How did the saints fight for the Church? Maxim the Confessor and “Orthodox political strategists”

St. Maxim the Confessor

Maximus the Confessor
(582 - 662), abbot, venerable. The famous figure and church teacher [1], a deep expert on Plato, Aristotle and the Neoplatonists, became famous in the history of the church for his energetic struggle against the Monothelite heresy Memory January 21, August 13, September 20 (Greek [2])

Born in Constantinople in 582 and raised in a pious noble Christian family. In his youth, he received an excellent, comprehensive education: he studied philosophy, grammar, rhetoric, was well-read in ancient authors and was fluent in theological dialectics.

When the Monk Maximus entered the public service, his knowledge and conscientiousness allowed him to become the first secretary of Emperor Heraclius (611-641).

But court life weighed heavily on him, and he retired to the Chrysopolis Monastery (on the opposite bank of the Bosphorus - now Scutari), where he took monastic vows. According to Brokgaz, removal of St. Maxim was caused by an imperial decree favorable to the new heresy (έκθεσις). With his humility, he soon gained the love of the brethren and was elected abbot of the monastery, but even in this rank, due to his extraordinary modesty, he, in his own words, “remained a simple monk.” In 633, at the request of one theologian, the future saint of Jerusalem Sophronius, the Monk Maxim left the monastery and left for Alexandria.

Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem had become known by that time as an irreconcilable opponent of the Monothelite heresy. Monothelitism found numerous supporters in Armenia, Syria, and Egypt. Heresy, strengthened by national hostility, became a serious threat to the church unity of the East. Orthodoxy's struggle against heresies was especially complicated by the fact that by 630 three patriarchal thrones in the Orthodox East were occupied by Monophysites: Constantinople - by Sergius, Antioch - by Athanasius, Alexandria - by Cyrus.

The path of the Monk Maxim from Constantinople to Alexandria lay through Crete, where his preaching work began. There he encountered the episcopate, which adhered to the heretical views of Severus and Nestorius. The monk spent about 6 years in Alexandria and its environs. In 638, Emperor Heraclius, together with Patriarch Sergius, trying to reduce religious differences, issued a decree, the so-called “Ekphesis” (“Exposition of Faith”), which finally commanded the doctrine of one will with two natures of the Savior to be professed. Defending Orthodoxy, the Monk Maxim addressed people of various ranks and classes, and these conversations were a success. “Not only the clergy and all the bishops, but also the people and all the secular leaders felt some kind of irresistible attraction to him,” testifies to his life.

At the end of 638, Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople died, and in 641 Emperor Heraclius died. The imperial throne was occupied by the cruel and rude Constant II (642-668), an outspoken supporter of the Monothelites. The attacks of heretics on Orthodoxy intensified. The Monk Maximus went to Carthage and preached in it and the surrounding area for another 5 years. When the successor of Patriarch Sergius, Patriarch Pyrrhus, who had left Constantinople due to court intrigues and was a Monothelitian, arrived there, an open dispute took place between him and the Monk Maximus in June 645, at which Pyrrhus publicly admitted his errors and even wished to hand over to Pope Theodore a written renunciation of them. The Monk Maximus, together with Pyrrhus, went to Rome, where Pope Theodore accepted the repentance of the former patriarch and restored him to his rank.

St. Maxim the Confessor. Fresco in the Church of Protata, Kareya, Athos (XIV century, author Manuel Panselin)

In 647 the Monk Maximus returned to Africa.
There, at councils of bishops, monothelitism was condemned as heresy. In 648, instead of the “Ekphesis”, a new decree was issued, drawn up, on behalf of Constans II, by the Patriarch of Constantinople Paul - “Typos” (“Model of Faith”), which prohibited any reasoning either about one will or about two wills while recognizing two natures of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then the Monk Maxim turned to Pope Martin I (649-654), who succeeded Pope Theodore, with a request to bring the issue of monothelitism to a conciliar discussion of the entire Church. In October 649, the Lateran Council was assembled, at which 150 Western bishops and 37 representatives of the Orthodox East were present, among whom was St. Maximus the Confessor. The Council condemned monothelitism, and its defenders, the Patriarchs of Constantinople Sergius, Paul and Pyrrhus, were anathematized. When Constans II received the Council's determination, he ordered the capture of both Pope Martin and the Monk Maximus. This order was carried out a few years later, in 653. The Monk Maximus was arrested shortly before Pope Martin, along with his disciple Hierodeacon Anastasius. Reverend Maximus was accused of treason against the fatherland, in particular of speaking out against imperial power and aiding the Arabs who conquered Egypt and other African territories, and was imprisoned. In 656, two of the accused were sentenced to exile: Maximus was exiled to Thracian Vizia (modern Vize, Turkey), his student Anastasius was exiled to Pervera (on the border of Macedonia and Thessaly, modern Greece). Then the Monk Maxim was transferred to Pervera, where he remained in captivity for six years together with Anastasius.

Another follower of St. Maximus with the same name, Anastasius, who formerly held the position of papal apocrisiary in Constantinople, whose arrest together with Maximus is reported by some sources, was in fact exiled to Trebizond for refusing to accept the “Typos” of Emperor Constantos back in 648, and then, in 655 he was transferred to Mesemvria [3].

In 662, Maximus the Confessor was again brought to Constantinople and stood trial before the Patriarch of Constantinople and his Synod. Together with the Monks Maximus and Anastasius the monk, Anastasius the Apocrisiary was also recalled to Constantinople for trial [4]. He showered Maxim and his disciples with curses and insults ( "together with Pope Martin, Patriarch Sophronius and other Orthodox"

[5]), members of the church court handed over the convicts to the civil authorities in the person of the city prefect, who determined to subject them to the most severe torture. According to a lengthy Greek life, after the scourging, each of them had their tongue cut out, their right hand beheaded, and they were led through the city streets covered in blood [6]. Then the prefect ordered them to be imprisoned in different fortresses in distant Lazika [7] in the Caucasus.

June 8, 662, after arriving in the “land of Christ-loving Laz”

, the three prisoners were immediately separated by order of the Laz ruler.
Exhausted St. Maxim was immediately separated from his companions and carried on a stretcher woven from twigs to the “fortress of Schimarus, near the people called Alans”
(“ ομένων Ἀλανῶν"), where they placed it in conclusion [8].
Both Anastasievs were sent on horseback - the apocrisiary to the Bukolus fortress, located in the area called Misimiana “on the border with the Alans, who captured this fortress and hold it in their hands
,” and the monk to the Skotor fortress, which was located in Apsilia
“near Abasgia”
[ 9]. According to the life, here the Lord showed an indescribable miracle: they all acquired the ability to speak and write.

The Monk Maxim predicted his death, which followed on August 13, 662.

The Greek prologues on August 13 indicate the transfer of his relics to Constantinople; it could have been timed to coincide with the death of the monk. It is possible that the establishment of the memory on January 21 is due to the fact that the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is celebrated on August 13. According to another opinion, as in the case of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, “the transfer of the memory of St. Maximus to January 21 is explained, apparently, by the desire to put him on a par with the great teachers and confessors commemorated during January” before the memory of the Sixth Ecumenical Council [10 ]. L. G. Epifanovich believed that perhaps the celebration of “the transfer of the relics of St. Maxim"

August 13 refers to the transfer of the relics not to Constantinople, but to the church of the monastery of St.
Arseny at the Muri fortress [11]. According to Bishop Stefan (Kalaijishvili), with “a high degree of probability, perhaps this is a reference to the “translation of the relics of St.
Maxim to Constantinople" is associated with the severed right hand, which after the execution was hidden or lost, and then discovered and placed in one of the temples of Constantinople" [12].

At night, three miraculously revealed lamps were lit over the grave of St. Maximus and many healings were performed [13].

Right hand (right) hand of St. Maximus the Confessor. Athos. Monastery of St. Pavel

Right hand of St. Maximus the Confessor is kept on Mount Athos in the Monastery of St. Paul.

Heresy as a cure for schism

7th century after the Nativity of Christ. The east of the Byzantine Empire was engulfed by another church schism. The heresy of Monophysitism, condemned at the Fourth Ecumenical Council (451), which asserted that in Christ there is only one Divine nature, and not two, as the Church teaches, and thereby did not recognize the Savior as a true God-man, continues to spread in Syria, Palestine and Egypt. This situation not only destroys the unity of the Church, but also creates a real threat to the territorial integrity of the empire.

It got to the point that Emperor Heraclius, who arrived during a military campaign in the city of Edessa (southeast of modern Turkey), was denied communion at the local church. The Monophysite bishop demanded that he publicly condemn the decisions of the Council, which Heraclius could not do. And then it occurred to Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople to create a new teaching about Christ, which was supposed to reconcile the split believers. The Emperor and the majority of bishops supported the Patriarch.

And only one monk in the entire empire spoke out against this innovation, assuring everyone that such reconciliation was the path to a new heresy. For this he was anathematized, his hand and tongue were cut off, and he was sent into exile in the Caucasus, where he soon died. This man, who challenged the whole world for the sake of the Church, is one of the most revered saints, St. Maximus the Confessor.

Venerable Maximus Confessor

The doctrine created by Patriarch Sergius is known in theological science as monothelitism, and at first glance it seemed completely harmless then. Firmly defending two natures in the Savior - Divine and human - it was proposed to talk about one, Divine will in Christ, as if completely dissolving the human will in itself.

It followed from the teaching that throughout His entire earthly life Jesus acted and acted only as God, controlling the human body just as a robot is controlled today with the help of a computer system. However, this meant that the complete transformation of human nature in Christ never happened. The will of man remained rooted in sin, remained uncorrected by the Divine-human action.

But the emperor liked this teaching. He decided to use it to reconcile Monophysites and Orthodox Christians and stop separatist tendencies in the empire. Without hesitation, he signed the edict drawn up by Patriarch Sergius, which ordered all members of the Church to profess the Monothelite teaching as a dogma. In a matter of years, a new heresy covered vast territories of the empire.

Life

Little is known about the youth and youth of the saint, much later, when Maxim became an important figure in theology, his opponents and supporters began to collect and document information about him, as a result of which the world now knows two opposing versions. The official biography says that the future saint was born in Constantinople, while the alternative one points to Palestine.

Venerable Maximus the Confessor

Little is known about the young man’s family; judging by his future career at court, his parents were famous rich nobles of Byzantium, otherwise it would have been impossible to get a position as a secretary under the emperor. Some scientists claim that the martyr was related to the emperor himself, however, this theory does not have reliable facts.

According to this version, as a young man Maxim received an excellent education for that time: he studied rhetoric, philosophy, grammar, and read ancient authors and theologians. Thanks to his erudition and education, he served as secretary in the office of Emperor Heraclius.

Monastic path

Despite his prominent position and successful career, Maxim left his activities in 630 and, tired of palace intrigues, went to Chrysopolis, a small city in the Bosphorus Strait. Another theory says that the emperor's secretary could not come to terms with the new law, according to which heresy could spread unhindered in society.

In the Chrysopolis monastery, he takes monastic vows and becomes a monk, and eventually takes the post of abbot. Other monks spoke of Maxim as a humble and meek man, always coming to the rescue. The theologian stayed in the monastery for about 10 years.

With the arrival of the Persians in Anatolia (modern Turkey), Christians began to flee to West Africa from Muslim oppression. At the same time, the emperor changed on the Byzantine throne - the cruel Constance II came to power, who supported various heresies, in particular monothelitism.

Maximus the Confessor at this time moved to a monastery, which was located near Carthage; this was facilitated not only by external circumstances, but also by the order of Patriarch Sophronius. In Tunisia, the saint studied the works of the pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as the Christology of Gregory of Nyssa, and soon began to write his own theological works.

Interesting! Numerous speeches and works of the saint aroused the delight of the local clergy and this period of time is considered the beginning of the theological path of Maxim the Confessor.

Later, at the request of Sophronius, he moved to Alexandria and there he continued to actively work and work for the good of the Church. He not only became a renowned spiritual leader in Africa, but also an unofficial political advisor to Gregory, the ruler of that province.

Read about Orthodox saints:

John Climacus
Epiphanius the Wise
John the Russian

State "traitors"

The Monk Maximus, then already a well-known intellectual monk, studied the “dogma” proclaimed in Constantinople with the meticulousness of a scientist. It was not easy to recognize behind the subtle intricacies of monothelitism the deep distortion of Christian teaching, but the saint, having deeply studied the texts of the holy fathers and Scripture available to him, was able to develop a consistent exposure of this heresy.

“He himself is the “God of all,” said the Monk Maximus during a public debate in Carthage with one of the main ideologists of monothelitism, “becoming a man without transformation, not only as God willed in accordance with His Divinity, but also as a man, in accordance with His humanity.”

His opponent ultimately failed the debate and after the end of the debate publicly renounced the heresy. Western bishops and the Pope supported Maximus the Confessor. It must be remembered that at that time the Church had not yet split into Western and Eastern. The Great Schism, which consolidated the split of the Church into Catholic and Orthodox, will occur only in 1054.

Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Moscow, photo NVO/Wikipedia

In the fall of 649 in Rome at the Lateran Council, at which the saint again spoke, Pope Martin condemned the Monothelite heresy. It seemed that the fate of the doctrine was predetermined, but Constantinople understood the decision of the Council in its own way.

The new emperor, Constant, realizing that the activities of the Pope and the saint were undermining the political project of reconciliation of heretics and Christians, demanded that his military commander in Ravenna urgently escort Martin to the capital. At his trial he was accused of “high treason”; demanded to annul the decision of the Lateran Council, but the Pope remained adamant. Saint Martin was exiled to Chersonesos, where he soon died.

It was the turn of the Monk Maxim. In May 655, a ship with the arrested saint on board arrived at the capital's port. A few days later the monk appeared in court.

Youth and adolescence. Excellent abilities and brilliant education

History has not preserved the details of the childhood and youth of the Monk Maxim. It is known that he was born in 580 in Constantinople, into a noble family. Having an extraordinary mind and rare abilities for philosophy, he received an excellent education and chose a political career.

In 610, Emperor Heraclius appreciated Maximus's mental abilities and Christian virtues, and appointed him as his first secretary.

580

Maxim the Confessor was born this year

From his youth the monk had a great desire for monastic life. Fame, wealth and power could not deter him. After 3 years, he leaves his promising position for worldly life and becomes a monk.

“Even if the whole world takes communion, I alone will not receive communion.”

-Are you a Christian? - the chairman of the court roared when silence finally fell in the hall.

“By the grace of Christ, the God of all, I am a Christian,” the saint meekly answered.

- It is not true! - the chairman cried with feigned piety.

The interrogation began. The chairman tried this way and that to catch the confessor, bombarded him with questions, put forward a variety of accusations, but Maxim, with reasonable firmness and humility, consistently refuted everything said against him. Then they began to bring “witnesses” into the courtroom, exposing Maxim’s various “crimes.” But their slander also crumbled before the dignity of the saint’s answers. The trial ended in nothing. The trial of the opponent of heresy dragged on for many years.

The monk was either kept in prison, then brought in for interrogation, sent out with an escort from the capital, then returned back. Bishops and nobles came to him, persuaded him to stop persisting, promised him awards and titles with which the emperor would shower him as soon as he accepted the heresy, they said that the entire Church, together with the Patriarch of Constantinople, already professed monothelitism.

“Truly, all the power of heaven will not force me to do this,” the monk answered them with gentle simplicity, “for what would I answer - I don’t say to God, but to my conscience - if for the sake of human glory, which in itself has no existence, I swore an oath from faith, saving those who love it?

Throughout the trial, the monk behaved with dignity, not allowing himself any sharp attacks or pathetic exclamations about the inevitable punishment that would overtake his offenders. He was polite, reserved and calm. “When you are insulted by someone or humiliated in some way,” the saint wrote, while still free, in “Chapters on Love,” “beware of thoughts of anger, lest they, because of this insult, separate you from love, and move you into the realm of hatred.” "

At the last meeting, the judge, before announcing the verdict, without much hope of breaking St. Maximus, asked what he would do when he learned that the Roman bishops had also accepted monothelitism and received communion (that is, entered into church communion) with the Patriarch.

Monastic life

Realizing the danger of the current situation and not wanting to participate in it due to his devotion to Orthodoxy, the Monk Maxim, unexpectedly for those around him, abandoned secular well-being and entered the Chrysopolis monastery.

In the monastery he devoted himself to prayers and deeds. Over time, the brethren began to treat him so trustingly that they decided to elect him as their abbot (this fact was repeatedly disputed by critics, due to the fact that Maxim did not have holy orders). He, who had never strived for glory and, out of humility, did not consider himself worthy of such a spiritual title, resisted, but due to tireless requests, he agreed.

Realizing that he must set an example for the brethren as an abbot, the Monk Maxim increased his exploits even more.

“Even if the whole world receives communion, I alone will not receive communion,” the confessor answered him.

18 years after the death of Maximus the Confessor, at the Sixth Ecumenical Council the heresy of monothelitism was condemned, and later its once main opponent was rehabilitated and glorified as a saint.

Such a quick reaction of the Church to the doctrine proclaimed by Constantinople shows that, apart from the imperial court, hardly any of the bishops really shared the provisions of this heresy. The silence that accompanied the judicial “retribution” of Pope Martin and St. Maximus revealed more common human fear than a theological position: the hierarchs simply did not want to share the fate of the confessors. And this fear turned out to be so strong that even at the meetings of the Sixth Ecumenical Council they preferred not to mention the name of the main opponent of Monothelitism, so as not to inadvertently anger the royal person.

All the more significant is the feat of the lonely monk who once wrote the amazing words:

“Love is the path of truth, and the Word of God calls Himself by it... For the sake of this love, all the saints resisted sin to the end, did not care about this life and steadfastly resisted the many forms of death, so that, (departing) from the world, they could be united with themselves and with God … Love is the true and impeccable wisdom of the faithful, the end of which is Good and Truth.”

Prayers

Kontakion, tone 8

(Similar to: Lifted:) from the service on January 21:

The Trinity of the healer and the great Maxim, / teaching clearly the Divine faith, / even to glorify Christ, / in two natures, wills and actions, / in worthy songs, faithful, honorable, cry Rejoice, O preacher of faith.

Kontakion, tone 6

(Similar: Hedgehog about us:) from the service on August 13:

The triscendent light, which has entered into your soul, / the chosen vessel is to show you, O all-blessed one, / who is the Divine end, / you speak of inconvenient understandings, blessed one, / and you preach the Trinity to everyone, Maxima but,// Pre-existing, Beginningless.

Reverend Maxim the Greek

Akathist to St. Maximus the Greek
Kontakion 1

Chosen to the servant of the Eternal Word, our all-validated Father Maximus, who has vegetated in the most glorious land of Greece and shone in the power of the Russian labors, having established us in piety and communion with God with your teachings and writings, we now magnify your arduous life and place our hope in your intercession before the throne of our Trinitarian God , we cry out to you: Rejoice, reverend and God-bearing Father Maxima, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Ikos 1

The Creator of angels and men and the Creator of all creation, holding kingdoms and peoples in the right hand of your destiny and showing fatherly providence over each of your children, to grow you, our God-wise Father Maxima, from the root of the eminent and noble family, deign to adorn you in the wisdom of the father of saints and Like an enlightener of all things, send you to the great principality of Moscow, so that you strengthen the Russian people in the truer faith and make us the true heirs of the spiritual wealth of Byzantium. We, who now remember this, ask you to incline towards us the mercy of the All-Wise and Almighty Heavenly Father and graciously accept this praise: Rejoice, God-inspired father of the worthy successor and joint heir; Rejoice, wonderful teacher of philosophers and wise rhetoricians; Rejoice, you who overshadow all who seek the truth with heavenly blessings; Rejoice, thou who removest them from the paths of temptations and deceptions; Rejoice, thou who confirmest our minds in the thought of God; Rejoice, you who kindle in our hearts the flame of love for God and our neighbors; Rejoice, you gracefully illuminate us with the quiet light of hope; Rejoice, thou who grant us to be steadfast in the faith; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 2

Having seen your pious and God-wise parent, Saint Maxime, the desolation of their homeland after the fall of the glorious kingdom of Greece, he also understood that the Lord is merciful to his faithful, and in such hope and life according to the commandments of the Gospel he established you. We, in this remembrance, sing to the Lord: Hallelujah!

Ikos 2

Having given your mind to obedience to faith, taught by your glorious parents and other good mentors, God-bearing Maxima, in blessing before the Creator all the firstfruits of your wisdom and good deeds, you have laid down; Afterwards, you worked diligently to comprehend the teachings of the father of saints and wise philosophers, ascending the ladder of virtues to the measure of spiritual age. For this reason, we magnify you: Rejoice, you who transform us with the gifts of goodness and good advice; Rejoice, you who enrich us with the meekness of a dove and the wisdom of a serpent; Rejoice, you encourage us to diligently read the Holy Scriptures; Rejoice, you who strengthen us in intense prayer and psalmody; Rejoice, you who strengthen us all in spiritual sobriety and trust in God; Rejoice, thou who teachest us to depart from stifling habits and evil customs; Rejoice, you who send heavenly help in the temptations and deceptions of those who exist; Rejoice, you who help us to grow in mercy towards ourselves and our neighbors; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 3

Protected by the power of God's grace, blessed Maxima, in the lands of Italy, you remained unharmed from the corrupting spirit of that age, and, like a more industrious bee, you collected the nectar of good wisdom from everywhere, growing in the knowledge of the truth of Christ; Listening to the pious Jerome towards monastic life, you directed your wise heart, Holy Father; Thou didst tirelessly lift up the angelic song to the Lord: Hallelujah!

Ikos 3

Having in your soul a zealous desire for Our Savior, Crucified for us, to serve with all diligence, God-glorious Maxima, from the wonderful land of Italy to the glorious Mount Athos, where you were honored to receive monasticism and the priesthood: following the instructions of the elder of Svyatogorsk, you ascended from virtue to virtue, servant of Christ, renewing the inner man and opening the image of God in himself. Instruct us in this spiritual work, so that we call to you: Rejoice, you who flowed from the vanity of the world to sacred silence; Rejoice, having found peace from adversity and anxiety in quiet abodes; Rejoice, thou who hast yet contemplated the uncreated light on earth; Rejoice, thou who has known the indescribable sweetness of communion with God; Rejoice, sharpening our spiritual eyes to the sight of God; Rejoice, our opening word has gone up to the hearing of heaven; Rejoice, you who enrich us with the gift of discernment of spirits; Rejoice, free us from spiritual errors and falls; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 4

You overcame the storm of sinful passions and doubts through prayer, fasting and sobriety of heart, our all-validated Father Maxima, for you laid the foundation of your spiritual temple on the solid rock of the true and incorruptible confession of Christ. For this reason, we pray to you: strengthen us too in unconditional hope in the Mercy of the Holy Trinity, so that with you we may be worthy to sing forever: Hallelujah!

Ikos 4

Having heard that the noble Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily the Third heard that in the abodes of Athos wise scribes and divinely enlightened philosophers were found, he commanded to call them to his power, so that the Russian people would be established and strengthened in the faith of Christ and in doing the commandments of the Gospel. But you, blessed Maxime, ever strengthened by the grace of God, departed to the borders of Moscow in order to fulfill the will of God and reveal His truth in our country. For this reason, we ask you: strengthen us, weak in faith and in trust in Christ Our Lord, so that we call to you: Rejoice, not afraid of the hardships of the long road and life in the northern reaches; Rejoice, stranger by blood, who became your own spirit for the Russian people; Rejoice, you who unite the Greek and Russian lands more and more in faith; Rejoice, you who heal us from vanity and passing addictions; Rejoice, you who teach us to turn the eyes of the spirit to the eternal truth of God; Rejoice, breaking spiritual idols on the stone of Christ’s truth; Rejoice, you who strive to honor Christ the Savior above all earthly things; Rejoice, you who incline the mercy of the All-Immaculate Mother of God to us; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 5

You have truly become likened to the most divine and God-revealing star, the path to Christ illuminating and sanctifying, O Reverend Our Father Maxima, when in the borders of Russia you fearlessly confessed and preached the truth of God, pagan superstitions and star-worshipping heresy, bribery and injustice, forgetfulness of the commandments and love. to your neighbor You denounced you with all zeal. For this reason, we ask you, our all-merciful mentor, to teach us to serve the Savior only, without being tempted by earthly, transitory blessings, and to allow us to sing with you forever to Christ: Hallelujah!

Ikos 5

Having seen you, blessed our Father Maxima, pious people of Russia, we are reluctant to come to you in the monastery that is most praised by the Miracle of the Holy Archangel Michael, also in the city of Moscow, for advice, guidance, consolation and prayer for your sake. But you, without rejecting anyone from those who came, served diligently for the benefit of your neighbors. We, believing that you are now in the grace of the Lord, strictly heeding our prayers with hope, joy and tenderness, sing to you: Rejoice, good elder, who affirmed your neighbors in the growing knowledge of God; Rejoice, you who healed those who came to you from spiritual slumber and idleness of spirit; Rejoice, I taught true piety and love for one’s neighbor; Rejoice, you who strengthened them in their trust in the Wisdom of the Merciful Creator; Rejoice, gloriously healing from the leaven of the Pharisees and hypocrisy; Rejoice, you graciously deliver from lukewarmness and deadness of heart; Rejoice, begging God for the enlightenment of our spiritual thoughts; Rejoice, in the silence of thoughts to praise Christ, strive for all of us; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 6

You truly appeared as a preacher and zealot for the pious life, our all-blessed Father Maxim the Holy, as you firmly and unswervingly denounced ignorance of the truths of the faith of Christ, non-observance of the commandments of the Savior, fulfillment only of external rites, without any spiritual feat in the vain hope of only external piety, admonished Thou shalt love the Sweetest Jesus with all our heart and all our thoughts, and with all our being, and tenderly sing thanks to Him: Hallelujah!

Ikos 6

You have shone with the light of your God-given wisdom, O all-validated Father Maximus, in the land of Russia, as you have gloriously established many in the truth of Christ, as you have translated the books of the Holy Scriptures, the saints, the father of creation and interpretation from the dialect of Greek and Latin into the Slovenian language, as the works of God in You left us edification and benefit, reverend. For this reason, magnifying your most praiseworthy works, we say to you: Rejoice, you lead from the darkness of ignorance to the light of the Wisdom of God; Rejoice, bring those who are mistaken and doubtful to the truth of Christ, my dear one; Rejoice, you who bless the work of translators and book references from heaven; Rejoice, you who send your help to philologists and linguists; Rejoice, you who illuminate the minds of theologians and evangelists with heavenly light; Rejoice, strengthening of monks and laity in a godly life and charity; Rejoice, strengthening of the elders in piety and sobriety; Rejoice, blessed fertilizer for the bishops in their labors; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 7

Although we want to glorify you, O God-bearing Father Maxim, we know that the human tongue cannot worthily sing the fullness of your godly deeds, all your patience, which you have endured, when the wicked hierarchy deprived you of the Divine Mysteries. How is it possible to sing the depth of your humility and the height of your trust in the Omnipotence and Love of Our Heavenly Father, who, like the servant of your beloved and disciple of Christ, accepted you and rested you in Abraham’s bosom forever? For this reason, placing our hope in your intercession, we sing about you to the Almighty: Hallelujah!

Ikos 7

Thou hast truly appeared as a new Maximus, a confessor, O Reverend Father, just as Thou hast confessed before the wicked rulers the truth of the teaching of Our Savior, from which Thou hast departed neither to the right nor to the left, Holy and God-wise Father. For this reason, you endured hardships, exile and imprisonment from the powers that be. We, desiring to establish glory through your confessional labors, bring you such praises: Rejoice, strengthened by the right hand of the Most High in your sufferings; Rejoice, as you were transformed into gold in the crucible of difficult trials; Rejoice, now triumphant together with the confessor’s faces in glory; Rejoice, together with the evangelists and educators sing the praises of God; Rejoice, like Chrysostom, teaching us to thank the Creator for everything; Rejoice, remember in joy and prosperity the mercies of the Lord who strive; Rejoice, in the hour of sorrow, instruct us to place hope in the highest mercy; Rejoice, you wonderfully transform our sorrows and sufferings into joy and prosperity; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 8

It is strange for pious and merciful people to see that you, Saint Maximus, imprisoned in prison and deprived of the right to write, wrote with coal on the walls a canon to the All-Holy Spirit-Paraclitus; We, magnifying your faith in the life-giving grace of the All-Blessed Comforter, sing your humility and kindness with tenderness and ask you, Holy Father, to grant us the mercy and gifts of the Holy Spirit, and let us sing to Him with all joy: Hallelujah!

Ikos 8

You moved yourself to serve the Lord, our God-glorifying Father Maxima, for you undoubtedly believed that “in the Father the Spirit is also essential: from Him, as from the One Beginning, both are co-essential, both shine and abide about themselves in their Life-Giving Hypostases.” We now magnify you, holy father, the inexpressible mysteries of the Divine contemplator of the all-reverent, still on earth with the uncreated radiance of the overshadowed and we ask you: illumine us with your favorable prayers with the light of Favors and accept favorably this face: Rejoice, O all-wise servant of the Life-Giving and Consubstantial Trinity; Rejoice, magnifying the Eternal and Beginning Father, the all-merciful seer; Rejoice, Son of God, Redeemer, most faithful follower; Rejoice, all-zealous worshiper of the mercy of the All-Holy Paraclete to us; Rejoice, all-worthy joint heir of the angelic choirs and the council of the righteous; Rejoice, venerable father of Athonite prayer and interlocutor; Rejoice, all-precious adornment of the Russian and Hellenic lands; Rejoice, the Ecumenical Church of Christ receives overwhelming praise and affirmation; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 9

You endured all kinds of mental and physical torments with the dignity of a priest and meekness, O all-blessed Maxima; For this sake, for the sake of glorious consolation, you have been vouchsafed by Our Lord, who sent one of his angels to you, who told you that through your patience you will gain an imperishable crown in heaven. But you, Reverend Father, sang with gratitude to the Lord: Hallelujah!

Ikos 9

The poets of many prophecies and the poets of all skill, like mute fish, are dumb before the greatness of your exploits, our blessed father Maxima, for whoever is able to worthily and righteously sing all your labors, even if you have raised the greater glory of God for the sake of both the benefit and enlightenment of your neighbors, in the Italian countries, Greek and within the borders of the Russian state, for whoever, according to his inheritance, will sing of your patience and torment, who you received with the great hope and meekness of an angel, but trusting in your mercy towards us, with a humble heart we offer these praises: Rejoice, quick awakener of lulled consciences; Rejoice, blessed pacifier of doubts and mental anxieties; Rejoice, glorious guardian of all who honor your memory; Rejoice, gracious guardian of the bearers of your name; Rejoice, God-wise teacher of good deeds and mercy; Rejoice, heavenly intercessor of the exiled, humiliated and dispossessed; Rejoice, all-merciful patron of righteousness for the sake of those who strive; Rejoice, kind comforter of those unjustly persecuted and offended; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 10

O all-glorious Maxim, having accomplished your saving feat, you committed your spirit to the hand of God, with great hope and joy; The angels of the Lord lifted up your soul to the abode of the Father; where the Almighty has crowned you with an imperishable crown; For this reason, we ask you, our holy father Maximus, when we begin to fall asleep in the sleep of death, beg the Lord to meekly separate our soul from our body and deliver us from the powers of demons, so that together with you we will sing to the All-Holy Trinity: Hallelujah!

Ikos 10

With the wall of your all-powerful prayers, guard today the entire Christian race, O Reverend Father Maximus, and in every sorrowful situation, grant your help to everyone who calls on your all-honorable name. During the days of the battle with the Swedes, you appeared to the holy, blessed Tsar Theodore the First, who lived under the hundred-foot gates of the city of Yuryev, and you said to him: “Get out of the tent, so that you will not be killed,” and so save his life, after which you performed many other miracles . For this reason, we offer you the following praises with love: Rejoice, thou who saved the most pious sovereign from the destruction of the fierce on the battlefield; Rejoice, your favor and mercy are revealed to the great multitude of those who honor you; Rejoice, protect us from fears and evil people; Rejoice, deliver us from the seductions and temptations of demons; Rejoice, you who enrich us with reverence for the sacred things of the Church; Rejoice, you who teach us to walk the narrow path to the Lord; Rejoice, thou who removest us from the wide roads of temptation; Rejoice, you who quickly resolve the bonds of ignorance, delusion and perplexity; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 11

We joyfully offer the akathist hymns to you, O blessed Father Maxim, and we pray to you: through your all-powerful intercession, heal our mental ailments and bodily illnesses, turn our thoughts away from vanity, instruct us in pious living, send joy and consolation to the poor, send mercy and consolation to the rich Move us to do good, and teach us all to sing unhypocritically to the Lord: Hallelujah!

Ikos 11

The father of the saints now contemplates the uncreated light together with the host of saints, our blessed father Maximus, as if standing before the throne of the All-Holy and Consubstantial Trinity and praying for the salvation and prosperity of all Christians. We, who reverence your holy memory, with hope appeal to you, saint of Christ, say your prayer for us, so that we may distance ourselves from sin and be able to rejoice in the Lord while still on earth, through the prayers of our saints, who has mercy upon us abundantly and saves us. For this reason, we again with tenderness pronounce these praises: Rejoice, strengthening evangelists in the deeds of preaching the Gospel; Rejoice, you who send laborers into the Lord’s empty fields; Rejoice, you who teach us to be zealous for the salvation of our neighbors; Rejoice, you who put wise words into our mouths; Rejoice, you who quickly heal doubts and lack of faith; Rejoice, you who illuminate our minds with good thoughts in times of bewilderment; Rejoice, thou who illumines the inner darkness of our souls with the light of Christ; Rejoice, you who liberate our hearts from lukewarmness and unmercifulness; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 12

Ask us for the grace and gifts of the All-Blessed and All-Holy Spirit of the Comforter, the Guardian of our life, O all-blessed Father Maxima, for now in glory, together with the righteous sons of God and the hosts of cherubim and seraphim, you stand before the fiery throne of the Trinitarian God of Ours and stretch out your venerable hands to the Father of Light and the Creator worlds and cry to Him: Hallelujah!

Ikos 12

With the wall of your God-pleasing prayers, Reverend Father Maxima, protect us from all evil, sorrows and illnesses, deliver us, do not disgrace our hope, for we know that your prayer can do much, O righteous Father, with the Heavenly King, for you are the father of the reverends in doubt stand before the throne of the Most High and intercede for all who cry out to you: Rejoice, teaching us to renew our souls through repentance; Rejoice, healing us all from despondency and melancholy; Rejoice, grace-filled liberation from grumbling and unbelief; Rejoice, God's mercy is upon us; Rejoice, not the creation, but the Eternal Creator, who teaches us to honor; Rejoice, you who turn us away from superstition and idle talk; Rejoice, you who gloriously affirm us in honor and righteousness; Rejoice, you who order all our lives with grace in God; Rejoice, our reverend and God-bearing father Maxim, who instructs us on the path of eternal salvation!

Kontakion 13

O most blessed Father, our kind intercessor and beloved patron, the all-valid Maxim Svyatogorche! Mercifully accept the zealous singing and praise offered to you, instruct us, while taking advantage of earthly blessings, not to sin against Our Lord; Make our faith worthy to become more fruitful for the sake of good deeds, so that we may be worthy to end our earthly life in peace and be able to sing with you to the Sweetest Jesus forever: Hallelujah!

Ikos 1

Kontakion 1

The beginning of the monastic path. Fighting passions, prayer and silence

Maxim began his monastic life near Constantinople, in Chrysopolis, in the monastery of the Mother of God. He quickly climbed the spiritual ladder, working on the study of the Church Fathers and the Holy Scriptures. With the help of prayer, the young monk endured spiritual warfare and curbed his passions. With patience and self-restraint he fought against irritability, and gradually rose to the height of contemplation.

Through many years of labor, in the silence of his cell, Maxim came to see within himself the secret of human salvation.

He saw the unity of Divine and human nature, split by pride. Maxim contemplated the infinite love of the Word of God for people, which restored this unity through the sacrifice on the cross. After spending ten years in prayer and silence, the monk came to know God's love, restoring union with man.

10 years

Maximus the Confessor spent in prayer and silence

The monk and his disciple Anastasius moved to the St. George Monastery in Cyzicus. In it, Maxim laid the foundation for his first ascetic works about prayer, dispassion and mercy.

In 626, Constantinople was attacked by the Persians and Avars. This was the reason for the monks to leave the monastery.

Icons of Saint Maximus

Where were the icons of St. Maximus the Venerable Confessor painted? There is no exact information about this. This aspect is also overgrown with many inconsistencies, like the whole life of the saint. What is known is that a large number of people come to him with their petitions. He is especially often asked about:

help in correctly understanding the teachings of Christ;
admonishing those who have stumbled;
assistance in studies.

He is considered the patron saint of students, scientists, seminarians and missionaries.