REGELSON Lew Lvovich

Born July 30, 1939 in the village of Argunovo  near city Kaluga. Having education of physicist, at the age of 26 years has survived  the religious appeal, later was occupied with the problems of theology and church history.  Had regularly  pilgrimages to the holy places of Abkhazia, where has been living and labouring for the last 15 years.

              Some information about me

   For more than 40 years, I am Orthodox Christian, involved in church life, but I do not have any specific theological education, or sacred dignity. I hope that my spiritual searches are in line with church tradition, but I have no rights to speak on behalf of the Church. So my errors can not leave the slightest shadow on its authority. A lot of what is happening in hodiernal church life, saddens and hurts me, but I feel the diseases inside the church as my own.

  I realize that the peculiar nature of spiritual work, which I can not avoid, requires an understanding of Orthodox tradition in its broadest possible borders. Therefore, I am prepared to discuss all the valuable ideas and evidences of internal experience  of  any person whatever views and denominations.

  With gratitude I call the names of my teachers and mentors who had been bestowed in the very beginning of my way.

   This was Felix Vladimirovich Karelin, who has ingrafted to me a taste for Byzantine style of thought. This was Rev. Nikolai Eshliman, in whose heart lived the imperishable pain about Russia and its Church. This was Rev. Alexander Men, with his inexhaustible humaneness and ecumenical religious perception of world. The indelible impression in my soul has left the Rev. Seraphim (Romantsov) - the highest example of genuine "starez" (holy man, who is filled by God). All they have left us, but the spiritual relationship and continual, heart to heart, dialogue with them is going on.

   I realize myself as a participant of that powerful spiritual movement which is known as "Russian religious thought". Its creators truly "were walking in front of God", though often have fallen in temptations and allurements. Of course, the Church must always separate what is Her own from what is strange to Her, and in such a way to avoid the dilution in the ocean of opinions and assumptions. Many bold and bright ideas could not resist a strict theological criticism. But I am convinced that the infinitely more important than all the errors are: depth of questions, sincerity in search of Truth,  heart openess to God and world. After all, errors can be corrected, allurements can be overcome, but much more difficult deal is to awaken to the life dry, mortified soul.

   I do not accept such spiritual omnivorousness, which is considered the all verities are only relative ones, and that any deep belief is only dangerous fanaticism. I am convinced of the truths which I had achieved in sufferings, and only this can  justify my resolution to express their openly. But the Divine dread is always with me.


                                                                               CHRONICLE OF LIFE

1939. July 30  Was born in the city of Kaluga.

   Father : Regelson Lew Moiseevich (1911-1986), colonel of Soviet Army, the teacher of Moscow University and author of several books on  the radio engineering.
   Mother : Lebedeva Nina Vasilievna (1917-1996), director of a large poultry factory.

1939-45       Was living in the mother family in the village of Argunovo near St.- Tikhon monastery.

1946     Resettlement in Moscow, life in the father family.

1956-62         Physical Faculty of  Moscow University:  Department of Theoretical Physics.

1962-66         The Research Institute of Sources of Current (VNIIIT, "Quant") in the sphere of semiconductor energy converters, including ones for spacecraft. Concurrently, was lecturing at the Moscow Planetarium.

1962-64         Member of the public organization "University of young Marxist", supernumerary employee of Central  Committee VLKSM.

1965, Sept.3    Was baptised by Rev. Alexander (Men). The first spiritual mentor - Rev. Nikolai (Eshliman).

1966               My declaration about withdrawal from the VLKSM as atheistic organizations. Was compelled to resign from VNIIIT and forbidded to defend of prepared dissertation.

1966              The meeting in Moscow with hieromonk Seraphim (Romantsov), a former Glinsky Monastery Father Superior,  priest of Sukhumi Cathedral. On his invitation, my first visit to Abkhazia.

1965-68          Participation in the work with archives of documents on the history of the Church in Soviet epoch -  together with Rev. Nikolai Eshliman, rev. Gleb Yakunin and Felix Karelin.

1968, Jul.-Aug.    Pilgrimage journey with like minded group at the city of  Novy Afon (Abkhazia), in the expectation of  some events marking the beginning of apocalyptic epoch.

1966-72          Active education and studies of theology under the leadership of Felix Karelin (together with Nicolai Eshliman, Gleb Yakunin, Victor Kapitanchuk, Aleksander Borisov, Evgeny Barabanov, Michail Meerson-Aksenov and others).

1971               Participation in the open letter to the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church,  revealing and criticizing the false metropolitan Nicodim (Rotov) doctrines.  Authors:  Rev. Nikolai Gaynov, Felix Karelin, Lew Regelson, Victor Kapitanchuk.

1967-73         Scientific collaborator of Research Institute of Medical Technics. Had written dissertation about the physics of blood flow. The defend was canceled because I was "disclosed" as "an active cleric".

1973-78          Participation in struggle for human rights, mainly, the protection of the believers rights. Making livings for my large family, I was compelled to write dissertations for the clergy. At the same times I was writing the book on the history of the church during the Soviet period.

1977               Publication by YMKA-PRESS (Paris) of this book: "The Tragedy of the Russian Church. 1917-1945".

1980               9 months in  KGB prison (Lefortovo) on charges of "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda"; was sentenced to five years probation.

1981-85         Work as guard in cemetry church.

1985-86         Work as electrician in a factory.

1988-90         Had been written an expanded version of the book "The Tragedy of the Russian Church. 1917-1953". For various reasons, this book has not yet been published, it is located (at first time) on this site in Russian and English.

1990-1993      A member of redaction of of the scientific-popular journal "Science and Religion."

1990-94          General Director of the Christian Culture Society "Logos"; activities in spheres of book publishing and education.

1993-97          Work on the book "Land of Adam", in co-authorship with Igor Hvartskia. Was issued in the city Suhum (Abkhazia)  in 1997.

1998-2005     Work as a scientific collaborator of the Physical-Technical Institute in Sukhum.

Since 2007     Scientific collaborator of nanotechnology firm "Carbonlait".