At the end of the 14th century, Russian lands were under the yoke of the Tatar-Mongol Golden Horde. At this time, the largest battle took place during the entire invasion of the Tatar-Mongols - the Battle of Kulikovo. The Russian army was led by the Moscow prince Dmitry, who after the battle began to be called Dmitry Donskoy. Before crossing the Don, the prince met with a monk and asked him for a blessing before the battle. This monk, who blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy for battle, was St. Sergius of Radonezh, the founder of the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Since the 15th century, this greatest ascetic of Rus' has been revered by the Orthodox Church in the person of the venerable one.
Biography of Sergius of Radonezh
Place and time of birth
We know the life of Sergius of Radonezh mainly from his disciple Epiphanius the Wise, who compiled the biography of the saint. The future Orthodox saint was born into the family of boyar Kirill and was baptized under the name Bartholomew. Bartholomew's parents besides him had three sons. As for the date of birth of the monk, there is some disagreement. Some researchers call the year 1314, others - 1322. The village of Varnitsa, which is not far from Rostov, is considered to be the place of birth.
Venerable Sergius of Radonezh
From the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh
The 14th century became important in the history of Russia from the point of view of the formation of spiritual and political ideals based on Christian doctrine. It was the Christian worldview and sincere faith in God that did not allow Russian thinkers to fall into extreme despair. On the contrary, the disasters that befell Rus', interpreted as God’s punishments for sins, became an effective catalyst in the search for new ways of historical development of the people and the state. And it’s not for nothing that it was the XIV-XV centuries. are considered the time of the beginning of the heyday of Russian holiness. The basis of this flourishing was the spiritual life of Rus' itself. The monastic reform carried out by Metropolitan Alexy gave Rus' not only cenobitic monasteries, but also an incredible number of ascetics, who soon became spiritual examples, spiritual models for every Russian person. And the beginning of this unprecedented scale of asceticism in history was laid near Moscow, in the Trinity Monastery, by St. Sergius of Radonezh.
The asceticism of St. Sergius of Radonezh greatly influenced the entire Russian spirituality, for he introduced into it the most important spiritual and political ideas for the entire Russian national consciousness. First of all, Sergius of Radonezh, striving for “life in Christ,” introduced the idea and practice of “high living” as a real example of moral perfection, as a kind of universal ideal. In the oral testament of Sergius of Radonezh, recorded in his Life, all the main components of the idea of “high life” were expressed in a brief form: “purity of soul”, “humility and love”, “inner” spiritual freedom, unanimity.
And for the first time in Russian religious-philosophical and spiritual-political thought, St. Sergius gave a real, concrete sound to the idea of the Holy Trinity, transformed Christian dogma into a symbol of living unity, the unity to which all people living on earth should strive. Thus, the Holy Trinity is also a prototype of how human society in general and Russian society in particular should be built. In fact, the image of the Holy Trinity showed all of Rus' a possible and real way to save the state. Moreover, the Holy Trinity, in whose honor the monastery was founded on Mount Makovets, also became a symbol of the unity of Rus'. As subsequent history showed, it was from the Trinity Monastery that the Russian people, both in the 14th century and later, waited for impulses for the revival of unity in the Russian state, for these impulses came as if from the Lord Himself. And the icon of the “Holy Trinity”, painted by Andrei Rublev, a spiritual disciple of St. Sergius, was revered not as a work of art, but again as an embodied symbol of Divine unity.
The Monk Sergius of Radonezh became a true “lamp” for his contemporaries and descendants - a man who managed to subordinate his entire life to the Gospel commandments of love and like-mindedness. Therefore, the life path of the “great old man,” as he was called, also looks paradoxical - all his life he ran away from the society of people, and as a result he became its spiritual leader. Already during his lifetime, St. Sergius of Radonezh was considered as a symbol of the unity of Rus', embodied in a real person, which the Russian people so longed for in the 13th-14th centuries.
“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” is one of the best ancient Russian monuments of hagiographic literature. The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh was compiled in 1406–1419. his student Epiphanius the Wise, and in the second quarter of the 15th century. revised by Pachomius Logofet (Pachomius the Serb). “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” is a very complex monument. For example, the original edition of Epiphanius the Wise has not reached us, part of which was preserved in later adaptations by Pachomius the Serb. The authorship of Epiphanius the Wise today includes the Introduction, the Eulogy to Sergius, which usually ends the Life, as well as the first ten chapters of the Life of thirty. Five so-called “Pachomievian” editions are known. Moreover, the Epiphanian text was most fully preserved in late manuscripts of the 16th century. Epiphanius's text underwent the greatest alteration precisely in the part that tells about the most active time of Sergius's life. A special feature of the Life is the fundamental achronological structure of the Life, the author of which warns the reader that he sets out the events “not in a row - the front is back, but the back is in front.” This fact is largely related to the difficulties of interpreting the events described in the Life - in different editions many of them are tied to different dates. In modern science, discussions continue regarding the interpretation of certain places of the monument. But it should be noted that the most complete and reasoned modern biography of Sergius of Radonezh to date has been proposed in the works of N.S. Borisova.
Preparation of the text and foreword by S.V. Perevezentsev, translation by M. F. Antonova and D. M. Bulanin. Fragments from the Life are published in: Library of Literature of Ancient Rus'. T. 6. St. Petersburg, 1997.
<…> ABOUT THE BEGINNING OF THE IGUMANITY OF THE SAINT And our venerable father, Abbot Sergius, came to his monastery, to the monastery of the Holy Trinity. The brethren met him and bowed to the ground before him, filled with joy. He, entering the church and falling prostrate to the ground, prayed with tears to the invisible King, looking at the icon of the Holy Trinity, calling for help the Holy Mother of God, the servant of the throne of heavenly powers, the Forerunner and the wise apostles, - with them the first saints - Basil the Great, the Theologian Gregory and John Chrysostom (1), and all saints. Sergius asked them to pray, so that the right hand of the Almighty would give him a firm determination to stand at the throne of glory of the Life-Giving Trinity and touch with his hands the lamb of God, for the world, the slain Christ, the son of God.
And the blessed one began to teach the brethren, thus conveying what the Lord had said: “Try, brothers, to enter the narrow gate”; “The kingdom of heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away.” Paul says to the Galatians: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, good faith, meekness, self-control.” And David said this: “Come, children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” And, having blessed the brethren, Sergius said to them: “Pray, brothers, for me: after all, I am full of rudeness and foolishness. I received talent from the heavenly King, and I must answer for it, because I care about the flock of verbal sheep. The words spoken by the Lord fill me with fear: “If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea.” How much worse will it be for him who drowns many souls because of his folly! Will I be able to boldly say: here I am and the children you gave me, Lord! Will I hear this divine voice of the high and low shepherd, the great Lord, speaking out of the kindness of his heart: “Good servant, faithful! Enter into the joy of your master?"
So he said, resurrecting in his mind the lives of the great luminaries who, while living in the flesh on earth, lived an angelic life, that is, Anthony the Great and the Great Euthymius, Sava the Sanctified, the angelic Pachomius, Theodosius (2), the creator of the monastic hostel, and others. The blessed one marveled at their life and morals - how they, being of the flesh, defeated incorporeal enemies, were like angels, and frightened the devil. Kings and people, amazed, came to them, those sick with various ailments were healed from them, they were faithful deliverers from troubles, and quick intercessors from death, on the roads and at sea they made the path easy, they generously gave to the needy, they were breadwinners for the poor, for widows and orphans were an inexhaustible treasure, as the divine apostle said: “They had nothing, but possessed everything.” Having their lives in his heart, the blessed one prayed to the Holy Trinity so that he could steadily follow in the footsteps of these reverend fathers.
Every day he served the Divine Liturgy, morning and evening prayers easily said - and for the humility of the whole world, and for the longevity of the holy churches, and for Orthodox kings, and princes, and for all Orthodox Christians. He said to the brethren: “We must accomplish a great feat in the fight against the invisible enemy: after all, he walks like a roaring lion, trying to tear everyone to pieces.” While instructing the brethren, he made few speeches, but he set a much greater example for the brethren with his deeds. <…>
ABOUT THE ABUNDANCE OF EVERYTHING YOU NEED <...> When this place was first set up, when few brothers lived here, when there were few people coming and bringing everything necessary, then there was often a shortage of necessary things, so that many times in the morning there was not enough bread . And who can list all the hardships that our reverend father Sergius experienced? At first, when the construction of this place began, sometimes there was no bread, flour, wheat, or any food; sometimes there was no butter, salt, or any food supplies; sometimes there was no wine to serve mass, and no incense to burn incense; sometimes there was no wax to make candles, and the monks sang matins at night, without candles, but only lit themselves with a splinter of birch or pine, and so the canons were forced to sing or read from books, and so they performed their night services. The Monk Sergius endured every need, and difficulty, and every poverty, and deprivation with gratitude, expecting great mercy from God.
One day such a test happened, because with the test comes the mercy of God: somehow the abbot had no bread and salt, and all food in the entire monastery was exhausted. And the reverend abbot had this commandment for all the brothers: if such a test ever happens - either there will be no bread, or all food will run out - then do not leave the monastery for this to some village or village and do not ask the laity necessary for food, but sit patiently in the monastery, and ask, and wait for mercy from God. As he commanded and commanded his brothers, so he himself did and endured, and remained three or four days without any food.
When three days had passed and the fourth was already approaching and it was getting light, Sergius took an ax and came to one of the elders living in his monastery, named Danilo, and said to him: “I heard, elder, that you want to build a canopy in front of your cell. And for this I came, so that my hands would not be idle, I will build a canopy for you.” In response, Danilo told him: “Yes, I really want to and have been planning to do this for a long time, but I’m waiting for carpenters from the village. I’m afraid to negotiate with you, lest you take a large fee from me.” Sergius said to him: “I am not asking you for a very large payment, but do you have any rotten bread, because I really want to eat such bread. I don’t ask for anything else beyond this, I don’t need any payment: I don’t even have that kind of bread. Don’t say, elder, that you will wait for another carpenter instead of me; Who will be a better carpenter for you than me?” Elder Danilo brought him a sieve of rotten bread, broken, and said: “If this is what you want, then behold, I willingly give it to you; but I don’t have any more than that.” Sergius answered: “This is enough for me, and this is more than I need. But just save your bread until nine o’clock, because before my hands have even worked, I don’t take payment.”
And having said this, he girded his loins tightly and began to work and hew from morning to evening. And he hewed all the boards, he also processed and erected the pillars, with God’s help he built the canopy in the evening and erected them. It was already late, in the evening, Elder Danilo again brought him a sieve of those loaves, payment for the work of his hands. Sergius took the bread and put it in front of him, and asked for a blessing in prayer, and began to eat bread and water, but there was nothing else - neither boiled, nor salt, nor drink; This was both lunch and dinner for him. Some of the brethren saw that smoke seemed to come from Sergius’s mouth when he ate bread like this. Then, leaning towards each other, they said: “Behold, brothers, what is the patience of this man and the abstinence of Sergius! After all, he ate nothing for four days, and on the fourth, only late with rotten bread did he satisfy and pacify his hunger; and he eats rotten bread not for nothing, but having received it at a great price.”
One of the brothers then grumbled against Sergius: after all, they had not eaten for more than two days. And the monks were indignant, left without food, and they came to Sergius, and they began to scold and revile him, saying: “Our bread has become moldy! How long should we not go to the laity to ask for bread? Here we looked at you, as you taught us; We listened to you and now we are dying of hunger. Therefore, early in the morning we will leave this place where we need food, and we will not return here again, unable to endure the deprivation and poverty here.” Not everyone, however, grumbled, but a certain brother, one of them.
Because of him, Sergius summoned all the brethren: seeing that they were weakened and saddened, the Monk Sergius wanted to correct their cowardice with his patience, and meek disposition, and gentleness. He taught them with the words of Holy Scripture, from the Old and New Testaments, saying: “Why do you mourn, brothers? Why are you embarrassed? Trust in God; after all, it is written: “Look at the ancient generations and see: whoever trusted in God was ever put to shame? Or who believed in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who was in fear of him and was abandoned? Or who called him and was not heard and was despised by him? For the Lord says: “Am I not the giver of food, and the bringer of grain, and the filler of barns, and the feeder of the whole world, and the nourisher of the universe, who gives food to all flesh, who gives food in its season, who opens my hand, satisfying all that live according to his good pleasure?” ? And in the Gospel the Lord said: “Seek and ask first of all for the reign of God and his righteousness, and all this will be added to you. Look at the birds of the air, which do not sow, do not reap, do not gather into barns, but the Heavenly Father feeds them: are they better than you, O you of little faith? Be patient therefore, for you need patience: with your patience save your souls; he who endures to the end will be saved.” And now you are grieving because of hunger, which happened to you for a short time as a test. But if you endure with faith and gratitude, then this test will bring you benefit and great benefit: for the grace of God is not given to everyone without testing, as the Ladder says: “There is no gold without testing; after sorrow we hope for joy, because joy follows sorrow: for in the evening,” it is said, “weeping may come, but in the morning joy.” And now you have a shortage of bread, and a shortage of all food today, and tomorrow you will enjoy plenty of all the food you need and an abundance of all food and drink: I believe that God will not forsake this place and those living here.”
And while Sergius was still saying this, someone suddenly knocked on the gate. The gatekeeper, quickly looking through the peephole, saw that they had brought a lot of necessary food; out of joy - after all, he was hungry - he did not open the gate, but, turning around, quickly ran and appeared to the Monk Sergius, saying: “Father! Bless those who brought bread! Thanks to your prayers, we received a lot of food we needed, and all of it is at the gate.” The monk ordered: “Open the gate quickly so that people can come inside.” When they opened the gates, they saw food brought to the monastery on a cart and in baskets. And the brothers glorified God, who had sent them this food and the amazing supper prepared on earth to feed them and satisfy the hungry souls, to satisfy them in the day of famine.
St. Sergius ordered the monks to call to the table those who brought food, and said to the monks this way: “You yourselves are hungry, but fill the well-fed to the full, feed those who feed you, feed those who feed you, and treat them and honor them: after all, they are worthy of treats and veneration.” . He himself did not immediately take the ready-made food brought to him, although he was very hungry, but first he ordered the beater to beat, and he and his brothers entered the church to sing a prayer service, and sent great gratitude and praise to God, who does not leave for long his servants who suffer for his sake. . Coming out of the church, Sergius sat down with his brothers for a meal, and these freshly baked loaves, just brought, were placed in front of them. The monk stood up and prayed, and blessed, and broke, and divided the bread, and gave it to his monks, and they all ate, and were satisfied, and glorified God, who had so fed them. The breads were warm and soft, as freshly baked bread usually is. Their taste seemed somehow amazing and incomprehensible, as if they were filled, saturated and soaked with some kind of honey sweetness, as if they were baked and cooked with lean butter, as if some kind of aromatic spices were put in them, and the taste was lean, as it seems , and from this they had. Likewise, in ancient times, in the desert, God sent manna to the Israelites, about whom David the prophet said: “He sent manna to them by rain as food and gave them the bread of heaven. Man ate the bread of angels; God sent them food in abundance, and they ate and were filled with abundance.” And the food sent down truly seemed miraculous.
Thus God showed St. Sergius the fruits of his patience and abstinence, which he endured for four days. Suffering from hunger and thirst, struggling with hunger, he endured for God’s sake, as the prophet David said: “The patience of the poor will not perish until the end; eat the fruits of your labors; blessed are you, and good will come to you.” Having choked on these rotten breads, God sent him such delicious food: instead of rotten bread, not rotten, but freshly baked, tasty, aromatic, instead of decaying, incorruptible, earthly blessings. This is only in the present life, but in the future life God will send heavenly blessings instead of earthly blessings, and eternal pleasures instead of temporal blessings, as the apostle said: “Eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared.” those who love him and keep his commandments.” Not only Sergius alone, but everyone who loves God with all his soul, and fulfills his will, keeps his commandments, will receive a great reward. <…>
Since then, the monks have become accustomed to no longer grumbling in sadness and deprivation, if ever there was deprivation, or poverty, or a lack of necessary things. But they endured everything with zeal and faith, trusting in the Lord God, having our venerable father Sergius as a guarantee.
ABOUT THE POVERTY OF SERGIUS' CLOTHING AND ABOUT A CERTAIN PEASANT Some of the monastery elders told about the Monk Sergius that new clothes never covered his body, nor elegant German cloth, decorated - neither blue, nor crimson, or brown, nor many other various bright colors , nor white or fluffy and soft clothes: “Those who wear soft clothes,” it is said, “are in the houses of kings.” But only from simple cloth, that is, from homespun cloth, clothes, knitted from wool and from spun sheep fleece, and that simple, and not dyed, and not bleached, and not decorated, but only from coarse wool, that is, from cloth he clothes worn, shabby, altered more than once, and unwashed, and dirty, and soaked in a lot of sweat, and sometimes even with patches.
Sometimes it happened like this: once the brothers found some unsuitable cloth - both bad and ugly, so much so that it even faded - and all the brothers disdained it and turned away. And if some brother took this bag, then, holding it a little, he returned it and threw it away; So did the second, and the third, until the seventh. The monk did not turn away, but carefully took the cloth, blessed it, and began to cut and sew, and made a cassock, which he did not hesitate to put on. And he did not want to take it off and throw it away, but, on the contrary, began to wear it on his body with gratitude, until after one year it, having become dilapidated, tore and fell apart. From this you can understand how zealous Sergius was in his humility if he walked in the vestments of a beggar.
After all, he usually had very bad clothes on, which he wore every day, so that if someone had not seen him, and did not know him at all, and looked at him somewhere dressed in such clothes, he would not have thought that it was Abbot Sergius himself, but he would have decided that it was one of the monks, a beggar, and a wretched person, and a stranger, a worker, doing any kind of work. And to put it simply: he wore such poor clothes that they were poorer and worse than those of any of his monks, so that some who did not know him could become embarrassed and fall into error because of this; so it happened that many fell into deception and made mistakes, and I will try to tell you in detail about one peasant.
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Video “Prayer to St. Sergius of Radonezh”
In this video you can listen to an audio recording of a prayer to St. Sergius of Radonezh.
Childhood and first miracles
Bartholomew was sent to study at the age of seven. But knowledge was difficult for him; it was especially difficult for him to learn to read. At that time, his brothers quickly mastered literacy. Parents and teachers scolded Bartholomew and punished him, but this did not help matters.
And here the first miracle associated with the life of the saint happened. One day Bartholomew met a mysterious monk monk in a field. The old man, like an angel, stood and prayed with tears. Bartholomew waited until the end of the prayer and told the elder about his inability to learn to read and write. The elder prayed fervently and gave the youth a prosphora, which he ate. After this, the boy acquired the ability to quickly grasp new knowledge and soon surpassed his brothers in academic success. This story formed the basis of the painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” written by Mikhail Nesterov. Even in adolescence, Bartholomew began to observe all fasts; on Wednesday and Friday he did not eat at all, and the rest of the time he consumed only bread and water. At night the boy often did not sleep, but prayed.
Relocation to Radonezh
After some time, Bartholomew's family became very poor. This was due to the difficult years of the Tatar-Mongol invasion and unbearable exactions. The saint's family was forced to move from Rostov to Radonezh.
Monastic life
Already in adolescence, Bartholomew decided to devote his life to monasticism. His parents did not object to this, but asked not to take monastic vows until their death. Bartholomew did just that. He looked after his parents until their death.
After Bartholomew buried his parents, he gave his share of the inheritance to his brother Peter, and he himself went to the Intercession Monastery, where his brother Stefan was. Then, together with his brother Bartholomew, he went into the desert, where they cut down a cell and began to lead a hermit’s lifestyle. Over time, the brothers cut down a small church next to the cell and, after consulting, consecrated it in the name of the Holy Trinity.
However, soon Brother Stefan could not stand the hardships of a hermit’s life and left the hermitage, heading to Moscow. Bartholomew, on the contrary, remained in the desert to accomplish the feat of hermitage. Soon he received monastic tonsure from Abbot Mitrofan under the name Sergius.
Life of Sergius of Radonezh
Soon other monks who became his disciples begin to settle around the monk’s cell. After some time, the number of brethren increased to twelve people. The famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra originates from this monastic monastery.
Having become the abbot of the resulting monastery, the Monk Sergius forbade the monks to beg for alms. This became an immutable rule when all the monks lived only from their labor. At the same time, the abbot himself fully observed this rule all his life and set an example for the monks in this.
At this time, through the efforts of Sergius of Radonezh, the so-called dormitory was included in the way of life of the monasteries instead of the previously existing monastery.
However, not everything was smooth in the life of the monastery brethren. Due to disagreements that arose, the Monk Sergius left the monastery he founded and founded a small monastic monastery on the Kirzhach River, thus becoming the founder of the now existing Annunciation Monastery.
In addition to these two monasteries, Sergius of Radonezh is the founder of several more. In total, his disciples founded about forty monasteries, many of whose inhabitants subsequently became abbots of other monasteries. Thus, St. Sergius is rightfully considered the founder of monasticism in Rus'.
Service to the Fatherland
Saint Sergius of Radonezh made a great contribution to the formation of the unity of the then Rus'. In those difficult years for Rus', with quiet and meek words he penetrated into the most bitter and rude hearts of the warring princes, reconciled them among themselves and, most importantly, convinced them to recognize the primacy of the Moscow prince.
The great merit of the holy elder is that by the beginning of the Battle of Kulikovo, which was mentioned at the beginning of this story, the majority of Russian princes recognized the supremacy of the Moscow prince Dmitry, who received the name Dmitry Donskoy after the battle with the Mamai horde.
When Dmitry Donskoy's soldiers crossed the Don and saw Mamai's army, they stopped in indecision. And at that moment, a messenger appeared from Sergius of Radonezh, conveying to the prince the words of the venerable elder, who said decisive words: “Boldly go forth, Grand Duke, against fierce enemies, without fearing them at all, and the Lord God will certainly help you in this battle!”
Service to the Fatherland of Sergius of Radonezh
Old age and death of the monk
The Monk Sergius of Radonezh lived a great life and died at the age of seventy-eight. Six months before his death, he notified the brethren of the monastery about this. Having called the monks, he handed over the abbess to his student, giving him brief instructions, after which he became silent. Only just before his death, foreseeing his departure to God, he called the brethren to him and delivered his last instructions to them.
Summary of “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” by E. the Wise
Epiphanius the Wise “Life of Sergius of Radonezh” summary with adaptation of Church Slavonic vocabulary. The work dates from the 15th century:
The Monk Sergius was born in the (then) Tver land (village Varnitsy, near Rostov), during the reign of Tver Prince Dmitry, under Metropolitan Peter. The saint's parents were noble and pious people. His father's name was Kirill, and his mother's name was Maria.
An amazing miracle happened even before the saint was born, when he was in his mother’s womb. Maria came to church for the liturgy. During the service, the unborn child cried out loudly three times. The mother cried with fear. People who heard the scream began to look for the child in the church. When they learned that the baby was screaming from his mother’s womb, everyone was amazed and afraid.
Mary, when she was pregnant, fasted and prayed earnestly. She decided that if a boy was born, she would dedicate him to God. The baby was born healthy, but did not want to take the breast when the mother ate meat. On the fortieth day the boy was brought to church, baptized and given the name Bartholomew.
The parents told the priest about the baby's three-time cry from the womb. The priest said that the boy would be a servant of the Holy Trinity. After a while, the child did not breastfeed on Wednesday and Friday, and also did not want to feed on the nurse’s milk, but only on his mother.
The boy grew up, and they began to teach him to read and write. Bartholomew had two brothers, Stephen and Peter. They quickly learned to read and write, but Bartholomew could not. He was very sad about this.
One day his father sent Bartholomew to look for horses. In the field under the oak tree the boy saw an old priest. Bartholomew told the priest about his failures in his studies and asked him to pray for him. The elder gave the youth a piece of prosphora and said that from now on Bartholomew would be even better at reading and writing than his brothers and peers.
The boy persuaded the priest to visit his parents. First, the elder went to the chapel, began to sing the hours, and ordered Bartholomew to read a psalm. Unexpectedly, the boy began to read well. The elder went into the house, tasted the food and predicted to Cyril and Mary that their son would be great before God and people.
A few years later, Bartholomew began to strictly fast and pray at night. The mother tried to persuade the boy so that he would not destroy his flesh with excessive abstinence, but Bartholomew continued to adhere to his chosen path. He did not play with other children, but often went to church and read holy books.
The saint's father, Cyril, moved from Rostov to Radonezh, because at that time the governor from Moscow Vasily Kocheva was committing outrages in Rostov. He took away property from the Rostovites, and because of this, Kirill became poor.
Kirill settled in Radonezh near the Nativity Church. His sons, Stephen and Peter, got married, while Bartholomew strove for the monastic life. He asked his parents to bless him to become a monk.
But Kirill and Maria asked their son to accompany them to the grave, and then fulfill his plan. After some time, both the father and mother of the saint became monks, and each went to his own monastery. A few years later they died. Bartholomew buried his parents and honored their memory with alms and prayers.
Bartholomew gave his father's inheritance to his younger brother Peter, but took nothing for himself. The wife of his elder brother, Stefan, had died by this time, and Stefan became a monk at the Intercession Monastery in Khotkov.
At Bartholomew's request, Stefan went with him to look for a deserted place. They came into the thicket of the forest. There was also water. The brothers built a hut on this site and cut down a small church, which they decided to consecrate in the name of the Holy Trinity. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Theognostus of Kyiv. Stefan could not stand the hard life in the forest and went to Moscow, where he settled in the Epiphany Monastery. He became abbot and princely confessor.
Bartholomew called the elder abbot Mitrofan to his hermitage, who tonsured him into monasticism and gave him the name Sergius. After being tonsured, Sergius took communion, and the church was filled with fragrance. A few days later he accompanied the abbot, asking for his instructions, blessings and prayers. At this time, Sergius was a little over twenty years old.
The monk lived in the desert, worked and prayed. Hordes of demons tried to frighten him, but could not.
One day, when Sergius was singing matins in church, the wall parted and the devil himself entered with many demons. They ordered the saint to leave the hermitage and threatened him. But the monk drove them out with prayer and the cross. Another time, demons attacked the saint in a hut, but were put to shame by his prayer.
Sometimes wild animals came to the hut of St. Sergius. Among them was one bear, for which the saint left a piece of bread every day. The bear's visits continued for more than a year.
Some monks visited Sergius and wanted to settle with him, but the saint did not accept them, because life in the hermitage was very difficult. But still some insisted, and Sergius did not drive them away. Each of the monks built a cell for themselves, and they began to live, imitating the monk in everything. The monks served the Midnight Office, Matins, and the Hours, and they invited a priest to serve mass, because Sergius, out of humility, did not accept either the priesthood or the abbess.
When twelve monks had gathered, the cells were surrounded by a fence. Sergius served the brethren tirelessly: he carried water, chopped wood, and cooked food. And he spent his nights in prayer.
The hegumen who tonsured Sergius died. The Monk Sergius began to pray that God would give the new monastery an abbot. The brethren began to ask Sergius to become hegumen and priest himself. Many times she approached the monk with this request, and in the end Sergius and other monks went to Pereyaslavl to Bishop Afanasy so that he would give the brethren an abbot. The bishop ordered the saint to become abbot and priest. Sergius agreed.
Returning to the monastery, the monk served the liturgy daily and instructed the brethren. For some time there were only twelve monks in the monastery, and then Simon, Archimandrite of Smolensk, came, and from then on the number of monks began to increase. Simon came, leaving his archimandriteship. And Sergius’s elder brother, Stefan, brought his youngest son Ivan to the monastery. Sergius tonsured the boy under the name Fedor.
The abbot himself baked prosphora, cooked kutya and made candles. Every evening he slowly walked around all the monastic cells. If someone was idle, the abbot knocked on that brother’s window. The next morning he called the offender, talked with him and instructed him.
At first there was not even a good road to the monastery. Much later, people built houses and villages near that place. And at first the monks suffered all sorts of hardships. When there was no food, Sergius did not allow people to leave the monastery and ask for bread, but ordered them to wait for God’s mercy in the monastery.
Once Sergius did not eat for three days and on the fourth he went to cut a canopy for Elder Danil behind a sieve of rotten bread. Due to the lack of food, one monk began to grumble, and the abbot began to teach the brethren about patience. At this moment, a lot of food was brought to the monastery. Sergius ordered to first feed those who brought food. They refused and disappeared. It remained unknown who the person who sent the food was. And at mealtime the brethren discovered that the bread sent from afar remained warm.
Hegumen Sergius always wore poor, shabby clothes. Once a peasant came to the monastery to talk with the monk. They pointed out to him Sergius, who was working in the garden in rags. The peasant did not believe that this was the abbot. The monk, having learned from the brethren about the distrustful peasant, spoke kindly to him, but did not convince him that he was Sergius.
At this time, the prince arrived at the monastery and, seeing the abbot, bowed to the ground. The prince's bodyguards pushed the astonished peasant aside, but when the prince left, the farmer asked Sergius for forgiveness and received his blessing. A few years later, the peasant became a monk.
The brethren grumbled that there was no water nearby, and through the prayer of Saint Sergius, a source appeared. His water healed the sick.
One pious man came to the monastery with his sick son. But the boy brought to Sergius’ cell died. The father began to cry and went to get the coffin, but left the child’s body in the cell. Sergius' prayer performed a miracle: the boy came to life. The monk ordered the baby's father to remain silent about this miracle, and Sergius' disciple told about it.
On the Volga River there lived a nobleman who was tormented by a demon. The madman was taken by force to the monastery to Sergius. The monk cast out the demon. Since then, many people began to come to the saint for healing.
One late evening Sergius had a wonderful vision: a bright light in the sky and many beautiful birds. A certain voice said that there would be as many monks in the monastery as these birds.
The Greeks, envoys of the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to the saint. The Patriarch advised Sergius to set up a hostel. The Russian Metropolitan supported this idea. Sergius did just that. He gave each brother special obedience. The monastery gave shelter to the poor and wanderers.
Some brothers resisted Sergius' mentorship. During one of the services, Sergius's brother Stefan uttered several daring words against the monk, challenging his right to lead the monastery. The monk heard this and, slowly leaving the monastery, went to the Kirzhach River, set up a cell there and then built a church.
Many people helped him in this matter, a large brethren gathered. The monks of the Trinity Monastery abandoned by Sergius also moved to Kirzhach. And others went to the city to the metropolitan with a request for the return of Sergius.
The Metropolitan ordered the monk to return, promising to expel his opponents from the monastery. Sergius obeyed. One of his students, Roman, became abbot of a new monastery on the Kirzhach River. And the saint himself returned to the Holy Trinity Monastery. The brethren greeted him joyfully.
Perm Bishop Stefan loved Sergius very much. Heading to his diocese, he walked past the Trinity Monastery. The road ran far from the monastery, and Stefan simply bowed in its direction. Sergius was sitting at the meal at that moment and, although he could not see Stefan, bowed to him in response.
Sergius's disciple, the Monk Andronicus, had the desire to found a monastery. One day, Metropolitan Alexy visited Sergius, who spoke about his plan to found a monastery in honor of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in memory of deliverance from a storm at sea.
Sergius gave the Metropolitan Andronicus as his assistant. Alexy founded a monastery on the Yauza River, and Andronik became its mentor. Sergius visited this place and blessed it. After Andronicus, the Monk Savva became abbot, and after him Alexander. The famous icon painter Andrei was also in this monastery.
Fyodor, the nephew of St. Sergius, son of Stephen, also planned to found a monastery. He found a beautiful place for her - Simonovo, near the Moscow River. With the blessing of Sergius and the bishop, he built a monastery. Afterwards Fedor became bishop of Rostov.
Once, during a service at the Trinity Monastery, the monks saw an amazing man serving the liturgy with Abbot Sergius. This man's clothes shone, and he himself shone. At first Sergius did not want to talk about anything, but then he discovered that it was an angel of God who served with him.
When the Horde prince Mamai moved troops to Rus', Grand Duke Dmitry came to the monastery to Sergius for blessing and advice - should he oppose Mamai? The monk blessed the prince for the battle. When the Russians saw the Tatar army, they stopped in doubt. But at that moment a messenger from Sergius appeared with words of encouragement. Prince Dmitry began the battle and defeated Mamai.
And Sergius, being in the monastery, knew about everything that was happening on the battlefield, as if he was nearby. He predicted Dmitry's victory and named the fallen by name. Returning victoriously, Dmitry stopped by Sergius and thanked him. In memory of this battle, the Assumption Monastery was built, where Sergius' student Savva became abbot. At the request of Prince Dmitry, the Epiphany Monastery was built in Golutvino. The monk went there on foot, blessed the place, built a church and left his disciple Gregory there.
And at the request of Prince Dmitry Serpukhovsky, Sergius came to his estate and founded the Conception Monastery “on Vysokoye”. The disciple of the Monk Athanasius remained there.
Metropolitan Alexy, seeing his death approaching, persuaded Sergius to become metropolitan, but he, out of his humility, did not agree. And when Alexy died, Michael became metropolitan, who began to take up arms against Saint Sergius. Mikhail suddenly died on the way to Tsaryrad, which was predicted by Sergius.
One day the Mother of God appeared to the monk with the apostles Peter and John. She said that she would not leave the Trinity Monastery.
A certain bishop from Constantinople came to see Sergius. In fact, he did not believe that Sergius was truly a great “lamp.” Arriving at the monastery, the bishop became blind, but Sergius healed him.
One man was tormented by a serious illness. His relatives brought him to the monk, he sprinkled him with water, prayed for him, the sick man immediately fell asleep and soon recovered.
Prince Vladimir sent food and drinks to the monastery. The servant who carried all this tasted the food and drinks. When the servant came to the monastery, Sergius reproached him, the servant immediately repented and received forgiveness from the saint.
A rich man who lived near the monastery took a hog from a poor neighbor and did not give payment. The offended one complained to Sergius. The abbot reproached the covetous man, and he promised to improve, but then decided not to give the money. When he entered the pantry, he saw that the hog carcass had rotted, although there was severe frost. After this miracle, the covetous man repented and gave the money.
When Saint Sergius once served the Divine Liturgy, his disciple Simon saw how fire walked along the altar and overshadowed the altar. Before communion, divine fire entered the chalice. The abbot forbade Simon to talk about this until he, Sergius, died.
The monk foresaw his death six months in advance and entrusted the abbess to his beloved disciple Nikon. And he himself began to remain silent.
Before his death, Sergius taught the brethren. And on September 25 he died. A fragrance spread from his body, and his face was white as snow. Sergius bequeathed to bury him outside the church, with the other brothers. But Metropolitan Cyprian gave his blessing to place the monk in the church, on the right side. Many people from different cities - princes, boyars, priests, monks - came to see off Saint Sergius.
This was a summary of “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” with a retelling of the main events.
This is interesting: Jacob Chernorizets wrote “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” in the 11th century. This is one of the monuments of ancient Russian literature. A summary of “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” can be read on our website.
Veneration of the Reverend
We have not received documentary evidence about the time when they first began to venerate Sergius of Radonezh as a saint. Some church researchers say that St. Sergius became a Russian saint by himself, because of his glory. Church historians cite the text of a princely charter from the mid-15th century, in which he is called a reverend. Probably, this time should be considered the beginning of the veneration of Sergius of Radonezh in Rus'.
It is also interesting that, along with the Orthodox Church, St. Sergius is also considered a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. By decree of Pope Paul VI, his name was included in the Catholic martyrology.
The glorification of St. Sergius of Radonezh is celebrated:
- October 8, new style;
- July 18, discovery of relics.
Features of iconography
The most ancient image of Sergius of Radonezh, dating from the beginning of the 15th century, now resides in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
The Russian icon painter Andrei Rublev owns an icon with seventeen marks of life, which is now in the Rublev Museum. In the middle of this icon, St. Sergius is depicted in full growth, his right hand is folded in a blessing gesture, and in his left there is a scroll.
Temples in honor of the saint
The most famous is the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, founded by St. Sergius himself. It is located in the town of Sergiev Posad near Moscow. In total, in Russia there are (including chapels and temples with side chapels of St. Sergius of Radonezh) more than seven hundred churches dedicated to him. In Moscow alone there are about seventy churches of St. Sergius of Radonezh. If we count only the churches in which the main altar is dedicated to him, then there will be five such main churches in Moscow. There are churches in honor of St. Sergius abroad, for example in Johannesburg (South Africa) and the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonezh in Montenegro.
The holy image depicts the divinely inspired face of an elder
(for reading and studying in grades 7, 8)
Sergius of Radonezh is one of the holy leaders of the Russian land, according to historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, his name “shines as a bright constellation in the 14th century, making it the dawn of the political and moral revival of the Russian land. Sergius, with his life, the very possibility of such a life, made the grieving people feel that not all good in them had yet extinguished and froze... He opened their eyes to themselves.” “By the example of his life, by the height of his spirit, St. Sergius raised the fallen spirit of his native people, awakened in them confidence in himself, in his strengths, and inspired faith in his future.”
IN. Klyuchevsky speaks of admiration for the personality of Sergius for five centuries1 and characterizes the thoughts and feelings of pilgrims returning from the Sergius Lavra to all ends of the Russian land. “Even during the life of the Reverend, many people came to him from various countries and cities, among those who came were monks, princes, nobles, and ordinary people “living in the countryside.” Statesmen and ordinary people came to him with their thoughts and feelings at difficult turning points in people's lives, in sad or joyful moments of their lives. “And this influx did not change over the centuries, despite repeated and profound changes in the structure and mood of Russian society: old concepts dried up, new ones made their way or floated, and the feelings and beliefs that attracted people here from all over the Russian land still prevail today with the same fresh spring as they beat in the 14th century.” These feelings are an expression of the moral life of the people. They become fused with the image of Sergius; they are its nutritious soil; in them are his roots; tear it away from them - it will wither like mown grass. “By creating the memory of St. Sergius, we examine ourselves, review our moral stock, bequeathed to us by the great builder of our moral order.” His moral influence is great; the bright and strong impressions made by Sergius sank into the souls of the people. The great Russian ascetic delighted and surprised foreigners. The Bishop of Constantinople, having arrived in Moscow, exclaimed: “How can such a lamp appear in these countries?”
The Russian people of the 14th century recognized this manifestation of the spiritual influence of Sergius as a miraculous creative act. It “survived his earthly existence and poured into his name, which from a historical memory became an eternally active, moral engine and became part of the spiritual wealth of the people”2.
“Political fortress” is strong only when it rests on moral strength - this is the most precious contribution of St. Sergius to the living soul of the people, their moral self-awareness. This is modern even today.
Theological interpretation of the holy image
The holy image depicts the divinely inspired face of the elder. Clutched in his hand is a scroll, which is a reminder to the Christian of what is for him the meaning of his whole life - the salvation of the soul.
In front of the icon of the miracle worker, they cry out for the admonition of the rulers - after all, through his efforts, in the difficult times of unrest and the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the rebellious princes still found a common language and united against a common enemy. They ask in front of the icon for protection from enemy invasion, for the sending of peace.
Pavel Florensky called Sergius of Radonezh the Guardian Angel of Russia. And indeed, by kneeling before the icon of St. Sergius, every Christian becomes more merciful, tolerant and kinder, strengthens in faith, and learns to trust in our Lord in any circumstances.
Prayer to St. Sergius of Radonezh
O sacred head, venerable and God-bearing Father Sergius, by your prayer, and by faith and love, even for God, and by purity of heart, you have settled your soul on earth in the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, and have been granted angelic communion and the visitation of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the gift of miracles received by grace, after your departure from the earthly, especially drawing closer to God and sharing heavenly powers, but also not retreating from us with the spirit of your love, and your honest relics, like a vessel of grace full and overflowing, left to us! Having great boldness towards the all-merciful Master, pray to save His servants, His grace existing in you, believing and flowing to you with love. Help us, may our Fatherland be well-governed in peace and prosperity, and may all resistance submit under its feet. Ask us from our great God for every gift that is useful to everyone: observance of the blameless faith, establishment of our cities, peace, deliverance from famine and destruction, preservation from the invasion of foreigners, consolation for the afflicted, healing for the sick, restoration for those who have fallen, for those who have gone astray on the path of truth and return of salvation, strengthening for those who strive, prosperity and blessing for those who do good in good deeds, upbringing of infants, instruction for young people, admonition for unbelievers, intercession for orphans and widows, departing from this temporary life for the eternal, good preparation and parting words, blessed rest for those departed, and all of us are helped by your prayers vouchsafe, on the day of the Last Judgment, to be delivered from this part, and to be partakers of the right hand of the country and to hear that blessed voice of the Lord Christ: come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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