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Saint Alexis, man of God St. Alexis, a man of God, was the son of pious, noble and wealthy parents, Euthymian and Aglaida, who lived in Rome in the 4th century after the Nativity of Christ; received a good upbringing; was betrothed and married by his parents to a girl from the royal family. After the wedding celebration, at night Alexy went in to his young wife, and, taking his gold ring and precious belt and wrapping it in a porphyry curtain, he gave it to her, saying: “Keep this, and may God be between you and me until His grace arranges something new in us.” Having left her in his separate bed, he took off his gold-woven clothes, put on worse clothes and, taking something from his wealth, gold and precious stones, disappeared from his chambers and from the city. Arriving at the sea, Alexy boarded a ship and sailed to Laodicea. While swimming, he prayed to God: “God! save me now from the vain worldly life, and make me worthy to stand at Your right hand at Your judgment with all those who have pleased You.” From Laodicea Alexy went to Mesopotamia - to the city of Edes. Having sold all the jewelry he had taken from his parents’ house and distributed the money to the poor, he put on the rags of a beggar and remained almost constantly on the porch of the church of God, fed on alms in the name of Christ and fed other beggars with the remains of it; was in constant fasting and prayer, ate a little bread and water and received Holy Communion weekly. His mind, occupied with the thought of God, was filled with grief, his flesh withered and withered from much abstinence. In these ascetic labors, the Monk Alexy spent 17 years in Edessa, and was loved by God. The sexton of the church, on the porch of which the monk was planted, had a vision of a command from the Mother of God: bring the man of God into my church, let him abide in it, and under the name of the man of God the venerable Alexy was indicated. Many became aware of his Godly life, and he retired from Edes to Tarsus, but a strong storm drove the ship on which he sailed to Rome. By the action of God's Providence, returned to his homeland, the man of God asked for a small stable at his parents' house and lived in it like a homeless beggar, unknown to his parents, eating alms from their table for the sake of Christ. Receiving food daily from his parents' meals, the monk shared it with other beggars, while he himself ate only bread and water. He spent his nights awake in prayer and received the Divine Mysteries weekly. Marvelous was the patience of the man of God from his servants. Some hit him, others tormented him by the hair, others pushed him, others poured slop on his head, and cursed him in other ways. The invincible sufferer endured all this in silence. The man of God’s patience was even more sorrowful because opposite his barn was the window of the chamber in which his bride lived, who remained in the house of her groom and with her mother-in-law often cried - one about her widowhood, the other about the deprivation of her son, and these tears were seen and heard by the man of God. So he lived at his parents’ house for 17 years, unrecognized by anyone, but as a beggar and homeless wanderer. The Lord revealed to the monk the day and hour of his departure into eternal life. Having asked the servant for a charter, ink and a cane, the saint wrote his entire life. One day, Pope Innocent was celebrating the liturgy, Tsar Honorius was standing by, and at the end of the liturgy everyone heard a voice: “look for the man of God who wants to be removed from the body, so that he may pray for the city.” The next day, a voice was again heard from the altar: “Seek the man of God in the house of Euthymian.” The charter, which the Monk Alexy, who had already died, held in his hands, showed who this extraordinary ascetic of piety was. He reposed in 411, and his miraculous relics accompanied him during burial. Roman Emperor Honorius, Pope Innocent and a large crowd of people. The canon now sung in honor of Alexy, the man of God, was adopted by the Church in the 9th century from Joseph the Studite. † Venerable Macarius of Kolyazin In the Tver region, 8 versts from Kashin, on his estate, in the village. Gribkov, which is now Kozhino, lived the boyar Vasily Kozha, who became famous in battles, the ancestor of the Kozhin nobles 185. He received both a nickname and a letter of commendation from Prince Vasily the Dark for his victory over the Galician prince, as a sign of which he was given part of the skin of the killed prince's horse 186. His son Matvey was taught to read and write in his seventh year, and his father trained him to be a faithful servant to the prince, as he himself was. Matvey Kozhin wanted more to be a servant of the Heavenly King than a servant of an earthly prince. His father and mother spent a long time trying to persuade him to marry; Yielding to his father’s threats, the son said with tears: “The will of the Lord be done; do with me what you want." The delighted parents found a bride in the noble house of the Yakhontovs, and their son entered into marriage. A year after that, his parents died, and three years later, his wife Elena, whom he later remembered throughout his life and bequeathed to commemorate them in the monastery that he founded 187. “Set your mind on things above, and not on earthly things” ( Col. 3:1 ). This voice of the Apostle sounds especially strongly in our ears in view of the tombs; here he says to the soul: if you do not part with earthly vanity of your own free will, you will part with your will; Isn’t it more worthy of freedom to part with the emptiness that is so dangerous for you? Young Kozhin, having buried his wife and parents, parted with the world forever; Having distributed property to the poor, he entered the Kashinsky Klobukov Monastery and here he became a monk with the name Macarius. Considering himself lower than everyone else, novice Macarius lovingly obeyed not only the abbot, but also every brother, older and younger; he spent the night singing psalms and praying; and in the afternoon, after obedience, I read the lives of the saints; in Klobukovo they also indicate the cell in which Macarius labored 188. Not content with feats of obedience and striving with his soul from the city monastery into desert solitude, Macarius withdrew with seven monks from Kashin to find a silent place for deeds. 18 versts from Kashin, between two lakes, near the Volga, he found a beautiful and quiet place, which his soul was looking for. Having erected the cross, he set up a hut and began to struggle in silence. The place of great feats was left behind by the name Kolyazina Hermitage, the boyar Ivan Kolyaga, who owned the neighboring lands. This Kolyaga did not want there to be a monastic monastery here: he was afraid that his wasteland would be given to a new monastery. A strong hatred for Macarius arose in his soul; he went so far as to decide to kill Macarius. But suddenly he was visited by a serious illness. The fear of imminent death awakened repentance in him. The sick Kolyaga ordered to be carried to Macarius, at his feet he spoke about his evil intentions for his life and asked for forgiveness. “God will forgive you,” said the hermit. Kolyaga was now so sincere in his repentance that he gave his lands to Macarius in favor of the monastery of prayer books. The blessed ascetic built the Church of the Holy Trinity. The rumor about Kolyaga’s miraculous conversion called many who thirsted for piety to the blessed one. It was necessary to elect an abbot. Macarius was at least 53 years old; but he, considering himself incapable, asked each of the elders who came with him to accept the rank of priesthood and abbess. Each of them refused, and all the brethren declared that they wanted to see Macarius as abbot. And Macarius, yielding to the general desire, was ordained abbot by Bishop Moses of Tver 189. The new abbot prepared to perform his first service to the altar of God with a long, solitary prayer, and then he communed the entire brethren with the Holy Mysteries. In the rank of abbot, Macarius worked alongside all the brethren, as at the time when he was a monk brother. For the multiplied brethren, he bought the village from the Tver prince. Sergeevskoe 190. The abbot added care and labor to the monk’s exploits - instructing the brethren and visitors to the monastery. - Those who sincerely sought salvation saw strong edification in the strict life of Macarius, and in simple conversations they heard the voice of experienced piety. Both ordinary people and many nobles came to see and listen to Macarius. They respected him as a father, although he wore thin clothes covered with patches. Judging by his attire and the simplicity of his manner, others took him for a simple man and even laughed at him 191 . Macarius was more pleased when he heard ridicule of him than when he was praised. His consolation was to walk through silent places and talk with nature. Then the inhabitants of the desert region were wild animals; but they were meek with the meek servant of God and sometimes accepted food from him. Spiritual life blossomed in the monastery of Macarius. This is what Macarius himself said to Joseph of Volokolamsk who was visiting him: “When I came to this place, seven elders came with me from the Klobukov Monastery. They were so perfect in virtues and spiritual life that all the brethren came to them to receive instructions; They taught everyone useful things, confirmed some in virtues, and restrained those who deviated from disorder by prohibition and did not allow them to follow their will.” Joseph himself, an eyewitness to the life of Macarius and his associate, adds on his own: “such and such deanery and piety were in that monastery.” “Everything happened in accordance with paternal and communal legends. “Even the great elder Mitrofan Byvaltsev marveled at this. – Returning from Mount Athos, where he lived for 9 years, he said to the brethren: “I worked in vain and not wisely, making my way to the holy mountain, in addition to the Kolyazin monastery; one can be saved in it; here everything happens exactly the same as in St. mountains" 192. The grace of God was manifested in the ascetic of God with wonderful signs even in his earthly life. “Once they brought the paralytic Zacharias to his monastery, and the sick man with tears asked Macarius to pray for him. - “Why did they bring you to me, my brother? Why do you ask for help from a sinner who has barely acquired anything just for his salvation?” spoke the humble abbot. The paralytic did not stop asking for help. “I know,” he said, that your prayer for me, the unfortunate one, will not remain in vain before God.” Macarius said to him: “My son! God does not want the sinner to die and leads him to repentance. - So God’s visitation has come to you. If you repent and give up your previous bad habits, you will receive healing; if not, worse will happen to you.” Zachary confessed all his sins with tears. The blessed one blessed him, and the sick man became healthy. – Subsequently, this healed man was a priest in the Kiyasov Mountains and until the end of his life he firmly remembered the instructions of Macarius. – Another experience was with the raging boyar young man Vasily Ryasin. Macarius served a prayer service for his health, made the sign of the cross over him, and the recovered patient no longer returned to his home, but accepted monasticism at the monastery. “Once, unkind people stole the working oxen of the monastery, but suddenly became blind. Wandering around the area, they involuntarily returned to the monastery and repented of their sin to Macarius; The monk freed them from sin and blindness, adding: “Don’t sin in the future.” From the time he settled in the desert, Macarius did not change his monastic rule until old age: he stood firmly in prayer day and night. Once he set out on the cruel path, he did not leave it until the grave and often shed tears 193. – After death, they found heavy chains on him, which they had not known about until then 194. – His blessed death followed on the 17th day of March 1483, at the 83rd year of his life. The relics of the blessed one were found incorrupt (1521) while digging ditches for a new church 195. From that time on, healings began to flow from his coffin. John, who lived in the monastery hotel, had cramped legs for twelve years. He crawled to the tomb of Macarius and asked the priests to pray for him to the saint of God. They wanted to lift him up so that he could venerate the holy relics, but at that very moment his withered legs began to crunch aloud to everyone; he himself stood upright and, venerating the relics, became healthy. – Hierodeacon Andrey of the monastery, who suffered from severe aching legs, received healing at the relics. One woman suffered from water sickness and was cured at the saint’s shrine. Another, who had been deaf for 30 years, received her hearing here. The Kashin nun Maria also experienced this, she suffered for a long time with her legs and had a crooked hand. The young man Gregory lay motionless on his bed for ten years; brought to the saint’s tomb, he prayed here and felt that he could rise; stood up to bow to the coffin of the monk and - those who brought it, leaving the coffin for a while, seeing him on his feet, glorified God and His saint with him. The frantic Onuphrius was brought from Novgorod, and his senses returned to him at the saint’s grave. This is what the monk Macarius, an eyewitness to miracles, wrote. In the service to the monk we read: “Like precious pearls, your relics lie in the sight of everyone, venerable one, and endlessly bestow various healings.” The universal celebration of St. Macarius was established by the council of 1547 196. The life of St. Macarius (in Ch. M. Macarius) was described in 1540 by the monk Macarius, who in the preface says: “I did not see the saint with my own eyes, but I heard about his exploits from many reliable people who saw him themselves; he lived not many years before us. I saw the healings that occurred during the cancer of the God-bearing father with my own eyes." In the Synod. RKP. XVI century. No. 555. Laquera heraldry 513. 514. Certificate in East. Jer. 4.615.616. Journal Min. Ext. Case 1844 V, 508. Description. Tver province. Tver. 1847, p. 52. Moses was ordained bishop of Tver in 1453 by St. Jonah; and his successor was 1460–1477 Gennady Kozhin, brother of the Rev. Macarius (Hist. Jer. 1, 276. Hist. act. 1, 502. 503. Note, pp. 17, 109). Thus Macarius, who died at the age of 83 in 1483, was no younger than 53 in 1453. This unostentatious appearance led, if not into deception, then into doubt, even to such a person as Vassian, a former prince and not a carefree monk. - At times, carried away by the rationalism of the Reformation, at the council of 1531 he said: “I knew him (Macarius): he was a simple man; but whether he was a miracle worker or not, you can judge.” M. Daniel answered Bassian: “Seek in the saints not physical, but spiritual nobility, high in the eyes of God; it is said: not from carnal lust, not from male lust, but born of God.” Debate M. Daniel with Elder Bassian in reading. total ist. IX, 11. In his justification, Vassian wrote: “These are lies against me and against my elder Nil (Sorsky), that we blaspheme miracle workers, both ancient and new.” - Rukop. Synod. b. No. 738. Ave. Joseph's tale about St. fathers. Service on March 17 min. 1646 Service for the discovery of the relics of the monk (May 26) in the menaion for May 1646. “Having tied your body with chains of iron and purity, you reached the highest villages, father.” Prologue March 17; Karamz. 7, pr. 383. Russian. times 2, 268, 269. At the end of the Gospel of the Kolyazin monastery there is an inscription: “in sheet 7041 (1533) in the monastery of the life-giving Trinity and the Most Pure Mother of the Honest Nativity and the holy passion-bearer Boris and Gleb and our reverend and God-bearing father Macarius in the Kolyazin monastery, with the blessing of Abbot Euthymius, it was written This gospel is on the throne." Act. 9. 1, 203. 599. Service on March 17 at Rumyantsev No. 397, at Tsarsky 11. 563.