Monastery publishing house with a mini printing house

The work over akathistus to St. Simeon of Verkhoturye

Out of all monastery obediences ours is the youngest. We have to learn everything from scratch (oftentimes through our own mistakes!): how to make into page, how to proofread, how to edit, how to process cover designs, and the interior design of books.

Of course, our morning starts with a prayer. We pray to St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), this new Chrysostom and intercessor for those who toil on the literary field of Christ.

It is not always easy at our obedience, but prayer helps. The texts with which we work also do help. Sometimes doing everyday things you are prone to forget what it is that you are holding in your hands, what treasure, but then suddenly you read several words, and they strike you with their depth and preciseness, you feel the breath of life in them — of the free, full, true Orthodox life.

At our obedience we always deal with other people. We get advice on stylistics from those who study in the translation class; we get advice on design from the icon-painting sisters. For example, we owe the finding of the emblem of the publishing house to the icon-painting sisters who took it from a XVI century miniature illustrating the Revelation of St. John the Theologian.

The monastery cherishes great plans. We hope to publish spiritually enlightening, hagiographic, children’s, theological, and ascetic literature both ourselves and also in collaboration with other Orthodox publishing houses.

At the press house. Thermo-binding takes some time.

One of our projects is the «The saints of Ekaterinburg diocese» series. We have already published the life of abbess Magdalina (Dosmanova). We are planning to publish the life of St. righteous Simeon of Verkhotursk and the miracle-worker of Siberia, the elder Vasilisk of Siberia, the nun Evfrosinia (Mezenova), and other ascetics. We hope that those books will be both interesting and edifying, since the saints from the Urals are especially close to us. They lived on this land, but they were angel-like due to the purity and loftiness of their life.

Theological and ascetic literature in translation. Several sisters at the monastery do scholarship in Church-Slavonic and ancient Greek languages under the leadership of a professor from the Ural State University. Many profitable and much needed books of the holy fathers are practically inaccessible to contemporary readers namely because the translations into Russians are non-existent. The sisters at the monastery gather materials, search for old manuscripts, and do the rough draft translations of the antic books into the modern Russian literary language. From this series we have published «The Statutes of life in the hermitage» by St. Nil Sorsky.

A work day

«Spiritual Discussions.» Abbot Abraham, the spiritual father of the abode, on a regular basis leads the discussions on ascetic and dogmatic themes. Relying on the writings of the holy fathers and their own experience of pastoral activity, he answers numerous questions of his spiritual children, giving good advice both to the monastic and the laity. Several books have been already published that encompass discussions about the various aspects of spiritual life. Recently a book «Great Lent’s homilies» was published: a collection of sermons that open up the meaning of the Gospel in a lively and profound fashion.

We hope our labor will be to people’s benefit: the books published might make someone firmer in faith, can help get rid of doubts, or they can become the first encounter with the Orthodoxy, and for others — a favorite reading at home. You can always find the literature of our publishing house in the church in honor of Saint great prince Alexander Nevsky (Zelenaya Roshcha 1), and in the «Monastyrskaya Lavka» (the intersection of Dekabristov and Vos’moe Marta streets).