Sergius of Radonezh is one of the holy leaders of the Russian land, according to historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, his name “glitters” bright constellation in the 14th century, making it the dawn of the political and moral revival of the Russian land. Sergius, with his life, the very possibility of such a life, made the grieving people feel that not all good in them had yet extinguished and froze... He opened their eyes to themselves." "By the example of his life, the height of his spirit, the Monk Sergius raised the fallen spirit of his loved one people, awakened in them confidence in themselves, in their strengths, and inspired faith in their future."
IN. Klyuchevsky speaks of admiration for the personality of Sergius for five centuries 1 and characterizes the thoughts and feelings of pilgrims returning from the Sergius Lavra to all ends of the Russian land. "Even during the life of the Reverend, many multitudes came to him from various countries and cities, among those who came were monks, and princes, and nobles, and simple people, “those living in the countryside.” They came to him with their thoughts, feelings, at difficult times folk life statesmen and ordinary people in sad or joyful moments of their lives. “And this influx did not change over the centuries, despite repeated and profound changes in the structure and mood of Russian society: old concepts dried up, new ones made their way or floated, and the feelings and beliefs that attracted people here from all over the Russian land still prevail today with the same fresh spring as they beat in the 14th century." These feelings are an expression of the moral life of the people. They become fused with the image of Sergius; they are its nutritious soil; in them are his roots; tear it away from them - it will wither like mown grass. “By creating the memory of St. Sergius, we examine ourselves, review our moral stock, bequeathed to us by the great builder of our moral order.” His moral influence is great; the bright and strong impressions made by Sergius sank into the souls of the people. The great Russian ascetic delighted and surprised foreigners. The Constantinople bishop, having arrived in Moscow, exclaimed: “How can such a lamp appear in these countries?”
The Russian people of the 14th century recognized this manifestation of the spiritual influence of Sergius as a miraculous creative act. It “survived his earthly existence and poured into his name, which from a historical memory became an eternally active, moral engine and became part of the spiritual wealth of the people” 2.
A “political fortress” is strong only when it rests on moral strength - this is the most precious contribution of St. Sergius to the living soul of the people, their moral self-awareness. This is modern even today.
Moral feat and moral lessons of Sergius of Radonezh
“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” was written at the turn of the 14th-15th centuries by the talented writer Epiphanius the Wise.
Epiphanius strove to show the greatness and beauty of the moral ideal of a person who serves primarily the common cause - the cause of strengthening the Russian state. He was born in Rostov in the first half of the 14th century, and in 1379 he became a monk of one of the Rostov monasteries. Traveled a lot, visited Jerusalem and Mount Athos. He knew Greek and other languages perfectly. For his erudition and literary skill, Epiphanius was nicknamed “The Wise.” He knew very well the works of his contemporary and ancient literature, the lives he compiled abundantly included a wide variety of information: geographical names, names of theologians, historical figures, scientists, writers.
"The Life of Sergius of Radonezh" is narrative in nature, it is full of rich factual material. A number of episodes are distinguished by a peculiar lyrical tone (for example, the story about Sergius’ childhood). In this work, Epiphanius acts as a master of plot narration.
In "Life" the ideal hero of ancient literature appears, a "lamp", a "vessel of God", an ascetic, a person expressing the national self-consciousness of the Russian people. The work is constructed in accordance with the specifics of the genre of hagiography. On the one hand, Sergius of Radonezh is a historical figure, the creator of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, endowed with reliable, real features, and on the other hand, he is an artistic image created by traditional artistic means hagiographic genre.
The life opens with the author's introduction: Epiphanius thanks God, who gave the holy elder St. Sergius to the Russian land. The author regrets that no one has yet written about the “wonderful and kind” elder, and with God’s help he turns to writing the “Life”. Calling the life of Sergius a “quiet, wondrous and virtuous” life, he himself is inspired and obsessed with the desire to write, referring to the words of Basil the Great: “Be a follower of the righteous and imprint their life and deeds in your heart” 3.
The central part of the "Life" tells about the deeds of Sergius and the divine destiny of the child, about the miracle that occurred before his birth: when his mother came to church, he cried out three times in her womb. His mother carried him “like a treasure, like gem, like wonderful beads, like a chosen vessel."
By the power of divine providence, Sergius is destined to become a servant of the Holy Trinity. From divine revelation he mastered literacy, after the death of his parents he went to desert places and, together with his brother Stefan, “began to cut down forest, carry logs on his shoulders, built a cell and founded a small church.” The lot of the hermit became “desert labor”, “sorrowful, harsh housing”, full of deprivations: no food, no drink, no other supplies. “There were no villages, no courtyards, no people, no roads around that desert, there was no passerby or visitor there, but on all sides there was forest and desert” 4.
Seeing this, Stefan was upset and left the desert and his brother, the “desert-lover and desert-servant.” At the age of 23, Bartholomew (as he was called in the world), taking on a monastic image, was named in memory of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus - Sergius.
Next, the author talks about his deeds and ascetic labor and asks the question: who can tell about his labors, about his exploits, what he endured alone in the desert? It is impossible to tell what kind of spiritual labor, what worries the beginning of everything cost him, when he lived for so many years in the forest as a hermit, despite the machinations of demons, the threats of animals, “for there were many animals then in that deserted forest.”
He taught the monks who came to him and wanted to live next to him: “if you have come to serve God, get ready to endure sorrows, troubles, sorrows, all kinds of need and shortcomings, and selflessness and vigilance” 5 .
Epiphanius writes that the monk endured many difficulties and performed great feats of fasting; His virtues were: vigil, dry eating, reclining on the ground, spiritual and physical purity, labor, and poverty of clothing. Even after becoming abbot, he did not change his rules: “if anyone wants to be the eldest, let him be the least of all and the servant of all!”
He could go three or four days without food and eat rotten bread. To earn food, he picked up an ax and worked as a carpenter, hewed boards from morning to evening, and made pillars.
Sergius was also unpretentious in his clothes. He never put on new clothes, “he wore what was spun and woven from sheep’s hair and wool.” And whoever did not see and did not know him would not have thought that this was Abbot Sergius, but would have taken him for one of the monks, a beggar and a wretched worker, doing all sorts of work. This is how the villager who came to the monastery perceived him, not believing that he was the abbot himself, he was so simple and inconspicuous in appearance. In the minds of the common people, the Monk Sergius was a prophet, but on him there were no beautiful clothes, no youths, no hasty servants around, no slaves serving him and giving honor. Everything is torn, everything is poor, everything is orphan. “I think this is not the one,” exclaimed the peasant. Sergius showed spiritual purity and love for his neighbor: “For whom you are sad and for whom you are looking, now God will give you that one.”
Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy bows to the ground to Sergius, accepting the blessing of the monk for the battle with Mamaev's horde. Sergius says: “It is fitting for you, sir, to take care of the flock of Christ given to you by God. Go against the godless, and, since God will help you, you will win and return in health to your fatherland with great praise.”
And when Prince Dmitry hesitated before the battle, seeing the great army of Mamaev, a runner came from the saint with a message: “Without any doubt, sir, go boldly against their ferocity, do not be horrified, God will help you in every way.” And immediately the great Prince Dmitry and His entire army took great courage from this and came out against the filthy ones. And they fought, and many bodies fell, and God helped the great victorious Dmitry, and the filthy Tatars were defeated..." 5.
Modesty, spiritual purity, selflessness are moral traits inherent in St. Sergius. He refused the rank of bishop, considering himself unworthy: “Who am I—a sinner and the worst person of all?” And he was adamant.
The author emphasizes the “lordship and holiness” and greatness of Sergius, describing his death. “Although the saint did not want glory during his life, the strong power of God glorified him; angels flew before him when he reposed, escorting him to heaven, opening the doors of heaven and leading him into the desired bliss, into righteous chambers, where the light of the angels and the All Saints He received the insight of the Trinity, as befits a faster. Such was the course of the life of a saint, such was his talent, such was the working of miracles - and not only during life, but also at death..." 6.
So Sergius of Radonezh “shone” with the virtues of life and wisdom. People like Sergius turn from historical figures into an ideal in the minds of generations, they become eternal companions, and “whole centuries reverently repeat their dear names, not so much in order to gratefully honor their memory, but in order not to forget the rules.” ", bequeathed by them. This is the name of St. Sergius: this is not only an edifying, joyful page in our history, but also a bright feature of our moral national content" 7 .
QUESTIONS AND TASKS
- Read the article by V.O. Klyuchevsky’s “The Year of Sergius” and try to comprehend: why is Sergius a “beacon”, the pride of the Russian people, and why does he express their feelings and beliefs? How are the moral feelings of the people connected with the image of Sergius?
- What are the origins of Sergius' morality? Remember B. Zaitsev’s essay about Sergius of Radonezh.
- What fascinates and surprises Sergius’ personality?
- Read the life written by Epiphanius the Wise. What do you know about the author?
- How is the work constructed, does it take into account the canonical tradition of hagiographic literature?
- Why does Epiphanius the Wise in his work refer to the description of the life of Sergius of Radonezh?
- What feelings of the author are expressed in the life?
- Retell the text telling about the life of Sergius (from birth to death of the saint).
- What is said about Sergius's parents?
- What miracle happened before the birth of the saint during a church service and how does this testify to the special purpose of Sergius?
- Tell us about the teachings of Sergius. What episode does the author talk about that influenced the saint’s successful mastery of literacy?
- What kind of life did Sergius lead in his youth?
- How did the reverend's life turn out after the death of his parents?
- Tell us about the life and works of Sergius in the desert.
- List the virtues of the saint.
- Under what conditions did Sergius and the brethren build the Sergius Monastery?
- Tell us about the ascetic work of Sergius, evaluate his moral qualities.
- How does Sergius' holiness manifest itself: appearance, clothes, activities, work, relationships with the brethren?
- How do the different situations described by Epiphanius reveal the spiritual wealth of Sergius, his moral qualities (authority and role in deciding the people's destinies: meeting with the commoner and Prince Dmitry Donskoy before the Mamaev massacre, renunciation of the bishopric, etc.)?
- What does the author write about the death of Sergius, about its significance for the development of the self-awareness of the people?
- What miracles happen after the death of Sergius?
- Why, according to V.O. Klyuchevsky, do people like Sergius turn into an ideal in the minds of generations?
The Monk Sergius was born in the Tver land, during the reign of Prince of Tver Dmitry, under Metropolitan Peter. The saint's parents were noble and pious people. His father's name was Kirill, and his mother's name was Maria.
An amazing miracle happened even before the saint was born, when he was in his mother’s womb. Maria came to church for the liturgy. During the service, the unborn child cried out loudly three times. The mother cried with fear. People who heard the scream began to look for the child in the church. When they learned that the baby was screaming from his mother’s womb, everyone was amazed and afraid.
Mary, when she was pregnant, fasted and prayed earnestly. She decided that if a boy was born, she would dedicate him to God. The baby was born healthy, but did not want to take the breast when the mother ate meat. On the fortieth day the boy was brought to church, baptized and given the name Bartholomew. The parents told the priest about the baby's three-time cry from the womb. The priest said that the boy would be a servant of the Holy Trinity. After a while, the child did not breastfeed on Wednesday and Friday, and also did not want to feed on the nurse’s milk, but only on his mother.
The boy grew up, and they began to teach him to read and write. Bartholomew had two brothers, Stephen and Peter. They quickly learned to read and write, but Bartholomew could not. He was very sad about this.
One day his father sent Bartholomew to look for horses. In the field under the oak tree the boy saw an old priest. Bartholomew told the priest about his failures in his studies and asked him to pray for him. The elder gave the youth a piece of prosphora and said that from now on Bartholomew would be even better at reading and writing than his brothers and peers. The boy persuaded the priest to visit his parents. First, the elder went to the chapel, began to sing the hours, and ordered Bartholomew to read a psalm. Unexpectedly, the boy began to read well. The elder went into the house, tasted the food and predicted to Cyril and Mary that their son would be great before God and people.
A few years later, Bartholomew began to strictly fast and pray at night. The mother tried to persuade the boy so that he would not destroy his flesh with excessive abstinence, but Bartholomew continued to adhere to his chosen path. He did not play with other children, but often went to church and read holy books.
The saint's father, Cyril, moved from Rostov to Radonezh, because at that time the governor from Moscow Vasily Kocheva was committing outrages in Rostov. He took away property from the Rostovites, and because of this, Kirill became poor.
Kirill settled in Radonezh near the Nativity Church. His sons, Stephen and Peter, got married, while Bartholomew strove for the monastic life. He asked his parents to bless him to become a monk. But Kirill and Maria asked their son to accompany them to the grave, and then fulfill his plan. After some time, both the father and mother of the saint became monks, and each went to his own monastery. A few years later they died. Bartholomew buried his parents and honored their memory with alms and prayers.
Bartholomew gave his father's inheritance younger brother Peter, but didn’t take anything for himself. The wife of his elder brother, Stefan, had died by this time, and Stefan became a monk at the Intercession Monastery in Khotkov.
At Bartholomew's request, Stefan went with him to look for a deserted place. They came into the thicket of the forest. There was also water. The brothers built a hut on this site and cut down a small church, which they decided to consecrate in the name of the Holy Trinity. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Theognostus of Kyiv. Stefan could not stand the hard life in the forest and went to Moscow, where he settled in the Epiphany Monastery. He became abbot and princely confessor.
Bartholomew called the elder abbot Mitrofan to his hermitage, who tonsured him into monasticism and gave him the name Sergius. After being tonsured, Sergius took communion, and the church was filled with fragrance. A few days later he accompanied the abbot, asking for his instructions, blessings and prayers. At this time, Sergius was a little over twenty years old.
The monk lived in the desert, worked and prayed. Hordes of demons tried to frighten him, but could not.
One day, when Sergius was singing matins in church, the wall parted and the devil himself entered with many demons. They ordered the saint to leave the hermitage and threatened him. But the monk drove them out with prayer and the cross. Another time, demons attacked the saint in a hut, but were put to shame by his prayer.
Sometimes wild animals came to the hut of St. Sergius. Among them was one bear, for which the saint left a piece of bread every day. The bear's visits continued for more than a year.
Some monks visited Sergius and wanted to settle with him, but the saint did not accept them, because life in the hermitage was very difficult. But still some insisted, and Sergius did not drive them away. Each of the monks built a cell for themselves, and they began to live, imitating the monk in everything. The monks served the Midnight Office, Matins, and the Hours, and they invited a priest to serve mass, because Sergius, out of humility, did not accept either the priesthood or the abbess.
When twelve monks had gathered, the cells were surrounded by a fence. Sergius served the brethren tirelessly: he carried water, chopped wood, and cooked food. And he spent his nights in prayer.
The hegumen who tonsured Sergius died. The Monk Sergius began to pray that God would give the new monastery an abbot. The brethren began to ask Sergius to become hegumen and priest himself. Many times she approached the monk with this request, and in the end Sergius and other monks went to Pereyaslavl to Bishop Afanasy so that he would give the brethren an abbot. The bishop ordered the saint to become abbot and priest. Sergius agreed.
Returning to the monastery, the monk served the liturgy daily and instructed the brethren. For some time there were only twelve monks in the monastery, and then Simon, Archimandrite of Smolensk, came, and from then on the number of monks began to increase. Simon came, leaving his archimandriteship. And Sergius’s elder brother, Stefan, brought his youngest son Ivan to the monastery. Sergius tonsured the boy under the name Fedor.
The abbot himself baked prosphora, cooked kutya and made candles. Every evening he slowly walked around everything monastic cells. If someone was idle, the abbot knocked on that brother’s window. The next morning he called the offender, talked with him and instructed him.
At first there was not even a good road to the monastery. Much later, people built houses and villages near that place. And at first the monks suffered all sorts of hardships. When there was no food, Sergius did not allow people to leave the monastery and ask for bread, but ordered them to wait for God’s mercy in the monastery. Once Sergius did not eat for three days and on the fourth he went to cut a canopy for Elder Danil behind a sieve of rotten bread. Due to the lack of food, one monk began to grumble, and the abbot began to teach the brethren about patience. At this moment, a lot of food was brought to the monastery. Sergius ordered to first feed those who brought food. They refused and disappeared. It remained unknown who the person who sent the food was. And at mealtime the brethren discovered that the bread sent from afar remained warm.
Hegumen Sergius always wore poor, shabby clothes. Once a peasant came to the monastery to talk with the monk. They pointed out to him Sergius, who was working in the garden in rags. The peasant did not believe that this was the abbot. The monk, having learned from the brethren about the distrustful peasant, spoke kindly to him, but did not convince him that he was Sergius. At this time, the prince arrived at the monastery and, seeing the abbot, bowed to the ground. The prince's bodyguards pushed the astonished peasant aside, but when the prince left, the farmer asked Sergius for forgiveness and received his blessing. A few years later, the peasant became a monk.
The brethren grumbled that there was no water nearby, and through the prayer of Saint Sergius, a source appeared. His water healed the sick.
One pious man came to the monastery with his sick son. But the boy brought to Sergius’ cell died. The father began to cry and went to get the coffin, but left the child’s body in the cell. Sergius' prayer performed a miracle: the boy came to life. The monk ordered the baby's father to remain silent about this miracle, and Sergius' disciple told about it.
On the Volga River there lived a nobleman who was tormented by a demon. The madman was taken by force to the monastery to Sergius. The monk cast out the demon. Since then, many people began to come to the saint for healing.
One late evening, Sergius had a wonderful vision: a bright light in the sky and many beautiful birds. A certain voice said that there would be as many monks in the monastery as these birds.
The Greeks, envoys of the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to the saint. The Patriarch advised Sergius to set up a hostel. The Russian Metropolitan supported this idea. Sergius did just that. He gave each brother special obedience. The monastery gave shelter to the poor and wanderers.
Some brothers resisted Sergius' mentorship. During one of the services, Sergius's brother Stefan uttered several daring words against the monk, challenging his right to lead the monastery. The monk heard this and, slowly leaving the monastery, went to the Kirzhach River, set up a cell there and then built a church. Many people helped him in this matter, a large brethren gathered. The monks of the Trinity Monastery abandoned by Sergius also moved to Kirzhach. And others went to the city to the metropolitan with a request for the return of Sergius. The Metropolitan ordered the monk to return, promising to expel his opponents from the monastery. Sergius obeyed. One of his students, Roman, became abbot of a new monastery on the Kirzhach River. And the saint himself returned to the Holy Trinity Monastery. The brethren greeted him joyfully.
Perm Bishop Stefan loved Sergius very much. Heading to his diocese, he walked past the Trinity Monastery. The road ran far from the monastery, and Stefan simply bowed in its direction. Sergius was sitting at the meal at that moment and, although he could not see Stefan, bowed to him in response.
Sergius's disciple, the Monk Andronicus, had the desire to found a monastery. One day, Metropolitan Alexy visited Sergius, who spoke about his plan to found a monastery in honor of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in memory of deliverance from a storm at sea. Sergius gave the Metropolitan Andronicus as his assistant. Alexy founded a monastery on the Yauza River, and Andronik became its mentor. Sergius visited this place and blessed it. After Andronicus, the Monk Savva became abbot, and after him Alexander. The famous icon painter Andrei was also in this monastery.
Fyodor, the nephew of St. Sergius, son of Stephen, also planned to found a monastery. He found a nice place for her - Simonovo, near the Moscow River. With the blessing of Sergius and the bishop, he built a monastery. Afterwards Fedor became bishop of Rostov.
Once, during a service at the Trinity Monastery, the monks saw an amazing man serving the liturgy with Abbot Sergius. This man's clothes shone, and he himself shone. At first Sergius did not want to talk about anything, but then he discovered that it was an angel of God who served with him.
When the Horde prince Mamai moved troops to Rus', Grand Duke Dmitry came to the monastery to Sergius for blessing and advice - should he oppose Mamai? The monk blessed the prince for the battle. When the Russians saw Tatar army, then stopped in doubt. But at that moment a messenger from Sergius appeared with words of encouragement. Prince Dmitry began the battle and defeated Mamai. And Sergius, being in the monastery, knew about everything that was happening on the battlefield, as if he was nearby. He predicted Dmitry's victory and named the fallen by name. Returning victoriously, Dmitry stopped by Sergius and thanked him. In memory of this battle, the Assumption Monastery was built, where Sergius' student Savva became abbot. At the request of Prince Dmitry, the Epiphany Monastery was built in Golutvino. The monk went there on foot, blessed the place, built a church and left his disciple Gregory there.
And at the request of Prince Dmitry Serpukhovsky, Sergius came to his estate and founded the Conception Monastery “on Vysokoye”. The disciple of the Monk Athanasius remained there.
Metropolitan Alexy, seeing his death approaching, persuaded Sergius to become metropolitan, but he, out of his humility, did not agree. And when Alexy died, Michael became metropolitan, who began to take up arms against Saint Sergius. Mikhail suddenly died on the way to Tsaryrad, which was predicted by Sergius.
One day the Mother of God appeared to the monk with the apostles Peter and John. She said that she would not leave the Trinity Monastery.
A certain bishop from Constantinople came to see Sergius. In fact, he did not believe that Sergius was truly a great “lamp.” Arriving at the monastery, the bishop became blind, but Sergius healed him.
One man was tormented by a serious illness. His relatives brought him to the monk, he sprinkled him with water, prayed for him, the sick man immediately fell asleep and soon recovered.
Prince Vladimir sent food and drinks to the monastery. The servant who carried all this tasted the food and drinks. When the servant came to the monastery, Sergius reproached him, the servant immediately repented and received forgiveness from the saint.
A rich man who lived near the monastery took a hog from a poor neighbor and did not give payment. The offended one complained to Sergius. The abbot reproached the covetous man, and he promised to improve, but then decided not to give the money. When he entered the storeroom, he saw that the carcass of the hog had rotted, although he was severe frost. After this miracle, the covetous man repented and gave the money.
When Saint Sergius once served the Divine Liturgy, his disciple Simon saw how fire walked along the altar and overshadowed the altar. Before communion, divine fire entered the chalice. The abbot forbade Simon to talk about this until he, Sergius, died.
The monk foresaw his death six months in advance and entrusted the abbess to his beloved disciple Nikon. And he himself began to remain silent.
Before his death, Sergius taught the brethren. And on September 25 he died. A fragrance spread from his body, and his face was white as snow. Sergius bequeathed to bury him outside the church, with the other brothers. But Metropolitan Cyprian gave his blessing to place the monk in the church, on the right side. Many people from different cities - princes, boyars, priests, monks - came to see off Saint Sergius.
The Monk Sergius was born in the Tver land, during the reign of Tver Prince Dmitry, under Metropolitan Peter. The saint's parents were noble and pious people. His father's name was Kirill, and his mother's name was Maria.
An amazing miracle happened even before the saint was born, when he was in his mother’s womb. Maria came to church for the liturgy. During the service, the unborn child cried out loudly three times. The mother cried with fear. People who heard the scream began to look for the child in the church. When they learned that the baby was screaming from his mother’s womb, everyone was amazed and afraid.
Mary, when she was pregnant, fasted and prayed earnestly. She decided that if a boy was born, she would dedicate him to God. The baby was born healthy, but did not want to take the breast when the mother ate meat. On the fortieth day the boy was brought to church, baptized and given the name Bartholomew. The parents told the priest about the baby's three-time cry from the womb. The priest said that the boy would be a servant of the Holy Trinity. After a while, the child did not breastfeed on Wednesday and Friday, and also did not want to feed on the nurse’s milk, but only on his mother.
The boy grew up, and they began to teach him to read and write. Bartholomew had two brothers, Stephen and Peter. They quickly learned to read and write, but Bartholomew could not. He was very sad about this.
One day his father sent Bartholomew to look for horses. In the field under the oak tree the boy saw an old priest. Bartholomew told the priest about his failures in his studies and asked him to pray for him. The elder gave the youth a piece of prosphora and said that from now on Bartholomew would be even better at reading and writing than his brothers and peers. The boy persuaded the priest to visit his parents. First, the elder went to the chapel, began to sing the hours, and ordered Bartholomew to read a psalm. Unexpectedly, the boy began to read well. The elder went into the house, tasted the food and predicted to Cyril and Mary that their son would be great before God and people.
A few years later, Bartholomew began to strictly fast and pray at night. The mother tried to persuade the boy so that he would not destroy his flesh with excessive abstinence, but Bartholomew continued to adhere to his chosen path. He did not play with other children, but often went to church and read holy books.
The saint's father, Cyril, moved from Rostov to Radonezh, because at that time the governor from Moscow Vasily Kocheva was committing outrages in Rostov. He took away property from the Rostovites, and because of this, Kirill became poor.
Kirill settled in Radonezh near the Nativity Church. His sons, Stephen and Peter, got married, while Bartholomew strove for the monastic life. He asked his parents to bless him to become a monk. But Kirill and Maria asked their son to accompany them to the grave, and then fulfill his plan. After some time, both the father and mother of the saint became monks, and each went to his own monastery. A few years later they died. Bartholomew buried his parents and honored their memory with alms and prayers.
Bartholomew gave his father's inheritance to his younger brother Peter, but took nothing for himself. The wife of his elder brother, Stefan, had died by this time, and Stefan became a monk at the Intercession Monastery in Khotkov.
At Bartholomew's request, Stefan went with him to look for a deserted place. They came into the thicket of the forest. There was also water. The brothers built a hut on this site and cut down a small church, which they decided to consecrate in the name of the Holy Trinity. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Theognostus of Kyiv. Stefan could not stand the hard life in the forest and went to Moscow, where he settled in the Epiphany Monastery. He became abbot and princely confessor.
Bartholomew called the elder abbot Mitrofan to his hermitage, who tonsured him into monasticism and gave him the name Sergius. After being tonsured, Sergius took communion, and the church was filled with fragrance. A few days later he accompanied the abbot, asking for his instructions, blessings and prayers. At this time, Sergius was a little over twenty years old.
The monk lived in the desert, worked and prayed. Hordes of demons tried to frighten him, but could not.
One day, when Sergius was singing matins in church, the wall parted and the devil himself entered with many demons. They ordered the saint to leave the hermitage and threatened him. But the monk drove them out with prayer and the cross. Another time, demons attacked the saint in a hut, but were put to shame by his prayer.
Sometimes wild animals came to the hut of St. Sergius. Among them was one bear, for which the saint left a piece of bread every day. The bear's visits continued for more than a year.
Some monks visited Sergius and wanted to settle with him, but the saint did not accept them, because life in the hermitage was very difficult. But still some insisted, and Sergius did not drive them away. Each of the monks built a cell for themselves, and they began to live, imitating the monk in everything. The monks served the Midnight Office, Matins, and the Hours, and they invited a priest to serve mass, because Sergius, out of humility, did not accept either the priesthood or the abbess.
When twelve monks had gathered, the cells were surrounded by a fence. Sergius served the brethren tirelessly: he carried water, chopped wood, and cooked food. And he spent his nights in prayer.
The hegumen who tonsured Sergius died. The Monk Sergius began to pray that God would give the new monastery an abbot. The brethren began to ask Sergius to become hegumen and priest himself. Many times she approached the monk with this request, and in the end Sergius and other monks went to Pereyaslavl to Bishop Afanasy so that he would give the brethren an abbot. The bishop ordered the saint to become abbot and priest. Sergius agreed.
Returning to the monastery, the monk served the liturgy daily and instructed the brethren. For some time there were only twelve monks in the monastery, and then Simon, Archimandrite of Smolensk, came, and from then on the number of monks began to increase. Simon came, leaving his archimandriteship. And Sergius’s elder brother, Stefan, brought his youngest son Ivan to the monastery. Sergius tonsured the boy under the name Fedor.
The abbot himself baked prosphora, cooked kutya and made candles. Every evening he slowly walked around all the monastic cells. If someone was idle, the abbot knocked on that brother’s window. The next morning he called the offender, talked with him and instructed him.
At first there was not even a good road to the monastery. Much later, people built houses and villages near that place. And at first the monks suffered all sorts of hardships. When there was no food, Sergius did not allow people to leave the monastery and ask for bread, but ordered them to wait for God’s mercy in the monastery. Once Sergius did not eat for three days and on the fourth he went to cut down a canopy for Elder Danil behind a sieve of rotten bread. Due to the lack of food, one monk began to grumble, and the abbot began to teach the brethren about patience. At this moment, a lot of food was brought to the monastery. Sergius ordered first to feed those who brought food. They refused and disappeared. It remained unknown who the person who sent the food was. And at mealtime the brethren discovered that the bread sent from afar remained warm.
Hegumen Sergius always wore poor, shabby clothes. Once a peasant came to the monastery to talk with the monk. They pointed out to him Sergius, who was working in the garden in rags. The peasant did not believe that this was the abbot. The monk, having learned from the brethren about the distrustful peasant, spoke kindly to him, but did not convince him that he was Sergius. At this time, the prince arrived at the monastery and, seeing the abbot, bowed to the ground. The prince's bodyguards pushed the astonished peasant aside, but when the prince left, the farmer asked Sergius for forgiveness and received his blessing. A few years later, the peasant became a monk.
The brethren grumbled that there was no water nearby, and through the prayer of Saint Sergius, a source appeared. His water healed the sick.
One pious man came to the monastery with his sick son. But the boy brought to Sergius’ cell died. The father began to cry and went to get the coffin, but left the child’s body in the cell. Sergius' prayer performed a miracle: the boy came to life. The monk ordered the baby's father to remain silent about this miracle, and Sergius' disciple told about it.
On the Volga River there lived a nobleman who was tormented by a demon. The madman was taken by force to the monastery to Sergius. The monk cast out the demon. Since then, many people began to come to the saint for healing.
One late evening, Sergius had a wonderful vision: a bright light in the sky and many beautiful birds. A certain voice said that there would be as many monks in the monastery as these birds.
The Greeks, envoys of the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to the saint. The Patriarch advised Sergius to set up a hostel. The Russian Metropolitan supported this idea. Sergius did just that. He gave each brother special obedience. The monastery gave shelter to the poor and wanderers.
Some brothers resisted Sergius' mentorship. During one of the services, Sergius' brother Stefan uttered several daring words against the monk, challenging his right to lead the monastery. The monk heard this and, slowly leaving the monastery, went to the Kirzhach River, set up a cell there and then built a church. Many people helped him in this matter, a large brethren gathered. The monks of the Trinity Monastery abandoned by Sergius also moved to Kirzhach. And others went to the city to the metropolitan with a request for the return of Sergius. The Metropolitan ordered the monk to return, promising to expel his opponents from the monastery. Sergius obeyed. One of his students, Roman, became abbot of a new monastery on the Kirzhach River. And the saint himself returned to the Holy Trinity Monastery. The brethren greeted him joyfully.
Perm Bishop Stefan loved Sergius very much. Heading to his diocese, he walked past the Trinity Monastery. The road ran far from the monastery, and Stefan simply bowed in its direction. Sergius was sitting at the meal at that moment and, although he could not see Stefan, bowed to him in response.
Sergius's disciple, the Monk Andronicus, had the desire to found a monastery. One day Sergius was visited by Metropolitan Alexy, who spoke about his plan to found a monastery in honor of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in memory of deliverance from a storm at sea. Sergius gave the Metropolitan Andronicus as his assistant. Alexy founded a monastery on the Yauza River, and Andronik became his mentor. Sergius visited this place and blessed it. After Andronicus, the Monk Savva became abbot, and after him Alexander. The famous icon painter Andrei was also in this monastery.
Fyodor, the nephew of St. Sergius, son of Stephen, also planned to found a monastery. He found a beautiful place for her - Simonovo, near the Moscow River. With the blessing of Sergius and the bishop, he built a monastery. Afterwards Fedor became bishop of Rostov.
Once, during a service at the Trinity Monastery, the monks saw an amazing man serving the liturgy with Abbot Sergius. This man's clothes shone, and he himself shone. At first Sergius did not want to talk about anything, but then he discovered that it was an angel of God who served with him.
When the Horde prince Mamai moved troops to Rus', Grand Duke Dmitry came to the monastery to Sergius for blessing and advice - should he oppose Mamai? The monk blessed the prince for the battle. When the Russians saw the Tatar army, they stopped in doubt. But at that moment a messenger from Sergius appeared with words of encouragement. Prince Dmitry began the battle and defeated Mamai. And Sergius, being in the monastery, knew about everything that was happening on the battlefield, as if he was nearby. He predicted Dmitry's victory and named the fallen by name. Returning victoriously, Dmitry stopped by Sergius and thanked him. In memory of this battle, the Assumption Monastery was built, where Sergius' student Savva became abbot. At the request of Prince Dmitry, the Epiphany Monastery was built in Golutvino. The monk went there on foot, blessed the place, built a church and left his disciple Gregory there.
And at the request of Prince Dmitry Serpukhovsky, Sergius came to his estate and founded the Conception Monastery “on Vysokoye”. The disciple of the Monk Athanasius remained there.
Metropolitan Alexy, seeing his death approaching, persuaded Sergius to become metropolitan, but he, out of his humility, did not agree. And when Alexy died, Michael became metropolitan, who began to take up arms against Saint Sergius. Mikhail suddenly died on the way to Tsaryrad, which was predicted by Sergius.
One day the Mother of God appeared to the monk with the apostles Peter and John. She said that she would not leave the Trinity Monastery.
A certain bishop from Constantinople came to see Sergius. In fact, he did not believe that Sergius was truly a great “lamp.” Arriving at the monastery, the bishop became blind, but Sergius healed him.
One man was tormented by a serious illness. His relatives brought him to the monk, he sprinkled him with water, prayed for him, the sick man immediately fell asleep and soon recovered.
Prince Vladimir sent food and drinks to the monastery. The servant who carried all this tasted the food and drinks. When the servant came to the monastery, Sergius reproached him, the servant immediately repented and received forgiveness from the saint.
A rich man who lived near the monastery took a hog from a poor neighbor and did not give payment. The offended one complained to Sergius. The abbot reproached the covetous man, and he promised to improve, but then decided not to give the money. When he entered the pantry, he saw that the carcass of the hog had rotted, although there was severe frost. After this miracle, the covetous man repented and gave the money.
When Saint Sergius once served the Divine Liturgy, his disciple Simon saw how fire walked along the altar and overshadowed the altar. Before communion, divine fire entered the chalice. The abbot forbade Simon to talk about this until he, Sergius, died.
The monk foresaw his death six months in advance and entrusted the abbess to his beloved disciple Nikon. And he himself began to remain silent.
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Summary“The Lives of Sergius of Radonezh”
The Monk Sergius was born in the Tver land, during the reign of Tver Prince Dmitry, under Metropolitan Peter. The saint's parents were noble and pious people. His father's name was Kirill, and his mother's name was Maria.
An amazing miracle happened even before the saint was born, when he was in his mother’s womb. Maria came to church for the liturgy. During the service, the unborn child cried out loudly three times. The mother cried with fear. People who heard the scream began to look for the child in the church. When they learned that the baby was screaming from his mother’s womb, everyone was amazed and afraid.
Mary, when she was pregnant, fasted and prayed earnestly. She decided that if a boy was born, she would dedicate him to God. The baby was born healthy, but did not want to take the breast when the mother ate meat. On the fortieth day the boy was brought to church, baptized and given the name Bartholomew. The parents told the priest about the baby's three-time cry from the womb. The priest said that the boy would be a servant of the Holy Trinity. After a while, the child did not breastfeed on Wednesday and Friday, and also did not want to feed on the nurse’s milk, but only on his mother.
The boy grew up, and they began to teach him to read and write. Bartholomew had two brothers, Stephen and Peter. They quickly learned to read and write, but Bartholomew could not. He was very sad about this.
One day his father sent Bartholomew to look for horses. In the field under the oak tree the boy saw an old priest. Bartholomew told him about his failures in his studies and asked him to pray for him. The elder gave the youth a piece of prosphora and said that from now on Bartholomew would be even better at reading and writing than his brothers and peers. The boy persuaded the priest to visit his parents. First, the elder went to the chapel, began to sing the hours, and ordered Bartholomew to read a psalm. Unexpectedly, the boy began to read well. The elder went into the house, tasted the food and predicted to Cyril and Mary that their son would be great before God and people.
A few years later, Bartholomew began to strictly fast and pray at night. The mother tried to persuade the boy so that he would not destroy his flesh with excessive abstinence, but Bartholomew continued to adhere to his chosen path. He did not play with other children, but often went to church and read holy books.
The saint's father, Cyril, moved from Rostov to Radonezh, because at that time the governor from Moscow Vasily Kocheva was committing outrages in Rostov. He took away property from the Rostovites, and because of this, Kirill became poor.
Kirill settled in Radonezh near the Nativity Church. His sons, Stephen and Peter, got married, while Bartholomew strove for the monastic life. He asked his parents to bless him to become a monk. But Kirill and Maria asked their son to accompany them to the grave, and then fulfill his plan. After some time, both the father and mother of the saint became monks, and each went to his own monastery. A few years later they died. Bartholomew buried his parents and honored their memory with alms and prayers:
Bartholomew gave his father's inheritance to his younger brother Peter, but took nothing for himself. The wife of the elder brother, Stefan, had died by this time, and he took monasticism in the Intercession Monastery of Khotkov.
At Bartholomew's request, Stefan went with him to look for a deserted place. They came into the thicket of the forest. There was also water. The brothers built a hut on this site and cut down a small church, which they decided to consecrate in the name of the Holy Trinity. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Theognostus of Kyiv. Stefan could not stand the hard life in the forest and went to Moscow, where he settled in the Epiphany Monastery. He became abbot and princely confessor.
Bartholomew called the elder abbot Mitrofan to his hermitage, who tonsured him into monasticism and gave him the name Sergius. After being tonsured, Sergius took communion, and the church was filled with fragrance. A few days later he accompanied the abbot, asking for his instructions, blessings and prayers. At this time, Sergius was a little over twenty years old.
The monk lived in the desert, worked and prayed. Hordes of demons tried to frighten him, but could not.
One day, when Sergius was singing matins in church, the wall parted and the devil himself entered with many demons. They ordered the saint to leave the hermitage and threatened him. But the monk drove them out with prayer and the cross. Another time, demons attacked the saint in a hut, but were put to shame by his prayer.
Sometimes wild animals came to the hut of St. Sergius. Among them was one bear, for which the saint left a piece of bread every day. The bear's visits continued for more than a year.
Some monks visited Sergius and wanted to settle with him, but the saint did not accept them, because life in the hermitage was very difficult. But still some insisted, and Sergius did not drive them away. Each of the monks built a cell for themselves, and they began to live, imitating the monk in everything. The monks served the Midnight Office, Matins, and the Hours, and they invited a priest to serve mass, because Sergius, out of humility, did not accept either the priesthood or the abbess.
When twelve monks had gathered, the cells were surrounded by a fence. Sergius served the brethren tirelessly: he carried water, chopped wood, and cooked food. And he spent his nights in prayer.
The hegumen who tonsured Sergius died. The Monk Sergius began to pray that God would give the new monastery an abbot. The brethren began to ask Sergius to become hegumen and priest himself. Many times she approached the monk with this request, and in the end Sergius and other monks went to Pereyaslavl to Bishop Afanasy so that he would give the brethren an abbot. The bishop ordered the saint to become abbot and priest. Sergius agreed.
Returning to the monastery, the monk served the liturgy daily and instructed the brethren. For some time there were only twelve monks in the monastery, and then Simon, Archimandrite of Smolensk, came, and from then on the number of monks began to increase. Simon came, leaving his archimandriteship. And Sergius’s elder brother, Stefan, brought his youngest son Ivan to the monastery. Sergius tonsured the boy under the name Fedor.
The abbot himself baked prosphora, cooked kutya and made candles. Every evening he slowly walked around all the monastic cells. If someone was idle, the abbot knocked on that brother’s window. The next morning he called the offender, talked with him and instructed him.
At first there was not even a good road to the monastery. Much later, people built houses and villages near that place. And at first the monks suffered all sorts of hardships. When there was no food, Sergius did not allow people to leave the monastery and ask for bread, but ordered them to wait for God’s mercy in the monastery. Once Sergius did not eat for three days and on the fourth he went to cut down a canopy for Elder Daniel behind a sieve of rotten bread. Due to the lack of food, one monk began to grumble, and the abbot began to teach the brethren patience. At this moment, a lot of food was brought to the monastery. Sergius ordered first to feed those who brought food. They refused and disappeared. It remained unknown who the person who sent the food was. And at mealtime the brethren discovered that the bread sent from afar remained warm.
Hegumen Sergius always wore poor, shabby clothes. Once a peasant came to the monastery to talk with the monk. They pointed out to him Sergius, who was working in the garden in rags. The peasant did not believe that this was the abbot. The monk, having learned from the brethren about the distrustful peasant, spoke kindly to him, but did not convince him that he was Sergius. At this time, the prince arrived at the monastery and, seeing the abbot, bowed to the ground. The prince's bodyguards pushed the astonished peasant aside, but when the prince left, the farmer asked Sergius for forgiveness and received his blessing. A few years later, the peasant became a monk.
The brethren grumbled that there was no water nearby, and through the prayer of Saint Sergius, a source appeared. His water healed the sick. One pious man came to the monastery with his sick son. But the boy brought to Sergius’ cell died. The father began to cry and went to get the coffin, but left the child’s body in the cell. Sergius' prayer performed a miracle: the boy came to life. The monk ordered the baby's father to remain silent about this miracle, and Sergius' disciple told about it.
On the Volga River there lived a nobleman who was tormented by a demon. The madman was taken by force to the monastery to Sergius. The monk cast out the demon. Since then, many people began to come to the saint for healing. One late evening, Sergius had a wonderful vision: a bright light in the sky and many beautiful birds. A certain voice said that there would be as many monks in the monastery as these birds.
The Greeks, envoys of the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to the saint. The Patriarch advised Sergius to set up a hostel. The Russian Metropolitan supported this idea. Sergius did just that. He gave each brother special obedience. The monastery gave shelter to the poor and wanderers.
Some brothers resisted Sergius' mentorship. During one of the services, Sergius' brother Stefan uttered several daring words against the monk, challenging his right to lead the monastery. The monk heard this and, slowly leaving the monastery, went to the Kirzhach River, set up a cell there and then built a church. Many people helped him in this matter, a large brethren gathered. The monks of the Trinity Monastery abandoned by Sergius also moved to Kirzhach. And others went to the city to the metropolitan with a request for the return of Sergius. The Metropolitan ordered the monk to return, promising to expel his opponents from the monastery. Sergius obeyed. One of his students, Roman, became abbot of a new monastery on the Kirzhach River. And the saint himself returned to the Holy Trinity Monastery. The brethren greeted him joyfully.
Perm Bishop Stefan loved Sergius very much. Heading to his diocese, he walked past the Trinity Monastery. The road ran far from the monastery, and Stefan simply bowed in its direction. Sergius was sitting at the meal at that moment and, although he could not see Stefan, bowed to him in response.
Sergius's disciple, the Monk Andronicus, had the desire to found a monastery. One day Sergius was visited by Metropolitan Alexy, who spoke about his plan to found a monastery in honor of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in memory of deliverance from a storm at sea. Sergius gave the Metropolitan Andronicus as his assistant. Alexy founded a monastery on the Yauza River, and Andronik became his mentor. Sergius visited this place and blessed it. After Andronicus, the Monk Savva became abbot, and after him Alexander. The famous icon painter Andrei was also in this monastery.
Fyodor, the nephew of St. Sergius, son of Stephen, also planned to found a monastery. He found a beautiful place for her - Simonovo, near the Moscow River. With the blessing of Sergius and the bishop, he built a monastery. Afterwards Fedor became bishop of Rostov.
Once, during a service at the Trinity Monastery, the monks saw an amazing man serving the liturgy with Abbot Sergius. This man's clothes shone, and he himself shone. At first Sergius did not want to talk about anything, but then he discovered that it was an angel of God who served with him.
When the Horde prince Mamai moved troops to Rus', Grand Duke Dmitry came to the monastery to Sergius for blessing and advice - should he oppose Mamai? The monk blessed the prince for the battle,” When the Russians saw the Tatar army, they stopped in doubt. But at that moment a messenger from Sergius appeared with words of encouragement. Prince Dmitry began the battle and defeated Mamai. And Sergius, being in the monastery, knew about everything that was happening on the battlefield, as if he was nearby. He predicted Dmitry's victory and named the fallen by name. Returning victoriously, Dmitry stopped by Sergius and thanked him. In memory of this battle, the Assumption Monastery was built, where Sergius' student Savva became abbot. At the request of Prince Dmitry, the Epiphany Monastery was built in Golutvin. The monk went there on foot, blessed the place, built a church and left his disciple Gregory there.
And at the request of Prince Dmitry Serpukhovsky, Sergius came to his estate and founded the Conception Monastery “on Vysokoye”. The disciple of the Monk Athanasius remained there. Metropolitan Alexy, seeing his death approaching, persuaded Sergius to become metropolitan, but he, out of his humility, did not agree. And when Alexy died, Michael became metropolitan, who began to take up arms against Saint Sergius. Mikhail suddenly died on the way to Constantinople, which was predicted by Sergius. One day the Mother of God appeared to the monk with the apostles Peter and John. She said that she would not leave the Trinity Monastery. A certain bishop from Constantinople came to see Sergius. In fact, he did not believe that Sergius was truly a great “lamp.” Arriving at the monastery, the bishop became blind, but Sergius healed him.
One man was tormented by a serious illness. His relatives brought him to the monk, he sprinkled him with water, prayed for him, the sick man immediately fell asleep and soon recovered. Prince Vladimir sent food and drinks to the monastery. The servant who carried all this tasted the food and drinks. When the servant came to the monastery, Sergius reproached him, the servant immediately repented and received forgiveness from the saint.
A rich man who lived near the monastery took a hog from a poor neighbor and did not give payment. The offended one complained to Sergius. The abbot reproached the covetous man, and he promised to improve, but then decided not to give the money. When he entered the pantry, he saw that the carcass of the hog had rotted, although there was severe frost. After this miracle, the covetous man repented and gave the money.
When Saint Sergius once served the Divine Liturgy, his disciple Simon saw how fire walked along the altar and overshadowed the altar. Before communion, divine fire entered the chalice. The abbot forbade Simon to talk about this until he, Sergius, died.
The monk foresaw his death six months in advance and entrusted the abbess to his beloved disciple Nikon. And he himself began to remain silent. Before his death, Sergius taught the brethren. And on September 25 he died. A fragrance spread from his body, and his face was white as snow. Sergius bequeathed to bury him outside the church, with the other brothers. But Metropolitan Cyprian gave his blessing to place the monk in the church, on the right side. Many people from different cities - princes, boyars, priests, monks - came to see off Saint Sergius.
Sergius - main character"Lives". Born approx. 1314 or approx. 1321, died in 1391 or, more likely, in 1392. Founder and abbot of the Trinity Monastery in the vicinity of the city of Radonezh (now the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the city of Sergiev Posad, Moscow region). S.'s worldly name is Bartholomew.
S. belongs to the “order” of venerables - holy monks. S.'s Christian work lies in the revival of the tradition of community life - monastic life, based on the complete renunciation of personal property and on the joint performance by monks of all the concerns of the monastery, in helping the poor and wretched, in the creation of a new monastic service for Rus' - desert living (S. and his disciples found monasteries in remote places, and not in cities or suburbs, as before). S. also serves the society, the Russian land (he blesses Prince Dmitry Ivanovich for the fight against the Mongol-Tatars before the Battle of Kulikovo). Remoteness from the world with its temptations is combined in S.’s actions with a prayer request for the well-being of the Russian land, addressed to God, with concern for the laity - the poor and wretched.
S. is meek and humble, devoid of lust for power and ambition; he is unmercenary and a hard worker, not disdaining to do hard work in the monastery. S. is a strong fighter against demonic temptations. He is a contemplative, prayerfully immersed in divine mysteries and awarded a special mystical gift. He experiences visions of particular depth.
The combination in the image of S. of attachment to solitude and desert living with public service, special humble and “quiet” meekness with a mystical gift distinguishes S. from the Egyptian hermits (Antony the Great and others), the Palestinian saints and Theodosius of Pechersk, whose lives were used by Epiphanius in creation of the image of the Trinity Abbot.
The Life tells in detail about the saint from his birth to his death. S. is born from the pious Rostov boyar Kirill and his wife Maria; he is the second of three sons. The birth of a saint in piety, truly Christian family - common place hagiographic genre.
S.'s birth is preceded by a miracle, confirming his later revealed holiness and indicating the mystical significance of the Trinity in S.'s life: during the liturgy in the church, the unborn St. Bartholomew cried out three times in his mother's womb. The birth of three sons to Cyril and Mary also has a mystical meaning, symbolizing the triune Godhead. The stamp of divine grace and chosenness is noted by S. even before birth, like many Greek and Russian saints: in the “Life” analogies are drawn with the prophet Jeremiah, Euthymius the Great, Metropolitan Peter and other saints.
Under the influence of a miracle, the mother consults with the father about the vow to dedicate the unborn baby to God: this is how the fate of S., who became a monk, is revealed. S.’s chosenness of God is also manifested in his behavior in infancy: S. refuses mother’s milk on Wednesdays and Fridays - on fast days weeks. Priest Michael, who baptized St. Bartholomew, having learned from the baby’s mother about the miracle that took place before his birth, insightfully believes that the child is a future great saint, and announces to the baby’s mother: “Do not grieve for him, but, on the contrary, rejoice and be merry, for the child will be a chosen vessel of God, an abode and servant of the Holy Trinity.”
The beginning of St. Bartholomew's life as a person is marked by baptism. S. witnesses the miracles performed on him even after the miracle worker accepted monasticism.
St. Bartholomew, unlike his brothers Stephen and Peter, had difficulty learning to read and write and read “slowly and not diligently.” The lack of a natural gift for comprehending book knowledge in the youth is compensated by a supernaturally acquired gift. The boy prays to God, asks for help to learn to read and write. One day he meets a priest who gives him something that looks like a small piece of wheat bread to taste. After eating, the boy receives the gift of understanding books. The wonderful old priest talks with the saint’s parents and reveals to them: the future awaits their son, and then becomes invisible. The plot of this miracle is based famous painting M. V. Nesterova “Vision to the youth Bartholomew.”
Even as a child, St. Bartholomew fasted strictly, exhausted his flesh and with a contrite heart prayed to God for the forgiveness of his sins. The severe asceticism of the boy, who, according to the Life, has not yet reached twelve years of age, raises objections from his mother. His mother points out to him that at such a young age it cannot be big sins and that the miracles that happened to him testify to his election by God, to a special religious calling. The words of the mother are the first temptation of St. Bartholomew, the temptation of pride. The saint remains alien to proud feelings, he is not sure of his calling, but asks God for guidance and reinforcement of spiritual strength.
The youth St. Bartholomew is as wise as an old man. “Old in mind, child in age” is a traditional motif that characterizes saints in their lives. The actions and thoughts of St. Bartholomew the youth are reminiscent of the life in adolescence of St. Theodosius of Pechersk.
St. Bartholomew's parents move from Rostov to the city of Radonezh, north of Moscow. The apparent reason for the resettlement is the ruin of the saint's father due to the violence of the Tatars and Moscow nobles sent to the Rostov principality by the Grand Duke of Moscow. But the inner meaning of the events lies in the fulfillment of Divine providence, which destined S. to be the founder of the Trinity Monastery near Radonezh. S. and his parents settle not far from the place where he will found a monastery.
St. Bartholomew reaches adolescence. His brothers are getting married, but he refuses to fulfill his parents' request to get married. He wants to become a monk, but at the request of his parents he postpones the fulfillment of his intention. St. Bartholomew promises his father and mother not to leave the world until their death. The saint's parents are tonsured monks and then die. St. Bartholomew left the property belonging to him to his younger brother Peter. He persuaded his elder brother Stephen, who had become a monk, to settle in a deserted place deep in the forest.
St. Bartholomew and Stephen together decide to dedicate the church he founded to the Holy Trinity. This decision demonstrates the spiritual kinship and like-mindedness of the brothers. But soon the brothers’ paths diverge: Stefan cannot withstand the hardships of a solitary life in the forest and goes to the Moscow Epiphany Monastery. The younger brother, St. Bartholomew, remains. In the “Life”, the young age of St. Bartholomew contrasts with the spiritual firmness of the saint, greater than that of his older brother Stephen. Having reached a little over twenty years of age, the saint was tonsured a monk and given the name Sergius. Acceptance of monastic orders was preceded by the study of monastic orders, preparation for a new life: “Our Reverend Father did not accept the angelic image until he had studied all monastic affairs: both monastic orders and everything else that monks require. And always, at any time, with great diligence and with desire, and with tears, he prayed to God in order to be worthy to take on the angelic form and join the monastic life.” Remaining in forest solitude, S. conquers lust and other passions, tames the terrible bear, giving him bread, and enters into a fight with demons. The fight against demons seeking to expel S. from the forest fills initial period S.'s asceticism. S.'s holiness and firmness are opposed to the evil, harmful principle contained in sinful passions, embodied in wild animals and demons. The narrative of S.'s meetings and struggle with malicious forces is divided into three main episodes, like other events in his life. This is the arrival of demons with the devil himself in the church before Matins; an attack of demons on S. in the saint’s hut, accompanied by threats and compulsion to leave the chosen place; the appearance of a bear, which, “like some cruel lender,” came to the saint for a piece of bread throughout the year.
A new segment of S.’s monastic life opens with the arrival of monks who want to live with the saint. S., whose prayerful peace and silence is disturbed by the newcomers, is dissatisfied with this appearance and tries to dissuade them, but, having tested the firmness of their decision, S. allows them to stay. The number of these monks - “no more than twelve people” - is symbolic: S. and the monks who settled with him are likened to Christ and the apostles.
The event that signifies the “beginning” of the Trinity Monastery and is a consequence of the monks coming to S. is the election of S. as abbot. The monks beg S. three times to become abbot, and only the third time the humble and loving silence and solitude S. is forced to agree. The threefold request of the monks of S. to accept the abbotship is new evidence of the symbolic meaning of the Holy Trinity in the life of the saint. Three meetings between S. and priests precede his tonsure as a monk; three requests from monks precede his appointment as abbot. S.'s monastic life is also marked by three meetings that have a symbolic and providential meaning. Priest Mitrofan tonsure S. into the monastic rank, the monks encourage S. to accept abbot, abbot, Bishop Athanasius ordains S. as abbot.
As abbot, S. acts as both an innovator and a restorer of the old monastic tradition. He receives a message from Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople, who advises the saint to establish a community of residence in the monastery. (The community was first established in Rus' by Saint Theodosius of Pechersk, abbot Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, in the early 70s. XI century, but in subsequent centuries this tradition was interrupted.) S. fulfills the advice of the patriarch: “He commanded to firmly follow the commandment of the holy fathers: not to own anything of one’s own, not to call anything one’s own, but to consider everything as common; and all other positions were arranged surprisingly well by the prudent father.”
The hostel established by S. embodies the Christian social ideal of love connecting monks and mutual care for each other. Community life also involves helping the laity: the poor, the disabled, the sick. S. instructs the monks under his command to take care of their neighbors. The establishment of community life is an act in which S.’s destiny was embodied. This event expresses the triumph of Christian values of brotherly love and help; it is the main accomplishment of S.-abbot.
The triumph of the Christian principle, manifested in the establishment of a hostel, causes the last attempt in the “Life” of demonic forces to crush S.’s virtues and defeat his humility. The brotherly love and meekness of the saint are put to the test. The devil kindles in brother S. Stefan, who returned to the Trinity Monastery, enmity and envy towards S. Stefan says. one of the monks that he, the elder brother, and not S. should rightfully be the abbot of the Trinity Monastery. S., having heard Stephen’s words, does not say anything to his brother or the other monks. He secretly leaves the monastery and settles on the Kirzhach River, where he establishes a new monastery. Encouraged by the Trinity monks, S. returns to the abbess at the Trinity Monastery. He again defeats the devil's machinations, maintains meekness, humility, and good-naturedness. Alien to the lust for power, S. is not angry with his brother. Freedom from power-hungry and ambitious passions is also manifested in other actions of S. Before his death (1378), Metropolitan Alexy asks S. to agree to become the new Russian metropolitan, but the saint firmly refuses.
S. seeks to hide his inherent gift of miracles. He tells the father of the child he resurrected that the child was not dead, but only “weak from the cold.” S. strictly forbids his father to talk about the complete resurrection.
Meek humility, freedom from anger and hardness of heart are manifested in S.’s attitude towards his subordinate monks. For those who neglect their nightly cell prayers, S. quietly and gently reminds them of the violation of the rules. S. is also devoid of ambitious passions. The self-abasement of the Trinity Abbot is expressed in several episodes of the Life. A certain farmer, having heard about S., comes to the monastery to see him. The monks tell this villager that S. is digging soil in the garden. “He, in great impatience, did not wait, but, leaning close to the crack, he saw the blessed one in poor clothes, very torn and patched, working in the sweat of his brow. He could not possibly think that this was the one he wanted to see, whom he was looking for, and he could not believe that this was the one he had heard about.” The monks tell the farmer twice more that the person working in the garden is a renowned abbot. But the alien does not believe them. S., having learned from the monks about the arrival of this farmer, “with great humility bowed to him to the ground, and with great love, kissed him in a Christian way, and, blessing him, highly praised the peasant who thought of him so much. This incident makes it clear how great humility Sergius had within himself, for the saint loved such a villager, an ignoramus, who was indignant and abhorred him, beyond measure: because as much as the proud rejoice in honors and praise, so do the humble rejoice in their dishonor and condemnation. And he not only kissed him, but the monk took him by the hand and sat him to his right, offering him food and drink to enjoy, treating him with honor and love.”
S. does not tell the peasant who he is. The peasant becomes convinced of the correctness of the monks’ words only when he goes to the monk in the old, torn clothes a certain prince approaches, humbly bowing to the ground, and poorly dressed S. begins a conversation with the prince. Another episode, the function of which is evidence of S.’s humility, tells how the abbot is hired as a carpenter by the monk Daniel and asks for a sieve of rotten bread as payment for his work. These breads constitute the saint's entire daily food. S. reaches the highest degree of holiness and shows the highest humility by eating rotten bread. A story about a peasant coming to S. and a fragment telling about carpentry work S. in the monk Daniel, show another feature of S. - “labor”, constant performance of hard work.
The function of several episodes of the “Life” is evidence of S.’s foresight. The monks grumble because of the lack of bread in the monastery. S. asks them to rely on God and wait a little. And almost immediately a certain rich Christian sends surprisingly sweet bread to the monastery, that is, the bread was sent by the Lord himself. Several events in the “Life” testify to S. the miracle worker: S. resurrects a dead child, heals a possessed nobleman and a seriously ill man. He brings out of the ground water source. The first three miracles correspond to the gospel miracles of Christ, the fourth - to the miracle of Moses performed in the desert.
S.’s mystical gift manifests itself in wonderful visions x visiting the saint. Three miraculous visions make up separate episodes of the “Life”: this is the vision of an angel serving the liturgy in the temple together with S., S.’s visit to the Mother of God, who promises S. to take care of the monastery he founded, the appearance of fire overshadowing the altar during the liturgy served by S. Three miracles occurred during the period of the abbess of S., who reached the rank destined for him from above, they reveal the mystical connection of the saint with the heavenly world.
Several episodes reveal S.'s public service to the world, people and Rus': S. punishes the covetous man who took a hog from a poor man (the hog is eaten by worms); blesses Prince Dmitry Ivanovich and predicts his victory over Mamai on the Kulikovo field; S. prays during the battle and, possessing the gift of clairvoyance, sees with his inner eye everything that happens on the Kulikovo field.
As a mentor and seer, S. is presented on the eve of death. He foresees his death six months in advance and instructs the monks of the Trinity Monastery to live in love and harmony. Predicting the day of their death to saints and admonishing their subordinate monks are traditional motifs of the hagiographical genre.
After S.’s death, “a great and indescribable fragrance spread from the saint’s body,” and his face “was as bright as snow, and not as usual among the dead, but like that of a living person or an angel of God, thereby showing his spiritual purity and reward from God.” for his labors." These miracles of healing the sick at S.’s tomb confirm his holiness. The “Life” served as the basis for the biographies of the founder of the Trinity Monastery, compiled in the 19th - early 20th centuries: an adaptation of the “Life” written by Hieromonk Nikon (repeatedly published throughout the 19th century), “The Life of St. Sergius” (1909), created by the Russian historian church by E. E. Golubinsky, and many other popular and scientific biographical
Essays dedicated to S. “Life” are the main source for the historian G. P. Fedotov, who created a portrait - a spiritual biography of S. in the book “Saints” Ancient Rus': X - XVII centuries" (Paris, 1931). Information from the “Life” was used in articles by theologians and philosophers P. A. Florensky and S. N. Bulgakov, dedicated to S. and his role in the history of Russian monasticism and holiness. “Life” was the main source for the artistic biography-story of the writer B.K. Zaitsev “Reverend Sergius of Radonezh” (Paris, 1925), etc.