Sfantul Andrei Printul de Bogoliubov
Holy Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky (1110-1174), a grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, was the son of Yurii Dolgoruky and a Polovetsian princess (in holy Baptism Maria). While still in his youth he was called "Bogoliubsky" ("God-loving") for his profound attention to prayer, his diligence for church services and "his adoption of secret prayers to God." From his grandfather, Vladimir Monomakh, the grandson inherited great spiritual concentration, love for the Word of God and the habit of turning to the Scripture in all the circumstances of life.
A brave warrior [Andrew means "brave"], a participant in his military father's many campaigns, more than once he came close to death in battle. But each time Divine Providence invisibly saved the princely man of prayer. Thus for example, on February 8, 1150, in a battle near Lutsk, St Andrew was saved from the spear of an enemy German by a prayer to the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, whose memory was celebrated that day.
The chronicles also stress St Andrew's peace-making activity, a rare trait among the princes and military commanders of those harsh times. The combination of military valor with love for peace and mercy, of great humility with indomitable zeal for the Church were present in Prince Andrew in the highest degree. A responsible master of the land, and a constant coworker in the city construction and church building activity of Yurii Dolgoruky, he built with his father: Moscow (1147), Iuriev-Polsk (1152), Dmitrov (1154), and he also adorned the cities of Rostov, Suzdal', and Vladimir with churches. In 1162 St Andrew could say with satisfaction, "I have built up white Rus with cities and settlements, and have rendered it with much populace."
When Yurii Dolgoruky became Great Prince of Kiev in 1154, he gave his son Vyshgorod near Kiev as his appanage (land given by kings and princes to their younger children for their support), but God willed otherwise. One night in the summer of 1155, the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God in the Vyshgorod church was removed. This icon was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke, and in some period before this had been transferred here from Constantinople. Later, it was called the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. On this night with the icon in hand, holy Prince Andrew left Vyshgorod going northwards to the Suzdal territory, secretly and without the blessing of his father, mindful only of the will of God.
The miracle of this holy icon, which occured on the way from Vyshgorod to Vladimir, was recorded by a clergyman of Prince Andrew, "the priest Mikula" [Nicholas], in his "Reports of the Miracles of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God."
Ten versts before reaching Vladimir, the horse bearing the icon suddenly stopped. During the night the Mother of God appeared to St Andrew with a scroll in her hand and commanded, "I do not want you to take my icon to Rostov, but rather leave it in Vladimir. Build a stone church here in the name of My Nativity." In memory of this miraculous event, St Andrew commissioned an iconographer to paint an icon of the Mother of God the way that the All-Pure Virgin had appeared to him. He established Feast of this icon as June 18. The icon, named the Bogoliubsk, was afterwards glorified by numerous miracles.
Upon the place decreed by the Queen of Heaven, Prince Andrew built (in 1159) the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. He also remained in the city of Bogoliubov, which became his constant dwelling and the place of his martyric end.
When his father Yurii Dolgoruky died (+ May 15, 1157), St Andrew did not take up his father's throne at Kiev, but rather remained prince at Vladimir. During the years 1158-1160 was built the Dormition cathedral at Vladimir, and in it was placed the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. In the year 1164 the Golden Gates were set in place, over which was the church of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God, and also the church of the Savior at the princely court.
Thirty churches were built by Prince Andrew during the years of his rule. The finest of them is the Dormition cathedral. The richness and splendor of the church helped to spread Orthodoxy among the surrounding peoples and foreign merchants. St Andrew had directed that all travellers, whether Latins or pagans, were to be led into the churches he built and to have "true Christianity" pointed out to them. The chronicler writes: "Both Bulgars, and Jews, and every sort of common person, beholding the glory of God and churchly adornment, came to be baptized."
The conquest of the great Volga journey-way became for St Andrew a fundamental task of his civil service to Russia. The Volga Bulgars from the time of the campaigns of Svyatoslav (+ 972) presented a serious danger to the Russian state. St Andrew continued with the initiatives of Svyatoslav.
A shattering blow was struck against the enemy in 1164, when Russian forces burned and destroyed several Bulgar fortresses. St Andrew took with him on this campaign the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and a two-sided icon, on one side was depicted the Icon of the Savior "Not-Made-by-Hands," and the "Veneration of the Cross" on the opposite side. [At the present time both icons are in the Tretyakov State Gallery.]
A great miracle from the holy icons occurred for the Russian army on the day of the decisive victory over the Bulgars, August 1, 1164. After the destruction of the Bulgar army, the princes (Andrew, his brother Yaroslav, his son Izyaslav and others) returned towards the infantry standing by the princely standards with the Vladimir Icon, and they made a prostration before the Icon, "bestowing on it praise and song." And then all beheld the blinding rays of light, issuing from the face of the Mother of God and the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands.
Remaining a faithful son of the Orthodox Church in all things, vigilant in belief and canons, St Andrew turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a filial request to establish a separate metropolitan for northeastern Rus. And with the prince's letter of accord there journeyed to Byzantium the candidate chosen by the prince, Archimandrite Theodore of Suzdal. Patriarch Luke Chrysoverges, however, only agreed to consecrate Theodore as Bishop of Vladimir, but not as Metropolitan. Yet at the same time, wanting to uphold the position of Prince Andrew as the most powerful among the rulers of the Russian Land, the Patriarch honored Bishop Theodore with the right to wear the white klobuk [monastic head covering], which in ancient Rus was a distinctive sign of church autonomy. Such recognition (the white klobuk) was also granted to the Archbishop of Novgorod. Evidently, since the Russian chronicles speak of Bishop Theodore with the title of "White Klobuk", much later historians sometimes call him "the bishop of an autonomous diocese."
In the year 1167 St Rostislav died at Kiev. He was the twin brother of Andrew, and had been able to carry out compromise during the complicated political and churchly life of the time. But after this, there was dispatched from Constantinople a new metropolitan, Constantine II. The new metropolitan demanded that Bishop Theodore come before him to be confirmed in his position. St Andrew again went to Constantinople for the affirmation of the autonomous status of the Vladimir diocese and again he requested a separate metropolitanate. The letter of reply from Patriarch Luke Chrysoverges has been preserved. It contains a categorical refusal for establishing a new metropolitan, a demand to accept the expelled bishop Leo, and to submit to the Metropolitan of Kiev.
In fulfilling this churchly obedience, St Andrew urged Bishop Theodore to journey in repentance to Kiev for the restoration of canonical relations with the Metropolitan. The repentance of Bishop Theodore was not accepted. Without investigation by a council, and in accord with the Byzantine morals of the time, Metropolitan Constantine condemned him to a terrible execution. St Theodore's tongue was cut out, they cut off his right hand, and then they gouged out his eyes. After this he was drowned by servants of the Metropolitan (by other accounts, he died in prison).
Not only the churchly, but also the political affairs of Southern Rus demanded the decisive response of the Great Prince of Vladimir. On 8 March 8, 1169 an army of allied princes with Andrew's son Mstislav at the head conquered Kiev. The city was devastated and burned, and the Polovetsians participating in the campaign did not spare even the churchly treasures. The Russian chronicles viewed this event as something that was deserved: "These misfortunes were for their sins (the Kievans), especially for the outrage perpetuated by the Metropolitan." In the same year (1169) the prince moved an army against unruly Novgorod, but they were repulsed by a miracle of the Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (November 27), which had been carried along the city walls by holy Archbishop John (September 7). But when the understandable wrath of the Great Prince gave way to mercy, and in peace he summoned the Novgorod people to him, the blessing of God returned to him. Novgorod accepted the prince appointed by St Andrew.
In such a manner, towards the end of 1170, St Andrew Bogoliubsky was able to attain the unity of the Russian Land under his rule.
In the winter of 1172 he sent a large army under the command of his son Mstislav against the Volga Bulgars. The Russian forces gained the victory, but their joy was overshadowed by the death of the valiant Mstislav (March 28, 1172).
On the night of June 30, 1174 holy Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky accepted a martyr's death at the hands of traitors in his own household. The Tver Chronicle relates that St Andrew was murdered at the instigation of his second wife (a Volga Bulgar), who participated in the conspiracy. At the head of the conspiracy stood her brothers, the Kuchkovichi: "and they commited murder in the night, as did Judas against the Lord." A throng of assassins, twenty men, burst in upon the court, they killed the few guards and stormed into the bedchamber of the unarmed prince. The sword of St Boris, which hung constantly over his bed, had been treacherously removed that night by the steward Anbal. The prince succeeded in pushing the first of his assailants down on the floor. The conspirators then mistakenly ran him through with their swords. Soon they realised their mistake, "and then they perceived the prince, and he fought much with them, for he was strong, and they did thrust with swords and sabres, and gave him copious wounds." The forehead of the holy prince was struck on the side with a spear, while all the remaining blows from the cowardly assassins were dealt from behind. When the prince finally fell, they abruptly rushed out of the bedchamber, taking along their murdered accomplice.
The saint was still alive, however. With his final strength he lowered himself along the palace stairway, hoping to alert a guard. Instead, his groans were heard by the assassins and they turned back. The prince was able to hide himself in a niche below the stairway and so they passed by him. The conspirators rushed to the bedchamber but did not find the prince there. "Disaster stands before us, since the prince is alive," the assassins cried out in terror. But all around it was quiet, and no one came to the aid of the suffering prince. Then the evil-doers again regained their boldness, they lit candles and followed the bloody trail to seek out their victim. Prayer was on the lips of St Andrew when the assassins again surrounded him.
The Russian Church remembers and venerates its martyrs and makers. A special place belongs to St Andrew Bogoliubsky. Having taken in his hands the wonderworking icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, the holy prince, as it were, blessed the major events of Russian history with it. In 1395 was the year of the transfer of the Vladimir Icon to Moscow and the deliverance of the capital from the invasion of Tamerlane (August 26); the year 1480 marks the salvation of Rus from the invasion of Khan Akhmat and the ultimate collapse of the Mongol Horde (June 23); in the year 1521 Moscow was saved from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Makhmet-Girei (May 21). Through the prayers of St Andrew, his fondest dreams for the Russian Church came true. In the year 1300 Metropolitan Maximus transferred the metropolitan See of All-Russia from Kiev to Vladimir, making the Dormition cathedral the foremost cathedral of the Russian Church There rest the relics of St Andrew, and the Vladimir wonderworking Icon is its chief holy object.
Later on, when the center of the Russian Church was moved to Moscow, selections of the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Church were made before the Vladimir Icon. In the year 1448, a Council of Russian bishops raised up the first metropolitan of the autocephalous Russian Church, St Jonah. On November 5, 1917, in front of it was made the selection of His Holiness Patriarch St Tikhon, the first such election after the restoration of the patriarchate in the Russian Church. And in 1971, on the Feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the enthronment of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen took place.
The liturgical activity of St Andrew was multi-faceted and fruitful. In 1162 the Lord granted the holy prince a great solace: in Rostov there was discovered the relics of Rostov saints -- the holy hierarchs Isaiah and Leontius. The glorification of these Rostov saints throughout all the Church took place somewhat later, but St Andrew initiated their national veneration. In 1164 the military forces of St Andrew crushed their long-time enemy, the Volga Bulgars. The victories of the Orthodox nation were marked by a blossoming of liturgical creativity within the Russian Church.
In this same year of 1164, at the initiative of St Andrew, the Church established the Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos on August 1 (venerated by the Russian people as "Savior of the First Honey"), in memory of the Baptism of Rus by holy Equal of the Apostles Vladimir and in memory of the victory over the Bulgars in 1164. The Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God on October 1 embodied in liturgical forms the faith of the holy prince and all the Orthodox nation in the acceptance by the Mother of God of Holy Rus beneath Her omophorion. The Protection of the Theotokos became one of the most beloved of Russian Church Feasts. The Protection is a Russian national holiday, unknown to the Latin West. It is a liturgical continuation and creative development of theological ideas inherent to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God on July 2.
The first church consecrated to the new Feast was the Protection church at Nerla (1165), a remarkable monument of Russian Church architecture, built by the master artisans of St Andrew at the head-waters of the River Nerla, so that the prince could always see it from a window of his Bogoliubov garret.
St Andrew took an active part in the literary work of the Vladimir church writers. He participated in the compiling of the Service of the Protection (the most ancient copy is in the manuscript of a fourteenth century Psalter), and also a preface about the establishment of the Feast of the Protection in the Great Reading Meneion for October, as well as a "Discourse on the Protection." He wrote an "Account of the Victory over the Bulgars and the Establishing of the Feast of the Savior in the Year 1164," which in several of the old manuscripts is called, "Discourse concerning the Mercy of God by Great Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky." The fate of Bogoliubsky is also noted in the Vladimir Chronicle entry for the year 1177, completed after the death of the prince by his confessor, the priest Mikula, who inserted his special "Account of the Murder of St Andrew." To St Andrew's time belongs also the final editing of the "Account of Boris and Gleb," inserted into the "Dormition Sbornik" ("Compendium" or "Book of Collected Services" of these Rostov saints). The prince particularly venerated St Boris, and his chief household treasure was a cap belonging to St Boris. St Boris's sword always hung over his bed. Another memorial of St Andrew's prayerful inspiration is "A Prayer," included in the chronicle under the year 1096 after the "Instructions of Vladimir Monomakh."
A brave warrior [Andrew means "brave"], a participant in his military father's many campaigns, more than once he came close to death in battle. But each time Divine Providence invisibly saved the princely man of prayer. Thus for example, on February 8, 1150, in a battle near Lutsk, St Andrew was saved from the spear of an enemy German by a prayer to the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, whose memory was celebrated that day.
The chronicles also stress St Andrew's peace-making activity, a rare trait among the princes and military commanders of those harsh times. The combination of military valor with love for peace and mercy, of great humility with indomitable zeal for the Church were present in Prince Andrew in the highest degree. A responsible master of the land, and a constant coworker in the city construction and church building activity of Yurii Dolgoruky, he built with his father: Moscow (1147), Iuriev-Polsk (1152), Dmitrov (1154), and he also adorned the cities of Rostov, Suzdal', and Vladimir with churches. In 1162 St Andrew could say with satisfaction, "I have built up white Rus with cities and settlements, and have rendered it with much populace."
When Yurii Dolgoruky became Great Prince of Kiev in 1154, he gave his son Vyshgorod near Kiev as his appanage (land given by kings and princes to their younger children for their support), but God willed otherwise. One night in the summer of 1155, the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God in the Vyshgorod church was removed. This icon was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke, and in some period before this had been transferred here from Constantinople. Later, it was called the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. On this night with the icon in hand, holy Prince Andrew left Vyshgorod going northwards to the Suzdal territory, secretly and without the blessing of his father, mindful only of the will of God.
The miracle of this holy icon, which occured on the way from Vyshgorod to Vladimir, was recorded by a clergyman of Prince Andrew, "the priest Mikula" [Nicholas], in his "Reports of the Miracles of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God."
Ten versts before reaching Vladimir, the horse bearing the icon suddenly stopped. During the night the Mother of God appeared to St Andrew with a scroll in her hand and commanded, "I do not want you to take my icon to Rostov, but rather leave it in Vladimir. Build a stone church here in the name of My Nativity." In memory of this miraculous event, St Andrew commissioned an iconographer to paint an icon of the Mother of God the way that the All-Pure Virgin had appeared to him. He established Feast of this icon as June 18. The icon, named the Bogoliubsk, was afterwards glorified by numerous miracles.
Upon the place decreed by the Queen of Heaven, Prince Andrew built (in 1159) the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. He also remained in the city of Bogoliubov, which became his constant dwelling and the place of his martyric end.
When his father Yurii Dolgoruky died (+ May 15, 1157), St Andrew did not take up his father's throne at Kiev, but rather remained prince at Vladimir. During the years 1158-1160 was built the Dormition cathedral at Vladimir, and in it was placed the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. In the year 1164 the Golden Gates were set in place, over which was the church of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God, and also the church of the Savior at the princely court.
Thirty churches were built by Prince Andrew during the years of his rule. The finest of them is the Dormition cathedral. The richness and splendor of the church helped to spread Orthodoxy among the surrounding peoples and foreign merchants. St Andrew had directed that all travellers, whether Latins or pagans, were to be led into the churches he built and to have "true Christianity" pointed out to them. The chronicler writes: "Both Bulgars, and Jews, and every sort of common person, beholding the glory of God and churchly adornment, came to be baptized."
The conquest of the great Volga journey-way became for St Andrew a fundamental task of his civil service to Russia. The Volga Bulgars from the time of the campaigns of Svyatoslav (+ 972) presented a serious danger to the Russian state. St Andrew continued with the initiatives of Svyatoslav.
A shattering blow was struck against the enemy in 1164, when Russian forces burned and destroyed several Bulgar fortresses. St Andrew took with him on this campaign the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and a two-sided icon, on one side was depicted the Icon of the Savior "Not-Made-by-Hands," and the "Veneration of the Cross" on the opposite side. [At the present time both icons are in the Tretyakov State Gallery.]
A great miracle from the holy icons occurred for the Russian army on the day of the decisive victory over the Bulgars, August 1, 1164. After the destruction of the Bulgar army, the princes (Andrew, his brother Yaroslav, his son Izyaslav and others) returned towards the infantry standing by the princely standards with the Vladimir Icon, and they made a prostration before the Icon, "bestowing on it praise and song." And then all beheld the blinding rays of light, issuing from the face of the Mother of God and the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands.
Remaining a faithful son of the Orthodox Church in all things, vigilant in belief and canons, St Andrew turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a filial request to establish a separate metropolitan for northeastern Rus. And with the prince's letter of accord there journeyed to Byzantium the candidate chosen by the prince, Archimandrite Theodore of Suzdal. Patriarch Luke Chrysoverges, however, only agreed to consecrate Theodore as Bishop of Vladimir, but not as Metropolitan. Yet at the same time, wanting to uphold the position of Prince Andrew as the most powerful among the rulers of the Russian Land, the Patriarch honored Bishop Theodore with the right to wear the white klobuk [monastic head covering], which in ancient Rus was a distinctive sign of church autonomy. Such recognition (the white klobuk) was also granted to the Archbishop of Novgorod. Evidently, since the Russian chronicles speak of Bishop Theodore with the title of "White Klobuk", much later historians sometimes call him "the bishop of an autonomous diocese."
In the year 1167 St Rostislav died at Kiev. He was the twin brother of Andrew, and had been able to carry out compromise during the complicated political and churchly life of the time. But after this, there was dispatched from Constantinople a new metropolitan, Constantine II. The new metropolitan demanded that Bishop Theodore come before him to be confirmed in his position. St Andrew again went to Constantinople for the affirmation of the autonomous status of the Vladimir diocese and again he requested a separate metropolitanate. The letter of reply from Patriarch Luke Chrysoverges has been preserved. It contains a categorical refusal for establishing a new metropolitan, a demand to accept the expelled bishop Leo, and to submit to the Metropolitan of Kiev.
In fulfilling this churchly obedience, St Andrew urged Bishop Theodore to journey in repentance to Kiev for the restoration of canonical relations with the Metropolitan. The repentance of Bishop Theodore was not accepted. Without investigation by a council, and in accord with the Byzantine morals of the time, Metropolitan Constantine condemned him to a terrible execution. St Theodore's tongue was cut out, they cut off his right hand, and then they gouged out his eyes. After this he was drowned by servants of the Metropolitan (by other accounts, he died in prison).
Not only the churchly, but also the political affairs of Southern Rus demanded the decisive response of the Great Prince of Vladimir. On 8 March 8, 1169 an army of allied princes with Andrew's son Mstislav at the head conquered Kiev. The city was devastated and burned, and the Polovetsians participating in the campaign did not spare even the churchly treasures. The Russian chronicles viewed this event as something that was deserved: "These misfortunes were for their sins (the Kievans), especially for the outrage perpetuated by the Metropolitan." In the same year (1169) the prince moved an army against unruly Novgorod, but they were repulsed by a miracle of the Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (November 27), which had been carried along the city walls by holy Archbishop John (September 7). But when the understandable wrath of the Great Prince gave way to mercy, and in peace he summoned the Novgorod people to him, the blessing of God returned to him. Novgorod accepted the prince appointed by St Andrew.
In such a manner, towards the end of 1170, St Andrew Bogoliubsky was able to attain the unity of the Russian Land under his rule.
In the winter of 1172 he sent a large army under the command of his son Mstislav against the Volga Bulgars. The Russian forces gained the victory, but their joy was overshadowed by the death of the valiant Mstislav (March 28, 1172).
On the night of June 30, 1174 holy Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky accepted a martyr's death at the hands of traitors in his own household. The Tver Chronicle relates that St Andrew was murdered at the instigation of his second wife (a Volga Bulgar), who participated in the conspiracy. At the head of the conspiracy stood her brothers, the Kuchkovichi: "and they commited murder in the night, as did Judas against the Lord." A throng of assassins, twenty men, burst in upon the court, they killed the few guards and stormed into the bedchamber of the unarmed prince. The sword of St Boris, which hung constantly over his bed, had been treacherously removed that night by the steward Anbal. The prince succeeded in pushing the first of his assailants down on the floor. The conspirators then mistakenly ran him through with their swords. Soon they realised their mistake, "and then they perceived the prince, and he fought much with them, for he was strong, and they did thrust with swords and sabres, and gave him copious wounds." The forehead of the holy prince was struck on the side with a spear, while all the remaining blows from the cowardly assassins were dealt from behind. When the prince finally fell, they abruptly rushed out of the bedchamber, taking along their murdered accomplice.
The saint was still alive, however. With his final strength he lowered himself along the palace stairway, hoping to alert a guard. Instead, his groans were heard by the assassins and they turned back. The prince was able to hide himself in a niche below the stairway and so they passed by him. The conspirators rushed to the bedchamber but did not find the prince there. "Disaster stands before us, since the prince is alive," the assassins cried out in terror. But all around it was quiet, and no one came to the aid of the suffering prince. Then the evil-doers again regained their boldness, they lit candles and followed the bloody trail to seek out their victim. Prayer was on the lips of St Andrew when the assassins again surrounded him.
The Russian Church remembers and venerates its martyrs and makers. A special place belongs to St Andrew Bogoliubsky. Having taken in his hands the wonderworking icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, the holy prince, as it were, blessed the major events of Russian history with it. In 1395 was the year of the transfer of the Vladimir Icon to Moscow and the deliverance of the capital from the invasion of Tamerlane (August 26); the year 1480 marks the salvation of Rus from the invasion of Khan Akhmat and the ultimate collapse of the Mongol Horde (June 23); in the year 1521 Moscow was saved from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Makhmet-Girei (May 21). Through the prayers of St Andrew, his fondest dreams for the Russian Church came true. In the year 1300 Metropolitan Maximus transferred the metropolitan See of All-Russia from Kiev to Vladimir, making the Dormition cathedral the foremost cathedral of the Russian Church There rest the relics of St Andrew, and the Vladimir wonderworking Icon is its chief holy object.
Later on, when the center of the Russian Church was moved to Moscow, selections of the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Church were made before the Vladimir Icon. In the year 1448, a Council of Russian bishops raised up the first metropolitan of the autocephalous Russian Church, St Jonah. On November 5, 1917, in front of it was made the selection of His Holiness Patriarch St Tikhon, the first such election after the restoration of the patriarchate in the Russian Church. And in 1971, on the Feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the enthronment of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen took place.
The liturgical activity of St Andrew was multi-faceted and fruitful. In 1162 the Lord granted the holy prince a great solace: in Rostov there was discovered the relics of Rostov saints -- the holy hierarchs Isaiah and Leontius. The glorification of these Rostov saints throughout all the Church took place somewhat later, but St Andrew initiated their national veneration. In 1164 the military forces of St Andrew crushed their long-time enemy, the Volga Bulgars. The victories of the Orthodox nation were marked by a blossoming of liturgical creativity within the Russian Church.
In this same year of 1164, at the initiative of St Andrew, the Church established the Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos on August 1 (venerated by the Russian people as "Savior of the First Honey"), in memory of the Baptism of Rus by holy Equal of the Apostles Vladimir and in memory of the victory over the Bulgars in 1164. The Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God on October 1 embodied in liturgical forms the faith of the holy prince and all the Orthodox nation in the acceptance by the Mother of God of Holy Rus beneath Her omophorion. The Protection of the Theotokos became one of the most beloved of Russian Church Feasts. The Protection is a Russian national holiday, unknown to the Latin West. It is a liturgical continuation and creative development of theological ideas inherent to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God on July 2.
The first church consecrated to the new Feast was the Protection church at Nerla (1165), a remarkable monument of Russian Church architecture, built by the master artisans of St Andrew at the head-waters of the River Nerla, so that the prince could always see it from a window of his Bogoliubov garret.
St Andrew took an active part in the literary work of the Vladimir church writers. He participated in the compiling of the Service of the Protection (the most ancient copy is in the manuscript of a fourteenth century Psalter), and also a preface about the establishment of the Feast of the Protection in the Great Reading Meneion for October, as well as a "Discourse on the Protection." He wrote an "Account of the Victory over the Bulgars and the Establishing of the Feast of the Savior in the Year 1164," which in several of the old manuscripts is called, "Discourse concerning the Mercy of God by Great Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky." The fate of Bogoliubsky is also noted in the Vladimir Chronicle entry for the year 1177, completed after the death of the prince by his confessor, the priest Mikula, who inserted his special "Account of the Murder of St Andrew." To St Andrew's time belongs also the final editing of the "Account of Boris and Gleb," inserted into the "Dormition Sbornik" ("Compendium" or "Book of Collected Services" of these Rostov saints). The prince particularly venerated St Boris, and his chief household treasure was a cap belonging to St Boris. St Boris's sword always hung over his bed. Another memorial of St Andrew's prayerful inspiration is "A Prayer," included in the chronicle under the year 1096 after the "Instructions of Vladimir Monomakh."
La Vecernie.
La Doamne strigat-am… se pun stihirile pe 6; 2 ale Sf.Andrei Criteanul, 2 ale Sf.Marta si 2 ale Sf.Andrei printul glasul I.
Podobie: Cu ce cununi de lauda…
Veniti cu totii sa aducem cantari de lauda acestui mucenic nou aratat, lui Andrei, vlastarul sfintit al Bogoliubovului. Sa ridicam viersuri acestui martir, caci s-a invesmantat cu slava dragostei lui Hristos, Dumnezeul nostrum, Care sa ne daruiasca si noua mare mila sis a mantuiasca sufletele noastre.
Biserica lui Dumnezeu praznuieste astazi pe mucenicul lui Hristos, Andrei, cel care a rasarit dintru sanul neamului rusesc. Pe acesta il slavim si noi intr-un suget, caci a purtat chipul biruintei pe pamant, iar in Cer intrand invesmantat cu purpura patimirii mucenicesti, a statut inaintea tronului lui Dumnezeu si cu neasemuita dragoste cere Mantuitorului ca sa ne carmuiasca sip e noi pe cararile cele stramte ale mantuirii.
Slava… Si acum… a Sf. Andrei Criteanul,
STIHOAVNA
Glasul al VII-lea:
Ales ostas al lui Hristos te-ai aratat, incat si pe potrivnicul firii omenesti l-ai surpat, iar prin statornicia ta blandete si cu inmultirea jertfei ai intarit biruinta Bisericii dumnezeiesti. Pentru aceasta te veselesti acum de slava lumii nezidite si de stralucirea cea de foc racoritoare a dragostei lui Dumnezeu pentru firea omeneasca iar noi, suspinand catre tine, cu lacrimi te rugam sa te pui chezas inaintea Mantuitorului sufletelor noastre.
Stih: Scoala-te, Doamne, intru odihna ta, Tu si chivotul sfintirii tale.
Sa ne ridicam din dormitarea cugetelor pamantesti si dintru trandavia cea rea; si, aprinzandu-ne mintea cu faclia trezviei, sa ne adunam cu totii intr-un cuget si sa aducem cununi impletite din flori cuvantatoare Sfintului Andrei. Tu esti cel care te-ai facut prinos al neamului rusesc si al intregii firi omenesti si te-ai inaltat ca un miros de buna mireasma inaintea Dumnezeuirii. Pentru acesta si noi te rugam asa: Sfinte Cneazule Andrei, prin jertfa ta sfintita invesmanteaza-ne si pe noi intru mila Domnului
Stih: Juratu-S-a Domnului lui David cu adeverire si nu se va lepada de dansul.
Toate soboarele Bisericii sa inalte lauda Cneazului de taina al neamului rusesc, Mucenicului Andrei, cel care, prin multele sale faceri de bine, ne-a propovaduit cerul si pamantul cel nou. Sa ducem slava acestuia care prin patimirea sa, sa incununat cu infierea dumnezeiasca, si cu obsteasca glasuire sa ii graim: Sfinte Andrei, primeste smeritele noastre cuvinte de lauda si mijloceste pentru noi inaintrea lui Dumnezeu.
Slava…Si acum… a Sf Andrei Criteanul
Tropar
Podobie: Cel ce Te-ai înălțat pe Cruce... (glas 4)
La Mucenicul lui Hristos cel preavrednic, la solitorul pentru noi către Domnul, la Andrei căzând să strigăm: o, Prealăudatule, lui Hristos Împăratul pururea roaga-te, pomenindu-ne pururea. Toată urzeala șarpelui stricând, cea îndreptată asupra Bisericii.
Al doilea a Sf.Andrei Criteanul.
Slava… al Sfintei Marta
Si acum… al Nascatoarei a glasului.
Facere dupa a Brancovenilor
Sfantul Cuvios Andrei Criteanul
Numele Sfântului Andrei Criteanul este unul cunoscut în literatura bisericească, ocupând „un loc de vază în istoria literaturii greceşti din perioada bizantină” legat fiind şi de apariţia unei noi forme a literaturii patristice – canonul, el fiind primul alcătuitor de canoane.
Demersul nostru de a creiona pe scurt viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul este unul deosebit de greu. Diferitele materiale aghiografice pe care le deţinem îi plasează diferit fie anii naşterii (între cca. 635/645 - 660), fie anii morţii (713-740). Informaţiile care ne-au parvenit, referitoare la activitatea sa, sunt fie contradictorii, fie incomplete. Metodologia cercetării se bazează pe o analiză obiectivă şi profundă a tuturor izvoarelor existente la care se adaugă ca o „încununare” literatura secundară care confirmă sau infirmă unele ipoteze, ce au fost schiţate în jurul bio-bibliografiei Sfântului Andrei Criteanul. Am căutat o distanţare faţă de acele izvoare sau studii aghiografice care încearcă să susţină anumite idei preconcepute sau de acele studii care forţează prea mult unele ipoteze. Izvoare importante care se pot adăuga pentru cunoaşterea vieţii Sfântului Andrei Criteanul sunt şi sinaxarele bisericeşti alături de troparele închinate în cinstea Sfântului Andrei Criteanul, atât cele din Minei cât şi cele din Canonul cel Mare.
În limba greacă, s-au redactat destul de multe lucrări care analizează cronologic viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul. Una din aceste lucrări ne-a parvenit şi nouă. Este vorba de lucrarea arhimandritului Simeon Koutsas: Plânsul lui Adam. Canonul cel Mare al Sfântului Andrei Criteanul, lucrare deosebit de importantă prin cantitatea informaţiilor oferite şi prin comentariul la fiecare tropar al Canonului.
Anumite traduceri din Chronographia Theophanus (tomul 108) care îl pune uneori în lumină negativă pe autorul Canonului, vor fi preluate după studiul tradus din limba rusă a Pr. Arcadie Vinogradov: Viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul, arhiepiscop şi mitropolit al Cretei. Schiţă biografică. Conform biografiei greceşti, Sfântului Andrei Criteanul s-a născut în jurul anului 660, în localitatea Damasc, din părinţi iubitori de Dumnezeu, Gheorghe şi Grigoria. Tradiţia ne spune că până la vârsta de 7 ani a fost mut, iar darul vorbirii l-a primit atunci când s-a împărtăşit pentru prima oară cu Dumnezeieştile Taine. Studiile şi le-a realizat în localitatea natală, făcându-se „îndrăgitor fierbinte al adevărului şi al dumnezeieştii înţelepciuni”. La vârsta de 14-15 ani, după vizita făcută la Locurile Sfinte , cere părinţilor să-l afierosească Domnului. Astfel, de tânăr Sfântul Andrei va fi îmbrăcat în chipul monahicesc la mânăstirea Sfântului Sava, de lângă Ierusalim şi apoi la Sfânta Înviere. Se pare că aici şi-ar fi redactat cea mai mare parte a operei sale, inclusiv opera sa fundamentală Canonul cel Mare. Tot aici la Ierusalim, va fi ales de către Teodor secretar pe lângă locţiitorul scaunului patriarhal , lăsându-i-se apoi în grijă copiii orfani. Prin adâncirea vieţii sale duhovniceşti, prin cultura teologică, prin darurile sale speciale şi prin faptul că va deveni reprezentativ în Ierusalim, el va purta denumirea de „Ierusalimiteanul”.
Când erezia monotelită – care considera că în Iisus Hristos nu a existat şi o voinţă umană, ci numai una divină – s-a extins, a fost absolut necesar ca Părinţii Bisericii să se întâlnească pentru a combate erezia. Sinodul VI Ecumenic din Constantinopol (681), sub conducerea împăratului bizantin Constantin al IV-lea Pogonatul (668-685) a luat în discuţie şi a combătut această erezie. Teodor, vicarul patriarhal al Patriarhiei de Ierusalim, neputând participa la întrunirile Sinodului a trimis pe tânărul Andrei, împreună cu alţi doi monahi, ca reprezentanţi direcţi ai patriarhiei de Ierusalim. Rolul Sfântului Andrei la Sinodul VI Ecumenic nu a fost unul important, chiar dacă s-ar vrea să i se acorde o importanţă majoră. El a fost mai mult un „ajutor” pe lângă cel care a luat cuvântul în Sinod şi a semnat actele Sinodului VI Ecumenic ca reprezentant oficial: „Gheorghe, smeritul presbiter şi deţinătorul locului iubitului de Dumnezeu, presbiter şi păstrătorul scaunului apostolic al Sfântului oraş al lui Hristos Dumnezeu lui nostru, Ierusalim, a iscălit …”. Rolul său redus la Sinodul VI Ecumenic se datorează faptului că nu era în rândul clericilor, fiind doar un simplu monah, el nu a putut lua cuvântul, la acestea adăugându-se şi lipsa semnăturii sale din actele oficiale.
A rămas oare Sfântul Andrei Criteanul în Constantinopol după terminarea Sinodului VI Ecumenic? Răspunsul nostru poate fi considerat doar o ipoteză, dacă am lua în considerare informaţiile care ne precizează că a plecat de la Ierusalim la Constantinopol „cu treburi” pe la 685. Este posibil, totuşi, ca după Sinodul din 681 să se fi întors la Ierusalim, sa-i fi prezentat lui Teodor hotărârile Sinodului şi apoi să fi fost trimis într-o delegaţie din nou în Constantinopol, prin 685 ca să-i transmită împăratului bizantin Constantin al IV-lea Pogonatul adeziunea Bisericii de la Ierusalim faţă de hotărârile Sinodului Ecumenic cu privire la erezia monotelită sau pentru a-i transmite felicitările Bisericii din Ierusalim pentru modul în care s-au desfăşurat întrunirile acestuia şi pentru că a susţinut Sinodul. Ceea ce este cert e faptul că după 685 îl întâlnim în Constantinopol, hirotonit aici diacon - probabil pe seama bisericii Sfânta Sofia - fapt datorat şi calităţilor sale oratoriceşti. Aici la Constantinopol se dedică totalmente îngrijirii bătrânilor şi a orfanilor (orphanotropos). Probabil a slujit o perioadă de timp la Sfânta Sofia unde se remarcă prin „predica faptei şi cateheza înţelepciunii”, cântând pentru prima oară şi opera sa fundamentală – Canonul cel Mare, iar de aici va fi preluat de Biserica din Alexandria, Antiohia, Ierusalim şi apoi în întreg Imperiul bizantin. Nu ştim când şi unde a fost hirotonit preot. Datorită vieţii sale curate şi vrednice de numele de creştin, datorită devotamentului şi dragostei profunde pentru Biserica lui Hristos şi pentru semeni a fost ales pe la 710-711 arhiepiscop la Gortynei, cetate a insulei Creta. De la insula Creta va primi cognomenul de „Cretanul” sau „Criteanul”. În anul 712, când arabii au încercat asedierea insulei, Sfântului Andrei Criteanul organizează lupta de apărare a locuitorilor de aici. Un moment neplăcut din viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul este participarea sa la Sinodul monotelist din anul 712. Urcarea la treapta de arhiepiscop al Cretei este legată de Teofan în „Cronica” sa de urcarea la tron al lui Filipikos Bardanes, care l-a ucis pe Justinian al II-lea şi i-a ocupat tronul, dorind cu toată ardoarea instalarea monotelismului în tot Imperiul bizantin. Hotărârile Sinodului au fost semnate de Andrei şi de Gherman (cel care va ajunge mai târziu episcop al Chiziciei). „Cronica” lui Teofan, scrisă pe la 810-811, deci cu o sută de ani după sinod, ar fi putut pune în eroare „prin cine ştie ce acte false ale monoteliştilor, în interesul cărora era să introducă, în rândurile partizanilor lor, pe vestiţii ierarhi ai Bisericii”. Dintr-o altă perspectivă, Sfântul Andrei Criteanul poate fi considerat un trădător şi un eretic, deoarece „nimeni din ei [din episcopii prezenţi, n.n.] n-a ridicat glasul împotriva împăratului eretic”.
Într-adevăr, Sfântul Andrei a cedat presiunilor imperiale de a semna actele Sinodului monotelist, însă în interiorul său a rămas devotat credinţei ortodoxe, el nu a fost un partizan fervent al monoteliştilor. Însuşi Ioan al Constantinopolului, participant şi el la Sinod afirma: „Această hotărâre nu este erezie sau îndepărtarea părinţilor Sinodului de la credinţa lor”. Dacă ar fi să facem o comparaţie între actul Sfântului Andrei Criteanul şi Aron, fratele lui Moise - care a realizat un viţel de aur pentru ca poporul să i se închine, s-ar observa la bază acelaşi motiv: presiunea poporului, în cazul Sfântului Andrei Criteanul – cea a împăratului.
După această scurtă perioadă de „monotelist” el a retractat, scriind cu acest prilej stihurile iambice, adresate arhidiaconului Agaton. Sub împăratul bizantin Leon Isaurul (717-741) va fi un antiiconoclast convins. Nu ştim ce l-a determinat pe Sfântul Andrei să plece într-o vizită la Constantinopol, pe la 740. La întoarcere, ajungând în insula Mitilene, la locul numit Eresos şi-a dat obştescul sfârşit la 4 iulie 740, rămânând a fi cinstit ca „nou David” şi ca „lăudă a părinţilor”.
Demersul nostru de a creiona pe scurt viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul este unul deosebit de greu. Diferitele materiale aghiografice pe care le deţinem îi plasează diferit fie anii naşterii (între cca. 635/645 - 660), fie anii morţii (713-740). Informaţiile care ne-au parvenit, referitoare la activitatea sa, sunt fie contradictorii, fie incomplete. Metodologia cercetării se bazează pe o analiză obiectivă şi profundă a tuturor izvoarelor existente la care se adaugă ca o „încununare” literatura secundară care confirmă sau infirmă unele ipoteze, ce au fost schiţate în jurul bio-bibliografiei Sfântului Andrei Criteanul. Am căutat o distanţare faţă de acele izvoare sau studii aghiografice care încearcă să susţină anumite idei preconcepute sau de acele studii care forţează prea mult unele ipoteze. Izvoare importante care se pot adăuga pentru cunoaşterea vieţii Sfântului Andrei Criteanul sunt şi sinaxarele bisericeşti alături de troparele închinate în cinstea Sfântului Andrei Criteanul, atât cele din Minei cât şi cele din Canonul cel Mare.
În limba greacă, s-au redactat destul de multe lucrări care analizează cronologic viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul. Una din aceste lucrări ne-a parvenit şi nouă. Este vorba de lucrarea arhimandritului Simeon Koutsas: Plânsul lui Adam. Canonul cel Mare al Sfântului Andrei Criteanul, lucrare deosebit de importantă prin cantitatea informaţiilor oferite şi prin comentariul la fiecare tropar al Canonului.
Anumite traduceri din Chronographia Theophanus (tomul 108) care îl pune uneori în lumină negativă pe autorul Canonului, vor fi preluate după studiul tradus din limba rusă a Pr. Arcadie Vinogradov: Viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul, arhiepiscop şi mitropolit al Cretei. Schiţă biografică. Conform biografiei greceşti, Sfântului Andrei Criteanul s-a născut în jurul anului 660, în localitatea Damasc, din părinţi iubitori de Dumnezeu, Gheorghe şi Grigoria. Tradiţia ne spune că până la vârsta de 7 ani a fost mut, iar darul vorbirii l-a primit atunci când s-a împărtăşit pentru prima oară cu Dumnezeieştile Taine. Studiile şi le-a realizat în localitatea natală, făcându-se „îndrăgitor fierbinte al adevărului şi al dumnezeieştii înţelepciuni”. La vârsta de 14-15 ani, după vizita făcută la Locurile Sfinte , cere părinţilor să-l afierosească Domnului. Astfel, de tânăr Sfântul Andrei va fi îmbrăcat în chipul monahicesc la mânăstirea Sfântului Sava, de lângă Ierusalim şi apoi la Sfânta Înviere. Se pare că aici şi-ar fi redactat cea mai mare parte a operei sale, inclusiv opera sa fundamentală Canonul cel Mare. Tot aici la Ierusalim, va fi ales de către Teodor secretar pe lângă locţiitorul scaunului patriarhal , lăsându-i-se apoi în grijă copiii orfani. Prin adâncirea vieţii sale duhovniceşti, prin cultura teologică, prin darurile sale speciale şi prin faptul că va deveni reprezentativ în Ierusalim, el va purta denumirea de „Ierusalimiteanul”.
Când erezia monotelită – care considera că în Iisus Hristos nu a existat şi o voinţă umană, ci numai una divină – s-a extins, a fost absolut necesar ca Părinţii Bisericii să se întâlnească pentru a combate erezia. Sinodul VI Ecumenic din Constantinopol (681), sub conducerea împăratului bizantin Constantin al IV-lea Pogonatul (668-685) a luat în discuţie şi a combătut această erezie. Teodor, vicarul patriarhal al Patriarhiei de Ierusalim, neputând participa la întrunirile Sinodului a trimis pe tânărul Andrei, împreună cu alţi doi monahi, ca reprezentanţi direcţi ai patriarhiei de Ierusalim. Rolul Sfântului Andrei la Sinodul VI Ecumenic nu a fost unul important, chiar dacă s-ar vrea să i se acorde o importanţă majoră. El a fost mai mult un „ajutor” pe lângă cel care a luat cuvântul în Sinod şi a semnat actele Sinodului VI Ecumenic ca reprezentant oficial: „Gheorghe, smeritul presbiter şi deţinătorul locului iubitului de Dumnezeu, presbiter şi păstrătorul scaunului apostolic al Sfântului oraş al lui Hristos Dumnezeu lui nostru, Ierusalim, a iscălit …”. Rolul său redus la Sinodul VI Ecumenic se datorează faptului că nu era în rândul clericilor, fiind doar un simplu monah, el nu a putut lua cuvântul, la acestea adăugându-se şi lipsa semnăturii sale din actele oficiale.
A rămas oare Sfântul Andrei Criteanul în Constantinopol după terminarea Sinodului VI Ecumenic? Răspunsul nostru poate fi considerat doar o ipoteză, dacă am lua în considerare informaţiile care ne precizează că a plecat de la Ierusalim la Constantinopol „cu treburi” pe la 685. Este posibil, totuşi, ca după Sinodul din 681 să se fi întors la Ierusalim, sa-i fi prezentat lui Teodor hotărârile Sinodului şi apoi să fi fost trimis într-o delegaţie din nou în Constantinopol, prin 685 ca să-i transmită împăratului bizantin Constantin al IV-lea Pogonatul adeziunea Bisericii de la Ierusalim faţă de hotărârile Sinodului Ecumenic cu privire la erezia monotelită sau pentru a-i transmite felicitările Bisericii din Ierusalim pentru modul în care s-au desfăşurat întrunirile acestuia şi pentru că a susţinut Sinodul. Ceea ce este cert e faptul că după 685 îl întâlnim în Constantinopol, hirotonit aici diacon - probabil pe seama bisericii Sfânta Sofia - fapt datorat şi calităţilor sale oratoriceşti. Aici la Constantinopol se dedică totalmente îngrijirii bătrânilor şi a orfanilor (orphanotropos). Probabil a slujit o perioadă de timp la Sfânta Sofia unde se remarcă prin „predica faptei şi cateheza înţelepciunii”, cântând pentru prima oară şi opera sa fundamentală – Canonul cel Mare, iar de aici va fi preluat de Biserica din Alexandria, Antiohia, Ierusalim şi apoi în întreg Imperiul bizantin. Nu ştim când şi unde a fost hirotonit preot. Datorită vieţii sale curate şi vrednice de numele de creştin, datorită devotamentului şi dragostei profunde pentru Biserica lui Hristos şi pentru semeni a fost ales pe la 710-711 arhiepiscop la Gortynei, cetate a insulei Creta. De la insula Creta va primi cognomenul de „Cretanul” sau „Criteanul”. În anul 712, când arabii au încercat asedierea insulei, Sfântului Andrei Criteanul organizează lupta de apărare a locuitorilor de aici. Un moment neplăcut din viaţa Sfântului Andrei Criteanul este participarea sa la Sinodul monotelist din anul 712. Urcarea la treapta de arhiepiscop al Cretei este legată de Teofan în „Cronica” sa de urcarea la tron al lui Filipikos Bardanes, care l-a ucis pe Justinian al II-lea şi i-a ocupat tronul, dorind cu toată ardoarea instalarea monotelismului în tot Imperiul bizantin. Hotărârile Sinodului au fost semnate de Andrei şi de Gherman (cel care va ajunge mai târziu episcop al Chiziciei). „Cronica” lui Teofan, scrisă pe la 810-811, deci cu o sută de ani după sinod, ar fi putut pune în eroare „prin cine ştie ce acte false ale monoteliştilor, în interesul cărora era să introducă, în rândurile partizanilor lor, pe vestiţii ierarhi ai Bisericii”. Dintr-o altă perspectivă, Sfântul Andrei Criteanul poate fi considerat un trădător şi un eretic, deoarece „nimeni din ei [din episcopii prezenţi, n.n.] n-a ridicat glasul împotriva împăratului eretic”.
Într-adevăr, Sfântul Andrei a cedat presiunilor imperiale de a semna actele Sinodului monotelist, însă în interiorul său a rămas devotat credinţei ortodoxe, el nu a fost un partizan fervent al monoteliştilor. Însuşi Ioan al Constantinopolului, participant şi el la Sinod afirma: „Această hotărâre nu este erezie sau îndepărtarea părinţilor Sinodului de la credinţa lor”. Dacă ar fi să facem o comparaţie între actul Sfântului Andrei Criteanul şi Aron, fratele lui Moise - care a realizat un viţel de aur pentru ca poporul să i se închine, s-ar observa la bază acelaşi motiv: presiunea poporului, în cazul Sfântului Andrei Criteanul – cea a împăratului.
După această scurtă perioadă de „monotelist” el a retractat, scriind cu acest prilej stihurile iambice, adresate arhidiaconului Agaton. Sub împăratul bizantin Leon Isaurul (717-741) va fi un antiiconoclast convins. Nu ştim ce l-a determinat pe Sfântul Andrei să plece într-o vizită la Constantinopol, pe la 740. La întoarcere, ajungând în insula Mitilene, la locul numit Eresos şi-a dat obştescul sfârşit la 4 iulie 740, rămânând a fi cinstit ca „nou David” şi ca „lăudă a părinţilor”.
Tropar (glasul al 8-lea):
Îndreptător credinţei şi chip blândeţilor, învăţător înfrânării te-a arătat pe tine turmei tale adevărul lucrurilor. Pentru aceasta ai câştigat cu smerenia cele înalte, cu sărăcia cele bogate. Părinte Ierarhe Andrei, roagă pe Hristos Dumnezeu ca să mântuiască sufletele noastre.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov, Iconograful Rus.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov a fost canonizat in anul 1988 de catre Biserica Ortodoxa Rusa fiind praznuit la data de 4 iulie. Despre viata sfantului nu se cunosc foarte multe lucruri. Nu stim locul unde s-a nascut, iar data nasterii a fost stabilita, cu aproximatie, intre 1360 si 1370. Se stie ca a fost calugar la manastirea Sfantul Andronic din Moscova.
Debutul activitatii sale este legat, in primul rand, de Manastirea Sfintei Treimi, infiintata de Sfantul Serghie de Radonej. Fara indoiala, si-a facut ucenicia intr-un atelier de icoane din cadrul acestei manastiri, deoarece el este numit “iconograful Radonejului”. O cronica a vremii mentioneaza, in acest sens: “Sfantul parinte Andrei de la Radonej, iconarul supranumit Rubliov, a pictat un mare numar de icoane, toate facatoare de minuni…”
Rubliov a trait intr-o epoca tulbure a istoriei Rusiei. In mod paradoxal, este vremea in care viata monahala, in toate formele sale, cunoaste o importanta renastere, cand cultura si arta infloresc pe langa manastiri.
Debutul activitatii sale este legat, in primul rand, de Manastirea Sfintei Treimi, infiintata de Sfantul Serghie de Radonej. Fara indoiala, si-a facut ucenicia intr-un atelier de icoane din cadrul acestei manastiri, deoarece el este numit “iconograful Radonejului”. O cronica a vremii mentioneaza, in acest sens: “Sfantul parinte Andrei de la Radonej, iconarul supranumit Rubliov, a pictat un mare numar de icoane, toate facatoare de minuni…”
Rubliov a trait intr-o epoca tulbure a istoriei Rusiei. In mod paradoxal, este vremea in care viata monahala, in toate formele sale, cunoaste o importanta renastere, cand cultura si arta infloresc pe langa manastiri.
Un document de la anul 1408 aminteste pentru prima data numele lui Rubliov, cand a fost pictata Catedrala Buna Vestire din Moscova. Rubliov a facut parte din echipa de pictori, condusa de cunoscutul Teofan Grecul. Insa, in ciuda influentei imense a celui din urma, asupra artei ruse a epocii, Rubliov nu a urmat indeaproape stilul iconografic al acestuia, ci si-a creat propriul sau stil.
In anul 1408, Andrei Rubliov a pictat impreuna cu Daniel, Catedrala Inaltarii Domnului din Vladimir. Aproape de anul 1422, ucenicul Sfantului Serghie, egumenul Nikon, l-a invitat la Manastirea Sfintei Treimi - Sfantul Serghie, pentru a picta noua biserica.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov si-a petrecut insa cea mai mare parte a vietii la manastirea Sfantul Andronic, infiintata de catre Mitropolitulk Moscovei S. Alexis. In anii 20 ai secolului al XV-lea, a participat la ridicarea bisericii Schimbarea la Fata. A murit la 9 ianuarie 1430. Nu se cunoaste locul unde a fost inmormantat. Piatra mortuara exista inca in secolul al XVIII-lea, insa a disparut.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov este descris ca foarte smerit, “plin de bucurie si lumina”. De fapt, intreaga sa opera este o expresie a acestei smerenii, fiind una cu un continut foarte profund, dar, care degaja bucurie si lumina.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov - icoana Sfintei Treimi
In occident, Rubliov este cunoscut, in special, pentru celebra sa icoana a "Sfintei Treimi". Aceasta icoana a fost pictata in jurul anului 1411 pentru manastirea Sfanta Treime din Zargorsk. Icoana “Sfintei Treimi’ numita si “Icoana celor trei ingeri” este una dintre reprezentarile cele mai cunoscute din toate timpurile. Ea se inscrie in tipul iconografic numit “ospitalitatea lui Avraam”. Inca din primele secole ale crestinismului, pericopa biblica a vizitei celor trei straini facute lui Avraam si Sarei la stejarul din Mamvri (Facere 18,1-22), a fost interpretata ca o teofanie a Sfintei Treimi.
In anul 1408, Andrei Rubliov a pictat impreuna cu Daniel, Catedrala Inaltarii Domnului din Vladimir. Aproape de anul 1422, ucenicul Sfantului Serghie, egumenul Nikon, l-a invitat la Manastirea Sfintei Treimi - Sfantul Serghie, pentru a picta noua biserica.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov si-a petrecut insa cea mai mare parte a vietii la manastirea Sfantul Andronic, infiintata de catre Mitropolitulk Moscovei S. Alexis. In anii 20 ai secolului al XV-lea, a participat la ridicarea bisericii Schimbarea la Fata. A murit la 9 ianuarie 1430. Nu se cunoaste locul unde a fost inmormantat. Piatra mortuara exista inca in secolul al XVIII-lea, insa a disparut.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov este descris ca foarte smerit, “plin de bucurie si lumina”. De fapt, intreaga sa opera este o expresie a acestei smerenii, fiind una cu un continut foarte profund, dar, care degaja bucurie si lumina.
Sfantul Andrei Rubliov - icoana Sfintei Treimi
In occident, Rubliov este cunoscut, in special, pentru celebra sa icoana a "Sfintei Treimi". Aceasta icoana a fost pictata in jurul anului 1411 pentru manastirea Sfanta Treime din Zargorsk. Icoana “Sfintei Treimi’ numita si “Icoana celor trei ingeri” este una dintre reprezentarile cele mai cunoscute din toate timpurile. Ea se inscrie in tipul iconografic numit “ospitalitatea lui Avraam”. Inca din primele secole ale crestinismului, pericopa biblica a vizitei celor trei straini facute lui Avraam si Sarei la stejarul din Mamvri (Facere 18,1-22), a fost interpretata ca o teofanie a Sfintei Treimi.
Deja in secolul a IV-lea, istoricul bisericesc Eusebiu de Cezarea afirma ca exista inca din timpul Vechiului Testament o imagine a Sfintei Treimi, sub chipul celor trei ingeri care s-au aratat lui Avraam. Parintii Bisericii au interpretat, de asemenea, acest eveniment ca pe o teofanie a Sfintei Treimi. Geniul lui Rubliov a constat in utilizarea acestei teme a ospitalitatii lui Avraam pentra a face o icoana de o mare frumusete si calitate artistica care evoca taina Sfintei Treimi, si de asemenea pe cea a Intruparii Fiului lui Dumnezeu si a Rascumpararii.
Aceasta icoana trinitara nu este comparabila cu reprezentarile traditionale ale ospitalitatii lui Avraam, pe care le intalnim in iconografia anterioara, spre exemplu intr-o icoana din sec al IV-lea pastrata la Muzeul Banaki din Atena. Artistii au pus in evidenta in special semnul miraculos, copilul promis lui Avraam si Sara. Este clar ca Rubliov a facut o exceptie de la acesta traditie. Elementele istorice ale pasajului biblic sunt reduse la minimum – Avraam si Sara nu apar in icoana lui Rubliov -. Casa lui Avraam, stejarul din Mamvri si stanca, contribuie la aprofundarea sensului icoanei asupra Sfintei Treimii, Intruparii si Rascumpararii. Aceasta reprezentare a Sfintei Treimi permite, in acelasi timp, atat afirmarea unitatii divine, cat si a unicitatii celor trei persoane
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Hristos a inviat!.
Fragment din Slujba Sf. Cuv.Andrei Rubliov
Hristos a inviat!
