Patrons of hunters and fishermen
The icon “Cathedral of the Patron Saints of Hunters and Fishermen” was created in the recent past, more precisely in 2005, under the patronage, at that time, of the great Patriarch of the Russian Land - Alexy II. The image on this icon is unique in that it depicts all the saints and righteous people who patronize hunters and fishermen, and to whose images our great-grandfathers have long and always prayed for help and intercession. This spiritual image protects all hunters and fishermen in their difficult task, helps them not to freeze in severe frosts, saves them from storms and storms, protects them from drowning in the water, guides those lost in the forest to the right path, and always grants a rich catch of fish and good food. prey of a wild animal. The icon was consecrated by Saint Innocent of Irkutsk on July 12, 2013. Remembrance days are July 12 and September 13.
The Holy Martyr Tryphon lived in the 3rd century and earned his living by herding sheep. He suffered for the faith of Christ during the reign of Emperor Decius Trajan. During his lifetime he was honored with the gifts of miracles and healing of all sorts of ailments. He became famous for the fact that, with the power of his prayer, he helped the inhabitants of his village during the invasion of harmful insects in the wheat fields, thereby saving people from hunger. In Rus', for a long time, everyone who went fishing or for fur-bearing animals prayed to Saint Tryphon. Celebrations in honor of the Holy Martyr Tryphon are celebrated by the Orthodox Church annually on February 14.
The miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Ozeryanskaya” received its name from the place of its appearance, on the bank of the small river Ozeryanka. The blessed image of the Mother of God appeared to Priest Theodore, who reported this miraculous appearance to Bishop Theodosius of Belgorod, and he, in turn, with his flock, built a wooden church at the site of the appearance of the Virgin Mary and named it in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Celebrations in honor of the Ozeryansk Icon of the Mother of God are celebrated by the Orthodox Church on November 12.
The Apostle Peter (before his calling Simon) came from a fishing family, and he himself was engaged in fishing. At the call of his heart, he left his fishing business and went for Jesus Christ. Before the procession of the Lord, he betrayed him three times, for which he subsequently deeply repented. Everyone has a path of repentance, this is shown in the example of the Holy Apostle Peter, because the Lord restored him to the apostolic rank. The Orthodox Church commemorates it on January 29, July 12 and 13.
The Monk Paphnutius of Borovsk (in secular life Parfeniy) - was born in Russia, at the age of twenty he left his father's house and went to the Pokrovsky Monastery, where he received monastic vows from the abbot Markellus with the name Paphnutius. Upon the death of the Monk Markell, he was elected by the brethren as abbot of the monastery. At the age of 50 he became very ill, but recovered from the illness, after which he retired from the monastery and settled near the Protva River, on its very bank. Here Father Paphnutius founded a wasteland and caught fish on which he ate. Soon he was joined by devotees like himself, and together they built a temple. He predicted his death for the brethren, served a prayer service for the monks and departed to the Lord. Memorial Day of St. Paphnutius Borovsky - May 14.
The Holy Apostles John the Theologian and his brother James of Zebedee were fishermen before being called by Jesus Christ. John the Theologian reached a high level of perfection that he was awarded the gift of healing ailments. By the power of his prayer, he brought the drowned young man back to life, and also revived the father and son. Celebrations in honor of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian are celebrated by the Church of Christ on May 21, July 13 and October 9. His brother, the Holy Apostle James, preached the word of God in Western countries. Then he returned to the Promised Land, where he denounced the Pharisees and warlocks for unbelief and hardness of heart. He suffered martyrdom while preaching the commandments of the Lord. The Orthodox Church commemorates it on May 13 and July 13.
Apostle Andrew the First-Called , like his father, was engaged in fishing, until our Lord Jesus Christ called him first. Like all the Apostles, Andrew the First-Called visited many countries and conveyed the commandments of God to many peoples. Celebrations in the name of St. Andrew the First-Called by the Church of Christ are celebrated on December 13.
Saint Nicholas , Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, is one of the most revered saints, not only in Orthodoxy, but also in the Catholic religion and even in Islam. Revered by everyone, from young to old. Patronizes children, protects them and helps them on their path in life. He is the protector of everyone connected with the sea and fishing. By the power of his prayer, he saved ships and fishing schooners during sea storms. Remembrance days are May 22, August 11 and December 19, and every weekday Thursday.
The Monk Zosima of Solovetsky spent a long time looking for a secluded place for his hermitic exploits, until he learned about deserted islands, two days away from the shore of the White Sea.
Arriving on the Solovetsky Islands, he founded the Solovetsky Monastery. He is the heavenly patron of fishermen, as there is many evidence of Father Zosima appearing to fishermen in distress and helping them to escape. The Church of Christ commemorates him three times a year - April 30, August 21 and 22.
What could be a prayer to John?
People practically don’t pray to the Apostle John for good luck while fishing in Russian lands. But in Norway, Holland, Germany and other European countries, fishermen do not go to sea without praying to him.
A prayer to John could be like this:
“Called from the fishery to be a bright apostle, all-good John, do not abandon him in the hour of need. Send down to me, the servant of God (proper name), a complete net from stern to shore and a level wind and a smooth sea. Do not leave in the hour of need and joy, I praise you tirelessly and pray for mercy and satiety, for good luck in business and luck. Amen".
Life of Andrew the First-Called
As mentioned above, Andrew the First-Called was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Before joining the teacher, he was engaged in fishing in the city of Bethsaida of Galilee. Andrew was nicknamed the First-Called because it was he who became the first apostle of Christ.
After which he led his older brother Simon to Christ, who later became an apostle and changed his name to Peter. The main aspiration of young Andrei was daily prayers. He did not look for a wife; instead, he spent almost all his time as a disciple of John the Baptist (the holy prophet who announced the Incarnation).
After the Baptist pointed to the Lamb of God (he called Jesus Christ that way), Andrew the First-Called, together with John the Theologian, followed Christ and became his disciples. After the Resurrection of the Lord and his Ascension, the First-Called came to Jerusalem, where, according to predictions, the will of the Holy Spirit is being fulfilled.
After which he goes to preach the Word of God. Andrew the First-Called preached faith in Christ in Iberia, Bithynia, Pontus, Constantinople, the shores of the Black Sea and Kiev. During his journey, he interacted with many people and healed people from various diseases.
It was Andrew the First-Called who created the Christian Church. The First-Called Andrew was executed in the city of Patras, whose ruler refused to accept the Christian faith. The beaten apostle was tied to an X-shaped cross. Today, the oblique St. Andrew's Cross is awarded to dignitaries of the Russian state.
The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was founded by Tsar Peter I in 1698. After 300 years, the award was revived and it became the main symbol of the Russian Navy.
Saints at sea
Those who have not gone to sea have not prayed to God - this is what our Russian Pomors, brave sailors and travelers said. Indeed, living on the shore is much calmer for a person. Even in the worst bad weather, when the sky is overcast with black clouds, when lightning flashes, the wind tears the umbrella out of your hands and the rain pours like buckets, you still know: you have solid ground under your feet. This means that in just a few minutes you will be drinking hot tea at home, sitting in a cozy chair.
But everything immediately changes if you imagine that in the same storm you are standing on the deck of a small boat on the open sea. Huge waves the height of a three-story building are raging around. The ship either rises to the very crest of such a water mountain, then quickly flies down from it, into the seething abyss between the waves. The deck tilts so much that you can only stand by tightly grasping the storm rail - a special rope stretched along the ship's superstructure from the bow of the ship to the stern. When there are particularly strong gusts of wind, waves roll over the deck. And woe to those who at that moment were in their way, not having time to hide in the hold or in the wheelhouse.
And it’s not fun in the hold during a storm either. The boards from which the ship's hull is made are cracking under the pressure of the water. Water slowly flows through the tarred cracks. Just five centimeters of wood separates you from the raging water outside. And you don’t know whether the sides of the ship will withstand this indomitable pressure of the sea elements.
At such moments, a person can only turn to God with a request for protection and help. And the words “Lord, have mercy!” that have become so familiar to us! sailors during a storm spoke completely differently than on the shore.
Among the water boiling from storm squalls, a person really feels sentenced to death. Here, on the edge of death, asking God for mercy is the most important thing for him and the last hope for salvation. And when God helps the sailors to survive and reach their native shore safely, prayers of gratitude are naturally born in their hearts. That is why the wise Pomors said: whoever did not go to sea did not pray to God.
But then someone, perhaps, will say: “Is the faith of sailors stronger than the faith of saints who devoted their entire lives to prayer?” What can we say to this... Only the Lord knows the power of faith and prayer of every person. He will judge who had it more. But we can only say that the saints also sailed on sailing ships, also got into various troubles and also turned to God in fervent, sincere prayers. We will now tell several such sea stories about saints.
Apostle Paul
This happened when the holy Apostle Paul was sent to trial before the Roman Emperor himself for preaching the Gospel. The route from Palestine to Rome lay across the Mediterranean Sea. Paul and some other prisoners were entrusted to the centurion of the royal regiment named Julius. A few weeks later their ship landed on the island of Crete.
Here God revealed to Paul that it was dangerous to sail further, a storm was approaching. Paul told Julius and the ship's captain about this, but they only laughed at him and ordered the crew to set sail.
As soon as the ship entered the open sea, a strong wind arose. Waves washed over the deck and low clouds clung to the top of the mast. Neither the sun was visible during the day nor the stars at night. For fourteen days a storm carried the ship across the sea. The sailors and prisoners no longer knew where they were. Out of fear and despair, they stopped eating and waited for death. Only Pavel was calm. He consoled the people exhausted by the storm and told them: “You should have listened to me and not left Crete.” But believe me at least now and stop being afraid, because not one of you will die. An angel of God appeared to me that night and said: “Paul! Everyone sailing with you on this ship will live." Therefore, take heart. I trust God that it will happen as I was told.
And he persuaded everyone to take food with the words: “This will serve to preserve your life.” Eat, not one of you will lose even one hair from your head. Then he took the bread himself, thanked God in front of everyone and, breaking it, began to eat. Then all the people on the ship also began to eat.
The next morning land appeared and the sailors directed the ship towards it. But not far from the shore the ship ran aground. Its bow got stuck in the sand, and its stern was broken by the force of the waves. The warriors wanted to kill all the prisoners so that someone who would swim out would not escape. But the centurion Julius certainly wanted to save Paul and forbade the soldiers to kill prisoners. He ordered everyone who could swim to be the first to rush into the water and swim to the shore. A few minutes later, the brave swimmers were already standing on land and waving their hands to those remaining on the ship. Looking at them, others also decided to sail - some on boards, others - on what they had from the ship's things. And everyone was saved!
It turned out that the ship crashed near an island called Melit. Its inhabitants were very kind to the shipwrecked. They immediately built a fire so that the wet people could warm up and dry their clothes.
While the rest of the travelers warmed themselves by the fire, Pavel helped the locals. He brought an armful of brushwood and threw it into the fire. And a snake was hiding in the brushwood. Fleeing from the fire, she bit her poisonous teeth into Pavel's hand. When the islanders saw a snake hanging on his hand, they were frightened and said to each other: “This man must be a murderer if God punished him with a snake bite even after being rescued from the sea.”
But Pavel only shook the snake into the fire and went on to collect brushwood to warm his comrades. The islanders expected that he would have inflammation or suddenly drop dead, as usually happens with those bitten by a snake. But Pavel, as if nothing had happened, walked between the fires, encouraging his comrades, helping the weak. Then the islanders decided that before them was not a sinner, but one of the gods - the patrons of the island. These pagans were so fickle in their thoughts.
The chief of the island took the rescued people into his home and treated them in a friendly manner for three days. At this time his father was lying, suffering from a fever and pain in his stomach. Paul went in to him, prayed, and laying his hands on the sick man, healed him. Having learned about this, patients from all over the island flocked to Pavel. Paul refused no one and healed everyone in the name of Jesus Christ.
Only three months later, the travelers left the island on another ship.
Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
Traveling by sea is a dangerous business. There seems to be no sign of a storm. The day is sunny, seagulls are screaming over the waves, a fair wind is blowing tight sails. Suddenly, a black stripe appears on the horizon. It is rapidly approaching, growing. And now you can see that these are swirling dark clouds with lightning flashing in them. And the wind is getting stronger, the waves are getting higher. The sea around the ship is boiling, and shreds of foam are flying from the crests of the water shafts. The rain pours down, the clouds cover the sun, it becomes dark almost like night, and only flashes of lightning for a moment illuminate everything around with a cold white light. So the storm comes.
The sailors, like agile monkeys, climb the masts to remove the sails before the wind reaches full strength. If this is not done, the storm may break the masts. The ship, like a nutshell, is thrown from one mountain of water to another so that it seems that a little more and it will shatter into pieces.
Even experienced sailors feel uneasy when a ship gets into such trouble. And what can we say about the passengers... Their hearts actually sink into their heels and tremble there, like a frightened hare.
Saint Nicholas once found himself in such a terrible storm on the Mediterranean Sea. True, at that time he was still a simple priest, leaving his hometown for the first time.
The storm became so violent that even the brave captain of the ship and his brave sailors were horrified. And the passengers, as if distraught, rushed around the hold, sobbing with fear. And only priest Nikolai behaved differently from everyone else. Instead of crying and trembling, he decided to do at least what was possible in this situation. What can you do when there is a terrible storm all around and only God can help the dying, frightened people? All that remains is to ask Him for help. Priest Nicholas went out onto the deck, knelt down and began to pray. Very little time passed, and right before the eyes of the amazed sailors, the clouds began to dissipate. A few minutes later the sun was shining in the sky again. The storm has subsided. The delight of sailors and passengers knew no bounds! Of course: they were already preparing to die. They joyfully began to thank Nicholas for their miraculous salvation. And he stood on the deck and did not know where to escape from these enthusiastic screams. Finally, pushing aside the people surrounding him, he went down into the hold. After all, Nikolai knew that it was not he who saved the ship, but God, to whom he prayed for this salvation. And in general, this decisive man did not like to be praised and celebrated.
Meanwhile, a new misfortune happened on the ship. The storm ended, the sailors quickly climbed the masts to set the sails. And suddenly one of them fell, fell onto the wooden deck and died. Such grief... Well, what can you do: you can’t bring back the dead. And then one of the saddened sailors said:
“There is a man sailing with us who saved the ship from imminent destruction with prayer. Let's ask him to pray again, maybe he will save our comrade too.
But Nikolai did not wait to be asked. Rising to the deck, he saw people crowded around the mast, went up to the dead sailor and began to pray again. And then, in front of everyone gathered, the man who had just been lying lifeless suddenly sat down on the deck and rubbed his eyes, as if awakening from a dream.
The sailors looked with reverent fear at Nicholas, who continued the prayer. Finally the captain asked: “How do you do it?” After all, the dead cannot be resurrected. “It was not I who did this, but God,” answered Nikolai, rising from his knees. “I only asked Him to resurrect your friend.” But God can do anything, and now you have convinced yourself of this.
Holy righteous warrior Fedor Ushakov
Saints did not only go to sea on ships as passengers. There is also a real sailor among them. This is the holy righteous warrior Fyodor Ushakov. The beauty and pride of the Russian fleet, a legendary man, he became famous not only for his numerous military victories, but also for his Christian piety and true fatherly love for all the sailors who served under him. One of his main exploits at sea was the victory over the Turkish fleet.
In 1787, Turkey, unable to accept the loss of Crimea, presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding the return of the peninsula. Russia refused. The Russian-Turkish War began. The Russian Black Sea Fleet was then only 4 years old. And he had to take the fight to the powerful, battle-hardened Turkish fleet, which had twice the number of ships. Could captain of brigadier rank Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov count on victory here?
If he relied only on his ship's gun batteries, then of course not. But the pious, merciful Christian, nephew of St. Theodore of Sanaksar, firmly believed that everything was in the hands of God. And therefore, in Sevastopol, he diligently prayed in the small church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of sailors, so that the Lord would grant him instruction on how to overcome the enemy.
And finally, near the island of Fidonisi, the Russian and Turkish squadrons came together in an unequal battle. The Turks were commanded by the famous sailor Eski Hasan, who was called the “crocodile of sea battles.” This same “crocodile” lined up his twenty-five ships in a line and was going to destroy the Russian ships without much difficulty. But Ushakov, instead of arranging the usual firefight in such cases, suddenly led his ships to approach the lead ships of the Turkish squadron. The Turks stopped firing and gathered a team on the decks for boarding combat, when sailors jump onto enemy ships with sabers in their hands and fight hand-to-hand. At this moment, having removed the sails and reduced speed, Ushakov ordered to fire point-blank from all guns at the sides of the enemy ships.
The fire from Russian cannons was accurate and devastating. Eski Hassan tried to help his ships by opening fire from a distance on the St. Paul, the flagship of Admiral Ushakov. But what Fedor Fedorovich had counted on happened: these shells hit the taller Turkish ships, which were now protecting the Russian sailing ships from cannonballs fired from the most powerful Turkish ship, where the captain was the “crocodile of sea battles.” The Turks were not ready for such an unusual method of naval combat.
Having lost many sailors during a rapid attack by Russian ships, Eski Hassan withdrew his ships to the shores of Turkey in disgrace. As for the Russian losses, after the roll call there was not a single killed in Ushakov’s team. This was the very first victory of the Russian fleet on the Black Sea.
The Turkish Sultan was very unhappy with Ushakov’s victories. To defeat the hated Ushak Pasha (as the Turks respectfully called Fyodor Fedorovich), the Sultan transferred a fleet from African possessions to the Black Sea under the leadership of the Algerian pirate Sait-Ali. He promised that he would defeat the Russians and bring Ushakov himself to the Sultan in a wooden cage. But it’s one thing to brag, and another to fight.
Ushakov attacked the squadron near Cape Kaliakria, off the coast of northern Bulgaria. The first cannonball from the Russian flagship on the Algerian ship smashed the fore-topmast to smithereens (as the top of the mast is called in the navy). A piece of wood from the topmast flew towards Sait-Ali, seriously wounding him in the chin. The bloodied Algerian leader, who had not so long ago boasted that he would take Ushakov prisoner, was carried from the deck to the cabin. It was reported that our admiral, passing in the heat of battle under the very stern of the Algerian, shouted to him from the poop in Russian: “Saith the slacker! I’ll stop you from making such promises!”
In this battle, Ushakov made a maneuver unprecedented in its courage - he led his ships between the Turkish squadron at anchor and the coastal battery, firing at the Russians with all their guns. This was, of course, a dangerous decision. But Ushakov never took risks just like that, at random.
The Turkish ships, attacked from an unexpected direction, were unable to change formation in time, and were so cramped that, due to the confusion, they even began to shoot at each other. Only ten ships with heavy damage managed to escape from Ushakov. Their appearance was pathetic when they arrived in Istanbul: broken masts, gaping holes in the sides. To top it all off, the ship of Sait-Ali himself, having entered the roadstead, began to sink in full view of everyone and asked for help with cannon volleys... The Turkish Sultan was so frightened by the sight he saw and the news of the crushing defeat of his fleet that he immediately rushed to make peace with Russia.
The war went on for four years. Rear Admiral Ushakov gave four major battles to the enemy and won them all. The Russian state stood firmly on the shores of the Black Sea, recaptured from the Turks.
In his entire life he did not lose a single naval battle, and during these battles he did not lose a single ship. But Fyodor Ushakov’s main talent was his ability to truly love every person, regardless of his title and rank. He always took fatherly care of the sailors who served on his ships. Indeed, in the days of the sailing fleet, the captain on the ship was a formidable figure, the arbiter of human destinies. And a simple sailor was a creature without rights, whom even the most junior officer could scold or hit for any offense. But Fedor Ushakov was an unusual captain in this sense. On his ships, the attitude towards the sailors was completely different: Ushakov always made sure that they were well fed and not punished without reason. He ordered the rooms in the lower decks where the sailors lived to be regularly ventilated so that the sailors would not get sick. During each battle he took measures to ensure that losses in ship crews were as small as possible. And even towards his enemies he was always generous and merciful.
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Whoever did not go to sea did not pray to God. And therefore, it is no coincidence that sailors have long considered St. Nicholas the Wonderworker their patron. After all, he himself also had the opportunity to turn to God on a ship under the crash of waves and the howling of a stormy wind.
And the holy righteous warrior Fyodor Ushakov before each battle prayed not only for victory, but also to protect the sailors from death, injury and captivity.
The Holy Apostle Paul, although he was not a sailor, went to sea many times during his missionary travels. And, of course, he always prayed on ships in the same way as during his last voyage to the emperor’s court.
Such different saints with different fates, who lived at different times... But they have a common feature: they all prayed during the voyage not for themselves, but for other people. For everyone who lost heart in the face of imminent death, they no longer had enough strength and faith to even cry out to God for help. It was for them that the saints at sea prayed. They prayed, trying to support others and help their neighbors with the firmness of their trust in the mercy of God. And this is true Christian love, when you care about others even more than about yourself. And certainly among our Pomeranian sailors there were also people capable of such selfless prayer for their neighbors. It was about them that the people composed this wise saying: whoever did not go to sea did not pray to God.
Why is Andrew the First-Called the patron saint of sailors?
Among the people, Apostle Andrew the First-Called is considered the patron saint of not only sailors, but also fishermen, boatmen and everything that is somehow connected with water. This is probably due to the fact that before becoming a disciple of Christ, he was engaged in fishing. Others believe that this is due to the fact that after the Oblique Cross of the First-Called became the symbol of the Navy of the Russian state, it repeatedly won battles.
On December 13, it was customary for peasants to go “listen to the water in the well.” If the water was calm, it meant there would be a lot of snow in the winter. If you could hear the sound of water, it means the winter will be frosty.
Holy righteous warrior Fedor Ushakov
Saint Feodor - admiral of the fleet. Therefore, it is understandable why sailors consider him their patron. The holy warrior was not only a brilliant strategist - in his entire life he did not suffer a single defeat and did not lose a single ship, thanks to him the Russian-Turkish War (1787-1791) was won - but he was also distinguished by his special Christian attitude towards ordinary sailors.
Why was Fyodor Ushakov canonized?
Prophet Jonah
Many submariners consider the Prophet Jonah their patron. And all because of the famous “journey” of the prophet inside the fish. God commanded Jonah to go preach to the pagans in Nineveh, but he got scared and sailed on a ship in the opposite direction. A strong storm began, and Jonah realized that he was the cause. The storm threatened to destroy the ship, and the prophet begged the captain to throw him overboard - the storm immediately stopped, and Jonah was swallowed by a huge whale, which three days later disgorged him unharmed. By the way, the prophet finally came to Nineveh and, to his great surprise, converted the local residents to God. The unusual biblical story about the journey of the prophet Jonah in the belly of a whale often raises questions among skeptics.
We have devoted a separate article to the analysis of these issues.
