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The beginning of the indictment, i.e. the new summer Spring and autumn have always been especially important for peoples. Autumn has been the beginning of the new year since ancient primitive times. The reason for starting the year in the fall is indicated partly by the nature itself and the most important events of the Old Testament and Christian Church. The indication of nature is evident in the fact that with the end of summer, the harvest and the labors of the year usually end (Ex. 23:16). After the collection of fruits, as after achieving the goal of nature and agriculture, a new cycle of affairs begins and new hopes for future fertility. In accordance with this course of nature, autumn, namely the seventh month (September) was the beginning of the year among the most ancient of peoples - among the people of God - among the Jews (Ex. 23:16) and other peoples. The main and fundamental number in determining the parts of time among the Jews was the number seven. The Lord, the King of the ages, who established times and years in His power (Acts 1:7), and in them, for the glory of His name and for our repose from the affairs of this life, legitimized various days and holidays, gave the command in the Old Testament to celebrate the seventh day and month and year, and the seventh or sabbatical year, and the seventh of the seventh or sabbath years. After 6 seven days, the Jews had a holiday - Saturday - the seventh day. After 7 weeks or 49 days of Easter, Pentecost was celebrated. Six months of the year passed; the new anniversary of the civil year was celebrated. Six years ended, and the New Year of the Sabbath year was celebrated. Seven weeks of years or forty-nine years passed - the new anniversary of the fiftieth year, called the jubilee, was celebrated. Hence, among the Jews, the new year of the civil year was threefold: the new year of each year, or the new year of the simple year, the new year of the Sabbath year, and the new year of the jubilee. The new anniversary of the simple civil year was celebrated on the first day of the seventh month - Tisri, corresponding to our September, and was a special holiday. On the seventh month, on the first day of the month, may you have rest, says the Lord to Moses, memorial of trumpets (feast of trumpets): you will be called holy. Do not do any work, but offer a burnt offering to the Lord (Lev.23:24-25). On this holiday there was a sacred meeting among the people, sacrifices were multiplied (Numbers 29:1-6). The people in the tabernacle, and then in the temple and in the synagogues, listened to the reading of the law and were touched in their souls, remembering the inscrutable destinies of God over them. In addition to its pious significance, the annual civil New Year was very important for Jews in relation to civil and economic life. By the seventh month, the field and garden produce of the land was usually ripened and gathered (Lev.23:39). Consequently, debtors could pay off creditors at this time; The poor among the people easily obtained food for themselves. If the harvest was good. This was a sign of God’s favor and showed that the people were walking in the commandments of the Lord - then everyone praised Jehovah their God. If the earth gave birth meagerly, the people humbled their souls before Jehovah, repented, took vows of the strictest fidelity, and at the same time were more actively encouraged to cultivate the fields, vegetable gardens and orchards in the coming year. Each family man, seeing the mercy or wrath of his God in the collected bread, called upon Jehovah’s blessing for the coming year. The New Year of the Sabbath year was also celebrated on the first day of the seventh month, only six years later, with the same rituals and sacrifices as the beginning of any simple year. But the entire Sabbath year was, one might say, a new year, or a holiday for the whole year. During this year, deeds of piety and duties of love towards others were strengthened. The Law of God, in addition to the usual times of reading, was read especially on the Feast of Tabernacles for eight days (from September 15 to 22), and all the people had to listen to it. For seven years during the summer of abandonment, on the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes together to appear before the Lord your God, read the law before all Israel. Gather together the people, men, and wives, and children, and the stranger that is in your cities, that they may hear, and learn to fear your God (Deut. 31:10-12). Slaves were set free when they had served 6 years before the Sabbath year; the poor were given complete freedom to use the products of the earth, not collected by anyone; debts were either not collected during the year, or were completely forgiven, which is why the Sabbath year was called the year of abandonment or forgiveness (Deut. 15:1-2. Ex. 23:10-11). This year was especially important economically; Here farming, fruit picking and pruning of vineyards ceased for a whole year. Through this, the earth returned its exhausted strength and the plants became stronger (Lev.25:1–7). The New Year of Jubilee was celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month, the day of atonement. The coming of this year was heralded by the sacred sound of a trumpet or horn, and then a general celebration for the Israelites opened - the year of jubilee. At this time, sabbathkeeping lasted two years, i.e. the forty-ninth year, which, according to the calculation of seven seven years, is always a Sabbath year, and the jubilee, i.e. fiftieth year. You will count seven years of rest for yourself, God said about the jubilee, seven years seven times: and you will be seven weeks of years, forty-nine years. And you shall proclaim it with the trumpet throughout all your land on the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month: in the day of atonement you shall proclaim it with the trumpet throughout all your land. And sanctify the summer, the fiftieth year, and proclaim the abandonment on the earth to all who live on it (Lev. 25:8-10). This abandonment consisted of: 1) the emancipation of slaves and their complete manumission, so that in the year of jubilee there was not a single slave left in the entire land of Judea except those who had entered into slavery from foreigners (Lev. 25:39–46). 2) In the return of each Jew to his tribe and to his ancestral land. Every Jew, no matter where he was, returned to his tribe and looked for his ancestral plot of land (Lev.25:10-13). 3) In the return of sold or mortgaged estates, which on the anniversary were given without payment to their former owners; if the owners died, then to their heirs (Lev. 25:13–17, 23–28, 31). 4) In the forgiveness of debts consisting of movable property, for example. livestock, grain bread, money. 5) The cessation of agriculture everywhere. I will send, God said, My blessing to you in the sixth summer, and it will produce its fruit for three years: and you will sow in the eighth summer, and you will bear from the old fruit until the ninth summer (Lev. 25:21-22). Thus, the New Years among the Jews were holidays not only for people, but also for all of nature; they brought with them the desired peace not only to man and cattle, but to the plow and the sickle, the scythe and the knife that clears the vine. The anniversary was in the full sense the year of the Lord for all the kingdoms of nature, unusually joyful and pleasant. The month of September is the most important month in nature, the most sacred in the structure of the Old Testament Church, the most solemn for its many great holidays and events, and was especially significant for the Christian Church. On the first day of the seventh month, when the new summer was celebrated in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, having come to Nazareth, where he was brought up, and entering the synagogue according to His custom on the Sabbath day, publicly proclaimed that this day this scripture would be fulfilled in your ears: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me: for the sake of My anointing, to bring good news to the poor, My Ambassador, to heal the brokenhearted, preach release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, send the brokenhearted into joy, preach the pleasant year of the Lord (Isa.61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19). On the first day of September, says St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, “The Lawgiver Himself revealed Himself to the world, descending from those on high, carrying the Spirit of the Father on Himself and writing the law of God, not with the finger, but with His Divine tongue and His sweet lips, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of our hearts of flesh.” In memory of this most sacred event, as well as in memory of the glorious victory, which in 312, after a long struggle, the Christian faith, under its defender, Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine, defeated paganism, in the person of the defeated Maxentius, and reigned in the world, in the person of King Constantine, who became sovereign after the deposition of Maxentius, St. The fathers of the First Ecumenical Council decided to begin the new summer on September 1. In 540, the Greek Emperor Justinian, having abolished the calendar from the creation of Rome, which continued in the Roman Empire, and adopted the calendar from the creation of the world, appointed the beginning of the year for everyone - the first of September. From that time on, the circle of the year in the Roman Empire began in September. This chronology was dominant throughout almost all of Europe until the half of the 15th century. Together with the Christian faith, the Greek Church transferred its chronology to the Russian Church, which preserves this chronology. The ancient beginning of the year, September 1, is called in the church charter by the Latin word indict. This name comes from the decree of Augustus Caesar to collect taxes from the people for 15 years. For the most convenient collection of taxes and in memory of the victory won at Ocarnan Cape Actium 30 years BC. September 1 or 2, which decided the fate between Antony and Octavian and gave Augustus supreme power in the Roman Empire, was designated as the beginning of the year - the time of the end of the harvest, i.e. month September. The period of time from which the fifteen-year collection of taxes began was called by the Romans indictio (command or announcement of taxes). Although the Christian indict was not legitimized by the Roman kings, but by the Heavenly King Christ, but in the name of the Roman indict of St. the fathers named in the 4th century the first of September 312, in which the pious defender of the faith and the Church of Christ triumphed over the persecutor of Christians and acquired the power of autocracy. The Christian indict is also a circle of time, containing 15 years. In the 8th century the Church received from St. John of Damascus, many sacred hymns for the first day of September. From St. Rev. Monks are especially surprised by their saints. the exploits of the pillars, who, burning with love for God and seeking special works of piety, served or stood before God on the pillars. We encounter the feat of standing on a pillar for the sake of piety earlier than the 4th century. But in the 5th century. This feat is glorified everywhere. “A new and amazing mystery has taken place in our times,” says Anthony, a student of Simeon the Stylite, beginning his biography. Simeon, a young Syrian from a shepherd's estate, brought up in piety, was the first stylite, famous for his feat on the pillar. Having once heard in church the words of the Gospel about the bliss of the poor in spirit and those who cry (Matthew 5:3), he asked one elder: how to acquire this bliss? “By fasting, prayer, humility, poverty and withdrawal from the world,” answered the elder. Young Simeon decided in his heart to retire from the vanities of the world and secretly from his parents hid in a neighboring monastery; At the age of 18 he took monastic vows; was in strict obedience to everyone; He did not fast until evening every day, following the example of other monks, but for an entire week; He wrapped his body from hips to neck with a rope woven from date branches, so tightly that the branches dug into his body and caused him painful wounds from which blood flowed. But the abbot ordered to remove these chains. Raising his thoughts and heart to God with the inspired words of the Psalmist, the saint in a short time learned the entire Psalter by heart. Thirsting for the strictest feats of piety, Simeon left the monastery, secluded himself in the desert mountains and then spent three years in a cramped cell as a recluse in unceasing prayer and the strictest fasting. The fame of his exploits spread throughout the surrounding area, and visitors flocked to him from everywhere, wanting to touch him and receive his blessing. Avoiding glory, Rev. Simeon intended to create a pillar and stand on it, so that those who came to the monk could not touch it. So, he began to collect nearby stones and from them he built himself a pillar 6 cubits high and a cramped hut 2 cubits high. Having ascended this pillar and constantly looking at the open heavens, the monk constantly remained in fasting and ascended to God in prayer. A few years later, those who were zealous for the monk created for him another pillar of 12 cubits, then 22, then 36, finally 40 cubits, and around the pillar a stone fence: which is why the Rev. Simeon is called an archimandrite (μανὸρα - fence). Using various pillars, as if on a ladder, the monk ascended to the heavenly settlements, enduring many hardships on these pillars, drenched by rain, burned by the heat, tormented by the cold, feeding on juice and water. According to the voice of the Church, he “was a pillar of patience, a zealot for Job in the passions, for Joseph in temptations and in the Bodiless life.” New and extraordinary feats of St. Simeon's life aroused the greatest surprise and respect for him in everyone. Nicephorus Callistus writes: “the great Simeon, holy and glorious in memory, was the first to choose to stand on a pillar and acquired for himself a glorious name, having a dwelling of two cubits on the pillar. At this time, Domnos or Domnus was at the see of Antioch, who, having heard about the exploits of Simeon and came to him, was struck with surprise and wished to have communication with him in the secret of St. communion. The Great Simeon, ascending the mountain with his very body and imitating the life of the Angels, renounced all earthly goods and imitating the life of the Angels, renounced all earthly goods and worries; Having gathered his strength, he strove for the things above and created for himself a dwelling between heaven and earth, so that, outside of any society and obstacles, he could unceasingly bless and glorify God, together with the Angels. He was like a mediator, lifting up the prayers of people praying to God and giving them great grace from above. His amazing deeds are remembered by many eyewitnesses. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, pleasantly and eloquently outlined the exploits of Simeon in his history. How Simeon, an earthly Angel, still in the flesh a citizen and resident of heavenly Jerusalem, strove along a completely new path of life, not paved by anyone: then the fathers who lived on the tops of the mountains, very favorably disposed towards him, sent to him on their own to ask him: what does such an extraordinary and wonderful life mean? Why did he, having left the path previously traversed by almost all saints, embarked on another completely unknown path? And they demanded that he come down from the pillar and asceticize following the example of St. fathers. And just as he was ready to step down from the pillar, they allowed him to lead the kind of life he had chosen; by his obedience they judged that God Himself had inspired him with his way of life.” The monk, by the power of grace that dwelt in him, healed all sorts of illnesses and ailments, and foresaw the future. Thousands of people prostrated themselves before the pillar of St. Simeon and asked for his blessing. The pagans, looking at him, were convinced of the truth of the Gospel and accepted the Christian faith. All of Simeon’s advice was listened to as if inspired by God. Emperor Theodosius the Younger or Second (408–450) obeyed the words of the monk; Theodosius' successor, Marcian, secretly in the clothes of a commoner visited the extraordinary ascetic, took advantage of his spiritual conversation and was amazed at him; Marcian's successor, Emperor Leo, wrote letters to the monk as a famous ascetic. The queens of Persia and Ismail asked for his blessings and prayers. Glorious for his great deeds of piety, the gift of miracles and insight, St. Simeon was so meek and humble that he considered himself the most humiliated of all. He appeared to everyone with a cheerful face and a kind word. Those who visited the saint could not get enough of the vision of his and St.’s magnificent face. his conversation. He labored not on the pillars of heaven and earth, about 47, but in the opinion of St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, up to 80 years old. The routine of the saint’s daily life was as follows: all night and day until 9 am he stood in prayer, at 9 o’clock he edified those who came to him, listened to and alleviated the petitions and needs of those who came to him; comforted the mourning, healed the sick with the power of prayer. When the sun set, he stood up again to pray. During such labors, he did not cease to care for the peace of the Orthodox Church; He taught kings and leaders with his wise and soul-saving letters. Letters from Rev. have been preserved to this day. Simeon the Stylite: one to Emperor Theodosius the Younger and the return of the churches given to the Antiochian Jews, which the emperor actually returned to the Christians; another about the Council of Chalcedon to Emperor Leo; the third about the same council to Basil, Bishop of Antioch, the fourth to Eudoxia the Empress, who fell into the Eutychean heresy; a word about the constant remembrance of everyone’s death, and so on. Thus, spending the days of his life, and at a distance from society, beneficial for him, the reverend. The stylite reposed in 459 on September 1, 103 years old. After the repose of the saint, his miraculous relics with great triumph, with a large gathering of people and troops, were transferred by the patriarch to Antioch, “like a wall and defense of the city,” and then the Church began to create his memory. At the site of his exploits, a church was built in his name. In the 8th century, from John of Damascus, who composed a canon with an acrostic: “Receive singing, O all-blessed Simeon,” and from Patriarch Herman, the Church accepted sacred hymns of praise, now sung in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite. In these hymns, spiritual hymns praise Simeon as an imitator of the Lord Christ. “Christ ascended to the cross, he also climbed to the pillar. If it were possible to speak to the pillar, the cries of its illness, labors and sobs would not cease. The angels were surprised, the people were amazed, the demons were afraid of Simeon’s patience. The Persians, Ethiopians, Indians, Scythians and Arabians learned his wisdom.” Glory to St. The exploits of the Monk Simeon the Stylite were so great that after the 12th century many followed his way of life. † Memory bliss. John Kukuzel Blessed John was from Dyrrachia, Slavic Drach. Blessed One was also a Slav. John, although due to life circumstances he received a Greek education in Constantinople. His surname Kukuzel indicates his Slavic origin. When he, taken to court for his beautiful voice, was brought up with other children, and the children asked him: what did he eat? He, not yet knowing the Greek language well, answered innocently: Kuku-zele. The Greek kuki is a bean, and the Serbian zele is a plant. So they began to call him Kukuzele. But with his talents for singing and many writings on church singing, he glorified his nickname, so that in the 14th century. we see several more Kukuzels - experts in Greek church singing 2 . John’s extraordinary skill in singing not only earned him the title of Domestic - the head of the court singers, but it also made him a favorite of the nobles and the Tsar himself. The king, respecting his talents and good life, was preparing to introduce him into a family relationship with one of his rich nobles. But pious John was not carried away by court gaiety. “His soul yearned for the Lord. Once he happened to see the abbot of the Lavra of Athos with the emperor and learn about the life of the hermits of Athos. Captivated by the quiet life of God's prayer books, John secretly left the courtyard, with a staff in his hand and rags on his shoulders. On Mount Athos he calls himself a shepherd and receives the assignment of herding goats. John remained in obscurity for a long time; They looked for him in vain by order of the emperor. The desert life consoled John; he silently prayed to the Lord. One day he was sitting in thought with his flock; the thought ran through his past life and his heart trembled with gratitude to God for providing for him. Thinking that there was no one to hear him in the desert, John began to sing sacred songs and his angelic voice filled the deserted heights of Athos with melodic sounds. - The touched singer sang for a long time and in sweetness; and meanwhile, in the wild gorge, an amazed hermit listened to him. Where did this angelic singer, and also a shepherd, come from? thought the hermit. He went to the Lavra and told the abbot about the wonderful singer-shepherd. John was summoned to the Lavra and, conjured by the name of God, revealed to the abbot that he was the teacher of the court singers John. The abbot, in his fading gaze and lifeless cheeks, could hardly recognize the royal favorite, whom he saw in blooming health and with a blush playing on his cheeks. At the tearful request of the modest John, the abbot left him with a herd of goats. Then, being at court, he begged the emperor to leave his favorite John in the Athos desert. “Give me dear John,” said the emperor; but the salvation of the soul is above all; let it be according to his wishes.” Free John chose a secluded place behind the monastery, built himself a cell and began to live for six days in silence, and on the seventh and on holidays he came to the cathedral and sang in the right choir. Labor and zeal for the priest. singing were rewarded with heavenly consolation. On Akathist Saturday, at the end of the canon, John, tired from the vigil, fell asleep. The Most Pure One, appearing to him, said: “Be healthy, My child, sing, sing; I will not leave you,” and then gave him a ducat. Waking up, John finds the gift of the Most Pure One in his hand and thanks the Mother of God with joyful tears. From that time on, he redoubled his zeal for singing. Previously, he sang only on holidays; now he began to go every day. Prolonged standing and singing on the choir had the consequence that one of his legs became covered with purulent wounds. The Most Pure One appeared and healed my leg. John achieved so much in his spiritual life that he saw the day of his death. The chervonets, a gift from the Mother of God, was hung on the icon of the Mother of God, in front of which John sang. And he was an icon, and miracles were performed from the chervonets. Nowadays the icon stands local in the paraclis of the Presentation of the Mother of God in the church, and in front of it three unquenchable 3 are burning. Barsky saw the church of the Archangel in John's cell and described the life of Kukuzel, following the book of Agapius, the Athonite hermit: “Salvation for Sinners” 4. Rev. Martha, mother of Simeon the Stylite Rev. Martha, mother of Simeon the Stylite. She died around 423 during the life of her son and was buried at his pillar. Holy Martyr Callista and her brothers The Holy Martyr Callista and her brothers Evoda and Hermogenes, who suffered in 309 in Nicomedia. Holy righteous Jesus, Joshua the leader of Israel Moses, the prophet and legislator of the Jewish people, having reached a very old age - 120 years old, called to himself shortly before his death Joshua from the tribe of Ephraim and in the presence of all the Israelites said to this one chosen by him as the successor to his power, “who rejoiced in the glory of Moses as his own - be strong and courageous, for you will enter with this people into the land that the Lord swore to his fathers to give him - and you will divide it into inheritance for him; The Lord Himself will go before you, will not depart from you, and will not leave you; do not be afraid and do not be dismayed" 5 . After the death of Moses, the Lord Himself said to Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses: “Moses my servant is dead; Therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, the children of Israel. Every place upon which the soles of your feet tread, I give it to you, as I said to Moses. From the desert and this Lebanon to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites; and as far as the great sea toward the west of the sun shall be your borders. No one will stand before you all the days of your life; and as I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not leave you and I will not leave you. Behold, I command you: be strong and courageous, do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go... Be strong and very courageous, and carefully keep and fulfill all the law that Moses My servant commanded you; Do not turn away from it, either to the right or to the left, so that you may act wisely in all your undertakings. Let not the book of the law depart from your mouth; but study in it day and night, so that you can do exactly everything that is written in it: then you will be successful in your ways and will act wisely” 6 . Joshua, the son of Sirach, tells us that he was “mighty in battle and the successor of Moses in prophecy.” According to his name, 7 he was great in the salvation of God's elect, when he took revenge on the rebel enemies in order to bring Israel into his inheritance. How famous he was when he lifted up his hands and stretched out his sword against the cities! Who stood like this before him? For he fought the battles of the Lord. Was it not his hand that stopped the sun, and made one day seem like two? He appealed to the Most High Master when enemies pressed him on all sides, and the great Lord heard him; He threw hailstones with mighty force at the hostile people, and destroyed his opponents on the mountainside, so that the pagans would know his full armor, that his war was before the Lord, and he only followed the Almighty.” “And in the days of Moses he showed good deeds, he and Caleb the son of Jephoniah, in that they opposed the hostiles, kept the people from dreaming and calmed the evil murmur. And they, two of the six hundred thousand who traveled, were saved in order to bring the people into an inheritance, into a land flowing with milk and honey... so that all the children of Israel would see that it is good to follow the Lord" 8 . Having gradually conquered the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, having destroyed 31 kings, Joshua, at the command of God, divided the land of Canaan, although it had not all been conquered at that time, by lot before the doors of the tabernacle of testimony, receiving for themselves, with the consent of all the people, an inheritance in Timnath-sarai, which is on Mount Ephraim, north of Mount Gaasha. Shortly before his death, realizing that he was “departing on the journey of the whole earth,” Joshua, calling all the Jews, reminded them of all the benefits they had received from God, and urged them to serve the true God, “as they have done until this day.” “If you leave the Lord and serve foreign gods, He will bring evil upon you and destroy you after He has done you good,” he prophetically threatened the people. “And he made a covenant with the people that day, and gave them statutes and laws in Shechem (before the tabernacle of the Lord God of Israel). And Jesus wrote these words in the book of the Law of God, and took a large stone and laid it there under the oak tree that was near the sanctuary of the Lord.” Having heard the people’s promise that they would serve God and listen to Him, Jesus said to all the people: “Behold, this stone will be our witness; He will be a witness so that you do not lie before the Lord your God.” “And Jesus sent the people away, each one to his own inheritance.” “After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old” 9 ), about 1400 BC. He left behind a book of 24 chapters, which talks about his conquest of the land of Canaan. For his compositions, see the review of the hymns of the Greek Church, pp. 319–324. Gregory Kukuzele 1360 Jehoshaphat Kukuzele 1390, see about them in the review of the hymns, pp. 321. 324. The highest cover over Mount Athos. St. Petersburg 1860. Athos Patericon 1, 171–178. Barsky's Travels, pp. 531–533. Αμαρτολων σωτηρία 50–52. Ενετ. 1669. Book Joshua, ch. I, 1–9. Jesus Navius ​​was first called Hosea - save: then Moses, when electing him as his successor, at the command of God, called him Jesus - savior (Num. 13:17). Book Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, ch. XLVI, 1–12. Book Joshua, ch. XXIII, XXIV.