Saint Demetrius of Rostov and Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery

Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, is one of those saints whose glory does not fade with the changing times: his merits for the Church of Christ are immense and can be equated with the merits of the greatest saints of the universal Church. And it is not for nothing that he is called in church hymns “Russian Chrysostom”, “Great Teacher”, “Tsevnitsa Spiritual”. St. Demetrius, this truly Russian “Chrysostom,” like Chrysostom of Constantinople, together with the great gift of preaching, combined in himself both the holiness of life and a comprehensive education for that time. Instructing the Rostov flock entrusted to him with his words “timely and untimely,” St. Demetrius, at the same time, carried out labors for the same flock in the pursuit of writings. “My rank, which I am not worthy of,” he writes to Feodor Polikarpov, manager of the Moscow printing house, “should preach the word of God not just with the tongue, but also with the writing hand.” And if in the Russian Church, among the many hierarchs, the names of such administrators as Filaret of Moscow, - historians, like Filaret of Chernigov, - preachers, like Platon Levshin, or Innocent of Kherson, - theologians, like St. Theophan the Recluse, - even connoisseurs of literature and music, like Metropolitan Eugene or Bishop Alexander (Svetlakov), are rightly revered - finally, the names of a whole host of ascetics: one Saint Demetrius was able to combine all these varied activities in his short life. With his life St. Demetrius taught the same instructive lesson that he taught in his conversations to the flock. He fulfilled the virtues he preached to such an extent that already during his lifetime he was called by his contemporaries “righteous and pleasing to God.” His virtues shone brightly, both in the monastic cell and in the cathedral. Prayer, fasting, humility of St. Demetrius were constant companions of his life; The vow of non-covetousness was observed by him in all severity. He used all his property to decorate churches and to the needy: he was the father of orphans and widows, often established meals for the poor, gave them clothes and provided other benefits, denying himself many things. And it is not in vain that in the spiritual letter, in the spiritual testament of St. Demetrius, it was said in conclusion: “If someone begins to diligently look for gold and silver after me, then even if he works hard, he will not find anything, God will judge him.” The crown of all the virtues of St. Dimitri had love for Bon and mercy for his neighbors. It did not take long, however, for this great lamp of God to burn and shine for the world on earth. The powers of St. Demetrius, exhausted by long-term exploits and incessant labors, finally became impoverished... It was the last days of October 1709... news arrived that Tsarina Praskovia Feodorovna would arrive in Rostov. St. Demetrius was already so weak in health that he did not hope to receive her - “here, two hosts are coming,” he said to the treasurer Philaret, “the Queen of Heaven (the Tolga Icon of the Mother of God, transferred to Rostov) and the queen of earth. Only I won’t be able to see them anymore, but you, treasurer, must be ready to receive them.” On the day of his angel (October 26), the saint, despite a strong cough, himself served the liturgy in the cathedral, but he could no longer pronounce his teaching for that day, and a singer read for him from a notebook, while the bishop himself sat at the royal doors. From the church he went down to the meal, which was served in the chamber of the cross, but he still could not eat anything. October 27 was the last day of St.'s life. Dimitri. The cough choked him, and the saint thought to ease it by moving; therefore, he began to walk around the cell, supported by two servants by the arms, - then he ordered to call the singers, who, at the request of the bishop, began to sing the cants: “My most beloved Jesus,” “I place my hope in God,” “You are my God, Jesus, you are my joy.” At that time the saint himself was sitting by the stove in a deep chair. The singing ended, and the saint said goodbye to the singers, blessing each one and leaving with him only his especially beloved singer Savva Yakovlev, “his most diligent assistant in his work,” and talked with him for a long time, telling him about his youth, how he lived, how he always resorted to prayer. At the end of the story, the saint said: “Here you are, children, pray the same way!” After a pause, he added: “It’s time for you too, child; go home"! Then, having blessed the singer and escorted him to the door, the saint suddenly bowed low, almost to the ground, thanking him for his constant work and correspondence. The singer shuddered and looked at the bishop in bewilderment. “Thank you, child!” - repeated St. Dimitri. The singer began to cry, but St. Demetrius had already closed the cell door behind him, and was left alone with God, to Whom, during the prayer that followed, his soul flew away in the sacred silence of the midnight hour. Early in the morning of October 28, those who entered the cell of St. Demetrius, they found him already deceased, in a bowed prayer position on his knees, on the floor. The news of the death of the beloved shepherd shocked everyone. Empress Praskovia Feodorovna no longer found the saint she deeply respected alive and wept bitterly while listening to the funeral services for him. The burial of the deceased was postponed: it was to be performed by a friend of the saint, Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan Yavorsky. Such was the will of the deceased: he agreed with Yavorsky that whichever of them outlives the other should perform the burial of his deceased friend. And for a whole month the body of St. Demetrius rested in the Kremlin Church of the Savior on Seny, awaiting the burial of his belated friend. Metropolitan Stefan, who arrived from Moscow, wept over the body of his deceased friend, and in the coffin he was reminded of his non-covetousness: he was dressed in the most modest bishop's attire made of simple material, on the head was the same miter with St. images; under the head of the saint his draft manuscripts rested, as he himself bequeathed to be done during his lifetime. The burial took place in the Rostov Cathedral on Friday, November 25, after the liturgy. Metropolitan Stefan said the funeral oration, where he repeated: “Holy Demetrius, holy”! After burial, the body of the deceased saint, with the weeping of the Rostovites, was transferred from the Kremlin to the Conception Yakovlevsky Monastery, according to the will of the deceased: for even on the first of March 1702, when, entering from Moscow to Rostov for the metropolis, St. Demetrius stopped on his way to the Yakovlevsky Monastery, then, venerating the miraculous relics of St. Jacob, he turned to those present and, pointing to the western corner of the church, said in a prophetic spirit: “Behold, my rest, here I will dwell forever and ever!” St. died Dimitry Rostovsky. But such a lamp, which even on earth shone together with the inhabitants of heaven, could not, by the grace given to it from God, remain hidden, and, in its blissful imagination, it was soon placed on the candlestick. St. shone with his life and works. Demetrius on earth before his glorification, this wondrous Pleasant of God shines with glorification and his abundant miracles even after his repose “in all countries of the Russian state.” The chosen one is holy. Demetrius to the place of his eternal rest and special grace-filled presence and miracles, the Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery is located on the very shore of Lake Nero, washing Rostov on the southern side - and, in terms of architecture, in its marvelous location on the lake shore, in the splendor of its white walls with towers and cathedrals, immersed in greenery - is the most outstanding in the vicinity of Rostov. The beauty of the Spaso-Yakovlevskaya monastery from the side of the lake defies description; one must see for oneself this sparkling white mass of monastery churches and buildings, surrounded by high slender walls, with bizarre turrets of unusually light architecture. You need to see this whole vastness, as if in a mirror, reflected in the calm depths of the Rostov lake to the smallest detail in order to form an approximately correct idea of ​​​​the pretty and gentle beauty of this wonderful monastery... Initially, the monastery was called Zachatievsky, after the name of the church in the name of the conception of St. Anna; was also called Yakovlevsky, after the name of the saint of God who rests here, St. Jacob, Bishop of Rostov; from 1764, when the Spassky Monastery, located several fathoms away from it, was assigned to this monastery - the princesses, on Peski, - the Yakovlevsky Zachatyevsky Monastery began to be called the Spaso-Yakovlevsky Zachatyevsky Monastery; and from 1836 the monastery was allowed by the Holy Synod to be called Spaso-Yakovlevsky-Dimitrievsky. This monastery was founded at the end of the 14th century by St. Jacob, Bishop of Rostov, on the following occasion. In the third year of the saint's accession to the Rostov see, around 1389, one of the Rostov princesses, Theodora, armed the Rostov prince against herself, by whom, together with the boyars, as a criminal, she was condemned to death. Theodora resorted to the help of the saint and begged him to save her from execution. Following the example of the Savior, St. Jacob ordered the first stone to be thrown into it by the one who considers himself sinless. The prince, boyars and citizens, dissatisfied with such a court of the saint, which violated their sentence, expelled their shepherd from the city and arbitrarily deprived him of pastoral power. St. James left the Rostov Kremlin, approached Lake Nero, took off his mantle and, throwing it on the water, stood on it and, as if on a boat, sailed to the shore where the monastery is now located. Here he initially built a small hut; but when many of the citizens devoted to him began to gather to live with him, then he built wooden cells for the brethren, and after that a church in the name of the conception of St. Anna, and thus laid the foundation of the Rostov Conception Monastery. In 1392, on November 27, Saint James died peacefully and was buried in the northern side of the Conception Church, where to this day his holy relics rest in secret. The Cathedral Conception Church of the monastery was built in the 17th century by the Rostov Metropolitan Jonah Sisoevich. In this church, by the way, there are remarkable things: the royal doors are silver, gilded, as well as a silver gilded tabernacle placed on the throne, in the form of a church, weighing 1 pood. 25 lb. (gift of Count N.I. Sheremetev) - which attracted the special attention of Emperor Alexander I during his visit to this church in 1823. Above the royal doors hangs on straps one of the greatest shrines of the monastery, richly decorated with pearls and precious stones, the cell of St. Demetrius, the icon of the Mother of God of Vatopedi, given to him as a parental blessing. It was brought by the saint to Rostov, and on the day of his burial it was brought to the Yakovlevsky Monastery along with the body of the saint and another Bogolyubskaya icon, which the saint met. Demetrius's Rostov flock (at his accession to the metropolitanate in 1702) and which was left forever at his tomb. On Sundays, after Vespers, the Vatopedi icon comes down and an akathist is read before it, attracting many pilgrims. On the northern side of the church, in an arch near the iconostasis, there is the tomb of St. Jacob, Bishop of Rostov, and his relics rest. In 1845, through the zeal of Count. A.A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya, over the relics of St. A forged silver shrine (weighing 7 pounds, 28 pounds, costing 9,276 silver rubles) was made for Jacob: it looks like an oblong quadrangle, with the court of St. Jacob over the book. Theodora, the miracles of the saint and brief information about his life are written in gilded letters. Near the southwestern corner of the church, St. rests in a magnificent shrine. relics of Dimitri, Metropolitan of Rostov. Cancer - in the likeness of a tomb and forged from silver; there are silver hallmarks on the corners; The silver cover on the outside is decorated with a pulpit, a staff, a lamp - also made of silver and decorated with chasing in places. The rak is lined inside with crimson velvet and around the edges with gold braid; There is a richly decorated tomb in it, made of mahogany with silver enamel decorations, in which the relics of St. Demetrius, in full priestly vestments. On the head of the saint is placed a precious miter, donated by Count. N.I. Sheremetov. In front of the shrine, at the foot of the Saint, there is an image of him in a silver frame, painted on canvas in 1759. Rotary. Cancer and the image are arranged by the emperor. Elizaveta Petrovna. Before the image of the Saint and at the shrine of St. there are many unquenchable lamps hanging from the relics; By the way, hanging here: the lamp of Emperor Alexander II, the lamp led. Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich and his son (the same name as the Saint), led. Prince Dimitri Konstantinovich reflect with their unquenchable light the grateful feelings of the Pleasant of God and the warm love for him from the royal palaces. Behind the shrine hangs the vestments of the saint. Demetrius - crimson satin, with embroidered gold patterns 1. Located under the same roof with the Conception Church, the church in the name of St. Jacob, built in 1836 by Countess A.A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya and consecrated by Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, decorated with a richly carved iconostasis and wall letters with gilding, executed by the artist Medvedev, famous in his time; on the throne there is a gilded bronze robe, from the ancient shrine of St. James, created by the diligence of A.F. Malgina. In the altar there is a remarkable painting from Karachi: “The Savior in the Crown of Thorns” (a gift from Countess Orlova), bought abroad for 10,000 rubles. The next church is in the name of St. Demetrius, the five-domed one is usually called Sheremetevsky, since Count N.I. Sheremetev was one of the major contributors to its construction. According to legend, Count Sheremetev promised to build this church in memory of the birth of his son, named after St. Pleasant - Dimitri. At this church, instead of a porch, there is a portico with four steps made of white stone. The portico of the church and the church itself are furnished with high columns with capitals of the Corinthian and Ionic orders and decorated with pediments. Between the columns there are niches in which human-sized plaster images of martyrs and other saints are installed. Similar images are placed inside the pediments; the walls in the niches and inside the pediments are covered with blue paint, which gives the sculptural figures a more distinct shape. Every year, the relics of St. are transferred to this church for the whole summer, from May 25 to September 31. Demetrius, after surrounding the monastery, placed in a luxurious silver shrine, deliberately built for this purpose in 1911. During the construction of this shrine (one piece of silver weighs 5 pounds, worth 6,500 rubles) and the marble canopy under it (worth up to 4,000 rubles), the people's love for St. Demetrius was expressed in the most touching way. And, precisely in a very short time, the cost of the shrine and the canopy was covered by the generous offerings of pious admirers of the great Pleasant of God; By the way, among the donors for this is St. Even two Tatars wrote down their names, showing that the rays of the glory of this wondrous Saint penetrated even through the darkness enveloping the infidels. In 1912, a cave church of the Resurrection of Christ was built under the Yakovlevsky Church. In this church there is a cave - an exact likeness of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, as well as a likeness of Bethlehem, Golgotha ​​and the prison of the Savior. On the right side, in a niche in the foundation, there is a marble tombstone over the burial place of St. Jacob. The church, completely inaccessible to daylight, beautifully decorated and painted with pictures of the suffering, death and resurrection of the Savior, makes a wonderful impression, transporting the visitor to the Holy Land. On Saturdays, an akathist sung to the life-giving tomb of the Lord is performed in this church. On Holy Saturday, the shroud is placed here after the church is surrounded (at Matins), and pilgrims enter here to kiss it, experiencing strong impressions. At the abbot's chambers in 1909, a house church in the name of the Tolga Mother of God was built in the southwestern tower of the monastery fence. The view from this tower over the lakeside location is enchanting; from it a staircase is laid to the rooftop platform, from where on a clear day you can see with a simple eye up to 30 churches standing around the lake and near the Moscow road. And this very house, abbot’s church, surrounded on all sides by water, visible in all the windows in the spring, gives the impression of floating on the waters, creating a special mood, characteristic only of Athonite monasteries. The Rostov Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery was visited in 1718 by Empress Maria Feodorovna, in 1823 by Emperor Alexander I, in 1831 by Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, in 1839 by Emperor (then Heir) Alexander Nikolaevich. And finally, in 1913, on May 22, on the eve of the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the unovergrown royal path to the monastery of the great saints of God - Saints James and Demetrius - received the pilgrimage feet of the now safely reigning Sovereign Emperor and His Most August Children. The monastic chronicle has been enriched with another bright and unforgettable page, which will be re-read with love and tenderness by the most distant streams and successors of Rostov and the monastery of Spaso-Yakovlevskaya. In the monastery sacristy, among other things, are kept: the miter, in which the incorrupt relics of St. Demetrius were found, as well as the following things: a white paper towel sent to him from Jerusalem on August 12, 1705, and a white calico shawl of the Saint.