography of Hieromonk Roman
Biography of Hieromonk Roman
Hieromonk Roman (in the world Alexander Ivanovich Matyushin) was born on November 16, 1954 in the village of Ryabchevsk, Trubchevsky district, Bryansk region. His father, Ivan Konstantinovich, participated in the Great Patriotic War. Mother, Zoya Nikolaevna, was a teacher in a rural school, teaching biology, chemistry, and geography. The family had three children: two girls, Svetlana and Tamara, and younger son- Alexander.
The Matyushin family, like most rural residents of those years, lived in post-war poverty. Zoya Nikolaevna was a believer, but she believed secretly - it was impossible otherwise in those years. She pulled out a suitcase from under the bed, took out the icons, let the children kiss it, and put it back. Mom was reading little son Gospel, and when he became older, she took him and his sister to Bryansk, where they received Holy Baptism.
In 1972, Alexander Matyushin entered the philological faculty of Kalmyk State University. After university, he was a worker at a silicate plant, a loader in the forest at a sawmill, a carpenter, a music teacher at school, an artistic director at the Palace of Culture - and at the same time he wrote poems, stories and songs.
Also in school years Alexander thought about monasticism. In 1980 he entered the Vilnius Holy Spirit Monastery, in 1983 he took monastic vows at the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery with the name Roman - in honor of the Venerable Roman the Sweet Singer. A few years later, his mother, Zoya Nikolaevna, was also tonsured a nun with the name Zosima. In 1985, Father Roman was ordained a hieromonk.
Having become a monk, Father Roman, with the blessing of Elder Nikolai Guryanov, continued to write songs. In the second half of the eighties, when the Church began to revive in Russia, the chants of Hieromonk Roman brought thousands of people to God. “I remember what a strong impression the hymns of Hieromonk Roman made on me when I heard them for the first time,” wrote Valentin Rasputin. “They forever entered into that Russian spiritual and cultural “chosen place” in which I sought consolation and excitement, when I was required to move alone from myself, from my “I,” to Russia.” In 1991, Hieromonk Roman joined the Russian Writers' Union.
Since 1994, with the blessing of Metropolitan Eusebius of Pskov and Porkhov, Hieromonk Roman has lived alone in the Vetrovo monastery in the Pskov region, serving in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Seeking the Lost” and the home church of St. Seraphim of Sarov.
IN last years Father Roman stopped singing his chants, but famous people do it for him Russian singers Stars: Zhanna Bichevskaya, Oleg Pogudin, Evgenia Smolyaninova, Irina Skorik, Sergey Bezrukov, Elena Vaenga. Hieromonk Roman still writes poetry and sometimes prose: in 1999, his book “There Is My Serbia!” was published in Minsk. with a description of a visit to the long-suffering Serbian land.
In 2012, Hieromonk Roman received the All-Russian Orthodox Church literary prize named after the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky - “For his contribution to Russian poetry.” In 2015 he was awarded one of the main awards of the VI Slavic literary forum"Golden Knight" - Golden medal named after A. S. Pushkin “For outstanding contribution to literature.” Also in 2015, Father Roman became the laureate of the secular Orthodox poetry prize “Virgin of Three Hands,” established by the Ivanka Milosevic Foundation from Chicago.
More than twenty collections of poetry by Father Roman have been published in Russia. In 2013-2014, in St. Petersburg, in the publishing houses "Amphora" and "Petroglyph", three books of poems by Hieromonk Roman were published, most fully reflecting his work in chronological sequence: "Constellation of the Cross", " Last snow" and "Wonderful Light". In 2015, a collection of poems by Hieromonk Roman “Yablki ot detstvoto” (“Apples of Childhood”) was released in Bulgarian with parallel text in Russian (Faber publishing house, Veliko Tarnovo) and a collection “Jasik Shumarak” (“Aspen Grove”) on Serbian, also with parallel text in Russian (“Catena mundi”, Belgrade).
Since 2015, Father Roman began to sign himself “hieromonk Roman Matyushin-Pravdin,” adding the grandmother’s surname to his father’s surname.
Notes in the margins
Vladimir, 08/23/2016 at 23:00
A man is weak in soul and body
And only in spirit is he strong.
Isn't that why the angel is white?
Isn’t that why he’s inspired?
Wandering through life we wonder a lot,
Looking for answers to all questions.
That's why we always see
There is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.
Sergey, 06.11.2016 at 00:41
Dear editor, Olga Sergeevna, good day. Why “since 2015, Father Roman began to sign himself Hieromonk Roman Matyushin-Pravdin, adding the grandmother’s surname to his father’s surname”? A question for you, because I assume that you know the answer. Father should not be bothered with this question.
Editor, 06.11.2016 at 21:38
Sergey, the surname “Pravdin” speaks for itself. For Father Roman, it is very important not to lie about anything - both in life and in his work. I heard him say: “I really regret that I didn’t sign like that from the very beginning.” Father Roman never saw his grandmother, but he knows that she was a believer and a very straightforward person, she did not let anyone go without feeding her. (A little more about Roman’s father’s grandmother will be told in the third part of the essay “In the Breath of a Quiet Wind” - I hope it will appear on the site soon.)
Sergey, 06.11.2016 at 21:50
Olga Sergeevna, thank you for your quick, and most importantly, clear and convincing answer and explanation.
Editor, 06.11.2016 at 21:54
I was glad to answer you, Sergey Stanislavovich!
Galina Nikolaevna., 01/02/2017 at 19:02
Dear editor, hello! I really love Father Roman’s poems. I’m reading the collection “Constellation of the Cross”. Two poems are dated 1977 and the location “Polyarny” is indicated. I myself was born in Polyarny. Therefore, I became interested in how Father Roman is connected with this northern city? Sincerely, Galina Nikolaevna.
Editor, 01/02/2017 at 22:37
Hello, Galina Nikolaevna! After university, Alexander Matyushin (future father Roman) went to Polyarny to visit his sister. They lived on Fisanovicha Street, 5, apt. 6. The house was demolished a long time ago. Not far away was school No. 1 and the Sever cinema. He got a job in a team of carpenters and finishers that worked on high-rise buildings in the village. Vyuzhny, now it is Snezhnogorsk. Snezhnogorsk is located between the town of Polyarny and the village of Gadzhievo. And the construction department itself was in Polyarny on Heroev Severomortsev Street.
Galina Nikolaevna., 01/05/2017 at 21:18
Dear editor! Thank you for your answer. I studied at school No. 1 and visited the Sever cinema. Thank you!
Olga Petrovna, 01/23/2017 at 19:07
Dear editor! Thanks a lot To you and all those thanks to whom I was able to join the work and life of Hieromonk Roman. He is one of those few thanks to whom the door opens to that world that you always seem to know about, but don’t know how to get into it. But through people like Father Roman, you begin to understand where this door is. Write, if possible, how to make a pilgrimage to the priest in the monastery. Sincerely, Olga Petrovna.
Editor, 01/23/2017 at 19:49
Dear Olga Petrovna, thank you for your words of gratitude! As for the pilgrimage, Father Roman really asks you to come to him only with his blessing.
Nikolay Kolomeytsev, 03/04/2017 at 20:10
Dear Father Roman! Your fellow countryman from the Bryansk region, the servant of God Nikolai, is addressing you. I currently live in Ivangorod, Leningrad region. I kindly ask you to accept me for a personal conversation.
Vera Ryabinina, 04/12/2017 at 14:04
Dear Father Roman. My life was turned upside down by High Hierarch Kirill (when he was not yet the High Priest of Russia), Father John (Krestyankin), the book “Not Holy Saints,” and your songs and poems, probably because my soul was waiting for this. You told me dear person.. Thank you for everything.
Vera Ryabinina.
Marieta Georgieva, Sofia, 05/07/2017 at 12:55
Hello! From your site, I dissected what I could and read the translation into a poem on the hieromonk Roman. In Bulgaria, the imam has spoken to Archimandrite Seraphim Alexiev. Negovite soul-saving books for our nashat vyara, for the sick and healthy mystic, for the prayer, the patronizing book for the saint. Seraphim of Sarov will give birth to us, give birth to us in the godless 70s, to the tsarvata and the secrets. In school and at the university, we examine the light of historical personalities, not looking for anyone, but looking at everything for modern times and close to our time. Zatova all the same, taught me a trace of the belly for God, neither amazement nor shock.
Lyubov Alexandrova, 05/26/2017 at 01:01
I thank Father Roman with all my heart; I am one of those who, having heard his chants once, cannot help but listen to them again and again. This is the source of life, a pure spring, these are dear pictures of childhood... and most importantly, this is what brings us back to our roots, to the truth, to God.
Igor, Orenburg, 06/11/2017 at 08:19
Dear editor, how can you get in touch with Father Roman? help please
Lyudmila, Moscow, 09.09.2017 at 22:15
Hello! How can I come to you for a conversation? Your songs helped me a lot.
Lyudmila, Moscow, 09.09.2017 at 22:20
Please tell me how to get blessings from Father Roman in order to come to him. Thank you.
Lyudmila, Serov, Sverdlovsk region, 12/30/2017 at 16:48
Hello! for the first time I listened to the songs of Father Roman, they all contain pain and suffering and joy and faith - only a person with such a refined soul and strong spirit and with unshakable faith he was able to write such songs that touch the heart, penetrate the soul and remain there forever, because in his songs his whole life, all his pain, but he was not only able to go through all this and gain true faith, but also helped and continues to help all of us to endure everything difficulties and to gain faith, first of all, in myself, I am very happy and grateful to Father Roman, and if there was such an opportunity to come to pray and communicate with Father Roman, I would be grateful, I wish Father Roman good health, of course, and I really regret that I didn’t have to hear him earlier songs because they help you just live, believe and hope
Tatiana, Malakhovka, 02/08/2018 at 17:02
Hello! A literature teacher writes to you Orthodox school“Image” of the village of Malakhovka, Moscow region. We read poems with the children and listen to the chants of Father Roman. For us, these are the very steps of the bridge to the Temple of God... For the school conference, we would like to write a collective work based on poetry - perception, spiritual lessons, what modern children have felt and understood... Would you bless?
Editor, 02/09/2018 at 10:55
To Tatyana - from Father Roman:“Jesus said: Let the little children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).
Hello dear editor. Thank you for your good work. I became acquainted with the work of Father Roman two years ago, listened to recordings of songs, and read collections of poems. Many years of joy and deep bow to the author for his spiritual work. Thanks to Father Roman, I am in the Church of God, confessing, taking communion, trying to live according to the commandments. How difficult it turns out to be to realize that the path along which I have walked for 45 years is one complete sin. Thank God for the insight. I struggle with sins, not without falls, unfortunately. Sorry, but I’ll muster up the courage to ask Father Roman for prayers for the many-sinful servant of God Olga. Save me, God.
Natalya Artyomova, 07/09/2018 at 14:05
Good day! I heard Father Roman’s songs for the first time two years ago. Now I listen to them all the time - THANK YOU SO MUCH for such Poems that touch the SOUL. LOW BOW TO YOU, Father Roman.
Vera, Donetsk region, 07/22/2018 at 20:54
Save me, God!
The poems and chants of Father Roman are able to revive the Orthodox soul buried under the rubble of worldly vanity, nourish and cleanse. I think that at one time Father Nikolai Guryanov saw this and blessed this spring to exist. Sorry.
Elena, Moscow, 10/03/2018 at 08:44
A hieromonk is a monastic clergyman. Accordingly, there are two ways to become a hieromonk: either a priest takes monastic vows, or a monk accepts ordination as a priest.
White and black priests
In the Russian Orthodox Church there are two types of priesthood: white and black. Whites are those ministers of the church who did not take monastic vows, and blacks are clergy in monasticism. According to some reports, there is a tradition when seminary graduates are asked to either marry or become a monk before becoming priests. All the highest clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church are chosen from among the hieromonks.
Hieromonks are a phenomenon that became widespread only in the twentieth century. The ancient Christians did not have monks who held holy orders. Apart from the duties of a church minister, the life of a hieromonk is no different from the life of an ordinary monk. He lives in a monastery and wears monastic robes. When tonsured, a monk makes the following vows, which he must observe throughout his entire subsequent life: a vow of non-covetousness (renunciation of worldly goods), a vow of celibacy, a vow of obedience, a vow of prayer. You cannot leave the monastery territory without asking for a blessing.
The main occupations of hieromonks and monks in general are work and prayer. The inhabitants of the monasteries are obliged to work to obtain for themselves everything necessary for existence.
Hieromonk Matyushin
Among the most famous hieromonks of our days, one can name Photius Mochalov, winner of the second season of the television competition “The Voice” and Hieromonk Roman.
The songs of Hieromonk Roman are familiar to many admirers of Orthodox poetry. Alexander Ivanovich Matyushin-Pravdin (father Roman had this name before he was tonsured) was born in 1954 in the Bryansk region. He studied at the philology department of Kalm State University, but did not receive a diploma because he refused to take state exams. He taught music lessons at school, was also engaged in carpentry, and at one time was a worker at a silicate plant. Already in early years Alexander realized that his life's calling was to become a hieromonk, this is reflected in his early poems.
In the early eighties of the twentieth century, a young man decided to fulfill his dream. So he ended up in a monastery in the city of Vilnius, and then in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, where he was tonsured a monk with the name Roman. Four years later he was ordained hieromonk. Father Roman's mother, who worked as a teacher in a rural school, also became a nun. All these years, Hieromonk Roman continued to write poetry. At first, he did not write songs during his monastic life, but after a conversation with an old priest, he reconsidered his attitude towards music. In his own words, the priest told him that the guitar, unlike others musical instruments, is a tool with which you can pray.
Literary and monastic work of Hieromonk Roman
Since the mid-nineties, Father Roman has been carrying out his monastic feat at the Vetrovo monastery in the Pskov region, where in the 2000s he closed himself off from the world for some time and kept in touch with other monks only through notes.
Father Roman's songs are performed like this: famous artists, as Maxim Troshin, Irina Skorik, Kuban Cossack Choir.
Zhanna Bichevskaya, Sergei Bezrukov and Oleg Pogudin recorded albums of songs written by Hieromonk Roman. Bezrukov recalls that during the recording of the album, studio workers came to the monastery of Father Roman, but they were not able to communicate with him, since at that time he was fulfilling a vow of silence. It was possible to obtain written permission to use his works. The hieromonk himself believes that copyrights should not exist, since poems and songs are given to man by the Lord.
From conversations with Roman Matyushin
In his few interviews, the hieromonk talks about some important issues for a believer. Father Roman considers life in nature useful for the spiritual development of a person, although he says that the main thing is not the place, but faith in the Lord and sincere prayer.
About strength folk art Father Roman says that he himself experienced this power when folk song, sung by Nikolai Guryanov (priest, author of spiritual songs and poems, in particular, his songs are heard in the film “Island” performed by Pyotr Mamonov) strengthened his decision to become a monk.
He also talks about the uselessness of “lite” Orthodoxy, which is often perceived by many people as true. Lightweight - that is, one that is based only on the external performance of rituals, without faith in God.
Finally
The songs of Roman Matyushin are an example of true poetry, continuing the traditions of Russian classics. If we talk about the musical component, these songs are rooted in Russian romance. Listening to these works performed by the author, it is difficult to believe that this was written and performed by Hieromonk Roman, our contemporary.