Summary
Introduction
The author thanks God for the holy elder Sergius of Radonezh, who gives consolation to all believers. The author admits that one day he was overcome by “an irresistible desire to at least somehow begin to write, albeit a few of many, about the life of the Venerable Elder,” and he wrote “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh.”
The beginning of the life of Sergius
Sergius's parents were noble and virtuous people: father Kirill and mother Maria. One day, pregnant Mary went to church, where, at the sounds of the Cherubic song, her child “began to squeal loudly in the womb.” Mary realized that her child would be special, and “carried the baby in her womb like some priceless treasure, like a precious stone, like a wonderful pearl and like a chosen vessel.”
When the child was born, even in infancy he strictly observed fasts and refused mother's milk on Wednesdays and Fridays. The boy was named Bartholomew, he had two more brothers: the elder Stefan and the younger Peter. Bartholomew “studied slowly and poorly” and prayed to the Lord to teach and enlighten him.
About how Bartholomew was given the knowledge of literacy from God, and not from people
Bartholomew's parents were very sad that their son could not master literacy. One day the boy met “a certain monk, an old man unknown to him, holy and wonderful.” Bartholomew told the elder that “most of all he wants to know literacy,” but he cannot overcome it. The elder blessed the boy, and from then on he studied very well.
About adolescence
When Bartholomew grew up a little, he began to strictly observe fasts, and prayed a lot at night - “this is how the grace of the Holy Spirit infused him.” His mother tried to convince him to live like ordinary children, but Bartholomew was very persistent in his service to the Lord.
About the relocation of the saint's parents
The saint's father, Kirill, was a wealthy noble boyar and lived with his family in the Rostov region. But due to frequent Tatar raids on Rus', he quickly became impoverished and moved to Radonezh.
Bartholomew's brothers, Stefan and Peter, got married, and the young man “with all his soul strove for monastic life.” Having learned about this, the parents asked their son to look after them until his death, and then blessed him for monastic life. And so it happened.
About the tonsure of Bartholomew, which became the beginning of the monastic life of the saint
Before accepting monasticism, Bartholomew carefully “studied the entire monastic charter - both the monastic order and everything else that monks require.” Then the spiritual elder Mitrofan tonsured the young man, giving him a new name - Sergius. By that time the saint was twenty-three years old - “he was young in body, but in his spiritual mind he was old and perfect, by Divine grace.”
On driving away demons through the prayers of a saint
One day in the church where Sergius was going to sing matins, “the devil himself appeared with many demonic warriors.” But Sergius was not afraid: armed with the Cross of Christ, he began to read prayers - and “the devil and his demons became invisible, and they all disappeared and disappeared without a trace.” But after a while, the demons appeared again, and only thanks to Sergius’s fervent prayers were they able to disappear.
On the beginning of the saint's abbess
In the monastery of the Holy Trinity, Sergius fervently prayed to the Lord, but the devil did not give him peace and “with a sudden insidious attack he tried to turn Sergius’s thoughts away from prayer and virtuous works.” However, each time Sergius invariably dispersed “all his hostile ghosts.”
At the very beginning of Sergius's reign, there were twelve brethren in the monastery. This went on for several years, but over time, “the number of brethren began to increase more and more and exceeded twelve.”
About Ivan, son of Stefan
One day his elder brother Stefan came to Sergius with his son Ivan. Stefan asked the abbot to tonsure his son as a monk. Sergius agreed and tonsured his nephew, who received the name Fedor. “From a young age, Theodore was raised in all piety and purity and in fasting,” and the elders marveled at his sincere desire to serve the Lord from his youth.
About the abundance of everything you need
At first, “when the monastery began to get organized, it lacked a lot,” and the monks were deprived of the most necessary things. The monastery was located in a deserted place - there was not even a road to it, and for a long time people got to it almost at random. But over time, Christians fell in love with these places, and visitors regularly began to appear at the monastery, bringing everything “necessary for the life of the brethren.”
About the poverty of Sergius' clothes and about a certain peasant
Sergius wore very modest clothes, and his robe was “dilapidated, altered more than once, unwashed, soiled, soaked with much of his sweat, sometimes with patches.” The fame of Sergius spread very quickly, and many people wanted to look at the blessed one.
One day a peasant came to the monastery, who had long wanted to look at Sergius. Seeing the abbot in rags, he laughed contemptuously. However, Sergius accepted this attitude with humility.
Soon the prince and his retinue appeared at the monastery and, at the sight of Sergius, bowed low to the ground. And then the peasant realized that he had paid attention to the appearance, but not the essence of the person. Abbot Sergius forgave the peasant, “blessed him, consoled him with an edifying, soul-helping conversation, and sent him on his way.”
About the source
The monastery was founded in a deserted place, and the monks had to walk far to fetch water every day. They quietly grumbled about Sergius, who founded a monastery in such an unfortunate place. Then Sergius went down into the ravine, found a small ditch with water and began to pray earnestly over it. Having prayed fervently, the abbot “signed the sign of the cross over the place where the rainwater stood, and suddenly a full-flowing spring began to flow from under the ground, which continues to flow to this day.”
On the resurrection of a youth through the prayer of a saint
One day a sick little boy was brought to Sergius in the hope that he would heal the child from his illness with the power of his prayer. But while the peasant begged the saint to help, “the boy became exhausted from a severe attack of illness and gave up the ghost.”
Seeing the terrible grief of his father, Sergius began to pray earnestly over the body of the deceased child, and “suddenly, unexpectedly, the child came to life and began to move, his soul returned to his body.” So the abbot revived the child by the power of prayer.
About the possessed nobleman
The abbot also managed to heal a noble nobleman, who “was cruelly tormented by a demon day and night, so much so that he even broke iron chains.” The relatives of the nobles, having learned about the abbot, brought him to him possessed by a demon. Thanks to the prayers of the Reverend, the nobleman’s “reason returned and he began to speak intelligently.”
About the introduction of the hostel
Some time later, “Greeks, envoys of the Patriarch to the saint,” arrived to Sergius from distant Constantinople. Father Sergius was very surprised that the Patriarch knew about him, and at first he thought that this was some kind of mistake. The following was written in the message.
Message from Patriarch Philotheus
In his message to Father Sergius, the Patriarch blesses his service to the Lord and points out only one drawback - the lack of community life. The saint heeded the advice of Patriarch Philotheus, and soon a dormitory was equipped in the monastery. Father Sergius “commanded the brethren to firmly follow the commandments of the holy fathers: not to have any property and not to call anything their own, but to consider everything as common.” The hostel brought great benefits - from now on all “wanderers and beggars, especially the sick” could find shelter and a faithful piece of bread here.
About the foundation of the monastery on the Kirzhach River
After some time, “confusion occurred again in the monastery”: the monks, prompted by the devil, decided to overthrow the abbot of Sergius. Then the saint left the monastery and went in search of a deserted place. Soon he found him on the banks of the Kirzhach River. Having received the blessing of Metropolitan Alexy, he began building the church.
Soon the monks realized how wrong they were and asked Father Sergius to go back. He agreed, and “everyone unanimously rejoiced and glorified God for the return of their spiritual father.”
About Bishop Stefan
One day, Bishop Stefan, driving past the monastery of Father Sergius, wanted to visit the saint, but did not have time to do so. He only read “the prescribed prayer and bowed to Saint Sergius - on the other side where the blessed one’s monastery was located.” However, the Reverend saw with “spiritual eyes” what Bishop Stephen did, and to the great surprise of his brethren, he stood up in the middle of the meal and bowed in response.
The beginning of the Simonov Monastery
The nephew of Father Sergius, the youth Fedor, “led a virtuous life, being in complete obedience to the saint and exhausting his body with strict abstinence, so that many marveled at him.” Seeing Fyodor’s zeal in serving the Lord, Father Sergius entrusted him with the construction of a monastery in the place of Simonovo, located not far from the Moscow River. Having received a blessing from the bishop, Fyodor erected “a church in the name of our Most Pure Lady Theotokos, Her venerable Nativity.”
About the vision of an angel serving with blessed Sergius
Once, during the liturgy, a strange-looking clergyman was noticed near Saint Sergius - he was dressed in shining vestments and shone with an extraordinary light. No one knew this, the clergy, and then “the monks truly understood that an Angel of God served Saint Sergius.”
About the victory over Mamai and the monastery on Dubenka
When it became known that “the Horde prince Mamai gathered a huge army - the entire horde of godless Tatars - and went to the Russian land,” Grand Duke Dmitry turned to Father Sergius for help. The saint blessed the prince and armed him with prayer. On the battlefield, the prince saw a countless horde of Tatars and doubted victory. But at that moment a messenger arrived from Father Sergius, who assured the prince of a brilliant victory. Encouraged by such words, Prince Dmitry and his squad rushed into battle, and “the filthy Tatars were defeated and were completely defeated.”
About how they wanted to elevate a saint to the metropolis
When Metropolitan Alexy felt his imminent death, he called St. Sergius to him and asked him to lead the metropolis. However, Father Sergius refused such a high honor, since from his youth “he was not a gold-bearer” and would like to live in his old age in poverty. Father Sergius was adamant in his decision, and another person ascended to the episcopal throne.
About Our Lady's visit to the saint
One day the Reverend prayed before the icon of the Mother of God and soon “saw the Most Pure One with two apostles, Peter and John, from whom also emanated an indescribable radiance.” The Mother of God touched Father Sergius and said that his prayer for the disciples and the monastery had been heard, and from now on the monastery of the Saint “will have abundance in everything.”
About the bishop who came to see the saint
Some time later, a bishop came to Father Sergius from Constantinople, who had long heard about the wonderful old man. He did not believe that the Reverend was a “truly man of God,” and at the sight of him he suddenly became blind. Then Father Sergius said that the illness would go away the moment the bishop gained firm faith. And so it happened. The bishop returned home, “glorifying God and His holy saint Sergius.”
About a man healed through the prayers of St. Sergius
Not far from the monastery of the Monk there lived a man who was struck down by a terrible illness, and “for twenty days he could neither eat nor sleep.” Saint Sergius sprinkled the sick man with water, read a prayer - and he was healed. The man went home, “with all my heart thanking God, who works wondrous and indescribable miracles through His saint.”
About the covetous
Not far from the monastery lived “a man distinguished by strong greed.” He committed a bad act: he took a pig from an orphan neighbor and slaughtered it without paying money. The offended man asked Father Sergius to intercede for him, and he, calling the offender, punished him to return the money for the pig. The miser did not comply with this requirement and upon returning home he saw a pork carcass in which worms were swarming. He was very afraid of God's wrath and returned the money to his neighbor.
About the repose of the saint
Father Sergius lived 78 years “in perfect abstinence and labor and was honored for his exploits with inscrutable and unspeakable miracles.” When he died, “a strong, indescribable fragrance spread from the saint’s body.” Having lost their teacher, the brethren fell into deep sorrow. At the death of the Reverend, many miracles occurred that continue to happen today - “the members of the paralytic are strengthened, people are freed from demons, the blind receive their sight, the hunchbacked are straightened.”
On the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius
Thirty years after the death of Father Sergius, one of the Christians had a vision in which the Reverend asked to get his relics out of the ground. In front of a large crowd of people, the coffin with the relics of Father Sergius was opened, and “everything around was filled with fragrance and a subtle aroma, and everyone saw a wonderful and touching sight: not only the saint’s honest body was preserved whole and bright, but also the clothes in which he was buried , turned out to be intact.” The healing relics of the saint were placed in a shrine, where they remain to this day.
On the repose of the Venerable Abbot Nikon
Some time later, the disciple of Saint Sergius, the Venerable Nikon, died. Before his death, he “called on the brethren and gave the monks useful instructions: so that they adhere to their father’s traditions with all possible zeal, immutably, and have unfeigned love for everyone.” He found his last refuge next to his blessed father.
About how they saw Saint Sergius among the brethren while singing
Once, after the death of the monk, the monk saw the elder in the likeness of a living person at an all-night vigil - “The monk stood in his place and sang along with everyone.” This news made the brethren very happy.
About the appearance of Metropolitan Alexy together with Saint Sergius
Over time, the monastery of the Monk began to expand, as the brethren increased significantly. One day, “a student of Abbot Nikon was cutting down a tree to build a cell” and injured his face with the edge of an ax. The unfortunate man was bleeding and so weak that he could not call for help. Suddenly, a “luminous old man” appeared, followed by another person. The patient mentally received a blessing from them and was healed. Later he learned that Father Sergius and Metropolitan Alexy visited him.
About a certain Tver nobleman Zacharias
One day, a noble nobleman named Zechariah had a pain in his insides - “his stomach increased day by day, so that the nobleman was in danger of death.” Having great faith in Saint Sergius, he began to “eat bread from the meal from the monastery of the Venerable One.” Thanks to the prayers of the saint, he was completely healed. The nobleman vowed to come to the monastery and give thanks for the healing, but he never kept his word.
The second miracle is about the same thing
After a while, the same nobleman Zacharias had a severe toothache, so much so that he “could neither eat nor sleep for many days from the pain.” At night, when everyone was sleeping, Father Sergius appeared to him, who took the sick man to his monastery and healed him there. The nobleman immediately went to the monastery of the Monk himself and, as a token of gratitude, made a large donation to the brethren.
About a warrior delivered from the filthy
One day there was an “invasion of the godless Tatars” led by Khan Mahmet. Many Orthodox Christians were killed in the battle with the Tatars. One of the strong Russian warriors almost lost his head, but at the very last minute he remembered Saint Sergius and began to pray fervently. At the very first words of the prayer, “his horse took off at a gallop, as if it had acquired wings, so that the filthy ones lost sight of him.”
Miracle of the Blind
One day a blind wanderer was brought to the monastery of the monk, who had been traveling around the world blind for seven years. On this day there was a holiday - the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Saint Sergius descended from heaven to the blind man, led him to the shrine, and the sufferer immediately received his sight.
About the possessed youth
A young man lived in the monastery, tormented by an unclean spirit. He was tied tightly, but he invariably broke the bonds, ran away to the cliffs and often crashed. Near the coffin of the Reverend, he writhed in agony, and nothing helped him overcome the demon. The brethren fervently poured out prayers for him, and after a while the Lord “drove away the unclean spirit, through the prayers of Saint Sergius, and the young man was healed, his mind returned to him, as if he had never been sick.”
About the presbyter and the men who were in the Latin lands
When Metropolitan Isidore went to the Council to the Pope, he took Presbyter Simeon with him. However, he did not want to submit to Latin authority, “and therefore suffered from Isidore for the Orthodox faith great sorrows and torments in prison, in shackles and chains.” Simeon managed to escape along with the Tver ambassador Foma, and on the way home they more than once found themselves on the brink of danger. But each time they were rescued by the intercession of Saint Sergius, to whom they prayed tirelessly.
The Miracle of the Nun Mariamia
One day, nun Mariamia came to the monastery, whose hands “withered from illness, were bent at the elbows behind her back and pressed to her ribs with her nails.” Thanks to her prayers to the saint, her hands became completely healthy. This miracle happened in front of a large number of people, so everyone was amazed at it.
Miracle of the miraculous conception and birth of Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich of All Rus', autocrat
Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich passionately dreamed of an heir, but only daughters were born to him. Then his wife, Princess Sophia, set off on foot from Moscow to the monastery of St. Sergius. On the way, she met a “grand monk with a baby in his arms” - he turned out to be Saint Sergius. He gave the baby to the princess and immediately disappeared. Sophia realized that it was a vision. Having reached the monastery, she fervently prayed to the Reverend for her desire. After the allotted time, the princess successfully “conceived in her womb a God-given heir to the Russian throne.”
Miracle of St. Sergius the Wonderworker about the glorious victory over Lithuania near the city of Opochka
One day, the Lithuanian king sent a well-armed army “to the city of Opochka, which is not far from Pskov, wanting to ruin it.” Residents of the city bravely fought the enemies, but soon they ran out of stones, which they dumped on the heads of the adversaries. Then at night Saint Sergius appeared to one woman and said that “many stones lie in the ground near the city church behind the altar.” She told the townspeople about this, and with the help of these stones they were able to defeat the enemy.
About the appearance of St. Sergius in the city of Kazan
In those days when Kazan was ruled by “filthy infidels,” an old man suddenly appeared in the city, covering the city walls with crosses and sprinkling with holy water. The Gentiles realized that the end of their power had come, and “soon the Christian faith will shine here.” And so it soon happened: Grand Duke John Vasilyevich went to war against Kazan and annexed the city to the Russian land.
About the miracles of the Venerable Wonderworker Sergius, which took place in his monastery during the siege
In the monastery lived “a certain old man named Irinarh, who served as a sexton.” One day Father Sergius appeared to him, warned him of an imminent attack by enemies and advised him not to be afraid of his adversaries. Irinarch walked around the entire monastery and sprinkled it with holy water. The next night, warriors attacked the monastery, but the brethren managed to repel the attack “through the prayers of the miracle worker.”
About the appearance of St. Sergius the Wonderworker to Lithuanian soldiers
When the enemies began to overcome the brethren, “God brought fear to the enemies, through the prayers of St. Sergius the Wonderworker” - the Lithuanian soldiers suddenly saw a countless horde of soldiers emerging from the gates of the monastery. The enemies were frightened by this vision, and the brothers, sensing God's help, were able to defeat the adversaries.
About the multiplication of loaves at the Trinity Metochion - in the Monastery of the Holy Epiphany in Moscow
During the enemy siege, the people began to suffer from hunger. Then everyone began to diligently glorify Saint Sergius, and soon a miracle happened at the Trinity Metochion - the monk noticed “rye pouring out of the wall through a hole.” People ate this bread as long as the siege lasted.
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