Half a century before the Lord sent the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga to the banks of the Dnieper, the light of another ascetic of Christianity shone in the Czech lands - the Great Martyr Lyudmila, whose photo of the icon is presented in our article. Their fates are very similar. Both were baptized in adulthood, widowed at an early age, ruled on behalf of their young children and, failing to instill the faith of Christ in their hearts, passed it on to their grandchildren, who laid the foundations for the religious enlightenment of their peoples. The earthly path of the Czech saint is described in this article.
The first biographer of Saint Ludmila
In the middle of the 10th century, the Prague priest Pavel Kaich compiled the earliest Life of the Holy Martyr Ludmila of Czechoslovakia, while icons with her image appeared only at the end of the 12th century. The original of this work, written only two decades after her death, has not survived, but its contents are known from numerous Latin translations made during the same period. It was he who served as the basis for the creation of all subsequent biographies of the ascetic.
Young wife of Prince Borzhivoy I
According to this source, St. Ludmila came from the family of Prince Slavibor, who ruled in the second half of the 9th century the Pshovans, who most historians identify with the Serbs. Nothing is known about the early years of her life, but it is generally accepted that the young princess was brought up in the traditions of paganism, which at that time was the only religion known to her people.
Having reached the right age, she became the wife of another sovereign prince - Borzhivoy I, who became the founder of the ruling dynasty of the Přemyslids. This marriage, concluded for political reasons, was the beginning of the process of uniting many tribes that then lived on the territory of Bohemia, and forming a single nation on their basis.
The first Christian rulers of the Czech Republic
From the historical documents that have come down to our time, it is clear that initially the possessions of Prince Borzhivoi were limited to only an insignificant territory surrounding his castle, but having taken part in the war of the influential Moravian ruler Svatopluk against the Eastern Franks, he received from him very extensive lands on which, over time, the capital of the Czech state, Prague, was built.
It is customary to depict Ludmila the Czech on icons alone, without her husband, as if he had dissolved in the shadow of her holiness. However, according to Latin sources, Prince Borzhivoy I converted to Christianity earlier than she did, and even before marriage he became the spiritual mentor of his future wife. It was thanks to him that she was able to fullyfeel the greatness of true faith and contain it in your heart. If such a statement raises doubts among some researchers, then they all agree that it was Borzhivoy and Lyudmila who were the first Christian rulers of the then-nascent Czech state.
St. Methodius' disciples
According to the Slavic authors, who also left us the Life of the Great Martyr Lyudmila, she and her sovereign husband were baptized at the same time. This important event took place in 885 in the Moravian capital of Velehrad, and their baptizer was Saint Methodius Equal to the Apostles, who became famous for the fact that, together with his younger brother Cyril, he became the creator of the Slavic letter.
The same sources note that initially the spouses were not driven to the holy font by spiritual thirst, but by some political calculations, however, under the influence of Methodius' conversations and sermons, they sincerely believed in Jesus Christ and became His faithful servants. Wishing to accustom the entire Czech people to the true faith, the couple, upon returning home, founded the first Christian church in the city of Levi Gradets, which was then consecrated in honor of St. Clement, who was also widely revered in Ancient Russia.
Forcible baptism of Czechs
According to the established tradition, the icons of Ludmila the Czech are given a resolute and uncompromising look, which is quite consistent with her image, rising from the pages of historical chronicles of that period. The establishment of Christianity in the Czech Republic, as well as a century later in Russia, met with the most fierce resistance from the champions of paganism and required the adoption of decisivemeasure.
In 886, an uprising broke out on the lands that belonged to Prince Borzhivoy, led by his brother Stoymir, an ardent supporter of polytheism. In this critical situation, Lyudmila became a reliable support for her husband and helped him pacify the rebels, calling for help from Prince Svatopluk, whom he once supported in the fight against the tribes of the East Franks. After the victory that marked the beginning of the process of general Christianization of the Czech Republic, Borzhivoy, at the request of his wife, built the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in Levi Gradets, which for many years became the main spiritual center of the region.
The sole ruler of the Czech Republic
In 889, Prince Borzhivoy I died suddenly, leaving Ludmila two sons - Spytignev and Vratislav, as well as several daughters, whose names were erased from the memory of descendants. Widowed just as early as the Holy First Apostle Princess Olga, and just like her, becoming the de facto ruler of the state until the eldest of the heirs to the throne came of age, Lyudmila showed herself to be a wise and consistent politician. Having built a very thoughtful line of relations with the Moravian prince Svatopluk, she managed to stop his attempts to annex the Czech Republic to her possessions and saved it for her own sons.
Another important act of the princess was the preservation of Slavic worship in the territories under her control. This gives particular importance today to the icon of St. Ludmila of Bohemia, since the prayers offered in churches do not sound in Latin, as the messengers of the Roman Church demanded, but in the language of the people,gathered under their vaults. Thanks to her, the course of worship in the Czech Republic became clear and understandable for all ordinary people.
According to historians, the preservation of the Slavic worship allowed Princess Lyudmila to achieve a balance that was sorely needed for her state between the Catholic and Orthodox priesthoods, each of which tried to secure priority for itself. It was extremely difficult to do this, because after the death of St. Methodius, all his closest disciples left the country, and the population of Bohemia experienced a strong influence of the Roman Church. That is why among the Orthodox wing of Czech Christians, the icon of the martyr Ludmila today enjoys special reverence.
Power passed into the hands of a heathen
Her further fate was extremely tragic, and it is not without reason that it is customary to depict the cross on the icons of Lyudmila Czech, which, as you know, is a symbol of martyrdom. Having reached the proper age, her eldest son Spytignev ascended the throne and, having reigned for two decades, died, giving way to his younger brother Vratislav, who, having become the ruler of the Czech Republic, married the pagan princess Dragomir, a woman of an autocratic and unbridled disposition.
Many contemporaries wrote that she accepted Christianity only in order to enter into an advantageous marriage, while she herself remained a supporter of the most primitive forms of polytheism until the end of her life. Even when she found herself in a circle of people who confessed Christ, she did not cease secretly from everyone to perform pagan rites, accompanied by sacrifices.
BeingBy nature, a kind man, but spineless, Vradislav transferred all power into her hands, while remaining only an obedient puppet, which inexpressibly resented his mother. Some time later, he died, leaving behind sons-heirs, the eldest of whom, Vaclav, was brought up by his grandmother, Dowager Princess Lyudmila.
The murder of the holy righteous woman
Not wanting to stay close to her disgusted daughter-in-law, the princess retired to her ancestral castle Tetin, taking her grandson Wenceslas with her. There she hoped to find peace and devote herself to raising the heir to the throne, but Dragomira, who saw her as her political rival and was jealous of her son, planned a crime.
On the night of September 16, 921, she sent assassins to the dowager princess, who strangled the saint with her own headdress, called povoi. This element of clothing is certainly present on all the icons of Lyudmila Czech as a reminder of her martyr's end. It is a kind of veil worn under the crown.
Wishing not only to physically destroy, but also to morally humiliate the hated mother-in-law, Dragomira ordered her body to be buried not in the church fence, as required by law, but outside the city wall, where rootless vagrants were interred. However, miracles began to happen at the grave of the princess from the very first days, and she became a place of universal pilgrimage.
The icon of the Great Martyr Lyudmila has not yet been painted, but her image, well known to contemporaries, has always appeared to their inner gaze. Byto the prayers offered to the innocently murdered righteous, the blind received their sight, the madmen gained reason, and strength returned to the weak.
Trial by Fire
When the young Prince Wenceslas reached the right age and became the full ruler of the Czech Republic, he ordered the remains of his grandmother to be transferred to Prague and placed in the Basilica of St. George (George), where they are still located in a chapel specially attached to them. That is why on some icons of St. Lyudmila is depicted against the backdrop of the Czech capital.
Despite the fact that almost immediately after her martyrdom, the princess began to be revered by the people as a saint, her official canonization took place only 180 years later and was accompanied by a very peculiar rite. According to the tradition established in those distant times, solid evidence was required to recognize holiness, one of which was the so-called trial by fire.
It consisted in the fact that the veil that had lain on them for many years was removed from the relics, and in the presence of a large number of witnesses they tried to set it on fire. Only after everyone was convinced that the fire did not flare up, holiness was considered proven. The possibility that the fabric could simply be damp was, of course, not taken into account. This rite gave rise to depicting her face in the reflections of fire on some icons of Lyudmila.
Kara heavenly
Memories of one very mysterious incident are connected with the relics of the great martyr, involuntarily suggesting the idea of miracles. His description is still contained in the documents of the Prague archive. A businessin the fact that after the fire that engulfed the Basilica of St. George in the 12th century, the German architect invited to restore it committed a terrible sacrilege: he stole part of the relics of St. Ludmila and, having transported them to Germany, secretly sold them.
However, after the crime, punishment was not slow to follow. He himself soon died, having contracted the plague, and after him all the buyers of stolen relics departed to another world. Someone broke his neck, falling from a horse, someone quarreled with a neighbor and was killed, and one respectable 70-year-old baron, who married a very young marquise, expired on his wedding night. Undoubtedly, a curse weighed on these people, and in order to stop the series of deaths, their relatives hastened to return the stolen shrines to the Prague basilica and pay due repentance.
Veneration of Saint Ludmila
Today, the icon of St. Ludmila of Czechoslovakia can be seen in many Christian churches - both Orthodox and Catholic. Prayers are offered before her for intercession before the Lord God. They pray for the he alth of the living and the repose of the souls of those who have completed their earthly journey. The veneration of the martyr is especially widespread in the Czech Republic, where she is considered one of the heavenly patrons of the state. Despite the fact that the very name of the saint is not as common there as in Russia, the nominal icon of Lyudmila is sold in every church shop.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the veneration of the Holy Martyr Ludmila was established no later than the 14th century. Her memory is celebrated annually on September 16 (29). The people have developedthe belief that she is the heavenly patroness of grandmothers, although the official Church does not ascribe this to her. Nevertheless, in front of the icon of Lyudmila of the Czech Republic, for many centuries, women have been praying for the admonition of children and grandchildren, for instilling in their hearts the spirit of meekness, good manners and the fear of God.
It is generally accepted that a prayer appeal to a Czech saint is a reliable means to resolve family conflicts and maintain peace and love between spouses. Martyr Lyudmila listens especially sensitively to the voices of those women who were given her name in holy baptism.
The Morning Star that sanctified the Czech Republic
The article contains the text of the most common prayer to the holy martyr Ludmila of Czech. The first part, called the troparion, says that, leaving the darkness of idolatry and absorbing the light of the true faith, she, like the morning star, sanctified the Czech land with her worship of God.
In its continuation, called kontakion, there is a petition for prayers before God for all the faithful (believers) who have found in her "common" temple spiritual "he alth", that is, integrity and completeness. In this text, the word “temple” should not be understood in its narrow sense, since the compilers of the prayer used it in a figurative sense, referring to the inflexibility of faith, communion with which can give a person spiritual harmony. The meaning of the icon of Lyudmila of the Czech Republic, as well as the prayers addressed to her, is unusually deep and capable of influencing the inner world of a person in the most beneficial way.
