III. Состояние церкви по вере и нравственности

A) General view of this condition Our ancestors accepted Christianity with zeal; With even greater diligence they supported him and followed his suggestions. The chroniclers praise their faith, saying that it “succeeded everywhere and flourished and shone like the sun”; They also praise their piety, noting that everywhere in Rus' people of Christianity are multiplying, creating and walking in the passion of God 265. Saint Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kiev, several years after the death of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Illuminator of Russia, already appealed to him: “Rise from your tomb, honorable head, and look at your son George (Yaroslav) ...; look at your faithful daughter-in-law Irina; look at your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, how they live, how the Lord protects them, how they maintain the faith devoted to you, how often they visit St. churches, how they glorify Christ, how they worship His name; look at the city shining with majesty, look at the thriving churches, look at the growing Christianity; look at the city, consecrated and shining with icons of saints, fragrant with incense, and resounding with holy praises and divine hymns - and seeing all this, rejoice, rejoice and praise the good God who builds like this” 266. This spirit, the spirit of universal piety and piety of our ancestors, was expressed: a) In their construction and decoration of the churches of God and in general in their heartfelt attachment to the Church and worship. Not only every Prince, but almost every more prosperous subject considered it an indispensable duty to build one or even several churches, or at least make significant donations for them: that is why the churches of God arose among us so quickly and in such amazing numbers: that is why they very often shone, despite all the comparative poverty of that time, with gold and silver and precious stones. About some Princes and Princesses, the chronicles note: “practicing nothing else, but only about church needs,” or “a desire for a name for all churches and an insatiable love for buildings..., greatly grieving about the creation of God’s beautiful churches and creating many churches according to his authority”... 267. One of the most pious Princes of ancient Rus', Vladimir Monomakh, giving his dying instructions to his children, said to them, among other things: “first to the church: let the sun not find you on your bed: so my blessed father acted and all the good men accomplished, giving the morning praise to God, and then the rising sun, having seen the sun, glorify God with with joy”... 268 - and thereby testified how pious people usually began their day with you then. b) In sincere zeal and respect for St. monasteries, monks and in general to all clergy. Many Princes and Boyars built monasteries at their own expense, 269 looked upon them as their family ones, and for the most part were buried in them with their entire family. Thus, Yaroslav created two monasteries in Kyiv, one for men in the name of his Angel, George, the other for women, in the name of the Angel of his wife Irina (Ingigerda or Anna); Izyaslav built the monastery of St. Dmitry; Vsevolod - the monastery of Andreevsky or Yanich, so called after the daughter of this Prince Yanika, who was the first Abbess in it; the sons of Mstislav the Great built a monastery at the church of St. Theodore, and they called him Father, in memory of his father, who was buried in him (1132) 270. The most common praise for the Princes of that time, found in the chronicles, is “watching over the monasteries and comforting the monks, watching over the worldly churches, and honoring the priests and the entire hierarchy with worthy honor” 271; or: “honoring the priestly and monastic rank above all else, giving them whatever they need, and receiving prayers and blessings from them”; or: “The priests are very fond of the priests, but the monks are too much” 272. c) In high respect and love for monastic life. Many Princes and Boyars, forgetting the nobility of their family, their wealth and worldly honors, were imprisoned within the walls of hermit cells for their entire lives, while others considered it as a sacred necessity, at least before their death, to take upon themselves the Angelic image 273. This custom of taking monastic vows, adopted by our Princes, no doubt from the Greek Emperors, began in the 11th century and gradually intensified. The first nuns from the Princely family mentioned in our history are Yaroslav’s wife Irina and daughter Vel. Prince Vsevolod Anna (or Yanka), and the first monks were Princes of Chernigov Nikola Svyatosha and Igor. In subsequent times, the following are known from the Princesses of nuns: Euphrosyne, Princess of Polotsk, who founded two monasteries, and also tonsured her own sister, cousin and two nieces, Olga, Maria and Agathia 274; and from the Princes: Vsevolod Mstislavich, David Rostislavich of Smolensk 275, some other blessings. The schemamonk princes, Theodosius, Savva, Stefan and Philip, mentioned in one ancient synodikon of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, before Igor was killed 276. In general, the passion for tonsure into monasticism reached the point that the prudent clergy was sometimes forced to restrain the Princes from this with their advice, as the Kiev-Pechersk Hegumen Polycarp did with V.K. by hunger, as other good people suffer, the mercy of God is deserved 278. d) On a journey to the holy places of Jerusalem. These travels began with us, in all likelihood, from the very introduction of Christianity to Russia 279. In the 11th century they were already quite common: let us remember the wanderers passing through Kursk to St. city, with whom the teacher. Theodosius, still a young man, went there secretly from his mother 280; and some, for example. teacher Varlaam, the first Abbot of Kiev-Pechersk, then made these wanderings twice 281. In the 12th century they intensified even more: the Russian Abbot Daniel, who was in Jerusalem at the beginning of this century, saw there many of his fellow pilgrims from Novgorod and Kyiv 282; soon the teacher traveled there. Euphrosyne, Princess of Polotsk, and in general the number of Russian admirers was so great that in Jerusalem there was even a special Russian monastery for their refuge 283, and our wise clergy was forced from time to time to take some precautions against this passion for pilgrimage, which sometimes reached the extreme 284. e) In deep respect for ascetics who were distinguished by the holiness of life, such as the teacher. Anthony and Theodosius. Not only the common people and boyars, but the Princes themselves used to visit their monasteries, ask them for advice and blessings, especially on important occasions, often share their miserable meals with them and receive them in their princely chambers with all signs of reverence. So V.K. Izyaslav loved to go to the Monk Theodosius for a solitary conversation, and was often content with his meager meal; V.K. Svyatopolk, preparing for war or travel and upon returning to his capital, always asked for prayers and blessings from the Pechersk Abbot over the tomb of the teacher. Theodosius 285 ; V.K. Rostislav-Mikhail used to invite the twelve elders of the Theodosian monastery and the Archimandrite to his meal every Saturday and Sunday of Great Lent, talking with them at that time about Christian virtues, and on Saturday to Lazarev and all the elders, endowing them, at the end of the meal, with various gifts 286. f) In matters of Christian alms and assistance to all those in need, the orphans and widows. This virtue, sanctified to a high degree by the example of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Enlightener of Russia, was one of the first to prevail in our fatherland at that time. How highly they valued her can be seen from Vladimir Monomakh’s instructions to his children: “do alms without sparing, that is, the firstfruits of every good”..., and further: “do not forget more than the poor, but feed as much as you can, according to your strength, and give to the orphan, and justify the widow yourself”... 287. About the Princes of that time, reviews are most often found in the chronicles: “he was more merciful than measure, and therefore did not spare his property to those who demanded it”... or: “having love for everyone, and above all being diligent in alms..., most of all, loving wonderful and glorious alms”... 288. Upon the death of the Prince, all his movable property was usually distributed to churches, monasteries and the poor 289. g) In some pious customs of our Princes and the entire army, for example. before going to war, receive St. communion. Tain; during the war, wear St. with the army. icons and the victorious banner of Christ the Savior, the all-honorable Cross; and at the end of the war, bring solemn thanksgiving to God for successes 290. However, we should not think that all the piety of our ancestors was limited only to external good deeds and rituals: if we point to external deeds, it is because the internal dispositions of the hearts are known to God alone, who knows the heart, and we can judge our neighbors only by their external activities. This is not how our ancestors themselves understood piety then: V.K. Vladimir Monomakh, teaching his children for the last time, told them not only about frequent visits to churches, about prostrations to the ground, about night singing to the glory of God, about almsgiving; but at the same time about unceasing repentance of sins, about brotherly love for everyone, about respect for elders, about observing the truth in word and deed, especially insisting: “first, sharing God and your souls, have the fear of God in your heart...; This is the end of everything: have the fear of God above all things”...; and also: “above all, do not have pride in your heart and mind”... 291. And the chronicles, telling about our pious Princes of that time, praise not only their zeal for building churches and St. monasteries, their love for monastic life and so on, but also many other high Christian virtues. So it is said about V.K. Izyaslav: “without a gentle disposition, without crooked hatred, loving the truth, without flattery, without repaying evil for evil” 292; about V.K. Vladimir Monomakh: “love God with all your soul..., striving to keep God’s commandments and always having the fear of God in your heart..., not arrogant, nor magnified, but placing everything on God..., doing good to your enemy..., and this gift is from God directly, and when you see the church and hear the singing, abye shed tears”... 293; about V.K. Andrei Bogolyubsky: “from a young age, love Christ..., do not darken your mind with drunkenness..., truth and truth walked with him and there were many other good deeds in him”... 294. Similar reviews are found about the princes - Gleb, Yaropolk, Vsevolod, Svyatoslav, Constantine and others 295. Such a spirit of universal piety and piety, which then dominated among our ancestors, is partly explained by the circumstances themselves. That was the time of the introduction of Christianity to us and its first actions on the Russian people; and St. The faith of Christ, which has a strong effect on the mind and heart of man always and everywhere, has a particularly strong effect on people, as history shows, at its first establishment in any country, when new converts, instead of their previous empty and insignificant pagan concepts, hear for the first time the lofty and most joyful truths of the Gospel, are excited by its heavenly promises of true virtue and are amazed by its terrible threats for ungodliness and vices. Let us also take into account the properties of our people. Russian people for the most part were still rude and uneducated back then, but for this reason he had a simple mind, unspoiled by free-thinking theories and views, and, therefore, most capable of accepting the truths of the Christian faith; had a heart not rooted in vices and soft, and a trace. the most obedient to all the instructions of the pastors and teachers of the Church: such people do not know any doubts in faith or stubborn resistance to the spirit of piety. The following also meant extremely much: a) the example of our Princes, great and appanage, almost all of whom distinguished themselves by more or less true piety or piety and zeal for the Church, so that the chroniclers involuntarily marveled at this, as if their hereditary piety; b) the example of our Archpastors, such as: St. Michael, the pious Hilarion, the good John, the many-virtuous and miraculous Ephraim 297, the Saints of Rostov, Leonty, Isaiah, Pachomius, Cyril and others: and it is known how deeply our people have always respected and respects both their Kings and Archpastors; c) finally, the example of the ascetics of the Kiev-Pechersk and others, to whom devout Christians flocked from all sides to ask for their prayers, to receive advice and edification from them 298. The disastrous state of the fatherland, which since the death of St. Vladimir, and especially since the death of Yaroslav, was almost constantly tormented inside by the terrible civil strife of the Princes, and from outside they were crushed by the Lithuanians, Polovtsians and other enemies: and it is remarkable that then everyone looked at these disasters as God’s executions for the corruption of morals, as the voice of the Heavenly Father, calling for repentance and correction of life 299 . Our ancestors heard the same voice a) in many extraordinary natural phenomena, such as: in 1064, the repeated rise of the sun without bright rays, but only in the form of a month, the appearance of a bloody star in the west for a whole week and the reverse flow of the Volkhov, which lasted five days; in 1092 the earthquake was not strong, but had a strong effect on the people; during the reign of Monomakh, two more earthquakes, one complete eclipse of the sun, a rare drought and a terrible storm that tore down houses and drowned many livestock in Volkhov; before the Tatar invasion, a comet of extraordinary size appeared in the west for a whole week and an extraordinary drought, from which forests and swamps ignited, thick clouds of smoke obscured the sun, and birds, to the amazement of people, fell dead to the ground 300; b) and in terrible social events, such as: famine in 1023 in Suzdal and a little later in the Novgorod region; famine and pestilence together in 1092 in many regions, when in Kyiv alone, from November 14 to February 1, about 7,000 people died; the appearance of locusts in 1094, hitherto unknown to our ancestors, which destroyed the entire harvest; a terrible fire in Kyiv under Vladimir Monomakh, which lasted two days and incinerated most of the city with 600 churches, and another two-fold famine in Novgorod in 1128 and 1161, so strong that the inhabitants were forced to eat birch bark and linden leaves 301; c) finally, we heard in the miracles and signs that the Lord performed in our church, especially through the incorruptible remains of his saints, the saints. passion-bearers Boris and Gleb, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, St. Theodosius of Pechersk and many others 302. But, thus rendering complete justice to the spirit of faith and piety of our ancestors, shall we remain silent about their shortcomings in both respects? And these shortcomings were very considerable. The most important thing in relation to faith was that many, belonging to the Church of Christ, did not want to give up their former pagan superstitions. St. Vladimir, in his church charter, already takes measures against people who prayed “under the barn and in the grove or by the water” and did not forget the ancient tricks, sorceries and sorceries.” Metropolitan John also mentions Christians “who are devoured by the demon and the swamp and the well” 303; teacher Nestor bitterly reproached his contemporaries for the fact that they were “professedly Christians, but lived like trash,” and remained partial to many superstitious customs 304; in Kirik's questions there is news about wives who carried their beloved children to prayer not to the Christian priest, but to the wise men 305. And in general, the news about these magicians, who repeatedly appeared in different places in Russia, and almost everywhere carried away crowds of people with them, shows how weak this side was still in our compatriots at that time. Their no lesser shortcomings are known in relation to piety. There were people who “without fear and without shame” had two wives, adhering to the ancient Slavic custom of polygamy; There were also those among the common people who entered into marriage without church blessing and sacrament, considering it a ceremony established only for princes and boyars, and being content with some kind of pagan rite of splashing; some did not receive Holy Communion for a whole year. Tain 306; very many loved only public games, “trumpets, harps, buffoons, shameful acts of demon-conceived deeds,” and almost did not visit the churches of God, 307 and the pious chronicler, speaking about the raids of external enemies on Russia, notes: “yet by finding the filthy and tormenting them, we will recognize the Lord, whom we have angered: glorification having been, not glorified, having been revered, not by lust, having been sanctified not by reason, having been purchased, not by labour, having been born, not as if we were ashamed of the Father” 308 . Most of all, these moral shortcomings of our ancestors were manifested in their constant civil strife: here often the lowest passions, pride, anger, revenge, treachery, cruelty and others revealed themselves to the highest degree; Here we see with regret how a son armed himself against his father, against his brother, an uncle or grandfather against a nephew or grandson, entire princely families against nearby families, and how these people, sometimes for the most insignificant reasons, inhumanly shed their own blood and the blood of their good subjects, who sacrificed everything for them. There were cases when, in the heat of internecine strife, those arguing forgot not only their kinship, but, it seemed, their faith and God himself: it is enough to remember what the soldiers of Andrei Bogolyubsky did when they took Kyiv, how they mercilessly killed every single inhabitant, both small and decrepit, how they robbed and incinerated not only the homes of the Kyivans, but also all the churches of God, including them Sophia and Desyatinny, all the monasteries, stealing from them icons, vessels, vestments, books, bells and all the rich donations of the ancient Princes 309. To explain all this (of course, except for the damage inherited from our forefathers, which was, as always and at that time, the main source of moral shortcomings), we need to again recall the circumstances of that time. It was impossible for all of our first Christians to suddenly completely forget their pagan beliefs, which they sucked in with their mother’s milk, with which their minds and hearts were imbued from infancy, and which echoed in their cherished traditions and songs, were connected with all their amusements, games and festivities: to eradicate this required a lot of time and effort, especially since our people were in extreme ignorance and rudeness, for which many did not could properly understand the lofty preaching of the Gospel, with all the care of the preachers of the faith, and thought, as was usually the case with uneducated pagans, to unite the new religion with the ancient beliefs of the fatherland, including the Christian God among their gods 310. To this we must add the lack of skilled teachers: of our first shepherds, mainly Greeks, of course, few knew the Russian language as they should, and therefore, with all their education and zeal, few were able to convey to the people the truths of St. faith, to show him the absurdity of his former beliefs, and to expose his vices. To eradicate these shortcomings, various measures were used, both by our shepherds and our princes. The pastors of the Church, in addition to constant instructions, reproofs and admonitions to their flock, out of condescension towards the simplicity and crudeness of their concepts, and wanting to more conveniently wean the people from pagan superstitions, in all likelihood, sometimes translated the names of their former gods into the names of Christian Saints, assimilating to the latter the circle of action that the former had previously supervised in their everyday life 311 . This opinion is supported by the nicknames of Saints that have existed in our fatherland since ancient times, borrowed from the elements, climate, seasons, from household items and rural activities: for example. Elijah the Prophet, in the minds of common people, is hitherto the representative of thunder, who has taken the place of Perun; St. Jeremiah - the harnesser, St. Theodosius - colossus, St. Agripina - bathing suit; Bogdan replaced Dazhd-God, St. John the Baptist Kupala and so on. 312. However, perhaps all this was invented by the ignorance of the people themselves, without any participation of the shepherds. And in order to distract new Christians from some pagan holidays and superstitious rituals celebrated on certain days, the pastors tried to contrast these holidays, on the same days, with pious Christian institutions, such as: processions of the cross to consecrate fields or wells, the solemn commemoration of poor brethren on the day of the seventh day and so on. 313. Our pastors were also often forced to use penance and excommunication against superstitions and popular vices 314. The princes, for their part, for the same purpose - a) included all superstitious actions of the people among the crimes submitted to the court of the clergy, imposing rather heavy penalties for each of these crimes, which, especially for the poor, could be a strong incentive to abandon ancient pagan customs, and - b) tried to prepare educated shepherds for their subjects from their own compatriots, and to enlighten the people themselves in numerous schools. This thought was clearly expressed by one of the chroniclers of Novgorod when he said that the disciple of the first local Bishop Joachim, Ephraim, “is blessed to teach the Novgorodians, before the Russian land was baptized again, so that men and wives would firmly hold the Christian faith, and would forget the filthy faith” 315. B) The state of holy monasteries and asceticism Holy monasteries arose among us one after another very quickly and in significant numbers. So, describing, under 1051, the return of the teacher. Anthony from Mount Athos to Russia, the chronicle notes that in order to find a shelter for asceticism in Kyiv, he walked around the monastery and did not fall in love with a single person 316; This means that at that time we already had several monasteries; and a little later, on the occasion of moving from the Pechersky Monastery to the Dmitrievsky teacher. Varlaam, directly speaks of many monasteries established by princes and boyars 317. But, besides this, about 70 monasteries of that time remained known to us even by name 318. Of these, up to 22 were erected in southern Russia. The most remarkable of these monasteries are: In Kyiv and its environs: a) a monastery in the name of the Archangel Michael, founded suddenly after the baptism of Rus' by our first Metropolitan, St. Michael on the steep Kyiv mountain opposite the Perunov hill, as if as a sign of the victory of Christianity, which was quickly establishing itself among us, over ancient paganism; b) Kiev-Mezhigorsky, erected at the same time and, with the blessing of the same High Hierarch, by the Greek monks who arrived with him, near Vyshgorod on a mountain called Belaya Spas, from which the monastery was later called Spassky; c) Kiev-Vydubitsky or Vsevolozh, founded back in 990 on the site where Perun, sailing along the Dnieper, landed on the shore, and then in 1070 updated and extended by the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yaroslavich; d) Georgievsky, founded (in 1037) by V.K. Yaroslav in the name of his Angel, in the west of the St. Sophia Cathedral, towards the Golden Gate, and intended for the dining of Russian Bishops; e) Irininsky Women's, to the south and also not far from the St. Sophia Cathedral, erected (in 1037) by the same Grand Duke, at the request, as some believe, of his wife Anna or Irina; f) Kiev-Pustynno-Nikolaevsky male, existing to this day: the foundation was laid, according to some, by the Blessed Princess Olga over the very grave of Askold, in the Christianity of Nicholas, and according to others, by Mstislav Vladimirovich, the son of V.K. Monomakh in 1113; g) Kiev-Kirillovsky men's, now abolished, built by the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vsevolod Yaroslavich, the Polish Queen Mary in 1160 or 72. But the most famous of all the Kyiv monasteries that appeared at that time (of which up to 14 are known by name), without any doubt, is h) the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, founded by the teacher. Anthony. Returning from the holy Mount Athos, the zealous monk, first (c. 1051–1054) wanted to asceticize in solitude in a small cave, previously excavated by the pious Hilarion on the site of the current distant caves, and which remained empty after Hilarion’s election as Metropolitan. Soon, however, the fame of Anthony’s lofty exploits began to attract many to him who were seeking tonsure, and he deigned to accept up to twelve disciples, who expanded his wretched dwelling into other caves and a small underground church. With the increase in the number of brethren, he dug for himself a new cave (where the nearby caves are now), and having retired into it for complete solitude, he blessed the first Abbot of Pechersk, Varlaam, whom he appointed, to build a church and cells to house the brethren above the caves: from then on, the chronicler notes, the Pechersk monastery began to be called. Some time later, when, under the second abbot, the teacher. Feodosia, the number of brethren has increased to one hundred, Rev. Anthony and Theodosius began to think about building a new, vast monastery and church, which they knew about long before, by a special revelation, the favor of God and the Mother of God. This glorious church in the name of the Dormition of the Most Holy. The Mother of God was indeed founded in 1073, with the miraculous assistance of the Most Holy One herself. Virgins and Saints Anthony and Theodosius; but it was completed after the death of both of its pious founders, under the third Abbot Stephen (in 1077), who built new cells with it and transferred the brethren from the old monastery to them, except for a few; and was consecrated already under Hegumen John (in 1089) by the Russian Hierarchs miraculously assembled for this purpose. Abode of the teacher Anthony and Theodosius quickly flourished in the holiness of their ascetics, and having transferred their charter, which she accepted from the Studite monastery, to all other Russian monasteries, she was honored, even in the days of the teacher. Nestor, and the oldest of all and the greatest honor of all 319. In Pereyaslavl - a) Mikhailovsky or Efremov, founded in 1089 by Metropolitan Ephraim, and - b) Ascension, now a cathedral, founded towards the end of the 11th century. Near Chernigov on Blondinskaya Mountain: - a) Yeletsky Uspensky, founded in 1069 by the teacher. Anthony of Pechersk, and - b) Ilyinsky Trinity, founded in 1079, on the site where the teacher. Anthony dug a cave for himself and lived for some time. About 50 “monasteries were founded in northeastern Rus', mainly in Novgorod and its region (up to 24). The most remarkable of them are: a) Peryn Monastery, four miles from present-day Novgorod, founded, shortly after the conversion of the Novgorodians, on the site where Perun previously stood; b) Yuryev, three miles from Novgorod, founded in 1030 under the Novgorod Prince Yaroslav, in St. baptism of George or Yurie, and in 1092 renewed and extended by another Yuri, Mstislav Vladimirovich; c) Antoniev, school, built by a teacher. Anthony the Roman, who arrived in Novgorod in 1106 under the Novgorod Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich; d) Khutyn Spaso-Preobrazhensky ten miles from Novgorod on the right bank of the Volkhov, founded by the teacher. Varlaam, a native of Novgorod in 1192; e) Avraamiev Epiphany near Lake Nero in the present Rostov district, built by the teacher. Abraham, after the destruction of the idol of Beles that stood in that place; f) Boriso-Glebovsky, near the city of Torzhok, built in 1038 by the teacher. Efrem Ugrin, who previously served in the retinue of the Blessed Princes Boris and Gleb; g) Avraamiev School in Smolensk, which began construction at the beginning of the 12th century under Vel. Prince of Smolensk Mstislav, son of Vladimir Monomakh, through the labors and care of the first Bishop of Smolensk Ignatius, and called Avraamiev, after the first one who was in it, Archimandrite Venerable. Abrahamia; h) Rozhdestvensky in Vladimir on a beautiful elevated place near the Klyazma River, founded in 1191 by Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, under the Rostov Bishop John, and from the very beginning, considered the first and most important among all the monasteries of north-eastern Russia; i) Riz-Polozhensky maiden, founded in 1207 and remarkable for the extraordinary wealth of its utensils. The means for maintaining the monasteries were: a) partly the monks’ own labor, as we know from the lives of some monks of the Kiev-Pechersk 320; b) various voluntary offerings of pious Christians, common people, boyars and princes, especially after the death of close relatives 321; c) the lands that the monasteries received from the princes and from other investors for cultivation and other needs 322, and then d) patrimonial land rights, which all land owners then enjoyed, i.e., the right to accept free peasants onto their lands: therefore, even in the charter of St. Vladimir mentions church locals or those who settled in church places, and in Russian Pravda monastic serfs; e) entire villages and even cities: thus Prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich gave the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery near Kyiv lands and volosts, Neblskaya, Derevskaya and Luchskaya; his daughter Princess Anastasia, the wife of Prince Gleb Vseslavich in 1158, at the time of her death, bequeathed to the same monastery five villages with servants and all their property, and the Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky (in 1159) even gave him two cities of Vasilev or Vasilkov and Michesk, with all the volosts, tithes, quitrents and land 323. The monasteries used their income not only - a) for their own maintenance and for the maintenance of their churches and buildings, but also - b) for the maintenance of hospitals and almshouses, which were located at almost each of them, for assistance to the elderly, widows, orphans and other unfortunates who usually flocked to the monasteries; because at that time there were no other refuges for poverty and decrepitude: e.g. at the Kiev-Pechersk monastery there was still a teacher. Theodosius built a special courtyard, with the church of St. First Martyr Stephen, for the poor, blind, lame and other crippled, gave them a tenth of the monastery estate, supplied them with everything they needed and, in addition, every Saturday sent a cart of bread to those imprisoned in prison 324; c) to pay some state taxes for the peasants: free from all public duties, the monasteries, like other owners, had to pay at least sow and land taxes; d) finally, sometimes to help the entire fatherland: always having significant reserves of all everyday needs in readiness, our monasteries during times of famine or war did not refuse to make significant donations to the public 325. The difference between our monasteries from the first appears in their division into communal monasteries, in which clothing, food, housing, etc. were common for all brethren, and desert monasteries, where everyone had everything of their own, and communication between the brethren took place only during church services. The founders of the first kind of monastic life are revered in our country by the teacher. Anthony, the head of all Russian monks, as the monthologists call him, and teacher. Theodosius, who introduced into the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, and through him into almost all other Russian monasteries, the Studian cenobitic rules, for which he was named the head of the general monastic life in Russia. The monastic lifestyle of the latter kind, of course, was brought to us by monks from Greece at the very beginning. Other differences between our monasteries were that some of them had Archimandrites as their abbots, and the majority had Abbots; some were dependent on their diocesan Bishops, while others were under the direct authority of the Grand Dukes themselves and even the Constantinople Patriarchs. The last right, however, before the Tatar enslavement, was enjoyed only by the Kiev-Pechersk monastery since 1159, when V.K. Andrei Bogolyubsky, with his letter, honored this holy monastery with the title of Archimandria, Lavra and Stavropegia II Triarchal and Grand Duke, independent from the All-Russian Metropolitan. At the same time, the division of our monasteries into those subordinate to another most noble monastery and those called attached to it, and independent ones became known: for in the same year 1159, V.K. Andrei Bogolyubsky subordinated the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra to the five monasteries of Kiev-Pustynno-Nicholas, Bryansk, Svensky, Novgorod-Seversky Spassky and Chernigov Yeletsky 326. Monastic life, as soon as it established itself in our fatherland, soon flourished in the most perfect way. More than all others, the Kiev-Pechersk monastery became famous for the holiness of its ascetics, so that the teacher. the chronicler, narrating about their exploits, finds almost no words to express his amazement, “It is a marvelous miracle to see, brethren, he exclaims: God has united the monks in the monastery of his Mater, who are like the luminaries in the Russian land of Siyahu; Ovii for fasting, Ovii for vigil, and others for kneeling, Ovii for fasting every other day or two days; Some eat bread and water, some eat potions, some eat raw; abiding in love, the younger ones repenting to the elders, not daring to speak before them, but all with great submission and obedience; In the same way, the elders have love for the younger ones, and punish them, comforting them like their beloved children; and if any brother fell into some sin, I divided his consolation and one penance, either three or four, for great love; Such was the love in that holy brethren, abstinence and humility...; Such then are the monks, fasters, abstainers, and from them I will name some wonderful husbands...; Tatsi think of the Theodosius Monastery, who even after death shine like a luminary and pray to God for the brethren who exist here and... monastery, in which they live a virtuous life to this day”... 327. And St. Simon, Bishop of Vladimir (at the beginning of the 13th century), also a tonsure of the Kiev Pechersk, so respected this saint. monastery, that with joy he wanted to leave his Bishopric, to renounce the glory, power and all the possessions of his then richest department, if only he could dare to wallow in the Pechersky Monastery, calling it a holy, blessed, honest and saved place 328. It must be assumed that in our other monasteries they tried to imitate the great ascetics of the Kiev-Pechersk. For besides the fact that the Pechersk monastery was already considered even then, by its charter and the piety of its inhabitants, a model for all others, some of these monasteries were founded by Pechora monasteries, and others very often received their abbots and leaders from among them. History, indeed, confirms that in other monasteries, for example. Novgorod Antonieva, Khutyn, Smolensk Avraamieva, many pious men also labored and were saved at that time. But the duty of justice requires us to admit that then, as at any other time, tares grew among the wheat of God on the sinful earth. “Woe to you,” exclaims one of his contemporaries, who had the opportunity to know all aspects of the monastic life of that time in our fatherland, “woe to you, for my name makes you a blasphemer, even in monasteries they often hold feasts, call husbands and wives together, and in those feasts they succeed for each other, whoever creates the feast better: and zeal is not for God, but from Evil" 329 . Such and similar shortcomings are easily explained - partly by the wealth of the monasteries, which naturally could distract the care of some weak monks from their essential duties, presenting them at the same time with all the means to fulfill worldly desires, as the chronicler noted, speaking about the Dmitrievsky monastery, erected and enriched by V.K. Izyaslav Yaroslavich: “many monasteries were established by princes and boyars and by wealth, but they are not the essence of tatsi; partly - by the large number of monk monks of that time, who were accepted into the monastery freely from all conditions and of all ages 331. And in populous classes, whatever they may be, there are always, of necessity, members unworthy of their title. B) Persons known for their holiness Among the saints who lived in our fatherland before the Tatar invasion, and are glorified either throughout the Orthodox Church, or only locally revered, we see some royal figures, some of our Archpastors, and finally some ascetics who occupied the lower levels of the hierarchy, or did not occupy them at all, which includes mainly the ascetics of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery and partly the ascetics of other monasteries 332. Among the royal saints, St. The Church shows us: a) Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, who, having become a Christian, became a completely different person, and presented one of the most striking proofs of the extent to which the greatest sinner can be changed by the omnipotent grace of God if he does not resist its action 333; b) St. the passion-bearers Boris and Gleb, who won heavenly crowns for themselves with their piety even before they were crowned with the crowns of martyrs 334; c) St. Vladimir Yaroslavich, the blessed Prince of Novgorod, whose relics openly rest to this day in the Novgorod St. Sophia Church that he created; d) St. Vsevolod (Gabriel) Mstislavich, grandson of Monomakhov, the Pskov wonderworker, who in the days of his life “was a protector and provider for widows and orphans, having his bosom open to everyone”: on the tomb of this Prince, located in the Pskov Trinity Cathedral, his sword hangs to this day with the inscription: honorem meum nemini dabo (to no one I will give my honor); d) teacher Pikola Svyatoshu, Prince of Chernigov, who, having renounced the world in 1106, imprisoned himself in the Pechersk monastery, and was there for a long time as the goalkeeper and servant of the monks, then exhausted his flesh with labor and abstinence, constantly working in his cell or in his small garden, and labored in works of mercy, giving to the poor everything he had: he laid the foundation of the Pechora hospital monastery, and donated many church books to the Lavra; e) St. Igor, from the family of Chernigov Princes, who was Vel. for several times. Prince of Kyiv, and then deposed from the throne and accepted the schema in the Kyiv monastery of St. Theodora: this royal monk fell victim to his enemies, who were dissatisfied with his overthrow; they stirred up the Kyiv mob against him, who, despite the admonitions of the Metropolitan and the secular authorities, removed the unfortunate man from the church where he prayed during the Liturgy and killed him; g) St. the noble Princes of Murom, father Konstantin Svyatoslavich and his children Mikhail and Theodore: their relics rest in one shrine in the Annunciation Murom Monastery; h) teacher Euphrosyne, Princess and Abbess of Polotsk: she founded two monasteries in Polotsk, one for women and one for men, loved to travel to holy places, and died (in 1173) in Jerusalem, from where her incorruptible relics were later transferred to the Kyiv caves. Among our holy Archpastors of that time are: St. Michael, first Metropolitan of Kyiv; Saints Joachim Korsunyanin, Luka Zhidyata, Herman, Nikita, John (Elijah), Martyrius and Anthony - the rulers of Novgorod, who rest in the Novgorod Sophia Church and are revered locally, and the Novgorod Saint Niphon "champion of the Russian land", whose relics rest in the Kyiv caves; Saints Leonty and Isaiah, enlighteners and Bishops of Rostov, whose relics rest in the Cathedral Church of Rostov; teacher Stefan, former Bishop of Vladimir; teacher Ephraim Bishop of Pereyaslavl, whose St. the relics rest in the caves of St. Antonia; St. Mercury, Bishop of Smolensk, whose relics also rest in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra; St. Cyril Bishop of Turov, who was a stylite for some time; St. Simon, the first Bishop of Vladimir, called in modern chronicles teaching and merciful: St. His relics rest in the Kyiv caves. Among the ascetics of the Kiev-Pechersk, some showed in themselves, more or less, an example of all Christian virtues. These were especially: prof. Aptonius, who spent many years in a cramped cave and amazed his students with the severity of cave exploits, extraordinary fasting, continuous prayer to God, and at the same time with an abundant gift of foreknowledge and miracles, and the teacher. Theodosius, who possessed the same moral qualities and grace-filled gifts: an example of meekness, self-mortification, inexhaustible love and the most fiery zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of others. Others are known mainly for their suffering, voluntary, or suffered from others, but used by them for their own moral benefit. Such are the long-suffering John, who for thirty years mortified his flesh, either by fasting for six days, or by heavy chains, or by burying himself in the ground up to his shoulder; Movsey Ugrin, the long-suffering one, suffered many torments and tortures from one Lyakhina, who was his mistress, and who forced her slave to change his virginity; Nikon Sukhoi, who, when he was captured by the Polovtsians, had his master cut the veins under his knees to prevent his escape, and who, after his miraculous deliverance from captivity, added new voluntary ones to his previous sufferings to exhaust his flesh; and Pimen, the much-sick man, suffered from a serious illness for twenty years, and only in the last days of his life received healing. Still others were distinguished by insight and spiritual visions, such as: St. Jeremiah, professor Matthew and Pimen, friend of the teacher. Kuksha, perspicacious ones. Fourth - with special love and compassion for suffering humanity: these are: Rev. Damian the healer, who healed all ailments with prayer and oil; teacher Prokhor Lebednik, famous for his miraculous production of salt, which he supplied to all the poor when there was a shortage; teacher Alypius, our first icon painter, who, in addition to the fact that he usually gave part of the payment for his work to the poor, often miraculously healed dangerous diseases, and the teacher. Agapit, who provided emergency care to many patients (among others, to V.K. Vladimir Monomakh), without any payment, and for this reason was called a gratuitous doctor. The fifth are known as martyrs. This is: teacher. Kuksha, who proclaimed the Word of God to the Vyatichi, and tasted death from them for his preaching; teacher Gregory the Wonderworker, who strongly denounced Rostislav Vsevolodovich, Prince of Pereyaslavl, on whose orders he was drowned in the Dnieper; St. Vasily and Theodore, who died at the hands of Mstislav, the son of Vel, who was irritated against them. Prince Svyatopolk; Venerable Martyr Anastasius, former Deacon of Pechersk; and teacher Evstratiy, taken prisoner in 1096 during the invasion of the Polovtsian Prince Bonyak and sold in Korsun to one Jew, who, for the saint’s inflexibility to his faith, tortured him, starved him, and finally, on the very day of Easter, crucified him on the cross, and threw the deceased into the sea, from where the body of the martyr was miraculously removed and transferred to the Kiev caves. The sixth ones are like hermits, namely: the teacher. Isaac, Lawrence, Arefa and Athanasius. The seventh finally showed exemplary zeal for St. Churches, for example: prof. Erasmus, who devoted all his wealth to decorating the church of God; teacher Spiridon and Nikodim, who worked for thirty years baking prosphora, and therefore were called prosphora makers. Among the saints of God who labored in some of our other monasteries were: Rev. Anthony the Roman, the Novgorod Wonderworker, who miraculously arrived in 1106 from Italy to Veliky Novgorod, and here founded the famous monastery, in which he himself was the first Abbot; teacher Nikita the Stylite, Wonderworker of Pereyaslavl, converted to the path of virtue by the words of the prophet Isaiah: thus says the Lord: wash and cleanse yourself, take away wickedness from your souls, and so on. 335; Rev. Varlaam, founder and first abbot of the Khutyn monastery, Novgorod Wonderworker; teacher Abraham, the first Abbot and Archimandrite of the Smolensk Mother of God Monastery, who distributed his estate, left after the death of his parents, to the poor and in monasticism devoted his labors mainly to preaching the Word of God in the church, and the teacher. Cyprian, the builder of the Arkhangelsk Monastery, who was at first a rich farmer, but then donated all his inherited estate, villages, villages and lands for the establishment of the monastery, and became its first leader. We, however, did not name all the saints of God who labored in our fatherland before the Tatar invasion and became glorified in the Church over time: there were and are even known to many more 336 . And how many remain unknown and undisclosed to people, but known only to the Knower of the Heart, who, according to His wise purposes, deigns only a few of them to be glorified here, before the universal glorification of the righteous in His eternal abodes! From this, everyone can judge with what abundance of His mercy and grace the Lord blessed the Russian Church even in the first period of its existence. Assembled. Russian Years. I, 65–66 and Degrees. I, pp. 142, 146, 221, 222 and 223. Add. to Creation Holy Fathers in Russian. translation Part II, pp. 279, 280. M. 1844. Assembled. Russian Years. II, p. 153, demolished. I, pp. 129, 184, 189. Assembled. Russian Years. I, 102. Many monasteries were established by the Prince and by the boyars and by wealth, but... Ibid. I, p. 69. Ibid. I, 65, 69, 88, 89, etc. Ibid. II, 102, 206, 121, etc. Ibid. I, 65, 129, 185, 187, etc. Ibid. II, pp. 144, 150. Nick. Years. II, 344. Assembled. Russian Years. 1, pp. 164, 178, 188 and Step. Books I, 269. Description Blush. Music No. CCCLXXXXVII, page 579. Collection Rus. Years. II, pp. 94–95. Here one cannot help but recall one ancient legend about forty Kaliks with Kalikas (that’s what pilgrims were called in our country), who wandered to Jerusalem back in the days of the “red sun”, V.K. Vladimir. See Tales of the Russian people of Sakharov. T.I. As the teacher testifies. Nestor in his life. See about him in the Dictionary of Russian Saints. Histor. Sovereign Russian. Karamz. II, p. 146 note. 211. Histor. information about the life of the teacher Euphrosyne K. P. pp. 12–16, St. Petersburg. 1841. In the questions of the famous Kirik we read: “And those like them go towards Jerusalem to the saints, and I do not order others to go to the battlefield: here I command the good one to be” and further: “Byakhu company went, if they wanted to go to Jerusalem, he ordered me to drink: that’s why, he said, the company should destroy this land.” Memory Ross. Verbal XII century pp. 176 and 203. Assembled. Russian Years. II, p. 283, and Karamz. II, p. 145. Ibid. II, p. 95 and in K.-Pecher. Pater. Life of the Pred. Polycarp Archimandrite. Assembled. Russian Years. I, pp. 100 and 102. Ibid. I, pp. 86, 129, 178, 188; II, pp. 102, 106, 134, 151. Ibid. II, pp. 101, 115, 188, etc. Nestor. according to Koenigsb. list pp. 274, 225. Hist. State Gossiysk II, 143 and Collection. Russian Years. I, pp. 155, 167; II, pp. 2, 228. Assembled. Russian Years. I, pp. 103–105. Ibid pp. 85, 88, 92, 156, 184, 187, etc. “What is more wonderful than this, for example, the author of the Degree Book cries out, and who can speak such wondrous and indispensable miracles as the Lord Christ performs, renewing and enlightening with divine Baptism the Autocrat Vladimir, together with the entire Russian land, and to this day in all the Russian Autocrats there has not been anyone in them who was not pious, and no one from them has ever doubted or been tempted in the least about the true Christian law, about the life-giving words of Christ, the Gospel and Apostolic traditions and the teachings of the Fathers, but all... in the same way of orthodoxy, not depraved, but one and equal to the flow, and all one in the same virtues succeeding towards God, and in repentance and in tenderness their life I convey, and all the Russian state unanimously blessed by him, I firmly observe from all heresies?... There are many from them, even if they are not celebrated solemnly and are not manifested, but they are still holy...; and what was revealed from God here was glorified, and these holy and blessed memories the Church of God has accepted to celebrate with a glorious triumph forever and ever”... Frequently. I, pp. 178–179; demolished 220 and 226. Assembled. Russian Years. I, 78–82, 91 and 254–258. The chronicler, describing these phenomena, more than once notes: “the same sign was not good,” or: “the same sign was not good.” Assembled. Russian Years. I, pp. 70, 71 Hist. State Russian. Karamz. II, pp. 71, 100 and 166; III, p. 242. “Behold, because of our sins,” the chronicler repeats in almost every one of these cases,... behold, God brought upon us, commanding us to have repentance”...; or: “And seeing these signs, people of good faith pray with sighs to God and with tears that God would turn these signs for good.” Assembled. Russian Years. I, pp. 92, 96 and 117. Hist. State Russian. Karamz, II, p. 110. Assembled. Russian Years. I, p. 78 and Step. Book I. pp. 201–210, 264, 288, etc. Russian Hon. I. page 94. Assembled. Russian Years. I, page 73, demolished. page 79. Russian Hon. I, 91, 101, etc. Collection Russian Years. I, page 73. Collection Russian Years. I, p. 176; II, p. 100. “Great evil has come to pass in the Russian land,” the chronicler exclaims, “there was no such evil as there was from the baptism over Kiev”... That is why in our ancient folk songs, often with Lado and Lelya (evidence of the most pathetic ignorance and recklessness!), the Most Pure Mother of God and the Most Holy Mother are sung. Trinity. See Russian. common people holiday Snegireva, part. I. Vestn. Europe. 1826 No. 4. Russians in their proverbs and books. IV. p. 12 and Russian simple folklore. holiday Part I. As is known from the church canon of Metropolitan John and the answers of the Novgorod Saints to Kirik’s questions. Full Assembled. Russian Years. Volume. III, addition to Novgorod. second summer page 179. Collection Russian Years. I, p. 67. This also includes the testimony of Metropolitan Hilarion (1051), who, describing the rapid spread of Christianity in Russia, says, among other things: “the monasteries on the mountains of Stasha; the monks have appeared.” Add. to Creation St. Fathers in Russian translation II, p. 241. In general, information about our monasteries is presented in History. Russian. Hierarch. in alphabetical order from part 2 to the last: from there we borrow this information. For more details both about the beginning of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and about the miraculous construction of the great Kiev-Pechersk stone church, see Collection. Russian Years. I, pp. 67–69, 79–85, 89 and 254–258, also Described. K.-Pecher. Laurels ed. in 1831, pp. 2–14, and with it demolished. a very important note about the life of the teacher. Anthony in Russian Histor. Collection volume. IV, pp. 394–409. Moscow 1840. See eg. life of the teacher Alypius the icon painter. Assembled. Russian Years. I. 129, 185, 187, II. 82, 102, 106, 121, 265. See the oldest of the original princely charters, given by Novgor. Yuryevsky Monastery V.K. Mstislav for lands and court duties. Karamz. II, note. 256 and added. to Act. Histor. I, no. 2. Assembled. Russian Years. II, p. 82; demolished 282; also Described. K.-Pecher. Laurel. p. 77. Kyiv, 1831, and Stepen. books. I, page 159. See the life of the teacher. Feodosia. Histor. Russian. Hierarchies II, pp. XIII and XVIII. Description K.-Pecher. Laurel. Page 19, 47 and 165–176. Collection Russian Years. I, 81, 261, 262 and 265. See last. him to Polycarp, Monk of Pechersk in Memory. Russian. Verbal XII century. See Church. rule of Met. John II, in the first part of Russian. The hon. page 100. Histor. Russian. Hierarch. II, XIII. For more details, see the Dictionary of Historical. O Saints, glorified in Ross. Churches, and about someone. locally revered ascetics. St. Petersburg 1836. Assembled. Russian Years. I, page 56. This saint of God died at the hands of murderers, who, mistaking his iron chains, worn out over time, for silver, wanted to take possession of them. See in Historical. Dictionary. Holy Russian, for example. life of the teacher Nikon, Rev. Varlaam, teacher. Nestor the Chronicler and many others. others. You might be interested in: