Father Alexei’s Story by Ivan Turgenev. Short summary

5 seconds

Jacob, the son of Alexei the priest, graduates from university but constantly sees the devil. His father convinces him to go on a pilgrimage, but during communion he flees and then dies without repentance.

1 minute

The author, as an auditor, met with priests as part of his duties. One of them, Father Alexei, was very sad. He told the author his story.

Father Alexei had eight children but only one survived to adulthood. Yakov was an intelligent and obedient boy. He grew up, entered the seminary. But then wrote to his parents that he wanted to go to university. After graduating, Yakov began to teach, but he returned home unexpectedly.

The son arrived sick, emaciated, embittered. He suffered from insomnia and did not answer questions, threatening to leave home. Then he confessed to his father that the devil had been visiting him for several months.

Alexei persuaded Yakov to go on a pilgrimage to Voronezh. They prayed for several days, but when it came to communion, he changed his face, grabbed his purse and ran away.

When Alexei caught up with his son, he said that the devil appeared to him during communion and ordered him to spit out and grind up the cloud. Jacob listened to him, and now he thinks he is cursed. When they got home, Jacob died without repenting.