Holiness is a purity of heart that seeks the uncreated divine energy manifesting in the gifts of the Holy Spirit as many colored rays in the solar spectrum. Pious ascetics are the link between the earthly world and the heavenly Kingdom. Penetrated by the light of divine grace, they, through contemplation of God and communion with God, come to know the highest spiritual mysteries. In earthly life, the saints, performing the feat of self-denial for the sake of the Lord, receive the highest grace of divine Revelation. According to biblical teaching, holiness is likening a person to God, who is the only bearer of all-perfect life and its unique source.
What is canonization
The church procedure for canonization of a righteous person is called canonization. She encourages believers to honor the recognized saint in public worship. As a rule, church recognition of piety is preceded by popular glory and veneration, but it was the act of canonization that made it possible to glorify saints by creating icons, writing lives, compiling prayers and church services. The reason for the official canonization of saints may be a featthe righteous, the incredible deeds he did, his whole life or martyrdom. And after death, a person can be recognized as a saint because of the incorruption of his relics, or miracles of healing occurring at his remains.
In the event that a saint is venerated within the same church, city or monastery, they speak of diocesan, local canonization.
Recognizes the official church and the existence of unknown saints, confirmation of the piety of which is not yet known to the entire Christian flock. They are called the revered dead righteous and they are served memorial services, while prayer services are served to the canonized saints.
That's why the names of Russian saints revered in one diocese may be different and unknown to parishioners in another city.
Who was canonized in Russia
Long-suffering Russia gave birth to more than a thousand martyrs and martyrs. All the names of the holy people of the Russian land, who were canonized, are listed in the calendar, or calendars. The right to solemnly rank the righteous as saints was originally possessed by the Kyiv, and later Moscow, metropolitans. The first canonizations were preceded by the exhumation of the remains of the righteous for the creation of a miracle by them. In the 11-16 centuries, the burials of Princes Boris and Gleb, Princess Olga, Theodosius of the Caves were opened.
From the second half of the 16th century, under Metropolitan Macarius, the right to canonize saints passed to church councils under the primate. The indisputable authority of the Orthodox Church, which had existed in Russia by that time for 600 years, was confirmed bynumerous Russian saints. The list of names of the righteous glorified by the Makarievsky cathedrals was replenished with the naming of 39 pious Christians as saints.
Byzantine canonization rules
In the 17th century, the Russian Orthodox Church succumbed to the influence of the ancient Byzantine rules of canonization. During this period, mainly clergymen were canonized for the fact that they had a church order. Also reckoning deserved missionaries who carry the faith, and associates of the construction of new churches and monasteries. And the need to create miracles has lost its relevance. So 150 righteous people were canonized, mainly from among the monks and the higher clergy, and the Saints added new names of Russian Orthodox saints.
Weakening of church influence
In the 18-19 centuries, only the Holy Synod had the right to canonize. This period is characterized by a decrease in the activity of the church and the weakening of its influence on social processes. Before the ascension to the throne of Nicholas II, only four canonizations took place. During the short period of the reign of the Romanovs, seven more Christians were canonized, and the saints added new names of Russian saints.
By the beginning of the 20th century, universally recognized and locally venerated Russian saints were included in the calendars, the list of names of which was supplemented by a list of the deceased Orthodox Christians, who performed memorial services.
Modern canonizations
The beginning of the modern period in the history of canonizations carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church can be considered the Local Council held in 1917-18, which includedThe face of saints is universally revered Russian saints Sophrony of Irkutsk and Joseph of Astrakhan. Then, in the 1970s, three more clergymen were canonized - Herman of Alaska, Archbishop of Japan and Metropolitan Innokenty of Moscow and Kolomna.
In the year of the millennium of the baptism of Russia, new canonizations took place, where Ksenia of Petersburg, Dmitry Donskoy and other equally famous Orthodox Russian saints were recognized as pious.
In 2000, the jubilee Bishops' Council took place, at which Emperor Nicholas II and members of the Romanov royal family were canonized “as passion-bearers.”
The first canonization of the Russian Orthodox Church
The names of the first Russian saints, who were canonized by Metropolitan John in the 11th century, became a kind of symbol of the true faith of the newly baptized people, of their complete acceptance of Orthodox norms. Princes Boris and Gleb, sons of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, after canonization became the first heavenly defenders of Russian Christians. Boris and Gleb were killed by their brother in the internecine struggle for the throne of Kyiv in 1015. Knowing about the impending assassination attempt, they accepted death with Christian humility for the sake of autocracy and tranquility of their people.
The veneration of princes was widespread even before the recognition of their holiness by the official church. After the canonization, the relics of the brothers were found incorruptible and showed miracles of healing to ancient Russian people. And the new princes ascending the throne made pilgrimages to the saintsrelics in search of a blessing for a just reign and help in feats of arms. Memorial Day of Saints Boris and Gleb is celebrated on July 24.
Formation of the Russian Holy Brotherhood
The Monk Theodosius of the Caves was next after princes Boris and Gleb. The second solemn canonization, carried out by the Russian Church, took place in 1108. The Monk Theodosius is considered the father of Russian monasticism and the founder, together with his mentor Anthony, of the Kiev Caves Monastery. The teacher and the student showed two different paths of monastic obedience: one is severe asceticism, rejection of everything worldly, the other is humility and creativity for the glory of God.
In the caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, bearing the names of the founders, the relics of 118 novices of this monastery, who lived before and after the Tatar-Mongol yoke, rest. All of them were canonized in 1643, making up a common service, and in 1762 the names of Russian saints were included in the calendar.
Rev. Abraham of Smolensk
Very little is known about the righteous people of the pre-Mongolian period. Abraham of Smolensk, one of the few saints of that time, about whom a detailed biography compiled by his student has been preserved. Abraham was revered for a long time in his native city even before his canonization by the Makarievsky Cathedral in 1549. Having distributed to the needy all his property left after the death of rich parents, the thirteenth child, the only son begged from the Lord after twelve daughters, Abraham lived in poverty, praying for salvation during the Last Judgment. Having taken the monastic vows, he copied church books andpainted icons. Saint Abraham is credited with saving Smolensk from a great drought.
The most famous names of the saints of the Russian land
Along with the aforementioned princes Boris and Gleb, peculiar symbols of Russian Orthodoxy, there are no less significant names of Russian saints who became intercessors for the whole people through their contribution to the participation of the church in public life.
After liberation from the Mongol-Tatar influence, Russian monasticism saw as its goal the enlightenment of pagan peoples, as well as the construction of new monasteries and temples in the uninhabited northeastern lands. The most prominent figure in this movement was St. Sergius of Radonezh. For God-obedient solitude, he built a cell on Makovets hill, where the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was later erected. Gradually, the righteous began to join Sergius, inspired by his teachings, which led to the formation of a monastic monastery, living on the fruits of their own hands, and not on the alms of believers. Sergius himself worked in the garden, setting an example for his brothers. The disciples of Sergius of Radonezh built about 40 monasteries throughout Russia.
Reverend Sergius of Radonezh carried the idea of charitable humility not only to ordinary people, but also to the ruling elite. As a skilled politician, he contributed to the unification of the Russian principalities, convincing the rulers of the need to unite dynasties and scattered lands.
Dmitry Donskoy
Sergius of Radonezh was greatly revered by the Russian prince, canonized as a saint, Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. Precisely the reverendSergius blessed the army for the Battle of Kulikovo started by Dmitry Donskoy, and for God's support he sent two of his novices.
Becoming a prince in early childhood, Dmitry in state affairs listened to the advice of Metropolitan Alexy, who was working for the unification of Russian principalities around Moscow. This process has not always gone smoothly. Where by force, and where by marriage (to the Suzdal princess), Dmitry Ivanovich annexed the surrounding lands to Moscow, where he built the first Kremlin.
It was Dmitry Donskoy who became the founder of a political movement that aimed to unite the Russian principalities around Moscow to create a powerful state with political (from the khans of the Golden Horde) and ideological (from the Byzantine church) independence. In 2002, in memory of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy and St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Order "For Service to the Fatherland" was established, fully emphasizing the depth of influence of these historical figures on the formation of Russian statehood. These Russian holy people cared for the well-being, independence and tranquility of their great people.
Faces (ranks) of Russian saints
All the saints of the Ecumenical Church are summarized in nine faces or ranks: prophets, apostles, saints, great martyrs, hieromartyrs, reverend martyrs, confessors, unmercenaries, holy fools and blessed.
The Orthodox Church of Russia divides the saints into faces differently. Russian holy people, due to historical circumstances, are divided into the following ranks:
Princes. The first righteousrecognized by the Russian church as saints, became princes Boris and Gleb. Their feat consisted in self-sacrifice in the name of the tranquility of the Russian people. Such behavior became an example for all the rulers of the times of Yaroslav the Wise, when the power in whose name the prince sacrificed was recognized as true. This rank is divided into Equal-to-the-Apostles (distributors of Christianity - Princess Olga, her grandson Vladimir, who baptized Russia), monks (princes who took monastic vows) and passion-bearers (victims of civil strife, assassination attempts, murders for the faith).
Reverends. This is the name of the saints who chose monastic obedience during their lifetime (Theodosius and Anthony of the Caves, Sergius of Radonezh, Joseph Volotsky, Seraphim of Sarov).
Prelates – righteous people with a church rank, who based their ministry on the protection of the purity of faith, the spread of Christian teaching, the foundation of churches (Nifont of Novgorod, Stefan of Perm).
The holy fools (blessed) - saints who wore the appearance of madness during their lifetime, rejecting worldly values. A very numerous rank of Russian righteous, replenished mainly by monks who considered monastic obedience insufficient. They left the monastery, going out in rags on the streets of cities and enduring all the hardships (St. Basil the Blessed, St. Isaac the Recluse, Simeon of Palestine, Xenia of Petersburg).
Holy laymen and wives. This rank unites the murdered babies recognized as saints, the laity who renounced the we alth, the righteous, who were distinguished by their boundless love for people (Juliania Lazarevskaya, ArtemyVerkolsky).
Lives of Russian Saints
Lives of the Saints is a literary work containing historical, biographical and everyday information about the righteous man, canonized by the church. Lives are one of the oldest literary genres. Depending on the time and country of writing, these treatises were created in the form of a biography, encomium (praise), martyria (testimony), patericon. The style of writing lives in the Byzantine, Roman and Western church cultures differed significantly. Back in the 4th century, the Church began to unite the saints and their biographies into vaults that looked like a calendar indicating the day of commemoration of the pious.
In Russia, lives appear together with the adoption of Christianity from Byzantium in Bulgarian and Serbian translations, combined into collections for reading by months - monthologues and menaias.
Already in the 11th century, a laudatory biography of princes Boris and Gleb appeared, where the unknown author of the life is Russian. The holy names are recognized by the church and added to the calendars. In the 12th and 13th centuries, along with the monastic desire to enlighten the northeast of Russia, the number of biographical works also grew. Russian authors wrote the lives of Russian saints for reading during the Divine Liturgy. The names, the list of which was recognized by the church for glorification, now received a historical figure, and holy deeds and miracles were enshrined in a literary monument.
In the 15th century there was a change in the style of writing lives. The authors began to pay the main attention not to factual data, but to skillful possessionartistic word, the beauty of the literary language, the ability to pick up a lot of impressive comparisons. Skillful scribes of that period became known. For example, Epiphanius the Wise, who wrote vivid lives of Russian saints, whose names were most famous among the people - Stephen of Perm and Sergius of Radonezh.
Many lives are considered a source of information about important historical events. From the biography of Alexander Nevsky, you can learn about political relations with the Horde. The lives of Boris and Gleb tell of princely civil strife before the unification of Russia. The creation of a literary and ecclesiastical biographical work largely determined which names of Russian saints, their deeds and virtues would become best known to a wide range of believers.
