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- Various authors
- Nestor the Chronicler - Life of Theodosius of Pechersk
The work of ancient Russian literature “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk,” created by the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, tells the story of the life of a holy man from birth to deathbed.
Near the city of Kyiv lived a rich family in which a son was born. From infancy he was marked by the grace of God. The parents named the boy Theodosius and baptized him.
When the boy grew up, he began to attend church services almost every day. And then I went to study. The boy did not pay attention to the boy, he walked around in old clothes, like the last poor man.
At the age of thirteen, the teenager lost his father and after that he began to pray and work even more. All of Theodosius’s thoughts were occupied by faith and the desire to follow Christ. The youth wanted to visit the historical places where his idol lived. One day he left home with the pilgrims. But his mother, who did not want to accept her son’s faith, hired people who returned the young man home. After this incident, the loving son did not make any further attempts to escape. But he never stopped praying and going to church, despite all the persuasion of his mother.
Theodosius helped at services and made prosphoras.
The mother did not like her son’s activities; the woman constantly reproached the young man. Then Theodosius decided to leave his father’s home and go to a monastery. In realizing his dream, he initially met with failure. The young man was unable to find shelter in any monastery.
Then the purposeful young man went to the cave in which Elder Anthony lived and began to beg him to become his student. The holy man initially tested Theodosius’ patience by refusing his request. But then, seeing the young man’s determination, he agreed to take him to his cave.
Theodosius, inspired by success, began to fast intensely and offer praise to God.
However, his mother did not give up trying to find her beloved child and bring him home. She appointed a reward to the one who indicated the location of the young man. Naturally, there were people who told the woman where her son lived. The mother went to the cave, but Theodosius refused to go out to her. And Anthony, with his meek speeches, captivated the woman so much that after a while she decided to cut her hair as a nun. The old woman spent the rest of her days in repentance and unceasing prayer. Then she peacefully departed to the Kingdom of Heaven.
The fame of the sinless life of Theodosius and Anthony began to spread throughout the country. Many people who wanted to join the faith began to head towards the cave. A new monastery was gradually founded in this place, where everyone could turn to God.
One day, robbers passing by the holy place decided to rob the monks. But through the prayers of the holy fathers, a miracle happened. The monastery, along with all the people there, soared into the air. This stopped the actions of the villains. Many miracles that took place in the monastery were described by eyewitnesses.
Theodosius was elected abbot of the monastery. But he never stopped working along with everyone else and did not stand out among the monks in any way.
Gradually the monastery was upset, and more and more novices arrived there.
The holy elder knew the date of death so that he could adequately prepare for the transition to the Kingdom of Heaven. Theodosius invited the monks to his place and gave them instructions on how to further organize monastic life, so that the work begun by the elders would live on for centuries.
After this, Theodosius asked everyone to leave him alone and died peacefully with prayer on his lips. Thanks to the activity of the elder, the monastery continued its mission further.
The main idea of this story is that any person should humbly endure all sorrows and rejoice in everything that God gives him.
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Anonymous
THE LIFE OF OUR REVEREND FATHER THEODOSIY, IGUMENE OF PECHERSK
Fifty miles from the capital city of Kyiv there is the city of Vasilyev. This is where the saint’s parents lived, professing the Christian faith and shining with all kinds of piety. Their blessed child was born, and then, on the eighth day, they brought him to the priest, as befits Christians, to give the child a name. The priest, looking at the youth, saw in his mind’s eye that from a young age he would devote himself to God, and named him Theodosius. Then, when their child was 40 days old, they baptized him. The boy grew up, was nurtured by his parents, and was marked by divine grace, and the holy spirit entered into him from birth.
Who will comprehend God's mercy! After all, he did not choose a shepherd and a teacher for monks among the wise philosophers or the rulers of the city, but - may the name of the Lord be glorified by this - the inexperienced in wisdom became wiser than the philosophers!...
We will return again to the story of this holy youth. He grew in body, and in his soul he was drawn to divine love, and he went to God’s church every day, listening with all attention to the reading of divine books. At the same time, he did not approach children playing, as is the custom of minors, but he avoided children’s games. His clothes were shabby and in patches. And more than once his parents persuaded him to dress cleaner and go play with the children. But he did not listen to these persuasions and still walked like a beggar. In addition, he asked to be given to a teacher so that he could study divine books, and he achieved this. And he mastered reading and writing so quickly that everyone was amazed at how smart and intelligent he was and how quickly he learned everything. And who will tell about the humility and obedience with which he distinguished himself in his teaching, not only before his teacher, but also before his students?
At this time, the days of his father’s life expired. The divine Theodosius was then 13 years old. And from then on he became even more diligent in his work, so that together with his slaves he went out into the fields and worked there with great humility. His mother held him back and, not allowing him to do this, again begged him to dress cleaner and go play with his peers. And she told him that with his appearance he was disgracing himself and his family. But he did not listen to her, and more than once, becoming enraged and angry, she beat her son, for she was strong and strong in body, like a man. It happened that someone, without seeing her, would hear her speak and think that it was a man.
Meanwhile, the divine youth kept thinking about how and in what way he would save his soul. He once heard about the holy places where our Lord Jesus Christ walked in the flesh, and he longed to visit those places and worship them. And he prayed to God, crying out: “My Lord, Jesus Christ!” Hear my prayer and deign me to visit your holy places and worship them with joy!” And he constantly prayed like this, and then wanderers came to his city, and when he saw them, the divine gonosha rejoiced, approached them, bowed, greeted them heartily and asked where they were from and where they were going. The wanderers replied that they were coming from holy places and again, by divine command, they wanted to return there. The saint began to beg them to allow him to go with them, to take him as a traveling companion.
. They promised to take him with them and bring him to the holy places. Hearing their promise, blessed Theodosius rejoiced and returned home. When the pilgrims gathered for the journey, they told the young man about their departure. He, getting up at night, and secretly from everyone, left his house, taking with him nothing except the clothes that he was wearing, and even those were old. And so he followed the wanderers. But the merciful God did not allow him to leave his country, for even in his mother’s womb he showed him to be a shepherd of intelligent sheep in this country, for if the shepherd leaves, then the pasture, blessed by God, will become empty and overgrown with thorns and weeds, and the flock will scatter. Three days later, Theodosius’s mother found out that he had left with the pilgrims, and immediately went in pursuit of him, taking with her only her son, who was younger than Blessed Theodosius. When, after a long pursuit, she finally overtook him, she grabbed him and, in rage and anger, grabbed his hair, and threw him to the ground, and kicked him, and, showering reproaches on the strangers, returned home, leading Theodosius, bound like a robber. And she was in such anger that, when she came home, she beat him until she was exhausted. And then she brought him into the house and there, tying him up, locked him, and she left. But the divine young man accepted all this with joy and, praying to God, thanked him for everything he had endured. Two days later, his mother came to him, untied him and fed him, but, still not cooled down from anger, shackled his legs and ordered him to walk in chains, fearing that he would run away from her again. So he walked in chains for many days. And then, taking pity on him, she again began to beg and persuade him not to leave her, because she loved him very much, more than anyone else in the world, and could not live without him. When Theodosius promised his mother that he would not leave her, she removed the shackles from his legs and allowed him to do whatever he wanted. Then Blessed Theodosius returned to his former asceticism and began to attend God’s church every day. And, seeing that there was often no liturgy, because there was no one to bake the prosphora, he was very saddened by this and, out of his humility, decided to take on this himself. And so he did: he began to bake prosphora to sell, and whatever he received over the price he gave to the poor. With the rest of the money he bought grain, ground it himself and baked the prosphora again. It was God who so wished that the prosphora brought to church were clean - the work of a sinless and immaculate youth. So he spent twelve years or more. All the youths, his peers, mocked, condemning his activities; the enemy taught them this. But the blessed one accepted all reproaches with joy, silence and humility.
From time immemorial, the evil enemy who hated goodness, seeing that he was being defeated by the humility of the God-inspired youth, did not sleep, thinking of turning him away from such an activity...
Miracles and veneration of the saint
Suffering people still come to the relics and icon of the saint to read prayers for help. However, even during his lifetime, many miracles were associated with Theodosius of Pechersk:
- Witnesses have more than once described the glow emanating from the monastery. One day a pillar of light stretched towards another hill. The Assumption Church was later built on that site.
- When the monk died, a huge pillar of fire emanated from the monastery all the way to the sky.
- One day the church was almost robbed. The thieves approached the temple gate, but it suddenly rose above the ground, not allowing the robbers inside.
Saint Theodosius is commemorated several times:
- 16th of May;
- August 27;
- 10 September;
- September 15th.
Priesthood, abbesses
The brethren marveled at the fortitude and exploits of Theodosius. And so he was ordained a priest and made abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. During this period, he further strengthened his monastic feat and cared a lot about the improvement of the monastery and improving spiritual life. Under him, for example, a spacious church was erected in the name of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The internal life of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery was built under Feodosia in accordance with the charter of the cenobitic Studite monastery. Everything was done according to strict order and order.
According to one of the rules, it was necessary to keep the monastery gates locked from lunch to vespers and not open them (without a special blessing) for anyone. Once, Prince Izyaslav experienced this rule on himself, when, having arrived with the youths before Vespers, he was forced to wait until the gatekeeper (who knew that it was the prince in front of him) reported to the abbot and received permission to let him through.
Theodosius often personally participated in monastic work, together with the monks. He worked in a bakery, carried water, chopped wood.
One day he was returning from the prince on a cart, and the coachman, seeing his old clothes, did not think that in front of him was a famous abbot, and, moreover, respected by the prince. Believing that in front of him was a simple monk, he accused him of being a monk and a slacker, unlike him, a coachman working in the sweat of his brow. Having said this, he invited Theodosius to sit on his horse, and he himself made himself comfortable to rest.
The elder humbly took the place pointed to by the coachman. Along the way they met nobles who bowed to Theodosius. The coachman was at first perplexed, and then, realizing what the matter was, he was seriously frightened. To calm him down, Theodosius switched places with him. When they arrived at the monastery, the monks greeted him with honor, causing the coachman to become even more anxious, but the abbot again calmed him down and ordered him to treat him.
After Prince Izyaslav was expelled from Kyiv by Vsevolod and Svyatoslav, Saint Theodosius began to denounce the latter, who had seized the throne of his exiled brother. At first, he continued to remember Izyaslav in church prayers, but refused to remember Svyatoslav. But then, at the request of the brethren, for the attention and help of Svyatoslav to the Church, he began to remember.
Subsequently, their relationship improved. One day, Father Theodosius, while visiting Svyatoslav in the palace, heard loud music and songs. Sitting next to the prince, the monk, with good feeling and pastoral humility, asked, will it be so in the next world? The prince shed tears and ordered that such music should no longer be played in the presence of Theodosius.
With the increase in the number of brethren, Theodosius expanded the boundaries of the monastery and organized the construction of new cells. Before the end of earthly life, the monastery already possessed many possessions.
The saint was notified in advance of his approaching death. Just before his death, he called the brethren out of their obediences, warned them that he would soon leave the earthly world, gave a pastoral blessing and instruction, and then sent them away in peace. Having given a few more private orders and prayed fervently, he lay down on his bed, again turned to the Lord and rested. This happened on May 3, 1074.
***
Troparion to St. Theodosius of Pechersk, tone 8
Having risen to virtue, having loved the monastic life from childhood, / you achieved a valiant desire, you moved into a cave / and, adorning your life with fasting and lightness, / you remained in prayers, as if bodiless, / in the Russian land, like a bright luminary, shining, Father Theodosius, // pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion to St. Theodosius of Pechersk, tone 3
Today we honor the Russian star, / which shone from the east and came to the west, / having enriched this entire country with miracles and kindness, and all of us / with the deeds and grace of the monastic rule, // of Blessed Theodosius.
Troparion to St. Theodosius, tone 8
Teacher of Orthodoxy, / teacher of piety and purity, / lamp of the universe, / God-inspired fertilizer for the bishops, / Theodosius the wise, / with your teachings you have enlightened everything, O spiritual disciple, // pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion to Saint Theodosius, tone 8
You were the heir of the fathers, reverend, / following their life and teaching, / custom and abstinence, / prayer and standing. / With them, having boldness towards the Lord, / ask for forgiveness of sins and salvation for those crying out to you: // Rejoice, Father Theodosius.
Troparion to the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Pechersk, tone 4
The mental sun and the bright moon, / of the original Pechersk, / with the entire council of saints, we will today honor, / because they illuminate the church firmament, / enlighten in the darkness of the passions of those in distress, / and give help from Christ God with their prayers in all sorrows, // and to souls ours are asked for deliverance.
Kontakion to the Venerable Fathers of Kiev-Pechersk, tone 8
Chosen from all generations, the saints of God, / the holy venerable Pecherstia, / who shone with virtues on these mountains, / the earth did not hide you, / but Heaven opened to you and the village of paradise. / Likewise, we offer songs of praise to God, who glorified you, / in your memory; But you, as those who have boldness, / protect your council from all troubles with your prayers, // as our intercessors and intercessors to God.
Troparion to Saints Theodosius and Anthony of Pechersk, tone 4
The stars of thought, / that shone in the firmament of the Church, / the foundation of the Russian monks, / with songs, people, we honor, / giving these joyful praises, / rejoice, blessed fathers, Anthony and Theodosius the God-wise, // always praying for those who follow and honor your memory.
Troparion to Saints Theodosius and Anthony of Pechersk, tone 3
Let us honor the two initial Russian luminaries, / Anthony, sent by God, and Theodosius, bestowed by God: / they were the first, who, like angels in Russia, shone forth from the Kiev mountains, / illuminating the entire ends of our fatherland, / and showing the right path to Heaven to many, / and , the first fathers of the former monk, brought the faces of those being saved to God, // and now, standing in the highest to the unflickering Light of the Divine, they pray for our souls.
Kontakion to Saints Theodosius and Anthony of Pechersk, tone 8
The two great fathers and the bright rule of the monks, / the wise dawn that enraged the Russian Church, / who will sing the praises of their heritage? They stand before the Throne of God. / But as those who have boldness towards the Holy Trinity, / Blessed Anthony and Theodosius of ever-memorable, / pray for those who bring prayers to you // and pleasing you with songs of love.
