Holiness is heart purity, seeking uncreated divine energy, manifested in the gifts of the Holy Spirit as a multitude of colored rays in the solar spectrum. Pious ascetics are the link between the earthly world and the kingdom of heaven. Penetrated by the light of divine grace, they, through the contemplation and communion of God, learn the highest spiritual secrets. In earthly life, 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 the likening of a person to God, who is the only bearer of an all-perfect life and its unique source.
What is canonization
The church procedure for reckoning the righteous person as a saint is called canonization. She urges believers to honor a recognized saint in public services. 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, composing prayers and church services. The reason for the official reckoning of saints may be the feat of the righteous man, his incredible deeds, his whole life or martyrdom. And after death, a person can be recognized as a saint because of the incorruptibility of his relics, or miracles of healing occurring at his remains.
In the event that the saint is revered within the same temple, city or monastery, they speak of diocesan, local canonization.
The official church recognizes the existence of unknown saints, the confirmation of the piety of which is not yet known to the entire Christian flock. They are called the revered deceased righteous and they are served by requiem, while the canonized saints are served prayers.
That is why the names of Russian saints, reverent in one diocese, may differ and be unknown to the parishioners of another city.
Who 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, entered in the priesthood, or the month of the word. The right to solemnly rank the righteous as saints was originally possessed by the Kiev, and later Moscow, metropolitans. The first canonizations were preceded by the exhumation of the remains of the righteous to create a miracle. In the 11-16 centuries, the graves of princes Boris and Gleb, Princess Olga, Theodosius of the Caves were discovered.
From the second half of the 16th century, under Metropolitan Macarius, the right to canonize saints passed to church cathedrals under the high priest. The unquestioned authority of the Orthodox Church, which had existed in Russia by that time, was already 600 years old, confirmed by numerous Russian saints. The list of names of the righteous to be glorified by the Makarii cathedrals was replenished with the designation by saints of 39 pious Christians.
Byzantine rules of canonization
In the 17th century, the Russian Orthodox Church succumbed to the influence of the most ancient Byzantine rules of ranking saints. During this period, mainly clergy were canonized because they had a church rank. Also included in the ranks were missionaries carrying faith and associates of the construction of new temples and monasteries. And the need for miracles has lost its relevance. So 150 righteous were canonized, mainly from among the monks and the higher clergy, and the Saints replenished new names of Russian Orthodox saints.
The 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 church activity and a weakening of its influence on social processes. Before the accession to the throne of Nicholas II, only four canonizations passed. During the short period of the reign of the Romanovs, seven more Christians were numbered, and the clergy added new names to Russian saints.
By the beginning of the 20th century, universally recognized and locally revered Russian saints were added to the month of words, the list of names of which was supplemented by a list of deceased Orthodox Christians, with whom requiem was made.
Modern canonization
The beginning of the modern period in the history of canonization carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church can be considered the Local Cathedral held in 1917-18 , by which the universally revered Russian saints Sofrony of Irkutsk and Joseph Astrakhan were ranked as saints. Then, in the 1970s, three more clerics were canonized - Herman of Alaska, Archbishop of Japan and Metropolitan Innocent of Moscow and Kolomensk.
In the year of the millennium of the baptism of Rus, new canonizations took place, where Ksenia of Petersburg, Dmitry Donskoy, and other, no less famous, Orthodox Russian saints were recognized as pious.
In 2000, the anniversary Bishops' Council was held, at which Emperor Nicholas II and members of the Romanov family were canonized "as martyrs."
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, their complete adoption 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 Kiev in 1015. Knowing the impending assassination attempt, they, with Christian humility, accepted death for the autocracy and tranquility of their people.
The veneration of the princes was widespread even before the recognition of their holiness by the official church. After the canonization, the powers of the brothers were found incorrupt and showed miracles of healing to the ancient Russian people. And the new princes ascending the throne made pilgrimages to the holy relics in search of blessings for a fair reign and help in feats of arms. Memorial Day of Saints Boris and Gleb is celebrated on July 24.
The formation of the Russian holy fraternity
The next after the princes Boris and Gleb, the Monk Theodosius of the Caves was counted as a saint. 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-Pechersky Monastery. The teacher and student showed two different ways of monastic obedience: one - severe asceticism, rejection of all worldly things, the other - humility and creativity for the glory of God.
In the caves of the Kiev-Pechersky 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. They canonized them all in 1643, constituting a common service, and in 1762 the names of Russian saints were recorded in the holy calendar.
Rev. Abraham Smolensky
Very little is known about the righteous of the pre-Mongol period. Abraham Smolensky, one of the few saints of that time, about whom a detailed biography, compiled by his disciple, has been preserved. Abraham was revered for a long time in his native city even before its canonization by the Makariyev Cathedral in 1549. Having distributed to the needy all his property left after the death of wealthy 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 tonsured monks, he copied church books and painted icons. Rev. Abraham is credited with saving Smolensk from a great drought.
The most famous names of the saints of the Russian land
Along with the princes Boris and Gleb mentioned above, the peculiar symbols of Russian Orthodoxy, are no less significant names of Russian saints who became intercessors of the whole people through their contribution to the participation of the church in public life.
After liberation from Mongol-Tatar influence, Russian monasticism saw as its goal the enlightenment of pagan peoples, as well as the construction of new cloisters and temples in the uninhabited northeastern lands. The most prominent figure of this movement was the Monk Sergius of Radonezh. For God’s obedient seclusion, he built a cell on Makovets Hill, where he later erected the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Gradually, the righteous began to join Sergius, inspired by his teachings, which led to the formation of a monastic monastery living by the fruits of their hands, and not by the alms of the believers. Sergius himself worked in the garden, setting an example to his brothers. Pupils of St. Sergius of Radonezh built about 40 monasteries throughout Russia.
Rev. Sergius of Radonezh carried the idea of pious 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 rally dynasties and scattered lands.
Dmitry Donskoy
Sergius of Radonezh enjoyed great respect with the Russian prince, numbered among the saints, Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. It was Rev. Sergius who blessed the army for the battle of Kulikovo launched by Dmitry Donskoy, and for God's support he detached his two novices.
Having become a prince in early childhood, Dmitry in state affairs listened to the advice of Metropolitan Alexy, who was glad for the unification of the Russian principalities around Moscow. This process was not always calm. 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 the political movement, which aimed at uniting 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 the Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy and the Rev. Sergius of Radonezh, the Order for Serving the Fatherland was established, which fully emphasizes the full depth of the influence of these historical figures on the formation of Russian statehood. These Russian holy people cherished the well-being, independence and tranquility of their great people.
Faces of the Russian Saints
All the saints of the Ecumenical Church are generalized into nine faces or ranks: prophets, apostles, saints, great martyrs, holy martyrs, reverend martyrs, confessors, berebrenny, holy fools and blessed ones.
The Russian Orthodox Church differently divides saints into faces. Russian holy people, due to historical circumstances, are divided into the following ranks:
Princes The first righteous people recognized by the Russian Church as saints were princes Boris and Gleb. Their feat consisted in self-sacrifice in the name of peace of the Russian people. Such behavior was an example for all the rulers of the time of Yaroslav the Wise, when the power in the name of which the prince made a sacrifice was recognized as true. This rite is divided into equal apostles (the distributors of Christianity - Princess Olga, her grandson Vladimir, who baptized Russia), monks (princes, tonsured monks) and martyrs (victims of feuds, assassinations, 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).
The saints are righteous, having a church rank, who laid the foundation of their ministry for the protection of the purity of faith, the spread of Christian doctrine, and the foundation of churches (Nifont Novgorod, Stephen Perm).
Holy fools (blessed ones) - saints who wore the appearance of madness during life, rejecting worldly values. A very numerous rank of Russian righteous people, replenished mainly by monks who considered monastic obedience to be insufficient. They left the monastery, going in rags to the streets of the cities and suffering all hardships (Vasily the Blessed, Isaac the Recluse, Simeon of Palestine, Ksenia of Petersburg).
Saints laity and wives . This rite unites the murdered babies recognized by the saints, renounced the wealth of the laity, the righteous, distinguished by their unlimited love for people (Juliania Lazarevskaya, Artemy Verkolsky).
Lives of Russian Saints
Lives of the saints is a literary work containing historical, biographical and everyday information about the righteous 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 biographies, encomia (a laudable word), martyria (testimony), and patericon. The style of writing the lives in the Byzantine, Roman and Western church cultures was significantly different. As early as the 4th century, the Church began to unite saints and their biographies in arches, which had the appearance of a calendar indicating the day of remembrance of the pious.
In Russia, lives appear along with the adoption of Christianity from Byzantium in Bulgarian and Serbian translations, combined into collections for reading by months - months of words and menaiahs of the family.
Already in the 11th century there appeared a laudatory biography of the princes Boris and Gleb, where the unknown author of the life is Russian. The names of the saints are recognized by the church and added to the month. In the 12th and 13th centuries, along with the monastic desire to enlighten the north-east of Russia, the number of biographical works is growing. Russian authors wrote for reading during the Divine Liturgy the life of Russian saints. The names, the list of which was recognized by the church for worship, have now received a historical personality, and holy acts and miracles have been fixed 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 actual data, but to skillful mastery of the artistic word, the beauty of the literary language, and the ability to pick up a lot of impressive comparisons. Skilled scribes of that period became known. For example, Epiphanius the Wise, who wrote the vivid lives of Russian saints, whose names were most famous for the people - Stefan 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 feuds before the unification of Russia. The creation of a literary and church biographical work largely determined what names of Russian saints, their exploits and virtues would become most known to a wide circle of believers.