First of all, I would like to say that the Life is a story about the life of a person who has achieved the Christian ideal - holiness, gives examples of correct Christian life, and convinces that everyone can live it this way. The heroes of the life are simple peasants, townspeople, princes who once chose this path, follow it and try to become like Jesus Christ.
Lives of saints were created throughout the entire period of ancient Russian literature. Most of the authors are unknown to us. The hagiographic canon turned out to be the most stable of all the genres of ancient Russian literature.
The hagiographic story of Epiphanius the Wise “The Life of Our Venerable Father Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, the New Wonderworker” tells about an outstanding religious figure. It contains information about the structure and way of life of the monastery, about the spiritual assistance of the brethren to Dmitry Donskoy during the war with the Tatars.
The work begins with the author’s self-deprecation and gratitude to God.
The author fills the description of the life of St. Sergius with miracles. By all means he tries to prove the innate righteousness of the teacher, to glorify him as a saint of God, as a true servant of the Divine Trinity. Talking about the life and deeds of the great ascetic, the author preaches the “works of God” that were fulfilled on him. Moreover, he preaches, as he himself admits, with the help of God himself, the Mother of God and Sergius. Hence the mystical-symbolic subtext of his work.
It is worth noting that Epiphanius uses biblical numbers with great skill. Most noticeable in the “Life of Sergius of Radonezh” is the use of the number “three”. The author attached special significance to it. The background of the trinary symbolism is uneven. The first three chapters are particularly rich. The entry into life of the future founder of the Trinity Monastery was marked by miracles, which foreshadowed his extraordinary fate. The chapter “The Beginning of the Life of Sergius” talks about four such omens. The most significant foreshadowing occurred when an unborn child cried out from its mother's womb while she was in church. “And some miracle happened before he was born. When the child was still in the womb, one Sunday his mother entered the church while the holy liturgy was being sung. And she stood with other women when they were about to begin reading the Holy Gospel, and everyone stood silently; the baby began to scream in the womb. Before starting to sing the Cherubic song, the baby began to scream a second time. When the priest exclaimed: “Let us take in, holy of holies!” the baby cried out for the third time. When the fortieth day came after his birth, the parents brought the child to the Church of God... The priest christened him with the name Bartholomew... The father and mother told the priest how their son, while still in the womb in the church, shouted three times: “We don’t know what this means.” . The priest said: “Rejoice, for there will be a child chosen by God, a monastery and servant of the Holy Trinity.”
It is important to note that when creating “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” the author uses not only sacred visual means to express the Trinity idea. In the process of writing the story “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh,” Epiphanius the Wise showed himself to be a most inspired and subtle theologian. While creating this life, he thought about literary and artistic images, about the Holy Trinity. During his lifetime, Sergius of Radonezh hid his true face and did not allow his students to talk about the miracles associated with him.
The story does not describe turbulent experiences, it talks about difficult trials with restraint, and is silent about the internal struggle. Life, like an icon, shows us an example of holiness, not a face, but a face.
Klyuchevsky V.O. in his speech “The Significance of St. Sergius of Radonezh for the Russian People and State” called Sergius of Radonezh the bearer of a miraculous spark capable of causing the action of the moral force hidden in people, argued that the moral feat of Sergius of Radonezh is very high and worthy of imitation.

Composition

B.K. Zaitsev’s work “Reverend Sergius of Radonezh” was written in 1925 in exile. This is the biography of the most revered holy elder in Rus'. According to the author, such a topic “would never have appeared to the author and would not have taken possession of him in the pre-revolutionary years.” Reading the biography of the famous Russian saint of the 14th century, I noted that it is precisely in times of upheaval that such works can appear, breathing suffering and hope, sadness and love - all the high feelings that can arise in the soul of a person rooting for his Fatherland.
I realized that these feelings are close and understandable to the author of this work. I also liked the fact that the author portrayed Sergius precisely as a Russian national saint, with all the spiritual qualities inherent in a Russian person, of which the author most clearly highlighted “modesty of asceticism.” The trait is very Russian. It is not for nothing that in the biography, with his human signs and the very essence of his feat, Sergius is contrasted with another, Catholic saint - Francis of Assisi. The Monk Sergius was not noted for any special talent or gift of eloquence. He is “poorer” in abilities than his older brother Stefan. But it emits light - imperceptibly and constantly.
B.K. Zaitsev in his work set himself the task, as I believe, to reveal the image of Sergius in a gradual, clear, continuous and not even dramatic ascent to holiness. Holiness grows organically in him.
Sergius is consistently firm and adamant in his meekness, humility, and modesty. When the monastic brethren suddenly began to grumble, the abbot did not fall into pastoral anger and did not denounce his “children” for their sinfulness. He, already an old man, took his staff and went into the wild places, where he founded the monastery Kirzhach. And his friend, Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow, did not allow the golden cross of the metropolis to be placed on himself: “From my youth I was not a gold-bearer, and in my old age I wish all the more to remain in poverty.”
With such a worldview, St. Sergius in Rus' gains great moral authority, which, as history has shown, only allows him to accomplish the main feat of his life - to bless Dmitry of Moscow for the battle with the enslavers of the Fatherland.
In Zaitsev's work, St. Sergius is an integral part of Russia. I was in Radonezh at the opening of the monument to St. Sergius. There, against the backdrop of Russian nature, St. felt this great connection more keenly. Sergius with our Motherland, just as meek, bright in its sadness and quiet, as if in anticipation of a miracle.
But, unfortunately, bright miracles in Rus' happen much less often than great upheavals. During the Horde yoke, Rus' experienced a double blow: “both strangers and their own were ruined.” The family of the youth Bartholomew experienced all these misfortunes. The father of the future saint, Cyril, received an estate in Radonezh, but, due to his old age, he could no longer manage the farm. He was replaced by his son Stefan. There was no hope for Bartholomew, because the youth strove more and more for solitude, for prayer, for God. The hard life further strengthened his thoughts of leaving his home and becoming a monk.
The author shows Bartholomew still not fully aware of what and for what he decides to give up in life. The reader is presented with a modest youth, immersed in communication with God. The father, as best he could, restrained his son from this step: “We have become old and weak; there is no one to serve us; Your brothers have a lot to worry about about their families. We rejoice that you are trying to please the Lord. But your good part will not be taken away, just serve us a little until God takes us from here; Behold, lead us to the grave, and then no one will stop you.”
Bartholomew felt sorry for his parents and stayed. He sacrificed his attraction to the calling new life for the sake of his loved ones. In this regard, I will again remember the contrast between St. Sergius St. Francis. The author is sure that “St. Francis would have left, of course he would have shaken off the dust from everything worldly, and in bright ecstasy he would have rushed into tears and prayers of heroism. Bartholomew restrained himself. I waited.”
Here, in my opinion, more of a moral issue than a religious one was resolved. It was resolved in such a way that for the Russian soul the moral and religious are inseparable. In any case, the Russian soul is always tormented and tossed about in such cases before making a choice. Now it is difficult to say what Bartholomew would have acted if these everyday circumstances holding him back had dragged on. The author of the biography believes that “he probably wouldn’t have stayed. But, undoubtedly, he would somehow settle his parents with dignity and leave without a riot. His type is different. And responding to the type, fate took shape...”
After going into the wilderness with his brother Stefan, they had a hard time. It was necessary to work a lot in the monastery. The brother turned out to be much weaker than Bartholomew, and most of the work fell on the shoulders of the future saint.
Soon after he was tonsured as a monk and abbot Mitrofan left him, St. Sergius was left completely alone among the wild nature.
The author especially emphasizes the location of St. Sergius to asceticism: “The ascetic feat is the smoothing, straightening of the soul to a single vertical. In this form, she most easily and most lovingly unites with the First Principle, the current of the divine runs through her more unhindered...”
It seems to me naive to believe that St. In the especially difficult, first months of loneliness, Sergius was helped by his thousand-year experience of monasticism. The experience of loneliness cannot be conveyed. A person comes to this on his own, having stepped over himself, and learning from himself, and supporting himself.
Like any hermit, St. Sergius went through melancholy, despair, loss of feelings, fatigue, and the seduction of an easier life. Saint Sergius emerged victorious from this struggle, subordinating his spirit to the line of God.
It is interesting in the depiction of the image of St. Sergius revealing the breadth of his views. It is known that, being an Orthodox Christian, he instilled among his charges, in a sense, Western culture: work, order, discipline. He was not a preacher, neither he nor his disciples were engaged in missionary activities. And this only further increased his authority among the people.
I will not describe the feat of St. Sergius, his role in the victory of the Russian troops on the Kulikovo field. Everyone knows this. And the author of the biography himself focused his attention on the moments of the ascent of St. Sergius to the feat of his life. Neither he nor Dmitry Donskoy lived to see the final liberation of Rus' from its enslavers, but they laid a solid spiritual foundation on which Russia still stands firmly.
B.K. Zaitsev managed to create the image of a national hero who, in times of blood and violence, supported the spirit of his compatriots.
The author finishes the biography by putting the final most important touch on the appearance of St. Sergius. He says that “having left no writings behind him, Sergius supposedly teaches nothing. But he teaches precisely with his whole appearance: to some he is consolation and refreshment, to others - a silent reproach. Silently, Sergius teaches the simplest things: truth, integrity, masculinity, work, reverence and faith.”
This, I believe, is the most important value of the image of the great elder, depicted by the hand of the talented Russian word artist B.K. Zaitsev.

"Sergius of Radonezh"

Completed by: student of class 6 B of MBOU secondary school No. 36

Kodochigova Arina Vadimovna

Head: Semina Olga Nikolaevna

Nizhny Novgorod Region

Dzerzhinsk 2015

“Truly God does not care who you are, a virgin (nun) or

spouse, monk or layman, but it is important to him what kind of you you are and

whether your heart desires to do good deeds.”

(St. Petersburg School of Piety; 1891, p. 160).

The Russian land is rich not only in its mineral resources and vast expanses, but also in people. After all, they are the main asset of any country. And how many saints the Russian land has given birth to! Who does not know Tikhon of Zadonsk, Seraphim of Sarov, Sergius of Radonezh... Many of them lived in ancient times: the holy Slovenian first teachers Cyril and Methodius, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev-Pechersk, Sergius and Nikon of Radonezh. Others - just a hundred or two hundred years ago: St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Innocent of Moscow, Theophan the Recluse. And some lived among our fathers and grandfathers. They prayed, talked, worked, they were taught by: the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, the most holy Patriarch Tikhon, the holy metropolitan martyrs Vladimir and Benjamin, the lay martyrs Yuri and John and many others. Among Russian saints there are people of all ranks and conditions, of different ages and genders, monks and princes, scientists and not. And each of us can choose examples to follow. Many articles and books have been written about Russian saints. We, who live on Russian soil, consecrated by their holy relics, the churches and monasteries they created, need to know and love everything that has shaped the spiritual world of Russian Orthodoxy for centuries.

For more than 600 years, people have been coming to worship the abbot of all Rus', the holy Venerable Sergius of Radonezh (“venerables” - monks like angels). Everyone has their own thoughts, prayers, aspirations. What do pilgrims take with them to all ends of the Russian land? What feat did this saint accomplish? To understand this, we must remember the time when fear and horror from the Tatar invasion lived among the people. It was Sergius of Radonezh who raised the spirit of his native people, awakened in them confidence in himself, in his strength, and inspired faith in the future. The holy venerable man believed that it was strength spirit, morality and conscientiousness of the people of Russia are capable of creating a life worthy of a person. Sergius completely eradicated the vicious qualities in himself: proud lust for power, pleasure in power over others. A person with power forgets that he is, first of all, not a ruler and boss, but a servant of the people subordinate to him. Having become abbot, Sergius was no different from ordinary monks: neither in clothes, nor in behavior, nor in his cell, he only worked harder than others, improving his high morality. “I wish it were better to study than to teach,” Sergius of Radonezh said to his students.

How did the reverend become like this? What kind of family did you come from? The boyars Kirill and Maria, who lived on the territory of the Principality of Rostov, were the parents of Sergius of Radonezh. The family was distinguished by piety. Cyril and Mary had three children - Stefan, Bartholomew, Peter. When Rostov was ruined, the family moved to the city of Radonezh, which was under the rule of the Moscow prince.

From an early age, Bartholomew heard prayers and psalms in church and at home and memorized them. This is the kind of pious, friendly family the boy was lucky enough to grow up in. And soon his mother began to notice how different her Varfusha was from her brothers and other children. He did not like noisy games and children's amusements, sought solitude and could sit somewhere in the garden for hours, immersed in deep thought. When Bartholomew turned seven years old, according to custom, he was apprenticed to a sexton. His brothers, the elder Stefan and the younger Peter, who was not yet six years old, also studied with him. Imagine the disappointment of the parents when Stephen and Peter soon learned to read and write, but Bartholomew not only did not know how to add letters, but did not even know them. The teacher complained that he repeated the same thing to the boy many times, but he seemed not to hear or understand what they were saying to him, although the boy tried and prayed earnestly.

One day a monk appeared to Bartholomew and blessed the boy. Since then, Bartholomew easily mastered all sciences. When the parents grew old, they went to a monastery. After their death, Bartholomew left the entire bequeathed parental inheritance to Peter. Together with Stephen, he decided to take monastic vows, for which he had been preparing for a long time. The brothers built a cell in the Radonezh forest, in which they prayed fervently and earnestly. They lived in constant labor and after some time they erected a small wooden Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. But Stefan found his solitary life a burden. He p said goodbye to Bartholomew and went to the Epiphany Monastery.

Bartholomew decided to continue his secluded lifestyle. He overcame his fear of wild animals and lived in labor. Soon the fame of Bartholomew spread to all corners of the Russian land. Metropolitan Theognostus of Moscow came to the forest to consecrate the temple built by Bartholomew and Stephen. Here Bartholomew was tonsured a monk by the Metropolitan and became Sergius. Various miracles were attributed to Sergius, as if he even learned to get along with a bear. They said that a large wild beast lay at the feet of Sergius and obeyed him, taking food from the hands of the Saint.

The rumor about Sergius of Radonezh brought many different people to the forest. Some came here for a short time in search of solitude and peace, others wanted to spend their whole lives in work and prayer. And after some time, many houses appeared around the Trinity Cathedral in which monks lived. They carried water, chopped wood, cultivated the land, and prayed.

Ten years later, peasants surrounded the monastery with their villages. The monk took care of the monastery gardens and discussed the contents of the new icons. He was concerned about copying books and knew that kvass should not ferment too much. In every deed he saw the movement of life and the manifestation of God, directing his spirit to comprehend His will. The monastery grew. Soon Sergius of Radonezh was offered the rank of abbot. The monk refused, considering himself unworthy, but circumstances nevertheless forced Sergius of Radonezh to become abbot of his monastery.

Years passed. Rus' began to regain its former power. In these difficult years for the state, Sergius of Radonezh became an example for everyone.

The monk played a big role in the moral development of society: he blessed Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who came to him before the Battle of Kulikovo, and sent two of his monks, the Russian heroes Peresvet and Osyablya, to the ranks of the Russian army. Dmitry's army defeated the Tatars on the Kulikovo field. Probably, the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh and God’s help played no small role in this military battle.

The contribution to the further development of the Russian state of Sergius of Radonezh is enormous. He managed to smooth out the misunderstandings of the princes and stop fratricidal wars. Sergius of Radonezh developed a charter for monks, which was adopted with the blessing of Metropolitan Alexy. Almost all monasteries in Russia began to live according to this charter. Before his death, Sergius of Radonezh blessed his disciple Nikon to become the abbot of the monastery. On the site of the monastery built by Sergius of Radonezh and his brothers, today there is the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - one of the most fertile places on Russian soil.

Sergius of Radonezh is rightfully considered one of the greatest Russian saints canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Moscow princes and tsars who ruled after Dmitry Donskoy considered Sergius of Radonezh their heavenly patron. In 1392, on September 25, Sergius died. In 1452 he was canonized. For Russian people, the name of Sergius of Radonezh became the standard of righteous life for many centuries. The holy monk in his life every hour performed good deeds, of which the following can be highlighted: he created and widely distributed monasteries of a new type, where there were fair orders, a spirit of hard work and high morality reigned. For four decades, the “sorrowful man of the Russian Land” persistently instilled in people the idea of ​​liberating Rus' from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, becoming the main inspirer of the Battle of Kulikovo. Thanks to Sergius of Radonezh, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity spread in Rus', a unique spiritual, moral and cultural center of Rus', Russia, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, was created, which became a powerful national spiritual center.

WITH the humble Radonezh abbot was destined to gain immortality not only in the memory and deeds of his students and followers, but also in the history of the Russian state. The name Sergius was and remains a symbol of the spiritual wealth of the Russian people. His behests - Christian love for people, the constant ascent to moral perfection through courageous self-denial - became the bright ideals of Russian culture. And Sergius himself - sometimes openly, sometimes hidden - lives in it and will live “as long as the Russian land stands.”

Although Sergius of Radonezh did not leave behind any writings and supposedly did not teach anything, his teaching came to us thanks to his students. Epiphanius the Wise, wrote “The Life of Sergius of Radonezh.” This is how Sergius silently teaches the simplest things: truth, integrity, masculinity, work, reverence and faith:

Here is Sergius, an old man at the end of his days,

Feats and retreats are a thing of the past.

In him people look for wisdom, support,

And looking over his life,

They want to understand: what was the main thing in it?

Hard work from dawn to dusk,

The lifestyle is simple, but clean and harsh,

He built souls and monasteries,

So that God's word can be heard in Rus'.

He stretched out a living thread of faith,

To reconcile the princes, to unite

Around Moscow and strike

And throw off the heavy yoke of the Tatars...

Essay on the topic “Analysis of the work “St. Sergius of Radonezh” by B.K. Zaitsev” 3.33 /5 (66.67%) 3 votes

The biography of Sergius of Radonezh was written by Boris Zaitsev in 1925, when the writer was in exile. The story of the life of a very famous and highly revered saint in Rus' could not fail to interest readers belonging to various strata of society. The author himself admits that the topic he chose could not have been revealed in the pre-revolutionary years, when life flowed relatively slowly and calmly. And indeed, after reading this work, there is an unshakable confidence that it is precisely during periods of severe upheavals in the political system, philistine life, and the world order itself that such a narrative can appear, imbued with sincere sadness, bright love, unquenchable hope - those feelings that overwhelm the human soul, loving his Fatherland and suffering with it.

The holy elder is depicted in the biography traditionally; the image of the Russian saint is revealed fully and multifaceted. Zaitsev calls the main quality of Sergius of Radonezh “modesty of asceticism.” The main character of the work does not show any special talents, does not have the art of oratory or the gift of persuasion, but at the same time some special unfading light emanates from him, which shows the way to lost souls and leads them to the true path.
The life path of Sergius himself to the pinnacle of human existence - holiness - was gradual, devoid of dramatic shocks and heroic deeds, as if holiness, as a kind of spiritual quality, accumulated in him gradually, throughout his life.
Sergius of Radonezh, despite his unconditional kindness, is not at all gentle in character - in his humility and meekness, he firmly stands on his line, not participating in unrest and knowing what he wants from life. For example, during the disturbances among the monks, Sergius did not participate in the expression of discontent, nor did he seek to instruct his brothers in Christ on the true path - he, being already very middle-aged, took his faithful staff and went away, “into the wild places ", where the monastic monastery Kirzhach was subsequently founded. The saint also did not accept the golden cross from his good friend, Moscow Metropolitan Alexy, saying the following words: “From my youth I was not a gold-bearer, and in my old age I wish all the more to remain in poverty.”
In my opinion, the author of the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh set himself the task of not just describing the feat of the saint’s entire life and his help in the victory of the Russians during the Battle of Kulikovo. This historical fact is known to everyone and does not need additional demonstration. The essence of the work lies in understanding how the youth Bartholomew managed to achieve complete self-denial, how he managed to rise to the most important feat of his entire earthly life. Yes, he failed to completely liberate his native land from alien invaders, but it was Sergius, as a talented builder, who was able to lay a solid foundation of spirituality, which later became the basis of the new Russia.

Essay on the topic "Reverend Sergius of Radonezh" in the history of the Russian state

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The life description of Sergius of Radonezh was written by Boris Zaitsev in 1925, when the writer was in exile. The story of the life of a very famous and highly revered saint in Rus' could not fail to interest readers belonging to various strata of society. The author himself admits that the topic he chose could not have been revealed in the pre-revolutionary years, when life flowed relatively slowly and calmly. And indeed, after reading this work, there is an unshakable confidence that it is precisely during periods of severe upheavals in the political system, philistine life, and the world order itself that such a narrative can appear, imbued with sincere sadness, bright love, unquenchable hope - those feelings that overwhelm the human soul, loving his Fatherland and suffering with it. The holy elder is depicted in the biography traditionally; the image of the Russian saint is revealed fully and multifaceted. Zaitsev calls the main quality of Sergius of Radonezh “modesty of asceticism.” The main character of the work does not show any special talents, does not have the art of oratory or the gift of persuasion, but at the same time some special unfading light emanates from him, which shows the way to lost souls and leads them to the true path. The life path of Sergius himself to the pinnacle of human existence - holiness - was gradual, devoid of dramatic shocks and heroic deeds, as if holiness, as a kind of spiritual quality, accumulated in him gradually, throughout his life. Sergius of Radonezh, despite his unconditional kindness, is not at all gentle in character - in his humility and meekness, he firmly stands on his line, not participating in unrest and knowing what he wants from life. For example, during the disturbances among the monks, Sergius did not participate in the expression of discontent, nor did he seek to instruct his brothers in Christ on the true path - he, being already very middle-aged, took his faithful staff and went away, “into the wild places ", where the monastic monastery Kirzhach was subsequently founded. The saint also did not accept the golden cross from his good friend, Moscow Metropolitan Alexy, saying the following words: “From my youth I was not a gold-bearer, and in my old age I wish all the more to remain in poverty.” In my opinion, the author of the life of St. Sergius of Radonezh set himself the task of not just describing the feat of the saint’s entire life and his help in the victory of the Russians during the Battle of Kulikovo. This historical fact is known to everyone and does not need additional demonstration. The essence of the work lies in understanding how the youth Bartholomew managed to achieve complete self-denial, how he managed to rise to the most important feat of his entire earthly life. Yes, he failed to completely liberate his native land from alien invaders, but it was Sergius, as a talented builder, who was able to lay a solid foundation of spirituality, which later became the basis of the new Russia.

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The name of Sergius of Radonezh was preserved in people's memory thanks to the life written in 1417-1418 by the monk Epiphanius the Wise. Sergius of Radonezh is an outstanding personality. He is not just a clergyman canonized, but a man whose life and deeds had a decisive influence on the history of the Russian church, Russian asceticism and the life of the Russian people. According to life, the future ascetic was born into the family of pious boyars Kirill and Maria. At baptism he was named Bartholomew. From childhood he was marked by God's grace. From the first days, the family began to notice something unusual in the baby: the baby, to everyone’s surprise, refused mother’s milk on the “fast” days of the week – Wednesday and Friday. In the seventh year of his life, Bartholomew, along with his brothers Stefan and Peter, was sent by his parents to learn to read and write. Teaching was not given to Bartholomew, despite all his efforts. Often, somewhere in solitude, the youth would pray with tears to the Lord to grant him “book understanding.” Miraculously, he learned to read and write, receiving a small prosphora from the hands of a mysterious elder. These signs convince of the “chosenness” of the youth. Soon the family moved to live in the village of Radonezh. In his youth, Bartholomew firmly decided to take monastic vows. Having become an adult, he renounces the worldly, vain life and seeks humility and submission to the will of God. Together with brother Stefan, they founded the Trinity Monastery. But the brother cannot withstand the difficulties of life in a deserted place and goes to the Moscow Epiphany Monastery. Bartholomew takes monastic vows with the name of the holy martyr Sergius. For Sergius, years of complete loneliness begin, years of struggle with dark forces, which an Orthodox person recognizes as the forces of the devil. This most difficult time requires him to exert all his spiritual and physical strength. Like any hermit, he had to go through melancholy, despair, fatigue, and the seduction of an easier life. But he emerged victorious from this struggle, having accomplished a spiritual feat. Feeling a huge spiritual responsibility for everything that happened around him, he always strived to establish evangelical relations between people. During his lifetime, the Monk Sergius was awarded the grace-filled gift of working miracles: a miracle with a spring, when a spring emerged from a cross drawn on the ground by the saint; the miracle of the resurrection of a dead child; a vision of the wonderful Heavenly Light and the appearance of the Mother of God. It seems to me that it is no coincidence that the great chosen one of God, Sergius of Radonezh, was given by God to the Russian land precisely at such a difficult time, when long-suffering Rus' was languishing under the heavy Tatar yoke. By the example of his holy life, he raised the fallen spirit of his native people, restored confidence in himself, and breathed faith in God's help. Having gathered an army to fight the Tatar Khan Mamai, Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, on the eve of the battle, visited the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in order to receive a parting blessing for the upcoming battle from the great elder. In the holy monastery, Dmitry received a blessing from St. Sergius. In addition, Sergius sent the heroic monks Peresvet and Oslyabya with the prince to show that the cause of liberation of the Motherland was sacred even for monks who had left worldly life and sworn an oath not to take up arms. Then he predicted victory for Grand Duke Dmitry. The prophecy was fulfilled on September 8, 1380 - on the day of the great church holiday of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Russian warriors won a complete victory over the Tatar hordes on the Kulikovo field, marking the beginning of the liberation of the Russian land from the Tatar yoke. During the battle, St. Sergius stood with his brethren in prayer and asked God to grant victory to the Russian army. While in church at prayer, in his spirit he was there where the fate of the Russian people was being decided. All the events of the Battle of Kulikovo pass before his spiritual gaze. Standing in the church, he informs the astonished brethren about the progress of the battle, from time to time naming the names of the fallen soldiers and immediately reading prayers for them. Finally, he announced the decisive victory of the Russian people and offered prayerful thanks to God. It was in the 16th century, during the era of the struggle against external enemies, during the time of princely strife, that a saint appeared in Rus', whose life was spent in the service of God. In the minds of the people, Sergius of Radonezh is a mediator between the earthly world and the divine forces. The people perceive him as an intercessor before the Lord for the Russian land. For Russian people, the name of Sergius of Radonezh has become an example of righteous life for many centuries. Therefore, in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to St. Sergius, as to an inexhaustible spring of the strong Russian spirit, thousands of people come to worship, for edification, prayer, and to this day.