Житие преподобного Алексия, человека Божия

In Rome 1968, during the reign of Arcadius and Honorius, there lived a pious man named Euthymian: he was a very noble and rich nobleman, so that even his servants, whose number reached three thousand, wore silk clothes, but with all this he was not completely happy, since, due to the barrenness of his wife, he had no children. Euthymian strictly observed the commandments of God and was distinguished by his kindness: every day in his house he arranged three meals for widows, orphans, the poor, the strange and the sick; he himself took food only after the ninth hour of 1969, sharing it with wandering monks, and before that time he always fasted. If it happened that on another day few beggars gathered to see him, and therefore he had to give out alms less than usual, then Euthymian would then fall to the ground in grief and say: “I am not worthy to live on the land of my God.” His wife Aglaida was a God-fearing woman, loving her husband and generous in alms. Lamenting her infertility, she often turned to God with the following prayer: “Lord, remember me, Thy unworthy servant, and deliver me from my barrenness, so that I may be a mother.” Give us a son who would be both a joy in life and a support in our old age. The Lord, in His mercy, heard her prayer: to the great joy of her husband, she gave birth to a son, named Alexy at holy baptism. At the age of six, Saint Alexy began to study and, soon mastering the secular sciences usual for that time, he studied the Holy Scriptures and church books especially well. From the youth a reasonable and pious youth was formed; having comprehended the vanity of fleeting worldly goods, he decided to renounce them in order to receive eternal benefits; so he even began to wear a sharp hair shirt to mortify his flesh. When Alexy reached adulthood, Euthymian said to his wife: These words made Aglaida very happy, and she, falling at her husband’s feet, said: - May God bless your intention so that I can see the marriage of my son and his children; this great joy will motivate me to be even more generous to the poor and needy. After this, they betrothed Alexy to a girl from the royal family, and then the sacrament of marriage was performed on them in the church of St. Boniface, and that whole day until night passed in joy and rejoicing. At the end of the celebration, Saint Alexy entered, with the blessing of his father, into the bride’s room and found her sitting in a chair. Taking his gold ring, he wrapped it together with the precious belt in 1970 porphyry fabric and gave it to the bride with the words: – Save this, and may the Lord be above us, contributing with His grace to the emergence in us of a new, truly Christian life. Having said this, he retired to his room; Here Saint Alexy replaced rich clothes with poor ones and secretly left the house and the city, taking with him some gold and precious stones from his own property. Arriving at the sea, he found a ship departing for Laodicea 1971, which he boarded, having given the pre-paid payment. During the journey, Saint Alexy prayed to God like this: “God,” he said, “who has saved me from the day of my birth, save me now from the vain worldly life and honor me at Thy Last Judgment to stand on the right side with all those who have pleased You.” Upon the ship's arrival at the place, Saint Alexy went ashore, where he met travelers heading to Mesopotamia 1972, he joined them and went with them to Edessa 1973, in which was kept the miraculous image 1974 of the Lord Jesus Christ, sent by Him during His earthly life to the prince of Edessa Abgar. At the sight of the image of Christ, Saint Alexy was very happy and, having sold all the jewelry taken from the house, he distributed the money received from the sale to the poor, and he himself dressed in rags and began to live on alms. The saint's place of residence was the porch of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, and his life was strictly ascetic: he constantly fasted, eating only a little bread. And he even drank water in extremely moderate quantities; Every Sunday Saint Alexy partook of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ and always distributed all his alms to the elderly beggars. He walked with his head constantly lowered, raising his mind to God, constantly thinking about Him. From such a harsh life, the saint’s entire body withered, the beauty of his face faded, his eyes sunken and his vision weakened. At dawn, when Saint Alexy had already left home, the parents came to the bride’s room and, to their surprise, found her alone, sitting in grief with a sad face. They began to look everywhere for their son and, not finding him anywhere, cried bitterly; so their joy turned to grief. The saint’s mother, entering her room, closed the windows, spread sackcloth and, sprinkled ashes on it, threw herself on him with sobs, while she prayed and said: “I will not get up and will not come out of my seclusion until I find out what happened to my only son, why and where he went.” The bride, standing next to her, also spoke with tears: “And I will not leave you, but, like a desert-loving and faithful dove, with sad singing searching through the mountains and valleys for a lost husband, I will patiently wait for news about my husband - where he is and what way of life he has chosen for himself.” The father was also very sad; he sent his servants everywhere to search for his son. Some of them came to Edessa; When they saw Saint Alexis, they did not recognize him, but took him for a beggar and gave him alms. Saint Alexy recognized them and thanked God, who made it possible to accept alms from his servants. The latter, returning, told their master that they had not found his son, although they looked everywhere. Saint Alexis lived in Edessa at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos for seventeen years and through his life gained the love of God. At this time there was a revelation about him to the sexton of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos: he saw her holy icon saying to him: – Bring into My Church a man of God worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven; his prayer ascends to God like a fragrant censer, and the Holy Spirit rests on him like a crown on a royal head. After the vision, the sexton looked for a person of such a righteous life and, not finding it, turned with prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, asking Her help to fulfill the command given to him. And again in a vision he heard a voice from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos that the man of God was that beggar who was sitting at the gate of the church porch. The sexton, having found Saint Alexis, brought him into the church to stay, and many, having learned about the righteous life of the man of God, began to venerate him. He, avoiding human glory, secretly left the city. Arriving at the sea pier, he boarded a ship sailing to Cilicia 1975, thinking to himself: “I will go to Cilicia, where no one knows me, and I will live at the church of St. Apostle Paul." During the voyage, suddenly, by the will of God, a storm began at sea, and the ship, carried by the waves for many days, unexpectedly arrived in Rome. Getting off the ship, Saint Alexy said to himself: - The Lord My God lives! I will not be a burden to anyone, but I will go as a stranger to my father’s house. On the way to him, he met his father, returning home from the palace, accompanied by many servants. Bowing to him to the ground, Saint Alexy said: - Servant of God, have mercy on me, poor and poor: let me settle in some corner of your yard and eat the grains falling from your table; The Lord will bless your days and give you the Kingdom of Heaven, and if you have any of your relatives who are traveling somewhere, then He will return them to you healthy. At the beggar’s words about wandering, Euthymian immediately remembered his beloved son Alexy, shed tears and mercifully fulfilled his request, allowing him to live in the courtyard of his house. He said to his servants: “Which of you wants to serve this beggar?” If he pleases him, then, I swear, he will receive complete freedom and reward from me. Arrange for him a small room at the door of the house so that I can see him more often; let food be served to him from my table, and none of you should insult him. After this, Saint Alexy began to live at the door of his father’s house. Euthymian sent him food from his table every day, but he distributed it to the poor, and he himself ate only bread and drank only water, and even then in such quantity as not to die of hunger or thirst; He spent all his nights awake in prayer and every Sunday he received communion in the church of St. Christ's Mysteries. And amazing was the patience of the man of God! He had to experience a lot of troubles and grief, especially late in the evening, from his father’s slaves, some of whom dragged him by the hair, others strangled him, others poured slop on his head, and generally mocked him in the most cruel way. He endured everything in silence, knowing that they were treating him this way at the instigation of the devil, and through prayer he armed himself against his intrigues, defeating them with patience. There was another circumstance that prompted him to great patience: opposite his room was the window of his bride’s room. She, like Ruth 1976, did not want to go to her father’s house, but sat grieving with her mother-in-law, and the saint often heard the sobbing and complaints of his mother and bride: one about the loss of her son, and the other about her husband. Their tears filled his heart with pity, but with love for God he conquered carnal love for his bride and parents; this patience with almost unbearable sorrows for the sake of God even consoled him. So Saint Alexy lived in his parents’ house for seventeen years, and no one recognized him, but everyone revered him for a beggar who had no shelter; the slaves mocked the one who was the master of the house, the son and the heir, as if he were a stranger and a stranger. When the Lord wanted to call him from this temporary life, in which he experienced so much poverty and hardship, into eternal life, he revealed to him the day and hour of his death. Saint Alexy then asked the slave serving him for ink, a charter and a cane, described his entire life and, in order to convince his parents that he was really their son, he mentioned some circumstances of his life known only to them, he also wrote about what he told his bride on the night of leaving home, how he gave her a ring and a belt. He ended his letter with the following words: “I beg you, my dear parents and my honest bride, do not be offended by me that, having left you, I caused you such great sorrow; I myself grieved in my heart for your sadness; I have repeatedly prayed to the Lord to grant you patience and make you worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. I hope that He, in His goodness, will fulfill my prayer, for out of love for Him I have chosen such a difficult life, without changing it for the sake of your tears, since it is better for every Christian to obey his Creator and Creator more than his parents. I believe that no matter how much sorrow I caused you, so much joy will you receive in the Kingdom of Heaven. Having written this, he prayed until his death. Once, when Pope 1977 was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostles, at the end of it a wonderful voice was heard from the altar for all to hear: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Those present in the church fell to the ground in great horror, crying out: Then a voice was heard a second time: - Look for a man of God who is already leaving for another life; let him pray for the city: his prayer will be very beneficial for you. All over Rome they were looking for such a person and did not know what to do, since they did not find him. Therefore, having gathered again with the pope and the king from Thursday evening to Friday in the cathedral church, they held an all-night vigil in it, praying to Christ to show them His saint. On the morning of Friday, Saint Alexy departed to the Lord. Meanwhile, in the church, just like the first time, a voice from the altar was again heard during the service: - Look for the man of God in the house of Euthymian. After this, the king of 1978, turning to the latter, said: “Why didn’t you tell us about this, having such a treasure in your house?” “Lord knows I don’t know anything.” And, calling the chief servant, he asked him: “Do you know of any of your companions a man who is virtuous and pleasing to God?” “I don’t know,” he said, “there is not a single virtuous one; everyone lives unpleasingly. The king and dad decided to go to Euthymian’s house themselves to look for the man of God. Euthymian, going forward, prepared to receive the pope and the king with the nobles and arranged a solemn meeting for them. The lamenting wife of Euthymian, hearing from her room the confusion and chatter in the yard and in the house, asked: And she was very surprised when she learned about the coming of the king and dad and the reason for their visit. The bride was also perplexed when she saw the king and dad from her room walking with many people, and tried to explain this sight to herself. When the pope, the king and the nobles sat down and silence fell, the servant who served Saint Alexius said to Euthymian: “My lord, the beggar whom you entrusted to me, is not a man of God?” I am a witness of his great and wondrous deeds: he constantly fasts, only taking a little bread and water at the end of the day; He spends all his nights in prayer and every Sunday he receives communion with St. Mysteries of Christ; he meekly and joyfully endures the beatings and insults inflicted on him by some slaves. Hearing this, Euthymian immediately hurried to the beggar’s dwelling and, calling him three times through the window, received no answer. Then he entered the dwelling, where he found the man of God lying dead with his head covered and a bent charter in his right hand. Euthymian opened his face and saw that it was shining like the face of an Angel; when he wanted to take the charter and read it, he could not do it, because his hand would not let go of it. Quickly returning to the king and the pope, he said: – They found the one they were looking for already dead; he holds the charter in his hand and does not give it to us. The king and patriarch, having ordered to prepare a precious bed and cover it with rich fabrics, brought out the honorable body of the man of God and reverently laid it on that bed. Then they knelt down, kissing the sacred remains, and spoke to him as if he were alive: “We beg you, servant of Christ, give us this charter, so that by what is written in it we can know who you are.” After this, the pope and the king freely took the charter from the hand of the saint and handed over the charter to the great church 1979, Aetia, for reading; with great silence from those around him, he began to read it. When he reached the place where it was written about the parents and the bride, about the ring and belt given to her, then Euthymian recognized his deceased son Alexy. He fell on his chest and, hugging and kissing him, said with tears: - Oh woe is me, my beloved son! What have you done to us? Why did you cause us such grief? Woe is me, my son! Having been with us for so many years and hearing the cry of your parents, you did not reveal yourself, did not console us, despite our old age, in the great sadness caused by you. Woe is me! My son, my love, the consolation of my soul, I don’t know what to do now: whether to mourn your death or rejoice at your finding. Euthymian sobbed so inconsolably, tormenting his gray hair. Aglaida, hearing her husband's sobbing and learning that the dead beggar was her son, opened the doors of her seclusion; in torn clothes, turning her eyes full of tears to the sky and tearing out her loose hair, she walked among the crowd of crowded people, saying: - Give me the way so that I can see my hope, embrace my beloved son. Approaching the bed, she bent over the body of her son, hugged him and kissed him with the words: - Woe to me, my lord! My sweet child, what have you done? Why did he bring us such great sorrow? Alas for me, the light of my eyes! How come you didn’t open up after living with us for so many years? How did you not take pity on us, constantly hearing our bitter sobs for you? The bride, who had lived thirty-four years without a groom and wore black clothes as a sign of sadness, also fell on an honest body; soaking him with streams of tears and kissing him with love; she wept bitterly and inconsolably, saying: Her sobs and mournful complaints aroused tears in those present, and everyone cried together with the bride and mother. The king and the pope ordered to carry the bed with the honest body of the man of God and place it in the middle of the city so that everyone could see it and touch it, and when this was done, they said to the people: “Behold, we have found the one whom your faith was looking for.” And all Rome gathered; everyone touched the saint, kissing him. All the sick were healed: the blind received their sight, lepers were cleansed, demons left those possessed by them, in a word - no matter what illness anyone had, everyone received complete healing from the relics of the saint of God. Seeing such miracles, the king and patriarch wanted to carry the bed to the church themselves in order to receive grace from touching the body of the saint. Their parents and bride accompanied them weeping; but such a multitude of people gathered, eager to touch the honest body, that it was impossible to carry the bed due to the crowded conditions. To force the people to retreat and make way for the church, the king ordered silver and gold to be thrown into the crowd, but no one paid attention to this; everyone intensely wanted only to see the man of God and touch him. Then the pope addressed an admonition to the people, asking them to retreat and promising not to bury the honest body until everyone had kissed it and received grace through touching it. With difficulty, the people, convinced, backed down a little and made it possible to bring the holy body to the cathedral church, where it stood for a whole week, so that everyone could venerate it; All that week, the crying parents and bride were at the bed of Saint Alexis. The king ordered to make a tomb of marble, decorate it with gold and emeralds, in which they laid the man of God; immediately the fragrant myrrh flowed from the holy body, filling the shrine; everyone was anointed with that world for the healing of all sorts of illnesses, and they buried with honor the honest remains of 1980 Saint Alexis, glorifying God. Saint Alexy reposed on the seventeenth day of March, in the year 5919 from the creation of the world, and 411 from the incarnation of God the Word, when Honorius reigned in Rome under Pope Innocent, and Theodosius the Younger in Constantinople, and our Lord Jesus Christ, always reigning with the Father and the Holy Spirit, reigned over all of them, to Him be glory forever. Amen. Having risen to virtue and purified your mind, you have achieved what you desired and the extreme: having adorned your life with dispassion and a fair amount of fasting, we have accepted with a clear conscience, in prayers, as if you were disembodied, you shone like the sun in the world, blessed Alexie. The house of your parents, as if it were a stranger, you settled in it like a beggar, and after the repose of the crown of glory, you appeared marvelously on earth, Alexie, the man of God, an angel and a joy to man. Rome, the main city of the Roman state, is located in central Italy, located on both banks of the Tiber River, where it flows into the sea. According to ancient legend, it was founded by Romulus (d. 707 BC) on Palatine Hill in 753 BC, then spread to six neighboring hills, which is why it is called seven-hill; an indication of these seven hills of Rome is also found in the Apocalypse (Rev. 17:9). At the beginning of its history, Rome consisted only of groups of huts made of clay and covered with reeds, but then it began to enrich itself as a result of successful wars with neighboring peoples - the Sabines, Volscians, Latins, Gauls, Etruscans, who in 273 BC were all united under the rule of Rome. Then the Romans began to subjugate the peoples living outside Italy, and soon Carthage, Macedonia, Greece, Illyria and Asia, which passed to the Romans peacefully according to the will of the Pergamon king Attalus III in 132 BC, became provinces of Rome. In 63 BC. the Roman commander Pompey entered Judea after a three-month struggle and took Jerusalem; from then on, the Jews became tributaries of Rome and forever lost their freedom and independence. Under Augustus, the first Roman emperor, in the 30th year of whose reign the Lord Jesus Christ was born, Egypt was also subject to Rome. Thus, before the coming of Christ the Savior, Rome achieved power and glory, including almost all then known nations into its empire; riches from all over the world flocked to it; the affairs of all nations were decided in the Roman Senate. But the time of Rome's power was the beginning of its fall. Incessant wars ruined and reduced the wealthy classes of Roman citizens, and rich and noble families, buying up the lands of ruined families for next to nothing, became even richer; Therefore, the population of Rome was divided into two classes: rich and poor. While the luxury of the former reached almost incredible proportions, the latter were in poverty and oppression; Entire fortunes were spent on one meal, and the poor did not have a piece of bread. Since the conquest of Greece, philosophical teachings began to spread in Rome that undermined popular religion, and unbelief spread in a wide wave, first among the upper and then lower classes: objects of religious belief were openly ridiculed at stage performances. Along with unbelief, immorality began to spread; licentiousness, which reached the point of committing unnatural vices (Rom. 1:26–27), replaced the former purity and severity of morals. And only the regenerating power of Christianity saved Rome from final destruction. Christianity entered Rome very early. According to legend, already Emperor Tiberius (14–37) heard a sermon about Christ; under his successor Claudius (41–54), there were strong divisions in Rome between Jewish Christians and Jews. Under Nero (54–68), thanks to the preaching of Ap. Paul, which lasted for 2 whole years (Acts 28:30), Christians multiplied; During the reign of the second emperor, there was the first persecution of Christians, unjustly accused of setting fire to Rome: during this persecution, Sts. App. Peter and Pavel. But the persecution did not destroy Christianity: under Domitian (81–91) it even penetrated into the emperor’s family: Domitian’s brother Flavius ​​Clement was executed for being a Christian; during the reign of this emperor St. John the Theologian was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received a revelation about the future destinies of the world and the Church (Apoc. 1:9). From the time of Nero and Domitian, persecution of Christians continued until 313. They were especially strong under the emperor Diocletian (285–306), who marked the beginning of the division of the Roman Empire; he chose Maximian as his co-ruler and divided the state between him and himself, then each co-ruler chose an assistant, so that the empire was divided into four parts. After the renunciation of the reign of Diocletian and Maximian, control passed to Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, the first was succeeded by his son Constantine (306), who issued a decree in 313, allowing everyone to convert to Christianity. Having become sovereign (324), he moved his seat to the east, to Byzantium, which was later called Constantinople. Here he surrounded himself with Christians, whom he appointed to the highest government positions; he established the celebration of Sunday by law, built many churches; with his assistance, the First Ecumenical Council was convened (325). Under Emperor Theodosius the Great, who prohibited pagan worship by decree of 392, the Roman Empire was finally divided into Eastern and Western (395). The first fell to the Turks in 1453 under Mohammed II, and the second, which included Italy, Africa, Britain and Spain, in 476; in 476, after the abdication of the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustus, the leader of the Heruls, Odoacer, reigned over Italy. For the Romans, the day, just like the night, was divided into four parts, called the first, third, sixth and ninth hours. By the first hour we meant our seventh, eighth and ninth hours of the morning, by the third - the tenth, eleventh and twelfth hours of the morning, by the sixth - the first, second and third hours of the afternoon, by the ninth - the fourth, fifth and sixth hours of the afternoon. The difference between porphyry materials and others was their red color; the paint for them was obtained from a special kind of seaweed. Laodicea, an ancient city in the Asia Minor region of Phrygia at the junction of the Lycus and Galifa rivers, was founded by Antiochus II (261–246 BC) in honor of his wife Laodice. At the time of Christ, it was almost the first city of Asia Minor, as it lay on the trade route connecting East and West. The beginning of Christianity here was probably not laid by the Ap himself. Paul (Col. 2:1), and the teacher of the Colossian church Epaphras (Col. 1:7). Church of the Laodicean Apostle Paul wrote a special letter; it is also mentioned in the Apocalypse among the most remarkable Churches of Asia Minor (Rev. 3:14–22). In 360, there was a Local Council in Laodicea, the rules of which (60) regarding the order of worship and the behavior of the clergy and laity were included in the church canon. In 1255 the city was taken by the Turks, and in 1402 it was destroyed by Tamerlane. Now only ruins on a low hill near the devastated village of Eski-Gissar speak of an ancient city that once stood here. Mesopotamia, i.e. Mesopotamia, ancient Shinar (Gen. 10:10), the place of birth and residence of Abraham before entering the land of Harran (Gen. 11:28; Acts 7:2); this is the name of the space lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, bounded in the south by the Persian Gulf, in the north by the mountains of Armenia. In a closer sense, Mesopotamia is the northern part of this region, the so-called. El-Jezir, while the southern part of the region is known as Babylonia, present-day Iraq Arabi, i.e. ancient Babylonia. During the Roman era, the country was divided into two parts: Ozroene in the west, which passed to Rome in 217 AD with the main city of Edessa, and Mygdonia in the east, with the main city of Nisibida, conquered in 115 by the Roman emperor Trajan. The beginning of Christianity in Mesopotamia was laid by the companion of Ap. Hermas by Judas or Thaddeus - according to legend, one of the seventy disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ; Judas founded the church in Edessa. St. was born in the vicinity of Nisibida. Ephraim the Syrian (III-IV centuries); Bishop Thomas Barsuma of Nizibia was a zealous champion of the Nestorian heresy, which taught that the Word of God, eternally born from the Father, only dwelt in the man Jesus, being with Him in a special, moral union. In the 11th century, under the attack of the Seljuks and Turks, Mesopotamia declined and now belongs to Turkey; inhabitants are Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Syrians. Mesopotamia had a very important historical significance under Assyrian and Babylonian rule. Edessa, present-day Urfa, a city in northern Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River, from 137 BC the main city of the newly formed Ozroene or Edessa state; in 217 A.D. it was turned into an eastern colony by the Romans. Christianity spread early in Edessa; in the 4th century St. Ephraim the Syrian founded a theological school here, which in the 5th century leaned towards Nestorianism, in favor of which the teacher of the Edessa school, Presbyter Iva, was especially active. In 641 Edessa was conquered by the Arab caliphs; in 1098 Count Baldwin took possession of it, making it the main city of the Principality of Edessa; in 1144 it was conquered by the Turks and from that time on passed from hand to hand until in 1637 it finally fell under Turkish rule. A miraculous image of Jesus Christ, or ubrus, with the Face of the Savior imprinted on it, which He sent to the prince of Edessa Abgar for healing from an eye disease. The image not made by hands was kept in Edessa until 994, when it was purchased by Emperor Constantine the Porphyrogenitus and transferred on August 16 to Constantinople; from here he was kidnapped by the Venetians and drowned in the Sea of ​​Marmara. Celebration on August 16th. Cilicia, the Asia Minor region lying in the southeast, first fell under the rule of Macedonia, then belonged to the Parthian and Armenian kingdoms; in 68 BC the best, eastern part of it became a Roman province; it was finally conquered under Vespasian (69–79). The Apostle Paul was from the Cilician main city of Tarsus (Acts 9:11), retired here after his conversion (Acts 9:30) and of course preached the Gospel here; On his second journey, the Apostle passed through Cilicia, confirming the believers (Acts 15:41). Now Cilicia belongs to Turkey. Ruth, a Moabite by birth, honored to enter into the genealogy of David as his foremother (Ruth. 4:17), and therefore into the genealogy of Jesus Christ Himself (Matthew 1:5); its history is contained in St. book that bears her name. This was Pope Innocent I (402–417). He fought against the schism of the Donatists, convincing Emperor Honorius to issue a strict law against them, confirmed the conciliar definition (416) against the Pelagian heretics who denied the need for grace for salvation; he was the first to establish the doctrine of the primacy of the pope, citing the fact that they are the successors of St. Petra. Here, of course, Arcadius, the Eastern Roman emperor, the son of Theodosius the Great, upon the death of his father (395) received the so-called. the Eastern Empire, while his brother Honorius received the Western; born 377, d. in 408th. Throughout his reign, the state was ruled by people who knew how to subordinate the weak-willed emperor to their influence. Thus, at the beginning of his reign, the state was ruled by Rufinus, who increased the already enormous burden of taxes, multiplied the number of fines and thereby brought terror to the empire. After the death of Rufinus, his place was taken by the eunuch Eutropius, who convinced the emperor, for the purpose of his own enrichment, to issue a strict law (397), punishable by death and confiscation of property for any evil intent not only against the emperor, but also against senior officials. Finally, Empress Eudokia achieved the execution of Eutropius (399), and Arkady submitted completely to his wife, known for her hostile attitude towards St. John Chrysostom, who was then the Patriarch of Constantinople. At her insistence, the emperor approved the decision of the “council under the oak tree” (403) to depose John Chrysostom and sent him into exile, but then returned him, fearing popular indignation. In 404 he ordered him to be sent into captivity again, doing this, as the first time, under the influence of Eudokia, who was offended by John Chrysostom for his sermons denouncing the luxurious and immoral life of the court. Under Arcadius, missionaries, equipped with his letters, preached Christianity throughout the provinces to those pagans who had not yet converted to Christ. Honorius, Western Roman emperor, brother of Emperor Arcadius. At the beginning of his reign, the administration was headed by the smart politician and famous commander Stilicho, who more than once repelled attacks on the empire of the Visigoths, Vandals, Suevi, and Burgundians. After his fall and execution, the empire's affairs took a turn for the worse. In 408, the leader of the Visigoths, Alaric, besieged Rome and forced him to pay a heavy tribute, and in 410 he captured the city and gave it to his troops for plunder. After the death of Alaric, his brother-in-law Ataulf made peace with Honorius, after which the Visigoths retired beyond the Alps. Under Honorius, in 411, there was a council against the schismatic Donatists, who separated from the Church because it accepted repentant apostates during persecution, because, in their opinion, the Church ceases to be holy if there are sinners among its members. By order of Honorius, all remaining pagan temples were destroyed, and the pagans themselves were removed from government positions. The managers of the office located under the patriarch were called charters. His body was buried in the church of the torment. Boniface in 1216, and a magnificent church was built over it. You might be interested in: