"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. 8 Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
The House of Labor in Brooklyn - we have written about it many times - is a shelter for the homeless. But the Russian inscription above the gate leading to the small courtyard of one of the houses on 1 Brighton - where the shelter is located - puts everything in its place: it is a shelter for Russian-speaking people. That's its main feature. The fact is that Russian-speaking vagrants are a very special category in the social stratum of the American homeless. They are always (with very few exceptions) deep alcoholics and drug addicts, who found themselves at the social bottom thanks to their irresistible alcohol or drug addiction. That is why this only shelter for homeless Russian-speaking alcoholics and drug addicts in America required more than just providing them with a table and shelter, as other American shelters traditionally do for their residents. And so began the never ending battle for fallen Christian souls. Without sparing any effort, the Labor House began to do everything possible to snatch the rejected by society, lost brothers in Christ from the clutches of Satan, to restore the Faith, Hope, and Love they had long lost, to bring them closer to the Lord. How? Through Orthodoxy!
Deacon Vadim (Arefyev), the founder and director of the Workers' Home, now a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, was unable to cope with the compassion that overwhelmed his soul when three years ago he saw with his own eyes how his countrymen who had fallen into despair and “reached the end of their rope” were dying on the famous Brighton seafront (Brighton “Boardwalk”). Unhappy, desperate, their humanity lost long ago, they died of hunger and cold, wallowing in their own vomit and foul language, breaking each other's heads in drunken brawls....
The basis for everything, as one would expect from an Orthodox deacon, was prayer. Every Tuesday evening (winter, fall, cold, rain) Deacon Vadim began to come to “Boardwalk” as if for work. He would unfold his simple (only three icons) portable iconostasis specially made for this purpose, and begin the Divine Service. And the word of God sounded over the homeless arbor, and some scary staggering ragamuffins with unshaven faces, clouded eyes, and hands shaking from vodka and drugs crawled out from somewhere. Most of them, watching, remained on the sidelines, but there were some who, hesitating, joined the Divine Service, ineptly and incorrectly crossing themselves and resembling little children who had just been taught to do so. And Deacon Vadim prayed, addressing the Savior and the Mother of God, for help to all those suffering and addicted to alcohol and drug addiction...And then a chapel was built in honor of St. John of Kronstadt.
With the blessing of Vladyka Bishop Gabriel of Manhattan, it was equipped in a tiny (3.5 x 5.0 meters) room rented in a private house in Brighton. Despite the limited space, everything was made “like people”: in front of the altar - a full iconostasis, a lectern with a candlestick, all the walls of images and, of course, the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary “The Unopenable Cup”, the protector of all alcoholics and drug addicts, the patroness of this specially created parish for such poor people. Since then, the services, which always follow the full ranks, gather 25-30 people (more can't fit)...
On Sundays, the service is moved to the solarium on the 10th floor of the Home for the Elderly, among whom there are many Orthodox people. On big Orthodox holidays on weekdays, the service is held in the Lutheran Church rented for this purpose. And then there are already two and sometimes three times as many people praying as in the chapel. And these days the parish is called “The Church of the Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary ‘The Irreplaceable Cup’. (A church by that name is planned for Brighton). Here on the basis of this simple chapel and the House of Labor. In front of the entrance to the prayer room was equipped with a small refectory, in the semi-basement - a sleeping room for six beds with bedding (if necessary, two or even three additional places “unfolded” in the prayer room). And each person accepted here heard the Christian mercy: “Live until you stand on your feet. And the bedding, which the residents of the asylum had long since gotten used to, reminded them each time that they were now on the other side of the line that had so ruthlessly separated them (and some of them for many years) from the rest of the people who were well and sober. And that they were loved by the Lord just as much as those “safe and sober” people, in spite of everythin
From the very beginning, a clear schedule of rising and going to bed was introduced, resulting in the daily recitation of morning and evening prayers (the Rules), and everyone had to set up an East-facing prayer corner in his or her bedroom. Prayers were used to precede and conclude every meal (later “Lives of the Saints” were read during the dinner meal). And the topics of spiritual conversations, which Father Vadim regularly began to hold with the brethren, were the subject of lively discussions. In addition to all this, in order to exclude the possibility of idle stay of the brothers in the orphanage, as if justifying its name, a working Artel was created for the production of rosaries, kiosks, grave crosses, frames and frames for icons. All of this was immediately in demand in Orthodox churches in America. (Later, the House of Labor came to some monasteries in Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, producing vestments for clergy, and Metropolitan Laurus blessed the Artel to be the representative of these monasteries in the United States and Canada). Those wishing to settle in the shelter were offered a five-day detoxification course at the hospital. Then - an interview, during which he was introduced to the “Rules of Life in the House of Labor”, which he had to sign as a sign that he accepts them. The main point here was that no one was allowed to show up at the orphanage even slightly drunk or on drugs. If this happened, the offender was given three minutes to pack and sent out the door. The verdict was not final: the exile could return after another detoxification course.
The principle proclaimed by the Fathers of the Church was at work: “Fallen? Rise up! Fallen again? Rise again!” Those who returned were welcomed with great joy and forgiveness, as in the Gospel story of the prodigal son.... The “Rules” also spoke of the unbaptized, as well as atheists and non-baptizers. An unbaptized person, but interested in Orthodoxy, was taken without a sound. He was unobtrusively tried day by day to convince him to be baptized and accept Orthodoxy. Atheists and non-believers were given a receipt that they undertook not to propagandize the atheistic worldview and doctrines of other religions in the shelter in any form. And there were days when Catholics and Jews, who had joined the shelter (not to kick them out!), lived next to the Orthodox. The Catholics came to the Divine Services, though they did not stand for long, but they prayed intently, baptized diligently in their own way...
During its existence, 49 Russian-speaking homeless people addicted to alcohol and drugs have passed through the shelter. Of these, 42 were Orthodox Christians (two of them were not initially baptized and were baptized in the shelter), 4 Catholics, 1 Jew and 2 atheists. Out of the total number, 17 people found a job, rented an apartment and thankfully left the shelter and returned to normal life. 11 people had a breakdown and went back to drinking or into drugs, but found the strength to come back. From them 2 people were among the 17 who returned to normal life, and 9 people, having had another breakdown, did not return to the shelter. Their fate is unknown, probably not very life-affirming. The remaining 23 people, having left the shelter for one reason or another, did not come back. The fate of some of them is known: they found a job, which they are coping with, but they did not give up their addictions...Here are the stories of some of the shelter residents who lived there at the time of writing this article - a kind of sociological cross-section.
Brother Georgiy (nickname “Ghost”), 49 years old, Kiev resident, historian by education (Kiev State University), specialist in general History, formerly a high school History teacher in one of Kiev schools; baptized, Orthodox, but never visited the Temple, never confessed or received Holy Communion; alcohol addict for many years. He came to America with his family (wife, 11-year-old son) in 1996 with refugee status. He worked in a Brooklyn company as a turner (program-controlled carousel machines).... A year later he had a serious conflict with his wife, had to leave his family, got drunk, stayed at his job for a while, then lost his job and found himself on the street...Lived under a bridge in Shibsedbeya...- A mattress, a blanket, a bottle of vodka at night..... The police offered shelter. Every three hours they came to check if I was still alive...Lived in the stadium.....
- Big beach umbrella, oilcloth, there was a bed...Lived under a gazebo on Brighton “Boardwalk”...- One morning I wake up, one died, there were three of us...And in general, how many times I thought: “That's it! “That's it! White fever!” In winter 2001, I was dragging a stroller with empty bottles along the highway at night, near the UN building. I felt like I was going to fall down and freeze...
In total, he lived on the street for 8 years, and all this time, minus 2 years, he drank heavily (with breaks). During these 2 years I didn't drink, worked as a deliveryman of finished products in an American magazine, but still lived (it became a hard habit) on the street...- The street has its own laws, you have to adapt.... For me, it's like this: there's a field, there's a clearing, there's a crossroads, and there you can get killed.....
I lived in a tent in the woods near JFK airport for most of those 8 years. There was no permanent job (sometimes delivering newspapers for $40 a day), and I lived in poverty. Several times he was taken to the police, but was released “for lack of corpus delicti”. In winter, in order not to freeze, he would drink himself into oblivion.....
- A tent, three blankets, heated by candles, cats also warmed me.... Well, a heated mattress, of course, we call it “Hello Landlord!”.... At the beginning of November 2005, I asked Father Vadim to give me a place to sleep, to help me get rid of my alcohol addiction.
The head of the House would later say: “Look, who's this ‘bastard’? Running eyes, neck stretched out! The weather was warm, and he was wearing some inconceivable earflap, with one ear up and the other down. We put a plate of borscht in front of him - as if he had never eaten with a spoon or fork. We understood everything. We immediately surrounded him with the utmost care ... “Brother Georgy lived in the Labor House for four months and during that time he never came out of town drunk. - I warmed my soul. I was treated very warmly. Fr. Vadim prayed for me ...
Sometimes at night, with the permission of the Home Manager, he would go out to collect empty bottles, turn them in, and contribute his share to the utility bills (they were paid jointly in the Labor House). He liked it at the orphanage. - It's a good place. You trust him. I've slept in other shelters, the police will enlighten you all! You go out for five minutes, there's another raid at the entrance. Once there was no room, I sat on a chair all night, they wouldn't even let me take my shoes off. And there's a telephone! And once they collected money for a funeral, even though he was Catholic. I was surprised. I remember when a fellow died under a gazebo in Brighton, the police put him in a black bin bag... They say they bury them on the island somewhere, in a mass grave.... I got a permanent job at my old place - as a delivery boy for an American magazine. Talking about his vagabond tent life, he lamented: “I could have left my life there. As Father Vadim says: “I wouldn't have had time to confess!”
He progressed in Orthodoxy, as he himself put it, “with ant-like steps. - He learned how to approach someone, how to cross himself, how to place a candle. Everyone around helped... Gradually I began to penetrate the content of prayers, asking the Lord to look upon me in prayer ... For 4 months of his stay in the Brotherhood Brother George never missed a single Divine Service, constantly confessed and received Holy Communion.... - Now I can't imagine how it was possible not to pray. I don't pray for two days and everything is bad. My mood changes, my soul is not calm.... And then it is necessary to return to prayer immediately, otherwise this mental discomfort will be replaced by comfort, but it will be another comfort - down-to-earth, comfort of indifference, complacency, negligence.... That's from Satan. I lived with this for eight years...
In February, with the blessing of Father Vadim's priest, Brother George was admitted to the altar of the Temple as a servant, for which he thanked the Lord profusely. He fulfills this obedience with Christian humility. - In the altar the soul immediately adjusts to the spiritual mood. There I feel very confident of my place....
Since March he has been living on his own, leading a completely sober lifestyle, regularly coming to the Chapel three times a week for Divine Services, and talking to newly arrived brothers about the Christian way of life in the orphanage. - How many people have been saved from death! How many have been instructed in the way of truth! On Orthodox Easter he washed most of the bottles he had collected, filled them with water blessed by Father Vadim and labeled each bottle “Holy Water” for free distribution to parishioners.... - The soul grows stronger. The feeling that today you are stronger than yesterday, and tomorrow you will be stronger than today....
Brother Yevgeny (Deryagin, in the address - “Mikhalych”), 65 years old, a citizen of Kharkov, formerly a career military man, lieutenant colonel of the Strategic Missile Forces, a graduate of the F.E. Dzerzhinsky Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces in Moscow, Ph. Dzerzhinsky in Moscow, candidate of technical sciences (scientific developments made by him while working on his dissertation were implemented in the troops and still have practical value), master of sports in officer's pentathlon, has awards... He has never had any alcoholic or even drug addiction (in the Soviet military environment it was extremely rare).
He came to America in September 1997 on a visitor's visa and two months later, when his visa expired, he became an illegal immigrant. He worked in the Northeastern states as a hotel repairman, a construction worker, a cook's assistant in a restaurant.... He came to Boardwalk in November 2005, when his thirty-year-old son was killed in a car accident in Kharkov. The shock and then depression were so strong that he could not work properly... He spent a week and a half on the Brighton seafront (though, to his credit, he never had a hangover in the morning), and by the end of the second week, he felt that he was dying....
He was sitting on a bench on the “Bordvok” and was quite fit. Apparently, he looked like that, because Father Vadim paid attention to him: “Baptized? Orthodox? He told the priest how in 2001, on the day of his 60th birthday, he received Holy Baptism in St. Nicholas Cathedral in Manhattan, and how, having been baptized, he immediately forgot about it - he did not pray, did not observe fasts, never confessed and did not receive Holy Communion. And even in the Temple for these years was only 2 times. However, he proudly wore the cross, and the feeling of belonging to the Orthodox brotherhood did not leave him for a minute. And then this misfortune with his son.... Father Vadim understood everything. - We can't do without God. He will lend a hand! You just need to believe...He offered Eugene to undergo a detoxification course and invited him to the House of Labor. The first steps to Orthodoxy began. At first he did not understand why the services were so long (he was drawn to the street to smoke), and the prayers were so long....
- I slowly began to see. I began to confess, to receive Holy Communion, to travel with Fr. Vadim to other churches, not only in New York.... I learned a number of prayers by heart. Gradually they ceased to seem long to me, and so did the Divine Services.... And I didn't understand Old Slavonic, so I had to buy a prayer book with an explanation. And once at confession I remembered my old sins, and suddenly tears flowed.... It happened several times. Through Christianity I tried to rethink the death of my son: “God's will is for everything! He has His own Providence. I pray for my son, I give notes... I didn't realize before how he needed it.
In January 2006 he found a job as a cook's assistant in a restaurant and in April he was about to leave the Labor Home. Then Father Vadim offered him a paid position as a shelter supervisor. I couldn't refuse. - He brought me to Orthodoxy, was kind, attentive to me.... I accepted the obedience.
The job wasn't so easy. -They're all very different - in character, views, determination. That's okay, it's normal. But they're all addicted to vodka, to drugs. I knew how to behave with alcoholics, they're predictable, but drug addicts ... It's the first time I've encountered them. They don't dialog, their actions are often unpredictable....
He got the job done. His vast officer experience of working with people helped. It's true, things happened over the months. There was the theft of a treasury box. We had to scratch the fallen brother out of the police station, who, if Senior had not stated that there was no money in the box, would have faced imminent imprisonment....
There was also the unexpected refusal of the brother entering the orphanage to answer the questions put to him (“Is this a concentration camp or what?”). They had to part with him, and brother Eugene still regards it as his defeat: “He's a drug addict, what's the use? But me... Where was my mercy, my kindness? I didn't find the key...
Organizational measures, however, were not very difficult: the arrangement of the Chapel was aesthetically improved, the unfolding of the “camp church” on Sundays was brought to automaticity, the assortment of the icon shop and the catalog of products produced by the Artel were expanded, the financial reporting of all income coming into the House of Labor began to be streamlined, the schedule of duty in the shelter began to be drawn up and strictly followed (the duty officer monitors order and personally carries out wet cleaning of all rooms)..... The most difficult thing was to be an example of Orthodox life for others. No, Brother Eugene still succeeded in something. Setting an example for the brethren, he strictly observed all the fasts. And he did not fall into temptation even when, having a chef's experience, he tried to prepare something especially tasty for the children at the feast, tasting at the same time the tempting odors of fasting.
He tried to be an example to others during Orthodox feasts. Having previously familiarized himself with the content of the feast, he would gather the brethren and tell them what Gospel or Old Testament event the coming feast was dedicated to, to whom and for what it would be good to pray on that day. And when Father Vadim spoke about it later, the brethren were already prepared for perception. The Elder was the worst at prayer. He observed the morning Rule...
- We put a couple candles in the prayer room - the two or three who slept there that night (the rest of us pray in our basement). And on goes the prayer!..... sometimes evening ones. But during the day he could not always bring himself to get up for prayer. Later in an interview with the author, he condemned himself: - Lamented the lack of time. I'm ashamed to remember! The sin of self-justification! How can there not be enough time for prayer, which is the most important thing for an Orthodox Christian?
He told the author that he always catches himself judging others. He lamented: “I try to restrain myself, but nothing works! This is Satan's nature! I do not condemn my dirty, wicked soul! But I recognize a speck in the eye of others...
On September 16, he flew home to Kharkov. There his wife was waiting for him at his son's grave. He said that he would gladly return to Brooklyn for six months to work for free on the construction site of the Church of the Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary “The Unopenable Cup”...
Brother Andrei, 37 years old, a resident of Kiev, by profession - an optician, a specialist in the assembly of glasses; baptized, Orthodox, however, the temple visited very rarely, at the same time, once a year he necessarily confessed and received Holy Communion, and with his wife, as it was supposed by the Orthodox custom, married in the Church; has never been neither alcohol nor drug addicted ... He came to America five and a half years ago on a “green card” he won in the lottery to earn money. He left his wife and two small children in Kiev. He immediately felt loneliness: “I found myself completely alone in America..
At first everything was going well: he found a job in his specialty in one of the “Optics” stores, earned good money, started saving.... But six months later, disaster struck: one evening, being completely sober (at that time he had not been drinking at all), he left his bag with all his documents in the subway....
It was not easy to recover his green card and social security card, which gave him the right to work, although he knew their numbers by heart: he had to present two official documents with photographs. True, one of these documents could easily be a driver's license, which he could quickly obtain if he wanted, but the second one (which could be his restored Ukrainian passport) immediately caused problems. The thing was that he had not yet registered with the Ukrainian consulate, which immediately deprived him of the right to automatic restoration of his lost passport. He was offered to return to Ukraine and get a new passport there. - Well, how would I get back to the U.S. without a green card? Ask for a visa? And who would give it to me? At that time, the Optika store where he worked was no longer profitable, and the owner closed it. For two months Andrei was paid unemployment benefit, he somehow paid the rent, then he couldn't. Finding himself on the street, he immediately found himself in a certain environment....
- I don't even remember exactly when I started drinking. But I started to get drunk and, which I had never done before in my life, I started to take a hangover..... And I couldn't get out of my drunken state..... One day in March 2002, he was lying on a bench in the park, the police came and took him to the hospital for detoxification. After 5 days he left the hospital and returned to his friends in the park on the same day...Since then he has been drinking heavily for 5 years with short intervals, having been to the hospital for detoxification 18 (!) times over the years.... All the time he tried in vain to restore documents.... During these years I approached the Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (on 18th Avenue) more than once. The Orthodox Church seemed to him something like a quiet harbor, where he could at least temporarily “anchor”, “rest his soul”, look around.... However, he did not dare to go inside drunk, and every time, after standing for a while, he went away.
But one day, two years ago, when the service was over, he made up his mind and entered the temple even though he was drunk. - No one reproached me. They warmed me up, fed me, gave me $20, and I drank it right away..... Father George (Kallaur - V.K.) kept urging me to go to the hospital.... During these 5 years he worked a few months as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Queens (he was kicked out for drunkenness); a few months as a builder on the renovation of the premises of a future nightclub in Miami (he drank, but still worked until the end, until the owners for lack of money did not interrupt the renovation); a few months as a plumber in a home for the elderly in New York .... In this job he did not drink, and maybe, who knows, it would have gone on like that, but an elderly Russian woman with whom he shared a two-room apartment died unexpectedly, and he, having buried her (there was no one else to do it but him), could not stand the stress and drank...
- The worst thing for an alcoholic is the first drink. Besides, I was out on the street again: I couldn't pay for the whole apartment..... And on the street, my friends, my buddies: “Come on!” At the very beginning of this drunkenness, like a drowning man clutching at straws, I remembered Father George. He was glad to see me, accepted me as his own, and advised me to apply to Father Vadim at the Labor House. Father Vadim told me later: - He came in during the Divine Service. His behavior was unpleasant: he was aggressive, talking rudely to the Elder..... I suspended the service.
- If you dare to come to us, you need to detox right away, right now! He paused for a moment, then abruptly: -Father, take off your glasses! I prayed, took off my glasses, and he brought his face very close to mine. - I agree! I understand everything! Agreed! After the service, I took him to the hospital. He was squirming. Any attempts to talk about spiritual things were met with laughter... and kept trying to run away. I said: “If you want to go, we'll go. If not, I'll pray for you.” He jumped out of the car after all...
He drank heavily for five months, and one day, in early August 2006, when he was taken to the hospital for the next time, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas - V.K.). They treated him for 10 days, prescribed medicine ... However, there was no money for the medicine anyway, and on leaving the hospital he threw away the prescription.... - I held out one day, then I snapped and drank again. Three days later I started to feel bad. My abdomen started to enlarge, there were wandering pains in my internal organs. I thought I had cirrhosis of the liver. In the hospital, where he urgently went, they found a cyst in the area of the pancreas, closing the stomach. He was operated on immediately. After leaving the hospital, he never drank again....
Father Vadim recalls: “He appeared with brotherly love in his eyes... I saw that this was not yesterday’s sober Andrei, this was something else... He settled in a shelter and thought hard about his life. - Why did the Lord send me this? This disease, surgery? So that I can finally stop? Gave me another chance? And a little later: - He is merciful. He does not give tests beyond his strength. He gave me Hope... He doesn’t confess or take communion yet, he says that “he’s not ready yet,” but he learns prayers by heart and, according to Vadim’s father, “asks the Lord for help.” - And here a very sick boy came to us, a drug addict, from the Church of the Holy New Martyrs. So it was Andrei who hugged him and took him away... The man is moving towards Christ! We are witnessing the birth of a new man...
And above the Brighton Boardwalk, 24 hours a day, an endless cry of despair floats and floats: “Save our souls!!!”
Vladimir Krylovsky, parishioner of the Church of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, independent journalist, New York. magazine "Orthodox Rus'", Jordanville, December 2006.
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