For many centuries in Russia, after the death of the Grand Duke, his reign passed to the eldest in the family: brother after brother and nephew after uncle succeeded. This order of succession to the throne was the cause of frequent unrest and bloodshed between appanage princes who coveted the grand-ducal throne, and the unrest and bloodshed exhausted and weakened Russia and handed it over to the power of the Tatars. Seeing this, the smart princes of Moscow tried to change the ancient custom and, having taken possession of the grand ducal throne, began to introduce a new order of succession to the throne in a direct descending line from father to son, and in order to more conveniently establish autocracy, they began to limit the power of appanage princes on the one hand, and on the other, reduce the number of the most inheritances, annexing them under one pretext or another to the great reign. Everyone saw the beneficial consequences of this wise policy: Russia united and strengthened every year, Moscow grew and became a truly reigning city, the Tatars themselves became less terrible; but the appanage princes, accustomed to consider themselves autocratic and equal to the Grand Duke, reluctantly put up with the new order of things and tried in every possible way to defend their former rights, for which they often started quarrels and civil strife with the Grand Duke and entered into relations with his enemies. The one who suffered the most from them was the Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark, whom the appanage princes, close to him by blood, deprived not only of the throne, but even of his sight. But such was the power of the centuries-old custom that the Dark One himself, having blessed his eldest son John III with a great reign, despite his own bitter experience, still assigned inheritances to his four brothers in his spiritual life.

The third of the Dark One’s sons, Andrei Vasilyevich the Great, appanage prince of Uglich, was the favorite of his mother, nun Martha. Having reached adulthood, in 1470 he married Elena, the daughter of the Mezetsky prince Roman, and during the 13 years of marriage with her he had two sons and two daughters. His eldest son John, born and baptized in Velikiye Luki around 1477, from his very infancy showed extraordinary restraint, unusual for children of his age. “Before, by custom he is meek and humble in heart and silent in mind, and not at all angry; “I didn’t pay attention to either the game or the royal amusement,” Elder Loggin, the descriptor of his life, says about him, “and when he came to his senses, he commanded him to teach him the divine scripture and soon learned more.” His mother, Princess Elena Romanovna, died on April 2, 6991 (1483), and soon after her his grandmother, the Grand Duke’s mother nun Martha, died on July 4, 6993 (1485), who especially patronized his parent and kept the Grand Duke from taking strict measures against his brothers . The Grand Duke was very dissatisfied with his brothers for the following reason. Andrei the Great and Boris, offended, on the one hand, by the fact that John III annexed to his great reign the estates of the two brothers Yuri and Andrei the Lesser, who died childless, and did not give them a part of these estates, on the other hand, by the fact that the new order of succession to the throne forever deprived them of the hope of ever receiving a great reign - at the suggestion of their entourage, they often entered into relations with the enemies of the Grand Duke, took their side and took in those who were dissatisfied with the Grand Duke or those who had offended him.

Struck by the loss of his beloved mother and, as if anticipating his bitter fate, the young Prince John devoted himself even more to reading divine books, constantly had mortal memory in his mind, was present at all church services during the day, and spent his nights in prayer. The highest pleasure for him was conversations with pious people, his favorite pastime was charity and almsgiving. At such a young age, surrounded by a crowd of courtiers, in the midst of the noise and rumors of everyday life, he looked more like a monk than like the heir to a rich reign. He did not pay any attention to the affairs and honors of the princely title; in general, everything that did not relate to the enlightenment of the mind and the salvation of the soul was completely alien to him and seemed to not exist. Abstinent in food and drink, he loved to dress modestly and simply - as much as his high rank allowed this simplicity, and he tried more to adorn himself with good morals than with the richness and pomp of clothes.

When his patroness, his mother, passed away, Prince Andrei Vasilyevich still did not try to get closer to the Grand Duke and acquire his love and trust, as a result of which the elder brother continued to remain dissatisfied with him, although there was no obvious break between them yet and the younger brother was often in visiting the elder. Since Andrei Vasilyevich spent a lot of time in Moscow, in 1490, a year after that, having arrived from Uglich, on September 19 he was received by the Grand Duke very affectionately, they seemed to be perfect friends, talked sincerely and cheerfully, and Prince Andrei spent the whole evening in the palace. The next day, the Grand Duke, through the butler Prince Pyotr Shastunov, invited his brother to his place for dinner and, when he arrived, he greeted him kindly, led him into a room called a trap, where he sat with him and, after talking a little, went out into another room; He ordered his brother to wait for him in a trap, and Andrei’s boyars to go to the dining room, where they were all immediately taken into custody. At the same time, Prince Semyon Ryapolovsky entered Prince Andrei with many princes and boyars, shedding tears, he could hardly say to Andrei: “Sovereign, Prince Andrei Vasilyevich! you were caught by God, and by the sovereign Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich of All Rus', your elder brother.” Andrei stood up and said: “God willing, yes, my eldest brother, Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich; and my judgment is with him before God, who takes me innocently.” Although Andrei sat in the palace from the first hour of the day until vespers, the brothers no longer saw each other; After vespers, Andrei was taken to the state courtyard, bound in chains and assigned a guard of many princes and boyars. Then they sent to Uglich to seize Andreev’s sons John and Dimitri, who were also chained, taken to Pereyaslavl on September 22 and put in prison. John was then 13 years old, and Dimitri was 12. The daughters of Prince Andrei were not touched and were left free in Uglich, although the inheritance was annexed to the great reign. This shows that it was not enmity and anger against Andrei that forced John III to take such drastic measures and treat his relatives so cruelly, but necessity and state benefit: it was necessary to once and for all resolve the sedition and civil strife of the appanage princes, make them his henchmen and approve autocracy in the state. The measure is cruel, but necessary and justified by the customs of that rough and cruel age. John III himself explained his action to the Metropolitan in this way when he came to him to intercede for Prince Andrei: “I feel sorry for my brother and I really don’t want to destroy him and put the blame on myself; but I can’t free him, because more than once he plotted evil against me, then repented, and now he has again begun to plot to attract my people to himself. Yes, that would be nothing; but when I die, he will seek a great reign under my grandson, and if he doesn’t get it himself, he will confuse my children and they will fight with each other, and the Tatars will destroy the Russian land, burn and capture them, and they will again impose tribute and Christian blood again It will flow as before, and all my labors will remain in vain and you will be slaves of the Tatars.”

Since Pereyaslavl was located not far from Moscow and on the very road from it to Uglich - the place of Andrei’s reign, and all this could remind the people of the prisoners and arouse in them regret for them, which the Grand Duke, of course, did not want, then the children of Prince Andrei would soon They were also transported to Beloozero to prison, and Andrei himself died in Moscow on November 6, 7002 (1493). After the death of their parent, the young princes were transported to Vologda. It is not known whether this was the will of the Grand Duke or whether the commanders and prison guards wanted to curry favor with the sovereign, only here they were kept in heavy chains and in the closest confinement. All their property consisted of one icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” - their inheritance and blessing from their parent.

To understand the full burden of imprisonment for the young princes of Uglich, brought up in bliss and contentment, one must remember what a prison (dungeon) was like in Russia in the 15th century, especially in such remote and remote places as Beloozero and Vologda were then, where the philanthropic and compassionate gaze of the Sovereign never penetrated, where the groans and cries of the prisoners were not heard by the higher authorities, and where the arbitrariness of the jailer could replace law and justice with impunity. It is known about the Vologda prison that even at the end of the 17th century (1694) under Peter the Great, many died in it from hunger, overcrowding and stuffiness. What was it like in it 200 years earlier?

At such a young age, expelled from the world and therefore not even having the time and opportunity to experience its joys, become addicted to it and succumb to its hobbies, deprived of relatives and friends and seeing only the stern faces of their guards around them - in what other way could they find joy and the consolation of the royal prisoners, if not only in prayer to God and to the zealous intercessor of all the unfortunate and suffering - the Mother of God, whose holy icon was always before their eyes? Only the consciousness of their innocence, faith in God and hope in His Providence, which always wisely and fatherly arranges the paths of man, could support them, save them from despondency and despair and give them that generous patience with which they endured their long and difficult imprisonment. Especially the faithful Prince John, who spent days and nights in prayer, did not seem to feel the burden of bonds and imprisonment; he completely renounced the world and, constantly having mortal memory in his mind, achieved such spiritual perfection and acquired such humility and tenderness that he constantly shed tears. When his brother Demetrius began to become exhausted, to indulge in sadness and despondency, he tried to console him, reminded him of God, of the patience of the saints, of the future reward for those who suffer innocently, and did not retreat from him until he was encouraged and stopped complaining about his situation. “Do not grieve, my dear brother, about your bonds and prison,” he said. “God inspired our uncle, the sovereign Grand Duke John Vasilyevich, to take care of the benefit of our souls, to separate us from this vain world in order to take away our concern for it. We are unworthy to live in this world according to our own will, in freedom; Let us pray that this captivity will serve us in favor, that God will give us the strength to joyfully endure it to the end in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that through this we may be freed from eternal torment. We must pray for our uncle and for his children, because they have become intercessors and agents of our salvation and care for our souls and bodies, having prepared this peaceful place for us to listen to ourselves in psalms and singing and reading books, like the fathers the saints lived. Didn’t they all walk along a sorrowful path, enduring hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, in prisons and wounds and in all kinds of deprivation and, however, did not lose heart about it, but also rejoiced? So it is fitting for us, humiliating ourselves, to be jealous of them with good zeal, in order to meekly imitate their suffering, illness and patience. The Holy Apostles were stoned, and the holy martyrs also suffered various torments, and the venerable fathers tormented themselves, leaving father, mother, wife and children and the whole world, and endured hunger and thirst for God; but we sinners have not done anything good in the world, we have not been jealous of the life and suffering of the saints, and therefore we are truly worthy of all condemnation and wounds and torment.” So the blessed sufferer looked at his earthly fate as the structure of the good wisdom of God, which turns the erroneous deeds of men into means of salvation; So in his pure soul, patience followed sorrow, patience followed spiritual experience, experience followed hope, and hope does not leave one in shame. The elder brother, animated by her, consoled the younger one, and his words seemed like a healing balm for the latter’s soul. But who can convey all his touching, comforting conversations, count his prayerful sighs and tears, comprehend his truly angelic patience and selflessness? Like his brother, being in chains and prison, enduring with him the same hardships and sorrows and himself in need of consolation and help, he often had to forget about himself in order to help his exhausted brother and save him from despair; when he succeeded in this, he rejoiced spiritually and this was his only joy during his long, suffering life. They had no other joys and could not have them.

More than thirty years have passed since the brothers left their beautiful and rich Uglich and, instead of the vast and bright parental chambers, they languished in a cramped, gloomy and stuffy dungeon, instead of gold chains and other princely decorations they wore heavy shackles and iron chains. Many changes took place in the world at this time, and the involuntary culprit of their imprisonment was no more. The great collector of the Russian land had already completed his glorious feat for the good of the fatherland and had long since taken his place next to his father under the arches of the Archangel Cathedral - their cousin, Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich, reigned in Russia; the brothers themselves, once young children, not only reached adulthood, but were already approaching old age. Only there was no change in their unhappy situation: still the same cramped and gloomy prison, the same heavy chains and shackles, the same stern faces of the jailers; and there was no hope of freeing myself from all this, breathing free air and enjoying freedom. No one thought about them, no one remembered, the prison was supposed to become a grave for them.

The thirty-second spring of their imprisonment had arrived, nature was apparently awakening and coming to life, the air was becoming warmer, the sun's rays were breaking through the narrow windows of the dungeon more strongly, illuminating its gloomy interior longer and brighter, from time to time the singing of birds was heard in the air, the earth became more and more covered with fresh herbs and flowers. But this, the best and most pleasant time of the year, joyful even for prisoners, did not please Prince Dimitri now, because his elder brother John, his only friend and comforter, was unwell, became weaker and weaker every day and could not get up for several days from bed. In vain did Prince Dimitri try to console him with the hope of recovery; John not only did not believe his words, but also did not want recovery: death was for him a joy, the end of all his suffering and a long-desired guest who would unite him with Christ, to whom his heart constantly strove, and would reveal to him new world, where there is no illness, no suffering, no sadness and sighing - that’s why he was looking forward to it. The sufferer strongly desired only one thing - to be tonsured, to see himself considered a monk, following the example of many of his sovereign ancestors; if anything somewhat confused and upset him, it was love and compassion for his brother, for whom the bonds and prison without him, in complete solitude, as he foresaw, would seem even more difficult. Therefore, forgetting his own suffering, he tried, in a voice now weak and interrupted by illness, to console and encourage him. At the persistent requests of John, he was called to the prison to the painful bed of his Savior-Prilutsk abbot Misail, who, knowing that the blessed sufferer spent his entire life in fasting and abstinence, in patience and suffering, and, seeing his fiery desire, faith and extreme exhaustion, not only did he not refuse him tonsure, but also clothed him in the schema, calling him Ignatius. The new schema-monk was incredibly happy about his angelic image, shed tears of gratitude to God, and after communion of the Holy Mysteries, making the sign of the cross, with the words: “Lord, in Your hands I commend my spirit,” he commended his suffering spirit to God. He died quietly and peacefully at the age of 45, of which he spent 32 years in prison. It was May 19, 1522.

Seeing the death of his brother, Prince Dimitri, struck by grave grief, fell on his lifeless body and sobbed loudly, kissing and watering the deceased with his tears, he pitifully spoke to him as if alive: “Oh dear, my dear brother and master! My current separation from you is more difficult and bitter for me than all my misfortunes. When I lost my parent, in you I had a father, friend and comforter and did not feel the sorrow of orphanhood and the burden of prison. And now who will console me in the sorrow of my imprisonment, who will encourage and dispel my grief? I don’t know what to do, how to live without you? Woe to me now, reverend father! You left poor me alone in this prison to mourn my dreams!” But at the same time, looking at the calm and bright face of the deceased brother, who seemed not dead, but as if asleep, and smelling the fragrance emanating from the body, which filled not only the prison, but also the places adjacent to it, Demetrius stopped crying and rejoiced at the blessed death of his brother, seeing in it the end of his suffering and not at all doubting the bliss awaiting him.

Just as a city cannot hide when standing on the top of a mountain, so the holy and ascetic life, the truly angelic patience and gentleness of a royal prisoner, were not hidden from the inhabitants of the city of Vologda, despite the fact that, due to his strict imprisonment, almost no one knew or saw him. In addition to his high origin, the mere fact that he was in chains and in prison for so long, without knowing any guilt behind him, involuntarily inspired everyone with respect for him and forced them to look at him as a martyr - therefore, as soon as the news spread about blessed death, all the inhabitants of the city, young and old, gathered at the door of the prison, wanting to see, kiss the body of the sufferer and pay him his last duty - to accompany him to the grave. This was not allowed to the only one who was loved and who loved the deceased more than anyone else - his brother Prince Dimitri; Despite his screams and sobs, he was not allowed to take his brother beyond the threshold of the prison. With the ringing of the bells of the churches closest to the prison and an unusual crowd of people, Abbot Misail with all the monastery brethren and the city clergy, with great honor, carried the body of the schema-monk prince out of prison and went with him to the cathedral Church of the Resurrection of Christ, where his funeral service was to take place. As if in return for the fact that the entire life of the saint of God was hidden in the darkness of prison, the Lord hastened to glorify him before his body was hidden in the ground. Even during the slow procession to the cathedral church, the holy relics of Ignatius began to pour out healing. One relaxed woman named Alexandra, who lived in a suburb in the parish of St. Georgia, had no control over her arms or legs; Having heard about the death of the noble prince, she began to call on him in prayer and ask for healing from her illness and immediately received healing. The next day, when they carried the saint’s body out of prison into the cathedral, she ordered his coffin to be taken care of and, as soon as she touched it, she felt completely healthy. Upon completion in the cathedral Divine Liturgy and after the funeral service, Abbot Misail, accompanied by all the people, carried the body of the schema-prince to his monastery and laid it at the feet of the wonderworker Demetrius under the church altar. Here, before they had time to bury the body, a new miracle testified to the holiness of the deceased. A certain Mikhail from the village of Prilutsky was obsessed with a mortal illness and already despaired of recovery; Having heard about the burial of the noble prince in the monastery, he ordered to be carried to the monastery; at this time they were already singing the last requiem for the deceased, and as soon as the sick man touched his coffin, he immediately became healthy, as if he had not been sick. These and many other miracles and healings received by people after prayerfully invoking the name of the blessed Prince John (Ignatius), convinced everyone of his holiness, as a result of which Abbot Misail, who called the mason David from the same Prilutsky village, ordered him to make a stone tomb over the prince’s grave, in the likeness of the tomb over the wonderworker Demetrius. But when David, out of his ignorance while working, sat down without any respect on the tomb of the prince, at that very moment he felt unbearable pain, that part of the body with which he had so disrespectfully touched the tomb became terribly swollen, so that he could neither walk nor sit. His suffering continued for three days, until he, realizing his guilt, came to the saint’s tomb and with many tears asked him for forgiveness; He received healing as quickly as he fell ill, and, having completed his work, joyfully returned to his home, glorifying the saint of God Ignatius.

In the same Prilutsky village there lived a woman, Solomonia, who had not heard with her ears and had not seen with one eye for 20 years; Having learned about the miraculous healings received at the tomb of St. Prince Ignatius, she came to the monastery, prayed to the saint and, as soon as she venerated his coffin, she immediately felt completely healthy, began to hear and see with both eyes.

A certain Boris Solovtsev, having heard about the burial of the blessed Prince Ignatius in the Prilutsky Monastery and about the miracles that happened at his tomb, brought his man Herodion to the monastery, who had been unwell with his eyes for a year, and the disease, despite any medicine, was getting more and more intensified , so it was necessary to fear that he would soon go completely blind. After the prayer service was completed, when Herodion, with tears and faith, venerated the tomb of St. Demetrius and Prince Ignatius, he was immediately healed and could not resist crying out with joy that he could see everything clearly as before.

Under Abbot Afanasy, the successor of Misail, who died in 1538, a woman, Daria, was brought to the Prilutsky Monastery with Maslyana from the village of Pavshino. She had a crooked arm, which was bent to her chest under her bosom, so that it was in no way possible to straighten it. Having spent a lot of money on doctors and medicines and not receiving any benefit from them, she asked the abbot and the brethren to ask the saints for healing from her illness and gave considerable alms to the monastery. Seeing her zeal and faith, Abbot Athanasius ordered the beater to be struck for a meeting in the church of all the brethren, the brethren gathered and, having performed a conciliar prayer to the saints for the healing of the sick woman, dispersed to their cells. The sick woman, crying and sobbing, was taken from the church to the living room cell, where she immediately forgot herself and in a thin sleep suddenly heard a voice: “The miracle workers are coming.” It seemed to her that it became unusually light in the cell, the doors opened and the monks - first Ignatius in the clothes of a schema-monk, and after him the wonderworker Demetrius - entered the cell. St. Demetrius appeared in sacred vestments and, turning to Ignatius, said: “Father. Forgive this woman for her illness.” The Monk Ignatius approached Daria and, taking her sore hand, said to her: “Get up!” The woman woke up from fear and, although she saw no one in the cell, she immediately felt healed and completely healthy. When she informed the abbot about what had happened to her, he again gathered all the brethren to perform a prayer of thanksgiving to the monk for such a wondrous miracle.

The monk of the Prilutsky monastery Gury, who was correcting the post of sexton, suffered for a long time from such a serious dental disease that he could neither eat nor drink and completely lost sleep. Due to long-term insomnia and illness, he became as if out of his mind and walked around like a madman. One night, having felt himself, he came to the tomb of St. Ignatius and prayed with tears for his healing; when, after prayer, he venerated his tomb and rubbed his gums with the covering that was on it, he immediately became healthy and no longer felt any pain.

Life and miracles of St. Ignatius were written shortly after his death, in the first half of the 16th century, by his contemporary monk Loggin, who at the conclusion of his legend writes that from a lot he collected in it a little that was from the tomb of St. Ignatius, as if from an inexhaustible source, everyone who came to him with faith received healing, so that “all things are not powerful and are written down.” The relics of St. Ignatius rests under cover among the lower church of the Prilutsky Monastery at the feet of the wonderworker Demetrius, on the left side of the pillar supporting the vaults. Church service The suffering prince is known from manuscripts of the 16th century.

After the blessed death of St. Ignatius, the fate of his brother, the faithful Prince Demetrius, did not change in any way in essence; it was to become even more bitter and unbearable for him, since now the burden of imprisonment was also joined by the grief of loneliness: there was no longer a friend and comforter, always who tried to protect him from despondency and, with his prudent admonitions, infused courage and patience into his heart. It was in vain to expect compassion and consolation from the outside; even if his sisters and other relatives were still alive, what could they do in favor of the prisoner against the will of the Grand Duke? It is not yet known whether they knew about the place of his imprisonment. With the death of his beloved brother, deprived of his last consolation in life, Prince Dimitri could not imagine his situation without horror and come to terms with the thought of his loneliness - falling before the icon of the Mother of God, he with tears asked Her to send him death to unite with his brother, but for a long time the sufferer had to wait for her! Five years after the death of St. Ignatius, when his tomb had already become a source of healing and the fame of his holiness and miracles had spread widely, the Grand Duke himself came to Vologda. His arrival happened on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ, when it was customary to give alms and provide some relief to thieves and robbers in custody, and Vasily Ivanovich came precisely for this purpose, to show mercy. "Summer 7037 (1528) prince great Vasily Ivanovich and the Grand Duchess were in Vologda and in the monasteries of the miracle workers: in Kirillov, on Kamenny, in Glushitsy, on Priluka near the Savior, in Korniliev and in Pavlov, the hermitage and gave great alms and amusement in the monastery and in the city by the priest. And he ordered to pray for children, so that God would give him a child,” says the chronicler. Having been in Priluki at the relics of St. Demetrius, Vasily Ivanovich could not help but see the coffin of the new miracle worker, his cousin, and at the same time he could not help but remember Prince Dimitri, who was languishing in chains. It seemed that he who sought mercy for himself would also be merciful, that the hour had come for the release of the royal prisoner, especially since Heaven itself testified to his innocence and seemed to intercede for him, glorifying the saint. Ignatius. Naturally, Dimitri himself could have expected this, but, unfortunately, he was bitterly deceived in his hopes. The Grand Duke, having toured all the monasteries, visited everywhere and given gifts to everyone, did not visit only the prisoner in his dungeon, not only did not ease his fate, but was not even interested in seeing him, and thus showed obvious heartlessness and cruelty to his close relative. History does not blame John III for the imprisonment of his brother Andrei Vasilyevich, a kind and pious prince, but unsteady in character and easily succumbing to the advice of others, and therefore unreliable and dangerous for the Grand Duke. This was a matter of political necessity and state benefit. But for Vasily Ivanovich, what was the need for the imprisonment of Prince Dimitri, who had nothing, forgotten and abandoned by everyone? How could he be dangerous to Vasily? Shouldn’t the aimless, unprovoked content of Prince Dimitri in prison and chains leave an indelible, black stain on the reign of Vasily?

The arrival of the Grand Duke in Vologda, which aroused so many unfulfilled hopes in Prince Dimitri, was for him a good lesson to forget about the world, as the world forgot about him, and to cleave with all his heart to the one Lord, patiently enduring the cross placed on him and expecting help from Him alone. and salvation. This lesson did not remain fruitless for the prisoner. Already after the death of Vasily, during the early childhood of his son John IV, the boyar duma, at the insistence of the then ruler of the state, the good and enlightened Prince Ivan Fedorovich Belsky, in 1540 removed the shackles from the prisoner (he was then more than 60 years old) and ordered him to be allowed into his prison more light and air, but even then she did not open his prison and did not return freedom. Having been imprisoned for 50 years and seemingly buried alive, he was forgotten by everyone, so that the time of his death remained unknown. “And his (Ignatius’s) brother, the blessed Prince Dimitri Andreevich, after he lived a good and godly life, reposed in the Lord and was buried in the same monastery at the feet of his brother,” says the chronicler, without mentioning either the year or the month and the day of his death. The death of the noble prince followed around the middle of the 16th century, and since at the beginning of the 17th century the Prilutsky Monastery was subjected to repeated robberies and devastations, during which all archives and records were burned and destroyed, it is not known whether there were any miracles and healings from his coffin . However, he, together with his brother Ignatius, was placed by Metropolitan Eugene in the list of saints of God who rest in the Vologda diocese, as well as in the historical dictionary of saints glorified in the Russian Church (St. Petersburg, 1836). His chains are kept to this day together with the chains of the monks Demetrius and Ignatius, and over his grave a tomb was built, similar to the tombs of the monks. Since it was located to the east, very close to the altar, and when the church was built in the name of St. Demetrius prevented the installation of the iconostasis, and it was probably removed at this time (1641).

The Monk Demetrius of Prilutsky, a miracle worker, was born into a wealthy merchant family in Pereslavl-Zalessky. From his youth the monk was distinguished by his rare beauty. Having taken monastic vows in one of the Pereslavl monasteries, in Nagorny Borisoglebsk, on the shore of Lake Pleshcheevo near the city, the saint founded the St. Nicholas cenobitic monastery and became its abbot.

In 1354, Demetrius first met with St. Sergius of Radonezh, who came to Pereslavl to see Bishop Athanasius. Since then, I have repeatedly talked with St. Sergius and become close to him. The fame of the Pereslavl abbot spread so much that he became the successor of the children of Grand Duke Dimitri Ivanovich. Under the influence of the Radonezh miracle worker, the monk decided to retire to a remote place and, together with his disciple Pachomius, went to the North. In the Vologda forests, on the Velikaya River, in the Avnezh district, they built the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and wanted to lay the foundation of a monastery. But the local residents were afraid of losing their land, and the hermits, not wanting to be a burden to anyone, moved on.

Not far from Vologda, in a bend of the river, in a secluded place, the Monk Demetrius decided to create the first communal monastery in the Russian North. Residents of Vologda and the surrounding area happily agreed to help the saint. The owners of the land intended for the monastery, Ilya and Isidore, even trampled the winter fields so that the temple could be built immediately. In 1371, the wooden Spassky Cathedral was erected, and the brethren began to gather. Many of the saint's disciples moved here from Pereslavl. The Prilutsk abbot combined deep prayer and strict asceticism with mercy: he fed the poor and hungry, received strangers, talked with those in need of consolation, and gave advice. The monk loved to pray in private. His constant food was only prosphora with warm water; even on holidays he did not take the wine and fish permitted by the charter. In winter and summer he wore the same old sheepskin coat, and until a very old age he went with his brethren to common work. The saint accepted contributions to the monastery carefully, making sure that donations to the monastery were not to the detriment of the donors’ neighbors. The Lord endowed His saint with the gift of clairvoyance. The monk died at a ripe old age on February 11, 1392. The brethren who arrived found him as if asleep, and his cell was filled with a wonderful fragrance. Miracles from the relics of St. Demetrius began in 1409, and in the 15th century his veneration spread throughout Rus'. No later than 1440, based on the stories of Demetrius’s student, abbot Pachomius, the Prilutsk monk Macarius wrote his life (Great Menaion-Cheti, February 11).

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Many believers, who during their lifetime repeatedly proved their zealous faith in the Lord, were executed or suffered martyrdom for this. But the people did not forget about them. They honor their memory and turn to them in any difficult situation. An obvious example is Dimitry Prilutsky of Vologda, the Wonderworker. He always helped not only during his life, but also responds to petitions after his death. Many miracles happened through prayers to his icon.

The exact date of his birth has not been preserved anywhere. There is information in some sources that he was born into a wealthy merchant family that lived in Pereyaslav-Zallesky. According to some sources, the life of Demetrius of Prilutsky from early childhood was aimed at studying the main truths of Christianity. He didn't play with his peers. As soon as I started reading, I immediately began to study the scriptures.

In his youth he came to the Pereyaslavl Monastery, where he took monastic vows. He was an example of ideal asceticism. After this, he founded the St. Nicholas Cenobitic Monastery. Many believe that he was inspired to do such a thing by a meeting with Sergius of Radonezh and long conversations. The fame of him and his exploits spread far across Rus', and Dmitry Donskoy himself decided to take him as the godfather of his son.

Those who met him live spoke about his incredible beauty. But the saint himself considered it a punishment and therefore worked even harder. After some time, he retired to the Vologda forests, where he built a temple on the banks of the Velikaya River in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. He wanted to establish a monastery around it, but the local residents did not give him land for a good cause.

He then proceeded along the Volga, where in 1371 he founded the Spaso-Prilutsky male cenobitic monastery. Here he taught how to live in love for Christ. He also used his gifts with which he was awarded by the Lord. He helped people more than once with his prayers. He learned about his death from news. His relics are kept in the Vologda Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.

How does the holy abbot help?

Every year crowds of pilgrims head to this place of his death, trying to attract favor with their prayers. Most often they ask him for help in debt litigation. But besides this, he is capable of:

• get rid of alcohol addiction;
• help return borrowed materials;
• get rid of physical and mental illnesses;
• avoid temptations and other bad thoughts;
• find the right solution in a difficult life situation.

The chronicles contain many references to miracles that occurred even after the death of the saint. One of the most often described is when a robber snuck into the monastery and wanted to rob the coffin. As soon as he extended his hand, an unprecedented force threw him away and he died.

Face of a saint

The first image of it has not reached our time, just as its description was lost. The icon of Demetrius of Prilutsky by the hand of Dionysius resides in Vologda. It describes events from his life and miracles. The author was personally acquainted with the saint and many believe that the face radiates the same qualities that the performer was full of during his lifetime. Many lists were written based on his creation. And most of them have miraculous properties.

Most often, prayers are read before them. They become especially strong on Memorial Day. There are two of them and they fall on:

• 24 February;
• June 16.

Shrines in honor of Demetrius

Since he is considered a miracle worker, it is not surprising that in many religious buildings it is considered a rule to hold a prayer service in his honor. But there are also those who bear his name. For example, the Temple of Demetrius of Prilutsky in Moscow. This is the only building in memory of him in the city, which was built with the money of the merchant Dmitry Storozhev.

The first building appeared in 1890. After the revolution it was closed, and its premises later housed a printing house and an anesthesiology laboratory. Later it was returned to the church and services began again. You can attend them and read a prayer.

“O sacred head, wonderful miracle worker, God-bearing Father Demetrius! Diligently falling to you, we pray: show us, humble and sinners, your powerful intercession. Because it is a sin for our sake, the imams do not have the boldness to ask the Lord for His gifts that are beneficial to us, but we offer and ask you, a prayer book favorable to Him: ask us from His goodness for everything that is for the benefit of our souls and bodies: faith, truth, undoubted hope , unfeigned love, courage in temptation, patience in suffering, constancy in prayer, prosperity in piety, longed-for health, fruitfulness of the earth, goodness of the air, well-timed rains, contentment for everyday needs, peace in our days and blessings from above for all our good deeds. Do not forget, miracle-working saint, to graciously visit your monastery, the cities and towns of our Orthodox country, preserving and protecting them with your prayers from all evil. Remember all those who have faith and love for you and call on your name in prayer, and graciously fulfill their good requests, overshadowing them with your patristic blessing from above. To her, Holy One of God, do not deprive us sinners of your powerful intercession, but grant us the gift of achieving a good end to our lives and inheriting the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us sing and glorify our wondrous God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen."

But in addition, there is also the opportunity to listen to the reading of the akathist to Demetrius Prilutsky. When praying to the saints, it is important to think about the words you say, and it doesn’t matter whether it is a special request or whether they come from a pure heart.

God bless you!

You will also be interested in watching a video story about the holy abbot Demetrius:

The name of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, the miracle worker, has not been preserved in the world, as well as the exact date of birth; it is taken to be the beginning of the 14th century. It is known that he came from a wealthy merchant family of the Pokropaevs, who lived, according to some sources, in ancient Pereslavl-Zalessky, according to others, in the village of Veslevo, Pereslavl district, Yaroslavl province. It is also known that from childhood the boy did not participate in children's games, did not waste time on entertainment, which his peers were interested in. Obviously, the Pokropaev family of merchants was distinguished by special piety, which affected his upbringing: barely able to read and write, he began reading books pleasing to God early, he especially loved the works of John Chrysostom, and loved God with all his soul, deciding that he would devote his life to serving Him.

Therefore, as a young boy, Saint Demetrius came to the Pereslavl, otherwise Goritsky, Monastery of the Holy Mother of God. Here he spent the first years of novice service and very soon became a model of humility, chastity, and fasting life, such that everyone was only amazed at his asceticism.

Having taken monastic vows, he founded the Nikolsky cenobitic monastery in Pereslavl, on the shore of Lake Pleshcheevo, which began with a church erected and consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. God vouchsafed the monk in 1354 to meet with another spiritual luminary of the Russian land - St. Sergius of Radonezh, when he came to Pereslavl to see Bishop Athanasius. Obviously, in conversations with him in the monastery of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra, he learned about the organization of a monastic community, on which the Monk Sergius worked a lot, then he thought about how best to implement the received spiritual knowledge in his monastery, in the monastic life of its brethren. Soon news about Abbot Demetrius and his spiritual virtues spread throughout Orthodox Rus'. The rumor about him was so commendable that Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy wished to see him as his successor - the godfather of one of his sons.

The Lord rewarded the monk with another quality - an external one, which a worldly person would consider a virtue, but for a monk, especially since he kept his lifestyle to extreme severity, it became a real test. Those who met him when he lived in the world claimed that the Monk Demetrius was extremely handsome; they said about him that he was beautiful. However, the monk himself was burdened by his appearance, considered it only an obstacle in the acquisition of virtue, and therefore increased the labors of abstinence, the severity of fasting and the zeal of prayer, but because of this, spiritual beauty shone in him even more, increasing the miracle of physical beauty. To prevent external beauty from becoming a possible temptation, according to monastic custom, he always covered his face with a doll, whether he was in church or in a cell. He rarely talked with worldly men and avoided conversations with women, except those who especially needed the saving conversation of the shepherd.

Probably, this was not the main reason, the main reason was still the influence of the wise speeches of the Monk Sergius of Radonezh, but it contributed to the fact that, having taken the disciple Pachomius, the Monk Demetrius retired to the north, where in the remote Vologda forests of the Avnezh district he built a temple on the banks of the Velikaya River in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. The monk wanted to found a monastery around the temple, but the local residents spared their lands for this godly purpose, and the monk Demetrius and his disciple went to look for another place to realize their pious plan.

They almost reached Vologda, where the Monk Demetrius chose another place to found the monastery: near the city, in a bend of the river - “Prilutsky”, that is, at the river bow. Vologda residents and residents of the surrounding area, on the contrary, happily decided to give up part of the land for the monastery. So in the Russian North, at the bow of the Vologda River, around the wooden Spassky Cathedral, built in 1371, the Spaso-Prilutsky monastery, the first for these places, a male cenobitic monastery arose. Future inhabitants began to flow here, among them there were many who followed the monk from Pereslavl, from the Pereslavl monastery he founded. And here, too, when organizing monastic life, he was guided by the instructions of St. Sergius, who for the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the founders of the charter of the monastic community, which determined life according to the strictest image, where the main requirements for monastics were tireless prayer and asceticism in everything. First of all, the Reverend Abbot Demetrius was demanding of himself: he worked in the monastery at various jobs together with the brethren, without any concessions that he could afford as an abbot. In food, even on holidays, when the monks were allowed fish and wine, he continued, as always, to eat only prosphora diluted in warm water. From year to year, in winter and summer, he wore a single old sheepskin sheepskin coat, which did not protect him from the cold in the cold, and in the summer heat it was unbearably hot, but the monk believed that such patience was nothing compared to the suffering of Christ on cross.

Strictness in him was wonderfully combined with mercy and love for everyone who came to the monastery, which, by its location, was at the crossroads of many roads. Here the beggar and the hungry were always fed and received help from the abbot; he talked with wanderers who came for advice, and consoled the mourners. It happened that he paid debts for debtors, but if someone owed him, that is, the monastery, he forgave the debts, forgetting about them. If someone brought donations to the monastery, then the venerable abbot thanked for virtuous contributions, but accepted them only after examining whether they would become a loss to the donor’s neighbors. When he saw that he was at a loss, he ordered him to take it back to the house and first feed the house workers, the beggars and orphans, and bring to the monastery only what was left after these things, and that’s exactly what the monk said, “you will be a true merciful person, and only the Lord God will consider this to be true.”

Holy Abbot Demetrius loved to pray alone and devoted almost all the time remaining from other matters to prayer. For all his deeds, for his great asceticism, the diligent acquisition of the Holy Spirit through prayer, fasting and labors for monastics and laity, for all the wonderful spiritual virtues and wondrous properties of his human soul, the Lord honored St. Demetrius of Prilutsk with the gift of clairvoyance. Here is just one example from his Life, compiled in the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery (published in Vologda, in 1996): “Once the brethren were engaged in church affairs, and he, standing next to him, said with a heartfelt sigh: “We, brethren, We arrange perishable, earthly things, and the blessed Grand Duke Dimitri Ivanovich no longer cares with us about this vain life...” And here the abbot began to ask God for his repose with the righteous. The brethren who happened to be there heard everything and did not understand, did not know what the saint was talking about, they only remembered those words and kept them in their hearts. And a few days later, news came from the reigning city of Moscow that Grand Duke Demetrius had reposed on the very day when the saint foretold that he “no longer cares with us about this vain life...” And at that very hour the brethren remembered the words of the blessed one who had prayed about all this to God.”

Having spent his long life like this, the holy abbot fell into weakness and, having heard in prayer a prophecy about his imminent death, he informed the brethren about this, bequeathing the hegumen's staff to his faithful Pachomius. According to legend, they learned about his death in the monastery when one of the monks, standing in prayer, smelled incense, the fragrance of which enveloped the entire monastery. Everyone went to see where it was coming from, and found the source of the divine aroma - it was the abbot’s cell. The monks entered the cell and saw that their dear abbot had passed away, as if he had fallen asleep, a fragrance reigned in the cell, and a cloud of light was shining around his body.

On February 11, 1406, with tears and prayers, the holy Venerable Demetrius, the first abbot of the Spaso-Prilutsky Dimitriev diocesan monastery he founded, was buried at the southern wall of the wooden Spassky Church. There are discrepancies in the date of his death in chronology; the year is indicated for us according to the latest information taken from the Orthodox Encyclopedia, the article “Demetrius of Prilutsky”, where it is determined based on the date of the first posthumous miracle of the reverend abbot. The veneration of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky spread everywhere in the 15th century, at the end of which the icon painter Dionysius created his hagiographic icon.

The honorable relics of Saint Demetrius of Prilutsky, as well as his abbot’s staff, are now kept in Vologda, in the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, and from them many miracles happened and are happening, of which there is documentary evidence. Mostly these were deliverances from grave mental illnesses that caused great sorrow to the sufferers themselves and to everyone around them, including from the disease of drunkenness. He himself appeared to some sick people in a vision, others were brought by force to the coffin, bowed before him, applied, and healing occurred instantly.

Also, the venerable abbot repeatedly showed his patronage of Vologda, as was the case during the attack of the Moscow prince Dmitry Yuryevich Shemyaka, one of the main participants in the Civil War of the 2nd quarter of the 15th century, with a great army that repeatedly shed the blood of Russian Christians on the side of their opponents, guided only by their political ambitions. He was condemned by both the great princes and the Moscow metropolitans; he repented, but then continued his reckless military actions towards God and Orthodox Christians. He took advantage of the absence of the governor and his army in the city, and the townspeople found themselves defenseless, but the monastery, located outside the walls of Vologda, miraculously turned out to be untouched.

At night, while standing in prayer, Hieromonk Euthymius easily dozed off from fatigue, and half asleep he saw an elder, illuminated by light, who said to him: “Let us pray, brother, to our Savior Jesus Christ for the city and its innocent inhabitants, may the Lord have mercy on them and help them.” . Having woken up, Euthymy realized that he had seen the holy abbot Demetrius himself, and joyfully began to pray fervently. That same night, one nun saw an elder walking from the Prilutsk monastery, and a light suddenly shone over the whole of Vologda. From the side of the churchyard, two men in snow-white robes came out to him, holding huge logs in their hands. In the same radiance, the strongly shaking walls of the city were visible, which the elder and those two Belorizians strengthened with logs, and as soon as they strengthened them, they immediately disappeared along with the faded radiance. Another witness, who lived in a suburb near the Trinity Monastery, saw in a dream exactly the same vision, but he also heard the Belorians calling the elder Dimitri. The next day, the townspeople, whose spirit was strengthened by prayers to the Lord, threw pieces of clay at the armed invaders, and the troops of Prince Shemyaka retreated. The multi-day siege did not bring them victory. But the matter did not end there: the troops of the Moscow prince went to Galich, where they were completely defeated - so the Lord turned His wrath on the one who contributed to the ruin of Rus'.

Another well-known miracle, dating back to 1417. A robber entered the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery and wanted to rob the saint’s coffin. As soon as the villain extended his hand to the shrine, an unknown force threw him away, he hit his head and died immediately.

And many other miracles happened through prayers to St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, and now he helps everyone who comes to him and to his tomb for help, support, advice, when through prayers he suddenly finds the answer to the most difficult question, a way out of the most confusing and controversial situation.

Meaning of the icon
The very first, miraculous image of St. Demetrius of Prilutsk was lost to us, just as its description has not been preserved. However, the holy hagiographic icon with 16 marks depicting events from the life and miracles of the holy hegumen Demetrius, in honor of which the summer holiday of the Presentation of Her was established (“presentation” is an ancient “meeting”, more details in the section “When the icon of a saint is celebrated”), the work of an icon painter Dionisia resides in Vologda. Of course, Dionysius was well acquainted with the life of the saint, and this icon contains a wonderful property: it radiates with the same reverence and love with which its ancient genius artist was full. About such icons and our attitude towards them, Saint Philaret of Moscow in his “Creations” said: “Sometimes an icon, more than another, can receive a Blessing and the quality of miracles if it was written and prayerfully used by a person filled with piety and grace.”

Icon painter Marina Filippova paints her icon according to Dionysius’ list: the high brow of a sage, regular facial features. The face is framed by white hair from old age, the hair is also white, but, as eyewitnesses describe the face of the saint, not quite, with dark strands. The icon shines with pure colors, mainly scarlet and heavenly tones. Based on the biography of the great ascetic, on his robe under his cloak is inscribed the image of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross in a form that indicates the schematic, extremely ascetic way of life of the saint. Therefore, the ornament of the pre-personal one is relatively simple, but on the Kuznetsov icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky the wondrous radiance is again reflected, which was spoken about by everyone to whom the wonderful old man appeared in visions throughout the five centuries that passed from the hour of his repose, accompanied by wondrous phenomena of incense fragrance and Divine light, indicating his lifetime holiness.

DIMITRY PRILUTSKY

The life of St. Demetrius, the founder of the Spaso-Prilutsk Vologda Monastery and the Vologda wonderworker, is told in his Life, compiled in the second half of the 15th century by the Prilutsk abbot Macarius, mainly based on the stories of St. Demetrius’ disciple Pachomius.

Dimitri was born at the beginning of the 14th century in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, into a wealthy merchant family. (Local Pereyaslavl legend calls the village in which the saint was born Veslevo, as well as the family nickname of his parents - Pokropaevs.) As a child, he learned to read and write and fell in love with reading the Holy Books. His father's trading affairs were of little interest to him; he thought more about heavenly things, thinking about entering the “straight and sorrowful path” of monastic life. As a young man, he leaves his father's house and takes monastic vows at the Pereyaslavl Goritsky Monastery. Here he spends some time and is awarded the priesthood, that is, he becomes a hieromonk.

Soon after this, Dimitri decides to leave the Goritsky monastery and found his own. He moves “to the swamp” - that was the name of a damp swampy place on the outskirts of Pereyaslavl, one mile from Lake Pleshcheevo. Here the monk erects a temple in the name of St. Nicholas of Myra and founds a monastery with it, of which he becomes abbot.

Soon the monastery gains fame. The Life tells that laymen who want to take tonsure from his hand, as well as monks from other monasteries, come to Demetrius. The saint, “like a loving father,” accepts everyone with love. “Reverend Demetrius,” says the author of the Life, “was gifted with rare beauty, and since he led a “cruel life,” exhausting himself with feats of fasting, prayer and labor, his face shone with a special spirituality that surprised people. Therefore, in order to avoid seduction and temptation, the monk usually covered his face with a monastic doll, even during conversations with male visitors to the monastery; he spoke to women very rarely, when there was an urgent need for a word of edification.” On Sundays and holidays, many townspeople, both men and women, came to the monastery, located within the city limits. And then a certain noble woman, who had heard a lot about the beauty and chastity of the Monk Demetrius, wanted to look at him. For a long time her efforts were unsuccessful. Finally, spurred on by empty curiosity, she crept up to the monk’s cell and looked through the window at the abbot. “The ascetic was preparing for the Divine Liturgy at this time; Noticing the woman’s immodesty, he was upset and looked at her reproachfully. Under the angry gaze of the monk, the woman was seized with such strong horror that she fell to the ground in relaxation, not having the strength to rise. Some of the brethren, barely alive, brought her to the porch of the abbot's cell and strenuously asked the abbot to forgive the offender. Seeing the sincere repentance of the crying woman,” the author of the Life concludes his story, the monk “meekly reproached her” and, teaching that “one should come to the temple not to show off perishable jewelry, but to enlighten the soul with concentrated prayer and alms,” blessed her and granted her forgiveness.

During the time of the abbess of the Monk Demetrius in the St. Nicholas Monastery, his acquaintance and then sincere friendship with the Monk Sergius of Radonezh date back. (It can be assumed that their acquaintance took place in 1354, when Sergius was ordained to the rank of presbyter in Pereyaslavl by Bishop Athanasius.) The Monk Demetrius loved to come to the Monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity to the Monk Sergius for mutual prayer and edifying conversation. Probably, it was under the influence of these conversations that Demetrius introduced a cenobitic rule in his monastery, almost unknown before in the north of Rus'.

The glory of the saint’s ascetic life reached Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. He invited the elder to Moscow and asked him to be the recipient of the baptism of one of his sons.

Human glory, however, weighed heavily on the monk. He decided to leave his monastery and hometown. Taking only one of his students, Pachomius, Demetrius left Pereyaslavl and went north. Through dense forests, wilds and swamps, the travelers reached the Lezha River, the right tributary of the Sukhona (in the Vologda region). Here, not far from the confluence of the Velikaya River with the Lezha, about 20 versts from Vologda, they built a small church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ; This place seemed convenient to them for solitary service to God. However, the residents of the neighboring village of Avnegi, having learned that monks had settled in their forests and had already built a church, decided to drive them away. “Here,” they reasoned, “a great old man has settled near us, who will soon take possession of both us and our villages.” (Indeed, the practice of monastic development of the northern regions of Russia testified that the northern monasteries, according to princely charters, soon acquired significant land holdings. The lives of many northern Russian ascetics are filled with stories about their clashes with local residents; sometimes these stories even seem to be a kind of stencils, “common places” in hagiographic literature.) A crowd of peasants came to the monk and demanded that he leave their region. “We don’t like your stay here,” they said.

The monk did not argue. Considering their demand as an indication of God's providence, he left the inhospitable shores of Lezha and in the summer of 1371 came with his disciple Pachomius to Vologda. He chose a place for the monastery at the bend (bow) of the Vologda River, about three versts from the city. The land here belonged to two peasants, residents of the nearby village of Prilutskoye, Ilya and Isidor, nicknamed Vypryag. At the request of the monk, they gave him a plot of land suitable for building a monastery. These lands were fields on which the grain had almost grown; but the donors, out of respect for the elder and for the speedy construction of the church, decided not to wait for the harvest. Having built a cross, the Monk Demetrius prayerfully placed it on the site of the future monastery, and then began building the temple. Having learned about the arrival of the “man of God,” the ancient Life testifies, all the inhabitants of the city - “small and great, rich and poor, anticipating each other, hurried to the saint for a blessing.” Many contributed to the construction of the church and monastery: some with money, others with logs or utensils necessary for the monastery. Soon the church was built and consecrated on August 1, 1371 in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, His Most Pure Mother and in honor of the Life-Giving Cross - celebrations celebrated on this day. (Subsequently, the monastery founded by Demetrius received the name Spaso-Prilutsky.) It was the first monastery in the Vologda land with a strict communal charter.

Monks and laymen seeking tonsure began to flock to the monk: the majority were from Vologda and surrounding villages, but monks also came from the St. Nicholas Pereyaslav Monastery, founded by Demetrius, who learned about the founding of a new monastery by their teacher. When news of this reached Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, he hastened to send a generous donation to the elder he revered.

The life tells about the harsh and truly ascetic life of St. Demetrius. He was the first to work for the benefit of the brethren, and he was the first to pray in church. By his order, in the temple, on the left side of the altar, a special place was built, fenced off with boards; here, unseen by anyone and undistracted by anything, he poured out his soul before God in fervent and fervent prayer. His fast was extremely severe: for weeks the elder went without food, only allowing himself to eat bread and water on holidays. His clothing consisted of one crusty sheepskin coat, so that in winter he suffered from cold and in summer from heat. In addition, the monk wore heavy iron chains on his body (not too common in the practice of Russian saints of that time).

The abbot took care of the wanderers, generously giving them everything they needed. He did not leave those who came to him with spiritual needs with conversation and teaching. Often he left the monastery in order to intercede with the authorities on behalf of the offended and oppressed, and he also protected servants from the violence of their masters. They say that one day he refused to accept food and drink sent to the monastery from one of the regular benefactors of the monastery. “Take this to your house,” he answered him, “and first feed your household, so that they do not languish with hunger and thirst.” (The word household refers primarily to servants.)

They also talk about the elder’s gift of clairvoyance. His brother, who inherited his father’s rich estate, soon went bankrupt and, planning to improve matters, came to the Prilutsk monastery, asking his brother to bless him for a trading trip to the pagan tribes of Ugra and Pechora. The monk blessed him. The trip turned out to be very successful; soon, again with the blessing of the monk, the merchant again set off north. A passion for profit flared up in him, and he came to his brother for the third time, asking for blessings on a trading trip. This time the monk refused him: “That’s enough, brother, you can live with what you have acquired; Don’t go any more, lest you perish from the pagans.” The brother did not heed his admonitions and set off on his journey without a blessing. He never returned back. In the spring of 1389, the monk foresaw the death of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, which happened in Moscow, and told the brethren about it. Only a few days later his words were confirmed by a messenger arriving from the capital.

The great ascetic died on the night of February 11, 1392, having appointed his disciple Pachomius as his successor before his death. His body was buried in the church he built. Soon, miracles and healings began to take place near the tomb: especially many of them took place in 1409, when Vologda was struck by an epidemic of a terrible disease. It was then that a local celebration of the saint was probably established. By the end of the 15th century, the celebration had already become all-Russian.

The Church celebrates the memory of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky on the day of his death, February 11 (24).

LITERATURE:

Selected lives of Russian saints. X–XV centuries M., 1992.

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Lesson 2. Rev. Demetrius of Prilutsky (What is Christian humility?) I. Rev. Dmitry Prilutsky, whose memory is celebrated today, was born at the beginning of the 14th century in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky from rich and pious parents from the merchant class. Early he was trained

From the book Holy Leaders of the Russian Land author Poselyanin Evgeniy Nikolaevich

Dimitri Donskoy Every autumn, all Orthodox Christians, many Russians, on Saturday, called Dimitrievskaya, commemorate “all the dead” soldiers who died for the Fatherland. But not everyone knows that this Saturday was originally established by the Grand Duke of Moscow Dimitri

From the book Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets: Testimonies of Pilgrims author Zournatzoglu Nikolaos

Blessed Prince Oleg of Ryazan Dimitri the Red. Rev. Mikhail Klopsky. Rev. Joasaph of Zaozersky. Blazh. John Uglitsky. Blessed Grand Duchess Solomonia, monastically Sophia. Holy Martyr Demetrius Tsarevich Among the Russian princes contemporary to Demetrius Donskoy is remarkable

From the book of Prayer Books in Russian by the author

Angelopoulos Dimitri, novice In April 1977, I visited the Stavronikita monastery. There I was advised to meet with Elder Paisius. However, when I came to his cell, I was upset: the elder did not open to me. About an hour later I saw some middle-aged monk coming out

From the book HISTORICAL DICTIONARY ABOUT THE SAINTS GLORIFIED IN THE RUSSIAN CHURCH author Team of authors

Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki (+306) Demetrius of Thessaloniki (Greek ????? ????????? - St. Demetrius, also known as St. Demetrius the Myrrh-Blower (Greek ???? ? ????????? ? ????????????) and Demetrius of Thessaloniki (Greek: ???????????????? ??? ????? ?????????); † 306) - Christian saint, revered in the

From the author's book

DEMITRY, venerable hieromonk of the Tsilibinskaya Arkhangelsk Hermitage, located 28 versts from the city of Yarensk. He is revered as the founder of this desert. Nowadays there is only one parish church of the Archangel Michael, under which the hermit Demetrius lived and reposed in a cave. Above

From the author's book

DIMITRY, Venerable Prilutsky Vologda Wonderworker, was born in the 14th century, in Pereslavl-Zalessky from wealthy parents, tonsured in the Goritsky Pereslavl Monastery. Earthly wealth did not flatter him, and therefore from a young age he sought the path to imperishable wealth. Being