Житие преподобного отца нашего Иринарха, затворника Ростовского Борисоглебского монастыря, что на Устье 527

The Monk Irinarch was born in the Rostov region, in the village of Kondakovo 528. His parents were peasants, his father named Akindin, his mother named Irina. In holy baptism the baby was given the name Elijah. The parents rejoiced when they saw how quickly the child was growing: at twenty weeks he was already on his feet and starting to walk. The parents raised their son in piety and purity of the Christian faith. The child did not play games, but loved humility and meekness, was quiet and treated everyone kindly. While still only six years old, he once said to his mother: - When I grow up, I will take monastic vows and become a monk; I will carry iron and work for God, and I will be a teacher to all people. The mother was surprised at such speeches from her young son, but at the same time she rejoiced. These prophesied words of a six-year-old child subsequently came true exactly. Around the same time, it happened that Ilya Akindin’s father invited his village priest, Vasily, to dinner. At dinner, the priest told the life of the Monk Macarius, the Kalyazin miracle worker 529. Listening to the priest’s speeches, Ilya suddenly said: - And I will be the same monk. Priest Vasily was surprised to see a child speaking speeches appropriate for an adult, and said sternly: “How dare you, child, say such a word?” - Those who are not afraid of you say so. Ilya grew up with his parents. But then there was famine throughout that entire district. Ilya, already eighteen years old, separated from his father and mother and went to work in Nizhny Novgorod. For two years the son did not return home and did not give any news of himself. His parents decided to find him and sent their two eldest sons, Andrei and David. The brothers found Ilya near Nizhny in one village with a peasant for whom he worked; Rejoicing at meeting their brother, they stayed with him at the same peasant’s for another whole year. During his stay with the peasant, Ilya one day, sitting with others in a room, began to cry inconsolably. Everyone who saw him was amazed and, unable to console him, asked with grief why he was crying and sobbing so much. He answered them: - I see the death of my father; The bright young man is carrying my father to burial. Everyone around him marveled at how he could see his father’s death three hundred miles away. When he returned home that same year and asked his mother about his father, he heard that his father had reposed in the Dormition Fast of the same year. Then he remembered the vision and said to his mother: “At that time I saw my parent: bright young men were carrying him to burial. And the mother was comforted by seeing her son and hearing his unusual speeches. Now, after the death of his father, Ilya, his mother and older brother Andrei moved to the city of Rostov, bought a house and started trading, which soon increased their wealth. The younger brother Ilya, who always had the fear of God in his heart, began to be especially close to the church and give alms to the poor. Strictly observing virgin purity, he wished to completely abandon worldly life and accept the angelic image, steadily attending the Church of God. He met a man of merchant rank named Agathonik, who loved to read books, became friends with him and began to constantly talk about the Divine Scripture, seeking spiritual salvation. Having prepared in this way, Ilya took the holy cross, blessed himself with it, and got ready to set off. When asked by his mother what he was doing and where he was going, Ilya replied: – I’m going to the monastery to pray to the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb on Ustye. The mother began to cry, but remembered how her son, being only six years old, had already said that he would be a monk. The son bowed to his mother, kissed her and set off. Approaching the monastery of Boris and Gleb and seeing it, Ilya rejoiced with all his heart and went to the abbot, bowed and asked for a blessing. The abbot blessed and asked: - Why, child, did you come here? “I wish, Father, an angelic image, tonsure me for God’s sake, an ignoramus and a peasant, and count me among the chosen flock of Christ and among your holy squad!” The abbot saw with the eyes of his heart that the young man had come from God, and accepted him with joy, tonsured him into an angelic image and gave him a monastic name - Irinarch. The abbot, according to monastic custom, gave Irinarch under the command of the elder, with whom the young monk began to remain in obedience and submission, in fasting and prayer. After Irinarch successfully passed his first obedience, the abbot, for testing and humility, sent Irinarch to the bakery, where he worked for the brethren day and night in obedience and humility, not caring at all about anything bodily and never shying away from visiting the Church of God, where he came before all the brethren; standing in the church, he did not talk to anyone; During the readings he did not sit down, but always stood on his feet like a solid stone, and never left the church until dismissal. Having learned about Elijah's tonsure, his friend Agathonik came to the monastery to visit Irinarch and stayed with him in the monastery for many days. Irinarch escorted his friend about two miles beyond the monastery and, having kissed him, began to return back. On the way, he thought in his heart about how he could be saved, and made a promise to go to the Kirillov Belozersky Monastery or to the Solovetsky Monastery. And then he heard a voice from above: – Don’t go to Kirillov or Solovki, you’ll be saved here! He doubted this voice, but heard the same voice a second time: Irinarch was afraid, began to cry and think about what this meant. And for the third time he heard the same voice: Looking around, Irinarch saw no one and was strengthened in the thought that this voice was a revelation to him from above. Returning to the monastery, he again began to work in his former obedience, indulging in prayer and vigil at night and going to sleep only for a short time, and then not on the bed, but right on the ground. After this obedience, the abbot appointed Irinarch to the sexton service, which he began to perform with joy. Once Irinarch saw a stranger who was barefoot and, taking pity on him, turned to the Lord with the following prayer: - Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth and the first man, our ancestor Adam, in His image, and honored him with warmth in the holy paradise, may Your holy will be done with me, Your servant: give, Lord, warmth to my feet, so that I can have mercy on this wanderer and give my boots to his feet! And, taking off his boots, Irinarch gave them to the beggar. And from that hour God gave him patience and warmth: he began to walk barefoot in the cold, as if in a warm cell. From that time on, he always began to wear shabby clothes. This behavior of Irinarch, under the inspiration of the devil, was displeasing to the abbot, who began to humble the ascetic in various ways. So, he put him in prayer for two hours in the cold against the window of his cell and then forced him to preach the gospel for a long time in the bell tower. Irinarch endured all this and endured it with meekness, remembering the word of the Lord, “that through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). After this, the abbot put Irinarch in prison for three days and did not allow him to eat or drink - all in order to force him to wear new clothes and wear shoes. But that didn't help either. Then the abbot sent him back to his previous service. Irinarch continued to walk barefoot in the cold, imitating the patience of Isaac of Pechersk, whose feet froze to the stone, while he did not feel the cold. Irinarch heard that in Rostov there was a Christ-loving man standing on the right of the creditors, and he wanted to redeem this man from the right. For this purpose, he went barefoot to Rostov, and at that time there was severe frost. Having walked seven miles away from the monastery, Irinarch froze his toes at his feet and returned to the monastery from the cold. For three years he had pain in his legs, on which wounds formed and blood flowed, but even in his illness he did not abandon his rule and still worked for God. When the Lord healed Irinarch of his illness, he still walked without shoes in winter and summer, and the abbot still humbled him for this. He now decided to send Irinarch to work outside the monastery. This excommunication or expulsion from the church of God greatly upset the ascetic: he could not tolerate such persecution and decided to leave the Boris and Gleb Monastery. While passing through the forests surrounding the monastery in those days, he was attacked by predatory animals, wolves and bears, but, protecting himself with the sign of the cross and saying a prayer to himself, he drove them away from him. Irinarch left for Rostov and headed to the Avramiev Epiphany Monastery. Received with joy by the archimandrite of the monastery, he remained here among the brethren and was soon appointed cellarer of the monastery. With joy, Irinarch began to work for the brethren, without leaving any church service. While serving as a cellarer, he saw how the monastic brethren and other monastic servants took without measure and without restraint all sorts of monastic needs and depleted the monastic property. Seeing all this, he sighed internally and prayed: “Reverend Abraham, I am not the destroyer of your monastery!” Once in a dream Irinarch sees: the Monk Abraham enters his cell and says: “Why are you grieving, chosen and righteous seed and inhabitant of the holy paradise, why are you grieving over the renditions of the monastery?” Give to them freely, for they wanted to live here extensively, but you are hungry and naked; and you will live spaciously in the kingdom above and enjoy the food of heaven, and they will hunger forever. As for this place, I begged and begged the Almighty Creator so that my house would be abundant in monastic needs for those who hunger and live here. Having awakened from sleep, Irinarch no longer saw anyone. From that time on, he was comforted and gave out without any doubt. One day, standing in church at the liturgy, during the Cherubic Song, Irinarch began to cry and sobbed throughout the whole church. The amazed archimandrite approached him and said: - Why are you, honest old man, crying and sobbing like that? - My mother has passed away! - answered Irinarh. The archimandrite was surprised by his words and shed tears himself. The liturgy had not yet ended when his brother Andrei came to him and reported that their mother Irina had passed away. Having taken the archimandrite’s blessing, the elder and his brother Andrei went to his mother’s house and performed an honest burial. Having returned to the Abrahamic Monastery after the burial of his mother, Irinarch began to think about a different way of salvation: cellar service seemed high and honorable to him, but he wanted to strive in humiliation and humility. Leaving the Avramiev Epiphany Monastery, Irinarch moved to the Rostov Monastery of St. Lazarus 530 and here he moved into a solitary cell and lived in it for three years and six months, being in tears and prayers, sorrow and cramped conditions, enduring hunger, not eating anything for several days in a row. Here the Monk John the Fool often visited him, and both ascetics found consolation in spiritual conversation. Elder Irinarh visited the Church of God unapologetically and often went to the cathedral church of the Most Holy Theotokos and prayed with tears. Once, returning from a church service, he sat in his cell and prayed with tears and sighing to the passion-bearers of Christ Boris and Gleb and cried out: – Holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb and all the monastery brethren! You have a lot of space in your monastery, but there is no room for me, a sinner. Sitting, he dozed off and in a subtle dream he saw: the holy passion-bearers were going to the Lazarus Monastery; he asks them: - How far are you going, holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb? “We’ll follow you, elder,” they answer, “go to our monastery!” He woke up from sleep and heard someone saying a prayer at the window. Opening his window, he saw the elder of the Boris and Gleb Monastery, named Ephraim, who said: - Father, the builder Varlaam sent me to you: come to our monastery to fulfill your promise; the builder asks: do you need a cart, or will you come to the monastery yourself? Elder Irinarh answered him: “Peace and blessings to Mr. Builder Varlaam, and in time I will come to the monastery myself.” And at this time he was already wearing heavy iron and shackles on his legs. Soon he got ready and with great joy went to his promise to the Boris and Gleb Monastery. On the way, tired from the great weight of his chains, he sat down to rest and fell asleep slightly. In a dream, he sees: a snake crawled up to him and wanted to bite him, but he hit it in the larynx with his staff, and the snake crawled away. The elder woke up from sleep, stood up, crossed himself and walked on without any harm. Seeing the monastery, he rejoiced with all his heart, went to the gate and prayed fervently. Having entered the monastery, where the liturgy was then going on, he entered the church, stood in place, prayed and bowed to the builder. The builder Varlaam was very pleased with the arrival of Irinarch, kissed him lovingly and placed him next to him. Out of devilish envy, one of the elders named Nikephoros came up and said to the builder: - Why did you accept the elder: after all, he does not listen to the abbot, he wears old and thin vestments and walks barefoot, and wears a lot of iron on himself. But the builder Varlaam, with his staff, removed this elder, who was acting under the slander of the devil, and again accepted Irinarch into the monastery with joy and gave him a separate cell. The Monk Irinarchus went to church unforgivingly and, standing with fear and trembling, fervently prayed before the holy icons. He especially often looked at the image of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ and his suffering. One day, standing in front of this icon, he turned in tears with the following prayer: - Righteous sun, our bright light, Lord, Lover of Mankind, Jesus Christ! You, Lord, have endured such great suffering: crucifixion, and desecration, and spitting, and being struck on the cheek, and drinking alcohol and bile, and for our salvation you have endured all this from Your own creation, from the foolish and lawless assembly of the Jews and from the envy of these people! Now, Lord, reveal how I, a sinful and foolish villager, can be saved and can please You, the One Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified and inseparably glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Trinity! May Your will be done, Master, over me! And at the same hour Irinarch received a message from the Master’s image: - Go to your cell, be a recluse and don’t leave: that’s how you’ll be saved! Irinarch went to the builder Varlaam and asked him for a blessing for the retreat, that is, to pray endlessly in the cell, according to the Gospel word of the Lord: “through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35). “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied” (Luke 6:21). The builder Varlaam blessed him to go into seclusion and pray without leaving his cell. – And God glorified the Russian land and the house of the great passion-bearers of Christ Boris and Gleb and our venerable fathers Theodore and Paul at the present time! - exclaims the compiler of the life, the disciple of Irinarchov, monk Alexander, - glorified by venerable men, and sufferers, and teachers, and mentors! From then on, Irinarch boldly set about a new feat: he began to pray in his cell endlessly, remembering the monks of ancient and early times, how they lived in the wilds, on islands and in dens, did not love the corruptible world and did not want to look at its vanity. Having begun his feat, Irinarh forged himself an iron chain three fathoms long and chained himself to a wooden chair with it. All his movement was limited only by the size of this chain. In addition to this chain, he placed other iron weights on himself and worked in them by the sweat of his brow. He endured much reproach and ridicule from his brethren, but he endured it with meekness and prayed to God for them: - Lord Jesus Christ! Do not make this a sin for them, they do not know what your servants are doing, Master! At this time, someone named Alexei came to Irinarch and was jealous of his life - his many sufferings, fasting and prayer, strength and humility, and the heavy chains that he constantly wore on his body. He began to beg Irinarch to take him in and teach him the commandments of the Lord. The elder, seeing that his desire came from a pure heart, received the stranger with joy and love and, calling a priest and a deacon, ordered him to be tonsured and named him Alexander. This Alexander became the first disciple of Irinarch and lived all the time with him in his cell under his command with great obedience and zeal in fasting and prayer day and night. His old friend, Blessed John, the Rostov and Moscow holy fool, nicknamed the Big Cap, came to visit Irinarch in retreat. In a conversation with the ascetic, John says: - Elder Irinarchus, make yourself a hundred copper crosses weighing half a kopeck (that is, a quarter of a pound). “It is impossible for me, a poor man, to do so much,” answered Irinarh: “I am in poverty.” – These are not my words, but from the Lord God: “heaven and earth will pass away, but the words of the Lord will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35), everything said will come true, God will help you. And John told the elder many other things. - Do not be surprised that this will happen to you; It is impossible to express or write down everything with human lips. God will give you a horse, and on that horse given by God no one except you will be able to ride or sit in your place after you. These allegorical prophetic words of John about the great and difficult deeds of Irinarch came true. Saying goodbye to Irinarch, John prophetically told the following: – The Lord God commanded His faithful disciples from east to west to instruct and teach people, to lead the world away from lawless drunkenness. For this drunkenness, the Lord will bring foreigners to our land. And these foreigners will marvel at your great suffering; their sword will not harm you, and they will glorify you more than the faithful. - And I’m going to Moscow to the Tsar to ask for land: there in Moscow I will have so many visible and invisible demons that it will barely be possible to put up hop pokes. But the Holy Trinity will drive them all out by His power. This is what Blessed John spoke about his impending death and about the Lithuanian invasion of Moscow. After this, Elder Irinarchus, in agreement with the words of Blessed John, began to work and pray even more diligently and kept thinking about the copper crosses. One day he dreamed that a friend came to him and gave him a copper cross, and another time he dreamed that another friend gave him an iron club. So what? A few days later, a friend, the townsman Ivan, actually comes to him and brings, according to the prophecy of Blessed John, an honest cross, from which Irinarch merged a hundred crosses, thanking God and Blessed John. - Another friend, named Vasily, came and gave him an iron club, which Irinarch took and added to his other “labors” or burdens that he carried. In the Borisoglebsky monastery there was Elder Leonty, he was jealous of the virtues and works of Elder Irinarch; like him, he bound himself with irons and wore thirty-three copper crosses. He handed over these crosses to Irinarch’s disciple Alexander, and he himself went to the elder to ask for his blessing to go into the desert. Elder Irinarh persuaded him not to go into the desert, so as not to be killed by robbers. But Leonty did not hesitate to ask for blessings. Not being able to convince him, Irinarch blessed him, but, saying goodbye, said to him with tears: - Dear child, Leonty! You will never return here for honorable crosses. “If so,” answered Leonty, “then let my crosses remain with you!” Having said goodbye to Irinarch, Leonty went to the Pereyaslavl district to the monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos, on Kurbuy, and there he was killed by robbers. Irinarch added the crosses of Leontius to the crosses of his “works”, and all his crosses totaled one hundred and forty-two. The old man worked on a three-fathom chain for six years; One lover of Christ from the city of Uglich sent the elder a chain of three fathoms, and Irinarch worked in these two chains for 12 years. One elder of the Boris and Gleb Monastery, named Theodorit, made himself an iron chain of three fathoms and worked in it for twenty years and five weeks, but Abbot Hermogenes ordered him to go to monastic services and work for the brethren. Theodoret gave his chain to Irinarch, whose chain thus became nine fathoms, and he continued to work in such a chain. In total, he spent twenty-five years in chains. The harsh life of Irinarch and his strict teaching word served as a reproof for those monks who did not try to keep their monastic vows, but in many ways violated them. Such monks from the Borisoglebsk brethren, incited by enemy suggestions, approached Abbot Hermogenes, condemning Irinarch’s way of life and complaining about him. “Elder Irinarchus,” they said, “sits in seclusion and fasts, wears many heavy irons, does not drink intoxicating things and eats little, and he teaches the brethren to do the same: to remain “in labor” and fast, not to take intoxicating things into their mouths, saying that this is the greatest evil; He says that monks should be like Angels, not grieve for anything and not spare their flesh: “through many sorrows we must enter the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22); He does not order the brethren to go to services, that is, monastic work, but assigns great “works” to them. At the suggestion of the enemy and out of his own unmercifulness, Abbot Hermogenes heeded these slander and exiled Elder Irinarch from the monastery, not fearing God and not respecting the exploits and labors of the elder. Elder Irinarchus humbly submitted, remembering the word of the Lord: “if you are driven out of your home, go to another, and I am with you until the end of the age” (Matthew 10:23, 28:20). Expelled from the Borisoglebsky monastery, Irinarch again headed to Rostov and again settled in the monastery of St. Lazarus, where he spent a year and two weeks there, constantly in fasting and prayer and thinking about the hour of death. Meanwhile, Abbot Hermogenes realized his unjust act with Irinarch, repented before the brethren and sent one of the monks to call Irinarch back. The messenger said: - Father, do not remember our guilt before you, go to your promise to our monastery, to the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb. Elder Irinarch returned to the monastery, praying: - Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, do not deprive me of Your eternal benefits, let me, a sinful old man, endure my promise. Placing all the blame for his removal from the monastery on himself, he said: - Lord, I live in this prison in spite of the brethren; they are righteous and bring you righteous works, but I, stinking, am devoid of virtue. He again entered his cell, again took upon himself his iron “works” and began to struggle, praying for the Tsar and for all Orthodox Christians and loving those who hated him as his own soul. The Lord granted Irinarch insight, comprehension of the secrets of the human soul. People from many cities came to him and asked and received blessings from him. Many God-loving people brought him alms; he accepted and joyfully distributed to the poor and strangers, providing them with food and clothing. He taught all those who came the commandments, leading them away from sins and exposing secret sins; receiving his blessing, they turned to the path of the commandments of the Lord. In the Borisoglebsky monastery there was a certain elder named Tikhon. Having thought about how he could please God, he made himself “works,” bound an iron chain, and sat in these “works” for seven years. At this time, the Polish and Lithuanian lords were already carrying out their devastation and devastation in Rus', whose invasion was predicted to Irinarch by the blessed fool John. Elder Tikhon was afraid of an attack from the lords and withdrew from the monastery, and gave his iron chain to Irinarch, his chain was already twenty fathoms. In this long chain, Irinarh continued to work as before, not giving his hands rest: he knitted hair scrolls, then hoods, or prepared clothes for the poor. He constantly gave to the poor, helped the needy, protected the weak from the oppression of the strong, and prayed to God for everyone. For a long time he sometimes did not see people at all, and from difficult deeds he sometimes fell into illness, for which he always rejoiced and thanked God. He slept only at night and then only for an hour, two or three, and beat his body with his iron club, saying prayer. Even before the invasion of Lithuania, during a subtle sleep, Irinarch had a vision: the city of Moscow was devastated by Lithuania, the entire Russian kingdom was captured and burned in places. Waking up, he began to cry inconsolably about the impending captivity and destruction of God's holy churches. When he was somewhat comforted from crying, a light suddenly shone on him from above, and from this light a voice was heard: - Go to Moscow and tell him that everything will be like this. He made the sign of the cross and said a prayer. The same voice was heard a second time: The elder crossed himself a second time and began to pray: – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! Have mercy on me, a sinner from temptation: I am a slave of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and I do not want to see anything in this world. But the same voice was heard for the third time: “Do not disobey and do according to this voice: everything will be so for this disobedient generation.” The elder was afraid of the vision and the word from above, called the abbot and told him everything. The abbot ordered him to go to Moscow and inform Tsar Vasily Ioannovich 531 that the kingdom of Moscow and the entire Russian land would be captured from Lithuania. Elder Irinarch went to Moscow. On the way to Pereyaslavl, he stopped at a crossroads in the stable yard near the Nikitsky monastery and sent for his friend Nikitsky deacon Onufriy, and he himself went to pray to Saint Nikita, the Pereyaslavl miracle worker, and venerate his relics. Deacon Onuphry was at that time very sick with a fever, so, tormented by chills, he climbed into the oven to warm up. There was an opinion that this disease came from the machinations of the devil. Deacon Onuphry, with the blessing of Elder Irinarch, destroyed in Pereyaslavl the superstitious veneration of a large stone located behind the Boris and Gleb Monastery of Pereyaslavl. Every year on the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, many people, husbands, wives and children gathered at this stone, and honor was given to the stone. The deacon ordered the stone to be thrown into the pit so that in the future people would not gather around it. This feat of Onufry was not pleasing to many; the pious deacon suffered from many, even relatives and from the clergy, reproaches, abuse and ridicule, even slander and losses during prosecution; Moreover, illness also befell him, but Deacon Onuphry endured and endured all this with firmness, did not grumble, trusting in the mercy of God and remembering the hour of death, and did not turn to the enemies of God, various healers, for healing. As soon as Onuphrius entered Irinarch, the elder noticed his serious illness and, having kissed him, gave him a quarter of the bread, blessed him and said: - Be healthy from this dish! And the deacon immediately felt relief and became healthy. Irinarch came to Moscow together with his disciple, Elder Alexander. They arrived at night, an hour before dawn. In the morning we went to the cathedral church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed to the Lady and the wonderworkers Peter Metropolitan and Jonah. One boyar’s son, named Simeon, went to the king and informed him of the elder’s arrival. The king was delighted and ordered Irinarch to come to the Annunciation Cathedral. The elder came to the church, prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos, blessed the king with the honorable cross and kissed him. The king also kissed the old man kindly and marveled at the great “labor” that he bore on himself. The elder said to Tsar Vasily Ioannovich: “The Lord God revealed to me, a sinful old man: I saw the city of Moscow, captured by the Poles, and the entire Russian state. And so, leaving my many years in prison, I myself came to you to announce this. And you stand for the faith of Christ with courage and bravery. Having said this, Irinarch headed out of the church. Tsar Vasily Ioannovich took the elder by the arm, and his disciple Alexander took the other. The king told the elder to bless the queen too. The elder did not disobey, he went to the queen’s chamber together with the king to bless the queen Maria Petrovna and left the chamber. The queen sent the elder two towels, but he did not want to take it. Tsar Vasily persuaded him: “I didn’t come for gifts; I have come to tell you the truth! The Tsar escorted Irinarch from Tsaritsyn’s chamber and ordered the boyar to treat the elder to the palace. Then the king ordered to give the elder his cart and groom and escort him to the Boris and Gleb Monastery. Having eaten the boyar’s bread, Irinarch set off on his way back, having spent only twelve hours in Moscow. Returning to the Boris and Gleb Monastery, Irinarch entered his cell and again devoted himself to his labors and exploits in fasting and prayer, and sent the sovereign’s groom and cart to Moscow, praying that the Lord would quench his anger and have mercy on Moscow, as in ancient times over Nineveh. A little time after the journey of the Monk Irinarch to Moscow and the prediction of disasters, Lithuania, evil and ferocious people and merciless scolders, appeared in the Russian land. Lithuania was then called by us all subjects of the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom: Poles, or Lyakhs, Lithuanians themselves and Russians from White and Little Rus'; Among these Little Russians there were many Cossacks. By faith, almost all of our enemies were Catholics or Uniates, who did not spare Orthodox churches and other shrines. They began to captivate the Russian land and beat the inhabitants, conquered many cities, for example, burned the city of Dmitrov, desecrated the churches of God, overthrew the holy thrones, stripped their clothes, stripped the frames from the icons, threw the icons themselves, robbed books, and often burned the churches themselves. Many of the Russians, fearing beatings, recognized their power and gave tribute and food. Many cities submitted to them. In 1609, the city of Rostov the Great was taken and burned; The cathedral church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was desecrated, the shrines of the great wonderworkers Leontius and Isaiah and all church utensils and treasury were looted. Many people of both sexes and all ages were flogged. The Orthodox suffered a lot at that time from the burden of taxes and, not anticipating any relief, many cities began to close themselves off from enemies. This was the time when, under Tsar Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky, our enemies put up a second False Dmitry and demanded submission to him or his patron, the Polish king. With the goal of capturing Moscow and the royal throne, the enemies gathered near Moscow and from there carried out raids and devastation in different directions. The second impostor set up a camp near the village of Tushino. The enemies did not leave the Boris and Gleb Monastery, where Irinarch labored, in peace. Someone, the enemy governor Mikulinsky, having conquered the city of Rostov, burned the settlements near Yaroslavl, and ravaged the city of Uglich, came to Ustye to the monastery of Boris and Gleb. Here he, with many gentlemen, entered the elder’s cell and began to test his faith: “I believe in the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” answered the elder. -Who do you have as an earthly king? And the elder said loudly: – I have the Russian Tsar Vasily Ioannovich: I live in Russia, I have the Russian Tsar, but I don’t have anyone else anywhere. One of the gentlemen said to the elder: “You, old man, are a traitor: you don’t believe in either our king or Demetrius.” – I am not at all afraid of your perishable sword, and I will not betray my faith and the Russian Tsar; if you cut me for this, then I will endure it with joy: I have a little blood in me for you, and my living God has a sword that will cut you invisibly, without meat and without blood, and send your souls to eternal torment. Pan Mikulinsky was amazed: so great was the faith in the elder. After some time, Russian forces began to gather against the enemies. Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky came from Novgorod with Russian and Swedish troops and stood in Kalyazin, against Lithuania. From near the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Pan Sapieha came against him with an army. But, with God's help, through the intercession of the great miracle workers and according to the word of the elders, the Muscovite force defeated Lithuania, and Pan Sapieha with his army retreated and stopped two nights from the Borisoglebsky monastery on Ustya, intending to burn the monastery and beat the brethren. A great sadness and sadness arose in the monastery; the brethren said goodbye to each other. Elder Irinarchus began to console his students Alexander and Cornelius: - Let us not be afraid of burning and beating from non-believers: if we are burned or flogged, then we will appear as new martyrs and receive crowns in heaven from Christ our God. Then Irinarch turned with a fervent prayer to the Lord God for deliverance from the threatening disaster and for instilling mercy and pity for the holy monastery into the hearts of the enemies. At that time, Pan Captain Kirbitsky came to the monastery and entered the elder’s cell: he was blessed by him and marveled at the elder’s labors. Returning to Sapieha, he said: – In the monastery of Boris and Gleb, I found three elders chained. Sapieha himself wished to see the elder and sent one gentleman ahead to notify him of his arrival. The elder said to the messenger: - If the gentleman wants to visit, he will come to us of his own free will. Hearing this answer, Sapieha came to the monastery, entered the elder’s cell and said to him: - Bless, father! How do you endure such great torment? “For God’s sake I endure this prison and torment in this cell.” Many of the gentlemen began to say to Sapega: “This old man does not pray to God for our king and for Demetrius, but prays to God for the Shuisky king.” – I was born and baptized in Russia, I pray for the Russian Tsar and God. - The truth in Dad is great: in which land to live, serve the king. “Did you get robbed, old man?” - asked the gentlemen. “The fierce Pan Sushinsky arrived and plundered the entire monastery, not just me, the sinful elder. “That’s why Pan Sushinsky was hanged.” After this, the elder gave the following advice to Pan Sapega: - Return, sir, to your land: you are done fighting in Russia! If you do not leave Russia or come to Russia again and do not listen to God’s words, you will be killed in Russia. Pan Sapieha was touched by these words and said: - What should I give you? Neither here nor in other lands have I seen such a strong and fearless monk. “I am not an opponent of the Holy Spirit; I feed on the Holy Spirit.” And as the Holy Spirit inspires you, so you will do. - Sorry, father! - and, bowing, went out in peace. Sapieha then sent the elder five rubles of money for alms and forbade his army to harm the monastery in any way. Soon Sapieha and his army headed to Pereyaslavl, and in the monastery there was great joy that God had saved them from ruin; The elder constantly prayed with tears to God for the deliverance of the entire Russian land from captivity. After the victory at Kalyazin, Prince Mikhail Shuisky began to pursue Lithuania and from Pereyaslavl he sent to Elder Irinarch for a blessing. Irinarch sent him a blessing, a prosphora and a cross and ordered him to say: - Be bold, and God will help you! The prince sent a detachment to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, and, with God's help, the Russian soldiers defeated Lithuania. Soon the prince himself went there and stopped in the settlement. Enemies began to gather against him from near the besieged Trinity Monastery and from near Moscow. The prince found out about this and was very concerned. He again sent a messenger to the Monk Irinarch. The elder again sent him a blessing and prosphora and ordered him to say: - Dare, Prince Mikhail, and do not be afraid: God will help you. And the prince beat Lithuania. Then the prince sent one of the governors to Trinity with an army, and the governor safely entered the monastery. The prince again sent a messenger to Irinarch with gifts, and the elder, sending a blessing and prosphora, ordered him to go to Trinity, which the prince did. Hearing about this, Sapieha went to Dmitrov. The prince arrived safely at the Trinity, entered the monastery and prayed to the Most Holy Trinity and St. Sergius, giving glory to God, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Russian miracle workers. The army sent against Sapieha defeated him near Dimitrov, Sapieha fled to Joseph's Volokolamsk Monastery. At the same time, the second impostor fled from Tushino to Kaluga, where he was subsequently killed. After these successes, Prince Michael came from Trinity to Moscow, prayed in the cathedral church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, venerated the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Vladimir and the shrines of the miracle workers, and joyfully returned to his home. Elder Irinarchus, who knew about all these events, sent his disciple Alexander to Prince Mikhail in Moscow for an honorable cross, which was given to him to help and drive away the adversary. The prince gave the cross and sent the elder a message of gratitude and gifts. Alexander delivered all this to his teacher. Having joyfully accepted the holy cross, the Monk Irinarch said the following prayer: - Glory to you, Lord, Lover of Mankind, Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who endured crucifixion and death on this honorable and life-giving Cross for the sake of our salvation and who showed this our family mercy and miracles from this Honest Cross, help to Prince Michael in Lithuania, in victory and expulsion, as in ancient times under Tsar Constantine against adversaries. Soon after sending the cross, Prince Mikhail departed to the Lord. The enemy of the human race, disgraced by the elder Irinarch, plotted new intrigues against him. A new abbot named Simeon was sent to the Boris and Gleb Monastery from Patriarch Hermogenes, who turned out to be fierce, unmerciful, intemperate and indulged in drunkenness. He ordered Elder Irinarch to go to church to pray, but the elder, carrying heavy iron “labor” on himself, could not freely walk through his cell, drying out his flesh day and night in fasting and prayer. The hard-hearted abbot Simeon, surpassing the unbelievers in cruelty, came to the elder’s cell with his brethren and, without mercy, took away everything that the elder had stored up. Only four pounds of honey remained unselected, which is what the disciple Alexander told the elder. On this occasion, the elder remembered a certain reclusive father, who was robbed by robbers, leaving one thing behind; the recluse caught up with the robbers and said that they did not take everything; The robbers were touched and returned everything to the recluse. Now, when, by order of Irinarch, his disciple Alexander informed the abbot that not everything had been taken, the abbot turned out to be no more merciful than the ancient robbers and took what was left. That same evening, Elder Irinarh saw a young man in white robes who stood near him and, looking at him, spoke about the unmerciful act of the abbot, and then suddenly disappeared. The elder remained in prayer all night. The next morning the abbot again came to the elder’s cell and ordered the elder to be taken out of the cell: four people took him by the arms and dragged him, and the abbot with five other people carried his iron chain. When they dragged the elder, they broke his left arm and threw him three fathoms from the church. The elder remained in this position for nine hours, praying to the Lord God so that He would not make this a sin for his persecutors, for they are troubled in vain, not knowing what they are doing. The elder's disciples, Alexander and Cornelius, were removed from Irinarch and sent to other cells. When Irinarh lay alone, abandoned by everyone, a young man in bright robes appeared to him and said: “God has heard your prayer and your patience: if you ask for anything, it will be given to you.” After these words, the young man became invisible. Meanwhile, Irinarkhov’s student Alexander came to his previous cell at night and prayed: – Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! How long, Lord, will we, in this sorrow, be with our teacher and endure from these bestial people and drunkards? But may your holy will be done! And from the honorable crosses a voice came to him: - Go to the abbot and tell him: why are you resisting the destinies of God? Elder Alexander came to the church to the abbot and began to say to him: - Let Elder Irinarch go to his cell, on a promise, together with his disciples, so that you do not destroy your soul, fighting against the destinies of God. The abbot blessed the elder and both of his disciples. The elder came to his cell, thanked God for deliverance from persecution and prayed for the granting of patience to him. And a voice came to him from above: - Be bold, My sufferer, I am always with you: I was waiting for your feat and the Angels marveled at your patience. Now there will be no more persecution against you, but your prepared place in the Kingdom of Heaven awaits you. Elder Irinarh heard the voice, but saw no one and in trepidation only said a prayer with tears: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner, and deliver me from temptation,” and protected himself with the sign of the cross. After that, abbot Simeon was soon removed from the monastery. Meanwhile, after the death of Prince Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, Lithuania again became emboldened, the enemies gathered again near Moscow. The Muscovites themselves, under the influence of the flattery of their enemies, removed Tsar Vasily from the throne and allowed the Poles into the city of Moscow, who sent the former Tsar Vasily Shuisky into exile in Poland. Moscow was captured and destroyed. Lithuania again began to ravage the areas around Moscow into a distant space. In 1612, Lithuania came to Rostov. Out of fear of her, the abbot of the Boris and Gleb Monastery fled with all his brothers to White Lake, and Elder Irinarch and his disciples remained in his cell, praying incessantly to God. Lithuania occupied the monastery and stayed there for ten weeks. One gentleman once came to Irinarch’s cell and said: - Bless you, dad! And Sapieha was killed near Moscow, according to your word! - Go to your land and you will live; If you don’t leave our land, you too will be killed! The pan left and told the words of Irinarch to all the other lords. And the lords began to come to the elder, and the elder said to them: - Go to your land; If you don’t go, you will be killed. The son of the governor, named Warrior, came to the elder and was blessed by the elder to go to his land. The elder blessed; The warlord's son bowed to the ground, went to his father and told about the blessing. Then the governor himself, John Kamensky, came to the elder’s cell, bowed to the elder to the ground and said: - Bless me, father, to go to my land, just as you blessed my son. And the elder blessed him and said: - Just don’t touch the monastery and the brethren and the city of Rostov. And Pan Kamensky went to his land, without touching either the monastery or the city of Rostov. In the monastery there was again joy on the occasion of deliverance from danger. Meanwhile, both in Moscow itself and throughout the whole land there was great confusion and sadness that Lithuania had settled in Moscow. Everywhere, and especially in Nizhny Novgorod, they prayed that the Lord God would show his mercy and cleanse the city of Moscow from enemies, and deliver the land from great sorrow. Nizhny Novgorod residents knew Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, who lived near Nizhny. The people of Nizhny Novgorod began to ask him to go to Moscow and clear it of enemies. They began to collect and give him people, money and supplies for the war. The Nizhny Novgorod townsman Kosma Minin was chosen to help and assist him. Both the military leader and the elected zemstvo were unanimous in their thoughts and did everything with common advice and consent. And God gave them His help. They moved with all their gathered strength to the city of Yaroslavl and stopped in it. Russian people began to gather to them from all cities, wanting to stand for the faith and fatherland and die for the holy churches of God. Having heard about the arrival of Prince Dimitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky with his army in Yaroslavl, one of the leaders of the Russian militia stationed near Moscow, Prince Dmitry Timofeevich Trubetskoy, sent a messenger to quickly march to Moscow. But Prince Pozharsky and Kosma Minin were afraid to go to Moscow: there, among the Russian militia, there was no unanimity, and one of the leaders of the Russian army, Ivan Zarutsky, killed another governor, Prokofy Petrovich Lyapunov, near Moscow. Elder Irinarch, who followed everything and understood everything, sent Prince Dimitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky his blessing and prosphora and ordered him to march to Moscow with the entire army, without fear of Ivan Zarutsky. “You will see the glory of God,” the elder instructed him to tell the prince. The prince was glad at the words of the elder, without fear he went with all the brethren to Moscow and made a stop in Rostov. From here, Prince Pozharsky and Cosma Minin deliberately went to the Boris and Gleb Monastery to personally receive a blessing from Elder Irinarch. The elder blessed them for their campaign near Moscow and gave them his cross to help. Having accepted the blessing and cross from the elder, the prince joyfully went with the army from Rostov to Pereyaslavl, and from Pereyaslavl to the Trinity, where he stopped and bowed to the Most Holy Trinity and St. Sergius. From Trinity, Pozharsky sent the governor, Prince Dmitry Lopatin, near Moscow to Prince Trubetskoy. Trubetskoy was happy, but Zarutsky fled from near Moscow. Meanwhile, new people with supplies approached the Lithuanians who had settled in Moscow. Hearing about this, Prince Trubetskoy sent a messenger to Prince Pozharsky so that he would quickly go to the aid of Moscow with his entire army. The Nizhny Novgorod governor immediately moved from Trinity to Moscow. And with the help of God and the intercession of Moscow miracle workers, the Russians managed to overcome Lithuania. After this, Prince Pozharsky took possession of Kitay-Gorod, so that Lithuania settled only in the Moscow Kremlin. A short time later, the Kremlin surrendered, and Prince Dimitri Mikhailovich Pozharsky entered the Kremlin, prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos and the Moscow miracle workers. And there was great joy in Moscow that the Lord had cleared Moscow of Lithuanian people. In the Borisoglebsky monastery on the Ustya River there was then great sadness: the monastery was ravaged and devastated several times by Lithuanian people, there was nothing in the monastery, and yet they demanded large tributes from it to feed the military people. The abbot with the brethren and the monastery peasants came to Elder Irinarch so that he would bless his disciple Alexander to send to Moscow. The elder heeded their request, left everything to their will and sent his disciple to Moscow with a petition. He ordered him to take from Prince Pozharsky an honest cross, given to help against the adversaries. When Alexander arrived in Moscow, there was great joy on the occasion that the Polish king from the city of Vyazma had gone to his own land. Elder Alexander came to Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky and gave him a blessing and prosphora from Elder Irinarch. The prince was pleased with the arrival of the messenger from Irinarch, gave him a letter not to give the Boris and Gleb Monastery any supplies for military men due to the Lithuanian ruin. Alexander took the letter and the honorable cross from the prince and returned to the monastery. The abbot was glad to receive a benefit for the monastery, and the Monk Irinarch was glad when Alexander came to his cell, returned the honorable cross and bowed to the prince. By the dispensation of God and by the verdict of the entire land of princes, boyars, governors, eminent metropolitans, archimandrites and abbots and other people, in 1613 the young prince Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov was elected to the royal throne and installed as king in Moscow, the owner of all the lands that belonged to Russia and was crowned with the royal crown. The entire Russian land rejoiced over the new desired Tsar. But in many more places and cities, in Uglich, Vologda and other surrounding areas, there was great sadness from the ongoing devastation: mainly Cossack detachments shed a lot of Christian blood and devastated cities and villages. To cleanse the land of these robbers and destroyers, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich sent his boyar and governor, Prince Boris Mikhailovich Lykov, with a significant army. Prince Lykov headed to Yaroslavl. At this time, Lithuania and the Cossacks came to the village of Danilovskoye (now the city of Danilov, Yaroslavl province). Prince Lykov sent Elder Joachim to Elder Irinarch for a blessing, as did previous Russian commanders. The elder sent the prince a prosphora and a blessing and ordered him to go get the lithuania. The prince was glad to receive the elder’s blessing and set out on a campaign. For two weeks he chased his enemies, overtook them beyond Kostroma, not reaching Nizhny, and, with the help of God, he beat them, took many prisoners and sent them to Moscow to the Tsar. From here Lykov returned to Vologda against the Cossacks, who were plundering the Vologda and Belozersky districts. The prince sent in pursuit of the Cossacks, who headed from Belozersk to Uglich, where they stayed for two weeks. Lykov sent his regiments there, which drove the Cossacks to Moscow. The prince himself, heading towards Moscow following his enemies, entered the Boris and Gleb Monastery, prayed to the passion-bearers Boris and Gleb and personally received the blessing from Elder Irinarch. Moving further towards Moscow, Prince Lykov caught up with the Cossacks, took them prisoner and brought them to the Tsar. There was great joy on the occasion of the destruction of the Cossack robbery gang by the grace of God and the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Moscow miracle workers, and the prayers and tears of the recluse Irinarch. Since that time there has been silence in Rus'. Elder Irinarh continued to pray unceasingly and shed tears, fast, receive strangers, and protect the offended from the oppression of the powerful. Even during his lifetime, God glorified His saint Irinarch with miracles: with his prayers God healed the sick and possessed, his blessing had miraculous power for those who came to him with faith. The compiler of the life of Irinarch, his disciple Alexander, recorded nine miracles of God performed by the prayers of the Boris and Gleb recluse and sufferer during his lifetime. Sick people with various illnesses, especially those possessed by an unclean spirit, came or were brought to the Monk Irinarch. The elder prayed, forcing the sick to pray and fast, placing his honorable cross on them, often placing part of his chain on the sick or ordering them to lie on these chains. Sometimes, from a distance from the sick, they sent to Irinarch for a blessing, which he gave and together sent a prosphora or a cross, with which they blessed the water and gave it to the sick to drink. Thus the monk healed a demoniac from the village of Davydov 532 by laying his cross on him; another demoniac from Voshchadinikovo 533 was healed when the disciple Alexander placed the elder’s chain on the violent one and brought the sick man to the elder and to the image of the Most Holy Theotokos. On the governor, son of the boyar Matthew Tikhmenev, who fell ill with a frenzy of mind in the Boris and Gleb Monastery, the Monk Irinarch laid his cross and tied him to his chain, assigning two soldiers to guard him; So the sick man spent the whole night, and in the morning the elder sent the governor to the church to pray; The sick man returned from the liturgy healthy, but the monk commanded him to fast all week, not to eat meat, not to drink wine or beer. In a similar way, the peasant Nikifor, who had gone mad in the monastery, received healing: the elder ordered to lay his cross on him and tie him with a chain to the garden bed; an hour later, the elder took off the cross and chain and ordered the sick man to lie down on his chains, where he slept the whole night - but he got up completely healthy. From drinking or sprinkling with water, blessed by the cross sent by Irinarch, one boyar's son, named Roman, received healing from a headache, one peasant wife from an eye disease, one possessed woman in Uglich, the wife of a clerk in Moscow from some serious illness. The time has come for the death of the Monk Irinarch. The righteous and long-suffering man called his disciples and said to them: - My brothers and followers! I pray to you: now I am departing from this life to the Lord my God Jesus Christ: pray for me to God and the Most Pure Mother of God, so that upon my repose the merciful Angels may take my soul and so that I may escape the snares of the enemy and airy ordeals through your holy prayers, for I am a sinner. You, my gentlemen, after my death, remain in fasting and prayer, in labor, in vigil and tears, and also in loving each other without grumbling, in obedience and obedience, for you know Christ’s commandment of the beatitudes. The monk spoke all these commandments and gave many other instructions to his disciples. Seeing their teacher at his last breath, his disciples, Alexander and Cornelius, came into great tenderness and cried out in bitter tears: – O our good shepherd and teacher! Now we see you at your last breath: to whom shall we resort, from whom shall we enjoy the teaching, who will take care of our sinful souls? But we pray to you, if you find grace before God, after your departure from this life, pray for us unremittingly to God and the Most Pure Mother of God, as your holiness will, for you know all our secret sufferings. Elder Irinarch told his disciples: “I am leaving you in body, but in spirit I will be inseparable from you.” - If anyone begins to oppress this monastery of mine, given from above by God and redeemed and begged from the abbot and brethren, then let God and the Mother of God judge them. The monastic brethren were also near the departing one. Having given forgiveness to the brethren and disciples in Christ and a final kiss, the monk began to pray, prayed for a long time and quietly went to the Lord into eternal rest. The death of the Monk Irinarch followed in 1616, January 13th, in memory of the holy martyrs Hermilus and Stratonik from Friday to Saturday at nine o'clock at night. With the blessing and command of His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill of Rostov and Yaroslavl 534, the burial of Schemamonk Irinarch was performed by Abbot Peter of Boris and Gleb and his spiritual father Hieromonk Tikhon, Deacon Titus and his disciples, elders Alexander and Cornelius. According to the will of the Monk Irinarch, his coffin was laid in a cave prepared by him. Elder Irinarch left behind his righteous “works”: one hundred and forty-two copper crosses, seven shoulder works, an iron chain of twenty fathoms, which he put on his neck, iron leg fetters, eighteen copper and iron fetters that he wore on his hands and on his chest, bundles that he wore on his belt, weighing one pound, an iron stick with which he humbled his body and drove away invisible demons 535. In these “labors” of his righteous elder Irinarh lived thirty-eight years and four months, and lived in the world for thirty years, in total he lived sixty-eight years and four months. After the repose of the Monk Irinarch, many miracles were performed at his tomb. The compiler of the life, his student Alexander, recorded thirteen miraculous healings from various ailments, especially from demonic possession. The life-giving cross of Irinarch’s labors, sometimes his chain or other weights worn by him, were usually placed on the sick. They also took the earth from his tomb and drank water from it. Many miracles happened subsequently. And nowadays, often many sufferers, during a prayer service to the Venerable Irinarch, put on themselves one or another of the burdens left behind by him, believing in their healing power. Here, of course, is the Borisoglebsky Monastery of the Yaroslavl diocese, Rostov district, located on the Ustye River 18 versts from Rostov on the road to the city of Uglich. – The Life of Irinarch was written by his disciple Alexander, who lived with him for thirty years. The true life is known only from manuscripts, but has not been published. The Right Reverend Amphilochius, who was the archimandrite of the Boris and Gleb Monastery, in 1863 in Moscow published an account of his life, close to the handwritten texts with drawings attached. In 1872 in Yarosl. diocesan Ved. The life of Irinarch was published (N. Korsunsky), also compiled from manuscripts and published separately in Yaroslavl in 1873. The presentation here is based on the original life, known to us from several manuscripts. The village of Kondakovo is now located in the Uglich district, on the Ustye River above the Borisoglebsky Monastery, 43 versts from Uglich and the same number from Rostov. The Kalyazin monastery is about forty miles away from Kondakov. The memory of Macarius Kalyazinsky is celebrated on March 17 and May 26. Currently, the monastery has long been gone, but in its place there is a parish church of St. Lazarus. Of course, here is Tsar Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky, who reigned from 1606 to 1610. The village of Davydovo is located 20 versts from the Borisoglebsky Monastery on the road to Uglich. The village of Voshchadinikovo is 10 versts from the Borisoglebsky Monastery, to the right of the Uglich road. Kirill IV is mentioned as Metropolitan of Rostov at the death of Tsar Boris Godunov; was deprived of the chair by False Demetrius; when his successor Filaret, later the patriarch, was taken into captivity, the Rostovites again called upon Cyril, who served as a priest until his death in 1616. Most of the iron chains and other weights that the ascetic Irinarch wore are still kept in the Boris and Gleb Monastery - partly in the church boundary, where the saint’s shrine is located, partly in a special wooden building on the site of the saint’s former cell. A detailed description and image of these items can be seen in the above-mentioned publication by the Reverend. Amphilochia. In 1878, with the blessing of the Yaroslavl and Rostov Archbishop Nile, part of the chains and other items from Irinarch’s “works” was transferred to the church of Irinarch’s native village Kondakov at the request of the villagers. See about this in the above-mentioned book by N. N. Korsunsky. 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