Why Innokenty Sibiryakov fought with wealth all his life and could he win his battle?

In these turbulent times, it is especially important to help those in need. Charity It has always been a noble and God-pleasing thing. And now, when the war news pours from all screens, the need for kindness and mutual help is simply colossal. Someone donates for medical purposes, someone rebuilds a neighbor's house. And there are those who cannot pass by homeless animals without heating and feeding. Kindness in the world is enough, and it is, unfortunately, not free. Everyone sacrifices to the best of their ability. And then a reasonable question arises: how much money to give away?

Is there a budget to pay for it, and if so, how much? Answering this question, it is impossible not to recall the instructive story of Innocent Sibiryakov, which, unfortunately, is slowly becoming a reality. But it happened relatively recently, in the XIX century.

How much money to give to charity

You may have heard of an unmercenary millionaire who devoted all his immense wealth to the needs of the suffering, to the development of education, and to the building of churches. Was it easy? No way! The story deserves your attention, because it was not without a little miracle.

For his amazing disinterestedness and sensitivity to the needy, Innocent, born in 1860, was listed as a saint. But the path of good did not come easy for him. For phenomenal donations, he was tried, his property was seized, and Innocent himself was even tried to attribute insanity for his offerings in the form of amounts unthinkable at the time on a scale. Trial process Innocent donated 140,000 rubles to a nun of one of the temples. The scandal has gained such resonance that the Emperor Nicholas himself drew attention to it! And this played a decisive role in the fate of the millionaire-favourite.

At the time of consideration of this high-profile case in 1984, Innocent had about 60 billion rubles in terms of modern money. The fate of thousands of citizens, enterprises and educational institutions depended on it. Such wealth Innocent owed mainly to the gold mines in the Bodaibowhich he inherited from his father. They are still one of the most important objects in Eastern Siberia.



To whom Innokenty Sibiryakov gave money So, donations. It must be said that both mother and father Innocent were deeply religious people and often received petitioners in their home, especially on holidays. Then came the walkers who made the cross.

Even in his student years, the young man often helped finance his peers who did not have money to study. It's hard to believe, but young man. bought out the high schoolThe one he studied at. Why? Because it was on the verge of bankruptcy, and so he kept the school from collapse.

Innocent was considered kind, but sometimes just strange. He spent fabulous sums on the allocation of personal scholarships to outstanding students. Many of them were trained abroad, being, as it were, “on the maintenance” of their good-natured patron. Innocent even financed scientific geographical expeditions around Eurasia as well as international polar expeditions.

All this could not but attract the attention of speculators and special services. After all, since Innocent is so generous, perhaps his great wealth can be used with malicious intent? At least, this is how the mayor of St. Petersburg von Val explained his claim. It was he who led the party of Innocent persecutors.



The last straw for the public, who do not understand the motives and kindness of Sibiryakov, became endless lines in his modest, as for an aristocrat, dwelling. The petitioners lined up at the door in the morning, sometimes Sibiryakov could take each other. 400 people a day! To this end, he even hired people and set up a special bureau.

Why did Sibiryakov never refuse his supplicants and allocated money for everything and everyone: large women for maintenance, scholarships for students, housing, funeral money and even funds for holding dinner parties for those who simply did not have them? Of course, such profligacy infuriated the local nobility: how is it so, having such wealth, to spend them “wherever?”

Therefore, there were those who wanted to take this wealth to their hands. The plan was cunning: to declare Innocent insane, subject to treatment, and all his property to be sealed and seized. At the time of the trial, his funds were already blocked. So to speak, just in case he doesn’t spend a penny on the poor and needy.



Passing a psychological examination, which he did not resist, Innocent answered all questions about his sanity. Most of all the doctors cared, why did he decide to give all his wealth? And most amazingly, monk?

The thought of cutting his hair and going to a monastery was frequented by Innocent after his travels around his native land. Every year he invested more and more in the construction of churches even in the most remote corners of the empire. Monk millionaire? This was an unprecedented event in history! But then Sibiryakov was considered almost the richest man in the Empire.

What tormented the soul of the gold magnate Innocent was not confused by such increased attention to his spiritual and mental state. He said this:

“My mother died when I was 7 years old. My dad was when I was 14. I haven't been happy since. Money does not bring me happiness, it does not cover my spiritual needs. I would even say that I have always regarded wealth as a scourge given by the Lord as a test.



It is worth remembering that Innocent felt like this for a long time. Even in his student years, his soul was tormented by the fact that he could not find a place for himself. Among his students, he found no one who treated him not as the son of a capitalist, but as a man with an inquisitive mind and a sensitive heart. Even the teachers charged him a fabulous fee for classes, knowing that Sibiryakov had enough money to pay them. In fact, this attitude alienated the heir to the golden empire from classical education.

Instead, he began to attend the lessons of the physiologist Lefgaft, about which rumors did not cease in high circles of St. Petersburg. It is Lefgaft Innocent who will donate 200,000 rubles in cashThe building of the Biological Laboratory of St. Petersburg, which gave rise to the modern Academy of Physical Culture.

What is most surprising is that no matter how many Siberians he donated, how much he distributed, his wealth grew every year. They say the truth is that the hand of the giver does not fail.

Perhaps Innocent could indeed be put in prison and his legacy sealed. However, according to Innocent himself, God himself did not allow this to happen.

A real miracle

Before the last hearing, Sibiryakov came to his church. spiritual master David and asked his advice. He told him that God was testing him, but he would not abandon him. And that Innocent is destined to perform great deeds and go to serve God on the holy Mount Athos.

And, miraculously, Innocent calls himself to the meeting. Emperor Nicholas II! For more than half an hour they talk about the motives of Sibiryakov, and the millionaire explains to the sovereign that he wants nothing but to serve God. That all his wealth he gave to the poor and wants to leave this fussy aristocratic world as soon as possible. The Emperor gives Innocent a direct order: to go to Mount Athos and establish a great temple there.

Thus, despite all the attempts of speculators to take possession of the wealth of a millionaire, phony The insanity was not reported in the courthouse. For now Innocent's freedom was the choice of the sovereign and God's will.



Innocent gave away all his fortune, shaved his hair and went to the mountain with his mentor David. Little is known about his fate. Only that he lived to 40-plus years, after which the consumption, which he suffered from childhood, still overcame him. Now his relics are kept next to the relics of other saints. St. Andrew's Skete.

How much money should I give away? Sometimes it is impossible to measure human beneficence. You can’t just say how much money to give away for good deeds. Nowadays, you rarely meet a rich man who would gladly part with his wealth for a good cause, especially with all at once. But the common people are much closer to the earth and know the value of a good deed: everyone sacrifices who can.

There is one modern rule that volunteers use at the moment. Even one. coffee-cup A day can save someone's life. Many of us can afford to start the morning with a cup of hot coffee, bought in a cafe opposite the house or office. What if you gave one cup of coffee a day to a good cause?



Unsplash It is good that there are a huge number of charitable foundations. You can choose a variety of areas! Or even better, organize your own. A good deed is never in vain. And remember, even the cost of one cup of coffee donated to a good cause bears fruit. It's up to you to decide how much money to give away. And you do. charity?