What does the life of Sergius of Radonezh preach? Old Russian literature

In this lesson you will get acquainted with the concept of “Old Russian literature” and learn its features, consider what distinctive features has the genre of lives of saints, you will analyze the “Life of Sergius of Radonezh”, learn about the techniques used in this work, consider the significance of the activities of Saint Sergius.

Therefore, even when medieval works deal with things that are completely incredible from our point of view (for example, the resurrection of the dead), for the ancient Russian writer this was in the order of things. He believed that this was indeed the case.

And only in the 17th century did stories with fictional characters and fictional plots appear in Russian literature. And then initially these will be translated works.

The lives of the saints were in no way intended for some kind of pleasure reading. First of all, this was an edifying, soul-helping, soul-saving reading. From the example of the lives of the saints, man learned norms of behavior. Readers were encouraged to follow the examples of the saints and imitate them. From this point of view, the genre of lives of saints is the most canonized in ancient Russian literature. That is, this genre was given some strictly defined forms (both compositional and lexical).

The genre of hagiography in no way implies biography. One of the researchers very accurately and subtly noted that a life is the same to a biography as an icon is to a portrait. Life is edifying reading. And only from this point of view will we understand all the works of the ancient Russian scribe.

The Life had a very strict composition and was a three-part work. It always began with an introduction, then followed a story about the life of the saint, which ended, naturally, with his death, and the life ended with glory, praise to the saint in question.

The first Russian lives, that is, the lives of canonized Russian martyrs, were the “Lives of Boris and Gleb” (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Saints Boris and Gleb ()

This was very important from a political point of view, because if its own saints appear, it means that the Russian Church (still very young) becomes, as it were, on a par with the Greek Church, acquires independent significance, and increases in its significance.

At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, when Saint Sergius lived and worked, a very difficult cultural, historical and political situation was developing in Rus'. The defeats that the Russians suffered at the beginning of the 13th century from the Tatars have already been forgotten, and a certain calm has established. Contacts with the southern Slavs are being renewed: with Bulgarians, Greeks, Serbs. The resumption of these cultural contacts contributes to the fact that Rus' is emerging from international isolation. She finds herself in the circle again European countries, involved in European culture, because the conquerors practically cut off Rus' from its European neighbors and doomed it to isolationism. Now with this isolation the situation is different: it is not as absolute as it was 150 years ago. This contributes to the development of Russian culture, including book culture - the appearance of hagiographies.

The literature of the lives of saints is called hagiographic. The turn of the 14th and 15th centuries became the time of the rise of Russian hagiography. In European culture this era is called the Renaissance. First of all, this is a revival of interest in the human personality, the idea that it is man who is the center of the Universe, the center of the universe, the highest value (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Renaissance Man ()

There is a revival of interest in the natural, everyday, carnal life of a person and an increased interest in his inner emotional life.

The same processes occur in Russian culture. But in Rus' they have certain specifics. The fact is that the development of the revival in Europe occurred with the general secularization of culture, that is, its secularization, separation from the church. In Rus', the emergence of interest in inner world man, to the life of his soul, to his emotional sphere took place within the church culture itself. There was no secularization of culture. Moreover, the fight against the horde, against the Mongol-Tatar conquerors, was also perceived as a fight for the true faith against people of other faiths, that is, it also acquired a national-patriotic character.

The flourishing of hagiographic literature and Russian hagiography in this era is associated with the activities of one of the largest medieval Russian writers - Epiphanius the Wise (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Saint Epiphanius the Wise ()

This interest in the inner world of man, in the life of his soul, required a completely new style. One of the creators of this style in ancient Russian literature was Epiphanius the Wise. This style is called "weaving words". This is an unusually decorated, like an ancient Russian pattern, verbal art, which gives an idea of the emotional experiences of a person, of the life of his soul.

Do not think that the weaving of words was a desire for decoration. Nothing like this. With this, the scribe, the author of the life, tried to convey the difficulty of the very task that arose before him: how to convey in words the life and deeds of a saint. It is no coincidence that Epiphanius begins his life with self-deprecation. There is no deliberate humility here. This is truly an awareness of the difficulties facing the task at hand, of one’s smallness and weakness. This attracted the reader's attention and served to glorify the saint.

The methods of weaving words were different and testified to the highest verbal skill of the ancient Russian writer. Consider some of them using the example of “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh.”

Tautology technique - the use of repetitions, a pile-up of similar expressions, which are intended to show that it is very difficult to find the exact word to convey what the author of the life wants to convey to readers.

Epiphany begins like this:

“Glory to God for everything and for all the deeds, for the sake of which the great and thrice-holy, ever-glorified name is always glorified! Glory to the Most High God, glorified in the Trinity, who is our hope, light and life, in whom we believe, in whom we were baptized. By which we live, move and have our being! Glory to Him who showed us the life of a holy man and spiritual elder! The Lord knows how to glorify those who glorify Him and bless those who bless Him, and always glorifies His saints who glorify Him with a pure, godly and virtuous life.”

In this passage it is easy to notice such a device as tautology.

Epiphanius also uses synonymization technique , that is, the use of words that are similar in meaning. He uses this technique for the same purpose as the tautology technique. For example, he writes:

“I am not proud of anyone, but I write for myself, in reserve, for memory and for benefit.”.

This technique is also called amplification technique - a pile of similar expressions that are designed to strengthen the system of evidence of the thoughts that he tells us about.

Among these techniques for weaving words, it is also worth mentioning rhetorical questions . Here is how Epiphanius writes:

“How can I, poor thing, at this time, describe in order the entire life of Sergius and tell about his many exploits and countless labors? Where shall I begin in order to properly tell the listeners about all his deeds and exploits? What should you remember first? What words are needed to praise him? Where will I get the art needed for this story? How can I tell such a difficult story to convey? I don’t know if it would be beyond my strength?”

In addition to these rhetorical questions, what is noteworthy is that the phrases begin the same. That is, it is also used here technique of unity of command , or anaphora.

All these techniques serve main goal- show how great the personality of the saint in question is.

Through these patterns of verbal fabric, the personality of the saint himself emerges brighter and more contrasting - a man who lived a very difficult life among wild animals with a constant lack of food, a man strong not only in body. Epiphanius writes that he had "force against two". That is, he was physically very strong man, but above all he had fortitude, which allowed him to gain extraordinary moral authority (Fig. 5). Epiphanius the Wise writes about this authority.

Rice. 5. Icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh ()

Like practically all lives, the life of Sergius is built according to a very strict plan and has a very strict composition:

introduction, fragments from which you read above;
a story about the life of a saint;
glorification of the saint (praise to the saint, which occurs after his death).

“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” written by Epiphanius the Wise, does not represent a consistent, plot-based story. It consists of individual, very expressive stories from the life of Sergius. In each story, Sergius’s personality turns out to be some kind of facet, a side that is very expressive and memorable. As a result, Epiphany manages to create the image of a man who had colossal spiritual authority, helping to raise the people's national self-awareness.

The story of miracles begins with the events that occurred before the birth of Sergius, from the time when he was in his mother’s womb. Epiphanius tells an amazing story.

The life had a strict canon, and every saint certainly had to be born to pious parents, which were the parents of Sergius.

One day, Maria (Sergius’s mother), being pregnant with the future saint, comes to church, and during the liturgy (completely certain places) the baby began to scream so much that for the first time everyone thought that someone had brought a newborn child to the temple. They examined the entire temple, but found no one. They asked Maria if she had brought a baby in her bosom, but she said that she did not have any baby. Only later did it become clear that it was the future saint who was screaming in her womb, who, even before birth, heard the words of the divine liturgy and responded to them when needed.

Epiphanius also talks about Sergius’ miraculous achievement of literacy. The fact is that, unlike his older brothers, Sergius was not given teaching. And one day, while looking for lost cattle on his father’s orders, he met under a tree some handsome old man offering prayers. Sergius was then still called Bartholomew. The youth Bartholomew turned to this elder and invited him to go with him to his parents’ house, where the elder could find shelter. And seeing such an attitude towards himself on the part of the youth, the elder asked what he would like most? Sergius complained that he was not given a diploma. Then this elder took out a small loaf of bread - prosphora - and invited Sergius to eat it. The elder said that now the letter will be available to Sergius. Literally the next day during the service, Sergius perfectly read the liturgical book and sang church hymns. He acquired literacy through divine revelation (Fig. 6).

Rice. 6. Youth Bartholomew and the holy monk ()

Most of all, Epiphanius talks about those events that depict the extraordinary modesty, asceticism of Sergius, his unpretentiousness. For example, a rich nobleman or some peasant who comes to his monastery cannot believe that a person dressed in very simple clothes, doing the simplest physical labor, is a renowned saint. But it was true.

Epiphanius tells us about examples of Sergius' clairvoyance. When Stefan of Perm passed several miles from the monastery (Fig. 7) (he was on his way to Moscow), he decided that on the way back he would look into the monastery and visit his friend Sergius. Stefan stopped, and Sergius, who was performing the liturgy at that time, felt his presence several miles away and bowed in that direction. And they seemed to perform this service together. Those present in the temple did not understand to whom Sergius was bowing.

Rice. 7. St. Stephen of Perm ()

Saint Sergius and his disciples became famous for the fact that thanks to them, the most famous monasteries were founded on the territory of Rus', such as the Golutvinsky or Andronikov Monastery. All these deeds of Sergius allowed him to acquire extraordinary spiritual authority among the people. It is no coincidence that Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy, going to the Battle of Kulikovo with Mamai, asks for a blessing from not just anyone, but from Sergius of Radonezh (Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Sergius of Radonezh blesses Dmitry Donskoy ()

The great Russian historian Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky spoke very accurately about the activities of Sergius. He spoke about the necessary spiritual work that ultimately led to national revival, to the fact that Tatar-Mongol yoke was reset.

In his “Historical Portraits” Klyuchevsky wrote:

“To throw off the barbaric yoke, build a strong one, independent state, Russian society itself had to strengthen its moral strength, diminished by centuries of enslavement and despondency. The Monk Sergius dedicated his life to this cause - the moral education of the people. For 50 years St. Sergius did his quiet work. For half a century, people who came to him, along with water from his source, drew encouragement and consolation from his desert. The people, accustomed to tremble at the mere name of Tatar, finally gathered their courage and stood up to the enslavers. How could this happen? Where did you come from? How were people brought up who dared to do something that their grandfathers were afraid to even think about? St. Sergius breathed a sense of moral vigor and spiritual strength into Russian society. By the example of his life, the height of his spirit, Sergius raised the fallen spirit of his native people, awakened in them confidence in himself, in his strengths, and inspired faith in his future.”

Unfortunately, very little is known about Epiphanius the Wise himself - a remarkable figure in Russian medieval literature - which is not surprising, since self-glorification was not in the nature of medieval culture.

We mainly draw information about Epiphanius from his own works. This information is very fragmentary and unsystematic, but nevertheless gives an idea about it.

Epiphanius was a monk of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery (Fig. 9), that is, the very monastery that Saint Sergius founded.

Rice. 9. Trinity-Sergius Monastery ()

He studied at the Rostov monastery, in the famous retreat, which was famous for its huge library. He was an unusually educated man, judging by quotes from the Holy Scriptures (from Old Testament, from the New Testament, from the Psalter), which he cites from memory in his writings. Epiphany traveled quite a lot. He visited the holy Mount Athos and visited Constantinople and Jerusalem. That's all, the limited information we have about Epiphanius the Wise. The main monument to him, of course, were two lives: “The Life of Stephen of Perm” and “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”.

In a remarkable monument of Russian medieval writing - the famous "Tale of the Massacre of Mamai" - there is a story about how Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (Fig. 10), before going to battle with Mamai, went to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery to receive the blessing of the saint Sergius.

Rice. 10. Prince Dmitry Donskoy ()

Naturally, Dmitry Ivanovich was consumed with impatience, because he feared for the course of events. And Sergius first invites him to perform the liturgy, then offers him a meal and all the time calms the prince. And then he says the following words:

“Go, sir, against the filthy Polovtsians, calling on God. And the Lord God will be your helper and intercessor.”

“You will defeat, sir, your adversaries, as befits you, sir.”(Fig. 11) .

Rice. 11. Battle of Kulikovo ()

Bibliography

1. Literature. 8th grade. Textbook at 2 o'clock. Korovina V.Ya. and others - 8th ed. - M.: Education, 2009.

2. Merkin G.S. Literature. 8th grade. Textbook in 2 parts. - 9th ed. - M.: 2013.

3. Kritarova Zh.N. Analysis of works of Russian literature. 8th grade. - 2nd ed., rev. - M.: 2014.

1. Internet portal “Sochineny.ru” ()

3. Internet portal “VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS” ()

Homework

1. Name distinctive features genre of lives of saints in ancient Russian literature.

2. What role did Sergius of Radonezh play in the cultural history of Rus'?

3. Write a miniature essay on the topic “The spiritual feat of Sergius of Radonezh.”

The first author of the work “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”, summary which is presented here is Epiphanius the Wise. He took up this work the next year after the death of the monk, that is, in 1393 according to the new style. Unfortunately, the death of Epiphanius prevented him from finishing work on his life, and the official original signed by Epiphanius’s hand has not reached us, only lists have reached us. It is difficult for an unprepared modern reader to perceive a text written in the 14th century, so today they most often read not it, but modern processing, the author of which is “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”.

Features of life

When you start reading the life of a saint, you need to have an idea of the peculiarities of the genre and understand that this is not a one hundred percent reliable story, but also not an absolute fiction. In the course of the presentation of the work “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh”, summary which will follow, I will note some features of hagiography as a genre.

Childhood and youth

The future ascetic was born into the family of a princely servant, Kirill, and his wife, Maria, and the child was given the name Bartholomew. As Epiphanius writes, little Bartholomew showed strict piety from infancy. (By the way, this is a canonical moment for life - emphasizing the fact that the future saint differed from others in behavior even in childhood.) Bartholomew had a hard time learning, even despite his diligence, but one day he met an old man in the forest, took him to his home, where they prayed together. The elder gave Bartholomew a prosphora and the Psalter opened at one of the most difficult moments. After eating the mallow, the young man began to read aloud without hesitation, although he could not do this before. After the death of his parents, Bartholomew goes to a secluded life with his brother Stefan. The invited abbot Mitrofan tonsured him into monasticism with the name Sergius.

Young ascetic

“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” the brief content of which does not make it possible to properly describe the ascetic life of St. Sergius, reports that at about 20 years old he retired to desert places, where he worked, prayed, exhausted himself with exploits and fasted for a long time. Demons and the devil himself tried to seduce and frighten the saint, but he did not succumb. (By the way, mentions of satanic intrigues and temptations in life are practically obligatory.) Animals began to come to Sergius, including the memorable bear.

The monastery around the cell of Sergius

Having heard about the wonderful ascetic, people came to him with their sorrows and worries, seeking consolation. Gradually, a monastery began to gather around a secluded cell in the forest. Sergius refused to accept the rank of abbot, but insisted on a very strict charter of the monastery. One day the monastery ran out of bread. There was nowhere to get food from, the monks began to grumble and go hungry. Sergius kept praying and instructing his companions about patience. Suddenly, unknown merchants arrived at their monastery, unloaded a lot of food and disappeared in an unknown direction. Soon, through the prayer of Sergius, a source of clean, healing water began to flow near the monastery.

Miracle Worker

Many stories have been preserved about the miracles of St. Sergius. You can read about them in the original, but in our version - “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh: a summary” - it should be said that the saint always hid his good deeds and was very upset, showing true Christian humility when they tried to reward or thank him. Nevertheless, the saint's fame grew more and more. It is well known that it was St. Sergius of Radonezh who blessed Dmitry Donskoy and devoted almost all his time to the Saint. hard work and prayer, the rest was spent in soul-saving conversations with everyone.

Righteous death

The humble holy ascetic knew about his death for six months (which is also a canonical element of life). He died in 1393, at the end of September, and was buried in the right vestibule of the monastery church. Over many centuries of existence and prosperity, through the prayers of its monastery, it turned into one of the largest and most significant laurels in the world - the Holy Trinity

You have read the article “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh: a summary,” but, without a doubt, Epiphanius’s work is worth reading in its entirety.

History of creation .

“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” (as this work is briefly called) is the brightest example of ancient Russian literature. St. Sergius is the most revered and beloved Russian saint. It is no coincidence that the famous historian of the past V.O. Klyuchevsky said that Russia will stand as long as the lamp at the shrine of St. Sergius glows. Epiphanius the Wise, a famous scribe of the early 15th century, a monk of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and a disciple of St. Sergius, wrote the very first Life of Sergius of Radonezh 26 years after his death - in 1417-1418. For this work, Epiphanius collected documentary data, eyewitness memories and his own notes for twenty years. An excellent connoisseur of patristic literature, Byzantine and Russian hagiography, a brilliant stylist, Epiphanius focused his writing on the texts of South Slavic and Old Russian Lives, masterfully applying an exquisite style, rich in comparisons and epithets, called “weaving words.” The life as edited by Epiphanius the Wise ended with the death of St. Sergius. In its independent form, this ancient edition of the Life has not reached our time, and scientists reconstructed its original appearance from later codes. In addition to the Life, Epiphanius also created a Eulogy to Sergius.

The original text of the Life was preserved in the revision of Pachomius Logofet (Serb), an Athonite monk who lived in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery from 1440 to 1459 and created a new edition of the Life shortly after the canonization of St. Sergius, which took place in 1452. Pachomius changed the style, supplemented the text of Epiphanius with a story about the discovery of the relics of the Saint, as well as a number of posthumous miracles. Pachomius repeatedly corrected the Life of St. Sergius: according to researchers, there are from two to seven Pachomius editions of the Life.

In the middle of the 17th century, based on Pachomi’s revised text of the Life (the so-called Long Edition), Simon Azaryin created a new edition. The Life of Sergius of Radonezh, as edited by Simon Azaryin, together with the Life of Hegumen Nikon, the Eulogy to Sergius and services to both saints, was published in Moscow in 1646. In 1653, on behalf of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Simon Azaryin finalized and supplemented the Life: he returned to the unpublished part of his book, added a number of new stories about the miracles of St. Sergius and provided this second part with an extensive preface, but these additions were not published then.

Genre

Hagiographic literature, or hagiographic (from the Greek hagios - holy, grapho - writing) literature was popular in Rus'. The genre of hagiography originated in Byzantium. In ancient Russian literature it appeared as a borrowed, translated genre. Based on translated literature in the 11th century. Original hagiographic literature also appeared in Rus'. The word “life” in the Church Slavonic language means “life”. Lives were works that told about the lives of saints - statesmen and religious figures, whose lives and deeds were regarded as exemplary. The lives had, first of all, a religious and edifying meaning. The stories included in them are subjects to be followed. Sometimes facts from the life of the portrayed character were distorted. This was due to the fact that hagiographic literature aimed not at a reliable presentation of events, but at teaching. In the lives there was a clear distinction between characters into positive and negative heroes.

The Life tells the story of the life of a man who achieved the Christian ideal - holiness. Life testifies that everyone can live a correct Christian life. Therefore, the heroes of life could be people of different origins: from princes to peasants.

A life is written after a person’s death, after he has been recognized as a saint by the church. The first Russian life of Anthony of Pechersk (one of the founders of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra) has not reached us. The next one was created “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” (mid-11th century). The life telling about Sergei of Radonezh was a real decoration of the hagiographic genre. From ancient times, living traditions have reached our time. Of all the ancient genres, hagiography turned out to be the most stable. In our time, Andrei Rublev, Ambrose of Optina, and Ksenia of Petersburg have been canonized, that is, recognized as saints, and their lives have been written.

Subject

“Life...” is a story about the choice of a human path. The meaning of the word is ambiguous. Its two meanings oppose each other: it is a geographical path and a spiritual path. Moscow's unification policy was carried out with harsh measures. True, it was primarily the feudal elites of those principalities that Moscow subjugated that suffered from it; they suffered mainly because they did not want this subordination and fought against it to preserve the old feudal order. Epiphany painted a true picture of Russian life in the first half of the 15th century, when the memory of it was still fresh among Epiphany’s contemporaries, but this is by no means an expression of the author’s “anti-Moscow” attitudes. Epiphanius shows that Sergius, despite the fact that his parents left their hometown due to the oppression of the Moscow governor, later became the most energetic promoter of the Moscow unification policy. He strongly supported Dmitry Donskoy in his struggle with the Suzdal prince Dmitry Konstantinovich for the great reign of Vladimir, fully approved of Dmitry in the decision to start a fight with Mamai, and reconciled Dmitry Donskoy with Oleg Ryazansky when it became necessary for Moscow. Recognizing Sergius God's saint, Epiphanius thereby illuminated, in the eyes of medieval readers, primarily the political activities of Sergius. Therefore, the enemies of Sergius stubbornly and for a long time prevented Epiphanius from writing the life of his teacher, which was a prerequisite for the canonization of Sergius.

Idea

St. Sergius supported the unifying efforts of Moscow to exalt and strengthen the Russian state. Sergius of Radonezh was one of the inspirations in Rus' for the Battle of Kulikovo. Of particular importance was his support and blessing to Dmitry Donskoy on the eve of the battle. It was this circumstance that gave the name of Sergius the sound of national unity and harmony. Epiphanius the Wise showed advanced Political Views St. Sergius, magnified the deeds of the elder.

Canonization in the Russian Orthodox Church was carried out under three conditions: a holy life, miracles both intravital and posthumous, and the discovery of relics. Sergius of Radonezh began to be widely revered for his holiness during his lifetime. The saint's canonization took place thirty years after his death, in July 1422, when his relics were discovered. The reason for the discovery of the relics of the monk was the following circumstance: Sergius of Radonezh appeared to one of the monks of the Trinity Monastery in a dream and said: “Why are you leaving me so much time in the tomb?”

Main characters

Sergius of Radonezh is one of the most popular heroes of medieval Russian literature. "Life..." tells in detail about his life and deeds. The Moscow and appanage princes visited Sergius in his monastery, and he himself came out to them from its walls, visited Moscow, and baptized the sons of Dmitry Donskoy. Sergius, at the instigation of Metropolitan Alexy, took upon himself the heavy burden of political diplomacy: he repeatedly met with Russian princes to persuade them to an alliance with Dmitry. Before the Battle of Kulikovo, Sergius gave Dmitry the blessing of two monks - Alexander (Peresvet) and Andrey (Oslyabya). In the "Life" appears perfect hero ancient literature, “light”, “God’s vessel”, ascetic, person expressing the national identity of the Russian people. The work is constructed in accordance with the specifics of the genre of hagiography. On the one hand, Sergius of Radonezh is historical figure, the creator of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, endowed with reliable, real features, and on the other hand, is an artistic image created by traditional artistic means hagiographic genre. Modesty, spiritual purity, selflessness are the moral traits inherent in St. Sergius. He refused the rank of bishop, considering himself unworthy: “Who am I - a sinner and the worst person of all?” And he was adamant. Epiphanius writes that the monk endured many difficulties and performed great feats of fasting; His virtues were: vigil, dry eating, reclining on the ground, spiritual and physical purity, labor, and poverty of clothing. Even after becoming abbot, he did not change his rules: “If anyone wants to be the oldest, let him be the least of all and the servant of all!” He could go three or four days without food and eat rotten bread. To earn food, he picked up an ax and worked as a carpenter, hewed boards from morning to evening, and made pillars. Sergius was also unpretentious in his clothes. He never put on new clothes, “he wore what was spun and woven from sheep’s hair and wool.” And whoever did not see and did not know him would not have thought that this was Abbot Sergius, but would have taken him for one of the monks, a beggar and a wretched worker, doing all sorts of work.

The author emphasizes the “lordship and holiness” and greatness of Sergius, describing his death. “Although the saint did not want glory during his life, the strong power of God glorified him; angels flew before him when he reposed, escorting him to heaven, opening the doors of heaven and leading him into the desired bliss, into righteous chambers, where the light of the angels and the All Saints He accepted the insight of the Trinity as befits a faster. Such was the course of the saint’s life, such was his talent, such was his working of miracles - and not only during life, but also at death...”

Plot and composition

The compositional structure of hagiographic literature was strictly regulated. Usually the narrative began with an introduction that explained the reasons that prompted the author to begin the narrative. Then followed the main part - the actual story about the life of the saint, his death and posthumous miracles. The life ended with praise to the saint. The composition of the life telling about Sergius of Radonezh corresponds to the accepted canons. The life opens with the author's introduction: Epiphanius thanks God, who gave the holy elder St. Sergius to the Russian land. The author regrets that no one has yet written about the “wonderful and kind” elder, and with God’s help he turns to writing the “Life.” Calling the life of Sergius a “quiet, wondrous and virtuous” life, he himself is inspired and obsessed with the desire to write, referring to the words of Basil the Great: “Be a follower of the righteous and imprint their life and deeds in your heart.”

The central part of the “Life” tells of the deeds of Sergius and the divine destiny of the child, about the miracle that occurred before his birth: when his mother came to church, he cried out three times in her womb. His mother carried him “like a treasure, like a precious stone, like wonderful beads, like a chosen vessel.”

Sergius was born in the vicinity of Rostov the Great in the family of a noble but poor boyar. At the age of seven, Bartholomew (that was his name before he was tonsured a monk) was sent to school, which was under the care of Bishop Prokhor of Rostov. According to legend, at first the boy found it difficult to read and write, but soon he became interested in studying and showed excellent abilities. Parents and family soon moved to Radonezh. At the end of their lives, Kirill and Maria took monastic vows at the Intercession Monastery in Khotkovo. After their death, the second son Bartholomew also decided to begin a monastic life. Together with his elder brother Stefan, who had already taken monastic vows due to the death of his wife, Bartholomew went to the Konchura River, which flowed 15 km north of Radonezh. Here the brothers built a church in the name of the Holy Trinity. Soon, unable to cope with the difficulties of life in the desert, Stefan left for Moscow. Bartholomew, left alone, began to prepare to become a monk. On October 7, 1342, he was tonsured a monk, receiving the name Sergius. And since the Trinity Monastery was founded on the territory of the Radonezh volost, the nickname “Radonezh” was assigned to St. Sergius. In addition to the Trinity-Sergius, Sergius also founded the Annunciation Monastery on Kirzhach, the Boris and Gleb Monastery near Rostov and other monasteries, and his students founded about 40 monasteries.

Artistic originality

In works of the hagiographic genre, a description of both external events and events in the inner spiritual life of the saint is assumed. Epiphanius not only used all the wealth of bookish medieval Russian culture created before him, but also developed it further, created new techniques of literary and artistic depiction, and revealed the inexhaustible treasury of the Russian language, which received special brilliance and expressiveness under the pen of Epiphanius. His poetic speech, with all its diversity, nowhere reveals any arbitrary play on words, but is always subordinated to the ideological plan of the writer.

Immediate lyricism and warmth of feeling, psychological observation, the ability to notice and capture the landscape surrounding a person, figurative and expressive means unexpected for literature of this kind - all this characterizes the artistic style of writing of Epiphanius the Wise. In “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” one can feel the great artistic maturity of the writer, expressed in restraint and expressiveness of descriptions.

The literary activity of Epiphanius the Wise contributed to the establishment of the style of “weaving words” in literature. This style enriched the literary language, contributed further development literature.

D.S. Likhachev noted in “Life...” “a special musicality.” Long enumerations are used especially where it is necessary to emphasize the numerous virtues of Sergius, his numerous exploits or the difficulties with which he struggles in the desert. To emphasize the enumeration and make it noticeable to the reader and listener, the author often uses single beginnings. And again, these unity of command have not so much a formal rhetorical meaning as a semantic one. The repeated word at the beginning of each sentence emphasizes the main idea. When this unification is used too many times and can tire the reader, it is replaced by a synonymous expression. This means that it is not the word itself that is important, but the repetition of the thought. So, for example, pointing to the reason for writing the Life of Sergius and eliminating the possible thought that he took on an impossible task, the author writes: “... let not the life of the saint be forgotten, quiet and meek and not malicious, let not the life be forgotten his honest and immaculate and serene life, may his virtuous and wonderful and exquisite life not be forgotten, may his many virtues and great corrections not be forgotten, may his good customs and good manners not be forgotten, may his sweet words and kind words not be forgotten verbs, may such surprise not remain without memory, such as God surprised with it...” Most often in the style of “weaving words”, the doubling of a concept is involved: repetition of a word, repetition of the root of a word, connecting two synonyms, contrasting two concepts, etc. The principle of duality has a worldview meaning in the style of “weaving words.” The whole world seems to be divided between good and evil, heavenly and earthly, material and immaterial, bodily and spiritual. Therefore, binarity plays the role not of a simple formal stylistic device - repetition, but of the opposition of two principles in the world. In complex, multi-word binary combinations they are often used identical words and whole expressions. The commonality of words strengthens the comparison or opposition, making it semantically clearer. Even in cases where the enumeration covers a number of components, it is often divided into pairs: “...life is miserable, life is harsh, there is cramped life everywhere, there are shortcomings everywhere, neither food nor drink comes from anywhere for those who have.”

Meaning of the work

“Sergius appeared like a lamp, and with his calm light illuminated the entire history of the Russian land - for many centuries to come. Sergius brought a revival of the spirit to Rus'. That spirit that soon raised and rebuilt a huge Orthodox state. First, twelve cells were built around him (the apostolic number!). A few more decades will pass, and all of Russia will stand around him, holding his breath,” we read in D. Orekhov’s book. Supporting the policy of centralization pursued by the Moscow princes, Sergius of Radonezh found himself at the center of the socio-political life of Rus' in the second half of the 14th century, and was an associate of the Moscow Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy in his preparation for the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

Sergius, and after him his disciples, carried faith into undeveloped lands and built forest monasteries. Epiphanius the Wise, the creator of the Nikon temples, the translator of Greek books Afanasy Vysotsky, the icon painter Andrei Rublev - all of them were followers of the spiritual path of Sergius of Radonezh.

The Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius is directly connected with the name of Sergius of Radonezh - unique monument architecture of the 16th-17th centuries. On its territory there are several temples, including the Cathedral in honor of the Assumption Holy Mother of God, Mikheevsky Church, Temple in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Thousands of pilgrims visit the Lavra to touch the shrines of the Russian people and find peace of mind. And the most important and most ancient monument Trinity-Sergius Lavra - Trinity Cathedral. It is over five hundred years old. This cathedral houses the tomb of Sergius of Radonezh.

The Russian tsars considered it a great honor to baptize their children in the Trinity Cathedral. Before military campaigns, they prayed to Sergius and asked him for help. Until now, a huge stream of people comes to the cathedral, thereby expressing deep respect and reverence for the Russian Saint Sergius of Radonezh.

The name of St. Sergius of Radonezh, abbot, revered in Russia and other countries where residents profess Orthodox and Catholic faith, is inscribed in the spiritual heritage of Christianity. Having passed thorny path hardships in serving God, Father Sergius became a hieromonk of the Russian Orthodox Church, the spiritual mentor of Russian princes and ordinary people.

Date of writing

Wikipedia gives a brief biography of St. Sergius of Radonezh. A more detailed biography of the hieromonk was compiled by Epiphanius the Wise, who began collecting materials a year after the death of the teacher.

The monk completed work on a description of the life of the holy elder around 1417-1418, 26 years after the repose of Father Sergius.

His Life was based on documentary information, personal notes of Epiphanius over 20 years of communication with St. Sergius, memories of contemporaries and eyewitnesses of his miracles.

Epifanevskaya ariography gives an idea to contemporaries about life path Venerable Hieromonk, dedicated to God and people.

According to the biography of the first biographer, it is difficult to accurately determine the time of birth of St. Sergius and the main milestones of his life. The lack of dates other than the date of death is controversial among historians. The description was supplemented by the hagiographer Pachomius, a native of Athos, who lived for 20 years in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and wrote about the lives of the saints. Two biographies of Sergius of Radonezh caused some discrepancies in the biography.

Historical documents confirm that Saint Sergius of Radonezh was born in the village of Varnitsa near Rostov. Otherwise, let's walk the path glorious son of the Russian Land through the pages of a biography compiled by Epiphanius the Wise.

Content

Let us present a brief summary of the Life of Sergius of Radonezh sequentially in chapters. The description is compiled in the logic of the main stages of Sergius’s life, which shaped his consciousness, faith in God, to whose service he devoted his entire life.

Plan of the “Life of Sergius of Radonezh”

Origin, circumstance of birth.
Childhood and the Miracle of Literacy
Craving for spirituality
Solitude in the “Pustynka”.
Monastic tonsure.
Fighting temptations
Gathering of the brethren and founding of the monastery
Abbess Sergius and his disciples.
Miracles and healing of the sick.

Birth

The Monk Sergius was born during the reign of the Greek Tsar Andronicus, the Constantinople Archbishop Callistus, under the reign of the Tver Grand Duke Dmitry Mikhailovich and the Russian Metropolitan Peter. These were the times of the Mongol-Tatar yoke and internecine wars. His father, Kirill, and mother, Maria, came from a noble boyar family and led a pious lifestyle.

Even before birth, during the liturgy in church, the child cried out three times from his mother’s womb. Frightened, Maria began to cry. Parishioners began to look for the baby in the temple. When the woman admitted that the child was making sounds from her stomach, people were amazed and fearful.

While bearing a child, Mary began to fast, praying fervently. Born healthy, the baby refused to take the mother's breast when the mother ate meat. The baby was baptized on the fortieth day after birth, telling the priest that while in the womb, the baby screamed three times during the service.

The priest told the parents that this was a sign from above - their son would serve the divine Trinity. The boy was given the name Bartholomew at baptism.

Childhood

Kirill and Maria had three sons. The eldest was called Stefan, the middle - Bartholomew and the youngest -
Peter. Bartholomew grew up as a humble child. At the age of seven, his parents sent their son to learn to read and write. While Stephen and Peter studied well, Bartholomew found it difficult to study.

He acquired knowledge slowly and was not diligent. The teacher and parents scolded the boy, his comrades reproached him. The boy just cried, turning his prayers to God.

Learning to read and write happened thanks to a miracle. One day, sent by his father to look for horses, Bartholomew saw an old priest praying under an oak tree.

The boy told the elder about his failures in mastering literacy, asking him to pray for him. The elder gave Bartholomew a piece of prosphora and ordered him to eat it. He said that now he will study better than his brothers and peers. The grateful youth brought the elder to the house, where he was treated to food. The priest predicted to the parents that their son would become a great man before God and people.

After the elder left, Bartholomew began to read well. Later, the boy stopped playing with children and often attended church, becoming interested in reading the holy scriptures.

From the age of twelve, Bartholomew began to strictly fast, praying earnestly at night. Mother she tried to persuade her son not to ruin himself with strict abstinence, but the boy was inexorable, stubbornly following his chosen path.

Because of the outrages and extortions of the Moscow governor, Father Kirill became poor. The family moved to Radonezh, where they settled near the church. The brothers got married, and Bartholomew studied the holy scriptures, preparing for monastic life.

His father and mother asked him not to become a monk until their death. He looked after his parents until Cyril and Maria themselves became monks.

Having buried his parents in the Intercession Monastery of Khotkov, where his elder brother Stefan lived after the death of his wife, he gave away his father’s inheritance younger brother. Bartholomew convinced Stefan to leave the monastery to go to a “desert life.”

Solitude in the desert

After wandering for a long time, the brothers entered the forest thicket. Having seen the water, we decided to settle here. First they built a hut, then a small one wooden church, which was consecrated by Metropolitan Theognostus of Kiev in honor of the Holy Trinity.

The elder brother, unable to withstand the difficulties of a solitary forest life, left the desert, settling in the Moscow Epiphany Monastery. Stefan became the abbot and confessor of the prince.

Monastic tonsure

Left alone, Bartholomew invited Abbot Mitrofan to the hermitage with a request to take monastic vows. Having taken monastic vows, he acquired a new name - Sergius, because that day was the day of remembrance of the Great Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus.

During communion, the church was filled with incense. The abbot spent several days with the young monk, who was just over twenty years old. Seeing off the elder, he asked for his blessings, instructions and prayers.

Fighting temptations

The life of monk Sergius passed in works and prayers. Demons tried more than once to frighten the god-pleaser, ordering him to leave this place. Once during Matins, the church wall parted and the devil entered with a retinue of demons, trying to drive out Sergius. Prayer with a cross helped drive me out evil spirits from the temple.

Another time, demons burst into the hut and attacked a praying monk. Through the power of prayer, Sergius again managed to fight off the demons and drive them out. The monk's hut was often visited by forest animals. For a whole year a bear came, to whom he left a piece of bread every day.

Founding of the monastery

Monks often came to the lonely monk Sergius, asking him for permission to settle nearby. Sergius could not refuse those who particularly insisted. The newcomers built cells for themselves, began to celebrate church rites and services, following Radonezh in everything. A guest priest served them mass.

When twelve monks gathered in the hermitage, the area where the cells were located was fenced off and a monastery was founded. Sergius worked all day long for the good of the brethren: he collected firewood, carried water, prepared food, and prayed fervently at night. When the old abbot died, the brethren began to ask the monk to accept the rank of priest, becoming the abbot of the monastery. Together with other monks, Sergius went to Pereslavl to ask Bishop Athanasius to give the Trinity Monastery an abbot. The bishop ordered Sergius to become a priest and head the monastery.

Abbess and instructions to students

The Monk Sergius of Radonezh regularly fulfilled the duties of the abbot of the monastery every day: he served the liturgy, taught the brethren, instructing them on the true path.

The number of monks in the monastery was constantly growing, even the elder brother Stefan brought his son to him. The abbot had to work a lot: bake prosphora, make candles, cook kutya, work in the field. For a long time there was no road to the monastery.

The monks had to endure hardships, starving for several days. The abbot did not allow them to go out to people to ask for food, he ordered them to pray, patiently awaiting God's mercy. Through the prayers of the venerable elder, a miracle happened - people from afar began to bring food to the monks.

Hieromonk Sergius did not stand out among the brethren - he wore shabby clothes. One day, a peasant who came to the monastery to talk to the monk did not believe that the man in rags standing in front of him was the abbot of the monastery. At that time, the prince arrived, who, seeing the abbot, made a deep bow. The amazed peasant then asked for forgiveness and received a blessing.

Interesting! One day, Abbot Sergius had a vision: in a bright light a lot of beautiful birds were flying across the sky, and a voice from heaven said that there would be as many monks in the monastery as there were these birds.

After a while to Rev. Abbot Envoys from the Patriarch of Constantinople came to Radonezh with a message to arrange a community of residence. The abbot fulfilled the patriarch's request, giving each brother special obedience. The monastery began to provide shelter for wanderers and beggars.

Miracles and healing of the sick

Saint Sergius was helped by heavenly messengers in serving God and people.

The miracles accompanying the abbot are described in his “Life”.

During a service at the Trinity Monastery, the monks saw a man serving the liturgy with the abbot. He was wearing shiny clothes, radiating a radiance. The priest later admitted that it was an angel of God who served next to him.
One day, the Mother of God appeared to Sergius, accompanied by the apostles John and Peter, saying that he would not leave the Trinity Monastery.
One day while serving Divine Liturgy, the venerable disciple Simon saw that the fire was moving along the altar, overshadowing the altar. Before communion, the divine fire burned in the chalice. The abbot ordered the student not to talk about the miracle he saw while he was alive.

Over time, the abbot of Radonezh began to perform miracles of healing. It began with the fact that one peasant came to the monastery with his sick son, who died in his cell.

The saddened father went to pick up the coffin. The Monk Sergius began to pray over the boy's body. A miracle happened - the child came to life. Word of the miracle of healing spread throughout the area.

A bishop who came from Constantinople, who did not believe that Sergius of Radonezh was a healer and fortuneteller, decided to meet with him.

Arriving at the monastery, he became blind. The monk was able to restore the bishop's sight. Relatives brought to the monk a tormented man terrible disease. Sergius sprinkled the sick man with holy water and read a prayer for him. The sufferer instantly fell asleep and soon recovered.

Important!“The meaning of miracles is not in the very fact of violating the laws of nature, but in confirming man’s closeness to God, to whom all things are possible.” – Patriarch Kirill, 2014.

The Reverend's disciples

Some of the brothers resisted the mentoring, expressing dissatisfaction. Having learned about this, Abbot Sergius went to Kirzhach, where, with the help of people, he built a cell and a church. Monks flocked there from everywhere, building their cells. Then the Metropolitan asked the monk to return to the Trinity Monastery.

Disciples of Sergius of Radonezh became abbots of the monasteries:

Roman headed new monastery on Kirzhach;
Andronik became the rector of the monastery of the Savior Not Made by Hands on the Yauza River, founded by Metropolitan Alexy;
nephew Fedor founded a monastery near the village of Simonovo on the Moscow River. Later he received the rank of bishop of Rostov;
student Savva - abbot of the Assumption Monastery, built in honor of the victory of Dmitry Donskoy over the Tatar horde of Khan Mamai, predicted and blessed by the abbot;
student Gregory - rector of the Epiphany Monastery in Golutvino, erected at the request of Prince Dmitry Donskoy. The monk walked to Golutvino, blessed the place and built a church there;
St. Afanasy's disciple headed the Conception Monastery, founded by Sergius on the estate of Prince Dmitry of Serpukhov.

Six months before his repose, the monk felt his imminent departure from life, entrusting the abbess to his best student, Nikon. After Nikon's instructions, he stopped talking.

Only before his death the monk gathered the brethren for a conversation, announcing his spiritual testament:

preserve mental and physical purity;
preserve fraternal unanimity, unfeigned love;
beware of evil lusts, eat sober food and drinks;
be humble, avoiding contradictions;
to be indifferent to the honor and glory of life;
expect reward from God, eternal blessings of pleasure.

The spiritual testament of the saint, spoken to his disciples before his death, has survived to this day. Sergius of Radonezh died on September 25. The face of the people's saint became white, and a fragrance began to spread from his body. Metropolitan Cyprian ordered the burial of the saint in the church. People from all over Rus' gathered to accompany the abbot of Radonezh on his last journey.

For your information! 30 years after his burial - on July 5, 1422, Russia found it imperishable relics. When they opened the coffin of the Wonderworker, everyone saw the incorrupt body and clothes of the saint.

Living options

The People's Saint attracted the attention of ariographers and historians of different centuries. In the 15th century, Pachomius Lagothetus, who wrote about the lives of the Saints, began to supplement the Epiphanyevsky Life of the Venerable Elder.

Later, several versions of the life of the abbot of Radonezh were written:

17th century - German Tulupov described two lost leaves of his life. Simon Azaryin added new miracles created during the life of the Saint and his relics;
XVIII century - a copy of the Life was published from the pen of Metropolitan Platon of Moscow and Kolomna. Empress Catherine II wrote her version of “The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh”;
at the turn of the century in 1904, the work of Archbishop Nikon appeared, based on full translation Epifanevsky description.
published in 2016 brief retelling the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh for children in the “Children's Library” series.

Useful video: Life of Sergius of Radonezh

Conclusion

Nowadays, modern digital technologies make it possible to read the life of the abbot of Radonezh online. Metropolitan Kirill compared the life of the saint to “an ingot of gold.” Intended for church reading, the biography of the saint is of interest to huge number admirers of the deeds of God's saint.

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Epiphanius sought to show the greatness and beauty of the moral ideal of a person who serves first of all common cause- the cause of strengthening the Russian state. He was born in Rostov in the first half of the 14th century, and in 1379 he became a monk of one of the Rostov monasteries. Traveled a lot, visited Jerusalem and Mount Athos. He knew Greek and other languages perfectly. For his erudition and literary skill, Epiphanius was nicknamed “The Wise.” He knew very well the works of contemporary and ancient literature; the lives he compiled abundantly included a wide variety of information: geographical names, names of theologians, historical figures, scientists, writers.

“The Life of Sergius of Radonezh” was written at the turn of the 14th–15th centuries by the talented writer Epiphanius the Wise.

"The Life of Sergius of Radonezh" is narrative in nature, it is full of rich factual material. A number of episodes are distinguished by a peculiar lyrical tone (for example, the story about Sergius’ childhood). In this work, Epiphanius acts as a master of plot narration.

In "Life" the ideal hero of ancient literature appears, a "lamp", a "vessel of God", an ascetic, a person expressing the national self-consciousness of the Russian people. The work is constructed in accordance with the specifics of the genre of hagiography. On the one hand, Sergius of Radonezh is a historical person, the creator of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, endowed with reliable, real features, and on the other hand, he is an artistic image created by traditional artistic means of the hagiographic genre.

Epiphanius writes that the monk endured many difficulties and performed great feats of fasting; His virtues were: vigil, dry eating, reclining on the ground, spiritual and physical purity, labor, and poverty of clothing. Even after becoming abbot, he did not change his rules: “if anyone wants to be the eldest, let him be the least of all and the servant of all!”

The author emphasizes the “lordship and holiness” and greatness of Sergius, describing his death. “Although the saint did not want glory during his life, the strong power of God glorified him; angels flew before him when he reposed, escorting him to heaven, opening the doors of heaven and leading him into the desired bliss, into righteous chambers, where the light of the angels and the All Saints He received the insight of the Trinity, as befits a faster. Such was the course of the life of a saint, such was his talent, such was the working of miracles - and not only during life, but also at death..."

Sergius was also unpretentious in his clothes. He never put on new clothes, “he wore what was spun and woven from sheep’s hair and wool.” And whoever did not see and did not know him would not have thought that this was Abbot Sergius, but would have taken him for one of the monks, a beggar and a wretched worker, doing all sorts of work. This is how the villager who came to the monastery perceived him, not believing that he was the abbot himself, he was so simple and inconspicuous in appearance. In the minds of the common people, the Monk Sergius was a prophet, but on him there were no beautiful clothes, no youths, no hasty servants around, no slaves serving him and giving honor. Everything is torn, everything is poor, everything is orphan. “I think this is not the one,” exclaimed the peasant. Sergius showed spiritual purity and love for his neighbor: “For whom you are sad and for whom you are looking, now God will give you that one.”

The life opens with the author's introduction: Epiphanius thanks God, who gave the holy elder St. Sergius to the Russian land. The author regrets that no one has yet written about the “wonderful and kind” elder, and with God’s help he turns to writing the “Life”. Calling the life of Sergius a “quiet, wondrous and virtuous” life, he himself is inspired and obsessed with the desire to write, referring to the words of Basil the Great: “Be a follower of the righteous and imprint their life and deeds in your heart.”

The central part of the "Life" tells about the deeds of Sergius and the divine destiny of the child, about the miracle that occurred before his birth: when his mother came to church, he cried out three times in her womb. His mother carried him “like a treasure, like a precious stone, like wonderful beads, like a chosen vessel.”

By the power of divine providence, Sergius is destined to become a servant of the Holy Trinity. From divine revelation he mastered literacy, after the death of his parents he went to desert places and, together with his brother Stefan, “began to cut down forest, carry logs on his shoulders, built a cell and founded a small church.” The lot of the hermit became “desert labor”, “sorrowful, harsh housing”, full of deprivations: no food, no drink, no other supplies. “There were no villages, no courtyards, no people, no roads around that desert, there was no passerby or visitor there, but on all sides there was all forest and desert.”

Seeing this, Stefan was upset and left the desert and his brother, the “desert-lover and desert-servant.” At the age of 23, Bartholomew (as he was called in the world), taking on a monastic image, was named in memory of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus - Sergius.

Next, the author talks about his deeds and ascetic labor and asks the question: who can tell about his labors, about his exploits, what he endured alone in the desert? It is impossible to tell what kind of spiritual labor, what worries the beginning of everything cost him, when he lived for so many years in the forest as a hermit, despite the machinations of demons, the threats of animals, “for there were many animals then in that deserted forest.”

He taught the monks who came to him and wanted to live next to him: “if you have come to serve God, get ready to endure sorrows, troubles, sorrows, all needs and shortcomings, and selflessness and vigil.”