Житие святого отца нашего Тарасия, архиепископа Константинопольского

Saint Tarasius was born in Constantinople; His father George and mother Eucratia were noble people and belonged to the class of patricians 1598. Having reached adulthood and received a good education, Tarasius performed various positions at the royal palace; for his prudence and good disposition, everyone here loved and respected him, and he was made one of the royal advisers. And then on the royal throne sat Constantine the Porphyrogenitus 1599, son of Leo Khozar 1600, grandson of Copronymus 1601; he did not reign alone, but together with his mother Irina 1602, since he was only 10 years old at the time of his accession. The Patriarch was then Pavel Kiprianin 1603, a virtuous and pious man, but too weak-willed and fearful. He was elevated to the patriarchate during the reign of the aforementioned Leo the Khazar, son of Copronimov, during which the heresy of the iconoclasts, which began with Leo the Isaurian in 1604, became more and more intensified. Seeing that many were suffering great torment from the evil king for worshiping holy icons, the patriarch was afraid and began to hide his piety and even had communication with heretics. After the death of Leo Khozar, the patriarch wanted to restore the pious custom of worshiping holy icons, but he could not, because he did not have an assistant, while the heresy of the iconoclasts was intensifying both in the capital itself and in other regions of the state. This greatly saddened the patriarch. Seeing that he could do nothing for the triumph of Orthodoxy, Paul decided to leave the patriarchal throne, which he occupied for no more than four years. Having fallen ill, he secretly left the patriarchal chambers and arrived at the monastery of St. Florus, where he received the holy schema. The rumor about the patriarch's tonsure soon spread everywhere, and everyone was greatly surprised by this circumstance. And Queen Irina was greatly saddened, since the patriarch left the throne without notifying him in advance of his intention. And so she went to him with her son, Tsar Constantine, and asked him: - What have you done to us, father? Why did he leave the holy throne so unexpectedly? – My illness and expectation of imminent death, and especially the mood in our church, prompted me to leave the patriarchal throne and accept the holy schema. The Church suffers a lot from the iconoclasts and, as a result of the prolonged triumph of the iconoclastic heresy, it received an incurable ulcer. Like many others, I, the accursed one, could not escape the snares of the evil ones and became mired in them, for which I now bitterly repent; for three times I signed heretical decrees with my own hand. But this is what especially saddens and depresses me: I see that all the regions under your control, inviolably observing the rules of faith and following Orthodox teaching, are alienated from our church and, considering themselves the flock of Christ, drive us away from them, as if we were sheep of more than one flock. Therefore, I refuse to be a shepherd in a heretical host and prefer to die rather than be anathematized by the high priests of the four apostolic sees. God has given royal power into your hands so that you can take care of the Christian flock living on earth. So, look at the sorrow of your mother - the Church, do not allow her to remain in inconsolable sadness, but please that she can perceive her former splendor. Do not allow the godless heresy, like a pig released into the meadows, to devastate and destroy the heirloom of Christ during your reign and defile it with evil wisdom. You have a skilled worker who will help you in your good endeavors. He can cultivate grapes of true confession and, putting them into the winepress of God’s Church, fill the cup of wisdom with them and prepare the drink of the true Orthodox faith for believers. After these words of the patriarch, Queen Irina asked him: - Who are you talking about, father? “I mean here Tarasius, who occupies the first place in your royal council,” answered the patriarch, “I know that he is fully worthy to rule the Church, since he can, with the rod of his mind, reflect the false teaching of heretics, be a good shepherd of the verbal flock of Christ and gather it together.” Hearing this from Patriarch Paul, the pious Queen Irina and her son Tsar Constantine left Paul with sorrow. He said to some of the senators who remained with him: – Oh, if only I had not occupied the patriarchal throne at a time when our Church of Constantinople was in turmoil from oppressors and incurred the curse of four ecumenical patriarchs: Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. If the VII Ecumenical Council is not convened and the heresy of the iconoclasts is not condemned, it is impossible for us to be saved. Then the senators asked him: -Why did you sign the iconoclasts’ charter when you were ordained patriarch? “That’s why now I repent that I signed then, and I’m afraid that the Lord might punish me, since out of fear I was silent and did not oppose the heresy; Now I repent and affirm that it is impossible for you to be saved if you remain in heresy. Soon after this, Patriarch Paul departed in peace to the Lord. At that time, the inhabitants of Constantinople, without any fear or fear, began to talk and argue with heretics about the holy icons, while until then, since the time of Leo the Isaurian, no one had dared to speak in defense of the holy icons 1605. The pious Tsarina Irina, with all the royal council, began to look for a completely worthy and wise person in Paul’s place, who could stop the church turmoil; but they did not find anyone else except Tarasius. Tarasius was then a layman; but since they remembered that Paul also advised them to choose him, everyone’s choice settled on him. But Tarasius strongly refused. Then Queen Irina gathered people of every rank, both secular and spiritual, and all the people into the palace called Magnavra - it was located in the outskirts of the Edom site - and before the entire Consecrated Cathedral she said: “You know that Patriarch Paul has left us; Now we must choose another good shepherd and teacher of the Church in his place.” At this everyone shouted loudly: “No one else but Tarasius can be like that.” Blessed Tarasius, standing in the middle, said: – I see that the Church of God is divided and disunited. Both Eastern and Western Christians curse us; This separation is difficult and separation from the Kingdom of God is terrible. Let an Ecumenical Council be held, where we must unite in faith; let our faith be one, just as we are enlightened by one baptism; after all, nothing is more pleasing in the eyes of God than for everyone to remain in the unity of faith and love. This is what I, unworthy and inexperienced, demand when I take over the management of the Church. If an Ecumenical Council is not convened, if the iconoclastic heresy is not subjected to worthy condemnation and there is no unity in faith between the Orthodox Eastern and Western churches, then I will not agree to accept the patriarchate, so as not to incur curses and condemnation, for then none of the earthly kings can save me from God’s judgment and eternal execution. Hearing this, everyone decided to assemble the VII Ecumenical Council and asked Saint Tarasius not to refuse to be their shepherd. They promised him obedience in everything, just as sheep listen to the voice of their shepherd, for they were firmly convinced that Saint Tarasius could guide the verbal flock to the true path. Thus, they persuaded Tarasius to accept the high priestly rank and rule of the Church of Constantinople. Initiated successively to all hierarchical degrees, the saint was elevated to the patriarchate in 1606, having a strong hope that the Lord would help him destroy the heresy of the iconoclasts. With the change in his position, Saint Tarasius also changed his way of life, although even before, while in the world, he was already a monk in spirit; now, having taken the holy throne, he began to practice spiritual exploits with even greater zeal and became an Angel in the flesh, flaming in spirit, zealously working before the Lord, subordinating his flesh to the spirit and by mortifying it achieving the immaculate purity with which Angels are clothed. His abstinence was amazing, his fasting was great and his vigor was tireless; He devoted few hours to sleep, spent entire nights in prayer and meditation on God, did not have a soft bed, and avoided soft clothes. None of the patriarch's servants saw Tarasius take off his belt and clothes when he wanted to strengthen his strength with sleep for a little while; The holy man never forced anyone else to take off the shoes from his feet, remembering the words of the Savior: “The Son of Man did not come to be served” (Matthew 20:28), and he was always his own servant, setting an example of humility to others. He was very merciful to the poor and wretched, fed the hungry, clothed the poor, set up hospitals and sent out food every day from his patriarchal court, and on the day of the Resurrection of Christ and on other holidays he arranged a meal for the poor, during which he himself served the poor. In addition, Saint Tarasius arranged a hostel for strangers and, with the funds left to him after his parents, built a monastery on the Thracian Bosphorus in 1607, in which he gathered a group of virtuous monks; many of them achieved such perfection that they were called to the episcopal thrones and were unshakable pillars of the Catholic faith. Saint Tarasius especially tried to restore the veneration of holy icons and overthrow the blasphemous iconoclast heresy. Therefore, he always reminded the kings to convene an Ecumenical Council. And so Tsar Constantine and Tsarina Irina, his mother, who, due to her son’s young age, then ruled the entire kingdom, together with His Holiness Tarasius, wrote letters to all the patriarchs and bishops, calling them to the council. Bishops from different places gathered in Constantinople, but the patriarchs sent their governors: Pope Adrian 1608, due to the difficulty of the long journey, did not arrive at the council; and the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem at that time were already under the yoke of the Hagarians, so they were not able to personally attend the council; therefore, as their deputies, they sent clergy, distinguished by their piety and wisdom. The great church of 1609, erected by Constantine the Great and magnificently decorated by Emperor Justinian in 1610, was chosen as the place for conciliar meetings; in this church the bishops and governors of the other patriarchs gathered with His Holiness Tarasius; The young Tsar Constantine and his mother Irina were also present here. Suddenly a large regiment of armed soldiers, followers of the iconoclastic heresy, into which they had been involved by the royal grandfather Constantine Copronymus and in which they remained to this day, burst into the church. Secretly prompted by certain bishops and nobles infected with the same heresy, these warriors, rooted in iconoclastic errors, armed themselves, came to the church and rushed inside with a great cry. “We will not allow,” they shouted, “for you to reject the dogmas of Tsar Constantine 1611; let it be firm and unshakable that at his council he approved and laid down laws; we will not allow idols to be brought into the church of God (that’s what they called the holy icons); If anyone dares to disobey the decisions of the Council of Constantine Copronymus of 1612 and, rejecting its decisions, begins to bring in idols, then this land will be stained with the blood of bishops.” Seeing such excitement and indignation, the queen and the king signaled to the bishops to rise from their seats - and then everyone who was at the council dispersed. But after several days, the warriors and their leaders were properly punished by the pious Queen Irina, deprived of their military rank and sent to the villages to cultivate the land. After this, a place for meetings of the cathedral was prepared in the Bithynian city of Nicaea 1613. The First Ecumenical Council, convened to condemn the heresy of the evil Arius in 1614, had already taken place here, and it was decided to gather here now. And here came His Holiness Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and with him the patriarchal governors, who were: from Adrian, the Pope of Rome, the chief presbyter of Rome Peter and another Peter the monk, from Politian, Patriarch of Alexandria 1615 - the holy monk Thomas, from Theodoret of Antioch 1616 and Elijah of Jerusalem 1617 - the holy monk John. In addition, Saint Tarasius also took with him a certain man from the royal advisers - Nicephorus, who, after the death of Saint Tarasius, was elevated to the patriarchal throne for his virtuous life. In total, 367 holy fathers appeared at this council. Having gathered with them in Nicaea, His Holiness Patriarch Tarasius opened the meetings of the council in the largest church of this city in 1618. The first meeting of the VII Ecumenical Council took place on September 24, the day of remembrance of the Holy First Martyr Thekla. The meeting opened with an introductory speech by Saint Tarasius, in which he, having outlined the reasons for convening the council, addressed the bishops with an exhortation so that they would reason fairly and eradicate the non-Orthodox teachings recently introduced into the Church. The royal letter to the council was also read, in which it was mentioned how Patriarch Paul, dying, advised convening a council to eradicate the heresy of the iconoclasts. The Holy Fathers blessed the Tsar and his mother for their great care for the Orthodox faith. After this, they began to listen to expressions of repentance on the part of the bishops who had fallen into heresy, who anathematized their previous errors and expressed the Orthodox confession of faith. One of them, Vasily Ankirsky 1619, holding this scroll in his hands, read: “Anathema to those who do not venerate holy icons; those who call holy icons idols are anathema; those who cite the sayings of Holy Scripture against the worship of holy icons are anathema; those who reject the traditions of the holy fathers, as Arius, Nestorius, Eutyches, Dioscorus rejected them - anathema; those who claim that the veneration of icons does not come from the holy fathers are anathema; those who claim that the Catholic Church accepts idols are anathema.” Many other bishops did the same, and all the bishops who repented were given a place at the council among other Orthodox bishops. The trial of those who hesitated was postponed for some time. At the same time, Saint Tarasius said: “Old diseases are difficult to cure and evil morals are difficult to eradicate. But if people who are spiritually ill truly repent, then the holy council accepts them and does not defrock them.” The Holy Council lasted 30 days 1620; At this time, the participants of the council, converging, examined in the Divine Scripture and in the teachings of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church those places that were related to the dogma of the veneration of holy icons, and on the basis of the Holy Scriptures and church tradition they struck at the evil wisdom of the heretics. At the same time, they cited a reliable story about the holy veil, on which Christ the Lord depicted His holy face and sent it to Abgar of Edessa 1621, who as soon as he bowed before the image, immediately received healing from his illness 1622; They also brought to mind the legend about the icon of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, which Saint Sylvester, Pope of Rome, showed to Tsar Constantine; they also spoke about the icon of Christ, which was violated by the Jews in Berita, for which they were punished; they remembered how Saint Athanasius testifies to this. When they read the story about this icon, all the holy fathers cried. Finally, they cursed the heresy of the iconoclasts and established the veneration of holy icons; There was great joy on this occasion in the holy churches, which accepted with heartfelt jubilation the establishment of icon veneration, and all the people triumphed, proclaiming good wishes to the kings and shepherds. Thus, through the great care of His Holiness Patriarch Tarasius and the diligence of the pious Queen Irene, the heresy of the iconoclasts was rejected and trampled upon, and peace was granted to the Church of Christ. Saint Tarasius wisely ruled the Church of God, was the intercessor of the offended, and a helper to those in trouble. Thus, the royal protospatharius of 1623 John was subjected to imprisonment and severe torture for some guilt; having freed himself from his shackles at night, he ran to the church and took refuge in the church meal, begging for mercy and deliverance from death. Then Saint Tarasius of God protected him and did not hand him over to the soldiers who came after him from Queen Irina. They began to guard him at the doors of that church day and night, waiting for the time when he would come out. For they thought that he would eventually be forced to leave the church. But the saint of God, sending him food from his meal, gave him the opportunity not to leave the church altar; when he needed to leave the church, he himself accompanied him, hiding him under his robe, and then returned him again with the same precautions to the church. He acted this way for a long time and served man like a slave, not disdaining such work. And the good shepherd tended his sheep, protecting it from death; finally, with his episcopal authority, Saint Tarasius boldly put a limit to the search of those persons who wanted to kill the person under his protection: he told them that he would impose excommunication on them from the Church if they continued to persecute the prisoner. Thus, the protospatharius was freed from trial and avoided execution, thanks to the intercession of his good shepherd Saint Tarasius. Meanwhile, Tsar Constantine, having reached the age of twenty, at the slander of his evil advisers, removed his mother, the pious Queen Irina, who wisely ruled the entire state, from power, and began to rule alone. At the same time, freed from his mother’s care, he indulged in excesses and began to lead an indecent life. Without any reason, he hated his legal wife, Queen Maria 1624, and was inflamed with criminal love for another, named Theodotia; He began to live with her secretly and planned to make her his wife and queen, and imprison his legitimate wife. Trying to blame Maria, he launched a false slander against her, as if she wanted to destroy him through poison. The king presented this lie to everyone as the truth and told everyone about it. They believed the king, and rumors about the queen's intention to poison him spread among the people. The news of this reached His Holiness Patriarch Tarasius. The Patriarch was saddened, realizing the tsar’s treachery, for he was firmly convinced of the innocence of Queen Mary. Therefore, he began to think about how to reason with Constantine and reveal to him his sinfulness and untruth. At this time, one of the favorite royal nobles came to the most holy patriarch and began to convey to him the news of how the queen had prepared poison for the king, passing off a lie as the truth. At the end of the story, he added: “Now you, Holy Father, must bless the king for a new marriage with his most faithful wife.” These words greatly saddened Saint Tarasius; he even shed tears and began to speak like this: “If the king really intended what you say, if he really wants to separate Mary from himself, who is associated with him according to the law of God and forms one flesh with him, then I don’t know how he will endure shame and reproach on behalf of all people? It also puzzles me how he can after that be an example of chastity for his subjects, how can he incite everyone to abstinence? Will he really be able to judge and execute for the sins of adultery, being himself darkened by such lawless lust? Let’s assume that everything you said is true, but you should listen to the voice of the Lord: “Whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of fornication, will give her a reason to commit adultery” (Matthew 5:32). Is it true that the queen prepared a deadly poison for the king? Indeed, in this case, how could she have had another husband, more valiant and handsome than our sovereign, who is distinguished by his beauty and blooming youth. No, I clearly see that all these lies are aimed only at dishonoring an honest marriage, desecrating an undefiled bed and allowing adultery to triumph. This is my answer, and not only mine personally, but also that of all pastors and fathers like me. To tell those who sent you that we do not believe what you said, we would rather endure death and severe torment than give a blessing to such a lawless deed. Let the king know that we do not consent to his unrighteous intentions.” Hearing this, the nobleman left the patriarch with sorrow and announced to the king everything that he had heard from blessed Tarasius. The king was then overcome by thought, and he was amazed at such firmness and undaunted jealousy of the patriarch; he even began to be somewhat afraid that Saint Tarasius might prevent him from achieving his intention. Therefore, he decided to call the holy man to himself and receive him with honor, hoping with his words to soften the patriarch’s heart and win him over to his side. Holy Patriarch Tarasius came to the king together with the honest elder John, who was the vicar of the patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem at the VII Ecumenical Council. When Constantine and those who came to him, as usual, sat down, the king addressed the patriarch with the following speech: “Through the messenger, I have already informed you, most honest father, about what happened to us. I honor and respect you as a father, so I don’t want to hide anything from you. But it seems to me necessary to personally inform you about the enmity and the intrigues that my wife is plotting for me. It was not given to me from God; for she should have been my helper, but she turned out to be not my helper, but my worst enemy. The law itself commands me to separate from her, and no one can interfere with this intention of mine. After all, her guilt, her evil intent is in front of everyone. Therefore, according to the decision of the court, she must either suffer the death penalty or be tonsured a monk. Wanting to show her mercy, I am ready to limit myself to tonsuring her into a monastery: let her grieve and repent of her sin until her death. After all, she wanted to kill with poison not a simple person, not a stranger, but her husband, the king, formidable to his enemies. If her vile plan had succeeded, then the entire kingdom would have been gripped by considerable confusion, and rumors of her atrocity would have spread throughout the entire earth.” At the last words, the king gave a sign to the servants. They immediately brought a glass vessel containing some kind of cloudy liquid. The king showed it to the most holy patriarch, saying that it was a deadly poison with which the queen secretly wanted to take his life. At the same time, he added: “Do we still need proof of the queen’s guilt when we have in our hands this instrument of her evil intent? Isn't it clear what she deserves? Why should we now delay her trial? No, father, rather advise her to take the tonsure if you want to see her alive. I can no longer live with her in marriage, I can’t look at her, I can’t bear her, for I always have before my eyes this deadly drink that she prepared for me.” Seeing that the king was wounded by unclean lust, and realizing that he had unfairly accused the innocent and chaste queen to satisfy his desire, His Holiness Tarasius, without fear, said to him: “Tsar, do not attack the law established by God Himself, do not rebel against the truth with secret cunning, hiding behind a crafty fabrication and transgressing and destroying the commandments of God. The king must do everything openly, freely, with a clear conscience; he should not undertake anything secretly and insidiously against God, who gave him the royal crown, violating the Divine commands. It is clear to everyone that the queen is completely innocent of what she is accused of, as if she intended to kill the king. For who can compare with you in beauty, whom could she love more than you in order to have the evil thought of poisoning you? Who has more power than you and enjoys honor, who in his nobility and wealth is higher than you, honored by royal power and honor and possessing great wealth - who could the queen prefer? Your power is great, you surpass everyone in your nobility, for your father, grandfather and great-grandfather occupied the royal throne; You are famous in all corners of the earth, and it is impossible to count your treasures. Who could be better than you for your queen? No, king, what you say cannot be, it is a lie, invented to undermine your royal power and to the ridicule of the people, so that you can become a byword. We do not dare to destroy your legal marital union, because we fear the Judgment of God, and we cannot give faith to those rumors with which they are trying to slander the royal wife. No, we will not do this, even if we have to endure torment and suffering. We know that you have a sinful lust for a certain woman and even want to marry her in an unlawful marriage. How can we respect you, king, when we see that you are clearly violating the commandments of God? How can you then enter the altar to the Divine Throne in order to partake of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ with us? We testify with God Himself that we cannot allow you into the altar for Divine Communion, although you are a king. For the ancient priests were told: “Do not let my altar be trampled.” Having said this, His Holiness the Patriarch fell silent. After him, the aforementioned Elder John admonished the king a lot. But the king did not want to listen to them, but became very angry and furious. All the dignitaries and rulers surrounding the king were also dissatisfied. One of them, a patrician by birth, even boasted that he would thrust a sword into the belly of Elder John with his own hands because he spoke contrary to the will of the king. Filled with anger, the king ordered both of them - both the most holy Patriarch Tarasius and the honest elder John - to be expelled from the royal palace with dishonor. And these two men left him, expelled for the sake of truth, imitating Saint John the Baptist, who once exposed the lawless marriage of Herod in 1625. As they departed, they shook the dust from their feet and said: “We are not responsible for your iniquity.” The king expelled the rightful queen from his chambers to a nunnery, forcibly tonsured her there, and he himself celebrated his marriage with his concubine Theodotia, who was a distant relative of his father. This lawless marriage was performed without the knowledge of the patriarch by the church icon, Presbyter Joseph, who was subsequently excommunicated from the Church for his impudent act. His Holiness the Patriarch tried in every possible way to dissolve this adulterous marriage, but could not, for the king boasted that he would again raise the heresy of the iconoclasts if this marriage was forbidden to him. Therefore, Saint Tarasius left the king to remain in his lawlessness, so that the Church of Christ would not befall even greater evil. For the holy patriarch always remembered that the father, grandfather and great-grandfather of this king were heretical iconoclasts who beat many Christians for venerating holy icons. The king, angry with the patriarch, oppressed him in every possible way, but the saint patiently endured all this, thanking God and acting in accordance with his high rank of archpastor. But after some time, God's punishment befell the king. His mother, the pious Queen Irina, had long seen his evil and lawless life; she saw how her son trampled on the law of God and was ready to erect iconoclasm again. Loving God and His truth more than her own son, she, after consulting with the most important dignitaries, rebelled against her son, took him into custody and imprisoned him in the palace where he was born and which was known as the Porphyry Palace. Then she ordered him to be blinded, just as five years earlier he had blinded his father’s three brothers: Nikita, Anthima and Eudoxius. So the king, having received punishment for his deeds, died of illness. And Irina again accepted the royal scepter and corrected everything that had gone wrong during the reign of her son. From that time on, the holy saint of God, Tarasius, remained in peace and silence, zealously tending his verbal flock and ruling the Church, cleansed of heretics. From the very day of his dedication, he himself performed the Divine Liturgy every day and never abandoned this custom, except due to illness. When the saint reached old age, he fell into physical illness. Even feeling the approach of his death, His Holiness Patriarch Tarasius did not abandon his habit until he became so weak that he could no longer rise from his bed. Only then did he stop performing the Divine Liturgy himself. At his death, Saint Tarasius fought with unclean spirits and defeated them victoriously. When they, examining his life from his youth, tried to falsely attribute to him many unrighteous deeds, he answered them: “I am innocent of what you are talking about; you falsely slander me; You have no power over me.” At the same time, there was a descriptor of his life, Ignatius, Bishop of Nicaea, who was then still a deacon. Leaning towards the sick man, Ignatius heard these words of the saint. When Saint Tarasius could no longer speak his tongue, he drove away demons with his hand and overcame them. At the end of the day, when, according to custom, they sang the psalms of David and began to sing this psalm: “Incline, O Lord, Thy ear and hear me” (Ps. 85:1), Saint Tarasius peacefully surrendered his holy soul to the Lord, and his face brightened. This saint shepherded the Church of God for 22 years and died during the reign of Emperor Nicephorus in 1626, who ascended the throne after Irina. The king, all the people, nobles, clergy and laity, and especially the poor and wretched, orphans and widows, greatly mourned him. For he was merciful to everyone, treated everyone like a good shepherd, a loving father and an experienced mentor, helping everyone in troubles and misfortunes. The venerable body of Saint Tarasius was buried in the monastery he himself founded on the Bosporus, and many received healings from his tomb. This is, for example, one woman who suffered from bleeding for many years. Since women were prohibited from entering that monastery, she entered the monastery dressed in men's vestments. With faith, she touched the tomb of Saint Tarasius, took oil from the lamp hanging in front of the tomb, and immediately received healing from her illness. Other women did the same, and everyone was healed of their ailments. A certain man, who saw with only one eye, received healing at the tomb of the saint when he anointed his blind eye with oil from a lamp. One withered man, coming with faith, anointed his hand with oil and received healing. Many other sick people received healing through the prayers of Saint Tarasius; Those possessed by demons were also healed of their illness. This great zealot of Orthodoxy armed himself against the iconoclast heretics not only during his lifetime, but even after his death. Under Leo the Armenian 1627, the king of Greece, the iconoclastic heresy again gained strength, due to the fact that the king himself patronized it. Saint Tarasius appeared in a dream vision to Leo and with great anger ordered a certain warrior Michael to strike this evil king with his sword. He struck and pierced the king. Leo woke up from such a dream in fear and trembling and was greatly perplexed. Thinking that there was some Michael in the monastery of St. Tarasius who was plotting his life, he sent there to find out about this Michael. He did not know that this Michael was with him - it was a governor nicknamed Valvos, or Travliy 1628, who later struck the king with a sword on the very day of the Nativity of Christ. Thus this evil king perished, having been defeated by the prayers of Saint Tarasius, who affirmed faith in the Holy Trinity. Amen. Having understood the Orthodox dogmas of the Church, and having taught everyone to venerate and venerate the holy icon of Christ, Blessed One, you denounced the godless command of the iconoclasts. For this reason we cry out to you: O Father, rejoice, wise Tarasius. Patricians were the name given to the highest class in the Roman and then in the Byzantine Empire, corresponding to our noble nobility. Constantine VI the Porphyrogenitus reigned from 780 to 797. Leo IV Khozar reigned from 775 to 780. Constantine V Copronymus occupied the royal throne from 741 to 775. The mother of Emperor Constantine was the wife of Leo Khozar. After the accession of her son, she ruled the state in his place for 10 years, until 790; then, after the deposition of Constantine, she reigned until 802. This was Paul IV, who occupied the patriarchal see from 686 to 693. Leo III the Isaurian reigned from 716 to 741. This is explained by the fact that Irina then issued a decree announcing general freedom of conscience. By order of the empress, the icons were again put in their places, and many stories circulated among the enthusiastic people about past sufferings and miracles. Saint Tarasius occupied the patriarchal throne from 784 to 806. This is the name of the strait connecting the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea. Constantinople is located on the banks of the Bosphorus. Pope Adrian I occupied the Roman Apostolic See from 772 to 795. Of course, the Church of St. Sophia, the main cathedral church of Constantinople. Emperor Justinian I reigned from 527 to 565. Here, of course, is Constantine Kopronymus, the grandfather of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. This council took place in 754 in the royal palace near Constantinople on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. The council declared that icon veneration is the same as idolatry, and determined to remove all icons from churches. Bithynia is the northwestern province of Asia Minor, along the shores of the Sea of ​​Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. Nicaea (now Ispik) was a rich and flourishing city in Bithynia in ancient times. Policianus, Patriarch of Alexandria, died in 801. Patriarch Theodoret of Antioch occupied the patriarchal see from 777 to 794. Elijah III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, died in 797. Ancyra is a city in Phrygia, the middle province of Asia Minor. The last meeting of the council took place on October 23. Edessa is a city in the northwestern part of Mesopotamia, across the Euphrates River. Avgar was the prince or ruler of Edessa. The legend about this is given by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine († 383), the famous historian of the ancient Christian Church, who borrowed it from ancient written records kept in the public papers of the city of Edessa. Protospatharius is the chief of the royal bodyguards, or squires, who were called spafarii (from spafi - weapon, sword). This pious queen was the granddaughter of Saint Philaret the Merciful, the month of December, 1st. Here, of course, Herod Agrippa, the son of Herod the Great, ruler of Galilee and the Trans-Jordan region, married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, during the latter’s lifetime. Emperor Nikephoros I reigned from 802 to 811. Emperor Leo V the Armenian occupied the Byzantine throne from 803 to 820. Name: Valvos (Balba) is Greek, and Travliy is Latin. In Russian, both mean: Tongue-tied. This Michael later became emperor and reigned from 820 to 829. You might be interested in: