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Holy First Martyr Thekla Equal to the Apostles From the biography of St. Thekla, compiled in the 5th century by the church writer Bishop Basil of Seleucia on the basis of her previous biographies, 315 it is known that “when the Lord ascended into heaven and a great and countless number of martyrs appeared and rained down on the earth, then Thekla appears at that time, only not after many martyrs or many martyrs, but second immediately after the apostles and the martyr Stephen, and takes first place among those who fought for of Christ and for Christ by women." The beginning of Thekla’s conversion to the faith of Christ was her accidental acquaintance with the Apostle Paul at a time when he was traveling around various countries to preach about Christ, and by the way, he came to Iconium, where a rich widow, the pagan Theoklia, lived with his daughter, nineteen-year-old Thekla. Here, when Paul was in the house of Onesiphorus, a pious follower of the teaching of the Apostles (about whom in his second letter to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:16) the apostle remembers: “May the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus because he gave me rest many times and was not ashamed of my chains...”), and when he openly proposed a new teaching, it so happened that among Paul’s listeners there was also one young girl, according to named Thekla, who, sitting at the window in her house, which was next to the window in the house of Onesiphorus, unexpectedly heard the divine sermon of Paul and was captivated by it so that from then on her entire soul was transformed and uncontrollably followed a new path that suddenly opened up to her in the teachings of the Apostle about Christ. Yes, the more Thekla listened attentively to the inspired words of the apostle and “caught them”, standing at her window and not seeing the speaker - “faster than all those present with him,” the more she strove for a greater and greater understanding of the concepts that illuminated her soul... And she could not tear herself away from the window through which her ears brought to her wonderful speeches that opened before her a completely new, divine world that now enveloped her entire soul... And where Has the charm of the old world, the earthly one, disappeared? How suddenly the brilliant but pagan atmosphere of her native home became alien to her. How the young girl suddenly became alienated even from her fiancé, the noble and richest pagan in the city, Famir, to whom she had already been betrothed by her mother. Not knowing Christ, sharing all pagan delusions, Thekla’s mother was amazed at the change that had occurred in her daughter. She was completely horrified when she learned that she was so uncontrollably chaining her daughter to the treasured window... In the most insulting way, she began to explain her daughter’s attention to the words of a stranger and hastened to tell the groom she had chosen for her daughter all her fears regarding Thekla. “My words, Thamir,” Theoklia addressed him, “are warned by shame and tears... I have not yet explained myself, but I am ashamed, not bearing the insult of what I want to express to you against my daughter. Listen to me, however, although I speak against my will about the adventure that happened. Thekla, your bride, on whom we so relied and hoped, deceived us; she despises me, her mother, she despises you, her fiancé, and she absolutely does not want to know what concerns her own home; she loves one stranger, a deceiver, a seducer and a slacker, who settled in a neighboring house and for the destruction of our house, in order to captivate Thekla and take her with her... So, hurry up, warn, Famir, pluck from the hands of another the one who loves him like your own eye, and return her to us again, and protect, for your and our family, the ancient well-being, so that we do not become the subject of shameful reasoning and do not give it to people there are very bad reasons to speak about us. But speak to her tenderly and kindly and soften her stubborn and cruel passion, like some kind of oil, with affection, since waywardness and stubbornness cannot be overcome by force: they are rather softened by persuasion and meek words... Go, I say, to her - with politeness and affection: maybe you will win her over to your side and return her to her former freedom, to her former way of life and to modesty and modesty, decent to young women and girls..." But in vain, alarmed by the words of his bride’s mother, Famir and her tried to convince Thekla to turn her attention away from the unworthy stranger, not to listen to his words... Thekla did not leave her window, listened with intense attention only to the words of Paul and with all her soul was immersed in thoughts about the one God-Christ... In his confusion, Thamir was finally convinced against Paul when he one day accidentally met with two of Paul’s companions - Demas and Hermogenes, who, although they accompanied the holy Apostle, were secret envious people and ill-wishers of him, and now, taking the opportunity to damage his new hater - a powerful man - in his eyes, they answered him like this to his questions about Paul: - “hear from us what you ask, and, moreover, the truth. Where this stranger comes from and who he is, we don’t really know; but that he is a deceiver and that, wandering here and there, contrary to the general order of life and decorum, he perverts everything, we know about this and, moreover, in the best way, because he himself often told us about this... His whole concern is to destroy, blot out and with all his might destroy the path to the spread of offspring through marriage, indicated to the human race by nature itself. With a new and strange teaching, he strives to upset the entire human nature, legitimizes celibacy, talks about virginity, using new expressions and now expressed by him for the first time. He also tries for the first time to preach and introduce some kind of resurrection of bodies that have long been struck down by death and turned to dust - a new thing and not heard by anyone until now, because the true and exact resurrection is stored in human nature itself and occurs every day: it consists in the succession of children born from us, likened to seeds that ripen, that grow and which are renewed in everything and in some way resurrect, so the dead once again appear to us as living and existing people.” Having listened to the words of Demas and Hermogenes, having drawn from them an instrument of revenge against his imaginary enemy, however, at the present moment concealing his hostile intentions regarding Paul, Thamir graciously invited the slanderers of the apostle into his house, offered them a luxurious treat in order to induce them to serve him even more for his further goals... Meanwhile, as soon as it was dawn the next day, he left the house and, taking with him several commoners lounging around the streets, ready for any insolence, attacked Paul with them. - “Beat, bring to justice the deceiver, the inventor of new and contrary to nature laws!” - shouted the angry crowd, which was growing every minute, rushing with violence and insults against the preacher of Christian truths, presented to the people in a distorted form by the hater of Paul. Having aroused the people, Thamir, with his help, seized the apostle and brought him to trial. - "Judge! - he spoke, standing on a dais, - I attribute it to the favor of the gods and consider it a sign of your happy fate that this villain and lawless man, who is still here to the detriment of the entire city, is finally revealed and is subject to condemnation according to the laws. Your job now, and the matter of justice, is to help the kingdom that has already been established, to protect the laws, to take care in general about the well-being of the human race, which is in danger of perishing... How? I'll explain this to you briefly. Who is this man now standing before your court, and where did he come here from, I cannot say, because he is a stranger and is not known to any of us. Pretending to be conscientious and hiding behind piety, as you yourself can now notice, he proposes a new and strange teaching, detrimental to the human race, namely, he condemns marriage, which everyone can rightly call the beginning, root and source of our nature, from which came fathers, mothers, children, families, cities, fields and villages, which gave rise to navigation, agriculture and all the various arts, to which the kingdom, state, laws, authorities owe their existence, courts, troops, military authorities, through which philosophy, rhetoric and the whole swarm of free sciences appeared; from which, finally, and best of all, there exist churches, churches, sacrifices, rituals, sacraments, vows and prayers... And this is the very thing I am talking about, i.e. marriage, she condemns, blasphemes and convinces everyone to hate, and some kind of virginity, about which I cannot say what it consists of, she praises... In addition, I learned from some that he praises celibacy and considers it a wonderful thing for people not to get together and marry, but to lovingly accept childlessness and a solitary life. What else does this mean, if not to suddenly order the destruction of everything - families, and peoples, and cities, and fields, and arts, and works, and in short - to condemn the earth to be empty and uninhabited? For if all people are convinced of this, then the human race will soon end... I briefly recounted what I said and what this man attempted. It remains, judge, that you, according to your duty, punish him..." “You spoke beautifully, strongly and wisely, Thamir, against Paul,” Dimas and Hermogenes, standing not far from him, said to him, “but you missed adding to what was said one and, moreover, a very important circumstance, namely, that he is a Christian; this circumstance is very contrary to the laws and is more likely to bring punishment on him and destroy him...” Famir was not slow to use this new weapon to strengthen the significance of his testimony. Then the judge began to personally interrogate the accused Christian. - “The best of husbands, proconsul! - Paul answered him, “I am not the culprit or the inventor of the teaching for which these people are now accusing me. The true culprit, teacher and lawgiver of it is God, Who, out of His mercy for the human race and regretting its fatal blindness, has now sent many, and me among them, to preach about His love for mankind to all of us, so that we would eradicate and exterminate the disease that has long spread among us from ignorance, seduction and deception, and announced, exposed and showed people for such a long time time, the hidden evil of idolatry, I mean - rituals, sacraments, the sacrifice of animals and the slaughter of people - which, through various fables and the most plausible teachings, came into general use and filled the earth with all lawlessness and all abomination. All this cannot be expressed or enumerated, and all of this is completely vile and disgusting. From these fables or fictions came ignorance of the true God, the Ruler and Creator of all. Because of this and all the other evils of wickedness, God, regretting the human nature that He created, appointed us, the apostles, so that we, under the authority of His only begotten Son, would go and circumambulate the whole earth and cleanse it of all the evils that I spoke about and about which I kept silent, and instead of them introduced the true faith, knowledge of God, piety, which most of all depicts and imprints the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy the venerable Trinity, the Deity uncreated and consubstantial, eternal, unchangeable, indivisible, indescribable, timeless, incomprehensible, on Whom everything depends, Whom everything desires, from Whom nothing is separate. Then we are commanded to preach about the coming of the Son of God, God the Word, to men according to the flesh. For He, being from God and God and always existing with the Father, appeared in the flesh, born according to the general law of human nature, but from a virgin wife who did not know her husband, in order to Himself save His own creation - man, and free us from the ever-present violence of evil spirits and, in addition, teach us to curb passions, offer advice regarding purity, virginity and sacred abstinence, and to inspire those who wish and obey the word of God to go to God through virtue and abstinence, and not to force those who want and do not obey, since violence or fear can never be a guide to virtue, because goodness is a matter of will, not necessity. And marriage,” the apostle continued, “is given and offered by God, the Creator of everything, as a medicine and benefit for the entire human race, and as a source, and a stream, and a continuous continuation of our entire race - for the preservation, preservation and continuation of human life - with the purpose that through it some will take the place of others and again restore the often perishing nature - until the time comes for the end of the world and the resurrection and the transformation of the image of this world, in its place will follow a better and more divine state, for this mortal must put on immortality, and this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and all of us, created by God, must return to our former homeland, which is in heaven... This is what I preach, this is what I teach,” Paul concluded, “for this I walk throughout the whole earth, for this I have now come here; This is why everyone who wants and is able condemns and persecutes me, but for the truth I am ready for all kinds of trials and all dangers...” Finding nothing in the defendant’s words that justified Thamir’s outrageous testimony, the proconsul, laughing only in his heart at the unusual and new concepts set forth by Paul, nevertheless, in order to calm the general excitement against Paul, ordered him to be imprisoned until the final discussion and verdict in his case. Meanwhile, Thekla, who had been closely following everything that was happening, having learned that Paul had been taken to prison, fearlessly set out to join him in order to continue listening to his teaching. Leaving her house and bribing the prison guard with her precious belongings, she entered the dungeon unhindered, to the amazement and fear of all the prisoners there. Paul himself was horrified by her bold act, but did not push her away, did not reject her hope placed in Christ, and, bringing her closer to him, began to talk about divine objects, which the young girl, attracted to God by the words of the Apostle, so longed for. Having foreseen in spirit a future ascetic in her, Paul, with love and fiery zeal, enlightened, instructed and prepared her for the struggle for the divine truth received from him. And forgetting the whole world at the feet of her teacher, Thekla insatiably listened to his teaching and folded the “good news” in her heart... Meanwhile, when in Thekla’s house they learned about her flight, her mother and groom flew into indescribable rage; Soon, everyone in the city received the news with indignation about a rich and noble girl who had been deceived by some stranger and had left her own mother and fiancé for him. When Thamir, having finally discovered Thekla’s refuge, saw her sitting at the feet of Paul and reverently listening to his speech, his anger knew no bounds. He immediately insisted that Paul be put on trial and executed, but, not finding sufficient reasons for condemning Paul to execution, the proconsul limited himself to expelling him from the city, while Thekla, at the insistence of her mother, was presented for trial. The majestic appearance of Thekla, gifted with unusual beauty, made a strong impression on everyone. Everyone felt sorry for her mother and her betrayed groom. Proconsul Kestilius, taking close part in all these high-ranking citizens, himself wished to persuade Thecla to come to her senses and abandon her unworthy behavior. For a long time he admonished her with the meekest and most tender words. Thekla listened to him in silence, not finding it necessary to object to someone who himself was actually in error... Kestilius was at a loss what to do to convince the adamant girl; Thekla’s mother, excited by her stubbornness, finally, beside herself with anger, shouted to the judge: “Why are you delaying, judge? Why don’t you punish this lawless woman and enemy of marriage? Why are you delaying to burn your rebellious daughter? Let them burn and destroy the one who refused to marry according to domestic law and arbitrarily ran away to a deceiver and a foreigner, who through this caused the greatest disgrace to the entire fatherland, family, city and me, who gave birth to a child for such evil that I would be in shameful pity and ridicule among people ... " Touched by his mother’s grief, and also fearing the wrath of Famir, the embarrassed proconsul ordered Thekla to be put on fire. But when Thekla herself, making the sign of the cross, threw herself into the kindled fire, God miraculously saved her: a sudden torrential rain extinguished the fire, and such a thunderstorm broke out over the city that all the people fled to their homes in fear. Thekla, freed from the fire and preoccupied with the thought of how she could join Paul, who had been expelled from the city, also left the city and met with the children of Onesiphorus, who were with Paul, but whom he at that time sent to the city to buy the necessary food. They recognized her and brought her straight to Paul. She found him cast down on the ground and diligently asking and praying to God for what had already been done... for the strengthening and salvation of the one whom he had enlightened with the knowledge of God. Great was Paul’s joy over Thekla’s salvation, and in a joyful prayer, gratitude was poured out before God, filling their hearts! – Thekla wished to accompany Paul on his further wanderings in order to be more and more enlightened by faith and strengthen her soul under his influence. Not without fear, the apostle agreed to take her with him, but foreseeing difficult situations in the exceptional situation of a young girl distinguished by the amazing beauty of the girl, he also foresaw the need to support and protect her at the beginning of her entry onto the truly difficult path, and therefore allowed Thekla to accompany him at the present time, and leaving Iconium, they set off together to the cities and villages in which the apostle was to preach the gospel. Soon, namely upon their arrival in Antioch (in Syria), Paul’s fears regarding Thecla were justified. She suffered the misfortune of attracting the attention of the head of Antioch, Alexander, a noble and influential man. Enchanted by Thekla's beauty, he tried through all sorts of violence to gain her favor and power over her. Excited to the extreme by resistance to the dishonest intentions of the pagan, Thekla, in a fit of indignation, tore Alexander’s clothes and threw off a wreath made of gold from his head, and thus appeared as his conqueror in the eyes of the people who were present. 316 With such an insult inflicted on a proud man, accustomed to power, Thekla aroused furious anger in his heart and a desire to take revenge on her began to boil within him. He immediately brought her to trial, not knowing that it was not sorrow, but joy that overshadowed the soul of a Christian woman, ready even for all kinds of fulfillment of the pure covenants of the faith with which she was enlightened and animated. The providence of God, always vigilant over those who have entrusted themselves to him and providing them with ways and means to get out of the most difficult circumstances, was not slow in showing Thekla its saving help. It turned out by chance, apparently, that it was decided, until the final trial, to entrust her to the supervision of one noble woman of the royal family, named Tryphaena, who agreed to take her into her care - because she felt pity for the young girl, whom, in her opinion, was treated unfairly, and whom, therefore, she wished with all her heart to protect. This woman took part in Thecla all the more ardently because at that time she herself was deeply upset by the death of her only daughter, Falconilla, who was the same age as Thecla. Soon, however, not only regret, but also other impressions aroused in Tryphena’s heart a strong affection for the girl she had taken into her care... Firstly, she was amazed at the true miracle that had taken place in her eyes at the time when Thekla, summoned to the trial, where Tryphena accompanied her, and condemned to be torn to pieces by wild animals, remained unharmed among them, and even the fierce lioness, as if Having suddenly lost the properties of her nature, she calmly lay down at Thekla’s feet, without threatening the slightest harm. Secondly, the pagan Tryphena was struck by a vision the night after Thekla’s miraculous rescue, when, having brought her home, she had already parted with her for the night’s rest. In a dream, her daughter Falconilla appeared to her and said to her: “I beg you, my mother, do not cry and do not torment your soul with grief for me, because with your grief you will not help me either, and you will destroy yourself... Better ask Thekla, who lives with you, who has become your daughter instead of me, that she would pray for me to God, so that through His love for mankind I would calm down and my soul would rejoice among His righteous, because God will fulfill the prayer of the one who, even here, amazes everyone with her courageous asceticism for Christ...” Awakened by great delight at the visit of her daughter and her words, Tryphaena, hastily rising from bed, woke Thekla and, conveying to her her significant dream, begged her to pray for Falconilla. The Christian woman, touched to the depths of her soul, then responded with a fiery prayer to God to this pagan prayer, and the Lord heard and fulfilled her prayer, as if wishing to demonstrate in an extraordinary and exceptional way His mercy and omnipotence, to which the first martyr Thekla, who at that time was performing her feat for the faith, called with holy boldness... And, first of all, God calmed Tryphena’s heart, turning her unbearable maternal sorrow into joyful hope for the salvation of her daughter... 317 Her heart, thus predisposed, could soon finally perceive the divine truth. During the new trials and tortures to which Thekla was soon subjected, Tryphaena, amazed by the miracles with which God was pleased to again glorify the first ascetic for His name, recognized divine power in them and in the depths of her soul joined those many of the people who, having been amazed, joined those many of the people who, being struck with awe along with Tryphaena, exclaimed: Great is the God whom Thekla professes! And how could one not be amazed when the enraged lions and bears released from their cages, instead of pouncing on the victim devoted to them, quietly approached Thekla and calmly lay down at her feet, and when one of the most enraged bear rushed at her, the lioness rushed at him, and, as if protecting Thekla, began to fight with him until both terrible animals died in a fierce battle. Thekla, praying, remained unharmed... In a similar miraculous way, she was saved from the predatory sea animals that were in the reservoir, where she rushed naked, calling on the name of the Lord... At that moment a bright light flashed, as if from lightning, and the stunned monsters became motionless... - Thekla was also saved from the bulls enraged with hot iron, to which her tormentors tied: the fire burned the knots of ropes, and Thekla turned out to be freed... Fear attacked all the spectators, and Tryphena fell dead on the steps of the circus from strong excitement. The head of the city, Alexander, was struck by fear and surprise, but not understanding anything other than magic in these wonderful signs, he began to ask the ruler of the region to send this strange sorceress out of the city, “so that she would go and show others the experiments of her strange and new nature”; “The whole city is in fear,” said Alexander, “Tryphena, the royal relative, fell ill from fright; if she gets hurt, it will be our responsibility. Convinced by Alexander’s arguments and at the same time pleased that he could evade the lawless, in his opinion, trial of a foreigner, the ruler was ready to release her, but before that he called Thekla to him and began to ask who she was and with what power and art she defeated the animals? “I, as you see, am a young foreigner, persecuted by people,” Thekla answered the ruler, “I am a servant of the living God, and my strength lies in the fact that I have believed in Him in Whom all His good pleasure is, in His Son Jesus Christ. Having placed my trust in Him, I defeated many of Alexander’s terrible beasts, and first of all, the tyranny and wickedness of him himself. The same, identical and even greater gifts will be received by everyone who truly places their trust in Him and believes in Him, because He alone is the limit of salvation and the basis of immortal life, a refuge for the distressed, rest for the oppressed, help for the despairing... and whoever does not believe in Him will not live, but is subject to eternal death.” After listening to these words, the ruler, surprised by the firmness and courage and dignity of young Thekla’s speech, felt great respect for her and, deciding to immediately release her, also hastened to justify her before the people: - Antiochians! - he said, - the crime that this Alexander declared and charged against this girl is, in all likelihood, false. And it would be unfair to put his anger as the judge of her life, and not the glorious miraculousness of everything that has now happened to her, which you yourself have witnessed. All this, seen by all of us, can only be taken as a truly divine sign... She was offered to a multitude of ferocious animals, the sight of which terrified even those who looked at this spectacle from above, and she, meanwhile, remained safe and sound... For which of the imperfectly stupid is it not obvious that there is some kind of God who really protects the immaculate maiden? “You saw how she, placed among the animals, stretched out her hands to the sky and from there attracted help for herself against the merciless beasts of prey; you saw how some of them did not even approach her; others approached and peacefully caressed each other; when others rushed at her, they were killed by others who were nearby - and from this unprecedented and contrary to the laws of nature miracle, the whole city came into awe and was filled with screams and groans... How can we not now let this foreigner go with decent praises of her, as honest and chaste, as a servant of God, who became the culprit of divine and unprecedented miracles for this city and taught our virgins and women not to prefer chastity to anything, even if they had to deal with fire, sword and beasts! Fear no more, maiden, of any test... even if we wanted to expose you to some kind of disaster, you will repel it, being protected by very strong and indestructible weapons... Go now where you want; just make your God, whoever He is, favorable and merciful to us... Meanwhile, Tryphena, who was unconsciously carried home from the circus, having finally come to her senses, anxiously awaited news about the one she loved as her own daughter. And therefore she all joyfully arose and came to life when she saw Thekla again - unharmed and free, and from then on there was no limit to the desire of this pagan to learn more and more about the God Whom Thekla confessed, so that now her whole house was filled with conversation about Him and love for Him and “began to resemble more a church than a dwelling...” and soon Tryphaena and all her numerous servants were enlightened and brought in to Christ by the preaching of a young foreigner. Despite the fact that the preacher’s heart rejoiced, she yearned for her beloved teacher Paul and carefully inquired about him and looked for him. Having learned that he was in the city of Myra in Lycia, she hastened to join him. The apostle lovingly accepted the one he had enlightened and, after listening to her story about everything that happened to her during their separation, he was convinced that she was ripe for the highest spiritual achievement, and therefore released her from him, telling her: “Go, teach the word, walk the path of the gospel and be a participant in my work for Christ. This is why Christ chose you through me, in order to elevate you to the apostleship and entrust you with some area that has not yet been enlightened by the teachings of Christ, because you too must multiply your talents in various ways.” - “Entrust me to Christ!” - Thekla said goodbye to the apostle and, having given him a large amount of gold, given to her by Tryphena for use in favor of the poor, she first set out on her way to her hometown - Iconium. She no longer found Famir, her former fiancé, alive. Having begun her preaching in her hometown, Thekla tried to convert her mother to Christ, but when she saw the complete failure of her efforts to enlighten this inveterate pagan, she left the city and went to Seleucia. Here, having settled on the top of a mountain, she devoted herself entirely to the gospel of the word of Christ and successfully spread it, especially since her preaching was accompanied by numerous miracles, especially healings of all kinds of diseases. Human malice here also raised persecution against the great ascetic, but God was pleased to preserve her life until old age: taken to torture at the age of 18, Thekla lived seventy-two years after that in wandering and asceticism and died in the 90th year of her life, resting peacefully in her cave. The church, subsequently erected at her resting place, for many centuries attracted admirers who resorted to the help of the holy first martyr, Equal-to-the-Apostles Thekla, who inexhaustibly manifested herself in countless miracles that continue to this day for all who honor her glorious memory. 318 † Memory of Saint Stephen the First, his nephew David and son King Vladislav “Holy Simon the Monk,” says the inscription above the ancient image of Stefan Nemanja’s son. The image represents the first-crowned King of Serbia with a huge beard in monastic clothes, with a black scarf tied under his chin, and in a black hood with a flap at the top. 319 When the elderly Župan Nemanja decided to devote his last years to prayer and fasting in a monastic monastery, before a meeting of the priests and nobles of Serbia, he transferred the rule of Serbia to his eldest son Stefan. “I will leave on my throne my beloved son Stefan, the great zhupan and sevastokrator,” this is what the father himself said. 320 Stefan the son became the great zhupan in March 1195. During the first time of his reign, he quietly occupied himself with matters of piety. 321 But then, despite the fact that by the will of his father Stefan was the great zhupan of all Serbia, his younger brother Vulcan wanted to grant his appanage principality Zeta complete independence from his brother. The Hungarian king, at his request, sent troops, and Vulcan became an independent prince of Zeta. 322 Then Vulcan began to seek to expel his brother from the Serbian throne. He entered into relations with the pope, who then had the forces of the West, and obeyed his orders. 323 The Hungarian king, for his part, made a promise to the pope, in his conviction, to introduce papism to Serbia. The bloody war devastated Serbia. Stefan bravely, but with difficulty, fought off the enemies. They had already proclaimed Vulcan king of Serbia. 324 Stefan did not neglect the then powerful means against enemies. He asked the powerful pope through his ambassadors to protect his rights from the violence of Hungary. – The Hungarian king, fearing that he could be humiliated by Stefan for the purposes of romance, hastened to ask the pope not to trust Stefan’s obedience. Thus, the plans of the passions entered into a struggle among themselves and opened the way for a clear conscience to reach its goal. 325 Pious Stephen understood papism well. He protected himself with other, more reliable measures than the power of an earthly prince. With contrition of heart, he prayed to heaven and his friends for help - he asked his brother, the Monk Sava, to transfer the relics of their reverend father to Serbia for the salvation of Serbia. “My brother,” he wrote, neglected the will of his father and his master, he brought foreigners to his fatherland, took it and devastated it, not obeying the commandment of God: honor your father and mother. But we did not trust in our weapons, but in the power of the Lord, the Savior Jesus Christ. And they were not deceived in their hope. Having overthrown them by His power, the Lord returned them to His fatherland. “I ask you, Reverend Father Savva, bring the fragrant relics of the saint.” After your departure, our land became desecrated by our iniquities, covered in blood, captured by foreigners, enemies defeated us and - out of mutual hatred, we became a laughing stock for our neighbors. Perhaps through your holy prayers, through your coming to us, the all-merciful God will have mercy on us and will gather together those who are scattered and put our opponents to shame. 326 Vulcan, out of Serbian respect for his father, came to meet the relics of the holy father; then, having witnessed the miracles of the holy father, according to the conviction of the Monk Sava, he took an oath not to disturb his brother any more in his legal rights. 327 Stefan, for his part, helped his brother expel the Westerner Petrislav from Chlum, leaving only Nevesin and Debra behind the latter. 328 Sconce Vulcan soon died; His inheritance Zeta was given by Stefan to his cousin Andrei Miroslavich. 329 The son of Vulcan, the pious prince Demetrius, was willingly content with the inheritance that his uncle had assigned; he built a monastery on the Lim River in Brodarevo and, having accepted monasticism, with the name of David, upon death he was honored by the Serbian Church among the saints. 330 So Stephen calmly disposed of the appanages of Serbia, as the supreme ruler of all Serbia. 331 After pacifying his domestic enemies, Stephen had to fight foreign enemies. The Bulgarian Tsar Boris and his father-in-law, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, rebelled against him. They occupied Nis and wanted to take away the cities that had once been Bulgarian and then Greek, and now belonged to Serbia. It was hard for Stefan: the enemies were strong. But his father is for Stefan. “The enemies were horrified by the appearance of the saint, they rushed to run and cut each other down, and finally went home, humiliated and disgraced.” 332 The blessed Grand Duke was very good-natured and compassionate. The Bulgarian prince sought the death of Prince Stresa, a relative of the late Bulgarian prince Yasen. Stresa, with a squad loyal to him, sought protection in Serbia. Good Stefan sheltered the fugitive. Prince Boris threateningly demanded the extradition of Stresa. Stefan fraternized with Stresa and gave him the strong castle of Prosek to live in, then transferred several other places that belonged to the empire to his management. “Stresa turned out to be a great scoundrel.” Having married the illegitimate daughter of the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, he soon learned from the knights of the West their dissolute life and, in the hope of his father-in-law, allowed himself to commit outrages of all kinds. 333 His consolation was to throw people off the cliff into the stormy Vardar, which was rightly called the predatory river. 334 No one was allowed to pass by Stresa Castle - everyone was in danger from the whims of the cruel owner. – Stefan more than once sent to Stresa with a reminder of the duty of truth and philanthropy; Stresa didn't care. Finally, Stresa rose up in war against his benefactor and threatened to drive Stephen from the throne. The wicked man, who did not heed the convictions of Saint Sava, was struck by the wrath of God: at night, in horror from the ghost, he stabbed himself to death. 335 In the same way, the Greek Michael, who captured Drach from Serbia, unexpectedly died. More dangerous was the Hungarian king, who rose up against Stepan, at the instigation of the angry Latin emperor. While the latter was approaching Serbia from the east, the Hungarian king entered Serbia from the north. The unexpected reconciliation of the Hungarian king with Stephen forced the Latin to return empty-handed. At the end of these troubles, Blessed Stefan, reverent for the memory of his great father, as an example of an intelligent ruler and man of prayer in the afterlife, described the life of the great Župan Stefan Nemanja. 336 Since, after the conquest of Constantinople by the Latins (1204), the violence of Romanism became more persistent, and the measures to harm Orthodoxy became wider and stronger, Stephen, to protect the security of Serbia, entered into a marriage alliance (in 1216) with the granddaughter of the Venetian Doge Dandolo. – Dad was afraid of the then strong Venetian Republic. Therefore, when the strong relatives of Stefan's wife asked the pope for a royal crown and protection against Hungary for Stephen, the pope in 1217 hastened to send him a crown, and sent the Hungarian king a ban on being called the Serbian king. 337 – In order not to be unappreciative of the pope, Stefan established the island of Mljet and Babino Pole behind the Mljet Benedictine Monastery. 338 – The Pope could console himself with the thought that he had acquired a new subject - a king; but the pious son Nemanja, who saw the abominations of the pope’s pets in Constantinople, could not even think about a religious union with the pope; throughout his life he did not seek vain glory; meekness was his distinctive character. “I am a sinner Stefan,” he wrote in his letters. Modern rulers, out of some strange passion, hastened one before the other to beg the pope for a royal crown, such as the modern Prince of Bulgaria; 339 but blessed Stephen accepted the crown when it was sent by the pope, and did not look for it. In addition, the Serbian people were not happy with the fact that the Orthodox ruler entered into relations, albeit political, with the hated pope. – So the royal crown sent by the pope to Serbia did not change Serbia’s attitude towards Orthodoxy. When Saint Sava was consecrated Archbishop of Serbia, after a consultation with representatives of the Serbian land, he crowned his brother with a crown sent from the Greek emperor, anointed him with holy oil and gave him the royal mantle. – At the same time, the blessed king solemnly confessed that he was a faithful son of the Eastern Orthodox Church. 340 Following this, orders were made to limit the arbitrariness of other faiths. 341 – The rise of the Serbian ruler aroused envy of the Hungarian king, and his new wedding aroused annoyance in the pope for neglecting his gift. The King of Hungary declared war on Serbia; Due to personal relations between Saint Sava and the Hungarian king, the war was rejected. 342 The original king used his power to weaken among the people the customs that disagreed with Christianity. In a letter to the Zhichsky monastery, he outlined measures against willful divorces and against the same marriage combinations. On the first subject, he wrote: “if anyone turns out to be a violator of the terrible commandment,” he will drive his wife away from him: then “6 horses will be collected from the guilty person in favor of the king and 2 horses in favor of the judge, and 2 oxen from the poor villager,” but the marriage remains in force. If a wife leaves her husband of her own free will, the husband punishes her at his own discretion, but if the parents participated in this, “they are punished, depending on their condition.” The original prohibited combinations in kinship, for example, after the death of a wife, marrying her sister; to prevent illegal combinations, he ordered that before marriage one should contact the priest with a request to find out whether there is any relationship between those wishing to get married. 343 In order to avoid any mistake in well-intentioned orders on church affairs against the decisions of the universal Church, he entered into written communication with the enlightened Bulgarian Archbishop Dimitri Khomatin, an expert in church rules. 344 The holy king did a lot of good to the churches and monasteries of Orthodoxy: Studenica, Miletus, the cathedral in Žić, Sopocany, 345 Kotor Prevale Monastery, where the papists subsequently poisoned 72 monks at a time. 346 We are not talking about Hilandar. Not in good health, blessed Stephen, in his illness, felt the approach of death and wished to take tonsure at the hands of his holy brother. Saint Sava, not referring to his extreme old age, answered that there would still be time to fulfill his desire. When, following a new call, the ruler appeared to the dying king, the brother-king lay already lifeless. The saint, struck by grief, prayed, and Stephen came to life to fulfill his desire; 347 the tonsure was completed, and he gave up his spirit to the Lord, September 24, 1224. 348 The body of the monk king a year after his death turned out to be incorrupt, and he was canonized. 349 Of his four sons, three: Rodoslav (from October 1224), Vlavislav (from February 1230) and Stefan Urosh, snoring (from 1239), one after another, were crowned kings of Serbia. 350 The son, King Vladislav, like his father, is revered among the saints. He had to endure enough anxiety from human weaknesses. His brother Rodoslav, driven crazy by his dissolute Venetian wife, was expelled from Serbia for dissipation, and Vladislav was declared his successor. 351 – But Rodoslav, with a letter dated February 4, 1234, announced from Dubrovnik that he was the king of Serbia and hoped to regain the throne, which he had been deprived of by his brother. 352 The convictions of Saint Sava forced Rodoslav to accept monasticism. 353 These worries had barely ended when Vladimir, Count of Omysh, with his Omyshans, accustomed to sea robbery, devastated the coastal lands of Serbia. Having dealt with the robbers with weapons, Vladislav obliged Raguzian with a letter not to help either Vladimir or others like him in actions hostile to Serbia. 354 – Taking care of the internal structure of Serbia, King Vladislav found silver mines in his country and enriched Serbia with their development. According to Daniel, “wishing to reach the heavenly villages, he built beautiful churches on earth and provided them with gifts (land) and all sorts of utensils; 355 he built from the foundation the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, called Mileshev, to which he transferred the body of the great bishop Savva from Ternov. His benefits to the poor, the strange, and the sick are innumerable. Having reigned for 7 years, he passed into eternity with joy in the Lord. His body was laid to rest in the Mileshevo monastery. 356 On the coins he was written: “the servant of Christ Vladislav,” and was depicted: “a standing king with a crown on his head, in long clothes, girded, with an orb in his right hand.” 357 In the Mileshevsky monastery there is still an image on the wall with the inscription: “discovery by the relic of St. Stephen.” 358 – In the ancient Serbian charter, on July 30, it is said: “the announcement was made by the relics of King Vladislav, patron of Mileszewski, on the day of the multi-red king Uros.” 359 † Repose of St. Avramius of Mirozh In the handwritten calendar we read: “Reverend Avramiy, abbot of the Spassky Monastery, like the Mirozh River,” in Pskov. The only monument to the works of the founder of the monastery, but a lasting and beautiful monument, remains the stone church of the monastery, intact since the 12th century. “It is all made of flagstone and to this day retains its ancient square appearance. – In the altar on a high place there are preserved the remains of frescoes from the 12th century, accidentally discovered recently during the repair of the church. Above the middle window is the Deesis - the prayer of the Mother of God and the Forerunner before the Savior. Below was a whole series of images: on the right side the Savior teaches the holy bread to the six apostles; the rest is hidden under a layer of later plaster. – Since the monastery is located outside the city, on the road from Lithuania and Livonia, it was easily plundered by enemies, and everything that could be carried away, destroyed and burned was lost. The Monk Abramius died on September 24, 1158; his relics rest hidden in the Spassky Church of the Mirozhskaya Convent, assigned to the bishop's house; His memory is honored on September 24. At the same time, the Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God, located here, glorified in 1567, is celebrated 360 † Repose of St. Nikander of Pskov In the Videlbe churchyard of the Pskov district in 1507, a son, Nikon, was born to pious villagers; 361 in his parent’s house he learned to read in order to understand the books indicating the way to heaven; From his youth he feared God and attended the church of God. The example of the elder brother, who became a monk under the name of Arseny, and the glory of the recently deceased Saints Savva and Euphrosynus, aroused in the young soul the determination to renounce the permitted comforts of life and serve the only Lord. After the death of his father, seventeen-year-old Nikon convinced his mother to distribute the estate partly to churches, partly to the poor, and retire to a monastery of prayer. He himself went around the monastic monasteries of Pskov for his edification. Noticing his insufficient ability to read useful books, he went to work in the house of a devout Pskov resident, and he gave him to an experienced book teacher for training, and Nikon acquired “an understanding of the scriptures.” Hearing about a deserted place on the Demyanka River, between Pskov and Porkhov, he decided to retire there for silence. Blessed Nicholas, meeting him on the road, told him that bitterness awaited him; but this did not stop him, nor did the wildness of the deserted place change his intentions. And now they have difficulty reaching the Nikandrova monastery through swampy soil covered with forest. What happened here in the 16th century?.. Having built himself a hut on the Demyanka River, Nikon spent several years in silent feats of prayer and ate desert plants. – Having learned about the new hermit, people began to visit him and unwittingly broke his silence. Nikon, avoiding worldly fame, went to the cenobitic hermitage of Savva Krypetsky and accepted monasticism here with the name Nikandra. - With the severity of his life, he soon attracted the attention of the brethren and therefore returned again to his former desert. Silent and secluded, without any protection from people, the hermit lived in conversation with the Lord and with hopes for Him. Once evil people entered his cell and robbed the icons. Books and other poor property of the hermit beat him mercilessly, and one pierced his side with a spear. Barely alive, covered in blood, he thanked the Lord with tears and begged him to forgive the poor, carried away by the sins of selfishness and anger. He healed quickly; the predators, having lost their way, wandered around the lake for three days; two of them felt and repented of their sin against the elder; and the other two, becoming embittered, showered his name with abuse and soon fell into the river and drowned. Those who came to their senses returned to the hermit what had been taken from him and asked him to pray for them; the hermit sent them away in peace. The people began to gather to him, wanting to hear instructions from the lips of the ascetic. The hermit had already spent 15 years in solitude; but even now he was afraid of human glory. Fleeing fame, which was dangerous for the soul, the monk again came to the Krypetsk monastery. Here he was assigned the position of inspector and then cellarer. His life here was as strict as in his hermitage. For five days he was content with only bread and water and only on Saturdays and Sundays he ate a little boiled food. During the day, in addition to the assigned obedience, he carried water and firewood for the brethren, and at night he prayed secretly. From time to time, leaving the monastery for the forest, he would strip half of his body and give it to insects for food, while he himself spun waves or sang psalms. His strict rank and life, unlike the lives of others, seemed difficult for the weak. Having left the monastery, he built himself a hut on an island 3 miles from it and again began to labor as a hermit. But from now on, his life pricked the eyes of the weak. “When zealots of piety began to come for the hermit’s advice, the brethren of the monastery became even more indignant at him and said: “Nikander is taking away the income from the monastery.” The saint went again to the Demyanka River. On the way to the desert, in the village of Lokotakh, drunken peasants beat him on suspicion that he was one of the evil people who had previously burned the house of one of them? The monk generously forgave them. “In recent years, the gift of insight and miraculous power has been revealed in him. He called the landowner Peter by name when he stood outside the door, and predicted childbearing for his barren wife. He predicted the imminent death of another. The peasant Nazarius, who had been sick for a year and a half, ordered himself to be carried into the desert to the venerable elder; brought, he tearfully begged the elder for help. The elder ordered him to be taken to the living hut, which stood near the oak tree, where those who came stopped, and protected him with a cross; the patient, having fallen asleep sweetly, got up the next day completely healthy. Every year on Great Friday the venerable hermit came to Vespers at the Demyansky Monastery and the next day after confession he partook of the Holy Mysteries; and 8 years before his death he accepted the schema from the Demyansk abbot. Those who lived in the surrounding area sometimes secretly came to the hermit's hut and always heard that he was praying with bitter sobs; when he noticed the proximity of people, he suddenly fell silent. No one found him lying down to rest; He only fell asleep while sitting. His constant food was desert plants, and after sunset he ate a little dry bread if they brought it to him; During Lent I ate food only once a week. In the last years of his life, the pious Deacon Peter often came to him to talk about spiritual salvation. “Once the monk said to him: “My brother!” I suffered a lot with my legs, but by the grace of God I was freed from the disease.” “Then the monk revealed to him that he would soon die, and asked him to bury his body in the ground. “How will I know about my death”? asked Peter. “Without sorrow it is impossible to tell you about my outcome,” answered the monk; “On that day Pskov will be enveloped in a storm of war, it will be kept under siege by the Lithuanians! When you hear about my death, serve me.” And so it happened on September 24, 1581, a peasant found the monk stretched out on the matting with his hands folded on his chest, having just departed to the Lord. – Batory actually besieged Pskov at that time and devastated the Pskov side. 362 – The deacon, having heard about the death of the saint, invited the clergy and laity to salute the ascetic of God, and although the Lithuanian army was scattered throughout the districts of Porkhov and Pskov, those who were zealous safely completed their pious work. The first benefits of the deceased righteous man were experienced by the monk Isaiah. He had barely settled in the deserted place of the Monk Nikander when the cleric Andrei, who lived with him, stole from him at night everything he had, clothes, books, icons. Isaiah fell with tears at the saint’s tomb, and at the same time the cleric saw a gray-haired old man in front of him, reproaching him for theft, and threw away everything that had been stolen. The same Isaiah suffered greatly in his legs, so that he could hardly move, and through prayer he received healing. Grateful to the Monk Nikander, Isaiah built (1584) on the site of his exploits a monastery with the Church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. The hermits soon gathered at the new monastery, including the cleric Andrei, who deeply repented of his sin. Various miracles began to flow from the saint’s tomb. The Novgorod nobleman Jacob Muravyov, grieving over the loss of his children, turned with prayer to the Monk Nikander and a year later his son was born to him; he built a house church in honor of the Monk Nikander, with the blessing of St. Nikon. The relics of St. Nikander were witnessed by order of P. Joachim in 1686, and then it was established to celebrate the memory of the saint. 363 † Murder of St. Galaktion of Vologda By the will of the formidable king, the prince and boyar Ivan Ivanovich Belsky was deprived of his life. 364 – In order to save the life of his innocent seven-year-old son, Prince Gavrila, the relatives of the deceased prince secretly took the young prince to the city of Staritsa. – In adulthood, the young prince saw that he could only hide as far as possible from the formidable gaze of the king, and he retired to Vologda. Here, true to his position, he settled with a Chebotar, and the former prince learned the craft of shoemaking; this provided him with the means to live. Having entered into marriage, he was not consoled for long by his wife: she died, leaving his daughter in her arms. - Weighed down by the vicissitudes of earthly life, Gabriel begged himself from a resident of Vologda for a place on the Sodenka River, dug it in with a ditch, set up a cell for himself and began to struggle in fasting and prayer, without abandoning his craft. He divided what he received for his work into three parts: he dedicated one to God, gave the other to the poor, and ate the third. Growing from time to time in spiritual life, he finally determined himself to live a life most sad for the flesh; in order to deprive himself of the pleasure of seeing people close to his soul, he chained himself to the wall; God-fearing people served him food through the window; when sleep overcame him, he knelt down and, holding the chain, fell asleep in a light and intermittent sleep; His food was only dry bread and water. Secretly taking upon himself monasticism with the name Galaktion, he had nothing in his cell except one matting and the poor clothes that were on his shoulders. People began to come to the recluse for advice, and he accepted everyone equally, rich and poor; his word was full of power, comforting the sad and admonishing the forgetful. His prayer reached spiritual strength. – Once there was no rain on the Vologda side; The bishop, with a procession of the cross, came to the Church of the Holy Trinity, which stood near Galaktion’s cell, and sent to ask the recluse to pray together with everyone about the common disaster. 365 – The recluse, obedient to the word of the saint, contrary to his rule, left his cell and came to the church for public prayer. And the Lord sent abundant rain to the thirsty land. The time of the saint's death and a terrible time for Vologda were approaching. It was revealed to the ascetic of God about the coming disasters for Vologda. He left his cell in his chain, appeared in the zemstvo hut and announced: “sins have called the Poles and Lithuania against us; let them begin fasting and prayer and hasten to build the Church of the Mother of God of the Sign, and the Heavenly Queen, like Novgorod before, will deliver Vologda from the wrath of God.” But one of the eminent, Nechai Proskurov, said: “He is not worried about us, but about himself, - he wants to have a church near him; and what will happen to the church when you die, old man? The elder answered sternly: “anger is close to Vologda; As for me, God will be glorified in my place, and a monastery will be built.” Then he announced that the Trinity Church, built by Nechay, would be burned, and Nechay’s house would be desolate. Passing by the Church of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, he said loudly: “The wonderworker Demetrius prayed to the Savior for the city; but he was insulted by the fact that shops were set up around his church and a commercial noise was made; you will see that this church too will be destroyed.” – To what extent Vologda needed a sermon on repentance, and how the prophecy of the righteous over the unrepentant was fulfilled, is shown by the news of the modern saint. This is what the Vologda Archpastor Sylvester wrote to Moscow: “of the current 121 (1612) September 24 days from Monday to Tuesday, at the last hour of the night, the destroyers of our pure, Orthodox faith and the desecrators of the cross of Christ, the Poles and Lithuanians with the Cherkassy and Russian traitors came to Vologda in an unexpected raid, took the city, killed people, desecrated churches God, they burned the city and towns, - the governor Prince Ivan Odoevsky left, and the okolnichy and the governor Prince Grigory Dolgoruky and the clerk Istoma Kartashev were killed, they took me, a sinner, captive, held me for 4 nights and more than once sentenced me to execution, but the Lord had mercy on me - they barely released me alive. When the Poles and Lithuania came to Vologda, due to our sins, due to the negligence of the governors, there were no traveling guards, no watchmen on the towers, on the city wall and in the fortress; there were several people on guard at the gate, and even they did not hear how the Lithuanians entered the city, and the large gate was not locked. – On September 25, the enemies left Vologda. Voivode Grigory Obraztsov with his regiment arrived from Beloozero and occupied Vologda: but no one listens to him, they rob each other... It’s all from drunkenness: the voivodes drank Vologda.” 366 According to the life of the recluse, Nechay’s house and church were burned, as was the city church of St. Demetrius. “Reverend Galaktion the recluse was killed quickly by the Poles and Lithuania in the summer of 7121–1612 in the month of September on the 24th day.” 367 – The reverent ones buried the body of the ascetic of God in his cell. – From time to time, miraculous healings took place here. – Under Bishop Varlaam (1627–1645), a church was built over the relics of the monk in honor of the Sign of the Mother of God and a monastery was established; and under Archbishop Markel (1645–1663), a famous zealot for the correct writing of holy icons, 368 a cathedral church was built in honor of the Holy Spirit, and the skete of Galaktion began to be called the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. 369 Thus the prediction of the sufferer was fulfilled! “Life is in the path of righteousness” (Proverbs 12:28). “The way of a fool seems right to his eyes, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). “Today, if you hear His (Lord’s) voice; do not harden your hearts” (Ps. 94:8). Celebration of the Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God The Mirozh miraculous icon of the Sign of the Mother of God appeared in 1198 and resides in the Spasomirozh Monastery, founded near Pskov, at the mouth of the Mirozh River. On the icon, the Mother of God is depicted in full height, standing. The celebration of this icon, as mentioned in the notes of the monastery, was established in memory of the deliverance of Pskov from the pestilence, in 1567, under Tsar John Vasilyevich, with the blessing of Archbishop Pimen of Novgorod and Pskov. Since then, a special church service has been compiled in honor of the Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God, which was published in 1666 in Moscow, in the September monthly Menaion. According to this service, to this day the celebration takes place annually on the 24th day of September. The first life, known even during the time of Tertullian, was written by one presbyter, but attributed to him by Ap. Pavel. The second is from an unknown author who knew the first legend; both are largely confirmed by the testimony of the holy fathers (see “Month. East” by Archim. Sergius, vol. II, part 2, o. 304). On the site where this incident occurred, a church was built dedicated to the name of St. Thecla, which existed back in the 5th century, according to the testimony of Bishop Basil of Seleucia, a describer of her life. St. also mentions this circumstance, as if referring to it. John of Damascus, when he certifies that prayers and alms for those who have fallen asleep in the faith bring them the greatest benefit. - “Why consider this difficult? - he reasons: - Didn’t the first martyr Thekla save Falconilli after death? But perhaps they will say that she was worthy of the same effect of her prayers as the first martyr, whose prayer should have been heard? To this I will answer: it is true that she was the first martyr. But let them also pay attention to who she prayed for? For a pagan, an idolater, who did not know the Christian faith at all... Here the first prays for the first to the one and same Lord. However, St. John of Damascus, although he refers to the above recollection of Falconilla, but considers this manifestation of Divine will, which goes beyond the boundaries of the revealed faith, to be exceptional, because another time, arguing on a similar occasion, he mentions that “although God granted even Trojan, as the whole East and West testifies, forgiveness of sins through the prayers of St. Gregory the Dvoeslov, however, said at the same time to the holy prayer book: but you do not henceforth bring Me prayers for the wicked” (St. John. Dame. Homily about the deceased in the faith. Christ. Read., part 26, pp. 323–324, demolished. Coll. sheet. 28. Moscow, 1804). About the miracles of St. Thekla, see “The Tale of the Christian Martyrs,” pp. 476–529. Kazan, 1865. Zap. geogr. total XIII, 147. Another image of him is in Gračanica. Ibid. 236. On coins: first coin. Stefan gives the king a long cross with two bars at the upper end, with the words on the side: those with a star at the lower end. Glasnik 111, 199–201. In Serblyak the image is not entirely similar to the ancient ones. Khrizovul Hilandar in Grigorovich, p. 40. Recording at the Church of St. Stefan, in the Aleksinets district: “the church was erected in the days of the blessed Prince Stefan in l. 6707 (1199). Az Knez Stefan with his brother Vlokm applied to the rizi Morov with seven old men... 53 grapes at Lipovitsa.” Glasnik 1. 184. Innocentii epist. lib. 2, er. 176. 178. Letter from Vulcan to the Pope, January 2. 1199 in monum. Slavorum r. 7. Romae 1863. In 1202, the pope congratulated the Hungarian king on the conquest of Serbia and mentioned that the Hungarian king had transferred his rights to Serbia to Vulcan. Assemani calend. V, 26. The Pope wrote to the Hungarian King in 1204: “We must not forget that the noble Stephen, megalojupan of Serbia, through envoys, humbly asked us that your legate, appearing in Serbia, bring it into obedience to the Roman Church (crafty double-think!) and give the kingdom his crown. The council and I deigned to accept the request and entrusted the embassy to your honorable brother, the Albanian bishop (i.e. in exteris). But having learned that this was unpleasant for your lordship, for your love, not without embarrassment, they postponed their intention.” Raynald 1, 190. Only those who do not know the language of the then diplomacy of papism, which deliberately interfered with political politeness and religious ones, can take the pope’s word that Stephen asked to bring Serbia into religious “obedience to the Roman Church.” If the pope had been given a promise of papism by Stephen, he would not have been so courteous before the Hungarian king, he would have sent the crown to Stephen and, under threat of anathema, would have forbidden the Hungarian to be called the king of Serbia. The Hungarian king definitely promised the pope to bring Serbia into obedience to the pope (letter from Chernigovets De Spiritu s.r. 957); on the one hand, I saw that the Serbian people were repeating the anathema to the pope, on the other hand, Andrei’s quarrel with his brother Mirk and the Venetians forced Andrei to worry about himself, and not about the pope. For these reasons, the pope, who had gathered in hopes of the King of Hungary to lay an imperious hand on Serbia, was forced to give up his dreams. Stephen in the life of his father, in Safarik, p. 19. St. Sava in the Life of Nemanja, by Safarik, page 13. Dometian's Life of St. Savva. The fable of the Greek Nikita about Stefan’s attitude towards the Greek woman Evdokia, who used Vulk as an instrument of her anger, is analyzed by Raich 11, 361. 362. The book of Gospel readings, written under Volk, the son of the autocratic Stefan Nemanja, the great zhupan of Zeta and Pomeranian (Prokhorov ancient, tetr. II, p. 150–152), written no later than 1208. Luckari r. 30. Orbivi in ​​Glasnik XII, 404. 405. 417. 418. Life of St. Stefan Lazarevich: “Valkan - Grand Duke, gave birth to a son, Zhupan Dmitry, in the monastic rank David was named and light, creating a church by the Lima River in the place of Brodarevo.” Blazh. David was buried next to his father, at the relics of St. Nemanja, in Studenica. Letop. in Glasnik U.48. X. 264. Image of St. David by Grigorovich, p. 151. 65. 66. Stefan in 1217 was called: “great king, viceroy of the whole Srbsk land and Dioclia and Dalmatia and Travunie and Khlmsk land.” Companions No. 51. Raich II, 355. Stefan's life of Nemanja, in Safarik, pp. 21. 22. This is what the knights of the West did when they took Constantinople: “the holy images were shamelessly trampled. Oh woe! the relics of the holy martyrs were thrown into places of all abomination... The divine body and blood of Christ were spilled and scattered across the earth. Some of them broke precious cups, hid their decorations in their bosoms, and drank from them as if from glasses... When they needed to take sacred vessels out of the church - objects of extraordinary art and extreme rarity, silver and gold, with which the pulpits, pulpits, and gates were lined, they brought mules and horses with saddles into the porches... Some woman, sitting on the patriarchal throne, sang indecent songs and jumped around breaking... Could those who did not spare God Himself spare the wives, daughters and virgins dedicated to God?... Anyone who contradicted them in any way or refused was threatened with a knife.”... Nikita Choliat in history, apt. 1, ch. 6. See Stasyulevich average. century III, 608. 609. The Western pilgrim calls the Vardar fluvius garah, a predatory river, since its flow is stormy, aqvae cursu rapido. (Wilhelmus Tyrius ap. Murator. Italie. 2.287). Nicephorus Bryennius: “The Vardar flows from the mountains of Mysia and, passing through Scupi, runs between Strumnitsa and Stipium, cutting through the mountains” (Hist. 4, 18). Timarion about Vardar: “this is the most stormy river of the rivers of Macedonia; begins in the Bulgarian mountains." The scholiast on the history of Kantakouzenos, 2, 25 wrote: “the river Axios, now called Varder or better Bystritsa.” Thilo de Thessalonica r. 293. 288. Dometian's Life of St. Savva; Stefan in the Life of Nemanja, p. 22. 23. Nikon. l. 2, 281. A special legend about Stresa-Croesus, with an admixture of fiction, is in Glasnik VIII, 144–146. Akropolitan r. 21. Ed. Safarik in monuments. Andr. Dandolo in Chron, ad an. 1216. Assemani Calend. VI, 43. In 1220, Stefan, in a letter to D. Honorius, sent with Bishop Methodius, calls himself rex coronatus, next. then he already wore a royal crown. He asked the Pope: benedictio et confirmatio Dei et vestrae sit, si placet, super coronam. It is clear that Methodius did not go to the pope for the crown, but with polite gratitude for the crown. Raynaldus ad an. 1220, η. 37. Ed. Avramovic in Serbian monuments, Belgrade, 1840 No. 51. About the time of Majkov, pp. 19. 20. 219. The Benednktinsky monastery on Mljet existed since 1155. Farlati Illyria VI, 79. See Orthodox Interlocutor, Relation of the Popes to the Bulgarian Church, 1865, pp. 86–119. Chronicle (in Safarik's monuments, p. 69); “The great Zhupava crowns his brother with the light of all.” Dometian. Akathist of Serblyak: “Rejoice, glorious charms to the winner... Rejoice, destroyer of the evil machinations of other faiths.” Sl. Jan. 12, pr. 155. Dometian's Life of St. Savva. Micloschich monumenta Serbica, Uiennae 1858. The Žić charter was published before (by Safarik – Lesecörner, Pest 1833), but not in its exact form. About her in the news. acad. I, 346. VII, 206. 207. In the Bavarian Greek manuscript cod. 45 questions from Stephen King of Serbia and answers from Dimitri Khomatin, numbering 13. “Ktitor of this holy place,” says the inscription in the Sopochansky mov. First crowned in the image. Zap. geogr. total XIII, 147. Certificates to the monasteries: Studenichse, Miletus and Žiča in Miklosic: monumenta Serbica. Viennae 1858. Popova travel to Montenegro 72. 73. St. Petersburg. 1847. According to the chronicle, St. Savva goes on his first trip to the east “through Herzogovina, preaching to people the path of salvation, even to Kotor.” Glasnik V, 40. More Nemanja “Who left him, having established the unity, and took up his courtyard in it, like him to this day,” says the first-crowned. Tsar Dushan in 1351, confirming the privileges given to the Kotorians to his ancestors, protected with security “the monastery of St. George with all its metohios.” – Miclosch. monum. Serb. No. 130. Rajic II, 366. 367 said that St. Savva mourned the unexpected death of his brother because Stefan had not appointed a successor to the throne. But the first-crowned, even in the Zhich charter, called Rodoslav “the firstborn, by the grace of God his governor.” Dometian's Life of St. Savva. According to the chronicle: “in l. 6722 (.1224) the first-crowned king Stefan died.” Glasnik I, 165. Dometian. The body of Saint Stephen-Simeon was first laid in Studenica, near the relics of his father. King Urosh 3 placed the relics in Sopocany. After the death of Stefan Lazarevich, during the invasion of the Turks, they were hidden in the ground. In 1629, after the appearance of St. king were open and then, sharing the fate of their poor people, moved from one place to another, until in 1839 they returned to Studenica. Synaxarion of Serblyak l. 12. 13. Glasnik V, 42–44. Zap. geogr. total XIII, 149. Life of St. Stefan Lazarevich: “The first-crowned Stefan gave birth to 4 sons: Rodoslav, Vladislav, Stefan, Predslav; Stefan was named Urosh after his great-grandfather and this snoring thief.” The latter was also called Dragoslav (Letop. in Glasnik I, 165. Raich II, 387). The Serbian octoich of Uvarov, written under the rule of Stefan Urosh (Izv. Academician I, 248. 249), should be dated back to 1237–1270. Under the same Urosh, the Nomocanon with complete rules and interpretations was translated in 1252 (Grigorovich 182. 183), which then moved to Russia. Chronicle about Urosha. in Glasnik V, 49, 50. Letop. in the archives of the Yugoslavs. III, 1854, p. 11. Dometian. Abramovich monuments No. 2. 3. Dometian; letop. in Glasnik V, 45. Abramovich monuments No. 8. About Vladimir Count of Omysh Appendices Noticie Storico-critice sulla antichita dei Ragusci. T. 1, 280. In Glasnik VII, 328 they indicate the church of St. Stephen in the White Field, built by cor. Vladislav. Sl. zap. geogr. total XIII, 314. In 1242 cor. Vladislav gave land to the monastery of St. Nicholas Vraninsky and also the Mother of God Monastery in Bystritsa (Miclosch. monum. No. 32.34). Rodoslav in Rajic II, 378–386. Reasons for the idea that Vladislav was alive during cor. Urosh 1, given by Maykov (pp. 223–225) is not very solid. According to the chronicle, “Vladislav, a husband in the fortress, dies without leaving sons, but two daughters.” Glasnik V, 48. Certificates of 1235-1239 from Safarik in memory. 2, 12–14. Chronicle 2, 51: “Live godly and pious.” The latest charter of Vladislav Vraninsky is 6750 (1242), in Miklosic No. 32. The expulsion of Rodoslav from Serbia must be dated back to January 1234, and February. On the 4th 1234 he wrote a protest against his brother in Ragusa. So Vladislav ruled Serbia 1234–1242, eight years. Daniel counts 7 years because until Rodoslav became a monk, he was still called a king. Glasnik III, 203–206. In the letters, Vladislav was written as follows: “Stephen Vladislav, with the help of God, stole all the Russian lands and Diokleitia and Dalmatia and Travunie and Zahlmie.” - Avramovich memorial. No. 7. Ts. Alexey Mikh. with a charter in 1653, he allowed the Mileshev monastery to send 4 monks to Russia to collect alms after 4 years. Certificate in the north archive for 1823, part 5, page 25. Zap. geogr. total XIII, 314. Glasnik X, 352. On the wall of the Rila Church there is an image of “St. Vladislav the King of Serbia,” Grigorovich, p. 151. Gr. Tolstoy of Pskov antiquity, pp. 66. 67. M. 1861. East. Hier. V, 67. Service to the Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God in hand. XVI century in the Rumyantsev Museum No. 397. RKP. life of the Rev. Nikandra, described by an unknown person, in the Synod. RKP. 17. No. 620. With additions it was printed in St. Petersburg. 1805, 1807 Collection years. III, 263. IV, 319. U, 52–55. East. Hier. V, 183. Jerome. Joseph about religious processions in Pskov, pp. 38–40. St. Petersburg 1858 RKP. life of the Rev. Galaktion, written in 1857, in Tolstoy 1. No. 171, in Tsarsky No. 134. In the RKP. life, the bishop who invited the monk to common prayer is once called Cyril, and another time Cornelius. – But we don’t see either Cyril or Cornelius in the lists of Vologda bishops contemporary with Galaktion. This was, without a doubt, Blessed Bishop Anthony, who from Archimandrite Boldinsky entered the Vologda See in 1586 and died on October 28. 1588 (source Jer. 1, 350–352). According to the RCP. to the saints he is among the saints and with the name of a wonderworker; his body rests in the cathedral, and his memory is honored in Vologda, performing funeral services over him. Mixed. about the monastery 80. Printed report in Shchekatov’s dictionary 1, 988. 989. Sl. new chronicler, p. 157. M. 1853 Complaint to Tsar Alexy: “Mr. Reverend showed good zeal for Bose. Markell, Archbishop of Vologda in his episcopacy, - in the end he ordered bad masters not to paint icons, which would cause great humiliation... he anathematized only those who would dare to paint St. The image of Christ or the Mother of God." Dictionary of Saints 72. Service of St. Galaktion was written ca. 1700 by Ivan Slobodsky, reader and singer of the Vologda archpastor. In the preface, he writes that in 1697, Archbishop Gabriel examined the relics of St. Galaktion and found them incorrupt. Izv. acad. VI, 96. According to the ancient inventory of Vologda. Bishop's House "Certificate of Andreyan Patr. about the testimony of Rev. Galaktion and Gerasim of Vologda were written in 7199 (1691).”