Страдание и чудеса святых мучеников Бориса и Глеба, князей русских 2901

The generation of the righteous will be blessed forever (Ps. 111:2). Saint Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav, the grandson of Igor, who enlightened the entire Russian land with holy baptism, had 12 sons, not from one wife, but from different ones. The eldest son was Vysheslav 2902, the second was Izyaslav, and the third was Svyatopolk, who came up with the evil murder of his brothers. Svyatopolk's mother, Greek, was formerly a nun. Vladimir's brother Yaropolk, seduced by her beauty, undressed her and married her. Vladimir, then still a pagan, killed Yaropolk and took his wife as his wife. It was from her that the accursed Svyatopolk was born. And Vladimir did not like him. Vladimir had other sons - four from Rogneda: Izyaslav, Mstislav, Yaroslav and Vsevolod. From a Czech - Vysheslav, from another wife - Svyatoslav and Mstislav, and from a Bulgarian - Boris and Gleb. And their father put them to reign in different lands: Svyatopolk - in Pinsk, Yaroslav - in Novgorod, Boris - in Rostov, and Gleb - in Murom 2903. When 28 years had already passed since holy baptism, Vladimir suffered an evil illness. At this time, Boris arrived from Rostov to visit his father. The Pechenegs 2904 marched as an army to Rus', and Vladimir was in great sadness, because he did not have the strength to oppose the godless. Concerned about this, he called Boris, who was given the name Roman 2905 in holy baptism. The father gave Boris, blessed and quick to obey, many soldiers and sent him against the godless Pechenegs. Boris went with joy, telling his father: “Here I am ready to do before you what the will of your heart requires.” It is said about these in the parables: “The son was obedient to his father and beloved by his mother” (Proverbs 4:3). But Boris did not find his adversaries. On the way back, a messenger arrived to him and said that his father Vladimir, named Vasily in holy baptism, died 2906, and Svyatopolk hid his father’s death, at night dismantled the floor of the chambers in the village of Berestov, wrapped the body of the deceased in a carpet, lowered it on ropes, took it in a sleigh 2907 to the Church of the Holy Mother of God 2908 and placed it there. All this was done secretly. Hearing this, Boris weakened in body, his whole face was covered in tears and he could not speak. But in my heart I cried so much for my father: “Woe is me, the light of my eyes, the radiance and dawn of my face, the teacher of my youth, the punishment of my foolishness; alas for me, my father and lord! To whom will I resort, to whom will I look, where will I be satisfied with the good teaching and punishment of your mind? Alas for me, alas for me! My sun set, but I was not here, I could not clothe your honorable body and commit it to the grave with my own hands. I couldn’t stand your beautiful and courageous body, I wasn’t worthy to kiss your gray hairs! O my blessed one, remember me at your resting place. My heart is burning, my mind is confused, I don’t know who to turn to and tell my bitter sadness. If to the brother whom I would have instead of a father, then he seems to be thinking about the vanity of the world and about my murder. If he decides to kill me, then I will be a martyr to my Lord. But I do not resist, for it is written: “The Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). The Apostle says: “Whoever says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, is a liar” (1 John 4:20). And again: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). But what should I say and what should I do? I will go to my brother and say: You be my father, you are my elder brother; What do you command me, my lord? So thinking in his mind, Boris went to his brother and said in his soul: “There I will see the face of my younger brother Gleb, like Joseph Veniamin. Thy will be done, my Lord” (Gen. 43:29). And Boris thought: “If I go to my father’s house, then many will turn my heart to the idea of ​​expelling my brother, as my father did before holy baptism, for the sake of the glory of the reign of this world 2909. And this is all fleeting, perishable and insignificant than a spider’s web. If I decide on this, then where should I go, what will happen to me, what answer will I give then, where will I hide the multitude of my sin. What did my father’s brothers and my father acquire, where is their life and the glory of this world, scarlet and feasts, silver and gold, wine, honey and meat, fast high horses, a lot of property, tribute and honor without number and pride in their boyars. It was as if all this had never existed; everything disappeared along with them. And there is no help for them from anyone, neither from property, nor from numerous slaves, nor from the glory of this world. So Solomon experienced everything, saw everything, acquired everything, and, having examined everything, said: “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecc. 1:2); help only comes from good deeds, from orthodoxy and from unfeigned love.” Walking his way, Boris thought about the beauty and strength of his body and wept bitterly; I wanted to restrain myself from tears, but I could not, and everyone, seeing him in tears, cried about his noble beauty and good mind, and everyone grieved in his soul: everyone was embarrassed by his sadness. And who could help but cry, anticipating the death of Boris, seeing his sad face and his grief! For the blessed prince was truthful, generous and quiet, meek and humble, he had mercy on everyone and helped everyone. But Saint Boris was strengthened by the thought that if his brother, according to the teachings of evil people, kills him, then he will be a martyr and the Lord will accept his spirit. He forgot the sorrow of death, consoling his heart with the words of God: “Whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s sake will save it” (Mark 8:35) and will preserve it in eternal life. And Boris walked with a joyful heart, saying: “Do not despise, most merciful Lord, me who trusts in You, but save my soul.” Svyatopolk sat down on the paternal prince's table in Kyiv, called the people of Kiev, distributed many gifts to them and sent them away. Then he sent to Boris with these words: “Brother, I want to live with you in love and will increase your share in your father’s inheritance.” These words were flattery, not truth. Svyatopolk arrived secretly at night in Vyshegorod, called Putsha and the Vyshegorod men and told them: - Tell me the truth, do you have affection for me? “We are all ready to lay down our heads for you.” The primordial hater of good people, the devil, seeing that Saint Boris placed all his hope in God, began to exert a stronger influence on Svyatopolk, who, like Cain, burned with the fire of fratricide, planning to beat up all the heirs of his father and take over his power alone. The accursed, damned Svyatopolk, the adviser of all evil and the leader of all untruth, again called the Vyshgorod men to himself, opened his vile lips, emitted his evil voice and said to the people of Putsha: - If you promise to lay down your heads for me, go secretly, my brothers, find my brother Boris and, taking the time, kill him. And they promised Svyatopolk to do this. The Prophet said about such people: “Their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed innocent blood; these ways are iniquities, for they fill their souls with wickedness” (Prov. 1:16; Is. 59: 6-7; Rom. 3:15). Blessed Boris, on his return journey, stood on the Alta River 2910 in tents. And his squad said to him: - Go and sit on your father’s princely table, for all the warriors are with you 2911. “I will not raise my hand against my brother, and even against my elder, whom I should consider as my father.” Hearing this, the soldiers left Boris, and he remained only with his youths 2912. It was then the Sabbath day. Dejected by sadness, he entered his tent and cried out piteously with tears: – Do not despise my tears, Master. I trust in You that I will take my lot with Your servants, with all Your saints. For You are a merciful God and we ascribe glory to You forever, amen. Saying this, he thought about the torment and suffering of Saint Nikita and Saint Vyacheslav, thinking that he would be killed like this prince, and about how Saint Barbara was killed by her own father. The words of the wise Solomon came to his mind: “But the righteous live forever; their reward is in the Lord, and their care is with the Most High” (Wis.5:15). With just this word he was consoled and rejoiced. Evening came, and Saint Boris ordered vespers to be served; and he himself entered the tent and began to say prayer and vespers with bitter tears and frequent sighing and much groaning. Then he lay down and fell asleep. And his sleep was full of many thoughts and deep and terrible sadness about how he could surrender to suffering, end his life and maintain faith in order to accept the crown prepared for him from the hand of the Almighty. Waking up early, he saw that it was already time for Matins. It was then Holy Sunday. And he said to his elder: - Rise and begin Matins. He put on his feet, washed his face and began to pray to the Lord God. Those sent by Svyatopolk came to Alta at night, approached and heard the voice of the blessed passion-bearer singing the psalms laid down at Matins. The news of the upcoming murder had already reached the saint, and he sang: - “Lord! How my enemies have multiplied! Many are rebelling against me!” ( Ps.3:2 ) and other psalms. - “Dogs surrounded me, many calves surrounded me.” Then: “Lord, my God! I trust in you, save me!” ( Ps.21:17, 13:1-7, 7:2 ). After this the canon sang. Having finished Matins, Saint Boris began to pray before the icon of the Lord, saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, You appeared in this way on earth, deigned to voluntarily ascend to the cross and accepted suffering for our sins. Vouchsafe me to suffer too.” And hearing a strong stomp near the tent, Saint Boris trembled, burst into tears and said: “Glory to Thee, Lord, that in this light you have vouchsafed me to accept a bitter death because of envy and to suffer for Thy love and word. For I did not want to seek reign for myself. I did not act arbitrarily in anything, according to the words of the Apostle: “love is patient, believes everything and does not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:4-7). And again: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). In Your hands, Master, my soul, I have not forgotten Your commandments. Whatever the Lord wills, so be it.” The priest and the youth, the servant of Saint Boris, seeing their master weakened and overcome with sadness, wept bitterly and said: “Our dear lord, what grace have you been granted, for you did not want to resist your brother for the sake of the love of Christ, even though you had many soldiers with you.” So they said with emotion. Then they saw those running towards the tent, the shine of their weapons and their drawn swords. Without mercy, the honest body of the holy blessed passion-bearer of Christ Boris was pierced. He was pierced with spears by Putsha and Talets and Elovich Lyashko. Seeing this, the youth of Saint Boris threw himself on his body and said: “I will not leave you, my dear lord; where the beauty of your body has faded, here too may I be honored to end my life with you. He was a Hungarian by birth, his name was George. Saint Boris placed a golden hryvnia on him, and he was loved immensely by the prince. Here the youth was also pierced. The wounded Saint Boris ran out of the tent in fright. And those around him began to say: – Why are you standing and watching? Let's finish what we were ordered to do. Hearing this, the blessed one began to beg and entreat them, saying: - My dear and beloved brothers! Wait a little, let me pray to my God. And looking up at the sky with tears, he sighed bitterly and began to pray: - Lord God, merciful, glory to You, for you have freed me from the temptations of this life. Glory to Thee, most generous giver of life, who has made me worthy of the suffering of Thy holy martyrs. Glory to Thee, Lord, lover of mankind, who has fulfilled the desire of my heart. Glory, Christ, to Your mercy, for You have directed my feet to go to You without temptation on the right and peaceful path. Look down from the height of Your holiness; look at my heartfelt suffering that I received from my relative. For for Your sake they are killing me today. They devour me like a lamb. You know, Lord, you know that I don’t resist, I don’t mind. Having in my hands all my father’s warriors and all his favorites, I did not think of doing anything evil to my brother. He rose up against me with all his might. If an enemy insulted me, I would endure it; if a hater humiliated me, I would hide. But You, Lord, look and judge between me and my brother. And do not hold him guilty of this sin, but accept my soul in peace. Amen. Then, turning his weary face to the murderers and looking at them with tender eyes, bursting into tears, he said to them: “Brothers, proceed and finish what you have been commanded, and may there be peace for my brother and for you, brothers.” Everyone who heard the words of the saint could not speak from fear, bitter sadness and many tears. With bitter sighs, everyone cried pitifully and everyone thought: - Alas for me, my dear, dear, blessed prince, guide for the blind, clothing for the naked, rod of old age, science for the unlearned! Who will fix this? How surprising that you did not want the glory of this world and greatness, did not want to be among honest nobles! Who would not be surprised by his great humility, who would not be humbled by seeing and hearing his humility! Those sent by Svyatopolk also beat many of the youths. They could not remove the hryvnia from George, they cut off his head and threw it away, so that even after they could not recognize his body. They wrapped Blessed Boris in a tent and, placing him on a cart, took him away. When we reached the forest, Saint Boris began to bow his head. Having learned about this, Svyatopolk sent two Varangians, and they pierced the heart of the martyr with a sword. And immediately the saint died in 2913, betraying his soul into the hands of God alive, on the 24th day of July. His body was secretly brought to Vyshegorod in 2914, laid near the Church of St. Basil and buried in the ground. So Saint Boris, having received the crown from Christ God, was numbered with the righteous and settled with the prophets and apostles and with the faces of the martyrs, resting in the bosom of Abraham, seeing inexpressible joy, singing with the Angels, rejoicing in the face of the saints. The damned murderers came to Svyatopolk, and, being lawless, they seemed to consider themselves worthy of praise. Demons are such servants. For demons are sent for evil, and angels for good. An angel does not do evil to a person, but always thinks about his good. He helps Christians and protects them from the opposite devil. Demons always catch evil, always envying a person, because they see that he is loved by God. Envying a person, demons strive to do evil to him. The Lord said: “Who will deceive Ahab?”, and the demon answered: “Here I come” (1 Kings 22:20, 21). An evil person, striving for evil, is not inferior in evil to the demon. Demons are afraid of man, but an evil man is not afraid of God and is not ashamed of people. Demons fear the Cross of the Lord, but an evil person is not even afraid of the cross. So the prophet David said to them: “Do you truly speak the truth and judge fairly, O sons of men? You form iniquity in your heart, you put on the scales the iniquities of your hands on earth. From birth the wicked apostatized; from the womb they go astray, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a snake” (Ps. 57:1-4). The accursed Svyatopolk did not stop at this murder, but in a frenzy began to strive for more. Seeing the fulfillment of his heart's desire, he did not think about such an evil murder and his temptation and did not feel at all repentant. Satan entered his heart and began to incite him to a greater and worse crime and to further murder. And the damned one thought: “What should I do? If I dwell on this murder, then a double evil awaits me. My brothers will hear about what was done and will soon reward me with something worse than what was done. And if they don’t do this, they will drive me out. And I will be a stranger to the throne of my father, and regret for my land will consume me. My enemies will revile me, another will take over my reign, and there will be no one living in my houses. For I persecuted my beloved by the Lord and increased the disease with a wound. Therefore I will add lawlessness to lawlessness. My mother's sin will not be cleansed, I will still not be written with the righteous. So let me be blotted out in the book of the belly.” Having conceived this in his mind, this evil friend of the devil sent to say to blessed Gleb 2915: “Go quickly, your father is very unwell and is calling you.” Gleb immediately mounted his horse and with a small squad rushed to the call. When he reached the Volga, at the mouth of the Darkness in the field, his horse tripped under him into a ditch and injured his leg. Then he arrived at Smolensk and, moving away from Smolensk, stopped not far away on the Smyadyn River in a boat. At this time, news came from Predslava to Yaroslav about the death of his father. Yaroslav sent to Gleb with the words: “Don’t go, brother, your father died, and your brother was killed by Svyatopolk.” Hearing this, the blessed one became sad, wept bitterly and said: “Woe is me, my lord, I weep with two lamentations and lament with two lamentations.” Alas for me, alas for me, I cry for my father, I cry more, in despair, for you, my brother and master Boris. How they pierced you, how you were put to death without mercy - and not from the enemy, but from your brother, you suffered death. Alas for me! It would be better for me to die with you than to live in this life alone, orphaned by you. I thought I would see your angelic face. And this is what grief befell me. I would rather die with you, my lord. And now what should I do, touched and grieving over your beauty and the deep intelligence of my father? O my dear brother and master, if you have received boldness from God, pray for me, the sad one, so that I too may be worthy to accept the same death and live with you, and not in this light, full of temptations. When Saint Gleb was groaning so much, moistening the earth with tears, and often calling on God with sighs, suddenly his evil servants sent by Svyatopolk, merciless bloodsuckers, fierce brother-haters, with a ferocious soul, came. The saint was sailing in a boat, and they met him at the mouth of Smyadyn. Seeing them, his soul rejoiced, but they became darkened and began to swim towards him. The saint expected to receive a kiss from them 2916. When the boats drew level, the villains grabbed the prince’s boat by the rowlocks, pulled it towards them and began to jump into it, holding drawn swords in their hands, shining like water. Immediately the rowers' oars fell out of their hands and everyone died with fear. The blessed one, seeing that they wanted to kill him, looked at the villains with tender eyes and with a contrite heart, humble mind and frequent sighs, bursting into tears and weakening in body, began to piteously pray to them: “Don’t touch me, my dear and dear brothers, don’t touch me, I haven’t done anything bad to you.” Do not touch me, my dear brothers and gentlemen, do not guard me. What offense have I caused to my brother and to you, my brothers and masters? If there is any offense, then take me to your prince, and to my brother and master. Have mercy on my youth, have mercy, my lords; be my masters, and I am your slave. Do not reap me, not yet ripe, do not reap the ear, not yet ripe, but still full of the milk of goodness. Do not cut vines that have not yet grown, but already have fruit. I beg and implore you. Fear Him who said through the mouth of the Apostles: “Do not be children in your mind, but be a child for evil” (1 Cor. 14:20). This is not murder, but cheese cutting. Prove to me what evil I did. And I will not regret it, if you want to be satisfied with my blood, I am already in your hands, brothers, and in the hands of my brother, your prince. But not a single word was ashamed of the murderers, and they did not change their plan. Like ferocious beasts, they attacked the saint and captured him. He, seeing that they did not listen to his words, began to say: - Be saved, my dear father and Mr. Vasily, be saved, my mother, my lady, be saved, brother Boris, the elder of my youth, brother Yaroslav, my assistant, be saved, you, brother and enemy Svyatopolk, and all of you, brothers and squad. I will no longer see you in this life, for they are forcibly separating me from you. - Vasily, Vasily, my father, incline your ears and hear my voice. Look what happened to your son, how they stabbed me to death without guilt. Alas for me, alas for me! Listen to the heavens and listen to the earth (cf. Deut. 32:1). And you, Boris brother, hear my voice. I called on my father Vasily, but he did not listen to me, do you really not want to hear me? Look at the sorrow of my heart and the wound of my soul, at my tears running like a river. Nobody listens to me. But remember me and pray for me to the common Lord of all, since you have boldness and stand before His throne. Kneeling down, he began to pray like this: - Most generous, most merciful Lord, do not despise my tears, but look with pity at the contrition of my heart. So I’ll punish you, but for what and for what offense - I don’t know. You know, Lord, my Lord. I know that you said to your apostles: “For My Name they will lay hands on you and you will be given over to your generation; and brother will deliver brother to death, and they will put you to death for my name’s sake” (cf. Matthew 10:17, 21). And again: “Through your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19). Look, Lord, and judge. Behold, my soul is ready before You, Lord, and we send up glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then, looking at the killers, he said to them in a quiet voice: - Get started and finish what you were sent for. Then the accursed Goryaser ordered him to be stabbed to death immediately. Gleb's senior cook, named Torchin, drew his knife, knelt down, took Saint Gleb by the head and cut the throat of the blessed one, like a gentle lamb. This was on the 5th of September, on Monday. And they brought a pure, holy and fragrant sacrifice to the Lord and ascended to the heavenly abodes to God. And the saint saw his desired brother, and they both received the heavenly crowns that they so desired. And they rejoiced with inexpressible joy, which they achieved through their brotherly love. “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together!” (Ps. 133:1). Those damned murderers returned to the one who sent them, as the prophet David said: “Let the wicked turn to hell, all the nations that forget God” (Ps. 9:18). And again: “The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow to pierce those who walk the straight path. Their sword will enter their own heart, and their bows will be broken. But the wicked will perish, disappear, disappear in smoke” (Ps. 37:14–15, 19, 20). And they said to Svyatopolk: - We did what you commanded. Hearing this, his heart was lifted up, and what the psalmist David said came true: “Why do you boast about your wickedness, O mighty one? Your tongue invents destruction. You love evil more than good, lies more than telling the truth. You love all kinds of disastrous speech, treacherous tongue. Therefore God will completely crush you and uproot you from your dwelling place and your root from the land of the living” (Ps. 51:3-7). As Solomon said: “I will laugh at your destruction, I will rejoice when horror comes upon you; therefore they will eat the fruit of their ways and be satisfied with their thoughts” (Prov. 1:26,31). When Saint Gleb was killed, his body was thrown in a deserted place, between two logs. But the Lord never leaves His servants, as David said: “He keeps all his bones; not one of them will be broken” (Ps. 33:21). And so, when the body of the saint lay for a long time in a vacant lot, the Lord did not leave him to remain in ignorance and neglect, but showed this place first with burning candles, then passing merchants, hunters and shepherds heard the singing of angels. But neither those who heard nor saw this had the idea to look for the body of the saint, until Yaroslav, outraged by this murder, went to war against the fratricide, the accursed Svyatopolk, whom, having undergone a lot of hard work, he defeated with the help of God and the haste of the holy princes of the martyrs. Thus the wicked was put to shame and defeated. Having killed his brothers, Svyatopolk began to reign in Kyiv. Yaroslav did not yet know about his father’s death. Yaroslav had many Varangians who committed violence against the Novgorodians and their wives. Residents of Novgorod were outraged and beat the Varangians in Paramon's courtyard. Then Yaroslav became angry, and with the words: “I can no longer resurrect the dead!” from the princely court in the courtyard he sent for the noble Novgorodians, who killed the Varangians, and, having deceived them, killed them. That same night, news came to him from Kyiv from his sister Predslava: “Your father has died. Svyatopolk reigns in Kyiv, he killed Boris, and sent assassins against Gleb. Beware of him." Hearing this, Yaroslav became sad about his father, brother and squad. The next day he gathered the rest of the Novgorodians and said: - My dear friend! Yesterday I interrupted her, but now she would be useful to me. He wiped away his tears and said to the Novgorodians at the meeting: “My father died, and Svyatopolk sits in Kiev, beating his brothers. And the Novgorodians said to him: “Even though you killed our brothers, we can fight for you.” Having gathered a thousand Varangians and 40 thousand other soldiers, Yaroslav called on God for help and went against Svyatopolk, saying: “It was not I who began to beat the brothers, but he. Let him answer for the blood of his brothers, for he shed the righteous blood of Boris and Gleb without guilt, and he can do the same to me. But God judge in truth, so that the sinner’s malice may cease.” And he went to Svyatopolk. The same one, having heard about Yaroslav’s campaign, gathered a countless army of Russia and the Pechenegs and marched to Lyubech. This was in the summer of 6524 (1016). Both armies met at the Dnieper, stood one against the other on both sides of the river, and neither of them had the courage to start a battle. So they stood opposite each other for about 3 months. And the governor Svyatopolk, driving along the shore, began to reproach the Novgorodians: - Why did you come with a lame man, you are carpenters, so we will force you to build our mansions. Hearing this, the Novgorodians were offended and said to Yaroslav: - Tomorrow we will cross the river. If anyone does not come with us, we will kill him ourselves. It was already frosty at that time. Svyatopolk stood between two lakes. Having landed on the shore, he drank wine all night with his retinue. At dawn, Yaroslav and his army were transported across the river, landed and pushed the boats away from the shore. And so the troops went at each other and clashed. The slaughter was severe; The Pechenegs stood behind the lake and could not help Svyatopolk. Yaroslav's warriors pressed Svyatopolkov's army towards the lake, pushing them onto the ice, which broke under them. And Yaroslav began to overcome. Seeing this, Svyatopolk fled to the Poles. Yaroslav sat down under his father's reign in Kiev, after he had been in Novgorod for 28 years. After 2 years, Svyatopolk went against Yaroslav with King Boleslav and the Poles. Yaroslav gathered an army from Rus', Varangians and Slovenes and went to Volynia. The troops met at the Bug River and stood on opposite banks. Yaroslav had a pestun, the governor of Buda, and he began to reproach Boleslav: - Here we will pierce your womb with a spear. Boleslav was huge and heavy and could barely sit on a horse. And Boleslav said to his squad: “If you are not offended by this reproach, I alone will perish.” And he rushed on horseback into the river, and his soldiers followed him. Yaroslav did not have time to prepare for battle, and Boleslav defeated Yaroslav. Boleslav entered Kyiv with Svyatopolk, and Yaroslav fled with 4 men to Novgorod. From there he already wanted to flee overseas, but the mayor Konstantin, the son of Dobrynya, and the Novgorodians cut off Yaroslav’s boats, saying: “We can still fight Boleslav and Svyatopolk.” And they began to collect money, 4 kunas from each husband, 9 hryvnia from elders, and 80 hryvnia from boyars. Then they called the Varangians and paid them the collected money. So Yaroslav gathered a large army. The mad Svyatopolk said: “Beat the Poles in the cities.” And so they did. Then Boleslav fled from Kyiv, taking with him property and boyars. Yaroslav rushed towards Svyatopolk and defeated him. Svyatopolk fled to the Pechenegs. In the summer of 6527 (1019) he returned with many Pechenegs. Yaroslav gathered an army and marched against him to Alta. Standing at the place where Saint Boris was killed, he raised his hands to heaven and said: “Behold, the blood of my brother cries out to You, Master, like the blood of Abel.” Avenge him on Svyatopolk as you did on the fratricide Cain, on whom You laid groaning and shaking (Gen. 4:12). I pray to You, Lord, may Svyatopolk receive the same. Then, after praying, Yaroslav said: - O my brothers, even if you died in body, you are alive by grace and stand before the Lord. Help me with prayer. Having said this, he went against Svyatopolk, and the field near the Alta River was covered with many soldiers. And the troops met at sunrise, and there was a vicious battle, they retreated three times, fought all day, and only in the evening did Yaroslav prevail. This damned Svyatopolk fled. And a demon attacked him and weakened his bones so that he could not sit on a horse and was carried on a stretcher. So they brought him to Berestye. He said: “Run, they’re chasing us!” They sent in pursuit, but found no one. Lying in weakness, Svyatopolk kept jumping up and saying: “We are running, they are chasing again. Oh me! So he could not stay in one place. And he ran through the Lyash land, driven by the wrath of God, and reached the desert between the land of the Lyakhs and the Czechs. Here he lost his life and accepted retribution from the Lord, since the illness sent to him testified to eternal torment after death. So he was deprived of both lives: here he was deprived not only of his reign, but also of his life, and there not only of the Kingdom of Heaven and being with the Angels, but was also given over to torment and fire. His grave remains. An evil stench emanates from it, to show people that if anyone who hears about this does something similar, he will receive something worse than this. For Cain, not knowing about retribution, accepted one punishment, and Lamech, who already knew about Cain, was avenged seventy times more (Gen. 4:24). Those who do evil receive such retribution. Just as King Julian, who shed much blood of the holy martyrs, suffered a bitter and inhuman death, pierced with a spear in the heart by someone unknown, 2917, so this one died in flight, not knowing from whom the malicious death came to him. From that time on, sedition subsided in the Russian land, and Yaroslav gained dominance in Rus'. And he began to inquire about the bodies of the saints, how and where they were placed. And they told him that Saint Boris was buried in Vyshegorod, but not everyone knew about Saint Gleb that he was killed in Smolensk. And then Yaroslav’s relatives told him that they had heard from those who came from there that they had seen lights and candles there in a deserted place 2918. Hearing this, Yaroslav sent presbyters to Smolensk in search and told them: “This is my brother.” They went and found his body where the visions took place 2919. With respect, with many candles and censers, they carried him into boats and took him to Vyshegorod, where the body of the blessed Boris lay; there they dug a grave and laid the body, amazed at its beautiful and flourishing appearance. It is wonderful and wonderful and worthy of memory that the body of the saint remained unharmed for so many years, untouched by carnivorous animals, and not only did not turn black, as happens with corpses, but it was light, beautiful, whole and fragrant. Thus God preserved the remains of his sufferer. Many did not know that the bodies of the holy passion-bearers lay here. But as the holy evangelist said: “A city standing on top of a mountain cannot hide. And having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone” (Matthew 5:14, 15), so the Lord made these saints to shine for the world and shine with many miracles in the Russian country, where many suffering people received salvation. The blind began to see, the lame received the speed of a chamois, the bent were straightened. But is it really possible to tell everything and talk about the miracles that happened there? Truly, even the whole world cannot contain the wonderful miracles that have been performed; they are more numerous than the sand of the sea; the saints performed them not only here, but throughout all countries and lands, healing diseases and all ailments, visiting prisoners in prisons and bonds. In the places where they received the crowns of martyrdom, churches were created in their name. And they performed many miracles here. There is no ability and strength to glorify you, holy brothers! If we call you Angels who immediately come to the aid of those in mourning, then you lived in the flesh among people. If we call you people, then you exceed the human mind with many miracles. Whether we call you emperors and princes, then you have acquired humility greater than that of simple and humble people, and through it you have moved into the highest dwellings. Truly you are kings above kings and princes above princes, for with your help and protection our princes triumph over their opponents and are glorified by your help. You are a weapon for them and for us, you have taken away the Russian land and assertion, you are the double-edged swords with which we overthrow the insolence of our enemies and trample the pride of the devil into the ground. Truly and without a doubt it should be said: you are heavenly people and earthly Angels, the pillars and foundation of our land. Help your fatherland, like the great Demetrius, who said: “If I was with them in joy, I will die with them when they perish.” But that great Demetrius said this about one city, but you have concern and offer prayer not for one city, not for two, but for all of them - for the entire Russian land. O blessed receptacle, which has received your honest bodies, like a valuable treasure, blessed church, in which your holy shrines stand, where your blessed bodies are placed! O saints of Christ! Blessed indeed is the city of Vyshegorod, which has such a treasure that the whole world is unequal to it. Truly it is called Vyshegorod, being higher than other cities. He appeared as the second Solun in the Russian land, having in himself free medicine. And not only our tribe was given salvation by God, but also the whole earth. People from all countries come there and receive healing for free. As in the Holy Gospel the Lord said to the holy Apostles: “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). About this, the Lord Himself said: “He who believes in me, the works that I do will he also do, and greater works than these will he do” (John 14:12). But, O blessed passion-bearers of Christ, do not forget the fatherland where you lived physically, do not leave it by visiting, and in your prayers always pray for us, so that evil does not befall us and so that illness does not touch the bodies of your slaves. For you have been given grace to pray for us; the Lord has made you intercessors, praying for us. We run to you, we beg you, falling to you with tears, we pray to you, so that the foot of pride does not step on us, so that the hand of a sinner does not destroy us and so that no harm befalls us. Drive away hunger and misfortune from us, deliver us from the sword and internecine warfare, do not let us fall in sin; We trust in you, bring our prayer earnestly to Christ God, for we have sinned and committed immeasurable lawlessness. But, relying on your prayer, we cry out to the Savior: “Master, You are the only one without sin, look down from Your holy heaven on us poor ones. We have sinned - cleanse us, we have committed iniquity - have mercy, we have stumbled - wait a while, cleanse us like a harlot and forgive us like a publican. Let Thy mercy come, let Thy love for mankind pour upon us, do not leave us in our sins, do not give us up to bitter death, but redeem us from the evil of this age, give us time for repentance, for our iniquity is great before You, Lord. Act mercifully with us, O Lord, for we call You. Have mercy on us, be generous, intercede with the prayers of Your most honorable passion-bearers, do not give us up to reproach, but pour out Your mercy on the sheep of Your pasture, for You are our God, we send up glory to You, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This faithful Boris was a descendant of a noble family, obedient to his father, submissive to everyone, his body was beautiful, tall, wide in the shoulders, thin in the waist, his face was round, cheerful, kind eyes, beard and mustache small, for he was still young. He shone royally, adorned like a flower with his blooming youth. He was brave in battle, wise and sensible in council, the grace of God bloomed in him. “A person cannot retell everything; The eye will not be satisfied with seeing, nor the ear will be filled with hearing” (Eccl. 1:8), said Ecclesiastes, so neither our mind can comprehend the miracles of the holy martyrs, nor can our tongue express, nor can we express in a word what reward they received from the Lord for their labor, as children and partakers of the kingdom of God. As John the Theologian said: “And to those who received him he gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). And David: “To the saints who are on earth—to them is all my desire” (Ps. 15:3). And again: “Thou art fearful, O God, in thy sanctuary, the only one who works wonders” (Ps. 67:36, 71:18). The Monk John of Damascus wrote that such men are alive even after death and stand before God. The source of our salvation, the Lord Christ, will give them help, for from the bodies of martyrs comes fragrant ointment. And one more thing: whoever believes in God and in the hope of resurrection will not call them dead. For how dead flesh can work miracles, how demons are driven away by them, illnesses are cured, infirmities are healed, the blind receive sight, lepers are cleansed, sorrows and misfortunes cease, and every good gift from the Father of light comes through them, and they are prayed for with faith and without doubt! How you should bother to find an intercessor before a mortal king who will answer for you, but these are intercessors of the entire family who say prayers to God for us. How can we not honor them, who lead everyone to the Church and to God! Honoring their memory, we joyfully celebrate the feast of the saints, whom the Lord glorified with great grace and miracles - these miracle workers, intercessors of all the countries of our Russian land. Many did not know that the holy martyrs and passion-bearers of Christ Roman and David rested in Vyshegorod, but the Lord did not allow such a treasure to be hidden in the ground, and revealed it to everyone. At the place where they lay, sometimes a pillar of fire was seen, and sometimes angelic singing was heard. Hearing and seeing this, people glorified God and came to worship with fear in that place. A lot came from other countries. Some believed the rumors, others did not believe it, considering it a lie, as the Apostle said about the Cross: “For those who are perishing, there is foolishness, but for us who are being saved, there is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). The Lord said in the Holy Gospel: “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken” (Matthew 21:44), and he who believes in him will not be ashamed. One day they came to the place where the saints, buried underground, lay, and one of them stepped on it; fire immediately came out of the coffin and scorched the Varangian’s legs. He jumped up, began to talk and showed the squad his burnt legs. From then on, they did not dare to come close, but they worshiped with fear. A little later, the Church of St. Basil, where the saints were laid, caught fire. The sexton of that church, at the end of Matins, was darkened by sleep from the all-evil Satan and, without examining the church properly, went to his home, and in the church he forgot to put out the candle that was burning in a high place. Some time later the church caught fire. People rushed towards her; the church was burning from the top; They took everything out of there, icons and vessels, so that nothing burned except the building itself. All this happened by God's permission. The church was wooden and dilapidated. The Lord thus revealed His will that another church would be built on that place in the name of the holy blessed passion-bearers Boris and Gleb and that their bodies would be lovingly removed from the bowels of the earth, which is what happened. They told Yaroslav about all this. The prince called Metropolitan John, told him about his brothers, the holy martyrs, and he seemed to be in horror, doubt, joy and boldness towards God. Leaving the prince, the Metropolitan gathered the choir people and all the priests and ordered a procession of the cross to Vyshegorod. And they went to the place where the saints lay, and Yaroslav the Prince was with them. In the place where the burnt church stood, a small church was erected. The archbishop, coming with crosses, performed all-night singing in it. Early in the morning, the archbishop went with crosses to the place where the most venerable bodies of the saints lay, said a prayer and ordered to dig up the earth that was above the tomb of the saints. And having dug it up, they took the coffin out of the ground. And Metropolitan John and the elders approached with fear and love, opened the tomb of the saints, and saw a glorious miracle. The bodies of the saints did not have any damage, but were completely intact and white as snow, their faces were bright, like those of Angels, and a fragrance emanated from them. The archbishop and all the people were greatly amazed. And they carried the bodies to the church that was erected on the site of the burnt church, and laid them above the ground on the right side. There was a husband in Vyshegorod named Mironeg, a gardener. He had a son whose leg became dry and bent. And he could not walk and did not feel it. He walked by making himself a wooden leg. And he came to the saints, fell down at their tomb and prayed to God and the saints, asking the saints for healing. So he prayed day and night with tears. One night the holy passion-bearers of Christ Roman and David appeared to him and said: “Why are you crying out to us?” He showed a leg in need of healing. They took the dry leg and crossed it three times. Waking up from sleep, he saw himself healthy and jumped up, praising God and the saints. Then he told everyone how the saints healed him, and said that he also saw George, the youth of Saint Boris, who walked in front of the saints, carrying a candle. Seeing such a miracle, people glorified God. A certain blind man came and fell at the tomb of the saints, and kissed him with love, placing his eyes on him and asking for healing. And immediately he received his sight. And everyone glorified God. Then Mironeg told the prince about both miracles. Prince Yaroslav glorified God and the holy martyrs and, calling Metropolitan John, joyfully told him what he had heard. The archbishop also praised God and gave the prince godly advice to build a beautiful church. And the prince was pleased with his advice, and he ordered the carpenters to prepare trees for the construction of the church. It was already winter. The carpenters prepared the wood and, when summer came, they built a great church with five domes. The prince decorated it with all kinds of paintings and ordered icons of saints to be painted, so that the faithful would see in the church as if they were saints themselves and would worship them and kiss them with faith and love. And in the procession of the cross, Metropolitan John, Prince Yaroslav, all the priests and all the people transferred the relics of the saints to the church and consecrated it. And they celebrated the month of July on the 24th day, when the blessed Boris was killed. On the same day, the transfer of holy relics and the consecration of the church took place. When the prince and the metropolitan were present at the holy liturgy, a lame man happened to be in the church. With great difficulty he crawled to the church, praying to God and the saints. And immediately his legs became strong, through the grace of God and the prayers of the saints. And, having risen, he went in front of everyone. Seeing this miracle, the blessed Prince Yaroslav, the Metropolitan and all the people gave praise to God and the saints. After the liturgy, the prince invited everyone to a meal: both the metropolitan and the elders, and they celebrated the holiday as it should be. And the prince distributed a lot of property to the poor, orphans and widows. And so Yaroslav died (in 1054), having lived with honor after the death of his father for 38 years and leaving his sons as heirs: Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod, dividing the inheritance between them as it should have been: Izyaslav, the eldest, was installed to reign in Kyiv, Svyatoslav - in Chernigov, Vsevolod - in Pereyaslavl, and the rest in other volosts. Prince Izyaslav, who inherited the great reign, laid the body of his father in a marble shrine, which he placed in the vestibule of the Church of St. Sophia, created by his father in 2920. Two years have passed and the church is already dilapidated. Having come to it one day, Izyaslav Yaroslavich saw its dilapidation, called the foreman of the carpenters and ordered him to build a new, one-domed church in the name of the holy passion-bearers, he also indicated a place for it near the first dilapidated church. The prince also begged Metropolitan George to pray on the spot and give him the money needed to build the church. The foreman of the carpenters gathered all his workers and soon built a church on the indicated site. Hearing about this, the prince sent to the elder of the city with the words: “I give from the princely tribute to decorate the church.” When the church was completely finished, the God-lover Izyaslav begged Archbishop George to institute the transfer of the relics of the saints to the new church. The brothers Izyaslav and Vsevolod and Metropolitan George of Kiev and others, Neophyte, Bishop of Chernigov, Peter of Pereyaslav, Nikita Belozersky, Mikhail Yuryevsky, abbot of the Pechersk Monastery Theodosius, Sophrony of St. Michael, Herman of St. Savior and all the other abbots came together and created a bright celebration. And the princes first took the body of Saint Boris in a wooden shrine and carried it before the venerable monks with candles. The monks were followed by deacons and presbyters, then the metropolitan and bishops. And having brought it, they placed the shrine in the church, opened it, and the church was filled with a wonderful fragrance. Those who saw this all glorified God. The Metropolitan was seized with horror, for he did not firmly believe in the saints; he fell on his face and asked for forgiveness. And after kissing the relics, they placed them in a stone shrine. Then they took the stone shrine containing the body of Saint Gleb, placed it on a sleigh and, holding the ropes, drove it away. And when they were already at the door, the crayfish stopped and did not move forward. Then they commanded the people to exclaim: “Lord have mercy!” And they prayed to the Lord and the saints. And they immediately moved the shrine. Then they kissed the head of St. Boris. Metropolitan George took the hand of Saint Gleb and blessed the princes Izyaslav, Svyatoslav and Vsevolod. And again Svyatoslav, taking the hand of the metropolitan who was holding the saint by the hand, applied it to the ulcer that was on his neck, to his eyes and to the crown of his head. Then he placed his hand in the coffin, and they began to sing the Holy Liturgy. Then Svyatoslav said to Bern: “Something is hurting my head.” Bern raised his hood and, seeing the nail of Saint Gleb on his head, took it off and gave it to Svyatoslav. The same one glorified God about the good gift of the saints. After the liturgy, all the brothers went and had dinner together. They celebrated the holiday brightly and gave a lot of alms to the poor. Then they kissed each other and peacefully went their separate ways. And since then, in 2921, this holiday was established in the month of May on the 2nd day, in honor and glory of the holy martyrs, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. A certain man was dumb and lame, his leg was amputated at the knee. Having made a wooden leg, he walked on it. And he stayed at the church of saints with other poor people, accepting from Christians alms, clothes or anything else that anyone wanted to give. And in Vyshegorod there was a foreman of gardeners, whose worldly name was Zhdan, and in holy baptism Nikolai. And he celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas every year. One day the poor and the lame man went to his holiday, hoping to get something. Entering that house, he sat down in front of the church. It so happened that he was not given anything to eat or drink, and he sat hungry and thirsty. Then he suddenly fell into a frenzy and saw a vision. It seemed to him that he was sitting near the church of saints. And he saw Boris and Gleb emerging as if from the altar and walking towards him, and he fell on his face. The saints took him by the hand, sat him down and began to talk about his healing. Then they crossed his mouth, took his sore leg, as if anointing it with oil, and pulled it by the knee. The sick man saw all this as if in a dream, for he fell on his face in that house. Seeing him stretched out on the ground, people turned him to and fro. He lay as if dead, having no strength to move either his lips or his eyes. Only his soul was in him and his heart beat in him. Everyone thought he had been struck by a demon. They took him, carried him and laid him near the church of saints, in front of the doors. Many people stood around, looked and marveled at the glorious miracle. A leg appeared from the sufferer’s knee and began to grow until it became equal to the other, and this did not happen in a long time, but in one hour. Seeing this, those who were there glorified God and his saints, the martyrs Roman and David. And everyone exclaimed: - “Who will speak of the power of the Lord and proclaim all His praises? Blessed be the Lord God, who alone works miracles!” (Ps.106:2, 71:18). In the city of Dorogobuzh, a certain woman, a slave, worked in the house of her mistress, at her command, on the day of St. Nicholas, when everyone went to his church. Other women, seeing her at work, began to reproach her and called her to church. She did not listen to them and continued her work. Suddenly three men in white robes drove into the courtyard. Looking out the door, she saw them. One of them was old, and on both sides of him were two young men. And the young men said to her: - Oh woman, how dare you insult our father, Nicholas, by working on his holiday and not going to church? – I’m a poor widow, I need to work, not go to church. Then the old husband said to the young men: -What are you talking to her about? Mark her house. They set about and swept the house halfway. The old husband, approaching the woman, took her right hand and threw her out of the room. And she fell dead. Seeing the woman prostrate, the neighbors picked her up and carried her to another house. They put her down and sat down next to her, wanting to listen to what she had to say. She could not move either her eyes or her lips, but she lay as if dead and did not eat anything; they only parted her lips and poured milk or water into her mouth with a spoon. This is how she remained until Lent. On meat-eating week, they took a woman and took her to the Church of St. Nicholas. After the prayer performed over her, she opened her eyes somewhat and, as if awakening from sleep, asked for food, was able to take the food and told what had happened. Her right hand turned out to be dry, and she couldn’t feel it. And now she no longer had the strength to serve the masters. Seeing her so weak, the mistress drove her away from her, and the boy who was born to her in freedom became a slave. But the judges did not allow her to do this, but ordered her masters to forfeit her price, and both were released, since she worked against her will and received a punishment. 3 years have passed. The withered woman heard how a man with cramped arms and legs received healing in the church of the holy martyrs Roman and David. And so she went to Vyshegorod. She came on Saturday, when the canon of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God was being celebrated, and she told the elder clergy of that church, Lazarus. He told her to spend the night near the church. In the morning, when they were walking with crosses to the Church of the Holy Mother of God, a withered woman approached Lazarus and told him her dream: “When I was sitting near the church that night, two beautiful young men came to me and said to me: who put you here? I answered: the priest Lazarus ordered me this, saying: sit here, maybe God, through the prayer of the holy martyrs, will heal you. Hearing this, the eldest of the young men immediately took off the ring, gave it to me and said: put it on your hand and cross yourself, and it will heal your hand. Hearing this, Lazarus ordered her to attend the liturgy at the church door, so that at the end of the singing and prayers her hand would be anointed with oil from the censer. They began to sing the liturgy. When they sang “Holy God” and the singer said “the song to the Mother of God, prokeimenon: My soul magnifies,” suddenly the woman’s dry hand ached, the bandage that supported her hand fell off, and the woman rushed to the altar, trembling and shaking her hand. Seeing this, all the people and clergy considered her possessed and dragged her to the tomb of the saints. Looking at her and recognizing her, Lazarus was horrified. And at that time her hand was healed. Everyone who saw this glorified God for such a miracle, marveling at God’s speedy visit and the power of the holy martyrs of Christ. There lived a certain blind man in the city. He came to the church of St. George and prayed to the saint, asking for insight. One night the holy martyr George appeared to him and said: “Why are you calling to me! If you want to see the light, I will tell you how to achieve this. Go to Saints Boris and Gleb, if they wish, they will give you the sight you ask for. For they have been given grace from God in the Russian country to forgive and heal all kinds of pain and illness.” Seeing and hearing this, the blind man woke up and set off on his journey, as he was commanded. He came to the Church of the Holy Martyrs and stayed here for several days, crouching and praying to the saints, until they visited him. And he regained his sight and began to see, glorifying God and the holy martyrs, since he received healing. And he told everyone how he saw that the holy martyrs came to him, crossed his eyes three times, and immediately they opened. Everyone thanked God for those glorious, wonderful and unspeakable miracles that were performed by the holy martyrs. For it is written: “He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them” (Ps. 145:19), and also: “He does whatever He wants” (Ps. 113:11) The miracles of the saints multiplied and their grace grew. And as it is written in the Holy Gospel: “and the whole world cannot contain books” (John 21:25), they were created without being written down, and whoever knew about them told. Then Svyatoslav, the son of Yaroslav, planned to create a stone church for the saints, he built it up to 50 cubits in height, and died (in 1079). Vsevolod, having become a prince in the Russian land, completed it all. When it was finished, immediately that same night its top fell and it was all destroyed. Then Vsevolod died (in 1093), having lived peacefully and corrected the power entrusted to him by God. Svyatopolk Izyaslavich accepted the reign in Kyiv, and David and Oleg - in Chernigov, and Vladimir - in Pereyaslavl. In those days, the enemies of our land became stronger than us and inflicted a lot of violence on us for our sins. The Church of the Holy Martyrs fell into oblivion, and no one could take care of its structure or the recording of miracles. This is what the eyewitnesses of the miracle saw. Prince Svyatopolk imprisoned two men in heavy chains for some guilt, without examining the case, but listening to those who slandered them. He forgot what the prophet David said: “A corrupt heart will be removed from Me; I will not know evil. He who slanderes his neighbor I will drive out” (Ps. 100:4–5). Having imprisoned their husbands, the prince forgot about them. Being in such trouble, they prayed a lot to the holy passion-bearers and every Sunday they gave the guard money so that he could buy a prosphora and bring it to the church of Saints Roman and David. A lot of time passed, and the prisoners were still languishing in sadness and sorrow, praying incessantly and calling on the holy passion-bearers. And they did not despise them, but saved them, stood up for them and helped. One night, when the doors of the dungeon were locked and the removed ladder lay outside, while these prisoners and many others were sleeping, suddenly one of the imprisoned men found himself sleeping outside, above the dungeon, woke up free from his bonds and saw that the iron shackles that were on him and his comrade were broken and lay near him, and the hoops that rested on his legs were twisted like a rope. Having risen, he glorified God and His saints. Remembering what he had seen, he called the watchman, showed him what had happened, and said: “Take me to the church of the glorious martyrs.” Arriving at the church for Matins, which was on Thursday, he bowed before the holy reliquaries and said to all the clergy and people who were in the church: “While we and many others were sleeping in the prison, suddenly the roof seemed to rise, and we saw the saints come in and say: “Why are you here?” “We answered: “This is the will of the prince, we have been slandered.” The saints told us: “We command you: you go to church and tell what you saw, but we leave your comrade in prison. We made him blind, to convince others when they did not believe. We ourselves will retire to the Greek land; Returning in three days, we will visit him and restore his sight. Then go and tell the prince: why are you doing this without examining the matter, why are you tormenting and tormenting? If you do not repent of this and do not stop doing this, then know that there is no way for you to escape hell.” Having said this and other things, they disappeared from our eyes. I, who saw this, told you, brethren, if you want to see and hear better, let us go to the prison. Arriving at her, everyone saw that the locks were intact and locked, and the stairs along which they entered and exited lay outside. And they were amazed and glorified the Lord and the saints. Having opened the prison, they saw that the prisoner about whom it was said was really blind, so that neither eyelids nor eyelashes could be distinguished, but there were no bonds on him. Questioned, he told the same thing. Then both prisoners were released and did not leave the church day and night, especially the blinded one; as if he had shame from the saints and as if asking for a debt, he fell to the tombs and, praying, said: “O holy saints of Christ, do not despise, do not forget your promise. Grant me according to your vow to which you have committed yourself.” He did this for three days. Sunday came, he came to church and prayed until matins. The cry of the singers annoyed him, so they became angry and said: “This blind man must be removed, for he cannot sing.” He remained, beating and falling to the saints, and exclaimed: - Have mercy on me, for you promised me this. Then he suddenly turned around and said: - Sing: “Lord have mercy!” Contemplate the glory of God and the saints: now I have received my sight. And his eyes became healthy, as if they were not sick and were not blind. Then everyone glorified God and the holy passion-bearers. Then they went and told Prince Svyatopolk what they had heard and seen. And from then on, he rarely caused violence to people and for many years celebrated a holiday for the saints, often coming to Vyshegorod in the summer. He also wanted to build a church in the old place, over the tombs of the saints, saying: “I won’t dare move it from place to place.” But according to God’s dispensation and the will of the holy martyrs, his plan did not come true. In those days, as it is said, Vladimir, the son of Vsevolod, called Monomakh, reigned in the Pereyaslavl land. He had great love for the saints and made many offerings to them. And he planned to bind the holy shrines of the honest martyrs with silver and gold. Arriving at night, he measured the coffins and, having forged the silver boards, gilded them. Then, coming again at night, he bound all the miraculous and praiseworthy holy tombs and left at night. Those who came in the morning saw this with joy, bowed and gave praise to the saints and to God, who placed such a thought on the heart of the noble prince. With many words they praised his meekness and humility, nobility and great mind, love for the saints and devotion to God and to the holy churches, which the blessed Prince Vladimir showed, especially to these saints. He did this in the summer of 6610 (1102), and after the transfer of the relics he did even more over the holy tombs. Having forged silver boards with images of saints, he gilded them, decorated them with silver and gold and large gilded crystal candlesticks on which candles burned. And he arranged everything so perfectly that it is impossible to describe this beauty. And those who came from Greece and from other lands said: “We have seen many saints’ cancer, but nowhere was there such beauty.” So he arranged everything so well in memory of his good deeds and for the blessing from the Lord, who said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20), and from the saints whom he so honored, and for the praise and blessing of the people who saw and heard. When Vladimir bound the shrines of the saints, Prince Oleg, the son of Svyatoslav, decided to build a stone church to replace the one that had collapsed in Vyshegorod. He brought the church builders and ordered them to build, giving them abundantly everything they needed for this. When the church was built and painted, he often forced and begged Svyatopolk to transfer the holy martyrs to the created church. The same one, out of envy of his work, did not want to transfer it, for he did not create that church himself. A short time later, Svyatopolk reposed in the second summer after decorating the church. And there was a strong rebellion and sedition among the people, and murmuring. Then all the people, especially big and famous men, united and came to Vladimir with a request that he stop the sedition. He went, quelled the rebellion and grumbling and accepted the reign in the Russian land. In the summer of 6623 (1115), when Vladimir reigned in Rus', he decided to transfer these holy passion-bearers to the established church and announced this to his brothers, David and Oleg. They always prayed and forced Vladimir to transfer the relics of the saints. Then Vladimir with his sons, then David and Oleg with their sons, came to Vyshegorod, Metropolitan Nikifor also arrived, gathering all the bishops: Theoktist from Chernigov, Lazar from Pereyaslavl, Mina from Polotsk, Daniel from Yuryev, and all the abbots: Prokhor of Pechersk, Savva from the Holy Savior, Sylvester from St. Michael, Peter from the holy monastery Theotokos of Blachernae, Gregory from Saint Andrew, Theophilus from Saint Demetrius and many other abbots and the entire hierarchical and monastic rank, all the clergy and all the priests. And from all the countries of the Russian land and from other countries, a great multitude of people and princes, all the boyars, elders and governors of the entire Russian land and all the regions subordinate to it, came here, in short, all the people were here, every region, rich and poor, healthy and sick, so that the whole city was filled, and the people did not find room even on the city walls. And on the 1st day of the month of May the church was consecrated, on Saturday of the second week of Easter. On the morning of Holy Sunday, on the 2nd day of the same month, they began to sing Matins in both churches. And first placing the shrine of St. Boris on the decorated sleigh, which was built for this purpose, they took it away. Vladimir followed the sleigh with reverence and humility, the Metropolitan and the priests with candles and censers. And the nobles and all the boyars pulled the sleigh by thick ropes, crowded and toiling. The ropes were tied on both sides, and honest crayfish were pulled by them, and it was impossible to either walk or drag the sleigh due to the multitude of people. Then Vladimir ordered money, furs and fabrics to be thrown to the people. Seeing this, part of the people rushed to them, while others, leaving this, rushed to the holy crayfish in order to be rewarded with touching them. And no matter how many people there were, no one could hold back tears of joy and great joy. And so they barely had the opportunity to pull the sleigh. In the same way, the shrine of Saint Gleb was taken on another sleigh, accompanied by Prince David, bishops, clergy, boyars and countless people, who all exclaimed: “Lord have mercy” and called on God with tears. And a great miracle happened. The relics of St. Boris were transported safely, only the people were crowded. When Saint Gleb was taken away, the cancer became motionless. They dragged her by force, but the ropes broke, although they were so thick that the man could barely grasp them with both hands. And they broke off immediately. People exclaimed: “Lord have mercy.” There were many of them throughout the city, crowded along the fences and along the city walls. And a cry arose from all the people: “Lord have mercy.” And the crayfish immediately moved by itself. So they brought and laid with honor the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb in the newly created church on the right side of the month of May on the 2nd day. Then everyone went to their homes, glorifying God and the holy passion-bearers. The grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, Vsevolod Yurievich, reigned in the city of Vladimir Zalessky. Two nephews rebelled against him, Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavich (in 1175), who came from Veliky Novgorod, secretly called by the Rostovites to reign. And they went to war against Vsevolod, their uncle, to the city of Vladimir, wanting to expel the prince from his fatherland and get a large region for themselves. After the great battle, the Rostislavichs were defeated by Vsevolod, captured and brought to Vladimir. Vsevolod placed a guard over them, but allowed them to walk free. The people of Vladimir, seeing these captive princes in freedom, and not in prison, grumbled and, coming with weapons to the court of their prince Vsevolod, exclaimed: - Why, prince, do you keep our enemies not in chains, but in freedom? Either execute them by death, or blind them, or give them to us. Being merciful, Vsevolod did not want to harm the princes captured in the war, but for the sake of the people he ordered them to be put in prison so that the popular rebellion would calm down. After some time, the people of Vladimir again began to appeal to Grand Duke Vsevolod: - Give us the Rostislavichs, we want to blind them. The Grand Duke was saddened, but could not keep the people from revolting. The people of Vladimir swept away the dungeon and, seizing Mstislav and Yaropolk, blinded them and released them. So the unfortunate Rostislavichs, Mstislav and Yaropolk, who wanted greater glory and power, were pacified and blinded. And so they went to Smolensk and came to Smyadynya to the church of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. It was then the day of remembrance of the murder of St. Gleb, September 5th. And the princes prayed to God with great zeal and called on the holy martyrs for help, as their relatives, so that the saints would send them relief, since the ulcers in the place of their eyes festered. As they prayed, first the pain was relieved, and then suddenly they were given insight. Seeing clearly, the Rostislavichs began to glorify and thank God, the Most Pure Mother of God and the holy princes Roman and David. And they returned with joy to their homes, telling everywhere about the mercy of the Lord, given to them through the prayer of the holy martyrs. In the city of Turov lived in ancient times 2922 a certain elder named Martin, who was formerly a cook for the bishops of Turov, Simeon, Ignatius, Joachim and George. Bishop George released Martin from service for the sake of his old age. Having adopted the monastic form, Martin began to live in the episcopal monastery near the church of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, alone in his cell. And he often suffered from stomach illness. When suffering came upon him, the elder lay screaming in pain, not having the strength to get up and take care of his body. One day, suffering from that illness, he lay in his cell and was exhausted from thirst. But no one visited him, because water then spilled around the monastery. On the third day, the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb came to him, as they were depicted in the icon, and said: -What are you sick with, old man? He told them about his illness. And they asked him: “Oh, my gentlemen,” answered the elder, “I have been thirsting for it for a long time.” One of them took the rocker and brought water, and the other scooped up the ladle. And they gave the old man something to drink. Then he asked them: The elder, thinking that they were relatives of Prince George Yaroslav, said: - May the Lord send you many years, my gentlemen, take the bread yourself and eat, for I myself cannot serve you. - Let the bread remain for you, and we will go. Don't get sick anymore, but go to sleep. And immediately they became invisible. Having recovered, the elder realized that Saints Boris and Gleb had visited him, and, standing up, he glorified God and His saints. And from then on he never fell ill with that illness, but was healthy all the time and told the brethren about the healing given to him by the holy martyrs. The noble prince Alexander Yaroslavich, nicknamed Nevsky, during his reign in Veliky Novgorod, waged war with the Swedes. When he and his army came to the Neva River, one of his commanders, a God-fearing man named Philip, fulfilling the night watch entrusted to him, saw a ship floating on the water at sunrise; In the middle of the ship stood the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb in scarlet robes, while the rowers sat, dressed as if in darkness. And Saint Boris said to Saint Gleb: - Brother Gleb, let's go quickly, let's help our relative, Prince Alexander, against furious enemies. The governor told this vision to his prince. And on that day, Prince Alexander, with the help of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, defeated and trampled the strength of the Swedes, wounded their leader Birger in the face with a sword and returned in triumph to Veliky Novgorod 2923. In a similar way, when the Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri Ioannovich was at war with the Tatar Tsar Mamai, the night watchman Foma Khatsibeev saw such a vision revealed to him by God. A large cloud appeared at the height, and from the east, as it were, great regiments were coming, and from the south two bright young men appeared, holding candles and sharp naked swords in their hands. These young men were the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb. And they said to the Tatar commanders: – Who ordered you to destroy our fatherland, given to us by the Lord? And they began to flog the enemies, so that none of them survived. The next morning the guard told his vision to the Grand Duke. The prince, raising his eyes to heaven and raising his hands, began to pray with tears, saying: - Lord, Lover of Mankind, through the prayer of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb, help me! Like Moses against Amalek (Exodus 17), like David against Goliath (1 Samuel 17), like Yaroslav against Svyatopolk, like my great-grandfather Alexander against the Swedish king, give me help against Mamai. And on that day, the Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri, through the prayer of the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb, defeated Mamai, the Tatar king 2924. The Lord performed these and many miracles through the holy passion-bearers, whom people worship, asking for forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. The truthful passion-bearer, and the true listener of the Gospel of Christ, the chaste Romance with the gentle David, who did not resist the enemy of the present brother, who kills your bodies, but cannot touch your souls. Let the evil power-hungry weep: you, rejoicing with the faces of the Angels at the coming Holy Trinity, pray for the power of your relatives, to be pleasing to God, and for your Russian sons to be saved. Rise today to your glorious memory, noble passion-bearers of Christ, Roman and David, calling us to the praise of Christ our God. Thus, flowing to the race of your relics, the gift of healing is acceptable through your holy prayers: you are by nature a Divine physician. On the same day, the memory of our father Athanasius the Great, Patriarch of Alexandria. His memory is celebrated on January 18, where his biography is posted. This life is a translation of the work of Jacob Mnich, called “The Tale of the Passion and Praise of the Murder of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb,” written a few years after their martyrdoms, or at the end of the reign of Yaroslav, or at the beginning of the reign of Izyaslav, at least until 1072, as well as a translation of the continuations of this life that accompany it in ancient copies. The translation is supplemented by the “Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearer Boris and Gleb,” composed by the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler after Jacob Mnich until 1091, and by the “Tale of the murder of the holy passion-bearers, Russian princes, Boris and Gleb,” compiled by St. Demetrius of Rostov (under May 2nd Menya Chetikh). Vysheslav died during his father's lifetime in 1010. About the early life of St. Rev. Nestor reports the following to Boris and Gleb. Saint Vladimir released all his children to the volosts, which he gave them to govern, but he kept Boris and Gleb with him because they were very young. Saint Gleb was still just a child, but Saint Boris already showed great intelligence, was full of God’s grace, knew how to read and write and loved to read books. He read the lives and torments of the saints and, praying with tears, asked the Lord to grant him the fate of one of these saints. So he prayed constantly, and Saint Gleb listened to him, constantly being with him. When St. Boris reached adulthood, his father decided to marry him. But the saint did not want marriage. The boyars, however, begged him not to disobey his father. Out of obedience to his father, the saint entered into marriage at their request. Then his father sent him to reign in Vladimir Volynsky, where he showed a lot of mercy, but having learned that Svyatopolk, out of envy, was plotting on Boris’s life, he returned him to Kyiv. This could have happened before Boris sent to Rostov. Pechenegs, a nomadic people of Turkic origin, from the second half of the 10th century. began to attack Rus'. St. Vladimir built cities along the river. Desna, Ostra, Trubezh, Sula and Stugna, as a guard line against the Pechenegs. They were subsequently driven out of the southern Russian steppes by the Turks and Cumans, as well as Turkic peoples. In the name of St. Roman Sladkopevets In ancient Russia there was a custom of carrying and transporting the deceased in sleighs to the funeral service in church. Of course, the Kiev Tithe Church, dedicated to the glory of the Mother of God, which was built and decorated by St. Vladimir. In ancient prologues the consecration of this church is shown on May 11th. This is what Vladimir did with his brother Yaropolk. According to Nestor, Boris had about 8,000 people in his squad. According to the legend of Nestor, St. Boris sent a boy to Svyatopolk with a prayer. But he kept the boy with him. According to Nestor, one of the murderers hit St. Boris in the heart. Vyshegorod is 15 miles away from Kyiv. According to the legend of the Monk Nestor, St. Vladimir, having sent Boris to reign, kept Gleb with him. After the death of his father, St. Gleb, fearing violence from Svyatopolk, planned to flee north to his brother. After praying in the Church of the Holy Mother of God, he got into the boat and fled. This happened before the murder of Saint Boris. According to the legend of Rev. Nestor, the killers chased St. in a boat for a long time. Gleb. As they approached, St. Gleb, suspecting their malicious intent, begged his companions not to take up arms or resist, saying that if they submitted, they would simply take him to his brother, and if they resisted, they would chop everyone down. At the request of the saint, his companions landed on the shore, turning their gazes with pity to the blessed one, who remained in the middle of the river with the youths. The Roman Emperor Flavius ​​Claudius Julian the Apostate reigned from 361 to 363. He renounced Christianity and sought to restore paganism. He was killed in battle with the Persians and died with the words: “You have won, Galilean.” According to the legend of Nestor, the elder of the city, at the place where the body lay, saw Saint Gleb himself, shining like lightning. According to the legend of Nestor, the body of St. Gleb was found with the help of hunters. This Kiev church was founded in 1037. This happened on September 8, 1380. You might be interested in: