Twice a year - June 18 and October 2 - the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Prince Igor of Chernigov, whose earthly life was martyred in 1147. On these days, services in all churches in Russia include prayers addressed to him, an akathist composed shortly after his canonization sounds, and the icon of St. Igor is placed on the lectern.
Heir to the Grand Duke's Throne
The pages of the Kyiv Chronicle brought to us the features of the external appearance of Prince Igor Olgovich (his family descended from the Novgorod prince Oleg Svyatoslavich). According to its compiler, in the days of earthly life he was of medium height, lean and swarthy in face, wore long hair and grew a narrow short beard. The chronicler also reports on the personal qualities of St. Igor, drawing the attention of readers to his church learning, erudition, as well as courage in battle and dexterity during animal hunting.
The ascent of the future saint to the pinnacle of power took place at the behest of his elder brother, the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vsevolod Olgovich, who died in 1146 and beforedeclared him his successor by death. But the trouble is that during the years of his reign, the deceased managed to arouse such hatred of the people of Kiev that after his death it spread to his brothers, including the innocent young prince.
People's wrath
The chronicler reports that, standing at the grave of his elder brother, Saint Igor solemnly vowed to govern his subjects "according to God's truth and justice", as well as to depose and punish all former tiuns (officials) who stained themselves with exactions and extortion. However, shortly after his accession to the throne, all his “election” promises dissipated “like a dream, like a morning mist.”
The Tiunas, mired in corruption, continued mercilessly robbing the people, and he himself made those decisions that primarily met his personal interests. The deception aroused indignation among the people and served as the cause of what today is commonly called a "social explosion." Not wanting to put up with what was happening, the people of Kiev contacted another contender for the throne - Prince Izyaslav of Pereyaslav (grandson of Vladimir Monomakh) and offered him to take the reins of government into his own hands.
Lost power
Pereyaslavsky competitor immediately appeared, accompanied by a large army, and near Kyiv on the shore of Lake Nadov, a battle took place between him and the squad of St. Igor. Izyaslav won the victory, but he got it not by military courage, but due to the fact that in the midst of the battle the Kiev army, which consisted of townspeople deceived by the Grand Duke, abandoned their ruler and switched to hisside. The victors celebrated their luck, according to the customs of that time, by plundering for several days everything that was on the lands belonging to the enemy, including not only cities and villages, but even holy monasteries.
The Prince's Way of the Cross
From this began the martyrdom of St. Igor of Chernigov. The chronicle reports that for four days he hid in the marsh reeds, after which he was captured and taken to Kyiv. There, under the hooting of the crowd, the yesterday's ruler, who had occupied the throne for no more than two weeks, was put in a "cut" - a wooden structure without doors and windows, so named because it was possible to remove a prisoner from it only by cutting a passage through the wall.
In his prison, Prince Igor fell seriously ill, and the townspeople expected his death from day to day. In order not to take on sin and not leave his soul without repentance, they freed him from the cut, since it was impossible to confess in him, and sent him to the Ioannovsky monastery for tonsure as a monk, which, as the chronicler emphasizes, fully corresponded to the desire of the prince himself.
Monastic tonsure
Experienced troubles and humiliations produced a profound upheaval in his soul. He began to rethink the past years and repent of all the iniquities he had committed. Under the weight of sorrows that overwhelmed him, the prince felt the exodus of spiritual strength and the approach of death, and therefore tearfully prayed to the abbot to quickly perform the rite of monastic vows on him.
In early January 1147 Bishop Evfimy of Pereyaslav performed itrequest. In monasticism, Prince Igor Olgovich was named Gabriel. For almost two weeks after performing the sacred rite, he was so weak that he could not speak, and was, as they say, between life and death.
However, contrary to everyone's expectation, yesterday's ruler did not die, but went on the mend and after a while could already stand long church services. When he was completely strong, he was transferred from the Ioannovsky Monastery to the Feodorovskaya Monastery, where he soon accepted the schema - the highest level of Orthodox monasticism, this time with the name Ignatius. Completely surrendering to ascetic deeds, Saint Igor spent his time in unceasing prayers and fasts, asking the Lord to forgive his sins.
Rage of the crowd
Meanwhile, political passions in Kyiv, caused by the death of one Grand Duke and the overthrow of another, did not subside, but flared up day by day. The reason for this was a tough confrontation between the supporters of Izyaslav, who had usurped power, and representatives of the Olgovich family, to which the prince who had become a monk belonged. In the blindness of hatred multiplied by exorbitant pride, neither side was willing to give in.
The conflict became especially acute after the people of Kiev became aware that the Olgoviches, relatives of the Grand Duke deposed by them, plotted against Izyaslav in order to lure him into a trap and kill him. When this news was announced in the city square, it stirred up the whole people. The crowd could not deal with the perpetrators, since thosemanaged to leave the city and ride off to Chernigov, where they safely hid behind the city walls. Therefore, the general anger spilled out on the innocent Igor, who accepted the schema and prayed for his sins in the Feodorovsky Monastery, and at the same time their sins.
Rebel Tenacity
In vain, Metropolitan Clement tried to stop the flow of people heading towards the holy monastery - no one wanted to hear his words about the wrath of God, which they would bring upon themselves by this recklessness. Equally futile were the attempts of Prince Izyaslav to prevent trouble and save the life of his former competitor. The enraged mob almost tore him to pieces, after which he considered it good to retreat.
When the distraught people burst into the monastery, the liturgy was served there, and the holy prince was within the walls of the main church. Hearing the noise heard outside and guessing the purpose of the rebels, he did not lose heart, but only asked the Lord to send him strength and courage to adequately meet his death hour.
Innocently murdered prince
Not disdaining to desecrate the holy place, the rebels burst into the temple and, pulling the prince out, tore him to pieces, after which they dragged the mutilated body on a rope for a long time. When, finally, they left their booty, and the martyr began to be buried in one of the city churches, then, according to legend, thunder rolled from the sky and everything around was lit up with an unprecedented radiance. Terrified, the murderers of Prince Igor fell on their knees and prayed to the Lord for forgiveness.
Very soon, miracles of healing began to occur on the grave of the innocently killed, and besides, when in 1150 his relics were transported to Chernigov, then, having opened the grave, they found them incorrupt. As a result, after the time set by the church charter had passed, and the political situation had become quite favorable, the martyr, torn to pieces by the crowd, was canonized and has been known since then as the holy noble prince Igor.
Then his popular veneration began. As mentioned above, St. Igor's Day is celebrated by the Orthodox Church twice a year. The first time this happens on June 18 (the transfer of relics to Chernihiv), and then on October 2 - the day of martyrdom. The article contains a photograph of the temple erected in his honor in Peredelkino.
