The Russian land is rich in talented, intelligent people who are ahead of their time in development and striving for good institutions on the territory of Kievan Rus and the Russian state. Many spiritual pillars of the Orthodox faith, ascetics, martyrs and righteous people, who by their lives, according to the Commandments of God, illuminated the darkness of idolatry, paganism, who granted us their grace-filled help and intercession before the Lord God, praying in heaven for their earthly fatherland and the children of the Orthodox Church, to this day serve as an example of piety, righteousness and unbending character in the face of the enemies of the Church.
One of these great people of his time is Saint Andrew Bogolyubsky, whose memorial day falls on July 17.
Pedigree
In the 12th century in Kievan Rus, the Rurik dynasty was already in power. Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky is a direct descendant of Prince Vladimir Monomakh, his grandson. The father of the future saint was Yuri Dolgoruky, and his mother was the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan, the princess.
The start of the journey
From a young age, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose memorial dayfalls on July 17, took part in the administration of the Suzdal Principality, helping his father to resolve difficult issues and problems peacefully. After the transfer of the Kyiv Principality under the rule of his father, Prince Andrei goes to Vyshgorod to reign, while actively participating in military campaigns, bravely fighting enemies.
The origins of the idea of a new statehood
During that period of time in Kievan Rus, power was passed from generation to generation according to seniority. So, the oldest man in the family ruled Kyiv, and his children, brothers and sons occupied other principalities. When the oldest person in the family died, the second oldest member of the family took his place, and all the other princes moved to another city and ruled there as long as the elder brother was alive.
This system of succession to the princely throne was called the right of the ladder. She was very uncomfortable in terms of having to change her place of residence several times during her life. But the most important thing was not even that. The attitude of the princes towards the people living in the territory they ruled was built mainly on a consumer basis. Regardless of how the prince behaved in one or another fiefdom, he knew that with the death of the eldest in the family, the entire control system would shift, and he would receive richer lands.
From early youth, the prince saw the feuds that arise between relatives in the struggle for power in rich principalities, disputes over the priority of inheritance of the best lands.
Reigning in Vladimir-Suzdallands
Most of the life of the prince takes place in the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. He rules them until the transition to the throne of Kyiv.
The embodiment of the idea of a new statehood
At this time, he is building a model of government based on responsibility to the people, love and respect for neighbors, the poor brethren and the poor. The holy faithful Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose memorial day falls on July 17, was distinguished by a wise and fair government, developed trade and state institutions of power. After the death of his father, he takes his place in Kyiv in 1169-1175
Righteous living
During the reign of the Kyiv Principality, Andrei Bogolyubsky had to face open hostility from relatives who wanted to take away the rich Kyiv lands from him, so he secretly left the throne city with the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, presented to his father, Yuri Dolgoruky, by the Patriarch of Constantinople. This image was kept in Vyshgorod, in the family estate of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga of Russia.
This circumstance was preceded by amazing events. Seeing the endless strife between the Russian princes, Andrei Bogolyubsky (commemorated July 17) fervently prayed to the Most Pure Mother of God. Several times this icon was found hanging in the air, inviting to go on a journey. Prince Andrei liked the northeastern lands of Kievan Rus more than others. That is where he made his way. Miraculously, in the middle of the road, the horses stopped, not wanting to move either forward or backward. After the prayer service was served, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared to Prince Andrei, commanding that a temple and a monastic monastery be built on this site. The prince immediately responded to the command, laid the foundation of a white-stone church and ordered the icon painters to paint the image of the Most Pure Mother of God in the form in which she appeared to him. This is how the image of the Bogolyubskaya Mother of God appeared. After the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the horses were able to continue their journey and delivered the prince to Vladimir, which Andrei Bogolyubsky decided to make the northern capital of Russia.
St. Righteous Andrey Bogolyubsky (commemoration day July 17) inherited from his grandfather Vladimir Monomakh a deep concentration in prayer and spiritual life, love and diligence for church services, the habit of constantly checking his life with the Holy Scriptures, in any case, turn to prayer to the Lord God and the intercession of the saints. Distinguished from his youth by a special striving for a righteous life, he was a merciful ruler. In those days, the scattered principalities in the southern lands of Russia often suffered from attacks by hordes of nomads who ravaged the villages, swept away everything in their path, from rampant princely squads who robbed and oppressed the peasants. Therefore, more and more exhausted, hungry people, deprived of shelter, clothing, food and drink, were drawn to calmer lands. Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky received everyone with love and joy, endowed them with lands, and was generous with alms. Thanks to rich donations to monasteries, churches and poor people, Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose memorial day the Orthodox Church celebrates on July 17, won their love, respect and devotion. During the reign of the princeit is necessary to establish until now a church holiday, dearly loved and revered by the common people - the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The prince especially worked on enlightenment in the Orthodox faith of the Russian people, converted to Orthodoxy the non-believers - the Bulgars, sought to destroy the pagan traditions rooted in the people. Through his labors, new Orthodox schools were opened, icon-painting skills developed. Memorial Day of Andrei Bogolyubsky is an occasion to recall the development of Orthodoxy in the Vladimir-Suzdal lands, which rallied the people and gradually entered the life of the population deeper and deeper. Thus, the northeastern lands of Kievan Rus turned into a center of spiritual enlightenment and a new state system. Memorial Day of Andrei Bogolyubsky is a particularly revered holiday here.
Founder of Russian cities
On the site of the miraculous appearance of the Blessed Virgin on the way to Vladimir, the prince founded a city called Bogolyubovo. In addition to him, the prince founded several other cities: Dmitrov, Konyatin and Kostroma.
Building churches and cathedrals
In total, during the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, more than 30 churches were erected by his order. One of them is the grandiose Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, which houses the miraculous image of the Virgin, called Vladimir. Until now, it is considered the great shrine of the entire Russian people, for so long, carefully with love collected by the prince into one great state, unitedOrthodox faith. Andrei Bogolyubsky's memorial day is honored both in the temple on the Golden Gate and in the Church of the Savior in Vladimir, which were also founded by him.
Death of a prince
After the execution of a close relative of Andrei Bogolyubsky's wife, her brothers, wanting revenge, entered into a conspiracy with the servants of the princely court. There were 16 people in total. On the day of the alleged murder, one of the prince's servants secretly took a sword from the prince's chambers, which was constantly kept there. Having drunk wine for courage, in the evening of the same day, the conspirators broke into the chambers of the prince, killed all the guards and, knocking out the door to the chambers of the ruler, attacked him unarmed with swords and spears, began to cut and stab him. After a short resistance, the exhausted and wounded prince fell to the floor. The murderers decided that he was dead and hurried to leave the prince's chambers, but the prince was still alive. He started calling for help. Hearing screams and groans, the conspirators returned and finished their dirty work. The body of the prince was pulled out of the chambers and thrown into the garden. Only the next day, the devoted servant of Prince Kosma found the lifeless body and, covering it with a carpet, carried it to the vestibule of the Assumption Cathedral.
On the day of the funeral, a myriad of bitterly crying peasants and ordinary people came to say goodbye to him, whom the pious prince managed to help in some way.
Andrei Bogolyubsky's Memorial Day falls on July 4 according to the old style and July 17 according to the new one. On this day, according to legend, the funeral of the prince took place.
Coincidence of historical events
So I lived my lifesinless charitable life of the holy noble Andrei Bogolyubsky. When this saint's memorial day is easy to remember. It coincides with the celebration of the memory of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers - the family of the last Russian sovereign from the Romanov dynasty - Nicholas II. There are two historical parallels here:
- both of them adhered to a true Christian life, trusting themselves, their family and country to the will of the Lord God;
- both sought to create a powerful state, the management of which is based on the responsibility of the first person of the state (prince, sovereign) before all the people and the Lord God;
- both won the love and respect of those whose life principles, values coincided with their personal ones;
- both fell victim to a conspiracy of envious people, dissatisfied with the spread of influence, the power and strength of their power, the we alth of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality and the Russian Empire;
- in both cases, the holy ascetics accepted a martyr's death: at the hands of the Bolsheviks, the last Russian Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich and at the hands of his wife's relatives and domestic servants Andrei Bogolyubsky; when the day of memory of both saints coincides, it is July 17 according to the new style and July 4 according to the old one.
Conclusion
The whole life of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky was filled with love for God and people, mercy and compassion for others, full of aspirations to unite the lands of Kievan Rus under the leadership of one sovereign, to develop and strengthen statehood.
Andrey Bogolyubsky (commemorated on July 17 according to the Orthodox calendar) was glorified by the Orthodox Church as a saint whose life was pure and righteous in the face of the Lord God, therefore he was named Bogolyubsky.
