Often people have a question about when to celebrate the day of the angel, that is, name day. In theory, this is the holiday of the saint in whose honor the person was named during baptism. But there can be many saints of God with the same name. How can you find out exactly who you are if you were baptized in childhood and no one remembers in whose honor? In such cases, they choose as their patron the saint whose memory in the church calendar is closest to the person’s birthday.
Below we present, accompanied by brief biographies, the main dates when the day of the angel Julia can be celebrated. But first it should be noted that this name does not exist in the Orthodox tradition. According to the church calendar, Angel Julia's Day will be celebrated in memory of Saint Juliana or Julia. It is these names that are the church equivalent of the usual secular form of the name Julia.
THE HOLY BLESSED DUCHESS JULIANA: THE HISTORY OF A TERRIBLE CRIME AND UNPARALLELED REPENTANCE
June 15 is the day of the discovery of the relics of the holy blessed princess Juliania of Vyazemskaya and Novotorzhskaya. Her life falls on the XIV-XV centuries. The Middle Ages in Rus' were the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion from the east, attacks from the west, primarily from the Lithuanians, trying to occupy Smolensk. External threats were aggravated by internal strife between appanage princes. It was a time of harsh morals, cruelty, and betrayal. But also courage, loyalty and heroism.
The events we describe unfolded on the territory of modern Smolensk and Tver regions, in ancient Vyazma and Torzhok. Torzhok was called New Torg. Blessed Princess Juliana - or more commonly Ulyana - according to legend, was born at the end of the 14th century, came from a noble family of Gostomyslov boyars and was the daughter of the governor of Torzhok, Maxim Danilovich.
At the age of four she lost both her parents. The father was killed by local residents subordinate to Veliky Novgorod for his devotion to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I. The mother did not survive the loss and died of grief a few months later, entrusting the upbringing of her daughter to the brother of the murdered husband, Fyodor Danilovich. It was in his house that Ulyana turned from a little girl into a beautiful and pious girl.
Her husband Vyazemsky Prince Simeon Mstislavovich was also pious, meek and philanthropic - rare qualities for men of that harsh time. We can say with confidence that this married couple lived in love and harmony.
Couple of holy spouses - Simeon and Juliana
But the trials typical of the Russian Middle Ages did not bypass this family. And here is the time to talk about another hero of our story - Smolensk Prince Yuri (George) Svyatoslavovich, from the family of the legendary Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh. Prince Simeon of Vyazma was subordinate to him, but, according to the biography, both men were bound by strong friendship, in sorrow and in joy they supported each other. At the same time, Simeon Mstislavovich never forgot his subordination and served his older friend faithfully.
Prince Yuri took possession of Smolensk after the death of his father Svyatoslav Ioannovich in a battle with the Lithuanians. Yuri himself also bravely resisted the Lithuanians, who unsuccessfully besieged Smolensk in 1404 for seven months. The forces were unequal, and he decided to ask for military assistance from the Moscow prince. With the departure of the ruler, the local boyars immediately surrendered the city to the Lithuanians. The wife of Yuri Svyatoslavovich was captured. Soon after Smolensk, the Lithuanians took Vyazma. So both friends, the princes, became exiles. And together they entered the service of Moscow Prince Vasily I. He gave them the city of Torzhok “to feed”, dividing it in half.
At first, the co-rulers lived peacefully and amicably. However, Prince Yuri, as they say, had his eye on his friend’s wife, the beautiful and meek Ulyana. The absence of a wife, forced inactivity and feasts with an abundance of libations became the reason for what today is called a loss of control. Lust literally clouded his mind. He wanted to take possession of his friend's wife at all costs. Accounts of what happened vary in detail between sources. But the enormity of the crime he committed remains unchanged.
During one of the feasts with a couple of friends, Yuri lost not only his shame, but also his human appearance. Apparently, Prince Simeon stood up for his wife, and the distraught Yuri killed him with a sword. He forcibly dragged Juliana into the bedroom. She resisted as best she could; when she saw the knife, she hit the rapist with it. But it hit her hand, which made her even more angry. But she was still able to break free and run away screaming for help. The “Tale of Yuri Svyatoslavich” says that he ordered his servants to seize a woman who did not submit to him, “commanded to cut off her hands and feet and throw her into the river.” According to the life of the holy princess, the enraged Yuri chased her with a sword, cut off her arms and legs, and ordered her body to be thrown into the Tvertsa River. There is an even harsher description: the distraught prince chopped Ulyana, persistent and faithful to her husband to death, into pieces. And he threw it into the river. All three options are simply monstrous. Even for the Middle Ages. All this happened in 1406.
Tvertsa River and Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Torzhok
A year later, in 1407, a certain local peasant, suffering from relaxation, that is, partially paralyzed after a stroke, saw the body of the murdered Princess Juliana floating against the flow of the Tvertsa River and heard an order to gather the clergy and bury the body at the southern doors of the Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Torzhok . Thus began the glorification of the blessed princess Juliana. After the peasant, many sufferers were healed of their ailments after prayers at her grave. However, the official canonization took place only on June 15, 1819. By this time, the grave of Princess Juliana was rediscovered during the renovation of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Torzhok. This discovery of the relics was accompanied by miracles of healing of the suffering. At that time, a new cathedral was being built in Torzhok, next to which a chapel was built in honor of the Holy Blessed Princess Juliana. In 1906, during the next renovation, it was turned into a chapel of the cathedral. Another chapel in honor of the holy princess was consecrated in the Alexander Nevsky Church in Tver. According to some sources, the saint’s relics remained in this chapel until 1930. According to others, they were thrown by the Bolsheviks into Tvertsa on February 5, 1919. In any case, the location of this shrine is currently unknown. Who knows, maybe they will be found again. And again - from the Tvertsa River...
However, Holy Princess Juliana is not forgotten. In Torzhok, on the days of her memory, bishop's services are held. And in 2021, the traditional Volga religious procession was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the relics of this courageous defender of female honor.
In 2021, the Volga religious procession ended on June 15 - the day of the discovery of the relics of Saint Juliana
Simeon Mstislavovich, the murdered husband of Princess Juliana, was buried with honors in Vyazma on the Cathedral Hill of the local fortress in St. Nicholas and then Trinity Church. Prince Simeon was canonized as a locally revered saint of Smolensk. However, its relics were lost due to numerous wars. And the Vyazemsky Cathedral itself was rebuilt several times.
But the fate of Prince Yuri Svyatoslavovich is most striking. After committing a terrible crime, he came to his senses. The pangs of conscience and general contempt - real or imaginary - gave no rest and drove the villain from place to place. Finally, he fled to the Horde, counting on the patronage of Khan Shadibek. However, in 1407 he was overthrown, and the prince was forced to return to Rus'. This is what it says in the Degree Book. According to the life of the holy princess Juliana, Yuri could not find peace in the Horde. Tormented by his conscience, he wandered, afraid to even say his name. Finally, he came to repentance at the Venevsky Monastery. This monastery was located near the Sturgeon River, not far from Tula. In those years, this was the lot of Yuri Svyatoslavovich’s father-in-law, Prince Oleg Ryazansky. The life tells that the prince spent the rest of his life in repentance and tears.
This remainder did not last long - Yuri Svyatoslavovich died from a serious illness in 1408. His repentance was so strong and sincere that the repentant murderer was canonized as a locally revered saint. In his memory, the southern chapel of St. Nicholas Cathedral was consecrated in the Venevsky Monastery in 1698. The prince’s tombstone was also located here. However, his tomb is currently lost. The chapel has not survived either: in 1782 the monastery was transformed into a parish church, and in 1828 the chapel was abolished.
Such is this amazing story about fury, destructive passion, about the madness of base lust. And about marital fidelity until death, which is akin to martyrdom. And also about repentance, which can turn a murderer into a saint.
These events are immortalized in the Sofia Chronicle of the older edition (the first quarter of the 15th century), in the Moscow chronicles, as well as in the “Book of the Powerful Royal Genealogy.” The section that interests us is called “About Grand Duke Yury Svetoslavich of Smolensk and about Prince Simeon Mstilavich Vyazemsky and about his princess Ulyani, who died a martyr.”
The Holy Blessed Princess Juliana is the defender of chastity, helping to protect the shrine of marriage. People who want to save their families or those suffering from violence and harassment turn to her.
Vera NADEZHDINA
Literature
- Archives: State Historical Museum. Uvar. No. 880. L. 105; State Historical Museum. Pike. No. 716. L. 30; GMZ RK. R-221. L. 55 rev.; RGADA. F. 196. Op. 1. No. 1710. L. 72 vol.; F. 280. Op. 3. D. 191; RSL OR. F. 173/IV. No. 96. L. 40; F. 178. No. 9255. L. 19.
- Karamzin. IGR. 1993. T. 5. P. 317. Note. 254;
- Priselkov M.D. Trinity Chronicle: (Reconstruction of the text). St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 442;
- Makariy (Veretennikov), archimandrite. Funeral Synodics // Vyshensky Pilgrim. Ryazan, 1998. No. 1. P. 80, 81;
- Glorification of the founders of the Conception Monastery. Juliania and Mon. Eupraxia // ZhMP. 2001. No. 7. P. 44-47;
- PSRL. T. 13. P. 18; T. 20. P. 198;
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- Stroev. Lists of hierarchs. Stb. 225;
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Prayers
Troparion, tone 1
Christ the Bridegroom will be ignorant of those who desired / and the feats of monasticism for the sake of having suffered, / with a virtuous life and love for everyone / who adorned themselves, like St. Juliana and Eupraxia, / in the gra where in Moscow the first monastery of the maiden organizer appeared/ and the labors and exploits of your brother Saint Alexis the zealot appeared./ For this reason, now in Heaven, together with him, triumphantly, / pray to the city of Moscow to establish itself in Orthodoxy, / to preserve your monastery, / and to save our souls.
Troparion, same voice
To Christ the Bridegroom, who desired to be unwedded, / the venerables Juliana and Eupraxia, / appeared in the city of Moscow, the monastery of the maidens, / and imitated your brother, Saint Alexis, in his labors ste./ For this reason, now in Heaven, together with him, triumphantly,/ pray that your monastery will be preserved,/ for the city of Moscow to be established in Orthodoxy // and our souls to be saved.
Kontakion, tone 2
What shall we call you, God-wise Juliana and Eupraxia?/ Weak vessels by nature,/ but bravely borne deeds and labors;/ humble wives, but truly worthy of the glory of the fathers;/ an honorable race from those on earth,/ but by belittling yourself the Heavenly Fatherland, you have achieved./ Pray fervently to the Lord Christ // our souls will be saved.
