A gated community lives on the outskirts of Lithuania: when you need money, you sell a cow

Upon arrival in the Orthodox community in Mikniškės, the inscriptions “Quarantine. It is forbidden to walk through the territory. “

However, by prior agreement, we entered accompanied by Sister Nina.

Calm down here. The buildings are placed side by side, some are more exemplary renovated, others are simpler.

Women: single, widowed, living together. The families, husbands with wives, have separate dwellings.

You will not see children here when the older people move into the community.

These people have lunch together. Working together. They pray together every day; the heart of the community is the church.

The doctor became a priest

The Orthodox priest, Father Georgijus Gaidukevičius, awaits us in the gazebo.

His own story is unexpected. He completed the spiritual seminary after studying medicine.

“Spiritual studies were taboo during the Soviet era, but they are very important! Perhaps, I would say, the most important thing is that man lives on earth and develops his spirit. Other studies are necessary for life on earth, they are necessary, but they remain secondary, as if they were additional.

Before I became a priest, I looked at other clergymen and thought, yes, it is important, but no less important. I was sure of that. But after I graduated from seminary, pop tidy, I realized the difference, how important it was. During my youth, I graduated from Kaunas Medical Institute and worked as a doctor in the intensive care unit of Antakalnis Hospital. It is such a difficult place, you have a lot of experience there. Then I worked as a family doctor.

And then Metropolitan Chrysostom suggested, since my father was a priest, if not I would follow in my father’s footsteps. I gladly agreed, I thought it would be an addition for me. It turned out to be a complement to medicine, like any other specialty, ”Father Georgijus said of his choice to follow the path of a priest.

Metropolitan Chrysostom suggested, as my father was a priest, if I would not follow in my father’s footsteps. I gladly agreed.

This place, according to the father, is special: “You have heard and you know how people visit certain places, they say the Holy Land, etc. Why are they going there? Out of curiosity? Perhaps at first they are motivated by curiosity, but when they enter those places, they feel such powerful threads in their souls that they did not even know before.

They have those feelings that they don’t forget. You want to repeat them over and over again. Here as happiness. And the closer to God, the more happiness. “

One hundred years of history

The Mikniškės community was formed about a hundred years ago – the Kareckiai landowners, owners of the mansion, in 1900-1903. he built a wooden church, and later the Orthodox priest Pontius Rubushev persuaded them to establish a community.

Similar to what existed in the Republic of Paulava. His condition was this: everyone here must be equal, work together.

Accompanying a tour of the community, Sister Nina talks about the surviving owner’s Kareckiai home, which has not changed in a hundred years.

We now have about 70 hectares of land. That is enough for us: we work the land and everything is enough for both us and our animals.

“This was bought for the farm by Kareckiai in 1863. It was a house and about 400 acres of land. It also included a forest, a river, arable land. During the Soviet era, almost everything was taken from us. We now have about 70 hectares of land. That is enough for us, we work the land and everything is enough for us and our animals, “said Sister Nina.

Nikolai, Kareckiai’s son, who bought the mansion, inherited this estate.

“He had five daughters. They all graduated from the Smolny Institute of Noble Virgins. One of the daughters died young. Kareckians were like that, people loved them. The people who worked here had all the families. Products and more, nothing was missing. So the hosts were loved.

An example of this is that the girl arrived from Christmas vacation and found out that the horse’s daughter had contracted scarlet fever. Tatiana Nikolaevna, one of the daughters of the daughters, decided to visit the girl. After all, he wanted to take the Christmas presents.

His parents did not forbid it. After all, we would think it was dangerous, it was easy to get infected, to get sick, but they were self-sacrificing people. She went, visited, took gifts. He got infected, got sick and died. This also testifies to the fact that no one felt guilty for allowing their daughters to go there. Everything is in the will of God, ”said Sister Nina.

Kareckians were like that, people loved them. The people who worked here had all the families. Products and more, nothing was missing.

She is convinced that this community can only be formed by people who are open to others, and Kareckiai was like that.

That’s what he does by hand

Sister Nina smiles: now the 21st century, then the community is enjoying its benefits. However, the Russian bakery oven does not give up either.

We go through the firewood, and in it the firewood is organized according to use, for example, “bakery”, “kitchen”, etc.

“We live from what we do with our own hands. We grow cereals, we bake bread. We grow vegetables, we all consume them and our pets, ”said a neighbor of the community.

Father George says that if it grows too large, community members sell part of the harvest. So you have the money if you need to buy something.

“If we need a new tractor, we can sell a cow. Although it is a pity to sell it, and here are the cultivated grains, if we have too much, we are happy to sell them to others,” said the priest.

Community members do not do other jobs, only on their own farm.

But because most are older, they also receive pensions, enough for necessary expenses, they say.

Currently the community is renovating the church, it is green from a distance up the hill.

Next to it is a small community cemetery, where the graves are also decorated with uniform green Orthodox crosses.

There is also a magnificent chapel, as Sister Nina says, it is her summer house of prayer.

The priest Pontijus Rupiševas, the initiator of this community, is also buried here.

We live from what we do with our own hands. We grow cereals, we bake bread. We grow vegetables.

“There has never been a famine in our community. On the contrary, we have always helped and we are helping those who need it. Come back from Kareckiai, as they were very cordial people, helping everyone who applied.

And as a monastery, as a community, with a farm, we always help everyone who requests, ”the woman assured.

The collective farm was created by themselves.

This community is also unique in that it has survived for almost the entire Soviet era.

The main owners were the first to be deported to Siberia, although they tried to show that everyone in this community is the same.

Other family members were also planned to be taken away, with trucks reaching nearby Turgeliai to transport people to Vilnius at night, and from there to trains by train.

However, World War II broke out and the Soviets rushed to transport those trucks on their own.

The Germans arrived, they took all the cows, horses, food.

There was no famine here during the war.

“An adult girl grew up in the family. He approached the officer and began to speak German. He asked in surprise where she, the girl, told me that she had been adopted here as a daughter. The officer immediately informed his authorities and everything was returned: the same cows, horses. So there was no famine here during the war, “Father Georgijus said.

After the return of the Soviets, collective farms were organized: people were taken to them, livestock and grain reserves were taken.

As Father Georgi said, people realized that the religious community would indeed be destroyed, but someone advised you to create a collective farm yourself if you wanted to survive.

They accepted the advice and set up a collective farm.

“The government was happy, because it is impossible to force others to enter collective farms, and here are the land, the people, the machinery. And he did not even pay attention to the fact that there is no party organization. It was the only collective farm without party organization in the entire Soviet Union ”, smiles Father Georgijus.

The collective farm was successful, the corn grown here during the time of Khrushchev traveled to the exhibitions of the achievements of the whole Union in Moscow.

However, at that time, the persecution of the faithful intensified, so guests were received in Mikniškės: local party leaders, a well-known Moscow journalist.

It was the only collective farm without a party organization in the entire Soviet Union.

Destined to perish

And this became the end of this collective farm: they came intentionally during one of the great parties of the year.

There was nothing in the fields, so when the surrounding guests asked, they found out that everyone was in the church.

“There is a procession, and there is a procession, where the president of the collective farm and all the management go. A great article appeared in the Izvestije newspaper about the fact that this is happening in our time, when such Soviet achievements, when the latest pop will soon be shown on television. And here the whole collective farm is praying.

In an instant, the order was given to dissolve the collective farm and connect it to the Soviet farm in Tabariškės. A cruel life began when everyone was offered to leave. When the people surrendered, they nationalized all their properties, they had to pay for the house, the fork, the spoon, everything was owned by the State. They wanted everything to collapse, you couldn’t even forge a nail, it was kept special, ”Father Georgijus said.

An article appeared in the newspaper saying that the latest pop would soon be shown on television. And here the whole collective farm is praying.

However, after Lithuania regained its independence, the community revived.

According to the priest, the bans were lifted and the government supported the community in good faith.

Approximately 65 people now live here permanently. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the community hard, even burying several of their brothers and sisters.

So now we are trying to be careful here, only strangers who meet strict security requirements are accepted.

In the days before the pandemic, pilgrims were welcome here, staying in a hotel in the country. And then invited to contribute to the daily farm work.