17 October. Blessed Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Novgorod, miracle worker

This term has other meanings, see Vladimir Yaroslavich.

Vladimir Yaroslavich

(presumably Vasily in baptism [1]; 1020 - October 4, 1052) - Prince of Novgorod, son of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise and daughter of the first Christian king of Sweden Olaf Shetkonung Ingegerda (in Orthodox transcription Irina).
Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the 15th century as the holy noble prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Novgorod
, memory: October 4 (17) [2].

Biography

Vladimir Yaroslavovich was born in 1020. According to some chronicles, he was placed under the reign of Novogorod in 1030, and according to most, in 1034[3]. In governing the principality he was assisted by Voivode Vyshata and Bishop Luka Zhidyata, later canonized, one of the first Russian writers. In 1042, Vladimir made a victorious campaign against Yam (the territory of Southern Finland), and in this campaign there was a large loss of horses, and in the next 1043 he went together with Harald the Surov against Byzantium. The Byzantine campaign ended in failure, but there is a version that in 1044 Vladimir took Chersonesos.

Vladimir built the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, consecrated on September 14, 1052 by Bishop Luke; On his order, a stone fortress was built in Novgorod. He died at the age of 32 on October 4, 1052, leaving his son Rostislav, Prince of Tmutarakan, twenty days after the consecration of the St. Sophia Church, where his relics were placed. In 1439, Saint Euthymius, Archbishop of Novgorod, established on October 4 the commemoration of Saint Prince Vladimir and Saint Anna of Novgorod, the first wife of Prince Yaroslav, who was mistakenly mistaken for the mother of Prince Vladimir, buried next to him. Subsequently, hagiographers turned the two wives of Prince Yaroslav, Anna, who died early, and Irina (Ingigerda) into one person - Irina, or Anna in monasticism.

According to Russian genealogy researcher N.A. Baumgarten[4], he was married to the daughter of Count Leopold of Staden, Oda, but this fact is questioned by the historian A.V. Nazarenko[5].

Brief history of the St. Nicholas Kremlin Church

One of the churches in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is located in the center of Vladimir, on Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street. From the south the temple is surrounded by a square and a square where a monument to Alexander Nevsky is erected, and from the eastern side the wall of the Nativity Monastery

.

View of the St. Nicholas Kremlin Church from Bolshaya Moskovskaya Street

The church stands on the spot where the city Kremlin was located in ancient times, hence the name - Nikolo-Kremlinskaya. According to the description book of the Vladimir Kremlin-city, the wooden St. Nicholas Church has been here since 1626, but in 1719 it was destroyed by fire.

In 1761 - 1769 a new stone church with a chapel and a four-tier bell tower was built

. In 1850, a new chapel was erected on the southern side of the temple in honor of Saint Simeon the Stylite, famous for his unprecedented ascetic deeds. First of all, this saint is known for the fact that he spent 37 years in fasting and prayer, secluded on a small stone platform, on top of a pillar (tower).

Notes

1. Uspensky B. A.
   Historical and philological essays. - M.: Languages ​​of Slavic Culture, 2004. - P. 86.
2. azbyka.ru/days/sv-vladimir-jaroslavich-novgorodskij Blessed Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Novgorod
3. Vladimir Yaroslavich, Prince of Novgorod // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
4. Baumgarten N. A.
   The first branch of the Galitsky princes: The offspring of Vladimir Yaroslavich // Chronicle of the Historical and Genealogical Society (hereinafter - Let. IRO).
   - M., 1908. - Issue. 4 (16). — P. 3-4. Baumgarten N.
   Genealogies et manages occidentaux des Rurikides russes du Xe and XSH siele // Orientalia Christiana.
   - Roma, 1927. - No. 35. - P. 7. Tabl. 1. - No. 22, 25 Baumgarten N. A.
   Oda of Stadenskaya, grand-niece of Pope Leo IX - daughter-in-law of Yaroslav the Wise // Blagovest. - Paris. 1930. - No. 1. - P. 95-102.
5. [www.hrono.ru/statii/2006/nazar_yarosl.html A. V. Nazarenko. About the dynastic connections of the sons of Yaroslav the Wise. Domestic history / RAS. Institute grew. stories. - M.: Nauka, 1994. - N 4-5.\\Project "Chronos"]

Holy Blessed Prince George of Vladimir, founder of Nizhny Novgorod

The Holy Blessed Grand Duke George (Yuri) Vsevolodovich was born in 1189 in the city of Vladimir Klyazmensky. His parents were the Grand Duke of Vladimir Dimitri-Vsevolod III *, called by history the Great, and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Shvarnovna.

*Until the 14th century, it was customary in Rus' to give the children of princes two names: one on the 1st birthday - Slavic, containing the words peace, power, glory and the like, or which were consonant with Christian names. This name was called the prince's name. Another name - Christian - was given at baptism. The first name was more famous than the second.

The Great Vsevolod was one of the most worthy Russian princes, adorned with good qualities of soul and civic virtues. According to the legends of Russian chronicles, he pardoned the good, executed the evil, did not respect the faces of the powerful and did not give offense to anyone, not in vain carrying the sword given to him by God. But at the same time, as the same chronicles tell, he was not exalted by this earthly glory, did not magnify himself; but he placed his hope in everything in God, for he always had the fear of God in his heart. Monuments of the piety of the Great Vsevolod are still preserved in Vladimir. These are white stone churches - two chapels at the Assumption Cathedral, the Demetrius Cathedral and the Assumption Cathedral in the convent. In addition to these temples, Vsevolod also built the Nativity of the Theotokos Church, located in the current Bishop's House, which in the 18th century lost its ancient appearance due to numerous extensions, but was restored to its original form during the reign of Emperor Alexander II.

George's mother, Princess Maria Shvarnovna, was no less distinguished by her piety than her husband. She, being a very kind woman, piously spent her entire life from childhood in the fear of God, loving truth, comforting the sad, sick and needy, giving them what they needed. According to the inscrutable fate of God's Providence, 7–8 years before her death she suffered a serious illness. With truly Christian patience, without the slightest murmur, she bore this cross, imitating the patience of Job and the free suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ. “If we receive good things from the hand of the Lord,” the Grand Duchess loved to repeat during her illness, “we will not endure the evil ones.” 17 days before her death, she moved from the palace to a women’s monastery built by her faithful husband, where, having renounced the world, she ended her long-suffering days in the rank of nun. Is it surprising after this that such pious parents raised such a pious son as George was?

Being only two years old, George, according to the chroniclers, was already zealous for the piety and faith of his father. When he was three years old, in the city of Suzdal he was elevated to princely dignity by Bishop John, according to the then custom, with a special church prayer and rite called tonsure. On the same day he was mounted on a horse, and there was a great celebration in honor of this in the city of Suzdal. Growing in body, the prince grew in spirit. Every day he went to church for divine services, listened with reverence to the reading and singing there, loved to talk about sacred objects at home, and also exercised himself in fasting, vigil and prayer. The parents were pleased to see such piety in their young son, and they listened to him more than to other sons. When George was 17 years old, he lost his dearly beloved mother. An ancient biography writer depicts a touchingly sad picture of George’s farewell to his dying mother: George fell on his mother’s chest and, shedding tears, exclaimed: “Alas for me, the world, my mother, my lady! To whom will I look, to whom will I resort, and where will I be satisfied with such teaching and punishment of the mind? Alas for me, shining in the dawn of my face, the reins of my youth, where are you going, my mother?” Touched by such a tender love for her son, the princess consoled and blessed him. “O compassionate, dear child,” she said to him in a weakening voice, as if in a prophetic spirit, “be praised and blessed throughout all generations.” Grand Duke Vsevolod buried his wife with due honor. Many tears were shed by everyone over her coffin, but most of all, it is said, George cried and did not want to be consoled, because she loved her more than all the other sons.

Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich travels on boats around the newly conquered lands at the mouth of the Oka River. Hood. G. Maltsev

At the age of 19, Georgy Vsevolodovich entered into marriage with the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vsevolod Chermny Agathia. The sacrament of marriage was performed in the Vladimir Cathedral Church by Bishop John. God gave the pious George a wife worthy of him. Here is what one ancient biography writer says about this couple: “Both, both husband and wife, being of pious roots, were well taught piety and so both are holy, righteous, merciful, meek, taking the offended from the hands of those who offend, and the poor are kind to the great, He is diligent in abstinence and loves fasting, chastity and purity, and again, greatly pleasing Christ in everything with his good deeds, desiring, according to the Lord’s word, to inherit the earth of the meek and to find the peace of the righteous.” This is how the life of the noble prince flowed peacefully in Vladimir until the death of his parent. Four successful campaigns against the enemies of the Vladimir principality are known only from this time. But at the age of 25, his independent activity for the Church and the fatherland began.

Feeling the approach of death, Grand Duke Vsevolod wished to settle his children. By right of seniority, the Vladimir throne should have belonged to the eldest of the sons, Constantine, who was then reigning in Rostov, and Vsevolod wanted to place him on it while he was alive, but so that Rostov would belong to George. To declare his will, Vsevolod demanded all his children. Everyone came when called, except for Konstantin, who wanted to keep Rostov with him along with Vladimir, which did not agree with his father’s will. Three times the father sent for his son, but each time he received a refusal to appear unless the father did so according to the son’s wishes. Distressed by Constantine's disobedience, Prince Vsevolod gathered the boyars and people of Vladimir and before them poured out his grief on his son. It was decided by the people to deprive Constantine of his eldership and transfer the grand-ducal throne to George. So, Georgy Vsevolodovich, being 24 years old, was declared Grand Duke of Vladimir and blessed for this feat by his dying parent. “Be brothers instead of father,” he told him, “have them the same way I had them. And you, children,” he continued, turning to the other children, “do not take up arms against each other, and if one of the other princes rises up against you, you will all unite together against them. May the Lord and the Holy Mother of God and the prayer of your grandfather George and great-grandfather Vladimir be your helper, then I will bless you,” and with these words he quietly departed to the Lord, April 12, 1213.

At first, after the death of their father, the brothers lived peacefully. George, although he was the Grand Duke, showed all respect and love to his elder brother. Having buried his father, he went to Rostov to see Konstantin in order, on the one hand, to personally testify to his brotherly love, and on the other, to come to an agreement regarding the reign. Constantine, apparently, had come to terms with his position; at least, he did not express hostile feelings towards George.

Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich meets his brother Svyatoslav

Another time, the Grand Duke was with Constantine, at the invitation of even himself, at the consecration of the cathedral church in Rostov. In his humility, George agreed, as long as there was no enmity between the brothers and bloodshed, even to cede the grand-ducal throne to Constantine, but so that the dying will of his parents would be sacredly fulfilled. “Brother Konstantin,” said Georgy, “if you want Vladimir, go and sit in it, and give me Rostov.” But Konstantin persisted in his approach. “You sit down in Suzdal,” he answered George. Five years passed like this. But then Prince Mstislav, a defender of Novgorod freedom, who spent his entire life in military pursuits, arrived from southern Russia to northeastern Russia. He traveled with his squad, made up of battle-hardened warriors, throughout Rus', and appeared wherever he was invited. For his fighting life, the people nicknamed him Daredevil. It was he who offered Konstantin his services against George, promising to do everything to put him in Vladimir, without taking away Rostov. Konstantin happily accepted the offer. A bloody battle took place near the city of Yuryev. For Konstantin there were Rostov and Novgorod residents with Mstislav and his squad; for George the people of Vladimir, Suzdal and Pereslavl. The former had both the number of troops and desperate courage, tested in many battles, on their side. George was defeated. But as a result, he did not become bitter and did not strive, as other princes did, to win at any cost. Submitting to the inscrutable destinies of God's Providence, which controls the destinies of kingdoms and peoples, he went out to the winners with gifts and said to them: “Brothers, I hit you with my forehead, you give me a belly and feed me with bread!” The council of Constantine and Mstislav assigned him the poor Volga Gorodets, or Radilov, as his inheritance. Before leaving Vladimir, George entered the cathedral church of the Mother of God, where he poured out all his sadness in prayerful cries before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, watered the coffin of his parent, who loved him so tenderly, with tears, and, reassured by faith and hope in God’s mercy, leaving the temple, he sat down with his family into the boat and went to his appointed destiny. Among the few friends who wished to accompany him was the Bishop of Vladimir, the virtuous Simon, who did not want to leave the prince in his misfortune and thereby proved the correctness of his actions.

Mstislav, having done his job, left, and Konstantin sat down in Vladimir. But his conscience was not calm, moreover, his health was greatly upset, he already felt the fragility of his life. And then, two or three months later, Konstantin asks George to come to Vladimir. The latter, having forgotten everything, goes to him. The brothers met each other, and everything old was forgotten between them. “Both were overwhelmed when they met,” says the chronicle, “and they stayed away for many hours.” They entered the cathedral church of Our Lady, where, at the grave of their parent, they sealed their reconciliation with prayer and kissing the cross. Constantine begged George to move to Suzdal and declared him heir to his throne. A year later, Constantine died and George sat on the throne of Vladimir for the second time.

On the throne of the Grand Duke, George took up the organization of his region. He endowed his brothers and nephews with cities, and they began to honor George instead of their father and act in everything according to his will. As a result, the internal life of our country flowed peacefully and calmly. For this, the people blessed God and Grand Duke George. Through the united actions of all the princes of the Vladimir principality, external enemies were pacified - the Bulgarians and Mordovians, who lived along the banks of the Oka and Volga rivers and often disturbed the Vladimir region with predatory raids. In three campaigns these enemies were completely pacified. And the Grand Duke, in order to forever secure the eastern borders of his principality from these enemies, himself went to the banks of the Volga and there, having carefully examined the area, founded the city, the famous Nizhny Novgorod, in 1221, populated it with inhabitants and created in it the temples of the All-Merciful Savior and Archangel Michael *. The inhabitants of this city formerly reverently revered their founder**.

*On the porch of the Archangel Cathedral before the revolution there was an inscription that began like this: “In ancient times, the land of Nizovsk was owned by idolaters - the Mordovians. The pious Grand Duke, now in spirit in God, and resting with his incorruptible body in the city of Vladimir, Georgy Vsevolodovich, in order to ease his possessions from the raids of neighboring peoples, founded a city at the mouth of the Oka River and named it Nizhny Novgrad and erected the first church in it in the name of Archangel Michael, wooden, and then in 1227, stone, cathedral.”

** Before the revolution, on the day of remembrance of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke George (February 4, Old Style), festive services were held in all churches of Nizhny Novgorod. In April 1875, at the request of citizens, an icon of St. George with part of his relics was sent from Vladimir to Nizhny Novgorod, which was installed in the Archangel Cathedral.

The success of the weapon and the internal tranquility of the country increased the glory of the Grand Duke. As a result, the princes of southern Rus' began to turn to George for advice and help in difficult circumstances.

Blessed George was always happy to serve his neighbors and never refused to help a just cause. Twice during his reign, the Russian high priests, the Kyiv metropolitans, visited him in Vladimir and blessed him for the improvement of the church, for the splendor of the churches of God and the pious life of his subjects. Metropolitan Kirill, during his stay in Vladimir in 1225, in place of the deceased virtuous Simon, ordained the abbot of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery, Mitrofan, as Bishop of Vladimir, Suzdal and Pereslavl. The event was hitherto unprecedented in Vladimir! But the piety of Grand Duke George was especially expressed by the fact that, at his command, the holy relics of the martyr Abraham, who suffered a martyrdom from his fellow citizens for the zealous spread of the Christian faith among them, were transferred from the Bulgarian land to the city of Vladimir. The Lord God glorified his faithful servant for his pious zeal for the glory of God, and from the very first day the martyr’s grave was marked by heavenly signs and wonders. Georgy Vsevolodovich wished to have holy relics in Vladimir. The Bulgarians did not refuse him this. And so on March 9, 1230, on the day of remembrance of the 40 martyrs, Bishop Mitrofan and all the clergy of Vladimir, the Grand Duke and the inhabitants of the city with great honor met the holy relics outside the city, and with the singing of church songs they brought them into the city and laid them in the women’s monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos .

Rumors about the piety of the Grand Duke of Vladimir reached Rome and Pope Gregory IX tried to seduce him into Latinism. But Georgy Vsevolodovich was born in the Orthodox faith and remained in it until his death, despite the most difficult circumstances that God destined him to experience in the last days of his life.

Saint George did not see many bright days during his entire life. But her last days represent a whole series of suffering, both physical and mental. Through many sorrows the Lord God led His faithful servant to eternal bliss. The first years of his second reign on the throne of Vladimir apparently promised complete prosperity for the country. There were no princely feuds, which so cruelly tore apart southern Russia, or attacks from external enemies pacified by the weapons of Prince George. But this apparent prosperity was only the calm before the storm. Terrible signs, repeated from time to time in nature, served as harbingers of future disasters. So, in the summer of 1223 there was a terrible drought throughout the Vladimir region. Forests and swamps were burning; the air was filled with such darkness and smoke that birds fell to the ground and animals from the forests fled to cities and villages, and there was fear and horror on everyone. Terrible comets in the same years 1223 and 1225 frightened the superstitious people. But the year 1230 was especially difficult and menacing for most of Rus'.

On May 3, an unprecedented natural phenomenon occurred in Vladimir. During the liturgy, while the Gospel was being read in the cathedral church, such a strong earthquake occurred that many churches cracked, the icons in them moved out of place, chandeliers and candlesticks swayed from side to side; the people, thinking in horror “as if a head had gone around them,” fell to the ground. That same month, on the 10th and 14th, terrible solar eclipses were visible in the sky. Not for good, - said the frightened people, - but for evil, God is showing us a sign of our sins. And indeed, a menacing cloud was already approaching the Russian horizon. The terrible news spread throughout Russia that the hordes of Tatars, who approached Southern Russia in 1223 and disappeared to God knows where after the Battle of Kalka, were again approaching Russian borders. From the end of 1236, rumors about the Tatars began to reach the city of Vladimir, each more terrible than the other: they captured the Bulgarian land (on the territory of modern Tatarstan), its inhabitants were either killed or taken prisoner; now they are already in the Mordovian land (the current Penza and Nizhny Novgorod regions) and are moving their forces closer and closer to the possessions of Rus'. Finally, an embassy from Ryazan comes to Vladimir to Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich with a request for help against the Tatars who were advancing on the Ryazan principality.

Tatars feasting after the Battle of the Kalka River

The Grand Duke and the people of Vladimir had great thoughts about this embassy: to give help or to refuse it. We decided to refuse, in order to save our strength for our fight against the enemy, just in case. “There is bewilderment,” the chronicler notes on this occasion, “and threat, and fear, and trembling God brought upon us for our sins, and the wisdom of those who were able to build military affairs was quickly swallowed up, and strong hearts were converted into female weakness, and for this sake not a single from the Russian princes go to each other’s aid.”

Meanwhile, on December 21, 1237, the Tatars, after an evil battle, in terrible furies, captured Ryazan and rushed further to Kolomna, and from here it was not far to Moscow. Vladimir, the second son of Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich, reigned in Moscow at that time. Having heard about this movement, the Grand Duke of Vladimir sent an army to Kolomna, under the command of his eldest son Vsevolod and the battle-experienced governor Eremey Glebovich. Near Kolomna, for the first time, the Vladimir army met with a “beast-like enemy,” which they had hitherto known only from rumors. She entered the battle undaunted, but could not defeat the numerous enemy. Most of the soldiers, together with the governor Eremey Glebovich, fell under the blows of Tatar swords. Vsevolod and his small retinue barely escaped to Vladimir, where he told his parent about the sad outcome of his battle. Having taken Kolomna, the Tatars, without stopping, moved on to Vladimir. Moscow, then still a small town, was burned by them, almost all of its inhabitants were killed; Vladimir Georgievich was captured and had to follow the horde, enduring all sorts of hardships and suffering along the way.

Georgy Vsevolodovich saw the hopelessness of his situation and understood that he could not defeat the enemy on his own: the united forces of all Rus' were needed to repel enemies as numerous as “locusts” and fierce as “demons.” But it was impossible to concentrate these forces in Vladimir. Batu quickly moved with his horde towards the capital of north-eastern Rus' and the allied troops could not keep up in time. And so the Grand Duke decided to accomplish an extraordinary feat for his homeland: he leaves his capital city and in it those closest to his heart - his wife, children, grandchildren - under the protection of a small squad, and he himself leaves for the banks of the City River, in the modern Yaroslavl region, to , uniting with other princes, unitedly repulse the enemy force. One of the Russian chroniclers touchingly describes the departure of the Grand Duke from Vladimir. Bishop Mitrofan and the boyars of Vladimir gathered in the grand-ducal palace. The Grand Duke was already in military attire, completely ready to set off; They prayed to God, the departing person received a blessing from the saint; farewells began with my wife, children, grandchildren and everyone present, tears flowed uncontrollably from everyone’s eyes and interrupted the words. Meanwhile, a squad and people were waiting for the prince in front of the palace. Accompanied by the bishop and relatives, hardly hiding his tears, the prince left the palace and headed to the cathedral church of the Mother of God; with a tearful cry he fell here before St. with the icon of the Most Pure One, entrusting his family and subjects to her intercession, he bowed to the tomb of his sovereign parent, was blessed again by the bishop, hugged those close to his heart for the last time, said the last “forgiveness” to the people and left the church. People's crying and sobbing accompanied the prince everywhere and did not stop until he left the city. “And there was great lamentation in the city, and no one could hear it, speaking to each other in tears and sobs.” Everyone seemed to have a presentiment that this was the last farewell to the Grand Duke, that they would no longer see him in this life.

Death of Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich. Rice. V. Vereshchagina

“On the 3rd day of Tuesday, the month of February, a week before Meat Empty,” this is how the chronicler begins the mournful story of the Tatar invasion of Vladimir, “a multitude of Chrestian bloodsheds came, without number, like the Pruz.” The residents of Vladimir tightly locked all the city gates and, with submission to the will of God, awaited their fate. The eldest children of the Grand Duke Vsevolod and Mstislav Georgievich, together with the experienced governor Pyotr Oslyadyukovich from the Golden Gate, observed the movement of the enemy and encouraged the frightened Vladimir residents. The Tatars initially avoided the battle and demanded surrender. They singled out a cavalry detachment from the whole horde, which they sent to the Golden Gate. “Where is Grand Duke Yuri, is he in the city,” was their first question to the people of Vladimir. But instead of answering, they shot arrows at their enemies. “Don’t shoot,” the Tatars shout, and they take Vladimir Georgievich out of the middle of the horde. “Do you recognize your prince,” they ask the residents of Vladimir. Indeed, it was not easy to recognize Vladimir: his face changed so much from severe bondage and heartache. The prince-brothers and the people could not help but cry, seeing him emaciated, pale, barely able to stand on his feet; but they tried to overcome sorrowful feelings so as not to show their cowardice to the proud enemy. The prince himself, despite the severity of his situation, convinced his brothers not to surrender the cities to the enemies. “Do not surrender the cities, my brothers,” he exclaimed to them. “It’s better for me to die before the Golden Gates for the Holy Mother of God and the Orthodox Christian faith, rather than be subject to their will over us.” The fierce barbarians, having heard this bold speech of Vladimir, immediately tore him to pieces, as soon as the unfortunate sufferer managed to say: “Lord Jesus Christ! Receive my spirit, that I may rest in Thy glory.”

The Tatars, seeing that the people of Vladimir would not surrender the city to them without a fight, positioned their main camp opposite the Golden Gate, while other parts of the horde in countless numbers surrounded the city on all sides. At the sight of such preparations by the enemy, the people of Vladimir had no hope of salvation: each of them expected either death or a shameful execution. But this did not make them fall into inactive despair: they were eager to fight the enemy and preferred an honest death on the battlefield to life in shameful slavery. “Brothers,” the princes exclaimed to their squad, “it is better for us to die before the Golden Gate for the Holy Mother of God and for the Orthodox faith than to be in the will of our enemies.” These words were to the hearts of all the warriors: everyone was eager to fight the enemy of faith and fatherland. Only the old governor Pyotr Oslyadyukovich opposed this. He saw that the haste of military action would bring more harm to the people of Vladimir than good, that the inevitable death of the squad would only sooner give the Tatars access to the city; he could hope that, by delaying the enemy’s offensive actions, he would give the Grand Duke time to gather an army and come to the rescue of the besieged. “The Lord brought all this upon us for our sins,” said the governor, “how can we go against the Tatars and resist such a multitude? It’s better for us to sit in the city and defend against them as much as possible.” They listened to the governors and, having lost all hope in their strength, turned to the consolations of religion. “And we began,” the chronicler narrates, “to sing prayers and sobs, shedding many tears to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother, Theotokos.”

Meanwhile, the Tatars, having surrounded Vladimir with their camp, singled out several detachments from the entire horde and headed for Suzdal. “And great evil happened to the Suzdal land, the kind of evil that had never happened since the baptism of Rus'.” The city was burned and plundered. Many residents were mercilessly killed: “Abbesses, priests and deacons, monks and monks, the blind and lame, and the deaf, then all the Tatars were cut down, and other residents, wives, and children were taken captive and in the severe frost had to follow the horde barefoot and uncovered, dying of filth.”

Icon of the Savior with falling saints. blgv. Prince Alexander Nevsky (in schema Alexy) and St. blgv. Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich

After the troops returned from Suzdal, Batu began offensive operations against Vladimir. On February 6, from morning to evening, the Tatars placed forests and vices (a type of battering guns) around the city and at night surrounded the entire city with tyn. Helpless citizens had no means of defense. The air was filled with the great cry of the people of Vladimir. Everyone, young and old, doomed themselves to martyrdom and hurried to prepare for it in a Christian way. Everyone confessed and received the Holy Mysteries; many even took monastic vows. Vladyka Mitrofan, the princes, governor Peter Oslyadyukovich, all the boyars and people saw that “their city had already been taken,” the chronicler narrates, “they burst into great tears and went into the cathedral church of the Most Pure Mother of God and tonsured into the holy angelic image from Vladyka Mitrofan the Grand Duchess and her sons, and her daughters, and her daughters-in-law, and the elders wanted, and there was a cry and a cry, and great weeping in the city.”

The sacred rite was performed in solemn silence. Famous Russians said goodbye to the world, to life, but, standing on the threshold of death, they still prayed to Heaven for the salvation of Russia, so that its beloved name and glory would not perish forever. On February 7, the meat-eating week, when the Holy Church, with the image of the Last Judgment, awakens her children to repentance, a terrible destruction and devastation of the city of Vladimir took place. Throughout the night, hardly any of the Vladimir residents closed their eyes to sleep. The morning service began in the cathedral church. The touching chants of that day were involuntarily intended to elevate the spirit of those praying and strengthen them with faith and hope for heavenly rewards promised to unshakable confessors of the name of Christ. It began to get light in the sky; but this morning was already the last for a large number of Vladimir residents. An attack on the city began from all sides; battering guns broke through city walls; stones fell from the Tatar camp “like rain” onto the city; the walls were already broken on four sides, and with wild fury, “like demons,” the Tatar horde burst into the city from the Golden Gate, and from Lybid - at the Orin Gate, and at the Copper Gate, and also from Klyazma - at the Volozh Gate. A terrible massacre of citizens and the devastation of the city began. For several hours, the part of the city between the Golden Gate and the Kremlin, called the New City, consisted of heaps of ash and piles of ruins, among which lay many lifeless bodies of Vladimir residents. Princes Vsevolod and Mstislav and the remaining citizens sought salvation in the middle city called Pecherny, the current Kremlin. Bishop Mitrofan, the Grand Duchess and her family, the Vladimir clergy, the boyars and many citizens sought refuge from fierce enemies in the Church of the Mother of God. Here, at the Divine Liturgy, the saint made a bloodless sacrifice for the last time for himself and his unfortunate flock. The words of prayer were interrupted by sobs. Everyone was preparing for death, putting aside all worldly cares. Guided into eternal life by the Holy Mysteries from the hands of their archpastor, the people of Vladimir calmly, with Christian hope, awaited their death. The bishop, the grand-ducal family, archimandrites and abbots, boyars and eminent citizens took refuge in the ascending floors (today's choirs), where a secret staircase led. Many citizens remained below the temple. The entrance doors were locked from the inside. The bishop blessed his flock for the feat of martyrdom. “Lord God of hosts, Giver of Light, sit on the cherubim,” he prayed, “stretch out Your invisible hand and receive Your servants in peace.”

Cover on the relics of St. blgv. Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich

At the very time when such a wondrous and touching spectacle was taking place inside, in those very solemn moments of Christian feelings, filled with selflessness and faith, the pagan Tatars, with vicious hatred of everything Christian and Russian, were agitated outside the temple. A handful of city defenders could not withstand the pressure of an entire horde. Princes Vsevolod and Mstislav and their friends fell from the Tatar swords. Through the corpses of their wild horde furiously burst into the Pecherny city and rushed to plunder temples and houses, destroying everything that could not be taken with fire and sword. The princely palace was looted and set on fire; court church in honor of St. Great Martyr Demetrius - the zeal of Grand Duke Vsevolod III - was deprived of all her treasures. The Cathedral Church of Our Lady was surrounded by Tatars from all sides. The strong locks of its doors could not withstand the pressure of enemies. With demonic fury, the pagans burst into God's temple, cutting everyone who was in it, and its wonderful copper floor was stained with Christian blood. Everything that was valuable in the temple: gold, silver, precious stones, vessels, clothes of the first Grand Dukes, which were kept in churches in memory of them, even liturgical books, became the property of predators. The miraculous icon of the Mother of God was stripped of all expensive decorations. But neither the rich booty nor the many victims of the inhumane beating satisfied the greed of the enraged Tatars. They were looking for the grand ducal family. Having learned that it was hiding on the sunken floors and, not finding a way to get there, they either with caresses or threats persuaded the Grand Duchess to surrender to them. But she and those who were with her decided to endure everything that would be sent from God, just so as not to fall into the hands of their enemies alive. Enraged even more by the failure, the barbarians piled up around the temple and dragged trees and brushwood inside it and set fire to it. Thus, from the heat and smoke, with prayer on their lips, they gave up their souls to the Lord and became partakers of the martyrdom: Bishop Mitrofan, the Grand Duchess with their daughter, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. The Church of Our Lady, burnt and dilapidated, remained a sad monument to these sufferers.

Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich received the sad news of the death of the capital city and his family in it in the last days of February. It is clear with what grief he was struck by this news. At once he lost everything: his family, his subjects, and his estate. He expected no better fate for himself. It was clear that he could not defeat his numerous enemies. Going to the banks of the City River, he hoped to gather an army so large that he would be able to resist the enemy. But his hopes were not destined to come true. His brother Svyatoslav came to him with his Yuryevites and his nephews - the Konstantinovichs with the Rostovites and Yaroslavlites; but in vain he waited for his brother Yaroslav with the Pereslavl people. “Lord, Almighty,” he exclaimed, having heard the sad news about what happened in Vladimir, “is this pleasing to Your love for mankind! Like Job, I have now lost everything; but I know that it was sin for our sakes that all this happened; may the will of the Lord be done, blessed be the name of the Lord from now to eternity. Oh me, Master! And why am I left alive alone, besides these new martyrs? Vouchsafe, Lord, for me to suffer for Your Holy Name, the Christian faith and the Orthodox people, and number me among Your holy martyrs.”

Cancer with the relics of St. blgv. Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich. Photo by V. Alekseev. 2009

Meanwhile, the barbarians did not have to wait long. The Grand Duke sent his vanguard, consisting of 3,000 warriors of proven courage, to reconnoitre the enemy; but the detachment, having retreated a little, returned with the news that the Tatars were already bypassing them. Georgy Vsevolodovich and his allies mounted their horses, they lined up their regiments in battle formation and fearlessly met the enemy. On March 4, a “great war and an evil slaughter” began, in which human blood flowed like water. But no matter how courageously the Russians fought the enemy, they could not defeat him. Strength prevailed over courage, and the battlefield was littered with the corpses of Russian knights. The Grand Duke shared the fate of his comrades: beheaded, he fell on the battlefield, “like a good warrior, like an invincible martyr for the faith and Orthodox Rus', like Christ a martyr.” His martyrdom followed at the age of 49 from birth. His reign lasted 24 years (from 1213 to 1217 and from 1218 to 1238).

The ancient biography writer depicts the virtues with which the blessed Grand Duke George adorned himself during his earthly life in the following words: “Being meek and humble, having mercy and providing for everyone, and loving alms and the church structure, he cared about this with all his soul, decorating with wonderful icons and all kinds of decorations; what about the priestly and monastic rank and giving them for their needs, taking blessings from them. Be bo Prince George truly, according to Job, an eye to the blind, a leg to the lame and a hand to the needy; and loving everyone, clothing the naked, calming the difficult, comforting the sad; offend no one in any way, but make everyone wise with your conversations; often reading the holy books with diligence, and doing everything according to what is written and not repaying evil for evil; verily, for God bestowed upon him the meekness of David, and the wisdom of Solomon; and filled with apostolic orthodoxy.”

Cancer with the relics of St. blgv. Prince Georgy Vsevolodovich in the Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. Photo by V. Alekseev. 2009

A short time after the unfortunate battle of the City River, Rostov Bishop Kirill, elevated to the rank of hierarch from the archimandrites of the Vladimir Nativity Monastery, returned from Bela Lake to his flock. His path lay not far from the site of the ill-fated battle. The archpastor went there to offer prayers to God for the repose of the souls for the faith and fatherland of the fallen soldiers. Among the many dead bodies, the bishop recognized the body of George by the grand ducal attire; but the body lay without a head. With reverence he took the body of the famous prince, brought it to Rostov and here, amid great weeping, singing the usual chants, he buried him in the cathedral church. After some time, the head of the Grand Duke was found and attached to his body.

In 1239, a year after the unfortunate battle of the City River, when the Tatar thunderstorm subsided for a while, the new Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich ordered the coffin with the body of his deceased brother George to be moved from Rostov to Vladimir. The honorable remains of the sovereign sufferer for faith and fatherland, as they approached Vladimir, were met by Bishop Kirill with all the clergy and monastics, the Grand Duke and his brother Svyatoslav and their children, all the boyars and all the inhabitants of Vladimir, young and old. At the sight of the coffin, there was general crying and sobbing, “and you couldn’t hear the singing in the crying and crying of the great one.” With funeral singing, they placed the coffin with the relics of the passion-bearer in the Church of the Mother of God, where his parents and other sovereign ancestors were already buried.

At the same time, the Lord, wondrous in His saints, deigned to console the sorrowful hearts of the Russian Orthodox people, revealing His saint in the blessed Grand Duke George. All who witnessed the transfer of his relics then saw “a glorious miracle worthy of wonder.” The holy head of George, once cut off by the sword of a barbarian, grew in the tomb to his honest body, so that not a trace of its cutting off was visible on his neck; but all the joints were intact and inseparable. Since then, from the holy body of the blessed Grand Duke George, according to the ancient biography of him, “many and various healings began to be carried out for all those who were sick and who came with faith.” But his relics remained hidden for a long time after that. 407 years after his death, the Lord was pleased to fully glorify his saint on earth. In 1645, January 5th, under the rule of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, under Patriarch Joseph of All Russia, the holy relics of Grand Duke George, found incorruptible, were transferred from a stone coffin into a rich, silver and gilded reliquary, arranged according to the vow of the Patriarch by his own treasury, in through which they, “remaining to this day, exude healing to the souls and bodies of those who worship them with faith.”

The shrine with the holy relics of the blessed Grand Duke George is placed in the Assumption Cathedral Church.

The celebration in honor of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke George is celebrated by the Church on February 17.

Text of the website of the Commission for Canonization of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese

An excerpt characterizing Vladimir Yaroslavich (Prince of Novgorod)

– What can we say about me? - said Pierre, spreading his mouth into a carefree, cheerful smile. -What am I? Je suis un batard [I am an illegitimate son!] - And he suddenly blushed crimson. It was clear that he made a great effort to say this. – Sans nom, sans fortune... [No name, no fortune...] And well, really... - But he didn’t say that’s right. – I’m free for now, and I feel good. I just don’t know what to start. I wanted to seriously consult with you. Prince Andrei looked at him with kind eyes. But his glance, friendly and affectionate, still expressed the consciousness of his superiority. – You are dear to me, especially because you are the only living person among our entire world. You feel good. Choose what you want; it does not matter. You will be good everywhere, but one thing: stop going to these Kuragins and leading this life. So it doesn’t suit you: all these carousings, and hussarism, and everything... “Que voulez vous, mon cher,” said Pierre, shrugging his shoulders, “les femmes, mon cher, les femmes!” [What do you want, my dear, women, my dear, women!] “I don’t understand,” answered Andrei. – Les femmes comme il faut, [Decent women] is another matter; but les femmes Kuragin, les femmes et le vin, [Kuragin’s women, women and wine,] I don’t understand! Pierre lived with Prince Vasily Kuragin and took part in the wild life of his son Anatole, the same one who was going to be married to Prince Andrei’s sister for correction. “You know what,” said Pierre, as if an unexpectedly happy thought had come to him, “seriously, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.” With this life I can neither decide nor think about anything. My head hurts, I have no money. Today he called me, I won’t go. - Give me your word of honor that you won’t travel? - Honestly! It was already two o'clock in the morning when Pierre left his friend. It was a June night, a St. Petersburg night, a gloomless night. Pierre got into the cab with the intention of going home. But the closer he got, the more he felt it was impossible to fall asleep that night, which seemed more like evening or morning. It was visible in the distance through the empty streets. Dear Pierre remembered that that evening the usual gambling society was supposed to gather at Anatole Kuragin's place, after which there would usually be a drinking party, ending with one of Pierre's favorite amusements. “It would be nice to go to Kuragin,” he thought. But he immediately remembered his word of honor given to Prince Andrei not to visit Kuragin. But immediately, as happens with people called spineless, he so passionately wanted to once again experience this dissolute life so familiar to him that he decided to go. And immediately the thought occurred to him that this word meant nothing, because even before Prince Andrei, he also gave Prince Anatoly the word to be with him; Finally, he thought that all these honest words were such conventional things that had no definite meaning, especially if you realized that maybe tomorrow he would either die or something so extraordinary would happen to him that there would no longer be any honest , nor dishonest. This kind of reasoning, destroying all his decisions and assumptions, often came to Pierre. He went to Kuragin. Having arrived at the porch of a large house near the horse guards barracks in which Anatole lived, he climbed onto the illuminated porch, onto the stairs, and entered the open door. There was no one in the hall; there were empty bottles, raincoats, and galoshes lying around; there was a smell of wine, and distant talking and shouting could be heard. The game and dinner were already over, but the guests had not yet left. Pierre took off his cloak and entered the first room, where the remains of dinner stood and one footman, thinking that no one was seeing him, was secretly finishing off unfinished glasses. From the third room you could hear fuss, laughter, screams of familiar voices and the roar of a bear. About eight young people crowded anxiously around the open window. The three were busy with a young bear, which one was dragging on a chain, frightening the other with it. - I'll give Stevens a hundred! - one shouted. - Be careful not to support! - shouted another. - I am for Dolokhov! - shouted the third. - Take them apart, Kuragin. - Well, leave Mishka, there’s a bet here. “One spirit, otherwise it’s lost,” shouted the fourth. - Yakov, give me a bottle, Yakov! - shouted the owner himself, a tall handsome man standing in the middle of the crowd wearing only a thin shirt open at the middle of his chest. - Stop, gentlemen. Here he is Petrusha, dear friend,” he turned to Pierre.

Architecture and relics of St. Nicholas Church

The St. Nicholas Kremlin Church is a striking example of Posad pillarless temples of the Baroque era. The main volume of the building is built in the form of a high quadrangle, covered with a hipped roof, on which rests an octagonal drum, topped with an onion-shaped dome of an exquisite baroque shape.

The high faceted bell tower adjacent to the refectory is made according to the traditional “octagon on quadrangle” type and is topped with a slender spire. On the eastern side, the main volume of the church is adjacent to a spacious altar apse room, covered with a concha (half-dome). The decor of the St. Nicholas Church is characterized by expressive plasticity, in which echoes of Russian patterning of the 17th century can be traced.

View of the northwestern side of the church

The list of relics of the St. Nicholas Kremlin Church includes ancient icons, such as the icon of the Savior, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and the miraculous image of St. Nicholas, written on a plank of plane wood. Currently, the St. Nicholas Church in Vladimir is not operational. The state library and planetarium, opened in 1962, are located within its walls.

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