Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk Read Online Free PDF

by the way, that this was the very money that had been used to erect on that very same spot the magnificent monument that had frightened Brother Antipa half to death.)
But the argument about the cannon failed to convince His Grace. Mitrofanii merely flapped his hand dismissively: “Ah, your chill shiver was just imagination.”
The prelate and his spiritual daughter carried on arguing like this for a long time, until they almost had a serious quarrel. And therefore we shall omit the end of the argument about superstition and move on straightaway to its practical conclusion, which did not emerge in the court archives room, but in the episcopal residence, during the drinking of tea to celebrate a happy event.
THE TEA HAD been arranged for the following day in honor of the successful outcome of the court case. In addition to Pelagia, His Grace had invited another of his spiritual children, the assistant public prosecutor Matvei Bentsionovich Berdichevsky, who had also played a part in achieving the triumph of justice. A bottle of sweet Communion wine stood on the table beside the samovar, and in addition there was a genuine abundance of sweet things: spice cakes, and candied fruit, and all sorts of jam, and the inevitable apple marshmallows of which the bishop was so exceedingly fond.
They sat in the refectory, where copies of Mitrofanii's two favorite icons hung on the walls: the wonder-working Softening of Vicious Hearts and the little-known Judas Kissing Christ the Savior , both magnificently painted, with expensive silver settings. His Grace had not simply placed them here by chance, but for a purpose—to remind himself of the most important aspects of the Christian faith: forgiveness for all and the Lord's acceptance of any soul, even the most debased, because there are no souls that have absolutely no hope of salvation. Owing to his passionate character, the bishop was inclined to forget about these things, especially forgiveness for all: he acknowledged this sin in himself and strove to overcome it.
They spoke for a while about the trial that had just finished, recalling all of its twists and turns, and then about the imminent addition to Berdichevsky's family—the father-to-be was concerned that the child would be the thirteenth, and the bishop laughed at the lawyer, claiming that neophyte converts like him always made the very worst obscurantists, and he rebuked Matvei Bentsionovich for his superstition, which was so shameful for an enlightened man.
From the subject of superstition the conversation naturally turned to the Black Monk. It should be noted that the first to bring up the mysterious phenomenon was none other than the assistant public prosecutor, who, as we recall, had not been present at—and did not even know about—the explanation in the archive room.
It turned out that the entire town was already talking about the way the monk from New Ararat had raced along the streets. Everyone also knew about Basilisk's appearance and the menacing omens. As he whipped his horses on, Brother Antipa had very nearly run over a cat belonging to an influential member of Zavolzhsk society, Olympiada Savelievna Shestago, but he had just carried on shouting all sorts of alarming things: “Flee, Orthodox believers!” “Basilisk is coming!” and so forth, as well as demanding to be told where he could find the bishop.
It turned out that Sister Pelagia had been right the day before: after what had happened it was impossible not to take action. His Grace, having now cooled off after his annoyance of the previous day, no longer took issue with that, but there was disagreement among the three revelers concerning what measures should be taken.
Mitrofanii ascribed all of his numerous successes in the field of arch-pastoral endeavor to the Lord, humbly acknowledging that he was only the visible instrument of a Power that acted invisibly, and when he spoke he was an absolute fatalist who loved to repeat: “If it is pleasing to