Bishop of the Russian Church Dimitry of Rostov: biography and facts from life

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Among the numerous Moscow shrines, the Temple of Dimitry of Rostov in Ochakovo stands out because it was built and consecrated in honor of the first saint, canonized during the synodal period, that is, in the years when Peter I abolished the patriarchate, and the supreme church authority passed to the Holy Synod. The founder of the Rostov Grammar School, this saint of God, went down in history as an outstanding teacher and educator.

Childhood and youth of the future saint

Dimitri Rostovsky was born in December 1651, in the small Ukrainian village of Makarovka, near Kyiv. At holy baptism he was given the name Daniel. The boy's parents, not distinguished by either nobility or we alth, were people respected for their piety and kindness. Having received a home education, the young man enters the Fraternal School, opened at the Kyiv Epiphany Church. It still exists, but has already been transformed into a Spiritual Academy.

Possessing outstanding abilities and perseverance, Daniil soon stood out from the crowd with his academic successstudents, and was duly noted by teachers. However, he gained the greatest fame in those years for his exceptional piety and deep religiosity. But nevertheless, such a successful study soon had to be abandoned.

The beginning of the monastic path

The future Saint Demetrius of Rostov was still an eighteen-year-old youth, when, during the bloody war between Russia and the Zadneprovsky Cossacks, Poland, allied with them, temporarily captured Kyiv, and the Fraternal School was closed. Having lost his beloved mentors, Daniel continues to independently comprehend the sciences and three years later, under the influence of patristic literature, he takes monastic vows with the name Demetrius. This important event in his life took place in the St. Cyril's monastery, whose patron was at that time his elderly father.

The future saint began his path to his glorification in this monastery. The life of Demetrius of Rostov, compiled many years after his blessed death, likens his youth to such pillars of the church as Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Metropolitan Joseph of Kyiv duly noted the beginning of his high spiritual exploits, and soon the young monk became a hierodeacon, and six years later he was ordained a hieromonk.

Fight against the Latin heresy

From now on, the future St. Demetrius of Rostov begins his preaching activity in the diocese, where he was sent by Archbishop Lazar of Chernigov (Baranovich). This was a very important and responsible obedience, since in thoseyears, the influence of Latin preachers, who tried to turn the population away from true Orthodoxy, significantly intensified. An energetic and well-educated priest was required to conduct competitive discussions with them. It was precisely such a candidate that the archbishop found in the person of the young hieromonk.

In this field, Dimitry of Rostov worked together with many outstanding theologians of that time, filling in the information gleaned from them for the lack of his own knowledge, as circumstances prevented him from graduating from the Fraternal School. For two years he has been a preacher at the Chernihiv cathedra, and all this time he has been serving Orthodoxy not only with wise words addressed to the flock, but also with a personal example of a pious life.

St. Demetrius of Rostov is an outstanding preacher

The good fame of an outstanding preacher spread throughout Little Russia and Lithuania. Many monasteries invited him to visit them and pronounce in front of the brethren and, most importantly, in front of crowds of pilgrims, the words of the Divine Teaching, so necessary for all, that turn wavering hearts to the true faith. As the Life of Demetrius of Rostov testifies, during this period he makes many trips, visiting various monasteries.

By this time, his fame as a preacher had reached such proportions that not only the abbots of the Kyiv and Chernigov monasteries, but also personally the hetman of Little Russia Samoylovich, who offered him a full-time position as a preacher in his residence in Baturyn, persistently demanded considerablematerial benefits.

The period of service in the monasteries of Slutsk and Baturin

For a whole year, the Transfiguration Monastery of Slutsk becomes his place of residence, where the famous preacher is invited by Bishop Theodosius. Here, preaching the Word of God and wandering around the neighborhood, St. Demetrius of Rostov begins to try his hand at a new field for him - literary. The monument of those times was the fruit of his work - a description of the miracles of the Ilyinsky icon "Irrigated Fleece".

However, the monastic duty of obedience required him to return to his abbot in the St. Cyril Monastery, but something else happened. By the time he was ready to leave the hospitable shelter of the Slutsk monastery, Kyiv and the entire Zadneprovskaya Ukraine were under the threat of the Turkish invasion, and Baturin remained the only relatively safe place, where Dimitry Rostovsky was forced to go.

General recognition and offers of abbess

Hetman Samoylovich himself came from a clergy, and therefore he treated his guest with special warmth and sympathy. He invited Hieromonk Dimitry to settle near Baturin in the Nikolaevsky Monastery, which at that time was led by the famous theologian Theodosius Gurevich in the past. Communication with this man enriched Dimitry of Rostov with new knowledge, which he needed so much in the fight against the Latin heresy.

Over time, when the military danger had passed, the future saint again began to receive messages from various monasteries, but now these were proposals from the abbess,that is, the leadership of the holy monasteries. Such an honor testified to his highest authority among the clergy. After some hesitation, the future Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov agreed to head the Maksakov monastery, located near the town of Borzna.

Scientific activities of the future saint

But he didn't have to stay there for a long time. The very next year, Hetman Samoylovich, not wanting to part with his beloved preacher for a long time, applied for him a position in the Baturinsky Monastery, where the post of abbot had just become vacant. Arriving at the monastery intended for him, Demetrius nevertheless refused the position of abbot offered to him and devoted himself entirely to scientific work.

During this period, the most important event in his life took place. The newly appointed rector of the Pechersk Lavra, Archimandrite Varlaam, suggested that he move to him, under the vaults of the ancient Kyiv monastery, and continue his scientific work there. Having accepted the rector's proposal, Saint Dimitry of Rostov set about fulfilling the main work of his life - compiling the lives of the saints canonized by the Ecumenical Church. With this work of his, which stretched over two decades, he rendered an invaluable service to Russian Orthodoxy.

Transition to the Moscow Metropolis

When in 1686 Demetrius was already working on the fourth book of the lives of the saints, a significant event took place in the life of the Orthodox Church: the Kyiv metropolis, which was previously subordinate to the Patriarch of Constantinople, became subordinate to Moscow. From thistime, the scientific research of St. Demetrius was under the control of Patriarch Adrian. Appreciating the works of the scientist, he raises him to the rank of archimandrite and appoints him the rector first of the Yelets Assumption Monastery, and then of the Preobrazhensky in Novgorod-Siversky.

In 1700, Tsar Peter I, who abolished the patriarchate after the death of the last primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, appointed Archimandrite Demetrius to the vacant See of Tobolsk by his decree. In this regard, he was elevated to the rank of bishop in the same year. However, his he alth did not allow him to go to the regions with a cold northern climate, and a year later the sovereign assigned him to the Rostov Metropolis.

Rostov department and concern for the education of the people

The entire period of his tenure at this see, Metropolitan Dimitri tirelessly cared about the education of the population, fought against drunkenness, ignorance and dark prejudices. He showed particular zeal in eradicating the Old Believers and the Latin heresy. Here he founded the Slavic-Greek school, in which, along with the usual disciplines for that time, the classical languages \u200b\u200bof Latin and Greek were also taught.

Departure from earthly life and canonization

The blessed death of the saint came on October 28, 1709. According to his last will, he was buried in the Trinity Cathedral of the Yakovlevsky Monastery. However, contrary to the order of the Monastic order, a wooden frame was installed instead of a stone crypt. This deviation from the prescription had in the future the most unexpectedeffects. In 1752, the headstone was being repaired, and the flimsy wooden deck was accidentally damaged. When it was opened, they found inside a coffin with relics that had remained incorrupt for all the past years.

This was the reason for the beginning of the process of glorification in the face of the saints of Metropolitan Demetrius. The official canonization took place in 1757. The relics of Demetrius of Rostov became the object of worship for a large number of pilgrims who came to Rostov from all over Russia. In subsequent years, several hundred cases of healing were registered, granted through prayers at his grave. In accordance with church tradition, an akathist was composed to Dimitry of Rostov as a newly glorified saint of God.

Church of Demetrius of Rostov - a monument to the saint of God

On the day of finding the relics of the saint, September 21, and on the day of his blessed death, October 28, his memory is celebrated. At the end of the 18th century, his life was compiled, which became an example of serving the Church for many generations of monks and laity. Today, one of the monuments to the saint of God, who worked so hard to establish the true faith in Russia, is the Church of Demetrius of Rostov in Ochakovo.