People far from the church are often convinced that most Orthodox saints revered in Russia are connected with Byzantium and the Roman Empire, for example, early Christian martyrs. Meanwhile, in the Slavic lands there are not so few of their “native” heavenly intercessors. One of them is Tryphon, the Vyatka miracle worker and founder of the monastic monastery in this city.
Who was this man?
People are not born saints, they become throughout their lives, setting an example to others, tirelessly serving the Lord and doing good deeds with meekness and humility, without seeking worldly recognition and rewards for them.
Such a person was Trifon Vyatka. His biography, on the one hand, is full of ambiguities relating to periods of wandering, on the other hand, quite a lot is known about the saint.
By origin, Tryphon was a peasant, and by vocation he was a servant of God. This man decided to devote his life to the Lord in his early youth. However, he acted very peculiarly. Instead of coming as a novice to the nearest monastery monastery, the future saint went on his first pilgrimage. There were many such trips in his life, so it can be argued that he was a wanderer of God.
During one of these trips, a miracle occurred, which is considered the first, since it was recorded. Through the prayer of Tryphon, the child was healed. It is likely that this case was not the first, but mention of earlier miracles did not survive. Accordingly, in his life Tryphon was not only a wanderer of God, an ascetic or blessed, but also a miracle worker.
When he was born? When did he die?
The future saint was born in 1546, there is no mention of the day and month. His parents belonged to the peasant estate and were very wealthy and very pious. Trifon’s father was called Dmitry Podvizaev, he was a man of gentle temper, he was distinguished by god-fearing and poor health. Information about the mother was not preserved, which is not surprising, because in the XVI century the way of life was regulated by the Homebuilding.
The future saint was the youngest child in the family. They baptized him with the name Trofim. Trifon they called him with a haircut. This man took monasticism at twenty-two years.
The miracle worker Vyatka Tryphon died in 1612, in October, in the city of Hlynov, in the Assumption Monastery founded by him.
Asceticism and the First Miracles
Tryphon began his wanderings in his early youth. He walked between villages, cities and villages on foot. The future saint met his first confessor, a mentor in Veliky Ustyug. Of course, this man was a priest, and his name was Father John. Other information about him has not been preserved. Having been blessed by Father John, Tryphon remains for some time in Shomoks, a small volost near the Great Ustyug. Here he works and leads a simple, peasant life.
Having stayed in Shomoks for some time, the future saint sets off again. During his wanderings, he visits Perm, and then comes to a small town on the banks of the Kama. It was called at that time - Orlov-gorodok. Now this is the village of Orel, located, of course, in the Perm Territory, in the Usolsky District. Here, the future saint lives on the church porch and spends most of his time walking through the streets.
During one of these walks, a significant event occurs with Tryphon. The yard people of the Stroganovs joke at him. The joke is that the future saint is thrown off a cliff into snowdrifts. However, remorse quickly comes to the yard people, they dig a wanderer out of the snow and are amazed at the lack of even a shadow of annoyance or anger in him. Of course, the jokers tell the household members about such an event that impressed them, and the owner, Yakov Stroganov, becomes aware of the event.
He was a superstitious and God-fearing man. Having learned about the behavior of his servants, the next day Stroganov came to the church porch, found Trifon and asked for forgiveness from him. He also informed about the serious illness of his only son. The future saint and miracle worker Vyatka Tryphon prayed for the child, and the Lord granted healing to Stroganov's heir. This was the first miracle, information about which has reached the present time.
Going further on wandering, Tryphon arrives in the village of Nikolskoye, located on the banks of the Viled river. Here comes the second miracle of healing. The future saint is approached by the spouse of the clerk Maxim Fedorov, Ulyan, with a request to beg the Lord for the healing of her two-year-old son. The miracle worker Vyatka Tryphon prayed all night and a miracle happened. The kid who was on the verge of death woke up healthy.
After this miracle, the future saint leaves asceticism, because worldly glory weighs him. He comes to the village of Pyskor, located in the same Perm Territory and addresses the rector of the local monastery, Varlaam. Father Barlaam, of course, does not refuse the ascetic and tonsures him into monks, calling him Tryphon.
Life in the Pyskorsky monastery and miraculous phenomena
In the Pyskorsky monastery, the future saint and patron saint Vyatka Tryphon is working hard, awake at night, spending them in prayers, and surprises the brethren with meekness and the greatest spiritual humility. All the monastery work he performed with joy, without laziness and grumble.
In addition to worrying about the welfare of the monastery, the future saint tirelessly tortured his flesh. He slept little and on bare earth. He fasted tirelessly, never violated the cell rule, and in the summer days he went out naked in the courtyard and gave his flesh to midges, gadflies and mosquitoes. The whole night stood among the clouds of insects Tryphon, praying to the Lord.
Soon, the future saint became seriously ill. He lay for forty days, after which two visions were revealed to Tryphon - the Angel, the Lord sent, and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Nikolai Ugodnik, appearing to the monk, healed him.
After the recovery granted by God through the Great Miracle Worker Nicholas of Myra, the ministry of Tryphon became even more zealous. And it so happened that people began to come to the monastery, exhausted from disease. Many healings occurred through the prayer of Tryphon, both children and adults, who are possessed by demons.
The worldly glory of Tryphon was extremely great. Of course, this circumstance aroused envy and other dark qualities, among other monks. This burdened the future saint. One day, having prayed to the Lord, he left the monastery, having nothing with him.
Hermitism and the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Christ
Walking along the Kama, Tryphon found an old abandoned boat. He sat in it and swam with the stream. Not far from the mouth of the Mulyanka River, Tryphon Glass heard him indicating his place on the shore. There was an ancient Ostyak temple in that clearing, a pagan sanctuary in which sacrifices were made to idols. Close to him, and settled the hermit Trifon.
The elder of the Ostyak community, whose name was Zevenduk, sent about seventy armed men to the hermit. Tryphon preached the faith of Christ to them and clarified their idols. People left the hermit in confusion and, of course, told about everything to the local prince, whose name was Ambal. He expressed a desire to see firsthand the hermit and listen to him.
However, events did not begin to develop peacefully. The hermit was visited by the merchant Sukhoyatin, who conducted business with local pagan tribes. He left Trifon an ax and, probably, some other necessary things for life. The hermit decided to use them to destroy the temple and all the gifts to pagan idols, which he succeeded in. Upon learning of this, Ambal and his people came to Tryphon and marveled at how this person could destroy their ancient sanctuary without being injured.
Although Ambal himself did not blaspheme the saint and was not angry with him, many Ostyaks burned with a thirst for revenge. Just at that time, the tribes of Cheremis went to their lands with war. Their Ostyaks were very afraid, and their fear was especially great because of the belief that the hermit would indicate to the enemies the location of dwellings. But when they went to kill Tryphon, they could not find his cell huts. The saint himself at that time prayed in her, not hiding from his fate.
This miracle prompted the Ostyaks to accept the faith of Christ. Converts often came to the hermit, listened to his sermons and brought him gifts - honey, food, furs and much more. Once again overwhelmed Tryphon worldly glory. After some time, he left his cell and returned to the Pyrsky monastery.
The foundation of the Assumption Monastery and the canonization of Tryphon
Returning to the Pyrsky monastery, the future saint Tryphon of Vyatka led a simple life. Although the rumor spread the news of the return of the miracle worker to the walls of the monastery, Tryphon did not leave his cell, except for those moments when it was necessary, spent days and nights in prayers and in understanding the Holy Scriptures.
Soon Tryphon again left the monastery and secluded himself on the Stroganov lands, on a mountain near the Chusovaya River. However, people came here in an endless stream and not all of them really felt the need for help. The future saint lived in these lands for nine years, and left them at the request of Grigory Stroganov.
Leaving the Stroganov’s possessions, Tryphon went to his spiritual mentor, Father Varlaam. He shared with him his thoughts that there are no monasteries in the lands of Vyatka. Having received a blessing from Varlaam on the foundation of the monastery, the future saint set off on a long journey, in which he had a vision of the place where the monastery should have been built.
On March 24, 1580, the Metropolitan blessed the foundation of the monastery and put Tryphon in the priesthood. And on June 12 of the same year, Tsar Ivan Vasilievich gave a special letter for the arrangement of the monastery, adding bells and liturgical books to it.
The construction itself went with significant obstacles until the moment when one of the local peasants was not shown in a dream a vision of the Mother of God, indicating the place for the temple. Thus, the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was laid, and the affairs of arranging the new monastery immediately went smoothly. Soon, a small monastery became cramped and expanded, laying a large temple of the Assumption of the Mother of God. Nowadays, this church is the Assumption Cathedral of the Trifonov Monastery and the relics of the Vyatka saint rest in it.
The Vyatka miracle worker was canonized only by the decision of the Holy Synod in 1903, in the person of the saint. His memorial day is October 21 Gregorian. We venerate the Reverend Tryphon of Vyatka throughout Russia. But this saint enjoys special love and respect among residents of the Vyatka and Perm Territories.