On a sunny day in the summer of 377, a man entered the Mesopotamian city of Edessa. He wandered the streets for a long time, talking with people, until he finally found himself near the temple. Holy Mother of God. Here, turning to the watchman, he asked:
“Great grief befell my master, the Roman senator. I've been serving him for many years and I can't say a single bad word to him. He is kind and merciful, always helping those in need. And here’s the problem... For many years he and his wife did not have children. Finally, the Lord heard their prayers - a son was born. How they loved him, how they cared for him. And the boy always pleased his parents. He recently came of age. His father found him a beautiful bride of royal blood, and they got married. And then, on the night after the wedding feast, the young man disappeared.
He's young. Well dressed. It is clear from him that he is from noble family. He's originally from Rome. So you haven't seen anyone here who fits my description? “.
"No. We have more and more people here who are simpler, or even sick and poor. Look for yourself. This one, for example. He came to us recently - look, he’s wearing only rags. He lives on alms and prays from morning to night!”
In this beggar, the servant could not recognize the same young man who, leaving after the wedding, gave his young wife his gold ring and said: “Keep this, and may the Lord be between you and me until He renews us with His grace.” Alexy, that was the young man’s name, was raised in love for God from childhood, and it was to Him that he decided to devote his entire life. He went to the city of Edessa, where he was kept Miraculous image Christ - a face imprint left by Jesus Christ Himself on the canvas. There, in the vestibule of the temple - in fasting and prayer - the saint spent 17 years. When in a vision the Most Holy Theotokos pointed out to the church watchman Alexy as a man of God, the inhabitants of Edessa began to venerate him. Confused by the popular respect shown to him, Alexy secretly fled from Edessa and headed to the homeland of the Apostle Paul, to the city of Tarsus. But the ship lost its course and landed near Rome. The saint saw God's providence in this and headed to his father's house.
Years of wandering changed Alexy's appearance beyond recognition and no one recognized him. The monk lived for another 17 years in a closet under the stairs of his home. Often he had to endure humiliation and insults from servants, but he accepted everything with humility. His food consisted of bread, water and constant prayer.
One Sunday after the Divine Liturgy, a miracle happened in the cathedral. All those present heard a voice: “Seek the man of God, so that he may pray for Rome and all her people.” He ordered to look for his voice in the senator's house. Many people, along with the emperor and the Pope, went there, but did not find Saint Alexis alive. In his hand the monk held a scroll with a description of his entire life, which he compiled, knowing that the hour of death was approaching.
The life was read, and the father, mother and wife recognized Alexy. Many believers came to venerate the saint’s body, and many miracles and healings were performed.
In Rus', the story of Alexy, the man of God, has always been especially loved by the people. Remembering the history of the saint, Russian people try to welcome the poor and wanderers and ask them for prayer.
On March 30th the memory is celebrated St. Alexy, man of God. Where in Moscow can you pray to this saint?
- one of the most revered in Christendom saints In 1969 from the calendar Catholic Church his name was excluded, since the life of the saint is not confirmed historical sources. However, this does not interfere with the preservation of the Alexian Order within the Catholic Church, which is actively engaged in social service and considers St. Alexius its heavenly patron.
Concerning Orthodox Church, then our veneration of the Monk Alexy has not ceased since the 9th century. In Rus', the life of an ascetic who abandoned his family and lived on alms has been spreading since the 11th century. But there were few relics of the saint and few churches in his honor. In the middle of the 18th century, among the shrines of the Cathedral of St. Sophia of Novgorod, the hand of the saint, stolen in Rome by a local merchant, was mentioned, but now it is not there.
In Moscow there are also few shrines associated with the name of St. Alexy. IN temple icons Mother of God“Joy to All Who Sorrow” on Bolshaya Ordynka(house 20) there is a revered icon of the saint, painted in a picturesque manner. Saint Alexy is depicted on it writing a charter, in which, according to his life, he himself outlined his story and asked for forgiveness from his parents and his bride, who mourned him inconsolably.
Another shrine - an icon with a particle of the relics of the saint - is located in Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Monastery(Mal. Ivanovsky lane, 2). The monastery also houses many miraculous and revered icons and relics, and in the altar of the cathedral there is a particle Life-giving Cross The Lord's.
Another icon with a particle of relics is in Church of St. Alexy, man of God, in Krasnoe Selo(2nd Krasnoselsky lane, 3 – get there on foot from the Krasnoselskaya metro station).
Temple of St. Alexy, man of God, in Krasnoye Selo
The history of this temple is unique: it belonged to a monastery, which changed its “place of residence” three times. In the 14th century Alekseevsky Conception Monastery stood on Ostozhenka. In 1547, after another fire, the monastery was transferred to the Chertolye tract - now Volkhonka Street.
In 1633-1634. In honor of the birth of Tsarevich Alexy, whose heavenly patron was the Monk Alexy, the man of God, one of the last two-tent churches was built dedicated to the saint. Later, by decree of Patriarch Nikon, the construction of tent-roofed churches in Rus' was prohibited - a widespread transition to cross-domed architecture was prescribed, as it was more ancient.
In 1838, the monastery buildings were destroyed. In their place, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior began to be built. The monastery was transferred to the outskirts of Krasnoye Selo.
In the 30s of the 20th century, the monastery repeated the fate of most monasteries in the Russian land - it was closed. A house of pioneers was created in the church of St. Alexis.
Only in 2000, the church was handed over to believers, and restoration work began only two years later. A main shrine- the image of Alexy, the man of God, with a particle of relics - was donated to the temple by an unknown collector in 2001.
Saint Alexius was born at the end of the 4th century in the family of a Roman senator. The principles of life of this family were an exception to the norms of life of the Roman Empire of that time, which took place in idleness and the pursuit of luxury. Gospel commandments abstinence, love of philosophy, and piety were observed by only a few. Alexy's parents, Evfimian and Aglaida, were rich and noble people, distinguished by their good disposition and mercy. They always helped the poor and welcomed strangers. For a long time the couple did not have children, they were very sad about this and prayed to God for parental happiness. God heeded their prayers and gave them a son, who was named Alexy.From childhood, the boy stood out for his meek character, remarkable mind, sensitive heart and had a special desire for spiritual life: prayer, fasting, church services, reading spiritual literature, visiting holy places. The parents rejoiced at such inclinations of their son, but were afraid that he might go to a monastery. They decided to marry him beautiful girl from the royal family, hoping that by doing this they would be able to keep their son in the world.
But Alexy was not thinking about family happiness. Seeing the decline of morals in Rome, he prepared for the life of a Christian ascetic. However, seeing the grief of his father and mother, he, like loving son, decided to fulfill their request. The young couple were also married in the Church of the Martyr Boniface on the Aventine Hill in Rome. That same day in the evening, Alexy told his young wife about his firm decision to devote his life to God and, disguised as a commoner, secretly left home. This action was not easy for him. He mourned the separation from his parents and wife, but the desire for spiritual achievement was stronger than these feelings. He prayed that he, a noble Roman, the owner of untold wealth and thousands of slaves, would be able to endure all the sorrows, humiliation and suffering that the last slave was subjected to in Rome. He wanted to experience for himself all the centuries-old untruths of Iron Rome and atone for it.
Alexy boarded a ship bound for Asia Minor. Arriving there, he visited the cities of Laodicea and Colossae, with which the memory of the Apostle Paul is associated, and then his path lay to Palestine and Egypt. Wandering through the Holy Land, he prayed that the Lord would bless him with a life of hardships and exploits for His glory. After this, Alexy arrived in the city of Edessa, where the shroud with the Image of the Lord Not Made by Hands was kept.
Contact with great shrine inspired him so much that he decided to stay in this city. Having distributed the last money, putting on rags, he began to lead the life of a homeless beggar, begging for alms on the porch of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, remaining day and night in unceasing prayer. This was the beginning of the feat that he himself chose for himself. Alexy decided to be a hermit among people, to represent a desert amid the noisy bustle of the city. He rejected all concerns about the comforts of life and ate only bread and water. If he received alms, he shared it with other beggars who were most in need. With his soul, Alexy constantly strived for Heaven, but his eyes were always cast down to the ground. He lived like this for seventeen years.
The inhabitants of Edessa became accustomed to the beggar, noting that no one prayed more earnestly than him and no one was more humble than him. One day, the Mother of God appeared to the church watchman in a dream and revealed that the beggar Alexy, standing at the temple, was a man of God who was worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. After this vision, which became known to everyone, the townspeople began to treat the beggar with special reverence. Soon after this, the secret holy life of Alexy became known to all the townspeople, they rushed to see the saint and express their respect to him. But the glory from people troubled the heart of the ascetic; he was burdened by these honors. And Alexy decided to continue his feat in another place.
He secretly left Edessa, boarding a ship that was sailing to Cilicia. However, on the way, a storm suddenly broke out, and the sea carried the ship to the shores of his native Italy. Saint Alexy, seeing the Providence of God in this, went to his father’s house, hoping to remain unrecognized, because his appearance had changed greatly from many years of harsh life. Having met his father, he asked him for shelter. He, not recognizing his son, felt sympathy for the poor wanderer, gave him a place in the entryway of his house and ordered him to carry food from the master's table. Alexy remained to live in his home. Out of envy, the servants often insulted the beggar and laughed at him, but he accepted all the bullying silently and humbly. Also, with great patience, he endured the suffering that squeezed his heart at the sight of his relatives crying for him. Alexy invisibly lived his inner, spiritual life, eating only bread and water, in tireless prayer for people. So another seventeen years passed. Only when he sensed the approach of death, the saint wrote a letter in which he outlined his life in detail and left evidence confirming his identity.
On that day, Pope Innocent performed Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral Church of the Holy Apostles. Emperor Honorius and many people were present at the service. Suddenly, at the end of the service, a wonderful voice was heard from the altar: “Seek the man of God, so that he may pray for Rome and all her people.” People began to prayerfully ask for directions on where to look for this person. And they received the answer: “There is a man of God in the house of Euthymian, look there.” Emperor Honorius and Pope Innocent came to Euthymian's house and told about what had happened, but the owner of the house did not know about whom we're talking about. One of the servants recalled a beggar who lived under the stairs, who prayed and fasted a lot. Everyone hurried there and saw the lifeless body of the saint. His face shone with heavenly grace and was like the face of an angel. The ascetic held a letter in his hand. From him everyone learned who the man of God was. The parents and wife fell sobbing to the body of their newfound son and husband.
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| Revered icon of St. Alexy, man of God. Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy to all who mourn." Moscow |
Meaning of the icon
In Rus', the Life of St. Alexy, the Man of God began to spread widely from the 10th century and became one of the most beloved. This poor righteous man became for the Russian people a symbol of rejection of temporary earthly things. material goods, an image of humility, meekness and non-covetousness.
Famous Athonite elder Joseph the Hesychast said that true righteousness does not have a bell to ring and attract attention. True righteousness is always humble, it is not flaunted, and people can often learn about the power of this spiritual life only after the death of a saint.
Both in Europe and in Rus', Saint Alexy became the hero of numerous spiritual poems. Rimsky-Korsakov's cantata was dedicated to him. In a famous literary work Alexandra Radishchev’s “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” the story of St. Alexy is told in the song of a blind soldier who begs for alms in the city of Klin. Many icon painters in different centuries sought to capture the image of the great ascetic.
In our time, perhaps someone would regard the act of Saint Alexy as the step of a madman. Why does he make such a decisive and irrevocable choice: secretly leaving the home where he is loved to lead the harsh life of a homeless wanderer? This can be understood by remembering that already in his youth Saint Alexy reached spiritual heights and acquired the grace of God. He understood that, spending his life in the world, it would be difficult for him to preserve the main treasure that he had acquired - the hidden life with God. Heavenly gifts are incomparably higher than earthly blessings, therefore, for a person who has known the joy of connection with the Highest, the choice is obvious.
Saint Alexy showed great lessons to the world through the example of his life. He became a hermit among people, alien to temptations among possible temptations, he became a man of God among those who had forgotten God. He revealed the dignity of the human soul in the midst of poverty despised by people and showed that in these poor creatures, in whom the mighty of the world this is hardly seen by the image of man, grace and great power God's
The diseases of our time are strong, but the counteraction to these diseases is also strong - the moral deeds of saints who have shone through the centuries. Great are the hardships to which they voluntarily subjected themselves in the name of higher spiritual aspirations, in order to show the world the triumph of the spirit over temporary worldly pleasures.
The Monk Alexy, a man of God, was born in Rome from noble and pious parents. His father Euthymian was a senator. He was distinguished by his spiritual kindness, was merciful to the sick and suffering, and set up three tables in his home every day: for orphans and widows, for travelers and for the poor. Euthymian and his wife Aglaida did not have children for a long time, and this darkened their happiness. But the pious Aglaida did not give up hope - and God heard her and sent them a son. The father named the baby Alexy (translated from Greek as “protector”). Saint Alexy grew up healthy child, studied well and diligently. When he reached adulthood, Evfimian and Aglaida decided to marry him. They chose a girl of royal blood, very beautiful and rich, for their son. Left alone with his young wife after the wedding, Saint Alexy gave her his gold ring and belt buckle with the words: “Keep this, and may the Lord be between you and me until He renews us with His grace.” Then he left the bridal chamber and left that same night Father's house. Boarding a ship sailing to the East, the young man arrived in Syrian Laodicea. Here he accosted the donkey drivers and reached with them the city of Edessa, where the Holy Image of the Lord, imprinted on the shroud, was kept. Having distributed the remainder of his property, the young man dressed in rags and began to beg for alms in the vestibule of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. Every Sunday he partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. At night Alexy stayed awake and prayed. He ate only bread and water.
Meanwhile, the parents and wife of Saint Alexis, saddened by his disappearance, sent their servants to search. They were also in Edessa, entered the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos and gave alms to Saint Alexis, without recognizing him.
After some time, the servants returned to Rome without finding Saint Alexius. And none of the relatives had a revelation about him. Then they humbled themselves and although they continued to grieve and yearn for him, they relied on the will of God.
The Monk Alexy spent seventeen years in Edessa, begging for alms in the vestibule of the Church of the Mother of God. The Most Pure One herself, appearing in a dream to the church watchman, revealed that the beggar Alexy was a man of God. When the inhabitants of Edessa began to honor him, the Monk Alexy fled secretly. He thought to go to the city of Tara (in Asia Minor, the birthplace of the Holy Apostle Paul), but the ship on which the Monk Alexy sailed strong storm lost his course, wandered for a long time and finally landed on the shores of Italy, not far from Rome. Saint Alexy, seeing God's providence in this, went to his father's house, for he was sure that he would not be recognized. Having met his father Euthymian, he asked him for shelter and mentioned his relatives who were on a journey. He was glad to receive the beggar, gave him a place in the entryway of his house, ordered him to carry food from the master's table and assigned a servant to help him. The rest of the servants, out of envy, began to surreptitiously insult the beggar, but the Monk Alexy saw the devil's instigation in this and accepted the mockery with humility and joy. He still ate bread and water, and at night he stayed awake and prayed. So another seventeen years passed. When the hour of his death approached, the Monk Alexis wrote his entire life, both the secret things that were known to his father and mother, and the words spoken to his wife in marital peace.
On Sunday after the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Apostle Peter, a miracle occurred. A voice from above came from the Holy See: “Seek the man of God, so that he may pray for Rome and all her people.” The whole people fell on their faces in horror and delight. On Thursday evening in the Cathedral of the Apostle Peter they prayed to the Lord to reveal to them the man of God - and a voice came from the throne: “In the house of Euthymian there is a man of God, look there.” The Roman Emperor Honorius (395-423), as well as Pope Innocent I (402-417), were present in the temple. They turned to Euthymian, but he knew nothing. Then the servant assigned to Saint Alexius told Euthymian about his righteousness. Euthymian hurried to the Monk Alexy, but did not find him alive. The face of the blessedly deceased saint shone with an unearthly light. In his hand, the Monk Alexy held a tightly clutched scroll. The body of Saint Alexis was carried with due honor and laid on a bed. The Emperor and the Pope knelt, asking the saint to open his hand. And Saint Alexy fulfilled their request.
The scroll with the biography of the saint was read by the reader of the temple in the name of the holy Apostle Peter. The father, mother and wife of Saint Alexy fell weeping to the body of the saint and bowed to his venerable remains. Many people cried at the sight of such an event. The bed with the body of Saint Alexis was placed in the middle of the central square. People began to flock to him to be cleansed and relieved of their ailments. The dumb began to speak, the blind began to see, the possessed and the mentally ill were cured. Seeing such grace, Emperor Honorius and Pope Innocent I themselves carried the body of the saint in the funeral procession. The honorable remains of Saint Alexis, the man of God, were buried in the church in the name of Saint Boniface on March 17, 411. In 1216 the relics of the saint were found. From time immemorial, his life was one of the most beloved in Rus'.
Life of St. Alexy, Man of God
In Rome, during the reign of Arcadius and Honorius, there lived a pious man named Euthymian: he was a very noble and wealthy nobleman, so that even his servants, whose number reached three thousand, wore silk clothes, but with all this he was not entirely happy , because, due to the barrenness of his wife, he had no children. Euthymian strictly observed the commandments of God and was distinguished by his kindness: every day in his house he arranged three meals for widows, orphans, the poor, the strange and the sick; he himself took food only after the ninth hour, sharing it with wandering monks, and before that time he always fasted. If it happened that on another day few beggars gathered to see him, and therefore he had to give out alms less than usual, then Euthymian would then fall to the ground in grief and say:
I am not worthy to live on the land of my God.
His wife Aglaida was a God-fearing woman, loving her husband and generous in alms. Lamenting her infertility, she often turned to God with the following prayer:
Lord, remember me, Thy unworthy servant, and deliver me from my barrenness, so that I may be a mother. Give us a son who would be both a joy in life and a support in our old age.
The Lord, in His mercy, heard her prayer: to the great joy of her husband, she gave birth to a son, named Alexy at holy baptism.
At the age of six, Saint Alexy began to study and, soon mastering the secular sciences usual for that time, he studied the Holy Scriptures and church books especially well. From the youth a reasonable and pious youth was formed; having comprehended the vanity of fleeting worldly goods, he decided to renounce them in order to receive eternal benefits; so he even began to wear a sharp hair shirt to mortify his flesh. When Alexy reached adulthood, Euthymian said to his wife:
We're getting our son married.
These words made Aglaida very happy, and she, falling at her husband’s feet, said:
May God bless your intention that I may see the marriage of my son and his children; this great joy will motivate me to be even more generous to the poor and needy.
After this, they betrothed Alexy to a girl from the royal family, and then the sacrament of marriage was performed on them in the church of St. Boniface, and that whole day until night passed in joy and rejoicing. At the end of the celebration, Saint Alexy entered, with the blessing of his father, into the bride’s room and found her sitting on an armchair. Taking his gold ring, he wrapped it together with the precious belt in porphyry fabric and gave it to the bride with the words:
Preserve this, and may the Lord be above us, contributing with His grace to the emergence in us of a new, truly Christian life.
Having said this, he retired to his room; Here Saint Alexy replaced rich clothes with poor ones and secretly left the house and the city, taking with him from his own property some gold and precious stones. Arriving at the sea, he found a ship sailing to Laodicea, which he boarded, having paid the pre-paid payment. During the journey, Saint Alexy prayed to God like this:
God,” he said, “who has saved me from the day I was born, save me now from vain worldly life and honor me with Last Judgment Your standing on the right side with all those who have pleased You.
Upon the ship's arrival at the place, Saint Alexy went ashore, where he met travelers heading to Mesopotamia, he joined them and went with them to Edessa, in which was kept the miraculous image of the Lord Jesus Christ, which He sent during His earthly life to the prince of Edessa Avgar. At the sight of the image of Christ, Saint Alexy was very happy and, having sold all the jewelry taken from the house, he distributed the money received from the sale to the poor, and he himself dressed in rags and began to live on alms. The saint's place of residence was the porch of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, and his life was strictly ascetic: he constantly fasted, only eating a little bread. And he even drank water in extremely moderate quantities; Every Sunday Saint Alexy communed with the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ and he always gave all his alms to elderly beggars. He walked with his head constantly lowered, raising his mind to God, constantly thinking about Him. From such a harsh life, the saint’s entire body withered, the beauty of his face faded, his eyes sunken and his vision weakened.
At dawn, when Saint Alexy had already left home, the parents came to the bride’s room and, to their surprise, found her alone, sitting in grief with a sad face. They began to look everywhere for their son and, not finding him anywhere, they wept bitterly - so their joy turned into grief. The saint’s mother, entering her room, closed the windows, spread sackcloth and, sprinkled ashes on it, threw herself on him with sobs, praying and saying:
I will not get up and will not come out of my seclusion until I find out what happened to my only son, - why and where he went.
The bride, standing next to her, also spoke with tears:
And I will not leave you, but, like a desert-loving and faithful dove, with sad singing searching through the mountains and valleys for a lost husband, I will patiently wait for news about my husband - where he is and what way of life he has chosen for himself.
The father was also very sad; he sent his servants everywhere to search for his son. Some of them came to Edessa; When they saw Saint Alexis, they did not recognize him, but took him for a beggar and gave him alms. Saint Alexy recognized them and thanked God, who made it possible to accept alms from his servants. The latter, returning, told their master that they had not found his son, although they looked everywhere.
Saint Alexis lived in Edessa at the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos for seventeen years, and through his life he gained the love of God. At this time there was a revelation about him to the sexton of the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos: he saw her holy icon saying to him:
Bring into My Church a man of God worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven; his prayer ascends to God like a fragrant censer, and the Holy Spirit rests on him like a crown on a royal head.
After the vision, the sexton looked for a person of such a righteous life and, not finding it, turned with prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, asking Her help to fulfill the command given to him. And again in a vision he heard a voice from the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos that the man of God was that beggar who was sitting at the gate of the church porch. The sexton, having found Saint Alexis, brought him into the church to stay, and many, having learned about the righteous life of the man of God, began to venerate him. He, avoiding human glory, secretly left the city. Arriving at the sea pier, he boarded a ship sailing to Cilicia, thinking to himself: “I will go to Cilicia, where no one knows me, and I will live at the temple of St. Apostle Paul.” During the voyage, suddenly, by the will of God, a storm began at sea, and the ship, carried by the waves for many days, unexpectedly arrived in Rome. Getting off the ship, Saint Alexy said to himself:
The Lord My God lives! I will not be a burden to anyone, but I will go as a stranger to my father’s house.
On the way to him, he met his father, returning home from the palace, accompanied by many servants. Bowing to him to the ground, Saint Alexy said:
Servant of God, have mercy on me, poor and poor: let me settle in some corner of your yard and eat the grains falling from your table; The Lord will bless your days and give you the Kingdom of Heaven, and if you have any of your relatives who are traveling somewhere, then He will return them to you healthy.
At the beggar’s words about wandering, Euthymian immediately remembered his beloved son Alexy, shed tears and mercifully fulfilled his request, allowing him to live in the courtyard of his house. He said to his servants:
How many of you want to serve this beggar? If he pleases him, I swear he will get it complete freedom and a reward from me. Arrange for him a small room at the door of the house so that I can see him more often; let food be served to him from my table, and none of you should insult him.
After this, Saint Alexy began to live at the door of his father’s house. Euthymian sent him food from his table every day, but he distributed it to the poor, and he himself ate only bread and drank only water, and even then in such quantity as not to die of hunger or thirst; He spent all his nights awake in prayer and every Sunday he received communion in the church of St. Christ's Mysteries. And amazing was the patience of the man of God! He had to experience a lot of troubles and grief, especially late in the evening, from his father’s slaves, some of whom dragged him by the hair, others strangled him, others poured slop on his head, and generally mocked him in the most cruel way. He endured everything in silence, knowing that they were treating him this way at the instigation of the devil, and through prayer he armed himself against his wiles, defeating them with patience. There was another circumstance that prompted him to great patience: opposite his room was the window of his bride’s room. She, like Ruth, did not want to go to her father’s house, but sat grieving with her mother-in-law, and the saint often heard the sobbing and complaints of his mother and his bride - one about the loss of her son, and the other her husband. Their tears filled his heart with pity, but with love for God he conquered carnal love for his bride and parents; this patience with almost unbearable sorrows for the sake of God even consoled him. So Saint Alexy lived in his parents’ house for seventeen years, and no one recognized him, but everyone revered him for a beggar who had no shelter; the slaves mocked the one who was the master of the house, the son and the heir, as if he were a stranger and a stranger. When the Lord wanted to call him from this temporary life, in which he experienced so much poverty and hardship, into eternal life, he revealed to him the day and hour of his death. Saint Alexy then asked the slave who served him for ink, a charter and a cane, described his entire life, and to convince his parents that he was really their son, he mentioned some circumstances of his life, known only to them, and wrote about what he had said. to his bride on the night of leaving home - how he gave her a ring and a belt. He ended his letter with the following words:
I pray you, my dear parents and my honest bride, do not be offended by me that, having left you, I caused you such great sorrow; I myself grieved in my heart for your sadness; I have repeatedly prayed to the Lord to grant you patience and make you worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. I hope that He, in His kindness, will fulfill my prayer, for out of love for Him I have chosen such a difficult life, without changing it for the sake of your tears, since it is better for every Christian to obey his Creator and Creator more than his parents. I believe that as much sorrow as I caused you, so much great joy you will receive in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Having written this, he prayed until his death.
Once, when the pope was performing in the cathedral church of St. App. The Divine Liturgy, at the end of it, a wonderful voice was heard from the altar: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Those present in the temple fell to the ground in great horror, crying out:
Lord have mercy!
Look for a man of God who is already leaving for another life; let him pray for the city: his prayer will be very beneficial for you.
All over Rome they were looking for such a person and did not know what to do, since they did not find him. Therefore, having gathered again with the pope and the king from Thursday evening to Friday in the cathedral church, they celebrated an all-night vigil in it, praying to Christ to show them His saint. On the morning of Friday, Saint Alexy departed to the Lord. Meanwhile, in the church, just like the first time, a voice from the altar was heard again during the service:
Look for the man of God in the house of Euthymian.
After this, the king, turning to the latter, said:
Why didn’t you, having such a treasure in your house, tell us about it?
Euthymian answered:
Lord knows I don't know anything.
And, calling the chief servant, he asked him:
Do you know of any of your companions a man who is virtuous and pleasing to God?
I don’t know,” he said, “there is not a single virtuous one; everyone lives unpleasingly.
The king and dad decided to go to Euthymian’s house themselves to look for the man of God. Euthymian, going forward, prepared to receive the pope and the king with the nobles and arranged a solemn meeting for them. The lamenting wife of Euthymian, hearing from her room the confusion and chatter in the yard and in the house, asked.
What does it mean?
And she was very surprised when she learned about the coming of the king and dad and the reason for their visit. The bride was also perplexed, seeing from her room the king and the pope walking with many people, and tried to explain this sight to herself.
When the pope, the king and the nobles sat down, and silence fell, the servant who served Saint Alexius said to Euthymian:
My lord, the beggar whom you entrusted to me, is not a man of God? I am a witness of his great and wondrous deeds: he constantly fasts, only taking a little bread and water at the end of the day; spend all nights in prayer and every Sunday receive communion with St. Mysteries of Christ; he meekly and joyfully endures the beatings and insults inflicted on him by some slaves.
Hearing this, Euthymian immediately hurried to the beggar’s dwelling and, calling him three times through the window, received no answer. Then he entered the dwelling, where he found the man of God lying dead with his head covered and his charter bent. right hand. Euthymian opened his face and saw that it shone like the face of an Angel; when he wanted to take the charter and read it, he could not do it, because his hand would not let go of it. Quickly returning to the king and the pope, he said:
They found the one they were looking for already dead; he holds the charter in his hand and does not give it to us.
The king and patriarch, having ordered to prepare a precious bed and cover it with rich fabrics, brought out the honorable body of the man of God and reverently laid it on that bed. Then they knelt down, kissing the sacred remains, and spoke to him as if he were alive:
We beg you, servant of Christ, give us this charter, so that by what is written in it we can know who you are.
After this, the pope and the king freely took the charter from the hand of the saint and handed it over to the charter. great church, Aetia, for reading; with great silence from those around him, he began to read it. When he reached the place where it was written about the parents and the bride - about the ring and belt given to her, then Euthymian recognized his deceased son Alexy. He fell on his chest and, hugging and kissing him, said with tears:
Oh woe is me, my beloved son! What have you done to us? Why did you cause us such grief? Woe is me, my son! Having been with us for so many years and hearing the cry of your parents, you did not reveal yourself, did not console us, despite our old age, in the great sadness caused by you. Woe is me! My son, my love, the consolation of my soul, I don’t know what to do now - whether to mourn your death or rejoice at your finding.
Euthymian sobbed so inconsolably, tormenting his gray hair.
Aglaida, hearing her husband's sobs and learning that the dead beggar was her son, opened the doors of her seclusion; in torn clothes, turning her eyes full of tears to the sky and tearing out her loose hair, she walked among the crowd of crowded people, saying:
Give me the way so that I can see my hope - to embrace my beloved son.
Approaching the bed, she bent over the body of her son, hugged him and kissed him with the words:
Alas for me, my lord! my sweet child, what have you done? Why did he bring us such great sorrow? Alas for me, the light of my eyes! How did you not open up after living with us for so many years? How did you not take pity on us, constantly hearing our bitter sobs for you?
The bride, who had lived thirty-four years without a groom and wore black clothes as a sign of sadness, also fell on an honest body; soaking him with streams of tears and kissing him with love; she wept bitterly and inconsolably, saying:
Woe is me, woe is me!
Her sobbing and mournful complaints aroused tears in those present, and everyone cried together with the bride and mother.
The king and the pope ordered to carry the bed with the honest body of the man of God and place it in the middle of the city so that everyone could see it and touch it, and when this was done, they said to the people:
Here we have found the one whom your faith has been looking for.
And all Rome gathered; everyone touched the saint, kissing him. All the sick were healed: the blind received their sight, lepers were cleansed, demons left those possessed by them, in a word - no matter what illness anyone had, everyone received complete healing from the relics of the saint of God. Seeing such miracles, the king and patriarch wanted to carry the bed to the church themselves in order to receive the grace from touching the body of the saint. Their parents and bride accompanied them weeping; such a multitude of people gathered, eager to touch the honest body, that it was impossible to carry the bed due to the crowded conditions. To force the people to retreat and make way for the church, the king ordered silver and gold to be thrown into the crowd, but no one paid attention to this; everyone intensely wanted only to see the man of God and touch him. Then the pope addressed an admonition to the people, asking them to retreat and promising not to bury the honest body until everyone had kissed it and received grace through touching it. With difficulty, the people, convinced, backed down a little and made it possible to bring the holy body to the cathedral church, where it stood for a whole week, so that everyone could venerate it; All that week, the crying parents and bride were at the bed of Saint Alexis. The king ordered the tomb to be made of marble, decorated with gold and emeralds, in which the man of God was laid; immediately the fragrant myrrh flowed from the holy body, filling the shrine; everyone was anointed with that world for the healing of all diseases, and they buried the honest remains of Saint Alexis with honor, glorifying God.
Saint Alexy reposed on the seventeenth day of March, in the year from the creation of the world 5919, from the incarnation of God the Word 411, when Honorius reigned in Rome under Pope Innocent, and Theodosius the Younger reigned in Constantinople and always reigned over them all with the Father and the Holy By the Spirit is our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Troparion, tone 4:
Having risen to virtue, and having purified your mind, you have achieved what you desired and the extreme: having adorned your life with dispassion, and accepted a fair amount of fasting with a clear conscience, remaining in your prayers as if you were disembodied, you have shone like the sun in the world, blessed Alexis.
Kontakion, voice 2:
Having had the house of your parents as a stranger, you settled in it like a beggar: and after your repose, a crown of glory, a wondrous thing, appeared on earth to Alexis, the man of God, an angel and a joy to man.
1. Rome, main city Roman state, located in central Italy, located on both banks of the Tiber River, where it flows into the sea. By ancient legend it was founded by Romulus (d. 707) on the Palatinek hill in 753 BC, then spread to six neighboring hills, which is why it is called seven-hill; an indication of these seven hills of Rome is also found in the Apocalypse (17:9). At the beginning of its history, Rome consisted only of groups of huts made of clay and covered with reeds, but then it began to enrich itself as a result of successful wars with neighboring peoples - the Sabines, Volscians, Latins, Gauls, Etruscans, who in 273 were all united under the rule of Rome . Then the Romans began to subjugate the peoples living outside Italy, and soon Carthage, Macedonia, Greece, Illyria and Asia, which passed to the Romans peacefully according to the will of the Pergamon king Attalus III in 132, became provinces of Rome. In 63, the Roman commander Pompey entered Judea after a three-month struggle and withered Jerusalem; from then on, the Jews became tributaries of Rome and forever lost their freedom and independence. Under Augustus, the first Roman emperor, in the 30th year of whose reign the Lord Jesus Christ was born, Egypt was also subject to Rome. Thus, before the coming of Christ the Savior, Rome achieved power and glory, including almost all then known nations into its empire; riches from all over the world flocked to it; the affairs of all nations were decided in the Roman Senate. But the time of Rome's power was the beginning of its fall. Incessant wars ruined and reduced the wealthy classes of Roman citizens, and rich and noble families, buying up the lands of ruined families for next to nothing, became even richer; Therefore, the population of Rome was divided into two classes - the rich and the poor. While the luxury of the former reached almost incredible proportions, the latter were in poverty and oppression; Entire fortunes were spent on one meal, and the poor did not have a piece of bread. Since the conquest of Greece, philosophical teachings began to spread in Rome that undermined popular religion, and unbelief spread in a wide wave, first among the upper and then lower classes: objects of religious belief were openly ridiculed at stage performances. Along with unbelief, immorality began to spread; licentiousness, which reached the point of committing unnatural vices (Rom. 1:26-27), replaced the former purity and severity of morals. And only the regenerating power of Christianity saved Rome from final destruction. Christianity entered Rome very early. According to legend, already Emperor Tiberius (14-37) heard a sermon about Christ; under his successor Claudius (41-54), there were strong divisions in Rome between Jewish Christians and Jews. Directly to Nero (54-68), thanks to the sermon of Ap. Paul, which lasted for 2 whole years (Acts 28:30), Christians multiplied; During the reign of the second emperor, there was the first persecution of Christians, unjustly accused of setting fire to Rome: during this persecution, Sts. App. Peter and Pavel. But the persecution did not destroy Christianity: under Domitian (81-91) it even penetrated into the family of the emperor - Dometian’s brother Flavius Clement was executed for being a Christian; during the reign of this emperor St. John the Theologian was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received a revelation about the future destinies of the world and the Church (Apoc. 1:9). From the time of Nero and Domitian, persecution of Christians continued until 313. They were especially strong under the emperor Diocletian (285-306), who marked the beginning of the division of the Roman Empire; he chose Maximin as his co-ruler and divided the state between him and himself, then each co-ruler chose an assistant, so that the empire was divided into four parts. After the renunciation of the reign of Diocletian and Maximin, control passed to Constantius Chlorus and Galerius, the first was succeeded by his son Constantine (306), who issued a decree in 313, allowing everyone to convert to Christianity. Having become sovereign, (324) he moved his seat east to Byzantium, which was later called Constantinople. Here he surrounded himself with Christians, whom he appointed to the highest government positions; he established the celebration of Sunday by law, built many temples; with his assistance, the first ecumenical council was convened (326). Under Emperor Theodosius the Great, who prohibited pagan worship by decree of 392, the Roman Empire was finally divided into Eastern and Western (395). The first fell under the attacks of the Turks in 1453 under Mohammed II, and the second, which included Italy, Africa, Britain and Spain, in 476; in 476, after the abdication of the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustus, the leader of the Heruls, Odoacer, reigned over Italy.
2. The Roman day, just like the night, was divided into four parts, called the first, third, sixth and ninth hours. By the first hour we meant ours; the seventh, eighth at nine in the morning, under the third - ten, eleven and twelfth hours, under the sixth - first, second and third in the afternoon, under the ninth - fourth, fifth at six in the afternoon.
3. The difference between porphyry materials and others was their red color; the paint for them was obtained from a special kind seaweed.
4. Laodicea, an ancient city in the Asia Minor region of Phrygia at the junction of the Lycus and Galifa rivers, was founded by Antiochus II (261-246) in honor of his wife Laodice. At the time of Christ it was almost the first city of Asia Minor, since it lay on trade route, connecting East and West. The beginning of Christianity here was probably not laid by the Ap himself. Paul (Col. 2:1), and the teacher of the Colsian church, Epaphras (Col. 1:7). Church of the Laodicean Apostle Paul wrote a special letter; it is also mentioned in the Apocalypse among the most remarkable churches of Asia Minor (3:14-22). In 360, there was a local council in Laodicea, the rules of which (60) regarding the order of worship and the behavior of the clergy and laity were included in the church canon. In 1255 the city was taken by the Turks, and in 1402 it was destroyed by Tamerlane. Now only ruins on a low hill near the devastated village of Eski-Gissar speak of what once was here. ancient city.
5. Mesopotamia, i.e. Mesopotamia, ancient Shinar (Gen. 10:10), the place of birth and residence of Abraham before entering the land of Harran (Gen. 11:28; Acts 7:2); This is the name of the space lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, limited in the south by the Persian Gulf, in the north by the mountains of Armenia. In a closer sense, Mesopotamia is called Northern part this area, the so-called El Jezir, while South part region is known under the name of Babylonia, present-day Iraq-Arabi, i.e. ancient Babylonia. During the Roman era, the country was divided into two parts, Ozroene in the west, which passed to Rome in 217 AD. with the main city of Edessa and Mygdonia in the east with the main city of Nisibida, conquered in 115 by the Roman emperor Trajan. The beginning of Christianity in Mesopotamia was laid by the companion of Ap. Hermas by Judas or Thaddeus - according to legend, one of the seventy disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ; Judas founded the church in Edessa. St. was born in the vicinity of Nisibida. Ephraim the Syrian (III-IV centuries); Bishop Thomas Barsuma of Nizibia was a zealous champion of the Nestorian heresy, which taught that the Word of God, eternally born from the Father, only dwelt in the man Jesus, being with Him in a special, moral union. In the 11th century, under the attack of the Seljuks and Turks, Mesopotamia declined and now belongs to Turkey; inhabitants are Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Syrians. Mesopotamia had a very important historical significance under Assyrian and Babylonian rule.
6. Edessa, present-day Urfa, a city in northern Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River, from 137 BC. the main city of the newly formed Ozroene or Edessa state; in 217 AD. turned into an eastern colony by the Romans. Christianity spread early in Edessa; in the 4th century St. Ephraim the Syrian founded a theological school here, which in the 5th century leaned toward Nestorianism, in favor of which the teacher of the Edessa school, Presbyter Iva, was especially active. In 641 Edessa was conquered by the Arab caliphs; in 1098 Count Baldwin took possession of it, making it the main city of the Principality of Edessa; in 1144 it was conquered by the Turks and from that time on passed from hand to hand until in 1637 it finally fell under Turkish rule.
7. Image not made by hands Jesus Christ or a veil with the Face of the Savior imprinted on it, which He sent to the prince of Edessa Abgar for healing from an eye disease. The image not made by hands was kept in Edessa until 994, when it was purchased by Emperor Constantine the Porphyrogenitus and transferred on August 16 to Constantinople; from here he was kidnapped by the Venetians and drowned in the Sea of Marmara. Celebration on August 16th.
8. Cilicia, the region of Asia Minor, lying in the southeast, first fell under the rule of Macedonia, then belonged to the Parthian and Armenian kingdoms; in 68 BC. the best East End it became a Roman province; it was finally conquered under Vespasian (69-79) - Apostle, Paul was from the main city of Cilicia, Tarsus (Acts 9:11), retired here after his conversion (Acts 9:30) and of course preached the Gospel here; On his second journey, the Apostle passed through Cilicia, confirming the believers (Acts 15:41). Now Cilicia belongs to Turkey.
9. Ruth, a Moabite by birth, worthy to enter the genealogy of David as his foremother (Ruth. 4:17), and therefore into the genealogy of Jesus Christ Himself (Matt. 1:5); Her story is contained in the holy book that bears her name.
10. This was Pope Innocent I (402-417). He fought against the schism of the Donatists, convincing Emperor Honorius to issue a strict law against them, confirmed the conciliar definition (416) against the Pelagian heretics who denied the need for grace for salvation; he was the first to establish the doctrine of the primacy of the pope, citing the fact that they are the successors of St. Petra.
11. Here, of course, Arcadius, the Eastern Roman emperor, the son of Theodosius the Great, upon the death of his father (395) received the so-called. the Eastern Empire, while his brother Honorius received the Western; born 377, d. in 408. Throughout his reign, the state was ruled by people who knew how to subordinate the weak-willed emperor to their influence. Thus, at the beginning of his reign, the state was ruled by Rufinus, who increased the already enormous burden of taxes, multiplied the number of monetary fines, and thereby brought terror to the empire. After the death of Rufinus, his place was taken by the eunuch Eutropius, who convinced the emperor, for the purpose of his own enrichment, to issue a strict law (397), punishing death penalty and confiscation of property for any evil intent not only against the emperor, but also against senior officials. Finally, Empress Eudokia achieved the execution of Eutropius (399) and Arkady submitted completely to his wife, known for her hostile attitude towards St. John Chrysostom, who was then the Patriarch of Constantinople. At her insistence, the emperor approved the decision of the “cathedral under the oak tree” (403) to depose John Chrysostom and sent him into exile, but then returned him, fearing popular indignation. In 404 he ordered to be sent to prison again, doing this, as the first time, under the influence of Eudokia, who was offended by John Chrysostom for his sermons denouncing the luxurious and immoral life of the court. Under Arcadius, missionaries, equipped with his letters, preached Christianity throughout the provinces to those pagans who had not yet converted to Christ. Honorius, Western Roman Emperor - brother of Emperor Arcadius. At the beginning of his reign, the administration was headed by the smart politician and famous commander Stilnhon, who more than once repelled attacks on the empire of the West Goths, Vandals, Suevi, and Burgundians. After his fall and execution, the empire's affairs took a turn for the worse. In 408, the leader of the West Goths, Alaric, besieged Rome and forced him to pay a heavy tribute, and in 410 he captured the city and handed it over to his troops for plunder. After the death of Alaric, his brother-in-law Ataulf made peace with Honorius, after which the West Goths retired beyond the Alps. Under Honorius, in 411, there was a council against the schismatic Donatists, who separated from the church because it accepted repentant apostates during persecution, because in their opinion, the church ceases to be holy if there are sinners among its members. By order of Honorius, all the remaining pagan temples, and the pagans themselves were removed from government positions.
12. The managers of the office located under the patriarch were called charters.
13. His body was buried in the church of the torment. Boniface on Mount Aventine; it was acquired in 1216 and a magnificent church was built over it.
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