Father Sergius

The main character of the novella “Father Sergius” is a young officer of the imperial army, Prince Stepan Kasatsky, who holds the Russian tsar in great reverence. And when Kasatsky decides to marry, on the eve of the wedding his fiancée confesses that in the past she had been the emperor’s lover. Disappointed by worldly life, Kasatsky decides to take monastic vows and leave Petersburg. Faith in God was supposed to cleanse his soul of sin—but passion and everyday temptations don’t leave the prince.

Father Sergius, the name Kasatsky bore after taking vows, begins an ascetic hermit life, strictly following the rules and subduing the flesh. But believing this is not enough, he leaves the monastery and starts living in a cave in complete seclusion. Rumors about the former handsome officer who has become a monk reach a company resting nearby the hermit’s cave. A beautiful licentious woman tries to seduce him, and Father Sergius is forced to cut off his own finger so as not to yield to her charms.
Time passes, and he still cannot avoid sin. The foolish daughter of a local merchant—brought to the hermit to be cured by prayer—seduces the monk. Father Sergius leaves his cell, grabs his bundle, and sets out wandering, asking for alms.