Do not be slaves of people, for they have been bought at a high price.
Bible

"The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom" is a remarkable literary monument of the mid-16th century. The writer Yermolai-Erasmus wrote the legend on the order of Metropolitan Makariy. But over time, Peter and Fevronia, nevertheless, were made saints. Today they embody a hymn of love and fidelity, which every person secretly dreams of! Or bad translations, or a misunderstanding of the text, but the work gives rise to an ambiguous interpretation when read directly, without scientific commentary. But how can the work sound today if the modern reader reads the story, forgetting that it was written during the Domostroy era? At the heart of the relationship between Peter and Fevronia, it is not love that immediately catches the eye, but FEAR and CALCULATION: Prince Peter has a fear of dying young from an illness, and smart Fevronia has a fear of living humiliated and in poverty in a remote village all his life. Despite the fact that they lived a long life and died on the same day, but great love is not visible! Being together all your life is not a proof of love, but more a proof of someone's dependence or interdependence, when life is destroyed
two at once. There is a sadomasochistic symbiosis when one cannot live without the other, because they will immediately lose either their life or status, or everything at once. What happens. The deal is concluded, with some sacrifice for Peter, as he goes for it against his will. If it were based on higher interests, and not worldly ones, then we would have no reason to prove the love of Peter and Fevronia, as we see in The Captain's Daughter, for example, where love is self-evident and tangible, without self-interest. Why idealize a legend where there is a completely practical motive - to fuck another person for your own selfish purposes, there is no that romantic love that Russian literature is so rich in? Why, in the future, should those who love, following the example of Peter and Fevronia, strive to die on the same day (maybe in reality there are such cases)? What is the need for this? It smacks of necrophilia, the value of life fades into the background! You can't call it moral and mental health! If they had children and grandchildren (and nothing is said about them in the work), then it would make sense for someone to continue to live, but in their old age they went to the monastery, and then expressed a desire to die together! Since there were no children or grandchildren, why should Peter and Fevronia be considered an ideal family and set it as an example to follow? Just because they did not cheat on each other! Yes, this is a feat - not to cheat. But for a good family this is not enough !Believed in God? But faith alone is not enough! There must be some kind of harmony if they want to educate by example: both romantic love, which gradually turns from platonic into physical, and faith in God, when the other is not considered as a means, but as an end, and the appearance children and serving them, and a humane attitude towards others, especially those with a lower status, and selfless service to the Fatherland, and the struggle for life until the last moment ... We do not see anything of this. They didn’t even manage the city very successfully, because of Fevronia a rebellion arose, and for some time they shied away from civic duties for the sake of personal interests. We don’t want to rule over our wives,” the indignant boyars admitted to Peter. This is a completely healthy reaction of the boyars, who saw a stranger in their midst. We also react painfully to thieves, to those who, with the help of various manipulations, assign themselves a high status or material wealth. If Fevronia had not climbed into power, if she had not taught Prince Peter, remaining more a wife, then there would be no indignation in the city. With his marriage to Fevronia, Peter noticeably declines psychologically, already playing a secondary role. The imperious Fevronia subdued the prince to her will, and then the whole city. Although Prince Peter did not become a slave, his dependence on his wife is felt in everything to the detriment of his manhood. According to our modern concepts, Fevronia made a dizzying career, as they say, from dirt to riches right away! She violated the correct course of Peter's life, who could marry a beloved woman who would give birth to a bunch of children, but was forced to live with a woman because of fear that he would fall ill again and die. Fevronia acted like a real egoist - from the first moment she looked at Peter as her means in achieving the blessings of life, which she will have from him before helping! But Russian literature teaches us disinterestedness, altruism. Although the selfishness of Fevronia is quite consistent with the prosperity of fictitious marriages based on calculation and personal gain, and on submission! Isn't this a good example for modern hunters who are chasing important and rich men? Their goal is not to have a family, which is created for children, but to increase their status, property and privileges of another person in the first place, covered by a family!
“Here is my word to him: if I do not become his wife, then it is not fitting for me to treat him,” said Fevronia.
The prince could not be outraged by such an act, he treated her words with disdain: "Well, how can the prince take the daughter of a poison dart frog as his wife." Therefore, having been healed, he deceived Fevronia, did not take her as his wife. "And he marveled at such a quick healing. But he did not want to take her as a wife because of her origin, but sent her gifts." Fevronia did not take gifts, because she needed a firebird - the prince himself with his position.
When Peter arrived in his hometown of Murom, he soon fell ill again. It is doubtful that Fevronia was a believer, otherwise she would not have acted - "you - me - I - you", would have helped a stranger disinterestedly, without any conditions. How about the commandment of Christ - to love your neighbor?! Only one scab remained on Peter, which was not anointed at the command of Fevronia (!!!.), as if she knew that Peter would deceive her, and therefore she herself went to deception. "And from that scab, new ulcers began to disperse throughout the body already on the first day on the way to Murom. And soon Peter became covered with many ulcers, as before." How could this happen if Fevronia was not a witch!? Peter decided to agree to the conditions so as not to die from a terrible leprosy. Quickly healed, he married Fevronia against his will. It is strange that the healing took place before Fevronia became truly the wife of Prince Peter. This means that she could cure without any conditions, but female egoism is stronger than God. So Fevronia became a princess to everyone, to the surprise and irritation of the prince's entourage.
If you seriously read The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom, then a double feeling arises: on the one hand, it is a literary work worthy of respect, on the other hand, its main characters are raised to such a moral and psychological height, which they do not fully correspond to with their behavior, that their life is largely invented under a certain social order. And although they lived a good life in the future, but ... fear held their relationship together more than the love that we are trying to find in their image. Maybe fear is actually a great power, more love...
Communists were forced to believe in some false values ​​(communism, inviolability of public property); slipped some false heroes (Pavlik Morozov), edited the biographies of sadists and murderers, raising them to the level of angels; capitalists also cannot live without idols, they create them today or take them out of history as an example to follow, they force them to believe in other false values, where most often there are illusions and lies, covered up by demagogy and the authority of power! Why don't officials and priests give us fairy tales as an example to follow, but be themselves an example to follow? For many, the family has ceased to be a value, among the priests there are many bachelors and unmarried people, they lead a double life, officials get divorced to launder capital, or, on the contrary, marry for selfish reasons, to create capital. Peter and Fevronia canonized as saints for some unknown reason! Nothing is known about the real Peter and Fevronia, only there were once similar personalities in Murom who left a good memory of themselves. But how they lived in reality, no one knows. So they decided to romanticize the life of Peter and Fevronia in the form of a fairy tale, passing it off as reality, and forcing them to believe what was composed as a divine providence. Fevronia shows an example of female egoism, aimed immediately at subordinating a profitable man to herself, which is in conflict with the patriarchal way of life, when a man takes the initiative, subjugates a woman. Fevronia's authority and initiative cannot but be alarming. From the first meeting, she immediately puts Prince Peter in a dependent position, in the position of a victim, knowing that he is a gentle and deeply religious person: he will be healed if they become one flesh - husband and wife. She does not give Peter the right to choose: either you die of an illness or you are cured by becoming my spouse. Does Fevronia really have love at first sight for a stranger struck with scabs and ulcers? None of us believe this, because it is contrary to worldly common sense. What is her motive? Help a person? First of all, help yourself out of poverty with the help of the opportunity that presents itself when the prince is in trouble! Peter killed the lover of his brother's wife, for which he paid with leprosy ... It is strange that the daughter-in-law cheated on Prince Paul (who ruled the city before Peter and Fevronia) with a snake-devil not once or twice, but for a long time - "And this deception lasted a long time until the wife decided to tell her husband everything. Why didn’t she immediately tell Prince Pavel about the rape, but only when she got tired of bodily pleasures? Prince Peter decided to help his brother in killing the villain! But how to turn the right cheek, how about with love for your enemies? The commandments of Christ were not observed, and Peter and Fevronia became saints, as is done today for political reasons, although some saints have rivers of blood behind their backs ... The real Peter and Fevronius did not strive to be saints, they lived an ordinary life, sometimes taking care of their townspeople, left a good memory of themselves. Only now, no power can exist without heroes and saints. She creates them precisely to strengthen her power over a person, to dominate him, thanks to which many have high statuses and a sweet life. It is only strange: the more heroes and saints, the more teachers the people have, the more moral side it becomes worse and worse .During the time of universal atheism, we did not see such a level of crime, deception of the people, such hypocrisy, such enmity towards each other, such a desire for carnal pleasures, as now, when the majority imagines themselves to be believers! Everywhere there is a double life - one for oneself, and the other, allegedly for God, but again for oneself a sinner who wants eternity in the afterlife. Are we really so stupid that without fairy tales we will deteriorate, we will not figure out what is good and what is bad? When idealists are in politics, this is fraught with bad consequences, which we have experienced more than once! Without any exaggeration, "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" is a brilliant work. I only wish that this ingenious work did not overshadow us real life, which was done by politicians at all times: either they slipped the works of Lenin for study, then the works of Stalin, then the works of Brezhnev ... They formed in each of us one point of view on life from the standpoint of Marxism-Leninism. Modern politicians are no longer writers (and that's a good thing), but slip scriptures or texts on religious topics - study and become better, doing little to protect secular interests! Another danger appears - politicians turn into preachers, instead of doing all their direct duties. If in the international arena we actively promoted the idea of ​​a multipolar world and achieved great success, then why in domestic politics are we more and more sliding towards a unipolar world, to one point of view - religious? We will not get better, because an authoritarian state and an authoritarian society decide for a person what to read and whom to love, what to be! It's time to understand that a multipolar world is not only somewhere, but also inside us, in our state, which is secular, but more and more slipping into an imposed unipolar system!

Why Peter and Fevronia?

These saints are glorified by the Church not as saints, although they accepted the schema at the end of their lives, not as martyrs and confessors, although they were expelled from their city. Fasting and prayer were part of them family life, and they were subjected to humiliation and dangers for being faithful to each other. Saints Peter and Fevronia gave an example of an ideal Christian family. It is for this that they were awarded church veneration, which is why their life for more than eight centuries has been an example of the proper attitude of spouses to church marriage and to each other.

The effectiveness of prayer to these saints, which has been created by the Church for 450 years, convinces us of the authenticity of the appearance of Peter and Fevronia, which was recreated by Yermolai-Erasmus in his Tale. They truly became patrons of Christian marriage.

It is they who should pray for the sending of peace into the family, for the strengthening of marital ties, for the achievement family happiness. Thus, Saints Peter and Fevronia are included in the majestic picture of the history of the world understood in a Christian way, they are placed on a par with the apostles and martyrs and other great saints. And they were honored with such glorification “for the sake of courage and humility”, shown by them in keeping the commandments of God regarding marriage. In this way they fulfilled their calling as Christians. This means that each of those who labor in Christian marriage and follow their example can be placed in this rank and can acquire the crown that was awarded to Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom.

Priest's comment

Archpriest Andrey Efanov:

“We know very little for certain about the life of Saints Peter and Fevronia. It is known that this princely couple lived in the 13th century, they had three children, they died on the same day, having taken monasticism at the end of their life path. As a one-of-a-kind exception, the prince and princess are buried in the same coffin.

Probably, it was precisely these circumstances of their lives that caused Saints Peter and Fevronia to become patrons of the family and marriage. Indeed, what a beautiful end to life, like in a fairy tale: "they lived happily ever after and died on the same day." Who among the newlyweds does not dream of such a thing?

However, such a death must be deserved. To raise wonderful children: patriotic sons, a daughter - the wife of the Grand Duke. Do not betray each other in a time of trials, always stay together, in joy and sorrow. Firmly keep the Orthodox faith. Only then can one hope for the mercy that was shown to the saints of Murom.

There is a lot of beauty in the legend about Peter and Fevronia. I recalled the case when they wanted to separate the hater of the prince from his wife. However, the holy prince chose exile so as not to be separated from his beloved wife. How many are now ready to follow the example of the saint?

Today is the Day of Family and Loyalty our society needs like air, like water. Marriages are destroyed with ease, as never before, not everyone is ready to remember about marital fidelity. But still, when entering into marriage, most newlyweds dream of happiness, of love to the grave.

Choosing the patrons of the marriage of the Murom saints, the spouses lay in the foundation of their marriage, albeit one, but the cornerstone. If this house is based on firm faith, marital fidelity, love and mutual respect, if the children in this marriage are brought up in Christian traditions, then nothing can destroy such a marriage. Any hardships, trials, disasters can only shake such a house a little, but from this, each pebble will adhere even more tightly to the next one, and as a result, the house of such a marriage will only become stronger.

The Trinity Convent in Murom is not much different from other monasteries of this kind. But when you approach the relics of the marvelous saints of Murom, all this is completely forgotten. Here the worshiper is left alone with Eternity. But alone does not mean alone.

TV report about the celebration of the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity in Samara

Peter and Fevronia of Murom are Russian Orthodox saints who are revered as patrons of the family and marriage. Their marriage in Orthodoxy is considered exemplary. Holy Blessed Prince Peter, in monasticism David, and Holy Blessed Princess Fevronia, in monasticism Euphrosyne, Miracle Workers of Murom. Blessed Prince Peter was the second son of Prince Yury Vladimirovich of Murom. He ascended the throne of Murom in 1203. A few years earlier, Saint Peter fell ill with leprosy, from which no one could cure him. In a sleepy vision, it was revealed to the prince that the pious maiden Fevronia, a peasant woman of the village of Laskovaya in the Ryazan land, could heal him. Saint Peter sent his people to that village. When the prince saw Saint Fevronia, he loved her so much for her piety, wisdom and kindness that he vowed to marry her after the healing. Saint Fevronia healed the prince and married him. The holy spouses carried love for each other through all trials. The proud boyars did not want to have a princess from a simple title and demanded that the prince let her go. Saint Peter refused, and the couple were expelled. They sailed on a boat along the Oka from their native city. Saint Fevronia supported and consoled Saint Peter. But soon the wrath of God overtook the city of Murom, and the people demanded that the prince return with Saint Fevronia. The holy spouses became famous for their piety and mercy. They died on the same day and hour on June 25, 1228, having previously taken monastic vows with the names David and Euphrosyne. The bodies of the saints were laid in one tomb. There is another version of this story. She is described by D. S. Likhachev as follows: “The heroine of the story is the maiden Fevronia. She is wise with folk wisdom. She makes wise riddles and knows how to solve life’s difficulties without fuss. She does not object to enemies and does not offend them with open teaching, but resorts to allegory, the goal which - to teach a harmless lesson: her opponents themselves guess their mistakes. She works miracles in passing: she makes the branches stuck for a fire blossom in one night into a large tree. Her life-giving power extends to everything around. The crumbs of bread in her palm turn into grains of fragrant incense "Prince Peter tries to deceive her only once, at the beginning, when he decides not to marry her, contrary to his promise. But after the very first lesson taught to him by Fevronia, he listens to her in everything and, having married, lives with her in harmony, their love crosses the threshold of death." The essence of this story, apparently, is the same. Which of them was in reality is unknown, since the Tale of Peter and Fevronia was written down by the Chronicler Yermolai the Sinful by order of Metropolitan Macarius in the 16th century. Peter and Fevronia were canonized in 1547. The day of remembrance of the saints is June 25 (July 8, according to a new style).

July 8(June 25 according to the Julian calendar) The Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Murom holy spouses Peter and Fevronia, who lived at the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. Their marriage is an example of Christian marriage. Saints Peter and Fevronia were revered in Rus' as patrons of married life; it was believed that with their prayers they bring down a heavenly blessing on those who marry.

The life story of Peter and Fevronia existed for many centuries in the legends of the Murom land, where they lived and where their relics were preserved. Over time, the true events acquired fabulous features, merging in the people's memory with the legends and parables of this region. In the 16th century, the love story of Peter and Fevronia was described in detail and colorfully in the famous Old Russian "The Tale of Peter and Fevronia" by a talented writer, widely known in the era of John the Terrible, priest Ermolai the Sinful (monastic Erasmus). Researchers argue about which of the historical figures the life is written about: some are inclined to think that they were Prince David and his wife Euphrosinia, in monasticism Peter and Fevronia, who died in 1228, others see in them the spouses Peter and Euphrosinia, who reigned in Murom in XIV century.

According to the Lives of the Saints, Prince Peter was the second son of Prince Yury Vladimirovich of Murom. He ascended the throne of Murom in 1203. A few years before his reign, Peter fell ill with leprosy, from which no one could cure him. In a dream, it was revealed to the prince that the beekeeper's daughter Fevronia, a peasant woman from the village of Laskovaya in the Ryazan land, could heal him. Fevronia was beautiful, pious and kind, besides, she was a wise girl, she knew the properties of herbs and knew how to treat ailments, wild animals obeyed her. The prince fell in love with Fevronia for her piety, wisdom and kindness and vowed to marry her after the healing. The girl healed the prince, but he did not keep his word. The disease resumed, Fevronia again cured the prince, and he married the healer.

After the death of his brother, Peter inherited the reign. The boyars respected their prince, but the arrogant boyar wives disliked Fevronia, not wanting to have a peasant woman as their ruler. The boyars demanded that the prince leave her. Peter, having learned that they wanted to separate him from his beloved wife, chose to voluntarily give up power and wealth and go into exile with her. Peter and Fevronia left Murom, sailing on a boat along the Oka River. Soon turmoil began in Murom, the boyars quarreled, seeking the vacant princely throne, blood was shed. Then the boyars, who came to their senses, gathered a council and decided to call Prince Peter back. The prince and princess returned, and Fevronia managed to earn the love of the townspeople. They ruled happily ever after.

In old age, Peter and Fevronia took tonsure in different monasteries with the names David and Euphrosyne, and prayed to God that they die on the same day, and bequeathed to bury themselves together in a specially prepared coffin with a thin partition in the middle.

Each of them died in his cell on the same day and hour - July 8 (according to the old style - June 25), 1228.

People considered it impious to bury monks in one coffin and violated the will of the dead: their bodies were laid in different monasteries. However, the next day they were together. Twice their bodies were carried to different temples, but twice they miraculously ended up nearby. So they buried the holy spouses together in the city of Murom near the cathedral church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Approximately 300 years after the death of Peter and Fevronia, they were included in the Russian Orthodox Church to the saints. Now the relics of Saints Peter and Fevronia rest in the Holy Trinity Convent in Murom.

On this day, it is customary for Orthodox believers, first of all, to visit churches. In their prayers, young people ask God for great love, and older people ask for family harmony. The day of Peter and Fevronia is considered by the people to be happy for love. Also, according to folk signs, forty hot days should be expected from this day.

On March 26, 2008, at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, the Federation Council unanimously approved the initiative to establish a new public holiday on July 8, the Day of the patron saints of the holy princes Peter and Fevronia - "All-Russian Day of Conjugal Love and Family Happiness". The first celebration will take place on July 8 this year in Murom, the homeland of Saints Peter and Fevronia.

Why exactly they began to be revered as the patrons of matrimony? This “trick question” is asked not only by atheists - believers are also surprised at times: “They may even be childless!”. And the unbelievers frolic, it happens, who is into what much. One well-known politician and journalist not so long ago made a mockery, calling Fevronia a blackmailer, and Peter - weak-willed. Of course, with a malicious conclusion: a strange, they say, role model for modern families.

But reductio ad absurdum is a good and illustrative method of argumentation. And the author, who accuses Saint Fevronia of blackmail, involuntarily highlighted for me the reasons why Saints Peter and Fevronia can really be a model, and precisely in our day.

In fact, it is extremely important for us that the saints enter into marriage while not being saints at all. Peter - whatever one may say - lied to Fevronia. Fevronia "did not miss her." There is a pious interpretation of her behavior: the future princess, they say, foresaw with her spiritual eye that the prince would die without her influence, and that’s why she began to set conditions, and did not heal the prince just like that ...

But, oddly enough, for modern young spouses it is much more useful to accept the idea that the noble prince and princess were indeed people not without flaws during their youth. But they forgave each other these shortcomings, covered them with love - and their love blossomed to the point of being ready to renounce glory and honors for the sake of their beloved.

After all, we are now simply marinated through and through with ideas about the impeccability, the ideality of everything that we can “let in” into our lives. Modern freedom in choosing a life partner plays a cruel joke with people. It seems: since you are no longer bound by the authority of your parents and class barriers (and someone is not bound by moral taboos) - so you can choose your spouse, like a jacket - “just right”. Try half the store and find the very best, so that there are no flaws at all.

Somewhere at the level of words, a person seems to understand that “everyone has flaws,” but deep down he hopes that he will definitely be lucky, he is smarter than others! And now six months pass (a year, five years ...), and the young spouse exclaims: “Yes, everyone has flaws, but so be it!”. And try one of those standing next to argue that "nothing special, nothing fatal, you're not too angel either"!

Often only a very bitter experience convinces a person that everyone really has flaws - and very serious ones. And they don’t die from them, but even live happily ever after, if they understand in time how to deal with someone else’s shortcoming.

How do many spouses traditionally deal with each other's shortcomings? Mothers, girlfriends / friends run to announce them aloud, or even trust the status of VKontakte - why waste time on trifles ... And they themselves look deeper into these weaknesses and shortcomings, analyze, mentally weigh and structure ... Until they themselves convince themselves that everything - “it's time to get a divorce "...

Spouses are like two warriors with chain mail not patched on their backs in battle against the temptations of this world. They can stand on the defensive back to back - and they will stand. And they can start spinning, looking at each other's backs with arrogant laughter: “Well, you give! How are you going to fight in this form, you fool?!” It is unlikely that they will only laugh for a long time.

Marital fidelity, among other things, is expressed in the desire to cover the infirmities of the second half, not only from prying eyes, but also from one's own irritability. This is not about some serious sins that destroy marriage in principle, but about infirmities. Laziness, carelessness or excessive pedantry, irascibility or emotional dryness - it is quite possible to get along with them until you start growing an elephant out of a fly. Well, the husband came tired, not in the spirit. How difficult it is for a wife to endure this calmly! Do not start to "unwind" the temper of the spouse with reproaches and questions, but wait until it passes by itself.

How difficult it is to protect a loved one from our own nit-picking and reproaches ... How easy it is to fall into irritability and scrupulous study of other people's shortcomings through a shard of a troll's mirror, which, as you remember, "was the devil himself."

Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia in marriage very quickly learned to "stand back to back", covering each other's weaknesses from the world and their own infirmities. And they showed us that this path is fruitful, that weakness is not forever. And forever - only love. We just need to keep it...