Sergius of Radonezh is the defender of Rus', he helps people in all earthly matters, especially those related to the need to master new knowledge and make decisions. The saint, of his own free will, led a hermit’s life full of hardships. His feat led to the fact that a huge monastery grew up on the site of a small desert, which later became the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra.
Life of a Saint
The Monk Sergius of Radonezh, according to information that has reached us, was born on May 3, 1314 into the family of Rostov boyars Cyril and Maria. Although his parents were from a wealthy family, they led a very simple, modest life. The boy was named Bartholomew in honor of the saint, whose name day is celebrated by the Orthodox Church on this day.
Childhood: the first miracles
At the age of 7, little Bartholomew was sent to church school with his older brother Stephen. The diploma was very difficult for the boy. He diligently carried out the teacher’s tasks, but these efforts did not bear fruit.
On a note! From childhood, Saint Sergius of Radonezh was distinguished by his tenacity and strong character. He carried these qualities throughout his life.
The youth's brother Stefan, on the contrary, successfully and quickly mastered reading and writing. At times, little Bartholomew was punished by his teacher, and his classmates teased him for being tongue-tied. The parents felt sorry for the boy, but were unable to help him.
One day, the foals of Father Bartholomew disappeared in the forest, the boy went in search and met a holy elder with the rank of presbyter at the edge of the forest. In a conversation with the monk, he spoke with tears about his problems and asked for help in prayers.
The monk gave Bartholomew a piece of prosphora and blessed him. The boy invited the wanderer to his home, where his parents seated the guest at the table, and he asked the boy to start reading. To the amazement of everyone present, the saint began to read beautifully and competently, and from then on reading and writing came easily to him.
Figure 1. Painting by M. V. Nesterov “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew”
The beginning of the way
After the death of his parents, Bartholomew went to the Intercession Khotkovsky Monastery, where his brother Stefan was already a monk after the death of his wife. Striving for a harsh ascetic life, the monk persuaded his brother to go with him into the wilderness of the Radonezh forest to build a small church on Makovetsky Hill.
The hermit's brother was not able to withstand the harsh conditions of life in the desert for long, returned to the monastery, and Bartholomew was left alone with God. At the age of 23, he took monastic vows from Abbot Mitrofan and was given the name Sergius.
For several days the monk prayed in his church, eating nothing except the prosphora that Mitrofan gave him. When leaving, the abbot blessed the monk Sergius for the feat of the hermit.
In his lonely life, the monk more than once noticed the special favor of the Lord towards him:
- One day, during morning prayer, Satan himself appeared to him with a great army of demons and frightened the saint in every possible way, forcing him to leave the desert. The monk continued to pray, and the obsession disappeared.
- Predatory animals came to the hermit’s cell and ate from his hands without causing harm.
Figure 2. Sergius of Radonezh feeds bread to a wild bear
Appearance to the world
Just as it is impossible to hide the light of a lamp in darkness, so it is impossible to hide the light of God: people began to come to Saint Sergius of Radonezh:
- some came for advice, asked to accept confession and pray;
- others wanted to lead the same life.
The Monk Sergius of Radonezh personally cut down 12 cells and became the unofficial teacher of the suffering. Only a few were able to endure the harsh desert conditions; many left.
Bishop Athanasius of Vladimir-Volyn, who was replacing Metropolitan Alexei at that time, learned about the holy life of the young ascetic. He ordained Sergius first as a deacon, and then as a hieromonk, and appointed him abbot of the monastery he founded: the monk became not only a father in his small brotherhood, but also a priest.
Even endowed with priestly grace, Sergius did not abandon his exploits and labors. Every night he prayed, carried the cross of voluntary obedience: he carried water to the bakery with his own hands, chopped wood, and did not refuse any hard work. Gradually the hermitage grew into a large monastery with a large brethren, which later became the Lavra, which took its name.
Figure 3. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra
Death of Saint Sergius
Father Sergius of Radonezh foresaw his death six months in advance. Having gathered the brethren, he partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and peacefully passed away to the Lord into eternity in 1392.
After 30 years, one pious layman, who revered the saint, was given a vision in a light sleep with instructions that he inform the abbot about the relics of the saint. The abbot, together with the brethren, in great reverence, removed the remains of Sergius of Radonezh from the ground and saw that they remained incorrupt. They were placed in the temple, after which a pilgrimage began to the monastery for worship and asking for prayer help.
About the city of Opochka and hidden stones
One day, the Lithuanian king sent a large army with many military weapons to the city of Opochka, which is not far from Pskov, wanting to ruin it. Residents of the city bravely resisted the Lithuanians and killed many. But the enemies rushed towards the city with renewed vigor, trying to take it in all sorts of cunning ways. The townspeople resisted as best they could, so that there were almost no stones and trees left in the city - they threw everything from the walls onto the enemies. We could only rely on God.
And then the Monk Sergius appeared to one woman in a dream and said: “Why are the governor and the inhabitants of the city discouraged and think that they have nothing left to defend themselves with - stones and trees? Or don’t they know that many stones lie in the ground near the city church behind the altar?”
Waking up, the woman told the governor Vasily and all the people about this, but they did not believe her. Only one beggar, having heard her words, went to the indicated place near that church and, taking something in his hands, began to dig the ground - and found a stone that twenty people could barely move. Then other people came running, began to dig and found a whole warehouse of stones underground, which no one had seen or heard anything about before. The stones were lifted onto the walls of the city.
At night, the enemies placed ladders against the walls and tried to climb them, but the townspeople beat them with the remaining trees and newly found stones. The remnants of the enemy army hastened to go home.
Shrines of Sergius of Radonezh
The first image of the Venerable Father Sergius of Radonezh is an embroidered cover dating back to the 1420s. In those same years, his image began to appear on church utensils.
There are icons of the saint in every church of the Russian Orthodox Church. He is depicted in full height, from the waist up, with common options revealing the key events of his life.
Figure 4. The miraculous icon of Sergius of Radonezh
The relics of the saint are located in the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in the city of Sergiev Posad, they are available for public veneration. The Orthodox Church remembers the saint on the day of their discovery, July 5 (18), and also honors the date of his departure into eternity, September 25 (October 8).
About the distrustful monk and three blind horses
A certain monk, who was in the hospital, heard that they were talking about the miracles of the great Sergius, and, lying on his bed, in simplicity thought about the horses on which the Rev. sent three monks to Moscow with the news - where these horses came from, who saw them and Is it all true?
Lost in thought, he turned to the wall and suddenly heard that the door to the cell opened and the steps of someone entering were heard, but he did not turn around to see who it was, because the sick then often entered and left the cell, and many poor lay people lived here. Then the elder heard his name called: “Brother, turn here, I’ll tell you something.” But the elder did not turn around, but objected: “Tell me this, brother, what’s the matter. I can’t turn around, you know it, I’m sick.” But the one who entered repeated: “Elder, turn around! Why are you lazy?
The patient answered: “I don’t want to harm myself, say so,” he thought that one of those who lived in the cell was talking to him, and that’s why he didn’t want to look at the newcomer and fell silent. The newcomer began to reproach him: “Why are you mad, old man? And why are you rebellious? Is this monastic? Or does God not have mercy to grant you recovery from your illness?” The elder was surprised at such reproaches and said to himself: “Who is judging me? Who did I offend?
He wanted to turn around - and suddenly he stood up completely healthy and recognized the miracle worker by the appearance depicted on the icon.
The monk said to him: “Why do you doubt? I actually sent my disciples.” And the elder innocently asked: “What did you send them on, my lord?” And the monk answered: “I sent them on those three blind horses, which the groom Afanasy Oshcherin drove out of the monastery, into a fenced place.”
The elder felt healthy, and, overcome with fear, repented of having contradicted the saint, and then came with his own feet to the church and told everyone about what had happened to him. And they looked everywhere for those blind horses, but they couldn’t find them.
Miracles of St. Sergius of Radonezh
The holy ascetic possessed the gift of clairvoyance and miracle-working. There are countless examples of this:
- Once problems with water began in the monastery, then the monk and the monk went to a ravine located nearby. Upon arriving at the place, the saint plunged into prayer, and a spring gushed out of the ground.
- Another time, through the prayers of the saint, a terminally ill villager and a possessed nobleman were healed.
- In difficult days, when hordes of Mamaevs marched on Rus', Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy came to the monastery to Father Sergius for prayerful help. He prayed and blessed the knight for battle, about which the news immediately spread throughout the Russian land. The ensuing Battle of Kulikovo brought victory and became decisive for the state.
On a note! The saint performs even more miracles than during life after death, standing before the Throne of God and begging the All-Merciful for help from Rus'.
About the miracle in the monastery of the Venerable One during the siege
One Sunday, after the morning service, the resident of the Trinity Monastery, Irinarch, dozed off. In a dream, he saw St. Sergius entering his cell and telling him: “Tell the city leaders that next night a huge enemy force will rush towards you, but do not weaken, but trust in the mercy of God.” Then he saw how the saint walked around the walls and outbuildings and sprinkled the monastery buildings with holy water.
The next night after the miracle worker’s warning, at the third hour, an army approached the monastery, wanting to ruin it. The people who were in the fortress courageously fought with the enemies and defended the monastery.
About the repentance of the buffoon
In 1600, there lived not far from the Sergius Lavra a certain archer named Sergius, a buffoon. Many times he swore to act as a buffoon, intending to stop this soul-destroying activity, but did not fulfill his vow. When he began to act as a buffoon, he lost his mind and fell into a serious illness, and when he renounced, he was healed of both his illness and his madness.
He happened to be in Moscow, and he began to act out again, forgetting about his vow, and immediately fell into madness. He was brought to the courtyard of the Sergius Monastery, and he stayed here for several days, but his illness did not subside. Then he remembered his previous vows and vowed to stop buffoonery until his death. And he began to pray to the all-merciful God, calling on St. Sergius for help.
And so, standing in the Church of the Epiphany in front of the icon of the Savior, he suddenly saw that the hair on his head seemed to be on fire, and he screamed in fear, and from that moment his sanity returned to him, and his illness receded. Returning from Moscow, he served as a archer and was healthy and reasonable, as before.
About the fire in the temple
An interesting miracle happened to one of the most famous inhabitants of the Lavra - Archimandrite Alypiy (Voronov). He later became the governor of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, and in the Lavra he carried out the obedience of the restorer. He worked on frescoes in the Sergius (Refectory) Church. Scaffolding had already been installed and restoration material had been laid out. At night St. Sergius appeared to him:
- Father Alypiy, why are you sleeping? Run to the temple!
He immediately got up and ran. A fire started in the temple. The rags were just catching fire. Everything was extinguished without any great damage, thanks to the miraculous intervention of St. Sergius.
