Russia, Moscow Folder, its rivers and roads.kmz

Russia, Moscow Folder, its rivers and roads

Moscow, Russia (Moscova River 4) 1147
Moscow; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Koloch, Commemorated July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11; Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Commemorated on July 18; Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (First of the three Feasts of the Savior in August), Commemorated on August 1 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God œof the PassionÂ, Commemorated on August 13 ; St Leucius of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on August 17 ; Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; Child Schemamonk Bogolep; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated on August 26; Uncovering of the relics of St Daniel the Prince of Moscow, Commemorated on August 30; Icon of the Mother of God of Pisidia, Commemorated September 3 ; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated September 7 ; Repose of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on September 16 ; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated September 27 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated October 6 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Icon of the Mother of God of Korsun, Commemorated on October 9; Translation of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to Moscow, Commemorated on October 13; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22 ; Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord, Commemorated on October 23 ; St Theophilus of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 26; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5 ; St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on November 6 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe JoyfulÂ, Commemorated on November 7 ; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28 ; St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated October 5 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas; Icon of the Mother of God "In Giving Birth, you Preserved your Virginity", Commemorated October 17 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; St Gurias the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated December 5 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10 ; Memorial Saturday of St Demetrius; Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord, Commemorated January 4; Icon of the Mother of God "the Joy of All Who Sorrow", Commemorated October 24 ; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza, Commemorated December 12 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21 ; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21 ; Apostle James, of the Seventy, the Brother of the Lord, Commemorated on January 4 ; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10 ; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated January 13 ; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated January 20 ; Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated January 21 ; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated January 23 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 25 ; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage my sorrow", Commemorated January 25 ; Venerable Theodosius the Abbot of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 28 ; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; Martyr Tryphon of Campsada Near Apamea in Syria, Commemorated on February 1 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated February 1 ; Venerable Cyril the Abbot and Wonderworker of Novoezersk, Novgorod, Commemorated on February 4 ; Icon of the Mother of God "Elets-Chernigov", Commemorated February 5 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17 ; Finding of the Relics of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, Commemorated on February 22; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Martyr Tryphon of Campsada Near Apamea in Syria, Commemorated on February 1 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; Icon of the Mother of God "the Seeker of the Lost", Commemorated February 5 ; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated February 5 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on February 9 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated February 12; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated February 14 ; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated February 14 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated February 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated February 19; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27 ; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28 Icon of the Mother of God œEnthronedÂ, Commemorated on March 2; St Arsenius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on March 2 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Finding of the relics of St Theodore the Prince of Smolensk, and Yaroslav, and His Children, Commemorated on March 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Blessed HeavenÂ, Commemorated on March 6; Icon of the Mother of God the Surety of sinnersÂ in Moscow, Commemorated on March 7; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; St Theognostus the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, Commemorated on March 14; Icon of the Mother of God of Lubyatov, Commemorated on March 19 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on March 31; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unfading BloomÂ, Commemorated on April 3; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius, Commemorated on April 14; Icon of the Mother of God of St Maximus, Commemorated on April 18; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Icon of the Mother of God œof the PassionÂ, Commemorated on April 30; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Murom, Commemorated on April 12; Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George, Commemorated on April 23; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Icon of the Mother of God of Constantinople, Commemorated on April 25; Icon of the Mother of God of œthe Unexpected JoyÂ from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; St Gerasimus of Boldino, Commemorated on May 1; Translation of the relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari, Commemorated on May 9; St Joseph the Metropolitan of Astrakhan, Commemorated on May 11; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Virginmartyr Glyceria of Novgorod, Commemorated on May 13; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14 ; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17 ; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Right-believing Demetrios Donskoy, Grand Prince of Moscow, Commemorated on May 19; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20 ; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Kalyazin, Commemorated on May 26 ; Translation of the relics of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 27 ; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Surety of sinnersÂ, Commemorated on May 29; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3; New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm, Commemorated on June 4; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Bassian the Monk of Pertomsk, Solovki, Commemorated on June 5; Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen, Commemorated on June 6; Venerable Cyril the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on June 9; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; Venerable Andronicus the Abbot of Moscow and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 13; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Moscow, Commemorated on June 13; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; St Tikhon the Bishop of Amathus in Cyprus, Commemorated on June 16 ; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16; Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga Or Medin, Commemorated on June 16 ; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in memory of Saving of Moscow from the Invasion of Khan Achmed, Commemorated on June 23; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; Holy Queen Dinar, Commemorated on June 30; St Photius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on July 2 ; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae, Commemorated on July 2; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3; Icon of the Mother of God of Galatea, Commemorated on July 4 ; Venerable Andrew Rublev the Iconographer, Commemorated on July 4; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7; Miracle of the Annunciation Icon of the Mother of God at Ustiug, Commemorated on July 8 ; Finding of the Relics of Saint Hilarion, Archbishop of Verey, Commemorated on July 11;

Russia, Moscow, 1223-1240, Mongol invasion of Rus, Conquest 1227
Moscow, 1223-1240, Mongol invasion of Rus, Conquest 1227; Icon of the Mother of God -œKursk-RootÂ, Commemorated on November 27; Icon of the Mother of God œElets-ChernigovÂ, Commemorated on February 5 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1331, Moscow Final Russian Capital after 1331
Russia; Russians; Tartars; Ukrainians ; Icon of the Mother of God "the Seeker of the Lost", Commemorated February 5 ; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Icon of the Mother of God of St Theodore, Commemorated on March 14; Right-believing Tamara, Queen of Georgia, Commemorated on May 1; Blessed Prince Gleb Andreevich the Son of St Andrew Bogoliubsky, Commemorated on June 20 ; St Menas, Bishop of Polotsk, Commemorated on June 20;

Russia, Moscow, 1380 or 1480 and Before, Mongol-Tartar Yoke, all except Novgorod and Tver
Mongol-Tartar Yoke before 1380, All of Russia except Novgorod and Tver; Repose of the Venerable Sergius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Radonezh, Commemorated on September 25 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1453, Moscow, Third Rome, after Fall of Constantinople
Moscow, 1453, Moscow, Third Rome, after Fall of Constantinople; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392); Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1517, Ninety Five Theses, Martin Luther, Protestant
Germany, 1517, Ninety Five Theses, Martin Luther, Protestant; Germany, 1503-1546, Martin Luther, Protestant ; Wittenberg, Germany ; Lutherhaus; MARTIN LUTHER, EDUCATOR, TRANSLATOR (18 FEB 1546); JAN HUS, PRIEST and MARTYR, 6 July 1415;

Russia, Moscow, 1547-1721, Tsardom, Fall of Constantinople thru Northern War
Moscow, 1547-1721, Tsardom of Russia, Fall of Constantinople thru Northern War with Sweden ; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1598 - 1613, Time of Troubles, Famine and Polish Occupation
Moscow, 1598 - 1613, Time of Troubles, Famine and Polish Occupation ; St Hypatius of Gangra, Commemorated November 16 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1700-1721, Great Northern War (with Protestand Sweden)
Moscow, 1700-1721, Great Northern War (with Sweden); Moscow Tsar, 1721-1725, Peter the Great; Icon of the Mother of God of Domnitsa, Commemorated on September 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1721-1917, Russian Empire
Moscow, 1721-1917, Russian Empire; Moscow, 1700-1721, Great Northern War (with Sweden); Moscow Tsar, 1721-1725, Peter the Great; Repose of St. Anthimus, Bishop of Georgia, Commemorated on September 14;

Russia, Moscow, 1917-1989, Russian Communism
Russia, Moscow, 1917-1989, Russian Communism;

Living Church in Communist Russia, 1917-1943
Living Church in Communist Russia; Living Church (Russian: Живая церковь, also called Renovated Church or Russian: Обновленческая церковь or Renovationism, Russian: Обновленчество) was a theoretical, reformed "Orthodox church" set up in the old Soviet Union by the Bolshevik government after it confiscated all property of the Church of Russia. It was disbanded in 1943 when Stalin was desperate to bolster the morale of the Russian people in the Second World War. church had almost no following among the people, and a number of clergy who had been in the movement in good faith repented and returned to the Orthodox Church. The few who tried to exist in the state run church of the atheistic government were used by the state against those faithful to Patriarch Tikhon. The government knew the renovation (reformation) would cause division and weakening to government opposition. As the leader of the party said, "I will smite the shepherd and scatter the sheep", Patriarch Tikhon was arrested and isolated from the populace and the Church was given to the wolves. But even by the late twenties, it became of little use to the state. legacy of this movement, is that now all change is seen to be renovation of the faith. The Living Church used modern Russian, the revised calendar, and non monastic Bishops. the revolution of February 1917, the Russia Orthodox Church saw opportunity for the church reform long hoped for by many churchmen but delayed by the tsarist regime. In the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918, called together in Moscow, the patriarchate that was abolished by Peter the Great, was restored. new patriarch, Tikhon, had an independent approach toward the communist regime that had overthrown the provisional government. Under the official pretext that there was starvation in large sections of the country, the government in 1922 decided to confiscate all church valuables. The patriarch cooperated, but insisted on control of some church property such as the sacred vessels, and other liturgical items. For this, Patriarch Tikhon was placed under house arrest and the offices of the patriarchate were closed. group of priests including Alexander Vvedensky and Vladimir Krasnitsky, organized a Temporary Higher Church Administration, which turned into a group aimed at deposing the patriarch and introducing radical church reforms. Some bishops supported the Temporary Administration, but mostly the support came from married clergy who were excluded from the episcopacy by canon law, progressive intellectuals, and the government. Renovated Church deposed Patriarch Tikhon at one of its councils, and reestablished the Holy Synod (originally proclaimed by Peter the Great in 1721 to replace the patriarchate) to rule the church. It introduced controversial reforms to the episcopate and to the liturgy. undoubtedly deceitful nature of the Church takeover was evident to the faithful. The Living Church struggled much against the patriarch and his followers. Living Church leaders cooperated with the secret police having hundreds of "Tikhonite" clergy executed as counterrevolutionaries. an apparent attempt to relieve the harsh pressures on the Church, Patriarch Tikhon publicly repented his anti-Soviet actions, and assured the regime of his loyalty. On June 25, 1923 he was set free. Worshippers flocked to the churches that had remained faithful to him, and the schism of the Living Church lost much ground. Only by government support did it keep going. schism collapsed completely during World War II, when Joseph Stalin changed his religious policies and allowed the election of a successor to Tikhon. Except for Vvedensky, the leaders of the Renovated Church repented, and its churches returned to the Patriarch.

Russia, Moscow, 1989-Present, Russian Nationalism
Russia, Moscow, 1989-Present, Russian Nationalism;

Russia, Moscow History Folder

Russia, Moscow, 800, 9th Century Folder, Cyprus Icon Story

Russia, Moscow, 841, Cyprus Icon, Stromyn girl h by icon voice, m miracles
Cyprus, 392 & 841, Cyprus Icon, appeared at Lazarus' tomb, copies at Moscow&Stromyn, Triumph of Orthodoxy Week the first sunday of lent, Arab shot arrow, hit her knee, he struck dead, 1841 Stromyn Icon girl healed by voice from icon, then more miracles; Cyprus; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated February 19; Cyprus Icon of the Mother of God. this icon the Mother of God is depicted sitting on a throne with the Divine Infant in Her arms. There is an angel on either side of Her. prototype of this holy icon manifested itself in the year 392 on the island of Cyprus at the tomb of Righteous Lazarus, the friend of Christ (October 17), and is kept there in a monastery. copies of the Cyprus Icon are at the Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral, and in the Nikolo-Golutvin church in the village of Stromyn, Moscow diocese (Commemorated on the Sunday of Orthodoxy). the week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the Greek Synaxarion has an account of an icon which is probably the Cyprus Icon. the island of Cyprus a certain Arab was passing by a church dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos. order to display his hatred for Christianity, the man shot an arrow at an icon of the Mother of God which hung by the gate. The arrow struck the Virgin’s knee, from which blood began to flow. Overcome with fear, the Arab spurred his horse and rode for home, but was struck dead before he could get there. In this way, he was punished for his impiety. days commemorating the Cyprus Icon are the Day of the Holy Spirit, April 20, and July 9. Some copies of the Cyprus Icon have additional names such as “Cleansing,” “Knife,” and “Hawk.” “Stromyn” Cyprus Icon became famous in 1841. An eighteen-year-old girl from Stromyn, a village not far from Moscow, was close to death from an illness. In a dream she saw the Cyprus Icon standing over the entrance to the church, and a voice came from the icon: “Take me into your home and have the priest serve a Molieben with the Blessing of Water, and you will be cured.” sick girl was brought to the church and finally located the icon after a long search. The girl obeyed the command of the Most Holy Theotokos, and after the Molieben she felt strong enough to carry the icon back to the church herself. Shortly thereafter, she was completely healed. The “Stromyn” Cyprus Icon continued to work miracles of healing, which the rector of the church reported to the holy Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (November 19).

Russia, Moscow, 1100, 12th-15th Century Folder, Mongol Yoke

Russia, Moscow, 1100-1199, 12th Century, Moscow Founded

Russia, Moscow, 1149-1151, Prince, Yuri Dolgorukiy, Murom, Founder of Moscow, Andrei's Father
Moscow Prince, 1149-1151, Yuri Vladimirovich, Murom, Founder of Moscow; St Peter, Tonsured David, the Wonderworker of Murom, Commemorated on June 25 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1200-1299, 13th Century, First Prince, Daniel of Moscow, First Monastery, Danilov

Russia, Moscow, 1223-1240, Mongol invasion of Rus, 1227
Moscow, 1223-1240, Mongol invasion of Rus; Icon of the Mother of God œKursk-Root, Commemorated on November 27; Icon of the Mother of God œElets-Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1223, Battle of Kalka River, at Mariupol, Mongol Victory
Battle of Kalka River at Mariupol; Mongol Tartar Invasion 1223-1241; Venerable Pambo the Recluse of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on July 18; Venerable Abramius the Archimandrite and Wonderworker of Smolensk, Commemorated August 21 ; Icon of the Mother of God "œof the Sign"Â, the "œKursk-Root"Â, Commemorated on September 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1227-1255, Tatar (Mongol) Horde of Batu Khan, Conquest of Russia
Tatar (Mongol) Horde of Batu (Batu Khan 1227-1255) Battle of Sita River ; Right-believing George the Great Prince of Vladimir, Commemorated on February 4; Icon of the Mother of God of St Theodore, Commemorated on March 14; Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George, Commemorated on April 23;

Russia, Moscow, 1230 & 1501, Yaroslavl, Rostov, both ruled like Christians 1230, under & to Horde, both incorrupt relics 1501
Russia, Rostov, 1230 and 1501, Yaroslavl, Rostov (Kotorosl River Mouth at Volga River 8), both ruled like a Christian in 1230, under and to the Horde, both incorrupt relics in 1501; Yaroslav; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Prince of Yaroslavl, Commemorated on June 8; holy Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich of Yaroslavl. their youth they lost their father, Vsevolod, who fell in battle with the Tatars (Mongols). Basil, the elder brother, succeeded to the throne. As prince, he had to face a multitude of concerns, tasks and sorrows. city and the villages were devastated from the invasion of the Tatars, many households remained without shelter and food, and he had to concern himself about everything and about everyone. this, it was necessary to gain the good will of the Tatar Khan, and the holy prince more than once journeyed for this reason to the Horde. suffered also a family misfortune, the loss of his only son. his tribulations the holy prince suffered without complaint, and he ruled the princedom, like a true Christian. did not enter into disputes with other princes, he concerned himself with the unfortunate among his subjects, and he built churches. But soon his life, filled with many sorrows, exhausted the strength of the prince, and he took sick and died in the year 1249. him holy Prince Constantine succeeded to the throne. He strove to imitate his but to his great dismay, everywhere he saw pillage and murdering done by the Tatars. 1257 the Tatars fell upon Yaroslavl itself. The prince came out to fight the enemy, but here in this battle he gave up his life for his country. the year 1501 the incorrupt relics of the holy princes were uncovered and now rest in the Yaroslav cathedral.

Russia, Moscow, 1237, First Battle with the Tartars at Kolomna (1237)
In 1237 the Tatar whirlwind broke upon Rus. In December Ryazan fell under Batu. Prince Yuri had decided not to send his forces over to provide assistance, since he was faced with the difficult defense of Vladimir. The Tatars offered him peace, and he was prepared to negotiate. But the conditions of the peace, tribute and vassal servitude under the Khan, were unacceptable. "glorious fight,"Â said the prince, "œis better than a shameful peace."Â The first battle with the Tatars was at Kolomna, and Vsevolod Yurievich commanded the troops, but they were cut to pieces. The enemy turned then towards Moscow, which they captured and burned. Yuri''™s other son, Vladimir, was captured while leading the defense of Moscow. Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21; Icon of the Mother of God "œElets-Chernigov"Â, Commemorated on February 5 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1238, Mologda, Vologda, Battle of Sit River
Mologda, Vologda, 1238, Battle of Sit River ; Right-believing George the Great Prince of Vladimir, Commemorated on February 4; Icon of the Mother of God of St Theodore, Commemorated on March 14; Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George, Commemorated on April 23;

Russia, Moscow, 1280-1326, Patriarch Peter, wonderworker, unifier, moved See fKiev, tVladimir 1308 to Moscow in 1325
Russia, Vladimir, 1308-1326, Patriarch Peter, moved See to Moscow in 1325, born iVolhynia, pre birth revelation oPeter's Blessedness, monk a12, science studies&obediences, Holy Scriptures, Iconographer, hiermonk, after years tSolitary place, cell aRata river, place later called Novodvorsk m, built church there, igumen there, never angry wGuilty monk, instructed by word&example, became famous afar, like Yuri oGalacia spiritual inst visits, like Met Maximus oKiev&Vladimir bringng instruction&getting icon which he prayed to till death, after Met M death see vacant, Abbot Gerontius wanted position, tConstantinople wPeter's (M's?) vestments, Archpastor staff, and M's icon painted by P, G Prince Michael oVlakimir agreed sent petition supporting G, but Prince Yuri oGlacia suggested tPeter go, he reluctantly went, God chose Peter by MOG appearing to Gerontius in sea storm and telling him this icon's painter shall be elevated Kiev's All Russia Met throne, Athanasius oConstantinople elevated Peter bestowing vestaments, staff, icon brought bGerontius, P tKiev 1308 then Vladimir then Moscow, many Tartar Yoke trials, changes in residences, his labors journeys for faith&morality, christian piety, unity, 1312 tHorde, decree protecting clergy, 1325 See tMoscow, prophecied deliverance Mongol Yoke, and that Moscow would become foremost, foundation Dormition Cathedral 1326, P died same year, buried there in crypt self prepared, many miracles there, many secret healings after death, saint i1339, Princes kissed his tomb's cross to show fidelity tPrince oMoscow, called tWitness Treaties, after Novgorod annexation by Ivan III, their archbishops consecrated aPeters grave, Russian hierarchs named chosen there, plus no significant state undertaking without prayers there, 1472&1479 relics tranfer feasts; Vladimir Patriarch, 1308-1325, Peter of Moscow; Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev[1] and all Russia (Russian: Пётр)(c. 1260- 20 December 1326) was the Russian metropolitan who moved his see from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325. Later he was proclaimed a patron saint of Moscow. In spite of the move, the office remained officially entitled "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'" until the autocephalous election of Saint Jonah of Moscow in 1448. Life[edit] Peter was born in Volhynia[1] (part of the Kingdom of Russia). His parents were Theodore and Eupraxia. At the age of twelve, young Peter entered a monastery where he learned iconography. The igumen of the monastery had St Peter ordained as a hieromonk. After years of ascetic labors at the monastery, the hieromonk Peter, with the blessing of the igumen, left the monastery in search of a solitary place.[2] He built a cell at the Rata River and began to pursue asceticism in silence. Afterwards, at the place of his ascetic exploits, a monastery was formed, called the Novodvorsk. The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of St Peter” was so called because it was painted by St Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow while he was igumen of the Ratsk monastery near Volhynia. During a visit to the Ratne[3] monastery by St Maximus, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus', Peter gave him the icon as a gift.[4] In 1308 king Boleslaw-Yuri II of Galicia nominated and the Patriarch of Constantinople appointed Peter to the vacant see of Kiev and all Rus'.[2] Mikhail Yaroslavich, Grand Prince of Vladimir and Tver, wanted to advance his own candidate for this position. Peter's nomination caused prolonged animosity between Mikhail and Peter to the point that the latter had to ask for protection from the Prince of Moscow in 1325. Peter travelled to Constantinople where Patriarch Athanasius consecrated him as Metropolitan of Russia and bestowed on him the hierarchal vestments, staff and icon. Upon his return to Rus' in 1308, Metropolitan Peter arrived at Kiev after a year, and then proceeded on to Vladimir. During this time of Tatar (Mongol) authority Russia was in turmoil, and Peter was often obliged to change the place of his residence.[2] Peter transferred his metropolitan duties from depopulated Kiev to Vladimir. In 1325 Metropolitan Peter, at the request of Great prince Ivan Kalita (1328-1340), transferred the metropolitan cathedra-chair from Vladimir to Moscow.[5] The move strengthened the political position of Moscow and established it as the spiritual capital of fragmented Russia. After Peter's move to Moscow, the Cathedral of the Dormition and several other stone churches were built by Ivan Kalita in the Moscow Kremlin. The foundation of the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery in Moscow is ascribed to Peter. He also authored a few sermons and epistles. Peter died on 21 December 1326.[5] After his canonization by Metropolitan Alexis, his veneration was propagated all over Moscovy. Accordingly, many churches were dedicated to Peter the Metropolitan in Moscow and other cities of Russia. His feast day is celebrated on 24 August (the translation of his relics to the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow) and 5 October (in common with Metropolitans Jonah and Alexis) Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in Volhynia of pious parents, Theodore and Eupraxia. before the birth of her son, the Lord revealed to Eupraxia the preordained blessedness of her son. the age of twelve, young Peter entered a monastery. He successfully studied the book sciences of those times and eagerly fulfilled his monastic obediences. future saint devoted much time to an attentive study of the Holy Scriptures, he also learned iconography. The icons painted by Saint Peter were distributed to the brethren and to Christians who visited the monastery. of his virtuous and ascetic life, the igumen of the monastery had Saint Peter ordained as a hieromonk. years of ascetic labors at the monastery, the hieromonk Peter, with the blessing of the igumen, left the monastery in search of a solitary place. built a cell at the Rata River and began to pursue asceticism in silence. at the place of his ascetic exploits, a monastery was formed, called the Novodvorsk. church dedicated to the Savior was built for the monks who came to him. as igumen, Saint Peter guided his spiritual children, and never became angry with a guilty monk. he instructed the brethren by word and by example. virtuous igumen and ascetic became known far beyond the vicinity of the monastery. Prince Yuri of Galicia frequently visited the monastery in order to receive spiritual instruction from the holy ascetic. in his travels through the Russian land, Metropolitan Maximus of Kiev and Vladimir (December 6) visited the monastery with words of instruction and edification. received the blessing of Saint Maximus, Saint Peter presented him with an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, which he had painted. Maximus prayed before the icon for the salvation of the Russian land entrusted to him by God until the end of his days. Metropolitan Maximus died, the See of Vladimir remained for a certain time unoccupied. abbot named Gerontius, aspiring to become the primate of Russia, went to Constantinople with Saint Peter’s vestments, archpastoral staff, and the icon he had painted. Great Prince of Vladimir, Saint Michael of Tver (November 22), sent him to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a petition that he be appointed as Metropolitan of Russia. the suggestion of Prince Yuri of Galicia, Igumen Peter reluctantly went to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a petition that he be consecrated as Metropolitan. chose Saint Peter to nourish the Russian Church. Mother of God appeared to Gerontius during a storm on the Black Sea and said, “You labor in vain, for you will never be bishop. The one who painted this icon, the Rata igumen Peter, shall be elevated to the throne of Kiev.” words of the Mother of God were fulfilled. Athanasius of Constantinople (1289-1293) elevated Saint Peter as Metropolitan of Russia, bestowing upon him the hierarchal vestments, staff and icon, brought by Gerontius. his return to Russia in 1308, Metropolitan Peter arrived at Kiev after a year, and then proceeded on to Vladimir. chief hierarch was tested by many trials during his first years of guiding the Russian metropolitanate. beneath the Tatar (Mongol) Yoke the Russian land was in turmoil, Saint Peter was often obliged to change the place of his residence. this period the saint’s labors and concerns to affirm the true Faith and morality in the realm were particularly important. his journeys throughout the diocese, he incessantly instructed the people and clergy on preserving Christian piety. He also brought quarrelsome princes to peace and unity. the year 1312 the saint made a journey to the Horde, where he received a decree from Khan Uzbek, safeguarding the rights of the Russian clergy. 1325 Metropolitan Peter, at the request of Great Prince John Kalita (1328-1340), transferred the metropolitan See from Vladimir to Moscow. event had very great significance for all the Russian land. Saint Peter prophetically predicted deliverance from the Tatar Yoke and that Moscow would become the foremost city in Russia. his blessing, the foundation of the cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Moscow Kremlin was laid in August 1326. Peter fell asleep in the Lord on December 21, 1326. holy relics of the saint were buried in the Dormition cathedral in a stone crypt, which he himself had prepared. miracles were accomplished through the saint’s prayers. healings were even done secretly, which testifies to his profound humility even after death. veneration of the first hierarch of the Russian Church was affirmed and spread throughout the Russian land. In 1339, under Saint Theognostus (March 14), Saint Peter was numbered among the saints. Princes kissed the cross on the saint’s tomb as a sign of their fidelity to the Great Prince of Moscow. a particularly venerated protector of Moscow, Saint Peter was called on to witness the drawing up of government treaties. people of Novgorod once had the right of nominating their own bishop in the cathedral of Saint Sophia. their annexation to Moscow under Ivan III, they swore an oath that henceforth they would only consecrate their archbishops at the grave of Saint Peter the Wonderworker. it was at the grave of the saint that the first hierarchs of Russia were named and chosen. Russian Chronicles mention him frequently, and no significant state undertaking was initiated without prayers at the grave of Saint Peter. relics of Saint Peter were transferred in 1472 and 1479. In memory of these events, feastdays were established for October 5 and August 24.

Russia, Moscow, 1280-1340, Macarius tDeacon & Wonderworker otKiev Far Caves, 13th 14th Centuries, lack oCovetousness
Russia, Kiev, 1280-1340, Macarius tDeacon & Wonderworker otKiev Far Caves, 13th 14th Centuries, lack oCovetousness, fervor for Temple, scripture reading, fasting, frequently ill as a child so parents viwed give him monastery if healed; Kiev Far Caves - Berestovo Village ; Venerable Macarius the Deacon of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated January 19 ; Macarius the Deacon lived in the Far Caves of Kiev, is commemorated on January 19 because of his namesake, Saint Macarius of Egypt. Macarius lived during the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, was distinguished by his lack of covetousness. He possessed great fervor for the temple of God he continuously labored in reading Holy Scripture and in fasting. to Tradition, he was frequently ill as a child, his parents vowed that they would offer their son to the Monastery of the Caves if he were made healthy. his mildness and humility he earned the love of the brethren, taught him to read and to write. of his piety of life he was ordained as a deacon. Lord also granted him the gift of wonderworking. Macarius of the Far Caves is also commemorated on August 28. is a general commemoration of all the wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

Russia, Moscow, 1283-1295, Basil, Bishop of Ryazan, Murom Icon and Mantia Story
Russia, Ryazan, 1295, Basil, Bishop of Ryazan, Murom Icon and Mantia Story; Basil, Bishop of Ryazan and Murom: His memory is celebrated by the Church on June 10 and July 3 (the day of his death in 1295). On June 10, 1609 the holy relics of Bishop Basil at Ryazan were uncovered and transferred to the Dormition cathedral church. Basil I, Wonderworker of Ryazan, is mentioned in the Lavrentian Chronicles. In the ancient list of Ryazan hierarchs, he is mentioned as the fourth. (Basil II was consecrated as bishop in 1356 by Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow,). older tradition connects with Saint Basil the transfer to Ryazan of the wonderworking Murom Icon of the Mother of God (April 12). Saint Basil was at first bishop of Murom. But by the slander of the spirit of evil, the citizens rose up against him, unjustly accusing him of transgressions unbecoming an archpastor. Then the saint, after prolonged prayer, left for the River Oka, and spreading out on the water his bishop’s mantiya he stood upon it, holding in his hands the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Murom. A strong wind carried him against the current and after several hours he reached Ryazan, where he was received with reverence by the prince and people of Ryazan. during his lifetime Saint Basil was regarded a righteous and pious man. Long before his relics were uncovered at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Ryazan people cherished his memory and called him “their constant intercessor, helper in sorrows and travail.â€ To him most often they turned before setting out on journeys: seeking his help against problems on dry land, and to protect them from drowning in the water. about the year 1540 the monk Erazm Ermolaev wrote “An Account of Basil, Bishop of Ryazan and Muromâ€. Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Icon of the Mother of God of Murom, Commemorated on April 12; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; Synaxis of the Saints of Ryzan, Commemorated on June 10; St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1283-1303, P Daniel of Moscow, Nevsky's youngest, Churches Ms, first victory, humble, united rus
Russia, Moscow, 1283-1303, Prince Daniel of Moscow; father died when he was only two years old. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least valuable, Moscow.[1] Aleksandrovich (1261-“ 4 March 1303) was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and forefather of all the Grand Dukes of father died when he was only two years old. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least valuable, Moscow.[1] When he was a child, the tiny principality was being governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by his paternal uncle, Grand Prince Yaroslav has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, namely the Lord's Epiphany, and The Danilov Monestery (Saint Daniel Monestery): named in his honor, situated on the right bank of the Moskva River at a distance of 5 miles from the Moscow Kremlin, and founded, by Daniel, as the first monastery wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite no later than also built the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin in the 1280s, dedicated to the Great Martyr took part in his brothers (”Dmitri of Pereslavl and Andrey of Gorodets) ”struggle for the right to govern Vladimir and Novgorod, respectively. After Dmitry's death in 1294, Daniel made an alliance with Mikhail of Tver and Ivan of Pereslavl against Andrey of Gorodets of Novgorod. participation in the struggle for Novgorod in 1296 indicated Moscow's increasing political influence. Constantine, the prince of Ryazan, tried to capture the Moscow lands with the help of a Mongol force. Prince Daniel defeated it near Pereslavl. This was a first victory over the Tatars, though not a tremendous victory, but it was noteworthy as a first push towards freedom.[2] 1300, he went to Ryazan with an army and imprisoned the ruler of the Ryazan Principality "by some ruse", as the chronicle says, and destroyed a multitude of Tatars. To secure his release, the prisoner ceded to Daniel his fortress of Kolomna. It was an important acquisition, as now Daniel controlled all the length of the Moskva River. 1302 his childless nephew and ally, Ivan of Pereslavl, bequeathed to Daniel all his lands, including Pereslavl-Zalessky.[2] the Mongol occupation and internecine wars among the Rus' princes, Daniel created peace in Moscow without bloodshed. 30 years of ruling Daniel participated in battles only once.[1] According to legend, Daniel was popular and respected by his subjects for his meekness, humility and peacefulness. Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; the time of Great Prince Ivan III (1462-1505), Saint Daniel gave reminders of himself to his forgetful descendents. He appeared as a stranger to a youth who attended the Great Prince and said: Don’t be afraid of me. I was a Christian and the master of this place, my name is Daniel Prince of Moscow, and by the will of God I am here. Tell Great Prince John about me saying: you are enjoying yourself while you have forgotten me, but God has not forgotten me. this, the Great Prince ordered panikhidas for his ancestral princes to be sung in the cathedral. During the time of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the dying son of a barge merchant was healed at the grave of Saint Daniel. The Tsar, struck by the miracle, renovated the ancient Danilov monastery and established a yearly church procession. The Metropolitan led the way to the the holy prince’s tomb, and served a panikhida there. 1652 holy Prince Daniel was glorified by the uncovering of his incorrupt relics, which were transferred on August 30 to the church dedicated to the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. holy relics were placed in a reliquary “to the glory of the Holy Trinity and for the healing of the infirm. Metropolitan Platon of Moscow (+ 1812), in the Life of the holy prince which he compiled, writes: “The founder laid the foundation of Moscow’s grandeur, modestly making only a small path to it. Just as any edifice, which is not built with excessive haste, but rather with great artistry and skill, receives a particular firmness and stands indestructible for a long time; like a tall tree that grows for many centuries after beginning as a small sapling, then slowly becomes sturdier, with its branches spreading about far around, so this city was to grow from small, but firm beginnings, so that its first sparkle would not bedazzle the eyes of the envious, and so it would not be shaken or felled early on, before it had attained its full height. Thus did this founder prepare the great city given him, giving it a modest but steady radiance, undisturbed by any gusts of the wind. He left the great glory of its rise to his son Great Prince John, called Kalita.

Russia, Moscow, 1283-1305, Patriarch Maximus, Metropolitan of all Rus, his icon moved see to V
Vladimir, 1283-1305, Patriarch Maximus, Metropolitan of all Rus; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Icon of the Mother of God of St. Maximus, Commemorated on April 18;

Russia, Moscow, 1283-1305, Maximus, Met of all Rus, throne north, MOG stay Vladimir, need Yuri D peace Michael of T, & go Horde
Russia, Kiev, 1283-1305, Maximus, Metropolitan of all Rus, from Greece in 1283, to Kiev, Tartars there, to Briansk, to Suzdal, to Volhynia, terrible times throne north to Tver, prayer, MOG stay in Vladimir 1299, recognizing needs, need Yuri D of M peace w Michael of T, need Yuri D go to Horde, Michael of T throne of V, rules for fasting, lawful marriage, gilded over grave 1305, Maximov Icon 1299 from his vision, v on crypt ; Saint Maximus, Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on December 6; Maximus, successor of Metropolitan Cyril III of Kiev (1243-1280), was a Greek by birth, and he arrived in Rus, then suffering under the Mongol (Tatar) Yoke, in 1283 as Metropolitan. saint decided to remain at Kiev, but the city was completely devastated by the plundering incursions of the Tatars. Metropolitan Maximus withdrew to Briansk, and from there to Suzdal. During his visit to Volhynia the saint met with Saint Peter the igumen of the Rata monastery, (December 21), who would succeed him as metropolitan. 1295 the saint deposed James from the bishop’s cathedra at Vladimir and replaced him with Simon. these terrible times the throne of the Great Prince was first at Vladimir, then at Pereslavl, then at Tver. lest he insult the South Russian princes by moving to the north, the saint offered fervent prayers to the Mother of God, and She indicated Vladimir as the place of his residence. the year 1299 Metropolitan Maximus went to Vladimir, and in the following year he established Saint Theoctistus (December 23) as Bishop of Novgorod. 1301, Metropolitan Maximus was in Constantinople for a Patriarchal Council, where at the urging of Saint Theognostus, Bishop of Zaraisk, he set forth questions concerning the needs of the Russian Church to be resolved by the Council. the need to build up the strength of subjugated Rus, the saint urged Prince Yuri Danilovich of Moscow to make peace with the holy Prince Michael of Tver. also advised Yuri to journey to the Horde to receive the throne. 1304, the saint installed Saint Michael of Tver (November 22) upon the Great-princely throne of Vladimir. an example of intense spiritual life for others, Metropolitan Maximus was concerned about the spiritual growth of his proverbial flock. the saint established rules for fasting for other times in addition to Great Lent. He ordained it for the Apostles’, Dormition and Nativity lenten periods, and he defined when fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays is allowed (in Russia until the fourteenth century they did not fast on the Midfeast and Leave-taking of Pascha). holy metropolitan was particularly concerned with upholding lawful marriage: “I write, therefore, about this, so that you my children, born and newly-sanctified in the baptismal font, will take your wife from the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, for the woman is for the salvation of the man. If you cleave to them in promiscuity without marriage, does it benefit you? No, but rather beseech and implore them, whether young or old, to be married in the Church.” saint reposed on December 6, 1305, and his body was buried in the Dormition cathedral in Vladimir. A gilded covering was built over the saint’s grave. Maximov Icon of the Mother of God (April 18) was placed on the wall above the grave of the saint. It was painted in the year 1299 following a vision to Metropolitan Maximus. A description of this vision was inscribed on the left side of the crypt. Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Icon of the Mother of God of St. Maximus, Commemorated on April 18; Saint Maximus Icon is in the cathedral church of the city of Vladimir. Metropolitan Maximus (December 6), a Greek by birth, painted the Icon in 1299, as he was told to do in a vision while he slept in his cell. When St. Maximus arrived in Vladimir from Kiev, the Mother of God appeared to him in a dream and gave him an omophorion saying, "My servant Maximus, it is good that you have come to visit my city. Take this omophorion and shepherd the rational flock of my city." he awoke, he found he was holding an omophorion. The appearance of the Mother of God was regarded as a sign of approval for the transfer of the metropolitan See from Kiev to Vladimir. description of this vision was inscribed on the left side of his crypt. The Mother of God is shown in full stature, holding the Divine Child on her left arm. With her right hand, she offers the omophorion to Saint Maximus, who is standing on a pillar. The contrast in the size of their figures is meant to show the difference in their spiritual states. A variant Icon depicts Saint Maximus kneeling at the feet of the Theotokos. a golden coffer was made, and the omophorion was placed inside. This omophorion was kept in the Vladimir cathedral as a relic for 112 years. It was hidden by the cathedral’s doorkeeper Patrick in 1412 during an invasion by the Tartars, Patrick was killed when he refused to show them where the cathedral's treasures were hidden. The coffer has not yet been found. Icon, which measures five feet by two and a half feet, has been glorified by many miracles.

Russia, Moscow, 1290, Ustiug saved by Annunciation Icon w Procopius, Fool for Christ
Russia, Moscow, 1290, Ustiug saved by Annunciation Icon w Procopius, Fool for Christ; Ustiug Annunciation Icon of the Mother of God The “Ustiug Annunciationâ€ is a venerable icon, before which Saint Procopius, Fool-for-Christ (+ 1303) prayed with intense fervor on June 25, 1290 for the salvation of the city of Ustiug from the wrath of God. icon was painted by a Novgorod iconographer when the holy Prince Vsevolod-Gabriel (February 11) ruled in the city. In 1567, under Metropolitan Philip (January 9), the holy icon was transferred from Great Ustiug to Moscow and placed in the Dormition cathedral. At the present time it is located in the state Tretyakov gallery.

Russia, Moscow, 1293, Murom joined to and saved by Moscow by Daniel
Russia, Ryazan, 1293, Murom joined to and saved by Moscow by Daniel; 1272, Prince Daniel received as his allotted portion the city of Moscow and its adjacent lands. The holy prince built a church (and a monastery beside it) in honor of his patron saint, Saint Daniel the Stylite (December 11) on the banks of the River Moskva. this period, the Moscow principality was small and unobtrusive. While growing up, Prince Daniel strengthened and expanded it, not in unjust or coercive ways, but peacefully and with benevolence. It was a time of unrest. Fratricidal strife among the appanage princes was rife. Often bloodshed was averted, thanks to Prince Daniel and his incessant striving for unity and peace in the Russian Land. 1293 his brother, the Great Prince Alexander, with Tatars summoned from the Horde and headed by Diuden (“the Diudenev Hostâ€), laid waste to Russian cities: Murom, Suzdal, Kolomna, Dmitrov, Mozhaisk, and Tver. Prince Daniel decided to join them to Moscow to save their people from perishing, for they were not strong enough to resist. Murom; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1293, Kolomna joined to and saved by Daniel of Moscow
Russia, Ryazan, 1293, Kolomna joined to and saved by Daniel of Moscow; 1272, Prince Daniel received as his allotted portion the city of Moscow and its adjacent lands. The holy prince built a church (and a monastery beside it) in honor of his patron saint, Saint Daniel the Stylite (December 11) on the banks of the River Moskva. this period, the Moscow principality was small and unobtrusive. While growing up, Prince Daniel strengthened and expanded it, not in unjust or coercive ways, but peacefully and with benevolence. It was a time of unrest. Fratricidal strife among the appanage princes was rife. Often bloodshed was averted, thanks to Prince Daniel and his incessant striving for unity and peace in the Russian Land. 1293 his brother, the Great Prince Alexander, with Tatars summoned from the Horde and headed by Diuden (“the Diudenev Hostâ€), laid waste to Russian cities: Murom, Suzdal, Kolomna, Dmitrov, Mozhaisk, and Tver. Prince Daniel decided to join them to Moscow to save their people from perishing, for they were not strong enough to resist. prince braced himself for terrible destruction and pillaging. Standing up for his rights, Saint Daniel was compelled to come out against his brother near a place called Yurievo Tolchische (“Yurievo Threshing-Millâ€), but his desire for peace prevailed, and bloodshed was averted. Kolomna; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1292-1318, Mikhail oTver, G Prince, Nervsky's b, lost to Yury of M, while M was in Sarai
Russia, Moscow, 1292-1318, Mikhail of Tver, G Prince, Nervsky's b, lost to Yury of M, while M was in Sarai, born after monk father's death going to Horde, raised w love fGod by his mother, educated by Novgorod Archbishop, Tver Prince after bro Svyatoslav, 1285 built stone church, 1305 tHorde&appointed Great Prince, but Yuri oMoscow sought title, Yuri often aHorde&married Khan Uzbek's daughter& given GPrince title, Yuri began Civil war wTver, Tartar detachment wKavgadi heading, sent by Uzbek, but Tver wMichael defeated Yuri 1317, m captives incl K and Yuri's wife, wife dies, Yuri slandered M before Khan, Khan demands Michael appear Sarai and give account, M does knowing he will be killed, M farewell family&Tver, receives blessing, guilty unjust trial, death sentence, heavy wooden stocks, read Psalter wBoy turning pages, blessed Lord for allowing him to suffer for him, not deprived Christian solace, Orthodox priests, confession, Holy Mysteries, but Yuri&Kavgadi want revenge for defeat, sent assassins, tortured and cut out heart, Tartars & Orthodox see radiant clouds over body, wild animals no touch, everyone said M a saint unjustly murdered, bod to Moscow Kremlin, but wife Anna not aware, 1319 Yuri returns wMichaels yarlyk (trial edict) Tver boyars&Prince Constantine, 1319 Tver learns about M&hisMoscow burial, Anna asks Yuri permission cary M to Tver, Boyers sent, miracles arriving Moscow, incorrupt relics, Anna&sons went out toward Volga to meet wTears, relics transferred tTver 1320, local veneration soon after, 1606 M helped Russia riding out on white horse wSword forcing Poles Lithuanians to flee; Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver, Commemorated on November 22; Holy Right-Believing Prince Michael of Tver was born in the year 1272, the death of his father Great Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, the brother of Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23). his journey to the Horde, Prince Yaroslav fell ill, and was tonsured as a monk with the name Athanasios, then he reposed. ’s mother, Xenia, raised her son with fervent love for God. Michael was educated and studied under the guidance of an Archbishop (probably Clement) of Novgorod. took the place of his older brother Svyatoslav in the principality of Tver. 1285 Michael built a stone church in honor of the Savior’s Transfiguration to replace of the wooden church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. the death of Great Prince Andrew Alexandrovich (+1305), Michael went to the Horde and was appointed as Great Prince by right of seniority. Yurii of Moscow would not submit to this, however, because he sought the princely title for himself. He was often at the Golden Horde of the new Khan Uzbek, who had converted to Mohammedanism, and was known for his cruelty and fanaticism. Yurii knew how to please the Khan, so he married the Khan's sister Konchaka and was given the title of Great Prince. then he did not calm down, but instead began a civil war with Tver. Yurii’s army was a detachment of Tatars sent by Uzbek, with Kavgadi at the head. the men of Tver, led by Prince Michael, defeated Yurii on December 22, 1317. Many captives were taken, including Kavgadi, whom Saint Michael released, and the Moscow Prince Yurii's wife Konchaka, who died unexpectedly at Tver. Yurii slandered Prince Michael before the Khan, accusing him of poisoning Konchaka. Khan became enraged, threatening to destroy Saint Michael’s princely holding, and demanded that he appear to give an account. wishing to spill Russian blood in an unequal struggle with the Khan, Saint Michael went humbly to the Horde, knowing that this meant certain death for him. bade farewell to his family and the people of Tver, and received a blessing for his exploit of martyrdom from his Spiritual Father Igoumen John. “Father,” said Michael, “I was much concerned for the peace of Christians, but because of my sins, I was not able to stop this civil war. give me your blessing, so that if my blood is shed for them, they might have some respite, and so the Lord may forgive my sins.” unjust trial was held at the Horde, which found the Saint guilty of disobedience to the Khan, and sentenced him to death. removed him under guard and put him in heavy wooden stocks. As was his habit, Saint Michael constantly read the Psalter in prison blessed the Lord for allowing him to suffer for Him. asked not to be abandoned in his present torments. the hands of the holy sufferer were secured in the stocks, a boy sat before him and turned the pages of the Psalter. holy captive languished at the Horde for a long time, enduring beatings and ridicule. suggested that he flee, but the Saint replied, “Never in my life have I fled from an enemy. If I save myself and my people remain in peril, what glory is that for me? No, let it be as the Lord wills.” the mercy of God, he was not deprived of Christian solace: Orthodox priests attended to him, the Igoumens Alexander and Mark. week he made his Confession and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, thus receiving a Christian preparation for his death. the instigation of Prince Yurii and Kavgadi, who wanted revenge on Michael for their defeat, were sent into the encampment where the captive was held. November 22, 1318, they beat the Martyr severely and kicked him, then one of them stabbed Prince Michael with a knife and cut out his heart. royal Martyr’s naked body was exposed for abuse, and later they covered him with a cloth and placed him on a large board attached to a cart. Two guards were posted to watch the body that night, but fear overcame them and they fled. the morning, the body was not on the board. the previous night many, not only Orthodox but Tatars as well, had seen two radiant clouds shining over the place where the Martyr's body lay. many wild animals roamed the steppes, not one of them touched him. the morning everyone said, “Prince Michael is a Saint, and was unjustly murdered." the body of the martyred Prince was brought to Moscow and buried in the Kremlin's Monastery of the Savior in the Transfiguration church. Anna was not yet aware of her husband's martyrdom. year later, Prince Yurii returned from the Khan with Michael's yarlyk.1 He brought with him the Tver boyars and Prince Constantine from the Horde. year later, in 1319, the people of Tver learned the fate of their Prince, his death, and his burial in Moscow. Anna and her children asked Prince Yurii of Moscow for permission to carry the holy relics to Tver, and he barely gave his consent. boyars from Tver were sent to Moscow to bring Saint Michael's body back to Tver. they arrived in Moscow they witnessed a remarkable miracle by which the Lord was pleased to glorify His Saint: his body showed no signs of decay. boyars took the coffin with the Holy Prince's relics and carried them to Tver with much honor. the procession approached the city, Princess Anna and her sons Dēmḗtrios, Alexander and Basil went toward the Volga, and Bishop Barsanuphios, with all the priests of the cathedral and countless people, met the holy relics on the shore. was much sobbing, so loud that the choir could not be heard, and Princess Anna wept bitter tears. the request of his wife, Saint Anna of Kashin (October 2), and the people of Tver, the relics of Saint Michael were transferred to his native city, on September 6, 1320 they were placed in the church he had built in honor of the Lord's Transfiguration. veneration of the Holy Prince began soon after the transfer of his relics to Tver, his Church-wide glorification took place at the Council of 1549. November 24, 1632 the incorrupt relics of Saint Michael were uncovered. martyred Prince has often helped the Russian land. 1606 the Polish and Lithuanians besieging Tver repeatedly saw an unknown horseman ride out from the city on a white horse, with sword in hand, forcing them to flee. when they saw an icon of Saint Michael, they affirmed with an oath to Archbishop Theoktistos of Tver that the horseman was indeed Saint Michael. 1 ярлык: An emblem of Saint Michael's office as Great Prince. Tver, 1304-1318, Vladimir Great Prince, Mikhail of Tver; Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated on July 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated on August 8 ; Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2 ; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Zachariah the Ascetic of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on March 24; Venerable Gerontius the Canonarch of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1293, Suzdal joined to and saved by Daniel of Moscow
Russia, Vladimir, 1293,Suzdal joined to and saved by Daniel of Moscow; 1272, Prince Daniel received as his allotted portion the city of Moscow and its adjacent lands. The holy prince built a church (and a monastery beside it) in honor of his patron saint, Saint Daniel the Stylite (December 11) on the banks of the River Moskva. this period, the Moscow principality was small and unobtrusive. While growing up, Prince Daniel strengthened and expanded it, not in unjust or coercive ways, but peacefully and with benevolence. It was a time of unrest. Fratricidal strife among the appanage princes was rife. Often bloodshed was averted, thanks to Prince Daniel and his incessant striving for unity and peace in the Russian Land. 1293 his brother, the Great Prince Alexander, with Tatars summoned from the Horde and headed by Diuden (“the Diudenev Hostâ€), laid waste to Russian cities: Murom, Suzdal, Kolomna, Dmitrov, Mozhaisk, and Tver. Prince Daniel decided to join them to Moscow to save their people from perishing, for they were not strong enough to resist. prince braced himself for terrible destruction and pillaging. Standing up for his rights, Saint Daniel was compelled to come out against his brother near a place called Yurievo Tolchische (“Yurievo Threshing-Millâ€), but his desire for peace prevailed, and bloodshed was averted. Suzdal (Southern Valley) ; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1300-1399, 14th Century, Moscow the Capital of Rus, St Sergius, Black Plague

Russia, Moscow, 1303-1325, Prince Yuri D, of Moscow, Son of Dan, elevated to supreme p by the GH Khan
Moscow Prince, 1303-1325, Yuri of Moscow ; Danilovich, also known as Georgiy Danilovich ( in Russian) (1281-21 November 1325) was Prince of Moscow (1303-1325) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (from 1318). was the oldest son of Daniel, the first prince of Moscow. His first official action was to defend Pereslavl-Zalessky against Grand Duke Andrew III. Upon Andrew's death the next year, Yury had to contend the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir with Mikhail of Tver. While the Tverian army besieged Pereslavl and Moscow itself, Mikhail went to the Golden Horde, where the Khan elevated him to the supreme position among Russian princes. the meantime, Yury arranged the murder of Prince Konstantin of Ryazan. This unlucky ruler had been captured by Yury's father back in 1302 and had been incarcerated in Moscow since then. While Ryazan was shocked by such a barbarity, Yury annexed the key Ryazanian fortress of Kolomna to Moscow Duchy. He also captured Mozhaisk, which formerly belonged to the princes of Smolensk. By 1314, Yury secured backing from the Metropolitan Peter and formed an alliance with Novgorod against Tver. Now, he felt strong enough to challenge Mikhail of Tver in the Horde. 1315 Yury went to the Golden Horde and, after spending two years there, constructed an alliance with Uzbeg Khan. Yury's marriage to the khan's sister Konchaka, Uzbeg Khan deposed Mikhail and nominated Yury as the Grand Duke of Vladimir. in Russia with a large force of Mongols, Yury approached Tver. However, Yuri's army was defeated and his brother Boris and his wife were taken prisoners. he fled to Novgorod and sued for peace. At that time his wife, still held in Tver as a hostage, died unexpectedly. Yury availed himself of the confusion that followed and announced to the khan that she had been poisoned on Mikhail's order. The khan summoned both princes to Sarai and, after a trial, had Mikhail executed. returned to Russia, hated by other princes and populace alike, in 1319. He was now entrusted with the task of gathering all-Russian tribute to the Horde. Mikhail's son and successor, Dmitry the Terrible Eyes, still opposed him. In 1322, Dmitry, seeking revenge for his father's murder, went to Sarai and persuaded the khan that Yury had appropriated a large portion of the tribute due to the Horde. Yury was summoned to the Horde for a trial but, before any formal investigation, was killed by Dmitry. Eight months later, Dmitry was also executed in the Horde.[1] before his death, Yury led the army of Novgorod to fight the Swedes and founded a fort in the mouth of the Neva River. Upon signing the Treaty of Orekhovo in 1323, Yury continued eastward and conquered Velikiy Ustyug the same year. Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated July 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated on August 8; Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Uncovering of the relics of St Daniel the Prince of Moscow, Commemorated on August 30; St Stephen Miliutin of Serbia, Commemorated on October 30; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Repose of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 23; Venerable Schemamonk Cyril, the Father of St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on January 18; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1304-1318, Mikhail of T, Nervsky's n, lost GP to Yury, Novgrd, Khan's sister, k by Horde, incorrupt r
Tver, 1304-1318, Vladimir Great Prince, Mikhail of Tver; Yaroslavich (1271 - 22 November 1318), also known as Michael of Tver, was a Prince of Tver (from 1285) who ruled as Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 until 1314 and again from 1315–1318. was canonized and counted among the saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. Yaroslavich was the second son of Yaroslav III (Yaroslav Yaroslavich), the younger brother of Aleksandr Nevsky; he succeeded his elder brother Yaroslav as Prince of Tver in 1285. mother Xenia was the second spouse to Yaroslav III and is known as the saint Xenia of Tarusa. the death of Andrei Aleksandrovich (Aleksandr Nevsky's son and Yaroslav's nephew), Mikhail became the Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1304, as was consistent with the rota system of collateral succession that had been practised in Rus since the time of Yaroslav the Wise. He was confirmed in office by Tokhta, Khan of the Golden Horde.[1] as Grand Prince and Rivalry with Moscow[edit] he seemed secure in the throne, being the legitimate heir and having been confirmed by the Khan in Sarai, Grand Prince Mikhail suffered a series of setbacks as grand prince which led to him losing the grand princely office for both himself and, in some ways, ultimately for his descendants. He was, like most Grand Princes of Vladimir, accepted as Prince of Novgorod the Great in 1309,[2] but fought with Novgorod, going so far as to withdraw his lieutenants (namestniki) and cut off grain shipments into the city in 1312. Last Words, by Pimen Orlov he was on decent terms with Tokhta Khan, and initially with his successor, Uzbeg Khan (Mikhail paid homage on Uzbeg's accession to the throne in 1313 and remained in Sarai until 1315), he eventually lost influence to Yury of Moscow, who gained influence in Novgorod while the grand prince was away in Sarai. Mikhail did manage to finally take control of the city in 1316 with Mongol aid, but the following year Uzbeg Khan gave the yarlik or patent of office of the Grand Prince of Vladimir to Yury, who also married Uzbeg's sister.[3] granting Yury the iarlyk or patent of office, the Khan sent his army under the Mongol general Kavgadii to help Yuri in his struggle with Mikhail Yaroslavich. On 22 December 1317 Mikhail defeated Yuri at a village called Bortenevo (40 km from Tver). Mikhail captured Yuri's wife, who was the Khan's sister. When she died in Mikhail's custody, he was blamed for her death, although it seems unlikely that he would have killed her knowing how much it would hurt him politically for such little gain. He released Kavgadii, who returned to Sarai and accused Mikhail of murdering the Khan's sister, withholding tribute, and warring against his Mongol overlord. As a result, Mikhail was summoned to the Horde by the Khan and executed on 22 November 1318.[4] and the Church[edit] also alienated the Church, particularly Metropolitan Petr (ruled 1308-1326). When Metropolitan Maksim died in 1305, Mikhail nominated another candidate, but Petr was consecrated by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Petr sided with Moscow and opposed Mikhail on several occasions. In 1309, he appointed David as Archbishop of Novgorod and David was instrumental in the argument that led Mikhail to withdraw his lieutenants and cut the grain supplies to the city. In 1314, Novgorod called on Yury to be named grand prince and for Mikhail to be deposed. Thus the support of the Church aided Yury to Mikhail's detriment.[5] his having been unfavored by the Russian Orthodox Church during his lifetime, the Church later declared Mikhail a saint because of his piousness during his summons by the Khan which he knew was to certain death and because his relics, when transported to his hometown, were discovered to be incorrupt.[6] and children[edit] In 1294 Mikhail married Princess Anna of Rostov, daughter of Dimitry of Rostov. They had five children: Prince Dmitry of Tver (1299–1326) Prince Alexander of Tver (1301–1339) Prince Konstantin of Tver (1306–1346) Prince Vasily of Kashin (d. after 1368) Feodora of Tver Mikhail's sons and successors Dmitry the Terrible Eyes and Alexander were both also loved in the Horde, as was Alexander's elder son, Mikhail. Both Aleksandr Mikhailovich, and Mikhail Aleksandrovich briefly held the Grand Princely office (in 1326-1327 and 1371-1372 respectively)[7] but Mikhail's failure to defeat Yury of Moscow, followed by Aleksandr's role (real or perceived) in the Tver Uprising of 1327, led the Tver branch to lose the favor of the Khans, and the Danilovich - the Muscovite princes, held the title for all but two years after 1317. wife took the veil in Kashin's nunnery and died there on 2 October 1368. She is commemorated as Anna of Kashin by the Russian Orthodox Church and was canonized in 1677. Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated on July 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated on August 8 ; Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2 ; Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver, Commemorated on November 22; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Zachariah the Ascetic of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on March 24; Venerable Gerontius the Canonarch of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1305-1368, Anna of Kashin, Mike of T's wife, righteous sons, grave miracles, old Believers, 2nd glorification
Moscow, 1305-1368, Saint Anna of Kashin; Anna of Kashin (Russian: Ð¡Ð²ÑÑ‚Ð°Ñ [Ð±Ð»Ð°Ð³Ð¾Ð²ÐµÑ€Ð½Ð°Ñ Ð²ÐµÐ»Ð¸ÐºÐ°Ñ ÐºÐ½ÑÐ³Ð¸Ð½Ñ - Ð¸Ð½Ð¾ÐºÐ¸Ð½Ñ] ÐÐ½Ð½Ð° ÐšÐ°ÑˆÐ¸Ð½ÑÐºÐ°Ñ) (1280 – 2 October 1368) was a Russian princess from the Rurik Dynasty, who was canonized in 1650. was a daughter of Prince Dmitry Borisovich of Rostov and a great-granddaughter of Prince Vasily of Rostov. From her earliest years, Anna was brought up strictly Christian. She was taught the virtues of humility and obedience. Her teacher was Saint Ignatius, Bishop of Rostov (died 1288), who was noted for strict selflessness and pacifism. Like all royal daughters of her time, Anna learned different kinds of needlework. When the princess grew up, Princess Xenia of Tver, second wife of Grand Prince Yaroslav of Tver sent ambassadors to Rostov with a request to marry Anna to her son Mikhail. The embassy was successful, and Anna became the wife of Prince Mikhail. Anna's marriage to Prince Mikhail took place on 8 November 1294 in the Preobrazhensky cathedral of Tver. In celebration of this event, dwellers in the city of Kashin built the Saint Michael Church and the triumphal gates from the local Kremlin to the Tver road, naming the gates also "Mikhaylovsky." In the Kashin Uspensky cathedral a special Feast was established and celebrated annually on 8 November. Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, a daughter of the Rostov prince Demetrius Borisovich, in 1294 became the wife of the holy Great Prince Michael Yaroslavich of Tver, who was murdered by the Mongol-Tatars of the Horde in 1318, (November 22). After the death of her husband, Anna withdrew into Tver’s Sophia monastery and accepted tonsure with the name Euphrosyne. Later, she transferred to the Kashin Dormition monastery, and became a schemanun with the name Anna. She fell asleep in the Lord on October 2, 1338. Anna’s sons also imitated their father’s steadfast confession of faith in Christ. Demetrius Mikhailovich (“Dread Eyesâ€) was murdered at the Horde on September 15, 1325; and later, Alexander Mikhailovich, Prince of Tver, was murdered together with his son Theodore on October 29, 1339. at Saint Anna’s grave began in 1611, during the siege of Kashin by Polish and Lithuanian forces. There was also a great fire in the city which died down without doing much damage. The saint, dressed in the monastic schema, appeared to Gerasimus, a gravely ill warden of the Dormition cathedral. She promised that he would recover, but complained, “People show no respect for my tomb. They ignore it and my memory! Do you not know that I am supplicating the Lord and His Mother to deliver the city from the foe, and that you be spared many hardships and evils?â€ She ordered him to tell the clergy to look after her tomb, and to light a candle there before the icon of Christ Not-Made-By-Hands. the Council of 1649 it was decided to uncover her relics for general veneration and to glorify the holy Princess Anna as a saint. But in 1677 Patriarch Joachim proposed to the Moscow Council that her veneration throughout Russia should be discontinued because of the Old Believers Schism, which made use of the name of Saint Anna of Kashin for its own purposes. When she was buried her hand had been positioned to make the Sign of the Cross with two fingers, rather than three. However, the memory of Saint Anna, who had received a crown of glory from Christ, could not be erased by decree. People continued to love and venerate her, and many miracles took place at her tomb. June 12, 1909 her second glorification took place, and her universally observed Feast day was established. Her Life describes her as a model of spiritual beauty and chastity, and an example to future generations.

Russia, Moscow, 1306, St Peter Icon, given to St Maximus, MOG, bishop rather on one who painted this icon
+Ratne, Volhynia; Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of Saint Peter” was so called because it was painted by Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow (+ December 21, 1326) while he was igumen of the Ratsk monastery near Volhynia. During a visit to the Ratsk monastery by Saint Maximus, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia (+ December 6, 1306), Saint Peter gave him this icon as a gift. The Metropolitan took it to Vladimir at Klyazma, where his cathedral was then located. the death of Saint Maximus, the igumen Gerontius, who wished to become the new metropolitan, intended to take this icon to Patriarch Athanasius of Constantinople (October 24). The journey of Igumen Gerontius was delayed, however, by a terrible storm at sea. During this storm, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him and said: “The office of bishop will not be conferred upon you, but rather on the one who painted My Icon.” he came before Patriarch Athanasius, Saint Peter was already in Constantinople and had been consecrated as Metropolitan. The Patriarch gave the icon to Saint Peter with the words: “Take the holy icon of the Mother of God, which you painted with your own hands, for this reason the Ever-Virgin Herself has granted you this gift, and She foretold your path.” Peter took the icon to Vladimir, and when the metropolitan cathedral was transfered to Moscow in the year 1325, the icon was placed in the Dormition Cathedral above the table of oblation. Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in Volhynia of pious parents, Theodore and Eupraxia. Even before the birth of her son, the Lord revealed to Eupraxia the preordained blessedness of her son. At the age of twelve, young Peter entered a monastery. He successfully studied the book sciences of those times and eagerly fulfilled his monastic obediences. The future saint devoted much time to an attentive study of the Holy Scriptures, and he also learned iconography. The icons painted by Saint Peter were distributed to the brethren and to Christians who visited the monastery. of his virtuous and ascetic life, the igumen of the monastery had Saint Peter ordained as a hieromonk. After years of ascetic labors at the monastery, the hieromonk Peter, with the blessing of the igumen, left the monastery in search of a solitary place. built a cell at the Rata River and began to pursue asceticism in silence. Afterwards, at the place of his ascetic exploits, a monastery was formed, called the Novodvorsk. A church dedicated to the Savior was built for the monks who came to him. Chosen as igumen, Saint Peter guided his spiritual children, and never became angry with a guilty monk. Instead, he instructed the brethren by word and by example. The virtuous igumen and ascetic became known far beyond the vicinity of the monastery. Prince Yuri of Galicia frequently visited the monastery in order to receive spiritual instruction from the holy ascetic. in his travels through the Russian land, Metropolitan Maximus of Kiev and Vladimir (December 6) visited the monastery with words of instruction and edification. Having received the blessing of Saint Maximus, Saint Peter presented him with an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, which he had painted. Saint Maximus prayed before the icon for the salvation of the Russian land entrusted to him by God until the end of his days. Metropolitan Maximus died, the See of Vladimir remained for a certain time unoccupied. An abbot named Gerontius, aspiring to become the primate of Russia, went to Constantinople with Saint Peter’s vestments, archpastoral staff, and the icon he had painted. The Great Prince of Vladimir, Saint Michael of Tver (November 22), sent him to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a petition that he be appointed as Metropolitan of Russia. the suggestion of Prince Yuri of Galicia, Igumen Peter reluctantly went to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a petition that he be consecrated as Metropolitan. God chose Saint Peter to nourish the Russian Church. The Mother of God appeared to Gerontius during a storm on the Black Sea and said, “You labor in vain, for you will never be bishop. The one who painted this icon, the Rata igumen Peter, shall be elevated to the throne of Kiev.” words of the Mother of God were fulfilled. Patriarch Athanasius of Constantinople (1289-1293) elevated Saint Peter as Metropolitan of Russia, bestowing upon him the hierarchal vestments, staff and icon, brought by Gerontius. Upon his return to Russia in 1308, Metropolitan Peter arrived at Kiev after a year, and then proceeded on to Vladimir. chief hierarch was tested by many trials during his first years of guiding the Russian metropolitanate. Suffering beneath the Tatar (Mongol) Yoke the Russian land was in turmoil, and Saint Peter was often obliged to change the place of his residence. During this period the saint’s labors and concerns to affirm the true Faith and morality in the realm were particularly important. On his journeys throughout the diocese, he incessantly instructed the people and clergy on preserving Christian piety. He also brought quarrelsome princes to peace and unity. the year 1312 the saint made a journey to the Horde, where he received a decree from Khan Uzbek, safeguarding the rights of the Russian clergy. 1325 Metropolitan Peter, at the request of Great Prince John Kalita (1328-1340), transferred the metropolitan See from Vladimir to Moscow. This event had very great significance for all the Russian land. Saint Peter prophetically predicted deliverance from the Tatar Yoke and that Moscow would become the foremost city in Russia. his blessing, the foundation of the cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Moscow Kremlin was laid in August 1326. Peter fell asleep in the Lord on December 21, 1326. The holy relics of the saint were buried in the Dormition cathedral in a stone crypt, which he himself had prepared. Many miracles were accomplished through the saint’s prayers. Many healings were even done secretly, which testifies to his profound humility even after death. veneration of the first hierarch of the Russian Church was affirmed and spread throughout the Russian land. In 1339, under Saint Theognostus (March 14), Saint Peter was numbered among the saints. Princes kissed the cross on the saint’s tomb as a sign of their fidelity to the Great Prince of Moscow. a particularly venerated protector of Moscow, Saint Peter was called on to witness the drawing up of government treaties. The people of Novgorod once had the right of nominating their own bishop in the cathedral of Saint Sophia. After their annexation to Moscow under Ivan III, they swore an oath that henceforth they would only consecrate their archbishops at the grave of Saint Peter the Wonderworker. And it was at the grave of the saint that the first hierarchs of Russia were named and chosen. Russian Chronicles mention him frequently, and no significant state undertaking was initiated without prayers at the grave of Saint Peter. The relics of Saint Peter were transferred in 1472 and 1479. In memory of these events, feastdays were established for October 5 and August 24.

Russia, Moscow, 1308-1326, Peter, Metropolitan of All Russia, moved See from Kiev to Vladimir i1308, then to Moscow i1325
Russia, Vladimir, 1308-1326, Patriarch Peter, moved See to Moscow in 1325, born iVolhynia, pre birth revelation oPeter's Blessedness, monk a12, science studies&obediences, Holy Scriptures, Iconographer, hiermonk, after years tSolitary place, cell aRata river, place later called Novodvorsk m, built church there, igumen there, never angry wGuilty monk, instructed by word&example, became famous afar, like Yuri oGalacia spiritual inst visits, like Met Maximus oKiev&Vladimir bringng instruction&getting icon which he prayed to till death, after Met M death see vacant, Abbot Gerontius wanted position, tConstantinople wPeter's (M's?) vestments, Archpastor staff, and M's icon painted by P, G Prince Michael oVlakimir agreed sent petition supporting G, but Prince Yuri oGlacia suggested tPeter go, he reluctantly went, God chose Peter by MOG appearing to Gerontius in sea storm and telling him this icon's painter shall be elevated Kiev's All Russia Met throne, Athanasius oConstantinople elevated Peter bestowing vestaments, staff, icon brought bGerontius, P tKiev 1308 then Vladimir then Moscow, many Tartar Yoke trials, changes in residences, his labors journeys for faith&morality, christian piety, unity, 1312 tHorde, decree protecting clergy, 1325 See tMoscow, prophecied deliverance Mongol Yoke, and that Moscow would become foremost, foundation Dormition Cathedral 1326, P died same year, buried there in crypt self prepared, many miracles there, many secret healings after death, saint i1339, Princes kissed his tomb's cross to show fidelity tPrince oMoscow, called tWitness Treaties, after Novgorod annexation by Ivan III, their archbishops consecrated aPeters grave, Russian hierarchs named chosen there, plus no significant state undertaking without prayers there, 1472&1479 relics tranfer feasts; Vladimir Patriarch, 1308-1325, Peter of Moscow; Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev[1] and all Russia (Russian: Пётр)(c. 1260- 20 December 1326) was the Russian metropolitan who moved his see from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325. Later he was proclaimed a patron saint of Moscow. In spite of the move, the office remained officially entitled "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'" until the autocephalous election of Saint Jonah of Moscow in 1448. Life[edit] Peter was born in Volhynia[1] (part of the Kingdom of Russia). His parents were Theodore and Eupraxia. At the age of twelve, young Peter entered a monastery where he learned iconography. The igumen of the monastery had St Peter ordained as a hieromonk. After years of ascetic labors at the monastery, the hieromonk Peter, with the blessing of the igumen, left the monastery in search of a solitary place.[2] He built a cell at the Rata River and began to pursue asceticism in silence. Afterwards, at the place of his ascetic exploits, a monastery was formed, called the Novodvorsk. The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Of St Peter” was so called because it was painted by St Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow while he was igumen of the Ratsk monastery near Volhynia. During a visit to the Ratne[3] monastery by St Maximus, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus', Peter gave him the icon as a gift.[4] In 1308 king Boleslaw-Yuri II of Galicia nominated and the Patriarch of Constantinople appointed Peter to the vacant see of Kiev and all Rus'.[2] Mikhail Yaroslavich, Grand Prince of Vladimir and Tver, wanted to advance his own candidate for this position. Peter's nomination caused prolonged animosity between Mikhail and Peter to the point that the latter had to ask for protection from the Prince of Moscow in 1325. Peter travelled to Constantinople where Patriarch Athanasius consecrated him as Metropolitan of Russia and bestowed on him the hierarchal vestments, staff and icon. Upon his return to Rus' in 1308, Metropolitan Peter arrived at Kiev after a year, and then proceeded on to Vladimir. During this time of Tatar (Mongol) authority Russia was in turmoil, and Peter was often obliged to change the place of his residence.[2] Peter transferred his metropolitan duties from depopulated Kiev to Vladimir. In 1325 Metropolitan Peter, at the request of Great prince Ivan Kalita (1328-1340), transferred the metropolitan cathedra-chair from Vladimir to Moscow.[5] The move strengthened the political position of Moscow and established it as the spiritual capital of fragmented Russia. After Peter's move to Moscow, the Cathedral of the Dormition and several other stone churches were built by Ivan Kalita in the Moscow Kremlin. The foundation of the Vysokopetrovsky Monastery in Moscow is ascribed to Peter. He also authored a few sermons and epistles. Peter died on 21 December 1326.[5] After his canonization by Metropolitan Alexis, his veneration was propagated all over Moscovy. Accordingly, many churches were dedicated to Peter the Metropolitan in Moscow and other cities of Russia. His feast day is celebrated on 24 August (the translation of his relics to the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow) and 5 October (in common with Metropolitans Jonah and Alexis) Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21; Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in Volhynia of pious parents, Theodore and Eupraxia. before the birth of her son, the Lord revealed to Eupraxia the preordained blessedness of her son. the age of twelve, young Peter entered a monastery. He successfully studied the book sciences of those times and eagerly fulfilled his monastic obediences. future saint devoted much time to an attentive study of the Holy Scriptures, he also learned iconography. The icons painted by Saint Peter were distributed to the brethren and to Christians who visited the monastery. of his virtuous and ascetic life, the igumen of the monastery had Saint Peter ordained as a hieromonk. years of ascetic labors at the monastery, the hieromonk Peter, with the blessing of the igumen, left the monastery in search of a solitary place. built a cell at the Rata River and began to pursue asceticism in silence. at the place of his ascetic exploits, a monastery was formed, called the Novodvorsk. church dedicated to the Savior was built for the monks who came to him. as igumen, Saint Peter guided his spiritual children, and never became angry with a guilty monk. he instructed the brethren by word and by example. virtuous igumen and ascetic became known far beyond the vicinity of the monastery. Prince Yuri of Galicia frequently visited the monastery in order to receive spiritual instruction from the holy ascetic. in his travels through the Russian land, Metropolitan Maximus of Kiev and Vladimir (December 6) visited the monastery with words of instruction and edification. received the blessing of Saint Maximus, Saint Peter presented him with an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, which he had painted. Maximus prayed before the icon for the salvation of the Russian land entrusted to him by God until the end of his days. Metropolitan Maximus died, the See of Vladimir remained for a certain time unoccupied. abbot named Gerontius, aspiring to become the primate of Russia, went to Constantinople with Saint Peter’s vestments, archpastoral staff, and the icon he had painted. Great Prince of Vladimir, Saint Michael of Tver (November 22), sent him to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a petition that he be appointed as Metropolitan of Russia. the suggestion of Prince Yuri of Galicia, Igumen Peter reluctantly went to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a petition that he be consecrated as Metropolitan. chose Saint Peter to nourish the Russian Church. Mother of God appeared to Gerontius during a storm on the Black Sea and said, “You labor in vain, for you will never be bishop. The one who painted this icon, the Rata igumen Peter, shall be elevated to the throne of Kiev.” words of the Mother of God were fulfilled. Athanasius of Constantinople (1289-1293) elevated Saint Peter as Metropolitan of Russia, bestowing upon him the hierarchal vestments, staff and icon, brought by Gerontius. his return to Russia in 1308, Metropolitan Peter arrived at Kiev after a year, and then proceeded on to Vladimir. chief hierarch was tested by many trials during his first years of guiding the Russian metropolitanate. beneath the Tatar (Mongol) Yoke the Russian land was in turmoil, Saint Peter was often obliged to change the place of his residence. this period the saint’s labors and concerns to affirm the true Faith and morality in the realm were particularly important. his journeys throughout the diocese, he incessantly instructed the people and clergy on preserving Christian piety. He also brought quarrelsome princes to peace and unity. the year 1312 the saint made a journey to the Horde, where he received a decree from Khan Uzbek, safeguarding the rights of the Russian clergy. 1325 Metropolitan Peter, at the request of Great Prince John Kalita (1328-1340), transferred the metropolitan See from Vladimir to Moscow. event had very great significance for all the Russian land. Saint Peter prophetically predicted deliverance from the Tatar Yoke and that Moscow would become the foremost city in Russia. his blessing, the foundation of the cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Moscow Kremlin was laid in August 1326. Peter fell asleep in the Lord on December 21, 1326. holy relics of the saint were buried in the Dormition cathedral in a stone crypt, which he himself had prepared. miracles were accomplished through the saint’s prayers. healings were even done secretly, which testifies to his profound humility even after death. veneration of the first hierarch of the Russian Church was affirmed and spread throughout the Russian land. In 1339, under Saint Theognostus (March 14), Saint Peter was numbered among the saints. Princes kissed the cross on the saint’s tomb as a sign of their fidelity to the Great Prince of Moscow. a particularly venerated protector of Moscow, Saint Peter was called on to witness the drawing up of government treaties. people of Novgorod once had the right of nominating their own bishop in the cathedral of Saint Sophia. their annexation to Moscow under Ivan III, they swore an oath that henceforth they would only consecrate their archbishops at the grave of Saint Peter the Wonderworker. it was at the grave of the saint that the first hierarchs of Russia were named and chosen. Russian Chronicles mention him frequently, and no significant state undertaking was initiated without prayers at the grave of Saint Peter. relics of Saint Peter were transferred in 1472 and 1479. In memory of these events, feastdays were established for October 5 and August 24.

Russia, Moscow, 1314, Tolga Icon, across from river Tolga, fiery column and bridge leading to it, Icon in air, Prayer, staff
Russia, Rostov, 1314, Tolga Icon stopped with the approach of night 7 versts distant from Yaroslavl, at the right bank of the Volga River there flows opposite into it the River Tolga. At midnight, when everyone was asleep, the saint awoke and saw a bright light illuminating the area. The light proceeded from a fiery column on the other bank of the river, to which there stretched a bridge. Taking up his staff, the saint went across to the other bank, and having approached the fiery column, he beheld on it the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, suspended in the air. Astonished at the miracle, the saint prayed for a long time, and when he went back, he forgot to take his staff. The next day, after serving Matins, when Saint Prochorus was preparing to continue his journey by boat, they began to search for his staff, but they were not able to find it anywhere. The saint then remembered that he had forgotten his staff on the other side of the river, where he had gone across on the miraculous bridge. He then revealed what had occurred, and sent servants across on a boat to the other shore. They came back and reported that in the forest they had seen an icon of the Mother of God suspended in the branches of a tree, next to his bishop'™s staff. The Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on August 8; Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared on August 8, 1314 to the Rostov hierarch Prochorus (Tryphon in schema). Going about his diocese, the saint visited the environs of White Lake and from there traveled along the banks of the Rivers Sheksna and Volga, to Yaroslavl. Having stopped with the approach of night 7 versts distant from Yaroslavl, at the right bank of the Volga River there flows opposite into it the River Tolga. midnight, when everyone was asleep, the saint awoke and saw a bright light illuminating the area. The light proceeded from a fiery column on the other bank of the river, to which there stretched a bridge. Taking up his staff, the saint went across to the other bank, and having approached the fiery column, he beheld on it the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, suspended in the air. Astonished at the miracle, the saint prayed for a long time, and when he went back, he forgot to take his staff. next day, after serving Matins, when Saint Prochorus was preparing to continue his journey by boat, they began to search for his staff, but they were not able to find it anywhere. The saint then remembered that he had forgotten his staff on the other side of the river, where he had gone across on the miraculous bridge. He then revealed what had occurred, and sent servants across on a boat to the other shore. They came back and reported that in the forest they had seen an icon of the Mother of God suspended in the branches of a tree, next to his bishop’s staff. saint quickly crossed over with all his retinue to the opposite shore, and he recognized the icon that had appeared to him. Then after fervent prayer before the icon, they cleared the forest at that place, and put down the foundations of a church. When the people of Yaroslavl learned of this, they came out to the indicated spot. By midday the church was already built, and in the evening the saint consecrated it in honor of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, and having installed the icon there he established a Feast on the day of its appearance. Saint Prochorus later built the Tolga monastery near this church. Saint Prochorus died on September 7, 1328. Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on July 18. Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga, Commemorated on July 18; Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared on August 8, 1314 to the Rostov hierarch Prochorus (Tryphon in schema). Going about his diocese, the saint visited the environs of White Lake and from there traveled along the banks of the Rivers Sheksna and Volga, to Yaroslavl. Having stopped with the approach of night 7 versts distant from Yaroslavl, at the right bank of the Volga River there flows opposite into it the River Tolga. midnight, when everyone was asleep, the saint awoke and saw a bright light illuminating the area. The light proceeded from a fiery column on the other bank of the river, to which there stretched a bridge. Taking up his staff, the saint went across to the other bank, and having approached the fiery column, he beheld on it the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, suspended in the air. Astonished at the miracle, the saint prayed for a long time, and when he went back, he forgot to take his staff. next day, after serving Matins, when Saint Prochorus was preparing to continue his journey by boat, they began to search for his staff, but they were not able to find it anywhere. The saint then remembered that he had forgotten his staff on the other side of the river, where he had gone across on the miraculous bridge. He then revealed what had occurred, and sent servants across on a boat to the other shore. They came back and reported that in the forest they had seen an icon of the Mother of God suspended in the branches of a tree, next to his bishop’s staff. saint quickly crossed over with all his retinue to the opposite shore, and he recognized the icon that had appeared to him. Then after fervent prayer before the icon, they cleared the forest at that place, and put down the foundations of a church. When the people of Yaroslavl learned of this, they came out to the indicated spot. By midday the church was already built, and in the evening the saint consecrated it in honor of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, and having installed the icon there he established a Feast on the day of its appearance. Saint Prochorus later built the Tolga monastery near this church. Saint Prochorus died on September 7, 1328. Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on August 8.

Russia, Moscow, 1314-1337, Schemamonk Cyril&Schemanun Maria, Sergius' parents, f (Lake Nero), Rostov tGreat, nobility but devout
Russia,Rostov, 1314-1337, Schemamonk Cyril&Schemanun Maria, Sergius' parents, f (Lake Nero), Rostov the Great, nobility but devout, every virtue, child cried in womb, people astonished, Maria frightened, but later believed become vessel divine grace, they agreed dedicate him, soon civil strife, so move tRadonezh, later S requests monk, but they say wait till we die, because brothers responsibilities, S obeyed because always did, later they decided monk themselves, died 1337, so S gave tBrother&Became monk; Rustov; Rostov the Great; Venerable Schemamonk Cyril, the Father of St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated January 18 ; Cyril and his wife Maria were the parents of Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25). belonged to the nobility, more importantly, they were devout and faithful Christians who were adorned with every virtue. the child in Maria’s womb cried out three times in church during Liturgy, people were astonished. frightened at first, Maria came to see this event as a sign from God that her child would become a chosen vessel of divine grace. and her husband agreed that if the child was a boy, they would bring him to church and dedicate him to God. child, the second of their three sons, was born around 1314. was named Bartholomew at his baptism. of civil strife, Saint Cyril moved his family from Rostov to Radonezh when Bartholomew was still a boy. when their son expressed a desire to enter the monastic life, Cyril and Maria asked him to wait and take care of them until they passed away, his brothers Stephen and Peter were both married and had their own family responsibilities. young Bartholomew obeyed his parents, did everything he could to please them. later decided to retire to separate monasteries, and departed to the Lord after a few It is believed that Saints Cyril and Maria both reposed in 1337. days after burying his parents, settled their estate, giving his share to his brother Peter. then went to the monastery when he was twenty-three years old, was tonsured on October 7 with the name Sergius (in honor of the martyr Saint Segius who is commemorated on that day). everyone knows, Saint Sergius of Radonezh became one of Russia’s greatest and most revered saints. Cyril and Maria were glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. are also commemorated on September 28, and July 6 (Synaxis of the Saints of Radonezh).

Russia, Moscow, 1317, Moscow Civil War with Tver, Yuri D defeated by Michael T, Yuri's wife d, slander, k, radiant clouds
Tver, 1317, Moscow Intercene (Civil) War with Tver , Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver, Commemorated on November 22 ; Holy Right-Believing Prince Michael of Tver was born in the year 1272, after the death of his father Great Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, a brother of holy Prince Alexander Nevsky (November 23). On the journey to the Horde, Prince Yaroslav fell ill, and was tonsured a monk with the name Athanasius, then died. Michael’s mother, Xenia, raised her son in fervent love for God. Michael was educated and studied under the guidance of the Archbishop (probably Clement) of Novgorod. He took the place of his older brother Svyatoslav in the principality of Tver. 1285 he built a stone church in honor of the Savior’s Transfiguration in place of the wooden church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. the death of Great Prince Andrew Alexandrovich (+1305), Michael went to the Horde and received the grant to the great princely throne by right of seniority. Prince Yurii Danilovich of Moscow would not submit to this, because he sought the princely rule for himself. He was often at the Golden Horde of the new Khan Uzbek, who had accepted Mohammedanism and was distinguished by his cruelty and fanaticism. Prince Yurii knew how to please the Khan, and he married his sister Konchaka and became Great Prince. then he did not calm down, but instead began an internecine war with Tver. In Yurii’s army was a detachment of Tatars sent by Uzbek, with Kavgadi at the head. But the men of Tver, with holy Prince Michael at the head, on December 22, 1317 defeated Yurii. Many captives were taken, including Kavgadi, whom Saint Michael released, and the Moscow prince’s wife Konchaka, who unexpectedly died at Tver. Yurii slandered Saint Michael before the Khan, accusing him of poisoning Konchaka. The Khan became enraged, threatening to destroy Saint Michael’s princely holding, and demanded that he appear to give an account. Not wishing to spill Russian blood in an unequal struggle with the Khan, Saint Michael humbly went to the Horde, knowing that this meant death for him. He bid his his family and the Tver people farewell, and received a blessing for his exploit of martyrdom from his spiritual Father Igumen John. “Father,” said the saint, “I was much concerned for the peace of Christians, but through my sins, I was not able to stop internecine war. Now give me your blessing, so that if my blood is spilled for them, they might have some respite, and that the Lord will forgive my sins.” the Horde an unjust trial was held, which found the saint guilty of disobedience to the Khan, and sentenced him to death. They removed him under guard and put him in a heavy wooden stock. As was his habit, Saint Michael constantly read the Psalter in prison and blessed the Lord for granting him to suffer for Him. He asked not to be abandoned in his present torments. Since the hands of the holy sufferer were secured in the stock, a boy sat before him and turned the pages of the Psalter. The holy captive languished at the Horde for a long time, enduring beatings and ridicule. They suggested that he flee, but the saint bravely answered, “In all my life I never fled from an enemy. If I save myself and my people remain in peril, what glory is that to me? No, let it be as the Lord wills.” the mercy of God, he was not deprived of Christian solace: Orthodox priests attended to him, the igumens Alexander and Mark. Each week he made his Confession and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, thus receiving a Christian preparation for his death. At the instigation of Prince Yurii and Kavgadi, who took revenge on the holy prince for their defeat, assassins rushed into the encampment where the captive was held. They fiercely beat the martyr and kicked him with their feet, then one of them stabbed Saint Michael with a knife. holy martyr’s naked body was exposed for abuse, and later they covered him with a cloth and placed him on a large board attached to a cart. By night two guards were set to watch the body, but fear seized them and they fled. In the morning, his body was not on the board. the previous night many, not only Orthodox but also Tatars, had seen two radiant clouds shining over the place where the body of the martyr lay. Although many wild animals roamed the steppes, not one of them had touched him. In the morning everyone said, “Prince Michael is a saint, and was innocently murdered.” From the Horde the body of the prince was transferred to Moscow, where they buried him in the church of the Savior-Wood in the Kremlin. a year later, in 1318, the people of Tver learned the fate of their prince. At the wish of his wife, the right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin (October 2), and at the request of the people of Tver, the relics of Saint Michael were transferred to his native city, and on September 6, 1320 were placed in the church he built in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Local veneration of the holy Prince began soon after the transfer of his relics to Tver, and the general Church glorification of the saint took place at a 1549 Council. November 24, 1632 the incorrupt relics of Saint Michael were uncovered. The holy Prince has often helped the Russian land. In 1606 the Polish and Lithuanians besieging Tver repeatedly saw a wondrous horseman ride out from the city upon a white horse with sword in hand, turning them to flight. Later, when they saw an icon of holy Prince Michael, they affirmed with an oath to Archbishop Theoctistus of Tver that the horseman was indeed Saint Michael himself. Prince Yurii Danilovich of Moscow; Yuri was often at the Golden Horde of the new Khan Uzbek, who had accepted Mohammedanism and was distinguished by his cruelty and fanaticism.; Yuri'™s army was a detachment of Tatars sent by Uzbek, with Kavgadi at the head. the men of Tver, with holy Prince Michael at the head, on December 22, 1317 defeated Yurii. captives were taken, including Kavgadi, whom St Michael released, and the Moscow prince'™s wife Konchaka, who unexpectedly died at Tver. released Kavgadii, who returned to Sarai and accused Mikhail of murdering the Khan's sister, withholding tribute, and warring against his Mongol overlord. As a result, Mikhail was summoned to the Horde by the Khan and executed on November 22, 1318.

Russia, Moscow, 1325-1340, Prince Ivan I of Moscow, John Daniilovich Kalita, controlled V and M
Moscow, 1325-1340, Prince Ivan I of Moscow ; St Mercurius the Bishop of Smolensk, Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on August 7; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on September 11 ; St Hypatius of Gangra, Commemorated on November 16; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Repose of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 23; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 25; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; St Theognostus the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, Commemorated on March 14; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26 ; Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6 ; Venerable Sergius the Wonderworker of Valaam, Commemorated on June 28; Icon of the Mother of God "œTenderness"Â in Novgorod, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1325-1362, Moses, 1325 Archbishop oNovogrod, first bishop by Moscow, built many N churches&M, incorrupt relics
Russia, Novgorod, 1325-1362, Moses tArchbishop oNovgorod & Archmandrite oYuriev Monastery, Novgorod (Volkhov River 1), fNovgorod, ran away tTver's Otroch m, became monk &hieromonk (priestmonk), later archimandrite(important m abbot) oYuriev m, his parents found him, transferred to N, then Archbishop oNovgorod i1325, the first bishop consecration in Moscow, quarrels, factions, conflagrations, misfortunes, so he sought monastic solitude, 4yrs retired to asceticism, suceeded by Basil, 1330 tKolmov m tranquility, soon found desolate Derevyuanitsa, built stone church, 20 yrs monastic deeds, returned N after Basils death, defended downtrodden, protected destitute widows, employed copyists, many books written, confirmed many, 1354 permission wear many crosses, sent him a set, permission deal directly with Constantinople Patriarch, hierarch till 1361, built many churches in N, 1352 stone church aVolotva, 1355 m & stone church iSkovordka, 1357 churches for 3 m (Radogovitsa near Volotov, Holy S m, woman's m founded by Moses), 1359 sick withdrew tSkovorodsk founded bM, died 1362, incorrupt relics uncovered 1686 Yuriev Monastery; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated January 25 ; Moses, Archbishop of Novgorod (1325-1330, 1352-1359), in the world Metrophanes, was born at Novgorod. his youth he secretly left his home and entered Tver’s Otroch monastery, where he became a monk. parents found him, and at their insistence he transferred to a monastery near Novgorod. this monastery he was ordained as a hieromonk, later he was appointed archimandrite of the Yuriev monastery. the death of Archbishop David of Novgorod, Saint Peter (December 21) consecrated Moses as Archbishop of Novgorod in 1325. was the first episcopal consecration to be performed in Moscow. Moses did not guide his Novgorod flock for long, however. quarrels and contentious factions, the conflagrations and other misfortunes weighed heavily on his soul, which sought monastic solitude. four years, he petitioned to be allowed to retire and live in asceticism. He was succeeded by Saint Basil. 1330 the saint withdrew to the Kolmov monastery for tranquillity. did not remain here very long, either. found a desolate spot at Derevyanitsa, where he built the stone church of the Resurrection of Christ. this place the monk spent more than twenty years at monastic deeds. Basil’s death, Saint Moses yielded to the requests of the Novgorod people to be their archpastor once again. ancient chronicler describes Saint Moses in this way: “He shepherded his flock as a good pastor; defended the downtrodden, and protected destitute widows; employed a company of copyists, and because of him many books were written, he confirmed many in piety by his guidance.” the year 1354 Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople (1354-1355, 1364-1376), as a token of his deep respect for Saint Moses gave him permission to wear polystavrion vestments (“many crosses”), and even sent him a set. also permitted Saint Moses to deal directly with the Patriarch of Constantinople without intermediaries. Moses continued as hierarch for seven years, period marked by the building of many churches in Novgorod and its environs. 1352 the saint built a stone church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos at Volotova; 1355 a monastery was built in a place named Skovorodka, with a stone church in honor of the holy Archangel Michael. 1357, churches were also built at three monasteries: Radogovitsa near the Volotov Dormition church, the Holy Spirit monastery, at a women’s monastery. churches were named for Saint John the Theologian (the first and third of these monasteries were founded by Saint Moses). 1359, feeling weak and sick, the saint withdrew into the Monastery of the Archangel Michael in Skovorodsk which he had founded. Moses labored here in asceticism until his death on January 25, 1362. was buried at the cathedral church. Feast of Saint Moses on April 19 commemorates the uncovering of his incorrupt relics in 1686.

Russia, Moscow, 1327-1352, Patriarch, Theognostus of Kiev and All Russia, influence repaired Hagia Sophia
Moscow Patriarch, 1327-1352, Theognostus of Kiev and All Russia; St Theognostus the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, Commemorated on March 14; Theognostus the Greek succeeded Saint Peter (August 25 and December 21) as Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, holding this office from 1327 until 1353. It was through his influence that the Grand Prince Simeon sent money to the Byzantine Emperor John Cantacuzene for repairs to the Great Church of Hagia Sophia. Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1330, St Hypatius of Gangra, killed by Novatians after 325 E Council, m relics, appeared 1330 in Ipatiev, Russia
Armenia, 325, St Hypatius of Gangra, Paphlagonia, killed by Novatians coming back from 325 E Council, m relics, appeared 1330 in Ipatiev, Russia; Gangra; St Hypatius of Gangra, Commemorated on November 16; Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra, was bishop of the city of Gangra in Paphlagonia (Asia Minor). In the year 325 he participated in the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, at which the heresy of Arius was anathematized. Saint Hypatius was returning in 326 from Constantinople to Gangra, followers of the schismatics Novatus and Felicissimus fell upon him in a desolate place. The heretics ran him through with swords and spears, and threw him into a swamp. Like the Protomartyr Stephen, Saint Hypatius prayed for his murderers. Arian woman struck the saint on the head with a stone, killing him. The murderers hid his body in a cave, where a Christian who kept straw there found his body. Recognizing the bishop’s body, he hastened to the city to report this, and the inhabitants of Gangra piously buried their beloved archpastor. his death, the relics of Saint Hypatius were famous for numerous miracles, particularly for casting out demons and for healing the sick. of old the hieromartyr Hypatius was particularly venerated in the Russian land. Thus in the year 1330 the Ipatiev monastery was built at Kostroma, on the place where the Mother of God appeared with the Pre-eternal Christ Child, the Apostle Philip, and the hieromartyr Hypatius, Bishop of Gangra. monastery later occupied a significant place in the spiritual and social life of the nation, particularly during the Time of Troubles. ancient copies of the Life of the hieromartyr Hypatius were widely distributed in Russian literature, and one of these was incorporated into The Reading Menaion of Metropolitan Macarius (1542-1564). In this Life there is an account of the appearance of the Savior to Saint Hypatius on the eve of the martyr’s death. entry for the saint’s Feast consists of his Life, some prayers, and words of praise and instruction. The pious veneration of Saint Hypatius was also expressed in Russian liturgical compositions. During the nineteenth century a new service was written for the hieromartyr Hypatius, distinct from the services written by Saint Joseph the Studite, contained in the March Menaion.

Russia, Moscow, 1330-1380, Blessed John the Hairy, Fool f Christ of Rostov, no shelter, humility, patience, unceasing prayer
Russia, Rostov, 1330-1380, Blessed John the Hairy or Merciful, Fool for Christ of Rostov (Lake Nero), Rostov the Great, no permanent shelter, humility, patience, unceasing prayer, hair upon his head abundantly; Rustov; Rostov the Great; Rustov Cathedral; Blessed John œthe Hairy and Fool-For-Christ at Rostov, Commemorated on September 3 ; John the Merciful of Rostov (also known as “the Hairy”) struggled at Rostov in the exploit of holy foolishness, enduring much deprivation and sorrow. did not have a permanent shelter, and at times took his rest at the house of his spiritual Father, a priest at the church of the All-Holy, or with one of the aged widows. in humility, patience and unceasing prayer, he spiritually nourished many people, among them Saint Irenarchus, Hermit of Rostov (January 13). a long life of pursuing asceticism, he died on September 3, 1580 and was buried, according to his final wishes, beside the church of Saint Blaise beyond the altar. had “hair upon his head abundantly,” therefore he was called “Hairy.” title “Merciful” was given to Blessed John because of the many healings that occurred at his grave, and also in connection with the memory of the holy Patriarch John the Merciful (November 12), whose name he shared.

Russia, Moscow, 1330-1392, Cyril oChelma Hill, Kargopol, White Sea, Vologda (Onega River Source, Lake Lacha), Enlightener oChud
Russia, Vologda, 1330-1392, Cyril oChelma Hill, Kargopol, White Sea, Vologda (Onega River Source, Lake Lacha), Enlightener oChud People, fWhite Lake city, fAnthony tRoman's m, tKargopolsk 52yrs, high command tChelma Hill, Chud people come, his preaching many baptisms, end oLife monastery&church, died a82; Kargopol; Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Chelma Hill, Commemorated on December 8 ; Cyril of Chelma Hill, Enlightener of the Chudian People, born in the city of White Lake. was tonsured at the monastery of Saint Anthony the Roman, where for six years he passed through various obediences. after wandering through the wilderness for three years, he settled in a wild region of Kargopolsk. here, by a command from on high, he chose Chelma Hill for his constant abode. of the afflicted from the Chud people came to see Saint Cyril, whose luminous ascetic life and kindly preaching moved many to accept holy Baptism. the end of his life, Saint Cyril established a monastery and church in honor of the Theophany of the Lord. monk dwelt upon Chelma Hill for fifty-two years, and died at the advanced age of 82.

Russia, Moscow, 1334-1392, Demetrius of Priluki, close tSergius, built church &MFoundation but moved to avoid conflict wLocals
Russia, Vologda, 1334-1392, Demetrius of Priluki (Spaso-Prilutsky) Monastery, Komel, Vologda, Wonderworker, wealthy, uncommonly hansome, tonsured aPereyaslav, founded St Nicholas cenobitic m on St Boris &Gleb Hill, lake Plescheevo shore near P, igumen, 1334 met St Sergius oRadonezh, aP, came to see Met Athanasius, became close tSergius, talked frequently, fame, godfather children oDemetrius otDon, Ioannovich, built with him Church resurrection oChrist, prepared foundation fMonastery but locals feared village would be part oM property, demanded monks leave, to be burden to no one they left, tBend oRiver near Vologda, first cenobitic monastery in Russian north, Vologda people helped, land owners trampled down grain field so temple built immediately, 1371 woden cathedral built, brethern gather, many disciples fP, Demetrios combined prayer, strict asceticism &Kindness, fed poor&hungry, took in strangers, conversed with those needing consolation, gave counsel, loved solitude prayer, prosphora&warm water lenten food, no wine&fins oFeastdays, respected those living rearby by accepting countributions cautiously, gift oClairvoyance, old sheepskin coat winter summer, even in old age went out on common tasks, attained high degree spiritual perfection, died advanced age 1392, found as asleep, cell's wonderous fragrance, miracles 1409 and on, 15th C vereration throughout Rus, before 1440 monk Macarius recorder his life, based on disciplt Igumen Pachomius; Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery; Venerable Demetrius the Wonderworker of Priluki, Vologda, Commemorated on February 11; Demetrios (Dēmḗtrios) of Priluki, Wonderworker, was born into a rich merchant’s family in Pereyaslavl-Zalessk. his youth the saint was uncommonly handsome. monastic tonsure at one of the Pereyaslavl monasteries, the saint later founded the Saint Nicholas cenobitic monastery on the Saints Boris and Gleb Hill at the shore of Lake Plescheevo near the city, and became its igumen. 1334 Saint Demetrios first met with Saint Sergius of Radonezh, had come to Pereyaslavl to see Metropolitan Athanasius. that time, he frequently conversed with Saint Sergius and became close with him. fame of the Pereyaslavl igumen was so widespread that he became godfather to the children of Great Prince Demetrios Ioannovich. the influence of the Radonezh wonderworker, Saint Demetrios decided to withdraw to a remote place, and went north with his disciple Pachomius. the Vologda forests, at the River Velika, near the Avnezh settlement, built a church of the Resurrection of Christ they prepared to lay the foundations for a monastery. local inhabitants were fearful that if a monastery were built there, their village would become monastery property. demanded that the monks leave their territory, wishing to be a burden to no one, they moved farther away. far from Vologda, at the bend of a river in an isolated spot, Saint Demetrios decided to form the first of the cenobitic monasteries of the Russian North. The people of Vologda and the surrounding gladly consented to help the saint. owners of the land intended for the monastery, Elias and Isidore, even trampled down a grain field, so that a temple might be built immediately. 1371 the wooden Savior cathedral was built, and brethren began to gather. disciples of the monk came there from Pereyaslavl. Demetrios combined prayer and strict asceticism with kindliness. fed the poor and hungry, took in strangers, conversed with those in need of consolation, he gave counsel. loved to pray in solitude. Lenten food consisted of prosphora with warm water. on feastdays, he would not partake of the wine and fish permitted by the Rule. winter and summer he wore an old sheepskin coat, even in his old age he went with the brethren on common tasks. saint accepted contributions to the monastery cautiously, so that the welfare of the monastery would not be detrimental to those living nearby. Lord granted His servant the gift of clairvoyance, he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. Demetrios died at an advanced age on February 11, 1392. brethren approaching found him as though asleep, his cell was filled with a wondrous fragrance. from the relics of Saint Demetrios began in the year 1409, during the fifteenth century his veneration spread throughout all Rus. no later than the year 1440, the Priluki monk Macarius recorded his Life (Great Reading Menaion, February 11) on the narratives of Saint Demetrios’s disciple Igumen Pachomius.

Russia, Moscow, 1334-1392, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, most highly venerated
Moscow, 1334-1392, Saint Sergius of Radonezh; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; Venerable Schemamonk Cyril, the Father of St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on January 18; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26 ; Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6 ; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7;

Russia, Moscow, 1337-1407, Sabbas of Storozhi and Radonezh, Saint Sava
Russia, Tver, 1337-1407, Sabbas of Storozhi and Radonezh, Saint Sava ; Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, Tver; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Vishera, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 1 ; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, Commemorated November 17 ; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated December 3 ; Opening of the Relics of the Venerable Sava of Storozhev, or Zvenigorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1337-1429, Paul oObnora, Vologda, disciple oSergius oRadonezh, fMoscow, hermit, silence, monastery, 112yrs old
Russia, Vologda, 1337-1429, Paul oObnora, Kostroma, Vologda (Obnora River, Kostroma River 3), disciple oSergius oRadonezh, fMoscow 1317, youth piety kindness, rich parents, Nativity Tolga Monastery, tSergius Radonezh, several years, hermit separate cell 15yrs, then wandered, like Chukhoma, tKomel Forest, first aGryazovitsa River 3yrs complete silence, no rest for future rest, then Nurma River aObnora River, no food 5days aWeek, then bread water, but people came, never refused guidance, Sergius oNurma visited, also fSergius oR, built Holy Trinity Church 1414, monaster sprung up, wrote strict monk rule, made Alexi igumen, continued as hermit his cell, died 112yrs old; Obnora, Vologda; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10 ; Paul of Obnora, a famed disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, was born at Moscow in the year 1317. his youth he distinguished himself by his piety and kindliness towards the poor and suffering. rich parents prepared him for a secular life, but at twenty-two years of age he secretly left his parental home and received tonsure at the Nativity monastery on the Volga (in the Yaroslav diocese). there Paul transferred to the Holy Trinity monastery to Saint Sergius of Radonezh, spending several years with him as his disciple, obeying the holy Elder in all things. the blessing of Saint Sergius, he settled a short distance from the monastery in a separate cell, where he spent fifteen years as a hermit. asked the blessing of Saint Sergius to go off into the wilderness for a quiet and solitary life, Saint Paul wandered about for a long while, seeking a place of solitude. He wandered a great deal in the wilderness. spent time with Saint Abraham of Chukhloma (July 20) finally, he remained in the Komel forest. the Gryazovitsa River, in the hollow of an old linden tree, the monk built a small cell and dwelt there for three years in complete silence, “not giving his body rest, that he might receive future rest.” he moved on to the River Nurma, where he built a hut and dug a well, spending his days in vigil and prayer. days out of the week he went without food, and only on Saturday and Sunday did he partake of some bread and water. news about the hermit spread abroad, and those wishing spiritual guidance began coming to him. his love for the solitary life, Saint Paul never refused anyone spiritual consolation and guidance. was also visited by Saint Sergius of Nurma (October 7), sought solitude with the blessing of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who also spent his ascetic life in these places. the blessing of Saint Sergius and the agreement of Metropolitan Photius, Saint Paul built the Holy Trinity church in 1414, which a monastery sprang up (later called the Monastery of Saint Paul of Obnora). written a strict monastic Rule for the brethren, Saint Paul entrusted the guidance of the new monastery to his disciple Alexis, while he himself continued as before to live in a solitary cell on a hill. remained a responsive and good counsellor for anyone needing his help. Paul died at 112 years of age. final words were, “Brethren, have love one for another and keep to the rule of the monastic community.” Life of the saint was written in about the year 1546, and his glorification occurred in 1547. Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Pisma, Commemorated January 10 ; January 10, the Feast Day of Saint Paul of Obnora (or Komel), the Church also commemorates one of his friends and companions: Saint Makarios of Pisma. is no information about when the two hermits became acquainted. to ancient tradition, Saint Paul met Saint Makarios when he was visiting various monasteries before he settled in the Komel forest on the Obnora River, that is, before 1414. says that Saint Makarios was born in the village of Danilovo, located on the left bank of the Pisma River, twelve versts from the hermitage, the noble Pismensky family revered Saint Makarios as one of its relatives. Makarios received his first monastic training from Saint Sergius at Holy Trinity Monastery, from there he returned to his homeland and settled in a dense forest near the Pisma River, since he loved solitude. place has retained the name of the old Makariev Hermitage. began to gather around him, and there were many others who wished to live near him, Makarios founded a small monastery a mile away from his secluded cell, and built a wooden church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. the righteous one was buried near this church. establishing his own monastery, Saint Paul did not forget about his friend; for his part, Saint Makarios did not regard the hermitage he had founded in the Pisma wilderness as separate from Saint Paul's Monastery. in their understanding of human life, and the benefits of solitude and silence, both hermits grew closer together; the monasteries they founded were perhaps the beginning of monastic life in the region. the communities of these spiritual friends had different fates: Monastery grew crowded, but Pisma Monastery remained a small hermitage. However, the bond between them was never broken. charters of Tsars Ivan the Terrible (1566) and Michael (1625) describe the Makariev Hermitage by the Shachebal mill as belonging to the Saint Paul of Obnora Monastery. an inventory of the Saint Paul of Obnora Monastery dating from 1683, an icon of Saint Makarios and Saint Paul is mentioned, thus the ascetic's local veneration had already begun at that time. the Monastery itself it is stated in the inventory: "Saint Paul's Monastery is the same as the Monastery of Makariev Hermitage in the Kostroma district, by the Shachebalsky mill on the Pisma River, in the church of the Transfiguration of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ is a chapel dedicated to Saint Paul, the wonderworker of Obnora, with a domed roof. the same chapel the tomb of Saint Makarios is covered with a black cloth, over the middle of which a cross is suspended." following miracle occurred at the grave of Saint Makarios. the end of the XVIII century, the church burnt down, and a wooden structure was set up over the Saint's grave; in the place where this wooden structure was located, not only did they fail to notice the burning wood and coals, but the ashes as well; and the whole area was covered with an extraordinary dew. the fire, a curious person wanted to open the tomb to see what was there, and he was punished with blindness for his temerity. present, the Saint's relics rest beneath the floor. On the tomb is an icon of Saint Makarios, and his staff lies on top of the cloth. A prayer to the Saint, dating from 1750, has been preserved as well.

Russia, Moscow, 1337-1429, Macarius oPisma, Vologda , hermit, close to Paul oObnora, fSergius oR, joined hermits&hermitages
Russia, Vologda, 1337-1429, Macarius oPisma, Vologda (Kostroma (Pisma) River Mouth, Volga River 8.3), hermit, close friend hermit Paul oObnora, Komel Forest Obnora River, met Pauls visit, so met before 1414, M fDanilovo oPisma River LBank, 12K from Pisma Hermitage, Pismensky relative, trained by Sergius aHoly Trinity M, back home solitude near Pisma River, Makariev Hermitage, disciples gathered, small m mile away his cell, wooden church, later burried there, 1414 Paul estab his m, not separate monasteries, Obnora grew, Pisma remained small, bond never broken, Makarios Pisma belonged to Obnora, beginning oMonastic life Komel, 1683 icon proves local veneration fBoth had begun, Makarios' tomb in Paul's Chapel, where miracle dew protecting M's grave in fire, blindness for attempt open tomb; Kostroma, and Kostroma Region; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Pisma, Commemorated January 10 ; January 10, the Feast Day of Saint Paul of Obnora (or Komel), the Church also commemorates one of his friends and companions: Saint Makarios of Pisma. is no information about when the two hermits became acquainted. to ancient tradition, Saint Paul met Saint Makarios when he was visiting various monasteries before he settled in the Komel forest on the Obnora River, that is, before 1414. says that Saint Makarios was born in the village of Danilovo, located on the left bank of the Pisma River, twelve versts from the hermitage, the noble Pismensky family revered Saint Makarios as one of its relatives. Makarios received his first monastic training from Saint Sergius at Holy Trinity Monastery, from there he returned to his homeland and settled in a dense forest near the Pisma River, since he loved solitude. place has retained the name of the old Makariev Hermitage. began to gather around him, and there were many others who wished to live near him, Makarios founded a small monastery a mile away from his secluded cell, and built a wooden church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. the righteous one was buried near this church. establishing his own monastery, Saint Paul did not forget about his friend; for his part, Saint Makarios did not regard the hermitage he had founded in the Pisma wilderness as separate from Saint Paul's Monastery. in their understanding of human life, and the benefits of solitude and silence, both hermits grew closer together; the monasteries they founded were perhaps the beginning of monastic life in the region. the communities of these spiritual friends had different fates: Monastery grew crowded, but Pisma Monastery remained a small hermitage. However, the bond between them was never broken. charters of Tsars Ivan the Terrible (1566) and Michael (1625) describe the Makariev Hermitage by the Shachebal mill as belonging to the Saint Paul of Obnora Monastery. an inventory of the Saint Paul of Obnora Monastery dating from 1683, an icon of Saint Makarios and Saint Paul is mentioned, thus the ascetic's local veneration had already begun at that time. the Monastery itself it is stated in the inventory: "Saint Paul's Monastery is the same as the Monastery of Makariev Hermitage in the Kostroma district, by the Shachebalsky mill on the Pisma River, in the church of the Transfiguration of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ is a chapel dedicated to Saint Paul, the wonderworker of Obnora, with a domed roof. the same chapel the tomb of Saint Makarios is covered with a black cloth, over the middle of which a cross is suspended." following miracle occurred at the grave of Saint Makarios. the end of the XVIII century, the church burnt down, and a wooden structure was set up over the Saint's grave; in the place where this wooden structure was located, not only did they fail to notice the burning wood and coals, but the ashes as well; and the whole area was covered with an extraordinary dew. the fire, a curious person wanted to open the tomb to see what was there, and he was punished with blindness for his temerity. present, the Saint's relics rest beneath the floor. On the tomb is an icon of Saint Makarios, and his staff lies on top of the cloth. A prayer to the Saint, dating from 1750, has been preserved as well. Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10 ; Paul of Obnora, a famed disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, was born at Moscow in the year 1317. his youth he distinguished himself by his piety and kindliness towards the poor and suffering. rich parents prepared him for a secular life, but at twenty-two years of age he secretly left his parental home and received tonsure at the Nativity monastery on the Volga (in the Yaroslav diocese). there Paul transferred to the Holy Trinity monastery to Saint Sergius of Radonezh, spending several years with him as his disciple, obeying the holy Elder in all things. the blessing of Saint Sergius, he settled a short distance from the monastery in a separate cell, where he spent fifteen years as a hermit. asked the blessing of Saint Sergius to go off into the wilderness for a quiet and solitary life, Saint Paul wandered about for a long while, seeking a place of solitude. He wandered a great deal in the wilderness. spent time with Saint Abraham of Chukhloma (July 20) finally, he remained in the Komel forest. the Gryazovitsa River, in the hollow of an old linden tree, the monk built a small cell and dwelt there for three years in complete silence, “not giving his body rest, that he might receive future rest.” he moved on to the River Nurma, where he built a hut and dug a well, spending his days in vigil and prayer. days out of the week he went without food, and only on Saturday and Sunday did he partake of some bread and water. news about the hermit spread abroad, and those wishing spiritual guidance began coming to him. his love for the solitary life, Saint Paul never refused anyone spiritual consolation and guidance. was also visited by Saint Sergius of Nurma (October 7), sought solitude with the blessing of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who also spent his ascetic life in these places. the blessing of Saint Sergius and the agreement of Metropolitan Photius, Saint Paul built the Holy Trinity church in 1414, which a monastery sprang up (later called the Monastery of Saint Paul of Obnora). written a strict monastic Rule for the brethren, Saint Paul entrusted the guidance of the new monastery to his disciple Alexis, while he himself continued as before to live in a solitary cell on a hill. remained a responsive and good counsellor for anyone needing his help. Paul died at 112 years of age. final words were, “Brethren, have love one for another and keep to the rule of the monastic community.” Life of the saint was written in about the year 1546, and his glorification occurred in 1547.

Russia, Moscow, 1340, MOG Appearance leaving Footprint&Spring fMonastery, Pochaev, Volhynia (high point, sources 5 rivers)
Russia, Volhynia, 1340, Appearance MOG leaving Footprint and Spring, Pochaev, Volhynia (Styr, Seret, Western Bug, Horyn, and Ikva Rivers Sources), 2 Monks in Cave on hill where monastery now located, reading prayer rule, tTop of Hill, beheld Theotokos enveloped in flames, summoned other monk tWitness, shepherd J B also ran there, she left footprint in rock which became healing spring; Pochaev; Pochayiv Lavra; Uniates; Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Footprint” at Pochaev, Commemorated on April 21; Bright Friday we commemorate the Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Footprint” at Pochaev. the year 1340, two monks came and settled in a cave on the hill where the monastery is now located. reading his usual Prayer Rule, one of them went to the top of the hill, and and suddenly he beheld the Theotokos standing on a rock and enveloped in flames. summoned the other monk, who also witnessed the miracle. third witness of the vision was the shepherd John Bosoy. He ran to the hill, and the three of them glorified God. Most Holy Theotokos left the imprint of her right foot on the stone where she had stood, and this filled up with water. Since that time, many people have been healed at this miraculous spring. Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated on July 23; Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks, Commemorated on July 23; of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is among the most revered sacred objects of the Orthodox Church. Located in the Dormition Cathedral at Pochaev, Ukraine, the Icon is reknowned throughout the entire Slavic world, and is venerated in Russia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and in other places. Christians of other confessions also venerate the Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The wonderworking Icon has been treasured at the Pochaev Lavra for over 400 years. miracles have taken place before the holy Icon, and these are recorded in special books at the monastery. The books contain the personal testimonies of people who prayed before the Pochaev Icon and were healed of their illnesses, delivered from unclean spirits, or freed from captivity. Many sinners were also brought to repentance. Feast Day in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God was appointed to commemorate the deliverance of the Dormition Lavra from a siege by the Turks on July 20-23, 1675. the summer of 1675 during the Zbarazhsk War with the Turks, in the reign of the Polish King Jan Sobesski (1674-1696), regiments composed of Tatars under the command of Khan Nurredin via Vishnevets fell upon the Pochaev monastery, surrounding it on three sides. The weak monastery walls and its stone buildings did not offer much protection against a siege. Igoumen Joseph Dobromirsky urged the brethren and laypeople to pray to their heavenly intercessors, the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job of Pochaev (October 28). monks and the people prayed fervently, prostrating themselves before the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God, and the reliquary containing the relics of Saint Job. At sunrise on the morning of July 23, as the Tatars prepared to attack the monastery, the Igoumen ordered an Akathist to the Theotokos to be sung. At the opening words, “O Queen of the Heavenly Hosts,” the Mother of God suddenly appeared over the church, in “an unfurled radiant white omaphorion,” with angels holding unsheathed swords. Saint Job stood beside the Mother of God, bowing to her and beseeching her to defend the monastery. Tatars believed that the heavenly army was a vision, and in their confusion they started shooting arrows at the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job, but the arrows turned backwards and wounded those who shot them. The enemy, gripped by terror, fled in panic, trampling upon and killing each other. The defenders of the monastery pursued them and took many prisoners. Later, some of the prisoners converted to the Orthodox Faith and remained at the monastery thereafter. the year 1721, Pochaev was occupied by the Uniates. Even during this difficult time for the Lavra, the monastery Chronicle lists 539 miracles of the Pochaev Icon. In the second half of the eighteenth century, a Uniate nobleman, Count Nicholas Pototski, became a benefactor of the Pochaev Lavra through the following miraculous circumstance. After accusing his coachman of overturning the carriage with runaway horses, the Count took out a pistol to shoot him. The coachman, turning towards the mountain of Pochaev, stretched out his hands and cried: "Mother of God, depicted in the Pochaev Icon, save me!” times Pototski tried to shoot the pistol, which had never failed him, but the weapon misfired and the coachman remained alive. Pototski went at once to the wonderworking Icon and resolved to devote himself and all his property to building up the monastery. With the money he contributed, the Dormition cathedral was built, as well as other buildings for the brethren. return of the Pochaev Monastery to the Orthodox Church in 1832 was marked by the miraculous healing of the blind maiden Anna Akimchukova, who had come on pilgrimage to the holy shrine along with her seventy-year-old grandmother from Kremenets-Podolsk, 200 versts away. In memory of this event, the Archbishop of Volhynia and Archimandrite Innocent of the Lavra (1832-1840) appointed that an Akathist be read on Saturdays before the wonderworking Icon. During the time of Archimandrite Agathangelus, Archbishop of Volhynia (1866-1876), a separate chapel was built in the galleries of the Holy Trinity church, which was dedicated on July 23, 1875 in memory of the victory over the Tatars. wonderworking Pochaev Icon is also commemorated on Friday of Bright Week, and on September 8.

Russia, Moscow, 1340 & 1500's, Pochaev Icon, MOG, flames, foot imprint spring, monk transported, more
Russia, Volynia, 1340, Pochaev Icon, Volynia (Styr, Seret, Western Bug, Horyn, and Ikva Rivers Sources), Theotokos standing on rock, top of hill, enveloped in flames, 3 witnesses, foot imprint in rock, healing spring from imprint, 1559 radiant icon, 1597 healing icon given to monk on hill and monastery, monk transported from Tartar captivity, icon most revered Orthodox objects; Pochaev; Pochayiv Lavra; Uniates; Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated September 8 ; the year 1340, two monks came and settled in a cave on the hill where the monastery is now located. reading his usual Prayer Rule, one of them went to the top of the hill, and suddenly he beheld the Theotokos standing on a rock and enveloped in flames. summoned the other monk, who also witnessed the miracle. A third witness of the vision was the shepherd John Bosoy. ran to the hill, and the three of them glorified God. Most Holy Theotokos left the imprint of her right foot on the stone where she had stood, and this filled up with water. that time, many people have been healed at this miraculous spring. 1559 Metropolitan Neophytus of Constantinople, on his journey through Volhynia, visited the noblewoman Anna Goiskaya living at the estate of Orlya, not far from Pochaev. a farewell blessing he left Anna an icon of the Mother of God which he brought from Constantinople. began to notice a radiance coming from the icon. 1597 Anna’s brother Philip was healed of an ailment before the eyes of a monk who lived on the hill at Pochaev. then gave the wonderworking image to the monk. The icon was placed in a church which was built in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. monastery was later established there, and Anna Goiskaya provided a large portion of the money needed for construction. following is one of the more famous accounts of help from the Queen of Heaven through her wonderworking Pochaev Icon. monk of Pochaev monastery was taken into captivity by the Tatars. Held as a slave, he thought of the Pochaev monastery, its holy things, the divine services, and the church singing. In particular the monk yearned to be in Pochaev for the approaching Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. He prayed tearfully to the Mother of God for deliverance from captivity, and suddenly, through the prayers of the Holy Virgin, the walls of the dungeon disappeared, and the monk found himself standing before the walls of the Pochaev monastery. Pochaev Icon is also celebrated on Friday of Bright Week and on July 23. Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated on July 23; of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is among the most revered sacred objects of the Orthodox Church. in the Dormition Cathedral at Pochaev, Ukraine, the Icon is reknowned throughout the entire Slavic world, and is venerated in Russia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and in other places. of other confessions also venerate the Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. wonderworking Icon has been treasured at the Pochaev Lavra for over 400 years. miracles have taken place before the holy Icon, and these are recorded in special books at the monastery. The books contain the personal testimonies of people who prayed before the Pochaev Icon and were healed of their illnesses, delivered from unclean spirits, or freed from captivity. Many sinners were also brought to repentance. Feast Day in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God was appointed to commemorate the deliverance of the Dormition Lavra from a siege by the Turks on July 20-23, 1675. the summer of 1675 during the Zbarazhsk War with the Turks, in the reign of the Polish King Jan Sobesski (1674-1696), regiments composed of Tatars under the command of Khan Nurredin via Vishnevets fell upon the Pochaev monastery, surrounding it on three sides. The weak monastery walls and its stone buildings did not offer much protection against a siege. Igoumen Joseph Dobromirsky urged the brethren and laypeople to pray to their heavenly intercessors, the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job of Pochaev (October 28). monks and the people prayed fervently, prostrating themselves before the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God, and the reliquary containing the relics of Saint Job. At sunrise on the morning of July 23, as the Tatars prepared to attack the monastery, the Igoumen ordered an Akathist to the Theotokos to be sung. At the opening words, “O Queen of the Heavenly Hosts,” the Mother of God suddenly appeared over the church, in “an unfurled radiant white omaphorion,” with angels holding unsheathed swords. Saint Job stood beside the Mother of God, bowing to her and beseeching her to defend the monastery. Tatars believed that the heavenly army was a vision, and in their confusion they started shooting arrows at the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job, but the arrows turned backwards and wounded those who shot them. The enemy, gripped by terror, fled in panic, trampling upon and killing each other. The defenders of the monastery pursued them and took many prisoners. Later, some of the prisoners converted to the Orthodox Faith and remained at the monastery thereafter. the year 1721, Pochaev was occupied by the Uniates. Even during this difficult time for the Lavra, the monastery Chronicle lists 539 miracles of the Pochaev Icon. In the second half of the eighteenth century, a Uniate nobleman, Count Nicholas Pototski, became a benefactor of the Pochaev Lavra through the following miraculous circumstance. After accusing his coachman of overturning the carriage with runaway horses, the Count took out a pistol to shoot him. The coachman, turning towards the mountain of Pochaev, stretched out his hands and cried: "Mother of God, depicted in the Pochaev Icon, save me!” times Pototski tried to shoot the pistol, which had never failed him, but the weapon misfired and the coachman remained alive. Pototski went at once to the wonderworking Icon and resolved to devote himself and all his property to building up the monastery. With the money he contributed, the Dormition cathedral was built, as well as other buildings for the brethren. return of the Pochaev Monastery to the Orthodox Church in 1832 was marked by the miraculous healing of the blind maiden Anna Akimchukova, who had come on pilgrimage to the holy shrine along with her seventy-year-old grandmother from Kremenets-Podolsk, 200 versts away. In memory of this event, the Archbishop of Volhynia and Archimandrite Innocent of the Lavra (1832-1840) appointed that an Akathist be read on Saturdays before the wonderworking Icon. During the time of Archimandrite Agathangelus, Archbishop of Volhynia (1866-1876), a separate chapel was built in the galleries of the Holy Trinity church, which was dedicated on July 23, 1875 in memory of the victory over the Tatars. wonderworking Pochaev Icon is also commemorated on Friday of Bright Week, and on September 8.

Russia, Moscow, 1340-1353, Prince, Simeon of Moscow, and Vladimir, against Novg and Lith, died Black Death
Moscow Prince, 1340-1353, Simeon of Moscow ; Icon of the Mother of God "Chukhloma" from Galich, Commemorated July 20 ; Repose of the Venerable Abramius of Galich or Chukhom Lake, and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated July 20 ; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; St Mercurius the Bishop of Smolensk, Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on August 7; St John the Bishop of Suzdal, Commemorated on October 15; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10; Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on January 19; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 25; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; St Theodosius the Bulgarian, with his disciple Romanos, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; St Theognostus the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, Commemorated on March 14; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26 ; Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6;

Russia, Moscow, 1345-1406, Sava of Zvenigorod, constant toil, lamenting, trembling, model of humility, confessor tAll, incrrpt r
Russia, Tver, 1345-1406, Sava of Zvenigorod, constant toil, lamenting, trembling, model of humility, confessor to all, incorrupt relics, tonsured bSergius oRadonezh, his mentor, loved solitude, avoided conversation, constant toil, lamenting his soul's poverty, trembling God's judgement, model oSimplicity humility, attained spiritual wisdom, Radonezh confessor, excedingly learned, became igumen aDemetry otDon's Dubenka River monastery, ate plants, wore coarse clothing, slept oGround, 1392 igumen Trinity-Sergius, built well, Yuri oZ, Sergius' godson, chose Savva spiritual father, come bless my whole family, begged to stay, prayed before icon, accepted, new Storozhi monastery 1399, dug well, carried water, wooden palisade circling m, hollow cell above it, 1399 blessed Yuri campaign, speedy victory, stone church, died 1406, appointed Savva II igumen, miraculous curative power from his grave, numerous appearances, divine light illuminating all, 1539 called wonderworker, 1480 appeared t4th igumen, I am Savva tFounder othis place, dream verified by one who knew him, obeyed command paint Icon oSavva, incorrupt relics 1652; Russia, Tver, 1345-1406, Sava of Storozhev, or Zvenigorod, Tver, Moscow River 3, Trinity-Sergiev Lavra 1345, solitude, constant toil, lamenting, trembling, model of simplicity and humility, father confessor to all, Donskoy's Dubenka River monastery 1380, 1392 Trinity monastery, Yuri of Z's monastery 1399 , Opening incorrupt relics 1652; Cape of Storozhev (Zvenigorod, Moscova River 2), Steep Banks of the Moscova River; Opening of the Relics of the Venerable Sava of Storozhev, or Zvenigorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; we commemorate opening of the incorrupt relics of Saint Savva of Storozhev and Zvenigorod on January 19, 1652. Savva is also also commemorated on December 3, as determined by the Moscow Council of 1547. Venerable Savva, Igoumen of Zvenigorod, Disciple of Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; Savva of Zvenigorod forsook the world in his early youth, and received the monastic tonsure from Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25 and July 5), and was his disciple and fellow-ascetic. Savva loved solitude, and avoided conversing with people. He lived in constant toil, lamenting the poverty of his soul, and trembling before the judgment of God. He was a model of simplicity and humility, and he attained such a depth of spiritual wisdom that “in the monastery of Saint Sergius he was the Father Confessor to all the brethren, a venerable and exceedingly learned Elder.” Great Prince Demetrios of the Don built the monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God at the Dubenka River, in gratitude for the victory over Mamai, Savva became the Igoumen, with the blessing of Saint Sergius. Maintaining the simple manner of his life of asceticism, he ate plants, wore coarse clothing and slept on the ground. the departure of their Igoumen Saint Nikon (November 17) into the wilderness in 1392, the brethren of the Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra asked Saint Savva to become the Igoumen of the monastery. Here he “shepherded the flock entrusted to him well, to the best of his ability, helped by the prayers of his Spiritual Father, Saint Sergius.” According to Tradition, the well outside the Lavra walls was built while he was Igoumen. Yuri of Zvenigorod, a godson of Saint Sergius, regarded Saint Savva with much love and esteem. He chose Saint Savva as his Spiritual Father and begged him to come and bestow his blessing upon his entire household. The Saint had hoped to return to his monastery, but the Prince begged him to stay and establish a new monastery, “in his fatherland, near Zvenigorod, at a place called Storozhi.” Savva acceded to the request of Prince Yuri, and praying tearfully before an icon of the Mother of God, he entreated her protection for that site in the wilderness. On Storozhi Hill, he built a small wooden church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and nearby a small cell for himself. Here he established a monastery in 1399, with paternal love he accepted all who came seeking a life of quietude and seclusion. Savva worked very hard to build up the monastery. He dug a well at the foot of the hill, from which he carried water on his own shoulders. He encircled the monastery with a wooden palisade, and in a hollow above it, he dug out a cell where he could live in solitude. 1399 Saint Savva blessed his spiritual son, Prince Yuri, to go on a military campaign, predicting that the enemy would be defeated. Through the prayers of the holy Elder, the forces of the Prince won a speedy victory. Through the efforts of Saint Savva, a stone church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was built to replace the old wooden one. Savva went to the Lord at an advanced age on December 3, 1406. He appointed his disciple, who was also named Savva, as his successor. of the holy God-pleaser by the local people began immediately after his death. The miraculous curative power issuing from the Saint's grave, and his numerous appearances, convinced everyone that Igoumen Savva was "truly an unsetting sun of divine light, illumining all with its miraculous rays.” In a letter of 1539 Saint Savva was called a wonderworker. Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich had a special veneration for him, repeatedly visiting the monastery of Saint Savva on foot. Tradition has preserved for us a remarkable account of how Saint Savva was saved from a ferocious bear. Life of Saint Savva, compiled in the XVI century, relates how at the end of the XV century (1480-1490), the Saint appeared to Father Dionysios, the fourth Igoumen of Saint Savva Monastery and said: “Dionysios! Wake up and paint my icon.” When Father Dionysios asked who he was, he replied, “I am Savva, the founder of this place.” Father Dionysios had not known the Saint personally, so he summoned Elder Habakkuk, who had known Saint Savva in his youth, hoping to convince himself that his dream was not a delusion. He described the Saint's outward appearance, and Father Habakkuk assured him that the Saint looked exactly as the Igoumen had seen him in the dream. Then Father Dionysios obeyed the command and painted an icon of Saint Savva. Feast Day of Saint Savva was established at the Moscow Council of 1547. His incorrupt relics were recovered on January 19, 1652.

Russia, Moscow, 1350, 14th C, Mercurius t Faster of the Far Caves, deep spiritual friendship & buried w Paisus
Russia, Kiev, 1350, Mercurius t Faster of the Far Caves, deep spiritual friendship & buried w Paisus; Kiev Far Caves - Berestovo Village ; Venerable Mercurius the Faster of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated November 24 ; Mercurius of Kiev Caves pursued asceticism in the Farther Caves in the fourteenth century, and was strict in fasting. During his lifetime Saint Mercurius had a deep spiritual friendship with Saint Paisius, and when they died, they were buried in the same grave. November 24 commemoration of the saint is made because of his namesake, the holy Great Martyr Mercurius. He is also remembered on August 28, the Synaxis of the Saints of the Far Caves; and on the second Sunday of Great Lent, the Synaxis of all the monastic Fathers of the Kiev Caves. Venerable Paisius of the Kiev Far Caves Commemorated on July 19 Saint Paisius of the Caves was a monk of the Kiev Caves monastery. From the Canon to the Kiev Caves monks, venerated in the Far Caves, it is known that he was connected by oneness of mind and brotherly love with Saint Mercurius (November 24). Both saints were inseparable, they lived in the same cell, and after death were placed in the same grave. At the present time their relics rest in separate reliquaries.

Russia, Moscow, 1350, 14th C, Gregory tRecluse oKiev Far Caves, his food wUncooked grass, served grass and sick were healed
Russia, Kiev, 1350, 14th C, Gregory tRecluse oKiev Far Caves - Theodosiev Caves - Berestovo Village, relics lie Cave oTheodosius, uncooked grass was his food all his life, served grass tThose coming to him & sick were healed; Kiev Far Caves - Berestovo Village ; Venerable Gregory the Recluse, of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on January 8; Gregory, Hermit of the Caves, lived during the fourteenth century. the “Lives of the Saints Whose Relics lie in the Cave of Saint Theodosius,” it says that uncooked grass served as Saint Gregory’s food all his life. gave this grass to those coming to him, and the sick were healed. is also commemorated on August 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.

Russia, Moscow, 1350, 14th C, Zeno the Faster, oKiev Far Caves - Theodosiev Caves - Berestovo Village, resplendent iFasting
Kiev Far Caves - Berestovo Village ; Venerable Zeno the Faster, of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated January 30 ; Zeno the Faster and Lover of Labor of the Far Caves of Kiev lived in the fourteenth century. the Third Ode of the Canon to the Monks of the Far Caves, he is described as “resplendent in fasting.” memory is also celebrated on August 28 and the second Sunday of Great Lent.

Russia, Moscow, 1350-1353, Black Plague in Russia, Worldwide 1331-1353
Moscow, 1350-1353, Black Plague in Russia, Worldwide 1331-1353; Venerable Dorothy of Kashin, Commemorated on September 24;

Russia, Moscow, 1350-1370 , St John, B Suzdal&Nizhegorod, attending angel, lower taxes, poor houses, hospices, Mordovians
Russia, Vladimir, 1350- , Saint John, Bishop of Suzdal; Suzdal (Southern Valley) ; St John the Bishop of Suzdal, Commemorated October 15 ; John, Bishop of Suzdal, entered one of the monasteries of Suzdal while a youth. his virtuous and humble life, the saint was made the first Bishop of Suzdal and Nizhegorod in 1350. John merited a great mercy of God: Prince Boris of Suzdal saw how an angel of God attended the saint during the Divine Liturgy. John was known for his love towards the destitute and the sick; he interceded for the poor before the princes to lower their taxes. He also built poor houses and hospices for the sick. saint was very concerned about enlightening the pagan Mordvians with the Christian Faith. the annexation of Suzdal to the Moscow Diocese, Saint John took the monastic schema and withdrew to the Bogoliub monastery. He lived there in seclusion and died in peace. Numerous miracles took place at his grave.

Russia, Moscow, 1350, Chukhoma Icon found in a tree, Jesus, Galich, Kostroma
Russia, Moscow, 1350, Chukhoma Icon found in a tree, Jesus, Galich, Kostroma Russia, Vologda, 1350, Chukhoma Icon found in a tree, Jesus, Galich, Kostroma ; Chukhloma Icon of the Mother of God of Galich appeared in the year 1350 to Saint Abraham of Galich, who came there from the north for ascetical labors with the blessing of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. On the wild shores of the Galich lake near the large mountain, hidden in the dense forest, he turned with prayer to the Mother of God, asking Her blessing for his endeavors. After completing his prayer the saint sat down to rest, and suddenly a bright light appeared on the nearby mountainside and he heard a voice: “Abraham, come up the mountain, where there is an icon of My Mother.” monk went up the mountain where the light shone, and indeed found an icon of the Mother of God with the Infant on a tree. With tenderness and in gratitude to God, the holy ascetic took the revealed icon and, strengthened by prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, he built a chapel at that place, in which he put the icon. a certain time the Galich prince Demetrius Feodorovich, learned about the Elder’s trip, and asked him to bring the icon. Saint Abraham rowed across the Galich lake in a boat and, accompanied by clergy and a throng of people, he took the wonderworking icon to the cathedral church of the city of Galich. this day a large number of the sick were healed by this icon. When Saint Abraham told about the appearance of the icon, the Prince offered money to build a monastery. a church was built in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, around which a monastery grew. Saint Abraham founded several more monasteries, the last being founded was the Chukhloma, not far from the city of Chukhloma, from the name of this monastery the ascetic was named “of Chukhloma,” and the wonderworking icon became known as the Chukhloma Icon of Galich. icon is also commemorated on May 28, July 4, and August 15. Galich (Lake Galich);

Russia, Moscow, 1350, middle 14th to first half 15th centuries, Strigolniki Heretics, social justice
Strigolniki Heretics, middle 14th to first half 15th centuries; Strigolniki were followers of the first Russian heretical sect of the middle of the 14th and first half of the 15th century, established in Pskov and later in Novgorod and Tver.[1] origins of the name remain unclear. Some historians believe it has something to do with handicrafts that the first Strigolniki were engaged in, such as cloth-cutting or hairdressing (it appears that the word strigolnik derives from the Russian root strig-, which connotes cutting or trimming. Others think the name comes from a special initiation ceremony (a specific haircut, or strizhka), performed by a deacon named Karp – a supposed founder of the sect (together with deacon Nikita) yet others think it could mean that these people refused to either grow a beard or cut their beards when they entered churches. participants of the sect were tradespeople and low-ranking clergy. They renounced all ecclesiastic hierarchy and monasticism, sacraments of priesthood, communion, repentance, and baptism, which had been accompanied by large fees ("extortions", in their view) to the benefit of the clergy. Criticizing and exposing the venality, vices, and ignorance of the priests, the Strigolniki demanded the right to a religious sermon for laymen. Their sermons were full of social motifs: they reproached the rich for enslaving the free and the poor. Karp found many followers in Pskov, but had to move to Novgorod to avoid persecution. Some scholars argue that Archbishop of Novgorod Vasilii Kalika (1330–1352) ignored the heresy, but that his successors, Moisei (1325–1330; 1352–1359), and Aleksei (1359–1388) took firm measures against the heretics. In 1375, enraged citizens of Novgorod threw three heretics from the bridge into the Volkhov River.[2] Beginning in 1382, the sect was opposed by Archbishop Dionysios of Suzdal. the teachings of the Strigolniki lived on. They spread widely in Novgorod, in Pskov, and also in Tver, where bishops Feodor Dobry and Yevfimiy Vislen came forward with support for the movement. In the early 15th century Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia, denounced the Strigolniki teachings.[3] has been no record of the sect since the second half of the 15th century. Some historians believe that it merged with the Sect of Skhariya the Jew. The Orthodox Church believes the heresy ended in 1427.[citation needed] St Dionysius the Archbishop of Suzdal, Commemorated on June 26 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1351-1453, Sophia of Lithuania, Vytautas' daughter, Russian Basil I's wife, regent for son Vasily II
of Lithuania (1371–1453) was a Grand Princess consort of Muscovy by marriage to Vasili I of Russia. She was regent of Muscovy during the minority of her son from 1425 to 1434. was the only daughter of Vytautas the Great of Lithuania and his first wife, Anna. On 21 January 1391, while her father was engaged in the Lithuanian Civil War, she married Vasili I of Russia. She was the longest serving consort of Russia. Vasili's death in 1425 she became regent for their ten-year-old son Vasili II. Her father supported Vasili's claim to the throne, which was disputed by his uncle, Yuri of Zvenigorod. was buried in the Ascension Convent; the sarcophagus was moved in 1929 to the Cathedral of the Archangel by Soviet authorities.[1] She and Vasili I of Russia had at least nine children: Anna of Moscow (1393 – August 1417), wife of John VIII Palaiologos Yury Vasilievich (30 March 1395 – 30 November 1400) Ivan Vasilievich (15 January 1396 – 20 July 1417), husband of a daughter of Ivan Vladimirovich of Pronsk Anastasia Vasilievna (d. 1470), wife of Vladymir Alexander, Prince of Kiev. Her husband was a son of Vladymir, Prince of Kiev. His paternal grandparents were Algirdas and Maria of Vitebsk. Daniil Vasilievich (6 December 1400 – May 1402). Vasilisa Vasilievna, wife of Alexander Ivanovich "Brukhaty", Prince of Suzdal, and Alexander Daniilovich "Vzmetenj", Prince of Suzdal. Simeon Vasilievich (13 January – 7 April 1405) Maria Vasilievna, wife of Yuri Patrikievich. Her husband was a son of Patrikas, Prince of Starodub, and his wife, Helena. His paternal grandfather was Narimantas. Vasily II of Moscow (10 March 1415 – 27 March 1462) Lithuanian prince Vitovt 1392-1430 (Vytautas the Great); (c. 1350 – October 27, 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great[1] (Lithuanian: About this soundVytautas Didysis (help·info), Polish: Witold Kiejstutowicz, Witold Aleksander or Witold Wielki[1] Ruthenian: Vitovt, Latin: Alexander Vitoldus, Old German: Wythaws or Wythawt)[2] from the 15th century onwards, was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which chiefly encompassed the Lithuanians and Ruthenians. He was also the Prince of Grodno (1370–1382), Prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites.[3] modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revered as a national hero and was an important figure in the national rebirth in the 19th century. Vytautas is a popular male given name in Lithuania. In commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of his death, Vytautas Magnus University was named after him. Monuments in his honour were built in many towns in the independent Lithuania during the interwar period from 1918 to 1939. It is known that Vytautas himself knew and spoke in the Lithuanian language with Jogaila.[4][5] for power[edit] –1384[edit] article: Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384) Seal of Vytautas, c. 14th-15th centuries uncle Algirdas had been Grand Duke of Lithuania until his death in 1377. Algirdas and Vytautas' father Kestutis had ruled jointly in the form of diarchy, with Algirdas governing the east and Kestutis the west, primarily responsible for defense against the Teutonic Order. Algirdas was succeeded by his son Jogaila, and a struggle for power ensued. 1380, Jogaila signed the secret Treaty of Dovydiskes with the Teutonic Order against Kestutis. Kestutis discovered this in 1381, he seized Vilnius, imprisoned Jogaila, and made himself Grand Duke. Jogaila escaped and raised an army against Kestutis. The two sides confronted each other but never engaged in battle. Kestutis was ready to negotiate, but he and Vytautas were arrested and transported to Kreva Castle. One week later, Kestutis was found dead. Whether he died of natural causes or was murdered is still a matter of debate. and Kestutis imprisoned by Jogaila. Painting by Wojciech Gerson 1382, Vytautas escaped from Kreva and he sought help from the Teutonic Order, who were negotiating with Jogaila at the time. Jogaila and the Order agreed to the Treaty of Dubysa, by which Jogaila promised to accept Christianity, become an ally of the Order, and give the Order part of Samogitia up to the Dubysa River. However, the treaty was never ratified and in summer 1383, the war between Jogaila and the Order resumed. was baptised as a Catholic, receiving the name of Wigand. Vytautas participated in several raids against Jogaila. In January 1384, Vytautas promised to cede part of Samogitia to the Teutonic Order, up to the Nevezis River in return for recognition as Grand Duke of Lithuania. in July of the same year, Vytautas broke with the Order and reconciled with Jogaila. He then burned three important Teutonic castles, and regained all Kestutis' lands, except for Trakai. –1392[edit] article: Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392) and Lithuania, 1386–1434 1385, Jogaila concluded the Union of Krewo with Poland, under which he married Jadwiga of Poland and became King of Poland as WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw II JagieÅ‚Å‚o. participated in the Union and in 1386 was re-baptised as a Catholic, receiving the name Alexander. left his brother Skirgaila as regent in Lithuania. However, Skirgaila was unpopular with the people and Vytautas saw an opportunity to become Grand Duke. In 1389, he attacked Vilnius but failed. early 1390, Vytautas again allied with the Teutonic Order through the Treaty of Konigsberg (1390).[6] Vytautas had to confirm his agreement of 1384, and cede Samogitia to the Order. army now invaded Lithuania.[citation needed] Also, to gain more influence, Vytautas married his only daughter Sophia to Vasili I of Russia in 1391.[6] Polish nobles were unhappy that their new king spent too much time on Lithuanian affairs. It was clear that the war could continue for years and would not bring any benefit to Poland. 1392, Jogaila sent Henry of Masovia with an offer to make Vytautas regent instead of Skirgaila. Vytautas accepted and again broke with the Order. He burned three Teutonic castles and returned to Vilnius. and Vytautas signed the Astrava Treaty in which Vytautas recovered all KÄ™stutis' lands, including Trakai, and was given more. Vytautas would rule Lithuania in the name of Jogaila. After Vytautas' death, all his lands and powers would revert to Jogaila. Duke of Lithuania[edit] towards the East[edit] to Vilnius Cathedral issued by Vytautas in Vilnius on February 16, 1410 (Latin language) continued Algirdas' vision to control as many Ruthenian lands as possible. Much of the territory was already under the Grand Duke's rule, but the rest was controlled by the Mongols. Khan of the Golden Horde, sought help from Vytautas when he was removed from the throne in 1395 after his defeat by Timur. An agreement was reached that Vytautas would help Tokhtamysh to regain power, and the Horde would cede more lands to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in return. In 1398, Vytautas' army attacked a part of the Crimea and built a castle there. Now Lithuania spanned from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. A number of Tatar captives were brought to ethnic Lithuania. attempts on the part of Poland to subordinate Lithuania drove Vytautas for the third time into the arms of the Order, and by the Treaty of Salynas in October 1398, Vytautas, who now styled himself Supremus Dux Lithuaniae, ceded his ancestral province of Samogitia to the knights, formed an alliance with them for the conquest and partition of Pskov and Novgorod the Great.[6] of Smolensk coin with lions or leopards and the Columns of Gediminas, showing it as a vassal of Vytautas the Great, circa 1399–1401. by his successful campaign against Timur, Vytautas and Jogaila won support from Pope Boniface IX for organising a crusade against the Mongols. political move also demonstrated that Lithuania had fully accepted Christianity and was defending the faith on its own, and that the Teutonic Knights had no further basis for attacks against Lithuania. campaign resulted in a crushing defeat at the Battle of the Vorskla River in 1399. Over twenty princes, including two brothers of Jogaila, were killed, and Vytautas himself barely escaped alive. This came as a shock to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. number of territories revolted against Vytautas, and Smolensk was retaken by its hereditary ruler, George of Smolensk, and not re-conquered by Lithuanians until 1404. waged a war in 1406–1408 against his son-in-law Vasili I of Moscow and Svitrigaila, a brother of Jogaila who with the support of the Teutonic Order had declared himself grand prince. A major stand-off between the two armies ended without a battle in the Treaty of Ugra, by which Velikiy Novgorod was granted to Jogaila's brother Lengvenis, and the important city of Pskov to Jogaila's envoy Jerzy Nos, the latter settlement a clear violation of the treaty of Raciaz.[7][8] The war with Muscovy ended in December 1408, on terms that made further conflict with the Teutonic Order inevitable, despite Hermann II of Celje's attempt to negotiate a solution.[9] against the Teutonic Order[edit] article: Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War the Great as shown on Jan Matejko's oil painting of the Battle of Grunwald the Great Monument in Kaunas the Treaty of Salynas Vytautas had transferred Zemaitija Samogitia to the Teutonic Knights. Zemaitija/Samogitia was especially important for the Order because it separated the Teutonic Knights, based in Prussia, from the Livonian Order, based in Latvia. The two orders desired to unite and form a mighty force. However, the knights ruled Zemaitija for only three years, because on March 13, 1401, the Samogitians, supported by Vytautas, rebelled and burned two castles. The knights received support from Svitrigaila, brother of Jogaila, who desired to take Vytautas' title. In 1404 Peace of Raciaz was signed, which in essence repeated the Treaty of Salynas: Zemaitija/Samogitia was transferred to the Teutonic Knights. Poland promised not to support Lithuania in case of another war. The knights promised to support Vytautas in the east and not to support any Gediminid who could have claims to the title of Grand Duke of Lithuania. However, the treaty did not solve the problems, and all the parties prepared for war. 1408, Vytautas reached peace in the east and returned to Samogitian matters. In 1409 the second Samogitian uprising against the Teutonic Knights began, as the rebels burned SkirsnemunÄ— castle. Both Poland and Lithuania supported the rebels. Vytautas gathered a large army from 18 lands under his control. The army joined Polish forces and advanced towards the Teutonic headquarters at the castle of Marienburg (present-day Malbork). In 1410, Vytautas himself commanded the forces of the Grand Duchy in the Battle of Grunwald, also called the Battle of Å½algiris (Lithuanian) or Tannenberg (German). The battle ended in a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory. Even though the siege of Marienburg was unsuccessful, the Teutonic Knights never regained their strength and from then on posed a reduced threat to Poland-Lithuania. From now on, Poland-Lithuania began to be regarded in the west as a great power, and Vytautas stood in high favour with the Roman curia.[6] a result of the Peace of Thorn of 1411, Vytautas received Zemaitija (Samogitia) for his lifetime. However, the parties could not agree on the border. Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, agreed to mediate the dispute. In 1413, it was declared that the whole right bank of the Nemunas (Neman River) was Zemaitija and therefore belonged to Lithuania. The Teutonic Knights disagreed and a new war started in 1414. The war lasted for just a few months, and the dispute was brought to the Council of Constance. Even though the dispute was not resolved, the Samogitians had a chance to present their case to the leaders of Europe. It is seen as an important event in the diplomatic history of Lithuania. Several other mediation attempts failed, and yet another war with the Teutonic Order started in 1422. After several months of fighting, the Treaty of Lake Melno was signed. Å½emaitija/Samogitia was returned to Lithuania in perpetuity, while the city of Memel (present-day KlaipÄ—da) and surrounding territories stayed with the Order. This border, as established by the treaty, remained stable for some 500 years until the Memel Territory dispute of 1923. With peace established, Vytautas could now concentrate on reforms and the relationship with Poland. with Poland[edit] 1399 Jadwiga of Poland and her newborn died in childbirth. Jogaila's power in Poland was jeopardised as he was a foreigner king with no other ties to the throne but his wife. Also, the defeat at Vorskla forced a re-evaluation of the relationship between Poland and Lithuania. The result was the Union of Vilnius and Radom in 1401. Vytautas was granted wide autonomy, but after his death the title and powers of Grand Duke of Lithuania were to be transferred to the king of Poland. In case JagieÅ‚Å‚o died first without an heir, the Polish nobility agreed not to elect a new king without consulting Vytautas. The unique feature of this union was that the Lithuanian nobility presented their own document: for the first time somebody other than dukes played a role in the state matters. of Vytautas the Great. Built around 1400 in Kaunas was one of the creators of the Union of HorodÅ‚o with Poland in 1413. According to the act of the union, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was to retain a separate Grand Duke and its own parliament. At the same time both the Polish and Lithuanian Sejms were to discuss all the important matters jointly. This union was important culturally as well as politically because it granted Lithuanian Christian nobles the same rights as the Polish szlachta. This act did not include Orthodox nobles. This paved the way for more contacts and cooperation between the nobles of Poland and of Lithuania. January 1429, at the Congress of Lutsk it was proposed by Sigismund, king of Hungary, that Vytautas should be crowned King of Lithuania. It resulted in a great crisis between Vytuatas, king WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw and Polish nobles. envoys who were transporting documents supporting Vytautas coronation and proposing alliance between Lithuania, Hungary and Teutonic Order were stopped at Polish-Lithuanian border in the autumn of 1430.[10] died in the Trakai Island Castle, ending the whole affair. He was buried in the Cathedral of Vilnius. The knowledge about his remains has been lost. to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Vytautas "was certainly the most imposing personality of his day in Eastern Europe, and his martial valour was combined with statesmanlike foresight." the Great watch tower in Kherson, Ukraine commemorative coin dedicated to Vytautas the Great backed the economic development of his state and introduced many reforms. Under his rule the Grand Duchy of Lithuania gradually became more centralised, as local princes with dynastic ties to the throne were replaced by the governors loyal to Vytautas. The governors were rich landowners who formed the basis for the Lithuanian nobility. During Vytautas' rule, the influential Radvila (RadziwiÅ‚Å‚) and GoÅ¡tautas families began their rise. 1398, Vytautas brought over families of the Karaim (388 families) and Tatar peoples. Their principal role was to guard the castle and the bridges, but they also served as translators, farmers, traders, and diplomats. He retains a very high reputation among them, with the anniversary of his death being officially celebrated in 1930 in the kenesa in Vilnius.[11] beside his uncle Algirdas on the Millennium of Russia in Veliky Novgorod. in 1350 in the castle of present-day Old Trakai (Senieji Trakai), Vytautas was the son of KÄ™stutis and his wife BirutÄ—. Vytautas was a cousin and childhood friend of Jogaila (WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw II JagieÅ‚Å‚o), who became King of Poland in 1386. Around 1370, he married Anna, who gave birth to Sophia of Lithuania. Sophia was married to Vasily I, Grand Prince of Moscow, and mother and regent to their son Vasili II. After Anna's death in 1418, Vytautas married her niece Juliana Olshanska, daughter of Ivan Olshanski who outlived him.[12] Because of the relationship between the two women, the Bishop of Vilnius was unwilling to perform the ceremony without a papal dispensation; however, Jan KropidÅ‚o did not have such scruples and married them on 13 November 1418.[13] According to the 16th century Bychowiec Chronicle, his first wife was Maria Åukomska, however, this is not confirmed by other sources.[13] Icon of the Mother of God œthe Blessed Heaven, Commemorated on March 6;

Russia, Moscow, 1351-1456, Therapont of Belozersk (White Lake)
Russia, Moscow, 1351-1456, Therapont of Belozersk (White Lake); Therapon's Ferapontov Monastery; Theraponov monastery was 50 versts from St Cyril's White Lake Monastery betwee two lakes: St Therapon moved to another place fifteen versts away from Cyril, between two lakes, Borodava and Pava. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk, Commemorated on October 7 ; Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk, Commemorated on January 12 ; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on June 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1353-1359, Prince, Ivan II of Moscow, John II, chose GHorde over Lith, Donskoy's father
Moscow Prince, 1353-1359, Ivan II of Moscow ; Venerable Stephen the Abbot of Makhrishche, Vologda, Commemorated on July 14 ; Blessed Nicholas Kochanov the Fool-For-Christ at Novgorod, Commemorated July 28 ; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; St Mercurius the Bishop of Smolensk, Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on August 7; St John the Bishop of Suzdal, Commemorated on October 15; St Demetrius of Tsilibinsk, Commemorated on October 26; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10; Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on January 19; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 25; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; St Theodosius the Bulgarian, with his disciple Romanos, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8; Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1354-1378, Alexius, Metropolitan of M, calling at 12, church order, Khan' wife healed, monasteries
Moscow, 1354-1378, Patriarch Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7; St. Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia the Wonderworker (in the world Eleutherius), was born in the year 1292 (or according to another source, 1304) at Moscow into the family of the noble Theodore Byakont, a descendant of the Chernigov princely line. Lord revealed to the future saint his lofty destiny from early childhood. At twelve years of age Eleutherius went to a field and set nets to ensnare birds. He dozed off and suddenly he heard a voice: “Alexis! Why do you toil in vain? You are to be a catcher of people.” this day on the boy abandoned childish games and spent much time in solitude. He frequently visited church, and when he was fifteen he decided to become a monk. 1320, he entered Moscow’s Theophany monastery, where he spent more than twelve years in strict monastic struggles. The renowned ascetics of the monastery, the Elders Gerontius and Saint Stephen (July 14), brother of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, were guides for him and his companions. Theognostus, who had taken notice of the virtuous life and spiritual gifts of Saint Alexis, bade the future saint to leave the monastery and manage the ecclesiastical courts. The saint fulfilled this office for twelve years. Towards the end of 1350, Metropolitan Theognostus had Alexis consecrated as Bishop of Vladimir. After the death of the metropolitan, he became his successor in the year 1354. this period the Russian Church was torn by great rifts and quarrels, in part because of the pretensions of Metropolitan Romanus of Lithuania and Volhynia. In 1356, in order to put an end to the troubles and disturbances, the saint went to Constantinople to the Ecumenical Patriarch. Patriarch Callistus gave Saint Alexis the right to both be called and to consider himself Archbishop of Kiev and Great Russia with the title, “All-Venerable Metropolitan and Exarch.” the return journey, during a storm at sea, the ship was in danger of shipwreck. Saint Alexis prayed and vowed to build a temple to the saint of that day on which the ship should come to shore. The storm subsided, and the ship arrived on August 16. Moscow delightedly came out to meet the saint. spite of problems on every side, Saint Alexis devoted himself to his flock: he appointed bishops, he established cenobitic monasteries (on the model of the Trinity Lavra, founded by Saint Sergius), and he brought order to Russian relations with the Khans of the Horde. The saint journeyed more than once to the Golden Horde. In 1357 the Kh an told the Great Prince that the saint should come to him and heal the blindness of Taidulla, his wife. “This is beyond my powers,” said Saint Alexis, “but I believe that God, Who gave sight to the blind, will also aid me.” Through his prayer, and after being sprinkled with holy water, the wife of the Khan was healed. Great Prince Ioann died, his young son Demetrius (the future saint), still a minor, was taken under the saint’s guardianship. The holy bishop had much toil in reconciling and appeasing princes obstinately refusing to accept the authority of Moscow. Nor did the metropolitan neglect the work of organizing new monasteries. 1361 he founded the Icon of the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands monastery at the Yauza in Moscow (Andronikov, the disciple of Saint Sergius, was the first igumen of the monastery), fulfilling the vow he had made on his return journey from Constantinople, when the ship was in danger. also founded the Chudov monastery in the Moscow Kremlin. Ancient monasteries were restored: the Annunciation monastery at Nizhni-Novgorod, and Saints Constantine and Helen at Vladimir. In 1361 a women’s cenobitic monastery was named for him (the Alekseev). Alexis reached the advanced age of seventy-eight, having spent twenty-four years upon the metropolitan cathedra. He reposed on February 12, 1378 and was buried in accord with his last wishes at the Chudov monastery. His relics were uncovered in a miraculous manner fifty years later, after which the memory of the great holy hierarch and man of prayer began to be celebrated. Alexis is also commemorated on May 20 (Uncovering of his relics) and on October 5.

Russia, Moscow, 1354-1378, Alexius, Met oMoscow&Kiev, his future revealed early, Lord told him he was to be catcher oMen
Russia, Kiev, 1354-1378, Patriarch Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kiev, his future revealed early, Lord told him he was to be catcher of men, not birds, much solitude from then on, church attendance, decided monk at 15, 1320 entered Theophany m, 12 yrs strict monastic struggles, guided by renouned ascetics: Gerontios, Sergius' bro Stephen, called out of M by Met Theognos to manage ecclesiastical courts, 12 yrs, concecrated Bishop by Met, 1350 Bishop oVladimir, 1354 Met when Met reposed, Russian church rifts&quarrels, pretensions oMet Romanos oLithuania&Volhynia, 1356 tConstantinople to see Ecumenical Patriarch Kallistos, who gave him Archbishop over all russia, most venerable met and Exarch, over Kiev and Great Russia, storm at sea upon his return, vowed build temple for saint otDay upon his return, Aug 16, despite problems devoted to his flock, appointed bishops, estab cenobitic m's like Sergius' Trinity Lavra, healed Khan's wife bringing order to Horde relations, guardian oDemetrios, Princes refused accept Moscow authority, He continued establishing monasteries, Icon Savior at Yauza, fulfilled storm return fConstantinople Aug 16, also Chudov M1 in Moscow Kremlin where he was buried, reposed at 78; Moscow, 1354-1378, Patriarch Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow; St. Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; Alexei, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia the Wonderworker (in the world Eleutherios), born in the year 1292 (or according to another source, 1304) at Moscow into the family of the noble Theodore Byakont, a descendant of the Chernigov princely line. Lord revealed to the future Saint his lofty destiny from early childhood. twelve years of age Eleutherios went to a field and set nets to ensnare birds. dozed off and suddenly he heard a voice: “Alexei! Why do you labor in vain? You are to be a catcher of men." this day on the boy abandoned childish games and spent much time in solitude. often attended church, when he was fifteen he decided to become a monk. 1320, he entered Moscow’s Theophany Monastery, where he spent more than twelve years in strict monastic struggles. renowned ascetics of that monastery, the Elders Gerontios and Saint Stephen (July 14), the brother of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, were guides for him and his companions. Theognostos, who noticed the virtuous life and spiritual gifts of Saint Alexei, bade the future Saint to leave the monastery and manage the ecclesiastical courts. Saint fulfilled this office for twelve years. the end of 1350, Metropolitan Theognostos had Alexei consecrated as Bishop of Vladimir. the Metropolitan's repose in the year 1354, Saint Alexei succeeded him. this period the Russian Church was torn by great rifts and quarrels, part because of the pretensions of Metropolitan Romanos of Lithuania and Volhynia. 1356, in order to put an end to the troubles and disturbances, the Saint went to Constantinople to see the Ecumenical Patriarch. Kallistos gave Saint Alexei the right to be called, and to consider himself, as both Archbishop of Kiev and Great Russia with the title, “Most Venerable Metropolitan and Exarch.” his return journey, during a storm at sea, the ship was in danger of sinking. Alexei prayed and vowed to build a temple to the Saint of that day on which the ship should come to shore. The storm subsided, and the ship arrived on August 16. spite of problems on every side, Saint Alexei devoted himself to his flock: appointed bishops, and established cenobitic monasteries (on the model of the Trinity Lavra, founded by Saint Sergius), he brought order to Russian relations with the Khans of the Horde. Alexei journeyed more than once to the Golden Horde. 1357 the Khan told the Great Prince that Saint Alexei should come to him and heal the blindness of his wife Taidulla. “That is beyond my power,” Metropolitan Alexei replied, “but I believe that God, Who gave sight to the blind, will also help me.” his prayers, and after sprinkling the Khan's wife with holy water, she was healed. Great Prince John died, his young son Demetrios (the future saint), then still a minor, was taken under the Saint Alexei's guardianship. holy Hierarch had much difficulty in reconciling and appeasing the Princes, obstinately refused to accept Moscow's authority. did Vladyka (Bishop) Metropolitan (he) neglect the work of establishing new monasteries. 1361 he founded a Monastery dedicated to the Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands at the Yauza in Moscow. the disciple of Saint Sergius, was the first Igoumen of the Monastery, fulfilling the vow he had made on his return journey from Constantinople, when the ship was in danger. Alexei also founded the Chudov Monastery1 in the Moscow Kremlin. monasteries were restored: the Annunciation Monastery at Nizhni-Novgorod, and Saints Constantine and Helen at Vladimir. 1361 a women’s cenobitic monastery was named for him (Alekse'ev). Alexei reached the advanced age of seventy-eight, spent twenty-four years upon the metropolitan cathedra. reposed on February 12, 1378 was buried at the Chudov Monastery in accordance with his last wishes. His relics were uncovered in a miraculous manner fifty years later, after which the memory of the great holy Hierarch and intercessor began to be commemorated. Alexei is also commemorated on May 20 (Recovery of his relics) and on October 5 (Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs). 1 The Monastery is dedicated to the Miracle of the Archangel Michael (September 6).

Russia, Moscow, 1357-1427, Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery
Mologa Saint, 1357-1427, St Cyril of White Lake monastery, Sheksna, Vologda; St Cyril of White Lake monastery; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on July 28 ; White Lake Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos resembles the Vladimir Icon (May 21, June 23, August 26) in appearance. It was originally in the cell of Saint Cyril of White Lake (June 9), who often prayed before it. day, while he was chanting the Akathist before this icon, the Mother of God appeared to Saint Cyril and told him to establish a monastery on White Lake. Archangels Michael and Gabriel are seen on either side of the Virgin’s head, and various saints are depicted around the border of the icon. White Lake Icon is also commemorated on June 8. Venerable Theodoritus the Enlightener of the Lapps, Solovki, Commemorated on August 17; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7 ; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on January 9 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Oshevensk, Commemorated on April 20; Repose of the Venerable Nilus the Abbot of Sora, Commemorated on May 7; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on June 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1359-1389, Dmitry Donskoy (D otDon), age 9 GP M, GPrince Vladmir 1363, Horde victory, Submitted tThem fVictories
Russia, Moscow, 1359-1389, Prince Dmitry Ioannovich Donskoy (Dimitrius of the Don), ascended at age 9 GP Moscow, regent Met Aleksey, most prized title GPrince oVladmir 1363, national hero, central figure middle ages, great victory over Horde then submitted to Horde to defeat everyone else; Moscow, 1363-1389, Prince Dmitry Donskoy (Dimitrius of the Don); Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( tr. Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry October 1350 – 19 May 1389), son of Ivan II the Fair of Moscow (1326–1359), as the Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1363 to his death. was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol authority in Russia. is regarded as a national hero and central figure of the Russian Middle Ages. nickname, Donskoy ("of the Don"), alludes to his great victory against the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), which took place on the Don River.[1] He is venerated as a Saint in the Orthodox Church with his feast day on 19 May. reign[edit] was born in Moscow in 1350, the son of Ivan the Fair, Grand Prince of Moscow, and his second wife, Alexandra Vassilievna Velyaminova, the daughter of the mayor of Moscow. was orphaned at the age of nine and ascended the throne of the Principality of Moscow.[2] Per the terms of Ivan's will, during Dmitry's minority, Metropolitan Aleksey served as regent. 1360 Khiḍr Khan, Khan of the Golden Horde, transferred the title most prized among the Rus' princes, that of Grand Prince of Vladimir, to Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod. 1363, after that prince was deposed, Dmitry Ivanovich was crowned at Vladimir. Three years later, he made peace with Dmitry Konstantinovich and married his daughter Eudoxia. most important event during Dmitry's early reign was to start building the Moscow Kremlin; it was completed in 1367. Thanks to the new fortress, the city withstood two sieges by Algirdas of Lithuania during the Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–1372).[3] The war ended with the Treaty of Lyubutsk. 1375, Dmitry settled, in his own favor, a conflict with Mikhail II of Tver over Vladimir. princes of Northern Russia acknowledged his authority and contributed troops to the impending struggle against the Horde. By the end of his reign, Dmitry had more than doubled the territory of the Principality of Moscow. against Mamai[edit] Monument to Dmitry Donskoy in front of Marinkina tower (Kolomna Kremlin) domination of Rus began to crumble during Dmitry's thirty-year reign. The Golden Horde was severely weakened by civil war and dynastic rivalries. Dmitry took advantage of this lapse in Mongol authority to openly challenge the Tatars. he kept the Khan's patent to collect taxes for all of Russia, Dmitry is also famous for leading the first Russian military victory over the Mongols. Mamai, a Mongol general and claimant to the throne, tried to punish Dmitry for attempting to increase his power. In 1378 Mamai sent a Mongol army, but it was defeated by Dmitry's forces in the Battle of Vozha River.[3] years later Mamai personally led a large force against Moscow. of Radonezh blessed Dmitry Donskoy when he went to fight the Tatars in the signal Battle of Kulikovo field, but only after he was certain Dmitry had pursued all peaceful means of resolving the conflict. sent the two warrior monks Alexander Peresvet and his friend Rodion Oslyabya to join the Russian The battle of Kulikovo was opened by single combat between two champions. The Russian champion was Alexander Peresvet. The Horde champion was Temir-murza. The champions killed each other in the first run. defeated the Horde.[2] In gratitude for the victory, Dmitry established the Dormition monastery on the Dubenka River and built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos over the graves of the fallen warriors.[4][5] defeated Mamai was presently dethroned by a rival Mongol general, Tokhtamysh. That khan reasserted Mongol rule of Rus and overran Moscow in 1382 for Dmitry's resistance to Mamai. however, pledged his loyalty to Tokhtamysh and to the Golden Horde and was reinstated as Mongol principal tax collector and Grand Duke of Vladimir. his death in Moscow in 1389, Dmitry was the first Grand Duke to bequeath his titles to his son Vasili I of Russia without consulting the Khan.[2] and children[edit] He was married to Eudoxia of Nizhniy Novgorod. She was a daughter of Dmitry of Suzdal and Vasilisa of Rostov. They had at least twelve children: Daniil Dmitriyevich (c. 1370 – 15 September 1379). Vasiliy I of Moscow (30 September 1371 – 27 February 1425). Sofia Dmitriyevna. Married Fyodor Olegovich, Prince of Ryazan (reigned 1402–1427). Yuriy Dmitriyevich, Duke of Zvenigorod and Galich (26 November 1374 – 5 June 1434). Claimed the throne of Moscow against his nephew Vasiliy II of Moscow. Maria Dmitriyevna (d. 15 May 1399). Married Lengvenis. Anastasia Dmitriyevna. Married Ivan Vsevolodovich, Prince of Kholm. Simeon Dmitrievich (d. 11 September 1379). Ivan Dmitriyevich (d. 1393). Andrey Dmitriyevich, Prince of Mozhaysk (14 August 1382 – 9 July 1432). Pyotr Dmitriyevich, Prince of Dmitrov (29 July 1385 – 10 August 1428). Anna Dmitriyevna (born 8 January 1387). Married Yury Patrikiyevich. Her husband was a son of Patrikas, Prince of Starodub and his wife Helena. His paternal grandfather was Narimantas. The marriage solidified his role as a Boyar attached to Moscow. Konstantin Dmitriyevich, Prince of Pskov (14 May/15 May 1389 – 1433).[3] Demetrius Ioannovich Donskoy Right-Believing Prince Honored in Eastern Orthodox Church Canonized 6 June 1988, Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius by 1988 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, (Patriarch Pimen I of Moscow) Major shrine Cathedral of the Archangel Feast 23 January, 9 May, 19 May, 6 July, 22 August, 22 September Attributes sword and helmet Patronage The Military Police of Russia Prince Demetrius Ioannovich Donskoy was canonized on 6 June 1988 in Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius by 1988 Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Pimen I of Moscow.[6] Blessed Nicholas Kochanov the Fool-For-Christ at Novgorod, Commemorated July 28 ; St Roman of Kirzhachsk, Commemorated on July 29 ; St Mercurius the Bishop of Smolensk, Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on August 7; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Converser"Â, Commemorated on August 14; Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated on August 21; Repose of the Venerable Sergius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Radonezh, Commemorated on September 25; Repose of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on September 16 ; St John the Bishop of Suzdal, Commemorated on October 15; St Paul of Rostov, Commemorated on October 22; St Demetrius of Tsilibinsk, Commemorated on October 26; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, Commemorated on November 17; Venerable Mercurius the Faster of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on November 24; St James the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on November 27; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Pisma, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk, Commemorated on January 12; Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on January 19; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 25; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12; St Theodosius the Bulgarian, with his disciple Romanos, Commemorated on February 17; St Arsenius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on March 2 ; Icon of the Mother of God "œCzestochowa"Â, Commemorated on March 6; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Rufus the Obedient of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 8; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26 ; Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6 ; Venerable Pachomius the Abbot of Nerekhta, Commemorated on May 15; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20; Venerable Methodius the Abbot of Peshnosha the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 4; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on June 8; Venerable Cyril the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on June 9; Venerable Andronicus the Abbot of Moscow and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 13; Venerable Andrew Rublev the Iconographer, Commemorated on July 4; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7;

Russia, Moscow, 1362 &1581 &1682, Anthony founded Black Lake monastery, destroyed, 1581 by Lithuanians, &1682 by Sweden
Russia, Vologda, 1362 &1581 &1682, Anthony oBlack Lake (Chernopovets) founded Black Lake (Chernoezero) monastery, Cherepovets Resurrection monastery, Yagorba Mouth, Mologa, twice completely destroyed, 1581 by Lithuanians, &1682 by Sweden ; Cherepovets Resurrection monastery, Yagorba Mouth, Mologa, 1362; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Anthony of Black Lake founded the Mother of God monastery at Black Lake [Chernoezero] in the Novgorod area, not far from the city of Chernopovets. monastery was on an island of the Schirsk countryside. monastery twice suffered complete destruction: in 1581, from the Lithuanians; in 1682, from the Swedes. monastery was closed in 1764.

Russia, Moscow, 1363-1394, Theodore, Archbishop of Rostov, founded 3 monasteries, many great ascetic disciples, iconographer
Russia, Rostov, 1363-1394, Theodore, Archbishop of Rostov, founded Old & New Simonovo Monastery near Kremlin 1379, Dimitri o Don confessor, 1387 bishop of Rostov, many great ascetic disciples, iconographer, founded Rostov monastery; Rostov-Yaroslavl; Saint Theodore, Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Theodore, Archbishop of Rostov, in the world John, the son of Stephen (brother of Saint Sergius of Radonezh), who occupied an important post under Prince Andrew of Radonezh. a widower, Stephen became a monk, and together with his twelve-year-old son, went to the monastery to Saint Sergius, who foreseeing the ascetic life of the child John, tonsured him with the name Theodore on the Feast of Saint Theodore the Hair-Shirt Wearer (April 20). Theodore attained an appropriate age, he was given a blessing to be ordained to the priesthood. the blessing of Saint Sergius, Saint Theodore built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos and founded a monastery on the banks of the River Moskva, at the place called Simonovo. the monastery began to attract a throng of people. Saint Theodore built a cell five versts from the Moscow Kremlin, and pursued new ascetical labors, and here disciples gathered around him. Sergius, visiting this place, blessed the founding of a monastery, and Metropolitan Alexis blessed the construction of a church in the name of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos at Novoe Simonovo, which also had its foundations laid in 1379. The old Simonov monastery remained the burial place of monks. of his virtuous life and strict asceticism, Saint Theodore became known in Moscow. Metropolitan Saint Alexis elevated him to the rank of igumen, and Great Prince Demetrius of the Don chose him as his father confessor. Theodore journeyed to Constantinople several times on church matters for the Russian Metropolitan. his first journey in 1384, Patriarch Nilus made him an archimandrite. Simonov monastery was put directly under the Patriarch, thus becoming stavropegial. 1387, he was consecrated archbishop and occupied the See of Rostov. the igumen, and then the archimandrite of the Simonov monastery, and despite being occupied with churchly matters, Theodore stalwartly guided those in the monastic life and counted many great and famous ascetics among his disciples. Cyril (June 9) and Therapon (May 27), the future founders of two famous White Lake monasteries, were tonsured at the Simonov monastery. Theodore occupied himself with iconography, and he adorned with icons of his own painting both the Simonov monastery, and many Moscow churches. Rostov, Archbishop Theodore founded the Nativity of the Virgin monastery. blessed death of the saint occurred on November 28, 1394. His relics are in the Rostov Dormition cathedral. Theodore is also commemorated on May 23. Saints Paul and Theodore of Rostov, Commemorated on October 22: Paul and Theodore of Rostov founded a monastery at the River Ust, not far from Rostov, in honor of the holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb (May 2). Theodore (November 28) first came to the site of the future monastery from the Novgorod region. Paul came three years later for ascetic struggles. Sergius of Radonezh (September 25 and July 5) came to Rostov, his native region, in 1363. of this, Saints Theodore and Paul went to the great ascetic for spiritual counsel. Sergius visited their wilderness monastery and blessed them to build a church there named for the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb. during the construction of this first church, monks began gathering around the ascetics. igumen, Saint Theodore, joyfully accepted all who came. Soon a second temple was built in honor of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. the Borisoglebsk monastery in order, Saint Theodore entrusted its direction to Saint Paul. he himself took several disciples and withdrew into the Vologda forest. at White Lake, near to the confluence of the River Kouzha into it, he founded a monastery and lived an ascetic life for several years. He built a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, set the monastery in order, and appointed an igumen for it. receiving a revelation about his impending death, he returned to the Boris and Gleb monastery, where he died on October 22, 1409. Saint Paul directed the two monasteries for a certain time, then he also died at the Monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb.

Russia, Moscow, 1363-1453, Michael, Fool for Christ of Klops M, Novgorod, Demetrius Donsky relative, set example & much more
Russia, Novgorod, 1363-1453, Michael, Fool for Christ of Klops Monastery, Novgorod, relative of Demetrius of the Don, 44yrs at Klops, setting example in monastic efforts, clairvoyant, denounced vices, summoned spring, grain supplies not diminished; Klops Monastery, Novgorod (Island at mouth of Verenda River) 1400; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; Michael of Klops was of noble lineage, and he was a relative of Great Prince Demetrius of the Don (1363-1389). took upon himself the exploit of foolishness for Christ to avoid the praise of men. Leaving Moscow dressed in rags, he arrived at the Klops monastery, near Novgorod. one knew how he got into the locked cell of the hieromonk Macarius, who was going round the cell censing during the Ninth Ode of the Canon. A man in monastic garb sat there beneath a candle, copying out the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After the end of Matins the igumen came with some of the brethren and asked the stranger who he was, and what his name was. But he responded only by repeating the questions, and did not reveal his origin. church the stranger sang in the choir and read the Epistle, and he also read the Lives of the Saints at meals. All who listened were moved by the beauty and spirituality of his reading. On the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, the Klops monastery was visited by Prince Constantine Dimitrievich (son of Great Prince Demetrius of the Don ). Communion he was in the trapeza with the princess, during which time the unknown stranger read from the Book of Job. Hearing the reading, the prince approached the reader and looked him over. Then he bowed down to him, calling his kinsman Michael Maximovich by name. The fool remarked, “Only the Creator knows me, and who I am,” but he confirmed that his name was Michael. Michael soon set an example for the brethren in all the monastic efforts. He lived at the Klops monastery for forty-four years, exhausting his body in work, vigils and various deprivations, and he received from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance. denounced the vices of people, not fearing the powerful of this world. He predicted the birth of Great Prince Ivan III on January 22, 1440, and his capture of Novgorod. He denounced Prince Demetrius Shemyaka for blinding his brother the Great Prince Basil the Dark (1425-1462). a sandy spot Saint Michael summoned forth a spring of water, having written upon the earth: “I will take the cup of salvation (Ps. 115/116:13), let the well-spring show forth on this spot.” And during a time of famine, the supplies of bread at the monastery granary did not diminish, though they distributed grain abundantly to the hungry. indicated beforehand the place of his burial, the saint died on January 11, 1453.

Russia, Moscow, 1367-1389, Eudoxia of Moscow, wife of Dmitri Donskoy, Grand D, Archangel Icon, monastic
Russia, Moscow, 1367-1389, Eudoxia of Moscow, Grand Duchess, wife of Dmitri Donskoy; of Moscow, with monastic name Euphrosyne (1353 - 1407), was a Grand princess of Moscow and wife of Dmitry Donskoy. was a daughter of Dmitry Konstantinovich, Grand Prince of Suzdal[1] and Nizhny Novgorod and Vasilisa of Rostov. maternal grandparents were Konstantin Vasilievich, Prince of Rostov and Maria of Moscow. Maria was a daughter of Ivan I of Moscow and his first wife Yelena. 18 January 1366, Eudoxia married Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy. In 1382, she stayed in Moscow in the absence of her husband, while the army of khan Tokhtamysh was approaching the capital. After the birth of her son Andrey Dmitriyevich, she attempted to leave Moscow, but was detained by the Muscovites, who agreed to let her go only after long negotiations. works[edit] (Raka) of Eudoxia of Moscow was greatly influenced by Alexius, Metropolitan of Kiev. After her husband's death, Eudoxia became known for her piety; legend has it that she possessed the gift of healing. To commemorate her husband's victory at the Battle of Kulikovo, Eudoxia commissioned an icon of the Archangel Michael, which later became the patronal icon of the Kremlin'™s Archangel Cathedral.[1] 1387, Eudoxia established the Ascension Monastery next to the Frolovskaya (Spasskaya) Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Later in her life, Eudoxia Dmitriyevna took the veil at the Ascension Monastery under the name of Yefrosiniya (Euphrosyne) and remained there until her death in 1407.[1] 1393, she founded the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, the oldest surviving building in Moscow. The church was dedicated to the Virgin's Nativity, because on this feast her husband defeated the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo. According to tradition, in 1395, during Tamerlane'™s invasion into southern Russia, she had the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God transferred to Moscow.[2] died on 7 July 1407 and was buried in the Ascension Convent. In 1929 the authorities ordered the destruction of the church and her relics were lost, but were uncovered in 2002, and then transferred to the Cathedral of the Archangel located inside the Kremlin. was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. and Dmitri Donskoi had at least 12 children: Daniil Dmitrievich (c. 1370 – 15 September 1379). Vasily I of Moscow (30 September 1371 – 27 February 1425). Sofia Dmitrievna. Married Fyodor Olegovich, Prince of Ryazan (reigned 1402–1427). Yury Dmitrievich, Duke of Zvenigorod and Galich (26 November 1374 – 5 June 1434). Claimed the throne of Moscow against his nephew Vasily II of Moscow. Maria Dmitrievna (d. 15 May 1399). Married Lengvenis. Anastasia Dmitrievna. Married Ivan Vsevolodich, Prince of Kholm. Simeon Dmitrievich (d. 11 September 1379). Ivan Dmitrievich (d. 1393). Andrei Dmitrievich, Prince of Mozhaysk (14 August 1382 – 9 July 1432). Piotr Dmitrievich, Prince of Dmitrov (29 July 1385 – 10 August 1428). Anna Dmitrievna (born 8 January 1387). Married Yuri Patrikievich. Her husband was a son of Patrikei, Prince of Starodub and his wife Yelena. His paternal grandfather was Narimantas. The marriage solidified his role as a Boyar attached to Moscow. Konstantin Dmitrievich, Prince of Pskov (14 May/15 May 1389 – 1433). 15 August 2007, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church instituted the Order of St. Euphrosyne, named after Eudoxia, who was the first noblewoman of Moscow to enter monasticism. The award was established to commemorate the 600th anniversary of Euphrosyne's death. According to the synod's ukase (decree), the new decoration will be given to women for special contributions towards the strengthening of spiritual and moral traditions in society, development of the church's social activities, maintaining relations between church and state or church and society, and other fields of work for the betterment of the Orthodox faith. The Order of St. Euphrosyne will be the second women's decoration of the Russian Orthodox Church after the Order of Saint Olga.[3] Archangel Michael Icon By Andrei Rublev Arkhangelsky Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin Reproduction; Moscow, 1362-1389, Prince Dmitry Donskoy (Dimitrius of the Don); St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7;

Russia, Moscow, 1370-1389, Demetrios Donskoy, piety&political talents fUnification&Emancipation fMongols bSubmission
Russia, Moscow, 1370-1389, Demetrios Donskoy, raised by St Alexis, piety&political talents, fUnification&Emancipation fMongols, 1380 gathered forces&visited Sergius fBlessing, S blessed 2 Monks to go along& predicted victory, marched tKolomna, Icon appeared in air before Battle of Kulikovo, hovering oPine tree, descended D's hands, that night Lithuanian Montvid Montvilo (w later saved D taking sword) dreamed St Nicholas, chest icon oNik, promised famous descendent for Russia, Alex Motovilov story (wrote aim of Christian Life& how to acquire Grace), after K Field battle Nik Church built on site by D, ; Moscow; Right-believing Demetrios Donskoy, Grand Prince of Moscow, Commemorated on May 19; right-believing Great Prince Demetrios of Moscow was born in 1350. father died when Demetrios was just a young child, and so he was entrusted to the guidance of Saint Alexis of Moscow (February 12). holy Prince Demetrios combined Christian piety with his remarkable political talents, devoting himself to the unification of the land of Russia and to the emancipation of Russia from the Tatar-Mongol Yoke. August 18, 1380, after gathering his forces for a decisive battle with Mamai of the Golden Horde, Saint Demetrios visited Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25) in order to receive his blessing. The Elder blessed two monks from his monastery, Schema-monk Andrew [Oslyaba] and Schema-monk Alexander [Peresvet], to go along and help the Prince. He also predicted that Saint Demetrios would be victorious. Prince left Moscow with his army on August 20, and marched toward Kolomna. day, as they made camp before the Battle of Kulikovo, an Icon of St. Nicholas appeared in the air, hovering over a pine tree, and it descended into the hands of Saint Demetrios. is a later Icon depicting this event, with Saint Demetrios kneeling before the Icon of Saint Nicholas, and laying his gold crown at the roots of the tree. of those who fought in the Battle of Kulikovo was a Lithuanian Prince by the name of Montvid Montvilo, who saved the life of Saint Demetrios by shielding him from a Tatar sword with his own body. night he beheld Saint Nicholas in a dream. The holy wonderworker told him that he had cushioned the blow because Prince Montvilo wore on his chest an Icon of Saint Nicholas, which was a family heirloom. return for saving the Prince's life, Saint Nicholas told Prince Montvilo that one of his descendants would render great service to Russia. the years, the Lithuanian name Montvilo became the Russian Motovilov. Motovilov, a descendant of Prince Montvilo, proposed and was rejected by his intended bride Maria, and so he entered a monastery. His obedience was to work in the prosphora bakery, but one day he felt so exhausted that he fell asleep at noon. Saint Nicholas appeared to him and said, "Alexander, your path does not lie in the monastery, but in family life. You will find your happiness with Maria, who turned you down. She will bear you a son, whom you shall name Nicholas. God requires him! I am Saint Nicholas, and I shall be the patron saint of the Motovilov family. I have been so since your ancestor, Prince Montvid Montvilo, served in the army of Prince Demetrios of the Don. During the Battle of Kulikovo, the Tatar warrior who struck down the monks Alexander and Andrew rushed at the Great Prince with his sword, but your ancestor took the blow, and the sword struck my Icon, which he wore on his chest. He would have been killed if I had not cushioned the blow, and then struck down the Tatar by Montvid's hand." Icon of Saint Nicholas, which was damaged by the Tatar's sword, was treasured as a holy relic in the family of George Nikolaevich Motovilov. Alexandrovich Motovilov was born on May 3, 1809, and reposed on January 14, 1879. His great service to Russia, of course, was to write down his conversation with Saint Seraphim of Sarov (January 2) about the aim of the Christian life, and how to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit. winning the battle, the Prince ordered a Moleben of Thanksgiving to God and to Saint Nicholas to be served. Later, he built a church and a monastery dedicated to St. Nicholas on that site. his victory at Kulikovo Field, between the Don and Nepryadva Rivers (on September 8, the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), Prince Demetrios received the honorific "of the Don." He established the Dormition Monastery at the Dubenka River, and the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos near the graves of those who died for their country. The Memorial Saturday before the Feast of Saint Demetrios of Thessalonika (October 26) was established in memory of the Orthodox warriors who were killed at Kulikovo Field in the great battle against the Horde. Demetrios fell asleep in the Lord on May 19, 1389. He was buried in the cathedral of the Archangels in the Moscow Kremlin.

Russia, Moscow, 1371-1400, Ignatius oLoma, started aPriluki a1371, monk aWhite Lake a1390, started Loma M, then silence
Russia, Pskov, 1371 or 1390-1400, Ignatius oLoma, Pskov, Russia, N 58°50′21″ E 28°27′00", Far North Pskov near Gdov River, started at Priluki which started 1371, then monk at White Lake (started 1390), then started Loma Wilderness Monastery, then silence; Loma, Pskov, Russia, N 58°50′21″ E 28°27′00"; Venerable Ignatius of Loma and Yaroslav, Commemorated on December 28; Ignatius of Loma and Yaroslav: circumstances of his life while still in the world are unknown. started his ascetic path at the Priluki monastery of the Savior at Vologda, he received monastic tonsure at the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery. Ignatius then departed to the vicinity of Loma and there founded a wilderness monastery, gradually attracted disciples. he withdrew to a forest skete and pursued asceticism in silence.

Russia, Moscow, 1372-1392, Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, enmity Torgov & Sophia quarters, pretend feud
Russia, Novgorod, 1372-1392, Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, no roof, no warm clothes until end of life, wealthy parents, gave all possessions to poor, enmity Torgov quarter and Sophia quarter, pretend feud w Nicholas Kochanov on Sophia side, Volkhov Bridge, clairvoyance, see to your bread prediction, sowing turnips fire prediction, Farewell, I am going away; Veliky Novgorod; Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated January 19 ; Theodore of Novgorod was the son of pious parents, wealthy citizens of Novgorod. Having been raised in strict Christian piety, and having reached the age of maturity, he took on himself the ascetic deed of foolishness for Christ’s sake. He gave all his possessions to the poor, and he lived in great poverty until the end of his life, not even having a roof over his head, nor warm clothes on cold days. he discovered a mutual enmity between the Novgorod citizens of the Torgov quarter and the inhabitants of the Sophia quarter, Blessed Theodore pretended to be feuding with Blessed Nicholas Kochanov (July 27) who lived in asceticism on the opposite Sophia side. When Blessed Theodore happened to cross over the Volkhov Bridge to the Sophia side, then Blessed Nicholas pushed him over to the Torgov side. Theodore did the same thing when Nicholas chanced upon on the Torgov side. The blessed ones, spiritually in agreement with each other, by their unusual behavior reminded the people of Novgorod of their own internecine strife, which often ended in bloody skirmishes. blessed one possessed the gift of clairvoyance. By warning people to see to their bread, he was actually predicting an impending famine. Another time he said, “This will be bare, it will be fine for sowing turnips.” This was his prediction of a fire that devastated the streets of the Torgov quarter. Blessed Theodore foresaw his own end and said to the Novgorod people, “Farewell, I’m going far away.” his life, the citizens of Novgorod saw him as a saint pleasing to God, and had a high regard for him. After his death in the year 1392, the holy fool was buried, at his request, in the Torgov quarter, at Lubyanitsa in the church of the holy Great Martyr George, at the porch where the saint usually loved to spend his time in unceasing prayer. A chapel was built over his holy relics.

Russia, Moscow, 1375-1426, Nikon t Abbot of Radonezh, not accepted, persistance, obedience zealot, not grieve, builder, icongr
Russia, Radonezh, 1375-1426, Nikon t Abbot of Radonezh (Yakhroma River 3), Disciple & successor of Sergius, at first not accepted, persistance, zealot of obedience, w sergius in cell, time each day for silence, Edigei invasion, appearance hierarch saints, do not grieve destruction, will flourish all the more, builder, S incorrupt relics, finest iconogrophers, time of death and resting place ; Radonezh; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, Commemorated on November 17 ; Nikon, Abbot of Radonezh, a disciple and successor of Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25 and July 5), was born at Yuriev-Polsk. heard of the angelic life of the Radonezh Wonderworker, the young man came to Saint Sergius and requested to be tonsured into the angelic schema. Sergius did not accept Nikon, whether because of his youth or for some other reason. he sent him to his disciple Saint Athanasius (September 12) at Serpukhov. Saint Athanasius would not accept him right away. Only after seeing the young man’s persistence did he tonsure him into the monastic schema. Nikon struggled in prayer, studied Holy Scripture and persevered in virtue and purity. of his humility and the way he fulfilled each task assigned him without argument, Saint Nikon was called a “zealot of obedience.” he reached the age of thirty, he was ordained to the priesthood. a certain while, Saint Athanasius blessed him to go see Saint Sergius. Saint Sergius, catching sight of him, said, “It is good that you have come, my child Nikon,” and happily received him. first, he gave orders for Saint Nikon to serve the brethren. The disciple passed whole days in monastic matters, and his nights in prayerful conversation with God. Saint Sergius was comforted by his virtuous life. received a special insight concerning him, Saint Sergius bade his disciple to dwell with him in his own cell, so that he might share in spiritual attainment. instructed him in every monastic virtue, and explained much about the essence of spiritual life. Saint Sergius assigned Saint Nikon to the duty of assisting him, six months before his repose, he appointed his disciple as his successor. Then Saint Sergius withdrew into seclusion. the death of Saint Sergius (September 25, 1392), Nikon carried out his duties exactly as he was instructed by the founder of the monastery. had the habit of attending all the monastic services, and never did he forsake common tasks, working on a equal footing with all the brethren. the burden of being the igumen of the monastery weighed upon Saint Nikon. Recalling his quiet life in the Serpukhov Vysotsk monastery with Saint Athanasius, and later with Saint Sergius, he gave up his position and retired to his own cell. six years the monastery was guided by Saint Savva of Storozhevsk (December 3). the year 1400 Saint Savva founded his own monastery near Zvenigorod, and the brethren entreated Saint Nikon to again take over its direction. consented, but allotted himself a certain time each day for silence, so as to stand alone before God. reports began to spread about an invasion of the Russian land by Khan Edigei (1408), Saint Nikon zealously prayed to God to spare the monastery. a dream the Moscow hierarchs Peter (December 21) and Alexis (February 12) together with Saint Sergius appeared to him and said that he should not grieve over the destruction of the monastery, since it would not become desolate, but would flourish all the more. monks left the monastery, taking with them relics, books, and consecrated vessels. When they returned, they saw that their beloved place had been reduced to ashes. But Saint Nikon did not despair, and the brethren began to restore the monastery. of all a wooden church was built in honor of the Most Holy Trinity. It was consecrated on September 25, 1411, the anniversary of the repose of Saint Sergius. monastery was restored, and Saint Nikon began construction of a stone church over the grave of his spiritual Father, Saint Sergius. work crew digging the foundations uncovered the incorrupt relics of Saint Sergius on July 5, 1422. universal rejoicing they placed the relics in a new reliquary and at the new site a wooden church was built (now the church in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is at this place). Nikon later built a new stone church in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity. In honor and memory of his spiritual Father, he transferred the holy relics into this newly built church. Nikon brought in the finest iconographers, Saints Andrew Rublev (July 4) and Daniel Cherny (June 13) for the adornment of the temple. Then Saint Andrew painted the Icon of the Most Holy Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), embodying what was revealed to Saint Sergius. Saint Nikon was occupied with the construction of the Trinity church until the end of his life. Nikon’s final resting place was revealed to him in a vision before his death. He summoned the brethren and gave them instructions. After receiving the All-Pure Body of Christ and His Precious Blood, Saint Nikon gave the brethren a last blessing and said, “Go forth, my soul, with joy to the place where repose is prepared for you. Christ is calling you.” made the Sign of the Cross, Saint Nikon died on November 27, 1426. He was buried near the reliquary of Saint Sergius. the hierarch Jonah (1448-1461), the hieromonk Pachomius the Logothete wrote the Service and Life of Saint Nikon. In the year 1547 a generally observed celebration to him was established. In the year 1548 a church named for him was built over the grave of Saint Nikon. In 1623 a new one was constructed in its place, in which the relics of Saint Nikon rest in a crypt. The 500 year anniversary of the repose of Saint Nikon was solemnly observed in 1976 at the Trinity-Sergeev Lavra. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1380, Kulikovo Battle 1380 (Don River 1) won by Dimitri over Mongol Horde
Kulikovo Battle; Icon of the Mother of God of Greben, Commemorated July 28 ; Greben Icon of the Mother of God, glorified by miracles and located in a church in the city of Greben (on the River Chira, flowing into the Don), was presented by the inhabitants of the city to Great Prince Demetrius of the Don upon his return from the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. 1471, after a successful campaign against Novgorod, Great Prince Ivan III built the church of the Dormition in Moscow at Lubyanka and placed in it the Greben icon of the Mother of God, which he had taken with him on the campaign. He adorned the icon with a silver riza covered with precious stones, and ordered an Akathist to be written in honor of the icon. When the church burned in 1617, the icon miraculously was preserved. The icon, almost a reverse image of the Iveron icon (February 12, March 31, October 13), is recognized by the distinctive folds of the Virgin’s omaphorion and the position of the Christ Child’s legs. Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; Don Icon of the Mother of God was painted by Theophanes the Greek. On the day of the Kulikovo Battle (September 8, 1380, the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), the Icon was with the Russian army, giving it help, but after the victory it was passed on by the Don Cossacks as a gift to their commander, Great Prince Demetrius of the Don (1363-1389), who then transferred it to Moscow. Icon at first was at the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral, and later at the Annuniciation Cathedral (the Icon is now in the Tretiakov State Gallery). In commemoration of the victory on the banks of the River Don it was called the Don Icon. the year 1591, the Crimean Khan Nuradin and his brother Murat-Girei invaded Russia with a numerous army. Advancing on Moscow, they positioned themselves on the Vorobiev hills. A church procession was made around Moscow with the Don Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in order to guard the city from the enemy. the day of battle it was in the military chapel in the ranks of the soldiers, and set the Tatars to flight. In 1592, in thanksgiving to the Most Holy Theotokos for Her mercy manifest through the Don Icon, the Don monastery was founded at the very place where the icon had stood amid the soldiers. The wonderworking icon was placed in this monastery, and its feastday was established as August 19. established custom, once every four years His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia performs the rite of the preparation of Holy Chrism in the small cathedral in honor of the Don Icon of the Mother of God. Demetrius Ioannovich of the Don; Alexander Peresvet; Repose of the Venerable Sergius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Radonezh, Commemorated on September 25 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1380-1430, Saint, Andrei Rublev, artist, iconographer
Radonezh Saint, 1380-1430, Andrei Rublev; Venerable Andrew Rublev the Iconographer, Commemorated on July 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1380-1430, ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, greatest i, highest asceticism
Russia, Radonezh, 1380-1430, ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, greatest i, highest asceticism, lived iTrinity-Sergius m Radonezh, first work 1405 icons frescoes Moscow Kremlin Annunciation Cathedral, 1408 painted Assumption Cathredal Vladimir, 1425-27 painted Trinity-Sergiev Cathedral, most famous icon Hospitaity oAbraham; Russia, Radonezh, 1385-1430, ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, Trinity Lavra of St Sergius (Radonezh), the greatest iconographer, highest asceticism; Trinity Lavra (Monestary) of St Sergius; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; Rublev, born in the 1360s, died btween 1427 and 1430, is considered to be the greatest medieval Russian painter of Orthodox icons and frescoes. is little information about his life. It is not known where he was born. Andrei Rublev probably lived in the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra monastery near Moscow. first mention of Rublev is in 1405 when he decorated icons and frescos for the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Moscow Kremlin in company with Theophanes the Greek and Prokhor of Gorodets. His name was the last of the list of masters as the junior both by rank and by age. Theophanes was an important Byzantine master who moved to Russia, and is considered to have trained Rublev. tell us that in 1408 he painted (together with Daniil Cherni) the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and in 1425–1427 the Cathedral of St. Trinity in the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. After Daniil's death Andrei came to Moscow's Andronikov Monastery where he painted his last work, the frescoes of the Savior Cathedral. is also believed to have painted at least one of the miniatures in the Khitrovo Gospels. Rublev's famous icon of the Trinity. only work authenticated as entirely his is the icon of the Trinity, ca. 1410, currently in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. It is based upon an earlier icon known as the "Hospitality of Abraham" (illustrating Genesis 18). Rublev removed the figures of Abraham and Sarah from the scene, and through a subtle use of composition and symbolism changed the subject to focus on the Mystery of the Trinity. Rublev's art, two traditions are combined: the highest asceticism and the classic harmony of Byzantine mannerism. The characters of his paintings are always peaceful and calm. After some time his art came to be perceived as the ideal of Church painting and of Orthodox iconography. died at Andronikov Monastery on between 1427 and 1430 (the traditional date is January 29, 1430). He was canonized a saint in 1988 by the Russian Orthodox Church. The church celebrates his feast day on January 29 and July 4. 1959 the Andrei Rublev Museum has been open at the Andronnikov Monastery, displaying the art of his works and his epoch. 1966, Andrei Tarkovsky made his celebrated film, Andrei Rublev loosely based on the artist's life, which shows him as "a world-historic figure" and "Christianity as an axiom of Russia's historical identity" during a turbulent period in the history of Russia. from Wikipedia Venerable Andrew Rublev the Iconographer, Commemorated on July 4; Andrew Rublev, Russia’s greatest iconographer, was born near Moscow sometime between 1360 and 1370. While still very young, he went to the Holy Trinity Monastery, and was profoundly impressed by Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25). the death of Saint Sergius in 1392, Saint Nikon (November 17) succeeded him as igumen. Saint Andrew became a novice in the monastery under Saint Nikon. Sometime before 1405 he moved to the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery founded by Saint Andronicus (June 13), with the blessing of Saint Nikon.There Saint Andrew received monastic tonsure and was taught iconography by Theophanes the Greek and the monk Daniel, Saint Andrew’s friend and fellow-ascetic. Andrew is first mentioned in the Chronicles in 1405, when he, Theophanes, and Prochorus painted the cathedral of the Annunciation. His next important project, which he undertook with the monk Daniel, was to paint the frescoes in the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir in 1408. Nikon of Radonezh asked Saint Andrew and Daniel to paint the new church in the reconstructed monastery of the Holy Trinity, which had been destroyed by the Tatars in 1408. At this time Saint Andrew painted his most famous icon: the Holy Trinity (actually, the Hospitality of Abraham). Andrew fell asleep in the Lord between 1427-1430, and was buried in the Andronikov Monastery. He was over seventy years old at the time of his death. The monk Daniel, who died before Saint Andrew, appeared to his friend and urged him to join him in eternal blessedness.

Russia, Moscow, 1381, Pimen Icon, from Constantinople in 1381, by Met Pimen, flowed w fragrant healing myrrh, at Dormition C
Russia, Moscow, 1381, Pimen Icon, Dormition Cathedral, Kremlin, Moscow, from Constantinople in 1381, by Met Pimen, flowed w fragrant healing myrrh, kept Dormition Cathedral after 1479; Dormition Cathedral, Moscow; Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen, Commemorated on June 6; Pimen Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought to Moscow from Constantinople in 1381 by Metropolitan Pimen. Many miracles took place before this icon, which flowed with a fragrant healing myrrh. Pimen Icon was kept in the altar of the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin.

Russia, Moscow, 1382, Golden Horde Siege of Moscow
Golden Horde Siege of Moscow (1382); Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; Venerable Methodius the Abbot of Peshnosha the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 4; Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen, Commemorated on June 6; Venerable Cyril the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on June 9; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1382-1384, Metropolitan Pimen I, contested, accomplished little
Moscow Patriarch, 1382-1384, Metropolitan Pimen I; Dimitri sent him to Constantinople with his nominee for the metropolitanate. Nominee died on the way (Mitya or Mikhail). and Pimen was consecrated in his place, although this was done without the knowledge of the Grand Prince and the Patriarch was said to have been tricked (perhaps to exonerate him later for any complicity he may have had in the deception), as Pimen had apparently used forged grand princely letters to get Patriarch Nilus of Constantinople to consecrate him.[1]:219-“220 Donskoy was angry upon hearing the news of Pimen's consecration and swore not to accept Pimen upon his return. Thus Pimen's metropolitanate was contested from the start, and he accomplished little as a result. Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen, Commemorated on June 6;

Russia, Moscow, 1383, Appearance of Tihkvin Icon, Fisherman, Lake Ladoga
Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Appearance of Tihkvin Icon, Lake Ladoga; 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. Lake Ladoga; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,â€ the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,â€ adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.â€ Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the Hodegetria model and is similar in style to the ancient Iveron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodegetria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, Moscow, 1383, Tikhvin Icon, St Petersburg area, by Luke, hovered L Ladoga, radiant light, MOG moved it there
Russia, St Petersburg, , Tikhvin, St Petersburg area (Tikhvinka River 2), Painted by Luke, from Jerusalem to Blachernae in 450, in 1383 hovered over Lake Ladoga, radiant light, Theotokos moved it there, survived fires, 1560 Ivan t T built monastery, 1613 seized Novgorod and attempted to destroy t monastery, moscow army appeared, icon copies' miracles, even preserved after Rus Revolution, taken to Pskov&Riga&Bavaria&Chicago then back to Tikvin; Tikhvin; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,” the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. Afterwards, the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. Later, the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,” adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.” Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the “Hodēgḗtria” model and is similar in style to the ancient Ivḗron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodēgḗtria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, Moscow, 1383, Converser Icon, MOG and St Nick converse with Sacristan George, to replace metal cross with wood
Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Converser Icon, MOG and St Nick converse with Sacristan George, to replace metal cross with wood; depicts the Mother of God and Saint Nicholas of Myra conversing with the sacristan George. This event occurred soon after the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1383, when the Most Holy Theotokos Herself commanded sacristan George to say that they should replace the metal cross on the newly-constructed temple in Her honor at Tikhvin with a wooden one. Icon of the Mother of God the Converse, Commemorated on August 14; “Converser” Icon of the Mother of God is so named since it depicts the Mother of God and Saint Nicholas of Myra conversing with the sacristan George. This event occurred soon after the appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1383, when the Most Holy Theotokos Herself commanded sacristan George to say that they should replace the metal cross on the newly-constructed temple in Her honor at Tikhvin with a wooden one. the place of this vision a chapel was built in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The chapel burned several times (the first time was in 1390 at the same time as the church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos). In 1515, a wooden church was built and a monastery founded in honor of this holy icon. Russia, St Petersburg, 1383, Appearance of Tihkvin Icon, Lake Ladoga; 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake'™s waters amidst a radiant light. Lake Ladoga; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. The icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,â€ the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,â€ adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.â€ Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the Hodegetria model and is similar in style to the ancient Iveron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodegetria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, Moscow, 1384-1385, Dionysius, Metropolitan of Kiev, Volga monasteries, against Strigolniki, wonderworker
Moscow Patriarch, 1384-1385, Dionysius, Metropolitan of Kiev; Dionysius I; secular name: David (1300? – October 15, 1385) was a Russian Orthodox metropolitan in 1384–1385. native of the Duchy of Kiev as a young man David entered the Kyiv Caves Lavra, where he was tonsured a hieromonk and given the religious name Dionysius. He is known to have spent a number of years living in a cave that he dug out himself on the banks of the Volga River not far from Nizhny Novgorod. Later, Dionysius founded the Pechersky Monastery on that same spot, which was dedicated in honour of the Ascension of the Lord. In 1374, he was consecrated the Bishop of Suzdal and won love and respect on the part of the locals. 1378, Dionysius was recommended as Metropolitan of Kyiv by St. Sergius of Radonezh after the death of Metropolitan Alexius. However, Grand Prince Dmitri Donskoi had his own candidate – a priest by the name of Mikhail (Mityaya). Dionysius was one of a number of bishops at the council who opposed Mikhail, who was suspected of heresy (Strigolniki). If elected, Mikhail wanted to introduce a new way of enthroning the Metropolitan at home, in Russia, rather than traveling to Constantinople to be installed by the Ecumenical Patriarch (at the time, Russia was not yet an autocephalous church). In 1379 Dionysius went to Constantinople carrying a protest against the choice of Mikhail addressed to the Patriarch. Mikhail was afraid that Dionysius would get the patriarch's blessing and followed him to Constantinople. However, Mikhail died on his way there and one of his accompanying clergymen, Archmandrite Pimen, reached Constantinople (Slavonic: Tzargrad) before Dionysius and was named Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' in place of Mikhail. 1382 the Dionysius received the title of archbishop from the Patriarch, who was impressed with his piety and humility. In 1383, Dionysius returned from this long journey to his congregation at Suzdal and continued his struggle against the Strigolniki. He also implored Dmitri Donskoi against Pimen, whom he viewed as a usurper, since no one in the Russian Church, not even the Great Prince himself, had been consulted before Pimen was appointed Metropolitan. In 1384, Dionysius was sent back to Constantinople to ask for Pimen's deposition and his own appointment as Metropolitan. Patriarch Neilus Kerameus was not sure whether he could trust Dionysius and sent two metropolitans to Moscow, who were supposed to depose Pimen and install the archbishop of Suzdal. On his way back to Moscow, Dionysius stopped in Kiev, where he was detained by the Kievan prince Vladimir Olgerdovich at the insistence of Cyprian, Archbishop of Kiev, who was to have succeeded as Metropolitan of Moscow in 1378 upon the death of Alexius, but who was not finally welcomed into Moscow until 1390. Dionysius died in detention on October 15, 1385. He was buried in the Caves of St. Anthony at Kiev, in the monastery in which he began his spiritual life. Russian Orthodox Church used to celebrate his feast day on July 19, but subsequently this tradition died down. He is now commemorated on October 15 of the traditional Julian Calendar (October 28 on the modern Gregorian Calendar), where he is listed as "Metropolitan of Suzdal", since he was never able to take possession of his Metropolitan See. St Dionysius the Archbishop of Suzdal, Commemorated on June 26 ; Archbishop of Suzdal, in the world David, was tonsured at the Kiev Caves monastery. arrived at the Volga with an icon of the Mother of God that he had received as a blessing from Saints Anthony and Theodosius. Saint Dionysius dug out a cave not far from Nizhni-Novgorod and struggled in total solitude. Brethren constantly thronged to the holy ascetic and in the year 1335 he founded a monastery in honor of the Ascension of the Lord. Among the students of Saint Dionysius were Saints Euthymius of Suzdal (April 1) and Macarius of Zheltovod and Unzha (July 25). In the year 1352 the holy Elder sent twelve of his brethren to “the upper cities and countryside, whom God would bless” for the spiritual enlightenment of the people and the organizing of new monasteries. The monastery of Saint Dionysius exerted a deep charitable influence on the inhabitants of Nizhni-Novgorod. In the year 1371 the saint tonsured into monasticism the forty-year-old widow of Prince Andrew Constantinovich, an example of how he accepted into monasticism “various dignitaries: women, widowers, and virgins.” the year 1374 Saint Dionysius was deemed worthy of the office of bishop. His years of service as bishop occurred during a remarkable period, for Russia was rising to cast off the Mongol-Tatar Yoke. On March 31, 1375 the Tatar military-chief, having been shown to the bishop’s court by the enslaved inhabitants of Nizhni-Novgorod, shot an arrow at Saint Dionysius, but the Lord preserved his chosen one, and the arrow struck only the bishop’s mantle. In 1377, through the blessing of Saint Dionysius (who may have edited the document), the Lavrentian Chronicle was compiled by Saint Laurence, inspiring Russia in its struggle for freedom. 1379, preserving the integrity of the first hierarch’s cathedra, Saint Dionysius was one of the bishops gathered in Moscow by order of the prince, and he came out against the election of the prince’s protegee, the ill-reputed archimandrite Mityaya as Metropolitan. the same year of 1379 Saint Dionysius journeyed to Constantinople with a protest against the choice of Mityaya on grounds of his complicity with the heretical Strigolniki. The saint made a strong impression upon the Greeks by his sublime spiritual frame of mind and his profound knowledge of Holy Scripture. Patriarch Nilus, having termed the saint “a warrior of God and a spiritual man,” wrote that he himself saw him “at fasting and charity, and vigil, and prayers, and tears, and every other virtue.” From Constantinople Saint Dionysius sent two copies of the Hodegetria Icon of the Mother of God to a Council at Suzdal. In 1382 the bishop received the title of archbishop from the patriarch. Returning to Russia, the saint travelled to Pskov and Novgorod to struggle against the heresy of the Strigolniki. visited Constantinople a second time in 1383 for discussion with the patriarch on questions about the governance of the Russian metropolitanate. In the year 1384 Saint Dionysius was made “metropolitan for Russia” by Patriarch Nilus. But upon his return to Kiev the saint was arrested on orders of the Kiev prince Vladimir Olgerdovich and subjected to imprisonment, where he died on October 15, 1385. The burial of the saint was in “the Kiev Cave of the Great Anthony.” Saint Dionysius is commemorated on June 26 because it is the Feast of his patron saint, Saint David of Thessalonica, whose name he was given in Baptism. In the Synodikon of the 1552 Nizhni-Novgorod Caves monastery, Saint Dionysius is called a “wonderworking monk”.

Russia, Moscow, 1385, Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, habitation shall prosper, even after depart
Russia, Radonezh, 1385, Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh (Yakhroma River 3), late at night, be alert for visitation, all pure one approaches, MOG Peter & John, fear not chosen one, your prayer heard, habitation shall prosper, even after departure to God, supplying and protecting your monastery, invisible, trinity monastery; Radonezh; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to Saint Sergius of Radonezh: late at night, Saint Sergius (1314-1392) was reading an Akathist to the Mother of God. finished his habitual rule, he sat down to rest a bit, but suddenly he said to his disciple, Saint Micah (May 6): “Be alert, my child, for we shall have a wondrous visitation.” Scarcely had he uttered these words than a voice was heard: “The All-Pure One approaches!” Sergius rushed from the cell to the entrance, and suddenly it was illumined by a bright light, brighter than the sun. beheld nearby in imperishable glory the Mother of God, accompanied by the Apostles Peter and John. to bear such a vision, Saint Sergius reverently prostrated himself before the Mother of God. She said to him, “Fear not, My chosen one! I have come to visit you. prayer for your disciples and your monastery has been heard. not be troubled, for your habitation shall prosper, not only in your lifetime, but also after your departure to God. will be with your monastery, supplying its needs abundantly, and protecting it.” said this, the Mother of God became invisible. a long time Saint Sergius was in an inexpressible rapture, and having come to himself, he raised up Saint Micah. “Tell me, Father,” he asked, “what is the meaning of this miraculous vision? My soul nearly left my body from terror!” Saint Sergius was silent, and only his luminous face spoke of the spiritual joy which he had experienced. “Wait a bit,” he said finally to his disciple, “my soul also trembles because of this wondrous vision.” a while Saint Sergius summoned two of his disciples, Saints Isaac and Simon, and shared with them the vision and the promise of the Theotokos. all sang a Molieben to the Mother of God. Sergius spent the remaining part of the night without sleep, calling to mind the divine vision. appearance of the Mother of God at the cell of Saint Sergius, at the present place of the Serapionov chamber, was on one of the Fridays of the Nativity Fast in the year 1385. commemoration of the visit of the Mother of God to the Trinity monastery and of Her promise was reverently kept by the disciples of Saint Sergius. July 5, 1422 the holy relics of Saint Sergius were uncovered, and soon after an icon of the Appearance of the Mother of God was placed on the grave of Saint Sergius. The icon was honored with great reverence. the year 1446 Great Prince Basil (1425-1462) was besieged at the Trinity monastery by the armies of Princes Demetrius Shemyaka and John of Mozhaisk. He barricaded himself into the Trinity cathedral, and when he heard that he was being sought, he took the icon of the Appearance of the Mother of God and with it met Prince John at the southern church doors, saying: “Brother, we kissed the Life-Creating Cross and this icon in this church of the Life-Creating Trinity at this grave of the Wonderworker Sergius, that we would neither intend nor wish any evil to any of our brethren among ourselves. Now I do not know what will happen to me here.” Trinity monk Ambrose reproduced the icon of the Appearance of the Mother of God to Saint Sergius, carved in wood (mid-fourteenth century). Ivan the Terrible took the icon of the Appearance of the Mother of God on his Kazan campaign (1552). The most famous icon, painted in the year 1588, was by the steward of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra, Eustathius Golovkin on a board from the wooden reliquary of Saint Sergius, which was taken apart in the year 1585 when the relics of Saint Sergius were placed in a silver reliquary (August 14). this icon, the Mother of God repeatedly protected the Russian army. Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) took it on the Polish campaign in 1657. In the year 1703, the icon took part in all the military campaigns against the Swedish king Charles XII, and in 1812 Metropolitan Platon sent it to the Moscow military levy. The icon was carried in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, and during World War I it was at the quarters of the supreme commander-in-chief in 1914. church was built over the grave of Saint Micah and at its consecration on December 10, 1734 was named in honor of the Appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos and the holy Apostles to Saint Sergius of Radonezh. September 27, 1841 the church was restored and consecrated by Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, who said: “By the grace of the All-Holy and All-Sacred Spirit the restoration of this temple is now accomplished, fashioned before us in honor and memory of the Appearance of our Lady the Most Holy Theotokos to our holy God-bearing Father Sergius, to which Saint Micah was also an eyewitness.” commemoration of this grace-bearing event is rightly marked by the consecration of a church, however, this whole monastery is a memorial of that miraculous visit. Therefore, its purpose in the continuing centuries was the fulfillment of the promise of the heavenly Visitor: “This place shall endure.” memory of the visit of the Mother of God at the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, an Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos is sung on Fridays, and a special service in honor of the appearance of the Mother of God is celebrated at the monastery on August 24, on the second day of the leave-taking of the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Russia, Moscow, 1385-1392, James t Wonderworker of Rostov, condmnd woman story, thrown out, Lake Nero Mantiya boat s
Russia, Rostov, 1385-1392, James the Wonderworker of Rostov, tonsured at Kopyrsk monastery, Vladimir-Suzdal (Nerl (Uktoma) mouth, Klyzma River 5), Rostov bishop 1385, condemned woman story, thrown out, Lake Nero Mantiya boat story, to site of Conception-St James monastery, Rostov repented, forgiven but never returned; Kopyrsk monastery on the River Ukhtoma, 80 kilometers (120 Kilometers) from Rostov. River Ukhtoma (River Nerl) is the major tributary of the Klyzama. St James the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated November 27 ; to a local tradition, Saint James received monastic tonsure at Kopyrsk monastery on the River Ukhtoma, 80 kilometers from Rostov. For a long time he was igumen of this monastery, in the year 1385 he was made Bishop of Rostov when Pimen was Metropolitan and Demetrius of the Don was Great Prince. defending a woman condemned to execution, the saint followed the example of the Savior, inviting whoever considered himself to be without sin to cast the first stone at her (John 8:7), and he then sent the woman forth to repentance. Prince and the Rostov nobles, disgruntled over the bishop’s judgment, threw Saint James out of Rostov. the city, the saint proceeded to Lake Nero, spread his bishop’s mantiya on the water, and having signed himself with the Sign of the Cross, he sailed off on it as if on a boat, guided by the grace of God. one and a half versts from the city, Saint James emerged on shore at the site of his future monastery. prince and the people, repenting their actions, besought the saint’s forgiveness. The gentle bishop forgave them, but he did not return again. the shore of Lake Nero he made himself a cell and built a small church in honor of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos by Righteous Anna, marking the beginning of the Conception-Saint James monastery. James died there on November 27, 1392. is a story that Saint James fought against the Iconoclast heresy of a certain fellow named Markian, who appeared in Rostov toward the end of the fourteenth century. more ancient Lives of our saint do not mention this, and even the great hagiographer Saint Demetrius of Rostov was unaware of it. More recent hagiographers were wont to draw material from the Service to Saint James of Rostov. But the Service itself, preserved in copies from the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries, was compiled by borrowing from the Service to Saint Bucolus (February 6), who struggled against the first century heretic Marcian, and from the Service to Saint Stephen of Surozh (December 15), who contended against the emperor Constantine Kopronymos (741-775). James is also commemorated on May 23.

Russia, Moscow, 1385-1406, Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow, Mt Athos, Serb, service books and lit translations
Moscow Patriarch, 1385-1406, Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow ; Repose of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on September 16 ; Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, was a Serb by origin, and struggled on Mt. Athos. By his pious life and education he came to the attention of Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople (1354-1355, 1364-1376), who in 1375 consecrated Cyprian as Metropolitan of Kiev and Lithuania. the Constantinople Council it was decided to avoid a fragmentation of the Russian metropolia, and that “upon the death of Saint Alexis (February 12), he should become the Metropolitan of All Rus.” At Moscow, Saint Cyprian endured many sorrows from the Great Prince, so at first he lived either in Lithuania or at Constantinople. Only in the year 1390, in the time of Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich, was he accepted as primate at Moscow. Cyprian concerned himself with the correction of the service books. There are preserved autographic manuscripts of certain Slavonic translations by the saint, witnessing to his great scientific work. And by his pastoral epistles he encouraged the faith of the Church. His activity in the translation of liturgical literature is widely known. Venerable Sava the Abbot of Moscow, Commemorated on June 13;

Russia, Moscow, 1388,St Athanasius t Iron Staff, Sergius' disciple, Cherepovets, Mologa, Built monastery w merchant Theodosios
Russia, Vologda, 1388,St Athanasius t Iron Staff, Sergius' disciple, Cherepovets, Yagorba Mouth, Sheksna River 1 , Mologa, Built monastery w merchant Theodosios, divine light miracle, beautiful view; Cherepovets ; St Athanasius, "the Iron Staff" and disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated November 26 ; Athanasios (nicknamed "the Iron Staff") and Theodosios, were disciples of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, they settled in the Novgorod region, on the border of Cherepovets, at the confluence of the Yagorba River and the Sheksna. in the dense, impenetrable forests, they built a church in honor of the Holy Trinity, and a monastery was also established. is known for certain about Saint Theodosios, and almost no information has been preserved about Saint Athanasios, because during the Time of Troubles the Monastery was razed almost to the ground, and the written records were destroyed. do know that the Monastery church built by Saints Athanasios and Theodosios, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, as well as to Saints Sergius and Nikon of Radonezh. the basis of this information, it is thought that both Saint Athanasios and Saint Theodosios were tonsured at Trinity-Sergius Monastery, for the ancient hermits used to build monasteries on the model of those in which they became monks. is written testimony about these Saints in an inscription in a loose-leaf book from 1568 which reads: "This is the book of the Monastery of the Resurrection of Christ and the Life-giving Trinity, and of our Venerable Fathers Theodosios and Athanasios." the the chronicle of the Saints it says: "Venerable Athanasios, called 'Iron Staff,' the disciple of Saint Sergius the Wonderworker; who reposed in the year 1392." Stroganov Manual of Iconography describes the Saint's appearance: "Venerable Athanasios... a grey beard, narrower and shorter than Blaise's." before the arrival of the monks in that region, a chapel was built through the efforts of a merchant. man decided to build a chapel after a miracle occurred. day he was transporting goods in a boat, when suddenly in the middle of the day, it grew dark, and the boat ran aground. The frightened merchant began to pray, and soon the darkness lifted, and a nearby mountain was illumined with a bright light. The man climbed the mountain and was so amazed at the beautiful view that he returned to the area and built a chapel the following year. little information about these Saints has come down to us. We know that Saint Athanasios carried an iron staff, and Saint Theodosios may have been the merchant who built the chapel. 1764, the Resurrection Monastery was abolished, and its church became a parish church. Since 1780 it has been called the Resurrection Cathedral of the city of Cherepovets. under this church, the relics of Saint Athanasios and Saint Theodosios now rest. The Cherepovets Resurrection Cathedral also has icons of Saints Athanasios and Theodosios. Saints reposed in the year 1388, and were buried in the Monastery’s cathedral church. They are also commemorated on July 5 and September 25.

Russia, Moscow, 1389-1425, Vasily I, Prince, Basil of Moscow, GH Vassal to unify R
Moscow Prince, 1389-1425, Basil of Moscow (Vasily I); Icon of the Mother of God of Koloch, Commemorated July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on July 28 ; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated on August 21; Icon of the Mother of God Support of Humble, Commemorated September 16 ; Repose of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on September 16 ; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Vishera, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 1; Venerable Sergius the Obedient of the Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on October 7; Venerable Amphilochius the Abbot of Glushetsa, Commemorated on October 12; Venerable Theophilus the Abbot of Omutch, Pskov, Commemorated on October 21; St Paul of Rostov, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, Commemorated on November 17; St James the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on November 27; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Pisma, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk, Commemorated on January 12; Righteous Theodore of Novgorod the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on January 19; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 24; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; St Arsenius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on March 2 ; Icon of the Mother of God œCzestochowaÂ, Commemorated on March 6; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Blessed HeavenÂ, Commemorated on March 6; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Blessed HeavenÂ, Commemorated on March 6; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Icon of the Mother of God of Molcha, Commemorated on April 24; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Venerable Dionysius the Abbot of Glushetsk, Vologda, Commemorated on June 1; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on June 2 ; Venerable Methodius the Abbot of Peshnosha the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 4; Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Konevits, Commemorated on June 12; Venerable Andronicus the Abbot of Moscow and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 13; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Moscow, Commemorated on June 13; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Euthymius the Archimandrite of Suzdal, Commemorated on July 4 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1389-1425, Vasili I, G Prince of Moscow, Basil I, Dimitrievich, son of D Donskoy
Moscow Prince, 1389-1425, Vasili I, Grand Prince of Moscow, Basil I ; Icon of the Mother of God of Koloch, Commemorated July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on July 28 ; St Cornelius of Paleostrov and Olonets, Commemorated on August 21; Icon of the Mother of God Support of Humble, Commemorated September 16 ; Repose of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on September 16 ; Venerable Sergius the Obedient of the Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on October 7; Venerable Amphilochius the Abbot of Glushetsa, Commemorated on October 12; Venerable Theophilus the Abbot of Omutch, Pskov, Commemorated on October 21; St Paul of Rostov, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, Commemorated on November 17; St James the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on November 27; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Pisma, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk, Commemorated on January 12; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 24; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; Icon of the Mother of God œCzestochowaÂ, Commemorated on March 6; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Blessed HeavenÂ, Commemorated on March 6; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Joseph the Much-Ailing, of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of St Maximus, Commemorated on April 18; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Icon of the Mother of God of Molcha, Commemorated on April 24; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Putivil, Commemorated on May 2; Venerable Alphan with his brother of Novgorod, founder of the Sokolnitzky Monastery, Commemorated on May 4; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Paleostrov, Commemorated on May 19 ; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Venerable Dionysius the Abbot of Glushetsk, Vologda, Commemorated on June 1; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on June 2 ; Venerable Methodius the Abbot of Peshnosha the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 4; Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Konevits, Commemorated on June 12; Venerable Andronicus the Abbot of Moscow and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 13; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Moscow, Commemorated on June 13; St Methodius the Abbot of Peshnosha, Commemorated on June 14; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Euthymius the Archimandrite of Suzdal, Commemorated on July 4 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1390, Unburnt Bush Icon, Mt Horeb in Median, signifies MOG conception by Holy Spirit, to Russia 1390
Median, 1390, Unburnt Bush Icon, Mt Horeb / Sinai in Median, Land of the Arabs, Unburning Bush, signifies MOG conception by Holy Spirit and not consumed, to Russia 1390 from Palestine, 1812 riza return story, 1822 arson fires story; Mt Sinai / Horeb up from the Desert of Sin and Jethro's home in Midian (not Mt Sinai in Egypt); Mt Sinai diagram not drawn to scale; Ron Wyatt's work there; Icon of the Mother of God "the Unburnt Bush"; of the Old Testament prototypes pointing to the Mother of God is the Unburnt Bush - the Bush which Moses saw on Mount Horeb. was on fire, but was not consumed (Exodus 3:2). Bush signifies the Mother of God's sinless conception of Christ when the Holy Spirit came upon her and she was overshadowed by the power of the Most High (Luke 1:35). the Angel "revealed the Holy Trinity by naming the Holy Spirit, the Power which is the Son (I Corinthians 1:24), and the Most High which is the Father" (Saint Theophylact, Commentary on the Holy Gospel According to St. Luke, chapter 1). Theotokos was born into a fallen world, yet she was absolutely pure, and did not commit any personal sin. remained a Virgin before, during, and after giving birth. the Bush burned and was not consumed, so the Virgin gave birth to Thee yet remained a Virgin" (Octoechos, Dogmatikon Tone 2, "The shadow of the Law"). ancient Unburnt Bush Icon shows a bush engulfed in flames. Virgin, with her Child in her arms, is seen above the Bush. image is rare. Icons depict an octagonal star with the Mother of God in the center with a circle of Cherubim around her. She is shown holding Jacob's Ladder, for she calls us to ascend from earth to Heaven. the gate and the rod are depicted as symbols of the Savior, Who in Church hymns is called "a rod from the root of Jesse." star is made up of two quadrangles. One is painted red, like a flame; the other is green, the color of the mysterious Bush seen by Moses. the red points of the star there are four symbols of the Evangelists: a man (Matthew), a lion (Mark), an ox (Luke), and an eagle (John). the rays are eight Angels: An Angel shows burning fire, for the earth will be destroyed by fire. The Spirit of wisdom and of the knowledge of God - spring, summer, autumn, and winter. He created all things for man's benefit. The Angel of Thunder shows Christ's second coming, for He shall come in thunder and lightning. The Angel of the spirit of piety. The cutting off of those who proclaim things contrary to the Faith. He holds the cup of the bitterness of God's wrath. The Spirit of the Lord for warmth amid winter, snow, frost, and ice. The Spirit of purification which sends forth dew and mist and rain. The Angel of Thunder and of the fear of God, revealing Christ's second coming, for He shall judge His servants at the end of the world. The Angel of lightning and scorching, i.e. He shall be the righteous Judge, for the lightning shall find all. the four corners of the Icon are the Prophets who prefigure the Virgin: and the Unburnt Bush (Exodus chapter 3); with the Seraphim touching his lips with a live coal (Isaiah 6:6); vision of the gate by which no one could enter except the Lord (Ezekiel 44:1), Jacob's vision of the Ladder (Genesis 28:12-17). to popular belief, this Icon protects the homes of the faithful from fire. a man happened to witness a great fire which engulfed many buildings. Among them was a wooden house which did not burn. A woman stood there motionless, holding an icon of the Unburnt Bush in her hands. Tears ran down her cheeks, but her face expressed complete calm and unshakable faith. She did not seem to be worried about her home, but she wept for the misfortune of others. The fire was intense, but the woman would not move. The man left, marveling at her faith, but he expected her house to be reduced to ashes by the flames. The next day he returned to the spot. the devastation of the fire only the woman's house remained standing, guarded by the power of the Icon. of the oldest icons of the Unburnt Bush is located in Moscow's Annunciation Cathedral. was brought to Russia by Palestinian foreigners in 1390 and, according to tradition, it was painted on a piece of the rock where Moses beheld the mysterious Bush. the Moscow church of the Unburnt Bush at Khamovniki, there is an Icon which was once in the Palace. The ancient writing is beautiful. The size of the Icon measures 1 arshin 12 vershkov long, and 1 arshin 7 vershkov wide. Icon is commemorated twice: on September 4, the Feast Day of the Prophet Moses, and on the sixth Sunday after Pascha (the Sunday of the Blind Man), because according to tradition, the Icon was transferred from the Kremlin to the newly-consecrated Khamovniki church on that day. was a wondrous event connected with the riza of this Icon, when Russia was attacked by Napoleon in 1812. leaving Moscow, a Polish soldier came to Father Alexei Vvedensky, the priest of the Novodevichii Monastery, and gave him the riza from the Unburnt Bush Icon, begging him to return it to the church from which it was taken. soldier confessed that ever since he took the riza, he had been unable to find peace, and he was tormented by an unbearable melancholia. the same church there is an Icon of the Unburnt Bush (which was donated in 1835) and a smaller, especially revered Icon dating from 1837. depicts someone praying before the Mother of God. In the church there is a special manuscript Service to the Icon with the note: "This Service is chanted on Holy Mount Sinai, whenever someone requests it, or whenever there is terrible lightning." 1822, in the city of Slavyansk, Kharkov gubernia, fires caused by arson became more frequent. residents were at a loss about what to do. it was revealed in a dream to a pious old woman named Belnitskaya that if they painted an Icon of the Unburnt Bush, and served a Moleben before it, the fires would stop. told the Archpriest about her dream, and the Icon was painted right away. After the Liturgy, a Moleben was served before it. that very day, there was another fire, and the arsonist was caught. crafty young woman named Maura had set all the fires. the fires ceased, and the grateful residents had a kiot made for the Icon with the inscription: "In remembrance of the city's deliverance from fire in 1822." The Icon is in the church of the Holy Trinity. is also a revered icon of the Unburnt Bush in the village of Kubenskoye, Vologda Province.

Russia, Moscow, 1390-1455, Martinian igumen oBeloye (White) Lake &Therapon m Vozha L, obedience, incorrupt relics
Russia, Velogda, Meloga, 1390-1455, Martinian oByeloezersk, Mologa (South side, Lake Beloye, White Lake), Martinian oWhite Lake (Byeloezersk or Beloye) fBerezniko v near Cyrilov m, tGreat Aacetic St Cyril a13, complete obedience, copied Cyril&books, deacon, hiermonk, aCyril dies tIsland oVozha, monastery, general rule, successful igumen, spiritual support fBasil tGreat, because B's cousin Demitrius Shemyaka lllicitly sought Moscow, truth justice advocate, accepted igumen Radonezh monastery fBasil, 1455 time oDeath back to Therapon m, thrown, not able tWalk, incorrupt relics uncovered 1514; Byeloezersk (Lake Beloye, White Lake); Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Byeloezersk, Commemorated January 12 ; Martinian of White Lake, in the world Michael, born in the year 1370 in the village of Berezniko, not far from the Cyrilov monastery. age thirteen he left his parents and went secretly to Saint Cyril of White Lake (June 9), whom many described as a great ascetic. young Martinian began zealously to imitate his teacher, with whom he dwelt in complete obedience. the monastery he studied reading and writing, and with the blessing of Saint Cyril, he occupied himself with the copying of books. time Martinian was ordained deacon and then hieromonk. the death of Saint Cyril (+ 1427), Martinian withdrew to a deserted island on Lake Vozha. monks gradually gathered around him. Martinian established for them the church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and introduced a general Rule for the inhabitants. to the persistent requests of the brethren of Therapon monastery, he consented to become igumen of the monastery and brought it into an improved condition. Martinian gave spiritual support to Great Prince Basil in the difficulties of his time, his first-cousin Demetrius Shemyaka illicitly sought the Moscow throne. was always an advocate of truth and justice. upon the entreaty of the Great Prince, the saint accepted the governance of the monastery of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. 1455, Saint Martinian returned to the Therapon monastery. his last years he was grievously ill and not able to walk, so the brethren carried him to church. He died at age 85. relics were uncovered in the year 1514, and this event is celebrated on October 7.

Russia, Moscow, 1391-1439, Alexander oKushta, left A fQuiet, cross iWater gathered Zealous, h leaves, seen wNicholas aDeath
Russia, Vologda, 1391-1439, Alexander oKushta, Vologda, Archbishop oRostov, obedience, strict fasting, Hiermonk, constant work or prayer, seen as angel oGod, it troubled him, left by night, river Syazhem, austere abstinence, people came, left for Kuben aka Kushta, wEuthymios, exchanged cells, r cross from E, loved quiet, cross in water prayer to gather zealous, elder came f5yrs, built church after 3rd elder came, Rostov Hegoumen blessed temple construction, 5 Tartars story, frozen by cross several hrs, Princess Maria story, offered village, saw insects on his chest, not necessary to see our misery, sick, asked prayer but told preare fEnd oLife. Wheat sack story, thief not able tLift, A admonished him &added more wheat for him, blessed burden easy to lift, A foretold death, ordered grave location, tree grew there, healing leaves, after death A& Nicholas seen praying or censing together at the temple; Savior-Kamen monastery; Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Kushta, Vologda, Commemorated on June 9; Alexander, Hegoumen of Kushta Monastery in Vologda, was born about the year 1371, and his name in the world was Alexei. was tonsured at the Savior-Stone (Spaso-Kamen) monastery by Hegoumen Dionysios of the Holy Mountain, who brought the Athonite Rule to the monastery. he became the Archbishop of Rostov. Here Saint Alexander went through all the phases of obedience and strict fasting, and was ordained as a Hieromonk. was constantly at work or at prayer. The brethren looked upon him as upon an angel of God, and this troubled Saint Alexander. left the monastery secretly by night and came to the River Syazhem, where there was a thick forest and lake. Here he built a cell and lived his life in prayer and austere abstinence. Little by little, people started coming to him. Alexander went from this place to the shore of Lake Kuben, at the mouth of the River Kushta. that time Saint Euthymios (April 11) was living there. Saint Alexander offered to exchange cells with him, and Saint Euthymios agreed to this. they parted, he gave Saint Alexander his cross as a blessing. quiet wilderness was very dear to Saint Alexander. to the lake, he immersed the cross in the water and prayed to God, asking that he might gather in this place those who were zealous for the way of the Cross. some time, a certain Elder came to Saint Alexander, with whom he dwelt for five years. a third brother arrived, Saint Alexander decided to build a church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. saint journeyed to Rostov to see his former Hegoumen, Archbishop Dionysios (1418-1425), who blessed the construction of the temple. day, Tatars came when Prince Demetrios of Zaozersk was away, and five of them galloped up to the Kushta monastery. Saint Alexander met them calmly and he blessed them with the cross. The Tatars fell down as if they were dead; and they lay senseless for several hours, after which Saint Alexander roused them from their torpor in the name of the Life-creating Trinity. Prince Demetrios reposed, his widow, Princess Maria, who had great respect for Saint Alexander, offered a village for the support of the monastery in remembrance of her husband. Once she came to the monastery and went into the church, where Saint Alexander was reading the Psalter, while insects attacked his bare chest. The monk was distressed by her visit and said, “It is not necessary, O Princess, for you to observe our misery.” The princess humbly asked for pardon. The monk blessed her, but said, “Feed your poverty at home.” When she reached her home, the princess fell sick and asked him to pray for the recovery of her health. Saint Alexander foresaw her end and said, “Let her prepare for that life.” Princess Maria died twenty days later. was gathered on the floor of the monastery; and a certain peasant decided to steal a sack, but he was not able to lift it. The saint happened upon him and said, “My son, it is in vain that you try to lift what is beyond your strength.” The astounded thief threw himself at the feet of the venerable one, asking his forgiveness, but Saint Alexander ordered him to add more wheat to the sack. After admonishing him not to steal from others in future, he blessed him to take the sack and to go with God. The peasant easily carried the burden which was blessed, and thanked the generous Elder. that the time of his death was near, Saint Alexander said to those dwelling with him, “I am growing weak, but I urge you to endure in this place, preserving humility and mutual love.” On Sunday he served the Divine Liturgy, and partook of the Holy Mysteries. Then he prayed on his knees for himself and for his monastery, and at age of sixty-eight, he peacefully surrendered his soul to the Lord on June 9, 1439. to Saint Alexander’s last instructions in his will, his body was placed at the south side of the altar. A year afterward, a Rowan-berry tree grew up over his grave. Once, on the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, a peasant child broke off a branch from this tree and suddenly his hand began to hurt. His parents prayed and brought their son to the saint’s grave, and he was healed. From that time people began to pick berries from this tree for healing purposes. His disciples built a heated church in honor of Saint Nicholas over the saint’s grave and it was dedicated on the anniversary of his repose. Many of the sick who were brought to the church said that they saw Saint Alexander and Saint Nicholas praying together, or censing the temple. Many of the sick received healing at Saint Alexander’s grave.

Russia, Moscow, 1392, 1456, 1833, Devpeteruv Icon, miiracles list Tambov, appearance, Pitrim prayers, false accusation story
Russia, Mordovia, 1392, 1456, 1833, Devpeteruv Icon, miiracles list at Tambov, Mordovia (Studenets River Mouth at Tsna River 1), once belonged to Pitirim +1456, 1833 false accusation story; Tambov; Devpeteruv Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on February 28; Icon appeared on February 29, 1392. of the oldest shrines of the Devpeteruv (Девпетерувская) Icon of the Mother of God is now located in the Nikolaev church of the village of Batyushkova, or Batatkova, Dmitrovsky district of Moscow Province. this image, the child Jesus is shown resting on the Virgin’s right shoulder; His left hand is on His Mother’s left shoulder, and her right hand is on His right shoulder. Tambov's Transfiguration Cathedral, above the tomb of St. Pitirim (July 28), there is another list of the miracles of the Devpeteruv Icon of the Mother of God. image once belonged to St. Pitirim, and before it, he offered his fervent prayers to the Lord God. Icon became especially famous in 1833 after a miracle took place. certain woman, whose husband was falsely accused of a crime and sent to prison, once saw an Elder whom she did not know in a dream. This Elder ordered her to search the cathedral for the Icon from St. Pitirim's cell, and to have a Moleben served before it. He also showed her the Icon itself. The woman found the Saint's Icon and asked for a Moleben to be served before it. Shortly afterward, her husband was acquitted and released from prison.

Russia, Moscow, 1395, Tammerlane retreats after Dream, Vladimir Icon Mother of God (Don River 1, Kulikovo Pole)
Kulikovo Pole (Kulikovo Field); Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated on August 26 ; Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. Awakening in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon seeing this image, exclaimed, “Henceforth, all generations shall call Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon.” the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus to holy Prince Mstislav (April 15) and was installed in the Devichi monastery in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the Apostles Princess Olga. son of George Dolgoruky, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its name of “the Vladimir Icon.” The icon was first brought to Moscow in the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow. festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times during the year (21 May, 23 June and 26 August). The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from Vladimir to Moscow. the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and Saint Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Cyprian (September 16), that the pending Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and repentance. were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: “O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!” At that same hour, when the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field, Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place. On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established. important events in Russian Church history have occurred before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of Saint Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of Saint Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His Holiness Patriarch Saint Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May 21 (O.S.), 1971. historical days of 21 May, 23 June and 26 August, connected with this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1395, Commemoration Luke's Vladimir Icon, Deliverance Moscow from Tamerlane, MOG great Christian protectoress
Russia, Moscow, 1395, Commemoration Luke's Vladimir Icon, Deliverance Moscow from Tamerlane, MOG great Christian protectoress, dream, holy hierarchs, golden staffs, majestic woman, she commanded him to leave Russia, icon from MOG and Joseph's kitchen table, grace of my son and me will be with this icon, 1131 to Rus Vyshgorod, 1155 Andrew B brought it to Vladimir, 1395 to Moscow, 1395 Tammerlane reaches Ryazan frontier; Kulikovo Pole (Kulikovo Field); Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated on August 26 ; was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon seeing this image, exclaimed, “Henceforth, all generations shall call Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon.” the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus to holy Prince Mstislav (April 15) and was installed in the Devichi monastery in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the Apostles Princess Olga. son of George Dolgoruky, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its name of “the Vladimir Icon.” The icon was first brought to Moscow in the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow. festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times during the year (21 May, 23 June and 26 August). The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from Vladimir to Moscow. the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and Saint Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Cyprian (September 16), that the pending Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and repentance. were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: “O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!” At that same hour, when the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field, Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place. On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established. important events in Russian Church history have occurred before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of Saint Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of Saint Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His Holiness Patriarch Saint Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May 21 (O.S.), 1971. historical days of 21 May, 23 June and 26 August, connected with this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1395, Luke's Vladimir Icon, Grace of Jesus and MOG shall be with this Icon
Kulikovo Pole (Kulikovo Field); Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated on August 26 ; Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. Awakening in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon seeing this image, exclaimed, “Henceforth, all generations shall call Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon.” the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus to holy Prince Mstislav (April 15) and was installed in the Devichi monastery in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the Apostles Princess Olga. son of George Dolgoruky, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its name of “the Vladimir Icon.” The icon was first brought to Moscow in the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow. festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times during the year (21 May, 23 June and 26 August). The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from Vladimir to Moscow. the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and Saint Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Cyprian (September 16), that the pending Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and repentance. were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: “O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!” At that same hour, when the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field, Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place. On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established. important events in Russian Church history have occurred before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of Saint Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of Saint Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His Holiness Patriarch Saint Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May 21 (O.S.), 1971. historical days of 21 May, 23 June and 26 August, connected with this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1395, Feast of the Dormition, Vladimir Icon sent to Moscow, same hour of meeting at Kuchkov, T's dream
Kulikovo Pole (Kulikovo Field); Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated on August 26 ; Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. Awakening in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon seeing this image, exclaimed, “Henceforth, all generations shall call Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon.” the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus to holy Prince Mstislav (April 15) and was installed in the Devichi monastery in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the Apostles Princess Olga. son of George Dolgoruky, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its name of “the Vladimir Icon.” The icon was first brought to Moscow in the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow. festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times during the year (21 May, 23 June and 26 August). The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from Vladimir to Moscow. the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and Saint Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Cyprian (September 16), that the pending Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and repentance. were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: “O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!” At that same hour, when the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field, Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place. On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established. important events in Russian Church history have occurred before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of Saint Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of Saint Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His Holiness Patriarch Saint Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May 21 (O.S.), 1971. historical days of 21 May, 23 June and 26 August, connected with this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1395-1413, Theophilus & Jacob, Wondorworkers of Omucha, fKonevets tOmcha 1395, monastery 1412
Russia, Novgorod, 1395-1413, Theophilus & Jacob, Wondorworkers of Omucha, Novgorod (Omucha River Mouth, Shelon River 1), spent time on Konevets wArsenios oK, monks there, 1395 both crossed Omch River tDemyansk county 65 versts fPorkhov, estab hermitage 1395, known as Theophilos Hermitage but Jacob put it in order, Monastery from 1412, the year T reposed; Omucha, Pskov (Omucha River Mouth, Shelon River 1); Venerable Theophilus the Abbot of Omutch, Pskov, Commemorated on October 21; Venerable Theophilos and Jacob, wonderworkers of Omuch, Commemorated on December 29; is not known where or when Saints Theophilos and Jacob were born, but they spent some time on the island of Konevets with Saint Arsenios of Konevets (June 12), and perhaps it was there that they began their monastic labors. in 1395 or 1396, both ascetics left Konevets and crossed the Omuch River. There in Demyansk county, 65 versts from the city of Porkhov, they established a Hermitage in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. appears that Saint Theophilos, the founder of the monastery, was highly revered, because it was known as the Theophilos Hermitage, it was Elder Jacob who put it in order. monastery dates from the beginning of the XV century, around 1412. Theophilos reposed on December 29, 1412, and was buried in the wooden church of the Dormition. do not know when Saint Jacob went to the Lord, nor the specific place where he was buried. Theophilos and Jacob are commemorated together on October 21. They are also commemorated on the Synaxis of the Saints of Novgorod, Saint Petersburg, and Ladoga (the third Sunday of Pentecost). holy relics of these God-pleasers have rested in the church of the Dormition of the Mother of God ever since the parish was founded in 1764. Venerable Theophilus the Abbot of Omutch, Pskov, Commemorated on October 21; Theophilus and James, Abbots of Omutch in Pskov, lived the ascetic life on the island of Konev together with Saint Arsenius (June 12). the year 1396, in the Pskov diocese at the River Omutch, not far from the city of Porkhov, Saints Theophilus and James established a wilderness monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. fell asleep in the Lord about the year 1412.

Russia, Moscow, 1397, part of The Robe was transferred from C to Rus by St Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal
Blachernae; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae; Placing of the Venerable Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae: the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Great (457-474), the brothers Galbius and Candidus, associates of the emperor, set out from Constantinople to Palestine to venerate the holy places. a small settlement near Nazareth they stayed in the home of a certain old Jewish woman. In her house they noticed a room where many lamps were lit, incense burned, and sick people were gathered. When they asked her what the room contained, the pious woman did not want to give an answer for a long time. persistent requests, she said that she had a very precious sacred item: the Robe of the Mother of God, which performed many miracles and healings. Her Dormition the Most Holy Virgin bequeathed one of her garments to a pious Jewish maiden, an ancestor of the old woman, instructing her to leave it to another virgin after her death. the Robe of the Mother of God was preserved in this family from generation to generation. jewelled chest, containing the sacred Robe, was transferred to Constantinople. Saint Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople (August 31), and the emperor Leo, having learned of the sacred treasure, were convinced of the incorrupt state of the holy Robe, and they certified its authenticity. Blachernae, near the seacoast, a new church in honor of the Mother of God was constructed. On June 2, 458 Saint Gennadius transferred the sacred Robe into the Blachernae church with appropriate solemnity, placing it within a new reliquary. the maphorion (i.e., the outer robe) of the Mother of God, and part of Her belt were also put into the reliquary with Her Robe. This circumstance also influenced the Orthodox iconography of the Feast, in connecting the two events: the Placing of the Robe, and the Placing of the Belt of the Mother of God in Blachernae. The Russian pilgrim Stephen of Novgorod, visiting Constantinople in about the year 1350, testifies: “We arrived at Blachernae, where the Robe lies upon an altar in a sealed reliquary.â€ than once, during the invasion of enemies, the Most Holy Theotokos saved the city to which She had given Her holy Robe. Thus it happened during the time of a siege of Constantinople by the Avars in 626, by the Persians in 677, and by the Arabs in the year 717. Especially relevant for us are events of the year 860, intimately connected with the history of the Russian Church. June 18, 860 the Russian fleet of Prince Askold, a force comprising more than 200 ships, laid waste the coastal regions of the Black Sea and the Bosphorus, then entered into the Golden Horn and threatened Constantinople. The Russian ships sailed within sight of the city, setting ashore troops who “proceeded before the city, stretching forth their swords.â€ The emperor Michael III (842-867), interrupted his campaign against the Arabs and returned to the capital. All night he prayed prostrated upon the stone tiles of the church of the Mother of God at Blachernae. The holy Patriarch Photius spoke to his flock, calling for tears of repentance to wash away sins, and to seek the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos with fervent prayer. danger grew with each passing hour. “The city was barely able to stand against a spear,â€ says Patriarch Photius in another of his homilies. Under these conditions the decision was made to save the church’s sacred objects, especially the holy Robe of the Mother of God, which was kept in the Blachernae church, not far from the shore. serving an all-night Vigil, and taking it out from the Blachernae church, they carried the sacred Robe of the Mother of God in a procession around the city walls. They dipped its edge into the waters of the Bosphorus, and then they transported it to the center of Constantinople into the church of Hagia Sophia. The Mother of God protected the city and quelled the fury of the Russian warriors. An honorable truce was concluded, and Askold lifted the siege of Constantinople. June 25 the Russian army began to leave, taking with them a large tribute payment. A week afterwards, on July 2, the wonderworking Robe of the Mother of God was solemnly returned to its place in the reliquary of the Blachernae church. In remembrance of these events an annual feastday of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God was established on July 2 by holy Patriarch Photius. in October-November of the year 860, a Russian delegation arrived in Constantinople to conclude a treaty “in love and peace.â€ Some of the conditions of the peace treaty included articles concerning the Baptism of Kievan Rus, the payment of an annual tribute by the Byzantines to the Russians, permission for them to serve with the Byzantine army, an agreement to trade in the territory of the Empire (primarily in Constantinople), and to send a diplomatic mission to Byzantium. important was the point about the Baptism of Rus. The continuator of the Byzantine “Theophanes Chroniclesâ€ relates that “their delegation arrived in Constantinople with a request for them to receive holy Baptism, which also was fulfilled.â€ An Orthodox mission was sent to Kiev to fulfill this mutual wish of the Russians and the Greeks. Not very long before this (in 855) Saint Cyril the Philosopher (February 14 and May 11) had created a Slavonic alphabet and translated the Gospel. Saint Cyril was sent with his brother, Saint Methodius (April 6 and May 11), on a mission to Kiev with books translated into Slavonic. This was at the initiative of Saint Photius, whose student Saint Cyril was. The brothers spent the winter of 860/861 at Cherson, and in the spring of 861 they were at the River Dniepr, with Prince Askold. Askold was faced with a difficult choice, just as holy Prince Vladimir faced: both the Jews on the one hand, and the Moslems on the other, wanted him to accept their faith. But under the influence of Saint Cyril, the prince chose Orthodoxy. At the end of the year 861, Saints Cyril and Methodius returned to Constantinople and carried letters with them from Prince Askold to Emperor Michael III. Askold thanked the emperor for sending him “such men, who showed by both word and by example, that the Christian Faith is holy.â€ “Persuaded that this is the true Faith,â€ Askold further wrote, “we bid them to baptize in the hope that we may also attain sanctity. We are all friends of the Kingdom and prepared to be of service to you, as requested.â€ accepted holy Baptism with the name Nicholas, and many of his retinue were also baptized. Directly from Constantinople, the capital of Orthodoxy, through the efforts of the holy Apostles to the Slavs both the Slavonic divine services and the Slavonic written language arrived in Rus. Photius appointed Metropolitan Michael to Kiev, and the Russian metropolitan district was entered into the lists of dioceses of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Photius in an encyclical of the year 867 called the Baptism of the Bulgarians and the Russians as among the chief accomplishments of his archpastoral service. “The Russians, who lifted their hand against the Roman might,â€ he wrote, almost quoting literally from the missive of Askold, “have now replaced the impious teaching which they held to formerly, with the pure and genuine Christian Faith, and with love having established themselves in the array of our friends and subjects.â€ (The Byzantines counted as “subjectsâ€ all accepting Baptism from Constantinople and entering into military alliance with the Empire.) “The desire and zeal of faith has flared up within them to such an extent, that they have accepted bishops and pastors, and they embrace Christian sanctity with great zeal and fervor.â€ Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae also marks the canonical establishment of the Russian Orthodox metropolitanate in Kiev. By the blessing of the Mother of God and by the miracle from Her holy Robe not only was the deliverence of Constantinople from the most terrible siege in all its history accomplished, but also the liberation of the Russians from the darkness of pagan superstition to life eternal. Together with this, the year 860 brought recognition to Kievan Rus from Byzantium, and signified the emergence of the young Russian realm into the arena of history. attempt of Prince Askold to renew the Christian evangelization begun by the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, which he intended as a religious and state reform, ended unsuccessfully. time for the spread of Christianity in the Russian Land had not yet come. The adherents of the old paganism were too strong, and the princely power was too weak. In the clash of Askold with the pagan Oleg in 882 the Kievans betrayed their prince. Askold, lured into the camp of his enemies for talks, received a martyr’s death at the hand of hired killers. the deed of Blessed Askold (the Ioakimov Chronicle calls him such) was not extinguished in the Russian Church. Oleg the Sage, who killed Askold, occupied the Kiev princedom after him, and called Kiev the “Mother of Russian Cities.â€ most ancient chronicles of Kiev preserved the grateful memory of the first Kievan Christian prince: the church of the Prophet of God Elias, built by Askold and later mentioned in Igor’s Treaty with the Greeks (in 944), is on the site where the present church of this name now stands, and there is also the church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, built in the 950s by Saint Olga over Askold’s grave. most important achievement of Askold, entering forever into the Church inheritance not only of Rus, but of also all Orthodox Slavs, is the Slavonic Gospel and Slavonic services, translated by Saints Cyril and Methodius. Their apostolic activity among the Slavs began in Kiev at the court of Askold in 861, and continued afterwards in Moravia and Bulgaria. Following Blessed Askold, in the words of the ancient Alphabetic Prayers, “the Slavonic tribe now soars in flight, all striving toward Baptism.â€ outstanding works of Byzantine Church hymnology and homiletics are connected with the miracle of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae. There are two homilies of Saint Photius, one of which he preached within days of the siege of Constantinople, and the other soon after the departure of the Russian forces. Also associated with the campaign of Askold against Constantinople is the composition of a remarkable “Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos,â€ which certain Church histories ascribe also to holy Patriarch Photius. This Akathist forms an integral part of the services of Praise to the Most Holy Theotokos (i.e., the “Saturday of the Akathist,â€ Fifth Saturday of Great Lent). is not only Byzantine sources that relate the events of the year 860, but also Russian historical chronicles. Saint Nestor the Chronicler, stressing the significance of the Russian campaign against Constantinople, notes that from this time “it was begun to be called the Russian Land.â€ Certain of the chronicles, among them the Ioakimov and Nikonov, preserved accounts of the Baptism of Prince Askold and Kievan Rus after the campaign against Constantinople. The popular commemoration of this event is firmly associated with the names of the Kievan princes Askold and Dir, although in the opinion of historians, Dir was prince of Kiev somewhat earlier than Askold. veneration of the feast of the Placing of the Robe was long known in the Russian Church. Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky (July 4) built a church in honor of this feastday in the city of Vladimir at the Golden Gates. the end of the fourteenth century, part of the Robe of the Mother of God was transferred from Constantinople to Rus by Saint Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal (June 26). holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously saved Constantinople, later saved Moscow from hostilities. Tatars of the Horde of the princeling Mazovshi approached the walls of Moscow in the summer of 1451. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, with constant prayer and church services, encouraged the defenders of the capital. On the night of July 2, the Chronicle relates, great confusion occurred within the Tatar camp. The enemy abandoned their plundered goods and speedily departed in disarray. In memory of the miraculous deliverance of Moscow, Saint Jonah built the church of the Placing of the Robe in the Kremlin, making it his primary church. It burned, but in its place in the years 1484-1486 a new church, also dedicated to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God, was built thirty years later. This temple, standing at present, continued to serve as the primary church of Russian metropolitans and patriarchs until the cathedral of the Twelve Apostles was built under Patriarch Nikon. Venerable Romanus the Melodist, œSweet-SingerÂ, Commemorated on October 1 ; Appearance of the Smolensk œDirectressÂ Icon of the Mother of God brought from Constantinople, Commemorated on July 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on August 17; St Callinicus the Patriarch of Constantinople, Commemorated on August 23; Venerable Anthony of the Kiev Far Caves, Commemorated on September 2; Right-Believing Pulcheria, Byzantine Empress, Commemorated on September 10; Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on October 1 ; Blessed Andrew the Fool-For-Christ at Constantinople, Commemorated October 2 ; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, Commemorated October 12 ; Righteous Anna of Constantinople, Commemorated October 29 ; St Sopatra of Constantinople, Commemorated on November 9 ; Venerable Patapius of Thebes, Commemorated on December 8 ; 12 Greeks who built the Dormition Cathedral in the Kiev Caves, Far Caves, Lavra, Commemorated on February 14; Venerable Stephen the Abbot of the Kiev Far Caves, and Bishop of Vladimir, in Volhynia, Commemorated on April 27 ; Prophet Isaiah, Commemorated on May 9 ; St Germanus the Patriarch of Constantinople, Commemorated on May 12; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unbreakable WallÂ, Commemorated on May 28; St Anna and Her Son of Constantinople, Commemorated on June 13; St Anna and Her Son of Constantinople, Commemorated on June 13; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae, Commemorated on July 2; Translation of the "Blachernae" Icon of the Mother of God to Russia, Commemorated July 7 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1400, 15th-17th Century Folder, Third Rome, Orthodox Protector

Russia, Moscow, 1401-1499, 15th Century Folder, Muslim White Horde, Civil War, Third Rome, Printing

Russia, Moscow, 1401-1434, Sabbatius oTver, wArsenitus, estab monastery, taught famous ascetics, strict, holy, chains, silence
Russia, Tver, 1401-1434, Sabbatius oTver (Tversta River Mouth, Volga River 4), wArsenitus, estab monastery 15V away, taught famous ascetics, strict, holy, chains, silence; Tver; Saint Sabbatius of Tver, Commemorated on March 2; Sabbatius of Tver pursued asceticism with the blessing of Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver, at a distance 15 versts from Tver. Sabbatius established a monastery there, known for the strictness and holiness of its rule. ascetics as Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9) and Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19) went there to be instructed in monasticism. chains found in the cave where Saint Sabbatius practiced silence testify to his ascetic deeds. died no later than the year 1434.

Russia, Moscow, 1405-1463, Isidore of Kiev, Metropolitan, Became Uniate
Russia, Kiev, 1405-1463, Isidore of Kiev, Metropolitan, Became Catholic; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1406, Juliana oVyazma, virtues&chastity, wYuri fled Vitovt over hill tTver, adultry, J wounded Y, Y killed J
Russia, Kiev, 1406, Juliana oVyazma, Ukraine (Vyazna River 1) &Novy Torg Tver close by across the hill in Vladai Hills, Princess oVyazma&Novy Torg, Maximus Danilov daughter, known virtues&chastity, Husband Prince Simeon oV wPrince Yuri oSmolensk fled because Lithuanian P Vitovt had seized their lands, then Basil oMoscow gave Torzhok Tver tThem, Yuri wanted adultry wJ, but J faithful, Yuri killed husband Simeon, tried to rape, but J wounded him wKnife, J ordered her hands feet cut off and body thrown into Tversta River, Yuri fled tTartars, no peace, tRyazan wilderness; Vyazma; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated December 21 ; Juliana, Princess of Vyazma and Novy Torg, daughter of the noble Maximus Danilov, known for her virtues and her chastity. spouse, Prince Simeon of Vyazma, and also Prince Yuri of Smolensk, were compelled to flee their native lands, which the Lithuanian prince Vitovt had seized. Prince Basil of Moscow bestowed the Tver city of Torzhok upon the exiled princes. Yuri became captivated by Juliana’s beauty and tried in every way to persuade her to commit adultery, Juliana remained faithful to her husband. a feast, Prince Yuri killed Juliana’s husband, in the hope of taking her by force. Juliana resisted the ravisher, wounding him with a knife. enraged Prince Yuri ordered that her hands and feet be cut off, and that her body be thrown into the Tvertsa River. by his conscience and censured by everyone, Prince Yuri fled to the Tatars, even there he did not find peace. settled in the Ryazan wilderness where he died in 1408. martyrdom of Saint Juliana occurred in the winter of 1406. the spring of 1407, they saw the body of Princess Juliana floating in the river. A certain peasant heard a voice from above, commanding that the body of Saint Juliana be buried in the Torzhok cathedral on the right side by the south doors. tomb for her body was afterwards built at the Savior-Transfiguration cathedral, where many received healing from her. connection with the glorification of Saint Juliana on June 2, 1819 a chapel was built on the right-hand side, and dedicated to her. the cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord, where earlier there had been a chapel over the grave of the saint, a church was built and also dedicated to Saint Juliana in 1906.

Russia, Moscow, 1408, Khan Edigei (Edigu) Invasion of Russia, Muslim White Horde
Moscow, 1408, Khan Edigei (Edigu) Invasion of Russia, Destroying Rostov, New Novgorod, and Gorodets ; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, Commemorated on November 17 ; St Photius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on July 2;

Russia, Moscow, 1408-1431, Photius, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kiev, transfered to Moscow 1410, recognized Jonah
Moscow Patriarch, 1408-1431, Photius, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kiev; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; St Photius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on July 2; Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, was by birth a Greek from the Peloponnesian city of Monembasia (Malbasia). While still in his adolescence he entered a monastery and was tonsured under the Elder Acacius, a great ascetic (afterwards the Metropolitan of Monembasia). 1408, when Photius was in Constantinople with the Patriarch on church matters, the question arose about a replacement for the Russian See after the death of Saint Cyprian (September 16). The choice of Patriarch Matthew (1397-1410) fell upon Photius, known for his learning and holiness of life. On September 1, 1408 Saint Photius was made Metropolitan and in the next year arrived in Rus. spent half a year at Kiev (September 1409-February 1410), concerning himself with settling affairs in the southern dioceses of the Russian Church, then included within the principality of Lithuania, or more precisely, of Lithuania and Russia. The saint perceived that the throne of the Metropolitan, the spiritual center of churchly life in Rus, could not remain in the Kiev lands, where everything increasingly fell under the dependence of Catholic Poland. On the day of Holy Pascha in 1410, Metropolitan Photius arrived in Moscow following the example of former Russian Metropolitans, who transferred their residence first to Vladimir, then to Moscow. 22 years the saint labored in the difficult service of archpastor of the Russian Church. In grievous conditions of war, fratricidal strife, and pillaging incursions of Tatars he knew how to highly advance the spiritual significance, the material prosperity and well-being of the churches under the See of Moscow. conditions in the Church allowed Saint Photius to render great assistance to the increasingly impoverished Patriarch of Constantinople, and to strengthen the international position of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian realm. enemies of Orthodoxy tried to subvert the churchly-patriotic service of Saint Photius more than once. In the spring of 1410, when Saint Photius arrived in Vladimir from Moscow, Khan Edigei, having laid waste this portion of the Russian Land for two years, undertook a new campaign with the intent of capturing the Metropolitan himself. A Tatar detachment, headed by Prince Talychoi “the Exile,â€ suddenly and quickly took Vladimir, but God preserved His righteous saint. evening before, not suspecting danger, the saint had gone off to the Svyatoozersk (Holy Lake) monastery beyond the city. When the Tatars attempted pursuit, he concealed himself in a small settlement, surrounded by impassable swamps, at the River Senega. Unable to capture the Metropolitan, the rapacious Tatars plundered Vladimir, especially the Dormition cathedral church. The doorkeeper of the cathedral, Patrikii, endured terrible torments and accepted a martyr’s death from the plundering Tatars, but he did not reveal where the church sacred items and treasury were hidden. the efforts of Metropolitan Photius the canonical unity of the Russian Church was restored. The separate Lithuanian metropolitanate, established by Prince Vitovt for the southern and western eparchies [dioceses], was abolished in 1420. In that same year the saint visited the returned eparchies and greeted the flock with an instructive encyclical. The wise and erudite pastor left behind many instructions and letters. Of great theological significance was his denunciation of the heresy of the Strigolniki, which had arisen at Pskov prior to his time. By his wise efforts the heresy was put to an end in 1427. Church historical sources compiled by Saint Photius are his “Order of Selection and Installation of Bishopsâ€ (1423), “ Discourse on the Seriousness of the Priestly Office and the Obligations of Church Servers,â€ and also the “Spiritual Testamentâ€, in which he tells of his life. Another great work of the saint was the compilation, under his guidance, of the Obscherussk (All-Russian) Chronicle (about 1423). April 20, 1430 the holy archpastor was informed by an angel of his approaching end, and he reposed peacefully on the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae, on July 2, 1431. His relics were uncovered in the year 1471. Two sakkoi (robes) of Saint Photius are preserved in the Armory Palace of the Moscow Kremlin. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1410-1462, Barlaam oShenkursk, Vologda, Novgorod mayor, then founded Varlaamiev Vazhsky Monastery, monk 12 yrs
Russia, Vologda, 1410-1462, Venerable Barlaam of Shenkursk, White Sea, Vologda (Vaga River 6), mayor oNovgorod t1445, then founded Varlaamiev Vazhsky Monastery, became Pinezhsky, monk i1456 for 12 yrs, buried next to church he built ; Shenkursk (Vaga River) ; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated January 18 ; Venerable Barlaam of Shenkursk, Commemorated on June 19; Varlaam was known as Vasily Stepanovich Svoezemtsev in life, in monasticism he was given the name Varlaam Vazhsky. Stepanovich was born around 1390 into the family of the Novgorod Boyar (his father was Stepan Vasilyevich). baptism he received the name Vasily. was married and had two sons, Ivan and Semyon. According to another version of his life, he had two daughters and eight sons. served as mayor of Novgorod until 1445. He also served as a representative of the Boyar family of Svoezemtsev, Novgorod. 1426, he founded Varlaamiev Vazhsky Monastery, where subsequently the town of Pinezhsky was founded. 1456, Vasily Stepanovich was tonsured a monk and given the name Barlaam Vazhsky by the first Hegumen of St. John Theological Monastery. Varlaam lived as a monastic for six years, and upon his death on June 19, 1462, he was buried next to the church of John the Theologian, which he had built.

Russia, Moscow, 1416-1441, Gerasimus, BoPerm, incessant Novgordian&Vogulian incursions, went tV camps, killed by hVogul servant
Mongol Perm, 1416-1441, Gerasimus, Bishop oPerm (Mulyanka and Sylva Rivers, Kama River 6), worthily succeded Steven, Enlightener oPerm, who converted only part otZyryani, incessant Novgordian&Vogulian incursions, went tV camps urging stop plundering defenceless Christians oPerm, killed by his Vogul servant, strangeled bOmophorion; Perm (Kama River 6); St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; Gerasimus was the third bishop of the Zyryan people, and a worthy successor of Saint Stephen, Enlightener of Perm. was elevated to the See of Perm sometime after the year 1416, only part of the Zyryani had been converted to Christianity. was concerned for his flock, which suffered incessant incursions from the Novgorodians and pagan Vogulians. went into the Vogul camps, urging them to stop plundering the defenseless Christians of Perm. one of these journeys in 1441, he was murdered by his Vogul servant (according to tradition he was strangled with his omophorion). was buried in the Annunciation church of the village of Ust-Vym not far from the city of Yarenga, at the River Vychegda (also January 24). ’s common commemoration of these three saints acknowledges their apostolic activity in this Eastern expanse of Russia. Gerasimus is also commemorated on January 24.

Russia, Moscow, 1416-1441, Gerasimus 3rd Bishop oEnlightened Zyryanians, respected aMoscow councils, Raids Vogulians oNovgorod
Mongol, Perm, 1416-1441, Gerasimus, Bishop oGreat Perm (Kama River Basin)& Ust-Vymsk (Vym River Mouth, Vychegda River 3, Centered in Aykino) Regions, 3rd Bishop oNewly enlightened Zyryani people, successor to Steven, Perm enlightener, elevated a1416, aMoscow Councils far fPerm, 1438 condemning Florence union & Met Isadore oKiev, another 1441 declared Russian Mets chosen bRussian bishops council, so his contemporaries valued his opinion, great authority, interceding fFlock before GP Basil II, requesting assistance, Raids by Novgorodians, especially pagan Vogulians, went into V camps, murdered by V servant 1441, strangled by omophorion (bishop's stole), buried cathedral church first Perm Hierarchs (top of system oArrangement oPeople); Perm Krai, 29,000 Rivers in Great Perm Region (Perm Krai) ; Saint Gerasimus, Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 24; Gerasimos (Gerásimos), Bishop of Great Perm and Ust-Vymsk, the third Bishop of the newly-enlightened Zyryani people, a worthy successor to Saint Stephen, the Enlightener of Perm (April 26). was elevated to the See of Perm after 1416. he lived far from the capital city, Gerásimos participated in the Moscow Councils: in 1438, which condemned the Union of Florence, as well as its proponent, Metropolitan Isidore of Kiev (1437–1441); another in 1441, which decreed that the Metropolitans of All Russia would be chosen by a Council of Russian bishops. indicates that his contemporaries valued his opinion, and that he possessed great authority. a doubt, at these Councils the Hierarch interceded for his flock before the Great Prince Basil II (1425–1462), assistance and benefits for them. new flock had suffered from raids by the Novgorodians, from the pagan Vogulians. went to their camps urging them to stop pillaging the villages of the defenseless Christians of Perm. Gerásimos was murdered by a Vogulian servant during one of his journeys through Perm in 1441 to Tradition, he was strangled with his omophorion). was buried in the cathedral church of the First Hierarchs of Perm, later became the Annunciation church in the village of Ust-Vyma, of the city of Yarenga, the Vychegda River. Feast Day was established in 1607. January 29 there is a joint commemoration of the three Perm Hierarchs: Gerasimos, Pitirim, and Jonah.

Russia, Moscow, 1420, Support of the Humble Icon, appeared at Stony Lake and transferred to Pskov same year
Russia, Pskov, 1420, Support of the Humble Icon; Icon of the Mother of God, “Support of the Humble”, appeared in 1420 at Stony Lake near Pskov. same year, on September 16, it was transferred to Pskov and placed in the cathedral church. Today’s celebration was established in memory of the transfer of this wonderworking icon. Pskov; Icon of the Mother of God Support of Humble, Commemorated September 16 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1420, Chirsk-Pskov Icon, pestilence, tears from Icon, church procession
Russia, Pskov, 1420, Chirsk-Pskov Icon, pestilence, tears from Icon, church procession; Chirsk is somewhere near Pskov Icon of the Mother of God of Chirsk-Pskov, Commemorated July 16 ; Chirsk (Pskov) Icon of the Mother of God was initially in the Chirsk village church of the Pskov diocese. July 16, 1420, during the time of Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich, Archbishop Simeon of Novgorod and Pskov, and Prince Theodore Alexandrovich were present in Pskov. a time of a deadly pestilence, tears flowed from the eyes of the Chirsk Icon of the Mother of God. was reported to authorities in the city of Pskov. and devout men carried the wonderworking icon to Pskov. church procession was formed to meet the icon, which was placed in the cathedral church of the Holy Trinity. the reverse of the icon are depicted the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, and Saint Theodosius of the Kiev Caves.

Russia, Moscow, 1424-1504, Cassian tGreek, Uglich, aTherapon wJoasaph, vision oMartinian tbMonk, left fUchma, guide mPeople
Russia, Rostov, 1424-1504, Cassian tGreek, Uglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), Mangupa Princes descendent, tMoscow fBizantium wSophia Paleologa, for GP Ivan III, Monk at Therapon wJoasaph, miraculous vision oMartinian, urged him tbMonk, left for Volga Uchma confluence, monastery guide mPeople; Uglich; Venerable Cassian of Uglich, Commemorated October 2 ; Cassian the Greek of Uglich, in the world Constantine, was a descendant of the Greek Mangupa princes. arrived in Moscow as part of the delegation to Great Prince Ivan III, together with the daughter of the Byzantine emperor, Sophia Paleologa. decided to devote his life to the service of God, the saint declined the offer to remain at the court of the Great Prince, and he resettled near Bishop Joasaph of Rostov. the bishop withdrew to the Therapon monastery for solitude, Constantine followed him, and he led a strict ascetic life. accepted monasticism after a miraculous vision by night of Saint Martinian, urging him to take monastic tonsure. a certain period of time, Saint Cassian left the monastery going not far from the city of Uglich, near the confluence of the Volga and Uchma Rivers, he founded a monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. of the monk spread widely, and many people began to come to receive his blessing, to see the wilderness habitation and converse with him. Saint Cassian accepted everyone with love, guiding them on the way to salvation with quiet words. monk died in great old age on October 2, 1504. In the Uglich Chronicles many miracles of the saint were recorded, in particular the protection of his monastery from Polish soldiers in the years 1609-1611 by his prayers. memory of Saint Cassian of Uglich is celebrated also on May 21, the day he shares with his namesake, the holy Emperor Constantine the Great. Venerable Cassian the Greek of Uglich, Commemorated on May 21; we commemorate the namesake of Saint Cassian (in the world Constantine). commemoration of Saint Cassian is in honor of Emperor Constantine, his patron Saint at Baptism. When he became a monk, he was tonsured with the new name Cassian, in honor of St. John Cassian (Feb. 28), (Feb. 29 in Leap Year). October 2, the date of his repose, for Saint Cassian's life account.

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1453, Muscovite Civil War, Inter Ruling Family Squabble
Muscovite Civil War 1425-1453, Inter Ruling Family Squabble; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Paphnutius the Abbot of Borov, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Euphrosynus the Abbot and Wonderworker of Pskov, Commemorated on May 15; St Jonah the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on June 6 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1462, Vasily II, Basil, Great Prince of Moscow , allied with Teutonic Order
Moscow Prince, 1425-1462, Basil, Great Prince of Moscow (Vasily II) ; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Zheltovod and Unzha, Commemorated on July 25 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on August 19 ; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Venerable Prince Andrew, in Monasticism Joasaph, of Kubensk, Vologda, Commemorated on September 10 ; Venerable Gregory the Abbot of Pelsheme and Wonderworker of Vologda, Commemorated on September 30; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Vishera, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 1; Venerable Dionysius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on October 3; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Belozersk, Commemorated on October 7 ; St Tarasius of Glushetsa, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Yakhrom, Commemorated on October 14; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 24; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; St John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on February 10; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Hilarion of Pskov, Lake Gdov, Commemorated on March 28; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Paphnutius the Abbot of Borov, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14 ; Venerable Euphrosynus the Abbot and Wonderworker of Pskov, Commemorated on May 15; St Jonah the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on June 6 ; Venerable Barnabas the Abbot of Vetluga, Commemorated on June 11;

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1462, Vasily II of Moscow, war with his Lithuanian Grandfather, Vytautas the Great
Moscow Prince, 1425-1462, Basil, Great Prince of Moscow (Vasily II) ; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Zheltovod and Unzha, Commemorated on July 25 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on August 19 ; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Venerable Prince Andrew, in Monasticism Joasaph, of Kubensk, Vologda, Commemorated on September 10 ; Venerable Gregory the Abbot of Pelsheme and Wonderworker of Vologda, Commemorated on September 30; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Vishera, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 1; Venerable Dionysius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on October 3; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Belozersk, Commemorated on October 7 ; St Tarasius of Glushetsa, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Yakhrom, Commemorated on October 14; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 24; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; St John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on February 10; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Hilarion of Pskov, Lake Gdov, Commemorated on March 28; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Paphnutius the Abbot of Borov, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14 ; Venerable Euphrosynus the Abbot and Wonderworker of Pskov, Commemorated on May 15; St Jonah the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on June 6 ; Venerable Barnabas the Abbot of Vetluga, Commemorated on June 11;

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1462, Vasily II of Moscow, Basil the Dark or Blind, Civil War for Moscow, Vasily I's son
Moscow Prince, 1425-1462, Basil the Dark (Vasily II of Moscow); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30; Icon of the Mother of God of Macariev, Commemorated on September 17; Venerable Gregory the Abbot of Pelsheme and Wonderworker of Vologda, Commemorated on September 30; Venerable Dionysius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on October 3; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Belozersk, Commemorated on October 7 ; St Tarasius of Glushetsa, Commemorated on October 12; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; St John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on February 10; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Hilarion of Pskov, Lake Gdov, Commemorated on March 28; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31 ; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14;

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1462, Vasily II of Moscow, CW against Yury of Zvenigorod, D Donskoy's Son
Russia, Moscow, 1425-1462, Basil the Dark or Blind (Vasily II of Moscow) CW against Yury of Zvenigorod; Moscow Prince, 1425-1462, Basil the Dark (Vasily II of Moscow); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30; Icon of the Mother of God of Macariev, Commemorated on September 17; Venerable Gregory the Abbot of Pelsheme and Wonderworker of Vologda, Commemorated on September 30; Venerable Dionysius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on October 3; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Martinian the Abbot of Belozersk, Commemorated on October 7 ; St Tarasius of Glushetsa, Commemorated on October 12; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Gerasimus the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; St John, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on February 10; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Athanasius of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Hilarion of Pskov, Lake Gdov, Commemorated on March 28; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31 ; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Euthymius the Enlightener of Karelia and Finland, Commemorated on April 18; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14;

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1465, Euthymius oSyanzhemsk, years in solitary cell then started S monastery, igumen, relics
Russia, Vologda, 1425-1465, Euthymius oSyanzhemsk &Savior-Kamen monastery, Lake Kuben, Vologda, became monk aSavior-Stone monastery, Lake Kuben, solitary cell on Kuben River, gave cell to Alexander oKushta, moved tSyanzhem, founded monastery, igumen, died 1465, after appointing Chariton successor, relics appeared next C, 16th C; Savior-Kamen monastery; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated January 20 ; Euthymius of Syanzhemsk and Vologda was born in Vologda, received monastic tonsure at the Savior-Stone monastery at Lake Kuben. some time he lived in a solitary cell on the River Kuben, then gave up the place to Saint Alexander of Kushta (June 9) moved to Syanzhem, where he founded the Ascension monastery and became its igumen. Euthymius died around the year 1465, appointing Saint Chariton (September 28) as his successor. story of the appearance of his relics was recorded in the sixteenth century by Bishop Ioasaph of Vologda, a noted hagiographer of his time.

Russia, Moscow, 1425-1480, Serapion of Eleazar M, Pskov, silence vow, monk role model, unburied corpse, bones covered by skin
Russia, Pskov, 1425-1480, Spaso-Eleazar Monastery, Pskov Lake (Peipus), 1447, joined ascetic monk Euphrosynus 1425, received great schema, silence vow, monk role model, unburied corpse, bore every insult, power communal prayers, bones covered by skin; Spaso-Eleazar Monastery, Pskov, 1447; Venerable Serapion of Spaso-Eleazar Monastery, Pskov, Commemorated on September 7; Serapion of Pskov was born at Yuriev (now Tartu), which then was under the rule of Germans, who sought to stamp out Orthodoxy. parents were parishioners of a Russian church in the name of Saint Nicholas. Serapion was well versed in the Holy Scripture, and more than once he entered into the defense of Orthodoxy. they wanted to convert him by force to the foreign faith, he departed to the Tolvsk wilderness, not far from Pskov, where the Pskov ascetic monk Euphrosynus (May 15) began his prayerful work. his nurturing, Saint Serapion began to acquire the wisdom of wilderness life. soon he happened to undergo temptations. a blessing, he wanted to leave his guide and to live an ascetic life in complete solitude. the Lord brought the inexperienced novice to his senses: after he seriously hurt his leg, he repented of his self-will and disobedience and returned to the Elder. he received the Great Schema, he dwelt constantly with Saint Euphrosynus for 55 years, strictly keeping the vow of silence. began gradually to gather around Saint Euphrosynus, for which the Elder built a temple in the name of the Three Hierarchs and gave a skete rule. Serapion zealously fulfilled everything commanded of him and was a role model for the monks. monk so strictly fulfilled the monastic vow of uncovetousness, that a copyist of his life called him “an unburied corpse.” bore every insult with extraordinary humility, always blaming himself alone, and he himself asked forgiveness of his insulter. monk deeply sensed the power of communal prayers he said that “the order of the twelve Psalms” sung alone in the cell cannot equal one “Lord, have mercy” sung in church. Serapion died on September 8, 1480, on the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the day of repose of Saint Serapion coincides with one of the twelve Great Feasts, his commemoration is on September 7. A Troparion and Kontakion were composed for the saint. Euphrosynus himself committed the body of his disciple to the earth. his fervent deeds he had transformed himself into mere “bones, covered by skin.” Serapion was not separated from his spiritual Father even after death: their holy relics were placed beside each other. common service was composed to Saints Euphrosynus and Serapion (15 May), Saint Serapion is glorified as the first co-ascetic, “companion and friend” of Saint Euphrosynus.

Russia, Moscow, 1434, Repose of Maximus of Moscow, Fool for Christ, walked about almost naked, humility, wisdom, everyone heeded
Russia, Moscow, 1434, Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Russia (Moscova River 4), Fool for Christ, summer and winter walked about almost naked, humility, wisdom, everyone heeded; Moscow; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; Maximus of Moscow, the Fool for Christ. is known about his parents, or the time and place of birth. Maximus chose one of the most difficult and thorny paths to salvation, having taken upon himself the guise of a fool for the sake of Christ. and winter Maximus walked about almost naked, enduring both heat and cold. He had a saying, “The winter is fierce, but Paradise is sweet.” loved its holy fools, it esteemed their deep humility, it heeded their wisdom, expressed in the proverbial sayings of the people’s language. And everyone heeded the holy fools, from the Great Princes down to the least beggar. Maximus lived at a difficult time for the Russian people. Tatar incursions, droughts, epidemics were endemic and people perished. saint said to the unfortunate, “Not everything is by the weave of the wool, some is opposite... have won the fight, submit, and bow lower. not, you who are beaten; but weep, you who are unbeaten. us show tolerance, and in this at least, we shall be human. even green wood will burn. will grant salvation if we bear all with patience.” the saint did not only speak words of consolation. His angry denunciations frightened the mighty of his world. Maximus would often say to the rich and illustrious, “The house has an icon corner, but the conscience is for sale. makes the Sign of the Cross, not everyone prays. sees every wrong. He will not deceive you, nor will you deceive Him.” Maximus died on November 11, 1434 and is buried at the church of the holy Princes Boris and Gleb. healings began occurring from the relics of God’s saint. an encyclical of 1547, Metropolitan Macarius enjoined “the singing and celebration at Moscow for the new Wonderworker Maximus, Fool-for-Christ.” same year on August 13 the incorrupt relics of Blessed Maximus were uncovered. church of Saints Boris and Gleb, where the saint was buried, burned in the year 1568. On the site a new church was built, which they consecrated in the name of Saint Maximus, Fool-for-Christ. The venerable relics of Saint Maximus were placed in this church.

Russia, Moscow, 1436-1478, Saint, Zosima of Solovki
Russia, Vologda, 1436-1478, Saint, Zosima of Solovki; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17;

Russia, Moscow, 1437-1437, Nefarious Patriarch, Isadore, Metropolitan of Kiev, Moscow, All Rus, became catholic
Moscow Patriarch, 1437-1437, Isadore, Metropolitan of Kiev, Moscow, All Rus; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15;

Russia, Moscow, 1440-1461, Metropolitan, Jonah, wonderworker, Anthony's arrow, Feast of the Robe, incorrupt relics
Russia, Moscow, 1440-1461, Metropolitan, Jonah, wonderworker, Anthony's arrow, Feast of the Robe, incorrupt relics, fGalich, tonsured there at 12, tMoscow Simonov m fMany yrs, Met Moscow Photius saw J sleeping in Bakery wFingers iBlessing p, don't wake him, predicted great hierarch, later bishop oRyazn&Murom, Met Moscow&allRus 1448, confirmed b both Rus Bishops(first time)&Constantinople Met, after nefarious Bulgarian Isadore Rus Met had embraced Catholicism, 1451 Tartars tMoscow, J led procession along walls, asked dying monk Anthony to pray, A said prayers answered by MOG who prayed to her son, arrow struck A after he said only he would die, deliverance oMoscow Church, Miraculous healings J Grave, 1472 incorrupt relics; Moscow Patriarch, 1449-1461, St Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow ; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5 ; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, was born in the city of Galich into a pious Christian family. The father of the future saint was named Theodore. The youth received monastic tonsure in one of the Galich monasteries when he was only twelve years old. From there, he transferred to the Moscow Simonov monastery, where he fulfilled various obediences for many years. Saint Photius, Metropolitan of Moscow (May 27 and July 2), visited the Simonov monastery. After the Molieben, he blessed the archimandrite and brethren, and also wished to bless those monks who were fulfilling their obediences in the monastery. he came to the bakery, he saw Saint Jonah sleeping, exhausted from his work. The fingers of the saint’s right hand were positioned in a gesture of blessing. Saint Photius said not to wake him. He blessed the sleeping monk and predicted to those present that this monk would be a great hierarch of the Russian Church, and would guide many on the way to salvation. prediction of Saint Photius was fulfilled. Several years later, Saint Jonah was made Bishop of Ryazan and Murom. Photius died in 1431. Five years after his death, Saint Jonah was chosen Metropolitan of All Russia for his virtuous and holy life. The newly-elected Metropolitan journeyed to Constantinople in order to be confirmed as Metropolitan by Patriarch Joseph II (1416-1439). Shortly before this the nefarious Isidore, a Bulgarian, had already been established as Metropolitan. Spending a short time at Kiev and Moscow, Isidore journeyed to the Council of Florence (1438), where he embraced Catholicism. Council of Russian hierarchs and clergy deposed Metropolitan Isidore, and he was compelled to flee secretly to Rome (where he died in 1462). Saint Jonah was unanimously chosen Metropolitan of All Russia. He was consecrated by Russian hierarchs in Moscow, with the blessing of Patriarch Gregory III (1445-1450) of Constantinople. was the first time that Russian bishops consecrated their own Metropolitan. Saint Jonah became Metropolitan on December 15, 1448. archpastoral zeal he led his flock to virtue and piety, spreading the Orthodox Faith by word and by deed. Despite his lofty position, he continued with his monastic struggles as before. 1451 the Tatars unexpectedly advanced on Moscow; they burned the surrounding area and prepared for an assault on the city. Metropolitan Jonah led a procession along the walls of the city, tearfully entreating God to save the city and the people. Seeing the dying monk Anthony of the Chudov monastery, who was noted for his virtuous life, Saint Jonah said, “My son and brother Anthony! Pray to the Merciful God and the All-Pure Mother of God for the deliverance of the city and for all Orthodox Christians.” humble Anthony replied, “Great hierarch! We give thanks to God and to His All-Pure Mother. She has heard your prayer and has prayed to Her Son. The city and all Orthodox Christians will be saved through your prayers. The enemy will soon take flight. The Lord has ordained that I alone am to be killed by the enemy.” Just as the Elder said this, an enemy arrow struck him. prediction of Elder Anthony was made on July 2, on the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. broke out among the Tatars, and they fled in fear and terror. his courtyard, Saint Jonah built a church in honor of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, to commemorate the deliverance of Moscow from the enemy. Jonah reposed in the year 1461, and miraculous healings began to take place at his grave. 1472 the incorrupt relics of Metropolitan Jonah were uncovered and placed in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin (the Transfer of the holy Relics is celebrated May 27). A Council of the Russian Church in 1547 established the commemoration of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow. In 1596, Patriarch Job added Saint Jonah to the Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs (October 5).

Russia, Moscow, 1440-1505, Ivan III, G Prince, t Great, defeated Novg, expanded R, ended GH yoke
Moscow Prince, 1440-1505, Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, the Great; St Leucius of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on August 17 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on August 19 ; Venerable Prince Andrew, in Monasticism Joasaph, of Kubensk, Vologda, Commemorated on September 10 ; Venerable Cassian of Uglich, Commemorated on October 2; Venerable Dionysius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on October 3; Venerable Dositheus the Abbot of Verkneostrov, Pskov, Commemorated on October 8; Icon of the Mother of God of Yakhrom, Commemorated on October 14; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; St Theophilus of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 26; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; St Pachomius of Keno Lake, Commemorated on January 7; Hieromartyr Isidore and 72 Others at Yuriev, Estonia, Commemorated on January 8; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Hieromartyr Isidore and 72 Others at Yuriev, Estonia, Commemorated on January 8 ; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; St Anthony of Krasny Kholm, Commemorated on January 17 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, Commemorated on February 3; St Bassian of Uglich, Commemorated on February 12; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Finding of the relics of St Theodore the Prince of Smolensk, and Yaroslav, and His Children, Commemorated on March 5; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Daniel the Abbot of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski, Commemorated on April 7; Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius, Commemorated on April 14; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Oshevensk, Commemorated on April 20; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14; Venerable Serapion of Pskov, Commemorated on May 15; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga Or Medin, Commemorated on June 16;

Russia, Moscow, 1441-1455, Pitrim, Bishop oPerm&Ustiug, martyr, historian, converted Voguli, served vast area
Mongol, Perm, 1441-1455, Pitrim Bishop of Perm & Ustiug, Vologda (Yug and Skukhona Rivers, Northern Dvina Source), succeeded Gerasimus as B oPerm&Ustiug, even during his time Voguli attacked peaceful Zyryanis oPerm, 1447 appealed Great Prince to help Z's, wide territory, often visited flock, danger, privation, converted V's along Pechora river, so murdered by V leader Asyk, Pitrim compiled life of Alexis & Cannon fUncovering his relics, Common commemoration these three saints acknowledges their activity Eastern Russia; Ustiug, Vologda; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated January 29 ; Pitirim succeeded Saint Gerasimus as bishop of Great Perm and Ustiug. during his time the Voguli had not ceased attacking the peaceful Zyryani, the settlers of Perm. Pitirim stood up for his flock just as his predecessor had done. 1447 he personally appealed to the Great Prince to help the Zyryani. saint often visited his flock, which was spread out over a wide territory, instructing them in the Word of God and assisting them in their misfortunes. undertook long journeys to enlighten the pagan Voguli, during which his life was frequently in danger, and he had to endure all sorts of privation. saint did not slacken his efforts, he enlightened and instructed people in their homes, in churches, and in the open places. his preaching he converted many of the Voguli who lived along the tributaries of the River Pechora, to Christianity. of this he aroused the terrible wrath of the leader of the Voguli, Asyk, who murdered the saint in a field as he was serving a Molieben. occurred not far from Ust-Vym on August 19, 1455. Pitirim compiled the Life of Saint Alexis and the Canon for the uncovering of his relics. relics of Saint Pitirim rest in the Annunciation temple in Ust-Vym (in Vologda district). common commemoration of these three saints acknowledges their apostolic activity in this Eastern expanse of Russia. Pitirim is also commemorated on August 19.

Russia, Moscow, 1441-1481, St Anthony of Krasny Kholm, Mologa, Vologda, built & headed church & monastery
Russia, Vologda, 1441-1481, St Anthony of Krasny Kholm, Mologa, Vologda (Mologa River 1) White Lake wilderness dweller, discovered St Nicholas Icon, built and headed church and monastery; Krasny Kholm; St Anthony of Krasny Kholm, Commemorated January 17 ; Anthony of Krasny Kholm was initially a wilderness-dweller in the vicinity of White Lake. hieromonk arrived in the region of Tver and settled near “Pretty Hillock” [“Krasny kholm”], at the bank of the River Mologa, building a chapel and cell there. the discovery of an icon of Saint Nicholas, a stone church was built and a monastery founded, headed by the saint, who taught the brethren both by word and by example throughout his life. Saint Anthony died in 1481.

Russia, Moscow, 1442, Makaryev Icon, unknown light, angelic refrain, Icon s by radiance, cell-icon
Russia, Vologda, 1442, Makaryev Icon; Makariev Directress Icon of the Mother of God appeared during the reign of Prince Basil the Dark (1425-1462) to Saint Macarius the Wonderworker, who labored in asceticism on the desolate shores of the River Unzha. September 17, 1442 at about the third hour of the morning, when Saint Macarius was finishing his usual morning Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, his cell was illumined suddenly by an unknown light. The monk became confused in spirit and fervently began to pray. the cell walls he heard the angelic refrain: “Hail, Full of Grace, O Virgin Mother!” With fear and astonishment the monk went out from his cell and on the northwest horizon he saw the icon of the Mother of God, surrounded by a luminous radiance. icon approached towards the cell of the ascetic. With joyful trembling the monk fell to the ground and cried out: “Hail, Mother of God! Hail, Ever-Flowing Fountain issuing salvation to all the world and assuring protection and intercession to all the land of Galicia!” reverently took up the icon and placed it in his cell, thus it also came to be named the “Cell-Icon.” Afterwards, the disciples of the monk gave it the title of “Makariev.” On the place of the appearance of the holy icon a monastery was founded, and was also named Makariev. Copies of the Makariev Icon of the Mother of God were made, which became as renowned as the original. Makaryev on the Unzha River; Macarius of the Unza; Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Zheltovod and Unzha, Commemorated on July 25 ; St Metrophanes (in schema Macarius) the Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated November 23 ; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Barnabas the Abbot of Vetluga, Commemorated on June 11; St Dionysius the Archbishop of Suzdal, Commemorated on June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1442-1492, Cosmas oYakhrom, servant tBoyer healed by Icon iTree fMOG, seek Joy otRighteous, build monastery
Russia, Radonezh, 1442-1492, Cosmas oYakhrom, Radonezh (Yakhroma River Mouth, Volga Canal 3), sick Boyer's servant, whom he comforted by reading books, traveling town tTown, stopped Yakhrom river, exhausted, sound sleep, Cosmos awakened suddenly by vision oExtraordinary Light, Icon ot Dormition in a tree, mysterious voice said: Pay attention C, &Understand the words oLife, Lead God-pleasing life, seek tJoy of tRighteous, so you may receive eternal blessings, The voice also commanded him to become a monk and build a monestary. He reverently brought Icon to sick Master, as soon as placed on him it healed him, Cosmos went to Kiev Caves as soon as his servitude term expired, after giving Icon, he was tonsured, astonished many experienced monks by his asceticism, contested there many years, then he had another vision, an Angel told him leave and take Icon, he left to place found Icon, there built temple dedicated to Dormition, he remained there, self imposed monastic struggles, disciples gathered, Monaster established, Cosmos chosen Igumen, Great Prince heard of his great struggles, reposed 1492, advanced age, buried in monastery he founded; Yakhroma (Yakhroma River); Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated February 18 ; Cosmas of Yakhrom was the servant of a certain Boyar, whom he comforted during his long illness by reading to him from books. so, travelling from town to town, they happened to stop at the Yakhrom River. by their long journey, they fell into a sound sleep. Cosmas was awakened by a vision of extraordinary light. a tree, Cosmas saw an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, he heard a mysterious voice say: "Pay attention, Cosmas, and understand the words of life. a God-pleasing life and seek the joy of the righteous, so that you may receive eternal blessings.” voice also commanded him to become a monk and to build a monastery. he took the Icon of the Mother of God and brought it to his sick master. soon as it was placed on the old man, he was healed of his infirmity. his term of servitude expired, Cosmas went to the Kiev Caves Lavra. giving the Icon to the brethren, he was tonsured in that Monastery. he was tonsured, he astonished even experienced monks by his asceticism. Saint contested there for many years, then he had a vision of an Angel telling him to leave the Lavra and to take with him the Icon of the Mother of God which had appeared to him. asked the monks for the Icon, and left Kiev, at the place where the wonderworking Icon had appeared to him. with the help of some pious donors, he built a temple dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. remained at the church, engaging in various monastic struggles which he had imposed on himself. began to gather around the Saint, a Monastery was established, and Saint Cosmas was chosen as its Igoumen. this time, word of his ascetic struggles even reached the ears of the Great Prince. Cosmas reposed at an advanced age on February 18, 1492, was buried in the Monastery which he founded. is also commemorated on October 14, the Feast of the Yakhrom Icon of the Mother of God.1 1 Many sources indicate that it was an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos which appeared to Saint Cosmas, but only a reputed copy of the Icon has been preserved, which depicts the Mother of God according to the "Tenderness" category of Russian icons.

Russia, Moscow, 1444-1504, Paisius oUglich, copied spiritual books, founded 2Monasteries, wonderwrkr, relics glorified bMiracles
Russia, Rostov, 1444-1504, Paisius oUglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), founded 2Monasteries, wonderworker, Igumen, fKashin, Tver, tUncle Macarius oKalyazin a11, obedience fasting prayer, copying soul-saving books, famed teacher, 1464 founded cenobitic Protection m for Prince Andrew, 1489 founded organized N G m, lived old age died 1504, relics glorified bMiracles; Uglich; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8 ; Paisius of Uglich was igumen of the Protection monastery, near Uglich. was born in the Tver district near the city of Kashin, he was a nephew of Saint Macarius of Kalyazin (March 17). Paisius entered his uncle’s monastery after the death of his parents, when he was just an eleven-year-old child. his uncle’s guidance, Saint Paisius led a monastic life of obedience, fasting and prayer, he was put to work copying soul-saving books. “A man wondrous of spirit, famed teacher of holiness and most astounding wonderworker, founded (in 1464) the cenobitic Protection monastery three versts from Uglich the wish of Prince Andrew, he was chosen igumen.” Paisius was also “founder and organizer of the holy Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya monastery in 1489.” at the Protection monastery, Saint Paisius lived into old age and died on June 6, 1504. relics, glorified by miracles, rest beneath a crypt in the Protection monastery.

Russia, Moscow, 1445-1447, Dmitry Shemyaka, G P Moscow, blinded Vasily, lack of support from boyars, who poisoned him
Moscow Prince, 1445-1447, Dmitry Shemyaka, Grand Prince Moscow; Yurievich Shemyaka (died 1453) was the second son of Yury of Zvenigorod by Anastasia of Smolensk and grandson of Dmitri Donskoi. His hereditary patrimony was the rich Northern town Galich-Mersky. Shemyaka (1445, 1446–1447) was twice Grand Prince of Moscow. causes of the Muscovite Civil War waged in the second quarter of the 15th century are still disputed. No small part, however, was played by Dmitri Donskoi's will, which ran contrary to Rurikid dynastic custom whereby the throne would pass from an elder brother to a younger one (agnatic seniority), rather than from father to son (primogeniture). The testament provided for the accession of his son, Vasily I, which was still in keeping with the tradition of lateral succession since Vasily was the eldest of his generation. the event of Vasily having no surviving son at his death, his brother, Dmitry's second son, Yury of Zvenigorod, was to succeed as grand prince in Moscow. Vasily I's death, however, Yury refused to come to Moscow and swear allegiance to his nephew, Vasily II, and claimed the throne himself in accordance with his right under the long-held custom of lateral inheritance. (He further claimed it was provided for in Dmitry's testament – but this ignored the provision that voided Yury's succession in the event of Vasily I producing a son). son, Dmitry Shemyaka, actively participated in all of his father's incursions against Moscow, culminating in Yury's capture of Moscow and accession as grand prince in 1433. Yury of Zvenigorod died in Moscow in 1434. of Shemyaka with Vasily II after the Latter's Blinding. Yury's death, Shemyaka continued to press his branch's claim to the grand princely throne, and was seldom at peace with Vasily II. Initially, Dmitry and his younger brother Dmitry Krasnyi concluded an alliance with Vasily against their elder brother Vasily Kosoy, who had proclaimed himself grand prince. They succeeded in driving Kosoy from Moscow and were rewarded with the towns of Uglich and Rzhev. The following year Shemyaka came to Moscow in order to invite Vasily II to his impending wedding with a princess of Yaroslavl, but was accused of siding with Kosoy and taken prisoner. He was released on the eve of a decisive clash between Vasily II and Vasily Kosoy. This action of Vasily II was successful - Shemyaka and his people did not help Vasily Kosoy and so he was completely defeated in the battle on the Cheryokha River in 1436, captured and blinded. Soon after, Shemyaka entered into an agreement with Vasily II, recognizing him as his suzerain ("older brother"). Next year, he was sent by Vasily II to expel the exiled Golden Horde Khan Ulugh Muhammad, but was defeated in the battle of Belyov. When Ulugh Muhammad in his turn besieged Moscow in 1439, Dmitry didn't sent his troops to Vasily and only the mediation of a Trinity hegumen could forestall a new civil war between the cousins. two men maintained an uneasy peace for much of the next decade until 1445, when Vasily II was taken prisoner by Olug Moxammat after the Muscovite forces were surprised by the Tatar prince outside Suzdal, Shemyaka seized Moscow, had the recently released Vasily blinded and proclaimed himself the Grand Prince of Vladimir. He could claim this by right of lateral inheritance since his father had sat on the throne. (A prince was excluded from the succession (izgoi) if his father had not sat on the throne before him.) Shemyaka's lack of support among the Muscovite boyars forced him, however, to leave the city for Lake Chukhloma, but he continued to press his claim to the grand princely throne. several peace treaties, Shemyaka continued to plot against his cousin. He suffered a series of defeats in 1450 and 1452 which forced him to seek refuge in Novgorod. There, on July 17, 1453, he was poisoned while eating a dinner of chicken in the Gorodishche, the princely compound south of the Market side of the city,[1] his cook having been bribed by Muscovite agents. Delighted at the news, Vasily II ennobled a herald who had first brought him the message of Shemyaka's death. Nikolai Karamzin famously wrote in his history that the grand prince showed "indecent joy" at the news of his rival's untimely demise. to chronicle sources, Shemyaka was buried in the Church of St. George in the Yuriev Monastery south of Novgorod, [2] however, twentieth-century archaeological excavations of the necropolis of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in the Novgorod Kremlin suggest that the prince was actually buried there and his grave has been misidentified since at least 1616 as that of Prince Fedor Yaroslavich (died 1233).[3] the aftermath of Shemyaka's murder, his wife and son fled Novgorod to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where they were given Rylsk and Novgorod-Seversky in appanage. male line died out by 1561, but there are many living descendants from his daughter's marriage to Prince Alexander Chertoryzhsky. name survives in the Russian expression "Shemyakin sud" ("Shemyaka's Justice", "Shemyaka's Judgement"), which means hasty and unfair judgement. It comes from the 17th century literary work The Tale of Shemyaka's Judgement (see its translation here[4]). However modern researchers question the identification of Dmitry Shemyaka with Judge Shemyaka in the tale. St Leucius of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on August 17 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on August 19 ; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29; St Bassian of Uglich, Commemorated on February 12; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Daniel the Abbot of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski, Commemorated on April 7; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Oshevensk, Commemorated on April 20; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1447-1457, Philip of Rabanga, because locals sought monasticism, monastery founder, Dionysius of G disciple
Russia, Vologda, 1447-1457, Philip of Rabanga (Sodima and Rabanga Rivers, Vologda), because locals sought to become monks, monastery founder, disciple of Dionysius' of Glushitsa; Kadnikova (Sodima River); St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15 ; Philip of Rabanga was the founder of the Savior-Transfiguration monastery, near Kadnikov to the northeast of Vologda. spent the beginning of his monastic life in the monastery of Saint Dionysius of Glushitsa (June 1), and was one of his closest disciples. the death of his teacher and spiritual Father, Saint Philip left the Glushitsa monastery and settled in a sparsely populated area at the confluence of the Sukhona and Rabanga Rivers. saint wanted to lead his life in complete solitude. local inhabitants learned about him, and seeking his guidance to become monks, they began to come to him in the wilderness. this as a mandate from above, Saint Philip traveled to Rostov to the holy Archbishop Ephraim (March 27) and asked the saint’s blessing to found a monastery and to build a church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord (the temple was built in 1447). relates that the holy founder of the Savior-Transfiguration monastery was extremely strict with himself, but lenient towards the infirmities of others. Philip died on November 15, 1457 and was buried in the monastery he founded.

Russia, Moscow, 1448-1461, Jonah of Moscow, Ryazan and Murom, Metropolitan, Anthony's arrow, incorrupt relics
Moscow Patriarch, 1448-1461, Jonah of Moscow, Metropolitan of All Rus; Venerable Mark of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on March 29; Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on May 1; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, was born in the city of Galich into a pious Christian family. The father of the future saint was named Theodore. The youth received monastic tonsure in one of the Galich monasteries when he was only twelve years old. From there, he transferred to the Moscow Simonov monastery, where he fulfilled various obediences for many years. Saint Photius, Metropolitan of Moscow (May 27 and July 2), visited the Simonov monastery. After the Molieben, he blessed the archimandrite and brethren, and also wished to bless those monks who were fulfilling their obediences in the monastery. he came to the bakery, he saw Saint Jonah sleeping, exhausted from his work. The fingers of the saint’s right hand were positioned in a gesture of blessing. Saint Photius said not to wake him. He blessed the sleeping monk and predicted to those present that this monk would be a great hierarch of the Russian Church, and would guide many on the way to salvation. prediction of Saint Photius was fulfilled. Several years later, Saint Jonah was made Bishop of Ryazan and Murom. Photius died in 1431. Five years after his death, Saint Jonah was chosen Metropolitan of All Russia for his virtuous and holy life. The newly-elected Metropolitan journeyed to Constantinople in order to be confirmed as Metropolitan by Patriarch Joseph II (1416-1439). Shortly before this the nefarious Isidore, a Bulgarian, had already been established as Metropolitan. Spending a short time at Kiev and Moscow, Isidore journeyed to the Council of Florence (1438), where he embraced Catholicism. Council of Russian hierarchs and clergy deposed Metropolitan Isidore, and he was compelled to flee secretly to Rome (where he died in 1462). Saint Jonah was unanimously chosen Metropolitan of All Russia. He was consecrated by Russian hierarchs in Moscow, with the blessing of Patriarch Gregory III (1445-1450) of Constantinople. This was the first time that Russian bishops consecrated their own Metropolitan. Saint Jonah became Metropolitan on December 15, 1448. With archpastoral zeal he led his flock to virtue and piety, spreading the Orthodox Faith by word and by deed. Despite his lofty position, he continued with his monastic struggles as before. 1451 the Tatars unexpectedly advanced on Moscow; they burned the surrounding area and prepared for an assault on the city. Metropolitan Jonah led a procession along the walls of the city, tearfully entreating God to save the city and the people. Seeing the dying monk Anthony of the Chudov monastery, who was noted for his virtuous life, Saint Jonah said, “My son and brother Anthony! Pray to the Merciful God and the All-Pure Mother of God for the deliverance of the city and for all Orthodox Christians.” humble Anthony replied, “Great hierarch! We give thanks to God and to His All-Pure Mother. She has heard your prayer and has prayed to Her Son. The city and all Orthodox Christians will be saved through your prayers. The enemy will soon take flight. The Lord has ordained that I alone am to be killed by the enemy.” Just as the Elder said this, an enemy arrow struck him. prediction of Elder Anthony was made on July 2, on the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos. Confusion broke out among the Tatars, and they fled in fear and terror. In his courtyard, Saint Jonah built a church in honor of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, to commemorate the deliverance of Moscow from the enemy. Jonah reposed in the year 1461, and miraculous healings began to take place at his grave. 1472 the incorrupt relics of Metropolitan Jonah were uncovered and placed in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin (the Transfer of the holy Relics is celebrated May 27). A Council of the Russian Church in 1547 established the commemoration of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow. In 1596, Patriarch Job added Saint Jonah to the Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs (October 5). Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow is also commemorated on March 31.

Russia, Moscow, 1448-1532, Cyril of New Lake, Pskov, Novorzhev, Boris Morozov, the royal tutor, kinsman, incorrupt r
Cyril of New Lake; Cyril the wonderworker of New Lake reposed on February 4, 1532. May 1448, during the reign of Alexei Mihailovich, a popular rebellion against Moscow broke out among some of those who were members of the Tsar's retinue. Peter Trahanitov, the head of the artillery, the Deacon Eleazar, and many others were killed and robbed. The rebellious crowd proceeded to the Beautiful Porch and demanded the extradition of the boyar Boris Morozov, the royal tutor and kinsman. had already broken into his house and looted the property. The boyar, with some difficulty, managed to hide from the hands of the angry mob, and soon he took refuge in the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. Igoumen Amphilokhios and the brethren learned he would be staying with them, he sent the monk Jonah to him with the icon and the Life of Saint Cyril. The boyar graciously accepted the icon and was moved by the Saint's Life. After that, his soul was filled with joy and delight, but then his tormenting fears and grief returned, and he wanted to venerate Saint Cyril's grave. having a Moleben served at the grave and praying to the Saint with tears, the boyar said to the Igoumen and the brotherhood: "Holy Fathers, pray to God and His Most Pure Mother, and the venerable wonderworker Cyril for me. If God is merciful to me, by the prayers of Saint Cyril, and if I return to the royal city, and the great sovereign and his royal council take pity on me and restore me to my former rank, then I will build a stone church here in honor of the glorious Resurrection of Christ and in honor of Saint Cyril." delighted Igoumen and the brotherhood responded with their fervent good wishes. After distributing alms, the boyar returned to the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. a short time, after the excitement in Moscow subsided, the boyar was summoned by the Tsar and restored to his former position. The following year, in 1649, Morozov began to fulfill his promise. September 4, at his orders, the Archimandrite Athanasios of the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and the Elder Sabbatius Yushkov were at the foundation of the stone temple. In their presence they began to dig ditches, and when they came to the place where Saint Cyril's tomb was, a completely intact coffin was found among the roots of a tree. a patriarchal decree and the blessing of the Metropolitan and the Archimandrite, Elder Sabbatius did not dare to take the coffin from the earth in order to open and to examine It. coffin was placed on some boards, and the discovery was reported to Metropolitan Barlaam of Rostov, Patriarch Joseph, and the boyar Morozov. after receiving the news, told the Tsar all this and informed him about the Life and miracles of the venerable Cyril. October, the Patriarch, at the Tsar's suggestion, sent Archbishop Marcellus of Vologda with a Gramota instructing him to go to New Lake and examine the relics of the Saint, and move the relics to a temporary room, arrange a celebration, and report everything to the Tsar and Patriarch. Marcellus arrived at New Lake Monastery with Archimandrite Athanasios of Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and, from the same monastery, the cellarer Sabbatius with the Elders of the cathedral. On November 7, Igoumen Amphilokhios ordered them to remove the coffin from the earth, and then open it in order to inspect the Saint's relics and clothing. After the hierarch completed his inspection he placed the relics in a new coffin and moved it into the wooden church of the Resurrection of Christ. the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos Vespers was served at the cathedral in the evening. In the morning, before the Liturgy, a Moleben to the All-Merciful Savior, the Theotokos, and All Saints was served, with the blessing of water. Many sick persons were healed at the celebration. People took pieces of wood from the old coffin and brought them home because they had faith in their healing power. Cyrill is commemorated on November 7 (the discovery of his relics), on January 23 (Synaxis of All Saints of Kostroma), and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of All Saints of Novgorod). Cyril of White Lake; of Beloozero (Cyril of Beloezero, 1337 – 1427) was a monk and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church who lived in the 15th century. Saint Cyril was a disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. In 1397, he founded the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in Northern Russia, in the present-day Vologda Oblast. was born as Kosma in Moscow in 1337. His origin is not entirely clear, but he was in any case close to the boyar family of Velyaminov. Cyril's parents died when he was a child. Around 1380 he became a monk in the Simonov Monastery and took the name of Cyril (Kirill).[1] In the monastery, he got in contact with Sergius of Radonezh. In 1387, the archimandrite of the Simonov Monastery, Feodor, was appointed a bishop of Rostov, and Cyril became his successor. However, he soon realized that the position of archimadrite required too much involvement in public affairs, and first resigned, then moved to a neighboring monastery as an ordinary monk, and then decided to move to a deserted place where he could pray in peace. Together with St. Therapont, previously the monk of the same monastery, Cyril left for Lake Beloye. On arrival, following the advice of Sergius of Radonezh, he first dug a cave, and then built a wooden Assumption chapel and a loghouse for other monks. Therapont, who found the restriction imposed by Cyril too strict, left within a year and founded nearby the Ferapontov Monastery. In what became Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Cyril established a very strict order.[1] monastery grew and later became the largest monastery of Northern Russia. Cyril, as the first hegumen, arranged purchases of large areas of land by the monastery.[1] of White Lake died in the monastery in 1427, at the age of ninety. present there are several churches in Russia bearing the name of Cyril. day is marked by Russian Orthodox Church on June 9.[2][3] Novorzhev, Pskov; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7; Cyril the wonderworker of New Lake reposed on February 4, 1532. May 1648, during the reign of Alexei Mihailovich, a popular rebellion against Moscow broke out among some of those who were members of the Tsar's retinue. Peter Trahanitov, the head of the artillery, the Deacon Eleazar, and many others were killed and robbed. The rebellious crowd proceeded to the Beautiful Porch and demanded the extradition of the boyar Boris Morozov, the royal tutor and kinsman. They had already broken into his house and looted the property. The boyar, with some difficulty, managed to hide from the hands of the angry mob, and soon he took refuge in the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. When Igoumen Amphilokhios and the brethren learned he would be staying with them, he sent the monk Jonah to him with the icon and the Life of Saint Cyril. The boyar graciously accepted the icon and was moved by the Saint's Life. After that, his soul was filled with joy and delight, but then his tormenting fears and grief returned, and he wanted to venerate Saint Cyril's grave. having a Moleben served at the grave and praying to the Saint with tears, the boyar said to the Igoumen and the brotherhood: "Holy Fathers, pray to God and His Most Pure Mother, and the venerable wonderworker Cyril for me. If God is merciful to me, by the prayers of Saint Cyril, and if I return to the royal city, and the great sovereign and his royal council take pity on me and restore me to my former rank, then I will build a stone church here in honor of the glorious Resurrection of Christ and in honor of Saint Cyril." delighted Igoumen and the brotherhood responded with their fervent good wishes. After distributing alms, the boyar returned to the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. After a short time, after the excitement in Moscow subsided, the boyar was summoned by the Tsar and restored to his former position. The following year, in 1649, Morozov began to fulfill his promise. On September 4, at his orders, the Archimandrite Athanasios of the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and the Elder Sabbatius Yushkov were at the foundation of the stone temple. In their presence they began to dig ditches, and when they came to the place where Saint Cyril's tomb was, a completely intact coffin was found among the roots of a tree. a patriarchal decree and the blessing of the Metropolitan and the Archimandrite, Elder Sabbatius did not dare to take the coffin from the earth in order to open and to examine It. The coffin was placed on some boards, and the discovery was reported to Metropolitan Barlaam of Rostov, Patriarch Joseph, and the boyar Morozov. Mozarov, after receiving the news, told the Tsar all this and informed him about the Life and miracles of the venerable Cyril. In October, the Patriarch, at the Tsar's suggestion, sent Archbishop Marcellus of Vologda with a Gramota instructing him to go to New Lake and examine the relics of the Saint, and move the relics to a temporary room, arrange a celebration, and report everything to the Tsar and Patriarch. Marcellus arrived at New Lake Monastery with Archimandrite Athanasios of Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and, from the same monastery, the cellarer Sabbatius with the Elders of the cathedral. On November 7, Igoumen Amphilokhios ordered them to remove the coffin from the earth, and then open it in order to inspect the Saint's relics and clothing. After the hierarch completed his inspection he placed the relics in a new coffin and moved it into the wooden church of the Resurrection of Christ. the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos Vespers was served at the cathedral in the evening. In the morning, before the Liturgy, a Moleben to the All-Merciful Savior, the Theotokos, and All Saints was served, with the blessing of water. Many sick persons were healed at the celebration. People took pieces of wood from the old coffin and brought them home because they had faith in their healing power. Cyrill is commemorated on November 7 (the discovery of his relics), on January 23 (Synaxis of All Saints of Kostroma), and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of All Saints of Novgorod).

Russia, Moscow, 1450 15th Century, Basil of Kubensk, Vologda (Lake Kuben), a monk, full length icon, heavy iron chains & cap
Russia, Vologda, 1450 15th Century, Basil of Kubensk, Vologda (Lake Kuben), a monk, full length icon of B, heavy iron chains, cap of iron strips; Kubensk, Vologda (Lake Kuben) is not defined in wikipedia, but it is probably right here next to the Kubena River at the mouth of Lake Kuben. If not then Kubensk may be another name for Kamenny Monastery. ; Blessed Basil of Kubensk, Commemorated on August 2; Basil of Kubensk lived during the fifteenth century, a monk at the Savior-Kamenny monastery, on an island of Lake Kuben (not far from Vologda). the shrine of his relics, built afterwards in a church in honor of Saint Basil of Moscow, is a full-length icon of Saint Basil of Kubensk, with heavy iron chains and a cap of iron strips.

Russia, Moscow, 1451, Miraculous deliverance of Moscow by Robe of Theotokos
Russia, Moscow, 1451, Miraculous deliverance of Moscow by Robe of Theotokos; The holy Robe of the Mother of God, which previously saved Constantinople, later saved Moscow from hostilities. Tatars of the Horde of the princeling Mazovshi approached the walls of Moscow in the summer of 1451. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, with constant prayer and church services, encouraged the defenders of the capital. On the night of July 2, the Chronicle relates, great confusion occurred within the Tatar camp. The enemy abandoned their plundered goods and speedily departed in disarray. Moscow Prince, 1440-1505, Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow, the Great; St Leucius of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on August 17 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on August 19 ; Venerable Prince Andrew, in Monasticism Joasaph, of Kubensk, Vologda, Commemorated on September 10 ; Venerable Cassian of Uglich, Commemorated on October 2; Venerable Dionysius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on October 3; Venerable Dositheus the Abbot of Verkneostrov, Pskov, Commemorated on October 8; Icon of the Mother of God of Yakhrom, Commemorated on October 14; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; St Theophilus of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 26; St Philip of Rabanga, Commemorated on November 15; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; St Pachomius of Keno Lake, Commemorated on January 7; Hieromartyr Isidore and 72 Others at Yuriev, Estonia, Commemorated on January 8; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Hieromartyr Isidore and 72 Others at Yuriev, Estonia, Commemorated on January 8 ; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; St Anthony of Krasny Kholm, Commemorated on January 17 ; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on January 29; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, Commemorated on February 3; St Bassian of Uglich, Commemorated on February 12; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Finding of the relics of St Theodore the Prince of Smolensk, and Yaroslav, and His Children, Commemorated on March 5; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Daniel the Abbot of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski, Commemorated on April 7; Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius, Commemorated on April 14; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Oshevensk, Commemorated on April 20; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14; Venerable Serapion of Pskov, Commemorated on May 15; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga Or Medin, Commemorated on June 16;

Russia, Moscow, 1451-1500, Sebastian oSokhota, Poshekhonye District, Mologa, founded monastery, taught ascetics by example
Transfiguration of the Lord monestary, located at the River Sokhota, 90 versts from the city of Romanov (now Tutaev) in the Yaroslav district. Venerable Sebastian of Poshekhonye, Commemorated on February 26; Sebastian of Sokhota, Poshekhonye, founded a monastery in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, located at the River Sokhota, 90 versts from the city of Romanov (now Tutaev) in the Yaroslav district. monks of the monastery themselves cultivated the soil and ate through the work of their own hands. founder of the monastery taught the ascetics this by his own example and guidance. Saint Sebastian reposed about the year 1500. Transfiguration monastery on the River Sokhota was later annexed to the Cherepovets Ascension monastery, and in 1764 closed down. In the mid-nineteenth century a stone church was built over the relics of Saint Sebastian. The saint is also commemorated on December 18. Venerable Sebastian the Abbot of Pshekhonye Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on December 18 ; Sebastian of Sokhota, Pshekhonye, a monastery in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, located at the River Sokhota, 90 versts from the city of Romanov (now Tutaev) in the Yaroslav district. monks of the monastery themselves cultivated the soil and ate through the work of their own hands. founder of the monastery taught the ascetics this by his own example and guidance. Sebastian reposed about the year 1500. Transfiguration monastery on the River Sokhota was later annexed to the Cherepovets Ascension monastery, in 1764 closed down. the mid-nineteenth century a stone church was built over the relics of Saint Sebastian. saint is also commemorated on February 26.

Russia, Moscow, 1453-1508, Saint, Nilus of Sora, great ascetic, writer, rule, steps, mental activity, glorified relics
Russia, Moscow, 1453-1508, Saint, Nilus of Sora; Repose of the Venerable Nilus the Abbot of Sora, Commemorated on May 7; Nilus of Sora, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was descended from the Maikov nobility. accepted monasticism at the monastery of Saint Cyril of White Lake (June 9). Here he made use of the counsels of the pious Elder Paisius Yaroslavov, who was afterwards igumen of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Nilus journeyed much through the East, studying the monastic life in Palestine and on Mt. Athos. Returning to Rus, he withdrew to the River Sora in the Vologda lands, and built a cell and a chapel, where there soon grew up a monastery with a new (for that time in Rus) skete Rule adopted by Saint Nilus from Mt. Athos. Following the command of Saint Nilus, the monks had to sustain themselves by the work of their own hands, to accept charity only in extreme need, and to shun the love of things and splendor even in church. Women were not permitted in the skete, monks was not allowed to leave the skete under any pretext, and the possession of lands or estates was forbidden. monks lived in the forest around the small church in honor of the Meeting of the Lord, in separate cells of one or two but not more than three men. They gathered together in church for divine services. Moreover, readings from the holy Fathers were prescribed at the All-Night Vigil, which actually lasted the whole night. On other days, each one prayed and worked in his own cell. saint struggled constantly with his own thoughts and passions. Then peace would be born in his soul, clarity in his mind, contrition and love in his heart. In his written works, “A Tradition for my Disciple, Wishing to Live in the Wilderness,” and the “Rule,” Saint Nilus describes the steps of this salvific mental activity in detail. The first step is renunciation of the world, particularly, from every worldly distraction. The second is unceasing prayer, accompanied by the remembrance of death. saint was distinguished for his non-possessiveness and love for work. He dug a pond and a well, whose water had healing power. For his sanctity of life the Elder Nilus was deeply venerated by the Russian hierarchs of his time. He participated in the Councils of 1490 and 1503. Disdaining the honors and glories of this world, he told his disciples before his death either to throw his body to be eaten by beasts and birds, or to bury it without honor at the place of his struggles. saint died in his seventy-sixth year of life, on May 7, 1508. His relics, buried in the monastery he founded, were glorified by many miracles. The Russian Church has numbered him among the saints. English, fragments of his “Tradition” and “Rule” may be found in G. Fedotov’s TREASURY OF RUSSIAN SPIRITUALITY.]

Russia, Moscow, 1453, Moscow the Third Rome 1453, Fall of Constantinople 1453
Moscow, Third Rome 1453, Fall of Constantinople; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392); Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1455-1470, Jonah, BoPerm, after Pitrim he converted remaining tribes of Perm, Idols eradicated, Churches built
Mongol, Perm, 1455-1470, Jonah, BoPerm (Mulyanka and Sylva Rivers, Kama River 6), after Pitrim he converted remaining tribes of Perm, tribes along Vishera, Kama, Chusova and other rivers, Idols eradicated, Churches built, Experienced pastors sent tSchools aUs-Vym; Perm (Kama River 6); St Jonah the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated January 29 ; Saint Pitirim, Saint Jonah ascended the throne of Perm. He converted to Christianity the remaining part of Great Perm, i.e. the pagan tribes living along the Rivers Vishera, Kama, Chusova and others. his efforts the idols were eradicated and in their place churches were built. pastors were sent to teach the new converts at the church-run schools of Us-Vym. Jonah reposed on June 6, 1470. relics rest together with the relics of Saints Gerasimus and Pitirim in the Annunciation temple in Ust-Vym (in Vologda district). commemoration in common of these three saints acknowledges their apostolic activity in this Eastern expanse of Russia. Jonah is also commemorated on June 6.

Russia, Moscow, 1459-1509, Bassian oUglich, Paisios' disciple, P's m at 33, 20yrs then sought silence but monastery prophecied
Russia, Rostov, 1459-1509, Bassian oUglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), Paisios' disciple, from Bezhetsky, like Theodore oSmolensk from Shestikhinsky Princes, 1472 entered P's Protection m at 33, endured obediences&great abstinence, on Volga banks discovered protection icon 1482, 1492 allowed leave PM for silence, remote place 30 V south oUglich, ascetical contests, but people found him for guidance, 1492 built wooden chrch, soon monks gathered there, Holy trinity m, died 1509, deliverance at his grave for Gerasimos, paralysis healing there for Valerian, 1548 his uncorrupt relics discovered while building stone church, 1764 monastery restored, became parish church, Venerable Vassion oRyabov Hermitage in description oRussian saints; Uglich; St Bassian of Uglich, Commemorated on February 12 ; Bassian of Úglich was a disciple of the Saint Paisios of Uglich (+ June 6, 1504). was born in the village of Rozhalov, located in the Kesovsk volost of the city of Bezhetsky Verkh,1 he was descended from the family of the Shestikhinsky Princes (their ancestor is the right-believing Prince Theodore of Smolensk (+ September 19, 1299). Bassian entered the Protection Monastery when he was 33 years old, soon he was tonsured by Saint Paisios. went through his obediences without murmuring and lived in great abstinence. 1482, Saint Bassian discovered the Protection Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos on the banks of the Volga. spending 20 years in the monastery of SaintPaisios, Bassian asked his blessing to live a life of silence. instructor blessed him, saying, "Go, child desired by Christ, with His easy yoke (Matthew 11:30), and please the Lord. Soon you will form your own monastery and gather a monastic flock for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity." the year 1492 Saint Bassian left the Monastery and, after spending some time at the Saint Nicholas-Uleim Monastery,2 he went to a remote place 30 versts south of Uglich and began a solitary life of ascetical contests. soon people found his secluded dwelling, and began coming to him for advice and guidance. 1492 the Saint built a wooden church dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, and soon those who wished to receive the monastic tonsure gathered there. Saint did not sever his contact with his instructor until his death, at which time he was with other disciples. he had lived for 17 years at Holy Trinity Monastery, Saint Bassian reposed on February 12, 1509. years later, a certain Gerasimos was freed from an unclean spirit at the Saint's grave, and a man named Valerian was healed of his paralysis. 1548, during the construction of a stone church to replace the ancient wooden one, the Saint's incorrupt relics were found,over which a stone vault was built. Monastery was restored in 1764, and Holy Trinity church became a parish church.The church has not survived to this day, and the Saint's burial place has been lost. The memory of "Venerable Vassian, theSuperior of Ryabov Hermitage" is noted in the "Description of the Russian Saints" (end of the XVII–XVIII centuries). Local veneration was tacitly approved by the inclusion of his name in the Synaxis of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints (May 23). 1 Bezhetsky Verkh is located 20 versts from the town of Bezhetsk, Tver region. in the territory between the Mota River and the tributaries of the Volga, became part of the Moscow state, together with Novgorod. 2 The Pritection-Saint Nicholas Monastery, in which Saint Vassian was tonsured, is located three versts from the city of Uglich, on the left bank of the Volga. 3 The Saint Nicholas-Uleima Monastery is located 10 versts from Uglich at the confluence of the Uleyma and Vorzhekhoti rivers. The Saint's ascetical life was spent on the territory of the present day Yaroslavl Region (Yaroslavl Diocese).

Russia, Moscow, 1460, Hilarion's Ozersk [Lake] Monastery Founded, Pskov Lakes
monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God at the River Dubenka; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3 ; Venerable Hilarion of Pskov, Lake Gdov, Commemorated on March 28;

Russia, Moscow, 1460-1515, Joseph of Volokolamsk, writer, monastic instructor a guide, strict rule, great memory
Russia, Tver, 1460-1515, Saint and Author, Joseph of Volokolamsk; Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18; Joseph of Volokolamsk, in the world John Sanin, was born on November 14, 1440 (1439 according to another source) in the village of Yazvisch-Pokrov, not far from the city of Volokolamsk. He was born into a pious family with his father named John (in monasticism Joannicius) and his mother Marina (in schema Maria). The seven-year-old boy John was sent to the pious and enlightened Elder Arsenius of the Volokolamsk-Exaltation of the Cross monastery to be educated. by rare qualities and extraordinary aptitude for church service, for one year the talented youth studied the Psalter, and, the following year, the entire Holy Scripture. He became a reader and singer in the monastery church. Contemporaries were astonished at his exceptional memory. Often, without having a single book in his cell, he would do the monastic rule, reciting from memory from the Psalter, the Gospel, the Epistles, and all that was required. before becoming a monk, John lived a monastic lifestyle. Thanks to his reading and studying of Holy Scripture and the works of the holy Fathers, he dwelt constantly in contemplation of God. As his biographer notes, he “disdained obscene and blasphemous talk and endless mirth from his childhood years.” twenty years of age John chose the path of monastic striving and, leaving his parents’ home, he went off into the wilderness nigh to the Tver Savvin monastery, to the renowned Elder and strict ascetic, Barsanuphius. the monastic rule seemed insufficiently strict to the young ascetic. With the blessing of Elder Barsanuphius, he set off to Borov to Saint Paphnutius of Borov (May 1), who had been a novice of Elder Nikḗtas of the Vysotsk monastery, who in turn was a disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh and Athanasius of Vysotsk. simple life of the holy Elder, the tasks which he shared with the brethren, and the strict fulfilling of the monastic rule suited John’s spiritual state. Saint Paphnutius lovingly accepted the young ascetic who had come to him, and on February 13, 1460 he tonsured him into monasticism with the name Joseph, thus realizing John’s greatest wish. With love and with zeal the young monk shouldered the heavy obediences imposed upon him, in the kitchen, the bakery, the infirmary. Saint Joseph fulfilled this latter obedience with special care, “giving food and drink to the sick, taking up and arranging the bedding, so very anxious and concerned with everything, working, as though attending to Christ Himself.” great spiritual abilities of the young monk were evidenced in the Church reading and singing. He was musically talented and possessed a voice that “in church singing and reading was like that of a swallow and wondrously harmonious, delighting the hearing of listeners, as much as anyone anywhere.” Saint Paphnutius made Joseph ecclesiarch in church, so that he would observe the fulfilling of the Church rule. spent about seventeen years in the monastery of Saint Paphnutius. The strict efforts of monastic obedience under the direct guidance of the experienced abbot was for him an excellent spiritual schooling, having educated him into a future instructor and guide of monastic life. Towards the end of the life of Saint Paphnutius, Joseph was ordained hieromonk and, in accord with the final wishes of Saint Paphnutius, he was appointed Igumen of the Borov monastery. Joseph decided to transform the monastic life along strictly coenobitic principles, following the example of the Kiev Caves, Trinity-Saint Sergius, and Saint Cyril of White Lake monasteries. But this met with strong opposition from a majority of the brethren. Only seven pious monks were of one mind with the igumen. Saint Joseph decided to visit Russian coenobitic monasteries, to investigate the best arrangement for monastic life. He arrived together with the Elder Gerasimus at the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery, which itself presented a model of strict asceticism on the principles of a coenobitic monastery rule. acquaintance with the life of these monasteries strengthened Saint Joseph’s views. But, after he returned to Borov monastery at the wish of the prince, Saint Joseph encountered again the former staunch resistance of the brethren to change from their customary rule. Therefore, he resolved to found a new monastery with a strict coenobitic rule, so he took seven like-minded monks to Volokolamsk, his native region, to a forest known to him since childhood. Volokolamsk at the time, the prince was Boris Vasilievich, the pious brother of Great Prince Ivan III. Hearing of the virtuous life of the great ascetic Joseph, he gladly received him and allowed him to settle on the outskirts of his principality, at the confluence of the Rivers Struga and Sestra. The selection of this spot was accompanied by a remarkable occurrence: a storm blew down the trees before the eyes of the astonished travelers, as though clearing the place for the future monastery. Here the ascetics set up a cross and built a wooden church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God in June 1479, which was consecrated on August 15, 1479. This day and year stand in history as the date of the founding of the monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God as “volok’ lamsk” [“broken-up peninsula”], later named after its founder. monastery was built rather quickly. Much of the work in the construction of the monastery was done by the founder himself. “He was skilled in every human craft: he felled trees, carried logs, he chopped and sawed wood.” By day he toiled with everyone at the construction of the monastery, but spent his nights in solitary cell prayer, remembering always that “Desires kill the sluggard, for his hands do not choose to do anything” (Prov 21:25). reports about the new ascetic attracted disciples to him. The number of monks soon increased to a hundred men, and the venerable Joseph strove to be a good example for his monks in everything. Preaching temperance and spiritual sobriety in all things, his external appearance was no different than the others. His simple, cold-weather rags were his constant clothing, and bast shoes (made from bark) served as his footwear. was the first one to appear in church, he read and sang in the choir beside the others, he gave instruction and was the last to leave church. At nights the holy igumen walked around the monastery and the cells, safeguarding the peace and prayerful sobriety of the brethren entrusted him by God. If he chanced to hear a frivolous conversation, he rapped on the door and quietly withdrew. Joseph devoted much attention to the inner ordering of the life of the monks. He himself led a strict cenobitic life in accord with the Rule he compiled, to which all the services and obediences of the monks were subordinated, and it governed their whole life, “whether in their comings or goings, their words or their deeds.” At the core of the rule was total non-covetousness, detachment from one’s own will, and constant work. The brethren possessed everything in common: clothing, footwear, food and other things. of the brethren could take anything into their cell without the blessing of the igumen, not even a book or an icon. Part of the trapeza meal of the monks, by general consent, was given away to the poor. Work, prayer, spiritual efforts filled the life of the brethren. The Jesus Prayer never vanished from their lips. Festivity was viewed by Saint Joseph as a chief weapon for demonic seduction. Saint Joseph invariably imposed upon himself quite burdensome obediences. The monastery was occupied with the copying and transcription of Service Books and the writings of the holy Fathers, so that the Volokolamsk book collection soon became one of the finest of Russian monastic libraries. each passing year the monastery of Saint Joseph flourished all the more. In the years 1484-1485 a stone church of the Dormition of the Mother of God was built in place of the wooden one. In the Summer of 1485 “artistic masters of the Russian land” painted within it, Dionysius the Iconographer with his sons Vladimir and Theodosius. Saint Joseph’s nephews, Dositheus and Bassian Toporkov, participated in the adornment of the new Church. In 1504 a heated church in honor of the Holy Theophany was set up, followed by the establishment of a bell-tower and next to the bell tower, a church named in honor of the Hodēgḗtria (Directress)Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Joseph trained a whole school of renowned monks, some of whom gained notoriety in the arena of church-historical activity since they were “good pastors,” while others gained fame with works of enlightenment. Some were remembered as worthy examples of pious monastic struggles. History has preserved for us the names of many disciples and co-ascetics of the holy Volokolamsk igumen, who continued to develop his ideas. the disciples and followers of Saint Joseph were: the Metropolitans of Moscow and All Rus Daniel (+ 1539) and Macarius (+1563); the Archbishop of Rostov Bassian (+1515); the Bishops of Suzdal Simeon (+1515), Dositheus of Krutitsa (+1544), Savva of Krutitsa (called “the Black”), Acacius of Tver, Bassian of Kolomets, and many others. Monastics of the Volokolamsk monastery occupied the most important Archepiscopal sees of the Russian Church: the holy hierarchs of Kazan Gurias (December 5) and Germanus (November 6 ), and Saint Barsanuphius, Bishop of Tver (April 11). activity and influence of Saint Joseph were not limited to the monastery. Many laypeople went to him to receive advice. With a pure spiritual insight he penetrated into the deep secrets of the souls of questioners and clairvoyantly revealed to them the will of God. Everyone living around the monastery considered him their spiritual Father and protector. Eminent nobles and princes asked him to be godfather for their children. They revealed their souls to him in confession, they asked for letters of guidance to help them fulfill his directives. common folk found at the monastery the means for sustaining their existence on occasions of extreme need. The number of those fed through monastery resources sometimes approached 700 people. “All of the Volotsk land are inclined to good, enjoying peace and quiet. And the name Joseph, as something sacred, is on everyone’s lips.” monastery was famed not only for its piety and help for the suffering, but also for its manifestations of the grace of God. During Matins of Holy Saturday, the righteous monk Bessarion once saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a white dove, sitting upon the Shroud of the Lord, which was being carried by Saint Joseph. The Abbot, bidding the monk to keep silent about the vision, himself rejoiced in spirit, hoping that God would not forsake the monastery. This monk had seen the souls of dying brethren, white as snow, issuing forth from their mouths. To Saint Joseph himself was revealed the day of his end, and he fell asleep in the Lord with joy, having received the Holy Mysteries and assuming the schema. saintly life of Saint Joseph was neither easy nor placid. In these difficult times for the Church in Russia, the Lord raised him up as a zealous defender of Orthodoxy in the struggle with heresies and churchly disputes. Saint Joseph exerted quite a great effort in denouncing the Judaizers, who tried to poison and distort the foundations of Russian spiritual life. Just as the holy Fathers and teachers of the Ecumenical Councils had elaborated on the teachings of Orthodoxy in responding to the ancient heresies (which contended against the Spirit, Christ, or icons), so also Saint Joseph was summoned forth by God to oppose the false teachings of the Judaizers and to compile the first manual of Russian Orthodox theology, his large book The Enlightener. earlier, preachers from the Khozars had come to Saint Vladimir (July 15), trying to convert him to Judaism. But the great Baptizer of Rus repudiated the pretensions of the rabbis. After this, Saint Joseph writes, “the Great Russian land dwelt for five centuries in the Orthodox Faith, until the Enemy of salvation the devil, should bring the cunning Jew to the city of Novgorod.” with the retinue of the Lithuanian prince Michael Olelkovich, who came to Novgorod in 1470, the Jewish preacher Skhariya (Zachariah) accompanied them. Playing upon the deficiencies of faith and of learning on the part of certain clergy, Skhariya and his accomplices sowed distrust among the petty-minded towards the church hierarchy, inclining them towards a revolt against the spiritual authorities, tempting them with the idea of “self-authority,” i.e. a capricious self-determination of each individual in matters of faith and salvation. Those they tempted gradually pushed towards a full break with the Church: they disdained the holy icons, and repudiated the veneration of the saints, basic elements of Orthodox popular morality. they led the religiously blind and deluded to a denial of the saving Mysteries and the fundamental teachings of Orthodoxy, outside of which there is no knowledge of God: the teaching of the Most Holy Trinity and the teaching of the Incarnation of the God-man our Lord Jesus Christ. If decisive measures were not taken, “all of Orthodox Christianity would be doomed by heretical teachings.” So the question was posed for history. The Great Prince Ivan III, enticed by the Judaizers, invited them to Moscow. He had two of the most prominent of the heretics made archpriests, one at the Dormition, the other at the Archangel Michael cathedrals of the Kremlin, and he summoned to Moscow even the arch-heretic Skhariya himself. those close to the prince were led astray by the heresy, beginning with the clerk heading the government, Theodore Kuritsyn, whose brother became a ringleader of the heretics. Even the in-law of the great prince, Elena Voloshanka, accepted the Judaizers. And finally, the heretical Metropolitan Zosimas was installed upon the bishop’s Throne of the great Moscow Hierarchs Peter, Alexis and Jonah. Joseph and Saint Gennadius, Bishop of Novgorod (December 4), called for a struggle against the spread of the heresy. Saint Joseph wrote his first epistle “Concerning the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity” while still a monk at the Paphnutiev Borov monastery in the year 1477. From the very beginning the Dormition Volokolamsk monastery became a bulwark of Orthodoxy in the struggle against the heresy. Here Saint Joseph wrote his chief works, The Enlightener, engendered with his fiery anti-heretical epistles, or as the monk himself unassumingly called them, “book exercises.” The works of Saint Joseph and Archbishop Gennadius were crowned with success. In 1494 the heretic Zosimas was deposed from the bishop’s Throne, and in the years 1502-04 the malicious and unrepentant Judaizers, who blasphemed against the Holy Trinity, Christ the Savior, the Most Holy Theotokos and the Church,were condemned at a church council. Joseph had many other trials and tribulations, but each time the Lord tried him according to the measure of his spiritual strength. The saint angered the Great Prince Ivan III, who only towards the end of his life reconciled with the saint and repented of his former weakness for the Judaizers. The saint also angered the Volotsk appenage prince Theodore, on whose lands Joseph’s monastery was situated. In 1508 the saint suffered wrongful interdiction from Saint Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod (March 16), with whom, however, he soon reconciled. 1503, a Council at Moscow, under the auspices of Saint Joseph and his disciples, adopted a “Conciliar Reply” concerning the indissolubility of church properties, “therefore all church-acquired property is essentially the acquired property of God, pledged, entrusted, and given to God.” The legacy of the canonical works of Igumen Joseph is notably in “The Nomocanon Codex,” a vast codex of canonical rules of the Orthodox Church, begun by Saint Joseph and completed by Metropolitan Macarius. are opinions about the differences of outlook and discord between the two great pedagogues of Russian monasticism at the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries: Saint Joseph of Volotsk and Saint Nilus of Sora (May 7). In the historical literature these views usually present them as proclaiming two “contrary” currents within Russian spiritual life: external action and inner contemplation. This is profoundly incorrect. Saint Joseph in his Rule synthesized these two aspects of the Russian monastic tradition, proceeding without interruption from the Athonite blessing given to Saint Anthony of the Kiev Caves, through Saint Sergius, and down to our own day. Rule presupposes the need for a full inner regeneration of man, submitting one’s whole life to the task of salvation and deification [Greek theosis] not only for each individual monk, but also for the collective salvation of the whole human race. A great emphasis in the Rule is put on the demand to monastics for constant work in connection with inward and churchly prayer, “the monk should never be on holiday.” Work, as “a collective deed,” comprised for Joseph the very essence of church life: faith, embodied in good works, is the realization of prayer. the other hand, Saint Nilus of Sora had lived the ascetic life for a number of years on Mt. Athos, and he brought from there the teaching about the contemplative life and “the Jesus Prayer” as a means of a hesychastic service of monks to the world, as a constant spiritual activity, in connection with the physical work necessary for sustaining one’s life. spiritual work and physical work are but two aspects of the same Christian vocation: a vital continuation of the creative activity of God in the world, encompassing as much the ideal as well as the material spheres. In this regard Saints Joseph and Nilus are spiritual brothers, varied in continuing the Church Tradition of the holy Fathers, and are heirs to the precepts of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. Saint Joseph highly regarded the spiritual experience of Saint Nilus and sent his own disciples to him to study inner prayer. Joseph was also an active proponent of a strong centralized Moscow realm. He was one of the originators of the teaching about the Russian Church as the recipient and bearer of the piety of the Byzantine Empire, “the Russian land has now surpassed all in piety.” The ideas of Saint Joseph, possessing tremendous historical significance, were further developed later by his disciples and followers. From them came the Pskov Spaso-Eleazarov monastery Elder Philotheus with his own teaching about Moscow as the Third Rome. He declared, “Two Romes have fallen, Moscow is the third, and a fourth there shall not be.” views of the Josephites on the significance of monasteries possessing properties for church building, and the participation of the Church in social life, were set amidst the conditions of the struggle for centralized power by the Moscow prince. His opponents were separatists who tried to disparage these views for their own political ends, surreptitiously using the teaching of Saint Nilus of Sora about “non-acquisitiveness,” the withdrawal of monastics from worldly matters and possessions. supposed opposition engendered a false view on the hostility between the trends of Saints Joseph and Nilus. In actuality, both trends legitimately coexisted within the Russian monastic Tradition, complementing each other. As is evidenced from the Rule of Saint Joseph, its basis was complete non-acquisitiveness, and renunciation of the very concepts of “yours-mine.” years passed. The monastery flourished with the construction work and efforts of Saint Joseph, and as he got old, he prepared himself for life eternal. Before his end he received the Holy Mysteries, then summoned all the brethren. He gave them his peace and blessing, and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord on September 9, 1515. funeral oration to Saint Joseph was composed by his nephew and disciple, the monk Dositheus Toporkov. first Life of the saint was written in the 1540s by a disciple of Saint Joseph, Bishop Savva the Black of Krutitsa, with the blessing of Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus (+ 1564). It entered into the Great Menaion Readings compiled by Macarius. A second redaction of the Life was written by the Russified Bulgarian writer Lev the Philolog with the assistance of Saint Zenobios of Otensk (October 30). celebration of Saint Joseph was established at the Volokolamsk monastery in December of 1578, on the hundred year anniversary of the founding of the monastery. On June 1, 1591, the church-wide celebration of his memory was established under Patriarch Job. Saint Job, a disciple of the Volokolamsk saint, tonsured Saint Germanus of Kazan, and was a great admirer of Saint Joseph and was author of the Service to him, which was included in the MENAION. Another disciple of Saints Germanus and Barsanuphius was also the companion and successor to Patriarch Job, the Hieromartyr Patriarch Hermogenes (February 17), a spiritual leader of the Russian people in the struggle for liberation under the Polish incursion. theological works of Saint Joseph comprise an undeniable contribution within the treasury of the Orthodox Tradition. As with all Church writings inspired by the grace of the Holy Spirit, they continue to be a source of spiritual life and knowledge, and they have their own theological significance and pertinence. Joseph’s chief book was written in sections. Its original form, completed at the time of the 1503-1504 councils, included eleven sections. In the final redaction, compiled after the death of the saint and involving a tremendous quantity of scrolls, The Book against the Heretics or The Enlightener includes sixteen sections, prefaced by An Account of the Newly-Appeared Heresies. The first section expounds the Church teaching about the teaching of the Most Holy Trinity; the second, about Jesus Christ, the True Messiah; the third, about the significance within the Church of the prophecies of the Old Testament; the fourth, about the Incarnation of God; the fifth through seventh, about the veneration of icons. In the eighth through tenth sections, Saint Joseph expounds on the fundamentals of Christian eschatology. The eleventh section is devoted to monasticism. In the twelfth the ineffectiveness of the anathemas and sanctions imposed by heretics is demonstrated. The final four sections consider methods of the Church’s struggle with the heretics, and the means for their correction and repentance. Joseph is also commemorated on September 9 and February 13.

Russia, Moscow, 1461-1464, Theodosius, Metropolitan of Moscow
Russia, Moscow, 1461-1464, Theodosius, Metropolitan of Moscow; (Феодосий in Russian) (died 1475) was the Metropolitan bishop of Moscow in 1461–1464. In 1454, when Theodosius was still archimandrite of the Moscow Kremlin's Chudov Monastery, he was promoted to the office of Archbishop of Rostov. After the death of Metropolitan Jonah in 1461, Theodosius became Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus' in early May 1461.[1] Theodosius's appointment marked a new period of actual independence of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Patriarch of Constantinople. He was the first metropolitan appointed by the Grand Prince after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks (in 1453), although his predecessor, Jonah of Moscow, is considered the first independent metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus' as he was appointed in 1448 without the approval of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Theodosius' appointment was, however, eventually blessed by the Metropolitan of Caesarea Philippi on behalf of the patriarch of Constantinople in April 1464.[2] Since his first days as a metropolitan, Theodosius sought to eradicate unscrupulousness among the priests and educating the clergy in his province. Theodosius's attempts at reshaping the clergy failed. When he started sifting through the priests and defrocking those unfit for preaching, many parishes were left without priests. Ordinary people had nothing against their priests, therefore, they started to voice their discontent and damn the metropolitan. Theodosius also had to contend with a metropolitanate in Lithuania which threatened to take the western eparchies of the Province of Moscow, most notably Novgorod the Great, and was suspected of Latinizing, in which case these western regions would not only be lost to the Moscow metropolitan, but would go over to Catholicism and be lost to Orthodoxy altogether.[3] The metropolitans of Lithuania had been opposed for several decades (going back at least to the metropolitanate of Photius(Fotii) in Moscow, and would continue after Theodosius' tenure. Theodosius resigned the metropolitan office and retired to Chudov Monastery, where he had previously been archimandrite, after only 3 years. He later transferred to the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra north of Moscow where he died in 1475. He is buried in the Troitse-Sergiyeva lavra.[4] Saint Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1

Russia, Moscow, 1462-1468, Tryphon, Bishop oRostov, Great Prince Basil the Dark'd confessor at Moscow at Novospassky Monastery
Russia, Rostov, 1462-1468, Tryphon, Bishop oRostov (Lake Nero), Rostov the Great, was igumen Moscow's Novospassky (New Savior) Monastery and Great Prince Basil the Dark's confessor, 1462 Bishop of Rostov, Retired 1466 tYaroslavl Monastery, died 1468; Rustov; Rostov the Great; Rustov Cathedral; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated February 1 ; Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov was head of Moscow’s Novospassky (New Savior) monastery and was confessor to Great Prince Basil the Dark. May 23, 1462 he was consecrated as Bishop of Rostov by Metropolitan Theodosius of Moscow. 1466, he retired to the Savior monastery in Yaroslavl, where he died on December 30, 1468 (certain local documents indicate the year 1466). commemoration was transferred to February 1, it seems, so that he would be honored with his namesake Saint Tryphon of Lampsacus. Prochorus was also buried at this monastery, as the schemamonk Tryphon, also a Bishop of Rostov, who died in 1328 (September 7).

Russia, Moscow, 1462-1505, Ivan III, Great, regent for blind father, ended Mongol yoke, 3x territory
Moscow Prince, 1462-1505, Ivan III of Russia, The Great ; III Vasilyevich ( 22 January 1440, Moscow -27 October 1505, Moscow), also known as Ivan the Great,[1][2] was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. served as the co-ruler and regent for his blind father Vasily II from the mid-1450s before he officially ascended the throne in 1462. tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Mongols/Tatars over Russia, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, introduced a new legal codex and laid the foundations of the Russian state. 1480 victory over the Great Horde is cited as the restoration of Russian independence 240 years after the fall of Kiev to Mongols' invasion.[3] was the first Russian ruler to style himself "tsar", albeit not as an official title. marriage to Sofia Paleologue, he made the double-headed eagle Russia's coat of arms and adopted the idea of Moscow as Third Rome. 43-year reign was one of the longest in Russian history, second only to his grandson Ivan IV. Icon of the Mother of God of Vydropussk, Commemorated on July 28; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Herman of Solovki, Commemorated on July 30; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; St Macarius of Oredezhsk, Commemorated on August 9 ; Blessed Laurence the Fool-For-Christ at Kaluga, Commemorated August 10 ; St Leucius of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on August 17 ; St Adrian of Uglich, Commemorated August 26 ; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated August 26 ; St Sava of Pskov, Commemorated on August 28; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; Venerable Dositheus the Abbot of Verkneostrov, Pskov, Commemorated on October 8; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7; St Philip the Abbot of Irap Near Novgorod, Commemorated on November 14 ; St Sergius of Malopinega, Commemorated on November 16; St Nectarius of Bitel, Commemorated on December 15; Venerable Sebastian the Abbot of Pshekhonye Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on December 18; St Pachomius of Keno Lake, Commemorated on January 7; Hieromartyr Isidore and 72 Others at Yuriev, Estonia, Commemorated on January 8; St Paisius of Uglich, Commemorated on January 8; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; St Anthony of Krasny Kholm, Commemorated on January 17 ; Venerable Macarius the Deacon of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on January 19; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 20; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated on January 23; Martyr John of Kazan, Commemorated on January 24; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; Venerable Abraham of Pechenga, Vologda, Commemorated on February 4; Venerable Coprius of Pechenga, Vologda, Commemorated on February 4; Venerable Longinus of Koryazhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on February 10; St Bassian of Uglich, Commemorated on February 12; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Sebastian of Poshekhonye, Commemorated on February 26; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Finding of the relics of St Theodore the Prince of Smolensk, and Yaroslav, and His Children, Commemorated on March 5; Venerable Macarius the Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin, Commemorated on March 17 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Mark of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on March 29; Venerable Theonas the Archbishop of Thessalonica, Commemorated on April 4; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; Venerable Daniel the Abbot of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski, Commemorated on April 7; Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius, Commemorated on April 14; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Oshevensk, Commemorated on April 20; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on May 1; Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovits, Commemorated on May 7 ; Repose of the Venerable Nilus the Abbot of Sora, Commemorated on May 7; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Ephraim the Abbot of Perekop, Novgorod, Commemorated on May 16; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Translation of the relics of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 27 ; Repose of the Blessed John of Ustiug the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on May 29; Venerable Paisius the Abbot of Uglich, Commemorated on June 6; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in memory of Saving of Moscow from the Invasion of Khan Achmed, Commemorated on June 23 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1462, Saint Jonah, Bishop of Perm, Converted Great Perm to Christ
Saint Jonah, Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on June 6; Jonah, Bishop of Great Perm, was successor to Saint Pitirim, Bishop of Perm (August 19), who was murdered by the Vogulani in 1455. In the year 1462 Saint Jonah converted the inhabitants of Great Perm to Christ. He journeyed throughout his extensive diocese to spread and consolidate the Christian Faith. The saint reposed on June 6, 1470 and was buried at Ust-Vym at the Annunciation cathedral.

Russia, Moscow, 1463, Finding relics of St Theodore (and His sons David and Constantine) uncovered at Yaroslav, incorrupt
Russia, Kiev, 1463, Finding relics of St Theodore (and His sons David and Constantine) Prince of Smolensk, uncovered at Yaroslav, incorrupt; Smolensk; Finding of the relics of St Theodore the Prince of Smolensk, and Yaroslav, and His Children, Commemorated on March 5; March 5, 1463, the relics of holy Prince Theodore and his sons, David and Constantine were uncovered at Yaroslavl. chronicler, an eyewitness to the event, wrote: “At the city of Yaroslavl in the monastery of the Holy Savior they unearthed three Great Princes: Prince Theodore Rostislavich and his sons David and Constantine, and brought them above the ground. Great Prince Theodore was a man of great stature, and they placed his sons David and Constantine beside him. They were shorter than he was. All three had lain in a single grave.” physical appearance of the holy prince so impressed the eyewitnesses and those present at the uncovering of the relics, that an account of this event was entered into the Prologue (lives of saints) in Saint Theodore’s Life, and also into the text of the Manual for Iconographers. Theodore, David and Constantine are also commemorated on September 19.

Russia, Moscow, 1463-1473, Philip I, Theodosius' handpick metro, anti Latinism & pol-lith influence at Novgrd
Moscow Patriarch, 1463-1473, Philip I, Metropolitan of Moscow; I (Russian: Филипп) (died 1473) was Metropolitan of Moscow from 1464 to 1473. about Philip's life only begins in 1455, when he was already the Archbishop of Suzdal.[1] In 1464, he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow, hand-picked by Theodosius at the time of his resignation, just as Theodosius had been picked by his predecessor, Iona[2] the 1470s, Philip was actively engaged in a struggle against the Polish-Lithuanian influence over Novgorod, particularly the influence of the Metropolitan of Lithuania and the fear that Novgorod would defect to him and eventually go over to Catholicism.[3] he was instrumental in bringing Sophia Paleologue from Rome to Moscow in 1472, Philip was against admitting a papal legate in her entourage into Moscow, thus continuing his opposition to Catholicism or "Latinism" in his province.[4] same year, Philip started reconstructing the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin. The original cathedral, built by Metropolitan Petr in 1326, was in a dilapidated state; Philipp hired inexperienced workers and soon after his death the building collapsed. It was rebuilt by Aristotile Fioravanti under Metropolitan Gerontius.[5] Philip died on 5 April 1473 and was buried in the Cathedral of the Dorimition in the Moscow Kremlin.[6] Translation of the relics of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 27 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1467-1506, Russo-Kazan Wars of Ivan III, Tartar v, but Amin sued for peace and paid h
Russia, Moscow, 1467-1506, Russo-Kazan Wars of Ivan III; of Ivan III[edit] War (1467–1469)[edit] Russians used skis to facilitate transportation during their winter campaigns fragile peace was broken in 1467, when Ibrahim of Kazan came to the throne and Ivan III of Russia supported the claims of his ally or vassal Qasim Khan. Ivan's army sailed down the Volga, with their eyes fixed on Kazan, but autumn rains and rasputitsa ("quagmire season") hindered the progress of Russian forces. When frosty winter came, the Russian generals launched an invasion of the northern Vyatka Region. The campaign fell apart for lack of unity of purpose and military capability. following year, the Russians set out from Kotelnich in the Vyatka Land. They sailed down the Vyatka River and the Kama towards the Volga, pillaging merchant vessels on their way. In response, Ibrahim mounted a counter-offensive, overran Vyatka, and forced local inhabitants into slavery for the duration of the campaign.[3] 1469, a much stronger army was raised and, sailing down the Volga and the Oka, linked up in Nizhny Novgorod. The Russians marched downstream and ravaged the neighbourhood of Kazan but did not dare to lay siege to the Tatar capital because Qasim's widow had pledged to negotiate an advantageous peace with Ibrahim (her son). In the meantime, the units from Yaroslavl and Veliky Ustyug vainly attempted to win Vyatka to the Russian side. After negotiations were broken, the Tatars clashed with the Russians in two bloody but indecisive battles. autumn 1469 Ivan III launched a third invasion of the khanate. The Russian commander, Prince Daniil Kholmsky, besieged Kazan, cut off water supplies, and compelled Ibrahim to surrender. Under the terms of the peace settlement, the Tatars set free all the ethnic Christian Russians they had enslaved in the forty previous years. of Kazan (1487)[edit] Vyatka Region remained the principal bone of contention between Kazan and Moscow for decades to come. In 1478, shortly before his death, Ibrahim devastated the region. In revenge, Ivan III sent his generals to sack the neighbourhood of Kazan. At that time Ibrahim died and was succeeded by Ilham, whilst his half-brother Moxammat Amin fled to Moscow. Ivan III allowed him to settle in Kashira and pledged his support for Moxammat's claims to the Tatar throne. 1484 Russia placed Moxammat Amin on the throne, but within a year Ilham regained power. In 1487 Ivan again found it prudent to intervene in Kazan affairs and replace Ilham with Moxammat Amin. Prince Kholmsky sailed down the Volga from Nizhny Novgorod and laid siege to Kazan on 18 May. The city fell to the Russians on 9 June. Ilham was sent in chains to Moscow before being imprisoned in Vologda, while Moxammat Amin was proclaimed the new khan.[4] In reference to this victorious campaign, Ivan III proclaimed himself "Lord of Volga Bulgaria".[citation needed] of Arsk Field (1506)[edit] last war of Ivan's reign was instigated by Ilham's widow, who married Moxammat Amin and persuaded him to assert his independence from Moscow in 1505. The rebellion broke out into the open on Saint John's Day, when the Tatars massacred Russian merchants and envoys present at the annual Kazan Fair. A huge army of the Kazan and Nogai Tatars then advanced towards Nizhny Novgorod and besieged the city. The affair was decided by 300 Lithuanian archers, who had been captured by Russians in the Battle of Vedrosha and lived in Nizhny in captivity. They managed to put the Tatar vanguard into disarray: the khan's brother-in-law was killed in action and the horde retreated. death prevented hostilities from being renewed until May 1506, when Prince Fyodor Belsky led Russian forces against Kazan. After the Tatar cavalry attacked his rear, many Russians took flight or drowned in the Foul Lake (22 May). Prince Vasily Kholmsky was sent to relieve Belsky and defeated the khan on Arsk Field on June 22. Moxammat Amin withdrew to the Arsk Tower but, when the Russians started to celebrate their victory, ventured out and inflicted an excruciating defeat on them (June 25). Although it was the most brilliant Tatar victory in decades, Moxammat Amin – for some reason not clearly understood – resolved to sue for peace and paid homage to Ivan's successor, Vasily III of Russia. Mongol, Perm, 1467-1479, Tartar Khan, Ibrahim of Kazan; Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on May 1;

Russia, Moscow, 1468-1533, Alexander, Abbot of Svir, contemplative miracles, appearances, incorruptible relics, myrrh
Russia, St Petersburg, 1468-1533, Alexander, Abbot of Svir; Svirsky or Alexander of Svir (1448–1533) was an Eastern Orthodox saint, monk, and hegumen of the Russian Orthodox Church.[1] (his baptismal name) was born to a peasant family in the Novgorod Republic, east of Ladoga. At the age of 19, he left home for the Valaam Monastery and became a monk and occasional isolation. In 1506, Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, appointed him Hegumen of the Trinity monastery, which later became known as Alexander-Svirsky Monastery.[2] Alexander became known for his righteous life and contemplative miracles, including the appearances of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary with the Holy Child. His feast day is commemorated on April 17 and August 30,[3] according to the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar. of Saint Alexander were found on April 17 (27), 1641. According to the Vita of the saint, they were found incorruptible.[4] October 22, 1918, the coffin with the relics of Alexander Svirsky was opened. According to Soviet reports, instead of relics, a wax doll was supposedly found.[5][6][7] However, testimony of the monks present, as well as a later Soviet commission under the direction of Grigory Zinoviev, demonstrated that a human body instead of a wax figure was present in the coffin.[8][9][10] Russia, Moscow, 1641, Finding incorrupt relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir ; Alexander of Svir died on August 30, 1533. His incorrupt relics were uncovered in 1641 during the reconstruction of the Transfiguration cathedral. April 17, 1641, the relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were found and examined. The discovery was accompanied by special signs; on April 15 and 16 there was extraordinary thunder and lightning, which ran along the ground above the grave of the holy founder of the monastery. Then during the Divine Liturgy on April 17 (the Saturday of the Righteous Lazarus) the workers were digging a hole for the walls of the new stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord; and in the altar of the old church they found the Saint's coffin. The ground above it was in the shape of a cave, with nothing to support it. the monks came down to see the decayed coffin (only the lower board was well preserved). When Igoumen Abraham removed the top board, a strong fragrance was noticed. The Saint's body was intact, and was clothed in a mantya and the schema. His face was covered, and beneath the schema, part of his beard could be seen; both legs lay as if he were recently deceased, with the right foot upward, and the left foot facing to the side, both feet were in sandals. his body emanated a fragrance like myrrh, or flowers. Metropolitan Aphthonios of Novgorod was present at the uncovering of the relics. With reverence and joy, the relics were placed in a new coffin and were taken to the temple of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in that same Hermitage. monks, who had seen the incorrupt flesh of their heavenly patron, were amazed, and they made a detailed description of the shrine. Particularly surprising was the face, which was so life-like that the Saint seemed asleep. The face matched the icons which had been painted by his contemporaries. The authors of the description also noted the unusual position of the Saint's hands and feet and the amber-yellow color of his skin. Soon the relics were placed in a silver reliquary donated by Tsar Michael, and were moved to the newly rebuilt Transfiguration Cathedral. the same time, the commemoration of Saint Alexander was appointed on two dates: August 30, the day of his blessed repose, and April 17, the day of the uncovering of his relics. incorrupt relics of the saint were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to liquidate the relics of the saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian saints were stolen and subjected to “scientific examination” or displayed in antireligious museums. Some were completely destroyed. to prove that the relics were fakes, the Soviets conducted many tests. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy. There they remained for nearly eighty years. second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December 1997. relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were in fact the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before their return to the Svir Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them. holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous healings continue to take place before them. August 30 for the Life of Saint Alexander. Svir River; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Alexander of Svir was born on July 15, 1448, on the Feast Day of the Prophet Amos, and was named for him in Baptism. Saint Alexander was a beacon of monasticism in the deep forests of the Russian North, living in asceticism, and so he received remarkable gifts by the All-Holy Spirit. parents, Stephen and Vassa (Vasilisa) were peasants living in the village of Mandera near Lake Ladoga, on the shores of the Oyata River, a tributary of the Svira River. They had adult sons and daughters who had left the home of their parents. Stephen and Vassa longed to have another son, and prayed that God would grant their wish. The couple heard a voice from on high: “Rejoice, good man and wife, you shall bear a son, in whose birth God will give comfort to His Church.” grew up to be an extraordinary child. He was always obedient and gentle, he avoided games, jokes and foul talk; he wore poor clothing and so weakened himself with fasting that it caused his mother much anxiety. When he came of age, he met some monks from Valaam who had come to the Oyata to purchase various necessities, and on other monastery business. this time Valaam was already known as a monastery of great piety and strict ascetic life. After speaking with the monks, the young man was fascinated by their account of Skete life (with two or three monks living together) and the solitary life of the anchorite. Knowing that his parents had arranged a marriage for him, the young man fled secretly to Valaam when he was nineteen. An Angel of the Lord appeared to him the guise of a traveler, and showed him the way to the island. Amos lived at the monastery as a novice for seven years, leading an austere life. He spent his days at work, and his nights in vigil and prayer. Sometimes, he prayed in the forest bare-chested, covered with mosquitoes and gnats, until it was time for Matins. the year 1474, Amos was tonsured with the new name Alexander. After several years, his parents eventually learned where their son had gone from some Karelians visiting Mandera. Following the example of their son, the parents also went to monasteries and were tonsured with the names Sergius and Barbara. After their deaths, Saint Alexander, with the blessing of the Igumen of the monastery, settled on an island, where he built a cell in the crevice of a cliff and continued his spiritual endeavors. fame of his asceticism spread far and wide. Then in 1485, Saint Alexander departed from Valaam and, after receiving instructions from on high, chose a place in the forest by the shores of a beautiful lake, which was later called Holy Lake. Here he built a shack, living in solitude for seven years, eating only what he gathered in the forest.1 this time, Alexander experienced terrible suffering from hunger, frost, sickness and demonic temptations, but the Lord sustained the righteous one's spiritual and bodily strength. Once, he was afflicted with a terrible pain in his stomach. Not only was he unable to get up off the ground, but he couldn't even lift his head. He just lay there and chanted Psalms. Then an Angel appeared to him. Placing his hand on the sore spot, he made the Sign of the Cross over the Saint and healed him. 1493 while hunting for deer, a nearby landowner named Andrew Zavalishin happened to discover the Saint's cell. Andrew told him of a fiery pillar he had seen over this place, and begged him to tell him about his life. The Saint was deeply saddened by this, because he had not able to hide himself from men. After making the other promise not to tell anyone about him until after his death, Saint Alexander spoke to him about his life in the wilderness, where he had lived for seven years without seeing anyone, how he had subsisted on plants alone, and how he had been healed of a pain in his stomach by an Angel. After that, Andrew began to visit Saint Alexander often. Finally, following the Saint's advice, he went to Valaam, where he was tonsured with the name Adrian. Saint Adrian founded the Ondrusov monastery, and led a holy life (Saint Andrew is commemorated on August 26 and May 17). Zavalishin was unable to remain silent about the holy ascetic, despite the promise he had given. News of the righteous one began to spread widely, and soon monks gathered around him. Therefore, Saint Alexander withdrew from the brethren and built a cell 130 sazhen from the monastery. There he encountered a multitude of temptations. The demons assumed the forms of wild animals. Hissing like snakes, they ordered him to leave. Saint Alexander's prayers scorched and scattered the demons like a fiery flame. 1508, twenty-three years after he came to this secluded spot, the Life-Creating Trinity appeared to Saint Alexander. One night he was praying in his cell. Suddenly, there was a dazzling light, and he saw three Angels in resplendent white garments approaching him. They shone with a pure brightness greater than the sun. Each held a staff in His hand. Saint Alexander fell down in terror, and after recovering his senses, he prostrated himself upon the ground. Raising him by the hand, the Angels said: “Have faith, blessed one, and do not be afraid.” Saint was told to build a church and a monastery. He fell to his knees, protesting his own unworthiness, but the Lord raised him up and ordered him to carry out the instructions he had been given. Saint Alexander asked to whom the church ought to be dedicated. The Lord said: "Beloved, as you see us speaking with you in Three Persons, so build the church in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the consubstantial Trinity. Peace I leave you; my peace I give you.” Saint Alexander beheld the Lord with outstretched wings, moving along the ground until He became invisible. appearance is acknowledged as unique in history of the Russian Orthodox Church After this vision, the Saint began thinking of where to build the church. Once, as he was praying to God, he heard a voice. Gazing up to the heavens, he saw an Angel of the Lord clothed in a mantiya and klobuk, such as Saint Pachomios (May 15) had seen. Angel, standing in the air with outstretched wings and upraised hands, proclaimed: “One is Holy, One is the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the Glory of God the Father. Amen.” Then he turned to Saint Alexander saying, “Build a church here in honor of the Lord Who has appeared to you in Three Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Undivided Trinity.” making the Sign of the Cross over the place three times, the Angel became invisible. that same year he built a wooden church in honor of the Life-Creating Trinity (a stone church was built here in 1526). At the same time as the church was built, the brethren urged Saint Alexander to be ordained to the holy priesthood. For a long time he refused, considering himself unworthy. Then the brethren implored Saint Serapion, the Archbishop of Novgorod (March 16), to convince him to accept this office. So that very year Saint Alexander went to Novgorod and was ordained by the holy Archbishop. Soon afterward, the brethren also asked the Saint to be their Superior. Igumen, Saint Alexander became even more humble than before. He wore tattered clothes, and he slept on the bare ground. He himself prepared food, kneaded dough and baked bread. On one occasion, there was not enough firewood, so the steward asked the Saint to send any unoccupied monks to gather firewood. Saint Alexander replied, "I am not busy." Then he began to chop firewood. Another time, he carried water. all were asleep, the saint was often busy grinding wheat with hand-stones to make more bread. Every night, he went around to all the cells, and if he heard vain conversations, he tapped softly on the door and left. In the morning, if the brother readily acknowledged his guilt and repented, he was forgiven. On the other hand, if the brother tried to justify himself, he was admonished and given a penance. the end of his life, Saint Alexander decided to build a stone church in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. One evening, after chanting an Akathist to the Mother of God, he settled down to rest in his cell. Suddenly, he said to his cell attendant Athanasios, “Child, be sober and alert, because at this very hour we shall have a wondrous and astounding visitation." a voice like thunder said, “Behold, the Lord and His Mother are coming.” Alexander hastened to the entrance to the cell, which it was illumined by a great light shining throughout the monastery, brighter than the rays of the sun. The Saint beheld the Most Pure Mother of God upon the foundation of the Protection church, and sitting where the altar would be, like a Queen upon a throne. She held the Infant Christ in her arms, and a multitude of Angels stood before her, with shining with indescribable radiance. fell down to the ground, unable to endure the great light. The Most Holy Theotokos said, “Arise, chosen one of my Son and God. I have come here to visit you, my dear one, and to see the foundation of my church. Since you have prayed for your disciples and for your monastery, henceforth they shall have all that they need; not only during your lifetime, but also after your death. I shall be with your monastery always, providing an abundance of what is required. Behold, and note carefully how many are the monks who have come into your flock. You must guide them on the path of salvation in the name of the Holy Trinity.” Saint arose and saw a multitude of monks carrying stones and bricks for the foundation. Again the Mother of God said: “My dear one, if someone brings even one brick for the building of my church, in the name of Jesus Christ, my Son and God, he shall not lose his reward.” saying this, she became invisible. year before his death, Saint Alexander foresaw the time of his departure from this life. He summoned the brethren and gave them his final instructions, commending them to the Mother of God. The brethren wept at the thought of being separated from their beloved Father. When they asked where he wished to be buried he said, "Bind my sinful body by the legs and drop it into a the marsh then, after covering it with moss, trample on it with your feet." brethren replied, "No, Father, we cannot do this.” the holy ascetic said that if they would not do as he asked, then they should bury him near the church of the Transfiguration. Saint Alexander departed to the heavenly Kingdom on August 30, 1533 at the age of 85. miracles of healing took place at his grave for those who came there with faith. 1545, his disciple and successor, Igumen Herodion, compiled his Life. In 1547 local veneration of the Saint began and a Service was composed for him. On April 17,1641, during the rebuilding of the Transfiguration church, the incorrupt relics of Saint Alexander of Svir were uncovered, and his universal veneration was established on two dates: the day of his repose, August 30, and on April 17, the day of his glorification (and the uncovering of his relics). Alexander of Svir instructed a multitude of disciples, just as the Mother of God had promised him. These Include Ignatius of Ostrov, Leonid of Ostrov, Cornelius of Ostrov, Dionysios of Ostrov, Athanasios of Ostrov, Theodore of Ostrov, and Therapon of Ostrov. addition to these saints, there are disciples and conversers with Saint Alexander of Svir, who have separate days of commemoration: Saint Athanasios of Syandem (January 18), Saint Gennadios of Vasheozersk (February 9), Saint Makarios of Orodezh (August 9), Saint Adrian of Ondrosov (May 17), Saint Nikephoros of Vasheozersk (February 9), Saint Gennadios of Kostroma and Liubimograd (January 23). these saints (except Saint Gennadios of Kostroma) are depicted on the Icon of the monastic Fathers who shone forth in the land of Karelia (the icon is in the church at the Seminary in Kuopio, Finland). The Synaxis of the Saints who have shone forth in Karelia is celebrated by the Finnish Orthodox Church on the Saturday which falls between October 31 and November 6. incorrupt relics of Saint Alexander were removed from the Svir Monastery by the Bolsheviks on December 20, 1918 after several unsuccessful attempts to confiscate them. There was an infamous campaign to destroy the relics of the Saints which continued from 1919 to 1922. Many relics of Russsian Saints were stolen and subjected to "scientific examination” or displayed in anti-religious museums. Some of them were completely destroyed.2 second uncovering of Saint Alexander’s relics took place in December of 1997. relics were found to be incorrupt, just as they were when they were confiscated. The saint’s appearance matched the description in the records from 1641. Once it was determined that these were truly the relics of Saint Alexander, Metropolitan Vladimir of Saint Petersburg permitted them to be taken to the church of Saint Sophia and her three daughters Faith, Hope, and Love (September 17) for four months before they were returned to the Monastery. As people venerated Saint Alexander’s relics, they noticed a fragrant myrrh flowing from them. holy relics were taken to the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery in November 1998, and miraculous cures continue to take place before them. Later at this place, Holy Lake, 36 versts from the future city of Olonets and 6 versts from the River Svira, Saint Alexander founded the monastery of the Life-Creating Trinity, and 130 sazhen (i.e. 910 feet) from it, at Lake Roschina, he built a cell on the future site of the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery. The Soviets conducted many tests, hoping to prove that the relics were fakes. However, the tests only confirmed that the relics were genuine. Finally, the holy relics were sent to Petrograd’s Military Medical Academy, where they remained for almost eighty years. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Russia, Moscow, 1470, Verkneostrov Monastery founded by Dostheus, at Pskov Kremlin
Verkneostrov, Pskov, aka Pskov Krom or Kremlin; Venerable Dositheus, Abbot of Verkneostrov, Pskov, Commemorated on October 8; Dositheus, Abbot of Verkhneostrov and Pskov was a disciple of Saint Euphrosynus of Spasoeleazarov and Pskov (May 15). In 1470, he founded the Peter and Paul Verkhneostrov monastery at Lake Pskova, where he was igumen.

Russia, Moscow, 1470-1515, Pachomius of Keno Lake, Onega River, White Sea, g ascetic & clairvoyant, trained St Anthony of Siya
Russia, Vologda, 1470-1515, Pachomius of Keno Lake, Onega River, White Sea, Vologda, great ascetic and a clairvoyant, trained St Anthony of Siya; Keno Lake (Lake Kenozero, Kena River); Saint Pachomius of Keno Lake, Commemorated on January 7; Pachomius is commemorated on the Saturday after Theophany. founded a monastery dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord near Lake Keno, and tonsured Saint Anthony of Siya (December 7) as a monk in 1508. did not entrust Saint Anthony to one of the other monks, but he himself took him under his wing and trained him in asceticism and in the spiritual life. Anthony possessed every virtue and resisted every temptation, purified his mind and soul from the passions, and freed himself from worldly attachments. the time came for Saint Anthony to leave the monastery and live in solitude, Saint Pachomius blessed him to follow this path saying, “May the Lord bless you, my child. May the Lord’s will be done.” Pachomius was a great ascetic and a clairvoyant Elder, a good and faithful servant who entered into the joy of his Lord in 1515.

Russia, Moscow, 1471-1480, Fall of the Novgorod Republic to Moscow
Novgorod, Fall of the Novgorod Republic to Moscow (1471 - 1480); Battle of Shelon River 1471 ; Martha Boretskaya; St Theophilus of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 26 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1473-1489, Metropolitan, Gerontius, resist the Horde to the end, heresy moderate position
Moscow Patriarch, 1473-1489, Gerontius, Metropolitan of Moscow; (died 1489) was Metropolitan of Moscow from 1473 until 1489 and a writer. Gerontius was the Bishop of Kolomna. In 1473, he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow. the late 1470s, he was in conflict with Ivan III over, among other things, the consecration procedures of the new churches. the Great standing on the Ugra river in 1480, Gerontius spoke for resisting the Golden Horde to the very end. adhered to a moderate position in dealing with heresies, which had already plagued Moscow and Novgorod. 1482, Gerontius left his post, though he would later return at the request of the Grand Prince. Gerontius died in 1489, was buried in Dormition Cathedral, Moscow. St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3 ; Repose of the Blessed John of Ustiug the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on May 29;

Russia, Moscow, 1475-1532, Cyril oNovoezersk, a15 led bAngel tCornelius, WSaw hGrace, expected wilterness, Lord's Fire there
Russia, Vologda, -1532, Cyril oNovoezersk, Novgorod (nearMurmansk and Kola River in Lapland), cried out fMother's womb, a child fond oSolitude&Prayer, dreamt monk life, left home a15, led by angel to Pskov Caves, Clairvoyant Cornelius saw his grace, emaciated flesh with fasting, even then thought end days wilterness solitude, parents mourned him but C's Elder came to them, told about son's monastic life, mom & dad left inheritance, became monastics, father came to son, Cornelius told son to meet father, asked forgiveness, Cyril instructed his father, Cyril obedient tIgumen&Brethren, Cyril thirsted to be wanderer to find a wilderness place fLife oSilence, tCoastal Regions 20 yrs, outskirts Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, never entered any house, never accepted alms, daily wandering nightly prayer church porches, attended church services, heavenly light directed him where found monastery, at Tikvin m Theotokos appeared and directed him to Eastern White Lake, Lord my son will direct you your place oRest, small island w Pillar oFire, built hut beneath old Spruce, then two cells, one for future brothers, and two small churches, Resurrection church&MOG church, overcame many temptations by brave endurance&constant prayer, brethern gathered, much healing, foresight gift, sensed impending end, gathered b, humility tears instructed one last time, voice quit, long silence, “I go to the Lord unto life eternal, but I entrust you to God the Word and His Grace, bestowing an inheritance and sanctification upon all. May it help you. But I beseech you, do not become lax in fasting and prayers, guard yourself from the snares of the Enemy, and the Lord in His ineffable mercy will not condemn your humility ; Novoezersk, Novgorod; Venerable Cyril the Abbot and Wonderworker of Novoezersk, Novgorod, Commemorated on February 4; Cyril of New Lake was born into a pious family. Lord marked him as one of the chosen even before he was born. ’s mother was praying in church during the Divine Liturgy, and the infant in her womb cried out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth!” the time of his childhood the saint was fond of solitude and prayer, he dreamt of monastic life. fifteen years of age Cyril secretly left his parental home, intending to enter the Pskov Caves monastery. did not know the way to the monastery, and took nothing from home for the journey. He went his way, putting all his trust in the Lord and His All-Pure Mother. versts from the city the youth met a magnificent monastic Elder, who led him to the monastery. he left, he blessed him with the words, “May God bless you, my child, and grant you the angelic schema, and may you be a chosen vessel of the Divine Spirit.” said this, the Elder became invisible. boy realized that this had been a messenger from God, and he gave thanks to the Lord. igumen Saint Cornelius (February 20) saw with his clairvoyant eye the grace manifest in the young man. provided him with much guidance and tonsured him into the monastic schema with the name Cyril. fifteen-year-old monk astonished the brethren with his efforts. emaciated the flesh through fasting and prayer, and zealously fulfilled obediences. and night he was ready to study the Word of God. then he thought to end his days in solitude in the wilderness. boy’s parents mourned him as one dead, once an Elder of the monastery of Saint Cornelius came to them and told them about their son and his life at the monastery. joyful news confirmed in Cyril’s mother her love for God. spoke with her husband about leaving to the monastery her portion of the inheritance, then left the world and became a nun with the name Elena (Helen). died in peace a short time later. saint’s father came to the monastery, and Igumen Cornelius told Cyril to meet with him. saint was troubled, but not daring to disobey the igumen, he fell down at his father’s feet, imploring forgiveness for secretly leaving home. father forgave his son, and he himself remained at the monastery. Cornelius tonsured him into monasticism with the name Barsanuphius, gave him to his son for instruction. years later, he peacefully fell asleep in the Lord. son continued to toil more fervently for the Lord, disdaining his own will, and in was obedient not only to the igumen, but also to the brethren. thirsted to go about all the Russian land, venerating its holy shrines and to find for himself a wilderness place for a life of silence. the blessing of Saint Cornelius, Saint Cyril left the monastery in which he had grown strong spiritually, he went to the coastal regions, roaming through the forests and the wild places, eating tree roots and berries. saint spent about twenty years in this difficult exploit of wanderer, he went to the outskirts of Moscow, Novgorod and Pskov, he never entered any house nor did he accept alms. wandered about during the day, and spent his nights at prayer on church porches, and he attended the church services. while at prayer, Saint Cyril saw a heavenly light indicating the direction where he should found a monastery. set off on his way at once, and having reached the Tikhvin monastery, he spent three days and three nights there in ceaseless prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos. Mother of God appeared to him in a dream. Her approval of him, She said, “My servant Cyril, pleaser of the Most Holy Trinity, go to the Eastern region of White Lake, the Lord My Son will show you the place of rest for your old age.” saint proceeded to White Lake, weeping copious tears at the miraculous vision. the lake he saw a small island, from which a pillar of fire rose up to the sky. beneath a centuries-old spruce tree, Saint Cyril built a hut, then set up two cells: one for himself, the other for future brethren. hermit also constructed two small churches, in honor of the Resurrection of Christ the other in honor of the Mother of God Hodēgḗtria. underwent many temptations from invisible enemies, and from idlers roving about, he overcame everything by brave endurance and constant prayer. of his holy life spread everywhere, and brethren gathered around him. were many instances of healing through his prayers, the Lord also granted His saint the gift of foresight. his impending end, Saint Cyril summoned the brethren. tears of humility the saint instructed his spiritual children one last time, until his voice gave out. a long time then he was silent, but suddenly he cried out with loud sobbing, “I go to the Lord unto life eternal, but I entrust you to God the Word and His Grace, bestowing an inheritance and sanctification upon all. May it help you. But I beseech you, do not become lax in fasting and prayers, guard yourself from the snares of the Enemy, and the Lord in His ineffable mercy will not condemn your humility.” said this, the saint gave a final kiss to the brethren, received the Holy Mysteries, signed himself with the Sign of the Cross, and with the words “Glory to God for everything!” he gave up his pure soul to the Lord on February 4, 1532.

Russia, Moscow, 1477-1556, Anthony oSiya, White Sea Rgn, rich, gave tPoor, loved solitude, benefactor, 2Wilderness Monasteries
Russia, Vologda, 1477-1556, Anthony oSiya (Sura), White Sea Region, Vologda, rich farmer, educated, iconographer, wife soon died, giving monk, Pachomiev wilderness monastery under Pachomius, hiermonk, authorized self served divine services, out tWork, but loved solitude, chose 2companions, Mikhailov Island, built chapel 1520, land difficult to clear, grumbling, unknown man gives subsistance&money, Siya M becomes famous, withdrew more remote place Lake Palun, 3yrs solitary cell, requested he come back Siya, died 1556 a79yrs old; Siya; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Siya, Novgorod, Commemorated December 7 ; Anthony of Siya, in the world Andrew, was born into a family of rich farmers in the village of Kekhta near the North Dvina river. childhood he received a fine education, read much and learned iconography. the death of his parents, Andrew went to Novgorod, and for five years worked for a boyar [nobleman] there. later married, but his wife died after a year. Andrew decided to devote himself to monasticism. distributed his goods to the poor and as a wanderer came to the Pachomiev wilderness monastery at the River Kena. Pachomius tonsured him with the name Anthony. he was ordained a hieromonk, Anthony, with the blessing of the igumen, celebrated the divine services by himself. went out with the other monks of the monastery to work for the monastery’s needs. of love for solitude Saint Anthony eventually left the Pachomiev wilderness, choosing two companions from the monastic brethren, he settled upon Mikhailov Island, on the one side washed by the River Sii, and on the other, by encircling lakes. this harsh frontier within the dense thickets Anthony built a chapel in 1520. to clear the forest required difficult work, and Anthony’s companions began to grumble against him. quite unexpectedly an unknown man furnished them with the means of subsistence, offering money for good measure. Siya monastery became famous, and inhabitants of surrounding villages often visited it. again Saint Anthony, taking one disciple, withdrew to a still more remote place on Lake Palun. in a solitary cell, he dwelt for three years. the igumen Theoctistus refused to guide the Siya monastery any longer, the brethren tried to persuade Saint Anthony to return to them. finally acceded to the request of the monks, again became igumen and piously guided the monastery until his death in the year 1556, when he was seventy-nine years old.

Russia, Moscow, 1477-1556, Anthony of Siya, iconographer, wealth distributed to poor, found Pachomius, famous Siya Chapel 1520
Russia, Vologda, 1477-1556, Anthony of Siya, Novgorod, iconographer, wealthy, distributed wealth to poor, found Pachomius, love for solitude, Mikhallov island, Chapel 1520, unknown benefactor, Siya monastery famous, withdrew to Lake Palun 3 yrs, called back to Siya til death at 70 in 1556; Venerable Anthony, Abbot of Siya, Novgorod, Commemorated on December 7 Anthony of Siya, in the world Andrew, was born into a family of rich farmers in the village of Kekhta near the North Dvina river. childhood he received a fine education, read much and learned iconography. the death of his parents, Andrew went to Novgorod, and for five years worked for a boyar [nobleman] there. He later married, but his wife died after a year. Andrew decided to devote himself to monasticism. He distributed his goods to the poor and as a wanderer came to the Pachomiev wilderness monastery at the River Kena. Pachomius tonsured him with the name Anthony. Soon he was ordained a hieromonk, and Anthony, with the blessing of the igumen, celebrated the divine services by himself. went out with the other monks of the monastery to work for the monastery’s needs. of love for solitude Saint Anthony eventually left the Pachomiev wilderness, after choosing two companions from the monastic brethren, and he settled upon Mikhailov Island, on the one side washed by the River Sii, and on the other, by encircling lakes. this harsh frontier within the dense thickets Anthony built a chapel in 1520. to clear the forest required difficult work, and Anthony’s companions began to grumble against him. quite unexpectedly an unknown man furnished them with the means of subsistence, offering money for good measure. Siya monastery became famous, and inhabitants of surrounding villages often visited it. again Saint Anthony, taking one disciple, withdrew to a still more remote place on Lake Palun. There, in a solitary cell, he dwelt for three years. the igumen Theoctistus refused to guide the Siya monastery any longer, the brethren tried to persuade Saint Anthony to return to them. He finally acceded to the request of the monks, again became igumen and piously guided the monastery until his death in the year 1556, when he was seventy-nine years old. Russia, Vologda, 1470-1515, Pachomius of Keno Lake, Onega River, White Sea, Vologda, great ascetic and a clairvoyant, trained St Anthony of Siya; Keno Lake (Lake Kenozero, Kena River); Saint Pachomius of Keno Lake, Commemorated on January 7; Pachomius is commemorated on the Saturday after Theophany. founded a monastery dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord near Lake Keno, and tonsured Saint Anthony of Siya (December 7) as a monk in 1508. did not entrust Saint Anthony to one of the other monks, but he himself took him under his wing and trained him in asceticism and in the spiritual life. Anthony possessed every virtue and resisted every temptation, purified his mind and soul from the passions, and freed himself from worldly attachments. the time came for Saint Anthony to leave the monastery and live in solitude, Saint Pachomius blessed him to follow this path saying, “May the Lord bless you, my child. May the Lord’s will be done.” Pachomius was a great ascetic and a clairvoyant Elder, a good and faithful servant who entered into the joy of his Lord in 1515.

Russia, Moscow, 1480, Meeting of the Vladimir Icon, saving Moscow, ending Mongol Horde Yoke
Russia, Moscow, 1480, Meeting of the Vladimir Icon, saving Moscow, ending Mongol Horde Yoke; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in memory of the Saving of Moscow from the Invasion of Khan Achmed, Commemorated on June 23; the church celebrates the miracle of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which led to the saving of Moscow from the invasion of Khan Achmed in 1480. Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on May 21 and August 26. Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21; Celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was established to commemorate the deliverance of Moscow from an invasion of Tatars led by Khan Makhmet-Girei in 1521. The Tatar hordes approached Moscow, burning and destroying Russian cities and villages, and exterminating their inhabitants. Prince Basil raised an army against the Tatars, while Metropolitan Barlaam and the people of Moscow prayed fervently for deliverance. At this time a certain pious blind nun had a vision. She saw Moscow’s bishop-saints exiting from the Savior gates of the Kremlin, forsaking the city and taking with them the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the holiest object in the city of Moscow. This was God’s chastisement for the sins of its inhabitants. the Savior gates the holy hierarchs were met by Saints Sergius of Radonezh (Sept. 25) and Barlaam of Khutyn (Nov. 6), tearfully imploring them not to leave Moscow. All of them offered intense prayer to the Lord for the forgivness of their transgressions and the deliverance of Moscow from its enemies. After this prayer the bishop-saints returned to the Kremlin, and they carried back the holy Vladimir Icon. Basil the Blessed (August 2) saw a similar vision. It was revealed to him that Moscow would be saved, through the intercession of the Theotokos and the prayers of the saints. The Tatar Khan also had a vision of the Mother of God with a fearsome host, contending against his forces. The Tatars fled in fear, and the capital of the Russian realm was saved. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is also commemorated on June 23 and August 26. Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated on August 26 Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon seeing this image, exclaimed, “Henceforth, all generations shall call Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon.â€ the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus to holy Prince Mstislav (April 15) and was installed in the Devichi monastery in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the Apostles Princess Olga. son of George Dolgoruky, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its name of “the Vladimir Icon.â€ The icon was first brought to Moscow in the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow. festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times during the year (21 May, 23 June and 26 August). The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from Vladimir to Moscow. the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and Saint Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow Saint Cyprian (September 16), that the pending Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and repentance. were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: “O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!â€ At that same hour, when the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field, Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia. in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place. On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established. important events in Russian Church history have occurred before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of Saint Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of Saint Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His Holiness Patriarch Saint Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May 21 (O.S.), 1971. historical days of 21 May, 23 June and 26 August, connected with this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1480-1550, Athanasius oSynadem&Vologda, estab hermitage near Olonets, Svir Disciple&Igumen, incorrupt r
Russia, St Petersburg, 1480-1550, Athanasius of Synadem and Vologda, estab Dormition hermitage near Olonets, near St Petersburg (Olonka River, Lake Ladoka), Alex oSvir Disciple, from his monastery tDormition hermitage Karelia, near Olonets, on island oSynadem lake, locals slander, back tSvir, igumen there, back tDormition, died 1550, great old age, buried high point Roschinsk island, incorrupt relics; Olonets; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18 ; a disciple of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). the death of his mentor, he established the Dormition hermitage in the forests of Karelia, far from the city of Olonets, an island of Lake Synadem. slander and pettiness of the local inhabitants compelled Saint Athanasius to move back to the Svir monastery, they chose him as igumen. returning to the Dormition hermitage, Athanasius died in about the year 1550 in great old age, was buried on one of the promontories of Roschinsk island. a church was built over his grave, named for Saints Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria. incorrupt relics of Saint Athanasius were placed in this church in 1720.

Russia, Moscow, 1483-1516, Serapion, Archbishop oNovgorod, church property, appearance, incorrupt relics, miracles, after death
Russia, Moscow, 1483-1516, Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, from Pekhrka (Pekhora River Mouth, Moscow River 5.4, SE of Moscow), wanted tbMonk, married, she died 1yr, tonsured Dubensk, igumen, Serapion Hermatige namesake, left for rigor tTrinity-S, igumen i1495, GP IvanIII, pardoned boyars, church property ownership question&JoVohlkom conflict, , 1516 Schema&died, 1517 incorrupt relics, miracles gift, even after death 1608 many saw him; Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod; Pekhorka (Pekhora River Mouth, Moscow River 5.4) ; Saint Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 16; Serapion was born in the village of Pekhorka near Moscow, from a young age he was inclined toward monasticism. to the wish of his parents, he entered into marriage, and was ordained to the priesthood. year later he became a widower and was tonsured at the Dubensk Monastery of the Dormition. of his virtuous life he was elected as Igumen of the monastery and he labored so much for it that it later became known by his name - Serapion Hermitage. to engage in more rigorous ascetical struggles, the Saint resigned his position and entered the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he became the Igumen in 1495. Saint enjoyed the respect of the Great Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, at his request, the Prince pardoned three convicted boyars who had been condemned to death. attending the Council of 1504, Saint Serapion passionately defended the practice of the Church and Monasteries possessing property, as a means of charity. brought him into conflict with Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9), who taught that the Church should not own villages and estates. 1506 he was consecrated as Archbishop of Novgorod. During a big fire in that city in the year 1508, the Saint tearfully prayed that the Lord would cause it to cease. Serapion had to endure many troubles. In 1509 he was deprived of his See and exiled to Moscow’s Andronikov Monastery. In 1511 Saint Serapion moved to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where he spent the remainder of his life in unceasing meditation and prayer, honored by the Lord with the gifts of discernment and of working miracles. being tonsured into the Schema, the hierarch reposed in peace on March 16, 1516. His incorrupt relics were found on April 7,1517, and to this day they rest hidden in Serapion’s Pavilion, at Holy Trinity Cathedral, in Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Lord has glorified His saint with the gift of miracles, both during his lifetime and after his death. Once, on the Feast of the Dormition, the saint healed a lame man, who for many years had crawled on his feet and hands and feet, leaning on pieces of wood. 1608, during the siege of the Lavra by the Poles, many monks and laymen, who came to the temple to pray for his monastery, saw him in the bishop’s vestments.

Russia, Moscow, 1484-1505, Saint, Gennady of Novgorod, St Gennadius, Gennadius Bible
Moscow Saint, 1484-1505, Gennady of Novgorod, St Gennadius ; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1484-1505, Gennady oNovgorod, Gennadius Bible, Typikon service zealot, septuagent bible defend vs Judiaziers OT
Russia, Moscow, 1484-1505, Saint, Gennady of Novgorod, St Gennadius, Gennadius Bible, descendent Gonzov family, dignified, intelligent, virtuous, scripture learned, Valaam Monastery monk, under Sabbatius oSolovki, 1472 Chudov Archimandrite, Typikon service zealot, defended ancient Bible rule, 1483 built stone church aChudov, 1484 Archbishop oNovgorod, 1470 Judiazing preachers guise oMerchants already planting weeds oHeresy iN, 1487 first reports (17yrs), drunk heratics revealed, spread tMoscow1480, 1487 reported tMoscow Met inquiry material&Apostates list&their writings, 12yrs struggle against J's attempts alter history Russian church&state, Gennadius Bible helped, Judaizers used OT text different from Septuagent, single codes OT from separate parts, Pentateuch, Kings, Proverbs, Psalter, Prophets, Gospels, Epistles, apocrypha, Jusiazers used prophecies they altered, 1499 G Bible complete, first printed Bible 1581, through 1751 Elizabethan Bible tToday, Great literary work Fourth Novgorod Chronicle up to 1486, library for Solovki monastery wDositheus, who wrote lives o2 saints tG's request, Novgorod school for clergy, impending end oWorld 1492 end 7th milenium, Paschal dates not computed beyond 1491, G decreed 8th M bCalculated, finished P for 70 yrs, plus Source fPaschalion t8thousandth year, -“It is proper not to fear the end of the world, but rather to await the coming of Christ at every moment, no one even knows the end, it is a circle; Moscow Saint, 1484-1505, Gennady of Novgorod, St Gennadius ; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4; Gennadius, Archbishop of Novgorod, descended from the Gonzov family was, in the testimony of contemporaries, “dignified, intelligent, virtuous and learned in the Holy Scripture.” was made a monk at the Valaam monastery, under the spiritual guidance of Saint Sabbatius of Solovki (September 27). the year 1472, he was Archimandrite of the Chudov (Miracle of the Archangel Michael) monastery in Moscow. for celebrating divine services according to the Typikon, and Bassian, Archbishop of Rostov, and later his successor Joasaph, rose up in defense of the ancient Rule during a dispute at the consecration of the Dormition cathedral in Moscow during the years 1479-1481. 1483 Saint Gennadius began construction of a stone church at the Chudov monastery honor of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow (February 12), the founder of the monastery. December 12, 1484 Saint Gennadius was consecrated as Archbishop of Novgorod. in Novgorod, but still honoring the memory of Saint Alexis, did not cease to concern himself with the construction of the church, contributing silver for the completion of this temple. time of holy Archbishop Gennadius as hierarch at Novgorod coincided with a terrible period in the history of the Russian Church. 1470, Judaizing preachers, who traveled to Novgorod in the guise of merchants, had already begun to plant the weeds of heresy and apostasy among the Orthodox. first reports about the heresy reached Saint Gennadius in the year 1487. members of a secret society, in a state of intoxication, opened up and told the Orthodox of the existence of the impious heresy. soon as it became known to him, the zealous archpastor immediately began an inquiry with deep sorrow became convinced that the danger was a threat not only to local Novgorod piety, also in Moscow, the very capital of Orthodoxy, where the leaders of the Judaizers had journeyed in 1480. September 1487 he sent to Metropolitan Gerontius at Moscow all the material from the inquiry, with a list of the apostates he had discovered, as well as their writings. struggle with the Judaizers became the main focus of Saint Gennadius’ archpastoral activity. the words of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9), “this archbishop, angered by the malevolent heretics, pounced upon them like a lion from out of the thicket of the Holy Scriptures and the splendid heights of the prophets and the apostolic teachings.” twelve years Saint Gennadius and Saint Joseph struggled against the most powerful attempts of the opponents of Orthodoxy to alter the course of history of the Russian Church and the Russian state. their efforts the Orthodox were victorious. The works of Gennadius in the study of the Bible contributed to this victory. heretics in their impious cleverness used texts from the Old Testament, but which were different from the texts accepted by the Orthodox. Gennadius undertook an enormous task: bringing the correct listings of Holy Scripture together in a single codex. until this time Biblical books had been copied in Russia, following the example of Byzantium, not in their entirety, but in separate parts—the Pentateuch (first five books) or Octateuch (first eight books), Kings, Proverbs, the Psalter, the Prophets, the Gospels, the Epistles, and other instructive books. holy books of the Old Testament in particular often were subjected to both accidental and intentional errors. Gennadius wrote about this with sorrow in a letter to Archbishop Joasaph: “The Judaizing heretical tradition adheres to the Psalms of David, or prophecies which they have altered.” around himself learned and industrious Biblical scholars, the saint collected all the books of the Holy Scripture into a single codex, he gave his blessing for the Holy Books which were not found in manuscripts of the traditional Slavonic Bible to be retranslated from the Latin language. 1499 the first complete codex of Holy Scripture in Slavonic (“the Gennadius Bible,” as they called it after its compiler) was published in Russia. work became an integral link in the succession of Slavonic translations of the Word of God. the God-inspired translation of the Holy Scripture by Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bible of Saint Gennadius (1499), reproduced in the first printed Bible (Ostrozh, 1581), Church has maintained a Slavonic Biblical tradition right through the so-called Elizabethan Bible (1751) and all successive printed editions. with the preparation of the Bible, the circle of church scholars under Archbishop Gennadius also undertook a great literary task: compilation of the “Fourth Novgorod Chronicle.” hand-written books were translated, corrected and transcribed, bringing the Chronicle up to the year 1496. the igumen of the Solovki monastery who was at Novgorod on monastery matters, worked for several years with Saint Gennadius compiling a library for the Solovki monastery. was at the request of Saint Gennadius that Dositheus wrote the Lives of Saints Zosimas (April 17) and Sabbatius (September 27). majority of the books transcribed with the blessing of the Novgorod hierarch (more than 20), preserved in the collection of Solovki manuscripts. a zealous advocate for spiritual enlightenment, Saint Gennadius founded a school for the preparation of worthy clergy at Novgorod. memory of Saint Gennadius is preserved also in his work for the welfare of the Orthodox Church. the end of the fifteenth century many Russians were concerned about the impending end of the world, which they believed would take place at the end of the seventh millenium from the creation of the world (in 1492 A.D.). in 1408, it was decided not to compute the Paschal dates beyond the year 1491. In September 1491, however, the Archbishops’ Council of the Russian Church at Moscow, with the participation of Saint Gennadius, decreed that the Paschalion for the eighth millenium be calculated. Zosimas at Moscow on November 27, 1492 “set forth a cathedral Paschalion for twenty years,” asked Bishop Philotheus of Perm and Archbishop Gennadius of Novgorod each to compile their own Paschalion for conciliar review and confirmation on December 21, 1492. Gennadius finished calculating his Paschalion, which in contrast to that of the Metropolitan, extended for seventy years. was distributed to the dioceses, with the approval of the Council, as the accepted Paschalion for the next twenty years. with the Paschalion was Saint Gennadius’s own commentary upon it in an encyclical entitled, “Source for the Paschalion Transposed to the Eight Thousandth Year.” his theological explanation of the Paschalion, based upon the Word of God and the holy Fathers, the saint wrote: “It is proper not to fear the end of the world, but rather to await the coming of Christ at every moment. just as God might deign to end the world, so also might He deign to prolong the course of time.” one knows when the world created by God will end, “not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father “(Mt. 24:36). the holy Fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, explained the cycle of years from the creation of the world precisely as a cycle. “This occurs in a circular motion, not having an end.” The saint contrasts the heretical methods of calculating the times with the way hallowed by the Church, a constant spiritual sobriety. Gennadius expounded on the theological fundamentals of the Paschalion. explained that on the basis of the cycle of years from the world’s creation, it is possible to determine a Paschalion for the future, as may be required. Paschalion of Saint Gennadius, by his own testimony, was not something new that he created, but rather was based on a former tradition; in part, on the basis of the Paschalion for 1360-1492 under Saint Basil Kalika, Archbishop of Novgorod (July 3). 1539, under Archbishop Macarius of Novgorod, a Paschalion was compiled for the eighth millenium, based on the principles of the Paschalion of Saint Gennadius. prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, which he composed in 1497, also demonstrates his deep spiritual life and prayerful inspiration. addition to his letters to Metropolitans Zosimas and Simon, to Archbishop Joasaph, to Bishops Niphon and Prochorus, and a letter to the 1490 Council, Archbishop Gennadius also wrote a church “Small Rule” and the “Tradition for Monks,” who live according to the monastic Rule of skete life. his archpastoral service in 1504, the saint lived in retirement at the Chudov monastery, he peacefully fell asleep in the Lord on December 4, 1505. the Stepen-Ranks book we read: “Archbishop Gennadius served as archbishop for nineteen years, beautifying the churches, improving the behavior of the clergy, and proclaiming the Orthodox Faith among the heretics. he lived at Moscow for a year and a half at the Chudov monastery, dedicated to the Miracle of the Archangel Michael to Saint Alexis the Metropolitan and wonderworker, where he had been Archimandrite, and then he fell asleep in the Lord.” holy relics of Saint Gennadius were put into the church of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae (September 6), that place particularly venerated by him, where the relics of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow rested. Gennadius is also commemorated on the third Sunday after Pentecost, when the Church remembers all the Saints who shone forth at Novgorod.

Russia, Moscow, 1484-1505, Judaizers, heretic Jews using Hebrew OT created after Jesus
Russia, Moscow, 1484-1505, Judiazers, heretic Christians using Hebrew OT created after Jesus; Judaizers are Christians who teach it is necessary to adopt Jewish customs and practices, especially those found in the Law of Moses, to be saved. The term is derived from the Koine Greek word, used once in the Greek New Testament (Galatians 2:14),[1] when Paul publicly challenges Peter for compelling gentile converts to Early Christianity to "judaize".[2][3] This episode is known as the incident at Antioch. This term includes groups who claim the necessity of continued obedience to the Law of Moses found in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) for gentiles.[4] Members of such groups dispute the label because "Judaizers" is sometimes used as a pejorative. Most Christians believe that much of the Old Covenant has been superseded, while according to some modern Protestants it has been completely abrogated and replaced by the Law of Christ. The Christian debate over Judaizing began in the lifetime of the apostles, notably at the Council of Jerusalem and the incident at Antioch. It has been carried on parallel to continuing debates about Paul the Apostle and Judaism, Protestant views of the Ten Commandments, and Christian ethics. Moscow Saint, 1484-1505, Gennady of Novgorod, St Gennadius ; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1486, Roman oUglich, incorrupt relics, many miracles, 1595 witnessed by Met, sainthood, Poles burned relics 1609
Rostov, 1255-1285, Roman oUglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), son oVladimir&Photina oUglich, nephew oBasil oRostov, father died 1248, brother died 1261, Roman became govenor Uglich at 26, became father tHis subjects, poor house, took in destitute that came from everywhere, built 15 more churches, present every devine service, often conversed wMonks, devoted fasting, prayer, righteous works, built Romanov (Tutaev) on high bank oVolga, died peacefully 1285, 1486 incorrupt relics found, miracles, witnessed by Met Heremogenes 1595, sainthood, 1609 relics burned by Poles; Uglich; Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, Commemorated February 3 ; Holy Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, of Prince Vladimir and Princess Photina of Uglich, nephew of Saint Basil (Basilko) of Rostov (March 4), born on October 1, 1235. the death of his father (in 1248) and his older brother Andrew (in 1261), Saint Roman, at the age of twenty-six, took upon himself the governance of Uglich and became a father to his subjects. established a poor-house and took in the destitute, who came to him from everywhere. the principality he built fifteen more churches. Roman was present every day at the divine services, and he often conversed with pious monks. the death of his wife in 1280, he devoted himself entirely to ascetic exploits of fasting, prayer and works of righteousness. built the city Romanov (now Tutaev) on the high bank of the Volga. holy prince died peacefully on February 3, 1285 and was buried in the Church of the Transfiguration in Uglich. 1486, the relics of Saint Roman were found to be incorrupt were transferred into the new cathedral Church of the Transfiguration. the year 1595 with the blessing of Patriarch Job in consequence of the fame concerning miracles relics were witnessed to by the Metropolitan (later Patriarch) Saint Hermogenes (February 17), Saint Roman was numbered among the saints. 1609, the holy relics were burned along with the church during an invasion by the Poles.

Russia, Moscow, 1488-1557, Basil of Moscow, Fool for Christ, barefoot cobbler
Moscow Saint, 1488-1552, Basil the Blessed, Fool for Christ; Elokhov church, Yelokhovo Cathedral, Moscow, Basil. Fool for Christ; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Basil the Blessed, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. Basil’s apprenticeship, the master happened to witness a remarkable occurrence, which showed him that his student was no ordinary man. A certain merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and then went to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. Blessed Basil wept and said, “I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them.” the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true. he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the winter’s harsh frost, he walked about barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: here he would upset a stand with kalachi, and there he would spill a jug with kvas. Angry merchants throttled the blessed one, but he endured the beatings with joy and he thanked God for them. Then it was discovered that the kalachi were poorly cooked, and the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of Saint Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong. certain merchant wanted to build a stone church on Pokrovna in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. “Find there John the Cripple,” he said. “He will advise you how to construct the church.” to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. “Whom do you rock?” asked the merchant. “I weep for my beloved mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing.” Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church. mercy, the blessed one helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who was left without anything at all. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. saint harshly condemned those who gave alms for selfish reasons, not out of compassion for the poor and destitute, but hoping for an easy way to attract God’s blessings upon their affairs. Once, the saint saw a devil in the guise of a beggar. He sat at the gates of the All-Pure Virgin’s church, and he gave speedy help in their affairs to everyone who gave alms. The saint exposed the wicked trick and drove the devil away. the salvation of his neighbor, Saint Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see a grain of goodness, even in people very much gone to ruin, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed that when the saint passed by a house in which they made merry and drank, he wept and clutched the corners of that house. They inquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: “Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed by the sins of the people, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.” by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. In 1547 he predicted the great fire of Moscow; through prayer he extinguished a fire at Novgorod; and once he reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, because during the divine services he was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace on the Vorobiev hills. Basil died on August 2, 1557. Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow served the saint’s funeral with many clergy. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, the Protection cathedral was built in memory of the conquest of Kazan. His Holiness Patriarch Job glorified Saint Basil the Blessed at a Council on August 2, 1588. an early icon, Saint Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at the ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of Saint Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him [the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow]. saint’s chains are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Repose of the Blessed John of Ustiug the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on May 29;

Russia, Moscow, 1490's, Gennady's Bible
Russia, Moscow, 1490's, Gennady's Bible; St. Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1490-1494, Metropolitan, Zosimus, Third Rome, Rus apt, Judaizers, not hanged and burned, removed, writer
Russia, Moscow, 1490-1494, Patriarch, Zosimus, Metropolitan of Moscow; the Bearded (died 1494) was Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia from 1490. He was the author of the Third Rome conception. the first time in Russian history, Zosimus was appointed metropolitan by the decision of the council of the Russian bishops by order of the Grand Prince Ivan III. He had been archimandrite of the Simonovskii Monastery in Moscow when he was picked to replace Metropolitan Gerontii some six months after Gerontii's death.[1] Gennady of Novgorod had uncovered the Heresy of the Judaizers in 1487 and Zosimus's entire metropolitanate was overshadowed by this crisis. Gennady wrote a letter in 1490 to Zosimus and other bishops in the Russian church demanding a council be convened and the heresy be dealt with. The council convened less than a month after Zosimus' elevation to the metropolitan throne and condemned the heresy.[2] Gennady demanded that the heretics be severely punished - hanged and burned - and not merely incarcerated, but Zosimus and Grand Prince Ivan III opposed these harsher methods. Zosimus was eventually accused of being a secret heretic and, on May 17, 1494, he was removed from the metropolitan throne on charges of heresy and sodomy.[3] He died before any trial was held. is known for having compiled a list of banned books and written an epistle against heretics. Venerable Joseph the Igumen and Wonderworker of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on October 18;

Russia, Moscow, 1490-1534, Johah oKlimetzk, Lake Onega, caught bStorm mVow, Lord said fMonastery, tree icon, bM&2churches
Russia, St Petersburg, 1490-1534, Johah oKlimetzk, Kizhi Island and Monastery, Lake Onega, caught by storm made vow, boat to sandbar, Lord commanded to found monastery for Trinity, Icon in tree, bM&2churches, simple monk there, plus church over relics; Kizhi Island and Monastery, Lake Onega; Venerable Jonah, Abbot of Klimetzk, Commemorated on June 6 ; Jonah of Klimetzk, in the world John, became a monk, and founded the Klimetzk Trinity Monastery in fulfillment of a vow. 1490 he had been caught by a storm on Lake Onega. When there was no hope for survival, John cried out to the Lord, entreating Him to preserve his life so he might repent and serve God. The boat was thrown onto a sandbar by the waves. There he heard the voice of the Lord commanding him to found a monastery in honor of the Life-Creating Trinity. miraculously discovered a holy icon on a juniper tree. The saint fulfilled the will of the Lord and built a monastery with two churches, one dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity and the other in honor of Saint Nicholas, protector of those who sail and those who travel. the rank of igumen, Saint Jonah remained a simple monk at the monastery. He died on June 6, 1534. A church was built over his relics, and was dedicated to Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth.

Russia, Moscow, 1490-1550, Macarius tRoman oNovgorod, fWealthy R's, but studied lives otFathers, so God led tN, dLlight smoke
Rome, 1490-1550, Macarius tRoman oNovgorod, fWealthy Roman family, Protestant Reformation time, but he studied lives otFathers, focused on saving his soul, God led him become Orthodox, left for Russia without money, wearing old garment, tNovgorod, many churches monasteries there, tSvir, there Alex oSvir tonsured him monk, but he longed for solitary life, tIsland in Lezna r, 45 miles fNovgorod, mosquito breeding ground, berries roots herbs, fed&pet bears, discovered bHunters, because divine light, fed them, spoke prayed showed way out of marsh, many people came, chose place further out on Lesna, but pillar fire at night and fragrant smoke at day exposed him, some asked to stay, saw it was Lord's will he blessed them to build cells, 1540 wooden church, ordained as priest by Marcarius oNovgorod& Met All Russia, he example tOthers, clairvoyance wonderworking gifts, returned to solitary island after several yrs, fell asleep 1550, his monastery distinguished by spiritual life, Novgorod monasteries plundered by Sweds 17th C, Hermitage burned 1615, monks put to sword, 18th C dependency Nevsky Lavra St Pete, closed by Catherine 1764 like she closed other m ; Rome; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Macarius the Roman was born at the end of the fifteenth century into a wealthy family of Rome. parents raised him in piety and gave him an excellent education. might have expected a successful career in public service, he did not desire honors or earthly glory. he focused on how to save his soul. lived in an age when the Christian West was shaken by the Protestant Reformation. others around him were pursuing luxury and lascivious pleasures, he studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers. Macarius was grieved to see so many darkened by sin and worldly vanity, and was disturbed by the rebellions and conflicts within the Western Church. tears, he asked God to show him the path of salvation, and his prayer did not go unanswered. came to realize that he would find the safe harbor of salvation in the Orthodox Church. Macarius left Rome secretly, and set out for Russia without money, and wearing an old garment. many sufferings on his journey, he arrived in Novgorod, where he rejoiced to see so many churches and monasteries. of these monasteries had been founded three centuries before by his fellow countryman, Saint Anthony the Roman (August 3). Macarius came to the banks of the River Svir, Saint Alexander of Svir (April 17 and August 30) had founded the monastery of the Holy Trinity. Alexander received Macarius into the Orthodox Church and tonsured him as a monk. however longed for the solitary life. moved to an island on the River Lezna, forty-five miles from Novgorod, where he engaged in ascetical struggles and unceasing prayer. winters were very cold, and the summers were hot and humid. marshy area was also a breeding ground for mosquitos, which tormented the saint. Macarius survived on berries, roots, and herbs. Sometimes bears would come to him for food, and they allowed him to pet them. a great lamp of the spiritual life could not remain hidden for long. rainy night someone knocked on his door and asked him to open it. Several people, who seemed to be hunters, entered his cell. Astonished by his appearance, and the divine light shining from his face, the men asked for his blessing. They told him they had come to the forest to hunt, and only by the prayers of the saint did God permit them to find him. “It is not my sinful prayers,” he told them, “but the grace of God which led you here.” feeding them, he spoke and prayed with them, then showed them the way out of the marsh. Macarius was concerned that his peace would be disturbed, now that his dwelling place was known. His fears were justified, because many people sought him out to ask for his advice and prayers. holy ascetic decided to move even farther into the wilderness, choosing an elevated place on the left bank of the Lezna. Even here, however, he was not able to conceal himself for very long. a pillar of fire would rise up into the sky at night above his place of refuge. the day, the grace of God was made manifest by a fragrant cloud of smoke. by these signs, the local inhabitants of the region were able to find him once more. of his visitors begged Saint Macarius to permit them to live near him and to be guided by his counsels. that this was the Lord’s will, he did not refuse them. blessed them to build cells, and this was the foundation of his monastery. 1540, they built a wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Macarius was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Macarius of Novgorod, who later became Metropolitan of All Russia. The hierarch also appointed Saint Macarius as igumen of the monastery. Macarius was an example to the others, and was given the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking from God. wore himself out with his labors and vigils, encouraging others not to become faint-hearted in their own struggles. several years, he entrusted the monastery to one of his disciples, and returned to the island where he had first lived. he fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1550. His disciples buried him outside on the left side of the Dormition church which he had founded. Hermitage of Saint Macarius was never a prosperous monastery with many monks, it was distinguished by the high level of spiritual life. In the seventeenth century, many of the monasteries near Novgorod were plundered by Swedish invaders. Hermitage of Saint Macarius was also burned in 1615, and some of the monks were put to the sword. the eighteenth century, the monastery had become a dependency of the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. Empress Catherine closed it in 1764, just as she had closed other monasteries, it was designated as a parish church. pilgrims still came to venerate the saint’s relics and to celebrate his Feast Day, the buildings soon fell into ruin. the mid-nineteenth century, some benefactors restored the two churches and the miraculous healing spring which the saint himself had dug. this time an old priest was living there, and he celebrated the church services until his death. 1894, the monastery began to function once more under the noted missionary Hieromonk Arsenius, who introduced the Athonite Typikon. monastery was destroyed by the Soviets in 1932. Macarius the Roman is commemorated on August 15 (the date of his repose), and also on January 19 (his nameday).

Russia, Moscow, 1490 & 1831-48, Divnogorsk or Rescuer Icon, 1490 D Monastery Voronezh, 1831-48 Cholera, MOG appeared
Mongol, Scythia, 1490 & 1831-48, Divnogorsk or Rescuer Icon, 1490 D Monastery Voronezh, 1831 Cholera raging, MOG appeared, to Korotoyak, C ceased, again in 1847-48 ; Divnogorsk, Wondering Heights, Chalk Clifts, Mouth of the Tikha Sosna; Divnogorsk Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Rescuer of the Drowning", Commemorated on February 5; Divnogorsk-Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God received the first part of its title from where it was enshrined when it was glorified: the Dormition monastery of Divnogorsk, in the former Ostrogozhsk district in Voronezh governance. title of “Sicilian” comes from its place of origin, since by tradition this icon at Diva (i.e. “Wondrous Heights”) was brought from Sicily by the pious monastic Elders Xenophon and Joasaph. suggest that these saints were Orthodox Greeks by birth, and that they had arrived there not earlier than the end of the fifteenth century. and Joasaph founded a monastery at a scenic spot above the River Don, near the confluence of the River Tikha Sosna [Quiet Pine River]. The place was called Wondrous Heights by those struck by the form of the chalk columns throughout the hills. is said that Xenophon and Joasaph lived in a cave (where later the church of Saint John the Forerunner was built), and that they carved out the first church in a chalk column, into which also they put the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God which they had brought with them. Here is where they found their eternal repose. the Divnogorsk-Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God, the Theotokos is depicted sitting in the clouds. In Her right hand is a white lily blossom, and with Her left arm She supports the Divine Infant, Who sits upright upon Her knees. The Savior holds a lily blossom in His left hand, and blesses with His right hand. Around the face of the Mother of God are eight angels. The two beneath are shown on bended knee and with hands upraised in prayer. Over the head of the Theotokos is the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. special glorification of the icon began in the year 1831, when cholera was raging. At Korotoyak, 7-8 versts from the monastery, the Most Holy Virgin appeared (as She is depicted in the Divnogorsk Icon) to a certain elderly woman, Ekaterina Kolomenska, in a dream. She commanded that Her icon be brought and a Molieben be served before it. The wonderworking icon was brought to Korotoyak, and after a Molieben before the holy icon, the cholera ceased. the intercession of the Mother of God, the city of Ostrogozhsk also was saved from cholera. The people of Korotoyak and Ostrogozhsk were also saved from cholera in 1847 and 1848 through the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, which occurred after a church procession around these towns with the holy icon. to Tradition, the feastday of the wonderworking icon on February 5 was established already at its original habitation by Xenophon and Joasaph.

Russia, Moscow, 1492, Mezhetsk Icon, Kiev, Ukraine (Dnieper River 4), appeared nKiev 1492, mMiracles, Queen's crown on her head
Russia, Kiev, 1492, Mezhetsk Icon, Kiev, Ukraine (Dnieper River 4), appeared near Kiev 1492, many miracles, Queen's crown on her head, Queen of Heaven; Kiev; “Mezhetsk” Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on February 26; wonderworking Mezhetsk (Межецкая) or Mezhitsk (Межетская) Icon of the Mother of God appeared near Kiev in 1492 became renowned because of the numerous miracles which took place when people prayed before it. We have no other details concerning the Icon. Mother of God is depicted with a crown on her head and the Child on her left hand.

Russia, Moscow, 1492, Abraham&Corprius, founders Pechenga Wilderness Monastery, White Sea Region, Vologda, great work
Russia, Vologda, 1492, Abraham&Corprius, founders Pechenga Wilderness Monastery, White Sea Region, Vologda (Pechenga River Mouth ) in Gryazovetsk district, 21 versts from Vologda, took great work to bring monastery necessities and set everything in order, they did not spare themselves, lived in asceticism till death; Pechenga (urban-type settlement), Murmansk Oblast; Venerable Abraham and Coprius, of Pechenga Commemorated on February 4; Abraham and Coprius of Pechenga in 1492 founded the Savior wilderness monastery at the River Pechenga, in Gryazovetsk district, 21 versts from Vologda. required great work to bring in the necessities to the wilderness spot, in order to build the monastery and set everything in proper order. blessed toilers did not spare themselves, zealously living in asceticism until their death.

Russia, Moscow, 1493-1549, Adrian of Ondrusov, aka nobleman Andrew Z of Svir, robber Ondrusov story, Ivan IV, incorrupt
Russia, Moscow, 1493-1549, Saint, Adrian of Ondrusov, aka Andrew Zavalushin; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26; Adrian of Ondrusov (in the world the nobleman Andrew Zavalushin), was the owner of a rich estate (Andreevschina), 9 versts from the monastery of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). He accidentally encountered Saint Alexander of Svir during a stag hunt in 1493, and after this he went often to him for guidance, and supplied bread for the ascetics. his estate, he took monastic tonsure at the Valaamo monastery with the name Adrian. Several years later, with the blessing of Saint Alexander of Svir, Saint Adrian settled in a solitary place on the peninsula of Lake Ladoga. There he built a church in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. Opposite the settlement of monks in the deep forest was an island, Sala (the Thicket), where there was a gang of robbers under the leadership of Ondrusa as their ataman. Encountering the monks, the ataman demanded that they get off his land. Saint Adrian, knowing that he did not have money to buy the place, promised the ataman to intercede for him before God. The robber laughed at the monk, but he entreated him so long and so humbly, that the ataman softened and said, “Live.” ataman was soon taken captive by another gang, hidden not far from the stoney Cape of Storozhev. The hapless fellow knew that after suffering, torture and death awaited him, and he bitterly repented of his former life. Suddenly, he saw Saint Adrian before him. He said, “You are freed through the mercy of the Lord, for Whose sake you were asked to show mercy to the wilderness brethren,” and he vanished. ataman saw himself without fetters at the shore, and with no one around. Astonished, he rushed to the monastery of Saint Adrian and found all the ascetics chanting Psalms. It seemed that Saint Adrian had not left the monastery. The robber fell at the knees of the saint and begged to be accepted as one of the brethren. He finished his life in repentance at the monastery. The robber of another gang also repented. Through the prayers of Saint Adrian, he was tonsured with the name Cyprian. Afterwards, at the place of a tributary, he built a monastery and was glorified by miracles. monastery of Saint Adrian received an endowment from Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584). In August 1549, Saint Adrian was godfather for Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. When the saint was returning from Moscow to the monastery, robbers killed him near the village of Obzha, hoping to find money. The brethren waited for a long time for their Superior, and two years later, he appeared one night in a vision to a few Elders and told them of his death. On another day, May 17, the brethren found his incorrupt body in a swamp and committed it to burial in the wall of his church in honor of Saint Nicholas. memory of Saint Adrian, having received the martyr’s crown, has come to be celebrated twice: on the day of the finding and transfer of his relics (May 17), and on the day of his repose, which he shares with his namesake, the holy Martyr Adrian.

Russia, Moscow, 1495, Vilnius Icon, Lithuania, by Luke, 1495 Elena marries L Alexander, Icon to L
Lithuania, 1495, Vilnius Icon, Lithuania, transfer from Moscow to V, by Luke, 1472 to Moscow w Sophia m Ivan III, 1495 Elena marries L Alexander, Icon to L, I the Terrible tries to bring it back 1533; Vilnius (Vilno, Vilna), Lithuania; Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius, Commemorated on February 15; celebration commemorates the transfer of the Icon from Moscow to Vil'na (Vilnius), Lithuania. to local tradition, this Icon (of the Hodegetria type) was painted by the Holy Evangelist Luke, and was brought from Palestine to Constantinople. For many years it belonged to the family of the Byzantine emperors. Later, they sent the Icon to the rulers of Galicia and Chervona Rus'. the fall of the Galician principality, the Icon became the property of the Great Princes of Moscow. It did not stay In Moscow very long, however. In 1495, Grand Duke Ivan III (1462-1505), blessed his daughter Elena with the Icon before giving her in marriage to the Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander. Thus, the Icon came with her to the Lithuanian capital of Vil'na, where it remains today. to another legend, which is more credible, this Icon was brought to Moscow by Princess Sophia Palaiologina in 1472 when she married Ivan III. Both legends converge in all other details. Princess Elena died, the holy Icon of the Mother of God was placed above her tomb in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos. the relationship between the courts of Moscow and Lithuania came to an end, Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584) tried to bring the wonderworking Icon back to Moscow, offering Grand Duke Sigismund II of Lithuania (1520-1572) fifty noble Lithuanian prisoners in exchange, but Sigismund strongly opposed this, because all the clergy, both the Orthodox and the Uniates, did not want to lose this treasure. Icon remained In the Cathedral of the Mother of God until the XVIII century, Later, it was moved to the church of Saint John the Forerunner. Afterward, the Icon was transferred to Vil'na's Holy Trinity Monastery, which was then in possession of the Uniates, and the Cathedral of the Mother if God was also given to them. in 1839 were Holy Trinity Monastery and the Hodegetria Icon returned to the Orthodox. Since that time, the Icon of the Mother of God has been there with other local icons, and was honored by all the Orthodox. It has replaced her lost Ostro Bram (the Dawn Gates) Icon (which is commemorated on December 26 and April 14). Hodegetria Icon is painted on four boards which have been joined together. Some are made of cypress wood, and the others of birch. It was restored in 1864. a monastery on the outskirts of Vil'na, there is another Vil'na Icon, which appeared in 1341. It is not unlike the Hodegetria Icon. It is a full length depiction of the Mother of God, who stands on a crescent moon, and Holy Angels hold a crown over her pure head. In some variations of this Icon she stands on clouds, surrounded by Angels, and is wearing a crown. Vil'na Icon is also commemorated on April 14.

Russia, Moscow, 1495-1497, Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Vladimir Cathedral, Killed by Tartars, incorrupt relics
Russia, Kiev, 1495-1497, Hieromartyr Macarius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Vladimir Cathedral, Kiev's St Vladimir cathedral, Killed by Tartars, incorrupt relics; Kiev's St Vladimir cathedral; , Commemorated on May 1; 1495, after the death of Metropolitan Jonah of Kiev, Macarius was chosen and ordained in his place by an assembly of hierarchs; Vassian of Vladimir, Luke of Polotsk, Vassian of Turov and Jonah of Lutsk. of blessing were sent from Constantinople by the Patriarch Niphon, confirming the election of Saint Macarius to the metropolitan See of Kiev. May 1, 1497 Tatars invading Russia killed Metropolitan Macarius of Kiev and All Rus in the village of Strigolovo, at the River Vzhischa, where the saint was conducting divine services. Many of his flock were killed with him, or taken into captivity . holy incorrupt relics of Saint Macarius, glorified by God with miracles, rest now at Kiev at the Vladimir cathedral church.

Russia, Moscow, 1500-1599, 16th Century Folder, Return of Smolensk, War with Protestants

Russia, Moscow, 1501-1540, Loginus oKoryazhma, Vologda, started&built Koryazhma monastery, near Solvychegod, igumen
Russia, Vologda, 1501-1540, Loginus oKoryazhma, Vologda (Koryazhma River Mouth, near Vychegda River Mouth), a monk fObnora&Solvychegod monasteries, tKoryazhema, 10Versts fSolvychegod, cells&chapel first, then aChurch&Monastery, Longinus the igumen, he dug aWell, L died 1540, L buried near enterance, 1556 placed inside, special service, life compiled aLater time; Koryazhma (near Vychegda River Mouth), ; Koryazhemsk monastery; Venerable Longinus of Koryazhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated February 10 ; Longinus of Koryazhemsk first pursued asceticism at the monastery of Saint Paul of Obnora, then lived at the Saints Boris and Gleb Solvychegod monastery. there he settled with his friend Simon near Vychegda, toward the mouth of the Koryazhema river. deep in the countryside, ten versts from Solvychegod, the ascetics built cells and a chapel. brethren gathered around them, they built a church named for Saint Nicholas, and built a monastery in which the saint was igumen. the church there was a well, dug out by Saint Longinus himself. his death in 1540 the saint’s body was buried, in accord with his last wishes, near the entrance to the church. years later, it was placed inside the church. memory of Saint Longinus is celebrated with a special service, and there is a brief Life, compiled at a later time.

Russia, Moscow, 1501-1550, Adrian Poshekhonye, icongrphr, strict rule, benefactors, mysterious lowly one, defending angels
Poshekhonye; Venerable Simon the Abbot of Soiga Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated November 24 ; Venerable Sebastian the Abbot of Pshekhonye Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on December 18 ; Venerable Sebastian of Poshekhonye, Commemorated February 26 ; Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on March 5; Adrian of Poshekhonye was born at Rostov the Great at the end of the sixteenth century, of pious parents named Gregory and Irene. Saint Adrian received monastic tonsure at the monastery of Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19). the brethren gathered around Saint Cornelius were some capable builders and iconographers, so the monastery churches were constructed and adorned by the saints themselves. In the final years of Saint Cornelius’s life, Kazan Tatars invaded the territory around the monastery, and he led all the brethren to the River Ukhtoma. But the Tatars did not touch the monastery, being frightened off by the sight of the many soldiers defending it, and they soon withdrew from the Vologda district. Saint Cornelius returned to the monastery with the brethren and reposed there on May 19, 1537. years after the death of Saint Cornelius, Saint Adrian, then a hierodeacon, greatly desired to go into a wilderness place and found a monastery in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Lord helped him fulfill his intention. A certain unknown Elder of striking appearance came to the Corniliev monastery. Saint Adrian asked him his name, and the Elder referred to himself as “the lowly one.” Saint Adrian invited him to his own cell and asked him to say something beneficial for the soul, the Elder said that he would show Saint Adrian the spot where he should build the church and monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos. Adrian immediately went to the Superior, Igumen Laurence, and sought his blessing to live in the wilderness. Recalling Saint Cornelius’s order that any monks who wished to withdraw into the wilderness should be released from the monastery, Igumen Laurence did not hinder Saint Adrian but gave him his blessing. He also sent with him his assistant, Elder Leonid. After they prayed at the grave of Saint Cornelius, Saint Adrian and Elder Leonid went on their way, led by the mysterious black-robed monk. Saint Adrian carried with him an icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which he also painted. September 13, 1540, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, Saint Adrian and Elder Leonid arrived in the wild Poshekhonye forest, near the settlements of Belta, Patrabolsha, Shelshedolsk and Ukhorsk. halted at the banks of the River Votkha. There the Elder leading them suddenly became invisible. The astonished travelers began to chant the Canon and service of the Feast, with tears of thanks to God. Indeed this was a portent of the future fame of the monastery, a place where God would be glorified. three years Saint Adrian and the Elder Leonid survived in the wilderness solitude, suffering want, overcoming temptations from the devil and the whisperings of wicked folk, and then they began to fulfill their intention. a suitable moment, the ascetics went to Moscow to ask the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius to establish a monastery and church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God on the Poshekhonye side of the River Votkha. Macarius gave his blessing to the ascetics to build the monastery, and he gave them a written document to that effect. He ordained Adrian to the priesthood and elevated him to the rank of igumen. In the document he had given to Saint Adrian, the hierarch bade “priests, deacons, monks and laymen to listen to him and obey him in everything, as befits a pastor and teacher.” Moscow the Poshekhonye ascetics found generous benefactors who gave the monks abundant offerings to build their church. Returning to their wilderness spot on May 31, 1543, Saint Adrian laid the foundations for the church with a trapeza, in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. embellished and consecrated the new church, Saint Adrian began the construction of the monastery. The strict monastic Rule of Saint Cornelius was introduced at the monastery. Having nothing of their own, a little being sufficient for everyone, the saints devoted a large portion of their time to prayer, both in church and in their cells, and no small time was allotted to the reading of Holy Scripture. This reading was done “not in an elegant voice, nor for effect, but in a humble and mild voice. One reads, and another speaks of what is read.” They also read in private. addition to his duties as igumen, Saint Adrian also occupied himself with painting icons. When his holy soul longed for complete silence, he withdrew into the depths of the forest into the cell and chapel he had built one verst away from the monastery. years after the founding of the monastery, Elder Leonid reposed. Saint Adrian and the brethren buried him with reverence. The number of the brethren had increased during this time. They built three cells as dwellings, and a fourth for preparing food and baking bread. Adrian began to make plans for the construction of a large stone church, and he gathered a sum of money for this purpose. One year after the repose of Elder Leonid, during Great Lent of 1550, on the eve of the commemoration of the 42 Ammoreian Martyrs (March 6), armed robbers burst into the monastery and murdered Saint Adrian after beating him. holy relics of Saint Martyr Adrian were uncovered on December 17, 1626, solemnly transferred into the monastery church and placed in an open crypt by the right kliros (choir). Many miracles occurred at the grave of Saint Adrian. Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1501, Suprasl Icon miracles, Orthodox and Catholics, Suprasl, Poland (Narew River 6)
Suprasl; Suprasl monastery ; Icon of the Mother of God of Suprasl, Commemorated July 28 ; Holy Suprasl Icon of the Mother of God was in the Annunciation women’s monastery of Grodnensk governance at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It was glorified by many miracles and both Orthodox and Catholics piously reverence it. icon is one of the Hodegetria type.

Russia, Moscow, 1501, Capture of Kiev by Khan Mengli-Gyr
Crimean Khanate, Capture of Kiev by Khan Mengli-Gyr 1500 ; Mengli I Giray; Icon of the Mother of God of Minsk, Commemorated on August 13 ; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11;

Russia, Moscow, 1501, Korsun Icon floats from Kiev up to Minsk, Belarus
Russia, Crimea, 1500, Korsun Icon floats from Kiev up to Minsk ; Russia, Crimea, 988, Korsun Icon of the Mother of God transferred to Kiev by Vladimir the Great; Russia, Crimea, 988, Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God transferred to Korsun and Vladimir the Great; Vladimir the Great; Battle of Bassianae (Byzantine (Gothic, Roman) victory over the Huns) 469; war ended in 469. Marcellinus Comes shortly recorded "The head of Dinzic, son of Attila, king of the Huns, was brought to Constantinople".[14] The Chronicon Paschale recounts "Dinzirichus, Attila's son, was killed by Anagastes, general in Thrace. His head was brought to Constantinople, carried in procession through the Middle Street, and fixed on a pole at the Wooden Circus. The whole city turned out to look at it".[14] recounts events in c. 468: "Now after firm peace was established between Goths and Romans, the Goths found that what they received from the emperor was not sufficient for them. Furthermore, they were eager to display their wonted valor, and so began to plunder the neighboring peoples around them, first attacking the Sadagis[nb 1] who held the interior of Pannonia. When Dintzic, king of the Huns, a son of Attila, learned this, he gathered to him the few who still seemed to have remained under his sway, namely, the Ultzinzures[nb 2] the Angisciri[nb 3] the Bittugures[nb 4] and the Bardores[nb 5] Coming to Bassianae (see Battle of Bassianae), a city of Pannonia, he beleaguered it and began to plunder its territory. When the Goths learned this, they abandoned the expedition they had planned against the Sadagis and turned upon the Huns and drove them so ingloriously from their own land that those who remained have been in dread of the arms of the Goths from that time down to the present day."[22] Dengizich, Atilla's Son; Icon of the Mother of God of Minsk, Commemorated on August 13; Minsk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought by the holy Prince Vladimir from Korsun in the Crimea, and placed in Kiev’s Cathedral of the Tithes, where it remained for more than 500 years. The consecration of that church in 996 is commemorated on May 12. the year 1500, during the capture of Kiev by Khan Mengli-Gyr, a certain Tatar stripped the riza and other adornments from the Icon, and threw it into the Dniepr River. After a while it was found floating in the Svisloch River near Minsk. Surrounded by an extraordinary light, the Icon was brought to shore and taken to the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, in the castle of the Minsk appanage1 Princes. This occurred on August 13, 1500. Minsk Icon was taken to the Uniate Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in 1616, and was returned to the Orthodox in 1839. The church of the Holy Spirit Monastery then became an Orthodox cathedral, which was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Every Friday, an Akathist is served before the holy Icon, and many miracles have been recorded.2 the Icon, which is on the left side of the iconostasis, the Mother of God is depicted with the Pre-eternal Child on her left arm. The Icon is painted with egg tempra on a wooden board, and in 1852 it was covered with a silver riza, over the faces of the Mother of God and the Savior, Who holds an orb in His left hand. In some icons, both wear gilded crowns with precious stones. At the bottom of the riza is the following inscription: Icon of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus, was provided by the Grear Prince of the Russian land, Saint Vladimir in Kiev, in the Church of the Tithes, and after the devastation of Kiev by the Tatars, it appeared in Minsk on August 13, 1500 on the Svisloch River, and placed in the castle church. Later, it was transferred to the cathedral. In 1852, by the diligence of the Orthodox, it was covered with a new silver riza." Minsk Icon, which belongs to the Hodēgḗtria type, is more than four and a half feet tall, and three feet wide. Land or money given by a King or Prince to his younger children as a means of support. In his book БОГОМАТРЬ (The Mother of God), Eugene Poselyanin states that the Akathist to the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon is read before the Minsk Icon every Saturday. Icon of the Mother of God œJerusalem Commemorated on October 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1501, Minsk Icon, Belarus, Tartar threw into Dnipr, floated upstream to Minsk, d light, m miracles recorded
Russia, Belarus, 996, Icon of Minsk, Belarus (Svislocha River 1), brought from Korsun by Vladimir to Kiev Tithes, 500 yrs, 1500 Tartar threw into Dnipr, floated upstream to Minsk, d light, Uniate monastery 1616, Orthodox 1839, friday Akathist, many miracles recorded; Minsk, Belarus (White Rus) ; Icon of the Mother of God of Minsk, Commemorated on August 13; Minsk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was brought by the holy Prince Vladimir from Korsun in the Crimea, and placed in Kiev’s Cathedral of the Tithes, where it remained for more than 500 years. consecration of that church in 996 is commemorated on May 12. the year 1500, during the capture of Kiev by Khan Mengli-Gyr, a certain Tatar stripped the riza and other adornments from the Icon, and threw it into the Dniepr River. a while it was found floating in the Svisloch River near Minsk. by an extraordinary light, the Icon was brought to shore and taken to the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, in the castle of the Minsk appanage1 Princes. occurred on August 13, 1500. Minsk Icon was taken to the Uniate Monastery of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in 1616, was returned to the Orthodox in 1839. church of the Holy Spirit Monastery then became an Orthodox cathedral, which was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Every Friday, an Akathist is served before the holy Icon, and many miracles have been recorded.2 the Icon, which is on the left side of the iconostasis, the Mother of God is depicted with the Pre-eternal Child on her left arm. The Icon is painted with egg tempra on a wooden board, and in 1852 it was covered with a silver riza, over the faces of the Mother of God and the Savior, Who holds an orb in His left hand. In some icons, both wear gilded crowns with precious stones. At the bottom of the riza is the following inscription: Icon of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus, was provided by the Great Prince of the Russian land, Saint Vladimir in Kiev, in the Church of the Tithes, after the devastation of Kiev by the Tatars, it appeared in Minsk on August 13, 1500 on the Svisloch River, and placed in the castle church. it was transferred to the cathedral. 1852, by the diligence of the Orthodox, it was covered with a new silver riza." Minsk Icon, which belongs to the Hodēgḗtria type, is more than four and a half feet tall, and three feet wide. Land or money given by a King or Prince to his younger children as a means of support. In his book БОГОМАТРЬ (The Mother of God), Eugene Poselyanin states that the Akathist to the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon is read before the Minsk Icon every Saturday.

Russia, Moscow, 1501, Basil and Constantine, Rostov, both ruled lke Christians1230, under&to Horde, both incorrupt relics1501
Russia, Moscow, 1501, Basil and Constantine, Yaroslavl, Rostov, both ruled lke Christians 1230, under & to Horde, both incorrupt relics uncovered 1501; Yaroslav; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Prince of Yaroslavl, Commemorated on June 8; holy Princes Basil and Constantine Vsevolodovich of Yaroslavl. their youth they lost their father, Vsevolod, who fell in battle with the Tatars (Mongols). Basil, the elder brother, succeeded to the throne. As prince, he had to face a multitude of concerns, tasks and sorrows. city and the villages were devastated from the invasion of the Tatars, many households remained without shelter and food, and he had to concern himself about everything and about everyone. this, it was necessary to gain the good will of the Tatar Khan, and the holy prince more than once journeyed for this reason to the Horde. suffered also a family misfortune, the loss of his only son. his tribulations the holy prince suffered without complaint, and he ruled the princedom, like a true Christian. did not enter into disputes with other princes, he concerned himself with the unfortunate among his subjects, and he built churches. But soon his life, filled with many sorrows, exhausted the strength of the prince, and he took sick and died in the year 1249. him holy Prince Constantine succeeded to the throne. He strove to imitate his but to his great dismay, everywhere he saw pillage and murdering done by the Tatars. 1257 the Tatars fell upon Yaroslavl itself. The prince came out to fight the enemy, but here in this battle he gave up his life for his country. the year 1501 the incorrupt relics of the holy princes were uncovered and now rest in the Yaroslav cathedral.

Russia, Moscow, 1504-1554, Nilus oStolbensk Lake, strict fasting, stillness, never lie down, aroused enemy, woods fire, robbers
Russia, Tver, 1504-1554, Nilus oStolbensk Lake, Tver (Volga River Source), 1505 Savva oKrypetsk monk, Pskov, 10yrs, River Sereml&Ostashkova, 13yrs, incl devil as reptiles wild beasts, people came so led by voice tLake Seliger&Stolobnoye island, dense forest, dug cave from small hill, built hut, 26 yrs, strict fasting, stillness, never lie down, enemy aroused, fire to woods, flames out miraculously, robbers to Icon treasure in corner, blinded, repentence tears, many other miracles, refused gifts from impure, prepared his own grave, ltime of death ast Holy mysteries, censed icons and died; Stolbensk Lake; Venerable Nilus of Stolbensk Lake, Commemorated on December 7 ; Nilus of Stolobnoye was born into a peasant family in a small village of the Novgorod diocese. the year 1505 he was tonsured at the monastery of Saint Savva of Krypetsk (August 28) near Pskov. ten years in ascetic life at the monastery he set out to the River Sereml, on the side of the city of Ostashkova; for thirteen years he led a strict ascetic life in incessant struggle against the snares of the devil, who took on the appearance of reptiles and wild beasts. of the inhabitants of the surrounding area started coming to the monk for instruction, but this became burdensome for him and he prayed God to show him a place for deeds of quietude. after long prayer he heard a voice saying, “Nilus! Go to Lake Seliger. upon the island of Stolobnoye you can be saved!” Saint Nilus learned the location of this island from people who visited him. When he arrived there, he was astonished by its beauty. island, in the middle of the lake, was covered over by dense forest. Nilus found a small hill and dug out a cave, after a while he built a hut, in which he lived for twenty-six years. his exploits of strict fasting and stillness [ie. hesychia] added another —he never lay down to sleep, but permitted himself only a light nap, leaning on a prop set into the wall of the cell. pious life of the monk frequently roused the envy of the Enemy of mankind, evidenced itself through the spiteful action of the local inhabitants. time someone set fire to the woods on the island where stood the saint’s hut, the flames went out in miraculous manner upon reaching the hill. time robbers forced their way into the hut. The monk said to them: “All my treasure is in the corner of the cell.” In this corner stood an icon of the Mother of God, but the robbers began to search there for money and became blinded. Then with tears of repentance they begged for forgiveness. Nilus performed many other miracles. He would refuse gifts if the conscience of the one offering it to him was impure, or if they were in bodily impurity. of his approaching end, Saint Nilus prepared a grave for himself. the time of his death, an igumen from one of the nearby monasteries came to the island and communed him with the Holy Mysteries. the igumen’s departure, Saint Nilus prayed for the last time, censing around the holy icons and the cell, and surrendered his soul to the Lord on December 7, 1554. translation of his holy relics (now venerated at the church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign” in the city of Ostashkova) took place in the year 1667, with feastdays established both on the day of his death, and on May 27.

Russia, Moscow, 1505-1533, Vasili III, Basil IIIl, Adequate, consolidation, annexed Pskov, captured Smolensk
Moscow Prince, 1505-1533, Vasili III, Basil, Grand Prince of Moscow ; III Ivanovich (also Basil; 25 March 1479-3 December 1533) was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. He was the son of Ivan III Vasiliyevich and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil . had three brothers: Yuri, born in 1480, Simeon, born in 1487 and Andrei, born in 1490, as well as five sisters: Elena (born and died in 1474), Feodosiya (born and died in 1475), another Elena (born 1476), another Feodosiya (born 1485) and Eudoxia (born 1492).[1] is sometimes mockingly referred to as Vasili the Adequate due to his rule taking place between those of Ivan the Great and his son Ivan the Terrible, as well as the relative uneventfulness of his reign. affairs[edit] Map of Russia (Moscovia) published by Sigismund von Herberstein in 1549 III continued the policies of his father Ivan III and spent most of his reign consolidating Ivan's gains. Vasili annexed the last surviving autonomous provinces: Pskov in 1510, appanage of Volokolamsk in 1513, principalities of Ryazan in 1521 and Novgorod-Seversky in 1522. also took advantage of the difficult position of Sigismund of Poland to capture Smolensk, the great eastern fortress of Lithuania (siege started 1512, ended in 1514), chiefly through the aid of the rebel Lithuanian, Prince Mikhail Glinski, who provided him with artillery and engineers. The loss of Smolensk was an important injury inflicted by Russia on Lithuania in the course of the Russo-Lithuanian Wars and only the exigencies of Sigismund compelled him to acquiesce in its surrender (1522).[2] 1521 Vasili received an emissary of the neighboring Iranian Safavid Empire, sent by Shah Ismail I whose ambitions were to construct an Irano-Russian alliance against the common enemy, the Ottoman Empire.[3] was equally successful against the Crimean Khanate. Although in 1519 he was obliged to buy off the Crimean khan, Mehmed I Giray, under the very walls of Moscow, towards the end of his reign he established Russian influence on the Volga. In 1531-“32 he placed the pretender Cangali khan on the throne of Khanate of Kazan.[2] was the first grand-duke of Moscow who adopted the title of tsar and the double-headed eagle of the Byzantine Empire.[2] affairs[edit] Vasili Basil of Caesarea and prince Vasili III of Russia. Icon internal policy, Vasili III enjoyed the support of the Church in his struggle with the feudal opposition. In 1521, metropolitan Varlaam was banished for refusing to participate in Vasili's fight against an appanage prince, Vasili Ivanovich Shemyachich. Rurikid princes Vasili Shuisky and Ivan Vorotynsky were also sent into exile. The diplomat and statesman, Ivan Bersen-Beklemishev, was executed in 1525 for criticizing Vasili's policies. Maximus the Greek (publicist), Vassian Patrikeyev (statesman) and others were sentenced for the same reason in 1525 and 1531. During the reign of Vasili III, the landownership of the gentry increased, while authorities actively tried to limit immunities and privileges of boyars and the nobility. life[edit] Church of Ascension was built by Vasili III to commemorate the birth of his heir. 1526 when he was 47 years old, Vasili had been married to Solomonia Saburova for over 20 years with no heir to his throne being produced. Conscious of her husband's disappointment, Solomonia tried to remedy this by consulting sorcerers and going on pilgrimages. When this proved unsuccessful, Vasili consulted the boyars, announcing that he did not trust his two brothers to handle Russia's affairs. boyars suggested that he take a new wife, and despite much opposition from the clergy, he divorced his barren wife and married Princess Elena Glinskaya, the daughter of a Serbian princess and niece of his friend Michael Glinski. many of the boyars approved of his choice, as Elena was of Catholic upbringing. Vasili was so smitten that he defied Russian social norms and trimmed his beard to appear younger. After three days of matrimonial festivity, the couple consummated their marriage, though initially it appeared that Elena was as sterile as Solomonia. Russian populace began to suspect this was a sign of God's disapproval of the marriage. However, to the great joy of Vasili and the populace, the new tsaritsa gave birth to a son, who would succeed him as Ivan IV. Three years later, a second son, Yuri, was born.[1] to a story, Solomonia Saburova also bore a son in the convent where she had been confined, just several months after the controversial divorce. out hunting on horseback near Volokolamsk, Vasili felt a great pain in his right hip, the result of an abscess. He was transported to the village of Kolp, where he was visited by two German doctors who were unable to stop the infection with conventional remedies. that his time was short, Vasili requested to be returned to Moscow, where he was kept in the Saint Joseph Cathedral along the way. By 25 November 1533, Vasili reached Moscow and asked to be made a monk before dying. Taking on the name Varlaam, Vasili died at midnight, 4 December 1533.[1] Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Suprasl, Commemorated July 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Voroninsk, Commemorated on July 28; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; St Macarius of Oredezhsk, Commemorated on August 9 ; Blessed Laurence the Fool-For-Christ at Kaluga, Commemorated August 10 ; St Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God "Virgin of Tenderness" of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated August 26 ; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂ¢Ã‚Â€Ã‚ÂœTendernessÃƒÂ¢Ã‚Â€Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on October 7 ; Righteous Child Artemius of Verkola, Commemorated on October 20; Translation of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi the Wonderworker of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 23; Uncovering of the relics of St Andrew the Prince of Smolensk, Commemorated on October 27; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7; Blessed John ÃƒÂ¢Ã‚Â€Ã‚Âœthe HairyÃƒÂ¢Ã‚Â€Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ and Fool-For-Christ at Rostov, Commemorated on November 12; St Philip the Abbot of Irap Near Novgorod, Commemorated on November 14 ; St Sergius of Malopinega, Commemorated on November 16; Finding of the relics of Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on November 19; Venerable Simon the Abbot of Soiga Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on November 24; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Siya, Novgorod, Commemorated on December 7; Venerable Nilus of Stolbensk Lake, Commemorated on December 7; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza, Commemorated on December 12 ; Venerable Tryphon the Abbot of Pechenga (Kolsk), Commemorated on December 15; St Sophia, Commemorated on December 16; St Pachomius of Keno Lake, Commemorated on January 7; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on January 9; Venerable Michael the Fool-for-Christ of the Klops Monastery, Novgorod, Commemorated on January 11; St Barlaam of Keretsk, Commemorated on January 15; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18; Venerable Macarius the Deacon of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on January 19; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated on January 21; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated on January 23; Martyr John of Kazan, Commemorated on January 24; Venerable Theodosius the Abbot of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 28; Venerable Cyril the Abbot and Wonderworker of Novoezersk, Novgorod, Commemorated on February 4; Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9; Venerable Longinus of Koryazhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on February 10; Beheading of the Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on February 20; Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on March 5; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Venerable Theonas the Archbishop of Thessalonica, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Zosimas the Abbot of Vorbozomsk, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Daniel the Abbot of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski, Commemorated on April 7; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of Murom, Commemorated on April 12; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17; St Gerasimus of Boldino, Commemorated on May 1; Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovits, Commemorated on May 7 ; Repose of the Venerable Nilus the Abbot of Sora, Commemorated on May 7; Virginmartyr Glyceria of Novgorod, Commemorated on May 13; Venerable Laurence the Abbot of Komel (Vologda), Commemorated on May 16; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂœVirgin of TendernessÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ from the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 21 ; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Euthymius the Archimandrite of Suzdal, Commemorated on July 4 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1505-1542, Sophia 0Suzdal, chosen f500 bride Prince Basil, Time oTroubles succession crisis, wworkng Nun
Russia, Vladimir, 1505-1542, Sophia oSuzdal (Southern Valley, Ukhtoma (Nerl) River 5), mother died, raised by Aunt Eudokia, 1505 chosen f500 bride Prince Basil, son oIvanIII, married aDormition C Moscow Kremlin, first boyer family princess, unable tConceive, brothers wInherit so Basil imprisoned them, extinction Rurikid dynasty & Time oTroubles succession crisis, despite her radiant beauty, exemplary morals, mild character Basil divorced her, then married daughter Lithuanian Prince, condemned by Patriarchs, P oJerusalem predicted Cruel Child be born, Ivan tTerrible born 1530, best Russian people stood fSophia, Met Maximos removed imprisoned, a first, S forced tbNun, aNativity monastery Moscow, tProtection m Suzdal, 17yrs ascetic, died 1542, rumors oHoliness, called Monastic martyr, wonderworker, graveside miracle cures, 1609 Pole invasion Suzdal saved she appeared frightful form scaring Lisovsky, healings 1610 blind woman, 1646 paralyzed girl, amnesia woman, 1647 blind Nun, & deaf woman, 1648 paralized woman, 1649 blind woman, 1650 local venoration, her wonderworking icon, 1916 Orthodox ven, 2007 Church-wide ven, relics uncovered 1995; Suzdal (Southern Valley) ; St Sophia, Commemorated December 16 ; Sophia (in the world Great Princess Solomonia Yurievna) was born around 1490, daughter of the noble Yuri Saburov. mother died when she was young, and she was raised by her aunt Eudokia (her father's sister). the year 1505 she was chosen as the bride of the heir to the throne, the future Great Prince Basil III. was selected from among 500 girls from all over the country, who were presented at court for this purpose. wedding of Prince Basil and Solomonia took place on September 4, 1505, in the presence of the groom's father, Ivan III. Simon blessed the couple at the Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. she married Basil, her father was raised to the rank of boyar. the first time in Moscow's history, a Great Prince took neither a foreign princess nor a Russian princess as his wife, a bride who came from a boyar family. twenty years, it became apparent that Solomonia was unable to conceive a child. understood perfectly that if he died childless his brothers would inherit the throne. order to preclude that possibility, they were imprisoned or forbidden to marry until his own son was born. the end, this led to the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty, to the succession crisis known as the Time of Troubles. her radiant beauty, exemplary morals, and mild character, Solomonia's failure to produce an heir must have weighed upon Basil's relations with his wife, who turned to foreign doctors for help. 1525, the Great Prince decided to divorce Solomonia, with the approval of Metropolitan Daniel and the boyars, other Church authorities declared the divorce was unlawful. order to obtain an heir, Great Prince Basil decided to marry Elena Glinska, the daughter of the Lithuanian prince Basil Glinsky. action of the Great Prince Basil was condemned by all the Patriarchs, Patriarch Mark of Jerusalem even predicted that of this second marriage a "cruel child" would be born, who would fill Russia with blood and horrors. the Terrible was born in 1530, and Basil's second son, Yuri, was feeble-minded. the best Russian people of that time stood up for the blameless and miserable Great Princess: Metropolitan Barlaam, Saint Maximos the Greek (January 21) and others. all their protests were in vain. the first time in Russian history, a Great Prince removed a Metropolitan from office and imprisoned him in a monastery. Maximos was not allowed to serve, and others were persecuted as well. Andrew Kurbsky called Princess Solomonia "innocent and holy." November 25, 1525 Basil ordered Solomonia to become a nun. tonsured with the name Sophia, she was sent under guard to the Nativity Monastery in Moscow. she was moved to the Protection Monastery in Suzdal, one of the many churches established by Basil and his wife, where prayers were offered for the birth of an heir. her ascetical struggles, Saint Sophia banished all worldly thoughts from her heart, and dedicated herself entirely to God. reposed on December 18, 1542, after living as a nun for seventeen years. concerning Sophia's holiness quickly spread throughout Russia. a letter to Tsar Ivan, Prince Andrew Kurbsky calls the Right-believing Princess “a Monastic Martyr.” a manuscript of the Lives of the Saints she is called “Holy Venerable Princess Sophia the Nun, the Wonderworker, who dwelt in the Protection Monastery.” the reign of Tsar Theodore (the son of Ivan the Terrible) she was revered as a Saint. Irene sent to Suzdal, “to the Great Princess Solomonia, also called Sophia, a velvet veil depicting the Savior and other Saints.” Joseph wrote to Archbishop Serapion of Suzdal instructing him to have Panikhidas and Molebens served for the Nun Sophia. sacristan Ananias of Suzdal speaks of several miraculous cures at her grave. 1609, during an invasion by the Poles, she saved Suzdal from destruction, appearing in a frightful form to the Polish military commander Lisovsky. with fear, he swore to spare the city and monastery. 1610 a peasant woman named Theodosia was healed after being afflicted with blindness for a year and a half. 1646 a girl, Irene Popova, was healed after being paralyzed for several years. same summer a woman named Juliana was cured of amnesia. Nun Theodora was healed in 1647 after being blind for two and a half months. same year Julitta Ivanova, a resident of the village of Kideksha, was healed after being deaf for two years. of Suzdal was healed of paralysis in 1648 after several years. 1649 the Nun Alexandra (Trusov) of the Protection Monastery was healed after losing her sight. other miracles took place, and continue to take place, through the intercession of Saint Sophia. 1650, Patriarch Joseph told the Archbishop of Suzdal to permit her local veneration as a Saint. the middle of the XVIII century, the question of her canonization arose. icon, painted in the XVII century, has survived to this day and is considered a wonderworking icon. with the blessing of the Holy Synod, her name was included in the Orthodox Church Calendar in 1916. 2007, her Church-wide veneration took place, and her Service was included in the Menaion. Sophia's tomb in the Protection Monastery was highly revered. August 14, 1995, the solemn uncovering of her relics took place. On that day, a Moleben was served at her tomb. With the blessing of Metropolitan Eulogios, the Church Archaeological Commission made excavations, and the Saint's relics were found and transferred to the Protection Cathedral. Sophia is also commemorated on June 23, the Synaxis of the Saints of Vladimir.

Russia, Moscow, 1505-1556, Maximus tGreek, Translated Psalms into Slavonic, suffered unjust persecution patiently, grave grace
Greece, 1505-1556, Maximus tGreek, fArta, Epirus, Greece (Arta Bridge, Arachthos River 3), rich dignatary's son, studied languages sciences iEurope, Paris Florence Venice, tAthos Vatopedi m, there studied ancient manuscripts left there by Emperors Monks Andronicus Paleologos&John Kantakuzenos, Moscow GP Basil III translator tSlavic, Anotated Psalms first, some imperfections but Met liked his work, New Met things changed, Met Daniel wanted Max to translate history containing Arius' letters, Max refused, rift between them, Max continued Russia spiritual enlightenment, letters against moslems, Roman Catholics, and Pagans, translated Chrysostom's Matthew&John commentaries, +Own works, GP wanted divorce but Max sent him advice not to yield bestial passions, Prince never forgave Max, locked in prison, much suffering, translation mistakes regarded deliberate, difficult but Max granted the great mercy of God, Angel appeared, endure father, temporary pain for eternal torments deliverance, wrote present cannon on prison wall, as manna from heaven, fill my soul with Holy Spirit, that through HS I may serve thee always, after 6yrs sent tTver, wrote patience suffering unjustly, after 20 yrs aTver excommunication removed, tTrinity Sergiev for rest of life, reposed 1556, buried there, many grace manifistations, on Radonezh Saints Icon Arta, Greece (Arachthos River 3) Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated January 21 ; Maximus the Greek was the son of a rich Greek dignitary in the city of Arta (Epiros), he received a splendid education. his youth he travelled widely and he studied languages and sciences (i.e. intellectual disciplines) in Europe, spending time in Paris, Florence, and Venice. returning to his native land, he went to Athos and became a monk at the Vatopedi monastery. And with enthusiasm he studied ancient manuscripts left on Athos by the Byzantine Emperors Andronicus Paleologos and John Kantakuzenos (who became monks). this period the Moscow Great Prince Basil III (1505-1533) wanted to make an inventory of the Greek manuscripts and books of his mother, Sophia Paleologina, he asked the Protos of the Holy Mountain, Igumen Simeon, to send him a translator. Maximus was chosen to go to Moscow, he had been brought up on secular and ecclesiastical books from his youth. his arrival, he was asked to translate patristic and liturgical books into Slavonic, with the Annotated Psalter. Maximus tried to fulfill his task, but since Slavonic was not his native language, there were certain imprecisions in the translations. Barlaam of Moscow highly valued the work of Saint Maximus, when the See of Moscow was occupied by Metropolitan Daniel, the situation changed. new Metropolitan ordered Saint Maximus to translate the Church History of Theodoritus of Cyrrhus into Slavonic. Maximus absolutely refused this commission, out that “in this history are included letters of the heretic Arius, and this might present danger for the semi-literate.” refusal caused a rift between Maximus and the Metropolitan. their differences, Saint Maximus continued to labor for the spiritual enlightenment of Rus. wrote letters against Moslems, Roman Catholics, and pagans. translated Saint John Chrysostom’s Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John, he also wrote several works of his own. the Great Prince wished to divorce his wife Solomonia because of her infertility, dauntless confessor Maximus sent the Prince his “Instructive Chapters on Initiating Right Belief,” which he persuasively demonstrated that the Prince was obliged not to yield to bestial passions. Prince never forgave Maximus for his audacity, and locked Saint Maximus in prison. that moment a new period began in the life of the monk, filled with much suffering. in his translations were regarded as deliberate and intentional corruptions of the text by Saint Maximus. was difficult for him in prison, in his sufferings the saint also gained the great mercy of God. angel appeared to him and said, “Endure, Abba! Through this temporary pain you will be delivered from eternal torments.” prison the Elder wrote a Canon to the Holy Spirit in charcoal upon a wall, even at present is read in the Church: “Just as Israel was nourished with manna in the wilderness of old, so Master, fill my soul with the All-Holy Spirit, that through Him I may serve Thee always....” six years, Saint Maximus was set free from prison and sent to Tver. he lived under the supervision of the good-natured Bishop Acacius, who dealt kindly with guiltless sufferer. saint then wrote in his autobiography: “While I was locked in prison and grieving, I consoled and strengthened myself with patience. ” Here are some more words from this vivid text: “Neither grieve, nor be sad, beloved soul, that you have suffered unjustly, for it behooves you to accept all for your benefit.” after twenty years at Tver did they decide to let Maximus live freely, and remove the church excommunication. Maximus, now about seventy years of age, spent the final years of his life at the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. and work took their toil on his health, his spirit remained vigorous, he continued with his work. with his cell-attendant and disciple Nilus, the saint translated the Psalter from Greek into Slavonic. Maximus reposed on January 21, 1556. was buried at the northwest wall of the Holy Spirit church of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. manifestations of grace took place at the grave of Saint Maximus, a Troparion and Kontakion were composed in his honor. Maximus is depicted on the icon of the Synaxis of the Saints of Radonezh (July 6).

Russia, Moscow, 1505-1583, Trypphon oPechenga&Kola, early age resolve tLapplanders, gradually m converted by kindness meekness
Russia, Vologda, 1505-1583, Trypphon oPechenga and Kola, fNovgorod governia, priestly family, resolved go tLaplanders from early age, fish vendor accounts, heard voice in forest, this not your place, tKola penninsula, Pechenga River, wLapps lived, trading wThem, learned their pagan beliefs, studied Lapp language, they mistrust, hardships, hostility, beatings, gradually through kind meekness, many converted, church built help Novgorod Archbishop, wTheodoretos, 1532 founded Pechenga-Trinity M, Ivan tTerrible helped him, died 1583 a98, 1589 Swedes destroyed m, later m transferred tKola Penninsula, there monastery church named fTryphon, Tryphon's burial place at destroyed P-T m not forgotten, 1708 Sretensky Church there, then 1886 monastery there, church destroyed 1944, monastery restoration 2009-12 new church, miracles by invoking Tryphon with faith, rescued sailors, calmed storms, healed deafness, blindness & paralysis; Venerable Tryphon the Abbot of Pechenga (Kolsk), Commemorated on December 15 ; Tryphon of Pechenga and Kola (Mētrophánēs in the world), was born in the Novgorod governia into a priestly family. pious parents raised their son in the fear of God. his early years Tryphon had resolved to devote his life to apostolic deeds and to go to the pagan Laplanders to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. had heard of them only through the accounts of fish vendors. while praying in the forest he had heard a voice, “Tryphon, this is not your place. An inhospitable and thirsting land awaits you.” his parental home, the Saint went out to the Kola Peninsula and halted on the banks of the Pechenga River, where the Lapps lived. he began to trade with them. First the Saint acquainted himself with the pagan beliefs of those people and studied their language, then he began to preach the Christian Faith to them. Lapps listened to his words with great mistrust. suffered many hardships, enduring hostility and even beatings. gradually, through his wise and kindly words and meekness, many were converted to Christ. the blessing of Archbishop Makarios of Novogord, Tryphon and Saint Theodóretos (August 17) built a church for the new converts. 1532 he founded the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery for those who were zealous for the monastic life, “on the cold sea, on the frontier of Murmansk.” Ivan the Terrible helped him and richly endowed the Monastery. Enlightener of the Lapps went to the Lord in 1583 at the age of 98, after living in Lapland for almost 70 years. veneration of Saint Tryphon began soon after his death. 1589, the Swedes destroyed the Pechenga monastery. by order of Tsar Theodore, the Monastery was transferred to the Kola Peninsula. the site of the restored Monastery a church was built and named for Saint Tryphon. Swedes destroyed Pechenga Monastery in 1589, but the Saint's burial place under the altar was not forgotten. 1708-1709 the Sretensky church was built here, which the Monastery was revived in 1886. church was destroyed again in 1944, but after the restoration of the Monastery in 2009-2012 a new church was built over the Saint's relics. who invoke Saint Tryphon with faith have received his miraculous help. during his lifetime he rescued shipwrecked sailors, calmed storms at sea, and healed those who suffered from deafness, blindness, and paralysis.

Russia, Moscow, 1510-1537, Philip, Abbot of Irap near Novgorod, disciple of Cornelius of Kormel
Russia, Vologda, Mologda, 1510-1537, Philip, Abbot of Irap near Novgorod, disciple of Cornelius of Kormel, founder Irap Wilderness Monastery, orphan near Komel Monastery, accepted by Cornelius, monk Philip, priest, withdrew near White Lake, built Irapa River Chapel near Cherepovets, monks flock+Laity, lived there 15 yrs &died 1536, age 45, relics, icon over grave, Kransnoborsk Phillippov Monastery there; Irap near Novgorod, 45 versts from Cherepovets, Yagorba Mouth, Sheksna River 1 , Mologa, Vologda Cherepovets ; Saint Philip, Abbot of Irap Near Novgorod, Commemorated on November 14; Philip, Abbot of Irap near Novgorod, in the world Theophilus, was the founder of the Irap wilderness-monastery. an orphan and not remembering his parents, the twelve-year-old Theophilus wandered about and eventually settled near the Komel monastery and lived on charity. Cornelius (May 19) accepted the pious youth into the monastery and after three years tonsured him a monk with the name Philip. humble and hard-working, at the request of the brethren he was ordained to the priesthood. striving for greater efforts led him to withdraw to the outskirts of White Lake. having the patronage of Prince Andrew Sheleshpansky, who had allotted him land near the River Irapa, 45 versts from Cherepovets, the monk built a chapel in the Name of the Most Holy Trinity and a cell for himself. about the holy wilderness-dweller spread throughout all the surrounding area, and monks began to flock to him. laity also went to him for spiritual counsel, and Saint Philip would instruct them in the virtues which those living in the world ought to possess. at the place of the chapel a church was built in the Name of the Holy Life-Creating Trinity. Philip dwelt in the wilderness for fifteen years and died in 1537 at age 45. relics were placed beneath a crypt in the Trinity temple. Over his grave was an icon, painted by the monk Theodosius. Soon after the death of Saint Philip, the Krasnoborsk Philippov monastery arose on the place of his struggles. celebration of Saint Philip was established at the end of the sixteenth century. The manuscript service to him dates from the end of the sixteenth century. Venerable Cornelius, Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Cornelius of Komel was descended from the boyar (noble) family Kriukov. His brother Lukian served at the court of the Great Prince of Moscow. When Lukian, who was getting old, decided to go to the monastery of Saint Cyril of White Lake, he was followed by Cornelius, who longed for the solitary life from a young age. he was tonsured, the young Cornelius began his monastic endeavors with a difficult obedience: he wore heavy chains in the bakery. In his spare time he occupied himself with copying church books. Because of his love for solitude, Saint Cornelius later left the White Lake monastery, and he visited Rostov. Novgorod, Saint Gennadius (December 4) attempted to hold on to him, but the ascetic settled in a desolate spot near Novgorod. When people began to visit here also, he moved to the Tver Sabbatiev wilderness monastery. Later, in 1497, he settled in the Komel forest, not far from Vologda, where he built a cell. Monks began to gather around the cell of Saint Cornelius. In 1501 he built a wooden church in honor of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. In that year Metropolitan Simon ordained him as hieromonk. 1512, when the number of brethren had grown, the saint built a stone church and he compiled a Rule for the brethren, based on the Rules of Saints Joseph of Volokolamsk and Nilus of Sora. This was the third monastic Rule written by Russian saints. Cornelius of Komel was distinguished by his charity toward the unfortunate, and during a famine he built an orphanage in the monastery courtyard. Because of his love for the poor and orphaned, Saint Cornelius was often granted visions of Saint Anthony the Great (January 17), for whom he had a special reverence. He constructed a church at his monastery in honor of this great ascetic. saint’s strictness of life provoked some of the brethren to grumbling, and Saint Cornelius was compelled to leave the monastery. He settled at Lake Sursk, 70 versts from his monastery. At times he also lived at the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Interceding for the monks of the Korniliev monastery, Great Prince Basil Ivanovich urged the saint to return to his own monastery. The ascetic gave in, and having returned to his own monastery, he transferred its guidance to his disciple Laurence and shut himself in his cell. a Tatar incursion into the Vologda region Saint Cornelius went with the monks to the outskirts of White Lake. The saint died at the age of eighty-two on May 19, 1537. Many disciples of Saint Cornelius were also glorified for their holiness of life: Saints Gennadius of Liubimograd (January 23), Cyril of New Lake (February 4), Herodion of Iloezersk (September 28), Adrian of Poshekhonye (March 5), Laurence and Cassian of Komel (May 16). commemoration of Saint Cornelius (May 19) was established on January 25, 1600 by Patriarch Job and a council of bishops. The Life of the saint was written by his disciple Nathaniel in the year 1589. There is a service and an encomium to the saint, and the Rule of Saint Cornelius has been preserved. Cornelius is also commemorated at the Synaxis of the Saints of Vologda (Third Sunday after Pentecost); and at the Synaxis of the Saints of Tver (the Sunday after June 28).

Russia, Moscow, 1510-1557, Nicephorus oVazheozersk, disciple Alex oSvir&Cyril New Lake, estab monastery wGennadius aVazhe Lake
Vologda, 1510-1557, Nicephorus oVazheozersk, Vologda, tAlexander of Svir 1510, 1518 visit tCyril oNew Lake, Cyril came by boat and woke resting N to spend 8days spiritual converse, tKiev Caves relics, returned settled Vazhe Lake, wGennadius, N built Church&Monastery, there till 1557 death; Vazheozersk; Saints Gennadius and Nicephorus of Vazhe Lake in Vologda; his return, and with the blessing of Saint Alexander, he settled at Vazhe Lake, where Saint Gennadius pursued asceticism. Saint Nicephorus built the Church of the Transfiguration and a monastery, where he lived until his own death on February 9, 1557. Venerable Nicephorus of Vazheozersk, Commemorated on February 9; Nicephorus of Vazhe Lake came to Saint Alexander of Svir (April 17) in the year 1510 and was warmly received by him. 1518 he made a visit, with the blessing of his mentor, to Saint Cyril of New Lake (February 4). Nicephorus approached New Lake, he was fatigued by his long journey and lay down in the darkness and fell asleep. Cyril hastened by boat to row across the lake and awoke him. Nicephorus spent eight days in spiritual conversation with the saint. then journeyed to Kiev to venerate the relics of the saints of the Caves. his return, and with the blessing of Saint Alexander, he settled at Vazhe Lake, Saint Gennadius pursued asceticism. Nicephorus built the Church of the Transfiguration and a monastery, where he lived until his own death. the second half of the nineteenth century, in the Zadne-Nikiforov wilderness, a church was built and dedicated to Saints Nicephorus and Gennadius of Vazhe Lake. relics of the saints were put to rest in a hidden place in the monastery they founded.

Russia, Moscow, 1511-1521, Metropltn, Varlaam, austere, unsycophantic to Vasily III, his conscience, deposed by V o divorce
Russia, Moscow, 1511-1521, Patriarch, Varlaam, Metropolitan of Moscow; was Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' from 1511 to 1521. From 1506 he was archimandrite of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. was selected by Grand Prince Vasily III on July 27, 1511 and consecrated Metropolitan on August 3, 1511. was said to be austere, never sycophantic to the grand prince, and never one to do anything against his own conscience. He was of the Non-possessors, those who opposed ecclesiastical land-ownership, although that group had been defeated at earlier church councils. He also protected Maximus the Greek, who was brought to Moscow to translate Greek texts. 1515, Varlaam consecrated the main church of the Khutyn Monastery just outside Novgorod the Great (the archiepiscopal see being vacant from 1509). That same year, he consecrated the Tikhvin Monastery, also in the Novgorodian Eparchy. to a dispute with Vasily III, who wished to divorce his wife and remarry, a policy which the metropolitan opposed, Varlaam was removed from office on December 17, 1521. He was initially confined in shackles in the Kyrilo-Beloozersky Monastery north of Moscow, but was soon removed to the Spaso-Kamenyi Monastery in Vologda where he died sometime in 1522.[1] Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated on January 21;

Russia, Moscow, 1512, Crimean Tartar War at Kaluga, Laurence, Fool for Christ
Crimean Tartar War at Kaluga 1512; Blessed Laurence the Fool-For-Christ at Kaluga, Commemorated on August 10; Laurence, the Fool-for-Christ and Wonderworker of Kaluga, lived at the beginning of the XVI century at a distance of half a verst from old Kaluga, near a forest church dedicated to the Nativity of Christ, set upon a high hill. was a long underground entrance from his dwelling place to the church, where he attended services. He also lived at the home of the Kaluga Prince Simeon. It is thought that Blessed Laurence was descended from the noble Khitrov family, since his name is at the head of their memorial at the Peremyshl’sk Liutykov Monastery in the Kaluga diocese. Laurence went barefoot both winter and summer, dressed in a shirt and sheepskin coat. By his ascetical struggles he had risen to such heights of virtue that during his lifetime, he was glorified by gifts of grace. He healed many diseases of the eyes through his prayers. the Crimean Tatars attacked Kaluga in May 1512, Blessed Laurence, then in the Prince's home, suddenly shouted in a loud voice: “Give me my sharp axe, for the curs are attacking Prince Simeon and I must defend him!” Saying this, he grabbed the axe and left. Suddenly, he was on board a ship next to the Prince. The Holy Fool Laurence inspired and encouraged the soldiers, and at that very hour they defeated the enemy. he is depicted on icons with an axe in his right hand, set upon a long handle. It is certain that Prince Simeon (+ 1518), who owed his life to Blessed Laurence, built a monastery on the site of the Saint’s ascetical struggles and dedicated it to him. Laurence reposed on August 10, 1515, on his Name Day. The Saint is also commemorated on July 8, perhaps in remembrance of his first posthumous miracle in Kaluga in 1621.1 that year, the paralyzed boyar Lev Andreevich Kologrivov, who could not move his hands and legs, and was unable to speak, was placed near the tomb of Saint Laurence. During a Moleben, as the Gospel was read, the paralyzed man spoke and began to believe. Raising his right hand, he made the Sign of the Cross; then he stood up, went to the tomb and attached himself to it. By the end of the Moleben, he was able to speak normally, and became perfectly healthy. Laurence seems to have been glorified in the second half of the XVI century. Tsar Ivan the Terrible wrote the following on a deed granting land to the monastery in 1565: “To the Monastery of the Nativity of Christ, where Laurence, the Fool-for-Christ lies." the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, the intercession of Blessed Lawrence for his native land was shown in a vivid manner. Kaluga became "the limit of the (French) offensive and the beginning of the enemy's retreat and destruction," according to an inscription on the Maloyaroslavets monument commemorating the battle on October 12, 1812. August 2018, some of Saint Laurence's relics were discovered in a storeroom of the Moscow Central Museum of the Armed Forces. On August 10/23, a portion of the holy relics was given to the Monastery in Kaluga where the body of Saint Laurence was once buried.

Russia, Moscow, 1512-1515, Laurence, Fool f Christ, Kaluga, sharp axe, suddenly board prince's ship, inspired soldiers
Russia, Kaluga,1512, Laurence, Fool for Christ at Kaluga; Crimean Tartar War at Kaluga 1512; Blessed Laurence the Fool-For-Christ at Kaluga, Commemorated on August 10; Laurence, the Fool-for-Christ and Wonderworker of Kaluga, lived at the beginning of the XVI century at a distance of half a verst from old Kaluga, near a forest church dedicated to the Nativity of Christ, set upon a high hill. was a long underground entrance from his dwelling place to the church, where he attended services. He also lived at the home of the Kaluga Prince Simeon. It is thought that Blessed Laurence was descended from the noble Khitrov family, since his name is at the head of their memorial at the Peremyshl’sk Liutykov Monastery in the Kaluga diocese. Laurence went barefoot both winter and summer, dressed in a shirt and sheepskin coat. By his ascetical struggles he had risen to such heights of virtue that during his lifetime, he was glorified by gifts of grace. He healed many diseases of the eyes through his prayers. the Crimean Tatars attacked Kaluga in May 1512, Blessed Laurence, then in the Prince's home, suddenly shouted in a loud voice: “Give me my sharp axe, for the curs are attacking Prince Simeon and I must defend him!” Saying this, he grabbed the axe and left. Suddenly, he was on board a ship next to the Prince. The Holy Fool Laurence inspired and encouraged the soldiers, and at that very hour they defeated the enemy. he is depicted on icons with an axe in his right hand, set upon a long handle. It is certain that Prince Simeon (+ 1518), who owed his life to Blessed Laurence, built a monastery on the site of the Saint’s ascetical struggles and dedicated it to him. Laurence reposed on August 10, 1515, on his Name Day. The Saint is also commemorated on July 8, perhaps in remembrance of his first posthumous miracle in Kaluga in 1621.1 that year, the paralyzed boyar Lev Andreevich Kologrivov, who could not move his hands and legs, and was unable to speak, was placed near the tomb of Saint Laurence. During a Moleben, as the Gospel was read, the paralyzed man spoke and began to believe. Raising his right hand, he made the Sign of the Cross; then he stood up, went to the tomb and attached himself to it. By the end of the Moleben, he was able to speak normally, and became perfectly healthy. Laurence seems to have been glorified in the second half of the XVI century. Tsar Ivan the Terrible wrote the following on a deed granting land to the monastery in 1565: “To the Monastery of the Nativity of Christ, where Laurence, the Fool-for-Christ lies." the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, the intercession of Blessed Lawrence for his native land was shown in a vivid manner. Kaluga became "the limit of the (French) offensive and the beginning of the enemy's retreat and destruction," according to an inscription on the Maloyaroslavets monument commemorating the battle on October 12, 1812. August 2018, some of Saint Laurence's relics were discovered in a storeroom of the Moscow Central Museum of the Armed Forces. On August 10/23, a portion of the holy relics was given to the Monastery in Kaluga where the body of Saint Laurence was once buried.

Russia, Moscow, 1513-1555, Sergius of Malopinyega, converted Chud people, virtuous, schema
Russia, Vologda, 1513-1555, Sergius of Malopinyega, converted Chud people, k soul, p mind, c heart, humility, q strength, l truth, merciful t poor, took the schema; Mouth of the Pinyega, Malopinyega District (Pinyega River and Northern Dvina 5) Malopinyega probably somewhere near here Saint Sergius of Malopinega, Commemorated on November 16; Sergius of Malopinega (in the world Simeon), was born in 1493. father, Markian Stephanovich Nekliud, was descended from Novgorod nobles. Together with other fellow citizens they left their native-place setting off “to the side of the icy sea,” when Great Novgorod was finally subjugated to the power of Moscow by Ivan III. in the northlands, Markian Stephanovich married Apollinaria, a maiden from a rich and noble family. The pious spouses raised their son Simeon in the fear of God, they gave him a fine education, and inculcated in him the love for “book-learning.” grown old, Markian and Apollinaria by mutual agreement went to monasteries. Markian (in monasticism Matthew) was afterwards igumen of the Resurrection monastery in the city of Keurola. Apollinaria died a schemanun with the name Pelagia. was ordained presbyter at the canonical age of thirty to serve the churches of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Great Martyr George in the Malopinega district. holy presbyter Simeon with love finished his pastoral service at age sixty-two. With apostolic zeal he labored over the conversion of the pagan Chud people. The rare personal qualities of the pastor contributed much to the success of his preaching. As the Chronicle notes, he possessed a kindly soul and pure mind, a courageous heart, humility and quiet strength, love for truth, and was merciful to the poor to the point of self-denial. the final year of his life, the monk took the schema with the name Sergius and died on November 16, 1585. Following the saint’s final instructions, they buried him near the altar of the Transfiguration church. Later, a chapel was built over his grave. The old hand-written manuscript tells about the numerous miracles which occurred at the grave of the saint.

Russia, Moscow, 1514, Return of Smolensk to Russia from Lithuania
Russia, Moscow, 1514, Return of Smolensk to Russia; Appearance of the Smolensk œDirectress Icon of the Mother of God brought from Constantinople, Commemorated on July 28;

Russia, Moscow, 1515, David oSerpukhov, Kaluga (Nara River Mouth and Oka River 6), built Davidov Wilderness Monastery
Russia, Kaluga, 1515, David oSerpukhov, Kaluga (Nara River Mouth and Oka River 6), built Davidov Wilderness Monastery; Serpukhov; Saint David of Serpukhov, Commemorated on October 18; David of Serpukhov, a disciple of Saint Paphnutius of Borov (May 1), lived as a hermit at the River Lopasna, 23 versts from Serpukhov. In 1515, on the right bank of the river, he built a church dedicated to the Ascension, and laid the foundations of the Davidov wilderness monastery.

Russia, Moscow, 1515-1583, St Typhon of Pechenga, P Monastery founder, Enlightener of the Sami
Moscow, 1515-1583, St Typhon of Pechenga; Tryphon of Pechenga was a Russian monk and ascetic in the Eastern Orthodox Church on the Kola Peninsula and in Lapland in the 16th century. He is considered to be the founder of the Pechenga Monastery and "Enlightener of the Sami".[2] Martyr Jonah the Disciple of Tryphon of Pechenga, Commemorated on December 15; Jonah of Pechenga and Kola was, as tradition tells us, a priest in the city of Kola. the death of his daughter and wife he went off to the Pechenga-Trinity monastery near Kola, and became a disciple of its founder, Saint Tryphon. the death of his teacher, he settled in 1583 at the site of what was to become his grave in the neighboring Dormition wilderness, where he was killed by the Swedes in the year 1590.

Russia, Moscow, 1520-1588, Beheading of Cornelius of Pskov-Caves, hospicess etc, chronicles, beheaded by Ivan t T, incorrupt r
Russia, Pskov, 1520-1588, Beheading of Cornelius, Pskov-Caves Monastery (Puisa (Tolva) River 1), Igumen at 28 in 1529, successful, Esti&Saeti people, hospicess, orphan homes, plague services, Livonian War preaching churches storerooms, library, historian, chronicles tradition, beheaded by Ivan t T, incorrupt r; Pskov Caves Monestary ; Beheading of the Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of the Pskov Caves, February 20 ; Hieromartyr Cornelius of the Pskov Caves was born in the year 1501 at Pskov into the noble family of Stephen and Maria. order to give their son an education, his parents sent him to the Pskov Mirozh monastery, where he worked under the guidance of an Elder. He made candles, chopped wood, studied his letters, transcribed and adorned books, and also painted icons. Having finished his studies, Cornelius returned to his parental home with the resolve to become a monk. the government clerk Misiur Munekhin took Cornelius with him to the Pskov Caves monastery in the woods. The solemnity of services in the cave church produced such a strong impression on Cornelius that he left his parental home forever and received monastic tonsure at the Pskov Caves monastery. 1529, at the age of twenty-eight, Saint Cornelius was made igumen and became head of the monastery. he was igumen, the Pskov Caves monastery reached its prime. The number of brethren increased from 15 to 200 men. This number of monks was not surpassed under any subsequent head of the monastery. activity of Saint Cornelius extended far beyond the bounds of the monastery. spread Orthodoxy among the Esti [Aesti] and Saeti people living around the monastery, he built churches, hospices, homes for orphans and those in need. During a terrible plague in the Pskov region Saint Cornelius walked through the plague-infested villages to give Communion to the living and to sing burial services for the dead. the Livonian war Saint Cornelius preached Christianity in the occupied cities, built churches, and distributed generous aid from the monastery storerooms to the Esti and Livonians suffering from the war. At the monastery he selflessly doctored and fed the injured and the maimed, preserved the dead in the caves, and inscribed their names in the monastery Synodikon for eternal remembrance. the year 1560, on the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, Saint Cornelius sent a prosphora and holy water as blessing for the Russian armies besieging the city of Thellin. On that very day the Germans surrendered the city. 1570 when a See was established in Livonian Yuriev, a certain igumen Cornelius was appointed as Bishop of Yuriev and Velyansk (i.e., Thellin). Some have identified him with Saint Cornelius, but this does not correspond with actual events. Cornelius was a great lover of books, and at the monastery there was quite a collection of books. In 1531 his work entitled, “An Account of the Origin of the Pechersk Monastery” appeared. In the mid-sixteenth century the Pskov Caves monastery took over the tradition of writing chronicles from the Spaso-Eleaszar monastery. the start of the chronicles were accounts of the first two Pskov chronicles from 1547 to 1567. Besides this, Igumen Cornelius left behind a great monastery Synodikon for remembering the deceased brothers and benefactors of the monastery, and from the year 1588 he began to maintain the “Stern Book” [“Kormovaya kniga”: since the rear of a ship is called the stern, the sense of the title is “looking back in remembrance”]. He also compiled a “Description of the Monastery” and a “Description of the Miracles of the Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God.” Cornelius expanded and beautified the monastery, he further enlarged the monastery caves, he moved the wooden church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste beyond the monastery enclosure to the monastery gate, and on its site he built a church in the name of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in the year 1541. In 1559, he constructed a church dedicated to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Caves monastery, on the frontier of the Russian state, was not only a beacon of Orthodoxy, but also a bulwark against the external enemies of Russia. 1558-1565, Saint Cornelius built a massive stone wall around the monastery, and over the holy gates, he built a stone church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, entrusting the protection of the monastery to him. In the church was a sculpted wooden icon of “Nicholas the Warrior.” the chronicle compiled by the hierodeacon Pitirim, the martyric death of Saint Cornelius was recorded: “This blessed Igumen Cornelius ... was igumen forty-one years and two months. Not only as a monk, but also by his fasting and holy life, he was an image of salvation ... in these times there was much unrest in the Russian land. Finally, the earthly Tsar (Ivan the Terrible) sent him from this corruptible life to the Heavenly King in the eternal habitations, on February 20, 1570, in his 69th year.” (This information is on a ceramic plate, from the ceramics covering the mouth of the tomb of Saint Cornelius). the ancient manuscripts of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra it was written that Igumen Cornelius came out from the monastery gates with a cross to meet the Tsar. Ivan the Terrible, angered by a false slander, beheaded him with his own hands, but then immediately repented of his deed, and carried the body to the monastery. The pathway made scarlet by the blood of Saint Cornelius, along which the Tsar carried his body to the Dormition church, became known as the “Bloody Path.” Evidence of the Tsar’s repentance was the generous recompense he made to the Pskov Caves monastery after the death of Saint Cornelius. The name of the igumen Cornelius was inscribed in the Tsar’s Synodikon. body of Saint Cornelius was set into the wall of “the cave formed by God,” where it remained for 120 years without corruption. In the year 1690, Metropolitan Marcellus of Pskov and Izborsk, had the relics transferred from the cave to the Dormition cathedral church and placed in a new crypt in the wall. December 17, 1872 the relics of Saint Cornelius were transferred from the former tomb into a copper-silver reliquary. They were placed into a new reliquary in 1892. It is presumed that the service to the martyr was composed for the Uncovering of the Relics in the year 1690.

Russia, Moscow, 1521, Invasion of Moscow by Tatars led by Khan Makhmet-Girei
Moscow, 1521, Invasion of Moscow by Tatars led by Khan Makhmet-Girei ; Icon of the Mother of God "Virgin of Tenderness" of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated August 26 ; Finding of the relics of Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on November 19; Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on March 5; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was established to commemorate the deliverance of Moscow from an invasion of Tatars led by Khan Makhmet-Girei in 1521. The Tatar hordes approached Moscow, burning and destroying Russian cities and villages, and exterminating their inhabitants. Prince Basil raised an army against the Tatars, while Metropolitan Barlaam and the people of Moscow prayed fervently for deliverance. At this time a certain pious blind nun had a vision. She saw Moscow’s bishop-saints exiting from the Savior gates of the Kremlin, forsaking the city and taking with them the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the holiest object in the city of Moscow. This was God’s chastisement for the sins of its inhabitants. the Savior gates the holy hierarchs were met by Saints Sergius of Radonezh (Sept. 25) and Barlaam of Khutyn (Nov. 6), tearfully imploring them not to leave Moscow. All of them offered intense prayer to the Lord for the forgivness of their transgressions and the deliverance of Moscow from its enemies. After this prayer the bishop-saints returned to the Kremlin, and they carried back the holy Vladimir Icon. Basil the Blessed (August 2) saw a similar vision. It was revealed to him that Moscow would be saved, through the intercession of the Theotokos and the prayers of the saints. The Tatar Khan also had a vision of the Mother of God with a fearsome host, contending against his forces. The Tatars fled in fear, and the capital of the Russian realm was saved. Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God is also commemorated on June 23 and August 26.

Russia, Moscow, 1521, Tenderness Icon painted and transferred to Pskov, glorified in 1524, protector in 1581
Russia, Pskov, 1521, Tenderness Icon transferred to Pskov, glorified in 1524, protector in 1581; Siege of Pskov; Icon of the Mother of God of Pskov œthe ProtectionÂ, Commemorated on October 1; Feast of the Pskov-Protection Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Pskov from the invading troops of the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581. During the siege, they carried forth the wonderworking Dormition Icon of the Mother of God in procession from the monastery. the eve of the decisive fighting, the pious blind Elder Dorotheus the Smith had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos at the spot where the enemy had prepared to attack, at a corner of the fortress of the monastery in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Most Holy Virgin appeared to the Elder Dorotheus with various Russian Saints: the holy Great Prince Vladimir and the Pskov Princes Vsevolod-Gabriel and Dovmont-Timothy, Saint Anthony of Kiev Caves, Cornelius of Pskov, Euphrosynus of Spaso-Elazar and Savva of Krypetsk, Blessed Nicholas of Pskov and Saint Niphon, Archbishop of Novgorod, the organizer of the Pskov Spaso-Mirozh monastery. from the Pechor side from the Spaso-Mirozhsk monastery across the River Velika, the Mother of God with the Saints entered the church of the Protection monastery. The Saints besought the All-Pure Virgin to have pity on the sinful citizens of Pskov and save the city “from the imposition of woes.â€ The Most Holy Theotokos, having promised the city Her mercy, gave orders to set up the Pechersk icon at the place of Her appearance. the battle the Polish tried to breach the fortress wall, but through the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints, they were not able to break through into the city. After their deliverance from the enemy, the grateful people of Pskov built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the temple of the Protection Most Holy Theotokos, the Pskov-Pechersk icon of the Mother of God was painted, which has also been given the name, “Appearance of the Mother of God to the Elder Dorotheus.â€ The appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos occurred on September 7, and celebration of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon was established on October 1. A special service was compiled for the Feast of the Most Holy Theotokos. St John the Hermit of Pskov, Commemorated on October 24; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28; Icon of the Mother of God of œTendernessÂ, Commemorated on May 21 ; sacred Tenderness Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was painted and brought to the Pskov Caves monastery through the efforts of the devout Pskov merchants Basil and Theodore. It was transferred it to the town of Pskov in the year 1521, and was glorified by miracles of healing in 1524. The Tenderness Icon is especially honored as the protector of the city when it was besieged by the Polish King Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in the year 1581. Both the Tenderness Icon and the Dormition Icon were glorified at that time. Tenderness Icon is also honored on October 7, the day when Pskov was liberated from Napoleon's invasion in 1812. Other days on which the Tenderness Icon is commemorated are: June 23, August 26, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Icon of the Mother of God œVirgin of TendernessÂ from the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 21 ; Icon of the Mother of God œTendernessÂ of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on June 23 ; “Tendernessâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was found in the monastery of the caves in 1521, and was transferred to the city of Pskov by the pious Christians Basil and Theodore. Icon is particularly renowned for the deliverance of Pskov and the Pskov Caves monastery from the army of Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in 1581. It is commemorated on May 21, June 23, August 26, October 7, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa (Umilenie) type, and is regarded as the patroness of the city of Pskov.

Russia, Moscow, 1521-1581, Ananias tIconographer, Antoniev monastery, Novgorod, icons many wonderworkers, never beyond m fence
Russia, Novgorod, 1521-1581, Ananias the Iconographer, Antoniev monastery, Novgorod, endowed painting gift, marvelous icons many holy wonderworkers, never beyond m fence 30 yrs; Antoniev monastery; Venerable Ananias the Iconographer, Commemorated on June 25; Ananias was born in Russia and was tonsured in the monastery of Saint Antony the Roman at Novgorod. endowed him with a gift for painting icons, and he exercised this talent for the glory of the Lord. Venerable Ananias painted "marvelous icons of many holy wonderworkers." thirty-three years, he never went beyond the fence of the monastery. records do not agree about the year of his repose. Some say that he went to the Lord in 1521, 1561, or 1581. His relics are buried in a hidden place at the Monastery. Ananias is commemorated on the third Sunday of Pentecost and on June 17.

Russia, Moscow, 1522-1539, Patriarch, Daniel, Metropolitan of Moscow
Russia, Moscow, 1522-1539, Patriarch, Daniel, Metropolitan of Moscow; Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated on January 21;

Russia, Moscow, 1524, Voronisk icon appeared in 1524, Sura River Mouth, Volga 9, Chuvash
Voroninsk (Sura River Mouth, Volga River 9); Icon of the Mother of God of Voroninsk, Commemorated on July 28; Holy Icon of the Voroninsk Mother of God was situated in the Voroninsk Dormition of the Mother of God hermitage in the Cherepovetsk district of Novgorod governance. Its appearance occurred in 1524.

Russia, Moscow, 1525, Directress Icon of Smolensk, , by Luke, graceful copies, return of Smolensk to Russia from Lithuania 1514
Russia, Kiev, 1525, Directress Icon of Smolensk, Ukraine (Dnieper River 2, Varangian Trade Route, Moscow Road to Poland), original painted by Luke, many graceful copies, Russian protectress, from Antioch to Jerusalem to Constantinople Blachernae Church, to Kiev in Russia to Pereyslavl to Smolensk, directed Mercurius to Batu's camp, to Lithuanian Princes, to Moscow, 1456 returned to Smolensk, 2 copies remained in Moscow, 1602 exact copy, new copy same power, it defended Rus armies 1812 and healed sick wounded Lefortovo palace, to Yaroslavl, 1525 return of Smolensk to Russia from Lithuania in 1514; Smolensk; Appearance of the Smolensk œDirectress Icon of the Mother of God brought from Constantinople, Commemorated on July 28 ; Smolensk Directress or Hodegetria Icon of the Theotokos, or She who leads the way, was, according to Church Tradition, painted by the holy Evangelist Luke during the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos. holy hierarch Demetrius of Rostov suggests that this icon was painted at the request of Theophilus, the prefect of Antioch. Antioch the holy image was transferred to Jerusalem. there the empress Eudokia, the spouse of Arcadius, gave it at Constantinople to Pulcheria, the sister of the emperor, put the holy icon in the Blachernae church. 1046, the Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos (1042-1054), gave his daughter Anna in marriage to Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise. blessed her on her way with this icon. the death of Prince Vsevolod the icon went to his son Vladimir Monomachos, transferred it at the beginning of the twelfth century into the Smolensk cathedral church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. that time, the icon was known as the Smolensk Directress or Hodegetria. the year 1238, at the bespeaking of the icon, the self-sacrificing Orthodox warrior Mercurius went by night into the camp of Batu and killed many of the enemy, in whose number was their most powerful warrior. accepted a martyr’s death in battle, he was included by the Church in the ranks of the Saints (November 24). the fourteenth century, Smolensk came into the possession of the Lithuanian princes. daughter of prince Vitovt, Sophia, was given in marriage to the Moscow Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich (1398-1425). 1398, she brought the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God with her to Moscow. They set the holy image in the Annunciation cathedral of the Kremlin, on the right side of the Royal Doors. 1456, at the request of the inhabitants of Smolensk with Bishop Misael at the head, the icon was solemnly returned to Smolensk in a church procession, at Moscow there remained two copies. was put in the Annunciation cathedral, the other, a measure for measure, was put in the Novodevichi monastery, founded in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. The monastery was built on Devichi Pole (Virgin’s Field), where “with many tears” the Muscovites handed over the holy icon to Smolensk. 1602 an exact copy was painted from the wonderworking icon 1666 together with the ancient icon they brought a new copy to Moscow for restoration) which they placed in the tower of the Smolensk fortress wall over the Dneprovsk Gates, under a specially constructed cover. in 1727, a wooden church was built there, in 1802, a stone church. new copy took on the power of the old image, when the Russian armies left Smolensk on August 5, 1812, they took the icon with them for defense from the enemy forces. the eve of the Battle of Borodino they carried this icon through the camp, to encourage and inspire the soldiers to great deeds. ancient image of the Smolensk Hodegetria, taken to the Dormition cathedral on the day of the Battle of Borodino went in procession with the Iveron and Vladimir Icons of the Mother of God through the Belo and Kitai quarters and the Kremlin walls, then they sent it to the sick and wounded at the Lefortovo palace. leaving Moscow, the icon was taken to Yaroslavl. were these sister-icons preserved, and the Mother of God defended Russia through Her icons. the victory over the enemy forces the Directress or Hodegetria Icon was returned to Smolensk together with its glorified copy. celebration in honor of this wonderworking icon on July 28 was established in the year 1525 in memory of the return of Smolensk to Russia. exist many venerated copies of the Smolensk Directress or Hodegetria, for which the celebration is set on this day. is also a day of celebration for the Smolensk Icon (November 5), glorified in the nineteenth century when this image was returned to Smolensk on the orders of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army M. I. Kutuzov. In memory of the expulsion of the enemy from Russia, it was decided to celebrate this day annually at Smolensk. holy icon of the Hodegetriaa Mother of God is one of the chief holy objects of the Russian Church. have received and do receive from it an abundant help of grace. Mother of God through Her holy icon intercedes for and strengthens us, guiding us on the way to salvation, and we call out to Her, “Thou art the All-Blessed Hodegetria or Directress for faithful peoples, art the affirmation, the Praiseworthy of Smolensk and all the Russian land. Rejoice, Directress or Hodegetria, salvation of Christians!”

Russia, Moscow, 1525-1736, Great Abatis Line Folder, (Ukraine mostly)

1 First Great Line finished 1566

First Great Abatis Line along Oka finished 1566

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Bryansk (Desna River 2)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Bryansk;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Belyov, Ryazan (Oka River 1)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Belyov;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kozelsk, Kaluga (Zhizdra River 1)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kozelsk;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Tula, Kaluga (Ryazan Frontier, Upa River 1)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Tula;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Serpukhov, Kaluga (Nara River Mouth, Oka River 6)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Serpukhov;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kolomna, Kaluga (Moscow River Mouth, Oka River 7)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kolomna;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Zaraysk (Ryazan Frontier, Osyotr River 2, Oka River 7)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Zaraysk;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Ryazan (Ryazan Frontier, Oka River 9)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Ryazan;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Meshchera, Ryazan (Frontier, Pra River Source, above Oka River 11)
Meshchera (Meshchera Lowlands); Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Meshchera;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir-Suzdal (Oka River Mouth, Volga River 9)
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Nizhny Novgorod;

2 Second Great Line finished 1640

Second Great Abatis Line Finished 1640

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Alatyr, Mordovia (near Boldino Heights Toysha River Source above Oka 13)
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Alatyr;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Oryol, Kaluga (Ryazan Frontier, Oka River 1)
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Oryol;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Novhorod-Siverskyi, Kiev Ukraine (Sev River Mouth, Desna River 3)
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Novhorod-Siverskyi;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Putyvl, Kiev Ukraine (Seym River 3 above Desna River 4 and Kiev)
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Putyvl;

3 Third Great Line finished 1736

Third Great Abatis Line 1736

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Livny, Scythia (Muravsky Trail 6, Bystraya 1 above Don River 4)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Livny;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kursk, Kiev Ukraine (Kur River Mouth, Seym River Source, Tuskar River)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kursk;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Belgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1, Muravsaky T 4, Vorskla River Source Ukraine Central Russian Uplands, above Azov Sea, Don Mouth)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Belgorod;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Voronezh, Scythia (Voronezh Mouth, Don River 8, above Azov Sea)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Voronezh;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Tambov, Mordovia (Studenets Mouth, Tsna River 1, above Oka 12)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Tambov;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Simbirsk (Volga River 11)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Simbirsk;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kazan, Mongol, Perm (Volga River 10, Great Perm)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kazan;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Baskirs (high point near Ural River Source, other side of mt)
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Baskirs;

Russia, Moscow, 1527-1569, Philip, in court w young Ivan, Solovaki igumen, but Ivan wanted him metro, complex Ivan disctription
Russia, Moscow, 1527-1569, Philip, Metropolitan, a noble, in court w Ivan, snuck away to Onegan and Solovaki, Elder Jonah, fasting, unceasing prayer and heavy hammer, bakery MOG image w Philp, wilderness solitude, Igumen 1546, S history, found Hodegetria icon, stone cross, Psalter, and robe of Zosimus, S spiritual revival, new m rule, majestic temples 1557, he worked as simple laborer building, w John and Longinus of Yarenga and Bassian and Jonah of Pertominsk, often withdrew to Philippov wilderness, but Ivan remembered him and wanted him as companion metropolitan anti boyer, description of complex Ivan, he imagined Oprichnina as Monastic Brotherhood for triumph of Orthodoxy, Philip saw O unrepentent malice and envy, murderers, profiteers, Philip opposed Ivan, Boyer conspiricy to deliver I to Polish King, P defended the executed, 1568 P refused to bless I his O, openly denounced their acts, Boyer Duma, false witnesses from Solovaki, Public shame during service by O, held in Moscow cellars, stocks and chains 1 yr, put to death in Tver ; ,Moscow; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow, in the world Theodore, was descended from the illustrious noble lineage of the Kolichevi, occupying a prominent place in the Boyar duma at the court of the Moscow sovereigns. was born in the year 1507. His father, Stephen Ivanovich, “a man enlightened and filled with military spirit,” attentively prepared his son for government service. Theodore’s pious mother Barbara, who ended her days as a nun with the name Barsanouphia, implanted in the soul of her son a sincere faith and deep piety. Theodore Kolichev applied himself diligently to the Holy Scripture and to the writings of the holy Fathers. Moscow Great Prince Basil III, the father of Ivan the Terrible, brought young Theodore into the court, but he was not attracted to court life. Conscious of its vanity and sinfulness, Theodore all the more deeply immersed himself in the reading of books and visiting the churches of God. Life in Moscow repelled the young ascetic. The young Prince Ivan’s sincere devotion to him, promising him a great future in government service, could not deter him from seeking the Heavenly City. Sunday, June 5, 1537, in church for Divine Liturgy, Theodore felt intensely in his soul the words of the Savior: “No man can serve two masters” (Mt.6:24), which determined his ultimate destiny. Praying fervently to the Moscow wonderworkers, and without bidding farewell to his relatives, he secretly left Moscow in the attire of a peasant, and for a while he hid himself away from the world in the village of Khizna, near Lake Onega, earning his livelihood as a shepherd. thirst for ascetic deeds led him to the renowned Solovki monastery on the White Sea. There he fulfilled very difficult obediences: he chopped firewood, dug the ground, and worked in the mill. After a year and a half of testing, the igumen Alexis tonsured him, giving him the monastic name Philip and entrusting him in obedience to the Elder Jonah Shamina, a converser with Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). the guidance of experienced elders Philip grew spiritually, and progressed in fasting and prayer. Igumen Alexis sent him to work at the monastery forge, where Saint Philip combined the activity of unceasing prayer with his work with a heavy hammer. was always the first one in church for the services, and was the last to leave. He toiled also in the bakery, where the humble ascetic was comforted with a heavenly sign. In the monastery afterwards they displayed the “Bakery” image of the Mother of God, through which the heavenly Mediatrix bestowed Her blessing upon the humble baker Philip. With the blessing of the igumen, Saint Philip spent a certain while in wilderness solitude, attending to himself and to God. 1546 at Novgorod the Great, Archbishop Theodosius made Philip igumen of the Solovki monastery. The new igumen strove with all his might to exalt the spiritual significance of the monastery and its founders, Saints Sabbatius and Zosimus of Solovki (September 27, April 17). searched for the Hodegetria icon of the Mother of God brought to the island by the first head of Solovki, Saint Sabbatius. located the stone cross which once stood before the saint’s cell. The Psalter belonging to Saint Zosimus (+1478), the first igumen of Solovki, was also found. His robe, in which igumens would vest during the service on the days when Saint Zosimus was commemorated, was also discovered. monastery experienced a spiritual revival. A new monastic Rule was adopted to regulate life at the monastery. Philip built majestic temples: a church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, consecrated in the year 1557, and a church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. igumen himself worked as a simple laborer, helping to build the walls of the Transfiguration church. the north portico he dug himself a grave beside that of his guide, the Elder Jonah. life in these years flourished at the monastery: struggling with the brethren with the disciples of Igumen Philip were Saints John and Longinus of Yarenga (July 3) and Bassian and Jonah of Pertominsk (July 12). Philip often withdrew to a desolate wilderness spot for quiet prayer, two versts from the monastery, which was later known as the Philippov wilderness. the Lord was preparing the saint for other work. In Moscow, Tsar Ivan the Terrible fondly remembered the Solovki hermit from his childhood. Tsar hoped to find in Saint Philip a true companion, confessor and counsellor, who in his exalted monastic life had nothing in common with the sedition of the nobles. Metropolitan of Moscow, in Ivan’s opinion, ought to have a certain spiritual meekness to quell the treachery and malice within the Boyar soul. The choice of Saint Philip as archpastor of the Russian Church seemed to him the best possible. a long time the saint refused to assume the great burden of the primacy of the Russian Church. He did not sense any spiritual affinity with Ivan. He attempted to get the Tsar to abolish the Oprichniki [secret police]. Ivan the Terrible attempted to argue its civil necessity. the dread Tsar and the holy Metropolitan came to an agreement: Saint Philip would not meddle in the affairs of the Oprichniki and the running of the government, he would resign as Metropolitan in case the Tsar could not fulfill his wishes, and that he would be a support and counsellor of the Tsar, just as former Metropolitans supported the Moscow sovereigns. July 25, 1566 Saint Philip was consecrated for the cathedra of Moscow’s hierarch saints, whose number he was soon to join. the Terrible, one of the greatest and most contradictory figures in Russian history, lived an intensely busy life. He was a talented writer and bibliophile , he was involved in compiling the Chronicles (and himself suddenly cut the thread of the Moscow chronicle writing), he examined the intricacies of the monastic Rule, and more than once he thought about abdicating the throne for the monastic life. aspect of governmental service, all the measures undertaken to restructure civil and social life, Ivan the Terrible tried to rationalize as a manifestation of Divine Providence, as God acting in history. beloved spiritual heroes were Saint Michael of Chernigov (September 20) and Saint Theodore the Black (September 19), military men active with complex contradictory destinies, moving toward their ends through whatever the obstacles before them, and fulfilling their duties to the nation and to the Church. more the darkness thickened around Ivan, the more resolutely he demanded cleansing and redemption of his soul. Journeying on pilgrimage to the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery, he declared his wish to become a monk to the igumen and the brethren. The haughty autocrat fell on his knees before the igumen, who blessed his intent. Ivan wrote, “it seems to me, an accursed sinner, that I am already robed in black.” imagined the Oprichnina in the form of a monastic brotherhood, serving God with weapons and military deeds. The Oprichniki were required to dress in monastic garb and attend long and tiring church services, lasting from 4 to 10 o’clock in the morning. “Brethren” not in church at 4 o’clock in the morning, were given a penance by the Tsar. Ivan and his sons fervently wished to pray and sing in the church choir. From church they went to the trapeza, and while the Oprichniki ate, the Tsar stood beside them. The Oprichniki gathered leftover food from the table and distributed it to the poor at the doorway of the trapeza. with tears of repentance and wanting to be an esteemer of the holy ascetics, the teachers of repentance, wanted to wash and burn away his own sins and those of his companions, cherishing the assurance that even his terribly cruel actions would prove to be for the welfare of Russia and the triumph of Orthodoxy. most clearly spiritual action and monastic sobriety of Ivan the Terrible is revealed in his “Synodikon.” before his death, he ordered full lists compiled of the people murdered by him and his Oprichniki. These were then distributed to all the Russian monasteries. Ivan acknowledged all his sins against the nation, and besought the holy monks to pray to God for the forgiveness of his tormented soul. pseudo-monasticism of Ivan the Terrible, a dark most grievous oppression over Russia, tormented Saint Philip, who considered it impossible to mix the earthly and the heavenly, serving the Cross and serving the sword. Philip saw how much unrepentant malice and envy was concealed beneath the black cowls of the Oprichniki. There were outright murderers among them, hardened in lawless bloodletting, and profiteers seeking gain, rooted in sin and transgressions. the sufferance of God, history is often made by the hands of the impious, and Ivan the Terrible wanted to whiten his black brotherhood before God. The blood spilled by its thugs and fanatics cried out to Heaven. Philip decided to oppose Ivan. This was prompted by a new wave of executions in the years 1567-1568. the autumn of 1567, just as the Tsar was setting out on a campaign against Livonia, he learned about a boyar conspiracy. The plotters intended to seize the Tsar and deliver him to the Polish king, who already was on the move with an army towards Russian territory. dealt severely with the conspirators, and again he shed much blood. It was bitter for Saint Philip, and the conscience of the saint compelled him boldly to enter into defense of the executed. final rift occurred in the spring of 1568. On the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, March 2, 1568, when the Tsar with his Oprichniki entered the Dormition cathedral in monastic garb, as was their custom, Saint Philip refused to bless him, and began openly to denounce the lawless acts committed by the Oprichniki. The accusations of the hierarch shattered the harmony of the church service. In a rage Ivan retorted, “Would you oppose us? We shall see your firmness! I have been too soft on you.” Tsar began to show ever greater cruelty in persecuting all those who opposed him. Executions followed one after the other. The fate of the saintly confessor was sealed. But Ivan wanted to preserve a semblance of canonical propriety. The Boyar Duma obediently carried out his decision to place the Primate of the Russian Church on trial. A cathedral court was set up to try Metropolitan Philip in the presence of a diminished Boyar Duma, false witnesses were found. To the deep sorrow of the saint, these were monks the Solovki monastery, his former disciples and novices whom he loved. They accused Saint Philip of a multitude of transgressions, including sorcery. “Like all my ancestors,” the saint declared, “I came into this world prepared to suffer for truth.” Having refuted all the accusations, the holy sufferer attempted to halt the trial by volunteering to resign his office. His resignation was not accepted, however, and new abuse awaited the martyr. after a sentence of life imprisonment had been handed down, they compelled Saint Philip to serve Liturgy in the Dormition cathedral. This was on November 8, 1568. the middle of the service, the Oprichniki burst into the temple, they publicly read the council’s sentence of condemnation, and then abused the saint. Tearing his vestments off, they dressed him in rags, dragged him out of the church and drove him off to the Theophany monastery on a simple peasant’s sledge. a long while they held the martyr in the cellars of the Moscow monasteries. They placed his feet into stocks, they held him in chains, and put a heavy chain around his neck. Finally, they drove him off to the Tver Otroch monastery. And there a year later, on December 23,1569, the saint was put to death at the hands of Maliuta Skuratov. three days before this the saint foresaw the end of his earthly life and received the Holy Mysteries. At first, his relics were committed to earth there at the monastery, beyond the church altar. Later, they were transferred to the Solovki monastery (August 11, 1591) and from there to Moscow (July 3, 1652). the memory of Saint Philip was celebrated by the Russian Church on December 23, the day of his martyric death. In 1660, the celebration was transferred to January 9.

Russia, Moscow, 1529, John of Kazan, moslem tartars captured him from Nizhni Novgorod, tKazan, slave tKhan's relative, killed
Mongol, Perm, 1529, John of Kazan, Perm, moslem tartars captured him from Nizhni Novgorod, brought to Kazan, slave to Khan's relative, killed, at time of GP Basil, Tartars attacked Nizhni, Novgorod, inhabitants tCaptivity in Kazan incl fearless John, who was given to Khan relative, served master by day, but night without sleep prayed, enduring insults, abuse, master resolved force him tBecome Moslem, but J worshiped Jesus as God, in winter led tRussian Cemetery, mortally wounded him, left him in snow, but that night J t door of Christians asked for Priest, got Holy Mysteries, prayed all night, died next morning ; Kazan ; Martyr John of Kazan, Commemorated January 24 ; Martyr John of Kazan suffered for Christ in the city of Kazan on January 24, 1529. During the reign of Great Prince Basil the Tatars swooped down upon Nizhni Novgorod. Many of the inhabitants were taken into captivity and brought to Kazan. Also among their number was the fearless John. the captives were distributed to their new owners, he was given to Alei-Shnura, who was related to the Khan. By day John honestly served his master, but at night he went without sleep and prayed, patiently enduring insults and abuse. The master resolved to force his servant to become a Moslem, but John firmly declared that he worshiped Jesus Christ as God. the winter the Tatars tied him up and led him to a Russian cemetery, mortally wounded him with swords, and threw him into the snow. That night, Saint John reached the door of some Russians living in Kazan, and he asked them to summon a priest. He received the Holy Mysteries and prayed all night, then died the following morning.

Russia, Moscow, 1529-1565, Gennadius oKostroma, 1529, Gennadiev monastery, igumen, no task slack, Clairvoyance&Wonderworking
Russia, Vologda, 1529-1565, Gennadius oKostroma, Vologda (Kostroma (Pisma) River Mouth, Volga River 8.3), fMogilev Belarus, wealthy family, early love fThe Church, frequent monastery visits, parents dismay, resolve devote life tGod, secretly left home fMoscow's holy places, not suitable, tNovgorod region, encountered Alex oSvir who sent him tKostroma forest and Cornelius oKomel, tonsured Gennadius, they moved to Kostroma Forest, Lake Sura, 1529, Gennadiev monastery, igumen, but no task slack, and together with the brethren he went out to the monastery tasks: he chopped wood, carried firewood, made candles and baked prosphora. He also wore heavy chains. One of his favorite tasks was the painting of icons, with which he adorned his new monastery, Holylife, received the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking. Journeying to Moscow on monastic affairs, at the house of the nobleman Roman Zakharin, the saint predicted to his daughter Anastasia that she would become Tsaritsa. Indeed, Tsar Ivan the Terrible chose her as his wife.The Life of Saint Gennadius included his spiritual testament dictated by Saint Gennadius himself. In it he commands the monks to observe the monastery Rule, to toil constantly, to be at peace witheveryone, and to preserve the books collected at the monastery, while striving to understand their meaning. He said, “Strive towards the light, and shun the darkness.” died on January 23, 1565, and was glorified by the Church on August 19, 1646. ; Kostroma, and Kostroma Region; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated January 23 ; Gennadius of Kostroma and Liubimograd, in the world Gregory, born in the city of Mogilev into a rich family. early displayed love for the church, his frequent visits to monasteries evoked the dismay of his parents. however, was firmly resolved to devote himself to God, changing into tattered clothing, he secretly left his parental home and journeyed to Moscow. visited the holy places in Moscow, but he did not find it suitable in spirit so set out to the Novgorod region. destiny of the future ascetic was decided by an encounter with Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). his blessing, Gregory went to the Vologda forest to Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19), was tonsured by him with the name Gennadius. with Saint Cornelius, Gennadius moved on to the Kostroma forest. on the shores of Lake Sura, in about the year 1529, there emerged the monastery of the Transfiguration of the Lord, called “the Gennadiev monastery”. become igumen, Saint Gennadius did not slacken his monastic efforts, and together with the brethren he went out to the monastery tasks: chopped wood, carried firewood, made candles and baked prosphora. also wore heavy chains. of his favorite tasks was the painting of icons, which he adorned his new monastery. his holy life Saint Gennadius received from the Lord the gift of clairvoyance and wonderworking. to Moscow on monastic affairs, at the house of the nobleman Roman Zakharin, the saint predicted to his daughter Anastasia that she would become Tsaritsa. Tsar Ivan the Terrible chose her as his wife. Life of Saint Gennadius was written by his disciple, Iguman Alexis, between the years 1584-1587. it was inserted his spiritual testament, dictated by Saint Gennadius himself. it he commands the monks to observe the monastery Rule, to toil constantly, to be at peace with everyone, and to preserve the books collected at the monastery, while striving to understand their meaning. said, “Strive towards the light, and shun the darkness.” Gennadius died on January 23, 1565, was glorified by the Church on August 19, 1646.

Russia, Moscow, 1530-1550, St Macarius the Roman, pillar of fire, fragrant cloud, clairvoyant, wonderworker, monastery
St Macarius the Roman's Monastery; holy ascetic decided to move even farther into the wilderness, choosing an elevated place on the left bank of the Lezna. Even here, however, he was not able to conceal himself for very long. Sometimes a pillar of fire would rise up into the sky at night above his place of refuge. During the day, the grace of God was made manifest by a fragrant cloud of smoke. Drawn by these signs, the local inhabitants of the region were able to find him once more. of his visitors begged Saint Macarius to permit them to live near him and to be guided by his counsels. Seeing that this was the Lord’s will, he did not refuse them. He blessed them to build cells, and this was the foundation of his monastery. 1540, they built a wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Macarius was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Macarius of Novgorod, who later became Metropolitan of All Russia. The hierarch also appointed Saint Macarius as igumen of the monastery. Macarius was an example to the others, and was given the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking from God. He wore himself out with his labors and vigils, encouraging others not to become faint-hearted in their own struggles. several years, he entrusted the monastery to one of his disciples, and returned to the island where he had first lived. There he fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1550. His disciples buried him outside on the left side of the Dormition church which he had founded. Hermitage of Saint Macarius was never a prosperous monastery with many monks, but it was distinguished by the high level of spiritual life. In the seventeenth century, many of the monasteries near Novgorod were plundered by Swedish invaders. The Hermitage of Saint Macarius was also burned in 1615, and some of the monks were put to the sword. the eighteenth century, the monastery had become a dependency of the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. The Empress Catherine closed it in 1764, just as she had closed other monasteries, and it was designated as a parish church. Although pilgrims still came to venerate the saint’s relics and to celebrate his Feast Day, the buildings soon fell into ruin. the mid-nineteenth century, some benefactors restored the two churches and the miraculous healing spring which the saint himself had dug. About this time an old priest was living there, and he celebrated the church services until his death. In 1894, the monastery began to function once more under the noted missionary Hieromonk Arsenius, who introduced the Athonite Typikon. The monastery was destroyed by the Soviets in 1932. Saint Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Macarius the Roman was born at the end of the fifteenth century into a wealthy family of Rome. His parents raised him in piety and gave him an excellent education. He might have expected a successful career in public service, but he did not desire honors or earthly glory. Instead, he focused on how to save his soul. lived in an age when the Christian West was shaken by the Protestant Reformation. While others around him were pursuing luxury and lascivious pleasures, he studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers. Saint Macarius was grieved to see so many darkened by sin and worldly vanity, and was disturbed by the rebellions and conflicts within the Western Church. With tears, he asked God to show him the path of salvation, and his prayer did not go unanswered. He came to realize that he would find the safe harbor of salvation in the Orthodox Church. Macarius left Rome secretly, and set out for Russia without money, and wearing an old garment. After many sufferings on his journey, he arrived in Novgorod, where he rejoiced to see so many churches and monasteries. One of these monasteries had been founded three centuries before by his fellow countryman, Saint Anthony the Roman (August 3). Macarius came to the banks of the River Svir, where Saint Alexander of Svir (April 17 and August 30) had founded the monastery of the Holy Trinity. Saint Alexander received Macarius into the Orthodox Church and tonsured him as a monk. Macarius, however longed for the solitary life. He moved to an island on the River Lezna, forty-five miles from Novgorod, where he engaged in ascetical struggles and unceasing prayer. winters were very cold, and the summers were hot and humid. The marshy area was also a breeding ground for mosquitos, which tormented the saint. Saint Macarius survived on berries, roots, and herbs. Sometimes bears would come to him for food, and they allowed him to pet them. a great lamp of the spiritual life could not remain hidden for long. One rainy night someone knocked on his door and asked him to open it. Several people, who seemed to be hunters, entered his cell. Astonished by his appearance, and the divine light shining from his face, the men asked for his blessing. They told him they had come to the forest to hunt, and only by the prayers of the saint did God permit them to find him. “It is not my sinful prayers,” he told them, “but the grace of God which led you here.” feeding them, he spoke and prayed with them, then showed them the way out of the marsh. Saint Macarius was concerned that his peace would be disturbed, now that his dwelling place was known. His fears were justified, because many people sought him out to ask for his advice and prayers. holy ascetic decided to move even farther into the wilderness, choosing an elevated place on the left bank of the Lezna. Even here, however, he was not able to conceal himself for very long. Sometimes a pillar of fire would rise up into the sky at night above his place of refuge. During the day, the grace of God was made manifest by a fragrant cloud of smoke. Drawn by these signs, the local inhabitants of the region were able to find him once more. of his visitors begged Saint Macarius to permit them to live near him and to be guided by his counsels. Seeing that this was the Lord’s will, he did not refuse them. He blessed them to build cells, and this was the foundation of his monastery. 1540, they built a wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Macarius was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Macarius of Novgorod, who later became Metropolitan of All Russia. The hierarch also appointed Saint Macarius as igumen of the monastery. Macarius was an example to the others, and was given the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking from God. He wore himself out with his labors and vigils, encouraging others not to become faint-hearted in their own struggles. several years, he entrusted the monastery to one of his disciples, and returned to the island where he had first lived. There he fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1550. His disciples buried him outside on the left side of the Dormition church which he had founded. Hermitage of Saint Macarius was never a prosperous monastery with many monks, but it was distinguished by the high level of spiritual life. In the seventeenth century, many of the monasteries near Novgorod were plundered by Swedish invaders. The Hermitage of Saint Macarius was also burned in 1615, and some of the monks were put to the sword. the eighteenth century, the monastery had become a dependency of the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. The Empress Catherine closed it in 1764, just as she had closed other monasteries, and it was designated as a parish church. Although pilgrims still came to venerate the saint’s relics and to celebrate his Feast Day, the buildings soon fell into ruin. the mid-nineteenth century, some benefactors restored the two churches and the miraculous healing spring which the saint himself had dug. About this time an old priest was living there, and he celebrated the church services until his death. In 1894, the monastery began to function once more under the noted missionary Hieromonk Arsenius, who introduced the Athonite Typikon. The monastery was destroyed by the Soviets in 1932. Macarius the Roman is commemorated on August 15 (the date of his repose), and also on January 19 (his nameday).

Russia, Moscow, 1530-1550, Macarius t Roman, writings sent to Russia, mosquitos, pet bears, divine light, night fire pillar, m
Rome, 1530-1550, Macarius the Roman (Aniene River, Tiber River 5), wealthy, educated, to save his soul, protestant reformation, Holy Fathers writings, conflicts within Western Church, God sent him to Russia & Orthodox, Novgorod churches and monasteries, monk at Alexander's River Svir m, solitary life at R Lezna, mosquitos, pet bears, hunters, divine light, many people, move to elevated place, night pillar of fire, day cloud of fragrant smoke, monastery, 1540 church, ordained priest and igumen, clairvoyance&wonderworking, back to island solitary, d 1550; Rome; St Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Macarius the Roman was born at the end of the fifteenth century into a wealthy family of Rome. parents raised him in piety and gave him an excellent education. might have expected a successful career in public service, but he did not desire honors or earthly glory. Instead, he focused on how to save his soul. lived in an age when the Christian West was shaken by the Protestant Reformation. others around him were pursuing luxury and lascivious pleasures, he studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers. Macarius was grieved to see so many darkened by sin and worldly vanity, and was disturbed by the rebellions and conflicts within the Western Church. tears, he asked God to show him the path of salvation, and his prayer did not go unanswered. He came to realize that he would find the safe harbor of salvation in the Orthodox Church. Macarius left Rome secretly, and set out for Russia without money, and wearing an old garment. After many sufferings on his journey, he arrived in Novgorod, where he rejoiced to see so many churches and monasteries. of these monasteries had been founded three centuries before by his fellow countryman, Saint Anthony the Roman (August 3). Macarius came to the banks of the River Svir, where Saint Alexander of Svir (April 17 and August 30) had founded the monastery of the Holy Trinity. Alexander received Macarius into the Orthodox Church and tonsured him as a monk. however longed for the solitary life. He moved to an island on the River Lezna, forty-five miles from Novgorod, where he engaged in ascetical struggles and unceasing prayer. winters were very cold, and the summers were hot and humid. The marshy area was also a breeding ground for mosquitos, which tormented the saint. Macarius survived on berries, roots, and herbs. Sometimes bears would come to him for food, and they allowed him to pet them. a great lamp of the spiritual life could not remain hidden for long. One rainy night someone knocked on his door and asked him to open it. Several people, who seemed to be hunters, entered his cell. by his appearance, and the divine light shining from his face, the men asked for his blessing. They told him they had come to the forest to hunt, and only by the prayers of the saint did God permit them to find him. “It is not my sinful prayers,” he told them, “but the grace of God which led you here.” feeding them, he spoke and prayed with them, then showed them the way out of the marsh. Macarius was concerned that his peace would be disturbed, now that his dwelling place was known. His fears were justified, because many people sought him out to ask for his advice and prayers. holy ascetic decided to move even farther into the wilderness, choosing an elevated place on the left bank of the Lezna. Even here, however, he was not able to conceal himself for very long. a pillar of fire would rise up into the sky at night above his place of refuge. the day, the grace of God was made manifest by a fragrant cloud of smoke. by these signs, the local inhabitants of the region were able to find him once more. of his visitors begged Saint Macarius to permit them to live near him and to be guided by his counsels. Seeing that this was the Lord’s will, he did not refuse them. He blessed them to build cells, and this was the foundation of his monastery. 1540, they built a wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Macarius was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Macarius of Novgorod, who later became Metropolitan of All Russia. The hierarch also appointed Saint Macarius as igumen of the monastery. Macarius was an example to the others, and was given the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking from God. wore himself out with his labors and vigils, encouraging others not to become faint-hearted in their own struggles. several years, he entrusted the monastery to one of his disciples, and returned to the island where he had first lived. There he fell asleep in the Lord on August 15, 1550. disciples buried him outside on the left side of the Dormition church which he had founded. Hermitage of Saint Macarius was never a prosperous monastery with many monks, but it was distinguished by the high level of spiritual life. the seventeenth century, many of the monasteries near Novgorod were plundered by Swedish invaders. Hermitage of Saint Macarius was also burned in 1615, and some of the monks were put to the sword. the eighteenth century, the monastery had become a dependency of the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg. Empress Catherine closed it in 1764, just as she had closed other monasteries, and it was designated as a parish church. pilgrims still came to venerate the saint’s relics and to celebrate his Feast Day, the buildings soon fell into ruin. the mid-nineteenth century, some benefactors restored the two churches and the miraculous healing spring which the saint himself had dug. this time an old priest was living there, and he celebrated the church services until his death. 1894, the monastery began to function once more under the noted missionary Hieromonk Arsenius, who introduced the Athonite Typikon. monastery was destroyed by the Soviets in 1932. Macarius the Roman is commemorated on August 15 (the date of his repose), and also on January 19 (his nameday).

Russia, Moscow, 1533-1584, Ivan, Tsar of All Russia, Vasilievich, intelligent, devout, terrible
Moscow, 1533-1584, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of All Russia, Vasilievich ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Sviatogorsk, Commemorated on July 17; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Zosimas of Solovki, Commemorated on August 8; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God of Narva, Commemorated August 14 ; St Macarius the Roman, Commemorated on August 15; Venerable Theodoritus the Enlightener of the Lapps, Solovki, Commemorated on August 17; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated August 26 ; Blessed John "œthe Hairy"Â and Fool-For-Christ at Rostov, Commemorated on September 3 ; Venerable Jonah the Abbot of Yashezersk, Commemorated on September 22; Icon of the Mother of God "Mirozh", Commemorated September 24 ; St Jonah of Kazan, Commemorated on October 4; Uncovering of the relics of St Gurias the First Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on October 4; Venerable Tryphon the Abbot of Vyatka, Commemorated on October 8; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God "œJerusalem"Â, Commemorated on October 12 ; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 17; Righteous Child Artemius of Verkola, Commemorated on October 20; Translation of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi the Wonderworker of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 23; Venerable Abramius the Archimandrite of Rostov, Commemorated on October 29; Blessed Simon of Yurievets, Commemorated on November 4; St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on November 6; Venerable Martyrius the Abbot of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on November 11 ; Blessed John "œthe Hairy"Â and Fool-For-Christ at Rostov, Commemorated on November 12; St Sergius of Malopinega, Commemorated on November 16; Venerable Simon the Abbot of Soiga Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on November 24; St Gurias the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on December 5; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Siya, Novgorod, Commemorated on December 7; Venerable Nilus of Stolbensk Lake, Commemorated on December 7; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza, Commemorated on December 12 ; Martyr Jonah the Disciple of Tryphon of Pechenga, Commemorated on December 15; Venerable Tryphon the Abbot of Pechenga (Kolsk), Commemorated on December 15; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on January 9; St Barlaam of Keretsk, Commemorated on January 15; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Syandemsk, Vologda, Commemorated on January 18; Venerable Macarius the Roman of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated on January 21; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated on January 23; Icon of the Mother of God of Sumorin-Totem, Commemorated on January 28; Venerable Theodosius the Abbot of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 28; Venerable Nikita of the Kiev Caves, Far Caves the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 31; Martyr Tryphon of Campsada Near Apamea in Syria, Commemorated on February 1; Icon of the Mother of God "œElets-Chernigov"Â, Commemorated on February 5 ; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 14; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; St Nicholas the Catholicos of Georgia, Commemorated on February 18; Beheading of the Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on February 20; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28; Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on March 5; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Venerable Theodosius the Abbot of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 28 ; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated February 14 ; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Icon of the Mother of God of Lubyatov, Commemorated on March 19 ; Martyr Peter of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; Venerable Theonas the Archbishop of Thessalonica, Commemorated on April 4; Venerable Daniel the Abbot of Pereyaslavl-Zalesski, Commemorated on April 7; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Uncovering of the relics of St Nikita the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on April 30 ; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Ephraim the Abbot of Perekop, Novgorod, Commemorated on May 16; Venerable Laurence the Abbot of Komel (Vologda), Commemorated on May 16 ; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Icon of the Mother of God "œVirgin of Tenderness"Â from the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 21 ; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Bassian the Monk of Pertomsk, Solovki, Commemorated on June 5; Righteous Artemius of Verkola, Commemorated on June 23 ; Second Translation of the relics of St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on June 23 ; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; Venerable Serapion of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on June 27 ; Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1539-1542, Metropolitan, Joasaphus, writer, against both possessors and non-possessors
Moscow Patriarch, 1539-1542, Joasaphus, Metropolitan of Moscow ; Skripitsyn (? - 1555 or 1556) was Metropolitan of Moscow from 1539 to 1542. Joasaph is known to have authored a number of theological works. was first a monk and then hegumen at the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra (since 1529). He enjoyed the favor of Grand Prince Vasili III. After Metropolitan Daniel had been deposed at the church sobor of 1539, Joasaph was elected Metropolitan of Moscow just three days later (February 5, 1539).[1] is known to have opposed the supporters of the Josephites or "Non-possessors" and favored the opponents of monastic landownership. Joasaph was the one to solicit young Ivan IV's forgiveness for the disgraced Belskys and prince Vladimir of Staritsa and render support for Maximus the Greek. the regency of Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya, in the first five years of the reign of Ivan IV (1533-“1538), Joasaph managed to keep his influence at the royal court, but in 1542, Joasaph fell into disgrace and was exiled to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery and then transferred to the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra in 1547, where he would remain until his death on July 27, 1555.[2] Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11 ; Rzhevsk (or Okovetsk) Icon of the Mother of God is from the Rzhevets Monastery in Poltava. On May 26, 1539, on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), in Tver diocese, in Vyryshensk town situated in a virgin forest on the bank of the rivulet Vyryshna in the Okovetsk district, not far from the city of Rzhev, at a crossroads for people from four surrounding villages, the monk Stephen made a discovery: fastened to a pine tree was a large iron cross and on another tree an old painted icon depicting the Mother of God with Child, and also Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra. the discovery of the holy cross and the icon there shone an extraordinary light and healings occurred. From the Day of the Holy Spirit to the start of the Apostles’ Fast, 27 healings occurred. monk Stephen, and right after him the Rzhevsk priest Gregory Onisiphorov, journeyed to Moscow with reports of the appearance of the holy icon and cross and the healing that occurred. The then head of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Joasaph (1539-1541) of Moscow, gave thanks to the Lord, and after verifying the miracles of that place, gave blessing to erect there two churches: one dedicated to the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross of the Lord, and the other in honor of the HodÄ“gá¸—tria Mother of God, having in it a chapel named for Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. At the consecration of the churches a priest and deacon were sent from Moscow, together with church utensils, icons, vestments, books and bells. January 1541 the Rzhevsk icon was solemnly transferred to Moscow for the consecration of a church in honor of the Rzhevsk Icon of the Mother of God. After the consecration of the temple, the icon and cross were transferred to the Dormition cathedral, where they remained until July 11. On this day the Rzhevsk icon and cross were returned to the place of their miraculous appearance. The metropolitan together with all the assembled clergy of the capital, and with the young Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, and all the people, accompanied the icon from the Dormition cathedral to the church of the Rzhevsk Icon of the Mother of God, where a copy of this venerable icon was placed. In memory of this celebration the Feast of the Rzhevsk Icon of the Mother of God was established on July 11.

Russia, Moscow, 1539, Miraculous Appearance of Rzhev Icon with Healings, large iron cross fastened to tree
Rzhev; Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11 ; Rzhevsk (or Okovetsk) Icon of the Mother of God is from the Rzhevets Monastery in Poltava. On May 26, 1539, on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), in Tver diocese, in Vyryshensk town situated in a virgin forest on the bank of the rivulet Vyryshna in the Okovetsk district, not far from the city of Rzhev, at a crossroads for people from four surrounding villages, the monk Stephen made a discovery: fastened to a pine tree was a large iron cross and on another tree an old painted icon depicting the Mother of God with Child, and also Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra. the discovery of the holy cross and the icon there shone an extraordinary light and healings occurred. From the Day of the Holy Spirit to the start of the Apostles’ Fast, 27 healings occurred. monk Stephen, and right after him the Rzhevsk priest Gregory Onisiphorov, journeyed to Moscow with reports of the appearance of the holy icon and cross and the healing that occurred. The then head of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Joasaph (1539-1541) of Moscow, gave thanks to the Lord, and after verifying the miracles of that place, gave blessing to erect there two churches: one dedicated to the Procession of the Venerable Wood of the Cross of the Lord, and the other in honor of the HodÄ“gá¸—tria Mother of God, having in it a chapel named for Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. At the consecration of the churches a priest and deacon were sent from Moscow, together with church utensils, icons, vestments, books and bells. January 1541 the Rzhevsk icon was solemnly transferred to Moscow for the consecration of a church in honor of the Rzhevsk Icon of the Mother of God. After the consecration of the temple, the icon and cross were transferred to the Dormition cathedral, where they remained until July 11. On this day the Rzhevsk icon and cross were returned to the place of their miraculous appearance. The metropolitan together with all the assembled clergy of the capital, and with the young Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, and all the people, accompanied the icon from the Dormition cathedral to the church of the Rzhevsk Icon of the Mother of God, where a copy of this venerable icon was placed. In memory of this celebration the Feast of the Rzhevsk Icon of the Mother of God was established on July 11. Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1540, James of Borovichi, Novgorod, Wonderworker, Foof f C, block of ice floating against current w relics
Russia, Novgorod, 1540, Blessed James of Borovichi, Wonderworker of Novgorod; Borovichi Valdai Hills; Translation of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi the Wonderworker of Novgorod, Commemorated October 23 ; of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi, Wonderworker of Novgorod Saint James took upon himself the arduous task of foolishness for Christ in his youth. Most of the details of his life are unknown, but the Lord glorified him after death. the year 1540, on the third day of Pascha, a large block of ice floated up against the current along the River Msta to the village of Borovichi (in Novgorod district), and on this block of ice stood the coffin (made from an oak log) without cover, in which the body of the youth lay. Shunning the holy relics, peasants with poles pushed the block of ice back into the river, but it returned to the shore. This was repeated three times. That night the youth appeared in a dream to the elders of the village, who had seen him upon the ice-floe, and said, “I am also a Christian just like you. Don’t push me away. My name is James. I am the namesake of Saint James, the Brother of God.” relics of the holy youth were first placed in a chapel, then in 1544 were transferred to the Descent of the Holy Spirit church. Then the annual commemoration of the saint every year on October 23 was established. The Lord, having glorified his God-pleasing one, granted the relics of Saint James a curative power. A Feastday with Matins was established in 1572. The Iconographic Manuals describe Saint James: “A youth, bare, girded with a piece of cloth.” In 1657 Patriarch Nikon sent part of the relics to Valdai, to the Ivḗron Monastery.

Russia, Moscow, 1540-1589, Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, fasting & Prayer, spoke truth, even to B Godunov, Big Cap
Russia, Moscow, 1540-1589, Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Vologda (aka Komel, Vologda River 3) from Vologda, to Rostov, to Moscow, strict fasting & Prayer, hard work, foolishness, spoke truth, even to Boris Godunov, foretold time of troubles; Vologda; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3; John, Fool-for-Christ, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born on the outskirts of Vologda. his youth he toiled at a saltworks, where he was a water-carrier. The saint combined strict fasting and prayer with his heavy work. he moved on to Rostov, where he began his exploit of holy foolishness for the sake of Christ. wore chains with heavy iron crosses, and on his head was a heavy iron cap, for which they called him “John Big-Cap”. Moscow he went barefoot and almost naked in even the most severe frost, and he foretold the great misfortunes for Russia, the Time of Troubles and the incursion of the Poles, saying that “in Moscow will be many visible and invisible devils.” spoke the truth to everyone fearlessly, regardless of what position they might occupy. Even to Tsar Boris Godunov, he often said: “Clever mind, sort out the things of God. God waits for a long time. Yes, it hurts.” his death Saint John indicated the place where he wanted to be buried: at the Protection church on Rva, which was later known as the cathedral of Saint Basil the Blessed (August 2). himself for burial, he removed the chains he had worn under his clothing and poured water over himself three times. before his repose (? 1589), the blessed one received the gift of healing. Moscow, he was venerated as a great wonderworker and seer. On June 12, 1672, the relics of the blessed one were found resting under a crypt in one of the chapels of the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed. Service and Life were preserved in Lists of the seventeenth century.

Russia, Moscow, 1540-1603, Martyrius oZelenets, Pskov, MOG Fiery column&healing Icon, MOG where fSilence, cross over Church
Russia, St Petersburg, 1540-1603, Martyrius oZelenets (Green Island), Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, St Petersburg, born Veliki Luki, mentor Boris became monk Bogolep, M joined him, work&prayer, treasurer, altar server, MOG showed tM, wFiery Tikhvin Icon and column, still hot when he kissed it, heat on forehead upon wake, sent ill monk tIcon, M filled wintense faith, pMOG show him where go for silence, 60K away, demons put to shame, asked Bogolep permission, advised return, tSmolensk&MOG Icon+relcs, Abramius&Ephraim appeared, reassured him, tTikhvin, monk told him secret place wRadiant cross stars, This time Boog approved Zelenets, harsh life there, no shake resolve, small chapel, another icon in dream, on sea, Gabriel told him venerate, M into water tV, but icon sinks, wilderness sanctified by M life, monks come, shining cross over church, visible grace on M, discernment&healing, funds fNovgorod, new heated church, MOG appeared on bench near icons, 1570 ordained priest, igumen before 1582, then wealthier benefactor, 1595 benefactor son's ressurection, his 2icons on dead boy's chest, 1595 Tsar Theodore gives land, sensing death M told brothers tTrust MOG as he had, passed wJoy 1603; Zelenets, Trinity Zelenets Monestary, Volkhov District, Zelenets (Green Island); Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Martyrius of Zelenets, in the world Menas, was born in the city of Veliki Luki (Great Meadow) in the sixteenth century. His parents, Cosmas and Stephanida, died when he was just ten years old. was raised by his spiritual Father, a priest of the city’s Annunciation church, and the child’s soul cleaved to God. widowed priest Boris became a monk with the name Bogolep at the Trinity-Sergius monastery in Veliki Luki. often visited him at the monastery, and later on he himself received monastic tonsure there taking the name Martyrius. seven years both teacher and disciple toiled for the Lord unrelentingly in a single cell, encouraging each other in deeds of work and prayer. Saint Martyrius had the obediences of “kellarios” [cellarer], treasurer, and “ponomar” [or altar server]. was at this time that the Mother of God first showed Her special solicitude for Saint Martyrius. mid-day he dozed off in the bell tower and beheld the Tikhvin (Hodēgḗtria) icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in a fiery column. The monk venerated it, and it was still hot from the fiery column. When he awoke, he still felt this heat on his forehead. the spiritual advice of Saint Martyrius, the grievously ill monk Abramius went to venerate the wonderworking Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, and he received healing. Martyrius was filled with intense faith in the intercession of the Mother of God. began to pray that the Heavenly Queen would show him where he might go for the ascetic feat of complete silence, for which his soul yearned. monk secretly withdrew into a desolate place situated 60 versts from Veliki Luki. As he himself writes, “in this wilderness I received fearful visitations from demons, but I prayed to God, and the demons were put to shame.” a letter to Elder Bogolep, Saint Martyrius asked his blessing to dwell in the wilderness, but the spiritual father advised him to return to the cenobitic life where he would be of use to the brethren. daring to disobey his experienced Elder, and not knowing how to proceed, Saint Martyrius went to Smolensk to venerate the wonderworking Hodēgḗtria [She who leads the way] Icon of the Mother of God and the relics of Saints Abramius and Ephraim (August 21). saints appeared to Saint Martyrius in a dream, and they reassured him that he would be permitted to live in the wilderness, “wherever God will bless and the Most Holy Theotokos will guide you.” Martyrius then went to the Tikhvin monastery, hoping that the Mother of God would resolve his dilemma. monk Abramius, who remained at this monastery in gratitude to the Mother of God for his healing, told Saint Martyrius about a secret place, over which he had seen a radiant Cross of stars. time he received the blessing of the Elder. Martyrius took with him two small icons: one of the Life-Creating Trinity, and the other of the Tikhvin Mother of God. He then settled in Zelents (the green island), which was a beautiful island in a forested swamp. and painful was the life of the monk in the wilderness, but neither cold, nor deprivation, nor wild beasts, nor the wiles of the enemy were able to shake his resolve. built a small chapel for the glorification of, and in gratitude to, the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos. was again deemed worthy to see an icon of the Mother of God in a dream. This time it was floating on the sea. To the right of the icon he saw the Archangel Gabriel who told him to venerate the icon. Martyrius went into the water, and the icon began to sink in the sea. The saint then cried out, and a wave carried him to shore. With that, the icon vanished. wilderness was sanctified by the life of the hermit, and many began to arrive, not only to be instructed by the word and example of the monk, but also to settle there with him. increased number of disciples prompted the monk to build a church dedicated to the Life-Creating Trinity, where he placed his own icons of the Trinity and of the Tikhvin Mother of God. As a sign of the grace of God resting upon the monastery of Saint Martyrius, his disciple Saint Gurias was permitted to see a Cross in the heavens, shining over the cross on top of the church. was the beginning of the Trinity Zelenets monastery, “the green wilderness monastery of Martyrius.” The Lord blessed his labors, and the grace of God shone visibly upon him. fame of his discernment and gift of healing became known to many. Many eminent people of Novgorod began to send gifts to the monastery. With funds provided by the pious boyar Theodore Syrkov, a heated church was built and consecrated in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos in memory of the first church at Veliki Luki, from which the saint had begun his path to God. Martyrius continued to receive help from the Mother of God. She appeared to him on a bench in the corner where the icons stood. saint recalled: “I looked upon Her without lowering my eyes... I gazed upon Her holy face, at her eyes filled with tears, ready to trickle down Her all-pure face. awoke from the dream and was afraid. I lit a candle from the lampada, in order to see whether or not the Most Pure Virgin sat at the place where I saw Her in the dream. I went up to the icon of the Hodēgḗtria and was convinced that in truth the Mother of God had appeared to me as She is depicted on my icon.” after this (about the year 1570) Saint Martyrius was ordained priest at Novgorod by the archbishop (Alexander or Leonid). He was already an igumen in 1582. the Lord granted the Zelenets wilderness monastery an even wealthier benefactor. 1595 at Tver Saint Martyrius resurrected the son of the former Kasimov ruler Simeon Bekbulatovich, praying in front of his own icons of the Life-Creating Trinity and the Tikhvin Mother of God. He placed both icons upon the chest of the dead child, and he awoke as if from sleep. gratitude Simeon built a church in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and of Saint John Chrysostom, the Heavenly patron saint of the ruler’s son John. 1595 Tsar Theodore endowed the monastery with a sufficient quantity of land for its support. reached a great old age and preparing for death, Saint Martyrius dug a grave for himself, and near it he placed a coffin fashioned by his own hands. often came there to weep. his imminent departure, the monk assembled the brethren and told his children in the Lord to have steadfast hope in the Most Holy Trinity and to trust the Mother of God, as he himself had always trusted in Her. receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he gave the brethren his blessing with the words: “Peace to all the Orthodox.” With spiritual joy he fell asleep in the Lord on March 1, 1603. saint was buried in the grave he dug near the church of the Mother of God. Later, his holy relics rested beneath a crypt in the church of the Most Holy Trinity, beneath the lower temple in honor of Saint John the Theologian. Cornelius, a former monk of the Zelenets monastery, and later Metropolitan of Kazan and Novgorod (+ 1698), compiled a service and wrote the Life of Saint Martyrius, making use of personal notes and the saint’s testament. memory of Saint Martyrius of Zelenets and Veliki Luki is celebrated also on November 11. Venerable Martyrius, Abbot of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on November 11; Martyrius was a monk in the Veliki Luki (Great Meadows) Monastery, and shared a cell with Elder Bogolep. These holy ascetics ate only once a day. After the services in church, they would fulfill the rule of prayer in their cell, then they would work during the night milling corn. Saint Martyrius went to live at Zelenets (Green Island), and founded a monastery in the midst of the swamps. By 1582, he was already the igumen of the monastery, which had twelve monks. Several benefactors donated to the monastery, including Theodore Syrkov, Simeon Bekbulatov (the ruler of Kasim), and Tsar Theodore, who donated land. Martyrius fell asleep in the Lord in 1603. He is also commemorated on March 1.

Russia, Moscow, 1541-1562, Simon of Soyga Monastery, from Komel under Cornelius, w to Koryazhemsk w Longinus, to Sioga in 1541
Russia, Vologda, 1541-1562, Simon of Soyga Monastery, from Komel under Cornelius, w to Koryazhemsk w Longinus, to Sioga River in 1541; Soyga (located approximately half-way between Solvychegodsk and Yarensk Soyga is 60k or Versts from Solvychegodsk; Venerable Simon the Abbot of Soiga Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on November 24 ; Simon of Soiga belonged to the Komel disciples of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. was born at Solvychegodsk, and was tonsured at the Komel monastery under Saint Cornelius (May 19). passed through his obediences with such ascetics and disciples of Cornelius of Komel as Gennadius of Liubimsk (January 23), Cyril of New Lake (February 4), Herodion of Iloezersk (September 28), Adrian of Poshekhonsk (March 5), Laurence of Komel (May 16). the death of his mentor Saint Cornelius, Saint Simon was, for a certain time, the companion of Saint Longinus (February 10), the founder of the Koryazhemsk monastery, and went with him to dwell in the wilderness. this he settled at the River Soiga, 60 versts from Koryazhma. There he established a church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, consecrated on May 17, 1541. After founding a monastery by this church, the saint was chosen igumen by the brethren. Simon died on November 24, 1562 and was buried in the monastery he founded, in the church dedicated to the holy Great Martyr Catherine, whose Feast is also observed on November 24.

Russia, Moscow, 1542, Icon of Syamsk, 1542 fire, only Syamsk icon saved, Church Rebuilt in 1770 wIcon
Russia, Vologda, , Icon of Syamsk, Priluki (Spaso-Prilutsky) Monastery, Komel, Vologda, 1542 fire, only Syamsk icon saved, Church Rebuilt in 1770 wIcon; Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery; Icon of the Mother of God of Syamsk, Commemorated on September 8; Syamsk Icon of the Mother of God was found at the Syamsk-Vologda monastery, established in the sixteenth century. the year 1542, during a fire at the monastery, only the wonderworking icon was saved. After the fire, the monastery was rebuilt. the year 1770, a church was built at the monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and in it was placed this wonderworking icon.

Russia, Moscow, 1542-1563, Metropltn, Macarius, icons, s V III's divorce, sent missions north, saints lives, I IV's advisor
Moscow Patriarch, 1542-1563, Macarius, Metropolitan of all Russia; (1482 - 12 January 1563) was a notable Russian cleric, writer, and icon painter who served as the Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia from 1542 until 1563. life and work on the Menaion[edit] was born in the region around Moscow. His parents' names (at least his mother's monastic names) are known because he dedicates the Great Menaion Reader to them. His secular name is thought to have been Mikhail.[1] the late 15th century, Macarius became a monk at the St. Paphnutius Monastery [ru] in Borovsk, where he would serve as a reader, subdeacon, deacon, and priest. It was here that Macarius mastered the art of icon painting. He is also known to have been a firm supporter of Joseph Volotsky and his disciples. 1523, Metropolitan Daniel raised Macarius to the rank of archmandrite of a monastery in Mozhaisk. It was there that Macarius became acquainted with the Grand Prince of Moscow, Vasili III. He was one of a few clerics who supported Vasili III's divorce from the barren Solomonia Saburova and blessed his second mariage with Elena Glinskaya. 1526, Macarius was appointed Archbishop of Novgorod,[2] where he conducted pro-Muscovite policies. In 1533 and again in 1535, he sent the monk Il'ia and others on missionary work among the Finno-Ugric peoples along the Neva, Lakes Ladoga and Onega, and up into the Kola Peninsula. (His successor in Novgorod, Feodosii, send missionaries to the same region a decade later.) In 1541, Macarius and his companions finished work on the first edition of their great work, the Great Menaion Reader. This compilation of lives of the Russian saints comprised 12 volumes arranged on monthly basis. He is also credited with beginning the Stepennaia Kniga (The Book of Degrees of Royal Genealogy) which traced Ivan the Terrible's lineage back to a fictitious brother of Caesar Augustus named Prus.[3] He is also said to have painted the icons in the little iconostasis of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Novgorod.[4] of Russia[edit] secured the support of powerful Prince Andrey Shuisky, Macarius was elected Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia on 16 March 1542. During Ivan IV's nonage and Shuiskys' regency, Macarius's relations with the Boyar Duma gradually worsened due to his constant "grief" over the disgrace of courtiers and church dignitaries. His independent-mindedness induced a number of attempts to dislodge him. In the summer of 1544, Macarius escaped a sure death in the fire raging in the Moscow Kremlin. Three years later, he took part in removing Ivan's maternal relatives, the Glinskys, from the Russian government. becoming one of the closest advisers of Ivan the Terrible, Macarius arranged his coronation on 16 January 1547. That year, he blessed the tsar's marriage with Anastasia Zakharyina-Yuriyeva. Macarius was an active participant at the zemsky sobors of 1547, 1549, and 1550, advocating conciliation between the opposing boyar groups. the synod of 1542, Macarius achieved the excommunication of Maximus the Greek's associate Isaac Sobaka (archmandrite of Chudov Monastery). Curiously enough, Macarius would later correspond with the exiled Maximus the Greek and include some of his essays in his the Great Menaion Reader, rejecting, however, his appeals for pardon. During Stoglav and other such synods (traditionally known as Macarius's synods in Russian historiography), Macarius carried out canonization of 39 all-Russian saints. In 1551, Macarius (together with the tsar) convened the so-called Stoglavi Sobor. He also blessed the Russian army before its departure to Kazan in 1552. During his Kazan campaign in 1559, Ivan the Terrible left Macarius in Moscow to "protect the tsardom", which made him a temporary head of state. In 1552 and 1554, Macarius completed the second and third editions of the Grand Menaion. During the church councils in 1553-1555, Macarius supported the accusations of heresy, aimed at a boyar son Matvei Bashkin, starets Artemiy, and monk Feodosiy Kosoy. However, he took the side of Silvester, a monk at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the Moscow Kremlin, who had been accused by diak Ivan Viskovatyi in uncanonical wall-painting of the above-mentioned cathedral. the tsar was away from Moscow, Macarius was in charge of diplomatic negotiations and dispatching messengers abroad with different deeds. The painting of the Saint Basil's Cathedral and Kremlin's Golden Chamber was carried out with his assistance. He also took part in compiling the Chronicle of the Beginning of Tsardom of Tsar and Grand Prince Ivan Vasiliyevich, i.e., an official chronicle of Ivan the Terrible's reign and the Regal Book, an illuminated manuscript about Ivan's reign and policies. years[edit] his declining years, Macarius moved away from the affairs of the state. He supervised the creation of the Stepennaya kniga (or the Book of Generations), supported Ivan Fyodorov's book-printing, and renovated icons. Metropolitan Macarius died on 12 January 1563 and was buried in the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Moscow Kremlin. After his death, they wrote his life and A Tale of the Last Days of Metropolitan Macarius. Macarius was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988 (he, however, is found in lists of saints dating back to the 18th century).[5] His icon hangs in a niche over the archway of the entrance to the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents in Moscow. Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; St Hypatius the Wonderworker and Bishop of Gangra, Commemorated on March 31;

Russia, Moscow, 1547, Great Fire of Moscow in 1547
Russia, Moscow, 1547, Great Fire of Moscow in 1547 ; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2;

Russia, Moscow, 1547-1721, Tsardom of Russia , Fall of Constantinople thru Northern War
Moscow, Tsardom of Russia 1547-1721, Fall of Constantinople thru Great Northern War with Sweden ; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1550-1568, Theodosius oTotma, searching fSalt Works tTotma,but started 2 m's, grave miracles, incorrupt relics
Russia, Vologda, 1550-1568, Theodosius oTotma, Vologda (Sukhona River 5), married for Parents, continued prayer&church, parents &Wife died, tPriluki m near Vologda, various obediences (water ca, firewood ch, flour mi, bread ba), searching fSalt Works tTotma, Ivan's permission start m at T, T appointed Igumen, 1554 taxation free grant, plus Totma Ephraimov Wilderness m, head 2 m, ascetic life continued, chains hair shirt ironcap, many spiritual books fLibrary, died 1568, grave miracles, incorrupt relics; Totma (Sukhona River 5); Venerable Theodosius the Abbot of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated January 28 ; Theodosius of Totma was born at Vologda about the year 1530. his youth he was raised in a spirit of Christian piety and the fear of God. the insistence of his parents he married, family life did not turn him away from God. He went fervently to church and prayed at home, particularly at night. the death of his parents and his wife, he withdrew to the Priluki monastery not far from Vologda. the monastery Theodosius passed through the various obediences: he carried water, chopped fire-wood, milled flour and baked bread. went to Totma on the igumen’s orders to search for a salt-works for the monastery. sought the permission of Tsar Ivan Vasilevich and the blessing of Archbishop Nicander to found a monastery at Totma. was appointed head of this newly-formed Totma monastery, which in a grant of 1554 was declared free of taxation. saint founded the Totma Ephraimov wilderness monastery and brought brethren into it. becoming the head of two monasteries, continued to lead an ascetic life. wore down his body by wearing chains and a hairshirt, and beneath his monastic cowl he wore an iron cap. of spiritual reading, he acquired many books for the monastery. Theodosius reposed in the year 1568 was buried in the monastery he founded, miracles occurred at his grave. On September 2, 1796 during the reconstruction of the Ascension church, his relics were found incorrupt, their glorification took place on January 28, 1798, on the day of his repose.

Russia, Moscow, 1550, 16th Century, Saint Barlaam of Keretsk, White Sea Region, posthumous miracles, s from drowning
Russia, Vologda, 1550, 16th Century, Saint Barlaam of Keretsk, Lake Keretsk, Kolsk Penninsula, White Sea Region, for Industrial Workers, posthumous miracles, saving from drowning; Lake Keretsk ; St Barlaam of Keretsk, Commemorated January 15 ; Barlaam of Keretsk served during the sixteenth century as a priest in the Keretsk area of the Kolsk peninsula on the White Sea. was venerated as the patron of White Sea industrial workers and sea-farers. He was glorified by posthumous miracles, saving those in danger of drowning.

Russia, Moscow, 1550-1580, John the Hairy, Fool for Christ, Rostov, out in cold grew abundant hair, patience&unceasing prayer
Russia, Rostov, 1550-1580, John the Hairy, Fool for Christ, Rostov, out in the cold grew abundant hair, patience&unceasing prayer, aka J the Merciful, no permanent residence, lived wPriest orAged Widows, spiritually nourished many incl Irenarchus oRostov; Russia, Rostov, 1550-1580, John the Hairy, Fool for Christ, Rostov; John the Hairy (also known as John the Merciful of Rostov) was a holy fool, of the Russian Orthodox Church in the second half of the 16th century. He endured a great many trials in his lifetime.[1] "He did not have a permanent shelter, and at times took his rest at the house of his spiritual Father, a priest at the church of the All-Holy, or with one of the aged widows." to Orthodox Church in America sources, Blessed John, Living in humility, patience and unceasing prayer... spiritually nourished many people, among them St Irenarchus, Hermit of Rostov (January 13). a long life of pursuing asceticism, he died on September 3, 1580 and was buried, according to his final wishes, beside the church of Saint Blaise beyond the altar.[1] He had "hair upon his head abundantly," therefore he was called "Hairy." The title "Merciful" was given to Blessed John because of the many healings that occurred at his grave, and also in connection with the memory of the holy Patriarch John the Merciful (November 12), whose name he shared.[1] John the Hairy is commemorated on November 12 in the Eastern Orthodox Church.[1] relics of the saint are in Rostov in the church in honor of Theotokos of Tolga, next to sanctuary are psalms and cupressus the cross belonging to the saint. Rustov; Rostov the Great; Rustov Cathedral; Blessed John "œthe Hairy"Â and Fool-For-Christ at Rostov, Commemorated on November 12 ; John the Merciful of Rostov (also known as the Hairy) struggled at Rostov in the exploit of holy foolishness, enduring much deprivation and sorrow. did not have a permanent shelter, and at times took his rest at the house of his spiritual Father, a priest at the church of the All-Holy, or with one of the aged widows. in humility, patience and unceasing prayer, he spiritually nourished many people, among them Saint Irenarchus, Hermit of Rostov (January 13). After a long life of pursuing asceticism, he died on September 3, 1580 and was buried, according to his final wishes, beside the church of Saint Blaise beyond the altar. had hair upon his head abundantly,therefore he was called Hairy. title Merciful was given to Blessed John because of the many healings that occurred at his grave, and also in connection with the memory of the holy Patriarch John the Merciful (November 12), whose name he shared.

Russia, Moscow, 1550-1597, Therapon oMonza, Kostroma, Theroponov M n after him, prophet, fMoscow
Russia, Vologda, 1550-1597, Therapon oMonza, Kostroma 25 Versts from Galich, at Chukhloma Lake, monk at River Monza, fMoscow tKostroma, tMonza wAdrian&Paphnutius fObnora, asceticism till life end, blessed tWithdraw forest&prayed each day, each night transcribed spiritual useful books, emulated Basil oMoscow, prophecied famine, Theraponov monastery named after him; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza, Commemorated on December 12; Therapon of Monza was a monk in the monastery of Saint Adrian (May 5) at the River Monza. monk began his ascetic deeds in Moscow, and then transferred to the city of Kostroma at the Elevation of the Cross monastery, and was tonsured there. pious monks Adrian and Paphnutius, from the monastery of Saint Paul of Obnora (January 10), seeking solitude, moved to the Monza and founded a monastery 25 versts from Galich. Therapon transferred to this monastery, where he labored in asceticism until the end of his life. day, with the blessing of the igumen, he withdrew into a forest thicket and prayed. night he read and transcribed copies of spiritually useful books. his life he emulated Blessed Basil of Moscow (August 2), whom he called his friend, although personally he never saw him. during his life, Saint Therapon was glorified with a gift of wonderworking. his death he predicted a year of famine (1601). surrendered his soul to God in the year 1597. The monastery at the River Monza was called after him the Theraponov.

Russia, Moscow, 1550-1612, Hermogenes of Moscow, inspired end of TofT, converted muslim tartars
Russia, Moscow, 1550-1612, Patriarch Hermogenes of Moscow; or Germogen (before 1530 - 17 February 1612) was the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia from 1606. was he who inspired the popular uprising that put an end to the Time of Troubles. was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1913. Hermogenes refusing to bless the Poles painting by Pavel Chistyakov (1860). the Holy Synod of 1589, which established the patriarchy in Moscow, Hermogenes was appointed Metropolitan of the newly conquered city of Kazan. During the following two decades, he gained renown for a number of Muslim Volga Tatars converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. 1606, Hermogenes was summoned by False Dmitry I to take part in the Senate recently instituted in Moscow. There he learnt about the tsar's design to marry a Roman Catholic woman, Marina Mniszech, and firmly declared against such an alliance. At that he was exiled from the capital, only to return with great honours several months later, when the false tsar had been deposed, and Patriarch Ignatius followed suit. Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius'™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1550-1612, Hermogenes, Hiermartyr, Don Cossack, Kazan Icon 1579 account, b tartars, against uniates, starved
Russia, Moscow, 1550-1612, Hermogenes, Hiermartyr, Kazan, Perm, Don Cossack, priest, monk, archmandrite, metropolitan, Kazan Icon 1579 account, baptized tartars, against uniates and catholics, Tushino imposter killed by associate, H died by starvation ; Kazan ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, was born in Kazan around 1530, and was descended from the Don Cossacks. to the Patriarch’s own testimony, he served as priest in Kazan in a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas (December 6 and May 9), near the Kazan bazaar. Soon he became a monk, and from 1582 was archimandrite of the Savior-Transfiguration monastery at Kazan. On May 13, 1589 he was consecrated bishop and became the first Metropolitan of Kazan. he was the priest at Saint Nicholas, the wonderworking Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (July 8) was discovered in Kazan in 1579. With the blessing of Archbishop Jeremiah of Kazan, he carried the newly-appeared icon from the place of its discovery to the Church of Saint Nicholas. Having remarkable literary talent, the saint in 1594 compiled an account describing the appearance of the wonderworking icon and the miracles accomplished through it. In 1591 the saint gathered newly-baptized Tatars into the cathedral church and for several days he instructed them in the Faith. relics of Saint Germanus, the second archbishop of Kazan (September 25, November 6, and June 23), who died at Moscow on November 6, 1567 during a plague, were transfered and buried in Saint Nicholas Church in 1592. With the blessing of Patriarch Job (1589-1605), Saint Hermogenes reburied the relics at the Sviyazhsk Dormition monastery. January 9, 1592 Saint Hermogenes addressed a letter to Patriarch Job, in which he asked for permission to commemorate in his See of Kazan those Orthodox soldiers who gave their lives for the Faith and the nation in a battle against the Tatars. In the past, it was customary to enter into the diptychs the names of all Orthodox warriors who had fallen in battle, and to commemorate them. the same time he mentioned three martyrs who had suffered at Kazan for their faith in Christ, one of whom was a Russian named John (January 24) born at Nizhny Novgorod and captured by the Tatars. The other two, Stephen and Peter (March 24), were newly-converted Tatars. saint expressed regret that these martyrs were not inserted into the diptychs read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, and that “Memory Eternal” was not sung for them. In answer to Saint Hermogenes, the Patriarch issued a decree on February 25, which said: “to celebrate at Kazan and throughout all the Kazan metropolitanate a panikhida for all the Orthodox soldiers killed at Kazan and the environs of Kazan, on the Saturday following the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (October 1), and to inscribe them in the great Synodikon read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy,” and also ordered that the three Kazan martyrs be inscribed in the Synodikon, leaving it to Saint Hermogenes to set the day of their memory. Saint Hermogenes circulated the Patriarchal decree throughout his diocese, and required all the churches and monasteries to serve Liturgies, Panikhidas and Lityas for the three Kazan martyrs on January 24. Hermogenes displayed zeal in the faith and firmness in the observance of Church traditions, and he devoted himself to the enlightenment of Kazan Tatars with the faith of Christ. 1595, with the active participation of the Saint Hermogenes, the relics of the Kazan Wonderworkers Saint Gurias, the first archbishop of Kazan (October 4, December 5, June 20), and Saint Barsanuphius bishop of Tver (October 4, April 11) were discovered and uncovered. Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (1584-1598) had given orders to erect at the Kazan Savior-Transfiguration monastery a new stone church on the site of the first one, where the saints were buried. the graves of the saints were discovered, Saint Hermogenes came with a gathering of clergy. He commanded the graves to be opened and, when he saw the incorrupt relics and clothing of the saints, he notified the Patriarch and the Tsar. With the blessing of Patriarch Job and by order of the Tsar, the relics of the newly-appeared wonderworkers were placed in the new church. Saint Hermogenes himself compiled the lives of hierarchs Gurias and Barsanuphius. been found worthy of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Hermogenes was elected to the primatial See, and on July 3, 1606 he was installed as Patriarch by the assembly of the holy hierarchs at Moscow’s Dormition cathedral. Metropolitan Isidore handed the Patriarch the staff of the holy hierarch Peter, Moscow Wonderworker (October 5, December 21, August 24), and the Tsar gave as a gift to the new Patriarch a panagia, embellished with precious stones, a white klobuk and staff. In the ancient manner, Patriarch Hermogenes made his entrance riding upon a donkey. activity of Patriarch Hermogenes coincided with a difficult period for the Russian state: the appearance of the false Tsarevich Demetrius and the Polish king Sigismund III. The first hierarch devoted all his powers to the service of the Church and the nation. Hermogenes was not alone in this exploit: his self-sacrificing fellow-countrymen followed his example and assisted him. With special inspiration His Holiness the Patriarch stood up against the traitors and enemies of the nation, who wanted to spread Uniatism and Western Catholicism throughout Russia and to wipe out Orthodoxy, while enslaving the Russian nation. the imposter arrived at Moscow and settled himself at Tushino, Patriarch Hermogenes sent two letters to the Russian traitors. In one of them he wrote: “...You have forgotten the vows of our Orthodox Faith, in which we are born, baptized, nourished and raised. You have violated your oath and the kissing of the Cross to stand to the death for the house of the Most Holy Theotokos and for the Moscow realm, but have fallen for your false would-be Tsarevich ... My soul aches, my heart is sickened, all within me agonizes, and all my frame shudders; I weep and with sobbing I lament: Have mercy, have mercy, brethren and children, on your own souls and your parents departed and living ... Consider, how our nation is devastated and plundered by foreigners, who offer insult to the holy icons and churches, and how innocent blood is spilled, crying out to God. Think! Against whom do you take up arms: is it not against God, Who has created you? Is it not against your own brothers? Do you not devastate your own country?... I adjure you in the name of God, give up your undertaking, there is yet time, so that you do not perish in the end.” In the second document the saint appeals: “For the sake of God, come to your senses and turn around, gladden your parents, your wives and children; and we stand to pray God for you...” the righteous judgment of God fell upon the Brigand of Tushino: he was killed by his own close associates on December 11, 1610. But Moscow continued to remain in peril, since the Poles and traitors, loyal to Sigismund III, remained in the city. The documents sent by Patriarch Hermogenes throughout the cities and villages, exhorted the Russian nation to liberate Moscow from the enemies and to choose a lawful Russian Tsar. Muscovites rose up in rebellion, and the Poles burned the city, shutting themselves up in the Kremlin. Together with Russian traitors they forcefully seized Patriarch Hermogenes from the patriarchal throne and imprisoned him in the Chudov monastery. Bright Monday in 1611, the Russian militia approached Moscow and began the seige of the Kremlin, which continued for several months. Besieged within the Kremlin, the Poles often sent messengers to the Patriarch with the demand that he order the Russian militia to leave the city, threatening him with execution if he refused. saint firmly replied, “What are your threats to me? I fear only God. If all our enemies leave Moscow, I shall bless the Russian militia to withdraw from Moscow; but if you remain here, I shall bless all to stand against you and to die for the Orthodox Faith.” still in prison, the hieromartyr Hermogenes sent a final epistle to the Russian nation, blessing the liberating army to fight the invaders. The Russian commanders could not come to an agreement over a way to take the Kremlin and free the Patriarch. He languished more than nine months in dreadful confinement, and on February 17, 1612 he died a martyr’s death from starvation. liberation of Russia, for which Saint Hermogenes stood with such indestructible valor, was successfully achieved. The body of the hieromartyr Hermogenes was buried in the Chudov monastery, but in 1654 was transferred to the Moscow Dormition cathedral. The glorification of Patriarch Hermogenes as a saint occurred on May 12, 1913.

Russia, Moscow, 1551, Adrian of Ondrusov's Relics Trnsfr tSt Nic's, Adrian&robbers stories, A's swamp death relics story
Russia, St Petersburg, 1551, Adrian of Ondrusov's Relics Transfer to St Nicholas Monastery at Ladoga Fortress, Adrian's story & robbers release and conversion stories, A's swamp death relics story; St Nicholas Monastery &Fortress, Lake Ladoga ; Ladoga Fortress; Venerable Adrian the Abbot of Ondrusov, Valaam, Commemorated on August 26; Adrian of Ondrusov (in the world the nobleman Andrew Zavalushin), was the owner of a rich estate (Andreevschina), 9 versts from the monastery of Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). accidentally encountered Saint Alexander of Svir during a stag hunt in 1493, and after this he went often to him for guidance, and supplied bread for the ascetics. his estate, he took monastic tonsure at the Valaamo monastery with the name Adrian. years later, with the blessing of Saint Alexander of Svir, Saint Adrian settled in a solitary place on the peninsula of Lake Ladoga. he built a church in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. the settlement of monks in the deep forest was an island, Sala (the Thicket), where there was a gang of robbers under the leadership of Ondrusa as their ataman. the monks, the ataman demanded that they get off his land. Adrian, knowing that he did not have money to buy the place, promised the ataman to intercede for him before God. robber laughed at the monk, but he entreated him so long and so humbly, that the ataman softened and said, “Live.” ataman was soon taken captive by another gang, hidden not far from the stoney Cape of Storozhev. hapless fellow knew that after suffering, torture and death awaited him, and he bitterly repented of his former life. he saw Saint Adrian before him. He said, “You are freed through the mercy of the Lord, for Whose sake you were asked to show mercy to the wilderness brethren,” and he vanished. ataman saw himself without fetters at the shore, and with no one around. he rushed to the monastery of Saint Adrian and found all the ascetics chanting Psalms. seemed that Saint Adrian had not left the monastery. robber fell at the knees of the saint and begged to be accepted as one of the brethren. finished his life in repentance at the monastery. robber of another gang also repented. Through the prayers of Saint Adrian, he was tonsured with the name Cyprian. Afterwards, at the place of a tributary, he built a monastery and was glorified by miracles. monastery of Saint Adrian received an endowment from Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584). August 1549, Saint Adrian was godfather for Anna, daughter of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. the saint was returning from Moscow to the monastery, robbers killed him near the village of Obzha, hoping to find money. brethren waited for a long time for their Superior, two years later, he appeared one night in a vision to a few Elders and told them of his death. On another day, May 17, the brethren found his incorrupt body in a swamp and committed it to burial in the wall of his church in honor of Saint Nicholas. memory of Saint Adrian, having received the martyr’s crown, has come to be celebrated twice: on the day of the finding and transfer of his relics (May 17), and on the day of his repose, which he shares with his namesake, the holy Martyr Adrian. Transfer of the relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Ondrusov, Wonderworker, Commemorated on May 17; the manuscript of the Olonets Trebnik under May 17 it is noted: "Today is the transfer of the relics of Venerable Father Adrian, Igoumen of Saint Nicholas Monastery on Lake Ladoga, on Ondrus Island, in the Olonets district, the new wonderworker. His memory is also celebrated on August 26."

Russia, Moscow, 1551-1568, Saint, Herman of Kazan, Volokolamsk, Staritsa and Svyazhsk, library, Moscow, Tsar d
Mongol, Perm, 1551-1568, Saint, Herman of Kazan, Volokolamsk, Staritsa and Svyazhsk, library, Moscow, Tsar d, fStaritsa novility, JV Monastery uGurias, copied books, Maximus tGreek friend, tStaritsa archman, St JoV Rule, left a2.5yrs tVolokolamsk solitary, Bashkin's tonsure, B sent to Herman at V, 1555 taking oKazan, Gurias' missionary monastery there, Dormition m of Sviyazhsk Herman igumen, cramped cell, library, enlightenment center, 1564 Bishop Kazan, built churches, light of Christ, 1566 Ivan ordered him to Moscow, first refused, injustive Tsar's inner circle, admonished Tsar, lived in disgrace 2yrs; Kazan Saint, 1551-1568, St Herman, Herman of Kazan and Svyazhsk; St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on November 6; Herman, Archbishop of Kazan, lived during the sixteenth century. He was born in the city of Staritsa, and was descended from the old boyar nobility of the Polevi. In his youth Gregory (his baptismal name) was tonsured at the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery under Igumen Gurias, who later became Archbishop of Kazan (December 5). (Saint Gurias was head of the monastery from 1542 to 1551). the monastery Saint Herman occupied himself with copying books, and he was a close friend of Saint Maximus the Greek (January 21), who was living there in confinement. In 1551 the brethren of the Staritsa Dormition monastery, seeing his piety, chose him as their archimandrite. up the governance of this monastery with a pastoral zeal, Saint Herman concerned himself with its internal and external order, for he himself was a model of humility and meekness. He exhorted all to observe their monastic commitment strictly, and he introduced into his monastery the Rule of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (October 18). after two and a half years Archimandrite Herman left the Staritsa monastery, leaving its direction to the hieromonk Job (June 19), who afterwards was to become the first Patriarch of Moscow, and was an ascetic and sufferer for the Russian Land. Herman’s love for solitary struggles brought him to return to his original Volokolamsk monastery, he strove toward salvation as a simple monk. when the new heretic Matthew Bashkin (who refused to acknowledge the Holy Mysteries and denied faith in the Holy Trinity) appeared at Moscow, Herman and his own father (who had received tonsure at the Volokolamsk monastery with the name Philotheus) were summoned to the Moscow Council of 1553. Council censured the heretic Bashkin resolved to send him for correction to Saint Herman at the Volokolamsk monastery, since Saint Herman was known for his holy life and zeal for the faith in Christ. 1555, after the taking of Kazan, an archepiscopal See was established there. Gurias, the former igumen of Volokolamsk monastery, was chosen as archbishop. was entrusted with building the Dormition monastery in the city of Sviyazhsk for missionary purposes. decree of Saint Gurias, Saint Herman was appointed as head of this new monastery in Sviyazhsk. A stone cathedral was built with a belltower and monastic cells. igumen of the monastery lived very frugally in a cramped cell beneath the cathedral belltower. Saint Herman particularly concerned himself with acquiring a library for the monastery. his monastery became famous for its good works, and it became a center of enlightenment for the Kazan region. March 12, 1564, after the repose of Saint Gurias, Saint Herman was consecrated Bishop of Kazan. short duration of his tenure there was marked nonetheless by his efforts to build churches and to enlighten the people of the region with the light of Christ. 1566, Ivan the Terrible summoned Saint Herman to Moscow and ordered that he be elected to the Metropolitan cathedra. first, Saint Herman refused to have this burden imposed upon him. Tsar would not tolerate any objection, however, and the saint was obliged to settle into the Metropolitan’s quarters until his elevation to the position of Metropolitan. injustice among those of the Tsar’s inner circle, Saint Herman, true to his pastoral duty, attempted to admonish the Tsar. “You are not yet elevated to Metropolitan, and already you place constraints upon my freedom,” the Tsar told him through his aides. He ordered Saint Herman expelled from the Metropolitan’s quarters and that he be kept under surveillance. saint lived in disgrace for about two years, and died on November 6, 1567. They buried him in the church of Saint Nicholas the Hospitable. In 1595, at the request of the inhabitants of Sviyazhsk, the relics of the saint were transferred from Moscow to the Sviyazhsk Dormition monastery. Saint Hermogenes, then Metropolitan of Kazan, visited his grave. Herman is also commemorated on September 25 (first translation of his relics in 1595) and June 23 (second translation of his relics in 1714).

Russia, Moscow, 1552, Kazan campaign 1552 Tsar Ivan the Terrible
Russo-Kazan Wars; Fall of Kazan 1552; Tsar Ivan the Terrible took the icon of the Appearance of the Mother of God on his Kazan campaign (1552). Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Venerable Abramius the Archimandrite of Rostov, Commemorated on October 29; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on January 9 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Martyr Peter of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Venerable Serapion of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on June 27 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1554, Sumorin-Totem Icon, Totma, many appearances to sick w Theodosius holding this icon, numerous healings
Russia, Vologda, 1554, Sumorin-Totem Icon, Totma, Vologda (Sukhona River 5), numerous healings, Ivan the T, received from Priluki, for success in building monastery, many appearances to sick w Theodosius holding this icon; Totma (Sukhona River 5); Icon of the Mother of God of Sumorin-Totem, Commemorated January 28 ; Sumorin Totma Icon of the Mother of God was glorified by numerous healings at the Spaso-Sumorin monastery of the city of Totma. the inhabitants of the city turned to Tsar Ivan the Terrible for permission to build a monastery in their city, the Rostov archbishop Nicander in the year 1554 bestowed upon Saint Theodosius the grant for building. The igumen of the Priluki monastery blessed Saint Theodosius with an icon of the Mother of God for success at building the new monastery. icon thereafter received the name Sumorin Totma (Sumorin is the family name of Saint Theodosius, and Totma is a city). After the death of the monk, the wonderworking icon was put in a case in front of the crypt of the saint at the Ascension church of the monastery. Theodosius has appeared to many of the sick, holding this icon in his hands.

Russia, Moscow, 1555, St Christopher Icon and Spring, Solvychegodsk (Vychegda River Mouth, Northern Dvina 1)
Solvychegodsk (Vychegda River 5) ; Icon of the Mother of God of St Christopher, Commemorated July 28 ; 1555, the Icon of the Mother of God “Of Saint Christopher” was put in the church of the monastery founded by Saint Christopher of Solvychegodsk (July 25), a disciple of Saint Longinus of Koryazkemsk (February 10). icon was glorified by many miracles, and near the monastery a spring of healing water flows from the earth. Saint Christopher Icon is one of the Hodegetria type. Venerable Simon the Abbot of Soiga Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated November 24 ; Venerable Longinus of Koryazhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated February 10 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1555-1563, Gurias, Archbishop, fRadonezh, Kazan Bishop bLot, 8yrs- 4Ms, 1Cathdrl, 10Cs, Gt Schema, incrrpt r
Mongol, Perm, 1555-1563, Gurias, Archbishop oKazan, Perm (Kazanka and Kama Rivers, Volga River 10), fRadonezh, not wealthy, served Prince as steward, accused improprieties Prince's wife, underground dungeon 2yrs, so health issues, wrote children's reader iPrison, tonsured Volokolamsk m, 1543 igumen, 1552 resigned, monk 2yrs, 1yr Selizharov m Tver igumen, 1555 chosen Bishop Kazan by lot, assisted bBarsanuphius, in 8yrs 4monastereis, 1Cathedra;. 10Churches, 1561 greviously ill, carried him tchurch, 1563 great schema fBarsanuphius & buried, 1595 incorrupt relics wBarnasuphius, 1613 relics transferred Annunciation Cathedral, present Kazan Theodore Murom church; Kazan ; ; St Gurias the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on December 5 ; Gurias, Archbishop of Kazan, (in the world Gregory Rugotin), the first archbishop of the Kazan diocese, established in 1555. was born in the town of Radonezh outside Moscow into the family of a courtier. parents were not wealthy, so from his early years he had to serve Prince Ivan Penkov as steward of his estates. his youth, Gregory was pious, humble and gentle, and he preserved his chastity. of improprieties with the prince’s wife, Gregory was locked up in an underground dungeon for two years. undermined his health, but it also intensified and deepened his religious fervor. prison, he wrote a small booklet to teach children how to read and write. donated the proceeds from his primer to the needy. from prison, Gregory was tonsured with the name Gurias at the Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk monastery, for its strict monastic rule. 1543, he was chosen by the brethren as igumen of this monastery. administered it for almost nine years, then he resigned as igumen and lived for two years as a simple monk. becoming bishop, Saint Gurias directed the Trinity Selizharov monastery in Tver diocese for one year. was chosen by lot to the See of Kazan. by Saint Barsanuphius (April 11), Saint Gurias devoted himself to missionary activity. his eight years as bishop there, four monasteries were organized, and the Annunciation cathedral church and ten more city churches were built. 1561 the saint fell grievously ill and could no longer perform the divine services himself. feastdays they carried him into the church, and he either sat or lay down, since he did not have the strength to walk or even stand. before his death (1563), he received the great schema from Saint Barsanuphius, he was buried in the Savior-Transfiguration monastery. October 4, 1595, the incorrupt relics of the holy hierarchs Gurias and Barsanuphius were uncovered. Hermogenes, Metropolitan of Kazan (May 12), was present at the uncovering of their relics, and he described this event in the lives of these saints. June 20, 1613, the relics of Saint Gurias were transferred from the Savior-Transfiguration monastery to the Annunciation cathedral church. present, the relics rest in Kazan in a cemetery church named for the holy Princes Theodore of Murom and his sons David and Constantine (May 21).

Russia, Moscow, 1558-1590, Russo-Swedish War (1558-1583)
Moscow, 1558-1590, Russo-Swedish War (1558-1583); Martyr Jonah the Disciple of Tryphon of Pechenga, Commemorated on December 15;

Russia, Moscow, 1558, Narva Icon, war hero, Swedes t icon into fire, House a city burn, Russians took advantage, icon unharmed
Narva, Estonia (Narva River Mouth, Gulf of Finland); Icon of the Mother of God of Narva, Commemorated August 14 ; Narva Icon of the Mother of God became famous in the year 1558, when the Russian army attacked the city of Narva. one of the houses where Russian merchants had once lived, drunken Germans grabbed an icon of the Mother of God that had been left behind. Mocking the holy thing, they threw it into a fire under a kettle, in which they were brewing beer. Flames shot out from the kettle and engulfed the roof of the house. that very moment a storm blew up, and spread the fire throughout all the city. advantage of the confusion, the Russian army advanced and took the city. Wonderworking Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, and an icon of Saint Nicholas, were found in the ashes unharmed.

Russia, Moscow, 1559-1623, Macarius, Zhabyn's founder, Poles destroyed, new spring water fPole, forgotten, then incorrupt r
Russia, Ryazan, 1559-1623, Macarius oZhabyn's Monastery, Belev, Rayazan, born 1539, Tonsured Onuphrius, founded Z monastery 1585 near Belev, 1615 Z destroyed by Lisovski's Poles, M restored it, Stone church this time, with gates bell-tower, lifetime severe monk struggles, cold heat hunger thirst , prayed tGod solitude deep into forest, once heard lost moaning polish enemy, probably destroyed monastery, asked for drink, love surged forth, prayer, plunged staff, spring gushed forth, gave man a drink, when monastery life restored, M withdrew took Schema name Macarius, forgotten about until incorrupt relics found in 1818, then Igumen Jonah fOptina near Zhabyn became head oZhabyn and reestablished Feast oSaint Macarius 1888; Zhabyn's Monastery was on the Oka River not far from Belev; Zhabyn's Monastery was on the Oka River not far from Belev ; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated January 22 ; Macarius of Zhabyn, Wonderworker of Belev, was born in the year 1539. his early years he was tonsured with the name Onuphrius, in the year 1585 he founded Zhabyn’s Monastery of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple near the River Oka, not far from the city of Belev. 1615 the monastery was completely destroyed by Polish soldiers under the command of Lisovski. to the charred remains, the monk began to restore the monastery. He again gathered the brethren, in place of the wooden church a stone church was built in honor of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple (November 21), a bell-tower at the gates. saint spent his life in austere monastic struggles, cold, heat, hunger and thirst, as the monastery accounts relate. often went deep into the forest, where he prayed to God in solitude. when he was following a path in the forest, he heard a faint moaning. looked around and saw a weary Polish man reclining against a tree trunk, with his sabre beside him. had strayed from his regiment and had become lost in the forest. In a barely audible voice this enemy, might have been one of the destroyers of the monastery, for a drink of water. and sympathy surged up within the monk. With a prayer to the Lord, he plunged his staff into the ground. At once, a fresh spring of water gushed forth, and he gave the dying man a drink. both the external and internal life of the monastery had been restored, Onuphrius withdrew from the general monastic life, having entrusted the guidance of the brethren to one of his disciples, took the schema with the name Macarius. the place of his solitude, he chose a spot along the upper tributary of the River Zhabynka. one verst separated the mouth of the tributary and the banks of the River Oka. ascetical struggles of Saint Macarius were concealed not only from the world, but also from his beloved brethren. died in 1623 at the age of eighty-four, at the hour when the roosters start to crow. He was buried opposite the gates of the monastery on January 22, the commemoration of Saint Timothy, where a church was later built and named for him. Iconographic Originals has preserved a description of Saint Macarius in his last years: had gray hair with a small beard, and over his monastic riassa he wore the schema. of Saint Macarius was established at the end of the seventeenth century, or the beginning of the eighteenth. to Tradition, his relics remained uncovered, but by 1721 they were interred in a crypt. the eighteenth century the monastery became deserted. memory of his deeds and miracles was so completely forgotten, when the incorrupt relics of the monastery’s founder were uncovered during the construction of the church of Saint Nicholas in 1816, a general panikhida was served over them. restoration of the liturgical commemoration of Saint Macarius of Belev is credited to Igumen Jonah, was born on January 22 (the Feast of Saint Macarius), who began his own monastic journey at the Optina monastery not far from the Zhabyn monastery. 1875 Igumen Jonah became head of the Zhabyn monastery. request to re-establish the Feast of Saint Macarius strengthened by the petition of the people of Belev, through the centuries had preserved their faith in the saint. January 22, 1888, the annual commemoration of Saint Macarius of Zhabyn was resumed. 1889, a church dedicated to Saint Macarius was built at his tomb. Jonah who lived at the monastery and actually participated in the construction, that in addition to the building project, the holy relics of Saint Macarius would also be uncovered. everything was on the point of readiness, Macarius appeared to the participants and sternly warned them that they should not proceed with their intention, or they would be punished. memory of this appearance was reverently preserved among the monks of the monastery. Macarius of Zhabynsk is also commemorated on September 22.

Russia, Moscow, 1563 & 1569, Sviatogorsk Tenderness Icon appeared in a tree to shephard and fool Timothy, Miraculous voice oGod
Russia, Moscow, 1563 & 1569, Sviatogorsk Tenderness Icon appeared in a tree to shephard and fool Timothy, Miraculous voice oGod, dLight, H Icon, stone church replaces burned church Icon of the Mother of God of Sviatogorsk, Commemorated on July 17; Sviatogorsk Icon of the Mother of God is from the Sviatogorsky Monastery in the province of Pskov. In the year 1563, during the time of Ivan the Terrible, in the environs of Pskov a “Tendernessâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to a fifteen-year-old shepherd and fool named Timothy, not far from the stream Lugovitsa. This icon was thereafter situated in the Voronicha parish church of Saint George. The voice from the icon said that after six years the grace of God would shine forth upon this hill. 1569 to this same youth upon the Sinicha hill, there appeared a Hodegetria icon of the Mother of God upon a pine tree. Timothy spent forty days at this place in fasting and prayer. The miraculous voice from the icon commanded that the clergy and the people should come to the Sinicha heights with the Tenderness icon on the Friday following the Sunday of All Saints. the church procession reached the hill and began the Molieben, a light suddenly shone during the reading of the Gospel. The air was filled with fragrance and everyone saw upon the pine tree the Hodegetria icon. Both holy icons, the Hodegetriaa and the Tenderness, were put into the church of the Great Martyr George. From them many miraculous signs and healings took place, about which reports were made to Tsar Ivan IV. Through his decree, upon the Sinicha Hill, called from that time the “Svyataâ€ (“Holyâ€), a chapel was built, into which were transferred the wonderworking icons. But soon, on the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, when a church procession with icons went to Holy Hill, the chapel suddenly burned that night. The fire destroyed everything else inside, but the holy things remained unharmed. this sacred spot they built a stone church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the altar of which stood on the place where the HodÄ“gá¸—tria icon had appeared. Both glorified icons were placed into the lower tier of the iconostas: the Hodegetria on the right side (a chapel in honor of which was built in 1770), and the Tenderness on the left (a chapel was built in 1776). that same year of 1569 on Holy Hill was founded the Sviatogorsk (“Holy Hillâ€) Dormition monastery. year, on the first Friday of the Peter and Paul Fast, the icons are conveyed to the Trinity cathedral of the city of Pskov. On the following Sunday, a procession is made with them along the inner walls of the city. celebration in honor of the Tenderness icon is March 19, and on the ninth Friday after Pascha. The Hodegetria icon is commemorated on July 17, and on the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (October 1). Russia, Pskov, 1521, Tenderness Icon transferred to Pskov, glorified in 1524, protector in 1581; Siege of Pskov; Icon of the Mother of God of Pskov œthe ProtectionÂ, Commemorated on October 1; Feast of the Pskov-Protection Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Pskov from the invading troops of the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581. During the siege, they carried forth the wonderworking Dormition Icon of the Mother of God in procession from the monastery. the eve of the decisive fighting, the pious blind Elder Dorotheus the Smith had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos at the spot where the enemy had prepared to attack, at a corner of the fortress of the monastery in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Most Holy Virgin appeared to the Elder Dorotheus with various Russian Saints: the holy Great Prince Vladimir and the Pskov Princes Vsevolod-Gabriel and Dovmont-Timothy, Saint Anthony of Kiev Caves, Cornelius of Pskov, Euphrosynus of Spaso-Elazar and Savva of Krypetsk, Blessed Nicholas of Pskov and Saint Niphon, Archbishop of Novgorod, the organizer of the Pskov Spaso-Mirozh monastery. from the Pechor side from the Spaso-Mirozhsk monastery across the River Velika, the Mother of God with the Saints entered the church of the Protection monastery. The Saints besought the All-Pure Virgin to have pity on the sinful citizens of Pskov and save the city “from the imposition of woes.â€ The Most Holy Theotokos, having promised the city Her mercy, gave orders to set up the Pechersk icon at the place of Her appearance. the battle the Polish tried to breach the fortress wall, but through the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints, they were not able to break through into the city. After their deliverance from the enemy, the grateful people of Pskov built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the temple of the Protection Most Holy Theotokos, the Pskov-Pechersk icon of the Mother of God was painted, which has also been given the name, “Appearance of the Mother of God to the Elder Dorotheus.â€ The appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos occurred on September 7, and celebration of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon was established on October 1. A special service was compiled for the Feast of the Most Holy Theotokos. St John the Hermit of Pskov, Commemorated on October 24; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28; Icon of the Mother of God of œTendernessÂ, Commemorated on May 21 ; sacred Tenderness Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was painted and brought to the Pskov Caves monastery through the efforts of the devout Pskov merchants Basil and Theodore. It was transferred it to the town of Pskov in the year 1521, and was glorified by miracles of healing in 1524. The Tenderness Icon is especially honored as the protector of the city when it was besieged by the Polish King Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in the year 1581. Both the Tenderness Icon and the Dormition Icon were glorified at that time. Tenderness Icon is also honored on October 7, the day when Pskov was liberated from Napoleon's invasion in 1812. Other days on which the Tenderness Icon is commemorated are: June 23, August 26, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Icon of the Mother of God œVirgin of TendernessÂ from the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 21 ; Icon of the Mother of God œTendernessÂ of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on June 23 ; “Tendernessâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was found in the monastery of the caves in 1521, and was transferred to the city of Pskov by the pious Christians Basil and Theodore. Icon is particularly renowned for the deliverance of Pskov and the Pskov Caves monastery from the army of Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in 1581. It is commemorated on May 21, June 23, August 26, October 7, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa (Umilenie) type, and is regarded as the patroness of the city of Pskov. Icon of the Mother of God of Sviatogorsk, Commemorated on July 17; Sviatogorsk Icon of the Mother of God is from the Sviatogorsky Monastery in the province of Pskov. In the year 1563, during the time of Ivan the Terrible, in the environs of Pskov a “Tendernessâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to a fifteen-year-old shepherd and fool named Timothy, not far from the stream Lugovitsa. This icon was thereafter situated in the Voronicha parish church of Saint George. The voice from the icon said that after six years the grace of God would shine forth upon this hill. 1569 to this same youth upon the Sinicha hill, there appeared a HodÄ“gá¸—tria icon of the Mother of God upon a pine tree. Timothy spent forty days at this place in fasting and prayer. The miraculous voice from the icon commanded that the clergy and the people should come to the Sinicha heights with the Tenderness icon on the Friday following the Sunday of All Saints. the church procession reached the hill and began the Molieben, a light suddenly shone during the reading of the Gospel. The air was filled with fragrance and everyone saw upon the pine tree the HodÄ“gá¸—tria icon. Both holy icons, the HodÄ“gá¸—tria and the Tenderness, were put into the church of the Great Martyr George. From them many miraculous signs and healings took place, about which reports were made to Tsar Ivan IV. Through his decree, upon the Sinicha Hill, called from that time the “Svyataâ€ (“Holyâ€), a chapel was built, into which were transferred the wonderworking icons. But soon, on the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, when a church procession with icons went to Holy Hill, the chapel suddenly burned that night. The fire destroyed everything else inside, but the holy things remained unharmed. this sacred spot they built a stone church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, the altar of which stood on the place where the HodÄ“gá¸—tria icon had appeared. Both glorified icons were placed into the lower tier of the iconostas: the HodÄ“gá¸—tria on the right side (a chapel in honor of which was built in 1770), and the Tenderness on the left (a chapel was built in 1776). that same year of 1569 on Holy Hill was founded the Sviatogorsk (“Holy Hillâ€) Dormition monastery. year, on the first Friday of the Peter and Paul Fast, the icons are conveyed to the Trinity cathedral of the city of Pskov. On the following Sunday, a procession is made with them along the inner walls of the city. celebration in honor of the Tenderness icon is March 19, and on the ninth Friday after Pascha. The HodÄ“gá¸—tria icon is commemorated on July 17, and on the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (October 1).

Russia, Moscow, 1566-1569, Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow, Ivan's confessor but opposed Oprichnina publicly, false witnesses
Russia, Moscow, 1527-1569, Philip, Metropolitan, a noble, in court w Ivan, snuck away to Onegan and Slovaki, Elder Jonah, fasting, unceasing prayer and heavy hammer, bakery MOG image w Philp, wilderness solitude, Igumen 1546, S history, found Hodegetria icon, stone cross, Psalter, and robe of Zosimus, S spiritual revival, new m rule, majestic temples 1557, he worked as simple laborer building, w John and Longinus of Yarenga and Bassian and Jonah of Pertominsk, often withdrew to Philippov wilderness, but Ivan remembered him and wanted him as companion metropolitan anti boyer, description of complex Ivan, he imagined Oprichnina as Monastic Brotherhood for triumph of Orthodoxy, Philip saw O unrepentent malice and envy, murderers, profiteers, Philip opposed Ivan, Boyer conspiricy to deliver I to Polish King, P defended the executed, 1568 P refused to bless I his O, openly denounced their acts, Boyer Duma, false witnesses from Slovaki, Public shame during service by O, held in Moscow cellars, stocks and chains 1 yr, put to death in Tver ; ,Moscow; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow, in the world Theodore, was descended from the illustrious noble lineage of the Kolichevi, occupying a prominent place in the Boyar duma at the court of the Moscow sovereigns. was born in the year 1507. His father, Stephen Ivanovich, “a man enlightened and filled with military spirit,” attentively prepared his son for government service. Theodore’s pious mother Barbara, who ended her days as a nun with the name Barsanouphia, implanted in the soul of her son a sincere faith and deep piety. Theodore Kolichev applied himself diligently to the Holy Scripture and to the writings of the holy Fathers. Moscow Great Prince Basil III, the father of Ivan the Terrible, brought young Theodore into the court, but he was not attracted to court life. Conscious of its vanity and sinfulness, Theodore all the more deeply immersed himself in the reading of books and visiting the churches of God. Life in Moscow repelled the young ascetic. The young Prince Ivan’s sincere devotion to him, promising him a great future in government service, could not deter him from seeking the Heavenly City. Sunday, June 5, 1537, in church for Divine Liturgy, Theodore felt intensely in his soul the words of the Savior: “No man can serve two masters” (Mt.6:24), which determined his ultimate destiny. Praying fervently to the Moscow wonderworkers, and without bidding farewell to his relatives, he secretly left Moscow in the attire of a peasant, and for a while he hid himself away from the world in the village of Khizna, near Lake Onega, earning his livelihood as a shepherd. thirst for ascetic deeds led him to the renowned Solovki monastery on the White Sea. There he fulfilled very difficult obediences: he chopped firewood, dug the ground, and worked in the mill. After a year and a half of testing, the igumen Alexis tonsured him, giving him the monastic name Philip and entrusting him in obedience to the Elder Jonah Shamina, a converser with Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). the guidance of experienced elders Philip grew spiritually, and progressed in fasting and prayer. Igumen Alexis sent him to work at the monastery forge, where Saint Philip combined the activity of unceasing prayer with his work with a heavy hammer. was always the first one in church for the services, and was the last to leave. He toiled also in the bakery, where the humble ascetic was comforted with a heavenly sign. In the monastery afterwards they displayed the “Bakery” image of the Mother of God, through which the heavenly Mediatrix bestowed Her blessing upon the humble baker Philip. With the blessing of the igumen, Saint Philip spent a certain while in wilderness solitude, attending to himself and to God. 1546 at Novgorod the Great, Archbishop Theodosius made Philip igumen of the Solovki monastery. The new igumen strove with all his might to exalt the spiritual significance of the monastery and its founders, Saints Sabbatius and Zosimus of Solovki (September 27, April 17). searched for the Hodegetria icon of the Mother of God brought to the island by the first head of Solovki, Saint Sabbatius. located the stone cross which once stood before the saint’s cell. The Psalter belonging to Saint Zosimus (+1478), the first igumen of Solovki, was also found. His robe, in which igumens would vest during the service on the days when Saint Zosimus was commemorated, was also discovered. monastery experienced a spiritual revival. A new monastic Rule was adopted to regulate life at the monastery. Philip built majestic temples: a church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, consecrated in the year 1557, and a church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. igumen himself worked as a simple laborer, helping to build the walls of the Transfiguration church. the north portico he dug himself a grave beside that of his guide, the Elder Jonah. life in these years flourished at the monastery: struggling with the brethren with the disciples of Igumen Philip were Saints John and Longinus of Yarenga (July 3) and Bassian and Jonah of Pertominsk (July 12). Philip often withdrew to a desolate wilderness spot for quiet prayer, two versts from the monastery, which was later known as the Philippov wilderness. the Lord was preparing the saint for other work. In Moscow, Tsar Ivan the Terrible fondly remembered the Solovki hermit from his childhood. Tsar hoped to find in Saint Philip a true companion, confessor and counsellor, who in his exalted monastic life had nothing in common with the sedition of the nobles. Metropolitan of Moscow, in Ivan’s opinion, ought to have a certain spiritual meekness to quell the treachery and malice within the Boyar soul. The choice of Saint Philip as archpastor of the Russian Church seemed to him the best possible. a long time the saint refused to assume the great burden of the primacy of the Russian Church. He did not sense any spiritual affinity with Ivan. He attempted to get the Tsar to abolish the Oprichniki [secret police]. Ivan the Terrible attempted to argue its civil necessity. the dread Tsar and the holy Metropolitan came to an agreement: Saint Philip would not meddle in the affairs of the Oprichniki and the running of the government, he would resign as Metropolitan in case the Tsar could not fulfill his wishes, and that he would be a support and counsellor of the Tsar, just as former Metropolitans supported the Moscow sovereigns. July 25, 1566 Saint Philip was consecrated for the cathedra of Moscow’s hierarch saints, whose number he was soon to join. the Terrible, one of the greatest and most contradictory figures in Russian history, lived an intensely busy life. He was a talented writer and bibliophile , he was involved in compiling the Chronicles (and himself suddenly cut the thread of the Moscow chronicle writing), he examined the intricacies of the monastic Rule, and more than once he thought about abdicating the throne for the monastic life. aspect of governmental service, all the measures undertaken to restructure civil and social life, Ivan the Terrible tried to rationalize as a manifestation of Divine Providence, as God acting in history. beloved spiritual heroes were Saint Michael of Chernigov (September 20) and Saint Theodore the Black (September 19), military men active with complex contradictory destinies, moving toward their ends through whatever the obstacles before them, and fulfilling their duties to the nation and to the Church. more the darkness thickened around Ivan, the more resolutely he demanded cleansing and redemption of his soul. Journeying on pilgrimage to the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery, he declared his wish to become a monk to the igumen and the brethren. The haughty autocrat fell on his knees before the igumen, who blessed his intent. Ivan wrote, “it seems to me, an accursed sinner, that I am already robed in black.” imagined the Oprichnina in the form of a monastic brotherhood, serving God with weapons and military deeds. The Oprichniki were required to dress in monastic garb and attend long and tiring church services, lasting from 4 to 10 o’clock in the morning. “Brethren” not in church at 4 o’clock in the morning, were given a penance by the Tsar. Ivan and his sons fervently wished to pray and sing in the church choir. From church they went to the trapeza, and while the Oprichniki ate, the Tsar stood beside them. The Oprichniki gathered leftover food from the table and distributed it to the poor at the doorway of the trapeza. with tears of repentance and wanting to be an esteemer of the holy ascetics, the teachers of repentance, wanted to wash and burn away his own sins and those of his companions, cherishing the assurance that even his terribly cruel actions would prove to be for the welfare of Russia and the triumph of Orthodoxy. most clearly spiritual action and monastic sobriety of Ivan the Terrible is revealed in his “Synodikon.” before his death, he ordered full lists compiled of the people murdered by him and his Oprichniki. These were then distributed to all the Russian monasteries. Ivan acknowledged all his sins against the nation, and besought the holy monks to pray to God for the forgiveness of his tormented soul. pseudo-monasticism of Ivan the Terrible, a dark most grievous oppression over Russia, tormented Saint Philip, who considered it impossible to mix the earthly and the heavenly, serving the Cross and serving the sword. Philip saw how much unrepentant malice and envy was concealed beneath the black cowls of the Oprichniki. There were outright murderers among them, hardened in lawless bloodletting, and profiteers seeking gain, rooted in sin and transgressions. the sufferance of God, history is often made by the hands of the impious, and Ivan the Terrible wanted to whiten his black brotherhood before God. The blood spilled by its thugs and fanatics cried out to Heaven. Philip decided to oppose Ivan. This was prompted by a new wave of executions in the years 1567-1568. the autumn of 1567, just as the Tsar was setting out on a campaign against Livonia, he learned about a boyar conspiracy. The plotters intended to seize the Tsar and deliver him to the Polish king, who already was on the move with an army towards Russian territory. dealt severely with the conspirators, and again he shed much blood. It was bitter for Saint Philip, and the conscience of the saint compelled him boldly to enter into defense of the executed. final rift occurred in the spring of 1568. On the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, March 2, 1568, when the Tsar with his Oprichniki entered the Dormition cathedral in monastic garb, as was their custom, Saint Philip refused to bless him, and began openly to denounce the lawless acts committed by the Oprichniki. The accusations of the hierarch shattered the harmony of the church service. In a rage Ivan retorted, “Would you oppose us? We shall see your firmness! I have been too soft on you.” Tsar began to show ever greater cruelty in persecuting all those who opposed him. Executions followed one after the other. The fate of the saintly confessor was sealed. But Ivan wanted to preserve a semblance of canonical propriety. The Boyar Duma obediently carried out his decision to place the Primate of the Russian Church on trial. A cathedral court was set up to try Metropolitan Philip in the presence of a diminished Boyar Duma, false witnesses were found. To the deep sorrow of the saint, these were monks the Solovki monastery, his former disciples and novices whom he loved. They accused Saint Philip of a multitude of transgressions, including sorcery. “Like all my ancestors,” the saint declared, “I came into this world prepared to suffer for truth.” Having refuted all the accusations, the holy sufferer attempted to halt the trial by volunteering to resign his office. His resignation was not accepted, however, and new abuse awaited the martyr. after a sentence of life imprisonment had been handed down, they compelled Saint Philip to serve Liturgy in the Dormition cathedral. This was on November 8, 1568. the middle of the service, the Oprichniki burst into the temple, they publicly read the council’s sentence of condemnation, and then abused the saint. Tearing his vestments off, they dressed him in rags, dragged him out of the church and drove him off to the Theophany monastery on a simple peasant’s sledge. a long while they held the martyr in the cellars of the Moscow monasteries. They placed his feet into stocks, they held him in chains, and put a heavy chain around his neck. Finally, they drove him off to the Tver Otroch monastery. And there a year later, on December 23,1569, the saint was put to death at the hands of Maliuta Skuratov. three days before this the saint foresaw the end of his earthly life and received the Holy Mysteries. At first, his relics were committed to earth there at the monastery, beyond the church altar. Later, they were transferred to the Solovki monastery (August 11, 1591) and from there to Moscow (July 3, 1652). the memory of Saint Philip was celebrated by the Russian Church on December 23, the day of his martyric death. In 1660, the celebration was transferred to January 9.

Russia, Moscow, 1566-1568, Saint, Herman of Kazan, Volokolamsk, Staritsa and Svyazhsk, library, Moscow, Tsar d
Kazan Saint, 1566-1568, St Herman, Herman of Kazan and Svyazhsk; St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on November 6; Herman, Archbishop of Kazan, lived during the sixteenth century. He was born in the city of Staritsa, and was descended from the old boyar nobility of the Polevi. In his youth Gregory (his baptismal name) was tonsured at the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery under Igumen Gurias, who later became Archbishop of Kazan (December 5). (Saint Gurias was head of the monastery from 1542 to 1551). the monastery Saint Herman occupied himself with copying books, and he was a close friend of Saint Maximus the Greek (January 21), who was living there in confinement. In 1551 the brethren of the Staritsa Dormition monastery, seeing his piety, chose him as their archimandrite. up the governance of this monastery with a pastoral zeal, Saint Herman concerned himself with its internal and external order, for he himself was a model of humility and meekness. He exhorted all to observe their monastic commitment strictly, and he introduced into his monastery the Rule of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk (October 18). after two and a half years Archimandrite Herman left the Staritsa monastery, leaving its direction to the hieromonk Job (June 19), who afterwards was to become the first Patriarch of Moscow, and was an ascetic and sufferer for the Russian Land. Herman’s love for solitary struggles brought him to return to his original Volokolamsk monastery, where he strove toward salvation as a simple monk. However, when the new heretic Matthew Bashkin (who refused to acknowledge the Holy Mysteries and denied faith in the Holy Trinity) appeared at Moscow, Saint Herman and his own father (who had received tonsure at the Volokolamsk monastery with the name Philotheus) were summoned to the Moscow Council of 1553. The Council censured the heretic Bashkin and resolved to send him for correction to Saint Herman at the Volokolamsk monastery, since Saint Herman was known for his holy life and zeal for the faith in Christ. 1555, after the taking of Kazan, an archepiscopal See was established there. Saint Gurias, the former igumen of Volokolamsk monastery, was chosen as archbishop. He was entrusted with building the Dormition monastery in the city of Sviyazhsk for missionary purposes. By decree of Saint Gurias, Saint Herman was appointed as head of this new monastery in Sviyazhsk. A stone cathedral was built with a belltower and monastic cells. The igumen of the monastery lived very frugally in a cramped cell beneath the cathedral belltower. Saint Herman particularly concerned himself with acquiring a library for the monastery. his monastery became famous for its good works, and it became a center of enlightenment for the Kazan region. March 12, 1564, after the repose of Saint Gurias, Saint Herman was consecrated Bishop of Kazan. The short duration of his tenure there was marked nonetheless by his efforts to build churches and to enlighten the people of the region with the light of Christ. 1566, Ivan the Terrible summoned Saint Herman to Moscow and ordered that he be elected to the Metropolitan cathedra. At first, Saint Herman refused to have this burden imposed upon him. The Tsar would not tolerate any objection, however, and the saint was obliged to settle into the Metropolitan’s quarters until his elevation to the position of Metropolitan. injustice among those of the Tsar’s inner circle, Saint Herman, true to his pastoral duty, attempted to admonish the Tsar. “You are not yet elevated to Metropolitan, and already you place constraints upon my freedom,” the Tsar told him through his aides. He ordered Saint Herman expelled from the Metropolitan’s quarters and that he be kept under surveillance. saint lived in disgrace for about two years, and died on November 6, 1567. They buried him in the church of Saint Nicholas the Hospitable. In 1595, at the request of the inhabitants of Sviyazhsk, the relics of the saint were transferred from Moscow to the Sviyazhsk Dormition monastery. Saint Hermogenes, then Metropolitan of Kazan, visited his grave. Herman is also commemorated on September 25 (first translation of his relics in 1595) and June 23 (second translation of his relics in 1714).

Russia, Moscow, 1567, Miraculous Sign of the Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God, Tears for Plague at Pskov
Russia, Pskov, 1567, Miraculous Sign of the Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God; Mirozh Icon appeared at the Mirozh monastery in the year 1198. But later, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, at a time when a plague raged at Pskov, an ancient report tells how tears flowed from both eyes of the icon. Many benefits and healings for man occured from the icon of the Mother of God. Mirozh Icon is an “Oransâ€ (“Prayingâ€) type. On either side of the Most Holy Theotokos stand the Pskov Saints: on the right, the holy Prince Dovmont-Timothy (May 20); on the left, his wife, the holy nun Martha, in the world named Maria Dimitrievna (November 8, 1300). Tsar Ivan Vasilievich took away the wonderworking icon from Pskov, but at the monastery an exact copy remained: the so-called “Great Panagiaâ€ from the Savior-Mirozh monastery. September 24, 1567, on the Feast of Saint Abraham at the Mirozh monastery there occurred a miraculous sign from an ancient icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The celebration of the Mirozh Icon of the Sign was established in that same year, with the blessing of Archbishop Pimen of Novgorod and Pskov. A special service to this icon was composed, and was published in the 1666 MENAION. Mirozh Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on September 24;

Russia, Moscow, 1567-1568, Philip II, Metropolitan, Solviki hermit, Ivan IV's companion, confessor, counsellor
Moscow Patriarch, 1567-1568, Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on January 9; Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow, in the world Theodore, was descended from the illustrious noble lineage of the Kolichevi, occupying a prominent place in the Boyar duma at the court of the Moscow sovereigns. was born in the year 1507. His father, Stephen Ivanovich, “a man enlightened and filled with military spirit,” attentively prepared his son for government service. Theodore’s pious mother Barbara, who ended her days as a nun with the name Barsanouphia, implanted in the soul of her son a sincere faith and deep piety. Young Theodore Kolichev applied himself diligently to the Holy Scripture and to the writings of the holy Fathers. The Moscow Great Prince Basil III, the father of Ivan the Terrible, brought young Theodore into the court, but he was not attracted to court life. Conscious of its vanity and sinfulness, Theodore all the more deeply immersed himself in the reading of books and visiting the churches of God. Life in Moscow repelled the young ascetic. The young Prince Ivan’s sincere devotion to him, promising him a great future in government service, could not deter him from seeking the Heavenly City. Sunday, June 5, 1537, in church for Divine Liturgy, Theodore felt intensely in his soul the words of the Savior: “No man can serve two masters” (Mt.6:24), which determined his ultimate destiny. Praying fervently to the Moscow wonderworkers, and without bidding farewell to his relatives, he secretly left Moscow in the attire of a peasant, and for a while he hid himself away from the world in the village of Khizna, near Lake Onega, earning his livelihood as a shepherd. thirst for ascetic deeds led him to the renowned Solovki monastery on the White Sea. There he fulfilled very difficult obediences: he chopped firewood, dug the ground, and worked in the mill. After a year and a half of testing, the igumen Alexis tonsured him, giving him the monastic name Philip and entrusting him in obedience to the Elder Jonah Shamina, a converser with Saint Alexander of Svir (August 30). the guidance of experienced elders Philip grew spiritually, and progressed in fasting and prayer. Igumen Alexis sent him to work at the monastery forge, where Saint Philip combined the activity of unceasing prayer with his work with a heavy hammer. was always the first one in church for the services, and was the last to leave. He toiled also in the bakery, where the humble ascetic was comforted with a heavenly sign. In the monastery afterwards they displayed the “Bakery” image of the Mother of God, through which the heavenly Mediatrix bestowed Her blessing upon the humble baker Philip. With the blessing of the igumen, Saint Philip spent a certain while in wilderness solitude, attending to himself and to God. 1546 at Novgorod the Great, Archbishop Theodosius made Philip igumen of the Solovki monastery. The new igumen strove with all his might to exalt the spiritual significance of the monastery and its founders, Saints Sabbatius and Zosimus of Solovki (September 27, April 17). He searched for the Hodēgḗtria icon of the Mother of God brought to the island by the first head of Solovki, Saint Sabbatius. He located the stone cross which once stood before the saint’s cell. The Psalter belonging to Saint Zosimus (+1478), the first igumen of Solovki, was also found. His robe, in which igumens would vest during the service on the days when Saint Zosimus was commemorated, was also discovered. monastery experienced a spiritual revival. A new monastic Rule was adopted to regulate life at the monastery. Saint Philip built majestic temples: a church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, consecrated in the year 1557, and a church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The igumen himself worked as a simple laborer, helping to build the walls of the Transfiguration church. Beneath the north portico he dug himself a grave beside that of his guide, the Elder Jonah. Spiritual life in these years flourished at the monastery: struggling with the brethren with the disciples of Igumen Philip were Saints John and Longinus of Yarenga (July 3) and Bassian and Jonah of Pertominsk (July 12). Philip often withdrew to a desolate wilderness spot for quiet prayer, two versts from the monastery, which was later known as the Philippov wilderness. the Lord was preparing the saint for other work. In Moscow, Tsar Ivan the Terrible fondly remembered the Solovki hermit from his childhood. The Tsar hoped to find in Saint Philip a true companion, confessor and counsellor, who in his exalted monastic life had nothing in common with the sedition of the nobles. The Metropolitan of Moscow, in Ivan’s opinion, ought to have a certain spiritual meekness to quell the treachery and malice within the Boyar soul. The choice of Saint Philip as archpastor of the Russian Church seemed to him the best possible. a long time the saint refused to assume the great burden of the primacy of the Russian Church. He did not sense any spiritual affinity with Ivan. He attempted to get the Tsar to abolish the Oprichniki [secret police]. Ivan the Terrible attempted to argue its civil necessity. Finally, the dread Tsar and the holy Metropolitan came to an agreement: Saint Philip would not meddle in the affairs of the Oprichniki and the running of the government, he would resign as Metropolitan in case the Tsar could not fulfill his wishes, and that he would be a support and counsellor of the Tsar, just as former Metropolitans supported the Moscow sovereigns. On July 25, 1566 Saint Philip was consecrated for the cathedra of Moscow’s hierarch saints, whose number he was soon to join. the Terrible, one of the greatest and most contradictory figures in Russian history, lived an intensely busy life. He was a talented writer and bibliophile , he was involved in compiling the Chronicles (and himself suddenly cut the thread of the Moscow chronicle writing), he examined the intricacies of the monastic Rule, and more than once he thought about abdicating the throne for the monastic life. aspect of governmental service, all the measures undertaken to restructure civil and social life, Ivan the Terrible tried to rationalize as a manifestation of Divine Providence, as God acting in history. His beloved spiritual heroes were Saint Michael of Chernigov (September 20) and Saint Theodore the Black (September 19), military men active with complex contradictory destinies, moving toward their ends through whatever the obstacles before them, and fulfilling their duties to the nation and to the Church. more the darkness thickened around Ivan, the more resolutely he demanded cleansing and redemption of his soul. Journeying on pilgrimage to the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery, he declared his wish to become a monk to the igumen and the brethren. The haughty autocrat fell on his knees before the igumen, who blessed his intent. Ivan wrote, “it seems to me, an accursed sinner, that I am already robed in black.” imagined the Oprichnina in the form of a monastic brotherhood, serving God with weapons and military deeds. The Oprichniki were required to dress in monastic garb and attend long and tiring church services, lasting from 4 to 10 o’clock in the morning. “Brethren” not in church at 4 o’clock in the morning, were given a penance by the Tsar. Ivan and his sons fervently wished to pray and sing in the church choir. From church they went to the trapeza, and while the Oprichniki ate, the Tsar stood beside them. The Oprichniki gathered leftover food from the table and distributed it to the poor at the doorway of the trapeza. with tears of repentance and wanting to be an esteemer of the holy ascetics, the teachers of repentance, wanted to wash and burn away his own sins and those of his companions, cherishing the assurance that even his terribly cruel actions would prove to be for the welfare of Russia and the triumph of Orthodoxy. The most clearly spiritual action and monastic sobriety of Ivan the Terrible is revealed in his “Synodikon.” Shortly before his death, he ordered full lists compiled of the people murdered by him and his Oprichniki. These were then distributed to all the Russian monasteries. Ivan acknowledged all his sins against the nation, and besought the holy monks to pray to God for the forgiveness of his tormented soul. pseudo-monasticism of Ivan the Terrible, a dark most grievous oppression over Russia, tormented Saint Philip, who considered it impossible to mix the earthly and the heavenly, serving the Cross and serving the sword. Saint Philip saw how much unrepentant malice and envy was concealed beneath the black cowls of the Oprichniki. There were outright murderers among them, hardened in lawless bloodletting, and profiteers seeking gain, rooted in sin and transgressions. By the sufferance of God, history is often made by the hands of the impious, and Ivan the Terrible wanted to whiten his black brotherhood before God. The blood spilled by its thugs and fanatics cried out to Heaven. Philip decided to oppose Ivan. This was prompted by a new wave of executions in the years 1567-1568. In the autumn of 1567, just as the Tsar was setting out on a campaign against Livonia, he learned about a boyar conspiracy. The plotters intended to seize the Tsar and deliver him to the Polish king, who already was on the move with an army towards Russian territory. dealt severely with the conspirators, and again he shed much blood. It was bitter for Saint Philip, and the conscience of the saint compelled him boldly to enter into defense of the executed. The final rift occurred in the spring of 1568. On the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross, March 2, 1568, when the Tsar with his Oprichniki entered the Dormition cathedral in monastic garb, as was their custom, Saint Philip refused to bless him, and began openly to denounce the lawless acts committed by the Oprichniki. The accusations of the hierarch shattered the harmony of the church service. In a rage Ivan retorted, “Would you oppose us? We shall see your firmness! I have been too soft on you.” Tsar began to show ever greater cruelty in persecuting all those who opposed him. Executions followed one after the other. The fate of the saintly confessor was sealed. But Ivan wanted to preserve a semblance of canonical propriety. The Boyar Duma obediently carried out his decision to place the Primate of the Russian Church on trial. A cathedral court was set up to try Metropolitan Philip in the presence of a diminished Boyar Duma, and false witnesses were found. To the deep sorrow of the saint, these were monks of the Solovki monastery, his former disciples and novices whom he loved. They accused Saint Philip of a multitude of transgressions, including sorcery. “Like all my ancestors,” the saint declared, “I came into this world prepared to suffer for truth.” Having refuted all the accusations, the holy sufferer attempted to halt the trial by volunteering to resign his office. His resignation was not accepted, however, and new abuse awaited the martyr. after a sentence of life imprisonment had been handed down, they compelled Saint Philip to serve Liturgy in the Dormition cathedral. This was on November 8, 1568. In the middle of the service, the Oprichniki burst into the temple, they publicly read the council’s sentence of condemnation, and then abused the saint. Tearing his vestments off, they dressed him in rags, dragged him out of the church and drove him off to the Theophany monastery on a simple peasant’s sledge. a long while they held the martyr in the cellars of the Moscow monasteries. They placed his feet into stocks, they held him in chains, and put a heavy chain around his neck. Finally, they drove him off to the Tver Otroch monastery. And there a year later, on December 23,1569, the saint was put to death at the hands of Maliuta Skuratov. Only three days before this the saint foresaw the end of his earthly life and received the Holy Mysteries. At first, his relics were committed to earth there at the monastery, beyond the church altar. Later, they were transferred to the Solovki monastery (August 11, 1591) and from there to Moscow (July 3, 1652). the memory of Saint Philip was celebrated by the Russian Church on December 23, the day of his martyric death. In 1660, the celebration was transferred to January 9.

Russia, Moscow, 1568-1570, Russo-Turkish War, first of 12 wars, Astrakhan, Volga and Don, Azov, M froze, storm
Moscow, 1568-1570, Russo-Turkish War (1568-“70) ; Russo-Turkish War (1568-“1570) or Don-Volga-Astrakhan campaign of 1569[3] (referred to in Ottoman sources as the Astrakhan Expedition) was a war between the Tsardom of Russia and the Ottoman Empire over the Astrakhan Khanate. It was the first of twelve Russo-Turkish wars ending with World War I in 1914-18. AIn 1556 the Astrakhan Khanate was conquered by Ivan the Terrible, who had a new fortress built on a steep hill overlooking the Volga.[4] 1568 the Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet PasŸa, who was the real power in the administration of the Ottoman Empire under Selim II, initiated the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern arch-rival Russia. The results presaged the many disasters to come. A plan to unite the Volga and Don by a canal was detailed in Constantinople. the summer of 1569 in response to Moscovy's interference in Ottoman commercial and religious pilgrimages, the Ottoman Empire sent a large force under Kasim PaÅŸa of 20,000 Turks and 50,000 Tatars to lay siege to Astrakhan.[5] Meanwhile an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov. However, a sortie from the garrison under Knyaz (prince) Serebrianyi-Obolenskiy, the military governor of Astrakhan, drove back the besiegers. A Russian relief army of 30,000 attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force sent for their protection. On their way home up to 70% of the remaining soldiers and workers froze to death in the steppes or became victims of attacks by Circassians. The Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm. The Ottoman Empire, though militarily defeated, achieved safe passage for Muslim pilgrims and traders from Central Asia and the destruction of the Russian fort on the Terek River.[5]

Russia, Moscow, 1569, Translation Tikhon oKostroms's relics, healing began at grave, incorrupt
Russia, Vologda, Kostroma, 1569, Translation of the relics of Saint Tikhon of Luchov, Kostroma, Vologda (Kostroma (Pisma) River Mouth, Volga River 8.3), healing began at grave, incorrupt, igumen struck blind, repented, recovered, 70 posthumous miracles; Kostroma, and Kostroma Region; Translation of the relics of Saint Tikhon of Luchov, Kostroma, Commemorated on June 26; the year 1569 the healing of many sick persons began at the tomb of Saint Tikhon of Lukhov, his holy relics were found to be incorrupt. Igumen Constantine, who uncovered the relics, was struck blind. repenting and then recovering his sight, he placed Saint Tikhon’s relics back into the ground. veneration of Saint Tikhon dates from this time. Life with a description of 70 posthumous miracles was compiled in the year 1649. Tikhon of Lukhov is also commemorated on June 16 (his blessed repose in 1503).

Russia, Moscow, 1570-1600, Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Olonets Land , founded a monastery
Russia, Vologda, 1570-1600, Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Olonets Land (Northwestern Imperial Russia, Finland to White Sea), founded a monastery; Olonets Land; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated on January 18 ; Athanasius of Navolotsk went at the end of the sixteenth century from the Kargopol region to the Olonets land, he founded a monastery 78 versts from what later became the city of Petrozavodsk. The saint died at a Verkholedsk suburb not far from Shenkursk.

Russia, Moscow, 1571, Jerusalem Icon MOG transferred to Moscow's Dormition cathedral, Luke, from Novgorod, Korsun
Russia, Crimea, 988, Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God transferred to Korsun and Vladimir the Great; Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, by tradition, was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke fifteen years after the Ascension of the Lord at Gethsemane. the year 463, the icon was transferred to Constantinople. The Byzantine army carried the Jerusalem Icon into battle when they turned back an invasion of the Scythians. 988 the icon was transferred to Korsun and given to the holy Prince Vladimir. When the people of Novgorod accepted Christianity, Saint Vladimir sent them this icon. 1571, Ivan the Terrible transferred the icon to the Moscow Dormition cathedral. During the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the original was stolen by the French and brought to Paris. An authenticated copy was placed in the Dormition cathedral. Jerusalem Icon is also commemorated on November 13, and on the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent. Vladimir the Great; Battle of Bassianae (Byzantine (Gothic, Roman) victory over the Huns) 469; The war ended in 469. Marcellinus Comes shortly recorded "The head of Dinzic, son of Attila, king of the Huns, was brought to Constantinople".[14] The Chronicon Paschale recounts "Dinzirichus, Attila's son, was killed by Anagastes, general in Thrace. His head was brought to Constantinople, carried in procession through the Middle Street, and fixed on a pole at the Wooden Circus. The whole city turned out to look at it".[14] Jordanes recounts events in c. 468: "Now after firm peace was established between Goths and Romans, the Goths found that what they received from the emperor was not sufficient for them. Furthermore, they were eager to display their wonted valor, and so began to plunder the neighboring peoples around them, first attacking the Sadagis[nb 1] who held the interior of Pannonia. When Dintzic, king of the Huns, a son of Attila, learned this, he gathered to him the few who still seemed to have remained under his sway, namely, the Ultzinzures[nb 2] the Angisciri[nb 3] the Bittugures[nb 4] and the Bardores[nb 5] Coming to Bassianae (see Battle of Bassianae), a city of Pannonia, he beleaguered it and began to plunder its territory. When the Goths learned this, they abandoned the expedition they had planned against the Sadagis and turned upon the Huns and drove them so ingloriously from their own land that those who remained have been in dread of the arms of the Goths from that time down to the present day."[22] Dengizich, Atilla's Son; Icon of the Mother of God œJerusalemÂ, Commemorated on October 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1571, Luke's Jerusalem Icon, 1571 transferred to Moscow by Ivan t T, 1812 stolen by France, but replaced by copy
Jerusalem, 463, Luke's Jerusalem Icon, war hero Constantnpl 469 over huns, 988 Korsun and Novgorod, 1571 Moscow, 1812 stolen by France, but copy ; Jerusalem; Icon of the Mother of God Jerusale, Commemorated on October 12 ; Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, by tradition, was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke fifteen years after the Ascension of the Lord at Gethsemane. the year 463, the icon was transferred to Constantinople. Byzantine army carried the Jerusalem Icon into battle when they turned back an invasion of the Scythians. 988 the icon was transferred to Korsun and given to the holy Prince Vladimir. the people of Novgorod accepted Christianity, Saint Vladimir sent them this icon. 1571, Ivan the Terrible transferred the icon to the Moscow Dormition cathedral. the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the original was stolen by the French and brought to Paris. An authenticated copy was placed in the Dormition cathedral. Jerusalem Icon is also commemorated on November 13, and on the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent.

Russia, Moscow, 1572, Uncovering Ephraim's relics, E's brother George k wBoris, E founded Rostov B&Gleb M, G's head connection
Russia, Rostov, 1572, Uncovering relics oEphraim, Abbot of Novy Torg, Rostov (Ust River 1), Hungarian E's brother George killed wBoris, E founded G&Gleb M in Rostov, wanderer's home there, E burried wGeorge's head with instructions to uncover later, B&G sons of Vladimir, killed by brother Sviatopolk both without resisting and praying for him, other son Yaroslav kills S, Yaroslav's grandsons develop peculiar worship oB&G, transfer in 1115, relics separated, from then on B protected Monomashichi, and G protected Ol’govichi and the Davidovich, names Boris&Gleb akaRoman&David stayed within their protection, monasteries in specific places connected wThe murders, this one connected wGeorge's head; Boris and Gleb monastery, Novy Torg. Saint Ephraim of Novy Torg, founder of the Sts Boris and Gleb monastery in the city of Novy Torg, was a native of Hungary. ; Uncovering of the relics of Venerable Ephraim, Abbot of Novy Torg, Commemorated on June 11; of the Relics of Saint Ephraim of Novy Torg (+ January 28, 1053) took place in the year 1572 under Archbishop Leonid of Novgorod. The Feast day was established under Metropolitan Daniel of Moscow (1584-1587). Venerable Ephraim, Abbot and Wonderworker of Novy Torg, Commemorated January 28 ; Ephraim of Novy Torg, founder of the Saints Boris and Gleb monastery in the city of Novy Torg, was a native of Hungary. with his brothers, Saint Moses the Hungarian (July 26) and Saint George (in Hungarian “Sandor,” pronounced “Shandor”), he quit his native land, possibly because he was Orthodox. come to Russia, all three brothers entered into the service of the Rostov prince Saint Boris, son of Saint Vladimir (July 15). Ephraim’s brother George also perished in the year 1015 at the River Alta, with holy Prince Boris. murderers cut off his head, and took the gold medallion which he had received from Saint Boris. Moses managed to save himself by flight, and became a monk at the Kiev Caves monastery. Ephraim, evidently in Rostov at this time, and arriving at the place of the murder, found the head of his brother and took it with him. service at the princely court, Saint Ephraim withdrew to the River Tvertsa in order to lead a solitary monastic life. several other monks settled near him, he founded a monastery in honor of the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb in the year 1038. The brethren chose him to lead them. the monastery, not far from a merchant’s road to Novgorod, a wanderer’s home was built, where the poor and travelers stayed for free. Ephraim died in old age. His body was buried at the monastery he founded. head of his brother, Saint George was also placed in the grave, in accordance with his last wishes. relics of Saint Ephraim were uncovered in the year 1572. Martyrs and Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb, Commemorated on July 24; Boris and Gleb were sons of Saint Vladimir (July 15). Boris was named Romanus and Saint Gleb was named David at their Baptism. their father’s death the eldest son Sviatopolk planned to kill his brothers Boris, Gleb, and Yaroslav in order to seize power. sent a message to Boris, pretending that he wished to live in peace with him, and to increase Boris’s land holdings inherited from their father. of Vladimir’s advisers told Boris that he should take the army and establish himelf as ruler of Kiev. Boris, however, said that he could never lift his hand against his own brother. Sviatopolk was not so scrupulous. came to the town of Vyshegorod to ask its leaders if they were loyal to him. They assured him that they were ready to die for him. sent assassins to the Alta to kill Boris, who already knew that his brother wanted him dead. they arrived they heard him chanting psalms and praying before an icon of Christ. He asked the Lord to strengthen him for the suffering he was about to endure. He also prayed for Sviatopolk, asking God not to count this against him as sin. he lay down upon his couch, and the assassins stabbed him with their lances, and also killed some of Boris’s servants. Boris in a cloth, they threw him onto a wagon and drove off with him. Sviatopolk saw that he was still breathing, he sent some men to finish him off with swords. Sviatopolk had killed Boris, he wondered, “Now how can I kill Gleb?” sent him a message saying that their father was ill and wished to see him. As he was on his way, he received word from Yaroslav that their father had died and that Sviatopolk had murdered Boris. Gleb wept for his father and brother, and was lamenting them when the assassins arrived. seized his boat and drew their weapons, but it was Gleb’s cook Torchin who stabbed him with a knife. martyr’s body was thrown onto the shore between two trees. Later, he was buried beside Saint Boris in the church of Saint Basil. Boris and Gleb received the crown of martyrdom in 1015. became known as Passion-Bearers, since they did not resist evil with violence. holy martyrs Princes Boris and Gleb are also commemorated on May 2. Translation of the Relics of the Holy Passionbearers Boris and Gleb (in Baptism Roman and David—1072 and 1115), Commemorated on May 2; Transfer of the Relics of the Holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb. Saint Boris (July 24) was a brother of the Great Prince of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054), and was baptized with the name Roman. The murdered Prince Boris was buried at the church of Saint Basil the Great at Vyshgorod near Kiev. John I of Kiev (1008-1035) and his clergy solemnly met the incorrupt relics of the holy passion-bearer Gleb and placed them in the church where the relics of Saint Boris rested. the burial place was glorified by miracles. the relics of the holy brothers Boris and Gleb were removed from the ground and placed in a specially constructed chapel. July 24, 1026 a church of five cupolas built by Yaroslav the Wise was consecrated in honor of the holy martyrs. later years, the Vyshgorod Saints Boris and Gleb church containing the relics of the holy Passion-Bearers became the family church of the Yaroslavichi, sanctuary of brotherly love and service to the nation. symbol of their unity was the celebration of the Transfer of the Relics of Boris and Gleb, observed on May 2. history of the establishing of this Feast is bound up with the preceding events of Russian history. May 2, 1069 the Great Prince Izyaslav, who had been expelled from the princedom for seven months (i.e. from September 1068) because of an uprising of the Kievan people, entered into Kiev. gratitude for God’s help in establishing peace in the Russian land, the prince built a new church to replace an older structure. Two Metropolitans, George of Kiev and Neophytus of Chernigov, participated in its consecration with other bishops, igumens, and clergy. transfer of the relics, in which all three of the Yaroslavichi (Izyaslav, Svyatoslav, Vsevolod) participated, was set for May 2, and it was designated as an annual celebration. Yaroslavich, Prince of Kiev during 1073-1076, made an effort to transform the Saints Boris and Gleb temple into a stone church, but he was able to build the walls only eight cubits high. Vsevolod (+ 1093) finished the church construction, but it collapsed by night. veneration of Saints Boris and Gleb developed during the time of Yaroslav’s grandsons, often producing a peculiar pious competition among them. ’s son Svyatopolk (+ 1113), built silver reliquaries for the saints. 1102 Vsevolod’s son Vladimir Monomakh (+ 1125), sent master craftsmen by night and secretly adorned the silver reliquaries with gold leaf. ’s son Oleg (+ 1115) outdid them. He was called “Gorislavich”, and was mentioned in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” He “intended to raise up the collapsed stone (church) and hired some builders.” He provided everything that was necessary. church was ready in the year 1111, and Oleg “pressured and besought Svyatopolk to transfer the holy relics into it.” Svyatopolk did not want to do this, “because he did not build this church.” death of Svyatopolk Izyaslavich (+ 1113) brought a new insurrection to Kiev, which nearly killed Vladimir Monomakh, who had become Great Prince of that city. decided to cultivate friendship with the Svyatoslavichi through the solemn transfer of the relics into the Oleg church. “Vladimir gathered his sons, and David and Oleg with their sons. all arrived at Vyshgorod. All the hierarchs, igumens, monks and priests came, filling all the town and there was no space left for the citizenry along the walls.” the morning of May 2, 1115, the Sunday of the Myrhhbearing Women, they began to sing Matins at both churches, old and new, and the transfer of relics began. three were separated. “First they brought Saint Boris in a cart, and with him went Metropolitan Vladimir and his clergy.” other carts went Saint Gleb “and David with bishops and clergy.” (Oleg waited for them in the church). separation was adhered to in future generations. Boris was considered a heavenly protector of the Monomashichi; Gleb, of the Ol’govichi and the Davidovichi. Vladimir Monomakh speaks about Boris in his “Testament”, he does not mention Gleb. the Ol’govichi line, none of the princes received the name Boris. general the names Boris and Gleb, and so also Roman and David, were esteemed by many generations of Russian princes. brothers of Oleg Gorislavich were named Roman (+ 1079), Gleb (+ 1078), David (+ 1123), and one of his sons was named Gleb (+ 1138). Monomakh were the sons Roman and Gleb; Yuri Dolgoruky, Boris and Gleb; Saint Rostislav of Smolensk, Boris and Gleb; Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky, Saint Gleb (+ 1174); Vsevolod Big Nest, Boris and Gleb. the sons of Vseslav of Polotsk (+ 1101) was the full range of “Saints Boris and Gleb” names: Roman, Gleb, David, Boris. Vyshgorod sanctuaries were not the only centers for the liturgical veneration of Saints Boris and Gleb. It was spread throughout the Russian land. of all, there were churches and monasteries in specific places connected with the martyrdom of the saints, and their miraculous help for people; temple of Boris and Gleb at Dorogozhich on the road to Vyshgorod, where Saint Boris died; Saints Boris and Gleb monastery at Tmo near Tver where Gleb’s horse injured its leg; monastery of the same name at Smyadyno at the place of Gleb’s murder; at the River Tvertsa near Torzhok (founded in 1030), where the head of Saint George the Hungarian was preserved note: the beloved servant of Saint Boris was beheaded in order to steal the gold medallion given him by Saint Boris]. dedicated to Saints Boris and Gleb were built at the Alta in memory of the victory of Yaroslav the Wise over Svyatopolk the Accursed on July 24, 1019; also at Gzena near Novgorod where Gleb Svyatoslavich defeated a sorcerer. Ol’govichi and the Monomashichi vied with each other in building churches dedicated to the holy martyrs. himself, in addition to the Vyshgorod church, built the Saints Boris and Gleb cathedral in Old Ryazan in 1115 (therefore, the diocese was later called Saints Boris and Gleb). brother David also built at Chernigov (in 1120). the year 1132 Yuri Dolgoruky built a church of Boris and Gleb at Kideksh at the River Nerla, “where the encampment of Saint Boris had been.” 1145, Saint Rostislav of Smolensk “put a stone church at Smyadyno,” at Smolensk. the following year the first (wooden) Saints Boris and Gleb church was built in Novgorod. 1167 a stone foundation replaced the wood, and it was completed and consecrated in the year 1173. The Novgorod Chronicles name the legendary Sotko Sytinich as the builder of the church. holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb were the first Russian saints glorified by the Russian and Byzantine Churches. service to them was composed soon after their death, and its author was Saint John I, Metropolitan of Kiev (1008-1035), which a MENAION of the twelfth century corroborates. innumerable copies of their Life, the accounts of the relics, the miracles and eulogies in the manuscripts and printed books of the twelfth-fourteenth centuries bear witness to the special veneration of the holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb in Russia. note: Neither this account nor those of the individual feastdays give the details of their martyrdom. Perhaps it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the story, or perhaps it is too painful to recount. The saints chose not to take up arms to defend themselves, or flee to safety. In their final prayers, they refer to the Lord’s voluntary suffering and death, as recorded by the chroniclers. Since they meekly accepted an unjust death for the sake of Christ, they are known as “Passion-Bearers.”]

Russia, Moscow, 1572-1588, Volokolamsk Icon, V Tver (Lama River Source), a copy of Vladimir Icon in Moscow Dormition Cathedral
Russia, Tver, 1572-1588, Volokolamsk monastery, Tver (Lama River Source), a copy of Vladimir Icon in Moscow Dormition Cathedral which was brought from Constantinople to Moscow in 1395; Volokolamsk monastery, Volokolamsk-Exaltation of the Cross monastery; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3 ; Volokolamsk Icon of the Mother of God is a copy of the Vladimir Icon of the Moscow Dormition cathedral. The icon was brought from Zvenigorod to the Dormition monastery of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk on March 2, 1572, during the second week of Great Lent and was solemnly met by Igumen Leonid (1563-1566; 1568-1573) and all the monastic brethren. is distinguished by its particular depiction on the margins of Saint Cyprian (right) and Saint Gerontius (left), Metropolitans of Moscow. name of Metropolitan Cyprian is associated with the first arrival of the ancient Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God from Constantinople to Moscow in the year 1395, and under Metropolitan Gerontius in 1480 the Vladimir Icon came finally to Moscow. the year 1588 the Volokolamsk Icon was dedicated atop the gate in the church at the south gates of the Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk monastery in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (August 26). the end of the seventeenth century, when a church of the same name was built in Moscow at Staraya Basmanna, the church atop the gate of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk was rededicated in honor of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The Volokolamsk Icon was transferred to its proper place on the iconostasis of the new cathedral Dormition church of the monastery of Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk. 1578, the icon was recognized as wonderworking.

Russia, Moscow, 1577, Righteous Child Artemius of Verkhol, lightning strike, not buried, light over incorrup body
Russia, Vologda, 1577, Righteous Child Artemius of Verkhol; village of Verkola in Pinezhsky; Uyezd in Arkhangelsk Governorate; Righteous Child Artemius of Verkhol, Commemorated October 20; Righteous Artemius of Verkola was born in the village of Dvina Verkhol around the year 1532. son of pious parents, Artemius was a child who was courageous, meek and diligent for every good deed. June 23, 1545 the twelve-year-old Artemius and his father were taken by surprise in a field by a thunderstorm. A clap of thunder broke right over their heads, and the child Artemius fell dead. thought that this was a sign of God’s judgment, therefore they left the body in a pine forest without a funeral, and without burial. years later, the village reader beheld a light over the place where the incorrupt body of the Righteous Artemius lay. to the church of Saint Nicholas in 1577, the holy relics were shown to be a source of numerous healings. this village a monastery was later built, called the Verkhol. 1918, the impious Soviets chopped the holy relics into pieces and threw them into a well. The memory of Saint Artemius is also celebrated on October 20. Righteous Artemius of Verkola, Commemorated on June 23;

Russia, Moscow, 1578, 1244&1770, 6 Translations otRelics otMartyr's Prince Michael & Boyer Theodore, killed by Batu 1244
Russia, Kiev, 1578&1770, Translation otRelics otMartyr Michael oChernigov, Ukraine (Desna River 5) western trade through Kiev, Volhy, to Poland, Prince Michael oC and Boyar Theodore killed by Batu 1244, (1) relics saved by Christians, (2) later r transferred to Vladimir, (3) then 1272 to Polish Chernigov, (4) 1573 to Moscow by Ivan tTerrible, (5) then 1770 to Moscow's Meething otLprd Cathedral, (6) 1774 hidden in Kremlin's Holy Archangel Cathedral, Michael&Theodore commemorated Sept 20, Feb 14th, Sunday before Aug 26th, synaxis Moscow's Saints; Chernigov; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated February 14 ; Right-believing Prince Michael of Chernigov and his Boyar Theodore were put to death by Batu of the Golden Horde on September 20, 1244. first, some devout Russian Christians secretly took their relics. Later, the relics of the holy wonderworkers were transferred to the city of Vladimir, then to Chernigov, after Chernigov was ceded to the Poles in the year 1572. February 14, 1578 Tsar Ivan the Terrible transferred their relics to a church which was dedicated to them in Moscow, with the blessing of Metropolitan Anthony. 1770 the relics of Saints Michael and Theodore were transferred to the Meeting of the Lord (Сретенский) cathedral, November 21,1774, they have been kept in a hidden place in Moscow's Holy Archangels Cathedral in the Kremlin. Holy Martyrs and Confessors Michael and Theodore are commemorated September 20 (the day of their martyric death); February 14 (the Translation of their Holy Relics in 1578; on the Sunday before August 26 (Synaxis of the Moscow Saints).

Russia, Moscow, 1579, Kazan Icon, discovered by 10 yr old girl's dream
after a fire destroyed Kazan in 1579, the Virgin appeared to a 10-year-old girl, Matrona, revealing the location where the icon lay hidden. The girl told the archbishop about the dream but she was not taken seriously. However, on 8 July 1579, after two repetitions of the dream, the girl and her mother recovered the icon on their own, buried under a destroyed house where it had been hidden to save it from the Tatars Mongol, Perm, 1579, Kazan Icon; Lady of Kazan, also called Mother-of-God of Kazan, was a holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Mary as the protector and patroness of the city of Kazan, and a palladium of all of Russia, known as the Holy Protectress of Russia. to legend, the icon was originally acquired from Constantinople, lost in 1438, and miraculously recovered in pristine state over 140 years later in 1579. Two major cathedrals, the Kazan Cathedral, Moscow, and the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg, are consecrated to Our Lady of Kazan, and they display copies of the icon, as do numerous churches throughout the land. The original icon in Kazan was stolen, and likely destroyed, in 1904. "Fátima image" is a 16th-century copy of the icon, or possibly the 16th-century original, stolen from St. Petersburg in 1917 and purchased by F. A. Mitchell-Hedges in 1953. It was housed in Fátima, Portugal from 1970 to 1993, then in the study of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican from 1993 to 2004, when it was returned to Kazan, where it is now kept in the Kazan Monastery of the Theotokos. Copies of the image are also venerated in the Catholic Church. days of Our Lady of Kazan are 21 July, and 4 November (which is also the Russian Day of National Unity). 1 History 1.1 Fátima image 2 See also 3 References 4 External links to tradition, the original icon of Our Lady of Kazan was brought to Russia from Constantinople in the 13th century. After the establishment of the Khanate of Kazan (c. 1438) the icon disappeared from the historical record for more than a century. Hermogenes' chronicle, written at the request of Tsar Feodor in 1595, describes the recovery of the icon.[1][unreliable source?] According to this account, after a fire destroyed Kazan in 1579, the Virgin appeared to a 10-year-old girl, Matrona, revealing the location where the icon lay hidden. The girl told the archbishop about the dream but she was not taken seriously. However, on 8 July 1579, after two repetitions of the dream, the girl and her mother recovered the icon on their own, buried under a destroyed house where it had been hidden to save it from the Tatars.[2][1][unreliable source?] Monastery of the Theotokos where the icon was conserved until 1904, and the home of the "Fátima image" since 2004 Other churches were built in honour of the revelation of the Virgin of Kazan, and copies of the image were displayed at the Kazan Cathedral of Moscow (constructed in the early 17th century), at Yaroslavl, and at St. Petersburg. military commanders Dmitry Pozharsky (17th century) and Mikhail Kutuzov (19th century) credited invocation of the Virgin Mary through the icon with helping the country to repel the Polish invasion of 1612, the Swedish invasion of 1709, and Napoleon's invasion of 1812. The Kazan icon achieved immense popularity, and there were nine or ten separate miracle-attributed copies of the icon around Russia.[1][unreliable source?] the night of June 29, 1904, the icon was stolen from the Kazan Convent of the Theotokos [ru] in Kazan where it had been kept for centuries (the building was later blown up by the communist authorities[citation needed]). Thieves apparently coveted the icon's gold frame, which was ornamented with many valuable jewels. Several years later, Russian police apprehended the thieves and recovered the frame. The thieves originally declared that the icon itself had been cut to pieces and burnt, although one of them eventually confessed that it was housed in a monastery in the wilds of Siberia. This one, however, was believed to be a fake, and the Russian police refused to investigate, using the logic that it would be very unlucky to venerate a fake icon as though it were authentic.[3] The Orthodox Church interpreted the disappearance of the icon as a sign of tragedies that would plague Russia after the image of the Holy Protectress of Russia had been lost. Indeed, the Russian peasantry was wont to credit all the miseries of the Revolution of 1905, as well as Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, to the desecration of her image.[3] of Saint Nicolas and the Venerable Gerasimus holding the icon Lady of Kazan in Makaryev Monastery (17th century, photograph by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky) Lady of Kazan (1850s reproduction) Our Lady of Kazan. Mid 19th-century Our Lady of Kazan átima image[edit] section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Our Lady of Kazan" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Lady of Kazan (Fátima image) Cathedral, Kazan (1561–62) to the site of the icon's recovery, 21 July 2015. the Russian Revolution of 1917, there was speculation that the original icon was in fact preserved in St. Petersburg. Reportedly, an icon of Our Lady of Kazan was used in processions around Leningrad fortifications during the Siege of Leningrad (1941-1944) during World War II.[4] theory proposed that the Bolsheviks had sold the image abroad, although the Russian Orthodox Church did not accept such theories. The history of the stolen icon between 1917 and 1953 is unknown. In 1953 Frederick Mitchell-Hedges purchased an icon from Arthur Hillman. Although the status of the icon as the original Kazan icon remained disputed, Cyril G.E. Bunt concluded "that it is the work of a great icon painter of the 16th century [...] the pigments and the wood of the panel are perfectly preserved as exhaustive X-ray tests have proved, and have mellowed with age", suggesting that while it was a copy of the original icon, it was nevertheless the original icon carried by Pozharski in 1612. It was exhibited at the World Trade Fair in New York in 1964–1965. On 13 September 1965, members of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima spent the night in veneration of the icon in the pavilion in New York. The Blue Army eventually bought the icon from Anna Mitchell-Hedges for US$125,000 in January 1970, and the icon was enshrined in Fátima, Portugal. 1993 the icon from Fátima was given to the Vatican and Pope John Paul II had it installed in his study, where he venerated it for eleven years. In his own words, "it has found a home with me and has accompanied my daily service to the Church with its motherly gaze".[5] John Paul II wished to visit Moscow or Kazan so that he himself could return the icon to the Russian Orthodox Church. However the Moscow Patriarchate was suspicious that the Pope might have other motives, so he presented the icon to the Russian Church unconditionally in August 2004.[6] On August 26, 2004, it was exhibited for veneration on the altar of St. Peter's Basilica and then delivered to Moscow.[7] On the next feast day of the holy icon, July 21, 2005, Patriarch Alexius II and Mintimer Shaymiev, the president of Tatarstan, received it in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kazan Kremlin [ru].[8] icon is now enshrined in the Cathedral of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, part of the Convent of the Theotokos (re-established as a monastery in 2005), on the site where the original icon of Our Lady of Kazan was found, and plans are underway to make the monastery's other buildings into an international pilgrimage centre. The Complicated History of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated July 8/21 and October 22/November 4, Sergei Milov; Appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on July 8; Icon œNot Made by Handsfrom Lydda, Commemorated on March 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1580-1662, Athanasius III, St. Athanasius oLubensk, P oConstantinople, Muldovia, Thessalonica, Great Story
Constantinople, 1580-1662, Athanasius III, St. Athanasius oLubensk, Patriarch oConstantinople, Wonderworker, from Crete, from pious Greek family, wealthy but wanted asceticism, novice Thess M, trapeza at Esphigmenou, tonsured palestinian Ms, returned, presbyter aThss, Gospel to Vlachs & Moldovians & translated Psalter, tConstantinople tPreachby Cyril, bishop aThss, Cyril slandered, tC as Metro, struggle a heratics, Moslems, Jesuits; deposed a 40days, Cyril returned, tAthos, returned&deposed iYr, Thss&Athos, 1633-45 alms petitions to Moscow, tGa1lats aMoldova, 1652 returned C Patriarch 15days, but sermon denouncing Catholics' universal jurisdiction, tGalats Moldovia, tRussian Tzar&Patriarch iMoscow, great alms but ill on way back and died in Lubensk, Ukraine.; Constantinople, 1634-1652, Athanasius III of Constantinople, St. Athanasius of Lubensk; St Athanasius of Lubensk the Patriarch of Constantinople, Commemorated on May 2; Athanasius III Patelarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, Wonderworker of Lubensk, in the world Alexis, born in 1560 on the island of Crete, into the pious Greek family Patelarios. his education and position in society, Alexis was attracted by the life of Christian ascetics. his father’s death, he became a novice in one of the monasteries of Thessalonica with the name Ananias. there, he later went to the monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt. Athos, where he fulfilled his obedience in the trapeza (dining area). Athos he journeyed to the Palestinian monasteries, and he was tonsured with the name Athanasius. his return to Thessalonica he was ordained presbyter spread the Gospel of Christ among the Vlachs and the Moldovians, for whom he translated the PSALTER from the Greek. the saint went to Mt. Athos for solitude, and to ask God’s blessing on his pastoral work. holiness of his life attracted many Christians who wished to see a true preacher of the Orthodox Faith. his remarkable abilities and spiritual gifts he attracted the attention of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril I (Lukaris) (1621-1623). the ascetic, Patriarch Cyril appointed him a preacher of the Patriarchal throne. Saint Athanasius was consecrated bishop and became Metropolitan of Thessalonica. this time Patriarch Cyril was slandered before the sultan and imprisoned on the island of Tenedos. Athanasius assumed the Patriarchal throne on March 25, 1634, on the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Athanasius led an incessant struggle against heretics, Jesuits, and Moslems. only forty days on the Patriarchal throne, he was deposed through the intrigues of the enemies of Orthodoxy, and Cyril I was returned. saint went to Athos, where for a certain time he pursued asceticism in solitude. he became Patriarch again, but was deposed after a year. this, he returned to Thessalonica and renewed his connections with the Holy Mountain. view of the intolerable persecution of Christians by the Moslems, Saint Athanasius was repeatedly (from 1633 to 1643) obliged to send petitions to the Russian tsar Michael (1613-1645) seeking alms for the hapless Church of Constantinople. living at Thessalonica became impossible for the saint, he was forced to journey to Moldavia under the protection of its sovereign, Basil Lukulos, he settled there in the monastery of Saint Nicholas near Galats, he longed for Mount Athos. He visited it often and hoped to finish his life there, but God ordained something else for him. 1652 after the death of Patriarch Cyril I, Saint Athanasius was returned to the patriarchal throne. remained only fifteen days, since he was not acceptable to the Moslems and Catholics. his final Patriarchal service he preached a sermon in which he denounced papal pretensions to universal jurisdiction over the whole Church. by the Moslems and Jesuits, physically weakened, he transferred the administration of the Church of Constantinople to Metropolitan Paisius of Laureia, he withdrew to Moldavia, where he was appointed administrator of the monastery of Saint Nicholas at Galats. the deep faith and responsiveness of the Russian nation, Saint Athanasius undertook a journey to Russia. April 1653 he was met with great honor in Moscow by Patriarch Nikon (1652-1658) and Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich. received generous alms for the needs of the monastery, Patriarch Athanasius left for Galats in December 1653. the way he fell ill and stayed at the Transfiguration Mgarsk monastery in the city of Lubno in February 1654. his impending death, the saint wrote his last will, and he fell asleep in the Lord on April 5. Petronios and the brethren of the monastery buried the Patriarch. Greek custom the saint was buried in a sitting position. February 1, 1662 Saint Athanasius was glorified as a saint and his Feastday was designated as May 2, the Feast of Saint Athanasius the Great. relics of holy Patriarch Athansios, glorified by numerous miracles and signs, rest in the city of Kharkov, in the Annunciation cathedral church. At the request of Patriarch Nikon, Athanasius wrote The Ordo of the Episcopal Liturgy in the East, which underlined the Muscovian edited Archieratikon of the Episcopal Service, which is used by the Russian Church to date.[2] Athanasius delivered the Tsar a notebook in which he stated his main reason for his visit to Moscow; that is, to arouse the Tsar unite with Moldavia and the Cossack Hetmanate for a future war with the Turks, after which the Tsar should become the new Roman Emperor, and the Moscow Patriarch “ the new Ecumenical Patriarch.

Russia, Moscow, 1580-1662, WWorking Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows Icon, always w Athanasius III
Constantinople, 1634-1652, Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows Icon, very ancient, always w Athanasios III, after him to Vatopedi till 1849, tRussian Andrew Skete, tSloboda i1863 w Paisios, 18yr old speech healed by touching her lips, list of icon's miracles at Slobodsky, church for tIcon built aVyatka 1871-82, gilded riza added 1866, miraculous copy St Petersburg 1890. ; Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on November 19; exact origin of the “Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows” Icon of the Mother of God is unknown, but the lettering on the Icon indicates that it is very ancient. is a tradition that the Icon belonged to the holy Patriarch Athanasios III of Constantinople (May 2). This Icon accompanied him in all his travels, and so he brought the Icon to Russia with him in the year 1653. the repose of Saint Athanasios in 1654, the Icon was brought to the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, remaining there until October 11,1849, when the Russian Skete of Saint Andrew was founded. Gregory, who was living alone at Vatopedi, gave the Icon to the newly-founded Skete as a blessing from his monastery. The Icon was kept in the cell of Hieroschema-monk Bessarion (Vavilov), the founder of the Skete. Father Bessarion blessed the brotherhood with the Icon saying, “May this icon bring you joy, and console you in afflictions and sorrows.” glorification of the Icon took place in Russia, in 1863, when Hieromonk Paisios arrived in the town of Sloboda (Vyatka Province) from Mount Athos, bringing with him the “Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows” Icon of the Mother of God. image was decorated with rich silver and a gilded riza. Father Paisios placed the Icon in the women’s Monastery of the Nativity of the Lord, in the church of the Nativity. Father Paisios was about to return to the Holy Mountain, the eighteen-year-old son of a local priest, Father Vladimir Nevolin, who had been unable to speak for six years, was healed by the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. a Moleben, he touched her lips and began to speak. After this, people began to make pilgrimages to the Icon, and many suffering pilgrims received healing and comfort in their sorrows from the holy Icon in those days. holy Icon was transferred to the women’s Monastery of the Transfiguration in the city of Vyatka with great reverence. Slobodsky, an exact list of the Icon’s miracles was compiled by the same eighteen-year old young man who had been healed. spiritual uplifting of the inhabitants of Vyatka was so great that on the eve of a Great Cross procession, the “Vyatka Provincial Gazette” compared the religious fervor to that when the holy Icon from Mount Athos first arrived. Father Paisios was leaving for Mount Athos, he left the list of the Icon’s miracles at the Monastery of the Transfiguration. Vyatka, on June 26, 1871, the foundation of a church in honor of the “Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows” Icon was laid. It was built over a period of eleven years. August 31, 1882, on the Feast of the Placing of the Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, Archbishop Appolos consecrated the church, and every Saturday an Akathist was read before the Icon. two years, in remembrance of the holy Icon’s stay in the Vyatka region and the miraculous healings which took place, solemn processions were held throughout the entire diocese. November 19, 1866 at Sloboda’s Monastery of the Nativity of the Lord, a gilded riza was added to the “Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows” Icon of the Mother of God from Mount Athos; in remembrance of the Icon’s first healing (of the young man who could not speak), a particularly solemn service took place in the monastery. That day was established as the Feast Day of the wonderworking Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. March 27, 1890, an exact copy of the Icon was delivered to Russia and placed in the Annunciation Cathedral at St. Petersburg, the representation church of Saint Andrew’s Skete on Mount Athos. and night, crowds of people came to venerate the wonderworking Icon. the grace of God, this icon of the Mother of God was also glorified by numerous miracles. the Icon is at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas in St. Petersburg, and a list of miracles is with the holy Icons in the suburban Cathedral of Saint Katherine. 1999, the altar of one of the churches of the former Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the town of Sloboda was consecrated in honor of the wonderworking Icon. the Aleksievo-Akatov women’s monastery in Voronezh, there is also a list of the Athos shrine, which says: “This icon was painted and blessed on the Holy Mountain in the Russian Monastery of Saint John Chrysostom under the rector Hieroschema-monk Cyril in 1905.” The Icon was restored in 1999. “Consolation in Afflictions and Sorrows” Icon is in the form of a triptych. In addition to the Most Holy Theotokos, the following saints are depicted: The Great Martyrs George and Demetrios of Thessaloniki on horseback; Saint John the Forerunner and Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, the monastic saints Anthony, Euthymios, Onuphrios the Great and Savva the Sanctified; Saints Spyridon of Trimythontos and Nicholas the Wonderworker. The Icon is adorned with several rizas, one of which is gold. the Feast Day of the Icon is on November 19, it does not have its own Service; so the Troparion, Kontakion, and Akathist for the Assuage my Sorrows Icon (January 25 and October 9) are also used for this Icon. Constantinople, 1580-1662, Athanasius III, St. Athanasius oLubensk, Patriarch oConstantinople, Wonderworker, from Crete, from pious Greek family, wealthy but wanted asceticism, novice Thess M, trapeza at Esphigmenou, tonsured palestinian Ms, returned, presbyter aThss, Gospel to Vlachs & Moldovians & translated Psalter, tConstantinople tPreachby Cyril, bishop aThss, Cyril slandered, tC as Metro, struggle a heratics, Moslems, Jesuits; deposed a 40days, Cyril returned, tAthos, returned&deposed iYr, Thss&Athos, 1633-45 alms petitions to Moscow, tGa1lats aMoldova, 1652 returned C Patriarch 15days, but sermon denouncing Catholics' universal jurisdiction, tGalats Moldovia, tRussian Tzar&Patriarch iMoscow, great alms but ill on way back and died in Lubensk, Ukraine.; Constantinople, 1634-1652, Athanasius III of Constantinople, St. Athanasius of Lubensk; St Athanasius of Lubensk the Patriarch of Constantinople, Commemorated on May 2; Athanasius III Patelarios, Patriarch of Constantinople, Wonderworker of Lubensk, in the world Alexis, born in 1560 on the island of Crete, into the pious Greek family Patelarios. his education and position in society, Alexis was attracted by the life of Christian ascetics. his father’s death, he became a novice in one of the monasteries of Thessalonica with the name Ananias. there, he later went to the monastery of Esphigmenou on Mt. Athos, where he fulfilled his obedience in the trapeza (dining area). Athos he journeyed to the Palestinian monasteries, and he was tonsured with the name Athanasius. his return to Thessalonica he was ordained presbyter spread the Gospel of Christ among the Vlachs and the Moldovians, for whom he translated the PSALTER from the Greek. the saint went to Mt. Athos for solitude, and to ask God’s blessing on his pastoral work. holiness of his life attracted many Christians who wished to see a true preacher of the Orthodox Faith. his remarkable abilities and spiritual gifts he attracted the attention of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril I (Lukaris) (1621-1623). the ascetic, Patriarch Cyril appointed him a preacher of the Patriarchal throne. Saint Athanasius was consecrated bishop and became Metropolitan of Thessalonica. this time Patriarch Cyril was slandered before the sultan and imprisoned on the island of Tenedos. Athanasius assumed the Patriarchal throne on March 25, 1634, on the day of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. Athanasius led an incessant struggle against heretics, Jesuits, and Moslems. only forty days on the Patriarchal throne, he was deposed through the intrigues of the enemies of Orthodoxy, and Cyril I was returned. saint went to Athos, where for a certain time he pursued asceticism in solitude. he became Patriarch again, but was deposed after a year. this, he returned to Thessalonica and renewed his connections with the Holy Mountain. view of the intolerable persecution of Christians by the Moslems, Saint Athanasius was repeatedly (from 1633 to 1643) obliged to send petitions to the Russian tsar Michael (1613-1645) seeking alms for the hapless Church of Constantinople. living at Thessalonica became impossible for the saint, he was forced to journey to Moldavia under the protection of its sovereign, Basil Lukulos, he settled there in the monastery of Saint Nicholas near Galats, he longed for Mount Athos. He visited it often and hoped to finish his life there, but God ordained something else for him. 1652 after the death of Patriarch Cyril I, Saint Athanasius was returned to the patriarchal throne. remained only fifteen days, since he was not acceptable to the Moslems and Catholics. his final Patriarchal service he preached a sermon in which he denounced papal pretensions to universal jurisdiction over the whole Church. by the Moslems and Jesuits, physically weakened, he transferred the administration of the Church of Constantinople to Metropolitan Paisius of Laureia, he withdrew to Moldavia, where he was appointed administrator of the monastery of Saint Nicholas at Galats. the deep faith and responsiveness of the Russian nation, Saint Athanasius undertook a journey to Russia. April 1653 he was met with great honor in Moscow by Patriarch Nikon (1652-1658) and Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich. received generous alms for the needs of the monastery, Patriarch Athanasius left for Galats in December 1653. the way he fell ill and stayed at the Transfiguration Mgarsk monastery in the city of Lubno in February 1654. his impending death, the saint wrote his last will, and he fell asleep in the Lord on April 5. Petronios and the brethren of the monastery buried the Patriarch. Greek custom the saint was buried in a sitting position. February 1, 1662 Saint Athanasius was glorified as a saint and his Feastday was designated as May 2, the Feast of Saint Athanasius the Great. relics of holy Patriarch Athansios, glorified by numerous miracles and signs, rest in the city of Kharkov, in the Annunciation cathedral church. At the request of Patriarch Nikon, Athanasius wrote The Ordo of the Episcopal Liturgy in the East, which underlined the Muscovian edited Archieratikon of the Episcopal Service, which is used by the Russian Church to date.[2] Athanasius delivered the Tsar a notebook in which he stated his main reason for his visit to Moscow; that is, to arouse the Tsar unite with Moldavia and the Cossack Hetmanate for a future war with the Turks, after which the Tsar should become the new Roman Emperor, and the Moscow Patriarch “ the new Ecumenical Patriarch. Constantinople, 1634-1652, Athanasius III of Constantinople, St. Athanasius of Lubensk; St Athanasius of Lubensk the Patriarch of Constantinople, Commemorated on May 2; At the request of Patriarch Nikon, Athanasius wrote The Ordo of the Episcopal Liturgy in the East, which underlined the Muscovian edited Archieratikon of the Episcopal Service, which is used by the Russian Church to date.[2] Athanasius delivered the Tsar a notebook in which he stated his main reason for his visit to Moscow; that is, to arouse the Tsar unite with Moldavia and the Cossack Hetmanate for a future war with the Turks, after which the Tsar should become the new Roman Emperor, and the Moscow Patriarch “ the new Ecumenical Patriarch.

Russia, Moscow, 1581-1582, Siege of Pskov Caves (Livonian War 1581-1582)
Siege of Pskov; Icon of the Mother of God of Pskov œthe ProtectionÂ, Commemorated on October 1; Feast of the Pskov-Protection Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Pskov from the invading troops of the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581. During the siege, they carried forth the wonderworking Dormition Icon of the Mother of God in procession from the monastery. the eve of the decisive fighting, the pious blind Elder Dorotheus the Smith had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos at the spot where the enemy had prepared to attack, at a corner of the fortress of the monastery in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Most Holy Virgin appeared to the Elder Dorotheus with various Russian Saints: the holy Great Prince Vladimir and the Pskov Princes Vsevolod-Gabriel and Dovmont-Timothy, Saint Anthony of Kiev Caves, Cornelius of Pskov, Euphrosynus of Spaso-Elazar and Savva of Krypetsk, Blessed Nicholas of Pskov and Saint Niphon, Archbishop of Novgorod, the organizer of the Pskov Spaso-Mirozh monastery. from the Pechor side from the Spaso-Mirozhsk monastery across the River Velika, the Mother of God with the Saints entered the church of the Protection monastery. The Saints besought the All-Pure Virgin to have pity on the sinful citizens of Pskov and save the city “from the imposition of woes.â€ The Most Holy Theotokos, having promised the city Her mercy, gave orders to set up the Pechersk icon at the place of Her appearance. the battle the Polish tried to breach the fortress wall, but through the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints, they were not able to break through into the city. After their deliverance from the enemy, the grateful people of Pskov built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the temple of the Protection Most Holy Theotokos, the Pskov-Pechersk icon of the Mother of God was painted, which has also been given the name, “Appearance of the Mother of God to the Elder Dorotheus.â€ The appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos occurred on September 7, and celebration of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon was established on October 1. A special service was compiled for the Feast of the Most Holy Theotokos. St John the Hermit of Pskov, Commemorated on October 24; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28; Icon of the Mother of God of œTendernessÂ, Commemorated on May 21 ; sacred Tenderness Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was painted and brought to the Pskov Caves monastery through the efforts of the devout Pskov merchants Basil and Theodore. It was transferred it to the town of Pskov in the year 1521, and was glorified by miracles of healing in 1524. The Tenderness Icon is especially honored as the protector of the city when it was besieged by the Polish King Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in the year 1581. Both the Tenderness Icon and the Dormition Icon were glorified at that time. Tenderness Icon is also honored on October 7, the day when Pskov was liberated from Napoleon's invasion in 1812. Other days on which the Tenderness Icon is commemorated are: June 23, August 26, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Icon of the Mother of God œVirgin of TendernessÂ from the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 21 ; Icon of the Mother of God œTendernessÂ of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on June 23 ; “Tendernessâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was found in the monastery of the caves in 1521, and was transferred to the city of Pskov by the pious Christians Basil and Theodore. Icon is particularly renowned for the deliverance of Pskov and the Pskov Caves monastery from the army of Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in 1581. It is commemorated on May 21, June 23, August 26, October 7, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa (Umilenie) type, and is regarded as the patroness of the city of Pskov.

Russia, Moscow, 1581, deliverance of Pskov & Pskov Caves by Tenderness Icon, D's Vision where to defend
Russia, Pskov, 1581, deliverance of Pskov and Pskov Caves by Tenderness Icon; Siege of Pskov; Virgin of Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on August 26; Tenderness Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was found in the monastery of the caves in 1521, and was transferred to the city of Pskov by the pious Christians Basil and Theodore. The Icon is particularly renowned for the deliverance of Pskov and the Pskov Caves monastery from the army of Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in 1581. It is commemorated on May 21, June 23, August 26, October 7, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa (Umilenie) type, and is regarded as the patroness of the city of Pskov. October 7 commemoration was established in thanksgiving for the deliverance of Pskov from the invading army of Napoleon in 1812. Icon of the Mother of God of Pskov œthe Protection, Commemorated on October 1; Feast of the Pskov-Protection Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in memory of the miraculous deliverance of Pskov from the invading troops of the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581. During the siege, they carried forth the wonderworking Dormition Icon of the Mother of God in procession from the monastery. the eve of the decisive fighting, the pious blind Elder Dorotheus the Smith had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos at the spot where the enemy had prepared to attack, at a corner of the fortress of the monastery in honor of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Most Holy Virgin appeared to the Elder Dorotheus with various Russian Saints: the holy Great Prince Vladimir and the Pskov Princes Vsevolod-Gabriel and Dovmont-Timothy, Saint Anthony of Kiev Caves, Cornelius of Pskov, Euphrosynus of Spaso-Elazar and Savva of Krypetsk, Blessed Nicholas of Pskov and Saint Niphon, Archbishop of Novgorod, the organizer of the Pskov Spaso-Mirozh monastery. from the Pechor side from the Spaso-Mirozhsk monastery across the River Velika, the Mother of God with the Saints entered the church of the Protection monastery. The Saints besought the All-Pure Virgin to have pity on the sinful citizens of Pskov and save the city “from the imposition of woes. The Most Holy Theotokos, having promised the city Her mercy, gave orders to set up the Pechersk icon at the place of Her appearance. the battle the Polish tried to breach the fortress wall, but through the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints, they were not able to break through into the city. After their deliverance from the enemy, the grateful people of Pskov built a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the temple of the Protection Most Holy Theotokos, the Pskov-Pechersk icon of the Mother of God was painted, which has also been given the name, œAppearance of the Mother of God to the Elder Dorotheus. The appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos occurred on September 7, and celebration of the Pskov-Pechersk Icon was established on October 1. A special service was compiled for the Feast of the Most Holy Theotokos. St John the Hermit of Pskov, Commemorated on October 24; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28; Icon of the Mother of God of œTenderness, Commemorated on May 21 ; sacred Tenderness Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was painted and brought to the Pskov Caves monastery through the efforts of the devout Pskov merchants Basil and Theodore. It was transferred it to the town of Pskov in the year 1521, and was glorified by miracles of healing in 1524. The Tenderness Icon is especially honored as the protector of the city when it was besieged by the Polish King Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in the year 1581. Both the Tenderness Icon and the Dormition Icon were glorified at that time. Tenderness Icon is also honored on October 7, the day when Pskov was liberated from Napoleon's invasion in 1812. Other days on which the Tenderness Icon is commemorated are: June 23, August 26, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Icon of the Mother of God œVirgin of Tenderness from the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 21 ; Icon of the Mother of God œTenderness of the Pskov Caves, Commemorated on June 23 ; œTenderness Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was found in the monastery of the caves in 1521, and was transferred to the city of Pskov by the pious Christians Basil and Theodore. Icon is particularly renowned for the deliverance of Pskov and the Pskov Caves monastery from the army of Stephen Bathory (1533-1586) in 1581. It is commemorated on May 21, June 23, August 26, October 7, and on the Seventh Sunday of Pascha. Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God is of the Eleousa (Umilenie) type, and is regarded as the patroness of the city of Pskov.

Russia, Moscow, 1581, 1362, 1682, Anthony founded Black Lake monastery, destroyed, 1581 by Lithuanians, &1682 by Sweden
Russia, Vologda, 1362 &1581 &1682, Anthony oBlack Lake (Chernopovets) founded Black Lake (Chernoezero) monastery, Cherepovets Resurrection monastery, Yagorba Mouth, Mologa, twice completely destroyed, 1581 by Lithuanians, &1682 by Sweden ; Cherepovets Resurrection monastery, Yagorba Mouth, Mologa, 1362; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Anthony of Black Lake founded the Mother of God monastery at Black Lake [Chernoezero] in the Novgorod area, not far from the city of Chernopovets. monastery was on an island of the Schirsk countryside. monastery twice suffered complete destruction: in 1581, from the Lithuanians; in 1682, from the Swedes. monastery was closed in 1764.

Russia, Moscow, 1583-1590, Jonah, disciple oTrypphon oPechenga, tPechenga-Trinity m after wife daughter death, Killed by Swedes
Russia, Vologda, 1583-1590, Jonah, disciple oTrypphon oPechenga, White Sea Region, Vologda (Pechenga River Mouth), tPechenga-Trinity m near Kola after wife daughter death, 1583 Tryphon died, tDormition wilderness, Killed by Swedes 1590l Martyr Jonah the Disciple of Tryphon of Pechenga, Commemorated on December 15 ; Jonah of Pechenga and Kola was, as tradition tells us, a priest in the city of Kola. the death of his daughter and wife he went off to the Pechenga-Trinity monastery near Kola, became a disciple of its founder, Saint Tryphon. the death of his teacher, he settled in 1583 at the site of what was to become his grave in the neighboring Dormition wilderness, where he was killed by the Swedes in the year 1590. Venerable Tryphon the Abbot of Pechenga (Kolsk), Commemorated on December 15 ; Tryphon of Pechenga and Kola (Mētrophánēs in the world), was born in the Novgorod governia into a priestly family. pious parents raised their son in the fear of God. his early years Tryphon had resolved to devote his life to apostolic deeds and to go to the pagan Laplanders to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. had heard of them only through the accounts of fish vendors. while praying in the forest he had heard a voice, “Tryphon, this is not your place. An inhospitable and thirsting land awaits you.” his parental home, the Saint went out to the Kola Peninsula and halted on the banks of the Pechenga River, where the Lapps lived. he began to trade with them. First the Saint acquainted himself with the pagan beliefs of those people and studied their language, then he began to preach the Christian Faith to them. Lapps listened to his words with great mistrust. suffered many hardships, enduring hostility and even beatings. gradually, through his wise and kindly words and meekness, many were converted to Christ. the blessing of Archbishop Makarios of Novogord, Tryphon and Saint Theodóretos (August 17) built a church for the new converts. 1532 he founded the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery for those who were zealous for the monastic life, “on the cold sea, on the frontier of Murmansk.” Ivan the Terrible helped him and richly endowed the Monastery. Enlightener of the Lapps went to the Lord in 1583 at the age of 98, after living in Lapland for almost 70 years. veneration of Saint Tryphon began soon after his death. 1589, the Swedes destroyed the Pechenga monastery. by order of Tsar Theodore, the Monastery was transferred to the Kola Peninsula. the site of the restored Monastery a church was built and named for Saint Tryphon. Swedes destroyed Pechenga Monastery in 1589, but the Saint's burial place under the altar was not forgotten. 1708-1709 the Sretensky church was built here, which the Monastery was revived in 1886. church was destroyed again in 1944, but after the restoration of the Monastery in 2009-2012 a new church was built over the Saint's relics. who invoke Saint Tryphon with faith have received his miraculous help. during his lifetime he rescued shipwrecked sailors, calmed storms at sea, and healed those who suffered from deafness, blindness, and paralysis.

Russia, Moscow, 1583-1589, Priestmonk Jonah oPechenga, martyred w 116 monks&laypersons by Swedes one year before Rus-Swede war
Russia, Vologda, 1589, Priestmonk Jonah oPechenga, White Sea Region, Vologda (Pechenga River Mouth), martyred w cocelebrant and 115 monks&laypersons by Swedes one year before Rus-Swede war; Priestmonk Jonah the Martyr of Pechenga, Commemorated on December 25; on the Synodikon of the Solovetsk Monastery in northern Russian about 1500 AD -- the exact date is unknown -- the Priestmonk Jonah was born in the Pomeranian village of Varzuga in Russia's northern Murmansk district. serving as a parish priest, he entered the Pechenga Monastery, where he became a close disciple of Saint Tryphon. Jonah was martyred in December 1589 -- one year before the beginning of the Russian-Swedish War -- during an attack on the monastery by Swedish-Finnish invaders. holds that he and his concelebrant, the Priestmonk Herman, were martyred during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, as they were receiving the Eucharist. together with 115 monks and laypersons killed during the invasion, were venerated throughout the Novgorod region. In 2003, they were formally glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church for Church-wide veneration.

Russia, Moscow, 1584, Simon of Yurievets, Kostroma, Fool f C, fasting black skin, mistreaters prayer, clairvoyance
Russia, Kostroma, 1584, Simon of Yurievets District, Kostroma (Unzha River Mouth, Volga River 8.6), Fool for Christ, black skin f fasting, prayer for mistreaters, clairvoyance, killed by commander who did not know him, but honored him with funeral; Yurievets District; Volga Region; Blessed Simon of Yurievets, Commemorated November 4; Simon of Yurievets was born in the city of Yurievets in the Povolzhsk or Volga region. by his parents, the saint took upon himself the exploit of foolishness for Christ. Both winter and summer he went barefoot, dressed only in a shirt, so that his skin became blackened and withered from fasting. people often were cruel to him, sometimes beating him. The holy fool never complained, but prayed for those who mistreated him. Simon was fond of praying on the porches of various churches. ascetic exploit of self-denial cleansed his soul, and he received from God the gift of clairvoyance: foresaw many things and predicted the future. Contemporaries, mentioning his name, beheld various miraculous signs. before his death, the saint went to the house of the military commander Theodore Petelin. not knowing the saint, in a fit of anger gave orders to beat him. Saint Simon fell grievously ill. He summoned a priest, made his confession, received the Holy Mysteries of Christ and commended his soul to God. The commander later repented of his sin. city gathered for the saint’s funeral, and the body of Blessed Simon was buried in Theophany monastery. This occurred on November 4, 1584. the year 1635, Patriarch Joasaph ordered the Theophany monastery’s Igumen Dionysius to compile an account of the life and miracles of Blessed Simon and gave a blessing to paint his icon. The Feast of Blessed Simon was established in the year 1635.

Russia, Moscow, 1584-1598, Tsar Feodor I, Theodore, pious, retiring, R ruled by Boris G, wife's b, death then TofT
Moscow, 1584-1598, Tsar Feodor I of Russia, Theodore Ioannovich ; I Ivanovich or Feodor I Ioannovich ( 31 May 1557 - 16 January (NS) 1598), also known as Feodor the Bellringer, was the last Rurikid Tsar of Russia (1584-“1598). Feodor's mother died when he was three, and he grew up in the shadow of his father, Ivan the Terrible. A pious man of retiring disposition, Feodor took little interest in ,politics, and the country was effectively administered in his name by Boris Godunov, the brother of his beloved wife Irina. His childless death left the Rurikid dynasty extinct, and spurred Russia's descent into the catastrophic Time of Troubles. In Russian documents, Feodor is sometimes called blessed. He is also listed in the "Great Synaxaristes" of the Orthodox Church, with his feast day on January 7 (OS).[1] Intercession of the œDonÂ Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated on August 19; Venerable Bassian of Tikhsnen, Vologda, Commemorated September 12 ; St Jonah of Kazan, Commemorated on October 4; Uncovering of the relics of St Gurias the First Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on October 4; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 17; St John the Hermit of Pskov; Commemorated on October 24; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Venerable Martyrius the Abbot of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on November 11 ; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza, Commemorated on December 12 ; Martyr Jonah the Disciple of Tryphon of Pechenga, Commemorated on December 15; St Sophia, Commemorated on December 16; St Barlaam of Keretsk, Commemorated on January 15; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; St Nicholas the Catholicos of Georgia, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Venerable Theonas the Archbishop of Thessalonica, Commemorated on April 4; Icon of the Mother of God of Belynich, Commemorated on April 12; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Onuphrius the Abbot of Malsk, Pskov, Commemorated on June 12 ; Venerable Serapion of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on June 27 ; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3; Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on July 3 ; Appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1584-1612, Galacteon of Vologda, prince shoemaker ascetic, chained to wall, fed through window, out to prophet
Russia, Vologda, 1584-1612, Galacteon of Vologda, Prince fearing Ivan, to Staritsa, Tver, to Vologda, shoemaker, wife died, pit near river sodima near church, tonsured, earnings split 3ways, advancing spiritually chained to wall, fed bread water through window, powerful words for visitors, special spiritual grace, prayed for rain success, revelation impending woe fVologda, left cell in chains, Poles Lithuanians upon us, fasting prayer for temple for sign icon, so MOG deliver V as Novgorod, challanged by Nechai P, Temple when you die q, Monaster at my place, your church burned, y house laid waste, Demetri's church wb destroyed, prophecy fulfilled, miraculous healings over his burial place; Vologda; Monastic Martyr Galacteon of Vologda, Commemorated on September 24; Galacteon of Vologda: Fearing the wrath of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, kinsmen of the disgraced prince Ivan Ivanovich Belsky secretly brought his seven-year-old son Gabriel to the city of Staritsa. the years of his growing up, and seeing the malice of the Tsar towards his family, the young prince withdrew to Vologda and lived with a shoemaker, from whom he learned the cobbler’s craft. marriage did not last long, for his wife soon died, leaving Prince Gabriel to raise his infant daughter. adversities of his earthly life strengthened in him the intent to devote himself to God. sought out a place at the River Sodima, he dug a pit and made his cell near a church named for the Most Holy Trinity. being tonsured with the name Galacteon, he began to labor in fasting and prayer. ascetic did not give up his cobbler’s trade, and the money which he received from the work was divided into three portions. One part he dedicated to God, another portion he gave to the poor, and the third part he kept for his own needs. in spiritual life, Saint Galacteon secluded himself in his cell, chaining himself to the wall. Christians gave him food through a small window. ascetic rested little, on his knees and holding on to the chain, and he ate only dry bread and water. the cell of Saint Galacteon was nothing but the old matting with which he covered himself. soon began to come to the hermit for spiritual guidance. He received both the rich and the poor, and his words were filled with spiritual power. He consoled the grieving and brought the proud to their senses. prayer Saint Galacteon achieved a special spiritual grace. when the Vologda region had gone a long time without rain, Bishop Anthony came to the church of the Holy Trinity with a church procession and sent a request to the hermit to come and pray with everyone for deliverance from the common woe. Galacteon obediently left his cell and prayed in the church, and the Lord sent abundant rain upon the parched earth. ascetic had a revelation from God about impending misfortunes of Vologda. emerged from his cell in his chains, went to an earthen hut and declared, “Our sins have brought the Poles and Lithuanians upon us. Let there be fasting and prayer, and preparations to build a temple in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (November 27), so that the Heavenly Queen might deliver Vologda from the wrath of God as She did before Novgorod.” of those present, Nechai Proskurov, said, “He is concerned not for us, but for himself; he only wants to have a church near him. And what will become of the temple when you die, Elder?” Galacteon answered gravely, “Wrath is approaching Vologda. for me, there at my place God is glorified, and there also a monastery will be built.” also said that the Trinity church built by Nechai would be burned and the house of Nechai laid waste. the church dedicated to Saint Demetrius of Priluki (February 11), he said, “The Wonderworker Demetrius has prayed to the Savior for the city, but they insult him. Around his church they set up shops and hawk their wares. This church will be destroyed.” prophecy of the righteous one was soon fulfilled. September 1612 the Polish and Lithuanians stormed into Vologda, and they killed many of the inhabitants. defiled and plundered the churches of God, and they set afire the city and its surroundings. As Saint Galacteon predicted, the house and church built by Nechai were burned, as was also the city church named for Saint Demetrius. Galacteon was murdered by the invaders on September 24, 1612. Christians buried the body of hosiomartyr in his cell. the place of his burial miraculous healings began to occur. the time of Bishop Barlaam (1627-1645), a church was built in honor of the Sign Icon of the Mother of God over the relics of the hosiomartyr Galacteon, and a monastery was founded. the blessing of Archbishop Marcellus (1645-1663), a cathedral church was built at the monastery in honor of the Holy Spirit, and the monastery took its name from this church.

Russia, Moscow, 1585-1605, Tsar Boris Godunov, Tartar, defacto regent then Tzar in 1598, T of T, English trade
Moscow, 1598-1605, Tsar Boris Godunov ; Fyodorovich Godunov (possibly 1551 – 23 April [O.S. 13 April] 1605) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as de facto regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his reign, Russia descended into the Time of Troubles. 1 Early years 2 Regency 3 Reign 4 Arts and popular media 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External links years[edit] Godunov was the most noted member of an ancient, now extinct, Russian family of Tatar origin (Chet), which came from the Horde to Kostroma in the early 14th century.[2] This legend is written in the annals dating from early 17th century. He was descended from the Tatar Prince Chet, who went from the Golden Horde to Russia and founded the Ipatiev Monastery in Kostroma. Boris was the son of Feodor Ivanovich Godunov Krivoy (the one-eyed) (died, c. 1568-1570) and his wife Stepanida Ivanovna. His older brother Vasily died young and without issue. career began at the court of Ivan the Terrible. He is mentioned in 1570 for taking part in the Serpeisk campaign as an archer of the guard. The following year he became an oprichnik – a member of Ivan's personal guard and secret police. In 1570/1571, Godunov strengthened his position at court by his marriage to Maria Grigorievna Skuratova-Belskaya, the daughter of Malyuta Skuratov-Belskiy, head of the oprichniks. 1580, the Tsar chose Boris Godunov's sister Irina Godunova (1557 - 26 October/23 November 1603) to be the wife of his second son and eventual heir, the fourteen-year-old Feodor Ivanovich (1557-1598). On this occasion, Godunov was promoted to the rank of Boyar.[2] 15 November 1581, Godunov was present when the Tsar murdered his own eldest son, the crown prince Ivan. Godunov tried to intervene but received blows from the Tsar's sceptre. The elder Ivan immediately repented, and Godunov rushed to get help for the Tsarevich, who died four days later.[3] years later, on his deathbed, Ivan IV appointed a council consisting of Godunov, Feodor Nikitich Romanov, Vasili Shuiski and others to guide his son and successor of Russia Feodor I, who was feeble both in mind and body: he took refuge from the dangers of the palace in devotion to religion; and though his people called him a saint, they recognized that he lacked the iron to govern men.[4] the time of his death, Ivan also had a three-year-old son, Dmitry Ivanovich (1581–1591), from his seventh and last marriage. son (and his mother's family) had no claim to the throne because the Orthodox Church recognized only Ivan's first three marriages as legitimate. after Ivan's death the council had both Dmitri and his mother, Maria Nagaya, moved to Uglich, some 120 miles north of Moscow. Dmitri died there in 1591 at the age of ten under suspicious circumstances. Dmitri's death was announced by the ringing of the church bell, the Uglich population rose up to protest the suspected assassination, which they believed was commissioned by Boris Godunov. swiftly quelled the rebellion. Godunov ordered the removal of the Uglich bell's clapper (the bell's tongue). He had the offending bell flogged in public and exiled to Siberia along with the townspeople who had not been executed.[5] official commission headed by Vasili Shuiski was sent to determine the cause of death. The official verdict was that the boy had cut his throat during an epileptic seizure. widow claimed that her son had been murdered by Godunov's agents. Godunov's guilt was never established and shortly thereafter Dmitri's mother was forced to take the veil.[4] Dmitry Ivanovich was laid to rest and promptly, though temporarily, forgotten. estate near Moscow the coronation of Feodor Ivanovich as Tsar Feodor I on 31 May 1584, Boris received honors and riches as a member of the regency council, in which he held the second place during the life of the Tsar's uncle Nikita Romanovich. When Nikita died in 1586, Boris had no serious rival for the regency. conspiracy of other boyars and of Dionysius II, Metropolitan of Moscow, sought to break Boris's power by divorcing the Tsar from Godunov's childless sister. The attempt proved unsuccessful, and the conspirators were banished or sent to monasteries. After that, Godunov remained supreme in Russia and he corresponded with foreign princes as their equal. policy was generally pacific and always prudent. In 1595, he recovered from Sweden some towns lost during the former reign. Five years previously he had defeated a Tatar raid upon Moscow, for which he received the title of Konyushy, an obsolete dignity even higher than that of Boyar. He supported an anti-Turkish faction in the Crimea and gave the Khan subsidies in his war against the sultan. encouraged English merchants to trade with Russia by exempting them from duties. He built towns and fortresses along the north-eastern and south-eastern borders of Russia to keep the Tatar and Finnic tribes in order. These included Samara, Saratov, Voronezh, and Tsaritsyn, as well as other lesser towns. He colonized Siberia with scores of new settlements, including Tobolsk. his rule, the Russian Orthodox Church received its patriarchate, placing it on an equal footing with the ancient Eastern churches and freeing it from the influence of the Patriarch of Constantinople. This pleased the Tsar, as Feodor took a great interest in church affairs. Godunov's most important domestic reform, a 1597 decree forbade peasants to transfer from one landowner to another (which they had been free to do each year around Saint George's Day in November), thus binding them to the soil. This ordinance aimed to secure revenue, but it led to the institution of serfdom in its most oppressive form.[2] (See also Serfdom in Russia.) the death of the childless Feodor on 7 January 1598, as well as the rumored assassination of Feodor's much younger brother Dimitry, supposedly ordered by Boris himself to guarantee his seat on the throne, self-preservation as much as ambition led Boris' rise to power. Had he not done so, the mildest treatment he could have hoped for would have been lifelong seclusion in a monastery. His election was proposed by Patriarch Job of Moscow, who believed that Boris was the one man capable of coping with the difficulties of the situation. Boris, however, would accept the throne only from the Zemsky Sobor (national assembly), which met on 17 February and unanimously elected him on 21 February. On 1 September, he was solemnly crowned tsar. Mausoleum in front of the Cathedral of the Assumption at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius the first years of his reign, he was both popular and prosperous, and ruled well. He recognized the need for Russia to catch up with the intellectual progress of the West and did his best to bring about educational and social reforms. He was the first tsar to import foreign teachers on a large scale, the first to send young Russians abroad to be educated, and the first to allow Lutheran churches to be built in Russia. After the Russo–Swedish War (1590–1595), he pursued gaining access to the Baltic Sea and attempted to obtain Livonia by diplomatic means. He cultivated friendly relations with the Scandinavians and hoped to take a bride from a foreign royal house, thereby increasing the dignity of his own dynasty.[2] However he declined the personal union proposed to him in 1600 by the diplomatic mission led by Lew Sapieha from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth[citation needed]. died after a lengthy illness and a stroke on 13/23 April 1605. He left one son, Feodor II, who succeeded him and ruled for only a few months, until he and Boris' widow were murdered by the enemies of the Godunovs in Moscow on 10/20 June 1605.[6] Boris's first son, Ivan, was born in 1587 and died in 1588. His daughter, Xenia, was born in 1582. She was engaged to Johann of Schleswig-Holstein, but he died shortly before their planned wedding in October 1602. Xenia was given the name "Olga" upon being forced to take monastic vows at the Voskresensky Monastery in Beloozero and her name is inscribed as "the Nun Olga Borisovna" at the crypt of the Godunovs at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius where she lived from 1606, when she sojourned there to attend the reburial of her father, until her death in 1622.[7] Boris, his wife, and their children are buried together in a mausoleum near the entrance of the Assumption Cathedral at Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. and popular media[edit] life was dramatised by the founder of Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin, in his play Boris Godunov (1831), which was inspired by Shakespeare's Henry IV. Modest Mussorgsky based his opera Boris Godunov on Pushkin's play. Sergei Prokofiev later wrote incidental music for Pushkin's drama. In 1997, the score of a 1710 baroque opera based on the reign of Boris by German composer Johann Mattheson was rediscovered in Armenia and returned to Hamburg, Germany. This opera, never performed during the composer's lifetime, had its world premiere in 2005 at the Boston Early Music Festival & Exhibition. was portrayed on BBC Radio 4 by Shaun Dooley in the radio plays Ivan the Terrible: Absolute Power[8] and Boris Godunov: Ghosts[9] written by Mike Walker and which were the first two plays in the first series of Tsar. The plays were broadcast on 11 and 18 September 2016. character Boris Badenov in the cartoon The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show takes his name from a play on Godunov's name. Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Venerable Bassian of Tikhsnen, Vologda, Commemorated September 12 ; St Jonah of Kazan, Commemorated on October 4; Uncovering of the relics of St Gurias the First Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on October 4; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 17; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Venerable Martyrius the Abbot of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on November 11 ; Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Venerable Martyrius of Zelenets, Pskov, Commemorated on March 1; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Molcha, Commemorated on April 24; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1588-1611, Kazan-Yaroslavl Icon, MOG sent man tKazan&take K Icon t Romanov, stolen, rByY, MOG YChurch, copy t R
Mongol, Perm, 1588, Kazan-Yaroslavl Icon, found 1588 by hand crippled Gerasimos because MOG told him go to place in Kazan, take icon to Romanov church, after that hand healed, Kazan icon stayed there 21 yrs until R taken by Polish-Lithuanian forces, L officer stole icon, Yaroslavl citizens begged officer for it, he wanted much cash, he rejected offers but suddenly brought it march 1609, as P-L troups attack Tver it was taken Yaroslavl i1609, MOG appeared twice to Eleazar commanding build church for icon, where many miracles, also womans monastery, 1610 Romanov begged Tsar Basin IV for it's return, same day new Yaroslavl healings, Tsar decided remain in Y, but Y make exact copy w metal cover for R, annually original brought to Romanov Kazan ; Kazan-Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on July 8; Kazan-Yaroslavl Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was found in the year 1588 a man named Gerasimos, who had traveled to Kazan to pray before its famous Icon, because his right hand had become crippled. Mother of God appeared to him and ordered him to go to a certain place, and then to take her Icon and bring it to the city of Romanov and place it in a church. After the man had followed these directives to the letter, his hand was healed. holy Kazan Icon remained at Romanov for twenty-one years, but on March 9,1609 the city was taken by the Polish-Lithuanian forces. Lithuanian officer stole the Icon from the Kazan cathedral in Romanov. it was learned that the holy Icon had been found in the officer's home, the citizens of Yaroslavl begged him to let their city have it. said he would give it to them if they paid him a considerable sum of money. a long time the officer rejected their offers, but then suddenly, on March 18, he brought it to one of Yaroslav's most honorable citizens - Basil Lytkin. Icon was solemnly transferred to the country parish church of the "Laudation of the Virgin” Icon (Fifth Saturday of Great Lent). the Polish-Lithuanian troops attacked Tver that year the holy Icon was taken into the city to the church of the Nativity of the Lord on the banks of the Volga. the Mother of God appeared twice to Deacon Eleazar, commanding him to build a new church to house the Icon. people of Yaroslavl placed the wonderworking Kazan Icon in that church, and many miracles occurred. also worked most energetically to build a women's monastery for seventy-two sisters whose own monastery had been destroyed by the Polish-Lithuanian army. 1610, the residents of Romanov begged Tsar Basil IV Shuisky to allow the Icon to be taken from Yaroslavl and returned to Romanov. new healings took place before the Icon that same day. The nun Anysia, who was unable to move her hands or feet recovered, and a man named Constantine was delivered from his madness. view of these miracles, the citizens of Yaroslavl, in their turn, asked the Tsar to let the Icon remain at Yaroslavl. Moscow there came a request for detailed information about the Icon, and the Tsar decided that the Icon would remain at Yaroslavl. the people of Yaroslavl were ordered to make an exact copy of the Icon, and to adorn it with an oklad (metal cover), just like the one on the wonderworking Icon, and then send the copy to Romanov. this was done. 1611, the copy was taken to Romanov and it was placed in the Kazan church, where the wonderworking Icon had once stood. year the original wonderworking Icon was brought to the city of Romanov with great ceremony.

Russia, Moscow, 1589-1605, Patriarch, Job of Moscow, incorrupt and fragrant relics, worker of miracles
Moscow Patriarch, 1589-1605, Job of Moscow ; also known as Job of Moscow (d. 19 June 1607) was the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and is a saint of the Orthodox Church. According to Debra A. Coulter: was known as a humble man of impeccable morals, learned for his times, who worked for the good of the church and the promotion of Orthodox Christianity.[1] St Nicholas the Catholicos of Georgia, Commemorated on February 18; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; his death in 1607, the relics of Patriarch Job were buried by the western doors of the Dormition Church of the monastery in Staritsa. Many miracles took place at his grave. 1652, on the recommendation of Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, Tsar Alexei ordered that the relics of Saint Job and Saint Philip (January 9) be transferred to Moscow. Barlaam of Rostov presided at the uncovering of Saint Job’s relics in Staritsa. The Patriarch’s incorrupt and fragrant relics became the source of healing for many who were afflicted by physical and mental illnesses. March 27 a procession set off for Moscow with the relics. On Monday of the sixth week of Lent (April 5), the relics of Patriarch Job were brought to the Passions Monastery. From there, the procession proceeded to the Kremlin, and the relics of the saint were placed in the Dormition cathedral. A few days later, Patriarch Joseph died and was buried next to Saint Job. Job has long been revered as a worker of miracles. The Altar Crosses in the churches of the Staritsa monastery and the Tver cathedral contained particles of his holy relics. Job is commemorated on June 19, and also (in the Tver diocese) on the first Sunday after the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Icon of the Mother of God of Molcha, Commemorated on April 24; Icon of the Mother of God of Putivil, Commemorated on May 2; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Venerable Serapion of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on June 27 ; Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1590-1630, Athanasius oNovolotsk, fKargopol tOlnets land, founded Novolotsk m 78 Versts fPetrozavodsk
Russia, St Petersburg, 1590-1630, Athanasius oNovolotsk, Petrozavodsk, Lake Onega, St. Petersburg, Svir River side, fKargopol tOlnets land, founded Novolotsk monastery 78 Versts fPetrozavodsk; Petrozavodsk; Righteous Athanasius of Novolotsk, Commemorated on January 18 ; Athanasius of Navolotsk went at the end of the sixteenth century from the Kargopol region to the Olonets land, he founded a monastery 78 versts from what later became the city of Petrozavodsk. saint died at a Verkholedsk suburb not far from Shenkursk.

Russia, Moscow, 1591, Don Icon Intercession, Moscow Kremlin, Crimean Moslem Tartars, Soldiers' chapel, m same spot
Russia, Moscow, 1591, Intercession of Don Icon at Moscow Kremlin, against Moslem Tartars from Crimea, Church procession, with soldiers in military chapel, set Tartars to flight, monastery same spot; Moscow Kremlin; Intercession of the “Don” Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated on August 19; Don Icon of the Mother of God was painted by Theophanes the Greek. the day of the Kulikovo Battle (September 8, 1380, the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), the Icon was with the Russian army, giving it help, after the victory it was passed on by the Don Cossacks as a gift to their commander, Great Prince Demetrius of the Don (1363-1389), then transferred it to Moscow. Icon at first was at the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral, and later at the Annuniciation Cathedral (the Icon is now in the Tretiakov State Gallery). commemoration of the victory on the banks of the River Don it was called the Don Icon. the year 1591, the Crimean Khan Nuradin and his brother Murat-Girei invaded Russia with a numerous army. on Moscow, they positioned themselves on the Vorobiev hills. church procession was made around Moscow with the Don Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in order to guard the city from the enemy. the day of battle it was in the military chapel in the ranks of the soldiers, and set the Tatars to flight. 1592, in thanksgiving to the Most Holy Theotokos for Her mercy manifest through the Don Icon, the Don monastery was founded at the very place where the icon had stood amid the soldiers. wonderworking icon was placed in this monastery, and its feastday was established as August 19. established custom, once every four years His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia performs the rite of the preparation of Holy Chrism in the small cathedral in honor of the Don Icon of the Mother of God.

Russia, Moscow, 1591, Crown Prince, Dimitri of Uglich or Saint Dimitri of Moscow, age 8, famously impersonated
Moscow Crown Prince, 1591, Dimitri of Uglich or Saint Dimitri of Moscow, age 8; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1594, Icon of Lukianov, appeared 3times 1594, looted during Polish invasion 1612, 1640 2Wonderworking Icons
Russia, Radonezh, 1594, Icon of Lukianov Monastery (Yakhroma River 1), 1594 it appeared 3times, church moved there, looted during Polish invasion 1612, 1640 2Wonderworking Icons discovered neglected, New church built; Lukianov Monastery, Lukyantsevo, Q4423240, Alexandrovsky District, Vladimir Oblast; Icon of the Mother of God of Lukianov, Commemorated on September 8; Lukianov Icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos is from a church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Ignatiev. 1594, it appeared three times in the wilderness area of Pokovitino-Ramen’e, not far from the village. priest Gregory, after he consulted with his parishioners, petitioned the blessing of Patriarch Job to transfer the church to the place of the appearance of the icon. The priest was also resettled with the transferred church. a Polish-Lithuanian invasion the church was looted. the year 1640, the Monk Lukian arrived in Ramen’e from an Uglich monastery and found in the neglected church two icons which remained unharmed: the temple icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and an Altar icon: the Smolensk Mother of God. new church was built at the Lukianov monastery in honor of the appearance of the two wonderworking icons.

Russia, Moscow, 1596, Union of Brest, Rome and Kiev, Roman Catholic
Poland, 1596, Union of Brest, Rome and Kiev; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28;

Russia, Moscow, 1598-1627, Procopius of Vyatka, Perm, Fool for Christ, Clairvoyant
Mongol, Perm, 1598-1627, Procopius of Vyatka, Perm, Fool for Christ, Clairvoyant, endured hunger cold mocking insults; Vyatka (Kirov); Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated December 21 ; Procopius, Fool-for-Christ, of Vyatka, was the son of pious peasants. Procopius reached age twenty, they wanted him to marry, but he secretly went to the city of Khlynov and took upon himself the feat of foolishness. holy fool endured hunger, cold, mocking and insults. The Lord glorified him with the gift of clairvoyance. Procopius died at the age of forty-nine in 1627.

Russia, Moscow, 1598-1613, Interregnum, between Rurik Romanov dynasties, T of T
Moscow, 1598-1613, Interregnum, between Rurik Romanov dynasties ; St Hypatius of Gangra, Commemorated November 16 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1600-1699, 17th Century Folder, Protestant TimeOfTroubles,Turk&Chinese Mslm Wars

Russia, Moscow, 1601-1650, Maximus oTotma, Vologda, Fool fChrist known for miracles aHis grave, Priest, then 45yrs as FFC
Russia, Moscow, 1601-1650, Maximus of Totma, Vologda, gifts, Fool for Christ known for miracles at his grave, son of a priest, priest himself, then 45yrs as FFC, unceasing prayer, fasting, nakedness, completely neglecting his body, distinguished by grace filled gifts during lifetime, reposed 1650, miraculous cures flowed fHis tomb, so his life written, but fire destroyed writing, 1680 new life composed, life writing lost again, miracles continued, grave built over relics and new writing 1715, miracles detailed, 1680 paralized man healed instantly, 1691 bed ridden 9 wks peasant cured, 1703 man paralized 9yrs dreamt old man led him to venerate his grave, woke able to vererate M's grave, 1705 M appeared to woman not in right mind 1mo, in dream, have 2 Panikhidas at tomb and you will be healed, she awoke asked to be taken, perfectly well; Totma (Sukhona River 5); Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated January 16 ; Maximus Makar'ev was a priest in the city of Tot'ma (Vologda Diocese) the first half of the XVII century, his father was a priest. Maximus was also ordained to the priesthood, for 45 years he voluntarily undertook the difficult spiritual exploit of foolishness for Christ's sake, his time in unceasing prayer, fasting, and nakedness, neglecting to take care of his body. Maximus was already distinguished by grace-filled gifts from God during his lifetime. reposed at an advanced age on January 16, 1650 was buried near the Resurrection church of Varnitsa in the city of Tot'ma. laborious and holy life, and the miraculous cures which flowed from his tomb, served as an incentive to write his Life, it was destroyed in 1676 during a fire in the church of the Resurrection. new Life was composed in 1680, and it was lost as well. the miracles continued at the righteous one's tomb. veneration of the Saint began in 1715, because of the numerous miracles which occurred at his grave. that year, the Priest John Rokhletsov and the parishioners of Holy Resurrection church asked Archbishop Joseph of Great Ustyug allow them to place a sepulcher over the relics of Saint Maximus in the church of Saint Paraskevḗ, was built over his relics, to put an Icon of the Saint on the tomb. granted their petition and gave his blessing for Molebens to be served for him, as is done for other God-pleasers. that time, everyone still remembered the miracles which took place at the tomb of Blessed Maximus, these miracles were depicted on the borders of the icon which adorned the God-pleaser’s tomb. 1680, Boris Tarunin, a resident of Tot'ma, fell ill with a fever and was paralyzed for six months. When he prayed to the righteous Maximus for the help, he was healed right away. 1691, the peasant Aréthas Malevinsky was bed-ridden for nine weeks with a fever. When he began to call upon Saint Maximus for help, his illness completely disappeared. peasant Theodore Mamoshov was paralyzed for nine years. On the night of November 5, 1703, he dreamt that an old man, clad in just a shirt, approached his bedside and said to him, "Theodore, cease your grieving." Taking him by the shoulder, he led him into the church and commanded him to venerate his grave. When he awakened, Theodore felt so well that he was able to walk to the church of the Resurrection in order to venerate the tomb of his healer. 1705, Anna Tataurova had not been in her right mind for a month. One night, Saint Maximus appeared to her in a dream, telling her to have two Panikhidas served at his tomb, promising her that she would recover if she did this. When the sick girl woke up, she asked to be taken to the righteous one's tomb. After the two Panikhidas were served, she felt perfectly well. Maximus is also commemorated on the third Sunday of Pentecost, the Synaxis of the Vologda Saints.

Russia, Moscow, 1601-1650, St Maximus of Totma the Fool-For-Christ, right before Andrew
Russia, Vologda, 1601-1650, Maximus of Totma, Vologda, Fool f Christ, gifts, Fool for Christ known for miracles at his grave, son of a priest, priest himself, then 45yrs as FFC, unceasing prayer, fasting, nakedness, completely neglecting his body, distinguished by grace filled gifts during lifetime, reposed 1650, miraculous cures flowed fHis tomb, so his life written, but fire destroyed writing, 1680 new life composed, life writing lost again, miracles continued, grave built over relics and new writing 1715, miracles detailed, 1680 paralized man healed instantly, 1691 bed ridden 9 wks peasant cured, 1703 man paralized 9yrs dreamt old man led him to venerate his grave, woke able to vererate M's grave, 1705 M appeared to woman not in right mind 1mo, in dream, have 2 Panikhidas at tomb and you will be healed, she awoke asked to be taken, perfectly well; Totma (Sukhona River 5); Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated January 16 ; Maximus, Priest of Totma, was for a certain time, a priest in the city of Totma in the Vologda diocese. forty years he undertook the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ, constantly in fasting and in prayer. Maximus died in great old age on January 16, 1650 and was buried at the Resurrection church in which he served. The local veneration of the saint began in 1715, because of the numerous miracles occurring at his grave. Vologda, 1648-1673, Andrew of Totma the Fool-For-Christ of Totma was a seventeenth century Russian Orthodox Church religious figure. was born in countryside nearby Totma the town and named after Saint Andrew Stratelates. According to the Gospel he left his parents and went to desert places. When he came back his parents was dead. Then he left the Ust-Tolshma and went to the Monastery of Galic. After time in the Monastery of Galic he became a yurodivy and moved to Totma. He was known for prayer and begging his bread. His feast day is celebrated on 10 October.[1] Blessed Andrew of Totma the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on October 10 ; Andrew of Totma, the Fool-for-Christ was born in the year 1638 in the village of Ust-Totma and chose to leave the world while still a child. the blessing of Stephen, igumen of the Resurrection monastery in Galich, Andrew took upon himself the arduous calling of fool-for-Christ. He lived at the church of the Resurrection of Christ in the city of Totma on the banks of the River Sukhona. barefoot in both winter and summer, Andrew wore tattered clothing, and ate only bread and water, and that in such a small quantity that it just barely kept him from starving. He prayed both day and night, and if anyone gave him anything, he would give it away to the poor. his efforts and toil the Blessed Andrew acquired the gift of wonderworking. winter a blind man by the name of Azhibokai came to the blessed fool, asking for healing while offering him a large sum of money. But the fool fled away. Azhibokai then washed his eyes with snow from where the saint had stood. In doing so, he was able to see. time of his own death was revealed to the Blessed Andrew. He made his confession, received the Holy Mysteries and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in 1673. his grave was built the bell-tower church of the holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates (August 19), whose name he bore. Many miracles were witnessed at the grave of the Blessed Andrew.

Russia, Moscow, 1605, Yug Icon, Mother of God sends Icon from Pskov to Yug River in Volomsk forest
Volomsk forest is 80 versts southwest of Ustiug at Kichmenga River; Venerable Simon the Abbot of Volomsk, Commemorated on July 12 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Yuga, Commemorated on July 28; Wonderworking Yuga Icon of the Mother of God appeared at the beginning of the seventeenth century to the Elder Saint Dorotheus, schemamonk of the Pskov Caves monastery. The Mother of God, during an invasion of the Swedes, commanded him to take Her image to a place She specified, and to bring the icon to Yaroslav diocese and to start a monastery there . igumen of the monastery would not agree to give up the Icon of the Mother of God, but She appeared to him in a vision commanding him to fulfill Her will and let Elder Dorotheus take Her icon. Elder Dorotheus came to the place specified in the vision, stopped to rest, and put the holy icon upon a tree. he wanted to continue the journey, then some invisible power prevented him from taking the holy icon from the tree. Saint Dorotheus realized that the Queen of Heaven wanted to remain in this place. He then built a small hut and stayed near the holy icon. News of the Elder’s arrival quickly spread through the surrounding villages. Pilgrims came to venerate the holy icon, from which many healings took place. Money was collected by the pious local inhabitants, and construction of a new monastery began. Dorotheus died in the year 1622. Clergy presented accounts of miracles to Patriarch Philaret. They received his blessing to establish a monastery at the River Yuga with church dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. The monastery became known as the Yuga. In 1654, by the intercession of the Mother of God, a deadly pestilence was halted in that place.

Russia, Moscow, 1605, Ustiuzhena Icon, delivered U from Swedes and Polish by intercession of Queen of Heaven
Ustiuzhena; Icon of the Mother of God of Ustiuzhena, Commemorated July 28 ; Ustiuzhena Icon of the Mother of God (1290), glorified by many miracles, was situated in the city of Ustiuzhna under Novgorod governance (now Vologda district). At the beginning of the seventeenth century the inhabitants of Ustiushna, praying for salvation before this holy icon, were delivered from an invasion of the Swedes and Polish by the intercession of the Queen of Heaven. Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20 ; Euphrosynos of Blue Jay Lake, (Ephraim in the world) was born in Karelia near Lake Ladoga in the second half of the XVI century. When he was young he lived near Valaam Monastery, and later he moved to Novgorod the Great. After spending some time there, the Saint then withdrew to a place on the outskirts of Novgorod - the Bezhetsk “pentary” (one fifth of the “Pyatiny Novgorodskiya,” comprising five outlying districts of Novgorod the Great). became a Reader for the Church services in the village of Doloska, twenty versts from the city of Ustiuzhna of Zhelezopolska. He was tonsured at the Tikhvin Dormition Monastery with the name Euphrosynos. After living there for some time, he told the Superior of his desire to go into the wilderness for greater solitude, and a life of fasting and silence. The Superior told him about some of the dangers of the eremetic life, and then gave his blessing. So, in 1600 he began his solitary life in the wild marshlands by the shore of Blue Jay Lake. Here the Saint planted a Cross and dug a cave. He lived here for two years, eating nothing but wild vegetation, berries, and mushrooms. people from neighboring villages found him, and they came to him for instruction, prayer, and spiritual counsel. Several of them remained with him. Soon it became necessary to build a church, where all the brethren could pray together. They cleared the forest, hewed the timber, and built a log church. Since the Elder, out of humility, had not been ordained, the church was consecrated by his fellow ascetic Saint Gurias of Shalatsk (November 15), and dedicated to the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. This was done with the blessing of Archbishop Isidore of Novgorod (1603-1609). Saint Gurias sometimes visited Blue Jay Lake in order to pray with the brethren, converse with them about spiritual matters, and to give them Holy Communion. On one of these visits Saint Euphrosynos was tonsured into the Great Schema by Saint Gurias. 1612, when Polish troops were laying waste to Russia, many people saved their lives by hiding at the Monastery of the Annunciation in the wilderness. On March 19, Saint Euphrosynos revealed to everyone that the Poles were on their way to the monastery, and he advised everyone to flee. brethren and beloved children in Christ, whoever wishes to escape certain death, leave the Monastery of the Mother of God and save yourselves from this great calamity, for it is pleasing to God's righteous judgment that enemies will come soon to this holy place." did not believe him. “Then why don’t you leave this place yourself?” they asked. Elder replied, “I have come here to die for Christ.” who obeyed the Saint and left the monastery were spared, but all those who remained met a horrible death. Jonah was one of the monks at the monastery. Frightened by the Elder's clairvoyant prediction, he wanted to flee with the others, but Saint Euphrosynos held him back, inspiring him with zeal for the house of God. “Brother Jonah,” he said, "why do you allow faint-hearted fear into your soul? When the battle begins, that is the time for courage. For the love of Christ, let us not be afraid of some passing fear. We have vowed to live and die here in the wilderness. We must be faithful to our vow, made before the Lord. It is different for laymen, who are not bound by a vow. They must spare themselves for the sake of their children.” inflamed in spirit, Saint Jonah placed all his hope in God, and decided to die there in the wilderness with his Elder. this Saint Euphrosynos clothed himself in the Great Schema, and spent the entire night in prayer. On the following day, March 20, Polish forces descended upon the monastery. In the garb of a Schema-monk, the Saint emerged from his cell and stood beside the Cross he had planted. The enemy said to him, “Old man, give us all the monastery’s possessions." “All my possessions, and those of this monastery, are in the church of the All-Pure Theotokos,” he replied. was referring to spiritual treasures which cannot be stolen (Matthew 6:19-21). Failing to comprehend this, the Poles rushed to the church. One of them drew a sword and struck Saint Euphrosynos. His neck was cut half way through, and the holy Elder fell to the ground dead. When the Poles returned, angry because they had found nothing in the church, one of them struck the Saint's head with an axe. Saint Jonah perished in the attack along with his Elder, and he is also commemorated today with Saint Euphrosynos. certain pious Christian, Ioann Suma, had also stayed at the monastery with the monks. When the Poles attacked, he was in the Elder's cell. Despite the grievous wounds he received from these ruffians, Ioann remained alive, but unconscious. After the Poles left, he regained his senses and told his son Emilian what had transpired. From them, the nearby inhabitants learned about the destruction of the monastery and the martyric death of Saint Euphrosynos. March 28, the bodies of Saint Euphrosynos, Saint Jonah, and all the others who had perished by the sword, were buried with due reverence by the Cross where they suffered martyrdom. years after the death of the Saint, a new church was built by a man named Moses, and dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity. With the blessing of Metropolitan Makarios of Novgorod, the incorrupt relics of Saint Euphrosynos were transferred to a new reliquary beneath the belfry on March 25, 1655. to the Monastery's records, the Monastic Martyr Euphrosynos was of medium height, with wide shoulders and a broad chest. His hair was brown, with traces of gray. His beard was long, and divided in two at the bottom. Euphrosynus was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 29, 1912.

Russia, Moscow, 1605-18, Swede Pole-Moscow War, TOT Civil Wars, famine, boyar false Dimitris, Pole Tzar
Moscow, 1605-1618, Swedisn Polish-“Muscovite War (1605-“18) ; Moscow Tsar, 1610-1613, Wladyslaw IV Vasa, Polish King; Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 17; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on December 21; Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo, Murom, Commemorated on January 2; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 16; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17;

Russia, Moscow, 1605-1606, Tsar, False Dmitriy I, true Dmitriy suicide or killed
Moscow Tsar, 1605-1606, False Dmitriy I ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Icon of the Mother of God of Molcha, Commemorated on April 24; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1606-1610, Tsar Vasili IV of All Russia, Basil Shuisky, TiOfTroubles, died in Warsaw prison
Moscow Tsar, 1606-1610, Vasili IV of All Russia, Basil Shuisky; Icon of the Mother of God of Konevits, Commemorated on July 10 ; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Venerable Bassian of Tikhsnen, Vologda, Commemorated September 12 ; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 17; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovits, Commemorated on May 7 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom, Commemorated on May 19; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3 ; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1606-1612, Irenarchus tRecluse oRostov, Grt ascetic deeds, barefeet, heavy chains, tears, war warnings&encourage
Russia, Rostov, 1606-1612, Irenarchus tRecluse oRostov (Lake Nero), Rostov the Great, Boris&Gleb monk a30, slept on ground, gave vagrant his boots, then barefoot in snow, igumen no like, endured humiliation wPatience, still barefoot iSnow, igumen no change, transfer tAbramiev m, chosen steward, zeal but grieved brothers wasted property, Abraham comforted him, blessed him dsitribute tAll wOut trouble, sobbed loudly because knew mother died, transferred tRostov Lazarus m, solitary 3yrs privation hunger, visited bJohn tFool, tBig Simpleton, encouraged each other, desire back to Boris&Gleb, accepted back in love bStrict Balaam, greater deeds, chained to chair, heavy chains crosses, endured bro's sneers, John tFool visits &predicts Lithuanian invasion Moscow, 25years shackled in chains crosses&arduous tasks, deeds silent reproach tCareless living, they lied about him, igumen believed slander, banished, tLazarus m 1yr, igumen calls him back, blamed himself for no righteous works, continued heavy chains, slept only 1or2hr, prayed and beat body wIron rod, Lithuania invasion vision wChurches destroyed, wept bittherly, igumen sent him tMoscow tWarn Tsar Basil Shuisky, returned tPray fervently mercy Russia, Enemies appeared Moscow, 2 False Demetries sought Russia fPolish King, B&G also overun, they amazed by his words predicting catastrophy fThem, Polish noble Sapega wanted tSee Elder iChains, amazed aHis exploit, he boldly told him he prayed for Russian Tsar, Sapega said Grandfather speaks truly, Irenarchus urged S leave Russia or death for him, then he followed tWar and blessed Demetrius Pozharsky, told him come to Moscow tSee Glory oGod, handed him his cross, Russians vanquishe Lithuanians, Pozharsky took Kremlin, Peace returns, time oDeath revealed, chains Crosses heal; Rustov; Rostov the Great; Rustov Cathedral; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated January 13 ; Hermit of Rostov, was born into a peasant family in the village of Kondakovo in the Rostov district. Baptism he received the name Elias. his thirtieth year, he was tonsured a monk at the Rostov Saints Boris and Gleb monastery. he began fervently to labor at monastic tasks, he attended church services, and by night he prayed and slept on the ground. taking pity on a vagrant who did not have shoes, Saint Irenarchus gave him his own boots, from that time he began to go barefoot through the snow. igumen did not care for such behavior, and he began to humiliate him, compelling him to stand for an hour or nearly two in the snow opposite his cell, or to ring the bells for a long time. saint endured everything with patience but he did not change his conduct. igumen continued to be hard-hearted, the monk was obliged to transfer to the Abramiev Theophany monastery, he was accepted into the number of the brethren and he was soon chosen as steward. saint fulfilled his monastic obediences with zeal, grieved that the brethren and servants did not look after the property of the monastery, but imprudently wasted it. in a dream he saw Saint Abraham of Rostov (October 29), who comforted him and blessed him to distribute necessities to all without trouble. Saint Irenarchus sobbed loudly during the singing of the Cherubimic hymn. The archimandrite asked him why he wept, and he answered, “My mother has died!” Abramiev monastery, Saint Irenarchus transferred to the Rostov monastery of Saint Lazarus, into a solitary cell and lived for three years in privation and hunger. he was visited by Blessed John the Fool, nicknamed “the Big Simpleton.” saints encouraged each other by spiritual conversation. Elder, however, had a desire to return to the Saints Boris and Gleb monastery. was accepted back with love by the strict Barlaam, and he began to pursue even greater ascetic deeds at the monastery. withdrawn into solitude, Saint Irenarchus chained himself to a wooden chair, and he placed on himself heavy chains and crosses. For this he endured the mockery and sneers of the brethren. this time he was visited by his old friend, Blessed John the Fool, who predicted the Lithuanian invasion of Moscow. Irenarchus spent twenty-five years shackled in chains and in arduous tasks. ascetic deeds were a silent reproach to those living carelessly at the monastery, they lied to the igumen about him. said that the Elder taught that they should not do monastic work, but rather pursue asceticism as he did. igumen believed the slander and he banished the holy Elder from the monastery. submitting, Saint Irenarchus again went to Rostov and lived in the monastery of Saint Lazarus for one year. the igumen of Saints Boris and Gleb regretted his conduct and sent monks after Saint Irenarchus. returned, blaming himself that he did not live like the brethren who engaged in righteous works, in which he was lacking. monk continued to bear his own heavy fetters. He made clothes for the needy, and he knitted hairshirts and klobuks. He slept at night for only an hour or two, the rest of the time he prayed and beat his body with an iron rod. Irenarchus had a vision that Lithuania would invade Moscow, that churches there would be destroyed. began to weep bitterly about the impending disaster, the igumen ordered him to go to Moscow and warn Tsar Basil Shuisky (1606-1610) about the terrible misfortune. Irenarchus carried out the order. He refused the gifts offered him when he returned, he began to pray fervently that the Lord would show mercy on the Russian land. appeared against Russia, they began the conquest of the city, beat the inhabitants, and robbed churches and monasteries. False Demetrius and a second Pretender sought to conquer Russia for the Polish king. Boris and Gleb monastery was also overrun by the enemy, came to the holy hermit and were amazed at the direct and bold words of the Elder, predicting catastrophe for them. remaining at the Saints Boris and Gleb monastery, wanted to see the Elder sitting in chains, and he was amazed at such an ascetic exploit. the Polish nobles with Sapega told him that the Elder prayed for Shuisky, the monk boldly said, “I am born and baptized in Russia, and I pray to God for the Russian Tsar.” answered, “Grandfather speaks truly; in whatever land one lives, there one also serves.” this Saint Irenarchus began to urge Sapega to leave Russia, predicting death for him if he did not do so. Irenarchus followed the course of the war and sent his blessings and a prosphora to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky. told him to come to Moscow, predicting, “You shall see the glory of God.” assist Pozharsky and Minin, the saint handed over his cross. the help of God the Russians vanquished the Lithuanians, Pozharsky took possession of the Kremlin, and peace gradually began to return to the Russian land. Irenarchus incessantly prayed God with tears for the deliverance of Russia from enemies with the power to work miracles, he healed the sick and demoniacs. day of his death was revealed to him, and summoning his disciples Alexander and Cornelius, he them his final instructions. taking leave of all he quietly fell asleep in the Lord. holy Elder left behind 142 copper crosses, seven shoulder chains, other chains which he wore on his neck, iron foot shackles, eighteen hand fetters, heavy “bonds” which he wore on his belt, and iron rods with which he thrashed his body to drive away demons. these works, as the Elder called them, he spent thirty-eight years, and having lived in the world for thirty years, he died in his sixty-eighth year. the death of Saint Irenarchus, many miracles took place at his grave, the healing of the sick and the demoniacs by laying the holy ascetic’s crosses and chains upon them.

Russia, Moscow, 1606-1612, Patriarch Hermogenes, 300 yr intercessor, from Tof T, strict church
Russia, Moscow, 1606-1612, Patriarch Hermogenes of Moscow; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, was glorified on May 12, 1913. memory of Patriarch Hermogenes as a holy martyr was passed on from generation to generation for three centuries, and people increasingly regarded him as an intercessor and supplicant for the Russian land before the Throne of the Almighty. terrible years of national hardship, the nation turned to the memory of the heroic Patriarch. The Russian people came to his tomb with their personal tribulations, sicknesses and infirmities, reverently asking the help of Saint Hermogenes, and the All-Merciful Lord rewarded their faith. from all ends of Russia began to flock to Moscow for the glorification of the hieromartyr Hermogenes 300 years after his death. Pilgrims hastened to venerate the relics of the holy Patriarch, in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin, where panikhidas were served almost without interruption. the eve of the glorification there was a procession with an icon of Saint Hermogenes, and after it a grave cover, on which the saint was depicted full-length in mantiya and holding a staff. Beside the icon of the Patriarch they carried an icon of Saint Dionysius of Radonezh, his fellow-struggler in spiritual and patriotic deeds for the liberation of the Russian land from Polish-Lithuanian usurpers. the bell tower of Ivan the Great hung a tremendous banner, “Rejoice, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Great Intercessor of the Russian land.â€ A hundred thousand candles blazed in the hands of believers. At the end of the procession, they began to chant the Paschal Canon and a Canon to Saint Hermogenes, at the shrine where the relics of the Patriarch rested. all-night Vigil took place under the open skies at all the Kremlin squares. On this night a number of healings occurred through the prayers of Saint Hermogenes. For example, a certain sick person came to the Dormition Cathedral on crutches, and was healed as he approached the shrine with the relics of the saint. Another sick person was healed, who had suffered from terrible crippling disease. They brought him to the reliquary of the hieromartyr Hermogenes on a stretcher, where he was completely cured. These and other similar healings, witnessed by a multitude of the faithful, were remarkable proofs of the holiness of the new Russian wonderworker. Sunday May 12, Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Dormition Cathedral. Presiding at the celebration of the solemn glorification of the new saint was His Beatitude Gregorios, Patriarch of Antioch. At the finish of Liturgy in all the churches of Moscow, Moliebens were served to Saint Hermogenes and a procession made to the Moscow Kremlin, in which more than twenty hierarchs took part. They accompanied the procession singing, “O Holy Hierarch Father Hermogenes, pray unto God for us.â€ From this day the liturgical veneration of Saint Hermogenes began. Thus, the wish of the faithful Russian people was fulfilled. Through their prayers the Russian Orthodox Church received a heavenly patron. Holy Synod of the Russian Church established the commemoration of the hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus for February 17, the day of his repose (his life and works are found under this day), and May 12, the day of his glorification. is the national significance of Saint Hermogenes, a tireless struggler for the purity of Orthodoxy and the unity of the Russian land. His ecclesial and civil activity during several centuries serves as an outstanding example of his ardent faith and love for the Russian people. ecclesial activity of the archpastor is characterized by an attentive and strict regard for church services. Under him were published a GOSPEL, a MENAION for September (1607), October (1609), November (1610), and for the first twelve days of December. The “Great Primary Ruleâ€ was printed in 1610. Saint Hermogenes did not merely give his blessing for this book, but carefully oversaw the accuracy of the text. With the blessing of Saint Hermogenes the Service to the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30) also was translated from Greek into the Russian language, and his Feast began to be celebrated in the Dormition Cathedral. the supervision of the Archpastor, new presses were made for printing service books, and a new print shop was built. This was damaged during the 1611 conflagration, when Moscow was burned by the Poles. Concerned about the order of divine services, Saint Hermogenes compiled a “Letter to all the People, Especially Priests and Deacons, on the Improvement of Church Singing.â€ The “Letterâ€ chastizes the clergy for performing Church services not according to the Typikon, for unnecessary talking, and lay people for their irreverent attitude toward the divine services. literary activity of the first hierarch of the Russian Church is widely known. He wrote “An Account of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the Service to this Icon (1594);â€ “A Letter to Patriarch Job, Containing an Account of the Kazan Martyrsâ€ (1591), a collection of articles in which questions about divine services (1598) are examined; there are patriotic documents and appeals, directed to the Russian nation (1606-1613), and other works. contemporaries speak of Patriarch Hermogenes as a man of outstanding intellect and erudition, “a Master of great reason and thought,â€ “very remarkable,â€ “very accomplished in wisdom and refined in learning,â€ “ever concerning himself about divine literature, and all the books about the Old Law and the New Grace, and pursuing to the end various Church rules and principles of law.â€ Saint Hermogenes spent a lot of time in monastery libraries, especially in the library of the Moscow Chudov monastery, where he copied precious historical accounts from ancient manuscripts. the seventeenth century they called the Chronicle by His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes the “Resurrection Chronicle.â€ In the collected works of the saint and his archpastoral documents there are many quotations from Holy Scripture, and examples taken from history, which testify to his profound knowledge of the Word of God and his familiarity with the Church literature of his time. Hermogenes incorporated his research in his preaching and teaching. The saint’s contemporaries regard the Archpastor as “a man of reverence,â€ “purity of life,â€ “a true shepherd of the flock of Christ,â€ and “a sincere upholder of the Christian faithâ€. qualities of Saint Hermogenes were quite especially apparent during the Time of Troubles, when the Russian land was overwhelmed by internal chaos, and worsened by Polish-Lithuanian intrigue. During this dark period, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church selflessly protected the Russian realm, by word and by deed defending the Orthodox Faith from Latinism, and also national unity from internal and external enemies. In saving his native land, Saint Hermogenes won the crown of a martyrdom, becoming a heavenly intercessor for Russia before the Throne of the Holy Trinity.

Russia, Moscow, 1606-1633, Saint Dionysius of R, Tof T, w Hermogenes, hospice, translations, imprisoned
Radonezh, 1590-1633, Saint Dionysius of Radonezh, Time of Troubles; Dionysius of Radonezh, in the world David Zobninovsky, was born about 1570 in the city of Rzhev. A novice, and then head of the Staritsky Dormition monastery, during the Time of Troubles he was the foremost helper of Saint Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow. 1611, Saint Dionysius was archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Under his administration, a house and hospice for the injured and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion was opened near the monastery. During a famine, he told the brethren of the Lavra to eat oat bread and water, leaving the wheat and the rye bread for the sick. In 1611-1612, he and the steward of the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, the monk Abraham Palitsyn (+ 1625), wrote letters asking the people of Nizhni-Novgorod and other cities to send fighting men and money to liberate Moscow from the Poles. He also wrote to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky and to all the military people, urging them to hasten the campaign for Moscow. monastic training helped Saint Dionysius to maintain his own inner light undiminished during the terrible years of this evil time. The saint achieved a high degree of spiritual pefection through unceasing prayer, which gave him the gift of working miracles. He carefully concealed his spiritual life from other people, who might suffer harm from a superficial knowledge of it. “Do not ask a monk about things concerning his monastic life,â€ said Saint Dionysius, “since for us monks, it is a great misfortune to reveal such secrets to laymen. It is written that what is done in secret should not be known, even by your own left hand. We must hide ourselves, so that what we do remains unknown, lest the devil lead us into all manner of negligence and indolence.â€ can only measure his spiritual development, and the knowledge of God which he attained, by those things which became apparent when circumstances compelled Saint Dionysius to take an active part in the life of the world around him. such circumstance was his involvement in the revision of the service books. In 1616 Saint Dionysius spoke of work on correction of the Book of Needs by comparing it with the ancient Slavonic manuscripts and various Greek editions. their work, investigators discovered discrepancies in other books edited in the period between patriarchs (1612-1619). People did not understand what the editors were doing, so they accused Saint Dionysius and the others of heresy at a Council of 1618. from his priestly rank and excommunicated from the Church, he was imprisoned in the Novospassky (New Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior) monastery, where they wanted to kill him by starvation. The intervention of Patriarch Philaretos of Moscow and Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem (1619-1633) won his release in 1619, and he was cleared of the charges against him. Dionysius was known for his strict observance of the monastery Rule, for sharing in monastery tasks and in the rebuilding of the monastery after the siege of the Lavra. The Life and Canon to the saint was composed by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery steward Simon Azaryn and augmented by the priest John Nasedka, a coworker of Saint Dionysius when he was correcting the service books. Saint Dionysius reposed on May 12, 1633 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra.

Russia, Moscow, 1606-1633, Diodorus t Abbot of Yuregorsk Monastery, Mt Yurev, established monastery, incorrupt relics
Russia, St Petersburg, 1606-1633, Diodorus t Abbot of Yuregorsk Monastery, Mt Yurev? (above Vodla Lake), established monastery, incorrupt relics Yuregorsk Monastery?, Mt Yurev? This is the location of the only church in the area. Venerable Diodorus the Abbot of Yuregorsk, Commemorated on November 20; Diodorus of Yuregorsk was born in the village of Turchasovo at the River Onega. parents, Jerothei and Maria, named their son Diomid. a fifteen-year-old youth he went on pilgrimage to the Solovki monastery, and then remained there as a novice. There he received monastic tonsure when he was nineteen under the igumen Anthony. lived with the hermits on desolate islands, and then he settled at Lake Vodla. He spent seven years there with his disciple Prochorus. to found a monastery in honor of the Most Holy Trinity on Mount Yurev, the monk went to Moscow, where he received approval from Tsar Michael (1613-1645) also money for the building of the monastery from the Tsar’s mother, the nun and Eldress Martha. before his death, Saint Diodorus was obliged to journey to Kargopol on monastery matters. leave of the brethren, he predicted his impending death. He died on November 27, 1633 and was buried at Kargopol. two years his incorrupt body was transferred to the Trinity monastery and buried at the south wall of the cathedral church. memory of Saint Diodorus is celebrated on November 20 because of the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign,” with which his repose coincides.

Russia, Moscow, 1607-1610, Tsar, False Dmitriy II, Rebel of Tushino
Moscow Tsar, 1607-1610, False Dmitriy II, Rebel of Tushino; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3 ;

Moscow, 1609, Roman oUglich, Relics burned by Poles
Rostov, 1255-1285, Roman oUglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), son oVladimir&Photina oUglich, nephew oBasil oRostov, father died 1248, brother died 1261, Roman became govenor Uglich at 26, became father tHis subjects, poor house, took in destitute that came from everywhere, built 15 more churches, present every devine service, often conversed wMonks, devoted fasting, prayer, righteous works, built Romanov (Tutaev) on high bank oVolga, died peacefully 1285, 1486 incorrupt relics found, miracles, witnessed by Met Heremogenes 1595, sainthood, 1609 relics burned by Poles; Uglich; Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, Commemorated February 3 ; Holy Right-Believing Prince Roman of Uglich, of Prince Vladimir and Princess Photina of Uglich, nephew of Saint Basil (Basilko) of Rostov (March 4), born on October 1, 1235. the death of his father (in 1248) and his older brother Andrew (in 1261), Saint Roman, at the age of twenty-six, took upon himself the governance of Uglich and became a father to his subjects. established a poor-house and took in the destitute, who came to him from everywhere. the principality he built fifteen more churches. Roman was present every day at the divine services, and he often conversed with pious monks. the death of his wife in 1280, he devoted himself entirely to ascetic exploits of fasting, prayer and works of righteousness. built the city Romanov (now Tutaev) on the high bank of the Volga. holy prince died peacefully on February 3, 1285 and was buried in the Church of the Transfiguration in Uglich. 1486, the relics of Saint Roman were found to be incorrupt were transferred into the new cathedral Church of the Transfiguration. the year 1595 with the blessing of Patriarch Job in consequence of the fame concerning miracles relics were witnessed to by the Metropolitan (later Patriarch) Saint Hermogenes (February 17), Saint Roman was numbered among the saints. 1609, the holy relics were burned along with the church during an invasion by the Poles.

Russia, Moscow, 1610-1613, Tsar, Wladyslaw IV Vasa, Polish or Lithuanian King, 16yrs old
Moscow Tsar, 1610-1613, Wladyslaw IV Vasa, Polish King; Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Anthony the Abbot of Leokhnov, Novgorod, Commemorated on October 17; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on December 21; Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo, Murom, Commemorated on January 2; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 16; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1610-1614, Juliana oLazarevo&Murom, orphaned, laughed at, patience , giving, visitations, Myrrh relics
Juliana oLazarevo&Murom, Lazarevo, Banat, Transylvania, or Serbia (Tisza River 14) &Murom oMordovia oRyazan, (Tyosha River Mouth, Oka River 13), nobleman's daugter, devout, kept fasts, much prayer, orphaned early age, relatives laughed, she bore wPatience, nursed sick clothed poor, village owner married her, ran his parents household, found time fPrayer, feed orphans clothed poor, went hungry during famine, gave last morsel, 6Sons1Daughter, 2Sons died, wanted monastery but husband persuaded raise children, then more demanding oSelf, intensified prayer slept 2hrs head on board, husband died, distributed her portion, living extreme poverty wVivacious, cordial, thankful attitude, visited by St Nic & MOG, Guided by MOG in Church, buried by husband & daughter aChurch oSt Lazarus, 1614 uncoverd Myrrh bearing incorrupt relics ; Murom; Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo, Murom, Commemorated on January 2 ; Juliana of Lazarevo and Murom presents an astonishing example of a self-denying Russian Christian woman. was the daughter of the nobleman Justin Nediurev. her early years she lived devoutly, kept the fasts strictly and set aside much time for prayer. been orphaned at an early age, she was given over into the care of relatives, who did not take to her and laughed at her. bore everything with patience and without complaint. love for people was expressed by nursing the sick and sewing clothing for the poor. pious and virtuous life of the maiden attracted the attention of the Lazarevo village owner, Yurii Osoryin, who soon married her. husband’s parents loved their gentle daughter-in-law and left the running of the household in her hands. concerns did not disrupt the spiritual efforts of Juliana. always found time for prayer she was always prepared to feed the orphaned and clothe the poor. a harsh famine, she herself remained without food, having given away her last morsel to someone begging. an epidemic started after the famine, Juliana devoted herself completely to the nursing of the sick. Juliana had six sons and a daughter. the death of two of her sons she decided to withdraw to a monastery, her husband persuaded her to remain in the world, and to continue to raise their children. the testimony of Juliana’s son, Kallistrat Osoryin, who wrote her Life, at this time she became all the more demanding towards herself: intensified her fasting and prayer, slept not more than two hours at night, and then laying her head upon a board. the death of her husband, Juliana distributed to the poor her portion of the inheritance. in extreme poverty, she was none the less vivacious, cordial, and in everything she thanked the Lord. saint was vouchsafed a visitation by Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker guidance by the Mother of God in church. Righteous Juliana fell asleep in the Lord, she was then buried beside her husband at the church of Saint Lazarus. also her daughter, the schemanun Theodosia was buried. 1614 the relics of Righteous Juliana were uncovered, exuding a fragrant myrrh, from which many received healing.

Russia, Moscow, 1611-1612, Tsar, False Dmitriy III, Thief of Pskov
Moscow Tsar, 1611-1612, False Dmitriy III, Thief of Pskov; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1611-1612, Prince, Dmitry Pozharsky, Savior of the Motherland
Moscow Prince, 1611-1612, Dmitry Pozharsky, Savior of the Motherland; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Venerable Bassian of Tikhsnen, Vologda, Commemorated September 12 ; Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 16; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3 ; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1612, Swede-Polish-Lith incursion, Moscow Kremlin, R victory, unpaid Polish wages
Polish-Lithuanian incursion in 1612; Icon of the Mother of God œof the Sign, the œKursk-Root, Commemorated on September 8; Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Icon of the Mother of God "œKursk-Root"Â, Commemorated on November 27 ; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20 ; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1612, Polish Incursion of 1612 (Moscow Kremlin)
Polish Incursion of 1612 (Moscow Kremlin); Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22 ; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17 ; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1612, Kazan Icon, Deliverance from the Poles, delivering sinners
Russia, Moscow, 1612, Kazan Icon, Deliverance from the Poles ; Commemoration of the Deliverance of Moscow From the Poles by the Kazan Icon was established in gratitude for the deliverance of Moscow and all Russia from the incursion of the Polish in 1612. end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries is known in Russian history as “the Time of Troubles.â€ The country suffered the onslaught of Polish armies, which scoffed at the Orthodox Faith, plundering and burning churches, cities and villages. Through deceit they succeeded in taking Moscow. In response to the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes (May 12), the Russian people rose up in defense of its native land. Kazan, the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God was sent to the army headed by Prince Demetrius Pozharsky. Demetrius of Rostov (September 21), in his Discourse on the Day of Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God at Kazan (July 8), said: “The Mother of God delivered from misfortune and woe not only the righteous, but also sinners, but which sinners? those who turn themselves to the Heavenly Father like the Prodigal Son, they make lamentation beating their bosom, like the Publican, they weep at the feet of Christ, like the Sinful Woman washing His feet with her tears, and they offer forth confession of Him, like the Thief upon the Cross. It is such sinners whom the All-Pure Mother of God heeds and hastens to aid, delivering them from great misfortunes and woe.â€ that they suffered such misfortunes for their sins, the whole nation and the militia imposed upon themselves a three-day fast. With prayer, they turned to the Lord and His All-Pure Mother for help. The prayer was heard. Saint Sergius of Radonezh appeared to Saint Arsenius (afterwards Bishop of Suzdal) and said that if Moscow were to be saved, then people must pray to the Most Holy Virgin. Emboldened by the news, Russian forces on October 22, 1612 liberated Moscow from the Polish usurpers. A celebration in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was established in 1649. Even in our day this icon is especially revered by the Russian Orthodox nation. Polish Incursion of 1612 (Moscow Kremlin); Repose of the Holy Right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on October 2; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22 ; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17 ; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1612, Militia of Minin (Cleared Moscow Kremlin of Polish Forces)
Russia, Vladimir, Nizhni Novogorod, 1612, Militia of Minin (Cleared Moscow Kremlin of Polish Forces); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1612, Tribe of Judah Seal Date, Polish Incursion, Romanov's
August 13, 1612 OS: Judah's Seal Date, Polish Incursion, Romanov's ; Polish Incursion of 1612 (Moscow Kremlin); Moscow Romanov Dynasty, 1613-1917 ; Moscow Tsar, 1613-1645, Michael I of Russia ;

Russia, Moscow, 1612-1680, Eleazar oAnzersk Island, artful wooden cups brought fishermen success, his prophecy built monastery
Russia, Vologda, 1612-1680, Eleazar oAnzersk Island, Solovki, fKozelsk merchant family, tSolovki m, tonsured bIrenachus, woodcarving art gift, fT Cathedral, 1612 hermit Anzersk Is, carved wooden cups, on Dock message fFood, fishermen left bread&supplies, rewarded great catch, 1616 schemamonk, disciples gathered, skete strict rule following ancient form, together Sat Sun only, Pat Nikon aDisciple, Tsar Michael summoned Eleazar tMoscow, E predicted M Son's birth, M helped build stone church& M, loved books, compiled Flower Gardens, 3 books edifying sayings, wrote commentary Monastic Rule, Died great old age, lived A 40Yrs after some time aSolovki; Anzersk Island, Solovki; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated January 13 ; Eleazar of Anzersk was born in the city of Kozelsk into the merchant family Severiukov. the blessing of his parents he went off to the Solovki monastery, he received monastic tonsure from the igumen Saint Irenarchus (July 17). the monastery he displayed an astonishing artistic gift: learned woodcarving he took part in the embellishment of the Transfiguration Cathedral. the blessing of the igumen, he went to the island of Anzersk in 1612, he became a hermit, himself to constant prayer and meditation on God. order to obtain subsistence for himself on the island wilderness, Eleazar carved wooden cups, he left at the dock. the cups he wrote a message requesting food. left bread and other supplies for the ascetic, they were rewarded with a great catch of fish. the year 1616 Saint Eleazar was elevated to schemamonk. gathered around the saint wishing to live near him and benefit from his instruction. organized a skete with a strict rule of monastic life following the ancient form. cells were built far away from one another, and the hermits gathered together only for Saturday and Sunday services. the disciples of Saint Eleazar was the hieromonk Niketas (Nikḗtas), future Patriarch Nikon. Michael (1613-1645), learning of the saint’s ascetic life, summoned him to Moscow. Eleazar predicted the birth of a son, in return the Tsar generously gave him help to build a stone church on the island dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and also a monastery. Eleazar loved books. He compiled three books, “Flower Gardens,” collecting edifying sayings and examples from various sources. also wrote a commentary on the Rule for monastic cell life. Eleazar died in great old age, forseeing the time of his death. is not known how old he was, but he lived at Ansersk for forty years, he was at Solovki for some time before that.

Russia, Moscow, 1613-1917, Romanov Dynasty, Polish Incursion to Communism
Moscow, 1613-1917, Romanov Dynasty, Polish Incursion to Communism ; St Hypatius of Gangra, Commemorated November 16 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1613-1645, Tsar Michael I, Feodorovich, first Romanov, with Cossacks, c siberia to Pacific
Moscow, 1613-1645, Tsar Michael I of Russia ; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10; Venerable Simon the Abbot of Volomsk, Commemorated on July 12; Venerable Irenarchus the Abbot of Solovki, Commemorated on July 17; Icon of the Mother of God of Igritsa, Commemorated July 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Seven Lakes, Commemorated on July 28; Icon of the Mother of God of Yuga, Commemorated on July 28; Venerable Job of Ushchelsk, Commemorated August 5; Icon of the Mother of God "œof the Passion"Â, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God of St Theodore, Commemorated on August 16; Martyr Athanasius the Abbot of Brest, Commemorated on September 5; Martyr Macarius the Archimandrite of Kanev and Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on September 7 ; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Conception of the Honorable Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated on September 23 ; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God of Yaroslav-Smolensk, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God of the Seven Lakes, Commemorated on October 13; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28; Finding of the relics of Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on November 19; Venerable Diodorus the Abbot of Yuregorsk, Commemorated on November 20 ; Righteous Simeon the Wonderworker of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on December 18; Blessed Procopius of Vyatka the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on December 21; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 16; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated on January 22; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "œAssuage my sorrow"Â, Commemorated on January 25; Venerable Polycarp of Briansk, Commemorated on February 23; Monkmartyr Euphrosynus of Blue Jay Lake, Novgorod, Commemorated on March 20; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17 ; Icon of the Mother of God "œof the Passion"Â, Commemorated on April 30; St Athanasius of Lubensk the Patriarch of Constantinople, Commemorated on May 2; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius'™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Translation of the relics of St Gurias the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on June 20; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3;

Russia, Moscow, 1614-1678, Macarius of Kanev, Ukraine, 30 yrs battled w uniates f Ukraine, Poles allied w Moslems, incorrupt r
Russia, Kiev, 1614-1678, Macarius of Kanev, Ukraine (near Kiev, Ros River Mouth, Dnieper River 4), 30 yrs battled w uniates for Ukraine, U Poles allied w Moslems, his body did not burn ; Kanev; Martyr Macarius the Archimandrite of Kanev and Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on September 7 ; Hieromartyr Macarius of Kanev lived in the seventeenth century. was a most terrible time for Orthodox Christians in western Rus. constant struggles of the Hieromartyr, were an attempt to defend the Orthodox Faith under difficult conditions, when it was possible only to defend the future of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was preserved from the brusque passing of the hurricane of the Unia, endured together with Tatar incursions. holy Hieromartyr Macarius was born in 1605 in the city of Ovruch in Volhynia into the illustrious Tokarevsky family, renowned adherents of Orthodoxy. the years between 1614-1620 the saint studied at the Ovruch Dormition monastery, and upon the death of his parents he became a monk at this monastery, having begun his service as a novice. 1625 Saint Macarius, with the blessing of the archimandrite, left the Dormition monastery and was sent to the Pinsk bishop, Avramii, who assigned him to the Pinsk Kupyatichsk monastery. 1630 he was ordained as hierodeacon, in 1632 as hieromonk. about the excellence of the monastic life of the hieromonk Macarius spread beyond the bounds of the Kupyatichsk monastery, and in 1637 the brethren of the Bretsk Symonov monastery turned with a request to the igumen of the Kupyatichsk monastery, Hilarion (Denisevich), to send them Saint Macarius to be their head. But the Kupyatichsk igumen also had need of the hieromonk Macarius. 1637 the head of the Kupyatichsk monastery sent him to Metropolitan Peter Moghila of Kiev to hand over money collected by the brethren for the rebuilding of Kiev’s church of the Holy Wisdom, and for the solicitation of help for the construction and repair of damaged monastery churches. in the hieromonk Macarius a talented son of God’s Church, the Metropolitan issued him a certificate to collect offerings, in 1638 appointed him head of the Kamenetsk Resurrection monastery (in Grodnensk district). the pillaging and seizing of the monastery by the Uniates in 1642, Saint Macarius guided the brethren of the Resurrection monastery. these harsh times the brethren of the Kupyatichsk monastery elected Saint Macarius as igumen, who led the monastery until 1656. 1656 through 1659, Saint Macarius headed the Pinsk monastery, from 1660 as archimandrite Saint Macarius guided the brethren of his original Ovruch Dormition monastery. than ten years passed in constant struggle with the Latin Poles in Ovruch. could compel the brethren to quit the monastery, neither the seizure of the farm lands belonging to the monastery by the Dominicans, nor the rapacious pillaging of moveable property, nor beatings. in the year 1671, after the devastation of Ovruch by the Tatars, did the holy archimandrite Macarius leave the monastery, in which there remained not a single monk, and he went to the Kiev Caves Lavra. the defenders of Orthodoxy, like Saint Macarius, were needed not only at Kiev, but even more outside of Kiev. Joseph (Neliubovich-Tukal’sky) assigned Archimandrite Macarius as head of the Kanev monastery. after thirty years of struggle with the Uniates, Saint Macarius was again on the front lines of battle for the Orthodox Faith. 1672 Yuri, the son of Bogdan Khmel’nitsky, sought shelter at the Kanev monastery. The hetman Doroshenko, petitioned Metropolitan Joseph for the assignment of Saint Macarius, and repeatedly visited Kanev monastery. 1675, he switched his allegiance to Russia, after he renounced allegiance to the Turks, evidently, not without counsel from Saint Macarius. response the Turkish powers dispatched an army to Little Russia. September 4, 1678, the aggressors rushed on the monastery. Saint Macarius met the enemy with cross in hand at the entrance to the church. Turks demanded that the monk hand over to them the monastery treasury. Hearing the answer of the monk, that his treasure was in Heaven, the furious robbers hung the saint hand and foot between two posts. two days they beheaded the Hieromartyr on September 7, 1678. Witnesses to the martyric death of Archimandrite Macarius carried his body to the monastery church, in which they were hidden for safety. the returning Turks placed firewood around the church and burned everything in the temple. the surviving citizens of Kanev began removing the bodies of those who perished, then only one body was found whole and as though alive. This was the body of the Hieromartyr Macarius, attired in hairshirt, with a cross on his breast and another cross in his hand. The holy body was buried in this temple beneath the altar on September 8, 1678. holy Hieromartyr Macarius was a man of highly righteous and spiritual life, glorified while still alive by miracles and the gift of clairvoyance. At Kanev, he healed the blind and the dying. 1688, during renovation of the temple, the grave of the Hieromartyr was opened, and the incorrupt body of the saint was found. In connection with the danger of invasion for the Kanev monastery, on May 13, 1688 the holy relics were solemnly transferred to the Pereyaslavl regimental Resurrection church. There also they transferred the beloved book of the Hieromartyr, “Discourse of John Chrysostom on the 14 Epistles of the holy Apostle Paul” (Kiev edition 1621-23) with his signature on one of the pageleafs. Under Bishop Zachariah (Cornelovich) the relics were transferred in 1713 to a new-built temple of the Pereyaslavl Mikhailovsk monastery, and after its closing the relics rested at the Pereyaslavl Resurrection monastery from August 4, 1786. 1942, the relics were transferred to the Trinity church in the city of Cherkassa, and from 1965 they have been in the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in that same city. commemoration of the Hieromartyr Macarius is made twice: September 7, the day of his repose, and on May 13, the transfer of his holy relics.

Russia, Moscow, 1615, Lisovski Raiders, Pole-Lith light cavalry, looted large Vologda area
Moscow, 1615, Lisovski Riders, Polish; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker Commemorated on January 22 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1615-1771, Seven Lakes Icon, Kazan, Perm, f Ustiug by Euthymius 1615, plague deliverances 1654,1655&1771
Mongol, Perm, 1615-1771, Seven Lakes Icon, Kazan, Perm, brought from Ustiug by Euthymius Seven Lakes M founder 1615, plague deliverances 1654,1655&1771; The Seven Lakes Hermitage of the Mother of God, 420099 Republic of Tatarstan; Seven Lakes Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on July 28; Seven Lakes (Sedmiezernaya) Icon of the Mother of God was glorified by great miracles in the seventeenth century in the area around the city of Kazan. holy icon was in the Seven Lakes hermitage near the city of Kazan. seven small lakes surrounded the monastery, but these later merged into one large body of water. wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Great Ustiug near Kazan on October 13, 1615 by the monk Euthymius, of the Seven Lakes monastery. placed this icon in the temple of the newly established monastery. the middle of the seventeenth century, a deadly plague raged throughout all Russia, and reached Kazan. 48,000 men died within a short time, almost all the inhabitants of the city. certain pious monk had a vision in a dream: radiant man apeared to him and commanded that the inhabitants of the city should establish a seven-day fast go out to meet the icon of the Mother of God which was coming to them from the Seven Lakes hermitage for their deliverance. monk told the authorities about the vision. Seven Lakes Icon was brought through the city gates in procession. circling the entire stone city, it was placed in the church of the Annunciation. an All Night Vigil and Liturgy the next morning, icon was carried to visit homes in the wooden city. seven days of prayer and processions, deadly pestilence began to abate. the monks asked to have their icon returned, was decided to celebrate an All Night Vigil, to carry the icon in procession back to the hermitage. heavy snow storm came up, however, prevented them from leaving the church. was repeated three times, it was decided to let the holy icon remain in Kazan a time. was returned to the Seven Lakes monastery in 1655. ’s Feast commemorates a second deliverance of Kazan from pestilence in 1771. inhabitants of Kazan and the surrounding area deeply revere this holy icon, and receive healing from sickness and help in misfortune from the Mother of God. Seven Lakes Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on October 13 and June 26. Seven Lakes Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on October 13; Seven Lakes Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Ustiug near Kazan on October 13, 1615 by the monk Euthymius, of the Seven Lakes Mother of God monastery. blessed the place of the future monastery with this icon. of the Seven Lakes Icon were established in memory of its transfer from Ustiug, memory of the deliverance of Kazan a plague epidemic in 1654 and 1655 (June 26), again from pestilence in 1771 (July 28).

Russia, Moscow, 1616, 6,000 Martyrs of David Gareja, Georgia, angel gave them choice, die and be or flee, myrrh to this day
Georgia, 1616, 6,000 Martyrs of David Gareja monastery complex, Kakheti, Georgia (Iori River 4), while, Celebrating Resurrection with lights, angel gave them choice, die and be or flee, only 2 fled, rose bush in dry soil, bones stream myrrh to this day; David Gareja monastery complex (Georgia) ; 6,000 Martyrs of the St David Gareji Monastery, Georgia, Commemorated on April 26; 1616 the Persian shah Abbas I led his enormous army in an attack on Georgia. quenched his thirst for the blood of the Christians, he arranged a hunt in the valley of Gare (Outer) Kakheti. He encamped with his escorts in the mountains of Gareji and spent the night in that place. midnight the shah’s attention was drawn to a flaming column of lights advancing up the mountain. At first he took it to be an apparition. He was soon informed, however, that a famous monastery was situated in that place and on that night the monks were circling their church three times with lighted candles in celebration of Christ’s Holy Resurrection. Immediately the shah commanded his army to march to the monastery and destroy all those found celebrating. same night an angel of the Lord appeared to Abbot Arsenius of David-Gareji and told him, “Our Lord Jesus Christ is calling the brothers to His Heavenly Kingdom. On this night great suffering awaits you—you will be killed by the sword. He who desires to prolong his earthly life, let him flee, but he who thirsts to purify his soul for eternity, let him perish by the sword, and the Lord God will adorn him with the crown of immortality. Tell this to all who dwell in the monastery, and let each man choose for himself!” abbot informed the monks about his vision, and they began to prepare for their imminent sufferings. Only two young monks feared death and fled to a mountain not far from the monastery. the chanting of the Lord’s Prayer near the end of the Paschal Liturgy, the monastery was completely surrounded by Persian warriors. Abbot Arsenius stepped out of the church and approached their leader to request that the monks be given a bit more time to finish the service and for all the brothers to receive Holy Communion. Persians consulted among themselves and agreed to honor this request. The fathers partook of the Holy Gifts, encouraged one another, and presented themselves clad in festive garments before the unbelievers. the Persians beheaded Abbot Arsenius; then they massacred his brothers in Christ without mercy. the Persians finished killing the monks, they were organized into several regiments and made their way towards the other monasteries of the Gareji Wilderness. Halfway between the Chichkhituri and Saint John the Baptist Monasteries the Muslims captured the two young monks who had earlier fled and demanded that they convert to Islam. monks refused to abandon the Christian Faith and for this they were killed. A rose bush grew up in the place where they were killed and continued to fragrantly blossom through the 19th century, despite the dry and rocky soil. the end of the 17th century, King Archil gathered the bones of the martyrs with great reverence and buried them in a large stone reliquary to the left of the altar in the Transfiguration Church of David-Gareji Monastery. Their holy relics continue to stream myrrh to this day. brothers of the Monasteries of Saint David of Gareji and Saint John the Baptist received a blessing from Catholicos Anton I to compose a commemorative service for the martyrs and to designate their feast day as Bright Tuesday, or the third day of Holy Pascha.

Russia, Moscow, 1617, Treaty of Stolbovo, ended Russia's war with Sweden, Luke's Tikvin Icon, appearance large army
Stolbovo (Treaty of Stolbovo) which ended Russia's war with Sweden. Stolbovo is south of Lake Ladgoda and 33 Miles from Tikhvin ; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; to ancient tradition, the wonderworking icon of Tikhvin is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist. icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople in the fifth century, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople at the hands of the Turks, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod the Great witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. According to an early sixteenth century Russian manuscript, “The Tale of Miracles of the Icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God,” the Theotokos herself decided that her image should leave Constantinople, perhaps in anticipation of the impending fall of the Byzantine Empire. after its miraculous appearance, the icon was discovered in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos was built on the site of the icon’s final resting place. Miraculously, the icon survived a number of fires. the early sixteenth century, through the zeal of Great Prince Basil Ivanovich, a stone church was built to replace the original wooden structure. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church and enclosed with a stone wall. 1613-1614, the Swedish army, having seized Novgorod, made several attempts to destroy the monastery. The countless prayers offered to the Theotokos before the icon were heard, and the monastery was spared. On one occasion, after monks had been alerted to the approaching Swedish army, they decided to flee and to take the icon with them. But the monks soon discovered that they could not remove the icon from its shrine. Seeing this as a sign of the Theotokos’ protection, the monks decided not to abandon the monastery, begging the Theotokos to spare them and their beloved spiritual home. To their amazement, a large Muscovite army appeared to defend the monastery. the Swedes encountered the army, they retreated immediately. Word of this miracle spread rapidly, and imperial emissaries soon visited the monastery. Accompanied by a copy of the wonderworking icon, they set off for the village of Stolbovo, 33 miles from Tikhvin, where they concluded a peace treaty with the Swedes on February 10, 1617. Afterwards, the copy of the icon was taken to Moscow and enshrined in the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral. Later, the same icon was placed in the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) cathedral in Novgorod at the request of the city’s faithful, who also found themselves under attack by the Swedes. Once again, through the intercession of the Theotokos, the city was spared. the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide. Copies of the wonderworking icon began to adorn churches throughout the land. Some of these copies also proved to be sources of miracles, and it was not uncommon to find the faithful praying before the icon to seek healing for children who were ill. fewer than 24 processions with the icon were celebrated each year at the Tikhvin Monastery, where the icon was enshrined. A decorative cover, or “riza,” adorned the icon, exposing only the faces and hands of the Holy Virgin and Christ child. Numerous precious stones studded the riza, and many of the faithful, desiring to express thanksgiving for prayers answered through the Theotokos’ intercession, affixed precious jewelry to the riza. miraculous is the fact that the icon was preserved from destruction or sale after the Russian Revolution, which ushered in a 74-year persecution of the Church. During the 1920s, the communist government demanded that the Russian Orthodox Church turn over countless icons and other precious liturgical items, which through the nationalization of private property were considered the property of “the people.” Many of these sacred items were sold, allegedly to raise money to feed the Russian and Ukrainian population which was afflicted by famine. the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from where it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When the city was evacuated, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga, in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the United States in 1949, under the pretext that the icon in his care was a reproduction, the work of a simple monk, and that it was of little historic or monetary value. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Bishop John, who was later elevated to the rank of Archbishop, was elected to oversee the Diocese of Chicago, and the icon was regularly displayed and venerated in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. John frequently took the icon on pilgrimage to various places throughout the United States and Canada. After his retirement in the late 1970s and death on Palm Sunday in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, Bishop John’s adopted son, became the caretaker of the icon. In 2003, over a decade after the fall of communism and the resurrection of the Russian Orthodox Church, the decision was made to return the precious icon to its original home. icon began its year-long journey to Russia at the 99th annual Pilgrimage to Saint Tikhon Monastery, South Canaan, Pennsylvania, May 23-26, 2003. His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, together with members of the Holy Synod of Bishops and guest hierarchs, greeted the icon, which was available for veneration by the faithful. icon follows the “Hodēgḗtria” model and is similar in style to the ancient Ivḗron icon of Our Lady. It differs in that the Christ child’s legs are crossed, while the sole of His foot is turned to the viewer. Several historic sources note that several other Hodēgḗtria icons of the Theotokos had been brought to Russia in the 1380s, during the rule of the saintly prince Demetrius Donskoy. -- Archpriest John Matusiak

Russia, Moscow, 1619-1633, Patriarch, Philaret, Emperor Michael's father, regent, first romanov, diplomat
Moscow Patriarch, 1619-1633, Patriarch Philaret of Moscow; Nikitich Romanov (1553 - 1 October 1633) was a Russian boyar who after temporary disgrace rose to become patriarch of Moscow as Filaret and became de facto ruler of Russia during the reign of his son, Mikhail Feodorovich. second son of a prominent boyar Nikita Romanovich, Feodor was born in Moscow and was the first to bear the Romanov surname. the reign of his first cousin Feodor I (1584–1598), young Feodor Romanov distinguished himself both as a soldier and a diplomat, fighting against the forces of John III of Sweden in 1590, and conducting negotiations with the ambassadors diplof Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1593 to 1594.[1] He was made a Boyar in 1583. the death of the childless tsar, he was the popular candidate for the vacant throne; but he acquiesced in the election of Boris Godunov, and shared the disgrace of his too-powerful family three years later, when Boris compelled both him and his wife, Xenia Shestova, to take monastic vows under the names of Filaret and Martha respectively.[1] was kept in the strictest confinement in the Antoniev Monastery of the Russian North, where he was exposed to every conceivable indignity; but when the False Dmitriy I overthrew the Godunovs, he released Filaret and made him metropolitan of Rostov (1605).[1] Filaret of Moscow. A 19th-century hand-drawn lubok. of Moscow[edit] 1609 Filaret fell into the hands of False Dmitriy II, who named him Patriarch of all Russia, though his jurisdiction only extended over the very limited area which acknowledged the impostor. 1610 to 1618 he was a prisoner in the hands of the Polish king, Sigismund III Vasa, whom he refused to acknowledge as tsar of Muscovy on being sent on an embassy to the Polish camp in 1610. was released on the conclusion of the truce of Deulino (13 February 1619), and on 24 June of the same year was canonically enthroned Patriarch of Moscow[1] and all of Russia. until his death, the established government of Muscovy was a diarchy. 1619 to 1633 there were two actual sovereigns, Tsar Michael and his father, the most holy Patriarch Filaret. they were co-regents, but Filaret frequently transacted affairs of state without consulting the tsar. replenished the treasury by a more equable and rational system of assessing and collecting the taxes. His most important domestic measure was the chaining of the peasantry to the soil, a measure directed against the ever-increasing migration of the down-trodden serfs to the steppes, where they became freebooters instead of taxpayers. The taxation of the tsar's military tenants was a first step towards the proportional taxation of the hitherto privileged classes.[1] zeal for the purity of Orthodoxy sometimes led him into excesses but he encouraged the publication of theological works, formed the nucleus of the subsequently famous Patriarchal Library, and commanded that every archbishop should establish a seminary for the clergy, himself setting the example. great service rendered by Filaret to his country was the reorganization of the Muscovite army with the help of foreign officers. death in October 1633 put an end to the Russo-Polish War (1632–33), withdrawing the strongest prop from a tsar feeble enough even when supported by all the weight of his authority.[1] the rights of a sovereign, Filaret issued a royal decree in May 1625 which gave the patriarch the right to judge and oversee the clerical and peasant populations of the patriarchate in all matters except for theft and robbery. Thus, under Filaret the patriarchate ultimately developed into a state within a state. While the administration of the patriarchate became more structured, it also became significantly more complex. patriarchate's administration was divided into the following departments: the Judicial department which oversaw legal affairs; the Ecclesiastical department which oversaw matters regarding parishes; the Treasury department which oversaw tax collections from the clergy; and the Palace department which managed the economic matters on the patriarchal estates. department was headed by a patriarchal boyar (a member of the highest rank of the Russian aristocracy) and staffed with clerks and scribes. The patriarch personally received and signed reports. Filaret also ordered a full inventory of church and monastery property as well as a review of the land grants issued to the monasteries. 1620 the new Diocese of Tobolsk was created. 1625 as a gift from the king of Persia, Filaret received a piece of the supposed Seamless Robe of Jesus. This relic was placed in a shrine in the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral, and today is kept in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. patriarch was instrumental in the establishment of the Romanov dynasty through his use of ostentatious ceremonies and architectural projects which succeeded in underlining the importance of the Crown. Due to the Thirty Years War, mercenaries were common, so he hired English and Scottish officers to modernize the army, helping to push Russia into the modern age.[2] Filaret's marriage to Xenia Shestova produced six children, of whom two survived into adulthood: Tatyana (d. 1612), married Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Katyrev-Rostovsky, no issue Boris (b. 1592, died in infancy) Nikita (b. 1593, died in infancy) Michael (1596-1645), first tsar of Russia from the House of Romanov Lev (b. 1597, died in infancy) Ivan (b. 1599, died in infancy) The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10; Venerable Leonid of Ustnedumsk, Commemorated on July 17 ; Finding of the relics of Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on November 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1622, Georgia Icon to Archangelsk from Persia, via MOG
Russia, Vologda, 1622, Georgia Icon to Archangelsk from Persia, via MOG; 1622, the Persian Shah Abbas I, after the devastating invasion of Orthodox Georgia, took part of the Robe of the Lord, and some especially revered icons. Three years later, when the Russian clerk Stephen Lazarev, who was in Persia to do some trading, a certain person from the Shah's retinue offered to let him purchase one of the stolen Georgian icons: an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. At the same time, at Yaroslavl, the merchant Gregory Lytkin, by whom Stephen was employed, had a revelation of his clerk's imminent arrival with the precious acquisition. had been instructed by a voice from above to take the Icon from Yaroslavl to Arkhangelsk, near the Pinega River. Here, 16 versts from Kholmogorsk, was the Black Mountain monastery (which took its name from the mountain, on which a church was built in 1603.) Later, it was called Krasnogorsk (Beautiful Mountain). the merchant delivered the Georgian Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1629, during the reign of Tsar Michael. On August 22, with a large contingent of the faithful, the Icon was reverently placed in the monastery. At the same time, the miraculous healing of the blind and deaf monk Pitirim took place. The subsequent manifestations of the Icon's miraculous power prompted Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod (later the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia) to investigate. Afterward, from 1650, the annual celebration of this Icon took place on August 22, the day of its arrival at Krasnogorsk Monastery. that time, the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God was brought to Arkhangelsk each year with honors. The revered Icon was left for a certain time in the main cathedral of the city, for the sanctification of the city and of the Christ-loving people. During the reign of Tsar Alexei (1645-1676), the miraculous Icon was taken to Vologda, Great Ustyug, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and Siberia. Archangelsk; Icon of the Mother of God of Georgia, Commemorated on August 22; 1622, the Persian Shah Abbas I, after the devastating invasion of Orthodox Georgia, took part of the Robe of the Lord, and some especially revered icons. Three years later, when the Russian clerk Stephen Lazarev, who was in Persia to do some trading, a certain person from the Shah's retinue offered to let him purchase one of the stolen Georgian icons: an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. At the same time, at Yaroslavl, the merchant Gregory Lytkin, by whom Stephen was employed, had a revelation of his clerk's imminent arrival with the precious acquisition. had been instructed by a voice from above to take the Icon from Yaroslavl to Arkhangelsk, near the Pinega River. Here, 16 versts from Kholmogorsk, was the Black Mountain monastery (which took its name from the mountain, on which a church was built in 1603.) Later, it was called Krasnogorsk (Beautiful Mountain). the merchant delivered the Georgian Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1629, during the reign of Tsar Michael. On August 22, with a large contingent of the faithful, the Icon was reverently placed in the monastery. At the same time, the miraculous healing of the blind and deaf monk Pitirim took place. The subsequent manifestations of the Icon's miraculous power prompted Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod (later the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia) to investigate. Afterward, from 1650, the annual celebration of this Icon took place on August 22, the day of its arrival at Krasnogorsk Monastery. that time, the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God was brought to Arkhangelsk each year with honors. The revered Icon was left for a certain time in the main cathedral of the city, for the sanctification of the city and of the Christ-loving people. During the reign of Tsar Alexei (1645-1676), the miraculous Icon was taken to Vologda, Great Ustyug, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, and Siberia. 1654, Hieromonk Makarios of Krasnogorsk Monastery brought the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (which had been brought from Persia) to Moscow for restoration, and to be covered with a new riza. It was placed in the newly-built church, dedicated to the Life-giving Trinity, at Nikitnikov Lane near the Saint Barbara Gate, where the Kremlin masters carried on their iconographic work. Gregory Nikitnikov had built the church on his property at his own expense (1628-1651). In the church was a chapel dedicated to Saint Nikḗtas (September 15). Members of the Nikitnikov family were also entombed there. that time, a plague or pestilence was raging in Moscow. At the request of the master silversmith Gabriel Evdokimov, whose son was near death, a Moleben was served in his house before the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God from Krasnogorsk Monastery. The patient soon recovered. In gratitude for this miraculous healing, a copy of Georgian Icon was made and placed in Holy Trinity church. From that time, the church was also called Georgian. gracious help of the Most Holy Theotokos continued to be conferred by the aforementioned copy of her Icon. During the plague epidemic of 1654, the Moscow merchant Stephanov prayed continuously to the Queen of Heaven. The Most Holy Virgin appeared to him three times in a dream saying: "Pray to the Georgian Theotokos, on the Glinishchi at the mills, and you will be spared." The Holy Trinity church at Nikitniki was also called the church of the Great Martyr Nikḗtas (one of the chapels) on Glinishchi, near the mills. The merchant did not take his family from Moscow as he intended, but began to pray fervently in the Holy Trinity church. The epidemic did not touch him or his family. Churchwide celebration of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God was established with the blessing of Patriarch Nikon in 1654. In 1698, the caretaker of the Moscow printing house Theodore Polikarpov compiled a second edition of the Service. the liberation of Moscow from Napoleon's troops, on December 1, 1812 the wonderworking Georgian Icon of the Mother of God, along with other miraculous Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos (Vladimir, Iveron, and Assuage my Sorrows) were carried in solemn procession around the Kremlin. 1904, a chapel was built in Holy Trinity church in honor of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God. Now this Icon is in the church of the Holy Trinity in Nikitnikov (Razin Street). healings were granted by the Most Holy Theotokos through her wonderworking Icon, which were documented and verified at the end of the XIX century. For example, on June 17, 1887, Lydia Tserkovnitskaya, the wife of a priest in the village of Shuysk, Vologda Province, was critically ill. She recovered after praying before the wonderworking Georgian Icon. There is historical evidence of four more Georgian icons of the Most Holy Theotokos. the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God, which was in Moscow's Alekseevsky Convent, church evidence reports that it is not a copy of the Icons from Krasnogorsk Monastery nor from Holy Trinity church at Nikitnikov, which were brought from Georgia. In the same deadly plague epidemic of 1654, one of the nuns at the Alekseev Convent fell ill. While she addressed long prayers to the Heavenly Healer, the sick woman suddenly remembered the miraculous recovery she had heard about from the Icon of the Mother of God, which is in the church of the Life-giving Trinity by Saint Barbara's Gate. However, there was no one to send there. After some time, an unknown monk came to the Convent. Turning to the sick nun, he said: "Do not be sad that the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God cannot be brought here. You have here exactly the same Icon as the one brought from Georgia. You will find it in the cave, and you shall behold God's mercy." allegorical meaning of these words became clear afterward in the monastery sacristy, which was laid out like caves, when a hitherto unknown Icon of the Mother of God was discovered. After a Moleben, the miraculous Icon was carried to the cells of the nuns who were suffering from the pestilence. All of them were healed. From that time, the epidemic in Moscow began to abate. the prayerful intercession of the Georgian Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Alekseev Convent, the blind Princess Martha Prozorovskaya received miraculous healing in 1662. She gained her sight by the prayers of her parents, after seven years of serious illness. the northwest of Kazan, 18 versts from the city of Sviyazhsk, in the middle of the XVII century was the Raithu communal Hermitage of the Theotokos, which got its name from one of its churches, which was dedicated to the Venerable Fathers slain at Sinai and Raithu (January 14). Tradition states that during the construction of the monastery, Metropolitan Laurence of Kazan, by a revelation from above, sent the best local iconographers to Pinega, to the Krasnogorsk Monastery, which was very far from Kazan, in order to make a faithful copy of the wonderworking Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was brought from Persia. 1661, a skillfully executed copy of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God was delivered from Arkhangelsk. It became highly revered by the local population. Subsequently, this Icon was placed in the cathedral church in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. the XVIII century, the pious peasants of the village of Klyucharev, Korchev county, Tver Province, presented the caretaker of the Moscow Archangel Cathedral with a copy of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God, which became highly regarded by the locals, when the rye crop was threatened with destruction in the late 1860s. Vast fields of newly-sprouted crops were being eaten by an unknown worm, and nothing they did was of any use. Then the peasants prayed for help to the Most Holy Theotokos, whose Georgian Icon they revered. After a Cross Procession around the fields with the Icon, a sudden, unprecedented torrential rain fell. Streams of water washed the worms out of the ground, which were eaten by a large flock of birds. See also other revered copies of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God in the Protection church at Vorontsov Field, and in the Holy Cross Church in the city of Tula. Icon disappeared after the closure of the monastery (1920-1922), and later it was returned to the monastery. In his 1946 report to the Moscow Patriarchate, Bishop Leonty (Smirnov) of Arkhangelsk states that the Georgian Icon was carried in a procession, which took place at Arkhangelsk in 1946. The further fate of the Georgian Icon is unknown. St Spyridon the Patriarch, Commemorated on August 30; Venerable Tryphon the Abbot of Vyatka, Commemorated on October 8; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated December 15 ; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; Venerable Elisha of Suma, Solovki, Commemorated on June 14; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1622 &1880 &1923 &1924 &1998 &2001, Icon Surety oSinners, Koretsk, Volhynia, transfered tHTConvent 1622
Koretsk Region and Korets; Icon of the Mother of God “the Surety of Sinners” in Koretsk, Commemorated on June 8; ancient "Surety of Sinners" Icon of the Mother of God of Korets has been kept in the princely castle of Korets from ancient times, and was called "gracious." the death of Samuel, the last of the Orthodox Korets Princes, his brother John offered to let his sister, Igoumeness Seraphima take the Icon from the princely chapel and bring it to Holy Resurrection Maidens' Monastery at Korets. solemn transfer of the holy Icon took place on Thursday of Pentecost Week in 1622. this day, a festal celebration was established in honor of the "Surety of Sinners" Icon of the Mother of God of Korets. August 12, 1880, the Icon was transferred to Holy Trinity Church then returned to the Monastery and was placed in a carved wooden kiosk at the left front column. than once the wonderworking Icon showed gracious help for the suffering - 1923 on the Feast of the Holy Trinity a young man who was possessed by an unclean spirit was healed before the Icon. next year, when during the period from the Ascension of the Lord to the Thursday after Pentecost, there were incessant downpours in Volhynia. Miraculously, after a Cross Procession around the temple with the blessed Icon, the rain began to subside. believers who turn to the Queen of Heaven for help and intercession because of some discord, family troubles, and especially when "anguish of the soul" suggests that after praying before the Icon, they receive spiritual relief and peace, for she is truly the "Surety of Sinners." the Icon, the Mother of God is depicted holding her Child on her left hand, and He holds her right hand with both of His hands. inscription reads: “I am the Surety of Sinners for my Son Who has entrusted me to hear them, and through me, those who bring me the joy of hearing them shall receive everlasting joy." August 17, 1998, the Superior of Holy Trinity Korets women's Monastery, Igoumeness Natalia (Ilchuk) petitioned Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia to add the Korets Icon to the list of wonderworking Icons of the Mother of God on the Patriarchal Church Calendar. With the Patriarch's blessing, the celebration in honor of the Korets Icon was approved. November 2001, an attempt was made to steal the Icon, but the attackers only managed to carry off its valuable riza. People donated money for a new riza to be made, a copy of the the one which was stolen. Icon is kept in the Holy Trinity women's Monastery at Korets.

Russia, Moscow, 1624, Igritsa Icon, left neglected, shone w bright hues, as newly painted
Igritsa, not far from Kostroma, Pesochna River Mouth; Icon of the Mother of God of Igritsa, Commemorated July 28 ; Holy Igritsa Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1624 in Igritsa at the River Pesochna not far from the city of Kostroma. Local peasants found the icon in an old half-ruined church, for fifty years it was left neglected after a deadly plague. The icon stood in the altar and shone with bright hues, as though newly painted. the first service of thanksgiving served in front of this holy icon, a boyar’s (nobleman’s) blind son Emilian gained his sight. Then four devout Christians stayed to live around the desolate church and took monastic vows. At the place of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God there afterwards was built a new church and a monastic community emerged.

Russia, Moscow, 1625, Finding Incorrupt Relics Adrian of Poshekhonye, monastery and church builder, murdered
Poshekhonye; Finding of the relics of Monastic Martyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on November 19; Uncovering of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk and Yaroslavl took place on November 19, 1625. December 17, 1625, under Patriarch Philaret, his incorrupt relics were transferred to the monastery he founded. The account of the hieromartyr Adrian is located on the day of his death, March 5. Venerable Simon the Abbot of Soiga Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated November 24 ; Venerable Sebastian the Abbot of Pshekhonye Monastery, Vologda, Commemorated on December 18 ; Venerable Sebastian of Poshekhonye, Commemorated February 26 ; Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on March 5; Adrian of Poshekhonye was born at Rostov the Great at the end of the sixteenth century, of pious parents named Gregory and Irene. Saint Adrian received monastic tonsure at the monastery of Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19). the brethren gathered around Saint Cornelius were some capable builders and iconographers, so the monastery churches were constructed and adorned by the saints themselves. In the final years of Saint Cornelius’s life, Kazan Tatars invaded the territory around the monastery, and he led all the brethren to the River Ukhtoma. But the Tatars did not touch the monastery, being frightened off by the sight of the many soldiers defending it, and they soon withdrew from the Vologda district. Saint Cornelius returned to the monastery with the brethren and reposed there on May 19, 1537. years after the death of Saint Cornelius, Saint Adrian, then a hierodeacon, greatly desired to go into a wilderness place and found a monastery in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Lord helped him fulfill his intention. A certain unknown Elder of striking appearance came to the Corniliev monastery. Saint Adrian asked him his name, and the Elder referred to himself as “the lowly one.” Saint Adrian invited him to his own cell and asked him to say something beneficial for the soul, the Elder said that he would show Saint Adrian the spot where he should build the church and monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos. Adrian immediately went to the Superior, Igumen Laurence, and sought his blessing to live in the wilderness. Recalling Saint Cornelius’s order that any monks who wished to withdraw into the wilderness should be released from the monastery, Igumen Laurence did not hinder Saint Adrian but gave him his blessing. He also sent with him his assistant, Elder Leonid. After they prayed at the grave of Saint Cornelius, Saint Adrian and Elder Leonid went on their way, led by the mysterious black-robed monk. Saint Adrian carried with him an icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which he also painted. September 13, 1540, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, Saint Adrian and Elder Leonid arrived in the wild Poshekhonye forest, near the settlements of Belta, Patrabolsha, Shelshedolsk and Ukhorsk. halted at the banks of the River Votkha. There the Elder leading them suddenly became invisible. The astonished travelers began to chant the Canon and service of the Feast, with tears of thanks to God. Indeed this was a portent of the future fame of the monastery, a place where God would be glorified. three years Saint Adrian and the Elder Leonid survived in the wilderness solitude, suffering want, overcoming temptations from the devil and the whisperings of wicked folk, and then they began to fulfill their intention. Choosing a suitable moment, the ascetics went to Moscow to ask the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius to establish a monastery and church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God on the Poshekhonye side of the River Votkha. Macarius gave his blessing to the ascetics to build the monastery, and he gave them a written document to that effect. He ordained Adrian to the priesthood and elevated him to the rank of igumen. In the document he had given to Saint Adrian, the hierarch bade “priests, deacons, monks and laymen to listen to him and obey him in everything, as befits a pastor and teacher.” Moscow the Poshekhonye ascetics found generous benefactors who gave the monks abundant offerings to build their church. Returning to their wilderness spot on May 31, 1543, Saint Adrian laid the foundations for the church with a trapeza, in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. embellished and consecrated the new church, Saint Adrian began the construction of the monastery. The strict monastic Rule of Saint Cornelius was introduced at the monastery. Having nothing of their own, a little being sufficient for everyone, the saints devoted a large portion of their time to prayer, both in church and in their cells, and no small time was allotted to the reading of Holy Scripture. This reading was done “not in an elegant voice, nor for effect, but in a humble and mild voice. One reads, and another speaks of what is read.” They also read in private. addition to his duties as igumen, Saint Adrian also occupied himself with painting icons. When his holy soul longed for complete silence, he withdrew into the depths of the forest into the cell and chapel he had built one verst away from the monastery. years after the founding of the monastery, Elder Leonid reposed. Saint Adrian and the brethren buried him with reverence. The number of the brethren had increased during this time. They built three cells as dwellings, and a fourth for preparing food and baking bread. Adrian began to make plans for the construction of a large stone church, and he gathered a sum of money for this purpose. One year after the repose of Elder Leonid, during Great Lent of 1550, on the eve of the commemoration of the 42 Ammoreian Martyrs (March 6), armed robbers burst into the monastery and murdered Saint Adrian after beating him. holy relics of Saint Martyr Adrian were uncovered on December 17, 1626, solemnly transferred into the monastery church and placed in an open crypt by the right kliros (choir). Many miracles occurred at the grave of Saint Adrian. Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1625, Finding the Relics of Saint Adrian of Poshekhonye, incorrupt, transferred to his monastery
Russia, Vologda, Mologa, 1625, Finding the Relics of Saint Adrian of Poshekhonye, incorrupt, transferred to his monastery; Poshekhonye; Russia, Vologda, Mologda, 1600-1625, Adrian of Poshekhonye, from Komel, builder, iconographer, Tartars, angel soldiers, disappearing Elder, incorrupt r; Poshekhonye; Finding of the relics of Monastic Martyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on November 19; Uncovering of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Adrian of Poshekhonsk and Yaroslavl took place on November 19, 1625. On December 17, 1625, under Patriarch Philaret, his incorrupt relics were transferred to the monastery he founded. The account of the hieromartyr Adrian is located on the day of his death, March 5. Monkmartyr Adrian of Poshekhonye, Yaroslavl, Commemorated on March 5; Adrian of Poshekhonye was born at Rostov the Great at the end of the sixteenth century, of pious parents named Gregory and Irene. Saint Adrian received monastic tonsure at the monastery of Saint Cornelius of Komel (May 19). the brethren gathered around Saint Cornelius were some capable builders and iconographers, so the monastery churches were constructed and adorned by the saints themselves. the final years of Saint Cornelius’s life, Kazan Tatars invaded the territory around the monastery, and he led all the brethren to the River Ukhtoma. the Tatars did not touch the monastery, being frightened off by the sight of the many soldiers defending it, and they soon withdrew from the Vologda district. Cornelius returned to the monastery with the brethren and reposed there on May 19, 1537. years after the death of Saint Cornelius, Saint Adrian, then a hierodeacon, greatly desired to go into a wilderness place and found a monastery in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Lord helped him fulfill his intention. certain unknown Elder of striking appearance came to the Corniliev monastery. Saint Adrian asked him his name, and the Elder referred to himself as “the lowly one.” Saint Adrian invited him to his own cell and asked him to say something beneficial for the soul, the Elder said that he would show Saint Adrian the spot where he should build the church and monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos. Adrian immediately went to the Superior, Igumen Laurence, and sought his blessing to live in the wilderness. Recalling Saint Cornelius’s order that any monks who wished to withdraw into the wilderness should be released from the monastery, Igumen Laurence did not hinder Saint Adrian but gave him his blessing. also sent with him his assistant, Elder Leonid. After they prayed at the grave of Saint Cornelius, Saint Adrian and Elder Leonid went on their way, led by the mysterious black-robed monk. Saint Adrian carried with him an icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which he also painted. September 13, 1540, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, Saint Adrian and Elder Leonid arrived in the wild Poshekhonye forest, near the settlements of Belta, Patrabolsha, Shelshedolsk and Ukhorsk. halted at the banks of the River Votkha. There the Elder leading them suddenly became invisible. astonished travelers began to chant the Canon and service of the Feast, with tears of thanks to God. Indeed this was a portent of the future fame of the monastery, a place where God would be glorified. three years Saint Adrian and the Elder Leonid survived in the wilderness solitude, suffering want, overcoming temptations from the devil and the whisperings of wicked folk, and then they began to fulfill their intention. Choosing a suitable moment, the ascetics went to Moscow to ask the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius to establish a monastery and church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God on the Poshekhonye side of the River Votkha. Macarius gave his blessing to the ascetics to build the monastery, and he gave them a written document to that effect. He ordained Adrian to the priesthood and elevated him to the rank of igumen. In the document he had given to Saint Adrian, the hierarch bade “priests, deacons, monks and laymen to listen to him and obey him in everything, as befits a pastor and teacher.” Moscow the Poshekhonye ascetics found generous benefactors who gave the monks abundant offerings to build their church. to their wilderness spot on May 31, 1543, Saint Adrian laid the foundations for the church with a trapeza, in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. embellished and consecrated the new church, Saint Adrian began the construction of the monastery. The strict monastic Rule of Saint Cornelius was introduced at the monastery. Having nothing of their own, a little being sufficient for everyone, the saints devoted a large portion of their time to prayer, both in church and in their cells, and no small time was allotted to the reading of Holy Scripture. This reading was done “not in an elegant voice, nor for effect, but in a humble and mild voice. One reads, and another speaks of what is read.” They also read in private. addition to his duties as igumen, Saint Adrian also occupied himself with painting icons. When his holy soul longed for complete silence, he withdrew into the depths of the forest into the cell and chapel he had built one verst away from the monastery. years after the founding of the monastery, Elder Leonid reposed. Saint Adrian and the brethren buried him with reverence. The number of the brethren had increased during this time. They built three cells as dwellings, and a fourth for preparing food and baking bread. Adrian began to make plans for the construction of a large stone church, and he gathered a sum of money for this purpose. One year after the repose of Elder Leonid, during Great Lent of 1550, on the eve of the commemoration of the 42 Ammoreian Martyrs (March 6), armed robbers burst into the monastery and murdered Saint Adrian after beating him. holy relics of Saint Martyr Adrian were uncovered on December 17, 1626, solemnly transferred into the monastery church and placed in an open crypt by the right kliros (choir). Many miracles occurred at the grave of Saint Adrian. Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1627-1642, Simeon of Verkhoturye, Kazakhstan, Siberia, nobleman, beggar, appearances miracles after death
Russia, Siberia,1627-1642, , Simeon of Verkhoturye, Kazakhstan, Siberia, nobleman, beggar, sewed clothes, failed to sew something, appearances miracles after death; Verkhoturye (Tura River) ; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated September 12 ; Simeon of Verkhoturye was a nobleman, but he concealed his origin and led the life of a beggar. He walked through the villages and for free sewed half-coats and other clothes, primarily for the poor. While doing this he deliberately failed to sew something, either a glove, or a scarf, for which he endured abuse from his customers. ascetic wandered much, but most often he lived at a churchyard of the village of Merkushinsk not far from the city of Verkhoturye (on the outskirts of Perm). Saint Simeon loved nature in the Urals, and while joyfully contemplated its majestic beauty, he would raise up a thoughtful glance towards the Creator of the world. In his free time, the saint loved to go fishing in the tranquility of solitude. This reminded him of the disciples of Christ, whose work he continued, guiding the local people in the true Faith. His conversations were a seed of grace, from which gradually grew the abundant fruits of the Spirit in the Urals and in Siberia, where the saint is especially revered. Simeon of Verkhoturye died in 1642, when he was 35 years of age. He was buried in the Merkushinsk graveyard by the church of the Archangel Michael. September 12, 1704, with the blessing of Metropolitan Philotheus of Tobolsk, the holy relics of Saint Simeon were transferred from the church of the Archangel Michael to the Verkhoturye monastery in the name of Saint Nicholas. Simeon worked many miracles after his death. He frequently appeared to the sick in dreams and healed them, and he brought to their senses those fallen into the disease of drunkenness. A peculiarity of the saint’s appearances was that with the healing of bodily infirmities, he also gave instruction and guidance for the soul. memory of Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye is celebrated also on December 18, on the day of his glorification (1694). Righteous Simeon the Wonderworker of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on December 18 ; Simeon of Verkhoturye was a nobleman, he concealed his origin and led the life of a beggar. He walked through the villages and for free sewed half-coats and other clothes, primarily for the poor. doing this he deliberately failed to sew something, either a glove, or a scarf, for which he endured abuse from his customers. ascetic wandered much, but most often he lived at a churchyard of the village of Merkushinsk not far from the city of Verkhoturye (on the outskirts of Perm). Simeon loved nature in the Urals, and while joyfully contemplated its majestic beauty, he would raise up a thoughtful glance towards the Creator of the world. his free time, the saint loved to go fishing in the tranquility of solitude. This reminded him of the disciples of Christ, whose work he continued, guiding the local people in the true Faith. conversations were a seed of grace, from which gradually grew the abundant fruits of the Spirit in the Urals and in Siberia, where the saint is especially revered. Simeon of Verkhoturye died in 1642, when he was 35 years of age. He was buried in the Merkushinsk graveyard by the church of the Archangel Michael. September 12, 1704, with the blessing of Metropolitan Philotheus of Tobolsk, the holy relics of Saint Simeon were transferred from the church of the Archangel Michael to the Verkhoturye monastery in the name of Saint Nicholas. Simeon worked many miracles after his death. He frequently appeared to the sick in dreams and healed them, and he brought to their senses those fallen into the disease of drunkenness. A peculiarity of the saint’s appearances was that with the healing of bodily infirmities, he also gave instruction and guidance for the soul. memory of Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye is celebrated also on September 12, on the day of the translation of his relics (1704).

Russia, Moscow, 1632-1634, Polish-Muscovite War, the Smolensk War, P and Lith defend R attack
Polish-Muscovite War (1632-1634), the Smolensk War; Martyr Macarius the Archimandrite of Kanev and Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on September 7 ; Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver, Commemorated on November 22; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1634-1640, Patriarch Joasaphus I, raw ascetic, pious, humble, moral renewal, ignored state affairs
Moscow, 1634-1640, Patriarch Joasaphus I of Moscow; I ( ? - 28 November 1640, Moscow) was the fifth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1634–1640). took monastic vows in Solovetsky Monastery. In 1621, he became a hegumen at Pskovo-Pechorsky Monastery. In January 1627, Joasaphus was appointed archbishop of Pskov and Velikiye Luki. He is known for his protection of Pskov's trade privileges and resistance to pretensions of the German merchants, for which he would be punished by the patriarch. of Moscow[edit] Philaret's death in 1634, Joasaphus was appointed his successor, upon his recommendation. His selection to the role of Patriarch was held in the traditional way: The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (knowing in advance the will of Mikhaill Romanov[1]) pointed to three candidates, of whom the Tsar could choose. Enthronement of the new Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was held, also in keeping with tradition, the council of the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Kremlin[2] in Moscow on 6 February 1634. of Joasaphus' first deeds was severe punishment of Joseph Kurtsevich, Archbishop of Suzdal, for his indecent behaviour. He took part in reviving Moscow's printing activities. They published 23 ecclesiastic books under his supervision. In 1636, Joasaphus wrote Память (Pamyat, or memo), in which he urged Russian clergymen to settle all the discords between themselves. He also published a piece called Лестница властям (Lestnitsa vlastyam, or Hierarchy of power), in which he explained the hierarchy of clergymen during divine services and sobors. Also, Joasaphus published the so-called Требник (Trebnik, or book of prayers) with a supplement of Philaret's resolutions and decrees. Patriarch, he did not interfere in affairs of state policy and refused to even granting the tsar advice in this regard, thereby the strengthening process the position of the Patriarchate in the country declined. He focused instead on efforts to moral renewal of society. He aimed for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Council of the Hundred Chapters in terms of arrangement of worship, opposed the custom of simultaneous execution of several passages of worship at the same time and false jurodiwych. Joasaphus I is buried in the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin. historians assess Josaphus as a colorless figure. According to the historian Parsley[3] such determination activities of the patriarch is unfair, because the lack of interest of Josaphus for state affairs did not mean lack of involvement in the problems of the Orthodox Church, where the latter showed the energy and determination. Parsley also points out that the relatively short period of office of the patriarch by Joazafa results in the obfuscation of its achievements and the personalities of the two other seventeenth-century Russian Orthodox Church superiors: Filaret and Nikon. At the same time the authors of works devoted to Josaphus give it a raw ascetic, pious and humble man. Blessed Simon of Yurievets, Commemorated on November 4;

Russia, Moscow, 1635, Icon of Slovenka, Kostroma, Vologda, hunter discovers church, rotten utensils, but unharmed altar icon
Russia, Vologda, 1635, Icon of Slovenka, Kostroma, Vologda (Kostroma (Pisma) River Mouth, Volga River 8.3), hunter discovers small old church, rotten utensils, but unharmed altar icon, monastery afterwards; Kostroma, and Kostroma Region; Icon of the Mother of God of Slovenka, Commemorated on September 23; Slovenka Icon of the Mother of God manifested itself on September 23, 1635 at the village of Slovenka, Kostroma district. certain hunter while hunting by chance discovered a small rickety church, overgrown with moss. went inside and saw that all the church utensils had rotted with time, except for the altar icon of the Mother of God, which was perfectly unharmed. monastery was afterwards built at this place.

Russia, Moscow, 1636, 1695, 1850, 1930, Icon of Tambov, Moscow, abundant tears flowed, miracles improved citizen's character
Russia, Mordovia, 1636, 1695, , Icon of Tambov, Mordovia (Studenets River Mouth at Tsna River 1), 1695 abundant tears flowed, moistened cloth beneath, Pitirim healing then, poor citizen morals, two icons city gates, priests allowed bring tMany Private homes, 1850 fancy risa precious stones, 1930 Cathedral closed shrine lost; Tambov; Icon of the Mother of God of Tambov, Commemorated on July 8; Annals of Tambov state that the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Tambov from the first years of the city’s existence (it had been founded in 1636), it was the main shrine in the region of Tambov. to the Annals, “on December 6, 1695, during the All Night Vigil in the wooden cathedral church, tears flowed from the eyes of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.” tears were so abundant that they moistened the cloth beneath the Icon and the analogion, as well. was the Icon’s first miracle. Hieromonk Gabriel, the Treasurer of the bishop’s household, recorded this event. then, many who prayed before the Icon began to receive healing, including Saint Pitirim the Bishop of Tambov (+ July 28, 1698) himself. Pitirim had a difficult time when he was first appointed to that See. The moral character of the citizens was very low, and he had to struggle to correct them, especially those who were recent arrivals. he placed two Icons on the main gates of the city: one of the Crucifixion, and one of the Kazan Mother of God. may have happened soon after the appearance of the tears. people came to venerate the Icon, entreating the Most Holy Theotokos to help them in their afflictions. priests from the Cathedral of the Savior were permitted to bring the Icon from the temple into the private homes of those who were sick so that prayers for their healing could be offered. to one historian of the nineteenth century, the Icon “visited many houses in the city and outside the city, and dried the tears of many unfortunate people.” (Khitrov, G. Historical and Statistical Description of the Tambov Diocese, Tambov, 1861). the middle of the XIX century, the icon was placed under glass in a wooden carved frame and it had a silver and gold-plated riza, which was studded with precious stones: turquoise, amethysts, diamonds and topaz. Cathedral of the Savior was closed in the 1930s, and the shrine was lost. the Icon is of the Kazan type, its date of commemoration is July 8. In the upper church of the cathedral is another Tambov Icon, also known as Utkinskaya, which is an Icon of the Hodēgḗtria type. Its Feast Day is April 16.

Russia, Moscow, 1637, Abalaka Icon, Kazakhstan, Siberia, MOG appeared wSt Nic&Mary oEgypt, Icon healed Paraliyed Euthymius
Russia, Siberia, 1637, Abalaka Icon, Kazakhstan, Siberia (Alopaevsk River Mouth, Neyva River 1), MOG appeared wSt Nic&Mary oEgypt tWidow Maria, Sign Icon healed Euthymius oParalysis so he remodeled temple, like Novgorod sign Icon but with Nic&Mary plus Basil oMangazeya; Abalaka, Kazakhstan, Siberia (Alopaevsk River Mouth, Neyva River) ; Icon of the Mother of God of Abalaka, Commemorated on November 27 ; =--The Abalaka Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign” painted by Matthew, a protodeacon of the Tobolsk cathedral, in honor of Sophia (the Wisdom of God), fulfillment of a vow by a paralytic peasant Euthymius to rebuild the church at the Abalaka monastery of the Mother of God “of the Sign.” church was built in 1637 after the Mother of God, accompanied by Saint Nicholas and Saint Mary of Egypt, appeared to the pious widow Maria. the temple’s Icon “of the Sign” was painted, the paralytic Euthymius was completely healed. healings took place during the solemn transfer of the icon to the Abalaka church. general appearance, the Abalaka Icon resembles the Novgorod Icon of the Sign, but with this distinction: on the Abalaka Icon, Saint Nicholas and Saint Mary of Egypt stand before the Most Holy Theotokos. Basil of Mangazeya (March 23) is also depicted on this icon. wonderworking copies of the Abalaka Icon are venerated throughout Siberia. Abalaka Icon “Of the Sign” is also commemorated on July 20.

Russia, Moscow, 1641, Finding incorrupt relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir
Russia, Moscow, 1641, Finding incorrupt relics of Venerable Alexander, Abbot of Svir ; Svir River; Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on August 30; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Russia, Moscow, 1641, Passions Icon of the MOG, go to Nizhni-Novgorod and buy my Icon from Gregory
Nizhni-Novgorod (Volga River at Oka); Icon of the Mother of God œof the Passion, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Passion” The icon received its name because on either side of the Mother of God are two angels with the implements of the Lord’s suffering: the Cross, the lance, and the sponge. There was a certain pious woman, Katherine, who began to suffer seizures and madness after her marriage. She ran off into the forest and attempted suicide more than once. a moment of clarity she prayed to the Mother of God and vowed that if she were healed, she would enter a monastery. After recovering her health, she only remembered her vow after a long time. Afraid and mentally afflicted, she took to her bed. Three times the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her, commanding the sick woman to go to Nizhni-Novgorod and to buy Her icon from the iconographer Gregory. she had done this, Katherine received healing. From that time on, miracles have occurred from this icon. The Feast day of this icon is on August 13, commemorating its transfer from the village of Palitsa to Moscow in 1641. A church was built at the place where it was met at the Tver gates, and in 1654, the Strastna monastery was built. icon is also commemorated on April 30, and on the sixth Sunday after Pascha (the Sunday of the Blind Man) in memory of the miracles which occurred on this day. Other “Passion” icons of the Mother of God have been glorified in the Moscow church of the Conception of Saint Anna, and also in the village of Enkaeva in Tambov diocese. Icon of the Mother of God œof the Passion, Commemorated on April 30; Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Passion” The icon received its name because on either side of the Mother of God are two angels with the implements of the Lord’s suffering: the Cross, the lance, and the sponge. was a certain pious woman, Katherine, who began to suffer seizures and madness after her marriage. She ran off into the forest and attempted suicide more than once. a moment of clarity she prayed to the Mother of God and vowed that if she were healed, she would enter a monastery. After recovering her health, she only remembered her vow after a long time. Afraid and mentally afflicted, she took to her bed. Three times the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her, commanding the sick woman to go to Nizhni-Novgorod and to buy Her icon from the iconographer Gregory. she had done this, Katherine received healing. From that time on, miracles have occurred from this icon. The Feast day of this icon is on August 13, commemorating its transfer from the village of Palitsa to Moscow in 1641. A church was built at the place where it was met at the Tver gates, and in 1654, the Strastna monastery was built. icon is also commemorated on April 30, and on the sixth Sunday after Pascha (the Sunday of the Blind Man) in memory of the miracles which occurred on this day. Other “Passion” icons of the Mother of God have been glorified in the Moscow church of the Conception of Saint Anna, and also in the village of Enkaeva in Tambov diocese. Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1641,The Passions Icon, Nizhni-Novgorod, Katherine's seisures after marriage, icon transferred to Moscow 1641
Russia, Vladimir, 1641,The Passion Icon, Nizhni-Novgorod, Suzdal (Oka River Mouth, Klyazma River Mouth, Volga River 9), Katherine's seisures after marriage, prayed, vowed,, long time remembered v, go buy icon at N-N, healing, miracles, transferred to Moscow 1641; Nizhni-Novgorod (Volga River at Oka); Icon of the Mother of God œof the Passion, Commemorated on August 13; The Icon of the Mother of God Of the Passion icon received its name because on either side of the Mother of God are two angels with the implements of the Lord’s suffering: the Cross, the lance, and the sponge. was a certain pious woman, Katherine, who began to suffer seizures and madness after her marriage. She ran off into the forest and attempted suicide more than once. a moment of clarity she prayed to the Mother of God and vowed that if she were healed, she would enter a monastery. recovering her health, she only remembered her vow after a long time. Afraid and mentally afflicted, she took to her bed. Three times the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to her, commanding the sick woman to go to Nizhni-Novgorod and to buy Her icon from the iconographer Gregory. she had done this, Katherine received healing. From that time on, miracles have occurred from this icon. The Feast day of this icon is on August 13, commemorating its transfer from the village of Palitsa to Moscow in 1641. A church was built at the place where it was met at the Tver gates, and in 1654, the Strastna monastery was built. icon is also commemorated on April 30, and on the sixth Sunday after Pascha (the Sunday of the Blind Man) in memory of the miracles which occurred on this day. Other “Passion” icons of the Mother of God have been glorified in the Moscow church of the Conception of Saint Anna, and also in the village of Enkaeva in Tambov diocese.

Russia, Moscow, 1642, Yaroslav-Smolensk Icon, transfered from Radonezh by MOG for new MOG monastery
Russia, Rostov, 1642, Yaroslav-Smolensk Icon, transfered from Radonezh for new MOG monastery; October 12, 1642 while he was praying, he heard a voice from the Smolensk Hodegetria (Directress) icon saying, “Go, go to the limits of the city of Yaroslavl, to a newly-made monastery in My name.” Archimandrite Anthony sent this icon with the Venerable Gersaim to the indicated monastery, being built in the forest, not far from Yaroslavl. The wonderworking icon was set in the monastery church in the altar area. Yaroslav; Icon of the Mother of God of Yaroslav-Smolensk, Commemorated October 12 ; Yaroslav-Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God was the cell icon of the archimandrite of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Anthony. October 12, 1642 while he was praying, he heard a voice from the Smolensk Hodegetria (Directress) icon saying, “Go, go to the limits of the city of Yaroslavl, to a newly-made monastery in My name.” Archimandrite Anthony sent this icon with the Venerable Gersaim to the indicated monastery, being built in the forest, not far from Yaroslavl. The wonderworking icon was set in the monastery church in the altar area.

Russia, Moscow, 1643-1703, Metrophanes o Voronezh, 117 churches, 2 m, stricter rule, funded fleet, made Peter remove p statues
Mongol, Scythia, 1643-1703, Metrophanes of Voronezh, Scythia (Voronezh River Mouth, Don River 8), monastic in 1663 after wife died, archmandrite 1675, 1681 dioceses created and his Voronezh bishoprick & cathedral, 20 yrs bishop, 182-239 churches, 2 new monasteries, stricter rule old m, friend Tambov's Pitrim, funded fleet, refused go pagan statues court, Peter 1 removed them; Voronezh; First finding of the St Metrophanes (in schema Macarius) the Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on November 23; Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh, in the world Michael, was born November 8, 1623. the saint’s book of commemorations begins with persons of priestly rank, it is assumed that he was born into a priestly family. know from Saint Metrophanes’ will that he “was born of pious parents and was raised by them in the incorrupt piety of the Eastern Church, in the Orthodox Faith.” he was forty, the saint lived in the world. He was married, had a son John, and served as a parish priest. place of Father Michael’s pastoral activity was the village of Sidorovo, situated at the River Molokhta, a tributary of the Teza flowing to the Klyazma, not far from the city of Shui (now Vladimir district). his wife died, Father Michael received monastic tonsure with the name Metrophanes in the Zolotnikovskaya Dormition Monastery in 1663. the Synodikon of the monastery the entry for Saint Metrophanes begins with the words: “Origin of the black clergy Metrophanes of Sidorovo.” three years of monastic life the hieromonk Metrophanes was chosen igumen of the Saint Cosmas of Yakrom (February 18) monastery. guided the monastery for ten years, showing himself zealous as its head. By his efforts a church was built here in honor of the Icon of the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands (August 16). Joachim (1674-1690), learning about the deep piety of Saint Metrophanes, raised him in 1675 to the rank of archimandrite of the Makariev-Unzha monastery. the supervision of the saint, a stone church was built there in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, together with a trapeza and bell-tower. the Moscow Council of 1681-1682 among the number of measures taken for the struggle against the old ritualist schism, and with the goal of improving Christian enlightenment among the Orthodox populace, was resolved to increase the number of dioceses, and to open up new cathedrals at Voronezh, Tambov, Kholmogor and Great Ustiug. Metrophanes was summoned to the capital and on April 2, 1682 was consecrated Bishop of Voronezh by Patriarch Joachim and sixteen archpastors. beginning of Saint Metrophanes’ tenure as bishop coincided with a dispute over the imperial succession, and a Church schism. his arrival at Voronezh the saint first of all sent an encyclical to the pastors of his diocese, in which he urged his pastors to moral improvement. “Venerable priests of God Most High,” he wrote, “leaders of the flock of Christ! You ought to possess clear eyes of the mind, illumined by the light of reason, in order to lead others on the correct path. In the words of the Lord, you must be the light yourselves: ‘you are the light of the world’ (Mt. 5:14). When Christ the Savior entrusted His flock to the Apostle Peter, He said to him three times: ‘feed my sheep.’ This is because pastors care for their flock in three ways: by the words of teaching, by prayer and the power of the Holy Mysteries, and by their way of life. You must also act by all three methods: teach the people, set an example of a righteous life, and pray for them. Strengthen them by the Holy Mysteries; above all enlighten the unbelievers by holy Baptism, and try to lead sinners to repentance. Take care of the sick, so that they do not depart from this life without receiving Holy Communion and Holy Unction.” Metrophanes began his archpastoral activity with the building of a new cathedral church in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, replacing an old wooden temple. 1692 the cathedral with chapels in honor of Saint Michael and Saint Nicholas was consecrated. In the twenty years that Saint Metrophanes was bishop, the number of churches increased from 182 to 239, and two monasteries were founded: the Korotoyaksk Ascension and the Bitiugsk Trinity monasteries. And in the existing monasteries, he concerned himself with eradicating the unseemly behavior and disorder, emphasizing a strict life according to the monastic rule. first Bishop of Voronezh eagerly concerned himself with the needs of his flock. consoled both the poor and the wealthy, was a defender of widows and orphans, and an advocate of the wronged. home served as a hostel for strangers a hospice for the sick. saint prayed not only for the living, but also for dead Christians, and particularly soldiers fallen for the Fatherland, inscribing their names in the cathedral’s memorial list. Remembering them at Proskomedia [priest’s preparation of the gifts before Liturgy], Saint Metrophanes said: “If this is a righteous soul, then there is a greater portion of worthiness. If he is a sinner, however, then there is a connection with God’s mercy.” was a great friendship between Saint Metrophanes and Saint Pitirim, Bishop of Tambov (July 28). They not only kept up a correspondence, but also met for spiritual talks. founding of the Tregulyaev monastery of Saint John the Forerunner was connected with the friendship of the bishops. September 15, 1688 Saint Metrophanes visited Saint Pitirim. Three of them (the priest Basil was with them) took a stroll together to the Tambov archpastor’s place of solitary prayer, and there they chose the place for the future monastery. Metrophanes, an intensely patriotic man, by his own moral authority, kind-heartedness and prayers, contributed to the reforms of Peter I, the necessity and purpose of which he well understood. the building of a fleet at Voronezh for a campaign against Azov, Saint Metrophanes urged the nation to fully support Peter I. This was particularly important, since many regarded the construction of a fleet as useless. saint did not limit himself only to advice to the Tsar, but rendered also material support to the state treasury, which needed money for the construction of the fleet, and he provided all the means, aware that they would go for the benefit of the nation. saint’s patriotic feelings were combined in his soul with unflinching faith and strict Orthodox conviction, on account of which he did not fear incurring the Tsar’s wrath. The saint refused to go to court to see Peter I, since there were statues of pagan gods there, although disgrace threatened the saint for disobeying the imperial will, he remained uncompromising. Peter gave orders to remove the statues and from that time was filled with greater respect for the bishop. Metrophanes died in 1703 in extreme old age, taking the schema with the name Macarius before his death. funeral took place on December 4, conducted according to the saint’s monastic, not priestly rank. became the established practice for the burial of a bishop. Peter I himself carried the coffin from the cathedral to the tomb. Taking leave, he said: “I no longer have a holy Elder such as he. Memory eternal to him.” of the remarkable memorials of the life and activity of Saint Metrophanes is his Spiritual Testament. it he says: “By divine destiny I have arrived at old age and now I have exhausted my natural strength. Therefore I declare this my final writing ... When my sinful soul is released from its union with the flesh, I entrust it to God Who created it, that it might find favor as the work of His hands. My sinful bones I grant to the mother of all (the earth), in expectation of the resurrection of the dead.” Further on, addressing pastors and the flocks, the saint says: “The simple sinner gives answer to God for his soul alone, but priests can come to torment for many, in neglecting the sheep, from which they gather milk and wool... For everyone the rule of wise men is: do work, preserve a balance, and you will be rich. Drink temperately, eat little, and you will be healthy. Do good, shun evil, and you will be saved.” commemoration of Saint Metrophanes was established in 1832. On August 7, we celebrate the translation of his holy relics.

Russia, Moscow, 1644-1800, Dalmatia Icon, named after fr Dalmatos, Theotokos helped him , icon survives several fires
Croatia, 1644-1800, Dalmatia Icon, Dalmatia, Croatia (Stridon), named after fr Dalmatos, not Dalmatia, Croatia, he went to Nevyan Monastery in Tobolsk, rejected being Igumen, then to Perm, Tyumen Tatar Ilegei's land, I went to expel, Theotokos protected D, she appeared to I, ordered him to give land for the monastery, Kalmyks burn m, only D survives w icon, D begins to rebuild, people come, 1651 burned again by Siberian muslim Devlet-Girei, icon unscathed, scorched spot for muslim's hand, 1702 icon restored, monastery restored by D's son, 1800 icon adorned, 1852 another fire, icon unscathed ; Dalmatia; Icon of the Mother of God of Dalmatia, Commemorated on February 15 ; Perm Gubernia, Shadrinsk county, on the banks of the Iseti River, is the Dalmatian Monastery of the Dormition. the cathedral church of this monastery is a wonderworking Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which belonged to Father Dalmatios, the founder of this monastery. the first half of the XVII century, a certain resident of Tobolsk, a nobleman by the name of Demetrios Mokrinsky, left his wife and children, and went to the Nevyan Monastery (Tobolsk Diocese), where he was tonsured with the name Dalmatios, in honor of the fourth century ascetic Saint Dalmatios of Constantinople (August 3). Father Dalmatios was known for his exalted life of asceticism and virtue, the brethren of the Nev'yan Monastery wanted to choose him as their Igoumen, but out of humility, the Elder would not accept such an august position with all its responsibilities. He left the monastery, taking with him an Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God. 1644 he arrived in Perm Gubernia, where he settled in a cave on land owned by the Tyumen Tatar Ilegei. When Iligei discovered that a monk had settled on his property, and even intended to establish a monastery there, he was indignant. Gathering his relatives, he went with the intention of expelling Dalmatios. Iligei spent the night near the cave, beyond the River Iseti, waiting for dawn to make an unexpected attack on the recluse. Dalmatios seemed to be in imminent danger of death, if he tried to resist or defend himself. He could not expect help from anyone anywhere, nor could he flee, since he did not know that an enemy lurked beyond the river in the darkness of night, ready to spill his blood at any moment. The monk did not require any human protection, however, for his protector was the Queen of Heaven. Iligei was asleep, the Mother of God appeared to him in a dream, wearing a crown and dressed in a crimson robe, holding a flaming sword in her hands. The Most Holy Theotokos strictly forbade him to harm Father Dalmatios, and ordered Iligei to give the monk some land for a monastery. Awakened by this terrible vision, the Tatar went to Father Dalmatios, accompanied by all his companions, and gave him a piece of land on which to build a monastery. Queen of Heaven's wondrous protection of Dalmatios occurred in 1646. In that same year, the Dalmatian Monastery was founded. the end of 1646, the newly-established monastery was attacked by the Kalmyks. They set fire to the monastery's buildings; some of the monks who fled were killed, and some were taken captive. this time, only Dalmatios, the founder of the monastery, escaped death, saved by the wonderworking Icon. This was the same Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God which he brought with him from the Nevyan Monastery. the Kalmyks went away, Elder Dalmatios returned to the same site and began working alone to rebuild the monastery. A few years later, because of his diligence, a wooden church was already standing on the site of the ruined monastery, and nearby there were also cells for monks. Pilgrims began to visit and made donations for the adornment of the monastery and the temple. From that time, word of the monastery quickly spread all over, not only in the places close by, but also in very remote places. 1651, less than twenty years after the founding of the Dalmatian Monastery, it was attacked again. This time it was attacked by the Siberian Prince Devlet-Girei. He ransacked and burned the monastery. The Icon of the Mother of God, however, remained unscathed, although the church completely burned down. In just one place, on the back of the board, there was a scorched spot where a certain Muslim had put his hand. 1702, the icon was restored by the Tobolsk iconographer Ivan Nikitin. monastery was restored by Archimandrite Isaac, the son of Father Dalmatios. He built a stone church in 1707, and in it he placed the wonderworking Icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God. the reign of Empress Catherine II, the monastery withstood a three-day siege by the troops of Emelian I. Pugachev, while the monks prayed before the Dalmatian Icon. 1800 the Icon was adorned with a gilded riza with silver crowns and precious gems, by order of Igoumen Gideon. In 1864 Archimandrite Methodios ordered a new silver and gilded riza from Moscow, decorated with precious stones. The Icon was in a special kiot, decorated with carvings, and was covered with a colorful silk curtain, which could be opened when necessary. April 19, 1852, many of the Monastery buildings, including the upper church, were destroyed by fire. again, the Dalmatian Icon remained damaged. year on February 15th, and again on August 15th, the Monastery's Altar Feast, great crowds would travel to the Dalmatian Monastery in order to venerate the wonderworking Icon. The sick receive healing, according to their faith, from this wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God. This custom continued until 1917. the early 1920s, after the monastery was abolished, the monks went to other monasteries, taking the Dalmatian Icon with them. At present, there is no information about the location of the Icon. who experience physical or spiritual suffering pray before the Dalmatian Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos for deliverance.

Russia, Moscow, 1645-1676, Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar of All R, Expansion, Western Ideas
Moscow, 1645-1676, Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar of All Russia ; Mikhailovich (Russian: , IPA: ; 29 March [O.S. 19 March] 1629 -“ 8 February [O.S. 29 January] 1676) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676.[2] His reign saw wars with Poland and Sweden, schism in the Russian Orthodox Church, and the major Cossack revolt of Stenka Razin.[2] Nevertheless, at the time of his death Russia spanned almost 2,000,000,000 acres (8,100,000 km2). Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Athanasius the Abbot of Brest-Litovsk, Commemorated on July 20 ; Repose of the Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on July 22 ; Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks, Commemorated on July 23; Icon of the Mother of God of Kostroma, Commemorated July 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Seven Lakes, Commemorated on July 28; Child Schemamonk Bogolep, Commemorated on July 29; St Philip of Sukhona, Commemorated on August 17; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated August 28 ; St Gabriel I the Patriarch, Commemorated on August 30; Uncovering of the relics of St Daniel the Prince of Moscow, Commemorated on August 30; Martyr Athanasius the Abbot of Brest, Commemorated on September 5; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on September 6; Martyr Macarius the Archimandrite of Kanev and Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on September 7 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Glinsk, Commemorated on September 8; Icon of the Mother of God of Isaakov, Commemorated September 8 ; Terebovlya Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, Commemorated on October 1; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God of the Seven Lakes, Commemorated on October 13; Translation of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to Moscow, Commemorated on October 13; Translation of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi the Wonderworker of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 23; St Demetrius of Basarabov, Commemorated on October 27; Ozerianka Icon of God of Shuiu-Smolensk, Commemorated on November 2; Venerable Nilus the Myrrhgusher of Mt Athos, Commemorated on November 12 ; St Metrophanes (in schema Macarius) the Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on November 23; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated on December 14 ; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated on January 13; Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 16; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Opening of the Relics of the Venerable Sava of Storozhev, or Zvenigorod, Commemorated on January 19; Translation of the relics of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 23 ; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5; Icon of the Mother of God "œThe Word was made Flesh"Â; Commemorated on March 9; Righteous Basil of Mangazea in Siberia, Commemorated on March 23; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; Appearance of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on March 31; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God Weeping "œIlyin Chernigov"Â, Commemorated on April 16; Icon of the Mother of God "œof the Passion"Â, Commemorated on April 30; ; Icon of the Mother of God "œStaro Rus"Â Old Russian, Commemorated on May 4; St Joseph the Metropolitan of Astrakhan, Commemorated on May 11; Translation of the relics of the Venerable Nilus of Stolbensk, Commemorated on May 27 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on June 2; St (John) Tornike of Mt Athos, Commemorated on June 12; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1647, Myrrh-Bearing Icon, of T, found lying on ground, then in tree, miracles, M-B monastery
Russia, Kostroma, 1647, Myrrh-Bearing Icon, of Tsarevokokshaisk, Kostroma, Vologda (Malaya Kokshaga River 1, near Kazan), lying on ground, became invisible, unseen force holding it in tree, miracles, carried to T, then Moscow, then back, Myrrh-Bearing monastery, MOG depicted w Myrrh-Bearing Women; Tsarevokokshaisk ; œMyrrh-Bearing Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 1; “Myrrh-Bearing” Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarevokokshaisk (in the province of Kazan) appeared to the peasant Andrew Ivanov on May 1, 1647 near Bolshaya Kuznetsa, fifteen versts from the city of Tsarevokokshaisk in the Kazan region. Working in the field, Andrew noticed an icon lying on the ground and wanted to pick it up, but the icon became invisible. The astonished peasant, looking around, noticed the icon in a tree, supported by an unseen force. He prayed and took the icon home, where it was glorified by miracles. thronged to the icon from all the surrounding villages. They carried the image to the city of Tsarevokokshaisk, and later to Moscow, and after a while, they returned home with it. A monastery was built at the place of its appearance. It is called “Myrrh-Bearing” because the Mother of God is depicted with the Myrrh-Bearing Women.

Russia, Moscow, 1648, Glinsk Family Icon of Glinsk wilderness of the Kursk region, monastery established 1648
Russia, Kiev, 1648, Glinsk Family Icon of Glinsk wilderness of the Kursk region, monastery established 1648; Glinsk wilderness of the Kursk region Icon of the Mother of God of Glinsk, Commemorated on September 8 ; Glinsk Icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in the seventeenth century in the Glinsk wilderness of the Kursk region. monastery was established in 1648 and received its name from the noble Glinsky family.

Russia, Moscow, 1648-1673, Andrew of Totma, Vologda, the Fool-For-Christ, right after St Maximus
Vologda, 1648-1673, Andrew of Totma the Fool-For-Christ of Totma was a seventeenth century Russian Orthodox Church religious figure. was born in countryside nearby Totma the town and named after Saint Andrew Stratelates. According to the Gospel he left his parents and went to desert places. When he came back his parents was dead. Then he left the Ust-Tolshma and went to the Monastery of Galic. After time in the Monastery of Galic he became a yurodivy and moved to Totma. He was known for prayer and begging his bread. His feast day is celebrated on 10 October.[1] Totma (Sukhona River 5); Blessed Andrew of Totma the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on October 10 ; Andrew of Totma, the Fool-for-Christ was born in the year 1638 in the village of Ust-Totma and chose to leave the world while still a child. the blessing of Stephen, igumen of the Resurrection monastery in Galich, Andrew took upon himself the arduous calling of fool-for-Christ. He lived at the church of the Resurrection of Christ in the city of Totma on the banks of the River Sukhona. barefoot in both winter and summer, Andrew wore tattered clothing, and ate only bread and water, and that in such a small quantity that it just barely kept him from starving. He prayed both day and night, and if anyone gave him anything, he would give it away to the poor. his efforts and toil the Blessed Andrew acquired the gift of wonderworking. winter a blind man by the name of Azhibokai came to the blessed fool, asking for healing while offering him a large sum of money. But the fool fled away. Azhibokai then washed his eyes with snow from where the saint had stood. In doing so, he was able to see. time of his own death was revealed to the Blessed Andrew. He made his confession, received the Holy Mysteries and peacefully fell asleep in the Lord in 1673. his grave was built the bell-tower church of the holy Martyr Andrew Stratelates (August 19), whose name he bore. Many miracles were witnessed at the grave of the Blessed Andrew. Blessed Maximus the Fool-for-Christ of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated January 16 ; Maximus, Priest of Totma, was for a certain time, a priest in the city of Totma in the Vologda diocese. forty years he undertook the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ, constantly in fasting and in prayer. Maximus died in great old age on January 16, 1650 and was buried at the Resurrection church in which he served. The local veneration of the saint began in 1715, because of the numerous miracles occurring at his grave.

Russia, Moscow, 1649, Finding Anna'a Incorrupt Relics, Kashin, healing miracles, Old Believers hand position
Russia, Pereyaslavl, , Finding Anna'a Relics, Kashin, Pereyaslavl (Kashinka River Mouth, Volga River 6), tomb opened 1649, incorrupt relics discovered, healing miracles then, relics examined, 1650 church council sainthood, transfer to stone cathedral, 1677 veneration discontinuation proposed, Old Believers Cross Sign Hand position, but veneration miracles continued, relics moved several times, 1909 veneration restored, 1993 relics returned Kashin Cathedral; Kashin; The Finding of the honored relics of the Venerable right-believing Great Princess and Nun Anna of Kashin, Wonderworker, Commemorated on July 21; Holy right-believing Princess Anna of Kashin (Euphrosynē in monasticism) reposed on October 2, 1368. July 21, 1649, Archbishop Jonah of Kazan and some of the local clergy opened Saint Anna's tomb, and noticed that her relics were incorrupt. miracles of healing occurred at that time. clergy and citizens of Kashin petitioned Tsar Alexei (reigned 1645-1676) to order an examination of Princess Anna's relics. 1650, a Council of the Russian Church met and decided to number Princess Anna among the Saints, ordering a Church Service to be composed for her, and that she be venerated throughout Russia. solemn transfer of her relics from the wooden Dormition Cathedral to the stone Resurrection Cathedral took place on June 12, 1650. 1677 Patriarch Joachim proposed to the Moscow Council that Saint Anna's veneration throughout Russia should be discontinued because of the Old Believer Schism, which made use of her name for its own purposes. she was buried, her hand was positioned to make the Sign of the Cross with two fingers, rather than three. Therefore, only her local veneration was permitted. the memory of Saint Anna, whom God had glorified, could not be erased by a decree. People continued to love and venerate her, and many miracles took place at her tomb. the Church-wide veneration of Saint Anna was restored on June 12, 1909. the Soviet period, however, the relics of Saint Anna were taken from the Cathedral and moved several times. on June 25, 1993, her relics were returned to Kashin's Resurrection Cathedral.

Russia, Moscow, 1649, Finding Incorrupt Relics oCyril of New Lake, Tutor Morozov Story
Russia, Pskov, 1649, Finding Relics oCyril of New Lake, Pskov, Novorzhev, incorrupt r, 1648 popular rebellion against Moscow, Boris Morozov, the royal tutor, kinsman, hides in White Lake Monastery, Moved by Cyril New Lake, to his grave, praying wTears, I wll build stone church here, returned White Lake M, then restored as tutor, 1649 built tStoneChurch, found intact coffin wDigging foundation at roots oTree, did not move or open, told Met, Patriarch&B, BtoldTsar+life miracles Cyril New Lake, Pat&Tsar ordered inspetion celebration, incorrupt r &healings Nov7 1649; Novorzhev, Pskov; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Cyril the Abbot of Novoezersk, Vologda, Commemorated on November 7; Cyril the wonderworker of New Lake reposed on February 4, 1532. May 1648, during the reign of Alexei Mihailovich, a popular rebellion against Moscow broke out among some of those who were members of the Tsar's retinue. Trahanitov, the head of the artillery, the Deacon Eleazar, and many others were killed and robbed. rebellious crowd proceeded to the Beautiful Porch and demanded the extradition of the boyar Boris Morozov, the royal tutor and kinsman. had already broken into his house and looted the property. boyar, with some difficulty, managed to hide from the hands of the angry mob, soon he took refuge in the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. Igoumen Amphilokhios and the brethren learned he would be staying with them, he sent the monk Jonah to him with the icon and the Life of Saint Cyril. boyar graciously accepted the icon and was moved by the Saint's Life. that, his soul was filled with joy and delight, then his tormenting fears and grief returned, and he wanted to venerate Saint Cyril's grave. having a Moleben served at the grave and praying to the Saint with tears, the boyar said to the Igoumen and the brotherhood: Fathers, pray to God and His Most Pure Mother, and the venerable wonderworker Cyril for me. If God is merciful to me, by the prayers of Saint Cyril, if I return to the royal city, and the great sovereign and his royal council take pity on me and restore me to my former rank, then I will build a stone church here in honor of the glorious Resurrection of Christ and in honor of Saint Cyril." delighted Igoumen and the brotherhood responded with their fervent good wishes. distributing alms, the boyar returned to the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. a short time, after the excitement in Moscow subsided, the boyar was summoned by the Tsar and restored to his former position. following year, in 1649, Morozov began to fulfill his promise. September 4, at his orders, the Archimandrite Athanasios of the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and the Elder Sabbatius Yushkov were at the foundation of the stone temple. their presence they began to dig ditches, and when they came to the place where Saint Cyril's tomb was, a completely intact coffin was found among the roots of a tree. a patriarchal decree and the blessing of the Metropolitan and the Archimandrite, Elder Sabbatius did not dare to take the coffin from the earth in order to open and to examine It. coffin was placed on some boards, and the discovery was reported to Metropolitan Barlaam of Rostov, Patriarch Joseph, and the boyar Morozov. after receiving the news, told the Tsar all this and informed him about the Life and miracles of the venerable Cyril. October, the Patriarch, at the Tsar's suggestion, sent Archbishop Marcellus of Vologda with a Gramota instructing him to go to New Lake and examine the relics of the Saint, and move the relics to a temporary room, arrange a celebration, and report everything to the Tsar and Patriarch. Marcellus arrived at New Lake Monastery with Archimandrite Athanasios of Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery from the same monastery, the cellarer Sabbatius with the Elders of the cathedral. November 7, Igoumen Amphilokhios ordered them to remove the coffin from the earth, and then open it in order to inspect the Saint's relics and clothing. the hierarch completed his inspection he placed the relics in a new coffin and moved it into the wooden church of the Resurrection of Christ. the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos Vespers was served at the cathedral in the evening. In the morning, before the Liturgy, a Moleben to the All-Merciful Savior, the Theotokos, and All Saints was served, with the blessing of water. Many sick persons were healed at the celebration. People took pieces of wood from the old coffin and brought them home because they had faith in their healing power. Cyrill is commemorated on November 7 (the discovery of his relics), on January 23 (Synaxis of All Saints of Kostroma), and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of All Saints of Novgorod). Cyril of New Lake; Cyril the wonderworker of New Lake reposed on February 4, 1532. May 1448, during the reign of Alexei Mihailovich, a popular rebellion against Moscow broke out among some of those who were members of the Tsar's retinue. Peter Trahanitov, the head of the artillery, the Deacon Eleazar, and many others were killed and robbed. The rebellious crowd proceeded to the Beautiful Porch and demanded the extradition of the boyar Boris Morozov, the royal tutor and kinsman. had already broken into his house and looted the property. The boyar, with some difficulty, managed to hide from the hands of the angry mob, and soon he took refuge in the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. Igoumen Amphilokhios and the brethren learned he would be staying with them, he sent the monk Jonah to him with the icon and the Life of Saint Cyril. The boyar graciously accepted the icon and was moved by the Saint's Life. After that, his soul was filled with joy and delight, but then his tormenting fears and grief returned, and he wanted to venerate Saint Cyril's grave. having a Moleben served at the grave and praying to the Saint with tears, the boyar said to the Igoumen and the brotherhood: "Holy Fathers, pray to God and His Most Pure Mother, and the venerable wonderworker Cyril for me. If God is merciful to me, by the prayers of Saint Cyril, and if I return to the royal city, and the great sovereign and his royal council take pity on me and restore me to my former rank, then I will build a stone church here in honor of the glorious Resurrection of Christ and in honor of Saint Cyril." delighted Igoumen and the brotherhood responded with their fervent good wishes. After distributing alms, the boyar returned to the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery. a short time, after the excitement in Moscow subsided, the boyar was summoned by the Tsar and restored to his former position. The following year, in 1649, Morozov began to fulfill his promise. September 4, at his orders, the Archimandrite Athanasios of the Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and the Elder Sabbatius Yushkov were at the foundation of the stone temple. In their presence they began to dig ditches, and when they came to the place where Saint Cyril's tomb was, a completely intact coffin was found among the roots of a tree. a patriarchal decree and the blessing of the Metropolitan and the Archimandrite, Elder Sabbatius did not dare to take the coffin from the earth in order to open and to examine It. coffin was placed on some boards, and the discovery was reported to Metropolitan Barlaam of Rostov, Patriarch Joseph, and the boyar Morozov. after receiving the news, told the Tsar all this and informed him about the Life and miracles of the venerable Cyril. October, the Patriarch, at the Tsar's suggestion, sent Archbishop Marcellus of Vologda with a Gramota instructing him to go to New Lake and examine the relics of the Saint, and move the relics to a temporary room, arrange a celebration, and report everything to the Tsar and Patriarch. Marcellus arrived at New Lake Monastery with Archimandrite Athanasios of Saint Cyril of White Lake Monastery and, from the same monastery, the cellarer Sabbatius with the Elders of the cathedral. On November 7, Igoumen Amphilokhios ordered them to remove the coffin from the earth, and then open it in order to inspect the Saint's relics and clothing. After the hierarch completed his inspection he placed the relics in a new coffin and moved it into the wooden church of the Resurrection of Christ. the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos Vespers was served at the cathedral in the evening. In the morning, before the Liturgy, a Moleben to the All-Merciful Savior, the Theotokos, and All Saints was served, with the blessing of water. Many sick persons were healed at the celebration. People took pieces of wood from the old coffin and brought them home because they had faith in their healing power. Cyrill is commemorated on November 7 (the discovery of his relics), on January 23 (Synaxis of All Saints of Kostroma), and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of All Saints of Novgorod). Cyril of White Lake; of Beloozero (Cyril of Beloezero, 1337 – 1427) was a monk and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church who lived in the 15th century. Saint Cyril was a disciple of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. In 1397, he founded the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in Northern Russia, in the present-day Vologda Oblast. was born as Kosma in Moscow in 1337. His origin is not entirely clear, but he was in any case close to the boyar family of Velyaminov. Cyril's parents died when he was a child. Around 1380 he became a monk in the Simonov Monastery and took the name of Cyril (Kirill).[1] In the monastery, he got in contact with Sergius of Radonezh. In 1387, the archimandrite of the Simonov Monastery, Feodor, was appointed a bishop of Rostov, and Cyril became his successor. However, he soon realized that the position of archimadrite required too much involvement in public affairs, and first resigned, then moved to a neighboring monastery as an ordinary monk, and then decided to move to a deserted place where he could pray in peace. Together with St. Therapont, previously the monk of the same monastery, Cyril left for Lake Beloye. On arrival, following the advice of Sergius of Radonezh, he first dug a cave, and then built a wooden Assumption chapel and a loghouse for other monks. Therapont, who found the restriction imposed by Cyril too strict, left within a year and founded nearby the Ferapontov Monastery. In what became Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Cyril established a very strict order.[1] monastery grew and later became the largest monastery of Northern Russia. Cyril, as the first hegumen, arranged purchases of large areas of land by the monastery.[1] of White Lake died in the monastery in 1427, at the age of ninety. present there are several churches in Russia bearing the name of Cyril. day is marked by Russian Orthodox Church on June 9.[2][3]

Russia, Moscow, 1650, All Rus Pestilance, 48k d in Kazan, stopped by Mother of God
Russia, Moscow, 1650, All Rus Pestilance, 48k d in Kazan, stopped by Mother of God; The Seven Lakes Hermitage of the Mother of God, 420099 Republic of Tatarstan; Seven Lakes Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on July 28; Seven Lakes (Sedmiezernaya) Icon of the Mother of God was glorified by great miracles in the seventeenth century in the area around the city of Kazan. This holy icon was in the Seven Lakes hermitage near the city of Kazan. Originally, seven small lakes surrounded the monastery, but these later merged into one large body of water. wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was brought from Great Ustiug near Kazan on October 13, 1615 by the monk Euthymius, founder of the Seven Lakes monastery. He placed this icon in the temple of the newly established monastery. the middle of the seventeenth century, a deadly plague raged throughout all Russia, and reached Kazan. There 48,000 men died within a short time, almost all the inhabitants of the city. certain pious monk had a vision in a dream: a radiant man apeared to him and commanded that the inhabitants of the city should establish a seven-day fast and go out to meet the icon of the Mother of God which was coming to them from the Seven Lakes hermitage for their deliverance. monk told the authorities about the vision. The Seven Lakes Icon was brought through the city gates in procession. After circling the entire stone city, it was placed in the church of the Annunciation. After an All Night Vigil and Liturgy the next morning, the icon was carried to visit homes in the wooden city. After seven days of prayer and processions, the deadly pestilence began to abate. the monks asked to have their icon returned, it was decided to celebrate an All Night Vigil, then to carry the icon in procession back to the hermitage. A heavy snow storm came up, however, which prevented them from leaving the church. This was repeated three times, so it was decided to let the holy icon remain in Kazan for a time. It was returned to the Seven Lakes monastery in 1655. ’s Feast commemorates a second deliverance of Kazan from pestilence in 1771. Orthodox inhabitants of Kazan and the surrounding area deeply revere this holy icon, and receive healing from sickness and help in misfortune from the Mother of God. Seven Lakes Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on October 13 and June 26.

Russia, Moscow, 1650-1696, Repose oTheodosius, Chernigov Archbishop, reunited Kiev tOrthodoxy aJesuit Dominican Uniate assaults
Russia, Kiev, 1650-1696, Repose oTheodosius oChernigov, Ukraine (Desna River 5), Archbishop, noble descent, father a priest, childhood piety, Kiev's Brotherhood School, it flourishing end of 1640's, Rectors Archmandrite Innocent&Chernigov Archbishop Lazar, instructors Epiphanius, Arsenius, Bishop Theodosius oBelarus, Igumen Theodosius, and Meletius Dzik, These the enlightened men oThose days, famous comrads future pastors, the Brotherhood school was chief center against Catholic Jesuits assaults, his spiritual maturity grew near Kiev Caves, imitating their holy life, free time in prayer, meditating God, reading Scripture, lifelong generous to K Brotherhood m, first a monk at Kiev Caves m, archdeacon Kiev's Holy Wisdom cathedral, steward oEpiscopal household, t Krupitsky m near Baturino, Chernigov, famed strict monk life, ordained priest there, short time 1662 igumen Korsun m, 1664 igumen ancient Kiev-Vydubitsky m, from Polish Uniate hands, complete ruin, quickly restored with Vydubitsky Mikhallovsk m, particularly concerned Church Service order, formed excellent choir that taught Moscow Kievan Chant in 1685, strict ascetic, concerned spiritual growth of his monks, for bretheren solitude, formed skete on Mikhailovschina Island near his Vydubitsky m, headed by Hiermonk Job, a most zealous monk, difficult days, accused of treason by Methodius of Mstislav&Orshansk, Sept 20 1668 he explained the matter, Nov 17 the lie was exposed, he and other igumens vindicated, Archbishop Law befriended him because high spiritual qualities, sheep in Christ's flock teaching by humility, Kiev's locum tenens Met in 1689 from Chernigov, appointed Theodosius his vicar in Kiev, active role many church events as locum tenens, 1685 decisive vote for Gideon's Met oKiev election, sent to Moscow with Igumen Jerome wNews of Gideon's election, Both received wHonor, because this resulted in reuniting Kiev See with Russian Orthodox Church, 1688 archmandrite Eletsy m in Chernigov, Jesuits&Dominicans had been expelled, and in great disorder, ordered spare no effort, in 2-3yrs revenues properties increased, Dormition Church repaired, Elets Icon enshrinned there, he assisted with Kiev's response, a concillar reply to Moscow Patriarch Joachim about questions of Council of Florence, like judgement on the question of the transformation of the Holy Gifts, When Patriarch unsatisfied with answers, he sent Baturino Igumen Demetrius to Lazar early 1689, L sent him to clear up the matter, Lazar wanted Theodosius consecrated bishop because he wanted him to suceed himself, 1692 elected archbishop oChrenigov, he maintained and founded monasteries, a skete near Liubech, special enthusiasm of monks in Chernigov, clergy education, brought in learned monks from Kiev, other confessions turned tHim for advice, Sensed death, appointed Briansk Svensk admin John Archmandrite Elets m. Died 1696; Chernigov; Repose of Saint Theodosius of Chernigov Commemorated on February 5; Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov, born in the seventeenth century at the beginning of the decade of the thirties in Podolsk governance. was descended from a noble family, the Polonitsky-Uglitskys. parents were the priest Nikḗtas and Maria. The saint was taught Christian piety in his parents’ home, and this piety remained with him throughout his life. childhood he was distinguished by a fervent love for God and zeal for the Church. innate abilities of the youth came to light in the Kiev Brotherhood school at Kiev’s Theophany monastery. school was flourishing at the end of the 1640s, its rectors were Archimandrite Innocent (Gizel), and Igumen Lazar (Baranovich), who later became Archbishop of Chernigov. its instructors were: Hieromonk Epiphanius (Slavinetsky), Hieromonk Arsenius (Satanovsky), Bishop Theodosius (Baevsky) of Belorus, Igumen Theodosius (Saphonovich) and Meletius Dzik. were the enlightened men of those days. comrades of Saint Theodosius at the school would become future outstanding pastors: Simeon Polotsky, Joannicius Golyatovsky, Anthony Radivillovsky, Barlaam Yasninsky. Kiev Brotherhood Theophany school was the chief center in the struggle of Orthodoxy against the assaults of Catholic clergy, particularly the Jesuits. Theodosius grew to spiritual maturity near the relics of Saints Anthony and Theodosius and other God-pleasers of the Kiev Caves, he tried to imitate their holy life as much as he could. He devoted all his free time to prayer, meditation on God, and the reading of Holy Scripture. might be surmised that the saint did not finish the full course of studies, since the school ceased its activity for several years following the devastation of Podolia by the Poles. his life the saint had a deep regard for the Kiev Brotherhood monastery where he was educated. the Synodikon of the Kiev-Vydubitsk monastery is the following comment about Saint Theodosius: “He was a man of fine intellect, and generous to the Kiev Brotherhood monastery.” receiving his education, the future hierarch received monastic tonsure at the Kiev Caves Lavra with the name Theodosius, in honor of Saint Theodosius of the Caves (May 3). Dionysius (Balaban) of Kiev made him archdeacon of Kiev’s cathedral of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) , and then appointed him steward of the episcopal household. he left Kiev and went to the distant Krupitsky monastery near Baturino (in the Chernigov diocese), which was famed for its strict monastic life. he was ordained to the holy priesthood, but remained there only a short time. 1662, Saint Theodosius was appointed Igumen of the Korsun monastery in Kiev diocese, in the year 1664 he was made head of the ancient Kiev-Vydubitsky monastery. monastery had fallen into the hands of the Uniates and Poles at the beginning of the seventeenth century and was in complete ruin. to the energy and initiative of Saint Theodosius, the Vydubitsky Mikhailovsk monastery was quickly restored. was particularly concerned with the order of church services. formed an excellent choir, which was famed not only in Little Russia, but also in Moscow. Theodosius sent his singers to Moscow in 1685 to instruct their choirs in Kievan chant. a strict ascetic himself, Saint Theodosius was concerned with the spiritual growth of his monks. founded a small skete on the island of Mikhailovschina, not far from the monastery, for brethren wishing to live in solitude. appointed the hieromonk Job (Opalinsky), one of the most zealous monks of his monastery, to organize and administer the skete. Theodosius had to live through some quite difficult days, enduring many sorrows. and other Igumens were accused by Bishop Methodius of Mstislav and Orshansk of betraying Russia in a supposed correspondence with the enemies of Russia. September 20, 1668 Saint Theodosius explained the matter. November 17, 1668 the lie was exposed, and Saint Theodosius together with the other Igumens were vindicated. Lazar (Baranovich) esteemed the high spiritual qualities of Saint Theodosius and befriended him. called him “a sheep of the flock of Christ, teaching by humility,” and he prophetically expressed the wish that the name of Saint Theodosius might be inscribed in Heaven. Archbishop Lazar became locum tenens of Kiev’s Metropolitan See in 1689, he appointed Saint Theodosius as his vicar in Kiev, while he remained at Chernigov. his capacity as vicar of the locum tenens of the Kiev Metropolitan See, Saint Theodosius had an active role in many churchly events. 1685 he participated with the right of a decisive vote in the election of Bishop Gideon (Chetverinsky) as Metropolitan of Kiev, and he was sent to Moscow with news of this event with Igumen Jerome (Dubin) of Pereyaslavl . In Moscow, both representatives were received with honor and esteem. the result of this delegation was the reuniting of the Kiev Metropolitan See with the Russian Orthodox Church. 1688 Saint Theodosius was appointed archimandrite of Chernigov’s Eletsy monastery, replacing the deceased Archimandrite Joannicius (Golyatovsky). appointing Saint Theodosius, Archbishop Lazar told him to spare no effort in placing the Eletsy monastery in good order. monastery had not yet been set aright after the expulsion of the Jesuits and Dominicans, and it was in great disorder. the efforts of Saint Theodosius, in his two or three years as igumen, the monastery’s revenues and properties increased, the church of the Dormition was repaired, and the Elets Icon (February 5) was enshrined there. his new position, the saint also assisted Archbishop Lazar in many important matters. participated in drafting a conciliar reply to Patriarch Joachim of Moscow in response to his questions about the attitude of the Kiev Metropolitan See to the Council of Florence, and its judgment on the question of the transformation of the Holy Gifts as accepted by this Florentine Council. the Patriarch proved to be unsatisfied by these answers, the Baturino Igumen Saint Demetrius (the future Metropolitan of Rostov) was sent to him at the beginning of 1689. Theodosius journeyed with him as the representative of Archbishop Lazar. He was entrusted with the delivery of a letter to the Patriarch, and to clear up the misunderstandings. of his poor health, Archbishop Lazar wished to see Saint Theodosius consecrated to the episcopate, seeing in the saint a worthy successor to himself. September 11, 1692 the election of Saint Theodosius as Archbishop of Chernigov was confirmed, and he was consecrated in the Dormition cathdral of the Moscow Kremlin two days later. information regarding Saint Theodosius’s administration of the Chernigov diocese has been preserved. saint worked incessantly to raise the level of true Christian piety in his flock. also focused on maintaining old monasteries, and founding new communities. the very beginning of his episcopate, the the Pecheniksk women’s monastery was established with his blessing, and he himself consecrated the monastery church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. 1694, a skete was founded near Liubech. same year, at the Domnitsky men’s monastery, the saint consecrated a temple in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the summer of 1695, he consecrated a majestic temple in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the summit of Boldino Hill, near the ancient monastery of Saint Elias. Saint Theodosius there was a special enthusiasm for and strengthening of monasticism in the Chernigov diocese. saint also devoted much attention to the clergy, and he tried to choose worthy candidates for the priesthood. He also encouraged the pastoral education of the Chernigov clergy. He invited learned monks from Kiev, among whom was Saint John (Maximovitch), the future Metropolitan of Tobolsk (June 10), and also a helper and successor of Saint Theodosius in organizing the Chernigov clergy school. uprightness in regard to clergy and flock, deep compassion, concern and Christian love of peace were distinguishing features in the activity of Saint Theodosius. only did the Orthodox turn to him for help and advice, but even persons of other confessions. Theodosius did not remain with his Chernigov flock very long. the approach of death, he summoned the administrator of the Briansk Svensk monastery, Saint John (Maximovitch), and appointed him Archimandrite of the Chernigov Elets monastery. Theodosius died on February 5, 1696, was buried in Chernigov’s Saints Boris and Gleb cathedral church, in a special crypt near the right cleros. successor Saint John (Maximovitch), who was healed of a grievous illness by Saint Theodosius, later placed a stone plaque over his grave with a poetic inscription in gratitude for the saint’s help. The special grace which Saint Theodosius attained is shown by his ascetic life and his assistance to all who turn to him in prayer. glorification of Saint Theodosius occurred on September 9, 1896.

Russia, Moscow, 1651-1707, Hilarion, Met Suzdal, tears b MOG Icon grace over passions, robbers, church construction, give tPoor
Russia, Moscow, 1651-1707, Hilarion, Met oSuzdal&Yuriev, Suzdal (Southern Valley, Ukhtoma (Nerl) River 5), famed priest father, monk a22, founded built Philorischev wilderness monastery a25 1655, near Gorokhovetsa, fleshly passions, down before Vladimir icon, MOG shielded him grace power&calmed hSpirit, once Robbers set H on fire, turned to Icon, if injured no longer glorify Son&you, Robbers heard shouts fled, once heard voice passing church, I will glorify thee...all the land, only Icon there, tears, unworthiness before Icon, Later when constricting stone church sad disagreements distracting him from prayer, tears to MOG not abandon, fell asleep, MOG dream transfer my Vladimir Icon from this hot church to new stone church, and I will help you there, solem transfer from portico tTemple, all night virgil, construction soon completed, under me, a sinner, no one possessed anything.... assigned to fire possessions which would destrom cenobitic community, 1681 Archbishop Suzdal & Yuriev, 1682 Met till 1705, 1707 d peacefully, unceasing concern for Poor; Suzdal (Southern Valley) ; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated December 14 ; Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev (in the world John), born November 13, 1631 into the family of the lower city priest Ananias. father, famed for his piety and reading, was one of three candidates for the Patriarchal throne, together with the future Patriarch Nikon (1652-1658). entered a monastery in 1653. 1655, he became founder and builder of the Phlorischev wilderness monastery not far from the city of Gorokhovetsa. his monastic struggles, the saint wrestled with fleshly passions. he fell down in exhaustion before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God beseeching Her help, the Mother of God shielded him with gracious power and calmed his spirit. when Saint Hilarion was serving Vespers together with a hierodeacon, robbers burst into the church. killed the deacon and started to set Saint Hilarion on fire, asking him where the monastery treasure was hid. did not believe that there was no gold in the monastery. by the pain, Saint Hilarion turned to the wonderworking icon and said, “O All-Pure Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ! If they injure me with the fire, I shall no longer have the ability to glorify Thy Son and Thee.” the robbers heard the shouts of people searching for them, and they fled. time, Saint Hilarion in passing by the church heard a voice: “I shall glorify thee throughout all the land.” trembled, and going into the vestibule, he found no people there. the portico he found only the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The ascetic fell down before the image with tears and confessed his unworthiness. on, when the saint had begun the construction of a stone church, he was very sad that concerns about the construction and disagreements among the workers were distracting him from prayer. serving in church with the brethren, he was preoccupied by these thoughts and began to regret undertaking the work. With tears he besought the Mother of God not to abandon him and to deliver him from these worries. he finished his prayer, Saint Hilarion remained alone in church and began again to think about the construction. so he fell asleep. a dream the Mother of God appeared to him and said, “Transfer My icon, named the Vladimir, from this hot church and put it in the newly-built stone church, and I shall be your Helper there”. Hilarion awoke and ordered the large bell to be rung. monks immediately assembled. All went to the hot church and, having prayed before the icon, solemnly transferred it from the portico into the temple. serving the all night Vigil, Divine Liturgy and a Molieben, the saint told the brethren of his vision. in procession they transferred the icon to the church under construction, where they set it in the midst of the woods. that time the construction went successfully and was soon completed. saint wanted to dedicate the temple in honor of the icon, but he it was revealed to him in a vision that the temple was to be consecrated in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. the wilderness monastery he maintained a very strict community rule. 1694, the saint sent a letter to the Phlorischev monastery in which he reminisced about his own monastic Rule at this monastery: “Under me, a sinner, no one possessed anything of his own, but all was shared in common. Many of you may remember that former cenobitic community. And you also remember that I consigned to the fire those possessions which would destroy that cenobitic community.” December 11, 1681, the saint was consecrated as Archbishop of Suzdal and Yuriev, in 1682 he was elevated to the dignity of Metropolitan and remained on the Suzda’ cathedra until February 1705. saint died peacefully on December 14, 1707 and was buried in the Suzdal cathedral in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. saint was known for his unceasing concern for the poor. his death they found only three coins. wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir-Phlorischev (August 26) had been painted by the renowned iconographer John Chirov in 1464 at Nizhni Novgorod in fulfillment of a vow of John Vetoshnikov.

Russia, Moscow, 1652, uncovering incorrupt relics of Sava of Zvenigorod
Russia, Tver, 1345-1406, Sava of Storozhev, or Zvenigorod, Tver, Moscow River 3, Trinity-Sergiev Lavra 1345, solitude, constant toil, lamenting, trembling, model of simplicity and humility, father confessor to all, Donskoy's Dubenka River monastery 1380, 1392 Trinity monastery, Yuri of Z's monastery 1399 , Opening incorrupt relics 1652; Cape of Storozhev (Zvenigorod, Moscova River 2), Steep Banks of the Moscova River; Opening of the Relics of the Venerable Sava of Storozhev, or Zvenigorod, Commemorated on January 19 ; we commemorate opening of the incorrupt relics of Saint Savva of Storozhev and Zvenigorod on January 19, 1652. Savva is also also commemorated on December 3, as determined by the Moscow Council of 1547. Venerable Savva, Abbot of Zvenigorod, Disciple of Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3; Savva of Zvenigorod forsook the world in his early youth, and received the monastic tonsure from Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25 and July 5), and was his disciple and fellow-ascetic. Savva loved solitude, and avoided conversing with people. He lived in constant toil, lamenting the poverty of his soul, and trembling before the judgment of God. He was a model of simplicity and humility, and he attained such a depth of spiritual wisdom that “in the monastery of Saint Sergius he was the Father Confessor to all the brethren, a venerable and exceedingly learned Elder.” Great Prince Demetrios of the Don built the monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God at the Dubenka River, in gratitude for the victory over Mamai, Savva became the Igoumen, with the blessing of Saint Sergius. Maintaining the simple manner of his life of asceticism, he ate plants, wore coarse clothing and slept on the ground. the departure of their Igoumen Saint Nikon (November 17) into the wilderness in 1392, the brethren of the Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra asked Saint Savva to become the Igoumen of the monastery. Here he “shepherded the flock entrusted to him well, to the best of his ability, helped by the prayers of his Spiritual Father, Saint Sergius.” According to Tradition, the well outside the Lavra walls was built while he was Igoumen. Yuri of Zvenigorod, a godson of Saint Sergius, regarded Saint Savva with much love and esteem. He chose Saint Savva as his Spiritual Father and begged him to come and bestow his blessing upon his entire household. The Saint had hoped to return to his monastery, but the Prince begged him to stay and establish a new monastery, “in his fatherland, near Zvenigorod, at a place called Storozhi.” Savva acceded to the request of Prince Yuri, and praying tearfully before an icon of the Mother of God, he entreated her protection for that site in the wilderness. On Storozhi Hill, he built a small wooden church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and nearby a small cell for himself. Here he established a monastery in 1399, with paternal love he accepted all who came seeking a life of quietude and seclusion. Savva worked very hard to build up the monastery. He dug a well at the foot of the hill, from which he carried water on his own shoulders. He encircled the monastery with a wooden palisade, and in a hollow above it, he dug out a cell where he could live in solitude. 1399 Saint Savva blessed his spiritual son, Prince Yuri, to go on a military campaign, predicting that the enemy would be defeated. Through the prayers of the holy Elder, the forces of the Prince won a speedy victory. Through the efforts of Saint Savva, a stone church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos was built to replace the old wooden one. Savva went to the Lord at an advanced age on December 3, 1406. He appointed his disciple, who was also named Savva, as his successor. of the holy God-pleaser by the local people began immediately after his death. The miraculous curative power issuing from the Saint's grave, and his numerous appearances, convinced everyone that Igoumen Savva was "truly an unsetting sun of divine light, illumining all with its miraculous rays.” In a letter of 1539 Saint Savva was called a wonderworker. Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich had a special veneration for him, repeatedly visiting the monastery of Saint Savva on foot. Tradition has preserved for us a remarkable account of how Saint Savva was saved from a ferocious bear. Life of Saint Savva, compiled in the XVI century, relates how at the end of the XV century (1480-1490), the Saint appeared to Father Dionysios, the fourth Igoumen of Saint Savva Monastery and said: “Dionysios! Wake up and paint my icon.” When Father Dionysios asked who he was, he replied, “I am Savva, the founder of this place.” Father Dionysios had not known the Saint personally, so he summoned Elder Habakkuk, who had known Saint Savva in his youth, hoping to convince himself that his dream was not a delusion. He described the Saint's outward appearance, and Father Habakkuk assured him that the Saint looked exactly as the Igoumen had seen him in the dream. Then Father Dionysios obeyed the command and painted an icon of Saint Savva. Feast Day of Saint Savva was established at the Moscow Council of 1547. His incorrupt relics were recovered on January 19, 1652.

Russia, Moscow, 1652-1695, Russia China War of the Amur Region
Moscow, Russia China War of the Amur Region (1652-1695) ; Icon of the Mother of God "œThe Word was made Flesh"Â, Commemorated on March 9;

Russia, Moscow, 1652-1658, Nikon Metropolitan of Moscow (and Novgorod), service reforms, Old Believers
Moscow Patriarch, 1652-1658, Nikon Metropolitan of Moscow (and Novgorod); born Nikita Minin (7 May 1605 - 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from 1652 to 1666. He was renowned for his eloquence, energy, piety and close ties to Tsar Alexis of Russia. Nikon introduced many reforms which eventually led to a lasting schism known as Raskol in the Russian Orthodox Church. For many years he was a dominant political figure, often equaling or even overshadowing the Tsar. His liturgical reforms were unpopular among conservatives. In December 1666, Nikon was tried by a synod of church officials, deprived of all his sacerdotal functions, and reduced to the status of a simple monk. 1 Introduction 2 Prior to Nikon 3 Origins of reform 4 Reforms of Nikon 4.1 Main alterations 5 Schism 5.1 After the schism 6 Old Believer denominations 6.1 Priested (Popovtsy) 6.2 Priestless (Bezpopovtsy) 6.2.1 Minor groups 7 Edinovertsy 8 Validity of the reformist theory 9 Background 10 Main differences 11 Present situation 12 Old Believer churches 13 See also 14 References 15 Sources 15.1 In English 16 Further reading 16.1 In Russian 17 External links 1652, Patriarch Nikon (1605–1681; patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1652 to 1658) introduced a number of ritual and textual revisions with the aim of achieving uniformity between the practices of the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches. Nikon, having noticed discrepancies between Russian and Greek rites and texts, ordered an adjustment of the Russian rites to align with the Greek ones of his time. In doing so, according to the Old Believers, Nikon acted without adequate consultation with the clergy and without gathering a council.[11] After the implementation of these revisions, the Church anathematized and suppressed—with the support of Muscovite state power—the prior liturgical rite itself, as well as those who were reluctant to pass to the revised rite. who maintained fidelity to the existing rite endured severe persecutions from the end of the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century as "Schismatics" (Russian: Ñ€Ð°ÑÐºÐ¾Ð»ÑŒÐ½Ð¸ÐºÐ¸, raskol'niki). They became known as "Old Ritualists", a name introduced under the empress Catherine the Great who reigned from 1762 to 1796.[12] They continued to call themselves simply "Orthodox Christians". Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on September 6; Translation of the Icon of the Mother of God in Triumph to Russia, Commemorated on September 18 ; Translation of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi the Wonderworker of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 23; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated on December 14 ; Venerable Eleazar of Anzersk Island, Solovki, Commemorated on January 13; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5; Icon of the Mother of God œStaro RusÂ Old Russian, Commemorated on May 4; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1652, Old Believers Schism, reforms of Nikon
Russia, Moscow, 1652, Old Believers Schism; Eastern Orthodox Church history, especially within the Russian Orthodox Church, the Old Believers or Old Ritualists are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow between 1652 and 1666. Resisting the accommodation of Russian piety to the contemporary forms of Greek Orthodox worship, these Christians were anathematized, together with their ritual, in a Synod of 1666-“67, producing a division in Eastern Europe between the Old Believers and those who followed the state church in its condemnation of the Old Rite. speakers refer to the schism itself as raskol, etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart". Moscow Patriarch, 1652-1658, Nikon Metropolitan of Moscow (and Novgorod);

Russia, Moscow, 1653, Polish invasion of Liubech, Cherginov
Lubech; The Deluge (Polish history) ; Martyr Macarius the Archimandrite of Kanev and Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on September 7 ; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Lubech, Commemorated on May 7 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1654, Translation of Blacherne Icon to Russia, a gift from Mt Athos, after fall of Constantinople
Russia, Moscow, 1654, Translation of Blacherne Icon to Russia; the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Blachernae Icon was transferred to Mt. Athos, and in 1654 it was sent by the Athonite monks to Moscow as gift to the Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich. Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God was discovered at Jerusalem by the empress Eudokia during the time of Saint Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem (July 2), and Saint Euthymius the Great (January 20). The holy icon was sent to Constantinople, where the empress Pulcheria placed it in the Blacernae Church, where the Venerable Robe of the Mother of God (July 2) was preserved. holy icon is also called the Hodegetria, or œShe who leads the way. It was with this icon that Patriarch Sergius (610-631) made the rounds of the walls of Constantinople in the year 626 with Moliebens during a siege of the capital by the Avars. In memory of this and other victories, which were won thanks to the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, an annual celebration was established on Saturday of the Fifth Week of the Great Fast to offer Praises to the Most Holy Theotokos (Saturday of the Akathist). At first the celebration took place only at the Blachernae church in Constantinople. In the ninth century the Feast was included in the Typikon of Saint Savva the Sanctified, and in the Studite Rule. Later, it was included in the Lenten Triodion and made universal for all the Orthodox Church. the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Blachernae Icon was transferred to Mt. Athos, and in 1654 it was sent by the Athonite monks to Moscow as gift to the Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich. Blachernae Icon is celebrated on July 2, and in the Fifth Week of Great Lent (Saturday of the Akathist). Moscow, 1645-1676, Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar of All Russia ; Mikhailovich (Russian: , IPA: ; 29 March [O.S. 19 March] 1629 -“ 8 February [O.S. 29 January] 1676) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676.[2] His reign saw wars with Poland and Sweden, schism in the Russian Orthodox Church, and the major Cossack revolt of Stenka Razin.[2] Nevertheless, at the time of his death Russia spanned almost 2,000,000,000 acres (8,100,000 km2). Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks, Commemorated on July 23; Icon of the Mother of God of Kostroma, Commemorated July 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Seven Lakes, Commemorated on July 28; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on September 6; Icon of the Mother of God of Glinsk, Commemorated on September 8; Icon of the Mother of God of Isaakov, Commemorated September 8 ; Terebovlya Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, Commemorated on October 1; Icon of the Mother of God of the Seven Lakes, Commemorated on October 13; Translation of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to Moscow, Commemorated on October 13; Translation of the relics of Blessed James of Borovichi the Wonderworker of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 23; Ozerianka Icon of God of Shuiu-Smolensk, Commemorated on November 2; Venerable Nilus the Myrrhgusher of Mt Athos, Commemorated on November 12 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Appearance of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on March 31; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God Weeping "œIlyin Chernigov"Â, Commemorated on April 16; Icon of the Mother of God "œof the Passion"Â, Commemorated on April 30; ; Icon of the Mother of God "œStaro Rus"Â Old Russian, Commemorated on May 4; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on June 2; Translation of the relics of Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1654-1655, Ozerianka Icon, of Shuiu-Smolensk, copy, painted in response to pestinence
Shuiu City, Vladimir Oblast (somewhere in VO) (Nerl River Mouth, Klyazma River 5); Vladimir (Klyazma River 5); Ozerianka Icon of the Mother of God of Shuiu-Smolensk, Commemorated on November 2 ; Shuiu-Smolensk Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the years 1654-1655 in the Resurrection parish of the city of Shuiu, where an unrelenting pestilence raged. Trusting in the mercy of God and the intercession of the Mother of God, the parishioners of the Resurrection church commissioned a certain pious monk to paint the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, an icon long attributed with being a rescuer of the Russian people from enemies and misfortune. parishioners spent the whole week in prayer and fasting while the image was being painted. When the icon was finished, the priest and the people took it to the church and set it in a specially built place. From that time the pestilence began to ease, at first in the area of the Resurrection parish, and then also in all the city. the Icon of the Mother of God many miracles of healing took place, especially of eye diseases. The icon is also celebrated on July 11, July 28, and Bright Tuesday.

Russia, Moscow, 1654-1655, Ozerianka icon, Scythia, painted during pestilnc, Smolensk icon copy, prayer while painted, ended p
Mongol, Scythia, 1654-1655, Ozerianka icon, Ozeryanivka, Scythia (near Seversky Donets River 2), painted during pestilence, in 1Weed, Smolensk icon copy, prayer while painted, placed in special church place, pestilence ended in Parish then in all tCity; Ozeryanivka, Scythia (near Seversky Donets River 2); Ozerianka Icon of the Mother of God of Shuiu-Smolensk, Commemorated on November 2; Shuiu-Smolensk Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the years 1654-1655 in the Resurrection parish of the city of Shuiu, an unrelenting pestilence raged. in the mercy of God and the intercession of the Mother of God, the parishioners of the Resurrection church commissioned a certain pious monk to paint the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God, icon long attributed with being a rescuer of the Russian people from enemies and misfortune. parishioners spent the whole week in prayer and fasting while the image was being painted. the icon was finished, the priest and the people took it to the church and set it in a specially built place. that time the pestilence began to ease, first in the area of the Resurrection parish, then also in all the city. the Icon of the Mother of God many miracles of healing took place, especially of eye diseases. icon is also celebrated on July 11, July 28, and Bright Tuesday.

Russia, Moscow, 1654-1667, Russian-Polish War, for Ukraine, Swede Deluge, First N War, R gains in U
Russian-Polish War, 1654-1667, War for the Ukraine ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on September 6; Ozerianka Icon of God of Shuiu-Smolensk, Commemorated on November 2; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on June 2;

Russia, Moscow, 1654, Kiev-Bratsk Icon, appeared Vyshgorod, rulers residence, Polish Tartar attack, River to Podol
Vyshgorod near Kiev; Vyshhorod, a residence of the medieval Kievan rulers, now a town in Kiev Oblast, Ukraine; ; Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated August 26 ; Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on September 6; Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God was at first in the church of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev), where it miraculously appeared in the year 1654. In 1662, when Russia was at war with Poland (1659-1667), the city was dealt heavy losses by the Crimean Tatars fighting on the side of the Polish. The temple of the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb was destroyed and defiled. But the Providence of God preserved the holy wonderworking icon of the Mother of God, which was taken out of the church beforehand and set off along the Dniepr. The relics of the saints were hidden beneath a crypt. river carried the icon to the Podol section of Kiev, where it was joyfully taken up by the Orthodox and with due reverence transferred to the Bratsk (Brotherhood) monastery. The icon is described in the records of church property of the Kiev-Bratsk monastery, made in the year 1807. existed a “Song about the Wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God”, compiled soon after the year 1692. The Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated four times during the year: September 6, May 10, June 2, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. All these days are dedicated to the miraculous appearance of the holy icon in 1654. The original icon has not been preserved. The copy was painted from it “measure for measure,” and is at present located in the Kiev monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God. Blessed Yaropolk the Prince of Vladimir-Volhynia, in Holy Baptism Peter, Commemorated November 22 ; St Vsevolod (in holy baptism Gabriel) the Wonderworker of Pskov, Commemorated February 11 ; Right-believing Great Prince Rostislav-Michael the Prince of Kiev, Commemorated on March 14; Translation of the relics of the Holy Passionbearer Boris, in Holy Baptism Roman, Commemorated on May 2; Icon of the Mother of God œthe God LovingÂ, Commemorated on June 18; Burial of St Andrew the Prince, Commemorated on July 4 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1654, Icon of Brotherhood (Bratsky) monastery & relics saved by river to Podol neighborhood and Brotherhood M 1662
Russia, Kiev, 1654, Icon of Brotherhood (Bratsky) monastery, Kiev (Dneiper River 4), appeared 1654 Boris and Gleb Church Vyshgorod Kiev, temple destroyed by Tartars fighting for Poland, Icon and relics saved by river to Podol neighborhood and Brotherhood M 1662; Brotherhood monatery; Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated September 6 ; Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God was at first in the church of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev), where it miraculously appeared in the year 1654. 1662, when Russia was at war with Poland (1659-1667), the city was dealt heavy losses by the Crimean Tatars fighting on the side of the Polish. temple of the holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb was destroyed and defiled. the Providence of God preserved the holy wonderworking icon of the Mother of God, which was taken out of the church beforehand and set off along the Dniepr. The relics of the saints were hidden beneath a crypt. river carried the icon to the Podol section of Kiev, it was joyfully taken up by the Orthodox and with due reverence transferred to the Bratsk (Brotherhood) monastery. icon is described in the records of church property of the Kiev-Bratsk monastery, made in the year 1807. existed a “Song about the Wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God”, compiled soon after the year 1692. Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated four times during the year: September 6, May 10, June 2, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. these days are dedicated to the miraculous appearance of the holy icon in 1654. original icon has not been preserved. copy was painted from it “measure for measure,” and is at present located in the Kiev monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God.

Russia, Moscow, 1654, Wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk Icon, Brotherhood (Bratsky) monastery, miraculous preservation
Russia, Kiev, 1654, Wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk Icon, Brotherhood (Bratsky) monastery, revealed in Vyshgorod, 1662 Icon preserved in river during war wPoles&Crimean Tartars, tartar clinging to it, he believed, Kept in K-B monastery, 1807 description, 1919 K-B closed, Icon thought lost long time til 1990's, but found transferred tKCavesLarva 1926, 1948 recorded Ukraine Museum, sent back to Kiev early 2000s, plus exact copy at K Protection M; Brotherhood monatery; Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 10 ; wonderworking Kiev-Bratsk (i.e. "Brotherhood") Icon of the Mother of God was revealed in 1654, and was originally kept in the church of Saints Boris and Gleb in the city of Vyshgorod (Kiev), and was placed in a shrine to the left of the Royal Doors on the iconostasis. May 10, 1662, during a war with Poland (1659–1667), the city suffered great damage from the Poles and Crimean Tatars who fought against Russia. church of the Holy Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb was ravaged and looted by enemy soldiers, who took all the jewels and icons, but the relics of the Saints were hidden under a crypt. God's Providence, the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was preserved. devout Christians, at the risk of their very lives, rescued the Icon of the Mother of God from the unclean hands of those who had stolen it. they were unable to hide the Icon, they had to consign it to the Dnieper River, praying that God's will would be done. their amazement, the Icon did not sink, but floated upright down the river. Vyshgorod, the Tatars began to cross the Dnieper, but they were drowned during a storm. Only one of them escaped by clinging to the Icon of the Mother of God as though it were a raft. The river carried the holy Icon to the bank of the Podil in Kiev, where it stopped before the Bratsk Monastery. Tatar was afraid of drowning, and cried desperately for help. A boat was sent from the Monastery, into which the monks received the Icon and the Tatar. Tatar, whose life was spared by God, believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized. Icon was placed in the wooden church of Saints Boris and Gleb, where it remained for a long time. inventory of the church property in the Kiev-Bratsk Monastery, compiled in 1807, gives a description of the miraculous Icon. 1919, the Bratsk Monastery was closed, and the Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God was thought to be lost. For a long time, the lack of information about the shrines of the Monastery until the 90s of the XX century was perceived as confirmation that the Icon was lost. In recent years, however, studies have shown that the Icon is one of the five most valuable icons in the Monastery. It was transferred to the Kiev Caves Lavra in 1926. 1948, this group of icons was first recorded in the ledger of the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NHMU) with a note saying their fate before they came to the museum was unknown. The reacquisition of the Kiev-Bratsk Icon occurred in the early 2000s, when employees of the NHMU established a connection between these monuments and the Bratsk Monastery. the Kiev-Bratsk Icon is in the collection of NHMU. It's reacquisition is regarded as confirmation of the Icon's miraculous qualities. is an exact copy of the Icon, which is located in the Kievan Monastery of the Protection of the Mother of God. Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated on September 6, May 10, June 2, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent. Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on June 2; Kiev-Bratsk Icon of the Mother of God is also commemorated on September 6, May 10, and on Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent.

Russia, Moscow, 1658-1666, Patriarch, 1658-1666 Vacant, 1667-1672, Joasaphus II, reforms led to Old Believers Schism
Moscow Patriarch, 1658-1666 Vacant, 1667-1672, Joasaphus II ; II, (Joasaph of Novy Torg) was Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' from 1667 until his death five years and one day later in 1672. was archimandrite of the Rozhdestvenskii (Nativity) Monastery in Vladimir from 1654 to April 25, 1656, when he was named archimandrite of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. In 1666, he was a member of the court that tried Patriarch Nikon and deposed him, although it also approved his reforms that had led to the Old Believer Schism. February 10, 1667, Joasaph was elected patriarch. He died February 11, 1672 and is buried in the Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.[1] Icon of the Mother of God of Kiev-Bratsk, Commemorated on September 6; Blessed Andrew of Totma the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on October 10;

Russia, Moscow, 1659, Isaakov Icon, appeared, not able to move, Molieben, moved, returned n d, chapel & skete
Yaroslav; Icon of the Mother of God of Isaakov, Commemorated September 8 ; Isaakov Icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in the year 1659, not far from the village of Isaakievo. The peasants wanted to take the icon to their own village, but they were not able. They then turned to the priest, and he got vested, and in the company of choir and people with church banners, went to the place of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God. the branches of a willow tree was the icon, radiating an extraordinary light like the sun. After the singing of a Molieben the priest reverently took the icon with the tree branch and carried it to the Isaakievo village into the parish church. the following day the icon was not in the church. It was at the place where it was first found. At this place of the appearance of the wonderworking icon they built a chapel, around which a skete was formed. the blessing of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Yaroslavl and Rostov, at the place of the chapel there was built in 1662 a wooden church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the year 1758 a stone church was built in place of the wooden, into which they transferred this icon.

Russia, Moscow, 1659-1758, Isaakov Icon, appeared in tree, divine light, moved to church, came back, built church w skete
Russia, Rostov, 1659-1758, Isaakov Icon, near Yaroslavl, Rostov (Kotorosl River Mouth at Volga River 8), appeared in tree, divine light, moved to church, came back, built chapel w skete, wooden church 1662, stone church 1758; Yaroslav; Icon of the Mother of God of Isaakov, Commemorated September 8 ; Isaakov Icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in the year 1659, far from the village of Isaakievo. peasants wanted to take the icon to their own village, but they were not able. then turned to the priest, and he got vested, and in the company of choir and people with church banners, went to the place of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God. the branches of a willow tree was the icon, radiating an extraordinary light like the sun. the singing of a Molieben the priest reverently took the icon with the tree branch and carried it to the Isaakievo village into the parish church. the following day the icon was not in the church. It was at the place where it was first found. this place of the appearance of the wonderworking icon they built a chapel, around which a skete was formed. the blessing of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Yaroslavl and Rostov, at the place of the chapel there was built in 1662 a wooden church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. the year 1758 a stone church was built in place of the wooden, into which they transferred this icon.

Russia, Moscow, 1662, Moslem Tatars descended upon Chernigov in 1662
Tatars descended upon Chernigov in 1662 and destroyed it - Icon of the Mother of God Weeping œIlyin Chernigov, Commemorated on April 16 ; Cossack Hetmanate ; Crimean-Nogai raids into East Slavic lands 1441-1774 ; Martyr Macarius the Archimandrite of Kanev and Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on September 7 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Theodosius the Archbishop of Chernigov, Commemorated on September 9 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1662-1667, Child Schemamonk Bogolep, unusual traits, ilnesses, angelic garb, permit tonsure, promising s presnc
Mongol, Scythia, 1662-1667, Child Schemamonk Bogolep, Astrakhan, Scythia (Volga River Mouth, North Caspian Sea), unusual traits, no milk Wed and Fri, cry church bells, to church or cried all day ate nothing, ilnesses, monks angelic garb, permit monastic tonsure, completely healthy, but new fever killed him, many appearances to people promicising spiritual presence w believers; Astrakhan (Volga River Mouth); Schemamonk, totally given up worldly life for Christ; Child Schemamonk Bogolep, Commemorated on July 29; Child Schemamonk Bogolep was the son of a Moscow nobleman Iakov Lukich Ushakov and his wife Katherine. was born in 1660 at Moscow. At Baptism they gave him the name Boris, in honor of the holy Passion-Bearer Boris (July 24). was appointed voevoda (military-commander) in the city of Chernyi Yar (Black Ravine), situated 250 versts from Astrakhan. was known for his integrity. infancy Boris displayed unusual traits. On Wednesdays and Fridays he would not drink milk from his mother’s breasts. When the bells pealed at the church, he began to cry, and became quiet only when they brought him into the church. When they did not take the infant to church, he cried all day and ate nothing. 1662 a deadly pestilence spread about in Russia. The child fell ill, and the pestilence afflicted him in the legs. He became lame, but continued to walk to church. parents prayed for the health of their son and they tried everything in their power to heal him. But no sooner had the one illness gone, than upon his face there appeared another, called scales. during his illness the child saw a wandering monk who visited at their home. angelic garb so impressed the child, that he began to implore his parents to sew him such clothing and permit him to receive monastic tonsure. holy child proclaimed: “You will see for yourselves, when you tonsure and grant me the angelic garb, I shall be well.” parents consented. The child was invested in the schema with the name Bogolep (the Russian version of the Greek name Theoleptos, meaning “similar to God”). the next day the child schemamonk was completely healthy, his face was clear and there remained no trace of the illness. on the third day there was a new illness, he developed a fever, and it struck down the child. He died on August 1, 1667 and was buried at the left wall of the wooden Black Ravine church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. church was built after a great fire in Black Ravine, on July 24, 1652 the Feast of Saint Boris). A chapel was built over the grave of the child. Life of the holy Schemamonk Bogolep was compiled under a vow by the Black Ravine merchant Savva Tatarinov during the years 1731-1732. Life of the holy Schemamonk Bogolep was compiled under a vow by the Black Ravine merchant Savva Tatarinov during the years 1731-1732. of the saint, with the Troparion and Kontakion to him, were widely dispersed throughout the Astrakhan region. 1750 on the place of the wooden church a stone church was built with a side-altar in honor of the holy Martyr John the Warrior. The grave of the holy schemamonk was enclosed in this side altar. bank of the river, where the church of the Resurrection of Christ stood, was constantly eroding. the mid-nineteenth century the structure of the church was threatened, and they removed all the holy things from it. For a long time the people of Black Ravine did not remove the chief holy object: the grave of the holy schemamonk. in 1851 when the water had already approached 4 ft. 8 inches, the people petitioned the Most Holy Synod with a request to transfer the holy relics of the Schemamonk Bogolep, and they received permission for this. small child’s coffin was laid bare, but just when the city head took it into his hands, it slid out of his hands and disappeared into the waters of the Volga. disappearance of the relics just at the opening of the grave was accepted as the Will of God, since the holy child had repeatedly appeared to many either in sleep, or awake while walking along the river bank, or coming down the hill. He consoled them, promising that he would be present spiritually with believers. simple life of the holy Schemamonk Bogolep, full of the mysteries of God, illustrates the words of the Savior concerning children: “Let the children come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them” (Mark 10: 14-16). pray to Saint Bogolep for children, and also for protection against lightning.

Russia, Moscow, 1671-1709, Saint Dimitry of Rostov, Cossack Hierarch, not Caesaropapist
Moscow, 1671-1709, Saint Dimitry of Rostov ; Saint Dimitry of Rostov (sometimes Latinized as Demetrius, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitri Rostovsky, (11 December 1651 -“ 28 October 1709) was a leading opponent of the Caesaropapist reform of the Russian Orthodox church promoted by Feofan Prokopovich. (Caesaropapism, political system in which the head of the state is also the head of the church and supreme judge in religious matters. The term is most frequently associated with the late Roman, or Byzantine, Empire.) He is representative of the strong Cossack Baroque influence upon the Russian Orthodox Church at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Demetrius is sometimes credited as composer or compiler of the first Russian opera, the lengthy Rostov Mysteries of 1705, though the exact nature of this work, as well as its place in history, is open to debate.[2] He is the author of several written works, out of which the most famous is The Lives of Saints .[3] Prophet Ezekiel, Commemorated on July 21 ; St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1671-1709, Demetry of Rostov, incor r, ascetic preacher writer, organized saints history which inspired theolgns
Russia, Rostov, 1671-1709, Demetry of Rostov, quick uncorrupt r, many miracles, K-Mogilyansk College, ascetic preacher writer Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Kiev Caves, organized MENAION lives saints, igumen several monasteries, Metro of Tobolsk, Met Rostov, strengthened church after Old Believers S, history of saints inspired theologians; Rostov-Yaroslavl; Uncovering of the relics of St Demetrius (Dmitri) the Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on September 21; 1702, Saint Demetrios, Metropolitan of Rostov, arrived at the Rostov cathedral and also visited the monastery of Saint James, Bishop of Rostov (November 27 and May 23). served the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral church of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos, after which he indicated to those present the site of his future burial on the right side of the temple. “Behold my resting place,” he said, “here I will settle for eternity.” Saint Demetrios reposed on October 28, 1709. to the Saint's wishes, which he had expressed in his will, the clergy and people of Rostov asked the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Stephen Yavorsky of Ryazan, who had come for the funeral, to conduct the burial at the city's cathedral church. Stephen insisted on burying the body of his deceased friend beside Saint Joasaph, who was Saint Demetrios's predecessor. However, a grave was not prepared until the arrival of Metropolitan Stephen, even though about a month had passed since the Saint's death. to the urgent departure of Metropolitan Stephen from Rostov, a hastily constructed wooden frame was placed into the grave, in which the body of the Saint was buried on November 25. This circumstance, foreseen by the Providence of God, led to a quick uncovering of the relics. 1752 repairs were being made in the cathedral church of the monastery, and on September 21, the incorrupt body of Saint Demetrios was discovered. The place of burial had been affected by dampness, the oaken coffin and the writing on it were decayed, but the body of the Saint, and even his omophorion, sakkos, mitre and silken prayer rope were preserved undamaged. the discovery of his relics, Saint Demetrios began to heal many illnesses, and performed many miracles. When the Holy Synod was informed of these facts, it sent a Commitee: Metropolitan Sylvester of Suzdal and Archimandrite Gabriel of Simonov Monastery, to examine the relics of Bishop Demetrios and to verify the miraculous cures. the Committee's recommendation, a decree was issued by the Holy Synod on April 29, 1757 numbering Saint Demetrios, Metropolitan of Rostov among the saints, and designating the dates of his commemoration as October 28 (the day of his repose) and September 21 (the uncovering of his relics). Church of Russia also commemorates the Hierarchs Demetrios of Rostov, Metrophanes and Tikhon of Voronezh on July 19. St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ; Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov (in the world Daniel Savvich Tuptalo), was born in December 1651 in the locale of Makarovo, not far from Kiev. He was born into a pious family and grew up a deeply believing Christian. 1662, soon after his parents resettled to Kiev, Daniel was sent to the Kiev-Mogilyansk college, where the gifts and remarkable abilities of the youth were first discovered. successfully learned the Greek and Latin languages and the entire series of classical sciences. On July 9,1668 Daniel accepted monastic tonsure with the name Demetrius, in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. Prior to the spring of 1675 he progressed through the monastic obediences at Kiev’s Kirillov monastery, where he began his literary and preaching activity. Archbishop of Chernigov Lazar (Baranovich) ordained Demetrius as hieromonk on May 23, 1675. For several years Hieromonk Demetrius lived as an ascetic and preached the Word of God at various monasteries and churches in the Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. 1684, while he was Igumen of the Maximov monastery (later the Baturinsk Nikol’sk monastery), he was summoned to the Kiev Caves Lavra. Superior of the Lavra, Archimandrite Barlaam (Yasinsky), knowing the high spiritual disposition of his former disciple, his education, his proclivity for scientific work, and also his undoubted literary talent, entrusted the hieromonk Demetrius with organizing the MENAION, the Lives of the Saints for the whole year. this time, all the rest of Saint Demetrius’s life was devoted to the fulfilling of this ascetic work, all-encompassing in its scope. The work demanded an enormous exertion of strength, since it necessitated the gathering and analyzing of a multitude of various sources and their exposition in a fluent language, worthy of the lofty subject of exposition and at the same time accessible to all believers. Divine assistance did not abandon the saint for his twenty-year labor. to the testimony of Saint Demetrius himself, his soul was filled with impressions of the saints, which strengthened him both in spirit and body, and they encouraged faith in the felicitous completion of his noble task. At this time, the venerable Demetrius was head of several monasteries (in succession). works of the ascetic brought him to the attention of Patriarch Adrian. In 1701, by decree of Tsar Peter I, Archimandrite Demetrius was summoned to Moscow, where on March 23 at the Dormition cathedral of the Kremlin he was consecrated as Metropolitan of the Siberian city of Tobolsk. But after a certain while, because of the importance of his scientific work and the frailty of his health, the saint received a new appointment to Rostov-Yaroslavl, and on March 1, 1702 assumed his duties as Metropolitan of Rostov. as before, he continued to be concerned about the strengthening of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church, weakened by the “Old Believers” schism. his inspired works and preachings many generations of Russian theologians drew spiritual strength for creativity and prayer. He remains an example of a saintly, ascetic, non-covetous life for all Orthodox Christians. Upon his death on October 28, 1709, it was discovered that he had few possessions, except for books and manuscripts. glorification of Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, took place on April 22, 1757. He is also remembered on September 21, the day of the uncovering of his holy relics. Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected joy, Commemorated on December 9 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1671-1709, Unexpected joy icon, MOG spoke to boy going out to sin, joy of forgiveness, could be Dimirty
Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected joy, Commemorated on December 9 ; Unexpected Joy Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is painted in this way: in a room is an icon of the Mother of God, and beneath it a youth is kneeling at prayer. The tradition about the healing of some youth from a bodily affliction through this holy icon is recorded in the book of Saint Demetrius of Rostov, The Fleece of Prayer [See Judges 6: 36-40]. sinful youth, who was nevertheless devoted to the Theotokos, was praying one day before the icon of the All-Pure Virgin before going out to commit a sin. Suddenly, he saw that wounds appeared on the Lord’s hands, feet, and side, and blood flowed from them. In horror he exclaimed, “O Lady, who has done this?” The Mother of God replied, “You and other sinners, because of your sins, crucify My Son anew.” Only then did he realize how great was the depth of his sinfulness. For a long time he prayed with tears to the All-Pure Mother of God and the Savior for mercy. Finally, he received the unexpected joy of the forgiveness of his sins. “Unexpected Joy” icon is also commemorated on January 25 and May 1. Russia, Rostov, 1671-1709, Demetry of Rostov, quick uncorrupt r, many miracles, K-Mogilyansk College, ascetic preacher writer Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Kiev Caves, organized MENAION lives saints, igumen several monasteries, Metro of Tobolsk, Met Rostov, strengthened church after Old Believers S, history of saints inspired theologians; Rostov-Yaroslavl; Uncovering of the relics of St Demetrius (Dmitri) the Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on September 21; 1702, Saint Demetrios, Metropolitan of Rostov, arrived at the Rostov cathedral and also visited the monastery of Saint James, Bishop of Rostov (November 27 and May 23). served the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral church of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos, after which he indicated to those present the site of his future burial on the right side of the temple. “Behold my resting place,” he said, “here I will settle for eternity.” Saint Demetrios reposed on October 28, 1709. to the Saint's wishes, which he had expressed in his will, the clergy and people of Rostov asked the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Stephen Yavorsky of Ryazan, who had come for the funeral, to conduct the burial at the city's cathedral church. Stephen insisted on burying the body of his deceased friend beside Saint Joasaph, who was Saint Demetrios's predecessor. However, a grave was not prepared until the arrival of Metropolitan Stephen, even though about a month had passed since the Saint's death. to the urgent departure of Metropolitan Stephen from Rostov, a hastily constructed wooden frame was placed into the grave, in which the body of the Saint was buried on November 25. This circumstance, foreseen by the Providence of God, led to a quick uncovering of the relics. 1752 repairs were being made in the cathedral church of the monastery, and on September 21, the incorrupt body of Saint Demetrios was discovered. The place of burial had been affected by dampness, the oaken coffin and the writing on it were decayed, but the body of the Saint, and even his omophorion, sakkos, mitre and silken prayer rope were preserved undamaged. the discovery of his relics, Saint Demetrios began to heal many illnesses, and performed many miracles. When the Holy Synod was informed of these facts, it sent a Commitee: Metropolitan Sylvester of Suzdal and Archimandrite Gabriel of Simonov Monastery, to examine the relics of Bishop Demetrios and to verify the miraculous cures. the Committee's recommendation, a decree was issued by the Holy Synod on April 29, 1757 numbering Saint Demetrios, Metropolitan of Rostov among the saints, and designating the dates of his commemoration as October 28 (the day of his repose) and September 21 (the uncovering of his relics). Church of Russia also commemorates the Hierarchs Demetrios of Rostov, Metrophanes and Tikhon of Voronezh on July 19. St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ; Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov (in the world Daniel Savvich Tuptalo), was born in December 1651 in the locale of Makarovo, not far from Kiev. He was born into a pious family and grew up a deeply believing Christian. 1662, soon after his parents resettled to Kiev, Daniel was sent to the Kiev-Mogilyansk college, where the gifts and remarkable abilities of the youth were first discovered. successfully learned the Greek and Latin languages and the entire series of classical sciences. On July 9,1668 Daniel accepted monastic tonsure with the name Demetrius, in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. Prior to the spring of 1675 he progressed through the monastic obediences at Kiev’s Kirillov monastery, where he began his literary and preaching activity. Archbishop of Chernigov Lazar (Baranovich) ordained Demetrius as hieromonk on May 23, 1675. For several years Hieromonk Demetrius lived as an ascetic and preached the Word of God at various monasteries and churches in the Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. 1684, while he was Igumen of the Maximov monastery (later the Baturinsk Nikol’sk monastery), he was summoned to the Kiev Caves Lavra. Superior of the Lavra, Archimandrite Barlaam (Yasinsky), knowing the high spiritual disposition of his former disciple, his education, his proclivity for scientific work, and also his undoubted literary talent, entrusted the hieromonk Demetrius with organizing the MENAION, the Lives of the Saints for the whole year. this time, all the rest of Saint Demetrius’s life was devoted to the fulfilling of this ascetic work, all-encompassing in its scope. The work demanded an enormous exertion of strength, since it necessitated the gathering and analyzing of a multitude of various sources and their exposition in a fluent language, worthy of the lofty subject of exposition and at the same time accessible to all believers. Divine assistance did not abandon the saint for his twenty-year labor. to the testimony of Saint Demetrius himself, his soul was filled with impressions of the saints, which strengthened him both in spirit and body, and they encouraged faith in the felicitous completion of his noble task. At this time, the venerable Demetrius was head of several monasteries (in succession). works of the ascetic brought him to the attention of Patriarch Adrian. In 1701, by decree of Tsar Peter I, Archimandrite Demetrius was summoned to Moscow, where on March 23 at the Dormition cathedral of the Kremlin he was consecrated as Metropolitan of the Siberian city of Tobolsk. But after a certain while, because of the importance of his scientific work and the frailty of his health, the saint received a new appointment to Rostov-Yaroslavl, and on March 1, 1702 assumed his duties as Metropolitan of Rostov. as before, he continued to be concerned about the strengthening of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church, weakened by the “Old Believers” schism. his inspired works and preachings many generations of Russian theologians drew spiritual strength for creativity and prayer. He remains an example of a saintly, ascetic, non-covetous life for all Orthodox Christians. Upon his death on October 28, 1709, it was discovered that he had few possessions, except for books and manuscripts. glorification of Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, took place on April 22, 1757. He is also remembered on September 21, the day of the uncovering of his holy relics.

Russia, Moscow, 1671-1727, Philotheos oTobolsk, enlightner oSiberia, great admin &successful apostle, 400,000 conversions
Russia, Siberia, 1671-1727, Metropolitan Philotheos of Tobolsk, K., Capital of Siberia (Tobol Mouth at Irtysh River 11), enlightener oSiberia, 1702 Met oS, more extensive tToday, 1st centures example Spiritual Council, pastoral rules&instructions, more churches&pastors wBetter living conditions, widespread education, he funded Slavic-Russian school at Bishoprick, progenitor all Tobolsk schools, fOnly 160C t448 Churches&37Monasteries, renovations fBeauty, stopped supporting congregational Churches, cathedral choir fExiled Little Russians, pastoral success after he quit Met job & focused apostolic, began fKamchatka 1705, mObstacles, 1707 Ostyaks oBerezovsky, then Mongolia high priest Buddhists aKhalkhas, successful among Ostyaks, Voguls, other Siberian aliens, constant journeys among savages, teaching Samoyeds, Voguls, Ostyaks, far north churches Kyrgyz iAltai, Siberian outskirts Laplanders&Chukchi, baptized 400k foreigners, churches, parishes, cornerstones, not easy, traveling difficulties, muslim resistance, missionaries fled, Met P left alone on shore, bullet through clothing without touching, & danger at Konda, deceived Vogulsky Prince Satyga intended to kill Met P, warmly received S envoys who revealid plot, he sailed to S's camp, some fled but remaining baptized, other benefits to converts-protection, freedom, no head tax, no cart obligation, yasak payment benefits, no insults, Bread &Money distriution, so they loved him, 1711 illness, retired to Tyumen HT Monastery, received schema, as Theodore, even more difficult missionary feats nort of Siberia-1712 tBerezovsky T along Irtysh Ob &Sosve Rivers, supplied by Met John employees, by Prince Gagarin ship, rowers, interpreters, guard, 2000 Rubles, &gifts fNewly-baptized, Peter 1 wanted to destroy idols, proving them worthless, but Met P convinced Ostyaks to do it. 1715 replaced Tobolsk Siberian Met, attention to overseas Beijing Mission from 1714, sent Bishop to Beijing, retured second time 1726, visited Nizovsky T &Obdorsk, retired 1720 and 1726, died 1726, incorrupt relics Tobolsk; Metropolitan Philotheos of Tobolsk, Enlightener of Siberia, Commemorated on May 31; Most Reverend hierarch, the renowned Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk, was from a noble, but poor family and received a theological degree at the then famous Kiev Theological Academy. the end of the course, he was ordained as a priest for one of the rural churches, but he was soon widowed. He was tonsured as a monk with the name Philotheos, and joined the brotherhood of the Kiev Caves Lavra. Siberia Christianity began to spread among the native pagans and Mohammedans from the very conquest of this country by the Russian state (in 1581), conversions of the Siberian non-Russians to faith in Christ were generally insignificant and mostly individual. newly-baptized aliens left their former places of residence and their compatriots and, settling in Russian cities and villages, they entered into the Russian population, their conversion did not influence the masses, who still remained solid pagans or Mohammedans. this was known to the great converter of Russia, Tsar Peter I, who decided to take measures to enlighten the Siberian aliens with the light of Christianity with them their neighbors, the Mongols and Chinese. implement this wise plan, by a decree of June 18, 1700, the Sovereign commanded Metropolitan Barlaam Yasinsky of Kiev to “find” in the Russian cities and monasteries Archimandrites, Igumens, and other monks to occupy the cathedra of Tobolsk, which had remained vacant after Metropolitan Ignatius. He wanted “Pastors who are not only good and adorned with a blameless life, but also scholars who would take with them to Siberia any educated monks who were capable of learning the local languages. God’s help, and with their help, the Metropolitan of Tobolsk could gradually lead the blind inhabitants of Siberia, Mongolia and China, who were stagnating in idolatry, to the knowledge of the true God. ” Barlaam’s choice fell on the Novgorod-Seversk Archimandrite Demetrios Tuptalo, later Saint Demetrios, the wonderworker of Rostov, who was summoned to Moscow in early 1700. On March 23, at the age of 50, he was consecrated as the Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk. Saint Demetrios ruled his Siberian flock for only nine months, but he did not live in Siberia. Saint Demetrios of Rostov was appointed to the Siberian Diocese, primarily for missionary purposes, he refused to go to Siberia for good and was transferred to the cathedra of Rostov. Archimandrite Philotheos Leschinsky was appointed as someone who was well-known for his pious life, high education and energy. He was consecrated as Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk on January 4, 1702. Diocese of Tobolsk and Siberia is extensive today; but in the 17th and early 18th centuries it was incomparably more extensive; borders were then in the north - the Arctic Sea, in the east - the Pacific Ocean, in the south - lands under the Chinese emperor, i.e. Dauria and so on, and the Kirghiz-kaysati steppe, in the west - the Urals and even part of European Russia, to the fortress of Beerskaya and Achitskaya. general, the diocese occupied more than 300,000 square miles, a space in which there are currently more than nine independent dioceses with several vicariates. difficulty of administering such a huge diocese was increased by its complete lack of organization. the new bishop of Siberia, Metropolitan Philotheos, energetically set to work. the very first year of his stay in Siberia he followed the example of the pastors of the first centuries of Christianity, decided to assemble a spiritual council from representatives of the Siberian clergy for the improvement of the Siberian Church. a council took place in Tobolsk in December 1702. It developed a number of rules and instructions to the clergy regarding the streamlining of their pastoral work. the new Metropolitan of Siberia occupied himself with the Tobolsk episcopal residence, multiplying churches in Siberia, increasing the number of clergy, improving their condition, etc. They paid great attention to widespread education, and he first set an example by teaching foreign children in the religious schools he established. order to provide the diocese with good pastors, Metropolitan Philotheos started a “Slavic-Russian” school in the episcopal residence, and paid for it with his own money. became the progenitor of all educational institutions in the city of Tobolsk. also got several learned monks from Kiev as teachers for the school. Metropolitan Philotheos took over the administration of the Tobolsk diocese, there were only 160 churches throughout its vast area. The saint made tremendous efforts to multiply of the churches of God in Siberia, and the Lord blessed these works with success. By the time he left the diocese there were already up to 448 churches and 37 monasteries. new churches, he also took care of maintaining their well-being and beauty: asked the government for permission to renovate some of the monasteries; stopped issuing “wax, incense, and red wine” to the congregational and unpaid churches. the cathedral, permission was given to form a choir of singers from the exiled Little Russians. missionary activity of Metropolitan Philotheos among the Siberian pagans was the main subject of his cares and labors and was crowned with good success, which the archpastor achieved, not during his administration of the diocese, but after his release from it, when he devoted himself entirely to the apostolic ministry. hierarch began his educational activity from Kamchatka, where in 1705 he sent a missionary, Archimandrite Martinian, and after him the missionary monk Ignatius Kozyrevsky, but the preaching of these missionaries was not particularly successful, since the missionaries had to experience many obstacles. hierarch’s second mission was sent in 1707 to the Ostyaks of the Berezovsky Territory, the third to Mongolia, to the Kutuhta (high priest) of the Buddhists, to the town of Khalkhas. preaching of the Tobolsk Metropolitan among the Ostyaks, Voguls and other Siberian aliens was particularly successful. by an insignificant retinue, with the then impossible ways of communication, the ever-memorable missionary spent most of his archpastoral ministry in Siberia in c,onstant journeys among savages, the Samoyeds, Voguls, Ostyaks, building churches in the far north, in the Kyrgyz territory in the Altai, then enlightening the distant sons of the outskirts of Siberia, Laplanders and Chukchi, helping them spiritually and materially. all the time of his archpastoral ministry, he enlightened and baptized up to 400,000 foreigners, to mention how many churches this great architect built across Siberia, how many parishes he founded, how many cornerstones he laid, so to speak, for the spread of Christianity among the pagans. It was not easy for Metropolitan Philotheos. Not to mention the incredible difficulties traveling along the wild outskirts, across steppes and marshes, taiga and northern tundra; not to mention all sorts of hardships associated with traveling under such conditions; the very life of the Metropolitan was repeatedly endangered. he came to the Ostyaks of Burinsky. Those who were invited to be baptized that they were Muslims and no one had the right to baptize them. left him and locked themselves in one large yurt.1 His Eminence nevertheless remained in their territory and from time to time he sent them missionaries who were with him to summon the Ostyaks. same savages, in order to put an end to the matter all at once, according to the suggestion of the Tatar preacher hiding from them, seized their weapons, and fiercely rushed at the Orthodox missionaries. of them was wounded in the head with an arrow, the other in the shoulder, and the third was punctured through and through by their hands. fright, the unarmed Russians all fled from the shore onto the ships. Metropolitan, who was then praying for the restraint of his enemies, was left alone on the shore. the Ostyak foreman Uman fired a rifle at the Metropolitan, but God preserved His Apostle-Preacher. The bullet passed through his clothing without touching his body. another occasion, the Metropolitan was threatened with danger in Konda. he stayed in the Katyshev yurts to rest, a messenger came to him from Vogulsky Prince Satyga inviting him to hasten to the nomad camp because a lot of people had gathered there, desiring to be baptized. fact, as it turned out, Satyga was deceived by a Tatar from Tobolsk, as though the Tsar himself wanted the Metropolitan’s death, and that there would be no punishment for the murderers. intended to kill Philotheos and all those with him. But for now, the Metropolitan avoided danger. ’s envoys were received kindly by the Metropolitan, and after receiving generous gifts, they informed Philotheos of the danger that threatened him. overtook the missionaries, and many advised him to flee to Tobolsk. Some, however, argued that such cowardice would impair the future work of preaching the Word of God. Metropolitan agreed with those who wished to stay, and it was decided to sail down to the nomad camp. was frightened when he learned that his plans were known to the Metropolitan. The intruders fled into the forest, and the remaining Voguls were willingly baptized. Philotheos not only cared about the spiritual enlightenment of the pagans who converted, but he also tried to deliver those or other benefits to the converts in civil matters. his request, those who were persecuted by the unbaptized were protected from being chased by guards; slaves were given their freedom, those who were included in the head tax were exempted from it. was relieved of the obligation to supply carts, received benefits in the payment of the yasak, they were protected from insults and harassment by the Cossacks and minor officials. Metropolitan distributed a significant amount of bread and money to the newly-baptized poor, and, in general, he helped as much as he could, anyway. newly-baptized loved the Metropolitan as a father. When he visited them, they immediately went out to meet him and greeted him with cordiality and pleasure clearly written on their faces; willingly they heeded his instructions, and gave a firm promise to put his advice into practice. general, they accepted the Metropolitan as their benefactor and their protector, as a man sent from God. memory of Metropolitan Philotheos still lives among the aliens who were enlightened by him. For example, the Ostyaks, when they were asked about him, usually said: “He was a kindly old man; the people did not give offense; he loved the Ostyaks very, very much.... ” 1711, Metropolitan Philotheos was relieved of the administration of the diocese “due to illness,” and retired to the Tyumen Holy Trinity Monastery, he received the schema and the name Theodore. Metropolitan did not give up his archiepiscopal cathedra for rest and peace, now that he was burdened with age and illnesses, but for even more difficult feats of missionary work in the harsh north of Siberia. June 1712, Metropolitan Schema-monk Theodore, the blessing of the then Siberian archpastor, Metropolitan John Maximovitch (June 10), by his own desire and inclination, and at the suggestion of Prince M. Gagarin, who was then the governor of Siberia, who fulfilled the command of Peter I to begin preaching the Gospel among Siberians, and entered into this apostolic spiritual exploit. that year, the hierarch made his first missionary journey to Berezovsky territory along the rivers Irtysh, Ob and Sosve. John, who ruled the diocese, gave him capable employees, Prince Gagarin supplied him from the treasury with a vessel for sailing, rowers, interpreters of the native languages, a guard for preserving the mission, the sum of 2000 rubles, and various gifts for newly-baptized. to the ukaz of Peter the Great, the evangelizer of Siberia wished to prepare the ground of this field on his previous journey; is, to destroy the pagan places of worship with their idols, and to show the pagans how powerless their imaginary gods are to protect even themselves. the help of God, Metropolitan Schema-monk Theodore managed to convince the Ostyaks, who lived near Samarov and in the yurts of Sherkal, to destroy the idols which were especially honored in those districts. June 10, 1715, Metropolitan John Maximovich of Tobolsk reposed, and the aged Metropolitan Schema-monk Theodore was again entrusted with the administration of the Siberian Diocese, he did not stop his favorite missionary activity. Schema-monk Theodore was so fond of the enlightened Ostyaks that, a year before his death, being retired and ill for the second time, the patient visited Nizovsky territory again in 1726 and even reached far off Obdorsk. this was to be the last journey of the ever-memorable hierarch. his second administration of the diocese, Metropolitan Theodore paid attention to the overseas Beijing mission, which from 1714 was headed by Archimandrite Hilarion of Lezhaysk, who was sent to the capital of China by imperial command, under Metropolitan John Maximovich. the death of this Archimandrite, his successor Anthony Platkovsky was appointed head of the mission, and returned to Russia in 1721, according to the suggestion of the Most Reverend Theodore and the Siberian governor, as well as the highest levels of government, it was decided to send a bishop to Beijing. during his first administration of the Tobolsk diocese, he had a vicar bishop, Barlaam Kossovsky, the Bishop of Irkutsk from 1706. He lived in Irkutsk until 1714, when he returned to Moscow, and he was soon appointed to the archiepiscopal cathedra of Tver. Theodore’s second tenure in the Siberian Diocese lasted for five years. 1720, at his own request, Tsar Peter I sent him a letter granting him retirement, in which he gave thanks to the holy hierarch of God for his zealous pastoral service, especially for his tireless and successful work in the missionary field. addition, the archpastor received a retirement pension: 200 rubles in cash, 50 quarters of bread (3000 bushels of grain) per year. exhausted hierarch settled in the Tyumen monastery which he himself had built. May 31, 1727, he reposed at the age of 76, among the brethren and children of the newly-baptized. by his portraits, Metropolitan Philotheos was tall, lean, with a long nose, and gray hair. to his character, in the words of the Siberian Chronicle of Cherepanov, “he was quiet, very indulgent to all, and had very little vanity.” life was most active and simple; in the summertime, he often used to go on foot to Tobolsk to the Ivanov monastery and fished there in the Shantalyne River. alone, he taught the children of the newly-baptized to read, write, and sing in his leisure hours. of them lived in his cell. he composed Church hymns; example - the Troparion and Kontakion of the wonderworker Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye (December 18), a Canon to the martyr Basil of Mangazea (March 23),2 and others, as well as poems of religious content. his own hand, he wrote many of the documents which he issued, especially those concerning the newly-baptized, or pertaining to the episcopal estates. only the residents of Tyumen, but also those from other places in Siberia, visit the grave of the pious archpastor with reverence and offer memorial services for him.3 the Russian Revolution, his relics were secretly reburied. On October 21, 2006, the incorrupt relics of Saint Philotheos were found in Tyumen in the Ascension-Saint George Church. Philotheos is commemorated on May 31, and also on June 10, the Synaxis of Siberian saints. 1 A yurt was a sort of tepee made from animal skins. 2 See Orthodox Life # 2, 1972. 3 Source: The Russian Pilgrim, 1900 (Русский Паломник, 1900 г.)

Russia, Moscow, 1672-1673, Patriarch Pitrim, opposed Nikon his boss, wanted his position, did not get it until later
Moscow Patriarch, 1672-1673, Pitrim; of Krutitsy (died April 1673) was the ninth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Nikon held the post of patriarch, Pitirim was a metropolitan of Krutitsy. When Nikon willfully left the altar, Pitirim became his deputy and acted on his own as a real patriarch without even dealing with Nikon. When an ecumenical council gathered for hearing of Nikon's case, Pitirim was one of his most bitter opponents and accusers, probably, hoping to fill his post after his official deposition. Pitirim didn't succeed, however, because the council chose Joasaphus II over him. Only after the latter's death in 1672, Pitirim was appointed patriarch and remained on this post until his death a year later. to being named Metropolitan of Krutitsy, he had been Metropolitan of Novgorod for almost eight years (6 August 1664 – 7 July 1672).[1]

Russia, Moscow, 1674-1690, Patriarch, Joachim, tried to discontinue veneration of Anna
Moscow Patriarch, 1674-1690, Joachim; Icon of the Mother of God "the Joy of All Who Sorrow"Â, Commemorated on October 24; St Metrophanes (in schema Macarius) the Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on November 23; St. John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Commemorated on June 10; Second glorification of the Holy Right-Believing Princess Anna of Kashin, Commemorated on June 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1675, Turkish siege Pochaev on July 20-23, 1675
Volynia, Turkish siege on July 20-23, 1675; Crimean-Nogai Raids; Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks, Commemorated on July 23;

Russia, Moscow, 1675, Zbarazhsk War with the Turks, Zbarazh Castle, H R Source, Volhynia, W Ukraine
Zbarazhsk Castle; Zbarazhsk War with the Turks 1675; Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks, Commemorated on July 23;

Russia, Moscow, 1675, Pochaev Icon saves P M, heavenly army, Turks shooting at MOG, Job, arrows turned back
Pochaev; Pochayiv Lavra; Uniates; Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated on July 23; Commemoration of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks, Commemorated on July 23; of the Miraculous Appearance of the Mother of God at Pochaev, which saved the Monastery from the assault of the Tatars and Turks Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God is among the most revered sacred objects of the Orthodox Church. Located in the Dormition Cathedral at Pochaev, Ukraine, the Icon is reknowned throughout the entire Slavic world, and is venerated in Russia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and in other places. Christians of other confessions also venerate the Pochaev Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. The wonderworking Icon has been treasured at the Pochaev Lavra for over 400 years. miracles have taken place before the holy Icon, and these are recorded in special books at the monastery. The books contain the personal testimonies of people who prayed before the Pochaev Icon and were healed of their illnesses, delivered from unclean spirits, or freed from captivity. Many sinners were also brought to repentance. Feast Day in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God was appointed to commemorate the deliverance of the Dormition Lavra from a siege by the Turks on July 20-23, 1675. the summer of 1675 during the Zbarazhsk War with the Turks, in the reign of the Polish King Jan Sobesski (1674-1696), regiments composed of Tatars under the command of Khan Nurredin via Vishnevets fell upon the Pochaev monastery, surrounding it on three sides. The weak monastery walls and its stone buildings did not offer much protection against a siege. Igoumen Joseph Dobromirsky urged the brethren and laypeople to pray to their heavenly intercessors, the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job of Pochaev (October 28). monks and the people prayed fervently, prostrating themselves before the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God, and the reliquary containing the relics of Saint Job. At sunrise on the morning of July 23, as the Tatars prepared to attack the monastery, the Igoumen ordered an Akathist to the Theotokos to be sung. At the opening words, “O Queen of the Heavenly Hosts,” the Mother of God suddenly appeared over the church, in “an unfurled radiant white omaphorion,” with angels holding unsheathed swords. Saint Job stood beside the Mother of God, bowing to her and beseeching her to defend the monastery. Tatars believed that the heavenly army was a vision, and in their confusion they started shooting arrows at the Most Holy Theotokos and Saint Job, but the arrows turned backwards and wounded those who shot them. The enemy, gripped by terror, fled in panic, trampling upon and killing each other. The defenders of the monastery pursued them and took many prisoners. Later, some of the prisoners converted to the Orthodox Faith and remained at the monastery thereafter. the year 1721, Pochaev was occupied by the Uniates. Even during this difficult time for the Lavra, the monastery Chronicle lists 539 miracles of the Pochaev Icon. In the second half of the eighteenth century, a Uniate nobleman, Count Nicholas Pototski, became a benefactor of the Pochaev Lavra through the following miraculous circumstance. After accusing his coachman of overturning the carriage with runaway horses, the Count took out a pistol to shoot him. The coachman, turning towards the mountain of Pochaev, stretched out his hands and cried: "Mother of God, depicted in the Pochaev Icon, save me!” times Pototski tried to shoot the pistol, which had never failed him, but the weapon misfired and the coachman remained alive. Pototski went at once to the wonderworking Icon and resolved to devote himself and all his property to building up the monastery. With the money he contributed, the Dormition cathedral was built, as well as other buildings for the brethren. return of the Pochaev Monastery to the Orthodox Church in 1832 was marked by the miraculous healing of the blind maiden Anna Akimchukova, who had come on pilgrimage to the holy shrine along with her seventy-year-old grandmother from Kremenets-Podolsk, 200 versts away. In memory of this event, the Archbishop of Volhynia and Archimandrite Innocent of the Lavra (1832-1840) appointed that an Akathist be read on Saturdays before the wonderworking Icon. During the time of Archimandrite Agathangelus, Archbishop of Volhynia (1866-1876), a separate chapel was built in the galleries of the Holy Trinity church, which was dedicated on July 23, 1875 in memory of the victory over the Tatars. wonderworking Pochaev Icon is also commemorated on Friday of Bright Week, and on September 8. Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated August 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated September 8 ; Venerable Job the Abbot of Pochaev, Commemorated October 10 ; Repose of the Venerable Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev, Commemorated on October 28;

Russia, Moscow, 1676-1681, Russo-Turkish War (1676-“81) R bank Ukraine, Russian v

Russia, Moscow, 1676-1682, Tsar, Feodor III of Russia, progressive views, beard shaving, nobility books d
Moscow Tsar, 1676-1682, Feodor III of Russia; III Alexeyevich or Fyodor III Alekseevich (9 June 1661-“ 7 May 1682) was the Tsar of Russia between 1676 and 1682. Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links Life[edit] Born in Moscow, Fyodor, as the eldest surviving son of Tsar Alexis and Maria Miloslavskaya, succeeded his father on the throne in 1676 at the age of fifteen. He had a fine intellect and a noble disposition; he had received an excellent education at the hands of Simeon Polotsky, the most learned Slavonic monk of the day. He knew Polish and even possessed the unusual accomplishment of Latin.[citation needed] He had been disabled from birth, however, horribly disfigured and half paralyzed by a mysterious disease, supposed to be scurvy.[citation needed] He spent most of his time with young nobles, Ivan Maksimovich Yazykov [ru] and Aleksei Timofeievich Likhachov [ru], who would later introduce Polish ceremonies, court dress, and language to the Russian court.[citation needed] On 28 July 1680 he married a noblewoman, Agaphia Simeonovna Grushevskaya (1663 -“ after 14 July 1681), daughter of Simeon Feodorovich Grushevsky and of his wife Maria Ivanovna Zaborovskaya, and assumed the sceptre. His native energy, though crippled, was not crushed by his disabilities. He soon showed himself as a thorough and devoted reformer. The atmosphere of the court ceased to be oppressive, the light of a new liberalism shone, and the severity of the penal laws was considerably mitigated.[citation needed] The Tsar founded the academy of sciences in the Zaikonospassky monastery, where competent professors were to teach everything not expressly forbidden by the Orthodox church the syllabus included Slavonic, Greek, Latin and Polish.[1] The Feodorean and the later Petrine reforms differed in that while the former were primarily, though not exclusively, for the benefit of the church, the latter were primarily for the benefit of the state. A household census took place in 1678.[2] The most notable reform of Feodor III, made at the suggestion of Vasily Galitzine, involved the abolition in 1682 of the system of mestnichestvo, or "place priority", which had paralyzed the whole civil and military administration of Muscovy for generations. Henceforth all appointments to the civil and military services were to be determined by merit and by the will of the sovereign,[1] while pedigree (nobility) books were to be destroyed. Family[edit] Fyodor's first consort, Agaphia Simeonovna Grushevskaya, shared his progressive views. She was the first to advocate beard-shaving.[1] On 11 July 1681, the Tsaritsa gave birth to her son, Tsarevich Ilya Fyodorovich, the expected heir to the throne. Agaphia died as a consequence of the childbirth three days later, on 14 July, and seven days later, on 21 July, the ten-days-old Tsarevich also died. Seven months later, on 24 February 1682 Fyodor married a second time Marfa Apraksina (1667-“1716), daughter of Matvei Vasilievich Apraksin and wife Domna Bogdanovna Lovchikova. Feodor died three months after his new wedding, on 7 May, without surviving issue. The news of his death sparked the Moscow Uprising of 1682. Repose of the Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on July 22 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on July 28; Translation of the Icon of the Mother of God in Triumph to Russia, Commemorated on September 18 ; St Demetrius of Basarabov, Commemorated on October 27; St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ; Monk Martyr Damascene of the Lavra, Commemorated on November 13; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated on December 14 ; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected JoyÂ, Commemorated on January 25; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; St John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Commemorated on June 10;

Russia, Moscow, 1677, Turks lay siege to Chigirin
Turks lay siege to Chigirin 1677 ; Russo-Turkish War (1676-“81) ; Icon of the Mother of God of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on August 17 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1682-1725, Tsar Peter 1, Enlightened, W marriages, G Embassy, Ship b, beard tax, dress, calendar
Moscow Tsar, 1682-1725, Peter the Great, Tsar of All Russia ; Repose of the Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on July 22 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated on July 23; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on July 28; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Lesna, Commemorated on September 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rudens, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Joy of All Who SorrowÂ, Commemorated on October 24; St Demetrius of Basarabov, Commemorated on October 27; St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Venerable Anthony of Iezerul-Vilcea Skete, Commemorated on November 23 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated on December 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected JoyÂ, Commemorated on January 25; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; Martyr Theognes at Cyzicus, Commemorated on April 29; New Martyr Argyra, Commemorated on April 30; Icon of the Mother of God of œthe Unexpected JoyÂ from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Macarius the Archimandrite of Obruch (Kanev), Commemorated on May 13; St John the Russian and Confessor, whose relics are on the island of Euboia, Commemorated on May 27; St John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Commemorated on June 10; Second Translation of the relics of St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on June 23 ; Righteous John the Youth of Meniugi, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24; Righteous Procopius the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Ustiug, Vologda, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1682, 1362, 1581, Anthony founded Black Lake monastery, destroyed, 1581 by Lithuanians, &1682 by Sweden
Russia, Vologda, 1362 &1581 &1682, Anthony oBlack Lake (Chernopovets) founded Black Lake (Chernoezero) monastery, Cherepovets Resurrection monastery, Yagorba Mouth, Mologa, twice completely destroyed, 1581 by Lithuanians, &1682 by Sweden ; Cherepovets Resurrection monastery, Yagorba Mouth, Mologa, 1362; Venerable Anthony of Chernoezero, Commemorated on January 17; Anthony of Black Lake founded the Mother of God monastery at Black Lake [Chernoezero] in the Novgorod area, not far from the city of Chernopovets. monastery was on an island of the Schirsk countryside. monastery twice suffered complete destruction: in 1581, from the Lithuanians; in 1682, from the Swedes. monastery was closed in 1764.

Russia, Moscow, 1684-1686, Chinese Invasions of Albazin and Amur River
Moscow, Chinese Invasions of Albazin (1684-1686) ; Icon of the Mother of God "œThe Word was made Flesh"Â, Commemorated on March 9; Blessed Dovmont (Timothy) the Prince of Pskov, Commemorated on May 20;

Russia, Moscow, 1685, Orestes oCappadocia, Armenia, Establish sign wMe to shame them, earthquake, 1685 vision arms&legs
Armenia, 304, Orestes oCappadocia, Armenia (Central Anatolia), fTyana, soldier, devoted tChrist, refused pagan worship, Maximinus tTyana stamp out C, O refused riches, flogged naked, jail 7days, tPagan Temple, willing subject earthly matters but no king but true God, lashes, rods, rawhide, fire, Establish wMe aSign fGood, to shame who hate me, earthquake idols smashed Temple collapsed, prison 7days nFoodoDrink, resume torture 20 nails into legs, tied wild horse, dragged tDeath, 1685 vision Orestes says also both arms and both legs cut off; Cappadocia; Martyr Orestes of Cappadocia, Commemorated on November 10 ; Martyr Orestes the Physician lived in the city of Tyana in Cappadocia during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-311). was an illustrious and capable soldier, from his childhood he had been a devoted servant of Christ, a sacrifice of praise to God with a pure heart, and refusing to worship the demons which the pagans call "gods." the Emperor's command, the military officer Maximinus was sent to Tyana to stamp out Christianity, by then had spread throughout Cappadocia. was among the first brought to trial before Maximinus. Courageously, he confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. prosecutor offered the Saint riches, honors and fame if he would become an idolater, but Saint Orestes would not agree to this. tried in many ways, to force him to deny Christ. Even with the pressures they exerted upon him, they were unable to convince him to worship the idols. they stripped him naked, beat him up, and flogged him as a punishment. Afterward, he was put in jail for seven days. the end of the seventh day he was taken to a pagan temple to offer sacrifice and worship to the idols. asked him, "Do you still refuse to convert to the worship which is offered with such reverence by our august emperors?" replied that he was a willing subject when it came to political and earthly matters. Apart from that, however, he would not recognize any king except the one true God. ordered that Orestes be taken to a pagan temple and once again, demanded that he worship the idols. he refused, forty soldiers took turns, one after the other, beating the holy martyr with lashes, with rods, with rawhide, and then they tormented him with fire. Orestes cried out to the Lord, “Establish with me a sign for good, let those who hate me see it and be put to shame” (Psalm 85/86:17). Lord heard the prayer of His faithful servant. The earth began to tremble, and the idols toppled and were smashed. Everyone rushed out of the temple, and when Saint Orestes came out, the entire temple collapsed. Maximinus ordered the holy martyr to be locked up in prison for seven days giving him neither food nor drink, and to resume the torture on the eighth day. hammered twenty nails into the martyr’s legs, and then tied him to a wild horse. over the stones, the holy martyr departed to the Lord in the year 304, and his relics were thrown into the sea. 1685, when Saint Dēmḗtrios, later the Bishop of Rostov, (October 28) had just finished writing the Life of Saint Orestes to be printed by the Kiev Caves Lavra, he became tired and fell asleep. Orestes appeared to him one night in a dream, during the Nativity Fast, just before Matins. With a joyful countenance, he said, "I suffered more torments for Christ than these." the Martyr bared his chest and showed Saint Dēmḗtrios the deep wound in his left side. "Here," he said, "they pierced me with a spear." Saint Orestes showed him his right elbow and said, "Here they cut off my arm." he showed him his left arm with a similar wound, saying "They cut off this arm here." this he bent over and showed him one leg, and then the other, with wounds behind the knee. He said, "My legs were cut off with a scythe." this the Martyr stood up and looked the writer in the face, and declared, "Now you see that I suffered more torments for Christ than you have described.” humble monk wondered whether this was Saint Orestes, one of the Five Martyrs of Sebaste (December 13). if in answer to his thoughts the Martyr said, “I am not that Orestes, but him whose Life you have just finished writing.” then, the bells rang for Matins, and the vision ended.

Russia, Moscow, 1686-1700, Russo-Turkish War (1686-“1700) European Anti-Turk Coalition, 2 Crimean Ds, Azov V

Russia, Moscow, 1687, Appearance of the Rudens, Belarus Icon
Rudens (Rudzensk), Belarus ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rudens; Rudens Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1687 in the Rudno locale of Mogilevsk diocese. In 1712 the icon was transferred to the Florovsk Ascension monastery in Kiev, where now it is located.

Russia, Moscow, 1688, Appearance of Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon, sister of Patriarch, Euphemia's prayer to Theotokos
Russia, Moscow, 1688, appearance of Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon; Moscow; Joy of All Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on October 24; much consolation is contained in just the name of this Icon - awakening, strengthening the people's faith in the Mother of God, as a wondrous helper, who hastens everywhere where the groan of human suffering is heard, who wipes away the tears of those who mourn, and in sorrow itself, bestows moments of delight and heavenly joy. Rejoice always, O Heavenly Joy of all who Sorrow. accordance with the faith of the people in the loving kindness of the Mother of God toward the human race, it has been customary to depict the Theotokos in a way which conforms to what is heard in the words of the prayer: "O Most Holy Sovereign Lady Theotokos, you are higher than all the Angels and Archangels, and more honorable than all creation. You are the helper of the oppressed, the hope of the hopeless, the aid of the poor, the consolation of the grieving, the nourished of the hungry, the clothing of the naked, the healing of the sick, the salvation of the sinful, the help and succor of all Christians." the Mother of God is depicted in full stature, sometimes with the Divine Child in her arms (as in the Moscow prototype), sometimes without the Child (as in the Icon with coins, which was glorified in St. Petersburg on July 23, 1888. She is surrounded by all sorts of distressed people - the naked, the offended, and the hungry. Around these poor unfortunates Angels are often depicted, sent by the Sovereign Lady to alleviate human suffering. The Angels, coming close to the people, point to the Mother of God, who is depicted on the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icons, either in glory, with a crown on her head and in royal vesture, or in the usual garments of her earthly sojourn, and in a white cloth on her head. Moscow, in the XVII century, a certain Icon of the Mother of God of this name became famous. The first miracle occurred in 1688 for the ailing Euphemia, the sister of Patriarch Joachim, who lived on Ordynka. She experienced terrible suffering from a wound in her side. This wound was so great that her intestines were visible. The patient was waiting for death, but at the same time, she did not lose hope in Divine help. One day, after asking to partake of the Holy Mysteries, she began to cry out to the Most Holy Theotokos with great faith: "Hear me, All-Merciful Sovereign Lady! The entire world boasts of you, and all receive your abundant mercies. I deserve to be punished for my iniquities, but do not punish me in your wrath. Behold my harsh infirmity, and have mercy on me." this prayer, the patient heard a voice: "Euphemia, in your suffering, why do you not resort to the universal Healer of all?" by the voice Euphemia replied, "Where may I find such a Healer?" answer came: "There is an image of me in the church of my Son's Transfiguration, called "Joy of all who Sorrow." It stands on the left side in the trapeza, where the women usually stand. Summon the priest from that church to come to your house with the Icon, and when he has served a Moleben with the Sanctification of Water, you shall receive healing. Do not forget my mercy toward you, and proclaim it for the glorification of my name." Euphemia recovered from the excitement of this vision, she learned from her relatives that in the church of the Transfiguration, on Ordynka, there really was a "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon of the Mother of God, so she summoned the priest to come to her house with the Icon. After serving a Moleben with the Sanctification of Water, Euphemia was healed on October 24, 1688. Later, a Feast was established in honor of this Icon in remembrance of her healing which took place on this day. think that the original "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon of the Mother of God was brought to St. Petersburg, to Princess Natalia Alekseevna, and that it is precisely the image that stands in the Sorrowful Church, on Shpalerna. However, it is more probable that the original Icon remained in Moscow.

Russia, Moscow, 1689 & 1709, Kazan - Kaplunovka Icon, Akhtyr, Dream MOG order came true placed icon iKharkov tWin Poltava Battle
Russia, Kiev, 1689 & 1709, Kazan - Kaplunovka Icon, Akhtyr, Ukraine, Vorskla River 4, Akhtyrka, in Kharkov province, dream Elder ordered J take icons fDream Iconogs, keep Kazan copy, & J would obtain mercy&grace fMOG, fasted &Litergy 3days, then 3 Iconogs came to his home & offered free K icon, kept but 3rd day MOG appeared& told him to put it in her church, cell bright light, tears icon's eyes&face down board, icon delivered woman from demons, national prominence during war Charles XII wPeter tGreat, Peter sought help from J, kept Icon wArmy, meanwhile C XII t J's house, his soldiers tried set fire tChurch, did not burn b MOG's icon, man tells Charles icon is with Peter iKharkov, C realizes icon w help P, Russia wins Battle of Poltava, silver gilt riza w precious stones for icon; Akhtyr, Ukraine, Vorskla River 4; Kazan - Kaplunovka Icon of the Mother of God (1689), Commemorated on September 11; the end of the XVII century, versts from the city of Akhtyrka, in Kharkov province, in the village of Kaplunovka, on the Khukhra River, a pious priest, Father John Umanov. On September 11, 1689 a wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God was given to him. September 8, the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, he saw an Elder in a dream told him that in three days three iconographers would come to him: one in his seventies, another in his eighties, and the third in his nineties. Elder ordered Father John to take a stack of icons from the oldest of the three, return the first seven to him, keep the eighth one, which would be a copy of the Kazan icon (July 8). return, he promised the priest that he would obtain mercy and grace from the Mother of God. this dream, Father John fasted and served the Liturgy for three days. the third day, as he was returning home from church, he saw three old iconographers walking toward him. invited them to his home and welcomed them cordially, the oldest iconographer took several icons from his pack, the eighth, as predicted in his dream, was a copy of the Kazan Icon. iconographers wanted to give him the Icon for free, but they agreed to take 15 kopecks for it. After that, they continued on their way. Umanov put the Icon in his room and kept a lit candle before it day and night. the eve of the third Sunday he saw a Virgin of extraordinary beauty in a dream, who touched his hand, to him: "Priest John, do not keep me in your home, but take me to my church." church in Kaplunovka was dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God. Father John awakened, his cell was illumined by a bright light. he approached the Icon he noticed that from the eyes on the Mother of God's face, tears were streaming down the board. he summoned some respected parishioners, and told them about the Icon and the events of the previous night. he served a Moleben, the Icon was solemnly transferred to the church, where it became renowned for its miracles. Icon began to be called Kaplunovskaya, from the name of the village. certain woman named Paraskevḗ, who was possessed by demons, heard about this miracle, and with faith she ran to the church and asked the priest to chant a Moleben for her health before the Icon of the Mother of God, she was freed from the power of the devil. Feeling that she was her normal self, she thanked God and her Intercessor, the Most Holy Theotokos. John served in the village for a long time after these events, and was consoled by the ever-increasing glory of the Icon. also had the joy of seeing the national prominence that the Icon received during Charles XII's war with Peter the Great. the Swedish King Charles XII invaded Little Russia with his troops, Peter sought heavenly help, since he was going to meet him. summoned Father John to Kharkov with the Kaplunovka Icon, which he kept with the army. Charles and Ivan Mazepa reached Kaplunovka and stayed there to rest, occupying Father John's house. of the soldiers wanted to set fire to the church, but the wood they piled around the temple did not catch fire. saw all this from the window and asked Mazepa for an explanation of why the soldiers could not burn the church. said that it was probably guarded by the Mother of God, since her wonderworking Icon was located there. Swedish King ordered them to bring to one of the residents of Kaplunovka to him. They found a man in the woods, and Charles began to ask him where Peter and his troops were. man said that he was in Kharkov. Charles asked where the Icon of the Mother of God was. he heard that it had been taken to the army, he told Mazepa, "If we could not set fire to the church when the Icon was not here, it is likely to be very bad for us when and where it is present." the Battle of Poltava started, Peter ordered the Kaplunovka Icon to be carried past the ranks of the Russian army, and he prayed with tears before the Icon. after the battle, Father John was summoned to Moscow with the Icon and from there he was sent home with the shrine. made a silver gilt riza with precious stones for the Icon, and a silver icon case (kivot). June 14, 2020, the wonderworking Kaplunovka Icon of the Mother of God was donated to the Patriarchal Cathedral in honor of the Resurrection of Christ - the main temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Kaplunovka Icon is also commemorated on July 8, the Feast Day of the Kazan Icon.

Russia, Moscow, 1689-1714, Saint Anthony t Hesychast, solitary, cave, deamon struggles, chapel church w angels, Oltenia revival
Romania, 1689-1714, Saint Anthony the Hesychast, Vilcea county (Olt River 14), solitary found cave for cell, struggled against deamons, day work night virgil, fasting prostrations, & chapel church w angels for prayer & services, long fasts, battles w unseen, heart tears, 2-3 hrs sleep, bread crumbs & vegetables, Jesus prayer, psalms, visitors for spiritual advice & consolation, genuine Oltenia spiritual revival; Vilcea county ; Venerable Anthony of Iezerul-Vilcea Skete, Commemorated November 23, Saint Anthony the Hesychast was born in the sub-Carpathian Mountains of Vilcea county in Romania; Anthony the Hesychast was born in the sub-Carpathian Mountains of Vâlcea county in Romania, and he loved Christ from his early childhood. visited many of the monasteries and sketes in that area, conversing with several hesychasts who sought quietude in the mountains. had a profound effect upon his life, and in time, he entered the monastic life at Iezeru Skete in the beautiful wilderness of Vâlcea. 1690, after he had acquired experience in the ascetical life, the Igoumen blessed him to live as a solitary a few kilometers above Iezeru Skete on the mountain of the same name. walked from place to place searching for a stone cave for his cell and a chapel. he found a small cave, where he glorified God and struggled against the demons. true hesychasts know what great temptations and trials face those who wish to live as solitaries. Anthony labored for three years, digging a chapel out of the cliffside with only a hammer and chisel. He worked during the day, and kept vigil by night. cave was a shelter for his body, exhausted by his fasting and prostrations. his soul was not at rest because there was no church nearby, where he could lift up his heart and hands in prayer day and night. From time to time, a hieromonk from the Skete would come to serve the Divine Liturgy on Feast Days and during the fasts. praying to the Mother of God, he began to hollow out a space for a small chapel. When it was finished, it was consecrated by Bishop Hilarion of Râmnicu Vâlcea. this little chapel, the blessed one prayed unceasingly, together with the Angels in heaven, reading the daily services, and making hundreds of prostrations. can describe his long fasts for three days and more, his all-night vigils, his battles with unseen enemies who cannot abide the humility and hardships of the saints, his fervent prayer and incessant tears from his heart? never slept for more than two or three hours a night, nor did he eat anything but breadcrumbs soaked in water and salt, with a few vegetables that he grew in his little garden. repeated the Jesus Prayer unceasingly from his heart, and he read the Psalms with many tears of humility. Anthony’s holy life became known throughout the area, and many of the clergy and laity flocked to him for spiritual advice or consolation in their sorrows. received them with love, gave them the help they needed, and then sent them home in peace. Through his influence, a genuine spiritual revival took place in sub-Carpathian Oltenia. Anthony fell asleep in the Lord in 1714 after twenty-five years of spiritual struggles. disciples mourned him, and buried him beside his small chapel. The faithful still go there to light candles and to pray, asking for his blessing and assistance. Anthony the Hesychast was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Romania in 1992. inscription on St. Anthony's scroll reads “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.”

Russia, Moscow, 1690, Fathers martyred by Dagestanians, David Gareja monastery, Kakheti, dagestanis killed & destroyed icons
Georgia, 1690, Fathers martyred by the Dagestanians, David Gareja monastery complex, Kakheti, Georgia (Iori River 4), Shio's brother killed b, became monk, in charge, dagestani robbers killed and destroyed icons; David Gareja monastery complex (Georgia) ; Fathers martyred by the Dagestanians, Commemorated on June 1; holy monk-martyrs Shio the New, David, Gabriel and Paul labored in the David-Gareji Wilderness at the end of the 17th century. Shio was from the village of Vedzisi in the Kartli region. His parents, Papuna and Tamar, were wealthy and highly influential people. They had eight children: five sons and three daughters. After their parents died, Shio’s brothers quarreled so intensely over their inheritance that the eldest brother finally killed the youngest. disturbed by this tragedy, blessed Shio sought to withdraw from the vanity of the world—a world in which brother can murder brother and a son can murder his father. Shio confessed his desire to his spiritual father, and he was advised to journey to the David-Gareji Monastery and be tonsured a monk. In fact, the abbot, Fr. Onopre (Machutadze), had invited Shio to the monastery several times before, saying, “Come, brother Shio, and let us finish our lives here.” great joy Onopre received Shio, who was already revered by many for his faith and chastity. He directed him to a cell and clothed him as a novice. Shio’s tireless labors, humility, and manifest love for his brothers inspired many to seek his counsel. The abbot himself often trusted Shio to administer the affairs of the monastery in his absence. Fr. Onopre departed to attend to some matters outside the monastery, leaving Shio in charge. After Vespers and a meal, the exhausted brothers were settling down to rest when a band of Dagestani robbers suddenly stormed the monastery grounds. They ransacked the monastery and captured Hieromonk Shio and the monks David, Gabriel and Paul and killed them. Some of the brothers who remained tried to flee, but they were caught and brutally slain. cells of the David-Gareji Monastery were soaked with blood. Then the Dagestanis, yet unsatisfied, seized and destroyed nearly all the monastery’s property. They stole some of the clerical vestments, and the rest they cut in pieces and tossed in a well. Then they hacked the holy icons to pieces with their axes. the blessing of the catholicos and by order of the king, the mutilated relics of the holy martyrs were buried in the courtyard south of the grave of Saint David of Gareji. Martyrs Shio, David, Gabriel, and Paul of Akhalkalaki in Georgia, Commemorated on June 1; holy monk-martyrs Shio the New, David, Gabriel and Paul labored in the David-Gareji Wilderness at the end of the 17th century. Shio was from the village of Vedzisi in the Kartli region. His parents, Papuna and Tamar, were wealthy and highly influential people. They had eight children: five sons and three daughters. After their parents died, Shio’s brothers quarreled so intensely over their inheritance that the eldest brother finally killed the youngest. disturbed by this tragedy, blessed Shio sought to withdraw from the vanity of the world—a world in which brother can murder brother and a son can murder his father. Shio confessed his desire to his spiritual father, and he was advised to journey to the David-Gareji Monastery and be tonsured a monk. In fact, the abbot, Fr. Onopre (Machutadze), had invited Shio to the monastery several times before, saying, “Come, brother Shio, and let us finish our lives here.” great joy Onopre received Shio, who was already revered by many for his faith and chastity. He directed him to a cell and clothed him as a novice. Shio’s tireless labors, humility, and manifest love for his brothers inspired many to seek his counsel. The abbot himself often trusted Shio to administer the affairs of the monastery in his absence. Fr. Onopre departed to attend to some matters outside the monastery, leaving Shio in charge. After Vespers and a meal, the exhausted brothers were settling down to rest when a band of Dagestani robbers suddenly stormed the monastery grounds. They ransacked the monastery and captured Hieromonk Shio and the monks David, Gabriel and Paul and killed them. Some of the brothers who remained tried to flee, but they were caught and brutally slain. cells of the David-Gareji Monastery were soaked with blood. Then the Dagestanis, yet unsatisfied, seized and destroyed nearly all the monastery’s property. They stole some of the clerical vestments, and the rest they cut in pieces and tossed in a well. Then they hacked the holy icons to pieces with their axes. the blessing of the catholicos and by order of the king, the mutilated relics of the holy martyrs were buried in the courtyard south of the grave of Saint David of Gareji.

Russia, Moscow, 1690-1716, Anthimus tGeorgian, Turk slave, Romanian Metroplitn, author, printer, woodcarver, builder, spirit L
Georgia, 1690-1716, Anthimus the Georgian, Georgia (Iberia, the land of St George), Orthodox, captured by Turks invading Georgia, slave in Constantinople, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, skilled woodcarving, embroidery, painting, Escaped tEcumenical Patriarchate, invited to Wallachia by Constantine Brancoveanu for his talents, became monk 1691, later priest, royal print shop iBucharest, printing house iSnagov Monastery, printed 63 books iRomanian, Greek, Arabic, Georgian, author 38 oThem, Igumen 1696, Bishop Rimnicu-Vilcea 1705, Metropolitan Wallachia 1708, schools, churches, monasteries, spiritual legacy Romanian Church, arrested by Turks 1716, tSt Catherines Mt Sinai, killed along the way; Georgia (country) ; Saint Anthimus the Georgian, Commemorated on September 27; Anthimus was born in Georgia, and his parents were called John and Mary. The child received the name Andrew in Baptism, and his parents raised him as an Orthodox Christian. was captured by Turks who invaded Georgia when he was young, he was one of many who were made slaves in Constantinople. he learned to speak Greek, Arabic, and Turkish, and also became skilled in woodcarving, embroidery, and painting. a few years as a slave, Andrew escaped and fled to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for refuge. 1690, Andrew was invited to Wallachia by Prince Constantine Brancoveanu (August 16), who had heard of his talents. a year or so, he became a monk and received the name Anthimus. he was ordained to the holy priesthood. was placed in charge of the royal print shop in Bucharest, and later set up a printing house in the Snagov Monastery. monastery printed sixty-three books in Romanian, Greek, Arabic, and Georgian. Anthimus was the author of thirty-eight of them. He was chosen to be the igumen of Snagov in 1696. saint was consecrated as Bishop of Rimnicu-Vilcea in 1705, three years later he was made Metropolitan of Wallachia. Metropolitan, he established schools for poor children, and built churches and monasteries. Since he was a woodcarver, he used his talent to beautify many churches. Anthimus was a zealous pastor who satisfied his flock’s hunger for spiritual knowledge. in the Romanian language, he taught them the saving truths of Orthodoxy, and offered words of encouragement and consolation. His edifying books and sermons are part of the spiritual legacy of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Anthimus was arrested by the Turks in 1716 and sentenced to be exiled at Saint Catherine’s Monastery on Mt. Sinai, but he never arrived at his destination. September 27, 1716, he was killed by the soldiers who were escorting him. cut his body into little pieces and threw them into the Tungia River, south of the Danube. Thus, the faithful servant of Christ received the crown of martyrdom. Anthimus was a true shepherd of his flock, and a father to his clergy. He was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Romania in 1992.

Russia, Moscow, 1696-1771, Domnitsa River Icon, Chernigov appeared river bank, monastery there, delivered f plague in 1771
Russia, Kiev, 1696-1771, Domnitsa River Icon, Berezna, Chernigov (Desna River 5), appeared river bank, monastery established there, delivered from plague in 1771; Berezna, Chernigov; Domnitsa River, Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God of Domnitsa, Commemorated September 8 ; Domnitsa Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1696 on the bank of the Domnitsa River in Chernigov diocese, not far from the city of Berezna. the place of appearance of the icon a monastery was established, in which was situated the wonderworking image. the year 1771 the inhabitants of the city prayed before the holy icon and were delivered from plague through the intercession of the Theotokos.

Russia, Moscow, 1700, 18th - 21st Century Folder, Many Wars protecting Orthodox

Russia, Moscow, 1700-1799, 18th Century Folder, Wars with Sweden, Turkey, Persia, and Mongols

Russia, Moscow, 1701-1721, Great Northern War (with Protestants and Sweden)
Moscow, 1700-1721, Great Northern War (with Sweden); Moscow Tsar, 1721-1725, Peter the Great; Icon of the Mother of God of Domnitsa, Commemorated on September 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1701-1731, Innocent oIrkutsk, deprivations fStrength, successfully produced 2Schools no funding, incorrupt rlcs
Mongol, China, 1701-1731, Priest, Innocent of Irkutsk, oNoble Descent, Kulchitsky family, Kiev Spiritual Academy, monk i1710, instructor Moscow Slav-Greek-Latin Academy, theology professor,t Petersburg Nevsky Lavra 1719, chief naval chaplain, 1720 vice-regent, 1721 Bishop oPereyaslavl & Peking Spiritual Mission, refused entry by China because spiritual, 3yrs aSelingin, deprivation&Grief, diplomat blunders, intrgues oIrkutsk archmandrite, other named China Archmandrite, Anthony named Irkutsk&Nerchinsk, location close to china, size, sparse population, many nationalities, unenlightened christians, lack roads, poverty, Plus no pay oFunding, but his monastery still maintained 2Schools (Mongol&Russian), toiled tirelesly, sermons Letters directives, deprivations provided strength, humility, insight, 1728 Baikal drought, grain famine 1727, weekly moliebens, saturday Akathist sunday M, to St Elias feast, the day drought ended, new stone church, expanded boundaries, robust health but died 1731, 1764 incorrupt, 1804 sainthood, relics moved tAnti-religious Yaroslav museum, moved again 1939, remains unknown man, 1990 Tolga Monastery Yaroslav, 1990 back to Irkutsk; Moscow, 1700-1731, Priest, Innocent of Irkutsk; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Innocent, Bishop of Irkutsk, (in the world John) was descended from the noble Kulchitsky family. parents moved from Volhynia to the Chernigov region in the mid-seventeenth century. saint was born in about the year 1680, educated at the Kiev Spiritual Academy. accepted monastic tonsure in 1710 was appointed an instructor at the Moscow Slavonic-Greek-Latin Academy as prefect and professor of theology. 1719 Saint Innocent transferred to the Saint Peterburg Alexander Nevsky Lavra, was appointed chief naval chaplain. 1720 he served as vice-regent of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. February 14, 1721, hieromonk Innocent was consecrated as Bishop of Pereyaslavl appointed to the Peking Spiritual Mission in China. the Chinese government refused to allow him to enter the country, the Senate Commission on External Affairs had indiscretely characterized him as “a spiritual personage, a great lord.” saint was compelled to spend three years at Selingin on the Chinese border, suffering much deprivation because of the uncertainty of his position, and grief from the disarray of the civil government in Siberia. blunders of the Russian Mission in China by Graf Raguzinsky, intrigues by the Irkutsk archimandrite Anthony Platkovsky led to the appointment of Archimandrite Anthony in China. decree of the Most Holy Synod Saint Innocent was named in 1727 to be Bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk. so he entered into the governance of the newly-formed dioceses. proximity of the Chinese border, the expanse and sparsely-settled dioceses, the great number of diverse nationalities (Buryat, Mongol, and others), mostly unenlightened by the Christian Faith, the lack of roads and the poverty—all this made Saint Innocent’s pastoral work burdensome and his life full of deprivations. a strange oversight of the Senate, he did not receive any money until the time of his death, and he endured extreme want. these difficult conditions of scant funds, the Irkutsk Ascension monastery still maintained two schools opened under him, one Mongol and the other Russian. constant concern of the saint was directed towards the schools: the selection of worthy teachers, and providing the necessary books, clothing and other provisions for students. saint toiled tirelessly at organizing the diocese, and strengthening its spiritual life. many sermons, pastoral letters and directives bear witness to this. his work and deprivations Saint Innocent found spiritual strength, humility, and insight. the spring of 1728, the Baikal region began to suffer a drought. Famine from a poor grain harvest had threatened the diocese already back in 1727. the blessing of the holy hierarch, in May within the churches of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region they began to include a Molieben for an end to the drought at each Liturgy. Saturdays they sang an Akathist to the Mother of God, on Sundays they served a Molieben. “The supplications,” said the saint, “should end on the Feast of Saint Elias” (July 20). on that very day a storm raged at Irkutsk with such strong rains, that in the streets of the city water stood up to people’s knees, and thus the drought ended. the efforts of Saint Innocent, construction was started on a stone church to replace the wooden one at the Ascension monastery, the boundaries of the diocese were expanded to include not only Selingin, but also the Yakutsk and Ilimsk surroundings. saint, not noted for robust health, and under the influence of the severe climate and his afflictions, departed to the Lord at a rather young age (51). He reposed on the morning of November 27, 1731. the year 1764, the body of the saint was discovered incorrupt during restoration work on the monastery’s Tikhvin church. miracles occurred not only at Irkutsk, but also in remote places of Siberia, for those who flocked to the saint with prayer. moved the Most Holy Synod to uncover the relics and to glorify the saint in the year 1800. the year 1804, a feastday was established to celebrate his memory throughout all Russia on November 26, the Sign Icon of the Mother of God is commemorated on the actual day of his repose (November 27). Saint Innocent is also remembered on February 9. 1921, the relics of Saint Innocent were taken from their shrine and placed in a Soviet anti-religious museum. were moved to another museum in Yaroslav in 1939, and were exhibited as “mummified remains of an unknown man.” In 1990, they were brought to the newly-reopened Tolga Monastery in the Yaroslav diocese. September of 1990, the holy relics arrived in Irkutsk and were placed in the cathedral, to the joy of all the faithful. Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on February 9;

Russia, Moscow, 1702, Unexpected Joy Icon, Rostov, youth praying before sinning, wounds and blood, finally unexpected joy
Russia, Rostov, 1702, Unexpected Joy Icon, Rostov-Yaroslavl, sinful youth, devoted to MOG, praying before sinning, wounds and blood, who has done this, you and other sinners, prayed for forgiveness, finally recieved unexptected joy; Rostov-Yaroslavl; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected joy, Commemorated on December 9 ; Unexpected Joy Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is painted in this way: in a room is an icon of the Mother of God, and beneath it a youth is kneeling at prayer. The tradition about the healing of some youth from a bodily affliction through this holy icon is recorded in the book of Saint Demetrius of Rostov, The Fleece of Prayer [See Judges 6: 36-40]. sinful youth, who was nevertheless devoted to the Theotokos, was praying one day before the icon of the All-Pure Virgin before going out to commit a sin. Suddenly, he saw that wounds appeared on the Lord’s hands, feet, and side, and blood flowed from them. In horror he exclaimed, “O Lady, who has done this?” The Mother of God replied, “You and other sinners, because of your sins, crucify My Son anew.” Only then did he realize how great was the depth of his sinfulness. For a long time he prayed with tears to the All-Pure Mother of God and the Savior for mercy. Finally, he received the unexpected joy of the forgiveness of his sins. “Unexpected Joy” icon is also commemorated on January 25 and May 1. Icon of the Mother of God The Unexpected Joy, Commemorated on January 25; Unexpected Joy Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, is painted in this way: in a room is an icon of the Mother of God, and beneath it a youth is kneeling at prayer. The tradition about the healing of some youth from a bodily affliction through this holy icon is recorded in the book of Saint Demetrius of Rostov, The Fleece of Prayer [See Judges 6: 36-40]. sinful youth, who was nevertheless devoted to the Theotokos, was praying one day before the icon of the All-Pure Virgin before going out to commit a sin. Suddenly, he saw that wounds appeared on the Lord’s hands, feet, and side, and blood flowed from them. In horror he exclaimed, “O Lady, who has done this?” The Mother of God replied, “You and other sinners, because of your sins, crucify My Son anew.” Only then did he realize how great was the depth of his sinfulness. For a long time he prayed with tears to the All-Pure Mother of God and the Savior for mercy. Finally, he received the unexpected joy of the forgiveness of his sins. “Unexpected Joy” icon is also commemorated on January 25 and May 1.

Russia, Moscow, 1705-1767, St Basil of Poiana Marului skete, Romania), hesychist, spiritual renewal, influence beyond Romania
Romania, 1705-1767, St Basil of Poiana Marului (Apple Orchard) skete, Romania (Olt River 8), hesychist, spiritual renewal, influence beyond Romania; Poiana Marului ; St Basil of Poiana Marului, Commemorated on April 15; Basil, the Elder of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15), was born toward the end of the seventeenth century. He received monastic tonsure at Dalhautsi-Focshani Skete in 1705 or 1706, laboring in asceticism with great fervor. Basil was ordained to the holy priesthood, and became igumen of Dalhautsi in 1715. He remained in that position for twenty years, and was a wise instructor of monks, teaching them obedience, humility, and the art of the Jesus Prayer. fame of this great spiritual Father began to spread, so that even Prince Constantine Mavrocordat heard of him. Saint Basil’s community became known as a spiritual school of hesychasm, based on the wisdom of the Holy Fathers. When the number of his disciples increased until there was no longer room for all of them at Dalhautsi, they settled in other Sketes in the area. In this way, his influence and teaching spread to other places, inspiring a spiritual renewal of Romanian monastic life in the eighteenth century. Basil renovated the Poiana Marului (Apple Orchard) Skete near the city of Romni-Sarat between 1730-1733, then moved there with twelve disciples. In addition to his duties as Igumen of Poiana Marului, Saint Basil was the spiritual guide of all the Sketes in the Buzau Mountains. One of his most famous disciples was Saint Paisius Velichkovsky, whom he tonsured on Mount Athos in 1750. holy Elder Basil also wrote introductions to the writings of Saints Gregory of Sinai, Nilus of Sora, and others who wrote about the spiritual life, guarding the mind, and on the Jesus Prayer. He taught that the Holy Scriptures are a “saving medicine” for the soul, and recommended reading the Holy Fathers in order to obtain a correct understanding of Scripture, and to avoid being led astray through misunderstanding. Saint Basil also warned against any inclination to excuse ourselves and our sins, for this hinders true repentance. Basil fell asleep in the Lord on April 25, 1767, leaving behind many disciples. His influence has been felt in other Orthodox countries beyond the borders of Romania.

Russia, Moscow, 1707-1727, Tsarina, Catherine I of Russia, from maid to tzar story
Moscow, 1725-1726, Tsar, Catherine I of Russia; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30;

Russia, Moscow, 1707-1727, Icon oBethlehem, Judea, iBasillica Christ's Nativity, luxurious fabrics, Empress Catherine
Jerusalem, 1707-1727, Icon oBethlehem, Judea, iBasillica Christ's Nativity, luxurious fabrics, Empress Catherine, infinite affection emanates from eyes of icon, & her serene gaze, sweetens and exalts hearts of faithful, also all Catherine's jewels on icon, forcing empresses not wear Jewels any more; “Bethlehem” Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on December 26; the magnificent Basilica of Christ’s Nativity in Bethlehem, the wonderworking icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, known as Bethlehemitissa, stands out. is located in a prominent proskynitarion on the right side of the southern entrance of the Holy Cave of the Nativity. infinite affection which emanates from the eyes of the Panagia’s icon, and her serene gaze, sweetens and exalts the hearts of the faithful. clothing on the Icon of the Theotokos is covered with luxurious fabrics and precious gems, and makes a distinct impression. is no clear historical data concerning the origin of the icon. is speculation that it came from Russia, and pious tradition particularly links it to the Russian Empress Catherine, who visited the Holy Land and Bethlehem after a miracle performed by the Virgin. donated her imperial garments in order to clothe the “Mistress of the World” with them. to tradition, she also gave her jewelry to be placed on the sacred icon, empresses not to wear rubies (or diamonds, according to others) any longer, for this was the exclusive privilege of the “Queen of the Angels.” the Bethlehem Icon has a special place in the hearts of all the Orthodox. Virgin Mary, the Lady of the Holy Land, is the tender mother who obeyed God’s command and brought our Savior and Redeemer into the world; at the same time she is the mother of us all and an intercessor before her Son in all our appeals. is our guardian angel. our moments of difficulty, we turn spontaneously to face her icon and her grace, always invoking her as “our fervent protector and helper.” Bethlehem;

Russia, Moscow, 1709, Battle of Poltava, Great Northern War, Russian Victory
Battle of Poltava; Great Northern War; Icon of the Mother of God of the Kiev Caves, Commemorated on August 17 ; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24;

Russia, Moscow, 1710-1711, Russo-Turkish War (1710-1711), Pruth R Campaign, Swede King to Moldovia
Moscow, 1710-1711, Russo-Turkish War (1710-1711), Pruth River Campaign;

Russia, Moscow, 1715-1793, Niketas oRoslavl Forests, Smolensk, Kiev, MOG&Angels visit, incorrupt r, prayer rope&rotten shoe
Russia, Kiev, 1715-1793, Niketas of the Roslavl Forests, Smolensk, Kiev area (Desna River 1), tWhite Bluff Hermitage, 1780 small hill cell wWell, roadside bread in tree basket, animals present, mosquitoes torment, tears gift, became ill lost voice heartbroken for Annunciation feast, visited by MOG divine light & angels, blessed he began to sing angels joined him, health back to White Bluff, only ashes, later moved to the monastery, exhausted he moved to Roslavl and Alexandra Bronevskaya property, protector of hermits till 1793 his repose,, behive burial, incorrept relics, couldn't remove prayer rope, only shoe not made by him rotted; Roslavl; Saint Nikḗtas of the Roslavl Forests, Commemorated on March 29; holy Schema-monk Niketas was born in the city of Orel in 1695. childhood, he loved to go on pilgrimages to the holy places. As a youth, he left his parents and lived about a mile or so from the White Bluff (Beloberezhsk) Hermitage. is not known when he received the monastic tonsure, or from whom. In 1780 he built a cell on a hillock, and he dug a well by the hill. ate bread that passersby would leave in his basket, which hung by the roadside on a tree. was in a dense part of the forest, and animals were often seen by the hermit’s cell. bit him mercilessly, until he was covered in blood. They tormented him terribly, but Saint Nikḗtas bore everything with patience. received the gift of tears from God, and he always shed tears for his own sins and for the sins of others. in March, he became ill, and lay down without moving. The day before the Feast of the Annunciation arrived. Father Nikḗtas lay there and heard the bells ringing in the Hermitage for the all-night service. He tried to sing the Troparion of the Feast, but being so weak, and because he had lost his voice, he was unable to do so. The Elder wept bitterly, heartbroken because he could not meet the Feast Day in an appropriate way. his cell became awash with light, and Nikḗtas saw the Most Holy Theotokos surrounded by angels. Mother of God blessed him, and he began to sing the Troparion of the Feast feebly, but with an unearthly ecstasy. The angels joined him in the singing, and his cell was filled with the praises of the inhabitants of heaven. The vision ended, but Saint Nikḗtas remained under its impression for a long time. soon as he regained his health, he went to the White Bluff Hermitage for a time. When he got there, he found only ashes where his cell had once stood. evil person had burnt it down while the Elder was away. Father Nikḗtas sat down on the hillock weeping bitter tears. he moved to the monastery, where he humbly fulfilled all the obediences that were laid upon him, serving the monks without sparing himself. during a Church service, he fell on the floor from exhaustion. about the Roslavl solitaries, he moved in with them and lived there on the southern edge of Monks’ Gorge, near the village of Yakimovskoe (Akimovka) on the property of Alexandra Bronevskaya, a zealous protector of the hermits who lived on her lands in great numbers. reposed in 1853, and was more than eighty years of age. Nikḗtas lived there for over ten years, and again he moved to White Bluff Hermitage. 1792, however, he wanted to return to his Hermitage before his death. At his request, the Roslavl hermit Father Dositheos rented a horse from a peasant, and in late 1792 he came over to the Hermitage for Father Nikḗtas, and found him very ill. Dositheos asked him to wait until summer, but the Elder was in a hurry to see his Hermitage. the Superior’s blessing, Dositheos took Nikḗtas and laid him on the wagon, and covered him with a tarp and some straw. took the ailing Elder some 90 miles to the Roslavl Forest. Here Nikḗtas lived for another six months, departing to the Lord on March 29, 1793. preparing his body for burial, Father Dositheos put it into a beehive, called in the nearby priest and neighboring hermits, and they buried him near his cell. Monks’ Gorge always had water in it, Father Dositheos, after a certain revelation, dug up the grave of Elder Nikḗtas after seven years, in order to move it to higher ground. beehive was whole, and the body and clothing of the Elder were incorrupt. a birch (linden?) bark shoe which was made by a disciple and not by the Elder himself was found to have rotted. The other shoe was whole. the beehive was opened, Father John from the village of Luga was there with other hermits. One of these, Father Arsenios, wanted to exchange his prayer ropes for those of the Elder. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not take them from Saint Nikḗtas’s hand. body of Father Nikḗtas was taken out of the beehive and placed in a coffin. After a Memorial Service, he was buried on the hillock. the burial there was a sick monk who suffered from a stomachache. He drank water from the grave site and was healed. fifteen years after Elder Nikḗtas’s death, the coffin was opened again, and his body was found incorrupt just as before. his grave were two memorial stones, and one was very large. Hermits came here on Pascha to sing the Paschal Canon. Elder Dositheos honored the memory of Schema-monk Nikḗtas until the time of his own death, and he always remembered him every year at Pascha. Nikḗtas was approved for local veneration in the Smolensk Diocese on August 31, 2017.

Russia, Moscow, 1720-1863, Uncut Mount Icon, pray to Clouded Mt icon, f icon in attic, lived in peace, t to Smolensk Icon t
Russia, Tver, 1720, Uncut Mount Icon, Tver (Tversta River Mouth, Volga River 4), pray to MOG Clouded Mt icon, f icon in attic, lived in peace, t to Smolensk Icon t; Tver; Icon of the Mother of God of the Uncut Mount, Commemorated on March 24; Uncut, or Clouded Mountain Icon of the Mother of God: 250-300 years ago this icon was in one of the men’s monasteries of Tver was presented by the Superior to Cosmas Volchaninov in gratitude for his fine work in the monastery church. This icon was passed on from generation to generation, but a certain impious grandson of Cosmas removed it and placed the icon in an attic. bride endured many insults from her husband and his relatives. In despair over her marriage she resolved to commit suicide in a deserted bath-house. On the way there a monk appeared to her and said, “Where are you going, unhappy one? Go back, pray to the Theotokos of The Clouded Mountain, and you will live in peace.” agitated young wife returned home and revealed everything, not concealing her interrupted intention. They searched for the monk, but they did not find him, and no one had seen him but her. This took place on the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos. found the icon in the attic, cleaned off the dirt and set it up in the house in a place of honor. In the evening, the parish priest served the all-night Vigil before the icon. From that time, Vigil was served in the house every year on this day. more than 150 years the icon was in the Volchaninov family. Katherine, daughter of Basil, the last of the Volchaninov line, married George Ivanovich Konyaev, taking with her the icon of the Mother of God as a precious inheritance. Moliebens and all-night vigils were served in the Konyaev house on March 24 and November 7 (perhaps this was the day when the icon was transferred from the monastery to the house of Cosmas Volchaninov). 1863 near a cemetery church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God it was decided to build a chapel in honor of Saint Tikhon and Saint Macarius of Kalyazin. The then owner of the icon, George Konyaev (who died in 1868 at the age of 97) wanted to donate the icon of the Theotokos to the church. He asked the clergy to build another chapel for the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God of the “Clouded Mountain.” also said, “I feel the very best place for it is the temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, since the place on which the church was built, in former times was called a Mount, since it was the highest place in the city. The inhabitants took their possessions to the Mount and saved themselves from ruin during a flood. Let the icon, “The Clouded Mountain”, remain on this mountain with your blessing, and let all who are buried here be veiled with Her mercy.” On July 15, 1866 the icon was transferred into the new chapel, which was consecrated by Bishop Anthony of Staritsk the following day. the icon the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted standing on a semi-circular elevation, a mountain; on Her left arm, the Divine Infant blesses with His right hand. Upon the head of the Mother of God is a crown, and in Her hand a mountain, on which are seen above churches with cupolas and crosses.

Russia, Moscow, 1721, Nishtad Peace, Treaty of Nystad. August 30, 1721, GN War
Nishtad Peace, Treaty of Nystad. August 30, 1721; Great Northern War 1700-1721; Translation of the relics of St Alexander Nevsky, Commemorated on August 30;

Russia, Moscow, 1721-1725, Peter 1 the G, Expansion and Navy in Azov, Black, White, and Baltic Seas
Moscow Tsar, 1682-1725, Peter the Great, Tsar of All Russia ; the Great (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 - 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725)[b] ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V. a number of successful wars, he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger empire that became a major European power and also laid the groundwork for the Imperial Russian Navy after capturing ports at Azov and the Baltic Sea. led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, Westernised and based on the Enlightenment.[1] Peter's reforms had a lasting impact on Russia, and many institutions of the Russian government trace their origins to his reign. He is also known for founding and developing the city of Saint Petersburg, which remained the capital of Russia until 1917. Repose of the Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on July 22 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated on July 23; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on July 28; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Lesna, Commemorated on September 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rudens, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Joy of All Who SorrowÂ, Commemorated on October 24; St Demetrius of Basarabov, Commemorated on October 27; St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Venerable Anthony of Iezerul-Vilcea Skete, Commemorated on November 23 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated on December 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected JoyÂ, Commemorated on January 25; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; Martyr Theognes at Cyzicus, Commemorated on April 29; New Martyr Argyra, Commemorated on April 30; Icon of the Mother of God of œthe Unexpected JoyÂ from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Macarius the Archimandrite of Obruch (Kanev), Commemorated on May 13; St John the Russian and Confessor, whose relics are on the island of Euboia, Commemorated on May 27; St John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Commemorated on June 10; Second Translation of the relics of St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on June 23 ; Righteous John the Youth of Meniugi, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24; Righteous Procopius the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Ustiug, Vologda, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1721-1725, Emperor Peter 1 the G, Cultural Revolution, Westernization, no beards, anti church
Moscow Tsar, 1682-1725, Peter the Great, Tsar of All Russia ; the Great (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 - 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725)[b] ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V. a number of successful wars, he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger empire that became a major European power and also laid the groundwork for the Imperial Russian Navy after capturing ports at Azov and the Baltic Sea. led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, Westernised and based on the Enlightenment.[1] Peter's reforms had a lasting impact on Russia, and many institutions of the Russian government trace their origins to his reign. He is also known for founding and developing the city of Saint Petersburg, which remained the capital of Russia until 1917. Repose of the Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on July 22 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Pochaev, Commemorated on July 23; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on July 28; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Translation of the relics of Righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, Commemorated on September 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Lesna, Commemorated on September 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rudens, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Joy of All Who SorrowÂ, Commemorated on October 24; St Demetrius of Basarabov, Commemorated on October 27; St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Venerable Anthony of Iezerul-Vilcea Skete, Commemorated on November 23 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; St Hilarion, Metropolitan of Suzdal and Yuriev, Commemorated on December 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Unexpected JoyÂ, Commemorated on January 25; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 5; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; Martyr Theognes at Cyzicus, Commemorated on April 29; New Martyr Argyra, Commemorated on April 30; Icon of the Mother of God of œthe Unexpected JoyÂ from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Macarius the Archimandrite of Obruch (Kanev), Commemorated on May 13; St John the Russian and Confessor, whose relics are on the island of Euboia, Commemorated on May 27; St John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Commemorated on June 10; Second Translation of the relics of St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on June 23 ; Righteous John the Youth of Meniugi, Novgorod, Commemorated on June 24; Righteous Procopius the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Ustiug, Vologda, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1721-1917, Russian Empire, third largest in history, 1 British and 2 Mongol
Moscow, 1721-1917, Russian Empire; Moscow, 1700-1721, Great Northern War (with Sweden); Moscow Tsar, 1721-1725, Peter the Great; Repose of St. Anthimus, Bishop of Georgia, Commemorated on September 14;

Russia, Moscow, 1722-1723, Russo-Persian War (1722-“23) Caspian, Caucasus North and South, C Iran to R
Moscow, 1722-1723, Russo-Persian War (1722-“23) Russia over Persia to control Caspian and Caucasus (Georgia) for Orthodoxy, Peter the Great; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1724-1771, Sophronius, Irkutsk, Siberian Wonderworker, trustworthy workers from Ukraine. stable S culture
Russia, Siberia, 1724-1771, Saint Sophronius, Bishop of Irkutsk and Wonderworker of all Siberia, Siberia (Angara River 1, Lake Baikal, Trans-Siberian Road 14), from Little Russia aka Ukraine, Pereyaslavl, U, Kiev T A, Krasnogorsk M, heard voice, build All Saints Church, Bishop of Irkutsk but back to Kiev to get trustworthy workers, developed stable local culture ; Irkutsk; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Sophronius, Bishop of Irkutsk and Wonderworker of all Siberia, whose family name was Kristalevsky, was born in Malorussia in the Chernigov region in 1704. His father, Nazarius, was “a common man in his affairs,” and the saint was named Stephen, in honor of the protomartyr Saint Stephen. He had two brothers and a sister, Pelagia. The name of one brother was Paul. The name of the other older brother is unknown, but it is said that he was head of the Krasnogorsk Zolotonosh monastery. ’s childhood years were spent in the settlement of Berezan in the Pereyaslavl district of the Poltava governance, where the family settled after the father was discharged from service. he came of age, Stephen entered the Kiev Theological Academy, where two other future hierarchs were studying: Joasaph, future Bishop of Belgorod (September 4 and December 10), and Paul, future Metropolitan of Tobolsk (June 10 and November 4). completing his religious education, Stephen entered the Krasnogorsk Transfiguration monastery [later renamed the Protection monastery. In 1789, it was transformed into a women’s monastery], where his elder brother already labored in asceticism. On April 23, 1730 he received monastic tonsure with the name of Sophronius, in honor of Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem (March 11). the night after his monastic tonsure, Saint Sophronius heard a Voice in the Protection church predicting his future service: “When you become bishop, build a church dedicated to All Saints.” 1732, he was summoned to Kiev. There he was ordained hierodeacon, and then hieromonk in the cathedral of Holy Wisdom. After Saint Sophronius had been a monk for two years, he became treasurer of the Zolotonosh monastery for two years, and then His Grace Bishop Arsenius (Berlov) of the Pereyaslavl diocese sent him into the house of his archbishop, where he was steward for eight years. facts testify to the connections of the saint with his original Protection monastery. During his obedience under the presiding hierarch at Pereyaslavl, he often visited his monastery, spending the day in quiet contemplation and work, serving as an example to the brethren. Hieromonk Sophronius traveled to the Holy Synod on behalf of his bishop, they paid close attention to him. In January 1742, the future saint was transferred to the Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Peterburg, the foremost monastery of the capital. A year later he was appointed treasurer of the monastery, and in 1746 he was appointed as Superior of the monastery. summoned his fellow countryman, the hieromonk Sinesios (Ivanoff), a native of the city of Priluki, and made him igumen of the Saint Sergius Hermitage, a dependancy of Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra. From this time the friendship of the two ascetics, hieromonk Sophronius and hieromonk Sinesios, was strengthened by their joint pastoral effort, and they were inseparable until they died in Siberia. these years Saint Sophronius worked hard at managing the monastery and improvement of teaching at the seminary located nearby. He and Archbishop Theodosius made it their task to acquire more books for the monastic library. Sophronius built a two storey church: the upper church was dedicated to Saint Theodore, the older brother of Saint Alexander Nevsky; and the lower to Saint John Chrysostom. Innocent II (Nerunovich) of Irkutsk died in 1747. For six years afterwards, the Irkutsk diocese remained without a spiritual head. on February 23, 1753, the empress Elizabeth (1741-1761) recommended the pious Igumen Sophronius of the Alexander Nevsky monastery to the Holy Synod as “a person, not only worthy of episcopal rank, but also someone completely able to fulfill the wishes and the hopes of the state and the Synod, and take up the burden of episcopal service on the far frontier and satisfy the needs of his flock in that harsh land, among wild primitives and lawless people.” April 18, 1753, Thomas Sunday, Hieromonk Sophronius was consecrated Bishop of Irkutsk and Nerchinsk in the Dormition cathedral. difficult service on the distant Siberian frontier, the new bishop did not immediately travel to the Irkutsk eparchy, but rather began to gather educated and spiritually experienced co-workers. During this period Saint Sophronius visited at his original Krasnogorsk monastery. At the holy places of Kiev, he also sought the blessings of the Kiev Caves Saints for his service. The constant companion of the saint, as had been before, was the hieromonk Sinesios, sharing in his friend’s work. Moscow, Archbishop Platon of Moscow and Sevsk provided him with further assistance. He gave him fatherly advice for his task, since he was quite familiar with the peculiarities of the Siberian religious life. He forewarned him about the self-willed local authorities, and advised him to surround himself with trustworthy helpers. March 20, 1754 the saint arrived at Irkutsk. He went first to the Ascension monastery, his predecessor’s residence, and prayed at the grave of Bishop Innocent (Kulchitz), asking his blessing as he took up his assignment. himself with the state of affairs in the diocese, the saint began the reorganization of the Spiritual consistory, monasteries and parishes, and appealed to the Holy Synod to send worthy men to the Irkutsk eparchy for priestly service. the arrival of Saint Sophronius, the Irkutsk monasteries had already a century-old history. The founders of these monasteries were motivated by a fervent desire for monastic life. The wise hierarch appointed people of piety, wisdom, virtue, and with great experience both of life and spiritual matters as heads of the monastic communities. In 1754, Bishop Sophronius elevated his friend and companion Hieromonk Sinesios to be Archimandrite of Ascension monastery. He served the monastery for thirty-three years until his blessed repose. September 1754, the bishop issued a decree in which he expressed concern for the education and upbringing of the children of the clergy. He wanted them to learn the HOROLOGION, the PSALTER, singing and letters, and this instruction “ought to be conducted with all industriousness and the utmost diligence, so that the children might be able to fulfill the responsibilities of sacristan and deacon.” both people and circumstances, the bishop in his sermons and conversations exhorted all to a higher moral ideal. He devoted particular attention to the reverent and correct performance of the divine services and the Holy Mysteries, and he also looked after the moral purity of laymen. He was concerned about the position of women in the family, and defended them against their unjust inequality. The bishop attempted to set straight the Rule of divine services, and so he summoned priests, deacons, subdeacons and sacristans, and those who sang in the choir during services. about the diocese, the saint noticed that censing and the ringing of bells were not being done properly in all places, and therefore he issued a decree restoring the proper way of censing and bell-ringing. to apostolic service in this frontier region, Saint Sophronius realized that his duty was to enlighten the Christians of the area, and also to convert the idol-worshippers, who were very numerous in Siberia. was difficult to bring pagans to the Church of Christ, especially because sometimes there was no one to serve in the churches, and to borrow priests for missionary activity only made matters worse. Knowing that the Church services would have a salutary effect on non-Russians, the saint not only served with reverence himself, but also required it of all his clergy. Sophronius also contributed to the development of a stable culture among the local people. He offered them monastic lands for settlements and in every way he endeavored to isolate them from the influence of paganism. A constant throng of visitors came from faraway places for his blessing. with his many cares, he did not forget his own spiritual life and eternity. He also led an ascetical life. His cell-attendant said that the saint “used simple food in small quantities. He served often, spent the greater part of the night at prayer, sleeping on the floor under a sheepskin or a fur, a deerskin or bear hide, and a small simple pillow.” spirit of his ascetic life fit in with the general uplifting of the Christian spirit in Russia after the glorification of Saint Demetrius of Rostov (September 21), Theodosius of Chernigov (September 9), and the uncovering of the incorrupt relics of his predecessor, Saint Innocent of Irkutsk (February 9). This event inspired Saint Sophronius to greater efforts and encouraged him to ask for the help of Saint Innocent in his task of building up the diocese. the end of his days Saint Sophronius kept his love for the Krasnogor Zolotonosh monastery, which had nurtured him in the days of his youth. He constantly contributed support for its upkeep, sending the necessary means for this. a deterioration in his health, Saint Sophronius petitioned the Holy Synod to let him retire. The answer from Peterburg did not come right away, since it was difficult to choose a worthy successor. final days of Saint Sophronius’s life were spent in asceticism and prayer. light, which shone on the good deeds of Saint Sophronius, continues to the present time to testify to the glory of the Heavenly Father, “Who mercifully strengthens His saints.” Now the holy memory of Saint Sophronius is reverently preserved not only in Siberia at the place of his final deeds, but also at the place of his first deeds. Sophronius is also commemorated on June 30 (his glorification in 1918).

Russia, Moscow, 1725-1754, Joasaph oBelgorod, great admin&Spiritual abilities, rebuilder, Athanasius appears fProtection sign
Mongol, Scythia, 1725-1754, Joasaph oBelgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), fProluka, Poltava, Ukrainian Lineage, Kiev Spiritual Academy a7yrOld, 1725 rasophore against parents w aKiev Mezhigorsk m, 1727 monk Joasaph aKiev-Bratsk m, Kiev Archbishop Raphael Zaborovsky noticed abilities, assigned greater service, office oExaminer, 1734 hiermonk, or priest, fSchool tArchbishop's house, appointed Kiev religious consistory, correction clergy deficiencies, developed admin abilities, clergy good points&failings, his great spiritual efforts, seen in tConflict of tSeven Venerable Virtues with tSeven Deadly Sins, 1737 igumen Mgarsk m, bastion against Unia, Athanasius' relics, A appeareances, as protection sign, 1744 Archmandrite, tMoscow then tTrinity Sergiev Rostov for fire rebuilding, 1748 Bishop oBelgorod, emphasized piety, church condition, proper divine service, moral condition flock, education clergy, without health regard, 2time oDeath prophecies; Belgorod; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10 ; Joasaph was born at Proluka, in the former Poltava governance, on September 8, 1705, the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. was descended from the old and venerable Little Russian (Ukrainian) lineage of the Gorlenkovi. At Baptism he was named Joachim. 1712, his father enrolled the seven-year-old Joachim in the Kiev Spiritual Academy. the walls of the academy he felt attracted to monastic life. For seven years he studied it further, and finally revealed his intention to his parents. a long time his mother and father pleaded with their first-born son not to accept monastic tonsure. in 1725, unknown to them, he became a “rasophore” (“robe-wearing novice”) with the name Hilarion at the Kiev Mezhigorsk monastery, on 21 November 1727 he was tonsured in the mantya with the name Joasaph at the Kievo-Bratsk monastery. This event coincided with the completion of his studies at the spiritual academy. the death of His Grace Barlaam, the See of Kiev was governed by Archbishop Raphael Zaborovsky. Raphael noticed the abilities of the young ascetic and assigned him to greater service to the Church. was entrusted with the responsibility of the office of examiner of the Kiev archbishopric. November 1734, Archbishop Raphael ordained the hierodeacon Joasaph as hieromonk, he was transferred from the Bratsk monastery school to the Kiev-Sophia archbishop’s house. the same time, he was appointed a member of the Kiev religious consistory. fulfilling the office of examiner, he exerted much effort towards the correction of moral deficiencies among the parish clergy. saint’s service in the consistory office enabled him to develop his administrative abilities. this time, he made a good study of the needs of clergy-servers, noting both the good points and the failings of the diocese. talent for administration was combined with his great spiritual effort. He quickly ascended the ladder of spiritual perfection, can be seen in his work, “The Conflict of the Seven Venerable Virtues with the Seven Deadly Sins.” June 24, 1737 Hieromonk Joasaph was appointed head of the Holy Transfiguration Mgarsk monastery, and elevated to the rank of igumen. he worked with all his strength to put the monastery in good order, for it was an old bastion of Orthodoxy in the struggle with the Unia. this monastery were relics of Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Constantinople and Wonderworker of Lubny (May 2). times Saint Athanasius appeared to Igumen Joasaph, as a sign of his patronal protection. 1744 Metropolitan Raphael elevated Igumen Joasaph to the dignity of archimandrite. the end of that same year he was called to Moscow and soon, at the direction of the Most Holy Synod, he was appointed vicar of the Holy Trinity Sergiev Lavra monastery. this monastery of Saint Sergius he also unstintingly fulfilled obedience to the Church (this year required much exertion for the rebuilding of the monastery after a fire). June 2, 1748 at the Peter and Paul cathedral in Peterburg, Archimandrite Joasaph was ordained Bishop of Belgorod. the archbishop’s throne, Saint Joasaph strictly concerned himself with piety and the condition of the churches, with the proper celebration of divine services, and especially with the moral condition of his flock. saint devoted great attention to the education of the clergy, and the correct observance of churchly norms and traditions. as before, the saint worked with all his strength in his archpastoral service, without regard for his health. the eve of his repose, the saint forbade his cell attendant Stephen to aspire to the priesthood, and he predicted that if he did not obey him, he would meet with an untimely end. another cell attendant Basil, the saint indicated that he would be a deacon, but would never become a priest. this prediction was fulfilled. Saint Joasaph died on December 10, 1754, and was glorified on September 4, 1911.

Russia, Moscow, 1727-1730, Tsar, Peter II of Russia, Orphan, hunting, feasting, end of R line
Moscow, 1727-1730, Tsar, Peter II of Russia; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30;

Russia, Moscow, 1730, Trinity Lavra of St Sergius Icon, Appearance of Mother of God to heal cantor
Trinity Lavra (Monestary) of St Sergius; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; Holy Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God is located at the Holy Trinity Sergiev Lavra in the Smolensk church on the left side of the Royal Doors. this icon in 1730 there a cantor, whose hands were bent and rigid to the back, received healing. The Mother of God appeared to him in a vision and healed him. This occurrence was attested to by physicians. Translation of the relics of the Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen from Jerusalem to Constantinople, Commemorated on August 2; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on August 24; Venerable Arsenius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God "Chernigov-Gethsemane", Commemorated September 1 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Venerable Joseph the Abbot of Volokolamsk, Volotsk, Commemorated on September 9 ; St Athanasius of Serpukhov, Commemorated on September 12 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated October 6 ; Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrhgusher of Thessalonica, Commemorated October 26 ; Appearance of the Mother of God to St Sergius of Radonezh; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392) ; Repose of the Venerable Sergius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Radonezh, Commemorated on September 25; Venerable Sergius the Obedient of the Kiev Near Caves, Commemorated on October 7; Icon of the Mother of God of Yaroslav-Smolensk, Commemorated October 12 ; Venerable Nikon the Abbot of Radonezh the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius, November 17 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28 ; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated December 3 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10 ; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10 ; Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated January 21 ; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated Janaury 25 ; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated February 12 ; Venerable John Climacus of Sinai, Author of œthe LadderÂ, Commemorated on March 30; Venerable Euthymius of Suzdal, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God Weeping œIlyin ChernigovÂ, Commemorated on April 16 ; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Venerable Micah the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on May 6 ; Repose of the Venerable Nilus the Abbot of Sora, Commemorated on May 7; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius ™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19 ; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Venerable Dionysius the Abbot of Glushetsk, Vologda, Commemorated on June 1 ; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Bassian the Monk of Pertomsk, Solovki, Commemorated on June 5; Venerable Andronicus the Abbot of Moscow and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 13; Venerable Andrew Rublev the Iconographer, Commemorated on July 4; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5; Synaxis of the Saints of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 6 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1730-1740, Tsar, Anna of Russia, influenced by uncle Peter the G
Moscow, 1730-1740, Tsar, Anna of Russia; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; Child Schemamonk Bogolep, Commemorated on July 29; Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; Icon of the Mother of God "œXenophon Hodigitria"Â, Commemorated on January 21; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30;

Russia, Moscow, 1732-1778, Rousseau, modern thought, Facist, Nazi, Marxist, progressive
Switzerland, 1732-1778, Rousseau, enlightenment, modern political, social thought, Facism, Naziism, Communism, democracy, progressive; Rousseau; 28 June 1712 - 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought.[1] Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract are cornerstones in modern political and social thought. Rousseau's sentimental novel Julie, or the New Heloise (1761) was important to the development of preromanticism and romanticism in fiction.[2][3] His Emile, or On Education (1762) is an educational treatise on the place of the individual in society. Rousseau's autobiographical writings—the posthumously published Confessions (composed in 1769), which initiated the modern autobiography, and the unfinished Reveries of the Solitary Walker (composed 1776–1778)—exemplified the late-18th-century "Age of Sensibility", and featured an increased focus on subjectivity and introspection that later characterized modern writing. befriended fellow philosopher Denis Diderot in 1742, and would later write about Diderot's romantic troubles in his Confessions. During the period of the French Revolution, Rousseau was the most popular of the philosophers among members of the Jacobin Club. He was interred as a national hero in the Panthéon in Paris, in 1794, 16 years after his death. Absolved From Being Good-Mannered: The Romantic Totalitarianism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, May 20, 2021 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1734-1916, Orenburg Cossacks, Ural River, Kazakhastan, Siberia, Orthodox
Russia, 1734-1916, Orenburg Cossacks; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1;

Russia, Moscow, 1735-1739, Austro-Russian-Turk War) Crimea, Hapsburgs w Russia, Black Sea, R g Azov, bad for Austria
Moscow, 1735-1739, Austro-Russian-“Turkish War (1735-“39); Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15;

Russia, Moscow, 1739-1768, Icon of Akhtyr, Ukraine (Sula River 1), MOG commanded wash the icon, use the water to heal malaria
Russia, Kiev, 1739-1768, Icon of Akhtyr, Ukraine (Sula (Vorskla) River 1), MOG commanded wash the icon, use the water to heal malaria, found in a field, radiant light, same room inexplicable fear, miracles investigated, stolen but copies still worked, painted western style, uncovered head, cross smaller proportion; Akhtyr ; Icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyr, Commemorated July 2 ; Akhtyr Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared on July 2, 1739 in the village of Akhtyr in the area of Kharkov, east of Kiev. Basil Danilov, a righteous man of strong faith, was the priest of the Dormition church in Akhtyr. He wanted to try out a new scythe, and so he went out to a field by the church. As he began to cut the tall grass, Basil noticed an icon of the Mother of God shining with a radiant light. Dropping the scythe, he fell to his knees and began to pray, then took the icon to his home. icon remained in the priest’s home for three years. No one could spend the night in the same room as the icon, because an inexplicable fear would force them to leave. night the Theotokos appeared to Father Basil in a dream, reproaching him because he had not cleaned the icon in the three years since he had found it. he awoke, he dusted the icon off and washed it with water, then went back to sleep. night he had another dream in which he saw himself going to the river in order to pour out the water he had used to wash the icon. Mother of God appeared to him again and ordered him to return home with the water, explaining that it would cure people of malaria and fever. Father Basil’s daughter became ill with malaria, he gave her some of the water to drink and she was healed. Others also received healing in this way. The priest decided that the icon should not remain in his home, so he took it to the church. iconographer named John was commissioned to restore the icon. his son was suffering from malaria, John remembered how the water used to wash the icon had cured people of that disease. Therefore, he washed the icon and gave his son some of the water to drink. The young man was healed at once, and there were many other miracles after this one. miracles of the Akhtyr Icon were investigated no less than three times. In 1751 the Holy Synod determined that reports of the miracles were true, and declared the icon to be wonderworking. Elizabeth had a stone church built in Akhtyr for the icon, and she personally donated two thousand rubles. Joasaph of Belgorod (September 4 and December 10) blessed the cornerstone. The church was consecrated in the year 1768. Nicholas I ordered that on the Saturday before Pentecost the Akhtyr Icon should be taken from the Protection Cathedral and carried in procession to the Akhtyr-Holy Trinity Monastery. The icon was brought back to the cathedral during the week of All Saints. the icon was stolen from the Protection Cathedral on April 1, 1905. Many copies of the Akhtyr Icon were made before it was stolen. July 2 many churches bless water in remembrance of the healings which took place after the Mother of God ordered Father Basil Danilov to wash the icon. icon is rather unusual, and does not seem to have an earlier prototype. is painted in a Western style, and shows the Theotokos with an uncovered head. The Crucifixion of Christ is depicted in much smaller proportions, and the Virgin seems to be gazing directly at the Cross. hands are held with the palms together, and the fingers pointing upward, which is not a typical gesture of prayer in Orthodox iconography.

Russia, Moscow, 1739-1803, Xenia of St Petersburg, when her husband died drinking, she became a Fool for Christ
Russia, St Petersburg, 1739-1803, 18th Century, Xenia of St Petersburg, she was 26 when her husband died a colonel, she became a Fool for Christ for 45 years, wandering the S P streets wearing husband's uniform; St Petersburg; Xenia of Saint Petersburg; Grigoryevna Petrova, also known as Saint Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg ( c. 1719–1730 – c. 1803) is a patron saint of St. Petersburg, who according to tradition, gave all her possessions to the poor after her husband died. husband had been Colonel Andrey Fyodorovich Petrov, a chanter at the Saint Andrew Cathedral. his death, Xenia became a "fool-for-Christ" and for 45 years wandered around the streets of St. Petersburg, usually wearing her late husband's military uniform. grave is in the Smolensky Cemetery of St. Petersburg. It has been marked by an ornate chapel since 1902. was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia on September 24, 1978 (O. S. September 11, 1978) in Synodal Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York, USA and by Russian Orthodox Church on June 6, 1988 during Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Her feast day in the O.S. is January 24, which is February 6 in the New Calendar. In July 2020, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church also resolved to include Xenia of St. Petersburg in its calendar on January 24.[1] a saint, she is noted for her intercessions in helping those with employment, marriage, the homeless, for fires, for missing children, and for a spouse.[2] She is venerated in several countries. There are about 40 churches and chapels built in her name.[3] Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ; Xenia lived during the eighteenth century, but little is known of her life or of her family. She passed most of her life in Petersburg during the reigns of the empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II. Grigorievna Petrova was the wife of an army officer, Major Andrew Petrov. After the wedding, the couple lived in Saint Petersburg. Saint Xenia became a widow at the age of twenty-six when her husband suddenly died at a party. She grieved for the loss of her husband, and especially because he died without Confession or Holy Communion. her earthly happiness ended, she did not look for it again. From that time forward, Xenia lost interest in the things of this world, and followed the difficult path of foolishness for the sake of Christ. The basis for this strange way of life is to be found in the first Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-24, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Cor. 3:18-19). The Lord strengthened her and helped her to bear sorrow and misfortune patiently for the next forty-five years. started wearing her husband’s clothing, and insisted that she be addressed as “Andrew Feodorovich.” She told people that it was she, and not her husband, who had died. In a certain sense, this was perfectly true. She abandoned her former way of life and experienced a spiritual rebirth. When she gave away her house and possessions to the poor, her relatives complained to the authorities. After speaking to Xenia, the officials were conviced that she was in her right mind and was entitled to dispose of her property as she saw fit. Soon she had nothing left for herself, so she wandered through the poor section of Petersburg with no place to lay her head. She refused all assistance from her relatives, happy to be free of worldly attachments. her late husband’s red and green uniform wore out, she clothed herself in rags of those colors. After a while, Xenia left Petersburg for eight years. It is believed that she visited holy Elders and ascetics throughout Russia seeking instruction in the spiritual life. She may have visited Saint Theodore of Sanaxar (February 19), who had been a military man himself. His life changed dramatically when a young officer died at a drinking party. Perhaps this officer was Saint Xenia’s husband. In any case, she knew Saint Theodore and profited from his instructions. Xenia eventually returned to the poor section of Petersburg, where she was mocked and insulted because of her strange behavior. When she did accept money from people it was only small amounts, which she used to help the poor. She spent her nights praying without sleep in a field outside the city. Prayer strengthened her, and in her heart’s conversation with the Lord she found the support she needed on her difficult path. a new church was being built in the Smolensk cemetery, Saint Xenia brought bricks to the site. She did this in secret, during the night, so that no one would know. her great virtue and spiritual gifts began to be noticed. She prophesied future events affecting the citizens of Petersburg, and even the royal family. Against her will, she became known as someone pleasing to God, and nearly everyone loved her.They said, “Xenia does not belong to this world, she belongs to God.” People regarded her visits to their homes or shops as a great blessing. Saint Xenia loved children, and mothers rejoiced when the childless widow would stand and pray over a baby’s crib, or kiss a child. They believed that the blessed one’s kiss would bring that child good fortune. Xenia lived about forty-five years after the death of her husband, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy-one. The exact date and circumstances of her death are not known, but it probably took place at the end of the eighteenth century. She was buried in the Smolensk cemetery. the 1820s, people flocked to her grave to pray for her soul, and to ask her to intercede with God for them. So many visitors took earth from her grave that it had to be replaced every year. Later, a chapel was built over her grave. who turn to Saint Xenia in prayer receive healing from illness, and deliverance from their afflictions. She is also known for helping people who seek jobs.

Russia, Moscow, 1740-1741, Tsar, Ivan VI, emperor at 2 months old, first cousin Elizabeth's Coup
Moscow, 1740-1741, Tsar, Ivan VI of Russia ; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Icon of the Mother of God of the Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, Commemorated July 28 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30;

Russia, Moscow, 1740-1800, Barsanuphius tGreat&His disciple John tProphet, both wonderworking, raised the dead etc, humble
Palestine, 483-565 or 600, Barsanuphius tGreat &John tProphet, Abba Seridus Monastery, Gaza, Palestine (Way of the Sea 5), time oJustinian I, B fEgypt, ascetic from youth, built small cell, solitude, later his disciple John lived same cell 18yrs till death, J aClairvoyant prophet, B built another cell near monastery, which sent him 3 loaves bread per week, 50 years work&Ascetic deeds, Pat Eustochios oJerusalem heard &Wanted see for self, tried dig under wall tEnter Cell, flames burst forth, devoted to prayer, high degree spiritual perfection, manuscript accounts oB&J, accounts translated Moldavian&Slavonic languages, Paisius Velichkovsk lifetime 1740's-90's, publication 1800's by Optina Elders, B attained heights oHumility, reasoning, and fiery love, Lord gave him gifts oDiscernment, clairvoyance, and wonderworking, he raised the dead, cast out demons, healed incurable illnesses, things he blessed received divine power and grace, (for exampe: a weed took away monk's headache), even his name, when invoked mentally, gave help when called upon it, rain from his prayers, his predictions always came true, he got these gifts after many yrs patiently enduring great temptations and illness, following B's instructions, J became like B in all things, but out oHumility J sent questions to B, ; Abba Seridus is at Gaza, but that is all Wikipedia knows about it.; Venerable Barsanuphius the Great, Commemorated on February 6; Barsanuphius the Great and John the Prophet lived during the sixth century during the reign of the emperor Justinian I (483-565). lived in asceticism at the monastery of Abba Seridus in Palestine, near the city of Gaza. Barsanuphius was born in Egypt (the year of his birth is unknown). his youth, he began to lead an ascetic life. Arriving at the cenobitic monastery of Abba Seridus, built a small cell outside the monastery. Here he lived in solitude. Saint John, disciple of Saint Barsanuphius, lived in this cell for eighteen years until his death. John imitated his teacher in silence, ascetic deeds and in virtue. Because of his gift of clairvoyance, he was known as “the Prophet.” a certain time, Saint Barsanuphius built another cell near the monastery. the beginning of his solitude, the monastery sent him only three loaves of bread per week. He dwelt for fifty years in work and ascetic deeds. Patriarch Eustochios of Jerusalem heard about the ascetical life of Saint Barsanuphius, it seemed unbelievable to him. wanted to see Barsanuphius for himself, he and his companions tried to dig under the wall, and to enter the monk’s cell from beneath. attempting to enter were almost burned by flames suddenly bursting forth from the cell. his hermitage Saint Barsanuphius devoted himeself entirely to prayer, and he attained a high degree of spiritual perfection. have manuscript accounts about the life, the deeds and talents of Saints Barsanuphius and John. the lifetime of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15), they were translated into the Moldavian and Slavonic languages. publication of these manuscripts, and also their translation into the Russian language, was done in the nineteenth century by the Elders of Optina’s Entry of the Theotokos Monastery. precepts of Saints Barsanuphius and John clearly show the degree of their moral perfection, and their love for people, contain scant facts about their lives. do not know exactly when Saint Barsanuphius died. Some sources say the year of his death was 563, others say more cautiously before the year 600. spending a long time in seclusion, Saint Barsanuphius thereafter and until the death of Saint John the Prophet began to serve others by instructing them on the path to salvation, as Abba Dorotheus (June 5) testifies. Barsanuphius replied to questioners through Saint John, sometimes instructing him to give the answers, or even through Abba Seridus (August 13), who wrote down the saint’s answers. the answers of Saints Barsanuphius and John the Prophet, who were guides in the spiritual life not only for their contemporaries, but also for succeeding generations, it is clearly possible to see the monks’ gradual spiritual ascent “from strength to strength.” deeds of fasting, silence, guarding the heart, and unceasing prayer, Barsanuphius attained the heights of humility, reasoning and fiery love. Lord gave him the gifts of discernment, clairvoyance, and wonderworking. the power of his prayers, he was able to free the souls of people from sins. Sometimes, he took the sins of others upon himself. venerable one knew the dispositions of hearts, therefore he gave advice according to the spiritual state of each person. the Name of the Lord he raised the dead, cast out demons, healed incurable illnesses. that he blessed received divine power and grace (for example, kukol or furrow-weed took away a monk’s headache). the name of Abba Barsanuphius, when invoked mentally, gave help to those who called upon it. the prayers of Saint Barsanuphius, God sent rain upon the earth, withdrawing His wrath from the multitudes of the people. saint’s predictions always came true. he predicted that a certain monk, the Elder Euthymius the Silent, would be placed with him in a single grave, which indeed came to pass. Barsanuphius acquired these gifts after many years of patiently enduring great temptations and illness. the Orthodox ascetic Barsanuphius the Great, there was another Barsanuphius, a Monophysite heretic. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, anathematized him in his “Confession of Faith,” sent to the Sixth Ecumenical Council). do not know when Saint Barsanuphius arrived at the monastery of Abba Seridus, nor anything about the home and family of Saint John the Prophet. the instructions of Saint Barsanuphius, John attained the heights of perfection, and became like his teacher in all things. of humility, he sent those who came to him with questions to Abba Barsanuphius. John foresaw and predicted many things, even his own death a week after the death of Abba Seridus. Elian, the young igumen of this monastery, begged John to remain with him for two more weeks, in order to teach him the Rule and how to govern the monastery. John fulfilled his request and died after two weeks. Barsanuphius the Great survived his disciple and friend, but after St. John's death embraced complete silence and refused to give answers to anyone. two ascetics have left the soul-profiting book, GUIDANCE TOWARD SPIRITUAL LIFE: ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS OF DISCIPLES by the Holy Monastic Fathers Barsanuphius and John as their spiritual legacy. book was known to many saints who lived at a later time, as evidenced by the wrings of Saint Theodore the Studite (November 11 and January 26), the hieromonk Nikon Chernogorets (+ 1060), Saint Simeon the New Theologian (March 12), and other Orthodox ascetics and writers.

Russia, Moscow, 1741-1761, Empress, Elizabeth, popular, no executions, constrctn projects, westrn enlightenment, icons
Moscow, 1741-1761, Empress, Elizabeth ; Elizabeth Petrovna (29 December [O.S. 18 December] 1709 -“ 5 January 1762 [O.S. 25 December 1761]), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, was the Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, her numerous construction projects, and her strong opposition to Prussian policies.[1] second eldest daughter of Tsar Peter the Great, Elizabeth lived under the confused successions of her father's descendants since her half-brother Alexei's death. The throne was first passed to her nephew Peter II, who died in 1730 and was succeeded by her first cousin Anna. After the brief rule of Anna's great-nephew, Ivan VI, Elizabeth seized the throne with the military's support and declared her own nephew, the future Peter III, to be her heir. her reign, Elizabeth continued the policies of her father and brought a remarkable Age of Enlightenment in Russia. Her domestic policies allowed the nobles to gain dominance in local government while shortening their terms of service to the state. She encouraged Mikhail Lomonosov's foundation of the University of Moscow, the highest-ranking Russian educational institution. Her court was one of the most splendid in all Europe, especially regarding architecture: she modernized Russia's roads, encouraged Ivan Shuvalov's foundation of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and financed grandiose baroque projects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, particularly in Peterhof Palace. The Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg are among the chief monuments of her reign.[1] led the country during the two major European conflicts of her time: the War of Austrian Succession (1740-“48) and the Seven Years' War (1756'“63). She and diplomat Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin solved the first event by forming an alliance with Austria and France, but indirectly caused the second. Russia enjoyed several victories against Prussia and briefly occupied Berlin, but when Frederick the Great was finally prepared to surrender in January 1761 (1762?), the message was sent only to find the Empress dead. St Tikhon the Bishop of Voronezh and Wonderworker of Zadonsk and All Russia, Commemorated August 13; Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga, Commemorated September 2 ; Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God appeared in 1748 in the village of Tinkova, near Kaluga, at the home of the landowner Basil Kondratevich Khitrov. Two servants of Khitrov were cleaning out junk from the attic of his home. One of them, Eudokia, noted for her temper, was given to rough and even indecorous language. Her companion was modest and serious. discovered a large package covered in a linen cloth. Undoing it, the girl saw the picture of a woman in dark garments with a book in her hands. Considering it to be the portrait of a woman monastic and wanting to bring Eudokia to her senses, she accused her of being disrespectful to the abbess. jeered at the scolding words of her companion, and becoming increasingly angry, she spit on the picture. Immediately, she became convulsed and fell down senseless. She also became blind and mute. Her frightened companion reported what had happened to the household. next night, the Queen of Heaven appeared to Eudokia’s parents and told them that their daughter had behaved impertinently toward Her and She ordered them to serve a Molieben before the insulted icon, then sprinkle the invalid with holy water at the Molieben. the Molieben Eudokia recovered, and Khitrov took the wonderworking icon into his own home, where it granted healing to those approaching it with faith. Later, the icon was placed in the parish temple of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Kaluga. At the present time it is located in the cathedral church of Kaluga. this icon the Mother of God has repeatedly manifest Her protection of the Russian land during difficult times. The celebration of the Kaluga Icon on September 2 was established in remembrance of the deliverance from a plague in 1771. A second celebration was established October 12, in memory of the preservation of Kaluga from the French invasion of 1812. In 1898, a celebration was established on July 18 in gratitude to the Mother of God for protection against cholera. The icon is also commemorated on the first Sunday of the Apostles’ Fast. Uncovering of the relics of St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated September 4 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Isaakov, Commemorated September 8 ; Isaakov Icon of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in the year 1659, not far from the village of Isaakievo. The peasants wanted to take the icon to their own village, but they were not able. They then turned to the priest, and he got vested, and in the company of choir and people with church banners, went to the place of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God. the branches of a willow tree was the icon, radiating an extraordinary light like the sun. After the singing of a Molieben the priest reverently took the icon with the tree branch and carried it to the Isaakievo village into the parish church. the following day the icon was not in the church. It was at the place where it was first found. At this place of the appearance of the wonderworking icon they built a chapel, around which a skete was formed. the blessing of Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Yaroslavl and Rostov, at the place of the chapel there was built in 1662 a wooden church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the year 1758 a stone church was built in place of the wooden, into which they transferred this icon. Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Tsarskoe Selo Sign Icon of the Mother of God an ancient wonderworking icon, was brought by way of a present to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich by one of the Eastern Patriarchs, supposedly by Saint Athanasius of Constantinople (October 28). Tsar Peter I transferred the icon, together with other sacred items from Moscow, to his new capital city. the year 1747, a church was built for the icon at Tsarskoe Selo. Moliebens were served before it during times of national catastrophe, for example, during a plague in 1771, and of cholera in 1831. Through the intercession of the Mother of God, the terrible epidemics only barely touched Tsarskoe Selo. Prayers before the Tsarsko Selo Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “of the Sign,â€ were also offered entreating the Mother of God’s help during fires and shipwrecks. the icon, Cherubim shade the head of the Mother of God. More recent copies of the icon depict the Apostle Peter, Saints Zachariah, Alexis the Man of God, and Righteous Elizabeth. St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated on January 24; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God œAssuage my sorrowÂ, Commemorated on January 25; “Assuage my Sorrowsâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was glorified at Moscow by many miracles in the second half of the eighteenth century, particularly during a plague in 1771. The icon had been brought to Moscow by Cossacks in 1640 in the reign of Tsar Michael (1613-1645), and placed in the church of Saint Nicholas in the Pupishevo district of Moscow. perhaps after a fire and the rebuilding of the temple, the icon was carelessly put in a bell tower. However, the abundant mercies manifested by the Mother of God would one day bring about a renewed veneration of this holy icon. Feast of the wonderworking icon on January 25 was established in 1760 to commemorate the healing of a sick woman who had seen the icon in a vision. A voice instructed her to go to the church of Saint Nicholas in the Pupishevo district of Moscow where she would find this icon. “Pray before it, and you will receive healing.â€ obeyed and went to Moscow, where she found an icon, darkened by age and dust, in the church’s bell tower. When the sick woman saw the face and inscription she cried out, “It is She!â€ The woman, who previously had been unable to move her arms and legs, walked out of church on her own after a Molieben was served before the icon on January 25. 1760 an honored place was set aside for the Icon in the church, and later a chapel was built for it. The Church Services and the Akathist for the Icon date from this period. Copies of the “Assuage my Sorrowsâ€ Icon are to be found in some churches of Moscow and other cities. The church of Saint Nicholas at Pupishevo was destroyed in the 1930s, but by the grace of God the Icon has survived. It is now in the church of Saint Nicholas near Kuznetskaya Sloboda. “Assuage my Sorrowsâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on September 25 and October 9. Icon of the Mother of God œthe Seeker of the LostÂ, Commemorated on February 5; time immemorial the Russian people, with faith in the all-powerful help of the Most Holy Theotokos, considered the title “Seeker of the Perishingâ€ to refer not only to those who are dying, but to those whose souls are in danger of spiritual death. are no reliable accounts of the origin of the “Seeker of the Perishing" Icon. There are, however, several wonderworking icons of this name, through which the Theotokos showed her mercy to persons at the very brink of death. the mid-eighteenth century, in the village of Bor (Kaluga Gubernia), the pious peasant Theodotos Obukhov lost his way in a blizzard on the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism. The horse became exhausted and paused on the edge of an impassable ravine. Seeing no way to save himself, Obukhov lay down in his sleigh, where he began to freeze. these terrible moments, he prayed with all his being, asking the Queen of Heaven for help, and he vowed that if he were rescued he would have a copy of the “Seeker of the Perishingâ€ Icon painted and donate it to his parish church. She heard his prayer and helped him in a marvelous way. A certain peasant in the nearby village heard a voice outside his window saying, “Take him.â€ He went out and saw the half-frozen Obukhov on his sleigh. When he recovered his health, Obukhov fulfilled his vow and commissioned a copy of the Icon from the Saint George church in the city of Volkhov (Orlov Gubernia). From that time the Bor “Seeker of the Perishingâ€ Icon was glorified by many manifestations of grace and miracles. are other “Seeker of the Perishingâ€ Icons: one manifested itself in 1770 in the village of Malizhino (Kharkov Gubernia), and delivered the people from cholera three times. There was another in the village of Krasnoe (Chernigov Gubernia), and another from Voronezh and Kozlov (Tambov Gubernia). In the year 1835, at the Moscow Alexandrov Orphanage Institute, a church was dedicated to the “Seeker of the Perishingâ€ Icon. particular interest is the “Seeker of the Perishingâ€ Icon in the Church of the Glorious Resurrection in Moscow. This Icon had been transferred from the church of the Nativity of Christ to the Palashev alley. Its final owner had become widowed and was on the verge of complete poverty. Fervent prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos saved him from despair and arranged matters for his daughters. This man felt that he was not worthy to have this wonderworking Icon in his house, so he gave it to the church. 1812 the Palashev church was pillaged by the French. The desecrated Icon was found among the rubble, broken into three pieces. After the Icon was found, numerous miracles of healing took place. Brides entering into marriage pray before this Icon so that their marriage might be a happy one. People come to it, overwhelmed by drunkenness, perishing in poverty, or suffering from illness, and they turn to the Icon in prayer as to a Mother with her perishing children. Icon has several names. In Slavonic it is called (Recovery of the Perishing, Seeker of the Perishing, Seeker of the Lost). In Greek it is known as (Seeker of the Perishing). St Kristo the Gardener of Albania, Commemorated on February 12; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Icon of the Mother of God of Akhtyr, Commemorated July 2 ; Akhtyr Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared on July 2, 1739 in the village of Akhtyr in the area of Kharkov, east of Kiev. Basil Danilov, a righteous man of strong faith, was the priest of the Dormition church in Akhtyr. He wanted to try out a new scythe, and so he went out to a field by the church. As he began to cut the tall grass, Father Basil noticed an icon of the Mother of God shining with a radiant light. Dropping the scythe, he fell to his knees and began to pray, then took the icon to his home. icon remained in the priest’s home for three years. No one could spend the night in the same room as the icon, because an inexplicable fear would force them to leave. night the Theotokos appeared to Father Basil in a dream, reproaching him because he had not cleaned the icon in the three years since he had found it. When he awoke, he dusted the icon off and washed it with water, then went back to sleep. That night he had another dream in which he saw himself going to the river in order to pour out the water he had used to wash the icon. The Mother of God appeared to him again and ordered him to return home with the water, explaining that it would cure people of malaria and fever. Father Basil’s daughter became ill with malaria, he gave her some of the water to drink and she was healed. Others also received healing in this way. The priest decided that the icon should not remain in his home, so he took it to the church. iconographer named John was commissioned to restore the icon. When his son was suffering from malaria, John remembered how the water used to wash the icon had cured people of that disease. Therefore, he washed the icon and gave his son some of the water to drink. The young man was healed at once, and there were many other miracles after this one. miracles of the Akhtyr Icon were investigated no less than three times. In 1751 the Holy Synod determined that reports of the miracles were true, and declared the icon to be wonderworking. Elizabeth had a stone church built in Akhtyr for the icon, and she personally donated two thousand rubles. Saint Joasaph of Belgorod (September 4 and December 10) blessed the cornerstone. The church was consecrated in the year 1768. Nicholas I ordered that on the Saturday before Pentecost the Akhtyr Icon should be taken from the Protection Cathedral and carried in procession to the Akhtyr-Holy Trinity Monastery. The icon was brought back to the cathedral during the week of All Saints. Unfortunately, the icon was stolen from the Protection Cathedral on April 1, 1905. Many copies of the Akhtyr Icon were made before it was stolen. July 2 many churches bless water in remembrance of the healings which took place after the Mother of God ordered Father Basil Danilov to wash the icon. icon is rather unusual, and does not seem to have an earlier prototype. It is painted in a Western style, and shows the Theotokos with an uncovered head. The Crucifixion of Christ is depicted in much smaller proportions, and the Virgin seems to be gazing directly at the Cross. Her hands are held with the palms together, and the fingers pointing upward, which is not a typical gesture of prayer in Orthodox iconography.

Russia, Moscow, 1741-1743, Russo-Swedish War, Vyborg, near St Pete, Russian V
Moscow, 1741-1743, Russo-Swedish War (1741-“43) ; Moscow Empress, 1741-1761, Elizabeth ; Icon of the Mother of God of Domnitsa, Commemorated on September 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1742-1794, Paisius Velichkovsky, could not find elder but became one, large monastery, incorrupe relics
Russia, Kiev, 1742-1794, Paisius Velichkovsky, Poltava, Ukraine (Vorskla River 6), could not find elder but became one, large monastery, incorrupe relics; Poltava; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Paϊsios Velichkovsky was born in Poltava in Little Russia on December 21, 1722, and was the eleventh of twelve children. father John was a priest, who named him Peter at his Baptism, in honor of Saint Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow, on whose Feast he was born. the children’s father died, their mother Irene raised them in piety. Peter was sent to study at the Moghila Academy in Kiev in 1735. After four years, Peter decided to leave the world and become a monk. the age of seventeen, he went in search of a monastery and a good Spiritual Father. For seven years Peter visited various monasteries, including the Kiev Caves Lavra, but he did not feel drawn to any of the monasteries of Ukraine. being made a rassophore monk (one blessed to wear the rasson, but not yet tonsured “into the mantya”) at the Saint Nicholas Medvedevsky Monastery with the name Platon, he found that there was no experienced Elder there who could teach him obedience, or give him spiritual direction. Not wishing to begin his monastic life without such guidance, he left the monastery a week afterward with the blessing of his Elder. first, he went to Kiev, where he happened to meet his sister-in-law, the widow of his older brother Archpriest John. She informed him of his mother’s sorrow when he left Kiev, and her mind seemed to be affected by her grief. one day an Angel appeared to her and told her that instead of loving the Creator with all her heart and soul, she loved His creation (her son) more. Because of this excessive love, the Angel continued, she was thinking of starving herself to death, which would result in her eternal condemnation. Angel said that by God’s grace, her son would become a monk, and that she should also renounce the world and become a nun. this, she became calm and accepted God’s will. She entered a convent and was tonsured with the name Juliana. After ten years or so, she departed to the Lord. at Kiev, Father Platon met two monks from Romania who were about to return to their country. After crossing the border into Moldavia, they came to Vlachia and the Skete of Saint Nicholas, which is called Traisteni, around 1745. The Elder of the Skete, Hieroschema-monk Michael, was away on business in Ukraine, so Father Platon and his companions were welcomed by the Superior, Father Demetrios. Father Platon was placed under a general obedience and was given a cell near the Skete, from which the church was visible. he was sleeping one night, the semantron was sounded calling the monks to Sunday Matins, but Father Platon did not hear it. woke up and ran to the church, only to find that the Gospel had already been read, and the Canon was being sung. In his grief and shame, he did not enter the church, but returned to his cell, weeping bitter tears. the Liturgy, when it was time for the meal, the Superior and the Elder were surprised that Father Platon had not been seen at the Services. The Elder ordered that the meal be delayed while he sent Father Athanasios to find out what had happened to the absent monk.. Athanasios found him and asked why he was weeping. With difficulty, Father Platon was able to tell him the reason for his sorrow. Father Athanasios tried to console him and urged him to come to the Skete, where the others were waiting for him. Finally, he was persuaded to go. the brethren at table but not eating, Father Platon fell down before them weeping and asking their forgiveness. The Elder and the Superior lraised him up and heard from Father Athanasios the reason for his sorrow. The Elder told Father Platon not to grieve so over something that had happened involuntarily, and did his best to console him. that time, however, the Saint would not sleep lying down in bed, but sitting up on a bench. day the Elder Onuphrios of Kyrkoul visited the Skete and spoke about his Skete at Kyrkoul. Platon longed to see Kyrkoul, and so he returned there with Father Onuphrios. He remained there for a time, conversing with Father Onuphrius about overcoming the passions, the struggle with demons, unceasing prayer, and other soul-profiting topics. This seed fell on good ground, and later produced spiritual fruit a hundredfold (Luke 8:8). time came when Father Platon was filled with longing to visit Mount Athos. He asked the brethren of the Skete, and those of other Sketes, for their forgiveness and blessing for the journey. He also thanked them for their kindness and their paternal instruction. They blessed him and let him go in peace. At that time, he was just twenty-four years old. Platon went to Mount Athos in 1746, arriving at the Greatest Lavra on July 4, the eve of the Feast of Saint Athanasios of Athos. traveling companion, Hieromonk Tryphon fell ill and reposed after four days. Father Platon would have died from the same illness, if not for the care of the Russian monks. recovered and lived in solitude in a cell called Kaparis near the Pantokrator Monastery. went around visiting many ascetics and solitaries, seeking a Spiritual Father, but was unable to find anyone suitable. 1750 Saint Basil of Poiana Marului (April 15) visited the Holy Mountain and spent some time with Father Platon, who asked him for monastic tonsure. Basil granted his request, giving him the name Paϊsios. Father Basil returned to his Skete at Vlachia. About three months later, a young monk named Bessarion came to the Holy Mountain from Vlachia. He went around to the monasteries searching for an instructor, but did not find one. He also came to Father Paϊsios and asked him to tell him something about saving his soul. Paϊsios sighed and told him that he himself had been looking for an instructor without success. Yet, feeling compassion for Father Bessarion, he talked to him a little about the qualifications necessary for a true instructor, and about the Jesus Prayer. hearing him, Father Bessarion said, “Why should I seek any further?" He fell down at the feet of Father Paϊsios, entreating him to be his Elder. Father Paϊsios did not wish to be anyone’s Elder, preferring to be one under the authority of an Elder. Bessarion wept for three days until Father Paϊsios finally agreed to accept him as a friend, but not as a disciple. They lived together for about four years, fulfilling God’s commandments, cutting off their own will, and obeying one another as equals. disciples began to join them, and their number continued to increase. Since they needed a priest and a confessor, they pleaded with Father Paϊsios to accept ordination. He did not want to hear of this, and repeatedly refused to consent. They did not give up, however. They asked him how he could expect to teach the brethren obedience and cutting off their own will, when he disobeyed the tearful entreaties of those who wished him to accept. Finally, he said, “May God's will be done.” 1754 Father Paϊsios was ordained to the holy priesthood and was given the Skete of the Prophet Elias, where he began to accept even more disciples. Saint Paϊsios remained on Mount Athos for seventeen years, copying Greek patristic books and translating them into Slavonic. 1763 Father Paϊsios went to Moldavia with sixty-four disciples, and was given the Dragomίrna Monastery near the city of Sochava, on the border between Bukovina and Moldavia. Here he remained for twelve years, and the number of monks increased to three hundred and fifty. friend Hieromonk Alexius came to visit him from Vlachia, and Father Paϊsios asked to be tonsured into the Schema. Father Alexius did so, but without changing his name. at Dragomίrna, Elder Paϊsios corrected the Slavonic translations of patristic books by comparing them to the Greek manuscripts he had copied on Mount Athos. Russo-Turkish War broke out in 1768, and Moldavia and Vlachia saw many battles. Dragomίrna and the forests around it became filled with refugees from the villages near the battlegrounds. catastrophe followed in 1771 with an outbreak of the plague. Dragomίrna and Bukovina came under the control of Austrian Catholics, so Saint Paϊsios and his flock fled to Moldavia. October of 1775, the Holy Elder and many of his monks went to Secu Monastery, which is dedicated to the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. was too small for the number of brethren, who were crowded with three to five monks in a cell. the spring, more brethren were due to arrive from Dragomίrna, so new cells had to be built. three years of labor one hundred cells were completed, and everyone had a place. Still, the numbers continued to increase, and they had to look for a larger monastery. Constantine Muruz wrote to the Elder saying that there was no larger monastery than Neamţ, about two hours from Secu. August 14, 1779, Saint Paϊsios moved to Neamţ Monastery, where he spent the last fifteen years of his life translating the writings of the Holy Fathers. also introduced the the Typikon (Rule) of Mount Athos in that community. He gathered about a thousand monks in the monastery, instructing them in the unceasing prayer of the heart. Ambrose visited Saint Paϊsios at Neamţ in 1790, remaining for two days to converse with the Elder. the Sunday Liturgy, he raised Saint Paϊsios to the rank of Archimandrite. He stayed for two more days, then departed after blessing everyone. Paϊsios fell asleep in the Lord on November 15, 1794 when he was almost seventy-two. is possible that God revealed the time of his death to him beforehand, for he stopped translating books. He merely reviewed and corrected what had already been translated. was ill for four days, but felt well enough to attend the Liturgy on Sunday. After the service, he asked everyone to come and receive his blessing. Bidding farewell to them all, he returned to his cell and would not receive anyone. A few days later, on November 15, he received the Holy Mysteries once more, and surrendered his soul to God. His funeral was conducted by Bishop Benjamin of Tuma, and was attended by multitudes of priests, monks, laymen, nobles and ordinary people. holy relics of Saint Paϊsios were uncovered in 1846, 1853, 1861 and 1872, and were found to be incorrupt. Paϊsios has had an enormous influence, not only in Romania, but throughout the Orthodox world. His disciples traveled to Russia, sparking the spiritual revival of the XIX century with Slavonic translations of the Philokalia and the tradition of eldership which they had learned from Saint Paϊsios. His influence has been felt even in America, through Saint Herman of Alaska (December 13). Saint Herman had been taught by Elders whose spiritual formation was guided by Saint Paϊsios. he was still in Russia, Saint Herman met Saint Nazarius (February 23), who became his Elder at Valaam, at Sarov, then followed him to Sanaxar Monastery when Saint Theodore (February 19) was the Igoumen. One of the books that Saint Herman brought with him to America was the Slavonic Philokalia, printed in 1794. Not only did he absorb the spiritual wisdom that it contained, he also imparted it to others.

Russia, Moscow, 1744-1783, Tikhon of Zadonsk, writer, teacher, builder, Voronezh, Novgorod, Tver, Petersburg
Moscow, 1744-1783, Saint, Tikhon of Zadonsk; St Tikhon the Bishop of Voronezh and Wonderworker of Zadonsk and All Russia, Commemorated on August 13; Tikhon of Zadonsk, Bishop of Voronezh (in the world Timothy), was born in the year 1724 in the village of Korotsk in the Novgorod diocese, into the family of the cantor Sabellius Kirillov. (A new family name, Sokolov, was given him afterwards by the head of the Novgorod seminary). His father died when Timothy was a young child, leaving the family in such poverty that his mother was barely able to make ends meet. She wanted to give him to be raised by a neighbor, a coachman, since there was nothing with which to feed the family, but his brother Peter would not permit this. Timothy often worked a whole day with the peasants for a single piece of black bread. a thirteen-year-old boy, he was sent to a clergy school near the Novgorod archbishop’s home, and earned his keep by working with the vegetable gardeners. In 1740, he was accepted under a state grant set up for the Novgorod seminary. The youth excelled at his studies. Upon finishing seminary in 1754, he became a teacher there, first in Greek, and later in Rhetoric and Philosophy. In the year 1758, he was tonsured with the name Tikhon. In that same year they appointed him to be prefect of the seminary. 1759, they transferred him to Tver, elevating him to be archimandrite of the Zheltikov monastery. Later, they appointed him rector of the Tver seminary and, at the same time, head of the Otroch monastery. election as bishop was providential. Metropolitan Demetrius, the presiding member of the Holy Synod, had intended to transfer the young archimandrite to the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. On the day of Pascha, at Peterburg, Archimandrite Tikhon was one of eight candidates being considered for selection as vicar-bishop for Novogorod. The lot fell on him three times. the same day, during the Cherubic Hymn, Bishop Athanasius of Tver, without realizing it, commemorated him as a bishop while cutting out particles from the prosphora at the Table of Oblation. On May 13, 1761 he was consecrated Bishop of Keksgolma and Ladoga (i.e., a vicar bishop of the Novgorod diocese). 1763, Saint Tikhon was transferred to the See of Voronezh. During the four and a half years that he administered the Voronezh diocese, Saint Tikhon provided constant edification, both by his life and by his numerous pastoral guidances and soul-saving books. wrote a whole series of works for pastors: Concerning the Seven Holy Mysteries A Supplement to the Priestly Office Concerning the Mystery of Repentance An Instruction Concerning Marriage saint considered it essential that each priest, deacon and monk have a New Testament, and that he should read it daily. In an Encyclical, he called on pastors to perform the Holy Mysteries with reverence, with the fear of God, and love for one’s neighbor. (An Explanation of Christian Duties was often republished in Moscow and Peterburg during the eighteenth century). Voronezh the saint eradicated an ancient pagan custom, the celebration in honor of Yarila (a pagan god associated with the fertility of grain and cattle). In the outlying districts where military units of the Don Cossacks were dispersed, he formed a missionary commission to restore sectarians to the Orthodox Church. 1765, Saint Tikhon transformed the Voronezh Slavic-Latin school into a seminary. He invited experienced instructors from Kiev and Kharkhov, and planned the courses for it. He exerted much attention and effort to build up both the churches and the school, and to guide pastors to understand the need for education. saint was unflagging in his efforts to administer the vast diocese, and he often spent nights without sleep. In 1767, poor health compelled him to give up running the diocese and withdraw for rest to the Tolshevsk monastery, at a distance 40 versts from Voronezh. 1769, the saint transferred to the monastery of the Theotokos in the city of Zadonsk. Having settled into this monastery, Saint Tikhon became a great teacher of the Christian life. With deep wisdom he set forth the ideal of true monasticism in his Rule of Monastic Living and his Guidances to Turn from the Vanity of the World, and in his own life he fulfilled this ideal. He kept strictly to the precepts of the Church. Zealously (almost daily) he visited the temple of God, and he often sang and read in the choir. In time, out of humility, he altogether ceased participating and serving, but merely stood in the altar, reverently making the Sign of the Cross over himself. He loved to read the Lives of the Saints and the works of the Holy Fathers. He knew The Psalter by heart, and he usually read or sang the Psalms on his journeys. saint underwent much tribulation because he had to leave his flock. When he recovered his health, he thought about returning to the Novgorod diocese, where Metropolitan Gabriel had invited him to head the Iveron Vallaisk monastery. But when his cell-attendant mentioned this to the Elder Aaron, he declared: “Are you mad? The Mother of God does not direct him to move away from here.” The cell-attendant conveyed this to His Grace. “If that is so,” said the saint “I shall not move away from here,” and he tore up the invitation. Sometimes he journeyed to the village of Lipovka, where he celebrated church services at the Bekhteev house. The saint journeyed also to the Tolshev monastery, which he loved for its solitude. fruition of all his spiritual life were the books that the saint wrote while in retirement: A SPIRITUAL TREASURY, GATHERED FROM THE WORLD (1770), and ON TRUE CHRISTIANITY (1776). saint lived in very simple circumstances: he slept on straw, covered by a sheepskin coat. His humility was so great that he paid no attention to the workers who laughed at him as he walked about the monastery, pretending that he did not hear it. He used to say, “It is pleasing to God that even the monastery workers mock me, and I deserve it because of my sins.” He often said, “Forgiveness is better than revenge.” a fool named Kamenev struck the saint on the cheek saying, “Don’t be so haughty.” The saint, accepting this with gratitude, gave the fool three kopeks every day for the rest of his life. his life the saint “in troubles, and sorrows, and insults... joyfully endured, mindful that there can be no crown without the victory, nor victory without effort, nor effort without struggle, nor struggle without enemies” (Ode 6 of the Canon). towards himself, the saint was indulgent towards others. On the Friday before Palm Sunday, he entered the cell of his friend the schemamonk Metrophanes, and he saw him at table together with Cosmas Ignatievich, of whom he was also fond. There was fish on the table, and his friends became upset (fish is not permitted during Lent, except for Feast days). The saint said, “Sit down, for I know you. Love is higher than fasting.” To further calm them, he ate some of their fish soup. especially loved the common folk, and comforted them in their grievous lot, interceding with the landowners, and moving them to compassion. He gave away his pension, and gifts from admirers, to the poor. his deeds of self-denial and love of soul, the saint advanced in contemplation of Heaven and foresaw the future. In 1778, he had a vision in his sleep: the Mother of God stood in the clouds, and near Her were the Apostles Peter and Paul. On bended knees, the saint prayed to the All-Pure Virgin for the peace of the whole world. The Apostle Paul loudly exclaimed: “When they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction will come upon them” (I Thess. 5:3). The saint fell asleep in trembling and in tears. The following year, he again saw the Mother of God in the air and several people near Her. The saint knelt down, and near him four others in white garments also fell to their knees. The saint entreated the All-Pure Virgin for someone, that She would not leave him (the saint did not tell his cell-attendant who the four people were, nor for whom the request was made). She answered, “Let it be as you ask.” Tikhon prophesied much about the future, particularly the victory of Russia over the French in 1812. More than once they saw the saint in spiritual rapture, with a transformed and luminous face, but he forbade them to speak about this. three years before his repose he prayed each day, “Tell me, O Lord, of my end.” And a quiet voice in the morning dawn said, “It will be on a Sunday.” In that same year, he saw in a dream a beautiful meadow with wondrous palaces upon it. He wanted to go inside, but they said to him: “In three years, you may enter. For now, continue your labors.” After this the saint secluded himself in his cell and admitted only a few friends. clothing and a grave were prepared for the time of his death. He often came to weep over his coffin, while standing hidden from people in a closet. A year and three months before his death, in a vivid dream, it seemed to the saint that he was standing in the monastery church. A priest of his acquaintance was carrying the Divine Infant, covered with a veil, out of the altar through the Royal Doors. The saint approached and kissed the Infant on the right cheek, and he felt himself stricken on the left. Awakening, the saint sensed a numbness in his left cheek, his left leg, and a trembling in his left hand. He accepted this illness with joy. before his death, the saint saw in a dream a high and twisting ladder and he heard a command to climb it. “At first, I was afraid because of weakness,” he told his friend Cosmas. “But when I started to go climb, the people standing around the ladder lifted me higher and higher, up to the very clouds.” “The ladder,” said Cosmas, “is the way to the Heavenly Kingdom. Those who helped were those you have helped by your advice, and they remember you.” The saint said with tears, “I thought so, too. I feel that my end is near.” He frequently received the Holy Mysteries during his illness. Tikhon died, as was revealed to him, on Sunday August 13, 1783, at the age of fifty-nine. The first uncovering of his relics occurred on May 14, 1846. Tikhon’s glorification took place on Sunday August 13, 1861.

Russia, Moscow, 1747,Tsarskoye Selo Icon, St Petersburg, ancient, wonderworking, Plague, cholera, fires, shipwrecks
Russia, St Petersburg, 1747,Tsarskoye Selo Icon, St Petersburg, ancient, wonderworking, Peter I, Church, Plague 1771, cholera 1831, epidemics, fires, shipwrecks; Tsarskoye Selo; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated November 27 ; Tsarskoe Selo Sign Icon of the Mother of God an ancient wonderworking icon, brought by way of a present to Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich by one of the Eastern Patriarchs, supposedly by Saint Athanasius of Constantinople (October 28). Peter I transferred the icon, together with other sacred items from Moscow, to his new capital city. the year 1747, a church was built for the icon at Tsarskoe Selo. Moliebens were served before it during times of national catastrophe, for example, during a plague in 1771, and of cholera in 1831. the intercession of the Mother of God, the terrible epidemics only barely touched Tsarskoe Selo. before the Tsarskoe Selo Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “of the Sign,” were also offered entreating the Mother of God’s help during fires and shipwrecks. the icon, Cherubim shade the head of the Mother of God. More recent copies of the icon depict the Apostle Peter, Saints Zachariah, Alexis the Man of God, and Righteous Elizabeth.

Russia, Moscow, 1748, Kaluga Icon Appearance, She spit on it and bad things happened, Molieben, then many healings
Kaluga Cathedral of the Holy Trinity; Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga, Commemorated on September 2; Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God appeared in 1748 in the village of Tinkova, near Kaluga, at the home of the landowner Basil Kondratevich Khitrov. Two servants of Khitrov were cleaning out junk from the attic of his home. One of them, Eudokia, noted for her temper, was given to rough and even indecorous language. Her companion was modest and serious. discovered a large package covered in a linen cloth. Undoing it, the girl saw the picture of a woman in dark garments with a book in her hands. Considering it to be the portrait of a woman monastic and wanting to bring Eudokia to her senses, she accused her of being disrespectful to the abbess. jeered at the scolding words of her companion, and becoming increasingly angry, she spit on the picture. Immediately, she became convulsed and fell down senseless. She also became blind and mute. Her frightened companion reported what had happened to the household. next night, the Queen of Heaven appeared to Eudokia’s parents and told them that their daughter had behaved impertinently toward Her and She ordered them to serve a Molieben before the insulted icon, then sprinkle the invalid with holy water at the Molieben. the Molieben Eudokia recovered, and Khitrov took the wonderworking icon into his own home, where it granted healing to those approaching it with faith. Later, the icon was placed in the parish temple of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Kaluga. At the present time it is located in the cathedral church of Kaluga. this icon the Mother of God has repeatedly manifest Her protection of the Russian land during difficult times. The celebration of the Kaluga Icon on September 2 was established in remembrance of the deliverance from a plague in 1771. A second celebration was established October 12, in memory of the preservation of Kaluga from the French invasion of 1812. In 1898, a celebration was established on July 18 in gratitude to the Mother of God for protection against cholera. The icon is also commemorated on the first Sunday of the Apostles’ Fast.

Russia, Moscow, 1750, 1770, 1812, 1835, Seeker oPerishing Icon, many copies, Theotokos' mercy at brink of death
Russia, Kaluga, , Seeker oPerishing Icon, Bor of Kaluga in Zhukovsky District (Protva River 2.5), title refers to both dying & spiritual death, no origin accounts, several wonderworking icons this name, Theotokos showed her mercy at brink of death, 1750 example peasant Theodotos fBor lost in blizzard on Feast Lord's Baptism, horse exhausted impassable ravine edge, no hope laid down in his Sleigh, began to freeze, prayed Heaven's Queen help, vowed donate copy Seeker oPerishing icon to his Church, She heard & helped him by telling nearby peasant "Take Him", Peasant went out and saw Obukhov in his sleigh, O recpvered. commissioned copy from Volkhov, thereafter Bor Seeker oPerishing icon glorified by many manifestations oGrace&Miracles, many other SOP Icons, 1770 Malizhino Krakhov village, delivered fCholera 3 times, another Krasnoe Chernigov village, another Voronezh&Kozlov Tambov, 1835 SOP Church at Moscow Alexandrov Orphanage, another particular interest because owner widowed verge complete poverty, praying for his daughters he gave SOP Icon to his church, Icon arranged matters for daughters, 1812 his church pillaged by French, icon found in 3 pieces, numerous miracles from those 3 pieces, Icon has several names, people come for drunkenness, poverty, illness, turn to SOP icon as to a Mother with her perishing children; Bor of Kaluga in Zhukovsky District; Icon of the Mother of God “the Seeker of the Lost”, Commemorated on February 5; time immemorial the Russian people, with faith in the all-powerful help of the Most Holy Theotokos, the title “Seeker of the Perishing” to refer not only to those who are dying, but to those whose souls are in danger of spiritual death. are no reliable accounts of the origin of the “Seeker of the Perishing" Icon. are, however, several wonderworking icons of this name, which the Theotokos showed her mercy to persons at the very brink of death. the mid-eighteenth century, in the village of Bor (Kaluga Gubernia), the pious peasant Theodotos Obukhov lost his way in a blizzard on the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism. horse became exhausted and paused on the edge of an impassable ravine. Seeing no way to save himself, Obukhov lay down in his sleigh, where he began to freeze. these terrible moments, he prayed with all his being, asking the Queen of Heaven for help, he vowed that if he were rescued he would have a copy of the “Seeker of the Perishing” Icon painted and donate it to his parish church. heard his prayer and helped him in a marvelous way. certain peasant in the nearby village heard a voice outside his window saying, “Take him.” went out and saw the half-frozen Obukhov on his sleigh. he recovered his health, Obukhov fulfilled his vow and commissioned a copy of the Icon from the Saint George church in the city of Volkhov (Orlov Gubernia). that time the Bor “Seeker of the Perishing” Icon was glorified by many manifestations of grace and miracles. are other “Seeker of the Perishing” Icons: manifested itself in 1770 in the village of Malizhino (Kharkov Gubernia), and delivered the people from cholera three times. was another in the village of Krasnoe (Chernigov Gubernia), another from Voronezh and Kozlov (Tambov Gubernia). the year 1835, at the Moscow Alexandrov Orphanage Institute, a church was dedicated to the “Seeker of the Perishing” Icon. particular interest is the “Seeker of the Perishing” Icon in the Church of the Glorious Resurrection in Moscow. Icon had been transferred from the church of the Nativity of Christ to the Palashev alley. final owner had become widowed and was on the verge of complete poverty. prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos saved him from despair and arranged matters for his daughters. man felt that he was not worthy to have this wonderworking Icon in his house, so he gave it to the church. 1812 the Palashev church was pillaged by the French. desecrated Icon was found among the rubble, broken into three pieces. the Icon was found, numerous miracles of healing took place. entering into marriage pray before this Icon so that their marriage might be a happy one. come to it, overwhelmed by drunkenness, perishing in poverty, or suffering from illness, they turn to the Icon in prayer as to a Mother with her perishing children. Icon has several names. In Slavonic it is called (Recovery of the Perishing, Seeker of the Perishing, Seeker of the Lost). In Greek it is known as (Seeker of the Perishing).

Russia, Moscow, 1750-1802, Gabriel the Lesser, Tbilisi, a major figure, writer, historian, k by Dagestanis
Georgia, 1750-1802, Gabriel the Lesser, Tbilisi, Kartli, Georgia Capital (Tiblisi River Mouth, Kura River 9), Gabriel the Lesser was a major figure in the eighteenth-century Georgian Church, well educated, tailor but monastic life, left for monastic life, writer, historian, killed by Moslem Dagestanis; Tbilisi; Hieromartyr Gabriel the Lesser, Commemorated on March 17; Gabriel the Lesser was a major figure in the eighteenth-century Georgian Church. Few details of his life are known, but it is evident that the education he received was quite good for the period. Striving toward the monastic life but still living in the world, Gabriel tried in every way to close himself off from the vanity of the world. He kept a small sewing shop in Tbilisi and distributed most of his profits to the poor. day Saint Gabriel abandoned his business and set off for the Davit-Gareji Wilderness, where he was tonsured a monk. Gabriel occupied much of his time with writing, and his works left a significant mark on the spiritual literature of Georgia. He compiled several collections of patristic writings, and he also wrote original works of a theological nature. His original writings include An Explanation of the Hierarchical Liturgy, which describes in detail the meaning of every part of the service, Spiritual Stories of the Pious, The Life and Labors of Venerable Schemamonk Onisphore, A Short Story of Porphyry, and writings on the Nomocanon of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. the brothers at his monastery, Saint Gabriel was distinguished by a remarkable capacity for love and a fervent desire to help others: he helped all, cared for all, and encouraged all. During the Great Fast in 1802, a certain archdeacon came from Tbilisi to Davit-Gareji Monastery, desiring to draw closer to the ascetic way of life. After some time, however, he became anxious to see his family and decided to return home. Saint Gabriel accompanied him on his way, but the two men were suddenly assailed by Dagestanis, and the holy father was killed. The brothers carried his relics back to the monastery and buried them there with great honor.

Russia, Moscow, 1750-1806, George oCernica, pastor oHigh spiritual life, leader 2 great Wallacia Ms, renewer Athos&Paisian hesyc
Romania, 1750-1806, George oCernica (Lake Cernica, Bucharest, Romania), fSaliste, Sibiu, inclined monastic fyouth, but Catholic Austrian Rulers oTransylvania supressed Orthodoxy, esp monasticism, to unify, so 1749 he went tWallacia tGreek Met Rosca aBucharest, spiritual father, tConstan&Mt Athos wRosca, Vatopaidi M, monk then deacon, Rosca dies so Paisios Velichkovsky elder, Prophet Elias Skete, 1752 Great Schema, 1754 Hieroschema monk fRomanians aSt Elias Skete, 1764 w64&P tDragomirna M iMoldovia, Hierschemamonk, Confessor, steward 12 yrs, wBukovina fell tAustria 1775, they moved to Secu M, 1779 wP tNeamt M 2yrs, 1781 P blessed him to return Mt Athos, on way iBucharest he met Met Gregory II oWallacia (P's disciple) & old friend Hiermonk Makarios, they persuaded him with vision oSt Nick to undertake revival oCernica M, dedicated to St Nic, in ruins 30 yrs, task cenobitic rule similar Athonite & Paisan Ms, help fWallacian ruler Nick Mavrogenes began restore church&cells, he perfected monks spiritual life, daily services, scripture &Holy fathers reading, work including manuscript copying, he revived spiritual life, grew to 103 in 5yrs, 1785 gravely ill, his will prescribed monastic order, but he recovered, 1793 Met Philaret II assigned him to Caldarusani M also, 1794 on lived both Ms, Athonite-Paisian cenobitic Rule, worship 7times day frequent confession obedience constant prayer common meal, died 1806, buried Cernica Lazarus font, venerated as a pastor of high spiritual life, the leader of the two great monastic centers of Wallachia, a renewer of the true monastic life of the Athos and Paisian hesychastic tradition, many disciples incl Kalinikos&Makarios, 2005 Romanian sainthood, 2007 Russian sainthood; Cernica; St George of Cernica and Caldarushani, Commemorated December 3 ; George was born in 1730 to pious Orthodox parents in the town of Sălişte, near Sibiu in Romania. his youth he was inclined toward the monastic life. at that time the Roman Catholic Austrian rulers of Transylvania tried to suppress Orthodoxy, especially Orthodox monasticism, in order to make the faithful unite with them. at the age of nineteen, the young man went to Wallachia and came to the Greek Metropolitan Rosca, who was in Bucharest at that time. He became George's Spiritual Father. thereafter, in 1750, he accompanied his Spiritual Father to Constantinople, and then to Mount Athos. he settled at Vatopaidi Monastery, and was tonsured as a monk, and later he was ordained as a deacon. the repose of his Elder, he became a disciple of Saint Paϊsios Velichkovsky at the Prophet Elias Skete. in 1752, Saint Paϊsios tonsured Father George into the Great Schema. years later he was ordained as a Hieroschema-monk for the Romanian community at Saint Elias Skete. his stay on Mount Athos he advanced with great zeal and much spiritual benefit, on the ladder of spiritual perfection, 1763, together with sixty-four other disciples, he followed Saint Paϊsios to Dragomirna Monastery in Moldavia. the next twelve years, he served this Monastery as a Hieromonk, Confessor, and steward. Bukovina fell under the power of Roman Catholic Austria in 1775, the Dragomirna brethren, led by Elder Paϊsios, moved to Secu Monastery. 1779, he followed Saint Paϊsios to Neamț Monastery, where he lived for another two years. 1781, with the blessing of his Elder he went to Mount Athos again. his return to Bucharest, he met Metropolitan Gregory II of Wallachia, who was a disciple of Saint Paϊsios, and his old friend Hieromonk Makarios. their persistent persuasion, followed by prayer and fasting, and a vision of Saint Nicholas, he agreed to undertake the revival of monastic life at Cernίca Monastery, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas, and which had been in ruins for more than thirty years. task was to establish a monastery in this region of Wallachia with a cenobitic Rule, similar to the Athonite and Paisian monasteries. the help of the Wallachian ruler Nicholas Mavrogenes and other Christians, Father George began to restore the main church and the cells. devoted a lot of time to perfecting the spiritual life of the monks. the monastery the Services were performed every day, along with reading the Holy Scriptures and the works of the Holy Fathers of the Church, and work which was carried out in numerous obediences: including copying manuscripts and physical labor. his sacrificial and gifted shepherding, he revived the spiritual life at Cernίca Monastery. After just five years, the community grew to 103 monks. 1785, Saint George became gravely ill and, expecting his imminent demise, made his will in which he prescribed the proper order of life of the monastic community. However, he soon recovered and continued his pastoral labors. view of his successes, in 1793, Metropolitan Philaret II of Wallachia also assigned him to Căldărușani Monastery. April 1794, Father George lived in both monasteries alternately, appointing Igoumens in them, especially during his absence. both monasteries he introduced the Athonite-Paisian cenobitic Rule, which included worship seven times a day, frequent Confession, obedience, constant prayer, and a common meal. George continued to manage both monasteries until the very end of his earthly life. reposed on December 3, 1806, lamented by the numerous brethren of the two monasteries. was buried at Cernica Monastery, in front of the church of Saint Lazarus. Saint George's repose, he was venerated as a pastor of high spiritual life, the leader of the two great monastic centers of Wallachia, a renewer of the true monastic life of the Athos and Paisian hesychastic tradition. Elder had many disciples and followers, such as Saint Kallinikos of Cernίca, Hieromonk Makarios and others. the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church on October 20-21, 2005, Elder George was glorified and numbered among the Saints. formal announcement of his canonization took place at Cernίca Monastery on the day of his commemoration December 3, 2005, with Patriarch Theoktistos of Romania presiding at the Service. the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of August 21, 2007, Saint George's name was included in the Synaxarion of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1760, Assuage my sorrow Icon, many miracles, girl's vision led her to icon in bell tower for her healing
Russia, Moscow, 1760, Assuage my sorrow Icon oMOG, Church of St. Nicholas, Khamovniki, Moscow, many miracles, especially plague o1771, brought to Moscow 1640 bTsar Michael, carelessly put in bell tower after fire, but vereration renewed in 1760 by girl's vision led her to the icon, go Church oSt Nick, find icon, pray, receive healing from paralysis arms & legs, Icon darkened by age&dust in Bell Tower, It is She! woman walked out of church after Molieben served before tIcon, copies can be found; Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage my sorrow", Commemorated January 25 ; “Assuage my Sorrows” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was glorified at Moscow by many miracles in the second half of the eighteenth century, particularly during a plague in 1771. icon had been brought to Moscow by Cossacks in 1640 in the reign of Tsar Michael (1613-1645), placed in the church of Saint Nicholas in the Pupishevo district of Moscow. perhaps after a fire and the rebuilding of the temple, the icon was carelessly put in a bell tower. the abundant mercies manifested by the Mother of God would one day bring about a renewed veneration of this holy icon. Feast of the wonderworking icon on January 25 was established in 1760 commemorate the healing of a sick woman who had seen the icon in a vision. voice instructed her to go to the church of Saint Nicholas in the Pupishevo district of Moscow where she would find this icon. “Pray before it, and you will receive healing.” obeyed and went to Moscow, where she found an icon, darkened by age and dust, in the church’s bell tower. the sick woman saw the face and inscription she cried out, “It is She!” woman, who previously had been unable to move her arms and legs, walked out of church on her own after a Molieben was served before the icon on January 25. 1760 an honored place was set aside for the Icon in the church, later a chapel was built for it. Church Services and the Akathist for the Icon date from this period. of the “Assuage my Sorrows” Icon are to be found in some churches of Moscow and other cities. church of Saint Nicholas at Pupishevo was destroyed in the 1930s, but by the grace of God the Icon has survived. is now in the church of Saint Nicholas near Kuznetskaya Sloboda. “Assuage my Sorrows” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on September 25 and October 9.

Russia, Moscow, 1761-1762, Emperor, Peter III, German Born, pro Prussian, removed by troups in Coup
Russia, Moscow, 1761-1762, Emperor, Peter III, German Born, pro Prussian, removed by troups in Coup;

Russia, Moscow, 1762-1796, Empress, Catherine II the Great, removed husband, Enlightened, Golden Age
Moscow, 1762-1796, Empress, Catherine II the Great ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kostroma, Commemorated July 28 ; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; St Tikhon the Bishop of Voronezh and Wonderworker of Zadonsk and All Russia, Commemorated August 13; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7 ; Hieromartyr Dositheus of Tbilisi, Commemorated on September 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Gerbovets, Commemorated on October 1 ; Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; New Martyr Ignatius the Monk of Bulgaria, Commemorated on October 8; Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage My Sorrows"Â, Commemorated on October 9; Icon of the Mother of God "œIn Giving Birth, you Preserved your Virginity"Â, Commemorated on October 17; St Peter of Cetinje, Commemorated on October 18; Martyr Oprea of Salistie in Romania, Commemorated on October 21; St John of Galesh, Commemorated on October 21; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Joyful"Â, Commemorated on November 7; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2; Hieromartyr Damascene of Hilandar of Mt Athos, Commemorated on January 16; Translation of the relics of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 23 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated on January 24; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "œAssuage my sorrow"Â, Commemorated on January 25; New Martyr Theodore, Commemorated on January 30; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Seeker of the Lost"Â, Commemorated on February 5; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on February 9; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 14; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19; Monkmartyr Euthymius of Prodromou of Mt Athos, Commemorated on March 22; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Translation of the relics of St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on June 30 ; Icon of the Mother of God "œOur Lady of Sitka", Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1762-1796, Empress, Catherine II, Nobles, no longer having to fight or lead, Built Mansions
Moscow, 1762-1796, Empress, Catherine II the Great ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kostroma, Commemorated July 28 ; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; St Tikhon the Bishop of Voronezh and Wonderworker of Zadonsk and All Russia, Commemorated August 13; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7 ; Hieromartyr Dositheus of Tbilisi, Commemorated on September 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Gerbovets, Commemorated on October 1 ; Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; New Martyr Ignatius the Monk of Bulgaria, Commemorated on October 8; Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage My Sorrows"Â, Commemorated on October 9; Icon of the Mother of God "œIn Giving Birth, you Preserved your Virginity"Â, Commemorated on October 17; St Peter of Cetinje, Commemorated on October 18; Martyr Oprea of Salistie in Romania, Commemorated on October 21; St John of Galesh, Commemorated on October 21; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Joyful"Â, Commemorated on November 7; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2; Hieromartyr Damascene of Hilandar of Mt Athos, Commemorated on January 16; Translation of the relics of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 23 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated on January 24; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "œAssuage my sorrow"Â, Commemorated on January 25; New Martyr Theodore, Commemorated on January 30; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Seeker of the Lost"Â, Commemorated on February 5; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on February 9; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated on February 14; Venerable Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on February 19; Monkmartyr Euthymius of Prodromou of Mt Athos, Commemorated on March 22; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Translation of the relics of St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on June 30 ; Icon of the Mother of God "œOur Lady of Sitka"Â, Commemorated on July 8;

Russia, Moscow, 1765-1817, Saint Theodore Ushakov, Admiral, Sanaxar Monastery Patron
Moscow, 1765-1817, Saint Theodore Ushakov, Admiral; Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; Theodore, one of Russia'™s greatest naval heroes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was born in 1745. unvanquished Admiral was the terror of his country'™s enemies, and the deliverer of those whom the barbarians had taken captive. He served during the Russo-Turkish War (1787-”1791), and also fought against the French. Although he fought many naval battles in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean, he never lost a single one, and he was never wounded. Theodore once visited the Greek island of Kerkyra (Corfu), where he venerated the relics of Saint Spyridon of Tremithus (December 12), and gave support and encouragement to the Orthodox Christians in that place. his naval reforms were unpopular with his superiors, Saint Theodore was forced to retire in 1807 by Tsar Alexander I. Having neither wife nor children, the admiral settled in the town of Alekseevo near the Sanaxar Monastery, where he regularly attended services on Sundays and Feast Days. During Great Lent he would stay in the monastery, fasting with the monks and attending the services. Nathaniel of Sanaxar regarded Saint Theodore as œa neighbor and a significant patron of the monastery. In addition to his generous gifts to the monastery, the admiral frequently gave alms to the poor and needy. He never sought earthly glory or riches, but spent his life in serving God and his neighbor. Theodore died in 1817 at the age of seventy-two. After navigating the sea of life with all its storms and struggles, he entered the calm harbor of eternal rest. He was buried at Sanaxar Monastery beside the church. The monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991, and Saint Theodore’s grave was found in 1994. Theodore was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 2004, and a reliquary in the shape of a naval vessel was made to enshrine his holy relics. holy Admiral Theodore should not be confused with his relative Saint Theodore (Ushakov) of Sanaxar Monastery (February 19 and April 21), a monastic saint who lived from 1719 to 1791. Theodore is honored as a great military leader who defended Russia just as Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23) and Saint Demetrius of the Don (May 19) did before him. One of the Russian Navy’s atomic cruisers has been named for him, and a movie has been made about his life and career. The composer Khachaturian has also written a musical piece called œAdmiral Ushakov.

Russia, Moscow, 1768-1774, Russo-Turkish War, Moldovia, Ochakov, Crimea, Black and Azov Seas
Moscow, 1768-1774, Russo-Turkish War (1768-“74) ; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2;

Russia, Moscow, 1770, 1244&1578, 6 Translations otRelics otMartyr's Prince Michael & Boyer Theodore, killed by Batu 1244
Russia, Kiev, 1578&1770, Translation otRelics otMartyr Michael oChernigov, Ukraine (Desna River 5) western trade through Kiev, Volhy, to Poland, Prince Michael oC and Boyar Theodore killed by Batu 1244, (1) relics saved by Christians, (2) later r transferred to Vladimir, (3) then 1272 to Polish Chernigov, (4) 1573 to Moscow by Ivan tTerrible, (5) then 1770 to Moscow's Meething otLprd Cathedral, (6) 1774 hidden in Kremlin's Holy Archangel Cathedral, Michael&Theodore commemorated Sept 20, Feb 14th, Sunday before Aug 26th, synaxis Moscow's Saints; Chernigov; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated February 14 ; Right-believing Prince Michael of Chernigov and his Boyar Theodore were put to death by Batu of the Golden Horde on September 20, 1244. first, some devout Russian Christians secretly took their relics. Later, the relics of the holy wonderworkers were transferred to the city of Vladimir, then to Chernigov, after Chernigov was ceded to the Poles in the year 1572. February 14, 1578 Tsar Ivan the Terrible transferred their relics to a church which was dedicated to them in Moscow, with the blessing of Metropolitan Anthony. 1770 the relics of Saints Michael and Theodore were transferred to the Meeting of the Lord (Сретенский) cathedral, November 21,1774, they have been kept in a hidden place in Moscow's Holy Archangels Cathedral in the Kremlin. Holy Martyrs and Confessors Michael and Theodore are commemorated September 20 (the day of their martyric death); February 14 (the Translation of their Holy Relics in 1578; on the Sunday before August 26 (Synaxis of the Moscow Saints).

Russia, Moscow, 1771, Kaluga Icon (Ugra River Mouth, Oka River 4), responsible for deliverance from 1771 Plague
Russia, Kaluga, 1771, Kaluga Icon (Ugra River Mouth, Oka River 4), responsible for deliverance from 1771 Plague; Kaluga; Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga, Commemorated September 2 ; Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God appeared in 1748 in the village of Tinkova, near Kaluga, at the home of the landowner Basil Kondratevich Khitrov. servants of Khitrov were cleaning out junk from the attic of his home. One of them, Eudokia, noted for her temper, was given to rough and even indecorous language. Her companion was modest and serious. discovered a large package covered in a linen cloth. Undoing it, the girl saw the picture of a woman in dark garments with a book in her hands. it to be the portrait of a woman monastic and wanting to bring Eudokia to her senses, she accused her of being disrespectful to the abbess. jeered at the scolding words of her companion, and becoming increasingly angry, she spit on the picture. she became convulsed and fell down senseless. She also became blind and mute. Her frightened companion reported what had happened to the household. next night, the Queen of Heaven appeared to Eudokia’s parents and told them that their daughter had behaved impertinently toward Her and She ordered them to serve a Molieben before the insulted icon, then sprinkle the invalid with holy water at the Molieben. the Molieben Eudokia recovered, and Khitrov took the wonderworking icon into his own home, where it granted healing to those approaching it with faith. the icon was placed in the parish temple of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Kaluga. At the present time it is located in the cathedral church of Kaluga. this icon the Mother of God has repeatedly manifest Her protection of the Russian land during difficult times. The celebration of the Kaluga Icon on September 2 was established in remembrance of the deliverance from a plague in 1771. second celebration was established October 12, in memory of the preservation of Kaluga from the French invasion of 1812. 1898, a celebration was established on July 18 in gratitude to the Mother of God for protection against cholera. icon is also commemorated on the first Sunday of the Apostles’ Fast.

Russia, Moscow, 1774-1833, Seraphim of Sarov, acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands saved
Russia, Mordovia, 1774-1833, Saint, Seraphim of Sarov ; Seraphim of Sarov (30 July [O.S. 19 July] 1754 (or 1759) - 14 January [O.S. 2 January] 1833), born Prokhor Moshnin, is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerated both in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. is generally considered the greatest of the 19th-century startsy (elders). Seraphim extended the monastic teachings of contemplation, theoria and self-denial to the layperson. He taught that the purpose of the Christian life was to acquire the Holy Spirit. Perhaps his most popular quotation amongst Orthodox believers is "Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will be saved." was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1903. Alongside his veneration in the Catholic calendar, Pope John Paul II also referred to him as a Saint.[1] Mordovia; Passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas, Commemorated on July 17; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19 ; of the Relics of Saint Seraphim, Wonderworker of Sarov: The glorification of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (January 2), took place in 1903, seventy years after his repose. July 3, 1903 Metropolitan Anthony of Saint Petersburg, assisted by Bishop Nazarius of Nizhni-Novgorod and Bishop Innocent of Tambov, transferred the saint’s relics from their original burial place to the church of Saints Zosimus and Sabbatius. Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra provided a new cypress coffin to receive the relics. This cypress coffin was then placed inside an oak coffin and remained in the church until the day of the saint’s glorification. noon on July 16, the first day of the festivities, Metropolitan Anthony offered a Memorial Service for the ever-memorable Hieromonk Seraphim in the Dormition Cathedral. Services also took place in the monastery’s other churches. next day Metropolitan Anthony and Bishop Nazarius served a Memorial Liturgy in the Dormition Cathedral. At 5:00 that afternoon, the bells of Sarov began to ring, announcing the arrival of Tsar Nicholas and his family. Metropolitan Anthony greeted them and then led them to the Dormition Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving. royal family attended the early Liturgy on July 18th and received the Holy Mysteries. Later that morning, the final Memorial Service for the repose of Hieromonk Seraphim’s soul was offered in the Cathedral. These would be the last prayers offered for him as a departed servant of God. From that time forward, prayers would be addressed to him as a saint. At 6 P.M. the bells rang for Vigil, the first service with hymns honoring Saint Seraphim, and during which his relics would be exposed for public veneration. the time of the Litia during Vespers, the saint’s coffin was carried from the church of Saints Zosimus and Sabbatius and into the Dormition Cathedral. Several people were healed of various illnesses during this procession. During Matins, as “Praise ye the Name of the Lord” was sung, the coffin was opened. After the Gospel, Metropolitan Anthony and the other hierarchs kissed the holy relics. They were followed by the royal family, the officiating clergy, and all the people in the cathedral. July 19, the saint’s birthday, the late Liturgy began at 8 o’clock. At the Little Entrance, twelve Archimandrites lifted the coffin from the middle of the church, carried it around the altar, then placed it into a special shrine. The long awaited event was accompanied by numerous miraculous healings of the sick, who had gathered at Sarov in large numbers. More than 200,000 people came to Sarov from all across Russia. festivities at Sarov came to an end with the dedication of the first two churches to Saint Seraphim. The first church to be consecrated was over his monastic cell in Sarov. The second church was consecrated on July 22 at the Diveyevo convent. 1991, Saint Seraphim’s relics were rediscovered after being hidden in a Soviet anti-religious museum for seventy years. Widely esteemed in his lifetime, Saint Seraphim is one of the most beloved saints of the Orthodox Church.

Russia, Moscow, 1774-1833, Seraphim of Sarov, Mordovia, visions during services, divine light, Jesus, much more
Russia, Mordovia, 1774-1833, Seraphim of Sarov, Mordovia, from Kursk, Cathedral at K, 7 story fall, unharmed, excellent meomory, greviously ill, MOG promise visit to heal him, Kursk Root Icon procession, copper cross, from K to Kiev Caves, sent to Sarov by elder Dositheus, a woman, Pachomius, Joseph, bread, prosphora and carpentry, no despondency by prayer, fasting, isolation, Jesus prayer, after 2 yrs fell ill w dropsy 3 yrs, no complaint, no want Dr, asked for prayer, molieben, MOG vision, Peter, John, side touched, fluid, chapel at place, Seraphim's altar table for his holy mysteries, served each day, visions during services, divine light, Jesus, bodiless powers of heaven, he couldn't move or speak, 1793 Mt Athos in the forest, Pachomius of the Desert's rule of prayer, silence and solitude, fed bears, lynxes, foxes, rabbits and wolves, bear would obey him and run errands, new stylite struggle for 1000 days and nights, robbers beat him severly, MOG healed him , 1825 MOG told him to end seclusion and devote to others, Conversation of Saint Seraphim of Sarov with N. A. Motovilov, desire to know aim of Christian life, acquisition of Holy Spirit, how recognize H S, your eyes flashing, in the Spirit or you would not see me, MOG et al entrusted D sisters to him, levitation in prayer, when I die, my death shall be revealed by a fire ; Sarov; Sarov Monestary 1910; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated January 2 ; Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was born on July 19, 1754. parents, Isidore and Agathia Moshnin, were inhabitants of Kursk. Isidore was a merchant. Toward the end of his life, he began construction of a cathedral in Kursk, but he died before the completion of the work. His little son Prochorus,the future Seraphim, remained in the care of his widowed mother, who raised her son in piety. the death of her husband, Agathia Moshnina continued with the construction of the cathedral. Once she took the seven-year-old Prochorus there with her, and he fell from the scaffolding around the seven-storey bell tower. He should have been killed, but the Lord preserved the life of the future luminary of the Church. The terrified mother ran to him and found her son unharmed. Prochorus, endowed with an excellent memory, soon mastered reading and writing. From his childhood he loved to attend church services, and to read both the Holy Scripture and the Lives of the Saints with his fellow students. Most of all, he loved to pray or to read the Holy Gospel in private. one point Prochorus fell grievously ill, and his life was in danger. In a dream the boy saw the Mother of God, promising to visit and heal him. Soon past the courtyard of the Moshnin home came a church procession with the Kursk Root Icon of the Sign (November 27). His mother carried Prochorus in her arms, and he kissed the holy icon, after which he speedily recovered. still in his youth Prochorus made his plans to devote his life entirely to God and to go to a monastery. His devout mother did not object to this and she blessed him on his monastic path with a copper cross, which he wore on his chest for the rest of his life. Prochorus set off on foot with pilgrims going from Kursk to Kiev to venerate the Saints of the Caves. Elder Dositheus (actually a woman, Daria Tyapkina), whom Prochorus visited, blessed him to go to the Sarov wilderness monastery, and there seek his salvation. Returning briefly to his parental home, Prohkor bid a final farewell to his mother and family. November 20, 1778 he arrived at Sarov, where the monastery then was headed by a wise Elder, Father Pachomius. He accepted him and put him under the spiritual guidance of the Elder Joseph. Under his direction Prochorus passed through many obediences at the monastery: he was the Elder’s cell-attendant, he toiled at making bread and prosphora, and at carpentry. fulfilled all his obediences with zeal and fervor, as though serving the Lord Himself. By constant work he guarded himself against despondency (accidie), this being, as he later said, “the most dangerous temptation for new monks. is treated by prayer, by abstaining from idle chatter, by strenuous work, by reading the Word of God and by patience, since it is engendered by pettiness of soul, negligence, and idle talk.” the blessing of Igumen Pachomius, Prochorus abstained from all food on Wednesdays and Fridays, and went into the forest, where in complete isolation he practiced the Jesus Prayer. two years as a novice, Prochorus fell ill with dropsy, his body became swollen, and he was beset with suffering. His instructor Father Joseph and the other Elders were fond of Prochorus, and they provided him care. The illness dragged on for about three years, and not once did anyone hear from him a word of complaint. The Elders, fearing for his very life, wanted to call a doctor for him, but Prochorus asked that this not be done, saying to Father Pachomius: “I have entrusted myself, holy Father, to the True Physician of soul and body, our Lord Jesus Christ and His All-Pure Mother.” asked that a Molieben be offered for his health. While the others were praying in church, Prochorus had a vision. The Mother of God appeared to him accompanied by the holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Pointing with Her hand towards the sick monk, the Most Holy Virgin said to Saint John, “He is one of our kind.” Then She touched the side of the sick man with Her staff, and immediately the fluid that had swelled up his body began to flow through the incision that She made. After the Molieben, the brethren found that Prochorus had been healed, and only a scar remained as evidence of the miracle. at the place of the appearance of the Mother of God, an infirmary church was built for the sick. One of the side chapels was dedicated to Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius of Solovki (April 17). With his own hands, Saint Seraphim made an altar table for the chapel out of cypress wood, and he always received the Holy Mysteries in this church. eight years as a novice at the Sarov monastery, Prochorus was tonsured with the name Seraphim, a name reflecting his fiery love for the Lord and his zealous desire to serve Him. After a year, Seraphim was ordained as hierodeacon. in spirit, he served in the temple each day, incessantly praying even after the service. The Lord granted him visions during the church services: he often saw holy angels serving with the priests. the Divine Liturgy on Great and Holy Thursday, which was celebrated by the igumen Father Pachomius and by Father Joseph, Saint Seraphim had another vision. After the Little Entrance with the Gospel, the hierodeacon Seraphim pronounced the words “O Lord, save the God-fearing, and hear us.” Then, he lifted his orarion saying, “And unto ages of ages.” Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright ray of light. up, Saint Seraphim beheld the Lord Jesus Christ, coming through the western doors of the temple, surrounded by the Bodiless Powers of Heaven. Reaching the ambo, the Lord blessed all those praying and entered into His Icon to the right of the royal doors. Saint Seraphim, in spiritual rapture after this miraculous vision, was unable to utter a word, nor to move from the spot. They led him by the hand into the altar, where he just stood for another three hours, his face having changed color from the great grace that shone upon him. the vision the saint intensified his efforts. He toiled at the monastery by day, and he spent his nights praying in his forest cell. 1793, Hierodeacon Seraphim was ordained to the priesthood, and he served the Divine Liturgy every day. After the death of the igumen Father Pachomius, Saint Seraphim received the blessing of the new Superior Father Isaiah, to live alone in a remote part of the forest three and a half miles from the monastery. He named his new home “Mount Athos,” and devoted himself to solitary prayer. He went to the monastery only on Saturday before the all-night Vigil, and returned to his forest cell after Sunday’s Liturgy, at which he partook of the Divine Mysteries. Seraphim spent his time in ascetical struggles. His cell rule of prayer was based on the rule of Saint Pachomius for the ancient desert He always carried the Holy Gospels with him, reading the entire New Testament in the course of a week. He also read the holy Fathers and the service books. The saint learned many of the Church hymns by heart, and sang them while working in the forest. Around his cell he cultivated a garden and set up a beehive. He kept a very strict fast, eating only once during the entire day, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he completely abstained from food. From the first Sunday of the Great Fast he did not partake of food at all until the following Saturday, when he received the Holy Mysteries. holy Elder was sometimes so absorbed by the unceasing prayer of the heart that he remained without stirring, neither hearing nor seeing anything around him. The schemamonk Mark the Silent and the hierodeacon Alexander, also wilderness-dwellers, would visit him every now and then. Finding the saint immersed in prayer, they would leave quietly, so they would not disturb his contemplation. the heat of summer the righteous one gathered moss from a swamp as fertilizer for his garden. Gnats and mosquitoes bit him relentlessly, but he endured this saying, “The passions are destroyed by suffering and by afflictions.” solitude was often disturbed by visits from monks and laymen, who sought his advice and blessing. With the blessing of the igumen, Father Seraphim prohibited women from visiting him, then receiving a sign that the Lord approved of his desire for complete silence, he banned all visitors. Through the prayers of the saint, the pathway to his wilderness cell was blocked by huge branches blown down from ancient pine trees. Now only the birds and the wild beasts visited him, and he dwelt with them as Adam did in Paradise. They came at midnight and waited for him to complete his Rule of prayer. Then he would feed bears, lynxes, foxes, rabbits, and even wolves with bread from his hand. Saint Seraphim also had a bear which would obey him and run errands for him. order to repulse the onslaughts of the Enemy, Saint Seraphim intensified his toil and began a new ascetical struggle in imitation of Saint Simeon the Stylite (September 1). Each night he climbed up on an immense rock in the forest, or a smaller one in his cell, resting only for short periods. He stood or knelt, praying with upraised hands, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” He prayed this way for 1,000 days and nights. robbers in search of money or valuables once came upon him while he was working in his garden. The robbers demanded money from him. Though he had an axe in his hands, and could have put up a fight, he did not want to do this, recalling the words of the Lord: “Those who take up the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt. 26: 52). Dropping his axe to the ground, he said, “Do what you intend.” The robbers beat him severely and left him for dead. They wanted to throw him in the river, but first they searched the cell for money. They tore the place apart, but found nothing but icons and a few potatoes, so they left. The monk, regained consciousness, crawled to his cell, and lay there all night. the morning he reached the monastery with great difficulty. The brethren were horrified, seeing the ascetic with several wounds to his head, chest, ribs and back. For eight days he lay there suffering from his wounds. Doctors called to treat him were amazed that he was still alive after such a beating. Seraphim was not cured by any earthly physician: the Queen of Heaven appeared to him in a vision with the Apostles Peter and John. Touching the saint’s head, the Most Holy Virgin healed him. However, he was unable to straighten up, and for the rest of his life he had to walk bent over with the aid of a stick or a small axe. Saint Seraphim had to spend about five months at the monastery, and then he returned to the forest. He forgave his abusers and asked that they not be punished. 1807 the abbot, Father Isaiah, fell asleep in the Lord. Saint Seraphim was asked to take his place, but he declined. He lived in silence for three years, completely cut off from the world except for the monk who came once a week to bring him food. If the saint encountered a man in the forest, he fell face down and did not get up until the passerby had moved on. Saint Seraphim acquired peace of soul and joy in the Holy Spirit. The great ascetic once said, “Acquire the spirit of peace, and a thousand souls will be saved around you.” new Superior of the monastery, Father Niphon, and the older brethren of the monastery told Father Seraphim either to come to the monastery on Sundays for divine services as before, or to move back into the monastery. He chose the latter course, since it had become too difficult for him to walk from his forest cell to the monastery. In the spring of 1810, he returned to the monastery after fifteen years of living in the wilderness. his silence, he shut himself up in his cell, occupying himself with prayer and reading. He was also permitted to eat meals and to receive Communion in his cell. There Saint Seraphim attained the height of spiritual purity and was granted special gifts of grace by God: clairvoyance and wonderworking. After five years of solitude, he opened his door and allowed the monks to enter. He continued his silence, however, teaching them only by example. November 25, 1825 the Mother of God, accompanied by the two holy hierarchs commemorated on that day (Hieromartyr Clement of Rome, and Saint Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria), appeared to the Elder in a vision and told him to end his seclusion and to devote himself to others. He received the igumen’s blessing to divide his time between life in the forest, and at the monastery. He did not return to his Far Hermitage, but went to a cell closer to the monastery. This he called his Near Hermitage. At that time, he opened the doors of his cell to pilgrims as well as his fellow-monks. Elder saw into the hearts of people, and as a spiritual physician, he healed their infirmities of soul and body through prayer and by his grace-filled words. Those coming to Saint Seraphim felt his great love and tenderness. No matter what time of the year it was, he would greet everyone with the words, “Christ is Risen, my joy!” He especially loved children. Once, a young girl said to her friends, “Father Seraphim only looks like an old man. He is really a child like us.” Elder was often seen leaning on his stick and carrying a knapsack filled with stones. When asked why he did this, the saint humbly replied, “I am troubling him who troubles me.” the final period of his earthly life Saint Seraphim devoted himself to his spiritual children, the Diveyevo women’s monastery. While still a hierodeacon he had accompanied the late Father Pachomius to the Diveyevo community to its monastic leader, Mother Alexandra, a great woman ascetic, and then Father Pachomius blessed Saint Seraphim to care always for the “Diveyevo orphans.” He was a genuine father for the sisters, who turned to him with all their spiritual and material difficulties. Seraphim also devoted much effort to the women’s monastic community at Diveyevo. He himself said that he gave them no instructions of his own, but it was the Queen of Heaven who guided him in matters pertaining to the monastery. His disciples and spiritual friends helped the saint to feed and nourish the Diveyevo community. Michael V. Manturov, healed by the monk from grievous illness, was one of Diveyvo’s benefactors. On the advice of the Elder he took upon himself the exploit of voluntary poverty. Elena Vasilievna Manturova, one of the Diveyevo sisters, out of obedience to the Elder, voluntarily consented to die in place of her brother, who was still needed in this life. Alexandrovich Motovilov, was also healed by the monk. In 1903, shortly before the glorification of the saint, the remarkable “Conversation of Saint Seraphim of Sarov with N. A. Motovilov” was found and printed. Written by Motovilov after their conversation at the end of November 1831, the manuscript was hidden in an attic in a heap of rubbish for almost seventy years. It was found by the author S. A. Nilus, who was looking for information about Saint Seraphim’s life. This conversation is a very precious contribution to the spiritual literature of the Orthodox Church. It grew out of Nicholas Motovilov’s desire to know the aim of the Christian life. It was revealed to Saint Seraphim that Motovilov had been seeking an answer to this question since childhood, without receiving a satisfactory answer. The holy Elder told him that the aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, and went on to explain the great benefits of prayer and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. asked the saint how we can know if the Holy Spirit is with us or not. Saint Seraphim spoke at length about how people come to be in the Spirit of God, and how we can recognize His presence in us, but Motovilov wanted to understand this better. Then Father Seraphim took him by the shoulders and said, “We are both in the Spirit of God now, my son. Why don’t you look at me?” replied, “I cannot look, Father, for your eyes are flashing like lightning, and your face is brighter than the sun.” Seraphim told him, “Don’t be alarmed, friend of God. Now you yourself have become as bright as I am. You are in the fulness of the Spirit of God yourself, otherwise you would not be able to see me like this.” Saint Seraphim promised Motovilov that God would allow him to retain this experience in his memory all his life. “It is not given for you alone to understand,” he said, “but through you it is for the whole world.” knew and esteemed Saint Seraphim as a great ascetic and wonderworker. A year and ten months before his end, on the Feast of the Annunciation, Saint Seraphim was granted to behold the Queen of Heaven once more in the company of Saint John the Baptist, the Apostle John the Theologian and twelve Virgin Martyrs (Saints Barbara, Katherine, Thekla, Marina, Irene, Eupraxia, Pelagia, Dorothea, Makrina, Justina, Juliana, and Anysia). The Most Holy Virgin conversed at length with the monk, entrusting the Diveyevo sisters to him. Concluding the conversation, She said to him: “Soon, My dear one, you shall be with us.” The Diveyevo nun Eupraxia was present during this visit of the Mother of God, because the saint had invited her. the last year of Saint Seraphim’s life, one of those healed by him saw him standing in the air during prayer. The saint strictly forbade this to be mentioned until after his death. Seraphim became noticeably weaker and he spoke much about his approaching end. During this time they often saw him sitting by his coffin, which he had placed in the ante-room of his cell, and which he had prepared for himself. saint himself had marked the place where finally they would bury him, near the altar of the Dormition cathedral. On January 1, 1833 Father Seraphim came to the church of Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius one last time for Liturgy and he received the Holy Mysteries, after which he blessed the brethren and bid them farewell, saying: “Save your souls. Do not be despondent, but watchful. Today crowns are being prepared for us.” January 2, Father Paul, the saint’s cell-attendant, left his own cell at six in the morning to attend the early Liturgy. He noticed the smell of smoke coming from the Elder’s cell. Saint Seraphim would often leave candles burning in his cell, and Father Paul was concerned that they could start a fire. “While I am alive,” he once said, “there will be no fire, but when I die, my death shall be revealed by a fire.” When they opened the door, it appeared that books and other things were smoldering. Saint Seraphim was found kneeling before an icon of the Mother of God with his arms crossed on his chest. His pure soul was taken by the angels at the time of prayer, and had flown off to the Throne of the Almighty God, Whose faithful servant Saint Seraphim had been all his life. Seraphim has promised to intercede for those who remember his parents, Isidore and Agathia.

Russia, Moscow, 1774-1833, Tenderness Icon of St Seraphim, anointed w oil from icon's lampada, they received healing
Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, Mordovia, 1774-1833, Tenderness Icon of St Seraphim, anointed with oil from the icon's lampada, they received healing Seraphim-Diveyevo Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God belonged to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, and was the icon he kept in his cell. saint anointed the sick with oil from the lampada burning before this icon, and they received healing . Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness from Seraphim-Diveyevo, Commemorated July 28 ; Seraphim-Diveyevo Tenderness Icon of the Mother of God belonged to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, and was the icon he kept in his cell. saint anointed the sick with oil from the lampada burning before this icon, and they received healing . holy ascetic reposed while praying before the icon on January 2, 1833. Father Niphon, the Superior of the monastery, gave the holy Tenderness icon to the sisters of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery. Icon of the Mother of God œSeraphim-Ponetaevka, Commemorated on November 27 ; Seraphim-Ponetaevka Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign was painted in the year 1879 by the nuns of the Seraphim-Ponetaevka women’s monastery, not far from Arzamas, near the village of Ponetaevka. The monastery was named after Saint Seraphim of Sarov by the founder of the monastery, a sister of the Diveyevo community. years after it was painted, the icon became known for its numerous miracles and became the chief holy item of the monastery. When the sisters were praying during the services, they noticed distinct changes in the countenance of the Mother of God: Her All-Pure face became bright and life-like. Numerous pilgrims thronged to the icon, and many were healed from blindness and crippling. In all, about seventy instances of healing were noted. Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated January 2 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1776-1836, Herman of Alaska, miracle MOG healing, hesychast, peacemaker, prophet, animals, light pillar
Moscow, 1772-1836, Priest, Herman of Alaska; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; spiritual mission was organized in 1793, made up of monks of the Valaam Monastery. They were sent to preach the Word of God to the native inhabitants of northwestern America, who only ten years before had come under the sovereignty of Russia. Saint Herman was among the members of this Mission. Saint Herman came from a family of merchants of Serpukhov, a city of the Moscow Diocese. His name before he was tonsured, and his family name are not known. (The monastic name is given when a monk takes his vows). He had a great zeal for piety from youth, and at sixteen he entered monastic life. (This was in 1772, if we assume that Herman was born in 1756, although sometimes 1760 is given as the date of his birth.) First he entered the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage which was located near the Gulf of Finland on the Peterhof Road, about 15 versts (about 10 miles) from Saint Petersburg. Healing the Saint Sergius Hermitage there occurred the following incident to Father Herman. On the right side of his throat under his chin there appeared an abscess. The swelling grew rapidly, disfiguring his face. It became difficult for him to swallow, and the odor was unbearable. In this critical condition Father Herman awaited death. He did not appeal to a physician of this world, but locking his cell he fell before an icon of the Mother of God. With fervent tears he prayed, asking of Her that he might be healed. He prayed the whole night. Then he took a wet towel and with it wiped the face of the Most Holy Mother, and with this towel he covered the swelling. He continued to pray with tears until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion on the floor. In a dream he saw the Virgin Mary healing him. Herman awoke in the morning, he found to his great surprise that he was fully healed. The swelling had disappeared, even though the abscess had not broken through, leaving behind but a small mark as though a reminder of the miracle. Physicians to whom this healing was described did not believe it, arguing that it was necessary for the abscess to have either broken through of its own accord or to have been cut open. But the words of the physicians were the words of human experience, for where the grace of God operates there the order of nature is overcome. Such occurrences humble human reason under the strong hand of God’s Mercy. at Valaam five or six years Father Herman continued to live in the Saint Sergius Hermitage, and then he transferred to the Valaam Monastery, which was widely scattered on the large islands in the waters of the great Lake Ladoga. He came to love the Valaam haven with all his soul, as he came to love its unforgettable Superior, the pious Elder Nazarius, and all the brethren. He wrote to Father Nazarius later from America, “Your fatherly goodness to me, humble one, will be erased out of my heart neither by the terrible, unpassable Siberian lands, nor by the dark forests. Nor will it be wiped out by the swift flow of the great rivers; nor will the awful ocean quench these feelings. In my mind I imagine my beloved Valaam, looking to it beyond the great ocean.” He praised the Elder Nazarius in his letters as, “the most reverend, and my beloved father,” and the brethren of Valaam he called, “my beloved and dearest.” The place where he lived in America, deserted Spruce Island, he called “New Valaam.” And as we can see, he always remained in spiritual contact with his spiritual homeland, for as late as 1823, that is after thirty years of his life within the borders of America, he wrote letters to the successor of Father Nazarius, the lgumen Innocent. Barlaam, later lgumen of Valaam, and a contemporary of Father Herman, who accepted his tonsure from Father Nazarius, wrote thus of the life of Father Herman. “Father Herman went through the various obediences here, and being ‘well disposed toward every thing’ was in the course of events sent to Serdobol to oversee there the work of quarrying marble. The Brothers loved Father Herman, and awaited impatiently his return to the cloisters from Serdobol. Recognizing the zeal of the young hermit the wise elder, Father Nazarius, released him to take abode in the wilderness. This wilderness was in the deep forest about a mile from the cloister: to this day this place has retained the name ‘Herman’s.’ On holy days, Father Herman returned to the monastery from the wilderness. Then it was that at Little Vespers he would stand in the choir and sing in his pleasant tenor the responses with the brethren from the Canon, ‘O Sweetest Jesus, save us sinners. Most Holy Theotokos, Save us,’ and tears would fall like hail from his eyes.” First Mission to America the second half of the 18th century the borders of Holy Russia expanded to the north. In those years Russian merchants discovered the Aleutian Islands which formed in the Pacific Ocean a chain from the eastern shores of Kamchatka to the western shores of North America. With the opening of these islands there was revealed the sacred necessity to illumine with the light of the Gospel the native inhabitants. With the blessing of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Gabriel gave to the Elder Nazarius the task of selecting capable persons from the brethern of Valaam for this holy endeavor. Ten men were selected, and among them was Father Herman. The chosen men left Valaam for the place of their great appointment in 1793. (The members of this historical mission were: Archimandrite Joseph (Bolotoff); the hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, Athanasius, Stephan, and Nectarius; hierodeacons Nectarius and Stephen; and the monks Joasaph and Herman.) a result of the holy zeal of the preachers the light of the evangelic sermon quickly poured out among the sons of Russia, and several thousand pagans accepted Christianity. A school for the education of newly-baptized children was organized, and a church was built at the place where the missionaries lived. But by the inscrutable providence of God the general progress of the mission was unsatisfactory. After five years of very productive labor, Archimandrite Joasaph, who had just been elevated to the rank of bishop, was drowned with his party. (This occurred on the Pacific Ocean between Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. The ship, Phoenix, one of the first sea-going ships built in Alaska, sailed from Okhotsk carrying the first Bishop for the American Mission and his party. The Phoenix was caught in one of the many storms which periodically sweep the northern Pacific, and the ship and all hands perished together with Bishop Joasaph and his party.) Before this the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal was granted the martyr’s crown. The others died one after another until in the end only Father Herman remained. The Lord permitted him to labor longer than any of his brethren in the apostolic task of enlightening the Aleutians. New Valaam — Spruce Island America, Father Herman chose as his place of habitation Spruce Island, which he called New Valaam. This island is separated by a strait about a mile and a quarter wide from Kodiak Island on which had been built a wooden monastery for the residence of the members of the mission, and a wooden church dedicated to the Resurrection of the Savior. (New Valaam was named for Valaam on Lake Ladoga, the monastery from which Father Herman came to America. It is interesting to note that Valaam is also located on an island, although, this island is in a fresh water lake, whereas, Spruce Island is on the Pacific Ocean, although near other islands and the Alaskan mainland.) Island is not large, and is almost completely covered by a forest. Almost through its middle a small brook flows to the sea. Herman selected this picturesque island for the location of his hermitage. He dug a cave out of the ground with his own hands, and in it he lived his first full summer. For winter there was built for him a cell near the cave, in which he lived until his death. The cave was converted by him into a place for his burial. A wooden chapel, and a wooden house to be used as a schoolhouse and a guest house were built not too distant from his cell. A garden was laid out in front of his cell. For more than forty years Father Herman lived here. Herman’s Way of Life Herman himself spaded the garden, planted potatoes and cabbage and various vegetables in it. For winter, he preserved mushrooms, salting or drying them. The salt was obtained by him from ocean water. It is said that a wicker basket in which the Elder carried seaweed from the shore, was so large that it was difficult for one person to carry. The seaweed was used for fertilizing the soil. But to the astonishment of all, Father Herman carried a basket filled with seaweed for a long distance without any help at all. By chance his disciple, Gerasim, saw him one winter night carrying a large log which normally would be carried by four men; and he was bare footed. Thus worked the Elder, and everything that he acquired as a result of his immeasurable labors was used for the feeding and clothing of orphans and also for books for his students. clothes were the same for winter as for summer. He did not wear a shirt; instead he wore a smock of deer skin, which he did not take off for several years at a time, nor did he change it, so that the fur in it was completely worn away, and the leather became glossy. Then there were his boots or shoes, cassock (podrasnik), an ancient and faded out cassock (riasa) full of patchwork, and his headdress (klobuk). He went everywhere in these clothes, and at all times; in the rain, in snowstorms, and during the coldest freezing weather. In this, Father Herman followed the example of many Eastern Ascetic Fathers and Monks who showed the greatest concern for the welfare and needs of others. Yet, they themselves wore the oldest possible clothes to show their great humility before God, and their detachment from worldly things. small bench covered with a time-worn deerskin served as Father Herman’s bed. He used two bricks for a pillow; these were hidden from visitors by a skin or a shirt. There was no blanket. Instead, he covered himself with a wooden board which lay on the stove. This board Father Herman himself called his blanket, and he willed that it be used to cover his remains; it was as long as he was tall. “During my stay in the cell of Father Herman,” writes the creole Constantine Larionov, “I, a sinner, sat on his ‘blanket’-and I consider this the acme of my fortune!” (‘creole’ is the name by which the Russians referred to the children of mixed marriages of native Indians of Alaska, Eskimo and Aleuts with Russians.) the occasions when Father Herman was the guest of administrators of the American Company and in the course of their soul-saving talks he sat up with them until midnight. He never spent the night with them, but regardless of the weather he always returned to his hermitage. If for some extraordinary reason it was necessary for him to spend the night away from his cell, then in the morning the bed which had been prepared for him would be found untouched; the Elder not having slept at all. The same was true in his hermitage where having spent the night in talks, he never rested. Elder ate very little. As a guest, he scarcely tasted the food, and remained without dinner. In his cell his dinner consisted of a very small portion of a small fish or some vegetables. His body, emaciated as a result of his labors, his vigils, and fasting, was crushed by chains which weighed about sixteen pounds. These chains are kept to this day in the chapel. Telling of these deeds of Father Herman, his disciple, the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, added, “Yes, Apa led a very hard life, and no one can imitate his life!” (The Aleutian word “Apa” means Elder or grandfather, and it is a name indicative of the great affection in which he was held). writing of the incidents in the life of the Elder deal, so to speak, with the external aspects of his labor. “His most important works,” says the Bishop Peter, “were his exercises in spiritual endeavor in his isolated cell where no one saw him, but outside the cell they heard him singing and celebrating services to God according to the monastic rule.” This witness of the Bishop is supported by the following answers of Father Herman, himself: “How do you manage to live alone in the forest, Father Herman? Don’t you ever become lonesome?” He answered, “No I am not there alone! God is here, as God is everywhere. The Holy Angels are there. With whom is it better to talk, with people, or with Angels? Most certainly with Angels.” Herman and the Native Alaskans way in which Father Herman looked upon the natives of America, how he understood his own relations with them, and how he was concerned for their needs he expressed himself in one of his letters to the former administrator of the colony, Simeon Yanovsky. He wrote, “Our Creator granted to our beloved homeland this land which like a newly-born babe does not yet have the strength for knowledge or understanding. It requires not only protection, because of its infantile weakness and impotence, but also his sustenance. Even for this it does not yet have the ability to make an appeal on its own behalf. And since the welfare of this nation by the Providence of God, it is not known for how long, is dependent on and has been entrusted into the hands of the Russian government which has now been given into your own power, therefore I, the most humble servant of these people, and their nurse (nyanka) stand before you in their behalf, write this petition with tears of blood. Be our Father and our Protector. Certainly we do not know how to be eloquent, so with an inarticulate infant’s tongue we say: Wipe away the tears of the defenseless orphans, cool the hearts melting away in the fire of sorrow. Help us to know what consolation means.” Elder acted the way he felt. He always interceded before the governors on behalf of those who had transgressed. He defended those who had been offended. He helped those who were in need with whatever means he had available. The Aleuts, men, women and children, often visited him. Some asked for advice, others complained of oppression, others sought out defense, and still others desired help. Each one received the greatest possible satisfaction from the Elder. He discussed their mutual difficulties, and he tried to settle these peacefully. He was especially concerned about reestablishing understanding in families. If he did not succeed in reconciling a husband and wife, the Elder prevailed upon them to separate temporarily. The need for such a procedure he explained thus, “it is better to let them live apart, or believe me, it can be terrible if they are not separated. There have been incidents when a husband killed his wife, or when a wife destroyed her husband.” Herman especially loved children. He made large quantities of biscuits for them, and he baked cookies (krendelki) for them; and the children were fond of the Elder. Father Herman’s love for the Aleuts reached the point of self-denial. Epidemic Strikes ship from the United States brought to Sitka Island, and from there to Kodiak Island, a contagious disease, a fatal illness. It began with a fever, a heavy cold, and difficult respiration, and it ended with chills; in three days the victim died. On the island there was neither a doctor nor medicine. The illness spread rapidly through the village, and then throughout the nearby areas. The disease affected all, even infants. The fatalities were so great that for three days there was no one to dig graves, and the bodies remained unburied. An eyewitness said, “I cannot imagine anything more tragic and horrible than the sight which struck me when I visited an Aleutian ‘Kazhim’. This was a large building, or barracks, with dividing sections, in which the Aleuts lived with their families; it contained about 100 people. Here some had died, their cold bodies lay near the living; others were dying; there were groans and weeping which tore at one’s soul.” “I saw mothers over whose bodies cold in death crawled a hungry child, crying and searching in vain for its food...My heart was bursting with compassion! It seemed that if anyone could paint with a worthy brush the full horror of this tragic scene, that he would have successfully aroused fear of death in the most embittered heart.” Father Herman, during this terrible sickness which lasted a whole month, gradually dying out towards the end, visited the sick, never tiring. He admonished them in their fear, prayed, brought them to penance, or prepared them for death. He never spared himself. Herman as a Spiritual Teacher Elder was concerned in particular for the moral growth of the Aleuts. With this end in mind a school was built for children-the orphans of the Aleuts. He himself taught them the Law of God and church music. For this same purpose he gathered the Aleuts on Sunday and Holy Days for prayer in the chapel near his cell. Here his disciple read the Hours and the various prayers while the Elder himself read the Epistle and Gospel. He also preached to them. His students sang, and they sang very well. The Aleuts loved to hear his sermons, gathering around him in large numbers. The Elder’s talks were captivating, and his listeners were moved by their wonderous power. He himself writes of one example of the beneficial results of his words. “Glory to the holy destinies of the Merciful God! He has shown me now through his unfathomable Providence a new occurrence which I, who have lived here for twenty years had never seen before on Kodiak,” he wrote. “Recently after Easter, a young girl about twenty years of age who knows Russian well, came to me. Having heard of the Incarnation of the Son of God and of Eternal Life, she became so inflamed with love for Jesus Christ that she does not wish to leave me. She pleaded eloquently with me. Contrary to my personal inclination and love for solitude, and despite all the hindrances and difficulties which I put forward before accepting her, she has now been living near the school for a month and is not lonesome. I, looking on this with great wonder, remembered the words of the Savior: ‘that which is hidden from the wise and learned is revealed to babes’” (Matthew 11:25). woman lived at the school until the death of the Elder. She watched for the good conduct of the children who studied in his school. Father Herman willed that after his death she was to continue to live on Spruce Island. Her name was Sophia Vlasova. writes about the character and the eloquence of the talks of the Elder thus: “When I met Father Herman I was thirty years old. I must say that I was educated in the naval corps school; that I knew many sciences having read extensively. But to my regret, the Science of sciences, that is the Law of God, I barely remembered the externals—and these only theoretically, not applying them to life. I was a Christian in name only, but in my soul and in reality, I was a freethinker. Furthermore, I did not admit the divinity and holiness of our religion, for I had read through many atheistic works. Father Herman recognized this immediately and he desired to reconvert me. To my great surprise he spoke so convincingly, wisely—and he argued with such conviction—that it seemed to me that no learning or worldly wisdom could stand one’s ground before his words. We conversed with him daily until midnight, and even later, of God’s love, of eternity, of the salvation of souls, and of Christian living. From his lips flowed a ceaseless stream of sweet words! By these continual talks and by the prayers of the holy Elder the Lord returned me completely to the way of Truth, and I became a real Christian. I am indebted for all this to Father Herman; he is my true benefactor. “Several years ago,” continues Yanovsky, “Father Herman converted a certain naval captain G. to Orthodoxy from the Lutheran Faith. This captain was well educated. Besides many sciences, he was well versed in languages. He knew Russian, English, German, French, Italian and also some Spanish. But for all this he could not resist the convictions and proofs of Father Herman. He changed his faith and was united to the Orthodox Church through Chrismation. When he was leaving America, the Elder said to him while they were parting, “Be on guard, if the Lord should take your wife from you then do not marry a German woman under any circumstance. If you do marry a German woman, undoubtedly she will damage your Orthodoxy.” The Captain gave his word, but he failed to keep it. The warning of the Elder was prophetic. Indeed, after several years the Captain’s wife did die, and he married a German woman. There is no doubt that his faith weakened or that he left it; for he died suddenly without penance.” on Yanovsky writes, “Once the Elder was invited aboard a frigate which came from Saint Petersburg. The Captain of the frigate was a highly educated man, who had been sent to America by order of the Emperor to make an inspection of all the colonies. There were more than twenty-five officers with the Captain, and they also were educated men. In the company of this group sat a monk of a hermitage, small in stature and wearing very old clothes. All these educated conversationalists were placed in such a position by his wise talks that they did not know how to answer him. The Captain himself used to say, ‘We were lost for an answer before him.’ “Father Herman gave them all one general question: ‘Gentlemen, What do you love above all, and what will each of you wish for your happiness?’ Various answers were offered ... Some desired wealth, others glory, some a beautiful wife, and still others a beautiful ship he would captain; and so forth in the same vein. ‘It is not true,’ Father Herman said to them concerning this, ‘that all your various wishes can bring us to one conclusion—that each of you desires that which in his own understanding he considers the best, and which is most worthy of his love?’ They all answered, ‘Yes, that is so!’ He then continued, ‘Would you not say, Is not that which is best, above all, and surpassing all, and that which by preference is most worthy of love, the Very Lord, our Jesus Christ, who created us, adorned us with such ideals, gave life to all, sustains everything, nurtures and loves all, who is Himself Love and most beautiful of all men? Should we not then love God above every thing, desire Him more than anything, and search Him out?’ “All said, ‘Why, yes! That’s self-evident!’ Then the Elder asked, ‘But do you love God?’ They all answered, ‘Certainly, we love God. How can we not love God?’ ‘And I a sinner have been trying for more than forty years to love God, I cannot say that I love Him completely,’ Father Herman protested to them. He then began to demonstrate to them the way in which we should love God. ‘If we love someone,’ he said, ‘we always remember them; we try to please them. Day and night our heart is concerned with the subject. Is that the way you gentlemen love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you always remember Him? Do you always pray to Him and fulfill His holy commandments?’ They had to admit that they had not! ‘For our own good, and for our own fortune,’ concluded the Elder, ‘let us at least promise ourselves that from this very minute we will try to love God more than anything and to fulfill His Holy Will!’ Without any doubt this conversation was imprinted in the hearts of the listeners for the rest of their lives.’ “In general, Father Herman liked to talk of eternity, of salvation of the future life, of our destinies under God. He often talked on the lives of the Saints, on the Prologue, but he never spoke about anything frivolous. It was so pleasant to hear him that those who conversed with him, the Aleuts and their wives, were so captivated by his talks that often they did not leave him until dawn, and then they left him with reluctance;” thus witnesses the Creole, Constantine Larionov. Description of Father Herman writes a detailed description of Father Herman. “I have a vivid memory,” he said, “Of all the features of the Elder’s face reflecting goodness; his pleasant smile, his meek and attractive mien, his humble and quiet behavior, and his gracious word. He was short of stature. His face was pale and covered with wrinkles. His eyes were greyish-blue, full of sparkle, and on his head there were a few gray hairs. His voice was not powerful, but it was very pleasant.” Yanovsky relates two incidents from his conversations with the Elder. “Once,” he writes, “I read to Father Herman the ode, ‘God,’ by Derzhavin. The Elder was surprised, and entranced. He asked me to read it again. I read it once more, “Is it possible that a simple, educated man wrote this?” he asked. “Yes, a learned poet,” I answered. “This has been written under God’s inspiration,” said the Elder. Martyrdom of Peter “On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in California had imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits were forcing all of them to accept the Catholic Faith. But this Aleut would not agree under any circumstances, saying, ‘We are Christians.’ The Jesuits protested, ‘That’s not true; you are heretics and schismatics. If you do not agree to accept our faith then we will torture all of you.’ Then the Aleuts were placed in cells until evening; two to a cell. At night the Jesuits came to the prison with lanterns and lighted candles. They began to persuade the Aleuts in the cell once again to accept the Catholic Faith. ‘We are Christians,’ was the answer of the Aleuts, ‘and we will not change our Faith.’ Then the Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was the witness. They cut the toes off his feet, first one joint and then the other joint. And then they cut the first joint on the fingers of the hands, and then the other joint. Afterwards they cut off his feet, and his hands; the blood flowed. The martyr endured all and steadfastly insisted on one thing: ’I am a Christian.’ In such suffering, he bled to death. The Jesuit promised to torture to death his comrades also on the next day.... But that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under escort. Therefore, in the morning all were dispatched to Monterey with the exception of the martyred Aleut. This was related to me by a witness, the same Aleut who was the comrade of the tortured Aleut. Afterwards he escaped from imprisonment, and I reported this incident to the supreme authorities in Saint Petersburg. When I finished my story, Father Herman asked, ‘And how did they call the martyred Aleut?’ I answered, ‘Peter; I do not remember his family name.’ The Elder stood up before an icon reverently, made the sign of the Cross and pronounced, ’Holy newly-martyred Peter, pray to God for us!’” Spirit of Father Herman’s Teaching order to express the spirit of Father Herman’s teaching, we present here a quotation from a letter that was written by his own hand. “The empty years of these desires separate us from our heavenly homeland, and our Love for these desires and our habits clothe us, as it were, in an odious dress; it is called by the Apostle ‘the external (earthy) man’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). We who are wanderers in the journey of this life call to God for aid. We must divest ourselves of this repulsiveness, and put on new desires, and a new love for the coming age. Thus, through this we will know either an attraction or a repulsion for the heavenly homeland. It is possible to do this quickly, but we must follow the example of the sick, who wishing for desired health, do not stop searching for means of curing themselves. But I am not speaking clearly.” desiring anything for himself in life, when he first came to America, he refused in his humility the dignity of hieromonk and archimandrite, deciding to remain forever a common monk, Father Herman, without the least fear before the powerful, strove with all sincerity for God. With gentle love, and disregarding the person, he criticized many for intemperate living, for unworthy behavior, and for oppressing the Aleuts. Evil armed itself against him and gave him all sorts of trouble and sorrow. But God protected the Elder. The Administrator of the Colony, Yanovsky, not having yet seen Father Herman, after receiving one of those complaints, had already written to Saint Petersburg of the necessity of his removal. He explained that it seemed that he was arousing the Aleuts against the administration. But this accusation turned out to be unjust, and in the end Yanovsky was numbered among the admirers of Father Herman. an inspector came to Spruce Island with the Administrator of the Colony and with company employees to search through Father Herman’s cell. This party expected to find property of great value in Father Herman’s cell. But when they found nothing of value, an employee of the American Company, Ponomarkhov, began to tear up the floor with an axe, undoubtedly with the consent of his seniors. Then Father Herman said to him, “My friend, you have lifted the axe in vain; this weapon shall deprive you of your life.” Some time later people were needed at Fort Nicholas, and for that reason several Russian employees were sent there from Kodiak; among them was Ponomarkhov; there the natives of Kenai cut off his head while he slept. Temptations of Father Herman great sorrows were borne by Father Herman from evil spirits. He himself revealed this to his disciple, Gerasim. Once when he entered Father Herman’s cell without the usual prayer he received no answer from Father Herman to any of his questions. The next day Gerasim asked him the reason for his silence. On that occasion Father Herman said to him, “When I came to this island and settled in this hermitage the evil spirits approached me ostensibly to be helpful. They came in the form of a man, and in the form of animals. I suffered much from them; from various afflictions and temptations. And that is why I do not speak now to anyone who enters into my presence without prayer.” (It is customary among devout laymen, as well as clergy, to say out loud a prayer, and upon hearing a response ending with Amen, to enter and go to the icon in the room to reverence it, and to say a prayer before greeting the host). Gifts from God dedicated himself fully for the Lord’s service; he strove with zeal solely for the glorification of His Most Holy Name. Far from his homeland in the midst of a variety of afflictions and privations Father Herman spent several decades performing the noblest deeds of self-sacrifice. He was privileged to receive many supernatural gifts from God. the midst of Spruce Island down the hill flows a little stream into the sea. The mouth of this stream was always swept by surf. In the spring when the brook fish appeared the Elder raked away some of the sand at its mouth so that the fish could enter, and at their first appearance they rushed up the stream. His disciple, lgnaty, said, “it was so that if ‘Apa’ would tell me, I would go and get fish in the stream!” Father Herman fed the birds with dried fish, and they would gather in great numbers around his cell. Underneath his cell there lived an ermine. This little animal can not be approached when it has had its young, but the Elder fed it from his own hand. “Was not this a miracle that we had seen?” said his disciple, Ignaty. They also saw Father Herman feeding bears. But when Father Herman died the birds and animals left; even the garden would not give any sort of crops even though someone had willingly taken care of it, Ignaty insisted. Spruce Island there once occurred a flood. The inhabitants came to the Elder in great fear. Father Herman then took an icon of the Mother of God from the home where his students lived, and placed it on a “laida” (a sandy bank) and began to pray. After his prayer he turned to those present and said,“Have no fear, the water will not go any higher than the place where this holy icon stands.” The words of the Elder were fulfilled. After this he promised the same aid from this holy icon in the future, through the intercessions of the Mother of God. He entrusted the icon to his disciple Sophia; in case of future floods the icon was to be placed on the “laida.” This icon is preserved on the island to this day. the request of the Elder, Baron F. P. Wrangel wrote a letter to a Metropolitan (his name is not known) which was dictated by Father Herman. When the letter was completed and read, the Elder congratulated the Baron upon his attaining the rank of admiral. The Baron was taken aback. This was news to him. It was confirmed, but only after an elapse of some time, and just before he departed for Saint Petersburg. Herman said to the administrator Kashevarov, from whom he accepted his son from the font (during the Sacrament of Baptism), “I am sorry for you, my dear ‘kum.’ It’s a shame; the change will be unpleasant for you.” In two years, during a change of administration, Kashevarov was sent to Sitka in chains. the forest on Spruce Island caught fire. The Elder, with his disciple Ignaty, in a thicket of the forest made a belt about a yard wide in which they turned over the moss. They extended it to the foot of the hill. The Elder said, “Rest assured, the fire will not pass this line.” On the next day, according to the testimony of Ignaty, there was no hope of salvation (from the fire) and the fire, pushed by a strong wind, reached the place where the moss had been turned over by the Elder. The fire ran over the moss and halted, leaving untouched the thick forest which was beyond the line. Elder often said that there would be a Bishop for America; this at a time when no one even thought of it, and there was no hope that there would be a Bishop for America. This was related by Bishop Peter, and his prophecy was fulfilled in time. “After my death,” said Father Herman, “there will be an epidemic, many people shall die during it, and the Russians shall unite the Aleuts.” And so it happened. It seems that about a half a year after his passing, there was a smallpox epidemic; the death rate in America during the epidemic was tremendous. In some villages, only a few inhabitants remained alive. This led the administration of the colony to unite the Aleuts; the twelve settlements were consolidated into seven. “Although a long time shall elapse after my death, I will not be forgotten” said Father Herman to his disciples. “My place of habitation will not remain empty. A monk like me, who will be escaping from the glory of men, will come and he will live on Spruce Island, and Spruce Island will not be without people.” (This prophecy has now been fulfilled in its entirety. Just such a monk as Father Herman described lived on Spruce Island for many years; his name was Archimandrite Gerasim, who died on October 13, 1969. This monk took on himself the responsibility of taking care of the Chapel under which the Elder Herman was first buried. Metropolitan Leonty, soon after his elevation to the primacy of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, made a pilgrimage to Spruce Island, and the grave of Saint Herman.) for the Future Creole Constantine, when he was not more than twelve years old, was asked by Father Herman, “My beloved one, what do you think; this chapel which they are building now, will it ever stand empty?” The youngster answered, “I do not know, Apa.” “Indeed,” said Constantine, “I did not understand his question at that time, even though the whole conversation with the Elder remains vivid in my memory.” The Elder remained silent for some time, and then said, “My child, remember, in time there will be a monastery in this place.” Herman said to his disciple the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, “Thirty years shall pass after my death, and all those living on Spruce Island will have died, but you alone will remain alive. You will be old and poor when I will be remembered.” And indeed after the death of Father Herman thirty years passed when they were reminded of him, and they began to gather information and facts about him, on the basis of which his Life was written. “It is amazing,” exclaims Ignaty, “how a man like us could know all this so long before it happened! However, no, he was no ordinary man! He knew our thoughts, and involuntarily he led us to the point where we revealed them to him, and we received counsel from him.” “When I die,” the Elder said to his disciple, “you will bury me alongside Father Joasaph. You will bury me by yourself, for you will not wait for the priest. Do not wash my body. Lay it on a board. Clasp my hands over my chest, wrap me in my mantia (the monk’s outer cloak), and with its wings cover my face and place the klobuk (monastic head covering) on my head. If anyone wishes to bid farewell to me, let them kiss the Cross. Do not show my face to anyone....” Repose of Father Herman time of the Elder’s passing had come. One day he ordered his disciple Gerasim to light a candle before the Icons, and to read the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After some time his face glowed brightly and he said in a loud voice, “Glory to Thee, O Lord!” He then ordered the reading to be halted, and he announced that the Lord had willed that his life would now be spared for another week. A week later, again by his orders, candles were lit, and the Acts of the Holy Apostles were read. Quietly, the Elder bowed his head on Gerasim’s chest; the cell was filled with a sweet-smelling odor; and his face glowed, and Father Herman was no more! Thus he died in blessedness, he passed away in the sleep of a righteous man in the eighty-first year of his life of great labor the 25th day of December 1837. (It was the 13th of December according to the Julian Calendar, although there are some records which state that he died on November 28th and was buried on December 26th). sent with the sad news to the harbor returned to announce that the administrator of the colony Kashevarov had forbidden the burial of the Elder until his own arrival. He also ordered that a finer coffin be made for Father Herman, and that he would come as soon as possible and would bring a priest with him. But then a great wind came up, a rain fell, and a terrible storm broke. The distance from the harbor to Spruce Island is not great—about a two hour journey—but no one would agree to go to sea in such weather. Thus it continued for a full month, and although the body lay in state for a full month in the warm house of his students, his face did not undergo any change at all, and not the slightest odor emanated from his body. Finally, through the efforts of Kuzma Uchilischev, a coffin was obtained. No one arrived from the harbor, and the inhabitants of Spruce Island alone buried the remains of the Elder in the ground. Thus the words which Father Herman uttered before his death were fulfilled. After this the wind quieted down, and the surface of the sea became as smooth as a mirror. evening, above the village Katani (on Afognak) an unusual pillar of light which reached up to heaven was seen above Spruce Island. Astonished by the miraculous appearance, experienced elders and the Creole Gerasim Vologdin and his wife Anna said, “It seems that Father Herman has left us,” and they began to pray. After a time, they were informed that the Elder had indeed passed away that very night. This same pillar was seen in various places by others. On the night of his death a vision was seen in another of the settlements on Afognak; it seemed as though a man was rising from Spruce Island into the clouds. disciples buried their father, and placed a wooden memorial marker above his grave. Father Peter Kashevarov, the priest on Kodiak, says, “I saw it myself, and I can say that today it seems as though it had never been touched by time; as though it had been cut this day.” witnessed the life of Father Herman glorified by his zealous labors, having seen his miracles, and the fulfillment of his predictions, finally having observed his blessed falling asleep, “in general, all the local inhabitants,” Bishop Peter witnesses, “have the highest esteem for him, as though he was a holy ascetic, and they are fully convinced that he has found favor in the presence of God.” 1842, five years after the passing away of the Elder, Archbishop Innocent of Kamchatka and the Aleutians, was near Kodiak on a sailing vessel which was in great distress. He looked to Spruce Island, and said to himself, “If you have found favor in God’s presence, Father Herman, then may the wind change.” It seems as though not more than fifteen minutes had passed, said the bishop, when the wind became favorable, and he successfully reached the shore. In thanksgiving for being saved, Archbishop Innocent himself conducted a Memorial Service (Panikhida) over the grave of the blessed Father Herman. O Holy Father Herman of Alaska, pray unto God for us! HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; of Alaska (born 1756 or 1760 in Serpukhov, Russia – December 13 or November 15, 1837 on Spruce Island, Alaska) one of the first Eastern Orthodox missionaries to the New World, and is considered by Orthodox Christians to be the patron saint of the Americas. was born in the town of Serpukhov near Moscow around 1756. Herman is his name in monasticism; his birth name is unknown. 16, he entered the Russian Orthodox monastic life at the Trinity-St. Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg. he was tonsured a monk, though he was never ordained to the priesthood. request was made for a mission into the Alaskan territory. Herman was selected to go, along with seven other monks. and the other monks arrived on Kodiak Island on September 24, 1794. monks converted the native Aleuts, and as time progressed they found themselves protecting the natives from exploitation and abuse. of this moral stance the monks themselves were abused, arrested and physically threatened. time, enduring hardship, inclement weather, illness and more, Herman stood as the only remainder from the original band of missionaries, the others either being martyred for their faith, dying of natural causes or returning to Russia. eventually built a hermitage on Spruce Island, about a mile and a quarter from Kodiak Island. small chapel was built as well, along with a school and guest house. local people would visit him often. He devoted his life to prayer and to performing those services he could do as a simple monk who had not been ordained to the priesthood. died on November 15, 1837, but was not buried on Spruce Island until December 13 because a priest could not come to serve the funeral, and was forgotten until the first investigation of his life in 1867 by Bishop Peter of Alaska. was named a saint by the Orthodox Church in America on 9 August 1970. (more at Wikipedia) Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on December 13;

Russia, Moscow, 1776-1837, Herman, Wonderworker, N Valaam Spruce Is Alaska, what do you love, 40 years & can't completely
Russia, St Petersburg, 1776-1837, Herman, Serpukhov merchants, Trinity-Sergius St Petersburg, Sarov, Nazarius, Sanaxar, Sergius Hermitage, Valaam on Lake Ladoga, Innocent, Serdobol marble q, Herman's wilderness, Aleutian Is, chain Kamchatka to N America, natives, 10 men selected, holy zeal several thousand accepted, school, church, Phoenix, The New Valaam — Spruce Island, his home, clothes, bed, blanket, pillow, food, fertilizer, visits, reestablish understandng in families, children, Epedemic, admonished fear, spiritual teacher, school, chapel near cell, powerful sermons w students singing, Sophia Vlasova lived there, Yanovsky, naval captain and educated men lost for an answer before him, one general question, what do you love above all, certainly we love god, but I have been trying 40 yrs, and can't love him completely, always remember him, try to please him, he talked of eternity, salvation, our destinies under God, lives of Saints, Prologue, nothing frivolous, description- short, pale, sparkly grey-blue eyes, few grey hairs, pleasant voice, Peter's martyrdom, Spanish Jesuit torture, saved by Monterey order, Supernatural gifts, icon stopping flood, moss fire break, epedemic unites the aleuts, I will not be forgotten, 30 yrs from now you will be old when I will be remembered, death prophecies; Valaam Monastery ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ; Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America. A spiritual mission was organized in 1793 with volunteers from the monks of the Valaam Monastery. were sent to preach the Word of God to the native inhabitants of northwestern America, who had come under the sovereignty of Russia only ten years before. Saint Herman was one of the members of this mission. Herman came from a family of merchants of Serpukhov, a city of the Moscow diocese. name before he was tonsured, and his family name are not known. There is a possibility, however, that his baptismal name was Gerasimus. had a great zeal for piety from his youth, and he entered monastic life at sixteen. (This was in 1772, if we assume that Herman was born in 1756, although sometimes 1760 is given as the date of his birth.) he entered the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage which was located near the Gulf of Finland on the Peterhof Road, about 15 versts (about 10 miles) from Saint Petersburg. also spent time at at Sarov, where he first met Father Nazarius, who became his Elder at Valaam. Later, Saint Herman followed him to Sanaxar where Saint Theodore (February 19) was their igumen. Healing the Saint Sergius Hermitage there occurred the following incident to Father Herman. On the right side of his throat under his chin there appeared an abscess. The swelling grew rapidly, disfiguring his face. It became difficult for him to swallow, and the odor was unbearable. In this critical condition Father Herman awaited death. He did not appeal to a physician of this world, but locking his cell he fell before an icon of the Mother of God. With fervent tears he prayed, asking of Her that he might be healed. He prayed the whole night. Then he took a wet towel and with it wiped the face of the Most Holy Mother, and with this towel he covered the swelling. He continued to pray with tears until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion on the floor. In a dream he saw the Virgin Mary healing him. Herman awoke in the morning, he found to his great surprise that he was fully healed. The swelling had disappeared, even though the abscess had not broken through, leaving behind but a small mark as though a reminder of the miracle. to whom this healing was described did not believe it, arguing that it was necessary for the abscess to have either broken through of its own accord or to have been cut open. But the words of the physicians were the words of human experience, for where the grace of God operates there the order of nature is overcome. Such occurrences humble human reason under the strong hand of God’s Mercy. at Valaam five or six years Father Herman continued to live in the Saint Sergius Hermitage, and then he transferred to the Valaam Monastery, which was widely scattered on the large islands in the waters of the great Lake Ladoga. came to love the Valaam haven with all his soul, as he came to love its unforgettable Superior, the pious Elder Nazarius, and all the brethren. wrote to Father Nazarius later from America, “Your fatherly goodness to me, humble one, will be erased out of my heart neither by the terrible, unpassable Siberian lands, nor by the dark forests. Nor will it be wiped out by the swift flow of the great rivers; nor will the awful ocean quench these feelings. In my mind I imagine my beloved Valaam, looking to it beyond the great ocean.” praised the Elder Nazarius in his letters as, “the most reverend, and my beloved father,” and the brethren of Valaam he called, “my beloved and dearest.” The place where he lived in America, deserted Spruce Island, he called “New Valaam.” And as we can see, he always remained in spiritual contact with his spiritual homeland, for as late as 1823, that is after thirty years of his life within the borders of America, he wrote letters to the successor of Father Nazarius, the lgumen Innocent. Barlaam, later lgumen of Valaam, and a contemporary of Father Herman, who accepted his tonsure from Father Nazarius, wrote thus of the life of Father Herman. “Father Herman went through the various obediences here, and being ‘well disposed toward everything’ was in the course of events sent to Serdobol to oversee there the work of quarrying marble. Brothers loved Father Herman, and awaited impatiently his return to the cloisters from Serdobol. Recognizing the zeal of the young hermit the wise elder, Father Nazarius, released him to take abode in the wilderness. wilderness was in the deep forest about a mile from the cloister: to this day this place has retained the name ‘Herman’s.’ On holy days, Father Herman returned to the monastery from the wilderness. Then it was that at Little Vespers he would stand in the choir and sing in his pleasant tenor the responses with the brethren from the Canon, ‘O Sweetest Jesus, save us sinners. Most Holy Theotokos, Save us,’ and tears would fall like hail from his eyes.” First Mission to America the second half of the 18th century the borders of Holy Russia expanded to the north. In those years Russian merchants discovered the Aleutian Islands which formed in the Pacific Ocean a chain from the eastern shores of Kamchatka to the western shores of North America. the opening of these islands there was revealed the sacred necessity to illumine with the light of the Gospel the native inhabitants. the blessing of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Gabriel gave to the Elder Nazarius the task of selecting capable persons from the brethern of Valaam for this holy endeavor. Ten men were selected, and among them was Father Herman. chosen men left Valaam for the place of their great appointment in 1793. (The members of this historical mission were: Archimandrite Joseph (Bolotoff), the Hieromonks, Juvenal, Macarius, Athanasius, Stephan and Nectarius, Hierodeacons, Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Joasaph, and Herman.) a result of the holy zeal of the preachers the light of the evangelic sermon quickly poured out among the sons of Russia, and several thousand pagans accepted Christianity. school for the education of newly-baptized children was organized, and a church was built at the place where the missionaries lived. by the inscrutable providence of God the general progress of the mission was unsatisfactory. After five years of very productive labor, Archimandrite Joasaph, who had just been elevated to the rank of bishop, was drowned with his party. (This occurred on the Pacific Ocean between Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. The ship, Phoenix, one of the first sea-going ships built in Alaska, sailed from Okhotsk carrying the first Bishop for the American Mission and his party. The Phoenix was caught in one of the many storms which periodically sweep the northern Pacific, and the ship and all hands perished together with Bishop Joasaph and his party.) this the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal was granted the martyr’s crown. The others died one after another until in the end only Father Herman remained. The Lord permitted him to labor longer than any of his brethren in the apostolic task of enlightening the Aleutians. New Valaam — Spruce Island America, Father Herman chose as his place of habitation Spruce Island, which he called New Valaam. This island is separated by a strait about a mile and a quarter wide from Kodiak Island on which had been built a wooden monastery for the residence of the members of the mission, and a wooden church dedicated to the Resurrection of the Savior. (New Valaam was named for Valaam on Lake Ladoga, the monastery from which Father Herman came to America. It is interesting to note that Valaam is also located on an island, although, this island is in a fresh water lake, whereas, Spruce Island is on the Pacific Ocean, although near other islands and the Alaskan mainland.) Island is not large, and is almost completely covered by a forest. Almost through its middle a small brook flows to the sea. Herman selected this picturesque island for the location of his hermitage. He dug a cave out of the ground with his own hands, and in it he lived his first full summer. winter there was built for him a cell near the cave, in which he lived until his death. The cave was converted by him into a place for his burial. A wooden chapel, and a wooden house to be used as a schoolhouse and a guest house were built not too distant from his cell. A garden was laid out in front of his cell. For more than forty years Father Herman lived here. Herman’s Way of Life Herman himself spaded the garden, planted potatoes and cabbage and various vegetables in it. For winter, he preserved mushrooms, salting or drying them. The salt was obtained by him from ocean water. It is said that a wicker basket in which the Elder carried seaweed from the shore, was so large that it was difficult for one person to carry. The seaweed was used for fertilizing the soil. But to the astonishment of all, Father Herman carried a basket filled with seaweed for a long distance without any help at all. By chance his disciple, Gerasim, saw him one winter night carrying a large log which normally would be carried by four men; and he was bare footed. Thus worked the Elder, and everything that he acquired as a result of his immeasurable labors was used for the feeding and clothing of orphans and also for books for his students. clothes were the same for winter as for summer. He did not wear a shirt; instead he wore a smock of deer skin, which he did not take off for several years at a time, nor did he change it, so that the fur in it was completely worn away, and the leather became glossy. Then there were his boots or shoes, cassock (podrasnik), an ancient and faded out cassock (riasa) full of patchwork, and his headdress (klobuk). He went everywhere in these clothes, and at all times; in the rain, in snowstorms, and during the coldest freezing weather. this, Father Herman followed the example of many Eastern Ascetic Fathers and Monks who showed the greatest concern for the welfare and needs of others. Yet, they themselves wore the oldest possible clothes to show their great humility before God, and their detachment from worldly things. small bench covered with a time-worn deerskin served as Father Herman’s bed. He used two bricks for a pillow; these were hidden from visitors by a skin or a shirt. There was no blanket. Instead, he covered himself with a wooden board which lay on the stove. This board Father Herman, himself called his blanket, and he willed that it be used to cover his remains; it was as long as he was tall. “During my stay in the cell of Father Herman,” writes the creole Constantine Larionov, “I, a sinner, sat on his ‘blanket’-and I consider this the acme of my fortune!” (‘creole’ is the name by which the Russians referred to the children of mixed marriages of native Indians of Alaska, Eskimo and Aleuts with Russians.) the occasions when Father Herman was the guest of administrators of the American Company and in the course of their soul-saving talks he sat up with them until midnight. He never spent the night with them, but regardless of the weather he always returned to his hermitage. for some extraordinary reason it was necessary for him to spend the night away from his cell, then in the morning the bed which had been prepared for him would be found untouched; the Elder not having slept at all. The same was true in his hermitage where having spent the night in talks, he never rested. Elder ate very little. As a guest, he scarcely tasted the food, and remained without dinner. In his cell his dinner consisted of a very small portion of a small fish or some vegetables. His body, emaciated as a result of his labors, his vigils, and fasting, was crushed by chains which weighed about sixteen pounds. These chains are kept to this day in the chapel. Telling of these deeds of Father Herman, his disciple, the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, added, “Yes, Apa led a very hard life, and no one can imitate his life!” (The Aleutian word “Apa” means Elder or grandfather, and it is a name indicative of the great affection in which he was held). writing of the incidents in the life of the Elder deal, so to speak, with the external aspects of his labor. “His most important works,” says the Bishop Peter, “were his exercises in spiritual endeavor in his isolated cell where no one saw him, but outside the cell they heard him singing and celebrating services to God according to the monastic rule.” This witness of the Bishop is supported by the following answers of Father Herman, himself, “How do you manage to live alone in the forest, Father Herman? Don’t you ever become lonesome?” He answered, “No I am not there alone! God is here, as God is everywhere. The Holy Angels are there. With whom is it better to talk, with people, or with Angels? Most certainly with Angels.” Herman and the Native Alaskans way in which Father Herman looked upon the natives of America, how he understood his own relations with them, and how he was concerned for their needs he expressed himself in one of his letters to the former administrator of the colony, Simeon Yanovsky. wrote, “Our Creator granted to our beloved homeland this land which like a newly-born babe does not yet have the strength for knowledge or understanding. It requires not only protection, because of its infantile weakness and impotence, but also his sustenance. Even for this it does not yet have the ability to make an appeal on its own behalf. And since the welfare of this nation by the Providence of God, it is not known for how long, is dependent on and has been entrusted into the hands of the Russian government which has now been given into your own power, therefore I, the most humble servant of these people, and their nurse (nyanka) stand before you in their behalf, write this petition with tears of blood. Be our Father and our Protector. Certainly we do not know how to be eloquent, so with an inarticulate infant’s tongue we say: Wipe away the tears of the defenseless orphans, cool the hearts melting away in the fire of sorrow. Help us to know what consolation means.” Elder acted the way he felt. He always interceded before the governors in behalf of those who had transgressed. He defended those who had been offended. He helped those who were in need with whatever means he had available. Aleuts, men, women and children, often visited him. Some asked for advice, others complained of oppression, others sought out defense, and still others desired help. Each one received the greatest possible satisfaction from the Elder. discussed their mutual difficulties, and he tried to settle these peacefully. He was especially concerned about reestablishing understanding in families. If he did not succeed in reconciling a husband and wife, the Elder prevailed upon them to separate temporarily. The need for such a procedure he explained thus, “it is better to let them live apart, or believe me, it can be terrible if they are not separated. There have been incidents when a husband killed his wife, or when a wife destroyed her husband.” Herman especially loved children. He made large quantities of biscuits for them, and he baked cookies (krendelki) for them; and the children were fond of the Elder. Father Herman’s love for the Aleuts reached the point of self-denial. Epidemic Strikes ship from the United States brought to Sitka Island, and from there to Kodiak Island, a contagious disease, a fatal illness. began with a fever, a heavy cold, and difficult respiration, and it ended with chills; in three days the victim died. On the island there was neither a doctor nor medicine. The illness spread rapidly through the village, and then throughout the nearby areas. The disease affected all, even infants. The fatalities were so great that for three days there was no one to dig graves, and the bodies remained unburied. An eyewitness said, “I cannot imagine anything more tragic and horrible than the sight which struck me when I visited an Aleutian ‘Kazhim’. This was a large building, or barracks, with dividing sections, in which the Aleuts lived with their families; it contained about 100 people. Here some had died, their cold bodies lay near the living; others were dying; there were groans and weeping which tore at one’s soul.” “I saw mothers over whose bodies cold in death crawled a hungry child, crying and searching in vain for its food...My heart was bursting with compassion! It seemed that if anyone could paint with a worthy brush the full horror of this tragic scene, that he would have successfully aroused fear of death in the most embittered heart.” Herman, during this terrible sickness which lasted a whole month, gradually dying out towards the end, visited the sick, never tiring. He admonished them in their fear, prayed, brought them to penance, or prepared them for death. He never spared himself. Herman as a Spiritual Teacher Elder was concerned in particular for the moral growth of the Aleuts. With this end in mind a school was built for children-the orphans of the Aleuts. himself taught them the Law of God and church music. For this same purpose he gathered the Aleuts on Sunday and Holy Days for prayer in the chapel near his cell. Here his disciple read the Hours and the various prayers while the Elder himself read the Epistle and Gospel. also preached to them. His students sang, and they sang very well. The Aleuts loved to hear his sermons, gathering around him in large numbers. The Elder’s talks were captivating, and his listeners were moved by their wonderous power. He himself writes of one example of the beneficial results of his words. “Glory to the holy destinies of the Merciful God! He has shown me now through his unfathomable Providence a new occurrence which I, who have lived here for twenty years had never seen before on Kodiak,” he wrote. “Recently after Easter, a young girl about twenty years of age who knows Russian well, came to me. heard of the Incarnation of the Son of God and of Eternal Life, she became so inflamed with love for Jesus Christ that she does not wish to leave me. She pleaded eloquently with me. Contrary to my personal inclination and love for solitude, and despite all the hindrances and difficulties which I put forward before accepting her, she has now been living near the school for a month and is not lonesome. looking on this with great wonder, remembered the words of the Savior: ‘that which is hidden from the wise and learned is revealed to babes’” (Matthew 11:25). woman lived at the school until the death of the Elder. She watched for the good conduct of the children who studied in his school. Father Herman willed that after his death she was to continue to live on Spruce Island. Her name was Sophia Vlasova. writes about the character and the eloquence of the talks of the Elder thus: “When I met Father Herman I was thirty years old. I must say that I was educated in the naval corps school; that I knew many sciences having read extensively. But to my regret, the Science of sciences, that is the Law of God, I barely remembered the externals—and these only theoretically, not applying them to life. I was a Christian in name only, but in my soul and in reality, I was a freethinker. I did not admit the divinity and holiness of our religion, for I had read through many atheistic works. Father Herman recognized this immediately and he desired to reconvert me. To my great surprise he spoke so convincingly, wisely—and he argued with such conviction—that it seemed to me that no learning or worldly wisdom could stand one’s ground before his words. conversed with him daily until midnight, and even later, of God’s love, of eternity, of the salvation of souls, and of Christian living. his lips flowed a ceaseless stream of sweet words! By these continual talks and by the prayers of the holy Elder the Lord returned me completely to the way of Truth, and I became a real Christian. I am indebted for all this to Father Herman he is my true benefactor. “Several years ago,” continues Yanovsky, “Father Herman converted a certain naval captain G. to Orthodoxy from the Lutheran Faith. This captain was well educated. Besides many sciences, he was well versed in languages. He knew Russian, English, German, French, Italian and also some Spanish. for all this he could not resist the convictions and proofs of Father Herman. He changed his faith and was united to the Orthodox Church through Chrismation. When he was leaving America, the Elder said to him while they were parting, “Be on guard, if the Lord should take your wife from you then do not marry a German woman under any circumstance. If you do marry a German woman, undoubtedly she will damage your Orthodoxy.” Captain gave his word, but he failed to keep it. The warning of the Elder was prophetic. Indeed, after several years the Captain’s wife did die, and he married a German woman. There is no doubt that his faith weakened or that he left it; for he died suddenly without penance.” on Yanovsky writes, “Once the Elder was invited aboard a frigate which came from Saint Petersburg. The Captain of the frigate was a highly educated man, who had been sent to America by order of the Emperor to make an inspection of all the colonies. There were more than twenty-five officers with the Captain, and they also were educated men. In the company of this group sat a monk of a hermitage, small in stature and wearing very old clothes. All these educated conversationalists were placed in such a position by his wise talks that they did not know how to answer him. The Captain himself used to say, ‘We were lost for an answer before him.’ “Father Herman gave them all one general question: ‘Gentlemen, What do you love above all, and what will each of you wish for your happiness?’ answers were offered ... Some desired wealth, others glory, some a beautiful wife, and still others a beautiful ship he would captain; and so forth in the same vein. ‘It is not true,’ Father Herman said to them concerning this, ‘that all your various wishes can bring us to one conclusion—that each of you desires that which in his own understanding he considers the best, and which is most worthy of his love?’ They all answered, ‘Yes, that is so!’ He then continued, ‘Would you not say, Is not that which is best, above all, and surpassing all, and that which by preference is most worthy of love, the Very Lord, our Jesus Christ, who created us, adorned us with such ideals, gave life to all, sustains everything, nurtures and loves all, who is Himself Love and most beautiful of all men? Should we not then love God above every thing, desire Him more than anything, and search Him out?’ “All said, ‘Why, yes! That’s self-evident!’ Then the Elder asked, ‘But do you love God?’ They all answered, ‘Certainly, we love God. How can we not love God?’ ‘And I a sinner have been trying for more than forty years to love God, I cannot say that I love Him completely,’ Father Herman protested to them. then began to demonstrate to them the way in which we should love God. ‘If we love someone,’ he said, ‘we always remember them; we try to please them. Day and night our heart is concerned with the subject. that the way you gentlemen love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you always remember Him? Do you always pray to Him and fulfill His holy commandments?’ had to admit that they had not! ‘For our own good, and for our own fortune,’ concluded the Elder, ‘let us at least promise ourselves that from this very minute we will try to love God more than anything and to fulfill His Holy Will!’ Without any doubt this conversation was imprinted in the hearts of the listeners for the rest of their lives.’ “In general, Father Herman liked to talk of eternity, of salvation of the future life, of our destinies under God. He often talked on the lives of the Saints, on the Prologue, but he never spoke about anything frivolous. was so pleasant to hear him that those who conversed with him, the Aleuts and their wives, were so captivated by his talks that often they did not leave him until dawn, and then they left him with reluctance;” thus witnesses the Creole, Constantine Larionov. Description of Father Herman writes a detailed description of Father Herman. “I have a vivid memory,” he said, “Of all the features of the Elder’s face reflecting goodness; his pleasant smile, his meek and attractive mien, his humble and quiet behavior, and his gracious word. He was short of stature. face was pale and covered with wrinkles. eyes were greyish-blue, full of sparkle, on his head there were a few gray hairs. voice was not powerful, but it was very pleasant.” relates two incidents from his conversations with the Elder. “Once,” he writes, “I read to Father Herman the ode, ‘God,’ by Derzhavin. The Elder was surprised, and entranced. He asked me to read it again. I read it once more, “Is it possible that a simple, educated man wrote this?” he asked. “Yes, a learned poet,” I answered. “This has been written under God’s inspiration,” said the Elder. Martyrdom of Peter “On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in California had imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits were forcing all of them to accept the Catholic Faith. this Aleut would not agree under any circumstances, saying, ‘We are Christians.’ The Jesuits protested, ‘That’s not true; you are heretics and schismatics. If you do not agree to accept our faith then we will torture all of you.’ Then the Aleuts were placed in cells until evening; two to a cell. At night the Jesuits came to the prison with lanterns and lighted candles. They began to persuade the Aleuts in the cell once again to accept the Catholic Faith. ‘We are Christians,’ was the answer of the Aleuts, ‘and we will not change our Faith.’ Then the Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was the witness. cut the toes off his feet, first one joint and then the other joint. And then they cut the first joint on the fingers of the hands, and then the other joint. Afterwards they cut off his feet, and his hands; the blood flowed. The martyr endured all and steadfastly insisted on one thing: ’I am a Christian.’ In such suffering, he bled to death. Jesuit promised to torture to death his comrades also on the next day.... that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under escort. Therefore, in the morning all were dispatched to Monterey with the exception of the martyred Aleut. was related to me by a witness, the same Aleut who was the comrade of the tortured Aleut. Afterwards he escaped from imprisonment, and I reported this incident to the supreme authorities in Saint Petersburg. I finished my story, Father Herman asked, ‘And how did they call the martyred Aleut?’ I answered, ‘Peter; I do not remember his family name.’ The Elder stood up before an icon reverently, made the sign of the Cross and pronounced, ’Holy newly-martyred Peter, pray to God for us!’” Spirit of Father Herman’s Teaching order to express the spirit of Father Herman’s teaching, we present here a quotation from a letter that was written by his own hand. “The empty years of these desires separate us from our heavenly homeland, and our Love for these desires and our habits clothe us, as it were, in an odious dress; it is called by the Apostle ‘the external (earthy) man’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). who are wanderers in the journey of this life call to God for aid. We must divest ourselves of this repulsiveness, and put on new desires, and a new love for the coming age. Thus, through this we will know either an attraction or a repulsion for the heavenly homeland. It is possible to do this quickly, but we must follow the example of the sick, who wishing for desired health, do not stop searching for means of curing themselves. But I am not speaking clearly.” desiring anything for himself in life, when he first came to America, he refused in his humility the dignity of hieromonk and archimandrite, deciding to remain forever a common monk, Father Herman, without the least fear before the powerful, strove with all sincerity for God. With gentle love, and disregarding the person, he criticized many for intemperate living, for unworthy behavior, and for oppressing the Aleuts. Evil armed itself against him and gave him all sorts of trouble and sorrow. But God protected the Elder. Administrator of the Colony, Yanovsky, not having yet seen Father Herman, after receiving one of those complaints, had already written to Saint Petersburg of the necessity of his removal. He explained that it seemed that he was arousing the Aleuts against the administration. But this accusation turned out to be unjust, and in the end Yanovsky was numbered among the admirers of Father Herman. an inspector came to Spruce Island with the Administrator of the Colony and with company employees to search through Father Herman’s cell. This party expected to find property of great value in Father Herman’s cell. But when they found nothing of value, an employee of the American Company, Ponomarkhov, began to tear up the floor with an axe, undoubtedly with the consent of his seniors. Then Father Herman said to him, “My friend, you have lifted the axe in vain; this weapon shall deprive you of your life.” Some time later people were needed at Fort Nicholas, and for that reason several Russian employees were sent there from Kodiak; among them was Ponomarkhov; there the natives of Kenai cut off his head while he slept. Temptations of Father Herman great sorrows were borne by Father Herman from evil spirits. He himself revealed this to his disciple, Gerasim. Once when he entered Father Herman’s cell without the usual prayer he received no answer from Father Herman to any of his questions. The next day Gerasim asked him the reason for his silence. On that occasion Father Herman said to him, “When I came to this island and settled in this hermitage the evil spirits approached me ostensibly to be helpful. They came in the form of a man, and in the form of animals. I suffered much from them; from various afflictions and temptations. And that is why I do not speak now to anyone who enters into my presence without prayer.” (It is customary among devout laymen, as well as clergy, to say out loud a prayer, and upon hearing a response ending with Amen, to enter and go to the icon in the room to reverence it, and to say a prayer before greeting the host). Gifts from God dedicated himself fully for the Lord’s service; he strove with zeal solely for the glorification of His Most Holy Name. Far from his homeland in the midst of a variety of afflictions and privations Father Herman spent several decades performing the noblest deeds of self-sacrifice. He was privileged to receive many supernatural gifts from God. the midst of Spruce Island down the hill flows a little stream into the sea. The mouth of this stream was always swept by surf. In the spring when the brook fish appeared the Elder raked away some of the sand at its mouth so that the fish could enter, and at their first appearance they rushed up the stream. His disciple, lgnaty, said, “it was so that if ‘Apa’ would tell me, I would go and get fish in the stream!” Father Herman fed the birds with dried fish, and they would gather in great numbers around his cell. Underneath his cell there lived an ermine. This little animal can not be approached when it has had its young, but the Elder fed it from his own hand. “Was not this a miracle that we had seen?” said his disciple, Ignaty. They also saw Father Herman feeding bears. But when Father Herman died the birds and animals left; even the garden would not give any sort of crops even though someone had willingly taken care of it, Ignaty insisted. Spruce Island there once occurred a flood. The inhabitants came to the Elder in great fear. Father Herman then took an icon of the Mother of God from the home where his students lived, and placed it on a “laida” (a sandy bank) and began to pray. After his prayer he turned to those present and said,“Have no fear, the water will not go any higher than the place where this holy icon stands.” The words of the Elder were fulfilled. After this he promised the same aid from this holy icon in the future, through the intercessions of the Mother of God. He entrusted the icon to his disciple Sophia; in case of future floods the icon was to be placed on the “laida.” This icon is preserved on the island to this day. the request of the Elder, Baron F. P. Wrangel wrote a letter to a Metropolitan (his name is not known) which was dictated by Father Herman. When the letter was completed and read, the Elder congratulated the Baron upon his attaining the rank of admiral. The Baron was taken aback. This was news to him. It was confirmed, but only after an elapse of some time, and just before he departed for Saint Petersburg. Herman said to the administrator Kashevarov, from whom he accepted his son from the font (during the Sacrament of Baptism), “I am sorry for you, my dear ‘kum.’ It’s a shame; the change will be unpleasant for you.” In two years, during a change of administration, Kashevarov was sent to Sitka in chains. the forest on Spruce Island caught fire. The Elder, with his disciple Ignaty, in a thicket of the forest made a belt about a yard wide in which they turned over the moss. They extended it to the foot of the hill. The Elder said, “Rest assured, the fire will not pass this line.” On the next day, according to the testimony of Ignaty, there was no hope of salvation (from the fire) and the fire, pushed by a strong wind, reached the place where the moss had been turned over by the Elder. The fire ran over the moss and halted, leaving untouched the thick forest which was beyond the line. Elder often said that there would be a Bishop for America; this at a time when no one even thought of it, and there was no hope that there would be a Bishop for America. This was related by Bishop Peter, and his prophecy was fulfilled in time. “After my death,” said Father Herman, “there will be an epidemic, many people shall die during it, and the Russians shall unite the Aleuts.” And so it happened. It seems that about a half a year after his passing, there was a smallpox epidemic; the death rate in America during the epidemic was tremendous. In some villages, only a few inhabitants remained alive. This led the administration of the colony to unite the Aleuts; the twelve settlements were consolidated into seven. “Although a long time shall elapse after my death, I will not be forgotten” said Father Herman to his disciples. “My place of habitation will not remain empty. A monk like me, who will be escaping from the glory of men, will come and he will live on Spruce Island, and Spruce Island will not be without people.” (This prophecy has now been fulfilled in its entirety. Just such a monk as Father Herman described lived on Spruce Island for many years; his name was Archimandrite Gerasim, who died on October 13, 1969. This monk took on himself the responsibility of taking care of the Chapel under which the Elder Herman was first buried. Metropolitan Leonty, soon after his elevation to the primacy of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, made a pilgrimage to Spruce Island, and the grave of Herman. for the Future Creole Constantine, when he was not more than twelve years old, was asked by Father Herman, “My beloved one, what do you think; this chapel which they are building now, will it ever stand empty?” The youngster answered, “I do not know, Apa.” “Indeed,” said Constantine, “I did not understand his question at that time, even though the whole conversation with the Elder remains vivid in my memory.” The Elder remained silent for some time, and then said, “My child, remember, in time there will be a monastery in this place.” Herman said to his disciple the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, “Thirty years shall pass after my death, and all those living on Spruce Island will have died, but you alone will remain alive. You will be old and poor when I will be remembered.” And indeed after the death of Father Herman thirty years passed when they were reminded of him, and they began to gather information and facts about him, on the basis of which his Life was written. “It is amazing,” exclaims Ignaty, “how a man like us could know all this so long before it happened! However, no, he was no ordinary man! He knew our thoughts, and involuntarily he led us to the point where we revealed them to him, and we received counsel from him.” “When I die,” the Elder said to his disciple, “you will bury me alongside Father Joasaph. You will bury me by yourself, for you will not wait for the priest. Do not wash my body. Lay it on a board. Clasp my hands over my chest, wrap me in my mantia (the monk’s outer cloak), and with its wings cover my face and place the klobuk (monastic head covering) on my head. If anyone wishes to bid farewell to me, let them kiss the Cross. Do not show my face to anyone....” Repose of Father Herman time of the Elder’s passing had come. One day he ordered his disciple Gerasim to light a candle before the Icons, and to read the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After some time his face glowed brightly and he said in a loud voice, “Glory to Thee, O Lord!” He then ordered the reading to be halted, and he announced that the Lord had willed that his life would now be spared for another week. A week later, again by his orders, candles were lit, and the Acts of the Holy Apostles were read. Quietly, the Elder bowed his head on Gerasim’s chest; the cell was filled with a sweet-smelling odor; and his face glowed, and Father Herman was no more! Thus he died in blessedness, he passed away in the sleep of a righteous man in the eighty-first year of his life of great labor the 25th day of December 1837. (It was the 13th of December according to the Julian Calendar, although there are some records which state that he died on November 28th and was buried on December 26th). sent with the sad news to the harbor returned to announce that the administrator of the colony Kashevarov had forbidden the burial of the Elder until his own arrival. He also ordered that a finer coffin be made for Father Herman, and that he would come as soon as possible and would bring a priest with him. But then a great wind came up, a rain fell, and a terrible storm broke. The distance from the harbor to Spruce Island is not great—about a two hour journey—but no one would agree to go to sea in such weather. Thus it continued for a full month, and although the body lay in state for a full month in the warm house of his students, his face did not undergo any change at all, and not the slightest odor emanated from his body. Finally, through the efforts of Kuzma Uchilischev, a coffin was obtained. No one arrived from the harbor, and the inhabitants of Spruce Island alone buried the remains of the Elder in the ground. Thus the words which Father Herman uttered before his death were fulfilled. After this the wind quieted down, and the surface of the sea became as smooth as a mirror. evening, above the village Katani (on Afognak) an unusual pillar of light which reached up to heaven was seen above Spruce Island. Astonished by the miraculous appearance, experienced elders and the Creole Gerasim Vologdin and his wife Anna said, “It seems that Father Herman has left us,” and they began to pray. After a time, they were informed that the Elder had indeed passed away that very night. This same pillar was seen in various places by others. On the night of his death a vision was seen in another of the settlements on Afognak; it seemed as though a man was rising from Spruce Island into the clouds. disciples buried their father, and placed a wooden memorial marker above his grave. Father Peter Kashevarov, the priest on Kodiak, says, “I saw it myself, and I can say that today it seems as though it had never been touched by time; as though it had been cut this day.” witnessed the life of Father Herman glorified by his zealous labors, having seen his miracles, and the fulfillment of his predictions, finally having observed his blessed falling asleep, “in general, all the local inhabitants,” Bishop Peter witnesses, “have the highest esteem for him, as though he was a holy ascetic, and they are fully convinced that he has found favor in the presence of God.” 1842, five years after the passing away of the Elder, Archbishop Innocent of Kamchatka and the Aleutians, was near Kodiak on a sailing vessel which was in great distress. He looked to Spruce Island, and said to himself, “If you have found favor in God’s presence, Father Herman then may the wind change.” It seems as though not more than fifteen minutes had passed, said the bishop, when the wind became favorable, and he successfully reached the shore. In thanksgiving for being saved, Archbishop Innocent himself conducted a Memorial Service (Panikhida) over the grave of the blessed Father Herman. O Holy Father Herman of Alaska, pray unto God for us! HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; of Alaska (born 1756 or 1760 in Serpukhov, Russia – December 13 or November 15, 1837 on Spruce Island, Alaska) one of the first Eastern Orthodox missionaries to the New World, and is considered by Orthodox Christians to be the patron saint of the Americas. was born in the town of Serpukhov near Moscow around 1756. Herman is his name in monasticism; his birth name is unknown. 16, he entered the Russian Orthodox monastic life at the Trinity-St. Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg. he was tonsured a monk, though he was never ordained to the priesthood. request was made for a mission into the Alaskan territory. Herman was selected to go, along with seven other monks. and the other monks arrived on Kodiak Island on September 24, 1794. monks converted the native Aleuts, and as time progressed they found themselves protecting the natives from exploitation and abuse. of this moral stance the monks themselves were abused, arrested and physically threatened. time, enduring hardship, inclement weather, illness and more, Herman stood as the only remainder from the original band of missionaries, the others either being martyred for their faith, dying of natural causes or returning to Russia. eventually built a hermitage on Spruce Island, about a mile and a quarter from Kodiak Island. small chapel was built as well, along with a school and guest house. local people would visit him often. He devoted his life to prayer and to performing those services he could do as a simple monk who had not been ordained to the priesthood. died on November 15, 1837, but was not buried on Spruce Island until December 13 because a priest could not come to serve the funeral, and was forgotten until the first investigation of his life in 1867 by Bishop Peter of Alaska. was named a saint by the Orthodox Church in America on 9 August 1970. (more at Wikipedia)

Russia, Moscow, 1779, Kostroma Icon survives fire at Theophany monastery
Russia, Vologda, Kostroma, 1779, Kostroma Icon survives fire at Theophany monastery; Kostroma Hodēgḗtria Icon of the Mother of God was painted in 1672 on the wall of the southwest tower of the Kostroma Theophany monastery. In 1779 a great conflagration occurred at the monastery, and the tower was all enveloped by flames, but the holy Icon of the Mother of God did not suffer from the fire. In the year 1824 a church was built at the tower. Kostroma Hodegetria Icon of the Mother of God was painted in 1672 on the wall of the southwest tower of the Kostroma Theophany monastery. In 1779 a great conflagration occurred at the monastery, and the tower was all enveloped by flames, but the holy Icon of the Mother of God did not suffer from the fire. In the year 1824 a church was built at the tower. Theophany Convent and monastery; Icon of the Mother of God of Kostroma, Commemorated on July 28 ; Kostroma Hodēgḗtria Icon of the Mother of God was painted in 1672 on the wall of the southwest tower of the Kostroma Theophany monastery. In 1779 a great conflagration occurred at the monastery, and the tower was all enveloped by flames, but the holy Icon of the Mother of God did not suffer from the fire. In the year 1824 a church was built at the tower. Kostroma Hodegetria Icon of the Mother of God was painted in 1672 on the wall of the southwest tower of the Kostroma Theophany monastery. In 1779 a great conflagration occurred at the monastery, and the tower was all enveloped by flames, but the holy Icon of the Mother of God did not suffer from the fire. In the year 1824 a church was built at the tower. Blessed Simon of Yurievets, Commemorated November 4 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1780-1848, Preserved Virginity Icon, oil and canvas icon, e light, vision, voice, finest quality icon on board
Russia, Moscow, 1780-1848, In Giving Birth you Preserved your Virginity Icon, Nikolaev Peshkov monastery, Moscow; Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow ; In Giving Birth, You Preserved Your Virginity Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on October 17; Icon of the Mother of God “In Giving Birth, You Preserved Your Virginity” (“A Virgin Before Birth and After Birth”) was transferred to the Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow diocese by the Moscow merchant Alexis Grigorievich Mokeev. the year 1780 Alexis joined the brethren of the monastery. He had given all of his wealth to the igumen of the monastery, Archimandrite Macarius, and the holy icon remained in his cell. Alexis’s death, the icon was brought to the archimandrite, who observed that the icon was painted in oil on canvas and not according to the prescribed rules of iconography (using egg tempera on wood), and he installed it over the exit door of the chapel of Saint Methodius, which was on a street not far from the monastery. glorification of the holy icon began in 1827, when Captain Platon Osipovich Shabashev, going past the chapel at night, saw an extraordinary light coming from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Another time he had a vision of the icon at a time when he found himself in difficult circumstances. In a dream, Platon beheld the radiant icon of the Mother of God in the clouds above the chapel of Saint Methodius and heard a voice say, “If you wish to be delivered from temptation, pray before this icon.” Platon obeyed the guidance of the Mother of God, and the sorrow passed him by. pious Platon told the Superior of the monastery about the miracles. He then transfered the holy image into the monastery. When they went to put the icon in a ornamental case, the image of the Most Holy Virgin, painted on canvas, stiffened taut upon a board, on which was concealed a depiction of the Mother of God of finest quality. Numerous miracles are recorded to have taken place from this icon in 1848 during an outbreak of cholera, when many praying before it were healed.

Russia, Moscow, 1781-1796, Saint Juneval of Alaska, Kodiak, Nushek, Kenai Bay, Kushokwim Mouth, Quinahgak, Baptised many
Moscow, 1781-1796, Saint Juneval of Alaska; Martyr Juvenal of Alaska, Commemorated on September 24; Juvenal, the Protomartyr of America, was born in 1761 in Nerchinsk, Siberia. His secular name was John Feodorovich Hovorukhin, and he was trained as a mining engineer. In a letter to Abbot Nazarius of Valaam (December 13, 1819), Saint Herman says that Saint Juvenal “had been an assistant at our monastery and was a former officer.” his wife died in 1791, John entered a monastery at Saint Petersburg (Saint Herman’s Letter of December 13, 1819) and was tonsured with the name Juvenal. Three years later, he went to Alaska as a missionary. 1794, the hieromonks Juvenal and Macarius spent two months in the area around Kodiak teaching the inhabitants about Christ and baptizing them. They traveled in small boats of hide in all sorts of weather, dividing up the territory among themselves. Saint Herman tells of a conversation he heard one day as he walked with the hieromonks to a small hill on the south side of the harbor. They sat down facing the sea, and spoke of various things. Soon they began to discuss where each of them should go to preach. Aflame with zeal and eager to set out on their journey, a friendly argument ensued between Father Macarius and Father Juvenal. Father Macarius said he intended to go north to the Aleutian Islands, and then make his way to the Alaskan mainland, where the inhabitants had invited him to visit. The monks had a map of Captain Cook’s which indicated that some Russians were living near a certain river in that particular area, and Father Macarius hoped to find them. Juvenal interrupted, saying that he believed that the Alaskan mainland was his territory. “I beg you to yield to me and not offend me in this,” he told Father Macarius, “since the ship is leaving for Yakutan. I shall begin preaching in the south, proceeding north along the ocean, cross the Kenai peninsula, then from the port there I shall cross to Alaska.” Macarius became sorrowful and said, “No, Father. Do not restrict me in this way. You know the Aleutian chain of islands is joined to Alaska, therefore it belongs to me, and also the whole northern shore. As for you, the southern part of America is sufficient for your whole lifetime, if you please.” he listened to their apostolic fervor, Saint Herman says he “went from joy to rapture” (Letter to Abbot Nazarius, May 19, 1795). 1795, Father Juvenal baptized over 700 Chugatchi at Nushek, then he crossed Kenai Bay and baptized the local people there. In 1796, according to native oral tradition, Saint Juvenal came to the mouth of the Kuskokwim near the present village of Quinahgak, where he was killed by a hunting party. (There is a forged diary attributed to Ivan Petroff which gives a slanderous version of Father Juvenal’s death, and alleges that he was martyred at Lake Iliamna.) precise reason for Saint Juvenal’s murder by the natives is not known. However, they later told Saint Innocent something about his death. They said that Saint Juvenal did not try to defend himself when attacked, nor did he make any attempt to escape. After being struck from behind, he turned to face his attackers and begged them to spare the natives he had baptized. natives told Saint Innocent that after they had killed Saint Juvenal, he got up and followed them, urging them to repent. The fell upon him again and gave him a savage beating. Once more, he got to his feet and called them to repentance. This happened several times, then finally the natives hacked him to pieces. Thus, the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal became the first Orthodox Christian in America to receive the crown of martyrdom. His unnamed guide, possibly a Tanaina Indian convert, was also martyred at the same time. is said that a local shaman removed Saint Juvenal’s brass pectoral cross from his body and attempted to cast a spell. Unexpectedly, the shaman was lifted up off the ground. He made three more tries with the same result, then concluded that there was a greater power than his own at work here. Years later, a man showed up at the Nushagak Trading Post wearing a brass pectoral cross exactly like the one worn by Saint Juvenal. column of light arose from his holy relics and reached up to Heaven. It is not known how long this phenomenon continued. Juvenal, in his tireless evangelization of the native peoples of Alaska, served the Church more than all the other missionaries combined.

Russia, Moscow, 1783, Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire, by choice
Crimea, 1783, Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire; Icon of the Mother of God of Kasperov, Commemorated on April 5;

Russia, Moscow, 1783-1917, Georgia in the Russian Empire, by choice
Georgia, 1783-1917, Georgia in the Russian Empire; Saint Hilarion the New of Georgia, Commemorated on February 14; the Russian annexation of Kartli-Kakheti, the imperial court of the tsar increased diplomatic correspondence with the court of King Solomon II. king was urged likewise to unite the Imeretian Kingdom to Russia. Solomon summoned a council of noblemen, and it was decided that Imereti would remain independent, while maintaining friendly relations with Russia until the king’s death. However, it was agreed that since King Solomon had no heir, after his repose the court of the imperial tsar would acquire jurisdiction over the region. the political climate in Georgia became increasingly tense, and the ability of the Imeretian court to govern was severely undermined. court was suddenly besieged with cases of envy and treason, and it became necessary for the king to flee to Turkey. Protopresbyter Ise Qanchaveli accompanied King Solomon II to his place of exile and remained with him to the end of the king’s life. the king’s death in 1815, Fr. Ise received an amnesty from Tsar Alexander I (1801-1825) on behalf of the king and his court. Ise himself planned to go into reclusion in the village where he was born, King Solomon’s widow, Queen Mariam, summoned him to Moscow where she was being held in “honorable captivity.â€ Fr. Ise brought to her a piece of the Life-giving Cross of our Lord, which had belonged to King Solomon, and the queen preserved her husband’s treasure in the court church. life at the imperial court was tiresome for the God-fearing Fr. Ise, so he exchanged his clothing for beggars’ rags and set off for Mt. Athos in the year 1819.

Russia, Moscow, 1786, Theoctistus Relics Translation, tYuriev Monastery, d1310, Glorified 1664, fMiraculous healings aGrave
Russia, Novgorod, 1786, Theoctistus Relics Translation, tYuriev Monastery, Novgorod (Volkhov River 1) , died 1310, main feast Dec 23, Glorified 1664, because miraculous healings at his grave, Relics transferred tYuriev, Novgorod Cathedral 1786 ; Yuriev Monastery; Repose of Saint Theoctistus, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 23; Saint Theoktistos (Theóktistos) became a bishop, he was the Igoumen of Annunciation Monastery near Novgorod. the repose of Archbishop Clement in the year 1300, the people of Novgorod chose him as their Archbishop. Metropolitan Maximus and Bishops Simeon of Rostov and Aofndrew of Tver consecrated Saint Theoktistos as Archbishop Novgorod on June 29, 1300. of the Hierarch's concerns was the renovation and building of churches. consecrated cathedrals in honor of Saints Boris and Gleb (July 24), and in honor of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council (Seventh Sunday after Pascha). Valaam Monastery was set in good order during this time. of his poor health, the Hierarch retired to Annunciation Monastery in 1307, himself to the ascetical feat (podvig) of silence until his blessed repose on December 23,1310. Theoktistos was glorified in 1664, because of the many miraculous cures which took place before his relics. relics were transferred to Yuriev in 1786, where Archimandrite Photios built a chapel in the local cathedral and dedicated it to Saint Theoktistos. July 10, 2015, as a result of the opening of an XVIII century tomb an archaeological team led by Vladimir Sedov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Doctor of Art History, in the presence of Metropolitan Leo of Novgorod and Staraya Rus, holy relics of Archbishop Theoktistos of Novgorod were discovered. relics were solemnly transferred to the Cathedral of the Savior at Saint George's Monastery, and placed in a reliquary for the faithful to venerate. the same time, the first Moleben was served in honor of the discovery of the holy relics of Saint Theoktistos. Theoktistos is also commemorated on the following dates: January 23 (The recovery of his Holy Relics); and on the third Sunday after Pentecost (Synaxis of the Novgorod Saints). Translation of the relics of St Theoctistus the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated January 23 ; main Feast of Saint Theoctistus is December 23. was glorified in 1664, because of the miraculous healings which took place at his relics. 1786, the relics of the saint were transferred to Yuriev, where Archimandrite Photius built a chapel in his honor at the local cathedral.

Russia, Moscow, 1786-1833, Seraphim of Sarov, Hesychast, visions, bright light, Jesus, silence, animals, clairvoyant
Moscow, 1786-1833, Saint, Seraphim of Sarov ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2; Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was born on July 19, 1754. His parents, Isidore and Agathia Moshnin, were inhabitants of Kursk. Isidore was a merchant. Toward the end of his life, he began construction of a cathedral in Kursk, but he died before the completion of the work. His little son Prochorus,the future Seraphim, remained in the care of his widowed mother, who raised her son in piety. the death of her husband, Agathia Moshnina continued with the construction of the cathedral. Once she took the seven-year-old Prochorus there with her, and he fell from the scaffolding around the seven-storey bell tower. He should have been killed, but the Lord preserved the life of the future luminary of the Church. The terrified mother ran to him and found her son unharmed. Prochorus, endowed with an excellent memory, soon mastered reading and writing. From his childhood he loved to attend church services, and to read both the Holy Scripture and the Lives of the Saints with his fellow students. Most of all, he loved to pray or to read the Holy Gospel in private. one point Prochorus fell grievously ill, and his life was in danger. In a dream the boy saw the Mother of God, promising to visit and heal him. Soon past the courtyard of the Moshnin home came a church procession with the Kursk Root Ico,n of the Sign (November 27). His mother carried Prochorus in her arms, and he kissed the holy icon, after which he speedily recovered. still in his youth Prochorus made his plans to devote his life entirely to God and to go to a monastery. His devout mother did not object to this and she blessed him on his monastic path with a copper cross, which he wore on his chest for the rest of his life. Prochorus set off on foot with pilgrims going from Kursk to Kiev to venerate the Saints of the Caves. Elder Dositheus (actually a woman, Daria Tyapkina), whom Prochorus visited, blessed him to go to the Sarov wilderness monastery, and there seek his salvation. Returning briefly to his parental home, Prohkor bid a final farewell to his mother and family. On November 20, 1778 he arrived at Sarov, where the monastery then was headed by a wise Elder, Father Pachomius. He accepted him and put him under the spiritual guidance of the Elder Joseph. Under his direction Prochorus passed through many obediences at the monastery: he was the Elder’s cell-attendant, he toiled at making bread and prosphora, and at carpentry. He fulfilled all his obediences with zeal and fervor, as though serving the Lord Himself. By constant work he guarded himself against despondency (accidie), this being, as he later said, “the most dangerous temptation for new monks. It is treated by prayer, by abstaining from idle chatter, by strenuous work, by reading the Word of God and by patience, since it is engendered by pettiness of soul, negligence, and idle talk.” the blessing of Igumen Pachomius, Prochorus abstained from all food on Wednesdays and Fridays, and went into the forest, where in complete isolation he practiced the Jesus Prayer. After two years as a novice, Prochorus fell ill with dropsy, his body became swollen, and he was beset with suffering. His instructor Father Joseph and the other Elders were fond of Prochorus, and they provided him care. The illness dragged on for about three years, and not once did anyone hear from him a word of complaint. The Elders, fearing for his very life, wanted to call a doctor for him, but Prochorus asked that this not be done, saying to Father Pachomius: “I have entrusted myself, holy Father, to the True Physician of soul and body, our Lord Jesus Christ and His All-Pure Mother.” asked that a Molieben be offered for his health. While the others were praying in church, Prochorus had a vision. The Mother of God appeared to him accompanied by the holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian. Pointing with Her hand towards the sick monk, the Most Holy Virgin said to Saint John, “He is one of our kind.” Then She touched the side of the sick man with Her staff, and immediately the fluid that had swelled up his body began to flow through the incision that She made. After the Molieben, the brethren found that Prochorus had been healed, and only a scar remained as evidence of the miracle. at the place of the appearance of the Mother of God, an infirmary church was built for the sick. One of the side chapels was dedicated to Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius of Solovki (April 17). With his own hands, Saint Seraphim made an altar table for the chapel out of cypress wood, and he always received the Holy Mysteries in this church. eight years as a novice at the Sarov monastery, Prochorus was tonsured with the name Seraphim, a name reflecting his fiery love for the Lord and his zealous desire to serve Him. After a year, Seraphim was ordained as hierodeacon. in spirit, he served in the temple each day, incessantly praying even after the service. The Lord granted him visions during the church services: he often saw holy angels serving with the priests. During the Divine Liturgy on Great and Holy Thursday, which was celebrated by the igumen Father Pachomius and by Father Joseph, Saint Seraphim had another vision. After the Little Entrance with the Gospel, the hierodeacon Seraphim pronounced the words “O Lord, save the God-fearing, and hear us.” Then, he lifted his orarion saying, “And unto ages of ages.” Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright ray of light. up, Saint Seraphim beheld the Lord Jesus Christ, coming through the western doors of the temple, surrounded by the Bodiless Powers of Heaven. Reaching the ambo, the Lord blessed all those praying and entered into His Icon to the right of the royal doors. Saint Seraphim, in spiritual rapture after this miraculous vision, was unable to utter a word, nor to move from the spot. They led him by the hand into the altar, where he just stood for another three hours, his face having changed color from the great grace that shone upon him. After the vision the saint intensified his efforts. He toiled at the monastery by day, and he spent his nights praying in his forest cell. 1793, Hierodeacon Seraphim was ordained to the priesthood, and he served the Divine Liturgy every day. After the death of the igumen Father Pachomius, Saint Seraphim received the blessing of the new Superior Father Isaiah, to live alone in a remote part of the forest three and a half miles from the monastery. He named his new home “Mount Athos,” and devoted himself to solitary prayer. He went to the monastery only on Saturday before the all-night Vigil, and returned to his forest cell after Sunday’s Liturgy, at which he partook of the Divine Mysteries. Seraphim spent his time in ascetical struggles. His cell rule of prayer was based on the rule of Saint Pachomius for the ancient desert monasteries. He always carried the Holy Gospels with him, reading the entire New Testament in the course of a week. He also read the holy Fathers and the service books. The saint learned many of the Church hymns by heart, and sang them while working in the forest. Around his cell he cultivated a garden and set up a beehive. He kept a very strict fast, eating only once during the entire day, and on Wednesdays and Fridays he completely abstained from food. From the first Sunday of the Great Fast he did not partake of food at all until the following Saturday, when he received the Holy Mysteries. holy Elder was sometimes so absorbed by the unceasing prayer of the heart that he remained without stirring, neither hearing nor seeing anything around him. The schemamonk Mark the Silent and the hierodeacon Alexander, also wilderness-dwellers, would visit him every now and then. Finding the saint immersed in prayer, they would leave quietly, so they would not disturb his contemplation. the heat of summer the righteous one gathered moss from a swamp as fertilizer for his garden. Gnats and mosquitoes bit him relentlessly, but he endured this saying, “The passions are destroyed by suffering and by afflictions.” solitude was often disturbed by visits from monks and laymen, who sought his advice and blessing. With the blessing of the igumen, Father Seraphim prohibited women from visiting him, then receiving a sign that the Lord approved of his desire for complete silence, he banned all visitors. Through the prayers of the saint, the pathway to his wilderness cell was blocked by huge branches blown down from ancient pine trees. Now only the birds and the wild beasts visited him, and he dwelt with them as Adam did in Paradise. They came at midnight and waited for him to complete his Rule of prayer. Then he would feed bears, lynxes, foxes, rabbits, and even wolves with bread from his hand. Saint Seraphim also had a bear which would obey him and run errands for him. order to repulse the onslaughts of the Enemy, Saint Seraphim intensified his toil and began a new ascetical struggle in imitation of Saint Simeon the Stylite (September 1). Each night he climbed up on an immense rock in the forest, or a smaller one in his cell, resting only for short periods. He stood or knelt, praying with upraised hands, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” He prayed this way for 1,000 days and nights. robbers in search of money or valuables once came upon him while he was working in his garden. The robbers demanded money from him. Though he had an axe in his hands, and could have put up a fight, he did not want to do this, recalling the words of the Lord: “Those who take up the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt. 26: 52). Dropping his axe to the ground, he said, “Do what you intend.” The robbers beat him severely and left him for dead. They wanted to throw him in the river, but first they searched the cell for money. They tore the place apart, but found nothing but icons and a few potatoes, so they left. The monk, regained consciousness, crawled to his cell, and lay there all night. the morning he reached the monastery with great difficulty. The brethren were horrified, seeing the ascetic with several wounds to his head, chest, ribs and back. For eight days he lay there suffering from his wounds. Doctors called to treat him were amazed that he was still alive after such a beating. Seraphim was not cured by any earthly physician: the Queen of Heaven appeared to him in a vision with the Apostles Peter and John. Touching the saint’s head, the Most Holy Virgin healed him. However, he was unable to straighten up, and for the rest of his life he had to walk bent over with the aid of a stick or a small axe. Saint Seraphim had to spend about five months at the monastery, and then he returned to the forest. He forgave his abusers and asked that they not be punished. 1807 the abbot, Father Isaiah, fell asleep in the Lord. Saint Seraphim was asked to take his place, but he declined. He lived in silence for three years, completely cut off from the world except for the monk who came once a week to bring him food. If the saint encountered a man in the forest, he fell face down and did not get up until the passerby had moved on. Saint Seraphim acquired peace of soul and joy in the Holy Spirit. The great ascetic once said, “Acquire the spirit of peace, and a thousand souls will be saved around you.” new Superior of the monastery, Father Niphon, and the older brethren of the monastery told Father Seraphim either to come to the monastery on Sundays for divine services as before, or to move back into the monastery. He chose the latter course, since it had become too difficult for him to walk from his forest cell to the monastery. In the spring of 1810, he returned to the monastery after fifteen years of living in the wilderness. his silence, he shut himself up in his cell, occupying himself with prayer and reading. He was also permitted to eat meals and to receive Communion in his cell. There Saint Seraphim attained the height of spiritual purity and was granted special gifts of grace by God: clairvoyance and wonderworking. After five years of solitude, he opened his door and allowed the monks to enter. He continued his silence, however, teaching them only by example. November 25, 1825 the Mother of God, accompanied by the two holy hierarchs commemorated on that day (Hieromartyr Clement of Rome, and Saint Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria), appeared to the Elder in a vision and told him to end his seclusion and to devote himself to others. He received the igumen’s blessing to divide his time between life in the forest, and at the monastery. He did not return to his Far Hermitage, but went to a cell closer to the monastery. This he called his Near Hermitage. At that time, he opened the doors of his cell to pilgrims as well as his fellow-monks. Elder saw into the hearts of people, and as a spiritual physician, he healed their infirmities of soul and body through prayer and by his grace-filled words. Those coming to Saint Seraphim felt his great love and tenderness. No matter what time of the year it was, he would greet everyone with the words, “Christ is Risen, my joy!” He especially loved children. Once, a young girl said to her friends, “Father Seraphim only looks like an old man. He is really a child like us.” The Elder was often seen leaning on his stick and carrying a knapsack filled with stones. When asked why he did this, the saint humbly replied, “I am troubling him who troubles me.” the final period of his earthly life Saint Seraphim devoted himself to his spiritual children, the Diveyevo women’s monastery. While still a hierodeacon he had accompanied the late Father Pachomius to the Diveyevo community to its monastic leader, Mother Alexandra, a great woman ascetic, and then Father Pachomius blessed Saint Seraphim to care always for the “Diveyevo orphans.” He was a genuine father for the sisters, who turned to him with all their spiritual and material difficulties. Seraphim also devoted much effort to the women’s monastic community at Diveyevo. He himself said that he gave them no instructions of his own, but it was the Queen of Heaven who guided him in matters pertaining to the monastery. His disciples and spiritual friends helped the saint to feed and nourish the Diveyevo community. Michael V. Manturov, healed by the monk from grievous illness, was one of Diveyvo’s benefactors. On the advice of the Elder he took upon himself the exploit of voluntary poverty. Elena Vasilievna Manturova, one of the Diveyevo sisters, out of obedience to the Elder, voluntarily consented to die in place of her brother, who was still needed in this life. Alexandrovich Motovilov, was also healed by the monk. In 1903, shortly before the glorification of the saint, the remarkable “Conversation of Saint Seraphim of Sarov with N. A. Motovilov” was found and printed. Written by Motovilov after their conversation at the end of November 1831, the manuscript was hidden in an attic in a heap of rubbish for almost seventy years. It was found by the author S. A. Nilus, who was looking for information about Saint Seraphim’s life. This conversation is a very precious contribution to the spiritual literature of the Orthodox Church. It grew out of Nicholas Motovilov’s desire to know the aim of the Christian life. It was revealed to Saint Seraphim that Motovilov had been seeking an answer to this question since childhood, without receiving a satisfactory answer. The holy Elder told him that the aim of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, and went on to explain the great benefits of prayer and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. asked the saint how we can know if the Holy Spirit is with us or not. Saint Seraphim spoke at length about how people come to be in the Spirit of God, and how we can recognize His presence in us, but Motovilov wanted to understand this better. Then Father Seraphim took him by the shoulders and said, “We are both in the Spirit of God now, my son. Why don’t you look at me?” replied, “I cannot look, Father, for your eyes are flashing like lightning, and your face is brighter than the sun.” Seraphim told him, “Don’t be alarmed, friend of God. Now you yourself have become as bright as I am. You are in the fulness of the Spirit of God yourself, otherwise you would not be able to see me like this.” Saint Seraphim promised Motovilov that God would allow him to retain this experience in his memory all his life. “It is not given for you alone to understand,” he said, “but through you it is for the whole world.” knew and esteemed Saint Seraphim as a great ascetic and wonderworker. A year and ten months before his end, on the Feast of the Annunciation, Saint Seraphim was granted to behold the Queen of Heaven once more in the company of Saint John the Baptist, the Apostle John the Theologian and twelve Virgin Martyrs (Saints Barbara, Katherine, Thekla, Marina, Irene, Eupraxia, Pelagia, Dorothea, Makrina, Justina, Juliana, and Anysia). The Most Holy Virgin conversed at length with the monk, entrusting the Diveyevo sisters to him. Concluding the conversation, She said to him: “Soon, My dear one, you shall be with us.” The Diveyevo nun Eupraxia was present during this visit of the Mother of God, because the saint had invited her. the last year of Saint Seraphim’s life, one of those healed by him saw him standing in the air during prayer. The saint strictly forbade this to be mentioned until after his death. Seraphim became noticeably weaker and he spoke much about his approaching end. During this time they often saw him sitting by his coffin, which he had placed in the ante-room of his cell, and which he had prepared for himself. saint himself had marked the place where finally they would bury him, near the altar of the Dormition cathedral. On January 1, 1833 Father Seraphim came to the church of Saints Zosimas and Sabbatius one last time for Liturgy and he received the Holy Mysteries, after which he blessed the brethren and bid them farewell, saying: “Save your souls. Do not be despondent, but watchful. Today crowns are being prepared for us.” January 2, Father Paul, the saint’s cell-attendant, left his own cell at six in the morning to attend the early Liturgy. He noticed the smell of smoke coming from the Elder’s cell. Saint Seraphim would often leave candles burning in his cell, and Father Paul was concerned that they could start a fire. “While I am alive,” he once said, “there will be no fire, but when I die, my death shall be revealed by a fire.” When they opened the door, it appeared that books and other things were smoldering. Saint Seraphim was found kneeling before an icon of the Mother of God with his arms crossed on his chest. His pure soul was taken by the angels at the time of prayer, and had flown off to the Throne of the Almighty God, Whose faithful servant Saint Seraphim had been all his life. Seraphim has promised to intercede for those who remember his parents, Isidore and Agathia.

Russia, Moscow, 1787-1792, Russo-Turkish War, Crimea, Moldovia
Moscow, 1787-1792, Russo-Turkish War (1787-“92) ; Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; Theodore, one of Russia’s greatest naval heroes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was born in 1745. unvanquished Admiral was the terror of his country’s enemies, and the deliverer of those whom the barbarians had taken captive. He served during the Russo-Turkish War (1787—1791), and also fought against the French. Although he fought many naval battles in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean, he never lost a single one, and he was never wounded. Theodore once visited the Greek island of Kerkyra (Corfu), where he venerated the relics of Saint Spyridon of Tremithus (December 12), and gave support and encouragement to the Orthodox Christians in that place. his naval reforms were unpopular with his superiors, Saint Theodore was forced to retire in 1807 by Tsar Alexander I. Having neither wife nor children, the admiral settled in the town of Alekseevo near the Sanaxar Monastery, where he regularly attended services on Sundays and Feast Days. During Great Lent he would stay in the monastery, fasting with the monks and attending the services. Nathaniel of Sanaxar regarded Saint Theodore as “a neighbor and a significant patronâ€ of the monastery. In addition to his generous gifts to the monastery, the admiral frequently gave alms to the poor and needy. He never sought earthly glory or riches, but spent his life in serving God and his neighbor. Theodore died in 1817 at the age of seventy-two. After navigating the sea of life with all its storms and struggles, he entered the calm harbor of eternal rest. He was buried at Sanaxar Monastery beside the church. The monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991, and Saint Theodore’s grave was found in 1994. Theodore was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 2004, and a reliquary in the shape of a naval vessel was made to enshrine his holy relics. holy Admiral Theodore should not be confused with his relative Saint Theodore (Ushakov) of Sanaxar Monastery (February 19 and April 21), a monastic saint who lived from 1719 to 1791. Theodore is honored as a great military leader who defended Russia just as Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23) and Saint Demetrius of the Don (May 19) did before him. One of the Russian Navy’s atomic cruisers has been named for him, and a movie has been made about his life and career. The composer Khachaturian has also written a musical piece called “Admiral Ushakov.â€ Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15;

Russia, Moscow, 1787-1817, Admiral, Fyodor Ushakov, won every engagement
Moscow, 1787-1817, Admiral, Fyodor Ushakov ; Fyodorovich Ushakov ( 24 February [O.S. 13 February] 1745 - 14 October [O.S. 2 October] 1817) was the most illustrious Russian naval commander and admiral of the 18th century. He is notable for winning every engagement he participated in as the Admiral of the Russian fleet. Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; Theodore, one of Russia'™s greatest naval heroes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was born in 1745. unvanquished Admiral was the terror of his country'™s enemies, and the deliverer of those whom the barbarians had taken captive. He served during the Russo-Turkish War (1787-”1791), and also fought against the French. Although he fought many naval battles in the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean, he never lost a single one, and he was never wounded. Theodore once visited the Greek island of Kerkyra (Corfu), where he venerated the relics of Saint Spyridon of Tremithus (December 12), and gave support and encouragement to the Orthodox Christians in that place. his naval reforms were unpopular with his superiors, Saint Theodore was forced to retire in 1807 by Tsar Alexander I. Having neither wife nor children, the admiral settled in the town of Alekseevo near the Sanaxar Monastery, where he regularly attended services on Sundays and Feast Days. During Great Lent he would stay in the monastery, fasting with the monks and attending the services. Nathaniel of Sanaxar regarded Saint Theodore as œa neighbor and a significant patron of the monastery. In addition to his generous gifts to the monastery, the admiral frequently gave alms to the poor and needy. He never sought earthly glory or riches, but spent his life in serving God and his neighbor. Theodore died in 1817 at the age of seventy-two. After navigating the sea of life with all its storms and struggles, he entered the calm harbor of eternal rest. He was buried at Sanaxar Monastery beside the church. The monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991, and Saint Theodore'™s grave was found in 1994. Theodore was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 2004, and a reliquary in the shape of a naval vessel was made to enshrine his holy relics. holy Admiral Theodore should not be confused with his relative Saint Theodore (Ushakov) of Sanaxar Monastery (February 19 and April 21), a monastic saint who lived from 1719 to 1791. Theodore is honored as a great military leader who defended Russia just as Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23) and Saint Demetrius of the Don (May 19) did before him. One of the Russian Navy'™s atomic cruisers has been named for him, and a movie has been made about his life and career. The composer Khachaturian has also written a musical piece called œAdmiral Ushakov. New Martyr Ignatius the Monk of Bulgaria, Commemorated on October 8; Monkmartyr Euthymius of Prodromou of Mt Athos, Commemorated on March 22;

Russia, Moscow, 1788-1790, Russo-Swedish Wa, Sweden (allied w Turks) domestic r, fake d, Baltic sea battles
Moscow, 1788-1790, Russo-Swedish War (1788-“90) ; Moscow Empress, 1762-1796, Catherine the Great; Icon of the Mother of God of Domnitsa, Commemorated on September 8; Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky, Commemorated on November 15;

Russia, Moscow, 1795, Battle of Krtsanisi, Tiblisi, Persian V, Muslim Traitors, Russia could not help per treaty
Georgia, Battle of Krtsanisi, Tiblisi, 1795, Muslim Traitors inside the gates ; Battle of Krtsanisi was fought between the Qajar Iran (Persia) and the Georgian armies of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and Kingdom of Imereti at the place of Krtsanisi[10] near Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 8 to September 11, 1795, part of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar's war in response to King Heraclius II of Georgia’s alliance with the Russian Empire.[11] battle resulted in the decisive defeat of the Georgians, capture, and complete destruction of their capital Tbilisi,[8] as well as the temporary absorption of eastern parts of Georgia into the Iranian Empire.[3][4][12][13] the Qajars were victorious and Agha Mohammad Khan kept his promise to Heraclius (Erekle) that if he would not drop the alliance with Russia and voluntarily reaccept Iranian suzerainty they would invade his kingdom, also showed that Russia's own ambitions and agenda were set as the most important reason for Russia not to intervene at Krtsanisi, even though the latter had officially declared in the Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783 that it would protect Erekle's kingdom against any new Iranian ambitions to re-subjugate Georgia. in order to restore Russian prestige, Catherine would launch a punitive campaign against Iran the next year, but it was shortly recalled after her death. following years remained turbulent and were known as a time of muddle and confusion. Reestablishment of Iranian rule over Georgia did not last long, for the shah was assassinated in 1797 in Shusha, and the Georgian king had died the year after. Georgia laying in ruins and the central rule in Iran being concerned with the next heir to the throne, it opened the way for Georgia's annexation by Russia several years later by Tsar Paul. Iran could not permit or allow the cession of Transcaucasia and Dagestan, which were integral parts of Iran for centuries, the consequences of the Krtsanisi battle directly led to the bitter Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and Russo-Persian War (1826-1828), in which Fath Ali Shah, Agha Mohammad Khan's successor, attempted to reverse Russian military advances and restore Iranian authority north of the Aras and Kura rivers.[14] After these wars, Iran ceded Transcaucasia and Dagestan to imperial Russia per the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) and the Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828).[14] Georgia, composed of the kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti, had been in the early modern era under Iranian suzerainty since the 1510s.[15] 1744, Nader Shah had granted the kingship of Kartli and Kakheti to Teimuraz II and his son Erekle II (Heraclius II) respectively, as a reward for their loyalty.[16] Nader Shah died in 1747, they capitalized on the chaos that had erupted in mainland Iran, and declared de facto independence. After Teimuraz II died in 1762, Erekle II assumed control over Kartli, and united the two kingdoms in a personal union as the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, becoming the first Georgian ruler to preside over a politically unified eastern Georgia in three centuries.[17] about the same time, Karim Khan Zand had ascended the Iranian throne; Erekle II quickly tendered his de jure submission to the new Iranian ruler, however, de facto, he remained autonomous.[18][19] 1783, Heraclius placed his kingdom under the protection of the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Georgievsk. In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become a more important element in Russo-Iranian relations than some provinces in northern mainland Persia, such as Mazandaran or even Gilan.[20] Peter I, Catherine, the then ruling monarch of Russia, viewed Georgia as a pivot for her Caucasian policy, as Russia's new aspirations were to use it as a base of operations against both Iran and the Ottoman Empire,[21] both immediate bordering geo-political rivals of Russia. top of that, having another port on the Georgian coast of the Black Sea would be ideal.[20] A limited Russian contingent of two infantry battalions with four artillery pieces arrived in Tbilisi in 1784,[18] but was withdrawn, despite the frantic protests of the Georgians, in 1787 as a new war against Ottoman Turkey had started on a different front.[18] the next several years, Russia would be too occupied with Turkey (due to the 1768-74 war), Poland, and the European consequences of the French Revolution to give Georgia much attention. the consolidation of the Qajar dynasty under Agha Mohammad Khan, who had become the new owners to the Iranian throne and therefore the new heirs to the geo-politically rivalling empire that had been bordering Russia for centuries, did not divert Catherine from preoccupations in the west.[18] 1791, when Agha Mohammad Khan was in Tabriz, Erekle asked General Gudovich, commander of the Russian Caucasian Line, for renewed military aid, but the government in St.Petersburg did not judge it expedient to send troops again to Georgia.[18] 1792, Gudovich told Erekle that he would receive only diplomatic support in the advent of any Iranian onslaught.[5] Despite being left to his own devices, Heraclius still cherished a dream of establishing, with Russian protection, a strong and united monarchy, into which the western Georgian Kingdom of Imereti and the lost provinces under Ottoman rule would all eventually be drawn.[8] consequences of these events came a few years later, when a new dynasty, the Qajars, emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Persia. head, Agha Mohammad Khan, as his first objective,[22] resolved to bring the Caucasus again fully under the Persian orbit. For Agha Mohammah Khan, the resubjugation and reintegration of Georgia into the Iranian Empire was part of the same process that had brought Shiraz, Isfahan, and Tabriz under his rule.[18] He viewed, like the Safavids and Nader Shah before him, the territories no different than the territories in mainland Iran. was a province of Iran the same way Khorasan was.[18] As the Cambridge History of Iran states, its permanent secession was inconceivable and had to be resisted in the same way as one would resist an attempt at the separation of Fars or Gilan.[18] was therefore natural for Agha Mohammad Khan to perform whatever necessary means in the Caucasus in order to subdue and reincorporate the recently lost regions following Nader Shah's death and the demise of the Zands, including putting down what in Iranian eyes was seen as treason on the part of the wali of Georgia.[18] an interval of peace amid their own quarrels and with northern, western, and central Persia secure, the Persians demanded Heraclius II to renounce the treaty with Russia and to reaccept Persian suzerainty,[22] in return for peace and the security of his kingdom. Ottomans, Iran's neighboring rival, recognized Iran's rights over Kartli and Kakheti for the first time in four centuries.[5] Heraclius appealed then to his theoretical protector, Empress Catherine II of Russia, pleading for at least 3,000 Russian troops,[5] but he was not listened to, leaving Georgia to fend off the Persian threat alone.[8] Nevertheless, Heraclius II still rejected the Khan's ultimatum.[23] invasion[edit] capture of Tbilisi by Agha Muhammad Khan. A Qajar-era Persian miniature from the British Library. August 1795, Agha Mohammad Khan crossed the Aras river with a 70,000-strong army.[5] This force was divided in three: the left wing was sent in the direction of Erivan, the right one parallel to the Caspian Sea into the Mughan across the lower Aras towards Dagestan and Shirvan, while the Shah headed the centre force himself, advancing towards the fortress of Shusha in the Karabakh Khanate, which he besieged between 8 July and 9 August 1795.[7] His right and left wing forced the Khans of Ganja and Erivan into alliance respectively.[24] Having abandoned the siege of Shusha due to stiff resistance,[25] which was further aided by Georgian crown prince Aleksandre,[5] the Khan of Karabakh, Ibrahim Khan, eventually surrendered to Mohammad Khan after discussions, including the paying of regular tribute and to surrender hostages, though the Qajar forces were still denied entrance to Shusha.[25] Since the main objective was Georgia, Mohammad Khan was willing to have Karabakh secured by this agreement for now, for he and his army subsequently moved further.[25] While at Ganja, having secured Shirvan, he was joined by Javad Khan Qajar and the rest of his right wing contingent.[24] At Ganja, Mohammad Khan sent Erekle his last ultimatum, who received it in September 1795: Highness knows that for the past 100 generations you have been subject to Iran; now we deign to say with amazement that you have attached yourself to the Russians, who have no other business than to trade with Iran... Last year you forced me to destroy a number of Georgians, although we had no desire at all for our subjects to perish by our own hand...It is now our great will that you, an intelligent man, abandon such things... and break relations with the Russians. If you do not carry out this order, then we shall shortly carry out a campaign against Georgia, we will shed both Georgian and Russian blood and out of it will create rivers as big as the Kura....[5] According to the author of the Fārsnāma-ye Nāṣeri, Ḥasan-e Fasāʼi, a contemporary Qajar era historian, Agha Mohammad Khan had declared in the letter: Ismail I Safavi ruled over the province of Georgia. When in the days of the deceased king we were engaged in conquering the provinces of Persia, we did not proceeed to this region. As most of the provinces of Persia have come into our possession now, you must, according to ancient law, consider Georgia (Gurjistan) part of the empire, and appear before our majesty. You have to conform your obedience; then you may remain in the possession of your governorship (wali) of Georgia. If you do not do this, you will be treated as the others".[26] advisors divided, Erekle ignored the ultimatum, but, sent couriers to St.Petersburg. Gudovich, who sat in Georgievsk at the time, instructed Erekle to avoid "expense and fuss",[5] while Erekle, together with Solomon II and some Imeretians headed southwards of Tbilisi to fend off the Iranians.[5] Mohammad Khan at the same time marched directly on Tbilisi, with half of the army he crossed the Aras river with, though other estimations mention 40,000[7] instead of 35,000,[5][6] and attacked the heavily fortified Georgian positions of Erekle and Solomon on the southwestern limits of the city. Abandoned by several of his nobles, Heraclius II managed to mobilize around 5,000 troops, including some 2,000 auxiliaries from neighbouring Imereti under its King Solomon II, a member of the Georgian Bagrationi Dynasty and thus distantly related to Heraclius II. The Georgians offered a desperate resistance and succeeded in rolling back a series of Persian attacks on September 9 and 10. After that, it is said that some traitors informed the Persians that the Georgians had no more strength to fight and the Qajars army cancelled their plan of going back to Persia, which they previously had. Early on September 11, Agha Mohammad Khan personally led an all-out offensive against the Georgians. Amid an artillery duel and a fierce cavalry charge, the Persians managed to cross the Kura River and outflanked the decimated Georgian army. Heraclius II attempted to mount a counterattack, but he had to retreat to the last available positions in the outskirts of Tbilisi. By nightfall, the Georgian forces had been exhausted and almost completely destroyed. The last surviving Georgian artillery briefly held the advancing Persians to allow Heraclius II and his retinue of some 150 men to escape through the city to the mountains. The fighting continued in the streets of Tbilisi and at the fortress of Narikala. In a few hours, Agha Mohammad Khan was in full control of the Georgian capital which was completely sacked and its population massacred. Among those killed in the city was the archbishop of Tbilisi, Doistheus.[27] The Persian army marched back laden with spoil and carrying off some 15,000 captives.[8][9] The Georgians had lost 4,000 men in the battle, the Iranians 13,000; a third of their total force.[5] eye-witness, having entered the city several days after the bulk of the Iranian troops had withdrawn, described what he saw: therefore pursued my way, paved as it were, with carcases, and entered Tiflis by the gate of Tapitag: but what was my consternation on finding here the bodies of women and children slaughtered by the sword of the enemy; to say nothing about the men, of whom I saw more than a thousand, as I should suppose, lying dead in one little tower! (...) The city was almost entirely consumed, and still continued to smoke in different places; and the stench from the putrefying, together with the heat which prevailed, was intolerable, and certainly infectious.[7] Entrance of the Russian troops in Tiflis, 26 November 1799, by Franz Roubaud, 1886 his return, after the conquest of Tbilisi and being in effective control of eastern Georgia,[4][12][28] Agha Mohammad was formally crowned Shah in 1796 in the Mughan plain, just like his predecessor Nader Shah was about sixty years earlier.[4] As The Cambridge History of Iran notes; "Russia's client, Georgia, had been punished, and Russia's prestige, damaged." Heraclius II returned to Tbilisi to rebuild the city, but the destruction of his capital was a death blow to his hopes and projects. Upon learning of the fall of Tbilisi General Gudovich put the blame on the Georgians themselves.[29] To restore Russian prestige, Catherine II declared war on Persia, upon the proposal of Gudovich,[29] and sent an army under Valerian Zubov to the Qajar possessions on April of that year, but the new Tsar Paul I, who succeeded Catherine in November, shortly recalled it. Mohammad Shah was later assassinated while preparing a second expedition against Georgia in 1797 in Shusha[29] and the seasoned king Heraclius died early in 1798. Reassessment of Iranian hegemony over Georgia did not last long; in 1799 the Russians marched into Tbilisi.[30] The next two years were a time of muddle and confusion, and the weakened and devastated Georgian kingdom, with its capital half in ruins, was easily absorbed by Russia in 1801.[8][23] As Iran could not permit or allow the cession of Transcaucasia and Dagestan[14] the consequences of the Krtsanisi battle would also directly lead up to two wars between the nations. The Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) and Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) would eventually forced the cession of the aforementioned regions to Imperial Russia per the Gulistan and Turkmenchay of 1813 and 1828 respectively. Persian Qajar Shah, 1789-1797, Aga Mohammad Khan Qajar ; Hieromartyr Dositheus of Tbilisi, Commemorated on September 12 ; thousand Persian soldiers marched toward Georgia in the year 1795. The Georgian king Erekle II (1762-1798) and his two thousand soldiers declared war on the invaders as they were approaching Tbilisi. Georgians won the first skirmish, but many perished in the fighting. The enemy was shaken and was preparing to flee the battleground, when several traitors reported to Aqa Muhammed Khan that King Erekle had lost nearly his entire army. betrayal decided the fate of the battle: the one hundred fifty soldiers who remained in the Georgian army barely succeeded in saving the life of King Erekle, who had willed to perish on the battlefield with his soldiers. of Tbilisi was engulfed in flames. The plunderers murdered the people, set fire to the libraries, destroyed the print shop, and vandalized the churches and the king’s palace. They slaughtered the clergy in an especially cruel manner. history has not preserved the names of all those martyrs who perished in this tragedy, but we do know that a certain Metropolitan Dositheus of Tbilisi was killed because he would not abandon his flock. While the invaders simply killed most of the clergymen, from Saint Dositheus they demanded a renunciation of the Christian Faith. They commanded him to defile the True and Life-giving Cross of our Lord. But the holy hieromartyr Dositheus endured the greatest torments without yielding to the enemy, and he joyfully accepted death for Christ’s sake. The invaders slaughtered Christ’s devoted servant with their swords. Dositheus was martyred on September 12 in the year 1795.

Russia, Moscow, 1795, Battle of Krtsanisi, Aga Mohammad, Cruel rapacious Qajar Persian, d Georgia
Persia, 1789-1797, Persian Qajar Shah, Aga Mohammad Khan Qajar ; Mohammad Khan Qajar (14 March 1742 - 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah, was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as king (shah). chieftain of the Qoyunlu branch of the Qajar tribe, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned as the king of Iran in 1789, but was not officially crowned until March 1796, having deposed Lotf Ali Khan of the Zand dynasty in 1794. Mohammad Khan Qajar was famously the eunuch Monarch, being castrated as a young adult upon his capture by Adel Shah Afshar, and hence was childless. He was assassinated on 17 June 1797, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Khan's reign is noted for the return of a centralized and unified Iran and for relocating the capital to Tehran, where it still stands today. He is also noted for his cruel and rapacious behavior, particularly during the re-subjugation of Georgia. He sacked the capital Tbilisi, massacred many of its inhabitants, and moved some 15,000 Georgian captives back to mainland Iran. Hieromartyr Dositheus of Tbilisi, Commemorated on September 12 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1795, Joyful Icon, appeared 1795, many miracles, Moscow & Vatopedi
Russia, Moscow, 1795, Joyful Icon; Moscow; Joyful Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on November 7; “Joyful” (Vzigranie) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared near Moscow on November 7, 1795 . Nothing is known of the history of the icon, except that many miracles have taken place before it. of this name are found in the Novodevichii Monastery in Moscow, and in the Vatopedi Monastery on Mt Athos. In appearance, the “Joyful” Icon resembles the “Pelagonitissa” Icon, a variant of the Glykophylousa (“Sweet-Kissing”) or Eleousa type. Icon is sometimes called “Child Leaping for Joy.”

Russia, Moscow, 1796-1801, Emperor, Paul I of Russia, overshadowed by mother Catherine II, hated French, assinated
Moscow, 1796-1801, Emperor, Paul I of Russia ; I (1 October [O.S. 20 September] 1754 - 23 March [O.S. 11 March] 1801) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her lover Sergei Saltykov.[1][2] remained overshadowed by his mother for most of his life. He adopted the laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules that lasted until the end of the Romanov dynasty and of the Russian Empire. also intervened in the French Revolutionary Wars and, toward the end of his reign, added Kartli and Kakheti in Eastern Georgia into the empire, which was confirmed by his son and successor Alexander I. was de facto Grand Master of the Order of Hospitallers from 1799 to 1801 and ordered the construction of a number of Maltese thrones.[3] Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; New Martyr Ignatius the Monk of Bulgaria, Commemorated on October 8; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated on October 11; Translation of a Particle of the Life Giving Cross from Malta to Gatchina, Commemorated on October 12 ; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God œIn Giving Birth, you Preserved your VirginityÂ, Commemorated on October 17; St Peter of Cetinje, Commemorated on October 18; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on December 13; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2; Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated on January 7; When the Russian Tsar Paul I (1796-1801) became Grand Master of the Maltese Order in honor of the holy Prophet John, the right hand of the Baptist, part of the Life-Creating Cross and the Philermos Icon (October 12) of the Mother of God (from Mt Philermos on the island of Rhodes) were transferred in 1799 from the island of Malta to Russia [because of the Napoleonic threat], to the chapel at Gatchina (October 12). In the same year these sacred items were transferred into the church dedicated to the Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands at the Winter Palace. A special service was composed for this Feast. ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated on January 24; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated on February 14; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 29; Monkmartyr Euthymius of Prodromou of Mt Athos, Commemorated on March 22; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas. Commemorated on March 31;

Russia, Moscow, 1796-1864, Hilarian tGeorgian, tNew, learned iWilderness, G King's confessor, tAthos, lives of saints iGeorgian
thGeorgia, 1796-1864, Hilarian tGeorgian, tNew, fShorapani, Kutaisi (Argveti River 1), a noble, t hermit herodeacon uncle Stepane at 6yr, tTabakini m when S reposed, but set off fTiblisi seminary, on the way visited Bisho Athanasios who convinced him to return to his family, you will learn much more in wilderness than classroom, return home amd in prayer the lord will lead tServe the church, his father took him to Court of Imeretian King iKutaisi, to be raised, King Solomon II 1789-1815, who recognized his piety and appointed him his personal spiritual advisor, king suggested Ise married Princess Miriam, soon named priest and court confessor, Miriam died two years later, after Russian annexation Kartli-Kakheti,Tsar's court increased diplomatic correspondence w Solomon's court, Solomon urged unite Imertian Kingdom wRussia, noblemen decided remain independent till Solomon's death, since Solomon had no heir, envy and treason, Solomon had to flee tTurkey, Protopresbyter Ise accompanied Solomon, remained till Solomon's death 1815, Ise received amnesty from Tsar Alexander I 1801-1825, behalf oKing and his Court, Ise planned reclusion iHis village, Solomon's widow Mariam summoned him to her honorable captivity in Moscow, Ise brought Solomon's life giving piece of the Cross, She preserved it in Court Church, but court life tiresome for Ise, put on beggar's clothing, set off for Athos 1819, appeared to Athos Fathers as unknown pilgrim, come tVenerate holy places, first tIveron then tDionysiou, 1821 tonsured monk as Hilarion, presented new garments but asked permission tRemain iRags, every obedience fulfilled wLove, but did not know greek language so did not learn from divine services, finally permission borrow Georgian books fIveron, while venerating Iveron Icon there, Greek archmandrite he knew from moscow, recognized him, he kissed his hands and cried out: Fr Ise! Holy Shepherd! Confessor otKing!, news spread through Athos monasteries, spiritual father otKing concealed as a beggar, monks great reverence, but Hilarion ashamed, withdrew tNearby wilderness, at that time Turks retaliating Greek Insurrection 1821, pillaged Greece slaughtering Christians, sentenced tDeah, but pasha's servents, georgians, recognized him, wanted send him tAthos but H ministered to prisoners in Thessalonica, dedicating himself 6mos then tAthos, then tHis monastery, labored 3yrs as hermit, then tTower oNew Skete fStrict asceticism, strict fast Fridays, other days only pieces oDried Bread, one glass water aDay, demons tempted H wTerrible visions, faithful christians desired visit, not admitted, human ladder tReach his cell, H abandoned cell for forest, but became weak from ascetic labors, left solitary life, moved tIveron, took charge oGeorgian library, organized catelog, 12 volumes lives otSaints called Flower Garden, published in Russia in Georgian, H died at Panteleimon, the Russikon, 1864, I desired martyrdom but God did not give it, Insetead he sent me illness, which will be equal tMartyrdom if I can bear it. Asked to be buried in secret, but 1867 his vault opened by monks during Feast ot Assension, Sweet fragrance from his body, brilliant sphere oLight like the sun over his cell, Hillarian tNew; Shorapani; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated February 14 ; Hiero-schema monk Hilarion the Georgian (Ise Qanchaveli in the world) born in 1776 in the village of Losiantkhevi, in the Shorapani district of Kutaisi. parents, Khakhuli and Mariam Qanchaveli, were pious and God-fearing nobles. to God’s will, Ise’s uncle, the hermit Hierodeacon Stepane, took his six-year-old nephew into his care. Stepane reposed, Ise moved to Tabakini Monastery, learning that a seminary had opened in Tbilisi, he set off for it. his way he visited a certain Bishop Athanasios of Nikozi to receive his blessing, the bishop, delighted by the youth’s fervent prayers, advised him to return home to his family: “My son, you will learn much more in the wilderness than you ever could in the classroom. home, and the Lord, having instructed you in prayer, will lead you on a path that will serve your people and the Church.” returned to the bosom of his family, his father took him to Kutaisi to be raised in the court of the Imeretian king. Solomon II (1789-1815) soon recognized that the young Ise stood above all the other courtiers in piety, and he appointed him to be his personal spiritual adviser and instructor. the king’s suggestion, Ise married the Princess Mariam. after his marriage, the humble nobleman was ordained to the priesthood and appointed confessor of the court church. two years later Princess Mariam reposed, leaving Fr. Ise a widower. the Russian annexation of Kartli-Kakheti, the imperial court of the tsar increased diplomatic correspondence with the court of King Solomon II. king was urged likewise to unite the Imeretian Kingdom to Russia. summoned a council of noblemen, and it was decided that Imereti would remain independent, while maintaining friendly relations with Russia until the king’s death. it was agreed that since King Solomon had no heir, after his repose the court of the imperial tsar would acquire jurisdiction over the region. the political climate in Georgia became increasingly tense, and the ability of the Imeretian court to govern was severely undermined. court was suddenly besieged with cases of envy and treason, and it became necessary for the king to flee to Turkey. Ise Qanchaveli accompanied King Solomon II to his place of exile and remained with him to the end of the king’s life. the king’s death in 1815, Fr. Ise received an amnesty from Tsar Alexander I (1801-1825) on behalf of the king and his court. himself planned to go into reclusion in the village where he was born, King Solomon’s widow, Queen Mariam, summoned him to Moscow where she was being held in “honorable captivity.” Ise brought to her a piece of the Life-giving Cross of our Lord, which had belonged to King Solomon, and the queen preserved her husband’s treasure in the court church. life at the imperial court was tiresome for the God-fearing Fr. Ise, he exchanged his clothing for beggars’ rags and set off for Mt. Athos in the year 1819. Ise appeared before the holy fathers of Mt. Athos as an unknown pilgrim, who had come to venerate the holy places. first visited Ivḗron Monastery and from there crossed over the peninsula to Dionysiou Monastery. 1821 Ise was tonsured a monk and given the name Hilarion. was presented with new monastic garments for the tonsure service, but asked permission to remain dressed in his own rags. Hilarion fulfilled his every obedience with love. was dispirited only by his ignorance of the Greek language, which prevented him from hearing and understanding the Word of God during the divine services. he received permission from the abbot of Dionysiou to borrow some of the Georgian books from the large collection of sacred manuscripts at Ivḗron Monastery. arriving at the monastery, Fr. Hilarion went to venerate the Ivḗron Icon of the Mother of God. praying on his knees before the icon, a Greek archimandrite whom he knew from Moscow saw and recognized him. bowed before him, kissed his hands and cried out: “Fr. Ise! Holy Shepherd! Confessor of the king!” the news spread through all the monasteries of Mt. Athos that the spiritual father of the king had concealed himself as a beggar. the monks greeted him with great reverence. Fr. Hilarion, ashamed of the attention, withdrew to the wilderness not far from the monastery. that time, in retaliation for the Greek Insurrection of 1821, the Turks were pillaging Greece and slaughtering the Christians. 1822 a certain Abdul Robut-Pasha surrounded the Holy Mountain with an enormous army and commanded the abbots of all the monasteries to submit to his authority. of all the monasteries, including Fr. Hilarion and two others from Dionysiou were sent to Chromitsa to petition the pasha. Hilarion stood boldly before the pasha, burning with a desire to be martyred at the hands of an unbeliever. learned that Fr. Hilarion was a Georgian, Robut-Pasha was overjoyed: himself was also Georgian by descent but had been kidnapped by the Turks in his early adolescence. pasha proposed that Saint Hilarion leave the monastery and move to his palace in Thessalonica, promising him every kind of material wealth. Fr. Hilarion refused and condemned the ruler’s unbelief. The furious pasha began to curse the Orthodox believers and all the Christian saints, among them the Most Holy Theotokos. holy father was allowed no opportunity to reply to the pasha’s blasphemous remarks; instead they released him and took the other monks captive. returned to the monastery, Fr. Hilarion regretted that he had not properly rebuffed the blasphemous pasha. suffering was aggravated when the unbeliever continued to martyr and massacre other Christians. he asked the abbot for his blessing and set off for the Turkish court in Thessalonica. he stood before the pasha and fearlessly trampled upon his false teachings: “You sought to deny the virginity of the Most Holy Mother of God,” he charged. “Even your prophet Muhammad admits that Jesus was born without seed of a Virgin and that the mystery of the birth of God is necessarily beyond human comprehension. is the True God, Who took on flesh for the salvation of mankind, to rescue fallen man from the curse of sin and death!” pasha began to argue, but Saint Hilarion told him, “You, the son of Christian parents, are on such a brutal rampage that you have deadened the pangs of conscience calling you back to the true Faith!” pasha laughed and answered that he was glad to have been delivered from the “ridiculous” Christian Faith. “I am indebted to the man who kidnapped me from my parents and sold me to the Turks,” he said, “and I have since rewarded him generously for his deed. your Faith is indeed true, why have you fallen into the hands of the invaders? Why has your beloved God punished you so?” “You misunderstand everything, Pasha,” answered Saint Hilarion. “Does not a loving father take up the rod when his beloved son runs wild? he does this not out of hatred but out of love, desiring to save the ignorant from grave misfortune. the father sees that his child has corrected his behavior, he casts the rod into the fire. Lord has permitted these sorrows to befall us because of our sins. You are a staff in the hands of the Lord: He sees that we have mended our ways, He will cast you into the fire as well!” three consecutive days Saint Hilarion confronted the pasha in his palace, desiring to infuriate him to the point that he would order his execution. the fourth day Saint Hilarion arrived at the palace and began to speak about the falseness of Muhammad and the Islamic faith. the pasha provoked him even further, demanding, “What do you think—where will we go after death?” amidst believers of divers faiths, Saint Hilarion boldly answered that only those who truly believe in God, who are found in the bosom of the Orthodox Faith of Christ, will be saved. enraged bystanders demanded that the insolent monk be executed, and Abdul Robut-Pasha finally ordered his death. Hilarion prepared to meet death with joy, a pair of the pasha’s servants, Georgians by descent, requested that the pasha repeal his death sentence, since it would be shameful for them to murder their fellow countryman. intended to send him in secret to Mt. Athos, instead Saint Hilarion began to minister to the sick prisoners held in Thessalonica, and he selflessly dedicated himself to their service for six months. according to God’s will, he set off again for Mt. Athos. returned to his monastery, Fr. Hilarion labored for three years as a hermit afterwards withdrew to the tower of New Skete (a dependency of the Monastery of Saint Paul) to lead a life of strict asceticism. Fridays he kept a strict fast, on other days he ate only tiny pieces of dried bread. he would place in a narrow-mouthed jar and eat only what he was able to draw out with his hand. drank just one glass of water a day. the period of his reclusion in the tower, demons tempted Saint Hilarion with terrible visions. a group of faithful Christians desired to visit the hermit. the elder received no one, they were not admitted. pilgrims therefore decided to form a human ladder, standing one on top of the other in order to reach the small window of his cell. for their lives but not wanting to break his vow of reclusion, Hilarion temporarily abandoned his cell and fled to the forest. some time, Saint Hilarion became physically weak from his strict ascetic labors and was forced to leave behind the solitary life. the help of his faithful friend Benedict the Georgian, he gradually regained some of his strength moved to the Ivḗron Monastery. the Ivḗron Monastery he took charge of the Georgian library, organized a catalog, and compiled twelve volumes of Lives of the Saints, which he entitled The Flower Garden. presented the twelve volumes to the abbot of Zographou Monastery before the latter departed for Russia. Russia the abbot published the twelve volumes in the Georgian language—without mention of the name of their compiler. Hilarion reposed at Saint Panteleimon Monastery, known as the Russikon, in a cell named for Great-martyr George, on February 14, 1864. he was desperately ill, Saint Hilarion continued to thank the Lord sincerely until his last day. “Glory to God!” he would say. “I desired martyrdom, but God did not grant it to me. Instead He sent me an illness which will be equal in merit to martyrdom if I am able to bear it!” to his death he asked his disciple, Father Savva, to bury his body in secret, circumstances later required that his burial place be revealed. 1867, during the vigil for the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, a group of monks opened Saint Hilarion’s burial vault immediately sensed a sweet fragrance issuing forth from his body. that moment one of the hermits saw a brilliant sphere of light shining like the sun over Fr. Hilarion’s cell. Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church canonized Hieroschemamonk Hilarion (Qanchaveli) on October 17, 2002, to differentiate him from Saint Hilarion the Georgian (commemorated November 19), called him “Hilarion Kartveli, Akhali” or “Hilarion the Georgian, the New.”

Russia, Moscow, 1799, Transfer of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, from Malta to Winter Palace
Russia, Moscow, 1799, Transfer of the Right Hand of John the Baptist the Russian Tsar Paul I (1796-1801) became Grand Master of the Maltese Order in honor of the holy Prophet John, the right hand of the Baptist, part of the Life-Creating Cross and the Philermos Icon (October 12) of the Mother of God (from Mt Philermos on the island of Rhodes) were transferred in 1799 from the island of Malta to Russia [because of the Napoleonic threat], to the chapel at Gatchina (October 12). In the same year these sacred items were transferred into the church dedicated to the Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands at the Winter Palace. A special service was composed for this Feast. Moscow, 1796-1801, Emperor, Paul I of Russia ; Translation of a Particle of the Life Giving Cross from Malta to Gatchina, Commemorated on October 12 ; Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist, Commemorated on October 12; Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John, Commemorated on January 7; When the Russian Tsar Paul I (1796-1801) became Grand Master of the Maltese Order in honor of the holy Prophet John, the right hand of the Baptist, part of the Life-Creating Cross and the Philermos Icon (October 12) of the Mother of God (from Mt Philermos on the island of Rhodes) were transferred in 1799 from the island of Malta to Russia [because of the Napoleonic threat], to the chapel at Gatchina (October 12). In the same year these sacred items were transferred into the church dedicated to the Icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands at the Winter Palace. A special service was composed for this Feast. ;

Russia, Moscow, 1799, The Healer Icon, dreadful I, putrified tongue, prayer, guardian angel, bedside MOG
Georgia, 317, The Healer Icon original icon known as “Tselitel’nitsa,” or “The Healer” was from the Tsilkan church in Kartali, Georgia. It was painted at the time of Saint Nino (January 14). is another icon with the same name in the Alexeev women’s monastery in Moscow, and many miracles took place before it at the end of the eightheenth century. Saint Demetrius of Rostov (September 21 and October 28) relates a story about this icon in his book THE BEDEWED FLEECE. cleric of the Navarninsky church, Vincent Bulvinensky, was in the habit of venerating the icon of the Mother of God whenever he entered the church. He would also recite the following prayer before the icon: “Hail, Virgin Theotokos full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed is the womb which bore Christ, and the breasts which nourished the Lord God, our Savior.” time, he found himself suffering from a dreadful affliction. His tongue began to putrefy, and he passed out from the pain. When he came to himself, he prayed his usual prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos. soon as he had finished his prayer, he saw a handsome young man at the head of his bed. The sufferer realized at once that this was his guardian angel. The angel looked at him with pity, calling on the Mother of God to heal him. Suddenly, the Theotokos appeared and healed the sick man who was so devoted to Her. He got out of bed and went to church, taking his place on the cliros for the service. Those present were astonished to see his recovery. miracle inspired the painting of “The Healer” icon depicting the Mother of God standing at the bed of the sick man. Tsilkani Church, (Probably near Ksani Fortress, Ksani River 2); Icon of the Mother of God €œthe Healer€, Commemorated on September 18 ; St Jesse, Bishop of Tsilkan in Georgia, Commemorated December 2; St John Zedazneli of Zaden, in Georgia with his 12 Disciples, Commemorated on May 7;

Russia, Moscow, 1800-1899, 19th Century Folder, Wars with France, Turkey, and Persia

Russia, Moscow, 1801-1825, Emperor, Alexander I, began enlightened, but; against, for, against Napoleon
Moscow, 1801-1825, Emperor, Alexander I ; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; Icon of the Mother of God of Sven, Commemorated on August 17; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7 ; Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6; New Martyr Ignatius the Monk of Bulgaria, Commemorated on October 8; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated on October 11; Icon of the Mother of God œIn Giving Birth, you Preserved your VirginityÂ, Commemorated on October 17; St Peter of Cetinje, Commemorated on October 18; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on December 13; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2; Icon of the Mother of God œTinosÂ, Commemorated on January 30; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated on February 14; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 29; Monkmartyr Euthymius of Prodromou of Mt Athos, Commemorated on March 22; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas. Commemorated on March 31; New Martyr Nicetas of Pojani and Serres, Commemorated on April 4; St Callinicus of Cernica the Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of Chelnsk and Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 14; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16;

Russia, Moscow, 1801-1917, Tambov Icon, Mordovia, icon forgotten but MOG made them remember her w dream oMiraculous healing
Russia, Mordovia, 1801-1888, Tambov Icon, Mordovia (Studenets River Mouth at Tsna River 1), 1686 Pitrim brought copy Ilnsk-Chernigov icon to Tambov, patroness SW territory, placed SW gate, copy came to be called Tambov Icon, wooden church at gate, later stone church there by Utkin, Utkin Church, Icon there forgotten, but Queen of Heaven made them remember her, 1801 Priest from Kaluga leg affliction, Tambov Icon appeared to him in dream, voice told him search for this Icon, pray before it, be healed, found dream icon at Utkino Church, completely healed, widely known, other miraculous cures, 1835 church disrepair right side altar dedicated to Tambov Icon, over time Icon adorned silver risa&gems, too many cases healing time to record, 1888 cross procession April 16 ordered, 1900 church itself named for MOG, Russian Revolution churches ravaged risa removed gems picked out, icon disappeared, but miracle accounts preserved; Tambov; Tambov (Utkino) Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on April 16; 1686, Saint Pitirim (July 28) arrived in Tambov. with other holy objects, he brought a copy of the Il'insk-Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God, which was considered to be the patroness of the southwest territory. the copy was placed at the southwestern gate of the city. a while, the Icon was called Tambov, especially since the copy differed slightly from the original Il’insk-Chernigov Icon. either side of the Virgin, Saint Alexis, the man of God, and Saint Eudokia were depicted. It has been suggested that these were the patron saints of Saint Pitirim’s parents, and it is quite possible that he himself painted the images of these Saints. on the site of the southwestern city gates, a small wooden church was built and dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. that church, there was an Icon. the merchant Ivan Utkin built a stone church in honor of the Protomartyr Archdeacon Stephen with his own funds in 1771, the Tambov Icon was transferred here and placed in the altar above the Table of Oblation. began to call the church Utkino, after the builder, and subsequently, the Icon was completely forgotten. Queen of Heaven made them remember her, however. the beginning of the XIX century, a certain provincial priest from Kaluga suffered from an affliction in his leg, and he was unable to walk. was this Icon of the Mother of God which appeared to him in a dream, and a voice told him, “Search for this icon. Pray before it, and you shall be healed.” this, the priest obtained some relief from his illness, so that he was able to walk. away, he began to search for the Icon he had seen in his dream. After visiting several villages and cities, he finally reached Tambov. looked in all the churches until he found the Icon from his dream in the altar of the Utkino church. praying before this Icon, he was completely healed. This incident became widely known in the city, and thereafter several more miraculous cures of the townspeople took place. Tambov Icon became known once again, and in 1835, when the old Utkino church was in a terrible state of disrepair, the townspeople requested that the right side altar be dedicated to the Tambov Icon of the Mother of God. time, the grateful people of Tambov diligently adorned the Icon. A luxurious silver riza was made, studded with many gems. were so many cases of healing before the Icon that there was not enough time to record all of them. 1888, by a decree of the Holy Synod, all the churches of the city were ordered to have a Cross Procession on April 16 in honor of the Tambov Icon. In 1900, the church itself was named for the Theotokos. the Russian Revolution, the churches of Tambov were ravaged, and the wonderworking Icon suffered. They removed the riza and picked out the gems, and the Icon itself disappeared without a trace. city has preserved accounts of the miracles performed by the Icon.

Russia, Moscow, 1804-1840, Meletius oKharkov, interest iInstitutions of spiritual learning &clergy education &Siberia
Mongol, Scythia, 1804-1840, Meletius, Archbishop Kharkov, Scythia (High Point, Source of 3 Rivers, Seversky Donets River1), from Poltava, 1808 top student in Ekaterinoslav Seminary, to Nevsky Spiritual Academy, 1814 Greek Professor, 1817 Sec Academy Building Committee and transferred to Kiev Religious Seminary, inspector, Greek & C History P, 1819 Kiev Spiritual Academy first inspector, 1820 tonsured Monk Meletios, deacon, Hiermnk, 1821 rector Mogilevsk Seminary & head Khutynsk Orshansk M & Archimandrite. 1823 rector Pskov Seminary, 1824 rector Kiev S Academy, 1826 Bishop oChigrinsk, vicar Kiev Diocese, & head Zlatoverkh Mikhailov Monastery. True ascetic, 1828 Perm Cathedral, strict, Ordinand's Catechism, 1831 Archbishop oIrkutsk, all over Siberia, tTungus, tBuryats, tKamchadali, tKurile&Aleutian Islands, 1835 health transfer to Kharkov, 1840 repose; Kharkov governance; Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Khar'kov and Akhtyrsk, Commemorated on February 12; Meletios, Archbishop of Khar'kov and Akhtyrsk (in the world Michael Ivanovich Leontovich), was born on November 6, 1784 in the village of Stara Stanzhara in the Poltava district. 1808 Michael Leontovich successfully completed the Ekaterinoslav religious Seminary. Since he was the best student, Archbishop Platon of Ekterinoslav sent him to Peterburg, to the Saint Alexander Nevsky Spiritual Academy.1 Graduating in 1814 with a Master's Degree, he was appointed as adjunct professor of Greek. March 11, 1817 they appointed Michael Leontovich as Secretary of the Academy Building Committee. July 30, 1817 he was transferred to the Kiev religious Seminary, serving in the position of Inspector, as well as Professor of Church History and Greek. When the Kiev Spiritual Academy opened on September 28, 1819, Michael became its first Inspector. February 11, 1820, on the eve of the Feast of Saint Meletios of Antioch, he was tonsured as a monk with the name Meletios, in the kathoikon of the Kiev-Bratsk Monastery, tonsure was done by Metropolitan Eugene (Bolkhovitnikov). of Kiev. On February 22, 1820 the Monk Meletios was ordained to the diaconate by Metropolitan Eugene, and then as a Hieromonk on February 25. August 9, 1821 Hieromonk Meletios was appointed as Rector of the Mogilevsk religious Seminary and head of the Khutynsk Orshansk Monastery, and raised to the dignity of Archimandrite. August 1823 he was appointed as Rector of the Pskov religious Seminary. January 24,1824 Archimandrite Meletios was appointed as Rector of the Kiev Spiritual Academy. October 1826 the Holy Synod decided to name Archimandrite Meletios as Bishop of Chigirinsk, a vicar of the Kiev Diocese, and head of the Zlatoverkh Mikhailov Monastery. October 19, 1826 he was elected as bishop, and on October 21, 1826 his consecration took place at Kiev's Holy Wisdom cathedral. paternal love, the Saint concerned himself with young foster-children, raising them in a spirit of devotion to the Church of Christ. paid particular attention to the needy, widows, and orphans. often visited those in prison and provided them the consolation of Divine Services in the prison churches. was also concerned about the spiritual nourishment of the brethren of the Mikhailov Monastery. his edifying discourses and personal example, he inspired the monks with the spirit of true asceticism. Meletios said: "Humility is a protective sword, by which we pass over earth and Hades, to reach Heaven." April 1828 Saint Meletios was transferred to the cathedral in Perm. with himself, the Saint was also strict with others. To prepare candidates for accepting of the dignity of the priesthood, Saint Meletios himself wrote the so‑called "Ordinand's Catechism". 1831 Vladika was transferred to the See of Irkutsk, and elevated to the rank of Archbishop. Meletios devoted much attention to the enlightenment of the lesser nations of Russia with the light of the Gospel. founded churches in the north of Kamchatka, in the northeast parts of the Irkutsk Diocese and along the Aldan River, on the tract from Yakutsk to Okhotsk. often reviewed his wide-spread Diocese, going to the shores of the Okhotsk and Arctic Seas, to the boundaries of North America, where Father John Veniaminov, the reknowned Apostle of Siberia (later known as Saint Innocent), the Apostle to America was.2 through Siberia and along the shores of the Pacific Ocean, Saint Meletios frequently interacted with the native peoples who professed Lamaism. Gently, he urged them to abandon their errors, and explained the Gospel truths to these pagan peoples: Tungus, the Buryats, the Kamchadali, and also the inhabitants of the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. of his tireless labors, Vladika's health began to deteriorate, and they transferred him to the Slobodsk-Ukraine See (later the See of Khar'kov and Akhtyrsk) in 1835. Meletios showed great interest in the institutions of spiritual learning, concerning himself with the life and education of the clergy. Archbishop raised questions about reopening the monasteries and spiritual schools which Empress Catherine II had closed. He also devoted much labor to the struggle with the schismatics. July 2, 1839 Saint Meletios led the service in the city of Akhtyrsk for the tenth anniversary of the appearance of the wonderworking Akhtyrsk Icon of the Mother of God. Saint's blessed repose occurred on the night of February 29, 1840. After receiving Holy Communion, he made the Sign of the Cross, and then he turned to everyone to say, "Forgive me." With those words, he departed to the Lord. March 4, 1840 Saint Meletios was buried by Bishop Iliodore of Kursk, in a crypt beneath the Church of the Cross at the Protection Monastery. after his death, believers had great faith in the powerful intercession of Saint Meletios with God, and they received healing in sicknesses, comfort in sorrows, and deliverance from difficult circumstances. Believers in Khar'kov placed their trust in Saint Meletios during the terrible days of World War II. With miraculous advice, the Saint foretold the impending deliverance of the city from the enemy. 1948, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexei, the coffin with the relics of Saint Meletios was transferred to the cathedral of the Annunciation. February 21, 1978, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church "approved and blessed a Church Service and an Akathist to Saint Meletios, Archbishop of Khar'kov and Akhtyrsk," for use in all churches of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Service and Akathist to the holy Archpastor was composed by Archbishop Νikόdēmos of Khar'kov (later Metropolitan of Leningrad). shrine containing the Saint's relics, from which believers receive grace-filled help, the healing of ailments of the soul and body is located in the left (northern) aisle of the cathedral. Meletios is commemorated on February 12 (his Name Day) and on February 29 (the day of his repose).3

Russia, Moscow, 1805, Innocent Incorrupt Relics, Irkutsk, Siberia, body discovered 1764, many miracles, glorified 1800
Russia, Siberia, 1805, Innocent Incorrupt Relics, Irkutsk, Siberia, incorrupt body discovered 1764, many miracles, glorified 1800, uncovered 1805; Irkutsk; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on February 9; 1764, the body of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk was discovered incorrupt during restoration work on the Ascension monastery’s Tikhvin church. Many miracles occurred not only at Irkutsk, but also in remote places of Siberia, for those who flocked to the saint with prayer. This moved the Most Holy Synod to uncover the relics and to glorify the saint in the year 1800. 1804, a feastday was established to celebrate his memory throughout all Russia on November 26, since the Icon of the Mother of God “of the Sign” is commemorated on the actual day of his repose (November 27). Today we commemorate the uncovering of his relics in 1805.

Russia, Moscow, 1806-1812, Russo-Turkish War, France w Turks, Moldovia and Wallacia, Russian V.
Moscow, 1806-1812, Russo-Turkish War (1806-“12) Russia crossed the Caucasus and annexed Georgia for Orthodoxy; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1808-1860, Macarius of Optina, elders w spiritual life, published ascetical lives, prepare soul for temptations
Russia, Kaluga, 1808-1860, Macarius of Optina Monastery, Kaluga (Zhizdra River 1) always looking for elders w lofty spiritual life. in cell w Father Athanasius to help bad leg 10 yrs till 1825, read & published copies of ascetical lives, Glinsk Hdeacon Samuel mental prayer, at Optina Fr Leonid had struggled spiritual foes, preparing soul for temptations; Optina Monestary ; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated September 7 ; future Saint Macarius was born in 1788 into the noble Ivanov family, and was baptized with the name Michael in honor of Saint Michael of Tver (November 22). parents Nicholas and Elizabeth had an estate in the village of Shepyatino in the Dimitrov district in the Orel province. also owned property in other provinces, including the village of Zhelezniki in Orel Province where they lived. Ivanovs moved to Moscow in 1794 so Elizabeth could receive medical treatment for tuberculosis. ’s beloved mother died on January 21, 1797, and was buried in the Saint Andronicus monastery. nine-year-old Michael moved to the village of Karachev to live with his sister Daria and her husband Simeon Peredelsky, who had been elected to the District Court of Karachev. Michael received his primary education there in the local parish school. 1801, Michael and his two brothers moved into the house of his aunt Anna M. Verevkina, where they were educated along with her own son. 1802, when he was fourteen, Michael and his brother Alexis were hired as assistant bookkeepers in the District Treasury of Lgov. the job was difficult, Michael carried out his duties with precision and care that he attracted the attention of the provincial authorities. 1805 Michael was appointed as head of the Financial Board (Treasury) in Kursk. he was not working, he liked to spend his time reading or playing the violin. Michael’s father died on March 17, 1806 after a long illness, and was buried near the parish church at Turischev. visited the Ploschansk Hermitage, twenty-four miles from his family’s estate in Schepyatino, in October of 1810. there he wrote to his brothers saying that he was leaving the estate to them, for he intended to remain at the hermitage. His only condition was that they donate 1000 rubles to build a stone church at Turischev where their father was buried. closest to Michael never knew whether his visit to Ploschansk was accidental or premeditated. He did seem inclined to the monastic life, but perhaps he did not make a final decision to become a monk until he had observed the monastic life at Ploschansk. entered the Ploschansk Hermitage of the Theotokos at the age of twenty-two. It had no large buildings, no great wealth, and was far from populated areas. Perhaps he was attracted by the unpretentiously humble circumstances of the place. There were fifty monks at the Hermitage, led by Hieromonk Joannicus. was enrolled as a novice a month after arriving at Ploschansk, and was tonsured as a rassophore on December 24, 1810 with the name Melchizedek. did not mind the privation and hard work at the Hermitage, but there were no Elders there capable of offering spiritual guidance. that Elders of lofty spiritual life were living in the forests of Bryansk, and in the monasteries of the Orel and Kursk dioceses, Father Melchizedek longed to meet them and profit from their teaching. However, the opportunity did not arise for some time. 1814, he went on pilgrimage to Kiev, where he venerated the relics of various saints. the way back, he met some experienced Elders and was able to converse with them. Paul, who came from a family of Rostov merchants, and who was tonsured on Mount Athos, became the new Superior of Ploschansk in 1815. noticed Father Melchizedek’s zeal for the monastic life, and for fulfilling his obediences. March 7, 1815 Father Paul tonsured him as a monk with the new name Macarius. A few days later, on March 12, Bishop Dositheus of Orel and Sevsk ordained Father Macarius as a hierodeacon. Athanasius (Zakharov), a disciple of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15) was visiting Ploschansk in 1815. He had lived at White Bluff Monastery and Florischev Hermitage in the Vladimir Province. at Ploschansk, Father Athanasius fell off a bench and dislocated a joint in his leg. He went to Cholnsk Monastery in 1816 and partially recovered, but he could no longer walk without a crutch. 1817 he returned to Ploschansk, and Father Macarius moved to his cell to take care of him. Athanasius had a great influence on the spiritual development of Father Macarius, who revered him as his Father and teacher. seven years he had lived in the Neamts Monastery, where he was tonsured by Saint Paisius Velichkovsky. Athanasius finished the course of his earthly life on October 17, 1825, and died in the arms of Father Macarius. He had lived at Ploschansk for ten years, and Father Macarius derived much benefit from his Elder’s example. Athanasius had copies of the translations of the ascetical Fathers made by Saint Paisius, he himself had translated the Life of Saint Gregory of Sinai, the Catechetical Homilies of Saint Theodore the Studite, the homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, and many other profitable writings. only did Father Macarius read and copy these translations and absorb the wisdom contained in them, he later published them for the benefit of others. Macarius was ordained to the holy priesthood by Bishop Dositheus of Orel and Sevsk on May 27, 1817. Igumen Paul retired to the bishop’s residence at Kaluga in 1818, he was replaced by Hieromonk Seraphim, a disciple of Father Basil (Kishkin), the Superior of White Bluff Hermitage. Seraphim brought good order to Ploschansk, instructing the monks in the spiritual life. Father Seraphim’s blessing, Father Macarius made a pilgrimage to Kiev in 1819 with Hierodeacon Palladius. they met Archimandrite Anthony, who later became Archbishop of Voronezh and Zadonsk. On the way back to Ploschansk, the two visited Glinsk Hermitage. Macarius became acquainted with Hierodeacon Samuel, who was experienced in mental prayer. Father Athanasius had never spoken to him of this activity, Father Macarius was gratified to meet someone who could speak about it from personal experience. 1824, Father Macarius went to Rostov to venerate the relics of Saint Demetrius (September 21 and October 28). that same trip he visited Optina Monastery and its new Skete for the first time. of Father Macarius’s spiritual guides passed away within a short time: Elder Athanasius in 1825, and Igumen Seraphim in 1826. Marcellinus was appointed as Superior of Ploschansk in addition to his duties as Bishop Gabriel’s steward. He continued to live at Orel for two years, while the Ploschansk Hermitage was administered by Father Anatole, the treasurer. Macarius was made dean of the Hermitage on June 10, 1826. January of 1827, he was assigned as confessor at the Holy Trinity Convent of Sevsk. began his period of spiritual direction and spiritual correspondence which lasted until his death. He did not assume such a role on his own, but only in obedience to the will of the bishop. 1828 Father Leonid (Nagolkin) came to Ploschansk from the Saint Alexander of Svir Monastery with several disciples. Macarius thought that the arrival of Father Leonid was the answer to his prayers, for Father Leonid was a man of great spiritual wisdom. This holy Elder, who had struggled against many visible and invisible foes, was able to give useful advice to those who were experiencing temptations. understood from personal experience that those who wish to serve the Lord must prepare their souls for temptation (Sirach 2:1). agreed to Father Macarius’s repeated requests to accept him as a spiritual son and disciple. When Father Leonid moved to Optina in 1829, Father Macarius kept in touch with him through letters. Macarius visited Optina and Father Leonid in 1831 on his way to Petersburg, where Bishop Νikodemos of Orel was serving his term in the Holy Synod. appointed Father Macarius as treasurer and steward, much to the latter’s chagrin. Father Macarius did not care for the bustle of the city, and longed to return to the tranquility of the monastery, yet he remained in his position out of obedience to the bishop. serving for almost a year in Petersburg, Father Macarius returned to Ploschansk Hermitage. On the way back, he visited Father Leonid again at Optina. He also submitted a request to Father Moses to be admitted to the Skete at Optina as soon as this might be arranged. The desired transfer from Ploschansk to Optina did not take place until January 14, 1834. Macarius had lived at Ploschansk for twenty-three years, and always retained a certain fondness for the place for the rest of his life. Father Macarius finally arrived at Optina on February 5, 1834. the age of forty-six, Father Macarius placed himself at the feet of Father Leonid, humbling himself and demonstrating complete obedience. At first, he helped the Elder with his correspondence, but later his responsibilities increased. In October of 1836 he was appointed as confessor for the monastery. After Father Anthony was assigned to Saint Nicholas Monastery in Maloyaroslavets as abbot, Father Macarius succeeded him as Superior of the Skete on December 1, 1839. Father Macarius’s relationship with Father Leonid did not change because of his new position. He never did anything without consulting Father Leonid, and always attributed any success he achieved to the blessing and prayers of his Elder. Macarius remained humble and obedient to Father Leonid until the Elder’s death on October 11, 1841. Even when Father Leonid was transferred from the Skete to the Monastery in 1836, Father Macarius visited him every day to ask his advice on various matters. his final illness, Father Leonid told his spiritual children to go to Father Macarius for spiritual counsel. Seeing in Father Macarius the same spiritual gifts possessed by Father Leonid, people recommended him to their friends and acquaintances. As a result, the number of Father Macarius’s disciples grew larger every year. He was also assigned as instructor of the new novices, and of those who were about to be tonsured. Macarius received visitors from morning until night, and also kept up an extensive spiritual correspondence. Sometimes he was exhausted by the crowds of people, and by the number of letters he had to write. His humility and love for people who were afflicted in body and in spirit would not permit him to curtail his activities, however. Macarius had always loved reading and studying patristic literature. At Ploschansk, he had copied many translations done by Saint Paisius Velichkovsky which were in the possession of Schemamonk Athanasius. His knowledge and understanding of the Fathers increased at Optina under the guidance of Father Leonid, a disciple of Father Theodore of Svir, who was himself a disciple of Saint Paisius. Father Anthony, abbot of the Skete and Father Moses, abbot of the Monastery, both encouraged the study of patristic books. Conditions for the publication of these manuscripts, translated and corrected by Saint Paisius, were quite favorable, for Optina possessed the best copies of these writings. 1845, Ivan V. Kireyevsky, the editor of The Muscovite, asked Father Macarius to write a biography of Saint Paisius for his magazine. In 1846, Father Macarius was visiting the Kireyevskys at their estate, and the discussion turned to the lack of spiritual books offering instruction in the Christian life. Natalia Kireyevsky, the spiritual daughter of Father Macarius since 1838, happened to have some manuscripts of ascetical literature. They both asked Father Macarius, “What prevents us from offering these spiritual treasures to the world?” the beginning of 1847 a biography of Father Pasius Velichkovsky, with extracts from his writings, was published. Over the course of time, sixteen books of patristic literature were published under the Elder’s supervision, including works by Saint Nilus of Sora, Saints Barsanuphius and John, Saint Simeon the New Theologian, and Saint Isaac of Syria. 1853, Father Macarius resigned as Superior of the Skete of Saint John the Baptist, and was succeeded by Father Paphnutius. This took place on November 30, exactly fourteen years from the time Father Macarius had first assumed the office. 1859, one of Father Macarius’s spiritual daughters, was at the point of death. Maria asked Father Macarius to pray that God would spare her life so that she could see her son again. The Elder told her that she would recover, and that they would both die around the same time. The old woman told her friends of this prediction, saying, “Beware my death, for it is connected with the Elder’s death.” Maria died on August 23, 1860 in the presence of Father Macarius and Father Leonid Kavelin. August 26, the Elder became ill with ischuria. A doctor who happened to be at Optina saw him and treated him with drugs. Father Macarius felt worse that evening, and so they sent for a certain nobleman’s personal physician. That doctor was not available, so Father Kavelin went to another doctor to ask for advice. Father Macarius showed no improvement, so he received Holy Unction and the life-giving Mysteries of Christ. On September 2, he received two gifts which delighted him. One was an enamel icon of the Vladimir Mother of God from Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, which he wore on his breast. The other was a cross containing a relic of the Cross of Christ. Elder felt weaker on September 4, and received Holy Communion after Vespers. During his illness the brethren who cared for him read the daily rule of prayer for him at the proper times. He also asked them to read certain portions of the writings of the holy Fathers. September 5, Father Macarius was moved from his small bedroom into the larger reception room where the air was fresher. During the night the ninety-year-old Schemamonk Hilarion reposed, and the church bell was rung three times according to the custom of the Monastery, indicating that one of the brethren had departed. Many of Father Macarius’s disciples and some visitors in the guesthouse thought that the bell tolled for him. They became alarmed until it was announced that Father Hilarion had passed away. Elder experienced shortness of breath on September 6. He received Communion, and was visited by two doctors, but there was nothing they could do for him. Father Macarius felt worse that evening, and received Holy Communion a second time around 8:00 P.M. Around midnight he talked with his confessor for about half an hour, receiving absolution and forgiveness of his sins. Macarius asked to have the prayer for the dying read, which he heard while sitting in a chair. The Canon and Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos were also read, and the Canon to the Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ was read during Matins. During these readings it appeared that the Elder’s sufferings were alleviated. the night Father Macarius asked to be moved several times from the bed to the chair. He was calm and peaceful, and thanked those around him for caring for him. At 6:00 the next morning he received Holy Communion for the last time. 7:00 on the morning of September 7, 1860, Father Macarius departed to the Lord while the Ninth Ode of the Canon for the Departure of the Soul from the Body was being read. Two years before his death, he was secretly tonsured into the Great Schema. Therefore, a schema which had been blessed on the Lord’s Sepulchre was placed on his body. Several Panikhidas were offered for his soul throughout the day. Macarius was laid to rest on September 10, in a grave prepared for him opposite the altar of the Saint Nicholas chapel in the main church. He was buried to the right of the grave of Father Leonid, his friend and fellow ascetic. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Russia, Moscow, 1812, French Invasion of Russia, Patriotic War of 1812
Moscow, 1812, French Invasion of Russia, Patriotic War of 1812; St Tikhon the Bishop of Voronezh and Wonderworker of Zadonsk and All Russia, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God of Sven, Commemorated on August 17 ; Icon of the Mother of God œJerusalemÂ, Commemorated on October 12; Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga, Commemorated on October 12; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1812, Laurence, Fool for Christ, Kaluga became limit of French offensive and beginning of enemy's retreat
Russia, Kaluga,1512, Laurence, Fool for Christ at Kaluga; the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, the intercession of Blessed Lawrence for his native land was shown in a vivid manner. Kaluga became "the limit of the (French) offensive and the beginning of the enemy's retreat and destruction," according to an inscription on the Maloyaroslavets monument commemorating the battle on October 12, 1812. Tartar War at Kaluga 1512; Blessed Laurence the Fool-For-Christ at Kaluga, Commemorated on August 10; Laurence, the Fool-for-Christ and Wonderworker of Kaluga, lived at the beginning of the XVI century at a distance of half a verst from old Kaluga, near a forest church dedicated to the Nativity of Christ, set upon a high hill. was a long underground entrance from his dwelling place to the church, where he attended services. He also lived at the home of the Kaluga Prince Simeon. It is thought that Blessed Laurence was descended from the noble Khitrov family, since his name is at the head of their memorial at the Peremyshl’sk Liutykov Monastery in the Kaluga diocese. Laurence went barefoot both winter and summer, dressed in a shirt and sheepskin coat. By his ascetical struggles he had risen to such heights of virtue that during his lifetime, he was glorified by gifts of grace. He healed many diseases of the eyes through his prayers. the Crimean Tatars attacked Kaluga in May 1512, Blessed Laurence, then in the Prince's home, suddenly shouted in a loud voice: “Give me my sharp axe, for the curs are attacking Prince Simeon and I must defend him!” Saying this, he grabbed the axe and left. Suddenly, he was on board a ship next to the Prince. The Holy Fool Laurence inspired and encouraged the soldiers, and at that very hour they defeated the enemy. he is depicted on icons with an axe in his right hand, set upon a long handle. It is certain that Prince Simeon (+ 1518), who owed his life to Blessed Laurence, built a monastery on the site of the Saint’s ascetical struggles and dedicated it to him. Laurence reposed on August 10, 1515, on his Name Day. The Saint is also commemorated on July 8, perhaps in remembrance of his first posthumous miracle in Kaluga in 1621.1 that year, the paralyzed boyar Lev Andreevich Kologrivov, who could not move his hands and legs, and was unable to speak, was placed near the tomb of Saint Laurence. During a Moleben, as the Gospel was read, the paralyzed man spoke and began to believe. Raising his right hand, he made the Sign of the Cross; then he stood up, went to the tomb and attached himself to it. By the end of the Moleben, he was able to speak normally, and became perfectly healthy. Laurence seems to have been glorified in the second half of the XVI century. Tsar Ivan the Terrible wrote the following on a deed granting land to the monastery in 1565: “To the Monastery of the Nativity of Christ, where Laurence, the Fool-for-Christ lies." the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, the intercession of Blessed Lawrence for his native land was shown in a vivid manner. Kaluga became "the limit of the (French) offensive and the beginning of the enemy's retreat and destruction," according to an inscription on the Maloyaroslavets monument commemorating the battle on October 12, 1812. August 2018, some of Saint Laurence's relics were discovered in a storeroom of the Moscow Central Museum of the Armed Forces. On August 10/23, a portion of the holy relics was given to the Monastery in Kaluga where the body of Saint Laurence was once buried.

Russia, Moscow, 1812, Appearances of the Kaluga Icon, seen by French invaders.
Russia, Kaluga, 1812, Appearances of the Kaluga Icon, seen by French invaders.; Icon of the Mother of God of Kaluga, Commemorated on October 12; The Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God appeared in the year 1748 (September 2). In 1812 many Russian and French soldiers beheld the Kaluga icon of the Mother of God, standing in the air. Thus also it was around Kaluga and Maloyaroslavl. During such appearances the Russian armies were always victorious. This vision was also granted to the peasant Paraskeva Alekseeva.

Russia, Moscow, 1812, Sven Icon of Briansk, Ukraine, trade r, Br, Ch, Kiev, Vohly to Poland, 1812 Napoleonic War delivernace
Russia, Kiev,1812, Sven Icon of Briansk, Ukraine (Desna River 2, First Great Abatis Line 1566, trade r, Smolensk, Br, Ch, Kiev, Vohly to Poland), 1812 Napoleonic War delivernace; Briansk, Ukraine (Desna River 1) ; Icon of the Mother of God of Sven, Commemorated on August 17; Sven Icon of the Mother of God of the Caves has two festal celebrations: May 3 (the day of the reopse of Saint Theodosius of the Caves), and August 17 (the day of the repose of Saint Alypius), who painted the icon. The August 17 celebration was established in the year 1815 in thanksgiving for the deliverance of the city of Briansk (around which the icon appeared in 1288) from invasion during the 1812 Napoleonic War.

Russia, Moscow, 1812, Battle of Borodino, French victory before Moscow fell
Russia, Moscow, 1812, Battle of Borodino; Appearance of the Smolensk œDirectress Icon of the Mother of God brought from Constantinople, Commemorated on July 28;

Russia, Moscow, 1812, Luke's Jerusalem Icon, 1571 transferred to Moscow by Ivan t T, 1812 stolen by France, but replaced by copy
Jerusalem, 463, Luke's Jerusalem Icon, war hero Constantnpl 469 over huns, 988 Korsun and Novgorod, 1571 Moscow, 1812 stolen by France, but copy ; Jerusalem; Icon of the Mother of God Jerusale, Commemorated on October 12 ; Jerusalem Icon of the Mother of God, by tradition, was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke fifteen years after the Ascension of the Lord at Gethsemane. the year 463, the icon was transferred to Constantinople. Byzantine army carried the Jerusalem Icon into battle when they turned back an invasion of the Scythians. 988 the icon was transferred to Korsun and given to the holy Prince Vladimir. the people of Novgorod accepted Christianity, Saint Vladimir sent them this icon. 1571, Ivan the Terrible transferred the icon to the Moscow Dormition cathedral. the Napoleonic invasion of 1812, the original was stolen by the French and brought to Paris. An authenticated copy was placed in the Dormition cathedral. Jerusalem Icon is also commemorated on November 13, and on the Fifth Saturday of Great Lent.

Russia, Moscow, 1813, Treaty of Gulistan, with Persia, R P War of 1804-13
Moscow, 1813, Treaty of Gulistan, with Persia ; Martyr Gerontius of the St David Gareji Monastery, Georgia, Commemorated on August 12;

Russia, Moscow, 1814-1815, Avakum, Bosnia Region, two failed revolts, to be impaled, sooner I die the fewer sins
Serbia, 1814-1815, Avakum, Bosnia Region (Sarajvo, Bosna River, Flows North), two failed revolts, spiritual father and mother accepted Islam and urged him to, sentenced to be impaled on a stake, the sooner I die the fewer sins I will have; Bosnia Region ; Bosnia lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders ; Martyr Avakum the Deacon of Serbia, Commemorated December 17 ; holy New Martyr Avakum (Habakkuk) was born in Bosnia in 1794, and was named Lepoje by his parents. ’s father died when he was still a young boy, so his mother took him to the Mostanica monastery, where his uncle was the spiritual Father. He grew up in the monastery, and later became a monk with the name Avakum. When he was eighteen, he was ordained a deacon by Metropolitan Joseph (Sakabenta). 1809, the monks took part in an unsuccessful revolt against the Turks, and had to flee for their lives. They settled in the Annunciation monastery in Trnava near Cacak, where the igumen was Saint Paisius. the collapse of Karageorge’s revolt in 1813, the Turks began a reign of terror against the Serbs. also swept the area because of the many bodies left unburied. people attempted another revolt under Hadj-Prodan Gligorijevic, and the monks of Trnava became involved in it. The rebellion took place on the Feast of the Cross (September 14), but it was crushed by the Turks. Many people were captured, and some were executed on the spot as a warning to others. of the prisoners were sent to Suleiman Pasha in Belgrade, among whom were Saints Paisius and Avakum. The holy deacon Avakum sang “God is with us” (from Compline) in the prison cell, while Saint Paisius prayed. The Turks offered to free anyone who would convert to Islam. Some of the prisoners agreed to this, but the majority refused to deny Christ, and so they were put to death. Turks tried to pressure Avakum to save himself by embracing their religion, but he refused even to consider it. former spiritual Father, Gennadius, accepted the offer of the Turks and urged Avakum to follow his example. The courageous deacon declared that he was a warrior of Christ, and preferred to die rather than deny Christ. Avakum was sentenced to be impaled on a stake, which he was forced to carry to the place of execution. own mother urged him to embrace Islam, then to seek forgiveness later because he had been forced into it. The saint thanked her for giving him life, but not for her advice. the place of execution, the Turks asked him one more time to consider his youth and not to die before his time. Avakum laughed and asked, “Don’t even Turks eventually die?” replied, “Of course they do.” “Well then,” he said, “the sooner I die, the fewer sins I will have.” of his courage and steadfastness in his faith, the Turks decided not to impale him. They killed him quickly by stabbing him in the heart with a sword on January 27, 1815. Avakum the deacon is commemorated on December 17 with Saint Paisius. St Paisius, Commemorated on December 17 ; holy New Martyr Paisius was igumen of the Annunciation monastery in Trnava near Cacak, Serbia. the collapse of Karageorge’s revolt in 1813, the Turks began a reign of terror against the Serbs. also swept the area because of the many bodies left unburied. people attempted another revolt under Hadj-Prodan Gligorijevic, and the monks of Trnava became involved in it. rebellion took place on the Feast of the Cross (September 14), but it was crushed by the Turks. Many people were captured, and some were executed on the spot as a warning to others. of the prisoners were sent to Suleiman Pasha in Belgrade, among whom were Saints Paisius and Avakum. holy deacon Avakum sang “God is with us” (from Compline) in the prison cell, while Saint Paisius prayed. The Turks offered to free anyone who would convert to Islam. Some of the prisoners agreed to this, but the majority refused to deny Christ, and so they were put to death. Paisius was taken from prison and forced to carry a stake to the place of execution. was impaled, and the stake was set into the ground. The holy martyr exclaimed, “Glory to God.” Then the vizier clapped his hands to signal his soldiers to draw their swords and begin killing some of the other prisoners. people were killed, and their bodies were raised up on posts. After suffering for some time, Saint Paisius surrendered his soul to God, thereby obtaining the crown of martyrdom on December 17, 1814.

Russia, Moscow, 1814-1840, Meletius oKharkov, Ukraine, many stories of his meekness, ruffeled bed after all night prayer
Russia, Kiev, 1814-1840, Kharkov, Ukraine (High Point, Three Rivers source of the Seversky Donets, Vorskla River), many stories of his meekness, ruffeled bed after all night prayer, 1814 Greek Teacher, 1817 director Mogilev Seminary, Rector Kiev Academy, 1826 vicar Bishop Kiev Metro, t Ikursk, 1835 to Kharkov till 1841;; Kharkov; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 28; name of Meletios Leontovich, Archbishop of Khar'kov and Akhtyrsk, who reposed righteously on February 29, 1840 was deeply respected and honored by his former flock. residents of Khar'kov faithfully visit his grave in the Cave Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos Monastery. Here Memorial Services are offered for his soul, and at the same time, they ask for his prayers for themselves and their relatives. The memory of his saintly life, his love for the poor, and his meekness, still live among his contemporaries who call him "The Unmercenary Vladika." are many stories about the meek way he governed his diocese. Most Reverend Meletios (Michael, in the world)1 was a teacher of the Greek language in 1814. was transferred to the (Mogilev) Seminary in Kiev in 1817 as its director, and later became rector of the Kiev Academy. In 1826, he was consecrated as vicar bishop of the Metropolitan of Kiev, and then transferred to Irkutsk in Siberia. He came to Kharkov in 1835, the diocese which he governed for 5 and one half years. have the following narrative by a parish priest, concerning Vladika's all night prayer and abstinence. While visiting parishes of his Diocese, the Archbishop stopped for the night in the village of Preobrazhensk, in the Zmievsk region. The local priest, in whose house he was to stay, wanted to do his best for the comfort of his important guest. He prepared a room, furnishing it with rugs and soft furniture for the Archbishop's rest. the usual welcome and evening service, His Eminence retired to the room which had been prepared for him. As it later turned out, however, he was not concerned about rest for his body, but for the benefit of the soul, which finds rest in prayer and conversation with God. It happened that the door of the room had a small opening in it, so that by the light of the lampada, the priest who occupied the next room was able to see everything that happened in the Archbishop's room. to sleep, the priest heard a muffled noise in the next room and, with all possible caution, walked over to the opening in the door and looked. He saw the Archbishop clothed in just a cassock, with his head uncovered, kneeling and fervently praying with his hands raised. After watching him for a long time, the priest finally went to lie down, but some sort of fear would not allow him to go to sleep. a while, he went to the door again and saw the same thing. The Archbishop's prayerful conversation with God continued for almost the whole night. Only toward morning did the man of prayer remove his cassock and roll it up to use as a pillow. He lay on the floor and fell asleep, mussing the bedclothes somewhat to make it appear that he had slept in the bed all night. When the priest awoke at dawn, he rushed to the door again and saw the Archbishop at prayer, just as before. Father Confessor, Father Sergius, always remembered Vladika's humility and purity of heart. According to his words, the Archbishop's Confession was most touching, detailed, and sincere. Like many children, he regarded his smallest sins as very grave, and humbly repented of them. He confessed every month, and each Confession lasted for a long time. The Archbishop gave an account of all his deeds, and of his most secret thoughts. He would always weep after Confession, when he knelt and received absolution. After this Mystery, his face always shone with unearthly joy. the Father Confessor was touched by Vladika's great humility, and told him so. "Do you think it is easy to acquire this inner humility?" Archbishop Meletios asked with a meek smile. his relationships with everyone, the Archbishop was most welcoming and cordial. His conversations were absorbing, and brought untold pleasure to his listeners. Everyone, the wealthy dignitary, the poor clerk, the wretched widow, all received the same welcome from him. the rich he spoke mostly about the incorruptible treasures of everlasting life, and of the perishable nature of earthly treasures. He advised them to exchange worldly goods for the eternal good things. comforted the poor worker with the promise of a heavenly reward for his labors. He told the widow that God Himself is the Father of orphans and widows. While comforting everyone with his words, he also extended his hand to the needy with material help. He used up all his income for this purpose. himself lived in utter want, even though he appeared before his visitors in garb suited to his rank, usually in something purple (his favorite color). After his death, only eight rubles in paper money and change was found. during the Divine Liturgy, a young man, who was inclined to piety, was amazed by Archbishop Meletios's reverence and prayerful spirit as he offered the Bloodless Sacrifice. Mentally, he recognized him as a righteous man, and thought to himself: "How fortunate those people who serve such a man must be." the end of the Holy Liturgy a monk came up to the young man and asked him to come with him, as the Archbishop had ordered. Amazed, he obeyed. The monk took him to Vladika's reception room, and then left. Soon Archbishop Meletios himself entered. Vladika warmly greeted the confused young man with great love and questioned him in detail. Suddenly, he asked him to become his cell attendant. Shocked by Vladika's clairvoyance, the young man fell at his feet and readily accepted the offer. Afterward, by his way of life, he fully proved the correctness of Vladika's choice, and later still, when he was a monk, he remembered this decisive event in his life with much tenderness. his last illness, Archbishop Meletios was so weak that he was unable to stand up to pray, so he performed his Rule of prayer while sitting on his bed, supported on all sides by pillows. Three days before his death, while seated in this position, Archbishop Meletios ordered his cell attendant to lie down in the same room with him, something he had never done before. cell attendant himself said later that he felt some sort of fear, and was unable to fall asleep. Noticing this, Vladika told him to cover himself with his (the Archbishop's) rasson, saying, "Now you will not be afraid, and perhaps you will soon fall asleep." Instantly, the cell attendant fell asleep. asleep, he had a vision foretelling the Archbishop's death. When the vision ended, the attendant's whole body shook, and he woke up. Before him he saw the Archbishop lying on his back, with his eyes raised up toward Heaven. His face shone with an unearthly radiance. Archbishop Meletios called the now awakened cell attendant to him and said in a quiet voice that he would die in three days, asking him not to say anything about this to anyone. The repose of Archbishop Meletios took place exactly three days later, on February 29, 1840, soon after he received the Holy Mysteries, and his departure was most peaceful and calm. much-laboring body rested in the church so the faithful could give him the last kiss, until the Bishop of Kursk could get there for the funeral. At this time, according to the testimony of his Father Confessor Father Sergius, Vladika's body was so soft that, when he came to wash him with rose water, he found it flexible. Noticing that the omophorion had been pushed to one side, Father Sergius bowed to the Archbishop as if he were still alive, then lifted the body and sat it down. After rearranging the omophorion, he laid the body down again, to the great amazement of those who were present. Meletios's body is buried in a crypt located under the lower church of the Protection Monastery. Now, in that section, there is a church dedicated to the Three Hierarchs (January 30), where Memorial Services were being conducted for the Archbishop's soul, as requested by pilgrims. Above the coffin there is an icon with a lampada before it. Now the peace is broken only rarely, by the footsteps of a pilgrim. Meletios of Khar'kov is also commemorated on February 12 (his Name Day). He was born on November 6, 1784 in the Ekaterinoslav region, and received the name Michael in Holy Baptism. His father died when the child was quite young.

Russia, Moscow, 1817-1879, Innocent of Alaska, 45 yrs, 10,000 baptized, geography, alpahbet, Japan, Metropolitan of Moscow
Moscow, 1817-1879, Innocent of Alaska, Metropolitan of Moscow; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7; Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6; Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to America (in the world John Popov-Veniaminov), was born on August 26, 1797 in the village of Anginsk in the Irkutsk diocese, into the family of a sacristan. boy mastered his studies at an early age and by age seven, he was reading the Epistle in church. In 1806 they sent him to the Irkutsk seminary. In 1814, the new rector thought it proper to change the surnames of some of the students. John Popov received the surname Veniaminov in honor of the deceased Archbishop Benjamin of Irkutsk (+ July 8, 1814). May 13, 1817 he was ordained deacon for the Irkutsk Annunciation church, and on May 18, 1821, he was ordained priest. missionary service of the future Apostle of America and Siberia began with the year 1823. John spent 45 years laboring for the enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, North America, Yakutsk, the Khabarov frontier, performing his apostolic exploit in severe conditions and at great risks to life. Innocent baptized ten thousand people, and built churches, beside which he founded schools and he himself taught the fundamentals of the Christian life. His knowledge of various crafts and arts aided him in his work. John was a remarkable preacher. During the celebration of the Liturgy, memorial services and the all-night Vigil, he incessantly guided his flock. During his time of endless travels, Father John studied the languages, customs and habits of the peoples, among whom he preached. work in geography, ethnography and linguistics received worldwide acclaim. composed an alphabet and grammar for the Aleut language and translated the Catechism, the Gospel and many prayers into that language. of the finest of his works was the Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven (1833), translated into the various languages of the peoples of Siberia and appearing in more than 40 editions. to the toil of Father John, the Yakut people in 1859 first heard the Word of God and divine services in their own native language. November 29, 1840, after the death of his wife, Father John was tonsured a monk with the name Innocent by Saint Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow, in honor of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk. December 15, Archimandrite Innocent was consecrated Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. On April 21, 1850 Bishop Innocent was elevated to the rank of archbishop. the Providence of God on January 5, 1868, Saint Innocent succeeded Metropolitan Philaret on the Moscow cathedra. Through the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Innocent consolidated the secular missionary efforts of the Russian Church (already in 1839 he had proposed a project for improving the organization of missionary service). the care of Metropolitan Innocent a Missionary Society was created, and the Protection monastery was reorganized for missionary work. 1870 the Japanese Orthodox Spiritual Mission headed by Archimandrite Nicholas Kasatkin [afterwards Saint Nicholas of Japan, (February 3)] was set up, with whom Saint Innocent had shared much of his own spiritual experience. guidance by Saint Innocent of the Moscow diocese was also fruitful, by his efforts, the church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos was built up into the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Innocent fell asleep in the Lord on March 31, 1879, on Holy Saturday, and was buried at the Holy Spirit Church of the Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra. October 6, 1977, Saint Innocent was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church. His memory is celebrated three times during the year: on March 31, the day of his blessed repose, on October 5 (Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs), and on October 6, the day of his glorification. Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29;

Russia, Moscow, 1817-1879, St Innocent, Aleut Enlightener&Moscow Metropolitan, Apostle to t Americas, m more
Russia, Siberia, 1817-1879, St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Irkutsk, Siberia (Angara River 1, Lake Baikal, Trans-Siberian Road 14), early age mastery studies, from 1823 45 yrs missionary, 10,000 baptized, endless travels, geography, ethnography, linguistics, Aleut alphabet & grammar for catechism, Gospel & prayers, indication of way into heaven, 1840 became monk Innocent and Bishop, 1850 archbishop, 1868 Metropolitan of Moscow, organized missionary service, 1870 Japanese Spiritual Mission, Moscow Spiritual Academy; Irkutsk; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6 ; Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to America (in the world John Popov-Veniaminov), born on August 26, 1797 in the village of Anginsk in the Irkutsk diocese, into the family of a sacristan. boy mastered his studies at an early age and by age seven, he was reading the Epistle in church. 1806 they sent him to the Irkutsk seminary. 1814, the new rector thought it proper to change the surnames of some of the students. John Popov received the surname Veniaminov in honor of the deceased Archbishop Benjamin of Irkutsk (+ July 8, 1814). May 13, 1817 he was ordained deacon for the Irkutsk Annunciation church, and on May 18, 1821, he was ordained priest. missionary service of the future Apostle of America and Siberia began with the year 1823. John spent 45 years laboring for the enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, North America, Yakutsk, the Khabarov frontier, his apostolic exploit in severe conditions and at great risks to life. Innocent baptized ten thousand people, and built churches, beside which he founded schools and he himself taught the fundamentals of the Christian life. knowledge of various crafts and arts aided him in his work. John was a remarkable preacher. During the celebration of the Liturgy, memorial services and the all-night Vigil, he incessantly guided his flock. his time of endless travels, Father John studied the languages, customs and habits of the peoples, among whom he preached. work in geography, ethnography and linguistics received worldwide acclaim. composed an alphabet and grammar for the Aleut language and translated the Catechism, the Gospel and many prayers into that language. of the finest of his works was the Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven (1833), translated into the various languages of the peoples of Siberia and appearing in more than 40 editions. to the toil of Father John, the Yakut people in 1859 first heard the Word of God and divine services in their own native language. November 29, 1840, after the death of his wife, Father John was tonsured a monk with the name Innocent by Saint Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow, in honor of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk. December 15, Archimandrite Innocent was consecrated Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. April 21, 1850 Bishop Innocent was elevated to the rank of archbishop. the Providence of God on January 5, 1868, Saint Innocent succeeded Metropolitan Philaret on the Moscow cathedra. the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Innocent consolidated the secular missionary efforts of the Russian Church (already in 1839 he had proposed a project for improving the organization of missionary service). the care of Metropolitan Innocent a Missionary Society was created, the Protection monastery was reorganized for missionary work. 1870 the Japanese Orthodox Spiritual Mission headed by Archimandrite Nicholas Kasatkin [afterwards Saint Nicholas of Japan, (February 3)] was set up, with whom Saint Innocent had shared much of his own spiritual experience. guidance by Saint Innocent of the Moscow diocese was also fruitful, his efforts, the church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos was built up into the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Innocent fell asleep in the Lord on March 31, 1879, on Holy Saturday, was buried at the Holy Spirit Church of the Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra. October 6, 1977, Saint Innocent was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church. memory is celebrated three times during the year: on March 31, the day of his blessed repose, on October 5 (Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs), and on October 6, the day of his glorification.

Russia, Moscow, 1819, Theophanes otRoslavl Forests, Desna River 1, Entire Lent no eat, no sleep, no lie down & 800 prostrations
Russia, Kiev, 1819, Theophanes otRoslavl Forests, Kiev, Desna River 1, fasting beyond natural human limits, Entire Lent no eat, no sleep, no lie down & 800 prostrations; Roslavl; Saint Theophanes of the Roslavl Forests, Commemorated on June 15; holy Schema-monk Theophanes (in the world, Theodore Talunin) was from Vladimir Province. served in the Black Sea Cossack army until 1791. his discharge, he lived at Sophroniev Hermitage for a time, and then he went to Moldavia, where he lived at Neamts Monastery under obedience to Saint Paisios Velichkovsky (Nov. 15) for three years. the death of Elder Paisios, he returned to Russia and was accepted into the brotherhood of Optina Hermitage in 1800, and he was tonsured there in 1801. Moses of Optina has provided most of the information about Schema-monk Theophanes, and has related the following: “He zealously pursued the active virtues of fasting, prayer, and prostrations with extreme non-acquisitiveness and meekness of spirit. the first and last weeks of Great Lent, he ate nothing at all; during the other fasting periods he ate only every third day. zeal for fasting made him take up the great measure of fasting beyond the bounds of nature.” Theophanes often went from Optina to the Roslavl Forest to see Fathers Athanasios and Moses. 1819, when Fathers Moses and Anthony came to look over Optina Hermitage, he told them that he would come to visit them for the entire period of Great Lent. “You are most welcome, please come,” the hermits told him. came to them before the beginning of Great Lent in 1819, and he announced that he intended to pass the entire Fast without eating. “I have faith that I will not die from fasting,” he said. “Let it be according to your faith,” they answered, not daring to dissuade him. moved in with them, and brought along his icon of the Crucifixion painted on linen, before which he prayed. Theophanes decided not to eat, and not to lie down to sleep. In addition to his usual Prayer Rule, he also made 800 prostrations. he prayed, he wore special cuffs with cords which were tied to the hooks on the wall where the icon was hanging. In this way, he was able to stand at prayer all night without falling from exhaustion. addition, he heated his own cell, helped to sing at Church services, and he appeared cheerful. ate nothing during the entire Fast, and once a week he drank some water mixed with vinegar, because the dryness of his mouth. seeing his thinness, Saint Moses said, “Father, you have worn yourself out.” Father Theophanes replied, “No. Christ my Savior has poured out all His blood to the last drop for my sake. There is plenty of blood left in me yet.” the Fast, which he endured until the end, he partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. he wanted to repeat this struggle, but because of the cold he fell ill with a terrible cough. He became very weak, and gradually wasted away, departing to the Lord on June 15, 1819. few moments before Father Theophanes died, Father Moses asked, “Is your soul at peace? Do you fear anything at this hour of death?” He replied, “With joy I desire to be released from this life.” that moment, he passed away. He had just started to make the Sign of the Cross upon himself, and gave up his soul to God. He is buried in the wilderness. Anthony, in whose arms Father Theophanes died, said that he forgot to ask him for his prayers at his death. On the fortieth day after death, the Elder appeared to him. “Batiushka,” said Father Anthony, “I wanted to ask you for your prayers for me when you come before the throne of God, and I did not do it.” Father Theophanes said, “I always pray to God for you. Saint Basil the Great says, ‘He who prays for others, prays for himself.’” to Father Anthony, this Elder had such a radiant face when he was still alive, that one could not look directly at it, but only small glances from the side. His grave is on the edge of a ravine by the Florovka creek, and is revered by pilgrims to this day. Theophanes was approved for local veneration in the Smolensk Diocese on August 31, 2017.

Russia, Moscow, 1819, Joseph oDionysiou, Mt Athos, sent tConstantinople with Eudocimus who failed martyrdom & blamed Joseph
Greece, Mt Athos, 1819, Joseph oDionysiou monastery, Mt Athos, iconographer, painted Archangels on Donysiou's iconostasis, Igumen sent him to accompany Eudocimus to Constantinople so he could wipe out sin oApostamy to become Moslem from Orthodoxy, but Eudocimus failed and blamed Joseph, denying Christ again, Joseph arrested, tortured, refused to convert, and hung; Dionysiou monastery, monastery of St. John the Forerunner; St Joseph of Dionysiou, Commemorated February 17 ; Joseph was a monk of Dionysiou Monastery on Mt. Athos, where he shone forth with the virtues of monastic life. was an iconographer, he painted the icon of the holy Archangels on the iconostasis of Dionysiou’s main church. obedience to the instructions of Igumen Stephen, Joseph traveled to Constantinople with Eudocimus, had apostasized from Orthodoxy to become a Moslem. repented, and wished to wipe out his sin through martyrdom. faced with torture and death, however, the unfortunate Eudocimus denied Christ again, blaming Joseph for turning him from Islam. Joseph was arrested and threatened with death. spite of many tortures, he refused to convert to Islam. holy martyr of Christ was hanged on February 17, 1819, so he obtained an incorruptible crown of glory. sources list his commemoration on February 17, while others list him on September 14 or October 26.

Russia, Moscow, 1820-1872, Domna oTomsk, fool fC, tears, continuous prayer, poverty, heat&cold, clairvoyance
Russia, Siberia, 1820-1872, Domna oTomsk (Tom River Mouth, Ob River 5), fool fC, tears, continuous prayer, poverty, heat&cold, clairvoyance; Tomsk; Saint Domna of Tomsk, Commemorated on October 16; holy fool Saint Domna (Karpovna) was born into a noble family the central Ukraine around the beginning of the nineteenth century. at an early age, Saint Domna grew up in her aunt’s house. received an excellent education, and was able to speak several languages. was a beautiful girl, and therefore she had many suitors who hoped to marry her. righteous one, however, desired to preserve her virginity for the Lord’s sake. she discovered that her relatives wished to force her to be married, she left the house in secret, dressed in plain clothing, and she went on pilgrimage to the holy places. Since she had no documents to prove her identity, she was arrested and exiled to Siberia, where she settled in the city of Tomsk. There she undertook the exploit of foolishness for the sake of Christ. Domna had no permanent home, and she often spent her days and nights in the open air. Her clothes consisted of various items in different sizes, which hung from her almost naked body. Bags of all sorts hung from her body, filled with bits of glass, incense, bread, sugar, shoes, ropes, stones, and other things. Saint Domna often counted them instead of the knots on a prayer rope, thereby concealing her unceasing prayer from human sight. When compassionate people gave her coats during the severe winters, she accepted them with gratitude, but a few hours later she would give them to some other beggar, while she continued to suffer from the cold. about the difficult stay of the prisoners in the Tomsk police station, Domna began to walk among them and sing spiritual songs, for which she herself was detained. learning of this, the Tomsk merchants, who revered Domna, carried her loads of cakes, bliny, tea and sugar, which she meted out to the distressed prisoners. the words of Holy Scripture: “A righteous man pities the lives of his animals” (Proverbs 12:10, Septuagint), the saint also took care of stray animals and watchdogs. She often fed them, and she was fond of the dogs, about whom the owners did not care, turning them loose at will. Animals also loved the righteous one and by night a multitude of them surrounded her. But even among dumb animals Domna Karpovna did not forget about God. The residents of Tomsk, amid the howling of dogs, often heard her prayer in the darkness: “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” blessed one prayed intensely and fervently in the temple, but only when there were just a few people present. One eyewitness described her prayer: “Once I glanced into the side chapel of the church, and there I saw Domna Karpovna, kneeling, and praying. Oh, how she prayed! And the tears, the tears! They flowed from her eyes in two streams.” But as soon as she noticed someone was looking at her, she began to behave like a fool again, moving from place to place, talking, and extinguishing candles. her exploit of foolishness Saint Domna preserved her virginity, voluntarily enduring poverty, suffering from the heat and cold, and putting the sinful passions to death. At the end of her life she received the gift of clairvoyance from the Lord, which served for the spiritual benefit of others. She surrendered her soul to God on October 16, 1872, and she was buried in the convent of Saint John the Baptist in Tomsk. Church of Russia glorified Saint Domna in 1984. She is also commemorated on June 10, the Synaxis of All Saints of Siberia. Some sources give December 16 as the day of her repose. Today, not far from Saint Domna’s burial place, a chapel was built and dedicated to her.

Russia, Moscow, 1821-1867, Philaret Drozdov, Metropolitan of Moscow, Old Believer imprisonment, Russian bible
Moscow, 1821-1867, Patriarch, Philaret Drozdov ; Philaret (26 December 1782 - 1 December 1867) was Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna and the most influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 40 years, from 1821 to 1867. was canonized on 13 October 1994 and his feast day is celebrated on November 19. was born in Kolomna as Vasily Drozdov. His father was a member of the clergy. Vasily was educated at the seminary of Kolomna, where courses were taught in Latin; and then at the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, and on the completion of his studies was at once appointed professor in the latter. He became preacher of the lavra in 1806, and in 1808, received the monastic tonsure and was named Philaret after Saint Philaret the Merciful.[1] In 1809 he was appointed professor of theology in the ecclesiastical academy of Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, becoming archimandrite in 1811 and director in 1812. Events of 1812 produced a strong impression on Philaret; he explained the success of the Russians by moral reason and read a lecture on this theme in the "Society of friends of the Russian word". In 1813 he declaimed his famous speech on Kutuzov's death. took monastic vows in 1817, and was soon consecrated bishop of Reval[2] and then episcopal vicar of St. Petersburg. In 1819, he became Archbishop of Tver and a member of the Most Holy Synod. In the following year he was archbishop of Yaroslavl, and in 1821 was translated to Moscow, also becoming metropolitan in 1826. daring utterances, however, brought him into imperial disfavor from 1845 until the accession of Alexander II. In 1855 he was restricted to the limits of his diocese. He is said to have prepared Alexander's proclamation freeing the serfs, and he enjoyed the reputation of being one of the leading pulpit orators of his time and country. was the spiritual father of missionary hieromonk Macarius (Glukharyov) (1792–1847), canonized in 2000 for his role as "Apostle to the Altai". was responsible for some of the worst offences towards the Old Believers, including the misappropriation of churches and the sealing of the altars at the churches of the Rogozhskoye Cemetery, which was the administrative and spiritual center of the Belokrinitskoe Soglasie Old Believers. Philaret was also directly involved in the imprisonment of Old Believer hierarchs and monastics. was a prominent figure in preparing a Russian translation of the Bible (until his time, only a Church Slavonic version not readily understood by the general populace was available), and wrote many volumes of theological and historical works collectively known as the Filaretica. They include the Colloquy between a Believer and a Skeptic on the True Doctrine of the Greco-Russian Church (St. Petersburg, 1815); Compend of Sacred History (1816); Commentary on Genesis (1816); Attempt to Explain Psalm lxvii. (1818); Sermons delivered at Various Times (1820); Extracts from the Four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles for Use in Lay Schools (1820); Christian Catechism (1823); Extracts from the Historical Books of the Old Testament (1828–30); Principles of Religious Instruction (1828); and New Collection of Sermons (1830–36). Filaret also wrote spiritual poems from an early age; his poetical correspondence with Pushkin is well known. Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on July 9 ; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; HERMAN OF ALASKA, MISSIONARY TO THE ALEUT, 9 August 1837; Icon of the Mother of God œChernigov-Gethsemane, Commemorated on September 1; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on February 19; ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, ECUMENIST and JOURNALIST, 1929, Commemorated June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1821-1867, Philaret Drozdov, Met oMoscow, great story, unceasing p, clairvoyance, healing, saint appearances
Russia, Moscow, 1821-1867, Philaret Drozdov, Metropolitan of Moscow, fKolomna nMoscow, priest father, Kolomna Seminary, iLatin, small but talented, Moscow Theological Academy Holy Trinity Lavra, tonsured 1808, deacon, 1809 tReopened St Pete Theological, St Pete Bishop 1817, Archbishop iTver Yaroslav Moscow, 1826 Met oMoscow, taught Church teachings&traditions, therefore life by holy fathers wisdom, 1823 Catechism book still influential, Peter tGreat's reforms had abolished patriarchate& put life under Govt control, P regained some church freedom, made enemies, tUnceasing prayer, from Anthony & Seraphim oSarov, made Anthony his elder, consulted him before important decisions, unceasing prayer clairvoyance healing gifts, 19th C Russian Spiritual Revival, defended Optina Elders & Seraphim's Nuns, supported publication Optina texts, Sergius oRadonezh appeared to help him condemn Triumphal Gate pagan gods, near death his father appeared warning of the date; Moscow, 1821-1867, Patriarch, Philaret Drozdov ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Philaret (Drozdov) was born on December 26, 1782 in Kolomna, a suburb of Moscow, and was named Basil in Baptism. His father was a deacon (who later became a priest). young Basil studied at the Kolomna seminary, where courses were taught in Latin. He was small in stature, and far from robust, but his talents set him apart from his classmates. 1808, while he was a student at the Moscow Theological Academy at Holy Trinity Lavra, Basil received monastic tonsure and was named Philaret after Saint Philaret the Merciful (December 1). Not long after this, he was ordained a deacon. 1809, he went to teach at the Theological Academy in Petersburg, which had been reopened only a short time before. Philaret felt ill at ease in Petersburg, but he was a very good teacher who tried to make theology intelligible to all. he worked to have classes taught in Russian rather than in Latin. was consecrated as bishop in 1817, and was appointed to serve as a vicar in the diocese of Petersburg. soon rose to the rank of archbishop, serving in Tver, Yaroslavl, and Moscow. In 1826, he was made Metropolitan of Moscow, and remained in that position until his death. Metropolitan believed that it was his duty to educate and enlighten his flock about the Church’s teachings and traditions. he preached and wrote about how to live a Christian life, basing his words on the wisdom of the Holy Fathers. 1823 CATECHISM has been an influential book in Russia and in other countries for nearly two hundred years. reforms of Tsar Peter the Great had abolished the patriarchate and severely restricted the Church, placing many aspects of its life under governmental control. Philaret tried to regain some of the Church’s freedom to administer its own affairs, regarding Church and State as two separate entities working in harmony. everyone shared his views, and he certainly made his share of enemies. Still, he did achieve some degree of success in effecting changes. day, Archimandrite Anthony (Medvedev), a disciple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (January 2), paid a call on his diocesan hierarch. their conversation, Father Anthony spoke of the patristic teaching on unceasing prayer, and he may have told the Metropolitan something of Saint Seraphim. Philaret felt a deep spiritual kinship with Father Anthony, who soon became his Elder. made no important decision concerning diocesan affairs, or his own spiritual life, without consulting Father Anthony. Seraphim once told Father Anthony that he would become the igumen of a great monastery, and gave him advice on how to conduct himself. was Saint Philaret who appointed him as igumen of Holy Trinity Lavra. Philaret wanted to have the Holy Scriptures translated into modern Russian, so that people could read and understand them. Anthony, however, criticized the unorthodox ethos of the Russian Bible Society, which was popular during the reign of Alexander I. his eagerness to have the Bible translated into modern Russian, Saint Philaret at first supported the Bible Society without realizing how dangerous some of its ideas were. first Russian translation of the Bible was printed during the reign of Tsar Alexander II. the direction of his Elder, Metropolitan Philaret made great progress in the spiritual life. also received the gifts of unceasing prayer, clairvoyance, and healing. is no exaggeration to suggest that Saint Philaret himself was one of the forces behind the spiritual revival in nineteenth century Russia. defended the Elders of Optina Monastery when they were misunderstood and attacked by many. He protected the nuns of Saint Seraphim’s Diveyevo Convent, and supported the publication of patristic texts by Optina Monastery. Philaret was asked to dedicate the new Triumphal Gate in Moscow, and Tsar Nicholas I was also present. statues of pagan gods on the Gate, the Metropolitan refused to bless it. Tsar became angry, and many people criticized the saint’s refusal to participate. felt that he had followed his conscience in this matter, but still felt disturbed by it, and so he prayed until he finally dropped off to sleep. was awakened around 5 A.M. by the sound of someone opening the door which he usually kept locked. The Metropolitan sat up and saw Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25) leaning over his bed. “Don’t worry,” he said, “it will all pass.” Then he disappeared. months before his death, Saint Philaret saw his father in a dream, warning him about the 19th day of the month. November 19, 1867, he served the Divine Liturgy for the last time. At two in the afternoon, they went to his cell and found his body. He was buried at Holy Trinity Lavra. Philaret was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1995.

Russia, Moscow, 1822-1864, Jacob Netsvetov, church builder, exorcist, Southwestern Alaska, Yukon
Russia, Moscow, 1822-1864, Saint, Jacob Netsvetov; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26; Jacob (Netsvetov) of Alaska was born of pious parents in 1802 on Atka Island, Alaska. His father, Yegor Vasil’evich Netsvetov was a Russian from Tobolsk. His mother, Maria Alekseevna, was an Aleut from Atka island. Yegor and Maria had four children who survived infancy; Jacob was the first born, followed by Osip (Joseph), Elena, and Antony. and Maria were devoted to their children and, though of meager means, did all they could to provide them with the education which would help them in this life as well as in the life to come. Osip and Antony were eventually able to study at the Saint Petersburg Naval Academy in Russia, becoming a naval officer and a shipbuilder, respectively. Their sister, Elena, married a successful and respected clerk for the Russian-American Company. Jacob yearned for a different kind of success, a success that the world might consider failure for “the righteous live forever, their reward is with the Lord” (Wis. Sol. 5:15). And so, when the family moved to Irkutsk in 1823, Jacob enrolled in the Irkutsk Theological Seminary and placed all his hope in Christ by seeking first the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33). was tonsured as a Subdeacon on October 1, 1825. He married a Russian woman (perhaps also a Creole) named Anna Simeonovna, and in 1826 graduated from the Seminary with certificates in history and theology. On October 31, 1826, he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate and assigned to serve the altar of the Holy Trinity-Saint Peter Church in Irkutsk. Two years later, on March 4, 1828, Archbishop Michael, who had earlier ordained Father John Veniaminov (Saint Innocent), elevated the godly deacon Jacob to the Holy Priesthood. however, was no ordinary ordination. As if he were a new Patrick, hearing the mystical call of his distant flock, Father Jacob yearned to return to his native Alaska. And the all-good God, who “satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Ps.107:9) heard the prayer of his servant. Michael provided Father Jacob with two antimensia: one for the new Church which would be dedicated to the glory of God in honor of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Atka, and one to be used for missionary activity. On May 1, 1828 a molieben for travelers was served, and Father Jacob, his father, Yegor, (now tonsured as reader for the Atka Church), and his matushka, Anna, set out for Alaska. can tell of the perils and trials associated with such a journey? Travel in those days was never easy, either overland or over the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, aided by prayer and confidence in God’s providence, the Netsvetov family arrived safely in Atka over a year later, on June 15, 1829. The new assignment for the newly-ordained Father Jacob would also prove to be quite a challenge. The Atka “parish” comprised a territory stretching for nearly 2,000 miles and included Amchitka, Attu, Copper, Bering and Kurile Islands. But this did not deter the godly young priest, for when he was clothed in the garments of the Priesthood, he was found to be “clad with zeal as a cloak’ (Is. 59:17), and so he threw himself wholly into his sacred ministry. His deep love for God and for his flock was evident in everything that he did. Both in Atka and in the distant villages and settlements which he visited, Father Jacob offered himself as a “living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1). Having “no worry about his life” (Mt. 6:25 ff), the holy one endured manifold tortures of cold, wet, wind, illness, hunger and exhaustion, for to him life was Christ (Phil 1:21). Showing himself as a “rule of faith,” his example brought his people to a deep commitment to their own salvation. Being fully bilingual and bicultural, Father Jacob was uniquely blessed by God to care for the souls of his fellow Alaskans. he arrived in Atka, the Church of Saint Nicholas had not yet been built. So, with his own hands Father Jacob constructed a large tent (Acts 18:3) in which he conducted the services. For Father Jacob the services of the Church were life: life for his people and life for himself. It was in the worship of God that he found both strength and joy. Later he would transport this tent with him on his missionary journeys, and like Moses in the wilderness, the grace of God was found wherever this tent was taken (Num 4:1 ff; 10:17 ff). his first six months had ended (end of 1829), Father Jacob recorded that he had baptized 16, chrismated 442, married 53 couples, and buried 8. the church was constructed, Father Jacob turned his attention to the building of a school in which the children would learn to read and write both Russian and Unangan Aleut. The Russian American Company provided some of the support initially, with the students providing the remainder. This continued until 1841, when it was reorganized as a parish school and ties with the company ceased. Father Jacob proved to be a talented educator and translator whose students became distinguished Aleut leaders in the next generation. Netsvetov led an active physical and intellectual life, hunting and gathering for his own subsistence needs, preparing specimens of fish and marine animals for the natural history museums of Moscow and Saint Petersburg, corresponding with Saint Innocent (Veniaminov) on matters of linguistics and translations. He labored over the creation of an adequate alphabet for the Unangan-Aleut language, and the translation of the Holy Scriptures and other appropriate literature into that language. Saint Innocent praised the young pastor for his holiness of life, his teaching, and for continuing this work of translating which he, himself, had begun earlier among the native peoples. After fifteen years of service, Father Jacob was awarded the Nabedrennik, Kamilavka, and Gold Cross. Later, he would be made Archpriest and receive the Order of Saint Anna. ecclesiastical awards do not tell of the personal sufferings of this warrior for Christ. In March of 1836, his precious wife, Anna, died of cancer; his home burned to the ground in July of 1836; and his dear father, Yegor, died of an undetermined illness in 1837. Who can utter the depth of sorrow felt by this God-pleaser? Yet he lifted up his voice with that ancient sufferer and cried, “shall we indeed accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity? In all this he did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10). In his journal Father Jacob attributed all to “the Will of Him whose Providence and Will are inscrutable and whose actions toward men are incomprehensible.” He patiently endured hardships and sufferings like the Holy Apostle Paul. He saw in these misfortunes not a Victory by the hater of men’s souls (i.e. the devil) but a call from God to even greater spiritual struggles. With this in mind, Father Jacob petitioned his ruling bishop to return to Irkutsk in order to enter the monastic life. A year later, word reached him that permission was granted contingent upon the arrival of a replacement. None ever came. Bishop Innocent soon came to Atka and asked Father Jacob to accompany him on a voyage by ship to Kamchatka. Who can know the heavenly discourse enjoyed by these two lovers of Christ as they traveled over the waves? This, however, is clear, the holy archpastor was able to accomplish three things in Father Netsvetov. Firstly, he applied the healing salve of the Spirit with words of comfort; secondly, he dissuaded Father Jacob from entering the monastery; and thirdly, he revealed to the godly priest the true plan of the Savior for his life, that he ‘might preach (Christ) among the Gentiles” (Gal. 1: 16) deep in the Alaskan interior. Father Jacob continued to serve his far-flung flock of the Atka parish until December 30, 1844. A new zeal had taken hold of him, and it was then that Saint Innocent appointed him to head the new Kvikhpak Mission in order to bring the light of Christ to the people of the Yukon. Here, aided by two young Creole assistants, Innokentii Shayashnikov and Konstantin Lukin, together with his young nephew, Vasilii Netsvetov, Father Jacob “settled’ in the wilderness of Alaska. learned new languages, embraced new peoples and cultures, devised another alphabet, built another church and Orthodox community, and for the next twenty years, until his health and eyesight failed, continued to be an evangelical beacon of the grace of God in southwestern Alaska. his headquarters in the Yup’ik Eskimo village of Ikogmiute (today’s ‘Russian Mission’) he traveled to native settlements hundreds of miles up and down Alaska’s longest river (the Yukon) as well as the Kuskokwim River region. At the insistence of Indian leaders, he traveled as far as the middle of the Innoko River baptizing hundreds of Indians from various, and often formerly hostile, tribes. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps 133:1). He built the first Christian temple in this region, and dedicated it to the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. Here Father Jacob, in spite of failing health, joyfully celebrated the Church’s cycle of services, including all of the services prescribed for Holy Week and Pascha. in 1863, the evil One, who “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet 5:8), sought one last time to get the better of the righteous one. So the devil, the father of lies, (John 8:44), inspired an assistant of Father Jacob to level spurious and slanderous charges against his master. This resulted in a summons to Sitka, issued by Bishop Peter. The godly pastor was quickly cleared of all charges, but due to his ever-worsening health, he remained in Sitka for his final year serving a Tlingit chapel. He died on July 26, 1864 at the age of 60 and was buried on the third day at the entry of the chapel. During his final missionary travels in the Kuskokwim/Yukon delta region, he had baptized 1,320 people—distinguishing himself as the evangelizer of the Yup’ik Eskimo and Athabascan Indian peoples. brief history has recounted the basic chronology of the saint’s life and labors, but we must not neglect to relate his other deeds, that the light be not “hidden under a bushel” (Mt.5:15). In 184 1, Father Jacob encountered a group of women from his flock in Amlia who had fallen victim to certain demonic influences and teachings. Blaming himself for the seduction and fall of his spiritual children by the evil one, he informed the leader among them that he was going to pay them a visit. arriving, he found one of the women paralyzed, semi-conscious and unable to speak. He ordered that she be removed to another house apart, and on the next day when this was accomplished, he lit the lampada before the icons of the beautiful corner, vested himself in his priestly epitrachilion (stole), sprinkled holy water throughout the room, and began the first prayers of exorcism. He then left. the night he was notified that the woman had begun to speak but incoherently. He came immediately to her and performed a second exorcism. This time, she sprang out of her bed and stood next to the saint, joined her prayer to his, and accompanied them with prostrations. When the prayers were finished, Father Jacob again sprinkled her with holy water and gave her the precious cross to kiss. She regained full consciousness, a state of health and true reason—that is, even the false teachings of the evil spirits had no more part in her. in November of 1845, Father Jacob was preaching in the village of Kalskag, where the local chief was also the head shaman. He spoke for all of the villagers and resisted the Word of God forcefully. But the saint, calm and full of the Holy Spirit, continued to sow the seeds of right belief and piety. After many hours, the chief fell silent and finally came to believe. The villagers, in solidarity with their leader, also joyously expressed their belief in the Triune God and sought Holy Baptism. Jacob was a physician of bodies as well as souls. He often cared for the sick among his flock even to his own detriment. During the winter of 1850-1851 the saint was himself ravaged with illness. Yet he cared for the sick and dispensed medicine to them every day. Father Jacob’s preaching often brought together in the Holy Faith tribes who were traditional enemies. One example from his journal reads: “Beginning in the morning, upon my invitation, all the Kol’chane and Ingalit from the Yukon and the local ones gathered at my place and I preached the word of God, concluding at noon. Everyone listened to the preaching with attention and without discussion or dissent, and in the end they all expressed faith and their wish to accept Holy Baptism, both the Kol’chane and the Ingatit (formerly traditional enemies). I made a count by families and in groups, and then in the afternoon began the baptismal service. First I baptized 50 Kol’chane and Ingalit men, the latter from the Yukon and Innoko. It was already evening when I completed the service. March 21, 1853.” it was that this apostolic man, this new Job, conducted himself during his earthly course. There are many other deeds and wonders which he performed, many known and many more known only to God. Few missionaries in history have had to endure the hardships which Father Jacob faced, yet he did so with patience and humility. His life of faith and piety are the legacy which he leaves to us, his spiritual children in America, and indeed to all Christians throughout the world.

Russia, Moscow, 1822-1864, Makarios of Glinsk, trusted elders' spiritual path, absolute obedience, many w clairvoyance stories
Russia, Kiev, 1822-1864, Makarios of Glinsk Hermitage (between Seym and Desna Rivers), wealthy, f Ephraimov iTula, devout mother, Glinsk a22, under Philaretos, Monastery in 1828, child needing spiritual milk, trusted P's spiritual path, absolute obedience, 1833 Monastic vows, ordination, 1841 P dies, 1844 Dean, obedience, many wonderful clairvoyance stories; Glinsk Hermitage ; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated on September 7; Icon of the Mother of God of Glinsk, Commemorated on September 8 ; Saint Makarios of Glinsk Hermitage, Commemorated on February 21; holy Elder Hieromonk Makarios (Matthew Terent'evich Sharov in the world) was born in 1802, and came from a wealthy bourgeois family in the city of Ephraimov in Tula Province. His mother was particularly devout, always walking with a prayer rope in her hands, and she raised her children in the fear of God. Following the example of his parents, Matthew Terent'evich was also devout, humble, and led a restrained life: he did not eat quickly, he read spiritual books, avoided worldly fuss, diligently visited the temple of God and often prayed to God at home. In 1822, when he was twenty years old, he finally decided to forsake the world and enter the Glinsk Hermitage under the guidance of the ever-memorable Igoumen Philaretos (Danielevskii), a man known for the sanctity of his life. arrived at Glinsk Hermitage when its ever-memorable restorer, Igoumen Philaretos, was the Superior. In 1828, he was enrolled in the monastery's brotherhood. As is well-known, Father Philaretos kept a close watch over the newcomers. To him, a newcomer was a child who needed spiritual milk (I Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12; I Peter 2:2), and the Igoumen supplied it in abundance. Into this school of piety came Matthew Sharov. In the person of Father Philaretos he found a knowledgeable spiritual guide, who had learned through personal experience, the difficulty of the path to salvation. had studied this path to such a degree that the person under his guidance was fully assured of reaching his goal. Matthew soon felt this and entrusted himself to the wise instructor in absolute obedience. learning Matthew's capabilities, this spiritual guide assigned him to various obediences, which did not correspond to his abilities or spiritual needs, and the young novice carried them out in a zealous manner. first, he was appointed to work in the monastery's apiary, where Father Igoumen often visited and watched the newcomer closely, paternally instructing him in the monastic life. His ardent performance of his duties, and his humble and willing obedience to his Elder's will predisposed Father Philaretos toward him, and he often spoke to the young struggler in a paternal way. In a short time he was so prepared that he made his monastic vows on December 16, 1833, fully aware of what he was doing. He was tonsured by his great Elder and was named Makarios. still a novice, he kept watch over his soul, and after becoming a monk his vigilance increased. His humility was shown in his every word, as well as in his actions, his appearance, his clothing, and in every movement. In other words, he became an image of humility in a short time. By keeping watch over his heart, he blocked the passions from entering therein with the weapon of noetic prayer. Elder Philaretos rejoiced exceedingly over his spiritual child and taught him how a true warrior of Christ must do battle with the Enemy of our salvation. The attentive disciple of this wise instructor was quickly perfected in the virtues, reaching such a level that Father Philaretos deemed him worthy of ordination. Makarios tried to cleanse his heart of all earthly matters, and those things which are displeasing to God, so that he might become worthy of the grace which was given to him at his ordination. He always served with special reverence, which was noticed by those around him, even though he tried to hide it from everyone. His serving was distinguished by a profound feeling of humility, with fear and trembling before the greatness of Almighty God, before Whose altar he now stood. Philaretos, seeing his disciple and spiritual son rapidly ascending the steps of perfection, wished to see him in the rank of a priest during his lifetime. Father Makarios was ordained on February 29, 1839, and his elevation to the priesthood served to make him more attentive in his spiritual life. He had it very well under the protection of his wise teacher, Father Philaretos, who always had the correct solution, his clairvoyant counsels, and his timely and necessary directives. on March 31, 1841, Glinsk Hermitage was deprived of its Superior, and Hieromonk Makarios lost his earthly guardian angel. But the seeds the Elder had sown were watered by his prayers from Heaven, and were strengthened by his disciple's zeal for salvation here below. Not only were these seeds not lost, but they also bore fruit a hundredfold. Hieromonk Makarios became an example for all the monks to emulate. He studied the Holy Scriptures; he had great knowledge of the exalted Christian virtues, and of the monastic virtues. He tried to put these into practice in his own life in order to be filled with the virtues indicated to us by our Lord Jesus Christ: love of God and love for one's neighbor, strict reclusion, and mortifying the body through fasting and prayer. God's grace these became so strong in him that he wished to embrace the whole world, and to lead everyone to God. This same ardent love drew him to the service of the salvation of many people. Makarios was appointed as Dean of the monastery in 1844, despite the fact that not so long ago this zealous doer of the Lord's commandments was enrolled with the state because of illness. assuming the difficult position of Dean of the monastery, Father Makarios devoted himself to the performance of his duty. Only his humility and his Christian love toward all led him to accept this heavy and burdensome duty, but he gave his all to it. he was Dean, there was exemplary behavior in the monastery. Relying on the Dean's vigilance, the Superior was at peace because he knew that for the sake of holy obedience Father Makarios was ready to sacrifice his own comfort for that of all the brethren; and he also knew that they would maintain their good conduct out of respect for Father Makarios. did Father Dean act? He divided his love in half, as it were: one half was for the Superior, whose orders he regarded as sacred; giving the other half, and himself, to the brethren. course, some of them did not always conduct themselves as the Superior required. refused to carry out their assigned obediences out of stubbornness or self-love. Father Makarios tried to carry out their obediences himself. For example, he often made the dough for bread at night, and did other heavy work. Father Makarios tried to conceal the weakness of some of the monks from the Superior, and often he got into trouble because of this. covering up for the others, Father Makarios was deeply grieved by their weaknesses. He begged and begged them to correct themselves, and tried to counsel them. His instructions, coming from a heart aflame with love for God and for his neighbor, were so effective that those toward whom they were directed involuntarily gave way before the power of his words, and submitted themselves to holy obedience. Once they corrected themselves, Father Makarios was at peace concerning them. He knew that those who had been corrected would not permit any conduct which was contrary to the rules of the monastery, because they did not wish to grieve him. of his position, he was obliged to come into contact with worldly people, and found ways to converse with them and to be useful to them. with the usual topics, imperceptibly he would lead the conversation toward the soul's salvation. Then he would become inspired and, as if from a pure spring, he would give spiritual drink to his listeners. by the power of his words, they listened attentively to the ascetic and many learned the science of Christian life through him. while caring for the salvation of others, Father Makarios did not neglect his own. He knew how to conduct himself so that his contact with worldly people did not have an adverse effect upon him. He was rewarded abundantly when he saw that a human soul, under the influence of his tender paternal counsels, recognized its Creator. his cell, Father Makarios had only a few icons and books, and that was all. He did not acquire anything else. So that he would not be distracted, he glued paper over the windows of his cell, or painted them over, so that nothing could be seen through them. and solitude were his only food. Weakened by illness, he lay down on a rug and read the Psalter. At night the Elder got up to pray, supported by two crutches, and read the Holy Gospels, conversing with God for such a long time that one could not understand how he could do this, since he was ill. But God's "power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). is said that sometimes the Elder would take a book and go into the forest. Then he would sit down somewhere to read or to pray. Finding a suitable tree stump, the ascetic would place the book on it and kneel down before it. Then his pure soul would fly to Heaven on the wings of prayer. Father Makarios, as usual, went for one of these strolls in the woods, and became very tired. He sat down by the side of the road in order to rest a little, but he was so deep in meditation that he did not hear a peasant's horse-drawn wagon approaching. Suddenly, as the wagon came closer, he stood up. The horse became frightened and veered to the side. Father Makarios said, "Forgive me, brother," and bowed to him. peasant smiled and said, "If it were anyone else... but, since it is Father Makarios, then we shall say nothing." little incident shows just how much Father Makarios was respected, not only by the brethren of the monastery, but also by those who lived outside its gates. great ascetical labors finally caused his already fragile health to deteriorate. in June of 1848, he was relieved of his duties at his own request. After this, he did not leave his cell, except to go to church, and for infrequent solitary walks in the woods. At such times he was seen in the cemetery, where there was much that his humble and attentive soul knew and loved. Even though his solitary retreat in his cell was not full reclusion, all his ascetical labors were truly those of a real recluse. evening, two monks were going to his cell together in order to speak with him. Among the other things they mentioned about Father Makarios, one of them said, "He has locked himself in. It is easy to be saved in reclusion, because one does not behold any temptations. If he lived as we do, however, having temptations before his eyes, and if he could live as if he did not have them, then that would be a great ascetic feat indeed!" one of them had to pass by the cell of Father Makarios in order to get to his own. Father Makarios opened his door and asked him to come in. he said, "forgive me, a sinner, and a weak one, who is unable to struggle as you do, but hides from worldly temptations in his cell. For the sake of God, forgive me." monk was stricken, not so much by the Elder's humility, but by the very words which the monk himself had spoken only a few moments before, and were now repeated by the Elder. This monk who had judged others made a prostration before the humble ascetic, and sincerely asked to forgiven. many admirers of Father Makarios, who were deprived of the great benefit of his counsels after he had locked himself in his cell, tried to come to him now in his cell, but they were turned away. some of them, having great faith, and who loved the Elder, asked the Superior to order Father Makarios to receive those who came to him, for the sake of obedience. As usual, the humble Elder now preferred the benefit and the will of others to his own solace, and so he opened the door of his cell to everyone. had been waiting for a long time to hear his grace-filled words, and now that his door was open, they came to him often, and at all times, knowing that Father Makarios would always give them just the right advice and the necessary help from God. cell was a place where many of their spiritual needs were met, and many questions were answered. From early morning until the evening, many people disclosed to him the thoughts of their hearts, weeping many warm and salvific tears of repentance. They vowed to correct themselves, and their perplexities were resolved. Elder’s calmness when counseling people was amazing. He listened to both the nonsensical superstitions of the common folk, and the disbelief and the foolish freethinking of educated persons. He heard the senseless complaints of a peasant woman, and the fanciful curiosity of a wealthy woman, as well as the simple stories of a peasant, and the deceitfully elegant conversations of the wise of this world. Nothing could disturb his Christian patience and his complete spiritual peace, however. He conquered all by his most profound humility. Pure joy shone on his radiant countenance, reflecting the purity of his heart. His eyes expressed his angelic meekness and inner peace. Those who entered his cell in sadness emerged in a state of happiness. The sorrowful received comfort; the despairing came out with the hope of repentance; the self-confident became humble. for his great piety, many people wrote to ask him for advice and guidance in the spiritual life, or about their doubts and sorrows. The loving Elder, who was always ready to help his neighbor, did not refuse to reply. someone who had received only the most elementary education at home, he was not learned in worldly wisdom, but he attained great perfection by obeying Christ’s commandments, by his attentive study of the Holy Scriptures, and the writings of the Holy Fathers. of those who came to Father Makarios with faith noticed that he had the gift of clairvoyance. One hieromonk tells us: “When I entered the monastery, I was given a cell not far from that of Father Makarios. He always had so many people waiting to see him that they stood at his door from Matins until Vespers. often saw Father Makarios open the door, and those who were closest would fall to the floor before him. He, as though he did not notice them, would call out to someone far in the back: “John,” or “Anna, come here.” people made their way through the crowd with difficulty, he would ask them to tell him their name, something about their life, and their reason for coming to him. Then after giving advice, he would let the person go forth in peace, and then he would call the next person in the same way. it happened that a person who had traveled a great distance, perhaps thousands of miles, never got to see the Elder. Later, it was noticed that those he called had a greater need for his godly-wise conversation than the others.” “Invited and blessed by Father Makarios, I often came to help out in his cell. Once, as a reward for my efforts, the Elder blessed me with a Priest’s Service Book and said, ‘Do not be proud or judge others; humble yourself and you will be a good monk. Later, you will bless others.’ “These words seemed impossible to me, because at that time I was barely able to read. Later, events revealed the truth of the Elder’s clairvoyant words, foretelling that I would become a priest. “About two weeks after he took up residence in the tower located in the ‘Bishop’s Garden,’ I went to see him. came to his tower and saw that there were no crowds waiting for him, only one woman who tossed some white object on the Elder’s steps as I approached. had just reached the door, and before I had time to say the prayer, I heard the Elder’s voice: ‘Timothy, Timothy, hurry and open the door.’ The Elder could not have seen me because at the time he was lying down on his little rug with the Psalter in his hand. ‘Why do you come to me so seldom now?’ he asked. ‘Forgive me, Batushka,’ I replied. ‘I don’t have the time, because of my obedience.’ ‘It is good that you have come,’ he said. Pointing to a jar of ointment in the window he said, ‘You can rub me with that. My chest hurts, and it is hard to breathe.’ “Because of his illness, the Elder’s chest was swollen. As I rubbed him I, the sinful one, thought: ‘The Elder still has some fat on him.’ “He replied to my thoughts on the spot: ‘Timothy, do you see how smooth I am? I eat so much; you can see how fat I am.’ ‘Forgive me, Batushka,’ I said, struck by his clairvoyance. “Then he said, ‘Go out and bring what is on the steps. Didn’t you see anything?’ “I forgot that I had witnessed the woman’s actions and replied, ‘No, Batushka, I did not, but bless me and I will see if there is something there, and if so, I shall bring it.’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘don’t go. It isn’t necessary.’ “After finishing some of the chores which needed to be done, I said, ‘Batushka, perhaps you will bless me to go home now?’ ‘God will bless you,’ he said, ‘but come to see me more often. When you go out, you will see a man and a woman standing on the ground. They are married, and live very much in harmony. His name is John, and hers is Eudokia. Tell them to come in.’ ‘Bless me,’ I said. “I went down the steps thinking: ‘Is someone here now? When I came in, there was no one around, and one cannot see from the cell because the windows are facing the forest, and besides, the Elder could not get up from the floor.’ “I went down the steps with these thoughts, and I saw a man and a woman. I thought I should ask them their names. ‘Are you here to see Father Makarios?’ I asked. ‘Yes, to see Father Makarios,’ they replied. “I asked the man his name, and he said, ‘John.’ ‘And yours?’ I asked the woman. “She said, ‘Eudokia.’ “I asked them how they were related, and they said, ‘We are husband and wife.’ ‘Go on up,’ I said. “Then I understood the Elder’s wondrous gift of clairvoyance. I went back to my cell, not understanding why the Elder was so open with me this time. He knew, however, that this would be my last visit to him, and so he did not conceal his gift. Soon after this, he became ill. When I went to see him at the infirmary, he was unable to speak, because of his weakness. He gestured feebly for me to come close to him. Even then, when he was ill and close to death, and in pain, he still kept me in prayerful remembrance.” those who came to him, Father Makarios with his spiritual eyes knew their future destiny, and often revealed it to them. A certain devout monk tells us the following: “One day, my mother, my brother, and I came to Glinsk to receive Father Makarios’s blessing. As he was blessing us the Elder pointed to me and said to my mother, ‘Give this child to the Queen of Heaven, and keep this one (pointing to my brother) for yourself.’ In her simplicity, and because of her sincere faith in God’s will, as expressed to her through the Elder, she said that she was prepared to leave both of us with him. The Elder, however, repeated what he had just said.” as it happened, the older of the two boys, who had a sincere disposition toward monasticism, was proficient in that capacity. The other one, because of his leanings, could not endure monastic life. A. said, “I came to Glinsk Hermitage from the Maloyaroslavets-St. Nicholas Monastery. The late Father Archimandrite Innocent, for special reasons, did not usually accept monks from other monasteries into his. When I requested to be accepted into the Hermitage, the Archimandrite refused, although he did not set a time limit on my stay at the monastery guesthouse. I lived there for three months without leaving the monastery, which had become so dear to me. In the end, I decided to go to Father Makarios for advice. The ever-memorable Elder was already sick in bed when I went to see him. Bowing to the ground before him, I described my sorrow because I could not stay and work there, since the Superior would not accept me. “Go and ask him,” Batushka said, “and he will take you in.” “I did as I was told, and contrary to all expectation, Father Innocent made an exception for me and took me in. Of course, it was through the prayers of Father Makarios that he accepted me.” certain elderly nun, a disciple of Father Makarios, describes how she entered the monastery which he indicated to her by his clairvoyance. “Once, when I was young, I was at Glinsk Hermitage on a certain Feast Day, and attended a solemn Moleben. Among those who were serving, I saw a tall, thin Hieromonk with sunken eyes. I wanted to see his face, and just as I had that thought, he turned and looked straight at me. This, as I found out later, was Father Makarios. On another occasion, I was at Glinsk Hermitage with a little girl. I had heard a great deal about Father Makarios, but I was afraid to go see him. After the Divine Liturgy, I went back to our room in the guesthouse, and the little girl disappeared without me noticing. After a short time, she returned with a booklet: Brief Instructions for Monks. ‘I was told to give this to you,’ she said, handing me the booklet. “After that, I wanted to see Father Makarios in person, and I asked the monk in the guesthouse to find out if he would receive me. I received this reply: ‘She must go to the monastery, and when they accept her, she may come to me for a blessing.’ “When I arrived back home, I became quite bored with everything, and could find no relief in anything I did, so I was forced to go back to Glinsk Hermitage to see Father Makarios. He received me very kindly, comforting me and ordering me to enter a monastery. When I asked which one, and where, he replied that God Himself would arrange everything. “Returning home to my family, I regarded myself as a stranger with them. Life in the world had lost all its meaning for me. Through some acquaintances, I asked Father Makarios what I should do. He ordered them to tell me that when the time came for me to enter the monastery, I would not remain at home for even a moment. I traveled, wishing to distract myself from my terrible boredom. I visited one maiden’s monastery to pray, but did not want to enter. When I received the blessing of the Igoumeness, however, I suddenly asked to be accepted into the monastery, and she took me in. After that, I went to see Father Makarios. He received me as a father would meet a beloved child. He opened the door to his cell and told me to look things over. “Look here, look at everything,” he said. “In his cell he had only an Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Passion” (August 13), a cross, a few books, a table, a chair, and a simple wooden bench upon which was placed an old peasant’s coat. On the table there was an apple. After showing me his cell, he sat on the steps and instructed me about humility, patience, non-acquisitiveness, and in general, how a nun must live. After this, he embraced my head and kissed it, like a loving mother.1 Then he said, ‘Do you want your sister to die?’ “He was asking about my younger sister who was always sick, and whom I loved very much. I did not wish to be separated from her, however. I did not answer, and the Elder asked me again. Then, as if he was replying to my thoughts, he said, ‘You do not desire this, but it would be better if she did die. Pray about it.’ But I could not pray for my sister’s death. “Eventually, she got better and grew up, but she had a very unhappy life. Now I regret that she did not die back then. After a year, I wanted to leave the monastery. There were many sorrows, and I did not have the patience to bear them. So, I went to Father Makarios again. He ordered me to go to another monastery and to remain there for a while. I asked to be accepted there, and I was. But I went to Father Makarios in order to find out where I must live. I returned to Batushka and he told me to go back to the first monastery, saying that God Himself had decreed that this is where I must live. “When I returned and told Matushka Igoumeness about my trip, she would not let me go, and ordered me to make prostrations for a week (probably at trapeza) as a punishment for my willful absence. I was comforted by Father Makarios in this sorrow, and I received his wise counsel until the end of his life.” was a certain nun (Mother Agnes) who had money, and a nice cell; the Igoumeness loved her, and all the sisters respected her. This, however, was not good for the salvation of her soul, because "it is through many tribulations that we must enter into the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).2 The Elder prayed and arranged for her to bear these saving sorrows. As a wise instructor, he did not leave her to face these sorrows without warning her ahead of time. He prepared her for all this in advance, foretelling the grief, persecution, and want that she would face. "Weep a little, weep a little! It doesn't matter why you weep," he said, "it is better than being happy." did not believe any of this, thinking that the Elder was joking with her. She did not realize the wisdom of the Elder's predictions until she returned to the monastery and discovered that her position had changed. His prophecy came true, exactly as he said it would. Even then, he did not leave her without help. He sent her comforting letters, saying that all this would pass, and that she would live as before. This also came true, but it was no longer harmful for her soul, because she had passed through the fire of temptation, and knew the value of worldly goods, and the fickleness of human love. general, the Elder consoled some people by offering a better outlook for the future; others were warned of troubles to come, preparing them in time, so that their sorrow would be easier to bear. crowds of people were drawn to Father Makarios by his counsels, which came from his gift of grace, his admonitions, and by his healing of bodily infirmities. Because of this, it was sometimes difficult to move in the monastery courtyard, or near its gates, or by the cell of Father Makarios. On one occasion, people were waiting to be received, each in his turn, by the godly Elder. Hieromonk Joseph, a disciple of Father Makarios, had to make his way through the crowd. Because of the great multitude, his progress was very slow, and he was displeased. He thought, “Look at the crowd the old man has brought here. Why does he care for them? They will not let me by.” he walked by the Elder’s cell, he heard a tapping on the window. He went in and asked him, “Did you call me?” “Yes, I did call you,” he replied. “Please tell me, for God’s sake, what am I to do with the people? You see how many have come and I, a wretched old man, must care for them, and they will not let me go by.” Joseph then understood that the Elder had discerned his thoughts and called him in to ask him what to do with all the people. Stricken by this, Hieromonk Joseph asked for forgiveness. The Elder forgave him and said that he, “a sinner,” was not acting on his own, but in obedience to the command of the Queen of Heaven, and was doing her will. We do not know how this will was expressed: in a vision, or by the Superior’s blessing for him to receive visitors. In any case, a certain vision may have had something to do with it. Father Makarios himself told some nuns that he once had a vision on his way to church. In the monastery courtyard, and all around him, many swallows were flying. Some of them landed on his hands, and others on his shoulders, and he was able to hold them in his hands and blow on them. After that, when he was returning from church, he was carrying a cross on his head. On the roof of the cells there were many crows cawing at him. He understood that the vision of the swallows meant that he should not refuse to receive women who sought his advice. The vision where he was carrying the cross meant that this was a difficult task. The crows which cawed at him represented the brethren who complained because he received women. his many spiritual gifts, Father Makarios received the gift of healing human sickness. Once, a possessed person was brought to him. He was calm, but as soon as his companions turned toward the cell of Father Makarios, the possessed man became frantic. They dragged him to the Elder by force, and Christ’s true follower laid his hands on him and healed the man by his powerful prayer to God. words did not have the elegance of the learned people of the world, but they were permeated with wisdom from on high, and were fervent because of his meekness and love, and so they were vibrant and effective. His words were filled with spiritual rationality, which the Fathers call the highest of all virtues. any doubt, we know that everyone who followed the Elder’s advice received not only spiritual benefit, but they also became more successful in their worldly affairs. There are so many examples of this that it is superfluous to mention all of them here. the Elder’s many visitors succeeded in getting him to accept some small gift (which did not happen often). He sent all of these to the Superior, however, without pausing for a moment. Upon his death, only a small coin was in found in one of his books, because he used it as a bookmark and then forgot about it. The Elder only kept incense and candles, which he used in his cell. return the visitors often asked Father Makarios for some small thing as a blessing and memento. The Elder gave away everything he received to the pilgrims, and when he had nothing left, he would say, "What can I give you? I have nothing left but a few crusts of bread left over from trapeza." visitors were happy to receive even these crusts and accepted them with sincere reverence. By God's grace, these were more precious to them than gold or silver. Faith in the power of the Elder's prayer gave his things, even a crust of bread, similar power. According to the testimony of those who received them, they healed people of their illnesses. Makarios, who helped everyone in their inner renewal, did not forget his closest fellow ascetics in the monastery. In all circumstances, and the attacks of the Enemy, the brethren ran to Batushka. Once, when Hieromonk Moses was stricken with spiritual sorrow, he hoped to receive comfort from Heaven by speaking with the Elder. But Father Makarios was so exhausted from receiving visitors that he could hardly breathe, so he asked Father Moses to come back to him in the morning. Father Moses left the Elder's cell with a heavy heart, and silently turned to Heaven, and his prayer was heard. next morning, as dawn was breaking, Father Makarios sent for Father Moses. When he came to the Elder's cell Father Makarios bowed before him and said, "Forgive me, a sinner, Father and brother, for refusing you yesterday. Last night I suffered terribly because of it." From that time forward, the Elder devoted himself completely to his disciples. They were able to come to him at any time without having to wait. They only had to say the customary Jesus Prayer at the door. After this they no longer were afraid of coming at inconvenient times, or of disturbing the Elder. His peace was in the spiritual peace of his disciples. Truly, one could say that Father Makarios was a worthy disciple of a worthy teacher: the ever-memorable Igoumen Philaretos. He in his turn became a worthy spiritual guide for others. the brethren of Glinsk Hermitage, with whom Father Makarios was on especially friendly terms, was the nearly one-hundred-year-old Monk Theodotos. Elder Makarios was also the spiritual brother of the strict ascetic and Elder, Father Schema-Archimandrite Heliodoros (1797-1879). between these great spiritual men, however, there arose spiritual discontentment. Father Makarios, filled with love for everyone, had yielded to the requests of his many admirers, and he agreed to have some photographic visiting cards made. Heliodoros was deeply offended by this, and when Father Makarios came to visit him, he told him so. He believed that this decision of Father Makarios was inconsistent with monastic humility, and he criticized him harshly, "You are not an Elder, but an old man with a basket" (the Russian word he used refers to a large basket which peasants use to carry things). Then he explained the reason for his unusual words. Father Makarios explained that he did not act as he had from a desire to glorify himself, but because he didn't want to scorn the love of others. Father Heliodoros, however, refused to listen to Father Makarios. He said, "You did not do this according to God’s will. Bishops are luminaries, but who are you? This is the sort of thing which is done by those who do not care about a heavenly reward. had been done could not be changed, and this is the only reason we have the Elder's portrait. Father Makarios, however, took the stern disapprobation of Elder Heliodoros to heart. Hieromonk Pankratios, who was loved by Elder Makarios, and who learned much from him about his ascetical life, and himself had witnessed many signs of God's grace by the Elder's prayers, kept a secret journal about these things. Somehow, Father Makarios found out about it. Recalling Father Heliodoros's stern criticism, and through fear of eternal damnation, he ordered Father Pankratios to destroy all his notes. The latter did so, though much against his will. tireless worker for the glory of God, and for the salvation of his neighbor, did not spare his own health, sacrificing everything for the sake of others. After a time, although the inner man continued to grow, the temple of his body became weaker and weaker. He received some sort of revelation concerning his approaching death. As the Elder said later, he wished to "depart to live with the Angels in Heaven," and he desired to be tonsured into the Great Schema. He was tonsured on June 1, 1863 with the same name. To the repetition of his monastic vows he added even more to his former great works. attended all the lengthy services at the Hermitage as usual. Standing at the kleros3 and leaning on his crutch, he stood until the end of the service, ignoring the swelling of his legs and the festering wounds which covered his body, causing him to suffer a great deal. Just as before, he wore the mantiya and klobuk, with the Great Schema beneath. It was only rarely that he wore all the garments pertaining to the Great Schema. That is because after Elder Heliodoros was tonsured into the Great Schema, he wore all the garments of the Great Schema when he came to church. These, as we know, are adorned with many crosses. In their simplicity, some commoners made the Sign of the Cross and made prostrations before him. This disturbed and grieved the humble Elder so much that he never wore the garments of the Schema before the people again, but only the mantiya and klobuk. Elder Makarios imitated the example of Elder Heliodoros. his weakness, Elder Makarios served the Divine Liturgy with the same reverence as before. He slept very little now, sitting in the chair which had served him as a bed for seventeen years. After his tonsure into the Schema, he stopped corresponding with people by mail, but he received those who wished to see him and to receive his blessing, although not as many as before. Now he received almost no women. This continued until he was forced to take to his bed. cause of his last illness was a cold. As long as he was able, the Elder read all the Church Services in his cell (alone, or with the help of others), and when he was confined to bed by his illness, he listened attentively to the prayers being read by others. Now he began to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ more frequently, knowing full well that soon he would be separated from the bonds of his body. Provided with the Church’s Mysteries, and with his disciples weeping over him, he surrendered his soul peacefully and quietly on February 21, 1864, at the age of sixty-three. a good and faithful servant, Father Makarios did not sever his ties with the world below after he had passed into the joy of his Lord. There are several testimonials about this. The aforementioned woman Eudokia, who told the Elder all the circumstances of her life, was experiencing great sorrow. She often remembered Father Makarios and thought, “If only he were still alive, he would console me with his grace-filled words.” night, after she had fallen into a light sleep, she beheld a beautiful bower covered with greenery, and Father Makarios was inside. She rushed toward him, intending to tell him of her grief, but before she could do so, the Elder gave her an icon of Christ the Savior, and a small bottle of olive oil, and then he disappeared. In this case, the bottle of oil represented the oil of consolation, because by the Elder’s prayers, her sorrow soon passed away. is another case. In a certain village, about four miles from Glinsk Hermitage, there lived a poor peasant with his wife and children. He became ill, so that he was not only unable to work, but he could not even walk. This sickness lasted for four years. His poor wife labored beyond her strength so that they would not all die from starvation. The man was not helped by village medications, and under the circumstances, they could not even think of getting a doctor to treat him. They were so poor that a dry crust of bread was regarded as a great mercy from God. She often bowed down before the holy Icon, broken-hearted and in tears, beseeching the Mother of God to heal her husband. day, after praying in this manner, she fell asleep and saw a majestic Elder standing before her. “Why do you weep?” he asked. “How can I not weep, Batushka?” and the unfortunate woman told him of her sorrow. “Do not weep,” he told her, “but go to Glinsk Hermitage and ask the Superior to serve a Moleben to the Mother of God with a procession to the Skete, and your husband shall be healed.”4 “But how shall I do this?” the woman asked. “I have no money, not even a kopek.” The Elder said, “You go to the Superior. He is kind, and he will do it without payment.” Then she asked, “What is your name, Batushka?” “Makarios,” he replied, and then he vanished. unusual dream made such an impression on the woman that she went to the Hermitage at once without saying anything to anyone. The first person she met was Father Gurios, the vestment-keeper, and she told him everything she had seen. Father Gurios related all this to Igoumen Innocent, who blessed for a Moleben to be served without any payment. The Moleben for the sick man’s health began, and at the end of the Akathist, the man himself entered the church and prayed with great fervor. those who heard the woman’s account of her husband’s hopeless illness were astonished when he came in, most of all, the wife herself. As he recounted later, the man had seen Father Makarios, whom he had known personally, in his dream. The Elder came and took him by the hand saying, “Why do you lay there? Get up and go to Glinsk Hermitage. Your wife will pray at the Skete, and you must pray as well.” he awoke, the man felt his strength returning, and he was able to move, but only with difficulty. Even so, he was able to get to the Skete before the end of the Moleben. Everyone who has experienced something similar will understand how great the joy of these poor peasants was. Even now, many people who knew Father Makarios, or who have only heard about him, take dust and leftover rain water from his grave stone with faith. Because of their faith, and the prayers of the ever-memorable ascetic, they receive help, by the grace of God. August 16, 2008, at the Glinsk Nativity of the Mother of God Hermitage, Saint Makarios was glorified for local veneration, along with the holy venerable Elders of Glinsk. His name was added to the Menaion of the Russian Orthodox Church by the decision of the Council of Bishops in 2017. 1 This unusual gesture, kissing a person on the head the way one would venerate a saint’s relic, indicates the wish that the person might also become a saint. 2 However: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but out of all of them the Lord will deliver them" (Psalm 33/34:19). [FrJF] 3 The area at the front of the church where the Readers and singers stand. The right and left choirs. The name is derived from κλήρος, which means "the drawing of lots." In the earlier times the Readers and singers were chosen by lots. (A Manual of the Orthodox Church's Divine Services, by Archpriest D. Sokolof. New York and Albany, 1899. Pages 18-19.) 4 At Glinsk Hermitage, on several days during the summer, there is a procession from the monastery to the Skete with the wonderworking Icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos.

Russia, Moscow, 1823-1829, S-nun Martha of Diveyevo, pure unceasing prayer, named by MOG for new hermitage
Russia, Mordovia, 1823-1829, Schema-nun Martha of Diveyevo women's monastery, Sanazar, Mordovia, Lord's very rare gift of pure and unceasing prayer, most severe ascetic, almost completely silent, of Seraphim's chosen orphans, MOG named 8 sisters to take to new hermitage and where ; Diveyevo women's monastery; Venerable Schema-nun Martha of Diveyevo, Commemorated on August 21; Venerable Mother Martha (in the world Maria Semenovna Milyukova) was born on February 10, 1810 a peasant family of the Nizhny Novgorod governorate, Ardatovsky district, in the village of Pozhidovo (now Malinovka). Milyukov family, who led a righteous and God-pleasing life, was close to Elder Seraphim of Sarov. addition to Maria, there were two older children - her sister Praskovya Semenovna and her brother Ivan Semenovich. village, along with those adjacent to it, were appanages - they did not belong to the lord-landowner, but to the treasury. land was divided separately, but it was infertile, because the black earth plots were seized by neighboring landlords. peasants lived very poorly, from childhood they had to work a great deal in the fields, and to take care of the livestock. Saint Seraphim's blessing, Praskovya Semenovna entered the community of Mother Alexandra (in the world Agathia Semenovna Belokopytova), the first founder of Diveyevo Monastery, and a nun of exalted spiritual life. Maria was thirteen years old, she and her sister Praskovya came to Father Seraphim for the first time. This occurred on November 21, 1823, the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. Praskovya Semenovna told it, Maria "was attached to me," and so both of them came to Sarov. great Elder, seeing that the girl Maria was a chosen vessel of God's grace, he did not allow her to return home, but ordered her to remain in the community. thirteen-year-old Maria Semenovna was numbered with Father Seraphim's chosen orphans, in the community of Matushka Alexandra, of which the Eldress Xenia Mikhailovna Kocheulova was the Superior, whom Father Seraphim called "a pillar of fire from earth to heaven" and a "spiritual rasp" because of her righteous life. extraordinary, hitherto inconspicuous girl Maria cannot be compared with anyone: she was angelic, a child of God, and from an early age she began to lead an ascetical life. the severity of her ascetical contest (podvig) she surpassed even the sisters of the community, who were distinguished for the severity of their life, and even surpassed the Superior Xenia Mikhailovna herself. prayer was her food, and she would reply only to necessary questions with heavenly meekness. She was almost completely silent, Father Seraphim loved her with exceptional tenderness, disclosing to her all his heavenly revelations concerning the Monastery's future glory, and other great spiritual mysteries. ordered her not to speak of these things until that time. She obeyed his instructions, despite the requests and entreaties of the sisters and her relatives. Whenever she returned after seeing Saint Seraphim, she was radiant with inexpressible joy. afterward, Maria entered the community of the Kazan church. Queen of Heaven had blessed the creation of a new community next to that one, which is how the construction of the Monastery, which the Mother of God had promised to Mother Alexandra, began. 1825, Father Seraphim began going to bless first the sisters, and then the virtuous Superior of the Diveyevo community, Xenia Mikhailovna, who, of course, deeply respected and highly revered Father Seraphim, she would not agree to change the Rule of her community, which seemed to be too severe, both to Father Seraphim and all the sisters who had been rescued in the community. number of sisters had increased so much in the community that they needed to enlarge their property, but it was impossible to expand in any direction. Seraphim summoned Xenia Mikhailovna and tried to persuade her that it would be easier to replace the severe Sarov Rule, but she wouldn't hear of it. me, my joy," Father Seraphim said. the uncompromising Eldress finally replied: "No, Batiushka, let it be the old way. We have been content with the Rule which our founder, Father Pakhomios († 1794) has already established for us!" Father Seraphim dismissed the Superior of the Diveyevo community, reassured that what the great Eldress Mother Alexandra had asked him to do no longer weighed on his conscience, or that the time for God's will to be done had not yet come. on November 25 of that year, on the Feast Day of the holy God-pleasers Clement, the Pope of Rome, and Saint Peter of Alexandria, while he was making his way through the thickets of the forest along the bank of the Sarovka River, and going to his Far Hermitage as usual, Seraphim saw the Mother of God and two Apostles standing behind her: Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist. Queen of Heaven, struck the earth with her staff, so that a spring issued from the ground, a fountain of clear water. She said to him, "Why do you wish to disregard what my servant Agathia, the nun Alexandra, has asked you to do, and to forsake Xenia and her sisters, for this commandment to my servants must not be broken, but strictly observed; for it is by my will that she gave it to you. will show you another place, also in the village of Diveyevo, and there I will establish this, my promised abode. In remembrance of the promise I gave her, take eight sisters from Xenia’s community, the place of my servant’s repose." also told him the names of which girls to take. weeks after this vision of the Queen of Heaven, on December 9, 1825, Maria and another sister, came to Saint Seraphim, and Batiushka told them that they should accompany him to his Far Hermitage. there and going into the dwelling, Father Seraphim gave the sisters two lit wax candles, which they brought with them at his orders, together with oil and breadcrumbs. told Maria to stand on the right side of the cross hanging on the wall, and Praskovia Stepanovna (that was the name of the other sister) on the left. they stood for more than an hour with lit candles, and Father Seraphim stood between them, praying all the while. praying, he stood before the cross and told them to pray as well. before beginning to establish a new community he prayed mystically with the sisters, who had been designated by the Mother of God for special service to her and to the Monastery. four years, Maria struggled, helping Saint Seraphim and the sisters to establish the new community, stored poles and timbers for the mill which the Mother of God blessed them to build on the site where the new community would be built. carried bricks for construction of the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos; ground flour fulfilled other obediences, which she never neglected her heartfelt prayers, "silently lifting up her ardent soul to the Lord." wondrous girl was endowed by the Lord with a very rare gift of pure and unceasing prayer. all things she was always guided by Saint Seraphim himself. an example of her unconditional obedience, it was said that when her sister Praskovia Semenovna had a question about a certain Sarov monk, Maria was surprised and like an innocent child she asked: "What kind of monks, Parasha, look like a priest?" in turn by her sister's question, Praskovya Semenovna replied to her: "After all, you go to Sarov, didn't you see what you were asking about?" – "No, Parashenka," Maria Semenovna said humbly, "because I don't see or know anything; Seraphim ordered me never to look at them, and I tie a handkerchief over my face like this, so I can see the road beneath my feet." is how the child-ascetic was. She lived in the Monastery for just six years, and then she went peacefully and quietly to the Lord at the age of nineteen. August 21,1829, Diveyevo Monastery lost its wondrous young girl of holy life, Maria Semenovna Milyukova, Schema-nun Martha. foreseen the hour of her death in the spirit, Saint Seraphim suddenly wept with great sorrow and told Father Paul in the neighboring cell, “Paul! Maria has departed, and it grieves me that, as you see, everyone is crying!” Seraphim wished to make her an oak coffin, rounded and hollowed out. Semenovna went after him with another sister of Diveyevo, Aquilina Vasilyevna. Semenovna was very upset, and Batiushka embraced her in a paternal way, caressing and encouraging her. he joined the hands of Praskovya Semenovna and Aquilina Vasilyevna and told them: you shall be sisters, and I am your father, for I have begotten you in the Spirit! is the Schema-nun Martha, I tonsured her into the Schema. She has everything: the Schema, the mantiya, and my kamilavka, all this is hers. Put it down! Don't be discouraged, Matushka." Father Seraphim turned to Praskovya Semenovna and said, "Her soul is in the Kingdom of Heaven, near the Holy Trinity, at God's Throne, and your entire family shall be saved by her." addition, Batiushka Seraphim donated 25 rubles for the funeral expenses and 25 copper rubles to give to all the sisters and laymen, whoever was at her burial, three kopecks each. He also donated two towels for the altar, a bunch of yellow candles for her to be commemorated for forty days after her repose, so that they would burn in the church day and night for forty days, and at her coffin a yellow one ruble candle, and at the funeral, half a pound of white twenty-kopeck candles. with the blessing of Saint Seraphim, Maria Semenovna, Schema-nun Martha, was laid in a coffin: in two scrolls (shirts), in a paper cassock, belted with a woolen black edge, over this was in a black and white cross-stitched Schema and a long robe. On her head was placed a green velvet embroidered gold cap, and on top of it Batiushka Seraphim's kamilavka, and finally, still tied with a large dradedam a dark blue handkerchief with tassels. In her hands - leather prayer ropes. these things were given to her by Father Seraphim with his own hands, them always to commune of the Holy Mysteries, was exactly what Maria did on each of the Twelve Major Feasts, and during the four fasts. righteous Seraphim sent all those who had just come to him in these days to Diveyevo for the funeral of Maria Semenovna. to the sisters who knew nothing about it, those who worked on Satis (a forest area on the banks of the Satis River), to Barbara Ilyinishna and others, the Elder said: "You are my joys! Come soon to Diveyevo where the great servant of God Maria has departed to the Lord!" sisters could not understand how Maria could die, and they were surprised to find Maria Semenovna in her coffin. Maria Semenovna's brother Ivan, who had also attended his sister's funeral, went to speak to Batiushka Seraphim. the Elder said: "Are you really Maria's brother?" – "Yes, Batiushka," he replied. Batiushka looked at him a second time and asked: "Are you Maria's brother?" – "Yes, Batiushka," he said again. the Elder thought for a long, long time, still staring intently at Ivan, who stood before him. he became so joyful and luminous that the sun's rays seemed to shine from his face, and Ivan had to turn away from Father Seraphim, unable to look at him. Batiushka exclaimed: "Behold, my joy! What mercy she has received from the Lord! She is in the Kingdom of Heaven at the Throne of God, near the Queen of Heaven, with the holy virgins! is an intercessor for your entire family! She is the Schema-nun Martha, I tonsured her. you are at Diveyevo, never pass by her grave without kneeling down and saying: "Our lady and Mother Martha, remember us before God's Throne in the Kingdom of Heaven!" Saint Seraphim repeated this to Ivan Semenovich three times. that, Father Seraphim summoned Sister Xenia Vasilyevna Putkova (later the Nun Capitolina) whom he always assigned to write down various names for commemoration, said to her, "Behold, Matushka, list her as the Nun Maria, but because by her deeds and by the prayers of the wretched Seraphim, she has received the Schema! Pray to her as Schema-nun Martha, you and everyone around her." to the testimony of the sisters and those close to Diveyeo, Maria Semenovna was tall and attractive in appearance; with an oblong, pale, bright face, blue eyes, thick light blonde eyebrows, and hair of the same color. was buried with her hair loose. She rests on the left side of Mother Alexandra, the first founder of the Kazan community. of the stories told by the older nuns about Maria Semenovna have been preserved. Ilarionovna (later the nun Melitina) related the following: "Living in the world and hearing about Father Seraphim from everyone," she said: "I wished to be at Sarov and to receive his blessing. First of all, when I arrived at Sarov, I went to Batiushka in his wilderness; he came out to meet me, blessed me, and said with a smile, 'Matushka, do you know Maria Semenovna?' I said 'I do know her, Batiushka; she lives three yards away from us.' Matushka," the Saint continued, 'I will tell you about her, how zealous she was about her work. a church was being built at Diveyevo in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the girls themselves carried small bricks, one took two, another took three, she, Matushka, could carry five or six bricks, and silently, with a prayer on her lips, she lifted up her ardent soul to the Lord. she developed a stomach ailment and surrendered her soul to God.' to Saint Seraphim, the nineteen-year-old ascetic Schema-nun Martha, who departed to the Lord, was appointed, as the Superior of the Diveyevo "orphans" in the Kingdom of Heaven, in the abode of the Mother of God, which he said to the Eldress Eudokia Ephraimna: "The Lord has twelve Apostles, the Queen of Heaven has twelve virgins, so you twelve are mine. Just as the Lord chose the Great Martyr Katherine as His bride, so from you twelve virgins, I selected Maria as His future bride. There she is above you, she will be the eldest!" brother, Ivan Semenovich, also ended his life as a monk at Sarov Hermitage. the obedience as the gatekeeper at Sarov, he said: "As a layman and a peasant, I often worked for Father Seraphim, he foretold many, many wonderful things to me concerning Diveyevo, he always said: "If anyone offends my orphan girls, he shall be punished severely by the Lord; whoever stands up for them, and defends and helps them when in need, God's great mercy will poured forth on that person from on high. even sighs and pities them in his heart will be rewarded by the Lord. I will tell you, Batiushka, remember this: happy is everyone who stays with the wretched Seraphim at Diveyevo for a day, from morning to morning, the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, visits Diveyevo every twenty-four hours!" his commandment to Batiushka he added: "Gatekeeper, I have always said that, and I tell everyone." of his daughters later entered the Diveyevo community. One of them, Elena Ivanovna, married a spiritual man, Saint Seraphim's friend Nicholas Alexandrovich Motovilov, who was the Monastery's benefactor. She was a "great lady," as Batiushka Seraphim called her when she was just a child, ordering her sister to fall down at the young girl's feet. Elena Ivanovna was the only one present at Father Seraphim's burial in 1833, and the survived until his glorification in 1903. Widowed in the last years of her life she lived at Diveyevo. Elena Ivanovna reposed at an advanced age in 1910. Before her death, she was secretly tonsured as a nun. Stepanovna, an old sister in the community by the mill related how terrible it was to disobey Father Seraphim, recalled that once Batiushka ordered her to come with the young woman Maria Semenovnaya with two horses pulling logs behind them. They were to go straight to Batiushka in the woods, where he would be waiting for them. prepared two thin logs for each horse. Then, lthinking that all four logs could be carried by one horse. The sisters attached the logs to one horse, and to the second horse they attached a large, thick log. as soon as they tried to move from their places, this horse fell, wheezed, and almost died. that they were guilty of acting contrary to what Batiushka had blessed, they immediately fell to their knees in tears and asked for forgiveness, then removed the thick log and attached the other logs as before. horse jumped up and ran so fast that they could hardly catch up with it. words of Schema-nun Martha have come down to us through generations of Diveyevo sisters, recorded by an old woman, Justinia Ivanovna (later the nun Hilaria), from a manuscript page found in the cells of Schema-nun Margarita Lakhtionova. the Monastery was restored, the Lord wondrously celebrated the Feast Day of the Venerable Schema-nun Martha by consecrating the Transfiguration Cathedral. was built in 1917 but was not consecrated. It lay in ruins during the Soviet years and the authorities transferred the cathedral to the restored Monastery in 1991, restoration work went on until 1998, and the Cathedral's consecration just happened to coincide with the day of the Saint's blessed repose. to the memoirs of the nun Seraphima Bulgakova of Diveyevo Monastery, before the Monastery's closure in 1927, there was a portrait of Schema-nun Martha, painted by the sisters immediately after her death. to the testimony of Archpriest Stephen Lyashevsky, in addition to this portrait, another one was painted by his mother (Capitolina Zakharovna Lyashevskaya, later the nun Maria). is a hagiographic image of the Schema-nun Martha with the following scenes around the borders: Martha carrying bricks to the top of the Nativity Church under construction; Seraphim tonsuring her into the schema; Seraphim, Maria, and Praskovya Semenovna pray with lit candles for Diveyevo; soul of Schema-nun Martha ascending to God's Throne; Queen of Heaven and Schema-nun Martha in a vision in the church; three holy graves. present location of Schema-nun Martha's portrait is unknown, but the hagiographic image is believed to have been taken abroad. 2000, Schema-nun Martha was canonized for local veneration as a Saint in the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, now her relics rest in the church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery. Martha of Diveyevo is commemorated on August 21 (the day of her repose), June 14 (the Synaxis of the Diveyevo Saints), and on the Synaxis of the Nizhny Novgorod Saints (Movable Feast on the Sunday after August 26).

Russia, Moscow, 1825-1855, Emperor, Nicolas 1, reactionary, geo expansion, industry, Greece , centralization, icons
Moscow, 1825-1855, Emperor, Nicolas 1 ; I ( 6 July [O.S. 25 June] 1796 – 2 March [O.S. 18 February] 1855) as Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 1825 until 1855. was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brother's throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him. is mainly remembered in history as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, economic growth and massive industrialisation on the one hand, and centralisation of administrative policies and repression of dissent on the other. had a happy marriage that produced a large family; all of their seven children survived childhood.[1] biographer Nicholas V. Riasanovsky said that he displayed determination, singleness of purpose, and an iron will, along with a powerful sense of duty and a dedication to very hard work. saw himself as a soldier—a junior officer totally consumed by spit and polish. A handsome man, he was highly nervous and aggressive. Trained as an engineer, he was a stickler for minute detail. In his public persona, stated Riasanovsky, "Nicholas I came to represent autocracy personified: infinitely majestic, determined and powerful, hard as stone, and relentless as fate."[2] I was instrumental in helping to create an independent Greek state, and resumed the Russian conquest of the Caucasus by seizing IgdÄ±r Province and the remainder of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan from Qajar Persia during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828. He ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 successfully as well. on, however, he led Russia into the Crimean War (1853–1856), with disastrous results. emphasize that his micromanagement of the armies hindered his generals, as did his misguided strategy. William C. Fuller notes that historians have frequently concluded that "the reign of Nicholas I was a catastrophic failure in both domestic and foreign policy."[3] the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its geographical zenith, spanning over 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles), but had a desperate need for reform. Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on July 9 ; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tenderness from Seraphim-Diveyevo, Commemorated July 28 ; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7 ; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; Glorification of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on August 9 ; Martyr Gerontius of the St David Gareji Monastery, Georgia, Commemorated on August 12; Martyr Otar of the St David Gareji Monastery, Georgia, Commemorated on August 12; Icon of the Mother of God "œof the Seven Arrows"Â, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God "œChernigov-Gethsemane"Â, Commemorated on September 1; Venerable Hilarion of Optina, Commemorated September 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kasperov, Commemorated October 1 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6; Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated on October 11; Icon of the Mother of God the "œMultiplier of Wheat"Â, Commemorated on October 15; Icon of the Mother of God "œIn Giving Birth, you Preserved your Virginity"Â, Commemorated on October 17; Icon of the Mother of God of Andronicus, Commemorated on October 22; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated on December 13; Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated on January 2; St Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Antipas of Valaam Monastery, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25; Icon of the Mother of God "œTinos"Â, Commemorated on January 30; St Demetrius, the New Martyr of Sliven, Commemorated on January 30; Icon of the Mother of God "œSokolsky"Â, Commemorated on February 1; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Rescuer of the Drowning"Â, Commemorated on February 5; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Seeker of the Lost"Â, Commemorated on February 5; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated on February 14; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on February 19; St Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyr, Commemorated on February 29; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Surety of sinners"Â in Moscow, Commemorated on March 7; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Surety of sinners"Â of Odrino, Orlov, Commemorated on March 7 ; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas. Commemorated on March 31; Translation of the relics of the Blessed Vsevolod, in Holy Baptism Gabriel, the Prince of Pskov, Commemorated on April 22; Icon of the Mother of God of Zhirovits, Commemorated on May 7 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Chelnsk and Pskov Caves, Commemorated on May 14; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Surety of sinners"Â, Commemorated on May 29 ; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16;

Russia, Moscow, 1827-1848, Preserved Virginity Icon, canvas paiinted, stiffened on board, quality MOG picture, cholera miracles
Russia, Moscow, 1827-1848, Preserved Virginity Icon, Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow, (Moscow River 4.8), divine light 1827, dream vision pray for temptation miracle, canvas paiinted but stiffened on board, quality MOG picture, 1848 cholera miracles; Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow ; In Giving Birth, You Preserved Your Virginity Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on October 17; Icon of the Mother of God “In Giving Birth, You Preserved Your Virginity” (“A Virgin Before Birth and After Birth”) transferred to the Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow diocese by the Moscow merchant Alexis Grigorievich Mokeev. the year 1780 Alexis joined the brethren of the monastery. He had given all of his wealth to the igumen of the monastery, Archimandrite Macarius, and the holy icon remained in his cell. Alexis’s death, the icon was brought to the archimandrite, observed that the icon was painted in oil on canvas and according to the prescribed rules of iconography (using egg tempera on wood), he installed it over the exit door of the chapel of Saint Methodius, which was on a street not far from the monastery. glorification of the holy icon began in 1827, when Captain Platon Osipovich Shabashev, going past the chapel at night, saw an extraordinary light coming from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. time he had a vision of the icon at a time when he found himself in difficult circumstances. a dream, Platon beheld the radiant icon of the Mother of God in the clouds above the chapel of Saint Methodius and heard a voice say, “If you wish to be delivered from temptation, pray before this icon.” obeyed the guidance of the Mother of God, and the sorrow passed him by. pious Platon told the Superior of the monastery about the miracles. He then transfered the holy image into the monastery. When they went to put the icon in a ornamental case, the image of the Most Holy Virgin, painted on canvas, stiffened taut upon a board, on which was concealed a depiction of the Mother of God of finest quality. Numerous miracles are recorded to have taken place from this icon in 1848 during an outbreak of cholera, when many praying before it were healed. This icon of the Mother of God is of the Hodegetria type.

Russia, Moscow, 1827-1867, Ignatius Bryanchaninov, great Orthodox patristic spiritual writer, nineteenth century
Moscow, 1827-1867, Saint, Ignatius Bryanchaninov ; Ignatius (secular name Dmitry Alexandrovich Brianchaninov, 1807-1867) was a bishop and theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church. He stands out as one of the greatest Eastern Orthodox patristic writers of the nineteenth century.[1] was glorified (canonized) as a saint by the 1988 meeting of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. His relics are preserved at the ancient Tolga Monastery on the Volga River near Yaroslavl.[2] Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1828-1829, Russo-Turkish War, Turks closed Dardanelles, Russian Victory
Moscow, 1828-1829, Russo-Turkish War (1828-“29); Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 was sparked by the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829. War broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian ships and revoked the 1826 Akkerman Convention in retaliation for Russian participation in October 1827 in the Battle of Navarino.[2] Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1830, Seven Arrows Icon, Vologda, discovered by Cripples' vision
Russia, Moscow, 1830, Seven Arrows Icon, Vologda, discovered by Cripples' vision; a long time the icon was located at the belltower stairway entrance of a church in honor of the Apostle John the Theologian (near Vologda). Since it was face downwards, they mistook the icon for an ordinary board and walked on it. Then a cripple in the city of Kadnikova had a vision that he would receive healing after praying before this icon. Vologda; Icon of the Mother of God œof the Seven Arrows, Commemorated on August 13 ; Seven Arrows Icon of the Mother of God depicts the Virgin’s heart pierced by seven arrows. For a long time the icon was located at the belltower stairway entrance of a church in honor of the Apostle John the Theologian (near Vologda). Since it was face downwards, they mistook the icon for an ordinary board and walked on it. Then a cripple in the city of Kadnikova had a vision that he would receive healing after praying before this icon. They served a Molieben before the newly-discovered icon, after which the sick one became well. The icon was especially glorified in 1830 during a cholera epidemic at Vologda.

Russia, Moscow, 1830-1895, Isaac I oOptina, ascetic-builder, 32yrs headed OM, Optina Spirit, his example developed future elders
Russia, Kaluga, 1830-1895, Isaac I oOptina Monastery, Kaluga (Zhizdra River 1), ascetic-builder, 32yrs headed OM, Optina Spirit, his example developed future elders, Optina's best time; Optina Monestary ; Venerable Isaac I of Optina, Commemorated on August 22; Isaac (Antimonov) fell asleep in the Lord on August 22, 1894. The Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996, glorifying them for universal veneration on August 7, 2000. Russia, Kaluga, 1830-1895, Isaac I oOptina Monastery, Kaluga (Zhizdra River 1) ; OF SAINT ISAAC THE ELDER OF OPTINA (1810-1895) Isaac, in the assembly of Optina elders, represents a type of ascetic-builder. For 32 years he headed Optina Monastery, devoting himself entirely to the monastery, taking care of the brethren, continuing to create that particular “Optina” spirit that his predecessors planted. He took over the management of the monastery after the death of Archimandrite Moses and was abbot during the flourishing of the monastery—during the time of the Elder Ambrose, and his successors in eldership, Father Hilarion and Father Anatoly (the Elder). Under his leadership the future Elders Joseph, Barsanuphy, and Anatoly (the Younger) grew and developed. Archimandrite Moses revived Optina Monastery after a period of desolation, and Father Isaac continued his work, consolidating the state of the monastery, while not sparing himself from hard labor for its improvement. Elders Macarius and Ambrose blessed him in the difficult obedience of superior, seeing the high spiritual qualities, prayerfulness, simplicity, and humility of Father Isaac, and from these the ability to take care of the organization of the monastery—both external and internal. may seem that the Elder Isaac, who carried the cross of superiorship, dwells, as it were, in the shadow of the elders who spiritually nurtured the monks and pilgrims of the monastery—Ambrose, Hilarion, and Anatoly. Little of his teachings and statements were saved, so that there are not such detailed memories of him. But this is his special achievement—by carrying the heavy burden of economic affairs of the monastery, he served the brethren and pilgrims, revealing an amazing height of humility. Behind his simplicity is an amazing depth, integrity, and strength of spirit. The period of his superiorship was the best time in the life of Optina. Family Ivanovich Antimonov (the name of Saint Isaac in the world) was born on May 31, 1810, and was descended from an eminent, wealthy merchant family of the city of Kursk. The Antimonovs had the title of honorary citizens. The patriarchal spirit reigned in the house of the Antimonovs; the way of life was built strictly in accordance with Church rules, and only respect towards elders and obedience to them were accepted. Thus, the skills of piety and obedience, which are so important for a monk, the future ascetic received in his own home. head of the house was Ivan's grandfather—Vasily Vasilyevich Antimonov. He was particularly zealous to attend divine services. His eldest son Ivan Vasilyevich had thirteen children from three marriages. Ivan Jr. was the last, fifth child from his first marriage with Anna Puzanov. Little Ivan was a favorite of his grandfather, who often took his grandson with him to the church. Vasily Vasilyevich visited the church every day—he went without fail to the Matins and Vespers services. Vasilyevich inherited his father’s piety and love for the Church, according to his upbringing; his simplicity and good disposition towards people produced a favorable impression on everyone. A family story is preserved about Saint Isaac’s father’s journey to Kiev in 1809 to the elder, Hieromonk Parfeny, who greeted Ivan Vasilyevich with the words: “Blessed be the womb that gave birth to a monk.” In raising the young Ivan and other children, he adhered to strict rules but never allowed himself to be rude to the children. He did not raise his hands at them—although at that time this was common in merchant families. The children, while behaving respectfully towards their father, loved him at the same time. Antimonov family enjoyed universal respect in the city for impeccable honesty, true piety, and wide charity—they were generous donors for Church needs and helped the needy. In the house there was even a certain day of the week appointed in which alms were given to the poor. was in such an atmosphere that Ivan Ivanovich’s years of childhood and youth passed. Details about this period of his life do not survive, but it is known that he was distinguished by modesty and was fond of silence. At the same time, despite his reserved nature, Ivan was endowed with natural gaiety and wit; his presence always enlivened family gatherings. in the World reaching mature age, Ivan Ivanovich began to help his father in trade affairs. He constantly had to deal with people, give orders, and conduct financial calculations. He knew how to find an approach to a man, and he won people over by his heartfelt kindness and sense of justice. He had the most beneficial influence on his subordinates; he forced them to end any habit of fraud, any attempts to act deceitfully. Immaculate honesty in business earned Ivan Ivanovich universal respect. strict in his requirements, the venerable one never took offense. Such a case is known: one of his workers, a man of obstinate nature, because of the constant punishments that Ivan Ivanovich gave him for carelessness and audacity, decided in his mind to kill him. When this became known to him, Ivan Ivanovich forgave the worker and released him, not handing him over to the hands of justice. the life of Ivan Ivanovich there were events that clearly revealed to him the action of the providence of God, which repeatedly protected him from mortal danger. A compilation he himself made of the descriptions of such significant cases has even been preserved. Once, on a feast day, Ivan Ivanovich was obliged to work, weighing goods. Suddenly, the crossbar on which the scales were supported collapsed. Ivan Ivanovich was threatened with death, but, marvelously, the heavy iron rocker weighing 550 pounds did not even touch him. Since then, he vowed not to work on feast days. On another occasion of God’s providential protection, he was leading a horse to a watering place, which creature almost kicked him in the stomach—he managed to block it with his hand, receiving a heavy wound. One incident happened to him in childhood. They sent Ivan, together with the clerk, to escort a herd of bulls, which was a difficult task for the boy. Suddenly, two bulls rushed off to the side; Ivan tried to get them back and rushed after them on a horse. Suddenly the horse stopped at the edge of a deep ditch; he even involuntarily exclaimed, “Ack, Lord, what on earth is this?” After these words, the ditch disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and the horse brought him to the herd in utter exhaustion. Another time, on the Black Sea coast where the Antimonovs were fishing, somehow Ivan Ivanovich almost maimed himself, and again salvation came in a miraculous way. All his life he was grateful to God and did not consider deliverance from these misfortunes an accident. These events may also have played a role in the determination of his future path. idea of entering the monastery matured in Ivan Ivanovich's soul gradually. While still living in the world, he voluntarily took upon himself the fulfillment of certain feats in the name of the Lord. There is a story passed down that every day during prayer he offered a thousand bows. Even on non-fasting days, he did not eat meat, although this was not noticed by his family members. The love of the Church and divine services, instilled in him by his pious grandfather, awakened an interest in Church singing. Ivan sang on the kliros, gathered chanters at his home on feast days, arranged rehearsals, and studied music notes, some of which he later took with him to the monastery. of the obstacles for deciding to leave the world was the fact that it was Ivan Ivanovich himself whom his father saw as his successor. He was gradually handing over to him the management of all the affairs of the Antimonovs. He would not agree to let go of his son, upon whom he placed so many hopes. Meanwhile, one of his eldest sons, Mikhail Ivanovich, entered monasticism in Optina Monastery. Ivan Ivanovich often visited Optina to see his brother. His example had a great influence on Ivan. One time he turned to his brother with a request to give him advice about joining the monastery. Mikhail decisively refused to give such advice, believing that in this matter one should make his own choice. this time, Ivan had repeatedly appealed for help from the Optina elders and was convinced of the spiritual strength of their counsels. Ivan Ivanovich’s memory of his first meeting with Elder Leonid was preserved: “Being a worldly man, I came for the first time to Optina Monastery and wished to receive the blessing of Father Leonid. I came to the elder early in the morning. He did not have any people yet. Only some woman was kneeling before him. The cell attendant reported about me: "Ivan Ivanovich Antimonov has come." “Let him wait,” the elder said loudly. I sat in the front on the bench. Having released the woman, the elder loudly called out, “Vanyushka!” By no means did I think that this word was directed at me, so I sat quietly. And the cell attendant, smiling, said, "The batyushka is calling you." To me, who carried myself in such an official manner, such a fatherly address seemed very unexpected. But I was not offended by this at all. On the contrary, such a simple appeal of the great elder appealed to my heart and for some reason very much comforted me; and I still remember this with spiritual delight. “Vanyushka! Come over here,” the elder continued to call me to himself, “I am calling you!...” I went to the elder, took a blessing from him and, standing on my knees, explained to him my circumstances which worried me. The elder, having listened to everything with fatherly love, comforted me very much with his conversation and, as he was letting me go, foretold to me that in time, I also would live in monasticism. And after seven years, the prediction was fulfilled.” Interestingly, the elder referred to Ivan in the same way as his beloved grandfather had once called him. After the death of the Elder Leonid, Ivan Ivanovich, still frequenting Optina, resorted to the advice of the Elder Macarius. 1842, Ivan had already decided to leave secretly for Optina, but halfway there, due to his own hesitation and judging that he was going without the blessing of Elder Macarius, he returned to Kursk. A letter he received later from Father Macarius, with a blessing to enter Optina, confirmed his resolution. 36 years old, Ivan Ivanovich finally clearly revealed his intention to leave for the monastery. The family tried to dissuade him through yet another unsuccessful matchmaking attempt. His father repeatedly offered someone for him to marry, but each time, for one reason or another, attempts to settle him into a family life failed. 1847, his father sent Ivan on trade business to Ukraine. Having fulfilled the assignment, he decided to carry out his long-standing intention and go to Optina Monastery without returning home. Having written a letter to his father in which he announced his decision, Ivan at last went to Optina. It was as if thunder struck Ivan Vasilyevich with the news of his son leaving for the monastery. According to recollection, upon learning of what had happened, the forlorn father exclaimed: “He, the barbarian, has slain me!” Ivan Vasilyevich could not compose himself for a long time, shedding tears over his beloved son. The hardest thing for the one who decides to leave the world is to part with his relatives, to escape from the typical, conventional way of life. After all, the Elder Ambrose, who for a long time did not carry out his decision to leave the world, in the end went to the monastery secretly, without announcing it either to those close to him or the authorities—fearing that, being led by worldly thinking, and out of the best of intentions, they would interfere in bringing his decision to fulfillment. In these situations, the meaning of the words of the Savior, which may seem too “tough,” especially to modern people, becomes obvious: “A man’s enemies shall be those of his own household” (Mt. 11:36). on his way to the monastery, Ivan Ivanovich had to struggle with the desire to turn back. The desire was especially strong at the last station, but he overcame the temptation and arrived happily at Optina Monastery. the Monastery Ivanovich entered the monastery in 1847, under the Hegumen Moses and the Elder Macarius. At that time, his brother had already been transferred to the Kaluga Tikhonov Monastery as the Hieromonk Meletios and later transferred to the Kiev-Pechersky Lavra. But the brothers maintained amicable relations, and the younger one often turned to the elder for advice; he appreciated his spiritual wisdom. Ivanovich was immediately appointed to reside at the Saint John the Baptist Skete. As is the custom, his first obediences were those that especially contributed to the building up of humility and patience in a novice. At first he labored in the kitchen—he baked bread, and later he became a cook. He also performed general brotherly obediences such as haymaking, harvesting potatoes, and other heavy work. He was distinguished by robust health and powerful strength—he could lift weights up to 550 pounds. Although he was of medium height, he was stocky, with fine-looking features, and he stood out among the brethren. He always had a concentrated look that reflected his inner state. Elder Macarius favored the novice, whom he knew well before his admission to the monastery. He foresaw the future ascetic in him. Father Macarius particularly appreciated the simplicity inherent in Ivan—a very important quality for a monk. The elder trained the novice towards monastic life. In turn, Ivan Ivanovich devoted himself wholeheartedly to the leadership of the elder. The progress of a monk is not easy—the struggle with passions is accompanied by sorrows "to bloody sweat." The ascetic said that the primordial enemy of the human race strongly disturbed his soul with thoughts of leaving the monastery: “While disturbed by such thoughts, I was walking one time on a path along the skete's fence. ‘Ey! leap over the fence,’—the thought flashed before me. But having reflected a bit, I thought: ‘Yes, if I simply wanted to leave, the gate isn’t even shut.’ Such a contradictory statement to the thought, although unintentional, together with the invocation of help from God, eased the battle.” Elder Macarius humbled his disciple, cultivating in him the main monastic virtue—unquestioning obedience. Once his spiritual son carelessly spoke about the customs of the monastery. Father Macarius would not accept him for several days. One time he confessed to the elder about vain thoughts about his strong, beautiful voice, and Father Macarius humbled him, citing as an example a bull, who, possessing a much louder bass, does not pride itself in it. to recollections, the Elder Macarius repeatedly predicted to close people that the novice Ivan would become the abbot. He treated him with particular attention, carefully fostering the future instructor of monks. Ivanovich showed zeal in everything—he punctiliously attended divine services, coming to the church first and leaving last, not allowing himself any conversations during the time of the service. He also strictly followed the cell rule. Without even having a school education, the lack of which was compensated for by a natural intellect, rich in life experience, novice Ivan engaged himself much in reading the works of the holy fathers, which allowed him to deeply comprehend the science of “inner work.” But the chief guide for him was the elder's advice. ascending gradually along the stairs of spiritual virtues, Ivan Ivanovich passed successively through the stages of monastic life. In 1851, he was tonsured as a rassaphor; on October 5, 1854—into the mantia with the name of Isaac. A year later, Father Isaac was ordained a deacon, and in 1858 he was elevated to the rank of hieromonk. left the worldly life without a parental blessing, while still a novice, Ivan painfully endured this rift with his father. Therefore, having lived in the skete for about a year, he, along with the Elder Macarius, went to Kursk to be reconciled with his father. Through the prayers of the elder and with his assistance, peaceful relations were restored. Before his death, 85-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich was even tonsured by Father Isaac in private into the mantia. Receiving the parting blessing of the Mysteries of the holy Church, he peacefully reposed in the Lord. 1860, Elder Macarius died. Father Isaac then began to turn to Father Ambrose for advice. And he lived under his guidance until the death of that elder (1891). In 1862, the Abbot of Optina Monastery, Archimandrite Moses, died. It is known that in 1860, foreseeing his end approaching and knowing of the morbid state of Archimandrite Moses, the Elder Macarius had made a trip to Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, who always especially favored Optina. Being warmly received by the metropolitan, Father Macarius expressed to him his desire that after the death of Archimandrite Moses, the position of superior of Optina Monastery would be taken up by the skete Hieromonk Isaac. Vladyka fully endorsed the opinion of Father Macarius, and since then, the election of Father Isaac as superior was already decided. As soon as the rumor of this reached the humble Father Isaac, he immediately went to the elder asking his advice in this matter and trying to reject this appointment. But Father Macarius answered him: “Well, so what, so what? If the will of God is in this and he will elect you, do not refuse. Just do not become proud! Go!” when the time came to elect a new superior, most of the brethren voted for the monastery’s superior to be Father Paphnutius. In the minority, the ones who voted for Father Isaac, were actually the oldest and the most revered members of the brethren, however. Vladyka Gerasim, Vicar of the Kaluga Diocese, who was present at the elections, was puzzled by this result. He turned to Father Ambrose and learned that the reposed Elder Macarius had intended Father Isaac as superior. Father Ambrose himself was of the same opinion. The elder did not participate in the elections, in so far as he already promised it to Father Isaac, who did not want to take upon himself the superiorship. Then, by his own decision, Vladyka approved in the appointment to the post of superior—Father Isaac. the Head of the Monastery Isaac took charge of the monastery in 1862, at the age of 52, having lived there 16 years until now. The beginning of the activities of the new superior was complicated by the fact that his election took place against the will of the majority of the brethren. Indeed, and even Father Isaac himself did not strive for this calling. It turns out that shortly after taking the superiorship, Father Isaac, while alone with Vladyka Gregory, the Bishop of Kaluga, expressed his grief to him regarding his election as superior, pinned upon him against his will: “I would rather, Your Eminence, have agreed to go to the bakery than to be the superior.” “Well, so what,” said Vladyka, “if you wish, bake some bread.” “And who will be the abbot?” “You will be the abbot.” To these words of His Eminence, Father Isaac could not find anything to say. Isaac carried out the management of the monastery in accordance with the Optina spirit, with which he was thoroughly infused during the years of his life in the monastery under the guidance of the elders. He did nothing without the advice of Elder Ambrose; this was his main principle. Deep spiritual love and full confidence tied the elder with the ascetic-superior. At the beginning of his activity, taking up the work with zeal, Father Isaac wanted to increase the severity of the life of the brethren, but Father Ambrose stopped him, understanding that the desire for spiritual feats should not exceed the strength of the monks, especially the new ones. Father Isaac obeyed without retorting and did not make any changes to the rule. every possible way, Father Isaac took careful watch of the preservation of peace among the brothers. He instructed the quarrelsome, inclining them towards reconciliation. “Oh, brothers! Please end in peace,” he appealed to the stubborn ones, and these simple words had an impact. In all the difficult cases, he sent monks to Elder Ambrose, who maintained the spiritual life of the monks at the same height as it was under his predecessors. The grace-filled force that emanated from the elder often compelled a person to submit to his instructions, even against his own will. upon the elder the spiritual nourishment of the brethren, Abbot Isaac did not abandon his own concern for the upbringing of the monks in the Christian virtues. His instructions were simple, but edifying and effective, because they were the result of life experience and came from a loving heart and a sincere desire for good towards his spiritual children. “Well, look brother, I’m forewarning you, and now see to it for yourself, so that I won’t answer for you before God,” he often said, deeply aware of the responsibility of the abbot before God’s judgment seat for each brother. Tonsures and ordinations were done after proper testing, and the superior was sure to carefully examine each monk and gauge his spiritual condition. He explained to the brethren that tonsure into a ryassophore or mantia is not a promotion to a rank, like secular ranks, but an image of humility. Hegumen Isaac paid special attention to the attendance of brethren at the divine services. If he noticed that someone rarely went to the services, then during the trapeza he would give an admonition to the whole brotherhood: “Holy fathers! You all forget the church. We need to know why we came to the monastery. After all, we have to answer for this before God. I plead with all of you not to forget the temple of God.” of the penalties was deprivation of a monthly portion of tea. Almost until his death, Father Isaac himself distributed tea and sugar to the brethren at the beginning of each month, thus being able to talk with everyone, encouraging one and scolding another. If someone expressed displeasure and grumbled at the monastic order, Father Isaac usually answered: “Brother! Take my keys and be the superior, and I will go to fulfill your obedience.” One day, to a monk who was trying to evade his obedience, he said, “Now look! If you do not want to, then you already know how it goes.” With these simple words, the abbot touched him so much that he, throwing himself at his feet, asked for forgiveness and immediately agreed to everything. Then Father Isaac gladly blessed him and said, “This is how it will be better—to obey and reject your own will. You will walk this way, and in all things you will continue to be well and joyful.” personal insults, he never punished, trying whenever possible to reason with the offender. One monk, distinguished by his heavy temper, having come to the abbot once, accused him of insolence and even wanted to hit him in the face. But the father hegumen calmly said to the exasperated monk: “Go ahead.” Struck by such humility, the monk turned around and quickly left. The following episode was also remembered: a novice from the well-educated, having left Optina Monastery, wandered for a long time to different places and after a while again appeared to Hegumen Isaac, accused him of being dictatorial and finished with the words: “You are an hegumen, but not smart.” [Note: “smart” in Russian is oomen, like the end of hegumen.] After quietly listening to this reproach, Father Isaac, grinning, replied: “And lo! you are smart, but not an hegumen.” of the Monastery Isaac used to say, “I received a monastery with a single dime.” This was said in no wise figuratively. Indeed, after the death of Archimandrite Moses, only one dime turned up in the money bag, and that only because it had fallen somewhere in a crack. In addition, there was a great debt against the monastery. Father Isaac was very distressed about how he could manage the monastery with such a debt and lack of funds. But right at the beginning of his superiorship, there followed the unmistakable help of God, which Father Isaac interpreted as an admonition and a blessing for further work. A long-time benefactor of the monastery paid off the debt, and another donor contributed a large amount to the maintenance of the monastery. Afterwards, Father Isaac never ceased to rely on the providence of God, repenting of his faint-heartedness. When the material needs of the monastery were so quickly resolved, he exclaimed: “Lord! I, the ungrateful one, not having hope in Thee, began to complain, and lo, already help is sent by Thee.” The economic life of the monastery always went well with him. Here, fully useful was his rich experience in doing business, acquired in the world. Isaac completed the construction of the church dedicated to All Saints in the new cemetery. The iconostases were renewed in Vvedensky [Entrance of the Theotokos] Cathedral, wall paintings were restored, stone floors were replaced by wooden ones. Later, work was carried out to expand the Kazan Church. the expansion of the monastery, the monastic elderly home demanded rebuilding. Elder Ambrose had long wanted to build a church in the name of his patrons, Saint Ambrose of Milan, in honor of whom he was named in monasticism, and the pious Prince Alexander Nevsky—the patron saint of the elder in Holy Baptism. At the expense of admirers of Ambrose's father, the old ruined building in 1885 was rebuilt with a church and two chapels in honor of the patron saints of the elder, as well as a new two-story building for the elderly. 1874 a new hospital was built with two floors, with a church in the name of Saint Hilarion the Great—the initiator in this case was the skete superior, Father Hilarion, who in his old age suffered from a difficult prolonged illness. Abbot Isaac also set up a bookstore—it was transferred from an inconvenient room in the gatehouse to a more suitable place and expanded. abbot did not tire of taking care of all the needs of the monastery. They acquired forest land—and thereby solved the problem of firewood for heating and wood for construction—completed the construction of an aqueduct, bought some marshland and, through drainage works, turned it into floodplain meadows, and also built a candle factory. Good wax for making candles, at low prices or sometimes donated, was supplied to the monastery by the nephew of the superior, with good-willed reverence towards the monastery. chief assistants to the superior were the treasurer Father Flavian and the clerk, Hieromonk Makarius (Strukov), who spared no effort in working for the benefit of the monastery. Father Isaac encouraged the desire of Flavian’s father to plant gardens and vegetable gardens in the monastery. The places, which used to be filled up with garbage before, were carefully cleared, fertilized and planted with fruit trees and assembled seedbeds. the activity of the hegumen concerned not only the needs of the monastery and the brethren; in his presence the pilgrims in the monastery met true fatherly care. By order of Father Isaac, a new guesthouse was constructed and the old guesthouses were improved at the holy gates. For the nuns, who came to the Elder Ambrose for advice, a separate building was constructed where they could stay for free. All visitors to the bookstore were given little icons for free and inexpensive soul-enriching literature as a memento of their visits to the monastery. monastery supported the needy, both with alms and various kinds of help. For the wanderers, poor, and needy Father Isaac built a special house of hospitality where, according to his order, about 300 people were fed every Saturday, while giving alms from 10 to 15 rubles to everyone in need. In addition, every day after the brethren’s trapeza, a free-of-charge trapeza was offered to visitors. After acquiring new land at the monastery, the timber forest was more than sufficient for the needs of the brotherhood, so the abbot offered lumber to poor peasant families to build houses free of charge. Father Ambrose was engaged in the arrangement of the Shamordino Convent, he began to leave the monastery often, and then moved entirely to Shamordino. For Father Isaac, who was accustomed to having the beloved elder always nearby and being able to quickly turn to him on any issue, it was hard to be separated from his spiritual father. But following the lead of Father Ambrose, he began to treat Shamordino as his precious child; after the death of the elder he defended the sisters and supported them in everything. Even when Vladyka Vitaly, who did not favor the Shamordino Convent, tried to hinder the help that Optina rendered to the young convent, Abbot Isaac, without fear of Vladyka’s dissatisfaction, continued to assist the sisters of the convent—he sent spiritual fathers there to nourish the sisters, and inquired of all their needs. long-term activity of Abbot Isaac for the benefit of the monastery did not go unnoticed. Repeatedly, he was recognized with various Church awards. But his unhypocritical humility and modesty never allowed him to be exalted by any distinctions. When in 1872 he was chosen to be elevated to the rank of archimandrite, he evaded this “promotion,” and only in 1885, without asking his consent, was Father Isaac made an archimandrite. the end of his life he also had to bear unjust reproach. Denunciations began to arrive to His Grace Vitaly, making it seem as if the Optina abbot, Father Isaac, because of his age, was incapable of administering the monastery. After inquiry and the unanimous confirmation of all the brethren that “their superior is exemplary and they wish to remain under his leadership until his very death,” Bishop Vitaly showed Father Isaac those written denunciations of him, promising to strictly punish those responsible. But he, with tears, asked Vladyka not to punish anyone. Spiritual Character of Archimandrite Isaac Isaac, according to recollections, gave the impression of a stern monk. He was silent, and his eyes were usually lowered in public. At first glance, those who saw the abbot were even initially afraid of his strict appearance. But his main characteristic was amazing simplicity in everything. In his daily life, he did not stand out among the brethren. He dressed like everyone else—he wore an old, worn cassock. He went to trapeza together with the brethren and never had food cooked for him separately. The furnishings of his life were ascetical. Father Isaac occupied two rooms in the superior’s apartment: one served as a bedroom, the other—a prayer room. In the bedroom there was a simple bed with a hard mattress and a desk, at which he engaged in business. It had a clock, inherited from Archimandrite Moses, with the inscription "Do not waste time." Isaac chose the best way to educate and edify the monks—by his own example. His severity towards himself amazed everyone. Father Isaac rose at midnight, fulfilled the cell rule given in the monastery and then went to Matins. The monk in charge of waking him up never found him asleep. To the early vigil he went constantly, commemorating all his relatives and the benefactors of the monastery during the Proskomedia. During the late service and after a short afternoon rest, he received visitors, was engaged in the affairs of the monastery, and at the first ring of the bell for Vespers he hurried back to the church again. He observed fasts with all rigor. On the first week of the Great Fast, even in old age, he always read the Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete. He especially liked the services of the Great Fast. Until his last days, he retained a beautiful, deep, low voice; his reading in the church was always clear and imbued the service with prayerfulness. moved involuntarily to the monastery from the skete, Father Isaac reminisced with sadness about the solitary life. When one of the novices came to him, asking him to appoint him to the skete, the superior, praising his intention, said, “This is good. God help you! The skete is a quiet haven. I myself lived in it for 16 years and would go there again and leave my superiorship; blessed are the days that I spent in the skete.” occupying the highest position in the monastery, Father Isaac could never allow himself the thought of making any decision without the blessing of his spiritual father, Elder Ambrose. It was on this foundation that the special Optina spirit was built, which made an indelible impression on all visitors to the monastery. The subordination of all the brethren—from the superior to the last novice—to an elder is the submission to God's will, revealed through the elder. Human reasoning, thoughts, and considerations in resolving issues of monastic life are thus eliminated. Father Isaac reached gracious humility can be seen from his words to the monk who asked how to conquer pride: “How does one conquer? For this, struggle and self-compulsion to humility are necessary. It does not come suddenly but with time. This is the same as shedding blood. Ask God. Gradually you will be acquainted with humility, and then it will turn into a skill.” Bright episodes have survived, of which it was manifest that the humility in the soul of Father Isaac had indeed turned into a “skill.” Once there was a burial at the monastery. Father Isaac did not reach the grave in time and made his way through the thick crowd of brethren to bid farewell to the dead. Taking one of them by the sleeve, Father Isaac wanted his help to climb on the earth piled at the grave, but he, not noticing the abbot, pushed him away strongly, so that Father Isaac almost fell down. But he was not at all disturbed. He walked away and humbly began to wait his turn. When the visitors who watched this expressed their surprise, some of the brethren remarked, “Truly, we have never seen him ever blame anyone for such actions; by occupation he is our boss, but he behaves like a brother.” Father Isaac never singled out any of the brethren, so as not to embarrass the others, but he was able to, imperceptibly for others, show attention to the weak, sick, or elderly monks, rendering them help with condescension. Isaac happened to be managing the monastery when free-thinking and disobedience to the authorities began to spread like a plague in Russian society. Those who came to the monastery were often already infected with this spiritual illness of their time. Father Isaac tried to impress upon the novices the need for a Christian to be humble and obedient. If a guilty brother sincerely repented, the abbot never remembered his guilt. But if the novice showed stubbornness, boldness, or disobedience, the abbot, without hesitating, expelled him from the community, so as not to disturb the established order or scandalize the newcomers. brethren loved their abbot very much, and this was manifested in the fact that among themselves the inmates called Father Isaac “grandfather.” Numerous testimonies of the prayerful assistance of the abbot towards his disciples have survived. Many recognized the strength and effectiveness of his words. Often the monks, coming in frustrated with him, left the “grandfather” forgetting all their sorrows. “What are our sorrows?” Father Isaac said. “We do not have sorrows, but little sorrowshkies. This is the world of sorrow: a wife, children, cares about everything. But what about us? Come on! God is provoked to wrath. It is necessary only to thank Him; we live provided with everything.” If he addressed a person with instruction, it was always deep, wise, and useful to the soul. One of the educated visitors after a conversation with Father Isaac asked, "Father, which university did you attend?" Surprised by such an unexpected question, Father Isaac told her that he had not graduated from any educational institutions. When Father Isaac told the elder about this, they both laughed heartily at this scene. Last Days and the Death of Archimandrite Isaac state of Father Isaac, even in his advanced years, heretofore distinguished by good health and good spirits, was seriously affected first by the departure of the Elder Ambrose to Shamordino and then by his death. All the years of his superiorship, he was “by the elder,” guided by his help and counsels. These events also influenced the affairs of the monastery; after the death of the Elder Ambrose there were fewer pilgrims, and the donations were reduced. Maintaining the economy of a large monastery was no longer simple. to these circumstances, the first blow of illness struck Archimandrite Isaac; it was light, though, and the sick one soon recovered. But his health thereafter deteriorated. He wished to take the tonsure into the great schema in private, which was fulfilled by his brotherly confessor, the skete abbot, Father Anatoly. In June 1895, the superior-ascetic was afflicted with a mortal disease—dysentery, and he began to noticeably weaken and prepare for the end. The brethren, seeing the state of the hegumen, were seriously worried about his illness, and the inhabitants began to come in to receive their last instructions and parting words. The elder blessed each with an icon and spoke a profitable word. When asked to indicate his successor, he answered: "The Mother of God herself will indicate to you the abbot." During the whole time of his illness, he listened to the cell rule, and two weeks before his death he began to receive daily the Communion of the holy Mysteries of Christ. He did not resort to medical means, although at the beginning of his illness, at the insistence of the brethren, he once invited a doctor from Kozelsk. was a hot summer. It was too stuffy for the sick one to lie in a cell, and he wished to be in the open air. His bed was placed in the courtyard of the his apartment, under the shade of a large tree. Both brethren and visitors flocked here to bid farewell to him. It was moving to see an ascetic surrounded by a crowd of people who each waited with a sinking heart, waiting to approach for a blessing and receive spiritual edification. His last admonition to all was the following: "Live according to your conscience and ask for help from the Queen of heaven, and everything will be fine." Many of them saying goodbye to him wept. August 20th, another blow followed, after which Father Isaac could no longer speak. He was transferred to his abbot's chambers, and the dying man expressed a desire to partake of the holy Mysteries of Christ, which was done. In this position, Father Isaac spent two more days without losing consciousness and constantly praying with a prayer rope. On August 22nd, at 8pm, he peacefully reposed in the Lord at the age of 85. next day, the body of the deceased abbot was solemnly transferred to the church. On August 24, after the celebration of Divine Liturgy, the rite of burial was performed. The body of the newly departed Archimandrite Isaac was interred in Kazan Cathedral, by the right wall behind the choir. us conclude the life of Elder Isaac with the words of Hieromonk Tryphon, pronounced in the Vvedensky Cathedral of Optina Monastery at the Panikhida service on the ninth day after the death of Archimandrite Isaac: “Behold, his life of asceticism has ended, finished is the difficult battle with the passions and desires, cleansed is the heart, the season of examinations has passed,…and now, we trust that he has flown into the heavenly abodes of light, leaving as a legacy those beginnings by which the purity of the heart and the vision of God are achieved—the cutting off of one's own will and the killing of passions by asceticism. And as long as they are firm among monks, Optina Monastery will be firm. And in their memory let them be established and strengthened in it forever. And this will be his best reward, for we believe and hope that from the height of heaven he will look at the children of his abode and rejoice and be gladdened in their spiritual progress and their search for salvation.”

Russia, Moscow, 1831-48, Divnogorsk or Rescuer Icon, 1490 D Monastery Voronezh, 1831-48 Cholera, MOG appeared
Mongol, Scythia, 1490 & 1831-48, Divnogorsk or Rescuer Icon, 1490 D Monastery Voronezh, 1831 Cholera raging, MOG appeared, to Korotoyak, C ceased, again in 1847-48 ; Divnogorsk, Wondering Heights, Chalk Clifts, Mouth of the Tikha Sosna; Divnogorsk Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Rescuer of the Drowning", Commemorated on February 5; Divnogorsk-Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God received the first part of its title from where it was enshrined when it was glorified: the Dormition monastery of Divnogorsk, in the former Ostrogozhsk district in Voronezh governance. title of “Sicilian” comes from its place of origin, since by tradition this icon at Diva (i.e. “Wondrous Heights”) was brought from Sicily by the pious monastic Elders Xenophon and Joasaph. suggest that these saints were Orthodox Greeks by birth, and that they had arrived there not earlier than the end of the fifteenth century. and Joasaph founded a monastery at a scenic spot above the River Don, near the confluence of the River Tikha Sosna [Quiet Pine River]. The place was called Wondrous Heights by those struck by the form of the chalk columns throughout the hills. is said that Xenophon and Joasaph lived in a cave (where later the church of Saint John the Forerunner was built), and that they carved out the first church in a chalk column, into which also they put the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God which they had brought with them. Here is where they found their eternal repose. the Divnogorsk-Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God, the Theotokos is depicted sitting in the clouds. In Her right hand is a white lily blossom, and with Her left arm She supports the Divine Infant, Who sits upright upon Her knees. The Savior holds a lily blossom in His left hand, and blesses with His right hand. Around the face of the Mother of God are eight angels. The two beneath are shown on bended knee and with hands upraised in prayer. Over the head of the Theotokos is the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. special glorification of the icon began in the year 1831, when cholera was raging. At Korotoyak, 7-8 versts from the monastery, the Most Holy Virgin appeared (as She is depicted in the Divnogorsk Icon) to a certain elderly woman, Ekaterina Kolomenska, in a dream. She commanded that Her icon be brought and a Molieben be served before it. The wonderworking icon was brought to Korotoyak, and after a Molieben before the holy icon, the cholera ceased. the intercession of the Mother of God, the city of Ostrogozhsk also was saved from cholera. The people of Korotoyak and Ostrogozhsk were also saved from cholera in 1847 and 1848 through the miraculous intercession of the Mother of God, which occurred after a church procession around these towns with the holy icon. to Tradition, the feastday of the wonderworking icon on February 5 was established already at its original habitation by Xenophon and Joasaph.

Russia, Moscow, 1832-1891, Ambrose of Optina, starets and hiroschemamonk, unfulfilled promise to become a monk, published Ladder
Russia, Moscow, 1832-1891, Ambrose of Optina, starets and hiroschemamonk, unfulfilled promise to become a monk, published Ladder in Russian, visitors all day ; Optina Monestary ; Venerable Anatole II of Optina, Commemorated on July 30; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated September 7 ; Venerable Hilarion of Optina, Commemorated on September 18; Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated October 10 ; Ambrose of Optina Michailovich Grenkov was born Nov. 23, 1812 in the Russian province of Tambov. His parents raised him strictly and with fervent piety. Since he was of a priestly family, it was no surprise when he entered the Tambov theological seminary in 1830. He did well in his studies and was ranked among the top students. a year before graduation Alexander became seriously ill. He promised that if God healed him, he would become a monk. Although his prayer was answered, Alexander seemed to forget his promise. graduation from the seminary he took a position as tutor to the children of a certain landowner and remained with this family for a year and a half. After this he became a teacher at the local parochial school. day in 1839 Alexander and a friend visited the famous hermit Father Hilarion to ask him what they should do with their lives. Alexander was surprised when he was told to go to the monastery of Optina Pustin, where they had great need of him. In September of that same year, however, he seemed to be prepared to continue with his teaching career. night he was invited to spend a pleasant evening with some friends. His conversation was witty and brilliant, and all his jokes and puns were on the mark. Although his hosts were amused and impressed by him, Alexander was disgusted by his own frivolity. Perhaps his unfulfilled promise to become a monk weighed on his conscience. next morning he quit his job and arrived at Optina in October of 1839. After a trial period he decided to remain in the monastery and dedicate his life to God. He received the monastic tonsure in 1842, and was given the name Ambrose in honor of Saint Ambrose of Milan (December 7). knew the famous spiritual directors Elder Leonid and Elder Macarius. He the cell attendant of Elder Macarius, who undoubtedly influenced the young monk’s spiritual development. as a priest in 1845, Father Ambrose’s reverence and piety in celebrating the divine services were noticed by the other monks. His health began to decline shortly afterward, and he had to ask to be relieved of all duties. In 1846 he was so ill that the Mystery of Holy Unction was administered to him. He bore his illness without complaint and slowly regained his strength. By 1848 he was able to walk with the aid of a cane. Ambrose began to help Elder Macarius with his correspondence and in preparing the Russian edition of Saint John Climacus’s LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT, which was published by the monastery. Father Macarius had to go to Moscow in 1852, he designated Father Ambrose to take his place until his return. Father Ambrose never gave his personal opinions when he was asked for advice, but always referred people to the writings of the Fathers. If someone did not understand the text he was given to read, Father Ambrose would explain it in simple terms. Macarius died in 1860 without naming anyone to succeed him as Elder. By divine providence, all the other possible candidates either died or were appointed as abbots of other monasteries. This left Father Ambrose as the undisputed spiritual director of the monastery. In his role as Elder, Father Ambrose had to receive many people each day to hear confessions and give advice. He used to say, “The Lord has arranged it so that I would have to talk to people all my life. Now I would be happy to remain silent, but I cannot.” average day in Saint Ambrose’s life began at 4 A.M. when his cell attendant came into his cell to read the morning Rule of prayer for him. After this he would wash and have some tea, then he would dictate replies to the many letters he received every day. Visitors would be lining up even as he was having breakfast. Sometimes he would take a break after two hours, but more often he would continue seeing people until noon when he had his lunch. lunch he would go out into the next room and greet more visitors. People would call out questions and he would give an appropriate response. He took a short rest at 3 P.M. then talked to people until the evening. At 8 P.M. he had dinner then received more visitors until 11 P.M. At that hour the evening Rule of prayer was read, and Father Ambrose begged forgiveness of the brethren whom he may have offended by thought, word, or deed. After three or four hours of sleep it would all begin again. This routine would fatigue a strong man. It is remarkable that Saint Ambrose, who was often in poor health, was able to keep it up for so many years. all over Russia, people flocked to the venerable Elder. The writer Tolstoy visited him on at least three occasions, and left impressed by the wisdom of the holy monk. Fyodor Dostoevsky came to Optina in 1878 after the death of his son Alyosha and was profoundly affected by his meeting with Saint Ambrose. The novelist used Father Ambrose as a model for Starets Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov. saint founded Shamordino convent in 1884. This convent, which was near Optina, opened its doors to women who were poor, sickly, or even blind. Most convents were very poor and had to rely on the incomes of women who had a certain personal wealth in order to remain open. Saint Ambrose made it possible for any woman who wished to become a nun to follow this path of salvation. began to decline after the death of the first abbess, Mother Sophia. Saint Ambrose went there in June 1890 to straighten out the convent’s affairs. He was unable to return to Optina due to illness, then winter made it impossible for him to travel. Father Ambrose continued to see visitors at Shamordino, even though his health continued to deteriorate in 1891. September, it was clear that he had not long to live. He fell asleep in the Lord at 11:30 A.M. on the morning of October 10 1891. Throngs of people attended his funeral and also his burial at Optina. Fathers Joseph, Anthony, Benedict, and Anatole succeeded him as Elder until the monastery was closed after the Russian Revolution. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000. Ambrose was glorified in 1988 by the Patriarchate of Moscow as part of the Millennium celebration of the Baptism of Rus. Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of Optina, Commemorated on October 11 ; Venerable Leonid of Optina, Commemorated on October 11; Icon of the Mother of God the "Multiplier of Wheat", Commemorated October 15 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated November 19 ; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; St Gerasimus of Boldino, Commemorated on May 1; Venerable Joseph of Optina, Commemorated on May 9; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1832, Saint Metrophanes, Voronezh Cathedral, incorrupt relics, monastic schema
Voronezh Annunciation Cathedral; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7 Uncovering of the Relics of Saint Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh (1832): The memory of the deep piety and pastoral virtues of Saint Metrophanes (Macarius, in the schema) was revered at Voronezh from the time of his death (November 23, 1703). His successors, the Voronezh hierarchs, considered it their sacred duty to make annual remembrance of the first hierarch of their flock, together with his parents, the priest Basil and Maria. people of Voronezh and its environs came to the Annunciation cathedral, where memorial services were offered at his tomb. Contributing to the intense remembrance of Saint Metrophanes was also his dying request that prayers be said for him. For this purpose the saint, even during his lifetime, had built a chapel at the cathedral in honor of the holy Archangel Michael (his patron saint), and in it a special priest served the Liturgy. Although succeeding generations did not know the saint, they also revered his memory. veracity of the sainthood of the first hierarch of the Voronezh diocese was also confirmed by his incorrupt relics, attested during their repeated transfers from one temple to another. In the year 1718, Metropolitan Pachomius of Voronezh, about to begin the construction of a new cathedral, gave orders to demolish the old Annunciation cathedral. The body of Saint Metrophanes was temporarily transferred into the church of the Unburnt Bush. In 1735, the body of Saint Metrophanes was transferred into the new cathedral, during which time the incorrupt state of his relics was again observed. At the place of the burial of the saint, panikhidas were customarily served for him. 1820 it was noticed that the number of those venerating Saint Metrophanes and thronging to Voronezh, had extraordinarily increased. Grace-filled signs also increased. Archbishop Anthony II of Voronezh made repeated reports to the Holy Synod about the miracles, and he petitioned for a resolution for the glorification of the saint. The Holy Synod then prescribed that records be kept of miracles at the grave of Saint Metrophanes. In the year 1831, after seeing the incorrupt body of the saint, Archbishop Anthony together with commission members of the Holy Synod, Archbishop Eugenius of Yaroslavl and Archimandrite Hermogenes of the Moscow Savior-Androniev monastery, became convinced in the miraculous intercession of Saint Metrophanes before the Throne of God. The Holy Synod then issued its resolution adding Saint Metrophanes to the ranks of the Saints. Since then, the Russian Church celebrates the memory of the saint twice during the year: November 23, the day of his repose, and August 7, the day of his glorification. Anthony II (1827-1846) established in the Voronezh also the following feastdays in honor of Saint Metrophanes: June 4, the Feast of his namesake Saint Metrophanes, Patriarch of Constantinople; April 2, the saint’s day of consecration as bishop in 1682; and December 11, the day of the transfer of the relics of Saint Metrophanes in 1831. Metrophanes left behind a Spiritual Testament. Its original is preserved in the State Historical Museum. Upon the testament is the unique authoritative signature of the saint: “This spiritual dictate is attested to by me... Bishop Metrophanes of Voronezh.” the lower cover (inside) is an inscription from the eighteenth century: “This is the book of testament or last will of the Voronezh schemamonk Macarius, written in the God-saved city of Voronezh, in the house of His Grace the bishop and schemamonk Macarius, who reposed in the month of November on the 23rd day in the year 1703, and was buried on the 4th day of December.” the day preceding the Uncovering of the Relics of Saint Metrophanes, Archbishop Anthony of Voronezh went to church, so as to lay out the new vestments prepared for the relics. Suddenly, he felt so weak that he was barely able to go about his cell. Troubled by this, he sat and pondered and then he heard a quiet voice: “ Do not transgress my legacy.” he did not understand right away, and instead thinking about his own plans, he gathered up his strength and opened the closet where the vestments were, and there he caught sight of the monastic schema, brought shortly before this by an unknown monk who had entrusted it to him and said that it soon would be needed. this monastic schema, the hierarch then realized that the words, “Do not transgress my legacy,” was actually the will of Saint Metrophanes, that they not place upon his relics bishop’s vestments, but rather to clothe them in the schema. By this and by his extreme humility, he indicated the deep spiritual connection with his patronal saint (in schema), Saint Macarius of Unzhensk.

Russia, Moscow, 1833, Devpeteruv Icon, Husband falsely accused, wife ordered to find icon in dream, Moleben, acquitted
Russia, Mordovia, 1833, Devpeteruv Icon, Husband falsely accused, woman sees Elder in dream, orders her search cathedral for icon fPitrim's cell, and to have a Moleben served. He also showed her the Icon, done, Husband acquitted; Tambov; Devpeteruv Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on February 28; Icon appeared on February 29, 1392. of the oldest shrines of the Devpeteruv (Девпетерувская) Icon of the Mother of God is now located in the Nikolaev church of the village of Batyushkova, or Batatkova, Dmitrovsky district of Moscow Province. this image, the child Jesus is shown resting on the Virgin’s right shoulder; His left hand is on His Mother’s left shoulder, and her right hand is on His right shoulder. Tambov's Transfiguration Cathedral, above the tomb of St. Pitirim (July 28), there is another list of the miracles of the Devpeteruv Icon of the Mother of God. image once belonged to St. Pitirim, and before it, he offered his fervent prayers to the Lord God. Icon became especially famous in 1833 after a miracle took place. certain woman, whose husband was falsely accused of a crime and sent to prison, once saw an Elder whom she did not know in a dream. This Elder ordered her to search the cathedral for the Icon from St. Pitirim's cell, and to have a Moleben served before it. He also showed her the Icon itself. The woman found the Saint's Icon and asked for a Moleben to be served before it. Shortly afterward, her husband was acquitted and released from prison.

Russia, Moscow, 1834-1860, Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov, Theologian, slavofile, anti western
Moscow, 1834-1860, Theologian, Aleksey Stepanovich Khomyakov ; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on July 9 ; ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, ECUMENIST and JOURNALIST, 1929, Commemorated June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1835 - 1894, Theophan the Recluse, writer inexpensive practical books, focused on his salvation
Russia, Moscow, 1835 - 1894, Theophan the Recluse, Tambov, Mordovia, writer inexpensive practical books, focused on his salvation, undisturbed communion w God; Kazan Church of the Vysha Monastery, Tambov, Mordovia, assumed to be in or near Tambov based on Saint Theophan's story.; St. Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on January 10; Govorov, the future Saint Theophan, was born on January 10, 1815 in the village of Chernavsk in the Orlov province where his father was a priest. first, George attended a primary school at Liven, then a military school. From 1837-1841 he studied at the Kiev Theological Academy, and probably visited the Monastery of the Caves several times. In these surroundings, it was not surprising that he received the monastic tonsure while he was still a student. After graduation Hieromonk Theophan was appointed rector of Kiev’s church schools, and later became rector of the seminary in Novgorod. Before he retired from teaching, Father Theophan served as a professor and Assistant Inspector at the Petersburg Academy. Theophan was not completely happy with academic work, so he asked to be relieved of his duties. He was assigned to be a member of the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. After being raised to the rank of Archimandrite, he became Rector of Olnets Seminary. Soon he was assigned as the chief priest of the embassy church in Constantinople. Saint Theophan was eventually recalled to Russia to become rector of the Petersburg Academy, and supervisor of religious education in the capital’s secular schools. May 9, 1859 Saint Theophan was consecrated as Bishop of Tambov, where he established a diocesan school for girls. During his time in Tambov he came to love the secluded Vysha Monastery in his diocese. In 1863 he was transferred to Vladimir and remained there for three years. He also established a diocesan school for girls at Vladimir. holy bishop visited parishes throughout his diocese serving, preaching, restoring churches, and sharing the joys and sorrows of his flock. It was very difficult for Bishop Theophan to live in the world and become involved with vain worldly disputes. Many abused his trust, but he could not bring himself to chastise anyone. Instead, he left such unpleasant tasks to the Archpriest of his cathedral. was present at the uncovering of the relics of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk in 1861, and this made a tremendous impression on him, for he had much in common with that saint. He had loved Saint Tikhon from early childhood, and always spoke about him with great enthusiasm. When Saint Tikhon was glorified as a saint on August 13, Bishop Theophan’s joy knew no bounds. 1866 his request to be relieved of his duties as Bishop of Vladimir was granted. He was appointed as Superior of the Vysha Monastery, but soon resigned from that position. He was permitted to live there and to celebrate services whenever he wished. He also received a pension of 1000 rubles. he prepared to leave his diocese, he wished to focus on his own salvation, and to concentrate on undisturbed communion with God. On July 24, 1866 he bade his diocese farewell, leaving the world for a life of reclusion, and to devote himself to writing spiritual books. Through these books, Saint Theophan has become the spiritual benefector of all Orthodox Christians. Although he sought the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33), a reputation as a writer of great significance for the whole world was also added to him. Theophan wrote many books, but received no profits from their sale. He tried to keep them as inexpensive as possible, and they quickly sold out. He wrote about topics which others before him had not fully treated, such as how to live a Christian life, how to overcome sinful habits, and how to avoid despair. He tried to explain the steps of spiritual perfection systematically, as one who had himself gone through these various steps. Some of his books include THE SPIRITUAL LIFE AND HOW TO BE ATTUNED TO IT, THE PATH TO SALVATION, and LETTERS ON THE SPIRITUAL LIFE. He also translated the PHILOKALIA in five volumes, and THE SERMONS OF ST SIMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN. the first six years in the monastery, Bishop Theophan attended all the services, including the early Liturgy. He stood still in church with his eyes closed so that he would not be distracted. He often celebrated Liturgy on Sundays and Feast Days. in 1872, he cut off all relationships with people (except for his confessor) and no longer left his cell to attend church. He built a small chapel in his quarters and dedicated it to the Lord’s Baptism. For ten years he served there on Sundays and Feast Days. For the last eleven years of his life he served every day by himself. Sometimes he would sing, and sometimes he kept completely silent. anyone visited him on business, Bishop Theophan would reply with as few words as possible, then immerse himself in prayer. If anyone sent him money, he would distribute it to the poor, keeping only a small portion to purchase books. he was not occupied with writing or praying, the reclusive bishop worked at carpentry or painting icons. He received from twenty to forty letters each day, and he answered all of them. He was able to discern each writer’s spiritual condition, then give detailed answers to the questions of those who were struggling for the salvation of their souls. eyesight deteriorated in his latter years, but he did not curtail his work because of it. In the evening, his cell attendant would prepare everything for the bishop to serve Liturgy the next morning. After finishing the Liturgy, Bishop Theophan would knock on the wall to signal the cell attendant to serve him tea. On days when there was no fasting, he would eat lunch at 1:00 P.M. This consisted of one egg and a glass of milk. At four o’clock he would have some tea, and then no more food that day. Theophan began to get weaker at the beginning of 1894. He was still writing on the afternoon of January 6, but when the cell attendant came to check on him at 4:30 he found that the bishop had departed to the Lord. Theophan’s body lay in the small church in his cell for three days, then three more days in the cathedral. There was no trace of corruption, however. He was laid to rest in the Kazan church of the Vysha Monastery. of Saint Theophan’s books have been translated into English, and are reliable spiritual guides for Orthodox Christians of today. Saint Theophan’s gift was the ability to present the wisdom of the Fathers in terms which modern people can understand. Since he lived close to our own time, many readers find his books “more approachable” than the earlier patristic literature. He treats the life of the soul and the life of the body as a unified whole, not as two separate elements, and reveals to people the path of salvation. Theophan the Recluse, 1835 - 1894;

Russia, Moscow, 1835 - 1894, Theophan t Recluse, teaching leading many places, then recluse writer near Vysha m Tambov, Inc Rlcs
Russia, Moscow, 1835 - 1894, Saint Theophan the Recluse, Tambov, Mordovia, fOrlov District, primary&Military school aLiven, 1837-41 Kiev Theological, monk, rector Kiev's church schools, rector Novgorod seminary, Professor Inspector Petersburg Academy, Russian Mission iJerusalem, Rector Olnets Seminary, chief priest Embassy Church Constantinople, rector Petersburg Academy& supervisor religious schools ed, 1859 Bishop oTambov, school fGirls, loved Vysha Monastery, 1863 tVladimir f3yrs, another school fGirls, but difficult him worldly disputes, could not chastise, had someone else do it,1861 impressed bUncovering Tikhon's relics, childhood friend, 1866 igumen Vysha m, soon resigned, but lived there, celebrate services whenever, pension, 1866 left diocese fReculusion, and writing spiritual books, benefactor fAll Orthodox, worldwide rep, many books no profit, new topics like how Christian life, how overcome sin habits, how avoid despair, how steps perfection, he also translated Philokalia and Simeon tNew sermons, firs 6yrs attended all services, stood still eyes closed, then 1872 cut all relationships wPeople except his confessor, stayed iCell, chapel there, 10yrs served there Sundays&Feast Days, then last 11yrs served every day by himself, sometimes sing sometimes silent, if sent money then distributed tPoor, writing praying carpentry painting icons, answered 20-40 letters aDay, discerned letter spirit condition, eyesight declined, litergy prepared night before, tea after next day, egg milk Lunch a1pm, tea a4pm, weaker but still writing&died 1894, incorrupt 6days, books translated English; Russia, Moscow, 1835 - 1894, Saint Theophan the Recluse, Tambov, Mordovia; Kazan Church of the Vysha Monastery, Tambov, Mordovia, assumed to be in or near Tambov based on Saint Theophan's story.; St. Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on January 10; Govorov, the future Saint Theophan, was born on January 10, 1815 in the village of Chernavsk in the Orlov province where his father was a priest. first, George attended a primary school at Liven, then a military school. 1837-1841 he studied at the Kiev Theological Academy, and probably visited the Monastery of the Caves several times. these surroundings, it was not surprising that he received the monastic tonsure while he was still a student. graduation Hieromonk Theophan was appointed rector of Kiev’s church schools, later became rector of the seminary in Novgorod. he retired from teaching, Father Theophan served as a professor and Assistant Inspector at the Petersburg Academy. Theophan was not completely happy with academic work, so he asked to be relieved of his duties. was assigned to be a member of the Russian Mission in Jerusalem. being raised to the rank of Archimandrite, he became Rector of Olnets Seminary. he was assigned as the chief priest of the embassy church in Constantinople. Theophan was eventually recalled to Russia to become rector of the Petersburg Academy, and supervisor of religious education in the capital’s secular schools. May 9, 1859 Saint Theophan was consecrated as Bishop of Tambov, he established a diocesan school for girls. his time in Tambov he came to love the secluded Vysha Monastery in his diocese. 1863 he was transferred to Vladimir and remained there for three years. also established a diocesan school for girls at Vladimir. holy bishop visited parishes throughout his diocese serving, preaching, restoring churches, and sharing the joys and sorrows of his flock. was very difficult for Bishop Theophan to live in the world and become involved with vain worldly disputes. abused his trust, but he could not bring himself to chastise anyone. he left such unpleasant tasks to the Archpriest of his cathedral. was present at the uncovering of the relics of Saint Tikhon of in 1861, and this made a tremendous impression on him, for he had much in common with that saint. had loved Saint Tikhon from early childhood, and always spoke about him with great enthusiasm. Saint Tikhon was glorified as a saint on August 13, Bishop Theophan’s joy knew no bounds. 1866 his request to be relieved of his duties as Bishop of Vladimir was granted. He was appointed as Superior of the Vysha Monastery, but soon resigned from that position. was permitted to live there and to celebrate services whenever he wished. He also received a pension of 1000 rubles. he prepared to leave his diocese, he wished to focus on his own salvation, and to concentrate on undisturbed communion with God. July 24, 1866 he bade his diocese farewell, leaving the world for a life of reclusion, to devote himself to writing spiritual books. these books, Saint Theophan has become the spiritual benefector of all Orthodox Christians. he sought the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33), a reputation as a writer of great significance for the whole world was also added to him. Theophan wrote many books, but received no profits from their sale. He tried to keep them as inexpensive as possible, and they quickly sold out. wrote about topics which others before him had not fully treated, as how to live a Christian life, to overcome sinful habits, how to avoid despair. tried to explain the steps of spiritual perfection systematically, as one who had himself gone through these various steps. of his books include The Spiritual Life and How to be Attuned to It, Path to Salvation, Letters on the Spiritual Life. also translated the Philokalia in five volumes, and The Sermons of Saint Simeon the New Theologian. the first six years in the monastery, Bishop Theophan attended all the services, including the early Liturgy. stood still in church with his eyes closed so that he would not be distracted. often celebrated Liturgy on Sundays and Feast Days. in 1872, he cut off all relationships with people (except for his confessor) no longer left his cell to attend church. built a small chapel in his quarters and dedicated it to the Lord’s Baptism. ten years he served there on Sundays and Feast Days. the last eleven years of his life he served every day by himself. Sometimes he would sing, and sometimes he kept completely silent. anyone visited him on business, Bishop Theophan would reply with as few words as possible, then immerse himself in prayer. anyone sent him money, he would distribute it to the poor, keeping only a small portion to purchase books. he was not occupied with writing or praying, the reclusive bishop worked at carpentry or painting icons. received from twenty to forty letters each day, and he answered all of them. was able to discern each writer’s spiritual condition, then give detailed answers to the questions of those who were struggling for the salvation of their souls. eyesight deteriorated in his latter years, but he did not curtail his work because of it. the evening, his cell attendant would prepare everything for the bishop to serve Liturgy the next morning. finishing the Liturgy, Bishop Theophan would knock on the wall to signal the cell attendant to serve him tea. days when there was no fasting, he would eat lunch at 1:00 P.M. This consisted of one egg and a glass of milk. At four o’clock he would have some tea, and then no more food that day. Theophan began to get weaker at the beginning of 1894. He was still writing on the afternoon of January 6, but when the cell attendant came to check on him at 4:30 he found that the bishop had departed to the Lord. Theophan’s body lay in the small church in his cell for three days, then three more days in the cathedral. There was no trace of corruption, however. He was laid to rest in the Kazan church of the Vysha Monastery. of Saint Theophan’s books have been translated into English, and are reliable spiritual guides for Orthodox Christians of today. Saint Theophan’s gift was the ability to present the wisdom of the Fathers in terms which modern people can understand. Since he lived close to our own time, many readers find his books “more approachable” than the earlier patristic literature. He treats the life of the soul and the life of the body as a unified whole, not as two separate elements, and reveals to people the path of salvation.

Russia, Moscow, 1836-1882, Antipas oValaam monastery, fMoldavia Romania, tValaam 1865, clairvoyant hermit
Russia, St Petersburg, 1836-1882, Antipas oValaam monastery (Valaam Island, Lake Ladoga), father deacon mother became schemanun, fMoldavia Romania, tValaam 1865, clairvoyant hermit, fell asleep 1882; Valaam Monastery ; Venerable Antipas of Valaam Monastery, Commemorated January 10 ; Antipas was born in Moldavia, Romania in 1816. father was a deacon in the village church, and his mother ended her life in a women’s monastery as a schemanun. Antipas came to Valaam Monastery from Mt Athos on November 6, 1865. spent the rest of his life in the skete at Valaam, living like a hermit. with the gift of clairvoyance, Saint Antipas fell asleep in the Lord on January 10, 1882.

Russia, Moscow, 1839-1877, Andronicus Icon placed in Kazan women's monastery near Vyshnii Volochek, Tver
Kazan women's monastery near Vyshnii Volochek, not in Wikipedia. Icon of the Mother of God of Andronicus, Commemorated on October 22 ; Andronicus Icon of the Mother of God was a family icon of the Byzantine emperor Andronicus III. In 1347 he gave the icon to the Monemvasia monastery at Morea in the Peloponnesos. From here the image was sent to Russia in 1839. In 1877 the holy icon was placed in a temple of the Kazan women’s monastery near Vyshnii Volochek. Other Feast days of this icon are May 1 and July 8.

Russia, Moscow, 1840, Cherson, Crimea, Russia, divine light from icon, wonderworking, protected Odessa C War 1853-56
Russia, Crimea, 1840, Cherson, Crimea, Russia, Cherson is the Greek Name for Korsun, divine light from icon, wonderworking, protected Odessa C War 1853-56 ; Korsun, Crimea, Korsun is the Slavic Name ; Korsun, , Cherson is the Greek name for Korsun; Icon of the Mother of God of Kasperov, Commemorated on April 5; Kasperov Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Tradition says that this holy icon had been brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb at the end of the sixteenth century. Passing down from parent and child, the icon had come to a certain Mrs. Kasperova of Cherson in 1809. night in February of 1840 she was praying, seeking consolation in her many sorrows. Looking at the icon of the Virgin, she noticed that the features of the icon, darkened by age, had suddenly become bright. Soon the icon was glorified by many miracles, and people regarded it as wonderworking. the Crimean War (1853-1856), the icon was carried in procession through the city of Odessa, which was besieged by enemy forces. On Great and Holy Friday, the city was spared. Since that time, an Akathist has been served before the icon in the Dormition Cathedral of Odessa every Friday. icon is painted with oils on a canvas mounted on wood. The Mother of God holds Her Son on her left arm. The Child is holding a scroll. Saint John the Baptist (Janurary 7) is depicted on one border of the icon, and Saint Tatiana (January 12) on the other. These were probably the patron saints of the original owners of the icon. Kasperov Icon is commemorated on October 1, June 29, and Bright Wednesday.

Russia, Moscow, 1840, Kasperov Icon, Cherson, features became bright, wonderworking, in Crimean War it saved Odessa
Russia, 1840, Kasperov Icon, Cherson, Crimea, Russia, Cherson is the Greek Name, Korsun is the Russian Name, features suddenly became bright, many miracles, wonderworking, Crimean War (Russia against Protestants, Catholics and Moslems) in 1853-56 carried through besieged Odessa, city spared, Akathists since; Korsun, Crimea ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kasperov, Commemorated on June 29; Kasperov Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Tradition says that this holy icon had been brought to Cherson from Transylvania by a Serb at the end of the sixteenth century. Passing down from parent and child, the icon had come to a certain Mrs. Kasperova of Cherson in 1809. night in February of 1840 she was praying, seeking consolation in her many sorrows. at the icon of the Virgin, she noticed that the features of the icon, darkened by age, had suddenly become bright. the icon was glorified by many miracles, and people regarded it as wonderworking. the Crimean War (1853-1856), the icon was carried in procession through the city of Odessa, which was besieged by enemy forces. On Great and Holy Friday, the city was spared. Since that time, an Akathist has been served before the icon in the Dormition Cathedral of Odessa every Friday. icon is painted with oils on a canvas mounted on wood. The Mother of God holds Her Son on her left arm. The Child is holding a scroll. Saint John the Baptist (Janurary 7) is depicted on one side of the icon, and Saint Tatiana (January 12) on the other. These were probably the patron saints of the original owners of the icon. Kasperov Icon is commemorated on October 1, June 29, and Bright Wednesday.

Russia, Moscow, 1841, Stromyn village, now Church of the Domition
Moscow, 1841, Stromyn village, now Church of the Domition; “Stromynâ€ Cyprus Icon became famous in 1841. An eighteen-year-old girl from Stromyn, a village not far from Moscow, was close to death from an illness. In a dream she saw the Cyprus Icon standing over the entrance to the church, and a voice came from the icon: “Take me into your home and have the priest serve a Molieben with the Blessing of Water, and you will be cured.â€ sick girl was brought to the church and finally located the icon after a long search. The girl obeyed the command of the Most Holy Theotokos, and after the Molieben she felt strong enough to carry the icon back to the church herself. Shortly thereafter, she was completely healed. The “Stromynâ€ Cyprus Icon continued to work miracles of healing, which the rector of the church reported to the holy Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (November 19). Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on February 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1843, Surety of sinners Icon, Orlov, Perm (Vyatka River 2), I am surety for my son entrusted me to hear them
Mongol, Perm, 1843, œthe Surety of sinners Icon, Orlov, Perm (Vyatka River 2), I am surety for my son entrusted me to hear them; Orlov; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Surety of sinners" of Odrino, Orlov, Commemorated on March 7 ; Icon of the Mother of God Surety of Sinners is known by this name because of the inscription on the icon: I am the Surety of sinners for My Son Who has entrusted Me to hear them, and those who bring Me the joy of hearing them will receive eternal joy through Me. The Mother of God embraces Her Child, Who holds Her right hand with both His hands so that Her thumb is in His right hand, and Her small finger in His left hand. This is the gesture of one who gives surety for another. we do not know when or by whom the icon was originally painted, it is believed that the basis of the icon is to be found in the Akathist to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos: Rejoice, You Who offer Your hands in surety for us to God. icon was first glorified by miracles at the Saint Nicholas Odrino men’s monastery of the former Orlov gubernia in the mid-nineteenth century (the Assuage My Sorrows Icon commemorated on October 9 is also from this monastery). The Surety of Sinners icon of the Mother of God was in an old chapel beyond the monastery gates, and stood between two other ancient icons. Because it was so faded and covered with dust, it was impossible to read the inscription. 1843 it was revealed to many of the people in dreams that the icon was endowed with miraculous power. They solemnly brought the icon into the church. Believers began to flock to it to pray for the healing of their sorrows and sicknesses. The first to receive healing was a crippled child, whose mother prayed fervently before the icon in 1844. The icon was glorified during a cholera epidemic, when many people fell deathly ill, and were restored to health after praying before the icon. large stone church with three altars was built at the monastery in honor of the wonderworking icon. Surety of Sinners Icon is also commemorated on May 29 and on Thursday of the week of All Saints. Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Surety of sinners", Commemorated on May 29; Icon of the Mother of God “Surety of Sinners” is known by this name because of the inscription on the icon: “I am the Surety of sinners for My Son Who has entrusted Me to hear them, and those who bring Me the joy of hearing them will receive eternal joy through Me.” The Mother of God embraces Her Child, Who holds Her right hand with both His hands so that Her thumb is in His right hand, and Her small finger in His left hand. This is the gesture of one who gives surety for another. we do not know when or by whom the icon was originally painted, it is believed that the basis of the icon is to be found in the Akathist to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos: “Rejoice, You Who offer Your hands in surety for us to God.” icon was first glorified by miracles at the Saint Nicholas Odrino men’s monastery of the former Orlov gubernia in the mid-nineteenth century (The “Assuage My Sorrows Icon” commemorated on October 9 is also from this monastery). The “Surety of Sinners” icon of the Mother of God was in an old chapel beyond the monastery gates, and stood between two other ancient icons. Because it was so faded and covered with dust, it was impossible to read the inscription. 1843 it was revealed to many of the people in dreams that the icon was endowed with miraculous power. They solemnly brought the icon into the church. Believers began to flock to it to pray for the healing of their sorrows and sicknesses. The first to receive healing was a crippled child, whose mother prayed fervently before the icon in 1844. The icon was glorified during a cholera epidemic, when many people fell deathly ill, and were restored to health after praying before the icon. large stone church with three altars was built at the monastery in honor of the wonderworking icon. 1848, through the zeal of Lt. Col. Demetrius Boncheskul, a copy of the wonderworking image was made and placed in his home. Soon it began to exude a healing myrrh, which was given to many so they might recover their health after grievous illnesses. Boncheskul donated this wonderworking copy to the church of Saint Nicholas at Khamovniki in Moscow, where a chapel was built in honor of the icon. “Surety of Sinners” Icon is also commemorated on March 7 and on Thursday of the week of All Saints.

Russia, Moscow, 1843-1882, Ioannikios, Kharkhov High Point, 1845 Holy Mt Monastery for life, Hesychast, much more
Mongol, Perm, 1843-1882, Hiermonk Ioannikios, Orlov, Perm (Vyatka River 2), large family, kept from church, Church vision story, Church built on his spot, at 16 Monasticism vision dream, come with us, it is God' will, ran away tM, but father brought him back, father died, mother released him, 1845 to Holy Mt M for life, very long story; Orlov; Saint Ioannikios, Father Confessor of the Dormition Holy Mountain Hermitage, Commemorated on February 10; Ioanikkios (in the world Trophimos N. Averkiev) was born in 1823 and was named Trophimos in Holy Baptism. parents were Government-owned peasants in Orlov Province, and they had a large family. was one of the younger children. The boy was quite bright and also very pious. He loved to be in church, and if his mother went to church for the Feast Days he always begged to go along. however, was not easy. The village where they lived was not near the church. had to cross a stream on the way, and the bridge was so old and rotten that once Trophimos fell in and caused his mother to be delayed. she did not always take him with her. Most of the time, she left him at home. When he stayed at home, Trophimos wept bitterly because she would not bring him to church. He felt drawn there by some “overpowering force,” as he expressed himself later in life. Sunday his father and mother went to church for the Divine Liturgy and took his older brothers, but they left him at home. After crying for some time, Trophimos went out into the yard, before which there was a field covered with grass. he noticed a beautiful stone church on a hillock. He was surprised to see it and wondered how it got there, so he started walking toward it in order to take a closer look at it. For a while he walked around the church, admiring its beauty. tried to enter, but the door was locked. When his hand touched the door knob, it vanished, and there he was, standing in the middle of an empty field! This astonished him even more, and he could not understand anything for a while. When his parents came home, he hastened to tell them what had happened. first, they paid no attention to him, but later, when his father mentioned this at a meeting of all the peasants in the village, an old man stated that he had also had seen a church on that very spot at dawn. peasants asked to see Trophimos and to hear the story from his own lips. When Trophimos was brought to the meeting, he told them in detail where he had seen the church in the field, and described what sort of church it was. showed them the exact spot, and the men marked the spot with four stakes. They decided to collect money and to build a stone church there. Indeed, a church was needed because the parish church was far away. In addition, there was the stream to be crossed. In the spring, when the stream was full, it became difficult and dangerous to cross. the peasants were wealthy, the required funds were soon collected, and they began to build a church in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (July 8, Oct. 22). a few years the church was completed and consecrated, and on the outside it closely resembled the church that Trophimos had seen in a vision. the boy was sixteen years old, he wanted to enter a monastery, so he begged his parents to give their blessing for him to go to Tolshev’s Savior-Transfiguration Monastery. parents were very unhappy about this, especially his father. The young man became very sad and did not know what to do. night he had a dream wherein he saw a group of monks in a church in their mantiyas and klobuks. All of them went to the middle of the church and sang a divine hymn. Taking Trophimos by the hand they said, “Come with us, and do not be afraid of grieving your parents. It is God’s will that you be with us.” from his dream, he decided to run off to the monastery in secret. He got ready, placing a piece of bread in a shepherd’s sack. Dressed in an old peasant’s coat, and without shoes, he left for the Tolshev Monastery. road was not easy for him, but he arrived at the gates of the Monastery in the afternoon, and he saw a few monks standing there. Seeing the barefoot boy, they asked him why he had come. Trophimos replied that he had come in order to be a monk. monk, an Elder with a grey beard, volunteered to take him to the Superior’s cells. This was Hieromonk Jacob from Sarov Hermitage, where he had been known and loved by Batushka Seraphim. Jacob led an ascetical life, and was respected by the brethren. Trophimos now sat in the waiting room, fearfully awaiting the Superior’s decision concerning him. Superior, a short, grey-headed old man, was surprised at the young man’s appearance because he was dressed in rags. He thought that Trophimos was a beggar seeking alms. When Father Jacob started to tell him that the young man wanted to be a monk, the Superior said that he was much too young, and he would never be able to endure the labors and the sorrows of the monastic life. So he advised him to go back home. When this did not work, and the young man remained unshaken, the Superior pretended to be angry and ordered a bundle of rods to be brought over, saying; “Now I will teach you not to wander needlessly and leave home in order to avoid work. Take off your shirt and I will punish you so that you will remember our monastery.” young man immediately removed his shirt and lay on the ground before the Superior to receive his punishment. Seeing his readiness and weakness, the Superior and Father Jacob looked at each other and changed their tone. Superior told Trophimos to get up and to tell him in detail where he was from, and why he had come. Had he perhaps committed some crime and thought to hide in the monastery? After telling him everything in detail, Trophimos fell down on the floor, tearfully begging the Superior not to chase him away and to make him a monk. Superior ordered Father Jacob to take him to his cell and teach him the monastic Rule for novices. Jacob fed him and got him some clothes, making him his cell attendant. cell was the very cell which the wonderworker Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (August 13) had occupied when he lived at Tolshev Monastery in retirement. Here the holy bishop’s belongings were preserved. chair stood in the corner, covered up. Elder Jacob never dared to sit in the chair himself, but Trophimos, who did not know the value of the chair, once tried to sit in it when the Elder was out of the cell, but he was pushed away by some force he did not understand. Father Jacob returned Trophimos told him what had occurred. Father Jacob explained the chair’s significance to him and strictly forbade him to sit in it. his humility, obedience, and meekness, Trophimos soon won Father Jacob’s paternal love. Trophimos loved the order and customs of the monastery and had no time to become bored. He could only thank God and be happy that he lived in such a holy place. particular he loved being in church when the monks all came to the center in their mantiyas and klobuks. always wondered how he had been able to see all this in such detail in his dream. was especially attracted to the mantiya, and when Father Jacob was not in the cell he would put it on and walk around the cell with measured footsteps. greatest wish was to receive the mantiya and to be able to wear it to church. One day Father Jacob caught him in the cell wearing his mantiya. He forbade him to do this, explaining the spiritual meaning of the mantiya. He told him to pray to God, asking Him for His mercy, so that perhaps he might receive a mantiya in due time. was not destined to remain at Tolshev Hermitage, since his father did not wish it. He came to the monastery and bound his son’s legs so he could not get away. brought him home that way and punished him severely for running away. The poor young man had to submit to his parents’ wishes for the time being, waiting for the time to come when he might fulfill his heartfelt desire. had lived at Tolshev Monastery only three months, but in that short time it left its mark on the future course of his life. father’s death released Trophimos from his burdensome situation. Now the family’s finances were controlled by his mother and older brothers. mother no longer tried to hold him there against his will, but blessed him to be a monk. even gave him an icon of the Great Martyr George (April 23). He kept this icon as a great treasure and revered Saint George until the end of his life. After obtaining his identification papers, Trophimos went to Kiev to venerate the holy places. there, he went to the Holy Mountain Hermitage in Kharkhov Province with the intention of remaining there for the rest of his life. He arrived on October 10, 1845 and went to see Igumen (later Archimandrite) Arsenios. The latter asked him detailed questions concerning the events of his past life. Then he accepted him into the monastery and assigned him to the kitchen for his obedience. first, Trophimos lived in the attic with his knapsack for two weeks, until the cold forced him to move elsewhere. Hieromonk Theodosios, the Father Confessor of the monks, who had come from Glinsk Hermitage with Father Arsenios, took him into his cell as his cell attendant. Trophimos lived behind a thin wall in the narrow entryway. the beginning, Father Theodosios treated him sternly, testing his character and intentions. He would leave money lying around in the cell, or he would leave some tea or sugar, as though he had forgotten to put them away, or perhaps he would leave some honey on the table and go out. After seeing that nothing was ever touched, he stopped doing this and began to trust Trophimos. Hieromonk Theodosios, who had received his spiritual formation under the guidance of the well-known Igumen of Glina Hermitage, Saint Philaretos (March 31, 1841) of holy life, was himself a strict ascetic. He often went into the woods with his prayer rope, walking about with his mind focused on the Jesus Prayer. When he returned from the forest his face was always radiant. So much so that at first his novice Trophimos feared this radiance, and he was afraid to approach him or talk to him. Trophimos was illiterate, Father Theodosios saw to it that he learned to read. instructor was Father Philotheos, who worked in the monastery office. He was not yet old, but he led a life of strict asceticism. learned to read and write under his guidance. At the same time, he continued his careful study of the monastic Rule, taught by his Elder. the evening Prayer Rule, Father Theodosios would dismiss the monk who came to him for Confession. Trophimos a prayer rope, he made him repeat the Jesus Prayer slowly and in a loud voice. At first it was frightening for him to repeat the prayer under the watchful eye of his Elder, and his voice would tremble. The Elder noticed this and ordered him to be In this fear, Father Theodosios saw in this the work of the Enemy, who especially hated the Jesus Prayer. it happened, his fear soon disappeared and was replaced by a tender, compunctionate feeling, which produced abundant tears in him. Sometimes, because of these tears, he could scarcely say the words of the prayer. was a time of strict judgment for Trophimos under the Elder’s watchfulness. He would forget all the sins he had committed during the day, but all the details would come back to his mind during prayer. This brought about sincere repentance in him. After prayer, he would confess to his Elder and receive absolution. After this, Trophimos would feel an unusual lightness and joy in his soul. He went through all the trials of his novitiate before the eyes of his experienced Elder without concealing any of his transgressions from him. Almost unnoticed, he raised himself up. Psalter, the Holy Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles became his favorite books. He always read a certain amount from each of them every day. He tried to do this without fail, often cutting short his night’s rest if he had no time to read during the day. Seeing his zeal, simplicity, and loyalty, his Elder sometimes told him some of the things that happened to him. Once, for example, he came back from the woods with his riasson and prayer rope badly torn. As he sewed up the sleeves of the riasson, Trophimos was amazed and wondered how the Elder could have torn them so much. Elder said, “I was battling with the devils in the forest. They jumped me, a whole bunch of them, and they wanted to tear the prayer ropes from my hands, screaming that I must not say the Jesus Prayer. God helped me, however. I held on to the prayer ropes, even though they were torn in many places, but the riasson really got it from them.” Father Theodosios strictly forbade him to mention this to any of the monks. Theodosios did not have a bed, but slept on the floor. Noticing that there were bedbugs on the floor where the Elder slept, Trophimos brought a kettle of hot water, and wanted to pour it on them. The Elder would not allow this saying, “Their bites remind me of the never-resting worm which is ready for the sinners who have angered God. In this way they bring me to repentance. Do not deprive me of these insects so that I will not feel sorry later.” lived for about two and a half years in his obedience as cell attendant to Father Theodosios. In 1850, he was listed officially as a novice of the Holy Mountain Hermitage. On March 24, he was tonsured as a riassophore monk by Father Arsenios and was named Timon. At that time he was appointed as overseer of the caves. October 21, 1850 Hieromonk Theodosios, the Monastery’s Father Confessor, reposed. His death was a severe blow to his loyal spiritual son Timon, who shed bitter tears at the loss of his father, instructor, and benefactor. Father Arsenios gave him a wooden cross which belonged to Father Theodosios. He accepted it as a treasure in memory of his Elder. Later, Timon gave the cross to the Skete church, where it is a reminder of the labors and prayers of the great ascetic, Father Theodosios. the repose of Father Theodosios, he received a certain comfort when he was appointed to serve the recluse Hieromonk John in his cave. Timon was quite attached to the recluse. He did everything he could for him, watching over him, and fulfilling all of his requests, even the smallest. Later, when others replaced Timon, the recluse often remembered how Timon always pleased him and was always sincerely predisposed toward him. April 2, 1854, Timon was tonsured into the mantiya and renamed Ioannikios. After this he was appointed as the sacristan (ризничий). This was not an easy obedience, for it required a lot of work. After a while he was appointed to the caves, and once again he served Hieromonk John, who lived there. he was ordained to the diaconate, he became even more diligent toward the church services, while continuing his labors of fasting and prayer in his cell. He acquired a fair number of spiritual books and read them with fervor, increasing his knowledge, and using them as guides in his life. In his spare time he liked to go into the woods and converse with God in seclusion. He practiced the Jesus Prayer with attentiveness (π ρο σοχή), and it became more and more a part of his soul. During one of his walks he ventured deep into the forest, and was taken by its seclusion and beauty as he sat down beside the roots of a large spruce tree. As soon as he touched the moss with his hand, he felt heat coming from it, as if from a stove. He was amazed by this, so he began to inspect the place carefully, and discovered that the moss had been placed there skillfully to conceal the entrance of a cave. Inside he saw a a small stove, and a table, upon which was a Psalter. A lampada was burning before an icon, but the occupant of the cave was not at home, giving Father Ioannikios a chance to examine the cave. Except for some old dried bread, some dried fruit, and a pitcher of water, there was nothing in the cave that indicated the hermit’s life of strict fasting. For some time he had been hearing rumors in the Holy Mountain Hermitage about solitaries who lived nearby in the forest, unknown to the world. It was said that they were living there even before the monastery was rebuilt.1 Archimandrite Arsenios, the Superior, was very uneasy about this because he feared that the secular authorities might regard these unknown persons as vagabonds without identification papers, and this could cause trouble for the newly reopened monastery. Father Arsenios discovered two of these hermits, and so he sent them away from the monastery in a peaceful manner. These two happened to be aged Elders, and soon afterward they completed the course of their lives in nearby villages. their departure Father Arsenios felt somewhat more at ease and stopped searching for the others. The brethren of the monastery continued to wonder if there were more hermits were living in the forest, because they saw thin, blackened people at the church services who were dressed like peasants. They avoided all contact with the monks and left quickly after the service, heading in the direction of the nearest farm. Ioannikios realized that the cave he found must belong to one of these hermits, so he decided to wait for him to return. Soon a tall, very thin man of middle age arrived dressed in a white peasant’s shirt and carrying an armload of firewood from another part of the forest. The hermit was rather disturbed to find a guest waiting for him. He sighed deeply and said, “Apparently, it is God’s will that I leave here. I know you. You are the servant of God, Father Ioannikios. Perhaps you will not tell the Archimandrite about me, but I do not wish to place you in such a position. So tomorrow I shall leave here and go elsewhere.” he invited Father Ioannikios to sit down and offered to let him taste some of his cooked dried pears. The hermit told him that his name was Leontios, and he was a soldier who had deserted. He had been living in that vicinity for about twenty years. Here he found an Elder, who was also a hermit, and who taught him to fast, to pray and to sing Psalms. When the Elder was dying he left him this cave. Father Ioannikios loved the hermit and, in his simplicity, he tried to persuade him to stay in the monastery with them. Not understanding, he offered to go to Father Arsenios with him, saying that he would probably be accepted into the monastery. the hermit shook his head and said, “I am a runaway soldier and have no identification whatsoever. Your Superior will not take me in without papers, so it is useless to ask him to do what is impossible. I thank you, Father, for your love, for which the Lord will reward you in Heaven. But now demonstrate your love and do not say anything to anyone in the monastery until tomorrow about finding my cave and seeing me here until I can move to a place farther away from the monastery. Also bow down before the Father Confessor Epiphanios and say to him that by God’s will Leontios left here and went farther away from those who would pursue him.” leaving the hermit, Father Ioannikios did as he requested, and said nothing to anyone about seeing him. About two days later, he went into the woods again, to the cave, thinking that he might find the hermit still there. However, the entrance to the cave was filled in with dirt, and there was no sign that anyone had lived there. When Father Ioannikios described to Father Epiphanios how he had found the hermit, the Confessor felt sorry for him. He said that he had known him for a long time, and that he was his Spiritual Father. He called him a true servant of God, and an ascetic of lofty spiritual life. years later, a peasant came to Father Ioannikios from a nearby village, bringing him several pounds of beeswax. He said, “Leontios orders you to live a long life, and wishes you to know of his repose. The wax is given to you to make candles to be used in the services offered for the repose of his soul.” The hermit had lived beside the peasant’s beehives. He had lived a very strict ascetical life, and had departed to the Lord after a brief illness. Before his death, he had received the Holy Mysteries from the local priest. Arsenios organized a Skete on the Holy Mountain with a church dedicated to Saint Arsenios the Great (May 8). He wanted to place a few monks from his monastery there, monks who loved ascetical struggles and who would lay a firm foundation for this place of seclusion and prayer. Father Ioannikios was also assigned to the Skete as a deacon. This was very much to his liking, since he had an inclination for solitude. 1859, Archimandrite Arsenios passed away after a lengthy illness. Father Germanus (later Archimandrite) was chosen by the brethren to succeed him, and he completed the work of establishing the Skete. life of Father Ioannikios was peaceful and quiet, and he served in the church in his capacity as a deacon. He labored in fasting and prayer, not sparing himself, and so he grew weaker in body. He began to spit up blood; he lost weight, and became thin and pale. Finally, he was put to bed in the monastery’s infirmary where he remained for about six months. Several times he was so close to death that the doctor lost all hope for his recovery. than once during his illness he saw before him the icon of the Holy Napkin (Aug. 16) and the image of the Lord’s face was life-sized. A beautiful fragrance came forth from it, which brought him untold joy and made him forget his illness. Once, when he was especially ill, those around him awaited his death. He saw the holy icon again, and it came so close to him that it touched his face. He heard a soft voice say, “Get up! Be half-healthy, and benefit the souls of your neighbors.” that moment, he felt that the terrible pain in his chest and side had vanished; some of his strength began to return, and he started to get better, which bewildered the doctor who said long ago that he would die. Truly, he never became completely healthy, but only “half-healthy,“ thin, weak, and bent over. Frequently, he spat up blood, but he got out of bed and was able to walk around, praying and serving in order to benefit the souls of his neighbors. August 24, 1864, he was ordained as a priest. Though weak and sickly, Father Ioannikios labored along with other priests who were healthy, young, and strong. He often did more than they did, and soon he was appointed as the Father Confessor for the pilgrims to the monastery. He performed this duty without any respite or laziness. He frequently confessed the pilgrims who came to the Holy Mountain Hermitage for the better part of the day, especially during the summer. On Feast Days it was often the case that between 2000 and 5000 pilgrims received Holy Communion. Lord gave him a special gift to be a Father Confessor: he knew how to obtain people’s love and trust. He knew at once, from his experience, the spiritual illnesses of those who came to him, and he also knew how to apply the right spiritual medicine for them. There were times, however, when he sought the advice of the very experienced and knowledgeable Elder Kyprianos, who was also his Father Confessor. first, Father Ioannikios admitted that “many women, pilgrims and nuns, would bother me with their tales of the supposed visions and miracles they had seen. They did not say what needs to be said in Confession, but wasted time flaunting their alleged holiness before me. So, I asked Batushka Kyprianos how to deal with such penitents. “He advised me: ‘Order them to make prostrations for every vision or miracle that they disclose to you in a boastful way, and without need for it. Believe me; they will soon leave you in peace.’ “I began to follow his advice, and the women didn’t like it. They stopped coming to me for Confession, and went to other priests. They said I was rude. I was happy though, because they only caused difficulties without any benefit to anyone. Some would waste an hour telling of her visions, while others were waiting for Confession.” Ioannikios disliked hypocrisy and self-proclaimed holiness. He scolded to their face those who tried to conceal their sinfulness under the guise of false virtue and holiness. For those who repented sincerely, however, he avoided making harsh demands, and did not impose severe penances. He said that one might vex the soul of a sinner and thereby cause more harm than good. “It is not beneficial to deprive a penitent of Communion,” said Father Ioannikios. “Christianity is so weak now, especially among the learned, that even without depriving them, they seldom receive Communion. To deprive them would not be a punishment for them, but would only serve to make them weaker.” often substituted other means of penance, and even then with great care, according to each person’s strength and circumstances. addition to his duties as Father Confessor for the Monastery, Father Ioannikios was often sent to nearby villages to give Holy Communion, or to minister to those who were sick or dying. Here are some of the other things that Father Ioannikios related about his experience as a Father Confessor: “Once, a peasant came to me late at night and asked me to go with him at once to give Holy Communion to his brother who was dying. I said to him, ‘Can this wait until morning? It will be easier to make the trip then, and it is better to give Communion before a person has any food. ’ “The peasant insisted that we must go immediately; saying that his brother had told him that he would not live through the night. So we went! We travelled through forests and over fields, and we saw wolves whose eyes shone like candles in the dark. At long last, we arrived at a small secluded village and his brother’s home. I went in and saw that the house had been tidied up. The table was covered with a cloth, and on it were lighted candles. I did not see the sick man anywhere, however. “I was met by a thin and pale peasant, who was dressed decently in clean clothes. As it turned out, he was the one who wished to receive Holy Communion. I was amazed and said, ‘Since you are strong enough to be up, you could have waited to receive Communion in the morning, because only those who are dying may receive after eating food.’ “The man said that he was dying, and had very little time to live. He asked me to confess him right away and then give him Communion. He said, ‘I waited for you, Father. Glory be to God that I was able to wait this long. Please give me the Holy Mysteries now, for those who are sent for my soul are here, and are waiting until you do so.’ “After sending his family from the house, I started to confess him. I must admit that seldom have I heard such a Confession. His life was righteous, his feelings and his mind were so elevated and spiritual, his faith was so sincere, and his love for the Savior was so ardent that I was amazed how such an illiterate family man could acquire such virtues. He partook of the Holy Mysteries with great tenderness and heard the Prayers of Thanksgiving while sitting on a bench. He kissed the cross and my hand, and then peacefully gave his soul into God’s hands. “Later, after questioning his family and his grieving wife, I learned that he had been ill for just a few days. He was not confined to bed, but sat up most of the time. From the start of his illness he ate no food. He told his wife that his time was up and he would die. He asked for a priest to come and give him Communion. Seeing that he was sitting up, his family was in no hurry to do so. Only in the evening of the day before he reposed, they heeded his request and believed him when he said he wouldn’t live until morning. He led an abstinent life; he was kind and ready to help anyone with his last piece of bread. He was most fervent in prayer, and the Lord manifested His grace in him, which was revealed clearly by his righteous death.” “On another occasion, I was called to visit a sick woman. I entered the house and saw a woman, who was still young, standing before a mirror and putting a kerchief on her head. She was the sick person! I was quite upset and I reproached her sternly because she appeared to be healthy, but she wanted to receive the Holy Mysteries before she died. She listened to me meekly and said, ‘I asked you to come because I feel that my death is near. Do not think that you have been deceived because you found me by the mirror. I did not want to come to the holy chalice with my hair uncombed, so I did the best I could.’ “She asked me to confess her and give her Holy Communion. I began unwillingly, because I did not believe what she said, and she seemed to be completely healthy. She confessed and received Holy Communion with great reverence, as a true Christian ought to do. I didn’t even have time to put the holy chalice away and begin the Prayers of Thanksgiving. When I looked, she lay down and closed her eyes. I bent over her, but she had already departed to the Lord. She became sick after giving birth and had passed away, leaving an orphaned child.” the Holy Mountain Monastery lived a landowner, a family man, of advanced years. He had cancer, which covered his face in one large wound. He suffered very much, and had to be fed with a spoon. The local priest refused to give him Holy Communion because of the stench which came from the open wound. The family turned to Father Ioannikios for help because the man wanted very much to receive Holy Communion. He looked at the sick man and decided that he could place the Holy Communion right into his mouth with a long-handled spoon, since it had not been eaten away by the cancer. He made such a spoon, confessed the man, and gave him Holy Communion. This made the man very happy. that time on, the suffering man frequently sent for Father Ioannikios in order to receive the Holy Mysteries from him, for it was the one joy in his life. The effect on Father Ioannikios was not insignificant. Many of the monks at the monastery marveled at how he was able to bear the stench, or even the sight of this terrible wound. They even thought that he would become ill himself by visiting this man. Father Ioannikios, however, having complete hope in God, did not fear the stench or the possibility of becoming infected. He continued to bring the Holy Mysteries to the man until the very end. feeling of compassion for the sick and the suffering was especially strong in Father Ioannikios. Very many pilgrims came to Holy Mountain Monastery from everywhere in the summertime. People from all walks of life, from peasants to those who were educated; and many of these were afflicted or possessed, and were brought to the monastery by relatives in the hope of a cure from the wonderworking icon of Saint Nicholas. Seeing the suffering of these unfortunates, who often screamed loudly with tumultuous voices, or went into convulsions, especially in church during the Divine Liturgy. Knowing that prayers of exorcism are to be read in such cases, Saint Ioannikios was motivated by faith, and he began to pray in this manner over the possessed, anointing them with holy oil in the name of the Lord. of the monks did not approve of this, for they thought Father Ioannikios was too bold. However, Elder Kyprianos, the Father Confessor of the monastery, did not have enough nerve to pray over them himself, so he blessed the saint to do it with complete faith and humility of mind. Kyprianos said that Father Ioannikios, as a faster and a man of prayer, was fully capable of dealing with such afflicted persons, because according to the Lord, “This kind is never expelled except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29). In truth, the prayers of Father Ioannikios over these people, said with firm faith before the Almighty Lord, often brought visible cures. Far from the monastery word spread that the Father Confessor was a healer and that he was able to cure the possessed by his prayers. the summertime, he was often seen after the services in front of the wonderworking icon of Saint Nicholas, praying over the possessed, whose ferocious screaming could be heard at that time. Some cursed him with the most horrible words; others blasphemed terribly, and some even tried to beat him. He did suffer from beatings more than once. He endured all of this meekly, however, attacking the evil demons through fasting and prayer, with which he prepared himself beforehand. Usually, he succeeded, and the sufferers would calm down. They would become humble and meek, and would start praying to God and weep, or they threw up a malodorous liquid on the floor, after which they were completely healed. an enormous man, a Cossack soldier from the vicinity of the Kuban River, was brought to him with a wild expression on his face. His relatives, two strong men, had dragged him there with great difficulty. The possessed man roared with an inhuman voice like a bear, or a wolf, or a pig. All of these were heard from the man at the same time, and his eyes glared with unspeakable hatred. In front of the cathedral of the Holy Mountain Monastery, which is on top of a hill, there is a wide stone stairway leading to the small square where the cathedral is situated. The two men dragged the possessed man to the stairs, but were unable to make him climb the stairs by any means. One of these men went into the cathedral to speak to Father Ioannikios. Fearlessly, the saint came out of the cathedral in his epitracheilion, ready to pray over the man, who was lying on the ground. the man jumped up, seized Father Ioannikios, and threw him over his shoulder. He ran up the stairs and around the cathedral. Those who were present were terrified and did not know what to do. They ran after the man, and saw him on the ground by the cathedral’s western door. Father Ioannikios was all right and unharmed, and he sat on top of the man, holding him by his hair. His relatives ran up to bind the man’s hands and feet, but Father Ioannikios would not permit it. “Don’t touch him,” he said. “Leave him alone. He won’t run anymore. We’ve already had our battle, and you can see who won.” He pointed to the man, whose hair he held with a firm grip. Then he stood up and covered the man’s head with his epitracheilion, and began to read the prayers. The man lay quietly, breathing heavily, as though he were going to vomit. Finally, with a great effort, he threw up fetid, bloody foam so malodorous that those who stood nearby had to move away from him. this the man got up and began to make prostrations while facing the church and offering his heartfelt prayers. The next day he made his Confession to Father Ioannikios and partook of the Holy Mysteries, which he had avoided for the past five years. During Confession he explained that he had become possessed when he had dared to strike his mother. that moment, he experienced terrible suffering. He left the monastery, assured of his complete cure, and went home to Kuban. Later, he received instructions on how to conduct himself so that he would not become subjected to that same evil spirit again. Father Ioannikios said later that when the possessed man threw him over his shoulder and ran up the stairs, he suddenly felt a power within him which enabled him to overcome the man almost effortlessly, while calling upon the sweetest name of the Lord Jesus. was not only adults who were brought to Father Ioannikios, but even children who exhibited sure signs of possession. They spoke in foreign languages, foretold the future, and blasphemed so much that it was frightening. It was much easier to win them over than the adults, however. This was not simply because they were only children, but also because their innocent nature was much more receptive to God’s grace. There were cases where the possessed would relate in detail, and in a loud voice, whatever Father Ioannikios did or thought, or if he ate a little more than usual. They told him that all of his efforts to cast them out would be in vain. Therefore, he fasted even more, for he knew that prayer and fasting are the best weapons to use in healing those who are afflicted. only were the saint’s prayers effective against evil spirits, but also in healing many other illnesses of people who came to him with sincere faith. Once, a young man, the son of a merchant from a nearby town, visited him in his cell. He told him of his sorrow at being a drunkard, because this caused his parents intense grief. He fell down at the feet of Father Ioannikios, begging to be released from this destructive passion, by his prayers. Father Ioannikios put on his epitracheilion and read the prayer for the sick, and then he anointed him with holy oil. He ordered him to drink a little holy water every morning before eating or drinking anything else. a while, the young man visited Father Ioannikios again and said that from the time that he prayed over him and anointed him with the holy oil, he felt such revulsion for wine that he could no longer endure the smell of it. He gave fervent thanks to Father Ioannikios for this. The saint advised him to continue to drink the holy water, ascribing his cure to the grace of God. Later, the young man became interested in monasticism and entered a monastery in Kursk province. compassion for everyone, Saint Ioannikios was always ready to help a poor person in trouble and even went so far as to deny himself as much as possible. large throng of pilgrims usually visited the monastery on the Feast of the Transfer of the Relics of Saint Nicholas on May 9, and the church was very crowded during the services. Once, two well-dressed, still young women from Rostov on the Don River came for this Feast. One of them was pregnant and was so pressed by those in the church that she felt that her child was about to be born. The other woman got her out of the church with some difficulty, and her son was born in the monastery guesthouse. This created a disturbance and so the manager told Father Ioannikios what had happened, and asked him what to do. He wondered if he should ask the women to go to the nearby village. “Why,” Father Ioannikios cried, “are we like animals to act in such a way?” went to the guesthouse himself and asked the other woman to come out and tell him right away about everything in detail. Then he sent other women pilgrims to the monastery to go and help them. He also sent for the parish priest to come and baptize the baby, because a Hieromonk is not permitted to do so, except in cases of great necessity. He himself became the child’s godfather2 and participated in this unforeseen event which befell these visitors so far from their home, for which they thanked him very much. The boy’s father, a wealthy merchant of Rostov, became a great benefactor of the Holy Mountain Hermitage and sincerely respected Father Ioannikios, keeping him informed about the child’s growth and accomplishments. of the saint’s extraordinary character traits was his love for children. Often, among the pilgrims, there were families with children, who received special attention from the Elder. He also had a child-like simplicity and trust, and he knew how to convey this to the youngsters so that they loved him and listened to him. He said, “The innocence of such children always evokes tenderness in me. One child looks like an angel of God, the purity of his soul just radiates from his face, especially at Holy Communion.” unfortunate persons, feeble-minded adults, may seem like children in their undeveloped minds. These also received the special love and protection of the kindly Father Ioannikios. We have already see how much he loved Theophilos, the blessed Fool for Christ (+ January 30, 1868), and how he cared for him during his illness, visiting him and gratifying all his wishes. was not the only one he befriended, however. Father Ioannikios always knew how to get along with those whose mental faculties were somewhat diminished. They always loved him and listened to him, and would frequently work along with the monks. Hieromonk Kyprianos, the monastery’s Father Confessor reposed, Father Ioannikios, in the humility and simplicity of his soul, did not wish to take his place. Some of the monks, however, desired this. Even Father Kyprianos himself pointed him out as a Confessor who was more experienced than anyone else. The Superior, Archimandrite Germanus, chose him as his own Father Confessor following the death of Father Kyprianos. This elevated him in the eyes of the entire monastery, but he always acted in such a way that he would not arouse anyone’s jealousy or give them cause to complain. he was sent out into the world by the Superior on the monastery’s business. Even though he was exposed to worldly turmoil, he preserved his spiritual tranquility by unceasing prayer. He also brought much benefit to those worldly people in whose company he happened to find himself. In particular, he loved to visit with his spiritual children who were living in the world. He completed his business quickly and in an expeditious manner. He did not like to sit around for very long. He performed his duties, and then went home to the monastery. His ill health also made such traveling and movement necessary for him. If he remained in his cell too long, the bleeding would start again. If he was traveling, it stopped right away. So it happened that he would leave the monastery feeling very weak, but when he returned he felt much stronger. Whether he was in a railroad car, at the train station, at an inn, or in the home of a peasant, he always tried to benefit his neighbor. cell was very simple. There were a few icons, a number of Church Service Books, some clothing, a poor man’s tea service, and a cheap clock. That was all. He always had books all over his cell. Some were opened, others had page markers. It was apparent that the Elder spent all his spare time in reading. A lampada always burned in his cell before the holy icons. He always advised people to prepare for, and to partake of, the Holy Mysteries of Christ as often as possible. He would say, “Someone who often prepares himself for receiving Holy Communion will improve in his inward being unconsciously, and even that is a great accomplishment. Our union with Christ through partaking of His Mysteries makes even our poor and insufficient preparation better by His grace. It renews us and recreates us, transforming us from carnal creatures to spiritual beings. Every person who partakes of the Holy Mysteries frequently will soon discover this and feel it within himself. Do not tell me that you are not prepared, or are unworthy to partake often. You are not prepared because of laziness, and in this way you do what the Enemy likes. He cannot endure anyone who prepares himself and receives Communion often, because this person is frightening and inaccessible to him. You are not worthy! Who among us can claim to be worthy of receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord? All of us are unworthy of this gift of God’s mercy! If we deprive ourselves of this gift by saying that we are unworthy, then we sin grievously, because we are pushing God away from ourselves. If we acknowledge our unworthiness, if we repent, and if we thirst to partake of the Holy Mysteries, then we receive help from above, and this becomes the means by which we partake of the Holy Mysteries uncondemned.” he himself was cautious about manifestations from the spiritual world, Father Ioannikios always warned his Spiritual Children about believing in dreams or visions. simplicity was extraordinary, and often it was like that of a child. Since he was non-acquisitive, he always declined expensive gifts. If he was forced to accept, he would give all of it to the monastery, according to the strict cenobitic Rule. It was easy to make him happy with a small inexpensive gift. He preferred small sizes of books, such as the Psalter, the Holy Gospels, or the book of Canons. He had them in the smallest sizes one could obtain. His tea service was also quite small, almost like those made for children. Nothing made him happier than to be presented with a small drinking glass, or a tiny tea cup, or a small comb. events occurred to make his poor health even worse. Once, while passing through the monastery yard, he saw that the crank on the water well was not working properly, and that the novice who was sent to repair it was unable to do so. The Elder came, and without stopping to think about it, he started to help. He climbed to the top of the structure and fell down into the well, where he might have drowned if the pulley hadn’t kept his head above the water. He bruised his shoulder, arm, and side very seriously on the wooden sides of the well. The monks came running and pulled him out of the well nearly unconscious, and he was ill for a long time afterward. This fall made his health even worse and, as he said himself, it was the precursor of his approaching death. found himself in danger once again, on one of his trips by train. He was rushing, as quickly as ever, to get into the coach. He missed his step, however, and fell between the car and the station platform. He was saved by his slender build, which allowed the train to pass over him, brushing him slightly with the wheels. after this, he was sick for some time, and his side turned black and hard to the touch. As he lay beneath the train expecting to be killed, he prayed to the Mother of God asking her to deliver him from such a terrible death. Suddenly, he felt as if someone were pulling him toward the platform to a narrow space where he lay on his side and waited for the entire train to pass over him. “Yes, my time is near, perceptibly near,” he said. He began to ask his friends not to forget him after his death, and to remember his parents Nikḗtas and Martha as well. “If you love me,” he said, “do not forget my parents. In this way you will show your love for me.” February 1, 1882 he was visited by the Superior, Father Germanus after Vespers, who found the Elder very ill. They sent for a doctor, who diagnosed him with acute pneumonia, and stated that his condition was grave. His Confessor, Hieromonk Arkadios, brought him the Holy Mysteries every day, and visited him often. His neighbor in the next cell, Hieromonk Dometios, was with him almost all the time and looked after him with rare love and devotion. February 8, he received the Mystery of Holy Unction. Toward evening on February 10, he became much worse. Now his death was very near, indeed. His Confessor read the Prayer for the dying over him. Father Germanus came to visit and stayed until the end, which was not long in coming. At 7:00 P.M. he passed peacefully and quietly away. crowds in the monastery were very large. Memorial Services were sung over him, and everyone wanted to bid him farewell in his cell. It was very stuffy because of the crowds, but his body remained incorrupt. There was no odor of death, but he was so thin that his body on the table looked like bones covered with skin. February 11, his body was taken from his cell to the church of the Protecting Veil by Hieromonk Paisios, the Confessor for the monks. On February 12, in the same church, the Superior, Archimandrite Germanus, solemnly served the Liturgy with other priests, and the Funeral Service took place afterward. The coffin was taken to the underground church in the caves and was buried there. Ioannikios was glorified on July 12, 2008. 1 The monastery was rebuilt after it was destroyed by the French in 1812. 2 According to Canon 4 of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod, a monk may not intrude upon or meddle in ecclesiastical affairs. See The Pedalion p. 248. The Interpretation of this Canon says that “monks must not become godfathers to children being baptized (except in cases of urgent necessity...”) Pedalion page 249.

Russia, Moscow, 1844-1894, Anatole I oOptina, under Marcarius,Ambrose&Anthony, unceasing prayr, clairvoyant prophet, archmndrite
Russia, Kaluga, 1844-1894, Anatole I oOptina Monastery, Kaluga (Zhizdra River 1), devout parents hoped children monastics, read at 5, studied Boris Theological Seminary, later Kaluga Seminary, fever a14, missed school 1yr, wanted to be monk, thunderstorm kept him from Rosilav forests hermits, sign fGod, back tM, named Anatole, healed oTuberculosis, tOptima m wMother, Marcarius praised her for Anatole's path, A under M wing, taught Jesus prayer, principles Spiritual life, blessed to seek Ambrose&Anthony, kitchen obediences, slept oWood Pile, frequently transferred cell tCell, sorrows trials taught patience&humility, Ignatius Brianchaninov visited, referred to Deacon A, impressed by A, told Marcarius, who beat him with his staff, because it is easy to be proud, after M reposed 1860, A became very close to Ambrose, Amb noticed Ana mature enough to guide, he began to train A to Guide, 1870 priesthood, 1871 Superior of Spassy-Orlov m, soArcmandriteRank, did not leave Orlov, appointed assistant tAmbrose, 1874 Superior otSkete, continued respect obey Ambrose, doors otSkete to the right Ambrose, to the left Anatole, visitors often see both, Ana also corresponded with many for his advise, because ill, Amb relied Ana lead Shamordino Convent, told nuns rarely visited bConfidence iAna, Amb called him great Jesus prayer, receiving gift unceasing prayer, so one in 1K, clairvoyant prophet, 1891 Amb reposed, anti Amb bishop not let Ana tShamordino, deep sorrow health affected, tSt Petersburg&John oKronstadt, served together, doctors found heart lungs not good, 1893 worse health, tonsured Great Schema, fell asleep end Jan 1894, burried near Macarius&Ambrose, 1996 Optima Elders, 1998 relics uncovered; Optina Monestary ; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; Anatole (Zertsalov) was born with the name Alexis in the village of Bobolya on March 24, 1824. father, Moses Kopev, was a deacon, and his mother’s name was Anna. parents were exceptionally devout Christians who hoped that their children would enter the monastic life. only son Alexis was taught to read from the age of five. studied at the Saint Boris Theological Seminary, later he entered the seminary at Kaluga. he was fourteen, Alexis was stricken with a fever which kept him out of school for a year. a very early age, Alexis wanted to become a monk. even thought about going to the Roslavl forests to live with the hermits at that place. plans were not fulfilled, however, because a thunderstorm prevented him from continuing on his way. decided to turn back, regarding the storm as a sign that God did not wish him to proceed on his journey. young man returned to seminary, where he was renamed Anatole M. Zertsalov. students at Russian seminaries were given new names, as was the case with Saint Innocent Veniaminov (March 31). being healed of tuberculosis, he arrived at Optina Monastery with his mother. Macarius (September 7) praised her for setting her son on such a good path. Elder took Anatole under his wing, instructing him in the Jesus Prayer, and in the principles of the spiritual life. Father Macarius was too busy, he blessed Anatole to seek advice from Father Ambrose or Father Anthony. fulfilled various obediences in the monastery, beginning in the kitchen. did not get much sleep, and then only on the wood pile. was frequently transferred from cell to cell, and he experienced many sorrows and trials. These difficulties taught him the virtues of humility and patience. Ignatius Brianchaninov (April 30) once visited Optina hoping to meet and converse with monks experienced in the spiritual life, and was referred to Father Anatole, who was then a deacon. bishop was impressed with Father Anatole, and related the details of their conversation to Father Macarius. Elder began to beat him with his staff, and ordered him out of the room. When someone asked why he had been so harsh, Father Macarius said, “Why shouldn’t I scold him? It’s easy to become proud.” Father Macarius reposed in 1860, Father Anatole became very close to Father Ambrose. Father Ambrose noticed that Father Anatole was mature enough to guide others, he began to train him for this service, just as Father Macarius had trained him. Anatole was ordained to the priesthood in 1870. August 3, 1871 he was assigned as Superior of the Spassky-Orlov Monastery, and raised to the rank of archimandrite. Father Anatole did not wish to leave Optina, and Father Ambrose made a formal request to have him assigned as his assistant, and so the appointment was made. Anatole was made Superior of the Skete in 1874, at the urging of Father Ambrose. Anatole accepted these duties out of obedience to his Elder, and fulfilled them to the best of his ability. in his new position, Father Anatole continued to respect and obey Father Ambrose. Ambrose’s cell was to the right of the doors to the Skete, while that of Father Anatole was to the left. to one often went to see the other, as well. addition to receiving visitors, Father Anatole maintained a correspondence with many people who relied on his advice. Ambrose, because of his illness, relied greatly on Father Anatole in ordering life at the Shamordino Convent. told the nuns that he rarely visited them because of his confidence in Father Anatole. Ambrose called him a great practicioner of the Jesus Prayer, who had received grace and the gift of unceasing prayer. one in a thousand received such grace, he informed the nuns. the end of his life, Father Anatole had atained the same spiritual wisdom, discernment, and clairvoyance possessed by Father Macarius and Father Ambrose. saw the secrets of the human soul, and was able to foretell future events. Father Ambrose’s repose in 1891, the bishop (who did not approve of Father Ambrose) forbade Father Anatole to visit Shamordino. caused him deep sorrow, which affected his health. He traveled to Saint Petersburg in 1892 and met with Saint John of Kronstadt (December 20). On October 10, the anniversary of Father Ambrose’s death, they served together. Doctors in the capital examined him and found that his heart and lungs were not good. Anatole’s health grew worse during 1893, and on October 10, he was secretly tonsured into the Great Schema. Anatole fell asleep in the Lord on January 25, 1894, and was buried near his beloved instructors Saint Ambrose and Saint Macarius. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Russia, Moscow, 1844-1907, Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, broadened Theological institutions
Georgia, 1844-1907, Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo; Abkhazeti Region, A disputed territory on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus ; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27 ; holy hierarch Alexander (Alexi Okropiridze in the world) was born in 1824, in the village of Disevi in the Gori district, to the family of the village priest. Growing up around the church, he received his primary education at Gori Theological School and later continued his education at Tbilisi Seminary. completed his course of study at the seminary in 1845, he was tonsured a monk at the Tbilisi Monastery of the Transfiguration and given the new name Alexander. From Tbilisi the young monk Alexander traveled to the theological academy in Kazan to continue his studies. He graduated with honors and returned to his homeland. Hieromonk Alexander taught the Holy Scriptures, Latin, moral theology, and archaeology at Tbilisi Seminary until July 27, 1851. at the order of the Holy Synod, he was appointed dean of the theological school in Abkhazeti on September 21, 1851. He was also entrusted with overseeing monastic life in the Abkhazeti diocese and with supervising the instruction at Kutaisi Theological School. considered a broadening of the network of theological institutions most essential to the strengthening of the Christian Faith in his country. From the very beginning of his labors in Abkhazeti, he exerted an enormous amount of effort to improve the Ilori Theological School in Ochamchire. At first Alexander was active as a pedagogue, then from February 29, 1856, as an archimandrite, and from March 4, 1862, as a bishop. He was as beloved throughout all of Georgian society as he was by the local population, and many called him the “Second Apostle to Abkhazeti.” ’s pastoral activity coincided with a difficult period in Georgian history. The divine services were no longer being celebrated in the Georgian language, and as a result many of the people began to drift away from the Church. Many Georgian churches and monasteries, considered cultural and academic centers from ancient times, were deserted. this time Georgia had been incorporated into the Russian Empire, and the tsarist government had initiated a policy of forced Russification.) The Georgian language was no longer being taught in schools, and the poorest families could not afford to educate their children. learned and erudite Bishop Alexander considered the revival of spiritual life and learning, firmly rooted in the national consciousness, the principal means by which to reinvigorate the national spirit and encourage cultural advance. ’s efforts on behalf of the revival of the churches and monasteries in Abkhazeti are, among his many labors, most worthy of note. Through his efforts alone two churches were restored in Sokhumi. Outside of Abkhazeti, Alexander renewed the magnificent monasteries of Shio-Mgvime, Zedazeni, Davit-Gareji, and Shemokmedi. He restored Jvari Church, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Disevi Church, and many other churches in Guria-Samegrelo, Atchara, and Imereti. He devoted special attention to the Shio-Mgvime Monastery and the surrounding area, which had been devastated by that time. to Saint Alexander’s generous financial contributions, a diocesan school for women was founded in Tbilisi in 1878. his initiative and personal contributions, a great number of spiritual and historical books, textbooks and collections of sacred hymns were published. Not a single God-pleasing project was undertaken without Alexander’s support. Alexander spent the remainder of his days at the Shio-Mgvime Monastery, which he himself had restored. Only once—on September 9, 1907, the day his spiritual son Saint Ilia the Righteous was buried— did he step outside the monastery walls. The eighty-three year-old Alexander outlived the great son of Georgia by two months and fell asleep in the Lord on October 27 of the same year. Saint Alexander is buried at Shio-Mgvime Monastery.

Russia, Moscow, 1844-1907, Hierarch Alexander, forced Russification, A for spiritual life&learning, fixed Georgian churches&Ms
Georgia, 1844-1907, Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, f Gori district, Gori Theological, tTiblisi Seminary, till 1845, Monk aTiblisi m, tKazan Theological Academy, wHonors, back tGeorgia, Tiblisi Seminary taught: Scriptures, Latin, Moral theology, &Archaeology, till 1851, also oversaw monks iAbkhazeti, and supervised Kutaisi Theological, most essential tFaith iGeorgia- broadening Theological school network, especially Ilori in Ochamchire, pedagogue (youth teacher) 1851, 1856 archmandrite, 1862 bishop, called Second Apostle tGeorgia, difficult time because russian only in R Empire, only rich could afford school, left Church&Monasteries, forced Russification, A considered revival spiritual life&learning means tNational Spirit Cultural Advance: iAbkhazeti - 2 Churches iSokhumi, outside A - Shio-Mgvime, Zedazeni, Davit-Gareji, &Shemokmedi monasteries, Jvari Church, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Disevi Church, many other churches Guria-Samegrelo, Atchara &Imerti, special attention to Shio-Mgvime m area, 1878 Tiblisi school for women bA's contributions, published spiritual &Historical books, textbooks, hymns, Ilia tRighteous spiritual father, died 1907 aShio-Mgvime; Georgia, 1844-1907, Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27; holy hierarch Alexander (Alexi Okropiridze in the world) was born in 1824, in the village of Disevi in the Gori district, to the family of the village priest. up around the church, he received his primary education at Gori Theological School later continued his education at Tbilisi Seminary. completed his course of study at the seminary in 1845, was tonsured a monk at the Tbilisi Monastery of the Transfiguration and given the new name Alexander. Tbilisi the young monk Alexander traveled to the theological academy in Kazan to continue his studies. graduated with honors and returned to his homeland. Alexander taught the Holy Scriptures, Latin, moral theology, and archaeology at Tbilisi Seminary until July 27, 1851. at the order of the Holy Synod, he was appointed dean of the theological school in Abkhazeti on September 21, 1851. was also entrusted with overseeing monastic life in the Abkhazeti diocese with supervising the instruction at Kutaisi Theological School. considered a broadening of the network of theological institutions essential to the strengthening of the Christian Faith in his country. the very beginning of his labors in Abkhazeti, he exerted an enormous amount of effort to improve the Ilori Theological School in Ochamchire. first Alexander was active as a pedagogue, from February 29, 1856, as an archimandrite, from March 4, 1862, as a bishop. was as beloved throughout all of Georgian society as he was by the local population, many called him the “Second Apostle to Abkhazeti.” ’s pastoral activity coincided with a difficult period in Georgian history. divine services were no longer being celebrated in the Georgian language, as a result many of the people began to drift away from the Church. Georgian churches and monasteries, considered cultural and academic centers from ancient times, were deserted. this time Georgia had been incorporated into the Russian Empire, and the tsarist government had initiated a policy of forced Russification.) Georgian language was no longer being taught in schools, and the poorest families could not afford to educate their children. learned and erudite Bishop Alexander the revival of spiritual life and learning, firmly rooted in the national consciousness, principal means by which to reinvigorate the national spirit and encourage cultural advance. ’s efforts on behalf of the revival of the churches and monasteries in Abkhazeti are, among his many labors, most worthy of note. his efforts alone two churches were restored in Sokhumi. of Abkhazeti, Alexander renewed the magnificent monasteries of Shio-Mgvime, Zedazeni, Davit-Gareji, and Shemokmedi. restored Jvari Church, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Disevi Church, many other churches in Guria-Samegrelo, Atchara, and Imereti. devoted special attention to the Shio-Mgvime Monastery and the surrounding area, which had been devastated by that time. to Saint Alexander’s generous financial contributions, diocesan school for women was founded in Tbilisi in 1878. his initiative and personal contributions, great number of spiritual and historical books, textbooks and collections of sacred hymns were published. a single God-pleasing project was undertaken without Alexander’s support. Alexander spent the remainder of his days at the Shio-Mgvime Monastery, he himself had restored. once—on September 9, 1907, the day his spiritual son Saint Ilia the Righteous was buried— he step outside the monastery walls. The eighty-three year-old Alexander outlived the great son of Georgia by two months and fell asleep in the Lord on October 27 of the same year. Alexander is buried at Shio-Mgvime Monastery.

Russia, Moscow, 1845-1896, Gabriel, BoImereti, Humility, language nationalst, conflicts wRus&Georgia, tKutaisi, incrpt rlcs
Georgia, 1845-1896, Gabriel, Bishop oImereti region (Western Inland Georgia, Rioni and Argveti Rivers), fOzurgeti iGuria, son of a priest, 1840-1845 Tbilisi, Pskov & St Pete Theological Seminaries, 1849 St Pete Masters Degree, married & returned tGeorgia& Dean oTbilisi Seminary, 1854 ordained Deacon&later Priest, 1856 terrible grief lost wife&5 children tEpidemic, tonsured monk aDavid-Gareji, 1858 abbot there and Bishop oGori, 1860 transferred tImerti Region, till 1896 end of life, 1869 Abkhazeti diocese added under him, traveled constantly tVillages preaching helping those in need, his character most powerful influence, no differentiation among petitioners, not tolerate lawlessness or imorality, his simple character evident in his clothing, dwelling, food, visitors mistook him for servant, merciful alms giver tWidows&orphans, for struggling simple people sought universal primary education, sheltered young people, funded their studies, hosted dinners&long discussions for virtuous thoughts & love of humility, his axiom nothing is my own, all belongs tGod, we know everything from his diaries: beggars buried, naked clothed, people way to survival, student opportunity tStudy, sick he purchased medicine, in winter anonymously firewood&money, Despite this letters accusing unrighteousness, injustice, immorality, ambition, selling church property, Gabriel's strong nationalist sentiments caused conflicts with Russian exarch (governor) Evsevi, especially language, so entangled in politics Georgian-Russian, regarded aUntrustworthy bGeorgian Govt, assigned spies, 1885 his secretary, a publicist, was killed, Gabriel received threatining letters so he intended leave Georgia because spiritual weakness, frightened, afraid for disgrace for nation, but he never left, just tKutaisi, died 1896 there after severe torment, terrible visions from devil to spiritually weaken him. unusually hersh winter there, impossible to translate his relics fKutaisi to nearby Gelati, people waited 46 days while body no decay, His will distributed his possessions to widows, orphans, poor, Gabriel's parting address: remitting sins of his flock, asking forgiveness his own sins, his will was publisned, enduring testament of his faith; Imereti region; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated January 25 ; Gabriel (Kikodze) was born November 15, 1825, in the village of Bachvi, in the western Georgian district of Ozurgeti in Guria. father was the priest Maxime Kikodze. 1840 to 1845, Gabriel (Gerasime in the world) studied in Tbilisi and at the theological seminaries in Pskov and Saint Petersburg. 1849, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy with a master’s degree, in the same year he was married and returned to Georgia. his return he was appointed dean of Tbilisi Seminary. 1854 Saint Gabriel was ordained a deacon, and later a priest. 1856 a terrible grief befell Saint Gabriel: his wife and five children died during an epidemic that swept through the capital. this tragedy Saint Gabriel received a blessing from the exarch Isidore to be tonsured a monk at Davit-Gareji Monastery, in 1858 he was enthroned as abbot of this monastery. the same year he was consecrated bishop of Gori, then on July 2, 1860, he was transferred to the Imereti region. shepherded the flock of this diocese to the end of his life. 1869 the Abkhazeti diocese was also brought under his leadership. Gabriel strove tirelessly to strengthen the faith of his flock, to this end he traveled constantly throughout the villages, preaching and helping those in need. the end it was his own character and example that proved to have the most powerful influence on his spiritual children. existed no differentiation among petitioners in the eyes of Bishop Gabriel: or young, prince or pauper, relative, acquaintance or stranger were equal to him and equally deserving of his help, support, and protection. would not tolerate lawlessness or immorality. simplicity of his character was evident even in his clothing, his dwelling, and the food he ate. was not unusual for visitors, seeing the elder clad in a shabby monk’s robe, to take him for a servant. Gabriel was a merciful almsgiver and generously distributed aid to the widows and orphans in his community. sympathized deeply with the struggles of simple people sought to establish a system of universal primary education. offered his help to many young people by providing them with shelter and by often funding their studies. would host dinners for the youth, leading long discussions to instill in them virtuous thoughts to cultivate a love of humility in their young souls. Gabriel lived by the axiom: “Nothing is my own; all belongs to God.” know from Bishop Gabriel’s diaries the number of beggars he buried, the naked he clothed, the people for whom he paved the way to survival, the students for whom he created an opportunity for study, and the sick for whom he purchased medicine. in the winter Saint Gabriel would anonymously send firewood and money to families that were suffering from hunger and cold. all of this, Bishop Gabriel would receive letters accusing him of unrighteousness, injustice, immorality, ambition, and the selling of Church property without permission. Gabriel’s strong nationalist sentiments (especially those pertaining to the Georgian language) often caused conflicts with the Russian exarch Evsevi. this reason Bishop Gabriel became entangled in the politics of Georgian-Russian relations he was held in high suspicion by officials of the Russian rule in Georgia. Gabriel began to be regarded as “untrustworthy” by his own government, and the officials assigned spies to watch over his every action. 1885 Bishop Gabriel’s secretary, the publicist Evstati Mchedlidze (Bosleveli), was killed. bishop himself began to receive threatening letters, and he decided to leave Georgia. “My spiritual weakness was such that I became frightened,” he wrote in his memoirs. “It was not only for myself that I was afraid, seeing how I had already grown old and had little time remaining in the world. Rather, if they had killed me, a great disgrace would have fallen on the nation that had devoted itself so faithfully to its shepherd.” Bishop Gabriel never left Georgia. his last years he began to suffer severe inner torment, and he often saw terrible visions—the enemy of mankind launched a final campaign to spiritually defeat the already physically weakened elder. Gabriel ceaselessly repeated the prayer “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” his last, he prayed, “Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy Kingdom!” Gabriel reposed in Kutaisi on January 25, 1896. winter was unusually harsh in western Georgia that year. The roads were covered with snow, and it was impossible to translate his holy relics from Kutaisi to nearby Gelati. people waited for more agreeable weather, until it arrived Bishop Gabriel’s relics remained at the City Cathedral in Kutaisi (this cathedral was destroyed during the Communist period). forty-six days all of Georgia mourned Bishop Gabriel’s passing, and during that time his body showed no signs of decay. accordance with his will, the hierarch’s personal possessions were distributed to widows, orphans, and the poor. parting address, in which he remitted the sins of all his flock and asked for the forgiveness of his own sins, published as a final, enduring testament to his great faith.

Russia, Moscow, 1846, First opening of the relics of St Tikhon of Zadonsk, Sythia, Mongol Lands (Don River 5), incorrupt Relics
Zadonsk;Zadonsk Monestary; First opening of the relics of St Tikhon of Zadonsk, Commemorated on May 14; incorrupt relics of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk were first uncovered in May 1846, during the construction of the new cathedral at Zadonsk. They were found beneath the altar of the old church. Tikhon is also commemorated on August 13.

Russia, Moscow, 1848-1910, Tolstoy, Writer, Rousseau admirer, Anarchist, Pacifist, nonviolent resist, Henry George
Russia, Moscow, 1848-1910, Writer Leo Tolstoy; Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy[note 1] (9 September, [O.S. 28 August] 1828 - 20 November, [O.S. 7 November] 1910), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time.[3] He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. That he never won is a major controversy.[4][5][6][7] to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828,[3] Tolstoy is best known for the novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878),[8] often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction.[3] first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852–1856), and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based upon his experiences in the Crimean War. fiction includes dozens of short stories and several novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), Family Happiness (1859), and Hadji Murad (1912). He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays. the 1870s, Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work A Confession (1882). literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist.[3] ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), had a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi[9] and Martin Luther King Jr.[10] also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George, which he incorporated into his writing, particularly Resurrection (1899). ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, ECUMENIST and JOURNALIST, 1929, Commemorated June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1849-1908, John of Kronstadt Island, mass confessions, miracles, charitable work, anti-semite, anti-communist
Russia, Moscow, 1849-1908, John of Kronstadt Island, St Petersburg, mass confessions, miracles, charitable work, anti-semite, anti-communist; of Kronstadt (31 October [O.S. 19 October] 1829[a] - 2 January 1909 [O.S. 20 December 1908]) was a Russian Orthodox archpriest and a member of the Most Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. was known for his mass confessions, numerous miracles, charitable work but also for his monarchistic, chauvinistic, antisemitic and anti-communist views.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church and is known with the epithet "Righteous". Kronstadt Island (Kotlin Island, St Petersburg); Kronshtadtsky District; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). His parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. His neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. When John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. At first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. I don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.â€ After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. He also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.â€ John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. To him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.â€ He conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.â€ He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.â€ These appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with boredom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.â€ To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.â€ John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990. Feasts & Saints Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, ECUMENIST and JOURNALIST, 1929, Commemorated June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1853-1856, Crimean War, Orthodox East v Ottomans and West (Catholics and Protestants)
Crimean War (1853-1856); FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE, NURSE, RENEWER OF SOCIETY (12 AUGUST 1910); Icon of the Mother of God of Gerbovets, Commemorated on October 1 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Kasperov, Commemorated on June 29;

Russia, Moscow, 1853-1856, Russo-Turkish War, Crimean War, R defeat by Eng, Ger, Fr and Turks
Moscow, 1853-1856, Russo-Turkish War of 1853-56, Crimean War; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19;

Russia, Moscow, 1854, Socola Icon, Jassy, Moldovia, Romania, remarkable miracle of shedding tears, many people saw it
Romania, 1854, Socola Icon, Jassy, Moldovia, Romania, remarkable miracle of shedding tears, many people saw it, Crimean War Moldovia occupied by Austrian troups, verified tears, to Russia and War and Peace, forcasted difficult times for Church, Socola destroyed, moved to Iasi; Socola Monastery, Jassy, Moldovia, Romania, 1562; Icon of the Mother of God “Socola”, Commemorated on February 1; Socola Icon of the Mother of God was in the church of the Transfiguration in the Orthodox Theological Seminary at the Socola Monastery in Romania. In February 1854, it became famous for the remarkable miracle of shedding tears. the Divine Liturgy on February 1, 1854, a frightened member of the clerical staff went to Hieromonk Isaiah, the ecclesiarch, and said that he had seen tears on the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Several of those serving ran to the church. There they all witnessed tears running down from the eyes of the Mother of God. Bishop Philaret Skriban, the rector of the seminary, removed the Icon of the Mother of God from its frame, and carefully examined it. Believing that it may have been sprinkled with holy water for the Feast of Saint Tryphon, the bishop wiped away the tears with a towel, and put the Icon back in its place. Then, after ordering everyone to leave the church, he looked all around the church, and then locked it. hours later, the seminary professors and students went into the church with the rector for Vespers, and all were amazed to see the same miraculous flow of tears from the eyes of the Theotokos depicted on the Icon. Bishop Philaret served a Moleben and Akathist to the Mother of God. Soon, all of Romania learned of this miraculous event, and people from all parts of the country began to arrive at the Socola Monastery to venerate the newly-revealed Weeping Icon of the Theotokos. tears sometimes flowed every day; and sometimes they appeared two, three, or four days apart. As a result, many people were able to see the actual miracle of weeping first hand, and bear witness to it. who did not see the actual miracle were convinced that a genuine miracle had taken place because they observed traces of the dried tears on the surface of the Icon. the Crimean War (1854-1856), the Principality of Moldavia was occupied by Austrian troops. Paar, the commanding officer of the Austrian army, heard about the Socola Icon and ordered a staff officer to investigate the reported miracle and to give a report of his results. The Colonel went to the monastery and examined the Icon, which was not weeping at the time. Finding nothing unusual, he returned the Icon to its frame. Taking a lighted candle, he looked carefully at the face of the Virgin. Suddenly, two small shining tears formed in the eyes of the Mother of God, and the tears began to flow. The officer recoiled in terror, and exclaimed, “It is weeping! This is a great miracle! Fathers, pray unto God!” Colonel reported what had transpired to his commanding officer. His description of the miraculous flow of tears from the Icon is of unquestionable importance, for he had come to Socola Monastery with no faith that such a miracle was possible. When he left, however, he was convinced that it was an indisputable fact. His was not the only evidence that a true miracle had taken place. There were many other eyewitness accounts, including accounts by individuals whose sincerity there would be no reason to question. of the weeping Socola Icon also spread to Russia, and some people believe that the weeping icon mentioned in Tolstoy’s “War and Peace“ (Book 5, Ch. 11) may have been based on this Icon. account provided by Bishop Melchizedek Stefanescu of Romania deserves particular attention. He was one of the first to witness this miracle, when he was a professor in the seminary at Socola Monastery. Reminiscing 35 years later about seeing tears flow from the eyes of the Mother of God, the Elder recalled how he had speculated about the reason for its tears. He knew that in times past there had also been such Icons, which wept from time to time, and that such events always presaged difficult trials for Christ’s Church and for the homeland. supported the Elder’s conclusion. Soon after the miraculous appearance of the tears, the Moldavian Principalities were subjected to severe trials. Socola Monastery also suffered great hardship. It was as important to Romanians as St. Sergius Lavra is to the Russian people. ’s great religious and educational center was destroyed. The seminary was moved to Iași, and the local instructors and monastics were dispersed. Thus, where the glorious historical seminary had stood, serving for almost a century as a center of religious education, there remained only a small elementary school. When the Seminary moved from Socola to Iași in 1886, the icon was transferred to the new Metropolitan Cathedral in Iași. name Socola probably came from a Slavic source, from the word socola, or “hawk” (perhaps because there were many hawks near the monastery).

Russia, Moscow, 1854, Kasperov Icon becomes war hero
Russia, Crimea, 1840, Kasperov Icon becomes war hero; Icon of the Mother of God of Kasperov, Commemorated on April 5; the Crimean War (1853-1856), the icon was carried in procession through the city of Odessa, which was besieged by enemy forces. On Great and Holy Friday, the city was spared. Since that time, an Akathist has been served before the icon in the Dormition Cathedral of Odessa every Friday.

Russia, Moscow, 1855-1881, Alexander II, Emperor, Serf Lib in 1861, reformer, but killed by serfs, Alaska
Moscow, 1855-1881, Alexander II, Emperor of Russia ; II (29 April 1818 - 13 March 1881)[a] was the Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination.[1] most significant reform as emperor was emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator. tsar was responsible for other reforms, including reorganizing the judicial system, setting up elected local judges, abolishing corporal punishment,[2] promoting local self-government through the zemstvo system, imposing universal military service, ending some privileges of the nobility, and promoting university education. After an assassination attempt in 1866, Alexander adopted a somewhat more reactionary stance until his death.[3] pivoted towards foreign policy and sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, fearing the remote colony would fall into British hands if there was another war.[4] He sought peace, moved away from bellicose France when Napoleon III fell in 1871, and in 1872 joined with Germany and Austria in the League of the Three Emperors that stabilized the European situation. Despite his otherwise pacifist foreign policy, he fought a brief war with the Ottoman Empire in 1877–78, pursued further expansion into Siberia and the Caucasus, and conquered Turkestan. Although disappointed by the results of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Alexander abided by that agreement. his greatest domestic challenges was an uprising in Poland in 1863, to which he responded by stripping that land of its separate constitution and incorporating it directly into Russia. was proposing additional parliamentary reforms to counter the rise of nascent revolutionary and anarchistic movements when he was assassinated in 1881.[5] Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia, Commemorated on July 20; Repose of St Jacob Netsvetov the Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska, Commemorated on July 26; First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7; Venerable Anthony of Optina, Commemorated on August 7 ; Tikon of Zadonsk, Commemorated August 13 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Lesna, Commemorated on September 14; Venerable Hilarion of Optina, Commemorated September 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Gerbovets, Commemorated on October 1 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God the "œMultiplier of Wheat"Â, Commemorated on October 15; Icon of the Mother of God of Andronicus, Commemorated on October 22; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27; St Nectarius Kephalas the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Commemorated on November 9; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Icon of the Mother of God "œSeraphim-Ponetaevka"Â, Commemorated on November 27; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on December 20; St Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov, Commemorated on January 10; Venerable Antipas of Valaam Monastery, Commemorated on January 10; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated on January 25; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25; Icon of the Mother of God "œSokolsky"Â, Commemorated on February 1; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated on February 14; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27; Icon of the Mother of God of "the Uncut Mount"Â, Commemorated on March 24; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas. Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); St Callinicus of Cernica the Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16;

Russia, Moscow, 1855-1900, Meletios, Siberian Missionary Bishop, Translator, Muslim converter gRelics, Great Story
Russia, Ryazan, 1855-1900, Meletios, Bishop of Ryazan (Oka River 9), 35 yrs missionary in Eastern Siberia before Ryazan, Buryats, Tungus, and Yakuts, 1896 Bishop Ryazan, c missionary w, from Viatka D, b 1835, PKid, father died, destitute, but top student, but attracted to solitude, wanted acceptance as monk (tonsure) but appointed teacher, 1858 Kazan Academy, 1859 finally tonsured as Melitos, 1859 Deacon, 1862 tPosolsk M at Baikal by Synod directive, Baptism of many natives, building of churches, establishing villages (most of them were nomadic or semi-nomadic), 1862 Priesthood, 1873 friend Archbishop Benjamin t Irkutsk mission, 1874 tArchimandrite otNilov Hermitage itSayansk Mountains, important translation work at Kazan till 1875, 1888-1896 Bishop of Ikursk &Misionary territories East LBaikal, 1896 Bisho oRyazan, Writer, Converted Moslems Ryazan; Saint Meletios, Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on January 14; Meletios, one of the last preachers of the Holy Gospel to the people of Siberia with all the self-denial of a true missionary, reposed on January 14, 1900. spent nearly thirty-five years of ascetic labors in eastern Siberia, spreading the light of Christ among the native Buryats, Tungus, and Yakuts. 1896, he was consecrated as Bishop of Ryazan, where he continued his missionary work until the last days of his truly ascetical life. Meletios (Michael Koz’mich Yakimov in the world) was from the Viatka Diocese, and he was born on October 29, 1835, the son of a village priest. His father died when Michael was just a year old, leaving his wife to take care of the children in great poverty. the family’s destitution and Michael’s poor health, he successfully completed his primary and secondary schooling, and as one of the best students in the seminary, he was able to continue his education at the Academy. then, his soul was attracted to solitude. graduating from seminary, Michael spoke to the rector, Archimandrite Ambrose, the Igoumen of the Dormition Monastery, asking to be accepted into the monastery, and to be tonsured. request was not fully granted, however. He was received into the monastery, but was not tonsured. Here, he fulfilled the obediences of preaching and working in the library. Later, he was appointed as a teacher of Church History and Church singing in the primary school in Viatka. later, he was asked to supervise the students who lived in the monastery. He remained in the humble position of a young novice for a year. August of 1858 he entered the Kazan Academy, and on February 1, 1859 he was tonsured with the name Meletios in honor of Saint Meletios of Antioch (February 12). On March 16, he was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Νikόdēmos. a Synodal ukaz, he was sent to the Posol’sk Monastery of the Savior at Lake Baikal in the Diocese of Irkutsk (southeastern Siberia). arrived at the monastery on June 23, 1862 and began his beneficial work among the Buryats at once. resulted in the Baptism of many natives, the building of churches, and establishing villages for the newly-baptized (most of them were nomadic or semi-nomadic). In December of that same year, Deacon Meletios was ordained to the holy priesthood. this time Father Meletios became the close friend of Vicar Bishop Benjamin of Selengin (later Archbishop of Irkutsk), and this friendship endured for the rest of their lives. Meletios’s work took him from place to place on the very borders of Mongolia. did not remain there long, however. On August 30, 1873 Archbishop Benjamin placed him in charge of the Irkutsk mission, on February 2, 1874 he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite of the Nilov Hermitage in the Sayansk Mountains. that time, his missionary work expanded a great deal, and even more so when he went to Kazan to learn the methods for translating Christian books into the native languages. his stay outside the mission, he visited his family in Viatka Province, visiting his mother and his brother, who was a priest in the village of Verkhovskoy, Nolinsky district, and made a pilgrimage in Moscow and Kiev. lived in Kazan until May 1875. his relationship with Professor Nicholas I. Il’minsky (1822-1891) and his assistants had great significance for the Saint’s future missionary work. the work of translating Christian teachings into spoken Buryat, Father Meletios was helped by the Buryat Jacob Chistokhin, his cell attendant (later a missionary of the Tunkinsky Territory). first book in the Buryat language was published at Kazan: “Teaching the newly-baptized about the Holy Christian Faith” (Поучение к новокрещёным о святой христианской вере). was a very important step, which led to the success of the work of evangelizing the natives during the five years that Archimandrite Meletios was in charge of the mission, and 11,000 natives were baptized. labors increased after his consecration as Vicar Bishop of the Irkutsk Diocese (1888-1896), and he was appointed to oversee the missionary territory east of Lake Baikal. regional city of Chita (Чита) became the center from which the missionary bishop went all around Lake Baikal, in 1881 (which was the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Trans-Baikal mission by the missionaries Theodosios and Makarios). went around preaching the Word of God throughout Trans-Baikal, enlightening his flock and shaping the churchly and secular lives of the newly- baptized in order to integrate them into the permanent Russian population. Meletios founded the Church Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodios, and of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk in Chita, in order to reinforce the spread of Christianity in his flock. did everything possible to strengthen his spiritual children by starting church schools. result of these measures while he was the head of the Eastern Baikal Mission was the conversion of some 4000 natives to Christianity from shamanism, and Lamaites.1 July 5, 1889 he was appointed Bishop of Yakutsk and arrived there on September 16. Diocese of Yakutsk previously had a worthy missionary bishop named Dionysios, who later became Bishop of Ufa. He may certainly be called the Apostle to the Yakuts. the first year in his new Diocese, Saint Meletios employed the methods he had learned from experience in his new territory. year he would inspect different sections of his vast Diocese. Although there were no roads, he covered tens of thousands of miles in one trip. built churches, and found generous donors for this purpose. his journeys he consecrated many of these churches himself, and organized church schools for them. the end of 1889, there were 77 churches in his Diocese, and 118 chapels. 1895, there were nine stone churches, 214 wooden churches, chapels, and houses of prayer. Later, the number of churches and schools increased. looking for ways to support the schools, Bishop Meletios requested and obtained an annual allowance of 6000 rubles, paid to him by the Department of Revenue. 1892, he organized the Church Brotherhood of Christ the Savior. was another aspect to his missionary work at Yakutsk, he was the first person to reduce and help to eradicate leprosy among his flock. 1890 there was an article in the Yakutsk Diocesan Journal # 17, entitled “Leprosy in the Vilyusk Region.” The following year, Miss Marsden, who was an English nurse, came to the region, and worked very hard to help those who were sick. Meletios was so energetic in his efforts to help her that he received a letter of thanks from the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury. to say, his flock was most grateful to him for this. Therefore, when he left to go to the Diocese of Riazan, his farewell was exceptionally warm. Seldom has a bishop received such a farewell. October 14, 1896 he was named Bishop of Ryazan and Zaraysk. On November 27, he left Yakutsk and arrived in Ryazan on February 17, 1897. was no wonder that his flock at Riazan awaited their new Archpastor with great enthusiasm and expectation, since they knew of his past life of asceticism and missionary activity, and they were not disappointed in their expectations. This kindly hierarch, who demanded much of himself, yet was condescending to the weakness of others, was an excellent preacher and a true missionary. He left behind a vast legacy of good deeds which caused him to be remembered by the people of Ryazan. Also in 1897, he was made an honorary member of the Kazan Theological Academy. missionary activities in Siberia had a profound influence on his labors in his new Diocese. In the Diocese of Ryazan there were many Old Ritualists, and even Moslems. Bishop Meletios revived the mission to the Mohammedans, he also wrote a great deal. He published many of his sermons, missionary notes, and reports about the Eastern Baikal and Irkutsk missions. He also contributed many historical articles to various Orthodox journals, all for the sake of his missionary work, and not for personal gain. All of his articles came from his apostolic spirit and his character, which were revealed in all the places where he labored for the glory of God. his thirty-five years of missionary work, he was known as the “Apostle to the Yakuts, and Enlightener of the Gentiles in Siberia and Asia.” Meletios reposed on January 14, 1900, and was buried in the Cathedral of the Ryazan Kremlin. Saint Meletios was included in the Synaxis of the Siberian Saints in 1983. Lord Himself decided to glorify the relics of His saint: almost a hundred years after his repose his holy relics were found on June 18, 1998 in the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael of the Ryazan Kremlin, on the eve of the celebration of the Synaxis of the Ryazan Saints and the Synaxis of the Siberian Saints, and the eve of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Ryazan Diocese. On September 18, 1998, his relics were transferred to Ryazan’s Trinity Monastery. the course of 35 years of work in this field, he was called “The Apostle of the Yakuts and the Enlightener of the Pagans in Siberia and Asia.“ These were natives from southeastern Siberia, in the area near Tibet, who acknowledged the spiritual authority of the Dalai Lama.

Russia, Moscow, 1855-1908, John of Kronstadt, convict exiles, t gospel purpose, joy of living C values, m miracles t Nick
Russia, St Petersburg, 1855-1908, John of Kronstadt Island, St Petersburg, poor, difficult time to keep up in studies, prayer, veil lifted, remembered clearly, first in class, forgiveness, meekness, love, center of C, one path, C death and resurrection, m to china, m girl f Kronstadt, deacon 1855, account for deeds of his flock, daily devine services, murders etc exiled to K, hovels, stay for hours, material needs, Brotherhood for Charity, taught purpose of Gospel, joy of living C values, more miracles than Nick; Kronstadt Island (Kotlin Island, St Petersburg); Kronshtadtsky District; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.” After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.” John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.” conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.” He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.” appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with bov 1`redom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.” To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.” John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990.

Russia, Moscow, 1857-1911, St Joseph (Litovkin) of Optina, Ambrose' assistant, also head of Shamordino C and Optima M
Kaluga's St Joseph (Litovkin) of Optina, 1857-1911; Venerable Joseph of Optina, Commemorated on May 9; Joseph of Optina was born on November 2, 1837 in the village of Gorodishcha in the province of Kharkov. His name in the world was John Litovkin, and his parents Euthymius and Maria were simple but pious people. They were generous to the poor, and often lent money to those in need even when there seemed little chance that it would be repaid. Euthymius also loved to receive monks who came to his door collecting alms for their monasteries. Invariably, he would give each one five rubles for the needs of the monastery. Litovkins had six children, and they often read to them from spiritual books, especially from the Lives of the Saints. The second of their three sons (the future Saint Joseph) was baptized with the name John in honor of Saint John the Merciful (November 12). Instead of providing them with earthly wealth, the couple endowed their children with heavenly treasures, raising them in piety, obedience, and in the fear of God. learned to read even before he started school, taught by his older sister Alexandra at home. He was a sickly child, nearsighted and hard of hearing in one ear. He also met with various accidents. Once he was knocked down by another child and bit off the tip of his own tongue. Another time he was scalded with boiling water. In spite of all this, he was a happy and affectionate child. His father knew there was something special about John, and others also believed that God’s special favor was upon the boy. he was only four, John’s beloved father died, and his mother had to raise the children herself. he was eight, John was playing with some friends, and suddenly froze on the spot. He raised his arms and his head toward the sky, then fell down unconscious. They carried him home and put him to bed. When he awoke, they asked him what had happened. He told them that he had seen the Queen of Heaven in the air. “What makes you think you saw the Queen?” they asked. “Because she had a crown with a cross,” he replied. that time on, the boy became more quiet and thoughtful, and started to avoid children’s games. Soon after this, the family moved into a new home. There was a great fire in the village, and John prayed that the Mother of God would protect their house from the flames. The Livotkin home was spared, even though everything around it was burned. 1848, their mother died during an outbreak of cholera. John was only eleven at the time. His older brother Simeon and his sister Anna were both married before their mother passed away, and his sister Alexandra had gone to the Borisovsk monastery in Kursk Province to become a nun. Simeon became the head of the family, although his drinking problem made him rather unreliable. Simeon took care of John for a while, and their younger brother Peter went to live with Anna. Simeon decided to leave home, and so John was placed in the care of various people, including a tavern keeper and a grocer. to endure conditions in the homes of such people, John went to live with a cousin who was a deacon in Novocherkassk. He ate nothing on his journey, for he was ashamed to beg, and people did not offer him any food on their own. When he arrived at the church where his cousin served, John sat down outside and waited for the Liturgy to end. Two women with rolls passed by and took pity upon him. One of them gave him a warm roll, which the boy regarded as manna from heaven. stayed with his cousin for a brief time, then moved on to other places, taking various jobs to support himself. Later in life he was asked whether he had ever had a girlfriend when he was living in the world. He shook his head and said, “Since I was nearsighted, I couldn’t really see anyone at a distance, and I was too shy to approach anyone up close.” living in the world John was often unhappy, and he found consolation in prayer and in church services. One day he received a letter from his sister, Mother Leonida, suggesting that he enter the skete at Optina, which was blessed with experienced Elders. Then the desire to leave the world and embrace the monastic life began to grow within him. that John was planning to make a pilgrimage to the Kiev Caves, the man for whom he was working offered him his daughter in marriage. Years later Father Joseph would say, “It’s always that way. As soon as one begins to think of following the path to salvation, obstacles and temptations begin to appear.” his employer’s permission, John started out for Kiev. On the way, he stopped to visit his parents’ graves and the place where he had spent a happy childhood. He stayed briefly at the Dormition Monastery in Kharkov’s Holy Mountains, but he did not wish to remain there. Finally he went to the Borisovsk Women’s Hermitage to visit his sister, Mother Leonida. She had spoken to Saint Macarius of Optina (September 7) of her concern for John. He told her not to worry, because John would become a monk. Leonida’s Eldress, Schemanun Alypia, overheard some of their conversation and said to John, “Forget about Kiev. Go to the Elders at Optina.” Mother Leonida gave him a look indicating that John should obey. traveled to Optina with some nuns of the women’s monastery at Belev, driving the cart for them. Saint Macarius had already departed to the Lord in 1860, and was succeeded as Elder by his disciple, Saint Ambrose (October 10). Knowing of John’s monastic inclinations, the nuns jokingly introduced him as “Brother John.” Saint Ambrose replied solemnly, “This Brother John will prove useful to us, and to you.” March 1, 1861 John found himself standing before the Elder Ambrose, telling him of his life, and asking for a blessing to go to Kiev. Father Ambrose told him to remain at Optina, forseeing the blessings he would bring to Optina, and to the women’s monasteries which were under the guidance of the Optina Elders. Taking Saint Ambrose’s words as an indication of God’s will, John murmured, “May it be blessed.” like all new novices, was given an obedience in the kitchen. He was assigned to help the cook in the skete. From the very start, John demonstrated perfect obedience and humility. Life in the monastery was everything he had hoped it would be, and he was glad to leave the tumult of the world behind. June the Superior of the Skete, Father Paphnutius, asked John if he would like to move in with the Elder Ambrose as his cell-attendant. The next day he moved to the Elder’s quarters, where he remained for the next fifty years. As happy as he was to be near the Elder, he was disturbed by the constant flow of visitors. He felt that there was no time to pray or go to church, and began to have misgivings. He was tempted by the thought that perhaps he would be better off in Kiev or on Mount Athos, and did not notice that Father Ambrose had entered the cell. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard the Elder say, “Brother John, it’s better here than it is on Athos. Stay with us.” realized that his thoughts had been sent by the Enemy of our salvation, and he fell down at Father Ambrose’s feet in repentance. April 15, 1872 he was tonsured as a rassophore (wearer of the rassa), then on June 16, 1872 he was tonsured as a monk, receiving the name Joseph in honor of Saint Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4). He was unexpectedly ordained as a deacon in 1877 in a way which demonstrated that God was directing the course of his life. December 7 (Father Ambrose’s nameday), Igumen Isaac served Liturgy in the skete church. Later, he visited Father Ambrose to offer his congratulations, and the cell-attendants Father Joseph and Father Michael served them tea. The Superior asked Father Ambrose about a monk whom he proposed to recommend for ordination to the diaconate. The Elder said that the time was not right for that particular monk, recommending someone else instead. Noticing Father Joseph standing nearby with a tray, Father Isaac smiled and said, “Well Father, you don’t want my candidate, and I don’t want yours. Let’s ordain Father Joseph.” it was that Father Joseph was sent to Kaluga, where he was ordained by Bishop Gregory on December 9. It was customary at Optina that a newly-ordained deacon or priest would serve every day for forty days. Father Joseph’s health did not permit him to fulfill the forty days, however. He developed an inflammation on his right side, and he nearly died. Joseph’s life continued as it had before, but with more responsibilities. He had no cell of his own, but continued to sleep in the reception room, which the Elder used each day until almost 11 P.M. Father Ambrose frequently tested his cell-attendant in order to give him the opportunity to acquire patience and humility, following the instructions of Saint John of the Ladder (Book 4, paragraphs 27 and 28). Ambrose built the Shamordino Convent about eight miles from Optina, and on October 1, 1884 Bishop Vladimir of Kaluga came for its opening. At the Liturgy that day, Father Joseph was ordained as a priest and from that day forward the nuns regarded him as their priest, and he became the spiritual director of the convent after the repose of Father Ambrose. Joseph now became the Elder’s senior cell-attendant, and tried to protect him and also to placate the visitors who grumbled about having to wait for so long to see Father Ambrose. In spite of his duties, Father Joseph found time to read spiritual books. He particularly loved the PHILOKALIA and the writings of the Fathers. In these books he found spiritual wisdom, which he shared with those who came to him for advice. Joseph’s inner life was known only to God, but his advice to others indicates that he practiced unceasing prayer of the heart. Forseeing that Father Joseph would serve as Elder after him, Father Ambrose blessed some people to start going to Father Joseph for their spiritual needs. Joseph attended Saint Ambrose for thirty years, until the Elder’s death on October 10, 1891. Father Ambrose prepared Father Joseph for eldership, teaching him by word and by example. He would also refer some visitors to Father Joseph for advice. There was such oneness of mind between them that when people would ask Father Joseph about something and then ask Father Ambrose about the same thing, they would receive the very same answer. Joseph’s health was not good, and he was susceptible to colds in winter. In February 1888 he became very ill and took to his bed, and he received the Mystey of Holy Unction. The doctor recommended that he be moved to the infirmary for treatment, but Father Joseph did not wish to leave Father Ambrose. The Superior of the skete insisted on the transfer, however. The ride to the monastery in a sleigh during cold weather only made his illness worse. Joseph was tonsured into the schema (the highest level of monasticism) during the Liturgy on February 14. The next day, prayers for the Departure of the Soul were read for him, and people came to bid him farewell. A novice, sitting behind a screen, heard Father Joseph praying aloud. Peering through a slit in the screen, he saw Father Joseph gazing at an icon of Christ and lifting up his hands. This novice went to the infirmary later and heard someone behind the screen say, “Be patient, my dear one, only a little remains.” He looked behind the screen, but saw no one there except Father Joseph. Later, Father Ambrose told people that Father Joseph had seen the Mother of God during his illness. Though he had been quite near death, he got well. his recovery, Father Joseph began to hear confessions on a regular basis, since this was becoming too difficult for Father Ambrose. He blessed people to go to Father Joseph “not just once, but always.” the summer of 1888, Father Ambrose blessed Father Joseph to go on a pilgrimage to Kiev. After nearly thirty years, he was able to fulfill his desire to visit the holy places of Kiev. On his way back to Optina, he stopped to visit his sister Mother Leonida at Borisovsk. Ambrose usually spent three weeks during the summer at the Shamordino Convent, accompanied by Father Joseph. In June of 1890 Father Joseph began to prepare for the journey, but Father Ambrose said, “I’m not taking you this time, you’re needed here.” He ordered Father Joseph to move into his cell and to transfer a large “Surety of Sinners” Icon (March 7 and May 29) into the reception room. Father Joseph had a premonition that Father Ambrose would never return. he missed the Elder, Father Joseph resigned himself to the situation. He did go to Shamordino once a month to visit Father Ambrose, however. In the absence of Father Ambrose, many monks who confessed to him began to go to Father Joseph. During the Nativity Fast Father Ambrose started sending his spiritual children at Shamordino to confess to Father Joseph as well. This was difficult for the nuns, who were used to Father Ambrose. Even when he heard a nun’s confession himself, Father Ambrose would send her to Father Joseph for the prayers of absolution. In this manner, he indicated that he was entrusting his spiritual children to no one but Father Joseph. September 1891 Father Ambrose became ill, but no one thought it was serious. On October 8, he was so critical that they sent for Father Joseph. That evening the service of Holy Unction was performed, and the next morning Father Joseph gave Father Ambrose Communion for the last time. Saint Ambrose reposed on the morning of October 10, and no one grieved more than Father Joseph. Even in his sorrow, however, he comforted and consoled others. any outside influence or pressure, the monks of Optina began coming to Father Joseph just as they had come to Father Ambrose. When the nuns of Shamordino asked to whom they should go for spiritual direction, Father Isaac told them, “At Optina all we have Father Joseph as our common Elder, and he must be yours as well.” the next twenty years, Saint Joseph received visitors, gave spiritual counsel to those who asked for his advice, and even performed miracles of healing for the afflicted. Out of humility, Father Joseph never said anything on his own authority, but quoted the words of Father Ambrose, or gave examples from his life. He spoke very little, and then only to answer a question which had been put to him. Some laymen, and even some of the monks, were annoyed with him because he did not say more. monk had the thought that since Father Joseph was filled with spiritual wisdom and was so familiar with the writings of the Fathers, he could have said many beneficial things to people. The Elder explained this to him, quoting Saint Peter of Damascus, who said that one should not say anything helpful unless asked by the brethren, because then the resulting benefit would come from their free choice. Even concerning something which might be useful for salvation, the ancient Fathers would not speak without being asked, considering unsolicited advice as idle talk (Vol. 3 of the English PHILOKALIA, p. 186). greatest care was for the Shamordino Convent, which remained unfinished, and for the spiritual welfare of its nuns. The Superior of the convent now turned to Father Joseph to consult him about everything related to the life of the convent, and would do nothing without his blessing. He went there twice a year, during the Apostles’ Fast, and during the Dormition Fast, to hear the confessions of the sisters. In the winter, they would visit him at Optina for Confession. Soon he was obliged to give up traveling to Shamordino because of his health. Joseph was officially appointed as confessor for the Optina brotherhood near the end of 1893 when Father Anatole became ill and could not fulfill this duty. Many of the monks had already been confessing to Father Joseph, but now they all came to him. January 25, 1894 Saint Anatole, the head of the skete, fell asleep in the Lord. Archimandrite Isaac and the bretheren unanimously chose Father Joseph to succeed Father Anatole as Superior of the skete. Although he never sought this honor, Father Joseph accepted his election with all humility. He discharged his duties, not by issuing orders, but with paternal love and humility. Superior, he could have chosen to serve only on major Feast Days when the priests concelebrated, and designated one of the priests of the skete to serve on other days. He often served as a simple monk, however, with only one deacon to assist him. the last years of his life, Father Joseph grew weaker and was often ill. In May of 1905 he felt that he lacked the strength to carry out his duties, and he asked to retire as Superior of the skete. He also had to give up hearing the confessions of visitors, since this exhausted him. His spiritual children were saddened by his decision, but the monks and nuns continued to come to him with their spiritual wounds and afflictions. 1911 Father Joseph was weak and ill, but began to feel somewhat better during Great Lent. He was unusually joyful during Holy Week, which led some to believe that he had had some sort of vision. On April 11, the third day of Pascha, Father Joseph developed a fever and stopped seeing visitors. The following week, a doctor diagnosed him with maleria, declaring that there was no hope for recovery. April 20 the wonderworking Icon “of the Sign” was brought to his cell and a molieben was served. In the afternoon, the Kazan Icon and the rassa of Saint Seraphim were brought to him. Two days later, he requested that the skete brotherhood be permitted to come to him so that he could bid them farewell and ask their forgiveness. Then he asked that the Shamordino nuns also be allowed to come. Joseph stopped taking food from April 28 on, nourishing himself only with the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Up until the time of his death, he was conscious and lucid, answering questions and dictating replies to letters. On May 8 he felt a little better, then became weak again. On the morning of May 9 he received Holy Communion, then at four in the afternoon he received some people for a final blessing. evening the Elder lay resting on his bed with his eyes closed, and his face shone with an unearthly radiance. At 10:45 he drew his last breath and departed to the Lord with a smile on his face. the body was prepared for burial, panikhidas were served one after another for the departed Elder. The saint appeared to some of the brethren in dreams both that night and on subsequent days. body was placed in a coffin at six o’clock the next morning and was carried to the skete church. Following the Liturgy, a panikhida was served, then the casket was brought to the monastery church of Saint Mary of Egypt. The monks began taking turns serving panikhidas for Father Joseph until his burial. miracles took place on the day Saint Joseph was laid to rest at the feet of Father Ambrose. Even today, he continues to intercede with God and to work miracles for those who entreat him with faith. Joseph became a great Elder because first he had been a great disciple. He was obedient to his Elder Father Ambrose in all things, and never contradicted him. Because he renounced his own will, refrained from judging others, and reproached himself for his own sins, Father Joseph acquired humility and the grace of God. He also obtained from the Lord the discernment to recognize every sort of spiritual illness, and how to treat it. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Russia, Moscow, 1861-1912, Nicholas oJapan, Archbishop, Hakodate, Tokyo, 33,000 Christians, Enlightener oJapan
Japan, 1861-1912, Nicholas of Japan, Archbishop, Hakodate, Tokyo, 33,000 Christians, Enlightener oJapan, fBelsk oSmolensk, Belsk religious school, Smolensk Theological Seminary, 1857 St Petersburg Theological Academy, 1860 tonsured Nicolas, ordained deacon, ordained priest, later requested and assigned head of consular church in Hakodate, Japan, at first preaching in Japan seemed imposible, Japanese looked on foreigners as beasts in his own words, and on Christianity as villanous sect for villans and sorcerers, 8years studying country, language, manners, customs, 1868 at 32 and 8years Flock was 20 Japanese, 1869 reported in person to St Petersburg, 1870 special Russian Mission in Japan, for preaching, Nick archmandrite and Head oMission, 1871 return tJapan, Persecution in Hakodate, many arrested, 1873 free preaching possible, stone bldg Tokyo, church, school, for 50 men, and seminary in 1878, 1874 Bishoo arruved Tokyo to ordain priests recommended by Archmandrite Nick, 4 schools aTokyo mission: for catechists, women, chrch servers, & seminary, at Hakodate two separate schools for boys and girls, 1877 regular publication Church Herald, 1878 4115 Christians iJapan, number of communities wServices and classes in Japanese, 1880 Nick became Bishop at Nevsky Lavra St Pete, returned Japan, completed Tokyo Cathedral, translated service books, completed Orthodox dictionary in Japanese, 1904-05 Rus-Japan War great hardship for his flock, Nick elevated to Archbishop, 1911 50 yr, 33017 Christians 266 Communities, 1 Archbishop, 1 Bishop, 35 Priests, 6 Deacons, 14 singing instructors, 116 catechists, he died 1912, 76yr old, 1970 sainthood; Japan Saint, 1856-1912, Nicholas of Japan; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Nicholas, Enlightener of Japan, born Ivan Dimitrievich Kasatkin on August 1, 1836 in the village of Berezovsk, Belsk district, Smolensk diocese, his father served as deacon. the age of five he lost his mother. completed the Belsk religious school, and afterwards the Smolensk Theological Seminary. 1857 Ivan Kasatkin entered the Saint Peterburg Theological Academy. June 24, 1860, in the academy temple of the Twelve Apostles, Bishop Nectarius tonsured him with the name Nicholas. June 29, the Feast of the foremost Apostles Peter and Paul, the monk Nicholas was ordained deacon. next day, on the altar feast of the academy church, he was ordained to the holy priesthood. at his request, Father Nicholas was assigned to Japan as head of the consular church in the city of Hakodate. first, the preaching of the Gospel in Japan seemed completely impossible. Father Nicholas’s own words: “the Japanese of the time looked upon foreigners as beasts, on Christianity as a villainous sect, to which only villains and sorcerers could belong.” spent eight years in studying the country, the language, manners and customs of the people among whom he would preach. 1868, at 32 and 8 years, the flock of Father Nicholas numbered about twenty Japanese. the end of 1869 Hieromonk Nicholas reported in person to the Synod in Peterburg about his work. decision was made, on January 14, 1870, to form a special Russian Spiritual Mission for preaching the Word of God among the pagan Japanese. Nicholas was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed as head of this Mission. to Japan after two years in Russia, he transferred some of the responsibility for the Hakodate flock to Hieromonk Anatolius, and began his missionary work in Tokyo. 1871 there was a persecution of Christians in Hakodate. Many were arrested (among them, the first Japanese Orthodox priest Paul Sawabe). in 1873 did the persecution abate somewhat, and the free preaching of Christianity became possible. this year Archimandrite Nicholas began the construction of a stone building in Tokyo which housed a church, a school for fifty men, and later a religious school, which became a seminary in 1878. 1874, Bishop Paul of Kamchatka arrived in Tokyo to ordain as priests several Japanese candidates recommended by Archimandrite Nicholas. the Tokyo Mission, there were four schools: for catechists, for women, for church servers, and a seminary. At Hakodate there were two separate schools for boys and girls. the second half of 1877, the Mission began regular publication of the journal “Church Herald.” the year 1878 there already 4115 Christians in Japan, there were a number of Christian communities. services and classes in Japanese, publication of religious and moral books permitted the Mission to attain such results in a short time. Nicholas petitioned the Holy Synod in December of 1878 to provide a bishop for Japan. Nicholas was consecrated bishop on March 30, 1880 in the Trinity Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky Lavra. to Japan, he resumed his apostolic work with increased fervor. completed construction on the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Tokyo, translated the service books, compiled a special Orthodox theological dictionary in the Japanese language. hardship befell the saint and his flock at the time of the Russo-Japanese War. his ascetic labor during these difficult years, he was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. 1911, half a century had passed since the young hieromonk Nicholas had first set foot on Japanese soil. that time there were 33,017 Christians in 266 communities of the Japanese Orthodox Church, 1 Archbishop, 1 bishop, 35 priests, 6 deacons, 14 singing instructors, and 116 catechists. February 3, 1912, Archbishop Nicholas departed peacefully to the Lord at the age of seventy-six. Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified him on April 10, 1970, the saint had long been honored in Japan as a righteous man, and a prayerful intercessor before the Lord.

Russia, Moscow, 1868-1879, St Innocent, Moscow Metropolitan & Aleut Enlightener, Apostle to t Americas, m more
Russia, Siberia, 1817-1879, St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Irkutsk, Siberia (Angara River 1, Lake Baikal, Trans-Siberian Road 14), early age mastery studies, from 1823 45 yrs missionary, 10,000 baptized, endless travels, geography, ethnography, linguistics, Aleut alphabet & grammar for catechism, Gospel & prayers, indication of way into heaven, 1840 became monk Innocent and Bishop, 1850 archbishop, 1868 Metropolitan of Moscow, organized missionary service, 1870 Japanese Spiritual Mission, Moscow Spiritual Academy; Irkutsk; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6 ; Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to America (in the world John Popov-Veniaminov), born on August 26, 1797 in the village of Anginsk in the Irkutsk diocese, into the family of a sacristan. boy mastered his studies at an early age and by age seven, he was reading the Epistle in church. 1806 they sent him to the Irkutsk seminary. 1814, the new rector thought it proper to change the surnames of some of the students. John Popov received the surname Veniaminov in honor of the deceased Archbishop Benjamin of Irkutsk (+ July 8, 1814). May 13, 1817 he was ordained deacon for the Irkutsk Annunciation church, and on May 18, 1821, he was ordained priest. missionary service of the future Apostle of America and Siberia began with the year 1823. John spent 45 years laboring for the enlightenment of the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, North America, Yakutsk, the Khabarov frontier, his apostolic exploit in severe conditions and at great risks to life. Innocent baptized ten thousand people, and built churches, beside which he founded schools and he himself taught the fundamentals of the Christian life. knowledge of various crafts and arts aided him in his work. John was a remarkable preacher. During the celebration of the Liturgy, memorial services and the all-night Vigil, he incessantly guided his flock. his time of endless travels, Father John studied the languages, customs and habits of the peoples, among whom he preached. work in geography, ethnography and linguistics received worldwide acclaim. composed an alphabet and grammar for the Aleut language and translated the Catechism, the Gospel and many prayers into that language. of the finest of his works was the Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven (1833), translated into the various languages of the peoples of Siberia and appearing in more than 40 editions. to the toil of Father John, the Yakut people in 1859 first heard the Word of God and divine services in their own native language. November 29, 1840, after the death of his wife, Father John was tonsured a monk with the name Innocent by Saint Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow, in honor of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk. December 15, Archimandrite Innocent was consecrated Bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands. April 21, 1850 Bishop Innocent was elevated to the rank of archbishop. the Providence of God on January 5, 1868, Saint Innocent succeeded Metropolitan Philaret on the Moscow cathedra. the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Innocent consolidated the secular missionary efforts of the Russian Church (already in 1839 he had proposed a project for improving the organization of missionary service). the care of Metropolitan Innocent a Missionary Society was created, the Protection monastery was reorganized for missionary work. 1870 the Japanese Orthodox Spiritual Mission headed by Archimandrite Nicholas Kasatkin [afterwards Saint Nicholas of Japan, (February 3)] was set up, with whom Saint Innocent had shared much of his own spiritual experience. guidance by Saint Innocent of the Moscow diocese was also fruitful, his efforts, the church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos was built up into the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Innocent fell asleep in the Lord on March 31, 1879, on Holy Saturday, was buried at the Holy Spirit Church of the Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra. October 6, 1977, Saint Innocent was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church. memory is celebrated three times during the year: on March 31, the day of his blessed repose, on October 5 (Synaxis of the Moscow Hierarchs), and on October 6, the day of his glorification.

Russia, Moscow, 1868-1918, Vladimir, Met oKiev&Galich, fTambov, first bishop martyred bCommunists, and Ukranian Church
Russia, Mordovia, 1868-1918, Vladimir, Met oKiev&Galich, fTambov, Mordovia (Studenets River Mouth at Tsna River 1), first bishop tortured slain bCommunists diring Russian Revolution, his priest father also murdered, 1874 graduate Kiev Theological A, taught aTambov Seminary 7yrs, 1881 priesthood, Wife&Son died 1886, entered Tambov's Koslov m, 1888 bishop oStaraya Rus& vicar oNovgorod d, 1891 diocese oSamara, cholera & crop failure, led care for sick, 1892 archbishop Kartalin&Kahetin, 1898 Met Moscow&Kolomna for 15yrs, besides helping poor, widows, orphans he helped alcoholics&Who left church, also education expecially theological schools, 1912 Met oPetrogad till 1915, when he disapproved Rasputin &transferred tKiev byTsar, 1917 Tikhon elected patriarch oMoscow, Ukranian Congress called for automous Ukraine and independent Ukranian Church, Vladimir warned that division would help church enemies, but end 1917 Ukranian dominion formed, searate U church, uncannon group forbade Tikhon commemoration, demanded Vlad leave Kiev, Jan 1918 civil war came to kiev, many churches monasteries damaged, Bolsheviks seized Kiev Caves Lavra, soldiers into churches, monks to courtyard, Jan 25th looking for Met Vlad, Tortured choked demanded money, attendant asked for blessing, enough bowing to blood-drinkers, Good-by Philip, walked calmly wExecutioners, prayed and blessed Executioners, May God forgive you, several rifle shots, morning women to Lavra told where his body, in Moscow All-Russian Church Council Tikhon preformed memorial service, but Revolution halted investigation; Tambov; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ; holy Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev was the first bishop to be tortured and slain by the Communists at the time of the Russian Revolution. Nikephorovich Bogoyavlensky was born in the province of Tambov of pious parents on January 1, 1848. father, a priest, was later murdered. young Basil graduated from the Theological Academy in Kiev in 1874, taught in the Tambov seminary for seven years before he was ordained to the holy priesthood. wife died in 1886, and their only child died shortly thereafter. bereaved widower entered the Kozlov monastery in Tambov and was given the name Vladimir. 1888 he was consecrated bishop of Staraya Rus, served as a vicar bishop of the Novgorod diocese. 1891 he was assigned to the diocese of Samara. those days people of his diocese suffered from a cholera epidemic and a crop failure. Vladimir devoted himself to caring for the sick and suffering, inspiring others to follow his example. 1892 he became Archbishop of Kartalin and Kahetin, in 1898 he was chosen as Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. served fifteen years in this position. Vladimir was distinguished by his compassion for the poor, and for widows and orphans. also tried to help alcoholics and those who had abandoned the Church. Metropolitan was also interested in the education of children in school, especially those who were studying in the theological schools. 1912, after the death of Metropolitan Anthony, he was appointed Metropolitan of Petrograd, administering that diocese until 1915. he disapproved of Rasputin, Metropolitan Vladimir fell out of favor with the Tsar, and so he was transferred to Kiev. November 5, 1917 it was he who announced that Saint Tikhon (April 7) had been elected as Patriarch of Moscow. “Ukrainian Congress” was also calling for an autonomous Ukraine and for the creation of a Ukrainian Church independent from the Church of Russia. Vladimir suffered and grieved because of this question, warning that such a division in the Church would allow its enemies to be victorious. at the end of 1917, a Ukrainian Dominion was formed, and also a separate Ukrainian church administration (“rada”) led by the retired Archbishop Alexis Dorodnitzin. uncanonical group forbade the commemoration of Patriarch Tikhon during church services, and demanded that Metropolitan Vladimir leave Kiev. January 1918 the civil war came to Kiev, the two forces vied for control of the city. churches and monasteries were damaged by the cannon fire. Bolsheviks seized the Kiev Caves Lavra on January 23, and soldiers broke into the churches. were taken out into the courtyard to be stripped and beaten. At six thirty on the night of January 25, five armed soldiers and a sailor came looking for Metropolitan Vladimir. seventy-year-old hierarch was tortured and choked in his bedroom with the chain of his cross. ruffians tortured the Metropolitan and demanded money. they emerged, the Metropolitan’s cell attendant approached and asked for a blessing. sailor pushed him aside and told him, “Enough bowing to these blood-drinkers. No more of it.” blessing and kissing him, the Metropolitan said, “Good-bye, Philip.” he walked calmly with his executioners, just as if he were on his way to serve the Liturgy. Vladimir was driven from the monastery to the place of execution. they got out of the car, the holy martyr asked, “Do you intend to shoot me here?” “Why not?” they replied. praying for a short time and asking forgiveness for his sins, Metropolitan Vladimir blessed the executioners, saying, “May God forgive you.” several rifle shots were heard. the morning, some women came to the gates of the Lavra and told the monks where the Metropolitan’s body could be found. was lying on his back, with bullet wounds near his right eye and by his right collarbone. were also several cuts and gashes on the body, including a very deep chest wound. hieromartyr was carried into the Lavra church of Saint Michael, where he had spent his last days at prayer. Moscow, the All-Russian Church Council was in session when word came of Metropolitan Vladimir’s death. Tikhon and his clergy performed a Memorial Service for the New Martyr Vladimir. commission was formed to investigate the circumstances of Metropolitan Vladimir’s murder, it was unable to carry out its duties because of the Revolution. Council decided that January 25, the day of his death, would be set aside for the annual commemoration of all of Russia’s martyrs and confessors killed by the Soviets. holy New Martyr Vladimir of Kiev was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. the Sunday closest to January 25 (the day of Metropolitan Vladimir’s martyrdom) we also observe the Synaxis of Russia’s New Martyrs and Confessors.

Russia, Moscow, 1869, Sept 1, first of many Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon Healings, Complete cripple Thekla Adrianova of Tula
Gethsemane skete; Icon of the Mother of God œChernigov-Gethsemane, Commemorated on September 1; Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God is a copy of the famed Ilyin-Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God (April 16), which was to be found at the Trinity-Ilyin monastery near Chernigov on Mount Boldina, and where in the eleventh century Saint Anthony of the Kiev Caves struggled in asceticism. Demetrius of Rostov described the miracles of this icon in his book THE BEDEWED FLEECE. He wrote in conclusion: “The end of the booklet, but not of the miracles of the Most Holy Theotokos, for who can count them?” The grace-bearing power of this icon is manifest also in its copies. Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God was painted in the mid-eighteenth century and was passed on to the Trinity Sergiev Lavra in 1852 by Alexandra Grigorievna Philippova, who piously kept it for a quarter century. (This icon was given to her by the priest John Alekseev, who received it in turn from one of the monks of the Trinity Sergiev Lavra.) the advice of the head of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony (+ May 1, 1877), the icon was placed in the newly-consecrated cave church named for Saint Michael, Leader of the Heavenly Hosts, which was consecrated on October 27, 1851 by Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (November 19), who assumed an active role in the building of the Gethsemane skete. this manner, the icon took in the currents of grace of all the history of the Russian Church, it acquired the blessing of Saint Anthony of the Caves, of Saint Sergius of Radonezh and of his parents Saints Cyril and Maria (September 28), and finally, of the ascetics of the nineteenth century. These spiritual connections providentially come forth through the Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God. is remarkable that the first miracle of this icon was witnessed on the day of the Church New Year, September 1, 1869, when the twenty-eight-year-old peasant of Tula governance, Thekla Adrianova, was healed, after being completely crippled for nine years. at the hostel by the caves, and then at the Lavra during the celebration of the Repose of Saint Sergius (September 25), Thekla recovered completely. Saint Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow (October 6 and March 31), learned of the miracle from his daughter the nun Polyxeni, treasurer of the Borisov wilderness monastery. On the feast of Saint Sergius, he himself met with Thekla and asked her about the details of the healing. On September 26, 1869 Saint Innocent arrived at the Gethsemane skete and gave the blessing for a Molieben to be served before the glorified icon, while he himself prayed with tears. September 26 three healings had occurred already, and a whole series of miracles in November of that same year. The fame of the icon of the Mother of God spread with unusual swiftness. Exhausted by suffering and sickness, thirsting for bodily and spiritual healing, people from every class of society came with firm faith to the wonderworking icon, and the mercy of God did not forsake them. the beginning of the twentieth century, more than 100 miracles had been recorded. By its great esteem the icon benefited the ascetics of the Gethsemane skete: the schemamonk Philip (+ May 18, 1868), the founder of the cave monastery, and his three sons, the hieroschemamonks Ignatius (+ 1900), Porphyrius (+ 1905 ?) and Basil (+ April 1, 1915). They preserved accounts of the deep love, which the hieromonk Elder Isidore (+ February 3, 1908) displayed for the Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon. initial celebration of the icon was established on April 16, on the day when Ilyin-Cherigov icon was celebrated. Later, it was transferred to September 1, the day of its glorification. At the present time there are copies of the Chernigov-Gethsemane icon at Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. They are found in the temple of Saint Sergius, in the monastery trapeza, and in the portico of the Trinity cathedral, painted by Elders of the Gethsemane skete and the Zosimov wilderness monastery.

Russia, Moscow, 1872-1923, Alexei oTeklati, inner warfare, invisible instructor, if die now, who will, God will, die tWorld
Georgia, 1872-1923, Hieromonk Alexei oTeklati, fSenaki d oSamegrelo, a16 father died &blessed care family, same year 1868 tJerusalem & tConstantinople visit pious rich merchant uncle, there facinated wTrade, resolved be merchant, but discovered God's will by praying wForerunner's icon, first great inner warfare, love for mother v force calling spiritual life, How can I fulfill my father's will, invisible instructor answered, if you die now, who will, God will, so die to world, entrust everything to God and he will, life transformed, confined tRoom, scriptures, strict fasting, uncle thought return Georgia, brothers distressed but Mom approved him a monk, tTeklati Woman's Monastery, began Fool FChrist, strict ascetic life, village tVillage, caring for TB cholera, serious illnesses, burying corpses, preaching intensly, example fMany incl mother, sister, brother, become monks, Brother tJerusalem several yrs then priest aMartvili, later great schema, A tMt Athos then tKiev Caves, then back tGeorgia, 1885 tGelati m, study&writing, 1886 reassighned tKhobi m, ordained deacon, 1888 hiermonk, 1890 ill & returned Teklati wMother, sisters, healed by God 1991 &Cell Menji (archangels hill) near birthplace, gathered disciples, celebrated divine services, received alms but gave 2/3, prayed wLife size cross on his back like Simon tCyrene, close to tCommunity because spiritual warmth radiated, bad health f1915 till death 1923, friends stayed in his cell 40 days with incorrupt body; Venerable Hieromonk Alexei of Teklati, Commemorated on January 18; Alexi (Shushania) was born September 23, 1852, in the village of Noqalaqevi, in the Senaki district of Samegrelo, to a pious Christian couple. father died in 1868, after giving the sixteen-year-old future hieromonk his blessing to care for the family. the same year that his father died, Alexi journeyed to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, from there to Constantinople to visit his uncle, Islam Shushania, a successful merchant and a clever and pious man. this visit, Alexi became fascinated with the trade industry and resolved to become a merchant as well. he would soon discover that God’s will was different from his own. day Alexi borrowed a small icon of Saint John the Baptist from his uncle, confined himself to his room, and there began to experience great inner warfare. was moved by a profound love for his mother, sisters, brothers, and friends, at the same time he sensed an invisible force calling him to the spiritual life. several agonizing hours, Alexi finally asked himself, “How can I fulfill my father’s will? He entrusted me with the responsibility to look after the family—how can I reconcile this with God’s calling?” his great wonder, an invisible instructor answered him, saying, “If you die now, who will take over your responsibilities?” answer was clear. “God will!” Alexi proclaimed. And he heard the voice again. “So die to the world, entrust everything to God, and He will minister to your family.” encounter transformed Alexi’s life. he confined himself to his room for months, reading the Holy Scriptures, and keeping a strict fast. the radical change in Alexi’s way of life, his uncle thought it would be best for them to leave Constantinople and return to Georgia. was not long before Alexi’s loved ones realized he had made a covenant with God, that he would enter the monastic life. brothers and sisters were distressed upon hearing the news, but his mother gave thanks to God and blessed her son. the age of twenty Alexi moved to Teklati Women’s Monastery. began to lead a strict ascetic life went from village to village, caring for those ill with tuberculosis, cholera, other serious illnesses, burying the corpses of the homeless. years passed, and many became convinced that Alexi was a fool-for-Christ. preached the Word of God with intensity, and his life was an example for many. preaching inspired his mother, Elene, his younger sister Salome, and his brother Besarion to join him in the monastic life. he was tonsured a monk, Besarion made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and remained there for several years. of his exemplary service to the Lord, he was ordained a priest at Martvili Monastery. he was tonsured into the great schema. also spent time on Mt. Athos. returning from the Holy Mountain, he made a pilgrimage to the Kiev Caves Monastery, then returned to Georgia to continue his labors. the year 1885 Saint Alexi moved to Gelati Monastery, where he continued to study and produced several original works. 1886 he was reassigned to Khobi Monastery ordained a deacon by Bishop Grigol, in 1888 he was ordained a hieromonk. years later, in 1890, he became ill and returned to be with his mother and sisters at Teklati Monastery. to God’s will his health was restored, and in 1891 Alexi fashioned a cell for himself in the mountainous village of Menji (also called “Archangels’ Hill”), near the place where he was born. gathered his disciples and undertook a stricter ascetic life. Fr. ’s health was so improved that he was able to celebrate the divine services again. holy father would receive alms, but he distributed most of what was given to him. divided the alms in three parts: first he put aside for his personal needs, second, for the church and its guests, the third, for the poor and infirm. Alexi kept a life-size cross in his cell, and when he prayed he supported the cross on his back, since it reminded him of the position in which Saint Simon of Cyrene carried the Holy Cross to Christ’s Crucifixion on Golgotha. spite of his strict ascetic life, Hieromonk Alexi was remarkably close to the people in his community and was loved by many for the spiritual warmth that he radiated. many years the strict ascetic life finally took its toll on Fr. Alexi’s health. dismissed his pupils and spent the last years of his earthly life (from around the year 1915) with his cousins, the schemanuns Akepsima and Pasto. Alexi reposed January 18, 1923, frail from a long and labor-filled life in the service of the Lord. forty days after his death, the schemanuns Akepsima and Pasto remained in his cell for fear that the Communist government’s henchmen would destroy his humble dwelling. they buried Fr. Alexi’s body at Teklati, themselves began to labor at the Archangels’ Monastery. the blessing of Metropolitan Eprem of Batumi-hemokmedi and Chqondidi, Schemanun Akepsima and Abbess Pasto Fr. Alexi’s incorrupt relics from Teklati to the Archangels’ Monastery buried them near the east wall of the temple on January 8, 1960. Alexi was canonized on September 18, 1995.

Russia, Moscow, 1875-1918, Hieromartyr Kirion II, Archbishop, historian, writer for Gegogian Autocephaly
Georgia, 1875-1918, Hieromartyr Kirion II, from Nikozi in the Gori district, Ananuri P School, Gori T School, Tiblisi Seminary, 1880 Kiev T Academy, A Dean Odesssa T Seminary, 1883-1886 education Gori, Telavi, Kutaisi, Tiblisi, 1886 supervisor Georgian Monasteries & Society for Renewal of Christianity, directed the parochial schools, established libraries and rare book collections within them, and published articles on the history of the Georgian Church, folklore and literature under the pseudonyms Iverieli, Sadzagelov, and Liakhveli, 1886 Monk&Abbot of Kvabtakhevi, collected manuscripts, 1898 Bishop of Alaverdi, fought Armenian Monophysites church confiscation, 1901 Bishop of Gori, contested abolition G Autocephaly so Govt. frequently reassigned him to different parts Russian Empire, 1903 Cherson, 1904 Orel, 1905 Ilia helped w autocephaly commission b rejected, 1906 Sokhumi, restored churches monasteries, 1907 Ilia killed, repression increased, 1908 accused, arrested, no longer Bishop, worldwide response, 1915 restored Bishop, Archbishop of Polotsk &Vitebsk WRussia, 1917 returned to Georgia w honor, Catholicos-Patriarch All Georgia, 1918 Autocephaly, and murdered Nikozi in the Gori district; Hieromartyr Kirion II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Commemorated on March 12; holy Hieromartyr Kirion II (known in the world as George Sadzaglishvili) was born in 1855 in the village of Nikozi in the Gori district. His father was a priest. enrolled at the parochial school in Ananuri, then at the theological school in Gori, and finally at Tbilisi Seminary. 1880 he graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy and was appointed assistant dean of the Odessa Theological Seminary. 1883 to 1886 Saint Kirion was active in the educational life of Gori, Telavi, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi. 1886 he was appointed supervisor of the Georgian monasteries and dean of the schools of the Society for the Renewal of Christianity in the Caucasus. directed the parochial schools, established libraries and rare book collections within them, and published articles on the history of the Georgian Church, folklore and literature under the pseudonyms Iverieli, Sadzagelov, and Liakhveli (the Liakhvi River flows through his native region of Shida [Inner] Kartli, the central part of eastern Georgia). 1886 God’s chosen, George, was tonsured a monk with the name Kirion, and he was enthroned as abbot of Kvabtakhevi Monastery. Kirion continued his scholarly pursuits and intensified his spiritual labors. collected folklore and ethnographic materials and studied artifacts from ancient Georgian churches. generously donated the reliquaries and rare manuscripts he found to the antiquities collections at the Church Museum of Tbilisi and the Society for the Propagation of Literacy among the Georgians. 1898 Kirion published a description of the historical monuments of Liakhvi Gorge. His publication is an important resource for scholars and historians, since most of the monuments he describes were toppled by Georgia’s ideological and national enemies in subsequent years. (Kirion would later join the Moscow Archaeological Society.) August of 1898 Archimandrite Kirion was consecrated bishop of Alaverdi. Kirion began at once to rebuild Alaverdi Church, and he offered his own resources for this momentous task. the same time, he began to study the ancient artifacts of Kakheti and Hereti in eastern Georgia. the manuscripts he turned over to the Church Museum of Tbilisi was a Holy Gospel from the year 1098, unknown to scholars until that time. Kirion was a tireless researcher, with a broad range of scholarly interests. his pen belong more than forty monographs on various themes relating to the history of the Georgian Church and Christian culture in Georgia. He compiled a short terminological dictionary of the ancient Georgian language and, with the linguist Grigol Qipshidze, a History of Georgian Philology. fought the appropriation of Georgian churches by the Armenian Monophysites. He sent a detailed memorandum to the Russian exarch in Georgia demanding that the confiscated Orthodox churches be returned. 1901 Kirion was installed as bishop of Gori. By that time it had become clear to the Georgian exarchate that the educated and progressive clergymen were endorsing the holy hierarch Kirion and contesting the abolition of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church. But the government found a way out of this “dangerous situation” by frequently reassigning Saint Kirion to serve in different parts of the Russian Empire: in 1903 he was reassigned to Cherson, in 1904 to Orel, and in 1906 to Sokhumi. Sokhumi Saint Kirion exerted every effort to restore and revive the historical Georgian churches and monasteries, though he would soon be reassigned to the Kovno diocese. 1905, at the demand of Georgia’s intelligentsia (under the leadership of Saint Ilia the Righteous), the regime formed an extraordinary commission to formally consider the question of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church. Kirion delivered two lectures to the commission: one on the reasons behind Georgia’s struggle for the restoration of an autocephalous Church, and the other on the role of nationality in the life of the Church. commission rejected the Georgian claims to autocephaly and subjected the leaders of the movement to harsh repression. 1907 Saint Ilia the Righteous was killed, and the government forbade Saint Kirion to travel to Georgia to pay his last respects. Kirion managed only to send a letter of condolence to Saint Ilia’s loved ones. the months that followed, the regime tightened down even more severely on Saint Kirion. 1908 he was accused of conspiring in the murder of Exarch Nikon, deprived of the rank of bishop, and arrested. treacherous deed roused the indignation not only of the Georgian people but of the faithful of Russia as well. the democratic forces in Europe founded a society for the protection of the rights of Bishop Kirion and gathered signatures to demand his release from prison. bishop himself humbly carried the cross of his persecution and consoled his sympathizers with the words of the great Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli: “‘Not a single rose is plucked from this world without thorns.’ We must bear our suffering with love, since suffering is the fruit of love and in suffering we will find our strength!” the year 1915 the regime had ceased to persecute Saint Kirion. They restored him to the bishopric and elevated him as archbishop of Polotsk and Vitebsk in western Russia. He was not, however, permitted to return to his motherland. March of 1917 the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church declared its autocephaly restored. At the incessant demands of the Georgian people, Saint Kirion finally returned to his motherland. One hundred and twenty cavalrymen met him in Aragvi Gorge (along the Georgian Military Highway) and reverently escorted him to the capital. In Tbilisi Saint Kirion was met with great honor. September of 1917 the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church enthroned Bishop Kirion as Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. the enthronement ceremony at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Saint Kirion addressed the faithful: “My beloved motherland, the nation protected by the Most Holy Theotokos, purified in the furnace by tribulations and suffering, washed in its own tears: I turn to you, having been separated from you, having sought after you, having grieved over you, having sought for you and now having returned not as a prodigal son, but as your confidant and the conscience of your Church. “I know that in your minds you are all inquiring, ‘What has he brought back with him? With what ointment will he heal his wounds? How will he comfort himself in his sadness?’ my words: He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). likewise, have come not as a hired servant, but as a faithful and obedient son!” after he was enthroned, Saint Kirion sent an appeal to all the Orthodox patriarchs of the world in which he described in detail the history of the Georgian Church and requested an official recognition of her autocephaly. May 26, 1918, Georgia declared its independence. next day Catholicos-Patriarch Kirion II presided during a service of thanksgiving. The chief shepherd and his flock rejoiced at the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Church and the independence of the Georgian state, though from the beginning they perceived the imminence of the Bolshevik danger. The socialist revolution, now showing its true face, posed an enormous threat to the young republic and her Church. June 27, 1918, Catholicos-Patriarch Kirion II was found murdered in the patriarchal residence at Martqopi Monastery. The investigation was a mere formality and the guilty were never found. were even spread that Saint Kirion had shot himself. When the Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church convened on October 17, 2002, it canonized Holy Hieromartyr Kirion and numbered him among the saints.

Russia, Moscow, 1877-1905, general, Sergei Alexandrovich, nationalist, v religous, archiology, charities, expelled Jews, r ideas
Moscow Grand Duke, 1877-1905, Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia; Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (11 May 1857 - 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II, who was also his brother-in-law through Sergei's marriage to Elizabeth, the sister of Tsarina Alexandra.[1] Duke Sergei's education gave him lifelong interests in culture and the arts. Like all male members of the Romanov dynasty, he followed a military career, and he fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, receiving the Order of St George for courage and bravery in action. In 1882, his brother, Tsar Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, a position he held until 1891. In 1889, Grand Duke Sergei was promoted to the rank of Major General. In 1884, Sergei married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Their marriage remained childless, but they became the guardians of the two children of his brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia: Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dmitri. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife promoted the marriage of Sergei's nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, with Princess Alix of Hesse, Elizabeth's youngest sister. 1891 and 1905, Grand Duke Sergei served as Governor-General of Moscow. His reputation was tarnished as he was partially blamed for the Khodynka Tragedy, which, during the festivities following the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, resulted in more than a thousand deaths. a Governor of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei was responsible for the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews[2] at the start of his tenure, and he repressed a student movement to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. His conservative policies, extreme even by contemporary standards, made him a polarizing figure, and he was regarded as a reactionary. 1894 Grand Duke Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow Military District. After thirteen years of service, Grand Duke Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905. Targeted by the SR Combat Organization, he was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin. life[edit] Duke Sergei with his parents and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was born on 11 May [O.S. 29 April] 1857 in the Zubov wing of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. He was the seventh child and fifth son among the eight children of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna, née Duchess Maximilienne Wilhelmine of Hesse and by Rhine.[3] Duke Sergei with his younger brother Grand Duke Paul he was old enough to begin lessons, Sergei's earlier years were spent with his younger brother Paul, from whom he was inseparable, and their sister at Livadia, the family's Crimean retreat, at Tsarskoye Selo, and at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. By the time Sergei was born, his mother was already in declining health. Although she was not a particularly affectionate mother, except to her daughter, her three youngest children, Marie, Sergei and Paul, were close to her and especially to one another.[3] Marie adored him and called him "an exceptionally nice young man... and can be recommended one very possible way, not because he is my brother, but because he is an exception among princes."[4] time passed and the Empress's health made it necessary for her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, they spent long sojourns abroad in Jugenheim outside Darmstadt and winters in the South of France.[5] family tragedy hit them there. In April 1865, shortly before Sergei's eighth birthday, his eldest brother and godfather Nicholas, the heir to the crown, died in Nice.[6] As a child, Sergei was shy, studious, and withdrawn. Under the influence of his mother, whose reserved character he resembled, he became very religious. the 1870s, Sergei and his younger brother Paul were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career, but their tutor, Admiral Arseniev, encouraged Sergei's linguistic, artistic, and musical abilities. He was fluent in several languages and learned Italian in order to read Dante in the original.[7] His interest in Italian art and culture intensified as he grew older. He painted well and was musical, playing the flute in an amateur orchestra. He enjoyed acting and steeped himself in the early history, culture, and traditions of Russia. He liked to read and in time came to know many of Russia's great writers personally, among them Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, whose work the Grand Duke read and admired.[7] He met Dostoevsky over dinner at the Winter Palace where he was invited by Sergei's professor.[8] career[edit] Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in his youth Duke Sergei Alexandrovich started a military career early in his life. He was from birth Colonel-in-Chief of the 38th Tobolsk Infantry Regiment, he also became Colonel-in-Chief of the 2nd Battalion Guards Rifles and, towards the end of his life, Colonel-in-Chief of the 5th Kievsky Grenadier Regiment.[9] On his twentieth birthday on 29 April 1877, the Grand Duke took the solemn oath of allegiance to the Emperor.[7] An educational tour that had been proposed for him was postponed upon the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. Sergei took part in the war with his father and brothers, the Tsarevich Alexander and Grand Dukes Vladimir and Alexei. He spent the greater part of his time serving as Poruchik in the Leib Guard under the Tsarevich in southeast Romania.[10] He was consequently promoted to Colonel. On 12 October, following the battle of Meyk, the Emperor decorated him with the Order of St George, for courage and bravery in action with the enemy, for a reconnaissance expedition at Kara Loma near Koshev. At the end of December 1877, Sergei Alexandrovich returned to Saint Petersburg with his father. II had started a new family with his mistress and Sergei sided with his neglected mother in the breaking of the family's harmony.[11] Empress Maria died in June 1880, and in March 1881 Alexander II, who had married his mistress, Princess Catherine Dolgoruki, was assassinated by terrorists. Sergei was then in Italy with his brother Paul and Admiral Arseniev. Three months later, in June 1881, the Grand Duke went to Palestine accompanied by Paul and his cousin Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich. They visited Jerusalem and the sacred sites. He helped to found a society dedicated to the upkeep of Orthodox shrines in the Holy Land and the provision of services to Russian pilgrims. He became chairman of this society, and his status as patron of the Russian presence in Jerusalem is believed to have given him more pleasure than any of his other duties.[12] 1882 on, Sergei's military career, which occupied an increasing amount of his time in Saint Petersburg and on maneuvers at Krasnoe Selo, advanced still further.[13] On 15 January 1882, his brother, Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, the elite regiment founded by Peter the Great, with the rank of Colonel. Seven years later, he was promoted to the rank of Major General. On 26 February 1891, he was made Adjutant General of the H. I. M. Retinue. He became the commanding officer in the village of Preobrazhenskoy. Sergei commanded this regiment until 1891, when his brother the Emperor appointed him Governor-General of Moscow.[9] Russian Grand Duke[edit] Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia. twenty-six, the fair-haired Grand Duke was reserved, intelligent, well-read and refined.[9] Over six feet tall, his extremely slim figure was accentuated by a corset, worn in the manner of Prussian officers.[9] his closely cropped hair and neat beard, Sergei Alexandrovich cut an impressive figure.[14] When Consuelo Vanderbilt, then Duchess of Marlborough, met him in Moscow, she considered him to be "One of the most handsome men I have ever seen."[15] Described by his brother-in-law Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, as "tall and fair with delicate features and beautiful light green eyes". Very self-conscious, he held himself very stiffly and with a hard expression in his eyes.[14] health was seriously compromised as he suffered from osteoarticular tuberculosis.[16] A condition he strove to conceal, but it caused all his joints to waste away.[16] He had to take salts and hot baths to get some relief.[16] He could not ride a horse and had to wear a spinal corset at all times.[16] He stood very straight and had a habit of playing with one of his jeweled rings, turning it around his finger. He kept his feelings rigidly in check, and many mistook his reserve for pride. Few had the chance to know him well. He was noted for his adherence to the Church, took a deep interest in Russian antiques and art treasures, and was interested in archaeology, music and acting and sometimes chairing meetings of the Archaeological Congress.[8] shy and reserved, he made no secret of his disapproval of fashionable society and its lax ways, and he defied all criticism. He found it hard to cope with opposition and easily lost his temper. In his home, he demanded tidiness, order, and discipline, and he expected to be obeyed. His niece, Marie, Queen of the Romanians, remembered him: "Dry, nervous, short of speech, impatient, he had none of the rather careless good humor of his three elder brothers ... but for all that we loved him, felt irresistibly attracted to him, hard though he could be. Few perhaps cherish his memory, but I do." Many other family members, including his nephew Kiril, Princess Marie of Greece and Prince Gabriel, included their good impressions of him in their memoirs.[17] Duke Sergei and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna 1881 there had been talks of a possible marriage to Princess Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein.[18] Emperor Alexander II had hoped that at least one of his sons would marry a princess of Hesse as he had done. eventually chose as his bride Princess Elizabeth of Hesse, a daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. She was an older sister of both Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Alix of Hesse, later the Empress consort of Nicholas II of Russia. They were first cousins once removed (i.e., Elizabeth's great-grandfather, her father's paternal grandfather, Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, was Sergei's maternal grandfather) and had known each other all their lives.[3] were hesitations on both sides and Elizabeth first rejected his proposal of marriage.[18] Queen Victoria, who had anti-Russian sentiments, opposed the marriage of her motherless granddaughter.[19] Elizabeth and her sisters were not pressured into following political marriages; they were allowed to follow their own inclination.[18] After the couple spent some time together at Schloss Wolfsgarten in Darmstadt in September 1883, Elizabeth agreed to marry him.[20] Their engagement was announced publicly on 26 February 1884 when Sergei returned to visit her in Darmstadt.[21] Upon her marriage, Princess Elizabeth took the name of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia.[22] The wedding took place on 15 June 1884 in the Winter Palace.[23] spent their honeymoon in Ilinskoye, Sergei's 2,400-acre (9.7 km2) country estate forty miles west of Moscow on the left bank of the Moskva River, that he inherited from his mother. The couple later settled in Saint Petersburg in a mansion occupying the southeast corner of the Fontanka Canal and the Nevsky Prospekt, a short drive from his former apartments in the Winter Palace.[21] The Beloselsky Belozersky mansion, bought by Sergei to live with his wife, was renamed Sergeivsky Palace.[24] The couple also had Ferme, a villa located in the grounds of Peterhof that Sergei had inherited from his mother.[25] They usually entertained at Ilinskoe during the summer months, with guests occupying various wooden villas dotted around the park. There was also Usovo, a substantial stone and brick house with an innovative central heating, that Sergei had built on the opposite bank of the Moskva River. couple was close to Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna and the Tsar trusted Sergei more than his other brothers. In 1886, Alexander III appointed him Commander of the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, entrusting him with introducing the Tsarevich (the future Nicholas II) to army life. and Ella represented Russia in 1887 during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and in 1888, they were sent to the Holy Land on the occasion of the consecration of the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, built-in memory of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. By 1892, eight years into the marriage, Sergei was already certain that they would not have children and he left a will making the children of his brother Paul his heirs after his and his wife's deaths. of Moscow[edit] Duke Sergei and his wife, 1892 Alexander III adopted a policy of repression; he wanted a like mind at the helm of Imperial Russia's second city and former capital. Thus, in spring 1891, the tsar appointed Sergei as governor general of Moscow.[26] Although it was a great honour, Grand Duke Sergei accepted his new appointment with reluctance. He had hoped to stay longer in command of the Preobrazhensky, where he was popular; and he and his wife loved the quiet life they were living in Saint Petersburg. vice-regal role of Governor-General ruling Prince of Moscow was one that was answerable only to the emperor.[27] Grand Duke Sergei was a political hardliner who shared his brother's inalienable belief in strong, nationalist government.[27] tenure began with the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews.[27] It started four weeks before he arrived in person, after the publication of an imperial ukase by the Minister of the Interiors, Ivan Durnovo, by which all Jews of lower social stance (artisans, minor traders and so on) had to be expelled from Moscow. On 29 March, the first day of Passover, the city's Jewish population learned of the new decree that called for their expulsion.[27] In three carefully planned phases over the next twelve months, Moscow's Jews were expelled. Those first to go were the unmarried, the childless, and those who had lived in the city for less than three years.[27] Next, it was the turn of apprentices, of families with up to four children, and those with less than six years residency.[27] Last of all, it was the turn of the old Jewish settlers with large families and/or numerous employees, some of whom had lived in Moscow for forty years.[27] Young Jewish women were made to register as prostitutes if they wanted to stay in the city.[2] the expulsion, homes were surrounded by mounted Cossacks in the middle of the night while policemen ransacked every house. In January 1892, in a temperature of 30 degrees below zero, Brest station was packed with Jews of all ages and sexes, all in rags and surrounded by meager remnants of households goods, all leaving voluntarily rather than face deportation.[27] Sergei as governor-general was petitioned by the police commissioners to stop the expulsions until the weather conditions improved.[27] While he agreed, the order was not published until the expulsions were over.[27] Some of them moved to southern and western regions of the empire although there were many who decided to emigrate.[28] In counting the cost, Moscow lost 100 million rubles in trade and production, 25,000 Russians employed by Jewish firms lost their livelihoods, while the manufacture of silk, one of the city's most lucrative industries, was all but wiped out.[29] meet the needs of students, Sergei ordered the start of the construction of new dormitories in the city. At the same time, however, severe restrictions were imposed on the students and professors in the universities as a part of the state's policy of conspiracy prevention and elimination of revolutionary ideas.[30] made Sergei Alexandrovich very unpopular in Moscow among intelligentsia, though the more conservative citizens were pleased.[30] Muscovite nobility and merchants despised him because he was rough and lacked tact while attempting to fight commercial fraud and enforce strict policy measures. However, he did significantly improve general living conditions during his tenure and was extremely conscientious in carrying out his duties: “Even in the country when he was supposed to be resting," his niece remembered, "he was constantly receiving couriers from Moscow and giving audiences.â€ He paid much attention to detail, attending personally to matters that could easily have been left to subordinates, punishing corruption and fraud. At times, he would go about the city incognito to see conditions for himself.[31] In private, he and his wife were concerned about the poverty they saw in Moscow and the surrounding countryside, discussing ways to improve it.[32] organizations and charities always attracted Sergei's attention and he became either chairman or patron of scores of them. He was, for example, chairman of the Moscow Society for the Care, Upbringing, and Education of Blind Children; of the Society for Homeless, Neglected Children, and Convicted Adolescents; and the Moscow Department of the Russian Department Society of National Health Protection.[33] addition, he was a patron of organizations as diverse as the Moscow and Saint Petersburg Universities, The Printer's Mutual Aid Fund, the Society of Care for Aged Actors, the Pskov Non-Classical Secondary School, and Prince Nikola's Alm Houses. He was also chairman of the Academies of both Arts and Science, the Moscow Archeological Society, the Society of Agriculture, the Russian Musical Society, the Historical Museum in Moscow, and the Moscow Theological Academy among others.[33] Tragedy[edit] See also: Khodynka Tragedy Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (right) with his brother Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (center, smoking) on 14 May 1896, coronation of Nicholas II. Alexander III died on 1 November [O.S. 20 October] 1894 and his son Nicholas II ascended to the Russian throne. The relationship between Grand Duke Sergei and his nephew, who had served under his command in the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, was close and it became stronger with Nicholas II's marriage to Princess Alix of Hesse, the youngest sister of Sergei's wife—a union that Sergei and Elizabeth Feodorovna had helped to promote. coronation ceremonies of the new Emperor and his wife, as tradition demanded, took place in Moscow and Sergei as Governor General of the City was in charge of overseeing the arrangements. As part of the preparations, Sergei had introduced the novelty of electric light to Moscow. Towards the end of the festivities, according to custom, every newly crowned Tsar presented gifts to the populace; Field, on the outskirts of Moscow, was where the distribution was held since the coronation of Tsar Alexander II. The choice was questionable, as the field was normally used as a military training ground and was crisscrossed with ditches. Nevertheless, Sergei, as Governor General approved the plans. Although a crowd of nearly half a million was expected from all over Russia, only one squadron of Cossacks and a small detachment of police were sent to maintain order. in the morning of 30 May [O.S. 18 May] 1896, families began to gather outside the frail wooden fence that protected the field, watching carts laden with beer, and the eagerly sought after gifts.[34] Around 6 am, a rumour swept through the mass that the booths had already opened and the souvenirs were being given out.[35] Suddenly moving as one, that great body of people began to surge forward in the direction of the booths.[35] As it did so, men, women and children, hundreds of whom had no idea what was happening, fell or slipped on the uneven ground and were crushed and trampled underfoot. Others suffocated in the mayhem.[35] The police, far too few in numbers, were helpless to do much and even the Cossacks when they arrived were unable to stop the catastrophe. One thousand three hundred people, many hideously mutilated and unrecognizable, were killed and twice that number were seriously injured.[36] Grand Duke Sergei had not directly participated in the planning for Khodynka Field, he was to blame for the lack of foresight and as Governor-General, ultimately responsible. However, he did not assume his part of the responsibility for the tragedy. He laid the blame on others, most notably on Ilarion Count Voronzov-Dashkov, head of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, with whom there had been some dispute over the management of the coronation festivities,[37] and Colonel Alexander Vlasovsky (1842–1899), the city of Moscow's Chief of Police.[38] In the eyes of public opinion Sergei had done himself great harm by not going to the scene of the incident or at least putting in appearances at the victims' funerals. of the stampede at Khodynka the tragedy, many members of the Romanov family, headed by Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers, thought that the remaining festivities should be canceled. On the other hand, Sergei Alexandrovich and his brothers thought that a historical event, such as a coronation, should not be disrupted or marred by a conspicuous period of mourning. The latter opinion believed that the crowds who came long distances should not be disappointed and that the tightly scheduled events for foreign dignitaries not be slighted and should go forward. There was also division among the Romanov family as to whether Grand Duke Sergei should have resigned. Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers called for his resignation, while Sergei's own brothers Grand Dukes Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexei Alexandrovich closed ranks supporting him and threatened to retire from public life if Sergei was made the scapegoat for the Khodynka tragedy.[39] Sergei ultimately offered to resign but Vorontzov-Dashkov did not. The Tsar ultimately did not support a thoroughly proposed investigation, the Chief of Police was dismissed, but Grand Duke Sergei retained his high office. night of the tragedy Tsar Nicholas II, for diplomatic reasons, attended a ball in honor of the French; because of that, his reputation suffered for what was perceived to be his lack of sympathy for the victims. Duke Sergei Alexandrovich 1894 Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow military district. Because Sergei was devoted to the policies of his nephew, the Tsar regarded him as a useful counter weight to some of his ministers and officials and would always readily take his side.[40] When, in 1896, disturbances broke out in the universities, Nicholas II was grateful for his prompt action and that of the authorities that quickly restored order. Sergei was often condemned as a complete reactionary during his governorship, according to his brother-in-law Ernest, Grand Duke of Hesse, he wanted and strove for improvements, which angered conservatives, but blocked revolutionary reforms, which infuriated radicals, because he considered them impractical or thought that Russia was not ready for them.[36][41] enigmatic personality and harsh manners made him appear arrogant and disagreeable. Shy by nature, he dreaded personal contact. When courtesy demanded a handshake, he solved the problem by wearing a white glove. Puritan and humourless, at least in public, he had a total disregard for public opinion. He never seemed to be at ease with himself and others. He became a focus for serious opponents of the regime as well as for malicious gossip. His cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich left a damaging description about him: "Try as I will,â€ he wrote, “ I cannot find a single redeeming feature in his character… Obstinate, arrogant, disagreeable, he flaunted his many peculiarities in the face of the entire nation… "[42] Later writers have accused him of sadism.[30][43] great deal of controversy around Sergei Alexandrovich has centered on the nature of his personal life. Conjecture about the perhaps unhappy nature of the relationship with his wife has abounded.[44] Sergei's marriage is barely documented. His private papers, including his correspondence with his wife, have not survived, and the evidence that does exist in the Moscow State Archives, the most important repository of Romanov papers, is open to interpretation. According to some contemporary reports, Sergei was homosexual.[43][45][46] His sexuality conflicted with his intense religious beliefs and the expectations of his position.[46] Contrary to this belief, the marriage was happy, in its own way. Unusually for royal couples, they slept in the same bed for all of their married life.[47] Forced to defend Sergei against rumors of discord, Elizabeth Feodorovna was devoted to her husband and treasured his memory after his death. Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia with his foster children: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna jr, and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich their marriage remained childless, the two children of Grand Duke Paul, Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dimitri, often joined their household, spending Christmases and later some summer holidays with Sergei and his wife. The couple set aside a playroom and bedrooms for the youngsters at their home. 1902, Paul was banished from living in Russia after he contracted a morganatic marriage and Sergei asked for and obtained the guardianship of his niece and nephew.[45] a foster father, Sergei was strict and demanding, but devoted and affectionate towards the children. Nevertheless, Maria and Dimitri resented their aunt and uncle, blaming them for the forced separation from their real father, who had abandoned them.[48] While Sergei had their best interests at heart, his preoccupation with the smallest detail of their education and upbringing were not appealing to the two difficult adolescents, especially the obstinate Maria.[49] the end of 1904, Russia had suffered disastrously in the Russo-Japanese War and the country was in turmoil. As discontent and demonstration multiplied, so did the pressure on Sergei to maintain order.[50] He was of the opinion that only the utmost severity could put an end to the revolutionary ferment, but in the wake of civil disorder Nicholas II was forced to make concessions. did not support the Tsar's security policies of vacillations and evasions.[51] According to Marie Pavlovna, "it appeared to my uncle little less than monstrous ... he expressed deep sorrow for the state of affairs in Russia, of the necessity for serious measures, and of the criminal weakness of the Tsar's ministers and councilors." disillusioned with the whole situation and deciding it was the right time to retire into private life, he informed the Tsar that new times needed new faces.[52] After thirteen years of service, Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905 and was succeeded by Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov. However, he continued as Commander of the Moscow military district.[53] Ivan Kalyayev Assassination of the carriage his resignation, Grand Duke Sergei moved to the Neskuchnoye Palace with his wife and foster children. Shortly thereafter, they moved to the Nicholas Palace within the safety of the Kremlin, under the cover of night. Sergei took every precaution advised by his detectives. Sergei and his wife rarely ventured outside.[54] At home, they only received their closest friends.[54] Like his father, Alexander II, Sergei was firm of the belief that unless it was the will of God, no attempt on his life would succeed. If it were the will of God, no amount of security would prevent it. One precaution he did take was for the benefit of his adjutants, whom he would no longer allow traveling with him. 15 February 1905, the family attended a concert at the Bolshoi Theatre in aid of Elizabeth Feodorovna's Red Cross War charities.[55] A terrorist organization that knew his route had planned to assassinate him that day. However, one of their members noticed the children in the carriage and decided to call off their attack. To kill the Grand Duchess and the children would surely have sparked a wave of apprehension throughout the empire, and would have set back the revolutionary cause by years.[53] Having had lunch with his wife at Nicholas Palace on 17 February, Sergei left unaccompanied for the Governor General's mansion.[56] Because of the looming threat, Sergei had refused to take his adjutant, Alexei, since he was married and a father. The arrival of the Grand Duke's recognizable carriage, drawn by a pair of horses and driven by his coachman Andrei Rudinkin, alerted the terrorist who had been waiting in the Kremlin with a bomb wrapped in newspapers.[57] before 14:45, the carriage of the Grand Duke passed through the gate of Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin and turned the corner of the Chudov Monastery into Senatskaya Square. From a distance no more than four feet (1.2 m) away and still some 60 feet (18 m) inside the Nikolsky Gate, Ivan Kalyayev, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party's combat detachment, stepped forward and threw a nitroglycerin bomb directly into Sergei's lap.[58] The explosion disintegrated the carriage and the Grand Duke died immediately, his body blown to bits.[58] Scattered all over the bloodstained snow lay pieces of scorched cloth, fur, and leather. The body of the Grand Duke was mutilated, with the head, the upper part of the chest, and the left shoulder and arm blown off and completely destroyed.[59] Surrounded by splintered skull bones was what little that remained of his face.[58] Some of the Grand Duke's fingers, still adorned with the rings he habitually wore, were found on the roof of a nearby building.[58][60] impact, the carriage horses had bolted towards the Nikolsky Gate, dragging with them the front wheels and coachbox as well as the semi-conscious and badly burned driver, Rudinkin, whose back had been riddled with bits of bomb and stones. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he died three days later. Kalyayev, who by his own testimony had expected to die in the explosion, survived.[57][61] Sucked into the vortex of the explosion, he ended up by the remains of the rear wheels. His face was peppered by splinters, pouring with blood.[57] Kalyayev was immediately arrested, sentenced to death, and hanged two months later. Grand Duchess rushed to the scene of the explosion.[61] Stunned but perfectly controlled, she gave instructions, and, kneeling in the snow, helped to gather up Sergei's remains.[61] The bared torso, part of the skull, a hand bone fragment, fingers, and a still-booted foot were placed on a stretcher and covered with an army greatcoat. The Grand Duchess also gathered Sergei's medallions.[61] affected by the Grand Duke's death, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna retired from the royal family and founded the Russian Orthodox convent of Martha and Mary, where she dedicated herself to the care of Moscow's poor and suffering.[58] Part of the obligations of the sisters of the Martha and Mary convent was to make an annual pilgrimage to the sepulchral church in memory of the Grand Duke on the day of his repose, 4 February.[62] Elizabeth Feodorovna was murdered during the Russian Civil War in 1918, together with many other Romanov relatives. bodies were smuggled to China and eventually reached Jerusalem. The wooden coffins were met at the railway station by the deputy British governor, Sir Harry Charles Luke, and taken for burial at the Church of Maria Magdalene on the Mount of Olives.[12] of the memorial, 4 May 2017 Duke Sergei's body was buried in a crypt of the Chudov Monastery within the precincts of the Moscow Kremlin. A memorial cross was erected on the spot where he was killed. After the downfall of the Romanovs, the cross was destroyed with the personal participation of Vladimir Lenin.[52] Monastery was demolished in 1928, and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was built on the site. The burial crypt of the Grand Duke was located in a courtyard of that building, which had been used as a parking lot. In 1990, building workers in the Kremlin discovered the blocked up entrance of the burial vault. The coffin was examined and found to contain the Grand Duke's remains, covered with the military greatcoat of the Kiev regiment, decorations, and an icon. He had left written instructions that he was to be buried in the Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment uniform, but as his body was so badly mutilated this proved impossible. In 1995, the coffin was officially exhumed, and after a Panikhida in the Kremlin Cathedral of the Archangel, it was reburied in a vault of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow on 17 September 1995.[63] 4 May 2017, the memorial cross was restored in a ceremony that was attended by President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.[64] Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Commemorated on July 18;

Russia, Moscow, 1877-1878, Russo-Turkish War (1877-“78) in Bulgaria
Moscow, 1877-1878, Russo-Turkish War (1877-“78); Icon of the Mother of God œSocola, Commemorated on February 1; St Callinicus of Cernica the Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania, Commemorated on April 11;

Russia, Moscow, 1878, Inexhaustible Chalice Icon, Tula, MTrail, invalid ignores 2vision, then goes 3rd, icon found, alcoholics c
Russia, Kaluga, 1878, Inexhaustible Chalice Icon, Tula, Kaluga, Russia (Upa River 1, Muravsky Trail 7), retired soldier, pension on alcohol, broke, poor health, no walk, continued to drink, Elder Barlaam of Serpukhov appeared and told him to go to Serpukhov M for IChalice Molieben, ignored twice, crawled, got better on the way, woman rubbed legs, hard to remember icon, restored health, alcoholism cured, news spread, many alcoholics cured, annual Molieben wAkathist; Tula, Russia (Upa River 1); Icon of the Mother of God the Inexhaustible Chalice, Commemorated on May 5; “Inexhaustible Chalice” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was revealed in Russia in 1878. retired soldier from Tula had spent his pension on alcohol, ruining his health. Though he was no longer able to walk, he continued to drink. night the holy Elder Barlaam of Serpukhov appeared to him in a dream and told him to go to the Serpukhov Monastery of the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple. “Have a Molieben served before her Icon ‘The Inexhaustible Chalice.’” he had no money and could not walk, the man paid no attention to the dream. the Elder appeared a second and third time, speaking to him with increasing severity. on all fours, the man reached the next village and stayed in the home of an old woman. She rubbed his legs, and he began to feel better. The next day, he resumed his journey with two canes, then with one, until he arrived at the monastery. described his dreams to the monks, but none of them had ever heard of “The Inexhaustible Chalice” Icon. Finally, one of them remembered an icon on which a chalice was depicted. On the back of the icon was an inscription, “The Inexhaustible Chalice.” the Molieben, the peasant returned home restored to health, and cured of his alcoholism. of the miracle spread, and many alcoholics and their families came to pray before the Icon. Many of them came back to thank the Mother of God for answering their prayers. Sunday in the Serpukhov-Vyotsk monastery a Molieben with an Akathist is served before the Icon for those who are addicted to alcohol.

Russia, Moscow, 1879-1885, Icon of MOG œSeraphim-Ponetaevka, numerous miracles, painted by nuns, divine light face
Russia, Mordovia, 1879-1885, Icon of MOG œSeraphim-Ponetaevka, numerous miracles, paiinted by nuns, divine light face when the nuns prayed, pilgrims healed blindness crippling, 70 instances noted; Icon of the Mother of God œSeraphim-Ponetaevka, Commemorated on November 27 ; Seraphim-Ponetaevka Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign was painted in the year 1879 by the nuns of the Seraphim-Ponetaevka women’s monastery, not far from Arzamas, near the village of Ponetaevka. The monastery was named after Saint Seraphim of Sarov by the founder of the monastery, a sister of the Diveyevo community. years after it was painted, the icon became known for its numerous miracles and became the chief holy item of the monastery. the sisters were praying during the services, they noticed distinct changes in the countenance of the Mother of God: Her All-Pure face became bright and life-like. pilgrims thronged to the icon, and many were healed from blindness and crippling. In all, about seventy instances of healing were noted. Repose of the Venerable Seraphim the Wonderworker of Sarov, Commemorated January 2 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1879-1892, Macarius Bulgakov, Metropolitan of Moscow, popular student manual, history russian church
Moscow Patriarch, 1879-1892, Macarius Bulgakov, Metropolitan of Moscow ; Macarius (1 October [O.S. 19 September] 1816-21 June [O.S. 9] 1882), was the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna in 1879-82 and member of many learned societies, including the Russian Academy of Sciences. 1841, he graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy, of which he served as a dean in 1851-57. His popular student manual, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, steeped in the Latin methodology, was originally printed in 6 volumes in 1847–53. In 1866 Macarius started the publication of his landmark History of the Russian Church, for which he is best remembered. The 12th volume of his magnum opus, covering the patriarchate of Nikon, was released posthumously. has been considered one of the three major church historians of the Russian Empire, along with Filaret Gumilevsky and Yevgeny Golubinsky. Tatar descent, he was a distant relative of the major Eastern Orthodox theologian Sergei Bulgakov.[1] Valaam Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on August 7; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29;

Russia, Moscow, 1880-1882, Kozelshchansk Icon, Kozelschina, Poltava, Ukraine, Sick Girl Story, Instantly cured oParalysis, More
Russia, Kiev, 1880-1882, Kozelshchansk Icon, Kozelschina, Poltava, Ukraine, Sick Girl Story, Instantly cured of Paralysis, More, from italy, Liz's maid of honor 1741, to Ukraine, Kapnist family 1880s, daughter's foot dislocation, special shoe, hot baths, supplements, no reliev, other foot twisted, both shoulders&left hip dislocated, pain in spine, curative mineral waters in Caucasus, lost all feeling hands&feet on way, specialists in Moscow, despair, foreign professor opportunity, but wait, pray with faith to Icon while waiting.; village of Kozelschina, Poltava governance; “Kozelshchansk” Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on February 21; Kozelshchansk Icon of the Mother of God was glorified in the late nineteenth century, though it is older than that. icon is of Italian origin and was brought to Russia by one of Empress Elizabeth’s (1741-1761) maids of honor, who was Italian. owner of the icon married a records clerk of the Zaporozhsky-Cossack army, Siromakh. So, the icon went to the Ukraine with them. the nineteenth century it belonged to the family of Count Vladimir Kapnist, and was one of their sacred possessions. icon was in the village of Kozelschina, Poltava governance. During Cheesefare Week in the year 1880, the daughter of V. I. Kapnist, dislocated some bones in her foot. The local doctor said the problem was not serious. Dr. Grube, a noted surgeon in Kharkov, agreed with the diagnosis, and he applied a plaster cast to Maria’s foot. He also prescribed hot baths and iron supplements. To lessen the discomfort of the foot while walking, a special shoe was made with metal bands that went around the girl’s leg. Lent passed, but the girl did not feel any relief. Pascha, Maria’s other foot became twisted. Then both shoulders and her left hip became dislocated, and she developed pain in her spine. The doctor advised Count Kapnist to take his daughter immediately to the Caucasus for the curative mineral waters and mountain air. The journey to the Caucasus and the curative treatments caused even greater affliction. The girl lost all feeling in her hands and feet, and did not even feel pinches. of the advanced degree of the illness, and since therapy was not helping, they were compelled to return home. the month of October, the father journeyed with his sick daughter to Moscow. Here he consulted specialists, who declared that they could do nothing for Maria. parents and the sick girl began to despair. However, an unexpected opportunity for help from a foreign professor presented itself. Since it would be some while before his arrival in Moscow, the sick girl asked to return home. The Count sent her back to the village, and his wife promised to bring their daughter back to Moscow when he received news of the the professor’s arrival. On February 21, 1881, they received a telegram saying that the professor had arrived in Moscow. the day before the appointment, Maria’s mother suggested that she pray before the family icon of the Mother of God. She said to her daughter, “Masha [a diminutive form of Maria], tomorrow we go to Moscow. Take the icon, let us clean its cover and pray to the Most Holy Theotokos that your infirmity be cured.” girl, who had no confidence in earthly physicians, placed all her hope in God. This icon had long been known as wonderworking. According to Tradition, young women would pray before it to have a happy family. It was also the custom to clean the cover of the icon, and the one praying would wipe it with cotton or linen. the holy icon to her bosom, the sick girl, with the help of her mother, cleaned it and poured out all her sorrow and despair of soul to the Mother of God. All at once, she felt the strength return to her body and she cried out loudly, “Mama! Mama! I can feel my legs! I can feel my hands!” She tore off the metal braces and bandages and began to walk about the room, while continuing to hold the icon of the Mother of God in her hands. parish priest was summoned at once and celebrated a service of Thanksgiving before the icon. The joyous event quickly became known throughout all the surrounding villages. The Countess and Maria went to Moscow and took with them the holy icon of the Mother of God. News of the healing quickly spread about Moscow and people began to throng to the hotel, and then to the church, where they had brought the icon. icon continued to work several more healings. When the family returned home to Kozelschina, people had already heard about the miracles of the Kozelschansk icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, and many came to venerate the icon. It was no longer possible to keep the icon at home, so by the order of Archbishop John of Poltava, the icon was transferred to a temporary chapel on April 23, 1881. Every day from early morning, services of Thanksgiving and Akathists were served before the icon. 1882 a chapel was built on the grounds of the estate, and then a church. At the decision of the Holy Synod on March 1, 1885 a women’s monastery was established, and on February 17, 1891 it was dedicated to the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. present, the Kozelschansk Icon is in the Krasnogorsk Protection women’s monastery (Kiev diocese). In the lower left corner of the icon is a table with a cup and a spoon. It is believed that this symbolizes the Mother of God as a “bowl for mixing the wine of joy” (Akathist, Ikos 11). A Service and an Akathist have been composed for the Kozelschansk Icon.

Russia, Moscow, 1880-1918, Philosophos oSt Pete, Jo Kronstadt protege&kin, moral preacher, almshouses, c builder, more
Russia, St Petersburg, 1880-1918, Philosophos oSt Petersburg, Russia (Peterburg or Petrograd), St Kronstadt protege&kin, moral education, city council, shelters, orphanages, almshouses, church builder, modest lifestyle, but handled millions, large family, needed give private lessons, mag editor&censor, friend of Tikhon&Kazansky, rector Kazan Cathedral St Pete, gave apt for infirmary WWI, support tFront Lines, preached anti communism, our intellectuals must become russian, 1918 defense oShrines, arrested, impassive&calm, Chekists broke promise, prophecy perishing like dogs Russia to be Russia again, shot, body floated in Bay near Oranienbaum; St Petersburg; Hieromartyr Philosophos of St. Petersburg, Commemorated on May 31; Hieromartyr Archpriest Philosophos N. Ornatsky was born on May 21, 1860 in the churchyard of Novaya Yerga, Cherepovets County, Novgorod Governorate,1 the family of a village priest. of his brothers was married to the niece of Saint John of Kronstadt. studied first in Kirillov Theological School, and then in the Novgorod Theological Seminary. 1885 he graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy with the degree of Candidate. the summer of 1885, Philosophos married Elena Zaozerskaya, the daughter of the former subdeacon of Metropolitan Isidore, and soon he was ordained to the priesthood. the young priest served as rector in the church of the orphanage of the Prince of Oldenburg, where he had once taught the Law of God (catechism). 1892 to 1912, he served as the rector of the church at the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers. twenty-six years he was the chairman of the Society for the Dissemination of Religious and Moral Education in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church, successfully counteracting anti-church movements. 1893, Father Ornatsky was elected as a member of the St. Petersburg City Duma from the clergy and held this office until 1917. took part in the establishment of shelters in the city: orphanages and almshouses. Through his efforts in St. Petersburg and the surrounding area, twelve churches were built, the largest of which was the church of the Resurrection of Christ at the Varshavsky railway station. addition, we should also mention the churches of Daints Peter and Paul in Lesnoy, Saint Sergius of Radonezh on Novosivkovskaya Street, Saint Seraphim of Sarov behind the Narva outpost, the church of the Forerunner on the Vyborg side, Saint Gerasimos church, and Saint Isidore of Yuriev church. Saint lived quite modestly, though his was a large family (he had ten children). The whole array of public titles and offices which he held for the glory of God, did not bring in any means of subsistence. Chairman of the Temple Building Committees, large sums of money passed through his hands, yet he was obliged to give private lessons in order to feed his family. Ornatsky was also the editor and censor of such metropolitan spiritual magazines as "St. Petersburg Spiritual Herald" (published from 1894), "The Christian's Rest" (1901), and "Orthodox-Russian Word" (1902). Philosophos was one of the closest companions of the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Benjamin (Kazansky), of Petrograd and Gdovsk, when he was a student of the Theological Academy, was actively engaged in preaching activities in the working neighborhoods of St. Petersburg. of spiritual friendship also sprang up between him and His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon. almost twenty years, Father Philosophos was the spiritual son of Saint John of Kronstadt, who often visited him at home and blessed all his undertakings for the good of the Church. holy pastor entrusted Father Philosophos with being an intermediary in his correspondence with Saint Theophanes, the Recluse of Vysha. 1913, the Archpriest was appointed to the post of rector of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. the First World War, Father Philosophos gave up his apartment to be used as an infirmary for wounded soldiers, and he and his family moved to a small state-owned room. he went to the areas of hostilities, accompanying the transports with needed supplies for the soldiers, and trying with all his might to inspire and support the defenders of Russia. son Nicholas (born in 1886) was a military doctor who was part of the Ninth Russian Army; another son, Boris (born in 1887), was a staff captain of the 23rd Artillery Brigade, who graduated from the Konstantinov Artillery School, and fought heroically on the Austro-Hungarian front. Ornatsky's gift of preaching attracted those who were seeking the words of life, and he repeatedly urged his flock not to accept the corrupting ideas of Bolshevism. that Orthodoxy is at the heart of Russian life, Batiushka urged the intelligentsia to realize this. He never tired of repeating: "Our intellectuals have to become Russian." the Revolution, he saw his wife's sister's husband, Peter Skipetrov (+ January 20) shot before his eyes. the funeral service, Father Philosophos gave a sermon, fearlessly denouncing the Bolsheviks. He repeatedly called upon his flock to surround the churches and to protect the shrines of their land. January 1918, when Father Peter Skipetrov was killed at the Lavra, Father Philosophos organized a defense of the shrines of Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra, organizing Cross Processions to it from all the churches of the capital. August 9, 1918, he was arrested, along with his two eldest sons, Nicholas and Boris. the time of his arrest he was absolutely impassive and calm. gathered by the thousands and walked along Nevsky Prospekt, demanding the release of their shepherd. Chekists received the delegation of believers, promising to do what they asked. on the same night (July 20, 1918), Father Philósophos was transported to prison in the city of Kronstadt. October 30, 1918, thirty-two men were brought from different prisons, all officers of the Imperial Army, who were being taken to be shot. Some were young, and others were older. said he was a Colonel of the Guards. He told their escorts, "You will all perish, perhaps in twenty years, but you will perish like dogs. will be Russia again, but you will perish." Their escorts said nothing. they were being led to the place of execution, Father Philosophos read aloud the prayer for the departure of the soul over his two sons and the rest of the convicts. say the place of execution was in Kronstadt, while others say it was not far from the Gulf of Finland, between Ligovo and Oranienbaum. bodies of those who were shot were dumped into the bay. Ornatsky's body did not sink, but was tossed onto the shore by the waves near Oranienbaum. There it was buried secretly by the inhabitants. Saints were canonized as New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for general Church veneration. Philosophos is also commemorated on July 20, and on the Third Sunday after Pentecost (Movable Feast: Synaxis of the Saints of St. Petersburg. 1 Now the Cherepovetsky District of Vologda Oblast.

Russia, Moscow, 1880-1921, Liuba Semyonova Sukhanovskaya, Ryazan, Paralyzed then Fool For Christ, Clairvoyant, Much More
Russia, Ryazan, 1880-1921, Liuba Semyonova Sukhanovskaya, Ryazan (Oka River 9), raised in God fearing poverty, paralyzed 15yrs, prayer warrior, ST Nic's Icon, Nic appeared and said get up and play the fool, mother wonders, priest encourages fool role, God' will, enclosed in wall 3yrs standing at Pronsk, then to Ryazan to mix with the people playing the fool, ; Ryazan; Blessed Liubov (Sukhanovskaya) of Ryazan, Fool for Christ, Commemorated on February 8; Semyonova Sukhanovskaya was born in 1860 in the Ryazan region, in the city of Pronsk, into the family of Semyon and Maria Sukhanovsky, humble and God-fearing people. Later, her younger sister Olga was born. 1874, the Sukhanovskys moved to Ryazan and settled in a house on the corner of Vladimir and Resurrection Streets, becoming parishioners of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem church. Lord took special notice of this pious family. The Sukhanovskys lived in poverty, and also had a heavy sorrow. beloved daughter Liubushka was paralyzed for fifteen years, and could neither walk nor stand on her own two feet. parents taught her to pray and how to read, Liuba prayed a great deal and read spiritual books, drawing on these for comfort. particular, she loved to pray before the family icon of Saint Nicholas. pure prayer, and her uncomplaining patience in her illness, were accepted by the Lord, revealed His will for Liubushka. day, when she was alone in the house, the God-pleaser Saint Nicholas appeared before her and said, "Get up, Liuba, go and play the fool!" stood up, which was a great joy for her mother when she returned home. then her mother realized that the feat of foolishness was very difficult, and she went to the priest for advice. listened to her and said, "This is God's will! Do not detain your daughter, let her go, let her play the fool! The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord (Psalm 36/37:23). that time, Liubushka embarked on that very difficult path. residents of Ryazan know her as an ascetic who enclosed herself in a wall between the stove and a wall in her house. She stood there for three years, like an ancient stylite, immersed in prayer and in the knowledge of God. humility before God's Providence, her patience and heavenly grace helped her to accomplish this unprecedented feat. Lord prepared her for her contest by her fifteen years of paralysis, just as He did for Saint Elias of Murom (December 19). years later, Blessed Liubov, strengthened from above by divine love, left her "torture-chamber" and went out among the people, bearing this love. living in Ryazan away from her relatives, she became a constant intercessor in all the city churches, and above all other monasteries, she loved visiting the Kazan Monastery, where she lived for a long time with some sisters, especially with the Superior, Igoumeness Katherine, who consoled with her sublime discourses. was often seen on the street, in the shops of merchants, or in the homes of friends. And her conversations always had some spiritual purpose. Blessed one prayed for people, giving them good and wise advice, and warning them of dangers. waited for her impatiently, honorable people understood that the Lord Himself spoke through Liubushka, had granted her both clairvoyance and the gift of love. with all fools for Christ, her actions were not quite ordinary. example, the Blessed one would go into the shop of a wealthy merchant and take whatever she needed without asking. merchant was only too happy about this, for he knew that he would do good business that day. time, Liubushka would pass by the shop without stopping, even if she were invited. she was tired, the Blessed one would sit on someone's porch and be given food. She would accept it from some, but to others she said: "You don't have very much." she did accept food, she gave it to the needy she met along the way. Poor people and beggars loved her very much. clairvoyant, the Blessed one addressed even strangers by name, and would reply to unspoken questions. often than not, Liubushka clothed her clairvoyance in a mysterious form, revealing things by means of paper figures. where her hostess kept scissors and paper, she took them, cut the figures out, and gave them to those for whom they were intended. someone was about to travel, she would make a horse or a train. If a person was to be married, she would fashion a crown. If someone was about to die, she would cut out a tombstone. people feared her predictions and hid the scissors, but the Blessed one just tore the paper with her fingers and still gave the appropriate figures to those for whom they were meant. made these figures with great skill, and silently she handed them to that person and then left. of her predictions came true. people, however, did not believe Liubushka, and laughed at her. She endured everything very complacently and patiently, and the smile never left her face. She dressed in very plain clothes, and on her head she wore a kerchief - sometimes blue, or pink. a child, Liubushka loved the color pink, and she even asked that her coffin be lined with pink cloth when she died. Blessed one made predictions not only with paper figures, but also by other means. example, they mention the following incident. During the Nativity Fast, Liubushka visited the Sh. family, where their grandmother was pouring tea for everyone at 4:00 P.M. At that time, Liubushka came in with a piece of velvet and said: "I was walking past the funeral parlor, where a coffin was being lined, and I took a piece of velvet. Here, take it!" The grandmother was perplexed, but soon they received news that their relative had died, and the velvet was for her coffin. This is how the Blessed one prepared everyone for the sad event. another occasion, Blessed Liubushka foretold the fate of two little girls through the icons that she gave them. received an icon of Saint Alexander Nevsky, and later she married a man named Alexander, and they lived by the Alexander Nevsky train station. other girl was given an icon of Saint Anna of Kashin, and like that Saint, she too was left as a widow with two children. Blessed one foresaw many things at her beloved Kazan Monastery. Once she cut out an entire monastery with scissors. The paper monastery had a fence, a church, and a choir in it. in this way, she answered a question posed by the sister of a certain novice, who wondered whether she should be a nun. the time came, this girl did enter the Monastery and, as one who possessed a rare voice (a female bass), she was placed in the choir to chant and read. After the Monastery was closed, she sang in the church until she was quite old. Blessed one returned to her home. At that time her grandfather was still alive. day she arrived when her grandfather's kum1 was in the house, and he decided to joke with her and asked: "Tell us, Liubov Semyonovna, to whom will your house go when you die?" She smiled and replied, "To the soldiers." laughed at such an unexpected answer. one could imagine that one day the house would be demolished, and in its place a military warehouse would be built to store equipment. sister did not take her seriously either, and only after her death did she realize her mistake, seeing how many people came to accompany Blessed Liuba on her final journey, calling her the holy intercessor of Ryazan. the abdication of the Tsar in 1917, the Blessed one walked through the streets and repeated: "The walls of Jericho are falling, the walls of Jericho are falling." Only later did people realize what that meant. weeks before her death, Liubuska warned her good friend Elizabeth M. about it: "Lizon'ka, I am going to die soon, and you must pray to God for me. Go to my grave and take dirt from it, and line my coffin with pink cloth." Liubov reposed on February 8, 1921. was in ruins, the stores were empty, and Elizabeth decided to go to the pharmacy for some gauze at least. And O, the wonder! She was given some pink cloth. coffin was beautifully decorated, and even ruffles and bows were made. So, to everyone's joy, Liubushka's wish was miraculously fulfilled. the Blessed one was carried on her final journey, the streets around the funeral procession resembled a living wall of weeping people. abandoned their businesses in order to bid farewell to the marvelous God-pleaser. over Blessed Liubov's grave, a monument was put up by the efforts of a resident of Ryazan, a Deacon, and others who admired her. the years passed, God was gradually displaced from the life and consciousness of formerly devout people who forgot their covenants and their own ancestors. were being closed and destroyed, and priests were tortured and killed. Soon there was only one functioning church in Ryazan - a church dedicated to the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Icon of the Mother of God. And there was a cemetery. But then few persons visited the cemetery, and Liubushka's grave became overgrown. day a certain soldier appeared at the cemetery and began to ask where Blessed Liubushka was buried. He wanted to put up a cross and a metal fence around her grave. This soldier happened to be very sick, but the doctors could not help him. Saint Liubov appeared to him in a dream and said: "Do not grieve or worry, but go to Ryazan, find the grave of Liubov Semyonovna Sukhanovskaya in the cemetery, and enclose it with a fence, and then you shall be healthy and happy." did as the Blessed one commanded him to do, and he was healed. He visited her grave every year and had a Panikhida served for her. Thus Saint Liubov came forth once more to the people who had forgotten her, in order to demonstrate that "love never fails" (I Corinthians 13:8). other miracles were performed, and are still being performed, by prayers offered to Blessed Liubov of Ryazan. In 1992, by the diligence of the brethren of Saint John the Theologian Monastery, a chapel was built over her grave, and on June 10/23, 1998, Blessed Liubov was numbered with the Saints of Ryazan (June 23) and her holy relics were transferred to the Saint Nicholas-Yamsk church in Ryazan. 1 Kum = A godparent, or those who hold the crowns at an Orthodox wedding (from the Greek word κουμπάρος).

Russia, Moscow, 1881-1894, Emperor Alexander III, counter-reformer, peacemaker, orthodox
Moscow Emperor, 1881-1894, Alexander III, Emperor of Russia ; Passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas, Commemorated on July 17; Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia, Commemorated on July 20; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Joy of All who sorrow" (with coins) in St Petersburg, Commemorated on July 23; Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” (With Coins) was glorified in the year 1888 in St. Petersburg, when during the time of a terrible thunderstorm lightning struck in a chapel. All was burned or singed, except for this icon of the Queen of Heaven. It was knocked to the floor, and the poor box broke open at the same time. Somehow, twelve small coins (half-kopeck pieces), became attached to the icon. A church was built in 1898 on the site of the chapel. Translation of the Icon of the Mother of God in Triumph to Russia, Commemorated on September 18 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God the "Multiplier of Wheat"Â, Commemorated on October 15; Icon of the Mother of God "œthe Joy of All Who Sorrow"Â, Commemorated on October 24; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27; St Nectarius Kephalas the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Commemorated on November 9; Founding of the Church of St George, Commemorated on November 10; Icon of the Mother of God "œSeraphim-Ponetaevka"Â, Commemorated on November 27; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated on December 15 ; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on December 20; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated on January 3; Venerable Hieromonk Alexei of Teklati, Commemorated on January 18; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St John, Commemorated on January 23; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated on January 25; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27; Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29;

Russia, Moscow, 1884-1918, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, beauty, charitable works, forgiveness
Russia, Moscow, 1884-1918, Grand Duchess Elizabeth; Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, later Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (1 November 1864 - 18 July 1918), was a German Hessian and Rhenish princess of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, and the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. She was also a maternal great-aunt of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II. granddaughter of Queen Victoria and an older sister of Alexandra, the last Russian Empress, Elisabeth became famous in Russian society for her beauty and charitable works among the poor. After the Socialist Revolutionary Party's Combat Organization assassinated her husband with a bomb in 1905, Elisabeth publicly forgave Sergei's murderer, Ivan Kalyayev, and campaigned without success for him to be pardoned. She then departed the Imperial Court and became a nun, founding the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent dedicated to helping the downtrodden of Moscow. In 1918 she was arrested and ultimately murdered by the Bolsheviks. 1981 Elisabeth was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate. of Hesse Hessian grand ducal family in May 1875 was born on 1 November 1864 as the second child of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria. she came from one of the oldest and noblest houses in Germany, Elisabeth and her family lived a rather modest life by royal standards. The children swept the floors and cleaned their own rooms, while their mother sewed dresses herself for the children. During the Austro-Prussian War, Princess Alice often took Elisabeth with her while visiting wounded soldiers in a nearby hospital. In this relatively happy and secure environment, Elisabeth grew up surrounded by English domestic habits, and English became her first language. Later in life, she would tell a friend that, within her family, she and her siblings spoke English to their mother and German to their father. the autumn of 1878, diphtheria swept through the Hesse household, killing Elisabeth's youngest sister, Marie, on 16 November, as well as her mother Alice on 14 December. Elisabeth had been sent away to her paternal grandmother's home at the beginning of the outbreak and she was the only member of her family to remain unaffected. When she was finally allowed to return home, she described the meeting as "terribly sad" and said that everything was "like a horrible dream".[citation needed] and suitors and with a very accommodating personality, Elisabeth was considered by many historians and contemporaries to be one of the most beautiful women in Europe at that time. Her cousin Princess Marie of Edinburgh wrote that "one could never take one's eyes off [Ella]"[1] and that Ella's features were "exquisite beyond words, it almost brought tears to your eyes."[2] Her older cousin Prince Wilhelm of Prussia called her "exceedingly beautiful, in fact she is the most beautiful girl I ever saw."[3] Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, her sister's lady-in-waiting, reflected that she was "a very pretty girl, tall and fair, with regular features."[4] a young woman, Elisabeth's cousin, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, fell in love with her. In April 1875, the 16-year-old Wilhelm visited Darmstadt to celebrate Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine's 12th birthday and first expressed interest in the 11-year-old Elisabeth. He wrote in a letter to his mother that "if God grants that I may live till then I shall make her my bride once if you allow it."[5] When he was a student at Bonn University, he often visited his Aunt Alice and his Hessian relatives on the weekends. During these frequent visits, he fell in love with Elisabeth,[6] writing numerous love poems and regularly sending them to her. He proposed to Elisabeth in 1878, but she rejected him. Charles Montagu, the second son of the 7th Duke of Manchester courted her unsuccessfully. Wilson, later a distinguished soldier, vied unsuccessfully for Elisabeth's hand. future Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden, Wilhelm's first cousin, proposed to Elisabeth. Queen Victoria described him as "so good and steady", with "such a safe and happy position,"[7] that when Elisabeth declined to marry him the Queen "deeply regretted it". Frederick's grandmother, the Empress Augusta, was so furious at Elisabeth's rejection of Frederick that it took some time for her to forgive Elisabeth. admirers included: Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia (the poet KR), who wrote a poem about her first arrival in Russia and the general impression she made to all the people present at the time. Prince Felix Yusupov considered her a second mother, and stated in his memoirs that she helped him greatly during the most difficult moments of his life. As a young girl, Queen Marie of Romania was very fascinated with her cousin Ella. In her memoirs, she wrote that "her beauty and sweetness was a thing of dreams."[8] The French Ambassador to the Russian court, Maurice Paleologue, wrote in his memoirs how Elisabeth was capable of arousing what he described as "profane passions". Ultimately, it was a grand duke of Russia who would win Elisabeth's heart; Elisabeth's great-aunt, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, was a frequent visitor to Hesse. During these visits, she was usually accompanied by her youngest sons, Sergei and Paul. Elisabeth had known them since they were children, and she initially viewed them as haughty and reserved. Sergei, especially, was a very serious young man, intensely religious, and he found himself attracted to Elisabeth after seeing her as a young woman for the first time in several years. first, Sergei made little impression on Elisabeth. But after the death of both of his parents within a year of each other, Elisabeth sympathised with Sergei because she had felt this same grief after the death of her mother. Their other similarities (both were artistic and religious) drew them closer together. It was said that Sergei was especially attached to Elisabeth because she had the same character as his beloved mother. So when Sergei proposed to her for the second time, she accepted—much to the chagrin of her grandmother Queen Victoria. Duchess of Russia and her husband Sergei and Elisabeth married on 15 (3) June 1884, at the Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg; upon her conversion to Russian Orthodoxy, she took the name Elizabetha Feodorovna. It was actually at the wedding that Sergei's 16-year-old nephew, Tsarevich Nicholas, first met his future wife, Elisabeth's youngest surviving sister Alix. was not legally required to convert to Russian Orthodoxy from her native Lutheran religion, but she voluntarily chose to do so in 1891. Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Elisabeth's Lutheran sister-in-law who had not converted to Russian Orthodoxy, insisted that it was "a disgrace for a German Protestant princess to go over to the Orthodox faith."[9] Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had once been in love with her, declared that she converted because of "an inordinate pursuit of popularity, a desire to improve her position at court, a great lack of intelligence, and also a want of true religiousness."[10] new Grand Duchess made a good first impression on her husband's family and the Russian people. "Everyone fell in love with her from the moment she came to Russia from her beloved Darmstadt", wrote one of Sergei's cousins. The couple settled in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace in St. Petersburg; after Sergei was appointed Governor-General of Moscow by his elder brother, Tsar Alexander III, in 1892, they resided in one of the Kremlin palaces. During the summer, they stayed at Ilyinskoe, an estate outside Moscow that Sergei had inherited from his mother. couple never had children of their own, but their Ilyinskoe estate was usually filled with parties that Elisabeth organized especially for children. They eventually became the foster parents of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Sergei's niece and nephew. was somewhat instrumental in the marriage of her nephew-by-marriage, Tsar Nicholas II, to her youngest sister Alix. Much to the dismay of Queen Victoria, Elisabeth had been encouraging Nicholas, then tsarevich, in his pursuit of Alix. When Nicholas did propose to Alix in 1894, and Alix rejected him on the basis of her refusal to convert to Orthodoxy, it was Elisabeth who spoke with Alix and encouraged her to convert. When Nicholas proposed to her again, a few days later, Alix then accepted. of Ivan Kalyayev taken just after the assassination. I threw the bomb from less than four steps. I was taken by the explosions, I saw the carriage flew to pieces...My overcoat was strewn with splinters of wood all around, it was torn and burnt, there was blood on my face... 17 February 1905, Sergei was assassinated in the Kremlin by the Socialist-Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev. The event came as a terrible shock to Elisabeth, but she never lost her calm. It was as if her prophecy had come true that "God will punish us severely" which she made after the Grand Duke expelled 20,000 Jews from Moscow, by simply surrounding thousands of families' houses with soldiers and expelling the Jews without any notice overnight out of their homes and the city. Her niece Marie later recalled that her aunt's face was "pale and stricken rigid" and she would never forget her expression of infinite sadness. In her rooms, said Marie, Elisabeth "let herself fall weakly into an armchair...her eyes dry and with the same peculiar fixity of gaze, she looked straight into space, and said nothing." As visitors came and went, she looked without ever seeming to see them. the day of her husband's murder, Elisabeth refused to cry. But Marie recalled how her aunt slowly abandoned her rigid self-control, finally breaking down into sobs. Many of her family and friends feared that she would suffer a nervous breakdown, but she quickly recovered her equanimity. to Edvard Radzinsky, spent all the days before the burial in ceaseless prayer. On her husband's tombstone she wrote: 'Father, release them, they know not what they do.' She understood the words of the Gospels heart and soul, and on the eve of the funeral she demanded to be taken to the prison where Kalyayev was being held. Brought into his cell, she asked, 'Why did you kill my husband?' 'I killed Sergei Alexandrovich because he was a weapon of tyranny. I was taking revenge for the people.' 'Do not listen to your pride. Repent... and I will beg the Sovereign to give you your life. I will ask him for you. I myself have already forgiven you.' On the eve of revolution, she had already found a way out; forgiveness! Forgive through the impossible pain and blood -- and thereby stop it then, at the beginning, this bloody wheel. By her example, poor Ella appealed to society, calling upon the people to live in Christian faith. 'No!" replied Kalyayev. 'I do not repent. I must die for my deed and I will... My death will be more useful to my cause than Sergei Alexandrovich's death.' Kalyayev was sentenced to death. 'I am pleased with your sentence,' he told the judges. 'I hope that you will carry it out just as openly and publicly as I carried out the sentence of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. Learn to look the advancing revolution right in the face.'[11] was hanged on 23 May 1905. 1915 the All-Russian Zemstvo Union was organised under her auspices to provide support for sick and injured soldiers during the First World War.[12] life Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna as a nun after her husband's death Sergei's death, Elisabeth wore mourning clothes and became a vegetarian. In 1909, she sold off her magnificent collection of jewels and sold her other luxurious possessions; even her wedding ring was not spared. With the proceeds she opened the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary and became its abbess. soon opened a hospital, a chapel, a pharmacy and an orphanage on its grounds. Elisabeth and her nuns worked tirelessly among the poor and the sick of Moscow. She often visited Moscow's worst slums and did all she could to help alleviate the suffering of the poor. many years, Elisabeth's institution helped the poor and the orphans in Moscow by fostering the prayer and charity of devout women. 1916, Elisabeth had what was to be her final meeting with her sister Alexandra, the tsarina, at Tsarskoye Selo. While the meeting took place in private, the tutor to the tsar's children apparently recalled that the discussion included Elisabeth expressing her concerns over the influence that Grigori Rasputin had over Alexandra and the imperial court, and begging her to heed the warnings of both herself and other members of the imperial family. 2010 a historian claimed that Elisabeth may have been aware that the murder of Rasputin was to take place and secondly, she knew who was going to commit that particular murder when she wrote a letter and sent it to the Tsar and two telegrams to Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Zinaida Yusupova, her friend. The telegrams, which were written the night of the murder, reveal that the Grand Duchess was aware of who the murderers were before that information had been released to the public, and she stated that she felt that the killing was a "patriotic act."[13] 1918, Vladimir Lenin ordered the Cheka to arrest Elisabeth. They then exiled her first to Perm, then to Yekaterinburg, where she spent a few days and was joined by others: the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; Princes Ioann Konstantinovich, Konstantin Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich and Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; Grand Duke Sergei's secretary, Fyodor Remez; and Varvara Yakovleva, a sister from the Grand Duchess's convent. They were all taken to Alapayevsk on 20 May 1918, where they were housed in the Napolnaya School on the outskirts of the town. shaft in Siniachikha where Elisabeth and her family were murdered noon on 17 July, Cheka officer Pyotr Startsev and a few Bolshevik workers came to the school. They took from the prisoners whatever money they had left and announced that they would be transferred that night to the Upper Siniachikhensky factory compound. The Red Army guards were told to leave and Cheka men replaced them. That night the prisoners were awakened and driven in carts on a road leading to the village of Siniachikha, some 18 kilometres (11 miles) from Alapayevsk where there was an abandoned iron mine with a pit 20 metres (66 feet) deep. Here they halted. The Cheka beat all the prisoners before throwing their victims into this pit, Elisabeth being the first. Hand grenades were then hurled down the shaft, but only one victim, Fyodor Remez, died as a result of the grenades. to the personal account of Vasily Ryabov, one of the killers, Elisabeth and the others survived the initial fall into the mine, prompting Ryabov to toss in a grenade after them. Following the explosion, he claimed to have heard Elisabeth and the others singing an Orthodox hymn from the bottom of the shaft.[14] Unnerved, Ryabov threw down a second grenade, but the singing continued. Finally a large quantity of brushwood was shoved into the opening and set alight, upon which Ryabov posted a guard over the site and departed. on 18 July 1918, the leader of the Alapayevsk Cheka, Abramov, and the head of the Yekaterinburg Regional Soviet, Beloborodov, who had been involved in the murder of the Imperial Family, exchanged a number of telegrams in a pre-arranged plan saying that the school had been attacked by an "unidentified gang". A month later, Alapayevsk fell to the White Army of Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Lenin welcomed Elisabeth's death, remarking that "virtue with the crown on it is a greater enemy to the world revolution than a hundred tyrant tsars".[15][16] Moscow Grand Duke, 1877-1905, Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia; Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (11 May 1857 - 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II, who was also his brother-in-law through Sergei's marriage to Elizabeth, the sister of Tsarina Alexandra.[1] Duke Sergei's education gave him lifelong interests in culture and the arts. Like all male members of the Romanov dynasty, he followed a military career, and he fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, receiving the Order of St George for courage and bravery in action. In 1882, his brother, Tsar Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, a position he held until 1891. In 1889, Grand Duke Sergei was promoted to the rank of Major General. In 1884, Sergei married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Their marriage remained childless, but they became the guardians of the two children of his brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia: Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dmitri. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife promoted the marriage of Sergei's nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, with Princess Alix of Hesse, Elizabeth's youngest sister. 1891 and 1905, Grand Duke Sergei served as Governor-General of Moscow. His reputation was tarnished as he was partially blamed for the Khodynka Tragedy, which, during the festivities following the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, resulted in more than a thousand deaths. a Governor of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei was responsible for the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews[2] at the start of his tenure, and he repressed a student movement to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. His conservative policies, extreme even by contemporary standards, made him a polarizing figure, and he was regarded as a reactionary. 1894 Grand Duke Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow Military District. After thirteen years of service, Grand Duke Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905. Targeted by the SR Combat Organization, he was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin. life[edit] Duke Sergei with his parents and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was born on 11 May [O.S. 29 April] 1857 in the Zubov wing of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. He was the seventh child and fifth son among the eight children of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna, née Duchess Maximilienne Wilhelmine of Hesse and by Rhine.[3] Duke Sergei with his younger brother Grand Duke Paul he was old enough to begin lessons, Sergei's earlier years were spent with his younger brother Paul, from whom he was inseparable, and their sister at Livadia, the family's Crimean retreat, at Tsarskoye Selo, and at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. By the time Sergei was born, his mother was already in declining health. Although she was not a particularly affectionate mother, except to her daughter, her three youngest children, Marie, Sergei and Paul, were close to her and especially to one another.[3] Marie adored him and called him "an exceptionally nice young man... and can be recommended one very possible way, not because he is my brother, but because he is an exception among princes."[4] time passed and the Empress's health made it necessary for her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, they spent long sojourns abroad in Jugenheim outside Darmstadt and winters in the South of France.[5] family tragedy hit them there. In April 1865, shortly before Sergei's eighth birthday, his eldest brother and godfather Nicholas, the heir to the crown, died in Nice.[6] As a child, Sergei was shy, studious, and withdrawn. Under the influence of his mother, whose reserved character he resembled, he became very religious. the 1870s, Sergei and his younger brother Paul were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career, but their tutor, Admiral Arseniev, encouraged Sergei's linguistic, artistic, and musical abilities. He was fluent in several languages and learned Italian in order to read Dante in the original.[7] His interest in Italian art and culture intensified as he grew older. He painted well and was musical, playing the flute in an amateur orchestra. He enjoyed acting and steeped himself in the early history, culture, and traditions of Russia. He liked to read and in time came to know many of Russia's great writers personally, among them Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, whose work the Grand Duke read and admired.[7] He met Dostoevsky over dinner at the Winter Palace where he was invited by Sergei's professor.[8] career[edit] Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in his youth Duke Sergei Alexandrovich started a military career early in his life. He was from birth Colonel-in-Chief of the 38th Tobolsk Infantry Regiment, he also became Colonel-in-Chief of the 2nd Battalion Guards Rifles and, towards the end of his life, Colonel-in-Chief of the 5th Kievsky Grenadier Regiment.[9] On his twentieth birthday on 29 April 1877, the Grand Duke took the solemn oath of allegiance to the Emperor.[7] An educational tour that had been proposed for him was postponed upon the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. Sergei took part in the war with his father and brothers, the Tsarevich Alexander and Grand Dukes Vladimir and Alexei. He spent the greater part of his time serving as Poruchik in the Leib Guard under the Tsarevich in southeast Romania.[10] He was consequently promoted to Colonel. On 12 October, following the battle of Meyk, the Emperor decorated him with the Order of St George, for courage and bravery in action with the enemy, for a reconnaissance expedition at Kara Loma near Koshev. At the end of December 1877, Sergei Alexandrovich returned to Saint Petersburg with his father. II had started a new family with his mistress and Sergei sided with his neglected mother in the breaking of the family's harmony.[11] Empress Maria died in June 1880, and in March 1881 Alexander II, who had married his mistress, Princess Catherine Dolgoruki, was assassinated by terrorists. Sergei was then in Italy with his brother Paul and Admiral Arseniev. Three months later, in June 1881, the Grand Duke went to Palestine accompanied by Paul and his cousin Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich. They visited Jerusalem and the sacred sites. He helped to found a society dedicated to the upkeep of Orthodox shrines in the Holy Land and the provision of services to Russian pilgrims. He became chairman of this society, and his status as patron of the Russian presence in Jerusalem is believed to have given him more pleasure than any of his other duties.[12] 1882 on, Sergei's military career, which occupied an increasing amount of his time in Saint Petersburg and on maneuvers at Krasnoe Selo, advanced still further.[13] On 15 January 1882, his brother, Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, the elite regiment founded by Peter the Great, with the rank of Colonel. Seven years later, he was promoted to the rank of Major General. On 26 February 1891, he was made Adjutant General of the H. I. M. Retinue. He became the commanding officer in the village of Preobrazhenskoy. Sergei commanded this regiment until 1891, when his brother the Emperor appointed him Governor-General of Moscow.[9] Russian Grand Duke[edit] Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia. twenty-six, the fair-haired Grand Duke was reserved, intelligent, well-read and refined.[9] Over six feet tall, his extremely slim figure was accentuated by a corset, worn in the manner of Prussian officers.[9] his closely cropped hair and neat beard, Sergei Alexandrovich cut an impressive figure.[14] When Consuelo Vanderbilt, then Duchess of Marlborough, met him in Moscow, she considered him to be "One of the most handsome men I have ever seen."[15] Described by his brother-in-law Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, as "tall and fair with delicate features and beautiful light green eyes". Very self-conscious, he held himself very stiffly and with a hard expression in his eyes.[14] health was seriously compromised as he suffered from osteoarticular tuberculosis.[16] A condition he strove to conceal, but it caused all his joints to waste away.[16] He had to take salts and hot baths to get some relief.[16] He could not ride a horse and had to wear a spinal corset at all times.[16] He stood very straight and had a habit of playing with one of his jeweled rings, turning it around his finger. He kept his feelings rigidly in check, and many mistook his reserve for pride. Few had the chance to know him well. He was noted for his adherence to the Church, took a deep interest in Russian antiques and art treasures, and was interested in archaeology, music and acting and sometimes chairing meetings of the Archaeological Congress.[8] shy and reserved, he made no secret of his disapproval of fashionable society and its lax ways, and he defied all criticism. He found it hard to cope with opposition and easily lost his temper. In his home, he demanded tidiness, order, and discipline, and he expected to be obeyed. His niece, Marie, Queen of the Romanians, remembered him: "Dry, nervous, short of speech, impatient, he had none of the rather careless good humor of his three elder brothers ... but for all that we loved him, felt irresistibly attracted to him, hard though he could be. Few perhaps cherish his memory, but I do." Many other family members, including his nephew Kiril, Princess Marie of Greece and Prince Gabriel, included their good impressions of him in their memoirs.[17] Duke Sergei and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna 1881 there had been talks of a possible marriage to Princess Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein.[18] Emperor Alexander II had hoped that at least one of his sons would marry a princess of Hesse as he had done. eventually chose as his bride Princess Elizabeth of Hesse, a daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. She was an older sister of both Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Alix of Hesse, later the Empress consort of Nicholas II of Russia. They were first cousins once removed (i.e., Elizabeth's great-grandfather, her father's paternal grandfather, Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, was Sergei's maternal grandfather) and had known each other all their lives.[3] were hesitations on both sides and Elizabeth first rejected his proposal of marriage.[18] Queen Victoria, who had anti-Russian sentiments, opposed the marriage of her motherless granddaughter.[19] Elizabeth and her sisters were not pressured into following political marriages; they were allowed to follow their own inclination.[18] After the couple spent some time together at Schloss Wolfsgarten in Darmstadt in September 1883, Elizabeth agreed to marry him.[20] Their engagement was announced publicly on 26 February 1884 when Sergei returned to visit her in Darmstadt.[21] Upon her marriage, Princess Elizabeth took the name of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia.[22] The wedding took place on 15 June 1884 in the Winter Palace.[23] spent their honeymoon in Ilinskoye, Sergei's 2,400-acre (9.7 km2) country estate forty miles west of Moscow on the left bank of the Moskva River, that he inherited from his mother. The couple later settled in Saint Petersburg in a mansion occupying the southeast corner of the Fontanka Canal and the Nevsky Prospekt, a short drive from his former apartments in the Winter Palace.[21] The Beloselsky Belozersky mansion, bought by Sergei to live with his wife, was renamed Sergeivsky Palace.[24] The couple also had Ferme, a villa located in the grounds of Peterhof that Sergei had inherited from his mother.[25] They usually entertained at Ilinskoe during the summer months, with guests occupying various wooden villas dotted around the park. There was also Usovo, a substantial stone and brick house with an innovative central heating, that Sergei had built on the opposite bank of the Moskva River. couple was close to Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna and the Tsar trusted Sergei more than his other brothers. In 1886, Alexander III appointed him Commander of the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, entrusting him with introducing the Tsarevich (the future Nicholas II) to army life. and Ella represented Russia in 1887 during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and in 1888, they were sent to the Holy Land on the occasion of the consecration of the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, built-in memory of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. By 1892, eight years into the marriage, Sergei was already certain that they would not have children and he left a will making the children of his brother Paul his heirs after his and his wife's deaths. of Moscow[edit] Duke Sergei and his wife, 1892 Alexander III adopted a policy of repression; he wanted a like mind at the helm of Imperial Russia's second city and former capital. Thus, in spring 1891, the tsar appointed Sergei as governor general of Moscow.[26] Although it was a great honour, Grand Duke Sergei accepted his new appointment with reluctance. He had hoped to stay longer in command of the Preobrazhensky, where he was popular; and he and his wife loved the quiet life they were living in Saint Petersburg. vice-regal role of Governor-General ruling Prince of Moscow was one that was answerable only to the emperor.[27] Grand Duke Sergei was a political hardliner who shared his brother's inalienable belief in strong, nationalist government.[27] tenure began with the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews.[27] It started four weeks before he arrived in person, after the publication of an imperial ukase by the Minister of the Interiors, Ivan Durnovo, by which all Jews of lower social stance (artisans, minor traders and so on) had to be expelled from Moscow. On 29 March, the first day of Passover, the city's Jewish population learned of the new decree that called for their expulsion.[27] In three carefully planned phases over the next twelve months, Moscow's Jews were expelled. Those first to go were the unmarried, the childless, and those who had lived in the city for less than three years.[27] Next, it was the turn of apprentices, of families with up to four children, and those with less than six years residency.[27] Last of all, it was the turn of the old Jewish settlers with large families and/or numerous employees, some of whom had lived in Moscow for forty years.[27] Young Jewish women were made to register as prostitutes if they wanted to stay in the city.[2] the expulsion, homes were surrounded by mounted Cossacks in the middle of the night while policemen ransacked every house. In January 1892, in a temperature of 30 degrees below zero, Brest station was packed with Jews of all ages and sexes, all in rags and surrounded by meager remnants of households goods, all leaving voluntarily rather than face deportation.[27] Sergei as governor-general was petitioned by the police commissioners to stop the expulsions until the weather conditions improved.[27] While he agreed, the order was not published until the expulsions were over.[27] Some of them moved to southern and western regions of the empire although there were many who decided to emigrate.[28] In counting the cost, Moscow lost 100 million rubles in trade and production, 25,000 Russians employed by Jewish firms lost their livelihoods, while the manufacture of silk, one of the city's most lucrative industries, was all but wiped out.[29] meet the needs of students, Sergei ordered the start of the construction of new dormitories in the city. At the same time, however, severe restrictions were imposed on the students and professors in the universities as a part of the state's policy of conspiracy prevention and elimination of revolutionary ideas.[30] made Sergei Alexandrovich very unpopular in Moscow among intelligentsia, though the more conservative citizens were pleased.[30] Muscovite nobility and merchants despised him because he was rough and lacked tact while attempting to fight commercial fraud and enforce strict policy measures. However, he did significantly improve general living conditions during his tenure and was extremely conscientious in carrying out his duties: “Even in the country when he was supposed to be resting," his niece remembered, "he was constantly receiving couriers from Moscow and giving audiences.â€ He paid much attention to detail, attending personally to matters that could easily have been left to subordinates, punishing corruption and fraud. At times, he would go about the city incognito to see conditions for himself.[31] In private, he and his wife were concerned about the poverty they saw in Moscow and the surrounding countryside, discussing ways to improve it.[32] organizations and charities always attracted Sergei's attention and he became either chairman or patron of scores of them. He was, for example, chairman of the Moscow Society for the Care, Upbringing, and Education of Blind Children; of the Society for Homeless, Neglected Children, and Convicted Adolescents; and the Moscow Department of the Russian Department Society of National Health Protection.[33] addition, he was a patron of organizations as diverse as the Moscow and Saint Petersburg Universities, The Printer's Mutual Aid Fund, the Society of Care for Aged Actors, the Pskov Non-Classical Secondary School, and Prince Nikola's Alm Houses. He was also chairman of the Academies of both Arts and Science, the Moscow Archeological Society, the Society of Agriculture, the Russian Musical Society, the Historical Museum in Moscow, and the Moscow Theological Academy among others.[33] Tragedy[edit] See also: Khodynka Tragedy Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (right) with his brother Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (center, smoking) on 14 May 1896, coronation of Nicholas II. Alexander III died on 1 November [O.S. 20 October] 1894 and his son Nicholas II ascended to the Russian throne. The relationship between Grand Duke Sergei and his nephew, who had served under his command in the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, was close and it became stronger with Nicholas II's marriage to Princess Alix of Hesse, the youngest sister of Sergei's wife—a union that Sergei and Elizabeth Feodorovna had helped to promote. coronation ceremonies of the new Emperor and his wife, as tradition demanded, took place in Moscow and Sergei as Governor General of the City was in charge of overseeing the arrangements. As part of the preparations, Sergei had introduced the novelty of electric light to Moscow. Towards the end of the festivities, according to custom, every newly crowned Tsar presented gifts to the populace; Field, on the outskirts of Moscow, was where the distribution was held since the coronation of Tsar Alexander II. The choice was questionable, as the field was normally used as a military training ground and was crisscrossed with ditches. Nevertheless, Sergei, as Governor General approved the plans. Although a crowd of nearly half a million was expected from all over Russia, only one squadron of Cossacks and a small detachment of police were sent to maintain order. in the morning of 30 May [O.S. 18 May] 1896, families began to gather outside the frail wooden fence that protected the field, watching carts laden with beer, and the eagerly sought after gifts.[34] Around 6 am, a rumour swept through the mass that the booths had already opened and the souvenirs were being given out.[35] Suddenly moving as one, that great body of people began to surge forward in the direction of the booths.[35] As it did so, men, women and children, hundreds of whom had no idea what was happening, fell or slipped on the uneven ground and were crushed and trampled underfoot. Others suffocated in the mayhem.[35] The police, far too few in numbers, were helpless to do much and even the Cossacks when they arrived were unable to stop the catastrophe. One thousand three hundred people, many hideously mutilated and unrecognizable, were killed and twice that number were seriously injured.[36] Grand Duke Sergei had not directly participated in the planning for Khodynka Field, he was to blame for the lack of foresight and as Governor-General, ultimately responsible. However, he did not assume his part of the responsibility for the tragedy. He laid the blame on others, most notably on Ilarion Count Voronzov-Dashkov, head of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, with whom there had been some dispute over the management of the coronation festivities,[37] and Colonel Alexander Vlasovsky (1842–1899), the city of Moscow's Chief of Police.[38] In the eyes of public opinion Sergei had done himself great harm by not going to the scene of the incident or at least putting in appearances at the victims' funerals. of the stampede at Khodynka the tragedy, many members of the Romanov family, headed by Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers, thought that the remaining festivities should be canceled. On the other hand, Sergei Alexandrovich and his brothers thought that a historical event, such as a coronation, should not be disrupted or marred by a conspicuous period of mourning. The latter opinion believed that the crowds who came long distances should not be disappointed and that the tightly scheduled events for foreign dignitaries not be slighted and should go forward. There was also division among the Romanov family as to whether Grand Duke Sergei should have resigned. Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers called for his resignation, while Sergei's own brothers Grand Dukes Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexei Alexandrovich closed ranks supporting him and threatened to retire from public life if Sergei was made the scapegoat for the Khodynka tragedy.[39] Sergei ultimately offered to resign but Vorontzov-Dashkov did not. The Tsar ultimately did not support a thoroughly proposed investigation, the Chief of Police was dismissed, but Grand Duke Sergei retained his high office. night of the tragedy Tsar Nicholas II, for diplomatic reasons, attended a ball in honor of the French; because of that, his reputation suffered for what was perceived to be his lack of sympathy for the victims. Duke Sergei Alexandrovich 1894 Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow military district. Because Sergei was devoted to the policies of his nephew, the Tsar regarded him as a useful counter weight to some of his ministers and officials and would always readily take his side.[40] When, in 1896, disturbances broke out in the universities, Nicholas II was grateful for his prompt action and that of the authorities that quickly restored order. Sergei was often condemned as a complete reactionary during his governorship, according to his brother-in-law Ernest, Grand Duke of Hesse, he wanted and strove for improvements, which angered conservatives, but blocked revolutionary reforms, which infuriated radicals, because he considered them impractical or thought that Russia was not ready for them.[36][41] enigmatic personality and harsh manners made him appear arrogant and disagreeable. Shy by nature, he dreaded personal contact. When courtesy demanded a handshake, he solved the problem by wearing a white glove. Puritan and humourless, at least in public, he had a total disregard for public opinion. He never seemed to be at ease with himself and others. He became a focus for serious opponents of the regime as well as for malicious gossip. His cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich left a damaging description about him: "Try as I will,â€ he wrote, “ I cannot find a single redeeming feature in his character… Obstinate, arrogant, disagreeable, he flaunted his many peculiarities in the face of the entire nation… "[42] Later writers have accused him of sadism.[30][43] great deal of controversy around Sergei Alexandrovich has centered on the nature of his personal life. Conjecture about the perhaps unhappy nature of the relationship with his wife has abounded.[44] Sergei's marriage is barely documented. His private papers, including his correspondence with his wife, have not survived, and the evidence that does exist in the Moscow State Archives, the most important repository of Romanov papers, is open to interpretation. According to some contemporary reports, Sergei was homosexual.[43][45][46] His sexuality conflicted with his intense religious beliefs and the expectations of his position.[46] Contrary to this belief, the marriage was happy, in its own way. Unusually for royal couples, they slept in the same bed for all of their married life.[47] Forced to defend Sergei against rumors of discord, Elizabeth Feodorovna was devoted to her husband and treasured his memory after his death. Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia with his foster children: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna jr, and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich their marriage remained childless, the two children of Grand Duke Paul, Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dimitri, often joined their household, spending Christmases and later some summer holidays with Sergei and his wife. The couple set aside a playroom and bedrooms for the youngsters at their home. 1902, Paul was banished from living in Russia after he contracted a morganatic marriage and Sergei asked for and obtained the guardianship of his niece and nephew.[45] a foster father, Sergei was strict and demanding, but devoted and affectionate towards the children. Nevertheless, Maria and Dimitri resented their aunt and uncle, blaming them for the forced separation from their real father, who had abandoned them.[48] While Sergei had their best interests at heart, his preoccupation with the smallest detail of their education and upbringing were not appealing to the two difficult adolescents, especially the obstinate Maria.[49] the end of 1904, Russia had suffered disastrously in the Russo-Japanese War and the country was in turmoil. As discontent and demonstration multiplied, so did the pressure on Sergei to maintain order.[50] He was of the opinion that only the utmost severity could put an end to the revolutionary ferment, but in the wake of civil disorder Nicholas II was forced to make concessions. did not support the Tsar's security policies of vacillations and evasions.[51] According to Marie Pavlovna, "it appeared to my uncle little less than monstrous ... he expressed deep sorrow for the state of affairs in Russia, of the necessity for serious measures, and of the criminal weakness of the Tsar's ministers and councilors." disillusioned with the whole situation and deciding it was the right time to retire into private life, he informed the Tsar that new times needed new faces.[52] After thirteen years of service, Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905 and was succeeded by Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov. However, he continued as Commander of the Moscow military district.[53] Ivan Kalyayev Assassination of the carriage his resignation, Grand Duke Sergei moved to the Neskuchnoye Palace with his wife and foster children. Shortly thereafter, they moved to the Nicholas Palace within the safety of the Kremlin, under the cover of night. Sergei took every precaution advised by his detectives. Sergei and his wife rarely ventured outside.[54] At home, they only received their closest friends.[54] Like his father, Alexander II, Sergei was firm of the belief that unless it was the will of God, no attempt on his life would succeed. If it were the will of God, no amount of security would prevent it. One precaution he did take was for the benefit of his adjutants, whom he would no longer allow traveling with him. 15 February 1905, the family attended a concert at the Bolshoi Theatre in aid of Elizabeth Feodorovna's Red Cross War charities.[55] A terrorist organization that knew his route had planned to assassinate him that day. However, one of their members noticed the children in the carriage and decided to call off their attack. To kill the Grand Duchess and the children would surely have sparked a wave of apprehension throughout the empire, and would have set back the revolutionary cause by years.[53] Having had lunch with his wife at Nicholas Palace on 17 February, Sergei left unaccompanied for the Governor General's mansion.[56] Because of the looming threat, Sergei had refused to take his adjutant, Alexei, since he was married and a father. The arrival of the Grand Duke's recognizable carriage, drawn by a pair of horses and driven by his coachman Andrei Rudinkin, alerted the terrorist who had been waiting in the Kremlin with a bomb wrapped in newspapers.[57] before 14:45, the carriage of the Grand Duke passed through the gate of Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin and turned the corner of the Chudov Monastery into Senatskaya Square. From a distance no more than four feet (1.2 m) away and still some 60 feet (18 m) inside the Nikolsky Gate, Ivan Kalyayev, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party's combat detachment, stepped forward and threw a nitroglycerin bomb directly into Sergei's lap.[58] The explosion disintegrated the carriage and the Grand Duke died immediately, his body blown to bits.[58] Scattered all over the bloodstained snow lay pieces of scorched cloth, fur, and leather. The body of the Grand Duke was mutilated, with the head, the upper part of the chest, and the left shoulder and arm blown off and completely destroyed.[59] Surrounded by splintered skull bones was what little that remained of his face.[58] Some of the Grand Duke's fingers, still adorned with the rings he habitually wore, were found on the roof of a nearby building.[58][60] impact, the carriage horses had bolted towards the Nikolsky Gate, dragging with them the front wheels and coachbox as well as the semi-conscious and badly burned driver, Rudinkin, whose back had been riddled with bits of bomb and stones. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he died three days later. Kalyayev, who by his own testimony had expected to die in the explosion, survived.[57][61] Sucked into the vortex of the explosion, he ended up by the remains of the rear wheels. His face was peppered by splinters, pouring with blood.[57] Kalyayev was immediately arrested, sentenced to death, and hanged two months later. Grand Duchess rushed to the scene of the explosion.[61] Stunned but perfectly controlled, she gave instructions, and, kneeling in the snow, helped to gather up Sergei's remains.[61] The bared torso, part of the skull, a hand bone fragment, fingers, and a still-booted foot were placed on a stretcher and covered with an army greatcoat. The Grand Duchess also gathered Sergei's medallions.[61] affected by the Grand Duke's death, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna retired from the royal family and founded the Russian Orthodox convent of Martha and Mary, where she dedicated herself to the care of Moscow's poor and suffering.[58] Part of the obligations of the sisters of the Martha and Mary convent was to make an annual pilgrimage to the sepulchral church in memory of the Grand Duke on the day of his repose, 4 February.[62] Elizabeth Feodorovna was murdered during the Russian Civil War in 1918, together with many other Romanov relatives. bodies were smuggled to China and eventually reached Jerusalem. The wooden coffins were met at the railway station by the deputy British governor, Sir Harry Charles Luke, and taken for burial at the Church of Maria Magdalene on the Mount of Olives.[12] of the memorial, 4 May 2017 Duke Sergei's body was buried in a crypt of the Chudov Monastery within the precincts of the Moscow Kremlin. A memorial cross was erected on the spot where he was killed. After the downfall of the Romanovs, the cross was destroyed with the personal participation of Vladimir Lenin.[52] Monastery was demolished in 1928, and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was built on the site. The burial crypt of the Grand Duke was located in a courtyard of that building, which had been used as a parking lot. In 1990, building workers in the Kremlin discovered the blocked up entrance of the burial vault. The coffin was examined and found to contain the Grand Duke's remains, covered with the military greatcoat of the Kiev regiment, decorations, and an icon. He had left written instructions that he was to be buried in the Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment uniform, but as his body was so badly mutilated this proved impossible. In 1995, the coffin was officially exhumed, and after a Panikhida in the Kremlin Cathedral of the Archangel, it was reburied in a vault of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow on 17 September 1995.[63] 4 May 2017, the memorial cross was restored in a ceremony that was attended by President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.[64] Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Commemorated on July 18;

Russia, Moscow, 1883-1925, Tikhon, Apostle to America, Patriarch and Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia
Moscow, 1883-1925, Tikhon, Apostle to America, Patriarch of Moscow; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Apostle to America was born as Vasily Ivanovich Belavin on January 19, 1865 into the family of Ioann Belavin, a rural priest of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. childhood and adolescence were spent in the village in direct contact with peasants and their labor. From his early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the Church as well as rare meekness and humility. Vasily was still a boy, his father had a revelation about each of his children. One night, when he and his three sons slept in the hayloft, he suddenly woke up and roused them. He had seen his dead mother in a dream, who foretold to him his imminent death, and the fate of his three sons. She said that one would be unfortunate throughout his entire life, another would die young, while the third, Vasily, would be a great man. The prophecy of the dead woman proved to be entirely accurate in regard to all three brothers. 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary. The modest seminarian was tender and affectionate by nature. He was fair-haired and tall of stature. His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions. Vasily was called “bishop” and “patriarch” by his classmates. 1888, at the age of 23, Vasily Belavin graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman, and returned to the Pskov Seminary as an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology. The whole seminary and the town of Pskov became very fond of him. He led an austere and chaste life, and in 1891, when he turned 26, he took monastic vows. Nearly the whole town gathered for the ceremony. He embarked on this new way of life consciously and deliberately, desiring to dedicate himself entirely to the service of the Church. The meek and humble young man was given the name Tikhon in honor of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk. was transferred from the Pskov Seminary to the Kholm Theological Seminary in 1892, and was raised to the rank of archimandrite. Archimandrite Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on October 19, 1897, and returned to Kholm for a year as Vicar Bishop of the Kholm Diocese. Bishop Tikhon zealously devoted his energy to the establishment of the new vicariate. His attractive moral make-up won the general affection, of not only the Russian population, but also of the Lithuanians and Poles. September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska. As head of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Tikhon was a zealous laborer in the Lord’s vineyard. did much to promote the spread of Orthodoxy, and to improve his vast diocese. He reorganized the diocesan structure, and changed its name from “Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska” to “Diocese of the Aleutians and North America” in 1900. Both clergy and laity loved their archpastor, and held him in such esteem that the Americans made Archbishop Tikhon an honorary citizen of the United States. May 22, 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York, and was also involved in establishing other churches. On November 9, 1902, he consecrated the church of Saint Nicholas in Brooklyn for the Syrian Orthodox immigrants. Two weeks later, he consecrated Saint Nicholas Cathedral in NY. 1905, the American Mission was made an Archdiocese, and Saint Tikhon was elevated to the rank of Archbishop. He had two vicar bishops: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and Saint Raphael (Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn to assist him in administering his large, ethnically diverse diocese. In June of 1905, Saint Tikhon gave his blessing for the establishment of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. 1907, he returned to Russia, and was appointed to Yaroslavl, where he quickly won the affection of his flock. They came to love him as a friendly, communicative, and wise archpastor. He spoke simply to his subordinates, never resorting to a peremptory or overbearing tone. When he had to reprimand someone, he did so in a good-natured, sometimes joking manner, which encouraged the person to correct his mistakes. Saint Tikhon was transferred to Lithuania on December 22, 1913, the people of Yaroslavl voted him an honorary citizen of their town. After his transfer to Vilnius, he did much in terms of material support for various charitable institutions. There too, his generous soul and love of people clearly manifested themselves. World War I broke out when His Eminence was in Vilnius. He spared no effort to help the poor residents of the Vilnius region who were left without a roof over their heads or means of subsistence as a result of the war with the Germans, and who flocked to their archpastor in droves. the February Revolution and formation of a new Synod, Saint Tikhon became one of its members. On June 21, 1917, the Moscow Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity elected him as their ruling bishop. He was a zealous and educated archpastor, widely known even outside his country. August 15, 1917, a local council was opened in Moscow, and Archbishop Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan, and then elected as chairman of the council. The council had as its aim to restore the life of Russian Orthodox Church on strictly canonical principles, and its primary concern was the restoration of the Patriarchate. All council members would select three candidates, and then a lot would reveal the will of God. The council members chose three candidates: Archbishop Anthony of Kharkov, the wisest, Archbishop Arseny of Novgorod, the strictest, and Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow, the kindest of the Russian hierarchs. November 5, following the Divine Liturgy and a Molieben in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, a monk removed one of the three ballots from the ballot box, which stood before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced Metropolitan Tikhon as the newly elected Patriarch. Saint Tikhon did not change after becoming the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In accepting the will of the council, Patriarch Tikhon referred to the scroll that the Prophet Ezekiel had to eat, on which was written, “Lamentations, mourning, and woe.” He foresaw that his ministry would be filled with affliction and tears, but through all his suffering, he remained the same accessible, unassuming, and kindly person. who met Saint Tikhon were surprised by his accessibility, simplicity and modesty. His gentle disposition did not prevent him from showing firmness in Church matters, however, particularly when he had to defend the Church from her enemies. He bore a very heavy cross. He had to administer and direct the Church amidst wholesale church disorganization, without auxiliary administrative bodies, in conditions of internal schisms and upheavals by various adherents of the Living Church, renovationists, and autocephalists. situation was complicated by external circumstances: the change of the political system, by the accession to power of the godless regime, by hunger, and civil war. This was a time when Church property was being confiscated, when clergy were subjected to court trials and persecutions, and Christ’s Church endured repression. News of this came to the Patriarch from all ends of Russia. His exceptionally high moral and religious authority helped him to unite the scattered and enfeebled flock. At a crucial time for the church, his unblemished name was a bright beacon pointing the way to the truth of Orthodoxy. In his messages, he called on people to fulfill the commandments of Christ, and to attain spiritual rebirth through repentance. His irreproachable life was an example to all. order to save thousands of lives and to improve the general position of the church, the Patriarch took measures to prevent clergy from making purely political statements. On September 25, 1919, when the civil war was at its height, he issued a message to the clergy urging them to stay away from political struggle. summer of 1921 brought a severe famine to the Volga region. In August, Patriarch Tikhon issued a message to the Russian people and to the people of the world, calling them to help famine victims. He gave his blessing for voluntary donations of church valuables, which were not directly used in liturgical services. However, on February 23, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee published a decree making all valuables subject to confiscation. to the 73rd Apostolic Canon, such actions were regarded as sacrilege, and the Patriarch could not approve such total confiscation, especially since many doubted that the valuables would be used to combat famine. This forcible confiscation aroused popular indignation everywhere. Nearly two thousand trials were staged all over Russia, and more than ten thousand believers were shot. The Patriarch’s message was viewed as sabotage, for which he was imprisoned from April 1922 until June 1923. Holiness, Patriarch Tikhon did much on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church during the crucial time of the so-called Renovationist schism. He showed himself to be a faithful servant and custodian of the undistorted precepts of the true Orthodox Church. He was the living embodiment of Orthodoxy, which was unconsciously recognized even by enemies of the church, who called its members “Tikhonites.” Renovationist priests and hierarchs repented and returned to the church, they were met with tenderness and love by Saint Tikhon. This, however, did not represent any deviation from his strictly Orthodox policy. “I ask you to believe me that I will not come to agreement or make concessions which could lead to the loss of the purity and strength of Orthodoxy,” the Patriarch said in 1924. a good pastor, who devoted himself entirely to the church’s cause, he called upon the clergy to do the same: “Devote all your energy to preaching the word of God and the truth of Christ, especially today, when unbelief and atheism are audaciously attacking the Church of Christ. May the God of peace and love be with all of you!” was extremely painful and hard for the Patriarch’s loving, responsive heart to endure all the Church’s misfortunes. Upheavals in and outside the church, the Renovationist schism, his primatial labors, his concern for the organization and tranquility of Church life, sleepless nights and heavy thoughts, his confinement that lasted more than a year, the spiteful and wicked baiting of his enemies, and the unrelenting criticism sometimes even from the Orthodox, combined to undermine his strength and health. 1924, Patriarch Tikhon began to feel unwell. He checked into a hospital, but would leave it on Sundays and Feast Days in order to conduct services. On Sunday, April 5, 1925, he served his last Liturgy, and died two days later. On March 25/April 7, 1925 the Patriarch received Metropolitan Peter and had a long talk with him. In the evening, the Patriarch slept a little, then he woke up and asked what time it was. When he was told it was 11:45 P.M., he made the Sign of the Cross twice and said, “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.” He did not have time to cross himself a third time. a million people came to say farewell to the Patriarch. The large cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow could not contain the crowd, which overflowed the monastery property into the square and adjacent streets. Saint Tikhon, the eleventh Patriarch of Moscow, was primate of the Russian Church for seven and a half years. September 26/October 9, 1989, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Patriarch Tikhon and numbered him among the saints. For nearly seventy years, Saint Tikhon’s relics were believed lost, but in February 1992, they were discovered in a concealed place in the Donskoy Monastery. would be difficult to imagine the Russian Orthodox Church without Patriarch Tikhon during those years. He did so much for the Church and for the strengthening of the Faith itself during those difficult years of trial. Perhaps the saint’s own words can best sum up his life: “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake.”

Russia, Moscow, 1883-1953, Euthymius (Takaishvili) historian protector nation's treasures, incorrupt relics
Georgia, 1883-1953, Euthymius (Takaishvili) historian protector nation's treasures, incorrupt relics , Kutaisi, Imereti, Georgia Argveti River Mouth, Rioni River 3), called Man oGod, fOzurgeti, Guria, noble family, orphaned, passion fLearning, 1883 St Petersburg U, 1887 returned tG wHistory degree, married 1895, daughter oFamous Lawyer brother iLaw Ilia Chavchavadze, collected historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia, learning more Georgia history by applying interests in historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history, 1889 estab Exarchate Museum oGorgia, which preserved ancient manuscripts, sacred objects, theological books, and copies of many important frescoes that had been removed from ancient churches, rediscovering Georgia Church Hisory, 1907 founded Society for Georgian History and Ethnography, that society received respect bMuslim Southwest Georgia, 1918 w9 founded Tiblisi U, advocated autocephaly, 1921 Geo Govt exiled tFrance, Govt archives & spiritual cultural treasures flown tFrance, Ekvtime trusted to keek treasures safe, onslaught American European museums collectors, claims Georgian Expats, 1931 Wife died starvation, he almost died hunger cold stress, Soviet victory 1945 treasurs&Ekvtime flown tGeorgia, restored professorship, 1951 checkists arrested caretaker step-daughter, 1952 professorship revoked, house arrest, prevented seeing people, 1953 died heart attack, 1963 incorrupt relics; Kutaisi; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated Janaury 3; Ekvtime (Euthymius) Takaishvili, the “Man of God,” born January 3, 1863, the village of Likhauri, in the Ozurgeti district of Guria, the noble family of Svimeon Takaishvili and Gituli Nakashidze. was orphaned at a young age and raised by his uncle. early childhood Saint Ekvtime demonstrated a great passion for learning. Having completed his studies at the village grammar school, he enrolled at Kutaisi Classical High School. 1883 he graduated with a silver medal and moved to Saint Petersburg to continue his studies in the department of history-philology at Saint Petersburg University. 1887, having successfully completed his studies and earned a degree in history, Ekvtime returned to Georgia and began working in the field of academia. profound faith and love for God and his motherland determined his every step in this demanding and admirable profession. 1895, Ekvtime married Nino Poltoratskaya, of the famous Tbilisi attorney Ivan Poltoratsky, was himself a brother in-law and close friend of Saint Ilia Chavchavadze the Righteous. the very beginning of his career Saint Ekvtime began to collect historical-archaeological and ethnographical materials from all over Georgia. sphere of scholarly interests was broad, including historiography, archaeology, ethnography, epigraphy, numismatics, philology, folklore, linguistics, and art history. all, Saint Ekvtime strove to learn more about Georgian history and culture by applying the theories and methodologies of these various disciplines to his work. 1889, Saint Ekvtime established the Exarchate Museum of Georgia, which were preserved ancient manuscripts, sacred objects, theological books, and copies of many important frescoes that had been removed from ancient churches. museum played a major role in rediscovering the history of the Georgian Church. 1907, Saint Ekvtime founded the Society for Georgian History and Ethnography. the many expeditions organized by this society, the journey through Muslim (southwestern) Georgia was one of the most meaningful. witnessed firsthand the aftermath of the forced isolation and Islamization of this region, Ekvtime and his fellow pilgrims acquired a greater love for the Faith of their forefathers and became more firmly established in their national identity. they no longer spoke the Georgian language, the residents of this region received the venerable Ekvtime with great respect, sensed from his greeting and kindness that he had come from their far-off motherland. was not a single patriotic, social or cultural movement in Georgia during the first quarter of the 20th century in which Saint Ekvtime did not actively take part. his other important achievements, he was one of the nine professors who founded Tbilisi University in 1918. Ekvtime also vigorously advocated the restoration of the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church. March 11, 1921, the Georgian government went into exile in France. government archives the nation’s spiritual and cultural treasures were also flown to France for protection from the Bolshevik danger. Ekvtime was personally entrusted to keep the treasures safe, he and his wife accompanied them on their flight to France. Ekvtime bore the hardships of an emigrant’s life and the horrors of World War II with heroism, boldly resisting the onslaught of European and American scholars and collectors the claims of other Georgian emigrants to their “family relics.” 1931 Saint Ekvtime’s wife, Nino, his faithful friend and companion, died of starvation. elderly widower himself often drew near to the brink of death from hunger, cold, and stress, he never faltered in his duty before God and his motherland— faithfully protected his nation’s treasures. perils were great for Saint Ekvtime and the treasures he protected: and American museums sought to purchase the Georgian national artifacts; certain Salome Dadiani, the widow of Count Okholevsky, declared herself the sole heir of the Georgian national treasure; World War II the Nazis searched Saint Ekvtime’s apartment; the French government claimed ownership of the Georgian treasures. the Soviet victory over fascist Germany created conditions favorable for the return of the national treasures to Georgia. to an agreement between Stalin and De Gaulle, treasures and their faithful protector were loaded onto an American warplane and flown back to their motherland on April 11, 1945. he finally stepped off the plane and set foot on Georgian soil, Ekvtime bowed deeply and kissed the earth where he stood. greeted its long-lost son with great honor. The people overwhelmed Saint Ekvtime with attention and care, his university professorship, recognized him as an active member of the Academy of Sciences. healed the wounds that had been inflicted on his heart. by the separation from his motherland and the woes of emigration, Saint Ekvtime rejoined society with the last of his strength. mankind’s enemy became envious of the victory of good over evil and rose up against Saint Ekvtime’s unshakable spirit. 1951 the Chekists arrested his stepdaughter, Lydia Poltoratskaya. Ekvtime, who by that time was seriously ill, was now left without his caregiver. 1952, without any reasonable explanation, Saint Ekvtime was forbidden to lecture at the university he himself had helped to found, he was secretly placed under house arrest. people who had reverently greeted him upon his return now trembled in fear of his persecution and imminent death. tried to visit and support Saint Ekvtime, but they were forbidden. February 21, 1953, Saint Ekvtime died of a heart attack, three days later a group of approximately forty mourners accompanied the virtuous prince to his eternal resting place. February 10, 1963, the centennial of Saint Ekvtime’s birth, his body was reburied at the Didube Pantheon in Tbilisi. his grave was uncovered, it was revealed that not only his body, but even his clothing and footwear had remained incorrupt. Saint Ekvtime’s relics were moved once again, to the Pantheon at the Church of Saint Davit of Gareji on Mtatsminda, where they remain today. body of Nino Poltoratskaya-Takaishvili was brought from Leville (France) and buried next to Saint Ekvtime on February 22, 1987. Holy Synod of the Georgian Apostolic Orthodox Church canonized Saint Ekvtime on October 17, 2002, and joyously proclaimed him a “Man of God.”

Russia, Moscow, 1885-1944, Euthymius tConfessor, saved Georgian Chant, musical tradition, print shop, free to public, w notation
Georgia, 1885-1944, Euthymius tConfessor, fRacha Region, Georgia (Upper Rioni River Valley), after studies sought work iKutaisi&Tiblisi, with others began Book Club to--strengthen Orthodox faith iGeorgia, to better understand ancient Georgian Chant, to spread musical tradition knowledge to general public, so in 1890's purchased print shop wHelp from Ilia tRighteous, next 25 yrs these guys published theological texts and distributed them free to public, 1912 became monk, novice aGelati, new name Ekvtime, ordained hirodeacon 1913, 1917 Priest, 1921 Communist Kutaisi deemed E untrustworthy, arrested, released lack oEvidence, even though Gelati monks expected abuses each day, E persevered in his work, gathering Geortian hymns, publishin in western notation, 1924 Communists destroyed Kutaisi Cathedral, same year killed Met and his clergy, peak oHysteria, he moved his cart otranscrips savely on dangerous road to Tiblisi then Mtskheta, tSvetitskhoveli Cathedral there, appointed Dean there, guarded transcripts even 1925 when Patriarch imprisoned at Metekhi and clergy threats increased, he was spiritual faather nuns oSamtavro Convent, 1929 relocated Zedazeni near Mtskheta, there concealed music iMetal vessels for 6yrs til 1935, Samtavro Nuns cared for him till he died i1944; Racha; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; Euthymius Kereselidze was born in 1865 the village of Sadmeli (Racha region) to the pious Solomon and Marta Kereselidze. birth he was given the name Evstate. completing his studies at the local parish school, fifteen-year-old Evstate traveled first to Kutaisi, then Tbilisi, in search of work. the help of other pious young men Evstate founded a kind of theological “book club” in Tbilisi. objectives of the organization were to the Orthodox Faith among the Georgian people, better understand the ancient school of Georgian chant, to spread knowledge of this venerable musical tradition among the general public. the 1890s the organization purchased a print shop with the help of Saint Ilia the Righteous. the twenty-five years that followed, these young men zealously published theological texts and distributed them to the public free of charge. some time Evstate resolved to take upon himself the heavy yoke of monasticism, which he had been preparing from an early age. spiritual father, the venerable Saint Alexi (Shushania), supported his decision. 1912, with the blessing of Bishop Giorgi (Aladashvili) of Imereti, Evstate began to labor as a novice at Gelati Monastery. December 23, 1912, he was tonsured a monk by a certain Antimos, the abbot of the monastery. was given the name Ekvtime in honor of Saint Ekvtime of Mt. Athos. May of 1913 he was ordained a hierodeacon. 1917 Fr. Ekvtime was ordained to the priesthood by the same Bishop Giorgi. the terrible year of 1921, immediately after the Communists seized power in Kutaisi, the authorities deemed Fr. Ekvtime untrustworthy and arrested him. according to God’s will, he was released due to the lack of evidence against him. this ungodly era, the clergy and monks of Gelati Monastery came to expect abuses and persecutions each day. the faithful hieromonk Ekvtime persevered in his work, gathering hundreds of ancient Georgian hymns for eventual publication according to Western notation. 1924 the Communists destroyed the Cathedral of King Davit the Restorer in Kutaisi. that year they shot and killed Metropolitan Nazar of Kutaisi-Gaenati and the clergy who served under him. hysteria had reached its peak. Fr. Ekvtime planned to leave Gelati Monastery and to move the ancient manuscripts with which he had been working to a more secure location. that time thousands of travelers were killed on the road between Kutaisi and Tbilisi, Fr. Ekvtime safely transported himself and his cartload of manuscripts from Kutaisi to Mtskheta, a short distance from Tbilisi. Ekvtime brought the manuscripts to Svetitskhoveli Cathedral for safekeeping, and he was soon appointed dean of this parish. in 1925, when Catholicos-Patriarch Ambrosi was imprisoned at Metekhi and threats to the Georgian clergy increased significantly, Fr. Ekvtime continued to guard the ancient manuscripts faithfully. transcribed the music from the medieval neume system of notation to the European-style staff system. the same time, Fr. Ekvtime served as spiritual father to the nuns of Samtavro Convent, located a short distance from Svetitskhoveli. 1929 Fr. Ekvtime was relocated to Zedazeni Monastery outside of Mtskheta. brought the ancient music manuscripts with him to his new home, concealed them in metal vessels, and buried them beneath the earth. years later, in November of 1935, he turned over thirty-four volumes of music containing 5,532 chants and several theological manuscripts to the State Museum of Georgia. World War II conditions in the Georgian monasteries grew ever more bleak. abbot of Zedazeni Monastery, Archimandrite Mikael (Mandaria), was taking food to the monks of Saguramo when the Communists shot and killed him for violating the curfew they had imposed. young monk Parten (Aptsiauri) was falsely accused and arrested. the repose of the elder Saba (Pulariani), Fr. Ekvtime was the only monk remaining at Zedazeni. Ekvtime’s spiritual children, the nuns of Samtavro Convent, cared for him as he grew older. the winter of 1944 the nun Zoile (Dvalishvili) and several others went to visit him at Zedazeni and found him lying enfeebled in bed. a short time Fr. Ekvtime peacefully gave up his soul to the Lord. Fr. Ekvtime was buried in the yard of Zedazeni Monastery, near the church sanctuary. of his rich library was moved to Samtavro. this day several of the original manuscripts of hymns he transcribed to European-style notation are preserved there. ancient school of Georgian chant is preserved up to this day primarily as a result of Abbot Ekvtime’s fearless labors. Saint Ekvtime (Kereselidze), like Saint Ekvtime of Mt. Athos for whom he was named, dedicated his life to the enrichment of his mother Church. Saint Ekvtime Taqaishvili, the “Man of God”, he gave his talents and energies to the preservation of Georgia’s unique spiritual heritage. was a monk-ascetic and a scholar who prayed fervently. (Several of his theological treatises are preserved at Samtavro.) From his youth Saint Ekvtime was for others an example of virginity, humility and patience. September 18, 2003, the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church declared Ekvtime (Kereselidze) worthy of being numbered among the saints. Synod called him “Ekvtime the Confessor,” thereby recognizing his confession of the Faith and his vital role in the preservation of the rich tradition of national liturgical song.

Russia, Moscow, 1889-1916, Russian Mystic, Rasputin, not orthodox, controversial figure, close to nik & alix
Russia, Moscow, 1889-1916, Russian Mystic, Rasputin; St. Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1889-1919, Hieromartyr Platon, the first Bishop of Estonia, and the New Martyrs of Estonia, Traveling Preacher
Estonia, 1889-1919, Hieromartyr Platon, the first Bishop of Estonia, and all the New Martyrs of Estonia, fPootsi in Pätnu county, Priest, Traveling Preacher, Bishop i1917, 1918 German Occupation, still traveled to all parishes that summer, 1919 arrested shot by athiest Russian communist regime, then also 2 Archpriests Bezhanitsky&Bleive were shot; Estonia; Hieromartyr Platon, the first Bishop of Estonia, and all the New Martyrs of Estonia, Commemorated on January 14; holy Hieromartyr Platon (Πλάτων) was born on July 13, 1869, at Pootsi in Pätnu county, Estonia. At Holy Baptism, he received the name Paul. attending various theological schools, Paul Kulbusch was ordained as a priest. Father Paul travelled about, preaching the Word of God in the Orthodox churches of Estonia. December 31, 1917 he was consecrated as the first Bishop of Estonia, engaging in numerous activities in his efforts to elevate the Orthodox parishes. than two months after his consecration, Estonia was occupied by the German army. At that time it was very difficult to travel, but that did not stop the Bishop from visiting almost all of the Orthodox parishes in Estonia during that summer. 1919, he was arrested by the atheist regime in Moscow and, after being tortured, he was shot on January 14, 1919. Afterward, Archpriest Nicholas Bezhanitsky and Archpriest Michael Bleive were also put to death. Saint Platon's relics rest in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Tallinn. the Church also commemorates all the New Martyrs of Estonia: Priests, Deacons and laymen. Platon, Archpriests Nicholas Bezhanitsky and Michael Bleive were glorified as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1982, and by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2000. Church Service in honor of Saint Platon was composed by Metropolitan Joel of Edessa.

Russia, Moscow, 1889-1937, New Hieromrtr Elias, CLaw, Theology, Old Believers author, martyr w Alexis
Russia, Tver, 1889-1937, New Hieromrtr Elias, opposed Living Church in Communist Russia, martyr w Alexis, Cannon Law. Theology, Old Believers, etc. expert, teacher, author, e 1920s arrested b opposed Church Property confiscation, 1925 exiled tSurgut, Siberia, kicked out oMoscow, returned to Tver, 1937 Martyred wAlexis; New Hieromartyr Elias (Gromoglasov) of Tver, Commemorated on November 22; in 1869, the New Martyr Elias Gromoglasov was a priest of the Diocese of Tver, Russia, during the early 1900s. was well educated in canon law, theology and other disciplines, had taught for many years, and had authored numerous pieces on a variety of topics ranging from canon law to the Old Believer Schism. the early 1920s he was arrested in Moscow due to his opposition to the confiscation of Church property by the Soviet regime, but was soon released. 1925 he was again arrested and sentenced to three years of exile in Surgut, Siberia. of the right to reside in Moscow after his release, he relocated to Tver. December 4, 1937, he was again arrested with his coworker, Saint Alexis Benemanskii, with whom he was martyred on the following day. was canonized by the Diocese of Tver in 1999 and was numbered among those glorified as new martyrs and confessors of the Soviet Yoke by the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000. Russia, Moscow, 1901-1937, New Hieromrtr Alexis, resisted Living Church in Communist Russia, 1917-1943, strongly opposed Living Church, arrested exiled 4times, Martyred wElias; New Hieromartyr Alexis (Benemanskii) of Tver, Commemorated on November 22; January 6, 1881 in the Tver region, the New Martyr Alexis Constantinovich Benemanskii was a priest of the Diocese of Tver, Russia, during the early 1900s. widely opposed the Living Church, which had been set up in the 1920s by the Soviet state to challenge the legitimacy of the Patriarchate of Moscow and, initially, Saint Tikhon himself. was tenacious in defending the canonical Church against the "renovationists," as proponents of the Living Church were called, and was unwilling to sacrifice his principles. the years, he had been arrested four times and imprisoned or exiled. December 4/November 21, 1937, he was arrested again, together with his coworker Archpriest Elias Gromoglasov, and martyred the following day, been accused of taking part in fictitious counter-revolutionary activities allegedly organized by the New Martyr Archbishop Thaddeus of Tver, who was arrested three days later and subsequently martyred. was canonized by the Diocese of Tver in 1999 and was numbered among those glorified as new martyrs and confessors of the Soviet Yoke by the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000. Living Church in Communist Russia; Living Church (Russian: Живая церковь, also called Renovated Church or Russian: Обновленческая церковь or Renovationism, Russian: Обновленчество) was a theoretical, reformed "Orthodox church" set up in the old Soviet Union by the Bolshevik government after it confiscated all property of the Church of Russia. It was disbanded in 1943 when Stalin was desperate to bolster the morale of the Russian people in the Second World War. church had almost no following among the people, and a number of clergy who had been in the movement in good faith repented and returned to the Orthodox Church. The few who tried to exist in the state run church of the atheistic government were used by the state against those faithful to Patriarch Tikhon. The government knew the renovation (reformation) would cause division and weakening to government opposition. As the leader of the party said, "I will smite the shepherd and scatter the sheep", Patriarch Tikhon was arrested and isolated from the populace and the Church was given to the wolves. But even by the late twenties, it became of little use to the state. legacy of this movement, is that now all change is seen to be renovation of the faith. The Living Church used modern Russian, the revised calendar, and non monastic Bishops. the revolution of February 1917, the Russia Orthodox Church saw opportunity for the church reform long hoped for by many churchmen but delayed by the tsarist regime. In the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918, called together in Moscow, the patriarchate that was abolished by Peter the Great, was restored. new patriarch, Tikhon, had an independent approach toward the communist regime that had overthrown the provisional government. Under the official pretext that there was starvation in large sections of the country, the government in 1922 decided to confiscate all church valuables. The patriarch cooperated, but insisted on control of some church property such as the sacred vessels, and other liturgical items. For this, Patriarch Tikhon was placed under house arrest and the offices of the patriarchate were closed. group of priests including Alexander Vvedensky and Vladimir Krasnitsky, organized a Temporary Higher Church Administration, which turned into a group aimed at deposing the patriarch and introducing radical church reforms. Some bishops supported the Temporary Administration, but mostly the support came from married clergy who were excluded from the episcopacy by canon law, progressive intellectuals, and the government. Renovated Church deposed Patriarch Tikhon at one of its councils, and reestablished the Holy Synod (originally proclaimed by Peter the Great in 1721 to replace the patriarchate) to rule the church. It introduced controversial reforms to the episcopate and to the liturgy. undoubtedly deceitful nature of the Church takeover was evident to the faithful. The Living Church struggled much against the patriarch and his followers. Living Church leaders cooperated with the secret police having hundreds of "Tikhonite" clergy executed as counterrevolutionaries. an apparent attempt to relieve the harsh pressures on the Church, Patriarch Tikhon publicly repented his anti-Soviet actions, and assured the regime of his loyalty. On June 25, 1923 he was set free. Worshippers flocked to the churches that had remained faithful to him, and the schism of the Living Church lost much ground. Only by government support did it keep going. schism collapsed completely during World War II, when Joseph Stalin changed his religious policies and allowed the election of a successor to Tikhon. Except for Vvedensky, the leaders of the Renovated Church repented, and its churches returned to the Patriarch.

Russia, Moscow, 1891, Founding Church of Great Martyr George, Zakatalsk region, G enlightened Georgia, namesake, Bogomils came
Georgia, 1891, Founding of the Church of the Great Martyr George, Zakatalsk region (Talsk River of Alazani), new church in place of old, George enlightened Georgia, namesake, Nino established this feastday, Bogomils came; Zakatalsk region; Founding of the Church of St George, Commemorated November 10 ; Founding of the Church of the Great Martyr George in Georgia: was enlightened with the Christian faith by the holy Equal of the Apostles Nino (January 14), a kinswoman of the holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer (April 23). Georgia has special veneration for Saint George as its patron saint. name Georgia is derived from George (this name is preserved now in many languages of the world). Nino established a feastday in his honor. It is celebrated in Georgia on November 10, in remembrance of the sufferings of Saint George. 1891, near the village of Kakha in the Zakatalsk region of the Caucasus, a new church in place of the old was built in honor of the holy Great Martyr George the Victory-Bearer, many of the heterodox Bogomils came in droves to it. heterodox Bogomils was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Peter I in the 10th century.[1][2][3] It most probably arose in what is today the region of Macedonia.[4][5] Bogomils called for a return to what they considered to be early spiritual teaching, rejecting the ecclesiastical hierarchy. primary political tendencies were resistance to the state and church authorities. This helped the movement spread quickly in the Balkans, gradually expanding throughout the Byzantine Empire and later reaching Kievan Rus', Bosnia (Bosnian Church), Dalmatia, Serbia, Italy, and France (Cathars). Bogomils were dualists or Gnostics in that they believed in a world within the body and a world outside the body. did not use the Christian cross, nor build churches, as they revered their gifted form and considered their body to be the temple. gave rise to many forms of practice to cleanse oneself through purging,[clarification needed] fasting, celebrating and dancing.

Russia, Moscow, 1891-1917, Priest John Kochurov, first priest martyred by Bolsheviks
Russia, Moscow, 1891-1917, Priest John Kochurov, first priest martyred by Bolsheviks Tsarskoye Selo; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated October 31 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated November 27 ;

Russia, Moscow, 1891-1892, Multiplier of Wheat Icon, Optina Monastery, MOG, St Ambrose, crop failure famines, but rain w icon
Russia, Kaluga, 1892, Multiplier of Wheat Icon; Optina Monestary ; Icon of the Mother of God the "Multiplier of Wheat", Commemorated October 15 ; Icon of the Mother of God, the “Multiplier of Wheat”, was painted at the blessing of the Elder Ambrose (October 10) of the Visitation Optina wilderness monastery. Ambrose, a great Russian ascetic of the nineteenth century, was ardent with a childlike faith towards the Mother of God. In particular, he revered all the Feastdays of the Mother of God, and on these days he redoubled his prayer. the icon, “Multiplier of Wheat,” Saint Ambrose blessed the Shamordino women’s monastery established in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which he had founded not far from the Optina monastery. this icon, the Mother of God is depicted sitting upon the clouds, and Her hands are extended in blessing. Beneath her is a compressed field, and on it amidst the grass and flowers stand and lay sheaves of rye. Ambrose himself decreed the day of celebration, October 15, and called the icon “Multiplier of Wheat”, indicating by this, that the Most Holy Theotokos “is a Helper for people in their labors for the acquiring of their daily bread.” his blessed repose, Saint Ambrose ordered many copies of this icon and sent them to his spiritual children. the Akathist to this icon, the Elder composed a particular response, “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You! Grant unto us unworthy ones the dew of Your grace and the showing forth of Your mercy!” Ambrose’s burial took place on October 15, the Feastday of the icon. first miracle from the holy icon was witnessed in 1891, when throughout Russia there was a famine because of crop failure. In the Kaluga district and on the fields of the Shamordino monastery, however, grain was produced. 1892, already after the death of Saint Ambrose, his attendant John Cherepanov sent a copy of the icon to the Pyatnitsa women’s monastery in Voronezh district. In this locale there was a threat of drought and famine, but soon after a Molieben was celebrated before the icon “The Multiplier of Wheat”, rain fell and ended the drought. Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated October 10 ; Ambrose of Optina Michailovich Grenkov was born Nov. 23, 1812 in the Russian province of Tambov. His parents raised him strictly and with fervent piety. Since he was of a priestly family, it was no surprise when he entered the Tambov theological seminary in 1830. He did well in his studies and was ranked among the top students. a year before graduation Alexander became seriously ill. He promised that if God healed him, he would become a monk. Although his prayer was answered, Alexander seemed to forget his promise. graduation from the seminary he took a position as tutor to the children of a certain landowner and remained with this family for a year and a half. After this he became a teacher at the local parochial school. day in 1839 Alexander and a friend visited the famous hermit Father Hilarion to ask him what they should do with their lives. Alexander was surprised when he was told to go to the monastery of Optina Pustin, where they had great need of him. In September of that same year, however, he seemed to be prepared to continue with his teaching career. night he was invited to spend a pleasant evening with some friends. His conversation was witty and brilliant, and all his jokes and puns were on the mark. Although his hosts were amused and impressed by him, Alexander was disgusted by his own frivolity. Perhaps his unfulfilled promise to become a monk weighed on his conscience. next morning he quit his job and arrived at Optina in October of 1839. After a trial period he decided to remain in the monastery and dedicate his life to God. He received the monastic tonsure in 1842, and was given the name Ambrose in honor of Saint Ambrose of Milan (December 7). Ambrose knew the famous spiritual directors Elder Leonid and Elder Macarius. He was the cell attendant of Elder Macarius, who undoubtedly influenced the young monk’s spiritual development. as a priest in 1845, Father Ambrose’s reverence and piety in celebrating the divine services were noticed by the other monks. His health began to decline shortly afterward, and he had to ask to be relieved of all duties. In 1846 he was so ill that the Mystery of Holy Unction was administered to him. He bore his illness without complaint and slowly regained his strength. By 1848 he was able to walk with the aid of a cane. Ambrose began to help Elder Macarius with his correspondence and in preparing the Russian edition of Saint John Climacus’s LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT, which was published by the monastery. Father Macarius had to go to Moscow in 1852, he designated Father Ambrose to take his place until his return. Father Ambrose never gave his personal opinions when he was asked for advice, but always referred people to the writings of the Fathers. If someone did not understand the text he was given to read, Father Ambrose would explain it in simple terms. Macarius died in 1860 without naming anyone to succeed him as Elder. By divine providence, all the other possible candidates either died or were appointed as abbots of other monasteries. This left Father Ambrose as the undisputed spiritual director of the monastery. In his role as Elder, Father Ambrose had to receive many people each day to hear confessions and give advice. He used to say, “The Lord has arranged it so that I would have to talk to people all my life. Now I would be happy to remain silent, but I cannot.” average day in Saint Ambrose’s life began at 4 A.M. when his cell attendant came into his cell to read the morning Rule of prayer for him. After this he would wash and have some tea, then he would dictate replies to the many letters he received every day. Visitors would be lining up even as he was having breakfast. Sometimes he would take a break after two hours, but more often he would continue seeing people until noon when he had his lunch. lunch he would go out into the next room and greet more visitors. People would call out questions and he would give an appropriate response. He took a short rest at 3 P.M. then talked to people until the evening. At 8 P.M. he had dinner then received more visitors until 11 P.M. At that hour the evening Rule of prayer was read, and Father Ambrose begged forgiveness of the brethren whom he may have offended by thought, word, or deed. After three or four hours of sleep it would all begin again. This routine would fatigue a strong man. It is remarkable that Saint Ambrose, who was often in poor health, was able to keep it up for so many years. all over Russia, people flocked to the venerable Elder. The writer Tolstoy visited him on at least three occasions, and left impressed by the wisdom of the holy monk. Fyodor Dostoevsky came to Optina in 1878 after the death of his son Alyosha and was profoundly affected by his meeting with Saint Ambrose. The novelist used Father Ambrose as a model for Starets Zosima in The Brothers Karamazov. saint founded Shamordino convent in 1884. This convent, which was near Optina, opened its doors to women who were poor, sickly, or even blind. Most convents were very poor and had to rely on the incomes of women who had a certain personal wealth in order to remain open. Saint Ambrose made it possible for any woman who wished to become a nun to follow this path of salvation. began to decline after the death of the first abbess, Mother Sophia. Saint Ambrose went there in June 1890 to straighten out the convent’s affairs. He was unable to return to Optina due to illness, then winter made it impossible for him to travel. Father Ambrose continued to see visitors at Shamordino, even though his health continued to deteriorate in 1891. September, it was clear that he had not long to live. He fell asleep in the Lord at 11:30 A.M. on the morning of October 10 1891. Throngs of people attended his funeral and also his burial at Optina. Fathers Joseph, Anthony, Benedict, and Anatole succeeded him as Elder until the monastery was closed after the Russian Revolution. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000. Ambrose was glorified in 1988 by the Patriarchate of Moscow as part of the Millennium celebration of the Baptism of Rus.

Russia, Moscow, 1891-1918, Hiermrtr Nikodemos, Bishop oBelgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), historian, incorrupt relics
Mongol, Scythia, 1891-1918, Hieromartyr Nikodemos, Bishop of Belgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), from line of missionary priests itNorth, 1896 Superintendent of Petersburg TSchool & ctaker Pedagogical Courses, many awards, 1899 tKaluga arector KSpiritual seminary, 1909 r Olonets Seminary, taught students obey authorities, at least for awhile, Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom which he wrote in college, but genius write for genius, 1911 Bishop, 1913 BoBelogorod&Vicar of Kursk, composer church hymns, as spiritual writer&Church historian, author of books about ascetics of Arkhangelsk and Olonets, compiler Biographies of the National Ascetics of Piety ot XVIII-XIX centuries, he wrote of Lives of the Saints of the St. Petersburg.and Vologda dioceses, as well ascetics Solovki Monastery, 1911 -he worked hard on discovery relics St. Joasaph of Belgorod, composed prayers, wrote miracle cases, 1918 martyred; Belgorod; The Uncovering of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on October 20; Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 28; Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod (in the world Alexander Mikhailovich Kononov) was born on June 18, 1871 in Arkhangelsk province, son of Father Michael Kononov and his wife Claudia. Kononov family traces its roots back to the XVII century, and there were many remarkable priests who served as missionaries in the north. Kononov graduated from the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. 1896 he was tonsured as a monk with the name Νikόdēmos, in honor of Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozha Lake (July 3), and he was ordained as a Hieromonk. the same time, he was appointed Superintendent of the Alexander Nevsky Theological School in St. Petersburg, as well as the caretaker of the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Courses. his work, Father Νikόdēmos received many awards. In 1901, he received a Bible from the Synod "in encouraging his love for children, which he showed in his deeds and in truth." On August 30 of that same year, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. three years, Father Νikόdēmos was sent to Kaluga as rector of the Kaluga Spiritual seminary, in 1909 he was appointed as rector of the Olonets Seminary. this time Archimandrite Νikόdēmos received thanks from the Kaluga bishop for his "vigilant labors, recently incurred, his impact on the excitable minds of the pupils, so that they stopped fermenting and the thought, if not forever, then for a long time - not to obey the lawful orders of the authorities," as the bishop declared in expressing his gratitude. Holy Synod blessed Archimandrite Νikόdēmos to compose an Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom, which was printed by the Synod for ecclesiastical use. Νikόdēmos had originally written the Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom while he was still a student of St. Petersburg Theological Academy. at that time the censor had rejected the Akathist in approximately these terms: "An Akathist to a genius ought to be written by a genius, not by some unknown Hieromonk." 1911, at St. Petersburg, Father Νikόdēmos was consecrated as a bishop by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow and Kolomensk. 1913, Bishop Νikόdēmos became Bishop of Belgorod, and Vicar of the Kursk Diocese. the time of his pastoral activities, Vladyka was a composer of Church hymns, he composed Akathists to his patron Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozha Lake Monastery, Tryphon of Pechenga (December 15), and the Monastic Martyr Job the Gorge-dweller, wonderworker of Solovki (August 5). a spiritual writer and Church historian, Bishop Νikόdēmos was the author of books about the ascetics of Arkhangelsk and Olonets, he was also one of the main compilers of the multi-volume work "Biographies of the National Ascetics of Piety of the XVIII-XIX centuries." book "Elder Father Naum of Solovki, the Ascetic of Karelia" was published in 1910. addition, he wrote several collections of Lives of the Saints of the St. Petersburg.and Vologda dioceses, as well as those of the ascetics Solovki Monastery. also wrote a history of Eldership. worked hard in connection with the discovery of the holy relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod (on September 4, 1911). his service in the Diocese, he composed two prayers to Saint Joasaph, as well as his great opus "The Life, Glorification and Miracles of Saint Joasaph." the direction of Bishop Νikόdēmos, and with his direct participation, three volumes of consistory cases related to the activities of Saint Joasaph were published. chambers in the Holy Trinity Monastery were reconstructed, and a unique museum of Saint Joasaph was created, which contained an extensive collection of documents. 1918, on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Belgorod Hierarch was arrested right in the altar of Trinity Cathedral by the Red Commissar Saenko, for preaching against robbery and violence. the request of the faithful who demanded Vladyka's release, the local Chekists "released" him for one day, and those who those who requested it were arrested. of the groups of believers protesting against the Bishop's arrest was led by the wife of a priest, the head of the second women's gymnasium, Maria Dmitrievna Kiyanovskaya, who was arrested as a "leader of a counter-revolutionary demonstration" and was shot. next day, Vladyka was arrested again. days after his arrest on the orders of Commissar Saenko, Bishop Νikόdēmos was shot secretly and was buried in a common grave outside the city. the capture of Belgorod by the Volunteer White Army (six months after Vladyka's execution), his grave was opened. Medical examination of the remains found that in addition to the presence of a non-lethal gunshot wound in the Saint's chest, there was a skull fracture caused by a heavy blow with a blunt object, a huge bruise at the top of the head, and a break in the laryngeal cartilage, indicating that he had been strangled by someone. holy relics of Saint Νikόdēmos were given due honors, and were buried at Holy Trinity Monastery near the shrine of Saint Joasaph of Belgorod. October 29, 2017, Metropolitan John (Popov) performed the rite of the great consecration and the first Liturgy in the church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos (Kononov), located in the Belgorod Metropolis at the place where the relics of the Saint were found. This coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start of the persecution of the Church, and the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos. The Uncovering of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on October 20; Belogorod, an event of great spiritual significance occurred: the recovery of the relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos of Belgorod. in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior at Belgorod, the relics of two Belgorod Saints are buried. shrine of Saint Joasaph of Belgorod (December 10) is under a canopy on the south side of the altar, and on the north side is a wooden chest with the newly-discovered relics of Bishop Νikόdēmos. incorrupt relics were recovered from his burial place on October 20/November 2, 2012. the first week of Lent there were solemn services in the Transfiguration Cathedral, which were led by Metropolitan John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol. While the Magnification was being sung for the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, his revered relics were taken from the altar and placed on the kathedra, after which Vladyka knelt and read prayers before them. He also read the resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia: “At the anniversary Bishops' Council in 2000 Bishop Νikόdēmos (Kononov) of Belgorod was numbered among the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church." identifying the remains, Patriarch Kirill determined: “Having recognized these remains as the relics of the Holy Martyr Νikόdēmos (Kononov), Bishop of Belgorod, let the Uncovering of the relics of the Holy Martyr Νikόdēmos be included in the Menaion of the Russian Orthodox Church.” the crypt was opened, the Hierarch's episcopal vestments were intact, but his miter and the Gospel were missing. Saint Νikόdēmos is also commemorated on December 28.

Russia, Moscow, 1892-1937, Alexander Hotovitzky, Volhynia Seminary, New York, San Francisco, Moscow, special spark from God
Russia, Volhynia, 1892-1937, Alexander Hotovitzky, Volhynia, son of rector of V T Seminary, educated there and Petersburg T A, New York, San Francisco, special spark from God, preaching, Tikhon, US missionary, Uniates from his home, Philidelphia, Yonkers, Passaic, publisher, mutual aid, St Nik Cathedral, Finland, proselytic Lutherans, Moscow, Tikhon, struggle to save the nation, Civil War, brotherhood, alms for Cathedral, arrests, confiscations, chruch donations for starving, however Church forbad sacred vessels surrender, court cases counter-revolutionary activities, draft resolution guaratee for starving, deemed c-r, executions, acknowleged main organizer, milder verdict 10 yrs, amnesty, interrogation, exile to Turuhan r, return, protopresbyter to Sergius, rector on Donskoy st, light in his eyes, 1937 arrest and martyrdom; Alexander Hotovitzky (or Hotovitsky), hieromartyr of the Bolshevik yoke, Missionary of America, was a Ukrainian who came to the United States in the 1890s as a lay missionary and was ordained to the priesthood while there. was active as a missionary among the emigrated Uniates in the northeastern United States before being ordered back to Europe 1914. was to become vicar of the congregation of the Russian Embassy in Berlin. of the outbreak of the First World War he was instead nominated as vicar of the Orthodox congregation in Helsinki, Finland, then a part of imperial Russia. 1917 he was assigned to Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. the Bolshevik coup he was subjected to many cruelties by the revolutionaries as he defended the Orthodox faith, his people, and church property. to many arrests and exile Father Alexander served his Church as best he could through these tumultuous times until after a final arrest he was executed during the Great Purge on August 19, 1937. glorification is celebrated on December 4. Kremenetz - Kremenetz city of Kremenetz district and rests 18 km north-east of the great Pochayiv Lavra ; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated December 4 ; New Martyr of Russia Alexander Hotovitzky was born on February 11, 1872 in the city of Kremenetz, into the pious family of Archpriest Alexander, who was Rector of the Volhynia Theological Seminary and would later be long remembered in the hearts of the Orthodox inhabitants of Volhynia as a good shepherd. Alexander received a good Christian upbringing from his parents, who instilled in him love for the Orthodox Church and for the people of God. future pastor was educated at the Volhynia Seminary and the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, from which he graduated with a Master’s degree in 1895. graduation from the Academy, he was sent for missionary service to the Diocese of the Aleutians and North America, where he was assigned to the position of reader at the newly-established Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church in New York City. his marriage to Maria Scherbuhina, a graduate of the Pavlovsk Institute in Saint Petersburg, the Hieromartyr Alexander was ordained to the diaconate, and soon after, on February 25, 1896, to the priesthood by Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov) of the Aleutians, whom Father Alexander would always later remember with gratitude and love. ordination took place at the diocesan cathedral in San Francisco. In his address to the newly-ordained Father Alexander, Bishop Nicholas explained his selection of the new priest for ordained ministry in these words: “Your special sense of decency, your good upbringing, your noble idealism, and your sincere piety immediately caused me to look favorably upon you and compelled me to single you out among the young people, with whom you used to visit me in Saint Petersburg... could see that you had that special spark from God, which makes any service an action truly done for God’s sake, and without which a vocation becomes soul-less and dead work... first experience in preaching has shown you the power of this kind of inspiration: you saw how the people gathered around you and how attentively they stood and listened at length to your discourses... Why did these people listen to you rather than going to hear other preachers? Clearly the spark which burns within you attracts the hearts of these people like a magnet.” week after his ordination, the young priest returned to New York to assume the pastorate of the parish where he had previously served as reader. From 1898 to 1907, the New Martyr Alexander served as a pastor under the omophorion of Bishop Tikhon. Tikhon, who, in the tragic year of 1917, was to be elevated by Divine Providence to the primatial see as Patriarch of Moscow, valued highly Father Alexander’s sincere piety, his gift of pastoral love, and his multifaceted theological erudition. spectrum of his activity in the United States was quite broad and very fruitful. He was successful in missionary service, primarily among Uniates newly-emigrated from Galicia and Carpathian Rus. was also one of the closest collaborators of the Orthodox archpastors in America and represented the Orthodox Church before American religious institutions and meetings. Alexander’s missionary work was not without many temptations and sorrows. later Metropolitan, Platon (Rozhdestvensky) expressed gratitude for the Passion-bearer Alexander’s labors in America in an address delivered at the Divine Liturgy on February 26, 1914. Bidding farewell to Father Alexander, the Archbishop said, “One morning, during the years we worked together, you came to my room and, without saying much, unbuttoned your shirt, revealing a very large, bluish, bloody abrasion on your chest. That wound from a fanatic, who in a fit of rage attacked you wildly with a stick, followed the meeting of Russian people at which you had encouraged your own ethnic brother to renounce the pernicious Unia with Rome... My entire being was shaken to the core and I was profoundly moved, for before me at that moment was a genuine example of witness for Christ.” Father Alexander’s efforts, Orthodox parishes were established in Philadelphia, Yonkers, and Passaic as well as other large and small towns throughout North America. The parishioners of these churches were cradle Orthodox whom fate had brought to the New World, as well as Carpatho-Russians converted from the Unia and former Protestant converts to the Orthodox Church. important contribution to the witness of the truth of Orthodoxy before heterodox American society was made by the American Orthodox Messenger, which was published in English and Russian under Father Alexander’s editorship. Articles by the editor regularly appeared in this journal. New Martyr Alexander actively participated in the establishment of an Orthodox diocesan mutual aid society and at various times, he served as treasurer, first secretary, and president of this organization. The society provided material aid to Austrian Carpatho-Russians, Macedonian Slavs, Russian troops in Manchuria, and to Russian prisoners of war in Japanese camps. Alexander also took upon himself the ascetical burden of constructing the architecturally remarkable and majestic Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York to replace the small parish church. cathedral was to become an adornment of the city. He visited Orthodox communities throughout America soliciting funds for the construction of the Cathedral. 1901, he also traveled to his homeland, Russia, for this purpose. the annals of Saint Nicholas Church, which in 1903 became the diocesan Cathedral, it is recorded that, “This Cathedral was established and constructed in the City of New York in North America, under the supervision and through the efforts and labors of the most honorable Archpriest Father Alexander Hotovitzky in the year of Our Lord 1902.” February 26, 1906, Orthodox America celebrated the tenth anniversary of priestly service of Archpriest Alexander, one of its most remarkable pastors. Bishop Tikhon greeted the jubilarian with these words: “As you remember your ordination as a priest of God at this anniversary, you are doubtless unwillingly contemplating how you have used your God-given talents, and asking yourself if the Grace of God was bestowed on you in vain and how far you have advanced on the path of moral perfection. you judge yourself in this way, you are at the same time the judge and the accused. In order for a judgment to be fair, the testimony of onlookers, the witnesses, must be heard. Now they are speaking before you—listen to them. Thanks be to the Lord! We just heard their eloquent and heartfelt testimony praising you. myself as your superior, I can testify that you have proven to be trustworthy, and have justified the expectations which were hoped for at your ordination.” sacrificial and dedicated pastoral service of the New Martyr Alexander in America was concluded on February 26, 1914, exactly eighteen years after his ordination to the priesthood. his farewell address, Father Alexander said, “Farewell, American Orthodox Rus—my dear Mother, the Holy American Church. I, your ever-grateful son, bow fully to the ground before you. You gave birth to me spiritually, you nurtured me, from your depths you inspired me by your strength. Through the shining witness of your founders, through the enlightened apostolic teachings of your preachers, through the fervor of your faithful flock, you have given me the greatest possible joy—to be your son.” 1914 to 1917, Father Alexander served as a priest in Helsinki, Finland, where the majority of the population was Protestant. Finland was then part of the Russian Empire, the Orthodox clergy there had to exert great efforts to protect the Orthodox Karelians from the proselytic expansionism of the Finnish Lutherans. In Finland, the New Martyr Alexander was a loyal, active, and dedicated assistant to his archpastor—Sergius (Stragorodsky), the future Patriarch. August 1917, Archpriest Alexander was transferred to Moscow and assigned as assistant pastor of Christ the Savior Cathedral. Here he was again under the direct guidance of Saint Tikhon, with whom he had already been closely associated in America. Passion-bearer Alexander participated in the deliberations of the Church Council of 1917-18. When the Council discussed the drafting of a message to the Orthodox flock concerning elections to the State Council, he stated that, as the fate of Russia was at stake, the Church and the Council in particular should not shy away from the struggle to save the nation. about the efforts of the Council to upbuild the Church, he outlined his preliminary plans for order and healing in the internal life of the Church and stated with some bitterness, “It seems as if there were builders who were furiously preparing blueprints, plans and so forth for the construction of an edifice and at the same time were calmly observing the destruction brick by brick of this edifice by enemies.” the difficult years of the Civil War, the New Martyr Alexander collaborated closely with Saint Tikhon in the administration of the Moscow diocese. 1918, under the spiritual leadership of the rector, Father Nicholas Arseniev, and the assistant pastor, Father Alexander, a brotherhood affiliated with Christ the Savior Cathedral was established. As its first activity, the brotherhood issued an appeal to the Orthodox flock, which Father Alexander helped write. document stated, “People of Russia! Christ the Savior Cathedral, the adornment of Moscow, the pride of Russia, the joy of the Orthodox Church has been condemned to slow destruction. This glorious monument to the great exploits of Russian warriors, who gave their lives for their native land and the Holy Orthodox Faith, has been denied state support...People of Russia! Will you really surrender this wonderful church of the Savior to mockery? it really true, as is claimed by the persecutors of the Holy Church, that the people of Russia no longer need holy things—Churches, sacraments, services, because all this is outdated and superstitious? Respond, you faithful! All of you, respond as one! Rise up and protect your holy things! May the generous and well-intentioned donations of the rich be added to the precious pennies of the faithful poor. Moscow, you are the heart of Russia! Preserve your holy shrine—your golden-domed Church of the Savior!...” response to this appeal, Orthodox inhabitants of Moscow joined the brotherhood of Christ the Savior Cathedral, and gave their alms to support the majestic church. service at that time was accompanied by much grief and danger. May 1920 and November 1921 Father Alexander was arrested for brief periods. He was accused of violating the decrees concerning the separation of the Church from the state, and the school from the Church, by holding church school for the children. 1922, the Church was subjected to harsh tribulations when, under the pretext of helping the starving, ecclesiastical treasures including sacred vessels, icons, and other holy things were violently confiscated by the state. the appeal of Her holy primate, the Orthodox Church made generous donations to assist the starving. when Saint Tikhon issued a statement to his flock throughout Russia forbidding the cooperation of the clergy in surrendering sacred vessels for non-ecclesiastical use based on canon law, slanderous campaign against the Church was begun in the press, Her primate was arrested, and a wave of court cases took place throughout Russia, in which servants of the Lord’s altar were accused of counter-revolutionary activity. During these trials many faithful servants of the Church of Christ were sentenced to death and shed their blood as hieromartyrs and martyrs. this difficult time for the Church, Father Alexander was unwaveringly guided by the statements of the Holy Patriarch to his flock and also followed his directives. to assist the starving were collected at Christ the Savior Cathedral. At the same time, measures were undertaken to protect the sacred objects of this church. of the clergy and parishioners of Christ the Savior Cathedral were held at Father Alexander’s apartment in order to draft a resolution of the general parish meeting concerning the state decree. draft of the resolution, prepared by Father Alexander, protested against the violent confiscation of church valuables. general meeting of parishioners was convened on March 23, 1922 at Christ the Savior Cathedral, presided by Archpriest Nicholas Arseniev. Alexander had already been arrested. meeting adopted the final text of the resolution, which demanded guarantees from the state that all donations be used to save the lives of the starving. The participants in the meeting protest the poisonous publications against the Church as well as insults against the hierarchy. The drafting of this document was deemed by the authorities to be criminal counter-revolutionary activity. two court cases against the Church, in Petrograd and Moscow, which resulted in the executions of hieromartyrs and martyrs, a new highly visible trial of clergy and laity began in Moscow on November 27, 1922, during which they were accused of supposedly “attempting to retain in their hands possession of church valuables and, through the resulting starvation, to topple the Soviet regime.” trial in this case were 105 clergy and laity. the main defendants were Archpriest Sergius Uspensky, dean of the second district of forty churches in Prechistenka, Archpriest Nicholas Arseniev, dean of Christ the Savior Cathedral, Archpriest Alexander Hotovitzky, assistant pastor of this Cathedral, Ilya Gromoglasov, priest of Christ the Savior Cathedral, Lev Evgenievich Anohin, warden of this Cathedral, and Archpriest Simeon Golubev, rector of Saint John the Warrior Church. most significant part of the indictment submitted to the Court concerned the activity of the clergy and laity of Christ the Savior Cathedral. indictment stated, “The main organizers and leaders of this criminal activity were Priest Hotovitzky, chairman of the council of parishes in this area, Priest Arseniev, rector of the Cathedral, Priest Zotikov, Priest Gromoglasov, former lawyer Kayutov, former deputy minister Shchepkin, the merchant Golovkin, and engineer Anohin. the decree of the Supreme Central Executive Committee concerning the confiscation of church valuables was issued, they began their preliminary activities under the leadership of the priest Hotovitzky, who repeated to secretly gather the above named people at his apartment in order to plan with them the measures which they proposed to enact to achieve their criminal intentions.” case was in court for two weeks. After the detailed indictment was read, questioning of the defendants began. Father Alexander remained cool and calm during the questioning as he tried to protect the other defendants. did not admit any guilt, stating, “I consider that it is not counter-revolutionary to ask for a corresponding amount of metal in return for church valuables.” the interrogation of all the defendants and witnesses, at the Court session on December 6, the later infamous, sinister prosecutor Vishinsky delivered the concluding statement for the prosecution. He asked the court for a sentence of capital punishment for thirteen defendants including Archpriests Alexander Hotovitzky, Nicholas Arseniev, Sergius Uspensky, Priest Ilya Gromoglasov, Abbess Vera (Pobedinskaya) of the Novodevichii Women’s Monastery and L.E. Anohin. Vishinsky requested that the other defendants be sentenced to prison terms of varying length. December 11, defendants were given an opportunity to say a final word to the court. his comments, Father Alexander attempted, first of all, to obtain the court’s leniency and mercy for his brother clergy, “I direct your attention to those who were at the meeting in my apartment: some of them are old and the others are very young and guilty of nothing. This was a completely ordinary meeting, it was not counter-revolutionary and it cannot by any means be characterized as a shady plot.” lengthiest final comments were delivered by the professor and priest Ilya Gromoglasov. This defendant attempted to gain the favor of the court by expounding on his former opposition to the Holy Synod. Concerning the conclusions of the prosecution, he said that he “knew nothing of the criminal organization headed by Hotovitzky.” December 13, the verdict of the revolutionary tribunal was announced. was milder than the bloodthirsty verdicts delivered at previous trials held in Petrograd and Moscow in conjunction with the confiscation of church valuables. of the main defendants—Abbess Vera (Pobedinskaya), Archpriest Sergius Uspensky, and Archpriest Alexander Hotovitzky were sentenced to ten years in prison, the confiscation of their personal property and the deprivation of their civil rights for five years. others were sentenced to lesser terms of imprisonment. Appeals for pardon, made by those who were sentenced to the longest terms of imprisonment, including that of Archpriest Alexander, were rejected by the presidium of the Supreme Central Executive Committee on February 16, 1923. the holy Patriarch Tikhon resumed his administration of the Church and made several statements regarding loyalty to the governmental authorities, many hierarchs, clergy, church leaders and laity, who had previously received sentences from the judiciary in conjunction with the confiscation of church valuables, were granted amnesty. Alexander was among those freed in October 1923. Following his liberation, he was not assigned to a parish but served by invitation at various churches in Moscow. remained free for only a short time. Already on September 4, 1924, E. Tuchkov, head of the 6th section of the Department of State Political Management, compiled a list of thirteen clergy and church leaders of Moscow and recommended that they be subjected to administrative exile. New Martyr Alexander, who was included in the list, was characterized as follows in this document, “A priest and preacher with a post-graduate education, very active, zealous and influential among the Tikhonites. His outlook is anti-Soviet.” September 9, 1924, the New Martyr Alexander was subjected to an interrogation. “In my religious convictions,” he said at that time, “I consider myself to be a Tikhonite. My relations with the Patriarch are intimate rather than just strictly administrative, but lately, I have avoided meeting with Patriarch Tikhon, as I felt that this might inconvenience him due to my conviction in conjunction with the confiscation of church valuables. I have never expressed an opinion concerning the restoration of the former government and such a thought has not even crossed my mind.” a decision of a special meeting of the administration of the Department of State Political Management, the New Martyr Alexander was exiled to the Turuhan region for a period of three years. His already failing health was further weakened by his sojourn in the far north. his return from exile, Father Alexander was raised to the rank of protopresbyter and became one of the closest assistants of the Deputy Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan (later Patriarch) Sergius, who knew him well since the time of his service in Finland. the 1930s, Protopresbyter Alexander served as rector of the Church of the Deposition of the Robe on Donskoy Street. One of the parishioners of this church recalls, “In 1936, Father Alexander did not preach, as he was apparently forbidden to do so. In 1936-7, I was present many times when Father Alexander served. He was a tall, gray-haired priest with gentle facial features, who looked extremely intelligent. Gray, trimmed hair, a small beard, very kind gray eyes, a high-pitched, loud tenor...pronounced exclamations distinctly and with inspiration...His appearance reminded me of many priests who were exiles from the western regions...Father Alexander had many parishioners who greatly revered him...Even today, I remember Father Alexander’s eyes. It seemed as if his glance penetrated your heart and embraced it with affection. I had the same feeling when I saw the holy Patriarch Tikhon...The same light also shining in Father Alexander’s eyes was testimony of his sanctity.” the fall of 1937, the New Martyr Alexander was arrested again. The documentary evidence about him at our disposal ends with this; however, a majority of oral reports testify to his death as a martyr. The Orthodox Church in America, on whose territory Protopresbyter Alexander served as a priest until 1914, venerates him as a passion-bearer, whose life as a confessor ended with sufferings for Christ. The place of his burial is unknown. Church of Russia also commemorates Saint Alexander on August 7, along with the Archpriests Alexei Vorobiev, Michael Plishevsky, John Voronets, the priests Demetrius Milovidov, and Peter Tokarev, the deacon Elisha Sholder, and Igumen Athanasius Egorov. photo gallery of the 1994 Glorification of Saint Alexander may be viewed here.

Russia, Moscow, 1894, Uglich, Rostov, sick St Petersburg merchant dream, MOG told him go to icon at Uglich, healed, Wworking s
Russia, Rostov, 1894, Uglich, Rostov (Uchma River, Volga River 7), sick St Petersburg merchant, dream vision, MOG told him go to icon at Uglich pray before it tbHealed, Igumen ordered search, found &Moved to Dorm Church, merchant healed, wonderworking since, Alekseev Womens M; Uglich; Úglich Portaίtissa (Gatekeeper) Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 23; Most Holy Theotokos first appeared to Igoumen Evangelos, who was the Superior of the Monastery from 1864-1872. late XIX century researcher I. Vinogradov dates the Icon's presence in the Monastery to that period. he was correct in thinking that the Icon was painted during that time, then it was lost for almost thirty years. Icon was found in the Monastery storeroom in 1894. June 23 of that year, a sick merchant from St. Petersburg arrived alone at the Monastery. Speaking to the Igoumen, he told him in detail about his illness, and of the vision he had in a dream. The Mother of God told the merchant to go to Úglich, where her Icon was located, and to pray before it, promising that he would be healed. Igoumen ordered that a search be made for the Icon. This was done, and the Icon was moved into the Monastery's Dormition church in great triumph. When the sick merchant prayed before the Icon, he soon recovered. In gratitude for the healing he had received, he covered the Icon with a silver gilded riza. that time, the wonderworking Úglich Portaίtissa Icon of the Theotokos has granted healing and consolation to those who resort to the Queen of Heaven with faith in her intercession before God. this Icon the Mother of God is depicted as a nun with a staff and a prayer rope in her left hand, and a candle in her right hand. This image is located in the Alekseev Women's Monastery in Úglich, Yaroslavl Province, and it is also known as the "Inextinguishable Candle." Úglich Portaίtissa Icon of the Mother of God bears a striking resemblance to the Igoumeness of Mount Athos Icon, which is commemorated on the second Sunday after Pentecost, along with All Saints of Mount Athos.

Russia, Moscow, 1894-1917, Emperor, Nicholas II, Reformer, peaceful, L of Nations, disarmament, enlightened, executed
Moscow Emperor, 1894-1917, Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia ; Passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas, Commemorated on July 17; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19 ; Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia, Commemorated on July 20; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Joy of All who sorrowÂ (with coins) in St Petersburg, Commemorated on July 23; Venerable Anatole II of Optina, Commemorated on July 30 ; New Martyr Nazarius, Metropolitan of Kutaisi-Gaenati, and his companions of Georgia, Commemorated August 14 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God the œMultiplier of WheatÂ, Commemorated on October 15; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31; St Nectarius Kephalas the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Commemorated on November 9; Hieromartyr Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, Commemorated on November 23 ; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated on December 15 ; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on December 20; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated on January 3; Venerable Hieromonk Alexei of Teklati, Commemorated on January 18; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St John, Commemorated on January 23; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated on January 25; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21; The Meeting of the Mother of God and Saint Elizabeth, Commemorated on March 30; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1894-1917, Emperess Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse), Nic and Alix
Moscow Emperess, 1894-1917, Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse); Passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas, Commemorated on July 17; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19 ; Martyr Ilia Chavchavadze of Georgia, Commemorated on July 20; Venerable Anatole II of Optina, Commemorated on July 30; Righteous Admiral Theodore Ushakov of the Russian Naval Fleet, Commemorated on October 2; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; Venerable Ambrose of Optina, Commemorated on October 10; Icon of the Mother of God the œMultiplier of WheatÂ, Commemorated on October 15; Hierarch Alexander, Bishop of Guria and Samegrelo, Commemorated on October 27; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31; St Nectarius Kephalas the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Commemorated on November 9; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated on December 15 ; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on December 20; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated on January 3; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St John, Commemorated on January 23; St Gabriel, Bishop of Imereti, Commemorated on January 25; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27; The Meeting of the Mother of God and Saint Elizabeth, Commemorated on March 30; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); New Martyr Nazarius, Metropolitan of Kutaisi-Gaenati, and his companions of Georgia, Commemorated August 14 ; Hieromartyr Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, Commemorated on November 23 ; Venerable Hieromonk Alexei of Teklati, Commemorated on January 18; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1897-1960, George oGeorgia (Mkheidze) fRacha region, dedicated self tGeorgia’s national liberation, spirit gifts
Georgia, 1897-1960, George (John) oGeorgia, Archmandrite John, (Basil Maisuradze in the world) fTskhinvali iSamachablo, peasant family, taught handiwork, 1894 as teen helped restore Betania m, tIveron Mt Athos 1903 for 17yrs, simplicity&obedience, monk, priest, dedicated serving others, 1920 left circumstances there for Amazi m, Miskheta, shot in back bChekists, tossed gorge, tSamtavro m, Mtskheta, tBetania m, abbot, ag labor admin, festal meal fVisitors, children loved him, blessed Ilia II, worked hard all day, slept piece oWood, prayed all night, monastery had Govt protectors, healed deaf&terminally ill, knew people by name as they arrived, clarvoyant,Fr. George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha region around 1877, he dedicated himself to Georgia’s national liberation movement, Ilia tRighteous personal secretary, monk, Priest, Archmandrite, Chekist mob threatened, sought help athieist family, tBetania m same year, labored for John rest of life, poor health, lightest tasks, vegetable garden, bees, generous, often tTabilisi spiritual children, secret christians working fGovt, prophecy, healing, clairvoyance, advance knowing sisters coming, prepared food in advance, healed meningitis, deaf, Theotokos, Angel & Thekla appearances, ; Tskhinvali; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated January 21 ; John (Basil Maisuradze in the world) was born in the town of Tskhinvali in Samachablo around 1882. was raised in a peasant family taught to perform all kinds of handiwork. was barely in his teens when he helped Fr. Spiridon (Ketiladze), the main priest at Betania Monastery, to restore the monastery between 1894 and 1896. his youth Basil was eager to enter the monastic life, in 1903, according to God’s will, he moved to the Skete of Saint John the Theologian at Ivḗron Monastery on Mt. Athos. the brothers he was distinguished for his simplicity and obedience. He was tonsured a monk and named John in honor of Saint John the Theologian, whom he revered deeply and sought to emulate. monk John was soon ordained to the priesthood. his life the holy father dedicated himself to serving God and his brothers in Christ in hopes that his own life might be fruitful for them. John remained on Mt. Athos for seventeen years. (1920), due to the increasingly troubling circumstances there, he left the Holy Mountain with the other Georgian monks sometime between 1920 and 1921. settled at Armazi Monastery outside of Mtskheta, where the Bolsheviks had left just one monk to labor in solitude. a band of armed Chekists broke into the monastery, led both Fr. John and the other monk away, and shot them in the back. them to be dead, they tossed them in a nearby gorge. group of people later discovered Fr. John’s nearly lifeless body and brought it to Samtavro Monastery in Mtskheta. other monk suffered only minor injuries and returned to the monastery on his own. his health had been restored, Fr. John went to Betania Monastery, where his first spiritual father was still laboring. was appointed abbot shortly thereafter. to hard work from his childhood, he skillfully administered the agricultural labors of the monastery. visitors came to the monastery seeking advice or solace, Fr. John welcomed them warmly, spreading a festal meal before them. He enjoyed spending time with his guests, especially with children. is said that he always had candy or a special treat to give to the little ones. children loved him so much that on the feast of Saint John the Theologian, while he was sprinkling the church with holy water, they skipped around him and tried to tousle his hair. children’s parents were ashamed, but Fr. John cheerfully assured them that it was fitting to be so joyous on a feast day. Fr. John was endowed with a deep love for young people, he was also blessed with the divine gifts of prophecy and wonderworking. a certain Irakli Ghudushauri, a student at Moscow Theological Seminary, visited him at the monastery. John received him with exceptional warmth, blessing him with tears of rejoicing. student would later become Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the beloved shepherd who continues to lead the flock of the Georgian faithful to this very day. John disciplined himself severely. worked hard all day and slept on a single piece of wood. He would spend entire nights praying. wondered when he rested and where he had acquired such a seemingly infinite supply of energy. thieves would steal food or domestic animals from the monastery. the monastery also had many protectors, even within the Soviet government. group of Christians who worked for the government while secretly practicing their faith supported Fr. John and Fr. George (Mkheidze) (see below), explaining and justifying them to the government as “guardians of a national cultural monument.” of the miracles performed by Fr. John are known to us today, he was wary of receiving honor for his deeds. John and George healed the deaf, and many of the terminally ill were brought to them for healing. spending several days in the monastery, the infirm would miraculously be cleansed of their diseases. John bore the heaviest workload in the monastery. sympathized deeply with Fr. George, who was ailing physically and unfit for strenuous labor. Fr. John departed this life before Fr. George. John became ill and reposed in 1957, at the age of seventy-five. He was buried at Betania Monastery. George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha region around 1877. received a military education—a highly esteemed commodity among the Georgian aristocracy— instead of pursuing a military career in defense of the Russian empire, dedicated himself to Georgia’s national liberation movement. one point the pious and learned George worked for Saint Ilia the Righteous as his personal secretary. often met Saint Ilia’s spiritual father, the holy hierarch Alexandre (Okropiridze), the holy hieromartyr Nazar (Lezhava), he was acquainted with other important spiritual leaders of the time as well. to sacrifice his life to God, George was tonsured into monasticism by the holy hieromartyr Nazar. rare character combined a nobleman’s deportment with a monk’s humble asceticism. George was ordained a priest and soon after elevated to the rank of archimandrite. with divine love and patriotic sentiment, the holy father willingly endured the heavy burdens and spiritual tribulations afflicting his country at that time. 1924, while Fr. George was laboring at Khirsa Monastery in Kakheti in eastern Georgia, armed Chekist mob broke into the monastery. perpetrators beat him, cut off his hair, shaved his beard, and threatened to take his life. sought refuge with his family, but to no avail—his brothers, who were atheists, shaved off his beard while he was sleeping. of Fr. George’s brothers later committed suicide, and the other, together with his wife, was shot to death by the Chekists.) the same year, Fr. George visited Betania Monastery and was introduced to Fr. John (Maisuradze), with whom he would labor for the remainder of his life. George’s health was poor, and he was able to perform only the lightest of tasks around the monastery. tended the vegetable garden and took responsibility for raising the bees. was extremely generous. At times he would give all the monastery’s food to the needy, Fr. John that God Himself would provide their daily bread. thin, and with an upright posture, Fr. George was strict in both appearance and demeanor. spoke very little with other people, and children did not play with him as they did with Fr. John. his character, they tried to please him by reciting prayers and behaving themselves. George did not like to leave the monastery, but it was often necessary for him to travel to Tbilisi to visit his spiritual children— among whom were many secret Christians who worked for the government. George was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and healing, he was careful to hide them. constrained to reveal them, he would pass them off as though they were nothing extraordinary. a certain pilgrim arrived at the monastery and was surprised to discover that Fr. George knew him by name. his great amazement, Fr. George told the pilgrim that he had attended his baptism some thirty years earlier, thus concealing his God-given gift. George knew in advance when his nephew was bringing his sisters, whom he had not seen in forty-eight years, to visit him at the monastery during Great Lent. with this foreknowledge, Fr. George prepared fish and a festal meal in honor of the occasion. prayers of Fr. George and Fr. John healed the former’s nephew, who was afflicted by a deadly strain of meningitis. restored hearing to a deaf child and healed many others of their bodily infirmities. 1957, when Fr. John reposed in the Lord, Fr. George was tonsured into the great schema. was given the name John in honor of his newly departed spiritual brother. George-John now bore full responsibility for the affairs of the monastery. health deteriorated further under the weight of this heavy yoke. spiritual children began to come from the city to care for him. a twenty-year-old girl arrived at the monastery, complaining of incessant headaches. had been told that the water from Betania Monastery would heal her. remained there for one week and was miraculously healed. she left to return home, Fr. George-John walked five miles to see her off, in spite of his physical frailty. Theotokos appeared to Fr. George-John in a vision and relieved his terrible physical pain. protomartyr Thekla also appeared to him, presenting him with a bunch of grapes. days before his repose, the holy father was in the city when an angel appeared to him and announced his imminent repose. angel told him to return to the monastery to prepare for his departure from this world. George-John (Mkheidze) reposed in 1960. He was buried at Betania Monastery, next to Fr. John (Maisuradze). These venerable fathers were canonized on September 18, 2003, at a council of the Holy Synod under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. John and George-John have been lovingly deemed “one soul in two bodies.”

Russia, Moscow, 1897-1960, St George (John) of Georgia, prophet, healing, clairvoyant
Georgia, 1897-1960, George (John) oGeorgia, Archmandrite John, (Basil Maisuradze in the world) fTskhinvali iSamachablo, peasant family, taught handiwork, 1894 as teen helped restore Betania m, tIveron Mt Athos 1903 for 17yrs, simplicity&obedience, monk, priest, dedicated serving others, 1920 left circumstances there for Amazi m, Miskheta, shot in back bChekists, tossed gorge, tSamtavro m, Mtskheta, tBetania m, abbot, ag labor admin, festal meal fVisitors, children loved him, blessed Ilia II, worked hard all day, slept piece oWood, prayed all night, monastery had Govt protectors, healed deaf&terminally ill, knew people by name as they arrived, clarvoyant,Fr. George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha region around 1877, he dedicated himself to Georgia’s national liberation movement, Ilia tRighteous personal secretary, monk, Priest, Archmandrite, Chekist mob threatened, sought help athieist family, tBetania m same year, labored for John rest of life, poor health, lightest tasks, vegetable garden, bees, generous, often tTabilisi spiritual children, secret christians working fGovt, prophecy, healing, clairvoyance, advance knowing sisters coming, prepared food in advance, healed meningitis, deaf, Theotokos, Angel & Thekla appearances, ; Skhvava (Village near Racha); St George (John) of Georgia ; George (Mkheidze) was born in the village of Skhvava in the Racha region around 1877. received a military education—a highly esteemed commodity among the Georgian aristocracy—but instead of pursuing a military career in defense of the Russian empire, he dedicated himself to Georgia’s national liberation movement. one point the pious and learned George worked for Saint Ilia the Righteous as his personal secretary. often met Saint Ilia’s spiritual father, the holy hierarch Alexandre (Okropiridze), and the holy hieromartyr Nazar (Lezhava), and he was acquainted with other important spiritual leaders of the time as well. to sacrifice his life to God, George was tonsured into monasticism by the holy hieromartyr Nazar. His rare character combined a nobleman’s deportment with a monk’s humble asceticism. Fr. George was ordained a priest and soon after elevated to the rank of archimandrite. with divine love and patriotic sentiment, the holy father willingly endured the heavy burdens and spiritual tribulations afflicting his country at that time. 1924, while Fr. George was laboring at Khirsa Monastery in Kakheti in eastern Georgia, an armed Chekist mob broke into the monastery. The perpetrators beat him, cut off his hair, shaved his beard, and threatened to take his life. He sought refuge with his family, but to no avail—his brothers, who were atheists, shaved off his beard while he was sleeping. (One of Fr. George’s brothers later committed suicide, and the other, together with his wife, was shot to death by the Chekists.) In the same year, Fr. George visited Betania Monastery and was introduced to Fr. John (Maisuradze), with whom he would labor for the remainder of his life. George’s health was poor, and he was able to perform only the lightest of tasks around the monastery. He tended the vegetable garden and took responsibility for raising the bees. He was extremely generous. At times he would give all the monastery’s food to the needy, assuring Fr. John that God Himself would provide their daily bread. thin, and with an upright posture, Fr. George was strict in both appearance and demeanor. He spoke very little with other people, and children did not play with him as they did with Fr. John. Knowing his character, they tried to please him by reciting prayers and behaving themselves. Fr. George did not like to leave the monastery, but it was often necessary for him to travel to Tbilisi to visit his spiritual children— among whom were many secret Christians who worked for the government. George was endowed with the gifts of prophecy and healing, but he was careful to hide them. When constrained to reveal them, he would pass them off as though they were nothing extraordinary. Once a certain pilgrim arrived at the monastery and was surprised to discover that Fr. George knew him by name. Sensing his great amazement, Fr. George told the pilgrim that he had attended his baptism some thirty years earlier, thus concealing his God-given gift. Fr. George knew in advance when his nephew was bringing his sisters, whom he had not seen in forty-eight years, to visit him at the monastery during Great Lent. with this foreknowledge, Fr. George prepared fish and a festal meal in honor of the occasion. prayers of Fr. George and Fr. John healed the former’s nephew, who was afflicted by a deadly strain of meningitis. They restored hearing to a deaf child and healed many others of their bodily infirmities. 1957, when Fr. John reposed in the Lord, Fr. George was tonsured into the great schema. He was given the name John in honor of his newly departed spiritual brother. Fr. George-John now bore full responsibility for the affairs of the monastery. His health deteriorated further under the weight of this heavy yoke. His spiritual children began to come from the city to care for him. a twenty-year-old girl arrived at the monastery, complaining of incessant headaches. She had been told that the water from Betania Monastery would heal her. She remained there for one week and was miraculously healed. When she left to return home, Fr. George-John walked five miles to see her off, in spite of his physical frailty. Theotokos appeared to Fr. George-John in a vision and relieved his terrible physical pain. The protomartyr Thekla also appeared to him, presenting him with a bunch of grapes. Several days before his repose, the holy father was in the city when an angel appeared to him and announced his imminent repose. The angel told him to return to the monastery to prepare for his departure from this world. George-John (Mkheidze) reposed in 1960. He was buried at Betania Monastery, next to Fr. John (Maisuradze). These venerable fathers were canonized on September 18, 2003, at a council of the Holy Synod under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Frs. John and George-John have been lovingly deemed “one soul in two bodies.”

Russia, Moscow, 1898, Kursk Icon of the Sign, Survived Anarchist time-bomb, even the glass, other things devastated
Russia, Kiev, 1898, Icon of the Sign, Kursk, Ukraine (Seym River Source, Kur and Tuskar River mouths), to destroy it Anarchists time-bombed it, but it survived, even its glass, while Everything in Cathedral except the icon was devastated.; Kursk; Icon of the Mother of God of “the Sign”, Commemorated on March 8; March 8, 1898, a group of anarchists who hoped to undermine the people’s faith in the Kursk-Root Icon’s wonderworking power, decided to destroy it. placed a time bomb in the Cathedral of the Sign in the city of Kursk, and at 2 o’clock in the morning there was a devastating explosion that shook the monastery's walls. frightened monks ran immediately to the cathedral, where they saw horrible devastation. The force of the blast shattered the gilded canopy above the Icon. The heavy marble base, with several massive steps, had been jolted out of position and had split into several pieces. A huge metal candlestick which had stood in front of the Icon was blown to the opposite side of the cathedral. A cast iron door near the Icon of the Mother of God was torn from its hinges and was thrown outward where it smashed against a wall and made a deep crack. All the windows in the cathedral, including those in the dome overhead, were shattered. Amid the general devastation, the holy Icon remained in one piece and even the glass within the frame was intact. Instead of destroying the Kursk-Root Icon, the anarchists had, on the contrary, become the cause of its greater glorification. principal Feast Day of the Kursk-Root Icon is on November 27. It is also commemorated on September 8, the day of its appearance in 1259.

Russia, Moscow, 1900-1999, 20th Century Folder, Bolsheviks, Revolution, Living Progressive Church

Russia, Moscow, 1901-1937, New Hieromrtr Alexis, opposed Living Church in Communist Russia, martyr w Elias
Russia, Moscow, 1901-1937, New Hieromrtr Alexis, resisted Living Church in Communist Russia, 1917-1943, strongly opposed Living Church, arrested exiled 4times, Martyred wElias; New Hieromartyr Alexis (Benemanskii) of Tver, Commemorated on November 22; January 6, 1881 in the Tver region, the New Martyr Alexis Constantinovich Benemanskii was a priest of the Diocese of Tver, Russia, during the early 1900s. widely opposed the Living Church, which had been set up in the 1920s by the Soviet state to challenge the legitimacy of the Patriarchate of Moscow and, initially, Saint Tikhon himself. was tenacious in defending the canonical Church against the "renovationists," as proponents of the Living Church were called, and was unwilling to sacrifice his principles. the years, he had been arrested four times and imprisoned or exiled. December 4/November 21, 1937, he was arrested again, together with his coworker Archpriest Elias Gromoglasov, and martyred the following day, been accused of taking part in fictitious counter-revolutionary activities allegedly organized by the New Martyr Archbishop Thaddeus of Tver, who was arrested three days later and subsequently martyred. was canonized by the Diocese of Tver in 1999 and was numbered among those glorified as new martyrs and confessors of the Soviet Yoke by the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000. Living Church in Communist Russia; Living Church (Russian: Живая церковь, also called Renovated Church or Russian: Обновленческая церковь or Renovationism, Russian: Обновленчество) was a theoretical, reformed "Orthodox church" set up in the old Soviet Union by the Bolshevik government after it confiscated all property of the Church of Russia. It was disbanded in 1943 when Stalin was desperate to bolster the morale of the Russian people in the Second World War. church had almost no following among the people, and a number of clergy who had been in the movement in good faith repented and returned to the Orthodox Church. The few who tried to exist in the state run church of the atheistic government were used by the state against those faithful to Patriarch Tikhon. The government knew the renovation (reformation) would cause division and weakening to government opposition. As the leader of the party said, "I will smite the shepherd and scatter the sheep", Patriarch Tikhon was arrested and isolated from the populace and the Church was given to the wolves. But even by the late twenties, it became of little use to the state. legacy of this movement, is that now all change is seen to be renovation of the faith. The Living Church used modern Russian, the revised calendar, and non monastic Bishops. the revolution of February 1917, the Russia Orthodox Church saw opportunity for the church reform long hoped for by many churchmen but delayed by the tsarist regime. In the All-Russian Church Council of 1917-1918, called together in Moscow, the patriarchate that was abolished by Peter the Great, was restored. new patriarch, Tikhon, had an independent approach toward the communist regime that had overthrown the provisional government. Under the official pretext that there was starvation in large sections of the country, the government in 1922 decided to confiscate all church valuables. The patriarch cooperated, but insisted on control of some church property such as the sacred vessels, and other liturgical items. For this, Patriarch Tikhon was placed under house arrest and the offices of the patriarchate were closed. group of priests including Alexander Vvedensky and Vladimir Krasnitsky, organized a Temporary Higher Church Administration, which turned into a group aimed at deposing the patriarch and introducing radical church reforms. Some bishops supported the Temporary Administration, but mostly the support came from married clergy who were excluded from the episcopacy by canon law, progressive intellectuals, and the government. Renovated Church deposed Patriarch Tikhon at one of its councils, and reestablished the Holy Synod (originally proclaimed by Peter the Great in 1721 to replace the patriarchate) to rule the church. It introduced controversial reforms to the episcopate and to the liturgy. undoubtedly deceitful nature of the Church takeover was evident to the faithful. The Living Church struggled much against the patriarch and his followers. Living Church leaders cooperated with the secret police having hundreds of "Tikhonite" clergy executed as counterrevolutionaries. an apparent attempt to relieve the harsh pressures on the Church, Patriarch Tikhon publicly repented his anti-Soviet actions, and assured the regime of his loyalty. On June 25, 1923 he was set free. Worshippers flocked to the churches that had remained faithful to him, and the schism of the Living Church lost much ground. Only by government support did it keep going. schism collapsed completely during World War II, when Joseph Stalin changed his religious policies and allowed the election of a successor to Tikhon. Except for Vvedensky, the leaders of the Renovated Church repented, and its churches returned to the Patriarch.

Russia, Moscow, 1903-1912, Bolsheviks, (Majority, Reds, Workers, Communist Party of the Social Democrats)
Bolsheviks, 1903-1912, (Majority, Reds, Workers, Communist Party of the Social Democrats); St. George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21;

Russia, Moscow, 1903-1937, Demetrius M Benevolenskii, Tver priest i1911, imprisond s times fPastoral duties, shot i1937
Russia, Tver, 1903-1937, Demetrius Mikhailovich Benevolenskii oTver (Tversta River Mouth, Volga River 4) priest in 1911, tOstrovno V, tPanoshino [today Udomlya V, tSinev V, imprisoned several times for pastoral duties, then shot in 1937; Tver; New Hieromartyr Demetrius (Benevolenskii) of Tver, Commemorated on November 14; Mikhailovich Benevolenskii was born on October 10, 1883 in Vishny Volochyok, Tver province. his ordination to the priesthood in 1911, he was assigned to the Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius in the village of Ostrovno in 1919, to the Church of All the Afflicted in the village of Panoshino [today Udomlya]. later served at the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Sinev in the Dubrovo Sonkovskii District of the Tver region. a result of his intense dedication to his pastoral duties, he had been arrested and imprisoned several times by the communist regime. his final arrest, he was shot on November 27, 1937. September 19, 1999, he was numbered among the new martyrs and confessors of Russia.

Russia, Moscow, 1904-1905, Russo-Japanese War of 1904, 1905
Moscow, Russo-Japanese war in 1904, 1905; Liaodong Peninsula; St Nicholas, Equal of the Apostles and Archbishop of Japan, Commemorated on February 16; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1;

Russia, Moscow, 1905, All Blessed Icon Copy, sent to city oKazan, Russia
St. George's Cathedral, Istanbul; All Blessed Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on September 1; Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior) The original “All Blessed” (Pammakaristos) Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is in Constantinople in the patriarchal cathedral. is a mosaic icon dating from the middle of the eleventh century. 1905, Patriarch Joachim III presented a copy of the icon to the city of Kazan in Russia.

Russia, Moscow, 1905-1929, Hilarion, Vereiya, Kaluga, theologian, preacher, church defender, writer, 2 of 9 yrs freedom
Russia, Kaluga, 1905-1929, Hilarion, Vereiya, Kaluga, theologian, preacher, church defender, writer, 2 of 9 yrs freedom, wrote about The Unity otChurch, An Outline otHistory otChurch's Dogma, called for restoration Moscow Patriarchate, disolved bPerter I, Tikhon Patriarch, Hilarion Bishop 1920, so great lumiinary on the lampstand, only 6mos wTikhon, 1922 arrested, tArchangelisk 1yr, then 6yrs Solvoki labor camp, there aFilomonov Wharf catching fish mending nets, formerly fishermen became theologians now the reverse, popular inmate, tall robust brown hair, always gave, remained cheerful, 1925 Yaroslav prison, treated lenient, books plesant conversations wWarden, 1926 back tSolvoki, 1929 exiled Alma-Atu, robbed on the way, ill wParasites, dressed iRags, knew time oDeath, 1929; Vereiya; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated December 15 ; holy New Martyr Archbishop Hilarion (Vladimir Alexievich Troitsky in the world), outstanding theologian, an eloquent preacher, and a fearless defender of Christ’s holy Church, was born around 1885. Hilarion wrote many books and articles on various topics, including “The Unity of the Church.” His Master’s thesis, “An Outline of the History of the Church’s Dogma,” was over five hundred pages long, and was a well-documented analysis of the subject. the Council of 1917 he delivered a brilliant address calling for the restoration of the Moscow Patriarchate, had been dissolved by Tsar Peter I in the eighteenth century. Saint Tikhon (April 7) was chosen as Patriarch, Saint Hilarion became his fervent supporter. Hilarion was consecrated as bishop on May 20, 1920, so the great luminary was placed upon the lampstand (Luke 11:33). that time, he was to know less than two years of freedom. He spent only six months working with Patriarch Tikhon. was arrested and exiled in Archangelsk for a year, he spent six years (1923-1929) in a labor camp seven versts from Solovki. at the Filomonov Wharf he and at least two other bishops were employed in catching fish and mending nets. the hymns of Pentecost, Archbishop Hilarion remarked, “Formerly, the fishermen became theologians. Now the theologians have become fishermen.” Hilarion was one of the most popular inmates of the labor camp. is remembered as tall, robust, and with brownish hair. possessions meant nothing to him, so he always gave his things away to anyone who asked for them. never showed annoyance when people disturbed him or insulted him, but remained cheerful. the summer of 1925, Vladika was taken from the camp and placed in the Yaroslav prison. he was treated more leniently, and received certain privileges. example, he was allowed to receive religious books, and he had pleasant conversations with the warden in his office. Hilarion regarded his time at the Yaroslav Isolated Detention Center as the best part of his imprisonment. following spring he was back at Solovki. 1929 the Communists decided to exile Archbishop Hilarion to Alma-Atu in central Asia. his trip southward from the far north, Saint Hilarion was robbed and endured many privations. he arrived in Petrograd, he was ill with typhus, infested with parasites and dressed in rags. informed that he would have to be shaved, he replied, “You may now do with me whatever you wish.” wrote from the prison hospital, “My fate will be decided on Saturday, December 15. I doubt I will survive.” Hilarion died at the age of forty-four in the hospital of a Petrograd prison on December 15, 1929. body was placed in a coffin hastily made from some boards, and then was released to his family. once tall and robust Archbishop Hilarion had been transformed by his sufferings into a pitiful white-haired old man. One female relative fainted when she saw the body. Seraphim (Chichagov) provided a set of white vestments for the late Archbishop. He was also placed in a better coffin. Seraphim presided at the funeral of Saint Hilarion, assisted by six bishops and several priests. The saint was buried at Novodevichii Monastery. Hilarion is commemorated on December 15 (his repose in 1929); May 10 (his glorification in 1999); the Third Sunday after Pentecost (All Saints of St. Petersburg); July 11 (The Finding of his relics in 1998); and on the Sunday nearest to August 26 (All Saints of Moscow).

Russia, Moscow, 1906-1914, Maxim Sandovich, Aust-Hung Catholic monk to Rus Orthodox priest, shot for continuing services
Poland, 1906-1914, Maxim Sandovich oZdynia, Poland in the Beskids (Vistula River Source), Austro-Hungarian Catholic Monk iKrakow, attempts to denationalize Russians and Latinize Eastern Rite, went tPochaev monastery, Orthodox, potential recognized, sent to Zhitomir seminary 1911, married&ordained, Lemko region Orthodox movement tAncestors faith, Home tHrab, Vysovatka, Dovhe, Dec 1911 Austrians ordered O services stop b Russian sympathies, M continued O services iHomes, repeatedly fined temp arrest, 1912 prison 2yrs Lviv, not guilty trial, continued O services, Aug 1914 WWI arrested, no trial, shot, family sent to Talerhof CCamp, son M born, future Lemko Rusyn priest, glorification 1994, relics transfered 2007; Zdynia, Poland; Hieromartyr Maxim Sandovich, Commemorated on September 6; Maxim was born in 1886 in Zdynia in the Lemko region of Carpatho-Rus which was then a part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in present day Poland. father, Tymofej, was the cantor of Zydnia’s Greek Catholic church. completing his education in the nearby town of Jaslo and Nowy Sacz, he entered the Greek Catholic Basilian monastery in Krakow. with the attempts to Latinize the Eastern rite to make it more acceptable to the Roman Catholic majority and also attempts to denationalize the Rusyns, he crossed the border into the Russian empire and entered the famed Orthodox monastery at Pochaev. was while at the monastery that his outstanding potential attracted the attention of the illustrious Bishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) who enrolled him in the Orthodox seminary in Zhitomir. completed his seminary studies in 1911 that same year married Pelagia Grigoryuk and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood. that time in the Lemko region there was a growing movement away from the Greek Catholic Church to the Orthodox Faith of their ancestors. Maxim returned home to serve the Orthodox faithful in the villages of Hrab, Vysovatka and Dovhe. serving his first Divine Liturgy in Hrab on December 2, 1911, the Austrian authorities, suspicious of the Orthodox Faith for its alleged “Russian sympathies,” issued an order forbidding any further Orthodox services. Maxim ignored the order and continued to conduct services in village homes. was repeatedly fined and held under temporary arrest. Before Pascha in 1912, he was again arrested with his friend and spiritual father, Father Ignatij Hudyma, held in prison for two years in a Lviv prison until their trial began on March 9, 1914. being found not guilty he immediately returned to his native village and continued minister to his Orthodox parishioners. the outbreak of World War I, Father Maxim was again arrested and imprisoned on August 4, 1914 along with his entire family. Maxim, his father, mother, brother, and wife were forced to travel on foot to the prison while being prodded by the bayonets of the soldiers. prison they were placed in separate cells and denied the opportunity to see each other. time, however, there would be no court trial. the morning of September 6, Father Maxim awoke in his cell and read his morning prayers as usual. soldiers led the twenty-eight year old priest from his cell to a wall in the prison courtyard where he was bound and blindfolded. he was being led from his cell Father Maxim realized where they were taking him and humbly and with dignity asked, “Be so good as not to hold me. I will go peacefully wherever you wish.” they ripped his priestly cross from his chest and threw it to the dirt, marking an “X” with chalk over his heart for a target. the command to execute the priest was given, Father Maxim was heard to shout: “Long live the Rus’ people, long live Orthodoxy!” the shots rang out the martyr slumped to the ground. To assure that he was dead three more blasts of a revolver were emptied into his head. September 12, Saint Maxim’s father, his pregnant wife, and brother were sent to the concentration camp at Talerhof in the far western part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. in the camp Pelagia gave birth to a son she named Maxim in honor of his father. his father, the younger Maxim also entered the priesthood serving the Lemko Rusyn people faithfully until his death in 1991. Canonization September 1994, the official glorification of Saint Maxim began in the courtyard of the Gorlice Court House where the saint had been martyred, a bronze plaque marking the tragic event was placed on the wall. this service, a procession of hierarchs, including our Metropolitan Nicholas of blessed memory, clergy and faithful entered the Holy Trinity Church in Gorlice for the service of glorification. the glorification of a saint, ordinarily the saint’s relics would be exhumed from their grave and transferred in procession to the church. bishops of the Orthodox Church of Poland decided to delay the transfer, fearing it would provoke the areas’ Roman Catholics who reluctantly tolerate the Orthodox presence. on September 5-6, 2007, the martyr’s relics were transferred from the village cemetery in Zdynia to the Holy Trinity Church in Gorlice, Poland where they are enshrined on the right side of the icon screen. Witness of Martyrs Lord said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). life of this new hieromartyr (priest-martyr) echo the words of Jesus. Maxim had no fear of threats from the government, imprisonment, abuse, insults and even a firing squad. this newly-ordained priest was arrested for serving an Orthodox Divine Liturgy his first action on being freed was to immediately return to his flock and resume his priestly ministry. Lord’s words in the Book of Revelation apply well to Saint Maxim: “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). my many years working as a hospice chaplain I have often been summoned by doctors and nurses to the bedside of a terminally ill patient who is fearful of his approaching death. medical professionals assume, rightly so, that it is primarily an active faith that can help a person face this fear. promise of the Lord Jesus to us is that if we believe in Him and our lives are joined to His we have nothing to fear in death. while the death and resurrection of our Savior have removed our fear of death, Jesus does not desire that all of our fears vanish. does want us to be afraid of something! He wants us to be afraid of the right things, to be fearful of things that should be fear: “...fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). life of Saint Maxim Sandovich, faithful priest shines forth this truth! — Father Edward Pehanich

Russia, Moscow, 1908-1931, Nikon of Optina, lived through terrible times
Russia, Kaluga, 1908-1931, Nikon of Optina; Optina Monestary ; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25; Nikon was born on September 26, 1888, the son of Metrophanes and Vera Belyaev, and was named Nicholas at his Baptism. His parents, who were both very devout, belonged to one of Moscow’s merchant families. Belyaev family received a visit from Saint John of Kronstadt when Nicholas was in his first year. He blessed Vera and gave her a signed photograph of himself. Nicholas and his brother John loved going to church and reading the Holy Scriptures and other spiritual books. When John and Nicholas decided to embrace monasticism, they cut up a list of Russia’s monasteries from an old book, and Nicholas was asked to pick one of the strips after praying to God. The strip he selected read, “The Optina Hermitage of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, Kozelsk.â€ Until that moment, neither of them had ever heard of this monastery. brothers traveled to Optina on February 24, 1907 with their mother’s blessing, and were accepted into the monastery on December 9, the commemoration of the “Unexpected Joyâ€ Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. was assigned as secretary to Father Barsanuphius, the Superior of the Skete, in October 1908. Except for reading and serving in church, this became his chief monastic obedience for the rest of his life. Saint Barsanuphius (April 1) foresaw that he would become an excellent monk as well as a worthy disciple. Nicholas was devoted to the Elder, and followed his will in all matters. Father Barsanuphius gave him the benefit of his knowledge and experience, guiding him to ascend the spiritual ladder of virtues. was tonsured into the Lesser Schema on May 24, 1915 with the new name Nikon in honor of the martyr Saint Nikon (September 28). He was ordained as a deacon on April 30, 1916, and as a priest on November 3, 1917. Father Nikon could not help but remember the prophecy of Father Barsanuphius made several years before the Russian Revolution. Saint Barsanuphius foresaw times of difficulty for monasteries when Christians would be persecuted and suffer martyrdom. He predicted that he himself would be dead before this happened, and that Father Nikon would live through those terrible times. Nikon was arrested and jailed on September 18, 1919 without the benefit of a trial, just because he was a monk. He was later released and permitted to return to Optina, where the monks had formed a farming cooperative. Soviets closed the cooperative in 1923, and the monastery was turned into a museum. Two monks were allowed to stay and work in the museum, while the others were expelled and told to go wherever they wished. Father Nikon was blessed by Father Isaac to serve in the church dedicated to the Kazan Icon and to receive visitors. When people came to him for advice, he always quoted the words of the Optina Elders. last church at Optina was closed early in 1924, and Father Nikon was obliged to leave in June. He went to live at Kozelsk with Father Cyril Zlenko. There he continued to receive visitors and offer spiritual counsel, sharing money and food with those who were too old, or too sick to work. Father Nikon was a wise spiritual Father, who was able to help people overcome their shame and reveal the sins which had troubled them for a long time. People would leave Father Nikon feeling cleansed and renewed. Nikon, Father Cyril, and Father Agapitus Taub were arrested and thrown into prison in June of 1927. Father Nikon and Father Agapitus were sent to the “Kemperpunktâ€ camp, where Father Nikon was assigned the duty of guarding the storehouses. Nikon wrote to his spiritual children from the camp with cheerful words of encouragement. Although he accepted his imprisonment as God’s will, it was nevertheless difficult for him to endure. When their prison term ended, the two monks were sent into exile at Archangelsk. Before leaving the camp, Father Nikon was examined and found to have tuberculosis. The doctors advised him to request that his place of exile be changed to a place with a more suitable climate. asked the advice of Father Agapitus, who told him not to make such a request. At Archangels, Father Nikon lodged in the home of an elderly woman who gave him little rest or peace. Every week he had to travel three kilometers to present himself before the authorities in the city of Pinyega. shoveling snow at the beginning of Great Lent, Father Nikon’s leg began to hemorrhage, and he developed a high fever. His landlady did not feel any pity for him, but told him that he must leave her house so that the others would not become infected with tuberculosis. Father Nikon was visited by Father Peter, who had once lived at Optina. He begged Father Peter to take him in, which he did. Father Peter cared for the Elder to the best of his ability. For the last two months of his life, Father Nikon received Holy Communion almost every day, and his sufferings seemed to grow less severe. He often dictated letters to his spiritual children to Father Peter. One day, Father Nikon saw Saint Macarius of Optina (September 7) in a vision and told Sister Irene to pull up a chair for him. She was slow to obey him so he said, “Forgive her, Father, for she is not very experienced.â€ June 25, 1931 Father Nikon was so weak that he could not speak. Archimandrite Niká¸—tas was called to bring him Communion, and to read the Canon for the Departure of the Soul. That night the Elder fell asleep in the Lord at the age of forty-three. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13,1996, glorifying them for universal veneration on August 7, 2000. Unexpected Joy Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on December 9; Unexpected Joy Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is painted in this way: in a room is an icon of the Mother of God, and beneath it a youth is kneeling at prayer. The tradition about the healing of some youth from a bodily affliction through this holy icon is recorded in the book of Saint Demetrius of Rostov, The Fleece of Prayer [See Judges 6: 36-40]. sinful youth, who was nevertheless devoted to the Theotokos, was praying one day before the icon of the All-Pure Virgin before going out to commit a sin. Suddenly, he saw that wounds appeared on the Lord’s hands, feet, and side, and blood flowed from them. In horror he exclaimed, “O Lady, who has done this?â€ The Mother of God replied, “You and other sinners, because of your sins, crucify My Son anew.â€ Only then did he realize how great was the depth of his sinfulness. For a long time he prayed with tears to the All-Pure Mother of God and the Savior for mercy. Finally, he received the unexpected joy of the forgiveness of his sins. “Unexpected Joyâ€ icon is also commemorated on January 25 and May 1. Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; I. Plikhanov was born in the city of Samara on July 5,1845, the son of John and Natalia Plikhanov. His mother died in childbirth, and his father later remarried so that his son would have a mother. Although his stepmother was very strict, she was a real mother to him, and he loved her very much. a descendant of the Orenburg Cossacks, Paul was enrolled in the Polotsk Cadet Corps. He completed his studies at the Orenburg Military School and received an officer’s commission. He later graduated from the Petersburg Cossack Staff Officers’ School, and also served at the headquarters of the Kazan military district and eventually rose to the rank of colonel. as he was sick with pneumonia, Paul sensed that he was about to die. He asked his orderly to read the Gospel to him, and passed out. Then he had a vision in which the heavens seemed to open, and he was afraid because of the great light. His whole sinful life passed before him, and he was overcome with repentance. A voice told him he should go to Optina Monastery, but the doctors did not think he would recover. His health did improve, however, and the colonel visited Optina. In August 1889 the Elder of the Monastery was Saint Ambrose (October 10), who told Paul to set his worldly affairs in order. Two years later, Saint Ambrose blessed him to cut all ties to the world and told him to enter Optina within three months. was not easy for the colonel to resign his commission within the specified three month period, because obstacles were placed in his way. In fact, he was offered a promotion to the rank of general, and was asked to delay his retirement. Some people even tried to arrange a marriage for him, laughing at his intention to go to the monastery. Only his stepmother was happy that he wished to become a monk. On the very last day of the three months he concluded his affairs and arrived at Optina. However, Saint Ambrose was already laid out in his coffin in the church. Anatole I (January 25) succeeded Father Ambrose as Elder, and he assigned Paul to Hieromonk Nectarius (April 29) as his cell attendant. He was accepted as a novice in 1892, and tonsured as a rassophore in 1893. Over the next ten years he advanced through the various stages of monastic life, including ordination as deacon (1902), and as priest (1903). The monk Paul was secretly tonsured into the mantiya in December of 1900 because of a serious illness. When they asked him what name he wished to receive, he said it did not matter. They named him in honor of Saint Barsanuphius of Tver and Kazan (April 11). Although he recovered, they did not give him the mantiya until December of 1902 after the Liturgy when it was revealed that he had been tonsured on his sickbed. September 1, 1903 Father Barsanuphius was appointed to assist Elder Joseph, the skete Superior, in the spiritual direction of the skete brethren and the sisters of the Shamordino convent. the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war in 1904, Father Barsanuphius was sent to the Far East as a military chaplain, where he ministered to wounded soldiers. The war ended in August 1905, and Saint Barsanuphius returned to Optina on November 1, 1905. Elder Joseph had become too old and frail to administer the skete’s affairs, Father Barsanuphius was appointed as Superior of the skete in his place. Father Barsanuphius soon reestablished order and discipline, paid off debts, repaired buildings, etc. As Superior, he combined strictness with paternal concern and tenderness for those under him. Barsanuphius, like the other Elders of Optina, possessed the gifts of clairvoyance and of healing people afflicted with physical and spiritual ailments. One of his spiritual sons, Father Innocent Pavlov, recalled his first Confession with the Elder. He became fearful because Father Barsanuphius seemed to know his innermost thoughts, reminding him of people and events which he had forgotten. The saint spoke gently and told him that it was God who had revealed to him these things about Father Innocent. “During my lifetime, do not tell anyone about what you are experiencing now,â€ he said, “but you may speak of it after my death.â€ Barsanuphius loved spiritual books, especially the Lives of the Saints. He often told people that those who read these Lives with faith benefit greatly from doing so. The answers to many of life’s questions can be found by reading the Lives of the Saints, he said. They teach us how to overcome obstacles and difficulties, how to stand firm in our faith, and how to struggle against evil and emerge victorious. Although the Lives of the Saints were widely available, it saddened the Elder that more people did not read them. Barsanuphius commemorated many saints each day during his Rule of prayer, and this was not accidental. Each saint, he once explained, had some particular importance in his life. If, for example, some significant event took place, he would look to see which saints were commemorated on that day, then he would begin to commemorate them each day. Later he noticed that on their Feast Day, they would often deliver him from some danger or trouble. On December 17, 1891, the commemoration of the Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths, he left Kazan and never returned. That was the day he decided to leave the world, and Saint Barsanuphius felt that God had delivered him from a furnace of passions. Just as the three youths were delivered from the fiery furnace because they would not bow down before idols, the Elder always believed that he left the world unharmed because he refused to bow down before the idols of lust, pride, gluttony, etc. 1908, Saint Barsanuphius seemed to fall ill more frequently, and began to speak of his approaching death. In April of that year, someone sent him a package containing the Great Schema. Father Barsanuphius had long desired to be tonsured into the Great Schema before his death, but he had told no one of this except for the archimandrite. Therefore, he regarded this as a sign that he would soon die. night in July 1910, the Elder became so ill that he had to leave church during Vigil and return to his cell. The next morning, July 11, he was so weak that he could not sit up by himself. That evening he was tonsured into the Great Schema. Barsanuphius began to recover, but there were new problems in the monastery. New monks came in from spiritually lax environments. They did not understand the ascetical nature of monasticism or the whole notion of eldership, and so they began to clamor for reform and change. They wanted to assume positions of authority, and to close the skete. Because of their complaints, Father Barsanuphius was removed from Optina and assigned as igumen of the Golutvinsky Monastery. When he arrived to take up his duties, Father Barsanuphius found the monastery in a state of physical and spiritual decline. Nevertheless, he did not lose heart, and soon the monastery began to revive. More people began to visit, once they heard that an Optina Elder had come to Goluvinsky, and the monastery’s financial position also began to improve. However, the rebellious brethren caused him great sorrow, and he had to expel some of them the beginning of 1913, Saint Barsanuphius became ill again and asked Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow for permission to retire to Optina, but that was not to be. He fell asleep in the Lord on April 1, and his body remained in the church of Golotvino until April 6 (which was also Lazarus Saturday). After the funeral, his body was placed on a train and sent to Optina for burial. The train arrived at Kozelsk Station on April 8, and the coffin was carried to Optina by clergy. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13, 1996. The work of uncovering the relics of Saints Leonid, Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatole I, Barsanuphius and Anatole II began on June 24/July 7, 1998 and was concluded the next day. However, because of the church Feasts (Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, etc.) associated with the actual dates of the uncovering of the relics, Patriarch Alexey II designated June 27/July 10 as the date for commemorating this event. The relics of the holy Elders now rest in the new church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Optina Elders were glorified by the Moscow Patriarchate for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Russia, Moscow, 1911-1945, Maria Skobtsova, Riga, Latvia, athiest a14, radical ideas nAction, Orthodox Social Work
Latvia, 1911-1945, Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova) Riga, Latvia (Westerb Dvina River 19, Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea), Russian Empire, tBlack Sea shore, Anapa, wNun a7, Athiest a14, 1906 St Petersburg, radical ideas, but do nothing, married Bolshevik, politics poetry theology, no connection to ordinary people, above actual Church, any old beggar woman's prostrations, church wIdea not community, read lives oSaints, concluded need not revolutionary theories but Christ, accepted by Theological Academy, 1913 marriage collapsed, daughter born, WWI, back to Southern Russia, lead weights, needs oOther people not self mortification, 1917 iSt Pete for Bolshevik overthrow, Trotsky's dismissing people from the party, actual revolution vs dreams, 1918 elected deputy mayor Anapa, arrested, defense loyalty to tPeople, married tJudge Daniel Skobtsov, fled to Georgia1921, tYugoslavia, tParis1923, dolls&scarves money, Orthodox lectures, 1926 daughter death grief devoted self to mother for all, social work theological writing, retold saints lives, 1930 Christian Movement traveling secretary, in contact wRussian Refugees, taught personal alms giving, vision new type community, monastic&fraternal, free church can perform miracles, devotion to social work&wanning marriage, Nun suggestion, Daniel accepted, 1932 ordination, monasticism itWorld, house oHospitality, young Russian women guests, chapel upstairs wIconostasis she painted, dining room lecture hall, new location from 25 people to 100, each person icon of God incarnate, venerate that image, other locations&rural sanatorium, not all responded to trust, theft common, said money found and thief cried, they sought the homeless, 1939 WWII German Occupation fFrance, Jews ask for babtismal certificates, arrested for helping Jews, several camps & gas chamber; Riga; Righteous Martyr Maria (Skobtsova), Commemorated on July 20; Pilenko, the future Mother Maria, was born in 1891 in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Empire, and grew up in the south of Russia on the shore of the Black Sea. Her father was mayor of the town of Anapa, while on her mother's side, she was descended from the last governor of the Bastille, the Parisian prison destroyed during the French Revolution. parents were devout Orthodox Christians whose faith helped shape their daughter's values, sensitivities and goals. As a child she once emptied her piggy bank in order to contribute to the painting of an icon that would be part of a new church in Anapa. At seven she asked her mother if she was old enough to become a nun, while a year later she sought permission to become a pilgrim who spends her life walking from shrine to shrine. the age of 14, her father died, an event that seemed to her meaningless and unjust and led her to embrace atheism. "If there is no justice," she said, "there is no God." decided God's nonexistence was well known to adults but kept secret from children. For her, childhood was over. her widowed mother moved the family to Saint Petersburg in 1906, she found herself in the country's political and cultural center — also a hotbed of radical ideas and groups — and became part of radical literary circles that gathered around such symbolist poets as Alexander Blok, whom she first met at age 15. many of her contemporaries, she was drawn to the left, but was often disappointed at the radicals she encountered. Though regarding themselves as revolutionaries, they seemed to do nothing but talk. spirit longed to engage in heroic feats, even to perish, to combat the injustice of the world," she recalled. Yet no one she knew was actually laying down his or her life for others. her friends hear of someone dying for the Revolution, she noted, "they will value it, approve or not approve, show understanding on a very high level, and discuss the night away till the sun rises and it's time for fried eggs. But they will not understand at all that to die for the Revolution means to feel a rope around one's neck." 1910, she married Dimitri Kuzmin-Karaviev, a Bolshevik and part of a community of poets, artists and writers, but she later commented that it was a marriage born "more of pity than of love." addition to politics and poetry, she and her friends also talked theology, just as their political ideas had no connection at all to the lives of ordinary people, their theology floated far above the actual Church. There was much they might have learned, she reflected later in life, from "any old beggar woman hard at her Sunday prostrations in church." many intellectuals, the Church was an idea or a set of abstract values, not a community in which one actually lives. still regarding herself an atheist, gradually her earlier attraction to Christ revived and deepened, not yet Christ as God incarnate but Christ as heroic man. time, she found herself drawn toward the religious faith she had abandoned after her father's death. prayed and read the Gospel and the lives of saints and concluded that the real need of the people was not for revolutionary theories but for Christ. wanted "to proclaim the simple word of God," she told Blok in a letter written in 1916. Desiring to study theology, she applied for admission to Saint Petersburg's Theological Academy of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, in those days an entirely male school whose students were preparing for ordination. surprising as her wanting to study there was the rector's decision that she could be admitted. 1913, her marriage collapsed. Later that year, her first child, Gaiana, was born. as World War I was beginning, she returned with her daughter to southern Russia, where her religious life grew more intense. a time she secretly wore lead weights sewn into a hidden belt as a way of reminding herself both "that Christ exists" and also to be more aware that minute-by-minute many people were suffering and dying in the war. realized, however, that the primary Christian asceticism was not self-mortification, but caring response to the needs of other people. October 1917, she was present in Saint Petersburg when Russia's Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks. part in the All-Russian Soviet Congress, she heard Lenin's lieutenant, Leon Trotsky, dismiss people from her party with the words, "Your role is played out. Go where you belong, into history's garbage can!" grew to see how hideously different actual revolution was from the dreams of revolution that had once filled the imagination of so many Russians! February 1918, she was elected deputy mayor of Anapa. she was arrested, jailed, and put on trial for collaboration with the enemy. court, she rose and spoke in her own defense: "My loyalty was not to any imagined government as such, but to those whose need of justice was greatest, the people. Red or White, my position is the same — I will act for justice and for the relief of suffering. I will try to love my neighbor." It was thanks to Daniel Skobtsov, a former schoolmaster who was now her judge, that she avoided execution. After the trial, she sought him out to thank him. Eventually they married. the course of the civil war was turning in favor of the Bolsheviks, the Skobtsovs fled to Georgia, where she gave birth to a son, Yura, in 1920. year later, having relocated to Yugoslavia, she gave birth to Anastasia, long journey ended with their arrival in Paris in 1923, where to supplement their income she made dolls and painted silk scarves, often working ten or twelve hours a day. friend introduced her to the Russian Student Christian Movement, an Orthodox association founded in 1923. She began attending lectures and other activities and felt herself coming back to life spiritually and intellectually. 1926, she grieved the death of her daughter Anastasia. She emerged from her mourning determined to seek a "new road before me and a new meaning in life, to be a mother for all, for all who need maternal care, assistance, or protection." devoted herself to social work and theological writing. 1927 two volumes, Harvest of the Spirit, were published, in which she retold the lives of many saints. 1930, she was appointed traveling secretary of the Russian Student Christian Movement, work which put her into daily contact with impoverished Russian refugees throughout France and neighboring countries. often lectured, but she was quick to listen to others as they related some terrible grief that had burdened them for years. She took literally Christ's words, that He was always present in the least person. "Man ought to treat the body of his fellow human being with more care than he treats his own," she wrote. "Christian love teaches us to give our fellows material as well as spiritual gifts. We should give them our last shirt and our last piece of bread. Personal alms-giving and the most wide-ranging social work are both equally justified and needed." time, she began to envision a new type on community, "half monastic and half fraternal," that would connect spiritual life with service to those in need, in the process showing "that a free Church can perform miracles." Sergei Bulgakov, her confessor, was a source of support and encouragement, as was her bishop, Metropolitan Evlogy [Georgievsky], who was responsible from 1921 to 1946 for the many thousands of Russian expatriates scattered across Europe. her devotion to social work, and knowing of her waning marriage, he suggested to her the possibility of becoming a nun. time, Daniel came to accept the idea after meeting with Metropolitan Evlogy. the spring of 1932, in the chapel at Paris' Saint Sergius Theological Institute, she was professed as a nun with the name Maria. made her monastic profession, Metropolitan Evlogy recognized, "in order to give herself unreservedly to social service." Mother Maria called it simply "monasticism in the world." "to share the life of paupers and tramps," she began to look for a house of hospitality and found it at 9 villa de Saxe in Paris, which she leased with financial assistance from Metropolitan Evlogy. began receiving guests, mainly young Russian women without jobs, giving up her own room to house them while herself sleeping on a narrow iron bedstead in the basement. A room upstairs became a chapel — she painted the iconostasis icons — while the dining room doubled as a hall for lectures and dialogues. need of larger facilities, a new location was found two years later in an area of Paris where many impoverished Russian refugees had settled. While at the former address she could feed only 25, here she could feed a hundred. her guests could regain their breath "until the time comes to stand on their two feet again." Her credo was: "Each person is the very icon of God incarnate in the world." this recognition came the need "to accept this awesome revelation of God unconditionally, to venerate the image of God" in her brothers and sisters. her ministry evolved, she rented other buildings, one for families in need, and another for single men. A rural property became a sanatorium. 1937, she housed several dozen women, serving up to 120 dinners every day. Every morning, she would beg for food or buy cheaply whatever was not donated. a seemingly endless array of challenges, Mother Maria was sustained chiefly by those she served — themselves beaten down, people in despair, cripples, alcoholics, the sick, survivors of many tragedies. not all responded to trust with trust. Theft was not uncommon. On one occasion a guest stole 25 francs. Everyone guessed who the culprit was, a drug addict, but Mother Maria refused to accuse her. Instead she announced at the dinner table that the money had not been stolen, only misplaced, and she had found it. "You see how dangerous it is to make accusations," she commented. At once the girl who stole the money burst into tears. Maria and her collaborators would not simply open the door when those in need knocked, but would actively seek out the homeless. place to find them was an all-night café at Les Halles where those with nowhere else to go could sit for the price of a glass of wine. also were cared for, and a part-time school was opened at several locations. her attention toward Russian refugees who had been classified insane, Mother Maria began a series of visits to mental hospitals. In each hospital five to ten percent of the Russian patients turned out to be sane and, thanks to her intervention, were released. Language barriers and cultural misunderstandings had kept them in the asylum. time, she and her associates helped establish clinics for TB sufferers and a variety of other ministries. Another landmark was the foundation in September 1935 of a group named "Orthodox Action" — a name proposed by her friend, philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev. Cofounders included Father Sergei Bulgakov, historian George Fedotov, the scholar Constantine Mochulsky, the publisher Ilya Fondaminsky, and her long-time coworker Fedor Pianov, with Metropolitan Evgoly serving as honorary president. financial support from supporters across Europe and the United States, a wider range of projects and centers were made possible: hostels, rest homes, schools, camps, hospital work, help to the unemployed, assistance to the elderly, publication of books and pamphlets, etc. all of these growing ministries, Mother Maria's driving concern was that it should never lose its personal or communal character. October 1939, Father Dimitri Klepinin, then 35 years old, began to assist Mother Maria as she began the last phase of her life — a series of responses to World War II and Germany's occupation of France. Mother Maria could have fled Paris when the Germans were advancing, or even sought refuge in America, she would not budge. "If the Germans take Paris, I shall stay here with my old women. Where else could I send them?" She had no illusions about the Nazi threat, which to her represented a "new paganism" bringing in its wake disasters, upheavals, persecutions and wars. defeat came greater poverty and hunger, and the local authorities in Paris declared her house an official food distribution point, where volunteers sold at cost price whatever food Mother Maria had bought in that morning. refugees were among the particular targets of the occupiers. June 1941, a thousand were arrested, including several close friends and collaborators of Mother Maria and Father Dimitri, who launched an aid project for prisoners and their dependents. in 1942, their registration now underway, Jews began to knock at Mother Maria's door, asking Father Dimitri if he would issue baptismal certificates to them. The answer was always yes. names of those "baptized" were also duly recorded in his parish register in case there was any cross-checking by the police or Gestapo, as indeed did happen. Father Dimitri was convinced that in such a situation Christ would do the same. the Nazis issued special identity cards for those of Russian origin living in France, with Jews being specially identified, Mother Maria and Father Dimitri refused to comply, though they were warned that those who failed to register would be regarded as citizens of the USSR — enemy aliens — and be punished accordingly. the subsequent mass arrest of Jews — 12,884, of whom 6,900 (two-thirds of them children) were brought to the Velodrome d'Hiver sports stadium and held for five days before being sent to Auschwitz — Maria entered the stadium and for three days offered comfort to the children and their parents, distributing what food she could bring in. even managed to rescue a number of children by enlisting the aid of garbage collectors and smuggling them out in trash bins. her house house was bursting with people, many of them Jews. "It is amazing," Mother Maria remarked, "that the Germans haven't pounced on us yet." Father Dimitri, Mother Maria and their coworkers set up routes of escape to the unoccupied south. It was complex and dangerous work. Forged documents had to be obtained. A local resistance group helped secure provisions for those Mother Maria's community was struggling to feed. February 8, 1943, while Mother Maria was traveling, Nazi security police entered the house and found a letter in her son Yura's pocket in which Father Dimitri was asked to provide a Jew with a false baptismal document. now actively a part of his mother's work, was taken to the office of Orthodox Action, soon after followed by his distraught grandmother, Sophia Pilenko. The interrogator ordered her to bring Father Dimitri. Once the priest was there, said the interrogator, they would let Yura go. His grandmother Sophia was allowed to embrace Yura and give him a blessing. It was last time she saw him in this world. following morning, after celebrating the Divine Liturgy, Father Dimitri set off for the Gestapo office, where he was interrogated for four hours, making no attempt to hide his beliefs. The next day, February 10, Mother Maria was arrested and her quarters were searched. Several others were called for questioning and then held by the Gestapo. She was confined with 34 other woman at the Gestapo headquarters in Paris. Her son Yura, Father Dimitri and their coworker of many years, Feodor Pianov, were held in the same building. Pianov later recalled witnessing Father Dimitri being prod and beaten by an SS officer while Yura stood by, weeping. Father Dimitri "began to console him, saying the Christ withstood greater mockery than this." April, the prisoners were transferred to Compiegne, where Mother Maria was blessed with a final meeting with Yura, who said his mother "was in a remarkable state of mind and told me ... that I must trust in her ability to bear things and in general not to worry about her. Every day [Father Dimitri and I] remember her at the proskomidia ... We celebrate the Eucharist and receive Communion each day." Hours after their meeting,Mother Maria was transported to Germany. December 16, Yura and Father Dimitri were deported to Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany, followed several weeks later by Pianov. In January 1944, Father Dimitri and Yura were sent to another camp, Dora. Within ten days of arrival, Yura contracted furunculosis. On February 6, "dispatched for treatment" — a euphemism for "sentenced to death." Four days later Father Dimitri, lying on a dirt floor, died of pneumonia. His body was disposed of in the Buchenwald crematorium. Mother Maria — now "Prisoner 19,263" — was sent in a sealed cattle truck to the Ravensbruck camp in Germany, where she endured for two years, an achievement in part explained by her long experience of ascetic life. was assigned to Block 27 and befriended the many Russian prisoners who were with her. Unable to correspond with friends, little testimony in her own words has come down to us, but prisoners who survived the war remembered her. of them, Solange Perichon, recalls: "She was never downcast, never. She never complained.... She was full of good cheer, really good cheer. We had roll calls which lasted a great deal of time. We were woken at three in the morning and we had to stand out in the open in the middle of winter until the barracks [population] was counted. She took all this calmly and she would say, 'Well that's that. Yet another day completed. And tomorrow it will be the same all over again.' ... She allowed nothing of secondary importance to impede her contact with people." that her own exit point from the camp might be via the crematoria, Mother Maria asked a fellow prisoner whom she hoped would survive to memorize a message to be given at last to Father Sergei Bulgakov, Metropolitan Evlogy and her mother: state at present is such that I completely accept suffering in the knowledge that this is how things ought to be for me, and if I am to die, I see this as a blessing from on high." work in the camp varied. There was a period when she was part of a team of women dragging a heavy iron roller about the camp's pathways for 12 hours a day. In another period she worked in a knitwear workshop. legs began to give way. As her health declined, friends no longer allowed her to give away portions of her own food, as she had done in the past to help keep others alive. the Red Army approaching from the East, the concentration camp administrators further reduced food rations while greatly increasing the population of each block from 800 to 2,500. serious decline, Mother Maria accepted a pink card freely issued to any prisoner who wished to be excused from labor because of age or ill health. January 1945, those who had received such cards were transferred to what was called the Jugendlager — the "youth camp" — where the authorities said each person would have her own bed and abundant food. Mother Maria's transfer was on January 31. the food ration was further reduced and the hours spent standing for roll calls increased. Though it was mid-winter, blankets, coats and jackets were confiscated, and then even shoes and stockings. The death rate was at least fifty per day. Next all medical supplies were withdrawn. Those who still persisted in surviving now faced death by shootings and gas, the latter made possible by the construction of a gas chamber in March 1945, in which 150 were executed every day. Mother Maria survived five weeks in the "youth camp" before she was returned to the main camp on March 3. Though emaciated and infested with lice, with her eyes festering, she began to think she might actually live to return to Paris, or even go back to Russia. was not to be the case. On March 30, 1945 — Great, Holy and Good Friday that year — Mother Maria was selected for the gas chambers, in which she perished the following day, on Great and Holy Saturday. are at odds about what happened. According to one, she was one of the many selected for death that day. According to another, she took the place of another prisoner, a Jew, who had been chosen. perishing in the gas chamber, she did not perish in the Church's memory. Survivors of the war who had known her would again and again draw attention to the ideas, insights and activities of the unusual nun who had spent so many years coming to the aid of people in desperate straits. after the end of World War II, essays and books about her began to appear in France and Russia. A Russian film, "Mother Maria," was made in 1982. There have been two biographies in English and, little by little, the translation and publication in English of her most notable essays. January 18, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized Mother Maria Skobtsova as a saint, along with her son Yuri; the priest who worked closely with her, Fr. Dimitri Klépinin; and her close friend and collaborator Ilya Fondaminsky. Their glorification took place in Paris' Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky.

Russia, Moscow, 1913, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, 300 yrs after his death in 1612 (time of troubles) became intercessor
Russia, Moscow, 1913, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, relics in Chudov (Archangel Michael, Passions) Monastery, Moscow Kremlin, 300 yrs after his death in 1612 (time of troubles) became intercessor ; Chudov Monastery ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, was glorified on May 12, 1913. memory of Patriarch Hermogenes as a holy martyr was passed on from generation to generation for three centuries, and people increasingly regarded him as an intercessor and supplicant for the Russian land before the Throne of the Almighty. terrible years of national hardship, the nation turned to the memory of the heroic Patriarch. The Russian people came to his tomb with their personal tribulations, sicknesses and infirmities, reverently asking the help of Saint Hermogenes, and the All-Merciful Lord rewarded their faith. from all ends of Russia began to flock to Moscow for the glorification of the hieromartyr Hermogenes 300 years after his death. Pilgrims hastened to venerate the relics of the holy Patriarch, in the Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin, where panikhidas were served almost without interruption. the eve of the glorification there was a procession with an icon of Saint Hermogenes, and after it a grave cover, on which the saint was depicted full-length in mantiya and holding a staff. Beside the icon of the Patriarch they carried an icon of Saint Dionysius of Radonezh, his fellow-struggler in spiritual and patriotic deeds for the liberation of the Russian land from Polish-Lithuanian usurpers. the bell tower of Ivan the Great hung a tremendous banner, “Rejoice, Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Great Intercessor of the Russian land.” A hundred thousand candles blazed in the hands of believers. At the end of the procession, they began to chant the Paschal Canon and a Canon to Saint Hermogenes, at the shrine where the relics of the Patriarch rested. all-night Vigil took place under the open skies at all the Kremlin squares. On this night a number of healings occurred through the prayers of Saint Hermogenes. For example, a certain sick person came to the Dormition Cathedral on crutches, and was healed as he approached the shrine with the relics of the saint. Another sick person was healed, who had suffered from terrible crippling disease. They brought him to the reliquary of the hieromartyr Hermogenes on a stretcher, where he was completely cured. These and other similar healings, witnessed by a multitude of the faithful, were remarkable proofs of the holiness of the new Russian wonderworker. Sunday May 12, Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Dormition Cathedral. Presiding at the celebration of the solemn glorification of the new saint was His Beatitude Gregorios, Patriarch of Antioch. At the finish of Liturgy in all the churches of Moscow, Moliebens were served to Saint Hermogenes and a procession made to the Moscow Kremlin, in which more than twenty hierarchs took part. They accompanied the procession singing, “O Holy Hierarch Father Hermogenes, pray unto God for us.” From this day the liturgical veneration of Saint Hermogenes began. Thus, the wish of the faithful Russian people was fulfilled. Through their prayers the Russian Orthodox Church received a heavenly patron. Holy Synod of the Russian Church established the commemoration of the hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus for February 17, the day of his repose (his life and works are found under this day), and May 12, the day of his glorification. is the national significance of Saint Hermogenes, a tireless struggler for the purity of Orthodoxy and the unity of the Russian land. His ecclesial and civil activity during several centuries serves as an outstanding example of his ardent faith and love for the Russian people. ecclesial activity of the archpastor is characterized by an attentive and strict regard for church services. Under him were published a GOSPEL, a MENAION for September (1607), October (1609), November (1610), and for the first twelve days of December. The “Great Primary Rule” was printed in 1610. Saint Hermogenes did not merely give his blessing for this book, but carefully oversaw the accuracy of the text. With the blessing of Saint Hermogenes the Service to the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30) also was translated from Greek into the Russian language, and his Feast began to be celebrated in the Dormition Cathedral. the supervision of the Archpastor, new presses were made for printing service books, and a new print shop was built. This was damaged during the 1611 conflagration, when Moscow was burned by the Poles. Concerned about the order of divine services, Saint Hermogenes compiled a “Letter to all the People, Especially Priests and Deacons, on the Improvement of Church Singing.” The “Letter” chastizes the clergy for performing Church services not according to the Typikon, for unnecessary talking, and lay people for their irreverent attitude toward the divine services. literary activity of the first hierarch of the Russian Church is widely known. He wrote “An Account of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the Service to this Icon (1594);” “A Letter to Patriarch Job, Containing an Account of the Kazan Martyrs” (1591), a collection of articles in which questions about divine services (1598) are examined; there are patriotic documents and appeals, directed to the Russian nation (1606-1613), and other works. contemporaries speak of Patriarch Hermogenes as a man of outstanding intellect and erudition, “a Master of great reason and thought,” “very remarkable,” “very accomplished in wisdom and refined in learning,” “ever concerning himself about divine literature, and all the books about the Old Law and the New Grace, and pursuing to the end various Church rules and principles of law.” Saint Hermogenes spent a lot of time in monastery libraries, especially in the library of the Moscow Chudov monastery, where he copied precious historical accounts from ancient manuscripts. the seventeenth century they called the Chronicle by His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes the “Resurrection Chronicle.” In the collected works of the saint and his archpastoral documents there are many quotations from Holy Scripture, and examples taken from history, which testify to his profound knowledge of the Word of God and his familiarity with the Church literature of his time. Hermogenes incorporated his research in his preaching and teaching. The saint’s contemporaries regard the Archpastor as “a man of reverence,” “purity of life,” “a true shepherd of the flock of Christ,” and “a sincere upholder of the Christian faith”. qualities of Saint Hermogenes were quite especially apparent during the Time of Troubles, when the Russian land was overwhelmed by internal chaos, and worsened by Polish-Lithuanian intrigue. During this dark period, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church selflessly protected the Russian realm, by word and by deed defending the Orthodox Faith from Latinism, and also national unity from internal and external enemies. In saving his native land, Saint Hermogenes won the crown of a martyrdom, becoming a heavenly intercessor for Russia before the Throne of the Holy Trinity. Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow, Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17 Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus, was born in Kazan around 1530, and was descended from the Don Cossacks. According to the Patriarch’s own testimony, he served as priest in Kazan in a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas (December 6 and May 9), near the Kazan bazaar. Soon he became a monk, and from 1582 was archimandrite of the Savior-Transfiguration monastery at Kazan. On May 13, 1589 he was consecrated bishop and became the first Metropolitan of Kazan. he was the priest at Saint Nicholas, the wonderworking Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (July 8) was discovered in Kazan in 1579. With the blessing of Archbishop Jeremiah of Kazan, he carried the newly-appeared icon from the place of its discovery to the Church of Saint Nicholas. Having remarkable literary talent, the saint in 1594 compiled an account describing the appearance of the wonderworking icon and the miracles accomplished through it. In 1591 the saint gathered newly-baptized Tatars into the cathedral church and for several days he instructed them in the Faith. relics of Saint Germanus, the second archbishop of Kazan (September 25, November 6, and June 23), who died at Moscow on November 6, 1567 during a plague, were transfered and buried in Saint Nicholas Church in 1592. With the blessing of Patriarch Job (1589-1605), Saint Hermogenes reburied the relics at the Sviyazhsk Dormition monastery. January 9, 1592 Saint Hermogenes addressed a letter to Patriarch Job, in which he asked for permission to commemorate in his See of Kazan those Orthodox soldiers who gave their lives for the Faith and the nation in a battle against the Tatars. In the past, it was customary to enter into the diptychs the names of all Orthodox warriors who had fallen in battle, and to commemorate them. the same time he mentioned three martyrs who had suffered at Kazan for their faith in Christ, one of whom was a Russian named John (January 24) born at Nizhny Novgorod and captured by the Tatars. The other two, Stephen and Peter (March 24), were newly-converted Tatars. saint expressed regret that these martyrs were not inserted into the diptychs read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, and that “Memory Eternal” was not sung for them. In answer to Saint Hermogenes, the Patriarch issued a decree on February 25, which said: “to celebrate at Kazan and throughout all the Kazan metropolitanate a panikhida for all the Orthodox soldiers killed at Kazan and the environs of Kazan, on the Saturday following the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (October 1), and to inscribe them in the great Synodikon read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy,” and also ordered that the three Kazan martyrs be inscribed in the Synodikon, leaving it to Saint Hermogenes to set the day of their memory. Saint Hermogenes circulated the Patriarchal decree throughout his diocese, and required all the churches and monasteries to serve Liturgies, Panikhidas and Lityas for the three Kazan martyrs on January 24. Hermogenes displayed zeal in the faith and firmness in the observance of Church traditions, and he devoted himself to the enlightenment of Kazan Tatars with the faith of Christ. 1595, with the active participation of the Saint Hermogenes, the relics of the Kazan Wonderworkers Saint Gurias, the first archbishop of Kazan (October 4, December 5, June 20), and Saint Barsanuphius bishop of Tver (October 4, April 11) were discovered and uncovered. Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (1584-1598) had given orders to erect at the Kazan Savior-Transfiguration monastery a new stone church on the site of the first one, where the saints were buried. the graves of the saints were discovered, Saint Hermogenes came with a gathering of clergy. He commanded the graves to be opened and, when he saw the incorrupt relics and clothing of the saints, he notified the Patriarch and the Tsar. With the blessing of Patriarch Job and by order of the Tsar, the relics of the newly-appeared wonderworkers were placed in the new church. Saint Hermogenes himself compiled the lives of hierarchs Gurias and Barsanuphius. been found worthy of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Hermogenes was elected to the primatial See, and on July 3, 1606 he was installed as Patriarch by the assembly of the holy hierarchs at Moscow’s Dormition cathedral. Metropolitan Isidore handed the Patriarch the staff of the holy hierarch Peter, Moscow Wonderworker (October 5, December 21, August 24), and the Tsar gave as a gift to the new Patriarch a panagia, embellished with precious stones, a white klobuk and staff. In the ancient manner, Patriarch Hermogenes made his entrance riding upon a donkey. activity of Patriarch Hermogenes coincided with a difficult period for the Russian state: the appearance of the false Tsarevich Demetrius and the Polish king Sigismund III. The first hierarch devoted all his powers to the service of the Church and the nation. Hermogenes was not alone in this exploit: his self-sacrificing fellow-countrymen followed his example and assisted him. With special inspiration His Holiness the Patriarch stood up against the traitors and enemies of the nation, who wanted to spread Uniatism and Western Catholicism throughout Russia and to wipe out Orthodoxy, while enslaving the Russian nation. the imposter arrived at Moscow and settled himself at Tushino, Patriarch Hermogenes sent two letters to the Russian traitors. In one of them he wrote: “...You have forgotten the vows of our Orthodox Faith, in which we are born, baptized, nourished and raised. You have violated your oath and the kissing of the Cross to stand to the death for the house of the Most Holy Theotokos and for the Moscow realm, but have fallen for your false would-be Tsarevich ... My soul aches, my heart is sickened, all within me agonizes, and all my frame shudders; I weep and with sobbing I lament: Have mercy, have mercy, brethren and children, on your own souls and your parents departed and living ... Consider, how our nation is devastated and plundered by foreigners, who offer insult to the holy icons and churches, and how innocent blood is spilled, crying out to God. Think! Against whom do you take up arms: is it not against God, Who has created you? Is it not against your own brothers? Do you not devastate your own country?... I adjure you in the name of God, give up your undertaking, there is yet time, so that you do not perish in the end.” In the second document the saint appeals: “For the sake of God, come to your senses and turn around, gladden your parents, your wives and children; and we stand to pray God for you...” the righteous judgment of God fell upon the Brigand of Tushino: he was killed by his own close associates on December 11, 1610. But Moscow continued to remain in peril, since the Poles and traitors, loyal to Sigismund III, remained in the city. The documents sent by Patriarch Hermogenes throughout the cities and villages, exhorted the Russian nation to liberate Moscow from the enemies and to choose a lawful Russian Tsar. Muscovites rose up in rebellion, and the Poles burned the city, shutting themselves up in the Kremlin. Together with Russian traitors they forcefully seized Patriarch Hermogenes from the patriarchal throne and imprisoned him in the Chudov monastery. Bright Monday in 1611, the Russian militia approached Moscow and began the seige of the Kremlin, which continued for several months. Besieged within the Kremlin, the Poles often sent messengers to the Patriarch with the demand that he order the Russian militia to leave the city, threatening him with execution if he refused. saint firmly replied, “What are your threats to me? I fear only God. If all our enemies leave Moscow, I shall bless the Russian militia to withdraw from Moscow; but if you remain here, I shall bless all to stand against you and to die for the Orthodox Faith.” still in prison, the hieromartyr Hermogenes sent a final epistle to the Russian nation, blessing the liberating army to fight the invaders. The Russian commanders could not come to an agreement over a way to take the Kremlin and free the Patriarch. He languished more than nine months in dreadful confinement, and on February 17, 1612 he died a martyr’s death from starvation. liberation of Russia, for which Saint Hermogenes stood with such indestructible valor, was successfully achieved. The body of the hieromartyr Hermogenes was buried in the Chudov monastery, but in 1654 was transferred to the Moscow Dormition cathedral. The glorification of Patriarch Hermogenes as a saint occurred on May 12, 1913.

Russia, Moscow, 1914-1918, Russo-Turkish War (1914-18), Caucasus Campeign of WWI
Moscow, 1914-1918, Russo-Turkish War (1914-18), Caucasus Campeign of WWI;

Russia, Moscow, 1916-1966, John oSan Francisco, tBelgrade&ROCOR, tShanghai bCathedral, 5k exodus tPhillipines, DC lobbyng, Paris
Russia, Kiev, 1916-1966, St John oSan Francisco, fKharkov, Ukraine (High Point, Three Rivers source of the Seversky Donets, Vorskla River), born to pious aristocrats, sickly youth, poor appetite, intense religious interest, military school ed, Kharkiv U, law degree 1918, theological ed Belgrade 1925, Bishop Russian Church Outside Russia ROCOR, fled Bolsheviks, emigrated tYugoslavia, tonsured monk by ROCOR primate, taught iSerbian High School, hieromonk 1926, served iGreek, Bishop i1934, tShanghai, 1946 China Archbishop, ONationalities unity, built large cathedral w large Bell tower& lParish house, Churches, hospitals, orphanages, intensely active, barefoot Fool, end WWII exodus fCommunists 1949, 5,000 refuges Tubabao, Philippines, Wash DC lobbing tEnter US, parish in DC, 1951 Western Europe Archdiocese from Paris, restored Gaullican liturgy, consecrated ordained Bishops, 1962 Diocese San Francisco after friend Tikhon, sorrowful disunity days there, but peace there & new cathedral; Kharkov; Saint John [Maximovitch], Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, Commemorated on July 2; Father among the Saints John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966), a diocesan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) served widely from China to France to the United States. John departed this life on June 19 (O.S.) / July 2 (N.S.), 1966, was officially glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad on July 2, 1994. glorification was later recognized for universal veneration by the Patriarchate of Moscow on July 2, 2008. future Saint John was born on June 4, 1896, in the village of Adamovka in Kharkiv province pious aristocrats, Boris and Glafira Maximovitch. was given the baptismal name of Michael, after the Holy Archangel Michael. In his youth, Michael was sickly and had a poor appetite, but he displayed an intense religious interest. was educated at the Poltava Military School (1907-14); Kharkiv Imperial University, from which he received a law degree (in 1918); and the University of Belgrade (where he completed his theological education in 1925). and his family fled their country as the Bolshevik revolutionaries descended on the country, emigrating to Yugoslavia. he enrolled in the Department of Theology of the University of Belgrade. was tonsured a monk in 1926 by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kharkov the first primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia). Anthony later in 1926 ordained him hierodeacon. Gabriel of Chelyabinsk ordained him hieromonk on November 21, 1926. to his ordination he began an active life of teaching in a Serbian high school serving, at the request of local Greeks and Macedonians, in the Greek language. the growth of his popularity, the bishops of the Russian Church Aboard resolved to elevate him to the episcopate. John was consecrated bishop on May 28, 1934, with Metropolitan Anthony serving as principal consecrator, which he was assigned to the Diocese of Shanghai. years later he was named Archbishop of China. his arrival in Shanghai, Bishop John began working to restore unity among the various Orthodox nationalities. time, he worked to build a large cathedral church that was dedicated to Surety of Sinners Icon to the Mother of God, with a bell tower and large parish house. he inspired many activities: building of churches, hospitals, and orphanages among the Orthodox and Russians of Shanghai. was intensely active, constantly praying and serving the daily cycle of services, while also visiting the sick with the Holy Gifts. often would walk barefooted even in the coldest days. Yet to avoid the appearance of secular glory, he would pretend to act the fool. the end of World War II and the coming to power of the communists in China, Bishop John led the exodus of his community from Shanghai in 1949. Initially, he helped some 5,000 refugees to a camp on the island of Tubabao in the Philippines, he travelled successfully to Washington, D.C., to lobby to amend the law to allow these refugees to enter the United States. was while on this trip that Bishop John took time to establish a parish in Washington dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner. 1951, Archbishop John was assigned to the Archdiocese of Western Europe with his cathedra in Paris. his time there, he also served as archpastor of the Orthodox Church of France, restored Gallican liturgy he studied and then celebrated. was the principal consecrator of the Orthodox Church of France's first modern bishop, Jean-Nectaire (Kovalevsky) of Saint-Denis, ordained to the priesthood the man who would become its second bishop, Germain (Bertrand-Hardy) of Saint-Denis. 1962, Archbishop John was assigned to the Diocese of San Francisco, his long time friend Archbishop Tikhon. John's days in San Francisco were to prove sorrowful as he attempted to heal the great disunity in his community. was able to bring peace such that the new cathedral, dedicated to the Joy of all Who Sorrow Icon of the Mother of God, was completed. revering Saint John of Kronstadt, Archbishop John played an active role in preparation of his canonization. reposed during a visit to Seattle on July 2, 1966, accompanying a tour of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God. was laid to rest in a crypt chapel under the main altar of the new cathedral. CREDIT: www.monasteryofstjohn.org/?p=about_st_john

Russia, Moscow, 1917, Russian Revolution, Russian Civil War
Russia, Moscow, 1917, Russian Revolution Chariman, 1917-1924, Vladimir Lennin, Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ; Venerable Anatole II of Optina, Commemorated on July 30; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated July 31 ; Martyr Sergius the Archimandrite of Petrograd, Commemorated July 31 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; St Nectarius Kephalas the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Commemorated on November 9; Hieromartyr Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, Commemorated on November 23 ; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated on January 3; Venerable Hieromonk Alexei of Teklati, Commemorated on January 18; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St John, Commemorated on January 23; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25; Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); New Martyr Nazarius, Metropolitan of Kutaisi-Gaenati, and his companions of Georgia, Commemorated August 14 ; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated on December 15 ; Icon of the Mother of God œEnthroned, Commemorated on March 2; St Ambrose the Confessor, Commemorated on March 16; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25; Hieromartyr Kirion II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Commemorated on June 27;

Russia, Moscow, 1917, Chekists, Cheka, first Soviet State Police
Chekists, Cheka, first Soviet State Police; St. George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21;

Russia, Moscow, 1917-1922, Benjamin of Petrograd, not resist consiscations, kicked L Church out, trial, shot
Russia, St Petersburg, 1917-1922, Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, 1922 Communists confiscating Church treasurers, for food for starving, he did not resist, wanted it to be voluntary, comission agreed but Moscow not, 12 living church priests called for unconditional surrender valuables, B met with authorities, substituted other property, L Church tried control from Tikhon, L Church outside C until repent, Soviets enraged, B ordered to rescind, did not, trial, false witnesses, shot; Petrograd: St Petersburg; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated on July 31; New Hieromartyr Benjamin (Kazansky) was appointed Metropolitan of Petrograd in the summer of 1917. those tumultuous times, he was one of the few people in Russia with no interest in politics. He was more concerned with caring for his diocese and his flock. 1922, the Communists began confiscating Church treasures. They professed that they wanted to sell them in order to buy food for the starving population. the people protested, there were bloody reprisals. Benjamin did not resist turning over the Church’s valuables, for he believed it was his duty to help save people’s lives. wanted this sacrifice to be voluntary, however, and not a plundering of church property by the government. March 6, 1922 Metropolitan Benjamin met with a commission which had been formed to help the starving. They agreed to his request that the dispersal of funds from voluntary contributions should be controlled by the parishes. Newspapers of that time praised the Metropolitan and his clergy for their charitable spirit. leaders in Moscow did not approve of the decision made by the Communists of Petrograd allowing voluntary contributions to be administered by the parishes, and declared that the confiscation of Church property would continue. gathered in Petrograd, shouting and throwing stones at those who were stealing from the churches. March 24, 1922 “Pravda” printed a letter from twelve priests who broke ranks with the other clergy, referring to them as “counter-revolutionaries” and blaming them for the famine. of these twelve would later be active in the “Living Church.” They called for unconditional surrender of all Church valuables to the Soviets. clergy of Petrograd were outraged by the letter from the twelve. Benjamin, hoping to avoid confrontations between the people and the Communists, tried to calm his priests. also asked for a meeting with the authorities. and Boyarsky, two of the twelve, were delegated to talk with Soviet leaders, and came to an agreement. Parishes would be permitted to keep their sacred vessels if they substituted other property of equal value. This program seemed to work well for a time. Boyarsky, and others tried to wrest control of the Church from Patriarch Tikhon and the bishops. informed Metropolitan Benjamin of the new state of affairs, declaring that Vvedensky had been appointed as the Petrograd representative of the new Church administration. Metropolitan could not accept this threat to Church order, so he proclaimed that Vvedensky would be regarded as being outside the Church until he repented of his error. decree was published in the newspapers, and served to enrage the Soviets. and the Petrograd commandant Bakaev went to see the Metropolitan and ordered him to rescind his decree. If he did not, they told him, he and others close to him would be placed on trial. They warned Metropolitan Benjamin that he and others would be put to death if he made the wrong choice. He refused to submit. courageous archpastor began meeting with his friends in order to say farewell. He also gave instructions for the administration of the diocese. A few days later, the Metropolitan was placed under house arrest. Not long after that, he was taken to prison. his trial began, the Metropolitan entered the courtroom with Bishop Benedict and other clergy. When everyone stood up for him, Metropolitan Benjamin blessed them. judges tried to get the Metropolitan to renounce the idea of the parishes voluntarily contributing church valuables in order to feed the hungry, or to provide the names of those who had conceived this idea. It would suit their purposes very well if he could be made to “repent” or back away from his previous statements and submit to the authorities. other clergy and civilians on trial with Metropolitan Benjamin did not try to ingratiate themselves with the court, and did not accuse others in order to win leniency for themselves. the trial, Archimandrite Sergius (Shein) explained that as a monk he had renounced the world in order to dedicate himself to God. Only the flimsiest of threads still connected him with the outside world, he asserted. “Does this tribunal imagine,” he said, “that severing this thread which connects me with life could frighten me? Do your deed. I pity you, and I pray for you.” trial lasted for two weeks, and the prosecutors presented witnesses who had been hired to bring false accusations against the defendants. witnesses were called, and their testimony seemed to support Metropolitan Benjamin and to weaken the government’s case against him. certain professor of the Technological Institute named Egorov angered the court by his testimony. He was accused of being a follower of the Metropolitan, so he was arrested on the spot. spite of all the evidence, the defendants were found guilty. Government supporters and members of the Red Army in the court broke into applause. defense attorney addressed the court, saying that he knew that any pleas he might offer would be useless. “Political considerations come first with you, and all verdicts must favor your policy,” he declared. though everyone understood that the trial was a farce, the Soviet government could not afford to make a martyr out of Metropolitan Benjamin. The example of history, he pointed out, should warn them against such a course. the defense attorney had finished, there was loud clapping. The judges tried to restore order, but found that many Communists in the audience had also joined in the applause. defendants were given a chance to speak, and the Metropolitan stood to address the court. He said it grieved him to be called an enemy of the people, for he had always loved the people and dedicated his life to them. The rest of his comments were a defense of the others on trial with him. the presiding judge asked him to say something about himself, he said that no matter what sentence the court decreed he would thank God by saying, “Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee for all things.” 9:00 P.M. on July 5, the chairman of the tribunal announced that ten defendants, including the Metropolitan, were to be shot. Benjamin and those with him (Archimandrite Sergius, George, and John of Petrograd) were executed on July 31, 1922. had been shaved and dressed in rags so that the firing squad would not know that they were shooting members of the clergy. saints are also commemorated at the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (January 25 or the Sunday after the 25th).

Russia, Moscow, 1917-1925, Tikhon, Metropolitan of all Russia, Bishop in US
Moscow, 1917-1925, Patriarch, Tikhon, Metropolitan of all Russia ; Tikhon of Moscow (31 January [O.S. 19 January] 1865-“ 7 April [O.S. 25 March] 1925), born Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin , was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). On 5 November 1917 (OS) he was selected the 11th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia,[Note 1] after a period of about 200 years of the Synodal rule in the ROC. He was canonised as a confessor by the ROC in 1989. Early life[edit] From 1878 to 1884, Bellavin studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary. In 1888, at the age of 23, he graduated from the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy as a layman. He then returned to the Pskov Seminary and became an instructor of Moral and Dogmatic Theology. In 1891, at the age of 26, he took monastic vows and was given the name Tikhon in honor of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Tikhon was consecrated Bishop of Lublin on 19 October 1897. Bishop in the United States[edit] On 14 September 1898, he was appointed Bishop of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. He went to the United States, and eventually became a naturalized American citizen. The peripatetic bishop visited emerging Orthodox emigrant communities in various American cities, including New York City, Chicago and the coal and steel-making cities in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The consecration of Reginald Heber Weller as an Anglican bishop at St. Paul's Cathedral in the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, with Anthony Kozlowski of the Polish National Catholic Church and Tikhon of Moscow (along with his chaplains John Kochurov and Sebastian Dabovich) of the Russian Orthodox Church present As head of the ROC diocese in North America, in 1900 he reorganized the diocese and changed its name from the "Of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska" to "Diocese of the Aleutian Islands and North America". He had two auxiliary bishops in the United States: Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) in Alaska, and St. Raphael (Hawaweeny) in Brooklyn. On 22 May 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City (fundraising for which had begun in 1894 and to which Tsar Nicholas II contributed 5,000 in 1900) in a great ceremony attended by New York Mayor Seth Low, Russian diplomats and sailors, and enthusiastic worshippers.[1] He celebrated the first liturgy in the new building's basement on July 20, 1902, and in the main hall on November 10, 1902.[2] Tikhon was also involved in building other churches in North America, and establishing a dialog with Greek Orthodox churches in America. On 9 November 1902, he consecrated the church of St. Nicholas in Brooklyn for Syrian Antiochian Orthodox immigrants. While in the United States, Tikhon became aware of the country's tradition of religious diversity, as well as the growing ecumenical and Pan-Slav movements, and the needs of a wide variety of eastern and southern European immigrants. Before his arrival, in 1890, a delegation of Carpatho-Rusyns also had approached the Russian consul in San Francisco and requested a bishop, since the Latin Catholic archbishop of Minnesota, John Ireland was attempting to force their assimilation, although Byzantine Rite Catholics had previously been accorded certain dispensations from the Roman Rite practices of the Latin Church. Their Byzantine (Ruthenian) Catholic priest, Alexis Toth, was formally accepted into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1892. In 1900, Tikhon attended the consecration of Reginald Heber Weller as coadjutor bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, though he was not one of the consecrating bishops (all Episcopalians).[3] More Byzantine Catholics joined the Eastern Orthodox fold, especially priests after 1907, when Pope Pius X published Ea Semper, restricting their previously recognized right to ordain married men. In 1905, the title of Archbishop was bestowed on him, and he moved his formal residence and diocesan office from San Francisco to New York.[4] In June 1905, the new archbishop gave his blessing for the establishment of a monastery in Pennsylvania, which in the 1930s became Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary. On September 17, [O.S. September 4, ] 1905 The Holy Trinity Russian (Greek) Orthodox church was consecrated in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on the corner of McKenzie Street and Manitoba Avenue by the new Archbishop Tikhon, Head of the Russian Orthodox Mission in North America and soon to become Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Ukrainian teachers studying at the Ruthenian Training School sang at the consecration ceremony.[5] Return to Russia and restoration of Patriarchy[edit] In 1907, Tikhon returned to Russia, having been appointed to the See of Yaroslavl. On 22 December 1913, he was transferred to the diocese of Vilno in Lithuania. However, the First World War and the Russian Revolution created turmoil in his native land. On 21 June 1917, the Diocesan Congress of clergy and laity elected Tikhon the ruling bishop of Moscow. On 14 August 1917 (OS),[6] Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan of Moscow. On the next day, the Local Council of the ROC, the first such convention since the late 17th century, opened in Moscow. The council's major decision that passed on 28 October 1917, days after the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd, was to restore the Patriarchy in the ROC. On 5 November 1917, after his election by vote as one of the three candidates for the reinstated Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced that Metropolitan Tikhon had been selected for the position after a drawing of lots as the new Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Patriarchate[edit] During the Russian Civil War the patriarch, like the entire Russian Church, was widely considered anti-Bolshevik and many bishops were exiled, imprisoned or even executed by the new regime. Tikhon openly condemned the killings of the tsar's family in 1918, and protested against violent attacks by the Bolsheviks on the church. In 1920, he granted autonomy to what became the Orthodox Church in America and other dioceses of the Church of Russia that were cut off from the governance of the highest church authority (i.e. the patriarch), until such time as normal relations with the highest church authority could be resumed. In November 1921, many of the Russian bishops, who had fled Russia in 1919â€“1920, had gathered in Sremski Karlovci, Serbia, and adopted a number of anti-Bolshevik statements; in May the following year Tikhon and his Synod formally dissolved the exile group, which nevertheless continued to exist as a separate Russian ecclesiastical entity, viewed as schismatic by the Moscow Patriarchate.[citation needed] Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow near Donskoy Monastery Jul 1923 In 1922 Russia was afflicted with mass famine. The Communist government used the situation to confiscate ecclesiastical property and to accuse the patriarch of being a saboteur. From April 1922 until June 1923 he resided under house arrest in Donskoy Monastery.[7] His public protest against nationalization of Church property was reframed as a criminal act. This caused international resonance and several countries sent formal protest notes to the Soviet government. Under pressure from the authorities, Tikhon issued several messages to the believers in which he stated in part that he was "no longer an enemy to the Soviet power". Textual analysis of these messages shows considerable similarity with a number of documents exchanged in the Politburo on the "Tikhon's Affair". Despite his declaration of loyalty, he continued to enjoy the trust of the Orthodox community in Russia. In 1923 Tikhon was "deposed" by a Soviet-sponsored[8] council of the so-called Living Church, which decreed that he was "henceforth a simple citizenâ€”Vasily Bellavin." This deposition has never been recognized as an act of the Russian Orthodox Church, and is therefore considered invalid by both the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Russian Federation. Death[edit] In 1924 the patriarch fell ill and was hospitalized. On 5 April 1925, he served his last Divine Liturgy, and died two days later, 25 March (OS)/7 April, the Feast of the Annunciation. He was buried on 12 April in the winter church of Donskoy Monastery in Moscow. From the time of his death, he was widely considered a martyr or confessor for the faith. Canonization Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated July 31 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4; New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm, Commemorated on June 4; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25; ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, ECUMENIST and JOURNALIST, 1929, Commemorated June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1917-1924, Chariman, Vladimir Lennin, Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Chariman, 1917-1924, Vladimir Lennin, Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ; Venerable Anatole II of Optina, Commemorated on July 30; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated July 31 ; Martyr Sergius the Archimandrite of Petrograd, Commemorated July 31 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; St Nectarius Kephalas the Metropolitan of Pentapolis, Commemorated on November 9; Hieromartyr Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, Commemorated on November 23 ; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated on January 3; Venerable Hieromonk Alexei of Teklati, Commemorated on January 18; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St John, Commemorated on January 23; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated on January 25; Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); New Martyr Nazarius, Metropolitan of Kutaisi-Gaenati, and his companions of Georgia, Commemorated August 14 ; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated on December 15 ; Icon of the Mother of God œEnthroned, Commemorated on March 2; St Ambrose the Confessor, Commemorated on March 16; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17; Venerable Nectarius of Optina, Commemorated on April 29; New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25; Hieromartyr Kirion II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, Commemorated on June 27;

Russia, Moscow, 1917-1957, Living Church and Cheka, Alexander Tuchkov
Russia, Moscow, 1917-1957, Living Church and Cheka, Alexander Tuchkov ; Moscow, 1917-1925, Patriarch, Tikhon, Metropolitan of all Russia ; Hieromartyr Benjamin the Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdovsk, Commemorated July 31 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated on December 4; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4; New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm, Commemorated on June 4; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25; ISABEL FLORENCE HAPGOOD, ECUMENIST and JOURNALIST, 1929, Commemorated June 26;

Russia, Moscow, 1918, Saint, Andronicus of Perm
Moscow Saint, 1918, Andronicus of Perm; New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm, Commemorated on June 4; holy New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm was an outspoken critic of the Communist decree which ordered the separation of Church and State. reading the Moscow Overland Assembly’s instructions on the matter, Archbishop Andronicus ordered his archdeacon to anathematize the Communists. The Archbishop was arrested, shot by two members of the Perm CHEKA, then buried on the road from Perm to Motoviliha. Theophanes, an assistant to Archbishop Andronicus, was also arrested about this time. He was then drowned in the River Kama. When they learned of the execution of the Perm bishops, the Moscow Church Assembly sent a special commission, headed by Bishop Basil of Chernigov, to investigate their murder. The Communists, however, took steps to conceal the facts from the investigators. the members of the commission were on their way back to Moscow, their train was attacked by Red soldiers somewhere between Perm and Viatka. Bishop Basil and the others were killed, and their bodies were thrown from the coach. The bodies were buried by peasants, but were later dug up and burned by the Communists when pilgrims began flocking to the graves.

Russia, Moscow, 1918, Nun-martyr Barbara, died wElizabeth next day, Grenades, E singing hymns, r tJerusalem 1920
Russia, Moscow, 1918, Nun-martyr Barbara, died wElizabeth next day, Grenades, E singing hymns, r tJerusalem 1920; Nun-martyr Barbara, Commemorated on July 18; Barbara died with Saint Elizabeth on July 5, 1918, the day after the murder of Tsar Nicholas and his family. The two nuns were thrown into a mineshaft, and grenades were tossed in after them. Saint Elizabeth remained alive for several hours, and could be heard singing hymns. bodies of Saint Barbara and Saint Elizabeth were taken to Jerusalem in 1920, and buried in the church of Saint Mary Magdalene Russia, Moscow, 1884-1918, Grand Duchess Elizabeth; Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, later Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (1 November 1864 - 18 July 1918), was a German Hessian and Rhenish princess of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, and the wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. She was also a maternal great-aunt of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II. granddaughter of Queen Victoria and an older sister of Alexandra, the last Russian Empress, Elisabeth became famous in Russian society for her beauty and charitable works among the poor. After the Socialist Revolutionary Party's Combat Organization assassinated her husband with a bomb in 1905, Elisabeth publicly forgave Sergei's murderer, Ivan Kalyayev, and campaigned without success for him to be pardoned. She then departed the Imperial Court and became a nun, founding the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent dedicated to helping the downtrodden of Moscow. In 1918 she was arrested and ultimately murdered by the Bolsheviks. 1981 Elisabeth was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate. of Hesse Hessian grand ducal family in May 1875 was born on 1 November 1864 as the second child of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria. she came from one of the oldest and noblest houses in Germany, Elisabeth and her family lived a rather modest life by royal standards. The children swept the floors and cleaned their own rooms, while their mother sewed dresses herself for the children. During the Austro-Prussian War, Princess Alice often took Elisabeth with her while visiting wounded soldiers in a nearby hospital. In this relatively happy and secure environment, Elisabeth grew up surrounded by English domestic habits, and English became her first language. Later in life, she would tell a friend that, within her family, she and her siblings spoke English to their mother and German to their father. the autumn of 1878, diphtheria swept through the Hesse household, killing Elisabeth's youngest sister, Marie, on 16 November, as well as her mother Alice on 14 December. Elisabeth had been sent away to her paternal grandmother's home at the beginning of the outbreak and she was the only member of her family to remain unaffected. When she was finally allowed to return home, she described the meeting as "terribly sad" and said that everything was "like a horrible dream".[citation needed] and suitors and with a very accommodating personality, Elisabeth was considered by many historians and contemporaries to be one of the most beautiful women in Europe at that time. Her cousin Princess Marie of Edinburgh wrote that "one could never take one's eyes off [Ella]"[1] and that Ella's features were "exquisite beyond words, it almost brought tears to your eyes."[2] Her older cousin Prince Wilhelm of Prussia called her "exceedingly beautiful, in fact she is the most beautiful girl I ever saw."[3] Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, her sister's lady-in-waiting, reflected that she was "a very pretty girl, tall and fair, with regular features."[4] a young woman, Elisabeth's cousin, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, fell in love with her. In April 1875, the 16-year-old Wilhelm visited Darmstadt to celebrate Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine's 12th birthday and first expressed interest in the 11-year-old Elisabeth. He wrote in a letter to his mother that "if God grants that I may live till then I shall make her my bride once if you allow it."[5] When he was a student at Bonn University, he often visited his Aunt Alice and his Hessian relatives on the weekends. During these frequent visits, he fell in love with Elisabeth,[6] writing numerous love poems and regularly sending them to her. He proposed to Elisabeth in 1878, but she rejected him. Charles Montagu, the second son of the 7th Duke of Manchester courted her unsuccessfully. Wilson, later a distinguished soldier, vied unsuccessfully for Elisabeth's hand. future Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden, Wilhelm's first cousin, proposed to Elisabeth. Queen Victoria described him as "so good and steady", with "such a safe and happy position,"[7] that when Elisabeth declined to marry him the Queen "deeply regretted it". Frederick's grandmother, the Empress Augusta, was so furious at Elisabeth's rejection of Frederick that it took some time for her to forgive Elisabeth. admirers included: Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia (the poet KR), who wrote a poem about her first arrival in Russia and the general impression she made to all the people present at the time. Prince Felix Yusupov considered her a second mother, and stated in his memoirs that she helped him greatly during the most difficult moments of his life. As a young girl, Queen Marie of Romania was very fascinated with her cousin Ella. In her memoirs, she wrote that "her beauty and sweetness was a thing of dreams."[8] The French Ambassador to the Russian court, Maurice Paleologue, wrote in his memoirs how Elisabeth was capable of arousing what he described as "profane passions". Ultimately, it was a grand duke of Russia who would win Elisabeth's heart; Elisabeth's great-aunt, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, was a frequent visitor to Hesse. During these visits, she was usually accompanied by her youngest sons, Sergei and Paul. Elisabeth had known them since they were children, and she initially viewed them as haughty and reserved. Sergei, especially, was a very serious young man, intensely religious, and he found himself attracted to Elisabeth after seeing her as a young woman for the first time in several years. first, Sergei made little impression on Elisabeth. But after the death of both of his parents within a year of each other, Elisabeth sympathised with Sergei because she had felt this same grief after the death of her mother. Their other similarities (both were artistic and religious) drew them closer together. It was said that Sergei was especially attached to Elisabeth because she had the same character as his beloved mother. So when Sergei proposed to her for the second time, she accepted—much to the chagrin of her grandmother Queen Victoria. Duchess of Russia and her husband Sergei and Elisabeth married on 15 (3) June 1884, at the Chapel of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg; upon her conversion to Russian Orthodoxy, she took the name Elizabetha Feodorovna. It was actually at the wedding that Sergei's 16-year-old nephew, Tsarevich Nicholas, first met his future wife, Elisabeth's youngest surviving sister Alix. was not legally required to convert to Russian Orthodoxy from her native Lutheran religion, but she voluntarily chose to do so in 1891. Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Elisabeth's Lutheran sister-in-law who had not converted to Russian Orthodoxy, insisted that it was "a disgrace for a German Protestant princess to go over to the Orthodox faith."[9] Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had once been in love with her, declared that she converted because of "an inordinate pursuit of popularity, a desire to improve her position at court, a great lack of intelligence, and also a want of true religiousness."[10] new Grand Duchess made a good first impression on her husband's family and the Russian people. "Everyone fell in love with her from the moment she came to Russia from her beloved Darmstadt", wrote one of Sergei's cousins. The couple settled in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace in St. Petersburg; after Sergei was appointed Governor-General of Moscow by his elder brother, Tsar Alexander III, in 1892, they resided in one of the Kremlin palaces. During the summer, they stayed at Ilyinskoe, an estate outside Moscow that Sergei had inherited from his mother. couple never had children of their own, but their Ilyinskoe estate was usually filled with parties that Elisabeth organized especially for children. They eventually became the foster parents of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Sergei's niece and nephew. was somewhat instrumental in the marriage of her nephew-by-marriage, Tsar Nicholas II, to her youngest sister Alix. Much to the dismay of Queen Victoria, Elisabeth had been encouraging Nicholas, then tsarevich, in his pursuit of Alix. When Nicholas did propose to Alix in 1894, and Alix rejected him on the basis of her refusal to convert to Orthodoxy, it was Elisabeth who spoke with Alix and encouraged her to convert. When Nicholas proposed to her again, a few days later, Alix then accepted. of Ivan Kalyayev taken just after the assassination. I threw the bomb from less than four steps. I was taken by the explosions, I saw the carriage flew to pieces...My overcoat was strewn with splinters of wood all around, it was torn and burnt, there was blood on my face... 17 February 1905, Sergei was assassinated in the Kremlin by the Socialist-Revolutionary Ivan Kalyayev. The event came as a terrible shock to Elisabeth, but she never lost her calm. It was as if her prophecy had come true that "God will punish us severely" which she made after the Grand Duke expelled 20,000 Jews from Moscow, by simply surrounding thousands of families' houses with soldiers and expelling the Jews without any notice overnight out of their homes and the city. Her niece Marie later recalled that her aunt's face was "pale and stricken rigid" and she would never forget her expression of infinite sadness. In her rooms, said Marie, Elisabeth "let herself fall weakly into an armchair...her eyes dry and with the same peculiar fixity of gaze, she looked straight into space, and said nothing." As visitors came and went, she looked without ever seeming to see them. the day of her husband's murder, Elisabeth refused to cry. But Marie recalled how her aunt slowly abandoned her rigid self-control, finally breaking down into sobs. Many of her family and friends feared that she would suffer a nervous breakdown, but she quickly recovered her equanimity. to Edvard Radzinsky, spent all the days before the burial in ceaseless prayer. On her husband's tombstone she wrote: 'Father, release them, they know not what they do.' She understood the words of the Gospels heart and soul, and on the eve of the funeral she demanded to be taken to the prison where Kalyayev was being held. Brought into his cell, she asked, 'Why did you kill my husband?' 'I killed Sergei Alexandrovich because he was a weapon of tyranny. I was taking revenge for the people.' 'Do not listen to your pride. Repent... and I will beg the Sovereign to give you your life. I will ask him for you. I myself have already forgiven you.' On the eve of revolution, she had already found a way out; forgiveness! Forgive through the impossible pain and blood -- and thereby stop it then, at the beginning, this bloody wheel. By her example, poor Ella appealed to society, calling upon the people to live in Christian faith. 'No!" replied Kalyayev. 'I do not repent. I must die for my deed and I will... My death will be more useful to my cause than Sergei Alexandrovich's death.' Kalyayev was sentenced to death. 'I am pleased with your sentence,' he told the judges. 'I hope that you will carry it out just as openly and publicly as I carried out the sentence of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. Learn to look the advancing revolution right in the face.'[11] was hanged on 23 May 1905. 1915 the All-Russian Zemstvo Union was organised under her auspices to provide support for sick and injured soldiers during the First World War.[12] life Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna as a nun after her husband's death Sergei's death, Elisabeth wore mourning clothes and became a vegetarian. In 1909, she sold off her magnificent collection of jewels and sold her other luxurious possessions; even her wedding ring was not spared. With the proceeds she opened the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary and became its abbess. soon opened a hospital, a chapel, a pharmacy and an orphanage on its grounds. Elisabeth and her nuns worked tirelessly among the poor and the sick of Moscow. She often visited Moscow's worst slums and did all she could to help alleviate the suffering of the poor. many years, Elisabeth's institution helped the poor and the orphans in Moscow by fostering the prayer and charity of devout women. 1916, Elisabeth had what was to be her final meeting with her sister Alexandra, the tsarina, at Tsarskoye Selo. While the meeting took place in private, the tutor to the tsar's children apparently recalled that the discussion included Elisabeth expressing her concerns over the influence that Grigori Rasputin had over Alexandra and the imperial court, and begging her to heed the warnings of both herself and other members of the imperial family. 2010 a historian claimed that Elisabeth may have been aware that the murder of Rasputin was to take place and secondly, she knew who was going to commit that particular murder when she wrote a letter and sent it to the Tsar and two telegrams to Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and Zinaida Yusupova, her friend. The telegrams, which were written the night of the murder, reveal that the Grand Duchess was aware of who the murderers were before that information had been released to the public, and she stated that she felt that the killing was a "patriotic act."[13] 1918, Vladimir Lenin ordered the Cheka to arrest Elisabeth. They then exiled her first to Perm, then to Yekaterinburg, where she spent a few days and was joined by others: the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich; Princes Ioann Konstantinovich, Konstantin Konstantinovich, Igor Konstantinovich and Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; Grand Duke Sergei's secretary, Fyodor Remez; and Varvara Yakovleva, a sister from the Grand Duchess's convent. They were all taken to Alapayevsk on 20 May 1918, where they were housed in the Napolnaya School on the outskirts of the town. shaft in Siniachikha where Elisabeth and her family were murdered noon on 17 July, Cheka officer Pyotr Startsev and a few Bolshevik workers came to the school. They took from the prisoners whatever money they had left and announced that they would be transferred that night to the Upper Siniachikhensky factory compound. The Red Army guards were told to leave and Cheka men replaced them. That night the prisoners were awakened and driven in carts on a road leading to the village of Siniachikha, some 18 kilometres (11 miles) from Alapayevsk where there was an abandoned iron mine with a pit 20 metres (66 feet) deep. Here they halted. The Cheka beat all the prisoners before throwing their victims into this pit, Elisabeth being the first. Hand grenades were then hurled down the shaft, but only one victim, Fyodor Remez, died as a result of the grenades. to the personal account of Vasily Ryabov, one of the killers, Elisabeth and the others survived the initial fall into the mine, prompting Ryabov to toss in a grenade after them. Following the explosion, he claimed to have heard Elisabeth and the others singing an Orthodox hymn from the bottom of the shaft.[14] Unnerved, Ryabov threw down a second grenade, but the singing continued. Finally a large quantity of brushwood was shoved into the opening and set alight, upon which Ryabov posted a guard over the site and departed. on 18 July 1918, the leader of the Alapayevsk Cheka, Abramov, and the head of the Yekaterinburg Regional Soviet, Beloborodov, who had been involved in the murder of the Imperial Family, exchanged a number of telegrams in a pre-arranged plan saying that the school had been attacked by an "unidentified gang". A month later, Alapayevsk fell to the White Army of Admiral Alexander Kolchak. Lenin welcomed Elisabeth's death, remarking that "virtue with the crown on it is a greater enemy to the world revolution than a hundred tyrant tsars".[15][16] Moscow Grand Duke, 1877-1905, Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia; Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (11 May 1857 - 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II, who was also his brother-in-law through Sergei's marriage to Elizabeth, the sister of Tsarina Alexandra.[1] Duke Sergei's education gave him lifelong interests in culture and the arts. Like all male members of the Romanov dynasty, he followed a military career, and he fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, receiving the Order of St George for courage and bravery in action. In 1882, his brother, Tsar Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, a position he held until 1891. In 1889, Grand Duke Sergei was promoted to the rank of Major General. In 1884, Sergei married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Their marriage remained childless, but they became the guardians of the two children of his brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia: Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dmitri. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife promoted the marriage of Sergei's nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, with Princess Alix of Hesse, Elizabeth's youngest sister. 1891 and 1905, Grand Duke Sergei served as Governor-General of Moscow. His reputation was tarnished as he was partially blamed for the Khodynka Tragedy, which, during the festivities following the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, resulted in more than a thousand deaths. a Governor of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei was responsible for the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews[2] at the start of his tenure, and he repressed a student movement to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. His conservative policies, extreme even by contemporary standards, made him a polarizing figure, and he was regarded as a reactionary. 1894 Grand Duke Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow Military District. After thirteen years of service, Grand Duke Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905. Targeted by the SR Combat Organization, he was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin. life[edit] Duke Sergei with his parents and his sister, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was born on 11 May [O.S. 29 April] 1857 in the Zubov wing of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo. He was the seventh child and fifth son among the eight children of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna, née Duchess Maximilienne Wilhelmine of Hesse and by Rhine.[3] Duke Sergei with his younger brother Grand Duke Paul he was old enough to begin lessons, Sergei's earlier years were spent with his younger brother Paul, from whom he was inseparable, and their sister at Livadia, the family's Crimean retreat, at Tsarskoye Selo, and at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. By the time Sergei was born, his mother was already in declining health. Although she was not a particularly affectionate mother, except to her daughter, her three youngest children, Marie, Sergei and Paul, were close to her and especially to one another.[3] Marie adored him and called him "an exceptionally nice young man... and can be recommended one very possible way, not because he is my brother, but because he is an exception among princes."[4] time passed and the Empress's health made it necessary for her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, they spent long sojourns abroad in Jugenheim outside Darmstadt and winters in the South of France.[5] family tragedy hit them there. In April 1865, shortly before Sergei's eighth birthday, his eldest brother and godfather Nicholas, the heir to the crown, died in Nice.[6] As a child, Sergei was shy, studious, and withdrawn. Under the influence of his mother, whose reserved character he resembled, he became very religious. the 1870s, Sergei and his younger brother Paul were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career, but their tutor, Admiral Arseniev, encouraged Sergei's linguistic, artistic, and musical abilities. He was fluent in several languages and learned Italian in order to read Dante in the original.[7] His interest in Italian art and culture intensified as he grew older. He painted well and was musical, playing the flute in an amateur orchestra. He enjoyed acting and steeped himself in the early history, culture, and traditions of Russia. He liked to read and in time came to know many of Russia's great writers personally, among them Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, whose work the Grand Duke read and admired.[7] He met Dostoevsky over dinner at the Winter Palace where he was invited by Sergei's professor.[8] career[edit] Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in his youth Duke Sergei Alexandrovich started a military career early in his life. He was from birth Colonel-in-Chief of the 38th Tobolsk Infantry Regiment, he also became Colonel-in-Chief of the 2nd Battalion Guards Rifles and, towards the end of his life, Colonel-in-Chief of the 5th Kievsky Grenadier Regiment.[9] On his twentieth birthday on 29 April 1877, the Grand Duke took the solemn oath of allegiance to the Emperor.[7] An educational tour that had been proposed for him was postponed upon the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. Sergei took part in the war with his father and brothers, the Tsarevich Alexander and Grand Dukes Vladimir and Alexei. He spent the greater part of his time serving as Poruchik in the Leib Guard under the Tsarevich in southeast Romania.[10] He was consequently promoted to Colonel. On 12 October, following the battle of Meyk, the Emperor decorated him with the Order of St George, for courage and bravery in action with the enemy, for a reconnaissance expedition at Kara Loma near Koshev. At the end of December 1877, Sergei Alexandrovich returned to Saint Petersburg with his father. II had started a new family with his mistress and Sergei sided with his neglected mother in the breaking of the family's harmony.[11] Empress Maria died in June 1880, and in March 1881 Alexander II, who had married his mistress, Princess Catherine Dolgoruki, was assassinated by terrorists. Sergei was then in Italy with his brother Paul and Admiral Arseniev. Three months later, in June 1881, the Grand Duke went to Palestine accompanied by Paul and his cousin Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich. They visited Jerusalem and the sacred sites. He helped to found a society dedicated to the upkeep of Orthodox shrines in the Holy Land and the provision of services to Russian pilgrims. He became chairman of this society, and his status as patron of the Russian presence in Jerusalem is believed to have given him more pleasure than any of his other duties.[12] 1882 on, Sergei's military career, which occupied an increasing amount of his time in Saint Petersburg and on maneuvers at Krasnoe Selo, advanced still further.[13] On 15 January 1882, his brother, Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, the elite regiment founded by Peter the Great, with the rank of Colonel. Seven years later, he was promoted to the rank of Major General. On 26 February 1891, he was made Adjutant General of the H. I. M. Retinue. He became the commanding officer in the village of Preobrazhenskoy. Sergei commanded this regiment until 1891, when his brother the Emperor appointed him Governor-General of Moscow.[9] Russian Grand Duke[edit] Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia. twenty-six, the fair-haired Grand Duke was reserved, intelligent, well-read and refined.[9] Over six feet tall, his extremely slim figure was accentuated by a corset, worn in the manner of Prussian officers.[9] his closely cropped hair and neat beard, Sergei Alexandrovich cut an impressive figure.[14] When Consuelo Vanderbilt, then Duchess of Marlborough, met him in Moscow, she considered him to be "One of the most handsome men I have ever seen."[15] Described by his brother-in-law Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, as "tall and fair with delicate features and beautiful light green eyes". Very self-conscious, he held himself very stiffly and with a hard expression in his eyes.[14] health was seriously compromised as he suffered from osteoarticular tuberculosis.[16] A condition he strove to conceal, but it caused all his joints to waste away.[16] He had to take salts and hot baths to get some relief.[16] He could not ride a horse and had to wear a spinal corset at all times.[16] He stood very straight and had a habit of playing with one of his jeweled rings, turning it around his finger. He kept his feelings rigidly in check, and many mistook his reserve for pride. Few had the chance to know him well. He was noted for his adherence to the Church, took a deep interest in Russian antiques and art treasures, and was interested in archaeology, music and acting and sometimes chairing meetings of the Archaeological Congress.[8] shy and reserved, he made no secret of his disapproval of fashionable society and its lax ways, and he defied all criticism. He found it hard to cope with opposition and easily lost his temper. In his home, he demanded tidiness, order, and discipline, and he expected to be obeyed. His niece, Marie, Queen of the Romanians, remembered him: "Dry, nervous, short of speech, impatient, he had none of the rather careless good humor of his three elder brothers ... but for all that we loved him, felt irresistibly attracted to him, hard though he could be. Few perhaps cherish his memory, but I do." Many other family members, including his nephew Kiril, Princess Marie of Greece and Prince Gabriel, included their good impressions of him in their memoirs.[17] Duke Sergei and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna 1881 there had been talks of a possible marriage to Princess Caroline Mathilde of Schleswig-Holstein.[18] Emperor Alexander II had hoped that at least one of his sons would marry a princess of Hesse as he had done. eventually chose as his bride Princess Elizabeth of Hesse, a daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. She was an older sister of both Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Alix of Hesse, later the Empress consort of Nicholas II of Russia. They were first cousins once removed (i.e., Elizabeth's great-grandfather, her father's paternal grandfather, Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, was Sergei's maternal grandfather) and had known each other all their lives.[3] were hesitations on both sides and Elizabeth first rejected his proposal of marriage.[18] Queen Victoria, who had anti-Russian sentiments, opposed the marriage of her motherless granddaughter.[19] Elizabeth and her sisters were not pressured into following political marriages; they were allowed to follow their own inclination.[18] After the couple spent some time together at Schloss Wolfsgarten in Darmstadt in September 1883, Elizabeth agreed to marry him.[20] Their engagement was announced publicly on 26 February 1884 when Sergei returned to visit her in Darmstadt.[21] Upon her marriage, Princess Elizabeth took the name of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia.[22] The wedding took place on 15 June 1884 in the Winter Palace.[23] spent their honeymoon in Ilinskoye, Sergei's 2,400-acre (9.7 km2) country estate forty miles west of Moscow on the left bank of the Moskva River, that he inherited from his mother. The couple later settled in Saint Petersburg in a mansion occupying the southeast corner of the Fontanka Canal and the Nevsky Prospekt, a short drive from his former apartments in the Winter Palace.[21] The Beloselsky Belozersky mansion, bought by Sergei to live with his wife, was renamed Sergeivsky Palace.[24] The couple also had Ferme, a villa located in the grounds of Peterhof that Sergei had inherited from his mother.[25] They usually entertained at Ilinskoe during the summer months, with guests occupying various wooden villas dotted around the park. There was also Usovo, a substantial stone and brick house with an innovative central heating, that Sergei had built on the opposite bank of the Moskva River. couple was close to Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna and the Tsar trusted Sergei more than his other brothers. In 1886, Alexander III appointed him Commander of the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, entrusting him with introducing the Tsarevich (the future Nicholas II) to army life. and Ella represented Russia in 1887 during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and in 1888, they were sent to the Holy Land on the occasion of the consecration of the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, built-in memory of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. By 1892, eight years into the marriage, Sergei was already certain that they would not have children and he left a will making the children of his brother Paul his heirs after his and his wife's deaths. of Moscow[edit] Duke Sergei and his wife, 1892 Alexander III adopted a policy of repression; he wanted a like mind at the helm of Imperial Russia's second city and former capital. Thus, in spring 1891, the tsar appointed Sergei as governor general of Moscow.[26] Although it was a great honour, Grand Duke Sergei accepted his new appointment with reluctance. He had hoped to stay longer in command of the Preobrazhensky, where he was popular; and he and his wife loved the quiet life they were living in Saint Petersburg. vice-regal role of Governor-General ruling Prince of Moscow was one that was answerable only to the emperor.[27] Grand Duke Sergei was a political hardliner who shared his brother's inalienable belief in strong, nationalist government.[27] tenure began with the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews.[27] It started four weeks before he arrived in person, after the publication of an imperial ukase by the Minister of the Interiors, Ivan Durnovo, by which all Jews of lower social stance (artisans, minor traders and so on) had to be expelled from Moscow. On 29 March, the first day of Passover, the city's Jewish population learned of the new decree that called for their expulsion.[27] In three carefully planned phases over the next twelve months, Moscow's Jews were expelled. Those first to go were the unmarried, the childless, and those who had lived in the city for less than three years.[27] Next, it was the turn of apprentices, of families with up to four children, and those with less than six years residency.[27] Last of all, it was the turn of the old Jewish settlers with large families and/or numerous employees, some of whom had lived in Moscow for forty years.[27] Young Jewish women were made to register as prostitutes if they wanted to stay in the city.[2] the expulsion, homes were surrounded by mounted Cossacks in the middle of the night while policemen ransacked every house. In January 1892, in a temperature of 30 degrees below zero, Brest station was packed with Jews of all ages and sexes, all in rags and surrounded by meager remnants of households goods, all leaving voluntarily rather than face deportation.[27] Sergei as governor-general was petitioned by the police commissioners to stop the expulsions until the weather conditions improved.[27] While he agreed, the order was not published until the expulsions were over.[27] Some of them moved to southern and western regions of the empire although there were many who decided to emigrate.[28] In counting the cost, Moscow lost 100 million rubles in trade and production, 25,000 Russians employed by Jewish firms lost their livelihoods, while the manufacture of silk, one of the city's most lucrative industries, was all but wiped out.[29] meet the needs of students, Sergei ordered the start of the construction of new dormitories in the city. At the same time, however, severe restrictions were imposed on the students and professors in the universities as a part of the state's policy of conspiracy prevention and elimination of revolutionary ideas.[30] made Sergei Alexandrovich very unpopular in Moscow among intelligentsia, though the more conservative citizens were pleased.[30] Muscovite nobility and merchants despised him because he was rough and lacked tact while attempting to fight commercial fraud and enforce strict policy measures. However, he did significantly improve general living conditions during his tenure and was extremely conscientious in carrying out his duties: “Even in the country when he was supposed to be resting," his niece remembered, "he was constantly receiving couriers from Moscow and giving audiences.â€ He paid much attention to detail, attending personally to matters that could easily have been left to subordinates, punishing corruption and fraud. At times, he would go about the city incognito to see conditions for himself.[31] In private, he and his wife were concerned about the poverty they saw in Moscow and the surrounding countryside, discussing ways to improve it.[32] organizations and charities always attracted Sergei's attention and he became either chairman or patron of scores of them. He was, for example, chairman of the Moscow Society for the Care, Upbringing, and Education of Blind Children; of the Society for Homeless, Neglected Children, and Convicted Adolescents; and the Moscow Department of the Russian Department Society of National Health Protection.[33] addition, he was a patron of organizations as diverse as the Moscow and Saint Petersburg Universities, The Printer's Mutual Aid Fund, the Society of Care for Aged Actors, the Pskov Non-Classical Secondary School, and Prince Nikola's Alm Houses. He was also chairman of the Academies of both Arts and Science, the Moscow Archeological Society, the Society of Agriculture, the Russian Musical Society, the Historical Museum in Moscow, and the Moscow Theological Academy among others.[33] Tragedy[edit] See also: Khodynka Tragedy Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (right) with his brother Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (center, smoking) on 14 May 1896, coronation of Nicholas II. Alexander III died on 1 November [O.S. 20 October] 1894 and his son Nicholas II ascended to the Russian throne. The relationship between Grand Duke Sergei and his nephew, who had served under his command in the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, was close and it became stronger with Nicholas II's marriage to Princess Alix of Hesse, the youngest sister of Sergei's wife—a union that Sergei and Elizabeth Feodorovna had helped to promote. coronation ceremonies of the new Emperor and his wife, as tradition demanded, took place in Moscow and Sergei as Governor General of the City was in charge of overseeing the arrangements. As part of the preparations, Sergei had introduced the novelty of electric light to Moscow. Towards the end of the festivities, according to custom, every newly crowned Tsar presented gifts to the populace; Field, on the outskirts of Moscow, was where the distribution was held since the coronation of Tsar Alexander II. The choice was questionable, as the field was normally used as a military training ground and was crisscrossed with ditches. Nevertheless, Sergei, as Governor General approved the plans. Although a crowd of nearly half a million was expected from all over Russia, only one squadron of Cossacks and a small detachment of police were sent to maintain order. in the morning of 30 May [O.S. 18 May] 1896, families began to gather outside the frail wooden fence that protected the field, watching carts laden with beer, and the eagerly sought after gifts.[34] Around 6 am, a rumour swept through the mass that the booths had already opened and the souvenirs were being given out.[35] Suddenly moving as one, that great body of people began to surge forward in the direction of the booths.[35] As it did so, men, women and children, hundreds of whom had no idea what was happening, fell or slipped on the uneven ground and were crushed and trampled underfoot. Others suffocated in the mayhem.[35] The police, far too few in numbers, were helpless to do much and even the Cossacks when they arrived were unable to stop the catastrophe. One thousand three hundred people, many hideously mutilated and unrecognizable, were killed and twice that number were seriously injured.[36] Grand Duke Sergei had not directly participated in the planning for Khodynka Field, he was to blame for the lack of foresight and as Governor-General, ultimately responsible. However, he did not assume his part of the responsibility for the tragedy. He laid the blame on others, most notably on Ilarion Count Voronzov-Dashkov, head of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, with whom there had been some dispute over the management of the coronation festivities,[37] and Colonel Alexander Vlasovsky (1842–1899), the city of Moscow's Chief of Police.[38] In the eyes of public opinion Sergei had done himself great harm by not going to the scene of the incident or at least putting in appearances at the victims' funerals. of the stampede at Khodynka the tragedy, many members of the Romanov family, headed by Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers, thought that the remaining festivities should be canceled. On the other hand, Sergei Alexandrovich and his brothers thought that a historical event, such as a coronation, should not be disrupted or marred by a conspicuous period of mourning. The latter opinion believed that the crowds who came long distances should not be disappointed and that the tightly scheduled events for foreign dignitaries not be slighted and should go forward. There was also division among the Romanov family as to whether Grand Duke Sergei should have resigned. Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and his brothers called for his resignation, while Sergei's own brothers Grand Dukes Vladimir Alexandrovich and Alexei Alexandrovich closed ranks supporting him and threatened to retire from public life if Sergei was made the scapegoat for the Khodynka tragedy.[39] Sergei ultimately offered to resign but Vorontzov-Dashkov did not. The Tsar ultimately did not support a thoroughly proposed investigation, the Chief of Police was dismissed, but Grand Duke Sergei retained his high office. night of the tragedy Tsar Nicholas II, for diplomatic reasons, attended a ball in honor of the French; because of that, his reputation suffered for what was perceived to be his lack of sympathy for the victims. Duke Sergei Alexandrovich 1894 Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow military district. Because Sergei was devoted to the policies of his nephew, the Tsar regarded him as a useful counter weight to some of his ministers and officials and would always readily take his side.[40] When, in 1896, disturbances broke out in the universities, Nicholas II was grateful for his prompt action and that of the authorities that quickly restored order. Sergei was often condemned as a complete reactionary during his governorship, according to his brother-in-law Ernest, Grand Duke of Hesse, he wanted and strove for improvements, which angered conservatives, but blocked revolutionary reforms, which infuriated radicals, because he considered them impractical or thought that Russia was not ready for them.[36][41] enigmatic personality and harsh manners made him appear arrogant and disagreeable. Shy by nature, he dreaded personal contact. When courtesy demanded a handshake, he solved the problem by wearing a white glove. Puritan and humourless, at least in public, he had a total disregard for public opinion. He never seemed to be at ease with himself and others. He became a focus for serious opponents of the regime as well as for malicious gossip. His cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich left a damaging description about him: "Try as I will,â€ he wrote, “ I cannot find a single redeeming feature in his character… Obstinate, arrogant, disagreeable, he flaunted his many peculiarities in the face of the entire nation… "[42] Later writers have accused him of sadism.[30][43] great deal of controversy around Sergei Alexandrovich has centered on the nature of his personal life. Conjecture about the perhaps unhappy nature of the relationship with his wife has abounded.[44] Sergei's marriage is barely documented. His private papers, including his correspondence with his wife, have not survived, and the evidence that does exist in the Moscow State Archives, the most important repository of Romanov papers, is open to interpretation. According to some contemporary reports, Sergei was homosexual.[43][45][46] His sexuality conflicted with his intense religious beliefs and the expectations of his position.[46] Contrary to this belief, the marriage was happy, in its own way. Unusually for royal couples, they slept in the same bed for all of their married life.[47] Forced to defend Sergei against rumors of discord, Elizabeth Feodorovna was devoted to her husband and treasured his memory after his death. Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia with his foster children: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna jr, and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich their marriage remained childless, the two children of Grand Duke Paul, Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dimitri, often joined their household, spending Christmases and later some summer holidays with Sergei and his wife. The couple set aside a playroom and bedrooms for the youngsters at their home. 1902, Paul was banished from living in Russia after he contracted a morganatic marriage and Sergei asked for and obtained the guardianship of his niece and nephew.[45] a foster father, Sergei was strict and demanding, but devoted and affectionate towards the children. Nevertheless, Maria and Dimitri resented their aunt and uncle, blaming them for the forced separation from their real father, who had abandoned them.[48] While Sergei had their best interests at heart, his preoccupation with the smallest detail of their education and upbringing were not appealing to the two difficult adolescents, especially the obstinate Maria.[49] the end of 1904, Russia had suffered disastrously in the Russo-Japanese War and the country was in turmoil. As discontent and demonstration multiplied, so did the pressure on Sergei to maintain order.[50] He was of the opinion that only the utmost severity could put an end to the revolutionary ferment, but in the wake of civil disorder Nicholas II was forced to make concessions. did not support the Tsar's security policies of vacillations and evasions.[51] According to Marie Pavlovna, "it appeared to my uncle little less than monstrous ... he expressed deep sorrow for the state of affairs in Russia, of the necessity for serious measures, and of the criminal weakness of the Tsar's ministers and councilors." disillusioned with the whole situation and deciding it was the right time to retire into private life, he informed the Tsar that new times needed new faces.[52] After thirteen years of service, Sergei resigned from the Governorship on 1 January 1905 and was succeeded by Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov. However, he continued as Commander of the Moscow military district.[53] Ivan Kalyayev Assassination of the carriage his resignation, Grand Duke Sergei moved to the Neskuchnoye Palace with his wife and foster children. Shortly thereafter, they moved to the Nicholas Palace within the safety of the Kremlin, under the cover of night. Sergei took every precaution advised by his detectives. Sergei and his wife rarely ventured outside.[54] At home, they only received their closest friends.[54] Like his father, Alexander II, Sergei was firm of the belief that unless it was the will of God, no attempt on his life would succeed. If it were the will of God, no amount of security would prevent it. One precaution he did take was for the benefit of his adjutants, whom he would no longer allow traveling with him. 15 February 1905, the family attended a concert at the Bolshoi Theatre in aid of Elizabeth Feodorovna's Red Cross War charities.[55] A terrorist organization that knew his route had planned to assassinate him that day. However, one of their members noticed the children in the carriage and decided to call off their attack. To kill the Grand Duchess and the children would surely have sparked a wave of apprehension throughout the empire, and would have set back the revolutionary cause by years.[53] Having had lunch with his wife at Nicholas Palace on 17 February, Sergei left unaccompanied for the Governor General's mansion.[56] Because of the looming threat, Sergei had refused to take his adjutant, Alexei, since he was married and a father. The arrival of the Grand Duke's recognizable carriage, drawn by a pair of horses and driven by his coachman Andrei Rudinkin, alerted the terrorist who had been waiting in the Kremlin with a bomb wrapped in newspapers.[57] before 14:45, the carriage of the Grand Duke passed through the gate of Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin and turned the corner of the Chudov Monastery into Senatskaya Square. From a distance no more than four feet (1.2 m) away and still some 60 feet (18 m) inside the Nikolsky Gate, Ivan Kalyayev, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party's combat detachment, stepped forward and threw a nitroglycerin bomb directly into Sergei's lap.[58] The explosion disintegrated the carriage and the Grand Duke died immediately, his body blown to bits.[58] Scattered all over the bloodstained snow lay pieces of scorched cloth, fur, and leather. The body of the Grand Duke was mutilated, with the head, the upper part of the chest, and the left shoulder and arm blown off and completely destroyed.[59] Surrounded by splintered skull bones was what little that remained of his face.[58] Some of the Grand Duke's fingers, still adorned with the rings he habitually wore, were found on the roof of a nearby building.[58][60] impact, the carriage horses had bolted towards the Nikolsky Gate, dragging with them the front wheels and coachbox as well as the semi-conscious and badly burned driver, Rudinkin, whose back had been riddled with bits of bomb and stones. He was rushed to the nearest hospital, where he died three days later. Kalyayev, who by his own testimony had expected to die in the explosion, survived.[57][61] Sucked into the vortex of the explosion, he ended up by the remains of the rear wheels. His face was peppered by splinters, pouring with blood.[57] Kalyayev was immediately arrested, sentenced to death, and hanged two months later. Grand Duchess rushed to the scene of the explosion.[61] Stunned but perfectly controlled, she gave instructions, and, kneeling in the snow, helped to gather up Sergei's remains.[61] The bared torso, part of the skull, a hand bone fragment, fingers, and a still-booted foot were placed on a stretcher and covered with an army greatcoat. The Grand Duchess also gathered Sergei's medallions.[61] affected by the Grand Duke's death, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna retired from the royal family and founded the Russian Orthodox convent of Martha and Mary, where she dedicated herself to the care of Moscow's poor and suffering.[58] Part of the obligations of the sisters of the Martha and Mary convent was to make an annual pilgrimage to the sepulchral church in memory of the Grand Duke on the day of his repose, 4 February.[62] Elizabeth Feodorovna was murdered during the Russian Civil War in 1918, together with many other Romanov relatives. bodies were smuggled to China and eventually reached Jerusalem. The wooden coffins were met at the railway station by the deputy British governor, Sir Harry Charles Luke, and taken for burial at the Church of Maria Magdalene on the Mount of Olives.[12] of the memorial, 4 May 2017 Duke Sergei's body was buried in a crypt of the Chudov Monastery within the precincts of the Moscow Kremlin. A memorial cross was erected on the spot where he was killed. After the downfall of the Romanovs, the cross was destroyed with the personal participation of Vladimir Lenin.[52] Monastery was demolished in 1928, and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was built on the site. The burial crypt of the Grand Duke was located in a courtyard of that building, which had been used as a parking lot. In 1990, building workers in the Kremlin discovered the blocked up entrance of the burial vault. The coffin was examined and found to contain the Grand Duke's remains, covered with the military greatcoat of the Kiev regiment, decorations, and an icon. He had left written instructions that he was to be buried in the Preobrazhensky Lifeguard regiment uniform, but as his body was so badly mutilated this proved impossible. In 1995, the coffin was officially exhumed, and after a Panikhida in the Kremlin Cathedral of the Archangel, it was reburied in a vault of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow on 17 September 1995.[63] 4 May 2017, the memorial cross was restored in a ceremony that was attended by President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.[64] Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Commemorated on July 18;

Russia, Moscow, 1919-1942, Gregory (Peradze), philosopher, theologian, saved Georgian manuscripts from Reds and Nazis
Georgia, 1919-1942, Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, of Bakurtsikhe, Kakheti, Eastern Georgia, philosopher, theologian, Berlin, Bonn, Louvain, Oxford, Paris, Warsaw, found ancient Georgian manuscripts, Syria, Palestine, Greece, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, Italy, England, 1920's taken to Paris for savekeeping from Red Army, 1940 from Nazis in Paris, arrested for sheltering Jews; Bakurtsikhe, Georgia; Hieromartyr Gregory (Peradze) of Georgia, Commemorated on November 23 ; Gregory (Peradze) was born August 31, 1899, in the village of Bakurtsikhe, in the Sighnaghi district of Kakheti. His father, Roman Peradze, was a priest. 1918, Gregory completed his studies at the theological school and seminary in Tbilisi and enrolled in the philosophy department at Tbilisi University. years later, in 1921, he began to teach at the university, but the Georgian Church soon sent him to Germany to study theology. 1922 to 1925, Gregory studied theology and eastern languages at the University of Berlin, and in 1925 he transferred to the philosophy department at the University of Bonn, he received a doctoral degree in philosophy for his dissertation “The Monastic Life in Georgia from Its Origins to 1064.” continued to attend lectures in theology at the University of Louvain until 1927. 1927, Gregory moved to England to continue his career in academia, and there he became acquainted with the old patristic manuscripts that were preserved in the library collections of the British Museum and Oxford University. July of that year, Gregory was named an associate professor at the University of Bonn, and he returned there to lecture on the history of Georgian and Armenian literature. 1931, Gregory was tonsured a monk, ordained a priest, and appointed dean of the Georgian church in Paris. year later he was invited to Oxford to lecture on Georgian history. new period in Saint Gregory’s life began later in 1932, when the Metropolitan of all Poland, Dionysius Waledinsky, invited him to be a professor of Patrology and the chair of Orthodox Theology at Warsaw University. often delivered lectures at academic conferences and in academic centers throughout Europe. sought tirelessly for ancient Georgian manuscripts and historical documents on the Georgian Church. His searches took him to Syria, Palestine, Greece, Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, Italy and England. As a result of his labors, many long-lost Georgian manuscripts surfaced again. and industriousness characterized the Hieromartyr Gregory throughout his life. In difficult moments he often repeated the words of Saint John Chrysostom: “Glory be to God for all things!” the 1920s, as the Red Army was securing its occupation of Georgia, the nation’s treasures were carried away to France for safekeeping. in the 1940s, Georgian society was unaware that, due to Saint Gregory’s efforts alone, many treasures of Georgian national culture were spared confiscation by the Nazis in Paris. execution at the hands of a firing squad, Saint Gregory wrote in the official documentation presented to the Nazis that these items were of no particular value but were precious to the Georgians as part of their national consciousness. did most of Georgian society know that, in Paris, Archimandrite Gregory had founded a Georgian church in honor of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nino and a parish journal called Jvari Vazisa, or “The Cross of Vines.” May of 1942, Saint Gregory was arrested by the Gestapo. The priceless Georgian manuscripts he had preserved and many sacred objects that had been crafted by ancient Georgian masters and collected by Saint Gregory during his travels (in hopes of returning them to Georgia) disappeared after his apartment was searched. Gregory was arrested for sheltering and aiding Jews and other victims of the fascist persecutions. He was incarcerated at Pawiak Prison in Warsaw, and deported to Auschwitz at the beginning of November. the camp an inmate killed a German officer. The guards drove everyone out of the barracks absolutely naked, forcing them to stay in the below-freezing temperatures until someone confessed. Gregory decided to take the blame for the murder, thus saving innocent prisoners from freezing to death. The guards let loose the dogs on the martyr, poured gasoline over him, and lit him on fire. Then they said, “Poles, go warm yourselves around him, your intercessor.” to the official German documentation, Gregory Peradze died on December 6, 1942 [November 23, old style], at 4:45 in the afternoon. (According to another account, the martyr entered the gas chamber in place of a Jewish man with a large family. This was reported by a former prisoner, who, after being liberated, visited Metropolitan Dionysius and gave him Saint Gregory’s cross.) In the end, like Christ Himself, Archimandrite Gregory died for having taken upon himself the sin of another.

Russia, Moscow, 1922-1952, Joseph Stalin, Soviet General Secreatary
Secretary, 1922-1952, Joseph Stalin, Soviet General Secreatary ; Venerable Anatole II of Optina, Commemorated on July 30; New Martyr Nazarius, Metropolitan of Kutaisi-Gaenati, and his companions of Georgia, Commemorated August 14 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated on December 15 ; New Hieromartyr Archbishop Thaddeus of Tver, Commemorated on December 18; St Euthymius (Takaishvili), Commemorated on January 3; St Euthymius the Confessor, Commemorated on January 20 ; St George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21 ; St John, Commemorated on January 23; St Ambrose the Confessor, Commemorated on March 16; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17; New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4; Venerable Nikon of Optina, Commemorated on June 25;

Russia, Moscow, 1925-1936, Peter Polyansky of Krutitsy, well known, Tikhon Locum Metropolitan, Russ Church Letter, anti Living C
Krutitsy; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated September 27 ; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10 ; Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsy was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 23, 1997. Peter was born in the Voronezh region, and studied at the Moscow Theological Academy, graduating in 1892, where he then continued as inspector. a short stay at the seminary of Zhirovits in Belarus as inspector, he was appointed secretary of the Synodal Education Committee becoming de facto inspector of all the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church. many of his contemporaries who had graduated from a theological academy, Peter Polyansky did not seek ordination, and for a long time remained a layman. secretary of the Synodal Education Committee he traveled widely, visiting innumerable theological establishments, meeting and knowing many people. Gifted with an outstanding intellect, a firm character and a sociable nature, he was widely known and made many friends. He exercised a beneficial influence on the religious education of future priests. 1917-18, Peter Polyansky took part in the work of the local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, when Saint Tikhon (April 7) was elected Patriarch. latter made Peter Polyansky one of his closest aides, and persuaded him to become bishop; the Patriarch wished to consolidate the leadership of the Church in what was fast becoming the darkest time for the Church in many centuries. In 1920 Peter Polyansky was made a monk and auxiliary bishop for the diocese of Moscow; in a matter of months he was appointed Metropolitan of Krutitsy, one of the highest ranking bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Tikhon died on April 7, 1925, the day of the Annunciation (March 25). increasing troubles and uncertainty for the Church, thinking that the government would not allow a Church council to assemble and elect the next patriarch, Saint Tikhon took an administrative decision aimed at securing a smooth succession when he died. He nominated three bishops in order of priority, as locum tenens; the third was Metropolitan Peter Polyansky. the first two choices were found to be in prison and thus unable to assume the leadership of the Church, this heavy task befell Metropolitan Peter. against the Church was raging, the government gave its support to the splinter group “The Living Church” in an attempt to discredit and destroy the official Orthodox Church. great number of bishops had been imprisoned or exiled to remote parts of the country, and were unable to have a clear understanding of the prevailing situation. The whole country was in turmoil; the so-called Living Church energetically tried to replace the true Church. the absence of a patriarch, people did not know whom to believe and to whom to give their allegiance. Metropolitan Peter then issued an uncompromisingly firm “Letter to the Russian Church” where he described the position of the Church vis a vis the authorities and vis a vis the “Living Church.” made no compromises with anybody, and stood firm in the truth of Christ. This letter helped the Church to strengthen itself but caused the Metropolitan to be arrested. history of the few months in which a campaign was master-minded by the Commissar for religious affairs, Tuchkov, to compromise and weaken Saint Peter, shows how determined the government was to defeat the head of the Church, but this did not break him. December 10, 1925, Saint Peter was put under house arrest, and two days later sent to the Lubianka prison; in May 1926 he was transferred to the Suzdal fortress, then back to the Lubianka, and finally, in December, he was sent to Siberia, first to Tobolsk, then to the village of Abalak on the banks of the river Irtysh which he reached in 1927. of the other bishops had experienced a similar fate, the dioceses remaining without their shepherds. August 1927, Metropolitan Peter was taken to another destination beyond the Arctic Circle, a place called Khe on the mouth of the Ob, in the frozen tundra. For a little while he lived there peacefully, recovering from the arduous journey. However, on August 29, the day of the Beheading of the Saint John the Baptist, he suffered his first attack of angina and had to stay in bed. Two paramedics who came from a far distance by river in a boat manned by a native, advised him to be seen by a doctor and be transferred to a hospital. The Metropolitan wrote to the authorities at the GPU, but never got a reply, or money, or provisions, although he knew that several parcels had arrived in Tobolsk addressed to him. damp, cold climate of this northern region was extremely harmful to him in his condition. Eventually, towards the end of September, he was taken back to Tobolsk. Unexpectedly, he had an interview with Tuchkov who offered him freedom if he surrendered his title of locum tenens, but he remained firm and refused to compromise. He was then sent back to Khe for another three years of exile, but he was never granted his freedom. In Moscow in 1936, ten years after his first imprisonment, believers were waiting for his return, counting on the end of his ten-year term of exile. They never saw him again. He may have been moved for the last time to a monastery nearer central Russia where he was a little less constrained, but with no freedom to write or communicate with the world. He was shot by decision of the Soviet authorities after years of prison and exile. Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Dionysius of Radonezh, in the world David Zobninovsky, was born about 1570 in the city of Rzhev. A novice, and then head of the Staritsky Dormition monastery, during the Time of Troubles he was the foremost helper of Saint Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow. 1611, Saint Dionysius was archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Under his administration, a house and hospice for the injured and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion was opened near the monastery. During a famine, he told the brethren of the Lavra to eat oat bread and water, leaving the wheat and the rye bread for the sick. In 1611-1612, he and the steward of the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, the monk Abraham Palitsyn (+ 1625), wrote letters asking the people of Nizhni-Novgorod and other cities to send fighting men and money to liberate Moscow from the Poles. He also wrote to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky and to all the military people, urging them to hasten the campaign for Moscow. monastic training helped Saint Dionysius to maintain his own inner light undiminished during the terrible years of this evil time. The saint achieved a high degree of spiritual pefection through unceasing prayer, which gave him the gift of working miracles. He carefully concealed his spiritual life from other people, who might suffer harm from a superficial knowledge of it. “Do not ask a monk about things concerning his monastic life,” said Saint Dionysius, “since for us monks, it is a great misfortune to reveal such secrets to laymen. It is written that what is done in secret should not be known, even by your own left hand. We must hide ourselves, so that what we do remains unknown, lest the devil lead us into all manner of negligence and indolence.” can only measure his spiritual development, and the knowledge of God which he attained, by those things which became apparent when circumstances compelled Saint Dionysius to take an active part in the life of the world around him. such circumstance was his involvement in the revision of the service books. In 1616 Saint Dionysius spoke of work on correction of the Book of Needs by comparing it with the ancient Slavonic manuscripts and various Greek editions. their work, investigators discovered discrepancies in other books edited in the period between patriarchs (1612-1619). People did not understand what the editors were doing, so they accused Saint Dionysius and the others of heresy at a Council of 1618. from his priestly rank and excommunicated from the Church, he was imprisoned in the Novospassky (New Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior) monastery, where they wanted to kill him by starvation. The intervention of Patriarch Philaretos of Moscow and Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem (1619-1633) won his release in 1619, and he was cleared of the charges against him. Dionysius was known for his strict observance of the monastery Rule, for sharing in monastery tasks and in the rebuilding of the monastery after the siege of the Lavra. The Life and Canon to the saint was composed by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery steward Simon Azaryn and augmented by the priest John Nasedka, a coworker of Saint Dionysius when he was correcting the service books. Dionysius reposed on May 12, 1633 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra.

Russia, Moscow, 1937, New Hieromartyr Thaddeus oTver (Tversta River Mouth, Volga River 4), executed in 1937
Tver; New Hieromartyr Archbishop Thaddeus of Tver, Commemorated on December 18; New Hieromartyr Thaddeus (Uspensky) was the Archbishop of Tver. He was executed in 1937.

Russia, Moscow, 1938, Isaac II, Optina M, Kaluga, died as a martyr, 1938, an Optima Elder venrated 1996 locally&2000 universally
Russia, Kaluga, 1938, Saint Isaac II (Bobrikov), Optina Monastery, Kaluga, died as a martyr, Dec 26, 1938, an Optima Elder venrated 1996 locally and 2000 universally; Optina Monestary ; Venerable Isaac II of Optina, Commemorated on December 26; Isaac II (Bobrikov) died as a martyr on December 26, 1938. Moscow Patriarchate authorized local veneration of the Optina Elders on June 13, 1996, glorifying them for universal veneration on August 7, 2000.

Russia, Moscow, 1945-1970, Patriarch Alexy I, after 20 years, got stalin to allow church to function again, controversy
Russia, Moscow, 1945-1970, Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow; Alexy I (November 8 [O.S. October 27] 1877 - 17 April 1970) was the 13th Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) between 1945 and 1970. in Moscow to a noble family, his father was a Chamberlain of the Russian Imperial Court. In 1899 he graduated from Moscow Imperial University with a law degree; was conscripted by the army and served in a grenadier regiment. 1902 he enrolled at Moscow Theological Academy and by 1906 he had been elevated to the dignity of archimandrite and was appointed rector of the seminary at Tula. the Bolshevik Revolution he was arrested several times and in 1922 exiled to Kazakhstan. In 1926 he returned to Saint Petersburg (which had been renamed Leningrad) and was appointed Archbishop of Khutyn, that is, the vicar of the Diocese of Novgorod. July 29, 1927, Metropolitan Sergei Stragorodsky, acting as de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church, signed a statement of unconditional loyalty to the Soviet State. The statement was co-signed by all members of the Holy Synod, and Archbishop Alexy of Khutyn.[1] ran the diocese for much of the next seven years while Metropolitan Arsenius Stadnitsky was in prison or exile. In 1933 Alexius served briefly as Archbishop of Novgorod (for several months) and then metropolitan of Leningrad. the early hours of September 5, 1943, Metropolitan Alexius together with Metropolitan Sergius and Metropolitan Nicholas (Yarushevich) met with Joseph Stalin in the Kremlin where a historic decision was made regarding the fate of the Church in the state ruled by the militantly atheist Communist party. In the midst of World War II Stalin decided to allow the Russian Orthodox Church to legally function again after two decades of severe persecution. Restrictions on the Patriarchate of Moscow were relaxed somewhat and many churches throughout the Soviet Union were re-opened. Stalin tried to appeal to patriotic feelings of the Russian people especially the peasantry (backbone of the Red Army), many of whom grew up in still deeply religious families. Patriarch Sergei died on May 15, 1944, Metropolitan Alexy took his place as Patriarchal locum tenens. In his first statement after assuming control of the Church, the Metropolitan assured Stalin of his "profound affection and gratitude" and vowed to "safeguard the Church against mistakes and false steps".[2] February 2, 1945, with Stalin's approval, Alexius I was elected Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia and enthroned on February 4, 1945. 1946 Alexius I presided over the controversial "re-unification" of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church with ROC seen by many as a takeover forced by the Stalinist government. in 1946, Patriarch Alexius called on all Catholics in the Soviet Union to reject all allegiance to the Pope: "Liberate yourself! You must break the Vatican chains, which throw you into the abyss of error, darkness and spiritual decay. Hurry, return to your true mother, the Russian Orthodox Church!"[3] Pius XII replied: "Who does not know, that Patriarch Alexius I recently elected by the dissident bishops of Russia, openly exalts and preaches defection from the Catholic Church. In a letter lately addressed to the Ruthenian Church, a letter, which contributed not a little to the persecution?"[4] Alexius joined the World Peace Council, "a Soviet front organization,"[5] when it was founded in 1949. According to Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, both Patriarch Alexius and Metropolitan Nicholas "were highly valued by the KGB as agents of influence."[6] the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953, the Patriarch composed a personal statement of condolence to the USSR's Council of Ministers. It read, "His death is a heavy grief for our Fatherland and for all the people who inhabit it. The whole Russian Orthodox Church, which will never forget his benevolent attitude to Church needs, feels great sorrow at his death. The bright memory of him will live ineradicably in our hearts. Our Church proclaims eternal memory to him with a special feeling of abiding love."[7] 1955, Patriarch Alexius declared, "The Russian Orthodox Church supports the totally peaceful foreign policy of the Soviet Union, not because the Church lacks freedom, but because Soviet policy is just and corresponds to the Christian ideals which the Church preaches."[8] 1959 however, the Russian Orthodox Church also had to endure a new wave of persecution, mostly carried out on the orders of the new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. this, Patriarch Alexius was permitted by the KGB to enroll the Russian Orthodox Church into the Christian Peace Conference in 1958 and the World Council of Churches in 1961.[9] 1965, Fathers Gleb Yakunin and Nikolai Eshilman wrote an open letter to Patriarch Alexius. According to Evgeny Barabanov, "They showed convincingly how a significant part of the governing episcopate, with voluntary silence or cunning connivance, had assisted the Atheists to close churches, monasteries, and religious schools, to liquidate religious communities, to establish the illegal practice of registering christenings, and had yielded to them control over the assignment and transfer of priests."[10] letter was published as samizdat ("self-published", i.e., underground press). In May 1966, Patriarch Alexius ordered both priests suspended from the ministry. Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn sharply criticized the treatment of Fathers Gleb and Nikolai in his own open letter to Patriarch Alexius. Alexius died of a myocardial infarction at the age of 92 in 1970 and was buried in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius at Sergiyev Posad outside of Moscow. praise Alexius I for working hard to ensure the survival of the Christianity in Russia, advocating peace and inter-church unity, while opponents often accused him of complicity with the Soviet authorities. leading critic of Patriarch Alexei's leadership is Father Gleb Yakunin who claims in his books and articles that the postwar hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church was controlled by KGB informants. Venerable Seraphim of Vyritsa, Commemorated on March 21;

Russia, Moscow, 1953-1964, Secretary, Nikita Khrushchev
Moscow Secretary, 1953-1964, Nikita Khrushchev; St John, Commemorated on January 23; Repose of St Nicholas of Zhicha, Commemorated on March 18; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Alexander the Abbot of Svir, Commemorated on April 17;

Russia, Moscow, 1989, Arrival of Iveron Icon to Tbilisi, Georgia, for gratitude, copy of Protectress Iveron Icon arrives Tiblisi
Georgia, 1989, Tbilisi, Kartli, Georgia Capital (Tiblisi River Mouth, Kura River 9), for gratitude, copy of protectoris Iveron Icon arrives Tiblisi Georgia 1989; Tbilisi; Arrival of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in Georgia, Commemorated on September 26; Iveron Icon of the Mother of God (which is preserved on Mt. Athos) was kept in the home of a certain pious widow, who lived near Nicea. the reign of the emperor Theophilus, the Iconoclasts came to the house of this Christian, and one of the soldiers struck the image of the Mother of God with a spear. Blood flowed from the place where it was struck. widow, fearing its destruction, promised the imperial soldiers money and implored them not to touch the icon until morning. the soldiers departed, the woman and her son (later an Athonite monk), sent the holy icon away upon the sea to preserve it. icon, standing upright upon the water, floated to Athos. several days, the Athonite monks had seen a fiery pillar on the sea rising up to the heavens. came down to the shore and found the holy image, standing upon the waters. a Molieben of thanksgiving, a pious monk of the Iveron Monastery, Gabriel (July 12), had a dream in which the Mother of God appeared to him and gave him instructions. he walked across the water, and taking up the holy icon, he placed it in the church. the following day, however, the icon was found not within the church, but on the gates of the monastery. was repeated several times, until the Most Holy Theotokos revealed to Saint Gabriel Her will, saying that She did not want the icon to be guarded by the monks, but rather She intended to be their Protectress. this, the icon was installed on the monastery gates. this icon came to be called “Portaitissa” or “Gate-Keeper” (October 13). comes from the Akathist to the Mother of God: “Rejoice, O Blessed Gate-Keeper who opens the gates of Paradise to the righteous.” is a tradition that the Mother of God promised Saint Gabriel that the grace and mercy of Her Son toward the monks would continue as long as the Icon remained at the monastery. is also believed that the disappearance of the Iveron Icon from Mt. Athos would be a sign of the end of the world. Iveron Icon is also commemorated on February 12, March 31, October 13 (Its arrival in Moscow in 1648), and Bright Tuesday (Commemorating the appearance of the Icon in a pillar of fire at Mt. Athos and its recovery by Saint Gabriel). September 26, 1989, a copy of this famous icon arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia from the Iveron Monastery on Mt. Athos. This copy had been painted by the monks on Mt. Athos as a symbol of love and gratitude to the Georgian people.

Russia, Moscow, 1989, Second finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes of Voronezh, death 1703, first finding 1832, 2nd f 1989
Russia, 1989, Second finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes of Voronezh, Scythia (Voronezh River Mouth, Don River 8), death 1703, first finding 1832, second finding 1989; Voronezh; Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh; or Mitrofan of Voronezh (1623 - 1703) was appointed in 1682 the first bishop of Voronezh. He is reputed to have possessed miracle-working powers.[1] (as he was then known) was born in the village of Antilokhovo, Savinsky District and took monastic vows after his wife's death in 1663. He managed the Kosmin Monastery near Yuryev-Polsky and the Unzha Monastery in Makaryev before being promoted to a bishop's see in 1682. He supported Peter the Great in his efforts to build the first Russian warships in Voronezh but was generally critical of his Westernization policies. was buried in the Annunciation Monastery in the Tsar's presence in 1703. When 14 years later his tomb was opened, Mitrofan's body was found to be "whole" and his relics were proclaimed to have healing powers. After he was formally canonized in 1832 and Nicholas I paid a visit to his shrine,[2] his fame increased and large numbers of pilgrims from Central Russia started flocking to his tomb in Voronezh.[3] The first Moscow church in his name was consecrated in 1895. Bolsheviks had Mitrofan's relics confiscated. It was in 1989 that the relics were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. There is an ornate statue of Saint Mitrofan in front of the Annunciation Cathedral where his relics have been kept since then. Second finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on September 4; Second finding of the relics of Saint Metrophanes of Voronezh took place in 1989. March 22, 1998 Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow gave his blessing for the celebration of this Feast. First finding of the relics of St Metrophanes the First Bishop of Voronezh, Commemorated on August 7 Uncovering of the Relics of Saint Metrophanes, Bishop of Voronezh (1832): The memory of the deep piety and pastoral virtues of Saint Metrophanes (Macarius, in the schema) was revered at Voronezh from the time of his death (November 23, 1703). His successors, the Voronezh hierarchs, considered it their sacred duty to make annual remembrance of the first hierarch of their flock, together with his parents, the priest Basil and Maria. people of Voronezh and its environs came to the Annunciation cathedral, where memorial services were offered at his tomb. Contributing to the intense remembrance of Saint Metrophanes was also his dying request that prayers be said for him. For this purpose the saint, even during his lifetime, had built a chapel at the cathedral in honor of the holy Archangel Michael (his patron saint), and in it a special priest served the Liturgy. Although succeeding generations did not know the saint, they also revered his memory. veracity of the sainthood of the first hierarch of the Voronezh diocese was also confirmed by his incorrupt relics, attested during their repeated transfers from one temple to another. In the year 1718, Metropolitan Pachomius of Voronezh, about to begin the construction of a new cathedral, gave orders to demolish the old Annunciation cathedral. The body of Saint Metrophanes was temporarily transferred into the church of the Unburnt Bush. In 1735, the body of Saint Metrophanes was transferred into the new cathedral, during which time the incorrupt state of his relics was again observed. At the place of the burial of the saint, panikhidas were customarily served for him. 1820 it was noticed that the number of those venerating Saint Metrophanes and thronging to Voronezh, had extraordinarily increased. Grace-filled signs also increased. Archbishop Anthony II of Voronezh made repeated reports to the Holy Synod about the miracles, and he petitioned for a resolution for the glorification of the saint. The Holy Synod then prescribed that records be kept of miracles at the grave of Saint Metrophanes. In the year 1831, after seeing the incorrupt body of the saint, Archbishop Anthony together with commission members of the Holy Synod, Archbishop Eugenius of Yaroslavl and Archimandrite Hermogenes of the Moscow Savior-Androniev monastery, became convinced in the miraculous intercession of Saint Metrophanes before the Throne of God. The Holy Synod then issued its resolution adding Saint Metrophanes to the ranks of the Saints. Since then, the Russian Church celebrates the memory of the saint twice during the year: November 23, the day of his repose, and August 7, the day of his glorification. Anthony II (1827-1846) established in the Voronezh also the following feastdays in honor of Saint Metrophanes: June 4, the Feast of his namesake Saint Metrophanes, Patriarch of Constantinople; April 2, the saint’s day of consecration as bishop in 1682; and December 11, the day of the transfer of the relics of Saint Metrophanes in 1831. Metrophanes left behind a Spiritual Testament. Its original is preserved in the State Historical Museum. Upon the testament is the unique authoritative signature of the saint: “This spiritual dictate is attested to by me... Bishop Metrophanes of Voronezh.” the lower cover (inside) is an inscription from the eighteenth century: “This is the book of testament or last will of the Voronezh schemamonk Macarius, written in the God-saved city of Voronezh, in the house of His Grace the bishop and schemamonk Macarius, who reposed in the month of November on the 23rd day in the year 1703, and was buried on the 4th day of December.” the day preceding the Uncovering of the Relics of Saint Metrophanes, Archbishop Anthony of Voronezh went to church, so as to lay out the new vestments prepared for the relics. Suddenly, he felt so weak that he was barely able to go about his cell. Troubled by this, he sat and pondered and then he heard a quiet voice: “ Do not transgress my legacy.” he did not understand right away, and instead thinking about his own plans, he gathered up his strength and opened the closet where the vestments were, and there he caught sight of the monastic schema, brought shortly before this by an unknown monk who had entrusted it to him and said that it soon would be needed. this monastic schema, the hierarch then realized that the words, “Do not transgress my legacy,” was actually the will of Saint Metrophanes, that they not place upon his relics bishop’s vestments, but rather to clothe them in the schema. By this and by his extreme humility, he indicated the deep spiritual connection with his patronal saint (in schema), Saint Macarius of Unzhensk.

Russia, Moscow, 1990, Glorification oSt John oKronstadt Island, St Petersburg
Kronstadt Island (Kotlin Island, St Petersburg); Kronshtadtsky District; Repose of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated December 20 ; John of Kronstadt was born in the village of Sura in Archangel province on October 19, 1829, and was called John in honor of Saint John of Rila (August 18). parents were very poor but were very devoted to the Church. Even though he was poor, as a young boy John learned to feel compassion for others in their misfortune. His neighbors frequently asked him to pray for them, as they noticed this special grace-endowed gift in him. When John was ten, his parents were able to raise some money and send him to the local school which was attached to the church. At first, the boy had an extremely difficult time with his studies. He worked for days on end, but still failed to keep up. about his life he once recalled an evening when everyone had already gone to bed. “I could not sleep, and I still failed to understand anything I was taught. I still read poorly and could not remember anything I was told. I became so depressed I fell to my knees and began to pray. I don’t know whether I had spent a long time in that position or not, but suddenly something shook my whole being. It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes, and my mind had been opened, and I remembered clearly my teacher of that day and his lesson. I also recalled the topic and the examples he had given. I felt so light and joyous inside.â€ After this experience he did so well he became one of the first in his class to be chosen to go to seminary, and after seminary to the Theological Academy in Saint Petersburg (a great honor at that time). his studies, John thought about the importance of forgiveness, meekness, and love, and came to believe that these were the very center and power of Christianity, and that only one path—the path of humble love—leads to God and the triumph of His righteousness. He also thought a great deal about the Savior’s death on the Cross at Golgotha, and pitied those who did not know Jesus Christ. He wished to preach to them about His death and Resurrection. He dreamed about becoming a missionary to distant China, but saw that there was a great deal of work for a genuine pastor of Christ’s flock both in his own city and the surrounding towns. John graduated from the Academy he met Elizabeth Nesvitsky who lived in the town of Kronstadt. They dated, he proposed, and they were married. After his studies, John still desired to learn more about his faith and his Church. was in this frame of mind that he prepared to be a priest and to enter public ministry. He was ordained a deacon on December 10, 1855, and then priest on December 12. He was assigned to Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in the city of Kronstadt. He said, “I made myself a rule to be as sincere as possible in my work, and of strictly watching myself and my inner life.â€ John wanted most of all to earn the love of the people in his care, because only a loving attitude could provide the firm support and help he needed as he faced the difficult work of the priesthood. His constant thought was how he would come before the Last Judgment and have to give an account, not only for his own deeds, but also the deeds of his flock, for whose education and salvation he was responsible. To him no one was a stranger; everyone who came to him for help became a friend and relative. He would tell people “The Church is the best heavenly friend of every sincere Christian.â€ He conducted divine services daily and offered the prayers of the faithful. He called all who rarely receive Holy Communion to prepare themselves and live their lives in a Christian way so that they could receive more often. Listening to Father John, many people changed their lifestyle, repented sincerely, and joyfully received Holy Communion on a regular basis. that time the government exiled murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. Life was horrible for the exiles. Even children of exiles would become thieves and criminals. He would go to their dugouts, hovels and shacks to visit with them. Not satisfied with staying for five or ten minutes to administer some rite and then leave, Father John believed he was coming to visit a priceless soul, his brothers and sisters. He would stay for hours, talking, encouraging, comforting, crying, and rejoicing together with them. the beginning he also concerned himself with the material needs of the poor. He would shop for food, go to the pharmacy for prescriptions, to the doctor for help, many times giving the poor his last few coins. The inhabitants of Kronstadt would see him returning home barefoot and without his cassock. Often parishioners would bring shoes to his wife, saying to her, “Your husband has given away his shoes to someone, and will come home barefoot.â€ He would also write articles for the newspaper exhorting the people of Kronstadt to “support the poor morally and materially.â€ These appeals touched the hearts of many and Father John organized many charitable efforts. Realizing that his individual charity was insufficient for aiding the needy, he founded the Orthodox Christian House Parish Trusteeship of Saint Andrew the First-Called. This brotherhood coordinated many charitable efforts throughout the city and helped many needy people. 1857, he began teaching in the local city schools. He would tell people, “If children cannot listen to the Gospel, it is only because it is taught like any other subject, with boredom and indifference. Such teaching defeats the purpose of the Gospel. It fails because it forces students only to read words and memorize them instead of making them live in their lives.â€ To Father John there were no incapable students. He taught in such a way that poor pupils as well as good ones were able to understand. His attention was aimed not so much at forcing students to memorize as to fill their souls with the joy of living according to Christian values, sharing with them the holy thoughts which filled his soul. speaking to other priests about their vocation he would say, “You are a representative of the faith of the Church, O priest; you are a representative of Christ the Lord Himself. You should be a model of meekness, purity, courage, perseverance, patience, and lofty spirit. You are doing the work of God and must not let anything discourage you.â€ John has performed more miracles than almost any other saint, with the possible exception of Saint Nicholas. Through his prayers he healed the sick, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought sinners to repentance. John labored endlessly in his work for the Lord preaching, teaching, and helping those in need. Having spent his entire life serving God and His people, Father John fell ill and died on December 20, 1908. Almost immediately, people from near and far began to make pilgrimages to the monastery where he was buried. Even today millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia and around the world pray to him to intercede for them as he had always done from his childhood. John was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church on June 8, 1990. Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; Glorification of St John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 8 ; Glorification of Saint John of Kronstadt, Commemorated on June 14; John of Kronstadt was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990. He is also commemorated on December 20.

Russia, Moscow, 1992, Finding Tikhon's Relics, found after considered lost, found after fire, OCA reps present at uncovering
Russia, Moscow, 1992, Finding Tikhon's Relics, found accidentally after considered lost, found after Dormition Cathedral fire, OCA reps present at uncovering; Moscow; Finding of the Relics of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, Commemorated on February 22; widely reported, 2017 marked the 100th Anniversary of the Election and Enthronement of Saint Tikhon as Patriarch of Moscow during the All-Russian Church Council. Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and a delegation representing the Orthodox Church in America departed for Moscow on Thursday, November 30, 2017 to participate in the celebration of this ever-memorable occasion that directly relates to the life of the Church in Russia and America, inasmuch as Saint Tikhon served as Bishop and later Archbishop of North America from 1898 until 1907, when he returned to his homeland. also marked the 25th Anniversary of the discovery and recovery of the relics of Saint Tikhon, which were secured after his death in Moscow's Donskoy Monastery. Patriarch Tikhon fell asleep in the Lord on April 7, 1925. He had suffered greatly during the years of turmoil and persecution that followed the Russian Revolution. He was laid to rest in the monastery's small "winter" cathedral. Subsequently the monastery was closed and repurposed, and the relics of Saint Tikhon were moved for safe keeping. Donskoy Monastery subsequently was returned to the Church and has been restored. was on Saturday, February 22, 1992, that Saint Tikhon's relics were discovered, hidden deep beneath the floor of the small cathedral. weeks before this joyous event, Protopresbyter Daniel Hubiak, together with Matushka Dunia, had arrived in Moscow as the Orthodox Church in America's first Representative to the Russian Orthodox Church. did they realize at the time that they would be witnesses to the recovery of Saint Tikhon's relics on that cold February afternoon. Father Daniel and Matushka Dunia wrote first-hand accounts of the discovery of Saint Tikhon's relics, now enshrined in the Donskoy Monastery's main cathedral. conjunction with the Anniversary of Saint Tikhon's Enthronement in 1917, we offer the Hubiaks' accounts of the discovery of Saint Tikhon's relics. of Matushka Dunia Hubiak is Saturday, February 22, 1992, in Moscow. Father Dan and I are living at the Danilovsky Hotel. We arrived in Moscow a month ago for Father Dan to begin his new assignment as Representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Russian Orthodox Church (The Moscow Patriarchate). no church was yet designated as our Representation Church, Father Dan would call Father Matfey Stadniuk on Saturday mornings to be told where he was to be for the Vigil and Divine Liturgy that weekend (usually at the Patriarchal Cathedral). Saturday morning (February 22) Father Matfey could not be reached. Finally, around noon he answered the phone and told Father Dan to be at the Donskoy Monastery for a special service at 2:00 p.m. receptionists at the hotel (who were always very helpful) ordered a car and driver for us, and off we were to the Donskoy Monastery. Upon our arrival at the main gate of the monastery, a mass of people, including clergy of all ranks, was gathering. A sense of excitement permeated the scene. could all of this mean? arrived at the winter church and saw more people, clergy and TV cameras! Father Dan was separated from me to join the clergy – I was left behind. At that time, a month after arriving in Moscow, my linguistic ability was almost nonexistent, so I was unable to ask anyone anything. So I stood there, trying to not get squeezed trying to see. We were standing around what looked like a crypt in the vestibule. Aleksy entered and began the service. More and more people crowded into the space, and again I was pushed to the side, unable to see. However, I could still hear, and to my astonishment I discovered that we were standing at the tomb of the recently canonized Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia – in many ways OUR Patriarch whom we commemorate as “the Enlightener of North America.” Molieben service began and the coffin was opened. I made my way to a side of the area and found a chair on which I stood. When the reality dawned on me as to what was taking place, I was very much moved and could hardly see because of my tears. most of the crowd had pushed and shoved its way to the side, I was able to look down and found the Mantia still intact with the eagles on the shoulders and at the hem. Dan was given a piece of wood from the casket. think! If Father Dan had not reached Father Matfey, who was in his office all of two minutes, we would have missed this once in a lifetime experience! of Father Daniel Hubiak the end of the meeting of the Permanent Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness, Patriarch Aleksy was informed that the grave of Saint Tikhon had been found in the smaller Cathedral of Our Lady of the Don in the Donskoy Monastery. The Patriarch immediately went to the site and arranged for the opening of the casket at a special service at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, 1992. top of the simple wooden casket was removed, revealing the mantia which covered the body of the saint. Two gold brocaded emblems on the mantia were shining as new. His Holiness said that the green patriarchal mantia was special in that it was one of only three made with that material and special style. The stones in the cross of the Saint’s miter glistened as camera lights flashed. Molieben was sung. Patriarch Aleksy spoke of the significance of this discovery and stated that a crypt will be made for the Saint’s relics. discovery of the Saint’s grave was miraculous. Three different rumors pointed to the improbability of ever finding the remains of the Saint. One version had it that the remains of the Saint had been cremated, another that he was buried in an unmarked grave in one cemetery, another that his remains were in another, unidentified cemetery. The Church had no plans of trying to find the grave. fire at the smaller Cathedral of Our Lady of the Don made it necessary to undertake an extensive renovation of the church. In the process of this renovation, a grave marker was found, but there was no body under the stone. It was thought that perhaps the burial place was to one side or another of the stone. A search of the area proved fruitless. But under the stone was a large heating pipe that appeared to be intact. An archeological expert examined the site and noticed that in fact the pipe, not detectable to the untrained eye, had indeed been disturbed. The pipe was removed and beneath it, covered by earth, was a grave vault. The vault was opened and the casket of Saint Tikhon was discovered there. On the casket was a plaque identifying it as the casket of the Saint. Those who buried the Saint took special pains to keep his body and his burial place secure and safe. finding of the Saint’s grave was a miracle. The presence of the Representative of the OCA at the opening of the grave was another sign of God’s providence. By chance I had called Father Matrfey Stadniuk to discuss the schedule of services for the weekend. He was in his office for only for a few minutes – and that was when I called. He told me to be at the Donskoy Monastery for a Molieben. It appears that the person who was to have informed me simply forgot to do so. Act of the Opening of the Grave was signed by the Patriarch, the hierarchs, clergy and lay persons present. My name and my wife’s name appear on the document. I obtained a piece of wood from the top of the Saint’s casket. Holy Father Patriarch Tikhon, pray unto God for us!

Russia, Moscow, 1996, Finding Maximus Relics at Trinity, found incorrupt &fragrant on preserved wood per old plans
Russia, Radonezh, 1996, Finding Maximus tGreek's Relics at Trinity Lavra of St Sergius (Radonezh), in 1988 Milenial Celebration of 988 Baptism otRus council celebrated M but could not find his relics, he was holy man, wonderworker, ascetic, but falsely accused by his enemies, prison many years, but remained firm confession w humility, leaned man, author defending apostles traditions, glorified by this council in 1988, after repose 1556 miracles at his tomb, later icons of him, local saint veneration, but council not find relics, buried by northwestern wall Holy Spirit church, but no indication of tomb there, archaeological excevation 1996, after Moleben, foundations for 1745 church unearthed, work concetrated there, sweet fragrance southern part several days, head discovered, burial on 15 cm high wooden slab completely preserved, body where 1745 plan indicated, Archeologists agreed remains w M, special shrine prepared there; Trinity Lavra (Monestary) of St Sergius; Finding of the relics of Venerable Maximus the Greek (July 4, 1996), Commemorated on July 4 ; 1988, during the Millennial Celebration of the Baptism of Russia, the Jubilee Council of the Russian Orthodox Church met at Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra, and glorified several saints. these was Venerable Maximus the Greek (January 21), whom the Council described as "a holy man, a wonderworker, a venerable ascetic, and a master of the monastic life." because of the baseless slander of his enemies, he was thrown into prison for many years. Even so, he remained firm in his confession of the Orthodox Faith, and in his humility. was a learned man, and the author of many edifying works, defending Orthodox dogmas, and the traditions of the Holy Fathers. glorification by the Council marked the end of centuries of unsuccessful attempts to exonerate him, and to prove that the accusations made against him during his lifetime were false. the Saint's final years, he lived at Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra, where he was treated with respect and honor. his repose in 1556, several miracles occurred at his tomb, for those who sought his intercession. Troparion and Kontakion were composed, as well as a Church Service. Later, iconographic representations of Saint Maximus began to appear. the end of the sixteenth century, Saint Maximus the Greek was being venerated as a local saint. remained just one important question for the Jubilee Council of 1988: the whereabouts of the holy relics of Saint Maximus. Acts of the Council state: "His honorable relics are buried by the northwestern wall of the Church of the Holy Spirit at Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra." from the moment the Council decided upon his canonization, until the start of the excavation of his grave site eight years later, there were no indications of any tomb on the surface of the ground. by the end of the sixteenth century the first chapel had been built over the grave, which was frequently rebuilt and enlarged. It survived, in its altered form, until the 1930s. there was no discernible burial site for Saint Maximus the Greek, or for several other newly-glorified saints, the Jubilee Council of 1988 restricted itself to the adoption of the following formula: "Their honorable remains, wherever they may be, are to be considered holy relics." only the approximate location of Saint Maximus' grave was known, it was necessary to conduct archaeological excavations. Alexei II, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, gave his blessing for this. the excavations began, on June 24,1996, a Moleben (Service of Prayer) to Saint Maximus was served in the Church of the Holy Spirit at the Lavra. Service was performed by Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), the Spiritual Father of the Lavra, and the monks of the Lavra. Students of the Moscow Ecclesiastical schools, and the archaeologists also participated. the excavations began. Since part of the area had been paved with a sidewalk, the pavement had to be removed first. Then the site was prepared. To avoid any mistakes, a large area was excavated; about ten meters on the east-west axis, and six meters on the north-south axis. the excavation, the foundations of several structures were uncovered, most of them from the nineteenth century: a chapel and a representation church, built in 1867, along with a church dedicated to St. Philaretos the Merciful (December 1) on the south side of the church of the Holy Spirit. discovery was made by the northwest corner of the church of the Holy Spirit. Here the foundations of the first, or one of the first chapels erected over Maximus' grave, was uncovered. site of these foundations, in relation to the church of the Holy Spirit, its dimensions and the corresponding area they enclosed, corresponded exactly to the chapel over the grave as indicated in the plan of 1745. soon as these foundations were unearthed, work was concentrated in that area. noon on June 30, a sweet fragrance was noticed, coming from the southern part of the excavation, and it lasted for several days. some time, the head of Saint Maximus became visible. continued that night until almost 2:00 A.M. was determined that the burial was on a wooden slab, which was completely preserved (about 15 cm. high), and that the holy remains were on the spot where, according to the plan of 1745, the grave was located. for the holy remains within the foundations of the chapel, there were no other bodies. this, it became clear that the sacred remains which had been discovered belonged to Saint Maximus the Greek. July 1, a detailed report about the results of the work that had been conducted, and concerning the discovery of the holy relics of Saint Maximus the Greek, was made to the Patriarch. was noted that the historical and archaeological evidence, as well as the distinct fragrance, bore witness to the fact that the remains were those of Saint Maximus. Partiarch gave his blessing for an anthropological examination of the preserved remains. was done on July 2, by the chief anthropologists of the Russian Academy of Science. A written affidavit states that (1) the remains were those of one person; (2) this person was male; (3) he died around the age of 80. A comparison of the head with old depictions of Saint Maximus made by the anthropologists showed similarities. expert opinion of the anthropologists confirmed the previous conclusion that the remains were those of Saint Maximus the Greek. that same day, the findings of the anthropologists were presented to Patriarch Alexei. He gave his blessing to remove the honorable relics on the following day, July 3, 1996. this, the work continued literally uninterrupted until the Patriarch arrived. There was only a short break from five to eight A.M. was decided that not the slightest part of the sacred relics would remain in the earth, and that they would be removed as a single piece; that is, along with the slab and a layer of soil. this it was necessary to dig out the soil under the slab, but the gray clay broke up very poorly, and for a long time this prevented the relics from being removed as a single item. by two in the afternoon, the relics of Saint Maximus were transferred to a temporary casket, prepared for removal, and they were covered with a monastic Schema. The casket remained on the site where the grave was found. the sound of the bells announced the arrival of the Archimandrite of Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra, and of Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia. usual, the Patriarch began his visit at the Lavra by venerating the holy relics of Saint Sergius in Holy Trinity church. leaving Holy Trinity church, he went to the church of the Holy Spirit to be vested. There the Archimandrite spoke with the superior and other residents of the Lavra, and learned about the progress of the excavations. 4:00 P. M. the Patriarch, with Bishop Alexis of Orekhovo-Zueva, Father Theognostos, the Superior of the Lavra, and other priests, among whom was Hieromonk Theoktistos, the Dean of the representation church of the Russian Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos, proceeded to the cathedral square. Moleben to Saint Maximus the Greek was begun. After the reading of the Holy Gospel, the Patriarch and the priests approached the excavation, and the Service continued over the sacred relics of Saint Maximus. the end of the Moleben, which was read by the Patriarch, the Lavra choir under the direction of Archimandrite Matthew Mormyl, and the numerous pilgrims who attended the ceremony, began to sing the Magnification: "We magnify you, our Father Saint Maximus." the Magnification, all the diggers lifted the casket containing the relics and placed it at the edge of the excavation, where the brethren of the Lavra and the residents of the Moscow representation church of Saint Panteleimon of Mount Athos took it. the singing continued, the casket was borne into the church of the Holy Spirit, where it was placed in a spot prepared in the center of the church. year 1996 marked the 440th anniversary of the death of Saint Maximus the Greek. Maximus came to the Lavra of Saint Sergius as a humble monk. His glorification, and the discovery of his relics were a fitting recompense for the many sufferings he endured during his earthly life. discovery of the holy relics of Saint Maximus the Greek was a joyous event for both the Russian Orthodox Church and for all of Orthodoxy. Saint Maximus is honored by both the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Orthodox Church of Greece. recently, the relics of Venerable Maximus the Greek were kept in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra. April 9, 2013, with the blessing of Patriarch Kyrill, their return to the church of the Holy Spirit occurred. special shrine had been prepared for them, and so the Saint's relics were placed in the northern corner of the church. Maximus the Greek is also commemorated on January 21.

Russia, Moscow, 1998, Finding Hilarion's Relics, Vereiya, Kaluga, after 6 yrs labor camps, died 1929, age 50, looking old&grey
Russia, Kaluga, 1998, Finding Hilarion's Relics, Vereiya, Kaluga (Protva River 1), after 6 yrs labor camps, died 1929, age 50, looking old&grey; Vereiya; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated December 15 ; Finding of the Relics of Saint Hilarion, Archbishop of Verey, Commemorated on July 11; New Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) fell asleep in the Lord on December 15, 1929 after spending six years in labor camps. Metropolitan Seraphim (Chichagov) of Leningrad obtained permission from the authorities to take Saint Hilarion's body from the prison hospital for burial, he vested him in white vestments and a mitre, and then brought him to the church at Novodevichii Monastery in Leningrad. the Saint's relatives saw his body, they barely recognized him. His years in the labor camps had changed his appearance from that of a man of forty-four into a grey-haired old man. Seraphim presided at the funeral service and burial, assisted by Archbishop Alexei (Simansky), the future Patriarch of Moscow, and five other hierarchs. Saint Hilarion was buried in the cemetery of Novodevichii Monastery in Leningrad. relics of Saint Hilarion were found on July 11, 1998. May 10, 1999, Saint Hilarion, the Archbishop of Verey, was glorified as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. On the eve of his canonization, the Holy Hieromartyr’s relics were uncovered and transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow and were placed in the church of the Sretensky Monastery. Hilarion is commemorated on December 15 (his repose in 1929); May 10 (his glorification in 1999); the Third Sunday after Pentecost (All Saints of St. Petersburg); July 11 (The Finding of his relics in 1998); on the Sunday nearest to August 26 (All Saints of Moscow).

Russia, Moscow, 1999, Recovery Relics oPeter oSanaxar, Nativity of Theotokos Monastery, Mordovia, 1659
Sanaxar, Nativity of Theotokos Monastery; The Recovery of the Relics of Saint Theodore of Sanaxar, Commemorated on April 21; Relics of Hieromonk Theodore (Ushakov) the restorer of the Monastery, were recovered on April 21, 1999, and he was glorified for local veneration on June 28/July 11, 1999. at the celebrations and the rite of canonization, which was performed by the ruling Bishop, His Grace Bishop Barsanuphios of Saransk and Mordovia, the Archimandrite of the Monastery, and ruling bishops from the neighboring dioceses: His Eminence Archbishop Seraphim of Penza and Kuznetsk, and His Eminence Archbishop Proklos of Simbirsk and Melekes. Theodore is commemorated on February 19, (the day of his blessed repose), on April 21/May 21 (the recovery of his holy relics), and on May 23/June 5 (the Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov and Yaroslavl). relics of Saint Theodore of Sanaxar now rest in the cathedral church of Saint John the Baptist.

Russia, Moscow, 2000-2099, 21st Century Folder, Orthodox Russia

Russia, Moscow, 2012, Uncovering of Nikodemos' incorrupt Relics, Bishop oBelgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), historian
Mongol, Scythia, 1891-1918, Hieromartyr Nikodemos, Bishop of Belgorod, Scythia (Seversky Donets River 1), from line of missionary priests itNorth, 1896 Superintendent of Petersburg TSchool & ctaker Pedagogical Courses, many awards, 1899 tKaluga arector KSpiritual seminary, 1909 r Olonets Seminary, taught students obey authorities, at least for awhile, Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom which he wrote in college, but genius write for genius, 1911 Bishop, 1913 BoBelogorod&Vicar of Kursk, composer church hymns, as spiritual writer&Church historian, author of books about ascetics of Arkhangelsk and Olonets, compiler Biographies of the National Ascetics of Piety ot XVIII-XIX centuries, he wrote of Lives of the Saints of the St. Petersburg.and Vologda dioceses, as well ascetics Solovki Monastery, 1911 -he worked hard on discovery relics St. Joasaph of Belgorod, composed prayers, wrote miracle cases, 1918 martyred; Belgorod; The Uncovering of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on October 20; Belogorod, an event of great spiritual significance occurred: the recovery of the relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos of Belgorod. in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior at Belgorod, the relics of two Belgorod Saints are buried. shrine of Saint Joasaph of Belgorod (December 10) is under a canopy on the south side of the altar, and on the north side is a wooden chest with the newly-discovered relics of Bishop Νikόdēmos. incorrupt relics were recovered from his burial place on October 20/November 2, 2012. the first week of Lent there were solemn services in the Transfiguration Cathedral, which were led by Metropolitan John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol. While the Magnification was being sung for the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, his revered relics were taken from the altar and placed on the kathedra, after which Vladyka knelt and read prayers before them. He also read the resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia: “At the anniversary Bishops' Council in 2000 Bishop Νikόdēmos (Kononov) of Belgorod was numbered among the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church." identifying the remains, Patriarch Kirill determined: “Having recognized these remains as the relics of the Holy Martyr Νikόdēmos (Kononov), Bishop of Belgorod, let the Uncovering of the relics of the Holy Martyr Νikόdēmos be included in the Menaion of the Russian Orthodox Church.” the crypt was opened, the Hierarch's episcopal vestments were intact, but his miter and the Gospel were missing. Saint Νikόdēmos is also commemorated on December 28. Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 28; Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod (in the world Alexander Mikhailovich Kononov) was born on June 18, 1871 in Arkhangelsk province, son of Father Michael Kononov and his wife Claudia. Kononov family traces its roots back to the XVII century, and there were many remarkable priests who served as missionaries in the north. Kononov graduated from the Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. 1896 he was tonsured as a monk with the name Νikόdēmos, in honor of Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozha Lake (July 3), and he was ordained as a Hieromonk. the same time, he was appointed Superintendent of the Alexander Nevsky Theological School in St. Petersburg, as well as the caretaker of the St. Petersburg Pedagogical Courses. his work, Father Νikόdēmos received many awards. In 1901, he received a Bible from the Synod "in encouraging his love for children, which he showed in his deeds and in truth." On August 30 of that same year, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite. three years, Father Νikόdēmos was sent to Kaluga as rector of the Kaluga Spiritual seminary, in 1909 he was appointed as rector of the Olonets Seminary. this time Archimandrite Νikόdēmos received thanks from the Kaluga bishop for his "vigilant labors, recently incurred, his impact on the excitable minds of the pupils, so that they stopped fermenting and the thought, if not forever, then for a long time - not to obey the lawful orders of the authorities," as the bishop declared in expressing his gratitude. Holy Synod blessed Archimandrite Νikόdēmos to compose an Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom, which was printed by the Synod for ecclesiastical use. Νikόdēmos had originally written the Akathist to Saint John Chrysostom while he was still a student of St. Petersburg Theological Academy. at that time the censor had rejected the Akathist in approximately these terms: "An Akathist to a genius ought to be written by a genius, not by some unknown Hieromonk." 1911, at St. Petersburg, Father Νikόdēmos was consecrated as a bishop by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Moscow and Kolomensk. 1913, Bishop Νikόdēmos became Bishop of Belgorod, and Vicar of the Kursk Diocese. the time of his pastoral activities, Vladyka was a composer of Church hymns, he composed Akathists to his patron Saint Νikόdēmos of Kozha Lake Monastery, Tryphon of Pechenga (December 15), and the Monastic Martyr Job the Gorge-dweller, wonderworker of Solovki (August 5). a spiritual writer and Church historian, Bishop Νikόdēmos was the author of books about the ascetics of Arkhangelsk and Olonets, he was also one of the main compilers of the multi-volume work "Biographies of the National Ascetics of Piety of the XVIII-XIX centuries." book "Elder Father Naum of Solovki, the Ascetic of Karelia" was published in 1910. addition, he wrote several collections of Lives of the Saints of the St. Petersburg.and Vologda dioceses, as well as those of the ascetics Solovki Monastery. also wrote a history of Eldership. worked hard in connection with the discovery of the holy relics of St. Joasaph of Belgorod (on September 4, 1911). his service in the Diocese, he composed two prayers to Saint Joasaph, as well as his great opus "The Life, Glorification and Miracles of Saint Joasaph." the direction of Bishop Νikόdēmos, and with his direct participation, three volumes of consistory cases related to the activities of Saint Joasaph were published. chambers in the Holy Trinity Monastery were reconstructed, and a unique museum of Saint Joasaph was created, which contained an extensive collection of documents. 1918, on the second day of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Belgorod Hierarch was arrested right in the altar of Trinity Cathedral by the Red Commissar Saenko, for preaching against robbery and violence. the request of the faithful who demanded Vladyka's release, the local Chekists "released" him for one day, and those who those who requested it were arrested. of the groups of believers protesting against the Bishop's arrest was led by the wife of a priest, the head of the second women's gymnasium, Maria Dmitrievna Kiyanovskaya, who was arrested as a "leader of a counter-revolutionary demonstration" and was shot. next day, Vladyka was arrested again. days after his arrest on the orders of Commissar Saenko, Bishop Νikόdēmos was shot secretly and was buried in a common grave outside the city. the capture of Belgorod by the Volunteer White Army (six months after Vladyka's execution), his grave was opened. Medical examination of the remains found that in addition to the presence of a non-lethal gunshot wound in the Saint's chest, there was a skull fracture caused by a heavy blow with a blunt object, a huge bruise at the top of the head, and a break in the laryngeal cartilage, indicating that he had been strangled by someone. holy relics of Saint Νikόdēmos were given due honors, and were buried at Holy Trinity Monastery near the shrine of Saint Joasaph of Belgorod. October 29, 2017, Metropolitan John (Popov) performed the rite of the great consecration and the first Liturgy in the church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos (Kononov), located in the Belgorod Metropolis at the place where the relics of the Saint were found. This coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start of the persecution of the Church, and the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos.

Russia, Moscow, 9999, Time not known

Russia, Tver, 9999, The Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Seliger comes from the island of Seliger in the Tver Province
Russia, Tver, 9999, The Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Seliger comes from the island of Seliger in the Tver Province of Russia. Seliger, Lake Seliger, Tver (near Volga River Source) ; Lake Seliger;

Russia, Moscow, Moscova River Area Folder

Moscova River

Moscova River Source (Valdai Hills)

Moscova River 1 (Mozhiask)

Moscova River 2 (Zvenigorod)

Moscova River 3

Moscova River 4 (Moscow)

Moscow, Russia (Moscova River 4) 1147
Moscow; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Koloch, Commemorated July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11; Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Commemorated on July 18; Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (First of the three ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂœFeasts of the SaviorÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ in August), Commemorated on August 1 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ, Commemorated on August 13; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœof the PassionÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on August 13 ; St Leucius of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on August 17 ; Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; Child Schemamonk Bogolep; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Christ; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Uncovering of the relics of St Daniel the Prince of Moscow, Commemorated on August 30; Icon of the Mother of God of Pisidia, Commemorated September 3 ; Venerable Macarius of Optina, Commemorated September 7 ; Repose of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on September 16 ; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated September 27 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated October 6 ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated on October 9; Icon of the Mother of God of Korsun, Commemorated on October 9; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂœJerusalemÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on October 12; Translation of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to Moscow, Commemorated on October 13; Commemoration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance from the Poles, Commemorated on October 22 ; Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord, Commemorated on October 23 ; St Theophilus of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on October 26; Repose of St Jonah the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on November 5 ; St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated on November 6 ; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe JoyfulÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on November 7 ; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28 ; St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated October 5 ; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas; Icon of the Mother of God "In Giving Birth, you Preserved your Virginity", Commemorated October 17 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; St Gurias the Archbishop of Kazan, Commemorated December 5 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod, Commemorated on December 10 ; Memorial Saturday of St Demetrius; Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord, Commemorated January 4; Icon of the Mother of God "the Joy of All Who Sorrow", Commemorated October 24 ; Repose of the Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Commemorated on November 11 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Tsarskoe Selo, Commemorated on November 27 ; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Zvenigorod the Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on December 3 ; St Joasaph the Bishop of Belgorod; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of Monza, Commemorated December 12 ; Repose of the Venerable Herman of Alaska, Wonderworker of All America, Commemorated December 13 ; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21 ; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21 ; Apostle James, of the Seventy, the Brother of the Lord, Commemorated on January 4 ; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated January 9 ; Venerable Paul the Abbot of Obnora, Vologda, Commemorated on January 10 ; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated January 13 ; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated January 20 ; Venerable Maximus the Greek, Commemorated January 21 ; Venerable Gennadius of Kostroma, Commemorated January 23 ; Blessed Xenia of St Petersburg, Commemorated January 24 ; St Moses the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on January 25 ; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage my sorrow", Commemorated January 25 ; Venerable Theodosius the Abbot of Totma, Vologda, Commemorated on January 28 ; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; Martyr Tryphon of Campsada Near Apamea in Syria, Commemorated on February 1 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated February 1 ; Venerable Cyril the Abbot and Wonderworker of Novoezersk, Novgorod, Commemorated on February 4 ; Icon of the Mother of God "Elets-Chernigov", Commemorated February 5 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17 ; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Martyr Tryphon of Campsada Near Apamea in Syria, Commemorated on February 1 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated on February 1; Icon of the Mother of God "the Seeker of the Lost", Commemorated February 5 ; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated February 5 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on February 9 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated February 12; St Hilarion the Georgian, the New, Commemorated February 14 ; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated February 14 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Venerable Cosmas of Yakhrom, Commemorated February 18 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated February 19; Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27 ; Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on February 28 Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂœEnthronedÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on March 2; St Arsenius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on March 2 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Finding of the relics of St Theodore the Prince of Smolensk, and Yaroslav, and His Children, Commemorated on March 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe Blessed HeavenÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on March 6; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe Surety of sinnersÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ in Moscow, Commemorated on March 7; St Euthymius the Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 11; St Theognostus the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, Commemorated on March 14; Icon of the Mother of God of Lubyatov, Commemorated on March 19 ; St Innocent of Komel the Disciple of St Nilus of Sora, Vologda, Commemorated on March 19 ; Martyr Stephen of Kazan, Commemorated on March 24; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; Venerable John, Bishop of Manglisi, Commemorated on March 28; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on March 31; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe Unfading BloomÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on April 3; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7 ; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925); St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of Vilnius, Commemorated on April 14; Icon of the Mother of God of St Maximus, Commemorated on April 18; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœof the PassionÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on April 30; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Murom, Commemorated on April 12; Greatmartyr, Victory-bearer and Wonderworker George, Commemorated on April 23; Venerable Sylvester the Abbot of Obnora, Commemorated on April 25; Icon of the Mother of God of Constantinople, Commemorated on April 25; Icon of the Mother of God of ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe Unexpected JoyÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; St Gerasimus of Boldino, Commemorated on May 1; Translation of the relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari, Commemorated on May 9; St Joseph the Metropolitan of Astrakhan, Commemorated on May 11; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St SergiusÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â™ Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Virginmartyr Glyceria of Novgorod, Commemorated on May 13; Venerable Isidore the Fool-For-Christ and Wonderworker of Rostov, Commemorated on May 14 ; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17 ; Venerable Cornelius the Abbot of Komel, Vologda, Commemorated on May 19; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20 ; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Macarius the Abbot of Kalyazin, Commemorated on May 26 ; Translation of the relics of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 27 ; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Icon of the Mother of God ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe Surety of sinnersÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ, Commemorated on May 29; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3; New Martyr Archbishop Andronicus of Perm, Commemorated on June 4; Finding of the relics of the Venerable Bassian the Monk of Pertomsk, Solovki, Commemorated on June 5; Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen, Commemorated on June 6; Venerable Cyril the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on June 9; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; Venerable Andronicus the Abbot of Moscow and Disciple of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on June 13; Venerable Sava the Abbot of Moscow, Commemorated on June 13; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; St Tikhon the Bishop of Amathus in Cyprus, Commemorated on June 16 ; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16; Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga Or Medin, Commemorated on June 16 ; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in memory of Saving of Moscow from the Invasion of Khan Achmed, Commemorated on June 23; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; Holy Queen Dinar, Commemorated on June 30; St Photius the Metropolitan of Kiev, Commemorated on July 2 ; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Most Holy Mother of God at Blachernae, Commemorated on July 2; Blessed John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on July 3; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3; Icon of the Mother of God of Galatea, Commemorated on July 4 ; Venerable Andrew Rublev the Iconographer, Commemorated on July 4; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated on July 7; Miracle of the Annunciation Icon of the Mother of God at Ustiug, Commemorated on July 8 ;

Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow, 1623 (Moscow River 4.8)
Nikolaev Peshkov monastery of Moscow ; In Giving Birth, You Preserved Your Virginity Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on October 17;

Moscova River 5 (Moscow)

Ugreshsky Monastery of Saint Nicholas, 1521 (Moscow River 5.1)
Ugreshsky Monastery; Translation of the relics of St Nicholas the Wonderworker from Myra to Bari, Commemorated on May 9;

Pekhorka (Pekhora River Mouth, Moscow River 5.4, SE of Moscow)
Pekhorka (Pekhora River Mouth, Moscow River 5.4) ; Saint Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 16;

Moscova River 6

Moscova River 7

Moscova River Mouth (Kolomna, Oka River 7)

Kolomna, Moscow area (Moscova River Mouth at Oka River 7)
Kolomna; Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated August 26 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on March 31; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26;

Kolomensk Royal Estate, Kolomna, Moscow area (Moscova River Mouth at Oka River 7)
Kolomensk Royal Estate, Kolomna, Moscow area (Moscova River Mouth at Oka River 7); Kolomna; Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated August 26 ; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19 ; St Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich, Commemorated January 25 ; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Repose of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow the Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on March 31; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26;

Golutvinsky Monastery, near Kolomna (Moscova River Mouth)
Golutvinsky Monastery is in or near Kolomna. Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina, Commemorated on April 1;

Russia, Moscow, Yauza River Area Folder

Yauza River

Yauza River Source

Yauza River 1

Yauza River 2 (Starava Basmanna and Andronikov Monastery)

Staraya Basmanna, Moscow (Yauza River 2)
Staraya Basmanna; Icon of the Mother of God of Volokolamsk, Commemorated on March 3;

Elokhov church, Yelokhovo Cathedra (Yauza Riverl, Moscow) Basil. Fool for Christ, barefoot cobbler, 1557
Elokhov church, Yelokhovo Cathedral, Moscow, Basil. Fool for Christ; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Basil the Blessed, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. Basil’s apprenticeship, the master happened to witness a remarkable occurrence, which showed him that his student was no ordinary man. A certain merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and then went to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. Blessed Basil wept and said, “I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them.” the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true. he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the winter’s harsh frost, he walked about barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: here he would upset a stand with kalachi, and there he would spill a jug with kvas. Angry merchants throttled the blessed one, but he endured the beatings with joy and he thanked God for them. Then it was discovered that the kalachi were poorly cooked, and the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of Saint Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong. certain merchant wanted to build a stone church on Pokrovna in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. “Find there John the Cripple,” he said. “He will advise you how to construct the church.” to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. “Whom do you rock?” asked the merchant. “I weep for my beloved mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing.” Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church. mercy, the blessed one helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who was left without anything at all. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. saint harshly condemned those who gave alms for selfish reasons, not out of compassion for the poor and destitute, but hoping for an easy way to attract God’s blessings upon their affairs. Once, the saint saw a devil in the guise of a beggar. He sat at the gates of the All-Pure Virgin’s church, and he gave speedy help in their affairs to everyone who gave alms. The saint exposed the wicked trick and drove the devil away. the salvation of his neighbor, Saint Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see a grain of goodness, even in people very much gone to ruin, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed that when the saint passed by a house in which they made merry and drank, he wept and clutched the corners of that house. They inquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: “Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed by the sins of the people, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.” by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. In 1547 he predicted the great fire of Moscow; through prayer he extinguished a fire at Novgorod; and once he reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, because during the divine services he was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace on the Vorobiev hills. Basil died on August 2, 1557. Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow served the saint’s funeral with many clergy. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, the Protection cathedral was built in memory of the conquest of Kazan. His Holiness Patriarch Job glorified Saint Basil the Blessed at a Council on August 2, 1588. an early icon, Saint Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at the ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of Saint Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him [the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow]. saint’s chains are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy.

Russia, Moscow, 1557, Basil of Moscow, Fool for Christ, barefoot cobbler
Elokhov church, Yelokhovo Cathedral, Moscow, Basil. Fool for Christ; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Basil the Blessed, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. Basil’s apprenticeship, the master happened to witness a remarkable occurrence, which showed him that his student was no ordinary man. A certain merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and then went to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. Blessed Basil wept and said, “I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them.” the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true. he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the winter’s harsh frost, he walked about barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: here he would upset a stand with kalachi, and there he would spill a jug with kvas. Angry merchants throttled the blessed one, but he endured the beatings with joy and he thanked God for them. Then it was discovered that the kalachi were poorly cooked, and the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of Saint Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong. certain merchant wanted to build a stone church on Pokrovna in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. “Find there John the Cripple,” he said. “He will advise you how to construct the church.” to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. “Whom do you rock?” asked the merchant. “I weep for my beloved mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing.” Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church. mercy, the blessed one helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who was left without anything at all. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. saint harshly condemned those who gave alms for selfish reasons, not out of compassion for the poor and destitute, but hoping for an easy way to attract God’s blessings upon their affairs. Once, the saint saw a devil in the guise of a beggar. He sat at the gates of the All-Pure Virgin’s church, and he gave speedy help in their affairs to everyone who gave alms. The saint exposed the wicked trick and drove the devil away. the salvation of his neighbor, Saint Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see a grain of goodness, even in people very much gone to ruin, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed that when the saint passed by a house in which they made merry and drank, he wept and clutched the corners of that house. They inquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: “Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed by the sins of the people, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.” by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. In 1547 he predicted the great fire of Moscow; through prayer he extinguished a fire at Novgorod; and once he reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, because during the divine services he was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace on the Vorobiev hills. Basil died on August 2, 1557. Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow served the saint’s funeral with many clergy. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, the Protection cathedral was built in memory of the conquest of Kazan. His Holiness Patriarch Job glorified Saint Basil the Blessed at a Council on August 2, 1588. an early icon, Saint Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at the ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of Saint Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him [the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow]. saint’s chains are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy.

Temple of St. Nicetas the Martyr on Shvivaya Hill beyond Yauza, Novoniketa Icon list of miracles
Temple of St. Nicetas the Martyr on Shvivaya Hill beyond Yauza; Icon of the Mother of God of Novoniketa, Commemorated on September 15; is one of the most ancient icons of the Mother of God. It appeared to the holy martyr Nikḗtas (+ September 15, 372). Saint Nikḗtas, a former soldier, was a disciple of Bishop Theophilos of the Goths. Even before he was baptized, he saw a Child in a dream, holding a Cross in His hand. When he awakened, he thought about this for a long time, but was unable to understand what this vision signified. A Christian girl named Juliana, who had a special revelation from God, told him to look down at his chest. his unspeakable surprise, Nikḗtas found an Icon of the Mother of God on his chest. She held her divine Child on her lap, and He was holding a Cross in His hand. "This is the same Icon I saw in my dream," the startled Nikḗtas cried. The appearance of the Icon made such an impression on him that he was baptized right away. afterward, the persecution of Christians began, and Saint Nikḗtas received the crown of martyrdom along with many other confessors. When he was being led to the place of execution, he had on his chest, under his clothes, the Icon of the Mother of God which had appeared to him. was established that the Novonikḗta Icon of the Mother of God should be commemorated on the day of Saint Nikḗtas's martyrdom. list of miracles from this Icon is in Moscow, in the court cathedral, which is dedicated to the All-Merciful Savior, at the Gate of Saint Nikḗtas.

Lefortovo Palace (Catherine Palace) 1773
Lefortovo Palace (Catherine Palace); Appearance of the Smolensk œDirectress Icon of the Mother of God brought from Constantinople, Commemorated on July 28;

Yauza (Andronikov) Monastery, Moscow (Yauza River 2) 1357
Andronikov Monastery; Khitrovo Gospels; ANDREI RUBLEV MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of œthe Unexpected from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4;

Andronikov Monastery, Moscow (Yauza River 2) 1357
Andronikov Monastery; Khitrovo Gospels; ANDREI RUBLEV MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; Saint Serapion, Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on March 16 St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of œthe Unexpected from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4;

Spaso-Andronikov Monastery, Moscow (Yauza River 2) 1357
Andronikov Monastery; Khitrovo Gospels; ANDREI RUBLEV MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Âœthe Unexpected JoyÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â¢ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â€ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂÂÂÂ from Andronikov, Commemorated on May 1; New Martyr Archpriest Vasily Martysz, Commemorated on May 4;

Yauza River Mouth (Moscova River 5)

Krutitsy ( near Yauza River Mouth, Moscova River 5) with highest ranking Rus bishops
Krutitsy; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated September 27 ; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10 ; Hieromartyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsy was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on February 23, 1997. Peter was born in the Voronezh region, and studied at the Moscow Theological Academy, graduating in 1892, where he then continued as inspector. a short stay at the seminary of Zhirovits in Belarus as inspector, he was appointed secretary of the Synodal Education Committee becoming de facto inspector of all the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church. many of his contemporaries who had graduated from a theological academy, Peter Polyansky did not seek ordination, and for a long time remained a layman. secretary of the Synodal Education Committee he traveled widely, visiting innumerable theological establishments, meeting and knowing many people. Gifted with an outstanding intellect, a firm character and a sociable nature, he was widely known and made many friends. He exercised a beneficial influence on the religious education of future priests. 1917-18, Peter Polyansky took part in the work of the local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, when Saint Tikhon (April 7) was elected Patriarch. latter made Peter Polyansky one of his closest aides, and persuaded him to become bishop; the Patriarch wished to consolidate the leadership of the Church in what was fast becoming the darkest time for the Church in many centuries. In 1920 Peter Polyansky was made a monk and auxiliary bishop for the diocese of Moscow; in a matter of months he was appointed Metropolitan of Krutitsy, one of the highest ranking bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Tikhon died on April 7, 1925, the day of the Annunciation (March 25). increasing troubles and uncertainty for the Church, thinking that the government would not allow a Church council to assemble and elect the next patriarch, Saint Tikhon took an administrative decision aimed at securing a smooth succession when he died. He nominated three bishops in order of priority, as locum tenens; the third was Metropolitan Peter Polyansky. the first two choices were found to be in prison and thus unable to assume the leadership of the Church, this heavy task befell Metropolitan Peter. against the Church was raging, the government gave its support to the splinter group “The Living Church” in an attempt to discredit and destroy the official Orthodox Church. great number of bishops had been imprisoned or exiled to remote parts of the country, and were unable to have a clear understanding of the prevailing situation. The whole country was in turmoil; the so-called Living Church energetically tried to replace the true Church. the absence of a patriarch, people did not know whom to believe and to whom to give their allegiance. Metropolitan Peter then issued an uncompromisingly firm “Letter to the Russian Church” where he described the position of the Church vis a vis the authorities and vis a vis the “Living Church.” made no compromises with anybody, and stood firm in the truth of Christ. This letter helped the Church to strengthen itself but caused the Metropolitan to be arrested. history of the few months in which a campaign was master-minded by the Commissar for religious affairs, Tuchkov, to compromise and weaken Saint Peter, shows how determined the government was to defeat the head of the Church, but this did not break him. December 10, 1925, Saint Peter was put under house arrest, and two days later sent to the Lubianka prison; in May 1926 he was transferred to the Suzdal fortress, then back to the Lubianka, and finally, in December, he was sent to Siberia, first to Tobolsk, then to the village of Abalak on the banks of the river Irtysh which he reached in 1927. of the other bishops had experienced a similar fate, the dioceses remaining without their shepherds. August 1927, Metropolitan Peter was taken to another destination beyond the Arctic Circle, a place called Khe on the mouth of the Ob, in the frozen tundra. For a little while he lived there peacefully, recovering from the arduous journey. However, on August 29, the day of the Beheading of the Saint John the Baptist, he suffered his first attack of angina and had to stay in bed. Two paramedics who came from a far distance by river in a boat manned by a native, advised him to be seen by a doctor and be transferred to a hospital. The Metropolitan wrote to the authorities at the GPU, but never got a reply, or money, or provisions, although he knew that several parcels had arrived in Tobolsk addressed to him. damp, cold climate of this northern region was extremely harmful to him in his condition. Eventually, towards the end of September, he was taken back to Tobolsk. Unexpectedly, he had an interview with Tuchkov who offered him freedom if he surrendered his title of locum tenens, but he remained firm and refused to compromise. He was then sent back to Khe for another three years of exile, but he was never granted his freedom. In Moscow in 1936, ten years after his first imprisonment, believers were waiting for his return, counting on the end of his ten-year term of exile. They never saw him again. He may have been moved for the last time to a monastery nearer central Russia where he was a little less constrained, but with no freedom to write or communicate with the world. He was shot by decision of the Soviet authorities after years of prison and exile. Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Dionysius of Radonezh, in the world David Zobninovsky, was born about 1570 in the city of Rzhev. A novice, and then head of the Staritsky Dormition monastery, during the Time of Troubles he was the foremost helper of Saint Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow. 1611, Saint Dionysius was archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra. Under his administration, a house and hospice for the injured and those left homeless during the Polish-Lithuanian incursion was opened near the monastery. During a famine, he told the brethren of the Lavra to eat oat bread and water, leaving the wheat and the rye bread for the sick. In 1611-1612, he and the steward of the Trinity-Sergiev monastery, the monk Abraham Palitsyn (+ 1625), wrote letters asking the people of Nizhni-Novgorod and other cities to send fighting men and money to liberate Moscow from the Poles. He also wrote to Prince Demetrius Pozharsky and to all the military people, urging them to hasten the campaign for Moscow. monastic training helped Saint Dionysius to maintain his own inner light undiminished during the terrible years of this evil time. The saint achieved a high degree of spiritual pefection through unceasing prayer, which gave him the gift of working miracles. He carefully concealed his spiritual life from other people, who might suffer harm from a superficial knowledge of it. “Do not ask a monk about things concerning his monastic life,” said Saint Dionysius, “since for us monks, it is a great misfortune to reveal such secrets to laymen. It is written that what is done in secret should not be known, even by your own left hand. We must hide ourselves, so that what we do remains unknown, lest the devil lead us into all manner of negligence and indolence.” can only measure his spiritual development, and the knowledge of God which he attained, by those things which became apparent when circumstances compelled Saint Dionysius to take an active part in the life of the world around him. such circumstance was his involvement in the revision of the service books. In 1616 Saint Dionysius spoke of work on correction of the Book of Needs by comparing it with the ancient Slavonic manuscripts and various Greek editions. their work, investigators discovered discrepancies in other books edited in the period between patriarchs (1612-1619). People did not understand what the editors were doing, so they accused Saint Dionysius and the others of heresy at a Council of 1618. from his priestly rank and excommunicated from the Church, he was imprisoned in the Novospassky (New Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior) monastery, where they wanted to kill him by starvation. The intervention of Patriarch Philaretos of Moscow and Patriarch Theophanes of Jerusalem (1619-1633) won his release in 1619, and he was cleared of the charges against him. Dionysius was known for his strict observance of the monastery Rule, for sharing in monastery tasks and in the rebuilding of the monastery after the siege of the Lavra. The Life and Canon to the saint was composed by the Trinity-Sergiev monastery steward Simon Azaryn and augmented by the priest John Nasedka, a coworker of Saint Dionysius when he was correcting the service books. Dionysius reposed on May 12, 1633 and was buried in the Trinity-Sergiev Lavra.

Novospassky Monastery, Yauza River Area, Moscow, early 1300's
Novospassky Monastery ; Icon of the Mother of God of Pisidia, Commemorated September 3 ; Translation of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God to Moscow, Commemorated on October 13; Venerable Anatole I of Optina, Commemorated on January 25 ; St Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov, Commemorated February 1 ; Venerable Dionysius the Archimandrite of St Sergius Monastery, Commemorated on May 12; Venerable Moses of Optina, Commemorated on June 16;

Simonov Monestary (Yauza River Area, Moscova River 5) 1370
Simonov Monestary; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392); St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated November 28 ; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable Therapon the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on May 27; Icon of the Mother of God of White Lake, Commemorated on June 8; Venerable Cyril the Abbot of White Lake, Commemorated on June 9; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, Commemorated on July 5;

Russia, Moscow, Kremlin Area Folder

Moscow Kremlin, 1331
Moscow Kremlin; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated July 9 ; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrhgusher of Thessalonica; Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver, Commemorated November 22 ; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28 ; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated January 13 ; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Holy Queen Dinar, Commemorated on June 30, Today, on the north wall of the Throne Hall in the Moscow Kremlin, there hangs an image of Holy Queen Dinar mounted on a white horse, victorious over the enemy ; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3;

Kremlin, Moscow Kremlin, 1331, White Stoned Walls, these walls and the Myhrrgusher saved Russia
Moscow Kremlin; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated July 9 ; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher of Thessalonica, Commemorated on October 26; [Great Prince Demetrios] worried a great deal about the churches of God, and he held the territory of the Russian land by his bravery: he conquered many enemies who had risen against us, and he protected his glorious city Moscow with wondrous walls. ...The land of Russia prospered during the years of his reign. the time of the building of the white-walled Kremlin (1366) by Great Prince Demetrios, Moscow was called “White-Stoned.” the prayers of his Heavenly patron, the holy warrior Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, Great Prince Demetrios, in addition to his brilliant military victories, also gained the further prominence of Russia. He repelled the onslaught of the Lithuanian armies of Olgerd, he routed the Tatar army of Begich at the River Vozha (1378), and he smashed the military might of all the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380 (the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), set between the Rivers Don and Nepryadva. The Battle of Kulikovo, for which the nation calls him Dēmḗtrios of the Don, became the first Russian national exploit, rallying the spiritual power of the Russian nation around Moscow. The “Zadonschina,” an inspiring historic poem written by the priest Sophronios of Ryazem (1381) is devoted to this event. Demetrios of the Don had a great reverence for the holy Great Martyr Demetrios. In 1380, on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, he solemnly transferred from Vladimir to Moscow the most holy object in the Vladimir Dimitriev cathedral: the icon of the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, painted on a board from the grave of the saint. A chapel dedicated to the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios was built at Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral. very first pages of the Russian Primary Chronicle, as foreordained by God, is bound up with the name of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki. The Chronicle relates that when Oleg the Wise threatened the Greeks at Constantinople (907), the Greeks became terrified and said, “This is not Oleg, but rather Saint Demetrios sent upon us from God.” Russian soldiers always believed that they were under the special protection of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios. Moreover, in the old Russian barracks the Great Martyr Demetrios was always depicted as Russian. Thus this image entered the soul of the Russian nation. veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in Russia began shortly after the Baptism of Rus. Toward the beginning of the 1070s the Dimitriev monastery at Kiev, known afterwards as the Mikhailov-Zlatoverkh monastery, was founded, The monastery was built by the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Great Prince Izyaslav, Demetrios in Baptism (+ 1078). The mosaic icon of Saint Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral of the Dimitriev monastery has been preserved up to the present day, and is in the Tretiakov Gallery. the years 1194-1197 the Great Prince of Vladimir, Vsevolod III the Great-Nest (Demetrios in Baptism) “built at his court a beautiful church of the holy martyr Dēmḗtrios, and adorned it wondrously with icons and frescoes.” The Dimitriev cathedral also reveals the embellishment of ancient Vladimir. The wonderworking icon of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral iconostasis is located even now in Moscow, at the Tretiakov gallery. It was painted on a piece of wood from the grave of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios, brought from Thessaloniki to Vladimir in 1197. of the most precious depictions of the saint, a fresco on a column of the Vladimir Dormition cathedral, was painted by the holy Iconographer Andrew Rublev (July 4). family of Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23 also venerated Saint Demetrios. Saint Alexander named his eldest son in honor of the holy Great Martyr. His younger son, Prince Daniel of Moscow (March 4), built a church dedicated to the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in the 1280s. This was the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin. Later in 1326, under Ivan Kalita, it was taken down and the Dormition cathedral was built in its place. memory of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki is historically associated in Rus with the military, patriotism and the defense of the country. This is apparent by the saint’s depiction on icons as a soldier in plumed armor, with a spear and sword in hand. There is a scroll (in later depictions) on which is written the prayer of Saint Dēmḗtrios for the salvation of the people of Thessaloniki, “Lord, do not permit the city or the people to perish. If You save the city and the people, I shall be saved with them. If they perish, I will perish with them.” the particular spiritual experience of the Russian Church, veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki is closely linked with the memory of the defense of the nation and Church by the Great Prince of Moscow, Demetrios of the Don (May 19). “An Account of the Life and Repose of the Great Prince Dēmḗtrios of the Don, Tsar of Russia,” written in the year 1393, already regards the Great Prince as a Saint, as other old Russian histories do. Great Prince Demetrios was a spiritual son and disciple of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow (February 12), and a disciple and associate of other great figures of prayer in the Russian Land: Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25), Demetrios of Priluki (February 11), Saint Theodore of Rostov (November 28). The Account states: [Great Prince Demetrios] worried a great deal about the churches of God, and he held the territory of the Russian land by his bravery: he conquered many enemies who had risen against us, and he protected his glorious city Moscow with wondrous walls. ...The land of Russia prospered during the years of his reign. the time of the building of the white-walled Kremlin (1366) by Great Prince Demetrios, Moscow was called “White-Stoned.” the prayers of his Heavenly patron, the holy warrior Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, Great Prince Demetrios, in addition to his brilliant military victories, also gained the further prominence of Russia. He repelled the onslaught of the Lithuanian armies of Olgerd, he routed the Tatar army of Begich at the River Vozha (1378), and he smashed the military might of all the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380 (the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), set between the Rivers Don and Nepryadva. The Battle of Kulikovo, for which the nation calls him Dēmḗtrios of the Don, became the first Russian national exploit, rallying the spiritual power of the Russian nation around Moscow. The “Zadonschina,” an inspiring historic poem written by the priest Sophronios of Ryazem (1381) is devoted to this event. Demetrios of the Don had a great reverence for the holy Great Martyr Demetrios. In 1380, on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, he solemnly transferred from Vladimir to Moscow the most holy object in the Vladimir Dimitriev cathedral: the icon of the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, painted on a board from the grave of the saint. A chapel dedicated to the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios was built at Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral. Saint Demetrios Memorial Saturday was established for church-wide remembrance of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo. This memorial service was held for the first time at the Trinity-Saint Sergius monastery on October 20, 1380 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in the presence of Great Prince Demetrios of the Don. It is an annual remembrance of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, among whom are the Schema-monks Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrew (Oslyab). Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher of Thessaloniki was the son of a Roman proconsul in Thessaloniki. Three centuries had elapsed and Roman paganism, spiritually shattered and defeated by the multitude of martyrs and confessors of the Savior, intensified its persecutions. parents of Saint Demetrios were secret Christians, and he was baptized and raised in the Christian Faith in a secret church in his father’s home. the time Demetrios had reached maturity and his father had died, Emperor Galerius Maximian had ascended the throne (305). Maximian, confident in Demetrios's education as well as his administrative and military abilities, appointed him to his father’s position as proconsul of the Thessaloniki district. The young commander's principal duties were to defend the city from barbarians and to eradicate Christianity. The Emperor's policy regarding Christians was expressed simply: “Put to death anyone who calls on the name of Christ.” The Emperor did not suspect that by appointing Demetrios he had provided him with the opportunity to bring many people to Christ. the appointment, Demetrios returned to Thessaloniki and confessed and glorified our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of persecuting and executing Christians, he began to teach the Christian Faith openly to the inhabitants of the city and to overthrow pagan customs and the worship of idols. The compiler of his Life, Saint Simeon Metaphrastes (November 9), says that because of his teaching zeal he became “a second Apostle Paul” for Thessaloniki, particularly since “the Apostle to the Gentiles” founded the first community of believers in the city (1 Thess. and 2 Thess.). Lord also destined Saint Demetrios to follow Saint Paul on the path to martyrdom. When Maximian learned that the newly-appointed proconsul was a Christian, and that he had converted many Roman subjects to Christianity, the Emperor's rage knew no bounds. Returning from a campaign in the area of the Black Sea, the Emperor decided to lead his army through Thessaloniki, determined to massacre the Christians. of this, Saint Demetrios ordered his faithful servant Lupus to give his wealth to the poor saying, “Distribute my earthly riches among them, for we shall seek heavenly riches for ourselves.” He began to pray and fast, preparing himself for martyrdom. the Emperor came into the city, he summoned Demetrios, who boldly confessed himself a Christian and denounced the falsehood and futility of Roman polytheism. Maximian ordered Demetrios to be thrown into prison. An Angel appeared to him, comforting and encouraging him. the Emperor amused himself by staging games in the circus. His champion was a German by the name of Lyaeos. He challenged Christians to wrestle with him on a platform built over the upturned spears of the victorious soldiers. A brave Christian named Nestor went to the prison to Saint Dēmḗtrios, his instructor in the Faith, asking for his blessing to fight the barbarian. With the blessing and prayers of Saint Demetrios, Nestor defeated the fierce German and hurled him from the platform onto the spears of the soldiers, just as the murderous pagan would have done with the Christian. The enraged commander ordered the execution of the holy Martyr Nestor (October 27) and sent a guard to the prison to kill Saint Demetrios. At dawn on October 26, 306 soldiers appeared in the Saint's underground prison and ran him through with lances. His faithful servant, Saint Lupus, gathered up the blood-soaked garment of Saint Dēmḗtrios he took the imperial ring from his finger, a symbol of his high status, and dipped it in the blood. With the ring and other holy things sanctified the blood of Saint Demetrios, Saint Lupus began to heal the infirm. The Emperor ordered his soldiers to arrest and kill him. body of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios was cast out for wild animals to devour, but the Christians took it and secretly buried it in the earth. the reign of Saint Constantine (306-337), a church was built over the grave of Saint Demetrios. A hundred years later, during the construction of a majestic new church on the old spot, the incorrupt relics of the holy martyr were uncovered. Since the seventh century a miraculous flow of fragrant myrrh has been found beneath the crypt of the Great Martyr Demetrios, so he is called “the Myrrh-gusher.” times, those venerating the holy wonderworker tried to bring his holy relics, or a part of them, to Constantinople. Invariably, Saint Demetrios made it clear that he would not permit anyone to remove even a portion of his relics. is interesting that among the barbarians threatening the Romans, Slavs occupied an important place, in particular those settling upon the Thessalonian peninsula. Some even believe that the parents of Saint Dēmḗtrios were of Slavic descent. While advancing towards the city, pagan Slavs were repeatedly turned away by the apparition of a threatening radiant youth, going around on the walls and inspiring terror in the enemy soldiers. Perhaps this is why the name of Saint Demetrios was particularly venerated among the Slavic nations after they were enlightened by the Gospel. On the other hand, Greeks dismiss the idea that Saint Demetrios was a Slavic saint. very first pages of the Russian Primary Chronicle, as foreordained by God, is bound up with the name of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki. The Chronicle relates that when Oleg the Wise threatened the Greeks at Constantinople (907), the Greeks became terrified and said, “This is not Oleg, but rather Saint Demetrios sent upon us from God.” Russian soldiers always believed that they were under the special protection of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios. Moreover, in the old Russian barracks the Great Martyr Demetrios was always depicted as Russian. Thus this image entered the soul of the Russian nation. veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in Russia began shortly after the Baptism of Rus. Toward the beginning of the 1070s the Dimitriev monastery at Kiev, known afterwards as the Mikhailov-Zlatoverkh monastery, was founded, The monastery was built by the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Great Prince Izyaslav, Demetrios in Baptism (+ 1078). The mosaic icon of Saint Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral of the Dimitriev monastery has been preserved up to the present day, and is in the Tretiakov Gallery. the years 1194-1197 the Great Prince of Vladimir, Vsevolod III the Great-Nest (Demetrios in Baptism) “built at his court a beautiful church of the holy martyr Dēmḗtrios, and adorned it wondrously with icons and frescoes.” The Dimitriev cathedral also reveals the embellishment of ancient Vladimir. The wonderworking icon of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral iconostasis is located even now in Moscow, at the Tretiakov gallery. It was painted on a piece of wood from the grave of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios, brought from Thessaloniki to Vladimir in 1197. of the most precious depictions of the saint, a fresco on a column of the Vladimir Dormition cathedral, was painted by the holy Iconographer Andrew Rublev (July 4). family of Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23 also venerated Saint Demetrios. Saint Alexander named his eldest son in honor of the holy Great Martyr. His younger son, Prince Daniel of Moscow (March 4), built a church dedicated to the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in the 1280s. This was the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin. Later in 1326, under Ivan Kalita, it was taken down and the Dormition cathedral was built in its place. memory of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki is historically associated in Rus with the military, patriotism and the defense of the country. This is apparent by the saint’s depiction on icons as a soldier in plumed armor, with a spear and sword in hand. There is a scroll (in later depictions) on which is written the prayer of Saint Dēmḗtrios for the salvation of the people of Thessaloniki, “Lord, do not permit the city or the people to perish. If You save the city and the people, I shall be saved with them. If they perish, I will perish with them.” the particular spiritual experience of the Russian Church, veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki is closely linked with the memory of the defense of the nation and Church by the Great Prince of Moscow, Demetrios of the Don (May 19). “An Account of the Life and Repose of the Great Prince Dēmḗtrios of the Don, Tsar of Russia,” written in the year 1393, already regards the Great Prince as a Saint, as other old Russian histories do. Great Prince Demetrios was a spiritual son and disciple of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow (February 12), and a disciple and associate of other great figures of prayer in the Russian Land: Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25), Demetrios of Priluki (February 11), Saint Theodore of Rostov (November 28). The Account states: [Great Prince Demetrios] worried a great deal about the churches of God, and he held the territory of the Russian land by his bravery: he conquered many enemies who had risen against us, and he protected his glorious city Moscow with wondrous walls. ...The land of Russia prospered during the years of his reign. the time of the building of the white-walled Kremlin (1366) by Great Prince Demetrios, Moscow was called “White-Stoned.” the prayers of his Heavenly patron, the holy warrior Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, Great Prince Demetrios, in addition to his brilliant military victories, also gained the further prominence of Russia. He repelled the onslaught of the Lithuanian armies of Olgerd, he routed the Tatar army of Begich at the River Vozha (1378), and he smashed the military might of all the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380 (the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), set between the Rivers Don and Nepryadva. The Battle of Kulikovo, for which the nation calls him Dēmḗtrios of the Don, became the first Russian national exploit, rallying the spiritual power of the Russian nation around Moscow. The “Zadonschina,” an inspiring historic poem written by the priest Sophronios of Ryazem (1381) is devoted to this event. Demetrios of the Don had a great reverence for the holy Great Martyr Demetrios. In 1380, on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, he solemnly transferred from Vladimir to Moscow the most holy object in the Vladimir Dimitriev cathedral: the icon of the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, painted on a board from the grave of the saint. A chapel dedicated to the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios was built at Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral. Saint Demetrios Memorial Saturday was established for church-wide remembrance of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo. This memorial service was held for the first time at the Trinity-Saint Sergius monastery on October 20, 1380 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in the presence of Great Prince Demetrios of the Don. It is an annual remembrance of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, among whom are the Schema-monks Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrew (Oslyab). Dēmḗtrios is regarded as a protector of the young, and is also invoked by those struggling with lustful temptations. Martyr Michael the Prince of Tver, Commemorated November 22 ; St Theodore the Archbishop of Rostov, Commemorated on November 28 ; Venerable Irenarchus the Recluse of Rostov, Commemorated January 13 ; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 12 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11; St Stephen the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on April 26; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Holy Queen Dinar, Commemorated on June 30, Today, on the north wall of the Throne Hall in the Moscow Kremlin, there hangs an image of Holy Queen Dinar mounted on a white horse, victorious over the enemy ; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3;

Christ the Savior Cathedral (Kremlin Savior Gates, Moscow, 1883)
Christ the Savior Cathedral; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated December 4 ; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ;

Kremlin Savior Gates (Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow, 1883)
Christ the Savior Cathedral; Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky, Commemorated December 4 ; Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on May 21 ;

Archangel cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, 1333, 1505
Archangel cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin ; Archangel Michael Icon By Andrei Rublev Arkhangelsky Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin Reproduction; Martyr and Confessor Michael the Wonderworker of Chernigov; Translation of the relics of the Martyr Michael of Chernigov, Commemorated February 14 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Blessed HeavenÂ, Commemorated on March 6; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17 ; Translation of the relics of slain Crown Prince Demetrius of Moscow, Commemorated on June 3;

Cathedral of the Annunciation, Moscow Kremlin, 1405 & 1489
Cathedral of the Annunciation; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11;

Annunciation Cathedral, Moscow Kremlin, 1405 & 1489
Cathedral of the Annunciation; ANDREI RUBLEV, MONK AND ICONOGRAPHER, 1430, Commemorated January 29 ; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; St Barsanuphius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on April 11;

Throne Hall, Grand Kremlin Palace, 1837, after western enlightenment
Throne Room, Grand Kremlin Palace; Grand Kremlin Palace, also translated Great Kremlin Palace,[1] was built from 1837 to 1849 in Moscow, Russia on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsky Hill. Designed by a team of architects under the management of Konstantin Thon, it was intended to emphasise the greatness of Russian autocracy. Konstantin Thon was also the architect of the Kremlin Armoury and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Holy Queen Dinar, Commemorated on June 30; on the north wall of the Throne Hall in the Moscow Kremlin, there hangs an image of Holy Queen Dinar mounted on a white horse, victorious over the enemy.

Demetrius' Temple, 1280, honoring Demetrius the Myhrrgusher of Thessalonica
Demetrius' Temple, 1280; Dormition Cathedral, Moscow, 1479; Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrh-gusher of Thessalonica, Commemorated on October 26; very first pages of the Russian Primary Chronicle, as foreordained by God, is bound up with the name of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki. The Chronicle relates that when Oleg the Wise threatened the Greeks at Constantinople (907), the Greeks became terrified and said, “This is not Oleg, but rather Saint Demetrios sent upon us from God.” Russian soldiers always believed that they were under the special protection of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios. Moreover, in the old Russian barracks the Great Martyr Demetrios was always depicted as Russian. Thus this image entered the soul of the Russian nation. veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in Russia began shortly after the Baptism of Rus. Toward the beginning of the 1070s the Dimitriev monastery at Kiev, known afterwards as the Mikhailov-Zlatoverkh monastery, was founded, The monastery was built by the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Great Prince Izyaslav, Demetrios in Baptism (+ 1078). The mosaic icon of Saint Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral of the Dimitriev monastery has been preserved up to the present day, and is in the Tretiakov Gallery. the years 1194-1197 the Great Prince of Vladimir, Vsevolod III the Great-Nest (Demetrios in Baptism) “built at his court a beautiful church of the holy martyr Dēmḗtrios, and adorned it wondrously with icons and frescoes.” The Dimitriev cathedral also reveals the embellishment of ancient Vladimir. The wonderworking icon of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral iconostasis is located even now in Moscow, at the Tretiakov gallery. It was painted on a piece of wood from the grave of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios, brought from Thessaloniki to Vladimir in 1197. of the most precious depictions of the saint, a fresco on a column of the Vladimir Dormition cathedral, was painted by the holy Iconographer Andrew Rublev (July 4). family of Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23 also venerated Saint Demetrios. Saint Alexander named his eldest son in honor of the holy Great Martyr. His younger son, Prince Daniel of Moscow (March 4), built a church dedicated to the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in the 1280s. This was the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin. Later in 1326, under Ivan Kalita, it was taken down and the Dormition cathedral was built in its place. memory of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki is historically associated in Rus with the military, patriotism and the defense of the country. This is apparent by the saint’s depiction on icons as a soldier in plumed armor, with a spear and sword in hand. There is a scroll (in later depictions) on which is written the prayer of Saint Dēmḗtrios for the salvation of the people of Thessaloniki, “Lord, do not permit the city or the people to perish. If You save the city and the people, I shall be saved with them. If they perish, I will perish with them.” the particular spiritual experience of the Russian Church, veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki is closely linked with the memory of the defense of the nation and Church by the Great Prince of Moscow, Demetrios of the Don (May 19). “An Account of the Life and Repose of the Great Prince Dēmḗtrios of the Don, Tsar of Russia,” written in the year 1393, already regards the Great Prince as a Saint, as other old Russian histories do. Great Prince Demetrios was a spiritual son and disciple of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow (February 12), and a disciple and associate of other great figures of prayer in the Russian Land: Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25), Demetrios of Priluki (February 11), Saint Theodore of Rostov (November 28). The Account states: [Great Prince Demetrios] worried a great deal about the churches of God, and he held the territory of the Russian land by his bravery: he conquered many enemies who had risen against us, and he protected his glorious city Moscow with wondrous walls. ...The land of Russia prospered during the years of his reign. the time of the building of the white-walled Kremlin (1366) by Great Prince Demetrios, Moscow was called “White-Stoned.” the prayers of his Heavenly patron, the holy warrior Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, Great Prince Demetrios, in addition to his brilliant military victories, also gained the further prominence of Russia. He repelled the onslaught of the Lithuanian armies of Olgerd, he routed the Tatar army of Begich at the River Vozha (1378), and he smashed the military might of all the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380 (the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), set between the Rivers Don and Nepryadva. The Battle of Kulikovo, for which the nation calls him Dēmḗtrios of the Don, became the first Russian national exploit, rallying the spiritual power of the Russian nation around Moscow. The “Zadonschina,” an inspiring historic poem written by the priest Sophronios of Ryazem (1381) is devoted to this event. Demetrios of the Don had a great reverence for the holy Great Martyr Demetrios. In 1380, on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, he solemnly transferred from Vladimir to Moscow the most holy object in the Vladimir Dimitriev cathedral: the icon of the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, painted on a board from the grave of the saint. A chapel dedicated to the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios was built at Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral. Saint Demetrios Memorial Saturday was established for church-wide remembrance of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo. This memorial service was held for the first time at the Trinity-Saint Sergius monastery on October 20, 1380 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in the presence of Great Prince Demetrios of the Don. It is an annual remembrance of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, among whom are the Schema-monks Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrew (Oslyab). Great Martyr Demetrios the Myrrh-gusher of Thessaloniki was the son of a Roman proconsul in Thessaloniki. Three centuries had elapsed and Roman paganism, spiritually shattered and defeated by the multitude of martyrs and confessors of the Savior, intensified its persecutions. parents of Saint Demetrios were secret Christians, and he was baptized and raised in the Christian Faith in a secret church in his father’s home. the time Demetrios had reached maturity and his father had died, Emperor Galerius Maximian had ascended the throne (305). Maximian, confident in Demetrios's education as well as his administrative and military abilities, appointed him to his father’s position as proconsul of the Thessaloniki district. The young commander's principal duties were to defend the city from barbarians and to eradicate Christianity. The Emperor's policy regarding Christians was expressed simply: “Put to death anyone who calls on the name of Christ.” The Emperor did not suspect that by appointing Demetrios he had provided him with the opportunity to bring many people to Christ. the appointment, Demetrios returned to Thessaloniki and confessed and glorified our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of persecuting and executing Christians, he began to teach the Christian Faith openly to the inhabitants of the city and to overthrow pagan customs and the worship of idols. The compiler of his Life, Saint Simeon Metaphrastes (November 9), says that because of his teaching zeal he became “a second Apostle Paul” for Thessaloniki, particularly since “the Apostle to the Gentiles” founded the first community of believers in the city (1 Thess. and 2 Thess.). Lord also destined Saint Demetrios to follow Saint Paul on the path to martyrdom. When Maximian learned that the newly-appointed proconsul was a Christian, and that he had converted many Roman subjects to Christianity, the Emperor's rage knew no bounds. Returning from a campaign in the area of the Black Sea, the Emperor decided to lead his army through Thessaloniki, determined to massacre the Christians. of this, Saint Demetrios ordered his faithful servant Lupus to give his wealth to the poor saying, “Distribute my earthly riches among them, for we shall seek heavenly riches for ourselves.” He began to pray and fast, preparing himself for martyrdom. the Emperor came into the city, he summoned Demetrios, who boldly confessed himself a Christian and denounced the falsehood and futility of Roman polytheism. Maximian ordered Demetrios to be thrown into prison. An Angel appeared to him, comforting and encouraging him. the Emperor amused himself by staging games in the circus. His champion was a German by the name of Lyaeos. He challenged Christians to wrestle with him on a platform built over the upturned spears of the victorious soldiers. A brave Christian named Nestor went to the prison to Saint Dēmḗtrios, his instructor in the Faith, asking for his blessing to fight the barbarian. With the blessing and prayers of Saint Demetrios, Nestor defeated the fierce German and hurled him from the platform onto the spears of the soldiers, just as the murderous pagan would have done with the Christian. The enraged commander ordered the execution of the holy Martyr Nestor (October 27) and sent a guard to the prison to kill Saint Demetrios. At dawn on October 26, 306 soldiers appeared in the Saint's underground prison and ran him through with lances. His faithful servant, Saint Lupus, gathered up the blood-soaked garment of Saint Dēmḗtrios he took the imperial ring from his finger, a symbol of his high status, and dipped it in the blood. With the ring and other holy things sanctified the blood of Saint Demetrios, Saint Lupus began to heal the infirm. The Emperor ordered his soldiers to arrest and kill him. body of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios was cast out for wild animals to devour, but the Christians took it and secretly buried it in the earth. the reign of Saint Constantine (306-337), a church was built over the grave of Saint Demetrios. A hundred years later, during the construction of a majestic new church on the old spot, the incorrupt relics of the holy martyr were uncovered. Since the seventh century a miraculous flow of fragrant myrrh has been found beneath the crypt of the Great Martyr Demetrios, so he is called “the Myrrh-gusher.” times, those venerating the holy wonderworker tried to bring his holy relics, or a part of them, to Constantinople. Invariably, Saint Demetrios made it clear that he would not permit anyone to remove even a portion of his relics. is interesting that among the barbarians threatening the Romans, Slavs occupied an important place, in particular those settling upon the Thessalonian peninsula. Some even believe that the parents of Saint Dēmḗtrios were of Slavic descent. While advancing towards the city, pagan Slavs were repeatedly turned away by the apparition of a threatening radiant youth, going around on the walls and inspiring terror in the enemy soldiers. Perhaps this is why the name of Saint Demetrios was particularly venerated among the Slavic nations after they were enlightened by the Gospel. On the other hand, Greeks dismiss the idea that Saint Demetrios was a Slavic saint. very first pages of the Russian Primary Chronicle, as foreordained by God, is bound up with the name of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki. The Chronicle relates that when Oleg the Wise threatened the Greeks at Constantinople (907), the Greeks became terrified and said, “This is not Oleg, but rather Saint Demetrios sent upon us from God.” Russian soldiers always believed that they were under the special protection of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios. Moreover, in the old Russian barracks the Great Martyr Demetrios was always depicted as Russian. Thus this image entered the soul of the Russian nation. veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in Russia began shortly after the Baptism of Rus. Toward the beginning of the 1070s the Dimitriev monastery at Kiev, known afterwards as the Mikhailov-Zlatoverkh monastery, was founded, The monastery was built by the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Great Prince Izyaslav, Demetrios in Baptism (+ 1078). The mosaic icon of Saint Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral of the Dimitriev monastery has been preserved up to the present day, and is in the Tretiakov Gallery. the years 1194-1197 the Great Prince of Vladimir, Vsevolod III the Great-Nest (Demetrios in Baptism) “built at his court a beautiful church of the holy martyr Dēmḗtrios, and adorned it wondrously with icons and frescoes.” The Dimitriev cathedral also reveals the embellishment of ancient Vladimir. The wonderworking icon of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki from the cathedral iconostasis is located even now in Moscow, at the Tretiakov gallery. It was painted on a piece of wood from the grave of the holy Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios, brought from Thessaloniki to Vladimir in 1197. of the most precious depictions of the saint, a fresco on a column of the Vladimir Dormition cathedral, was painted by the holy Iconographer Andrew Rublev (July 4). family of Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23 also venerated Saint Demetrios. Saint Alexander named his eldest son in honor of the holy Great Martyr. His younger son, Prince Daniel of Moscow (March 4), built a church dedicated to the holy Great Martyr Demetrios in the 1280s. This was the first stone church in the Moscow Kremlin. Later in 1326, under Ivan Kalita, it was taken down and the Dormition cathedral was built in its place. memory of Saint Demetrios of Thessaloniki is historically associated in Rus with the military, patriotism and the defense of the country. This is apparent by the saint’s depiction on icons as a soldier in plumed armor, with a spear and sword in hand. There is a scroll (in later depictions) on which is written the prayer of Saint Dēmḗtrios for the salvation of the people of Thessaloniki, “Lord, do not permit the city or the people to perish. If You save the city and the people, I shall be saved with them. If they perish, I will perish with them.” the particular spiritual experience of the Russian Church, veneration of the holy Great Martyr Demetrios of Thessaloniki is closely linked with the memory of the defense of the nation and Church by the Great Prince of Moscow, Demetrios of the Don (May 19). “An Account of the Life and Repose of the Great Prince Dēmḗtrios of the Don, Tsar of Russia,” written in the year 1393, already regards the Great Prince as a Saint, as other old Russian histories do. Great Prince Demetrios was a spiritual son and disciple of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow (February 12), and a disciple and associate of other great figures of prayer in the Russian Land: Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25), Demetrios of Priluki (February 11), Saint Theodore of Rostov (November 28). The Account states: [Great Prince Demetrios] worried a great deal about the churches of God, and he held the territory of the Russian land by his bravery: he conquered many enemies who had risen against us, and he protected his glorious city Moscow with wondrous walls. ...The land of Russia prospered during the years of his reign. the time of the building of the white-walled Kremlin (1366) by Great Prince Demetrios, Moscow was called “White-Stoned.” the prayers of his Heavenly patron, the holy warrior Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, Great Prince Demetrios, in addition to his brilliant military victories, also gained the further prominence of Russia. He repelled the onslaught of the Lithuanian armies of Olgerd, he routed the Tatar army of Begich at the River Vozha (1378), and he smashed the military might of all the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo Field on September 8, 1380 (the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), set between the Rivers Don and Nepryadva. The Battle of Kulikovo, for which the nation calls him Dēmḗtrios of the Don, became the first Russian national exploit, rallying the spiritual power of the Russian nation around Moscow. The “Zadonschina,” an inspiring historic poem written by the priest Sophronios of Ryazem (1381) is devoted to this event. Demetrios of the Don had a great reverence for the holy Great Martyr Demetrios. In 1380, on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, he solemnly transferred from Vladimir to Moscow the most holy object in the Vladimir Dimitriev cathedral: the icon of the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios of Thessaloniki, painted on a board from the grave of the saint. A chapel dedicated to the Great Martyr Dēmḗtrios was built at Moscow’s Dormition Cathedral. Saint Demetrios Memorial Saturday was established for church-wide remembrance of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo. This memorial service was held for the first time at the Trinity-Saint Sergius monastery on October 20, 1380 by Saint Sergius of Radonezh, in the presence of Great Prince Demetrios of the Don. It is an annual remembrance of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, among whom are the Schema-monks Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrew (Oslyab). Dēmḗtrios is regarded as a protector of the young, and is also invoked by those struggling with lustful temptations.

Dormition Cathedral, Kremlin, Moscow, 1479
Dormition Cathedral, Moscow; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on July 9 ; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10; Icon of the Mother of God of Rzhevsk, Commemorated on July 11; Uncovering of the relics of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, Commemorated on July 19 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Greben, Commemorated July 28 ; Greben Icon of the Mother of God, glorified by miracles and located in a church in the city of Greben (on the River Chira, flowing into the Don), was presented by the inhabitants of the city to Great Prince Demetrius of the Don upon his return from the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. 1471, after a successful campaign against Novgorod, Great Prince Ivan III built the church of the Dormition in Moscow at Lubyanka and placed in it the Greben icon of the Mother of God, which he had taken with him on the campaign. He adorned the icon with a silver riza covered with precious stones, and ordered an Akathist to be written in honor of the icon. When the church burned in 1617, the icon miraculously was preserved. The icon, almost a reverse image of the Iveron icon (February 12, March 31, October 13), is recognized by the distinctive folds of the Virgin’s omaphorion and the position of the Christ Child’s legs. Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (First of the three œFeasts of the Savior in August), Commemorated on August 1; Translation of the relics of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God of St Peter of Moscow, Commemorated on August 24; Icon of the Mother of God of Korsun, Commemorated on October 9 ; St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov, Commemorated on October 28; Icon of the Mother of God œJerusalemÂÂ, Commemorated on October 12 ; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4 ; Repose of St Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on December 21 ; Hieromartyr Philip the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on January 9 ; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated February 19 ; The Annunciation of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on March 25; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Constantinople, Commemorated on April 25; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Translation of the relics of St Cyprian the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 27 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Pimen, Commemorated on June 6; St John Maximovitch the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Commemorated on June 10; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19; Appearance of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Commemorated on June 26; The Placing of the Honorable Robe of the Lord at Moscow, Commemorated on July 10;

Stromyn Village, now Church of the Domition, Moscow, Kremlin, 1841
Moscow, 1841, Stromyn village, now Church of the Domition; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on July 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Cyprus, Commemorated on February 19; “Stromynâ€ Cyprus Icon became famous in 1841. An eighteen-year-old girl from Stromyn, a village not far from Moscow, was close to death from an illness. In a dream she saw the Cyprus Icon standing over the entrance to the church, and a voice came from the icon: “Take me into your home and have the priest serve a Molieben with the Blessing of Water, and you will be cured.â€ sick girl was brought to the church and finally located the icon after a long search. The girl obeyed the command of the Most Holy Theotokos, and after the Molieben she felt strong enough to carry the icon back to the church herself. Shortly thereafter, she was completely healed. The “Stromynâ€ Cyprus Icon continued to work miracles of healing, which the rector of the church reported to the holy Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (November 19).

Chudov (Archangel Michael, Passions) Monastery, Moscow Kremlin, 1365
Chudov Monastery ; St Pitirim the Bishop of Perm, Commemorated on August 19; Commemoration of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Colossae, Commemorated September 6 ; St Theophilus of the Kiev Caves and Bishop of Novgorod, Commemorated October 26 ; St Gennadius the Archbishop of Novgorod, Commemorated on December 4 ; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated February 12; Hieromartyr Hermogenes the Patriarch of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on February 17; St Arsenius the Bishop of Tver, Commemorated on March 2 ; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on May 12; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; Venerable Tikhon of Kaluga Or Medin, Commemorated on June 16; Venerable Nicodemus the Abbot of Kozhe Lake, Commemorated on July 3;

Ascension monastery's Tikhvin church, Moscow, 1389
Ascension monastery's Tikhvin church; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated February 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God œEnthronedÂ, Commemorated on March 2;

Ascension Convent, Moscow, 1389
Ascension monastery's Tikhvin church; Uncovering of the relics of St Innocent the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated February 9 ; Icon of the Mother of God œEnthronedÂ, Commemorated on March 2;

Ascension women's monastery at Moscow Kremlin, founded 1387
Ascension monastery; Venerable Euthymius of Syanzhemsk, Vologda, Commemorated January 20 ; Icon of the Mother of God œEnthronedÂ, Commemorated on March 2; St Euphrosyne the Princess, (Eudoxia) of Moscow, Commemorated on May 17 ; St Eudokia, in Monasticism Euphrosyne, the Grand Duchess of Moscow, Commemorated July 7 ;

Antiochian Representation Church in Moscow, 1848
Antiochian Representation Church in Moscow, 1848 Repose of St Raphael the Bishop of Brooklyn, Commemorated on February 27;

Church of St Basil the Great, Moscow Kremlin, 1561, fool for christ, barefoot cobbler
Saint Basil's Cathedral; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Basil the Blessed, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. Basil’s apprenticeship, the master happened to witness a remarkable occurrence, which showed him that his student was no ordinary man. A certain merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and then went to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. Blessed Basil wept and said, “I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them.” the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true. he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the winter’s harsh frost, he walked about barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: here he would upset a stand with kalachi, and there he would spill a jug with kvas. Angry merchants throttled the blessed one, but he endured the beatings with joy and he thanked God for them. Then it was discovered that the kalachi were poorly cooked, and the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of Saint Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong. certain merchant wanted to build a stone church on Pokrovna in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. “Find there John the Cripple,” he said. “He will advise you how to construct the church.” to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. “Whom do you rock?” asked the merchant. “I weep for my beloved mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing.” Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church. mercy, the blessed one helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who was left without anything at all. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. saint harshly condemned those who gave alms for selfish reasons, not out of compassion for the poor and destitute, but hoping for an easy way to attract God’s blessings upon their affairs. Once, the saint saw a devil in the guise of a beggar. He sat at the gates of the All-Pure Virgin’s church, and he gave speedy help in their affairs to everyone who gave alms. The saint exposed the wicked trick and drove the devil away. the salvation of his neighbor, Saint Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see a grain of goodness, even in people very much gone to ruin, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed that when the saint passed by a house in which they made merry and drank, he wept and clutched the corners of that house. They inquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: “Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed by the sins of the people, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.” by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. In 1547 he predicted the great fire of Moscow; through prayer he extinguished a fire at Novgorod; and once he reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, because during the divine services he was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace on the Vorobiev hills. Basil died on August 2, 1557. Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow served the saint’s funeral with many clergy. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, the Protection cathedral was built in memory of the conquest of Kazan. His Holiness Patriarch Job glorified Saint Basil the Blessed at a Council on August 2, 1588. an early icon, Saint Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at the ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of Saint Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him [the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow]. saint’s chains are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ;

St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow Kremlin, 1561, fool for christ, barefoot cobbler
Saint Basil's Cathedral; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Basil the Blessed, Wonderworker of Moscow, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhov church in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos outside Moscow. His parents were commoners and sent their son to be trained as a cobbler. Basil’s apprenticeship, the master happened to witness a remarkable occurrence, which showed him that his student was no ordinary man. A certain merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and then went to order boots, specifying that they be made in a particular way, since he would not pick them up for a year. Blessed Basil wept and said, “I wish you would cancel the order, since you will never wear them.” the perplexed master questioned his apprentice he explained that the man would not wear the boots, for he would soon die. After several days the prediction came true. he was sixteen, the saint arrived in Moscow and began the difficult exploit of foolishness for Christ. In the burning summer heat and in the winter’s harsh frost, he walked about barefoot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: here he would upset a stand with kalachi, and there he would spill a jug with kvas. Angry merchants throttled the blessed one, but he endured the beatings with joy and he thanked God for them. Then it was discovered that the kalachi were poorly cooked, and the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of Saint Basil quickly grew, and people saw him as a holy fool, a man of God, and a denouncer of wrong. certain merchant wanted to build a stone church on Pokrovna in Moscow, but its arches collapsed three times. The merchant turned to the saint for advice, and he pointed him toward Kiev. “Find there John the Cripple,” he said. “He will advise you how to construct the church.” to Kiev, the merchant sought out John, who sat in a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. “Whom do you rock?” asked the merchant. “I weep for my beloved mother, who was made poor by my birth and upbringing.” Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house. Then it became clear to him why he was not able to build the church. Returning to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness, and built the church. mercy, the blessed one helped those who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who were more in need of help than others. Once, he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant who was left without anything at all. Although the man had eaten nothing for three days, he was not able to beg for food, since he wore fine clothing. saint harshly condemned those who gave alms for selfish reasons, not out of compassion for the poor and destitute, but hoping for an easy way to attract God’s blessings upon their affairs. Once, the saint saw a devil in the guise of a beggar. He sat at the gates of the All-Pure Virgin’s church, and he gave speedy help in their affairs to everyone who gave alms. The saint exposed the wicked trick and drove the devil away. the salvation of his neighbor, Saint Basil also visited the taverns, where he tried to see a grain of goodness, even in people very much gone to ruin, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed that when the saint passed by a house in which they made merry and drank, he wept and clutched the corners of that house. They inquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: “Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed by the sins of the people, but I entreat them with tears to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners.” by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the saint was also given the gift of foreseeing the future. In 1547 he predicted the great fire of Moscow; through prayer he extinguished a fire at Novgorod; and once he reproached Tsar Ivan the Terrible, because during the divine services he was preoccupied with thoughts of building a palace on the Vorobiev hills. Basil died on August 2, 1557. Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow served the saint’s funeral with many clergy. His body was buried in the cemetery of Trinity church, where in 1554, the Protection cathedral was built in memory of the conquest of Kazan. His Holiness Patriarch Job glorified Saint Basil the Blessed at a Council on August 2, 1588. an early icon, Saint Basil is portrayed as old, with white hair curling at the ears, and a short, curly white beard. He is completely naked, and holds a handkerchief in his hand. The veneration of Saint Basil the Blessed was always so strong that the Trinity temple and the attached Protection church were renamed for him [the famous Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow]. saint’s chains are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy. Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ; The Protection of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on October 1;

Moscow Cathedral, St Basil's, Moscow Kremlin, 1561
Saint Basil's Cathedral; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Passion-Bearer Gleb, in Holy Baptism David, Commemorated September 5 ; The Protection of our Most Holy Lady the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, Commemorated on October 1;

Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, St Basil's, 1561
Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, Saint Basil's Cathedral; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6 ;

Moscow Spiritual Academy
Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas; Church of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, Saint Basil's Cathedral; Blessed Basil of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, Commemorated on August 2; Glorification of St Innocent the Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of the Aleuts, Apostle to the Americas, Commemorated on October 6 ;

Patriarchal Theophany (Epiphany) monastery, Moscow Kremlin, 1296
Theophany (Epiphany) monastery; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated February 12 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20;

Theophany (Epiphany) monastery, Moscow Kremlin, 1296
Theophany (Epiphany) monastery; St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated February 12 ; Uncovering of the relics of St Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and Wonderworker of All Russia, Commemorated on May 20;

Moscow Theological Seminary, Slavic Greek Latin Academy, 1682
Moscow Theological Seminary, Slavic Greek Latin Academy; St. George (John) of Georgia, Commemorated on January 21;

Danilov Hotel and Bolshoi Theater
Danilov Hotel and Bolshoi Theater; Finding of the Relics of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, Commemorated on February 22;

Arbat Gate (Arbatskaya Square, Moscow, Church of Saint Tikhon)
Arbat Gate (Arbatskaya Square, Moscow) ; Square or Arbat Square is one of the oldest squares of Moscow, located on the junction of Gogolevsky Boulevard, Znamenka Street and Arbat Gates Square (in 1925–1993 – part of Arbatskaya Square). square is home to the Arbatskaya metro station, on Filyovskaya Line. square is dominated by the wide avenue of New Arbat, however, prior to redevelopment of the 1960s, the square was located south from this avenue, on the line of Arbat Street and the vestibule of Arbatskaya subway station. Arbat Gates of Bely Gorod were located here; the wall of Bely Gorod was demolished in the 1750s-1770s, the tower in 1792, creating the original Arbat Gates Square. was no straight connection between Vozdvizhenka and Arbat: westbound coaches had to make a sharp turn south into Nikitsky Boulevard, past a corner block on this boulevard, then make a turn west into either Arbat, Povarskaya Street, Bolshaya Molchanovka, Malaya Molchanovka or Merzlyakovsky Lane. All these four streets fanned out west from the square. In 1807–1812, it hosted Arbatsky Theater [ru], which perished in the Fire of Moscow (1812), as well as most of the neighborhoods around it. Arbat Fountain, originally a fire reservoir (1840s), later a decorative fountain, was located in the south of the square, on the line of Maly Afanasyevsky Lane. In 1945, it was refitted with sculptures and granite slabs in stalinist style, only to be destroyed in the 1960s. Icon of the Mother of God of Galatea, Commemorated July 4 ; Galatea Icon of the Mother of God is found in Galatea (one of the districts of Constantinople), at Perge (in a tower). In honor of the holy icon a monastery was formed, which existed until the seventeenth century. An exact copy of the icon is located in Moscow, in the Church of Saint Tikhon, at the Arbat Gate. Galatea Icon is of the Hodegetria type.

Strastna monastery in Strastna Square (Passion Monastery) 1654
Strastna monastery in Strastna Square; Icon of the Mother of God Â, Commemorated on August 13 ; Icon of the Mother of God œof the PassionÂ, Commemorated on April 30;

Passions Monastery (Pushkinskaya Square, Moscow, 1654)
Passions Monastery (Pushkinskaya Square); Icon of the Mother of God œof the Passion's, Commemorated on August 13 ; Translation of the relics of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on April 5 ; Repose of St Job the Patriarch of Moscow, and All Russia, Commemorated on June 19;

St Tryphon's Church at Naprudnoe, 38, Moskva, 129272
St Tryphon's Church at Naprudnoe, 38, Moskva, 129272; Martyr Tryphon of Lampsacus Near Apamea in Syria, Commemorated on February 1;

Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos at Putinki on Malaya Dmitrovka street, 1649
Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos at Putinki on Malaya Dmitrovka street Malaya Dmitrovka street; Icon of the Mother of God of Constantinople, Commemorated on April 25;

Moscow'™s Dormition churchi on Malaya Dmitrovka street, 1649
Moscow'™s Dormition churchi on Malaya Dmitrovka street, 1649, The only church on the short street. Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos at Putinki on Malaya Dmitrovka street Malaya Dmitrovka street; Icon of the Mother of God of Constantinople, Commemorated on April 25;

Lubianka prison, 1897 (just outside Kremlin Area)
Lubianka prison ; "ÂœTHE RIGHTEOUS GENTILES"Â, Commemorated July 16 ; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated September 27 ;

Sretensky Monastery (Just outside Kremlin Area)
Sretensky Monastery; Finding of the Relics of Saint Hilarion, Archbishop of Verey, Commemorated on July 11;

Poland, 1611-1721, Swedish Empire, Gustav II to Great Northern War.kmz

Poland, 1611-1721, Swedish Empire, Gustav II to Great Northern War
Poland, 1611-1721, Swedish Empire, Gustav II to Great Northern War ;

Russia, Moscow, South of Moscova River Folder

Russia, Moscow, South of Moscova River, Khamovniki Bend Area Folder

Khamovniki District, Moscow
Khamovniki District, Moscow ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Surety of sinnersÂ in Moscow, Commemorated on March 7; Icon of the Mother of God Surety of Sinners is known by this name because of the inscription on the icon: I am the Surety of sinners for My Son Who has entrusted Me to hear them, and those who bring Me the joy of hearing them will receive eternal joy through Me. The Mother of God embraces Her Child, Who holds Her right hand with both His hands so that Her thumb is in His right hand, and Her small finger in His left hand. This is the gesture of one who gives surety for another. we do not know when or by whom the icon was originally painted, it is believed that the basis of the icon is to be found in the Akathist to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos: Rejoice, You Who offer Your hands in surety for us to God. 1848, through the zeal of Lt. Col. Demetrius Boncheskul, a copy of the wonderworking Surety of Sinners Icon was made and placed in his home. Soon it began to exude a healing myrrh, which was given to many so they might recover their health after grievous illnesses. Boncheskul donated this wonderworking copy to the church of Saint Nicholas at Khamovniki in Moscow, where a chapel was built in honor of the icon. Surety of Sinners Icon is also commemorated on May 29 and on Thursday of the week of All Saints. Icon of the Mother of God he Surety of sinnersÂ, Commemorated on May 29;

Novodevichy Convent and Monestary, Khamovniki Bend Area, Moscow, 1524
Novodevichy Monastery in Moscow; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated September 27 ; Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Moscow and Krutitsy, Peter Polyansky, Commemorated on October 10 ; Icon of the Mother of God the Joyful Icon of the Mother of God œEnthronedÂ, Commemorated on March 2; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Surety of sinnersÂ in Moscow, Commemorated on March 7; Icon of the Mother of God Surety of Sinners is known by this name because of the inscription on the icon: I am the Surety of sinners for My Son Who has entrusted Me to hear them, and those who bring Me the joy of hearing them will receive eternal joy through Me. The Mother of God embraces Her Child, Who holds Her right hand with both His hands so that Her thumb is in His right hand, and Her small finger in His left hand. This is the gesture of one who gives surety for another. we do not know when or by whom the icon was originally painted, it is believed that the basis of the icon is to be found in the Akathist to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos: Rejoice, You Who offer Your hands in surety for us to God. 1848, through the zeal of Lt. Col. Demetrius Boncheskul, a copy of the wonderworking Surety of Sinners Icon was made and placed in his home. Soon it began to exude a healing myrrh, which was given to many so they might recover their health after grievous illnesses. Boncheskul donated this wonderworking copy to the church of Saint Nicholas at Khamovniki in Moscow, where a chapel was built in honor of the icon. Surety of Sinners Icon is also commemorated on May 29 and on Thursday of the week of All Saints. Icon of the Mother of God œthe Surety of sinnersÂ, Commemorated on May 29; Finding of the Relics of Saint Hilarion, Archbishop of Verey, Commemorated on July 11;

Church of St. Nicholas, Khamovniki, Moscow, 1682
Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki; Translation to Moscow of the Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage my sorrow", Commemorated January 25 ; Icon of the Mother of God œthe Surety of sinnersÂ in Moscow, Commemorated on March 7; Icon of the Mother of God Surety of Sinners is known by this name because of the inscription on the icon: I am the Surety of sinners for My Son Who has entrusted Me to hear them, and those who bring Me the joy of hearing them will receive eternal joy through Me. The Mother of God embraces Her Child, Who holds Her right hand with both His hands so that Her thumb is in His right hand, and Her small finger in His left hand. This is the gesture of one who gives surety for another. we do not know when or by whom the icon was originally painted, it is believed that the basis of the icon is to be found in the Akathist to the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos: Rejoice, You Who offer Your hands in surety for us to God. 1848, through the zeal of Lt. Col. Demetrius Boncheskul, a copy of the wonderworking Surety of Sinners Icon was made and placed in his home. Soon it began to exude a healing myrrh, which was given to many so they might recover their health after grievous illnesses. Boncheskul donated this wonderworking copy to the church of Saint Nicholas at Khamovniki in Moscow, where a chapel was built in honor of the icon. Surety of Sinners Icon is also commemorated on May 29 and on Thursday of the week of All Saints. Icon of the Mother of God the Surety of sinnersÂ, Commemorated on May 29;

Ordinka Street, Moscow (across the river)
Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Commemorated on July 18;

Tretiakov gallery, South Moscow, Khamovniki Bend
Tretiakov gallery; Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; Don Icon of the Mother of God was painted by Theophanes the Greek. On the day of the Kulikovo Battle (September 8, 1380, the Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos), the Icon was with the Russian army, giving it help, but after the victory it was passed on by the Don Cossacks as a gift to their commander, Great Prince Demetrius of the Don (1363-1389), who then transferred it to Moscow. Icon at first was at the Kremlin’s Dormition Cathedral, and later at the Annuniciation Cathedral (the Icon is now in the Tretiakov State Gallery). In commemoration of the victory on the banks of the River Don it was called the Don Icon. the year 1591, the Crimean Khan Nuradin and his brother Murat-Girei invaded Russia with a numerous army. Advancing on Moscow, they positioned themselves on the Vorobiev hills. A church procession was made around Moscow with the Don Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in order to guard the city from the enemy. the day of battle it was in the military chapel in the ranks of the soldiers, and set the Tatars to flight. In 1592, in thanksgiving to the Most Holy Theotokos for Her mercy manifest through the Don Icon, the Don monastery was founded at the very place where the icon had stood amid the soldiers. The wonderworking icon was placed in this monastery, and its feastday was established as August 19. established custom, once every four years His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia performs the rite of the preparation of Holy Chrism in the small cathedral in honor of the Don Icon of the Mother of God. Holy, Glorious Demetrius the Myrrhgusher of Thessalonica, Commemorated October 26 ; Icon of the Mother of God of Lubyatov, Commemorated on March 19; Burial of St Andrew the Prince, Commemorated on July 4;

Donskoy Monastery, South Moscow, K Bend, 1591, built on place of Don Icon Chapel soldiers Story
Donskoi monastery; Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack, Commemorated August 19 ; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392) ; Glorification of St Tikhon, the Apostle to America, Commemorated October 9; Finding of the Relics of Saint Tikhon of Moscow, Commemorated on February 22; St Tikhon the Patriarch of Moscow, and Enlightener of North America, Commemorated on April 7; TIKHON, PATRIARCH OF RUSSIA AND CONFESSOR, (7 April 1925);

Danilov monastery, approx. 1272
Danilov monastery, became the Moscow Kremlin; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4;

Sparrow Hills
Sparrow Hills; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392);

Donskoi monastery, under the Sparrow Hills
SERGIUS;

Vorobiev hills (Sparrow Hills)
Vorobiev hills (Sparrow Hills) ; SERGIUS, ABBOT OF HOLY TRINITY (25 SEPT 1392) ; Intercession of the "Don" Icon of the Mother of God against the Tatars Attack;

Tver gates - Triumphal Arch of Moscow, 1829, for 1812 Victory over Napoleon of France
Tver gates - Triumphal Arch of Moscow; Icon of the Mother of God œof the PassionÂ, Commemorated on August 13; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on November 19; Icon of the Mother of God œof the PassionÂ, Commemorated on April 30;

Petersburg Academy of Sciences, South Moscow
Petersburg Academy of Sciences; St Theophan the Recluse the Bishop of Tambov;

Podolsk, south of Moscow 25 miles
Podolsk, south of Moscow 25 miles; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated February 5 ;

Podolia, south of Moscow 25 miles
Podolsk, south of Moscow 25 miles; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated February 5 ;

Peremyshl, Moscovy
Peremyshl, Moscovy; Equal of the Apostles Great Prince Vladimir (in Baptism Basil), Enlightener of the Russian Lands, Commemorated on July 15;

Klovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia, 143354 (South of Moscow River, Southwest of Moscow) 1080 questionable
Klovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia, 143354; Venerable Stephen, Abbot of the Kiev Far Caves, and Bishop of Vladimir, in Volhynia, Commemorated on April 27 and October 10; 1078 Saint Stephen was removed from office and driven from the monastery through the malice of an evil monk. He endured this meekly and without bitterness, and continued to pray for those who had turned against him. Stephen learned that master builders had come from Greece with an icon of the Theotokos, and they told him of the appearance of the Heavenly Queen at Blachernae. of this, Saint Stephen also built a church at Klovo in honor of the Theotokos (in memory of the Placing of Her Robe at Blachernae). The monastery was founded in thanksgiving for solicitude of the Most Holy Theotokos for the Caves monastery.

Podolsk governance (industrial area south of Moscow)
Podolsk governance; Repose of St Theodosius of Chernigov, Commemorated February 5 ;

Moscow Theological Academy, 1687
Moscow Theological Academy; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated November 19 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26 ;

Holy Trinity Lavra, Moscow Theological Academy, 1687
Moscow Theological Academy; Repose of St Philaret (Drozdov) the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated November 19 ; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on November 26 ;

Slavic Greek Latin Academy, Moscow, 1687
Slavic Greek Latin Academy; Repose of St Innocent the first Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated November 26 ;

Moscow Patriarchate
Moscow Patriarchate or the Russian Orthodox Church; Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereiya, Commemorated December 15 ;

Kolomenskoye, Southeast Moscow
Kolomenskoye; Icon of the Mother of God œEnthronedÂ, Commemorated on March 2;

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads Folder

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads, Moscow Road to Poland Folder, 1200

Moscow Road to Poland 1 (Moscow)
Moscow Road to Poland;

Moscow Road to Mozhiask, Smolensk, Belarus and Poland

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads, Moscow Road to St Petersburg Folder

Moscow to St. Petersburg Trade Route 1 (Moscow towards Tver)
Saint Petersburg Trade Route

Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast (St Petersburg Trade Route)
Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast; St Sophronius the Bishop of Irkutsk, Commemorated on March 30;

Moscow to St Petersburg Trade Route

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads Folder, Moscow Volga Canal, 1937

Moscow Volga Canal 7 (Moscova River 3)
Moscow Canal;

Moscow Volga Canal

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads, Muravsky Trail Folder, 1200

Muravsky Trail
Muravsky Trail To avoid major river crossings, the route followed the high ground between the basins of the Dnieper and Don, making an almost straight line from the Dnieper bend to Tula. It ran mostly through thinly populated tallgrass steppe country ('MuravÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â¡' is an old Slavic word for prairie or grassland) avoiding forests, marshes and river crossings. ;

Muravsky Trail 1 (Perekop)
Muravsky Trail To avoid major river crossings, the route followed the high ground between the basins of the Dnieper and Don, making an almost straight line from the Dnieper bend to Tula. It ran mostly through thinly populated tallgrass steppe country ('MuravÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â¡' is an old Slavic word for prairie or grassland) avoiding forests, marshes and river crossings. ;

Muravsky Trail 2 (Parallel to the Sea of Azov)

Muravsky Trail 3 (east of Dnieper 6 and west of Donets 3)

Muravsky Trail 4 (west of Donets River Source)

Muravsky Trail 5 (Stary Oskol)

Muravsky Trail 6 (Livny, Elets, Oka River1)

Ryazan frontier (Oka River 1-9, along Muravsky Trail)
Ryazan frontier; Repose of the Venerable Cornelius of Pereyaslavl, Commemorated on July 22 ; Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the deliverance of Moscow from the Invasion of Tamerlane, Commemorated August 26 ; Priestmartyr John Kochurov, Commemorated on October 31 ; St Juliana the Princess of Vyazma, Commemorated on December 21 ; Righteous Juliana of Lazarevo, Murom, Commemorated on January 2 ; Venerable Macarius of Zhabyn the Wonderworker, Commemorated January 22 ; Icon of the Mother of God "the Seeker of the Lost", Commemorated February 5 ; Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov, Commemorated on March 4; Right-believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, Commemorated on March 4; Venerable Lazarus of Murom, Commemorated on March 8; St Ambrose the Confessor, Commemorated on March 16 ; Repose of St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, Commemorated on March 31; Venerable James the Abbot of Zheleznoborov, Commemorated on April 11; Icon of the Mother of God of Murom, Commemorated on April 12; Venerable Joseph of Optina, Commemorated on May 9; Venerable Constantine, (In baptism Yaroslav), with his children Michael and Theodore, Wonderworkers of Murom, Commemorated on May 21; Finding of the relics of St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on June 10; St Jonah the Metropolitan of Moscow, Commemorated on June 15; St Peter, Tonsured David, the Wonderworker of Murom, Commemorated on June 25; St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan, Commemorated on July 3 ;

Muravsky Trail 7 (Tula)

Muravsky Trail 9 (Serpukhov, crossing at Oka River 6)
Muravsky Trail To avoid major river crossings, the route followed the high ground between the basins of the Dnieper and Don, making an almost straight line from the Dnieper bend to Tula. It ran mostly through thinly populated tallgrass steppe country ('MuravÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â¡' is an old Slavic word for prairie or grassland) avoiding forests, marshes and river crossings. ;

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads, Trans Siberian Road and Railway, 1868 Railway

Trans-Siberian Railway (RWY) 1 - Yaroslav Terminal in Moscow
Trans-Siberian Railway (Yaroslav Terminal in Moscow);

Trans-Siberian Railway (RWY)

Russia, Moscow, Moscow Roads, The Merchants Road to Nizhny Novgorod, 1395

The Merchant's Road 1 - Moscow
The Merchant's Road Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod

The Merchants Road - Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod

Russia, Moscow, Great Abatis Line Folder, 1525-1736

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Bryansk
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Bryansk;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Belyov
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Belyov;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Tula
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Tula;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Zaraysk
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Zaraysk;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kolomna
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kolomna;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Ryazan
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Ryazan;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Serpukhov
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Serpukhov;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Meshchera
Meshchera (Meshchera Lowlands); Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Meshchera;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Nizhny Novgorod
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Nizhny Novgorod;

Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kozelsk
Great Abatis Line 1525-1531 - Kozelsk;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Alatyr
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Alatyr;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Oryol
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Oryol;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Novhorod-Siverskyi
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Novhorod-Siverskyi;

Great Abatis Line 1640 - Putyvl
Great Abatis Line 1640 - Putyvl;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Livny
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Livny;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kursk
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kursk;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Belgorod
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Belgorod;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Voronezh
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Voronezh;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Tambov
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Tambov;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Simbirsk
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Simbirsk;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Baskirs
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Baskirs;

Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kazan
Great Abatis Line 1736 - Kazan;