The life of Saints Cyril and Mary of Radonezh, parents of Saint Sergius. School problems of the youth Bartholomew
Chosen miracle workers and wonderful servants of the Lord, St. Sergius the Great of the Church of Russia, who bestowed upon St. Kirill and Mary the monastery of Khotkovo intercessor! Bringing praise to you, we earnestly pray: for those who have boldness in the Lord, by your intercession free us from all troubles and make us heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, so we joyfully call to you: Rejoice, Venerable Cyril and Mary, blasphemous prayer books for us before God. (Kontakion 1 Akathist to St. Cyril and Mary)
Three kilometers from Rostov the Great, on the left bank of the Ishni River, there is an ancient monastery in the name of St. Life-Giving Trinity- Varnitsky Monastery. Our pious ancestors built it, wanting to perpetuate in the memory of future generations the place where the great ascetic of the Russian land, St. Sergius of Radonezh, was born.
At the beginning of the 14th century, here was the estate of his parents - noble and noble boyars Kirill and Maria. Boyar Kirill was in the service of the Rostov appanage princes and more than once, as a trusted and close person, accompanied them on dangerous journeys to the Horde. To the bustle of city life and the princely court, the couple preferred quiet rural solitude on their estate. Kirill owned a fortune sufficient for his position, but due to the simplicity of the morals of that time, living in the village, he did not neglect ordinary peasant labor.
The Venerable Epiphanius the Wise, compiler of the first Life of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, says that Cyril and Mary were noble and pious people, “God's saints, righteous before God and people, and full and adorned with all sorts of virtues.” Strict guardians of all church statutes, they loved the temple of God, prayer, and were especially concerned about works of mercy: they helped the poor, received strangers, and gave alms. This is what they taught their children.
Detailed information about the life of this blessed couple has not reached us, but we can follow Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) in saying that “the very fruit that came from them showed better than any eloquent praise the kindness of the blessed tree. Happy are the parents whose names are glorified forever in their children and offspring! Happy are the children who not only did not disgrace, but also increased and exalted the honor and nobility of their parents and glorious ancestors, for true nobility lies in virtue!”
The couple already had a son, Stephen, when the Lord gave them another son - Bartholomew, the future founder of the Trinity Lavra, beauty Orthodox Church and the indestructible support of our native land. Long before his birth, the wondrous providence of God gave a sign of him as the great chosen one of the Lord and the holy branch of the blessed root.
One Sunday, when Mary was praying in church at the Divine Liturgy, the baby cried loudly three times in her womb. Everyone was amazed at such a miracle, and from then on the holy mother became especially attentive to her spiritual state. Often moving away from human gaze, she fervently prayed with tears for future fate your child. Before his birth, Mary remained in strict fasting and heartfelt prayer, and so the child was, as it were, purified and sanctified even before birth. The righteous spouses, seeing the great mercy of God upon themselves and wanting to be worthy of it, made a promise: if a boy is born, they will dedicate him to serving the Lord.
On May 3, 1314, there was great joy in the house of boyar Kirill: God gave Mary a son. On the fortieth day after birth, the parents brought the baby to church for baptism. The reverent priest Michael named him Bartholomew, which means “son of joy,” in honor of the holy Apostle Bartholomew. The priest, overshadowed by the Divine Spirit, uttered significant words that the child would be “the chosen vessel of God, the abode and servant of the Holy Trinity.”
The parents began to notice something unusual in the newborn: when the mother happened to be satisfied with meat food, the baby did not take her nipples. The same thing was repeated on Wednesdays and Fridays. At first they thought that the child was unwell, but they did not find any signs of illness in him - on the contrary, he was always cheerful and joyful. Maria soon realized that a child, taught abstinence in the womb, seemed to require fasting from the mother even at birth. Then she began to fast even more strictly and completely abandoned meat food.
When Bartholomew was seven years old, his parents sent their son to learn to read and write. His two brothers also studied with him: the eldest, Stefan, and the younger, Peter. The brothers studied successfully, but Bartholomew was far behind them. The teacher punished him, his parents admonished him, he himself prayed a lot with tears, asking the Lord for admonition, but the boy was not given a letter. “This happened,” notes Blessed Epiphanius, “by the providence of God, so that he would learn books from God, and not from people.”
One day, Bartholomew's father sent him to look for the missing foals. In the field, under the shade of a tall oak tree, he saw an angel-like elder-monk, with the rank of presbyter, and told him his heartfelt grief. The elder said a diligent prayer, and then gave the youth part of the holy prosphora “as a sign of God’s grace and understanding of Holy Scripture.” Knowing with what joy and love the parents received the wanderers, the boy begged the mysterious monk to visit their home.
The righteous Cyril and Maria greeted the guest with honor and offered him a warm meal. The elder replied that first one should taste spiritual food, and ordered Bartholomew to read the psalms. He began to refuse, knowing his inability, but the monk gave him a book and ordered him to read the word of God without doubt. And an amazing thing happened: the youth, having received the blessing, began to harmoniously and clearly verse the Psalter!.. After this, the holy guest tasted the meal offered to him, blessed the hospitable hosts and prophetically announced that their son “will be the abode of the Holy Trinity and will lead many after him to understanding Divine commandments." The pious spouses escorted the elder to the gate, but suddenly he became invisible. Cyril and Maria, perplexed, decided that an Angel of God had visited them... They deeply treasured the words of the heavenly messenger in reverent hearts.
Meanwhile, the youth, growing in years, grew in piety. The desire for monastic achievement gradually grew in him. But it was not in the Rostov land that this wondrous lamp was destined to shine. By God's providence, boyar Kirill and his entire family moved to the Moscow principality, to the village of Radonezh, receiving an estate here. But he himself, due to old age, could no longer serve, and therefore his eldest son Stefan, who got married in Rostov, took on this responsibility. The youngest son Peter also chose married life for himself.
Bartholomew with all his soul strove for an ascetic life. Thinking about the vanity of everything earthly, he began to ask his father and mother for blessings on his monastic path. “Slow down, child,” his parents answered him, “after all, we are old and weak, and there is no one to take care of us. It is good that you are concerned about how to please God: this is a good intention. Just serve us a little, take us to the grave, then you will fulfill your desire.” And the blessed son obeyed. He made every effort to repose his holy parents in their old age and earn their blessings and prayers.
What an instructive example of both parental prudence and filial obedience! Cyril and Maria did not try to extinguish his divine desire in their son, but only pointed out to him their needs, and secretly, they probably wanted to give him time to test himself and become confirmed in his holy intention. And the prudent young man, knowing the height and dignity of the monastic calling, looked with meekness at the commandment of God: “Honor your father and mother” (Matthew 15:4) and agreed to wait, subduing his heartfelt desire for the time being, in order to maintain obedience to his parents and inherit their blessing .
Over time, the spirit of monasticism was communicated from the son to the parents: at the end of their sorrowful life, Cyril and Maria themselves, according to the pious custom of antiquity, wished to take on the angelic image. Three versts from Radonezh was the Intercession Khotkov Monastery, which at that time consisted of two sections - for the elders and the elders. The righteous Cyril and Maria directed their steps to this monastery, so that here they could spend the rest of their days in the feat of repentance and preparation for eternal life.
Almost at the same time, the wife of their eldest son Stefan, Anna, died, leaving two young sons - Clement and John, who later became Theodore, Saint of Rostov. Having buried his wife in the Pokrovsky Monastery, Stefan did not want to return to the world. Entrusting his children to his brother Peter, he remained in Khotkovo to become a monk and serve his weak parents.
Being in old age, the schema-boyars did not work long in their new title: in 1337 they peacefully departed to the Lord. Before their death, the holy parents blessed Bartholomew for his monastic feat with icons Mother of God"Hodegetria" and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The children honored them with tears of filial love and buried them under the shadow of the same Khotkovo monastery, which from that time on became the tomb of the Sergius family. Here he was eventually buried younger son Saints Cyril and Mary - Peter, with his wife Catherine.
Paying his last debt to filial love, Bartholomew continually spent forty days in the Intercession Monastery while the commemoration of the newly departed, established by the Church, took place. He combined his prayer with acts of mercy: every day he fed strangers and distributed alms to the poor. Having passed on the inheritance left by his parents to his younger brother Peter, the reverend young man set out for spiritual achievements.
He had no intention of staying in Khotkovo - his soul longed for the silence of the desert. Together with their elder brother Stefan, they leave the hospitable monastery of Khotkovskaya and ten miles from it, in a dense primeval forest, on the Makovets hill, they set up a poor cell for themselves, and next to it a small church in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity. Here Bartholomew was tonsured a monk with the name Sergius, and on the site of a modest hermitage the great and glorious Lavra was subsequently destined by God to flourish.
The Holy Trinity Lavra has at all times been a favorite place of pilgrimage for numerous pilgrims who resorted to the prayerful intercession of the great Intercessor of the Russian land - Abba Sergius. There is a legend that St. Sergius commanded, before going to the Trinity Monastery, to go to the Intercession Monastery and pray for the repose of his parents. In the “Trinity Leaves” of the 19th century, this touching ancient custom is described as follows: “So that the saint of God hears the prayer, so that he graciously accepts the stranger under his grace-filled cover, this stranger first goes to bow at the grave of his righteous parents in order to appear to the blessed son from his dear grave as if with parting words from the righteous parents themselves.”
Veneration of Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria.
The veneration of schema-monk Kirill and schema-nun Maria began immediately after the repose of their great son. “The evidence of church tradition about their holiness is numerous, they go back to XVI century. Already in the Personal Life of St. Sergius, his parents are depicted with halos.” At their relics, which invariably rest in the Intercession Cathedral of the Khotkov Monastery, the Psalter was incessantly read and requiem services were served. The chronicle of the Intercession Monastery provides many evidence of healings from serious illnesses through the intercession of the parents of St. Sergius. Three times through their holy prayers the Khotkov Monastery was delivered from pestilence and cholera during the epidemics of 1771, 1848 and 1871. In 1771, during the deadly plague, a prayer was composed for Schema-monk Kirill and Schema-nun Maria to be read on the “Glories” of the indefatigable Psalter at their tomb; it was read for several months, and the monastery was not damaged.
In the 19th century, the veneration of the righteous Cyril and Mary spread throughout Russia. Their names were included in the lists of locally revered holy ascetics of piety North-Eastern Rus', as indicated by the monthly calendars of that time. The veneration of the saints is also evidenced by the narrative from the chronicle of the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery (Chapter XII), which says that among the icons that St. Seraphim of Sarov in different time sent as a blessing to the Diveyevo monastery he founded, there was a medium-sized image of the Radonezh wonderworker Sergius and the image of his blessed parents - the Monks Cyril and Mary.
For believers, the spiritual communication of St. Sergius with his holy parents - humble schema-monks, whom he buried in the Khotkovo monastery - has always been tangible; According to popular legend, during his lifetime he often walked to their resting place from his forest desert. Both in the Lavra and in Khotkovo, pilgrims bought icons on which Saint Sergius is depicted praying at the tomb of his parents with a censer in his hand. This is a memory of his filial love for his father and mother, whom he humbly and devotedly served until their blessed death.
In 1922, the Khotkov Monastery was closed, and for many years desolation reigned there. But the people of God also came to the devastated monastery to ask for help and intercession from the saints. The veneration of the righteous Cyril and Mary, faith in the holiness and power of their prayers were deeply attested in the consciousness of our people. In the hearts of believers, hope for the revival of the shrine never faded.
In 1981, the celebration of the Council of Radonezh Saints was established, in the host of which Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria were glorified, and a prayer to them was placed in the July Menaion.
1992 became a significant year for the Intercession Khotkov Monastery. On April 3, 1992, in the year of celebrating the 600th anniversary of the repose of St. Sergius, the church-wide glorification of St. Cyril and Mary took place. Canonization worthily crowned six centuries of veneration of the parents of the great ascetic, who gave the world an example of holiness and Christian family structure.
Canopy over the relics of St. Cyril and Mary. Intercession Khotkov Monastery.
Also in 1992, the Holy Synod decided to restore monastic life in the Intercession Monastery. In the Cathedral of the Intercession Holy Mother of God The main shrine of the monastery rests - the relics of Saints Cyril and Mary, parents of the great Sergius.
In our time, the power of the intercession of the holy parents of St. Sergius has again become evident in many miracles that occur through prayer to them, as well as from their relics. According to the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl),
“On the tomb of Saints Cyril and Mary, located in the Pokrovsky Monastery, numerous healings of infants are attested, whose parents turned to the saints with prayer.”
The feat of Saints Cyril and Mary was great. This holy couple was a pious root that gave the Russian land and the whole world many beautiful and pleasing fruits to God, but especially wonderful - Sergius the Great, a mourner and a prayer book for our souls. Glorified by the Church for their godly life and for the feat of a good, honest marriage, upon their dormition they entered into heavenly service - to be patrons of family life, teaching us the Christian way of life. Many God-loving pilgrims go to the Khotkov Monastery to the shrine with the miraculous relics of the venerable couple for a parental blessing, pouring out their sorrows and joys to the saints, asking for help, consolation, and healing. The restoration of a pious family, sanctified and imbued with spiritual traditions, is the path to the revival of our Fatherland.
Let us honor with grateful memory the righteous parents of the Hegumen of the Russian Land, resorting to their intercession with ardent faith, hope and warm petition: “Pray earnestly to the Lord to send us the spirit of love and humility, so that in peace and unanimity we will glorify the Trinity of the Consubstantial.”
The memory of the Monks Cyril and Mary is celebrated on January 18, September 28, and July 6 (as part of the Council of Radonezh Saints) according to the old style, as well as on the Fourth of the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee.
According to the publication: “Akathist to St. Cyril and Mary, Miracle Workers of Radonezh, with Life. – Pokrovsky Khotkov Monastery, 2014.- 56 p.”
Troparion, tone 3:
Participation in the beatitudes of Christ, honest marriage and care for the children of the good image, righteousness Cyril and Mary, the fruit of piety, St. Sergius, like the Reverend, who appeared to us, with him fervently pray to the Lord ode to send us the spirit of love and humility, so that in peace and unanimity we glorify the Trinity of the Consubstantial
Kontakion, tone 4
Today, faithful ones, having come together, let us praise the blessed duo, the blessed Cyril and the good Mary, for they pray together with their beloved son, the Venerable Sergius, to the One in the Holy Trinity To God, establish our Fatherland in orthodoxy, protect our homes in peace, protect our youth from misfortunes and temptations deliver, strengthen old age and save our souls.
Prayer to St. Cyril and Mary, parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
O servants of God, Reverends Kirill and Mary! Even though you have ended your natural temporary life in body, you do not depart from us in spirit, but you guide us to Christ God, instructing us to walk according to the commandments of the Lord and to wear our cross and follow our Master. You, reverends, together with our reverend and God-bearing father Sergius, your beloved son, have boldness towards Christ our God and His Holy Mother of God. Be the prayer makers and intercessors for us, the unworthy, who live in your holy monastery, and you are its rulers. Be the helpers and intercessors of God’s gathered squad, so that those who live in this place and come with faith, preserve your prayers, unharmed from demons and from evil people, glorifyingly Holy I have the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever eyelids of centuries. Amen.
Sergius of Radonezh was born on May 3, 1314 in the village of Varnitsa near Rostov. At baptism, the future saint received the name Bartholomew. At the age of seven, his parents sent him to learn to read and write. At first, the boy’s education was very poor, but gradually he studied the Holy Scriptures and became interested in the church. From the age of twelve, Bartholomew began to strictly fast and pray a lot.
Founding of the monastery
Around 1328, the future hieromonk and his family moved to Radonezh. After the death of their parents, Bartholomew and his older brother Stefan went to desert places. In the forest on Makovets Hill they built a small temple to the Trinity.
In 1337, on the day of remembrance of the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, Bartholomew was tonsured under the name Sergius. Soon disciples began to come to him, and a monastery was formed on the site of the church. Sergius becomes the second abbot and presbyter of the monastery.
Religious activities
A few years later, a thriving temple of St. Sergius of Radonezh - the Trinity-Sergius Monastery - was formed in this place. Having learned about the establishment of the monastery, Ecumenical Patriarch Philotheus sent the abbot a letter in which he paid tribute to his activities. St. Sergius was a highly respected person in princely circles: he blessed rulers before battles and tried them on among themselves.
In addition to the Trinity-Sergius, during his short biography, Radonezh founded several more monasteries - Borisoglebsky, Blagoveshchensky, Staro-Golutvinsky, Georgievsky, Andronnikova and Simonov, Vysotsky.
Honoring memory
Sergius of Radonezh was canonized in 1452. In the work “The Life of Sergius,” the main source of the hieromonk’s biography, Epiphanius the Wise wrote that during his life the Saint of Radonezh performed many miracles and healings. Once he even resurrected a man.
In front of the icon of Sergius of Radonezh, people ask for recovery. On September 25, the day of the saint's death, believers celebrate his memory day.
Other biography options
- The Life of Sergius tells that Bartholomew learned to read and write thanks to the blessing of the holy elder.
- Among the students of Sergius of Radonezh were such famous religious figures as Abraham of Galitsky, Pavel Obnorsky, Sergius of Nuromsky, Venerable Andronik, Pachomius of Nerekhta and many others.
- The life of the saint inspired many writers (N. Zernov, N. Kostomarov, L. Charskaya, G. Fedotov, K. Sluchevsky, etc.) to create works of art about his fate and deeds, including a number of books for children. The biography of Sergius of Radonezh is studied by schoolchildren in grades 7-8.
Biography test
A small test on short biography Radonezhsky will help you better understand the material.
According to ancient legend, the estate of the parents of Sergius of Radonezh, the boyars of Rostov, was located in the vicinity of Rostov the Great, on the road to Yaroslavl. The parents, “noble boyars,” apparently lived simply; they were quiet, calm people, with a strong and serious lifestyle.
St. St. Kirill and Maria. Painting of the Ascension Church on Grodka (Pavlov Posad) Parents of Sergius of Radonezh
Although Cyril more than once accompanied the princes of Rostov to the Horde, as a trusted, close person, he himself did not live richly. One cannot even talk about any luxury or licentiousness of the later landowner. On the contrary, one might think that home life closer to the peasant: as a boy, Sergius (and then Bartholomew) was sent to the field to fetch horses. This means that he knew how to confuse them and turn them around. And leading him to some stump, grabbing him by the bangs, jumping up and trotting home in triumph. Perhaps he chased them at night too. And, of course, he was not a barchuk.
One can imagine parents as respectable and fair people, religious in high degree. They helped the poor and willingly welcomed strangers.
On May 3, Maria had a son. The priest gave him the name Bartholomew, after the feast day of this saint. The special shade that distinguishes it lies on the child from early childhood.
At the age of seven, Bartholomew was sent to study literacy in a church school together with his brother Stefan. Stefan studied well. Bartholomew was not good at science. Like Sergius later, little Bartholomew is very stubborn and tries, but there is no success. He's upset. The teacher sometimes punishes him. Comrades laugh and parents reassure. Bartholomew cries alone, but does not move forward.
And here is a village picture, so close and so understandable six hundred years later! The foals wandered somewhere and disappeared. His father sent Bartholomew to look for them; the boy had probably wandered like this more than once, through the fields, in the forest, perhaps near the shores of Lake Rostov, and called to them, patted them with a whip, and dragged their halters. With all Bartholomew’s love for solitude, nature and with all his dreaminess, he, of course, carried out every task most conscientiously - this trait marked his entire life.
Sergius of Radonezh. Miracle
Now he - very depressed by his failures - found not what he was looking for. Under the oak tree I met “an elder of the monk, with the rank of presbyter.” Obviously, the elder understood him.
What do you want, boy?
Bartholomew, through tears, spoke about his sorrows and asked to pray that God would help him overcome the letter.
And under the same oak tree the old man stood to pray. Next to him is Bartholomew - a halter over his shoulder. Having finished, the stranger took out the reliquary from his bosom, took a piece of prosphora, blessed Bartholomew with it and ordered him to eat it.
This is given to you as a sign of grace and for the understanding of the Holy Scriptures. From now on, you will master reading and writing better than your brothers and comrades.
We don’t know what they talked about next. But Bartholomew invited the elder home. His parents received him well, as they usually do with strangers. The elder called the boy to the prayer room and ordered him to read psalms. The child made the excuse of inability. But the visitor himself gave the book, repeating the order.
And they fed the guest, and at dinner they told him about the signs over his son. The elder again confirmed that Bartholomew would now understand the Holy Scripture well and master reading.
[After the death of his parents, Bartholomew himself went to the Khotkovo-Pokrovsky Monastery, where his widowed brother Stefan had already been monasticized. Striving for “the strictest monasticism”, for living in the wilderness, he did not stay here long and, having convinced Stefan, together with him he founded a hermitage on the banks of the Konchura River, on the Makovets hill in the middle of the remote Radonezh forest, where he built (about 1335) a small wooden church in the name of Holy Trinity, on the site of which now stands a cathedral church also in the name of the Holy Trinity.
Unable to withstand the too harsh and ascetic lifestyle, Stefan soon left for the Moscow Epiphany Monastery, where he later became abbot. Bartholomew, left completely alone, called upon a certain abbot Mitrofan and received tonsure from him under the name Sergius, since on that day the memory of the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus was celebrated. He was 23 years old.]
Having performed the rite of tonsure, Mitrofan introduced Sergius of Radonezh to St. Tyne. Sergius spent seven days without leaving his “church”, prayed, did not “eat” anything except the prosphora that Mitrofan gave. And when the time came for Mitrofan to leave, he asked for his blessing for his desert life.
The abbot supported him and calmed him down as much as he could. And the young monk remained alone among his gloomy forests.
Images of animals and vile reptiles appeared before him. They rushed at him with whistling and gnashing of teeth. One night, according to the story of the monk, when in his “church” he was “singing matins,” Satan himself suddenly entered through the wall, with him a whole “regiment of demons.” They drove him away, threatened him, advanced. He prayed. (“May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered…”) The demons disappeared.
Will he survive in a formidable forest, in a wretched cell? The autumn and winter snowstorms on his Makovitsa must have been terrible! After all, Stefan couldn’t stand it. But Sergius is not like that. He is persistent, patient, and he is “God-loving.”
He lived like this, completely alone, for some time.
Sergius of Radonezh. Tame bear
Sergius saw once at the cells huge bear, weak from hunger. And I regretted it. He brought a piece of bread from his cell and served it - since childhood, like his parents, he had been “strangely accepted.” The furry wanderer ate peacefully. Then he began to visit him. Sergius always served. And the bear became tame.
The youth of St. Sergius (Sergius of Radonezh). Nesterov M.V.
But no matter how lonely the monk was at this time, there were rumors about his desert life. And then people began to appear, asking to be taken in and saved together. Sergius dissuaded. He pointed out the difficulty of life, the hardships associated with it. Stefan's example was still alive for him. Still, he gave in. And I accepted several...
Twelve cells were built. They surrounded it with a fence for protection from animals. The cells stood under huge pine and spruce trees. The stumps of freshly cut down trees stuck out. Between them the brothers planted their modest vegetable garden. They lived quietly and harshly.
Sergius of Radonezh set an example in everything. He himself chopped down cells, carried logs, carried water in two water carriers up the mountain, ground with hand millstones, baked bread, cooked food, cut and sewed clothes. And he was probably an excellent carpenter now. In summer and winter he wore the same clothes, neither the frost nor the heat bothered him. Physically, despite the meager food, he was very strong, “he had the strength against two people.”
He was the first to attend the services.
Works of St. Sergius (Sergius of Radonezh). Nesterov M.V.
So the years passed. The community lived undeniably under the leadership of Sergius. The monastery grew, became more complex and had to take shape. The brethren wanted Sergius to become abbot. But he refused.
The desire for abbess, he said, is the beginning and root of the lust for power.
But the brethren insisted. Several times the elders “attacked” him, persuaded him, convinced him. Sergius himself founded the hermitage, he himself built the church; who should be the abbot and perform the liturgy?
The insistence almost turned into threats: the brethren declared that if there was no abbot, everyone would disperse. Then Sergius, exercising his usual sense of proportion, yielded, but also relatively.
I wish, - he said, - it is better to study than to teach; It is better to obey than to command; but I am afraid of God's judgment; I don’t know what pleases God; the holy will of the Lord be done!
And he decided not to argue - to transfer the matter to the discretion of the church authorities.
Father, they brought a lot of bread, bless you to accept it. Here, according to your holy prayers, they are at the gate.
Sergius blessed, and several carts loaded with baked bread, fish and various foodstuffs entered the monastery gates. Sergius rejoiced and said:
Well, you hungry ones, feed our breadwinners, invite them to share a common meal with us.
He ordered everyone to hit the beater, go to church, and serve a thanksgiving prayer service. And only after the prayer service he blessed us to sit down for a meal. The bread turned out to be warm and soft, as if it had just come out of the oven.
Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (Sergius of Radonezh). Lissner E.
The monastery was no longer needed as before. But Sergius was still just as simple - poor, poor and indifferent to benefits, as he remained until his death. Neither power nor various “differences” interested him at all. A quiet voice, quiet movements, a calm face, that of a holy Great Russian carpenter. It contains our rye and cornflowers, birches and mirror-like waters, swallows and crosses and the incomparable fragrance of Russia. Everything is elevated to the utmost lightness and purity.
Many came from afar just to look at the monk. This is the time when the “old man” is heard throughout Russia, when he becomes close to Metropolitan. Alexy, settles disputes, carries out a grandiose mission to spread monasteries.
The monk wanted a stricter order, closer to the early Christian community. Everyone is equal and everyone is equally poor. Nobody has anything. The monastery lives as a community.
The innovation expanded and complicated the activities of Sergius. It was necessary to build new buildings - a refectory, a bakery, storerooms, barns, housekeeping, etc. Previously, his leadership was only spiritual - the monks went to him as a confessor, for confession, for support and guidance.
Everyone capable of work had to work. Private property is strictly prohibited.
To manage the increasingly complex community, Sergius chose assistants and distributed responsibilities among them. The first person after the abbot was considered the cellarer. This position was first established in Russian monasteries by St. Theodosius of Pechersk. The cellarer was in charge of the treasury, deanery and household management - not only inside the monastery. When the estates appeared, he was in charge of their life. Rules and court cases.
Already under Sergius, apparently, there was its own arable farming - there are arable fields around the monastery, partly they are cultivated by monks, partly by hired peasants, partly by those who want to work for the monastery. So the cellarer has a lot of worries.
One of the first cellarers of the Lavra was St. Nikon, later abbot.
The most experienced in spiritual life was appointed as confessor. He is the confessor of the brethren. , founder of the monastery near Zvenigorod, was one of the first confessors. Later this position was given to Epiphanius, the biographer of Sergius.
The ecclesiarch kept order in the church. Lesser positions: para-ecclesiarch - kept the church clean, canonarch - led “choir obedience” and kept the liturgical books.
This is how they lived and worked in the monastery of Sergius, now famous, with roads built to it, where they could stop and stay for a while - whether for ordinary people or for the prince.
Two metropolitans, both remarkable, fill the century: Peter and Alexy. Hegumen of the army Peter, a Volynian by birth, was the first Russian metropolitan to be based in the north - first in Vladimir, then in Moscow. Peter was the first to bless Moscow. In fact, he gave his whole life for her. It is he who goes to the Horde, obtains a letter of protection from Uzbek for the clergy, and constantly helps the Prince.
Metropolitan Alexy is from the high-ranking, ancient boyars of the city of Chernigov. His fathers and grandfathers shared with the prince the work of governing and defending the state. On the icons they are depicted side by side: Peter, Alexy, in white hoods, faces darkened by time, narrow and long, gray beards... Two tireless creators and workers, two “intercessors” and “patrons” of Moscow.
Etc. Sergius was still a boy under Peter; he lived with Alexy for many years in harmony and friendship. But St. Sergius was a hermit and a “man of prayer”, a lover of the forest, silence - his life path other. Should he, since childhood, having moved away from the malice of this world, live at court, in Moscow, rule, sometimes lead intrigues, appoint, dismiss, threaten! Metropolitan Alexy often comes to his Lavra - perhaps to relax with a quiet man - from struggle, unrest and politics.
The Monk Sergius came into life when the Tatar system was already breaking down. The times of Batu, the ruins of Vladimir, Kyiv, the Battle of the City - everything is far away. Two processes are underway, the Horde is disintegrating, and the young Russian state is growing stronger. The Horde is splitting up, Rus' is uniting. The Horde has several rivals vying for power. They cut each other, are deposited, leave, weakening the strength of the whole. In Russia, on the contrary, there is an ascension.
Meanwhile, Mamai rose to prominence in the Horde and became khan. He gathered the entire Volga Horde, hired the Khivans, Yases and Burtases, came to an agreement with the Genoese, the Lithuanian prince Jagiello - in the summer he founded his camp at the mouth of the Voronezh River. Jagiello was waiting.
This is a dangerous time for Dimitri.
Until now, Sergius was a quiet hermit, a carpenter, a modest abbot and educator, a saint. Now he faced a difficult task: blessings on the blood. Would Christ bless a war, even a national one?
St. Sergius of Radonezh blesses D. Donskoy. Kivshenko A.D.
Rus' has gathered
On August 18, Dimitri with Prince Vladimir of Serpukhov, princes of other regions and governors arrived at the Lavra. It was probably both solemn and deeply serious: Rus' really came together. Moscow, Vladimir, Suzdal, Serpukhov, Rostov, Nizhny Novgorod, Belozersk, Murom, Pskov with Andrei Olgerdovich - such forces were deployed for the first time. It was not in vain that we set off. Everyone understood this.
The prayer service began. During the service, messengers arrived - the war was going on in the Lavra - they reported on the movement of the enemy, and warned them to hurry up. Sergius begged Dimitri to stay for the meal. Here he told him:
The time has not yet come for you to wear the crown of victory with eternal sleep; but many, countless of your collaborators are woven with martyr’s wreaths.
After the meal, the monk blessed the prince and his entire retinue, sprinkled St. water.
Go, don't be afraid. God will help you.
And, leaning down, he whispered in his ear: “You will win.”
There is something majestic, with a tragic connotation, in the fact that Sergius gave two monks-schema monks as assistants to Prince Sergius: Peresvet and Oslyabya. They were warriors in the world and went against the Tatars without helmets or armor - in the image of a schema, with white crosses on monastic clothes. Obviously, this gave Demetrius’s army a sacred crusader appearance.
On the 20th, Dmitry was already in Kolomna. On the 26th-27th, the Russians crossed the Oka and advanced towards the Don through Ryazan land. It was reached on September 6th. And they hesitated. Should we wait for the Tatars or cross over?
The older, experienced governors suggested: we should wait here. Mamai is strong, and Lithuania and Prince Oleg Ryazansky are with him. Dimitri, contrary to advice, crossed the Don. The way back was cut off, which means everything is forward, victory or death.
Sergius was also in the highest spirit these days. And in time he sent a letter after the prince: “Go, sir, go forward, God and the Holy Trinity will help!”
According to legend, Peresvet, who had long been ready for death, jumped out at the call of the Tatar hero, and, having grappled with Chelubey, struck him, he himself fell. A general battle began, on a gigantic front of ten miles at that time. Sergius correctly said: “Many are woven with martyr’s wreaths.” There were a lot of them intertwined.
During these hours the monk prayed with the brethren in his church. He talked about the progress of the battle. He named the fallen and read funeral prayers. And at the end he said: “We won.”
Venerable Sergius of Radonezh. Demise
Sergius of Radonezh came to his Makovitsa as a modest and unknown young man Bartholomew, and left as a most illustrious old man. Before the monk, there was a forest on Makovitsa, a spring nearby, and bears lived in the wilds next door. And when he died, the place stood out sharply from the forests and from Russia. On Makovitsa there was a monastery - the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, one of the four laurels of our homeland. The forests cleared up around, fields appeared, rye, oats, villages. Even under Sergius, a remote hillock in the forests of Radonezh became a bright attraction for thousands. Sergius of Radonezh founded not only his monastery and did not operate from it alone. Countless are the monasteries that arose with his blessing, founded by his disciples - and imbued with his spirit.
So, the young man Bartholomew, having retired to the forests of “Makovitsa,” turned out to be the creator of a monastery, then monasteries, then monasticism in general in a huge country.
Having left no writings behind him, Sergius seems to teach nothing. But he teaches precisely with his whole appearance: to some he is consolation and refreshment, to others - a silent reproach. Silently, Sergius teaches the simplest things: truth, integrity, masculinity, work, reverence and faith.
“The Life of Sergei of Radonezh” is a reminder of ancient Russian literature that has survived to this day. The authorship of this book belongs to the monk Epiphanius the Wise.
IN Ancient Rus', not many people had literacy; they were mainly monks who created chronicles telling about the events and personalities of that era.
At the beginning of the 20th century, three new editions of “The Life of Sergei of Radonezh” were released. The work belongs to the genre of canonical literature.
Life of Sergei Radonezh
The work “The Life of Sergei of Radonezh” describes different stages of the saint’s life and deeds that he performed. Sergius was born back in 1314 in Rostov; later the family moved to the city of Radonezh.
At birth, his parents gave him the name Bartholomew. In addition to Bartholomew, there were two more boys in the family. When he grew up, he and his brothers were sent to a church school so that the children could learn to read and write. However, little Bartholomew could not learn to read.
One day he met a monk and told him about his problem. The monk prayed, after which Bartholomew began to read very well. This was the first reason for the little boy to think about serving God.
When Bartholomew was 17 years old, his parents died. Grief brought three brothers to the monastery, where they took monastic vows. Bartholomew took the new monastic name Sergius.
Together with their brothers, they went to live in the forest so that nothing would stop them from praying to God. Sergius's two brothers could not stand the difficulties and soon left for Moscow. The hermit monk enjoyed the respect and love of people, as he always helped them with wise advice.
Dmitry Donskoy learned about the holy man and hurried to him to find out how the battle with the approaching Mongol-Tatar army would end. The monk calmed Donskoy and gave him a blessing for the battle.
Russian troops were able to defeat the invaders. Later, Sergius initiated the construction of the monastery. A few years later, the monastery became a refuge for people in need of shelter and food. The fame of the monk spread far beyond the borders of Rus'.
People came to receive the blessing of monk Sergei and many began to settle around the monastery. Soon, the village and monastery, built by St. Sergius, turned into beautiful city- Sergiev Posad, which has survived to this day.
Life of the Russian people during the life of Sergei of Radonezh
Reading the book “The Life of Sergei of Radonezh,” you probably noticed the peculiarities of the life of the Russian people, which are described in the work. At the school where the Monk Sergei studied, there were not desks, but ordinary wooden benches on which the students were seated.
Water local residents they took from springs, not wells. The Russian people also ate simple food - porridge and bread. Children in families were brought up with respect for elders and respect for God's law.
Also from the work we can learn a lot about historical events that took place in Rus', in particular about the grief that people experienced from the invasions of the Mongol-Tatar troops.