Discovery and discovery of the relics of St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov

Contents The Death of St. Demetrius In human affairs, the works of God are often from the death of St. Demetrius until the discovery of his relics in the days of Metropolitan Arseny Formal inquiry about the incorruption of the relics of the saint Report to the Holy Synod Four-year proceedings in the case The first two days of the investigative inquiry of the hierarchs The first two days of the investigative inquiry of the hierarchs Continuation of the investigation Testimony of persons who arbitrarily declared gifts of grace they received through St. Demetrius Report of the investigative commission with the presentation of the entire investigative case For the first time, the unique materials that formed the basis for the canonization of Metropolitan Demetrius are available to a wide audience. The real story of the discovery and discovery of the relics of St. Demetrius is stored in the Russian State Historical Archive. It began on October 17, 1752 - shortly after the discovery of the incorruptible remains - and was completed on March 14, 1763 - 6 years after the canonization of the saint. All these years, cases of miraculous help and healings through prayers to the saint were recorded under oath. Extensive excerpts from the case of the discovery and discovery of the relics of St. Demetrius were published only once - in various issues of the Yaroslavl Diocesan Gazette for the years 1872 - 1880. For the first time, these individual publications have been collected together and presented on our website. This section presents materials directly related to the history of the burial, the discovery of the relics of the Rostov Metropolitan and their first examination with the drawing up of a detailed report. Of undoubted interest is the work that was done by the commission to search for people who received help and healing through prayers to the not yet canonized Metropolitan Demetrius, who lived in different cities and villages. The spelling and abbreviations of the publications from which the text was typed have been preserved. Death of Saint Demetrius “Behold, two guests are coming to Rostov: the Queen of Heaven and the Queen of Earth; Only I won’t be able to see them here anymore, but I must be ready to be your treasurer to accept them.” 1 Handbook. lives of saints Demetrius of Rostov as consistor. in fact, sheet 214 on the back. This is how Saint Demetrius expressed his order to the treasurer of his house, Hieromonk Philaret, after he heard the news of the imminent bringing to Rostov of the icon of the Mother of God from the Tolgskago monastery and of the impending arrival from Moscow to Rostov of the Dowager Empress, Tsarina Paraskeva Feodorovna. 2 Tsarina Paraskeva Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, who died in 1696 on the 29th day of January. In these words St. Demetrius, full of wondrous insight, we can, without being embarrassed by anything, see the saint’s direct prediction about the imminent end of his earthly life. Apparently nothing foreshadowed such an imminent death of the Metropolitan, neither the summer nor the state of his health. He was constantly minding his own business and could not be called hopelessly ill. Three days before his death, the Metropolitan began to clearly become exhausted; He developed severe coughing fits. On October 26, on the day of his namesake, he himself, although with great difficulty, celebrated the Divine Liturgy and studied with the guests who were that day. The last day of his earthly life, October 27, he also did not go to bed and was on his feet, even made a visit that day to the nun Barsanuphia Kozinskaya. 3 Barsanuphia Kozinskaya was the nurse of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, who was later tried by Emperor Peter the Great. at her urgent request, he visited one archimandrite, accompanied by her, and on the night of October 28th he quietly died. His death followed in 1709 at the age of 58 from birth. And so the prophecy of St. Demetrius's description of himself was exactly fulfilled. The saint of God did not want to give rest to his weakened body even in the last minutes of his earthly existence. On the evening of October 27, he released the singer from his chambers, who especially worked in rewriting his works, then ordered all his servants to retire; and he himself, shutting himself up in a special room, spent the entire last night of his earthly existence on his knees in fervent prayer to the Lord of heaven and earth. During such a dying prayer, the quiet death of the righteous man followed, and his soul left this troubled world, flying to the villages of heaven, to the community of blessed spirits, to the abodes of light and bliss. On the morning of October 28, three separate rings of the two-thousand-pound bell of the Rostov Cathedral Church conveyed to all residents of the orphaned city of Rostov the sad news of the death of the wise and virtuous archpastor. Everyone immediately understood what these three unusual blows meant and hurried to the metropolitan house. Men, women, elders, children of all ranks and conditions, as if called to a great spectacle, strove, overtaking each other, to the chambers of the saint, and here with bitter and inconsolable crying they expressed their deep sorrow over the death of their beloved archpastor. The general confusion was increased by another special circumstance. By half that day, the residents of the city were expecting the arrival of Tsarina Paraskeva Fedorovna with her three August daughters 4 With the princesses Ekaterina Ioannovna, Paraskeva Ioannovna and Anna Ioannovna, later the former Empress of Russia, Rukop. Life, sheet 221.; With the death of the Metropolitan, there was no one to solemnly meet and receive the distinguished travelers with due honor. The widowed empress wanted to venerate the Tolga miraculous image of the Mother of God. But the autumn of 1709 was fickle and damp, and the roads had deteriorated to the point of impossibility due to long-term bad weather; then the empress ordered the image of the Mother of God to be transferred to Rostov and here she decided to wait for the desired shrine to be brought. Given the confluence of such important unexpected events, the deep sorrow of the Rostovites seemed all the more severe to them. In fact, the high traveler with her three daughters arrived in Rostov on the same 28th day of October at the end of the late liturgy. Having learned the sad news, the queen, no less than the Rostovites, grieved and lamented the great loss not only of Rostov, but of the entire Russian Church. She immediately ordered that a requiem mass be celebrated for the deceased by a council of assembled clergy, then she went with her daughters to meet the Queen of Heaven, who was marching to Rostov in the face of her blessed image, met it, kissed and bowed before it, and, having placed it in the Rostov Assumption Cathedral, ordered the saint’s coffin to be taken out there. Here she sent a secondary funeral service with a council of clergy for the repose of the soul of the deceased, and on the third day after her arrival she safely set off on the return journey to Moscow, her permanent place of residence. Meanwhile, the spiritual authorities of Rostov sent a report on the death of the metropolitan and with it his spiritual will to the Moscow Monastery Prikaz and waited from there for the commanding order. The time was getting cold; it allowed us to delay the burial of the body of the deceased. It was given to the city of Ryazan to know the local Metropolitan Stefan, a friend of Dimitriev; Both equally pious and zealous for the development of spiritual enlightenment, they made a friendly covenant among themselves - to bury each other, whichever of them will allow the Lord to survive the death of the other and remain alive longer. The Moscow monastery order was not slow in responding. According to the will of the deceased, he ordered his burial in the Rostov Yakovlevsky Monastery. For this purpose, it was prescribed to dig a grave in the cathedral church of the said monastery on the right side in the corner of the southern and western walls of the church, line it with stone, make a stone tomb and thus hide the remains of the deceased saint in the ground. Only the order of the Order was not carried out exactly; the grave was not lined with stone, much less a stone sarcophagus was not prepared. 5 The same handicraft. life of the saint Dimitri in consistor. In fact, sheet 221 on the back. It is unknown, however, what reasons caused such a deviation from the superior order of the Order. We do not want to claim that this happened due to the inattention or negligence of the monastic authorities in their work; such a cold attitude towards one's duty would be unforgivable. Maybe in Rostov at that time there were no craftsmen who understood the business; craftsmen, such as masons, painters, plasterers and stone cutters, and hitherto all originally from peasants, come to the cities in the spring, work there in spring, summer and the first month of autumn, and in October they disperse to villages and villages. With a sudden demand for such people in late autumn, it was then impossible to find them for any money. Or the monastic poverty did not allow one to spend significant money on the construction of a stone tomb, since after the death of the saint there was not a single penny left for his burial, which he himself personally attested to in his spiritual will. One must think that the abbot of the Yakovlevsky Monastery was quite aware of the unanimous desire of the citizens of Rostov and all the monastic and white clergy - to bury the saint in the Rostov Cathedral; it stopped at the very beginning the work of preparing a decent tomb for the deceased in the designated place. Indeed, as soon as Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan arrived in Rostov, all the spiritual and secular authorities of the city turned to him with a request - to bury the saint in the cathedral church. Perhaps the empress herself, who had recently been in Rostov, found the cathedral church a more decent place for the burial of the famous hierarch and expressed her opinion in the same sense. But Metropolitan Stephen did not dare to change the will of Saint Demetrius, despite any apparently respectful statements. Stefan said to all the petitioners: “Before Saint Demetrius, when he came to Rostov to take the throne, being first in the Yakovlevsky Monastery, he himself chose here a place for burial by the Holy Spirit, saying: this is my peace, I will dwell here forever; then how can I dare to change such a will of the saint?” 6 The same handicraft. life of the saint Demetrius, sheet 222. In view of the lack of time, he hastily ordered the church floor in the main church of the Yakovlev Monastery to be dismantled and a grave to be dug. They made a wooden block from raw logs, placed it in a fossilized grave, and here they placed the saint’s coffin forever on November 25, 1709, despite the poverty and squalor of the tomb prepared for him. This is how people ordered the preparation of the resting place for the mortal remains of the pious hierarch (according to their calculations and judgments); but the wise providence of God, even in the mistakes made by people, invisibly and invariably arranged its mysterious definitions. In human affairs there are often works of God The forty-third year had passed since the death and burial of Saint Demetrius, when the most ordinary task began in the monastery, the correction of the sagging church floor. The circumstances of that time were presented as follows. The Yakovlevsky Monastery was then attached to the Rostov Metropolitan House. Its manager was a certain abbot Gennady; he was also the housekeeper of the metropolitan house. Gennady noticed that in the Church of the Conception 7 the Cathedral Church in the Rostov Yakovlevsky Monastery is the Conception of St. Anne. The saint was buried in it. in the place where Saint Demetrius was buried and where a wooden tomb stood on top, the floor sank, the cast-iron slabs shook; this created the danger of the entire floor falling, which was very possible and extremely dangerous during numerous gatherings of pilgrims. Fearing for himself and for others, Gennady reported this to the former Metropolitan Arseny on September 18, 1752. The Bishop treated this matter with full attention and prudence. Allowing the tomb to be moved to another place and the floor to be dismantled, Arseny orders to inspect the entire place under the floor, find out the reason for the subsidence of the floor, express his thoughts on correcting the disrepair and again propose it to him. On September 19, 1752, Abbot Gennady presented a second report on this case to Metropolitan Arseny. In his report, he announces that under the dismantled floor there is no stone vault above the coffin at all. Instead, a large mound of earth and sand was made, but that too settled and formed a depression in the middle. When they took out the bulk earth, below they examined a very rotten wooden frame made of thick logs. In addition, thick timber logs were placed on the stump and covered with earth. 8 Consistor. case sheet 2 on the back. Due to the weight of the mound made and the subsequent bending of the logs, they broke and sank into the very stump and covered the saint’s coffin. Gennady added in his report that it was impossible to fix the church floor without first removing the rotted stump. On the same September 19, Metropolitan Arseny, having listened to the report, ordered the rotted timber to be dismantled, all the land to be taken out, and the matter to be reported to him again. On September twenty-first, 1752, Abbot Gennady presented the third report to Arseny, which already said something about Saint Demetrius himself. After thoroughly clearing the ground and dismantling the broken logs, the lid of the coffin of St. Dimitri; it is also broken and rotten. Through its holes one could see the cover, hat and robe on the incorruptible saint. There was no stone foundation under the coffin. At the same time, the shown stump was placed very close to the wall of the church, on the weak and damp soil of the earth, as a result of which the rubble was weakened and cracks already appeared on the walls of the church itself. To protect the strength of the entire church building, it was necessary, according to Gennady’s considerations, to move the saint’s coffin away from the wall and make a stone addition to it; for the coffin itself a stone tomb must be made, 9 Consistor. work sheet 4 and then begin to correct the church floor. The Metropolitan was amazed at the importance of information about the incorruption of the saint’s robes after such a long time. Reasoning that during his earthly life Saint Demetrius was distinguished by his piety and holiness of life, as well as by the high gifts of his mind, illuminated by grace from above, as evidenced by numerous writings and the “Chetia Menaion” compiled by him, the Metropolitan decided to begin an immediate examination of the deceased saint. The true words of the archive file read as follows: “in such a case (if the clothes are seen to be incorruptible), His Eminence should be looked at. For this reason, for the same date, our bishops, with the steward, with our confessor and with some of the hieromonks of our house, went to that Yakovlevsky monastery and examined that coffin of the Right Reverend Demetrius. 10 Consist. Sheet 5 The examination of the coffin carried out by the council showed the following: under the crushed coffin lid there was a lot of earth; the head of the coffin was broken off by the weight of the logs that fell on the coffin, but the other parts of that coffin are intact. The ore-yellow satin with which the coffin was upholstered turned out to be hard. On the face of His Eminence there is a cover of yellow damask, on the head there is a hat made of yellow ore taffeta, a robe on it: an omophorion, a sakkos, a bridle and other incorruptible things, on the neck a gilded copper cross on a thin silk fabric is intact and with the fabric, on the Gospel laid on the chest, the crucifix of the Lord and the three Evangelists are intact, inside the Gospel there is paper all faded, the silk rosary on the sleeves is unharmed, the hair on the head is all intact and the hair on the brad is all intact, the black shoes are hard. 11 Consistor. case sheet 5 on the back After his personal examination, recorded in the file in the same words as ours, Arseny ordered the formation of a special investigative commission consisting of the steward and the mentioned hieromonks under the main leadership of Archimandrite Bartholomew, who was then rector of the Yaroslavl Spassky Monastery, and instructed them all: to remove the coffin of St. Demetrius from the ground and from it to select all the land with all care and then His Eminence He will examine and describe it in detail and present that inventory to Arseny. Especially one Gennady, as the manager of the Yaroslavl monastery, he ordered to build a stone addition as soon as possible to fence the fortress of the church building and to seal up the entire place where the saint’s coffin stood with bricks and then fix the church floor. 12 Ibid. For St. himself Demetrius the Vladyka ordered to prepare a new oak coffin and a special stone tomb and, when everything was ready, to present it to him immediately. “Which is why, says the archival file, I have to place the coffin of His Eminence with a new coffin in the church on the site of the previous tomb.” From the death of Saint Demetrius to the discovery of his relics in the days of Metropolitan Arseny From his personal inspection of Dimitriev’s tomb, Metropolitan Arseny, apparently, brought forth a conviction beneficial for faith in the saint. The Bishop recognized the action of grace, which preserved Demetrius’s holy clothes unharmed among the rottenness and decay that surrounded him everywhere. But he did not rely on himself and did not want to trust his own opinion unconditionally, perhaps because he himself was not experienced enough in considering and resolving such cases. Therefore, he entrusted the conduct of a matter of such importance to a knowledgeable person, the abbot of such a monastery, in which the relics of the noble princes have long rested: Theodore and his children David and Constantine, the Yaroslavl wonderworkers. Having under his protection the relics of three saints of God, the archimandrite of the Spassky Monastery had special information in this area of ​​​​knowledge compared to others and was an irreplaceable person in inquiries such as the upcoming one. For the preliminary verification of the incorruption of the relics required impartiality in the conduct of the inquiry and sufficient knowledge corresponding to the task at hand. Meanwhile, this matter, regardless of official research and inquiry, was decided on its own in public opinion and in the conscience of believers. A hundred-year-old rumor among the people had long revered Demetrius as a saint of God and conveyed in oral stories many healings that took place at his tomb. Arseniy himself, while still in the Novgorod-Seversky monastery of the Chernigov diocese, where he received his initial monastic tonsure, even then heard about the healings and miracles performed at the tomb of St. Demetrius in Rostov, which, being a metropolitan, he wrote about in a letter to the confessor of Empress Elizabeth 13 Consistor. deed sheet sheet 23 on the back in the tsidulka to Archpriest Theodore Yakovlevich Dubyansky. A significant number of pilgrims constantly appeared in Rostov with the special intention of being at the tomb of Demetrius and asking for his intercession and prayerful intercession in prayers to God. By their faith, having received what they asked from God at the tomb of Dimitri, these wanderers, returning home, spread the news throughout Russia about Dimitri as a saint of God. Moreover, the all-good and wise providence of God himself invisibly prepared the minds and hearts of all people. After the death of Demetrius, before Metropolitan Arseny, three hierarchs were replaced at the Rostov See: Bishop Dosifei and two archbishops George and Joachim; but they all differed sharply from Demetrius in their qualities and deeds, and therefore all the more strengthened in the memory of the people love and respect for the latter. Thus, during the eight-year rule of his flock from 1710 to 1718, Dosifei covered himself with the glory of a false prophet, became involved in treason against the Emperor, was exposed for his actions, was deprived of his rank and was executed under the name of Demid in Moscow on Red Square in March 1718. It is said about him in the book: Hierarchs of the Rostov-Yaroslavl flock: “so God openly punished the one who rebelled against His anointed one.” 14 Hierarchs of Rostov-Yarosl. flock, pp. 194 and 195. Yaroslavl 1864 Following Dositheus, Bishop Georgy, from the family of nobles Dashkov, was elevated to the Rostov See. “Contemporaries spoke, it is said in the same book about the Hierarchs, very unfavorably about his education and sympathy for science; he was not a scientist, he looked at Western Russian science as empty fun and did not like Kyiv scientists.” 15 Hierarchs Growth. - Yarosl. flock, p. 195 Having become known to the sovereign through his happy participation in political affairs, he was transferred from the abbots of the Astrakhan monastery to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and then to St. Petersburg, in 1718 he was elevated to the rank of bishop of the Rostov diocese, was carried away by the whirlpool of court intrigues, reached the rank of archbishop and vice-president of the Synod and, Prompted by pride, here he allowed himself actions that were illegal and offensive to many. Receiving orders from the all-powerful Prince Menshikov in those days regarding the department of the Holy Synod in the form of friendly news, Archbishop George sent them to the Synod in the form of decrees 16 Hierarchs of Growth. - Yarosl. flock, p. 197 The word Synod is written literally and on the basis of the Church Bulletin - the official organ of the Holy Synod, which deeply offended the president and all other members of the highest spiritual government. After the fall of Prince Menshikov, the new temporary workers of Russia, the princes Dolgoruky, turned out to be the same as Menshikov, patrons of George. Having decided to restore the patriarchate in Russia, they even aimed at George and almost fulfilled their intention. But circumstances changed with the accession of Anna Ioannovna, and the vain George, dismissed from the title of vice-president of the Synod, went to his diocese with gloomy forebodings about his fate. Dissatisfied with George's previous actions, the members of the Synod decided to put him on trial for one matter that he supposedly decided incorrectly in the Synod, they deprived him of his dignity, and sent him into captivity in a distant and poor monastery. where, after two years of mournful and sorrowful life, the former Archbishop George passed away his days in the form of a simple schema-monk Gideon in 1733. 17 Hierarchs Growth. - Yarosl. flock, pp. 198–204. George was imprisoned, died and buried in the Vologda Spaso-Kamenny Monastery. We fully recognize the cruel injustice in the defrocking of this hierarch; but such are always the consequences of political upheavals that fallen individuals are exposed to all the horrors of disasters from the triumphant party. This is how another hierarch died his life in misfortune after the humble and meek Demetrius, who never went into the calculations of worldly ambition, but was only a zealous guardian of faith and piety, remembering the word of Christ that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Passionate attachment to the glory and grandeur of this vain world destroyed George; and meanwhile his spiritual flock became overgrown with thorns, ossified in ignorance and superstition. In the successive ministry of such two hierarchs after Demetrius, one cannot help but see special Divine permission. The flock learned to more carefully appreciate the exploits of Demetrius’s humble but valiant life, and more zealously learned piety from his soul-helping writings. The Cheti-Minea, compiled by him, spread more and more and became a guiding book for all people who thirsted for the salvation of the soul, which we can almost see to this day. The third Archbishop Joachim was of a meek spirit, but having taken the see of Rostov the Great at an advanced age, too eighty years old from birth, he could not act lively and energetically. To prove this, let us take into account one Slavic-Latin school, which he opened by order of the Empress and for which teachers were sent from Little Russia. With the hierarchy weak from old age, this school, of necessity, soon closed. Moreover, his vast flock needed archpastoral supervision and orders and did not have them. Finally, becoming more and more weakened in spirit and body, he ended his life at over ninety years old and was buried in the Rostov Cathedral. 18 Hierarchs of Rostov-Yarosl. flock pp. 205 and 206. After these three hierarchs, Metropolitan Arseny, intelligent, strict, and active, took the Rostov See. He had to clear the overgrown field of the diocese from the thorns and chaff of the wildly growing schism, from the rudeness of morals and disorder accumulated over the years. The next year of his priesthood in 1744, on February 20, there was a terrible and extraordinary event of the burning of holy relics in the Yaroslavl Cathedral. 19 Hierarchs of Rostov-Yaroslav. flock pp. 222 and 223. What happened due to the extreme negligence and carelessness of the clergyman of the cathedral and all his clergy was clear and striking proof of the licentiousness that reigned throughout the entire diocese. It is not surprising if Arseny, in fits of zeal for truth and decency, used strict measures to restore order between the servants of the churches of God subordinate to him. And now, after ten years of his ministry, instead of the Yaroslavl treasure lost through neglect, God apparently opened a new blessed source of healings and miracles in the newly emerging relics of St. Demetrius of Rostov. Formal inquiry about the incorruption of the relics of the saint Archimandrite Bartholomew, appointed as investigator of the case, did not hesitate to appear from Yaroslavl to Rostov to carry out the assignment entrusted to him. Without any doubt, he first examined the relics of the noble princes of Yaroslavl resting in his monastery, in order to more fairly and accurately assess the condition of the newly discovered relics in Rostov. There are undoubted indications of his preliminary acquaintance with other relics in the act itself, drawn up by him and signed together with other investigators. With the blessing of the Metropolitan, Bartholomew formed an investigative commission of seven persons; They entered into it: he himself, abbot Gennady, two house metropolitan hieromonks: Serapion and Joachim and three hierodeacons - Ignatius, Petronius and Bonifatius. On September 27th they all arrived at the Yakovlevsky Monastery on the 20th Consistor. work sheet 7 immediately got down to business. For greater convenience in raising the coffin, the hierodeacons dug it up from all sides, and the bottom board of the coffin turned out to be solid, despite the fact that when lifting the coffin, everyone saw the dirt underneath. The soil that was in the coffin was all carefully chosen, and the remains of the saint, which had been lying in the ground for forty-two years, were examined with full attention and placed in the same church. At the same time, a detailed “inventory of the quality in which the relics of the late Right Reverend Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov” appeared, was compiled. From word to word this inventory is 21 Consistor. Sheet 8 of the case is stated as follows: “on the head is a cap of ore-yellow taffeta, on it are written holy images, the first of the Savior, the second to the right of the Mother of God, the third to the left of the country of the Forerunners, near the Mother of God the Archangel Michael, near the Forerunner of the Archangel Gabriel, on top of the Mother of God of the Sign. The edge of the ermine was all rotten, except for the skin that stuck to the forehead. The cover placed on the face, covered with yellow damask, taffeta, is hard. The eyes are deepened, the skin on the nose and both cheeks is distinguished. The upper and lower teeth with the jaw are intact, the head has light brown hair. The fair-haired ones on the brad are also intact. The cross placed on the neck, gilded on red silk fabric, is all intact and light and hard. The omophorion and sakkos, the cassock, the epitrachelion, made of clove-colored silk, the yellow damask club, lined with green lace, the omophorion and sakkos and the epitrachelion have green silk buttons, all intact and hard. On the side there is a half-naked Gospel, wrapped in red velvet, the velvet has faded, on this Gospel there are silver beads, on the first middle there is a crucifix with those standing next to it, and on the three on the edges, the three Evangelists are intact and clean, but the fourth Evangelist is not there, and in that Gospel the paper sheets have decayed. Yes, under the head of the late Metropolitan Demetrius, the established works of his writings, written on paper, decayed. The hands folded on the chest, the right one is intact, but the left one has become detached at the elbow, the silk cords are solid in the hands, only the color has changed from the earth that was poured into the coffin. Likewise, the hand guards of the above-mentioned clove material are intact, namely, on the right hand, on the four fingers, on the index finger, and on the great middle finger and next to it, and on the little finger, there are two compositions each with a broken board from the earth that was on it and other weights that were wiped off, of which one and with a fingernail, along with the others, are right there on the finger. At the feet, the legs and knees are intact, as is the case with other relics; on the steps, the former leather shoes are intact, in which there are leg bones. Under the shoes the leather eagle is intact. The inside of the oak block is lined with ore-yellow lass, which throughout the entire block and at the rotten head is all intact, hard and colorful. The iron nails with which the lath was nailed were rusted into dust. This tomb was covered in dirt from the bottom up, but was not damaged.” This inventory is exactly like the text of the Bible, without additions or any deductions here offered to the attention of readers, signed by all seven members of the investigative commission and presented to Metropolitan Arseny on September 30, 1752. Having read the act presented by Bartholomew, Vladyka was even more convinced of the holiness of the deceased saint and of the action of Divine grace, which preserved his clothes and honorable body incorruptible, and therefore, as we will see, he decided to place Demetrius’s coffin not under a bushel, but in the church itself. Soon after, Gennady fulfilled the assignment entrusted to him. On October 8, he reported to the metropolitan that a stone addition to the church wall had been made and the entire place where the saint had been laid out had been bricked up and covered with a newly constructed church floor. In the same way, an oak coffin and a stone tomb were prepared for the saint. The next day, October 9, the Metropolitan took with him Archimandrite Bartholomew with other members of the commission and also his confessor, Hieroschemamonk Kodrat, arrived with them at the Yakovlevsky Monastery and examined the relics of Demetrius for the second time, and the inventory compiled by the commission turned out to be completely appropriate and similar to the existing appearance of honest relics. Having performed a requiem mass at the cathedral, Arseny, with the help of his servants, placed the former coffin with the relics in a newly built oak one, closed it with a lid, then put it in a stone tomb and closed it with another lid, locked it, sealed it with his seal and placed it in the church behind the right choir in full view of everyone who came to the church of God. 22 Consistor. deeds, sheets 9 and 10. Then he ordered the preparation in his consistory of a detailed report for presentation to the Holy Governing Synod. Report to the Holy Synod At the end of the previous chapter, it was said that Metropolitan Arseny ordered the spiritual consistory to prepare a detailed report on the unexpected matter of finding holy relics. It was quickly prepared and in the archival file occupies seven pages in a sheet of small and neat writing. It sets out in detail the whole matter from the first moment of its occurrence to the last phase of its development. In the same words as ours, Gennadieva’s three initial reports were stated; behind them is described an inspection of the coffin, made personally by Arseny himself; then his order on the formal conduct of the inquiry, followed by the inquiry itself and the inventory drawn up by the members of the commission. The same report also contains a secondary inspection carried out by Arseny in the presence of members of the former commission and finally the transfer of the relics into a newly built coffin and then into a stone tomb and placing them in the church of God. The final words of the report are as follows: “and I gave the key to that tomb to my steward for safekeeping, and with this report I respectfully offer information about everything to the Holy Governing Synod.” To avoid repetition, we do not present here literally this report, which, if it were a repetition of the above, would be tedious to read. In the archival file there are two ceremonial copies of it, written very carefully. 23 Consistor. case sheets 11–18 inclusive. A literal repetition of this report on behalf of the entire commission will be presented below in Chapter Eleven. Without a doubt, one was prepared for the consistory, and the other was probably intended for Arseny himself, who, having received a report of such undoubted importance, wanted to have a copy at hand just in case and later deposited it with the same case. The prepared report was sent extremely quickly. The placement of the relics in a new coffin and a stone tomb was carried out by Arseny on the 9th day of October, and on the next day, October 10, a detailed report was already sent to the Holy Synod. Could the consistory really prepare a detailed report in one day? In such a short time there was no way to draw up an extensive paper, then write two clean copies from it, which we see in the case being examined, and then prepare a third, cleaner and more thorough paper for presentation to the Holy Synod. Therefore, we come to the only conclusion that the synodal report was prepared gradually by Arseny himself and, compiled in advance, was then only rewritten by the consistory scribes. It is unknown how soon this report was received in St. Petersburg. Russian mail in the times of Elizabeth was completely different from what it is now. The report was first sent to Moscow with the Metropolitan's groom Ivan Fedorov and there he handed it over to the Moscow solicitor Pyotr Khukharev for sending by mail to St. Petersburg. It is not clear from the case whether the Moscow solicitor, having accepted the report, quickly forwarded it to the Holy Synod. No matter how things happened, the report of Metropolitan Arseny was received at the Synod; but there was no response decree or any synodal order on this matter, and it is not found in the entire enormous archival file, which makes one a little surprised and perplexed. It can be assumed that such a report made it difficult for the Synod. The Metropolitan arranged the matter in such a way that the highest spiritual authorities had nothing left to do. Order a study; but it has already been done, and the act of the inquiry carried out is described in the report itself. Canonization and recognition of the honorable body of a righteous person as holy relics belongs to the highest spiritual authority; and the body of St. Demetrius, found incorrupt, has already been recognized as holy relics by Arseny and the investigative commission, and is referred to as such more than once in the report. The inventory itself, compiled by the members of the commission, was entitled: “an inventory in what capacity the relics of the late Right Reverend Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, appeared.” The bodies of the dead righteous always remain hidden in the ground under a bushel, until the supreme secular and spiritual authority recognizes the remains of the righteous as honest relics and orders them to be taken out of the ground and placed in a church for open celebration. And the Metropolitan himself ordered that the coffin with the body of the saint be taken out of the ground and placed in a new coffin and stone tomb in full view of everyone in the church of God. In the concluding words of the report, the Metropolitan reports the entire matter to the Holy Synod, not for consideration or decision, but only offers the Synod information. In such orders of the Metropolitan and such a report one can see an excess of the power given to each local diocesan bishop. But Metropolitan Arseny was called a member of the Holy Synod and therefore considered himself to have the right to act on an equal footing with the highest spiritual authority. Be that as it may, such a report from Metropolitan Arseny made it difficult for the Holy Synod. He did not answer Arseny, remained deeply silent, as if he had not received any notice at all, and thus, one must think, made it even more difficult for the Metropolitan himself, who put the matter of Demetrius’s relics, so to speak, halfway and did not know what to do next. Four-year case proceedings In the report of Metropolitan Arseny, one important aspect of the matter was omitted without any attention, namely: at the tomb of Saint Demetrius, were there any miraculous signs that could serve as obvious evidence of the presence of the grace-filled power of God in the incorruptible and abiding body of the saint. The Founder of the Church and the salvation of people, glorifying the incorruption of the bodies of his saints, visibly and openly reveals in them his abundant grace and through them gives to all who come with faith healing of mental ailments and physical illnesses. But in Arseniev’s report there is not a single word about any miracle that took place. Was this a deliberate silence about the grace-filled healings at the saint’s grave and, remaining only in the memory and grateful hearts of the people, remained little or almost completely unknown to the monks of the Yakovlev Monastery? We think that the latter assumption is more correct. Only the highest spiritual authority could not fail to pay the deepest attention to this. For the incorruptible body of a deceased person, without miraculous signs from it, cannot yet be recognized as holy relics. There are although few examples of such a phenomenon in nature. They are mentioned in G. Sosnin’s discussion on page 22 of his treatise on the incorruption of holy relics in the Christian Church. 24 About the incorruption of St. relics in the church Christian. Master of Theology Dmitry Sosnin, pp. 21 and 22 St. Petersburg 1833 The Holy Synod could not have been unaware of all this even in those days. In view of this, he instructed Moscow Archbishop Plato to secretly, without official or formal appointment, examine the relics of Demetrius and find out whether miraculous healings were performed at the tomb, and whether there was any record of this in the monastery? Archbishop Platon secretly arrived in Rostov at the end of June 1753 and stayed here through the end of June and the first days of the next month of July. Arseny himself refers to this visit to Rostov in his report to the Holy Synod of the 25th Consistor. file sheet 20, sent at the end of November 1756 with ensign Fyodor Baranov. Plato, together with Arseny, testified to the relics of Demetrius and, among other things, asked Arseny about miracles, whether they happened at Demetrius’s tomb and whether they were recorded? I, Plato added, have myself heard about many healings taking place at the tomb of St. Demetrius, especially from fevers. Arseny frankly said that it was not the custom to ask visiting pilgrims about their receipt of any gifts of grace at the saint’s tomb and therefore no recording was made. There is no doubt that Archbishop Plato conveyed everything he heard from Arseny in writing or verbally to the Holy Synod, and the matter of the relics of St. Demetrius, found in Rostov, remained without movement to the will of the Provider of God until a time known to Him alone. Metropolitan Arseny could not help but understand after this what an important omission he had not noticed and had not eliminated in his time. He immediately ordered the then housekeeper Joachim to attend to the establishment of the required record, to be diligent about this, and then to submit such a record to him Arseny for consideration 26 Consist. the case sheet is the same 20th., a special notebook was created in which the visitors themselves could write down the healings received, if they could do so; miraculous signs received by simple, illiterate people had to be recorded by the monks themselves serving in the monastery. Thus, nine months after the first report to the Synod about the relics of the saint, the initial record of the signs of grace performed at the tomb of the saint of God was started. Despite the establishment of the record, time was running out; a year passed, then two and three; As the years passed, the matter of the discovery of the relics seemed to be forgotten forever by everyone. But when no one expected the resumption, it suddenly opened in the most unexpected way. The fame of the saint of God, spreading further and further, reached the ears of the then Empress Elisaveta Petrovna. Surprised by the stories about the miracles taking place in Rostov, she wished to have reliable information about it and for She ordered her confessor, Archpriest Fyodor Yakovlevich Dubyansky, to ask Metropolitan Arseny of Rostov about this in writing. The archival file did not preserve Dubyansky’s original letter; but from Arseniev’s response it is clear that it was received on September 25, 1756. Answering the archpriest on September 27, Arseny explains that the note about miracles available in the monastery is very colloquial and not lengthy, with very brief tales of those people who received healings, and even then few enter into the note, but for the most part the most simpletons, having received healing from one of the miracle workers by their faith, do not dare to write down about themselves, as is heard; from many we send this little that we have. In a letter to Archpriest Dubyansky, Arseny included a special note, which he called tsidulka; in it he notes that even when he was a simple monk in the monastery of the Chernigov diocese, he heard about healings at the tomb of Demetrius, and now, being in Rostov, he personally sees many pilgrims coming and hiring funeral services to sing; however, behind my vanity and oblivion, there was no opportunity to be curious and ask for what reason who came. Further mentioning the review of the Moscow Archbishop Plato, which is already known to us, Arseny speaks about the coming petitioners for Dimitriev’s coffin: there is no diligent questioning of their needs, but whoever announces what is in the note, and whoever does not write it down remains without news. Only this year there are a lot of pilgrims visiting compared to previous years. Mentioning first about the coming, and then about the arriving pilgrims, Arseny seems to express the idea that conviction and faith in St. Demetrius began to develop in the richer and more educated residents of Russia than the common people who had been coming for a long time. Here, unfortunately, in the file of the Yaroslavl Diocesan Gazette at our disposal, pages are missing The first two days of the investigative inquiry of the hierarchs The third investigative member from the Moscow Simonov Monastery was not slow to arrive in Rostov. The two hierarchs and the newly arrived Archimandrite Gabriel immediately got down to business. First of all, they went to the Yakovlevsky Monastery and here, in accordance with the decree of the Holy Synod, they made a formal inspection of the body of the deceased saint on the 15th day of January. They took with them the previous report from 1752, opened the stone tomb and in it they opened the coffin, which contained the relics of St. Dimitri. Without drawing up a special act of their inspection, they checked the previously drawn up act of testimony, already known to the Synod from the first report of Arseny, found it completely correct and in complete agreement with the current state of the clothes and relics of the saint, therefore they were fully confident in the all-powerful action of God's grace, preserving unharmed the honest remains of the saint of God, and decided to begin an investigative interrogation of all the people who received at the grave the saint's grace on himself is a sign. The guiding thread for the investigation was the monastery record of miracles, in which twenty-three people were listed as recorded. They divided everyone who received healing at the tomb of the Right Reverend Demetrius into those near and far and ordered: the latter, due to their remoteness from Rostov, should not seek personal testimony from them to appear and take away; and neighbors 27 According to the monastery record, the hierarchs required the following persons: 1) Rostov district, patrimony of Mikhail Mikhailovich Volynsky, village of Lazortseva, widow Marya Varfolomeeva. 2) Podberezye village, peasant wife Fedosya Grigorieva. 3) Village Ugodnich Vasily Korovaev. 4) The village of the Great peasant Leontia Antonov, daughter of Paraskev. 5) State Councilor Mr. Yavostov, courtyard man Mikhailo Patrikeev. 6) Varnitsky Monastery girl Nastasya Gavrilova. 7) Yakovlevskaya Sloboda Osip Mikhailov’s wife Efrosinya Vasilyeva. 8) The village of Polyanok of the former sexton Gavrilo Afanasyev’s son Vasily. 9) Nikolsky churchyard that the sexton’s wife Efrosinya Alekseeva is in the yard. 10) City of Rostov boundary team copyist Ilya Andronov. 11) Uglich spiritual board sub-chancellor Alexei Kurakhtansky. 12) Yaroslavl district landowner Princess Evdokia Petrovna Vyazemskaya. 13) The city of Yaroslavl, the parish of John the Baptist, the townsman Dmitry Protopopov, wife Marfa Vasilyeva. 14) The same as the arrival of the townsman Ivan Shchenikov’s wife Marya Ivanova. 15) Annunciation parish townsman Yakov Tikhonov Bogomolov. 16) Yaroslavl factory Zatrapeznago, employee Kosma Dobrotin, son Andreyan Dobrotin. All designated persons are named in the protocol of the hierarchal commission on sheet 31 of the consistory file. The discovery and discovery of the relics of St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, numbering sixteen people, to find and demand through the Rostov Spiritual Consistory and the boards subordinate to it, and also to demand those “whom they will show testify about themselves” 28 Consistor. case sheet 31 on the back.. On the same morning, consistory bailiffs and copyists were sent out in different directions with special instructions to invite the required persons to Rostov for personal interrogation by the hierarchal investigative commission. In the instructions, the bailiffs are, among other things, instructed: “while sending offenses and taxes, do not cause offenses and taxes to anyone and do not take district carts without money, do not touch bribes for the omission of the ordered person under the description of the proper one according to the decrees, fining 29 Consistor. deeds sheet 105... Apparently there have always been people trying to spoil everything, even the most sacred thing, concerning the holiness and glory of the Church of God on earth for money and gifts. The first to appear and called for interrogation was the widow of the boby Maria Varfolomeeva from the village of Lazortseva. On January 15, she showed the following according to the most basic truth and Christian conscience. Marya, I am eighty years old, married to a peasant, I was about forty years old, and after his death I lived as a widow for twenty years, and ago, when I was nineteen years old, I fell ill with a headache, there was a lot of aching and great noise in my head from about five years old, that’s why I became blind and didn’t see a single path, and I always went to church and to collect alms with guides, and I was blind for about fifteen years. And four years ago, having heard from popular rumors that the relics of the Right Reverend Demetrius the Metropolitan had been found in Rostov, I promised to pray at his tomb and for this purpose I came with a guide to the Yakovlevsky Monastery for the early liturgy and then forced me to serve a memorial service for the saint, after which, through his prayers, I received healing in this way. When I was praying in the church, I didn’t see anything, but as I stepped over the threshold onto the porch and turned to the church to pray, at that very time I saw the light and holy icons and people in the church, coming out of the porch, I began to see the road and came to the village of Lazartsevo, a distance of about twenty versts from the city around the lake, by myself without a guide, and from that time on, for the fourth year, I can see completely with my eyes and do all kinds of housework, I walk the road alone and have aches. and I don’t feel any noise in my head. And that I really didn’t see anything with my eyes for fifteen years and couldn’t walk without a guide, my parish priest and spiritual father Spiridon Egorov, deacon Egor Ivanov, and the village peasants Danilo Vasiliev and Egor Fedorov, with whom I temporarily lived, being blind, and my neighboring peasants, the elder Ivan Vasiliev and the elected Semyon Nikiforov, know and can testify. Whether the monastics of the Yakovlev Monastery know about my healing, I cannot show. 30 Consistor. Case sheets 32 on the back and 33 and 235. Soon all the mentioned persons were summoned, except for Yegor Fedorov, who did not appear due to illness, and they all testified in complete agreement with the testimony of the widow of the little woman, who received insight and healing from a headache. 31 Consistor. case sheets 33 on the back and 34. Another one, the peasant widow Fedosya Grigorieva, appeared and was called for interrogation in the same Rostov district, parish of the village of Shugori, village of Podberezya, and also, according to the real truth and Christian conscience, showed the following. I am about sixty years old, I was married to a peasant of the said village for twenty-two years, I have been living as a widow for six years. And ago, when I was about eight years old, I had a headache, which was quite painful, and tears and pus were coming out of my eyes for about a year, which is why I couldn’t see anything with my eyes for about six years, and I walked around the hut and groped out into the yard. And when I happened to go to church, my own children Fyodor and Mikhailo would take me, whoever happened to be, and two years ago, having heard that the sick were being healed at the tomb of the Right Reverend Demetrius the Metropolitan, I made a zealous promise to go to that monastery and pray at the tomb of St. Demetrius. According to this promise, another year I came to Lent with my great son Fyodor and prayed here during the hours. In the same year in the spring, on the day of Leonty, the Wonderworker of Rostov, I came another time with my stepson’s wife Anna Ivanova, now deceased, in the evening, I prayed and served a requiem mass at the tomb of the saint, and after that requiem, after five weeks of being in my house and calling upon St. Demetrius always, I began to see with my own eyes as before and is now completely healthy, I see completely and walk without a guide. The accuracy of my testimony can be confirmed by my spiritual father of the village of Shugori, priest Stefan Ivanov, the village headman of Podberezya Gavrilo Vasiliev, neighboring peasants Lukyan Nikitin, Mikhailo Ivanov and my own children Fedor and Mikhailo, who led me blind. Being blind, I didn’t use my eyes in anything and didn’t call anyone to see me as a doctor. Whether the monks of the monastery know that I was blind and began to see, I don’t know. 32 Consistor. case sheet 34 on the back and 35 and 225 on the back. The members of the commission requested all the witnesses mentioned by Fedosya, interrogated them and added their testimony to the investigative file, and they all confirmed in writing the accuracy of the testimony of the said peasant widow. 33 Consistor. case sheet 35 on the back and 36. On the next day of the investigation, a peasant from the same district of the village of Ugodich, Vasily Andreev Korovaev, appeared before the lyceum of hierarchs and, questioned by the investigators, testified: I, Vasily, am about seventy years old, but I don’t really remember how long. Eight years ago, during Lent, I was steaming in a bathhouse ten fathoms from my yard, and as soon as I left the bathhouse, suddenly there was a great darkness in my eyes and a strong ache in my head, I fell on the road and lay there for half an hour and began shouting to my son Ivan, who was then clearing away the hay, so that he would pick me up and take me to the hut. After an hour, the great pain in my head went away, but for about two days after that, pus came out of both eyes and from the right ear, and I couldn’t see anything with my eyes and hadn’t seen anything for about six years, but I didn’t treat my eye and didn’t use anything. My family helped me eat, brought me a spoon to my mouth, took me out into the yard, from the yard to church, or wherever I needed to go. When I heard that the incorruptible relics of the Right Reverend Demetrius had been found, I set the intention myself to pray to him, and for this I came with the grain seller, the townsman Fyodor Rodionov Burlakov, to the monastery and here I often prayed and lived in the monastery with my cousin hieromonk Sergius for a year and a half. Sergius advised me to serve a requiem mass at the tomb of St. Dimitri; I kept postponing the funeral service. But last year, 1756, on Trinity Day itself, I went with the same Burlakov in a boat across the lake to the monastery to hieromonk Sergius, spent the night with him, celebrated matins and mass, and then, in my order, Sergius served a memorial service and escorted me from the monastery gates. But as soon as I walked out of the porch with Sergius into the monastery, I suddenly began to see something and said to Sergius: maybe I’ll get to Fyodor Burlakov myself. I went without a guide, saw the road and the people walking and, thanking God and St. Demetrius, without going to Burlakov, I went straight to the Rostov ranks, then to the lake, moved by boat to Ugodichi, came home and from that time I see everything, I walk alone and also sell meat according to our trade. The aforementioned hieromonk Sergius, the former Ugodichsky, and now Yaroslavl priest Jacob, the deacon Mikhailo Fedorov and the peasants of that village and Fedor Burlakov, who has already died, the children Samson and Gregory and my own son Ivan know about my blindness and insight. 34 Consistor. Case sheets 37, 38 and 225 on the back. Investigators called all the witnesses mentioned by Vasiliev and interrogated them separately, taking written statements from them, which were attached to the case file. 35 Consistor. cases sheets 39, 40, 41 and 42. These miracles were printed by me in Yar. Ep. Ved. h. neof. 1872 p. 183 et al. Ed. All of them confirmed the authenticity of the blindness and healing of the said elder according to the real truth and Christian conscience, and the person of the priesthood according to the priesthood. Sergius by priesthood and his monastic promise. The first three miracles from the relics of St. Demetrius were healings from blindness of the eyes. It is impossible to suspect the reliability of the testimony of those healed. They were brought by persons at 60, 70 and 80 years of age, on the verge of death and confirmed by many third-party reliable witnesses. The last two added in their testimony that they did not use or treat the blindness of their eyes; By this they also eliminated the assumption that some kind of medicinal assistance had helped them in their insight. True, the first of those who saw the light did not mention her lack of treatment; but being a little girl and eating alms, she had no opportunity and no means for her treatment. Moreover, being 80 years old from birth, she could not even think about treatment and directly attributed her insight to the prayerful intercession of the saint. In all this, one must agree and undoubtedly recognize in their insight the special action of heavenly providence and the obvious presence of God’s grace, acting through the honest relics of the saint of God. Vasily Korovayev’s insight is especially remarkable. He prayed for a long time and lived in the monastery, but still did not want to serve a requiem mass at the saint’s tomb; it means there was still disbelief in him. He doubted the possibility of receiving insight through the gracious help of the saint and received it as soon as he served a requiem mass at the tomb of Demetrius and therefore with all his heart already believed in his righteousness and holiness and his prayerful intercession before God. Further investigations were carried out in the order and direction in which the above-mentioned interrogations of the first three persons were carried out, with certification of the validity of their testimony through third-party people. For this purpose, the hierarchs together with Archimandrite Gabriel, before taking the first of the above-described indications, drew up a special protocol 36 Consistor. case sheet 32 ​​with an outline of the general plan of action. They determined: according to the monastery record of miracles, to find out from the persons requested, from what diseases they received those healings, under what circumstances, according to the many diseases of their time, and about those diseases of theirs that they actually had these, whether anyone knew, and whether those knowledgeable persons were worth the credibility; It was decided to film the interrogations without an oath, according to the very essence of truth and Christian conscience, as prescribed in the decrees of the Holy Synod. The members of the investigators adhered to the general plan of action, thus drawn up, invariably and with all precision and throughout the investigation, which lasted twelve days, starting on the 15th and ending on the 26th day of January 1757. In order not to tire the attention of readers, we will present here abbreviated stories about persons miraculously healed and about the time of continuation of their painful state. Fourth healing. In the Yaroslavl district of the village of the Great peasant Leonty Antonov, the daughter of Paraskev, being nine years old from birth, became weakened, numb and unable to control either her arms or her legs (the latter were crumpled), lay in bed near death for about twenty weeks. Brought by her father to the monastery, she was laid at the tomb of the saint of God during the requiem service, but, returning home, the next day she began to use her arms and legs and a week later she began to walk on her own, but still could not speak for a year and a half. Brought again to the monastery by her mother, she listened to the requiem service at the saint’s tomb and, returning home, began to speak freely and to this day does not feel any pain in herself, either in her head, or in her arms, or in her legs. 37 Consistor. case sheets 43 and 226. The authenticity of this healing was confirmed by the father of the healed woman and the parish priest from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Vasily Borisov. But three peasants, to whom the father of the sick girl referred, did not appear for interrogation, two due to illness, and the third due to absence from his place of residence, which was reported by the bailiff Egor Lebedev, sent to search for them, in a report submitted to the consistory. 38 Consistor. case sheets 44, 45 and 46. Fifth healing. At the Yakovlevsky monastery of the submonastic settlement, Bobyl's wife Efrosinya Vasilyeva was overcome with melancholy for four years, then she developed hiccups and severe internal pain in her stomach, she could not stand for church services, but fell and was shaking all over, she ate little bread and did not sleep at night, and so she suffered for another two years. In such an illness, she promised to serve a requiem mass at the tomb of St. Demetrius, after which she soon received healing from all the mentioned diseases and has been feeling completely healthy for another year. 39 Consistor. Case sheets 47 and 226 on the back. The authenticity of her illness and healing was confirmed by: the parish priest of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Goritsy, Jacob Isaev, who performed the requiem, the treasurer, Hieromonk Pimen, the townsman of the city of Rostov, Pyotr Ignatiev Dobrynin, the residents of the monastery settlement, Pyotr Ivanov and Ivan Mikhailov, and the monastery janitor, Ivan Matveev... 40 Consistor. case sheet 48. Sixth healing. The city of Rostov, the Posad diva Nastasya Gavrilova, showed the following about herself. I am forty years old. When I was nine years old, I suffered from an internal illness, which made me sad at times. With the onset of adulthood, this disease multiplied in me, I was more often tormented by melancholy, hiccupped and screamed, especially during sacred services, for which I could not even stand, but sat or stood with the support of others. I suffered from this disease for thirty years. Recently, this pain has become unbearable, something was tossing and turning in my womb, which is why I was in extreme unconsciousness and madness for a week, and I don’t remember anything what I did then, and therefore I recognize such an illness as possession from an unclean spirit. Having somewhat come to my senses, I asked to be taken to the monastery of the tomb of St. Demetrius, here for a week I prayed for all church services and repeatedly served requiem services, during which I was immensely sad, hiccupped, screamed, fell into unconsciousness, and after a week I received complete sanity, felt freedom in myself and healing, came home and another year, I am completely healthy. 41 Consistor. case sheets 49 and 226. The validity of Gavrilova’s testimony was confirmed in writing by her spiritual father of the Church of St. Clement, priest Yakov Fedorov, the treasurer of the monastery, Hieromonk Pimen, and her cousins, city townspeople Andrei Gladkov and Pyotr Kosmin Tyunin, who brought the sick woman to the church. 42 Consistor. case sheet 50. Seventh healing. City of Yaroslavl, Tolchkovskaya Sloboda, the wife of a townsman, Marfa Vasilyev Protopopova, being thirty-three years old, suddenly on August 1, 1755, began to fall into unconsciousness, felt severe pain in her stomach, which is why she screamed, fell and beat herself, while her womb rose strongly. Wanting to get rid of the disease, on August 23 she went to Rostov to receive the icon of the Mother of God of Tikhvin, who was then escorted, in Rostov for a week she prayed every day at the tomb of Metropolitan Demetrius with the same attacks of her illness and served a memorial service, after which she received healing from the disease and from that time began to enjoy perfect health again. 43 Consistor. Case sheets 51 and 226 on the back. The authenticity of her illness and her recovery from it were confirmed personally and in writing by her spiritual father, the priest of the Church of John the Baptist, priest Vasily Vasilyev, who served the requiem, the treasurer, hieromonk Pimen, and the city of Rostov, the church of the holy unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, priest Maxim Nikiforov, “who, by her knowledge, she, Martha, visited Rostov many times.” Only the priest gave testimony to the Yaroslavl Baptist Church not directly in Rostov, but sent it through the Yaroslavl spiritual board. 44 Consistor. case sheets 52 and 132. Eighth healing. In the city of Yaroslavl, the same Tolchkovskaya settlement and the same parish of the townsman, the wife of Marya Ivanova Shchenikova, from the very moment she got married, began to suffer from internal pain, it was as if something was tossing in her stomach, from which she felt mortal melancholy, fell into unconsciousness, beat herself, bit her hands, tore her hair in fits of unconsciousness, but rarely I ran out into the street in my shirt and suffered like that for about six years. 45 Consistor. Case sheets 53 and 226 on the back. Last year, 1755, she, relying on the help of compassionate people, decided to go to Rostov for the icon of the Mother of God, who was escorted there, and lived in Rostov for two months with the priest Maxim Nikiforov, also often falling into unconsciousness and barely remembering how she came to the monastery and asked to send a requiem mass at the saint’s tomb. Here for three days she was crazy and was brought to priestly services by visiting pilgrims. After three days, Marya felt more joyful, she began to be in her right mind and, having venerated the relics of the saint of God, she felt completely healthy, returned home safely, and from that time on, she did not feel any illness in herself for another year. Her painful condition was testified by her confessor, the priest of St. John the Baptist Church, and her neighbors, townspeople Ivan Protasov and Kuzma Shtannikov, and sent their testimony to Rostov through the Yaroslavl spiritual government. And her recovery, through prayers at the tomb of Saint Demetrius, was confirmed by Hieromonk Pimen and the Cosmo-Damian Church, priest Maxim Nikiforov, in whose house she lived sick for two months. 46 Consistor. case sheets 54, 55, 226 and 131 on the back and 132. Ninth healing. The sub-chancellor of the Uglich spiritual government, Alexey Petrov Kurakhtansky, was in Rostov with his brothers-in-law Ivan and Gavril Pchelin in October 1754, and accidentally fell ill: he developed a severe aching in his head and a great fever, pus constantly flowed from his eyes, from which he lost his sight, saw nothing and lay there for two weeks, but did not use anything in his illness, but only set a zealous intention pray to God at the tomb of St. Demetrius Metropolitan. At his request, his relatives twice took him to the monastery in November to celebrate funeral services at the saint’s tomb, after which soon the fever and headache subsided, the flow of pus stopped and his vision became clear again. 47 Consistor. files sheets 57 and 227. The authenticity of the illness and healing was testified in person and in writing by clerk Ivan Volkov, two of the sick brother’s sub-office clerks Fyodor and Nikolai Kurakhtansky and his two brothers-in-law Ivan and Gavrilo Pchelin. 48 Consistor. case sheets 57 on the back and 58. Tenth healing. In the city of Yaroslavl, the parish of the Annunciation of the Mother of God, the townsman Yakov Tikhonov Bogomolov, twenty years old from birth, testified about himself: in the fall of last 1755, I accidentally fell into severe relaxation, I could not use my arms or legs, I felt a strong ache all over my body and lay in bed for about eight weeks. At this time, an old man appeared to me in a dream and said, “Go to Rostov and pray to Metropolitan Demetrius and through his prayer to God you will receive healing.” When I woke up I felt relieved and soon after I recovered. At the beginning of 1756, having arrived in Rostov, I served a memorial service and, in good conscience, wrote down my name in the monastery notebook about miracles. 49 Consistor. case sheets 58 on the back and 227. The authenticity of Jacob’s illness was certified by personal testimony and with his own signature by his spiritual father, priest Sergius Dmitriev of the designated Yaroslavl church. 50 Consistor. case sheet 59 Eleventh healing. In the Rostov district village of Polyanok, the sexton's son Vasily Gavrilov, being eleven years old and staying in the house of the consistory guard Matvey Lisitsyn, accidentally fell ill and lay in bed for about six weeks. During that illness, he often fell into unconsciousness due to severe pain in the knee of his right leg, from which all his veins cramped and his leg writhed. After recovering from his illness, he forged a piece of wood for his crooked leg and walked like this, collecting alms for almost four years. In February 1756, while in the Yakovlevsky Monastery at the tomb of St. Demetrius, he began to pray for the straightening of his leg, after which he felt that his leg gradually began to unbend; Having arrived home, he walked around the hut first with a stick. A week later, the patient’s leg completely separated and gave him freedom to walk without a piece of wood and without a stick. 51 Consistor. case sheets 59 on the back, 60 and 227 This lame Vasily was seen by all Rostovites and therefore, in addition to the consistory watchman, the authenticity of his illness was confirmed by Protodeacon Andrey Gavrilov, Trinity Church priest Peter Andreev, St. Nicholas Church in Podozerie Deacon Ivan Avvakumov, the house of His Eminence Deacon Peter Ilyin and two metropolitans singers 52 Consistor. case sheets 61 and 62 Twelfth healing. From the first days of June 1756, the spearman of the Rostov boundary team, Ilya Vasilyev Andronov, fell ill with a fire disease, for two weeks he was extremely unconscious and often ran away from the house into the yard and onto the street. In such an illness, his uncles Alexei and Kuzma Klyucharyov, and the latter’s son Leonty, who served him, watched him and, when he ran away, brought him home. One day Leonty took him, who was unconscious, to the monastery to the tomb of St. Demetrius celebrated a memorial service here too, after which the patient came to his senses and was somewhat freed from the illness. Then Andronov himself promised to pray in the Yakovlevsky monastery and on June 20, the same Leonty was taken to the monastery for the early liturgy and listened to the requiem mass at the tomb of St. Demetrius for the second time, after which he soon received healing and wrote about it in his own hand in the monastery notebook. 53 Consistor. deed sheets 63 and 228 The fairness of everything shown by Andronov was confirmed in writing by his two uncles Alexey and Kuzma Klyucharyov, his cousin Leonty and his spiritual father of the Peter and Paul Church, priest Vasily Alekseev with sexton Peter Vasiliev. 54 Consistor. case sheets 64, 65, 66, 67 and 68 Thirteenth healing. City of Yaroslavl Zatrapeznago factory worker Adrian Kuzmin Dobrotin, being at the work camp on June 26, 1756, suddenly became sad, began to scream, break, beat and bite himself; why six workers took him to his father’s house. After this, the patient spent three weeks in terrible suffering, fighting day and night. Compassionate for his son, the sick father made a zealous promise to take his son to the Rostov Monastery to the relics of St. Demetrius. On July 17th, the sick man himself saw in a dream that he was suffering from an unclean spirit, from which, horrified, he saw His Eminence Demetrius Metropolitan coming to him in the bishop’s vestments, who blessed the sick man and said: “Do not be afraid! You won’t suffer from now on.” When he woke up, he felt relief from his illness and told his father about it. Delighted by the vision, with faith in the saint of God, father and son went on the morning of the same July 17 to Rostov, listened there to the all-night vigil, and in the morning to the early and late liturgies, and then held funeral services for St. Demetrius, after which the sick man immediately recovered, and his father made a note with his own hand in the monastery notebook about the healing of his sick son. The hierarchs demanded that Adrian's father, then the healed one, come to them, demanded through the Yaroslavl spiritual government a testimony from their spiritual father, the priest of the Peter and Paul Church, Anikita Ivanov, who himself saw the demoniac Adrian in the church and once ordered him to be taken out, they found all this to be completely true and undoubted. 55 Consistor. case sheets 71, 72, 73, 74, 132 on the back and 228 Fourteenth healing. Rostov district, Nikolsk churchyard on Doru deacon's wife Efrosinya Alekseeva revealed the following about herself. I am twenty-two years old and have been married to my husband for a year. And last year 1756, in the last days of May, I became very unwell, especially in my legs, I could not get out of bed for about ten weeks and, being hopeless for recovery, I was prepared for death by the holy sacraments of the church. Being in such a desperate illness, I heard that many sick people were being healed at the tomb of St. Demetrius, and I myself earnestly wished to be in that monastery and serve a requiem service there. From the very moment I made a promise in this sense, I felt relief from my illness. At the beginning of August, I was brought to the monastery by my father-in-law, of the same churchyard, by priest Auxentius, and was brought into the church by him, but I myself could not go, here I listened to the liturgy, then the requiem service, and after all, as soon as I venerated the relics of the saint, at the same time I received complete healing, became healthy and left the church on my own without support, came home without feeling any illness in myself, and to this day I am completely healthy. 56 Consistor. deeds sheets 75 and 229 on the back The fairness of the entire testimony of the said sexton before the lyceum of hierarchs was confirmed in writing by her father-in-law priest Avksenty, her spiritual father of the same churchyard priest and clerk Fyodor Ilyin, deacon Kalina Yakovlev of the same village, sexton Mitrofan Stepanov and sexton Stefan Grigoriev. 57 Consistor. case sheets 76, 77 and 78 Thus, over the course of several days, the hierarchs had the rare opportunity to listen to a personal and living account of the many healings that took place. The hierarchs could not help but be surprised that all the persons who received the grace of healing, even the old women and elders, despite their advanced years, were, by the will of Providence from above, preserved among the living through which the investigators received the full opportunity to undoubtedly be convinced of the justice of each of the former healings. They listened to many third-party testimonies about the miracles recorded in the monastery notebook - and not one of them turned out to be false or unproven. After this, could the investigators themselves not be convinced and not come to the only possible just thought that before them recline the truly incorruptible relics of the man of God, that through them the grace-filled power of God is undoubtedly given to all who come with faith? Testimony of persons who arbitrarily declared the gifts of grace they received through St. Demetrius In the decrees of the Holy Synod of December 17, 1756, addressed to all three persons, the investigative commission was asked, among other things, to pay attention to whether during the investigation itself there would be “any miracles and phenomena from that body and to announce this in detail.” Probably the hierarchs did not expect the possibility of fulfilling such an order of the highest spiritual authority, but God's providence arranged the matter in such a way that the pious successors of the Divine gifts received at the tomb of St. Demetrius appeared to the hierarchs throughout the entire period of their investigative inquiry. Persons who lived at a distance from Rostov, belonging to different classes, as if specially requested by someone for this particular time, constantly came to the investigators with their wondrous statements about miracles that had happened, and by their appearance in Rostov during the investigation they showed that what is impossible for people is always easy and possible for God. The investigation began on January 15, 1757; On the same day, one Kostroma resident appeared in Rostov with zealous faith and, having celebrated a requiem mass at the tomb of Metropolitan Dimitri, received the grace-filled power of healing, and gave a handwritten note about it. This man was the first hundred merchant of the city of Kostroma Vasily Ilyin Mushnikov. He wrote about himself that he was in madness for more than twelve years, suffered extreme embitterment and wandered around the city and the entire district until last December 18, 1756. He turned to many doctors, but only squandered his property and received no benefit. But as soon as I heard about the miracles taking place at the tomb of Saint Demetrius and made a zealous promise to go to Rostov and pray at the tomb of the saint of God, from that time I felt relieved. “And now, with the help of God and the holy prayers of the saint of God, Demetrius, I am in good health, to which I subscribe with my own hand.” 58 Consistor. case sheet 79 This testimony was presented to the investigative commission the next day and seemed to it incomplete and unclear. Therefore, the hierarchs summoned Mushnikov personally to their presence and heard from him that 1) he was in madness from October 3, 1744 to December 1756; that in this madness for abuse and rioting, he was once chained to the wall by order of the orders of the merchants present in the Kostroma magistrate: Belov, who had already died, and Solodovnikov and his comrades, and was kept chained for 14 weeks; 2) that he Mushnikov, breaking away from the wall, ran to the blacksmith Andrei Kolodeznikov and with threats forced him to remove the chain from his neck, ran with it to the cathedral church during mass and threw it at the feet of the magistrate's captain Kuzma Kholshchevnikov and, running out of the church, ran with the chain from his home for about 10 weeks. 3) Having come running home, he lived after that house in an imperfect mind and was constantly obsessed with madness, three times a year for two and three weeks and a month. For the last time, from the month of October to December 18, 1756, he was possessed by especially great madness and unconsciousness. 4) From that time on, having come to his senses a little, he promised to go to Rostov at the admonition of the pilgrims who came from there, but until January 10 of this year he was kept by his relatives out of fear of his previous madness. On the tenth of January he left the house on foot, came to Rostov on the fifteenth and brought with him a wax candle and, placing it in front of the icons at the tomb of the saint, forced him to serve a requiem mass, after which he felt in perfect health and, now being in perfect mind, thanks God and the saint Demetrius. 59 Consistor. deed sheets 80, 81 and 231 In support of this testimony, he referred to the burgomaster Solodovnikov, his spiritual father of the Kostroma Basil Church, priest Afanasy, and his closest neighbors, the townspeople Vasily Korzhavin, and Pyotr Mushnikov. Dismissing the healed hierarch, they sent a promemory with him to the Kostroma Spiritual Consistory, 60 Consistory. file sheet 82 in order to interrogate the mentioned persons and send their testimony to Rostov for attachment to the investigative file. The Kostroma consistory interrogated all the witnesses mentioned; Moreover, all of Mushnikov’s main testimony turned out to be correct. Only the merchant Kholshchevnikov said that after many years he would not remember whether he threw Mushnikov’s chains at his feet in the cathedral, being insane.” The testimonies of the above-mentioned witnesses sent from Kostroma are all attached to the file of 61 Consistor. Case sheets 133 and 134 were copied from them after the investigation was completed, and the original ones were sent by Metropolitan Arseny to the Holy Governing Synod. The second voluntary evangelist about the miracles performed at the tomb of the saint was the priest of the Rostov Peter and Paul Church, Vasily Alekseev, who appeared on his own in the presence of the investigative commission, and conveyed the following about himself. In 1754, on July 22, I fell ill with a headache, in which an ache appeared, and my neck was all swollen and there was a serious illness in my throat, from which I could neither eat nor drink for twelve days until the third day of August and, being near death, was given farewell instructions and unction. On the evening of August 2, when I heard the gospel for Vespers, I thought: many come from afar to pray at the saint’s tomb, but I live here and have never been to him, and immediately ordered my wife to go to the monastery and serve a requiem mass at the saint’s tomb. My wife went to fulfill my will, and I fell asleep and, when I woke up, I no longer felt either an ache in my head or a sore throat. On the morning of August 3, I myself went to the early liturgy, venerated the relics of St. Demetrius and completely recovered, so that on August 6 I celebrated mass with all correctness. 62 Consistor. deeds sheets 68, 69 and 232 The testimony of this priest was certified by his wife Marfa Alekseeva and the Borisoglebsk priest Fyodor Ivanov and the cathedral sacristan priest Ivan Dmitriev, and two of his sick parishioners: the merchant Yakov Nesterov and the townsman Matvey Sharov, who performed the consecration of oil over him. 63 Consistor. case sheets 69 on the back and 70 The investigative hierarchs had not yet had time to release the Kostroma merchant Mushnikov, when on January 17 she arrived in Rostov and after prayer at the tomb of St. Demetrius, the landowner, widow of the colonel, Irina Ivanovna Bogdanova, who was seventy years old from her birth and lived in the Suzdal diocese, Kerensky district in the village of Uspenskoye, Orzhevka, also, 700 miles away from Rostov. She testified about herself: in 1741, on the occasion of the sad news I accidentally received about the death of my son (from my first husband), I was very frightened, fell unconscious and was unconscious for an hour; Having felt herself, she did not see at all with her left eye and did not see for five years or more, and after five years she also did not see anything with her right eye, neither people, nor the light, nor even a small path; she did not see at all for eight years until the month of January last 1756. Having heard about the healings at the tomb of Metropolitan Demetrius, I made a promise to go there, and as soon as I was completely prepared for the road on January 10 or 11, I suddenly saw light and windows in the windows, but it was not entirely clear, but on the way again I saw nothing for eight days. Having arrived in Rostov, as soon as I entered the monastery church, I again saw the windows in the church and, while the funeral service was being held, I saw the light and after a whole day while I was in the monastery, also on the way back from Rostov to the village of Ugodnich, which is five miles from the city, and in this village, about four hours later, I saw people walking and driving along the road. Having left the village, I didn’t see her again. Upon arriving home, the light in my eyes changed; sometimes I see a day of time, but for two or three days I see nothing again. In September 1756, I again made a promise to go to Rostov to pray at the tomb of St. Demetrius, and from that time to now, every day I see a small path, in the chambers of the window, and through the window of people walking nearby and driving along the road, and on a bright day I see several in the distance; Only in person, as happened before, I can’t clearly and completely recognize him. And now I have come to Rostov according to the promise I made. In everything I said, I showed the pure truth according to my Christian conscience. The accuracy of my testimony can be confirmed by two priests from our village of Orzhevka, Fyodor Nikitin and another, Pyotr Aleksiev. Her son from her first husband, retired courier Mikhailo Alekseev Tvarogov, signed for the said widow colonel, and at the same time he himself testified to the truth of his mother’s testimony according to the true truth and Christian conscience. Only the hierarchs, due to the distance and difficulty of correspondence, did not demand identification from the mentioned priests, but the testimony of Colonel Bogdanova and the testimony of her son were attached to the case. 64 Consistor. case sheets 83, 84 and 232 on the back On the 20th day of January, the fourth voluntary witness and recipient of the grace-filled gift of healing, Deacon Terenty Ivanov of the Yaroslavl Cathedral Church, also appeared in the presence of the hierarchs, and in truth and Christian conscience conveyed the following story about his miraculous healing from illness through the intercession of St. Demetrius of Christ. From the first days of July 1756, I was possessed by a severe, deadly fever, from which I was completely weakened, my mind was damaged and I was not at all reliable in continuing my life. Sometimes, regaining consciousness and feeling, I called upon Saint Demetrius to help me and mentally asked his prayers for myself before the Lord God. After three weeks of illness, I had the following vision in a dream. His Eminence Demetrius, dressed in bishop's clothes, wearing an omophorion and a hat, came to my bed, took me by the hand and raised me. At that time, I seemed to find myself in the Yakovlevsky monastery at the tomb of Dimitriev, at which a monk was visible standing, to whom the Right Reverend ordered, pointing at me: “Tell me to venerate.” The monk opened the saint’s coffin and the covers of his relics, and I saw him exactly as he appeared at my bedside, bowed to the ground and venerated his relics. At that very moment, waking up from sleep, I recognized myself in perfect reason, I felt relief in my illness, the painful heat in me subsided; I just couldn’t walk yet due to severe weakness of my body. Then I made a promise to go to Rostov to pray at the tomb of the saint of God, which I fulfilled in the last days of August. And that I really was in the aforementioned illness for three weeks and was extremely desperate in my life, this can be testified by the cathedral church clerk, Priest John Emelyanov, and the spiritual father of the Tolga Church, priest Fyodor, priest Alexander, who was at the church of St. Nicholas Nadein, who blessed me with oil, the provincial chancellery registrar Yakov Popov and the copyist Alexander Kozin, who visited me in illness. About my vision I told the key priest John in the Yakovlevsky monastery, hieromonk Pimen and hierodeacon Samuil, who, at my request, celebrated a requiem mass at the tomb of St. Demetrius. 65 Consistor. files sheets 87 and 233. All the said persons were questioned, some in Rostov, and others in the Yaroslavl spiritual board, and they completely confirmed all the testimony of the said deacon Terenty. 66 Consistor. case sheets 88 and 90 and 131 On January 21, the fifth voluntary witness, who received the gift of healing, the Yaroslavl landowner, wife of Prince Ivan Alekseevich, Ekaterina Yuryevna Shaydyakova, nee Bakhmeteva, also appeared in the presence of the hierarchs, and conveyed the following story about her miraculous healing. Last summer, 1754, I suddenly fell ill, became completely weakened, and for two years after that I could neither walk nor sit, and had no use of my arms or legs. Being in such an illness, I set the intention to pray at the tomb of St. Demetrius, and for this purpose I was brought on March 18, 1756 to the Rostov Yakovlevsky Monastery and was led into the church by my people to the tomb of St. Demetrius. At my request, an all-night vigil was held and then a requiem service, after which, through the prayers of the saint of God, at that time I received healing, felt no small strength in myself and began to walk around the church then by myself and from that time even to this day I walk by myself, to which I personally sign. 67 Consistor. case file sheets 86 and 233 on the back The healing of Princess Shaydyakova from relaxation was so obvious that the investigative hierarchs did not require her to present any third-party witnesses, and the third member of the commission, Archimandrite Gabriel, directly imposed his resolution on this testimony: “include in the case.” On the same January 21, 1757, the sixth person voluntarily appeared in the presence of the hierarchs, who received healing at the tomb of St. Demetrius, namely: Voronezh province, state Pochinkov potash factories for the secretary of the collegiate registrar Yakov Malinkov, wife Pelageya Petrova, and said the following about herself. Four years ago, in the summer after giving birth, I had a headache, in which I felt a great noise and my eyes began to see not freely; and then three weeks later my left leg was in a wobble, and my knee was also cramped, from which I could neither walk nor sit, and I lay in a bed from which it was impossible to move me. During my illness, I used the benefits of doctors, but I did not receive any benefit. Last year, 1756, having heard about the miraculous healings at the tomb of St. Demetrius from the wife of Colonel Marfa Petrovna Ogareva, a Rostov landowner, I set the intention to go to Rostov to worship the saint of God and from that time on I felt relief from my illness, I could be carried from bed, only my leg did not unbend at all. On January 5th of this year, 1757, having left my place of residence, a distance of 500 versts from here, I arrived in Rostov on the 17th day of January and for three days I prayed for services and celebrated funeral services at the tomb of the saint. From the 20th to the 21st, at night, my sore leg spread and now I reach the ground with that leg, but I don’t dare to step yet, it hurts I don’t feel anything in that leg. Moreover, I have a son, Fyodor, eight years old. On December 6th last year, 1755, a dog frightened him, which made him ill, his legs swollen, and although the swelling went away after three weeks, he could not control either his arms or legs, and from that time on he became weakened. Report of the investigative commission presenting the entire investigative case By January 26, the hierarchs had completed the investigative interrogations. During the twelve days of the investigation, consistory bailiffs and copyists continually went to Yaroslavl, Uglich and in all directions of the roads of the Rostov and Yaroslavl districts to search and present the required persons for interrogation. Ten decrees and instructions are available for the consistory business, 68 Consistory. the case will include sheets 104 - 112 and all of them required only the deportation to the consistory of the persons who received healings, or the witnesses they presented. The hierarchs, together with the archimandrite, personally interrogated everyone who could be found and presented personally to Rostov, and their written testimony was attached to the case. Only two of the persons requested according to the monastery record remained unquestioned, namely: Princess Evdokia Petrovna Vyazemskaya and Mr. Khvostov’s servant Mikhailo Patrikeev. The members of the commission drew up a protocol about this omission, and in it they explained the reasons 69 Consistor. case sheet 91 of such omission. Princess Vyazemskaya, as it turned out according to the tale given to her by the parish priest, left for Moscow in early October last year, still lives there and it is unknown when she will return from there. However, she returned soon after the end of the investigation and, as we will see later, she appeared in Rostov and submitted a special written testimony about herself. The yard man Mikhailo Patrikeev, according to the report of the consistory bailiff Andrei Storozhev, who was following him 70 Consistor. case file sheet 105 for collection was not found by the bailiff at his former place of residence in the village of Troparevo, but, by the will of the landowner, he was transferred to live in another estate in the Galician district, two hundred miles away from Troparevo. But whether it can be found there is unknown, since their landowner Khvostov had other estates besides the two mentioned above. Rukop. lives of saints Demetrius of Rostov as consistor. in fact, sheet 214 on the back. Tsarina Paraskeva Fedorovna, wife of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, who died in 1696 on the 29th day of January. Barsanuphia Kozinskaya was the nurse of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, who was later tried by Emperor Peter the Great. With princesses Ekaterina Ioannovna, Paraskeva Ioannovna and Anna Ioannovna, later the former Empress of Russia, Rukop. Life, sheet 221. Same handicraft. life of the saint Dimitri in consistor. In fact, sheet 221 on the back. Same handicraft. life of the saint Demetrius, sheet 222. Cathedral Church in the Rostov Yakovlevsky Monastery - the Conception of St. Anne. The saint was buried in it. Consistor. case sheet 2 on the back. Consistor. case sheet 5 on the back Consistor case sheet sheet 23 on the back in tsidulka Hierarchs of Rostov-Yarosl. flock, pp. 194 and 195. Yaroslavl 1864 Hierarchs Growth. - Yarosl. flock, page 195 Hierarchs Growth. - Yarosl. flock, p. 197 The word Synod is written through the letter and on the basis of the Church Bulletin - the official organ of the Holy Synod Hierarchs Growth. - Yarosl. flock, pp. 198–204. George was imprisoned, died and buried in the Vologda Spaso-Kamenny Monastery. Hierarchs of Rostov-Yarosl. flock pp. 205 and 206. Hierarchs of Rostov-Yaroslav. flock pp. 222 and 223. Consistor. case sheets 9 and 10 Consistor. case sheets 11–18 inclusive. A literal repetition of this report on behalf of the entire commission will be presented below in Chapter Eleven. About the incorruption of St. relics in the church Christian. Master of Theology Dmitry Sosnin, pp. 21 and 22 St. Petersburg 1833 Consistor. case sheet 20 Consist. case sheet is the same 20th. According to the monastery record, the hierarchs requested the following persons: 1) Rostov district, patrimony of Mikhail Mikhailovich Volynsky, village of Lazortseva, widow Marya Varfolomeeva. 2) Podberezye village, peasant wife Fedosya Grigorieva. 3) Village Ugodnich Vasily Korovaev. 4) The village of the Great peasant Leontia Antonov, daughter of Paraskev. 5) State Councilor Mr. Yavostov, courtyard man Mikhailo Patrikeev. 6) Varnitsky Monastery girl Nastasya Gavrilova. 7) Yakovlevskaya Sloboda Osip Mikhailov’s wife Efrosinya Vasilyeva. 8) The village of Polyanok of the former sexton Gavrilo Afanasyev’s son Vasily. 9) Nikolsky churchyard that the sexton’s wife Efrosinya Alekseeva is in the yard. 10) City of Rostov boundary team copyist Ilya Andronov. 11) Uglich spiritual board sub-chancellor Alexei Kurakhtansky. 12) Yaroslavl district landowner Princess Evdokia Petrovna Vyazemskaya. 13) The city of Yaroslavl, the parish of John the Baptist, the townsman Dmitry Protopopov, wife Marfa Vasilyeva. 14) The same as the arrival of the townsman Ivan Shchenikov’s wife Marya Ivanova. 15) Annunciation parish townsman Yakov Tikhonov Bogomolov. 16) Yaroslavl factory Zatrapeznago, employee Kosma Dobrotin, son Andreyan Dobrotin. All designated persons are named in the protocol of the hierarchal commission on sheet 31 of the consistory file. The discovery and discovery of the relics of St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov. Consistor. case sheet 31 on the back. Consistor. case sheet 105. Consistor. Case sheets 32 on the back and 33 and 235. Consistor. case sheets 33 on the back and 34. Consistor. case sheet 34 on the back and 35 and 225 on the back. Consistor. case sheet 35 on the back and 36. Consistor. Case sheets 37, 38 and 225 on the back. Consistor. cases sheets 39, 40, 41 and 42. These miracles were printed by me in Yar. Ep. Ved. h. neof. 1872 p. 183 et al. Ed. Consistor. case sheets 43 and 226. Consistor. case sheets 44, 45 and 46. Consistor. Case sheets 47 and 226 on the back. Consistor. case sheet 48. Consistor. case sheets 49 and 226. Consistor. Case sheets 51 and 226 on the back. Consistor. case sheets 52 and 132. Consistor. Case sheets 53 and 226 on the back. Consistor. case sheets 54, 55, 226 and 131 on the back and 132. Consistor. case sheet 57 and 227. Consistor. case sheets 57 on the back and 58. Consistor. case sheets 58 on the back and 227. Consistor. case sheets 59 on the back, 60 and 227 Consistor. case sheets 61 and 62 Consistor. case sheets 63 and 228 Consistor. case sheets 64, 65, 66, 67 and 68 Consistor. case sheets 71, 72, 73, 74, 132 on the back and 228 Consistor. case sheets 75 and 229 on the back Consistor. case sheets 76, 77 and 78 Consistor. case sheet 79 Consistor. case sheets 80, 81 and 231 Consistor. case sheets 133 and 134 Consistor. case sheets 68, 69 and 232 Consistor. case sheets 69 on the back and 70 Consistor. case sheets 83, 84 and 232 on the back Consistor. case sheets 87 and 233 Consistor. case sheets 88 and 90 and 131 Consistor. case sheets 86 and 233 on the back Consistor. case sheets 104 – 112 will include Consistor. case sheet 105 for reverse