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Where to read about all the saints. Orthodox Saints: list by years of life

The first Russian saints - who are they? Perhaps by learning more about them, we will find revelations of our own spiritual path.

Saints Boris and Gleb

Boris Vladimirovich (Prince of Rostov) and Gleb Vladimirovich (Prince of Murom), at baptism Roman and David. Russian princes, sons of Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich. In the internecine struggle for the throne of Kyiv, which broke out in 1015 after the death of their father, they were killed by their own elder brother for their Christian beliefs. Young Boris and Gleb, knowing about the intentions, did not use weapons against the attackers.

Princes Boris and Gleb became the first saints to be canonized by the Russian Church. They were not the first saints of the Russian land, since later the Church began to honor the Varangians Theodore and John, who lived before them, martyrs for the faith, who died under pagan Vladimir, Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir, as Equal-to-the-Apostles Enlighteners of Russia. But Saints Boris and Gleb were the first crowned chosen ones of the Russian Church, her first wonderworkers and recognized heavenly prayer books "for the new Christian people." The chronicles are full of stories about the miracles of healing that took place at their relics (special emphasis was placed on the glorification of the brothers as healers in the 12th century), about the victories won in their name and with their help, about the pilgrimage of princes to their grave.

Their veneration was immediately established, as a nationwide, before church canonization. The Greek metropolitans at first doubted the sanctity of the miracle workers, but Metropolitan John, who doubted more than anyone, soon himself transferred the incorrupt bodies of the princes to the new church, established a feast for them (July 24) and composed a service for them. This was the first example of the firm faith of the Russian people in their new saints. This was the only way to overcome all the canonical doubts and resistance of the Greeks, who were generally not inclined to encourage the religious nationalism of the newly baptized people.

Rev. Theodosius Pechersky

Rev. Theodosius, the father of Russian monasticism, was the second saint solemnly canonized by the Russian Church, and her first reverend. Just as Boris and Gleb forestalled St. Olga and Vladimir, St. Theodosius was canonized earlier than Anthony, his teacher and the first founder of the Kiev Caves Monastery. The ancient life of St. Anthony, if it existed, was lost early.

Anthony, when the brethren began to gather for him, left her in the care of hegumen Varlaam, who had been appointed by him, and shut himself up in a secluded cave, where he remained until his death. He was not a mentor and abbot of the brethren, except for the very first newcomers, and his lonely exploits did not attract attention. Although he died just a year or two earlier than Theodosius, but by that time he was already the only focus of love and reverence not only for the monastic, already numerous brethren, but for all of Kyiv, if not all of southern Russia. In 1091 the relics of St. Theodosius were opened and transferred to the great Pechersk Church of the Assumption of the Virgin, which spoke of his local, monastic veneration. And in 1108, on the initiative of the Grand Duke Svyagopolk, the Metropolitan and the bishops perform his solemn (general) canonization. Even before the transfer of his relics, 10 years later after the death of the saint, Ven. Nestor wrote his life, extensive and rich in content.

Saints of the Kiev Caves Patericon

In the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, in the Near (Antoniev) and Far (Feodosiev) caves, the relics of 118 saints rest, most of which are known only by name (there are also nameless ones). Almost all of these saints were monks of the monastery, pre-Mongolian and post-Mongolian times, locally revered here. Metropolitan Petro Mohyla canonized them in 1643, instructing them to compose a common service. And only in 1762, by decree of the Holy Synod, the Kievan saints were included in the all-Russian calendars.

We know about the lives of thirty of the Kievan saints from the so-called Kievo-Pechersky Paterikon. Pateriks in ancient Christian writing were called summary biographies of ascetics - ascetics of a certain area: Egypt, Syria, Palestine. These Eastern patericons have been known in Russian translations since the early days of Russian Christianity and have had a very strong influence on the upbringing of our monasticism in the spiritual life. The Pechersk Patericon has its own long and complex history, according to which one can fragmentarily judge ancient Russian religiosity, Russian monasticism and monastic life.

Rev. Abraham Smolensky

One of the very few ascetics of the pre-Mongol period, from which a detailed biography, compiled by his student Ephraim, remained. Rev. Abraham of Smolensk was not only honored in his hometown after his death (at the beginning of the 13th century), but also canonized at one of the Moscow Makarievsky cathedrals (probably in 1549). Biography of St. Abraham conveys the image of an ascetic of great strength, full of original features, perhaps unique in the history of Russian holiness.

The Monk Abraham of Smolensk, a preacher of repentance and the coming Last Judgment, was born in the middle of the twelfth century. in Smolensk from wealthy parents who had 12 daughters before him and prayed to God for a son. From childhood, he grew up in the fear of God, often attended church and had the opportunity to study from books. After the death of his parents, having distributed all his property to monasteries, churches and the poor, the monk walked around the city in rags, praying to God to show the way of salvation.

He took tonsure and, as an obedience, copied books and served the Divine Liturgy every day. Abraham was dry and pale from his labors. The saint was strict with himself and with his spiritual children. He himself painted two icons on the topics that occupied him most of all: on one he depicted the Last Judgment, and on the other, the tortures at the ordeals.

When, due to slander, he was forbidden to serve as a priest, various troubles opened up in the city: drought and disease. But at his prayer for the city and the inhabitants, heavy rain fell, and the drought ended. Then everyone was convinced with their own eyes of his righteousness and began to highly respect and respect him.

From the life before us appears an image of an ascetic, unusual in Russia, with a tense inner life, with anxiety and agitation, breaking out in a stormy, emotional prayer, with a gloomy - repentant idea of \u200b\u200bhuman fate, not a healer pouring oil, but a stern teacher, animated, maybe - be prophetic inspiration.

holy princes

The holy "believing" princes constitute a special, very numerous rank of saints in the Russian Church. You can count about 50 princes and princesses canonized for general or local veneration. The veneration of the holy princes intensified during the time of the Mongol yoke. In the first century of the Tatar region, with the destruction of monasteries, Russian monastic holiness almost dried up. The feat of the holy princes becomes the main, historically important, not only a national matter, but also a church ministry.

If we single out the holy princes who enjoyed universal, and not just local, veneration, then this is St. Olga, Vladimir, Mikhail Chernigovsky, Feodor Yaroslavsky with sons David and Konstantin. In 1547-49, Alexander Nevsky and Mikhail Tverskoy were added to them. But Michael of Chernigov, the martyr, takes first place. The piety of the holy princes is expressed in devotion to the church, in prayer, in the building of churches, and in respect for the clergy. Love for poverty, care for the weak, orphans and widows, less often justice is always noted.

The Russian Church does not canonize national or political merits in its holy princes. This is confirmed by the fact that among the holy princes we do not find those who did the most for the glory of Russia and for its unity: neither Yaroslav the Wise, nor Vladimir Monomakh, with all their undoubted piety, no one among the princes of Moscow, except for Daniil Alexandrovich, locally venerated in the Danilov Monastery built by him, and canonized no earlier than the 18th or 19th century. On the other hand, Yaroslavl and Murom gave the Church holy princes who were completely unknown to chronicles and history. The Church does not canonize any politics - neither Moscow, nor Novgorod, nor Tatar; neither unifying nor specific. This is often forgotten these days.

Saint Stephen of Perm

Stephen of Perm occupies a very special place in the host of Russian saints, standing somewhat apart from the broad historical tradition, but expressing new, perhaps not fully disclosed, possibilities in Russian Orthodoxy. St. Stephen is a missionary who gave his life for the conversion of the pagan people - the Zyryans.

St. Stephen was from Veliky Ustyug, in the Dvina land, which just in his time (in the XIV century) from the Novgorod colonial territory became dependent on Moscow. Russian cities were islands in the middle of a foreign sea. The waves of this sea approached Ustyug itself, around which the settlements of the western Permians, or, as we call them, the Zyryans, began. Others, Eastern Permians, lived on the Kama River, and their baptism was the work of the successors of St. Stephen. There is no doubt that both the acquaintance with the Permians and their language, and the idea of preaching the Gospel among them, date back to the saint's teenage years. Being one of the smartest people of his time, knowing the Greek language, he leaves books and teachings for the sake of preaching the cause of love, Stefan chose to go to the Permian land and do missionary work alone. His successes and trials are depicted in a number of scenes from nature, which are not devoid of humor and perfectly characterize the naive, but naturally kind Zyryansk worldview.

He did not combine the baptism of the Zyryans with their Russification, he created the Zyryan script, he translated the service for them and St. Scripture. He did for the Zyryans what Cyril and Methodius did for the entire Slavic people. He also compiled the Zyryan alphabet based on local runes - signs for notches on a tree.

Rev. Sergius of Radonezh

The new asceticism that arises from the second quarter of the 14th century, after the Tatar yoke, is very different from the ancient Russian one. This is the asceticism of the hermits. Having undertaken the most difficult feat, and, moreover, necessarily associated with contemplative prayer, the hermit monks will raise their spiritual life to a new height, not yet reached in Russia. The head and teacher of the new desert-living monasticism was Rev. Sergius, the greatest of the saints of ancient Russia. Most of the saints of the 14th and early 15th centuries are his disciples or "interlocutors", that is, those who have experienced his spiritual influence. Life of Rev. Sergius was preserved thanks to his contemporary and student Epiphanius (the Wise), the biographer of Stefan of Perm.

Life makes it clear that his humble meekness is the main spiritual fabric of the personality of Sergius of Radonezh. Rev. Sergius never punishes spiritual children. In the very miracles of his ven. Sergius seeks to belittle himself, to belittle his spiritual strength. Rev. Sergius is the spokesman for the Russian ideal of holiness, despite the sharpening of both polar ends of it: the mystical and the political. The mystic and the politician, the hermit and the Cenobite are combined in his blessed fullness.

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The list of pilgrims is inexhaustible. Truly, the great saints of the Christian religion carried their cross to the end, and therefore they became revered among all believers and become an example of how one should serve their Almighty. Each of the righteous has its own divine image. That is, this term is the designation of the category to which the god-pleaser was assigned at the time of his canonization. You can find out in more detail what the heavenly church hierarchy is, as well as how many saints there are in the Russian Orthodox Church and brief passages about them, from our article.

Holy miracle workers of the Orthodox Church

Glorifying the righteous, the Church in its hymns of prayer give them various greatnesses, which are given according to the image of their earthly life, rank, rank, some accomplished feats and, finally, the type of their life outcome, which is why in the Orthodox calendar, as well as in liturgical writings, the saints of Russia The Orthodox Church is divided into ranks and hosts, namely:

The prophets are the saints of the Old Testament Scriptures, who were chosen by the Almighty to prepare the Christian people for the acceptance of the Lord God, and those who were endowed with the gift of foreseeing the future.
The apostles are the best followers of the King of Heaven, some of whom are among the 12 associates, and the rest are among the 70 of his pupils.
The forefathers are the pious men of the Old Testament, who, according to the flesh, were the ancestors of Our Savior.
Reverends (wives and husbands) - the righteous from the monastic (monastic) dignity.
The Great Martyrs or Martyrs are those God-pleasers who accepted martyrdom for their faith in the Savior. Those who were martyred while in the rank of a clergyman or bishop are called hieromartyrs, and those who suffered in monasticism (monasticism) suffering are called reverend martyrs.
The blessed are the pious, who, according to God's saying, were insane for Christ's sake and travelers who did not have a permanent home. Such people received God's mercy for their obedience.
Enlighteners and Equal-to-the-Apostles are called righteous, who, after the apostolic times, with their instructions led peoples and even entire states to the Almighty.
The righteous and unmercenaries are called pious men who, living a worldly life and not removing themselves from both public and family obligations, have pleased the King of Heaven.
Passion-bearers and confessors are pious, who endured torment, persecution and imprisonment for their belief in the Savior, but suffered their death in the world.

The most revered saints in the Orthodox Church

Virtuous and humble Christians were canonized by the Orthodox Church, who are an example of morality, who, after completing their earthly life, are in the kingdom of heaven and cry out in prayer to the Savior for all sinful people now living on earth.

All saints of the Orthodox Church (list of the most famous):

Spyridon Trimifuntsky, was born on the island of Cyprus in the village of Askia, approximately in 270. The charitable man spent his righteous and pure life in obedience and humility, healing incurable ailments and spending all his small income on helping the poor and the traveler. The Saint died in 348 on 12 (December 25), and his relics were placed in the city of Corfu in the local cathedral (Corfu Island, Ionian Sea). is located in every believer's house, so that the saint protects and bestows the grace of God.
Blessed Matron. It is generally accepted that the Almighty chose the benefactor for service even before her birth, which happened in 1881 in the Tula province, Epifanovsky district in the village of Sebino. Throughout her life, she carried a heavy cross, while showing patience, remembrance and humility. The righteous woman departed to another world in 1952 on the 19th of April (May 2). And to this day, and about all sorts of needs, many believers are exalted.
Nikolay Ugodnik. One of the most revered righteous by the Orthodox Church. Born around 270 in the Roman province of Lycia (Greek colony of Patara). During his lifetime, the Wonderworker gained fame as an intercessor and pacifier, and those who were falsely condemned quite often found their salvation in him. Nikolai Ugodnik died in 345 on December 6 (19).

Here are the names of the saints of the Orthodox Church, who by their way of life were awarded canonization:

Seraphim of Sarov. Born in Kursk, Belgorod province in 1754 on July 19 (30) in a fairly wealthy family. The righteous man was the founder and patron of the Diveevo convent and enjoyed unlimited respect among worldly people. The saint passed away on January 2 (14), 1833, and his relics rest in the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevo Monastery.
Xenia of Petersburg. The exact date of the birth of the righteous is not known for certain, however, it is believed that she was born in St. Petersburg in the interval 1719-1730. After the early death of her husband, the blessed one chose the difficult path of foolishness, responding until her death only to the name of her husband . The day of commemoration of the Goddess falls on January 24 (February 6).

Chronological list of saints of the Russian Orthodox Church of the XIX century

The Lord is always with you!

The title of this book, apparently, should cause a feeling of legitimate bewilderment or even outright misunderstanding in the reader. Indeed, the word "famous" is hardly applicable to saints: saints can be revered, revered, glorified (in the religious sense), but not famous at all. The latter is rather suitable for generals, politicians, in our time for artists, athletes, musicians, etc. The word “famous” itself reflects precisely that side of life, filled with worldly, vain, most often momentary, from which just a saint flees, devoting himself entirely to the service of God and putting the spiritual, and not the earthly, at the forefront.

But if there is a book series "The Most Famous", dedicated to the great people of Russia, it would be unfair to limit it only to military leaders and politicians. For the most part, their biographies outline only the external side of the history of Russia, its actual eventful part, while there is another history - internal, spiritual. To understand the spirit of the people, the hidden, inner content of its history, is possible, first of all, through an appeal to the ideal developed by the people themselves, and this ideal, in turn, is revealed most of all in the biographies of the saints. Perhaps nowhere in the world has holiness entered so deeply into the very soul of the people as in Russia. Not because, of course, they everywhere tried to imitate the works and deeds of holy men - rather, on the contrary, their asceticism was in its essence a direct denial of the world, a departure from it. But in the eyes of ordinary people for many centuries, it was the feat of holiness that justified and balanced their ordinary, most often sinful and vile existence and thus served as protection from the troubles and misfortunes of the present day (which were just regarded as retribution for this sinful and vile life) and that quiet unquenchable light that gave support and hope in the future life.

The genre of the book and its content require one more explanation. This book does not include hagiography saints, namely their biographies, biographies(although in most cases the life is the main or even the only source of information about the saint). The word "biography" is also not very suitable for a story about a saint. But the task of the authors of the book was to show, first of all, life circumstances those people who, after death, were canonized by the Orthodox Church, that is, canonized as saints. We proceeded from the unconditional message already indicated above that the history of Russia is unthinkable without their existence, and therefore in the book series “The Most Famous” they should be presented primarily as actors in Russian history. At the same time, one must be aware that we are not talking about ordinary people (or rather, about completely unusual people), whose posthumous, heavenly existence is no less significant for us than earthly, so to speak, historical existence. (“A heavenly man and an earthly angel” - this is how saints were called in ancient Russia.) Therefore, the book also presents, to the extent possible, the “posthumous fate” of God’s saints: their posthumous miracles, the fate of their relics (remains), the circumstances of canonization (if the latter are known).

For centuries (for more than ten centuries now) Orthodox Russia has been praying to its saints and miracle workers, hoping for their intercession before God and ascribed all its successes and accomplishments to their protection and patronage. The holy princes-martyrs Boris and Gleb, the holy and pious Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and other pious princes were invisibly present on the battlefields and centuries after their death, helping from above "their relatives" - Russian princes - and all Russian soldiers. The Monk Sergius of Radonezh, “abbot of the Russian land”, sanctified with his presence all more or less significant military enterprises of medieval Russia - both repulsing the raids of Kazan and Crimean Tatars, and defending the western borders of the Russian state from Polish or Lithuanian warriors. So it was, at least, in the Middle Ages, when people were much more clearly aware of their connection with God than now, when they were waiting for a miracle and fervently believed in it, and therefore miracles happened so often. But it happened later too - when certain tragic events (so frequent in our history) forced people to turn to Heaven in order to somehow try to save themselves from the earthly. In every city and every land of Russia there were and are their saints and prayer books, and to this day people resort to their intercession in the most difficult moments of their lives. To the tombs of the revered Russian saints, the flow of the afflicted has not dried up and, presumably, will not dry up. And miracle workers do not leave those who come to them with sincere faith, but give them healing from bodily and spiritual ailments.

The host of Russian saints opens with the name of the blessed Princess Olga, the first Russian Christian ruler. She lived by the middle of the 10th century, even before the Baptism of Russia, which took place in the 80s of the same century, under the grandson of Blessed Olga, Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich. The first Russians officially canonized by the Orthodox Church (that is, canonized as saints) were the sons of Vladimir the Holy, the passion-bearing princes Boris and Gleb, who were martyred by their brother Svyatopolk the Accursed. (The canonization of Saint Olga and Saint Vladimir took place later, not earlier than the XIII century.) Two lives of the holy brothers, compiled in the XI or at the beginning of the XII century, have survived to our time - the so-called "Tale of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb" by an unknown author and " Reading about the life and destruction of the blessed passion-bearers Boris and Gleb”, written by the famous Nestor, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery and the alleged author of the Russian chronicle. Saint Nestor is the author of another remarkable work of ancient Russian literature - the Life of Saint Theodosius, Abbot of the Caves, one of the founders of the Kiev Caves Monastery - the largest and most famous monastery of Kievan Rus.

Nestor himself lived at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. (In the 17th century, he, like other Cave elders, was also canonized by the Church.) The writings of St. Nestor, especially the Life of St. Theodosius of the Caves, became a model for future Russian hagiographers (from the Greek words αγιοζ - saint and γραφω - I write; that is, “writer life.")

As the reader will easily notice, among the saints presented in the book, most of all are monks, that is, monks. They constitute a special rank of saints - reverends, that is, those who have become like Christ, who have renounced worldly life, left the world and lead a righteous life in special abodes of God, monasteries. Such people always and everywhere inspire respect from others. In Russia, the role of monasticism and monasteries was especially great. Religious and cultural life was concentrated in monasteries, books were copied and decorated here, here and only here one could get an education; the monasteries owned vast land holdings and conducted the widest charity. But the main thing - the monasteries were the focus of holiness. Great Russian saints came out of their walls, and here they found their last rest, bestowing miracles and healings on thousands of pilgrims flocking from everywhere.

A number of great Russian elders are discovered by St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, the founders of the Kiev Caves Monastery and the pioneers of monastic life in Russia. They lived in the 11th century. In the same 11th century and later, monasteries arose in Novgorod, Rostov and other ancient Russian cities. The founders of these monasteries were also canonized and glorified by the Church and people - first locally, within the same diocese, and then throughout the Russian land. Among them are Rev. Avraamy of Rostov, Varlaam Khutynsky, Euphrosyne of Polotsk, whose biographies the reader will find in the book.

Who would you add to this list?
Andrey Muzolf, a teacher at the Kiev Theological Academy, made his choice and explained in detail to the editors of the portal why he selected these particular saints.

– When answering this question, it is immediately necessary to clarify the following: saying that certain saints are more or less revered by the people, we do not mean that some of them are “better” and some are “worse” ”, someone “stronger” helps, and someone “weaker”. All saints have the same grace, because they have already reached deification, which is beyond anything. One modern theologian said: one who has God and something else is not at all richer than one who has only God. God is our most important wealth, and the one who met the Lord in his life is truly happy. Therefore, the saints, as people who have already been honored to be in unceasing communion with God (to which, in fact, man was called from the very moment of his creation), are not at all humiliated by the fact that some of them are revered more, and some less. Consequently, the question of special veneration of the saints lies exclusively in the plane of our personal prayer and liturgical practice.

If we talk specifically about the saints who are especially revered in Ukraine, then it is probably worth noting the following.

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker

Firstly, this is St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra. Our people especially revere this saint, primarily because, as we know from his life, St. Nicholas has always been an “ambulance” for those people who find themselves in a very difficult situation (remember, for example, the case of an unjustly condemned warrior or an impoverished father of three girls), which is why he is often popularly called Nikolai Ugodnik. That is why people's love for the saint has reached such a scale both throughout the Orthodox world and in our country. In Ukraine, perhaps, there is not a single city in which a temple would not be erected in honor of this saint.

In addition, it should also be noted those saints, thanks to whom, in fact, the spread of Christianity began in our land. First of all, these are the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir.

Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duchess Olga in 903 became the wife of the Grand Duke Igor of Kiev. After his murder in 945 by the rebellious Drevlyans, she, not wishing to remarry, took upon herself the burden of public service with her three-year-old son Svyatoslav. In 954, Princess Olga went to Tsargrad for the purpose of religious pilgrimage and diplomatic mission, where she was received with honor by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The grandeur of Christian churches and the shrines gathered in them impressed the princess so much that she decided to accept baptism, which was performed on her by Patriarch Theophylact of Constantinople, and the emperor himself became her successor. The name of the Russian princess was named in honor of the holy Empress Helena. Upon returning from Byzantium, Olga zealously carried the Christian gospel to the pagans, began to erect the first Christian churches: in the name of St. Nicholas over the grave of the first Christian prince of Kiev Askold and Hagia Sophia in Kyiv over the grave of Prince Dir. The holy princess Olga reposed in the year 969, bequeathing to openly perform her burial in a Christian way. The imperishable relics of the princess rested in the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv.

However, the widespread spread of Christianity in Russia was destined to begin only under the grandson of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir.

Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir

The future enlightener of Russia was the son of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich, and his mother (Princess Malusha), although she came from a Varangian family, professed the Christian faith. Young Vladimir went to reign Novgorod, where he grew up under the supervision of his uncle Dobrynya, a rude pagan. Soon, as a result of internecine wars, Vladimir reigned in Kyiv. Having established himself in the glorious city in order to better centralize power and consolidate the Slavic tribes, he decides to establish common faith in Russia and in the course of a long search (Vladimir himself talked about faith with representatives of various religions who were at the princely court, and repeatedly sent his confidants to look , so to speak, "faith in the field") tends to accept Christianity. Having accepted his own baptism, the holy prince subsequently called for the adoption of Christianity and his boyars, as a result of which in 988 in the waters of the Pochaina River (a tributary of the Dnieper) the Sacrament of Baptism was performed over the ancient Kievans.

Blessed Princes Boris and Gleb

One of the first saints of God, canonized by our Church, are the holy brothers - the noble princes Boris and Gleb, the sons of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. They were canonized as passion-bearers, as they accepted a violent death, however, not for the name of Christ, but because of the political ambitions of their brother Svyatopolk, who wanted to concentrate the grand ducal power in his hands. Saints Boris and Gleb are an example of the true love of Christ: knowing that their own brother wants to kill them, they could gather troops to resist, however, not wanting someone else's blood to be shed in internecine wars, they decided to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the good of the fatherland.

Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves

Saints, about whom I would like to speak in particular, are the Monks Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves. They are the "chiefs" of the ascetic life in Russia. Thus, Saint Anthony, having become the first Russian monk, brought the monastic Rule from Mount Athos, where he labored for a very long time. The Monk Theodosius is the founder of an already more organized, so to speak, cenobitic monasticism in Russia. It was he who founded the very first monastery in our lands (now the great Holy Dormition Lavra), from which monasticism spread throughout Russia and which became a model for a huge number of monastic communities.

Holiness is purity of heart seeking uncreated divine energy manifesting in the gifts of the Holy Spirit as many colored rays in the solar spectrum. Pious ascetics are the link between the earthly world and the heavenly Kingdom. Penetrated by the light of divine grace, they, through contemplation of God and communion with God, come to know the highest spiritual mysteries. In earthly life, the saints, performing the feat of self-denial for the sake of the Lord, receive the highest grace of divine Revelation. According to biblical teaching, holiness is likening a person to God, who is the only bearer of all-perfect life and its unique source.

What is canonization

The ecclesiastical procedure for canonization of a righteous person is called canonization. She encourages believers to honor the recognized saint in public worship. As a rule, church recognition of piety is preceded by popular glory and veneration, but it was the act of canonization that made it possible to glorify saints by creating icons, writing lives, compiling prayers and church services. The reason for official canonization can be the feat of the righteous, the incredible deeds he has done, his whole life or martyrdom. And after death, a person can be recognized as a saint because of the incorruptibility of his relics, or miracles of healing occurring at his remains.

In the event that a saint is venerated within the same church, city or monastery, they speak of diocesan, local canonization.

The official church also recognizes the existence of unknown saints, the confirmation of whose piety is not yet known to the entire Christian flock. They are called the revered dead righteous and they are served memorial services, while prayers are served to the canonized saints.

Already in the 11th century, a laudatory biography of princes Boris and Gleb appeared, where the unknown author of the life is Russian. The holy names are recognized by the church and added to the calendars. In the 12th and 13th centuries, along with the monastic desire to enlighten the northeast of Russia, the number of biographical works also grew. Russian authors wrote the lives of Russian saints for reading during the Divine Liturgy. The names, the list of which was recognized by the church for glorification, now received a historical figure, and holy deeds and miracles were enshrined in a literary monument.

In the 15th century there was a change in the style of writing lives. The authors began to pay the main attention not to the actual data, but to the skillful use of the artistic word, the beauty of the literary language, the ability to pick up a lot of impressive comparisons. Skillful scribes of that period became known. For example, Epiphanius the Wise, who wrote the vivid lives of Russian saints, whose names were most famous for the people - Stephen of Perm and Sergius of Radonezh.

Many lives are considered a source of information about important historical events. From the biography of Alexander Nevsky, you can learn about political relations with the Horde. The lives of Boris and Gleb tell of princely civil strife before the unification of Russia. The creation of a literary and ecclesiastical biographical work largely determined which names of Russian saints, their deeds and virtues would become most known to a wide circle of believers.