Lives of the Saints

Fundamental work of St. Demetrius of Rostov "Lives of the Saints" ("Cheti-Minea") is an extensive collection of hagiographic texts, organized by months and days of the church calendar, covering the lives of Orthodox saints, martyrs, reverends, prelates and other saints of God. The Months of the Hours and Menaions became generally accepted in the Russian Orthodox Church, and now forms the bulk of our church calendars. Work on the composition lasted more than 20 years (1684-1705). In 12 volumes (for each month of the year), the author systematized and processed materials from Greek, Latin, Polish and Church Slavonic sources: the Bollandist collection “Acta sanctorum”, “De probatis sanctorum historiis” by Lawrence Surius, the life of St. Simeon Metaphrast, the work of Peter Skarga “Żywoty świętych”, the Assumption list of the Great Menaion-Fours, the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, etc. The work contains 765 articles, not counting memories (short, often one-phrase notes about persons and events that are not the subject of larger articles): lives of saints, Words for major holidays (22 in total), synaxari for the Lord's, Mother of God and other holidays, individual historical discussions, 2 articles are devoted to calendar issues (March). According to the time and place of the asceticism of the saints, the lives are divided into four groups: the life and exploits of the Old Testament (24 lives), general Christian (571 lives), Russian (65 lives), Yugoslav (4 lives). Each life includes biographical information, descriptions of miracles and feats of faith, moral teachings (themes of faith, repentance, piety, the fight against sin, love for one's neighbor, the desire for holiness, anticipation of the Last Judgment). For each article, the saint used several sources, trying to collect as much information as possible, which he combined into one whole and added his own transcriptions. The collection also contains elements of scientific reference apparatus: links to sources, indications of similar plots in the lives and miracles of various saints, references that turn into research. The language of Chetyikh-Menya is not dry and academic, but lively, colorful, and addressed to the reader’s heart. The saint uses vivid images and metaphors taken from the Holy Scriptures, nature or everyday life. For example, a martyr is compared to a warrior winning a battle, or a farmer reaping a harvest. The Lives are replete with dialogues between the martyrs and their persecutors, between the saints and God. This brings the story to life and helps the reader “hear” the characters. Saint Demetrius aims not only to tell, but also to convince the reader of the truth of the faith and the need to imitate the saints. Thus, the speeches of the martyrs become theological treatises in miniature. In them, the saints prove the meaninglessness of idolatry, the truth of monotheism and the divinity of Christ. The author shows the inner world of the heroes: their struggle with fear, doubts, prayerful readiness and ultimate determination. The description of this internal struggle makes the saints relatable and understandable, and their victory worthy of emulation. "Lives of the Saints" by St. Demetrius of Rostov had a huge influence on the spiritual, cultural and literary life of the Russian people. They were the main source for daily reading in churches, monasteries and homes, shaping the religious consciousness of the people. In Synodal Russia they were used in schools and seminaries, forming a national identity based on Christian ideals. The publication presents the pre-revolutionary processing of labor into Russian, carried out under the editorship of V.O. Klyuchevsky in 1904-1911. Lives of saints in Russian, set out according to the guidance of the Chetyih-Menya of St. Dimitry Rostovsky Original (2010) Introduction • January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December On the same day, the memory of the Monk Sylvester of Pechersk, the successor of the chronicle after Nestor (the first Russian chronicler), who lived in the 12th century and rests incorrupt in the nearby Anthony Cave. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Theoctistus, abbot at Kukum of Sicelia (†800). On the same day the memory of the Monk Macarius, deacon of Pechersk 1. On the same day, the memory of the Holy Martyr Anastasius, deacon of Pechersk, who died at the end of the 12th century and rests in the cave of St. Anthony. On the same day, the memory of St. Theodosius of Totemsky On the same day, the memory of our venerable father Peter of Galatia, who died around 429. He is also remembered on February 22 and November 25 under the name of Peter the Stylite and the Silent. On the same day is the memory of the holy martyr Jador, who suffered under the emperor Decius 2. On the same day, the memory of the holy noble Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich 3. Transfer of the relics of the holy noble prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, and his boyar Theodore On the same day, the memory of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril, teacher of Slovenia On the same day the memory of the Monk Paphnutius and his daughter Euphrosyne On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Marcellus and Anthony, burned by fire for Christ. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Agathon, the hermit of Egypt, who died in the 5th century. On the same day, the memory of the martyr Troadius, a young man who suffered under King Decius in the city of Neocaesarea. On the same day, the memory of Saints Zenon and Zoilus, who died in the world. On the same day, the memory of the Venerable Piama the Virgin, who lived in the country of Egypt and had the gift of insight; died in 337. On the same day, the memory of Saint Gregory, bishop of the city of Constantia, on the island of Cyprus, died in peace. On the same day, the repose of the holy noble prince of Moscow Daniil Alexandrovich, in 1303. On the same day, the murder of the blessed Prince Vasily (Vasilka) Konstantinovich of Rostov by the Tatars, in 1238. Memory of the holy martyr Onisius, who lived and suffered at the same time as the martyr Conon of Isauria. Memory of the holy martyr Eulampios, beheaded by the sword. The memory of the holy martyr Iraida, the time and place of her death are unknown. Transfer of the relics of the holy noble prince Theodore of Smolensk and Yaroslavl, and his children David and Constantine, to the cathedral church of the Spaso-Yaroslavl Monastery. Memorial of Saints - September 19. The relics were found in 1463. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Christina, who suffered in the 4th century in Persida. On the same day, the repose of Saint Theognostus, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Julian of Anazauria, who suffered in Antioch, during the reign of Maximian, in the 3rd century. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Alexander, Pope of Rome, burned in the oven, by order of Emperor Hadrian, in the year 119, May 3. On the same day of repose, Saint Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, died in 1516. On the same day, the memory of our venerable father Zosima, Bishop of Syracuse. On the same day, the memory of Saint Evvula, mother of St. Panteleimon, who lived in the 3rd century. and died before the torment of her son (before 305). On the same day, the memory of our venerable father Macarius the Confessor, who suffered imprisonment and torture for the veneration of holy icons, and died in Afusia near Constantinople, around 830. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Gerontius and Basilides, who died by the sword, and the memory of the righteous Ahaz. On the same day, the murder of the holy martyr Abramius of Bulgaria, in 1299. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Illyricus the Wonderworker and the holy martyrs: Elpidiphoros, Diya, Visonia and Galika. On the same day the memory of St. George the Silent. On the same day, the memory of the venerable fathers Feona, Simeon and Forvin. On the same day, 120 martyrs in Persia, in the 4th century. burned by King Sapor. On the same day, the memory of Saint Methodius Equal to the Apostles On the same day, the memory of Saint Rufinus the deacon, the holy martyr Aquilina, and with them 200 soldiers who died in Sinope around 310. On the same day, the memory of our venerable father Daniil of Pereyaslavl. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs: Disaus the bishop, Mariav the presbyter, Avdies and the other 270 who suffered from the Persian king Sapor in 362–364. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs James the presbyter, Azadan and Avdikia the deacon, in Persia, suffered at Sapor around 380. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Farmufius, who lived in the 4th century. in the same desert where the Monk John Farmufius labored in a well and fed it. On the same day of remembrance of the venerable martyrs Menas, David and John, pierced by arrows from the Saracens in Palestine. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Leonidas and with him the holy women: Chariessa, Nunekhia, Vasilisa and Theodora, who suffered in Corinth and were drowned in the sea in 251. On the same day is the memory of our holy father Maximian, Patriarch of Constantinople, who ruled the Church during the reign of Theodosius the Younger, who reposed in peace for two and a half years in 481, April 12. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Queen Alexandra and the holy martyrs Anatoly and Protoleon. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Savva of Pechersk, who labored, in all likelihood, at the beginning of the 13th century. His relics are in the Anthony Caves. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Diodorus and Rhodopian the Deacon, who suffered under Diocletian, in Aphrodisia of Caria. On the same day, the memory of the Hieromartyr Macarius, Metropolitan of Kiev, who was killed by the Tatars in 1497 in the village of Strigolov, Minsk province, is celebrated. On the same day, the memory of Saint Isidore, Christ the Fool for the Fool, the Rostov Wonderworker, who reposed in 1474. On the same day, the memory of our venerable father Nikita, the recluse of Pechersk, then bishop of Novgorod, who died in 1108. On the same day, the memory of our father Isaiah, Bishop of Rostov, who reposed in 1090. On the same day, the murder of the holy noble Tsarevich Demetrius, the wonderworker of Moscow and all Russia, in 1591. On the same day, the memory of St. Isaiah the Wonderworker of Pechersk, who died in 1115. On the same day we commemorate our father George, Bishop of Mytilene, who was installed as a bishop in 842. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Vitus, Modest and Criscentia, who suffered during the reign of Diocletian. On the same day, the transfer of the relics of St. Ephraim of Perekop, the Novgorod wonderworker, who died on September 26, 1523, is celebrated. The transfer of the relics took place on May 16, 1545. On the same day, the memory of the Venerable Cornelius of Komel, the Vologda wonderworker, who died in 1537 in the Komel monastery he founded (5 versts from the city of Gryazovets), where his holy relics rest. On the same day, the repose of Saint Dovmont-Timothy, Prince of Moscow, in 1299. On the same day, the memory of the Venerable Cassian, the Greek miracle worker of Uglich, who died on October 2, 1504. On the same day, the discovery (in 1164) of the relics of Saint Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, wonderworker, is celebrated. On the same day, the memory of St. Paisius of Galich, former archimandrite of the Assumption Nikolaev Monastery (near the city of Galich), who died in 1460. On the same day, the third discovery of the venerable head of St. John the Baptist is celebrated (for this event, see under February 24) On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Averky and Elena, according to some monuments, children of the Apostle Alpheus. Saint Averky suffered for Christ, being tied naked among the bees and ulcerated by their stings; his sister Elena was killed with stones. On the same day, the discovery of the relics of St. Macarius of Kalyazin is celebrated. See his life under March 17 On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Theodotus of Ancyra, beheaded by the sword in 303 (see his life under May 18 On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs: Thekla, Martha and Mary, who suffered in Persia in 346. On the same day, the repose of St. Cyril, abbot of Belozersky, in 1427. On the same day, the repose of St. Arseny Konevsky, the Novgorod miracle worker, in 1447. On the same day, the repose of St. Onuphrius of Malsky in 1492. On the same day, the memory of the Venerables Onuphrius and Auxentius of Vologda, who labored at the end of the 15th century. and the beginning of the 16th century. On the same day, the memory of Saints Vassian and Jonah of Pertomin, who drowned in the White Sea in 1561. On the same day, the repose of St. Andronik of Moscow, in 1395. On the same day, we commemorate our father Jonah, likewise among the saints, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, wonderworker. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Tigrius the presbyter and the martyr Eutropius the reader, who suffered at the beginning of the 5th century in Constantinople. On the same day, the memory of St. Tikhon of Medyn (Kaluga). On the same day we commemorate the holy martyrs, the seven brothers according to the flesh Orentius, Pharnacias, Eros, Firmos, Firminus, Cyriacus and Longinus, warriors who suffered under Diocletian and Maximian on the shores of the Black Sea. On the same day, the memory of our holy father Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal, who died in 1384. On this day the memory of the Venerable Fathers Sergius and Herman, Valaam wonderworkers, who died around 1353. On the same day, the memory of St. Peter, Tsarevich of Horde, Rostov Wonderworker (d. June 29, 1290). On the same day, the repose of St. Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, in 1431. On the same day, the memory of St. Anatoly of Pechersk, in the 12th century. On this same day we commemorate our holy father Anthony, Patriarch of Constantinople, who died in 458. On the same day, the memory of the noble princes Vasily and Konstantin of Yaroslavl, in the 13th century. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Diomedes, Eulampius, Asklipiodotus and Golindukhi, who suffered under Trajan in the 2nd century. On the same day, the memory of Saints John and Longinus, Yarenga miracle workers, drowned in the White Sea and were found near the sea around 1544-1545. On the same day, the repose of Blessed John, the Fool of Moscow, in 1589. On the same day, the repose of St. Nicodemus of Kozheozersk (Khozyugsky), who died in 1640. On the same day, the transfer of the relics of St. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow On the same day, the celebration of the memory of the blessed Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, killed in 1174. On the same day the memory of the Venerable Lamp, the wonderworker of Irinopol. On the same day, the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius, abbot of Radonezh, wonderworker, in 1422. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Isaurian deacon, Innocent, Philix, Hermias, Basil and Peregrinus, who came from the city of Athens and suffered for the name of Christ at the hands of the military leader Tripontius in the Macedonian city of Apollonia, under the emperor Numerian (283-284). Together with them, two mayors Rufus and Rufinus were also beheaded. On the same day, the discovery of the honorable relics of St. Juliana the maiden, Princess Olshanskaya. On the same day, the repose of the Venerable Euphrosyne, in the world of Evdokia, Grand Duchess of Moscow, in 1407. On the same day, the memory of the righteous Procopius of Ustyansky. On the same day, the repose of the righteous Procopius of Ustyug, Christ for the sake of the holy fool, in 1303. On the same day, the memory of the Holy Hieromartyr Cyril (See about him on September 6 On the same day, the repose of the saints: Arseny of Novgorod (in 1570) and Simon of Volomsk (in 1641). On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Theodore the Varangian and his son John, killed in Kiev in 983. On the same day, the memory of the Venerable Martyr Onesimus the Wonderworker, who suffered under Diocletian and died in Asia Minor, in Magnesia. On the same day, the repose of St. Stephen of Makhrishche (1406), who founded a monastery on the site of Makhrishche, 12 versts from the city of Alexandrov, Vladimir province. On the same day, the repose of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir of Kiev (1015), in holy baptism Basil. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Avudimos, who suffered under Diocletian. On the same day, the transfer of the venerable relics of St. Lazarus, who fasted in the Galician mountain (his memory is celebrated on November 7 On the same day, the repose of the Venerable Irinarch, abbot of Solovetsky. On the same day, the repose of Saint Roman Olegovich, Prince of Ryazan, martyred in the Horde in 1270. On the same day, the discovery of the honorable relics of the holy martyr Athanasius of Brest. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Onuphrius the silent of Pechersk, who labored in the 12th century. On the same day, the repose of St. Macarius of Zheltovodsk in 1444. On the same day, the repose of Blessed Nicholas, Christ the Fool for the Fool, Kochanov in Veliky Novgorod in 1392. On the same day is the memory of the holy martyr Stephen, Pope of Rome, who died as a martyr in the year 257 on August 2 during the reign of Valerian. On the same day, the memory of Blessed Vasily, who labored in the Spasokamenny Monastery on Kubensky Island, Vologda County. On the same day of the repose of St. Anthony the Roman in Novgorod in 1147. On the same day, the memory of the Venerable Martyr Eudokia, who suffered in Persia at Sapor, around 362-364. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Eleutherius, who served as a bed-keeper (cuvicular) at the court of Maximian and, at his command, was beheaded by the sword for Christ. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs: Cantidius and Cantidian, stoned in Egypt, and Sivelus, killed in Egypt with arrows. On the same day, the memory of the holy righteous Nonna, mother of the saint On the same day, the memory of St. Job Ushchelsky, who founded a monastery in the village of Ushchelye in the Arkhangelsk province and was killed by robbers in 1628 on August 5 and buried on the 6th. On the same day, the memory of St. Gregory, an icon painter of Pechersk in the 12th century, resting in the Anthony Cave. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Eleutherius and Leonidas, thrown into the fire for confessing Jesus Christ. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Gregory of Sinai, who lived during the reign of Michael IX Palaeologus and Andronicus, kings of the Greeks, who wrote many spiritual books and died in the first half of the 14th century. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Psoi, a disciple of Pachomius the Great, who asceticised in Egypt in the 4th century. On the same day, the repose of blessed Lawrence Christ for the sake of the holy fool of Kaluga in 1515. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Pamphilus and Kapiton. On the same day, the transfer of the venerable relics of our venerable father Maximus the Confessor, commemorated on the 21st day of January On the same day, the discovery of the relics of Blessed Maxim of Moscow, Christ for the Fool's sake. On the same day, the repose (in 1783) and the discovery (in 1861) of the relics of our holy father Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh, the Wonderworker of Zadonsk. On the same day, the memory of the Monk Arkady, disciple of Ephraim of Novotorzh. On the same day is the memory of the holy martyr Marcellus, Bishop of Apamia, who was burned about 389 by idolaters for the destruction of a pagan temple. On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs: Paul and Juliana, his sister; their memory is celebrated on the fourth day of the month of March (under this date their suffering is also described in detail). On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs: Thirsus, Leucius and their squads, who suffered under the emperor Decius (249–251) in Caesarea Bithynia; Their memory is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the month of December (under this date one can also read the story of their suffering). On the same day, the memory of the holy patriarchs of Constantinople John and George. John was patriarch from 669 to 674, George from 678 to 683, both under Emperor Constantine Pogonatus (668–685). On the same day, the memory of the Venerable Abramius the hardworking Pechersk, who labored in the Anthony Cave approx. XII century On the same day, the memory of the Monk Abramius, the Smolensk miracle worker (died in the first half of the 13th century). On the same day, the memory of Saint George Limneot, confessor who labored under the iconoclast emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717–741). On the same day, the memory of the Monk Arseny of Komel, the Vologda miracle worker, who died in 1550. On the same day, the transfer of the relics of St. Peter, Metropolitan, Wonderworker of All Russia (in 1479). On the same day, the memory of the Monk Sava, in Venefaleh (this area and the time of life of the Monk Sava are unknown). On the same day, the memory of the holy martyr Anfisa, who was thrown into a well for confessing the name of Christ (the time of her exploits and the place of her death are unknown). On the same day, the discovery of the relics of the holy noble prince Daniil Alexandrovich of Moscow, in 1652. His relics rest in the Moscow Danilov Monastery (the repose of the holy blessed Prince Daniel is commemorated on March 4). On the same day, the memory of the holy martyrs Evventius and Maxim the warriors. About them, see September 5, where Evventiy is otherwise called Iuventin. On the same day, the suffering of the martyr Marinus the Elder, who suffered under Diocletian in the city of Tarsus. On the same day, the memory of the holy seven youths of Ephesus: Maximinian, Jamblichus, Martinian, Dionysius, Antoninus, Constantine (Exacustodian) and John. Their memory is celebrated on August 4. In 1870 it was said that St. the youths died on August 4, and awakened under Tsar Theodosius the Younger on October 22. On the same day, the memory of the martyr Mark and those like him who were killed after various torments for preaching about Christ in Asia. On the same day, the memory of the Holy Blessed Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy On the same day, the memory of Saint Mitrofan, the first bishop of Voronezh The Menaion-Cheti of St. Demetrius of Rostov has long been and invariably served as a favorite reading for the Russian Orthodox people. Set out in Slavic language, the Menaion-Cheti were distributed in numerous copies during the 17th and 19th centuries. Their printing continues to this day, and demands for them do not stop. But in recent years, along with these demands, the Moscow Synodal Printing House began to receive statements about the desire to have Menaion-Cheti in Russian. The number of such statements is increasing every year, which serves as clear evidence of the urgent need for such a publication. To satisfy this need, the Manager of the Moscow Synodal Printing House, S. D. Voit, took upon himself the responsibility for publishing the Menaion-Cheteyh translated into Russian. His petition for this, having met with enlightened sympathy and energetic support from Mr. Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K. P. Pobedonostsev, his comrade P. I. Ostroumov, was crowned with success, and in May 1900 the Holy Synod allowed the Moscow Synodal Printing House to begin the first edition of the Menaion-Chetiy in Russian. To produce this extensive publication, a Commission was established at the Moscow Printing House, which included many clergy and secular persons, mainly with higher theological education 1*. The Chairman of the Commission is His Eminence Parthenius, Bishop of Mozhaisk, who, according to the definition of the Holy Synod, is entrusted with the censorship of the new edition of the Menaion-Chetiy. According to the developed plan, the publication is based on the text of the Menaion-Chetih of St. Demetrius. In addition, in those cases when the Menaion only indicates the memory of a saint, information about him is borrowed from the Prologue. The text of the lives of the saints is accompanied by various explanatory notes. The publication will also include the lives of locally revered Russian, South Slavic and Georgian saints. As for the Russian saints, the Commission will have to compile many lives again, using for this purpose the manuscripts located in various libraries and monasteries of our fatherland. Since the compilation of new lives requires lengthy research and relations with various institutions, in order not to delay the publication of the long-awaited edition, it was decided to print the lives of Russian saints as they are produced in separate editions, which will then be combined into special third books, additional to the four months, but for now the next monthly books will include the complete and intermediate lives found in the Menaion-Cheti of Demetrius of Rostov. In the selection and processing of hagiographic material when compiling the lives of Russian saints, the Commission uses the instructions of the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and Moscow University V. O. Klyuchevsky. Professor of the same University M.I. Sokolov also takes part in the publication, who took upon himself the work of compiling the lives of Russian saints - Rostov-Yaroslavl and some Slavic saints. Editorial work on the publication of the Menya-Chetykh was entrusted to the assistant manager of the printing house A. S. Orlov and the printing house director A. N. Solovyov. “The lives and praises of the saints are like the lordship of the stars: just as the stars, established by their position in heaven, enlighten the whole under heaven, they are always visible from the Indians, nor are they hidden from the Scythians, they illuminate the earth, and they give light to the sea, and they guide sailing ships; Even though we don’t know many of their names, we still wonder about their bright kindness. The beauty and lordship of the saints, even if the essence of their relics are shut up in tombs, but their powers in the heavenly places on earth are not defined: we marvel at their lives and are amazed at the glory with which God glorifies those who please Him.” Remember your teachers who preached the word of God to you, and, looking at the end of their lives, imitate their faith Stories and records about the life and deeds of holy ascetics and confessors, who pleased God with various deeds, have existed in the Christian Church since the first times of its existence. The beginning of these stories was laid by the holy evangelist Luke, who described in the book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles the exploits and sufferings of the chief disciples of our Savior and His other followers. Somewhat earlier, the holy Apostle Paul, in one of his Epistles, gave Christians the commandment to remember their mentors, who sealed faith in Christ with their lives and martyrdom. Following the example of the divinely inspired narrator and observing the commandment of the supreme apostle, Christians have always carefully preserved information about the lives and deeds of the saints. The first in time were records and legends about the holy martyrs. In the spread and establishment of Christianity, martyrdom was very important. The firmness and steadfastness of the sufferers, who courageously went to death for their faith, had such a strong effect on the hearts of the pagans that often the torturers themselves, seeing the resignation of their victims, turned to Christianity. Thus, the blood of Christian martyrs was, in Tertullian's expression, the seed of new Christians. Precisely recording the days of the death of the holy martyrs, Christians gathered on these days to celebrate their memory. “Note the days,” Saint Cyprian of Carthage wrote to his clergy, “on which confessors of Christ die, so that we have the opportunity to celebrate their memory along with the memory of the martyrs.” For this purpose, the Christian Church had special scribes who wrote down everything that happened to Christians in prisons and courts. As is known, during the first persecution of Christians, such scribes were installed in various districts of Rome by Saint Clymaine. Despite the fact that the pagan government threatened these scribes with the death penalty, writing continued uninterrupted throughout the persecution of Christians 2*. These records, in which one can sometimes find detailed information about the questions of the torturer judges and the answers of the sufferers to them, are known as acts of martyrdom. Among such acts there are entire court cases compiled during the trial of the martyrs. These are copies of official court records, which Christians purchased from pagans at a high price. The days of the death of the martyrs were celebrated not only in those churches to which these martyrs belonged, but also in all others, since the Christians of each church informed other churches about the martyrs, among them the victims. So the Church of Smyrna, in which Saint Polycarp suffered martyrdom, sent a message about this to the Church of Philadelphia and asked that this message be passed on to other churches. Descriptions of the sufferings of the holy martyrs were highly respected. They were read in church meetings following the Holy Scriptures. As can be concluded from the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer, this custom already existed in the 2nd century. The ancient life of the martyr Eustratius also indicates the time for reading the sufferings of the saints - precisely at Matins after the singing of psalms. And in 418, the Council of Carthage decreed a rule - on the days of remembrance of the martyrs, read in church about their suffering. When the persecution of Christians stopped, and the Church of Christ took a dominant position in the state, caring and prudent people appeared in it, setting themselves the goal of collecting together all the records and stories about the martyrs. The first of these collectors was Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea 3*. He first collected the lives of the Palestinian martyrs who suffered under the emperor Diocletian. Then, according to legend, he turned to Constantine the Great with a request to write out acts of martyrdom from all judicial institutions of the Greco-Roman Empire. By imperial decree, all such cases were sent to Eusebius, and he, on the basis of these acts, compiled the “Collection of Ancient Martyrs.” The collection contained stories about martyrs, bishops, confessors, holy wives and virgins from all dioceses. It consisted, according to some, of twenty, and according to others, of sixteen books. But already at the beginning of the 7th century, Eusebius’s collection was such a rarity that copies from it could not be found either in the Alexandrian or Roman Churches. It is not surprising after this that the work of Eusebius in its entirety has not reached us, and only some of its parts can be found in other writers. In all likelihood, the book of Eusebius, soon after its appearance, was distributed and supplemented by subsequent collectors and compilers of lives, so that it soon lost its original form and the name of its first compiler. In addition, due to the difficulty and high cost of copying the entire book of Eusebius, it was divided into parts, which are found in later times in the writing of different countries. In addition to Eusebius, Saint Marufa, Bishop of Mesopotamia, is known for collecting together the lives of saints. He described the sufferings of the martyrs who suffered in Persia with historical accuracy. “As for,” says Saint Marufa, “the martyrs, whose torments, sentences and deaths I described, I myself was an eyewitness to some of them, since they suffered in my time. I wrote the history of the earlier martyrs according to the narrative of elderly bishops and truth-loving, trustworthy presbyters, who themselves were eyewitnesses of the acts of the martyrs that took place in their time.” Having spread and established His Church with the blood of the martyrs, who testified with courageous patience and countless sufferings to the truth of their faith 4 *, our Lord Jesus Christ indicated other ways for the salvation and glorification of His followers. After severe persecutions that shook but did not destroy the Church of Christ, the Lord gave it peace and tranquility and at that time revealed His new saints in it. Among Christians, great ascetics arose, some became famous for their teaching and preaching of the word of God, some for the holiness of their lives and instructing others in virtues, some for fasting and voluntary mortification of the body and passions, some for various other works and deeds. Just as the sufferings of the Christian martyrs were carefully and in detail described, so the works of the new ascetics were not left in oblivion. A new series of church stories about the saints of God has appeared. We find these narratives, in addition to some church historical works, in various more or less brief collections, such as patericon, synaxarion and the like 5*. A number of Greek patericons, which went under the general name πατερικα, γερονιτικα, μοναχικα βιβλια, were compiled during the 15th–16th centuries. The most famous of them: 1) The Great Limonar 6* Egyptian, which has not survived to us, from which the Skete and Alphabet patericons (sayings of the holy elders) originated; 2) Lavsaik, which tells about the Egyptian ascetics, whose lives were described in the 5th century by an eyewitness, Bishop Palladius, for the ruler of Cappadocia, Lavs; 3) History of the God-lovers, that is, Syrian ascetics, compiled by Theodoret of Cyrus († 457); 4) An Interview (or Dialogue), containing stories about the life and miracles of the Italian ascetics, written around 593 by Saint Gregory the Great, who was called the Double-Speaker from this work, and one hundred and sixty-five years after that translated from Latin into Greek; 5) Spiritual Meadow, containing the sayings, miracles and exploits of the venerable fathers of Palestine, Egypt and Syria, collected by the monk John Moschus († 622). All of the listed monuments - acts of martyrdom, collections of information about ascetics and others - served as the basis for monthly books, synaxarions and Menaion-Fours, that is, readings about the lives and exploits of saints arranged by month. The following are known from the Greek monthly books and synaxarions: 1) Book of Months, compiled by the will of Emperor Vasily (in the 10th–11th centuries); 2) Petrov Synaxarion, older in composition than Vasily’s Mesyatslov (eldest manuscript 1249); 3) Claromontanian Synaxarion of the 11th–12th centuries, similar in composition to the Petrovian Synaxarion. In addition, there were two types of verse synaxarions, so named because before each legend they contained two or three verses in honor of the saints. The verse synaxari were compiled in the 12th–13th centuries on the basis of the mentioned non-stish ones. According to Theodore the Studite, at the end of the 8th century, twelve books of Menaion-Chets already existed in the Christian Church. Their content was varied. In addition to the lives, they began to include the words of the most famous Church Fathers on great holidays. Some acts of martyrdom or ancient tales about ascetics began to be transformed into words of praise. In addition, some ancient lives began to be presented in a new, more elegant and beautiful style. In this last type of work, the famous Symeon Metaphrastus surpassed everyone with his works. On behalf of Emperor Constantine 7 *, he had, as far as possible, to collect all the ancient lives and arrange them by month and date. Driven by great zeal for the glory of the holy ascetics, Simeon not only collected stories about them, but reworked many of them, partially shortened them and, most importantly, replaced the ancient, difficult and largely incomprehensible speech with a pure and better syllable that was modern to him 8 *. Some of the lives reworked by Simeon number about five hundred. In addition, one hundred and twenty-two biographies were compiled by him again. To the lives of the saints, Metaphrastus added laudatory and instructive words on the feasts of the Lord, the Mother of God and some saints, selected from the works of the great fathers and teachers of the Church. Both in the ancient Christian and in the Russian Church, the custom of reading the lives of saints during church services was strictly observed. More common was the reading at Matins, according to the sixth song of the canon, following the kontakion and ikos, with which the short life prologue had a very close relationship 9*. As a result, the Prologue in the Slavic translation already existed in the Russian Church very early on. Initially it was called synaxarion, then, based on its first article - πρόλογος, that is, preface - it was called prologue. There were three types of Slavic prologues. The first is based on the Greek monthbook of Emperor Basil, supplemented in the second half of the 11th century by the Studian monk Elijah (in memory of Peter's synaxarion) and Constantine, Metropolitan of Mokisia (sixty-five lengthy legends). The second type of prologue was compiled by the Slavs on the basis of the first and the ancient Mena-Cheti. The third is verse, translated in the 14th century from the oldest form of Greek verse Prologue 10*. The Slavic translation of the Menaion-Cheteih should also be attributed to the first centuries of Slavic writing. True, from this time all twelve books of the Menaion-Chetei have not survived: namely, from the 11th century one March book in the South Slavic list has survived, from the 12th century - an excerpt from the May 11 *. But based on the lists of the 15th century (there are no 13th and 14th centuries), which are repeated by the very ancients, one should think that in the 10th–11th centuries the Slavs had a complete translation of the Menaion-Chetiy for all twelve months. The Slavic translation was made from the Greek Mena, which was slightly influenced by the revisions of Metaphrastus. Patericons appeared very early in Slavic translations. In Slavic manuscripts, for the most part, the name of the patericon of Skitsky is used, indifferently for patericons of various compositions, although Limonar in most cases is called the patericon of Sinai, or Tsvetnik. Russian manuscripts of the Patericon of Sinai and Skete date back to the 12th–13th centuries and were known to many writers of the 13th century. Since the 16th century, patericons have been preserved in many lists and were widely used. For the first time in Rus', the patericon - Spiritual Meadow was published in 1628. The Interview of Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov was translated in 1671 by Simeon of Polotsk. In ancient times, solemniki (βιβλία πανηγυρικά) were translated from Greek into Slavic. They are divided into two types. The first - Menaion - in the order of its articles is adjacent to the Monthly Menaions; it is its articles that are arranged in the order of holidays by month and date of the whole year, starting from September. This type contains words of praise for the Lord's and Theotokos' feasts, lives of saints and legends about the origin of holidays and church celebrations. The second type of solemnism - Triode - has articles arranged in the order of the Triodion of Lenten and Colored, that is, by week, from the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee to the Week of All Saints. Most of the articles of this type consist of teachings regarding the meaning of the week, and a few words of praise. The Menaion solemnism, translated in Bulgaria, came to Rus' very early, for there is a Russian copy of it dating back to the 12th century. The history of changes in the Menaion ceremonial in Russia boils down mainly to: 1) to the reduction of Greek Lives, 2) to replenish with Russian articles, 3) to merge with the Triode solemnist. In the 18th century, a new one was compiled, based on the model of the ancient Menain solemnities, partly on the basis of printed prologues and the Gospels. The Solemn Triodny was also translated into Bulgaria. The change in the ceremonial of this kind in Russia comes down to: 1) to the addition of the words of Cyril, Bishop of Turov (12th century), and 2) to the introduction in the 15th century of the words of Gregory Tsamblak (the oldest manuscript in the library of Count Uvarov, 1473–1477 12*). At the same time, with the gradual growth of the Russian Church, the biographies of Russian saints gradually multiplied. The first compilers of these were: Jacob Chernorizets (Mnikh) (1074–1088), to whom the life of Saints Boris and Gleb belongs, and the Monk Nestor, who wrote two legends - one about Saints Boris and Gleb, and the other about the Monk Theodosius of Pechersk. In the writing of the 15th century, the Pechersk Patericon appears, compiled in imitation of the Greek patericons 13*. It was a collection of short, miracle-filled stories about the ascetics of the Pechersk Monastery and about the monastery itself. The patericon is based on the stories of Bishop Simon of Vladimir 14* and the monk of the Pechersk Monastery Polycarp. Simon's fourteen tales are written in the form of a letter to Polycarp. Nine of them tell about the miracle workers of Pechersk and five about the miracles that accompanied the construction of the main Pechersk church. The collection of Simon's tales, based on his own stories, was supplemented by Polycarp, who wrote eleven stories, also in the form of a letter to Archimandrite Akindinus of Pechersk. These main parts of the patericon were subsequently supplemented, together with some later articles, by works of an earlier time: the life of St. Theodosius, written by Nestor, placed at the head of the patericon, and the legends “for the sake of which it was called the Pechersk Monastery” and about the first monks of the Pechersk, taken from the Primary Chronicle and attributed in the patericon to the same Nestor, but compiled by some tonsured and disciple of the monk Theodosius, probably Sylvester, who was then abbot of the St. Michael's Monastery in Kyiv. The numerous copies of the Pechersk Patericon that have reached us testify that it was the favorite book of our ancestors 15*. The lives of Russian saints at first had primarily the character of a record, or “memory,” of a saint. It was a dry, condensed story, only occasionally enlivened by the speech of the character or borrowing from the Bible. But with the proliferation of translated Greek lives and especially under the influence of church oratory works, such as words of praise and teachings on the feasts of saints, from the 15th century the lives of Russian saints take on a new look. The first of these works was the life of St. Peter the Metropolitan, compiled by St. Cyprian. “Praise is due to the righteous,” says the compiler in the preface to the life, “and I, attracted by love for the shepherd, want to bring some small praise to the saint.” With such a view of the biography of the saint, as a word of praise to him, Cyprian found the previous life of St. Peter too simple and dry, not meeting such a task. Therefore, he wrote again a more detailed and florid life, ending it with a solemn word of praise to the saint. This new direction in the field of the lives of Russian saints was further confirmed and developed by the monk Epiphanius 16*. In the lives of Stefan of Perm and Sergius of Radonezh, compiled by him, oratorical techniques were used in abundance and scope was given to “good speech”, or eloquence. The most prominent figure in compiling the lives of Russian saints was Pachomius Logothetes 17*. In the church world of contemporary Rus', he was considered a representative of book learning, surpassing everyone in intelligence and wisdom. Therefore, the Grand Duke, the Metropolitan, the Bishop of Novgorod, and the abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery - all turned to Pachomius with a request to write about this or that saint. In his works, Pachomius established that monotonous literary form of hagiography, which was later much imitated by Russian “writers” of hagiographies. A new era in the history of Russian hagiography is constituted by the activities of Metropolitan Macarius 18*. His time was generally rich in new lives of Russian saints. This abundance is explained by the canonization of many saints at the Councils of 1547 and 1549. After the first of these Councils, the diocesan bishops collected the lives, canons and miracles of the new great miracle workers and, having witnessed them at the Council of 1549, established the celebration of many newly-minted Russian saints according to these lives and canons. But Macarius's main business was his Great Menaion-Cheti. While still the Archbishop of Novgorod, Macarius took upon himself the task of collecting all the spiritual literature of his time or, in his own words, “all the books that can be found in the Russian land.” Macarius himself speaks about this work of his: “I wrote these holy great books in Veliky Novgorod, as I was an archbishop there, and I wrote and collected them and collected them in one place for twelve years 19*, with many estates and many different clerks, not sparing silver and all sorts of honors, but even more so, much work was required from correction foreign and ancient proverbs, translating into Russian speech, and as much as God has gifted us to understand, we can correct them as much as we can, but some remain uncorrected in them to this day and this is left to us who are able to correct them with God’s help.” In Moscow, Macarius expanded his collection with a significant number of works that were not part of its original Novgorod composition. The content of the Makaryevsky Menya-Cheteys is very diverse. In them, under each number, two prologues are placed 20 *, containing brief information about the life or torment of the saint, about the day's holiday and various small articles of edifying reading that are not related to the day's holiday; then detailed lives of saints are placed, narratives about the discovery of relics, which previously existed in numerous collections or separately, words of praise and solemnity, placed in special collections called solemnists. In addition, the Makaryevsky Menaions contain other works of spiritual literature known at that time, most of the books of Holy Scripture, many works of the holy fathers, as well as Slavic and Russian hierarchs and spiritual writers, patericon (between them and the Kiev-Pechersk) and the like 21 *. In general, it was a complete encyclopedia of Russian spiritual education of that time. In 1600, in the Moscow Miracle Monastery, they completed the compilation of the Chetya-Minea, in thirteen books, “before the month of November was braided in two.” Currently, only eleven books have survived. Their content is defined as follows in the introduction to each month: “And in them are written festive words and prophetic sermons, and apostolic torments and praises, and the lives of all the saints, and the torment of the holy martyr and holy martyrs, and the lives and deeds of the saints and God-bearing fathers, and the holy reverend wives, the sufferings and deeds of the saints, and with the new wonderworkers, and in them is the Patericon of Kyiv pechers, and other books...” Among the latter, by the way, are the Patericon of Sinai and the Roman Interlocutor of Pope Gregory the Great. The Chudovskys are distinguished from the Chety-Menya of Metropolitan Macarius by the absence of prologues and less borrowing from the celebrations; There are also new articles that were not included in Macarius’s collection. A century later than the Makaryevsky Menaion, in 1627–1632, the Menaion-Cheti of the monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery German Tulupov were compiled. They included almost exclusively the lives and tales of Russian saints. Almost at the same time, the priest of the Church of the Nativity in Sergiev Posad, John Milyutin, was working on the Menaions. With his three children, over the course of eight years (1646–1654), he rewrote the lives of the saints. “The Scriptures,” he says in the preface, “are from the monastic Menaion-Chetiy,” that is, from the Menaion of the Trinity Lavra, compiled by German Tulupov. Some additions are made from the printed Prologue of 1642–1643. John Milyutin not only collected articles, but also revised them. In his Menaions there are many articles and lives of Russian saints, which are not in the Makaryevsky Menaions. In the afterword to each month the following quatrain is placed: “The height of the heavens is untestable, the breadth and longitude of the earth is intangible, the depth of the sea is immeasurable, the miracles of the saints are innumerable and incomprehensible” 22 *. While in northern Rus' the monuments of ancient writing and among them the lives of saints were preserved unharmed, the South Russian Church, as a result of the Tatar invasions, as well as Polish and Lithuanian devastation, was deprived of many precious spiritual books, and along with them the lives of the saints. Therefore, lovers of soul-saving reading here had to be content with Western martyrologies, translated into Polish and largely disagreeing with the spirit of Orthodoxy. Wanting to eliminate such sad inconveniences, Kiev Metropolitan Peter Mogila 23 * was very concerned about publishing the lives of saints in the Slavic language. For this purpose, he decided to make a new translation of Greek biographies and had already copied the lives of Symeon Metaphrastus from Mount Athos. But the premature death of the famous Kyiv high priest did not allow him to complete his planned work. After him, Archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Innocent Gisel 24* took great care in publishing the lives of the saints. In addition to the materials for this work, already prepared by Peter Mogila, Innocent asked the Moscow Patriarch Joachim for the great Menaion-Cheti of Macarius, the first three months of which were sent to him. But due to the military turmoil of that time, which did not allow him to calmly engage in scientific affairs, Innocent was not destined to accomplish this great deed. His successor, Archimandrite Varlaam 25*, fully sympathizing with the proposed publication of the lives of the saints, made every effort to implement it. He did not dare, however, to take on this work himself, but began to look for a person more capable of this and less distracted by other matters. His choice fell on the monk of the Baturinsky Krupitsky monastery Dimitri (in the world Daniil Tuptalo) and constituted an era in the history of Russian hagiography. A gifted and unusually hardworking and modest student of the Kyiv School, forced by military circumstances to leave him before completing the course, Dimitri took monasticism in his early youth. Having left school early, he maintained a living connection with the religious mood of the people and sensitively understood their spiritual needs. With a penchant for solitude and a contemplative direction of spirit, with an ardent love for scientific pursuits, Demetrius found enough leisure in the monastery to independently complete the education he began at school and to cultivate his wonderful talents. When Archimandrite Varlaam approached him with his proposal, Demetrius was already a famous preacher in Western Rus', whom bishops and monasteries vied with each other to listen to his sincere words. Demetrius began the work entrusted to him, as he began any important undertaking, with selfless enthusiasm and distrust of his own strength. “The hardworking man began,” Archimandrite Varlaam wrote about him, “even after long, humble denial, placing his hope in God’s help and in the prayers of the Most Pure Life of the Mother and all the saints, to complete the work entrusted to him.” From the narrative of Demetrius himself it is clear that he sometimes sat at work until matins, which continued in his dreams, in significant visions 26 *. Saint Demetrius began his great work in 1684. In 1685, the final subordination of the Kyiv Metropolis, which until that time had been dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople, to the Moscow Patriarchate took place. The latter immediately demanded that all the most important actions of hierarchical and scientific enterprises in the Kyiv Metropolis take place only with his blessing. In view of this, when the next quarter of the Macariev Menaia was required for Saint Demetrius (months: December, January and February), Archimandrite Varlaam, asking the patriarch to send these books, promised to submit new biographies of the saints to him for blessing and revision. Soon, however, the patriarch demanded that Menaia be sent back. Sending the required books to Moscow by express, Saint Demetrius sent the following letter to the Patriarch (1688): “Before your Holiness, our father and archpastor, and I am the sheep of your pasture, even the last, and the least known, by this evil writing of mine (I couldn’t do it on my own) I come and fall at the feet of your saints, so that I may be worthy of my most holy Archpastor, known and proclaimed to be by name... Your Holiness... deigned to write about books... Those books in the Baturinsky monastery are still held in my unworthy hands and with attention. Having received many benefits from them and having agreed with the lives of the saints written in them, I give them to your shrines with thanksgiving and acknowledge, as in holy obedience, handed over to me from the Little Russian Church, with God’s help I labored, according to my strength in the weakness that is accomplished, prescribed by the great blessed Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, books and from other Christian historians, he wrote the lives of the saints for six months, starting from September of the first day until the last February, consistent with the saints in those great books in all the stories and stories and deeds done by the saints, in their labors and sufferings. And the already written lives of the saints are mostly discussed by some noble people, and especially in the Holy Lavra of Pechersti. Now, according to the good will and desire of many, we would like to publish, for the spiritual benefit of Christians, for this reason we are especially excited by frequent writings from the Most Reverend Archimandrite of Pechersk. For such a matter, the Church of God (as I think) is not indecent, I seek your supreme archpastoral blessing. Yes, guided, instructed and supported by your archpastoral blessing, I will be able to complete the work set before me well, giving to the church’s reasoning and publishing these six written months, even when with God’s help and blessing of your archpastoral they are completed and published, then (if the Lord pleases and we are alive) we will also strive for the rest and beat your Holiness with our forehead Let’s talk about other holy books.” However, there was no response to this letter. Then the next year, 1689, the Kiev Lavra began printing the first quarter of the Menaion-Chetei and completed it in the same year, taking on the costs and responsibility. Contrary to his promise, Archimandrite Varlaam did not send the patriarch the manuscripts prepared for publication, but left their final consideration to himself and the cathedral elders. The Patriarch immediately sent an accusatory letter, in which he expressed his displeasure for printing the book without his consideration and blessing, pointed out several errors in the publication and ordered that those sheets on which there were errors be replaced with other corrected ones and henceforth, without his permission, no other books of the Menaion-Chets should be printed. These reproaches, however, applied only to publishers. As for the compiler of the Menaion, at the end of the same 1689 he personally received a blessing from the patriarch to continue his work. And the next year, 1690, Varlaam, already Metropolitan of Kiev, brought Demetrius from Moscow a blessing and a letter of commendation from the new Patriarch Adrian. In his grateful response, Saint Demetrius asked the patriarch to send him again the Makaryevsky Menaions for December, January and February. “If your archpastorship had deigned,” he wrote, “to have consented for the sake of the holy lives we are writing, and commanded you to send these holy books of the three spoken months for a time to my unworthiness, I would have endeavored, with the help of God, having sat down with them overnight, to draw many benefits and publish them into the world.” Having received the requested books, Saint Demetrius soon prepared for publication the second quarter of the Menaion (December, January and February) and on May 9, 1692 he himself brought it to the printing house of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. But the book was published only in February 1695. The reason for this slowness was probably the careful revision of these books by Metropolitan Varlaam. In addition, the compiler himself, having received the “Bolland books” from Danzig, wanted to compare the text prepared for publication with them and process it more carefully. In the preface to the second quarter of the Chety-Menya, Saint Demetrius corrected some dubious passages and errors of the first. The books were sent to Moscow to the patriarch, to whom Saint Demetrius wrote, among other things, that he was bringing the book as a sign of thanksgiving for the great mercy of the archpastor, who was deigned to encourage the “unworthy” compiler with a written blessing, so that he would strive to fulfill the obedience entrusted to him, working with his strength on the writing of the lives of the saints and “submitting what I write to church reasoning, much more to the God-wise Bishop, His Eminence Metropolitan of Kyiv Varlaam. This is your archpastoral blessing,” Saint Demetrius further wrote, “I dared to put a new one into this book for the sake of its better decoration and the undoubted likelihood of the holy miraculous deeds contained in it, from Saint Symeon Metaphrastus and many other historiographers collected.” Saint Demetrius asked the same blessing from the Patriarch for the next, third part of the book, so that Metropolitan Varlaam of Kiev “would read judiciously, even as a sinful imam, hastening to the Lord, with your archpastoral blessing, write, just as he read the first two three-month books, and about this your Holiness was pleased with his especially to write to your Eminence. To the task before me and the great Menaion-Fours of Blessed Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, who are found in the cathedral cathedral of your Holiness’s church, for three months - March, April, May - earnestly demanding, I humbly pray, led your Holiness to send those to me for a while, just like the first months we send me byah, consent for the sake of writing holy lives." After this, Saint Demetrius received a new letter of approval from Patriarch Adrian, who wrote: “We pray to the Lord, and for the rest of the six months, to support all of your son’s love in some way, working with discretion to accomplish and finally bring this work pleasing to God and the Church, useful to the Church, and we give blessings for this again and again. You, as a son of the Church and our measured Christians, for the sake of the common good and our petition, strive... for eternal glory and in the eternal memory of those who conceived them from the beginning, for we wish that in health and well-being and well-being... you will live a perfect life and be counted worthy in heaven in the divinely appointed face of the saints before the Lord.” Delighted and encouraged, Demetrius began to prepare for publication the third quarter of the Menaion-Chetei, which was printed in 1700. The last quarter was completed in Rostov, among the great archpastoral works, and was published in September 1705. The Menaion-Chetih of St. Demetrius, in addition to the biographies of the saints, included the synaxari for the feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, for the festivities on the occasion of the transfer of relics, as well as instructive words, the content of which is borrowed from the history of the holiday; these words belong either to one of the ancient fathers of the Church, or to Saint Demetrius himself. As can be seen from the two lists of “teachers, writers, historians and narrators” placed before the first and second quarter of the Menaion-Chetih, Saint Demetrius used many and different sources. These lists contain a long series of the most famous fathers and teachers of the Church, whose writings have come down to us in Greek or Latin - ancient church historians and many contemporaries and eyewitnesses of the events described. In addition, Saint Demetrius, even in his Lives, indicates the sources he used. In these particular indications the name of Symeon Metaphrastus appears most often. As for the lives of Russian and Slavic saints, Saint Demetrius borrowed them from the Makaryev Menaion-Chetey, Prologues, Pechersk Patericon and various collections of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and other Russian monasteries. In addition to the listed manuals, Saint Demetrius had at hand the “Lives of the Saints” by Surius 27 * and the “Acts of the Saints”, published by the Bollandists 28 *. The first of these works was important because it contained the lives of those known by the name of Metaphrastus, and the second, which appeared much later than the first, contained the Greek originals of the stories about the saints. When composing his Menaion-Chetia, Saint Demetrius often literally translated the original narratives into the Slavic language or corrected the ancient Slavic speech in order to make it understandable, without any changes in content. But for the most part he had to compose stories from various sources. In such cases, bringing together various materials into one whole, Saint Demetrius either supplemented what was missing in one source from another, or changed the form of the original, turning, for example, a funeral or laudatory word into a simple historical story, or cited the evidence of other historians to confirm the story, or only indicated them. Very often Saint Demetrius shortened the original text. The abbreviations consisted of omitting prefaces and conclusions, and sometimes even some details in the description of the events and circumstances of the saint’s life. Recognizing these reductions as necessary, Demetrius speaks about it this way in the preface to the second quarter of his Menaion-Chetiy: “Everything written in this book, like in the first, is written in abbreviation, and like from the great flooded rivers, from the history of many churches in a small vessel, this book was drawn. If anyone had wanted to write all the holy deeds, stories and miracles in a single, outstretched speech, then his entire life would not have been enough for him, even as the ancient church writer happened. In addition to this, and for the sake of human weakness, everything was written here, so that the life of some saint in his memory could be read without laziness. Even if people are weakened by a short word, they do not bother to honor or listen, even more so if they read for a long time and become cold. The essence of the lives of many saints is so extensive in the great Readings and in other handwritten books with an abundance of words written, as if it is barely possible to read anything from them in two or three days, even if one diligently honors them. Therefore, for the sake of guilt, it has been reduced to this book, which describes the single action of the saints, but leaves the excess of words and speeches to continue.” Even while the saint was busy with the last book of the Menaion-Chetei, Archimandrite of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Joasaph Krokovsky asked him to take on new work. The saint himself wrote about this to his friend Theologist 29* as follows. “I know to your honor,” Father Archimandrite Pechersky wrote to my unworthiness, wishing that the first three-month book of Septemvria, Octovria and Noemvria should begin to be corrected again for a second printing, more fully than the first, with the appendix of the lives of those saints who have failed.” As a result of such a request, the saint did not cease to take care of improving his work until his death and made some corrections in it. These corrections were introduced into the second edition of the Menaion-Chetiy, which the Kiev Lavra began a year after the death of the saint. The first quarter was printed in 1711, and the second in 1714 - both under Archimandrite Athanasius of Mislavsky; the third was released in 1716 under Archimandrite Ioannikiy Senyutovich. As for the fourth, before printing was completed, it became a victim of flames during a fire that completely destroyed the Kiev printing house and library in 1718. For two hundred years, literate Rus' of all states read religiously, and illiterate Russia listened to the Chetya-Minea of ​​St. Demetrius of Rostov, finding in them an inexhaustible source of moral edification and church-historical knowledge and reverently pronouncing the name of their compiler. In 1741, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra intended to once again begin printing the Menaion-Chetii of St. Demetrius of Rostov. Shortly before that, the Lavra received a decree from the Holy Synod that “not to print again anything other than previous church publications; and these old church books should be verified with the same church books before printing with Great Russian seals, so that there is no discord or special language in them; “Do not publish any other books, neither previous nor new editions, without announcing them in the Theological College and without taking permission from it, so that no opposition to the Church of the Eastern Church and with the Great Russian seal of disagreement could occur in such books.” As a result of such an order, Kiev-Pechersk Archimandrite Timofey Shcherbatsky turned to the Holy Synod with a request to allow the Lavra to print the third edition of the Menaion. Permission was given, but with the condition that “these books of the lives of the saints, fathers, before publishing, the archimandrite with other scientists both in the Holy Scripture and in church histories by skilled people with all dangerous scrutiny to reliably examine and if anything contrary to the Holy Scripture, the Spiritual Regulations and decrees is found in them, it is also unreliable and church teachers and historians of the faith worthy do not approved, but turns out to be very dubious, then note at the end of the life of the saint about whom the story is told, or, if possible, correct it. As for prosody and dialect, we will certainly agree with the Great Russian books in everything.” Having received such a decree, the archimandrite replied that he did not have a sufficient number of capable people to whom he could entrust this work, nor all the ancient books with which it was necessary to compare the lives of the saints, since the Lavra’s library burned down in 1718 without a trace. The Holy Synod ordered the archimandrite to compile and send a register of these books, bearing in mind that they would be found in Moscow or in the Synodal, or in the Printing Libraries. The register, however, was not compiled. Meanwhile, the Holy Synod and the College of Foreign Affairs received from the Metropolitan of Montenegro a request to speed up the publication of the Menaion-Chetih. “Even now,” the Metropolitan wrote, “the Serbian, Bulgarian, Dalmatian and Croatian peoples all sincerely desire to get such books, they just don’t have where from.” To satisfy this desire, the Holy Synod decided to publish the Menaion-Cheti itself and entrusted their revision to the rector of the Novgorod Seminary, Archimandrite Joasaph Mitkevich (later Bishop of Belograd) and the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Seminary, Hierodeacon Nikodim Puchenkov, who then lived in St. Petersburg. To help them, in addition to various teaching and historical books, they were given Annotations on the prologues of Hieromonk Stefan Pribylovich 30*, extracts sent from the Kyiv Lavra, and remarks by Metropolitan Arseny of Rostov 31*, who at the same time was commissioned to write the life of St. Demetrius. Joasaph and Nicodemus began fulfilling the assignment entrusted to them on November 6, 1755 and completed their work by October of the following year, 1756. Their corrections consisted of introducing Slavic-Russian words instead of Little Russian words, replacing simple speech with a more elevated syllable, and completely eliminating some expressions and even entire narratives. In addition to these amendments, it was considered necessary to make a correction in the Menaia-Chetiy “according to Great Russian grammar, according to the properties of the Slavic dialect, changing the order of utterances and endings.” This work was entirely entrusted to the typographical reference workers. On December 31, 1756, printing began at the Moscow printing house and in 1759 the synodal edition of the Menaion-Chetikh was published, which has been repeated without changes until this time. On behalf of the Holy Synod, Joasaph and Nicodemus compiled a special preface for the new edition of the Menaion-Chets, which is also printed to this day. In this preface, among other things, there is a question from the readers: “Is it possible for anyone after St. Demetrius, a great man in reason and teaching, holiness of life, and finally glorified by incorruptibility and miracles, to correct anything?” In response to this, it was explained in detail “for the sake of winemaking those Menaion-Chets were corrected by the Holy Synod.” Pointing to the works of Eusebius of Caesarea, Simeon Metaphrastus, Metropolitan Macarius, the compilers of the preface say: “And Saint Demetrius of Christ, with all humility, acknowledges his own oversights and errors in the first book, and having corrected it himself, he submits others found in his books for ecclesiastical consideration and correction, knowing that all historical truths are one another can be surpassed with the most reliable evidence.” Ancient Christians, when reading the lives of saints, saw their main goal in their moral and edifying benefits. In order to resist all threats, against all seductions from the tormentors during one or another persecution, Christians edified and strengthened themselves with high examples of patience, devotion and love for God, which they found in acts of martyrdom. After the end of the persecution, Christians also read the lives of saints with great zeal - to protect themselves from the temptations of the world. The spiritual and moral benefit of the ancient lives of the saints is clearly depicted in the following words: “If the Church of God had not seen the benefit in them, it would not have accepted them: the essence is not composed of cunning false talk, nor florid speech, but in all respects they have sound and humble words that can crush the heart and touch the soul: for the essence is sweet and useful to those who truly want to be saved.” This is how it was in the ancient Church, and this is how it was with us. What the Russian reader was looking for in the lives of people, one of the writers of ancient Russian lives tells us about this. “The lives of saints,” he says, “instill the fear of God in the soul, drive away fearlessness, introduce the cessation of the evil, introduce the acceptance of the good; For this is the light of the lives of the saints and the enlightenment of our souls.” In one old Russian collection we find the following prayer appeal: “Tell me the unknown and secret wisdom of Yours, for I trust in You, God, that You may enlighten my mind and thought with the light of Your mind, not only to honor what is written, but also to create, so that I may not read the teachings and lives of the saints as a sin, but for renewal and enlightenment and for the salvation of my soul and escort to eternal life." Saint Demetrius noted that in his time many, having risen from sleep, considered it their duty, among prayers, to address the Lord with prayerful appeals and to the saint of the day, trying at the same time to remember the main events of his life, albeit from brief extracts of prologues 32 *. Indeed, those who seek spiritual teaching and edification will always find in the lives of the saints abundant food to satisfy their desires. The diverse manifestations of the power of God in the undaunted courage and invincible patience of the martyrs, in the signs and wonders performed on them and through them, are instructive. The power of conviction with which the teachings of the faith are presented by its defenders is also instructive. In the responses of the martyrs at the trial, one can hear the living voice of one professing the truth of faith, with full confidence in its Divine dignity, with the readiness to seal his confession with blood itself. The confessors of the faith spoke little in defense of the confessed truth, they spoke simply; but their answers were so sincere, so firm that only bitter tormentors could not see the truth breathing in them. Just as in the Scriptures of the fathers and teachers of the Church, in the lives of saints and descriptions of martyrdom, one can find confirmation and revelation of various dogmatic truths and the refutation of false teachings. In the lives of the holy hierarchs and ascetics who defended Orthodoxy from heretics and suffered for fidelity to the teachings of the Church, one can see a clear presentation of the dogmas for which they suffered, and a warning against errors contrary to these dogmas. In this regard, the lives and sufferings of the defenders of icon veneration are especially instructive. In the lives of saints one can often find reasons for solving various difficulties that a Christian encounters in his life. Therefore, the ascetic elders always have suitable examples from the lives of holy men for every exceptional case in life. Let us remember that even the Lord Himself, in order to resolve the question of the Pharisees, whether it is possible for hungry people to grind ears of grain on the Sabbath, pointed to the example of David. It follows from this that it is possible to be guided by the examples of holy men in any doubt about the permissibility or impermissibility of any actions that are not clearly indicated in the law. In general, the lives of the saints represent a rich treasury, from which anyone can take everything they need to succeed in spiritual life. “The books of the lives of the saints,” it is said in the preface to the Menaions of the Fourth, “are offered to you, pious reader, for the benefit of your soul; only now diligence and the desire to read are required, and when reading them, you cannot help but be surprised and honor the wisdom and greatness of God. See how different He offered man the paths leading to His glory. People of all ranks and ranks will find enough examples for themselves in these books: the highest authorities - God’s anointed ones similar to themselves, who ruled their kingdom with mercy and truth, defended the Church of Christ and brought it to increase; shepherds of the Church of Christ - great church teachers and saints who fell well and fought for the faith, now rejoicing with the Chief Shepherd; having chosen a solitary life - fasters, prayer books, voluntary sufferers and others who, through need, have captured the Kingdom of Heaven and are now enjoying its joy; military leaders and warriors - ascetics, who, serving the kings of the earth, also served the heavenly ones and, receiving victories over their physical enemies, defeated their spiritual ones, now they triumph with the Ascetic Christ; judges and civil rulers - those who love the truth and boast of mercy in court, not accepting bribes and face, but judging the poor and the wretched alike: merchants - not covetous and desirous of gain, but those who bought the Kingdom of Heaven with righteous acquisition; commoners - similar to themselves in the uprightness of their souls, in innocent labors and Christian virtues, who spent their lives and reached places where many with all their glory and splendor do not reach. All that remains is for everyone to imitate their own example and follow the proposed path.” He lived and worked in the 12th century. His relics rest in Anthony's Cave. Decius reigned from 249–251. Killed in a battle with the Tatars on the river. City 4 March 1238. His holy relics rest in the Vladimir Cathedral. The Commission consists of the following persons: Archpriest P. A. Smirnov, priests: I. V. Arsenyev, N. V. Arsenyev, M. I. Belyachev, N. Milovsky. M., Muretov S. D., Polozov A. A., Pyatikrestovsky A. M., Pyatnitsky P. I., Solovyov I. R., Strakhov S. V., Fudel I. I. - Gentlemen: Bogoyavlensky S. K., Verzhbolovich M. O., Dorofeev V. P., Zverev A. V., Italinsky A. D., Kedrov N. I., Pogozhev E. N., Pogorelov V. A., Rozanov N. P., Struzhentsov M.I., Trush K.A., Ushakov D.N. - Gentlemen: Kasatkin S.V., Molchanov S.I., Pokrovsky A.A., Sakharov S.N., Sergievsky N. F., Sobolev A.M., Stavrovsky S.I., Troitsky N.I. (the last eight take part in editorial work). Since ancient times, it has been generally accepted that there were ten persecutions of Christians, namely by the following emperors: Nero (54–68), Domitian (81–96), Trajan (98–117), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Septimius Severus (193–211), Maximinus (235–238), Decius (249–261), Valerian (253–259), Aurelian (270–276) and Diocletian (284–305). In fact, there were less than ten general, widespread persecutions, and many more private and random ones. All ancient Christians saw the cause of persecution in the malice of the devil, who fought against the Christian Church and tried to stop its spread by persecuting Christians as one of the most effective means. This view was expressed in his “History” by Eusebius of Caesarea. As for the Roman state, from its point of view, there were many reasons for the persecution of Christians. Christians were insulters to Caesar's majesty, refusing to honor imperial images with libations and incense; they were apostates from state deities and professers of a religion prohibited by law. The pagans considered miraculous healings to be the work of magic prohibited by law. Christianity was a complete denial of the pagan system: religion, state, way of life, morals, social and family life. Emperors and rulers considered Christians to be conspirators and rebels, shaking the foundations of the state and society; the priests aroused enmity against them, since Christians undermined trust in them: educated people, who revered science and art, saw in Christianity a wild and dangerous superstition; the uneducated mob, blindly attached to idols and pagan holidays, considered Christians to be atheists and zealously helped to carry out punishment and pagan law against them. Eusebius (268–340), who for a long time occupied the episcopal see in Caesarea Palestine and was close to many great events of his time, is known as the father of church history and in general a theologian, whose writings were highly valued in the Christian Church. He was distinguished by his extensive learning, which was greatly influenced by Eusebius’s friend, the presbyter of the Caesarea Church Pamphilus. Their friendship was so close and sincere that in memory of his friend, Eusebius added his name to his own and became known under the name Eusebius Pamphilus. In Greek, a martyr is called μάρτυς, which means witness (for the truth), which is why records of martyrs are called martyrologies. Paterik (πατερικόν - implied βιβλίον) in Russian means fatherland, that is, a book of fathers or about fathers. This is the name given to collections consisting of short stories about ascetics or their moralizing words. – Synaxarion (from the Greek συνάγω – collecting, bringing together) – a collection for reading at church meetings of Christians, containing short stories about the exploits of saints and the sufferings of martyrs, as well as entire biographies, later called the prologue. Limonar - from the Greek word λειμών - meadow, pasture. Emperor Constantine 7 reigned from 912 to 959 and was distinguished by his love for scientific works. Under him, in 957, Grand Duchess Olga received holy baptism in Constantinople. For this, Simeon received the name Metaphrastus, which means: reteller, translator. Simeon was born in Constantinople, received higher secular and theological education, served as secretary to the emperor, carried out the most important diplomatic assignments, was the great logothete of the Church of Constantinople, a patrician and master of the empire. In the Greek Church, Symeon Metaphrastus is canonized. Kontakion – briefly conveys in narrative form the main features of the saint’s activities; Ikos, on the basis of these features, expounds praise to the saint, beginning each feature with the exclamation: “Rejoice.” The most ancient lives of Russian saints in their structure are the common kontakia and ikos. The most ancient lists of the first type are as follows: 1) Lobkovsky (in the library of the Moscow Edinoverchesky Monastery), containing the September half-year; it dates back to 1262; 2) Sophia (in the library of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy) written before 1250, also contains the September half; 3) Typographic (in the library of the Moscow Synodal Printing House) 13–14 centuries, contains legends and memories from March 24 to August 25. The largest collection (more than 30 issues) of Slavic parchment prologues is in the same library of the Moscow Synodal Printing House. The oldest list of the second type is a typographical one from the 14th century; the oldest copy of the verse Prologue is Serbian from 1370 (in the library of the Moscow Edinoverchesky Monastery). The printed Prologue was compiled for all three of the above types. Its first edition was published in 1641 - one September half-year; The entire Prologue was published for the first time in 1642–1643. In print it was subject to several corrections and additions. Menaion of the 11th century - the month of March - was found in the Suprasl monastery near the city of Bialystok, Grodno province and therefore is usually called the “Suprasl manuscript”; Menaion of the 12th century - the month of May - is located in the library of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. The triode solemnnik was published in 1647 (“The Book, the verb Sobornik”). In 1700, this edition was corrected from Greek and Slavic books. Lug Dukhovny, Lavsaik, Azbuchny Patericon, etc. The oldest manuscript of the Pechersk Patericon is from 1406; it was copied for Arseny, Bishop of Tver, and is now kept in the Imperial Public Library. Saint Simon, monk of the Pechersk Monastery, abbot of the Nativity Monastery in Vladimir, since 1215 - Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal, died in 1226. His relics rest in the Kyiv caves; his memory is May 10. During its centuries-old existence, the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon underwent numerous revisions, carried out by figures of the Pechersk Lavra. The most important of them: 1) in 1460, its articles were supplemented and put in order by the order of the clergy member, and then the charterer of the Pechersk Monastery, Cassian; 2) in 1847–1866, the patericon was revised and supplemented with chronicle articles by order of Archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra Joseph Trizna; 3) in 1661, with the blessing of Innocent Gisel, Archimandrite of the same Lavra, it was printed; this type of patericon represents a series of completely completed lives of the Pechersk ascetics, which is why the messages and narratives of the ancient patericon were divided into parts containing information about one or another ascetic, and were mutually completed; 4) but earlier than the Russian edition of 1661, the Kiev Patericon was published in an abbreviated form in Polish by Sylvester Kossov, Bishop of Mstislav, Oshan and Mogilev, in 1635, according to the wishes of Metropolitan Peter Mogila, in order to counteract the Latinopolitan writers who objected to the holiness of the Pechersk ascetics and argued that Kyiv was enlightened by the Christian faith from the pope, and not from the eastern patriarchs. Epiphanius the Wise, a disciple of St. Sergius, lived at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century; was in Constantinople, Mount Athos and Jerusalem; died in 1420 in the rank of hieromonk and confessor of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Pachomius was a Serb by birth, a monk of Mount Athos, who appeared in Moscow around 1440. He spent twenty years at the Trinity Lavra, where he worked on compiling lives and copying books. Archbishop Jonah of Novgorod summoned him to his office to compile the lives of the Novgorod saints. Macarius (1482–1564) - Metropolitan of All-Russia, disciple of the Monk Paphnutius of Borovsky, in 1526 from the archimandrites of the Mozhaisk Luzhetsky Monastery he was appointed Archbishop of Novgorod, and in 1542 he was enthroned as Metropolitan of Moscow. He enjoyed the love of Ivan the Terrible and the respect of all his contemporaries, no matter what party they belonged to. Macarius occupies a prominent place in the history of the Russian Church and literature. The most important events in his management of the Moscow Metropolis: 1) the Church Councils of 1547 and 1549, 2) the Hundred-Glavy Cathedral of 1551 and 3) the opening in 1563 of the first printing house in Moscow. To collect ancient and compile new lives of Russian saints, Macarius gathered around him many figures, among whom he himself was not only a leader and editor, but also a zealous collaborator. That is, 1529–1541. The words of Macarius quoted here are found in the so-called Chronicler, appended to the Menaion. From the same Chronicler it is clear that one of the bishops, Menaius, was included in the Assumption Cathedral in 1552 and was probably completed around this time. It is therefore believed that the compilation of the Menaion lasted at least twenty years. The second type of prologue, composed among the Slavs, is verse. Of the known lists of Makaryev's Menaia, the most important are the following: 1) Tsar's, presented by Makariy to Tsar Ivan the Terrible and probably originally kept in the royal chambers, is in the Moscow Synodal Library. 2) Assumption, given by Macarius to the Assumption Cathedral, is located there; 3) Sophia, given by Macarius to the Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral in 1541, is in the library of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Of these lists, only one is completely complete - namely Uspensky. In Tsarskoe, March and April are missing, and in Sofia only seven months (September - November, February, May - July). The Makaryev Minaions are now published by the Archaeographic Commission under the Ministry of Public Education. The Chudov and Milyutin Minaions are kept in the Moscow Synodal Library, and the Tulupov Menaions are kept in the library of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Peter Mogila (1596–1647), son of the ruler of Moldavia and Wallachia, was elected archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk in 1627, and in 1633 ordained metropolitan. Innocent Gisel, originally from Prussia, moved to Kiev in his youth, converted to Orthodoxy, was then rector of the Kiev School, and from 1656 until his death, archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Varlaam Yasinsky, a graduate of the Kyiv School and then its rector and rector of the Kyiv Lavra, was a learned man. In 1690 he was consecrated to the rank of Metropolitan of Kiev. See in this book the life of St. Demetrius on September 21. Lawrence Surius, a monk of Cologne, published his first work: Vitae Senetorum Orientis et Occilentis, in 1569–1575. In 1618, the 4th edition appeared. The Bollandists were learned monks in Antwerp who were engaged in the research and publication of the lives of saints, which began in 1643 by John Bolland. The Bollandist publication (Acta Sanctorum) included narratives about all the saints of the Eastern and Western Churches. The Bollandists for the most part published original and ancient monuments about the lives and deeds of saints. At first they placed the Greek narratives only in the Latin translation, and then they began to add the Greek originals themselves. The publication of acts is usually preceded by extensive critical research about the beginning of the celebration in honor of the saint, about the time of his life and death, about the time of transfer of the relics. As can be seen from the notes in the margins of the Prologue that belonged to Saint Demetrius, stored in the library of the Moscow Theological Academy, he used the first six volumes of the Bollandist edition (months January - May). Director of the Printing House in Moscow. Teacher of the Kiev, then Moscow Academy and, finally, hieromonk of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Arseny Matseevich (1697–1772), ruled the Rostov diocese from 1742 to 1765. This circumstance, by the way, prompted Saint Demetrius to begin a new work entitled Abridged Martyrology. In the preface to it, he says: “Collecting from various places the lives of the saints into four three-monthly books in short, with the intention of even more abbreviating them, according to the order of the month, I will collect them in this small book and call them, according to the ancient custom, martyrdom.” This work, for unknown reasons, stopped at the very beginning. You might be interested in: