Venerable Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd

Life of St. Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd

Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd (in the world Gregory) was born at the beginning of the 16th century in Mogilev (then the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) into a wealthy family of boyar Ivan and his wife Elena . The strong religiosity that manifested itself in him and the desire to often visit monasteries aroused the discontent of his parents. Then Grigory, changing into poor clothes, left his parents' house and headed to Moscow. Having visited its shrines, he went to the Novgorod land along with a certain Theodore , who also strived for monastic exploits. The friends wanted to settle in the monastery of Alexander Svirsky, but he directly declared that “it is impossible for him to live in the desert as a young boy,” and blessed them to go to the Vologda forests in the Komel hermitage to the Monk Cornelius. Soon Theodore returned to Moscow, after which he had a large family, he lived to a ripe old age; Gregory, on the contrary, having stayed there “in the art for quite some time,” was tonsured a monk with the name Gennady. He soon became an exemplary monk and Cornelius' favorite student. The brethren were jealous of Gennady; among them there arose “murmur and disobedience” to Cornelius himself.

According to the Life of Gennady, avoiding “the storm of slander, slander and whispering,” or, according to the Life of Cornelius, wanting to “be silent in private,” Cornelius, together with Gennady, retired to Lake Surskoye , 25 km from Lyubim (now the village of Sloboda, Lyubimsky district, Yaroslavl region). With the help of the sovereign's beekeepers who lived there, the monks built a cell and spent their time in labor, “cutting the forest and digging the earth”; To drain the swamps, they dug four ponds with their own hands. At the insistence of Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, Korniliy returned to his Komelsky monastery in 1529, and he blessed Gennady to lead the newly built Lyubimsky forest monastery. This hermitage later became known as the Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery .

For the small brotherhood, consisting of six people, a church was built in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. With the help of the Grand Duke Gennady decorated the church “with all the ecclesiastical ornaments.” With the increase in the number of monks, Gennady built a church in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The abbot was for the brethren “an image of humility and patience”: he chopped and carried firewood to cells, worked in the cookery and bakery, washed hair shirts; was engaged in icon painting. He wore iron chains and crosses. In the handwritten Life of Pachomius of Nerekhta , a portrait of St. Gennady is given: “middle-aged, with blond hair, black hair, the brad of Cosmas and Damian who had no silver, the robes of a venerable schema, the hands of prayer.”

Gennady became famous for his insight and healings. He sometimes went from Sura to Moscow. They said that on one of his visits he visited the house of the noblewoman Juliania Feodorovna , the wife of Roman Yuryevich Zakharyev , and, blessing her children, predicted to her that her daughter Anastasia would be a queen - she actually became the wife of Tsar Ivan IV . The Zakharins, in gratitude, helped Gennady build a second temple in their monastery - in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Boris Paletsky from a serious illness , then he donated a valuable bell to the monastery; and Vologda Bishop Cyprian . Gennady was Ivan IV's confessor and baptized his daughter Anna . Gennady is the author of “ Punishment and Teaching ,” addressed in addition to the brethren of the Transfiguration Monastery also to the abbot of the Ipatiev Monastery, Vassian.
Researchers note Gennady’s concern for the monastic peasants reflected in “Punishment”: he calls on the monastery servants “not to offend” the peasants by force, and “also not to use false words” against them “by the abbot or the elder.” Gennady reposed on February 5, 1565 and was buried in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the monastery.

Saint Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd (in the world Grigory Ivanov) was born in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (presumably in Mogilev) into a wealthy family. He left his father's house and rushed to the monastic life. Disciple of St. Rev. Alexander Svirsky and Rev. Cornelius of Komelsky. Rev. tonsured Cornelius in the Komelsky Vvedensky Monastery. In 1528, together with Rev. Cornelius moved to the Kostroma region, where they, together with part of the brethren of the Komel monastery, founded the new Lyubimskaya Surskaya monastery. Rev. Gennady became its abbot after the return of the Venerable. Cornelius to the Komel Monastery. Grand Duke Vasily III patronized the Lyubimsk Hermitage. Significant assistance in the construction and beautification of the monastery was provided by the ancestors of the Tsar and Imperial House of Romanov - the boyars Zakharyin-Yuryev. With their donations and thanks to the help of the Kostroma Ipatiev Monastery, St. Gennady completed the construction of the monastery, working equally with all the monks. He became famous for his ascetic deeds and the gift of clairvoyance. Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva predicted her marriage to Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, which took place in 1547. This marriage predetermined the calling of the House of Romanov to the kingdom by the Great Local and Zemsky Council of 1613. Rev. Gennady became the godfather of the newborn Princess Anna Ioannovna (1549). Reposed on January 23, Old Art. 1565 and was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral of his monastery. Canonized in 1644, after the discovery of the relics, under Tsar Alexy I Mikhailovich, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna and His Holiness Patriarch Joseph. After the revolution of 1917 and the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, the Lyubimsky Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery was closed (1919). The saint’s relics were desecrated in 1920, taken to a museum and then, apparently, destroyed. Reverent veneration of the memory of the saint was preserved by the believing people during the era of atheistic persecution and even intensified. In 1981, when under His Holiness Patriarch Pimen a holiday was established for the Council of Kostroma Saints, it was timed to coincide with the day of the blessed death of St. Rev. Gennady. Monastic life in the monastery he founded was revived in 1995 under His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. Days of remembrance: August 19/September 1 (discovery of relics in 1644), January 23/February 5 (repose day in 1565; in the Cathedral of the Kostroma Saints), May 23/June 5 (in the Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints), 3rd Week after Pentecost (in the Cathedral of Belarusian Saints)

January 23/February 5. Our reverend and God-bearing father Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd Wonderworker. And the Cathedral of Kostroma Saints.

Troparion, tone 4: Like a desert-loving turtledove, having retired from the vain and rebellious world into the desert, you glorified God in your soul and body with purity and fasting, prayers and labor: and having lived so piously, you appeared, reverend, the adornment of the Lyubimograd desert, an honest monk an image of life, and a warm prayer book for all who flow to your race with faith.

Prayer to our Reverend and God-Bearing Father Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd, according to the manuscript of the Lyubimsky Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery of the Yaroslavl Diocese

O blessed and grace-filled head of the Holy Spirit, Reverend Father Gennady of All Russia, especially of Kostroma and Lyubimograd, marvelous source of miracles, kindness and praise of all who come to you with faith and prayerfully demand your intercession in their needs! Sleeping to implore the Lord of Christ, your labors and exploits of the miraculous Vesitshago, as if he will have mercy and save his slave, the pious Grand Sovereign Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna All Russia, and the royal house, and the Christ -loving army: Help them, the sung of God, the multiple of your motionless petition. We will conquer our enemies. For the holy Churches and all Christianity, intercede inalienable peace: Instruct the Great Lord and Father of our Holiness PATRIARCH KIRILL, Your Eminence Metropolitans, Archbishops and Bishops and the entire priestly rank to rule the Word of the Truth of the Gospel: come to help the heretic and schismatic in the knowledge of the truth. To the people of this country, to which you came from the land of Lithuania, from your house, you cleave, with your prayers help them from famine, destruction, cowardice, flood, fire, sword, invasion of foreigners and internecine warfare, and rejoice in health, long life, and the abundance of the fruits of the earth create, and above all grant prosperity to the more pious Christian Faith. Provide your monastery, strengthen your cities, console the old, guide the young, make the insane wise, heal the sick, raise up the weak, deliver the captives, free prisoners, have mercy on widows, protect the orphans, raise babies, and save all Orthodox Christians from all troubles and misfortunes, sorrows and attacks of the enemy, and from deadly plagues and corrupting winds, and from all evil. Moreover, now you have come with faith, and with fear [to your holy tomb and your multi-healing power existing in it1] falling down, and kindly kissing the image of your likeness, on the day of the Last Judgment, deliver from the shui part, on the right side of the land with God’s chosen ones be worthy, and beg with their request to be fulfilled. All of us are worthy to hear this blessed voice: come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for you: for we, together with you, glorify and magnify Christ our Savior forever and ever. Amen.

1 The relics of Saint Gennady, desecrated and stolen by atheists in 1920, have not yet been recovered

Veneration of St. Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd

In 1584-1586, Abbot Alexy , a student and successor of Gennady, wrote the Life of the Saint, containing a description of 19 intravital and posthumous miracles. Presumably in the 1580s a service to the venerable was composed. In the summer of 1644, the wooden Transfiguration Cathedral in the monastery was dismantled and construction of a stone church began in its place. On August 19, during the work, the relics of Gennady were discovered, about which a Tale was compiled with a description of 2 miracles. In the same year, with the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, Gennady was glorified for church-wide veneration. In 1647, after the consecration of the Transfiguration Cathedral, the shrine with the relics of the saint was brought into the church and installed in the Annunciation chapel; Most likely, in the 18th century the relics were buried in the same place. Apparently, in the mid-1640s, a stone church was erected in the Kostroma Kremlin in the name of the saint.

The life of St. Gennady was included in the Chetii-Minea of German (Tulupov) and John Milyutin . In the 17th-18th centuries, the Life of Gennady was actively rewritten. Gennady, together with the Monk Korniliy of Komel, is mentioned in the “ Eulogy to the Russian Saints ” of the Solovetsky Monastery of Sergius (Shelonin) (40s of the 17th century). The name of Gennady is included in the Months of Simon (Azaryin) [].

Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov

On December 17 we remember Gennady Novgorodsky. The Russian people owe him three important deeds. Collection and publication of the first complete Bible in the native language. Detection and fight against the most dangerous heresy, capable of defeating the state and changing the course of history. And - about in the 15th century.

Since 1472, Gennady has been the archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery in the Moscow Kremlin. A zealot of strict statutory worship.

In 1483, Saint Gennady began to build a stone refectory church in the Chudov Monastery in honor of his revered Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, founder of the monastery, whose relics are now in the Epiphany Cathedral.

On December 12, 1484, Archimandrite Gennady was consecrated Archbishop of Novgorod. Reverent for the memory of the great Saint Alexy, Gennady, and being in Novgorod, did not cease to take care of the construction of a temple named after him in Moscow.

The time of holy Archbishop Gennady's ministry in Novgorod coincided with a formidable period in the history of the Russian Church. Jewish preachers, who came to Novgorod under the guise of traders, began sowing the tares of heresy and apostasy among the Orthodox since 1470. False teaching was spread secretly.

The danger threatened not only Novgorod piety, but also the very capital of Orthodoxy, Moscow, where the leaders of the Judaizers moved back in 1480.

In September 1487, Gennady sent to Moscow, Metropolitan Gerontius, the entire search file in the original, along with a list of apostates he had discovered and their writings. The fight against the Judaizers became the main subject of the archpastoral activity of Saint Gennady.

For nineteen years the struggle of St. Gennady and St. Joseph of Volotsk continued against the strongest attempt of the opponents of Orthodoxy to change the entire course of the history of the Russian Church and the Russian state. Through the labors of the holy confessors, the struggle was crowned with the victory of Orthodoxy.

This was facilitated by the works of Saint Gennady in studying the Bible. Heretics, in their wicked speculations, resorted to distorted texts of the Old Testament books. They differed from those accepted by the Orthodox Church. Archbishop Gennady took upon himself the enormous task of bringing correct copies of the Holy Scriptures into a single set.

Until that time, biblical books were copied in Rus', following the example of Byzantium, not in the form of a whole set, but in separate parts - the Pentateuch or the Octateuch. Kings, Proverbs and other teaching books. Psalms, Prophets, Gospels and Apostles.

The sacred books of the Old Testament were especially often subject to accidental and intentional damage. Saint Gennady wrote about this with sorrow in a letter to Archbishop Joasaph.

In 1499, the first complete set of Holy Scripture in the Slavic language was published in Rus' - the Gennadian Bible, as it is respectfully called by the name of its compiler, which became an integral link in the continuity of the Slavic translation of the Word of God.

The memory of Saint Gennady is also preserved in his other work for the benefit of the Orthodox Church. At the end of the 15th century, the menacing thought of the imminent end of the world, which was expected after the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world, loomed over Russian minds. After the end of the peace circle in 1408, Rus' did not dare to continue the Easter celebration beyond 1491. In September 1491, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Church in Moscow, with the participation of St. Gennady, determined: To write Paschal for the eighth thousand years. On November 27, 1492, Metropolitan Zosima, a participant in the Judaizer heresy, in Moscow set out the Paschal for only 20 years.

Saint Gennady soon finished compiling his Paschal, which, unlike the Metropolitan's, was continued for 70 years. Under the general title “The beginning of Paschal, shifted to the eighth thousand years.”

In the Theological Interpretation of Paschal, based on the Word of God and the testimony of the Holy Fathers, the Saint wrote:

– It is not proper to fear the end of the world, but to wait for the coming of Christ at all times. As long as God deigns the world to endure, so long will the passage of time last. Times were arranged by the Creator not for Himself, but for man. Let man understand the changing times and honor the end of his life. No one knows about the timing of the completion of God’s creation, neither the Angels, nor the Son, but only the Father. Therefore, the holy fathers, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, outlined the peace circle precisely as a circle. The Saint contrasted the heretical temptations about calculating dates with the path of constant spiritual sobriety, consecrated by the Church.

Saint Gennady outlined the theological foundations of Paschal. He explained how, with the help of Alpha, the great peace circle, one can bring out Easter for the future, as long as necessary.

Having left his archpastoral ministry, from 1504 the Saint lived in retirement in the Kremlin Miracle Monastery, where he peacefully reposed in the Lord on December 4 (17), 1505.

The holy relics of Archbishop Gennady were placed in the Church of the Miracle of St. Michael the Archangel in Khoneh. In the place where the relics of Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, who was especially revered by him, had previously rested.

Troparion and Kontakion to St. Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd

Troparion, tone 8.

ABOUT! you, Father Gennady, know the speed of salvation. Let us accept the cross, for you followed Christ. But whoever does and learns to despise the flesh passes away, but to practice things more immortal for the soul. In the same way the angels rejoice, O venerable spirit.

Kontakion, tone 2.

Having divinely armed yourself with spiritual purity, and unceasing prayer, as if you had firmly handed over a copy, you prosecuted the demonic host Gennady, Our Father, pray unceasingly for all of us.

The fight against the heresy of the Judaizers

The time of the priesthood in Novgorod of the holy Archbishop Gennady coincided with a formidable period in the history of the Russian Church - the spread of the heresy of the Judaizers. Jewish preachers, who came to Novgorod under the guise of traders, began sowing the tares of heresy and apostasy among the Orthodox since 1470. False teaching was spread secretly.

The first news of the heresy reached Saint Gennady in 1487: four members of a secret society, in a drunken stupor denouncing each other, discovered the existence of an ungodly heresy before the Orthodox. As soon as this became known to the saint, the zealous archpastor immediately began a search and with deep sorrow became convinced that the danger threatened not only local Novgorod piety, but also the capital itself, where the leaders of the Judaizers had moved back in 1480. In September 1487, he sent to Moscow, Metropolitan Gerontius, the entire search file in the original, along with a list of apostates he had discovered and their writings. The fight against the Judaizers became the main subject of the archpastoral activity of Saint Gennady.

The fight against heresy was carried out not on the basis of theological disputes and denunciations, but through administrative measures. Although St. Gennady was an educated man for his time, but his theological erudition was not outstanding [2]. He considered theological debates with heretics to be directly harmful and in his letter to the council of bishops he expressed the idea that a council on faith should not be allowed, since “our people are simple, they do not know how to speak from ordinary books: so that no speeches about faith should be made with them.” "

A council against heretics is needed, but not for a debate about faith, but in order to “execute them, burn them and hang them.” Gennady even tried to organize an exemplary auto-da-fé: when the council of 1490 sentenced some heretics to imprisonment and sent them to Novgorod, the saint ordered to meet them outside the city, dress them in birch bark helmets with the inscription “behold Satan’s army,” put them on horses facing the tail and in this form, drive through the streets, and then light their helmets.

However, all energetic measures against heretics recommended by St. Gennady, did not come true, since the heretics found support in Moscow and lived there quietly. Then St. Gennady turned to another measure - to a spiritual weapon.

Since among the clergy not only there were not enough trained people, but there were even few literate ones, St. Gennady petitioned Metropolitan Simon to establish schools. Measures to improve religious education among the clergy and people could not, of course, give quick results. To combat heresy, the saint turned for help to the abbot of the Volokolamsk monastery, Joseph of Volotsky, who became the most prominent fighter for Orthodoxy.

The saint invites the learned elders Paisius Yaroslavov and Nil Sorsky to his place - “to talk about those heresies”, searches the monasteries for books needed to fight heretics; It is curious that the Orthodox did not have many such books, not even the archbishop himself, but the heretics did have them.

"Gennadievskaya Bible"

The main task of Gennady, the compilation of the Slavic codex of biblical books, was partly connected with the same goal - to fight heresy with spiritual weapons. Until this very time, neither Russian writing nor the South Slavs had a biblical canon. Biblical books were copied in Rus', following the example of Byzantium, not in the form of a whole set, but in separate parts - the Pentateuch or Octateuch, Kingdoms, Proverbs and other teaching books; Psalms, Prophets, Gospels and Apostles. Biblical books, like any other, were offered to the ancient Russian reader in various collections, very diverse in content - together with and next to the works of the church fathers, lives, various teachings, often with apocryphal works or even directly with secular stories like “Alexandria”. It was too difficult for the literate masses to navigate among this literary chaos of collections, and this determines the significance of the work of St. Gennady. He was the first to isolate biblical books from the chaotic written mass of collections, collect them into one codex, and thereby lay the foundation for the Slavic Bible.

. Having gathered around him scientists and biblical scholars, the saint collected all the books of the Holy Scriptures in a single set, blessed to translate again from Latin those of the Holy books that were not doomed to him in the handwritten tradition of the Slavic Bible, and in 1499 the first complete the body of Holy Scripture in the Slavic language - the “Gennady Bible”, as it is respectfully called by the name of its compiler, which has become an integral link in the continuity of the Slavic translation of the Word of God.

Work of St. Gennady composed an era in the history of the biblical Slavic canon and formed the basis of subsequent printed publications. The Code, however, was not even distinguished by the unity of the text in terms of language; some books were included there in the most ancient, perhaps even the original Cyril and Methodius translation, others in a significantly updated or even later text; some, finally - probably not at all found by Gennady in the Russian writing of that time - were translated on his instructions from Latin, from the Vulgate, and part of one book - even directly from Hebrew. It is impossible not to especially note the strong influence of the Vulgate in the work of the saint; St. Gennady took it as his main guide instead of the Greek Bible. The arrangement, the very order of the books, their division into chapters are done according to the Vulgate and in accordance with the Vulgate; Preliminary articles about books and prefaces to them are borrowed from the same Vulgate. The Vulgate does not contain 3 Maccabees at all; it is not in Gennady’s code either. At the same time, the saint also uses the German Bible, which was already in print at that time. The work of Gennady Novgorodsky is, therefore, a highly curious fact of the influence of the West in our country.

Along with the preparation of the Bible, the circle of church scribes under Archbishop Gennady carried out extensive literary work: the “Fourth Novgorod Chronicle” was compiled, brought up to 1496, numerous handwritten books were translated, corrected and rewritten. Solovetsky abbot Dosifei, who arrived in Novgorod on monastic affairs, worked for several years (from 1491 to 1494) with St. Gennady, compiling a library for the Solovetsky monastery. At the request of the saint, Dosifei wrote the life of the monks Zosima and Savvaty. Most of the books copied with the blessing of the saint of Novgorod (more than 20) for the Solovetsky monastery have been preserved as part of the Solovetsky collection of manuscripts.

Easter

The memory of Saint Gennady is also preserved in his other work for the benefit of the Orthodox Church. At the end of the century, the menacing thought of the imminent end of the world, which was expected after the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world, loomed over Russian minds. After the end of the peace circle in 1408, Rus' did not dare to continue the Easter celebration beyond 1491. In September 1491, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Church in Moscow, with the participation of St. Gennady, determined: “To write Paschal for the eighth thousand years.”

November 27, 1492, Metropolitan Zosima
“in Moscow laid out the Paschal for 20 years at the conciliar”
and instructed Bishop Philotheus of Perm and Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod to each compose their own Paschal for conciliar witnessing and approval on December 21, 1492.
Saint Gennady finished compiling his Paschalia, which, unlike the Metropolitan’s, was continued for 70 years, and, distributing to the dioceses the accepted Paschalia approved by the Council for 20 years, he added his own to it, along with the interpretation on it and the District Charter, under the general with the title “The beginning of Paschal, shifted to the eighth thousand years.”
In the theological interpretation of Paschal, based on the Word of God and the testimony of the holy fathers, the saint wrote:
“It is not proper to fear the end of the world, but to wait for the coming of Christ at all times.
As long as God deigns the world to endure, so long will the passage of time last.” Times were arranged by the Creator not for Himself, but for man: “Let man understand the change of times, and honor the end of his life.” About the timing of the completion of God’s creation, “no one knows, neither the Angels, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Therefore, the holy fathers, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, outlined the peace circle precisely as a “circle”: “These perpetrations are endless, without end.” The saint opposed the heretical temptations about calculating dates, the path of constant spiritual sobriety, sanctified by the Church. Saint Gennady sets out the theological foundations of Paschal, explaining how, with the help of Alpha, the great peace circle, one can bring Paschal to the future, as far as necessary. The Paschal of St. Gennady, according to his testimony, was not compiled by him anew, but was derived on the basis of a previous tradition - in particular, on the basis of the Paschal written for the years 1360-1492 under St. Basil Kalik, Archbishop of Novgorod (+1352). According to the rules for working with Paschalia, approved by Saint Gennady, later, in 1539, under the Archbishop of Novgorod Saint Macarius, a Paschalia was compiled for the entire eighth thousand years.

For nineteen years the struggle of Saint Gennady and Saint Joseph continued against the strongest attempt of the opponents of Orthodoxy to change the entire course of the history of the Russian Church and the Russian state. Through the labors of the holy confessors, the struggle was crowned with the victory of Orthodoxy.

According to the Monk Joseph of Volotsky, “this archbishop, having been unleashed on the evil heretics, rushed at them like a lion from the thicket of the Divine Scriptures and the red mountains of prophetic and apostolic teachings.”

Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd. Icons

The surviving icons of St. Gennady date back to the second half of the 17th century. The most common version is a full-length image of the monk, in monastic attire, with his head uncovered, a blessing hand and an unfolded scroll in his left hand, against the background of the Savior Gennadiev Monastery, at the top is the image of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

Venerable Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd with the monastery. 17th century, from the collection of S. P. Ryabushinsky. Moscow, State Historical Museum Rev. Gennady Kostroma and Lyubimogradsky. Drawing, 17th century. SPb, State Russian Museum

Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd. Moscow, 1900. Moscow, State Historical Museum

Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd. Kostroma, first half of the 19th century. Moscow, Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after. Andrey Rublev

Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd, with his life. Kostroma, 1680s. Private collection

A separate group consists of images of Gennady along with other saints. So, for example, in prayer with the Monk Macarius (Kalyazinsky?) he is represented in a drawing of the second half of the 19th century from an icon of the 17th century. As part of the Councils of Russian Saints, the chest-length image of Gennady was introduced into the group of saints in the outline from the 1814 icon by the Old Believer icon painter P. Timofeev the Venerable Jacob of Kostroma located next to him . Reverend Gennady is present on the icon of the Russian miracle workers of the 19th century.

Reverend Gennady of Kostroma and Lyubimograd. XIX century, Mstera (?)

Saint Gennady Patriarch of Constantinople

Saint Gennadius assumed the throne of the Patriarchate of Constantinople after Saint Anatoly1 during the reign of Emperor Leo the Great2. His godly life is testified to in a book called “Limonar”; In this book, the venerable fathers Sophrony and John narrate this way.

Saint Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople

“We came,” they say, “to Cenobia,3 called Salama, nine miles distant from Alexandria, and found there two elders who had formerly been elders of the Church of Constantinople. These presbyters told us about Blessed Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople, that he was very meek, observed bodily purity and was distinguished by abstinence. They also said about him that many caused him great trouble because of one cleric, who sinned a lot, named Charisima.

This cleric served at the temple of the holy martyr Eleutherius, and they said about him that he not only spent his life in laziness, negligence and sinful impurity, but went into robbery and practiced magic. Having called this cleric, the patriarch began to admonish him, fatherly correcting him with the spirit of meekness, but seeing that he remained incorrigible, he ordered him to be slightly punished. When he continued to be incorrigible and the punishment had no effect on him, the patriarch sent one of his servants to the temple of the martyr, where Kharisim was, to beg the martyr so that he himself would correct or cut off from the Church the clergyman of his temple who had been betrayed by sins. The messenger, having arrived at the temple, stood before the altar and, stretching out his hand to the tomb of the martyr, said: “Holy martyr Eleutherius!” Patriarch Gennady announces to you through me, a sinner, that the cleric Kharisim, who serves in your church, commits many iniquities and creates temptations; therefore, you either correct him or cut him off from the Church.

After this, the next morning, Harisim was found dead. From here one can see how pleasing Blessed Gennady was to God and His saints, for his word, addressed to the holy martyr through a messenger, was soon heard and fulfilled in practice.

Under this Saint Gennadius, a temple was built in Constantinople in honor of Saint John, the Forerunner of the Lord, by a certain senator named Studiemus, who came from ancient Rome; a monastery was also built, called Studius (named after Senator Studius); In this monastery, the order of the vigilant was established.

Under Patriarch Gennady, the church steward was the Monk Markian. This Marcian, having taken off his last clothes, gave them to a beggar; and they saw this Venerable Marcian wearing royal purple under a phelonion, as is related in his life4. Under this patriarch, the holy pillar Daniel also labored, whom he ordained as a presbyter.

In the days of the holy Patriarch Gennady, such a miracle happened in Constantinople. One icon painter dared to paint the image of Christ the Savior in the likeness of the pagan god Zeus5; and immediately the icon painter suffered God’s punishment, for his hand, which dared to depict the Lord in this form, withered. He, having felt God’s vengeance so quickly, hurried to His Holiness Patriarch Gennady and brought him repentance, confessing his sin before everyone with tears. His Holiness the Patriarch prayed to the Lord for him and healed his hand, so that it became healthy, as before.

The Holy Patriarch Gennady used to not appoint a presbyter (whoever wanted it) until he had memorized the entire Psalter; for this great bishop of God zealously cared for the strict observance of church rites; he realized that this order could only be fulfilled thoroughly when all the priests and clerics were taught book understanding and were able to understand the Divine Scripture intelligently. For an elder who was not taught books could not teach others; I could not correct and instruct on the path of salvation, not knowing the saving path myself. In this way the words of Christ come true: can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they both fall into the pit? (Luke 6:39).

Saint Gennadius convened a local council in Constantinople, partly to eradicate the Eutychean heresy, partly for the improvement of the church; At this council, simony (bribery), which had spread among the bishops, was prohibited. Saint Gennady guarded the verbal flock entrusted to him for thirteen years; he reposed in the Lord during the reign of the same Leo the Great6.

Shortly before the day of his death, when Saint Gennady was praying at night in the temple, a certain demonic monster appeared to him; Saint Gennady drove away this monster with the sign of the honorable cross; the devil, fearing the sign of the cross, fled, and said: “I am completely leaving here and will not cause harm to anyone here as long as you are alive; but after your death I will come again and will confuse the Church in every possible way, dragging many into destruction.” Saint Gennady, shedding incessant tears until the day of his death, prayed to the Lord that He would preserve His Church so that it would not be overcome by the gates of hell. And just as during his life he was a zealous intercessor to the Lord about the Holy Church, so after his repose he sends out his unceasing prayers for the Church, standing together with the other holy hierarchs to the Head of the Church, Christ, our Lord, Who, together with the Father and the Holy Through the Spirit glory is restored forever.

1 - Anatoly was patriarch from 449 to 458.

2 - Leo the Great reigned from 457 to 474.

3 - Kinovia (from the Greek xoinos - common and bios - life) are cenobitic monasteries in which the brethren are supported at the expense of the monastery and in return offer their labor for the general benefit of the monastery.

4 - His memory is committed to St. Church on January 10

5 - Zeus was considered by the ancient Greeks to be the supreme god and the ancestor of other gods (and people).

6 - Saint Gennadius served as patriarch from 458 to 471. Several theological works are attributed to Saint Gennadius. Gennady of Messalia notes about Saint Gennady: “An eloquent man with a sharp mind, so enriched by reading the ancients that he explained the prophet Daniel to the word, and composed many conversations.” All these works are now unknown; Only his district message against simony, approved at the council of 459, has reached us.

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Gennadiev Monastery

In 1777, the right bank of the Kostroma River, which had been part of the Kostroma district since the 15th century, together with the Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery, was transferred to the Yaroslavl governorship, and in 1796 it became part of the Lyubimsky district of the Yaroslavl province. In the 18th - early 20th centuries, the Monk Gennady was one of the most revered saints in the Yaroslavl and Kostroma provinces. In 1805, in the name of Gennady, one of the chapels of the warm church adjacent to the Transfiguration Cathedral on the western side was consecrated in the name of Gennady. In the first quarter of the 19th century, a silver shrine was installed over the burial place of Gennady, made at the expense of residents of the city of Lyubim. On the shrine lay an ancient icon of the saint in a silver frame, which was gilded in 1851. In the 1930s, the abbot of the monastery Palladius tried to examine the relics of Gennady. When they began to dismantle the masonry in place of the crayfish, there was a crash and shaking of the cathedral, the abbot and the workers fled in fear. In the second half of the 19th century, a new silver shrine was installed over the burial place of Gennady, made by the dependent of the Lyubim merchant I. S. Mikhin . The monastery kept relics that, according to legend, belonged to Gennady: a ladle for collecting money and an ax.

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Gennadiev Monastery. Photos from the early 20th century

The Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery was closed in 1919, the cathedral operated as a parish church until 1928. On September 28, 1920, a public autopsy of Gennady’s relics took place in the cathedral, after which they were taken to the Yaroslavl Museum (they were there until the mid-1930s).

In 1995, the revival of the Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery began. In 1998-1999, near the ruined Transfiguration Cathedral, on the spot where, according to legend, Gennady dug a well, a small wooden church was built in the name of Gennady.

Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery

GENNADY

(in the world Gregory; † 01/23/1565), St. (memorial August 19, January 23 - in the Cathedral of the Kostroma Saints, May 23 - in the Cathedral of the Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints, 3rd Sunday after Pentecost - in the Cathedral of the Belarusian Saints), Kostroma and Lyubimograd. His life (1584-1586) and the Tale of the Finding of Relics (late 40s of the 17th century) tell about G.; the saint is mentioned in the Life of St. Cornelius of Komel (1589).

St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon. Last third of the 17th century (State Historical Museum) St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon. Last third of the 17th century (GIM)

G. was born in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The story of the discovery of the relics calls it the birthplace of Mogilev. The saint’s father, according to his life, was the “great master” Ivan, and his mother was Elena. In his early youth, wanting to become a monk, Gregory left his parental home and went to wander around the monasteries; visited Moscow, walked around the Novgorod land with his friend and like-minded person Theodore, and finally came to Alexandrov Svirsky in honor of the Holy Trinity. mon-ry. . However, Rev. Alexander Svirsky did not leave Gregory in the monastery because of his youth and sent him to Korniliev Komelsky in honor of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy One. Mother of God husband Monastery to St. Cornelia, who received the young man. Having lived “in temptation for quite some time,” St. Gregory. Cornelius was tonsured a monk with the name Gennady. G. “Velmi labored in prayers and labors, and especially in internal services: in the cookery, bakery and in other services, laboring.”

According to the Life of St. Cornelius, in 1528, taking with him “a little from the brethren,” including G., he left the Vvedensky Monastery for Surskoye (Surmskoye, Surbskoye) lake. within the “Kostroma limits” - near the confluence with the river. Kostroma district Obnory (modern village of Sloboda, Lyubimsky district, Yaroslavl region, see Gennadiev in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, male monastery). G.’s Life connects this departure with “unrest” among the brethren, in the Life of St. Cornelius's relocation was explained by the desire of St. Cornelia “be silent in private.” At the new place, Rev. Cornelius and G. built a cell and began to live, “cutting the forest and creating arable land.” Other monks came to them. G.’s life tells what he led. book Vasily III Ioannovich, who was on his way to pray for childbearing at the Kirillov Belozersky Monastery in the winter of 1528/29, stopped at the Korniliev Komelsky Monastery and expressed the wish that St. Cornelius returned to become abbess at this monastery. Then Rev. Cornelius, returning to the Komel Monastery, blessed G. to stay in the Surskaya monastery. He describes the departure of St. Petersburg differently. Cornelia from Surskaya empty. his Life. It says that in 1530, shortly after the birth of Vel. prince heir - bud. King John IV, St. Cornelius came to Moscow for permission to build a temple in Surskaya Pust. Vel. the prince invited him to bless the vel. the princess and heir, he did not give permission for construction and “forced” him to return to the Vvedensky Monastery.

St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon. 1st third of the 18th century. (private collection)

Soon after the departure of St. Cornelius G. and his brethren built a wooden (summer) temple in the desert in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. According to the testimony of his life, the funds for construction were donated by the leader. prince. It is possible that Vasily III also provided tax benefits to the mon-rue - the tarkhan and non-judgmental letter of Tsar John IV, given to G. in 1547/48, is known (RGADA. F. 281. No. 5014), which mentions a similar earlier one, lost charter. Soon the 2nd (winter) temple was built - in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. It is possible that during the establishment of the desert G. received help from Kostroma Ipatievsky in the name of the Holy Trinity. mon-rya.

Being the abbot of the monastery, G., along with other monks, worked in the kitchen, chopped wood and carried it to the cells, dug wells and ponds, baked prosphora, and painted icons. The monk, ascetic, wore on his body iron chains “and iron crosses, heavy chains.” According to his life, G. walked everywhere. The monk had the gift of clairvoyance. In the beginning. 40s 16th century, while on monastery business in Moscow, he visited the house of boyar R. Yu. Zakharyin (ancestor of the Romanovs) and predicted his daughter Anastasia, then still a girl, that she would be a queen. This prediction came true in 1547, when Anastasia Romanovna married John IV. In 1549, “Elder Gennady of the Sarai Deserts” became the godfather of Princess Anna, daughter of Ivan the Terrible (PSRL. T. 13. 1st half. P. 158; 2nd half. P. 460).

G. is the author of “Punishment and Teaching,” addressed in addition to the brethren of the Preobrazhensky Monastery also to the abbot. Hypatiev Monastery to Vassian (being illiterate, the saint dictated a teaching before his death, later it was included in his life). Researchers note G.'s concern for the monastic peasants, reflected in the “Punishment”: the monk calls on the monastery servants “not to offend” the peasants by force, and “also not to use false words” against them “by the abbot or the elder.”

St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon 1893 (YIAMZ)

G. was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the monastery. Soon after his death, his veneration began. In 1584-1586. abbot. Alexy of the Transfiguration Monastery, G.’s student and successor, wrote the life of the saint, containing a description of 19 intravital and posthumous miracles. Presumably in the 80s. XVI century a service was compiled for the venerable one. In the summer of 1644, the wooden Transfiguration Cathedral in the monastery was dismantled and construction of a stone church began in its place. Aug 19 During the course of the work, the relics of G. were discovered, about which a Tale was compiled with a description of 2 miracles. In the same year, with the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, G. was glorified for church-wide veneration. In 1647, after the consecration of the Transfiguration Cathedral, the coffin with the relics of the saint was brought into the church and installed in the Annunciation chapel; most likely in the 18th century. the relics were buried in the same place. Apparently, in mid. 40s XVII century In the Kostroma Kremlin, a stone temple was erected in the name of the saint (heavily damaged during a fire in 1773, the temple was not subsequently restored). K con. XVII century founded by Rev. Corniliy of Komel and G. the monastery was called Spaso-Gennadiev.

The Life of G. was included in the Chetya-Minea of Herman (Tulupov) (1627-1632) and Ivan Milyutin (1646-1654); a prose memory compiled on the basis of the Life was included in the printed Prologue (starting from the 1661 edition). In the XVII-XVIII centuries. G.'s Life was actively copied (most of the surviving copies date back to the 18th century); several dates back to this period. editions and revisions of the text. G. together with Rev. Cornelius of Komel is mentioned in the “Eulogy to the Russian Venerables” by the Solovetsky monk. Sergius (Shelonin) (40s of the 17th century; see: Panchenko O.V. From archaeographic research in the field of Solovetsky literature. I. “Eulogy to the Russian saints” - the work of Sergius Shelonin (issues of attribution, dating, characteristics of the author’s editions) // TODRL. T. 53. P. 584). G.'s name is included in the Months of Simon (Azaryin) (RSL. MDA. No. 201. L. 310-310 volumes, 50s of the 17th century).

St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon. Last third of the 17th century XVIII century (GIM)

In 1777, the right bank of the river. Kostroma, from the 15th century. which was part of the Kostroma district, together with the Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery went to the Yaroslavl governorship, in 1796 it became part of the Lyubimsky district. Yaroslavl province. In the XVIII - beginning. XX century G. was one of the most revered saints in the East. districts of Yaroslavl and western counties of Kostroma province. In 1805, in the Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery, in the name of G., one of the side-chapels of the warm church, adjacent to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral on the west, was consecrated. sides. In the 1st quarter XIX century A silver shrine was installed above G.’s burial place, made at the expense of residents of the city of Lyubim. On the shrine lay an ancient icon of the saint in a silver frame, which was gilded in 1851. In the 30s XIX century abbot. monastery Palladium tried to examine the relics of G. When they began to dismantle the masonry in place of the shrine, there was a crash and shaking of the cathedral, the abbot and workers fled in fear. In the 2nd half. XIX century A new silver shrine was installed over G.’s burial place, made by the support of the Lyubim merchant (later a large Kostroma manufacturer) I. S. Mikhin. The monastery contained relics that, according to legend, belonged to G.: a ladle for collecting money and an ax (in 1934 they entered the YaMZ - Monasteries and Temples of the Yaroslavl Land. Yaroslavl; Rybinsk, 2000. T. 2. P. 188-189). In 1861, a service with an akathist G. was published (the author of the akathist is G. Kartsev); later the service was edited by the Yaroslavl Archbishop. Neil Isakovic; (1853-1874).

The Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery was closed in 1919, the cathedral operated as a parish church until 1928. September 28. In 1920, a public autopsy of G.’s relics took place in the cathedral, after which they were taken to Yaroslavl province. museum (they were there until the mid-30s of the 20th century, their further fate is unknown). In Soviet times, G. was especially revered in the Kostroma diocese. In 1948, in the St. John Chrysostom Cathedral in Kostroma, the left side chapel of the temple was re-dedicated in the name of G. When in 1981 the celebration of the Council of the Kostroma Saints was established, the day for it became the day of memory of G. - January 23. G.'s name was included in the Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints, the celebration of which was established in 1964, and in 2002 it was included in the Cathedral of Belarusian Saints. In 1995, the revival of the Spaso-Gennadiev Monastery began. In 1998-1999 near the ruined Transfiguration Cathedral, on the spot where, according to legend, G. dug a well, a small wooden church was built. in the name of G. 1 Sep. 1999 Yaroslavl Archbishop. Micah (Kharkharov) served a water-blessing prayer service in the church; the first liturgy took place on June 23, 2000.

Source: Legend of the abbot. Alexei to the shepherd of the house of the divine Transfiguration, etc. Gennady // Klyuchevsky. Old Russian Lives. pp. 463-464; Life of St. Gennady, Kostroma and Lyubimograd miracle worker // Yaroslavl EV. Ch. unofficial 1873. No. 23. P. 183-190; No. 24. pp. 191-196; To the life of St. Gennady, Kostroma and Lyubomograd miracle worker // Yaroslavl EV. Ch. unofficial 1873. No. 25. P. 202-203; Service and Akathist to St. to our father Gennady, Kostroma and Lyubimograd miracle worker: With the addition of legends about his life and miracles. M., 1898; Life of St. Gennady Kostromsky // Tr. IV region ist.-archaeol. congress in Kostroma in June 1909. Kostroma, 1914. P. 18-42; Description about Russian saints. pp. 196-197; Report of the VIII (liquidation) department of the NKJ // Rits. 1920. No. 9/12. P. 81 [date of opening and brief. description of the relics of G. 28 September. 1920]; Life and Akathist of St. St. Gennady, Kostroma and Lyubimograd Wonderworker: (Compiled on the basis of the life written by the disciple of Rev. Abbot Alexy, and other archival documents about the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Gennady Monastery) / Spaso-Preobrazhensky Gennady Monastery. B. m., 2004; Life of Cornelius Komelsky // Town on Mosk. road: Historical-local history. Sat. Vologda, 1994. pp. 180-184, 188-189.

Lit.: Filaret (Gumilevsky). RSv. January. pp. 103-109; SISPRTS. pp. 62, 63; Lyubimsky Spaso-Gennadiev husband. monastery // Yaroslavl EV. 1866. No. 10-11. Ch. unofficial; Klyuchevsky. Old Russian Lives. pp. 303, 336; The saints of God and the ascetics of Kostroma, their life, exploits, death and miracles. Kostroma, 1879. P. 7-19; Barsukov. Sources of hagiography. pp. 114-115; Leonid (Kavelin). Holy Rus'. pp. 188-189; Golubinsky. Canonization of saints. pp. 128-129; Budovnits I. U. Monasteries in Rus' and the struggle of peasants against them in the XIV-XVI centuries. M., 1966. S. 291-295; Bulanina T.V. Alexey (XVI century) // SKKDR. Vol. 2. Part 1. pp. 34-35 [Bibliography]; she is the same. Gennady (in the world Gregory) (d. 23.I.1565) // Ibid. pp. 146-148 [Bibliography]; Borisov N. S. From Yaroslavl to Vologda. M., 1995. P. 96-106; Dobrovolsky G. F. Spaso-Gennadiev husband. mon-ry and etc. Gennady Kostromskoy and Lyubimograd miracle worker. M., 2004.

N. A. Zontikov

Iconography

Iconographic original from the 18th century. as of 22 Jan. prescribes to depict G. in this way: “Over, in the schema, the short brethren of Basil of Caesarea, the venerable robe” (Bolshakov. Iconographic original. P. 67); a similar text under January 23 - in a manuscript from the 30s. XIX century (IRLI (PD). Peretz. 524. L. 114 vol.). The manual by V.D. Fartusov contains additional information: “Lithuanian type... not very old, of medium size, long beard, with gray hair; his face is very thin from fasting; in a hair shirt, a short robe and an epitrachelion"; several are given. variants of sayings that can be written on a scroll (Fartusov. Guide to writing icons. pp. 164-165).

The surviving icons of G. date back to no earlier than the 2nd half. XVII century The most common version is a full-length image of the saint, in a monastic robe, with his head uncovered, a blessing hand and an unfolded scroll in his left hand, against the backdrop of the Savior Gennady Monastery, at the top is the image of the Transfiguration of the Lord (in accordance with the dedication of the main temple). The last icon belongs to this type of iconography. third of the 17th century from the collection of S. P. Ryabushinsky (State Historical Museum): G. is presented half-turn to the left, on the scroll there is the text: “Brothers, love each other and have chi...”, the image of the Transfiguration is in the cloud segment; The panorama of the monastery is given from the west. sides: the stone five-domed Transfiguration Cathedral (1644-1647) is surrounded by wooden buildings, a bell tower, walls and towers, as it was until the end. XVII century The view of the monastery - to the left of the figure of G., “in a bird's eye view”, with angels soaring in the sky with an icon - is also available in the drawing from the image of the horse. XVII century, located in the Central Academy of St. Petersburg (where the saint, in contrast to the instructions of most originals, had dark hair - Pokrovsky. pp. 128-129); similar variants are found on icons of the 18th century. (GMZRK, State Historical Museum), last. third of the 19th century (CMiAR). In the middle of a rare image of G. with 20 hallmarks of life, beginning. XVIII century (private collection), presumably originating from the Savior Gennadiev Monastery, the saint is also depicted against the background of the monastery he built, which includes certain hagiographic scenes.

St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon. 1900 Master V.P. Guryanov (GIM) St. Gennady Kostromskoy. Icon. 1900 Master V. P. Guryanov (State Historical Museum)

In the 1st third of the 18th century. a temple image of this version was created for the chapel in the name of G. Ts. Dormition of the Virgin Mary Seksha Lyubimsky district, Yaroslavl region. (private collection): in the left hand of the saint there is a scroll unfolded upward with a rare inscription: “Lord God, the true King of ages, the true beginningless co-eternal Light, hear the prayer of Thy servants and those who call upon Thy most holy name, look upon Thy servants.” To the left of the wooden fence are depicted ponds dug during the construction of the monastery to drain the land, as mentioned in the Life of G.: “... cutting the forest, and digging up the earth, and four more ponds, which are still visible to this day” (Reverend Gennady, Kostroma and Lyubimograd miracle worker. Yaroslavl, 1873. P. 5). In the beginning. XX century 2 ponds were still preserved in the monastery garden (Romanov E.R. Venerable Gennady Kostromskoy and Lyubimogradsky, a native of Mogilev. Vilna, 1909. P. 17). The painting of the icon was done by Kostroma masters, probably 2 icon painters worked (the image of the Transfiguration differs in the manner of painting). In the 19th century The icon has a metal chased frame with the inscription: “1856 Works of Gennady Alexandrov, son of Dyachkov.”

Draw the 1st floor. XIX century with the note “From Arkhipov from Palekh” (Russian Museum), the composition is different: the figure of G. is placed on the left side (a reprint of the original?), the panorama of the monastery with later stone buildings opens from the southeast. on the side, the saint is depicted at the age of the Middle Ages with a small beard, his right hand points to the monastery, his left hand with a rosary is pressed to his chest. Dr. the icon of such iconography from 1893 (YIAMZ) was the contribution of a private person, according to the inscription below in the frame (“The icon was painted for the benefit of the peasants of the village of Nastasin Agafya Vasilyeva Garyacheva, 1893”). Among the pilgrimage relics painted in Rostov according to Kostroma orders is an enamel icon of the 2nd half. XIX century (CMiAR), which, despite its small size, also includes a species of the monastery (similar samples are in the collection of YaIAMZ). G. is depicted kneeling in prayer in the sky above the monastery in a lithograph from the mid-2nd floor. XIX century (private collection).

Dr. The iconographic version is represented by single, full-length icons of the saint, in monastic vestments, as on the small icon of the beginning. XIX century from the Uspensky collection (GE), where the figure is turned half-turn to the left, there are rosary beads on the right hand, the left one is raised in prayer (a fragment of a small Deesis?). Here, as in later works, G. has a long beard, narrow at the end, and a pointed schematic doll on his head. In the direct image of 1900, by the icon painter V.P. Guryanov (State Historical Museum), the monk is also in the schema, blessing with his right hand, and holding a scroll in his left hand, the robes are decorated with “gold-white” writing, and on the upper field there is a half-length image of the Savior Emmanuel. Perhaps the icon of the con. was executed in the workshop of O. S. Chirikov. XIX - early XX century (GE) with a slightly different type of image: the saint’s hands are spread apart, the scroll is unfolded, the background is landscape, with hills, a river and conventional architectural elements, at the top is the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

St. Gennady Kostromskoy with his life. Icon. Beginning XVII century (private collection)

A separate group consists of images of G. along with other saints. So, for example, in prayer with St. Makariy (Kalyazinsky?) he is represented in the drawing of the 2nd floor. XIX century from an icon of the 17th century. (Russian Museum; inscription on the back: “Ivan Yaitsov S.S.”) is the earliest example of G.’s iconography with a doll on his head. Among those standing before the Holy Trinity of the New Testament, opposite the guardian angel, the figure of G. is found at the top of the Theodore Icon of the Mother of God with a legend in 12 marks, beginning. 19th century, Kostroma master (from the collection of P. D. Korin (Tretyakov Gallery)).

In 1886, the icon “Selected Kostroma Saints” was made (branch of KGOIAMZ in Nerekhta), originating from the church. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker p. Upper reaches of Soligalichsky district, Kostroma region. The icon shows in 2 rows the founders of the largest monasteries of the Kostroma region, among them - G. in the 1st row on the far left, with a scroll in his left hand, he has a sharp forked beard of medium size and hair parted in the middle, curly on the shoulders, with gray hair. Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” with the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary. princes and princesses of all Russia, made ca. 1913 in the Moscow company Olovyanishnikov (GE) to present imp. family for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov, was kept in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoe Selo. In the top and bottom rows it shows Russian in full size. blgv. princes, namesake saints and “heavenly representatives” of members of the royal dynasty, including G. with his arms folded crosswise on his chest, 6th from the top right.

As part of the Councils of Russian Saints, the chest-length image of G. was introduced into the group of saints on the drawing from the 1814 icon of the Old Believer icon painter P. Timofeev (kept in the Central Academy of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg), where G. is dressed in a mantle and a cape, like the Venerable One located next to him. Jacob of Kostroma. The saint is present on the icon of Russian miracle workers of the 19th century. (Tretyakov Gallery) - in the 5th row, 3rd from the right, with his head uncovered, between the Venerables Nil of Stolobensky and Peter of Murom. An example of such G. iconography in monumental art is the painting of the Russian gallery. saints in the Pochaev Dormition Lavra, con. 60's - 70's XIX century (renovated in the 70s of the 20th century), works by hierodeacons Paisius and Anatoly - the monk in one of the compositions with the ascetics of the 16th century, almost in profile, in the schema. Together with other Russian Saints G. was written in the 70s. XIX century on the wall of the stairs leading to the north choir. spare parts wing of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in the top row, and also, for example, in 1833 (renovated in 1876) on the west. wall c. Resurrection of Christ on the Debra in Kostroma (Kostroma Ev. 1902. Part unofficial. Appendix p. 10).

In the composition “All the saints who shone in the Russian land”, developed by Mon. Juliania (Sokolova) in the end. 20s - early 30s XX century (TSL sacristy), on the author's repetitions of the con. 50s XX century (TSL, Danilov male monastery in Moscow) and creative lists of the con. XX - beginning XXI century other icon painters G. is placed in the group of Kostroma saints at the beginning of the 1st row, on the far left, turning to St. Macarius of Unzhensky. In the picture con. 70s - early 80s XX century works of prot. Vyacheslav Savinykh (Minea (MP). Vol. 5. Part 2: Jan. P. 301) the monk is addressed in prayer to the heavenly segment, on a scroll of traditions. inscription. An example of modern local iconography of G. - the image of the “Cathedral of Kostroma Saints” of the 90s. XX century (Kostroma Epiphany-Anastasia women's monastery).

Lit.: Pokrovsky N.V. Church-archaeol. SPbDA Museum, 1879-1909. St. Petersburg, 1909. pp. 128-129, 131-144. No. 50, 58-59; 1000th anniversary of Russian artist culture. M., 1988. S. 167, 368. Cat. 208; Rus. enamel XVII - early XX century: From the collection. museum named after Andrey Rublev. M., 1994. S. 137, 230. Cat. 177; Mostovsky M. S. Cathedral of Christ the Savior / [Comp. conclusion parts B. Disputes]. M., 1996p. P. 86; Kostsova A. S., Pobedinskaya A. G. Rus. icons XVI - early XX century with the image of Mont-Rey and their founders: Cat. vyst. / GE. St. Petersburg, 1996. pp. 54-55, 130-131. Cat. 47, 48; Markelov. Saints Dr. Rus'. T. 1. P. 200-205, 454-455, 611, 629. T. 2. P. 80-81; Sinai. Byzantium. Rus': Orthodox. art from VI to the beginning XX century Cat. vyst. / Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, GE. [SPb.], 2000. P. 444-445. Cat. R-237; Russia. Orthodoxy. Culture: Cat. vyst. Nov. 2000-Feb. 2001. [M., 2000]. pp. 128, 181. Cat. 384, 495; Images of the Mother of God and Orthodox saints. Churches. M., 2001. P. 141; Kostroma icon of the 13th-19th centuries: Russian Code. icon painting / Author-comp. N. I. Komashko, S. S. Katkova. M., 2004. S. 615, 621. Cat. 269, 283. Ill. 427, 442.

L. L. Polushkina

Saint Gennady, Archbishop of Novgorod

Brief life of St. Gennady of Novgorod

Born in the first half of the 15th century.
in the pious Gonzov family. He began his monastic life in the Valaam monastery under the leadership of St. Venerable Savvaty of Solovetsky († 1435; commemorated September 27, old style). In February 1477, the saint was appointed archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery, and on December 12, 1484 he was ordained archbishop of Novgorod. The saint zealously fought for the purity of Orthodoxy and made many efforts to educate his flock. He established a school for the training of priests, compiled the Paschal for the first 70 years of the eighth millennium, and by 1499 he collected all the books of Holy Scripture into one single “Gennady Bible.” He is the author of the statutory instructions on the liturgical veneration of Russian saints. Since 1504, Saint Gennady was at rest in the Chudov Monastery and on December 4, 1505 he peacefully departed to the Lord.

Complete life of St. Gennady of Novgorod

Saint Gennady, Archbishop of Novgorod, came from the Gonzov family and was, according to the testimony of his contemporaries, “a man of dignity, intelligent, virtuous and knowledgeable in the Holy Scriptures.” The initial obedience took place in the Valaam monastery, under the spiritual guidance of St. Savvaty of Solovetsky (September 27). Since 1472 - Archimandrite of the Chudov Monastery in Moscow. A zealot of strict statutory worship.

In 1479–1481, Archimandrite Gennady, together with Vassian, Archbishop of Rostov, and then with his successor Joasaph, fearlessly stood up for the defense of the ancient charter in the dispute that arose about walking “salting” during the consecration of a new temple (the dispute arose in connection with the rite of consecration of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow ).

In 1483, Saint Gennady began to build a stone refectory church in the Chudov Monastery in honor of his revered Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow († 1378), the founder of the monastery. On December 12, 1484, Archimandrite Gennady was consecrated Archbishop of Novgorod. Reverent for the memory of the great saint Alexy, Gennady, and being in Novgorod, did not cease to take care of the construction of the temple in his name: “And you sent enough silver to complete that temple and meal and chambers.” The time of the priesthood in Novgorod of the holy Archbishop Gennady coincided with a formidable period in the history of the Russian Church. Jewish preachers, who came to Novgorod under the guise of traders, began sowing the tares of heresy and apostasy among the Orthodox since 1470. False teaching was spread secretly. The first news of the heresy reached Saint Gennady in 1487: four members of a secret society, in a drunken stupor denouncing each other, discovered the existence of an ungodly heresy before the Orthodox. As soon as this became known to the saint, the zealous archpastor immediately began a search and with deep sorrow became convinced that the danger threatened not only local Novgorod piety, but also the very capital of Orthodoxy - Moscow, where the leaders of the Judaizers had moved back in 1480. In September 1487, he sent the entire search file in the original to Moscow to Metropolitan Gerontius, along with a list of apostates he had discovered and their writings. The fight against the Judaizers became the main subject of the archpastoral activity of Saint Gennady. According to the Venerable Joseph of Volotsk (September 9), “this archbishop, having been unleashed on the evil heretics, rushed at them like a lion from the thicket of the Divine Scriptures and the red mountains of prophetic and apostolic teachings.” For nineteen years the struggle of Saint Gennady and Saint Joseph continued against the strongest attempt of opponents of Orthodoxy to change the entire course of the history of the Russian Church and the Russian state. Through the labors of the holy confessors, the struggle was crowned with the victory of Orthodoxy. This was facilitated by the works of Saint Gennady in studying the Bible. Since the heretics, in their wicked philosophies, resorted to distorted texts of the Old Testament books, different from those accepted by the Orthodox Church, Archbishop Gennady took upon himself the enormous task of bringing correct copies of the Holy Scriptures into a single set. Until that time, biblical books were copied in Rus', following the example of Byzantium, not in the form of a whole set, but in separate parts - the Pentateuch or Octateuch, Kings, Proverbs and other teaching books: Psalms, Prophets, Gospels and Apostles.

The sacred books of the Old Testament were especially often subject to accidental and intentional damage. Saint Gennady wrote about this with sorrow in a letter to Archbishop Joasaph: “They keep the Jewish heretical tradition - they distorted the psalms of David or the prophecies.” Gathering around him scientists and biblical scholars, the saint collected all the books of the Holy Scriptures in a single set, gave his blessing to again translate from Latin those of the Holy Books that he had not found in the handwritten tradition of the Slavic Bible, and in 1499 the first complete the body of Holy Scripture in the Slavic language - the “Gennady Bible”, as it is respectfully called by the name of its compiler, which has become an integral link in the continuity of the Slavic translation of the Word of God. From the divinely inspired translation of the Holy Scriptures by Saints Cyril and Methodius (863–885) through the Bible of Saint Gennady (1499) and the first printed Ostrog Bible (1581), which reproduces it, the Church has preserved unchanged the Slavic biblical tradition right up to the so-called Elizabethan Bible (1751) and all subsequent printed ones. publications Along with the preparation of the Bible, the circle of church scribes under Archbishop Gennady carried out extensive literary work: the “Fourth Novgorod Chronicle” was compiled, brought up to 1496, numerous handwritten books were translated, corrected and rewritten. Hegumen of the Solovetsky Monastery Dosifei, who arrived in Novgorod on monastic affairs, worked for several years (from 1491 to 1494) with St. Gennady, compiling a library for the Solovetsky Monastery. At the request of Saint Dosifei, he wrote the lives of the Monks Zosima (April 17) and Savvatios (September 27). Most of the books copied with the blessing of the saint of Novgorod (more than 20) for the Solovetsky monastery have been preserved as part of the Solovetsky collection of manuscripts. A zealous advocate of spiritual enlightenment, Archbishop Gennady founded a school in Novgorod to train worthy clergy.

The memory of Saint Gennady is also preserved in his other work for the benefit of the Orthodox Church.

At the end of the 15th century, the menacing thought of the imminent end of the world, which was expected after the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world, loomed over Russian minds. After the end of the peace circle in 1408, Rus' did not dare to continue the Easter celebration beyond 1491. In September 1491, the Bishops' Council of the Russian Church in Moscow, with the participation of St. Gennady, determined: “To write Paschal for the eighth thousand years.” On November 27, 1492, Metropolitan Zosima “in Moscow laid out the Paschal for 20 years at the conciliar” and instructed Bishop Philotheus of Perm and Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod to each compose their own Paschal for conciliar witnessing and approval on December 21, 1492. Saint Gennady finished compiling his Paschalia, which, unlike the Metropolitan’s, was continued for 70 years, and, distributing to the dioceses the accepted Paschalia approved by the Council for 20 years, he added his own to it, along with the interpretation on it and the District Charter, under the general with the title “The beginning of Paschal, shifted to the eighth thousand years.” In the theological interpretation of Paschal, based on the Word of God and the testimony of the holy fathers, the saint wrote: “It is not proper to fear the end of the world, but to wait for the coming of Christ at all times. As long as God deigns the world to endure, so long will the passage of time last.” Times were arranged by the Creator not for Himself, but for man: “Let man understand the change of times, and honor the end of his life.” About the timing of the completion of God’s creation, “no one knows, neither the Angels, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Therefore, the holy fathers, by the influx of the Holy Spirit, outlined the peace circle precisely as a “circle”: “This is a rotating and endless thing.” The saint opposed the heretical temptations about calculating dates, the path of constant spiritual sobriety, sanctified by the Church. Saint Gennady sets out the theological foundations of Paschal, explaining how, with the help of Alpha, the great peace circle, one can bring Paschal to the future, as far as necessary. The Paschal of St. Gennady, according to his testimony, was not compiled by him anew, but was derived on the basis of a previous tradition - in particular, on the basis of the Paschal written for the years 1360–1492 under St. Basil Kalik, Archbishop of Novgorod (July 13, 1352). According to the rules for working with Paschalia, approved by Saint Gennady, later, in 1539, under Archbishop Macarius of Novgorod, a Paschalia was compiled for the entire eighth thousand years.

The high spiritual life and prayerful inspiration of the saint is evidenced by the prayer he composed in 1497 to the Most Holy Theotokos. In addition to the well-known messages to Metropolitans Zosima and Simon, Archbishop Joasaph, Bishops Nifont and Prokhor, messages to the Council of 1490, Archbishop Gennady wrote the church “Ustavets” and “Tradition to the monks” living according to the rules of skete life. Having left his archpastoral ministry, from 1504 the saint lived in retirement in the Chudov Monastery, where he peacefully reposed in the Lord on December 4, 1505. In the Book of Degrees we read: “Archbishop Gennady remained an archbishop for nineteen years, made many corrections to the display of church splendor and priestly decorum, and disgraced heretics, and established the Orthodox faith, then he was brought to Moscow, and for half a third summer he remained in the monasteries of the miracles of the Archangel Michael and Saint Alexis, Metropolitan and Wonderworker, who formerly was an archimandrite, then reposed to God.” The holy relics of Archbishop Gennady were placed in the Church of the Miracle of St. Archangel Michael in Khoneh, in the place where the relics of Saint Alexy, Metropolitan of Moscow, who was especially revered by him, had previously rested. The memory of Saint Gennady is also celebrated on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, on the day when the Holy Church remembers all the saints who shone in Novgorod.