Transfiguration (Odessa). Saint Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours

Martin the Merciful
(316 - 397), Bishop of Tours, Saint Commemoration February 13 [1], October 12, November 11 (Gal. [2], ROCOR [3])

Born at the beginning of the century in Pannonia. From early youth, almost from childhood, he dreamed of monasticism, having before him a heroic example to follow in the person of St. Anthony the Great. However, Martin grew up in a non-Christian family, and his father insisted on his military career. It was then that the saint came to Gaul, where he served as an officer. While still a military leader, one winter he tore his cloak and gave half of it to a completely naked man [4]. Pious tradition identifies this beggar with Christ.

When the opportunity arose to leave the army, Martin retired to the Liguge desert, near Poitiers, where a small monastery soon arose around him, which, according to the author of the life, became a hotbed of monastic work in Gaul. It is important to note that Martin spread the traditions of Eastern, Egyptian monasticism in the West, following St. Anthony in everything.

Soon, by deception (in order to pray for a sick woman), the saint was summoned to the city of Tours and proclaimed bishop. He himself had previously avoided even being ordained a deacon, preferring the more modest position of exorcist - reader of special prayers over the possessed. Martin was characterized by rare kindness and thoughtfulness. Combined with the courageous and majestic appearance of a former military man, this especially endeared him to people. Martin constantly cared for the sick, the poor, and the hungry, receiving the nickname “Merciful” for this. At the same time, the saint did not give up his dream of monasticism.

Having taken the priestly see in Tours, Martin almost simultaneously founded a monastery in Marmoutier, where the usual rules for Eastern monasticism were established: community of property, unconditional obedience, striving for silence, eating food once a day, rough and simple clothing. In his monastery, where he himself often retired to prayer, Saint Martin paid special attention to the feat of prayer and the study of the Holy Scriptures. Many bishops emerged from Marmoutier who worked hard to spread Christian education among the pagan Celts. About the scope of the activities of St. Martina says that about 2 thousand monks gathered for his funeral in 397 (while in Marmoutier itself the number of brethren did not exceed 80 people).

Saint Martin rested in the Lord during prayer in Candes, in a temple located at the confluence of the Vienne and Loire rivers.
Local residents wanted to bury him, but the residents of Tours stole the body, exposing it to the window of the temple, and went home with it upstream in boats. According to local legend, despite the autumn season, flowers bloomed and birds sang along their route. Eastern traditions were organic for the then Gaul: after all, it received Christian enlightenment from Irenaeus of Lyons, who was a student of Polycarp of Smyrna, who, in turn, was directly connected with the Apostle John the Theologian, the head of the Church of Asia Minor.

No saint enjoyed such posthumous fame in the Christian West as Martin of Tours. His veneration is evidenced by thousands of temples and settlements bearing his name. For medieval France (and for Germany) he was a national saint. His basilica at Type was the greatest religious center of Merovingian and Carolingian France, his mantle (sarra) the state shrine of the Frankish kings. Even more significant is that his life, compiled by his contemporary, Sulpicius Severus, served as a model for all hagiographic literature in the West. The first life of a Western ascetic - it inspired many generations of Christians to ascetic deeds. It was for them, after the Gospel, and perhaps even before the Gospel, the first spiritual food, the most important school of asceticism. Before this influence for a number of centuries - at least until the “Carolingian Renaissance” - the semi-eastern school of John Cassian and the related traditions of Lerin and Benedict of Nursia pale in comparison. All three of the latest ascetic schools are built on the principles of spiritual “judgment,” moderating the extremes of asceticism in the name of an active, fraternal community. School of St. Martina differs sharply from them in the heroic severity of asceticism, which places above all else the ideal of solitary achievement. The ascetic idea in the age of Gregory of Tours (c.) was expressed with the greatest force and the greatest one-sidedness. And the search for the origins of this idea invariably brings us back to the Turks ascetic of the century.

The monastery in Liguzh exists to this day.

early years

The boy was born in the city of Tubertuma. This place is located in Italy in the Tuscan region. Martin received a good education for that time, which allowed him to enter the clergy of the Roman Church.

Beginning of ministry

Pope Theodore I died in 649. Martin was immediately installed on the holy throne. The times of his reign coincided with the widespread spread of heresies. In addition, even then the Roman and Constantinople churches were not united. Stratifications and divergences manifested themselves in all segments of the population.

Saint Martin the Confessor

The Emperor of Byzantium and even the Patriarch considered themselves to be part of the Monothelite heresy. They produced the “infidel” Pattern of Faith. This creation was a must read.

The book soon reached Rome. Being an ardent Orthodox Christian, Pope Martin immediately convened a Local Council in Rome. At this meeting, the Monothelite heresy was condemned and recognized as an incorrect teaching. A request for a return to the correct faith was received by both the Emperor of Byzantium and its Patriarch.

The ruler was so furious that he ordered his close associate Olympius to kill the holy Pope. The military leader hired an assassin and sent him to the Pope. It was then that the first miracle associated with Martin the Confessor happened. As soon as the killer approached the Pope, he suddenly became blind. Olympius himself soon fell in a terrible battle.

A fall

The Emperor of Byzantium realized that Martin's faith was too strong. Moreover, the common people were on his side. Then the ruler took a different path. In 654, another Byzantine subject, Theodore, came to Rome. He charged Pope Martin with secret communication with enemies of the empire and faith, as well as defamation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and illegal acquisition of the papal throne.

Despite Martin's innocence, at night Theodore with a detachment of armed soldiers burst into the Pope's room and arrested him. Martin was thrown into prison on one of the Aegean islands. Only a year later, Martin was taken to Constantinople for trial.

The confessor was so exhausted by imprisonment that he did not even have the strength to stand on his feet. Despite this, the judge ordered the old man to answer while standing. The guards held him like that, causing even more pain to the patient.

Icon of Saint Martin, Pope

No one was going to listen to the sick old man's excuses. The verdict was known in advance. Martin was chained in the square. People were encouraged to shout: “Anathema to Pope Martin!” Those who believed in Martin's innocence could only leave the square with tears in their eyes.

This is interesting! Anathema - renunciation from the church. The most famous anathemas were assigned to the Pope and the Orthodox Patriarch during the schism of Christianity in 1054. The renunciation of the church was mutual.

Pope Martin was sentenced to defrocking and death. At the behest of the emperor, who was condemned by the Patriarch, people were sent to the Confessor to conduct a new interrogation. However, Martin said: “Even if they crush me, I will not be in communion with the Church of Constantinople while it remains in evil faith.”

Death

The Emperor of Byzantium was amazed by the courage of the Pope and replaced the death penalty with lifelong imprisonment in Tauride Chersonese. There he died on September 16, 655, exhausted by poverty and hunger. Martin's body was buried outside the city walls. However, after the condemnation of heresy in 680, the remains of the Holy Pope were transferred to Constantinople and then to Rome.

About the relics of the revered martyrs:

• Relics of the Holy Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna
• Relics of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
• Relics of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky

Orthodox Life

October 25 is the feast day of Saint Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours.

The saint was born in Pannonia, years of life – 316–397. From childhood, Martin was inspired by thoughts about monasticism and was struck by the example of St. Anthony the Great, whose life was known in Europe at that time. But Martin’s family was non-Christian and his parents did not want to hear about some kind of monasticism that was strange to them, insisting that the saint become a warrior, which, in their opinion, could ensure his life until old age. Martin rose to the rank of military leader, but continued to think about the solitary life of a hermit.

Also St. Nikolai Serbsky noticed that many people in the world are out of place. The king often looks like a servant, the servant like a king. Martin, for example, was a military leader who resembled a monk. The writer Afanasy Bulgakov also noticed all this, but he explained this state of affairs by the imperfection of the social structure, and Saint Nicholas said that the Lord deliberately makes sure that everyone can grow up in the best conditions for him and work to increase beauty in a way that is natural to him.

So Saint Martin eventually leaves the army and goes to the nearest monastery of Liguzhe, near Poitiers, where everyone immediately becomes aware of the height of his life and begins to listen to his advice. It is interesting that Saint Martin brought to the monastery the traditions of Eastern monasticism, which was then flourishing in the Egyptian desert and was famous for dozens of names of amazing elders and ascetics.

Like many other ascetics, Saint Martin avoided the priesthood with all his might, but he was fraudulently called to the city of Tours (allegedly to pray for a certain sick woman) and there he was ordained a bishop. One needs to imagine medieval routes of communication, when a person walked no more than 15 kilometers a day over rough terrain, in order to appreciate the dedication of the saint, who immediately set out on the road to pray for a girl unknown to him. But such are the hearts of saints - their kinship towards humanity is restored in them and they cannot feel calm while another is in pain.

Likewise, one modern monk from France told us that he really wanted to see Elder Dionysius Kalambokas, but every time he postponed the trip. And then he became seriously ill, and Elder Dionysius himself came to his country and prayed for this man until he was completely healed.

People ask what is love? It is always expressed in action, when someone bright gives all his strength to bring joy into the life of another, even a stranger...

Despite all the differences in the exploits and lives of the saints, they are nourished by the same Spirit.

Take, for example, the Gallic monastic schools of St. Martin of Tours, his monastery of Marmoutier and the monasteries of St. John Cassian the Roman in Marseille. Both saints seek and find the ideal of monasticism in the East, but how different traditions they follow in their works! Martin advocates the strictest asceticism for monks, severe fasting, solitude and enormous rules of prayer, following the hermit Anthony the Great.

And St. John Cassian, although he studied with the same Egyptian hermits for seven years, but in the inherited monastic tradition avoided the extremes of asceticism and insisted on the need for fraternal service to people and the monastic brethren.

If monastic ministers gathered in Marseille, then in Marmoutier - hesychast prayer books. Subsequent generations of people often asked the question: which of them is higher and more important? But there is no answer to this question - the whole point is which path is close to the person’s soul.

One of the ancient ascetics of Egypt said that everyone pleases God with the gift that they have. David wrote psalms, Abraham received strangers, Moses took care of the people - but each equally pleased one God, Who looks at the inclinations of human souls. In His world there is a place for the solitary prayer book, and the social minister, and for all people in general, as long as they strive for goodness and light.

It also seems important that St. John Cassian became famous as a teacher of asceticism, and the nickname of Saint Martin, which history has preserved, was “The Merciful.” One day, while not yet a monk, but a warrior, he saw a naked poor man and, dividing his cloak into two halves with a sword, gave it to the unfortunate man. At that time, half of the warrior’s equipment was provided at the expense of his personal funds, and half at the expense of the treasury. And he gave his half. And the books of St. John Cassian to this day attract everyone who is no longer new to spiritual life.

Different paths in the hidden unity of the Holy Spirit - this is the Church and God’s world.

Having become a bishop in the city of Tours, Martin almost immediately founded the famous monastery in Marmoutier, where he again brought the idea and rules of Eastern asceticism, as exemplified by St. Anthony the Great and the Egyptian ascetics. In Marmoutier, the rules were the desire for silence, simple clothing, community of property and obedience, which was understood not as disciplinary submission (which would be characteristic of the later European rule of Benedict of Nursia), but as listening to the beauty of the Holy Spirit in the mentor and imitation of this seen beauty of Heaven on another person's face. Particular attention in Marmoutier was paid to prayer and the study of Scripture.

The number of brethren in Marmoutier did not exceed 80 people, but when Saint Martin died during prayer, about 2000 monks came from everywhere to his funeral - such was the amazing fame of a true mentor that this man had, who opened the tradition of Eastern mentoring-eldership to Europe.

The posthumous glory of the saint is evidenced by the many temples and settlements bearing his name. His life inspired people to strive for the light, even when there are many obstacles along the way. Although the Eastern tradition was not news for the then Gaul, where Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (a student of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, a student of the Apostle John the Theologian) had previously worked, but, as Elder Sophrony Sakharov said, every new generation of people needs examples of the authenticity, beauty and holiness of their time, so that the previous exploits of bygone centuries do not seem to people like a fairy tale. This was the mission of St. Martin of Tours - to return people, even those who have heard of Christianity, to the depth and beauty of tradition and reality, when the basis of spiritual life is an encounter with God.

And yet Martin is famous as “the Merciful”, and his fame in medieval Western Europe surpasses many other ascetics, because people remember above all else mercy and kindness. Every good deed brings into the world a whole chain of subsequent bright deeds, which we see in the life of a saint.

Even in the bishopric, Martin continued to take care of all the poor and sick, crippled and hungry, for which the people called him “Merciful.” The saint desired active service and skillfully combined this service with high asceticism. However, asceticism should serve the growth of love, and without this it has no purpose. Indeed, in the history of the Church, holy ascetics are famous not for asceticism, but for love. As Saint Macarius the Great says about this, all the gifts and abilities of an ascetic are only an external manifestation of his essence. And its depth is revealed in true love, expressed in caring for people.

St. Day Martin of Tours is related to his close relative, Concession from Britain. She was the mother of Saint Patrick (Magon) of Ireland, and it was her prayers that helped the young man grow from a young man indifferent to matters of faith to a world-famous Orthodox saint, whose life is surprisingly similar to a fairy tale that happened.

Remembering Saints Martin and Patrick, one cannot help but say about the kind Orthodox girl Concession, because without mothers there is no beauty that follows from them...

And, perhaps, for us, inhabitants of other centuries, the circumstances of such antiquity seem almost like a fairy tale, but, as Chesterton wisely noted: “Fairy tales are more than the truth: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they say that dragons can be defeated.” And the life of Saint Martin the Merciful is another confirmation of the fact that even when in the middle of his no longer fabulous life a good person meets a dragon, then, despite all the power of evil, the dragon will still be defeated in the end. It’s just that joy and happiness always come at the end, and not in the middle of the story. But this does not in any way affect the ability with which the merciful God leads all good people to goodness.

Artyom Perlik

Churches

An interesting fact is that even churches are dedicated to Martin the Confessor. This phenomenon exists in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Church of St. Martin the Confessor on Taganka, Moscow

So worth mentioning:

• Church of St. Martin I in Evpatoria (Roman Catholic Church).
• Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Moscow.
• Church of St. Martin the Confessor in the St. Clement Inkerman Monastery.
• Church of St. Martin the Confessor in Arkhangelsk.

Excerpt characterizing Martin of Tours

The son just smiled. “I’m not saying that this is a plan that I approve,” said the son, “I just told you what it is.” Napoleon had already drawn up his own plan no worse than this. “Well, you didn’t tell me anything new.” - And the old man thoughtfully said to himself in a patter: - Dieu sait quand reviendra. - Go to the dining room. At the appointed hour, powdered and shaved, the prince went out into the dining room, where his daughter-in-law, Princess Marya, m lle Burien and the prince's architect, who, by a strange whim, was allowed to the table, was waiting for him, although by his position this insignificant person could not count on such an honor . The prince, who firmly adhered to the differences in status in life and rarely allowed even important provincial officials to the table, suddenly proved to the architect Mikhail Ivanovich, who was blowing his nose into a checkered handkerchief in the corner, that all people are equal, and more than once inspired his daughter that Mikhail Ivanovich was nothing worse than you and me. At the table, the prince most often turned to the dumb Mikhail Ivanovich. In the dining room, hugely high, like all the rooms in the house, the household and waiters standing behind each chair were waiting for the prince to leave; the butler, with a napkin on his hand, looked around the table setting, blinking at the footmen and constantly running his restless gaze from the wall clock to the door from which the prince was supposed to appear. Prince Andrei looked at a huge, new to him, golden frame with an image of the family tree of the Bolkonsky princes, hanging opposite an equally huge frame with a poorly made (apparently by the hand of a home painter) image of the sovereign prince in a crown, who was supposed to come from Rurik and be the ancestor Bolkonsky family. Prince Andrei looked at this family tree, shaking his head, and chuckled with the look with which one looks at a portrait that is ridiculously similar. - How do I recognize him all over here! - he said to Princess Marya, who approached him. Princess Marya looked at her brother in surprise. She didn't understand why he was smiling. Everything her father did aroused in her a reverence that was not subject to discussion. “Everyone has their own Achilles’ heel,” continued Prince Andrei. - With his enormous mind, donner dans ce ridicule! [succumb to this pettiness!] Princess Marya could not understand the boldness of her brother’s judgments and was preparing to object to him, when the expected steps were heard from the office: the prince entered quickly, cheerfully, as he always walked, as if deliberately, with his hasty manners, representing the opposite of the strict order of the house . At the same instant, the large clock struck two, and others echoed in a thin voice in the living room. The prince stopped; from under hanging thick eyebrows, lively, brilliant, stern eyes looked at everyone and settled on the young princess. At that time, the young princess experienced the feeling that the courtiers experience at the royal exit, the feeling of fear and respect that this old man aroused in all those close to him. He stroked the princess's head and then, with an awkward movement, patted her on the back of her head. “I’m glad, I’m glad,” he said and, still looking intently into her eyes, quickly walked away and sat down in his place. - Sit down, sit down! Mikhail Ivanovich, sit down. He showed his daughter-in-law a place next to him. The waiter pulled out a chair for her. - Go, go! - said the old man, looking at her rounded waist. – I was in a hurry, it’s not good! He laughed dryly, coldly, unpleasantly, as he always laughed, with only his mouth and not his eyes. “We need to walk, walk, as much as possible, as much as possible,” he said. The little princess did not hear or did not want to hear his words. She was silent and seemed embarrassed. The prince asked her about her father, and the princess spoke and smiled. He asked her about mutual acquaintances: the princess became even more animated and began to talk, conveying her bows and city gossip to the prince. “La comtesse Apraksine, la pauvre, a perdu son Mariei, et elle a pleure les larmes de ses yeux, [Princess Apraksina, poor thing, lost her husband and cried all her eyes out,” she said, becoming more and more animated. As she perked up, the prince looked at her more and more sternly and suddenly, as if having studied her sufficiently and formed a clear concept about her, he turned away from her and turned to Mikhail Ivanovich. - Well, Mikhaila Ivanovich, our Buonaparte is having a bad time. How Prince Andrei (he always called his son that in the third person) told me what forces were gathering against him! And you and I all considered him an empty person. Mikhail Ivanovich, who absolutely did not know when you and I said such words about Bonaparte, but understood that he was needed to enter into a favorite conversation, looked at the young prince in surprise, not knowing what would come of it. – He’s a great tactician! - the prince said to his son, pointing to the architect. And the conversation turned again to the war, about Bonaparte and the current generals and statesmen. The old prince seemed to be convinced not only that all the current leaders were boys who did not understand the ABCs of military and state affairs, and that Bonaparte was an insignificant Frenchman who was successful only because there were no longer Potemkins and Suvorovs to oppose him; but he was even convinced that there were no political difficulties in Europe, there was no war, but there was some kind of puppet comedy that modern people played, pretending to do business. Prince Andrei cheerfully endured his father’s ridicule of new people and with visible joy called his father to a conversation and listened to him. “Everything seems good that was before,” he said, “but didn’t the same Suvorov fall into the trap that Moreau set for him, and didn’t know how to get out of it?” - Who told you this? Who said? - the prince shouted. - Suvorov! - And he threw away the plate, which Tikhon quickly picked up. - Suvorov!... After thinking, Prince Andrei. Two: Friedrich and Suvorov... Moreau! Moreau would have been a prisoner if Suvorov had had his hands free; and in his arms sat Hofs Kriegs Wurst Schnapps Rath. The devil is not happy with him. Come and find out these Hofs Kriegs Wurst Rath! Suvorov didn’t get along with them, so where can Mikhail Kutuzov get along? No, my friend,” he continued, “you and your generals cannot cope with Bonaparte; we need to take the French so that we don’t know our own and we don’t beat our own. The German Palen was sent to New York, to America, for the Frenchman Moreau,” he said, hinting at the invitation that Moreau made this year to join the Russian service. - Miracles!... Were the Potemkins, Suvorovs, Orlovs Germans? No, brother, either you've all gone crazy, or I've lost my mind. God bless you, and we'll see. Bonaparte became their great commander! Hm!...