“Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh” in the summary
The Monk Sergei was born in the Tver land, during the reign of Prince Dmitry of Tver, under Metropolitan Petra. The saint’s parents were noble and pious people. His father was called Cyril, and his mother was called Maria.
An amazing miracle happened before the birth of the saint, when he was in the womb of his mother. Mary went to church for the Liturgy. During the service, the unborn child shouted loudly three times. Mother cried for fear. People who heard the scream began to look for a child in the church. Learning that the baby was screaming from the womb of his mother, everyone was amazed and afraid.
Mary, when she was carrying a child, fasted and prayed diligently. She decided, if a boy was born, to devote him to God. The baby was born healthy, but did not want to take the breast when the mother ate meat. On the fortieth day the boy was brought to church, baptized and given his name to Bartholomew. Parents told the priest about the triple cry of the baby from
The boy grew up, and he was taught to read and write. Bartholomew had two brothers, Stefan and Peter. They quickly learned to read, but Bartholomew could not. He was very sad because of this.
One day my father sent Bartholomew to look for horses. On the field under the oak the boy saw the elder of the priest. Bartholomew told him about his failures in school and asked to pray for him. The elder gave a child a piece of prosphora and said that from now on Bartholomew would even better know the letter than his brothers and peers. The boy persuaded the priest to go to his parents. First the old man went to the chapel, began to sing the clock, and Bartholomew ordered to read the psalm. Unexpectedly, the boy began to read well. The elder went into the house, tasted food and predicted to Cyril and Mary that their son would be great before God and people.
A few years later Bartholomew
The saint’s father, Cyril, moved from Rostov to Radonezh, since in Rostov at that time the governor of Moscow Vasily Kocheva was outraged. He took away property from the Rostovites, because of this Cyril and impoverished.
Cyril settled in Radonezh at the Christmas Church. His sons, Stefan and Peter, married, Bartholomew aspired to monastic life. He asked his parents to bless him for monastic life. But Cyril and Maria asked his son to accompany them to the grave, and then fulfilled his plan. After a while, both the father and mother of the saint were tonsured into monks, and each went to his monastery. A few years later they died. Bartholomew buried his parents and honored their memory with alms and prayers:
His father’s inheritance Bartholomew gave to his younger brother Peter, but did not take anything for himself. The wife of her elder brother, Stefan, by this time died, and he took monastic vows in the Pokrovsky monastery of Khotkov.
At the request of Bartholomew Stefan went with him to look for a deserted place. They came into the forest thicket. There was water. The brothers built a hut on this place and cut down a small church, which they decided to consecrate in the name of the Holy Trinity. The consecration was performed by the Metropolitan of Kiev Feognost. Stefan could not stand the hard life in the forest and went to Moscow, where he settled in the Epiphany Monastery. He became hegumen and princely confessor.
Bartholomew summoned the eldest elder Hegumen Mitrofan to his place in the desert, who tonsured him into monasticism with the name Sergius. After the tonsure, Sergius communicated, and the church was filled with fragrance. A few days later, he led the hegumen, asking for his instructions, blessings and prayers. At this time, Sergius was little more than twenty years old.
The monk lived in the desert, worked and prayed. Hordes of demons tried to frighten him, but could not.
Once, when Sergius in the church was singing matins, the wall parted and the devil himself entered with a multitude of demons. They ordered the saint to leave the desert and threatened him. But the monk expelled them with prayer and a cross. Another time the demons attacked the saint in the hut, but his prayer was disgraced.
Sometimes wild animals came to the hut of St. Sergius. Among them was one bear, for whom the saint left every day for a piece of bread. Visits of the bear lasted more than a year.
Some monks visited Sergius and wanted to settle with him, but the saint did not receive them, for life in the desert was very difficult. But still some insisted, and Sergius did not try to drive them away. Each of the monks built a cell, and they began to live, imitating the Reverend in everything. The monks served midnight, matins, hours, and the priest was invited to serve in the mass, because Sergius did not accept priesthood or hegumenity in humility.
When the twelve monks were gathered, the cells were surrounded by a trough. Sergius relentlessly served the brethren: he carried water, cut wood, and cooked food. And spent the nights in prayer.
The abbot, who tonsured Sergius, died. The Monk Sergius began to pray that God would give a new abbot to the abbot. The brothers began to ask Sergius to become hegumen and priest himself. Many times she proceeded with this request to the monk, and in the end Sergius went to Pereyaslavl with Bishop Athanasius with other monks to give the hegumen’s brotherhood. The bishop ordered the saint to become hegumen and priest. Sergius agreed.
Returning to the monastery, the monk served the liturgy daily and instructed the brethren. For a while there were only twelve monks in the monastery, and then Simon, Archimandrite Smolensky, came, and since then the number of monks began to increase. Simon came, leaving the archimandrite. And the elder brother of Sergius, Stefan, brought his youngest son Ivan to the monastery to the monastery. Sergius tonsured the boy under the name of Fedor.
Hegumen himself baked prosphora, stewed cooked and made candles. Every evening he quietly bypassed all the monastic cells. If someone idle talked, the abbot knocked that brother in the window. The next morning he called for the offender, talked with him and instructed him.
At first the monastery did not even have a good road. Much later, people built a house near that place and sat down. And at first the monks suffered all kinds of hardships. When there was no food, Sergius was not allowed to leave the monastery and ask for bread, but ordered the monastery to wait for God’s mercy. Once Sergius did not eat for three days and on the fourth went to cut the canopy for the old man Daniel for a sieve of rotten bread. Due to lack of food, one monk began to grumble, and the abbot began to teach the patience of the brotherhood. At that moment a lot of food was brought to the monastery. Sergius ordered first to feed those who brought food. They refused and disappeared. So it remained unknown who was the person who sent the food. And the brothers at the meal found that the bread, sent from afar, remained warm.
Hegumen Sergius always walked in poor, old clothes. Once a peasant came to the monastery to talk with the monk. Sergius pointed out to him, who, in rags, worked in the garden. The peasant did not believe that this was the hegumen. The Monk, having learned from the brethren about the distrustful peasant, spoke kindly to him, but did not begin to convince him that he was Sergius. At this time the prince came to the monastery and, having seen the abbot, bowed to him to the ground. The prince’s bodyguards pushed back the astonished peasant, but when the prince left, the farmer asked for forgiveness from Sergius and received a blessing from him. A few years later the peasant took monastic vows.
The brothers murmured that there was no water nearby, and a source arose from the prayer of St. Sergius. His water healed the sick.
One pious man came to the monastery with a sick son. But the boy brought to the cell of Sergius died. My father began to cry and went behind the coffin, but the child’s body was left in the cell. Prayer Sergius performed a miracle: the boy came to life. The Monk ordered the infant’s father to keep silent about this miracle, and the disciple of Sergius told about him.
On the Volga River there lived a nobleman who was tormented by a demon. The madman was led to the monastery by Sergius. The Monk expelled the demon. Since then, many people began to come to the saint for healing.
One late evening Sergius had a wonderful vision: a bright light in the sky and a lot of beautiful birds. A certain voice said that there would be as many monks in the monastery as these birds.
The monks came to the monk, the envoys of the Constantinople patriarch. The Patriarch advised Sergius to arrange a dormitory. The Russian Metropolitan supported this idea. Sergius did so. He gave each brother a special obedience. The abode gave shelter to the poor and wanderers.
Some brothers opposed Sergius’s mentoring. During one of the services, Brother Sergiy Stefan uttered several insolent words against the Reverend, challenging his right to lead the monastery. The monk heard this and, quietly leaving the monastery, went to the river Kirzhach, there he put a cell and then built a church. Many people helped him in this matter, a large number of brothers gathered. The monks of the abandoned Sergius of the Trinity Monastery also moved to Kirzhach. And others went to the city to the Metropolitan with a request for the return of Sergius. The Metropolitan ordered the Reverend to return, promising to expel his opponents from the monastery. Sergius obeyed. One of his disciples, Roman, became hegumen in a new monastery on the Kirzhach River. And the saint himself returned to the monastery of the Holy Trinity. The brothers joyfully met him.
The Permian bishop Stefan was very fond of Sergius. Going to his diocese, he walked past the Trinity Monastery. The road ran far from the monastery, and Stefan simply bowed to her side. Sergius was at that moment sitting at the table and although he could not see Stefan, he bowed to him in return.
The disciple of St. Sergius, the Monk Andronik, had the desire to found a monastery. Once Sergius visited Metropolitan Alexy, who told about his plan to found a monastery in honor of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in memory of getting rid of the storm at sea. Sergius gave the Metropolitan Assistant to Andronicus. Alexy founded a monastery on the Yauza River, and Andronicus became his mentor. Sergius visited this place and blessed. After Andronicus, Abbot Savva became abbot, and after him Alexander. In this monastery was the famous icon painter Andrew.
Fedor, nephew of the Monk Sergei, son of Stephen, also planned to found a monastery. He found a beautiful place for her – Simonov, by the Moscow River. With the blessing of Sergius and the bishop, he arranged a monastery. After Fyodor became the bishop of Rostov.
Once during a service in the Trinity monastery, the monks saw an amazing person who served the liturgy with Hegumen Sergius. The clothes of this man shone, and he himself shone. Sergius at first did not want to talk about anything, and then discovered that He was the Angel of God SERVING WITH IT.
When the Horde prince Mamai moved troops to Russia, Grand Duke Dmitri came to the monastery to Sergius for blessing and advice – should one oppose Mamai? The Monk blessed the prince for battle, “When the Russians saw the Tatar army, they stopped in doubt, but at that moment a messenger from Sergius appeared with words of encouragement. Prince Dmitry started the battle and defeated Mamai. And Sergius, being in the monastery, knew all that was happening on the The battlefield seemed to be nearby, he predicted Dmitry’s victory and named by the names of the fallen, returning with a victory, Dmitry came to Sergius and thanked him. In memory of this battle the Uspensky Monastery was built where he became a hegumen student of Sergius Sawa. At the request of the prince Dmitry also built the Epiphany Monastery in Golutvin, where the Monk walked on foot, blessed the place,
And at the request of Prince Dmitry Serpukhov, Sergius took his place in his fiefdom and founded the Zachatyevsky Monastery “on the High”. There remained a disciple of St. Athanasius.
Metropolitan Alexy, seeing the approach of his death, persuaded Sergius to become a metropolitan, but the latter did not agree in his humility. And when Alexis died, Michael became the Metropolitan, who began to take up arms against St. Sergius. Mikhail suddenly died on his way to Constantinople, which was predicted by Sergius.
One day the Virgin appeared with the Apostles Peter and John. She said she would not leave the Trinity Monastery.
A certain bishop from Constantinople came to see Sergius. In fact, he did not believe that Sergius was really a great “lamp.” Arriving at the monastery, the bishop became blind, but Sergius healed him.
One man was tormented by a serious illness. His relatives brought him to the monk, he sprinkled him with water, prayed for him, the patient immediately fell asleep and soon recovered. Prince Vladimir sent food and drinks to the monastery. The servant who carried all this, tasted food and drinks tasted. When the servant came to the monastery, Sergius rebuked him, the servant immediately repented and received from the saint forgiveness.
A rich man, who lived near the monastery, took the hog from the poor man’s neighbor and did not pay the fee. The offended complained to Sergius. The abbot reproached the lamb, and he promised to correct himself, but then decided not to give money. When he entered the pantry, he saw that the carcass of the boar was rotten, although there was a severe frost. After this miracle, the crook repented and gave the money.
When St. Sergius once served the Divine Liturgy, his disciple Simon saw the fire walk on the altar and overshadow the altar. Before the communion, the divine fire entered the cup. Hegumen forbade Simon to talk about this until he, Sergius, did not die.
For six months, the Reverend foresaw his death and entrusted the abbot to his beloved disciple Nikon. And he himself began to remain silent.
Before his death, Sergius taught the brethren. And on September 25 he passed away. A fragrance spread from his body, and his face was white as snow. Sergius bequeathed to bury him outside the church, with other brothers. But Metropolitan Cypri-en blessed to put the monk in the church, on the right side. Many people from different cities – princes, boyars, priests, monks – came to see St. Sergius.
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