An essay on literature about St. Sergius of Radonezh. The ideal image of a saint in Russian literature (on the example of "The Life of Our Reverend Father Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, a New Wonderworker") "Genius Poet" or "Saint"

"Sergius of Radonezh"

Completed: student 6 B class MBOU SOSH №36

Kodochigova Arina Vadimovna

Head: Semina Olga Nikolaevna

Nizhny Novgorod Region

Dzerzhinsk 2015

“Truly, God does not care who you are, a virgin (nun) or

spouse, monk or layman, but it is important for him what you are and

Does your heart want to do good deeds. "

(School of piety St. Petersburg; 1891, p. 160).

The Russian land is rich not only in its minerals, vast expanses, but also in people. After all, they are the main property of any country. And how many saints the Russian land gave birth to! Who does not know Tikhon Zadonsky, Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh ... Many of them lived in ancient times: the holy Slovenian teachers Cyril and Methodius, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, the Monks Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, Sergius and Nikon of Radonezh. Others - only one hundred or two hundred years ago: the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, St. Innocent of Moscow, Theophan the Recluse. And some lived among our fathers and grandfathers. They prayed, talked, labored, taught them: the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, the most holy Patriarch Tikhon, the saints Metropolitan-Martyrs Vladimir and Benjamin, the laity-martyrs Yuri and John and many others. Among Russian saints there are people of all ranks and states, of different ages and sex, monks and princes, scientists and not. And each of us can choose their own role models. Many articles and books have been written about Russian saints. We, who live on Russian soil, consecrated by their holy relics, churches and monasteries created by them, need to know and love everything that has shaped the spiritual world of Russian Orthodoxy for centuries.

For more than 600 years, people have been coming to venerate the Abbot of All Russia, Saint Sergius of Radonezh ("reverends" are monks like angels). Everyone has their own thoughts, pleas, aspirations. What do the pilgrims take with them to all ends of the Russian land? What feat did this saint accomplish? To understand this, one must remember the time when fear and horror from the Tatar invasion lived among the people. It was Sergius of Radonezh who raised the spirit of his native people, awakened in him confidence in himself, in his strength, breathed faith in the future. spirit, morality and conscientiousness of the people of Russia are able to arrange a life worthy of a person. Sergius completely eradicated the vicious qualities in himself: proud lust for power, pleasure in power over others. A person with power forgets that he is primarily not a ruler and boss, but a servant of people subordinate to him. Having become hegumen, Sergius was no different from ordinary monks: neither clothing, nor behavior, nor cells, only worked harder than others, improving his high morality. “I wish it better to study than to teach,” said Sergiy of Radonezh to his students.

And how did the monk become like that? What kind did you come from? Boyars Cyril and Maria, who lived on the territory of the Rostov principality, were the parents of Sergius of Radonezh. The family was distinguished by piety. Cyril and Mary had three children - Stephen, Bartholomew, Peter. When Rostov was ruined, the family moved to the city of Radonezh, which was under the rule of the Moscow prince.

From an early age, Bartholomew heard prayers and psalms in church, at home and memorized them. This is in what a pious, friendly family the boy was fortunate enough to grow up. And soon his mother began to notice how different her Varfusha was from her brothers and other children. He did not like noisy games and children's amusements, sought solitude and could sit for hours somewhere in the garden, immersed in deep thought. When Bartholomew was seven years old, according to custom, he was sent to study with a sexton. Together with him, his brothers studied - the elder Stephen and the younger Peter, who was not yet six years old. Imagine the disappointment of the parents, when soon Stephen and Peter learned to read and write, and Bartholomew not only did not know how to add letters, but also did not know them. The teacher complained that he had repeated the same thing to the lad many times, but he seemed not to hear and did not understand what they were telling him, although the boy tried and prayed fervently.

Once a monk appeared to Bartholomew and blessed the boy. Since then, Bartholomew easily assimilated all the sciences. When the parents got old, they went to the monastery. After their death, Bartholomew left all the bequeathed parental inheritance to Peter. Together with Stephen, he decided to take monastic tonsure, for which they had been preparing for a long time. The brothers cut down a cell in the Radonezh forest, in which they prayed fervently and fervently. They lived in constant labor and after a while they erected a small wooden Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. But the solitary life was a burden for Stefan. He n said goodbye to Bartholomew and went to the Epiphany Monastery.

Bartholomew decided to continue his secluded lifestyle. He overcame fear of wild animals, lived in labor. Soon the fame of Bartholomew spread to all corners of the Russian land. Metropolitan Theognost of Moscow came to the forest to consecrate the temple built by Bartholomew and Stephen. Here Bartholomew was tonsured a monk by the metropolitan and became Sergius. Various miracles were attributed to Sergius, as if he had even learned to get along with a bear. It was said that a large wild beast lay at the feet of Sergius and obeyed him, taking food from the hands of the Saint.

The rumor about Sergius of Radonezh brought many different people to the forest. Someone came here for a short time in search of solitude and peace, someone wanted to spend their whole life in work and prayer. And after a while, many houses appeared around the Trinity Cathedral, in which the monks lived. They carried water, chopped wood, tilled the land, prayed.

Ten years later, the peasants surrounded the monastery with their villages. The monk 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. The monastery grew. Soon Sergius of Radonezh was offered the rank of abbot. The monk refused, considering himself unworthy, but circumstances nevertheless forced Sergius of Radonezh to become abbot of his monastery.

The years passed. Russia began to regain its former power. In these difficult years for the state, Sergius of Radonezh became an example for everyone.

The monk played an important role in the moral and ethical formation of society: he blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who had come to him before the Battle of Kulikovo, and sent two of his monks, the Russian heroes Peresvet and Osyablya, to the ranks of the Russian army. Dmitry's army defeated the Tatars at the Kulikovo field. Probably, the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh and God's help played an important role in this military battle.

The contribution to the further development of the Russian state of Sergius of Radonezh is enormous. He managed to smooth out the misunderstanding of the princes, to stop fratricidal wars. Sergius of Radonezh developed a charter for monks, which was adopted with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexy. Almost all monasteries in Russia began to live in accordance with this charter. Before his death, Sergius of Radonezh blessed his disciple Nikon for abbess of the monastery. On the site of the monastery built by Sergius of Radonezh and his brothers, today there is the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - one of the most fertile places on Russian soil.

Sergius of Radonezh is rightfully considered one of the greatest Russian saints, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Moscow princes and tsars, who ruled after Dmitry Donskoy, considered Sergius of Radonezh as their heavenly patron. In 1392, on September 25, Sergius died. In 1452 he was canonized. For a Russian person, the name of Sergius of Radonezh for many centuries has become the measure of a righteous life. The holy monk in his life hourly performed good deeds, of which the following can be distinguished: he created and widespread monasteries of a new type, where there was just order, a spirit of diligence and high morality reigned. For four decades, the "sadden of the Russian Land" persistently instilled in people the idea of liberating Russia from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, becoming the main inspirer of the Kulikovo battle. Thanks to Sergius of Radonezh, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity spread in Russia, a unique spiritual, moral and cultural center of Russia, Russia, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, was created, which became a powerful national spiritual center.

WITH The abbot of Radonezh was destined to gain immortality not only in the memory and deeds of his students and followers, but also in the history of the Russian state. The name of Sergius was and remains a symbol of the spiritual wealth of the Russian people. His precepts - Christian love for people, a constant ascent to moral perfection through courageous self-denial - became the bright ideals of Russian culture. And Sergius himself - sometimes explicitly, sometimes intimately - lives in it and will live "as long as the Russian land stands."

Although Sergius of Radonezh did not leave behind any scriptures and, as it were, does not teach anything, his teachings have come down to us thanks to his students. Epiphanius the Wise, wrote "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh." This is how Sergius silently teaches the simplest: truth, straightforwardness, masculinity, work, reverence and faith:

Here is Sergius - an old man at the end of his days,

Feats and locks remained in the past.

People are looking for wisdom, support,

And his life, looking around,

They want to comprehend: what was the main thing in it?

Hard work from dawn to dawn,

The style is simple, but clean and harsh,

He built souls and monasteries,

So that the word of God sounded in Russia.

He stretched out a living thread of faith,

To reconcile the princes, to unite

Around Moscow, and strike

And throw off the heavy yoke of the Tatars ...

Sergius of Radonezh lived in the fourteenth century and belonged to the rank of holy monks. His parents - Cyril and Maria - were very pious. Even before the birth of Sergius, an unprecedented miracle happened: during the church liturgy, the baby cried out three times from the mother's womb. Mary decided to dedicate the newborn to God. At baptism, the baby was given the name Bartholomew. And already in infancy, miracles continued: on fast days (Wednesday and Friday), the child refused to eat mother's milk.

As time went on, the child grew up, it was necessary to learn to read and write - but Bartholomew

I could not overcome this art in any way and was very worried about it. Once the father's horses were grazing and were lost somewhere. The father sent the boy to look for horses. An old priest appeared to the boy under an oak tree, gave him a prosphora and predicted that now the boy would know the letter better than his brothers and peers. And so it happened: the lad began to briskly read the Psalter.

The old man predicted to the boy's parents that he would be great before God and people.

Growing up, Bartholomew fasted strictly and prayed at night. He avoided peers, wishing to devote himself to the ministry of the church.

An impoverished family settled in Radonezh near Rozhdestvenskaya

churches. Bartholomew's brothers, Stephen and Peter, got married. He also asked his parents to bless him for monasticism.

However, Cyril and Maria asked first to wait for their departure to another world, and then to take monasticism. The saint's parents themselves were tonsured and dispersed to their monasteries, where they died a few years later. With the help of brother Stephen, in a deserted place in the thicket of the forest, Bartholomew cut down a small church and set up a monastic skete. The church was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Bartholomew invited Abbot Mitrofan to him, who tonsured him a monk under the name of Sergius. During the tonsure, a wonderful aroma spread through the church. At first, Sergius lived alone in his skete, and then other monks began to join him, who longed for a righteous solitary life.

Sergius did not want to take on the responsible titles of hegumen and priesthood, but only tirelessly served the brethren: he carried water, chopped wood. He spent the nights in prayer. In the end, Bishop Athanasius of Pereyaslavl ordered Saint Sergius to become a priest and abbot.

Hegumen Sergius was extremely modest, he also taught the monks humility. If food suddenly came to an end in the monastery, then the monks had to endure, and not ask the laity for bread. Once Sergius himself did not eat for three days, and then went to Elder Daniel to get along the Senets behind a sieve of rotten bread. And then the unknown benefactor sent a lot of food to the monastery, and the bread sent from afar miraculously turned out to be still warm.
There were more and more monks in the monastery, each building a separate cell for himself. Once the brethren grumbled that there was no water near the monastery. Then, through the prayer of Saint Sergius, a spring arose that healed the sick.

Once a pious man came to the monastery with a request for the healing of his sick son. But in the cell of St. Sergius the boy died. The father, crying, went to look for the coffin, and Saint Sergius revived the boy by the power of his prayer. The Monk Sergius asked to keep the miracle a secret, but his disciple told everyone about it. Father Sergius healed the blind and taught the wicked, he was always ready to forgive the repentant.

Repeatedly Sergius cast out demons from the possessed, but he was far from the sin of pride, did not accept rewards and wore the most modest and even shabby clothes.

Once the holy father had a wonderful vision: a bright light in the sky and many beautiful birds. A heavenly voice clarified the meaning of this vision: there will be as many monks in the monastery, as there will be birds revealed to the inner gaze of Sergius. And indeed, all the monks arrived at the monastery. A "community" is established in the monastery - that is, the monks give up their property, live by a common pot, common work and common concern for each other. In addition, monks help lay people - the sick, the poor, and the crippled.

The holiness of Sergius is so high that - as the "life" testifies - an angel served next to him.

When the Horde prince Mamai moved his troops to Russia, the Grand Duke Dmitry asked for a blessing from Sergius of Radonezh - and received it. Thanks to the prayerful support of Sergius, the Russian troops won at the Kulikovo field. While in the monastery, he knew everything that happened on the battlefield and could name the fallen by the names.

Following the example and with the blessing of Sergius, several monasteries were founded: Andronikov, Epiphany, Zachatyevsky. When Saint Sergius served the Liturgy, the Holy Fire wandered around the temple, illuminating the altar. Before communion, this fire descended into the chalice.

Sergius knew about his death six months before his death, he entrusted the abbess to his favorite Nikon. He himself began to be silent - and only before his death did he begin to teach the brethren. He died on September 25. A fragrance spread from his body, his face was white as snow.
The miracles of the healing of the sick at the tomb attest to its holiness.

"Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh"

Competition work

in the nomination

"Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh"

Completed by: Naryshkina

Oksana, student of grade 8 "A".

language and literature of higher

Medkova Nina Igorevna

urban-type settlement Podgorensky.

Sergius of Radonezh- a monk of the Russian Church, the founder of the Trinity Monastery near Moscow (now the Trinity-Sergius Lavra), a reformer of monasticism in Northern Russia. Sergius of Radonezh is venerated by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint and is considered the greatest ascetic of the Russian land.

At the source.

“... Three years ago, in the fall, my 34-year-old son and I went to a spring near the Lavra (I mean the source of St. Savva Storozhevsky near the bridge. - Hierom. L.K.)
As we walked, a demon-possessed woman walked in front of us. She cursed and screamed. Then she asked me what time it was, but I didn’t answer.
At the spring, I went into a bathhouse and bathed, then my son came in. I sat on a bench at the source and waited for my son. Nearby, right in the stream, standing knee-deep in water, the "demoniac" was bathing, she was right in her clothes.
A man came up, about forty, light blond, bluish eyes, in a beige coat and a tracksuit. He took a clean plastic bottle that was lying around, poured water and began to drink. The weather was sunny, the sky was blue. I immediately felt great confidence in him. I asked him: "Where are you from?" He replied, "I live here." This was heard by my son, who had already left the bath, and I thought that he lived in the nearest houses above the spring.
Looking at the "demoniac", to whom I felt disgust, he said: "I love her." I laughed and said that she was already old, and why love her ... And he himself was beautiful.
Then people came for water. A man stood on the path in the path of walking people and drank water from a bottle, not stepping back or giving way. And people walked right through it ...
It was about three o'clock in the afternoon. I asked myself: who is this? The demoniac, it seems, did not see him either.
When we walked back and passed the monument to the Monk Sergius of Radonezh, my son and I raised our heads and recognized that man as the Monk ...

Resurrected the dead.

Our venerable father Sergius also performed other various miracles: he received such a power of miracles from God that he even raised the dead to life. A certain man devoted to the monastery had an only begotten son, possessed by a disease. And he brought him to the monk, so that he would heal him. The lad died on the way, and his father sobbed inconsolably over him. The Monk Sergius, seeing the sobbing of this man, was compassionate and prayed and, having resurrected the boy, gave him alive to his father. And the man returned with joy to his house with a living and healthy son. Those who were possessed by an unclean spirit came to him, but before they even reached the saint, unclean spirits were driven out of them. And the lepers were cleansed and the blind received their sight.

Unrecognized.

A certain peasant, a farmer from the far side, having heard about Saint Sergius, wished to see him. And he came to the monastery of the monk and asked how to see him. It happened then that the monk was digging earth in the garden.

They told the villager about it. The villager went to the garden and, seeing the saint in thin clothes, torn and patched many times, digging the ground, he decided that the messengers had decided to laugh at him. He hoped to see the saint in great glory. And, returning to the monastery, he began to ask again: “Where is Saint Sergius? Show me him, for I have come from afar to see him. " They answered: "Truly the one whom you wanted to see." Soon the saint approached, but the villager saw him and abhorred, turned away and did not even want to look at the blessed one. He reviled him in himself: “How much work I have undertaken in vain! I came to see the great prophet, about whom I had heard so much. I hoped to see him in great honor and glory, and now I see some poor and dishonest old man. "

The saint, realizing these thoughts, began to thank him, for as the proud man rejoices in praise and reverence, so the humble one rejoices over his dishonor and humiliation. And, having invited the villager with him, he set food in front of him and began to treat him. And he said to him: "Not grief, but whoever you want, you will soon see." As soon as he uttered these words, a messenger rushed in, announcing the arrival of the Grand Duke at the monastery. And getting up, the saint went to meet the prince, who had arrived with many of his servants. Seeing the saint, the prince hurried to him and, bowing to the ground, asked the saint's blessing. He blessed him and led him into the monastery with due honor. And when they sat down, both the prince and the elder talked, the rest all stood. And this villager was driven away by his servants, and the old man, whom he abhorred, tried from afar, having penetrated, and could not see. In a whisper he asked one of those present: "Sir, who is this old man who is sitting with the prince?" And he answered: "Saint Sergius."

The villager began to revile and reproach himself: “How did I go blind and did not believe those who showed me the saint's father? How did he not give him worthy honors? They deservedly call us villagers and ignoramuses! How am I now possessed by shame in the face of a saint? " When the prince left the monastery, the villager ran to the monk and, ashamed to look at him, fell to his feet, asking for forgiveness, since he had sinned out of foolishness. The saint kindly consoled him, saying: “Do not grieve, child, only you alone truly cognized me, not finding anything special. Others were all tempted, calling me great. " From this incident it is clear how humble the Monk Father Sergius was, since he loved the farmer who abhorred him more than the honor that the prince had shown him.

Help.

Once, disagreements arose with Khan Mamai: the army sent by Mamai was defeated by Prince Dmitry at the Vozhzha River.

Several more years passed. Prince Dmitry did not completely obey the will of Mamai, and then in anger with a large army he moved against the Grand Duke. The prince was perplexed for some time, not knowing whether to submit or fight the huge forces of the khan. Fearing by a rash act to involve his Fatherland in new calamities, he consulted with those close to him for a long time and went to ask for advice and blessing from Saint Sergius. The Monk Sergius blessed the prince for battle. Having prayed, he blessed all the soldiers who were with the prince, and gave him two monks as companions - Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyablya.

The prince and the soldiers left the monastery, encouraged by the words and blessing of the monk. Prince Dmitry went out to meet the Tatars, but seeing the superiority of their forces, he was embarrassed. Suddenly a messenger from Sergius appeared with a letter. In it the monk encouraged the prince with the help of the Lord and exhorted him without fear of going against the enemy. A fierce battle took place near the Don, on the Kulikovo field, in 1380, and Mamai was completely defeated. This victory, in honor of which Prince Dmitry was named Donskoy, greatly shaken the power of the Tatars, although Russia completely freed itself from them much later.

One night Saint Sergei prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos, asking for Her all-powerful protection for the monastery he had created. Having prayed, he turned to his disciple Micah and said to him: “Be awake, child! Now we will have a wonderful visit. " He had just uttered these words when a voice was heard: "The Most Pure One is coming." Embarrassed, he fell, but the Most Holy Theotokos, touching him, said: “Do not be dismayed, My chosen one! Your prayer has been heard. During the life of your death, I will be relentless at your abode! " The vision ended, and the saint, having come to himself, saw his disciple lying as dead. He picked it up. “Tell me, holy father,” he asked, “what a wonderful phenomenon? My soul almost parted from my body. " But the saint himself could hardly speak so fully his heart was of joy, awe and awe.

This phenomenon is miraculously depicted in icons.

When Sergius was 23 years old, the abbot of the nearest monastery, Mitrofan, tonsured him on October 7, the day of Sts. martyrs Sergei and Bacchus, and named him Sergius. The newly attained monk spent seven days in the church, daily partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and eating only one prosphora. Then Mitrofan, teaching the new monk the direction, returned to his monastery, and Sergius was left alone. His wilderness life was hard: demons tried to frighten him with insurance; sometimes a whole horde of them surrounded him with furious threats. But the ascetic overshadowed himself with the sign of the cross and intensified his prayer, and the demons disappeared. Once, when he was reading the rule at night, suddenly a noise arose in the forest and many demons surrounded his cell. “Get out of here, why did you come to live in the wilderness! They shouted. - What are you looking for? Aren't you afraid of starving to death or being killed by robbers? " But the ascetic stood motionless, concentrating on prayer, and the demons disappeared.

Packs of wolves often ran past him - they came up to him, sniffed at him. But the monk protected himself with prayer and was not afraid of them. The bears also visited it. One bear came to him for a whole year, and the hermit shared with him the last piece of bread; when he had only one piece, he gave it to the bear, and he himself remained hungry, because, explains the description of the life of the monk, the beast of ignorance does not understand the need for patience and abstinence. But it happened that he did not even have one piece, and, not receiving the usual alms, the beast began to howl pitifully; then the monk went out to him and began to gently persuade him, but the beast did not understand him and howled

Once the monk prayed for his monastery and his disciples. Suddenly a voice was heard: “Sergius! You pray for your children, and your prayer is heard: look, you see the number of monks gathering under your leadership in the name of the Most Holy Trinity! " And he saw many beautiful birds flying into the monastery and beyond its fence. And again a voice was heard: "So the number of your disciples will increase, like these birds, and after you they will follow your footsteps!" Sergius called Simon, and he saw part of the vision, and both spent the whole night in spiritual joy.

Soon after his blessed death Sergius began miraculous manifestations and healings. Thus, the monk Ignatius saw him in his usual place in the church, singing with the brethren. In 1408 St. Sergius appeared to Abbot Nikon and predicted to him the ruin of the monastery by Khan Edigey and its imminent restoration. Both of these predictions were not slow to come true. The monk, who cut his leg with an ax, appeared Saint Alexei and St. Sergius and healed him.

30 years after his death, St. Sergius appeared to a pious man and said to him: "To raise up the abbot and the brethren: why do they leave me for so long under the cover of the earth in a tomb, where water surrounds my body?" July 5, 1422 the coffin of St. Sergius was discovered, and not only his holy relics were found incorruptible, but his very odor turned out to be incorruptible. The coffin was surrounded by water, but it did not touch the holy relics. Then St. Nikon erected the present Trinity Cathedral.

Sources of information: L.M. Grigoriev. “Saints of Orthodox Russia”; Sergei Ershov “Russian Saints”; A. N. Pecherskaya “Stories about Russian Saints”.

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Municipal treasury educational institution

Podgorenskaya secondary school number 1

Podgorensky district of the Voronezh region.

Competition work

in the nomination

THE HISTORICAL AGE OF WHICH IS THE MONUMENT SERGEI OF RADONEZH.

Completed by: Gaivoronskaya

Anastasia, student of grade 8 "A".

Supervisor: Russian teacher

language and literature of higher

Medkova Nina Igorevna

urban-type settlement Podgorensky.

THE HISTORICAL AGE OF WHICH IS THE MONUMENT SERGEI OF RADONEZH.

At the name of St. Sergius, the people remember their moral revival, which made possible a political revival, and reiterate the rule that a political fortress is strong only then,

when it rests on moral strength.

B.0. Klyuchevsky

The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of St. Sergius of Radonezh on September 24 according to the old style. He is praised as a Saint who leads a righteous life and has done a lot for the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church. But the role of the saint in strengthening the Russian state is also very great.

Sergius of Radonezh lived in Russia in the 14th century. He played a significant role in Russian history in the 14th century.

What do we know about Sergius of Radonezh and the era during which he lived? How did the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra win human admiration even after hundreds of years?

Russia of the 14th century is, first of all, numerous principalities, some of which were united by the leadership of the prince and divided into volosts, while others remained independent, which by no means made them more free.

For over a hundred years Russia had been under the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The main problem was not even the enslavement of the Russian people, but their loss of faith in themselves. As you know, one of the reasons that laid the foundation for the weakening of Russia and the emergence of internecine troubles, was also the decision of Yaroslav the Wise to divide his possessions between his sons. Undoubtedly, he did so out of good intentions, wanting not to give them a reason for mutual discontent. For the first few years, they ruled together. But the events of the following years forced their union to disintegrate. From this moment, the split of Russia into separate principalities begins.

This historical period was the most difficult for the Russian people.

The enslavement of Russia was also facilitated by the position of the princes, many of whom even benefited from this.

In the quarrels that followed the death of Alexander Nevsky between his sons and relatives, the court of the khan became the main argument for correctness. The princes reported on each other in the Horde and used the Horde army for mutual struggle. A rather unpleasant situation developed, the Rusich found himself squeezed in double pincers: on the one hand, the Tatars, on the other hand, their own brothers, who had forgotten about their Christian commandments and their Christian roots.

Russia has lost a leader, whom it could be equal to - whom it could follow.

But in order to throw off the barbaric yoke, build a strong independent state and introduce wild aliens into the fence of the Christian church, for this the Russian people themselves needed to strengthen their spiritual strength.

It was to this cause, the spiritual education of the people, that Saint Sergius devoted his life.

The time of birth of Bartholomew (from 1313 to 1322), who later took monasticism under the name of Sergius of Radonezh, is spoken of differently in the scientific literature. In the same way, the different years of his founding of the Trinity Monastery (from 1337 to 1345) and his death (from 1391 to 1397) are indicated. Disagreements in the certainty of the periods of the life and work of Sergius of Radonezh are explained by the poverty of the available sources about his birth and life. But a lot has been said about the contribution of St. Sergius of Radonezh to the Russian history of the XIV century.

As mentioned earlier, we do not know the exact date of birth of St. Sergius. According to some sources, he was born on May 3, 1314 in the village of Varnitsa, near Rostov. According to others, this event took place in 1322, there is also evidence that the year of birth of the miracle worker is 1319.

He came from a noble family; his parents, Cyril and Maria, belonged to the Rostov boyars and lived on their estate near Rostov, where his father, boyar Kirill, was in the service of the prince. It was a period of civil strife, wars for power in the country, when the brothers fought each other for the land. In addition, there were constant raids of the Tatars with the aim of ruining the lands. Rostov at that time was not yet subject to Muscovites. After another Tatar raid, the bloodless Rostov was annexed to Moscow. Bartholomew's parents were forced to seek service from the Moscow prince. Cyril was assigned a place of service in the city of Radonezh, halfway from Rostov to Moscow. The spouses strictly observed church customs, loved the temple of God, took care of the wanderers and the poor. God gave them three sons: Stephen, Bartholomew (future Sergius) and Peter.

Bartholomew's brothers got married, but he refused to marry and asked his parents to let him go on the path of hermitism. They persuaded him to stay with them until their death.

After the death of his parents, Bartholomew makes the most important decision in his life - he decides to become a hermit. The next stage in his life begins.

Bartholomew gave his part of the inheritance to his married brother Peter, and he himself decided to become a monk. He went to Stephen and together with him began to look for a place suitable for the construction of a monastery. The brothers found "a single place in the thickets of the forest," where there was water, and set about building the "desert." First they put on "Odrina and Khizina", i.e. something like a barn and a summer house, and then "a single congress cell", that is. an ordinary hut was cut down, after which a small church was erected.

The priests who came from the city from Metropolitan Theognostus consecrated the church. The founding of the Trinity Monastery should be dated no earlier than 1342.

But Stephen could not stand the difficulties of such a hermit and went to Moscow to the Epiphany Monastery, and Bartholomew was left alone. Occasionally he was visited and performed by a certain abbot Mitrofan. The same abbot Mitrofan in 1337 tonsured the young ascetic, who was only twenty-three years old, into the monastic order with the name Sergius. Sergius spent three years in complete solitude, overcoming "by unceasing prayer and labors, temptations and fears from wild animals."

The rumor about his ascetic life spread throughout the neighborhood, and lovers of solitude began to settle around him. And in 1342 the first disciples came to Sergius. At first they were seekers of salvation from nearby places.

Gradually, a settlement was created, where each hermit lived in his own cell, gathering together only for divine services. The Monk Sergius, despite the requests of the brethren, for a long time did not want to accept by humility either the dignity of a priest or abbess, and only the threat of the monks of the monastery that if he did not agree to fulfill their desire, they would disperse, forced him to fulfill their request. This happened almost twenty years after the young Bartholomew began his solitary exploits. This was the beginning of the Trinity-Sergievsky Monastery.

The opinion spread about Sergius that he was gifted from above.

prophecies. Despite this glory, Sergius continued to lead the former simple way of life and treated with equal love both the princes who enriched the monastery and the poor who fed from the monastery.

Respect for Sergius prompted Grand Duke Dmitry to turn to him several times. In 1365, over the dispute between Dmitry Konstantinovich of Suzdal and his brother Boris over Nizhny Novgorod, at the behest of Dmitry of Moscow and Metropolitan Alexy, Sergius traveled to Nizhny Novgorod, closed all the churches in it, and thus forced Boris to yield to his brother. In 1385, Sergius, already aged, arranged an eternal peace between the previously irreconcilable enemies: Dmitry of Moscow and Oleg of Ryazan.

But his attitude to the Battle of Kulikovo gained the loudest fame. Dmitry, intending to go to Mamai, went to him for a blessing. Sergius predicted victory for him and aroused both the Grand Duke and the entire Russian people to the sacred battle for the freedom of Russia. When the prediction came true and the Russians won, the holiness of Sergius rose even more. There was also a tradition that the holy hegumen blessed two monks of his monastery to go to war: Alexander Peresvet, a former boyar, and Oslyabya; and they both fell in battle.

The Monk Sergius died in 1392 and was buried in the church of the Trinity Monastery. His body was in the ground for about 30 years, and then, after a vision of one of the monks, the coffin was raised from the ground. The opening ceremony of the relics took place on July 5, 1422. Thirty years later, Sergius was numbered among the All-Russian saints.

For almost five hundred years, people went to the tomb of the Monk in the Trinity Cathedral of the Lavra.

Speaking about the importance of St. Sergius for the common cause of the revival of Russia and the Russian people, several major achievements can be distinguished.

Firstly, Sergius not only blessed the Battle of Kulikovo, he did much more - he raised the spirit of the people tortured by the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Sergius became the new spiritual leader. The Monk Sergius not only blessed Dmitry Donskoy for a decisive battle with the Tatars, but also helped, with his direct participation, to overcome the intolerant yoke of Islam to the end. It was not for nothing that the Tatars, even after the death of the Monk, having taken Moscow, did not yet consider their work of ruining the Russian state finished, but they still went to burn the Trinity Lavra of the Monk.

Secondly, he contributed to the end of strife and the unification of the Russian principalities under the autocratic rule of the Moscow sovereign. He himself went to the rebellious princes of Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Tver and Rostov, and by all means persuaded them to make peace with Moscow and amicably join the common mutual service under the single state of the Grand Duke of Moscow. He himself approved, and perhaps instilled in the spiritual letter of Dmitry Ivanovich, who bequeathed the throne to his eldest son Vasily Dmitrievich, and with this he stopped the pretext for strife, indicating the procedure for transferring power.

Thirdly, he did a lot to strengthen the position of the church, which, in fact, was the organizing principle in the unification of Russia. Thanks to this, from the 14th century, monasteries and churches, in general, began to have more and more influence on secular power.

The activity of Sergius led to the fact that Russia rose again as a source of a strong Christian culture.

Thus, Sergius of Radonezh played a significant role in Russian history of the 14th century. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Sergius is one of those who created Russia and on whom it still rests.

Literature:

Gregory Krug, monk. Thoughts about the icon. - Paris, 1978 - p. 4.

Compiled by S. Snessoreva. The earthly life of the Mother of God. - Yaroslavl: Nord, 2005 .-- p. 157 - 164.

S.V. Perevezentsev. Russia. Great destiny - M .: White city, 2005 .-- from 192 - 193.

M. A. Ilyin. Artistic and aesthetic description of the icon "Trinity" - "Zagorsk. Trinity-Sergius Monastery "- Leningrad, 1971. - p. 26 - 27

5. The text of the Bible, the text of the revelations of Sergius of Radonezh.

Life is a story about the life of a person who has achieved the Christian ideal - holiness, provides examples of a correct Christian life, convinces that everyone can live it this way. The heroes of the life are simple peasants, townspeople, princes who once chose this path, walk along it and try to become like Jesus Christ.

The Lives of the Saints were created throughout the entire period of Old Russian literature. Most of the authors are unknown to us. The hagiographic canon turned out to be the most stable of all genres of ancient Russian literature.

The hagiographic story of Epiphanius the Wise "The Life of Our Reverend Father Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, a New Wonderworker" tells about an outstanding religious figure. It contains information about the structure and everyday life of the monastic life, about the spiritual assistance of the brethren to Dmitry Donskoy during the war with the Tatars.

The work begins with the self-deprecation of the author and with gratitude to God.

The author fills the description of the life of St. Sergius with miracles. By all means, he tries to prove the innate righteousness of the teacher, to glorify him as a saint of God, as a true servant of the Divine Trinity. Talking about the life and deeds of the great ascetic, the author preaches the "works of God" fulfilled in him. Moreover, he preaches, as he himself admits, with the help of God himself, the Mother of God and Sergius. Hence the mystical and symbolic subtext of his work.

Epiphanius uses biblical numbers with great skill. The most noticeable in the "Life of Sergius of Radonezh" is the use of the number "three". The author attached particular importance to it. The background of the ternary symbolism is uneven. The first three chapters are especially rich. The entry into the life of the future founder of the Trinity Monastery was marked by miracles, which foreshadowed his extraordinary destiny. The chapter "The Beginning of the Life of Sergiev" tells about four such omens. The most significant foreshadowing came when the unborn child cried out from the mother's womb during her time in church. “And some miracle happened before his birth. When the child was still in the womb, one Sunday his mother entered the church while singing the holy liturgy. And she stood with other women when they were supposed to start reading the Holy Gospel, and everyone stood in silence, the baby began to scream in the womb. Before starting to sing the cherubic song, the baby began to cry a second time. When the priest exclaimed: “Let us behold, holy to the holy!” The baby cried out for the third time. When the fortieth day after his birth came, the parents brought the child to the church of God ... The priest christened him with the name Bartholomew ... The father and mother told the priest how their son, while still in the mother's womb in the church, shouted three times: "We do not know what this means." The priest said: "Rejoice, for there will be a child chosen by God, the abode and servant of the Holy Trinity."

Creating the Life of Sergius of Radonezh, the author uses not only the intimate pictorial means to express the Trinity idea. In the process of writing the story "The Life of Sergius of Radonezh" Epiphanius the Wise proved himself to be the most inspired and subtle theologian. Creating this life, he reflected on literary and artistic images, on the Holy Trinity. During his lifetime, Sergius of Radonezh hid his true face, did not allow his students to talk about the miracles associated with him.

The story does not describe stormy experiences, restrainedly tells about difficult trials, is silent about the internal struggle. Life, like an icon, shows us a model of holiness, not a face, but a face.

Klyuchevsky V.O. in his speech "The Significance of St. Sergius of Radonezh for the Russian People and State" called Sergius of Radonezh the bearer of a miraculous spark capable of causing the action of the moral force hidden in people, argued that the moral feat of Sergius of Radonezh is very high and worthy of imitation.

The work of BK Zaitsev "Reverend Sergius of Radonezh" was written in 1925 in exile. This is the biography of the most revered holy old man in Russia. According to the author, such a topic - "would not have appeared to the author and would not have taken possession of him in the pre-revolutionary years." Reading the biography of the famous Russian saint of the XIV century, I noted that it is during times of upheaval that such works can appear, breathing with suffering and hope, sadness and love - all the lofty feelings that can arise in the soul of a person who cares for their Fatherland.

I realized that these feelings are close and understandable to the author of this work. I also liked the fact that the author portrayed Sergius precisely as a Russian national saint, with all the spiritual qualities inherent in a Russian person, of which the author singled out the most vividly "the modesty of asceticism." The trait is very Russian. It is not for nothing that in his biography with his human signs and the very essence of the feat, Sergius is opposed to another, Catholic saint - Francis of Assisi. The Monk Sergius is not marked by a special talent, the gift of eloquence. He is "poorer" in abilities than his older brother Stefan. But on the other hand, it emits light - imperceptibly and constantly.

B. K. Zaitsev in his work set himself the task, as I believe, to reveal the image of Sergius in a gradual, clear, continuous, and even not in a dramatic ascent to holiness. Holiness grows organically in him.

Sergius is consistently firm and adamant in his meekness, humility and modesty. When the monastic brethren suddenly began to murmur, the abbot did not fall into pastoral anger, did not begin to denounce his "children" for their sinfulness. He, already an old man, took his staff and went into the wilderness, where he founded the skete Kirzhach. And his friend, the Metropolitan of Moscow Alexy, did not allow the Metropolitan to impose the golden cross on himself: "From my youth I was not a gold-bearer, and in old age I wish all the more to be in poverty."

With such a worldview of St. Sergius in Russia gains great moral authority, which, as history has shown, only allows him to accomplish the main feat of life - to bless Dmitry of Moscow for the battle with the enslavers of the Fatherland.

In the work of Zaitsev, St. Sergius is an integral part of Russia. I was in Radonezh at the opening of the monument to St. Sergius. There, against the background of Russian nature, St. Sergius is with our Motherland, just as meek, bright in its sadness and quieted down, as it were, in anticipation of a miracle.

But, unfortunately, bright miracles in Russia happen much less often than great upheavals. During the Horde yoke, Russia experienced a double blow: "both strangers and their own were ruined." All these misfortunes were experienced by the family of the youth Bartholomew. The father of the future saint, Cyril, received an estate in Radonezh, but he himself, due to his old age, could not manage the household. He was replaced by his son Stephen. There was no hope for Bartholomew, because the boy was increasingly striving for solitude, for prayer, for God. The hard life strengthened him even more in the thought of leaving his home and becoming a monk.

The author shows Bartholomew who still has no idea what and for what he decides to give up in life. A modest youth, immersed in communion with God, appears before the reader. The father, as best he could, restrained his son from this step: “We have become old, weak; there is no one to serve us; your brothers have a lot of concern for their families. We are glad that you are trying to please the Lord. But your good part will not be taken away, just serve us a little while God takes us out of here; behold, take us to the grave, and then no one will forbid you. "

Bartholomew took pity on his parents and stayed. He sacrificed his attraction to a new life calling to him for the sake of his relatives. In this regard, I will again recall the opposition of St. Sergius of St. Francis. The author is sure that “St. Francis left, of course, he would shake off the dust from everything of life, in bright ecstasy he would rush into tears and prayers of achievement. Bartholomew restrained himself. I was waiting. "

Here, in my opinion, a more moral question than a religious one was resolved. It was resolved in such a way that for the Russian soul the moral and the religious are inseparable. In any case, the Russian soul always suffers in such cases and rushes about before a choice.Now it is difficult to say what Bartholomew would have done if these everyday circumstances restraining him dragged on. The author of the biography believes that “probably would not have stayed. But, undoubtedly, he would somehow arrange his parents with dignity and leave without a riot. His type is different. And in response to the type, fate also took shape ... ".

After going into the wilderness with their brother Stefan, they had a hard time. It was necessary to work hard in the skete. The brother turned out to be much weaker than Bartholomew, and most of the work fell on the shoulders of the future saint.

Soon after he was tonsured a monk and hegumen Mitrofan left him, St. Sergius was left all alone in the wild.

The author especially emphasizes the disposition of St. Sergius to asceticism: “Ascetic feat - smoothing, straightening the soul to a single vertical. In such a guise, she is the easiest and most loving one to unite with the Origin, the current of the divine runs through her more unhindered ... "

It would be naive to believe, it seems to me that St. Sergius in especially difficult, first months of solitude was helped by the thousand-year experience of monasticism. The experience of loneliness is impossible to convey. A person comes to this by himself, stepping over himself, and learning from himself, and supporting himself.

Like any hermit, St. Sergius went through melancholy, despair, decay, fatigue, seduction with an easier life, Saint Sergius emerged victorious from this struggle, subjugating his spirit to the line of God.

It is interesting in the depiction of the image of St. Sergius reveals the breadth of his views. It is known that, being Orthodox, he instilled among his wards, in a sense, Western culture: work, order, discipline. He was not a preacher, neither he nor his disciples were engaged in missionary work. And this only further increased his authority among the people.

I will not describe the feat of St. Sergius, his role in the victory of the Russian troops on the Kulikovo field. Everyone knows that. And the author of the biography himself focused his attention on the moments of the ascent of St. Sergius to the feat of his life. Neither he nor Dmitry Donskoy survived until the final liberation of Russia from the oppressors, but they laid a solid spiritual foundation on which Russia still stands firmly.

BK Zaitsev managed to create the image of a national hero, who, during the time of blood and violence, supported the spirit of his compatriots.

The author finishes his biography, putting the final most important touch on the face of St. Sergius. He says that “without leaving the scriptures on his own, Sergius does not seem to be teaching anything. But he teaches with his whole appearance: for some he is consolation and refreshment, for others - a mute reproach. Silently Sergius teaches the simplest: truth, honesty, masculinity, work, reverence and faith. "

This, I believe, is the most important value of the image of the great old man, depicted by the hand of a talented Russian artist in the words of BK Zaitsev.

An essay on literature about St. Sergius of Radonezh. The ideal image of a saint in Russian literature (on the example of "The Life of Our Reverend Father Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, a New Wonderworker") "Genius Poet" or "Saint"

Other works on this topic:

"Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh"

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