39. Состояние Церкви Русской во время татарского порабощения. Митрополиты Кирилл, Петр и Алексий

Around the half of the 13th century, in 1237–1240, the Mongol invasion befell Russia. First, the principalities of Ryazan and Vladimir were devastated, then in southern Russia the cities of Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, Kyiv and others were destroyed. The population of these principalities and cities mostly died in bloody battles; churches were robbed and desecrated; the famous Kyiv Lavra was destroyed; the monks are scattered throughout the forests and caves. However, all these terrible disasters were, as it were, an inevitable consequence of the invasion of savage peoples, for whom war was mainly a pretext for robbery. The Mongols, for their part, were indifferent to all faiths. The main rule of their life was the Yasa (book of prohibitions), containing the laws of the great Genghis Khan. It was the law to respect and fear all gods, no matter whose they were. All kinds of religious services were freely performed in the Horde, and the khans themselves were present at the performance of Christian, Mohammedan, Buddhist and other rituals. But, treating Christianity with indifference and even respect, the khans also demanded that our princes perform some superstitious rituals, for example, passing through a cleansing fire before appearing before them, worshiping images of deceased khans, the sun and a bush. According to Christian concepts, this is already a betrayal of the holy faith, and some of our princes decided to suffer death rather than perform these pagan rituals. Such was the holy noble prince of Chernigov Mikhail with his boyar Theodore, who were martyred in 1246. When Khan Batu demanded Prince Mikhail to come to him, he, having accepted the blessing for the journey from his spiritual father, Bishop John, told him that he would rather die for Christ and the holy faith than worship idols. His boyar Theodore said the same thing. The bishop strengthened them in this holy determination and gave them the Holy Gifts as a parting word for eternal life. Before entering the khan's headquarters, the Mongol priests demanded that the prince and boyar bow to the south to the grave of Genghis Khan, then to fire and felt idols. Michael replied: “A Christian must worship the Creator, not the creature.” Having learned about this, Batu became embittered and ordered Mikhail to choose one of two things: either fulfill the demands of the priests, or death. Mikhail replied that he was ready to bow to the khan, to whom God Himself had given him power, but could not fulfill what the priests demanded. Mikhail's grandson, Prince Boris, and the Rostov boyars begged him to take care of his life and offered to accept penance for himself and his people for his sin. Mikhail did not want to listen to anyone. He threw off the prince’s fur coat from his shoulders and said: “I will not destroy my soul, away is the glory of the corruptible world!” While they were carrying the answer to the khan, Prince Mikhail and his boyar sang psalms and partook of the Holy Gifts given to them by the bishop. Soon the killers appeared: they grabbed Prince Mikhail, began beating him on the chest with their fists and sticks, then turned him face to the ground and trampled them with their feet, and finally cut off his head. His last word was: “I am a Christian.” After Saint Michael, his valiant boyar was tortured in the same way. Their holy relics rest in the Moscow Archangel Cathedral. At the beginning of the 14th century, in 1313, the khans adopted Mohammedanism. This faith is characterized by fanaticism and intolerance. However, even under the dominance of Mohammedanism, the khans did not cease to adhere to the ancient law of Genghis Khan and the customs of their ancestors in their relations with the Russians, and not only did not persecute Christianity in Russia, but even patronized the Russian Church. This was greatly facilitated by the famous archpastors whom the Lord raised up in this difficult time for Russia. The most remarkable of the metropolitans during the Mongol yoke were Metropolitan Kirill, Metropolitan Peter and Metropolitan Alexy. Metropolitan Kirill III ruled the Church at the very beginning of the Mongol yoke, in 1243–1280, and many sorrows and difficulties befell him. Kyiv was devastated and constantly subjected to Tatar raids. St. Sophia Cathedral and the Metropolitan Court were looted and devastated. Due to the impossibility of living in his cathedral city, he had to choose a new place to live either in the south of Russia - in Galich, or in the north - in Vladimir. Cyril did not dare to make a final choice and spent the entire time of his primacy traveling to different cities of his vast metropolis. Almost everywhere he encountered the ruins of dwellings, churches, and monasteries. Even to his greater regret, he noticed various disorders in the private and public life of the Russians, which had crept in and established themselves amid the defeat of the Tatars, and, as the chronicle says, everywhere, according to his custom, he taught, instructed, and corrected. Wanting to eradicate these disorders, he convened bishops at a council in Vladimir in 1274, at which rules were established regarding the election of clergy (not to appoint by type of greed, slaves, illiterate, predators, fornicators, murderers, deacons under 25 years old, priests - 30 years old), regarding the priesthood (in baptism 3 times, do not mix the holy world with oil, clerics not to touch sacred vessels, deacons not to perform proskomedia and not to receive communion before priests, etc.) and regarding moral disorders among the people (he forbade indecent spectacles, fist fights and other wild customs). The zealous archpastor obtained a Slavic list of church rules (helmsman) from Bulgaria and tried to spread it in Russia. It is not known whether Metropolitan Kirill was in the Horde, but in 1267 he received from Khan Mengu-Temir a label in favor of the Church and the clergy, in which the khan freed the black and white clergy from tribute and other exactions. “Let them,” he wrote, “peacelessly pray for him and his khan’s tribe.” Here the khan forbade blaspheming the Orthodox faith: “Whoever blasphemes the Russian faith or swears at it will not apologize in any way, but will die an evil death.” Regretting those unfortunate Russians who were taken by the thousands from Russia to the Horde, Metropolitan Kirill, with the permission of the khan, founded an Orthodox diocese in Sarai itself. Metropolitan Kirill's longer stops in Vladimir, where he did not appoint a bishop for a long time (in place of Mitrofan, who was burned during the Tatar invasion in the cathedral church), and the appointment of a cathedral in this city show that the wise archpastor correctly assessed where the new center of life of the Russian state was to be formed. He died in one of the cities of the Vladimir diocese (Pereslavl-Zalessky), bequeathing, however, to bury himself in the cathedral of Kiev. Metropolitan Maxim, the successor of Metropolitan Kirill, first settled in Kyiv, but in 1299 he was forced to leave his capital city and finally moved to Vladimir, and transferred the Bishop of Vladimir to Rostov. Kyiv was, however, listed as a metropolitan see. Saint Metropolitan Peter, who ruled the Church from 1308 to 1326, was born in Volyn from pious parents. At the age of twelve he entered a monastery, where he performed various difficult obediences and was distinguished by meekness and humility. Here he learned to paint icons, and distributed the money he received for his work to the poor. Having achieved the priesthood, he, with the blessing of his mentor, left the monastery and founded his own monastery in one secluded place on the banks of the Rati River. Here he became so famous for his deeds of piety that he became known throughout Volyn. The Galician princes were dissatisfied with the metropolitan's relocation to the north and wished to have a special metropolitan. Prince Yuri Lvovich appointed Abbot Peter of the Ratskaya Monastery for this high position. Hegumen Peter with a letter from the prince was sent to Constantinople. Patriarch Afanasy received him with love, but hesitated to fulfill the prince’s desire. Meanwhile, the news came about the death of Metropolitan Maxim (1305), and the patriarch, convinced of the high merits of Saint Peter, made him metropolitan, but not for Galich, but for all of Russia. During the reign of Metropolitan Peter, a change of faith occurred in the Horde, which could have harmful consequences for Russia, namely, the adoption of Mohammedanism by Uzbek Khan. Saint Peter, caring for the Church, hurried to the Horde and, with the help of God, had great success here. The Khan received him with honor and gave him a new label, which not only reserved the previous rights for the clergy, but also added new ones: all church people were subordinate to the metropolitan in all matters, not excluding criminal ones. During the reign of Peter, Vladimir lost its significance as a grand-ducal city. Prince Mikhail Yaroslavovich of Tver was declared Grand Duke. Following the prince, Andrei, Bishop of Tver, sought primacy in the Church and slandered the metropolitan before the patriarch. A trial was scheduled for him in Pereslavl. Wanting to stop the unrest in the Church, Metropolitan Peter voluntarily abandoned his throne; but the slander brought against him was soon discovered and caused general indignation. Then Saint Peter was the first to approach Andrew and said: “Peace be with you, child; It was not you who did this, but the ancient enemy, the devil: from now on, beware of lies, and may the Lord forgive you the past.” However, the holy metropolitan did not want to move from Vladimir to Tver, but chose the small and insignificant town of Moscow for his residence. Here was Prince John Danilovich Kalita, smart and merciful to the poor. Having finally moved here in 1325, Saint Peter asked the prince to build a church in honor of the Most Pure Mother of God for his burial and at the same time uttered a wonderful prophecy about the future greatness of Moscow. “If you listen to me, my son,” he said to the prince, “then you yourself will become famous more than other princes with your family, and your city will be famous among all Russian cities, and the saints will live in it, and my bones will be laid here.” The church was founded. The saint himself made a grave for himself near the altar, but did not live to see the construction of the church completed (he died on December 21, 1326). On the site of this wooden church, a large Assumption Cathedral was subsequently erected, in which the relics of the saint rest. The successor of St. Peter, Metropolitan Theognostus, having visited Kyiv and Vladimir, finally settled in Moscow. At the same time, another prophecy of St. Metropolitan Peter came true: soon after his death, Moscow Prince John Kalita became Grand Duke in 1328, and from that time Moscow gradually rose and finally became the capital of Russia. After Theognostus, Saint Alexis assumed the department of metropolitan. Holy Metropolitan Alexy ruled the Church from 1354 to 1378. He was the son of the Chernigov boyar Theodore Byakont, born in Moscow and was taken from the holy font by Prince John Kalita. In the 13th year of his life, he was awarded a special calling from God: one day he laid out nets for birds and suddenly heard a voice: “Why are you catching birds, Alexy? You need to be a fisher of men!” The youth decided to devote himself to serving God and accepted monasticism in the Moscow Epiphany Monastery with the name Alexy. He spent twenty years in this monastery and became known to the prince and metropolitan for his wisdom and spiritual exploits. At this time, for a better understanding of the sacred books, he studied Greek. Metropolitan Theognostus, a Greek by birth, recognized the need for Russian assistants to govern the metropolis, and his choice fell on Alexy. For twelve years Saint Alexy lived in the holy house with the rank of metropolitan governor. Shortly before the death of Metropolitan Theognostus, Saint Alexy was elevated to the see of Bishop of Vladimir, and after his death he became his successor. Holy Metropolitan Alexy ruled the Church at that dangerous time for the Russian state, when the power of the Grand Duke, established in Moscow, weakened and even passed into other hands. This was during the time of the Grand Duke Ioann Ioannovich the Meek and especially after his death, when eight-year-old Dimitri (later the hero of Donskoy) remained his heir, and the Prince of Suzdal became the Grand Duke. Saint Alexy, despite the convictions of the new Grand Duke, did not leave Moscow and tried in every possible way to bring the dignity of the Grand Duke to the young Demetrius. Then he helped him a lot with his advice and pacified the appanage princes, for which he sometimes decided to take strict pastoral measures. At the same time, he used the help and assistance of his contemporary, the great saint of God, the Venerable Sergius, abbot of Radonezh, who, on the instructions of the saint, went to Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan to pacify the restless princes there. Caring for the good of the Church and the fatherland, Saint Alexy traveled to the Horde three times: the first time, according to established custom, at the beginning of his priesthood; the second time - at the call of Khan Chanibek. The khan's wife, Taidula, was extremely ill for three years and lost her sight. Meanwhile, a rumor about the holy life of Alexy reached the Horde, and Chanibek wrote to the Grand Duke, asking him to send the holy Metropolitan Alexy to heal Taidula; otherwise he threatened that he would go to devastate the Russian land. It was impossible to refuse. The saint placed all his trust in God and was supported by an encouraging sign: when, before setting off on his journey, he served a prayer service in the cathedral church, a candle lit itself in front of the shrine of St. Metropolitan Peter. Upon arrival in the Horde, he served a prayer service for the sick Taidul, and when he sprinkled her with holy water, she suddenly regained her sight. A monument to this miracle is the Miracle Monastery in Moscow, built by the saint in the Kremlin. As soon as the saint returned from the Horde, he had to go there for the third time. The new Khan Berdibek demanded increased tribute from all Russian princes and was going to war against Russia. Saint Alexy, with the help of the healed Taidula, tamed Berdibek's rage and even received from him a new label that confirmed the rights of the Church and the clergy 66. Before his death, which occurred on February 12, 1378, he had the consolation of seeing the Grand Duke's throne consolidated for Moscow and Russia on the way to liberation from the hated Tatar yoke. - In addition to the Chudov Monastery, the saint founded monasteries in Moscow: Spaso-Andronikov and Alekseevsky women's monastery. The first was arranged, according to the promise of the saint, for deliverance from the terrible storm that befell him in the Black Sea when he traveled to Constantinople for initiation. The ship entered the harbor on August 16, and the new monastery was dedicated to the sacred memory of this day. The Monk Sergius gave her his beloved student Andronik as rector. The Chudov Monastery houses a precious monument to St. Alexis: the Gospel, rewritten by his own hand. In this autograph the saint corrected some errors from the Greek original, and in some places even a completely new translation of the Gospel text is visible. This work of the saint serves as a strong denunciation for the Old Believers, who consider it contrary to Orthodoxy to correct errors in church books. You might be interested in: