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Day one. Memory of Saint Peter from Galatia
“Who can worthily praise someone who labored for ninety-two years and emerged victorious every day and every night? What word will be enough to retell about the virtues in which he labored in childhood, and in adolescence, and in manhood, and in old age, and in deep old age? Who will measure the drops of his sweat? Who can count the battles he committed during such a time of war? What word could convey how many seeds he sowed and how many fruits he reaped? Who would have such a high mind that he could fully embrace the acquisitions that he collected from the wise use of the talents given to him? I know how vast the sea of his virtues is, and I’m afraid to begin to narrate them, lest I and my word perish under the waves. Therefore, I will walk near the shore, express my surprise and tell only about what I see near the shore. I will leave the very depths to the One who tests the depths and knows the secrets...”
This is what Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, his contemporary who had a personal relationship with him, says about St. Peter. From the story of Blessed Theodoret, some information is given here about the life of the great ascetic, whose memory is honored today by the Holy Church.
The chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit, from a very early age Peter loved “the only thing needed” and steadily walked his earthly life for more than ninety years along the narrow path he had chosen. Leaving the home of his parents, he first asceticised in Galatia, then went to Palestine to worship the places sanctified by the feet of the Incarnate God, and, imbued with and saturated with these memories, he arrived in Antioch, where then (in the 2nd quarter of the 4th century) piety flourished, and therefore the young man Peter wished to settle here, preferring life in a foreign city with fellow believers - life in his fatherland, although with consanguineous and of the same tribe, but not like-minded with him. He did not, however, arrange any housing for himself in Antioch; took refuge in the tomb and lived here for a long time in prayerful solitude and strict fasting, eating only bread and water. Striving in this way, from strength to strength, Peter reached that degree of spirituality that the Lord chooses as the basis for His grace-filled highest gifts, and in his youth he was still awarded the gift of miracles.
By the power of prayer, he restored reason to those who were possessed, healed bodily illnesses, “even his clothes, through touch, acted like the clothes of the divine Apostle Paul,” says Theodoret.
One circumstance is remarkable when the mother of Blessed Theodoret met this ascetic of Antioch. She heard about him from one of her friends, the wife of the then eastern ruler of Pergamum, who was healed by Blessed Peter from a dangerous eye disease. The mother of Blessed Theodoret, also suffering from an eye disease from which no one could heal her, decided to turn for help to a well-known ascetic of the tomb. A young woman, not yet spiritually enlightened, she went to him, adorned, as usual, with rich clothes. Seeing her, the blessed one wished to heal her first of her love for clothes...
“Tell me, my daughter,” he spoke to her, “if some painter, very experienced in his art, painted some picture according to all the rules of art and presented it to people who wanted to look, and someone else, who had not studied that art well, but painted as he pleased, whatever came to mind, came and, blaspheming that artistic painting, gave the eyebrows and eyelashes a longer outline, a face If he would have made it whiter, added more color to his cheeks - do you think the former painter would have been unfairly indignant at this insult to his art and at the unnecessary additions made by an ignorant hand? Likewise, the Creator of all things and our nature, the Creator and Artist, is offended by the fact that you seem to accuse His ineffable wisdom of imperfection: otherwise you would not cover yourself with paint, either white or black, if you did not think that you lack this accessory.
And thinking that the body lacks what is necessary, you seem to accuse the Creator of some kind of powerlessness, while everyone knows that He has power equal to will. The Lord creates whatever He wants (Ps. 134:6), giving everyone everything that is useful, not giving only what is harmful. Do not distort the image ordained by God, do not try to add what the Wise One did not give, and do not invent counterfeit beauty, which corrupts even the chaste...”
Like a good seed on fertile soil, these words sank into the good soul of a young woman and suddenly enlightened and transformed her. Falling at the feet of the saint, she with tears begged him to pray for her, saying that she would not leave him until she received healing from her illness.
“If you have sincere and firm faith, you will recover,” the humble Peter told her. - God, always ready to fulfill the request of a believing soul, will also fulfill your request, not by bestowing grace on me, but by seeing your faith. If you take this God-given medicine, you will recover.” And when, following these words, Peter put his sick hand on his eye and depicted the sign of the cross, the disease disappeared.
“My mother gained such benefit from Peter’s instructions,” says Theodoret, “she sought healing for the body, and also acquired health for the soul. This is what blessed Peter did with his words, this is what he could do with prayer..."
“Having many other stories about this blessed soul, I will omit quite a few, fearing for the weakness of many who, judging by themselves, do not believe the miracles of God-loving men... So, having shone with miraculous rays and enlightened Antioch with them,” concludes Theodoret, “Peter finished his exploits in anticipation of the crown prepared for the victorious.”
Blessed Peter died peacefully around 429, being 99 years old.
Memory of the Holy New Martyr Anastasius Navpliota
A resident of the city of Anaplia, a painter by occupation, Anastasius was one of those called upon to capture with his death the power of faith that lurks deeply and indestructibly in the hearts of the oppressed, but undefeated morally Christian population in the East.
The reason for his suffering feat was initially one everyday circumstance: he was engaged to the daughter of a local Christian, but having learned by chance that her behavior was not irreproachable, he refused to marry her. The annoyed relatives of the bride resorted to one of the means used by ignorant people to so-called “bewitch” the groom. And in this case, as in many frequent manifestations of similar evil, examples of which, unfortunately, are quite common in our time among the common people, the stimulant influenced the brain, drove Anastasius to a mental disorder, and at this time of his painful unconscious state, the Muslims “turned” him...
Anastasia’s strong nature, however, overcame the effect of the stimulating “potion”; he recovered, came to his senses, and then with horror he saw a white Muslim turban on his head... With indignation, he threw it to the ground and exclaimed, seeing himself surrounded by Turks: “I am a Christian, I have always been a Christian and I will remain one!”
The Turks captured him and presented him to the judge. Anastasy did not pay any attention to the admonitions and threats of the judge and only said: “I will not renounce the Lord Jesus Christ, my true God; in Him alone I believe and worship Him as my Creator and Savior; I renounce your faith, as well as you and your prophet, and I have not the slightest attraction to it...”
These words could have no other consequence than a death sentence. But the irritated fanatical people were not content with the sentence of beheading the Christian; it seemed too easy a death for him. The Turks furiously rushed at Anastasius and beat him with sticks, swords, and knives and chopped him into small pieces.
Thus, another martyr joined the host of Christian victims of Muslim fanaticism.
On the same day of St. Tryphon of Kola. On this day the day of his Angel is commemorated. For the life of the saint, see December 16.
Day two. Meeting of the Lord in the Jerusalem Temple
When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, says the holy evangelist Luke about the Mother of God and the Child of God, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord, as prescribed in the law of the Lord, so that every male child who opens the womb should be dedicated to the Lord (Luke 2:22-24). For the ancient redemption of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery by the death of the Egyptian firstborns, destroyed by the hand of an Angel, the law of the Lord demanded from the Jews (see: Exodus 13) that every firstborn male child of theirs, as the property of God, acquired by the blood of alien firstborns, on the 40th day after his birth, should be brought to God’s church, dedicated to the Lord and redeemed from the Lord. It was "the presentation or dedication of the infant to God." The Divine Lawgiver, as the firstborn of every creature (Col. 1:15), as the firstborn among God's elect (Rom. 8:29) and as the firstborn of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:25), fulfilled the law of Moses regarding the firstborn. He who was to sanctify and redeem all people was Himself first dedicated to God and redeemed!
“The ancient denmi, which gave the law to Moses of old at Sinai... fulfilling the law, is brought to the church.”
The Child Lord was brought to the Temple of Jerusalem by the Mother of God and Joseph on this day, which is the fortieth day after the birth of the Savior. According to the law of Moses (see: Lev. 12), a wife who gave birth to a male child was forbidden to enter the church for 40 days: these were days of purification according to the law. At the end of this period, the mother of the newborn came to the church of God to make a sacrifice to God. They sacrificed a lamb and a turtledove, or two turtledoves if they were unable to provide a lamb. David's daughter could only make the last kind of sacrifice! Although Mary, having become the Mother of the Lord, was sanctified by His birth and, without ceasing to be a Virgin, had no need for purification according to the general law, “as the undefiled, unglamorous, incorruptible and most pure Virgin,” but out of deep humility she submitted to the dictates of the law.
Then the righteous and pious elder Simeon lived in Jerusalem, looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was on him (Luke 2:25). He was promised that he would not die without seeing Christ the Lord. At the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Simeon came to the church at the time when the parents brought the Baby Jesus to place Him before the Lord; accepted the Infant of God into his arms, which is why he is called the God-Receiver; blessed God and uttered a prophetic song about the Savior: Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word, in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the face of all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:29-32). Joseph and the Mother of God marveled at what was said. Simeon blessed them too and continued to prophesy about the Child: Behold, this One lies for the fall and for the uprising of many in Israel and for the subject of controversy, and for You Yourself,” the holy elder predicted to the Mother of God, “a weapon will pierce the soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed (Luke 2:34-35).
There was also an 84-year-old widow, Anna, in the church, who did not leave the church, serving God day and night with fasting and prayer. And at that time she came up, glorified the Lord and spoke about Him to everyone who was waiting for deliverance in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38); which is why she is called a Prophetess. So clearly and majestically the Divinity was revealed in the forty-day-old Infant! By those who sought the joy of Israel, He was recognized and glorified as Christ, the Savior of the world and Lord. Simeon, blessing God, said: “For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people.” The life of the righteous man, according to the will of God, as legend says, was extended longer than usual, so that he, having seen with his own eyes the Child, the Savior of the world, departed in peace from this life.
By celebrating the Presentation of the Lord, the Church confesses and affirms the immutable truth that “Christ appeared to the world not as an opinion, not as a ghost, but as the truth,” and, therefore, denounces those ancient false teachers who rejected human nature in Jesus Christ, considering it unworthy of God and untrue.
By the example of Jesus Christ, dedicated to God as the firstborn, the Church inspires that we, bought at the price of the blood of Christ, are no longer our own (1 Cor. 6:19-20); from birth we must be dedicated by our parents to God, so that after this we too, in imitation of the Infant Christ, may grow and be strengthened in spirit, filled with the wisdom and grace of God (see: Luke 2:40). And in the disasters that befall us, the feast of the Presentation teaches us to turn to God, the ever-present and quick Helper and Intercessor for those who call on Him with faith and true repentance.
Memory of the Holy Martyr Gabriel
In addition to the circumstances that accidentally reveal the readiness of Christians to suffer for their faith, which is oppressed in the East, as can be seen, by the way, from the example of the new martyr Anastasius Naupliotos, who was remembered yesterday, there are also frequent cases when those who ardently love their faith in Christ do not wait for random reasons to demonstrate it, but warn them and create for themselves the opportunity to be rewarded with a suffering feat.
One of those who were carried away by such a positive desire for martyrdom was Gabriel, remembered today, who was born in the Allioni district, in the Prikonis diocese. Even in his youth, he chose monasticism as his path and led a chaste and virtuous life; Over time he moved to Constantinople and was made canonarch of the great church. The constant thought of martyrdom from a young age never left him here, and he fervently prayed for the desired path to be shown to him... One day, after communion of the Holy Mysteries, he walked through the streets of Constantinople in thought (probably all about the same subject). Here a Muslim met him and boldly pushed him out of the way. Gabriel answered him in kind and at the same time expressed himself insultingly against the Mohammedan religion. At the Muslim’s cry, his fellow believers came running, began to beat Gabriel and dragged him to the judge.
To the usual proposal to a Christian in such cases - to leave his faith and accept the Mohammedan confession - Gabriel replied: “I have not yet reached such madness and ignorance as to call a simple man my Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of God and perfect God, and your Muhammad, an ordinary man, a prophet! I confess Jesus and believe that He is the true God from the true God; your Muhammad is not only not a prophet, but a stupid man, an ignoramus, a deceiver and an enemy of our Savior Jesus Christ. I despise him and reject both him and his religion...”
The answer to these words was the command to cut off the head of a Christian. The executioner immediately began to carry out this command. Having tied Gabriel's hands, they brought him to Bakche-Kapisi, near the customs, and there, on February 2, 1676, they cut off the head of the confessor praying on his knees.
The Turks threw the holy remains of Gabriel, a virgin, a monk and a martyr, into the sea, not agreeing in their irritation to give them up to Christians even at the price of gold.
Day three. Repose of Saint Simeon, Bishop of Tver
In the handwritten calendar, Simeon, Bishop of Tver, is placed among the saints of the Russian Church. Chronicles of different times, speaking about him, call him “venerable bishop,” which shows in him an ascetic, holy life 184.
Blessed Simeon was the first Bishop of Tver 185, and the seventh Bishop of Polotsk 186. According to some monuments, he was from the family of the princes of Polotsk 187. The latter is confirmed by the fact that a lot of lands and lands were distributed to them to the Polotsk monasteries and churches 188. The sorrows of time forced him to leave Polotsk. In 1263, Prince Mindovg, married to Princess Tverskaya, was killed. At the same time, his nephew, Prince of Polotsk, Tovtiville, was also deprived of his life. Tovtiwill's son fled to Novgorod; other princes and boyars fled wherever they could 189. The Polotsk bishop, who had previously been in charge of the churches of the Tver principality, avoided troubles in Tver, especially since at the same time the Tver prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich became the Grand Duke of Russia and chose his beloved Tver as his capital city. The noble prince received the blessed shepherd with all love: he endowed the Tver department with his rich estates and lands 190. According to the chronicle, in 1271 the blessed shepherd lovingly paid his last debt of love and respect to his deceased benefactor.
Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich died on the way from the Horde, and he was brought to Tver for burial; “Bishop Simeon of Tver performed the usual funeral singing over him, and he was laid in the cathedral church of Saints Cosmas and Damian” 191. Blessed Simeon also ruled his flock as a sincere shepherd, as one of the best shepherds of the Church. According to the chronicles, he was “educational and well acquainted with books; not being afraid of troubles and misfortunes, he entered into disputes with the prince and nobles, and did good to the poor and orphans” 192. Forgiving and kind to the offended and unfortunate, attentive to the monastic and priestly rites, he was formidable to those who insulted truth and virtue - they were afraid of him 193. Ancient monuments record his conversation with Prince Constantine of Polotsk. “Constantine, Prince of Polotsk, called Bezrukiy, wanting to prick his tiun, said in the hearing of everyone to the bishop: “Where will our tiuns be in the next world?” Vladyka Simeon answered: “In the same place as the prince.” The prince did not like this, and he said: “Tiun judges wrongly,
takes money, sells and tortures people, does everything bad; what am I doing? The Lord said to him: “If the prince is kind and God-fearing, has pity on people, loves the truth, and therefore chooses as a tiun or ruler a good and God-fearing, intelligent and truth-loving person: then the prince will be in Paradise, and his tiun with him. If a prince, without the fear of God, does not spare Christians, does not think about orphans and widows, and appoints an evil, unreasonable boss, just to get him kun (money), lets him, like a hungry dog on carrion, destroy people: then the prince will be in hell and his tyun with him. I tell you, princes and governors: comfort the sad, deliver the weak from the hand of the strong. The rich offend them, and they come to you as protectors of the good. But you, princes and governors, are like a rain cloud releasing water over the sea, and not over the thirsty land. You give and help to those who have a lot of silver and gold, and not to those who do not have a penny; You give the poor into slavery, and you give generously to the rich." 194
Russian antiquity honored this free, fearless denunciation of the mighty of the earth, this pure consciousness of the demands of truth by including it in the general guidelines of justice 195. In 1276, a fire destroyed residential buildings in the city of Tver; All the churches were destroyed, with the exception of one. The caring saint had to put in a lot of labor to build the holy house and churches. In 1282 there was again a fire in Tver 196. The dilapidated wooden cathedral church of Saints Cosmas and Damian was dismantled, and in its place in 1285 the saint founded a stone cathedral church in honor of the Savior. The following year, the saint had the consolation of seeing the experience of the sincere love of his flock for the shepherd. Predatory Lithuanians suddenly attacked the church districts of the Tver ruler and robbed them. The Tverites voluntarily, of their own accord, rushed after the predators, caught up with them and took away all the loot. Such a prince as Saint Michael Yaroslavich was, used everything to ensure that the new cathedral was built without slowing down or stopping. But a lasting, magnificent church could not be built soon.
The saint, feeling that in his old age he would not live to see the consecration of the new cathedral, and bored without serving at the cathedral, which was so gratifying for a sad old age, consecrated (1287) a movable altar in the cathedral that was under construction, so that he could pray here with the flock as long as he could. And indeed, he died peacefully on February 3, 1289, and the church was consecrated by his successor, Bishop Andrew, in 1290 197.
Memory of the holy righteous Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess.
Enough has been said about them above, on the Feast of the Presentation.
Day four. Memory of Saints Abramius and Koprius of Pechenga
According to the handwritten description of the Vologda saints, “the venerable fathers Abramius and Kopriy, like the Savior on Pechenga, were in the year 7000 (1492).” The Spasskaya Hermitage on the Pechenga River, closed in 1764, was located 20 versts from Vologda, in the Gryazovets district. In 1492, the blessed zealots of desert life settled for the first time in this then remote forest place. They had to endure many different needs and sorrows, but they fought steadfastly for the Lord until the grave. Their relics rest hidden in the Savior Church, now a parish 198.
Day five. Memory of Saint Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople
The Rev. Nestor the chronicler says that our blessed Grand Duchess Olga (Equal to the Apostles) “was baptized by Patriarch Polyeuctus himself, famous for the holiness of his life and for his education.” In the 60th year of her life, Grand Duchess Olga went to him with a large retinue for more complete teaching of the truths of the faith that she had already partially known - from a good mentor, nicknamed the second Chrysostom for his eloquence.
Having heard instruction in the faith from him, she also received Holy Baptism from him, and Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus was her recipient from the font in 957.
Blessing the joyful Russian princess with the cross before her departure, Saint Polyeuctus prophetically said to her: “Blessed are you among the Russian women, for you have loved the light and rejected the darkness! The sons of Russia will bless you until your last generation!” He also gave her instructions about church rules, about prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and about maintaining spiritual and physical purity.
Having ascended the patriarchal throne from monasticism in 946, Saint Polyeuctus died peacefully in 970.
Memory of the Holy New Martyr Anthony of Athens
Anthony was the son of pious Athenian parents; They were very poor, but managed to enrich their son with the best blessings, instilling in him Christian feelings in childhood. This was the reason for his temporary martyrdom and happiness in eternity...
Due to his poverty, Anthony, without even learning any craft, was forced to enter the service of the Turks and, although he received a small salary from them, he shared this with his parents. At this time there was a war between Turkey and Russia; the Russian fleet appeared off the coast of the Morea; Anthony's masters went to destroy and take captive the Morean Christians; Anthony had to follow them, and they sold him there as a prisoner to some Muslim emirs. The new masters forced Anthony to convert to Islam; they failed; then they sold him to others, and thus Anthony was sold from one hand to another several times, and each time the new rulers tried to force him to convert to Islam, but always without success. Finally, it was bought for 400 piastres by a Christian coppersmith, who took it with him to Constantinople. Here he immediately began what he had been deprived of for a long time: confession and communion of the Holy Mysteries, and diligently began to serve the new master - a Christian.
At this time, he once saw in a dream a majestic Woman of wonderful beauty, who said to him: take courage!...
It was like a warning to God’s chosen one, which soon came true...
One day, when Anthony was in the workshop, one of his former owners saw him and shouted at him: “How dare you leave me! and how did you become a Christian from a Turk?”
Now there were false witnesses who confirmed the testimony of the former Mr. Anthony. And despite the rare case that the judge this time turned out to be fair and believed the defendant’s objections that he had always been a Christian, Anthony was presented to the vizier for trial, since the judge was unable to either appease the false witnesses or persuade Anthony to accept Islam. But, secretly warned by the judge that the verdict was forced, the vizier wanted to suppress this matter and, just to calm the people, imprisoned Anthony, as if awaiting an investigation into the case.
Anthony accepted his imprisonment with joy, taught the Christians who were with him there to patiently endure trials and misfortunes and not be afraid to die for the sake of faith in Jesus Christ...
He distributed the money that was with him; sent a letter to his master, thanking him for the ransom from the barbarians and expressing regret that he did not have time to serve him; asked for forgiveness from all Christians; ordered that his parents be notified of his fate and that the usual commemoration be performed after his death - and thus with all his thoughts he prepared for martyrdom.
The feat did not slow down... The people demanded the execution of the imaginary apostate. The vizier had to present the case to the Sultan. He decided the verdict: convert to Islam or be executed.
As if on a holiday, a faithful Christian hurried to execution and, bowing his head with the words: “Lord! I commend my spirit into Your hands!” - died under the third blow of the sword... (February 5, 1774). Christians bought his remains and, with great triumph, buried them in the cemetery of the Life-Giving Spring.
Day six. Memory of Saint Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople
“First of all, I was called to virtue by my father, who for Orthodoxy and the true faith, having renounced wealth and honors, agreed to endure everything and died as a martyr in exile, and by my God-loving mother, attached to virtue and zealous, in no way lagging behind her husband...”
This is how Photius writes about himself and at the same time reveals a life, the height of which is truly drawn from an immutable saving source: Christian education received from parents.
Standing out among his contemporaries with his extraordinary intelligence and amazing multifaceted scientific education - even his enemies spoke of him: “he was so distinguished by information in almost all the free secular sciences that he could rightfully be recognized as the glory of his age and could even argue with the ancients” - Photius, however, put the objects of the holy faith above all. “Our noble muses,” he wrote, “are as much higher than the Hellenic muses as the noble spirit is higher than the life of a slave, and the truth is a lie.”
The grandson of Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who was related to the royal house, who was the head of the guard and the first secretary of state in the Senate, Photius was already placed in a brilliant field from a young age, but was not carried away by it; monasticism was more consistent with the aspirations of his soul for solitude, deepening into oneself, and inner work. But he did not seek a high spiritual rank either and avoided it with all his might when his election to patriarch followed. Here are the letters with which Photius responds to this election: “The chosen ones from the clergy, bishops and metropolitans come to me in a council, and ahead of them and with them is the pious emperor... They did not retreat from me until they had done something that I did not want, but was pleasant to them”... (letter to Patriarch Antioch.). And in a letter to Varda: “Having not experienced it in practice, I felt unworthy of the degree of bishop... At the same time, I was embarrassed by the anticipation of the troubles now overwhelming my soul. Hesitated and tormented by them, I cried, prayed, used all measures to reject election from myself...
“In a letter to Pope Nicholas: “I, as a guilty person, was kept in custody; the sentence was imposed on me against my wishes; I cried, begged, and was tormented when they elevated me to this position. Everyone knows this."
Not without great turmoil, however, this election took place, and already by a council of 313 bishops, in 861, it was approved after the deposition of Ignatius. The church calmed down. Photius devoted himself to his studies in governing the Church. In the very first times of his reign, it fell to his lot to promote the general Christian education of the Slavic tribes. On the occasion of the reception of Holy Baptism by the Bulgarian prince, he sent an archbishop and priests to Bulgaria to bring the Bulgarian pagans to the faith. He himself wrote to the Bulgarian Prince Michael, “outlining in the 1st part of the epistle the Orthodox teaching about faith and the evasion of various human arbitrarinesses from it, and in the 2nd part proposing the rules of Christian life, exposing love as the essence of the law.”
Photius sent his former student Cyril and his brother Methodius to Moravia, at the request of the Moravian princes, so that the teaching about Christ would take place in the popular Slavic language.
He also appointed his disciple Abramius as metropolitan in Armenia, the Church of which, through the efforts of Photius, entered into an alliance with the Orthodox Church. 199 Meanwhile, the pope acted against the Eastern Church; he expelled Greek priests from Bulgaria and, through priests, instilled in the recent pagan Slavs the primacy of the Roman bishop, the importance of Roman statutes and rituals, and demanded obedience to Rome. Latin preachers began to destroy everything that the Greeks had managed to do: they rebelled against the use of the Slavic language in Divine services, spreading that it was a sin to do it and read the Holy Scriptures in a language other than Greek, Latin or Hebrew... Moreover, they introduced a changed symbol. Photius could not be indifferent to such actions on the part of Pope Nicholas. He notified the East in a circular letter about the Pope’s retreat from ancient Orthodoxy, and as a result of this, the self-will of the West was condemned at a numerous council. The demands of the popes were rejected, the innovations of the Western Church were condemned.
Meanwhile, political circumstances changed, and this had an unfortunate effect on the Church... Basil the Macedonian killed Emperor Michael and took his throne in 867. Photius fearlessly rebelled against Vasily, did not allow him to receive the Eucharist, and thereby greatly irritated him against himself. This was also accompanied by persecution from the pope, who declared that Patriarch Photius was slandering the West and was himself being unfair regarding religion. Confused and irritated, Vasily returned Ignatius to the see and imprisoned Photius in a monastery.
The Pope was triumphant and hastened to send legates to the council convened in Constantinople for the trial of Photius and the reconciliation of the two Churches.
The meeting at the council began by demanding the unconditional submission of the Eastern Church to the court of the pope. Photius was brought to the 5th meeting; to all the questions that the legates asked him, he answered with silence. When they told him that silence would not save him from condemnation, he answered: “It was the same with the Lord Jesus.” In the 7th meeting he was asked: does he want to repent? He answered with a question: have the judges themselves come to their senses? They sought denunciations against him, they insulted him, but, not finding any guilt behind him, Photius and his bishops were anathematized... After that, Photius was sent to prison and there they deprived him of everything, not only servants, but also meetings with relatives even during his illness; “They invented another new, strange punishment: they took away all the books.”
Photius spent seven years in this captivity. But “I only thanked the Lord,” Photius testified before the council of 879, “patiently bore His judgments against me...” “Anathema,” Photius wrote to one friend, “pronounced by preachers of truth against wickedness is a terrible, most extreme execution. But the truth produced by the enemies is nothing more than a fable or amusement, and instead of execution, it prepares unfading, imperishable glory for the innocent. Since the frenzy and lack of understanding of false zealots has reached the point that, against all order, both Divine and human, against all common sense, they curse the witnesses and defenders of the truth, and, on the contrary, defend barbaric injustice against the Church of God, - since then this terrible, extreme punishment of the Church has become the subject of ridicule, and a good person will rightfully wish to be cursed by these people.”
At the outrageously unfairly furnished cathedral, which opened already under the successor of Pope Nicholas - Hadrian - where those present were even surrounded by armed soldiers, and where, due to the lack of actual ambassadors from the three Eastern Patriarchs, Saracen attorneys who came to ransom prisoners were presented as authorized for the council - unfortunately, several concessions were made to the pope, but in the case of Bulgaria, firm resistance was offered and it was decided that she belonged to the Eastern Church.
Finally the time came when the emperor himself realized the injustice in relation to Photius and, calling him to court, entrusted him with the education of his children, and after the death of Ignatius he returned the department to him. In 879, 383 bishops recognized him as the legitimate shepherd of the Church. Then Pope John VIII, who knew the merits of Photius and who hoped to gain more influence in Constantinople by friendliness than by threats, explained at the council both by letter and through the legate the abolition of all previous Vatican decrees regarding Photius and generally sought peace with the Eastern Church. But this peace could no longer be durable. Photius made no concessions; the pope lost hope both in Bulgaria and in the recognition of his other claims by the Eastern Church. He was forced to call his bishops from Bulgaria, and Slavic worship was established in this country. This circumstance again armed the Roman Church, which was concerned not so much with enlightening the Slavic countries, but with keeping these areas under the Roman Church and spreading its influence in them.
John's successors repeated the anathema to Photius. Under Emperor Leo, Basil's successor, the pope's secret agents slandered Photius in plans against the emperor and achieved that Leo, Photius's pupil, saved by him from the blindness to which Basil wanted to subject him out of suspicion, deposed him from the pulpit. The great defender of the truth of the Universal Church, one might say, the savior of the Church from the love of power and self-will of the popes, died in the same year (886) in the Armoni monastery - under the anathema of the pope and in disgrace with the Greek emperor.
Leo, hastening to please the pope with the news of the new patriarch, but realizing in his soul that Photius had nothing to accuse, wrote that Photius voluntarily left the see, and was not expelled.”
After Photius, many varied works of high merit remained, both in terms of extensive scholarship and elegance of style and warmth of soul. They place him alongside the most famous writers of all 200 centuries.
The memory of the suffering of the thirteen-year-old orphan, Christian Fausta, during the persecution of Maximian, who was in Cyzicus between 305 and 311. With miraculous patience in suffering, she converted her tormentors to the faith of Christ - the pagan priest Evilasios, 80 years old, and Eparch Maxim, who rushed with the words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!” into a cauldron with boiling resin, where in suffering they glorified God Faustus and Evilasios, and who perished with them... The Venerable Father Barsanuphius, an Egyptian and great ascetic of the 6th century, and his disciples - John, called the prophet, and another John - from the city of Lykos 201.
Memory of Saint Vukol, Bishop of Smyrna
Appointed by the Apostle John the Theologian as bishop of the Church of Smyrna, Saint Vukol led many from the darkness of idolatry to the light of the faith of Christ, and denounced the heretics who appeared, and edified his verbal flock in word and deed. He died peacefully in 105 A.D., leaving the Hieromartyr Polycarp as his successor.
Day seven. Memory of Saint Mastridia the Hermit, Mary and Others Unknown by Name
When the story of the wondrous Mary of Egypt became known, the lofty exploits of the equal-angel, her wondrous hope in the Lord, which turned out to be so faithful and strong, she inspired more than one virgin to perform more or less difficult exploits.
About one ascetic who died during the life of Saint Cyriacus, and, therefore, before the year 557, when Saint Cyriacus died, Cyril tells in the life of Saint Cyriacus 202.
“John, a disciple of the holy father Cyriacus the hermit,” writes Cyril, “told me the following:
Several years before this, my friend, brother Paramon, and I went to Father Kiriak. And then in the distance we see a man standing. We, thinking that he was a hermit, hastened to approach him to bow to him. When we approached that place, he disappeared from our eyes. We were frightened at the thought of whether it was an evil spirit. They began to pray and, having prayed, looked around, here and there, and found a cave. Of course, the servant of God is here, we said, he hid from us here. Approaching the cave, we asked that he show himself to us and not deprive us of his instructions and blessings. From the cave we heard the answer: “What benefit do you want from a woman, sinful and simple? Where are you going?” “We are going to the hermit Kyriak,” we said, “but reveal to us for God’s sake your name, your life and why did you come here?” She answered: “Go where you are going, and when you return, I will tell you.” We assured her with an oath that we would not leave until we heard about her life. Realizing that we would not leave her, she, without showing herself to us, told us about herself like this: “I am called Mary, I was a reader of psalms at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ; the evil spirit hurt many with me.
I came to fear, lest I be guilty of temptation and lest I add sins to my sins. I prayed earnestly to God to deliver me from the misfortune. Once, my soul touched by the fear of God, I went to Siloam, filled a vessel with water, took a basket of soaked beans, left the holy city at night and, entrusting myself to God, went into the desert. God brought me here, and I have been living here for eighteen years; By the grace of God, neither my water ran out nor the beans in my basket diminished. Then I ask you, now go to Father Kyriako and fulfill your service; when you return, visit me, poor." Having heard this, we went to Father Kyriak and told him everything that we had heard from blessed Mary. Father Kyriak, marveling, said: “Glory to Thee, our God, You have hidden holy men and women who secretly serve You. Go, my children,” he added, “to the saint of God, and keep what he says to you.” Returning from Father Cyriacus, we came to the cave of blessed Mary. “Servant of God! - we said. “We came to you by your order.” But there was no answer.
Entering the entrance to the cave, we said a prayer, but again there was no answer. Then we entered the cave itself and found the servant of God having died in the Lord. A strong fragrance came from her holy body. We had nothing with us to dress her with. Having hastened to the monastery, we brought everything we needed; Having dressed her, they buried her in a cave and blocked the mouth of the cave with a stone.”
The great ascetic Silas, who labored in the Arabian cave, in the monastery of Fara, spoke about another Palestinian desert.
“Several years before this,” he told his brothers, “a hermit lived near me, whom I loved very much. It was our custom to visit him on great holidays, bring him what he needed and receive his blessing. On Easter, I took some mantle, some beans and some bread and went to the old man according to custom. According to God's providence, I had to get entangled in hills and wastelands; The heat of the day came, I began to exhaust myself from heat and labor. And I turned to the Lord with strong prayer. Exhausted from thirst and heat, I lay there exhausted and fell into a subtle sleep. Someone comes up to me and says: “Be cheerful, Abba, you are not lost, and your work is not in vain.” When I woke up, I didn’t see anyone, but I joyfully thanked God; I prayed - and now I see traces of a man between the hills. I followed the tracks, I see a lot of brushwood and a cave; I began to call: bless me, father; there was no answer. I approached again and saw a young monk sitting in silence. We bowed to one another, and he told me to begin the prayer. “This is your business, you are a presbyter,” he said. I refused, wanting to hide myself.
“Why lie, Abba Presbyter?” - he said. We sat down, and I was at a loss as to whether it was the wife or the eunuch? “You, Abba, are confused about me, whether I am a wife or a eunuch,” he said. I was confused by these words. “Give me your word not to tell anyone about me until death, and I will tell you about myself,” said the desert man. “God knows,” I answered, “how I wish to know about my exploits,” and I gave my word to remain silent. “I am the daughter of the Eparch of Constantinople,” she said. “The senator betrothed me to his son, being a friend to my father. I never wanted to get married, but I didn’t tell my parents about it. My consolation was to engage in prayer, and I prayed to the Lord to fulfill my secret desire. Since my father tells me: “Be ready for marriage, my daughter, the time has come.” - “I can’t decide on that,” I answered, “before I will fulfill my vow.” “Which one?” - said the father. “I promised to worship the holy places,” I said. He jokingly says: “When you get married, then you will fulfill your promise - together with your husband.”
“No,” I said decisively, “I promised to bow to the virgin - and this must be fulfilled; I can’t lie before God, it’s scary.” The parent relented. Many servants, maidservants, and 3,000 gold pieces were sent with me. We arrived by ship in the holy city. Having bowed to the holy places, I went to visit the Egyptian fathers. Near the great monastery of Egypt I saw three great elders; one of them especially seemed like an Angel to me. Upon returning to the holy city, it was necessary to return to Constantinople. I prepared two letters, one to my parents, the other to my younger brother, who was with me. In the last one, I wrote that I cannot be married and devote my life to the Lord. When we were leaving the city, I told my brother that I needed to visit Gethsemane. Leaving the letters in my clothes, I went to Gethsemane with one maid. Then, leaving her here, she hurried alone to her great elder. With tears, I asked him to clothe me as a monk and give me the books that I saw with him. He fulfilled my request.
Having stayed with him for a day, I said to him: now bless me to go wherever the Lord commands. Having prayed for me with tears, he gave me his books and sent me away in peace. Having placed my hopes in the Lord, I came to this desert and now I have been living in it for 28 years; you are the first one I see here." When she finished her story, I asked her to eat with me the food that was with me. “You need to refresh yourself with food - you are tired, but I have other food,” she said. What was amazing for me was that, having lived in the desert for so many years, she had not lost her beauty. In her cave I did not feel thirsty, but I thought: something will happen after? She, answering my thought, said: “Be rest, Abba, thirst will not torment you until you reach your cell." Saying goodbye to her, I asked her: “Allow me to come to you for advice.” Having set out on the road, I definitely did not feel thirsty. After some time, I went to her, but no longer found her in the cave. For everything, glory to the Lord."203
About the third hermit, who labored in the same Jordanian desert where Mary, equal to the angels, lived, we read the story of John Moschus 204.
We came, says Moschus, to Abba John the Hermit, nicknamed the Fiery One. He told us what he himself heard from Abba John of Doab. “In the holy city (Jerusalem) there was a maiden who dedicated herself to God, very pious and zealous (according to the Prologue, named Mastridia) 205. The devil, envious of the maiden, ignited in one young man a satanic love for her. The great maiden, understanding the tricks of the devil and seeing the dangerous situation of the young man, put some soaked beans in the basket and retired into the desert, in order to thereby both save the young man from temptation and find safety for herself in the desert. A lot of time has passed since then. So that her high feat would not remain unknown, by God’s providence one hermit in the Jordanian desert saw her. “Mother! how did you come here?” - he asked her. She, wanting to close her hermitage, answers the hermit: “Forgive me, I have lost my way, do me a favor, for God’s sake, father, show me the way.” The hermit, having been informed about her from above, says to her: “Mother!
Be sure that you have not gone astray; you don't need another road; Tell me frankly, how did you come here?” Then the maiden answered: “Forgive me, Abba! One young man was tempted by me. Recognizing that it was better to be here than to serve as a temptation, I withdrew into the desert." The elder continued: “How long have you been here?” She answered: “By the grace of Christ, seventeen years.” “What do you eat?” - asked the old man. She, taking out a basket with beans lying in it, said to the hermit: “This basket that you see went with me from the city with this food; but God showed me such mercy that from then on I have been eating the same food, and the food has not diminished. Don’t forget, father, that God so covered me with His mercy that for 17 years no one saw me except you alone, although I saw others.’ Hearing this, the hermit glorified God.”
The death of Saint Mastridia followed no later than 580.
Here is another secret, wonderful Palestinian ascetic of the same time.
At a distance of about 20 thousand steps (40 versts) from Jerusalem, says Blessed John Mosch, there is a monastery, the so-called Sapsas. From this monastery two fathers went to Mount Sinai to worship. Returning to the monastery, they told us the following: “Having bowed on the holy mountain and returning back (this happened to us), we got lost in the desert and rushed through it for a long time, like on the sea. One day, seeing a small cave in the distance, we went to it. Approaching the cave, we saw a small spring, near it some grass and a human footprint; It’s true, we told ourselves, God’s servant lives here. Entering the cave, we did not see anyone, we only heard that someone was crying. Having examined it carefully, we found something like a manger and someone was lying in it. Approaching the servant of God, we asked him to tell us something. But when he didn’t answer, we took him. His body was still warm, but his soul went to the Lord. Then we learned that at the very time we were entering the cave, the servant of God died.
Taking his body from the place in which it lay, they dug a grave in the same cave; one of us took off the robe he was wearing, and we began to wrap the body in it; then they found that it was a wife: they glorified God and, having completed the rule over her, buried her” 206.
His death probably followed in 596.
In order for the examples of zealous ascetics to be more powerful for us, let us repeat for ourselves the following instructions of the Holy Scripture: But those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). Bear each other's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
Day eight. Memory of the Holy Prophet Zechariah the Sickle-Seer
A contemporary of the prophet Haggai, together with him he encouraged Prince Zerubbabel and the High Priest Jesus to speed up the construction of the Jerusalem Temple; prophesied about Christ, about His solemn entry into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey, about the tradition for thirty pieces of silver, about the piercing of His side, about the ascension into heaven. He is called the Sickle-Seer from his vision of a sickle (see: Zech. 5, 1–4), that is, the curse of God on thieves and perjurers. Died around 520 BC.
Repose of Saint Sava the Second, Archbishop of Serbia
Savva the second, the youngest son of the first-crowned King Stephen and nephew of the great Savva of Serbia, in the world - Predslav, wished to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and in his young years accepted monasticism. After blessed Arseny, who blessed him as his successor, he was worthy of his rank as high priest. His remains rest in the Pekka monastery. The Serbian Church sings to him: “From a good root a good branch vegetated, God’s mind was watered with waters, and thus fragrant fruit appeared in life from youth, gladdening the hearts and souls that sing to you.”
He reposed on February 8, 1268.
I remember the 30th of August with other Serbian saints.
Day nine. Memory of the Holy Martyr Nicephorus
The Lord leaves the proud and self-important, and gives strength and grace to the humble! In Antioch, the citizen Nicephorus had a great friendship with the priest Sapricius; but a quarrel and hatred arose between them over something. Nicephorus soon repented and asked for forgiveness from Sapricius, but he did not want to hear about reconciliation. Persecution of Christians began; Sapricius was one of the first to be captured and, after torture, was sentenced to death. Three times on his way to the place of execution, Nicephorus threw himself in front of him, begging for forgiveness, but Sapriky turned away from him. Arriving at the place of execution, he suddenly denied Christ himself, thereby expressing the long-standing ulcer of sin and abandonment by God, and Nicephorus confessed himself to be a Christian and was beheaded (in 260).
Saint Pancras, Bishop of Tauromenia. Pancratius, converted to faith by the Apostle Peter, was sent by him from the East to Sicily to preach Christ, and in the city of Tauromena he was the first bishop. The successes of the preaching embittered the champions of paganism, and Saint Pancras was secretly killed by them; namely, having invited him to the temple of the god Skamandra, they lowered him through a lifting floor into a cave and killed him there (about the year 60).
Memory of the Holy Martyr Peter of Damascus
The monk, who lived in the 12th century, is known for his ascetic writings. Extracts from them, namely from “Memories to Your Soul,” were placed by the Monk Joseph of Volokolamsk in his “Collection of soul-helping fatherly instructions.”
From what Peter writes about himself at the beginning of his book, we can conclude that he was distinguished by extreme non-covetousness.
“I did not have a single book of my own, and never acquired it, but I took it from Christ-loving people, just like what I needed for the body, for the sake of love. Having read it with all care, he returned to the same things again.”
He died from the sword, killed by the Arabs in 1157 207.
Memory of the Venerable Pankratius, Hieromonk of Pechersk
His relics rest in the Theodosius Caves, in the Kiev Lavra.
It is known about him that he had the gift of healing the sick and died peacefully in the 19th century. The 28th of August comes to mind again.
Memory of Saints Nikifor and Gennady Vazheozersky
Recently, in the Zadnenikforova desert, a stone church was built in the name of the Monks Nikephoros and Gennady, the founders of the desert. The Monks Gennady and Nicephorus were disciples of the Monk Alexander of Svir, but one earlier, the other later. Both of them were the founders of desert life on Vazheozer; but one lived here as a hermit, the other founded a communal hermitage.
According to the ancient service of the Monk Gennady, he was the heir to rich property; but, having distributed everything to the poor, he went to the Monk Alexander, who lived alone on Svir; The great hermit did not want to violate his solitude by accepting anyone into his cell: but Gennady’s fervent prayers forced him to part with his beloved solitude - Gennady remained a student and associate of Alexander. A few years later, the Monk Alexander blessed Gennady to seek solitude in another place. Gennady set up his cell on Vazheozero and here he labored as a hermit; Subsequently, he allowed two or three disciples to set up huts near his cell for silent prayer. Before his death, the Abba said to his disciples: “In this place there will be a church and a monastery.” The hermit probably died on the 8th day of January 1516.
The Monk Nicephorus came to the Monk Alexander already as a monk and in chains; he came when the monastery was founded on Svir; the great ascetic accepted Nicephorus and then looked with consolation at his exploits in the hostel. And if the Monk Nikifor began to live with the Monk Alexander in 1510, then he lived under the guidance of the teacher. Alexander has been in his monastery for about seven years. In 1518, he asked the great Abba for a blessing to worship the Pechersk saints of God. “Go ahead and see the servant of God Kirill of Novoezersk,” answered the Abba. The obedient disciple fulfilled the will of the Abba. When he arrived on the shore of Novoozero, he, tired from work, fell asleep. Kirill, having finished the evening rule, hurried to cross the lake in a boat and woke up the wanderer. The amazed traveler asked for forgiveness. Cyril, bowing to him, said: “Bless me, you were sent by the venerable abbot and spiritual brother Alexander to visit me, a sinner.” Nikifor realized who was talking to him. Nicephorus spent eight days after that with the Monk Cyril, enjoying his spiritual conversations.
With the delight of joy, he returned to his Abba and recounted what he had seen and heard from the saint. Kirill. “Now you can go to Kyiv as you wish,” said Alexander. Having completed his pious wandering to Kiev, the Monk Nicephorus, with the blessing of the Abba, settled on Vazheozero, where the Monk Gennady labored. This is near the village of Sermaksa, where the parents of the Monk Alexander lived and died. Abba Alexander, of course, was pleased that there would be a monastery of prayer books so close to Sermaksa and they would pray for the peace of his parents. His sincere disciple did what pleased the great Abba. Little by little, he gathered lovers of desert life, built a church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord and started a hostel. Here he labored until his death, which followed on February 9, 1550 208.
A chapel was soon erected over the relics of Saints Gennady and Nicephorus, with a tomb in it. The memory of the ascetics was reverently honored 209. The monastery was closed in 1764, but since 1800 its church has been assigned to the Svirsky Monastery, located 13 versts. 210
Day ten. Memory of the Novgorod saints Joachim, Luke, Herman, Arkady, Gregory, Martyry, Anthony, Vasily and Simeon
In accordance with the will of Heaven, declared by Saint John in 1439, the Church of Veliky Novgorod honors the memory of its saints on February 10: Joachim, Luke, Herman, Arkady, Gregory, Martyry, Anthony, Vasily and Simeon 211.
Blessed Joachim was one of the priests whom Grand Duke Vladimir brought with him from Korsun when he decided to enlighten Russia with Holy Baptism 212. Under Saint Metropolitan Michael, while still in the rank of priest, he preached the holy faith in Novgorod; he then built the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord here and baptized some of the pagans 213. But paganism was in great strength in Novgorod and stubbornly defended its power over poor people; it did not listen to the preacher of the holy faith and rebelled against the orders of Grand Duke Vladimir, calling the freemen of Novgorod to its aid. In 993, Joachim was consecrated bishop of Novgorod 214. To curb the rebellious pagans, Dobrynya and Putyata came to Novgorod with troops. In the Chronicle of Joachim we read: “When in Novgorod they learned that Dobrynya was going to be baptized, they gathered a veche and everyone swore not to let him into the city and not to give the idols to be cast out. And sure enough, when Dobrynya arrived, the Novgorodians swept away the bridge and came out against him with weapons.
Dobrynya began to persuade them with gentle words, but they did not want to listen, and set up two stone-throwing machines. The chief of the priests, Bogomil Nightingale, especially incited them to disobedience. Bishop Joachim and the priests were on the trading side: they walked through the squares and streets, teaching people, and in two days they managed to baptize several hundred. On the other side, the thousand Ugonai rode here and there and shouted: “It is better for us to die than to hand over our gods to reproach.” The people became furious, destroyed Dobrynya's house, plundered his property, killed his wife and some of his relatives. Others went and scattered the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and began to rob the houses of Christians.” Putyata with 500 Rostovites opposed the rebels, captured Ugony and other best people; Dobrynya appeared with all his retinue and “ordered to set fire to some houses.” The Novgorodians, having stopped the battle, rushed to put out the fire, and the most noble ones came with humility to Dobrynya. The governor agreed to peace, but ordered to destroy the idols - burn the wooden ones, and break the stone ones and throw them into the river.
“Men and women with screams and tears asked for them, as for real gods. Dobrynya answered with mockery: There is no need for you to feel sorry for those who cannot defend themselves; What benefit can you expect from them? And he sent an announcement everywhere that they should go and be baptized. Then many pagans, wanting to get rid of baptism, announced that they were baptized: Joachim ordered all those who were baptized to put crosses on their necks, and whoever does not have a cross on him should not believe that he was baptized and baptize him. The demolished Church of the Transfiguration was rebuilt" 215. In other chronicles we also read: Joachim destroyed the altars and cut off Perun, he ordered him to be dragged to Volkhov; they entangled him with ropes, dragged him through the dung, hitting him with sticks, and threw him into the Volkhov: Joachim commanded that no one should stop him anywhere. A resident of the town of Pidola went out to the river early, thinking of taking pots to the city, and then Perun sailed to the shore; he pushed him away with his pole. “You, Perunishche,” he said, drank and ate your fill, and now swim away” 216.
This news shows that through the instructions of Blessed Joachim, many of the Novgorodians were brought to the heartfelt conviction of the inadequacy of idols. And the associate of blessed Joachim, Putyata, strict towards troublemakers, acted conscientiously with measures of persuasion: a menaion for the month of May is known, written by his hand in Novgorod 217. Blessed Joachim was a zealot for Christian enlightenment; Prince Yaroslav opened a school in Novgorod. “And Yaroslav gathered 300 children from the elders and elders and ordered them to teach books.” The blessed bishop appointed his disciple Ephraim as a mentor, who diligently taught children the truths of the holy faith, and through them passed on the instructions of the holy faith to their parents 218. This was shortly before the death of Joachim. Before that, the blessed archpastor taught the people Christian piety in other ways - through churches and their worship. He built the church of St. Sophia, the eternal Wisdom, the Son of God. This wooden church had 13 chapters - symbols of Christ the Son of God, surrounded by 12 apostles.
The church stood on the banks of the Volkhov, on the spot where later, in 1127, the rich Novgorodian Sotko built the stone church of Boris and Gleb, at the end of Episcopal Street, not far from the second St. Sophia Cathedral 219. At the cathedral church, Blessed Joachim also built a monastery, which was called Sophia and Tithes 220. On the site of the overthrown Perun, he consecrated the church, 995, of the Nativity of the Virgin. In addition, he built a church in the name of his Angel - the Godfather Joachim and Anna 221. Here he was buried in 1030. At the end of the 17th century, his relics were transferred to the stone St. Sophia Cathedral, where they were placed in a golden porch 222, and St. Joachim is depicted in the altar of the St. Sophia Cathedral, on the wall, the first among the Novgorod saints 223.
Blessed Luke was the first of the Russians, as far as is known, to be awarded the rank of bishop in 1035, and his Russian origin is indicated by his nickname - Zhidyata 224. During his time and under his supervision, the stone St. Sophia Cathedral was built, still existing, which was consecrated by him in 1049. The need for this church became urgent especially because in March 1055 the St. Sophia Cathedral, built by Blessed Joachim, burned down. According to early news, blessed Luke ordered icon painters for this church from Constantinople; The image of the Savior in the dome of the church, by his order, was painted with a blessing hand, but a mysterious voice ordered it to be written with a clenched hand and said: “In this hand I hold the great Novgorod; when My hand is opened, and the city will end" 225. The remains of the musia on the high place of the altars 226 are still intact. Five years after the end of the council, the righteous shepherd suffered a bitter fate. In 1055, he was slandered by his servant Dudik, was recalled from Novgorod to Kyiv and was kept here for three years. What this slander referred to is unknown; but the saint’s innocence was revealed, and the slanderer’s nose and hands were cut off.
Blessed Luke again took charge of the flock; then he went to Kyiv and on his way back in 1058 he died on October 15, 227. The blessed saint left pastoral teaching for the Church, precious in its simplicity and strength of spirit. “First of all, we, brothers,” the saint wrote, “keep this commandment - to believe in one God, glorified in the Trinity, in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as the apostles and holy fathers taught. “I believe in One God” and so on. Believe in the resurrection, Eternal Life, eternal torment of sinners. Don’t be lazy about going to church for matins, mass and vespers; and in your cell, going to sleep, bow to God, and then lie down. In church, stand with the fear of God, don’t talk, don’t think about anything else, but pray to God with all your soul, may God forgive your sins. Have love for every person, and especially for the brethren; Don’t have one thing in your heart and another on your lips. Don’t dig a hole for your brother, lest God cast you into something worse. Love the truth and for the truth, for God’s law, be ready to die so that God will count you among the saints.
Bear insults from each other, do not repay evil for evil; Praise each other, and God will praise you. Do not quarrel with others, lest they call you the son of the devil; make peace so that you will be a son of God. Don’t judge your brother mentally either; remember your sins, so that God does not condemn you too. Have mercy on the strange, the wretched, those imprisoned, and be merciful to your orphans (slaves); He is very merciful who protects his family from grief. You should not create demonic games (Moscow lust), just as you should not say shameful words and get angry every day; do not humiliate others, do not laugh at anyone; endure in adversity, having trust in God. Don’t be violent and proud, but consider others better than yourself - remember that maybe tomorrow you will be stench, pus, worms. Be humble, meek, not talkative, so that you can be both listeners and doers of the law of God; The proud one has the devil in his heart, and God’s word will not cling to him. Honor the old man and your parents. Do not swear in the name of God and do not conjure or curse another. Judge truthfully, do not take bribes. Don't lend money on interest.
Fear God, honor the prince; slaves, obey first God, then your masters; honor the priest
God, honor the servants of the church. Do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, do not be a false witness, do not quarrel, do not envy, do not slander; Do not commit fornication either with a slave or with anyone else; do not drink at the wrong time and drink in moderation, and not to the point of drunkenness; do not be angry or insolent; Rejoice with those who rejoice, be sad with those who are sad; do not eat unclean things; honor holy days. God is peace with everyone. Amen" 228. This is what the saint of God taught!
The sanctity of the life of Blessed Bishop Luke was undeniable 500 years after his death. On the occasion of the addition to the chapel of Joachim and Anna, his relics, in the saint's omophorion, were found incorrupt and placed in the Martyrius porch of the St. Sophia Cathedral 229.
About Blessed Herman, Bishop of Novgorod, it is known from the chronicles that he was consecrated in 1078 and reposed in Kiev in 1096 230. Blessed Simeon supplies it among the pupils of the Cave monastery 231. And from the handwritten calendar we see him among the Pechersk ascetics. We must include the foundation of the monastery on Berestov, known in chronicles under the name of “Hermanech” and Spassky, to the Kyiv exploits of Blessed Herman. This is justified by both the contemporaneity of St. Herman, the abbot and founder of the monastery Germanecha, known in 1072 232, and the completely similar actions of another Pechersk ascetic and bishop, St. Stephen, who left his name to the monastery “Stephanecha”. The Germanech monastery was devastated by the Polovtsians in 1096 (July 23rd) 233. In the same year, Saint Herman made his last journey to Kiev. Given such closeness of the two events, it is likely that the misfortune of the Spassky monastery called its founder to Kyiv, from where he never returned to Novgorod 234.
According to the chronicles, in 1153, “Hegumen Arkady cut down the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin and formed a monastery, which became a refuge for Christians, the joy of Angels and the destruction of the devil.” The Arkady monastery with the wooden Church of the Theotokos was founded three miles from Novgorod 235. With such proximity to the city, worldly people, tired of vanities, could often go to the Arcadia monastery and here revive their tired souls with prayers; the life of the monks, caring about heaven and eternity, without a word showed everyone that a person should not live for earth, but for heaven, all the more terrible is living in sins. The venerable founder of the monastery was, moreover, an ascetic from whom one could learn much, to the joy of the soul. And the good feelings, good dispositions of the visitors to the Arcadia monastery were joy for the Angels, rejoicing over the repentant sinner. The blessed abbot enjoyed the reputation of a virtuous and prudent man: the domestic of the Anthony monastery, Kirik, turned to him with questions about various subjects and even wrote down some of his answers in the number of church rules 236.
The Novgorodians highly appreciated the virtues of Blessed Arkady. In 1156, when Saint Niphon died in Kyiv, “the whole city gathered and everyone wanted the man Arkady, chosen by God, to be the bishop of Novgorod; the people, Prince Mstislav Yuryevich, the entire clergy of Hagia Sophia, all the city priests went and took him from the monastery and, bringing him into the courtyard of Hagia Sophia, entrusted him with the bishopric until the metropolitan came to Russia” 237. So everyone unanimously recognized in Arcadia someone who could be a worthy archpastor of the vast Novgorod flock. In 1157 he was dedicated by Metropolitan Constantine in Kyiv and returned to Novgorod on September 13th. During his management of the Novgorod flock, mayors and princes were changed more than once; but neither murder nor robbery is ever seen there, as is seen at other times. This depended as much on the good Grand Duke Rostislav as on the suggestions of the pious saint 238. Of the monuments of his archpastoral rule, the surplice has survived to this day, remarkable in many respects.
Here in the stichera for the Nativity of Christ it reads: “To the Lord Jesus born of the Holy Virgin.” In the stichera for the feast of Epiphany it is written: “my Jesus is again cleansed in the Jordan.” The postscript to the stichirarium mentions tyun Tupochel, who was under Bishop Arcadia, as his assistant in administration 239. The God-loving saint reposed peacefully on September 19, 1162, “and he was laid with great honor in the vestibule of Hagia Sophia” 240. Both according to the Mena of Metropolitan Macarius, and according to the handwritten calendar, Blessed Arkady is among the saints 241. The monastery founded by him existed until 1764; her stone Assumption Church, built in 1186 242, and another stone refectory, built in honor of the Archangel Michael in 1395 243, are intact to this day 244.
The brother of Saint John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Gabriel labored together with his brother in 1179 during the construction of the Annunciation Monastery on Lake Myachine, using their own property for this purpose. When Saint John decided to give up the see for the solitary preparation of himself for eternity, he appointed Blessed Gabriel as his successor, and he, taking the monastic name of Gregory, was consecrated Archbishop of Novgorod in 1187. The chronicle noted the consecration of the stone church in the Arkadyev Monastery by him. The stone cross with the inscription, placed at the foundation of this church, is still intact 245.
The chronicle also notes the following event from the time of the blessed archbishop: “in the first year of his archbishopric there was a procession of the cross from Hagia Sophia to the Holy Archangel Michael, on Mikhailovskaya Street; They were singing the 9th song of the canon, when suddenly such terrible thunder struck that the people fell; the wooden church caught fire, but God saved (from troubles) with the prayers of the Holy Archangel and St. Gregory; there was no disaster in the church, only two people were found dead in the wooden church.” Blessed Gregory ruled the Novgorod flock for six years, reminding them of his great brother with his virtues. He died on May 24, 1193 and was buried near his brother in the St. Sophia Cathedral; His relics were found in 1558 and rest under a shrine on which the saint is depicted in full height 246.
After the death of Blessed Gregory, there was a disagreement in the people's government of Novgorod about his successor: “some wanted Mitrofan, others Martyrius, others Greek. They placed three lots on the throne of Hagia Sophia and sent a blind man from the evening to take the lot; and by God’s grace the lot of Martyrius was taken out.” Martyriy was from Staraya Rusa, and here on the island he founded the Transfiguration Monastery in 1192, which still exists today. The chosen one was consecrated archbishop in Kyiv on December 10, 1193. The first year of his reign passed in troubles. Ladoga and Rusa burned first; then from the Week of Saints to the Feast of the Assumption there were frequent and severe fires in Novgorod; the people were so frightened in Novgorod that they no longer lived in houses, but in the fields. In May 1195, the blessed shepherd founded the Church of Our Lady at the city gates.
In the autumn of the same year, he founded the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in a new convent near Lake Myachina, and the following year it was consecrated on September 13th. The chronicle says this about this feat of the saint: “The Bishop worked, scorched by the heat during the day, and at night he grieved with concern, how to finish and see the church in full beauty; what he wanted, he received - the Kingdom of Heaven and endless joy" 247. Meanwhile, in the same year, two zealous brothers, the Karavakovichs, with the blessing of the saint, founded another monastery in Nelezin, on Lubyanaya Street, in honor of Saints Cyril and Athanasius, a remarkable monastery also because the Novgorodians later recognized in Saint Cyril their protector from the Tatars, and this monastery still exists 248. In 1197, the saint had the consolation of laying the church of the holy martyr Euphemia with a nunnery at the Plotnitsky end, and the pious Polyuda, a resident of the Settlement 249, took upon herself the construction. The blessed shepherd continued to take care of the complete organization of the monastery he founded in Staraya Rus.
In January 1197, he consecrated a church in it in honor of the holy Patriarch Nicephorus; and in May 1198 he began to build a stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord there and consecrated it on the day of the Dormition of the Mother of God; “The blessed one, says the chronicle, rejoiced in soul, having built for himself eternal memory, and for Christians an honest monastery” 250. In the same year there was an amazing incident: one devout Novgorodian visited the church of God every day and, reverently receiving the antidor and prosphora, ate with reverence. One day he was carrying the Mother of God prosphora to the house and, due to weakness, fell asleep on the road. The dogs, sensing the bread, approached and wanted to steal the prosphora, but they jumped away, repelled by some force. It was in people's minds. When Blessed Martyrius was informed about this, he ordered the foundation of a church in honor of the Mother of God at the scene of the incident. The wife of Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich, Elena, took upon herself to build a church and a convent, and the following year the monastery church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was consecrated on the Trade Side, on Molotkovo 251.
In 1199, due to the strong displeasure of Grand Duke Vsevolod in Novgorod, the blessed shepherd had to go with the mayor and the best people to Vladimir. Exhausted by years and labors, the “servant of God Archbishop Martyrius” died on the road on the shore of Lake Seliger on August 24th. His holy body was brought to Novgorod and laid in the vestibule of Hagia Sophia, which was later called the Martyrian porch and the golden porch 252. In 1201, the wealthy Novgorodian Dobrynya Andreikovich, due to his pious dispositions, traveled to Constantinople and, returning from the East, took monastic vows in the Khutyn monastery with the name Anthony. At this very time, the Novgorodians unexpectedly did not like their archbishop Mitrofan, whom they themselves elected in 1201 to replace the deceased Martyrius 253. It seems that he was blamed for the fact that Novgorod was devastated by a fire in 1211 that destroyed up to 1,300 households.
Be that as it may, they did not demand any explanation or justification from him, and without any communication with the metropolitan they sent him to Toropets to live, and in his place they chose Anthony and sent him to the metropolitan for initiation 254. But the choice, in relation to the chosen one, was happy: Anthony was distinguished by both piety and education. The latter is indicated by his description of his trip to Constantinople. In this description, he told the Novgorodians information about the icons and icon painters he had seen - about the ancient icon painter Lazar, who painted the Most Holy Theotokos with the Eternal Child and two Angels in the altar of Hagia Sophia, about the expensive dish presented by the holy princess Olga to the patriarch 255. Anthony was a sincere monk, and the Metropolitan ordained him as an archbishop. Upon returning to Novgorod, the first thing Archbishop Anthony did was to turn the chambers of Mitrofan into the church of St. Anthony, his Angel.
In 1218, Blessed Anthony built a stone church of the holy martyr Barbara in the nunnery, which was known back in 1138, but has now been restored by a caring archpastor 256. In the same year, Prince Mstislav, who took a special part in the election of Anthony, left Novgorod, and after that Mitrofan arrived from Vladimir. For the first time, the Novgorodians appointed the Blogoveshchensky Monastery for Mitrofan to stay; when Anthony went on ministerial business to Torzhok, they brought Mitrofan into the archbishop's house, and sent Anthony to say: let him go wherever he wants - they have Archbishop Mitrofan. Anthony, recognizing himself as a legitimate shepherd, arrived in Novgorod. Then only the Novgorodians realized that without the metropolitan they should not have ordered the participation of their archpastors. They asked both archpastors to go to the metropolitan for trial and sent their confidants with them. Metropolitan Matthew, who dedicated both Mitrofan and Anthony 257, appointed Mitrofan to Novgorod, and, keeping Anthony with him for a while, appointed him to the idle See of Przemysl 258.
Mitrofan died three years later. It was to be expected that the Novgorodians would now summon Anthony, who had suffered trouble through their fault. On the contrary, on the very day of Mitrofan’s death they brought the monk Arseny of Khutyn into the archbishop’s house. In 1225, Anthony arrived from Przemysl to Novgorod, sat down at his see, and “the Novgorodians were glad to see their ruler” 259. Three years later, Anthony, having become very ill, voluntarily (1228) retired to the Khutyn monastery; Arseny again began to manage the affairs of the diocese. From mid-August until December 6 (1228) there were torrential rains that devastated the fields. The people, without looking at themselves, became agitated and began to shout: “The warmth has stood for so long because Arseny bought himself a place from Prince Yaroslav and ousted Anthony.” He took Arseny out of the archbishop's house and almost killed him. Arseny fled to Khutyn, and Anthony, against his will, was brought to the archbishop's house and given two secular officials to help him with legal matters.
The rebels were not content with that: they robbed the lord's steward and several other officials, including the thousand's, on suspicion that they were bringing evil to Prince Yaroslav 260 . But Anthony became very ill and completely numb. Prince Mikhail, who arrived (in 1229) in Novgorod, proposed a veche: “You don’t have a ruler, and without him you can’t be in the city; God laid His hand on Anthony; can you tolerate such a thing even among priests or abbots? They began to choose a successor to Anthony, but again disagreement arose: some wanted Bishop Joasaph of Volyn, others wanted Hierodeacon Spyridon, and others wanted one of the Greeks. “Let’s cast three lots,” said Prince Mikhail, “let the will of God decide who will be the archpastor.” Spyridon's lot was taken from the throne of Sophia, and he was entrusted with managing the affairs of the archbishop. Blessed Anthony lay sick and dumb in Khutyn solitude for more than two years and, purified by suffering, reposed on October 8, 1231. “His soul, says the chronicle, ascended to heaven, and his relics were placed with honor in the vestibule of St. Sophia” 261.
The St. Sophia Cathedral contains a six-pointed cross, in which a part of the Life-Giving Tree is placed, in the form of a four-pointed cross, with the inscription: “Lord, help Your servant Anton, Archbishop of Novgorod, who gave the cross to St. Sophia.” This cross is used during the solemn consecration of water on the day of Epiphany and August 1st 262.
After Saint Moses voluntarily renounced his throne for a silent life in 1329, the Novgorodians elected the Kosmodemyansk priest Gregory Kaleka to the archbishop's see. His message about Paradise testifies that, following the example of many others, he traveled around the East and was curious in order to collect unusual opinions and stories about subjects related to faith 263. Elected archbishop, he took monasticism and the name of Vasily, and in 1331 he was consecrated in Vladimir-Volynsky. At the same time, troubles were in store for him: the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas wanted Pskov, which had come under his protection and was hitherto a member of the Novgorod diocese, to have a special bishop. The fulfillment of this desire could have beneficial consequences for Orthodoxy: the Bishop of Pskov, with his close supervision, could protect Orthodoxy on the borders of Lithuania and Livonia from the machinations of papism and from the insults of wild paganism.
But short-sighted and proud Novgorod was greatly offended by Pskov’s desire to break the ties of dependence on Novgorod. And Metropolitan Theognost did not consecrate Arseny as Bishop of Pskov. Gediminas' pride was greatly offended by this. When the initiated Vasily with his retinue went from Vladimir to Novgorod, Gedimin wanted to make him feel insulted, if not force him to agree with his desire: he sent the Kiev prince Vladimir Olgerdovich after him. Notified in time by the Metropolitan of the pursuit, Vasily and his retinue managed, by special routes, to reach Chernigov; a bloody battle almost took place here; but Vasily paid off with money and finally arrived in Novgorod, where he was greeted with joy 264. Even before his trip to the Metropolitan, Vasily began a generally useful work - he laid a stone wall around Novgorod. Now he happily continued this work, and within two years the huge construction was completed. At the same time (1333) he restored the St. Sophia Cathedral, covered it with lead and put a new cross on the head.
The chronicle, speaking about this, adds: “for this, God and Holy Sophia grant him remission of sins in this and the next century, for him and his children, Novgorodians” 265.
Since the Grand Duke Kalita, expressing anger at Novgorod for refusing to pay the Trans-Kama tax, caused devastation in the Novgorod region, and the mayors who went to him for peace returned with nothing: Vasily took it upon himself to intercede with the Grand Duke for Novgorod. Setting off with the ambassadors, he offered the Grand Duke a gift of 500 rubles, if only he would retain some of Novgorod’s rights. The petition was unsuccessful, but the duty of a patriotic shepherd was fulfilled. Vasily did not stop there, however: the next year he went to Vladimir to the metropolitan, and after that Kalita, returning from the horde, reconciled with Novgorod out of need for his help for himself 266.
In 1335 and 1336, the guardian archpastor was engaged in the construction of the church and, by the way, built at the St. Sophia Cathedral, on the site of the tower, the Church of the Savior’s Entry into Jerusalem; the walls of the church were painted by the Greek icon painter Isaiah and his comrades; Blessed Basil built gilded copper doors for the St. Sophia Cathedral. On these doors, the prayer of the blessed archpastor is especially remarkable - the voice of a pious soul: “Most Pure Lady, Virgin Mother of God! I place my trust in You, You are my Intercessor before Your Son and God. He who flows into Your honest church faithfully receives gifts. Therefore, I, Your humble and sinful servant, Archbishop Vasily, place my hope in You, Most Pure Lady; I run to You and fall down, I bow my sinful head and stretch out my unworthy hands, I touch Your most pure feet - do not cast me away from Your face, so that I, poor one, do not lose hope. And put to shame those who rebel against Thy Church and overthrow Thy Son with the cross; give joy to the faithful people, so that they may preserve the property of Thy house.” This prayer is from 1336 267.
The following year, the rising waters of the Volkhov destroyed the bridge connecting the sides of Novgorod. This misfortune was followed by another: a strong quarrel began between the parties in Novgorod, almost leading to bloodshed. The archpastor pacified the heated enmity by renewing the bridge 268 at the expense of the department's income. A new flood again (1338) severely damaged the bridge, and the archpastor, to relieve the poor of Novgorod, again restored it with his people, “and do much good to Christians,” says the grateful chronicler 269.
The terrible fire of 1340 called the archpastor to the most intense activity. The fire that started on Razvazh, at the end of the city, destroyed the Perevsky end and spread from Chudintseva Street to the Kremlin, destroyed the bishop’s house, devastated the St. Sophia Church, from which they did not have time to remove all the icons. The flame was so strong that the Volkhov water did not stop it: devouring the Volkhov Bridge, it crossed to the Trade Side and here turned houses, shops, and churches into ashes. It seemed to the frightened people that the end of the world had come. They did not have time to remove any utensils from the churches or property from the houses. To greater misfortune, bad people hastened to take advantage of the misfortune of others: they robbed and carried away everything that was saved from the fire. In total, 48 wooden churches and 3 stone ones burned down. The caring shepherd now had to both alleviate helpless poverty and restore his home and churches. He again covered the St. Sophia Cathedral with lead, built a new iconostasis, corrected the icons and walls of the cathedral; built a house for himself, cast a large bell and restored the bridge on the Volkhov.
When, in 1342, a new fire terrified the inhabitants, the archpastor invited everyone to public prayer and repentance, imposed a three-day fast on the citizens and himself walked with a procession of the cross from monastery to monastery and from one church to another, making prayers throughout the city to quench the wrath of God 270 . Another flame also arose - the flame of civil strife: for the murder of a rich and willful Novgorodian, one side noisily rebelled against the other, and robbery began. The archpastor, not afraid of the people's storm, appeared at the noisy meeting and managed to stop the civil strife with his convictions: “And the cross was exalted, but the devil was put to shame,” says the chronicle 271. In subsequent years, the good-natured archpastor worked hard for the churches of God. In the St. Sophia Cathedral he created silver robes for the icons of the Savior and the wisdom of God. He himself was engaged in icon painting; he painted icons for the Kosmodemyansky Church; for the Annunciation Gorodischensky Church, then rebuilt, he painted a church icon; In the Boris and Gleb Church, the icon of the holy princes Boris and Gleb painted by him is still intact.
A grateful contemporary says: “Give him, Lord, to live many years in this world and in the next place him at Your right hand; he has worked a lot for Your Church.” 272
In 1346, Archbishop Vasily came to Moscow to invite the Grand Duke and Metropolitan to Novgorod. The active shepherd was then distinguished from others by the metropolitan: he was given baptismal vestments 273 . After that, a white hood was sent to Archbishop Basil by the Patriarch of Constantinople 274, who himself around this time was decorated with this sign of spiritual purity 275. Vasily's successors wore a white hood as a distinction of the department 276. A century and a half after Vasily, “The Tale of the White Cowl” was written. It said that the white hood was given by Emperor Constantine to Pope Sylvester of Rome and was kept in Rome for a long time, until one of the popes, frightened by miraculous phenomena, sent it to Constantinople to Patriarch Philotheus; The apostles Peter and Paul said in a vision to Philotheus that Constantinople would soon be taken by the infidels, and they ordered the white hood to be sent to Novgorod 277. The Council of 1667 called this story fabulous, and rightly so. In it, except for the thought of sending the hood to Novgorod from Constantinople, everything is fiction, and a child’s fiction: there are no miracles for the hood!
The white hood of Blessed Basil, made of white twisted silk, is kept in the sacristy of St. Sophia and makes one feel that he was on the heads of the great saints, although he was not in Rome 278.
Blessed Basil was distinguished primarily by his practical wisdom. In 1349, Magnus, the Swedish king, a zealous servant of the pope, sent a message to the Novgorodians: “Send your smart people to the council, and I will send mine, let them judge which faith is better? If yours turns out to be better, I’ll switch to it; and if ours, you must accept ours; If you don’t want unity, I will go to war against you.” The archpastor, the mayor and the thousand, according to the general advice, answered: “If you want to know which faith is better, ours or yours, send for that to the patriarch - we accepted the faith from the Greeks. If there is a state matter between us, we send ambassadors for negotiations.” The sent thousand, appearing to Magnus, asked: what offense did Novgorod inflict on the king? “There is no offense,” answered the king, “but if you do not accept my faith, I am going to war.” So the Pope's servant preaches the faith with the sword! Magnus besieged Orekhov (present-day Shlisselburg), and sent the Izhorians to be baptized by force according to the rites of papism, and those who did not agree to rebaptism were to be put to death. The Novgorodians sent a small squad to protect their subjects and co-religionists - the Korels.
The squad defeated the Swedes' detachments. But Magnus had a lot of troops with him. The Grand Duke, at the request of the Novgorodians, sent only a small detachment, and even he, having heard that Orekhov had been taken, withdrew from the battlefield. The Novgorodians had to settle accounts with Magnus alone; calling on God and the holy Russian princes for help, they drove the Swedes out of Orekhov and pursued them to Vyborg.
The relations between Novgorod and Tver, which Novgorod entered into during the war with Magnus, caused Vasily to have a written communication with the bishop of Tver about faith. Vasily wrote to Bishop Theodore of Tver “Epistle on Paradise.” This message shows that Blessed Basil was not given the gift of understanding of faith in the same abundance in which he was given worldly wisdom and zeal for the common good of his homeland. The message proves that Paradise is still on earth and has been seen by videographers 279.
How great was the love of Blessed Basil for his flock, he showed in his last days. In 1352, the “Black Death” broke out in Pskov, which had previously displaced millions in the East and Europe to another world. In Pskov, from spring to winter, it barely left a third of the inhabitants alive. The Pskovites sent a general council to ask the archpastor to come to Pskov and pray for the flock. Vasily, despite the danger, went to console and strengthen his sorrowful children. He served in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, then in three other churches, and went around the whole city in a procession of the cross. The people cried out: Lord, have mercy! The blessed shepherd left Pskov comforted, and the mortal epidemic soon ended there. But the virtuous shepherd himself became very ill on the road and died on July 3, 1352 in the monastery of the Archangel Michael, at the mouth of the Uza River, which flows into Shelon. His hard-working body was brought to Novgorod; Saint Moses buried him in the Derevyanitsky Monastery, where his relics rest under cover in the Church of the Resurrection 280.
In 1415, the monk Samson of the Khutyn Monastery was chosen by lot to replace Archbishop John, who had refused the throne. The following year, Metropolitan Photius consecrated him archbishop and named him Simeon. That same year, the new archbishop built a stone church in honor of St. Peter, which is still intact today. In 1416, the “Black Death” moved from Tver to the Novgorod region. There were so many dying that there was no time to bury them. The terrible disaster also caused the forgetful to repent. Saint Simeon, having tonsured two posadniks into monasticism, walked around the entire city with seven councils of the Novgorod clergy, praying for the quenching of God’s wrath. The Novgorodians, some on horses, others on their own, brought logs from the forest, “and in one day they built the church of St. Anastasia, and the saint consecrated it and celebrated the Liturgy in it (October 29, 1416). Repentant love was not disappointed in its hopes: the pestilence weakened 281. In 1418, by the grace of one scoundrel, a terrible civil strife arose in Novgorod. Some Stepanko, out of personal malice, caught the boyar Bozhin and began shouting: “Good people!
Help me deal with the villain." The people, without any investigation, threw the boyar into the Volkhov. Rescued by the fisherman, the boyar demanded the scoundrel to trial. The mob got excited and started calling all over the city. The robberies began. Attributing the high cost of bread to the rich, they destroyed the yards of the rich. The entire Trade side rose to Sofia, many were thrown into Volkhov. The saint gathered the clergy to the St. Sophia Church, went out with them and the holy icons onto the bridge and, shedding tears of prayer, blessed both sides with the holy cross. The noise and excitement subsided, and tenderness appeared. The archpastor sent the archimandrite and confessor to Yaroslav's court to the mayors to say: the bishop blesses everyone to go home. And the rebellious crowds dispersed. “Thank God,” said those who came to their senses. “He sent us a teaching saint who can enlighten some with spiritual instruction and others with a threat of prohibition. So he tamed this battle with the power of the cross of the Lord and his admonition. May his prayers save us from such troubles." 282
To this day, near the Volkhov Bridge there is a tall wooden cross, called the wonderful one. This is the same one with which Saint Simeon calmed the popular revolt 283. It was first erected by Saint Prince Vladimir on the site where they began to build the stone St. Sophia Church. In 1065, this shrine was stolen from the St. Sophia Church by Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, but in the same year he secretly returned it 284. Saint Simeon was a shepherd with a wonderful gift of speech and a clear understanding of the truths of the faith. In October 1418 he was in Pskov. The Pskovites received him poorly; they did not allow him to serve with the rite of Orthodoxy in the Pskov Cathedral. The blessed shepherd did not want to argue with stubborn people. Having reviewed the court cases, when parting, he offered them an excellent teaching on paper: “Noble and respectable men! – wrote the saint. – You know that whatever honor is given to the saint, it is given to Christ Himself, from whom we all expect a hundredfold reward in eternity.
So, children, give honor to your saint and your spiritual fathers, who instruct you in salvation; repay with humility and love, without bothering them with inquisitiveness, without arguing with your mentor, your father. Look after yourself and your salvation, reproach and judge yourself, cry over your sins. Don't kidnap someone else's. Do not rejoice in the troubles of your brothers. Do not philosophize on your own, do not become arrogant, but humbly obey your spiritual fathers. Live as Orthodox Christians who are under the law of God should live. Do not offend the Church of God: The Church of God does not tolerate offense from anyone. Do not interfere, children, in any church affairs, which originally belonged to the bishopric, the house of God of St. Sophia, as was the case under previous archbishops, do not interfere in lands, waters, courts, the press and other church duties. If anyone interferes with anything church, you yourself, children, put him in his place and remove sin from your soul according to the instructions of church rules, without expecting judgment on yourself, according to the rule of the holy fathers" 285.
Here is another pastoral instruction from the blessed shepherd, an instruction to the Snetogorsk monastery: “I order the abbot and all the elders,” he wrote, “to firmly preserve the monastic life, for the monks to be in obedience to the abbot and elders, for everyone to have a spiritual father; whoever does not obey will be removed from the monastery, and the contribution will not be returned to them. If a monk dies, then all the property left after him is the property of the monastery and the brethren, and worldly people should not touch it. If a monk who leaves the monastery begins to set fire to lay people or judges against the abbot and the elders, he will be under the weight of the church court, as will those lay people who intervene in monastic affairs. If a quarrel occurs between the brothers, then the abbot will sort out their case with the elders and elders of the Holy Mother of God, and the laity will not intervene” 286.
In 1420, the Pskov flock of Blessed Simeon saw a sign in Chirsk on the icon of the Mother of God: on the Chirsk icon tears flowed from Her eyes; this phenomenon was repeated when the icon was brought with a religious procession to Pskov and placed in the cathedral church. In fear for the future and in repentance for the past, the people exclaimed: “Mistress! protect us” 287 Shortly before the death of the blessed archpastor, Novgorod was twice in great anxiety. In April, the Volkhov flood damaged the bridge, and the city streets were so filled with water that there was no access to many churches and many people drowned. In May, at midnight, terrible thunder clouds were found, lightning turned night into day, and rain fell with heavy hail into day. The saint with his clergy and reverent people sang a prayer service in the St. Sophia Cathedral for the appeasement of the wrath of God, and prayers were performed in other churches by priests, and during the day there was silence. This was on May 19, 1421, and on June 15 the saint rested peacefully and was laid on the Martyrian porch 288.
Repose of Venerable Longinus of Koryazhemsky
The Monk Longin labored for a long time in the Obnorskaya Pavlovsk hermitage. This is also shown by the cross lying on his tomb, on which the inscription says: “in the year 7033 (1525) the cross of Christ of the Pauline Hermitage.” The cross, apparently, was given by Paul's hermitage to her tonsure as a blessing for exploits in a new place. Blessed Longin lived for some time in the Solvychegodsk Boris and Glebov Monastery. From here he and his friend Simeon retired up the Vychegda and 10 versts from Solvychegodsk, at the mouth of the Koryazhemka River, cleared a forest in a remote place, built a cell and a chapel. The brethren soon gathered, built a church in honor of St. Nicholas, and thus in 1535 the Koryazhemskaya monastery was founded.
The Monk Longin lived as an ascetic and he himself worked more than others for the holy community: the well dug by his hands near the church is still intact; His hair shirt is also intact. Arriving as an old man to a new place of exploits, he lived here for a short time, no more than six years. He bequeathed that he should be buried at the entrance to the church, so that, as he said, he would be trampled upon by those entering the church. In the handwritten calendar we read: “Reverend Longin, head of the Nikolsky Koryazhemsky Monastery on the Vychegda River, a new miracle worker, reposed in the summer of February 7048 (1540) on the 10th day.” 16 years after his death, according to a special vision, his holy body was laid in the church itself. Now his relics rest hidden in a stone church built in 1665. His image is embroidered in silver and gold on an ancient cover. His memory is celebrated through a special service, composed long ago along with a life and a description of miracles. The phelonion in which the monk served the Lord is still intact. 289
Day eleven. The Suffering of Saint George the Martyr
Blessed George 290 was born in the Serbian city of Kratovo, which is ten hours away from Shtip 291. His parents, Demetrius and Sarah, were pious people; For six years he was devoted to studying book science and studied very successfully; then he studied silversmithing and was left an orphan early after his father. Beautiful in face and very stately, George was afraid to stay in his native southern city, lest they take him by force to the Sultan’s court, which often happened then. Therefore he retired to the city of Sofia. Here, settling in the house of the priest Peter, enlightened and pious, he improved his knowledge of the faith and became established in his love for Christian piety. He soon became noticeable for his excellent qualities. The Mohammedans wanted to attract an enviable young man into their caste. They chose a clever one from among their scholars (ulema) to talk with George.
The crafty lawyer came to George under the guise of ordering work. Having explained what needed to be done from the brought silver and setting a generous payment, the Mohammedan teacher praised the master’s art and his talents; then he said: “If you married the daughter of the city aga, you would be showered with honor, you would be the first person in the city.” George thanked for your participation and said: “Is earthly glory lasting?” The lawyer answered: “Of course, everything on earth is fragile, but Mohammed promised heavenly pleasures to those who do his commandments.” “What are the commandments?” – asked Georgy. “In good faith and bodily purity, and purity requires ablutions and prayers,” answered the lawyer. “But if,” asked George, “a person lives fornication and indulges insatiably to the pleasures of the flesh and stomach, will he be accepted into Paradise?” A follower of Mohammed had to admit that without correction of heart you will not go to Paradise, but to torment.
“However,” continued George, “your rulers, judges, leaders indulge in unclean deeds and die, without thinking of giving up a dirty life: aren’t they, in your own words, subject to eternal torment?” “God forgives sins for the sake of alms,” said the lawyer. “But look how many our sultans and pashas are building mosques, bridges, fountains, and houses of hospitality!” “The sacrifice of an unclean heart is not pleasing to God,” says George. – What magnificent buildings were built by pagan kings! What big things have been done! You can’t say that these pagans are in Paradise. Here we have, with the redemption of the sacrifice of the Son of God, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, how many kings, priests, laymen, warriors are among the saints, and they exude healing for those who come with reverence! If you don’t believe me, let’s go, I’ll show you in this city our king Milyutin, who still rests as if asleep and his relics are fragrant. It is clearer than ever that these are people pleasing to God and their faith is confirmed by God, who gives the power of miracles. How do you want me to give up the faith that leads to God and the Eternal Kingdom?
I am sure that you yourself are aware of all this; but the charms of the world carry you along with them, away from the holy truth. Isn't that right?
The lawyer fell silent and left; Anger began to boil in his soul. He felt that the young man, whom he had hoped to easily carry away with him, had knocked him, the famous lawyer, off his feet. He saw that such a defender of Christianity was not only able to hold back those ready to accept Mohammedanism, but - what good? - he will distract hundreds from Mohammed to Christ. He informed his brothers about his conversation with George and added: “If we do not part ways with him, it will be a disaster for our faith.” The lawyer came to the qadi with a denunciation that George was blaspheming the Mohammedan faith and condemned all the sultans to eternal torment. “If we leave him to be a Christian,” he added, “his faith will expand about ours; this is a dangerous person."
The judge ordered George to be brought before him, but without violence; told him to tell him that they wanted to place orders for him. George understood why he was called, but did not shy away from testifying to the truth of Christ. When George entered the qadi, the qadi was amazed at his stateliness. Having made orders to him, he also expressed that Mohammed’s heavenly bliss was worth being a Mohammedan. Georgy was convinced that he was not called for orders; He secretly prayed to the Lord Jesus to give him light and strength. Then he boldly asked: “How can they prove that Mohammed and the zealous readers of the Koran enjoy a blessed lot?” “Have not the kingdoms of the earth submitted to us? - answered the qadi. – Don’t the peoples pay us tribute? If God had not loved us, He would not have exalted our kingdom.” George answered: “And before, Mohammed was conquered by the sword of the kingdom: does this mean that all those victors, even pagans, are pleasing to the Lord? Earthly happiness is not a measure for eternity, but more often they say: you accepted good things in life, there is another lot for you.” “Our lawgiver Mohammed,” said the judge, “conversed with God and received the law from Him.”
“Mohammed did not prove in any way,” noted George, “that he was in communication with God—neither miracles nor prophecies. You also know that when Moses accepted the law from God, Mount Sinai shook from thunder and lightning: here all the people saw and understood that Moses, the messenger of God, was not conveying to the people his own inventions. What similar things will you find in the life of Mohammed? He said this and that about himself: is that enough to trust him? And what is his law? He taught an easy faith, very pleasing to human passions. I like it not because of its holy content, but because it gives free rein to bestial desires. For mercy’s sake, is it possible with a sound mind to believe that such evil spirits were sent from heaven?” Listening to the irresistible denunciations, the Mohammedans lost their temper and shouted: “kill the wicked, he has disgraced our faith.” The judge ordered him to be tied up and taken to prison.
The priest asked the guards to give him bail. “If you love him, convince him to accept Mohammedanism, and then he will be free,” they answered. The priest turned to the warden of the prison, and he, out of love for the priest, released George for a while. When George came to the priest’s house and they were left alone, the priest hugged the confessor and, kissing him, said: “You, George, have now glorified the Lord, like the first martyr Stephen. Be strong and move forward: the martyrs are glorified throughout the entire universe; and what other glory awaits them at the World Judgment!” The confessor answered: “I’m afraid I won’t be able to withstand the fire.” “But think,” said the priest, “that the fire of Gehenna is more terrible; What does temporary suffering mean before eternity? Our entire earthly life is a moment before eternity.” George asked the priest to try to ransom him, if possible; “I would like,” he added, “to still work on earth for the Lord.” The priest promised to do everything he could and released George.
The next day, literate Turks, with threats and abuse, forced George to renounce Christ. The confessor remained adamant, and he was put in prison, chained. The priest secretly went to the judge and promised him a lot of money for George’s freedom.
A week later, the confessor was again brought to trial. The judge, pointing to his son, said that he would love George just like his son and would make him his heir if George fulfilled his well-known desire. The confessor answered: “If you love me so much, leave me to be a Christian; otherwise I don’t need either wealth or fame.” “I do not demand from you,” said the judge, “that you renounce Christ; and I respect Christ as a prophet who has to judge people; but we also respect Mohammed, since God gave him the keys of Paradise.” “Thanks be to God,” said George, “that you recognize Christ as the messenger of God, who has to judge the universe: but Mohammed did not prove in any way that he is the messenger of God. The prophets did not predict about him. Is his sensual paradise a paradise? A dishonor to human sense. Did the Koran fall from the sky for him? Where is the evidence for this? The fables with which the Qur'an is filled show that it is not a wise thing to trust the Qur'an."
The Mohammedans gnashed their teeth, and the judge barely restrained them from violence. “Burn him,” they shouted, “he cursed Mohammed, the Sultan and all the faithful.” The judge, turning to George, said: “Justify yourself; you hear what they accuse you of.” The confessor replied that “He did not blaspheme the creation of God, but only showed the truth, what people like the pagans should expect for themselves; I am ready to die for the truth.” “Is this blasphemy?” – the judge asked the upcoming ones. “We have heard his blasphemies before,” they answered. “If you let him go, we will complain to the Sultan.” The judge, turning to the people, said: “Sin will be on your souls; do what you want." The enraged people rushed at the confessor and some spat at him with curses, others beat and pushed him. The herald shouted: “Believers! Carry wood to burn the one who blasphemes our law.”
When the martyr walked past the Church of Hagia Sophia, the priest Peter approached and said to him: “Do not endure for long, George; be patient." George answered: “Pray, father, that the Lord will strengthen me.” The guards drove the priest away. Since the priest had one person who, although he wore Turkish clothes, loved the Christian faith and did not profess it only out of fear, the priest instructed this person to follow the confessor and notice everything that would happen. At the same time, the priest asked the priests and all Christians to pray for the confessor of Christ, and everyone prayed: “Strengthen him, Lord!”
A large fire was built in the square. Once again, with caresses and threats, they forced George to renounce Christ. “I have already declared more than once that I will not renounce my faith,” answered the confessor. They stripped him and left him in only his shirt. They lit a fire and pushed him into the fire. When the body was blistering, they pulled it out and said: “What is it like? Isn’t it hot?” “Hey, I don’t feel it,” answered the saint. “For you, unfortunate ones, eternal fire is ready.” With anger and abuse they threw him into the fire again. His face was turned to the east. When the ropes binding his hands burned, he protected himself with the sign of the cross and said loudly: “Lord Jesus Christ! I commend my spirit into Your hands.” One of those present, grabbing a stump, hit the martyr on the head with it, and he gave up the ghost. Following this, in the clear sun, a cloud appeared in the sky and rain poured down. The Christians glorified God and asked the authorities to give them the body of the martyr. “Don’t get your hopes up,” the Turks shouted, “we’ll burn everything and scatter the ashes.” The evil ones threw animals into the fire so that the burnt remains could not be recognized. But everything burned down except the body of the martyr.
“The priest hopes to get the body,” said the fanatics, “but we will burn it until tomorrow; if not, we’ll throw him into a ravine of sewage.” The Christians thought it best to disperse. At night, one secretly took the body of the martyr into his house, from where it was transferred to the cathedral church of St. George. Priest Peter, appearing before the judge, announced: “Early in the morning I came to the church and found the body of George there: will it be allowed to bury him?” The judge confessed: “George is a saint: those who guarded him said that no matter how much wood they threw in, the body did not burn.” And he gave permission to bury the deceased. The holy martyr suffered on the 11th day of February 1515, during the Meat Week, in the third year of Sultan Selim, under Metropolitan Pankratius 292.
The martyr was 18 years old, tall and thin, with high and thick eyebrows, a downward curved nose, thin and long fingers; His disposition was meek and simple; he greeted everyone with a bow and called everyone master; he never laughed in vain and an idle word never came out of his mouth; He did not boast about anything and did not envy anyone.
Such is the new martyr of Christ 293.
Day twelve. Memory of the Venerable Marina the Ascetic
A pious man, Eugene 294, lived in Bithynia. Having buried his wife, he decided to leave the world. He had a little daughter and a significant estate. He entrusted both to the supervision of his faithful friend. Having settled in a monastery located 32 miles from the city of Alexandria, he performed his obedience here with love, and the abbot loved him more than others, as a faithful and zealous servant of God. After some time, the father's love brought his daughter to mind, and he began to feel sad. The abbot, noticing his grief, asked him: what is he sad about? “I have a young child left in the house,” answered the father. “What? Take him here with you,” said the abbot, who did not know and did not realize that this was a daughter and not a son. Evgeny came to the house. The girl, after the raptures of joy about meeting her father, announced that she did not want to remain in the world, but did not want to part with her father. “What should we do? - said the father. “The girl will not be allowed to live in a monastery.” She replies that “she will cut her hair and put on the clothes of a novice and thus will work in the monastery.”
The father and daughter distributed their property to the poor; the daughter was transformed into the humble novice Marin, and they were accepted into the monastery. The father taught his daughter to read the psalms. Marin was a zealous novice. When the daughter was 14 years old, the father, caring for her salvation, said: “Look, my daughter; living among monks is the same as living near a fire; Take care". The daughter made a firm vow before her father and the Lord to protect the purity of her soul and body. The father also made his daughter promise that she would not let anyone or herself know anything about her gender until the grave. Everyone in the monastery thought that the eunuch Marin lived with them. The daughter was 17 years old when her father died. Monk Marin’s obedience and love for work, especially in the church, were such that those in the monastery looked at Marin with respect.
But then the blessed one encountered an unexpected and cruel temptation. There was a pair of oxen in the monastery; with her the monks went three miles to the sea pier to buy what they needed for the monastery; in the pier itself there was a common hotel, where at times the monks of the monastery had to stay overnight. At one time the abbot says: “Brother Marin! Why don’t you go along with the others and help at the pier?” - “If you command, Abba, I will fulfill this obedience.” And Marin began to set off with a cart and oxen and, if they were late, they stopped for the night at an inn. The hotelier had a daughter. She fell in with some passing soldier and became ready to give birth. The parents demanded to know: with whom did she sin? The crafty sinner replied that the monk Marin raped her and she conceived from him. Parents and their daughter came to the monastery and told the abbot: “This is what the monk Marin did! He raped his daughter." “We’ll interrogate him,” answered the abbot. “Marin! - he said.
“Did you commit a sin with the girl?” Marin thought and sighed for a long time and finally said: “I have sinned, Abba, I repent of my sin; pray for me." The abbot became very angry and ordered the sinner monk to be beaten. “Since you have done such a dirty trick,” said the abbot, “you will no longer live in the monastery.” And he kicked Marin out of the monastery. Without saying a word to anyone about her secret, since she had given her word to her father not to reveal her gender to anyone, the blessed one remained outside the monastery in the open air and asked everyone who entered the monastery to pray for the sinful soul. She spent three years like this, without moving away from the monastery. Meanwhile, the sinner gave birth to a son for the hotel owner and nursed him. Her mother brought the child to Marin and said: “Please feed your child.” And, leaving the child, she left. The holy virgin took the child, as if it were her own, and fed him with a piece of bread that was given to Christ by those entering the monastery. So two years passed. Finally, the brethren of the monastery took pity on Marin and asked the abbot: “Abba!
forgive brother Marin and accept him; For five years now he has been performing repentance at the gates of the monastery; accept him as our Lord Jesus Christ accepted the repentant.” The abbot ordered Marin to enter the monastery, called him to him and said: “Your father was a holy man, as you know, and brought you to the holy monastery when you were still a boy; he did not think that you would do what you did, and no one in the monastery expected it. Now you have entered the monastery with your son, the fruit of your sin, for repentance. I order you to clean all the latrines of the monastery, to wash the hair shirts of the brethren alone and to serve everyone 295; This is the only way to earn my love.” The saint, having willingly accepted the assignment with her soul, did everything that was ordered to her.
A few days later, blessed Marina rested in the Lord. The brethren announced to the Abba: “Brother Marin has died.” The strict abbot said: “You see, brothers, what his sin is: he did not deserve to bring repentance. Go, wash and bury far from the monastery.” When they began to wash, they found out that it was his wife. Everyone started saying: “Such patience, such a wonderful life! No one learned the secret, and everyone only crowded the saint!” With tears they said to Abba: “Abba! go, look at brother Marin; come and see the wondrous works of God.” Abba, seeing the deceased, was horrified, fell and, hitting his head on the ground, shouted: “I adjure you by the Lord Jesus, do not accuse me before the face of God for the fact that I oppressed you so much; I was in the dark; you, lady, did not reveal your secret, and I did not know your holy life.” He ordered her holy body to be buried inside the monastery, in the church itself, on December 4th. Her memory is in the Greek Church on February 12th. For Copts, December 8th (4) is “Mother Marina.”
As for the day of death, we must prefer the testimony of the Copts as local, especially since the 12th day of February was probably the day of transfer of the relics to Constantinople.
On the same day, that sinner, tormented by an evil spirit, came to the monastery, confessed her sin and said from whom she conceived. On the seventh day, she got rid of the demon in the church. Having heard about the wondrous deeds, those who were in the pier and neighboring monasteries, taking crosses and candles, glorifying the Lord with sacred songs and psalms, came to the monastery and in the church where the body of the blessed one rested, they praised God. Here, through the prayers of the holy virgin, Christ performed many miracles to her glory. This was at the beginning of the 6th century 296.
The life of a wondrous ascetic, first of all, gives us a lesson so that we do not judge others. Someone else's soul is open only to the Lord; and we easily make mistakes, even when referring to the signs of the sin of someone else’s soul.
The daughter labored in the simplicity of her soul, in the clothes of a monk, first out of childish love for her father, then out of ardent love for the Lord. The Lord helped her to endure the terrible test she had unexpectedly, because of her strong love for God. But what strong love could endure, weak souls should not take upon themselves, lest they fall into a cruel fall. Our job is to follow Saint Marina in her patience, to endure the sorrows that the Lord sends us. Saint Marina was put into a bitter test by the promise given to her father, and did not volunteer for the test. And we should not be called to temptation. It’s another matter if, as a result of a given vow, one has to endure grief and shame and hunger: do not break the vow, no matter what the cost, may there be glory to the Lord.
Memory of Saint Bishop John, Hegumen of Sinai
In 1091, the Egyptian Sultan sent a detachment of soldiers to pacify the Arabs, who, pursuing the Arabs, reached the Sinai monastery. The military leader, having assured the monks of safety, was allowed into the monastery with several soldiers. The barbarians began to demand that they be shown the monastery treasury. The abbot, Bishop John, refused to open it to them, for which they subjected him to cruel torture. But he patiently and complacently endured them... Leaving him barely alive, the soldiers dug up all the platforms and found only under the holy meal three marble arks with holy relics. At night there was an earthquake, and the soldiers left the monastery in fear. And three days after that, blessed John gave up his spirit to God 297.
Day thirteen. Memory of St. Simeon-Stephan Nemanja, ruler of Serbia
Blessed Stefan Nemanja was a great man in the rank of ruler of Serbia; at the same time, he was a high Christian 298.
The youngest among his brothers, he first managed (from 1149) to become the Zhupan of Rash; then (from 1165) he annexed the hereditary property of his ancestors - Zeta - to his possession and became the great župan of Serbia. Finally, little by little, all those lands where the Serbs lived were united under his rule: “he restored,” says his son Saint Savva, “his lost grandfather, acquired from the Pomeranian land Zeta with cities, from Albania both Pilots, from the Greek land Patkovo, Khvostno, all of Podrimie, Kostrich, Druzhkovina, Sitnitsa, Lab, Liplyany, Glubochitsa, Reka, Ushnu, Pomravie, Zagralatna, Levche, Belitsa. He acquired all this from his grandfather, who died from violence, with his mind and activity” 299. At first, like his father, he was somewhat dependent on the Greek emperor 300, but then he remained the absolute ruler of all Serbia and was called “the lord of all Serbian lands” 301, while Rasa (the current New Bazaar) was considered “a capital place in the middle of the Serbian land” 302.
In the fate of Nemanja and Serbia, it is especially clear how much pure faith means for the political life of peoples. The Serbian people themselves still remember their history only from the time of Nemanja 303, although the Slavic county and the southern highlanders fought with the Romans for their political freedom even before Christian times. Why is this so? Since 1062, most of Serbia in church life was dependent on the Pope 304. Nemanja saw that the further Romanism went, the more it became hostile to both pure faith and the free development of the people. And already in his mature years (30 years old) he decided to break off all connections with papism. In his infancy, born in Zeta, he was baptized by a Latin priest 305. In 1143, he solemnly received baptism again at the hands of the Orthodox Bishop of Russia Leontius 306. This decided the fate of him and Serbia. Without this step, Nemanja would not only not have achieved the power of the zhupan of all Serbia, but also would not have survived in his small region of Rascia. He had to fight with all the appanages of Serbia.
Things got to the point where Nemanja was imprisoned in an underground cave by his brothers 307 . But the Serbian people sided with the Orthodox Nemanja. He loved freedom of thought and could not help but be burdened by the oppression of Romanism; pure faith, the Eastern faith was to his liking; having adopted it in his own language during the time of Cyril and Methodius, he sacredly preserved it, despite the opposition of Romanism. Therefore, he willingly went over to Nemanja’s side when he began to fight one or another of his enemies. Blessed Stephen was not left without Heavenly help in his exploits for pure faith. When the brothers brought Germans, Greeks, and Hungarians against him (in 1175): he, being near the Zvechansky Church of St. George, sent good priests to pray to St. George. A night vigil and Liturgy were celebrated. At night, one of the priests sees a warrior in front of him. "Who are you?" – he asked in fright. “I am Christ’s servant George,” answered the one who appeared, “and I was sent to help your sovereign.” And Stefan won an unexpected victory 308.
Nemanja brought matters to the point that his brothers, who had long acted in the form of romance, abandoned the pope and broke off all relations with him. The pope was both angry and flattered: but this did not help his affairs 309. Thus, blessed Nemanja, displacing Romanism from Serbia, elevated himself and his people 310.
With even greater persistence he acted against Arianism, which had been harboring in Serbia since the time of the Sredech and Srem Councils. Nemanja assembled the cathedral. Ardent defenders of Arianism also appeared. But Nemanja firmly declared that he did not intend to tolerate the blasphemers of the Son of God. “After an interview with Saint Euthymius, with the venerable monks and his nobles, he, without any delay, sent an army with trusted commanders and subjected some to various punishments, drove others out of his land, and took away their houses and property for the poor and sick; their main teacher and leader had his tongue cut out, who did not confess Christ as the Son of God, and then he was driven out with his wicked books” 311.
Ban of Bosnian Kulin, due to his dislike of Romanism, patronized the Bogomils 312. But this did not rid Bosnia of Romanism and increased the disorder of Bosnia with the harmful principles of Manichaeism 313. Blessed Nemanja, recognizing the Bogomils as anti-Christians, did not tolerate them, drove them out of Serbia, and at the end of the 12th century they hid only in the gorges of Bosnia and on the borders of Croatia 314 (modern Croatia).
In the mountain gorges, in remote places, at the beginning of Nemanja’s reign, the people still retained remnants of pagan superstitions. Nemanja destroyed “the wilderness of idols” or, as Dometian puts it, “demonic churches” 315.
The consequence of such orders was that the unity of the holy faith cemented the unity of the Nemaneva state, and the life-giving power of pure Christianity infused life, order and strength into the political body of Serbia.
With such a policy, he managed to return to Serbia the indigenous Slavic settlements occupied by the Greeks and elevate the Serbian people 316. This cost him a long struggle: the Greeks, under the guise of patronizing the pure faith, not only did not want to give up other people's property for a long time, but also opposed Neman, as he sought to unite the neighboring Slavic tribes under one Slavic government 317.
Loving the holy faith with all his soul, Blessed Nemanja diligently built nurseries of Christian life - monasteries. This is how the monasteries of Studenica 318 and Sopočany 319 were founded and generously endowed by him. The Monastery of St. George's Pillars was also a monument of gratitude to him for his rescue from the cave dungeon 320. The blessed ruler of Serbia extended his concerns to the parish clergy. According to the news of Saint Sava, he strictly confirmed to his country about the rural clergy: “The mantra gives him from his own the fruit of the righteous” 321 .
When the great zhupan was already 80 years old, his son, Saint Savva, wrote to his father: “Moved by the apostolic spirit, you enlightened your people with Orthodoxy, destroyed heresies, overthrew demonic churches and erected churches to God. Now it remains for you to fulfill the words of the Son of God, who says in the Gospel: “Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come for Me (Mark 8:34).” Gathering the nobles and chosen people, he declared his desire to leave the world and appointed his son Stephen as successor to his power. In vain they begged him not to be separated from them. On March 25, 1195, the Liturgy was celebrated by Bishop Callinicus; the great Nemanja resigned and transferred to his son the rights of the ruler of Serbia 322. Then the same bishop in the Studenitskaya monastery clothed him and his pious wife Anna in monastic robes, calling one Simeon and the other Anastasia 323 . At the same time, generous alms were distributed to the poor, sick, and monastics. Anastasia retired to the women's monastery; Simeon remained in Studenica. Here he labored as a monk for two years. Then he went to his son on Athos 324.
Having visited all the Svyatogorsk monasteries with Savva, enjoying conversations with hermits and giving alms to everyone, Simeon settled in the cells built by his son in Vatopedi. They went through feats together, helping one another: the son doubled the fast and bows for himself and for the elder; the father shed tears and sighs for himself and his son. Simeon also poured out his generosity on Athos for the monasteries of prayer. At the entrance to Athos, at a place called Prosphora, there was a monastery with the church of Simeon the God-Receiver; sea robbers ravaged it, and it remained desolate. Through Simeon's generosity, cells, a fence and a tower were built, vineyards were planted and the church was restored. Vatopedi was also decorated with many cells for hermits 325. The pious Slavic elder gave the idea to the monastic princes - to build a new or restore some deserted monastery, so that the Serbs coming to Athos would find a ready-made shelter for monasticism. Elder Simeon enthusiastically accepted this idea and instructed his son to fulfill it. They liked no place as much as the deserted Hilandar Monastery.
The Vatopedi Greeks did not want to let go of either power or land. Savva turned to the captain of the entire mountain, and he provided them with Hilandar. At the request of his father, his son, Zhupan Stefan, sent money to renew the monastery and purchase plots of land; with love he also appointed estates in Serbia in favor of the Serbian Hilandar 326. Hilandar quickly resumed and was filled with monks - Slavs 327. Emperor Alexei, a relative of the house of Nemanja, granted Hilandar the rights of an independent monastery 328. In his chrisovule, Simeon wrote: “I left my homeland for the Holy Mountain and found Hilandar in such a way that not one stone was left on another; My Lord has deigned me to be his ktitor; I asked the king for a letter; I give him a monastery in Prizren, in Milia the villages of Milushu, Slamodravy, Retivlu,” etc. 329.
The old man did not live long in Hilandar, only 8 months 330. Feeling the approach of death, he made his last orders, asking his son to pray for him, to transfer his body to Serbia and not to forget the Serbian Church. On the eve of the day of death, he said goodbye to all the brethren and released everyone except his son. At midnight, with all his weakness, he stood up, joyfully put on full monastic attire, as if expecting great guests, and, having received the Holy Mysteries, said: “Glory to God for everything,” then fell into oblivion. In the morning, the son carried his father into the church vestibule and laid him on a simple matting. The brothers surrounded the benefactor and wept. The monk, raising his hand with difficulty, signaled to calm down, and, looking with a cheerful face at the image of the Savior and the Mother of God, he whispered, as if talking with someone: “Let every breath praise the Lord.” Praise the Lord was his last word. Suddenly the air was filled with a fragrance - it was the moment of death. Thus the old man died peacefully, aged 86, on February 13, 1200 331.
A year later, on the day of his remembrance, his marble coffin was filled with fragrant myrrh. In amazement and fear, everyone exclaimed: “Lord, have mercy!” Then everyone was anointed with myrrh. Those suffering from illnesses and possessed by spirits received healing by being anointed with myrrh. Transferred to the Studenitsky Monastery, the holy body of Simeon also exuded currents of life-giving peace. Therefore, Simeon is called in the ancient monuments nothing else than “Saint Simeon Nemanja novi myrotochc Srpski” 332. Even the marble coffin of the saint, left in Hilandar, is known to this day for its healings 333.
On ancient Serbian icons the saint is depicted with a large gray beard, in monastic clothes, with a black pointed skufia, decorated with three gold crosses 334.
Day fifteen. Feast in honor of the Dalmatian Icon of the Mother of God
The Dalmatian icon of the Mother of God is located in the Dalmatian monastery in the provincial town of Dalmatovo, Perm province. This monastery was founded in 1644 by the monk Dalmat, who, in his humility, retired from the Nevyansk monastery of the same province, where they wanted to confer the title of abbot on Dalmat, came to the homeland of Iligei Tatar with an icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God and decided to build a monastery here, which was later named Dalmatov after the name of the builder. Iligei, having learned that Dalmat had erected a monastery on the land that belonged to him, wanted to expel him in 1646; but the Mother of God appeared to the owner in a dream, in a scarlet robe and crown, with a fiery sword, and commanded him to give up the land for the monastery. This phenomenon probably took place on February 15th. After the vision, Iligei humbly came to Dalmatus and gave him the place he now occupies for the monastery, and in addition brought him other gifts. At the end of 1646, the new buildings of the Dalmatian Monastery were burned by Kalmyks; Some of the monks were killed by them, and others were taken prisoner, but Dalmat hid and preserved the holy icon.
After the removal of the Kalmyks, he returned to the same place and renovated his monastery, which, adorned with the offerings of the people flocking to pray, finally became the most noble in Siberia. On August 15, the day of the church festival of the monastery, there is a great gathering of people there to venerate the miraculous Dalmatian icon
Day seventeen. Memory of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron
Tyrone is a Roman word, meaning a recruit, a new warrior. Having confessed Christ before the leaders and comrades in arms, Theodore burned the church of the goddess Cybele, and after scourging and other torments, as an opponent of the gods and a Christian, he was burned at the stake in Amasia in 306. The faithful buried his remains in the city of Euchaite, near Amasia.
On Saturday of the first week of Great Lent, according to its ancient name, Feodorovskaya, the Church celebrates thanksgiving to the holy Great Martyr Theodore Tiron. The synaxarion on Saturday of the first week of Pentecost begins with the verses:
Tyrone feeds the city with Koliv food,
Food that has been defiled has become obscene.
Julian, the apostate and crafty persecutor of Christianity, wishing to desecrate our holy fast during the first week of Pentecost, which has been especially revered since ancient times, and to subject Christians to ridicule, commanded in 362 the Diocese of Antioch to secretly and daily during the first week desecrate the supplies sold according to custom in Antioch in the marketplace, with the blood of idolatrous sacrifices, from which Christians are always obliged to hold on (see: Acts 15:29). The eparch fulfilled Julian's command. But the malicious intent of the enemies became known to the Christians.
The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Tyrone (warrior), who won the crown of martyrdom under the Emperor Maximian, in Amasia, around the year 306, on February 17, appears to the Archbishop of Constantinople Eudoxius and commands him to call the believers early in the morning on Clean Monday and forbid them to buy defiled food at the marketplace. The bishop was perplexed as to how to replace this deprivation, especially since he had a shortage of household supplies. The Great Martyr advised eating kolivo, or boiled wheat with honey, sometimes called kutya, for food, and thus exposed and disgraced the wicked intention of the cunning blasphemer.
In memory of this event and in gratitude to the Great Martyr Theodore as a consumer of idols, a representative and guardian of the flock of Christ, the Orthodox Church since then, i.e. since the 4th century, has been celebrating the great martyr annually, performing on the eve of Saturday, on Friday at the Liturgy for the prayer behind the pulpit, a prayer canon - the work of St. John of Damascus, and blessing in honor Great Martyr Kolivo, which he inspired to replace defiled Lenten food during the first week of Lent. On Saturday, the Church decided to read a word of praise to Theodore - the work of Gregory of Nyssa, and to sing the canon of John, Metropolitan of Euchaites.
Memory of St. Theodosius and his disciple Roman
The Reverend Theodosius 335, a Bulgarian by birth, performed the initial feats of monastic life in the Viddinsky monastery of St. Nicholas, under the direction of Abbot Job, a virtuous and reasonable man. “Having been tonsured into monasticism by Job, Theodosius turned out to be ready for any obedience”: and the abbot entrusted him with managing the economy of the monastery. He labored courageously and, as they saw, served not people, but God. His obedience and humility were such as they had not seen in others. After the death of Abbot Job, he moved to Ternov, then the capital city of Bulgaria, and began to live in the monastery of the Mother of God, called the Holy Mountain. Carried away by zeal for a higher spiritual life, he wanted to find himself a spiritual mentor and with this desire he moved from monastery to monastery, from Ternovsky to Cherveny monastery, from Cherveny to Slavenskaya Gora. “The devotees of virtue living in the Bulgarian monasteries were poor at that time.” In the monastery of Epikerna the abbot received him with love, and the brethren showed him love.
Here he lived for a considerable time, when a rumor about the great spiritual ascetic Gregory Sinaite called him to the Hidden Desert, where Sinaite lived, having retired from Athos from the worries of time.
With St. Gregory, Theodosius found everything that his soul had long been looking for. “Here, day and night, he taught pure faith and sacred commandments, raising the soul to the measure of spiritual age. Following the sacred teacher, he was saturated with spiritual drink. The great ascetic, seeing his zeal for life according to God, passed on to him not only the ordinary rules of asceticism, but also instructions in the speculative life.” St. Gregory is known primarily as a teacher of contemplative life; - this is what he says in written instructions 336. This is what he says in one of his instructions: “I am lower than all people because of the ignorance of my soul, earth and the ashes of their feet. How can I not consider myself the most wicked of all creation, which remains in its nature as before, while I have stepped out of my nature through my immeasurable iniquities? Verily, beasts and cattle are purer than me, a sinner; I am below all things and before death I lie cast out into hell. Who does not sincerely admit that a sinner is worse than demons, like their obedient servant, and therefore is shut up in the abyss with them? Verily, worse than demons is he who is possessed by them.
You inherited the abyss with them, my unfortunate soul. Living before death in earth and hell, how can I dare to consider myself righteous? No, I created myself as an unclean sinner, like a demon.”337
And the desert of St. Sinait often suffered from attacks by robbers. Therefore, Abba sent Theodosius to the Bulgarian Tsar Alexander with a request for protection from corrupt people. The pious king, at the request of Theodosius, provided funds to protect the monastery with a strong fence and tower and also secured the monastery with land and livestock 338.
Returning to the monastery, Theodosius continued his ascetic life, setting aside nights for prayer. The venerable mentor allowed him to spend a silent life in his cell. So he entered into the highest feat of struggle with spirits and thoughts. The spirits of evil caused him a lot of trouble, but he defeated them with firm prayer. There was also another monastic need. On instructions from his mentor, Theodosius again visited Tsar Alexander and fulfilled the order to console the elder. During his last stay in Ternov, one of the noble and rich people came to him with a persistent request to take him with him to the desert. Otherwise, he said, I will lose my life. This was Roman, later the most sincere and most beloved student of Theodosius. Theodosius now took him with him and brought him to Sinait. Accepted by Gregory, Roman, by the will of the Abba, was sent to obedience. In his absence, the Monk Gregory died. The brethren strongly asked Theodosius to accept the title of abbot, but he refused and left the monastery 339.
He now undertook a long journey through the monasteries with the desire to listen to the instructions of experienced people. So he was in Thessaloniki and in Mesemvria. In the last place he visited the monastery of Anthony, where then “there were many fasters, one preceding the other in a virtuous life and leading an angelic life.” Then he was in Constantinople and returned to the Hidden Monastery. Having visited the brethren of Sinaite and bowed to his shrine, he and Romanus came to Mount Emon, near Mesemvria, and here labored in fasting and prayer. But the robbers drove him out of this solitude.
The mountain, not far from Ternov, seemed both safe from bandit attacks and convenient for a solitary life. Theodosius settled on it with Roman. They lived here alone for three years. Theodosius sees a vision: his mountain is covered with beautiful songbirds. And after that, zealots of desert life began to come to him; their number reached 50. These were sincere servants of God. Hieromonk Theodosius led such a fasting life that he was left with skin and bones. At the same time, he zealously worked on translating Greek works into the Slavic language 340.
The special exploits of the Monk Theodosius begin. The monk Theodosius comes from Constantinople and begins to outrage the people with strange teachings. Using sorcery, he approved of the worship of one oak tree as wholesome; it came to the point that sheep and lambs were slaughtered in front of an oak tree. This restorer of popular superstition was exposed by the Monk Theodosius and repented of his error.
More dangerous were the Bogomils, who were still hiding here and there and spreading debauchery among the people with secret preaching. In Solun, one nun, carried away by Bogomilism, turned her cell into a fornication. The monks who visited her carried her teaching to Athos and secretly corrupted the monks there. This went on for three years, until the Athonite elders, having formed a council, anathematized the stubborn. Two of the condemned, Lazar and Kirill, came to Bulgaria. The first of them put on the guise of a holy fool and, under this cover, taught the aggregation. Both blasphemed the cross and icons, rejected marriage, approved of debauchery, humiliated Christ’s death on the cross, blasphemed the hierarchy, and in place of the One God they preached two principles, the beginning of good and the beginning of evil, they passed off their sleepy dreams as Divine visions, and then, as they introduced the dirtiest life, they said about themselves that they were God’s servants, poor in spirit.
The Monk Theodosius, having collected accurate information about them, reported them to the king and patriarch. “Even then the presenting patriarch of the Church was simple, perplexed from everywhere.” Theodosius volunteered to prove the wickedness of the new teachers before the council. Tsar Alexander loved enlightenment as much as he loved true Christian piety 341. By his will, a council was formed, where the king was present with his council. The sowers of lies were brought. “What is this new teaching you have?” - asked Theodosius. “Our teaching is not new,” they answered, “it is the same one that is expressed in the words: Blessed are the poor in spirit; do not do the evil that perishes (Matthew 5:3).” “The Apostle of Christ,” Theodosius answered in reproof, “said about himself: serve my hands and those who are with me (Acts 20:34). He worked, and did not wander idly, like you, sowers of depravity. It is in vain that you pose as admirers of humility: you have no humility at all. Who gave you the right to be teachers? Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled, the Apostle teaches, and the Savior was at the wedding feast. Only the spirit of malice can teach as you teach: fulfill, you say, the aspirations of nature.
What is freedom given to us for, if not so that the spirit can overcome the unclean movements of the flesh? You admit the beginning of good and the beginning of evil, one heavenly, the other earthly. But the Lord commanded that God be recognized as the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator and All-Acting Provider.” The teachers of wickedness stood silent. Lazarus regained consciousness and repented. But Cyril and his disciple Stefan remained stubborn in their wickedness. The Tsar ordered them to be branded with a hot iron and expelled from Bulgaria.
More false teachers of Judaism have also been revealed. These rejected the incarnation of the Son of God. Despite their obvious anti-Christianity, they hoped to find protection for themselves in the queen, who was Jewish 342. But the pious king, with his zeal for piety, prompted the queen to take the side of piety 343.
Since on the one hand there were still preachers of Messalian debauchery, and the insolence of the Judaizers, insulting some, embarrassed those who were not firm in the faith, the Monk Theodosius again appeared to the king and insisted that a new council be assembled. So the king with his sons Shishman and Yasen, the patriarch, Theodosius, the metropolitans appeared at the council: Preslavsky and also the prototron Dorotheus, Dristersky (Silistrian) Zechariah, Ovcha-polya (Pravodsky) Lazar, Lovchansky Parthenius, Manuel of Philippopolis, Sredechsky (Sofia) Leonty, Bishop of Madita Jacob, Archimandrite of the Lavra of 40 Martyrs Ioannikiy, several hieromonks from the monastery of Theodosius with their abbot. The symbol of the universal faith was read, and anathema was pronounced both to the Judaizers and to the Bogomils. The king first condemned the spreaders of false teachings to death, but then limited himself to corporal punishment. One repented and was accepted into communion with the Church. The other two remained adamant. The conciliar act was recorded as a keepsake for posterity. This was in 1360 344.
When the Turks started a war, the king, not wanting to let Theodosius go, built a cave for him in a safe place - with cells, where he settled with his brothers.
Soon afterwards the monk became ill and was ill for 20 months. In this illness, he wanted to see the Monk Callistus as a spiritual friend. Callistus wrote to Bulgaria asking that Theodosius be released to him. But there was no desire for this in Ternov. The monk, having transferred control of the brethren to Roman, secretly withdrew to Constantinople and here he soon died in the Mamantov monastery. “It should be said,” adds the patriarch, “about the aforementioned student Roman. He was a virtuous man and, following the example of his mentor, a zealous follower of the Lord's commandments. Having taken the monastery into his care, he diligently taught the brethren. Therefore, those around him often came to him for instructions on fasting life. He ate food once a day and then very little. He was tormented by a serious illness—a cough—but he never gave up his vigil and spent nights without sleep, falling asleep only in the morning.” He died on February 17th.
The Patriarch, in describing the life of Theodosius, does not explain why Ternov did not agree to let Theodosius go to Constantinople. But the matter is explained by the letter of the Monk Callistus, written “to the venerable monks residing in Ternov,” or, as it is said in the Slavic translation, “to the most honorable priests in the monastery, Theodosius and Roman and other priests of Ternov.” In this letter, the Monk Callistus condemns the Terniv Church for not remembering the Patriarch of Constantinople in its prayers and for allegedly not rightfully calling the Terniv archpastor a patriarch 345. Since the Patriarchate of Ternov was established by the consent of the Council of Constantinople 346, then, naturally, in Ternov they were dissatisfied with the letter of Callistus and therefore were not happy with Theodosius’ desire to visit Constantinople. So the Monk Theodosius approached death through sorrow in 1362.
The service to St. Theodosius was written by Hieromonk Serapion, who grieved that while Constantinople honored the exploits of the saint, the Bulgarian country did not honor its ascetic 347.
Day eighteen. Memory of our holy father Leo, Pope of Rome
Originally from Italy, Leo I, or the Great, was elected pope in 440 and served until 461. He earned fame for his virtuous and pious life. He defended the country both from external enemies 348 and from internal enemies of the Church - heretics: Manichaeans and Eutychians. Under him, Eutyches, an archimandrite of one of the Constantinople monasteries, an opponent of the teachings of Nestorius, who fell to the opposite extreme, began to assert that in Jesus Christ only one Divine nature should be recognized. At a local council taking place at that time in Constantinople, the provisions of Eutyches were considered; he was convicted of heresy and deprived of his church degree. Eutyches rebelled against this decision, turned to many bishops, including Pope Leo, with a request to reconsider his case and at the same time accused the Patriarch of Constantinople Flavian himself of heresy.
Leo, having learned the truth from Flavian, set out in writing the teaching of the Church about the union of two natures in Christ: Divine and human.
Memory of Saint Flavian the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople
Flavian suffered in the fight against the heresy of Eutyches and died as a result of the blows inflicted on him by the defenders of Eutyches during the council, known in history as the “Robbery” or “Robbery of Ephesus,” in 449. His relics were transferred to Constantinople in 451. The successor of Saint Pope Leo, Hilary, who was legate at the robber council, depicted in wall paintings the feat of Flavian at this council in Rome in the oratorio of the Holy Cross.
The Repose of St. Cosmas on the Yakhroma River
The Monk Cosmas 349 was brought up by a boyar in the village; The boyar, loving him for his meekness, taught him to read and write. The benefactor boyar fell into a serious illness and moved from city to city, seeking benefits for his illness; Cosma was with him constantly, comforting him by reading books and looking after his father like a good son. During their travels, they stopped on the Yakhroma River, and the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God appears on a tree to reverent Cosmas; he heard a voice from her commanding him to become a monk and build a monastery. His sick master then received healing from this icon. This made the master love Cosmas even more. But even because the master did not need services, Cosmas secretly retired to Kiev and entered the Pechersk monastery; dressed here in monastic robes, he spends some time in feats of strict fasting and prayer. Then, following the will of the Mother of God, he goes with the icon that appeared to him to the Yakhroma River and here, 40 miles from Vladimir and 15 from Yuryev-polny, with the help of good people, he builds a church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God.
Little by little, zealots of the solitary life gathered to him, and he zealously taught them piety with the title of abbot. Constantly faithful to the rules of monasticism, he did not abandon the feats of fasting and prayer, but together with love he accepted the strange and healed sinful souls with the medicine of repentance; the fame of his wondrous exploits reached the Grand Duke. Having reached a very old age and having received the Holy Mysteries, he peacefully surrendered his spirit to God on February 18, 1492. His strict life and appearance remained in the memory of the Yuryevites: his face was pale and dry, his hair was gray, his hair was long and towards the end narrow, somewhat curled; a bright gaze shone from under the high brow. Various healings marked the holiness of his life. His relics rest hidden in the Assumption Monastery Church 350. Mitrofan, later the saint of Voronezh, being the abbot of the Kosmin monastery, said this in the inscriptions on the Gospel: “This Gospel was exchanged for our reverend father Cosmas of Yakhrinsky the wonderworker under the abbot Mitrofan” 351.
The icon that appeared to the monk, marked by miracles, is located in the same church where the relics of the monk are, and it is celebrated on October 14, 352.
Day nineteen. Memory of the Holy Apostles from 70 Archippus and Philemon and Saint Apphia
Apphia was the wife of Philemon, to whom there is a letter from the Apostle Paul; preached about Christ in Gaza and other places, and Saint Archippus was bishop in Colossae after Epaphras. During the reign of Nero they died as martyrs: Philemon and Apphia were stoned, and Archippus was cut with knives.
Venerable Eugene and Macarius Confessor. Julian the apostate, having arrived in Antioch in 362, demanded the priests Eugene and Macarius to compete in faith and, convicted of wickedness, ordered both to be beaten. Then, together with dux Artemy, who openly admonished the king, they were thrown into prison; the very next day, the king condemned them to imprisonment in one of the swamp oases of Libya, where they died. For Artemia, see October 20.
Day twentieth. Memory of St. Cornelius of Pskov
The Monk Cornelius, while still a young man, left the world and began asceticism in the Pechersky Monastery of the Pskov region; Here he was tonsured a monk and led a strict life of work and prayer. Under him (from 1519) they expanded the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God into the mountain and built it with a chapel in honor of the Venerables Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk, and from 1524 the new church icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God began to exude healings and other miracles 353. In 1529, Blessed Cornelius was invested with the rank of abbot of the new Pechersk monastery. During his 40-year reign, he elevated the monastery in all respects. His life was an example of a strict monastic life, and he tried to inspire the monks subordinate to him with zeal for the asceticism 354. At that time, it happened that others, making rich contributions to the monastery, allowed themselves to live in the monastery in a non-monastic way and considered their contribution as the right to live according to the desires of a corrupted heart.
Blessed Cornelius lived by trusting in the Lord and did not think of making the well-being of the monastery dependent on contributions; he valued the high importance of the monastery as a school of piety, and therefore he subjected any monk, when he did not want to live like a monk, to corrective measures, and if he did not come to his senses, he was removed from the monastery, no matter who he was. One of these expelled investors came with a complaint to Metropolitan Macarius. The Metropolitan ordered him to be sent to the monastery under strict penance. Novgorod Archbishop Theodosius wrote to the blessed abbot: “Our holy lord and father Macarius, Metropolitan of all Russia, wrote to us about your Pechersk depositor, Elder Savvatiy, that he was in monastic services with worldly people and fell into great sins, and that he came to repent and cry before you about that fall, but you did not accept him for repentance... Give him up to the good old man under supervision, so that he lives with the rule and goes to the beginning of each service, and stands in front of the church every day until the end of the rule, but do not allow him into church. And you instruct and teach him according to the rules.
You yourself know the scriptures well. It says: if a bishop, or abbot, or presbyter does not accept someone turning from sin to repentance, then he must be deposed” 355. Blessed Cornelius loved the salvation of the brethren and cared about him; under him, the number of monks of the monastery increased to 100 people, whereas before him there were few of them. He well understood the duty of gratitude to the benefactors of the monastery. A monument to this is the synodikum of the monastery he established to commemorate the deceased brethren and deceased benefactors. Tireless in his labors, with unceasing zeal for the good of the monastery, he built a stone church in honor of the Mother of God Hodegetria in Pskov, at the Pechersk courtyard; in his monastery, he moved the wooden church of 40 martyrs behind the monastery, for the monastery workers; and on its site he built (1548) a stone Church of the Annunciation 356. For the edification of others, he described the miracles of the Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God. “The witness of these miracles,” he says, “is not just me, but the whole of Pskov and Novgorod.
The Mother of God gives healing not only to the Orthodox, but also to those of other faiths who come from the German land (from Livonia) with faith to the miraculous image” 357. Blessed Cornelius loved enlightenment for himself and for others; educated contemporaries, such as Prince Kurbsky, lived from time to time in his monastery for conversations with him; his disciple, Elder Vassian Muromtsev, was one of the most enlightened people of his time 358. Blessed Cornelius instilled piety not only in his monastery, but throughout the entire surrounding area; he built churches of God in Agirev and Topin 359.
Since 1558, a new field of activity opened up for Blessed Cornelius. The Tsar decided to return to Orthodoxy what belonged to him in Livonia and to adequately punish the Germans who burned Orthodox churches and abused the shrine 360. In April, the governors approached Narva. On the passionate heels, “the noble and proud Germans, who had invented for themselves a new name of evangelicals, were drunk in the morning” and, despite the truce, began to shoot at the Russians. They have been given a lesson. They didn’t come to their senses.
“Having found an icon of the Mother of God with the Eternal Child in her arms in a house where Russian merchants stood, they began to curse at the icon; then, taking it from the wall, they threw it into the fire where beer was brewing... The flame suddenly, faster than an arrow, rushed upward, and the top of the building burst into flames.” A terrible fire started in Narva. The Russians, taking advantage of the fire, took possession of the city. “This is the reward for the blasphemers of the Divine, those who equate the image of Christ depicted in the flesh and the image of His Mother with the fools of the pagan gods! This is the reward for the iconoclasts.” This is what a contemporary of the events, Prince Kurbsky, writes. It was impossible not to shudder at such punishment from God. The students of the new teachers needed to think about themselves, especially since the icon of the Mother of God and another of St. Nicholas, which the Lutherans also threw into the fire, were found intact in the fire. Blessed Cornelius and the Archimandrite of Yuryev, by order of the Metropolitan and the Tsar, consecrated Narva and Ivangorod with a solemn religious procession with miraculous icons and then delivered these icons to Moscow 361.
Following Narva, the castles of Neuhaus, Kirempe and then Dorpat 362 were taken. For the poor Estonians, who suffered both now and before from the war, blessed Cornelius generously distributed benefits of all kinds. He took it upon himself to build an Orthodox church in Neuhaus, while the government was building churches in Narva and other places. The charity of Blessed Cornelius, his gentle instructions, his unselfishness and pure life ensured that in the parish of Neuhaus all Estonians, and in the parishes of Rauge, Pelve and Geriel, many turned to Holy Orthodoxy as unselfish and sincere piety 363 . Yes, it is not difficult to understand the teaching of the Apostle: We must be doers of the word, and not merely listeners, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works (James 1:14)? Where they want to nourish and develop the mind alone, where they reject with contempt the methods of forming the will, living, all-soul piety is impossible, there they only deceive themselves.
Where they say: everyone think about faith at their own discretion, expect everything ungodly, but by no means Christian piety. The events themselves spoke strongly in favor of Orthodoxy. In 1560, blessed Cornelius was an instrument of the wondrous work of God, to the joy of Orthodoxy and to the execution of his enemies. On the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, he sent prosphora and holy water to the commanders stationed near Fellin, and as soon as his messenger arrived there, a fire broke out in Fellin from cannonballs, destroying both the shells and all the enemy’s grain. The Germans were forced to surrender; Grateful governors sent the Fellin Bell 364 to the monastery of Our Lady. In 1565, Blessed Cornelius surrounded the monastery with a stone fence and built a church above the gates of the monastery in honor of St. Nicholas, entrusting this wondrous defender of the pure faith with protecting the monastery of Orthodoxy. Given the position of the monastery on the border of the Livonian Germans, the sworn enemies of Orthodoxy, such strengthening was necessary not for one monastery, but for the whole of Russia.
This was irrefutably proven by the events of 1581, when the monastery happily withstood the siege of Batory's troops, and the formidable forces of the enemy, without benefit to him, were spent under the walls of the monastery 365. In 1570, the Monk Cornelius with all the Pskov clergy solemnly met the formidable Tsar in Pskov 366.
The Tsar appointed an Orthodox bishop for the conquered Livonia, with the title of “Bishop of Yuryev and Velyansky” (Fellinsky), and Blessed Cornelius was consecrated as the first bishop. According to the chronicles, the new Bishop Yuryevsky arrived from Moscow to Novgorod on October 14, 1570; and in 1572 he appeared to the Tsar in Novgorod with icons 367. The synod of the Pechersk Monastery records the repose of “the holy bishop Corniliy of Yuryevsky and Velyansky.” Prince Kurbsky writes: “He (John) killed Cornelius, abbot of the Pechersk Monastery, a holy man, famous for his monastic life. From his youth he lived in monastic labors and built a monastery through long labors and prayers before God” 368. The Pechersk manuscript says about the Monk Cornelius: “From this corruptible life he was sent by the earthly king to the Heavenly King.” How was it? For what or for what reason? Unknown. Only the sick-hearted king himself wrote down
Cornelius is among those killed, thereby showing his involvement in the painful death of Cornelius 369. The ascetic of piety died at the age of 69, on February 20. His holy body was laid in the wall of a natural cave of the Pechersky Monastery, and in 1690 it was transferred to the Assumption Church 370. In 1581, it was revealed to one pious elder how the Monk Cornelius accompanied the Heavenly Queen together with the Monk Anthony to the defense of Pskov, how he begged Her to forgive the sins of the people and save the guilty Pskov. “Those who stood on the right hand,” says the modern story, “hegumen Cornelius, Savva and blessed Nicholas fell before Her with tears and prayed: they are criminals; pray to your Son and our God for the people who have sinned.” Then the noble princes begged Her to spare the city. And Pskov was saved from Batory, despite all the efforts of Batory 371.
Memory of Saint Leo the Wonderworker, Bishop of Catania
Died around 725. Glorious was his teaching and miracles; destroyed the service to the idol of the goddess Artemis, which was still ongoing in that country, and put to shame the sorcerer Iliodor, who had seduced the people.
Day twenty one. Memory of Saint Zechariah, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Under which, in 614, Jerusalem was taken by the Persian king Chozroes, the Cross of the Lord itself was taken from there to Persia, and many prisoners were captured, including Patriarch Zechariah. Only in 629, under Emperor Heraclius, was the Life-Giving Tree of the Cross returned to Christians and Palestinian prisoners, including Patriarch Zechariah, who died peacefully in 631, were released.
Memory of Saint George, Bishop of Amastrid
He became famous for his high life and miracles in Pamphylia under Emperor Constantine VI (780–797). He predicted to Nicephorus Logothet that he would receive royal power. Through prayer he calmed the storm on the Black Sea during his journey; died peacefully in 803. After his death, many miracles took place at his tomb: “so one day the Russians, having attacked the Greek empire and devastated everything along the shores, took possession of Amastrida (in Paphlagonia) by the Black Sea - and when they wanted to open the tomb of George, thinking to find a treasure, they became motionless and, upon finding out the reason for this, left peacefully” 372.
Saint George of Amastris is credited with composing many canons.
Memory of Saint John III Scholasticus, Patriarch of Constantinople
Lived in the 6th century. He compiled a set of Church rules and a set of imperial decrees relating to the Church, from which the Nomocanon was compiled, which serves as a guide for church legal proceedings. Saint John composed the hymns: “Like the Cherubim” and “Thy Secret Supper” 373.
Day twenty two. Memory of the Holy Martyr Mauritius and with him 70 soldiers
When the Roman Emperor Maximian, a merciless persecutor of Christians (in the 4th century), traveling around to inspect the eastern countries of the empire, arrived in the city of Apamea (in Syria), he was informed that the commander of the local army, Mauritius, and 70 of his soldiers professed the Christian faith.
Wanting to make sure of the justice of this report, Maximian himself interrogated his soldiers and, having heard from them confirmation that they were Christians, he tried first to convince them with admonitions and then threats to renounce the incomprehensible to him belief in the Risen Christ.
He soon realized, however, that all his convictions were in vain, and, irritated by the steadfastness of the Christians, he ordered them to be tortured. Thinking of influencing Mauritius with the most powerful weapon, Maximian ordered his son, the young man Photinus, to be tortured in his presence. But the firmness of the Christian youth did not yield to the inveterateness of the pagan. Fearlessly and uncomplainingly, Photin accepted all the torment and death for the confession of faith in Christ, and Mauritius, his father, not only was not troubled in spirit, but rejoiced that Jesus Christ deigned his son to suffer for the sake of His holy name.
With the same unyielding courage, Mauritius and its 70 soldiers endured all the suffering. Finally, they were condemned to a painful death: they were taken to one swampy place, where there was an impenetrable multitude of mosquitoes, wasps and gadflies; here, having tied them naked to trees, they smeared their bodies with honey... For ten days and nights the martyrs remained in this cruel torture from insects, hunger and thirst; But is there really a torture that exceeds the patience of a human heart that truly loves God...
Amidst prayer and praise, these warriors of Christ finally betrayed their souls to the Heavenly King.
But their painful death did not satisfy the irritation of the pagan. Maximian ordered to cut off their heads and scatter their bodies for the birds to tear to pieces. Some believers managed, however, to collect the remains of the righteous and bury them (around 305).
Memory of Saints Thalassius and Limnius, Syrian hermits who lived in the 5th century
“We have the village of Tillima, where the seeds of Marcian’s wickedness were once sown, and now the teaching of the Gospel is flourishing,” says Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, who personally knew them, about the saints of God remembered today. “To the south of this village there is a hill, not very high and not very low. It was there that the wondrous Thalassius, a man adorned with many good qualities and surpassing his contemporaries in simplicity of character, meekness and humility of mind, set up an ascetic refuge for himself. I say this not just from hearsay, but from experience: I myself went to see the holy man and often enjoyed his sweet conversation.”
“Limnius, now glorified by all, was also accepted into his company, who, having entered the ascetic field at a very young age, showed great success in high philosophy.” In particular, he strictly observed silence, “he lived for a long time without talking to anyone.” Away from any distraction, in complete concentration of thought and feeling directed toward “the one thing needed,” a wise lover of the truth and beauty of the Divine raised his soul and, having tempered it with long-term experience and skill, wished for complete solitude and settled on the top of another mountain, near the village of Targaltsky. Here he lived in the open air, having neither a hut nor a tent, fenced only by a bare wall and not receiving anyone.
Over time, the feeling of love for people, not suppressed, but purified and clarified and made wise among the feats of prayer, self-deepening and self-denial, manifested itself in the life of Limnius in the fact that he gathered around him many blind and beggars, built for both of them a dwelling on the sides of his mountain and instructed them in prayer and praise to God. He entrusted food for them to be delivered to those numerous visitors who came to him on their own in the hope of being nourished by his conversation, which acted not as a carnal instrument, but from above - a grace-filled spiritual one, “captivating every mind into the obedience of Christ.”
Day twenty-three. Memory of Saint Gorgonia
The daughter of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nazianza, and Saint Nonna, the sister of Saint Gregory the Theologian and Caesarea, Saint Gorgonia was a worthy member of this holy family. She spent her life in godly and fruitful care for the fulfillment of her family responsibilities, she constantly strived for improvement and really succeeded in piety, her meekness, prudence and vigilant care for the peace of the family, for the order in the house constituted the happiness of her husband and children, and although she completely devoted her life to her closest family, avoiding secular society, nevertheless her virtuous life was not remained unknown and outside the house, and she enjoyed universal respect.
Gorgonia was married to the chief of Iconium, Nikovul, and had three daughters, of whom the eldest, Alipiana, distinguished by high qualities of soul, was especially loved by her uncle Gregory the Theologian 374.
In the quiet and peaceful family life that Gorgonia led, there was, however, one circumstance that greatly worried her.
Her husband Nikovul, distinguished by great virtues and high qualities of soul, had not yet been sanctified by the Holy Sacrament of Baptism, and Gorgonia fervently prayed to God to send her the consolation of seeing her husband as a Christian during her lifetime. Her righteous and fiery prayer was fulfilled, and when the Sacrament of Baptism was performed on Nikovoul, then, already feeling the beginning of a mortal illness within herself, Gorgonia directed all her thoughts towards preparing for her departure from the earthly world into eternity. She was then only 39 years old, but, miraculously warned about the time of her death, she was not embarrassed by its prematureness and, having waited for the Lord to fulfill the deepest desire of her heart, she began to peacefully and humbly await the last minute of her life. For her believing soul there was no separation from her loved ones, although they still remained on earth: for her there was only union with them in Christ, union with Christ, to whom she always strove with faith and purest love. Let us listen to the description of her brother the Theologian about her death:
“When she was at her last breath,” says Saint Gregory in his funeral homily to his sister, “the family and strangers stood around her, coming to give her last kiss; the elderly mother sighed and was tormented in her soul (for she would have liked to precede her departure), common love was mixed with sorrow; some would like to hear something to remember from her, others would like to say it themselves; but no one dared to utter words; the tears were silent and the grief inconsolable; It seemed impermissible to accompany someone departing in peace with sobs; deep silence was observed, and death had the appearance of some kind of sacred triumph. And she, apparently, was lifeless, motionless, voiceless; her silence made one think that the body was numb and the organs of the voice were already dead due to the removal of what set them in motion. But the shepherd, who carefully observed all the changes in her, because everything that happened to her was miraculous, noticing a slight movement of her lips, put his ear to her lips, which closeness and unanimity gave him the right to do...
She uttered psalmody, namely, the words of the original psalm, and (if it is necessary to speak the truth) testified to the boldness with which Gorgonia ended. Blessed is he who rests in peace with these words: In peace together I will sleep and rest (Ps. 4:9). This is what you sang, this was fulfilled on you, most perfect of women; this was both psalmody and a tombstone after your departure, beautifully pacified by the rebellion of passions and, in the general course of dormition, having tasted the sleep bestowed on the beloved of God, as was fitting for one who lived and departed with words of piety...”
The death of Saint Gorgonia followed around 372.
Memory of the Venerable Alexander, the monastery of the Unsleeping First
Originally from Asian countries. Having received his education in Constantinople, he entered military service there, but after a while he left it to serve the One God. After his exploits in Syria, he arrived in Constantinople and founded the monastery of the Unsleeping. He died after 50 years of labor on July 3, 430. The Monastery of the Never Sleeping was so named because, according to the rules of the Monk Alexander, the monks continuously sang the psalter day and night on two choirs, alternating by the hour. (The 3rd of July comes to mind again).
Memory of the Venerable Moses of Beloezersk and Polycarp of Bryansk
According to the description of the saints of Beloozersky, “Reverend Moses, a perspicacious monk, in the settlement of Beloozersky in the Trinity Monastery,” rested after St. Kirill of Beloezersk (1427) and before St. Kirill of Novoezersk (1532). since the Trinity Ustshekhonsky Monastery was moved to the Beloezersky settlement around 1480 375, then the exploits of the Monk Moses the Visionary must be attributed to the end of the 15th century. The Venerable Moses is revered locally 376.
All that is known about the Monk Polycarp of Bryansk is that he was the founder of the Bryansk Spassky Monastery and that after a long ascetic life he died as abbot of his monastery on February 23rd. In the inventory of monasteries of 1662 we read: “behind the Spassky (Bryansk) Monastery and Polycarp the Wonderworker there are 13 courtyards.” According to this news, the Monk Polycarp died before 1662 and this year was already known for his miracles. His relics have been buried under cover in the Bryansk Spassky Church since 1764, after the abolition of the parish monastery 377.
Saint Polychronios, bishop of the Church of Apamea (in Syria), contemporary of the Monk Marufa, bishop of Mesopotamia. In 427, Theodorit ends his story this way: “Polychronius superbly shepherds the Apamean Church, uniting the celebrity of life with the celebrity of teaching” 378.
On the same day there is a celebration in honor of the Sokol Icon of the Mother of God. This icon became famous in 1172 and is located in the Church of the Transfiguration of the abolished (1786) Sokolsky monastery of the Poltava diocese.
Day twenty-four. The first and second discovery of the head of St. John the Baptist
The killers of the Forerunner did not allow his head to be laid down with his body, fearing that the terrible accuser of them, if his head was attached to the body, would not rise again and begin to expose them again (see: Mark 6, 14-16). The body of the Forerunner was buried by his disciples in Sebastia, the city of Samaria, and his severed head was especially hidden by Herodias in Herod’s palace, in a dishonorable place. Knowing about this humiliation, pious Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward (see: Luke 8:3), secretly at night took the head of the Forerunner from there and, putting it in a vessel, buried it on the Mount of Olives - on Herod’s estate. Much time after that, a certain Innocent, a pious ascetic, bought Irodovo’s estate and began to build a church. Digging a ditch for the foundation, he found in the ground an earthen vessel and in it the head of the Forerunner, which he recognized by the signs of grace that came from her, and kept it with himself with great reverence. This discovery was the first.
Before his death, wanting to save the head of the Baptist from the reproach to which it could be subjected to by those who did not believe in Jesus Christ, Innocent hid it in the ground in the place where he found it. Subsequently, after the death of Innocent, the church built by him became deserted and fell apart, and thus the honest head again became unknown to anyone.
In the days of Constantine the Great, when the Christian faith reigned in the world and pious Christians from everywhere began to go to holy places to worship, two monks who came to Jerusalem to worship the Life-Giving Cross and the Holy Sepulcher, by revelation and command of the Forerunner himself, who appeared to them in a dream, found it on the Mount of Olives and took its honorable head with them. Returning with her to their home, they met on the way with one poor poor man, a resident of the Syrian city of Emessa, who was going from his fatherland to another country, and they went with him. The monks allowed their companion to carry the sackcloth in which the head of the Baptist was kept. The skudelnik did not know what was hidden in the sackcloth he was carrying. The holy Forerunner appeared to him and commanded him to depart from his companions with the sackcloth that was in his hands. So God, for unbelief and laziness, took away the shrine from the unworthy monks, who at first did not believe the Forerunner’s appearance to them in a dream, and then did not want to bear his head!
Having left the monks, the poor man, at the command of the Baptist, came with his head to his house; God blessed his house with an abundance of blessings. Believing that the author of these blessings was Saint John the Baptist, the poor man kept his honest head with great reverence. Before his death, he revealed about the shrine that he had and bequeathed to his sister to guard it with special respect and then hand it over to the most worthy of Christians. For a long time, the honest head of the Baptist was preserved in continuity among pious Christians. Subsequently, this treasure was acquired by a certain Eustathius, a man infected with the Aryan heresy, who had no fear of God. Then Providence was pleased to take the shrine away from the unworthy and, with his own hand, hide it for a long time in a cave unknown to the Orthodox. Eustathius, escaping the justice of the law for his evil faith and forced to leave his home and hide, hid the head of the Forerunner in a cave, so that later he could secretly take it from there. But, driven out of his home, he could not return later and again own the invaluable shrine.
On the site of the cave in which the spiritual treasure was hidden, pious monks settled and lived, not knowing what treasure was hidden in their peaceful haven of piety.
Many years have passed; the head of the Baptist was again forgotten. A monastery was subsequently formed from a refuge for monks in a cave. The pious archimandrite of this monastery, Marcellus, who himself narrates the second discovery of the head of the Forerunner, was honored with the appearance of the Baptist and notification from him of his venerable head, hidden in the cave of the monastery, and it was found a second time in the year 452 AD and, by order of the Greek king Marcian, was transferred from Emessa to Chalcedon, and then to Constantinople.
Day twenty-six. Memory of the Holy Martyr John Kalfa 379
In the second half of the 16th century, the architect John Kalfa lived in Galata (a part of Constantinople inhabited by traders of all nations). He was a modest, pious man, distinguished by extreme warmth of heart. For example, he cared diligently for orphans, loved to unite them in marriage, freed prisoners in prison and helped everyone in need to the best of his ability. The blessing of God could not but rest on such a person who, in complete simplicity of heart, holyly fulfilled the majestic commandment of Christ: Love God and your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39) - and was rewarded by God with the highest fate of His elect...
By rank, an architect, John, showing himself to be zealous in every matter, achieved great skill in his practice of architecture. Therefore, the richest dignitaries turned to him to build their houses, and he was entrusted with decorating the interior decorations of the Sultan’s palace itself.
One day, one aga, wanting his nephew, who had arrived from Anatolia, to learn the art of architecture, turned to John, who was reputed to be an excellent architect, with a request to teach his nephew. John accepted this boy as his disciple.
Often coming to the palace with his teacher, the boy met and became acquainted here with his peers who lived in the palace; he saw that it was good for him to live here, and wished that he too would be allowed to live with the other boys in the palace. Aga asked John to help him fulfill the boy's wish; the good man did not refuse his petition on this matter, which turned out to be successful.
Over time, this disciple of John received an honorable position in the palace and, feeling gratitude and affection for his teacher, constantly maintained good relations with him.
One day he asked John the following question: “You, a well-read and learned man, please tell me what is written in your books about our prophet, for whom God created the world and everything that exists in it?”
Acting at first under the impression of ordinary prudence, John was not inclined to touch on the subject of his faith in a conversation with the Mohammedan youth; as if foreseeing that he would not convince him of the truth, and therefore considering the conversation useless: “I beg you,” he answered the young man, “do not bother me with such questions; if you want to talk to me about anything else, then let's talk; don’t ask me just about faith..."
“I swear to you by the royal bread that I eat, and by our sincere friendship, that I will not cause you the slightest harm,” the young man continued to ask. With these words, John forgot everyday caution, they touched the most living feeling in him - his Christian faith... Could reason close the lips in silence, called to confess the truth... “If you already ask so persistently,” he said to the young man, “then I will reveal to you the whole truth... There is only one true God, this is our Lord Jesus Christ, Mohammed, in whom you believe, was an ordinary man, even an unlearned one, who throughout his entire life did not do any particularly good deed, did not perform a single miracle, such as the prophets revered by us Christians performed. You alone call Mohammed great and recognize him as a prophet. I swear by Christ, the King of Heaven, that he is not only not a prophet, but an enemy of God. He only managed to deceive and please the simple and rude people with his inventions and captivated them, as it was predicted about him that he would come to seduce the world...”
The truth poured out into the open, past all worldly considerations, and it was followed by a phenomenon common in clashes between the Christian world and the Mohammedan world.
Blinded by the false teaching of the prophet, which had penetrated the whole mass of humanity with such deep roots, the young Mohammedan could not accommodate the truth of Christ in his heart... It seemed alien to him, and, whether under the influence of the torturing of people who were unkind to John Calfa, or prompted by his own frivolity and cowardice, he treacherously betrayed his teacher, telling his fellow believers about the blasphemy against Mohammed, which he heard from John.
Then John began to be tortured, beaten, imprisoned, and forced to renounce Christ.
“I will not renounce my sweetest Jesus Christ,” the martyr objected unshakably, “I believe in Him, I worship Him and confess Him as a perfect God and a perfect man...”
John languished in hard labor for six months, then again suffered torture in prison, and was finally sentenced to death.
He was beheaded on the market square in Ergat-Bazar, near Besestan, on February 26, 1575.
The martyrdom of Saint John Kalfa is described with historical accuracy by Father Andrew, the great steward, who then served in Vlankom, at the church of the venerable Theodore and Theophan the hymn-writers, and administered the Holy Mysteries to the martyr in prison.
Day twenty-seven. Memory of Saints Asclepius and Jacob
“The wonderful Asclepius, the hermit and ascetic of Syria, also belongs to the society of God-lovers,” says the blessed Bishop Theodoret of Cyrus. They say that, while still living with people in the village, Asclepius led an ascetic and abstinent life and did not suffer any harm from communicating with many.”
“Many others imitated his virtues, and not only your city, but also neighboring cities and villages are filled with his wisdom. One of his imitators was blessed Jacob, who was imprisoned in a small house near a village called Nimuz: until the end of his 90-year life, the ascetic remained imprisoned alone, giving answers to those who questioned him through a small hole drilled obliquely, invisible to anyone, never using fire or using the light of a lamp.”
The distinctive qualities of both ascetics were: meekness, love of strangers, simplicity, love for the greatest poverty. They were able to spend most of their lives in conversation with God. Both died peacefully in the 5th century.
Day twenty eight. Memory of the Holy New Martyr Cyrus 380 -Anna (the wisest)
Born in Avissok, Thessalonica diocese, from pious parents, young Kir-Anna, beautiful in soul, beautiful in appearance, had the misfortune of attracting the attention of one Janissary, a tax collector. Not having had time to achieve rapprochement with her, the embittered barbarian, with the help of his accomplices, abducted a young girl from her parents' house and presented her to the judge with the complaint that she was reluctant to fulfill, as it were, her word to marry him and accept the Mohammedan faith...
Kir-Anna's parents tried in vain to free their daughter; they had to give up before the terrible threats of the villains. But no threats, no gifts, no flattering promises of the Janissary had any effect on the young girl and could not persuade her to fulfill his demands.
“I am a Christian,” she told him, “I love only Christ, the Lord my God. I have belonged to Him alone since infancy and am ready to die for Him in order to live with Him in eternity... Behold, you have heard my answer; Now don’t expect another word from me.”
And indeed, after that she did not utter a single word. It seemed that her soul had already departed and was in contemplation of the Savior, and was occupied with only one thought: to die for Him as soon as possible.
Struck by her imperturbable calm, seeing her inflexibility, the Turks decided to imprison her in heavy chains.
The Janissary, still not losing hope of persuading the girl to surrender to him, obtained permission from the chief prison officer to visit her. Throughout the day, he used this permission several times, coming to her first alone, sometimes with other Janissaries. At first he tried to influence her with affection, but she, covering her face with a veil, crossing her arms on her chest, remained silent and motionless. Then the monsters began to beat and torture her so that she fell dead.
At night they left her. But when they left, and as soon as she came to her senses, the prison bailiff began to torment her. He hung her with her hands chained, beat her with anything and left her hanging in the cold - it was winter.
In addition to Kir-Anna, there were also Jewish, Turkish and Christian prisoners in the dungeon. All of them, who were kept here for various offenses, were indignant at the cruelties against an innocent girl, showered them with reproaches on the bailiff, and sometimes, reproaching him, one of the Christians who were here freed Kir-Anna from the rope for a while.
But the next day the same thing resumed and thus continued for a whole week.
The patience of the sufferer was supernatural; She endured all the torture calmly and silently. Finally, the prisoners - witnesses to all this - rebelled and approached the prison bailiff with threats to complain to the Pasha for allowing strangers into the prison. This had some effect, and when the Janissaries arrived an hour later, he did not let them in. They complained to Ali Bey. In the evening, the prison bailiff received a reprimand for preventing the Janissaries from entering the prison, who had received permission to do so from the highest authorities. This embittered the inhuman jailer to the last extreme. Arriving at the prison, he rushed at Kir-Anna, hung her as before and hit her with the huge end of a broken pole that came under his arm. Some time later, Kir-Anna died.
The Christian prisoner freed her hands from their bonds and reverently lowered her body to the ground. The next morning, the Christians gathered in prison, raised the body of the martyr, and buried it outside the city, where all dead Christians are usually buried. This was in 1751.
And how many similar cases there were in the next century! And, of course, the future from the torture of Christians under the Turkish yoke is not yet secured, although much blood has already been shed by fellow believers in their defense...
Repose of Blessed Nicholas the Fool of Pskov
The victory by which the world is conquered is our faith, says the Apostle (1 John 5:4). Blessed Nikolai of Pskov can repeat this about himself.
In the Trinity Cathedral of Pskov, on the tomb of the blessed one, the ancient troparion says that blessed Nicholas was from the Pskov side, but through exploits of foolishness he became a citizen of heavenly Jerusalem. In the ancient kontakion it is written: “the miracle worker appeared to Nicholas, the royal power and, meaning, turned ferocity into mercy” 381. In the chronicle we read the following: in February 1570, in the first week of Lent, the formidable Tsar John arrived in Pskov and stayed in the Lyubyatovo Monastery, near the city 382. He was preparing the same terrible fate for Pskov that Novgorod suffered. “Coming with great wrath, like a lion roaring, although he would tear innocent people to pieces and shed much blood.” But the Lord put it into the hearts of His blessed saint Nikolai Salos and the Christ-loving Prince Yuri Tokmakov to soften the heart of the king. By their order, tables with bread and salt were placed along the streets of the city in front of each house, and when the king walked through the city, citizens with their wives and children were on their knees: this touched the cruel John.
From the cathedral he went into the cell of Blessed Nicholas the Fool; he, in his own way, persuaded him to stop shedding human blood and not to rob the churches of God 383. “Do not touch us, passing (minuhne), - said the blessed one, - go away from us, - you will have nothing to run on” 384. The king did not respect these words; he ordered the bell to be removed from the Holy Trinity, and at the same hour his best horse (argamak) fell, according to the saint’s prophecy. When they told the king about this, he was horrified and hastened to leave the city 385. According to other news, Blessed Nicholas offered John a piece of raw meat, and when he said: “I am a Christian, I do not eat meat during Lent,” the blessed one replied: “You are doing worse, feeding on human flesh and blood, forgetting not only fasting, but also God.”386 From the outskirts of the city, where the king stopped upon leaving the city, he allowed the guardsmen to rob the houses of rich people in the city, but did not order them to touch the monks and priests. Nevertheless, he himself took away money, the best things, vessels and books from the monasteries 387.
On the tomb of Blessed Nicholas it is written: “The holy righteous Nicholas, the Pskov wonderworker, reposed in the summer of 7084 (1576) February 28th” 388. Due to the special respect of the inhabitants of Pskov for Blessed Nicholas, he was buried under the cathedral church - an honor that was then awarded only to princes and archpastors.
According to a vision that happened in 1581 during Batory’s attack on Pskov, the Monk Cornelius and Blessed Nicholas begged the Most Pure One to implore Her Son for the people who had sinned, and the Mother of God fulfilled their prayer. Grateful Pskov then painted an icon of the Mother of God with the upcoming venerables Anthony and Cornelius, with princes Vladimir of Kyiv, Gabriel and Timothy of Pskov, and with blessed Nicholas. This icon was placed in the Church of the Intercession and became famous for its miracles; she is celebrated on October 1st 389. From that time on, the day of the repose of Blessed Nicholas 390 began to be celebrated in Pskov.
“Don’t touch us, passing one!” What meek and at the same time strong words of the blessed one! Shouldn't the various reformers of modern times, who are ready to turn everything upside down, including trampling the lives of holy fools into the mud, take them to their ranks? Let them at least think that their abuse of the saints, first of all, does not honor their minds, which are incapable of understanding the ideal of a selfless life, triumphing over one’s self-love, over physical nature, over the greatness of the transitory world. Not everyone can follow the same road to heaven, but worshiping the golden calf will probably not bring anyone to heaven. Not everyone should follow the same road to heaven, but everyone must strictly judge himself and in no case should the judgment of another’s conscience be taken away from the Lord. To Him alone be glory and worship. Amen.
Day twenty-nine. Memory of St. Cassian the Roman
He was born in Rome, but began his monastic exploits in Bethlehem, and from here in 390, with the monk Herman, he went to travel to the monasteries and hermitages of Egypt, where he spent seven years. In 397 they returned to Bethlehem, and three years later they arrived in Constantinople and listened to the conversations of the great Chrysostom. Here Cassian was ordained a deacon. In 405, the clergy of Constantinople sent Cassian to Rome to seek protection for Chrysostom. From here, at the invitation of the Marseilles Bishop Castor, he moved to Marseilles and, ordained a presbyter, founded two monasteries, male and female, with the rules of eastern monasteries, and thus was the first to introduce monastic cenobitic life in Gaul. In 417 he wrote “12 books on the decrees of the cenobiums,” or hostels, of Palestine and Egypt, in 419 he outlined his conversations with eastern ascetics, and in 431 he wrote an essay against the heresy of Nestorius. Died in 435.
On the same day of St. Theostiriktus. Disciple of confessor Nikita of Midice (April 3); from him we have the canon of the Mother of God: “We are faced with many adversities, I resort to You”... He died in 826.
Venerable John Barsanuphius, Palestinian, Archbishop of Damascus and later the hermit of Nitria, who lived in the 5th century. He, among other bishops, was informed in 457 by Emperor Leo of the martyrdom of Proterius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
Venerable Cassian, recluse and faster of Pechersk,
who lived in the 12th century, victorious in the fight against the “spirits of evil.” His relics rest in the Feodosiev caves, in Kiev.
Day three. Equal to the Apostles Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan
Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan, in the world Ivan Dmitrievich Kasatkin, was born on August 1, 1836 in the village of Bereza, Belsky district, Smolensk province. His parents were of clergy, their lives were spent in extreme poverty. The boy was sent to study at Bursa, where, experiencing many hardships, he learned science. John, who from childhood was distinguished by his excellent mental abilities and lively, cheerful character, brilliantly graduated from the seminary in 1856 and was accepted as a state student into the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. While studying in his fourth year, quite by chance he read an invitation to take the place of rector of the house church at the Russian consulate in Hakodate in Japan. Ignoring the invitation, John Dmitrievich, during the all-night vigil, quite unexpectedly for himself, decides to go to Japan to preach Christianity. He submits a petition and on June 8, 1860 receives an appointment in Hakodate.
On June 1860, John was tonsured a monk and given the name Nicholas; on the 29th he was ordained a hierodeacon and on the 30th a hieromonk.
Soon after this, Father Nikolai went to Japan via Siberia. He had to spend the winter in Nikolaevsk. Here he met with the famous missionary Archbishop Innocent (later Metropolitan of Moscow, Apostle of America and Siberia, commemorated March 31 and September 23), who kindly received him and blessed him.
July 1861 Hieromonk Nikolai arrived in Hakodate. But it was extremely difficult for a young monk to begin missionary activity. The saint recalled about that time: “The Japanese of that time looked at foreigners as animals, and at Christianity as a villainous sect, to which only notorious villains and sorcerers could belong.” The practice of the Christian religion was prohibited under penalty of death.
Saint Nicholas began to study the Japanese language and after eight years of hard work he achieved that he became, as it were, a natural Japanese, with an excellent knowledge of history and all Japanese literature, both ancient and modern. Studying the country, the language, and taking a closer look at the life of the Japanese, the saint of God began to little by little sow the seeds of Christian teaching.
His first convert to Christ was one of the then enemies of Christianity, the most famous swordsman in Hakodate, Sawabe, who gave lessons to the son of the Russian consul. One day, after long and hostile scrutiny of an Orthodox monk-priest, Sawabe summoned Father Nicholas to talk about God, Whom he had come to Japan to confess. After a week of such conversations, Savabe became a Christian in his soul.
Sawabe had a friend Sakai, a Confucian doctor, to whom he began to communicate his knowledge of the teachings of Christ and tried to convey his faith. Soon he too became not only a follower and preacher of Christ, but also a great faster and man of prayer. When Sawabe and Sakai became Christians, Father Nicholas saw that the time had come to preach the Gospel word, and in 1869 he went to Russia to ask the Holy Synod to establish a mission in Japan. Upon returning to Hakodate, he found that the zealous Sawabe had already formed a small church: he had gathered several young, well-educated "shizoku" (nobles) from Sendai, who later became clergy: Matthew Kacheta, Peter Sasachala, Jacob Takaya, John Ono, Paul Tsuda and some others.
In 1870, the mission was opened, and Hieromonk Nikolai was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Since 1873, when the anti-Christian edicts were lifted, Orthodox preaching through his works began to be openly distributed in Japan. The Church of Christ, founded secretly in Hakodate, began to grow and strengthen throughout Japan. Churches began to be built, religious services were held, public debates and interviews were organized, Christian communities were formed, schools and seminaries were opened. In recognition of the merits of Archimandrite Nicholas, the Holy Synod on March 30, 1880 in St. Petersburg ordained him Bishop of Japan.
While in Russia, Saint Nicholas began collecting donations for the construction of an Orthodox church in Tokyo. The church was erected in the middle of the Japanese capital on Surugadai Hill, which was purchased by Russia for the Russian Mission, and on February 24, 1891 it was solemnly consecrated with the Divine Liturgy.
Near the cathedral, which was popularly named Seidoo-Nikorai (Nikolai Church), there was a theological seminary, a girls' school, a missionary office, a printing house, and the home of the archbishop and his closest assistants. By this time, there were already 216 Orthodox communities in Japan, and the number of converts to Christianity was approaching 19 thousand.
For thirty years, with great zeal, Saint Nicholas worked on translating the Holy Scriptures and liturgical books into Japanese. He translated almost the entire Old Testament, the entire New Testament, the entire range of liturgical books, as well as the “Orthodox Confession” of St. Demetrius of Rostov, the catechism, “A Brief Sacred History” and much more. Under his leadership, translations of the best theological works and other books were made.
In addition, the saint built an excellent Orthodox library: there were over 12 thousand titles in European books alone (in English, French, German, but most of all in Russian). The Bishop founded the Orthodox Japanese magazines “Orthodox Messenger” (Seikeo Simpoo), “Orthodox Conversation” (Seikeo Eova).
According to the testimony of Japanese Christians, His Eminence Nicholas served as a living example of missionary selflessness. He donated all his material resources to the needs of the Church, thereby covering the shortcomings in the maintenance of schools, editorial offices, and preachers. He did not refuse to donate to the construction of new houses of worship and to the occasional needs of poor Christians, to provide for poor families after fires and earthquakes, so frequent in Japan. At the same time, the bishop himself sometimes did not have the simplest and most necessary things: for example, at home he could be seen dressed, like some hermit, in a rough cassock, patched in places, and on the street walking with a cane in his hand.
During almost half a century of apostolic service in Japan, Saint Nicholas was subjected to persecution and slander, he was even called a Russian spy. But the most sorrowful and difficult time occurred during the Russian-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The hostility that Japanese society had towards Orthodoxy and any of its manifestations grew into hysteria. Throughout the war, the saint was deprived of the great consolation of taking part in church services. He himself explained it this way: “... hitherto I prayed for the prosperity and peace of the Japanese empire. Now, since war has been declared between Japan and my homeland, I, as a Russian subject, cannot pray for Japan’s victory over my own fatherland. I also have obligations to my homeland...” But the archpastor did not abandon his flock in difficult times. In his district letters to the pious Christians of the Holy Orthodox Church of Japan, he explained to them their duty to the earthly fatherland and the heavenly fatherland and called on them to grow in faith and succeed in Christian virtues. The saint fervently prayed for the restoration of peace.
He made every effort to alleviate the fate of Russian prisoners of war. On his advice, a partnership for the spiritual consolation of prisoners of war was formed from Orthodox Japanese. He also helped them financially. With the assistance of the saint, churches and monuments were built at the burial places of our soldiers.
Such activities of Saint Nicholas, filled with Christian love for people and respect for the country in which he carried out his mission, contributed to the calming of Japanese public opinion and a change in attitude towards the Orthodox archpastor on the part of not only the people, but also the government and the emperor himself.
The 50th anniversary of his apostolic ministry was praised as having contributed to the development of civilization in Japan.
The saint remained in constant labor until his strength was exhausted by illness. In January 1912, Vladyka was placed in a hospital, where on February 3, at the age of 76, he peacefully reposed in the Lord.
The death of St. Nicholas showed that in Japan, after the emperor, there is no person who would enjoy such fame and such respect in the country, a person before whose kindly and selfless heart centuries-old pagan traditions fell.
The Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Alexy I, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, on April 10, 1970, decided to glorify St. Nicholas as a saint with the name Equal-to-the-Apostles.
His grave still remains a national and church shrine in Japan, and Saint Nicholas himself is revered as a great righteous man and a special prayer intercessor before the Lord.
The memory of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan, is celebrated on February 3, the day of his blessed repose.
Day twelve. Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyrka
Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyrsky (in the world Mikhail Ivanovich Leontovich), was born on November 6, 1784 in the village of Starye Sanzhary, Poltava province. In 1808, Mikhail Leontovich successfully graduated from the Ekaterinoslav Theological Seminary. As the best student, he was sent by Archbishop Platon of Ekaterinoslav to St. Petersburg to the Alexander Nevsky Academy. After graduating from the Theological Academy in 1814 with a master's degree in theology, he was appointed associate professor of Greek.
On March 11, 1817, Mikhail Leontovich was appointed secretary of the construction committee established at the academy.
On July 30, 1817, he was transferred to the Kyiv Theological Seminary to the position of inspector, where he was a professor of church history and Greek. When the Kiev Theological Academy was opened on September 28, 1819, Mikhail Leontovich became its first inspector.
On February 11, 1820, on the eve of the day of remembrance of St. Meletius of Antioch, in the cathedral church of the Kiev-Brotherly Monastery he was tonsured a monk with the name Meletius. The tonsure was performed by Metropolitan Evgeniy (Bolkhovitinov) of Kiev. On February 22, 1820, the monk Meletius was ordained by Metropolitan Eugene to the rank of hierodeacon, and on February 25, to the rank of hieromonk.
On August 9, 1821, Hieromonk Meletius was appointed rector of the Mogilev Theological Seminary and rector of the Kuteinsky Orsha Monastery with elevation to the rank of archimandrite. In August 1823, he was transferred to the position of rector of the Pskov Theological Seminary, and on January 24, 1824, Archimandrite Meletius was appointed rector of the Kiev Theological Academy.
In October 1826, the Holy Synod determined the appointment of Archimandrite Meletius as Bishop of Chigirinsky, vicar of the Kiev diocese, and rector of the Kiev Golden-Domed St. Michael's Monastery. On October 19, 1826, he was named bishop, and on October 21, his episcopal consecration took place in the Kiev St. Sophia Cathedral.
With fatherly love, the saint took care of the young students of the Kiev Academy, raising them in the spirit of devotion to the Church of Christ. The saint's special concern was caring for the poor, widows and orphans. He often visited prisoners and, for consolation, performed services in prison churches. The saint cared no less about the spiritual care of the brethren of the St. Michael's Monastery. Through oral instructions and personal example, he instilled in the monks of the monastery the spirit of true asceticism. Saint Meletios said: “Humility is a protective sword; with it you will safely pass through earth, hell and reach Heaven.”
In April 1828, Saint Meletius received an appointment to the Perm See.
Strict with himself, the saint was strict with others. To prepare the selected candidates for ordination, Saint Meletios wrote the so-called “Petitioner’s Catechism.” In August 1831, Saint Meletius was transferred to the Irkutsk see and elevated to the rank of archbishop.
The saint paid great attention to the enlightenment of the small peoples of Russia with the light of the Gospel teaching. The saint founded churches in the north of Kamchatka, in the northeastern part of the Irkutsk diocese and along the Aldan River, on the highway from Yakutsk to Okhotsk. He often traveled around his vast diocese, visited the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Arctic Ocean within North America, where the famous Apostle of Siberia, priest John Veniaminov, later Saint Innocent (1879; commemorated September 23 and March 31), worked. Traveling through Siberia and the shores of the Pacific Ocean, Saint Meletius often communicated with the population who professed Lamaism. The saint with meekness persuaded the pagans to leave their delusions and explained the Gospel truths to the Tungus, Buryats, Kamchadals, as well as to the inhabitants of the Kuril and Aleutian Islands.
In 1835, the saint, whose health deteriorated under the weight of incessant labor, was transferred to the Sloboda-Ukrainian department (later Kharkov and Akhtyrka). And here Saint Meletius paid great attention to theological educational institutions, and cared a lot about the life and education of the clergy. He contributed to the restoration of monasteries and religious schools, which were abolished by Empress Catherine II.
The saint paid great attention to the fight against schism.
On July 2, 1839, Saint Meletius led a celebration in the city of Akhtyrsk on the occasion of the centenary of the appearance of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, called Akhtyrskaya (celebration July 2).
The blessed death of the saint followed on the night of February 29, 1840. After communion of the Holy Mysteries with the words “Now you forgive me...” the saint made the sign of the cross and, saying to everyone, “Forgive me,” went to the Lord.
On March 4, 1840, Saint Meletius was interred by Bishop Iliodor of Kursk in a tomb under the cross church of the Intercession Monastery. From the first days of the saint’s death, believers firmly trusted in the intercession of Saint Meletius before God and received gracious help: healing in illness, consolation in sorrow and deliverance from evil circumstances.
Believing residents of the city of Kharkov placed special hope in Saint Meletius during the disastrous days of the Great Patriotic War. With a miraculous message, the saint predicted the imminent deliverance of the city from its enemies.
In 1948, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy I, the tomb with the relics of St. Meletios was moved to the Annunciation Cathedral, where they are still located, being a spiritual refuge and prayerful consolation for believers.
Since the approval in 1977 by His Holiness Patriarch Pimen and the Holy Synod of the service and akathist to St. Meletius, Orthodox Christians have turned to the prayerful intercession of the saint for the well-being of the Holy Church, for the peace and prosperity of the Fatherland.
The memory of Saint Meletius is celebrated twice a year: on February 12, on the day of remembrance of the heavenly patron saint, Archbishop Meletius of Antioch, who lived in the 4th century, and on February 29 (February 28 in non-leap years) - his repose.
In 1285, “a stone church was founded in Tver by the Venerable Bishop Semeon” (Collected l. 1, 207). In 1320 “they laid the body of St. led book Michael in the Church of St. Savior on the Right Land, near St. Bishop Semeon" (Collected fol. 5, 215).
Wax. l. under 1289: “Semeon, the first Bishop of Tver, reposed.” Collection l. 7, 179. Nick. l.: “serving in it (in the cathedral of the Savior Church) the Lord’s bishops of many Tverstia Divine and sacred services: the first Semyon under the Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich; 2 Andrew, with him; 3 Barsanufius, under the Grand Duke Michael and under his sons Demetrius, Alexander, Constantine and Vasily; 4 Theodore, under the Grand Duke Konstantin Mikhailovich; 5 Theodore, under the Grand Duke Vasily Mikhailovich; 6 Vasily; 7 Evfimy Vislen, under Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich; 8 Arseny the Wonderworker." Nikon. l. 4, 284. Based on this news, errors in: Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite should be corrected. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part I
Plato (Levshin), Metropolitan. Brief Church History. Part 1, ch. 7.
Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part I. In the list of bishops according to Nikon. l. (vol. 1, app. p. 5): “Semion from Polotsk; Andrey from Lithuania." Collection l. 7, 179.
This is what the Jesuit deeds say on estates that were taken away from Orthodoxy.
See May 20th life of the book. Dovmont.
Collection l. 1, 60; Collection of state charters and agreements. Part 1
Nikon. l. 3, 54. 55; Collection l. 1, 28. 29.
Trinity letop. See: Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. T.IV. Note 178.
Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. T.IV. Note 178.
The saint’s denunciation was included in the “Righteous Standard” - a legal collection. Orthodox Interlocutor. 1851. No. 1; Rosenkampf G. A. Review of the helmsman's book in historical form. M., 1829.
Collection l. 1, 107. 4, 44; Nikon. l. 3, 87, 88; Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. T.IV. Note 178, 182.
Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part V; Ratshin A. Complete collection of information about monasteries.
The conversion of the Russian princes - Askold and Dir - is also associated with the name Photius. In the spring of 866, on the 1st week of Lent, the Russians carried out a devastating raid on Greece. The squad of princes threatened Constantinople. The people turned to God with a prayer for help. Patr. Photius acted at the same time as a wonderful instrument of God. Having performed a prayer service, he lowered the robe of the Mother of God, kept in the Blachernae Church, into the sea, and a suddenly rising storm sank the Russian ships... This so amazed the Russian princes Askold and Dir that they wished to accept the Christian faith and, returning to Kyiv, sent to Constantinople to ask for Christian mentors. Photius sent a Greek bishop to them, and then the princes and many with them accepted Christianity. “Vasily concluded a civil peace with the Russians. Photius helped him in this matter and made a conversion to faith.” Photius in his district letter writes about the Russians: “Now they themselves have converted the wicked pagan superstition to the pure and unblemished Christian faith and, having accepted the bishop and teacher, behave like obedient sons and friends.”
See: Filaret Chernigovsky. Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church: In 3 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1859. Vol. III.
See: Filaret Chernigovsky. Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church: In 3 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1859.
Cyril's description of the life of St. Cyriacus, see: Acta Sanctorum. VIII. Analecta sacra. Paris. 1692. In Chetyah-Minea Sept. 29. The story of Mary - in the Combined Patericon under the banner. S.
Prefabricated patericon under the banner. S, ch. 26.
Mosch I. Spiritual meadow. The instruction is also included in the prologue of Oct. 30 days.
See: Filaret Chernigovsky. Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church: In 3 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1859. Part III
RKP. life of St. Nikephoros of the Zadnenikforova Hermitage, extracted from the lives of St. Alexandra and Kirill. Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part IV, VI.
The chapel with the tomb was also shown in the 17th century scribe books. and, moreover, in the monastery itself, and not near the desert, as it is said in the Dictionary of Saints.
Ratshin A. Complete collection of information about monasteries.
There is also an RCP in the Tikhvin Church on the Sofia Side. service of the 17th century
Nestor about Vladimir: “We sing and the priests of Korsunsky” (Collected fol. 1. 50); According to all chronicles, Joachim is called the Korsunian.
Nikon. l. 1.105 says that when Joachim was installed as bishop of Novgorod, then “and the rest of the treasures were destroyed,” next. This was preceded by the initial destruction of objects of superstition; painting of the rulers and 3 Novgorod. years. the arrival of Joachim in Novgorod is attributed to 989 (Collected fol. 3. 179, 207); This is in accordance with the fact that Joachim the Korsunian was captured. Vladimir to instill faith. Joachim's chronicle speaks of Christians and the Church of the Transfiguration who were in Novgorod before Dobrynya.
Tatishchev V.N. Russian history. T. 1, ch. 4; Domestic Notes.1856.
Collection l. 3. 207. 4. 175. 3 121. Suprasl. l. 10. 11. Nikon. l. 1. 103: “From Novgorod 3 miles to Pidba”; Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. T. IX. Note 258. Pogodin M.P. Research, comments and lectures on Russian history: In 7 vols. M., 1846–1857. T. V (hereinafter – Pogodin M.P. Studies on Russian history. – Ed.).
IORYAS. T.VI. On the last page Menaia: “Putyata wrote – the dacha is crooked, correct it, but don’t curse it. Dacha, vm. yes, Novgorod proverb.” Indication of the canons of this menaion in: Notes of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Book II, no. 2.
Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. T. II. Note 54; Collection l. 3. 121. 179; Pogodin M.P. Research about Russian history. T.V.
Collection l. 3. 2.127,128; Supraslskaya years. 11. In the RKP. chronicler of the St. Nicholas Dvorishchensky Cathedral: “Lay the stone church of St. passion-bearer Boris and Gleb Sotko in the stone city of Detinets, where Sofia used to be under Archbishop Joachim, and that church (Boris and Gleb) was destroyed from the Germans to the foundation, and stood near the church of the torment. Andrey stratilates"; Sotko, an amazing rich man and builder of churches, is a favorite subject of Novgorod folk poetry (see: Songs collected by P. N. Rybnikov: In 4 parts / compiled by P. N. Rybnikov. M., 1861–1867; Bessonov P.
Suprasl. l. 11, calls the Sophia Monastery a tithe monastery, of course because tithes were collected in favor of the department, which is indicated in Svyatoslav’s charter
Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1; Collection l. 3.208.
In 1598 Sept. 12 “the relics were transferred from the stone tent to the cathedral and buried in the golden porch, next to Bishop Luke, the first bishop Joachim of Korsun, as if the bones were one, and in the ground there were 668 years.” Collection l. 3.275.
Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. RKP. Saints: “St. Joachim the first bishop of Novgorod. originally from Korsun.” See: Dictionary of Saints.
After Joachim, the teacher Ephraim was “blessed to teach in his place. He taught for 5 years, but was not awarded the priesthood.” Arriving in Novgorod, Yaroslav chose Luke (Collected fol. 3. 179. 200; Vostokov A. Description of the Rumyantsev Museum).
Collection l. 3. 210. 211. 121. 178. 288. 5. 138.
Apollos, Archimandrite Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. M., 1847. S. 4; Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1.
Collection l. 3. 122. 179. 212. 5, 138. 139.
Memorable tales. According to another list with some unimportant differences, printed. at Rev. Macarius (Makariy (Bulgakov), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. History of the Russian Church: In 12 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1883. Vol. 1 (hereinafter - Macarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan. History of the Russian Church. - Ed.). The last list is not the best, although it is more ancient.
Description of the Rumyantsev Museum. No. 154; life of St. Nikita: “having found the coffin with six stone decks, it was made; on the upper stone deck there is an image of a holy cross... and the archbishop ordered it to be opened and in the sight of the relics of the saint, testifying to the omophorion, as if to be the bishop lying in that tomb. The archbishop took these relics into the narthex of the great church, which is the narthex of the midday land. Seekingly, in remembrance, I found that Bishop Luke had been buried, who was the second bishop of the great Novgorod from our baptism.” This was in 1558 RKP. Saints: “St. Bishop Luke reposed in the summer of 6562,” another list adds: “Oct. on the 15th day." St. Luke the Bishop is written on a pillar in the altar of the cathedral (Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral). Memory of St. Luke is locally venerated on February 10 along with other saints (Dictionary of Saints).
Collection l. 3, 122. 179. 213. 5, 147.
Collection l. 1. 78. 79. 99. 2. 6. Karamzin N. M., Smirdin A. F. Notes on the History of the Russian State, volumes 1–3. St. Petersburg, 1852. Note. 240 to 2 t.; Note 81 to 3 t. In 1806, the Germanov Monastery, or Spassky on Berestovy, was made of wood, which is why it burned down. It is now obvious that the Berestovsky Spassky stone church was built after 1096, and Kalnofoisky is mistaken in showing that this stone church was built by St. Vladimir.
Meletius Sirig in the canon of the saints of Kyiv calls on the hierarchs Luke and Herman for help. Akathists, K. 1674
Collection years. III, 11. 215. IV, 8. To 3rd Novgorod. years. it is said: “This Arkady, in the abbess, laid the stone church of the Assumption.” But this is a mistake. He built a wooden church (Collected years. III, 11. 97. IV, 8).
Kalaidovich K.F. Monuments of Russian literature of the 12th century. M., 1821. “The body for the sake of the woman was rumored with Orkady, behold, with the abbot, and what was happening was done to the bishop and others, and not a lining for anything.” About another subject: “Prashakh and this: the girl is already climbing on the girl... And Arkady said: that is, like the sin of Sodom.”
Collection l. III, 12. 180. IV, 9.
Collection l. III, 12. 13. 180. II, 83.
Stichirar Novgorod. Sofiysk b-ki on l. 99 postscript: “The books ended this month. September on the 13th day on the canon of the Exaltation, from the month. June under Bishop Arkady and under Tijun Tupochel.” After that, the stichera and the canon of St. were written in the same handwriting. book Boris and Gleb and the canon to the apostles Peter and Paul. For the contents of the stichirary, see: IORYAS. T.VI. The initial 8 notebooks are missing. But another sticheraion of the same 12th century, now belonging to the Academy of Sciences, has been preserved in its entirety (Notes of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Book 2).
Collection l. III, 13. 180. 215. IV, 11.
Saints: “St. Arkady Bishop reposed in L. 6671 months Sep. on day 18." In the Menea of Macarius, the memory of St. Arkady, Bishop of Novgorod. – around 18 September In the Autun calendar of 1718 it was added: “it was laid down in the Martyrian porch: it is told about it in the written menaions, in the cathedral on that day,” i.e. they read in the cathedral on September 18. his life according to the Chetya-Minea of Macarius. Dictionary of Saints: “His memory is celebrated in the cathedral Feb. 10 and Oct. 4 in common with other saints.”
Collection l. 3, 126. IORYAS. T.VI.
Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1.
Collection l. under 6696 and 6697; News of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society. In 10 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1859–1884. T. II (hereinafter – News of the Archaeological Society. – Ed.).
Collection l. 3, 17–21. 216.217.5, 168.169. RKP. Saints. “Saint Gregory, Archbishop, brother of John, reposed on the 6700th day of the month.” Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral. Here in the inscription on the tomb the day of repose is May 24.
Collection l. III, 2123. 127. 216. 217. IV, 18. V, 169.170. Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1.
Collection l. III, 23. 24. 52. 217. IV, 18. 94. Macarius (Mirolyubov), archim. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1. Only in vain Fr. Macarius from what the Novgorodians considered St. Kirill, his defender from the Tatars, draws the conclusion that the monastery was rebuilt again after 1239. Otherwise, exactly the same conclusion would have to be drawn about the Church of St. Sofia.
Collection l. III, 24. 127. 217.
Collection l. 3, 218. 25. Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1.
Collection l. 3, 24. 25. 218. 5, 171. St. Martyrios the Archbishop is depicted on a pillar in the altar of the cathedral. Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.
Collection l. 3, 25. 31. 7, 118.
Collection l. 3, 31. 128. 180. 219. 7, 118. The last one says: “Dobrynya Andreikovich came from Tsar City and brought with him the Holy Sepulcher and took monastic vows in Khutyn at St. Spas." The measure of the Holy Sepulcher is still kept in the St. Sophia Cathedral, that is, the very thing that was brought by Dobrynya. Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.
For excerpts of the description, see: Sakharov I.P. Research on Russian icon painting: In 2 books. St. Petersburg, 1849. Book. 2.
He was metropolitan after Nikephoros 2 (1197) and died on August 26, 1220 (Collected fol. 1, 184. 188. 3, 25. 4, 19).
Collection l. 2, 36. 38. 180. 219. 4, 26. 27. 7, 128.
Collection l. 3, 39. 42. 180. 219. 4, 28.
Collection l. 4, 39. 42. 180. 219
Collection l. 3, 42. 48.180. 181. 219. 4, 29. Nikonov. l. 2, 368. Almost everywhere it is repeated: “I was sick, speechless, speechless, for 6 and 7 months and 9 days.” But this account is incorrect and does not agree with the testimony of the chronicles themselves. It says here: “in the same (6740 years) Archbishop Anthony reposed.” According to the RCP. reposed in the holy calendar on January 17 (Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral).
Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.
Message about Paradise. “I am a witness to this, brother, when Christ, going to Jerusalem for his free passion, shut the city gates with His hands, and to this day they have not been opened; and when Christ fasted over Erdan, with His eyes I saw His faster, and Christ annoyed a hundred dates, they are motionless, and to this day they have not died, have not rotted” (Collected l. 6, 88).
Collection l. 3, 77. 131. 225. 4, 53. Copper doors are now located in the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Alexandrov, the former Alexandrovskaya Sloboda; they were taken here by the will of the formidable king (Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral); Vladimir collection. Materials for statistics, ethnography, history and archeology of the Vladimir province / Comp. K. Tikhonravov. M., 1857 (hereinafter – Materials for statistics. – Ed.).
Sob. l. 3, 77. 131. 4, 53.
Collection l. III. 79–81. 131. 225. Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.
Collection l. III. 83; Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 1; Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral.
Collection l. III. 225. IV. 57.
According to the later list of the will of St. Lazarus, the white hood was delivered to Vasily from the patriarch in 1347 and so on. Patr sent Isidore Bukhira. To 2nd Novgorod. l. under 1424 it is said: “The Patriarch of Jerusalem gave the white hood to Bishop Vasily, and the Pope gave it to the patriarch, and from that place the white hood was in Novgorod.” But Vasily had been an archbishop since 1331. Regarding the patriarch, the news of Lazarus delivering the hood, of course, should be preferred to any other news. To 3rd Novgorod. l. under 6843 it is said: “At this Archbishop. A white hood was quickly brought to Vasily from Tsar Constantine and Pope Sylvester. Novgorod, and to this day the Novgorod metropolitans wear their likeness on their heads.” The year the hood was delivered is also not shown here, and the rest is taken from “The Tale of the White Cowl.”
In 1341 Patr. of Constantinople. John decorated his white head cover with gold with images of the Savior, the Mother of God and the Forerunner.
The conciliar charter of 1564 (Historical Acts. Vol. 1, No. 173) granted the Moscow Metropolitan to wear a white hood with cassocks and cherubs, as the Novgorod Archbishop wore.
Dmitry Gerasimov's message to Gennady about the white hood was printed by superstitions in Suprasl in 1756. It is also often found in manuscripts. Filaret, Archbishop. Chernigovsky. Review of Russian spiritual literature.
Soloviev P. Description of the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral; Macarius (Mirolyubov), archimandrite. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod Part 2. The decorations of the hood, without a doubt, do not belong to the time of the blessed one. Vasily, and as the inventory of 1690 indicates, the archbishop was established. Leonidas (1576).
Collection l. 5. 226. 6. 87. 89. 7. 210. 214; Filaret, Archbishop. Chernigovsky. Review of Russian spiritual literature. Book 1, § 67; Shevyrev S.P. History of Russian literature, mainly ancient: In 4 vols. M., 1846–1860. T. III.
Collection l. III. 58. IV, 62–64. 191. RKP calendar: “St. Archbishop Basil reposed on July 3, 1352.” Description Novgor. shrines 1634 in: Thu. OIDR. Book 4.
Collection l. 3. 106. 107. 135. 136.
Collection l. 3. 307. 103. 4. 117. 118. 5. 261.
The chronicles say that the prayer service was performed on the Volkhov Bridge. But since on the Volkhov Bridge they prayed before the wonderful cross (Collected fol. 3. 167. 245), the news of the chronicles means the same thing as they prayed before the wonderful cross.
Materials for statistics of the Russian Empire, published with the highest permission at the Statistical Department of the Council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. St. Petersburg, 1839–1841 (hereinafter referred to as Materials for Statistics of the Russian Empire. – Ed.). Collection l. 3. 2. In l. 6577 (1069): “Vladimir’s cross was found in St. Sophia on the plates, and Prince Vseslav took it with his army in St. Sophia.” About this cross, see: News of the Archaeological Society. T. II.
Collection l. 4. 418. 419. 5. 23. Nikon. l. 5.722.
Historical acts. T. 1. No. 24.
Prologue July 16, 1646 Evgeny (Bolkhovitinov), Metropolitan. History of the Principality of Pskov: In 4 hours. Kyiv, 1831. Part 3 (hereinafter - Evgeny (Bolkhovitinov), Metropolitan. History of the Principality of Pskov. - Ed.).
Collection l. 3. 109. 138–140. 183. 237. In Soph. years. (6, 142) on the day of the death of St. Simeon is shown on July 15th. But this is a scribe's mistake. According to all chronicles, Simeon ruled the flock for 6 years without 2 months and 4 days, and he was elected on August 14, 1415. According to the RKP. Saints, “Saint Simeon the Archbishop reposed on the 15th day of June 1421.” According to the chronicle (Collected l. 3, 241) in 1462, “blood appeared on two coffins of the Novgorod archbishops Simeon and Martyrius, at Sophia, the Martyrius porch (Makariy (Mirolyubov), archim. Archaeological description of church antiquities in Novgorod, Part 1). In the Tikhvin Church on the Sofia side of the RKP. service to the saints of Novgorod in the 17th century.
Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part IV.
The suffering of St. George, described by an eyewitness in Serbian, ed. in: Chronicle of the activities of the Archaeographic Commission. St. Petersburg, 1864; Nicodemus (Svyatogorets). New Martyrology. Venice, 1799 (translated into Greek, with changes) (hereinafter - Nicodemus (Svyatogorets). New Martyrology. - Ed.). Brief description in the prologue and Chetyah Menaia on May 26
Prologue: “the first nobles of the great city of Sredets were called his father.” Wrong.
About the killing of several monks. Esphigmenus and Dionysiatus by Turkish fanatics in 1534 and 1535. see: Antonin (Kapustin), archimandrite. Notes from a fan of the Holy Mountain.
Service of St. St. George the New Martyr on May 26th, the day of the transfer of the relics, at Tsarskoye No. 563
About the life of St. Marina ancient news in Vitis Patrum. The metaphrastic description of her life (in the Chetya-Minea of February 12th) adds very little to the information of the ancient legend, but in places it deviates from it, sometimes shortens it, sometimes dilutes the ancient simplicity with words. In the combined Patericon (sign. m. Chapter 7), the ancient news is abbreviated, and Eugene is called Marina’s brother in the flesh - erroneously. Vershinsky (p. 24) unfairly shows the Bithynia monastery as the place of heroism: father and daughter were born in Bithynia, but labored in Egypt. Rumyantsev (see: Vostokov A. Description of the manuscripts of the Rumyantsev Museum. No. 159) has the life of St. Marina and her father Evgeniy.
Metaphrastus in the Chetya-Menaia: “you commanded him to do the worst and last things of the monastery.” Vain scrupulosity!
The ancient legend does not show the time of the exploits of St. Marina, but since neither Rufinus nor Palladium mention her, we must assume that she lived after them. Relics of St. The Marinas rested in Constantinople for a long time, but in 1113 they were taken to Venice. Du Cange. Constantinopolis Christiana. In the Western Church the transfer of relics is on July 17th. Usuardi martyrol. auctump. 270.
Devotees of piety who flourished on Mount Sinai and its environs. To the source of living water / Letters of a pilgrim of the 4th century. St. Petersburg, 1860.
Life of St. Simeon Nemanja, described by his son Stephen the First-Crown, and another description of St. Savva: “about the life of Mr. Simeon, how people were before God”, published by Safarik: Safafik. I pismenech crunorizca Chrabra. Pamatky drevniho pisemnictvi Jihoslovanuv. Prague, 1851 (hereinafter – Safafik. Pamatky drevniho pisemnictvi. – Ed.). In Dometian's description of the life of St. Sava also says quite a lot about St. Simeone
Safafik. Pamatky drevniho pisemnictvi. Simeon himself in the chrysobulus to Hilandar: “I raised my dead grandfather and acquired from Pomerania Zeta with cities, from the Albanians Pilot, from the Greeks the land of Lab with Leplan, Glubochitsa, River, Zagralata, Levche, Belitsa, Lepenitsa” (Grigorovich V. Travel Essay). Serblyak (l. 124) shows that 30 cities were taken away from the Greeks under Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, therefore, in 1183–1185 Andronikos wanted to crush the young Serbian state - but was cruelly mistaken.
This dependence, according to the initial conditions, was almost only nominal (Theophanes Continuatus // Theophanes Continuatus, Ioannes Camsniata, Symeon Magister, Georgius Monachus / E rec. I. Bekkeri. Bonnae, 1838. R. 291). Manuel Komnenos, who granted Nemanya the title of great zhupan, ordered Nemanya to be elevated to zhupan in the painting: he hoped to see an unresponsive vassal in Nemana; but I was wrong. Eustathius of Thessaloniki, in his praise of Manuil, does not omit this act of Manuilov, but like a Greek adds: “One thing is not approved of in a painter, that everywhere he decorates a slave with trophies, but does not call Nemanja a slave” (Th. L. Fr. Tafel. De Thessalonica ejusque agro dissertatio geogrphica. Berolini, 1839 (hereinafter – Tafel. De Thessalonica. – Ed.)).
With such a signature is an ancient image of him in the Church of St. George's Pillars (Notes of the Geographical Society. Vol. VI).
First Crowned Life of St. Simeon Nemanja.
Serbian chronicle found by Hilferding in the RKP. XV century, begins the history of Serbia with Nemanja precisely because “When the first sermon in the Serbian land died out and various heresies multiplied in it for many years, the authorities did not care at all about the extermination of heretical tares until the time when the great župan Nemanja appeared” (Russian conversation. M., 1860)
The chief shepherd of the Serbian Church was the Archbishop of Antivaria, who received the pallium from Rome, and the bishoprics of Serbia and Albania were subordinate to him: Kotor, Svach, Skodrin, Divot, Pilot (Pulati of northern Albania), Serbian, Bosnian, Trebinsk. Bull of P. Alexander (1062) to the Antivarian archbishop, see: Farlati. T.VII/Ed. Coletti; Philip Jaffe. Regesta pontificum romanorum ad annum 1198. Berolinum, 1851. Such relations between Serbia began with the Serbian prince Michael Voislavovich, who subjugated Serbia to the pope around 1050. From the time of imp. Basil, the Serbian Church was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. About the Yadrinsk Slavic metropolis, the Bossan bishop Theodore and the Belgrade bishop Theodosius in 1055, see: Glasnik. Book 10.
A Latinis haereticis baptizatus est, says the chronicle (Arkiv za povestn. Jugosl. 1854. III). Stefan in the life of his father: “At the church of those who exist in those lands and the Latin priest, you were granted baptism in Latin.”
Hilferding in “Russian Conversation” (Moscow, 1860); Raich. History of various Slavic peoples. Part 3; Chronicle in Glasnik (Book 1); Safafik. Pamatky drevniho pisemnictvi; Arkiv za povestn. III. St. Savva: “First of all, show your good faith, then instruct others... I accept another baptism for him.”
Even now they indicate in mon. St. George's Pillars cave, where Nemanya was imprisoned (Russian conversation. M., 1858; chronicle in Glasnik (Book 5)).
Dometian's Life of St. Savva (Russian conversation. M., 1859).
In 1181, Alexander sent a letter to Miroslav, Prince Zaholmsky, Nemanja’s brother, where he threatened Miroslav with a refusal of blessing for not accepting his legate, and in every possible way urged him to obey the pope (TheinerA. Monumenta vetera Slavorum meridionalium. Romae, 1863).
Power-hungry Romanism was supplanted. But they tolerated the Latin service. They only punished the “Latin priest” who would overturn the Orthodox “Latin faith.” If a “half-religious” papist marries an Orthodox Christian, he must accept Orthodoxy. Otherwise, his wife with children and her property are taken away from him. The heretic in such a case, if he does not accept Orthodoxy, is expelled from Serbia (Legalist of Stefan Dusan, book 7-10).
"Belly of St. Simeon od King Stephen" (Frantisek Palacky. Pamatky pisemstwie).
Vulk, son of Nemanja, wrote to St. Innocent in 1199: haeresis immodica in terra Hungariae, videlicet in Boisina, pullulare videtur, in tantum, quod ipse Ban Culinus cum uxore sua, quae soror fuit defuncti Miroslavi Chelmensis, et cum pluribus consanguineis suis seductus, plus quam decem millia christianorum in eandem haeresim introduxit (Feier 2, 372). Vulk’s review does not deserve complete trust, because he was then keen on Romanism and, for the sake of vanity, he even disparaged the honor of his aunt, the wife of Miroslav, hated by the pope. Most likely, Kulin, following the example of Miroslav, did not allow his subjects to be subjects of the pope. But there is no doubt that Kulin tolerated the Bogomils (Josephus Simonius Assemani. Kalendaria Ecclesiae Universae. T. 1–6. R., 1755–1757. T. V (hereinafter - Assemani. Kalendaria Ecclesiae Universae. - Ed.). Monumenta spectantia historiam slavorum meridionalium / Ed. Ljubic. Zagr., 1868)
Nowadays Mohammedanism is strong in Bosnia, as is papism. The first Mohammedans were either the remaining Bogomils or the papists who converted from the Bogomils (Russian conversation. M., 1860; Kharkovsky Vestnik. 1863)
A letter (1223) from Conrad, Bishop of Portuena, states that “the chief of the Albigenses, whom they call Pope, lives in the extremities of Bulgaria, Croatia and Croatia, near the Hungarian people” (Gieseler. Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichtë Bd.1–6. Darmstadt-Bonn, 1824–1856. Bd. 2. R. 615). According to the letter from Cor. Premysla (1260) to the pope, in the army of the Hungarian king Bela there were “Bulgars and Bosnian heretics” - Bogomils.
"Belly of St. Simeon od cor. Stefan." “The Lawyer of Dušan” is still haunted by magic, which dug up and burned dead bodies, and the priests who participated in this (The Lawyer of Stefan Dušan, book 43).
Stefan: “his zealous grandfather, who was inhabited by the family of Grch and the creator of the city, took it away from their hands, as the Grch region (not) said... Having destroyed the other cities of the Grch name, let it not be named in that region, and its people, hedgehogs in them, unharmed save it." Above: “apply the Nišvi region to the land of your fatherhood to the end, Lipjan and Morava and the verb Vrani, the Prizren region and Pologa both to the end.” The last places for some time belonged to the Bulgarian princes, and their indigenous inhabitants were Slavs. Nemanja destroyed Greek fortresses and then built new ones, so that the Greeks would no longer have an excuse to say: these are our cities.
William of Tire says about 1167: “The Emperor was then in Serbia. The country is mountainous and covered with forests, located between Dalmatia, Hungary and Illyricum. The rebel Serbs relied on inaccessible gorges and impassable terrain... For insults intolerable to the neighbors, the sovereign entered their land. We met the returning emperor when he conquered them." According to this description, Nemanja wanted to conquer Croatia: but the intrigues of the Roman clergy, already strong in Croatia at that time, aroused the emperor’s aggression against Serbia, and the envious Greeks did not allow Nemanja to achieve a goal useful both for the pure faith and for the Slavic people. Kinnam boastfully describes this victory of the Greeks over the Serbs (John Kinnam. Brief review of the reign of John and Manuel Komnenos. St. Petersburg, 1859).
Savvino's life of St. Simeon: “Follow those you (Studenitsky) plow the lights of the monastery here, and call it in the name of the Lady... create from small to large, and the villages, and with the truths, betrayed to the monastery icons and vessels of honor and books and vestments and veils and even the essence was written in evil printing commanded him, moreover, in the church it is written on the wall and with slander and with a bind, as if no one could repeat his traditions.” Late list of charters of Studenica from Safarik: Schaffarik PJ. Serbische Lesekorner oder historisch-kritische Beleuchtung der serbischen Mundart. Pesth, 1833.
Memorial of the Sopochansky Monastery: “Change, Lord, our patron, the myrrh-streamer of Srbsky and Anastasia the monk” (Notes of the Geographical Society. Vol. XIII).
St. Savva in his life: “He himself created the monastery. And right at Toplica St. Nikola's father. And others there to the light of the Mother of God at Toplitsa. Then he created the monastery of St. George in Ras. And establish a government for all that monastery, as it should be.” Stefan says the same thing, but in more detail. About the monastery of St. Nicholas writes: “Near the Holy Mother of God at the mouth of the Banka River, I walk barefoot... and set up the Lord’s rule for him.” About Georgievsky: “Decorating every detail and elegantly with all sorts of church affairs and establishing church rules.” In the Church of St. George's Pillars there is an intact ancient image of the saint, with the inscription: “Light Simeon Nemanja and the patron of this saint’s place” (Notes of the Geographical Society. T. XIII. P. 140). According to the synaxarion of Serbljak (fol. 124), Nemanea built more churches: Our Lady in Toplice, St. Nicholas on the Banskaya River, Archangel Michael in Skopia, St. Panteleimon in Niš (Raich. History of various Slavic peoples. Part 2)
According to “Dusan’s Lawyer” it is clear that in Serbia there were “bashinnitsa” and “non-basinnitsa” priests - land-owning and landless; the latter cultivated for themselves “three fields of law” - church ones. The lord-landowner was obliged to support the priest: otherwise he had the right to move to another place. The priests collected the products of the earth in the parish, which was called “priest's earth bir.” Part of this collection went to the bishop (Stephen Dushan's Law. Law. 6, 28, 31, 32, 38).
Simeon himself in the chrysobulus of the Hilandar monastery: “I suddenly left my dominion, - I left on the throne my beloved son Stefan, the great zhupan and sevastokrator, the son-in-law of Tsar Alexei” (Grigorovich V. Essay on the trip). Certificate of Stefan Nemanja in: Monumenta serbica spectantia historiam Serbiae, Bosnae, Ragusii / Ed. Franz Miklosich. Viennae, 1858. No. IX. The doubts of a fan of the Holy Mountain (Antonin (Kapustin), archimandrite. Notes of a fan of the Holy Mountain) are completely in vain. Nikon. l. 2, 280: “dominance for 42 years.”
This is what his wife is called in the Serbian memorials (Raich. History of various Slavic peoples. Part 2). To Nikon. l. 2, 280: “To this wife Anna, like him in all virtues, was always kind to priests and monks and strangers.”
According to Savvin's life of Nemanja, he arrived in the Holy Mountain on November 2, 1197 (Safafik. Pamatky drevniho pisemnictvi).
Barsky writes: “St. Savva the Serbian together with his father Simeon created a monastery. There are six paraklises in Vatopedi: 1 in the name of the Savior, 2 St. unmercenary, St. George, 4 St. Theodora, 5 St. Forerunners, 6 St. Nicholas; and there were new ktitors and are celebrated there from the monks on January 12" (Wanderings of Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky to the holy places of the East from 1723 to 1747 / Edited by N. Barsukov: In 4 hours. St. Petersburg, 1885–1887. Part 3 (hereinafter - Wanderings of Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky. – Ed.).
Chryzobul Simeon: “I went from my fatherland to the Holy Mountain and found a monastery, the former Hilandar, where I left one stone upon another, and my Lord vouchsafed me to be his ktitor, - he fathered a monastery near Miliyah village.” Chronicle: “Having bought at a great price the place of Vatopedi, called Hilandar, he settled his Serbian monks” (Glasnik. Book 5).
The precious Hilandar Gospel, written by clerk Gregory to “the great prince Miroslav, son of Zavidin” (Antonin (Kapustin), archimandrite. Notes of a devotee of the Holy Mountain), without a doubt, was written for the nephew of St. Nemanja. Zavida, Nemanja's brother, is known as the builder of the Church of the Apostles on the river. Lima (Raich. History of various Slavic peoples. Part 2). Miroslav, the son of Zavida, is not mentioned by Rajic, but Rajic often repeats that he lacks much information. It is very natural that the nephew gave the Gospel to the place where his uncle labored. The Monthly Book of the Miroslav Gospel (Antonin (Kapustin), archimandrite. Notes of a devotee of the Holy Mountain) is distinguished by the fact that the names of the saints are translated from Latin, and not from Greek. So it is in the month of Asseman's Gospel of the 11th century. The Khilandar monastery was also loved by the kings of Moscow (Kalaidovich K.F. Ioann, Exarch of Bulgaria. M., 1824 (hereinafter referred to as Kalaidovich K.F. Ioann, Exarch of Bulgaria. - Ed.)).
The emperor, who gave Hilandar the right to elect his abbot independently of the archpriest, sent the abbot's staff with the inscription of his name. This rod is still intact in Hilandar (Muravyov A.N. Letters from the East. Part 1).
The wanderings of Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky through the holy places of the East from 1723 to 1747. Part 3.
Hilandar type of St. Savva: “I settled in this place (Khilandar) - having stayed for 8 months, to eternal bliss” According to the news of Patr. Dositheus, Simeon spent a year in Vatopedi and 8 months in Hilandar (Dositheus II, Pat. History of the Patriarchs of Jerusalem). But if Nemanja became a monk at 80 years old and died at 86 years old, then he lived in Vatopedi for more than two years. In total, he lived as a monk for five years without one month.
So, according to the entry in the type of St. Savva. St. Savva in his life: “From his birth he was 46 years old and then he received dominion and remained in dominion for 37 years. And receive that angelic image and live in that image for 3 years. And his entire life was 87 years old.” The count is not entirely accurate. Nemanja was born in 1114 and died on February 13, 1200. So it is according to the chronicles.
This is the inscription on the ancient image of St. Simeon in St. George's Pillars (Notes of the Geographical Society. T. XIII). In the monthly gospel of 1329 Feb. 13: "St. Simeon, lord and myrrh-streamer of the Serbian lands." In the Norovsky synaxar of the 13th century: “Feb. 13 memory pr. o. n. Simeon of Serbia, the new myrrh-streamer, lying in the great monastery" (Notes of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. T. 6).
See: Muravyov A.N. Letters from the East. Part 1.
Notes of the Geographical Society. T. XIII. In Serblyak 1861, the picture represents St. Simeon is far from being in that form. About the relics of St. Simeon the chronicler, see: Glasnik. Book 1, 5, 11; Serblyak 125.
See: Life of St. Feodosia, described by Patr. Callistome // Thu. OIDR. Book 1. A description rich in the colors of eloquence, but not poor in news of the past. This description is sometimes conveyed in literal translation, and more often in extracts.
Life of St. Gregory, described by the same Patr. Callistome, see: Athonite Patericon. Part 1; Antonin (Kapustin), archimandrite. Notes from a fan of the Holy Mountain.
Nil of Sorsky has word 5 about fighting passions.
Of course, a letter was given to the monastery about this. But now she is unknown. The only known chrysanthemum from Tsar Alexander to the Zografsky Monastery in 1342 was about the granting of the village to the monastery. Khontaka near Strumnitsa. IORYAS. T. XI
An eloquent biography writer both in the life of Theodosius and in the life of St. Gregory did not show in what year the saint died. Grigory. This is a pity. Serapion in his note about St. Theodosius (Read OIDR. 1860) says that Callistus, a fellow student of Theodosius, after the death of Gregory, “was taken to the bishopric in Serbia.” In the Athos Patericon (1403) it is said that Callistus labored in the Athos monastery of Mogul, under the leadership of St. Gregory of Sinaita, and in 1350 he was made patriarch, and in 1368, having been ambassador to the Serbian ruler Elizabeth, he died in Ferah.
It is more than likely that the works of Gregory Sinaite were translated into Slavic by this hardworking translator. St. Nil Sorsky has already read Sinaita in the Slavic translation.
“By the command of my noble and Christ-loving lord, the beautiful King John Alexander, in the summer of 6853 (1347),” wrote the chronicler Manasseh. See: Chertkov AD. On the translation of the Manasseh Chronicle into the Slavic language, with an outline of the history of the Bulgarians. M., 1842 (hereinafter – Chertkov A.D. On the translation of the Manasseh Chronicle. – Ed.).
Tsar Alexander was married twice. From his first wife Theodora, in monasticism Feofaniya, he had sons Strashimir and Mikhail. Then, captivated by the beauty of the Jewish woman, he baptized her and married her. From this marriage there were sons Shishman and Yasen. The former Jewish woman was accused (Raich. History of various Slavic peoples) that her stepson Mikhail was poisoned by her, and that out of fear for Strashimir’s life, Strashimir was sent to Viddin with the rights of an authorized ruler. But was it all like that? In the Bulgarian Synodikon we read: “Great to Theodora, the pious queen. c. John Alexander, of the Jewish race, having received Holy Baptism and believing in the pious goal of preserving and renovating many churches and erecting various monasteries, led the living mother. c. John Shishman, eternal memory" (Vremennik of the Society of History and Antiquities. Book 23).
Luke, the newly baptized “most noble Abraham Asan Khojais,” who wrote the Vatopedi Octatevkh with information about Greek translations of the Bible and the devastation of Judea (Antonin (Kapustin), archimandrite. Notes of a devotee of the Holy Mountain) is almost from Ternov, as is Abraham Asan, and almost both are from Jews, relatives of the Jewish woman Theodora.
When did the Bulgarian Paulician Bogomils turn into papists? Probably, John Yasen thanked St. Innocent for sending the royal crown only by allowing the priests to convert the Bogomils into admirers of the pope. At the very least, it is certain that the current papists in Bulgaria are called Paulicians and live exactly where Tzimiskes Paulician settled, near Philippopolis (Wanderings of Vasily Grigorovich-Barsky in the holy places of the East from 1723 to 1747. Part 2. Russian conversation. M., 1860).
Certificate in Greek language and with glory. published in translation in IORYAS. T. VII.
The acts of establishing the Patriarchate of Ternovsky were published in IORYAS. T. VII.
In 452, with the power of his word, Pope Leo convinced and restrained the cruel king of the Huns, Atilla, who was ready to invade Rome with fire and sword, and in 455 he successfully influenced the equally fierce leader of the Vandals - Genseric - and averted the shedding of blood and the burning of buildings in Rome.
Life of St. Cosmas was described by the monk Gregory, but the description was later spread by the abbot. Varlaam. From this a florid story was compiled, rich in words and meager in thoughts. The story see: Vostokov A. Description of the manuscripts of the Rumyantsev Museum. No. 371. In the collection Petersburg. spirit. acad. No. 277.
Saints: “St. Father Cosmas, abbot of the Assumption Monastery of Yakhrensky, also in Shakhmatitsekh, Yuryevsky Wonderworker, reposed in L. 7000 months Feb. on day 18." Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part IV. Service of St. Cosme on February 18th. and his life in the collection Nizhegor. Blagoveshch. monastery
Buslaev F.I. Historical essays on Russian folk literature and art. In 2 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1866. Vol. 2 (hereinafter – Buslaev F.I. Historical essays of Russian literature. – Ed.); Vladimir collection. Materials for statistics). According to the inventory of 1662, “there are 94 courtyards behind the Kuzmina Monastery.”
Ratshin A. Complete collection of information about monasteries. This icon is mistakenly spoken of in two places as two different ones (see: The Glory of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and the Ever-Virgin Mary, revealed in the apparitions of Her miraculous icons in Russia: In 3 parts of Moscow, 1853. Part 3, section 3 (hereinafter - The Glory of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos. - Ed.). In the first it is said that St. the icon appeared in 1482. But that was earlier (RKP story about the Yakhroma Icon in the library of general history No. 213; in Rumyantsev No. 371).
Collection l. 4, 293, 295; The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery; RKP. Menaion of June 10 in the Sergius Lavra Library No. 5.
The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery.
Additions to historical acts. T. 1. No. 35 (letter dated February 24, 1543).
The Church of the 40 Martyrs, similar to a house of prayer, with a single-slope roof, is still intact and serves as the parish church of the provincial town of Pechersk. Later, and precisely in 1565, at the entrance to the monastery, St. Cornelius Church of St. Nicholas (Tolstoy M. Shrines and antiquities of Pskov. M., 1861 (hereinafter - Tolstoy M. Shrines and antiquities of Pskov. - Ed.)).
The legend of the Pechersk Monastery in 1531 in the RKP. Minaiah of June (Serg. Lavra No. 5).
See Kurbsky’s letter and Polubensky’s letter in “Moskvityanin” (1853. Part 5). There is also an essay by Cornelius describing the monastery (p. 139). For a letter to Vassian, see: Tales of Prince Kurbsky / Ed. N. Ustryalov: At 2 hours. St. Petersburg, 1833 (hereinafter - Tales of Prince Kurbsky. - Ed.). Essay by Rev. Cornelius with the following inscription: “The legend of where the nickname of the Pechersk Monastery in Pskov came from.” This work was supplemented by Gregory the Monk in 1585, abbot Meletius in 1587, and Joachim in 1601.
Land survey record for villages and monastery villages, given by the scribes of Yuryev-Livonsky, November 29, 1556; Vostokov A. Description of the Rumyantsev Museum. Here, in the bypass charter of 1491, one can see the meaning of the oderen as a quitrent. Another document with a census of monastic lands according to the scribe book was given Sept. 8 1563, ibid p. 89.
German: “At Moskovsky’s. The prince then had churches in Riga, Revel and Dorpat, where Russian merchants prayed on Sundays. Lutheranism did not leave these churches alone; on the contrary, in fanaticism they furiously attack them and destroy them to the ground” (Griefenthal. Chroshc // Monumenta Livoniae Antiquae. Bd.V. Riga-Dorpat-Leipzig, 1835–1847). Fabricius, papist priest of Felline c. 1610, speaks of the fanatics of Lutheranism: “they also burned Moscow churches in Dorpat, Reval, Riga and many other places; they were robbed and exterminated" (Dionysius Fabricius. Livonicae historiae compendiosa series // Scriptores rerum livonicarum. Bd. II. Riga-Leipzig, 1848).
Kurbsky A. M. The story of Ivan the Terrible // Tales of Prince Kurbsky. Part 1 (hereinafter – Kurbsky A. M. History of Ivan the Terrible. – Ed.); Collection l. 4, 310; Nikon. l. 7, 307; The book is sedate. Part 2; The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery
Collection l. 4, 310; The book is sedate. Part 2.
The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery. Prince Buchau: “Moscow garrisons were left (in the fortresses), churches were built, as the king usually does in all conquered places, and grateful prayers were offered for victories” (Scriptores rerum livonicarum. Bd. II. Riga-Leipzig, 1853). Chronicle (Collected sheets 4, 316): “On June 7, 1565, Lithuanian people came and fought in the new town (Neuhauzen) of Prech County. Mother of God village of Virsta and Rozhivu manor (Rauge) with the village of Kyuchi (Kosse), - Rastinsky village (Rappin).” The Poles, who undertook to defend the Germans, attacked first of all the places where the Russians settled with their faith.
Collection l. 4, 318. 343. 344.
Collection l. 3, 164. 174. From 1570, Savva was the abbot of Pechersk, and from 1572, Sylvester (Tolstoy M. Shrines and antiquities of Pskov; Collected l. 3, 164). Jesuit Possevin: Vladicam, i. e. episcopum Dorpati imposuit (A. Possevinus. Livoniae commentarius Gregorio XIII. Rigae, 1852).
Kurbsky A.M. The story of Ivan the Terrible.
Tales of Prince Kurbsky.
The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery. The year of his painful death is unknown. But the 20th of February is shown as the day of the death of Cornelius as in the RKP. Saints, so in the records of the Pechersk Monastery.
The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery; Vasily (Pskov icon painter). The story of the coming of the Lithuanian king Stefan Batory with a great and proud army to the great, glorious, God-saved city of Pskov... // Read. OIDR. 1847. No. 7
See: Sergius, Archimandrite. Complete months of the East. T. II.
See: Filaret Chernigovsky. Historical overview of the hymns and chants of the Greek Church, with notes and photographs of ancient musical notation. St. Petersburg, 1860. P. 215.
See January 25, life of St. Gregory the Theologian.
Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part VI. For the beginning of the monastery, see May 28th.
Ratshin A. Complete collection of information about monasteries
Ambrose (Ornatsky), archimandrite. History of the Russian hierarchy. Part V. In the RKP. Saints: “St. Father Polycarp, abbot of the Spassky Monastery in Bryansk, reposed in L. 7507 m. Feb. at 23 days.” (News of the Archaeological Society. Vol. II). In the “History of the Russian Hierarchy”, the Spassky Monastery was built at the expense of Prince Boryatinsky in 1694. There is, of course, a mistake about the year of the saint’s death (1699).
For the works left after him, see: Filaret of Chernigov. Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church: In 3 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1859. Vol. III.
The Turkish word "kalfa" means architect.
Kira - mistress (Greek). – Ed.
Lyubyatov Pogost - 5 versts from Pskov, on its eastern side; here in the church, a former monastery, above the royal doors hangs a small image left by the Terrible Tsar (M. Tolstoy. Shrines and Antiquities of Pskov).
RKP. abbreviation temporary book, see: Soloviev S. History of Russia since ancient times: In 29 volumes. M., 1851–1879. T. 6 (hereinafter – Soloviev S. History of Russia. – Ed.).
Collection l. 4, 344. Abbr. temporary 1691
Karamzin N. M. History of the Russian State. T. IX. Note 298
Collection l. 4, 344. 345; Ilyinsky N. S. Historical description of the city of Pskov and its ancient suburbs, etc.: At 6 hours. St. Petersburg, 1790–1795. Part 4.
The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery. RKP. Saints: “St. Blessed Nicholas, Fool for Christ's sake, Pskov Wonderworker, was in l. 7070 m. Dec. at 6 days.” This is the year of his struggle with the Terrible Tsar. According to another list of calendars: “he reposed in L. 7084".
The story of the beginning and foundation of the Pechersk Monastery; Glory to our Most Holy Lady Theotokos. Part 3, dep. 1. For a list of the icons, see: Tolstoy M. Shrines and antiquities of Pskov.
Knyazev A. S. Historical and statistical description of the Pskov Cathedral. M., 1858.