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Saint Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria One of the phenomena that most characterized the 4th century AD was the swaying of the Church of Christ by various heresies. As soon as she calmed down after the horrors of persecution inflicted by the pagan emperors, as soon as she strengthened herself under the sympathetic influence of the emperor, whom she calls “Equal to the Apostles,” dangers of a different kind began to arise, which could threaten her with complete destruction, if it had not been destined from time immemorial that “the gates of hell will not prevail against her.” But where danger abounded, wonderful grace also abounded, and a mighty resistance to the forces of hell was erected in the form of the majestic pillars that protected St. The Church and those who fenced it... One of the most powerful fighters against one of the greatest evils - in the form of the Arian heresy - was St. Athanasius, Archbishop of the Alexandrian Church. Even as a youth, he stood out from his environment for his remarkable talents and passionate curiosity with which he studied St. Scripture. At the same time, he had the opportunity to receive an excellent comprehensive education in Alexandria, rich in resources for this, his birthplace. Thus, Divine Providence was pleased to provide him with all the tools for that glorious struggle that he had to wage during most of his 80-year life. His first step on this path was a rapprochement with Bishop Alexander, who shrewdly saw in the young man a future famous church figure, entrusted him with all his affairs, entrusted him with written relations on church affairs and ordained him to the rank of deacon in the 23rd year of his life (319). In this rank, Athanasius was present along with Bishop Alexander at the Nicaea Ecumenical Council and took an energetic and influential part in disputes with Arius, which aroused against himself the irreconcilable enmity of the Arians, who have since never ceased to inexorably persecute him in every possible way. In 326 St. Alexander appointed him to succeed his see, which was confirmed by the general voice of the flock and bishops, although against the will of Athanasius himself. Athanasius spent the first years of his episcopate quite calmly in the peaceful management of the affairs of the Church, but already in 331 the Arians, through intrigues at the court of Constantine, managed to achieve the return from exile of Arius and all the bishops who were like-minded with him; Athanasius demanded that Arius be accepted into communion with the Church, but Athanasius firmly refused to accept into the Church a person who rejected the Divinity of Christ. “Heretics,” he explained to the emperor, “arming themselves against Christ have nothing in common with the true children of the Church of Christ.” Such opposition from the universally respected saint embittered the Arians, and with all sorts of slander against him they achieved for the first time that the emperor, seeing strong irritation against Athanasius and in order to protect him from enemies who threatened his life, ordered him to go to Gaul, to the mountains. Trier, but nevertheless did not give in to the persistent desire of the Arians to put someone in the place of Athanasius in Alexandria. And if Constantine did not return him to Alexandria, then, as his son Constance testifies, it was only because he did not have time to do this during his lifetime, but bequeathed to his children to fulfill this desire of his. The next year after the death of Constantine, his sons returned Athanasius and all the bishops imprisoned and exiled due to the machinations of the Arians to their sees. The saint was met with hostility by the Arians, who were now supported by the eastern emperor Constantius himself, who adhered to their teachings. They soon reached their destination in place of Athanasius, their accomplice Gregory, who arrived in Alexandria, accompanied by a strong detachment of troops. Robbery and murder immediately began in the city, and Athanasius barely managed to save his life by hastily fleeing Alexandria. He went to Rome and in his “Message to the Bishops of All Churches” depicted all the horrors committed in his eyes by the Arians, and begged them to help the Church of Alexandria. Living in Rome, he attracted the attention of the entire Christian society with his strict, impeccable life; through him it became acquainted with the exploits of eastern hermits, about whom the West had little idea; His word, full of rich content, had a great influence on the improvement of society in moral life. Athanasius aroused the full sympathy of the Roman Bishop Julius and the Western Emperor Constance, who demanded from his brother Constantius to draw up a council to consider the case of Athanasiev and other bishops-confessors. The dishonest behavior of the Arians, revealed at the Council of Sardia (347), somewhat shook the confidence of the frivolous Constantius in them, and in 348, partly also out of fear of angering his brother Constance, and after the death of the Arian bishop Gregory, he allowed Athanasius to return to Alexandria. Some rest came for the saint and he used it to heal the wounds inflicted on the Church by the Arians. He diligently explained the true teaching to his flock, admonished those who had fallen into error, and strengthened them in their devotion to the one true Church. And the flock responded joyfully to the work of their shepherd for her! Everyone seemed to perk up in spirit and began to show the feelings aroused in them by the word of Athanasius - intensified zeal for prayer and for every good deed. Each house then seemed to depict a church based on the Christian mood and Christian activity of those who lived in it. At the same time, Athanasius fought with written acts and with convincing, irrefutable eloquence defended the truth of Christian teaching against the lies of Arius. “Having assumed,” he wrote, “that the Son did not exist from eternity, we must admit that the Son came from someone outside of God and the world created by God through the Word was created by a Creator existing outside of God; if the Son is not eternal, then there was a time when there was no truth in God, since the Son is truth.” “The divinity of the Son is the same as that which belongs to the Father, and therefore it is inseparable: “I and the Father are one. “When you do not believe Me, believe My works, so that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him” (John 10:31,38). The Father and the Son are one being, but not in the sense that one was divided into two parts, which apart from this in themselves would not mean anything, nor in the fact that this one bore two names, so that one and the same God would sometimes be the Father, and sometimes the Son of Himself. Although the Father and the Son are two persons, because the Father is the Father, and not the Son, and the Son is the Son, and not the Father, yet their essence is one.” This is the unity of St. Athanasius explains this way: “Radiance is light that does not appear after the sun, it is not any other light, only borrowing brilliance from the sun, but it is the entire product of the sun; such a product is necessarily one light with the sun, and no one will say that it is two lights.” To the Arians’ objection that “the Son and the Father are one, just as it is said about us: “Holy Father! keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one like We. May they all be one: just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us” (John 17:11,21), St. Athanasius answered: “Such thoughts about oneself mean reckless pride, because the unity that is exhibited between the Father and the Son is not assimilated in Scripture even to the angels and is given to us only as an example, never, however, unattainable for us, just as it is commanded: be ye perfect, even as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” Athanasius's undaunted and active struggle against the Arians brought their anger to the extreme, and after the death of Emperor Constans, who supported Athanasius, they again subordinated Constantius to their influence, who ordered Athanasius to be dethroned by force. Blood flowed again in Alexandria; the place of the great saint was occupied by the half-pagan George and St. Athanasius, miraculously saved from persecution, withdrew into the Egyptian desert. But even in the desert, hidden in one or another cell of the hermits who revered him, he followed events in the world and did not weaken in his written struggle against the false teachings of Ariev. Meanwhile, his enemies were looking for him; his head was valued, but the Lord did not allow the pillar of His Church to be crushed. Under Julian, who returned all Orthodox and heretical bishops from imprisonment and exile - in view of the fact that the strife between them would contribute to the weakening of Christianity itself - Athanasius also returned to Alexandria. But he penetrated into the crafty goals of the apostate and sought to counteract them with his influence. The power of influence of the shepherd, which conquered the hearts of even the pagans, did not escape Julian, and he ordered the prefect to “drive him wherever possible”... “Don’t be embarrassed, children,” he said perspicaciously about Julian, again moving away from Alexandria, “this is just a cloud: it will soon disappear” ... After the subsequent death of Julian in the war with the Persians, St. Athanasius was again summoned to Alexandria by a respectful letter from Jovinian, who had ascended the imperial throne. But the Church did not rest for long under his leadership. In 364 Valens ascended the throne; The dominion of the Arians resumed and the time of the most terrible disasters for the Church came. In 367, there followed again the expulsion and deprivation of chairs of all Orthodox bishops. Athanasius, foreseeing the struggle of his flock to keep him in the see and wanting to prevent unrest in the city, arbitrarily withdrew from Alexandria, but returned there again as a result of Valens’ order to the prefect, which struck everyone with surprise: “leave Athanasius alone.” Thus, the last years of the 70-year-old elder, who had already experienced five persecutions, were spent in Alexandria, but still in constant struggle against various heresies that shook the Church, and in tireless efforts to establish peace and harmony in the shaken Church. In 373, this unshakable and mighty defender of Orthodoxy rested from his earthly deeds, remaining until the end of his 80th year of life a faithful and selfless servant and a pillar of his beloved Church of Christ with all his soul. Many works remained after St. Athanasius, - and there would not be so many deviations from Orthodoxy - in the form of various sects, more and more, and in our time in particular, spreading seekers of religious truth outside of Revelation, if they studied with all spiritual attention the inspired writings of this and similar ecumenical teachers and fathers of the Church. The suffering of St. martyrs: Esper, Zoe, Cyriacus and Theodulus Christian family: Esper and Zoe and their children Cyriacus and Theodulus, originally from Phrygia, were sold into slavery to a rich Roman named Catulus, a pagan. For several years, Esper and Zoe diligently served their masters, remembering and sacredly observing the words of the Apostle: “Servants, be obedient in everything to your masters according to the flesh, not only serving them in appearance as people-pleasers, but in simplicity of heart, with the fear of God; and whatever you do, do it from the heart, and as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that in reward from the Lord you will receive an inheritance, for you serve the Lord Jesus Christ!” ( Col. 3:21–24 ). In the same spirit of humble submission to their fate, these God-loving people raised their children Cyriacus and Theodulus. Meanwhile, as they grew older, the children began to feel burdened by the fact that they had to live with pagans and hide their faith from them. “Let’s leave the wicked,” they said to their mother, “after all, you yourself taught us the Holy Scripture, which says to move away from the wicked... and why do we hide our faith from them? Isn't it better to boldly tell our master that we are Christians? If he kills us, then we know that we have eternal life with Christ God. What should we be afraid of? And despite the fact that Zoya, fearing that her children were still weak for the confessional feat, kept them in their holy zeal, Cyriacus and Theodulus, having once met with their master, declared to him that they were Christians... - “Our souls belong to the Lord,” they told him, “you have no power over us, but only over our bodies”... These words seemed crazy to one who had never heard of the power of the Lord of Heaven - and Catulus set out to test, at the opportunity, what kind of people his slaves were and in what faith their children were raised. Are they really among the hated Christians who reject the gods? Soon the opportunity arose to explain the master’s bewilderment regarding his slaves. Catulus had a son. This joyful event was supposed to be celebrated, according to pagan custom, with a solemn sacrifice to the gods. The servants also took part in the home feast, eating from the idols’ sacrifices; In this way, the slaves, hitherto unknown to Christians, were offered meat and wine from the sacrifice. But how could they touch this food, defiled by a ritual in honor of the pagan gods? - Lord God! be with us! - Zoya said quietly, - besides You, we don’t know any other God. Confirm us in this confession! - and with these words she poured out the wine and threw the meat on the ground, and knowing what awaited her for this act, with sadness, but at the same time with firmness, she turned to her husband and children: - Let us not be afraid of the wrath of Catulus and the torment to which he will betray us... Let us endure them courageously and let us all unite in the kingdom of Christ our God! - she told them. It didn’t take long for her expectations to be fulfilled. “Who were you hoping for that you dared to insult a shrine like that?” - the master asked his slaves with anger, ordering them to be brought to him as soon as he learned about Zoe’s act. – Our hope is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God! - Christians answered firmly. “You will see how He will save your sons when I command that they be tortured!” - said the pagan and ordered the young men to be tortured. - Be courageous! be patient! - their mother strengthened them, firmly watching how the executioners whittled the naked bodies of her children with a sharp iron. “We don’t suffer... Let them invent more sensitive tortures...” the young men said in their holy excitement. The fierce blows and burning in fire of the entire Christian family was a response to these words on the part of the hardened pagan, and - with four new victims - the faith of Christ was crowned with victories. The suffering of the martyrs took place in Attalia Pamphylia during the reign of Hadrian (117–138). † Repose of the Righteous Prince Boris-Mikhail of Bulgaria The reign of Prince Boris, son of Zvinich-Presiam, third grandson of Gruboshev 39, was overshadowed by misfortunes as long as he remained a pagan. Whatever he did, he failed. He wanted (843 years) to fight the Greeks, but had to continue the truce. He decided to take revenge (850) on the Serbs for the failures of his father Zvinich, but the campaign ended in the defeat of Boris, and he asked for peace. The campaign against the Croats was also unsuccessful. An attempt to act in alliance with the Pannonian Slavs against the Franks (in 853) ended in the defeat of Boris. In 860, Bulgaria was struck by a terrible famine, followed by pestilence, the people died, and there was no help from anywhere. To make matters worse, the Greeks began to threaten war 40 . So many failures and troubles will make even the most serious person think twice. Boris, although a pagan, but unspoiled, saw the wrath of God over Bulgaria. Why this anger? He had to remember the words of his uncle, the martyr Boyan, that Christian truth would triumph over pagan lies 41 . His sister also reminded him of all this. She, taken captive at a tender age, was raised at the Greek court according to the principles of Christianity. Under the terms of the peace with Greece in 852, she was released to Bulgaria, and Boris freed the famous captive, the teacher Kufar, who also told Boris about the emptiness of paganism. And many tens of thousands were already Christians among the Slavic subjects of Boris!.. There was someone to learn Christianity from. The Bulgarian princely court, its ministers and leaders, and the Slavs who crossed with the prince from the right bank of the Danube stood for the paganism of Bulgaria: but what does paganism bring to Bulgaria? It was time to end the struggle with Christianity, whose truths are so bright, so pure, so gratifying to the spirit. So Boris decided to accept the Christian faith. He entered into communication with the Greek Emperor about his desire to unite with Christ and concluded peace with Greece, beneficial for Bulgaria. Zagorje (the southern slope of the Balans), a country they needed for settlement and was very strategically advantageous, was ceded to the Bulgarians forever. “A bishop was sent to the Bulgarians, who baptized Boris, who took the name of Emperor Michael” 42. The intelligent Patriarch Photius, having taken an active part in the education of the Bolgars, wrote a letter to Prince Boris. The saint outlined to the prince not only the principles of faith and Christian life, but also the rules on how to govern the people. “Having begun with zeal for preaching the word of God,” wrote Photius, do not end with negligence, but try to ensure that the end corresponds to the beginning and the life of faith. Build churches in the name of God and in honor of the saints according to church regulations; accustom the people to gather in them, so that, in a general meeting, propitiating the Divine and bringing common praise to Him, everyone will be established in one mind and acquire salvation and benefit” 43. Following the example of Prince Boris, some of those close to him were baptized. But I still had to fight with the majority. Fanatics of paganism, including powerful nobles, barely learned about the change of faith by the prince, when they raised excitement for the old faith; whole ten regions were raised by the boyars against Boris; it got to the point that in Predslav they wanted to kill Boris and place a pagan on the throne. Michael, having protected his chest with the holy cross, with 48 courtiers and 7 clergymen went out to the rebellious crowd, and it scattered in confusion. The next day, 50 boyars who led the riot were captured and put to death. The people, left without instigators of rebellion, submitted to Michael and began to be baptized little by little 44 . This is how one Bulgarian, a contemporary of the events, talks about it. “I,” he said, “am from the newly enlightened Bulgarian people, whom God enlightened in these times with His chosen one Boris, in the baptism of Michael. By the power of Christ and the sign of the cross he defeated the numb, rebellious Bulgarian people. God brought St. Joseph, archbishop, teacher and mentor, who built churches and monasteries, appointed bishops, priests, abbots to teach the people” 45. Unfortunately, the pope's missionaries disturbed the peace of the young Bulgarian Church and temporarily stopped the progress of the faith in Bulgaria. The “Roman priest Paul” and his comrades aroused in Prince Boris, who was still little acquainted with the faith, many doubts about the Eastern Church and brilliantly presented the happiness that was ready for Boris, submissive to the pope 46. The prince, on the one hand hoping to find in the ruler of the West protection against the Germans who were pressing Bulgaria 47, on the other hand, wanting to see independent church rule in Bulgaria, in 866 he turned to Pope Nicholas with a request to send capable teachers and establish a patriarchate in Bulgaria. Pope Nicholas was glad that an entire people, moreover, neighboring Constantinople, which he hated, was being given into his hands 48 . He immediately (866) sent two of his bishops to Boris with books and an extensive message 49. Bishops Paul and Formosus soon brought matters to the point that married Eastern priests were declared unclean and removed from their places, they began to perform Confirmation on those baptized another time, the Symbol with the addition of Filioque was read in churches, and they were allowed to eat milk and eggs during Lent 50 . Boris, having not received the patriarchate for Bulgaria, asked the pope to at least consecrate Formosus, whom he liked, as an archbishop. But the pope removed Formosa from Bulgaria 51. Meanwhile, Patriarch Photius informed the patriarchs in a district letter about the pope’s arrogant insolence against faith and decorum, which was taking place in Bulgaria. Boris saw his mistake and hastened to correct it. He again allowed the eastern preachers to continue the work of their calling, already because the Slavs, who had been baptized long ago, did not want to know the pope and demanded eastern priests for themselves. In order to untie himself once and for all from the pope, without danger to his country, he sent in 869 to Constantinople to propose to the council the pope's claims to Bulgaria. In the west they understood at the same time that the prince, by sending ambassadors to the east, was saying goodbye to the pope 52. The ambassador of Prince Michael told the council: “We want to know from the representatives of the great patriarchs which Church we belong to?” The Pope's ambassadors protested the question. Representatives of the Eastern patriarchs say: “When you occupied the country that you now own, to whom was it subordinated and what priests did it have?” The ambassador of the Bulgarian prince replied: “We got it from the Greeks with a sword and found Greek priests in it.” The Council decided: “We decree that the Bulgarian land, which in ancient times was under the rule of the Greeks and had Greek priests, torn away from the holy Church of Constantinople by paganism, should now be returned to it through Christianity.” Having received the decision of the council, the prince announced the decision to the biskup, so that he and the princes would leave Bulgaria 53. After that, despite neither the caresses nor the threats of the pope, Boris no longer entered into any relations with power-hungry Romanism 54. The baptism of the people, stopped by the violence of the pope, continued calmly with the correct activity of eastern preachers. Thus, the same year 869, in which the council condemned the pope’s lust for power, was the time of the final conversion of the Bulgarian country to the holy, pure faith 55. Blessed Boris lovingly gave funds for the restoration of Christian churches destroyed by paganism, and for the construction of new ones. He did everything he could for the eternal needs of his people and for the glory of God. When news reached him about the miracles of the martyrs, whose relics were hidden during the unrest of paganism in Strumnitsa, he ordered the construction of a temple in the Bregalnitsa diocese and the relics of the saints transferred there. The relics were transferred with triumph and, according to the faith of the new Christians, many miracles were performed for the glory of the name of Christ 56 . Both Orthodoxy and enlightenment flourished even more in Bulgaria when the disciples of St. Methodius, expelled from Moravia by the greedy Germans. Mikhail received them with the liveliest joy and thanked the Lord for sending him the people so needed for Bulgaria. They lived for quite some time at his court and in the houses of the Bulgarian nobles, like dear teachers. Boris talked to them lovingly. The elderly sovereign studied under their leadership “ancient stories and lives of saints”, listened to the instructions of St. from their lips. Scriptures in the native Slavic language. The noble prince provided the Slavic preachers with generous funds to maintain schools for teaching children the law of God in the Slavic language and for training useful servants of the church of God; opened monasteries and cathedras for them, especially where Christianity was still weak 57 . Through his zeal, seven cathedral churches with holy pulpits were established 58. At the request of Boris, another Archbishop Agathon 59 was ordained for western Bulgaria, and the place of Blessed Joseph was subsequently taken by Archbishop Theophylact 60. Aged Boris was tired of ruling. He had long been an ascetic, but a secret one. Appearing before the people in princely clothes, he hid at night in the church and in solitude: covered with simple clothes, stretched out on the ground, he spent the nights in prayer 61. After a serious illness, he handed over the reign to his eldest son Vladimir, and he himself retired to a monastery for feats of fasting and prayer. To the sorrow of the father, the son turned out to be unlike his parent: he lived dissolutely and, even worse, began to seduce the people from the Christian path. The elder endured for four years. Finally, inspired by jealousy, he took off his monastic clothes, dressed himself in the dress of a warrior prince, with a few faithful to him, chased his son, captured him and, in order to take away his opportunity to harm Christianity, blinded him; then he transferred power to his youngest son Simeon, and he himself, faithful to his vow, again retired to the monastery 62. Even in solitude, he cared about the spread of Christian education and encouraged those capable of translating useful books from Greek into Slavic. So one of them says about himself: “a respectable man, a dux (prince), insisted on me when I came to visit him, ordering and begging him to translate the explanations of the Gospels; he reminded me: for a priest there is no other occupation than instruction; if he has accepted this service, let him perform it” 63. Contemporary of the book. Simeon wrote: “in this summer of 6415 ind. 14 (906) 64 died the servant of God, the father of this prince (Simeon), living in good faith, in the good confession of our Lord Jesus Christ, great and honest and faithful, our lord, Prince Bolgar, named Boris, his Christian name is Michael, month. May at 2 a.m. on Saturday evening. This same Boris baptized the Bulgarians in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen” 65. The Bulgarian Church reverently honors among its saints the enlightener of Bulgaria, its blessed prince Boris Michael 66 . Saint Athanasius Patelarius, Patriarch of Constantinople Saint Athanasius Patelarius, Patriarch of Constantinople, was already the second worker of the ecumenical throne of new Rome, who sought help from the beneficent Russian Church, in the midst of the disasters that beset his see. But the first of them, Jeremiah, having established the patriarchate in Rus', was not deprived of his see when he wandered within our borders, although he was once subject to temporary deposition; Athanasius, more experienced in sorrow, three times ascended to the heights and descended from the heights of the ecumenical throne and already, with only the loud title of patriarch, like a wanderer, visited the hospitable Russian state. Within Little Russia, which was his former flock, for at that time it still depended on the ecumenical high priests, he laid his laboring bones in the Lubenskaya monastery, where they became famous for their incorruption. Sitting even after death in his rich shrine, as if in a patriarchal cathedra, he appears to reverent eyes as if he had just fallen into a deep sleep. His head, overshadowed by the saint's miter, is bowed on his right shoulder, and his right hand is stretched out on his knees to kiss the believers, and in his left hand he holds his pastoral staff, as if he were still ruling the universal flock. So they buried him according to the rank and custom of the patriarch, and so he was found a few years later, awake and after a blessed death. The island of Candia on the Mediterranean Sea, ancient Crete, was the birthplace of Blessed Athanasius. He came from pious and noble parents who were able to give their son a high education, secular and spiritual. It is not known where the young ascetic was brought up, but Candia, which was then under the dominion of the Venetians, flourished in trade and could have had ample funds for the education of its sons; Evidence of this can be found in Saint Athanasius, whom his contemporaries called a philosopher, philologist, poet and excellent preacher, and the great Lucaris Cyril, also a Cretan, who served as patriarch of the See of Alexandria for fifteen years and for the same amount of time in the Ecumenical See, during the most difficult era for the Greek Church, then overwhelmed by the machinations of the Jesuits, against whom Cyril courageously fought. He summoned from Candia to Constantinople, to preach the word of God, Patelarius, whom he knew, who was famous for his eloquence and had already achieved, on his native island, the degree of presbyterate, due to his high virtues, enjoying the special favor of the local archpastor and the love of the people. The handwritten life of the saint, kept in the Lubenskaya monastery, even claims that Athanasius was elevated by general election to the throne of the metropolis of Crete and, through his beneficial influence before the Ottoman authorities, saved it from the fury of enemies during the conquest of the island; but this conquest took place much later. From modern church acts it is clear that Athanasius was appointed directly from the presbyters by Patriarch Kirill to the primary metropolis of Thessalonica. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Parthenius the Elder, although he was not disposed towards Athanasius Patelarius, however, in his letter to Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, dated August 12, 1643, he wrote: “that during the time of the most holy and blessed lord and Cyril, the old patriarch, a certain holy monk, named Athanasius, nicknamed Patelarius, came to Constantinople Kritsky; the patriarch and bishops, seeing him poor and in need, accepted him with great mercy and love, and he was an adviser to the patriarch, as one with his country; a little time later, Cyril installed him as Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, instead of the Metropolitan, Mr. Paisius, of blessed memory, who remained in the royal name in Russia.” The same fate awaited his successor Athanasius, who had settled down in hospitable Russia. If he was an adviser and fellow tribesman of Patriarch Cyril, as Parthenius himself claims, then of course he did not act against him in order to take over his see, although his short-term reign was unsuccessful. Athanasius himself, in his letter to the king, dated August 24 of the same year, testifies about himself: “that his brother bishops placed him on the universal throne, to help His Holiness the Most Blessed Cyril, in order to drive out the new Cyril of Verria, and after that they gave him the Thessalonica throne by council.” Consequently, one cannot believe the later complaints that Athanasius, through the mediation of the Jesuits, sought the Constantinople throne through intrigues. This is all the more likely because Patriarch Kirill himself, after his removal from the throne, wrote to Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, without at all complaining about Athanasius: “that when Sultan Murat returned him from captivity from the island of Rhodes, after the deposition of Cyril of Verria, and ordered him to be in Constantinople, then while he was traveling, they put someone else in the patriarchate, and when he arrived, everyone came to him they came running and performed the appropriate honor, but he did not want to go to the patriarchal place until the bishops paid what they promised the Sultan. Then, by the grace of God and the royal mercy, we will continue to sit in the patriarchate; I would like to calm down in my old age, but the world doesn’t leave me.” All this is in accordance with the testimony of Athanasius, who was elected only to remove the unworthy Cyril and give time to the great Lucaris to return. That is probably why he spent so little time in his department, no more than 28 days. However, one cannot believe too much in the accusations of Patriarch Parthenius against Athanasius, that he caused losses to the great Church of 50,000 efimki, since it is known that Cyril of Verria was the cause of this debt, and the ruin of the church, promising up to 30,000 efimki to bribe the Turkish authorities, just to reach the throne; perhaps it was necessary to use the same amount to overthrow him; in case of non-payment, the great Church was in danger. If the great Cyril himself, with all his many years of experience, renounced the throne solely because of these debts, then was it any wonder that the inexperienced Athanasius got entangled in them under such vague circumstances. In order to understand the difficult trials through which the militant Orthodox Church in the East went through throughout the 17th century, it is necessary to historically trace a number of its patriarchs, whose frequent deposition, through the machinations of infidels, shocked and ruined the ecumenical see of Constantinople. After the great Jeremiah, who founded the patriarchate in Russia and, although he was deposed, died in his cathedra, in 1594, continuous changes of ecumenical patriarchs began. Matthew, Gabriel and Theophan occupied this chair for no more than half a year, so that they finally elected Inga, the famous patriarch of Alexandria Meletius, as locum tenens of the ecumenical throne. A year later, Matthew again ascended to the see, already invested with the schema, and again for a short time he gave up his throne to Neophytos, the former Metropolitan of Athens, and died. however, at his own department. His successor Raphael, before his forced imprisonment, was forced to cede the patriarchal church itself to the Turks, in the name of the All-Blessed One, and be content with the small church of St. Gregory. After him, Neophyte was called a second time, and again deposed, so that no one dared to sit on the ecumenical see, overwhelmed by so many troubles. Then, following the previous example, the clergy of the great Church again offered the locum tenens position of the ecumenical see to another Patriarch of Alexandria, the wise Cyril Lukaris, who had already ruled his Church with glory for 15 years. Finally, Metropolitan Timothy of Patras was elected, who, during his eight-year fairly peaceful patriarchate, managed to expand and decorate his new cathedral church and, which was already becoming quite rare in those troubled times, died calmly at his see. With the appointment of his successor, Kirill Lukaris, storms began again. This great figure was elevated five times and dethroned five times from the universal throne and finally sealed his feat with martyrdom. His enemies and persecutors were the Jesuits, who at that time were extremely strong under the Ottoman Porte; with the influence of the envoys of Austria and France, they sought to spread the union in the East and through their machinations managed to take away the Holy Sepulcher and the Bethlehem den from the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophan; They could not indifferently see on the universal throne of the new Rome such a great champion of Orthodoxy as Cyril Lucaris, already known to them for his high enlightenment during his long reign of the flock of Alexandria. A year later, Cyril was slandered by them before the Turkish government for intercourse with Europeans, and deprived of his throne, but his two successors, Gregory and Anthimus, could not stay on the shaky throne of Constantinople: the first was exiled to captivity on the island of Rhodes, and the second arbitrarily retired to Mount Athos, not feeling able to hold the helm of the Church. Since at that time there were internal unrest in the empire, Sultan Mustafa was overthrown from the throne and Murat reigned, Cyril’s friends, zealots of the church, took advantage of the favorable opportunity to elevate him again, in 1624, to the ecumenical see, and this time his patriarchate lasted 8 years.. In order to stay in his chair and counteract the machinations of the Jesuits and their powerful patrons, Cyril had no other remedy but to resort to the patronage of two Protestant envoys, England and Holland, with whom he made a short acquaintance when he was still a simple monk traveling around Europe to collect alms in favor of the Alexandrian Church. Both envoys were on friendly terms with the Porte and opposed the Jesuits, who opened a school on the outskirts of Constantinople and, educating poor Greek children for free, seduced them into the union. The zealous patriarch denounced false teachers in his pastoral conversations and, in order to establish Orthodoxy, set up a printing house in Constantinople, calling for this the learned monk Gregory Metaxa from the island of Corfu; with his help, he printed pious books to refute those seductive works that the Jesuits printed in large numbers and distributed them to children who were still inexperienced in the Orthodox faith. Then the Jesuits slandered him before the government as a blasphemer of Mohammedan law, and referred as evidence to the catechism of Patriarch Cyril, published by him during his stay in London, in which he exposed the false teaching of Mohammed; They also claimed that this book had recently been printed in a new printing house. The Turkish government, in a fit of indignation, sent to immediately ruin the printing house and destroy all the machines. Her boss, Metaxa, barely managed to escape with his life. The patriarch himself would not have escaped death if he had not taken refuge in time in the house of the Dutch ambassador, who stood up for the sufferer and convinced the grand vizier that all this was the slander of the Jesuits. Thus, the zealous Cyril remained on his throne. But the Jesuits were not content with this; they accused the patriarch of having a Protestant way of thinking and tried to convince the simple-minded bishops and clergy of this. The rumor about this even reached Russia, so the Orthodox sent to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophan, who then lived in Iasi, to find out whether this criticism was fair? and the patriarch had to convene a local council in order to justify the great champion of Orthodoxy with a district message. But two years later, through the machinations of the Jesuits, a book appeared under the name of Cyril, printed in Geneva, full of Calvinist teaching. This completely shocked Saint Cyril in his pulpit and aroused great confusion in the clergy of the great Church. The patriarch was accused before the government of treason and of professing the Frankish faith. They forcibly deposed him from the throne and installed another Cyril, Contaris, Metropolitan of Verria, a tool of the Jesuits, who, however, a week later was deposed and exiled to prison on the island of Tenedos. Cyril was again called to the ecumenical see, but his enemies did not sleep and tried to again erect Contaris, very close to the place of his imprisonment. Then all the Orthodox and clergy, just to reject the second election of Kontaris, took advantage of the great vizier’s disposition towards his compatriot on the island of Candia, Athanasius, Metropolitan of Thessalonica, and elevated him to the ecumenical see, waiting for the great Cyril to return; and indeed, a month later, he sat on it again, on the eve of Easter. This was in 1643. Although Patriarch Parthenius subsequently wrote to Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich: “that Athanasius, after his removal from the patriarchal see, was again given the metropolis of Thessalonica, with all the income, so that he would remain there peacefully until the end of his life and not disturb the great Church, for which he made an oath promise and received a patriarchal conciliar letter as a witness,” - one cannot, however, fail to pay attention to the fact that in this way they were never removed from the ecumenical see retired patriarchs: they were mostly imprisoned on the islands of the Archipelago, or had to take refuge somewhere in a monastery in the vicinity of Constantinople or on the holy Mount Athos. If Athanasius avoided the common fate of those dethroned from the throne, and this was according to the conciliar charter of all the bishops, then, without a doubt, it was only because he was invited by all the bishops to take the place of the great Cyril, in order only to reject the unworthy Kotnaris. The later writers who compiled the list of the Patriarchs of Constantinople did not know how to distinguish this feature and, knowing that the Jesuits were to blame for the repeated deposition of Cyril, they thought that they also put Athanasius Patelarius in his place, as they did with Contaris, especially since over the course of three years Patelarius and both Cyrils gradually replaced each other. A year after his fourth accession to the throne, the patriarchal, great Cyril had to leave him again and was exiled, by his enemies, to imprisonment on the island of Rhodes, and Athanasius was put in his place for the second time, who held the see for no more than a year and was forced to cede it to the same hostile Cyril Kontaris, who also exiled him to Rhodes, through the influence of his powerful patron Bayram Pasha, in 1635. If Athanasius was truly a tool of the Jesuits, then why would they depose him and raise Contaris again? But a year and a half later, with the fall of Bayram Pasha, the unworthy Contaris also lost his see and was exiled to the same island where, according to his machinations, both of his predecessors, Lucaris and Patelarius, were imprisoned. Both of them were returned together from their exile, by order of Sultan Murat, at the request of all the bishops and nobles of Constantinople, and since Athanasius was not on hand to take Cyril’s place until his return, Metropolitan Neophytos of Irakli was temporarily appointed to the patriarchal see, whom Cyril himself, in a letter to Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, calls his man and servant. Not earlier than a year later, when the financial affairs of the patriarchate had already somewhat settled down, upset by unpaid debts, due to the frequent change of patriarchs (for in the course of fifteen years, from 1622 to 1637, four patriarchs were replaced 12 times), Neophytos ceded the department to his teacher Cyril, and Athanasius again received his former metropolis of Thessaloniki. This testifies that he was on good terms with the patriarchs and all the bishops, without which, of course, he could not have returned to his metropolis; it was strengthened for him by a conciliar charter and the new Patriarch Parthenius the Elder, who assumed the department after the disastrous death of both Kirills. The enemies of Lucaris, who were vigilantly active, after a year and a half of his last patriarchate, managed to incite Sultan Murat against him, presenting the great man of the Church as a traitor to the Ottoman Porte, for supposedly secret relations with Russia. Cyril was forcibly deposed and imprisoned in a fortress near Constantinople; there he was strangled and the sacred remains of the martyr were thrown into the sea, but the pious memory of him was preserved in the hearts of the Orthodox and his Orthodoxy was publicly justified at the councils of Iasi and Bethlehem. The universal Church honors him as one of its greatest ascetics. His insidious persecutor and unworthy successor, Contaris, soon suffered a well-deserved execution. He held the patriarchal throne for no more than a year. Hated by everyone for the overthrow of the memorable Cyril, he himself, in turn, was accused as a slanderer before the Sultan, who did not forgive him the death of Lucaris, sacrificed to satisfy his enemies. Contaris was deposed conciliarly and exiled to Chalcedon, opposite Constantinople, where he was also strangled, by order of the Sultan. These two violent deaths, one after another, of two ecumenical patriarchs, horrified the entire Eastern Church. Parthenius the Elder, one of the metropolitans of Adrianople, who was elevated to the orphaned see of Constantinople, wisely ruled the Church for five years, but he too was deprived of his see and exiled to the island of Cyprus, and after him, for seven years, two patriarchs, Parthenius the Younger and Ioannikios, gradually promoted and demoted, occupied the patriarchal see, until, in 1651, he was again Athanasius the third was appointed to it. Where was he during all this time, for fifteen years, from his return from the island of Rhodes until his last election to the patriarchal see? - Without a doubt, mostly in his diocese of Thessalonica, until the heavy debts that burdened it and the persecution of the Turks forced him to retire to Moldavia, where the powerful ruler Vasily Lupula then ruled, who was the patron of all the distressed patriarchs and did not spare his treasures to pay the debts of the Holy Sepulcher and the great Church of Constantinople. If he had not donated, at the request of the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophan, 42,000 red rubles for the maintenance of the Holy Places, then they would have finally fallen into the hands of the Latins. But the influence of the powerful ruler was sometimes harmful in Constantinople, with the frequent change of patriarchs, because he did not always support those more worthy in this high see. On the way from Constantinople to his metropolis of Thessalonica, Saint Athanasius repeatedly visited the holy Mount Athos, where he thought to retire forever, out of his love for the ascetic life, but not monastic silence awaited him. There, in the very center of the Holy Mountain, near its spiritual capital Karei, where there were living waters and healthy air, in the best place of Athos, he founded a secluded cell for himself, which is still known as Serai or a palace, because it is likely that its founder was the patriarch. But the saint could not remain there in silence for long, because he was constantly distracted by concerns about his Thessalonica diocese. At least he laid a good start for the future Russian monastery, without knowing it that his cell would eventually attract Russian workers from the land where he was destined to soothe his toiling bones. A hundred years later, another exile of the ecumenical throne, Patriarch Seraphim, sought refuge in the peaceful shelter of Athanasius and splendidly decorated it, worthy of the loud name Seraya. But forced to flee from there during the Turkish War, under the great Catherine, he found his last refuge in the same peaceful monastery of Lubenskaya, where his predecessor Athanasius died. And a hundred years later, in the former cell of two ecumenical patriarchs, at the church of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the founder of the Byzantine see, the Russian monastery itself was established on the Holy Mountain, as if in reward for the hospitality that Russia bestowed on both patriarchs. Relations between Saint Athanasius and Russia began even before his patriarchate, soon after his appointment to the metropolitanate of Thessalonica. In 1631, he gave a letter of petition from himself to Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich to Bishop Cosmas, who lived on the Holy Mountain, in the Iversky Monastery; He sent through him to the sovereign as a blessing a particle of the relics of St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, and myrrh from the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius, begging him to help him in his distress and free him from a heavy debt. The Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril Lucaris, who favored Athanasius, also wrote to the king about granting alms to the Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, whose metropolis, due to the inconstancy and fluctuations of times, fell into a heavy debt, more than 5,000 rubles, and pawned all the sacred vessels into wicked hands, so that due to these debts it was left without a shepherd. Since Athanasius decided, in such a time, to accept the rank of her metropolitan, sacrificing himself for the good of the Church, the zealous Patriarch Kirill convincingly asked the sovereign: “not to leave, with his generous alms, the new shepherd and to help free his distressed metropolis from the debts.” The same letter was written from the ecumenical archpastor and to the sovereign's father, Patriarch Filaret Nikitich; but this time, due to difficult circumstances of the state, little alms were given to Thessaloniki, only 30 rubles from the tsar and 15 from the patriarch; Thus, this embassy, ​​together Thessalonica and Athos, was not very successful. The second embassy from Saint Athanasius to the sovereign, in 1641, was also from Thessaloniki, after his second patriarchate. He wrote, through Archimandrite Gregory of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery: “(from July 9) that on the Holy Mountain they fell to the yoke of the wicked and godless Hagaryans and lost their cities and wonderful churches, and therefore resorted to the source of mercy of the Tsar's Majesty, may he open his bowels to his wretched throne, as he does to all monasteries and churches.” For the sake of blessing, spiritual salvation and physical health, Athanasius sent with the archimandrite, for his red seal, the myrrh of the holy glorious great martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. For his part, Archimandrite Gregory of Panteleimon, in a petition submitted to Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, expressed himself this way: “that Metropolitan Athanasius of Thessaloniki, with his close people, ordered to beat the great sovereign with his forehead, that they have a debt of 10,000 efimki on their metropolis; and they have the relics of our holy father Gregory, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, who works many miracles. Wouldn’t it be the tsar’s will to bring these holy relics, the blessed hand, to Moscow for sanctification and healing and help to his great kingdom, with authentic evidence, and may your kingdom grant them all their royal salary, so that they can be freed from such a great debt.” However, for this reason, only one forty sables, worth forty rubles, were sent in alms to Thessaloniki. These relations, through the elders of Athonite, testify to what extent Saint Athanasius was close to the Holy Mountain, preparing his last refuge there in the Serai cell. In the penultimate year of the reign of Mikhail Feodorovich, his Archimandrite Ignatius arrived in Moscow from St. Athanasius, the Solunsky Demetrius Monastery, already from Moldavia, for the elder could not hold on to the distressed See of Thessalonica any longer. On August 24, 1643, Athanasius wrote to the sovereign: “Great and unbearable troubles forced us, the autocratic great king, to go from country to country so that we could receive help and peace in old age, for my brothers bishops placed me on the universal throne, to help the most blessed and holy old patriarch, Mr. Kirill, to drive out the new Cyril of Verria, and after that they gave me the Thessalonica throne at the cathedral; but I cannot get peace for myself from overwhelming debts, and I endure many cramped conditions, troubles and persecutions, and even a prison sentence that threatens death. Unable to endure this any longer, I came with great hope to the pious and God-protected sovereign of Moldova, John Basil the governor, faithful adviser to your holy kingdom, to his extensive mercy. It would have been desirable for me to resort to the ineffable bounties of your kingdom, with great hope, so that I could receive liberation from my sorrows and from my weakness, but I was hindered; The pious sovereign who spoke beforehand did not give me permission to leave, but taught me and provided me with his letters and people, so that I would first send the venerable father of Archimandrite Mr. Ignatius to your holy kingdom. Open the bounty of your mercy, sovereign king, receive us, your ever-present poor pilgrims, and hasten with your mercy to help the most praiseworthy throne of Thessalonica, which is perishing to the end from the unfaithful Jews and Hagarians; redeem the sacred vessels and vestments from their hands; they keep them to desecrate the Christian faith. since your God-crowned and autocratic kingdom performs indescribable mercies every day, then may this glorious throne of Thessalonica be established and made worthy of your Christ-loving grace; We have no other refuge before God. You, Tsar, are our helper and pillar of piety for all Orthodox Christians, and we all resort to you, as a father and comforter, in our sorrows; look upon us, holy king, because, without your rich mercy and help, it is not possible for me to return and be saved from destruction, and our metropolis will be ruined to the end from the burden of our debts, of which there are fifteen thousand efimki. Because of this debt, it was impossible for Mr. Paisius, Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, of blessed memory, to endure, and he fled to the treasure of your kingdom and rested with you. It will never be possible to pay off these debts, because the growth is great, unless the mercy of your kingdom hastens. Therefore, we wrote boldly, may you have mercy on us, sovereign king, and may there be a constant remembrance of the sovereign name of the king in that holy metropolis, and the Lord, the rewarder, will preserve your kingdom from every enemy and adversary, may you subdue your enemies as the footstool of your feet and you will see the sons of your sons, and the fruit of your womb will inherit, in your deep old age, the highest throne of yours; May the Lord reward you with an unfading crown in His endless Kingdom and with joy, in the face of the blessed saints.” With the same archimandrite he wrote to the sovereign about the truly disastrous state of the former Patriarch Athanasius and the Moldavian governor Vasily. The priest of the Moldavian land, Gabriel, outlined this disastrous state in his letter: “like the waves of the sea in past years, by the visit of God, all sorts of troubles disturbed the great Church of Christ and destruction occurred, as is known to your great kingdom; Among our bishops dwells this most holy lord Athanasius, wise by law, metropolitan of the holy metropolis of Thessalonica, appointee and spiritual son of the blessed memory of Mr. Cyril, the old ecumenical patriarch, and his homeland is the same city. During the exile of the ancient and holy patriarch, when the new Cyril, the former of Verria, deprived him of the throne without truth, then this lord Athanasius, at the council of the bishops, for the release of the old patriarch Cyril, sat on the ecumenical throne of Constantinople, while they brought him from exile, and then again Saint Athanasius in Thessalonica was put to rest; but the troubles and torments and imprisonment that he suffered are impossible to describe, holy king, because for the sake of old debts and new ones, they pawned church vestments and vessels in the wicked hands of the Hagarians and Jews; The metropolis remains locked up for a long time and perishes from a great debt, like a ship being sunk in the depths of the sea. Being in such indescribable poverty, I decided to resort to you, the Christian and Orthodox Tsar, for a quiet refuge and consolation, to a strong champion, so that he could free the holy and great throne of Thessalonica and get a little rest for himself. When he came here to the pious and Orthodox sovereign, Prince Vasily, the governor of the Moldavian land, the faithful ruler and adviser of your great kingdom, received him lovingly with great piety and honor, as befits not only for the dignity of the patriarchal throne, but also for the sake of his wisdom and other feelings; The Moldavian ruler helped him against his own strength. In the Voloshskaya land, due to old age and labor on the road, the patriarch became ill and he could not come himself, but he sends his people to the rich mercy of your great kingdom, so that you may open your philanthropy and mercy to him; we pray that you may take this deceased bishop and be an assistant and intercessor to this high throne; for you give alms every day, and you shine like the heavenly sun and warm the small and the great, or like an ocean, a river, with your waves you water the entire universe. So now, according to your former royal merciful custom, perhaps these dead, holy king; The Almighty and Almighty God is the rewarder of kings and, just as your head is crowned with a royal crown, so in the next century your kingdom will be crowned with an unfading crown.” It is not clear from the deeds how much alms were given, but without a doubt such a convincing letter could not go unnoticed. In the very year of the death of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, the former Patriarch Afanasy sent another letter to the sovereign, dated February 24, 1654, which was brought to Moscow after the death of the Tsar, by the Greek Afanasy Ivanov, along with two other letters from Patriarchs Parthenius of Constantinople and Nikephoros of Alexandria. “Sovereign and God-crowned and God-protected holy king,” wrote Athanasius, I accepted the rich and great alms of your Christian kingdom, we always thank you until the death of our belly and pray to the rewarder God, that you may be healthy for many years and a conqueror, and reigning on your royal throne, in peaceful prosperity, and in the future kingdom you will be worthy of an unfading crown, with the faces of the righteous. We immediately gave the alms from your royal salary to our debtors to St. Metropolitan of Thessalonica, and the holy name of your kingdom and the pious Tsarevich Alexy Mikhailovich, your beloved son, and the pious queen and Grand Duchess Evdokia Lukianovna, we remember publicly throughout our region (and under our region we have eight bishops), we commemorate them incessantly day and night in holy prayers. Let your kingdom know that I am still here to this day, under the roof of the pious Christian sovereign, Prince Vasily the governor, a faithful and beloved friend of your sovereign kingdom, and it is impossible for me to go to my region because of the debtors of the Hagarians and the Jews. Helper to all who ask, he has his treasure open and his mercy is poured out to all the poor in abundance; Just as the Nile River waters the entire Egyptian land, so did this pious sovereign, paid the countless debts of the holy life-giver of the tomb, and is thinking of doing this great alms; from his pious hands I received the salary of your great kingdom and we pray that you do not forget us with your royal salary, just as you created a good beginning, so you will complete a good ending, because our debt is great. If it is the will of your kingdom, then you will remember us with the one who brings this letter of ours, Mr. Afanasy Ivanov, about the Holy Spirit, our beloved son. He is a faithful servant of our kingdom, a good, reverent man, honest and worthy, and has a praiseworthy name in all countries and is beloved by all; with him may your kingdom grant us an answer. We dare, pray and ask reverently, as our autocrat king, since I need everything and have been plundered by the bishop’s vestments, then we pray to your holy kingdom, may you grant us the bishop’s clothes and the sovereign’s cap, to serve in them the holy liturgy and pray to the all-merciful God for your royal long-term health and prosperity, victory and victory in enemies." Then Patriarch Athanasius reported some news to the sovereign about the Sultan’s ongoing campaign against Malta, and that he demanded an alliance from the Venetians, through their agent in Constantinople, who refused, for which the Sultan was preparing a war against the Venetian island of Crete. The Sultan himself wants to go by land, through Thessaloniki, and there he ordered a supply to be prepared. At the same time, he announced that a new pope, Clement IX, had been appointed in Rome, who had made peace with the French king for thirty years. Signature of the letter: “Athanasius, by the grace of God, former ecumenical patriarch, and now rector of St. Metropolis of Thessalonica, unceasing Prayer of God for your kingdom.” Saint Athanasius interceded not only for himself, but also for others. He wrote to the new Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in favor of Bishop Neophytos, who was traveling from the city of Cariopolis to Russia for alms, in September 1645, testifying to his plight and begging: “may he receive him with a merciful eye and in a quiet manner, as a ruler and father to all; for the power of your autocracy has all the pious Christian people to their glory and praise, and your mercy flows over the offended and comforts the poor and distressed; May the holy king console this poor bishop as well, as bearing the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Once again, Patriarch Afanasy wrote to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in February 1646, through the Constantinople Greek Afanasy Ivanov and sent the sovereign a particle of the life-giving tree and the relics of St. Anastasia the pattern maker, informing him at the same time about the Turkish war on his native island of Crete. While the former patriarch lived peacefully in Moldova, under the shadow of his magnanimous patron, Hospodar Vasily Lupula, his former see of Constantinople was in bitter poverty, and the sovereign was partly to blame for this, due to his personal hostility towards Patriarch Parthenius the Younger and his disposition towards his rival Ioannikios. Parthenius, having already been deposed once, was again elevated by a council of bishops to the place of Ioannikios, whom they disliked. The Voivode of Moldova could not forgive him for the fact that he was once among the ill-wishers of the great Patriarch Cyril Lukaris, and therefore tried by all means to depose him. But the executors of his will went too far; Not only did they slander Parthenius before the Sultan and deprive him of his throne, but those who were taking him into exile, from among the Turkish soldiers, painfully killed him in a boat and threw him into the sea. This terrified the entire clergy and Orthodox people in Constantinople; There was great unrest in the patriarchal court, one of the perpetrators of the murder was hanged at the gate by the irritated people, and even the cathedral church was sealed, which had never happened before in Constantinople. The murder of Parthenius happened on May 16, 1551. The former Patriarch Ioannikios was again elevated to the see immediately after the deposition of Parthenius. The Turkish government, which took advantage of every opportunity to ruin the Church with heavy taxes and frequently changed patriarchs, did not leave Ioannikios alone. The Grand Vizier, who used his power for evil during the Sultan’s minority, slandered Ioannikis, allegedly concealing German spies, and put him in custody, despite the oath of six hundred priests and clerics who testified to his innocence. He sought that Metropolitan Kirill of Tarnovo be elevated to the patriarchal see, but since at that time there was a sudden change in the vizier himself, Patriarch Ioannikis was released from custody, but did not receive his see. It happened at this time that Saint Athanasius Patelarius came to Constantinople from Moldavia, probably due to the needs of his Thessalonica diocese, and perhaps the governor of Moldova, who himself was struck by the unexpected death of Patriarch Parthenius, hoped that the presence of Athanasius in Constantinople, as a friend of the great Cyril, would draw the attention of the bishops who hated Ioannikius to him. And so it was; everyone unanimously turned to Athanasius and fifteen years later, for the third and last time, they elevated him to the universal throne. However, the decrepit old man could sit for no more than seventeen days on the patriarchal see, shaken by so many storms, because he was unable to satisfy the Turkish greed. He asked him to be released in peace to Moldavia and could not even retain the See of Thessalonica, due to the same unrest and burdensome debts. An experienced and strong man, Paisius, Metropolitan of Laria, was elevated to his place; Athanasius retired to Moldavia, under the shadow of the ruler Vasily, who gave him control, for a peaceful refuge, the monastery of St. Nicholas, near the city of Galati, but the thoughts and heart of the elderly Athanasius attracted him to Russia, where he hoped to find help for himself and found his last peace. On April 16, 1653, the former patriarch of Constantinople Athanasius and with him his archimandrite Dionysius, cellarer Daniel, ecclesiarch Joasaph, archdeacon Christopher, the white patriarchal nephew Miron and, in addition, the treasurer, the clerk, the equestrian elder, the cell attendant and four patriarchal servants arrived in Moscow. At the same time, the Greeks, the Cretan Assumption Monastery, Archimandrite Neophytos with the cellarer Gregory, and the city of Thessaloniki, the Nikolsky Monastery, Archimandrite Christopher with the cellarer Theodore, and also from the city of Ioannina, from the monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin, Archimandrite Dositheos with the cellarer, his nephew Balti, came to beat the sovereign with their foreheads. On April 22, the sovereign ordered Patriarch Athanasius, with all his retinue and the archimandrites who arrived with him at the same time, to be in his courtyard; The rite of the royal reception corresponded only partly to what was done three years earlier to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Paisius, according to the strict ceremonial of our court, for Paisius was an actual patriarch, while Athanasius, although of Constantinople, was the senior throne, but had already left his throne, and such people had never happened in Moscow. His bailiff Kuzmin, with a Greek translator, was sent for the patriarch, and the sovereign's horse with a not magnificent saddle was assigned for him, and the elders and archimandrites had to go on foot; the patriarch dismounted from his horse at the embassy courtyard and there waited for the king to come out, while the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was traveling as a couple in a sleigh on the occasion of winter, went out much closer to the palace, to the locker of the Annunciation Cathedral and, without waiting at all, went to the king; he was greeted with three honorary meetings, while Athanasius had none. The Emperor received him in the dining room, in ordinary dress, and not in royal attire on the throne, and not in the golden chamber, like the Jeruealim, and the boyars with him were not in gold, but in colored dress. Okolnichy presented Paisiy to the sovereign, and here only the Duma clerk Lopukhin, saying: “The Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, autocrat of All Rus' and the owner of many states, the former Patriarch of Tsaregrad Afanasy and other elders and Beltsy struck you, the great sovereign, with their foreheads.” Then he named the shrine brought to the sovereign: the image of the Savior in an ark, a carved wooden cross, the relics of the Evangelist Matthew, the holy chrism compiled by all four ecumenical patriarchs; from the archimandrites: Yaninsky - a carved cross, and from Crete - the relics of St. Alexia the man of God. After this, the patriarch spoke, and the sovereign called him to his hand, asking him about salvation, very briefly and without any title: “Is Patriarch Athanasius saved?” The Emperor ordered the patriarch to sit down and announce to him his salary: a silver goblet with a gilded roof, damask, two smooth satins, two forty sables and one hundred rubles of money. And there was also a difference in the gifts compared to those in Jerusalem. Two archimandrites received a damask, forty sables and 12 rubles each, and the cellarer and other elders were told what they would receive from the treasury in due time. The Patriarch of Jerusalem was escorted to the door by the sovereign and released to the cathedral church to listen to the liturgy and meet with the patriarch; Athanasius was released directly to the courtyard, where food was sent to him from the royal table: consequently, the reception was given to him more according to the rank of metropolitans than the patriarchal one. The steward Zmiev was sent to Afanasy, at the Kirillovsky courtyard, with food and drink. He was ordered, if the patriarch began to drink the sovereign’s cup and handed it to the steward, he should say: “the cup of the Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of All Rus', the autocrat, his royal majesty; God grant that he, the great sovereign, the pious king, with his pious queen and faithful princesses, may be healthy for many years,” and whatever the patriarch talks about the sovereign’s salary, or anything else, will report all this to the sovereign. In June, the patriarch and all his elders asked to go to Bogomolye in the Sergius Lavra and were sent there. There they were ordered to honor them and present them with gifts, following the example of how the Patriarch of Jerusalem was greeted. Patriarch Athanasius, at the procession of the cross to the Sretensky Monastery on June 23, personally asked the sovereign: that all his holy clothes, the omophorion, the sakkos and the miter, had become worn out from many years, and that the sovereign would grant him the opportunity to renew his holy clothes and enter the names of his royal parents into the synodik. Therefore, it was ordered to inquire in the embassy order: how much was given to the patriarchs and metropolitans for this subject, and it was ordered to release Athanasius, for vestments and for the miter, 200 rubles. from the Novgorodsky income and another 18 rubles in money when he is at the Novospasskaya monastery for the Divine Liturgy. The Patriarch submitted a petition of the following content: “for your royal alms, for your long-term royal health, your Bogomolet Athanasius, the former Patriarch of Constantinople, must forever pray to God and always remember your royal righteous parents, in the Voloshsky land, in the city of Galati, in the monastery of the great wonderworker St. Nicholas, until the end of the century, in all holy services, until I Your pilgrim is alive. Merciful Sovereign, Tsar, Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, Autocrat of all Rus', welcome me, your Sovereign’s Bogomolet, for your royal long-term health, with your royal letter of grant, with a golden seal, as the merciful Lord God will inform you, with your royal alms for food, so that I can send from my monastery to you, the righteous sovereign, my archimandrite annually, for now, I, your royal Bogomolets, am found alive, and after my death, from that monastery, for your royal alms, my archimandrite was ordered to come in the third year; Yes, I, your Bogomolet, ordered, sir, to print 500 letters of permission in my yard, because as I was traveling to you to Moscow, through the army of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, at that time, sir, many Cherkassy came to confession and, according to their custom, asked me, your Bogomolet, for a letter of permission, and at that time I had to send it to Kyiv to print letters of permission not from anyone, but as I, your Bogomolets, will go back from Moscow, those, sir, the Zaporozhye Cossacks, will begin to ask me, your Bogomolets, for letters of permission, and others will come again in spirit: Tsar Sovereign, have mercy, perhaps.” Below is the patriarch’s own signature in Greek: “former Athanasius of Constantinople, warmest and most vigilant prayer book of the most pious king.” According to this petition, a letter of grant was issued. On October 29, 1654, the sovereign and his entire royal family were at the image of the Savior not made by hands, in their courtyard above, at mass, and the former Constantinople Patriarch Athanasius served and the Greeks sang in the choirs. This was the work of Patriarch Nikon, who sought to introduce Greek church order and received from Athanasius a scroll of the bishop's liturgy. After mass, the royal table was sent to the patriarch, with steward Nechaev, and clerk Pyotr Arbenyev took from the queen and princesses 1,200 rubles, in sables, which were taken from the Siberian order. Patriarch Afanasy submitted another petition to the tsar: “having heard about the ineffable sovereign mercy, he came to beat him with his forehead. Before this, at the request of the bishops, priests and clergy and other Orthodox Christians, he was in the patriarchate in Constantinople and, seeing the wicked Hagaryans' inconstancy and taxes, he left his patriarchal throne. After that, at the request of the bishops and clergy and other Orthodox Christians, he was again in Constantinople on the patriarchal throne and, not many days later, the Hagarians began to impose considerable taxes on him from the Sultan, on the vizier and on other close people; that he had his estate, distributed everything and the rest to the Busurmans, and also borrowed with great growth and, seeing their insatiability, called to him bishops and clergy and nobles of Orthodox Christians and gave up his patriarchal throne at the cathedral by his will, and now resides near the Danube, in the monastery of the wonderworker St. Nicholas; Why should the sovereign resort to anyone and have no one to help him with his debts, and therefore the sovereign would reward him, his Bogomolet, with his royal salary, as God notifies him.” The sovereign ordered: to give out his salary for alms on vacation, half as much as the Patriarch of Jerusalem Paisius, 2000 sables, and his archimandrite and the elders were given a salary against the patriarchs of Jerusalem. Further, the patriarch asked: “that he submitted a petition to the sovereign boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, so that the sovereign would grant him a panagia for Divine service, and he, looking at this panagia, would forever pray to God for the sovereign’s health”; He also asked for local icons for his monastery in Moldova: the image of the Almighty for the throne, the Mother of God with the Eternal Child, the wonderworker Nicholas and Athanasius the Great, the great martyrs Demetrius and George and the Deesis, with the 12 Apostles and 12 holidays, which cost 50 rubles. under an agreement with icon painters; The sovereign graciously ordered, on November 19, to give him this money to pay the icon painters. Finally, on December 12, the sovereign ordered Patriarch Athanasius, with all the elders, to be in his courtyard for a farewell vacation. A sleigh with a bailiff was sent for the patriarch, and he went out to the state courtyard, where he awaited the royal exit. This time the sovereign was in the golden chamber and with him the boyars were wearing fur coats; Deacon Almazov presented him to the sovereign and the entire rank was according to the initial reception. His salary was announced at 2000 sables, as was said before. The archimandrite and all the elders were admitted to the royal hand and the table was given to them in the courtyard. After the vacation, the patriarch submitted another petition to the sovereign: “I give thanks to your majesty for your royal salary; It would be proper, sir, to speak this orally to your royal majesty; Only I, your Bogomolets, not understanding the Russian language, thank you with this letter, because I came here from the insult of the wicked Hagaryans to your power, leaving my patriarchal throne by my will, from the Busurman insult and many taxes. And you, righteous sovereign, according to your royal consideration, looked upon me as a foreigner, and with your many royal salaries you fulfilled my need and granted me your royal letter of salary, with your golden seal, to send to me, your pilgrim, for every year, for the sake of my salary, throughout my lifetime. Your royal mercy, like the sun, shines throughout the entire universe, not only over me alone, your pilgrim. Now you, sir, on earth have become the king of Orthodox Christians and a refuge, and the great lord, His Holiness Nikon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', by the grace of God, the head of the Church and the correction of the existing Orthodox Christian faith, brings the verbal sheep of Christ into one flock, so that they may receive the Kingdom of Heaven and hear the voice of the Lord; “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom of Heaven with Me from time immemorial”; to the shepherd, sir, the voice of the Lord: “good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.” And I, your Godmolet, for your royal ineffable salary to me, helpless, must forever pray to the Lord God for your long-term health and the subjugation of enemies visible and invisible to your foot, and proclaim your royal nobility to the entire Greek family, because you, the great sovereign, have grace from God to the strange and the poor, and the poor and oppressed, and from your royal countless treasures you create help, as much as the philanthropic God has bestowed upon your Majesty; the hungry come running to you to be fed and the thirsty as to a source of water: so we, the poor, by God’s will, for our sin, have lost our sovereigns, the Greek holders, and now live under the region of the infidel; Only we have a solid pillar and confirmation of faith and a helper in troubles, you, the great sovereign, are our refuge and liberation. “And for my brother, sir, and co-servant, the great lord, His Holiness Nikon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', to consecrate the cathedral Apostolic Church of Sophia of the Wisdom of God! Dear Sir! please let me, your pilgrim: order me to accept the notebook that I will bring to you, so that you know about everything, and verbally I, a foreigner, in front of your royal majesty, will not have time to speak, and I dare to ask you for mercy, since you became a contributor to the monastery of the wonderworker St. Nicholas, for you deigned to make church clothes from your royal treasury, and the blessed empress queen granted church clothes vessels and censer, and you, perhaps, perform your royal favor and order to give your royal salary, a silver cup for the consecration of holy water and an honest life-giving cross; Yes, in the same church, 3,000 sheets of gold are needed for the wall painting, and we have the paints ready, and how the Lord favors you, the great sovereign, for by you the entire Greek land was established and with the blessing of the great lord, His Holiness Patriarch Nikon. Tsar Sovereign, have mercy.” Below is the signature in Greek. According to this petition, it was ordered to make two vestments, first of damask, then of golden satin. In the last days of December, Patriarch Afanasy was released from Moscow and, at his request, it was ordered that he be given food for the journey, along with all the elders, for two weeks, as much as they gave him in Moscow. But the patriarch did not reach his monastery in Galati and, caught on the way by illness, stopped at the Dubenskaya monastery. This monastery, in the blessed borders of Little Russia, was built shortly before the arrival of Saint Athanasius, in 1619, with the blessing of Bishop Isaiah of Przemysl, his co-named abbot of Gustinsky, at the expense of Princess Raina Koributova, née Princess Vishnevetskaya, who was married to the ruler, or headman, of the region Ovruchskaya and, due to her Orthodox origin, especially patronized the Orthodox. The Church, in the name of the Transfiguration, was at that time still wooden and rather poor due to the humble beginnings of the holy monastery; only forty years later, through the diligence of Hetman Samoilovich, the current magnificent church was put in its place, which flaunts on the top of a wooded mountain, known as Favor of Igarsky, named after the nearest village, for it just as high dominates the surrounding valleys, where the beautiful Sula River meanders between the groves. The time of Saint Athanasius' stay at the Lubenskaya monastery was very short, for he reached it no earlier than February, on his way back from Moscow, probably already exhausted from the long winter wandering, which was burdensome for his senile strength. Perhaps he wanted to wait for spring here and celebrate Easter, but the Lord called him to himself for eternal Easter, after a difficult feat, on April 5, 1654. Anticipating the approach of his death, Saint Athanasius drew up a short spiritual testament, in which he distributed part of the royal alms he brought to various churches and monasteries of Greece and Volosh, leaving a certain part to the Dubno monastery, as a pledge of his gratitude for the hospitality it showed. Even during his passage through Chigirin, he sent 8,000 thalers of royal alms to Iasi in advance, for greater security, through the Greek merchants Zot and his grandson Ivan, taking a receipt from them, with the testimony of two of his relatives, Archimandrite Dionysius and Hieromonk Neophytos, who were supposed to present this receipt to the three primary abbots of Iasi: the cathedral church of the saint Paraskeva and the two monasteries of Archangel Michael and St. Nicholas in order to receive the money sent from them. From this amount, the saint's executors were to send 3,000 thalers to Mount Sinai, 300 to the holy city of Jerusalem and 300 to the monastery of the holy martyr Anastasia, located in his diocese of Thessalonica, and 1,600 thalers were distributed to the 20 great monasteries of the holy Mount Athos. None of the relatives were forgotten by the dying before his exodus. He assigned 1,000 thalers to his two nephews, the monk Jeremiah and Anthony, and 100 to the one who delivered them; 100 thalers were received by the four ministers who were with him, the same amount by Hieromonk Neophytos, and 80 by Archdeacon Christopher; but Archimandrite Dionysius was not refused money for some unknown reason. Of the thousand and four hundred thalers that were on hand, he ordered one hundred to be used for his burial, and three hundred for forty and eternal remembrance for the repose of his soul. The royal letter of grant or chrisovulla, written on crimson satin, with a gold seal, weighing one hundred ducats, St. Athanasius instructed his executors, the archimandrite and the hieromonk, to take St. to Galati, to his monastery. Nicholas the Wonderworker. They were supposed to deliver to Mount Sinai, out of his special respect for this desert monastery, which he probably visited in his youth, part of the sacred utensils that were with him: a scarlet sakkos, with a miter, panagia and full vestments of the bishop, and silver vessels with a cross and a censer; Archbishop Joseph of Sinai received a sable fur coat and a satin cassock; another fur coat, covered with black cloth, was left by the saint, as a souvenir for himself, to the abbot of the Lubensky monastery - Petronius, and other cell clothes to Archimandrite Dionysius and Hieromonk Neophytos; he bequeathed his cart, with four horses, to the abbot of Yassy, ​​the cathedral church of St. Paraskeva. In conclusion, he begged that his will not be violated, neither by the Greek or Russian spiritual authorities, who were under the power of the hetman and the flock of Metropolitan Sylvester of Kyiv, and that no one would disturb his faithful servants for the sake of his inheritance. Therefore, in addition to Abbot Petronius, the saint’s will was sealed with their own hands: Voit Lubensky, the mayor, the local clerk and the tenant. Local legend says that Saint Athanasius, sitting on a high place while reading the Gospel, betrayed his soul to the heavenly Chief Shepherd; but such a legend is probably based on the fact that the deceased saint was buried seated, according to the ancient custom of the Eastern patriarchs. The abbot of the Dubenskaya monastery, Petronius Levkovich, performed his burial and lowered the saint into the crypt, under the pulpit of the wooden Church of the Transfiguration. They show a secluded hill near the monastery, where, according to legend, St. Athanasius loved to come to pray, and this hill is still known as a saint’s hill; but due to his painful condition, he could hardly take a short walk in winter. It is closer to attribute the frequent prayerful visit to this hill to another Patriarch of Constantinople, Seraphim, who spent several years in the solitude of the Dubenskaya monastery. No more than ten years passed after the blessed death of Athanasius before his relics were found incorrupt. The Metropolitan of Gaza, Paisius Ligarid, visited the monastery of Lubenskaya and announced to Abbot Victor the revelation that had happened to him on the way, how Saint Athanasius himself appeared to him and revealed about his relics resting under the cathedral pulpit. Indeed, the holy relics were found incorruptible, and the metropolitan, after conferring with the abbot and the brethren, reported about the precious treasure hidden in the bowels of the earth to Joseph of Tunilsky, who was then sitting at the see of the Kyiv Metropolis, who ruled the diocese of southern Russia as an independent exarch of the patriarchal region of Constantinople. With his conciliar permission, Metropolitan Paisius, together with the brethren of the Dubenskaya monastery, brought out the relics of St. Athanasius and placed them on the right side of the cathedral, February 1, 1662; The memory of the saint was established to be celebrated on May 2, on the day of remembrance of the great Patriarch of Alexandria named after him. The relics of St. Athanasius were repeatedly transferred from place to place, on the occasion of the construction or renovation of the Dubensky Church, where they rest. When in 1684, the pious hetman of the Zaporozhye army of both banks of the Dnieper, Ioann Samoilovich, began, at the request of Dubensky abbot Macarius, to lay the foundation of a new magnificent Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the relics of the saint were transferred under the bell tower, to the small church of the Great Martyr George, and remained there until the consecration of the cathedral in May 1692. Metropolitan of Kiev Varlaam Yasinsky, whose church region no longer depended on the ecumenical patriarchs, but directly on the All-Russian Patriarch, himself consecrated the church and with great triumph transferred the incorruptible relics of the seated saint into it, placing them under the arch on the right side. When the vaults of this church accidentally fell in 1728, then, with the blessing of another Varlaam - Vanatovich, also the Metropolitan of Kyiv, they again touched St. relics and transferred to the wooden church of the Archangel Michael, which is above the holy gates, and again during the terrible fire that happened in 1736, for the sake of safety, the relics of the saint were transferred from the wooden one to the stone refectory of the Church of the Annunciation, where they remained until the complete renovation of the cathedral church in 1743. Then Metropolitan Timothy of Kiev, who was later of Moscow, solemnly transferred them, on the 26th day of August, and placed them on the left side, behind the choir, at the pillar, opposite the miraculous icon of the Dubenskaya Mother of God, which is located at the right pillar. There was also a fire in 1773, on the very day of the church holiday, which threatened the complete destruction of the monastery. The frightened brethren carried the relics of the saint, already without a reliquary, on one carpet, with priestly hands, into the nearest garden on the eastern side, and there they remained for two days, with the reading of the Holy Spirit incessantly before them. The Gospels, with candles lit around them and smoking incense, and on the third day, when the danger had completely passed, Abbot Paisius collectively brought them back into the church, in their surviving shrine, which was later replaced by a more precious one. During the double fires that devastated the Dubenskaya monastery, in 1736 and 1785, the monastic records of the miracles that took place during the discovery and transfer of the relics of St. Athanasius were destroyed. But zeal for his blessed memory did not wane throughout southern Russia, and every year numerous pilgrims flock to the monastery on May 2, the day of St. Athanasius. Of the newest signs recorded, on May 25, 1813, the healing of Princess Volkonskaya, who came from Moscow, was brought to the church after a long serious illness and laid on the carpet, next to the relics of the saint, where she listened to the liturgy and prayer service, and in the same way was taken to the inn. That same evening, as soon as she heard the gospel for Vespers, she rose from her painful bed and, to the general amazement of all the Bogomolets, came to church by herself. She announced to Samuel, who later became abbot, and the rest of the brethren that she was convinced to go to Dubny by a threefold command that she heard in a dream; she even imagined a monastery in the forest, on the top of a mountain, and sitting in it was a saint, whose name was then known to great Russia. When she heard about him from her relatives, the Vasilchikovs and Tatishchevs, she hurried to the monastery, despite her old age and weakness, and received the desired healing. The next year there was another healing for the saint’s cancer, but this time it was more moral than physical. A man who had given himself over to all his passions from his youth and had almost reached the point of mental insanity, finally felt the need for repentance and decided to go to the Bogomolye in Kyiv. On the way, he and his brother went to Dubny and there, during the liturgy, which he had previously been unable to listen to due to mental illness, he turned prayerfully to Saint Athanasius, and his mental illness was suddenly healed; Having fallen to the relics of the saint, he kissed them with tears of repentance, and at that moment he imagined that the saint himself was sitting in front of him, as if alive, and his face was like the face of an angel of God. In the near future, the noble wife Elisaveta Tolstaya, who lived in Orel, was already at the door of the tomb from a nervous fever, and accidentally received from her relatives an icon of St. Athanasius. As soon as they brought this icon into her house, she fell into a deep sleep and immediately after the prayer she felt relief. There were several other cases of healings of eminent and simple people to whom the saint appeared, calling them to his monastery and promising help there. Even in distant Siberia, he once appeared to barren spouses who were grieving over the lack of children, and consoled them with the promise that their infertility would soon be resolved. They also brought the baby given to them to the monastery, through the prayer of the saint. A Kharkov native, soldier Maria, who had suffered from blindness for three years, was brought by relatives to the monastery of the saint of God Athanasius, and there at the liturgy, on April 18, 1844, during the Cherubic song, she suddenly received her sight in one eye, so that she could light a candle in front of the shrine and venerate the relics of the saint who healed her. Three more healings, at a distance of several years, performed on the same person, the merchant daughter of the city of Poltava, Euphrosyne, in the marriage of Velbasova, testify to the never-ending help of St. Athanasius, when they resort to him in prayer; they were certified in writing at the monastery by the relatives of the healed woman. While still a girl, in 1829, she suffered from deafness and on the feast of the Kazan Mother of God she saw St. Athanasius sitting in a dream. In the morning, while performing a prayer service to the saint of God, she felt as if someone had laid hands on her, and at that very moment, in the presence of her joyful mother, her deafness passed. A year later, suffering from a nervous fever, she was brought to the Dubenskaya monastery and, approaching it, felt extraordinary joy. After Matins, at the prayer service, it seemed to her as if something solid had come off in her chest, and then the suffocating cough stopped, and the illness completely left her. Seven years later, when she was already married, she again suffered from nervous attacks, even to the point of fainting, and one day, in a sleepy vision, she saw St. Athanasius in front of her, who, through her prayer, took off his miter and touched the sick woman, commanding her to stand up and glorify God. With these words she came to her senses and, a few days later, completely recovered. Many such comforting manifestations of God's mercy, through His saint Athanasius, have been preserved in the memory of the Dubenskaya monastery, and they are more often performed with a large gathering of people, which occurs annually on May 2; for this monastery celebrates the feast of its patron not on the day of his blessed death, April 5, but on the day of his angel, the great Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria. The zeal of the Poltava citizens built a magnificent silver shrine for the saint, weighing 4 pounds, and his holy relics were transferred with great triumph to this shrine on May 2, 1819 by the reverent Bishop of Poltava Methodius and the rector of the Dubenskaya monastery Kirill. They are placed in the same place behind the choir, between the pillars, under the shadow of the chapel of St. Nicholas, which is built in the church choir. Thus, the Dyubensky miracle worker, sitting high on his patriarchal pulpit, from which he bestows healing on those who come to his protection, himself, as it were, rests under the roof of another great saint of God, the miracle worker of Murliki, from whose peaceful monastery, in the land of Moldova, he came to seek his last refuge in the hospitable and same-religious land of Russia (Extracted from the brochure: “The Life of St. Athanasius”). Transfer of the relics of the holy princes Boris and Gleb For life and death, see July 24th. Their holy relics were transferred to the newly built church in Vyshgorod in 1072, and then in Vyshgorod to a stone one, built instead of a wooden one, in 1115, on May 2. This day is celebrated with special solemnity in Pereyaslavl Poltava, where there is a religious procession to the site of the murder of St. Boris; a church was built here in 1839, and before that there was a chapel, the oldest mention of which dates back to 1073. Celebration of the Putivl-Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God This holy icon appeared in the city of Putivl at the former St. Nicholas Gate on May 2, 1635 at one o'clock in the afternoon. This phenomenon is recorded on the icon case. Located in the Putivl Monastery (Archim. Demetrius Mesyatslov, issue 3. Tamb. 1880). Constantine Porphyrogenitus (de admin. imp. p. 32) calls Boris the son of Presiam: Πρεσιαμ του πατρος αυτου (Βορισης). According to Theophylact (about page martyr), Boris is the son of Zvinich, and Zvinich is the brother of Malomir and Boyan and so on. grandson of Grubosh. So Presiam and Zvinich are one and the same person and after Malomir he was on the Bulgarian throne in 830–840. Safarik, while denouncing Engel for mistakes, did not get rid of the mistake himself, considering Presiam to be the same person as Malomir. Stritten Bulgarica r. 575–577. Cont. Konstantin R. 103. Kedrin 2, 541. Theophylact on the Martyrs § 34. 55. Nowadays in southern Zagorje the cities of Eski-Zagora (old Zagorje) and Yeni-Zagora (new Zagorje). Er. ad Michaelem r. 18. 24. et. Montac. 1651. Konstantin Porfir. r. 24. Kedrin 2, 54. Zonara 2, 156. Malala at Chertkov p. 98. Bulgarian Synaxarion of the 13th century in the doctrine of the fathers. And according to the testimony of Genesius (Regum lib. 4), Theophylact (of the martyr), Constantine, not just one bishop was sent to Michael, but with many clergy. Anastasy librarian. in præfat ad Synodum. 8. Philip of Cyprus. Chronicon r. 132. Hincmar Rem. annal. ap. Pertz 1, 465. The Pope expressed his delight in a letter to Ginkmar, ap. Baronium ad an. 867. Response p. Nicolai ad consulta Bulgarorum in t. 22 Concil. in Anastasia de vit Pontif. p. 116. The answers show that the questions to the pope were written on behalf of the Bulgarians under the influence of Roman missionaries. Message from P. Photius. Truth of the Universe. Churches pp. 152–154. Annal. fulden. Hincmari annal. ap. Pertz 1, 379. 380. 474. Anastasius in vit Pontif. p. 114. 123. This is how the librarian Wilhelm judged it. Anastasius in vit. Pontif. p. 123. Anastasius vit Pontif. p. 123. Constantine de vita Basilii p. 210. Kedrin 2, 589. P. John 8 wrote 6 epistles to the book. Michael and 3 to his nobles, Adrian 2 letters, soliciting with caresses and threats to convert Bulgaria to the pope, and everything remained in vain. Mansi concil. t. 24. Life of St. Clement § 4. “They, although late, entered the garden of the Lord, who had called them by His grace; the calling of this people was accomplished in the day from the comrade. world 6377 (869).” Theophylact on the Martyrs § 37–46. In the monthly book of the Asseman Gospel of the 11th century. on August 29: “memory of the saints of Strumvitsi: Timothy, Theodore, Eustovius (Eusebius) and their squad.” According to Theophylact, the Strumnian martyrs suffered under Julian in November. 28th 362 So August 28th is the day of transferring the relics to Bregalnica. According to the geography of Meletius, “Strumnitsa is a city of Trivallov (Serbs) at the end of Macedonia, between Strymon and Augeias, located on a steep mountain, three days’ journey from Scupa.” – Nowadays Strumnica is located at the foot of the mountain, and the ruins of the castle remain on the mountain. Grigorovich is on his way. pp. 142. 143. Tafel remarks about the description of the martyrs: ubi additur, olim dictum fuisse Tiberiopolin, quod posterius mihi dubium videtur. De Thessalonica p. 294.0 Bregalnice see April pr. 49 and 50. Life of St. Clement § 12. 13. Baronius (ad an. 1071 n. 19) cites a letter from Theophylact, Archbishop. Bolgarsky, which directly speaks of seven cathedral churches built by Prince. Boris. In the life of Clement it is said: “the prince surrounded all of Bulgaria under his control with seven churches of ϰαϑολιϰοις.” The last word means cathedral church. Nestor in the life of the book. Boris and Gleb says about M. John: “so the Catholics returned to their ikklesia (Ekklesia (ancient Greek ἐκκλησία; eklesia) - a popular assembly in Ancient Greece. - Editorial of the ABC of Faith.)." – Rumyantsev Museum p. 201. At the end of the 13th century, during the predominance of the Greeks, there were 5 metropolises in Thrace, Mysia and Macedonia: in Plovdiv, Odrina, Trayanople, Pereyaslavets and Thessaloniki and bishops - in the first - 10 (Velikaya, Bykovy), in Odrinskaya - 11 (Travitsa, Pravod, Debelogo), in the third - 8 (Mokroy, Topora), in Pereyaslavetskaya - 6 (Obritogo, Durosten, Novaya on the Yantra River, Velbuzhda, Vrany), in Solunskaya - 7 (Velikaya, Smolyany, Drogovntsy, Strumnitsy, Verey, Stolbov). Imp. Lev's list of dioceses in Tafel de provin. r. 49. 50. Wiltsch kirchl. Statist. 1. 175.426–428.433 · Book. Boris did not build cathedral churches everywhere where they were before; in Vidin (Vodina) there was no cathedral in front of him. In Fulda. chronicle: mense novembri (anno 873) Agathon archiepiscopus, Basilii imperatoris legatus, ad renovandam pristinam amicitiam cum epistolis et muneribus ad Ludovicum Ratisboniam venit Assem. Calen. P, 209. In 879, “Agatho of Moravia” was present at the Council of Constantinople along with two bishops: Gabriel of Ohrid and Simeon of Debel Asseman. Calend. III, 138. Agathon was called Moravian because its diocese extended to the river. Morave. His department must have been located in Viddin - Bdynia. In the definition of imperial. Andronicus (1282) says: “82 Metropolitan of Viddinsky; this is the see of the bishop of Bulgaria, but it has been elevated to a metropolitanate,” p. 53 ed. Tafel. Theophylact ends the description of the miracles of the Strumnitsa martyrs from the time of Simeon and beyond. under Simeon; but he dedicated his essay to c. Peter and described his life - and the next. died no earlier than 967; the latter also agrees with what he says about himself in the life of Clement. Annal. metens, are. Asseman. 2, 178. Theophylact about the torment. § 36, 47–55. Regin at Pepper (Monum. 1, 580), annal. metens. Hist. Franc. III. 310. 311). Initial book deletion time. Boris to the monastery is defined as follows: Clement from 885 was a teacher for 11 years and in 898 under Prince. Simeone was elevated to the chair of archpastor (see July 27). Therefore, Vladimir Borisovich was the sovereign prince of 892–895 and Boris abandoned the throne at the beginning of 892. And according to the chronicles, Vladimir turns out to be the sovereign prince from 892. Preface by the Exarch to the Theology of Damascus. Prokhorov antiquity tetras. 8, 1864 p. 110. Savelyeva Slavic collection, p. 60. Bishop Constantine in the translation of the words of St. Afanasy - in Kalaidovich p. 98 pr. 40. Bulgarian, contemporary of Prince. Simeon speaks about the book. Boris: “And God grant that we may receive an angelic image from this flattering life in the highest, Jerusalem reposed to Christ.” Synaxarion of the 13th century; on the first sheet the picture represents the prince with the inscription: “Holy Boris.” Mr. Sreznevsky’s doubt about the meaning of this picture is in vain. Russian St. book Boris has always been depicted together with the prince. Gleb and never alone, and the entire manuscript is Bulgarian in language.