Дневники св. Николая Японского. Том ?
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In February, 1869, about eight years after his arrival in Hakodate, Nikolai published a long report entitled «Japan Also Will Be Fruitful — A Letter of a Russian in Hakodate» in Khristianskoe chtenie (The Christian Reading), in which he wrote: «Eight years ago I declared my wish to accept the post of chaplain of the consular church here with a missionary purpose. Who among the students at the Theological Academy would be determined to come here only in order to serve in a church, which is often completely empty, as there are not more than ten Orthodox Russians including babies here? At that time, by the way, there was much discussion about the necessity for a missionary academy in Russia and, if I am not mistaken, they set about to founding one. Thus I could expect that when it became necessary, comrades would join me and I would not remain here alone».
It must have been that the expectations of the advent of a new era had awakened the Russian religious world, paving the way for Orthodox missionary activity abroad was and prompting the plan to found a missionary academy. Stimulated by the renewed religious zeal of the time, Nikolai must have decided to go to Japan with the Word of God.
On June 23, 1860, Ivan Kasatkin was tonsured as a monk with the name of Nikolai and was ordained as a hieromonk on June 30. On August 1, 1860, the 24 year–old Nikolai set out across Siberia on his journey to the Far East. He arrived in Nikolaevsk–on–Amur at the end of September. By that late date, travel by ship had been halted and he was forced to spend the winter in Nikolaevsk.
Fortunately he met there a man of great missionary experience, Archbishop Innokentii (Popov–Veniaminov) of Kamchatka, who was also wintering there. [5] Innokentii gave Nikolai much valuable advice and instruction. He advised Nikolai to translate the Bible and prayer books into the language of the people who were to be converted to Christianity, and to make the belief rooted in their native culture. This was, as it were, valuable personal guidance for missionary activities.
5
Archbishop Innokentii of Kamchatka was engaged in missionary work on islands in the vast area of Russian Alaska. In 1868, when he was 70 years old, Innokentii succeeded Filaret as Metropolitan of Moscow. After Innokentii passed away in 1879, Nikolai was presented the mitre left by the deceased Innokentii. (See his diary for June 1, 1880.).
In April, 1861, Nikolai departed Nikolaevsk on the warship Amur and arrived in Hakodate on July 2. [6] Hakodate at the end of Edo period was a small but lively port city with residents from various parts of Japan and even from foreign countries. However, it was a difficult time for a Christian missionary, because the preaching of Christian doctrine was still strictly prohibited.
At first the young Nikolai was deeply disappointed in his expectations. He later said to Father Sergii (Stragorodskii) that
6
Previously, the accepted date of Nikolai’s arrival at Hakodate was June 2 (O. S.), 1861, but the correct date seems to be July 2 (O. S.). See the article printed in The Hakodate Nitiniti Shinbun (The Hakodate Daily News) for July 6, 1911, «Nikolai’s View of Hakodate, — the japan of 50 years ago», in which Nikolai said that he «arrived at Hakodate in the beginning of July» in 1861.
In a letter of August 21, 1863, to the chief procurator of the Holy Synod A. P. Akhmatov, Nikolai wrote that «on July 2 (O. S.) of this year, two years have elapsed since I arrived here».
Young Nikolai immediately began to prepare himself to awake the ’sleeping bride’. While attending to his duties as the consular chaplain, Nikolai studied the Japanese language with untiring enthusiasm, learned the history of Japan, and tried to establish first–hand contacts with Japanese people. He wrote in the above–mentioned
«When I arrived in Japan, I summoned up my strength and began to study the local language. Much time and effort were lost while I was getting acquainted with this barbaric language, no doubt the most difficult language in the world… And people such as the notorious Frenchman Rosny, half knowing the language, dare to write Japanese grammars. You have to throw such grammars into the corner like useless junk after a week in Japan. For a long time to come students of Japanese will have to learn by instinct through the reading of books and the mechanical memorization of various phrases of the spoken and written language. In this way I have somehow finally learned to speak and to be able to use the simplest written forms for translations and original compositions. Having so much knowledge, I immediately began to translate the New Testament into Japanese». (Trans. by Fr. John Bartholomew.) [7]
7
See Rev. John Bartholomew’s English translations from Russian; A History of the Japanese Orthodox Church by A. Bakulevski, and Archbishop Nicholas of Japan; Reminiscences and Characteristics by Dmitriy. Pozdneev.
Nikolai also wrote in «the Letter» that he had secretly begun to preach Christianity among the Japanese.
«By the way, I tried to do all that is possible directly for missionary purposes. Firstly, of course, it was necessary to find men who, having accepted Christianity, would be able in their turn to devote themselves to the propagation of Christianity.
Four years after my arrival in Japan, God sent me one man. A year later he found himself a friend and in the course of that year they found a third colleague». (Trans. by Fr. John Bartholomew.)
«From all that has been stated above», Nikolai concluded, «it seems we can expect that there will be an abundant harvest in Japan, at least in the immediate future… Catholicism and Protestantism have occupied the whole world… But here is still a country, the last one in a number of newly discovered countries. If only we could stand here coping with other Christian confessions… God will provide that I will not be deserted and will not remain here alone, doomed to fruitless solitary work. I came here with that hope and have been living here with it for seven years. Realization of the hope has been my earnest prayer…
So I submitted an application to grant me leave. When I obtain permission, I will go to St. Petersburg to petition the Holy Synod for establishing a mission here».
Nikolai returned to Russia at the beginning of 1869 and stayed there for nearly two years. In St. Petersburg he petitioned the Holy Synod and influential persons of the Church for the establishment of a Russian Orthodox mission in Japan.
The Diaries of St. Nikolai of Japan open with an entry for March 1, 1870, written at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg.
His efforts were crowned with success. On April 6, 1870, foundation of the mission was approved by the Holy Synod and Nikolai was appointed its head and promoted from Hieromonk to Archimandrite.
The mission had a small staff which consisted of three priests besides Nicholas and one subdeacon. It was provided with an annual budget of 6,000 rubles. Nikolai visited all four theological academies in Russia and attempted to persuade some of the students to join him in missionary work in Japan, but to his disappointment none of them responded to his call.
In February, 1871, Nikolai returned to Hakodate with a colleague, Father Grigorii (Volontsov). However, Father Grigorii turned out to be (according Nikolai’s diary entry for January 1, 1872) too idle to be a missionary, and Nikolai had to send him back to Russia in June, 1871.
In December of that year, Hieromonk Anatolii (Alexander Dmitrievich Tikhai), a graduate of the Kiev Theological Academy, arrived in Hakodate to assist Nikolai.