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† Memory of the Venerable Elijah of Muromets The Monk Elijah, whose place of birth is Muromets, rests openly in the Anthony Cave. According to Kalnofoisky, he lived 450 years before his time, and so on. around 1188 and was popularly called Chebotok 256. A simple-minded pilgrim wrote in 1701: “seeing the brave warrior Ilya of Muromets, incorruptible under the cover of gold; tall like today's large people; his left hand is pierced by a spear, the ulcer is all over; and his right hand is depicted with the sign of the cross” 257. The opinion that the Monk Elijah is one person with the famous hero Ilya of Muromets is also found in other Moscow monuments; but there are no guarantees for his loyalty. The pilgrim did not explain how the saint’s fingers were folded. Elijah for the sign of the cross? The first three fingers are joined together and extended, and the last two, the ring and little fingers, are bent towards the palm. – The monk rests in a position of prayer and irresistibly denounces the schism 258. Saint Gregory, Archbishop of Omirite When the Ethiopian king Elezboi defeated and executed (in 528) the Jewish king of Omirite (in southern Arabia) who rebelled against him and the fierce persecutor of Christians Dunaan, he asked the Patriarch of Alexandria Asterius to consecrate a worthy shepherd as archbishop of Omirite. Asterius, according to a revelation to him, elevated to this rank of deacon Gregory, from Milan, a wise, verbal and virtuous man, who knew the Old and New Testaments well, who during his holy life was honored with many visions. During his ordination as archbishop, the grace of God was apparently present on Gregory, whose face became illuminated, and a fragrance emanated from his clothes. St. Archbishop Gregory anointed Abramius, chosen by Elezboi, to the kingdom in the capital of the Omirite country, Dafar, in the cathedral church of the Most Holy Trinity, and was the spiritual father of King Abramia, and his adviser in everything. Blessed Gregory appointed bishops in the cities of the country and advised the pious Abramius to command all Jews and pagans under his authority to be baptized, and to persecute those who were disobedient. When such a command came out, many of the pagans, with their wives and children, turned to Christ. But the most noble and skillful Jews in their law, concerned after such an order from the king, gathered from all the cities of the country to the capital and held a secret meeting on what they should do in order to, by adhering to the old law, avoid persecution. Having discussed many different proposals, they, on the advice of a certain Ervan, a wise teacher of the law, who knew the entire Old Testament and was not ignorant of external wisdom, decided to submit a request to the king, in which they invited him and Bishop Gregory to choose from among their teachers whomever they wanted to compete with them about the law. “If they really convince us,” said Yervan, “then immediately after the test we will become Christians, and if they don’t convince us, then they themselves will know that they are unfairly forcing us to deviate from our law.” The request was made to the king, and the Jews were given a respite of forty days to prepare for the contest. Meanwhile, the king, on the advice of Blessed Gregory, took some good measures to improve the civil life of his subjects and public safety, and Gregory himself took upon himself the responsibility of setting out in writing the most necessary laws for the country. Hospitals for strangers and shelters for the old and poor were established, which institutions were provided with benefits from the royal treasury; orphans were also neglected at the state expense. The capital city was divided into thirty-six sections, of which each had a special police officer with its own administration, which was responsible for keeping a list of houses and marking the boundaries of each person's property, and together monitoring the behavior of citizens. Similar institutions were spread throughout the state. And the statement of laws compiled by Gregory the Archbishop consists of sixty-four articles: written on behalf of the king. The beginning is this: “when our Redeemer and all-powerful God, out of His ineffable goodness and love for mankind, looked upon our humility and placed us at the height of royal power, then we should not remain ungrateful to our Benefactor, but, according to our strength and abilities, repay Him. Because He exalted us not just for honor and glory alone, giving us the glorious power of the Omirites, but, obviously, so that, obeying His immaculate commandments, with fear, trembling, and joy, we would fulfill what He commanded, thereby benefiting ourselves the most, not only in the present age, but also in the future. So God, giving Moses His commandments and laws during the exodus from Egypt, said to him about the people: if you hear by hearing the voice of the Lord your God and do what is pleasing before Him, I will not bring on you every disease that the Egyptians brought upon you (Ex. 15:26). Therefore, so that, like the Egyptians, we do not experience the righteous wrath of God, we will fulfill His will with fear.” The lists of laws were presented in the church, after a solemn reading, to the dignitaries by the king himself. At the end of the forty days given to the Jews to prepare for the contest about faith, they appeared in great numbers, having with them rabbis who knew the law well and were prepared for the debate. The debate took place in Trellet, the vast royal palace, in the capital city of Dafar, in front of a countless crowd of people. When the king with his entire council and the archbishop with the sacred council took their places, the Jews also appeared with their scribes and teachers of the law and put Ervan in front of them as the beginning of their leader. A sign was given for silence and silence, and questioning and debate began between Saint Gregory and Ervan. The competition lasted several days, and Blessed Gregory answered all the questions and proved, with references to the books of the Old Testament, on which the entire faith of the Jews is based, the advantages of the New Testament. On the night before the last day of the competition, Yervan had a vision in a dream: Moses stood before Christ with fear and bowed to Him and predicted to Yervan that on the coming day he would be defeated. But embarrassed by this vision, Yervan, encouraged by his own, still hoped. As daylight approached, the debate began again. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, acting through the mouth of the saint, the opposing side weakened, and the Christian side prevailed; but, blinded by malice, the Jews still opposed the truth. The saint needed to confirm the truth of his words with the power of faith and a miraculous sign, for after the saint showed the imperfection of the Old Law and the fact that it only led to salvation in Christ Jesus, by faith in Whom the Old Testament righteous were saved, Ervan, finally weakened and not having anything to say in spite of it, exclaimed: “Why waste time in long reasonings and fortune-telling? I will resolve the dispute. Archbishop! If you want me to believe in your Jesus without guile and acknowledge that He is the true God, then show me Him alive, so that I can see Him and speak with Him. Only then will I admit myself defeated and become a Christian!” When Ervan said this, the Jews cried out to him: “We beg you, our teacher, do not be deceived, do not become a Christian, but take courage and be strong in the truth! You yourself know that there is nothing truer and more reliable than the God of our fathers.” Yervan answered with anger: “Why are you talking empty things? If he assures me that He is the one about whom the prophets foretold, then what more is needed? The archbishop, seeing that Yervan was speaking sincerely and unhypocritically, said to him; “You ask for great things, and you have a dispute not with man, but with God; but for the assurance of you and your brethren and the confirmation of the faithful, the Lord can do this. Tell me definitively what kind of assurance and testimony you want.” Yervan answered: “Beg your Master, if He is in heaven, let him come here and appear to me and talk with me! As the Lord lives, I will immediately believe in Him and be baptized.” Then all the Jews exclaimed: “Archbishop! Show us the truth of your words in action, show us your Christ, and then we will unquestioningly believe in Him!” And they did not lag behind, demanding that the archbishop show them Christ sensually, if He was really alive after the crucifixion and death. Then they said among themselves: “If he shows us Christ, then what will happen! Then, even against our will, we must become Christians.” Others said: “If He shows Him to us, then why should we not believe in Him?” Others: “How can you show someone who died a violent death, and when so many years have already passed since he died? Where are his body and soul now? The archbishop, paying attention to the greatness of the matter, and seeing the relentless insistence of the opponents, placed all his trust in the Lord and thought to himself that if we did not pray to the Lord Christ for the fulfillment of their request, then the side of the opponents would triumph, the Jews, as victors, would revile the Christians. And he said to the Jews: “If it pleases my Christ, then without a doubt I will show Him to you. But know that if I show Him to you, and you do not want to believe in Him, you will immediately perish by the sword. And if, due to my unworthiness, I am unable to pray to my Lord, then you can do as you please.” Hearing this, the Jews were sad and rejoiced. They were sad because they doubted and thought whether Christ would really be shown to them, so that against their will they would have to believe in Him; they rejoiced in the hope that it would not show, and then they too would remain free in their superstition. And Yervan and other teachers of the law accepted the words of the archbishop with pleasure. They reasoned within themselves as follows: “It is in no way possible that a man who was betrayed to death by our fathers, who died and was sealed in the tomb, and then stolen by his disciples, should still be alive now, more than five hundred years later. And our holy father Gregory, knowing the promise of the Lord: if you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain: move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:20), - remembering these words and having undoubted faith in God, he stood up from his seat with hope and retreated a little to a place convenient for prayer. The king, along with all the believing people, marveled at his great boldness and faith and fearfully expected what would follow. And the saint began to pray and, bowing to the ground three times, then, standing up and spreading his arms, he prayed for a long time out loud to everyone. And in prayer he remembered all the secrets of the incarnation of God the Word and His entire earthly life, the cross and death, the three-day resurrection and ascension with the flesh to heaven. Finally he said: “Reveal Yourself, Master, to these sensually petrified and blinded by malice people, reveal Yourself for the sake of the glory of Your holy name! Let them see with their bodily eyes Your life-giving humanity, in which, for the sake of us mortals, You clothed yourself and with it You ascended to heaven! So that when they see You, they believe in You, the true God, and in the true Father who sent You, and in Your Holy Spirit!” When he finished the prayer, suddenly there was a shaking of the earth, thunder was heard from the east, so that everyone fell in fear. When they rose and turned their gaze to the east, they saw open heavens, from which a bright cloud with a fiery flame and rays of the sun descended to the earth; and in the midst of the cloud there was seen a man, redder in kindness than the sons of men (Ps. 45:3), Our Lord Jesus Christ, with an indescribably radiant face and in lightning clothes, gradually approaching the earth, stood near the archbishop and the congregation at the top of the cloud, two hundred cubits from the ground, so that everyone saw Him, but from the fear of His glory, as once the disciples at Tabor, they all fell prostrate to the ground, the king and the nobles and all the people, from young to old. The Jews turned to and fro in horror and wanted to flee, but the invisible power of God kept them in place. The archbishop, having strengthened himself, said to Yervan in a loud voice: “Behold, Yervan, the One about whom you heard from me; look at Him and be convinced that there is only one holy, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, amen.” But Yervan became numb and could not answer. And a voice came from the magnificent glory of the Lord: “For the sake of the bishop’s prayers, He who was crucified by your fathers will heal you!” And at that voice they trembled even more and fell to the ground. And, like Saul once, on the way to Damascus, illuminated by a light from heaven and shocked by a voice from above, he fell to the ground and with open eyes saw no one (Acts 9:3-8); so the Jews now became blind, although they had open eyes, but saw no one; therefore they mourned and wept bitterly. Meanwhile, a bright cloud hid the Lord from view from the earth and conducted Him to the heavenly places; and the king and the entire multitude of Christians, having assumed boldness, cried after the Lord: Lord, have mercy. The archbishop lay on the ground with his face and with tears brought a prayer to the Lord for the people. The Jews asked each other: “Do you see what, brother?” And they answered one another that they saw nothing. Then they cried out to Yervan: “Woe to us, our teacher! What are we going to do? And Yervan said: “Were we the only ones who became blind when we saw the Christian God, or did Christians also suffer?” Some of the Christians, having heard this, said: “We, by the grace of our Lord, see well and now even better than before; only you are blind for your stubbornness and unbelief.” Then Yervan, with all the multitude of Jews, asked the archbishop to heal their blinded eyes and grant them holy baptism. The saint asked them whether they truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? And everyone testified that they undoubtedly believed. And so, having announced them and prepared them for the sacrament of Baptism, he himself, with the bishops and presbyters who were with him, vouchsafed them with holy Baptism. And in the holy font they looked together with their physical and spiritual eyes, with their hearts and lips confessing our Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. Yervan’s successor from the font was the king himself, who made him, as a prudent man and worthy of honor, the closest nobleman to himself, and the name given to him in holy baptism was Leo. Thus, the entire Omirite country was enlightened by the light of the holy faith, and not only Jews, but also pagans were baptized in all cities and towns. And there was great joy throughout that land, but the angels also rejoiced at the great repentance and conversion of souls. And everywhere we glorified God, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). His Holiness Archbishop Gregory advised the king to command that the houses and dwellings of the Jews should not be crowded together, but scattered among the dwellings of ancient Christians, and thus secret gatherings and conferences between them should be prevented. The king also issued a law that none of the converts should marry their daughters to husbands from the Jewish family, but should take sons-in-law from Christians, and the sons of Jews should marry only Christian girls. This was done so that the Jewish race, having merged with Christians, would forget its faith and customs. Saint Gregory, having confirmed the faith on the basis of the Apostles and Prophets and having performed many signs and wonders for the glory of God, left his temporary life in the month of December on the 19th day (552 years), and his honorable body was laid in the tomb of the cathedral church at a solemn meeting of bishops, priests, deacons, hermits and countless people - people who mourned the deprivation of such a father. Because he was good and merciful, kind to people and favorable to God, Who stands in the ranks of the holy hierarchs, glorifying with them the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever, amen. St. much Bonifatius and Righteous Agdaida As soon as the feeling of faith in God that glimmered within them, they were inflamed to the heights of repentance, by which they were raised from the pool of unclean earthly passions to the heights of heaven, remembered today by the Church of Sts. much Bonifatius and Aglaida who achieved righteousness. It is known about their life in the world that, although they were - Aglaida, a rich and noble Roman woman, and her slave Bonifatius - Christians by origin, they did not live like Christians, but in empty and vicious entertainment they wasted the precious time, and mental strength, and rich funds that Aglaida possessed. Living during the persecution of Christians, at the end of the 3rd century, and hearing about their amazing martyrdom, Aglaida, however, was not indifferent to the stories about them, and began to think, sometimes delving into her own life, so far removed, so unworthy in comparison with the wondrous examples in the person of her fellow believers. Hearing also about the miracles shown by the martyrs even beyond the grave, she wished to seek refuge under their protection and saving protection, and the idea came to her to have in her own home the holy relics of those who suffered for the faith of Christ. “If I get what I want,” said Aglaida, “then I will build a church in the name of the saint over his relics, and he will be my intercessor and prayer book before God.”... And so, she called her beloved servant Bonifatius to her and, telling him her desire, sent him to the East, where the persecution of Christians was then taking place, providing him with a significant amount for the acquisition of relics that could be bought from the pagans, who used what was dearly valued by Christians the remains of their martyrs... Having received the gold, prepared the aromas and coverings, and got ready to set off, accompanied by many servants, Bonifatius, saying goodbye to his mistress, said to her, laughing: “What if I fail to acquire the relics of any martyr, and instead of them they bring you my body, martyred for Christ? Will you accept it with honor?” “There is no time for laughter, and no time for jokes now,” Aglaida objected, “but you should approach such a holy task with reverence... You should strictly refrain from all disorder and mockery.” After all, you know who you are going to serve: the relics of the saints, which we are not only unworthy to touch, but which we are not even worthy to look at... Go in peace, and the Lord, not remembering our sins, will send you His Angel, who will guide your path and help you return safely. Bonifatius set off on his journey, and the last words spoken to him by his mistress began to lead him to saving thoughts. He began to think about what holy work he was going to do, and how to approach it with hands defiled by sin? And behold, repentance arose in his heart; he imposed a fast on himself, did not eat meat, did not drink wine; often and earnestly cried out in prayer to God; and his soul was filled more and more with contrition for his sinful life and the saving fear of God. In such a blessed mood of spirit, Bonifatius arrived in the city of Cilician Tarsus. Here he found the persecution of Christians in full swing; Every day many Christians were brought to trial, and then they were subjected to terrible tortures and executions. Stopping at the hotel and leaving those accompanying him to rest, Bonifatius himself hurried to the square, where, while passing, he noticed that people were gathering. Indeed, here he now saw a large crowd contemplating the torture being carried out against Christians. And what horrors he saw here! He imagined all kinds of torments invented by sophisticated human malice... Meanwhile, the victims of this malice, the confessors of Christ, amazed him with their imperturbable calmness, their amazing patience. The faces of others seemed to shine with some kind of inexpressible, unearthly joy... Some unknown excitement and delight gripped him too... – Great is the Christian God, who helps His servants and strengthens them in such torments! - Bonifatius suddenly exclaimed in a fit of reverence and fell at the feet of the martyrs, and kissed them, and pleased them, and begged them to pray for him... Everyone's eyes turned in surprise to the unknown... - Who are you? – the judge asked him. - I am a Christian! - Bonifatius answered. - I ask, what is your name? - the judge repeated, but to this and to all his further questions Bonifatius answered only one thing: “I am a Christian, that’s all you will hear from me; If you don’t want to hear this, then do with me what you please... Then, without any threats to persuade the confessor to renounce Christ, the judge ordered him to be tortured. Having stripped and hanged an arbitrary martyr headlong, they drove a sharp iron into his fingernails and toes, then they began to pour melted tin into his mouth... He rejoiced and thanked God that he was worthy to suffer for His sake along with the holy martyrs. After prolonged torture, during which Bonifatius remained unharmed, he was taken to prison for the night. The next day he was again subjected to various tortures, but, praying and glorifying God, he endured them with wonderful firmness and, with wonderful help from above, remained unharmed. Finally, the judge ordered his beheading, and the new martyr appeared before God, praising and glorifying Him. Many who were present at the suffering of St. Bonifatius, turned to the true God. Meanwhile, the servants accompanying Bonifatius were waiting for him at the hotel and wondered why he was not returning for so long; when he did not come on the next and third days, then, knowing his weakness for drunkenness, they went to look for him, but could not find out anything from anyone; but finally, when they questioned them about the missing person, whose appearance they were describing, they learned that it was the unknown man, whose appearance matched this description, who suffered the other day as a confessor of Christ and was beheaded with a sword. “It can’t be,” Aglaida’s servants objected, “the one we are looking for was a drunkard and a dissolute man... Would such a one go to suffer for Christ...” However, when they were shown the bodies of the executed martyrs, which were still lying at the place of execution, they with great surprise recognized Bonifatius in one of them. With reverence they approached the one on whom such a miracle of God’s inscrutable goodness would take place and, having bought his remains for gold, wrapped them in covers, anointed them with aromas and took them back to their mistress. When they approached Rome, Aglaida was warned about this in a dream. “Receive your former servant, and now our brother and servant,” the Angel who appeared to her announced, “he will be the guardian of your soul and the prayer book for you... Struck by such a vision, Aglaida woke up, called the servants of the altar and, accompanied by them, went out to meet those returning with the remains of Bonifatius, whose words spoken to her at parting were so miraculously fulfilled... Having accepted with honor the relics of the martyr, Aglaida - in her village 50 stadia from Rome, built a church in his name, where she transferred his relics, and she herself began to live with them, spending the rest of her years living in complete repentance and piety, using all his wealth for the benefit of the poor. In this way she was cleansed and redeemed her former sinful life before God. The martyrdom of St. Bonifatius took place in 290, and the death of Aglaida, who had achieved righteousness and during her lifetime had still achieved the gift of miracles, followed 15 years after that. She was buried at the tomb of St. Bonifatia. St. Boniface the Merciful, Bishop. Ferentiy The son of a poor widow, from childhood Bonifatius showed traits of love for his neighbor, reaching the point of self-sacrifice. So eg. When he met the poor, he even gave them his clothes and patiently endured reproaches for this from his mother, until she was enlightened by one incident that convinced her that her son’s non-covetousness was pleasing to God and attracted God’s wonderful reward to the house. One day, when she was angry with her son for giving the poor all the meager supply of bread that she had saved, and was crying bitterly and reproaching him for wastefulness, Bonifatius resorted to God with fervent prayer, after which miraculously, such an abundant supply of bread suddenly appeared in the granary at the house, such as had never happened to his mother before that time. She could not help but recognize God’s special help in this... and after that she did not prevent her son from giving everything to the last to the poor. – Even after that there were many manifestations of God’s wonderful mercy to the merciful... Having reached adulthood and become a bishop, Bonifatius did not lose his love and until the end of his life he did not stop sacrificing everything for the benefit of those in need. Glorified by many miracles, he was canonized by the Holy Church and called “Merciful.” St. Boniface lived in Italy in the 6th century. Notes about. Leonty in Chernigov. leaflet 1862 No. 4. A true image of his praying right hand is in the book: exposing schismatic untruths. L. 20. 21. St. Petersburg. 1736 Pososhkov at one time extracted from the old men of his time that only “not long before the pestilence (1653) they began to teach how to be baptized with two fingers” (op. Pososhkov, part 2. M. 1863). M. Ignatius Tobolsky said the same thing.