Память преподобного отца нашего Сильвестра Обнорского

Nothing is known about the origin and place of birth of the Monk Sylvester 2782. It is only known that he received monastic vows from St. Sergius of Radonezh and first labored in his monastery. With the blessing of the famous Radonezh ascetic, Sylvester, who longed for solitude, went to the far northeast and stopped on the banks of the Obnora River 2783. At that time there were dense forests here, and there was no housing nearby. Having built himself a wretched, cramped cell, the Monk Sylvester began to labor in complete solitude, enduring all sorts of needs, but devoting himself to tireless prayer and vigil. For a long time no one knew that a hermit was working in the deep forest. But one day one of the inhabitants of that region lost his way and, in a deep forest, unexpectedly came across a hermit’s cell. A hermit, dressed in rags, came out to the astonished traveler, embarrassed by the appearance of a man in such a deserted place, where he had never seen anyone before, and did not want to see anyone. The traveler told the monk about himself, who he was and how he got here. At the same time, he reported that above the place where the hermit lived, from a distance he often saw either light rays or a pillar of cloud. The monk shed tears of sorrow that the place of his solitude became known. The traveler begged the hermit to tell him his name and how he lives here. Sylvester said that he had been living here for quite some time, feeding on tree bark and roots. At first, without bread, he became weak from hunger and exhaustion and fell to the ground, but then one wonderful man appeared to him, touched him with his hand, and since then he has no longer experienced distress. The traveler who accidentally discovered the hermit soon returned to him on purpose and gave him bread and flour to spare. This one meeting was enough for the place of residence and exploits of the hermit to become known in the surrounding, although not close, villages. The villagers began to come to the ascetic for soul-saving conversations and spiritual advice, and they also brought him food. Some decided to stay with him for a saving feat under his leadership. Seeing sincere love for himself and a free desire for achievement, the Monk Sylvester did not interfere with the construction of new cells, so that many new ascetics gathered around him and there was an urgent need to create a church of God. Then Sylvester himself went to Moscow and asked Metropolitan Alexy for a blessing to create a church, received an antimension and was appointed abbot of the first monastic monastery that arose in the Obnorsky region. Through the labors of the saint and the brethren who gathered around him, a church was created for the glory of the resurrection of Christ the Savior. Now even more ordinary people, princes and boyars began to come to Sylvester. Some wanted to see the monk, receive a blessing from him and hear his teaching word; others - to repent of their sins and receive forgiveness and consolation; some - in order to devote themselves to monastic feats for the rest of their lives under the guidance of an experienced ascetic. Devoting himself to tireless efforts to build the monastery, the Monk Sylvester took advantage of every leisure and convenient time to leave the monastery for forest solitude for solitary prayer and vigil, so desired and familiar to his soul. But when he returned from such solitude, a crowd of people was already waiting for him near the monastery, wanting to see him and receive blessings and teachings 2784. They brought children and the sick, asking for his blessing and healing prayers. And now there is a grove near the former monastery, part of the forest into which the monk retired for solitude; There is also a well on the descent to the Obnora River, dug by the Monk Sylvester above the spring. Thus, in a forest slum, an active life arose, which was a combination of work and vigil, fasting and prayer, bodily sorrows and spiritual joys. The monk grew old and fell into a dying disease. The brethren gathered around the sick man's bed in his cell and with tears expressed their grief, having lost their leader and trustee and fearing for the fate of the monastery. “Do not grieve about this, my beloved brothers,” the Monk Sylvester told them in consolation, “everything is the will of God; keep the commandments of the Lord and do not be afraid to suffer troubles in this life in order to receive a reward in heaven. If I have boldness with God and my work is pleasing to Him, then this holy place will not become scarce even after my departure, pray only to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother, so that you can be delivered from the temptations of the evil one.” The death of the saint followed on April 25, 1379, in memory of the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark. The body of the saint was buried near the Resurrection wooden church, on the right side. The monastery founded by the Monk Sylvester did not cease to exist with the death of its creator: for more than four hundred years, monastic life flowed here, one monk replaced another, serving the enlightenment of this remote region. After the death of the saint, miracles began to be performed at his tomb, so that over time the Monk Sylvester began to be revered as a miracle worker in near and far places. Continuous records of such miracles were not kept in the monastery, however, on some ancient things that have survived to this day in the Church of the Resurrection, there are inscriptions (chased, embroidered and handwritten) about the contributions of these things to the monastery of the Monk Sylvester, the Obnor miracle worker 2785. Surviving manuscripts record miracles dating back to 1645; a total of 23 miracles are described. Those who were possessed by demons and suffered from frenzy of mind, eye disease or blindness, deafness, weakness, and dumbness received healing from the saint’s cancer. Here's one case. In 1645, a hieromonk named Job, who served in the monastery, ordered the monastery peasants to gather and cut down the grove located near the monastery for a fire. The peasants got to work. This order was sinful on Job’s part: he arbitrarily encroached on the grove of the Monk Sylvester. Having angered God, Job was struck with blindness and ceased to see. After four weeks, Job realized his sin and began to repent before the Lord God, His Most Pure Mother and the Monk Sylvester, and made a promise not to act according to his own will, but to do everything according to the advice of his brethren. He went to church, served a prayer service, praying with tears for the forgiveness of his sins and the return of his sight. Having venerated the holy icons, blind Job came to the saint’s shrine, kissed it with faith and received his sight. After such a miraculous healing, he thanked the Lord God and the Monk Sylvester. The life of the Monk Sylvester has not been preserved, and it was unlikely that it was written in antiquity. Only the legend of his miracles is known from manuscripts. Information about his life is gleaned only from fragmentary records and from legend. 105 versts from Yaroslavl and 16 versts from the current district town of Yaroslavl. lips of Lyubish, above it along the Obnora River, which flows into the Kostroma River. The place of the interview with the people has long been marked by a chapel, but then it was moved closer to the village, since in its place it was planned to build a church in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. These are: a silver altar cross from 1693, an air embroidered with silk from 1699, a prologue with a signature on sheets from 1661, an icon of the saint embroidered with silk from 1664. You might be interested in: