Calendar of Serbian saints. Saint venerable Simeon myrrh-streaming Serbian Simeon myrrh-streaming Serbian icons

Stefan Nemanya was at first a zhupan, that is, the sovereign prince of a small principality, then he became the great zhupan of Serbia, and finally united all the lands where the Serbs lived under his rule.

Like his father, he was somewhat dependent on the Byzantine emperor, but then became a completely independent ruler of Serbia. All this happened in the XII century.

With regard to the religious dependence of Serbia, it should be noted that Serbia at first depended on Rome in ecclesiastical terms.

But then Stefan Nemanya saw that Catholicism, the longer time goes on, the more and more it becomes an obstacle to both Orthodoxy and the free development of its people. Recognizing this, he decided to break all ties with papism and carried out his intention.

First of all, he solemnly accepted a second baptism according to the Orthodox rite. Later on, he firmly adhered to Orthodoxy, thanks to which he gained the universal love of the Serbs, who adhered to the Orthodox faith. Therefore, when zhupans hostile to him, as well as his own brothers, attacked him, the people took his side.

In this struggle, God did not leave Stephen without His heavenly help. So, when one day the brothers brought Hungarians, Germans and Greeks against him, then one priest had a vision that consoled Stefan Nemanya. A certain warrior appeared to this priest at night and, to the priest’s question, who he was, he answered: “I am the servant of Christ George, I was sent to help your sovereign Stefan.” Indeed, Stefan won a brilliant victory over his enemies. Thanks to this victory, his brothers had to humble themselves and renounce all relations with the Pope.

The pious Stefan showed no less perseverance in the fight against Arianism, which took root in Serbia. He assembled a council at which Arianism was condemned. Stefan Nemanja also fought against the heresy of the Bogomils and the remnants of paganism that still persisted in the remote places of Serbia.

Thanks to the efforts of the pious prince, the unity of the holy faith was established in Serbia. Pure Christianity poured life, order and strength into the political body of Serbia as well. Stefan returned to Serbia the indigenous Slavic settlements occupied by the Greeks, and elevated the Serbian nationality, although this cost him a long struggle.

Loving the holy Orthodox faith, Stefan Nemanya diligently built hearths and strongholds Christian faith- monasteries. His worries St. Stephen also extended to the parish clergy.

The essence of the activity of this pious prince was especially well represented by his son St. Savva. The latter wrote to Stephen, his father: “Moved by the Apostolic spirit, you enlightened your people with Orthodoxy, exterminated heresies, overthrew demonic temples and erected churches to God. Now it remains for you to fulfill the words of the Son of God, who says in the Gospel: “If anyone wants to follow Me, deny yourself (that is, do not think about your own benefits), take up your cross and follow Me.”

Stefan took these words to heart and decided to carry out this advice. He gathered the nobles and people chosen from the people and announced to them his desire to leave the world and take the monastic vows; he passed the throne to his eldest son Stefan, who later became the First-Crowned King of Serbia. In vain Stefan Nemanja was persuaded to cancel his decision, he was adamant. Soon Stefan was, to his joy, tonsured a monk with the name of Simeon; his wife followed suit.

St. Simeon first labored at the monastery of Studenica, then moved to Athos to his son. Here he settled in the Vatopedi monastery. Together with his son, he went through various ascetic feats, fasted and often prayed to God. Soon a happy thought came to his mind - to arrange such a monastery on Athos, where only Serbs could enter as monks. Choosing a place for such a monastery, St. Simeon and St. Savva came across the deserted Hilandar monastery. The Greeks, however, did not want to give it to them. Then Savva turned to the abbot of the entire Holy Mount Athos, and he provided them with Hilandar. The Hilandar monastery was quickly rebuilt and soon received the rights of an independent monastery. There was no shortage of Serb monks.

But the life of St. Simeon in Hilandar: only 8 months old. Feeling the approach of death, he asked the brethren of the monastery to pray for him, to transfer his body to Serbia and not to forget the Serbian land and the Church. At midnight, despite his weakness, he received the Holy Mysteries and was dressed in all monastic attire. The great moment has come. Saying: “Thank God for everything,” he fell into oblivion. In the morning the brethren came to the sick man to visit him. Surrounding him, they sobbed, but the monk with a joyful face looked at the image of the Savior and whispered: “Let every breath praise the Lord.” Saint Simeon died peacefully on February 13 (26), 1200, at the age of 86.

His relics were discovered a year after his death. His marble coffin was filled with a fragrant world. All who saw this were amazed and exclaimed: “Lord, have mercy!” Sick, obsessed evil spirits, being anointed with the world, received healing. Therefore, St. Simeon is not otherwise called in the monuments of antiquity, as "myrrh-bearer".

In 1202, when internecine strife was devastating Serbia, the Hungarian king Emerich invaded the country with his army. He granted Vukan (one of the sons of Stefan Nemanja, who rebelled against his older brother Stefan) the grand throne and gave his consent to be crowned and elevated to royal dignity, but under the condition of recognizing the supreme power of the Hungarian king over Serbia; at the same time, Emerich added to his title the title of King of Serbia.

A bloody war devastated Serbia, Stefan fought back with difficulty, and at that time he also turned to his brother, Saint Sava. Stefan asked Savva to bring to Serbia the relics of their father, Rev. Stefan Nemanja, to save the country. Stephen wrote:
“My brother neglected the will of his father and his master - he brought foreigners to his fatherland, took it away and devastated it, not listening to the commandment of God: honor your father and mother. But - we hoped not for our weapons, but for the power of the Lord, the Savior Jesus Christ. And they were not deceived in their hope. Having overthrown them by His power, the Lord returned them to His fatherland. I beg you reverend father Savva, bring the fragrant relics of the saint. After your departure, our land became defiled by our iniquities, covered with blood, captured by foreigners, enemies overcame us, and out of mutual hatred, we became a laugh for our neighbors. Perhaps, with your holy prayers, your coming to us, the all-merciful God will have mercy on us and gather together the scattered and shame the opponents.

Saint Sava heeded Stefan's request and arrived in Serbia with the relics of his father. Vukan, out of respect for his father, came to the meeting of the relics, and being a witness of miracles from them, according to Savva, he swore an oath not to disturb his brother anymore in his legal rights.

Thus, the transfer of the relics of St. Simeon served to establish peace in the Serbian land. The holy relics of St. Simeon were laid in the monastery of Studenica, where they rest to this day.

Troparion of St. Stephen, in monasticism Simeon, King of Serbia, myrrh-streaming, tone 3

Enlightened by divine grace, / and after death show the lordship of your life, / exude a world of fragrance / flowing to the race of your relics, / and you guided your people to the light of God's understanding, / Simeone, our father, / pray to Christ God / grant us great mercy.

The cloisters of the sacred builders of Hilandar / and Athos lamps, praise to Serbia, / Simeon the greatest, reverend beauty, / and his wonderful family, the saint, - I say, - Savva, / come according to honor, saying: / pray to Christ God / for your flock, blessedness , / and about the hedgehog of the Church to be freer from circumstances.

Common troparion of Saints Simeon Myrrh-streaming and his son, Saint Sava the First, Archbishop of Serbia, tone 1

Even warm intercessors in sorrow and misfortune, / Simeon the God-bearing and Savva the first hierarch, / let us fall to him with faith, / as if by prayers we deliver them from misfortunes, / according to duty

let us glorify the Savior and God, saying: / glory to Him who gave you a fortress, / glory to Him who glorified you miracles, / glory to Him who delivered us from sorrows with your prayers.

Kontakion of St. Stephen, in monasticism Simeon, King of Serbia, myrrh-streaming, tone 6

Having loved the life of an angel on earth, / leaving the world and the world, / with the forgiveness of Christ, Simeon, you followed, / you apostolicly instructed those who love you, crying out: / love God, as He loves us.

General kontakion of Saints Simeon Myrrh-streaming and his son, Saint Savva the First, Archbishop of Serbia

Loving the high life, glory, / despising the life that exists on earth. / For this sake, in the highest from the Angels always rejoicing, / pray for all of us.

In kontakion of St. Stephen, in monasticism Simeon, king of Serbia, myrrh-streaming, tone 2

Accept the yoke of Christ, Simeone, / and, taking up that Cross, followed Him, / planted in the house of the Lord, prospering, like a date, / like a cedar, like a date in Lebanon, you have multiplied your children, / a man of spiritual desires, a miracle worker for appearing, / Pray unceasingly to Christ God for all of us.

General kontakion of the Monk Simeon Myrrh-streaming and his son, St. Savva the First, Archbishop of Serbia

Today, Simeon and Savva, blessed, having come in soul, / save their flock from circumstances: / these are for the Trinity preaching the One God, / the Church is affirmed, / in the monks Myrrh-streaming and in the saints, the miracle worker: / these are for and in the battles of the invincible defender appear, / Praise of Athos and the Serbian people's fortress.

In contact with

Venerable Simeon the Myrrh-streaming.

This is one of the most amazing saints. In many ways, he has no equal and never will, because too much in his life, in his destiny, in his soul, in his holy heritage is completely exclusive and has no similarity in church history. At the same time, this saint is practically unknown in Russia: his son, Saint Savva of Serbia, is much better known. For the first time in our collection, an expanded life of St. Simeon, translated into Russian, is published, taken from the Serbian Menologion, along with a laudatory word to the saint. And yet, before the life itself, clarifications should be given, because in the Serbian life a lot is taken for granted.

First of all, you need to understand why the Monk Simeon is glorified with the honorary title of Myrrh-streaming. If the incorruption of relics in the Church is quite common, then the chrismation from relics is a much rarer phenomenon and often manifests itself at a time or periodically, and not constantly. The Monk Simeon is called Myrrh-streaming, because his relics have been glorified since ancient times for myrrh-streaming. This testifies that this royal righteous man especially pleased God.

His special holiness is also confirmed by the fact that he became the only founder of the dynasty in the world, which gave many saints and is called in Serbian history the “Light-bearing vine of Nemanjina” after the secular name of the saint - Nemanja.

The sons of St. Simeon the Myrrh-streaming were Saint Savva of Serbia (1169-1237) - the founder of the Serbian Church and Saint Stephen the First-crowned (1196-1228) - the first all-Serbian king, crowned king by Orthodox tradition, in 1221 in the Zica monastery. St. Stephen Radoslav (1228-1234) and St. Vladislav (1234-1243) became his heirs. Then Saint Uros the Great (1243-1276) became king. He was succeeded by his sons: Dragutin (1276-1282), who voluntarily left the throne and became a monk with the name Feoktist, and Saint Milutin (1282-1321). Both brothers became famous as great defenders of Orthodoxy. The son of St. Milutin was the holy martyr Tsar Stefan of Dechansky (1321-1331), and the grandson of the martyr king Stefan of Dechansky was the holy Tsar Uros the Nesilny (1355-1371), under whom the kingdom of Serbia began to fragment. In the future, less well-known saints and more distant descendants of St. Simeon go in a straight line and along women's lines kinship.

The light-bearing vine of the Nemanichs is not only a beautiful poetic epithet of the dynasty, but also a very specific miracle. On Holy Mount Athos, St. Simeon himself planted a fertile vine, and for many centuries people who eat its fruits have been healed of barrenness. As has just been said, Saint Simeon received such great grace from God that he became the progenitor of many saints who became the defenders of Orthodoxy. No one, except him, in the New Testament Church of Christ was awarded such a great reward. How great was the power of holiness in this extraordinary man, that it was enough for many reigns of the holy kings - his direct descendants, and for the whole Serbian people, to whom it was he who gave a great movement towards holiness along the sacred path of the Orthodox faith!

Saint Simeon gave an unfading example of the holy government of the country and people. The Great Martyr George of Christ galloped in front of his army on a white horse, defeating the enemies of the saint. The elders of Athos revered him when he left the throne in his declining years and spent the last years of his life in great monastic deeds. His immortal soul belongs to the whole Church - to all of us, by the great grace given to him by God, but he is especially close to Montenegro.

He was born in Podgorica when his father hid here for many years during the turmoil, and here he spent his childhood. Later, having united all the Serbian lands, he established his second royal court here - in the Montenegrin Primorye, in the city of Kotor, which gave the name to the Bay of Kotor. This city he fortified and rebuilt. He also fortified and rebuilt the southernmost city of modern Montenegro - Ulcinj, and the most important port of modern Montenegro - the city of Bar. And the famous city of Skadar, which gave its name to the most beautiful Skadar Lake, he rebuilt (renewed) in such a way that he can rightfully be considered its second founder. And this is not counting other, less significant cities, rebuilt by him on the land of modern Montenegro after the recapture from Byzantium in 1186.

In his life, I would like to note an important act. Being baptized into Latinism in his youth, he later considered this baptism to be completely invalid and was already baptized in a truly - Orthodox way, never allowing any compromises between true Christianity and heresy, albeit very widespread and influential. That is why he so abruptly and irrevocably eradicated bogomilism in his country. This holy love of truth forever shaped the Serbian folk soul, giving it that special directness and strength that is still felt in Serbian Orthodoxy. This particularly striking feature of his character, no doubt, was formed in him precisely in his youth spent in Montenegro, where people have long been distinguished by their direct, sharp, uncompromising and warlike character, which only made possible the later emergence of an extraordinary theocratic state here.

It was here, in his native land, that the saint received that sacrificial, selfless, heroic holiness of his character, which subsequently led all of Serbia along its special path in world history - the same heroic and sacrificial one. He later became the prince of Raska, a small part of which now belongs to Montenegro (far north and northeast), while most of the historical Raska belongs to Serbia. Raska under St. Simeon became the core of the unification of Serbian lands and still has the honorary name of "Old Serbia" among the Serbian people. In the Montenegrin part of Raska, the monastery of Dyurdyevi Stupovi, founded in 1113 by the native nephew of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming Pervoslav Nemanich, that is, the “St.

As already mentioned, on the site of modern Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, St. Simeon was born (the city was then called Rybnitsa) and grew up. He carried his love for his native land through his entire subsequent life. The Serbian lands of Primorye, which were captured by Byzantium after St. John-Vladimir, he won back. The same applies to Skenderia - the immediate vicinity of Lake Skadar. In addition, the holy ruler of Serbia transferred to the lands of modern Montenegro - to the city of Kotor, on Primorye - his court, in which his future heirs grew up. This proves his special love for his native land.

Almost all the lands of modern Montenegro were spiritually and politically united in the XII century by him - St. Simeon the Myrrh-streaming. So we can assume that he was not just a Montenegrin saint, but also laid the foundation for the future greatness of Montenegro, becoming the spiritual unifier of these indigenous lands of the heroic Serbian people, leaving here forever the best, brightest part of his great holy soul.

The life of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming before his abdication.

The great ascetic, our reverend father Simeon the Myrrh-streaming - Stefan Nemanya was at first the great lord of the Serbian people, the unifier of the Serbian lands, the creator of an independent Serbian state, the defender of Orthodoxy, the exterminator of heresy. At the same time, all his life he was a man of great faith, great love, great prayer, great mercy, great gospel zeal. He, in the words of his biographer Hieromonk Domentian of Hilandar, “from his youth desired to serve God with holiness and truth all the days of his life before Him.” His life, full of the God and truth of the Gospel, was described by his two holy sons: Saint Savva and Saint Stephen the First-crowned, as well as the disciple of Saint Savva, Hieromonk Domentian of Hilandar.

Stefan Nemanja was born around 1113 in Zeta, in Rybnitsa and was baptized in Latin here. When his father returned to his capital (to the city of Ras, the capital of the region of Raska, where the saint himself later began to rule. - Per.), He was baptized from Orthodox saint and a bishop in the Serbian land, in the church of the saints of all praise and the supreme supreme Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul.

This church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is the oldest Serbian church. It is located north of Novy Pazar at the confluence of the Dezheva River with Raska, on its left side. Here Stefan Nemanja gathered a council against the Bogomils, here he abdicated; there was also the chair of the Bishop of Raska.

Stefan Nemanya was the youngest of the brothers, but "God's grace is above all." The chosen one of God grew up in the house of his parents in all piety and purity, and as a prince he received from his father one of the limits of his fatherland: Toplitsa, Ibar, Rasina. Being wise and cautious, he first became the great župan of Raška in 1168. For a short period from 1183 to 1186, Nemanja united most of the Serbian lands. Soon after that, he becomes the first ruler in history who united under his rule all the lands where the Serbs lived.

Saint Sava says about this: “He renewed the hereditary fatherland and strengthened it with God's help and the wisdom given to him by God. He returned the lost heritage of his great-grandfathers, returning from Primorye the region of Zeta with cities, from Rabna - both Pologs, from Byzantium - Patkovo, all Khvoeno and Podrimla, Kostrats, Drashkovina, Sitnitsa, Lab, Liplyan, Glubochitsa, Reka, Ushna and Pomoravle, Zagrlata, Levche, Belitsu Everything that was once taken by force from great-grandfathers, he collected with his courage and work. At first, Stefan Nemanja, like his father, was in vassal dependence on the Byzantine emperor, but later he freed himself from it and became a completely independent ruler, with the title "Lord of all Serbian lands." Its capital was "in the middle of the Serbian land." It was the city of Ras, half an hour from the modern New Pazar.

Together with the reunification of all Serbian lands, Stefan Nemanja zealously worked to establish Orthodoxy, thereby satisfying both his personal spiritual interests and the interests of the state. At the same time, he argued with his brothers, from whom he suffered a lot of trouble. Full of faith, he lovingly built a temple in his area in Toplitsa, at the mouth of the Kosanitsa River. And, decorating it with everything necessary for worship, he established a dormitory for nuns there, headed by his honest and God-loving wife Anna. He entrusted her care and the temple Holy Mother of God, and the nuns of this holy monastery. She obeyed him with all her good soul, guarding the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, which her holy master entrusted to her. And again, St. Stephen the First-Crowned tells us, this holy master of ours, unable to stop his heart, inflamed with love for Christ, began to build a temple to the holy bishop and miracle worker Nicholas, not far from the church of the Most Holy Theotokos at the mouth of the Banskaya River. He walked barefoot until his death, for the sake of fulfilling the words of the Savior: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). While he was building a temple to the holy wonderworker Nicholas, a quick helper in trouble, his brothers, prompted by the devil and seized with evil jealousy and fierce anger, decided to grieve the saint and frustrate his work, saying: “Why do you do what you should not do? You did not agree with us, but you are doing what is better than what is with us!” And the saint meekly and with a kind smile answered them: “My dear brothers! We are the sons of one father and one mother, so that this work of mine, which I began for the Lord, and I will complete in my area, will not be angry with you. What I do, be it good or bad, let it be in my share, at my expense. Ask the Lord God for His bounties and mercies - may each of you accept them.

And he completed the temple to the holy miracle worker Nicholas, established a monastic rule in it, so that they would constantly glorify the Lord God. And he lived in peace, thanks to God and the Most Holy Theotokos and the holy miracle worker Nicholas, until the evil of the devil overwhelmed him. For the brothers conspired among themselves, not excluding the eldest brother, who then owned all the Serbian land (free from Byzantium. - Per.), To call this chaste and holy man, seize, shackle with chains and throw him into a stone cave. Sitting in a cave in sad thoughts, he prayed to the holy warrior - the great martyr and Victorious George, saying these words: “O holy martyr, martyr George, who for the sake of Christ endured suffering and all sorts of countless torments and wounds! - and you were in severe captivity, you were torn to pieces and called on your Lord, your Lord Jesus Christ, to come to save you, heal and console you. You even looked at your death as a slaughter, like the gentle lamb of Christ, saying: accept, Lord, my prayer - let those who will be in trouble and captivity, or in prison, or at the sea and call upon Your philanthropy in my name, then You them, O Lord, for the sake of Thy unspeakable mercy, be merciful! And the Lord heard your prayer and fulfilled your request for the sake of your worthy labors. For, truly, worthily you pleased, holy martyr of Christ, your Lord Christ. And I speak with the Lord, being sinful and unworthy. With what eyes will I, darkened, dare to look into the heights of heaven, with what mouth will I call on the terrible Heavenly Father and you, holy one ?! But have pity, sufferer of Christ, over me, passionate and poor, implore your Lord Jesus Christ, Who promised you to fulfill petitions! Yes, by invoking your holy name, I will now be delivered from these torments and chains in order to serve you, holy one, all the days of my life, until my last breath: in the way that will be pleasing to the height of your suffering, by the mercy and mercy of Christ, who glorified and crowned you in the whole world for all ages, amen!”

The martyr of Christ heard the prayer of the holy man and fulfilled everything he asked him to do. And the holy sovereign began quickly, without any delay, with zeal and love to build a temple to the holy and glorious Great Martyr of Christ George. He completed the construction, calling on his good helper, decorated the temple in every possible way and provided it with everything necessary for worship. He established a monastic rule, and the monks here served the Lord with holiness and truth, and incessantly glorified the Great Martyr George, the holy protector in troubles and dangers. This was done for the praise of the saint and for sanctification, as well as for the salvation of the souls of the monks.

When the evil-minded brothers hired German, Byzantine and Hungarian detachments for the war with their brother and led them against the saint right into his inheritance and reached the place that was called Pantin, he cried out from the depths of his soul to his Lord Jesus Christ and to the great martyr George of Christ begging for help. And when he was near the city of Zvechan, where there was a church of the Great Martyr George, he chose several priests and sent them to pray to Saint George so that he would come to his aid and fight with him against the enemies. The priests sent by him, at the command of their master, served all-night vigil and morning, and then the holy and Divine Liturgy. When, after many hours of prayer, they lay down to rest and fell asleep, then one of the priests appeared a holy ambulance in full military equipment. Terrified, the priest asked: "Who are you, sir?" And he answered: “I am the servant of Christ George, sent by the Lord God Himself to help your master, in order to defeat his enemies with the arms of the cross and destroy their vain intentions.”

The priest immediately informed his master of this, and in the morning a fierce battle took place. With the help of God and the help of the Holy Great Martyr of Christ George, Stefan Nemanya defeated his enemies and foreign peoples. Then he returned to his state to the throne of his fatherland and began to live, thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, a quick helper in troubles of the miracle worker Nicholas and a companion in battles of the holy Great Martyr George, who kept him unharmed from enemies. The holy ruler ordered and stood in a multitude of day and night services before the Lord. Having assumed authority over his fatherland, he served the Lord with a humble spirit, a pure and contrite heart. Sons and daughters were born to him, and he brought them up in all piety and purity, and taught them the fear of God, great humility and wisdom. Says Domentian: “Who can adequately tell about his many prayers at night and about the deeds of mercy during the day? For he once heard the word of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar: King, may my advice be pleasing to you: atone for your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy to the poor (Dan. 4, 24). Whatever the monk listened to, he fulfilled in practice, responding to every request, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and watering the thirsty, visiting the sick, redeeming debtors, freeing slaves.

The Christ-loving sovereign, full of holy zeal for the divine truth of the Orthodox faith, tried with the courage of a confessor to eradicate heresies in his fatherland, where heretics with their false teachings poisoned the soul of the faithful people. One of the faithful soldiers said to him: “Lord, I am one of the worst and least of your servants and, seeing your jealousy for your Lord the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Most Pure Lady of the Mother of God, and for the holy saints of God - your defenders, who support your power with a strong hand unshakable, I must tell your power that a vile and damned heresy is taking root more and more in your state (We are talking about bogomilism, in which Christian doctrine is intertwined with various Middle Eastern and Slavic mystical teachings and superstitions).

Nemanya immediately convened a council, to which he called his bishop Evtimiy, monks with abbots, honest priests, elders and nobles from small to great. And, turning to everyone, he said: “You see, fathers and brothers, that I am the worst among my brothers, but the Lord God and the Most Pure Mother of His Mother of God do not look at the face of a person and honored me, the worst, who believes in the consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, so that I kept the flock handed over to me by Them, which you see now - so that the seed of the evil and disgusting devil is not sown in it. I never thought that he was so present in my state, but now I hear more and more that this evil-minded short time rooted and blasphemes against the Holy Spirit and divides the indivisible Deity, as the mad Arius said, dissecting the consubstantial Trinity. So these fools follow his teachings, they do not know, the poor, that because of such faith they will find themselves with him at the bottom of hell.

While a great strife was in full swing at the cathedral, the daughter of one of Nemanya's orthodox nobles came, who was married to one of those crooked ones. She was in their company and realized all their impurity and filth, but she did not at all get dirty about their faith. She fell at the feet of the saint and confessed unequivocally, saying: “Lord, my lord! - here we see how your power is in this vile and disgusting faith. Truly, my lord, according to the marriage law, I was begged from my father, your servant, who thought that there was only one faith in your state. And she was with those transgressors and saw, sir, where they really serve Satan himself, who has fallen away from the glory of God. And I can no longer endure the stench of deaf idols and vile heresy, left their hands and ran here and cry out to your power: strike with the cross those who are fighting with us, so that the impious enemies will test how strong your faith is, lord!

The holy sovereign brought this woman out, and placed before everyone at the cathedral, and exposed the crooked heretics. And the council decided to eradicate heresy. Jealous of the Lord God Almighty, as once the prophet Elijah, God-loving Nemanya sent an army against heretics, executed them in various ways, and distributed their houses and property to lepers and the poor. He cut out the tongue of their chief teacher and elder for not confessing Christ as the Son of God, burned his ungodly books, and sent him into exile, forbidding even to mention his accursed name. And he completely eradicated this accursed faith, and from now on it was not commemorated in his power, but the consubstantial indivisible and life-giving Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Spiritually uniting the people with common faith, Nemanya gave himself up to the cause of joining to his state those areas that were inhabited by Serbs, but were under the rule of Byzantium. “And he added,” says St. Stephen the First-Crowned, “to the land of his fatherland the region of Nishava to the edge, Liplyan and Morava, and called Vranje, the Prizren region, and both Pologs to the edge. He returned Duklja and Dalmatia - his fatherland and his birthplace, his true heritage, which the Greek people held by force, so that that area was called Greek. Cities were built in it by his hands: Dan city, Sardrnika city, Drivost, Rosaf city, called Skadar, Svach city, Ltsin city (Ulcinj is the southernmost city of modern Montenegro. - Per.) and the glorious city of Bar (now the most important port in Montenegro. - Per.). And Kotor (the main city of Boka Kotorska - Kotor Bay; was one of the most significant centers of navigation on the Adriatic. - Per.) Fortified and transferred his court to it (the capital was still the city of Ras in the Raska region. - Per.) " . And Saint Stephen the First Crowned adds: “He defeated his enemies, unremittingly bearing the cross of Christ before his eyes and with it he won victory over enemy barbarians. And he lived in thanksgiving to God and in prayer day and night.

When, with God's help, all this was accomplished, says the holy First-Crowned King, this holy master of mine, always having in his heart the inexpressible fear of God, was afraid of one of the Savior's parables, saying: my Lord, which He told: A certain rich man had a good harvest in the field<…>and said:<…>I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather there all my bread and all my goods, and I will say to my soul: soul! a lot of good lies with you for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry! (Luke 12:16-19); and, not paying attention to time, seeks to overtake me that very word spoken at the end by God: Crazy! This very night your soul will be taken from you; who will get what you have prepared? (Luke 12:20). Oh! Then, brothers, who will be able to endure or endure this formidable and terrible judgment seat of Him or the irresistible wrath of God, which will rush upon us sinners? But, Lord, Lord, spare and have mercy on Your servant, for, I know, my iniquities are truly great and are always open before You, Lord! Therefore I will make a beginning in my heart: let it endure and let it fear thy holy name. According to the Apostle Paul I say: You who have wives, be as if they had not, keep yourselves pure and in the commandments of the Lord. Therefore, I, a sinner, present as witnesses of my firm decision, as his Guardian for the sake of Your holy name - the Most Pure and Most Holy Mother: Lord, for the sake of you I am separated from my relationship with my wife and I put You, my Lord, Jesus Christ, for the Leader and Guardian my old age and the Mentor on the path, walking along which and glorifying Your name, I do not want to stumble. I also want to erect a temple to Your Most Pure and All-Immaculate Mother, the Benefactor, and there I want to fulfill for You all my vows that my lips have spoken!”

And he began to build the temple of the Most Holy on Ibara, on the river called Studenica. Working on this, he constantly offered up prayers to the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to His Most Pure Mother. In the same way, he sent donations to the saints of God: the great Church of the Lord in Jerusalem and the Church of St. John the Baptist, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bar, the Church of the Holy Ever-Virgin Mother of God Evergetide in Constantinople, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Skopje , which he erected, the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in Thessalonica and the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon in Nis, which he erected. Day and night he cried incessantly: “Saints standing before Christ, and archangels, prophets and apostles, martyrs and hierarchs, reverend fathers and hermits, monks and reverend virgins, pour out your prayers before the Lord of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, may he not condemn me on the day of the Last Judgment and terrible trial, but may he be merciful to me, quiet and indulgent; and, for the sake of the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and your prayers, grant me to go through the storm of this temporary life and enter into a quiet and true unperturbed haven and see my unstoppable Light - the Lord and Savior and my God, the King Jesus Christ, to whom among the saints is the praise of Israel. For the Prophet says: Our fathers hoped in You and were not ashamed; I hope in You and I will be saved (Psalm 21:5-6). Therefore, Lord, do not leave me, the poor, who hopes for Your mercy; do not reject, Savior, and have mercy on your sinful creation, yes, rejecting the beauty of this world, I will follow you, praising and thanking your holy and gentle name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.

Praying in this way from the depths of his heart, he labored in spiritual joy at the temple of the Most Holy One, taking care of its complete completion. For when this holy lord of mine, says St. Stephen the First Crowned, saw how the Most Holy Temple was erected, then, believe me, gentlemen and brothers, I myself saw how he directed his mind to the sky - like an eagle created to soar in heaven, but chained on earth with iron chains and wishing to free himself and soar to the heights in order to reach that immortal and holy Source and see the temple of the City of God - Heavenly Jerusalem, of which he truly became a citizen.

Stefan Nemanya leaves the throne and becomes a monk.

When the thirty-seventh anniversary of the power of our God-loving father came, - says Saint Savva, - the all-merciful Lord did not despise his whole-hearted prayer, but, as graciously accepting work and rewarding, wished everyone to be saved. When the proper time came, this sagacious man, who considered all the glory and all the honors of this world as nothing and saw the beauties of this world in smoke, as love for Christ grew in him, igniting his heart, - like a house preparing to receive Christ, was preparing to become the purest abode of the Holy Spirit. For Christ dwelt in his mind and led him. And he called to himself his noble children and chosen boyars, people small and great, and began to speak to them such his teaching:

“My dear children, whom I nurtured and raised! You all know how God, by His Providence, made me master over you, you also know how I accepted our land at the beginning of the disaster, but, with the help of God and Holy Lady Our Mother of God, I, to the best of my ability, was not lazy, did not give myself rest until everything was corrected. And, by God's help, he expanded our land in length and breadth, which everyone knows. So, until now, I have taught you, as my children, to adhere to the Orthodox faith. Many foreigners rushed at me and attacked me like a swarm of bees, but with the name of the Lord I rose up against them and won. Therefore, you, my dear children, do not forget the teaching and the faithful law that I established. For, holding on to it, you have God as your helper, and the Most Holy Theotokos, and my sinful prayer.

And now let me go, your lord, in peace, so that my eyes see the salvation that the Lord has prepared before the face of all people - a light for the revelation of tongues and for the glory of you, my flock. For we see how everything human, whatever remains after death, is vanity: wealth and glory do not remain, for when death comes, it destroys all this. Because of this, we try in vain. The path we are following is short: our life is smoke, steam, earth and dust. Appears quickly and ends quickly. Therefore, verily, all is in vain. This life is shadow and darkness, and every earthly one labors in vain, as it is said in the book: when we leave this light, we will settle in a tomb, where both kings and the poor will lie. Therefore, my dear children, let me go so that I can go quickly to see the consolation of Israel.”

With these words the good master and the good shepherd taught them, and they all wept and wept and said to him: “Do not leave us orphans, sir, but enlighten us and teach us, good shepherd, who lay down your life for the sheep, for never in your days is a wolf did not seize a sheep from the flock given to you by God. And for all the thirty and seven years of your reign, we have been saved and fed and raised by you, and we don’t know another father and another master but you, our lord!

And the blessed elder, who, in a fatherly way, advised them with wise words to stop lamenting and crying, “by holy insight, he chose his faithful son Stephen and made him the autocratic master of his entire state” and said to everyone: “Now you have him instead of me! - a good root that came out of my womb. I put him on the throne in the power given to me by Christ. And, rising from his throne, says Domentian, he handed it over to his son with every blessing and, blessing him, said: “My beloved child, this throne of my state was given to me by the Lord, the King of Heaven, - I did not take it by any of my strength, but The Lord took a look at my humility, deposed the strong from the throne and lifted me humble to him. And by His power I have had authority on this throne until this hour. And from my youth I wanted to follow my Lord. But as the Lord has pleased me, so it has become with me. Now the Lord's time has come for my salvation. And you, my dear son, bless the most high God, who reigns forever and ever. And may this throne of mine be blessed by the Lord God, so that it can pass from your father to you and your children, and after your children, to all your descendants forever.

And may the Lord my God help you on it, walking, and lying down, and getting up with you, delighting and rejoicing your soul with the comfort of the Holy Spirit and your heart. And may the Lord my God keep you, and may He be your protector in every place. And may the Lord my God keep you from all evil! And may the Lord my God keep your entry and exit into battle with adversaries, with your enemies! And may the Lord my God teach your hands the order of battle and your fingers to fight against your enemies who rise up against you! And may the Lord my God with His holy angels keep you in all your ways! And my holy angel, who has kept me from my youth to this day, may he be with you and, by the abundant mercy of the Lord my God, be able to be the leader of your regiments, as he was the leader of my regiments! * Let him stand with you in the military ranks in all your battles! And the Lord my God, and let my strength teach your feet to do the will of God here, on this throne, and forever and ever. Amen".

And he taught him, - says Stefan the First-crowned himself, - to try about every good deed in his power, to be kind in heart to the Christian people, who are given to him in power, to the flock given to him by God, saying: “My dear child, feed this Israel is mine and take care of it, leading it like Joseph the lambs!” He commanded him to take care of the churches and their ministers, to listen with pleasure to the bishops and clergy, to honor the priests and watch over the monks, "so that they pray for you, and may you not be ashamed of anything before God and people."

In the same way, Stefan Neman blessed his other dear son, Prince Vukan, and made him a great prince, and gave him enough land, and gave him the commandments given before to Stefan. And the good father put them both before him and said to them:

“Sons, do not forget my laws, and let your heart keep my words, so that the years of your belly will be added to you. Do not leave alms and faith, tie them at your door and write them on the tablets of your hearts and receive grace. Think about what is good before God and people. Rely on God with all your heart and do not try to be lifted up by your wisdom. See that your paths in which you walk are straight, lest you stumble. Do not think highly of yourself, but fear the Lord and turn away from all evil - then your body will have health, and your bones will rest. Honor the Lord from your righteous labors and give Him the first grain from your righteous fruits, so that your barns may be filled with plenty of wheat, and your winepresses may flow with wine. Sons, do not despair when God punishes you, and do not shrink when He convicts you. For whom the Lord loves, he punishes and beats every son whom he receives. Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who has seen understanding. For it is better to acquire wisdom than sacristies of gold and silver. She is dearer than precious stones, she is not afraid of any evil, and she is sweet to everyone who approaches her. Every other precious thing is less important than her, for the length of the days of life is in her right hand, and in her left hand is wealth and glory. Truth comes out of her mouth, and she carries the law and mercy on her tongue. Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are in the world. She is the tree of life for all who cling to her and lean on her as an indestructible wall.

I give you this commandment: love one another and have no evil among yourselves. You, Vukan, submit and be obedient to your brother, and from God and from me, placed on my throne. And you, Stefan, when you rule, do not harm your brother, but honor him. For whoever does not love his brother does not love God. God is love. Therefore, whoever loves God, let him also love his brother. For this is the whole law: the apostles learned it, the martyrs were crowned with it, the prophets spoke about it. So, if you want and obey me, then you will inherit the blessings of the earth, but if you do not want and obey me, then the weapon will destroy you. May peace rest upon you, my dear sons, from the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God, covering and shielding you from all enemies, visible and invisible, and directing you to the path of peace.

Peace be to you, my nobles and boyars! Peace to you too, young men whom you raised and raised from the birth of your mothers. Peace to all of you, the verbal flock of Christ given to me by God - I have shepherded you and kept you intact, like a good shepherd, laying down my life for you. Therefore, I beg you, my beloved children, rich and poor, old and young, adhere to my teaching - the teaching of your father. Fear God, honor those in authority, decorate churches so that they adorn you, listen to bishops, honor priests, respect the monastic order, so that they always pray for you. And you, living in truth and in love among yourselves, do not forget about almsgiving. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen".

All those present wept and sobbed that they were parting with such a ruler and shepherd, wept and sobbed and could not be consoled. For truly, I myself am at a loss, - says Saint Sava, - how to call him: a good master? orthodoxy teacher? good father? a shepherd who faithfully shepherded the flock entrusted to him? a church enlightener and a teacher of good customs, who was always in prayer? a great minister to the poor, who loved them? A mentor of orthodoxy and a teacher of good faith and a luminary of purity in the universe? A mentor full of faith and a model of meekness and fasting? A mentor of wisdom and an adviser and punisher of the foolish? Keeper of his flock and wise protector of all those who live near him? For, truly, all this was in him, he was full of wisdom and understanding, and the grace of God was upon him.

Having blessed his people, this wise and marvelous man left the power given to him by God, and all his various and numerous blessings, for this was pleasing to Christ God and the Most Holy Theotokos in order to satisfy his inexpressible and holy desire. Having distributed all his property to the poor, he leaves the throne, his children and his wife and becomes a partaker of the ineffable, and honest, and holy angelic, and apostolic face, small and great, and the name Simeon was given to him on the holy Annunciation on March 25, 1195. On the same day, the wife Anna, given to him by God, the mistress of the whole Serbian land, took on the same holy image, and the name Anastasia was given to her. “Wishing for the Kingdom of Heaven,” says Domentian, the creator of his life, “he left the earthly kingdom and this world and everything in this world. And, leaving earthly things to the earth, seeking the higher, he followed Christ.” Having accomplished all this, says Saint Sava, our lord and father withdrew to our monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos, Studenitsa, which he erected, and Madame Anastasia withdrew to the monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos. in Ras. And this wonderful father of ours and ktitor Mr. Simeon dwelt among us in all good faith and purity, prospering and teaching everyone with his spiritual exploits. For he truly fulfilled what was written in the Gospel: he sold everything he had and bought one precious pearl - Christ (Matt. 13:46), for whose sake he did all this, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior given to the young man: if you want to be perfect, go, all what you have, sell and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross (Mark 10:21). Having accomplished all this, the blessed elder remained in Studenica for two years and multiplied the number of Christ's flock in the monastic rank. And he lived here with honest monks according to the rule and commandment of the holy and God-bearing fathers and was never lazy.

He desired to ascend to the highest spiritual level, meaning the words Holy Scripture: no prophet is accepted in his own country (Lk. 4, 24.) In the soul of our blessed father Simeon, along with the desire for a higher spiritual life, there was also a fiery desire to join his son - Saint Sava on the Holy Mountain, who called him from the very beginning from the Holy Mountain to renounce the throne and follow Christ by the path of monasticism. The creator of the life of St. Domentian wrote about it this way:

“Our holy and reverend father Simeon from the bottom of his heart wrote a letter full of paternal love to the Holy Mountain to his dear son, the God-wise Savva, a mentor of monks and a desert dweller, a carnal angel, an imitator Heavenly Forces incorporeal, a zealot for the deeds of the saints and their companion, a heavenly citizen who, through fasting, vigil and prayers, has earned heavenly gifts. And he wrote to him like this: “Listen, my beloved child in Christ, what you wrote to me about earlier, the Lord our God fulfilled, and your prayers for my salvation were not in vain, and what you asked for, what you desired, what you expected with all my soul and what I achieved with all my strength - that the merciful Creator gave me, not because of my righteousness, but because of His immeasurable mercy, which He has in general for all sinners who turn to Him. And he didn’t reject me, but adorned me, honoring me with the grace of an angelic face with the saints, and, following Him according to the Gospel, taking His holy cross on my shoulders, I, according to His unfalse commandment, now joyfully follow Him and follow you, dear child and I try to reach you on the Holy Mountain. And pray for me, our beloved Christ, that, at my one and tenth hour, having joined you, my beloved child, I would become the tiller of Christ's vineyard, and may the All-good Lord God not deprive me of His reward, but may He bestow His abundant mercy both here and in endless eyelids. Amen". This letter from the blessed father of our Simeon, the holy First-crowned King conveys in the following words: “Know, beloved in Christ, that what I asked for and what I desired and what I strove for with all my strength with all my soul, I gave it to me, having mercy on me, my Creator - not according to my iniquities, but according to His infinite and inexpressible mercy and philanthropy: he honored what I desired - an honest angelic face. Rejoice for me too and pray for me to your Lord, so that I, unworthy, and at the twelfth hour deign to enter in order to appear with you as a worker in the vineyard of Christ, so that we accept our reward.

Having received the letter, the God-loving Savva rejoiced in spirit and, multiplying, multiplying prayers before his Lord, with tears offering up praise to the Lord God Almighty and His Most Pure Mother, the Lady of Our Lady, saying: “Thank you, Lord my God Jesus Christ and my Most Pure Lady Theotokos, that they heard my prayer and did not despise my supplication. And by the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother, the Intercessor of our race, You, Lord, did not leave those who seek You, and those who hope in You and who work for Your name.

And he wrote a letter to his reverend father, saying:

“I accepted the Scripture of your holiness and found in it indescribable joy and inexpressible joy, for the Lord, Who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the understanding of the truth, chose your holiness from this vain seething world and added it to all the holy reverend and righteous, offering you angelic life ... Try to come soon, my lord, come, reverend, for Christ, beloved by you, through me - your beloved child, has prepared for you a heavenly and earthly abode - so that those who hope in Him will not be ashamed. Come, holy God-lover, and enter into the joy of your Lord, for those who love Him, everything will go well for good. Come, O God-bearing one, let us fulfill the will of God and fulfill his true commandment: let us first seek the Kingdom of Heaven, and then everything will be added to us (see Mt. 6, 33), and let us bring to our beloved Christ the face of the Chernorizians and the cathedral of saints and the assembly many, all the faithful, so that when they look at us and follow us in this earthly kingdom, we receive double grace - for ourselves and for those to whom we will become an example for their sanctification and for their salvation in God ... Come and come, my lord and father, that you will teach your children the fear of God, and show us the good path of salvation, and show great humility to us who want to live according to your piety, so that we, your children, may magnify the Lord with you, and may the Lord with your holy prayers and he will make us worthy to follow in your holy footsteps. You worked more on the apostolic building of the fundamental in the faith of Christ, and for this you want to accept the highest reward from Christ, Who distributes gifts to everyone according to his work ... Come and come, lamp of God, burning with the grace of God, which shines with the Holy Spirit, for your master Christ is waiting you, to bring Him fruit from the good earth - your immaculate soul, which you strive to purify with cruel abstinence and great humility, in order to bring an immaculate gift to your beloved Christ ... Come and come, beloved of your child, come, led by the Holy Spirit along the divine path and along the small my path, and work hard and find the offspring of your many-loving heart. And come, and come, and help me, and make haste, so that we receive the bounties of the Lord, promised to us and to all who love God and who desire eternal life ... Come and come, the sweetest sorrow of my soul, become like Jacob the God-seer, for you will make Israel and you will experience unexpected joy because of his child, as Jacob because of Joseph, and I will also enjoy your holy love, I, who for many years departed from greatest love my loving father. Come and come, my lord and holy father, may I see enough of your holy gray hairs, and may I kiss them with love, and may I kiss your holy image, which was written in heaven by the Lord God even before your birth ... Come, and while we in this transient life, let us direct a prayer of one mind to the Most Pure Mediator of our life, that she will readily open the heavenly doors of her mercy to us, and we will remain with our Lord forever and ever. Amen"".

Departure of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming to the Holy Mountain and his life on it.

Having received a letter from his son Savva, who honors the Lord, the blessed elder Simeon was inflamed with spirit and began to pray to God, saying: “To the King of glory, the only immortal, the Father of heaven and strength, who, in the goodness of His Providence, does not want any person to perish, but that everyone be saved, do not leave me to perish, for I know how great is Your mercy towards me. And now, Lord, I pray to you - let me complete this aspiration! So saying, he sent for his sons whom God had given him. When they gathered together with the nobles and boyars, the Monk Simeon gave them his blessing for the second time and went to the Holy Mountain on October 8, 1197. Leaving, he ordered his son, ruler Stefan, to keep his commandments and take care of the monastery in Studenica. Also, leaving, he appointed the venerable husband, hieromonk Dionysius, as abbot in Studenitsa and obliged him to take care of the flock of Christ, which is gathered in this holy place, and take care of it.

And he, blessed, - says Saint Sava, - reached the Holy Mountain on November 2, 1197. God-bearing and reverend fathers who lived on the Holy Mountain received him with joy and great honors. And first he stopped at the monastery of Vatopedi, for here he found his coveted, lost lamb - this is what Saint Sava says about himself - and, kissing him and raising him on his shoulders as a reformed one, he took him into his service.

And here they lived in spiritual joy, - says St. Stephen the First-crowned, - in divine services and vigils and in honest prayers day and night. Prot and all the brethren of Svyatogorsk came to him, and bowed to one another to the ground, and with tears they talked with him about the benefits of the soul, and he asked them about their life and about monastic rules. And everyone marveled and glorified the Lord Christ, Who does glorious and majestic deeds and Who did so that the blessed Simeon left his kingdom and the glory of this world and came to the Holy Mountain for monastic exploits. And this holy lord of mine, - continues Stefan the First Crowned, - all, from the greatest to the smallest, bestowed all sorts of gifts on the dignity of each and lit his lamp for everyone.

Heavenly people and earthly angels, - says Domentian about the blessed Simeon and God-bearing Savva, - having reached quiet true humility and despising everything that is lost in this transient world, they cared only about the salvation of their souls. According to the Lord's word, they did not care about anything earthly, but sought only the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness (Matt. 6:33), which they found. Both from youth began to work for the Lord and continued until death according to the true word of the Lord - he who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13; Matt. 10:22). Both took the cross of Christ as a mighty weapon, and went with invincible strength into battle against the enemies, and by their great patience they escaped many snare. Inflamed with the love of Christ, by their feat, with holy tears, they extinguished the fire of malevolence and appeared as multi-luminous lamps of the Church of Christ, sent from God and His Most Pure Mother, and therefore were crowned with incorruptible crowns and received the same glory with the Higher Powers.

Having spent a certain time in Vatopedi, says St. Savva, blessed Simeon, just as he justified his reign in the world, wished to find here a place of salvation for all who came from everywhere. And he begged the king of the Greek Alexei - his friend - an empty place to build a monastery on the Holy Mountain. Finding an empty place called Hilandar, - says the holy Primate, - this saint reverend elder with his son Savva, he sent a letter to his son, the ruler of Serbia, Stefan, to send them in abundance what is necessary for the construction and renovation of Hilandar, the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. The letter said: “O beloved child and servant of Christ! Know that the Lord God and the Most Holy One, by His will and with my blessing, have left you to rule there! I am writing to you that I found an empty place in the middle of the Holy Mountain, in honor of the Introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Hilandar. Do not be lazy, but hasten to erect with your power, to create a temple of the Most Holy One in my memory on this earth, and besides, let it be after me and your children and grandchildren in your family until the age.

For you are a defender of this, because even earlier in writing I handed over to you in my state the church of the Most Holy Theotokos the Benefactor in Studenitsa - not to you with someone else, but only to you alone and to your offspring after you. I remind you of the word of the prophet: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will fulfill the desire of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it. And he will bring out, like light, your righteousness, and your justice, like noon” (see Psalm 36:4-6). Therefore, do not be late, do not sleep, but strive, yes, having fulfilled these my words, with my blessing you will do your good deed.

His son wholeheartedly accepted with great joy the message of the holy master Simeon and his embassy. He got up from his throne, fell prostrate on the ground and said with tears: “Thank you, Lord my Lord Jesus Christ, that you allowed me, your unworthy servant, to go after the affairs of my former guardian, who cared about preserving my earthly body, and now , moving away from me, constantly and unceasingly takes care of my soul and directs me to his path, so that I follow his deeds. For truly, Lord, the real and true servant of Yours is the one who follows Your words and does not disdain Your love of mankind to bring the lost, the backslidden, the prodigal and the sinners, as well as me unworthy. Although I am far from Him, He makes me a participant and a patron of His holy temples, not according to my dignity, but according to His indescribable mercy. Therefore, how can I repay You, Lord, or what can I bring You from my unworthiness for Your good deeds, which You have done and are doing to me a sinner? For how can I express or express the greatness of Your power or the abyss of Your humanity? Or how can I endure Your uncontrollable wrath, which is against us sinners? But You are doubly good, O Lord, and You do good as the Merciful. Therefore, I, marveling at Your power, exclaim to You: “Glory to Your love of mankind, O Lord, forever. Amen!""

After that, through Abbot Methodius, the sovereign Stephen sent to his parent many and immeasurable gifts for the founding and completion of the Church of the Most Holy One, and more than once. Every year he sent everything that was necessary for the holy master, until he completed the temple of the Most Holy. He sent not only gifts, but also from his land, doubling the flow of funds, gave them for complete completion to the lord saint and the monks, saying this: “Give a true bow to my lord - this is what your servant says:“ all your commandments are fulfilled and the desire of your heart is fulfilled. For in what way or with what mind would I, a poor man, turn away and not fulfill your holy commandments?! How could I forget your kindness to me and your good upbringing? For Christ breathed the spirit into me, and you raised me, and guided, and taught me. And, by the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ, with a fair teaching and blessing of your lips and your holy prayer, I am protected, I will not be afraid when they attack me from everywhere, I will not be afraid of the hands of foreign barbarians. After all, Peter said to his Lord when washing his feet: Lord! Not only my feet, but also my hands and head (John 13:9). So, sir, I, your unworthy servant, constantly cry out to your holiness: not only what I bring you now, but also my whole earthly body, if your holiness needs it. But, my lord, command both other things and everything that must be done, for I will not weaken until my last breath. For I did not acquire all this myself, but you did it, my lord, and you do everything with the help of your Lord. After all, what was lost, you returned and gathered what was wasted, and drove out heresies with the help of your Christ, and you raised the people and the land of your state as if from an abyss, teaching you to magnify God and glorify holy name His. After all, you are truly a good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, driving away heretical teachings from your flock, like mental wolves. And what am I, sir? - only obedience that looks at your exploits! But pray to the Lord for me, lest I transgress your holy commandments, lest I detract from Christ's good faith, which you sacredly established, but let me supplement and complete, as Solomon the Wise supplemented and completed what his father David did not complete. Indeed, the Truth Itself - Christ is the Witness of your many deeds and the holy church of the Most Holy Theotokos, which you adorned with your great divine mind, and sculpted with wisdom, and clothed in splendor, and graciously elevated it to the heights of heaven! Through Her most pure and unceasing prayers and your holy prayers, and in endless ages, may the all-good Lord not deprive me of the Kingdom of Heaven with its inexpressible glory, abiding blessings and endless life. Amen".

When Abbot Methodius with gifts reached the God-bearing pair - Saints Simeon and Savva, he handed over the letter and told how with what great honor he was received, and everything that happened, and how his dear son fulfilled the will of his heart and fulfilled all his commandments. And they offered praise to God and His Most Pure Mother for everything they heard about their beloved. And with God's help, - says the biographer Domentian, - and the haste of the Holy Spirit, and the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the feat of the god-thinking lamps - the Monk Simeon and the God-bearing Savva, the Hilandar Monastery was created, and near it a city, and in the middle of the city a high tower, similar to the royal house, and high chambers, also similar to those of the king.

After that, we settled in Hilandar, - says Saint Savva. - And our reverend father spent a year and five months with me on the Holy Mountain. Who can tell the exploits and labors of this blessed one? For all who lived in the vicinity were truly amazed at him, looking at God's unspeakable condescension to him, and came to him for blessing. The holy, God-fearing and Christ-loving monks of the Holy Mountain and all the consecrated clergy did not leave him, amazed at his humility and gaze of meekness, marveling at the mentor of fasting and the follower of the teaching of the holy Gospel: Whoever wants to be the first, be the last of all and the servant of all (Mark 9 , 35), if not<…>you will be like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:3), blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:3), blessed are those who weep now, for you will laugh (Luke 6:12), blessed are those who weep for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:4-8), etc.

Our blessed father and ktitor, Mr. Simeon, was the doer of all these words of the Lord, and in no good custom did he exalt himself or move away, but received salvation with those who live for the sake of Christ. And, having gathered enough monks in Hilandar, he appointed one reverend man, the monk Methodius, as senior over them. And having ordered everything in the monastery as it was necessary, he lived in it for eight months, performing feats and experiencing inexpressible spiritual states that the human mind cannot express. And not only did he do good to his monastery, but also to the whole Holy Mountain, to all the monasteries he gave abundant alms to remember himself and all his offspring.

The illness and death of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming.

And blessed Simeon lived in prayerful silence with his child Savva, - says the holy Primate, - in prayerful silence, in their monastery, in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Holy Mountain, they lived a monastic life, fulfilling all the monastic rules. Day and night - unceasing divine services with them, for they walked the narrowest and narrowest path, forgetting about everything earthly. They left everything corruptible and fixed their minds on heaven, standing with their bodies on earth, and with their minds and souls they were in heaven. Below they saw Christ Himself (on the icon. - Per.), And at that time they were with angels above, and, spending their lives like the ancient holy teachers of monasticism, the monks, looking at the rewards for their labors, labored even more, moving on to the best. They spent a lot of time in their monastery, while it was pleasing to Him Who created human bodies and Who knows the secrets of men, and in Whose hand is every living creature, Who by His mercy determines the end for everyone. And it was pleasing to Him to lead the blessed old man to the best for him - to reward him for his labors, bodily exhaustion, for abundant tears, for his various virtues, and to call him to a secret meal, and to drink from an immortal source, and to settle him with Himself along with those who that pleased him, that he may rejoice unceasingly with his angels. After all, what kind of person will live and not see death? Wanting to show it heavenly man and an earthly angel, He showed His indescribable mercy and prepared His ladder for the exit of the monk, which he built for himself in advance and handed over to his Lord, so that he would set it up for him at the hour of his repose.

On the seventh day of the month of February, Saint Sava writes about his father, his honest old age began to ache. And the blessed elder, Mr. Simeon, immediately called me, unworthy and insignificant, and began to quietly speak to me holy, precious and sweet words: “My sweet child and the consolation of my old age! Listen carefully to my words, incline your ear to my words, keep them in your heart - and the sources of your life will not dry up, for they are life for those who reach them. Reject stubbornness from your lips and crookedness from your lips. Let your eyes look straight, and let your eyelids with their movement point to what is righteous. Walk straight with your feet and straighten your paths. Do not deviate either to the right or to the left, for on the paths that are on the right, only God walks, and the paths that are on the left are paths that are perverted. And you learn direct - and let your desire be at rest. Son, listen to my wisdom, incline your ear to my words, so that you keep my good thought; I speak with my mouth what I feel. Take care, son, of your father's law, do not reject the teachings of your mother. The one who reproaches the wicked invites hatred upon himself, and the one who exposes the wicked brings it upon himself. Do not expose the wicked, lest they hate you. Rebuke the wise and he will love you. Point out to the wise man his falsehood - and he will be even wiser, give a lesson to the righteous - and continue to accept it. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the saints creates understanding. By doing this, you will live a lot, and the years of your belly will be added to you (the saint gave a lesson in the Book of Proverbs. - Per.).

And, stretching out his hands, the blessed one laid them on my sinful neck, and began to weep from sorrow, and, kissing me sweetly, began to say: “My dear child, the light of my eyes, the consolation and preservation of my old age! Now the time has come for our parting, now the Lord lets me go in peace, according to His word, may it be fulfilled what was said: dust you are, and to dust you will return (Gen. 3, 19). But you, child, do not be sad, looking at my parting, because this cup is one for all. We part here, but we will meet where there will be no more parting. And, raising his most pure hands and laying them on my head, he said: “Blessing, I bless you! May the Lord blessed God prepare your salvation and, instead of earthly blessings, grant you grace, mercy and the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him straighten the path that you follow, which you went even before me, having here and there my sinful prayer inseparable from you.

And I, - says Saint Savva, - fell on my face at his pure feet and said with tears: “I received many gifts from you, and great gifts, my blessed lord Simeone! But, poor and ungrateful, I forgot everything, mixed it up with foolishness and things akin to it, for I am poor in good deeds and rich in passions, filled with shame, deprived of courage before God, mourned by angels, ridiculed by the devil, exposed by my conscience, put to shame by evil deeds. their own. Dead before his death and before Doomsday already condemned by himself, in front of endless torment, I torment myself with despair. Because of this, I bow and fall at your most honorable feet, so that, even if I remain incorrigible, I may receive at least some small relief at the terrible Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And when the eighth day of that month came, the blessed father said to me: “My child, send for my spiritual father and for all the honest elders of the Holy Mountain, so that they come to me, for the day of my exodus is approaching.” I fulfilled his commandment, and many monks came, like the myrrh-bearing flowers that grow in this desert. And when they came to him, they received a blessing from each other, and did not let them leave him, saying to them: “Stay by my side until you sing and bury my body with your holy prayers.” And from the seventh day until his death, the blessed elder did not take any bread or water, but only every day partake of the Holy and Most Pure Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

On the twelfth day of the same month, says Saint Sava, I saw that the blessed elder was preparing for his departure, and I said to him: “Oh, blessed Lord Simeon! Behold, your good transition to your eternal rest is approaching. But as I myself heard that you blessed your heirs, so now give me yours. last blessing!" And he, raising his hands, began to say with tears: “Most Holy Trinity, our God, I praise Thee, and I bless Thee, and I pray to Thee, and I think to Thee - here, for the third time I give a blessing to my heirs! Lord Almighty, God of our fathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the seed of the righteous! save them and strengthen them in the power that I owned, with the help of the Most Holy Theotokos, and may my prayer, albeit sinful, be with them from now on and forever. And I give them a common commandment: have love among yourselves! But if any of them depart from this, which I have made a law for them, then let the wrath of God swallow up this person and his offspring! After all this, he said: “Amen!”

Then the blessed elder said to me: “My child, bring me an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, for I made a promise that I would give up my spirit before it.” I have fulfilled my command. And when evening came, the blessed one said to me: “My child, show me love, throw a cassock over me for my burial and completely prepare me in a sacred way for the position in the tomb. And I will make a bed for me on the ground and lay me on it. And put a stone under my head to lie like that until the Lord comes to take me away from here. I did everything that he commanded me. Then the blessed one said: “Call to me, child, prot and all the brethren, so that they see my outcome. For, behold, the servants of the Lord my God and the mighty warriors are already approaching; my ears hear their voice and their song. Hurry, my love!"

And when all those invited had gathered, the saint was lying on the mat, waiting for the arrival of the angel. And the invited ones sat sad beside him and said to him, lamenting: “Do not leave us orphans, reverend! Do not deprive us of your teachings! For who will teach us now and to whom shall we resort now? And from great sorrow wept loudly. Among them is Savva, - says the First-crowned, - forever blooming with the flower of his virginity, bitterly crying said: “O reverend! We see that you are going to the Lord! But do not forget us in your prayers and ask for mercy from Christ God. For how can we live without your bright face? How can I adopt the image of our life, not having my good shepherd? Whom will I find for spiritual conversation? From whom will I receive comfort? Who will heal my mental damage? Beg your Lord to accept me into His eternal dwellings, for I cannot endure parting, my sweet light! And all those present unanimously said: “Remember us, Reverend, in your blessed rest!”

And when night fell, - says Saint Sava, - everyone said goodbye to him, and received a blessing from him, and dispersed to their cells to fulfill their prayer rule and have a little rest. And I stayed and kept one priest with me, and were near him all that night. At midnight the blessed elder calmed down and did not answer me any more. And when the time for Matins came and the service began in the church, the face of the blessed elder immediately brightened up and he said, looking up: Praise God in His saints, praise Him also for the affirmation of His power! (Psalm 150:2). And I asked: “Father, whom do you see and with whom do you speak?” And he, looking at me, said to me: Praise him also according to His powers, praise him also according to His great dominion! (Psalm 150:3). Having said this, he immediately gave up his divine spirit and fell asleep in the Lord. And I clung to his face and wept bitterly for a long time; then, rising, he thanked God that he had honored me to see such a death of this reverend husband (St. Simeon reposed on February 13, 1200, when he was 86 years old. - Transl.).

When the brethren heard about the repose of the monk, everyone began to come to him, and were amazed at the enlightenment of his face, and said: “Oh, blessed Simeon, who was honored with his last breath to see such a vision, which the Lord was pleased to grant you for the exploits of your labors, so that at the departure of your soul you cheerfully exclaimed sweet words: Praise God in His saints, praise him also in the confirmation of His power, praise Him also according to His great dominion! You will be blessed everywhere, and that is why you said such blessed words!”

After that, says Saint Sava, taking the reverend body, we placed it with honor in the middle of the church, according to custom. And at the end of Matins, in the presence of countless monks, the prescribed hymns began to be sung over the body of the monk, and what was said was fulfilled: The Lord glorifies those who fear Him (Psalm 14:4). Many monks from other nations also came to bow to the monk and with great honor to sing him soulful songs: first the Greeks sang, then the Iberians (Georgians. - Per.), then the Russians, followed by the Bulgarians, after them again we, the Serbs, gathered him herd. And when the time had passed after the liturgy, and when the whole due service had ended, everyone kissed the body of the monk. And I, a sinner, fulfilled his testament and commandment - I wrapped the blessed body around and laid it in a new coffin. The gathered multitude of monks did not disperse until the ninth day, serving a holy service for him every day.

The life of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming before his abdication.

The great ascetic, our reverend father Simeon the Myrrh-streaming - Stefan Nemanya was at first the great lord of the Serbian people, the unifier of the Serbian lands, the creator of an independent Serbian state, the defender of Orthodoxy, the exterminator of heresy. At the same time, all his life he was a man of great faith, great love, great prayer, great mercy, great gospel zeal. He, in the words of his biographer Hieromonk Domentian of Hilandar, “from his youth desired to serve God with holiness and truth all the days of his life before Him.” His life, full of the God and truth of the Gospel, was described by his two holy sons: Saint Savva and Saint Stephen the First-crowned, as well as the disciple of Saint Savva, Hieromonk Domentian of Hilandar.

Stefan Nemanja was born around 1113 in Zeta, in Rybnitsa and was baptized in Latin here. When his father returned to his capital (to the city of Ras, the capital of the Raska region, where the saint himself later began to rule. - Per.), He was baptized by an Orthodox saint and bishop in the Serbian land, in the Church of the Holy All-Praised and Supreme Apostle Peter and the apostle Paul.

This church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is the oldest Serbian church. It is located north of Novy Pazar at the confluence of the Dezheva River with Raska, on its left side. Here Stefan Nemanja gathered a council against the Bogomils, here he abdicated; there was also the chair of the Bishop of Raska.

Stefan Nemanya was the youngest of the brothers, but "God's grace is above all." The chosen one of God grew up in the house of his parents in all piety and purity, and as a prince he received from his father one of the limits of his fatherland: Toplitsa, Ibar, Rasina. Being wise and cautious, he first became the great župan of Raška in 1168. For a short period from 1183 to 1186, Nemanja united most of the Serbian lands. Soon after that, he becomes the first ruler in history who united under his rule all the lands where the Serbs lived.

Saint Savva says about this: “He renewed the hereditary fatherland and strengthened it with God's help and wisdom given to him by God. He returned the lost heritage of his great-grandfathers, returning from Primorye the region of Zeta with cities, from Rabna - both Pologi, from Byzantium - Patkovo, all Khvoeno and Podrimle, Kostrats, Drashkovina, Sitnitsa, Lab, Liplyan, Glubochitsa, Reka, Ushna and Pomoravle, Zagrlata, Levche, Belitsu Everything that was once taken by force from great-grandfathers, he collected with his courage and work. At first, Stefan Nemanja, like his father, was in vassal dependence on the Byzantine emperor, but later he freed himself from it and became a completely independent ruler, with the title "Lord of all Serbian lands." Its capital was "in the middle of the Serbian land." It was the city of Ras, half an hour from the modern New Pazar.

Together with the reunification of all Serbian lands, Stefan Nemanja zealously worked to establish Orthodoxy, thereby satisfying both his personal spiritual interests and the interests of the state. At the same time, he argued with his brothers, from whom he suffered a lot of trouble. Full of faith, he lovingly built a temple in his area in Toplitsa, at the mouth of the Kosanitsa River. And, decorating it with everything necessary for worship, he established a dormitory for nuns there, headed by his honest and God-loving wife Anna. He entrusted to her care both the church of the Most Holy Theotokos and the nuns of this holy monastery. She obeyed him with all her good soul, guarding the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, which her holy master entrusted to her. And again, St. Stephen the First-Crowned tells us, this holy master of ours, unable to stop his heart, inflamed with love for Christ, began to build a temple to the holy bishop and miracle worker Nicholas, not far from the church of the Most Holy Theotokos at the mouth of the Banskaya River. He walked barefoot until his death, for the sake of fulfilling the words of the Savior: everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). While he was building a temple to the holy wonderworker Nicholas, a quick helper in trouble, his brothers, prompted by the devil and seized with evil jealousy and fierce anger, decided to grieve the saint and frustrate his work, saying: “Why do you do what you should not do? You did not agree with us, but you are doing what is better than what is with us!” And the saint meekly and with a kind smile answered them: “My dear brothers! We are the sons of one father and one mother, so that this work of mine, which I started for the Lord, and will complete in my area, will not be to your anger. What I do, be it good or bad, let it be in my share, at my expense. Ask the Lord God for His bounties and mercies - may each of you accept them.

And he completed the temple to the holy miracle worker Nicholas, established a monastic rule in it, so that they would constantly glorify the Lord God. And he lived in peace, thanks to God and the Most Holy Theotokos and the holy miracle worker Nicholas, until the evil of the devil overwhelmed him. For the brothers conspired among themselves, not excluding the eldest brother, who then owned all the Serbian land (free from Byzantium. - Per.), To call this chaste and holy man, seize, shackle with chains and throw him into a stone cave. Sitting in a cave in sad thoughts, he prayed to the holy warrior - the Great Martyr and Victorious George, saying these words: “O holy martyr, martyr George, who for the sake of Christ endured suffering and all sorts of countless torments and wounds! - and you were in severe captivity, you were torn to pieces and called on your Master, your Lord Jesus Christ, to come to deliver you, heal and console you. You even looked at your death as a slaughter, like the gentle lamb of Christ, saying: accept, Lord, my prayer - let those who will be in trouble and captivity, or in prison, or at the sea and call upon Your philanthropy in my name, then You them, O Lord, for the sake of Thy unspeakable mercy, be merciful! And the Lord heard your prayer and fulfilled your request for the sake of your worthy labors. For, truly, worthily you pleased, holy martyr of Christ, your Lord Christ. And I speak with the Lord, being sinful and unworthy. With what eyes will I, darkened, dare to look into the heights of heaven, with what mouth will I call on the terrible Heavenly Father and you, holy one ?! But have pity, sufferer of Christ, over me, passionate and poor, implore your Lord Jesus Christ, Who promised you to fulfill petitions! Yes, by invoking your holy name, I will now be delivered from these torments and chains in order to serve you, holy one, all the days of my life, until my last breath: in the way that will be pleasing to the height of your suffering, by the mercy and mercy of Christ, who glorified and crowned you in the whole world for all ages, amen!”

The martyr of Christ heard the prayer of the holy man and fulfilled everything he asked him to do. And the holy sovereign began quickly, without any delay, with zeal and love to build a temple to the holy and glorious Great Martyr of Christ George. He completed the construction, calling on his good helper, decorated the temple in every possible way and provided it with everything necessary for worship. He established a monastic rule, and the monks here served the Lord with holiness and truth, and incessantly glorified the Great Martyr George, the holy protector in troubles and dangers. This was done for the praise of the saint and for sanctification, as well as for the salvation of the souls of the monks.

When the evil-minded brothers hired German, Byzantine and Hungarian detachments for the war with their brother and led them against the saint right into his inheritance and reached the place that was called Pantin, he cried out from the depths of his soul to his Lord Jesus Christ and to the great martyr George of Christ begging for help. And when he was near the city of Zvechan, where there was a church of the Great Martyr George, he chose several priests and sent them to pray to Saint George so that he would come to his aid and fight with him against the enemies. The priests sent by him, at the behest of their master, celebrated the all-night vigil and matins, and then the holy and Divine Liturgy. When, after many hours of prayer, they lay down to rest and fell asleep, then one of the priests appeared a holy ambulance in full military equipment. Terrified, the priest asked: "Who are you, sir?" And he answered: “I am the servant of Christ George, sent by the Lord God Himself to help your master, in order to defeat his enemies with the arms of the cross and destroy their vain intentions.”

The priest immediately informed his master of this, and in the morning a fierce battle took place. With the help of God and the help of the Holy Great Martyr of Christ George, Stefan Nemanya defeated his enemies and foreign peoples. Then he returned to his state to the throne of his fatherland and began to live, thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, a quick helper in troubles of the miracle worker Nicholas and a companion in battles of the holy Great Martyr George, who kept him unharmed from enemies. The holy ruler ordered and stood in a multitude of day and night services before the Lord. Having assumed authority over his fatherland, he served the Lord with a humble spirit, a pure and contrite heart. Sons and daughters were born to him, and he brought them up in all piety and purity, and taught them the fear of God, great humility and wisdom. Says Domentian: “Who can adequately tell about his many prayers at night and about the deeds of mercy during the day? For he once heard the word of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar: King, may my advice be pleasing to you: atone for your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy to the poor (Dan. 4, 24). Whatever the monk listened to, he fulfilled in practice, responding to every request, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and watering the thirsty, visiting the sick, redeeming debtors, freeing slaves.

The Christ-loving sovereign, full of holy zeal for the divine truth of the Orthodox faith, tried with the courage of a confessor to eradicate heresies in his fatherland, where heretics with their false teachings poisoned the soul of the faithful people. One of the faithful soldiers said to him: “Lord, I am one of the worst and least of your servants, and seeing your jealousy for your Lord the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Most Pure Lady of the Mother of God, and for the holy saints of God - your defenders, who support your power with a strong hand unshakable, I must tell your power that a vile and damned heresy is taking root more and more in your state (We are talking about bogomilism, in which Christian doctrine is intertwined with various Middle Eastern and Slavic mystical teachings and superstitions).

Nemanya immediately convened a council, to which he called his bishop Evtimiy, monks with abbots, honest priests, elders and nobles from small to great. And, turning to everyone, he said: “You see, fathers and brothers, that I am the worst among my brothers, but the Lord God and the Most Pure Mother of His Mother of God do not look at the face of a person and honored me, the worst, who believes in the consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, so that I guarded the flock that They gave me, which you see now - so that the seed of the evil and disgusting devil is not sown in it. I never thought that he was so present in my realm, but now I hear more and more that this evil-minded one has taken root in a short time and blasphemes the Holy Spirit and divides the indivisible Godhead, as the mad Arius said, dissecting the consubstantial Trinity. So these fools follow his teachings, they do not know, the poor, that because of such faith they will find themselves with him at the bottom of hell.

While a great strife was in full swing at the cathedral, the daughter of one of Nemanya's orthodox nobles came, who was married to one of those crooked ones. She was in their company and realized all their impurity and filth, but she did not at all get dirty about their faith. She fell at the feet of the saint and confessed unequivocally, saying: “Lord, my lord! - we see how your power is in this vile and disgusting faith. Truly, my lord, according to the marriage law, I was begged from my father, your servant, who thought that there was only one faith in your state. And she was with those transgressors and saw, sir, where they really serve Satan himself, who has fallen away from the glory of God. And I can no longer endure the stench of deaf idols and vile heresy, left their hands and ran here and cry out to your power: strike with the cross those who are fighting with us, so that the impious enemies will test how strong your faith is, lord!

The holy sovereign brought this woman out, and placed before everyone at the cathedral, and exposed the crooked heretics. And the council decided to eradicate heresy. Jealous of the Lord God Almighty, as once the prophet Elijah, God-loving Nemanya sent an army against heretics, executed them in various ways, and distributed their houses and property to lepers and the poor. He cut out the tongue of their chief teacher and elder for not confessing Christ as the Son of God, burned his ungodly books, and sent him into exile, forbidding even to mention his accursed name. And he completely eradicated this accursed faith, and from now on it was not commemorated in his power, but the consubstantial, inseparable and life-giving Trinity was glorified: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Spiritually uniting the people with common faith, Nemanya gave himself up to the cause of joining to his state those areas that were inhabited by Serbs, but were under the rule of Byzantium. “And he added,” says St. Stephen the First-Crowned, “to the land of his fatherland the region of Nishava to the edge, Liplyan and Morava, and called Vranje, the Prizren region, and both Pologs to the edge. He returned Duklja and Dalmatia - the fatherland and the place of his birth, his true heritage, which the Greek people held by force, so that the region was called Greek. Cities were built in it with his hands: Dan city, Sardrnika city, Drivost, Rosaf city, called Skadar, Svach city, Lcin city (Ulcinj is the southernmost city of modern Montenegro. - Per.) and the glorious city of Bar (now the most important port in Montenegro. - Per.). And Kotor (the main city of Boka Kotorska - Kotor Bay; was one of the most significant centers of navigation on the Adriatic. - Per.) Fortified and transferred his court to it (the capital was still the city of Ras in the Raska region. - Per.) " . And Saint Stephen the First Crowned adds: “He defeated his enemies, unremittingly bearing the cross of Christ before his eyes and with it he won victory over enemy barbarians. And he lived in thanksgiving to God and in prayer day and night.

When, with God's help, all this was accomplished, says the holy First-Crowned King, this holy master of mine, always having in his heart the inexpressible fear of God, was afraid of one of the Savior's parables, saying: my Lord, which He told: A certain rich man had a good harvest in the field<...>and said:<...>I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather there all my bread and all my goods, and I will say to my soul: soul! a lot of good lies with you for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry! (Luke 12:16-19); and, not paying attention to time, seeks to overtake me that very word spoken at the end by God: Crazy! This very night your soul will be taken from you; who will get what you have prepared? (Luke 12:20). Oh! Then, brothers, who will be able to endure or endure this formidable and terrible judgment seat of Him or the irresistible wrath of God, which will rush upon us sinners? But, Lord, Lord, spare and have mercy on Your servant, for, I know, my iniquities are truly great and are always open before You, Lord! Therefore I will make a beginning in my heart: let it endure and let it fear thy holy name. According to the Apostle Paul I say: You who have wives, be as if they had not, keep yourselves pure and in the commandments of the Lord. Therefore, I, a sinner, present as witnesses of my firm decision, as his Guardian for the sake of Your holy name - the Most Pure and Most Holy Mother: Lord, for the sake of you I am separated from my connection with my wife and I put You, my Lord, Jesus Christ, for the Leader and Guardian my old age and the Mentor on the path, walking along which and glorifying Your name, I do not want to stumble. I also want to erect a temple to Your Most Pure and All-Immaculate Mother, the Benefactor, and there I want to fulfill for You all my vows that my lips have spoken!”

And he began to build the temple of the Most Holy on Ibara, on the river called Studenica. Working on this, he constantly offered up prayers to the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to His Most Pure Mother. In the same way, he sent donations to the saints of God: the great Church of the Lord in Jerusalem and the Church of St. John the Baptist, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bar, the Church of the Holy Ever-Virgin Mother of God Evergetide in Constantinople, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Skopje , which he erected, the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in Thessalonica and the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon in Nis, which he erected. Day and night he cried incessantly: “Saints standing before Christ, and archangels, prophets and apostles, martyrs and hierarchs, reverend fathers and hermits, monks and reverend virgins, pour out your prayers before the Lord of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, may he not condemn me on the day of the Last Judgment and terrible trial, but may he be merciful to me, quiet and indulgent; and, for the sake of the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and your prayers, grant me to go through the storm of this temporal life and enter into a quiet and true unperturbed haven and see my unstoppable Light - the Lord and Savior and my God, the King Jesus Christ, to whom among the saints is the praise of Israel. For the Prophet says: Our fathers hoped in You and were not ashamed; I hope in You and I will be saved (Psalm 21:5-6). Therefore, Lord, do not leave me, the poor, who hopes for Your mercy; do not reject, Savior, and have mercy on your sinful creation, yes, rejecting the beauty of this world, I will follow you, praising and thanking your holy and gentle name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.

Praying in this way from the depths of his heart, he labored in spiritual joy at the temple of the Most Holy One, taking care of its complete completion. For when this holy lord of mine, says St. Stephen the First Crowned, saw how the Most Holy Temple was erected, then, believe me, gentlemen and brothers, I myself saw how he directed his mind to the sky - like an eagle created to soar in heaven, but chained on earth with iron chains and wishing to free himself and soar to the heights in order to reach that immortal and holy Source and see the temple of the City of God - Heavenly Jerusalem, of which he truly became a citizen.

Stefan Nemanya leaves the throne and becomes a monk.

When the thirty-seventh anniversary of the power of our God-loving father arrived, says Saint Savva, the all-merciful Lord did not despise his heartfelt prayer, but, as He who graciously accepts work and rewards, wished everyone to be saved. When the time was right, this sagacious man, who considered all the glory and all the honors of this world as nothing and saw the beauties of this world in smoke, as love for Christ grew in him, igniting his heart, - like a house preparing to receive Christ, was preparing to become the purest abode of the Holy Spirit. For Christ dwelt in his mind and led him. And he called to himself his noble children and chosen boyars, people small and great, and began to speak to them such his teaching:

“My dear children, whom I nurtured and raised! You all know how God, by His Providence, made me lord over you, you also know how I accepted our land at the beginning of the disaster, but, with the help of God and the Most Holy Lady of our Theotokos, I, to the best of my ability, was not lazy, did not give peace of mind until everything is fixed. And, by God's help, he expanded our land in length and breadth, which everyone knows. So, until now, I have taught you, as my children, to adhere to the Orthodox faith. Many foreigners rushed at me and attacked me like a swarm of bees, but with the name of the Lord I rose up against them and won. Therefore, you, my dear children, do not forget the teaching and the faithful law that I established. For, holding on to it, you have God as your helper, and the Most Holy Theotokos, and my sinful prayer.

And now let me go, your lord, in peace, so that my eyes see the salvation that the Lord has prepared before the face of all people - a light for the revelation of tongues and for the glory of you, my flock. For we see how everything human, whatever remains after death, is vanity: wealth and glory do not remain, for when death comes, it destroys all this. Because of this, we try in vain. The path we are following is short: our life is smoke, steam, earth and dust. Appears quickly and ends quickly. Therefore, verily, all is in vain. This life is shadow and darkness, and every earthly one labors in vain, as it is said in the book: when we leave this light, we will settle in a tomb, where both kings and the poor will lie. Therefore, my dear children, let me go so that I can go quickly to see the consolation of Israel.”

With these words the good master and the good shepherd taught them, and they all wept and wept and said to him: “Do not leave us orphans, sir, but enlighten us and teach us, good shepherd, who lay down your life for the sheep, for never in your days is a wolf did not seize a sheep from the flock given to you by God. And for all the thirty and seven years of your reign, we have been saved and fed and raised by you, and we don’t know another father and another master but you, our lord!

And the blessed elder, who, in a fatherly way, advised them with wise words to stop lamenting and crying, “by holy insight, he chose his faithful son Stephen and made him the autocratic master of his entire state” and said to everyone: “Now you have him instead of me! - a good root that came out of my womb. I put him on the throne in the power given to me by Christ. And, rising from his throne, says Domentian, he handed it over to his son with every blessing and, blessing him, said: “My beloved child, this throne of my state was given to me by the Lord, the King of Heaven, - I did not take it by any of my strength, but The Lord took a look at my humility, deposed the strong from the throne and lifted me humble to him. And by His power I have had authority on this throne until this hour. And from my youth I wanted to follow my Lord. But as the Lord has pleased me, so it has become with me. Now the Lord's time has come for my salvation. And you, my dear son, bless the most high God, who reigns forever and ever. And may this throne of mine be blessed by the Lord God, so that it can pass from your father to you and your children, and after your children, to all your descendants forever.

And may the Lord my God help you on it, walking, and lying down, and getting up with you, delighting and rejoicing your soul and heart with the comfort of the Holy Spirit. And may the Lord my God keep you, and may He be your protector in every place. And may the Lord my God keep you from all evil! And may the Lord my God keep your entry and exit into battle with adversaries, with your enemies! And may the Lord my God teach your hands the order of battle and your fingers to fight against your enemies who rise up against you! And may the Lord my God with His holy angels keep you in all your ways! And my holy angel, who has kept me from my youth until now, may he be with you and, by the abundant mercy of the Lord my God, be able to be the leader of your regiments, as he was the leader of my regiments! * Let him stand with you in the military ranks in all your battles! And the Lord my God, and let my strength teach your feet to do the will of God here, on this throne, and forever and ever. Amen".

And he also instructed him, - says Stefan the First-Crowned himself, - to try about every good deed in his power, to be kind in heart to the Christian people, who are given to him in power, to the flock given to him by God, saying: “My dear child, feed this Israel is mine and take care of it, leading it like Joseph the lambs!” He commanded him to take care of the churches and their ministers, to listen with pleasure to the bishops and clergy, to honor the priests and watch over the monks, "so that they pray for you, and may you not be ashamed of anything before God and people."

In the same way, Stefan Neman blessed his other dear son, Prince Vukan, and made him a great prince, and gave him enough land, and gave him the commandments given before to Stefan. And the good father put them both before him and said to them:

“Sons, do not forget my laws, and let your heart keep my words, so that the years of your belly will be added to you. Do not leave alms and faith, tie them at your door and write them on the tablets of your hearts and receive grace. Think about what is good before God and people. Rely on God with all your heart and do not try to be lifted up by your wisdom. See that your paths in which you walk are straight, lest you stumble. Do not think highly of yourself, but fear the Lord and turn away from all evil - then your body will have health, and your bones will rest. Honor the Lord from your righteous labors and give Him the first grain from your righteous fruits, so that your barns may be filled with plenty of wheat, and your winepresses may flow with wine. Sons, do not despair when God punishes you, and do not shrink when He convicts you. For whom the Lord loves, he punishes and beats every son whom he receives. Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who has seen understanding. For it is better to acquire wisdom than sacristies of gold and silver. She is dearer than precious stones, she is not afraid of any evil, and she is sweet to everyone who approaches her. Every other precious thing is less important than her, for the length of the days of life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and glory. Truth comes out of her mouth, and she carries the law and mercy on her tongue. Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are in the world. She is the tree of life for all who cling to her and lean on her as an indestructible wall.

I give you this commandment: love one another and have no evil among yourselves. You, Vukan, submit and be obedient to your brother, and from God and from me, placed on my throne. And you, Stefan, when you rule, do not harm your brother, but honor him. For whoever does not love his brother does not love God. God is love. Therefore, whoever loves God, let him also love his brother. For this is the whole law: the apostles learned it, the martyrs were crowned with it, the prophets spoke about it. So, if you want and obey me, then you will inherit the blessings of the earth, but if you do not want and obey me, then the weapon will destroy you. May peace rest upon you, my dear sons, from the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God, covering and shielding you from all enemies, visible and invisible, and directing you to the path of peace.

Peace be to you, my nobles and boyars! Peace to you too, young men whom you raised and raised from the birth of your mothers. Peace to all of you, the verbal flock of Christ given to me by God - I have shepherded you and kept you intact, like a good shepherd, laying down my life for you. Therefore, I beseech you, my beloved children, rich and poor, old and young, adhere to my teaching, the teaching of your father. Fear God, honor those in authority, decorate churches so that they adorn you, listen to bishops, honor priests, respect the monastic order, so that they always pray for you. And you, living in truth and in love among yourselves, do not forget about almsgiving. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen".

All those present wept and sobbed that they were parting with such a ruler and shepherd, wept and sobbed and could not be consoled. For truly, I myself am at a loss, - says Saint Sava, - how to call him: a good master? orthodoxy teacher? good father? a shepherd who faithfully shepherded the flock entrusted to him? a church enlightener and a teacher of good customs, who was always in prayer? a great minister to the poor, who loved them? A mentor of orthodoxy and a teacher of good faith and a luminary of purity in the universe? A mentor full of faith and a model of meekness and fasting? A mentor of wisdom and an adviser and punisher of the foolish? Keeper of his flock and wise protector of all those who live near him? For, truly, all this was in him, he was full of wisdom and understanding, and the grace of God was upon him.

Having blessed his people, this wise and marvelous man left the power given to him by God, and all his various and numerous blessings, for this was pleasing to Christ God and the Most Holy Theotokos in order to satisfy his inexpressible and holy desire. Having distributed all his property to the poor, he leaves the throne, his children and his wife and becomes a partaker of the ineffable, and honest, and holy angelic, and apostolic face, small and great, and the name Simeon was given to him on the holy Annunciation on March 25, 1195. On the same day, the wife Anna, given to him by God, the mistress of the whole Serbian land, took on the same holy image, and the name Anastasia was given to her. “Wishing for the Kingdom of Heaven,” says Domentian, the creator of his life, “he left the earthly kingdom and this world and everything in this world. And leaving earthly things to the earth, seeking the higher, he followed Christ.” Having accomplished all this, says Saint Sava, our lord and father withdrew to our monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos, Studenitsa, which he erected, and Madame Anastasia withdrew to the monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos. in Ras. And this wonderful father of ours and ktitor Mr. Simeon dwelt among us in all good faith and purity, prospering and teaching everyone with his spiritual exploits. For he truly fulfilled what was written in the Gospel: he sold everything he had and bought one precious pearl - Christ (Matt. 13:46), for whose sake he did all this, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior given to the young man: if you want to be perfect, go, all what you have, sell and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross (Mark 10:21). Having accomplished all this, the blessed elder remained in Studenica for two years and multiplied the number of Christ's flock in the monastic rank. And he lived here with honest monks according to the rule and commandment of the holy and God-bearing fathers and was never lazy.

He desired to ascend to the highest spiritual level, meaning the words of Holy Scripture: no prophet is accepted in his own country (Luke 4:24). to his son, Saint Sava on the Holy Mountain, who from the very beginning called him from the Holy Mountain to renounce the throne and follow Christ through the path of monasticism. The creator of the life of St. Domentian wrote about it this way:

“Our holy and reverend father Simeon from the bottom of his heart wrote a letter full of paternal love to the Holy Mountain to his dear son - the God-wise Savva, a mentor of monks and a desert dweller, a carnal angel, an imitator of the incorporeal Heavenly Forces, a zealot for the exploits of the saints and their associate, a heavenly citizen, who by fasting, vigils and prayers has earned heavenly gifts. And he wrote to him like this: “Listen, my beloved child in Christ, what you wrote to me about earlier, the Lord our God fulfilled, and your prayers for my salvation were not in vain, and what you asked for, what you desired, what you expected with all his soul and what he sought with all his strength - that the merciful Creator gave me, not because of my righteousness, but because of His immeasurable mercy, which He has in general for all sinners who turn to Him. And he did not reject me, but adorned me , having honored the grace of the angelic face with the saints, and, following Him according to the Gospel, taking His holy cross on my shoulders, I, according to His unfalse commandment, now joyfully follow Him and you, dear child, and try to reach you on the Holy Mountain And pray for me, our beloved Christ, that, at my one and tenth hour, having joined you, my beloved child, I would become the tiller of Christ's vineyard, and may the All-good Lord God not deprive me of His reward, but may He bestow His abundant mercy both here and forever and ever. Amen." This letter of our blessed father Simeon is conveyed by the holy First-crowned King in the following words: “Know, beloved in Christ, that what I asked for and what I desired and what I strove for with all my strength with all my soul, I gave it to me, having mercy on me, my Creator - not according to my iniquities, but according to His infinite and inexpressible mercy and love of mankind: He honored what I desired - an honest angelic face. Rejoice for me and pray for me to your Lord, so that I, unworthy and at the twelfth hour he made me worthy to enter, to appear with you as a laborer in the vineyard of Christ, that we may receive our reward."

Having received the letter, God-loving Savva rejoiced in spirit and, multiplying, multiplying prayers before his Lord, with tears offering praise to the Lord God the Almighty and His Most Pure Mother, the Lady of Our Lady, saying: “Thank you, Lord my God Jesus Christ and my Most Pure Lady Theotokos, that they heard my prayer and did not despise my prayer. And by the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother, the Intercessor of our race, You, Lord, did not leave those who seek You, and those who hope in You and who work for Your name.

And he wrote a letter to his reverend father, saying:

"I received the scripture of your holiness and found in it indescribable joy and inexpressible joy, for the Lord, Who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the understanding of the truth, chose your holiness from this vain seething world and added it to all the holy reverend and righteous, offering you the life of an angel ... Try to come quickly, my lord, come, reverend, for Christ, beloved by you, through me - your beloved child, has prepared for you a heavenly and earthly abode - so that those who hope in Him will not be ashamed. the joy of your Lord, for to those who love Him, everything will work out for the good. 33), and may we bring to our beloved Christ the face of the Chernorizians and the cathedral of saints and the assembly of many, all the faithful, so that when they look at us and follow us in this earthly kingdom, we accept a double grace - for ourselves and for those to whom we will become an example for their sanctification and for their salvation in God ... Come and come, my lord and father, so that you teach your children the fear of God, and show us the good way of salvation, and show us humility to us who want to live according to your piety, so that we, your children, may magnify the Lord with you, and may the Lord honor us with your holy prayers to follow in your holy footsteps. You worked more on the apostolic building of the fundamental in the faith of Christ, and for this you want to accept the highest reward from Christ, Who distributes gifts to everyone according to his work ... Come and come, lamp of God, burning with the grace of God, which shines with the Holy Spirit, for your master Christ is waiting for you to bring Him fruit from the good earth - your immaculate soul, which you strive to purify with cruel abstinence and great humility, in order to bring an immaculate gift to your beloved Christ ... Come and come, beloved of your child, come, led by the Holy Spirit along the way divine and along my small path, and work hard and find the offspring of your many-loving heart. And come, and come, and help me, and make haste, so that we receive the bounties of the Lord, promised to us and to all who love God and who desire eternal life ... Come and come, the sweetest sorrow of my soul, become like the God-seer Jacob, for from you the second Israel will turn out, and you will experience unexpected joy because of your child, like Jacob because of Joseph, and I will also enjoy your holy love, I, who for many years moved away from the greatest love of my child-loving father. Come and come, my lord and holy father, may I see enough of your holy gray hairs, and may I kiss them with love, and may I kiss your holy image, which was written in heaven by the Lord God even before your birth ... Come, and, as long as we, in this transient life, direct our unanimous prayer to the Most Pure Mediator of our life, may she readily open the heavenly doors of her mercy to us, and we will remain with our Lord forever and ever. Amen"".

Departure of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming to the Holy Mountain and his life on it.

Having received a letter from his son Savva, who honors the Lord, the blessed elder Simeon was inflamed with spirit and began to pray to God, saying: “To the King of glory, the only immortal, the Father of heaven and strength, who, in the goodness of His Providence, does not want any person to perish, but that everyone be saved, do not leave me to perish, for I know how great is Your mercy towards me. And now, Lord, I pray to You - let me complete this aspiration! So saying, he sent for his sons whom God had given him. When they gathered together with the nobles and boyars, the Monk Simeon gave them his blessing for the second time and went to the Holy Mountain on October 8, 1197. Leaving, he ordered his son, ruler Stefan, to keep his commandments and take care of the monastery in Studenica. Also, leaving, he appointed the venerable husband, hieromonk Dionysius, as abbot in Studenitsa and obliged him to take care of the flock of Christ, which is gathered in this holy place, and take care of it.

And he, blessed, says Saint Sava, reached the Holy Mountain on November 2, 1197. God-bearing and reverend fathers who lived on the Holy Mountain received him with joy and great honors. And first he stopped at the monastery of Vatopedi, for here he found his coveted, stray lamb - this is what Saint Sava says about himself - and, kissing him and raising him on his shoulders as a reformed one, he took him into his service.

And here they lived in spiritual joy, - says St. Stephen the First-Crowned, - in divine services and vigils and in honest prayers day and night. Prot and all the brethren of Svyatogorsk came to him, and bowed to one another to the ground, and with tears they talked with him about the benefits of the soul, and he asked them about their life and about monastic rules. And everyone marveled and glorified the Lord Christ, Who does glorious and majestic deeds and Who did so that the blessed Simeon left his kingdom and the glory of this world and came to the Holy Mountain for monastic exploits. And this holy master of mine, - continues Stefan the First-Crowned, - all, from the greatest to the smallest, bestowed all sorts of gifts on the dignity of each and lit his lamp for everyone.

Heavenly people and earthly angels, - says Domentian about the blessed Simeon and God-bearing Savva, - having reached quiet true humility and despising everything that is lost in this transient world, they cared only about the salvation of their souls. According to the Lord's word, they did not care about anything earthly, but sought only the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness (Matt. 6:33), which they found. Both from their youth began to work for the Lord and continued until death according to the true word of the Lord - he who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13; Matt. 10:22). Both took the cross of Christ as a mighty weapon, and went with invincible strength into battle against the enemies, and by their great patience they escaped many snare. Inflamed with the love of Christ, by their feat, with holy tears, they extinguished the fire of malevolence and appeared as multi-luminous lamps of the Church of Christ, sent from God and His Most Pure Mother, and therefore were crowned with incorruptible crowns and received the same glory with the Higher Powers.

Having spent a certain time in Vatopedi, says Saint Sava, blessed Simeon, just as he justified his reign in the world, wished to find here a place of salvation for all who came from everywhere. And he begged the king of the Greek Alexei - his friend - an empty place to build a monastery on the Holy Mountain. Finding an empty place called Hilandar, says the holy Primate, this holy reverend elder with his son Savva sent a letter to his son, the ruler of Serbia Stephen, to send them in abundance what is necessary for the construction and renovation of Hilandar, the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. The letter said: “O beloved child and servant of Christ! Know that the Lord God and the Most Holy One, by His will and with my blessing, have left you to rule there! I am writing to you that I found an empty place in the middle of the Holy Mountain, in honor of the Introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Hilandar. Do not be lazy, but hasten to erect with your power, to create a temple of the Most Holy One in my memory on this earth, and besides, let it be after me and your children and grandchildren in your family until the age.

For you are a defender of this, because even earlier in writing I handed over to you in my state the church of the Most Holy Theotokos the Benefactor in Studenitsa - not to you with someone else, but only to you alone and to your offspring after you. I remind you of the prophetic word: "Rejoice in the Lord, and He will fulfill the desire of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and he will do it. And he will bring out, like light, your righteousness, and your justice, like noon" (see Psalm 36, 4-6). Therefore, do not be late, do not sleep, but strive, yes, having fulfilled these my words, with my blessing you will do your good deed.

His son wholeheartedly accepted with great joy the message of the holy master Simeon and his embassy. He got up from his throne, fell prostrate on the ground and said with tears: “Thank you, Lord my Lord Jesus Christ, that you allowed me, your unworthy servant, to go after the affairs of my former guardian, who cared about preserving my earthly body, and now , moving away from me, constantly and unceasingly takes care of my soul and directs me to his path, so that I follow his deeds. For truly, Lord, the real and true servant of Yours is the one who follows Your words and does not disdain Your humanity to bring the erring, the backslidden, the prodigal and the sinners, as well as me unworthy. Although I am far from Him, He makes me a participant and a patron of His holy temples, not according to my dignity, but according to His indescribable mercy. Therefore, how can I repay You, Lord, or what can I bring You from my unworthiness for Your good deeds, which You have done and are doing to me a sinner? For how can I express or express the greatness of Your power or the abyss of Your humanity? Or how can I endure Your uncontrollable wrath, which is against us sinners? But You are doubly good, O Lord, and You do good as the Merciful. Therefore, I, marveling at Your power, exclaim to You: “Glory to Your love of mankind, Lord, forever. Amen!”

After that, through Abbot Methodius, the sovereign Stephen sent to his parent many and immeasurable gifts for the founding and completion of the Church of the Most Holy One, and more than once. Every year he sent everything that was necessary for the holy master, until he completed the temple of the Most Holy. He sent not only gifts, but also from his land, doubling the flow of funds, gave them to complete completion to the lord saint and the monks, saying this: “Give a true bow to my lord - this is what your servant says:“ all your commandments are fulfilled and the desire of your heart is fulfilled. For in what way or with what mind would I, a poor man, turn away and not fulfill your holy commandments?! How could I forget your kindness to me and your good upbringing? For Christ breathed the spirit into me, and you raised me, and guided, and taught me. And, by the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ, with a fair teaching and blessing of your lips and your holy prayer, I am protected, I will not be afraid when they attack me from everywhere, I will not be afraid of the hands of foreign barbarians. After all, Peter said to his Lord when washing his feet: Lord! Not only my feet, but also my hands and head (John 13:9). So, sir, I, your unworthy servant, constantly cry out to your holiness: not only what I bring you now, but also my whole earthly body, if your holiness needs it. But, my lord, command both other things and everything that must be done, for I will not weaken until my last breath. For I did not acquire all this myself, but you did it, my lord, and you do everything with the help of your Lord. After all, what was lost, you returned and gathered what wasted, and drove out heresies with the help of your Christ, and you raised the people and the land of your state as if from an abyss, teaching you to magnify God and glorify His holy name. After all, you are truly a good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, driving away heretical teachings from your flock, like mental wolves. And what am I, sir? - only obedience that looks at your exploits! But pray to the Lord for me, lest I transgress your holy commandments, lest I detract from Christ's good faith, which you sacredly established, but let me supplement and complete, as Solomon the Wise supplemented and completed what his father David did not complete. Indeed, the Truth Itself - Christ is the Witness of your many deeds and the holy church of the Most Holy Theotokos, which you adorned with your great divine mind, and sculpted with wisdom, and clothed in splendor, and graciously elevated it to the heights of heaven! Through Her most pure and unceasing prayers and your holy prayers, and in endless ages, may the all-good Lord not deprive me of the Kingdom of Heaven with its inexpressible glory, abiding blessings and endless life. Amen".

When hegumen Methodius with gifts reached the God-bearing pair - Saints Simeon and Savva, he handed over the letter and told how with what great honor he was received, and everything that happened, and how his dear son fulfilled the will of his heart and fulfilled all his commandments. And they offered praise to God and His Most Pure Mother for everything they heard about their beloved. And with God's help, - says the biographer Domentian, - and the haste of the Holy Spirit, and the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the feat of the god-thinking lamps - the Monk Simeon and the God-bearing Savva, the monastery of Hilandar was created, and near it a city, and in the middle of the city a high tower, similar to the royal house, and high chambers, also similar to those of the king.

After that, we settled in Hilandar,” says Saint Sava. “And our reverend father spent a year and five months with me on the Holy Mountain. Who can tell the exploits and labors of this blessed one? For all who lived in the vicinity were truly amazed at him, looking at God's unspeakable condescension to him, and came to him for blessing. The holy, God-fearing and Christ-loving monks of the Holy Mountain and all the consecrated clergy did not leave him, amazed at his humility and gaze of meekness, marveling at the mentor of fasting and the follower of the teaching of the holy Gospel: Whoever wants to be the first, be the last of all and the servant of all (Mark 9 , 35), if not<...>you will be like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 18:3), blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 5:3), blessed are those who weep now, for you will laugh (Luke 6:12), blessed are those who weep for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:4-8), etc.

Our blessed father and ktitor, Mr. Simeon, was the doer of all these words of the Lord, and in no good custom did he exalt himself or move away, but received salvation with those who live for the sake of Christ. And, having gathered enough monks in Hilandar, he appointed one reverend man, the monk Methodius, as senior over them. And having ordered everything in the monastery as it was necessary, he lived in it for eight months, performing feats and experiencing inexpressible spiritual states that the human mind cannot express. And not only did he do good to his monastery, but also to the whole Holy Mountain, to all the monasteries he gave abundant alms to remember himself and all his offspring.

The illness and death of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming.

And blessed Simeon lived in prayerful silence with his child Savva, - says the holy First-crowned, - in prayerful silence, in their monastery, in the church of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Holy Mountain, they lived a monastic life, fulfilling all the monastic rules. Day and night - unceasing divine service for them, for they walked the most narrow and narrow path, forgetting about everything earthly. They left everything corruptible and fixed their minds on heaven, standing with their bodies on earth, and with their minds and souls they were in heaven. Below they saw Christ Himself (on the icon. - Transl.), and at that time they were with angels above, and, spending their lives like the ancient holy teachers of monasticism, the monks, looking at the rewards for their labors, labored even more, moving on to the best. They spent a lot of time in their monastery, while it was pleasing to Him Who created human bodies and Who knows the secrets of men, and in Whose hand is every living creature, Who by His mercy determines the end for everyone. And it was pleasing to Him to lead the blessed old man to the best for him - to reward him for his labors, bodily exhaustion, for abundant tears, for his various virtues and call him to a secret meal, and give him drink from an immortal source, and settle him with Himself along with those who that pleased him, that he may rejoice unceasingly with his angels. After all, what kind of person will live and not see death? Wishing to reveal him as a heavenly person and an earthly angel, He showed His inexpressible mercy and prepared His ladder for the departure of the monk, which he built for himself beforehand and handed over to his Lord, so that he would set it up for him at the hour of his repose.

On the seventh day of the month of February,” writes Saint Sava about his father, “his honest old age began to ache. And the blessed elder, Mr. Simeon, immediately called me, unworthy and insignificant, and began to quietly speak to me holy, precious and sweet words: “My sweet child and the consolation of my old age! Listen carefully to my words, incline your ear to my words, keep them in your heart - and the sources of your life will not dry up, for they are life for those who reach them. Reject stubbornness from your lips and crookedness from your lips. Let your eyes look straight, and let your eyelids with their movement point to what is righteous. Walk straight with your feet and straighten your paths. Do not deviate either to the right or to the left, for on the paths that are on the right, only God walks, and the paths that are on the left are paths that are perverted. And you learn the direct - and let your desire be at rest. Son, listen to my wisdom, incline your ear to my words, so that you keep my good thought; I speak with my mouth what I feel. Take care, son, of your father's law, do not reject the teachings of your mother. The one who reproaches the wicked invites hatred upon himself, and the one who exposes the wicked brings it upon himself. Do not expose the wicked, lest they hate you. Rebuke the wise and he will love you. Point out to the wise man his falsehood - and he will be even wiser, give a lesson to the righteous - and continue to accept it. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the saints creates understanding. By doing so, you will live a lot, and the years of your belly will be added to you (the saint gave a lesson in the Book of Proverbs. - Transl.) ”.

And, stretching out his hands, the blessed one laid them on my sinful neck, and began to weep from sorrow, and, kissing me sweetly, began to say: “My dear child, the light of my eyes, the consolation and preservation of my old age! Now the time has come for our parting, now the Lord lets me go in peace, according to His word, may it be fulfilled what was said: dust you are, and to dust you will return (Gen. 3, 19). But you, child, do not be sad, looking at my parting, because this cup is one for all. We part here, but we will meet where there will be no more parting. And, raising his most pure hands and laying them on my head, he said: “Blessing, I bless you! May the Lord blessed God prepare your salvation and, instead of earthly blessings, grant you grace, mercy and the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him straighten the path that you follow, which you went even before me, having here and there my sinful prayer inseparable from you.

And I, - says Saint Savva, - fell down on my face at his pure feet and said with tears: “I received many gifts from you, and great gifts, my blessed lord Simeone! But, poor and ungrateful, I forgot everything, mixed it up with foolishness and things akin to it, for I am poor in good deeds and rich in passions, filled with shame, deprived of courage before God, mourned by angels, ridiculed by the devil, exposed by my conscience, put to shame by evil deeds. their own. Dead even before his death, and before the Last Judgment, he is already condemned by himself, before the endless torment he torments himself with despair. Because of this, I bow and fall at your most honorable feet, so that, even if I remain incorrigible, I may receive at least some small relief at the terrible Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And when the eighth day of that month came, the blessed father said to me: “My child, send for my spiritual father and for all the honest elders of the Holy Mountain, so that they come to me, for the day of my exodus is approaching.” I fulfilled his commandment, and many monks came, like the myrrh-bearing flowers that grow in this desert. And when they came to him, they received a blessing from each other, and did not let them leave him, saying to them: “Stay by my side until you sing and bury my body with your holy prayers.” And from the seventh day until his death, the blessed elder did not take any bread or water, but only every day partake of the Holy and Most Pure Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

On the twelfth day of the same month, says Saint Sava, I saw that the blessed elder was preparing for his departure, and I said to him: “Oh, blessed Lord Simeon! Behold, your good transition to your eternal rest is approaching. But as I myself heard that you blessed your heirs, so now give me your last blessing! And he, raising his hands, began to say with tears: “Most Holy Trinity, our God, I praise Thee, and I bless Thee, and I pray to Thee, and I think to Thee - here, for the third time I give a blessing to my heirs! Lord Almighty, God of our fathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the seed of the righteous! save them and strengthen them in the power that I owned, with the help of the Most Holy Theotokos, and may my prayer, albeit sinful, be with them from now on and forever. And I give them a common commandment: have love among yourselves! But if any of them depart from this, which I have made a law for them, then let the wrath of God swallow up this person and his offspring! After all this, he said: “Amen!”

Then the blessed elder said to me: “My child, bring me an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, for I made a promise that I would give up my spirit before it.” I have fulfilled my command. And when evening came, the blessed one said to me: “My child, show me love, throw a cassock over me for my burial and completely prepare me in a sacred way for the position in the tomb. And I will make a bed for me on the ground and lay me on it. And put a stone under my head to lie like that until the Lord comes to take me away from here. I did everything that he commanded me. Then the blessed one said: “Call to me, child, prot and all the brethren, so that they see my outcome. For, behold, the servants of the Lord my God and the mighty warriors are already drawing near; my ears hear their voice and their song. Hurry, my love!"

And when all those invited had gathered, the saint was lying on the mat, waiting for the arrival of the angel. And the invited ones sat sad beside him and said to him, lamenting: “Do not leave us orphans, reverend! Do not deprive us of your teachings! For who will teach us now and to whom shall we resort now? And from great sorrow wept loudly. Savva is among them, says the Primate, forever blooming with the flower of his virginity, weeping bitterly said: “O reverend! We see that you are going to the Lord! But do not forget us in your prayers and ask for mercy from Christ God. For how can we live without your bright face? How can I adopt the image of our life, not having my good shepherd? Whom will I find for spiritual conversation? From whom will I receive comfort? Who will heal my mental damage? Beg your Lord to accept me into His eternal dwellings, for I cannot endure parting, my sweet light! And all those present unanimously said: “Remember us, Reverend, in your blessed rest!”

And when night came,” says Saint Sava, “everyone said goodbye to him, and received a blessing from him, and dispersed to their cells to fulfill their prayer rule and have a little rest. And I stayed and kept one priest with me, and were near him all that night. At midnight the blessed elder calmed down and did not answer me any more. And when the time for Matins came and the service began in the church, the face of the blessed elder immediately brightened up and he said, looking up: Praise God in His saints, praise Him also for the affirmation of His power! (Psalm 150:2). And I asked: “Father, whom do you see and with whom do you speak?” And he, looking at me, said to me: Praise him also according to His powers, praise him also according to His great dominion! (Psalm 150:3). Having said this, he immediately gave up his divine spirit and fell asleep in the Lord. And I clung to his face and wept bitterly for a long time; then, rising, he thanked God that he had honored me to see such a death of this reverend husband (St. Simeon reposed on February 13, 1200, when he was 86 years old from birth. - Transl.).

When the brethren heard about the repose of the monk, everyone began to come to him, and were amazed at the enlightenment of his face, and said: “Oh, blessed Simeon, who was honored with his last breath to see such a vision, which the Lord was pleased to grant you for the exploits of your labors, so that at the departure of your soul you cheerfully exclaimed sweet words: Praise God in His saints, praise him also in the confirmation of His power, praise Him also according to His great dominion! You will be blessed everywhere, and that is why you said such blessed words!”

After that,” Saint Savva tells, “taking the reverend body, we honorably placed it in the middle of the church, according to custom. And at the end of Matins, in the presence of countless monks, the prescribed hymns began to be sung over the body of the monk, and what was said was fulfilled: The Lord glorifies those who fear Him (Psalm 14:4). Many monks from other nations also came to bow to the monk and with great honor to sing him soulful songs: first the Greeks sang, then the Iberians (Georgians. - Per.), then the Russians, followed by the Bulgarians, after them again we, the Serbs, gathered him herd. And when the time had passed after the liturgy, and when the whole due service had ended, everyone kissed the body of the monk. And I, a sinner, fulfilled his testament and commandment - I wrapped the blessed body around and laid it in a new coffin. The gathered multitude of monks did not disperse until the ninth day, serving a holy service for him every day.

Life of St. Simeon the Myrrh-streaming (in the world of Stefan)

Born in 1114 from zhu-pa-na Da-vi-da, Stefan (Si-me-he in mo-on-she-stve) was the youngest of four sy-no-vey. Yes, at an early age, he ruled so wisely and blessedly that after the death of his father, he was -le-nie most of the country; and therefore he suffered all his life from the wrath of his brothers. God consoled him, yes-ro-vav as a wife the prince-nu An-nu, the daughter of the vis-zant-ty-sky im-pe-ra-to-ra. And they, having acquired holiness themselves, gave birth to two of their sons, who also became saints. Trying to turn Serbia into a right-to-glorious kingdom, the reverend Si-me-he raised and kept many the number of temples in my own Serbia and in the whole christian world. The crown of his life became from-re-che-nie from pre-hundred-la, when he followed-up to his son-well, holy-te-te- lu Sav-we, at the age of 82 years. Together, they went down to the Holy Go-re, os-no-vav here the Serbian Khi-lan-Dar-sky monastery. With a face, an axis-yang heavenly light, reverend Si-me-he spoke about Bo-ze at the age of 86 years. His relics remained soft-ki-mi and warm-ly-mi and is-that-cha-whether gentle world. When Saint Sav-va returned to Serbia, he brought with him the relics of his father, and all the people were witness -te-lem of the fact that the bodies of Si-meo-na were still warm and you-look-de-lo alive, he seemed to be sleeping. At the present time, his relics are pre-would-wa-yut in Stu-de-nitz-com mo-on-sta-re, whom he erected and in ko -that-rum began his mo-na-she-skuyu life. And to this day, they b-g-her bless-go-da-tyu b-but-syat everyone who comes to the healing and consolation.

See also: "" in from-lo-same-nii svt. Di-mit-ria Rostov-sko-go.

Prayers

Troparion to Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming

Having been enlightened by divine grace, / and after death you show the lightness of your life, / exude more peace of fragrance / flowing to the race of your relics, / and your people instructed you to the light of God-reason, / Simeon our father, / give us Christ God pray / / .

Translation: Enlightened by divine grace, and after death you show the lightness of your life, for you exude a fragrant one who comes to cancer with yours, and you direct people to the light of God's understanding, Simeon our father, pray to Christ God to grant us great mercy.

Troparion to Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming and his son, Saint Sava I, Archbishop of Serbia

The cloisters of Hilandar sacred builders / and Mount Athos lamps, praise to Serbia, / Simeon the greatest, revered beauty, / and his wonderful family, the saint, - I say, - Savva, / come according to the almost, say, the blessing of Christ: / pray to Christ , // and about the Church being free from circumstances.

Translation: The monastery of Hilandar sacred builders and Athos lamps, Serbia praise, Simeon the greatest, venerable adornment, and his amazing relative, St. Savva, come unanimously honor, crying out: “Pray to Christ God for yours, blessed, and that the Church be free from disasters ".

John Troparion to the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming and his son, Saint Sava I, Archbishop of Serbia

Even warm intercessors in sorrow and adversity of property, / Simeon the God-bearing and Savva the first hierarch, / let us fall to him with faith, / as if by prayers we deliver them from misfortunes, / in due course we faithfully Savior and glorify God, we say glory to Him who glorified you miracles, / / ​​glory to Him who delivered us from sorrows with your prayers.

Translation: Having diligent defenders in and having Simeon and Savva the High Hierarch, let us turn to them with faith so that through their prayers we will get rid of temptations, as we should glorify the Savior and God in Orthodoxy, crying out: “Glory to Him who gave you strength, glory to Him who glorified you with miracles, glory to Him who delivered us from mourn for your prayers."

Kontakion to the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming

Having loved the life of the angels on earth, / leaving the world and the world, / Thou didst follow Christ, Simeon, / Thou didst instruct those who love thee apostolicly to Him, crying // love God, as He loves us.

Translation: Having fallen in love with angelic life on earth, addiction to worldly things and leaving the world itself, you followed the fasting of Christ, Simeon, and you apostolicly directed those who love you to Him, crying out: “Love God, just as He loved us.”

In kontakion to the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming

I received the yoke of Christ, Simeon, / and, taking up Him the Cross, followed Him, / planted in the house of the Lord, flourishing, like a phoenix, / like a cedar, like in Lebanon, thou hast multiplied thy children, / a man of spiritual desires, a miracle worker for appear, / / Christ God pray unceasingly for all of us.

Translation: Lifting the yoke of Christ, Simeon, and taking His Cross (), followed Him, planted in the house of the Lord, flourished like a palm tree and like a Lebanese cedar (), you increased your children, the husband of spiritual aspirations, for he was a miracle worker. Pray unceasingly to Christ God for all of us.

Kontakion to the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming and his son, Saint Sava I, Archbishop of Serbia

Love the mountain life, glory, / despise the life that is on earth. / For the sake of the Angels in the highest, always rejoicing, / / ​​pray for us all.

Translation: heavenly life loving, glorified, earthly life you despise. Therefore, always rejoicing in Heaven with the angels, pray for all of us.

En kontakion to the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-streaming and his son, Saint Sava I, Archbishop of Serbia

Today, Simeon and Sabbas, blessed, having come in the soul, / save their flock from circumstances: / these are for the Trinity preaching the One God, / affirmation appeared to the Church, / in the saints myrrh-streaming and in the saints, the miracle worker: // Praise of Athos and the people of the Serbian fortress.

Translation: Today, Simeon and Savva, blessed, who have come spiritually, are saving their flock from disasters, for they preached the One God the Trinity, becoming the power of the Church, the myrrh-streaming reverend and miracle worker saint, for they became invincible defenders in battles, Athos honor and the strength of the Serbian people.

Simeon the Myrrh-streaming is a significant figure in Orthodox world. His image is immortalized on an icon that protects and saves from the most terrible misfortune.

The icon of Simeon the Myrrh-streaming is known for its miraculous power. It's no secret that prayed images are indispensable helpers in difficult situations. life situations. But many people turn to the image of the saint every day, whose life is marked by unbearable grief. Believing Christians from every corner of our country strive for this shrine. This unique icon helps people in need of help, especially couples who cannot have children.

History of the icon

The icon was painted in honor of the king of Serbia - Simeon the Myrrh-streaming. This was Grand Duke who believes in the Lord and preaches the Orthodox faith to the people. He did a lot for his state, worked on the unification of the lands. In history, his name occupies not the last place, it was Simeon who was the defender of his people from the attacks of enemies.

At the age of 82, he and his eldest son went to Mount Athos. There they led a righteous life, observing the fasts in all their severity, prayed in all sincerity and helped the poor and the needy with all selflessness. Simeon and his son Savva, later the saint and patron of the Serbian lands, founded the Hilendar Monastery, where people from all over the world began to arrive.

Where is the image

The shrine can be found in the Moscow Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
The first icon, which is considered the original icon of Simeon the Myrrh-streaming, is located in the Hilendar Monastery on Athos.

Description of the icon

The icon depicts St. Simeon in the attire of a priest. In his left hand he holds an open bundle. Often the saint is depicted as a wise and timid old man. The icon is literally imbued with holiness and righteousness and reflects the features of a militant, but peace-loving and humble ruler.

There are lists where Simeon is depicted together with his son Savva. Father and son majestically and in full growth appear before believers.

What helps the image of Simeon the Myrrh-streaming

The icon has the power and strength to convey all your prayers for children and a speedy conception to St. Simeon. The reverend heeds every request, patronizing married couples, a happy life and the well-being of children. It is in his power to repel the blows of fate, especially from those whose life is a test.

A God-loving ruler answers every prayer with care and tenderness. The main thing is not to stop believing and sincerely ask the saint to illuminate your life.

Days of celebration

Prayer before the icon

"O, holy Simeon! Before you I kneel in prayer! Pray for me before the Lord and cleanse my soul from earthly sins! Grant me healing and a strong healthy child! Forgive me, a sinner, and do not let the forces leave me! Heal me from all diseases and give me will. Deliver me from sadness, anger and resentment. May I praise your name. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Till the end of time. Amen".

The image of St. Simeon helps when worldly possibilities are already powerless. Since ancient times, pilgrims from all over the world came to holy places for his intercession before the Lord. Leaving Mount Athos, which can only be reached by men, good news awaited the believers: everyone who prayed before the holy face received what he was driving for. We wish you happiness and success,and don't forget to press the buttons and

18.09.2017 05:38

Miraculous prayers often help in life. A little-known, but extremely effective prayer to St. Martha will help you ...