Essay "spiritual exploits of ordinary people as an example of high morality." About spiritual life and achievement

Life written by Epiphanius the Wise

Sergius of Radonezh. This name has been preserved in the people's memory thanks to the life created in 1417-1418. It was written by the monk Epiphanius the Wise (d. 1420), an outstanding figure of Russian culture. He comprehended Divinity in Rostov, in the Grigorievsky seclusion, in the company of Stephanie of Perm, then traveled a lot, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. At the end of his life he settled in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, witnessed the deeds and the last days of the life of its founder and abbot Sergius of Radonezh.

The life is dedicated to an outstanding personality: Sergius of Radonezh is not just a clergyman, canonized, but a man whose life and deeds had a decisive influence on the entire subsequent life of the Russian people, and his hagiographic image - on Russian literature and culture in general.

The author of the life seeks to write "invisibly on reasonable hysterics, heartfelt", and not on "sensuous charters." The style of weaving words, which Epiphany the Wise was fluent in, made the Russian literary language bright and expressive.

Epiphanius the Wise wanted to convey to the reader the main thing: the image of a person who cannot imagine his life without constant, everyday work, a person of the highest moral, inner, spiritual strength. Sergiy of Radonezh was always in a hurry to help others, did not disdain any, even the most dirty and thankless work, "without laziness, he was always in good deeds and was never lazy." Sergius of Radonezh appears to be an ascetic of good deeds in the composition of Epiphanius, a wonderful work of Old Russian literature.

XIV century - dotted line

Soon after the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the first population census was carried out. According to the lists, the Horde determined the output of tribute and the number of people who were taken to the Horde auxiliary troops. Only the clergy were not included in the census. It was from this time that a significant increase in the number of monasteries began in the Russian lands.

Until the second half of the XIV century, monasteries were not hostel. Each monk had his own household, ate separately, lived in a separate cell, and met with the rest of the brethren only for prayer.

Princely strife, the beginning of the rise of Moscow, the constant collection of tribute to pay to the Horde - these are the main features of the historical time in which the boy Bartholomew, the future Saint Sergius of Radonezh, was destined to begin his journey. Epiphanius the Wise mentions events that happened during the life of the saint. Among them Akhmylov's army (1322), brought to Russia by Ivan Kalita, when the city of Yaroslavl and the surrounding lands was ravaged. It was during the reign of Ivan Danilovich Kalita (1325 - 1340), after the suppression of the Tver uprising of 1327, that Moscow subjugated the Rostov principality. The estates of local owners were confiscated in favor of the boyars who were serving Moscow. Sergius' father Kirill, a glorious Rostov boyar, "became impoverished and impoverished", moved to quiet Radonezh from persecution. Mongol rule left its traces on the life of the entire Russian land.

Bartholomew becomes Sergius of Radonezh

In accordance with the hagiographic canon, Epiphanius begins his story with a description of the childhood of the youth Bartholomew. Even in the womb, he was marked by involvement in divine sacraments. Miraculously, he comprehended the letter, having received from the hands of a mysterious elder a small prosphora. Having become an adult, Sergius - the son of noble parents - renounces worldly, vain honor and seeks humility and obedience to the will of God. Together with his brother Stephen, they founded the Trinity Monastery. But my brother cannot stand the hardships of living in the desert and leaves for Moscow.

For Sergius, the days, months and years of complete loneliness begin, the years of struggle with the dark forces, which the Orthodox person perceives as the forces of the devil. None of those who have embarked on the path of spiritual development can avoid this struggle. Only with a steady striving for the Light, with the strictest discipline of the spirit, over the years, an internal balance is established, each ascetic finds a measure of his constant burning. This is the most difficult time, which requires from Sergius the exertion of all spiritual and physical strength. Epiphanius narrates that the Monk himself told his disciples about the visions that visited him: the demonic hordes and the appearances of Satan. Messengers of light forces also appeared to him. A legend has survived about how one day the book, opened at the life of the Mother of God, shone with the Light of Heaven, so that Sergius could read it without an icon lamp.

Sergius grasped in spirit that all living things were created by the Lord. Even his fear of wild animals disappeared from him. A huge bear came to the house of Sergius, but the saint was not afraid of him, but shared his bread with him.

"Community" charter

Rumors about the ascetic life of the young monk soon spread throughout the neighborhood, and people began to visit him, asking for advice, and disciples came. Sergius did not refuse anyone, but he warned about the difficulties of life in the desert. When Sergius became abbot of the Trinity Monastery, in 1354 he changed the rules of life in the monastery: he introduced a “communal” charter in it.

Henceforth, the land and property of the monks became common. This had a very deep meaning. People of different social groups, with different property status, came to the monastery. By giving away his property for general use, the new member of the community became at the same time the owner of the property of the entire monastery. The inequality of property did not divide the monks now, they more easily felt themselves to be "brethren". The common work and the common economy made it possible to construct large buildings, found new monasteries, and develop new lands beyond the Volga, where there were still many unbaptized residents in those days. The community could take upon itself the care of the sick and the weak, feed the strangers, donate from the monastic treasury for bread for the peasants in the years of famine.

Having become the founder of a new monastic path, Sergius does not betray the basic type of Russian monasticism that took shape in Kiev in the 11th century. But in his appearance more refined and spiritualized features appear. The basis of his spiritual makeup is meekness, clarity and simplicity. He works incessantly, but nowhere do we see the encouragement of severe asceticism, the indication of wearing chains or torturing the flesh.

Vladimir Monomakh wrote: "... with a small deed you can get God's mercy." Sergiy of Radonezh does not neglect any small business: he works in the garden, chops down huts, carries water. Incessant physical labor encourages spiritual labor. The severe discipline introduced by Sergius required constant vigilance from the students over their thoughts, words and actions, created an educational school from the monastery, in which courageous, fearless people grew up. They were ready to give up everything personal and work for the common good. The greatest meaning of the life of Sergius of Radonezh is that he created a new type of personality, rooted in the popular consciousness as the ideal of man.

Miracles and everyday life

Ten years later, the peasants surrounded the monastery with their villages. The monk entered into all the needs, into all the everyday life of his disciples and those who came to him. He took care of the monastery gardens and discussed the content of the new icons. He took care of copying books and knew that kvass should not ferment too much. In every deed he saw the movement of life and the manifestation of God, directing his spirit to comprehend His will.

Epiphanius describes the miracles that Sergius performs: a miracle with a source, when a spring broke out of the cross that the monk drew on the earth; the miracle of the resurrection of a deceased child. The happy father fell at the feet of Sergius with tears of gratitude, but the saint began to convince him that there was no miracle: “You are deceived and you don’t know yourself what you are grateful for. When you carried the patient, he was exhausted from the severe cold, but it seemed to you that he had died, but now he has warmed up in my cell and the seizure has passed. But go home in peace and do not tell anyone about what happened, so that you do not lose your son at all. "

Sergius asks the witnesses not to tell about the miracles that were shown to him: the vision of the wonderful Heavenly Light and the appearance of the Mother of God.

The brethren perceive the communication at a distance between their abbot and Stephanie of Perm, people of a high spiritual level, as a miracle. As a miracle, those around him perceive the amazing modesty of Sergius, his desire to live in poverty, which is combined with spiritual purity.

But life in the monastery was not always smooth. Disputes arose as to who created the new monastery. Sergius does not want to challenge his brother Stephen's right to be called the founder of the monastery and secretly leaves for a deserted place, leaving his brother and everyone who is dissatisfied with the harsh rules of the community to be left alone with their conscience. The disciples of Sergius wandered for a long time in the desert places, until they found the saint in a secluded place on the Kirzhach River. Only Metropolitan Alexy managed to persuade the Monk to return to the Trinity Monastery. The Metropolitan himself often came to the holy monastery to rest and consult with the wise old man. Sometimes he entrusts Sergius with the most difficult political assignments - in word and in deed to pacify the feuds of appanage princes and lead them to the recognition of the supreme power of the Prince of Moscow.

It is no coincidence that Alexy, sensing his imminent death, wants to appoint Sergius as his successor, but the saint refuses this honor. Alexy did not insist, fearing that Sergius would retire to the desert again.

Battle blessing

Alexy dies in 1378, two years before the great battle on the Kulikovo field. In a country deprived of a metropolitan for some time, Sergius remains the most authoritative church figure. According to his life, he blesses Dmitry Donskoy for the battle with Mamai.

From the point of view of a person of our time, it is quite natural to perceive the blessing of the Orthodox for the battle with Mamai, given by Sergius of Radonezh to Prince Dmitry Ivanovich. Historians argue when exactly the meeting between the Grand Duke and the Monk Sergius took place: immediately before the battle or two years before it, before the battle on the Vozha River. However, it was not the specific place of action and not even the time of the blessing that gave significance to this event from the point of view of contemporaries.

In the XIV century, the Horde ruler bore a sacred title king, whose authority is sanctified by God, and prince, even great, had to obey to the king... Temnik (commander of "darkness", that is, ten thousand soldiers) Mamai, who seized power in the left-bank Horde, was not a descendant of Genghis Khan, but in the popular consciousness of that time he was "Tsar Mamai". According to the customs of the Middle Ages the prince was lower than the king and did not even have the right to open battle with the king, whose authority was sanctified from above. This would mean opposing God.

Blessing given by Sergius of Radonezh prince Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich, meant a daring violation of medieval customs and the elevation of the Grand Duke to royal dignity. Only the authority of the saint could have prompted the Grand Duke to take such a serious step as open opposition to the tsar. This was facilitated by the awareness of the upcoming battle as a battle between Christians and the "nasty" in defense of Orthodoxy.

During the battle, Sergius shows his disciples a new miracle: being in church at prayer, with his spirit he is where the fate of the Russian land is decided. All the events of the battle on the Kulikovo field pass before his spiritual gaze. Standing in the church, he informs the amazed brethren about the course of the battle, from time to time calling the names of the fallen soldiers and immediately reading the funeral prayers for them. Finally, he announced the defeat of his enemies and offered prayerful thanksgiving to God.

Only the great epic of India "Mahabharata" gives us a description of a similar scene: during a grand battle on the field of Kurukshetra, one of the twice-born, being in the capital, in the sacred hall of the palace, describes the course of the battle to those gathered. This is how the epic of India and the story of the Russian saint echo.

The victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, consecrated in the name of Sergius of Radonezh, strengthened the faith of the Russians in God's help and increased the importance of Moscow as the center of the Russian lands.

A thanksgiving service was served, but the old enmity flares up again between the principalities. In 1385, Sergius went to Ryazan to establish a lasting peace between the prince of Moscow and the formidable and indomitable prince Oleg of Ryazan. Four years later, in 1389, Sergius was present at the death of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, who was named by the descendants of Donskoy. Sergius affixes his signature to his spiritual letter, in which for the first time during the Horde domination The Grand Duke bequeaths his throne to his children, without asking the permission of the Horde.

In 1392, in the 78th year of his birth, Saint Sergius died. According to the testimony of the brethren, at the moment of his repose, the face of the Monk was illuminated with light, and an extraordinary fragrance filled his cell.

But even after the death of Sergius, grace remained at the Trinity Monastery, while those who came to his relics with faith were healed.

Feat as asceticism

Epiphanius the Wise in his life created an integral image of a unique personality. For a Russian person, the name of Sergius of Radonezh for many centuries has become the measure of a righteous life, like the names of Andrei Rublev, Theophanes the Greek, Stephen of Perm, Maxim the Greek.

The meaning of the word "feat" is not translated adequately into any of the European languages. A feat is not a simple heroism. Not movement in space, but spiritual striving, asceticism becomes the moral content of the word "feat". Sergius becomes in the minds of the people a mediator between the world of the earth and the divine forces. For many centuries, the people perceive him as an intercessor before the Lord for the Russian land.

Sergius' disciples and "interlocutors" founded up to 40 monasteries of the new "communal" type, the disciples of his disciples - about 60 more monasteries.

The adoption of the "communal" charter had other consequences as well. From that moment on, the monasteries themselves began to acquire land. Boyars often donated entire estates to monasteries so that after their death, “God's people” - monks - would pray for the peace of their souls. It was believed that the prayers of "God's people" better reach the Lord. As a result, many monasteries became large property owners and landowners. Subsequently, this led to the emergence of a conceptual dispute between the Russian Middle Ages: the dispute between the Josephites and the “non-possessors”. However, during the time of Sergius of Radonezh, such a course of events was difficult to foresee.

In the Soviet era, the name of Sergius of Radonezh went into the shadows, although people who sincerely believed in the ideals of communism unconsciously continued to strive for the image created by Saint Sergius.

In our days, it is important not to blindly worship this or that name, but to know what this person did, why for centuries the flame of people's love and gratitude to him burned and continues to burn. It was not for nothing that V.O. Klyuchevskoy wrote: "With his life, the very opportunity of such a life, Sergius made the grieved people feel that not all the good in them had extinguished and died away ... he opened their eyes to themselves."

Savior of the Fatherland. Spiritual feat of Sergius of Radonezh

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Archbishop Nikon Rozhdestvensky

Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh

If the husband's life is written off, then there is great benefit from this, and consolation together, as a writer, and a storyteller, and a listener.

Epiphanius the Wise

Be a zealot for those who live, and write these lives and deeds in your heart.

St. Basil the Great

“Glory to God for everyone and everyone's sake! Glory to the one who showed us the life of her husband is holy and spiritual - we thank God for His great goodness that has been upon us, as a gift to us from the elder, Mr. Reverend Sergius, in our land of Rustei, in the land of midnight. "

Thus begins his legend about the life and exploits of our Venerable Father Sergius by his close disciple, Blessed Epiphanius. “I am amazed,” he says, “but only a few years have passed, and the life of the holy elder has not been written; and for this he took pity on this, as such a holy old man, wonderful and kind, has passed away for 26 years, and no one is daring to write about him, neither distant, nor neighbor, nor greater, nor lesser. "

We can repeat these words of the Wise Epiphanius with even greater right, with the only difference that from the death of St. Sergius to our time, not 26, but already five hundred years have elapsed, and until now we do not have a complete biography of the great elder in modern Russian. only in the sense of an independent historical study of his life and exploits, and its significance in the history of the Russian Church, Russian asceticism, Russian enlightenment and the moral education of the Russian people in general, but even a simple, complete translation of the life written by Epiphanius. True, there are more than a dozen different lives of St. Sergius, and the best of them, of course, is the one compiled by St. Philaret of Moscow. But this Vita was intended to be read at the Divine Service and was read by the deceased hierarch himself in the Lavra in Bose, at the all-night vigil on July 5, 1822. According to its internal merits, this life is an ingot of gold; but, intended for church reading, it necessarily differs in brevity and omits numerous details that are precious to the reverent admirers of the memory of the great saint of God. Mention should also be made of the two Lives of St. Sergius, contained in the works "Russian Saints" by the Most Reverend Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov, and "Lives of the Saints of the Russian Church" by A. N. Muravyov; Neither one nor the other also has the desired completeness, because the compilers of these lives, describing the lives of all Russian saints, of necessity tried to be brief in presentation. Of the individual editions, only one should be mentioned, which came out after the second edition of our book, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the repose of St. Sergius - "St. Sergius of Radonezh and the Trinity Lavra created by him" by E. Golubinsky; the author offers in this book, as he himself says, "the story of the Monk, on the one hand, is short, and on the other - complete, without omissions reproducing all the particulars of his life, both natural and supernatural." But even this book cannot fully satisfy the reverent reader of the memory of the great saint of God: it is enough to say one thing about it, that for the sake of "brevity" its author does not mean to give an edifying reading in it, but offers only a concise presentation of the facts collected by him from all historical sources and presented in the form of a "biography". Moreover, this "biography" was published inseparably with the "guide to the laurel" and constitutes, as it were, an introduction to this "guide". In other separate editions, such as the work of Mr. Lavrentiev, we do not consider it necessary to stop, since they represent bad alterations from Epiphany or simply borrowings from the aforementioned authors.

Offering pious readers his description of the Life and Deeds of the Monk and God-bearing Father of our Sergius, the one who labored in compiling it considers it his duty to say that he did not mean to write a scientific study about the life of the saint of God. He set himself a more modest goal - to collect in one book everything that could be found in the historical and preaching literature about St. Sergius, and to combine into one whole not only all the details that have come down to us from his life, but also those moral lessons that were learned from legends about his life are our preachers. For the present, fifth edition, everything that was published in 1891-1903 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the repose of the saint of God was revised again, if possible, and thus much in the text was supplemented and corrected. The motivation for this work was the same that prompted the Monk Epiphanius in his time to take up the pen - the absence in the available spiritual literature of the complete life of the Monk Sergius. Just think: who was the Monk Sergius for our Russian Church, for the Russian state, for the Russian people? The Holy Church perfectly characterizes it, calling it the pillar of the Church. He not only himself was a strong pillar of the Church of Christ, but, in the words of one of our archpastors, Archbishop Nikanor of Kherson, “he likened and continues to liken his spiritual nature and all people who closely adjoin him. He nourished whole hosts, whole generations of monastics with his strong spirit. Up to 70 monasteries were founded by his disciples and the disciples of his disciples; his spiritual offspring was one of the main spiritual forces that contributed to the spiritual transformation of various semi-pagan tribes, spread across the space of northern and central Russia, into a single Great Russian tribe, united, animated, sealed by the spirit of Orthodoxy. Being himself the supreme bearer of the Christian Orthodox spirit, he helped a lot by example, edification, and prayers and contributes to the nourishment of this spirit of the entire Orthodox Russian people, the spirit that constitutes the guiding principle, strength and glory of Russian national life. That is why many thousands of people flock to the Monk Sergius, as to the inexhaustible spring of the strong Russian spirit, to worship for edification, for prayer, and to this day. Not a single monk traveling nearby does not pass the monastery of St. Sergius. Few of the hierarchs of the Russian Church did not fall to the dust of the earth before the crust of St. Sergius. Every single one of the Crown-bearers of Russia brought their prayers at the shrine of St. Sergius (especially upon accession to the kingdom). Not only members of our Reigning House, but also many members of foreign royal families came there - either to pray or to study Russian life at its very foundations, at that spring, at one of the main springs from which it gushes. "

Yes, our chroniclers had every reason to call Saint Sergius Abbot of All Russia, and the Holy Church honorably and righteously calls him the forbidden governor of the Russian land!

“If it were possible,” says our well-known historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, “to reproduce by writing everything that was connected with the memory of St. Sergius, which in these five hundred years was silently reconsidered and felt before his grave by millions of minds and hearts, this writing was would be full of deep content with the history of our nationwide political and moral life. Yes, and each of us in our own souls will find the same general feeling, standing at the tomb of the Monk. This feeling no longer has a history, how the movement of time stopped long ago for the one who rests in this tomb. For five centuries this feeling has been similarly kindled in the soul of a person praying at this tomb, just like a sunbeam for thousands of years is equally glowing in a clean drop of water. Ask any of these simple people, with a staff and a bundle, who came here from afar, when Saint Sergius lived and what he did for Russia in the XIV century than he was for his time, and a rare of them will give you a satisfactory answer; but to the question what he is for them, the distant descendants of the people of the XIV century, and why they have come to him now, everyone will answer firmly and intelligibly. "

This is how the great spiritual significance of St. Sergius is characterized, on the one hand, one of our famous spiritual twists, and on the other, one of the deepest experts in our native history.

In another of his words, referring to the life of our Venerable Father Sergius, Archbishop Nikanor rightly says that this life “takes us into a new, albeit ancient world, of other people - holy people, other views - holy views, other customs - holy customs, into the world of renunciation of the world and oneself, into the world of holy great deeds, into the world of the free and unswerving carrying of the cross of Christ ... You feel in your soul the difference in the harmony of this world with the disharmony of our inner and outer world, and on the one hand, the heart is peacefully tuned in with emotion, - so I would take the wings, like a dove, and fly there, into the desert, 500 years ago, - and on the other hand, my heart breaks, that involuntarily I have to live the many-year life of this century "... Rightly says the Monk John Climacus:" How wretched, seeing the royal treasures, they know their poverty even more, so the soul, reading the stories about the great virtues of the holy fathers, becomes more humble in their thoughts. "

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior addresses His listeners and followers with the words: "You are the salt of the earth ... You are the light of the world ..." In fact, these words express the vocation of each of us. The enlightening light of Christ's truth does not allow sinful darkness to triumph, and the piety of the confessors, like salt, restrains the action of moral decay. In this confrontation, there is even one warrior in the field.

The teaching of the basics of Orthodox culture in some of our schools is a visible confirmation of this. Once a week, during a 45-minute lesson, the OPK teacher tries to convey something light and edifying to twenty-five souls from the 5th "A" or "B" grade. What bold faith he must have, knowing that immediately after the lesson in the mad school corridors, the decaying darkness of mass culture will by no means spare his noble labor ...

"What is the way out?" - you ask. And one way out - we are not given another: in our weakness, by the Power of God, to do this work.

In Tula, a seminary teacher and deputy of the regional Duma, O.M. Senin, suggested holding monthly meetings with schoolchildren, taking vital church holidays and events as an occasion. A month before, an educational and methodological seminar is held with the teachers of the defense industry, and each of them receives a short development of the topic.

With some delay, we suggest you use the material as well.

Educational and methodological development on the subject Spiritual and moral culture on the topic: "The spiritual feat of the Christian martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia"

1. Relevance of the topic.

Nowadays, many people know that on September 30 it is customary to congratulate all those who bear these beautiful and euphonious names on the name day. But not everyone knows why and since when these names came into our everyday life.

Today our children often lack self-confidence, trust in teachers and parents, commitment to good and beautiful. If we talk about hope, then not everyone expects from life the fulfillment of their cherished and explicit desires. And of course, in the school environment, there is a lack of mutual understanding, compassion, willingness to help a friend in word or deed.

That is why the story of three amazing girls and their loving mother, who lived almost two thousand years ago, will help to reveal to students the luminous meaning of such great Christian virtues as faith, hope, love and Divine wisdom, which is expressed by the name Sophia (Sophia).

2. The historical context of the event.

The holy martyrs lived at the beginning of the second century in Rome, which was the capital of the vast Roman Empire. Note that our chronology begins from the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was born in Judea, at the age of 30 he began to preach his doctrine, which then His disciples, the apostles spread throughout the empire. However, not all Romans accepted the Christian faith, although it made them good, truthful, encouraged them not to do to others, all that bad and evil that everyone would not want to experience for themselves. The reason for this was that the population of the empire believed in false pagan gods, whose worship did not make them any better. For example, the holidays of the god of wine Dionysus ended with general drunkenness and unbridled joy. The pagans did not want to part with bad inclinations and addictions, and therefore they hated Christians and in every possible way resisted the spread of their faith. In the first three centuries of Christianity, there were many bloodthirsty persecutors of the new faith among the Roman emperors. What tortures and atrocities did the persecutors resort to in order to break the faith in the souls of Christians. They crucified them on crosses, gave them to be torn apart by hungry lions, tortured them with a red-hot iron, threw them into cauldrons of boiling resin. But all their efforts were in vain, since the martyrs were strengthened by Faith in Christ the Savior, the Hope that after death they would be with him in paradise, and love for God, who opened a new life for them and filled it with high meaning.

3. A summary of the life (biography, biography) of the holy martyrs.

Emperor Hadrian, who ruled in Rome from 117 to 138 A.D. , reported that a Roman named Sophia is not only a Christian herself, but all three of her young daughters are at the same time with her. Such denunciations were often addressed to the emperor, and each time he, with threats or cunning, did everything possible to get Christians to renounce their faith. When the soldiers forcefully brought Sophia and her daughters to him, he was amazed that they, in fact, were still children. (Vera was 12 years old, Nadezhda was 10, Lyubov was 9). The insidious ruler decided at first to resort to a hypocritical cunning. Addressing the girls, he said, “You certainly know that there is no place for Christians in Rome. All those who hold on to faith in Christ will face torment and execution. But I do not want you to share their fate. After all, you are so young, you need to live and enjoy life. I promise you that if you renounce, I will adopt you, become your kind and caring father, and you will not be denied anything. " Unexpectedly for the tyrant, the girls firmly declared to him that they already have their Heavenly Father, turn to him with prayer, and that He hears and answers them. The vexed tyrant said, "Then I command you to deny Him." And to this the holy martyrs had an answer: “Only Jesus Christ we call our Lord (ie, Lord) of Him alone, we obey and obey Him.

Then Adrian turned to Sophia and demanded that she influence her daughters, otherwise something terrible awaits them. But Sophia, on the contrary, seeing the fearlessness of the girls, with words and prayers strengthened their resolve not to give up their faith. Then the emperor-theomachist decided on inhuman cruelty. He commanded to torment and torture her dear daughters in front of the mother's eyes. Thus, he believed that her mother's heart could not bear such a sight. When the ruthless executioners began cruel torture, Sofia, shedding tears, tried to console and support the girls. The emperor, seeing such perseverance and courageous resilience of these young creatures, incomprehensible to him, flew into a rage and ordered the execution of all three through beheading (cutting off) of the head. Sofia was allowed to bury the girls, after which she mourned and prayed for them for three days at the grave, where she died.

4. Questions for discussion:

1) What makes people who believe in God different?

What qualities do you think they possess?

2) What attracted you the most in the character and behavior of Vera, Nadezhda and Lyubov?

Do you think their behavior is fanatical?

How is blind fanaticism different from sincere conviction?

Do you admit this version of their behavior: they could deny Christ in words, keep their lives, and then secretly, in their souls, remain believers?

3) Can you give an example from your own life or from what you read when people preferred to give up their personal interests and attachments for the sake of the higher.

4) Tell us what you believe in your life, what you hope for and whom you prefer to love.

5) Why, in your opinion, the violent persecution of Christians could not destroy their faith. On the contrary, in fact, they contributed to its spread throughout the world.

5. Generalization and conclusions on the topic.

The Greek word "martis", which translates as "martyr" has a second meaning - "witness." Thus, Christians, through the exploit of their lives, testified to those around them about the highest eternal enduring values. By their faith, by their steadfast self-sacrifice, they drew many and many to Christ.

By themselves, relying only on their own strength, the martyrs would not have been able to withstand. Their incomprehensible steadfastness can be explained by one thing - they believed in their Savior, loved Him and hoped in Him, and He endowed them with spiritual strength incomprehensible to the pagans.

During the Great Patriotic War, there were many heroes who died for their homeland, but, mind you, Christians not only died for Christ, they went to a voluntary death with Christ. This is what distinguishes human heroism from Christian martyrdom.

Nowadays, people prefer to live for themselves and do not strive for anything other than their own well-being. They believe only in themselves, rely on their wallet and love everything that brings them carnal joys and pleasures. Such unbridled and insatiable egoism (egocentrism) destroys and disfigures those human qualities that are capable of attracting others to them. Christ in the Gospel says: what is the use of a person if he gains the whole world, but hurts his soul ( Mt 16:26).

These poetic lines reveal the beauty and attractive power of the Savior, Whom his faithful followers tried to imitate in everything.

“With love for neighbors of flame,

He taught the people with humility,

He is all the laws of Moses

He subordinated love to the law;

He does not tolerate anger, nor vengeance,

He preaches forgiveness

Orders for evil to pay with good;

There is an unearthly power in him,

He returns sight to the blind,

Gives both strength and movement

One who was both weak and lame;

He does not need recognition,

The thinking of hearts is open

Of his prying gaze

No one has stood it yet.

Aiming sickness, healing flour,

Everywhere he was a savior

And stretched out a good hand to everyone,

And he did not condemn anyone. "

He who does not strive becomes weak, comes to neglect and oblivion of the due (31, p. 100).

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First of all, adhere to spiritual deeds with zeal and courage, inflame like fire, going to night chants and daytime obediences, and then be careful in the external affairs that are entrusted to you. So do not be a hearer, forgetful according to the Scriptures, but be together both hearers of the law and creators of the word, as God wants it (32).

The feat of what is

The feat consists in cutting off one's own will and conquering it to another. The latter is just as important for us as the first, because while rejecting our will, we at the same time reject the enemy's harmful advice, and by subjugating it to another, we submit to God Himself (24, p. 22).

Spiritual feat is pleasing to God

Every spiritual struggle in which our soul participates is pleasing to the Lord

Work hard! He will not leave you (Ibid, p. 53).

* * *

It takes a lot of effort to become pleasing to God.

Those who wish to be saved need a feat.

It is necessary to work for the future BLISS.

A feat is necessary to change the inner state.

The feat is to clear the conscience, since there is no Christian without a good conscience.

Feat is necessary in order to compel oneself to any good deed.

The feat is to conquer yourself.

The feat consists in a constant struggle between the flesh and the spirit.

Bridging the members of the flesh and subduing them by the spirit is an auspicious SACRIFICE to God.

To resist sin in every possible way, since it is impossible for God and sin to work.

The feat is to suppress THINKING.

The meaning of Christian exploit is constant endurance of temptations and sorrows.

The more diligence, the more temptations.

A feat without abuse, without enemies does not exist.

The Christian should fight the enemy all his life.

Deed depends on what state a person will be in in eternal life.

A feat without GOD'S HELP is impossible.

Zealously walk forward without looking back.

Not the beginning, but the end crowns the achievement.

The feat is crowned with zeal at the end.

Not to weaken, but to work zealously to the end (8, p. 682-690).

A feat is needed

Let us try to strive for good deeds, calling upon our beloved Savior and His Most Pure Mother for help. And They will not hesitate, they will come to us, and then our hearts will rejoice with unspeakable heavenly joy. And we will be able to hear the saving words: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom of God, prepared for you from the folding of the world” (3, p. 89).

A feat is needed to the bitter end

We will strive on the path of salvation to the victorious end, sending thanksgiving to God for all (Ibid .: 88).

* * *

Strive on the saving path until the last minute (Ibid .: 108).

Without heroic deeds, a person will be deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven

It is good for the one who strives to acquire the Heavenly Kingdom through labor, deeds and good deeds, that is, a great effort of spiritual and moral achievement is required. Without this doing, another kingdom awaits a person behind the grave, where the fire does not extinguish and the worm does not die (Ibid .: 94).

* * *

Strive in this deplorable vale and do not shy away from sorrows (Ibid .: 94).

* * *

Let us remember the words of Christ that the Kingdom of God is taken by force (32).

* * *

Strive to acquire with your holy life the joy that God has prepared for those who love Him (3, p. 99).

Every feat should be done with blessing

Every feat should be accomplished by an ascetic with discernment, in proportion to his spiritual as well as bodily powers, and with the blessing of his spiritual father. But whoever lives according to his own reason and arbitrariness, such a person, at least carried great deeds, but cannot succeed in spiritual life, because everything done of his own free will does not always please God because of vanity and exaltation (6, p. 117) ...

* * *

We all should strive in this life, make efforts to acquire the Holy Spirit in our souls (32).

* * *

To educate himself according to the commandments of the Gospel, every Christian needs physical and mental deeds.

Hard work teaches a Christian to cut off his sinful will, teaches obedience and helps to tame the passions that nestle in the heart of every person. Physical exploit must be combined with the spiritual, otherwise, when the latter is abandoned, a Christian develops emotional passions. As a body without a soul is dead, so bodily exploits without a soul are fruitless. The soul revives the body, and spiritual feat revives bodily feats. Mental exploit is of paramount importance in spiritual life (31).

1. The feat of Russian monasticism. Russian monasticism of the 19th century gave many examples of true Christian exploits. And already during their earthly life, these holy people served as a model for understanding the meaning of life, behavior and everyday life of Christians. One of the pinnacles of Orthodox life was the spiritual activity of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. In the exploit of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, Holy Russia showed the world a great example of Orthodox holiness.

(in the world Prokhor Isidorovich Mashnin) (1754-1833) - one of the most famous and revered Russian elders. He was born in Kursk. His parents built the Sergiev-Kazan Cathedral. When the cathedral was built and consecrated, he went to a monastery. In 1778 he settled in the Sarov Uspenskaya Hermitage, which was located on the river. Sarovka, in the then Tambov province. In 1786 he took monastic vows with the name Seraphim, and in 1794 he left the monastery and settled in a secluded cell in the forest, a few kilometers from the monastery. In his cell and in the forest by the road, he put two stones on which he prayed. In 1806, Seraphim took upon himself a new heavy monastic deed - silence, and remained in silence for about three years. In 1810, by decision of the cathedral of the monks of the monastery, Seraphim again settled in the monastery, but accepted a dinner of retreat. Beginning in 1815, he somewhat loosened the shutter and devoted himself entirely to a new feat - eldership, i.e. service to the world, spiritual guidance and healing of monks. But he finally left the shutter only in 1825.

3. The Most Holy Theotokos visits Seraphim. Elder Seraphim, one of the few saints in the history of Russia, was honored with a visit to the Most Holy Mother of God, who appeared to him twelve times. The Mother of God manifested her first intercession for the Monk Seraphim long before he was tonsured a monk. According to his Life, when he was ten years old, he fell very seriously ill. Once in a dream the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him and promised to heal him. And so it happened at that time to go on a procession with the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God along the street where his parents' house stood. Suddenly, a heavy downpour fell on the walkers and the procession turned into the courtyard of their house. The lad's mother hastened to carry it out and attach it to the icon. Since then, the boy began to recover.

In 1780, already being a novice of the Sarov Monastery, he fell seriously ill, possibly with dropsy. The disease lasted three years, never leaving him. Once the Elder Joseph of Sarov served the Divine Liturgy for the health of the sick man, while the sick man confessed and received Communion. And then, in the Ineffable Light, the Mother of God appeared to the sick with the apostles John and Peter. The Lady, pointing to the novice to John, said: "This one is of Our kind." And she laid her right hand on his head, and with the rod that she held in her left hand, She touched the sick one. From this touch, the novice left a depression in his leg, through which the accumulated liquid began to flow, causing him excruciating suffering. In this way, the patient recovered miraculously. Later, on the site of the miraculous healing of the Monk Seraphim, a church was erected in the name of the Monks Zosima and Savvaty.

In 1804, Elder Seraphim, who had long since taken monastic tonsure, lived as a hermit in a forest cell. And he was attacked by three peasants who were looking for money from the elder. They did not find any money, but they severely beat the monk. The called doctors found out that Father Seraphim's head was broken, ribs were broken, and lungs were beaten off. Doctors examined the elder in bewilderment - how was he still alive ?! And at that moment Elder Seraphim fell asleep, and he had a vision. The Most Holy Theotokos approached the bed with the apostles Peter and John and, pointing to the ascetic, said to Her companions: "This is from Our kind." Waking up, the Monk Seraphim felt relief and began to recover. And the villainous peasants were soon found, but at the elder's plea they were released.

Another miraculous vision happened in 1825. By that time, the Monk Seraphim was living in a monastery and was performing a new feat in his solitary cell - seclusion and silence. The elder lived for five years in seclusion and complete silence, contemplating the Lord's prayers. He spent another ten years in his cell, receiving the brethren and laity. And on November 25, the elder had a vision of the Mother of God, who commanded him to leave the seclusion and receive everyone who would need his consolation, advice and prayer. Thus began another feat of the Monk Seraphim - eldership. And everything happened according to the word of the Mother of God: people from all over Russia reached out to the elder for spiritual help and guidance. And he, being already in his advanced years, accepted everyone and did not refuse anyone in conversation and advice. Moreover, being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Monk Seraphim acquired the gift of clairvoyance and healing. And very many left him healed either spiritually or bodily.

The great elder loved the Most Holy Theotokos indescribably. Elder Seraphim prayed most of all in front of the icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness", or "Joy of All Joys," as the monk called it. This icon was in the elder's cell. With oil from the lamp that burned in front of the icon, the elder anointed the sick. Before this icon, in prayer, the Monk Seraphim departed to the Lord. After the death of the elder, the icon "Tenderness" was transferred to the Diveyevo monastery. Since then, the icon has become the Supreme Abbess of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery, and the abbess of the monastery was often called the abbess of the Supreme Abbess. In honor of the Icon of the Mother of God "Tenderness", the Russian Orthodox Church established a holiday - July 28 (August 10).

4. Public service. And the Most Holy Theotokos also commanded the Monk Seraphim of Sarov to serve people. The fame of the great ascetic has long been circulating throughout Russia. But now, when the monk began to receive people, many pilgrims rushed to the Sarov monastery for spiritual healing. Possessing the ability to penetrate into the soul and heart of everyone, the elder recognized the inner thoughts of any person and became a true spiritual support for many suffering.

In addition, he was given the gift of healing. The elder himself suffered from a serious illness of the legs all his life, but he endured the suffering steadfastly and tried not to show his weakness. At the same time, many people were recovering through his prayers.

The monk helps even after death. There are many known cases of Saint Seraphim's help to people through prayers to the saint in their needs and troubles, illnesses and sufferings.

5. An example for believers. Since the 18th century, many educated people, nobles and even ordinary people began to lose faith. People did not reject the Church, but they relied less and less on God, believing that they would do without Him. They prayed less and less and visited the temple less and less often, and even visiting the temple for such people turned into an empty formality. The monk, by his personal fervent example, was an example of living faith, of man's living communion with God, the Most Holy Theotokos. He showed everyone that the Lord and the Most Holy Theotokos hear every believer, their prayers and help every sincerely believing person.

6... Foundation of the Diveevo Vvedensky Convent. On that day, November 25, 1825, Elder Seraphim, fulfilling the will of the Mother of God, first came out of the seclusion. He went into the forest to his distant wilderness. And on the banks of the Sarovka River, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to him again. She ordered the elder to found a new monastery near the village of Diveyevo, next to the already existing women's community. In this monastery, the Ever-Virgin ordered only girls to be admitted, and She herself promised to be the everlasting Abbess of the monastery. The girls' community was to be surrounded by a groove and a rampart instead of a wall. The Mother of God called the new monastery hers "The fourth lot on earth"... The Monk Seraphim of Sarov fulfilled everything as it was foreseen. He established the Vvedensky Convent, which soon became known throughout Russia.

7. Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery was founded in s. Diveyevo 24 km. from the city of Ardatov (now - in the Nizhny Novgorod region) in 1780 by the works of the Ryazan noblewoman A.S. Melgunova (in monasticism - Alexandra), as the Kazan women's community. Having settled in with. Diveyevo, in 1775, at her own expense, Alexandra built a temple in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, around which a female community was formed. Spiritual leadership over the community was exercised by the elders Pachomius and Isaiah from the nearby Sarov monastery. After their death, the Monk Seraphim of Sarov became the spiritual leader of the community.

In 1827, he separated the maidens from the widows and, fulfilling the command of the Mother of God, in 100 fathoms from the Kazan community, founded a separate Mill Maiden community, which was located near the mill. The mill community was surrounded by a groove dug by the sisters at the behest of the Monk Seraphim. At his insistence, a two-story temple was added to the Kazan Church in the name of the Nativity of Christ and the Nativity of the Mother of God. After the death of Seraphim of Sarov, in 1842, both communities united into one - Seraphim-Diveevskaya, which in 1861 was transformed into a monastery.

In the XIX - early XX centuries. The Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery was one of the largest women's monasteries in Russia. More than 1000 nuns lived here. The architectural ensemble was a whole city surrounded by a high stone wall. In the center of the monastery was the majestic five-domed Holy Trinity Cathedral with five aisles (1848-1875). In 1847-1848. a winter, wooden, but on a stone foundation, a temple in the name of the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God, which had two side-altars, and on the lower floor - a special temple in the name of the icon of the Mother of God "Satisfy my sorrows" was built. In 1855, a cemetery single-altar church was built in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. At the almshouse, a church was built in the name of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" (1861). The Kazan and Rozhdestvensky temples, founded earlier, were located behind the monastery fence. By 1917, a completely new stone cathedral was built, but it was consecrated only in 1999 in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

After 1917 the monastery was ruined, and in 1927 it was finally closed, churches were destroyed, and the nuns were persecuted.

And yet, with the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and all Orthodox Christians in 1990, after the miraculous acquisition and transfer of the relics of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, the revival of the monastery began. Its temples have been restored. Hundreds of nuns and novices are obedient to the monastery.

In 2003, the groove around the former Maiden Community was also restored. And now the one who walks along the groove and reads the prescribed number of times the prayer "Virgin Mary, rejoice!" For the Mother of God did not leave her fourth lot on earth with her intercession.

8. Reverend Seraphim of Sarov on the future of Russia. Today, many of the prophecies of Elder Seraphim are known concerning the historical fate of Russia, including the coming disasters - revolutions, the destruction of the Church, the desecration of holy places, the greatest human sacrifices, when "the Russian Land is stained with rivers of blood."

The great elder also predicted the subsequent revival of Russia. One of the prophecies of the Monk Elder Seraphim of Sarov says: "But the Lord will not be completely angry and will not allow the Russian land to collapse to the end, because in it alone Orthodoxy and the remnants of Christian piety are predominantly preserved." And therefore: "The Lord will have mercy on Russia and lead her through suffering to great glory."

9. Canonization of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov, even during his lifetime, foresaw that he would be glorified in his holiness, he even foresaw the season when he would be glorified - it would be summer: “What joy will be with us (in Sarov)! In the middle of summer they will sing Easter! And to the people, to the people from all sides, from all sides! " And so it happened: the uncovering and transfer of the saint's relics took place on July 19 (August 1), 1903, with a crowd of millions of people. In the same prophecy, the monk elder foresaw many torments that Russia would undergo: “But this joy will be for a very short time; what further will be ... such sorrow that from the beginning of the world there was no! .. Angels will not keep up with receiving souls! ". At these words, tears flowed from the eyes of the elder ...

In 1903, in the presence of Nicholas II and the entire imperial family, a solemn canonization and transfer of the saint's relics took place.

This holiday became a real celebration of Orthodoxy, which brought together more than one and a half million people. Numerous healings of the pilgrims took place.

In 1927, the Sarov monastery was closed, and the relics of the holy elder were taken to Moscow. Then they disappeared and were discovered only in 1990 in Leningrad. So, in 1990, the second uncovering of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov and their solemn transfer to the Seraphim-Diveevsky monastery took place.

And another important event took place in April 2004: with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, a particle of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov was transferred to the main garrison of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation - to Vlasikha near Moscow, to the temple of St. Elijah of Murom.

And it is deeply symbolic that the nuclear center, where the nuclear weapons of our country were created, is located in Sarov. This is not accidental, because in the akathist to the Monk Seraphim it is said: "Rejoice in our Fatherland, shield and enclosure." Therefore, it is believed that the nuclear shield of our state was created precisely through the prayers of the Monk Seraphim.