Olga Klyukina: “It’s like diving into the depths! Lives of the saints: new format.

Court intrigues, palace conspiracies, the harem of the Persian king... And against the backdrop of all this is the story of Cinderella and Joan of Arc at the same time. Perhaps this is how one can describe in a nutshell the events taking place in Olga Klyukina’s historical novel “Esther,” which she wrote based on the Old Testament book of the same name.

Stories from the Bible have been used in fiction at all times. Pushkin, Fet, Gumilyov, and Kuprin were inspired by poetic Old Testament texts. And each of them brought something new, something of their own to their original meaning. Olga Klyukina took a different path. She managed to weave a dense, rich and bright canvas of the novel, without deviating at all from its biblical outline and chronology. “The Book of Esther” served as a kind of synopsis for her, which the writer developed in strict accordance with the original source and reliable historical information about that era.

The main characters of the novel are the palace guard Mordecai and his adopted daughter Hadassah - Jews who lived in Persian Susa during the reign of King Artaxerxes I. It was Hadassah who would later become the Persian queen Esther, the wife of Artaxerxes. As a child, she attended the royal feast with Mordecai, arranged for all the inhabitants of Susa. From then on, Hadassa continually insisted that she should become the king’s wife. They laughed good-naturedly at her, but after Mordecai had one strange dream, he decided to fulfill the girl’s wish and, with the help of his friends, arranged for her to be brought to Artaxerxes. This meeting turned out to be fateful not only for Hadassah, but also for all the Jews of Persia. Having become Queen Esther, Hadassah, with the help of Mordecai, prevented a plot against Artaxerxes and was able to cancel the monstrous decree on the extermination of the Jews, concocted by his vizier Haman.

In addition to the fact that “Esther” is undoubtedly a historical novel, it is also very romantic, filled with the subtle feelings and experiences of the characters. Olga Klyukina superbly recreates the atmosphere of the royal palace with its feasts, interiors decorated with gold, expensive, heavy fabrics and smoking incense. And in the center is the fragile girl Esther, a poor orphan who became a queen not on her own whim, not in a desire for better life, but according to an incomprehensible Divine call for the salvation of his people. No wonder the book has a subtitle: “God’s Chosen One.”

For those who are already familiar with the Biblical “Book of Esther,” the novel will help them get a closer feel for its characters. And those who have not yet read Old Testament history will be inspired to open the Bible, as Olga Klyukina was inspired to write amazing novel"Esther".

The “Literary Navigator” program and its presenter Anna Shepeleva were with you. Stay on the right literary course!

KLYUKINA OLGA PETROVNA born in the village of Privolzhsky, Saratov region. After graduating from the Faculty of Philology of Saratov State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky worked in the newspapers “Saratov”, “Saratovskie Vesti”, “Saratov Panorama”, “ A new style", "Vzglyad" and other city publications, covering the problems of modern culture.

Author of the novel “Esther” (M, “Terra- book club", 2002 and M, "Triad", 2006), stories for children "The Fiery Sword of Gideon", "The Faithful Guard Mordecai", "Brotherly Victory" (M, "Triad", 2007, series "Biblical battles"), "Nikita the Little Finger and the Wonderful Treasure" (M. "Lepta", 2007), the "Saints in History" series of six books (2014-2015) and other works.

From 2010 to 2013, she worked on the TV channel “Moya Joy” (Moscow) as a screenwriter, editor-in-chief of the children’s educational magazine “Shishkin Les” and the almanac “Kind Word”.

Olga Petrovna Klyukina is a laureate of the Government Prize Russian Federation in the field of printed media mass media for 2012, winner of the Third International competition children's and youth fiction and popular science literature named after A.N. Tolstoy for his story “Prophet Jonah: The Lonely Warrior.”

Member of the Union Russian writers since 2005.

In 2016, Olga Klyukina’s play “Belikov. Rehabilitation".

Currently lives in Kaluga.

FROM THE BOOK “SAINTS IN HISTORY.”

APOSTLE PAUL

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

(2 Cor. 3:17)

...The hurricane struck suddenly - sailors call this destructive wind eurakilon. He drives black clouds from the east, and then with one blow extinguishes the light, brings down streams of water from above, changes the places of sky and sea, and pronounces a death sentence on all ships that did not have time to take refuge in the harbor.

A ship from Alexandria, transporting wheat to Italy, and at the same time prisoners for trial in Rome, also became a victim of euraquilon. For more than a week now, he had been tossed around like a shell on the huge waves. The only difference was that the ship made by human hands was less durable: it creaked, crackled and could fall to pieces at any moment. But by some miracle he still stayed on the surface of the water.

The sailors long ago did everything they could to save the ship: they removed the sails and let it sail in the wind, cut the mast, threw the entire cargo overboard - first sacks of wheat, and then furniture. There were 276 mortally frightened people left on board, including prisoners and guards, and none of them had eaten, drunk or slept for a long time - everyone expected imminent death.

Only one person on the ship remained calm. He said that, although the ship would be shipwrecked, the crew and passengers would all be saved, and he himself was destined to soon see Rome. And although it was impossible to believe in this, the prisoners in the hold, and the guards, like children, tried to be closer to him.

This prisoner's name was Paul of Tarsus, and it was clear to everyone that he was no ordinary prisoner. To begin with, he was accompanied on the journey by several people who were not chained - students who, of their own free will, shared with the prisoner all the hardships of the sea voyage. In addition, the guard assigned to Paul, centurion Julius, treated him surprisingly gently and even respectfully. And the sailors on the ship now tried to listen to Pavel. After all, he warned in advance that there was no need to set off now, and predicted great troubles in the voyage. The captain himself understood how dangerous it was to try to cross the Mediterranean at the end of October, but he still decided to take the risk - and now everyone was paying for it.

On the fourteenth day, when no one had any hope left, one of the passengers suddenly noticed a strip of land overboard. The captain ordered to urgently drop anchor, fearing that the ship would be dragged past land by the wind. The sailors perked up and even tried to launch the boat unnoticed by everyone in order to row to the shore. But they were detained by armed guards who did not allow them to abandon the ship to its fate. At dawn, Paul ordered everyone to refresh themselves before the final test and he himself, the first, broke bread with prayer - the rest followed his example.

In the morning a fair wind blew. The sailors removed the anchors, set a spare sail, and the ship sailed towards the quiet bay. But when there was very little left to the shore, the ship ran aground and began to sink. A terrible panic began: the guards were afraid that the prisoners would escape by swimming, and they wanted to kill everyone right here, on the spot. However, centurion Julius did not allow such cruelty. He ordered everyone to swim to the shore; Those who could not swim were transported on boards.

As Paul predicted, none of the passengers of the sunken ship died - everyone found salvation on the island of Malta, which at that time was a Roman colony.

Shipwrecked victims spotted local residents. They helped light the fires and brought food and clothing. Soon the Roman governor of the island, Publius, came ashore and invited some to his home. Among them were the centurion Julius, Paul of Tarsus, his companions Timothy, Aristarchus and Luke - the same Evangelist Luke who would later describe these and other vicissitudes of the life of the Apostle Paul in the Acts of the Holy Apostles.

In Malta, travelers spent three cold and most dangerous months for navigation - from mid-November to mid-February. And during this time, many were able to get to know the unusual prisoner better and find out why he was being taken in chains to trial in Rome...

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Historical novel "Esther". M, Publishing House "Terra - Book Club", series "Chosen Ones of Fate", 2002. Reprints: "Triad". Moscow. 2006, “The World of Books.” 2010

"Gideon's Fiery Sword"— a story for children in the “Bible Battles” series. M., publishing house "Triad", 2007

"Faithful Guard Mordecai"- a story for children in the series “Biblical Battles”, M., “Triad”, 2007

"Brotherly Victory" or the battle that never happened - a story for children in the series “Biblical Battles”, M., “Triad”, 2007

"Prophet Jonah: Lone Warrior"— a story for children in the “Bible Battles” series.

"Nikita the Little Finger and the Wonderful Treasure"(Adventures of the times Ancient Rus') is a historical story for children. M, publishing house "Lepta", 2007

"One day…"- a collection of Christian parables. Compiled by Olga Klyukina. M., "Triad", 2007

"Lights in the Desert"— Lives of the Egyptian Desert Fathers, arranged for children. M., publishing house "Father's House", 2008

"Saint Gerasim and the Lion."

"Saint Seraphim and the Bear." Coloring book. Life of the saint and interesting game. "Nicaea". 2010

"Once upon a time there lived a man."

"Desert Fathers". Collection of Christian parables. Series "101 parables". Compiled by Olga Klyukina. "Nicaea". Moscow. 2009

"Just believe." Collection of Christian parables. Series "101 parables". Compiled by Olga Klyukina. "Nicaea". Moscow. 2012

"The Law of Love". A short modern catechism for those who want to be with God. Moscow. "Nicaea". 2013

I-III century. Moscow. "Nicaea". 2014

"Saints in History". Lives of saints in a new format.IV-VII century. Moscow. "Nicaea". 2014

"Saints in History". Lives of saints in a new format.VIII-XI century. Moscow. "Nicaea". 2014

"Saints in History". Lives of saints in a new format.XII-XV century. Moscow. "Nicaea". 2015

"Saints in History". Lives of saints in a new format.XVI-XIX century. Moscow. "Nicaea". 2015

"Saints in History". Lives of saints in a new format.XX century Moscow. "Nicaea". 2016

"Reverend Andrei Rublev." Publishing house of the Moscow Russian Patriarchate Orthodox Church. Moscow. 2015

"Wise Donkey" Parables for children. Author-compiler Olga Klyukina. Moscow, Nikeya Publishing House. 2017

Kaluga literary almanac “Blue Bridges” No. 2. The play “Belikov. Rehabilitation" (based on the story by A.P. Chekhov "The Man in a Case").

"Friend of Constantine the Great." Kaluga. 2017

Olga Petrovna Klyukina Born in the village of Privolzhsky, Saratov region, into a family of employees. After graduating from the Faculty of Philology of Saratov State University. N.G. Chernyshevsky worked as a journalist, mainly covering cultural topics. Member of the Union of Russian Writers and the Association of Children's and Youth Writers of Russia.

Olga Klyukina is the author historical novel“Esther”, stories for children “The Fiery Sword of Gideon”, “The Faithful Guardian Mordecai”, “Brotherly Victory”, “Little Finger Nikita and the Wonderful Treasure”, popular collections of parables “Once upon a time...”, “Once upon a time there lived a man...”, “Desert Fathers” ", "Just Believe" and other works for adults and children.
Since 2007, Olga Klyukina has been the author of scripts for the TV channel “My Joy”, in particular, the series “Island of Discovery”, as well as the author of the large-scale animation project “Someone Nearby”.

Currently, Olga Klyukina lives in Moscow, works as the editor-in-chief of the children's educational magazine "Shishkin Les" and an almanac for family reading"Good word."

Olga Petrovna KLYUKINA: interview

Olga Petrovna KLYUKINA (born 1960)- writer, poet, journalist: | | | .

LIVES OF THE SAINTS: NEW FORMAT

The first book of the new series “Saints in History” has been published by the Nikeya publishing house. The author - writer Olga Klyukina - made an attempt to recreate the biographies of saints different eras based on extant historical documents, testimonies of contemporaries, as well as the writings of the saints themselves.

The book “Saints in History” has the subtitle: “Lives of Saints in a New Format.” Why don't you like the old format?
- Very satisfied. I love reading the lives of St. Dmitry of Rostov. And what I tried to write is perhaps not so much a hagiography as a biography of saints, a life story against the backdrop of history.

While working I came across one interesting fact. In the 19th century, a now little-known researcher of Russian literature, Ekaterina Stepanovna Nekrasova, prepared an adaptation of the life of St. Juliana of Lazarevskaya for the educational publishing house “Posrednik”. The work of this publishing house was led by L.N. Tolstoy edited manuscripts, wrote prefaces, everything went through him.

So, Tolstoy was dissatisfied with the translation of the life and in a letter to Chertkov wrote a very important observation: “All lives, as soon as they are translated into simple language, are now striking in their artificiality. They can only be read in Slavic or ancient and thereby deceive.” After all, it is so - many modern transcriptions seem to make the lives more understandable, but something important disappears from them.

On the other hand, the lives of Dmitry of Rostov were written over three hundred years ago, during which time their perception could not help but change.

As you know, lives were written according to a certain canon: a child in childhood did not like to play with peers, went to church, read Holy Bible... The personal biography of the saint was, as it were, a kind of preface to his Christian feat - for some it was martyrdom for Christ, for others it was apostolic labors to educate the pagans or the creation of a monastery - this is where the differences begin.

But we live in the 21st century, when great importance is attached to human individuality. Whether we like it or not, this is exactly how we perceive it. the world- through its difference, dissimilarity. Therefore, the modern person is not very inspired by the canon. What’s interesting is the differences, the psychology of choice, the features social environment and even character, the uniqueness of each human path to God.

- It turns out that you had to come up with something?
- No, I definitely would never and never will dare to use my own fantasies on such a topic. In fact, all this is there - in the acts of martyrdom, lives, letters, writings that have survived to this day, many interesting and telling details are scattered in them. My task was to find them, look at them and bring them to the surface. Just make some more accents.

After all, we all first learn something about someone. Then we try to understand it. And only by understanding can we love and accept into our hearts. And without this second link - “understand” - it seems to me that knowledge remains lifeless and purely informative, by and large, and unnecessary. It is very important for me that the characters in the book are recognized, understood and loved.

- Does the historical background also help to understand a lot?
- Certainly. Reading lives, I constantly catch myself thinking: when did this happen? You return to the beginning and find a mention: “under Trajan” or “under Diocletian” - and again you think, try to remember the main events of that time.

I initially liked the very idea of ​​the series “Saints in History” by the Nicaea publishing house - to also show a certain historical period of time in biographies. The first book covers the 1st-3rd centuries, followed by early Byzantium, late Byzantium, and the Middle Ages...

It is obvious to us that it is people real personalities shape the appearance of their time - famous artists, poets, emperors, generals. And the saints were the best people of their time, each great in their own way.

- How did you choose your “heroes”?
- The first book contains the lives of the Apostle Paul, the Apostle John the Theologian, the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer, the Martyr Justin the Philosopher, the Martyr Perpetua, the Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage, St. Gregory of Neocaesarea, the Martyrs Agapia, Irene and Chionia.

Here there are names known to everyone and those that few have heard of, several stories about Christian women, different geography is represented - this is Rome, Carthage, and Asia Minor. And in other books the geographical overview will be even wider - England, France, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary, of course, Russia...

One of the main selection criteria was the availability literary sources, own compositions- letters, sermons, sometimes diaries.

Why, for example, did Gregory the Wonderworker (Neo-Caesarean) appear in the first book, and not the beloved Nicholas the Wonderworker? There are many legends and wonderful stories about each of them. This is true, but from the 3rd century to the present day, the works of St. Gregory himself have been preserved - his “ Thank you speech Origen", theological works.

It was by them that I tried to focus when I wrote my biography, and not by legends from life. It is also important that Bishop Gregory’s community included Saint Macrina, the grandmother of Saints Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste, these great teachers of Cappadocia. The second book will be about them too.

This approach helps to understand that in the history of Christianity everything is deeply interconnected. It's amazing interesting world even for those who consider themselves secular readers.

You write a lot on historical topics: the novel “Esther”, stories for children on biblical subjects, now “Saints in History”. Who do you feel like - a writer or a historian?
- Of course, a writer. I don’t consider myself a historian at all. I'm just a person who is interested and loves history and hopes to spread that interest to others. After all, such distances and depths open up, it’s simply breathtaking!

And it seems to me that in this interest in the past there is something very significant for the life and self-awareness of modern man. Ideally, everyone should feel like they are part of World History, but this is not so easy.

Interview to the website PEREPRAVA

Olga Petrovna, resolve your doubts! Is it possible in the 21st century to write a fairy tale that would enter into consciousness - like “Pinocchio”, “Old Man Hottabych”, “Kid and Carlson”. Or, as Yuri Olesha said, the time of storytellers has passed?
- Olesha said something, but he himself wrote the fairy tale “Three Fat Men,” which became a classic of children’s literature. In my opinion, wonderful fairy tales will also be written in the 21st century. Only they will be completely different - now it’s even difficult for us to imagine what will impress children who will be born, for example, in the middle of the 21st century. If we take into account the growing level of awareness, then perhaps these will be polyphonic tales based on myths and legends different nations world, including recognizable historical characters and all the heroes famous fairy tales- This is what I’m fantasizing about now. But they will contain everything that children of all times and peoples love: adventures, wonderful transformations, travel and - belief in immortality.

Readers of modern children's Orthodox literature- Who are they? What do they like? What lessons are they waiting for, and which ones set their teeth on edge?
- According to my observations, the main readers of modern Orthodox children's literature are children of church-going parents, who from infancy are taken to church, given communion, and told about the faith. And to reinforce them, children's books, toys, and crafts are bought in church shops. Have you noticed how in Lately Has the Orthodox children's "industry" grown? The children learned how to make their own Christmas nativity scenes, paint Easter eggs, and can talk about the lives of the saints. In this field - if you want - a wonderful clearing, beautiful “flowers of life” can grow. In my opinion, it’s just important not to overdo it with the greenhouse and choose the right moment, when it’s time to make friends with the wind, the hail, and the cold... Children need the most different lessons, including with difficult, uncomfortable questions and answers. Edification and excessive cooing irritate even adults, and can cause rebellion in a child’s soul.

- How to tell children about God? What was it like in the 19th century and what is happening today?
-It is difficult to tell children about God if we ourselves think little about God. And we are embarrassed to talk about these topics. In my opinion, this Soviet phobia has not yet been eliminated. They were simply silent before for fear of reprisals, now for fear of seeming out of date, pompous, boring... Children need to be told about God through themselves, their own experience, sharing personal discoveries. God is equally unknowable and incomprehensible to all of us, and we can see Him only in the bright reflections of someone’s life. It seems to me that there is precisely such a confidential, personal intonation in the book of Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) “Unholy Saints,” which has become a real “Orthodox bestseller.” After all, from the point of view of monks, we, worldly people, are all children, and this is approximately how we should write about God, about our path to God. And Father Tikhon writes about the saints of God as simply as about our contemporaries: “Once upon a time there lived one girl...”, highlighting the main point act, Christian feat

What was your reading range as a child - from the very first books to adolescence? Tell us about your first literary shock.
- I don’t think the circle is mine children's reading was somehow special: fairy tales, then Jules Verne, Conan Doyle... I also really loved reading books about the Great Patriotic War: “A girl is looking for her father”, “My good dad”, “The Fourth Height” - such that they contain feats, real experiences. I’m trying to remember - and now I can’t say exactly what literary shock was the very first. But one of the strongest literary impressions for me, undoubtedly, was Marshak’s fairy tale “The Twelve Months.”

- A wonderful Christmas tale that is always remembered on winter days!
- I was amazed that seasons, months, something elusive can be represented in the form of people of different ages: young man April, gray December... And the way they gather together in a clearing near the fire - for me it looked like the hands of a clock, some mysterious dial. Probably, as they say, from a young age I have a love for parables, legends, figurative allegories... In addition, the fairy tale “The Twelve Months” was written in the form of a play, which was also a discovery for me. It turns out that you can write in any way - and still be interesting.

Modern mass culture accustoms people to sharpness, to loud and accelerated rhythms. I'm afraid we might lose our hearing by real music, taste for non-vain literature. Locking yourself in an ivory tower is, in my opinion, not a solution either. But how to stop the aggression of “modern rhythms”? Do you think it is possible to return to classical culture and folklore?

I think that we will not be able to stop what you call “rhythm aggression”, no matter how hard we try together. Yes, I agree: time is speeding up - with every century people move faster around the world, speak, and absorb information. But much of what is now perceived as non-vain classic literature or music, for some then it was also “aggression”, an invasion into the realm of the new, a break in the usual rhythm.

- That's for sure!
- It seems to me that we need to be careful not about new forms, rhythms and colors, but about spilling the content in a hurry. Which, in essence, is contained in classical formula, so that the artist “awakens good feelings with the lyre.” Even if now it is not an ancient lyre, but another, louder and faster instrument.

- Traditional folklore is imbued with pagan motifs. Is it worth protecting the young reader from them?
-Do you mean Russian folklore?

- Yes, in general, anyone. But of course we are interested in Russian...
- Personally, my opinion is that no, it’s not worth it. After all, in addition to our robber nightingales, there is also the Sumerian epic, ancient myths, a Scandinavian epic where the ancient gods are generally in charge. You just need to teach children to treat these works exactly as folklore - a great collection of world stories. When there is one and invisible God above everything, and God in the soul, no knowledge can harm a person. Even if a child falls in love with Hercules for his exploits for a while, he will not deify him. And this is exactly what I said earlier about the fact that we must teach children to live not in a greenhouse, but in real world so that they continually grow in faith.

Olga Petrovna KLYUKINA: prose

Olga Petrovna KLYUKINA (born 1960)- writer, poet, journalist: | | | .

"ESTHER" (chapters from the novel)

HAND OF ARTAXERXES

And I saw my hand.

The Persian king Artaxerxes the Great opened his eyes in the morning and saw his hand. The royal hand was fast asleep, resting on a white blanket, and from such proximity it seemed surprisingly dark and dark.

It was somewhat reminiscent of an old sun-warmed road. In the same way, gradually narrowing, the hand stretched into the distance and hid behind a small hill covered with embroidered flowers, in the place where Artaxerxes bent his leg at the knee.

This road opened onto a small plain and ran up against four uneven hills - the knuckles of fingers covered with rings. The young king used to clench his hands tightly into fists even in his sleep. His sleep was most often short and restless.

On his middle finger, Artaxerxes always wore a ring with the royal seal. And now this place looked like a city shining from behind the middle, highest hill.

Susa, the capital city of Susa, is the capital of Persian power. A city that in ancient times was called Ziggurat Shushan.

“And now simply - my Susa. Everyone should say this: Susa of King Artaxerxes the Great,” thought the king.

Even at night he did not remove the rings of his royal distinction from his fingers, and today, half asleep, he saw them as if from afar, from a bird's eye view.

Artaxerxes squinted at bright sun and twirled his hand, admiring, like a child, the sparks from the precious stones, especially the ruby ​​flashes. And then, with a thoughtful look, he began to look at the golden signet ring on his middle finger - the same one that seals the main royal decrees.

At the same time, the young king thought proudly: “Here it is - the throne city, tightly held in my palm. Entirely in my power. I can destroy it, destroy it to the ground, or completely wipe it off the face of the earth. And fill the vacant lot with salt so that even grass won’t grow here for decades. But I can glorify this city even more! Build a tower to the sky, arrange a holiday for all the people. Whatever I wish, everything will be fulfilled according to my word! All the inhabitants of my kingdom who opened their eyes this morning are all here, in my handful. For them I am an almighty god. I'll execute whoever I want. I’ll leave whoever I want alive.”

From such thoughts Artaxerxes even smiled. True, the slightly trembling corners of his imperious lips could only be called a weak semblance of a human smile. Artaxerxes trained his face never to smile. He wanted to remain mysterious and incomprehensible to his subjects, like a deity.

Needless to say, Artaxerxes knew from childhood that he was not like everyone else, a great descendant of the Achmenides. Even night rarely brought him the main human joy - peace. After all, in the East, the worst things happen to kings, viziers and treasury guardians at night. Artaxerxes remembered this from his childhood, when, during a palace conspiracy, one of the king’s bodyguards, bribed by the rebels, attacked him. The little prince was then saved by Harbon, his father’s most faithful servant...

Suddenly Artaxerxes remembered about another hand: the legend about the mysterious - not made of flesh and blood - hand, which suddenly appeared in the air during the feast of the Babylonian prince Belshazzar. Artaxerxes heard this story many times in a variety of retellings - both reverently and mockingly, both as a fairy tale and as a true story. But for some reason, every time he remembered that mysterious hand, he felt uneasy.

Did the Babylonian prince Belshazzar do anything that was not due to the king? He simply ordered that vessels from the main Jewish temple be brought to the feast and filled with wine! His father once took these vessels from Jerusalem as war booty... And didn’t Belshazzar have the right to feast to his heart’s content on the gold and silver obtained in the war? So he distributed Jewish cups and bowls to the nobles, their wives and guests, who gathered at the feast at least a thousand.

But when everyone was cheerful from the wine, the fingers of a human hand suddenly appeared in the air and began to write against the lamp on the wall. Only Belshazzar saw the hand of this hand, which was writing something, but from fear he could not make out a word. The prince's face changed greatly, he screamed, his arms and legs began to tremble...

One day Artaxerxes asked his father, Xerxes, about this story. He answered without hesitation:

Never keep Jews in your palace or elevate them above others. We cannot expect anything good from these people with their Living and Invisible God. But it’s better not to bring other foreigners closer to the throne. I immediately arranged it so that only Persian and Median blood flows in the veins of my main satraps, governors, supreme judges, treasurers, lawyers, guardians of the court, and regional rulers. And I drive all foreigners away from me, I don’t feel sorry for anyone.

Artaxerxes once again looked closely at his hand: no, not an endless road.

An ordinary human hand - with blue streaks of veins and polished nails. From birth, his right arm was longer than his left, which is why he received the popular nickname Dolgoruky. His older brother, Darius, bullied him a lot in childhood with his different hands.

But kings cannot think like that! Kings generally should not think about death and fast-flowing time. You can’t even look at your own hand with partiality - after all, human self-pity can creep in, and then weakness, indecision, cowardice. And fear, fear of an incomprehensible force that moves someone’s fingers in the air and scratches words on the mortar about the future fate: mene, mene, tekel, upharsin...

And here is the meaning of the words: “me” - God has numbered your kingdom and appointed an end for it; “tekel” - you are weighed on the scales and found very light; “Peres” - your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

“But it’s true... Now everything has been handed over to us Babylonian kingdom- Medes and Persians. Everything came true, what the Invisible God said then, protecting the Jews and even their cups,” the young king recalled.

Artaxerxes rose sharply from his bed and straightened up to his full height.

From behind the canopy with gold and purple tassels, the figure of Harbona, the oldest eunuch servant at the royal palace, immediately silently slipped out.

Artaxerxes trusted no one else but the faithful Harbona to guard his breath during sleep. This has been the custom since the night when the royal eunuch stuck a knife into the back of a huge enemy of his father’s throne, like a mountain. Compared to him, Harbona was so small in stature that he did not even hit the traitor in the heart: he gave himself away with a cry. But the prince’s life was saved.

Since then, Harbona always guarded the bed of King Artaxerxes at night, without betraying his presence even by breathing. He stood holding a jug of water to his stomach. spring water, which he gave to the king to drink in the morning. This order has been observed since time immemorial. And the water of Harbona could not be poisoned: the eunuch himself tasted it himself a few hours before dawn, before offering it to the king.

No one in the palace knew when old Harbona rested. His homely figure could be seen at any time leaning against one of the columns of the throne room at a respectful but accessible distance from his beloved king. It was impossible to say for sure whether he was dozing with his eyes open, or, on the contrary, vigilantly looking around.

Many were jealous of Harbona's high position. After all, he was numbered among the seven chief eunuchs who could, without covering their faces, serve in front of the king. But no one knew that Kharbona had been blind for a long time and could no longer see almost anything. Even the face of King Artaxerxes was unclear to him, as if his eyes were covered with a rag of gray wool.

But I saw Harbon in my own way - with my nose and ears. No one in the palace knew how to so sensitively recognize new smells, strangers, and even changes in mood in the soul of the young king. Even by the way the ruler rose from his bed, the old servant could predict better than any clairvoyant how the day would turn out in the kingdom.

Today, too, Kharbon immediately sensed that some kind of anxiety was coming from the king. Artaxerxes even drank spring water without the usual greed, as if through force.

Harbona accepted the jug with the remaining water from the king’s hands and bowed.

Artaxerxes asked the old man displeased:

Are you still silent? Why are you silent, old owl? At least say: wow! wow! wow! I haven’t heard your voice for a long time...

Harbona silently knelt down and began to deftly put sandals on the king’s feet. He could easily handle the soft leather laces by touch. The old eunuch had not listened to what the king said for a long time - what was more important was how he spoke.

But today Artaxerxes kicked the old eunuch away:

Get your old hands off me. They are like two dried up sticks. And your fingers look like bird claws. Away from me, eagle owl, bird of death. I'm tired of being surrounded by old people alone! Why are you keeping silent? Where did your instructions go?

But Kharbona only put his hand to his heart and retreated behind the curtain to his night place.

And only the eunuch allowed himself to anxiously move the wrinkles on the old dark face, similar to dried dates.

Something has to happen. Very soon. Something bad and irreparable.

This “something” was floating in the air as clearly as the wavering shadows in the sleeping quarters of King Artaxerxes, where servants with royal robes, combs, and morning anointings were already entering in a quiet line.

But Harbona felt the approach of danger as clearly as the spicy smell of cinnamon, spreading in the morning from the royal kitchen throughout the garden.

“Something will happen, something will happen, something will happen,” Kharbona’s old heart pounded. Soon, today. And he won’t be able to prevent anything, if only because he’s already arrived...

The last day of the seven-day feast.

The seventh and last day of the great feast has arrived, which Artaxerxes arranged for all the inhabitants of the capital city of Susa, young and old.

“Whoever has children with them, let them be the first to go to the royal feast,” echoed throughout the morning. palace square the king's command.

Holding Hadassa's hand tightly so as not to lose the girl in the crowd, Mordecai made his way to the main palace gates. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and beautifully dressed. Many, without even noticing that Mordecai was leading a child with him, unwittingly let him go ahead.

A young Judean named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, was one of the few inhabitants of Susa who had the opportunity to see up close the beauties of the royal palace and the wonders of the garden. But today he came to the feast because of his cousin. Or better yet, because of his adopted daughter, Hadassa.

Mordecai served as a palace guard for two years and four months. He stood near the farthest and most inconspicuous gate, in the depths of the royal garden, guarding a small staircase near the emergency entrance to royal house half eunuchs. However, he knew many of the palace servants and had heard many stories about the preparations for the great feast.

Today was a day of rest, and from early morning Hadassa began to beg Mordecai to take her to a feast, to show her the royal palace, a lake with white and black swans, and a garden with tame deer. But not a pit with hungry lions and tigers, where, by order of the king, criminals and disobedient people are thrown.

The girl was so worried at the thought that she might not see the palace that she began to stutter more than usual. Mordecai himself did not like noisy gatherings or crowded holidays, but he felt sorry for the girl.

Hadassa had recently turned twelve, and she was still awkward and funny, like the child of an ostrich. Her arms and legs were too thin and long, and her face had already lost its childish roundness and seemed elongated and always surprised. Some even thought Mordecai's adopted daughter was a little strange...

Perhaps also because after the death of Uncle Aminadab, Hadassah began to stutter badly and withdrew in her grief from all people except Mordecai, her new teacher.

Not only in Susa, but in the whole world there was no better, kinder and more beautiful person for her than Mordecai. Hadassah's guardian lived with his wife Mara and two young sons, Benjamin and Hashshuv. Hadassa was now brought up in his house.

“Shotormorg” - “camel-bird” - that’s how the boys teased Gadass on the street.

The ostrich was told: “Carry the load,” he replied: “I am a bird.” They said: “Then fly!”, He replied, “I am a camel,” - that’s what little Benjamin whispered to Hadassah almost immediately as she crossed the threshold of Mordecai’s house.

But Hadassa did not complain to her father about little Benjamin. And then she never talked about her many offenders. She kept everything to herself.

And not only because she was afraid to upset Mordecai once again, or to seem small and stupid to him. No, that's not the point. He and Mordecai had their own, separate world, in which there should be no place for stupidity and unworthy pranks. And this best of all worlds must be clean - like the fine linen in old Jairus's shop.

Hadassah did not believe that Mordecai talked to her for a long time only because in this way a child’s stutter was supposedly cured. This is exactly what the simple-minded Mara once said.

No one knew, not even Mara, that Mordecai knew how to think out loud in the presence of Hadassah: you just need to not disturb him at such moments with too loud exclamations. Zee girl could also ask her uncle any questions without hesitation. She knew that he would answer seriously, thinking about every word...

And for...why is a king needed? - Hadassa asked when Mordecai finally stopped near the wall, squeezing into a separate line where only townspeople and children stood.

Mordecai looked around and once again regretted that the cautious Mara did not let her sons go with him to the palace: there were no riots in the square.

But Benjamin had been sick with a cold for three days, otherwise he would have followed. And quiet, curly-haired, like a lamb, Khashshuv loved more than anything else to sit in the kitchen next to his mother and listen to her voice.

Why tsk-tsar? - Hadassa asked again.

Mordecai looked at her in surprise and shook his head: despite her age, Hadassa often asked such naive questions that could not be heard either from Benjamin or even from Hashshuv.

“The king is needed in order to love him,” Mordecai answered loudly.

Exactly the way a royal guard should speak, especially when he is standing in a crowd of people.

After a while, Mordecai spoke again, but more quietly, smiling thoughtfully at some of his thoughts:

One day the trees decided to appoint a king and said to the olive tree: reign over us. But the olive tree did not agree: “How can I leave my oil, which is used to honor people and God, and go wander among the trees?” Then they offered the fig tree kingship, but she said: “Can I leave my sweetness and tasty fruits in order to be first?” AND vine She also gave up power because she did not want to leave her juice, which amused people. Finally, they sorted through all the trees and invited the thorn tree to reign. The thorn bush said: “If I am truly destined to be your king, then you will rest calmly under my shadow, and if not, then I will burn with such a flame that will burn the cedars, and olive trees, and vineyards...”

And what happened when the thorn tree became king?

Fire and war throughout the land,” Mordecai answered briefly.

Hadassah blushed slightly, and then stood on tiptoe to Mordecai's ear and whispered:

You... you're talking to me again like I'm little. But that’s not what I’m talking about. We also had our own king, right? And we should love him? Will we soon have a new king again?

Mordecai knew that when Hadassah said “us,” she always meant the Jews. Only now did he realize that the girl’s question was not so stupid after all.

Yes, we also had kings - David, Solomon, then many others. And the very first is Saul. But that was a long time ago, before the captivity of Babylon, when the Jews did not yet live scattered throughout the entire earth, like seeds scattered to the wind...

But Hadassah seemed not to have heard Mordecai’s last phrase and the bitterness in his words about captivity and the wind.

And how... how... what was Saul, the first king, like?

Mordecai shrugged. The line to the gate moved slowly, there was nowhere to rush, no one was listening to their quiet conversation.

I heard... Your father once told me that Saul was the most handsome man in Israel - from the shoulders above his people...

How are you, huh?

Mordecai was embarrassed, but then looked around him: he, too, was taller than everyone now standing in line. Only a few of the men were his match.

He continued, sighing sadly:

Saul never thought that he would become king. But the Lord chose him through the seer, the prophet Samuel. He recognized him, anointed him as king and ordered him to rule the people. And before his election, Saul was simply a strong and handsome young man, the son of Kish, from the smallest tribe of the tribe of Benjamin.

But you too, Mordecai, are from the tribe of Benjamin. From the same family that Kis was from... So now you are talking about yourself, about your tribe? - the girl became even more excited.

“I’m talking about our family,” Mordecai clarified. - You, Hadassa, should also consider Kish and Benjamin your ancestors, even if someone tries to dissuade you of this.

Of course, now Mordecai was talking about his father, the elderly stubborn Jairus, who still did not believe that Hadassah was his own daughter younger brother, and cited many of his observations on this matter. Why does this girl have such a shape of her eyes - like black fish, like the Medes? Why does she speak Persian better than other children?

“I’m also talking about your family,” Mordecai repeated stubbornly, looking with tenderness at the girl, his adopted daughter. - About our family, daughter.

No matter what his father said, Mordecai knew for himself: Hadassah was something like a sacred vessel that was entrusted to him. And it is necessary to preserve it at all costs, to preserve it for some mysterious and as yet unclear purpose.

From the very first days of her birth, Hadassa passed from hand to hand, from house to house of her closest relatives. And Mordecai also saw some hidden meaning in this.

At first, the eldest of the brothers, the venerable Aminadab, who by that time had already measured out the rest of his life, took upon himself the upbringing of the orphan. The girl then moved on to her middle brother, Jairus. But, knowing the difficult, grumpy character of his father, Mordecai soon took the girl into his home, where he and his wife had two boys born one after another, but no daughter.

But now Hadassa was worried about something completely different. And she worried so much that out of impatience she tugged at Mordecai’s hand.

So, it turns out that you, Mordecai, are from the same family from which all our kings came? So you too can become a king, Mordecai? After all, you are very, very, you are the most like a king! You're even more h-h-handsome than Saul, and someday you'll be as great as... as... as...

Hadassah stumbled again difficult word, and Mordecai took advantage of the hitch.

“You can’t say that,” he said as sternly as possible. - The kings of the Jews did not occupy their throne by kinship, but by the choice of the Lord. As soon as they began to adopt the laws of other nations, they immediately lost their power. And greatness, my girl, is not measured at all by royal power, but only by how much of the Spirit, the breath of God, a person is able to contain within himself, and here I also...

Mordecai could not stand it and smiled at some of his thoughts.

Although I am taller than everyone else, I am still the smallest among people. I’m not even visible from the ground.

Hadassa did not answer, but squeezed Mordecai’s palm even tighter - either expressing her silent protest, or for support. The girl's hand was hot and trembling with excitement.

Can you see me? - asked Hadassa and looked at the sky.

White clouds slowly floated in the heights, becoming like curly sheep, then swans, or fluffy cats, and the One who walked them across the sky was still invisible, and was somewhere above the clouds, unthinkably high.

“You can be seen,” Mordecai answered, smiling. - God can clearly see all children. Much better than adults, and especially...

Mordecai tried to remind as little as possible that she was not his own daughter, and given her age, Hadassa could not possibly be his daughter.

For some reason, the girl became sad and even removed her hand from Mordecai’s palm.

What Hadassa hated most was when he spoke to her like she was an unreasonable child. This left the mystery behind. Something most important dissipated in the air, like smoke from a fire, like road dust.

Hadassa lowered her head low so that Mordecai would not notice her reddened, wet eyes.

What are you thinking about, my girl? - Mordecai asked affectionately, leaning towards Hadassa, and habitually ran his large, warm palm through her hair.

“I would like to see the great king Artaxerxes up close,” Hadassa said quietly. - At least once in my life. I heard that on the table under the tent for the children there was a whole mountain of nuts glued together with honey. H-w-do you think this is true? And there are also tables everywhere...

Precious cups and dishes made of gold.

For the seventh time, in the garden of the royal house, colorful fabrics were hung on marble pillars and secured with cords and silver rings. In such a tent, guests will be sheltered from the scorching summer heat.

Olga Klyukina: “It’s like diving to depth!”

A writer with Saratov roots has published a book with biographies of saints

Writer and journalist Olga Petrovna Klyukina - there’s quite a lot in Saratov famous person. She is originally from here and worked in local media for a long time. But Olga has been living in Moscow for several years now. Recently, the capital's Nikeya publishing house published two books by Klyukina, united by a common series called “Saints in History.” The writer made an attempt (quite successful!) to reconstruct biographies and portraits of saints on the basis of historical documents, memories of contemporaries, and their written heritage. We decided to talk with Olga Petrovna about her new and unexpected books.

- Olga Petrovna, please tell us how the idea for the books in the “Saints in History” series came about.

First of all, this is the idea of ​​the Moscow publishing house “Nikeya”, with which I had previously collaborated for several years. Collections of parables, coloring books, the book “The Law of Love”... And suddenly it turned out that they want to release a series of books about saints different centuries- from the 1st to the 20th centuries, show the history of Christianity through specific individuals, those people whom we now revere as saints. Much of what I previously did was sort of around this: the novel “Esther” on a biblical plot, with an emphasis on history; retelling parables and tales about the desert fathers for children; some other things. And then everything seemed to coincide. It feels like everything I've written so far was needed to get started with this series. And we slowly started.

- How long did the preparation last? Have you read many books? Did you have consultants?

As I already said, it seems to me that the preparation lasted my entire adult life. And it lasts. Yes, I still feel like I’m not ready. Especially when in a particular story you have to delve into theological themes, which, for example, the biography of a saint cannot do without John of Damascus or Gregory Palamas... From the very beginning I had scientific advisers, and gradually there are more and more of them, and they are more and more strict. Now every chapter is given to specialists for elaboration, and from time to time (let’s be honest, often!) I feel like just a poor student who gave an inaccurate quote. How many books have you read? I can't even say. So many.

- What can this work be compared to?

For me, in general, working on any work in the historical genre is like diving into depth. And the deeper you manage to immerse yourself in a particular era, the better the result. This is a very stressful and difficult activity. Sometimes my ears get clogged. But seriously, you have to work a lot in the library, at the computer, in order to sharpen the focus at this depth and at least see something. Pastime, I tell you, is very much for everyone.

What is the difference between the format in which book histories are written and the traditional hagiographic genre in which the lives of saints are usually written?

To be honest, I don’t really like the subtitle “Lives of the Saints in a New Format,” which the publishing house chose from among many options. For me, these are more like biographies, some kind of biographies of saints against the backdrop of history. We all perceive history through some events, bright personalities of their time, be it rulers, famous generals, artists, musicians, even famous courtesans or villains. But saints are, so to speak, superpersonalities, the salt of their time. They largely determined history. And even ask educated person, does he know that the Renaissance is also a reverend Maxim Grek, which before becoming a monk was called Mikhail Trivolis and lived in Italy... Or the name of someone who lived a little earlier Mark of Ephesus...

I really like the expression of the French medieval historian and writer Bernard of Chartres: “We are dwarfs who climbed on the shoulders of giants. We see more and further than they do, not because our eyes are sharper and we ourselves are taller, but because they lifted us up and raised us to their gigantic heights.” And the saints are able to erect even higher - to the heights of heaven.

What determined the choice of exactly those saints who are presented in the first book of the series? After all, historical evidence has also been preserved about other saints.

Yes, but for us it was first of all important that the heroes themselves leave evidence of themselves. Sometimes these are absolutely amazing documents, such as the diary of a martyr Perpetua- a young Christian woman who lived in Carthage in the 3rd century. She wrote her notes while sitting in prison, awaiting the court verdict, and described in detail her thoughts, conversations with her father, changes in mood, dreams...

“After that, the procurator pronounced a sentence about all of us, condemning us to be devoured wild animals, and we went down from the platform and, joyful, returned to the dungeon,” she writes. And without such evidence it is impossible to understand the spirit of early Christianity.

Or such a work as “Conversation with Tryphon the Jew.” The intonation of the author himself can be heard so well in it - Justin the Philosopher.

For example, for the first book we took a saint Gregory of Neocaesarea (Miracle Worker), and not known to everyone Nicholas the Wonderworker, almost his contemporary. Indeed, in addition to numerous legends about miracles from Gregory, his “Gratitude Speech to Origen” and other works have been preserved, lines from which are given in the book.

In addition to considerations regarding historical sources, there were others. We tried to ensure that each collection included saints who lived in different countries. And in every book of nine stories there are certainly two about women who achieved holiness. It seems to me that this approach gives the series a special volume and makes it interesting for a wide range of readers.

What do readers say about the book? Before publication, you had a focus group that gave some advice. Perhaps some feedback came from her?

The focus group is the editorial board of the Nikeya publishing house represented by the director Nikolai Breev, editor-in-chief Vladimir Luchaninov and leading specialists. The responses have already been mostly good, both from colleagues, and, what is very important for me, from priests, and from unfamiliar readers. One of them is even placed on the back cover of the book - from the host of the program " Bible story"on the TV channel "Culture" Dmitry Mendeleev: “The author honestly and deeply dug up the historical soil so that good shoots could sprout in the reader’s soul. And he did it without unnecessary aspiration, but with genuine love for his heroes. And where patience and love have worked, wait for revelations.” For me it was unexpected and pleasant. Dmitry and I do not know each other personally; we met only at the presentation of the book in Moscow cultural center"The Pokrovsky Gate".

By the way, historians were also present at the presentation in May. One of them accused me of some bias and excessive sympathy for the characters. But there is no other way. Speaking of the first Christians, we're talking about about the torturers and their innocent victims.

- What other books are planned in the “Saints in History” series?

The series will cover different eras. The first book is from the 1st-3rd centuries. This is persecuted Christianity. Further, starting from Constantine the Great, Christianity has become state religion Romans The time of early and late Byzantium, the Middle Ages - and so on until late XIX century. Perhaps it will be the 20th century, but I don’t know for sure. It's still too close. It seems to me that we need to write differently about the new martyrs. Before it's too late, record the stories of relatives, collect letters and precious testimonies.

Today, even within the walls of the Church, the lives of many saints are perceived as pedagogical history, an instructive legend. Some even doubt the authenticity of some of the lives, considering them to be fiction of St. Demetrius of Rostov, for example. How would you respond to something like this?

The Lives of St. Demetrius of Rostov were written in the 17th - early XVIII century. There are many miracles in them, and some of them really resemble skaz, especially for modern people, not very inclined to believe in miracles. As for historical facts, history, in best case scenario it says: “Under Diakletian.” Or: “Under Trajan.” But the fact of the matter is that our ancestors knew much better world history than we are now, and perhaps such information was enough for them. And it is very difficult for us to imagine this or that event without understanding historical background. Probably, understanding this largely served as the impetus for the creation of the series. And what kind of fairy tales are there? Here they are - the letters of the saint Cyprian of Carthage or John Chrysostom, "Confession" St. Augustine or hymns Simeon the New Theologian. Read it - and any doubts about fairy tales will immediately disappear.

-What are your favorite saints? How did you meet them?

All the characters in the books in this series are definitely my favorites. After all, it’s like with people in life: first you recognize someone, get to know them better, discover something new, be surprised - and now the person becomes a part of your life. And meeting saints is always a bit of a shock, because they have the best human qualities raised to the superlative degree.

It is impossible not to be amazed at the courage of the holy missionary Ansgaria, who went to Denmark and Sweden to educate the Vikings, or generosity and kindness Saint Gregory, Pope. Richest man from a noble class, and from his youth a piece of food could not go down his throat from the realization that hungry people were walking around Rome. If I had many lives, I could write an epic novel about each of them.

Newspaper "Saratov Panorama" No. 35 (963)