Saints and miracle workers. Kirill Belozersky. Kirill Belozersky - short biography Prp Kirill

The introductory article and the translation of "The Life of Kirill Belozersky" are taken from the Library of Literature of Ancient Russia (http://www.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=2070)

THE LIFE OF KIRILL BELOZERSKY

Preparation of the text by E. G. Vodolazkin, translation and comments by E. G. Vodolazkin and G. M. Prokhorov

INTRODUCTION

Kirill Belozersky - the founder of the monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin in the Belozersky land, which became famous as Kirillo-Belozersky.

To the world of Kozma, Kirill was born about 1337 in Moscow; his parents died when he still needed the care of his elders; before their death, they entrusted it to their "relative" Timofey Vasilievich Velyaminov, a roundabout of the Moscow Grand Duke, one of the most noble and wealthy people in Moscow.

Kozma grew up in the house of Timofey Velyaminov and eventually became the manager of his household. Already a middle-aged man, having at least thirty-three years of age, he managed - against the will of his guardian - to fulfill his old dream - to take the veil as a monk.

Kozma became a monk Cyril in the Moscow Simonov Monastery, whose hegumen was the nephew of Sergius of Radonezh Theodore, and was trained there in various services, starting with work in a bakery and a cookery and ending with the leadership of the monastery. At the beginning of this path, in order to deliberately make his life harder, Cyril began to act like a fool, asking for punishment. He was noticed and correctly assessed by Sergius of Radonezh; coming to the monastery of his nephew, he talked for a long time with Kirill, who worked in the bakery.

In 1397, when Cyril was already sixty years old, he and his monk friend Ferapont, having left the Simonov Monastery, went to the Belozersky lands and created his own monastery there, in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The monastery of Cyril quickly went through the usual evolution for that time: as people came to the hermit who wanted to follow his rules, the silent refuge turned first into a skete, and then into a monastic hostel, kinovia. In the year of Cyril's death (1427), the brethren of his hostel numbered fifty-three people.

For thirty years of work in his monastery, Kirill managed to create from it one of the most powerful spiritual, bookish, cultural and economic centers of Great Russia. The sons of Dmitry Donskoy Vasily, Yuri and Andrei corresponded with Kirill; his replies to them have been preserved. Also preserved, and in the original, is the Spiritual Letter, the testament of Cyril Belozersky, where he asks Prince Andrei Dmitrievich to continue to patronize the monastery after his death, Cyril. (Three epistles and the Spiritual Diploma of Kirill Belozersky are printed in vol. 6 of this edition).

The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery retained its significance as the largest spiritual, cultural, economic, and then also military center of Muscovite Russia until its very end, at least until the end of the 17th century.

The life of St. Cyril of Belozersky is the most important source of our information about him. It was written at the beginning of the second half of the 15th century. Pachomius Serb.

Pachomius Serb was a native of Athos. In the thirties of the XV century, still young (but not younger than thirty years old), with the rank of hieromonk, he arrived in Russia, first in Novgorod. Then, in the early forties, he moved to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and after that he lived mainly there, although he repeatedly returned to Novgorod. Both in Moscow and Novgorod, he fulfilled the literary orders of high authorities - archbishops, grand dukes. In total, he wrote ten or eleven lives in Russia (of Varlaam Khutynsky, Sergius of Radonezh, Nikon of Radonezh, Metropolitan Alexei, Kirill Belozersky, Mikhail of Chernigov and the boyar Theodore, Savva Vishera, Novgorod archbishops Euthymius II, Moses and, possibly, John and Jonah, and some of them not in one edition), a number of commendable words and legends (on the acquisition of the relics of Metropolitan Alexei, on the transfer of the relics of Metropolitan Peter, on the Protection of the Virgin, the feast of the Sign of the Virgin in Novgorod, Varlaam Khutynsky, Sergius of Radonezh, Clement of Rome, ο the death of Batu), fourteen services and twenty-one canons (mostly to the same persons and holidays). Pachomius is one of the most prolific writers of Ancient Russia. Moreover, this is a rare case in Ancient Russia of a professional writer who worked to order and received good fees for his work (he proudly writes about this himself).

Compiling lives, words and services with the canons to order, Pachomius had in mind mainly practical - church service purposes. He was well versed in the style of Slavic liturgical literature and did not see anything reprehensible in borrowing from other people's works (such as: Sermon on the renovation of the church of the Great Martyr George Arcadius of Crete, Eulogy to Clement of Rome by Bishop Clement, the lives of Athanasius and Peter the Athos, the writings of Gregory Tsamblak and Metropolitan Cyprian) , in repetitions of oneself (in introductions to a number of lives), in the creation of one's own editions - by slightly reworking the text (reducing some passages and spreading others), mosaic connection and simply adding a preface and afterword to other people's works. But at the same time, he also used oral sources, and some of his lives - primarily the Life of Cyril Belozersky, which is of interest to us now - were created almost exclusively on the basis of the stories of eyewitnesses he heard from his contemporaries.

The prose works of Pachomius - and the Life of Cyril is no exception - are usually built according to a clear scheme: a preface, main part and conclusion. Β the prefaces speak of the importance of glorifying feasts or saints, ο of the difficulties for a person in this work, and of the circumstances excusing the author in this overwhelming undertaking. In rhetorical introductions, digressions, praises, etc., the language of Pachomius is artificially complicated, ornate and approaches the style of hymnographic literature - stichera, canons and akathists (with akathists, in particular, he is related by numerous hayretisms, that is, appeals to glorified persons beginning with the word "rejoice"). The main part is divided into a number of episodes. In hagiographies, speech begins, as a rule, with the parents of the saint, is interrupted by conversations and reflections of the characters, instructive authorial remarks and laudatory exclamations, sometimes quite lengthy, and ends with a chain of stories about miracles. Pachomius's language is simple, clear and efficient in his narratives and events. Based on a large number of oral traditions and previous written works, sometimes documents, the lives of Pachomius Serb are rich in historical, literary and historical material and therefore are of interest both to literary historians and historians themselves.

At the end of 1461 - the beginning of 1462, Pakhomiy Serb once again left Novgorod for Moscow, from where, on the instructions of Grand Duke Vasily II Vasilyevich (d. in 1462) and Metropolitan Theodosius (1461-1464), he went to Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, in order to collect materials there for the Life of the founder of this monastery ordered to him. The order was explained by the gratitude of the Grand Duke to the monastery for the support that he received there in the forties, when he was deprived of the great reign by Dmitry Shemyaka and exiled to Vologda. Pakhomiy Serb finished the Life of Cyril after March 1462 (the death of Grand Duke Vasily II Vasilyevich) and before May 13 of the same year (the ordination of the third successor Cyril Abbot Tryphon to the Archbishop of Rostov), ​​perhaps already upon his return to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. (For more information about Pachomiy Serba, see the article about him in the Dictionary of Scribes and Bookishness of Ancient Russia. Second half of the 14th-16th centuries. Part 2. L-Ya. L., 1989, pp. 167-177).

Apparently, under the pen of Pachomius himself, who acted for liturgical purposes, around 1464-1465. the second edition of the Life appeared, which is a mechanical reduction of the first. In addition, a short prologue of the Life of Cyril is known, compiled on the basis of the first, lengthy edition shortly after its appearance, but having some features of originality. In 1615, on the basis of the Pahomiev Life of St. Cyril, another edition of it was created by Joasaph.

The Life of Cyril of Belozersky is one of the few stories about saints written by Pachomius for the first time, according to the words of "self-evidents", and not by editing or supplementing other people's works. In this case, the only written source was Cyril's Spiritual Letter, which he included in his Life with some omissions and amendments.

The main informants of the author in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery were the disciples of Cyril: the then hegumen of the monastery Cassian (1448-1465 and 1466-1470) and Martinian Belozersky. Pachomius notes Martiniana as the one who told him most fully and coherently about his teacher. So the merits of the Life of Cyril, its rich content and entertainingness, are to a large extent the merit of Martinian, "who lived with Cyril from a young age and knew the saint well."

Consisting of more than forty stories, the Life of Cyril is the largest of the works of Pachomius and - despite the stylization and typification of persons and events inevitable for this genre - the most saturated with specific historical information, circumstances and names. Here, in much more detail than in other lives, it is said about the youth of the saint, about the periods of his life, about the people around him - his relative-educator Timothy Vasilyevich, his wife Irina, hegumen Stefan of Makhrishchsky, St. Sergius of Radonezh, his nephew Theodore Simonovsky, Mikhail Smolensky , Ferapont Belozersky and others.

It seems that Cyril's students, including Martinian, knew very little about the secular period of their teacher's life. Perhaps Cyril did not like to talk about his youth in his old age. But, perhaps, the hagiographer Pachomius was careful not to let the concrete details of the life-historical plan damage the purity of the genre of life, called to narrate about the eternal, the supernatural in a person’s life, and not about the vicissitudes of his life. Be that as it may, the Life contained very little information about the first half of Cyril's long life.

The text of the life of St. Cyril of Belozersky is printed according to the manuscript of the National Library of Russia, Kirillo-Belozersky collection, No. 18/1095, 30-60s. XVI century, originating from the Kirillov Monastery. All corrections and additions (they are in italics) were made according to the text of the manuscript of the RSL, MDA, No. 13 (208), XV published in the book "Pachomius Serb and his hagiographic writings" (St. in.

THE MONTH OF JUNE AT 9 DAY. THE LIFE AND FEATS OF THE REPRESENT FATHER OF OUR IGUMEN KIRILL, WHO ESTABLISHED THE MOST GLORIOUS MONASTERY OF THE MOST PURE LADY OF OUR MOTHER OF GOD ON BELOOZERO, OF HER GLORIOUS DORMITION, AND WAS CREATED IN IT BY HIEROMON PACHOMIUS OF THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

Bless, father!

If those great holy divine men of life, who shone in fasting and deeds, courageously won such a great victory over enemies, rejected all the short-lived beauty and vanity of this world, realizing that all this is temporary, disappearing without a trace - whether big or small, - and like a shadow and a dream to a transient or morning flower, which dries up and falls by evening, - even if it was not easy for the ancient writers, it was difficult to write the lives of those saints and stories about them in detail because of the height of their life and love for God, now, in our current race, who is able to tell the life and worthily glorify those whose lives the angels themselves, surprised, praised, whose names are written in heaven, who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, taking the cross on their shoulder, with their own feet, shamed, trampled and betrayed to final oblivion many-witted and proud serpent, and for this he was honored with the Kingdom of Heaven, to whom did the doors of paradise open and who entered, rejoicing, into the joy of his Lord?

And not because they need our praises, we praise the saints, but because the praise of the saints usually ascends and ascends, as it should, to God Himself, for the Savior Himself said: “He who receives you receives Me” and “He who listens to you He listens to me." This is not said about the apostles alone, but about all the saints who served Him by faith.

Therefore, we also praise the saints, because we want to raise others to their great beauty and love for God. After all, those who listen to these praises and attentively, like those who listen to God, become pleasing to God thanks to them, so that they also receive abundant benefit and great profit from these stories themselves, especially if they think: “Those people were just like us and had common passions with other people, but not the same as other people, their will was. Instead of bodily rest, they preferred great labors and sufferings, instead of sleep - all-night standing, instead of fun - joyful crying, and instead of human conversations - constant conversation with God. And to Him, as if by some steps, approaching from day to day, they always said: “My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready!” For they did not turn their hearts to the words of deceit, and the oil of sinners did not anoint their heads, but they imitated those ancient God-pleasing men who walked in sheepskins and goatskins, daily experiencing hardships, grieving, suffering grievously, wandering in deserts, mountains and gorges serving the Lord in the abysses of the earth and glorifying the Lord in their members. For this, God also glorified them, according to what is written: “I will glorify those who glorify me.”

That is why, by right, what we now praise is the all-luminous cause of the present word. And it's time to start laying the foundation - to start talking about the zealot of this, the praiseworthy Cyril.

Someone might think that since I am from another land, I do not know well about the saint. Indeed, with my own eyes I did not see either this blessed one or what was happening around him, but even being far away, I heard about the saint - how many miracles God does for his sake - and was very surprised. And therefore, when I was ordered by the autocrat, Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich, and I was blessed by Metropolitan of All Russia Theodosius, to go to the saint’s monastery and there hear with my own ears about the past and ongoing miracles of the God-bearing father, I undertook great work, because the distance to that place very large. But by diligence and love for the saint, as if drawn by some long lasso, I went the way and reached the monastery of the saint.

I saw there the abbot of that monastery, Kasyan, by his name, who is worthy of being called abbot, a man who had grown old over many years of fasting labors. And he began to persuade me even more to write something about the saint, for he had great faith in the holiness of Cyril, he himself saw the blessed one and faithfully told me about many of his miracles. I also found many other of his disciples there. Like pillars truly unshakable, they abide, having lived with the saint for many years, following their teacher in everything - as they were taught by him. And nothing was violated by them in the fatherly rules, but they spent their lives by the grace of Christ in fasts, in prayers and in vigils, silent: what they saw the father was doing, they themselves strove, doing, to fulfill, so we can say : "They are the generation of those who seek the Lord and seek the face of the God of Jacob." It is necessary to say more: "They are good-bearing trees, planted by the Lord our God." It was enough to see the way of their life in order to be convinced of their virtues even without descriptions.

And when I asked them about the saint, they began to tell me about his life and about the miracles that come from him: one - one thing, others - similar to that. And little by little, in separate stories, the deeds of the saint were told. I heard the most reliable from an eyewitness to his life, from his disciple named Martinian, who was the abbot of the namesake monastery called Sergeev, who lived from an early age with St. Cyril and knows for sure about the saint. He told me about him in order, and I, listening to his story, was very surprised.

That is why I kindled a forest of fire with desire and love for the saint, although I am rude and not trained in worldly wisdom, but, having received a command and judging that it is not appropriate to tell separately about the miracles of the saint, I gathered everything that I heard together and, asking for God's help and hoping for the prayers of the holy and ever-memorable father to God, upon arrival to the true givers of truth living for God, he stretched out his hand to the narration, may the righteous not be silent and may not be given over to the abyss of oblivion that happened many years ago, but may it turn to the common benefit of all who wish to listen as it will be now.

ABOUT THE BIRTH OF THE HOLY

This reverend father, Cyril, was born of pious Christian parents. They baptized him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and gave him the name Kozma in holy baptism. Having become stronger and learned the Divine Scripture, the lad continued to grow in every kind of reverence, purity and enlightened mind, and for this he was loved and revered by everyone. Then the time came, and his parents, leaving the earthly, go to the Lord, passing this above-named Cosmas, their son, to their relative named Timothy. This Timothy was a roundabout with the Grand Duke Dmitry, and then he greatly surpassed others in wealth and honor. As a relative, they handed over their son to him, so that he would take care of him and take care of him. God, the father of the orphans and the comfort of the mourners, contemplating from above, saw what would happen to him later, and the virtue that he had in his heart.

The aforementioned Cosmas, about whom our word, having survived the departure to the Lord of his parents, plunged into deep thought, not knowing what to do. He wanted to put on monastic clothes, but no one dared to consecrate him because of that nobleman. And so he lived, diligently going to the church of God, succeeding in fasting and prayer. The aforementioned Timothy, seeing that he was so successful in good things, began to love him even more for his inherent virtue and therefore was very happy for him. When Cosmas came of age, he honored him with the right to sit next to him at a meal, and soon after made him the treasurer of his estate.

Kozma, on the other hand, kept to the same thoughts as before: how could he become a monk, and was kindled by this attraction and love for God like a kind of fire. And so he was in great sorrow and, not daring to tell anyone his secret, kept it in his mind and went around the monasteries, looking for where he could get the desired monastic state. But it was impossible because of the aforementioned nobleman. What was left for him to do? Although he wore worldly clothes, all his deeds were monastic; I mean fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and that he was the first to come to church, and, finally, and most importantly, bodily purity and good-naturedness, with which everyone will see the Lord. He remembered the word that says: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." That is why even then, before he became a monk, he was a monk in everything. What happened next?

God, wanting to fulfill the will of Cosmas, helped him to achieve with His care what he had wanted for many years, in this way.

ABOUT THE TASSION OF THE HOLY

It happened somehow to come to Moscow to the Makhrishchi hegumen Stefan, a husband perfect in virtue, known to everyone for his life. Learning of his arrival, Kozma ran to him with joy, for he had been expecting him for a long time. And he fell down at his honest feet, shedding tears from his eyes, and told him what he was thinking about, and begged him to lay a monastic image on him: “I have been waiting for you, sacred head, and now God has vouchsafed me to see your honest holiness . I pray: For the Lord's sake, do not reject me, sinful and indecent, imitating your Lord: He did not reject, but accepted sinners - both the publican and the fornicator. So you accept me, a sinner, as He accepted them. It depends on you,” he said, “and it is in the power of your holiness to do it, you just have to want to.” He said this and much more and begged, and hegumen Stefan was touched by his words, seeing such zeal and crying, and understood from them that he would become a vessel of the Holy Spirit, which subsequently happened. It happened according to God's will, or rather it was the work of His providence.

So Stefan tells him to stop shedding tears and says: “Stop, child. As God wills, so shall it be." And he pondered how, in what way to put on him a holy monastic image and make him a monk. “If,” he said, “we report this to Timothy, he will not allow this to happen. Even if we beg him, he will not listen to us.” And Stefan came up with this: just like that, without taking the tonsure, to clothe him as a monk, which he did.

And he dressed him in a monastic robe, and named him Cyril, and left the rest to God's will. And having done this, the aforementioned Stephen went to that Timothy, when he was going to rest at noon from worldly cares, having slept. Stefan walked up to the door and knocked. Timothy was informed of Stephen's arrival. And he had great confidence in hegumen Stephen, and therefore, when Stephen entered, Timothy stood up and bowed to him, asking for blessings. And when hegumen Stefan said: “Your pilgrim Kirill blesses you,” he asked, interested in the name: “What kind of Cyril is he?” The abbot replied: “Kozma, your former servant. Now he wants to become a monk, serve the Lord and pray for you.” The same, when he heard this, he became angry and, filled with bitterness, expressed his annoyance to Stefan in certain words. Hegumen Stefan, standing there, said: “Christ the Savior is bleached to us:“ Where you are received and listened to, stay there, and where they do not receive and do not listen, leave from there and shake their ashes that have stuck to your feet in front of them as a testimony to them. "". And with these words, without adding anything else, he went away.

The wife of that Timothy, named Irina, a pious and God-fearing woman, took Stefanov's, or rather Christ's, words hard. And she began to reproach her husband that he offended such a person, all the more, remembering the words he had said. And her husband, who knew Stefan as a saintly man, repented of the words spoken to him. So he soon sent for him to return. And when he came, Timothy asked his forgiveness, and at the same time Stefan apologized to him. And after that, he left Kozma, named Cyril, to live according to his will, as he wants. With that Stefan left, rejoicing that he had acquired a brother.

Coming to Cyril, Stefan told him about everything that God had created for him. Having then been freed from everything, Cyril rejoiced, gave praise to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother of God and great gratitude for this to Stefan. And therefore, everything that he had, he divided and distributed to the poor, leaving nothing for himself for bodily needs. At the same time, he did not think about old age, or about a long life ahead, but he freed himself from everything, without retaining any obstacles, nor worries, following the One Who said: “Do not worry about tomorrow.”

ABOUT THE COMING OF THE HOLY TO SIMONOVO

And when this happened, hegumen Stefan went to the monastery of the Assumption of the Most Pure, called Simonov, taking Cyril with him. And there he handed him over to the hands of the archimandrite of that monastery, named Theodore, a great man in virtue and reason. Theodore immediately accepted him there with joy and tonsured him for real and gave him the same name - Cyril.

There lived then in that monastery a certain Michael, who later became Bishop of Smolensk, a man who led a great life in God - in prayers, in fasting, in vigils and in all kinds of abstinence. It was to him that Theodore handed Cyril as a student. Looking at him, Cyril began to imitate his virtuous life and obeyed him with all his heart. Diligently observing his philosophic life passing in long prayers, filled with labors, seeing his immeasurable labors, he tried to do all the same himself. And so he obeyed the elder in everything that he considered fasting a pleasure, and nakedness in winter time - warm clothes, and with great abstinence tormented his flesh in everything, in accordance with what was said: "Wearying the flesh, enlightening the soul." He slept very little, and then sitting. And he asked the elder to allow him to eat only once every two or three days, but the elder did not allow him, but ordered him to eat bread with his brothers, even if not to satiety. When the elder read the Psalter at night, he commanded him to make obeisances, and often this lasted until they began to beat the beater. In the cathedral, Cyril tried to be the first to sing.

They also say this: when Michael stood at night, performing his usual rule, Saint Cyril also stood with him. And if Elder Michael happened to leave his cell, then Cyril saw the devil, taking on different guises in order to frighten the saint with all sorts of monstrous and terrible images. But from the call of Jesus, they disappeared without a trace. And sometimes Mikhail, being with him in the cell on the rule, heard some kind of roar from the outside and a knock on the wall. However, by the power of the cross, through prayer, all this was lost.

Cyril stayed with that great ascetic for a considerable time, having no will of his own, in complete obedience without reasoning. Then, at the behest of Archimandrite Theodore, he went to the bakery and indulged in abstinence even more there, carrying water, chopping firewood, carrying warm bread to the brothers and accepting warm prayers for this from them. And since he showed great diligence in the service, standing so much in prayer that sometimes he spent the whole night without sleep, and did this many times, everyone was surprised at him and praised him. He ate only so as not to fall from hunger, and sometimes only so that his brothers would not become aware of his abstinence. And he did not drink anything else but water alone, and even then when he was thirsty, and this went on for a long time. He was an unmerciful enemy of his flesh, remembering the apostolic word: "When I am weak in body, then I am strong in spirit."

When it happened from time to time that Saint Sergius would come to the monastery of Our Lady of Our Lady of Theotokos to visit his nephew, Archimandrite Theodore, and the other brothers there, he would first of all go to Saint Cyril’s bakery and spend a long time alone with him, talking about the benefits of the soul. It can be said that both cultivated the spiritual furrow: one - sowing the seeds of virtue, the other - watering with tears. "For having sowed with tears, they will reap with joy." And while they were talking like that, for an hour or more, Archimandrite Theodore learned about the arrival of blessed Sergius and immediately came to him with his brothers, and they kissed each other with love in Christ. And everyone was amazed then that, bypassing everyone, even Archimandrite Theodore himself, he came to that one Cyril. That is why everyone, surprised, praised Cyril. And he, wanting to hide himself, succeeded in this just as one who would want to hide a lamp in a glass vessel in the darkness. And he spent considerable time in the bakery.

Then they sent him to the magernica, that is, to the kitchen; and there he refrained even more, always mindful of unquenchable fire, eternal torment, and poisonous worms. And often, looking at the fire, he said to himself: “Be patient, Kirill, this fire, so that with the help of this fire you can avoid the fire there.” And for this, God gave him such tenderness that he could not even eat bread without tears, not even utter a word. Therefore, all who saw such his labors and humility, not a man, but an angel of God among themselves, honored him. He, wishing to hide from the audience the virtue that he had, decided to pretend to be a holy fool so that they would not recognize him as a performer of feats.

To do this, he began to make something that caused ridicule and laughter, and the rector, seeing this, imposed a prohibition on him, that is, a penance, leaving him on bread and water for forty days or more. Cyril accepted this with joy and diligently fasted, and when the days of fasting established by his father passed, he again began to act like a fool in another way in order to accept an even greater prohibition from the rector, which happened. It sometimes happened that the abbot ordered him for six whole months to eat nothing but bread and water. This blessed fool for the sake of Christ, accepting the prohibition, was very glad that he could fast freely, and those who see him fasting will have to say: “He fasts according to the prohibition, and not according to his own will.” Just as a man with pride rejoices in glory and honor, so the humble man rejoices in his dishonor and humiliation. And since, as already mentioned, he repeatedly acted in this way in order to receive a ban, the abbot understood that out of humility, pretending to be a holy fool, he commits deeds that cause laughter, and he did not impose more bans on him. Everyone knew that for God's sake he did this, wanting to hide his beloved philosophy of his humility.

After that, a desire arose in him to leave the kitchen for his cell - but not for the sake of peace, but in order to acquire greater tenderness in the silence in the cell. He did not rely on his own will and did not say anything to the rector, but he laid everything on the Most Pure One, thinking: “Would the Most Pure One herself want this, because she knows whether it will be to my advantage.” And soon after his prayer, the archimandrite conceived the idea of ​​writing a certain book, and therefore ordered the blessed Cyril to go from the kitchen to the cell in order to write a book there. Hearing this, Cyril went into the cell, judging that the Most Pure One did not reject him, but accepted his petition.

And there he also labored in writings, prayers and kneeling at night. But his tenderness was not the same there as it was in the kitchen, and therefore he prayed to the Most Pure One to grant him the tenderness that he had before.

And soon the abbot again sends him to the kitchen to serve with the brothers. And Cyril was glad when he heard this, and immediately went to the kitchen and again set about many feats and thus found greater tenderness. And the saint, serving there, spent nine years in all sorts of abstinence and severe suffering, burning during the day from the fire, freezing at night from the cold. Not once in those years did sheepskin cover his body, but he tormented his body with suffering.

Subsequently, at the behest of the rector, he was granted the priesthood. And he served in his weeks, like other priests. And when he was free in his turn, he again went to the kitchen and worked there, as before. And so he worked for a long time.

Then he began to be silent in the cell. And when, by the command of the Grand Duke and the blessing of the Metropolitan and the entire Church Council, Archimandrite Theodore was elected to the Rostov Archbishopric, Blessed Cyril was appointed archimandrite instead of Theodore. So from then on he set to work even more, adding work to work. “To whom,” he said, “much has been given, more will be asked.” And again: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Since this was the case, the monastery was well managed by him. Cyril never ascended because of the height of his rank and did not change anything in his abstinence, but he lived as before, guided in everything by his philosophy of humility. He had an unfeigned love for everyone, great and small, and accepted everyone with equal joy: the old - like brothers, and the young - like children. That is why everyone praised and revered him.

Many princes and nobles came to him from everywhere, hoping to receive favor, and thus broke his silence, and therefore he decided to leave his boss and remain silent in his cell, which he did, for he left the abbot and retired to his cell. The brethren asked him for a long time not to lay down the rank of rector, but he did not listen to them and immediately entered the field of a greater feat - he began to remain silent, having no care for the outside world.

Since this happened, and since the monastery could not be left without a rector, they elevated to the archimandrite, in the place of blessed Kirill, a certain Sergius Azakov, who later became a bishop in Ryazan. But Cyril was silent; but it was impossible to hide the city, standing on the top of the mountain. No matter how much Cyril avoided human glory, only God glorified him even more. Therefore, people from different lands and cities came to him to receive benefits. For his word was “seasoned with salt,” and everyone listened to it with delight. And Archimandrite Sergius Azakov, who was put in his place, seeing that many people from everywhere came to the blessed Cyril, and believing that he himself was neglected, began to be very indignant at the blessed one. What was said by the wise was fulfilled on him: “Evil does not know how to prefer the useful, and envy does not allow one to know the truth.”

And what did the blessed Cyril then do, having learned about the envy of Sergius experienced towards him? He was not offended, did not say anything contrary to him, did not become angry. He went from there to the old monastery of the Nativity of the Most Pure One, and there continued to remain silent. He thought about going somewhere else to retire from the world for the sake of silence. And for a long time he struggled with such a thought, constantly praying to God and His Most Pure Mother, saying: “The Most Pure Mother of Christ my God! You know that I placed all my hope in God from my youth on you. Guide me, in the way you know, on the path by which I can be saved.” And so he prayed many times.

ON THE APPEARANCE OF THE MOST PURE MOTHER OF GOD WHEN SHE, APPEARING TO ST. CYRIL, COMMANDED HIM TO GO TO BELO LAKE

The saint had a custom in the dead of night after his big rule and doxology, immediately after, before tasting a little sleep, to sing the Akathist to the Most Pure. That's what he always did. And one of the nights, late at night, when he was praying and, as usual, singing the Akathist to the Most Pure in front of her image, it happened that, having reached the place in the ikos: “Seeing the miraculous Christmas, let us move away from the world and turn our thoughts to heaven,” he suddenly heard a voice saying: "Kirill, get out of here and go to Beloozero, for I have prepared a place for you there where you can save yourself." And then, at the same time as that voice, a bright light shone. Opening the window of the cell, Cyril saw a light pointing north, towards Beloozero. And with that voice, as if with a finger, he was shown the place where the monastery now stands. Saint Cyril was filled with great joy at this voice and vision. He understood from this voice and vision that the Most Pure One did not reject his petitions, and all night he was surprised at the vision and voice that happened, and for him this night was not a night, but like a bright day.

And after that, soon Ferapont came from Beloozero, a tonsurer of the same monastery as the saint. And the blessed Cyril began to ask him if there, on Beloozero, there were places where a monk could remain silent. Ferapont replied: “Of course there is; there are a lot of places for solitude.” The blessed one did not tell him about the vision, but as if he was simply asking him. But then, after some time, having agreed, they both left the monastery where the saint lived.

So, with God's help, they set off on their journey and, having traveled for many days, came to Beloozero. There they walked a lot, but nowhere could the saint choose a place for himself to live: he kept looking for the one indicated to him, to which, even in the former monastery, he was called the Most Pure.

ABOUT THE COMING OF THE HOLY AT BELO LAKE

Having gone around many places, they finally came to the place where the monastery now stands. And immediately the saint recognized the place previously indicated to him and fell in love with it very much. And having made a prayer, he said: “This is my rest forever and ever. I will settle here, for the Most Pure One has chosen this place. Blessed be the Lord God, now and forever, for hearing my prayer." And then he erected a cross in that place and sang a thanksgiving canon in praise of Our Most Pure Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. Then the blessed Cyril revealed everything to his companion Ferapont - how the Most Pure appeared to him in the old monastery and how he heard a voice addressed to him, commanding him to leave the old monastery and come to these places. “Which I did,” he said, “with the help of the Most Pure Theotokos instructing me.” Ferapont listened to this, and together they glorified God and His Most Pure Mother.

And then they began to dig a cell in the ground, and first of all they erected a shed. And they spent some time together behind this business. But their customs did not agree: Cyril wanted to live closely and harshly, while Ferapont wanted to live extensively and smoothly, and therefore they parted from each other: blessed Cyril remained in that place, and Ferapont left from there - not very far, a field of fifteen or a little more, and finding there a suitable place near the lake called Pascoe, he settled there and built a church in the name of Our Most Pure Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, in honor of her glorious Nativity. The brethren also gathered to him. And to this day a very beautiful monastery with many brothers working for the Lord stands in that place. Therefore, this monastery is still called Ferapontov.

The place where Saint Cyril settled was in a dense forest, in a thicket, and none of the people lived there. It was a small but very beautiful hill, on all sides, like a wall, surrounded by water. They say that near the place where the monastery of the Most Pure is now located, there lived a certain farmer named Isaiah. And many years before the arrival of St. Cyril, a loud ringing was heard from that place. And before the arrival of the saint, not only a ringing was heard from there, but as if the singers were singing. And not only Isaiah heard these calls and voices, but many who lived around that place. And therefore, hearing the ringing, many came there to find out exactly where these ringing and singing came from. But with their ears they heard it, but with their eyes they could not see anything and were only surprised and understood that this was no accident.

The saint, as we said before, dug out a cell in the ground and fought in it against the wiles of an invisible enemy. And two Christians came to him from the surrounding places: one named Auxentius, and nicknamed Raven, and the other Matthew, nicknamed Kukos, who later became the sacristan of that monastery. When the saint was walking through the forest, and these two people were with him, the enemy who hates good, knowing that he would be expelled from there by the saint, took up arms against him for this, let him fall into such a dream that the saint, from the desire to sleep, could not stand and wanted to lie down for a while. And he said to the people who were with him: "Wait here until I get some sleep." But they did not leave him, saying: "Go to your cell and rest there." But he, being unable to fight, overcome by sleep, seeing a place suitable for rest, lay down to sleep there for a while. And as soon as he fell asleep, he suddenly heard a voice insistently saying: “Run, Kirill!” Waking up from an unusual voice, he jumped away from this place. And then, by the intrigues of the enemy, a large tree fell and hit right in the place where the saint had just been lying. Then the saint understood that this was a devilish trick, and as a conscientious and perfect ascetic, he sincerely prayed to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother to take away sleep from him, which came true, for he began to stay without sleep day and night, so that by being awake he could finally defeat opponents. But the devil, seeing that nothing came of his tricks, was put to shame by this, and went away more defeated than victorious. It's about it like this.

After that, the saint cut down the forest, cleared the place and, having gathered together the brushwood, decided to sow some herbs, for that place was sparse and empty. And so he lit the brushwood, but since the devil did not stop fighting with the saint, a strong wind blew, and smoke with flames surrounded the saint from all sides, and he did not know where to run from the smoke. And suddenly he saw how a certain person in the guise of the aforementioned Matthew Kukos takes him by the hand and says: “Follow me!” And then he came out safe and sound, saved with the help of our Lady the Mother of God.

A little time passed, and two brothers from Simonov appeared to the saint, beloved by him, and most importantly, of the same mind with him - one named Zebedee, the other Dionysius. Seeing them, the saint was very happy and received them with great love, and they began to live together. And, living with the saint, Zebedee and Dionysius did everything they saw him do, and tried to do it themselves to the best of their ability. Then, after them, many began to come to the saint from everywhere, some for the sake of benefit, others, wanting to live with him. They asked him to endow them with a monastic image, and after many requests he accepted them and endowed them with an angelic image. And a certain Nathanael came to him, who later became the cellar of that monastery, and some others from the brethren came to him.

ABOUT THE MAN WHO WANTED TO CAUSE THE HOLY EVIL WITH FIRE

One man named Andrew lived near the monastery of the saint. He began to hate the saint because he settled there. Taught by the devil, this Andrew planned to burn the saint. But when, one night, he came, a great fear attacked him, and from this fear he fled. And another time, having come in the dead of night and putting fire to the wall, he ran away so that it would not become known who the villain was. And having gone some distance, he stood, waiting for the cell with the saint to burn down. But there was nothing to see, for as soon as he moved away, the fire died out. He did this many times, but left without reaching the goal or, one might say, put to shame with the help of the Most Holy Theotokos. The fire, ashamed of the saint, instead of burning, quickly went out. Seeing this, the aforementioned Andrew got scared. Either fear attacked him, or the fire could not burn.

Finally he came to his senses and realized his sin. Appearing to the blessed one, he revealed his sin to him and, beginning to repent, told the saint how he wanted to burn him, how the fire died out and how fear attacked him when he wanted to harm him. The saint, having advised that man not to listen to the advice of the evil one, let him go. He himself began to sing the canon of thanksgiving to the Mother of God, covering him with her holy veil.

After a short time, that Andrew again came to the saint, and the saint vouchsafed him a monastic image. So in the future he remained with the blessed Cyril in obedience - until he departed to the Lord. This he himself, repenting, told all the brothers.

ON THE DELIVERY OF THE CHURCH OF THE MOST PURE LORD OF OUR MOTHER OF GOD, HER GLORIOUS DORMITION

Since the brothers were already living with the saint at that time, a need arose to erect a church where everyone could gather. And they asked the blessed one to build a church. But due to the fact that the place was far from human dwellings, and there were no carpenters, it was difficult for the brethren to do this. Saint Cyril, according to his original custom, in everything he needed, relied on the will of the Most Pure One and never, asking, was not mistaken. And then he prayed to the Most Pure One, and, not being called by anyone, the carpenters came. And thus the church was built in the name of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, her glorious Dormition.

And a rumor spread among the inhabitants of those lands that a church had been set up in the monastery, which meant that the monastery would grow, and people were surprised and more and more believed that Cyril brought with him a large fortune, especially when they heard that he was the archimandrite of the Simonov monastery, from where, they thought, he got a large fortune.

ABOUT THE BOYARIN FEODOR WHO WANTED TO CAUSE THE HOLY EVIL

So, a certain boyar named Theodore, taught by the devil, thought that great riches appeared here with the saint, and therefore he sent robbers at night so that they, having come to him, would take away his treasures and do him harm. But when the robbers went to the monastery of the saint and were already nearby, they saw a lot of people around the monastery of the blessed one: someone was shooting from a bow, someone was doing something else. And the robbers, looking at this, stopped at a distance and waited for them to go away to attack the saint. But the robbers stood for a long time, and they were not going to leave the monastery. So the robbers left with nothing, unable to cause any harm to the saint.

The next night, the robbers who had been sent came again and again in the same way saw some people in even greater numbers than the first time. These too, like some kind of warriors, were shooting. Therefore, the robbers were even more frightened and returned and told their boyar how they came to the saint for the first and second time and how they saw many shooting soldiers.

Theodore, hearing this, was surprised and thought that one of the nobles had come to the saint to ask for prayers, and sent blessed Cyril to the monastery, wanting to find out for sure who was in the monastery yesterday and the day before. And the envoys, having learned that there had been no one in that monastery for more than a week, reported this to Theodore. Theodore, hearing this, came to his senses and repented of his sin. For he understood that the saint is a real man of God, that the Most Pure One hides him from evil, and therefore he was afraid that he would not receive a great retribution from God for wanting to cause grief to such a person. Therefore, he quickly ran to the saint and, repenting with tears for his sins, told him about what had happened: how he sent robbers against him and what vision they saw for the first and second time. Blessed Cyril, comforting him so that he would not grieve because of this, said to him: “Believe me, child Theodore, that I have nothing else in this life, except for this robe that you see on me, and a few books” .

Theodore was surprised at his simplicity and non-acquisitiveness, and even more about God's help to him. He returned to his home and said: “Thank you, Lord Lover of mankind, that I did not let the enemy catch me a sinner and did not allow me to cause grief to your saint!” And since then, this Theodore gained great faith in the saint and revered him not as a man, but rather as an angel of God.

And therefore, when he was about to go to the saint for a blessing, especially when the holiday was coming, then he threw the net with the words: “God, in the name of your saint Cyril, give us a catch,” for without a doubt he believed in the saint. And he never remained without fish: he caught one sturgeon, then he caught two, brought them to the blessed one. And so it happened many times, and he never came to the saint empty-handed.

So time passed, and the fame of the blessed Cyril spread everywhere, and the name of Cyril, as something sanctifying, was on everyone’s lips, and virtue seemed to point to him with a finger, and some praised the humility of this man, others spoke of his abstinence and the benefits of his words, others told each other about his poverty and simplicity. That is why many, despising worldly things, became monks.

Then a certain Ignatius also came, a perfect and great man in virtue, who had the rank of a silent man. He led such a harsh life like no one else, so that after the blessed Cyril he was an example for all the brethren. They say about him that during his great abstinence and kneeling, he spent thirty years not lying on his ribs, but standing, or slightly crouching, he ate a little sleep. There is nothing to say about the poverty and lack of possessions they love. After living in that rank for many years, he went to the Lord.

And many people from everywhere came to the blessed Cyril, and in a short time the brethren greatly increased.

The Blessed One established a rule: in the church, no one should talk to anyone and do not leave the church before the end of the service, but everyone, everyone, should remain in the order and doxology established for him. Also, approaching the Gospel, and when worshiping the holy icons, they observed the order of precedence, so that they would not have any hustle and bustle. Blessed Cyril himself, standing in church, never leaned against the wall and did not sit down before the time, and his legs were like pillars. And they went out to the meal in order of seniority. At the meal, everyone was sitting in their place, they were silent, and no one was heard, except for one reader.

The brothers were always given three courses, except on fast days when "Hallelujah" was sung. The blessed one himself ate from two dishes, and even then not to satiety. His drink was nothing else but water alone. Rising after the meal, everyone dispersed to their cells, in silence thanking God, not deviating from any conversations and not stopping by one of the brothers on the way from the meal, except perhaps out of great necessity.

One day it happened to one of the disciples of the saint, Martinian by name, to go after a meal to a certain brother for some reason. Seeing that he had turned towards another cell, the saint called him to him and asked: “Where are you going?” He replied: "I have business with a brother who lives there, and therefore I wanted to go to him." The saint, as if reproaching, said to him: “Do you observe the monastic order like that? Can't you go first to your cell and read the prescribed prayers there, and then, if you need to, go to your brother? And he, smiling a little, answered: “When I come to the cell, I can’t leave it anymore.” The saint said to him: “Always do this: first of all, go to your cell, and the cell will teach you everything.”

There was also such a custom: if someone brought a letter or a gift to any brother, then the letter, without opening, was brought to the saint, as well as a gift. In the same way, if someone wanted to send a letter from the monastery, no one dared to write or send a command without a reason.

In the monastery and in the cells, Cyril ordered not to keep anything of our own and not to call anything ours, but to have everything, according to the apostle, in common, so as not to become a slave of what we call our own. Silver or gold was not mentioned at all by the brethren outside of the monastery's xenodochia, that is, the treasury. The brothers got everything they needed from there. If someone was thirsty, he went to the refectory and there, with a blessing, quenched his thirst. Bread and water or anything else of the kind was never found in the cells, nothing could be seen there except icons. They had only one care - to surpass each other in humility and love and to be the first in the church in the service. Likewise, they went to monastic work, wherever they were, with the fear of God and worked not as for people, but for God or standing before God. They had no idle talk, no questions, no stories about worldly things, but each silently observed his own wisdom. If someone wanted to speak, he did not say anything other than from the Scriptures, for the benefit of other brothers, especially those who did not know the Scriptures.

There was also a great difference in the structure of their lives, for each of the brethren was given a way of life and a measure of rules by the blessed one himself. Those who knew how, did something with their hands and took the products to the treasury. Nobody did anything for themselves without blessing. For, as we have already said, they received everything from the treasury - both clothes, and shoes, and other things necessary for the body. The saint himself could not at all see any beautiful clothes on himself, and so he walked around in a torn and repeatedly sewn robe.

And he asked everyone and ordered them to have absolutely no thoughts of their own and be ready for any obedience, so that in this way fruit would be brought to God, and not to their own will.

The blessed one also had such a custom: after the funeral of the morning doxology and having fulfilled his usual rule, he would come to the kitchen to see what kind of treat the brothers would have. The blessed one asked the minister to prepare food for the brothers, trying with all his might. And sometimes he himself helped to prepare food with his own hands and prepared all kinds of dishes for the brothers. Honey and other drinks containing hops, he ordered not to keep in the monastery in any case. And so, with this prohibition, the blessed one cut off the head of the serpent of drunkenness and pulled out its very root. He established not only during his lifetime not to keep honey and other intoxicating drinks in the monastery, but also commanded not to have them after his death.

And this is the gift of the blessed one worthy of astonishment: never, when serving the Divine Liturgy or during the reading, when others read or he himself read, especially under his private rule, he could not refrain from tears flowing from zeal. By this one can understand what zeal and faith he had in God.

It so happened that when something was missing in the monastery, the brothers forced the saint to send to some Christ-lovers to ask them for the needs of the brethren. He did not allow this in any way, saying: “If God and the Most Pure One forget us in this place, then why are we needed in this life?” And at the same time he consoled the brethren and taught them not to ask for alms from worldly people.

The saint had one disciple, Anthony by name, great in life in God and having understanding in matters both monastic and worldly. Blessed Cyril sent him once a year to buy what the brothers needed for their bodies - that is, clothes, shoes, oil, and so on. And beyond that, he did not leave the monastery, unless there was some kind of need. When one of the worldly people sent alms, they accepted that sent from God, thanking God and His Most Pure Mother.

One day a princess came, the wife of the pious Prince Andrei, whose fiefdom was that land, Agrippina by name. She was pious and very merciful and had faith in the monastic image, especially in the blessed Cyril, and she wanted to treat the brethren with fish dishes. But the saint did not allow fish to be eaten during Great Lent. The pious princess asked him to allow the brethren to eat fish. But he did not agree with her in any way, saying: “If I do this, then I myself will be a violator of the monastery charter, according to what was said:“ What I create, I myself destroy. And then, as soon as I die, they will then begin to say that Cyril ordered to eat fish in fasting. So the saint tried so that the monastic custom was not violated in anything, especially the one established by the holy fathers. And the princess, having treated the brethren with fasting dishes, returned to her home, praising the firmness of the saint in the feat.

A certain brother named Theodore, while still living far from the monastery of Cyril, heard about the saint from many and came to the monastery and begged the saint to accept him to live with him. The saint accepted him and numbered him among the brothers, and he lived here with the brothers for some time. The devil, who hates goodness, put hatred for the saint into Theodore's heart. And as much as he believed the saint before, so much later he began to hate him, so that he could no longer see him or hear his voice. Being conquered by this feeling, this brother comes to the aforementioned elder Ignatius and tells him about his feeling of hatred that he felt for the saint, and says: “I want to leave the monastery.” The elder encouraged him with the words: “Be patient, brother, because what is happening to you is from the enemy.” The brother, having consoled himself, obeyed the elder and said: “All right, I’ll wait one year, the elder may change towards me.”

After a year had passed, the enemy did not stop inciting hatred for the saint in his brother. Unable to fight this feeling anymore, he comes to the saint to confess to him his secret thoughts and what hatred he feels for him. But when he came to the cell of the saint and saw him, he was ashamed of his holy beautiful gray hair, and out of shame did not say anything of what he had come for. And he wanted to leave the cell of the saint, but the holy elder, having the gift of clairvoyance, realized that the brother concealed his thoughts and did not tell the elder why he had come. And he restrained his brother, and began to tell him about all the hatred that he had for him, and with what thoughts he came to him. And the brother understood that nothing can be hidden from the saint. Filled with shame and shame, he asked for forgiveness for everything that he had sinned against him in ignorance. The saint, consoling him, said: “Do not be upset, brother Theodore! After all, everyone was mistaken in me, only you were right and understood that I was a sinner. For who am I but a sinful and indecent man?”

Seeing the saint in such humility, the brother was even more distressed, repenting of what he felt against him in vain. The saint, seeing that the brother was repenting and lamenting, let him go, saying: “Go, brother, in peace to your cell. Such an attack will not come to you again. From that time on, the brother came to his senses and repented of his sin, and thus gained great faith in the saint. This brother lived in that monastery for the rest of his life in all kinds of chastity, until he passed away to the Lord.

Blessed Cyril also had such a great gift. When one of the wanderers came to this monastery, and then many from various lands and cities came to the saint, some wishing to see the saint and receive some benefit from him, while others wanted to live with him, the saint, having the gift of providence, looked at them with a penetrating glance when they were just entering the monastery, and informed the brothers who happened to be nearby: “This brother will live with us, and this one will go away.” Both came true according to the prophecy of the saint.

The brother Zebedee mentioned above once came to the saint for a blessing. The saint, opening the window of the cell, sees that Zebedee has a red face. And he asked him, "What, brother, has happened to you?" He asked what it was about. And the saint said to him: “I see, brother, that your face is not fasting, but worldly, worse than that of those who overeat.” Ashamed, Zebedee began to abstain, so that the saint would no longer reproach him.

ABOUT RAGING

They brought to the saint a man named Theodore, who was suffering grievously from an unclean demon. And the saint began to pray to God and His Most Pure Mother for the grievously suffering Theodore. Ready to hear those praying, God and His Most Pure Immaculate Mother did not reject the prayers of their holy saint Cyril. And therefore, having received healing, this Theodore did not want to go out of the monastery anymore, so as not to suffer again from the same fierce demon. And so he prayed to the saint to tonsure him into a monastic image. The saint, seeing his zeal, received him, clothed him in monastic robes, numbered him among the other brothers, and named him Theophanes. He lived in the monastery of the blessed Cyril in chastity, obedience and all kinds of humility for more than ten years, until he passed away to the Lord.

MIRACLE OF THE HOLY WITH CHURCH WINE

Once there was not enough wine for the church service, but it was necessary to serve the liturgy. Therefore, the priest came to the monk and said that they had no wine. The saint called the ecclesiarch Nifont and asked him if they had wine. He replied that he was not guilty. The saint told him to bring a vessel, which usually contained wine. And Niphon went for the vessel, as the saint commanded him, and found this vessel full of wine, and overflowing, so that it poured out. Everyone was surprised by this, for they knew that there was no wine: there was only one vessel, and that one was dry. And everyone glorified God and His Most Pure Mother of God for this, and for a long time since then, in that vessel, the wine for the church service did not decrease, but rather increased, until another wine was brought.

After a few years there was no small famine among the people. And because of the great poverty and need, many of the poor came to the monastery of the saint. In view of the severity of the famine, the saint commanded that bread be given to those who ask in order to satiate them. And so every day they distributed a lot of bread to the poor. And then there were no villages from where they could get bread, and they had only a certain small amount of alms brought to them, which was enough for food only for the brothers. But when the people living around the monastery heard that everyone who came because of hunger was being fed there, they began to come in even larger numbers and eat there. But no matter how much food they took from there, it multiplied just as much again and even more. Seeing what was happening, the bakers said: “He who first multiplied wine when he was gone, the more he can multiply bread.” And so many people were fed with a small amount of food, and with the help of Our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and the prayers of St. Cyril, such abundance continued until the new harvest. The same brothers who took the flour with their own hands told the saint about the miracle: “How much,” they said, “we took the flour, when we came, we found it increased again by the same amount, and it did not decrease in the martyr.” And the saint gave thanks to God, who does marvelous and glorious deeds.

Subsequently, if there was ever a shortage of something in the monastery, the brothers did not dare to say anything about it to the saint, since everyone saw that everything that he asks from God receives in abundance.

Once the cells in that monastery caught fire, and the brothers could not put them out, and the flame, increasing and rising higher, was ready to cover everything in general. The saint, taking an honest cross, ran to where the cells were burning. And there was a certain layman who came from the city, who, seeing the saint hurrying with an honest cross, seemed to laugh at him. He saw that the fire engulfed everything inexhaustibly, and he considered it impossible to extinguish it. The saint, running and standing with an honest cross against the flame, began to pray to God, and the fire immediately, as if ashamed of the prayer of the saint, died out. The wrath of God overtook the mocking layman: all the members of his body were weakened. Then the layman understood his sin - that he had suffered for having reviled the saint, and he began to beg the saint with tears, asking his forgiveness. And the saint prayed for him, marked him with an honest cross and made him healthy again, and he, walking everywhere, told about the miracles performed by the saints.

The glorious miracles of the saint became known not only in the vicinity of his monastery, but also far away - in foreign lands. Stories about them also reached Prince Mikhail Belevsky. And Prince Mikhail, having lived with his princess named Maria for eight years, had no children and, due to his childlessness, was in great sorrow. Hearing about St. Cyril - that he receives from God everything that he asks, he sent some two of his boyars to go to the saint and ask him to pray to God for the resolution of their barrenness. From the saint, as a seer, this was not hidden at all. As soon as messengers arrived from Prince Michael, before they had time to give him the prince’s message, the blessed one tells them: “Since, children, you have labored to go a long way, I believe in God and His Most Pure Mother that your work will not be in vain. God grant your prince the fruit of childbearing. They began to wonder how he knew why they had come, but they understood that he was a man of God, and they conveyed to the saint a message from the prince. The saint commanded to give them a rest from the road.

On the same night, Prince Michael saw in a dream a certain luminous old man, adorned with gray hair, holding three vessels in his hand and saying to him: “Take what you asked of me.” On the same night, an elder of the same type also appeared to Princess Mary and also gave her some three vessels. Prince Michael woke up from his sleep and thought about what he had dreamed about, especially about the old man who had appeared to him. And he began to tell about his vision to Princess Mary, and she, intercepting the story from his lips, said: “And the same old man appeared to me and also gave three certain vessels and said:“ Get what you asked of me. Realizing that the visions of both coincide, they remembered the day on which both saw it.

And after that, after three days, blessed Kirill released the boyars sent by Prince Mikhail. And he commanded the cellarer to give them one and a half bread for the journey. In total, there were eight people who came from Prince Mikhail. And the saint said to them: “Go in peace to the prince who sent you and convey blessing and gratitude from us. And tell him this: what you asked for, God will give you. Don't be sad anymore." They asked: “Father, command them to give us bread and fish for the journey, because we have to go a long way, and these places are deserted, and we will have nowhere to buy bread.” The saint answered them: "I sent a man to give you bread for the road." They said: "They gave us one and a half bread and a few fish." And the saint said: "Go in peace, and this will be enough for you, to your very house it will be in abundance." With that they set off, thinking about bread, where to buy it, for their journey was about twenty days or more. The bread that they had, they thought, would be enough for them to eat only for one day.

Having reached the first refuge, they began to cook a small amount of fish given to them by the saints. And when they cooked, then they saw that there were a lot of fish. And when they sat down to eat, they took half of that bread and began to eat, and they ate and were satisfied, and saw that half of the bread was still intact. Also, there was little boiled fish, and through the prayers of the saint, it turned out to be much more. And then they understood the meaning of what the saint had said to them, and they no longer cared about food. And after many days, having gone all the way to their home, they ate only one half of the bread, and the other bread they brought with them whole.

Arriving at the prince, they conveyed to him the words of the saint, prophetically told by him about what they came for: “We,” they said, “have not yet had time to convey your message to him, as the saint tells us: a long way, I believe in God and His Most Pure Mother, that God will give your prince the fruit of childbearing.” They also told about the miracle with bread: “He ordered one and a half bread to give us on the road and said: “This is enough for you and it will be in abundance to your very house.” And so, one half of the bread was enough for us for our entire journey, and we brought the second bread with us whole. He told us: “Go to your prince in peace and tell him: what you asked of God, God will grant you. Don't be sad anymore."

The prince and princess rejoiced with great joy and honored those who came from the saint with gifts. And the prince commanded them to bring bread, which they had brought from the saint. And when it was brought, Prince Michael, getting up, accepted the bread brought from the saint with great faith, as a kind of shrine. And he ate it together with his princess and gave everyone in his house a taste of that bread. And whoever was ill with a cold, that is, a fever, or suffered from some other ailments, all were healed by the grace of Christ and with the help of our Lady Theotokos, with the assistance of the prayers of St. Cyril and eating the bread brought from him.

The prince asked the messengers: “What was the day when you came to the saint?” They answered him, and he understood that this was the day on which they had dreams, and therefore everyone magnified and glorified God, who works wondrous miracles through his holy saint Cyril. And after that day, two sons and one daughter were born to Prince Michael, according to how they saw in a dream that they received three vessels, which meant the birth of three children. Since then, Prince Michael has gained great faith in the saint. And they sent many alms with his princess Maria to the monastery of the saint, asking God to pray for them.

That Princess Maria herself told this to one of the monks of that monastery, trustworthy, named Ignatius. And he told it to me, but I, having heard it from him as trustworthy, wrote down - so that the miracles of the saint would not be forgotten.

MIRACLES WITH RULER ATHANASIUS

A certain man named Athanasius was the ruler of a volost called Syama, and it happened that this Athanasius fell ill with a serious illness: all the members of his body relaxed, and he could not move at all. There was a certain man there, named Martin, and he began to tell Athanasius about St. Cyril - what healings God would grant for his sake to all who came. “Listen to me,” he said, “the one who gives you good advice: if you can go to blessed Cyril, in no case will you be deceived in hope; if not, at least go to him and ask him to pray for you. None of those for whom he prayed was deceived in hope. Athanasius believed that Martin, for he heard from other people about many miracles that God works through Saint Cyril.

Therefore, with hope and faith, he sends to the saint and asks him to pray for him. The saint prayed for him and sent him blessed water. And with the help of God and His Most Pure Mother, as soon as he tasted pure blessed water, brought from the saint, and sprinkled it all over his body, he immediately received healing and became healthy through the prayers of St. Cyril.

THE MIRACLE OF SAINT CYRIL

Let it not be silent about this, created by this blessed father. Once the saint sent to the lake to fish, and when the fishermen set sail and were already in the middle of the lake, a great storm began on the lake, and the waves rose and grew, threatening them with death. Being unable to fight the waves, the fishermen could not swim to the shore and, already desperate to stay alive, they saw death before them. A certain man, Flor by name, who then stood on the shore of the lake and saw the disaster and death of the fishermen, quickly ran to the saint and told him about the trouble: “The fishermen,” he said, “are drowning in the lake!” The saint, hearing this, quickly got up and, taking the cross in his hands, ran and ran to the shore of the lake. And he made the sign of the cross with the brought cross, and immediately the lake stopped agitating and became completely still. And the fishermen escaped drowning and, landing on land, they said to the saint: “A great misfortune would have befallen us if you had not forestalled it with your prayer to God.” That day the fishermen caught a lot of fish, more than in the old days.

After this, a certain man was brought to the monastery of the saint, very seriously ill, and asked the saint to tonsure him as a monk. And the holy request did not reject him, clothed him in a holy monastic image and called his name Dalmat. And, having been ill for several days, approaching the end, he asked for the holy mysteries of Christ. And the priest hesitated because of the sacred service. And when the priest came to partake of his holy mysteries, he found his brother dead. Then the priest went and informed the monk that the brother had reposed, not having had time to partake of the holy mysteries. The saint, hearing about this, was very sad and, hastily closing the window of the cell, wept and turned to God with a prayer.

Soon the brother who served the aforementioned Dalmat came, and knocking on the window of the cell, informed the blessed Cyril that Dalmat was alive and again asked to partake of his holy mysteries. And the saint, calling the priest, sent him to partake of the brother of the holy mysteries. The priest did not want to argue with the saint, and although he saw that his brother had died, he went to him, carrying with him the holy secrets. And he found Dalmat alive, sitting. There was that priest from this in great amazement and gave glory to God. And Dalmat, having communed the holy mysteries and saying goodbye to all the brothers, peacefully and quietly departed to the Lord.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

Princess Ivan Kargolomsky came, blind, having not seen for a long time, and asked the saint to pray for her. The saint prayed for her as best he could and sprinkled her eyes with consecrated water. And immediately she received her sight and, becoming healthy, as before, gave glory to God and His saint, blessed Cyril.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

A certain boyar named Roman Alexandrovich, who lived far from the monastery of the saint, did not see the saint with his own eyes, but only heard about his great deeds. Having fallen ill with a serious illness and completely weakened, he began to pray to the Most Pure Mother of God so that she would alleviate his illness. And, praying like that, he fell into a light sleep. And he sees in a dream how a certain luminous wife appeared to him, holding the hand of a certain holy-bearing old man, and said to him: “Send to him so that he sends you blessed water, and then you will recover. Kirill is the name of this person,” she added.

He woke up from a dream and told everyone about the phenomenon that had happened to him. Soon afterwards he sends to the saint in the monastery and asks him to pray for him. And the saint prayed for him and sent him blessed water. And when the blessed water was brought and that sick man accepted it and reverently drank it with deep faith, the disease immediately left him, and he became healthy with the help of the true God and His Most Pure Mother through the prayers of St. Cyril. And having recovered from his illness, he got up and went to the saint with his wife and children. And, having come to the monastery of the saint, he recognized the saint by that vision as having appeared to him in a dream, and, falling at his feet, he bowed to him, calling him his deliverer from the disease. And he began to tell him in detail how he prayed to the Most Pure One, and about the appearance that had happened to him, he told everything in order in front of all the brothers. And everyone in unison glorified and thanked God and His Most Pure Mother, who everywhere helps those who call her.

Then this Roman asked the saint to bless the water so that he could take a dip in it. The saint did not reject his request, he went to the river and blessed the water. And then there was a severe frost, and therefore the aforementioned boyar did not dare to enter the water. The saint said: "Do not be afraid, dare!" And as soon as he entered the water, the water, through the prayers of the saint, became warm. And, coming out of the water, the boyar told everyone about the miracle that had happened: “As soon as,” he said, “I entered the water, it seemed to me that I was standing in warm water!” From that time on, Roman gained great faith in the saint and, having given the monastery a great alms, then went to his home, giving thanks to God and His Most Pure Mother, who created extraordinary things through their saint.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

Another boyar, named Roman Ivanovich, having great faith in the Most Pure Mother of God and her saint, Blessed Cyril, gave the monastery fifty measures of grain every year, and sometimes more. And this aforementioned boyar wanted to transfer to the house of the Most Pure, Cyril's monastery, a certain village with everything in it. And he sent the holy letter to that village. The saint, having received the sent letter, began to think to himself: “If we begin to monitor the villages and manage them, then we will have more cares that break the silence of the brothers, and some of us will have to become village administrators and contractors. So it is much better for us to live without villages, for the soul of one of the brethren is much better than any property.” This wise soul had such spiritual care for the brethren! And he sent this letter back to that boyar mentioned above, and wrote him another letter, where he said: “If you want, man of God, to transfer to the monastery, the house of the Most Pure, a village to feed the brethren, then it’s better to give the brothers fifty measures of grain, and if you want, then give a hundred measures, and that will be enough for us. Own your villages yourself, for we do not need them and the brethren are not useful. And thus the saint did not want to accept the village. And that boyar did as the elder said, and gave the monastery a hundred measures of grain, and sometimes more. After the repose of Blessed Cyril, that land was again given to the Most Pure Monastery, as it continues to be to this day, in memory of him.

THE MIRACLE WITH PRINCE PETER DMITRIEVICH AND HIS PRINCESS

May this miracle of the blessed Cyril, about which undeceitful lips spoke, not be hidden by silence.

There lived a pious Prince Peter, the son of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich, and he had a princess, Euphrosyne by name. They lived in every kind of piety and love, but they had no children for eleven years and six months, and therefore both of them were in sorrow because of their barrenness. They had great faith in the holy and already widely known blessed abbot Cyril. The pious prince Pyotr Dmitrievich thought of sending to Saint Cyril so that he would pray to God and His Most Pure Mother for the resolution of their infertility and granting them the fruit of childbearing. But for the time being this and that, then in a certain year there happened a great pestilence on people, and it was in the very fatherland of the pious Prince Peter, the city of Dmitrov. And therefore, forgetting about their sadness due to barrenness, they were more sad about themselves, seeing every day their fatherland, especially the city, reaped by a deadly sickle, and therefore they themselves, like others, were waiting for death.

And because of this, because of the punishment of God that came upon them, they urgently send a certain boyar named Kozma to Beloozero to Blessed Kirill, so that the saint would pray to God for the deliverance of people from the sent down punishment, especially praying for them. That Kozma set off and, having reached the monastery of the saint and seeing the Reverend Father Cyril, wanted to give him a message from the prince, but that blessed Cyril, having the gift of clairvoyance, himself learned about him. Having prayed for them as best he could with the brethren, he sends them blessed water and prosphora and commands them, after fasting for several days, then, together with the princess, to drink the blessed water and taste the prosphora, and having tasted it, sprinkle it. Blessed Cyril predicted in a message that there would be mercy from God to people and that their barrenness would be resolved, as both of them later came true through the prayers of St. Cyril.

When the aforementioned Cosmas returned and brought prosphora and consecrated water and conveyed the message, the pious Prince Peter was filled with joy and accepted it with great faith, and did everything that the saint commanded him. And, having fasted for several days with his princess and people - and at that time a life-giving cross was brought to him from the city of Vladimir to help against the devastating pestilence - then the pious Prince Peter went to the city of Dmitrov and performed a prayer service, walking around the city and sprinkling the city and people brought from the holy water. And after that, with the onset of night, the pious Prince Peter fell into a sort of light sleep. And he saw how a certain luminous old man appeared to him, holding two candles in his hands, and heard him say to him: “This is what you asked for: God will give you a son.” The pious prince Pyotr Dmitrievich woke up from his sleep and realized that in a vision he had seen the appearance of St. Cyril, and from this he was filled with great joy. At the same time, the pious Princess Euphrosyne conceived a son. Soon, by the grace of Christ, sickness ceased among the people.

Nine months later, it happened to Timothy, the servant of the pious Prince Peter Dmitrievich, to come to the monastery of St. Cyril. Seeing him, blessed Cyril said: “Now it is fitting for you to rejoice, because your princess has given birth to a son, Prince Ivan.” Timothy was surprised at the words of St. Cyril and remembered the day and hour when the saint said this, for there was then the memory of St. Panteleimon. After that, after one week, a servant came from the prince to the saint to thank him for the fact that, through his prayers, God had given the prince a son. Then Timothy returns to the prince and retells to him the prophecy of St. Cyril - that on the very day when the princess gave birth to a son, on Beloozero, blessed Cyril found out about this and told everyone. Since that year, the pious Prince Peter Dmitrievich gained great faith in the blessed Kirill and, together with his princess, expressed great gratitude to God, who works glorious miracles through his saint Kirill. Then the pious princess Euphrosyne gave birth to a daughter - because the saint appeared, holding two candles in his hand - to show that two children would be born.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

Once, with the onset of the feast of the Holy Theophany, they brought to the monastery a certain man overcome by illness. They did not have time to arrive at the moment when the water was consecrated so that it would plunge into the Jordan, but they arrived when the saint was already on his way to the church to sing the Divine Liturgy. And that man, saddened, was in great sorrow from the fact that he did not have time at the right time. They told the blessed man about this, and the saint said: “Tell that man to enter the water without hesitation. For I believe in God and His Most Pure Mother that he will recover.” That man believed the words of St. Cyril and plunged into the Jordan three times, and since then, by the grace of Christ and His Most Pure Mother and the prayers of St. Cyril, he became healthy. And so he went home, rejoicing.

THE MIRACLES WITH THE BLIND WOMAN

And after that, a blind woman was brought to St. Cyril, who had not seen anything for three years. And they begged the saint to pray for her and anoint her eyes with consecrated water. The saint wanted to check whether God had mercy on her. The saint said to her: “Do you see anything?” She answered: “I see the book that you are holding in your hand,” for the saint was then holding a book in his hand. Then, after that, she said, "I see a lake and people walking." And so gradually she began to see everything and became healthy through the prayers of St. Cyril. The saint, seeing that God had mercy on her and she received her sight, gave great gratitude to God and His Most Pure Mother.

Many other blind people were brought to the saint. The saint, taking only wine and water, anointed their eyes in the name of Christ, and they began to see and returned to their home, glorifying and thanking God and his saint Cyril, who works such miracles.

ANOTHER MIRACLE OF THE HOLY

Saint Cyril had a disciple Herman. And, sending him to fish to feed the brothers, the saint told Herman what kind of fish he should catch, explaining: “Because, child, the brothers ask for this or that fish.” And Herman went to catch, and with God's help to that Herman, thanks to the blessing of the saint, he caught the fish that the saint commanded him, and with nothing more than a fishing rod alone. And this was enough to feed the whole brethren. Then, after all, they did not catch with a net, only when the feast of the Assumption of the Most Pure came.

And this Herman, whom we mentioned above, lived for many years in that monastery in all kinds of obedience and chastity, so that many, seeing his immeasurable humility and labors, were surprised and praised him. He spent his days in labor, catching fish, and prayer never left his lips, but nights in vigils and kneeling, while standing in church singing, he never leaned against the wall.

He had a spiritual love for a certain Demetrius, a disciple of Christopher, who later became abbot of that monastery. And that Demetrius led a great life according to God. And when Herman fell ill, his spiritual friend Demetrius often came to him, visiting him in illness. But the time has come, and Herman peacefully departed to the Lord in that never-ending age. After the death of Herman, some time passed, and it happened to the aforementioned Demetrius to fall into a bodily illness. And when he was so overcome with illness, the aforementioned Herman appeared to him and said: “Do not grieve, brother Demetrius! For on the second day, which is Monday, you will come to us. Then that Demetrius was filled with great joy at visiting his beloved spiritual brother Herman. That Demetrius told the brothers who were there about the appearance of his spiritual brother Herman. And when that day named by Herman came, Demetrius moved with hope to the Lord, to the eternal monasteries, leaving work as a memory of his virtues.

The disciple of the blessed Christopher, whom we mentioned a little higher, had a brother in the flesh named Sosipater. And this Sosipater happened to fall into a serious illness. His brother Christopher, seeing his brother exhausted, took pity on him and, going, told the Monk Cyril about his brother - that his brother was very sick and was about to die. The saint, with a slight smile, said: “Believe me, child Christopher, that not one of you will die before me. At my death, many of you will go with me there, ”which happened after a short time, exactly as the saint predicted. For then there was a strong pestilence in the vicinity of the monastery. But in the monastery, none of the brethren was sick at that time. That brother Sosipater, although he was ill for a long time, later recovered from his illness and became healthy.

MIRACLE OF THE HOLY

A man who lived in the vicinity of the monastery of the saint, named Paul, came and asked the saint about another person, saying: “He has a serious illness, but you pray for him so that his illness leaves him.” The saint not only did not listen to this Paul, but even ordered that the sick man not be brought to the monastery. And when the patient lay outside the monastery, bloody foam flowed from his mouth and nostrils. Seeing this, another person, his relative, beloved by the saint, for he often came to him, took great pity on this man. And he comes to the saint, and tells him about that person, and at the same time asks him to pray for him. The monk answered: “Believe me, child, that this illness did not come to him by chance, but he suffers so much because he committed adultery. If he promises to get rid of sin, I believe God and His Most Pure Mother that he will be healed. If not, it will hurt even worse.” The man went and told Jacob - that was his name - what had been said to the saints. And immediately that man realized his sin and was even more frightened because he heard in the light about what was in the darkness. And when he made a promise, the saint, having mercy, went to the sick man. The man, with tears, began to pray to the saint and confess his sins from the heart, which were no secret to the blessed one anyway. Therefore, the saint prayed for him. After that, the man recovered from his illness. The saint gave him penance for sins. And that man gave something to the best of his ability as alms to the saint and the monastery. And the saint commanded the brothers to pray for him as much as they could, so that his sin might be forgiven. And that man went healthy to his house, singing and glorifying God and His Most Pure Mother and giving great thanks to St. Cyril for the fact that thanks to him he received healing not only of bodily diseases, but also of the soul.

Such gifts were given to the saint for his great zeal and love for God, since the Savior said: "Ask and you will receive", and also: "Without Me you can do nothing." For not only did He say this to His disciples, but to all believers. Therefore, the blessed Cyril helped not by some kind of magic, but by invoking Christ and His Most Pure Mother. Cyril's own were only prayer and philanthropic condescension to human passions. "For free," it is said, "we have received, and freely give."

And when the blessed Kirill saw that he was languishing from old age, and various illnesses often attacked him, not foreshadowing anything other than the coming of death, he decided to write his last message to the pious Prince Andrei Dmitrievich for the sake of a greater affirmation of the common life. For he greatly desired and worried that nothing should be ruined in the common life - as during his life, but so much more after his death. For it is said: "When the righteous dies, the one who bakes must be left." And he wrote the following letter:

INSTRUCTIONS OF THE REPRESENT FATHER OF OUR KIRILL TO THE BROTHERS LIVING IN THE CONVENIENCE OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, HER GLORIOUS DORMITION;

“In the name of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity, the Father, I say, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, by whom everything was created, and we too.

I, the sinful and humble abbot Kirill, see that old age has befallen me. I fell into frequent and various illnesses, to which I am still subject, philanthropicly punished by God, as I see it now, and I understand that they do not portend anything else to me, except death and the Terrible Savior Judgment in the next century. And therefore my heart was troubled in me because of the terrible outcome, and the fear of death attacked me. Fear and trembling before the Terrible Judgment came to me, and the darkness of bewilderment covered me. And I don't know what to do. But I will lay, as the prophet says, my grief on the Lord: let Him do with me as He wants, for He wants all people to be saved and come to the true mind.

With the same last writing, I transfer the monastery, my work and my brethren to the Lord God Almighty, and His Most Pure Mother, and my spiritual master, the pious Prince Andrei Dmitrievich, so that he bakes and takes care of the monastery, the house of the Most Pure.

I bless my spiritual son, Hieromonk Innokenty, to his place as abbot.

Therefore, Mr. Prince Andrei, for the sake of God and His Most Pure Mother, and for his sake of salvation, and for me, his poor pilgrimage, what love I had until now for the Most Pure Mother of God and for our poverty, during my life, the same after my life would you have love and faith in the monastery of the Most Pure and your kind attitude towards my son Innokenty and all my brethren, who, according to my tradition, will live and obey the hegumen.

And whoever does not want to live in that monastery according to my wretched way of life and decides to ruin something from the cenobitic rank and disobey the abbot, I bless you, my master and my spiritual son, and pray with tears: don’t let this happen. so be it, but those who grumble and schismatics, who do not want to obey the hegumen and live according to my wretched way of life, drive away from the monastery so that the rest of the brethren have fear.

May the mercy of God and His Most Pure Mother always be with you, and with your pious princess and noble children.

And therefore, the pious Prince Andrei took great care to ensure that not a single word spoken by Saint Cyril would remain unfulfilled. For he had great faith and love for the house of the Most Pure Kirillov Monastery. Not only did he transfer large estates and lakes to that monastery, but, as far as possible, he tried to supply and decorate the Church of the Most Pure with all sorts of valuables and beauties. And having copied many books, he invested in the church, and filled it with many other good things, so that many of his great gifts are still visible there.

ON THE DEATH OF ST. CYRIL

And since, as we said before, blessed Cyril saw that he was weakened by old age, and the end was approaching, he summons all those who lived then in the monastery - and there were then fifty-three brothers, who worked with him for the Lord as much as they could - and in front of everyone, he entrusts one of his students, named Innokenty, with the management of the monastery and calls him hegumen, although he did not want this. And he calls on God as a witness that nothing in the monastic order should be violated: as they saw him do, so he commanded them to do everything. He himself decided to indulge in his beloved wisdom of complete silence.

Since, due to great abstinence and standing, his legs could not serve him standing, he fulfilled his rule while sitting, and prayer never left his lips, especially Jesus'. Although he was weakening in bodily strength, he did not leave anything from the rule of his feat. Infirmity did not allow him to go to church, as before, on his own feet, except only when he wanted to serve the Divine Liturgy. For he never ceased to perform services on holidays, and his disciples supported his weak members with their hands and brought him to church. He stayed in such an illness, trying not to leave anything from his rule, for a considerable time, and then his bodily strength left him, and he was already ready to go to the Lord. And when the week of Pentecost arrived, on which the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles is celebrated, then, having performed the Divine Liturgy, he partook of the holy mysteries. The next morning, on Monday of the same week, in memory of St. Cyril of Alexandria, a strong soul began to weaken in body. All the brothers of that monastery came to him and, seeing that he was weakening and about to go to the Lord, they mourned, wept, and, if it were possible, from the great zeal and love they had for him, they would have died with him.

Then some of his disciples said, weeping: “Since you, father, are leaving us and going to the Lord, then when you are gone, this place will become impoverished, and many of us will move from this monastery.” The saint said to them: “Do not grieve about this; this is why you will understand more: if I get some boldness before God and His Most Pure Mother, and if my work turns out to be pleasing to God, then not only will this holy place not become impoverished, but it will also spread more after my departure. Just have love among yourselves!”

Hearing this, the brothers could not help crying. The saint comforted them, saying: “Do not grieve on the day of my repose. The time has come for me to rest in the Lord. I hand you over to God and His Most Pure Mother. May He save you from all the temptations of the evil one. And this son of mine, Innokenty, will be your hegumen instead of me, and treat him like me, and he will fill you with what you lack. This and much more, consoling them, he said, and so rejoiced at this and rejoiced in his soul, like a man returning from distant foreign countries to his fatherland. And he did not have any sadness, but rather had fun, hoping for the future. He had only one care and prayed: that nothing from the rules of community life be violated and that discord or strife not arise among the brethren. He cared about the same thing, even when he was healthy.

And then, when the hour of his departure to the Lord approached, all the brothers came to him and kissed him with tears, asking for the last blessing. And he, like a child-loving father, kissed everyone, showed love to everyone, left the last blessing to everyone, and himself asked everyone for forgiveness. And at the very hour when the saint was to be freed from the union with the body, he partook of the most pure and life-giving mysteries of Christ our God and peacefully and quietly gave his most pure, industrious soul to the Lord with a prayer on his lips. And then everyone felt a certain fragrance.

The brothers were not ready to do anything because of grief, seeing with pain that they had lost their father. They could not endure the loss of a doctor; wept for the teacher taken from them; left without a helmsman, they were perplexed; everything that hurt was with them. Then his face lit up and became much brighter than it had been in life, and there was no blackness or swarthyness on his face, which is usually the case with the dead.

Then his sacred relics were honorably laid on a bed and on their heads with due honor and psalmody they brought to the church, seeing them off like a father.

The aforementioned servant of his, Auxentius, then fell ill in the village with a fever and suffered greatly, and, being from that illness, as if in a frenzy of mind, he saw how blessed Cyril came to him, holding a cross in his hand, and another priest, Florus, a great life in God having. And Cyril then marked Auxentius with an honest cross, and immediately, immediately he received healing and recovered. Waking up and finding himself healthy, that man happily ran to the blessed Cyril to tell him how, with his appearance, he received healing. He did not know that the saint had passed away. And when he came to the monastery and saw that the saint had already departed to the Lord and that the disciples were accompanying him with tomb singing, he ran up to his holy relics, kissed them with tears and at the same time told everyone about the miracle - how the saint appeared to him and healing him bestowed. Thanks to this, the brothers recovered a little from their sadness.

Having completed the funeral singing with great honor, they very solemnly covered the long-suffering and industrious body, the vessel of the Holy Spirit, with earth in 6935 (1427), the month of June on the ninth day.

Well he pastured the flock entrusted to him, directing it to the pastures of life. Such are the deeds of blessed Cyril, such are his efforts, such are his miracles, gifts, such are his healings.

Blessed Cyril, when he came to that place, was sixty years old, lived in that place for thirty years, and all the years of his life were ninety.

A large number of other miracles also occurred during the life of blessed Cyril, but because of their multitude, and more so because many years have passed since then, they have remained unrecorded. This is a record of only a certain small part, so that the stories about the saint are not completely forgotten.

When this happened, and the flock, having lost their God-bearing father, became an orphan, Innokenty became hegumen of that monastery, as Blessed Cyril commanded during his lifetime. And he tried everything, as - he saw - his father does, to do himself. It must be said about Abbot Innokenty that it was not so simple, not by chance that Blessed Cyril entrusted him with the management of the monastery, but because he knew him as leading a great life from childhood. There is nothing to say about his bodily purity! He stayed in obedience to Ignatius, a great man before God, for eleven years, having no will of his own.

After that, after only one year after the repose of Blessed Cyril, when autumn came, the brethren of that monastery, as if in agreement with Blessed Cyril, depart from life to the Lord, more than thirty brothers in number, according to the prophecy of Blessed Cyril, said to his disciple Christopher: “Believe me , child, that none of you will leave this life before me. After my death, many of you will come after me,” which happened. The last of all those brethren to depart to the Lord is Hegumen Innokenty.

After the repose of Abbot Innokenty, the aforementioned Christopher was the hegumen of that monastery in his place. This Christopher wrote many books for the holy monastery with his own hand. And he did not exalt himself in thought because he became the abbot of such a monastery, but as before remained in good order and humility, observing the wisdom of his life, trying not to leave anything that he saw Cyril doing unfulfilled in practice. He fell in love with the poverty of clothes so much that among the elders it was impossible to know that he was the abbot.

And since, by the permission of God, internecine rati also happened then, that hegumen Christopher, having redeemed many of the captives, returned them back to their places.

Prince Georgy Dmitrievich once sent to him so that he would come to him and he would see him. “I must,” he said, “tell you spiritual words.” And he answered: “It never happened that I left the monastery, and therefore I cannot violate the monastery order.” Prince George sent for the second and third time, asking him to come, but he remained adamant. Seeing that he would not come, Prince George was surprised at his strength, and therefore he released all the prisoners taken by him and, moreover, gave a large alms to the monastery.

And since from time immemorial it is customary for those who glorify Him to glorify not only during life, but also after death, God does not stop glorifying His saint Cyril with miracles and after his death, as it was during his life.

THE MIRACLE OF OUR REPRED FATHER KIRILL

They brought a certain man, Theodore by name, who was cruelly tormented by a demon, to the monastery of blessed Cyril. This Theodore was a man of a certain ruler named Basil, who, due to many torments, constantly seeing at home how this Theodore was crushed by a demon, sent him away from his house. And he suffered like this, tormented by a demon, for eleven years. And as they brought him to the tomb of blessed Cyril, he immediately received healing and recovered with the help of Our Lady Theotokos through the prayers of St. Cyril.

And that Theodore received from the abbot a commandment never to eat meat. But it happened to that Theodore, together with other people, to mow hay, and when everyone began to eat meat, that Theodore also began to eat meat, forgetting the commandment given to him never to eat meat. And when this happened, when he ate meat, the demon attacked him again and began to torment him worse than before. But then he came to his senses and, realizing his sin, realized that he was undergoing this, having transgressed the commandment given to him. And again he ran to the monastery of blessed Cyril to the miraculous tomb and with tears asked for forgiveness, which he received by the grace of Christ and the prayers of St. Cyril. And after that, for many years he served in that monastery in all kinds of obedience, and I saw him there.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

This happened before the death of blessed Cyril. A certain boyar named Daniil Andreevich had great faith in the Most Pure Mother of God and in Blessed Cyril. This Daniel wanted, upon his repose, to transfer the village to the monastery of the Most Pure. And a certain brother of that monastery, named Theodosius, came and told the saint: “Daniel Andreevich, upon his death, will give the village to our monastery, and, if you want, go and see what is in that village.” The saint did not want to accept the village and said: “I do not need villages during my lifetime. But after my departure from you, do as you wish. The brother, as if condemned by a saint, was offended by the blessed one because he did not listen to him and did not want to accept the village.

After the repose of blessed Cyril, the above-mentioned brother Theodosius saw from the miracles taking place at the tomb of the saint that even after his repose God glorified him so. And it occurred to him that he offended the blessed Cyril, arguing with him over the village. And for many days he mourned and overwhelmed himself with grief. Some time later, when Theodosius was in confused thoughts, the blessed Cyril appeared in a vision to one of his disciples, Martinian by name, and said to him: “Tell brother Theodosius, do not be sad and do not worry me, because I have no grudge against him." The named Martinian related his vision to that aforementioned brother Theodosius. It was as if Theodosius received forgiveness and was comforted and sent glory to God, who does glorious things through His holy saint Cyril. After that, they brought to the monastery of the blessed one a certain noblewoman, Theodosius by name, tormented by a demon, and asked Abbot Christopher to pray for her with the brethren. The abbot prayed to the best of his ability, and in addition ordered the priest to read the Gospel over her head. And then, little by little, the demon left her, and she was freed from the unclean demon and returned to her home healthy, praising and thanking God, His Most Pure Mother and Saint Cyril.

Over time, Abbot Christopher also passed away, holding the abbot of that monastery for six years. He did not stop doing anything from what - he saw - the blessed Cyril did. He did not delight in any sweetness besides the brethren, nor did he allow himself to be possessed by any kind of addiction, but so in all abstinence and good confession he gave his spirit to the Lord. And in his place stood the abbot of that monastery named Trifon, who, because of his virtue, later became the archbishop of the city of Rostov, a man of judgment both in monastic affairs and in worldly affairs. And he tried in every possible way, as best he could, so that nothing in the general life and monastic custom would be ruined or damaged in any way. Since the brotherhood was considerable, and the church was small, besides, it was dilapidated - Cyril himself erected it, hegumen Tryphon and the brethren thought of building another church instead of the larger one, with the help of God and His Most Pure Mother with the support of the prayer of St. Cyril.

And then, by the way, a nobleman named Zacharias came to the monastery of the Immaculate Kirill's fence. And seeing their great life for God, he received great benefit and thought himself, if possible, to put on monastic clothes in that monastery. But it didn't happen to be. Then, as if taught by God, he gave a lot of silver to the abbot and the brethren to create a church. Having accepted this, the hegumen hurried with the church building, which he had long desired, and by God's haste a large church was founded. And since such a business began, many workers were required, which were collected, and the matter began to boil.

But there was a great famine among the people living in the vicinity of the monastery, and because of the famine many began to come to the monastery for bread. And all those who came, each of them, having had their fill, left. For everyone who asked was given, especially the poorest. The cellar of that monastery, seeing that many people had gathered for the construction of the church, and besides that, there were many others who, due to hunger, came to the monastery for bread, thought out of lack of faith that there might not be enough food for such a multitude. And therefore, from that time on, he began to give less bread to those who came to the monastery because of hunger. Then the flour in the martyr significantly decreased and became lacking. And when it was given abundantly to all those who asked, then it was again filled with flour. Seeing such a miracle, the bakers of that monastery, who took flour with their own hands, saw that when they gave more to those who came because of hunger, then more flour became and was in abundance, and when they stopped giving bread to the poor, then beyond all measure began not enough flour, - some great elders of that monastery were announced about this. Hearing about this, they were surprised and informed the abbot about it. And he commanded the abbot to give and feed all those who ask. And when they began to do this, flour multiplied and was in abundance. There were about six hundred souls or more who ate bread at that time in that monastery every day. And so it happened until the new bread.

Meanwhile, with God's help, a beautiful church was erected to the glory and praise of the true Mother of our God, in honor of her glorious Dormition. Then it was decorated with icons and other beauties appropriate to the church, as it is to this day. If not in words, then in decoration, she preaches more, showing her splendor to everyone who sees. We can say: "Your holy churches are truly amazing."

Then, after that, a refectory was set up, large and beautiful. At the same time, they also tried to spread the monastery more. Previously, under blessed Cyril, he occupied a small place, because there were not many brethren at that time. When God wanted to glorify His saint with great gifts and miracles, then the brotherhood increased significantly. Because of this, more space was required for the monastery buildings, about which we can say: “The old is gone, and everything was new,” with the exception of the customs and charter established by blessed Cyril, the rule of common life, which is still preserved unshakably by prayers and strengthening of the God-bearing father.

After some time, the son of a priest named Ivan, severely tormented by an evil demon, was bound hand and foot. And this Ivan was so furious and cruelly tormented that they blindfolded him in order to forcibly bring him to the monastery with difficulty. His eyes were bloody and frightened everyone, and he made obscene sounds: now he growled like an animal, now he sang terribly and frighteningly like a cock. And so he was an absurd and frightening sight. He beat everyone, scolding everyone. But what a lot to say: he even spoke blasphemy against God himself - it was not he himself who spoke, but the demon that lived in him spoke through his mouth. The hegumen and the brethren extended prayers to God and called on Saint Cyril to pray for the suffering. Therefore, by the grace of Christ, with the help of our Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and the prayers of the blessed Cyril, the illness of that person gradually left, and he became meek and came to his senses and became healthy, as before. And he went to his home, glorifying and thanking God and the Monk Saint Cyril.

ANOTHER MIRACLE OF THE HOLY

After that, another person was brought in, named Simeon. And he was tormented by a demon. Like the aforementioned Ivan, he was bound hand and foot with iron ties. Already as a villain they led and beat him so that he would be silent, but the more they beat him, the more he raged. Then they tied him on the boundary, hoping for the help of St. Cyril. And he stayed there for a week, neither eating nor drinking, and thus tormented, he suffered. Then, by the grace of Christ and the prayers of the blessed Cyril, the demon came out of him, and he became healthy and sensible. He went to his home, rejoicing, and more during his whole life the demon could not do him any dirty tricks.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

A certain noblewoman came, one of the glorious boyars, Xenia by name, to bow to the coffin of blessed Cyril. Many people came with her. And one of the women who served her, the nurse of her son, had one eye blind, and for six years she did not see anything with this eye, for, she says, she had a thorn in her eye. Arriving at the monastery, the woman, who had a blind eye, from everyone secretly after matins went to the tomb, where the tomb of St. Cyril is located, and began to pray with tears. And after some time in prayer, she suddenly hears like a strong thunder, resounding from the coffin of the blessed Cyril, and it seemed to her that he passed through her ears and touched her blind eye. And she fell to the ground from fear and thunder, as if dead, and lay for a long time, shocked by what had happened. And with her hand she touched the blind eye, and, covering the healthy eye with her hand, she checked whether she could see anything with the blind eye. And seeing herself that God had mercy on her through the prayers of St. Cyril, she rejoiced. And since the glorious miracle of the saint was not hidden, but became widely manifested, everyone gave praise to God and His Most Pure Mother. The boyar Ksenia, having fed the brethren and given large alms, returned to her home, glorifying and praising God and blessed Cyril.

ANOTHER MIRACLE OF THE HOLY

They brought to the monastery a certain saint, named Constantine, who was very seriously ill. And there, weakening from illness and approaching death, he confessed his sins to the abbot, and the abbot then communed him with the holy mysteries. With the onset of night, one of the elders of that monastery saw a luminous man walking towards the cell where that Constantine was lying. And a little behind him he saw some people of a very strange appearance, following the man who had passed in front. When they entered where the sick Konstantin was lying, they began to argue with the person who had come before, saying: “You came, having nothing in him here. After all, he is ours and he obeyed us.” And another said: "Ours he ran to us." And while they were bickering like that, that brother saw that the hegumen of this monastery and the brethren had come and were arguing about Constantine. And then he sees that the blessed Cyril has come and says to the brethren: “Tell him that if he dies here and is buried, then he will be the Most Pure and ours. If he goes away, then he is not ours.

When the day came, the brother who saw the vision told the hegumen and the brethren about the vision he had seen. After all, everyone knew that that Constantine led a crafty life. On the same day, Constantine reposed and was buried in that monastery. Then everyone who heard this story glorified God, His Most Pure Mother and St. Cyril.

ANOTHER MIRACLE

The son of a certain boyar Peter, named Vasily, was in the power of a demon and therefore went crazy. And in many monstrous and terrible visions demons appeared to him and frightened him with death. He came to the monastery of the blessed Cyril and stayed at the tomb of the saint, and when night fell, he also went to the refectory, hoping there to receive some relief from suffering. But even there, too, he suffered many troubles from demons: in many different terrible visions, they appeared to him. And suffering heavily from them, he plunged as if into a light sleep and, as if alive, saw the blessed Cyril, who came in light robes. And from the mere sight of the saint, the demons immediately disappeared. Vasily got up after the vision and realized that he was healthy, as if he had not been sick at all, and was delighted. And since then he became healthy and meaningful, as before. And he went from there to his home, expressing gratitude to God and His saint, blessed Cyril.

ANOTHER MIRACLE OF ST. CYRIL

A certain prince named David Semenovich fell into a serious illness and could not move at all, for all the members of his body were weakened. And, suffering so much and despairing of staying alive, he ordered to carry himself to the monastery of the Most Pure One, in order to pray there. And when they brought him close to the monastery - four people carried him on a bed, and they were in front of the gates of the monastery - he ordered to put himself there. And he began to pray with tears, and after the prayer he felt some relief in his illness. Having risen to his feet, supported by two people, he, being in church, prayed. Also, having come to the tomb of the God-bearing father Cyril, he prayed for a long time with tears that the saint would ease his illness. And he stayed there in the monastery for a day, praying. And with the advent of night, as if in a frenzy, he saw the blessed Cyril in the church with other priests in robes standing and holding a cross in his hands. “And when I saw the saint,” he said, “I began to pray to him in tears:“ Deliver me from the disease that overcomes me! ”“ The saint marked him with an honest cross, which he held in his hand, and said: for I will pray to God and His Most Pure Mother that you recover. But do not forget your vow that you made. " Waking up from the vision, Prince Davyd felt that the illness had let go of him, and, having received relief, he rejoiced. In the morning he stood up on his feet and went to church healthy thanks to prayers and the appearance of blessed Cyril.

And he began to tell everyone about the appearance of the saint and how he received healing with his appearance, presenting as obvious evidence to everyone that his health had returned to him thanks to the appearance of the saint. The hegumen and the brethren, having heard about the visit that had taken place to him by the blessed Cyril, and even more so when they saw him walking healthy, all glorified God, His Most Pure Mother and the miracle worker Cyril. Prince Davyd, having fed the brethren and given alms, went home healthy. After this healing, he gained great faith in the monastery of the Most Pure One and in the wonderworker Cyril.

THE MIRACLE OF SAINT CYRIL

After this, it happened that the princess, the wife of the pious Prince Mikhail Andreevich, a relative of the Grand Duke, Elena by name, also pious, had pain in her legs. This illness lasted for a considerable time, and she suffered from illness, and the pious Prince Mikhail decided to go to his fatherland, to Beloozero, and there bow to the Most Pure Mother of God and the miraculous tomb of Cyril. When this began to be carried out, and Prince Mikhail and the princess went to Beloozero, and was still far away, at a great distance from the monastery, a certain elder in the monastery of St. Cyril saw a vision at night. Not entirely in a dream, but without being awake either, he saw himself at the tomb of the blessed Cyril, which coffin suddenly opened of its own accord, and the saint came out as if alive. And, sitting on his tomb, the blessed elder, who was worthy to see the vision, said: “Since, child, difficult guests must come in great sorrow, we must pray for them so that the Lord will deliver them from this misfortune: they are our breadwinners.” And having said this, the old man sat for a while and again lay down in his coffin, and the coffin itself closed over him.

The old man woke up from a vision and, coming to his senses, was surprised. With the onset of the morning, he reported the vision to one spiritual brother, for he saw the saint not so simply as it happens to see in a dream, but as alive and as if in reality. Five days later, the pious Princess Elena came, and after that the pious Prince Michael himself came to the monastery of the Most Pure and stayed at the wonderful tomb, praying for a long time.

ANOTHER MIRACLE OF ST. CYRIL

When this was happening, a certain man was brought in, whose house was near the monastery. That man was cruelly tormented by a demon. Bound hand and foot and barely held by many people, he made strange and terrible sounds, like cattle, barked, rushed at people like a beast, and was an unsightly sight for everyone. And since he was beaten like a villain to keep him quiet, the more he was beaten to keep quiet, the more he, falling into a frenzy, shouted with an evil voice of crying, so that everyone was seized with horror. Then, with God's help, he began to calm down, to become meek, and soon stopped demonizing and became healthy and sensible, as before.

Then they asked him why he was yelling so then, and he said: “Since you beat me to keep quiet, they beat me even more, telling me to scream. And I did not know which of you to listen, for both of you beat me mercilessly, and therefore I shouted. Seeing this miracle, everyone glorified God, His Most Pure Mother and Blessed Cyril, saying: “Truly God is wonderful in His saints!”

After that, soon the pious Princess Mikhailova Elena received deliverance from her illness and became healthy. Seeing this most glorious miracle, the pious Prince Michael glorified God, His Most Pure Mother, and Reverend Father Kirill. And having generously treated the brethren and given great alms to the monastery, he left from there to himself.

But after some time, Prince Mikhail began to get sick. And, being ill, - and, as we have already said, he had great faith in the monastery of the Most Pure, St. Cyril's monastery - he sent a request to the abbot of that monastery, Cassian by name, to pray for him. They sent him holy water. The pious Prince Michael with great faith accepted the water brought from the monastery of the blessed Cyril, and by the grace of Christ and His Most Pure Mother, from the mere tasting of that water, he received healing and, having become healthy, thanked God and His saint Cyril.

And once, when some time had passed, the princess of the pious Prince Mikhail, being not idle and having a child in her womb, realized that before the day set by God, six weeks before birth, the child in her womb had died. And when the time came for the birth, the dead child could not come out of the mother's womb, and therefore the princess was in a serious illness, not knowing what to do, and already despaired of staying alive and did not expect anything else but death. The pious Prince Michael, seeing that his wife was suffering so much, lamented with sadness, but could not do anything and only prayed to God. After all, God wants all people to be saved and come to the true mind. It dawned on the mind of Prince Mikhail, and he remembered the blessed water brought from the monastery of the blessed Cyril, thanks to which God had mercy on him, and he ordered to bring the rest of this water. And he orders to anoint the painful belly of the princess with consecrated water. And when they did, it suddenly seemed that the child was alive in the mother's womb. And then a dead child was born, and the princess suddenly got rid of her illness and, instead of dying, was honored to live and become healthy, praising and blessing God. Likewise, the pious Prince Michael rejoiced over the health of his wife, seeing that God had mercy on her. Seeing now the one about whom, shortly before, he thought that she would move into the coffin, alive and healthy, he rejoiced, giving praise and magnification to God, the Most Pure Mother of God and blessed Father Cyril with all his people.

Therefore, the pious Prince Michael acquired great faith in the Kirillov Monastery of the Most Pure Theotokos and transferred many villages and lakes to that monastery. Not only then, but always, incessantly, he gave many estates, likening in everything to his father, the noble Prince Andrei Dmitrievich, for even that pious Prince Andrei gave a lot and gave to the monastery of the Most Pure, Cyril Convent. And if you undertake to look for it, then everywhere you will find his memorable gifts, which are still known to everyone and remain in the eternal, endless memory of him to all generations.

THE MIRACLE OF SAINT CYRIL

Let not be silent about the miracle of the blessed Cyril, which happened not long before. The son of a certain merchant John, named Ivan, was envied by a demon, and he went mad, and made terrible and absurd sounds. And what is there to say much: in general, he was deprived of any human meaning. His father John, when he saw that his son, by the permission of God and the slander of this prosperous demon, changed good for worse, sent him to Beloozero to the monastery where blessed Cyril lies. And when he got there, he also began to rage and say some absurd and vile words not only about people, but also about God Himself and His saints.

And while this was happening, he was often brought to the tomb of the Wonderworker, and he himself approached, and the abbot and the brethren prayed for him. And with difficulty, after many days, he was able to come to his senses, received healing and became healthy and comprehended, as before, by the grace of our very true Lord Jesus Christ and the help of our Lady the Mother of God and the prayers of the holy father Cyril. And he went home healthy, giving thanks to God and the saint. Therefore, his father, and his mother, and many other people, seeing the one whom they had previously seen suffering and losing his mind, and then healthy and right-minded, all unanimously glorified the greatness of God and the blessed father Cyril.

Many other extraordinary miracles of blessed Cyril happened and are happening to this day - not only when he was in this temporary life, but also after his death - some explicitly, others implicitly. God knows both of them, but they were not written down because of their multitude. Only this certain small part of the life of the blessed one turned out to be written down - so that everyone could see and believe that our Lord Jesus Christ glorifies those who glorify Him and those who want to hide their good deeds here make them known and glorified everywhere for their virtue. After all, the blessed Cyril lived only in the desert, and the glory of his virtue flew everywhere, as if on light wings, for “it is impossible for a city standing on a mountain top to hide.”

Such was Cyril's striving for correction, such was the rejection of the world and what is in the world by the blessed father. Such is the life of those who seek the God of Jacob, such is the feat of those who wish to be saved. For what is more honorable than what he has acquired in this life? First of all, I will name the love of God, then the purity of the body, with which everyone will see the Lord, the poverty of clothes, immeasurable simplicity, unhypocritical love for everyone, fasting, prayer, abstinence, vigilance, faith without doubt, unceasing tears, contrition of the heart and humility, for the sake of which it says: "God will not despise a contrite and humble heart."

In addition to these, many other, out of the ordinary miracles took place: crafty demons of exile, deliverance from various ailments, blind eyes of insight; for those deprived of reason, the saint of common sense with God is the giver, the opposing quiet exhorter, the teacher of non-acquisition, the doer of the common life. And he was in every possible way, according to the apostle, that he would gain everyone, that he would save everyone, that he would lead everyone to God, that he would boldly say to his Master: “Here I am and the children whom You gave me.” For he, like a father, loved everyone, took care of everyone, took care of everything useful and pitied everyone like his members, bandaged the spiritual scabs of everyone, healed the bodily ailments of everyone, cleansing everyone from the pus of malice, applying the patch of love to their wounds. anointing all with the oil of mercy. There was no mourner or offended then. If someone turned out to be cowardly or lazy, then he corrected him with himself, set an example with himself. To the one who was angry with him in vain, he was friendly, and if someone quarreled with him, he attracted him to love with long-suffering and silence, and by this it was possible to find out Whose disciple he was and Whom he imitated - it is clear that - He who said: “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is generous,” so that they understand whom the eyes of the Lord are looking at: “Only the meek and humble and trembling at My words.” God's words, not mine.

The worst of the monks, not relying on my reason or skill, I dared to do something beyond my strength - to write something about the blessed, knowing my rudeness and foolishness. Only because I received a command from the Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich, autocrat, and Theodosius, Metropolitan of All Russia, and being compelled by the rector of that monastery and all the brethren in Christ, as well as by a strong desire and love for the saint, embraced, something, a little of his life, I wrote, having no sophistication of my own, but - as much as I heard from those who told me the truth, I only wrote as much as necessary so that such a great man’s life was not completely forgotten, the miracles that God for his sake were not drowned in negligence created and does not cease to create even to this day.

The miracles of the saints are, after all, like some water springs that come out of the earth and water the earth: in the same way, the forces emanating from the holy bodies with God's help heal people's bodily ailments. The source, when it flows out, not only does not decrease, but the more one draws from it, the more comes into it and replenishes its measure, and no decrease occurs in its flow. Likewise, the healings given by the saints never fail because the faithful are healed by them. But doctors often, in giving their medicines, ask for something in return that is not there. A saint, however, is not so: he only requires faith, without which everything is useless, which is what we teach: “Your faith has saved you,” and also: “According to your faith, it will be for you.” For faith saves all and delivers all. Without faith even great work is fruitless.

O all-honorable father, desert-dweller on earth, heavenly citizen, cohabitant of the saints, co-blood of the righteous, tall in humility, rich in poverty, feeder of the poor, merciful consolation to those who grieve, guide of the blind, weeping joy, offended helper, weak doctor, sins overwhelmed shelter and quick intercessor of all, you know our weakness, you also know how the evil one attacks us. We need your help and intercession, we need your prayers, petitions to God. Falling down, we pray to you and do not stop praying: pray for the preservation of your flock, which you have gathered with many labors, for the people whom you loved from the bottom of your heart, for whom even in this life you worked hard to save them from the network of catching demons, seeking our destruction, and from evil people. You know the intrigues of the evil one against us, you know our laziness and despondency, you know how our nature easily slips and quickly rushes to evil. Therefore, we pray to you: just as when you were with us in this life, you cared a lot about us, achieving what is useful for us, so now give everyone what you ask for salvation and eternal life. Contribute to our pious princes to fight enemies, and we will live their quiet and serene life in silence. And all those who come to the most pure temple today and honor your glorious Assumption, save and observe from all attacks of the enemy unscathed. Relieve illnesses, calm the waves, stop sorrows and have mercy on all of us. Come and stand among us invisibly and our prayers, sent to God through you, accept and convey them to the Creator and our God, so that we receive the forgiveness of our sins on the Day of Judgment and eternal blessings in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to Whom glory, power, honor and worship with His Father without beginning and His Most Holy and good and life-giving Spirit now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

THE LIFE OF THE REPRED KIRILL, IGUMEN

BELOZERSKY

The Monk Kirill, in the world Cosmas, the son of noble and wealthy Muscovites, received a decent upbringing as a child. Having remained an orphan in his early years, he, on behalf of his parents, lived with his relative, the boyar Timofey Vasilievich Velyaminov, who was a roundabout at the court of Prince Dimitri Donskoy. For a quiet disposition and a good life, the boyar loved Kosma and entrusted him with looking after the household and the servants of his house. A brilliant field of secular service opened up to the young man, but he aspired to asceticism. He did not reveal his favor to his beneficent relative, because he was sure of Timothy's disagreement with his desires, and secretly prayed to the Lord. And so the Monk Stefan of Makhrishchsky (+1406; Comm. 14/27 July) came to the house of the boyar, having arrived in Moscow on business of the monastery. Cosmas opened his soul to him. And St. Stephen, seeing in the young man a future ascetic, persuaded the boyar to the point that he agreed with the desire of his heart to serve the one Lord.

Cosmas distributed all his property to the poor, after which hegumen Stefan brought him to the Simonov monastery, which had just been founded in a new place by Archimandrite Theodore (+1395; Comm. 28 November/11 December), the nephew of St. Sergius. St. Theodore gladly received Cosmas, clothed him in a monastic image with the name Cyril, and entrusted him to the ascetic Michael, later Bishop of Smolensk. Under the guidance of the elder, the young monk with all zeal entered into the feat of monasticism. At night, the elder read the Psalter, and Kirill, on his orders, bowed, and at the first stroke of the bell he went to matins and, before everyone else, appeared in the church. With unceasing obedience, he tried to imitate the elder in everything and asked him to allow him to eat food only after two or three days, but an experienced mentor ordered him to share the meal with the brethren, although not to satiety. Cyril obeyed the elder, but ate so little that he could hardly walk. The archimandrite appointed him an obedience in the bakery, and he himself carried water, chopped wood and, carrying warm bread to the brethren, received warm prayers instead of them. From time to time, Saint Sergius would come to the Simonov monastery to visit his nephew Theodore, but first of all he looked for Cyril in the bakery and talked with him for a long time about the benefits of the soul. All the brethren were amazed: how the great Sergius, leaving the abbot and all the monks, was engaged only in Cyril, but they did not envy the young man, knowing his virtue. At the behest of the abbot, he went from the bakery to the kitchen, stoked the stoves and, looking at the blazing fire, said to himself: “Look, Cyril, you wouldn’t fall into the eternal flame.” These humble labors of Cyril lasted nine years; and he acquired such compunction that he could not even eat bread without tears. The general respect from the brethren embarrassed him and he began to play the fool in order to avoid honor. As a punishment for violating the decency, the abbot appointed him only bread and water for forty days; Cyril gladly fulfilled this appointment. How, however, did not conceal his spirituality St. Cyril, the experienced elders understood him and, against his will, forced him to take the rank of hieromonk.
And then a new service began for him: strictly fulfilling the orders of the priesthood, he did not leave the former monastic work in the bakery and cookery.

Soon, Archimandrite Theodore was elected bishop in Rostov, and in his place in Simonov, the Monk Kirill was erected, not heeding his tears and denial. This was in 1390. But prp. Cyril, now an archimandrite, did not change his way of life and in his free time went to work with his novices. Rich and distinguished people began to visit the monk to listen to his instructions. This confused the humble spirit of the saint, and, no matter how the brethren begged him, he did not remain the rector, but shut himself up in his former cell. But here, too, frequent visitors disturbed the monk, and he moved on to the old Simonovo. The soul of St. Cyril rushed to silence, and he prayed to the Mother of God to show him a place useful for salvation. One night, reading, as always, an akathist before the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, he heard a voice: “Go to Beloozero, there is a place for you.” At the same time, the light shone, and from the window Kirill saw an illuminated place in the far north. Hearing from his friend Ferapont (Comm. 27 May/9 June) what the country of Belozersk was, he went to Beloozero with the same icon of the Mother of God, accompanied by a friend.

In the Belozersky side, then deaf and sparsely populated, wanderers walked for a long time and climbed Mount Myauru. This is the highest mountain in the vicinity of Belozerskaya. Its sole is washed by the waves of Lake Siversky. Forests, meadows, waters joined here in a vast area and formed one of the most beautiful places in Russia. On the one hand, Sheksna spills in meanders over boundless meadows, on the other, several blue lakes are scattered among dense forests. Here Rev. Cyril saw the place that in the vision was appointed for his stay, and fell down with a grateful soul before the Most Pure One. Descending from the mountain to the square surrounded by forest, he put up a cross, and near him the hermits dug out a dugout. Venerable Ferapont soon withdrew to another place, and the Monk Kirill labored in solitude for many years in an underground cell. Once Saint Cyril, tormented by a strange dream, lay down to sleep under a pine tree, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice: “Run, Cyril!” As soon as Saint Cyril had time to jump back, the pine tree collapsed. From this pine the ascetic made a cross. Rev. Kirill later prayed that the Lord would take away his heavy sleep, and from that time on he could remain without sleep for several days. On another occasion, the Monk Cyril almost died from the flames and smoke when he was clearing the forest, but God protected His saint. One peasant tried to set fire to the monk's cell.
More than once he approached the cell to fulfill his intention; he put on fire, but the fire went out. Then, with tears of repentance, he confessed his sin to St. Cyril and, at his request, was tonsured a monk.

Soon the monks Zebedee and Dionysius, beloved by him, came to the monk from the Simonov monastery, and then Nathanael, later the cellar of the monastery. Many began to come to the monk and ask him to honor them with monasticism. The holy elder realized that his time of silence was over.

In 1397 he built a temple in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

When the rumor spread in the vicinity that the arch-chi-mandrite Kirill, who had come from Moscow, was setting up a monastery in the desert, the boyar Theodore had the idea that the archimandrite had brought a lot of money with him, and he sent his servants to rob Kirill. But two nights in a row they approached the monastery and saw military people around the monastery. Theodore thought that one of the Moscow nobles had surely come to Cyril and sent to find out who he was. He was answered that for more than a week, as none of the strangers was in the monastery. Then Theodore came to his senses and, having visited the monastery, confessed his sin to Cyril with tears. The monk said to him: “Be sure, my son Theodore, that I have nothing but the clothes that you see on me and a few books.” From that time on, the boyar began to reverently respect Kirill and every time he came to him, he brought fish or something else. After that, the silent man Ignatius, a man of high virtue, came to him; during the 30 years of his life in the monastery of Kirillov, he was after Cyril the first example of asceticism. He never lay down for sleep and fell asleep standing up, leaning against the wall; his poverty and lack of possessions reached the highest degree.

When the number of brethren multiplied in Kirill's monastery, the monk gave her a charter of communal life and consecrated it with the example of his life. In the church, no one dared to talk and no one had to leave it before the end of the service; the holy gospel was approached by seniority. Everyone also sat down at the meal in their own place, and there was silence in the meal; only three dishes were offered for food. The monk very strictly commanded that neither during his time, nor after him, intoxicating drinks should not only be drunk, but also not kept in the monastery. From the meal, each silently went to his own cell, not going to the other. No one dared to receive either letters or gifts, except for the reverend - unopened letters were brought to him; without his blessing and did not write letters. The money was kept in the monastery treasury, and no one had any property, they even went to the meal to drink water. Nothing was kept in the cell, except for icons and books, and it was never locked. The monks tried one before the other to appear as early as possible at the service of God and at the monastic work, striving not for people, but for the Lord. When there was a shortage of bread and the brethren urged the rector to send for bread to the lovers of Christ, the saint answered: “God and the Most Pure Mother of God will not forget us, otherwise why should we live on earth?” And he did not allow to bother the laity with requests for alms. He had a pupil named Anthony, experienced in spiritual and worldly affairs; he sent him once a year to buy everything needed for the monastery, at other times no one left the monastery, and if any alms were sent, they accepted it with love as a gift from God.

In the last years of the venerable boyar Roman, who each year sent 50 measures of rye, he took it into his head to provide the monastery with a village and sent him a deed of gift. But the monk, having received the letter, reasoned as follows: if we begin to have villages, cares for the brethren about earthly things will come out of it; settlers and row-nick-names will appear, the silence of the other will be broken. Therefore, the following answer was sent to the benefactor: “It pleases you, man of God, to give a village to the house of the Mother of God to feed the brethren. But instead of the 50 measures of rye that you gave each year, give us 100, if you can, we will be satisfied with that, and own the villages yourself, for they are not useful for the brethren.

The monk was so imbued with love for the Lord that during the service of the liturgy and during church readings he could not refrain from reverent tears; especially they poured from him during the cell rule.

Meek, humble, spending his whole life “in tears and sighs, vigils and prayers” “and in diligent abstinence,” the monk, even during his lifetime, became famous for the gift of clairvoyance and miracles. A certain Theodore entered the ranks of the brethren, but after some time the human enemy instilled in him such hatred for Saint Cyril that he not only could not see him, but even hear his voices. Confused by thoughts, he came to the strict old man Ignaty the Silent to confess to him the grave state of his spirit: that out of hatred for St. Cyril wants to leave the monastery. Ignatius comforted him somewhat and strengthened him with prayer, convincing him to stay on the test for another year; but the year has passed, and the hatred has not died away. Theodore decided to reveal his secret thoughts to Cyril himself, but, having entered his cell, he was ashamed of his gray hair and could not utter anything. When he already wanted to leave the cell, the perspicacious old man himself began to talk about the hatred that Theodore had for him. The monk, tormented by his conscience, fell at his feet and begged for forgiveness of his sin, but the saint meekly answered: “Do not grieve, my brother, everyone has been offended about me; you alone have known the truth and all my unworthiness, I am like a sinner and unworthy. He released him in peace, promising that such a temptation would no longer attack him, and from then on Theodore remained in perfect love with the great abba.

A man possessed by a serious illness was brought to the monastery, who only asked to be tonsured before his death. The monk also clothed him in a monastic image with the name Dalmat. A few days later it began to run out and asked for the communion of the Holy Mysteries, but the priest slowed down the celebration of the Liturgy, and when he brought the Holy Gifts to the cell, the sick person had already died. The embarrassed priest hurried to tell the monk about that, who was very upset. Then Saint Cyril soon closed the window of his cell and began to pray. A little later, the cell-nick who served Dalmat came and, knocking on the window, told the blessed one that Dalmat was still alive and asked to take communion. Immediately sent Rev. Cyril for the priest to introduce his brother. And although he was sure that Dalmat had already died, however, fulfilling the will of the abba, he went. But how great was his surprise when he saw Dalmat sitting on the bed. As soon as he partook of the Holy Mysteries, he began to say goodbye to all the brethren and quietly departed to the Lord.

Once there was not enough wine for the church service, but it was necessary to perform the liturgy. The priest came to tell Saint Cyril about this, and he asked Nifont, in the manner of a nomar, whether there really was no wine. Hearing from him that no, as if doubting, he ordered that the vessel in which there was always wine be brought. Nifont obeyed and with astonishment brought a vessel so full of wine that it even poured out, and for a long time the wine in the vessel did not run dry, as once the oil of a widow, according to the word of the prophet Elijah.

Similarly, during the famine, the supply of grain increased, so that even the bakers themselves understood the former miracle. “Cyril, who multiplied the wine for the liturgy, multiplied the loaves for the nourishment of the smooth, with the help of the Mother of God,” they said, and so it continued until the new bread.

The disciples of the monk fished at his will in the lake. A terrible storm arose, the waves ran over the boat, death was ready to devour everyone. Standing on the shore, he ran to tell the monk about the danger. He, taking the cross in his hands, hurriedly came to the shore and, having overshadowed St. cross the lake, calmed the waves. There was a fire in the monastery, and the brethren could not extinguish it, but the saint stood with the cross directly against the fire, offered up prayers to God, and the fire, as if ashamed of his prayers, suddenly died out.

Approaching his blessed end, the monk called to himself all the brethren, appointed the disciple Innocent to the abbot, and strictly commanded not to violate his charter. Then entrusting the monastery to the patronage of Prince Andrei of Belozersky, he added that “if someone does not want to live according to my tradition and does not listen to the abbot, command, sir, to send them out of the monastery.” At the age of thirty he was tonsured St. Cyril lived in the Simonov Monastery and lived there for thirty years, having come to this place already at the age of sixty, he lived another thirty years in this new monastery, until he reached the full number of ninety years. From long standing and old age, the monk’s legs had recently weakened, and in the last days he sat down to perform the cell rule. On the day of the Holy Trinity, he performed his last divine service. And his last word was to the weeping brethren: “Do not grieve over my departure. If I receive boldness and my work is pleasing to the Lord, then not only will my monastery not be impoverished, but even more spread after my departure, only have love among yourselves. He died peacefully at the age of 90 on June 9, 1427.

Shortly before the death of the monk, the monk Sosipater was seriously ill. His brother Christopher hurried to the Monk Cyril to announce that Sosipater was already dying, but the monk, smiling, answered: “Believe me, child Christopher, that not one of you will die before me; after my departure, many of you will follow me.” And indeed, Sosipater recovered; but after the death of the monk, his dying prophecy about the brethren was fulfilled. Less than one year after his death, out of 53 brethren, more than 30 migrated from this life. The reverend often appears to those who remain in a dream with support and guidance.

Even during the life of the monk, his disciple Theodosius recounted to him the desire of one boyar to give a village to the monastery and heard from the monk the answer: “During my life I do not want villages, but after my death, do as you wish.” Theodosius thought that the grieved old man had said this, and was offended by this; after that he began to mourn that he had brought upon himself the displeasure of the saint. The monk appeared to Martynian and said: "Tell brother Theodosius not to grieve: I have nothing against him." Isn’t this touching evidence of the condescending love of the reverend even beyond the front of the tomb? ..

The holy relics of the saint of God rest under a bushel in his monastery between the Assumption Cathedral and the church in his name. On the icon, painted in 1424 by the Monk Dionysius Glushitsky (+1437; Comm. 1/14 June), the Monk Cyril is depicted in full growth, in old age, with an open head, with a thoughtful face, with hands folded on his chest, in a mantle and analave. In addition, after him, a genuine spiritual letter was preserved, written on a column of ordinary paper in small, clear and beautiful handwriting. Of the manuscripts written by the monk himself, one is remarkable with explanations of various natural phenomena taken from the ancient naturalist Galen. There are articles about the seas, about clouds, thunder, lightning and shooting stars. The blessed one used this information in order to dispel the prejudices of the people about the phenomena of nature and to show the true significance of these phenomena. Galen's explanations are added here with his own remarks. For example, it is said about falling stars: “Some say about falling stars that these are falling stars, while others say that these are evil ordeals. But these are not stars, and not ordeals, but the separation of heavenly fire; they descend somewhat, melt, and again merge in the air. Therefore, no one has seen them on earth, but they always merge and scatter in the air; the stars never fall, only at the coming of Christ. Then the heavens will align and the stars will fall; likewise, the spirits of we-tarsts will then go into eternal fire.

Special examples of spiritual mentoring and guidance, love, peace-loving and consolation are the three letters of the reverend to the Russian princes that have come down to us. They are distinguished by their simplicity of presentation and the sincerity of a pious soul, they are deeply instructive.

In a letter to the Grand Duke Vasily, St. Abba writes: “The more the saints draw near to God through love, the more they see themselves as sinners. You, sovereign, gain yourself great spiritual benefit by your humility, by sending me a sinner, a beggar, passionate and unworthy with a request for prayers ... I, a sinner, am glad with my brethren, how much strength there will be pray to God for you, our sovereign. But for the sake of God, be attentive to yourself and to all the reigning, on which the Holy Spirit has placed you to pasture people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. The more power you have been awarded, the more severely you will be held accountable. Repay your debt to the Benefactor by keeping His holy commandments and deviating from the paths that lead to destruction. No power, either royal or princely, can deliver us from the unfeigned judgment of God; and if you love your neighbor as yourself, if you console sorrowful and afflicted souls, this will help you a lot, sir, at the Terrible and righteous judgment of Christ. The Apostle Paul, a disciple of Christ, writes: “If I give the faith of the mountain to the Imam, and if I give away all my possessions to the Imam, then if I don’t love the imam, it will be of no use to me.” Love your brethren and all Christians, and your faith in God and almsgiving to the poor will be pleasing to the Lord.”

In a letter to Prince Andrei Dimitrievich Mozhaisky, recalling with delight the miraculous deliverance of Russia from Tokhtamysh, he writes what arrangements should be made after such a beneficence. “You are the ruler,” writes the monk, “in your fiefdom, appointed by God to keep people from the dashing custom; see, sir, that they judge the court righteously, as before God, not crooked; so that there are no forgeries and bows; the judges would not take gifts, but be content with their appointed donation... Watch, sire, that there are no taverns in your area - they cause great harm to people: the peasants drink away, and their souls perish... Also, let there be no customs fees are unrighteous money; where there is transportation, sir, it should be given for labor. May there be no robbery or theft in your patrimony. If they do not stop the evil deed, they were ordered to punish who is worth what. Keep your subordinates away from bad words and abuse - all this angers God. If you do not try to manage all that, it will be exacted on you, because you are the ruler over all people, appointed by God. Do not be lazy to give justice to the peasants yourself: this will be charged to you above sweat and prayer. Refrain from drinking. Give alms according to your strength. You cannot fast and pray—be lazy. May charity make up for your shortcomings. Order prayers to be sung in churches to the Savior and Mother of God, Intercessor of Christians, and do not be lazy yourself to go to church. In church, stand with fear and trembling, imagining that you are standing as in heaven. The Church is the earthly heaven, in which the sacraments of Christ are performed. Take care of yourself, sovereign, standing in church, do not make conversations and do not speak idle words; if you see that one of the boyars or ordinary people is talking in the church, forbid them, for all this angers God.

The monk consoled Prince Yuri Dimitrievich of Zvenigorod in grief for his ailing wife. And together he wrote: “I inform you in advance that you cannot see us: I will leave the monastery and go where God directs. You think I'm a kind, holy man here. No, truly, I am more sinful and unhappy than all of them, and full of stench. Do not be surprised at this, Prince Yuri: I hear that you yourself read and know the Holy Scriptures and understand what harm comes from human praise, especially for us, the weak.

The Monk Cyril loved spiritual enlightenment, he himself labored in copying books and instilled this love in his disciples. In the 16th century, none of the Russian monasteries was as rich in manuscripts as Kirillov. According to the inventory of 1635, up to 2092 manuscripts were stored in it.

The monastery of St. Cyril in many acts is called a Lavra. Its external appearance is like a fortified city: a high three-tiered fence with large towers, not counting the small ones, surrounds the monastery, divided into several parts; one of them, containing the hill in which the monk's dugout was, is called the Ivanovsky Monastery.

All-Russian veneration of the saint began no later than 1447-1448. The Life of St. Cyril was written on behalf of Metropolitan Theodosius and Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich by Hieromonk Pachomius Logothet, who arrived at the Cyril Monastery in 1462 and found many eyewitnesses of St. Cyril, including St. Martinian (+1483; Comm. January 12/25), who then managed the Ferapontov Monastery.

Venerable Kirill, Abbot of Beloezersky(in the world Cosmas) was born in Moscow to pious parents. In his youth, he was left an orphan and lived with his relative, the boyar Timofey Vasilyevich Velyaminov, a courtier at the court of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy (1363-1389). Secular life weighed heavily on the young man. At the request († 1406; comm. 14 July), the boyar released Kosma to the Simonov Monastery, where he took the tonsure from († 1394, comm. 28 November) with the name Cyril. The Monk Kirill performed monastic obediences under the guidance of Elder Michael, later Bishop of Smolensk. At night, the elder read the Psalter, and the Monk Kirill made obeisances, but at the first stroke of the bell he went to matins. He asked the elder for permission to eat food after 2-3 days, but an experienced mentor did not allow this, but blessed to eat every day with the brethren, but not to satiety. The Monk Cyril carried obedience in the bakery: he carried water, chopped wood, distributed bread. When he came to the Simonov monastery, he first of all visited and conversed with the Monk Cyril with love. From the bakery, the Monk Kirill was transferred to the kitchen, and the saint said to himself, looking at the blazing fire: "Look, Kirill, you would not fall into the eternal fire." For nine years the Monk Cyril labored in the kitchen and gained such compunction that he could not eat bread without tears, thanking the Lord. Avoiding human glory, the monk at times began to play the fool. As a punishment for violating decency, the abbot appointed him bread and water for 40 days of food; Saint Cyril gladly bore this punishment. But no matter how the saint concealed his spirituality, the experienced elders understood him and, against his will, forced him to accept the rank of hieromonk. In his free time from ministry, the Monk Kirill placed himself in the line of a novice and engaged in hard work. When St. Theodore was consecrated Archbishop of Rostov, the brethren in 1390 elected the Monk Kirill archimandrite of the monastery.

Rich and distinguished people began to visit the monk to listen to his instructions. This confused the humble spirit of the saint, and, no matter how the brethren begged him, he did not remain the rector, but shut himself up in his former cell. But here, too, frequent visitors disturbed the monk, and he moved on to the old Simonovo. The soul of St. Cyril strove for silence, and he prayed to the Mother of God to show him a place useful for salvation. One night, reading, as always, an akathist in front of the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, he heard a voice: "Go to Beloozero, there is your place."

In the Beloezerskaya side, then deaf and sparsely populated, he walked for a long time in search of a place that, in a vision, was intended for his stay. In the vicinity of Mount Myaury near Siversky Lake, he, together with his companion (Comm. 27 May), put up a cross and dug out a dugout.

The Monk Ferapont soon withdrew to another place, and the Monk Cyril labored in solitude for many years in an underground cell. Once St. Cyril, tormented by a strange dream, lay down to sleep under a pine tree, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice: "Run, Cyril!" As soon as Saint Cyril had time to jump back, the pine tree collapsed. From this pine the ascetic made a cross. On another occasion, the Monk Cyril almost died from the flames and smoke when he was clearing the forest, but God protected His saint. One peasant tried to set fire to the monk's cell, but no matter how hard he tried, he did not succeed. Then, with tears of repentance, he confessed his sin to the Monk Cyril, who tonsured him a monk.

From the Simonov monastery, the monks Zebedee and Dionysius, beloved by him, came to the monk, and then Nathanael, later the cellar of the monastery. Many began to come to the monk and ask him to honor them with monasticism. The holy elder realized that his time of silence was over. In 1397 he built a temple in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

When the number of the brethren multiplied, the monk gave the monastery a charter of communal life, which he illuminated by the example of his own life. In the church no one dared to talk, no one had to leave it before the end of the service; the holy gospel was approached by seniority. Everyone sat down at the meal in their own place, and there was silence in the refectory. From the refectory, everyone silently walked to his cell. No one could receive letters or gifts without showing them to the Monk Cyril; no letters were written without his blessing. The money was kept in the monastery treasury, no one had any property. They even went to the refectory to drink water. The cells were not locked, and in them, except for icons and books, nothing was kept. In the last years of the life of St. Cyril, the boyar Roman decided to donate a village to the monastery and sent a deed of gift. The Monk Kirill reasoned that if the monastery began to have villages, then the brethren would begin to take care of the land, settlers would appear, the monastic silence would be broken, and he refused the gift.

The Lord rewarded His saint with the gift of clairvoyance and healing. A certain Theodore, having entered the monastery out of love for the monk, then hated him so much that he could not look at the saint and tried to leave the monastery. He came to the cell of the Monk Cyril and, looking at his gray hair, could not utter a word from shame. The monk said to him: "Do not grieve, my brother, everyone is mistaken in me, you alone know the truth and all my unworthiness; I am really an indecent sinner." Then the Monk Cyril blessed Theodore and added that he would no longer be troubled by thought; Since then, Theodore lived quietly in the monastery.

One day there was not enough wine for the Divine Liturgy, and the sexton told the saint about it. The Monk Cyril ordered that an empty vessel be brought to him, which turned out to be full of wine. During the famine, the Monk Cyril distributed bread to all those in need, and he did not run out, despite the fact that usually there were barely enough supplies for the brethren.

The monk tamed the storm on the lake, which threatened the fishermen, predicted that none of the brethren would die before his death, despite the fact that the plague was raging, and after that many would follow him.

The monk celebrated his last Divine service on the day of the Holy Trinity. Having bequeathed to the brethren to preserve love among themselves, the Monk Cyril reposed blessedly in the 90th year of his life on June 9, 1427, on the feast day of the homonymous Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. In the very first year after the death of the monk, out of 53 brethren, 30 died. To those who remained, the monk often appeared in a dream with support and instruction.

The Monk Cyril loved spiritual enlightenment and instilled this love in his disciples. According to the inventory of 1635, there were more than 2 thousand books in the monastery, among them 16 "miracle worker Cyril". Remarkable examples of spiritual guidance and guidance, love, peacefulness and consolation are the three letters of the reverend to the Russian princes that have come down to us.

All-Russian veneration of the saint began no later than 1447-1448. The life of St. Cyril was written on behalf of Metropolitan Theodosius and Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich by Hieromonk Pakhomiy Logofet, who arrived at the Kirillov Monastery in 1462 and found many eyewitnesses and disciples of St. Cyril, including (Comm. 12 January), who was then in charge of the Ferapontov Monastery.

A eulogy to the Monk Kirill Belozersky was published in the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, 1977, No. 12.

in 1547

reverend

enlightenment

Kirill Belozersky or Kirill Beloezersky(worldly name Kozma; -) - a religious figure, reverend of the Russian Church, the memory is celebrated on June 9 (according to the Julian calendar).

Biography

The origin of St. Cyril is unknown. It is known that the future saint was close to the noble boyar family of the Velyaminovs, and in his youth he served as treasurer for the boyar Timofei Velyaminov. This influential Moscow boyar did not sympathize with Kozma's desire to leave his service and take on a monastic guise, but Stefan Makhrishsky, a friend of St. Sergius who was in Moscow, nevertheless clothed him in a cassock and convinced the owner to let him go to the monastery.

At the Simonov Monastery

Monastery of St. Cyril

View of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery from the southwest

The severity of the place, however, confused the companion of the Monk Kirill, and Ferapont, having retired 15 miles from Kirillov, founded his own monastery, choosing a picturesque open hill for the new monastery. In the whole appearance of the no less famous Ferapontov Monastery, this light and joyful feeling is felt, so unlike the harsh beauty of Kirillov. However, there are no reasons and reasons to look for contradictions between the two Belozersky ascetics. This difference in the spiritual constitution of the two saints did not interfere with their most cordial relations.

Cyril, left alone, at first was haunted by temptations. Once he nearly died when a tree fell on him while he was sleeping. Hearing in a dream a voice prompting him to wake up, Cyril was saved from certain death. On another occasion, when he was clearing a place for a vegetable garden, the brushwood set ablaze by him caused a great fire, from which the monk barely escaped. However, Cyril did not remain alone for long. Soon two of the locals and three monks from Simonov joined him. But new misfortunes began, this time from the side of the world. A certain boyar, believing that the former Simonovsky archimandrite should have a considerable treasury with him, sent robbers to rob him. On another occasion, a local peasant, out of fear that his land would be granted to the monastery, tried to set fire to the monk's cell. Needless to say, his fears were not unfounded. But Saint Cyril, as his life tells us, avoids accepting estates from worldly rulers. “If we rise to hold the village, pain will be in us care, able to suppress the silence of the brethren,” he says. He does not even allow the brethren to go for alms, and only accepts small donations.

Nevertheless, a number of documents signed by the monk are known, which are associated with the acquisition of lands and villages. In other words, the non-possessive ideal was maintained only in the early days of the monastery's existence. Over time, the growing brethren (by the death of the monk it reached 53 people) required significant funds for its maintenance. G. M. Prokhorov names 25 letters related to the acquisition of villages. So the land holdings of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery appear even under its founder. However, the life compiled by Pachomius Logothete does not speak of the villages and lands acquired by the Belozersky abbot. Subsequently, this problem for a small skete could be partly solved by the Monk Nil of Sorsk, but at the same time, serious ideological battles flared up around the issue of monastic possessions, which led to a split (dislikes) among part of Russian monasticism.

Kirillov's charter is very strict. The brothers are not even allowed to have their own drinking water in their cells. However, the abbot himself with the brethren is meek, we know nothing about the punishments he imposes. There are always three courses for a meal. The monk himself makes sure that there is consolation for the meal, but honey and wine are unacceptable. In relations with worldly authorities, Cyril shows independence, but combines it with meekness, does not rebuke, but exhorts the princes.

Messages from Kirill Belozersky to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy

The messages of the monk to the sons of Dmitry Donskoy have been preserved: Grand Duke Vasily, Andrei Dmitrievich Mozhaisky, in whose patrimony the monastery is located, and Georgy Zvenigorodsky. He asks the Grand Duke to reconcile with the Suzdal princes: "Look, what will be their truth before you." By the way, he writes about the "great bloodshed" to the peasants caused by this struggle. Andrei Dmitrievich Mozhaisky, in whose estate the monastery is located, writes about the need for a fair trial, against bribes, slander and anonymous denunciations. He writes about the inadmissibility of usury, the need to close customs and taverns (“peasants drink it away, and their souls perish”), against robbery, foul language, and pious behavior in worship. He writes to Georgy Dmitrievich about the need to look closely at his sins and asks not to go to his monastery.

In addition to the epistles to the grand duke's sons, the monk's pen belongs to the "Spiritual Letter". Presumably, he also wrote a number of teachings, including “The Teaching of Elder Kiril on a Cheese Week for a Meal”.

Library of Kirill Belozersky

Cyril collected a large library in the monastery, was engaged in enlightenment. The library, which belonged to St. Cyril, has been partially preserved. These are twelve books, scattered in different repositories. Among them are 2 Gospels, 3 canons, "Ladder" of John of Sinai with St. Abba Dorotheus, calendars, as well as 4 collections containing information on natural science, medicine and recommendations on dietetics.

Death and veneration of St. Cyril

The Monk Cyril of Belozersky died in 1427. Pachomius Serb was the first to write the life of the saint. Dionysius Glushitsky painted the icon of St. Cyril of Belozersky during the life of the saint. Thus, this icon, in a sense, is also a lifetime portrait of the saint.

In his spiritual testament, the monk bequeathed the care of his monastery to Prince Andrei of Mozhaisk. Turning to the prince, he asks that the awards to the monastery be secured by appropriate documents, so that the monks "fight against those who offend."

Categories:

• Personalities in alphabetical order
• Born in 1337
• Deceased in 1427
• Saints in alphabetical order
• Saints of the Russian Church
• Russian Orthodox saints
• Christian saints of the 15th century
• Canonized in the 16th century

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Life of St. Cyril of Belozersky
Commemorated on June 9 with.s.

The Monk Kirill, Abbot of Beloezersky (in the world Cosmas) was born in Moscow to pious parents. In his youth, he was left an orphan and lived with his relative, the boyar Timofey Vasilyevich Velyaminov, a courtier at the court of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy (1363-1389). Secular life weighed heavily on the young man.
At the request of St. Stephen of Makhrishchsky († 1406; comm. 14 July), the boyar released Kosma to the Simonov Monastery, where he received tonsure from St. Theodore († 1394, comm. 28 November) with the name Cyril. The Monk Kirill performed monastic obediences under the guidance of Elder Michael, later Bishop of Smolensk. At night, the elder read the Psalter, and the Monk Kirill made obeisances, but at the first stroke of the bell he went to matins. He asked the elder for permission to eat food after 2-3 days, but an experienced mentor did not allow this, but blessed to eat every day with the brethren, but not to satiety. The Monk Cyril carried obedience in the bakery: he carried water, chopped wood, distributed bread.

Avoiding human glory, the monk at times began to play the fool. As a punishment for violating decency, the abbot appointed him bread and water for 40 days of food; Saint Cyril gladly bore this punishment. But no matter how the saint concealed his spirituality, the experienced elders understood him and, against his will, forced him to accept the rank of hieromonk. In his free time from ministry, the Monk Kirill placed himself in the line of a novice and engaged in hard work. When St. Theodore was consecrated Archbishop of Rostov, the brethren in 1390 elected the Monk Kirill archimandrite of the monastery.

Rich and distinguished people began to visit the monk to listen to his instructions. This confused the humble spirit of the saint, and, no matter how the brethren begged him, he did not remain the rector, but shut himself up in his former cell. But here, too, frequent visitors disturbed the monk, and he moved on to the old Simonovo. The soul of St. Cyril strove for silence, and he prayed to the Mother of God to show him a place useful for salvation. One night, reading, as always, an akathist in front of the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, he heard a voice: "Go to Beloozero, there is your place."

In the Beloezerskaya side, then deaf and sparsely populated, he walked for a long time in search of a place that, in a vision, was intended for his stay. In the vicinity of Mount Myaury near Lake Siverskoye, he, together with his companion, the Monk Ferapont (Comm. 27 May), erected a cross and dug out a dugout.

The Monk Ferapont soon withdrew to another place, and the Monk Cyril labored in solitude for many years in an underground cell. Once St. Cyril, tormented by a strange dream, lay down to sleep under a pine tree, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he heard a voice: "Run, Cyril!" As soon as Saint Cyril had time to jump back, the pine tree collapsed. From this pine the ascetic made a cross. On another occasion, the Monk Cyril almost died from the flames and smoke when he was clearing the forest, but God protected His saint. One peasant tried to set fire to the monk's cell, but no matter how hard he tried, he did not succeed. Then, with tears of repentance, he confessed his sin to the Monk Cyril, who tonsured him a monk.

From the Simonov monastery, the monks Zebedee and Dionysius, beloved by him, came to the monk, and then Nathanael, later the cellar of the monastery. Many began to come to the monk and ask him to honor them with monasticism. The holy elder realized that his time of silence was over. In 1397 he built a temple in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

When the number of the brethren multiplied, the monk gave the monastery a charter of communal life, which he illuminated by the example of his own life. In the church no one dared to talk, no one had to leave it before the end of the service; the holy gospel was approached by seniority. Everyone sat down at the meal in their own place, and there was silence in the refectory. From the refectory, everyone silently walked to his cell. No one could receive letters or gifts without showing them to the Monk Cyril; no letters were written without his blessing. The money was kept in the monastery treasury, no one had any property. They even went to the refectory to drink water. The cells were not locked, and in them, except for icons and books, nothing was kept. In the last years of the life of St. Cyril, the boyar Roman decided to donate a village to the monastery and sent a deed of gift. The Monk Kirill reasoned that if the monastery began to have villages, then the brethren would begin to take care of the land, settlers would appear, the monastic silence would be broken, and he refused the gift.

The Lord rewarded His saint with the gift of clairvoyance and healing. A certain Theodore, having entered the monastery out of love for the monk, then hated him so much that he could not look at the saint and tried to leave the monastery. He came to the cell of the Monk Cyril and, looking at his gray hair, could not utter a word from shame. The monk said to him: "Do not grieve, my brother, everyone is mistaken in me, you alone know the truth and all my unworthiness; I am really an indecent sinner." Then the Monk Cyril blessed Theodore and added that he would no longer be troubled by thought; Since then, Theodore lived quietly in the monastery.

One day there was not enough wine for the Divine Liturgy, and the sexton told the saint about it. The Monk Cyril ordered that an empty vessel be brought to him, which turned out to be full of wine. During the famine, the Monk Cyril distributed bread to all those in need, and he did not run out, despite the fact that usually there were barely enough supplies for the brethren.

The monk tamed the storm on the lake, which threatened the fishermen, predicted that none of the brethren would die before his death, despite the fact that the plague was raging, and after that many would follow him.

The monk celebrated his last Divine service on the day of the Holy Trinity. Having bequeathed to the brethren to preserve love among themselves, the Monk Cyril reposed blessedly in the 90th year of his life on June 9, 1427, on the feast day of the homonymous Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. In the very first year after the death of the monk, out of 53 brethren, 30 died. To those who remained, the monk often appeared in a dream with support and instruction.

The Monk Cyril loved spiritual enlightenment and instilled this love in his disciples. According to the inventory of 1635, there were more than 2 thousand books in the monastery, among them 16 "miracle worker Cyril". Remarkable examples of spiritual guidance and guidance, love, peacefulness and consolation are the three letters of the reverend to the Russian princes that have come down to us.

All-Russian veneration of the saint began no later than 1447-1448. The life of St. Cyril was written on behalf of Metropolitan Theodosius and Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich by Hieromonk Pachomius Logofet, who arrived at the Kirillov Monastery in 1462 and found many eyewitnesses and disciples of St. Cyril, including St. Martinian (Comm. 12 January), who then ruled Ferapontov monastery.