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Fire in the Monastery
A fire flashed out in the Monastery of Mother of God in Suzdal on the 1st of July at 5:30 AM. One of the nuns was passing the cell of Mother Priskilla and saw the fire under the table. At the same moment the smoke filled up the whole cell and the corridor. Sisters were in church in the same building at that time. Having felt the smoke sisters run out of the church. They evacuated pilgrims and old people from the building. The fire team arrived rather quickly, and it saved the building.
Here are three catacomb nuns from the monastery. Schema-abbess Evfimia (right), old catacomb nun Priskilla from Vjatka region and kelejnitsa of Mother Evfimia young sister Ludmila, who was born in Catacomb family. Behind you can see the greenhouses, where some of the sisters lived after the fire.
There were no candle or icon-lamp in the sell, and the small window of the sell was opened. The sisters believe that something was thrown through the window (the cell is on the ground flour) and it caused the fire. Although almost two months have passed, the local authorities do not investigate the event, nor they investigate any other previous accidents.
Several cells were in a very bad condition and the ceiling was ruined in them, and the whole building (3 flours) was completely smoked, like on this picture. Most of winter clothes of the sisters were burned.
The church was smoked too, and here you can see parishioners who came to help to clean the church. It took quite a lot of time to make it back from black to golden.
And here is Hierodeacon Cyprian (named after the St. Cyprian of Suzdal, ‘God’s fool’) helping to clean the church. Father Cyprian was raised in orphanage, then he lived in our parish in the Ukraine and then he came to Suzdal and was tonsured. He was beaten in Suzdal in June, where two young drunk people asked him if he served in ROAC. Father Cyprian said "yes", and one of guys hit his face with the leg and started to beat him till some other people stopped him. Father Cyprian told me, that he had been beaten in the orphanage and that "it was not new for him". He could have answered the guys but preferred to be beaten for Christ.
I took Father Cyprian to police and aked him to put in an application concerning the accident. By that time the red spots were clearly seen on his face. Later his application was declined by the police.
