Cleric of the Iveron Monastery
Date of birth: February 16, 1959
Date of ordination to the diaconate: January 9, 2002
Date of ordination to the priesthood: September 2, 2004
Saint’s Day: May 6
Education: Orenburg Theological Seminary
PRIEST SERGIY DYNNIK
Cleric of the Iveron Monastery
Date of birth: May 26, 1954
Date of ordination to the diaconate: 1996
Date of ordination to the priesthood: June 22 1997
Saint’s Day: July 18, October 8
BIOGRAPHY:
Sergey Alexeyevich Dynnik was born on May 26, 1954, in Khabarovsk, to a family of faithful workers. He was baptized in 1958. In 1970, Sergey graduated from a secondary school and began to work as a turner for the “Stroymechanizatsya” trust. Then, from 1972-1974, he served in the armed forces.
After that, Sergey Alexeyevich studied at the Forestry Management Vocational School, Vyazemsky town, Khabarovsk Region. He worked as a forest ranger at Anyuisk forest area of the Nanai forest husbandry, then, as the head of the airport at Arsenyevo settlement of Nanai District. During the period from 1982 to 1995 he worked as a technician, forest ranger, and mechanical engineer. Sergey Alexeyevich completed an extra-mural program of the Apiculture Institute in Rybinsk, Ryazan Region. There he worked as a beekeeper for ten years. The Lazovsky Gospromkhoz (State Field Husbandry), Khabarovsk Region, employed him as a staff hunter.
In September 1990, the Sacrament of Marriage with Vera Ivanovna took place. There are five children in the family.
In September 1995, during a conversation with Metropolitan Leontius, Sergey Alexeyevich was invited to the Orenburg Diocese. During the period from November 1995 to April 1996, he was a novice at the Nativity Cathedral of Khabarovsk Diocese and attended pastoral courses.
In 1996, he was ordained as a deacon, and on June 22, 1997, as a priest, by Leontius, Metropolitan of Orenburg and Buzuluk.
Father Sergiy was appointed as a cleric to the Church of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh in Novotroitsk.
In 2008, he was enrolled to the extra-mural department of the Samara Theological Seminary.
In December 2009, he was appointed to a pastoral service at the Cathedral of Saint Apostles Peter and Paul in Novotroitsk.
From May to October 2012, he was a senior priest of the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Orsk.
From September 2012 to June 2018, he was a senior priest of the Church of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh in Novotroitsk.
From October 2012 to August 2013, he was a senior priest of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon in Novotroitsk.
From April 2013 to January 2019, he was a senior priest of the Church of Annunciation of the Holy Theotokos in Novotroitsk.
Since January 23, 2019, Father Sergiy has been a cleric of the Iveron Monastery of Orsk.
AWARDS
Church Awards:
a pectoral cross, a kamelaukion, a hypogonation.
HIEROMONK PHILARET (DAVYDOV)
Cleric of the Iveron Monastery
Date of birth: September 16, 1955
Date of tonsure: April 28, 2013
Date of ordination to a hierodeacon: December 9, 2014
Date of ordination to a hieromonk: December 14, 2014
Saint’s Day: December14
BIOGRAPHY:
Hieromonk Philaret (secular name Alexander Vasilievich Davydov) was born in Orsk on September 16, 1955. After completing his secondary education, he studied at and graduated from the Heavy-Engineering Technical School. He was a famous sportsman in our city having a qualification of a master of sports in weightlifting. Alexander joined the army and served at an athletic company. Then he studied at the Polytechnic Institute. After that, he worked as an engineer at the YUMZ (a Heavy-Engineering plant) for 2 years and as a foreman of a construction team for 5 years. Alexander Vasilievich was one of the first people in Orsk who created a cooperative. After this, he actively led an oil business for several years.
Alexander Vasilievich contributed a lot to the renewal of the Transfiguration Cathedral of Orsk and built the Orthodox Gymnasium dedicated to the Holy Royal Martyrs. For a long time, he was a trustee of the Andreyevsky Monastery situated in the village of Andreyevka, Orenburg Region. Moreover, he contributed significantly to the construction of the Great Martyr George Cathedral in Orsk and the organization of the sisterhood at the settlement of Kherson, Gai District.
Alexander Vasilievich visited Holy Mount Athos several times and strived as a novice at the Docheiariou Monastery for a year.
On April 28, 2013, Irenaeus, Bishop of Orsk and Gai, tonsured novice Alexander a monk, who received the name Philaret (after Saint Philaret the Merciful).
On December 9, 2014, monk Philaret was ordained to a hierodeacon by Irenaeus, Bishop of Orsk and Gai.
On December 14, 2014, he was ordained to a hieromonk by the Bishop of Orsk and Gai Irenaeus.
In 2018, hieromonk Philaret graduated from the Orenburg Theological Seminary.
Since 2014, hieromonk Philaret has been a senior priest of the Church of the Tabyn Icon of the Holy Theotokos at Kherson, Gai District.
Since 2016, he has been the senior priest of the Hospital Church of the Iveron Icon of the Holy Theotokos in Orsk.
From August to November 2018, he was an interim senior priest of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon in the town of Yasny.
Since 2014, hieromonk Philaret has been a cleric of the Iveron Monastery of Orsk.
AWARDS
Church Awards:
III-Class Order of the Venerable Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Russian Orthodox Church.
II-Class Order of the Venerable Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Russian Orthodox Church.
– Our son, who is 16, and daughter, who is 13, sometimes allow themselves the words of reproach and morals towards us, their parents, who, according to them, do something in a wrong way. At such moments, we have to point out strictly, but with a certain raise in our voices, that treating parents in this manner is impermissible. All this is accompanied by the loss of peace of my soul. Should I confess this state as a sin?
– If you feel concerned about it, confess.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– Do your sisters make prayer ropes? May I acquire them and have them sent by post?
– Yes, you may. Send us your address, and the sisters will send the ropes to you.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– What should I do if I have been interacting with a young man for three years, and he has recently said he is inclined to go to a monastery, but he does not stop our interaction?
– I do not know. It’s your personal choice.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– Dear Father, may I ask you to record the hymns of St. Symeon the New Theologian with your voice in a separate audio or video file? Please, do as many recordings as you can.
– I have cherished this dream for a long time. I promise to record something tonight.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
May we have exemptions during a fast?
– May I have kefir (a dairy product) during a fast, as I have a sore stomach? It helps me a lot, otherwise, I have heartburn. I asked our parish priest, but he only shrugged his shoulders. I asked, “So, I should not violate the fast?” But he never answered.
– You better address your spiritual guide. He might know about your health and will bless you to loosen your fast in this relation. If you do not have a spiritual guide, then loosen your fast yourself, according to your health condition.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– During Great Lent, people do not read akathists, but there are the days of commemoration of the holy icons of the Theotokos. And I would very much like to glorify Her by reading the akathists.
– Well, you can go home, close the door and glorify as much as you wish. I think, God will not punish you. I try to find out, why we cannot read akathists during Great Lent. They say there is the word “rejoice, rejoice” there, but we should shed our tears in the time of Lent. Our tears are sometimes of the Pharisees. Alright, today we have Lent and we will cry. You know, tears should come naturally. When you repent sincerely, you may even cry at the Paschal service, and you cannot help it.
Joy should be natural too. It does not work in compliance with a schedule. For example, you have met God at the Liturgy today, and your heart is jubilant, and no Church canon or rule will make you stop being happy, as you have natural joy and tears. It is bad when we make a kind of rehearsal out of this, or try to have it according to a schedule. All of this resembles, to some, Orthodox theater. You better not make any plans, but live and pray attentively and be with God. In this case, we will have a state, which combines two opposite things, a grief and a joy. This means we are always grieving over the contrast between God and us, as we see ourselves before God in our attentive prayer. We are so far from Him, but He loves us so much and we do not love Him the same way. That is why we grieve. At the same time, we clearly see and perceive that He loves us no matter what, and does not turn away from us. At that moment, our grief transforms into our joy, and these two states become one.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– Can we experience God without prayer?
– Those people, who do not know prayer, cannot experience God. They may know a lot about God. They may even be professors of theology, but people can experience God only through prayer. That is why we implore people to dedicate much time to pronounce the Jesus prayer. Not only for two hours in the evening, or during the Divine Liturgy, but say it during the daytime; say it all the time. In the beginning, we gave ourselves a task: to pronounce the Jesus prayer all day long; the prayer became dull, and we began to relax. That is why we remind you once again: say this prayer, as it should be not only your obedience, it should be your joy. Because when you have this prayer, nothing can be compared to this state, no kind of joy.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– I have a fear because of covid, as many people die. The Patriarchy ordered to give the Eucharist from single-use spoons or to wipe the spoon with alcohol after each person. In fact, the situation at different churches is different. At some churches, people do not wear masks at all and take the Eucharist from one spoon. My relative and over 10 friends died from covid. I go to church very seldom now because of my fear and I am afraid of taking the Eucharist. What should I do?
– If you live in a big city, I think, you may find a parish where they give the Eucharist taking all of those precautions. On the other hand, you may ask a priest. If he is a “sober-minded” priest, he will respond to your appeal.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov
– When my child was little, he went to church with pleasure. Now that he is older, he does not want to go to a service. Why?
– Often it happens that we push and torture our children with our faith, while their faith has not taken place yet. It seems to us they go to church sincerely, but they do this because we make them. In fact, nothing has happened in their souls. So, when they grow up and have no fear of parents, they cease going to church.
We need to have much patience, wisdom, and love, so that our children follow us. We should not bark at them all the time, but become an example for them. They need to see we have succeeded in our faith. As very often, they only hear our words, but do not see the results at all. That is why they do not believe in our faith. Often, we do not live up to the high words we tell our children. That is why they get disappointed in our faith.
Archpriest Sergiy Baranov