Reverends Kirill and Maria- parents of St. Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh. Remembrance Days - January 31; June 5 - Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints; July 19 - Cathedral of Radonezh Saints; October 11.

Epiphanius the Wise writes that the future great Hegumen of the Russian Land was born from noble and faithful parents: from a father whose name was Cyril, and a mother named Mary, who were God's Saints, truthful before God and before people, and full and adorned with all sorts of virtues that God loves. God did not allow such a baby, who was supposed to shine, to be born from unrighteous parents. But first God created and prepared such righteous parents for him and then from them he produced his saint.

About the parents of St. Sergius, the Life tells that they were The boyars, from the glorious and famous boyars, owned a large estate in the Rostov region and great wealth. At first, boyar Kirill was in the service of the Rostov prince Vasily Konstantinovich († 1307) and his son Prince Konstantin Vasilyevich († 1364), married to the daughter of the great Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich (Kalita).

The Life of St. Sergius reports that more than once the boyar Kirill accompanied the Rostov prince to the Golden Horde, which indicates the closeness of the boyar Kirill to the court of the Rostov princes. Boyar Kirill, due to his position, owned a sufficient fortune. In the family, besides Bartholomew, the future Sergius, there were two more children - the eldest Stefan and the younger Peter.

Reverend Kirill was in the service first of the Rostov prince Konstantin II Borisovich, and then of Konstantin III Vasilyevich, whom he, as one of the people closest to them, more than once accompanied to the Golden Horde. St. Cyril owned a fortune sufficient for his position, but due to the simplicity of the morals of that time, living in the countryside, he did not neglect ordinary rural labor.

In contact with

Rev. Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria,
parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
Life icon.

Four miles from Rostov the Great, on the open plain of the left bank of the Ishni River, on the way to Yaroslavl, a small monastery in the name of the Most Holy Trinity - Varnitsky Monastery - was secluded. . It was built by our pious ancestors with the aim of perpetuating in the memory of future generations the homeland of the great ascetic of the Russian land - St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Here was the estate of the noble and noble Rostov boyars Kirill and Maria. , This is where they lived, preferring solitude among rural nature to the bustle of the princely court. Kirill was in the service first of the Rostov prince Konstantin II Borisovich, and then of Konstantin III Vasilyevich, whom he, as one of the people closest to them,

more than once accompanied him to the Golden Horde. Kirill owned a fortune sufficient for his position, but due to the simplicity of the customs of that time, living in the village, he did not neglect ordinary rural labor. .

Kirill and Maria were kind and godly people. Talking about them, the Venerable Epiphanius the Wise writes: “Our venerable father Sergius was born from noble and pious parents: from a father whose name was Cyril and a mother named Mary, who were God's saints, righteous before God and before people, and full of all kinds of virtues and decorated with what God loves. God did not allow such a baby, who was to shine, to be born from unrighteous parents. But first God created and prepared such righteous parents for him and then from them he produced His saint. O praiseworthy couple! O kindest spouses who were parents to such a baby! First, it is appropriate to honor and praise his parents, and this will be a kind of addition to his praises and honors. After all, it was necessary that Sergius be given by God to many people for the good, for salvation and benefit, and therefore it would not have stopped for such a baby to be born from unrighteous parents, and it would not have stopped for others, that is, unrighteous parents, to give birth to this child. God gave it only to those chosen parents, which is what happened; good has united with good and the best with the best!”
Cyril and Maria already had a son, Stephen, when God gave them another son - Bartholomew, the future founder of the Holy Trinity Lavra, the beauty of the Orthodox Church and the indestructible support of their native land

Long before the birth of the baby, the wondrous Providence of God had already given a sign of him as the great chosen one of God and the holy branch of the blessed root. “And a certain miracle happened before his birth,” says the Monk Epiphanius the Wise, something happened that cannot be consigned to silence. When the child was still in the womb, one day - it was on Sunday - his mother entered the church, as usual, during the singing of the Holy Liturgy. And she stood with other women in the vestibule, and when they were about to begin reading the Holy Gospel and all the people stood in silence, then suddenly the baby began to scream in the womb, so that many were horrified by this cry - the glorious miracle that happened to this baby. And then again, before they began to sing the Cherubic Song, suddenly the baby began to scream a second time in the womb, louder than the first time, so that his voice was heard throughout the whole church, so that his mother herself stood in horror, and the women who were there, they were perplexed to themselves and said: “What will happen to this baby?” When the priest exclaimed: “Let us take in, Holy of Holies!” - the baby screamed loudly again, for the third time . The embarrassed mother almost fell from fear and began to cry. Women surrounded her and began asking questions. “Where is your baby? Why is he screaming so loudly? But Maria, in emotional agitation, shedding tears, could hardly speak. “I don’t have a baby, ask someone else.” The women began to look around and, not seeing the baby, again pestered Mary with the same question. Then she was forced to tell them frankly that she really did not have a baby in her arms, but she was carrying him in her womb. “How can a baby scream when he is still in the womb? - the surprised women objected to her. “I myself am surprised at this,” Maria answered them, “I am in considerable bewilderment and fear.” Then the women left her alone, without ceasing, however, to be amazed at this extraordinary incident. .

“In our time,” says Saint Philaret (Drozdov) of Moscow, “witnesses of such an incident would probably have a lot of concern about finding the reason that produced this extraordinary phenomenon. More insightful ones, perhaps, would have dared to guess that the prayerful delight of the pious mother imparted an extraordinary excitement of life to the fetus that she carried in her womb. But at that time they loved not so much curious speculation as reverent observation of the ways of Providence, and the people left the church, repeating what was written in the Gospel about John the Baptist: “What then will this boy do” (Luke 1:66) May the will of the Lord be done to him .

The reverent description of the life of St. Sergius accompanies the narration of this extraordinary incident with the following reflection: “One should be surprised that the baby in the womb did not cry out outside the church, without people, or in another place, secretly, alone, but precisely in front of the people, so that there would be many listeners and witnesses to this true event. And it is also surprising that he did not shout quietly, but to the whole church, so that rumors about him would spread throughout the whole earth, it is surprising that he did not shout when his mother was either at a feast, or was sleeping at night, but when she was in the church, in time of prayer - let the one born earnestly pray to God. It is surprising that he shouted not in some house or some unclean place, but, on the contrary, in a church standing in a clean, holy place, where it is appropriate to celebrate the Liturgy of the Lord - this means that the child will be perfect in the fear of God holy to the Lord. One should also be surprised that he shouted not once or twice, but also a third time, so that it was clear that he was a disciple of the Holy Trinity, since the number three is revered more than all other numbers.” .

Further, citing examples and indications from Old Testament and New Testament history that indicate the importance of the trinity number, and remembering terrible secret Trinitarian Deity, the Monk Epiphanius continues: “The baby should therefore cry out three times while in the womb, before birth, indicating by this that the child will once be a servant of the Holy Trinity, which came true, and will lead many to understanding and knowledge of God, teaching the verbal sheep to believe in the Holy Trinity, Consubstantial, in the One Divinity... Isn’t this a clear indication, - the Monk Epiphanius further argues, - that amazing and unusual things will happen to the child in the future! Isn’t this a sure sign, so that it is clear that this baby will do wonderful things later! It is fitting for those who saw and heard the first signs to believe the subsequent events. Thus, even before the birth of the saint, God marked him: after all, this first sign was not simple, not empty, worthy of surprise, but the beginning was the path of the future. We tried to report this, because about an amazing person amazing life is told.

We should also remember here the ancient saints who shone forth in the Old and New Law: after all, the conception and birth of many saints was somehow marked by Divine Revelation. After all, we are not saying this on our own, but we take words from the Holy Scriptures and mentally compare another story with our story: after all, God sanctified Jeremiah the prophet in his mother’s womb, and the all-foreseeing God, foreseeing before his birth that Jeremiah would be the receptacle of the Holy Spirit, filled by his grace with youth. Isaiah the prophet said: “Says the Lord, who called me from the womb, and having chosen me from my mother’s womb, He called my name.” Holy great prophet John the Baptist, while still in his mother’s womb, knew the Lord, carried in the womb of the Most Pure Ever-Virgin Mary; and the child leaped with joy in the womb of his mother Elizabeth, and through her mouth he prophesied. And she then exclaimed, saying: “Where is it from me that the Mother of my Lord has come to me?” As for the holy and glorious prophet Elijah the Tishbite, when his mother gave birth, his parents saw a vision of him - how men with beautiful and bright faces called the name of the child, and wrapped him in fiery shrouds, and gave him the flames of fire to eat.” .

Further, Epiphanius the Wise gives similar stories about other saints: Nicholas the Wonderworker, Ephraim the Syrian, Alypius and Simeon the Stylites, Theodore Sikeot, Euthymius the Great, Theodore of Edessa and Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow. “It’s amazing to hear,” he says in conclusion, “that in the womb he began to scream. So such a child should have been born with a miraculous sign, so that other people would understand that such an amazing person had an amazing conception, birth, and upbringing. The Lord gave him such grace, more than other newborn babies, and such signs revealed God’s wise Providence for him.” .

Always devoted to the will of God and attentive to the ways of Providence, Cyril and Maria understood the instructions of God's Providence and, in accordance with this, carried out the matter of raising their child. After such an incident, the mother became especially attentive to her spiritual state. Always remembering that she was carrying in her womb a baby who would be the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit, Mary prepared to meet in him the future ascetic of piety and abstinence. Like the mother of the ancient Israeli judge Sampson, she carefully kept her soul and body in purity and strict continence. “Mary, his mother,” writes the Monk Epiphanius, “from the day when this sign and incident took place, carried the baby in her womb as some kind of priceless treasure, and how gem, and like wonderful pearls, and like a chosen vessel. And when she carried a child within herself and was pregnant, then she vomited herself from all filth and protected herself from all uncleanness by fasting, and avoided all fast food, and did not eat meat, milk, or fish, only bread, and vegetables, and water. ate. She completely abstained from wine, and instead of various drinks only water, and drank that little by little. Often, secretly sighing in private, she prayed to God with tears, saying: “Lord! Save me, protect me, Your wretched servant, and save and preserve this baby that I carry in my womb! You, Lord, protect the baby, Thy will be done, Lord! And let it be Your name blessed forever and ever! Amen!"

“Oh parents,” Metropolitan Philaret notes about this, “if only you knew how much good or, on the contrary, how much evil you can communicate to your children even before they are born! You would be amazed at the accuracy of God’s judgment, which blesses children in parents and parents in children and “passes on the sins of the fathers to the children” (Num. 14:18), and, thinking about this, you would reverently carry out the ministry entrusted to you from Him, from By Him is every Fatherland in heaven and on earth called" .

Cyril and Maria felt the great mercy of God; their piety demanded that the animating feelings of gratitude to the beneficent God be expressed in some external feat of piety, in some reverent vow. What could be more pleasing to the Lord in the circumstances in which they were, if not a strong heart desire and firm determination to prove worthy of God’s mercy? And so righteous Mary, like Saint Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, together with her husband made a promise: “If a boy is born to us, we will vow to bring him to church and give him to God, the Benefactor of all.” . This meant that they would do everything to ensure that the will of God was fulfilled on their unborn child, that God’s secret predestination about him would be fulfilled, to which they already had some indication. “Oh glorious faith! - exclaims Epiphanius the Wise, telling about the spiritual mood of Cyril and Mary. - Oh good love! Even before the birth of the child, the parents promised to bring him and give him to the Giver of blessings to God, as Anna the prophetess, the mother of Samuel the prophet, did in ancient times.” .

On May 3, 1314, there was great joy and fun in the house of boyar Kirill: God gave him and Maria a son . The righteous parents invited their relatives and friends to share family joy with them, and everyone thanked God for the mercy He showed in the house of the pious boyar. On the fortieth day after birth, the parents brought the baby to church to perform baptism on him. . The time has come to fulfill your promise and present the child as an immaculate sacrifice to God. A reverent priest named Michael named the baby Bartholomew at Holy Baptism. On this day (June 11) the memory of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew was celebrated. This name, by its very meaning - son of joy - was especially comforting for parents. The priest “took the child, who had abundantly received the grace of the Holy Spirit, from the font, and the priest, overshadowed by the Divine Spirit, felt that this baby would be the chosen vessel.” . Is it possible to describe the joy that filled the hearts of the parents when they saw before them the beginning of the fulfillment of those bright hopes that rested on this baby from the day of his miraculous proclamation in his mother’s womb? Cyril and Maria told this incident to the priest, and he, as well versed in the Holy Scriptures, showed them many examples from the Old and New Testaments, when God’s chosen ones, even from their mother’s womb, were destined to serve God; He brought them the words of the prophet David about the perfect foreknowledge of God: “Your eyes have seen what I have not done” (Ps. 139:16) - and the Apostle Paul: “God called me from my mother’s womb to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him to the Gentiles” ( Gal. 1:15-16) - and other similar passages Holy Scripture and consoled them with gracious hope regarding their newborn: “Do not grieve for him, but, on the contrary, rejoice and be glad, for the child will be a chosen vessel of God, an abode and servant of the Holy Trinity.” . Having blessed the child and his parents, the minister of the altar of Christ sent them away in peace. Meanwhile, the parents began to notice something unusual in the baby: if the mother happened to eat meat, the baby did not take her nipples. On Wednesdays and Fridays the baby was left without food at all. They thought the child was sick. “But, however, examining the baby from all sides, they saw that he was not sick and that there were no obvious or hidden signs illness: he did not cry, did not moan, was not sad. But with his face, his heart, and his eyes, the baby was cheerful and rejoiced in every possible way and played with his hands.” . Finally, they paid attention to the time when the baby did not accept the mother’s breasts, and then everyone was convinced that in this children’s fast “marked,” as St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow puts it, “the mother’s previous dispositions and the seeds of his future dispositions were manifested.” . Abstained by fasting in the womb, the baby, even at birth, seemed to require fasting from the mother. And she really began to observe the fast more strictly: she completely gave up eating meat, and the baby, except for Wednesdays and Fridays, always fed on her milk after that. One day, Mary gave the baby to another woman so that she would feed him at her breast, but the child did not want to take the nipples, the same thing happened with other nurses. So he fed only on his mother's milk until he was suckled. “This was a sign,” writes the Monk Epiphanius, “meaning that from a good root a good branch should be nourished with undefiled milk. This child was a worshiper of the Lord, even in his mother’s womb and after birth he was inclined to piety, and from the very cradle he knew the Lord... he got used to fasting, and, feeding on his mother’s milk, along with tasting this milk he learned abstinence; and, being a child of age, he did not begin to fast like a child; and as a child he was raised in purity; and was fed more by piety than by milk; and before his birth he was chosen by God" .

The righteousness of Cyril and Mary was known not only to God. Strict guardians of all church statutes, they helped the poor, but especially sacredly kept the commandment of the Holy Apostle Paul: “Do not forget to love strangers, for the angels do not know how to accept strangers” (Heb. 13:2). They taught the same to their children, strictly instructing them not to miss the opportunity to invite a traveling monk or other tired wanderer to their home. “Detailed information about the pious life of this blessed couple has not reached us: but we can, together with Saint Plato, say that the very fruit that came from them showed better than any eloquent praise the kindness of the blessed tree. Happy are the parents whose names are glorified forever in their children and offspring! Happy are the children who not only did not disgrace, but also increased and exalted the honor and nobility of their parents and glorious ancestors, for true nobility lies in virtue!”

Growing up, Saint Sergius, as in the first days of his life, did not eat any food on Wednesdays and Fridays, and on other days he ate only bread and water. He did not like children's games, the laughter and fun of his comrades was not to his heart, but, in solitude, he indulged in reading sacred books. Not being a monk, he led a strict monastic life. Seeing such exploits of her young son, the mother was very afraid that a harsh lifestyle could harm his health, and she convinced her son to soften the severity of fasting and his exploits. But the young ascetic humbly asked her not to turn him away from abstinence, which was so sweet and beneficial for his soul. The mother was surprised at the boy’s reasonable answer and no longer interfered with his good intentions, especially since his health did not suffer at all from abstinence and fasting .

But it was not in the Rostov land that this blessed lamp was destined to shine, but among the dense forests of Radonezh, so that from there it could shine for the entire Orthodox Kingdom of Russia. When Bartholomew was about 15 years old, his parents had to leave Rostov.

Shortly before the resettlement of Bartholomew's parents from Rostov to the Moscow Principality, an important event took place in the history of our Fatherland. In the winter of 1327-1328, the appanage prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita, who sought to unify the Russian land, received the title of Russian Grand Duke in the Golden Horde. The new Grand Duke gained such favor in the Horde that the Khan subordinated the Rostov Principality, adjacent to Moscow, to him. One of the Moscow boyars, Vasily Kocheva, was appointed his governor in Rostov, who conducted the matter in such a way that soon all of Rostov was filled with tears and crying. The governor's independent actions were accompanied by oppression of the residents, who were tortured and robbed. The insolence of the Moscow governors reached the point that they shamefully tortured the Rostov mayor, boyar Averky. Horror gripped the Rostovites, many began to leave their hometown. Among the latter was boyar Kirill. In addition to the oppression of the Moscow boyars, he was forced to leave Rostov by an extremely unfavorable change in financial situation: he was broke and it was inconvenient for him to stay where he lived richly and was highly respected . Kirill chose the small town of Radonezh as his place of new residence, which is fourteen miles from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra towards Moscow. .

According to the custom of that time, Cyril was supposed to receive an estate, but due to his old age he could no longer serve, and this responsibility was assumed by his eldest son Stefan, who probably got married in Rostov. The youngest of Cyril's sons, Peter, also chose married life. But Bartholomew continued his exploits in Radonezh. Talking about the vanity of everything earthly, he began to ask his parents for blessings to choose the path of monastic life. “Now, Vladyka, give me your consent, so that with your blessing I can begin my monastic life.” But his parents answered him: “Child! Wait a little and be patient with us: we are old, poor, sick now and have no one to care for us. Well, your brothers, Stephen and Peter, got married and are thinking about how to please their wives; But you, unmarried, are thinking about how to please God; you have chosen a more beautiful path, which will not be taken away from you. Just look after us a little and when you see us, your parents, to the grave, then you will be able to carry out your plan. When you put us in a coffin and cover us with earth, then you will fulfill your desire.” .

The blessed son obeyed. He made every effort to please his parents and calm their old age in order to earn their blessings and prayers. Not bound by family concerns, he devoted himself entirely to the repose of his parents, and in his meek, loving character could not have been more capable of this. “How beautiful and instructive is the example of both parental prudence and filial obedience! Cyril and Maria do not try to extinguish the Divine desire that flares up in their son, they do not force him to tie himself to the vanity of the world through marriage, as many parents do: they only point out to him their needs and infirmities, and secretly, probably, they have more in mind his youth, and they give him a chance to test himself further and strengthen himself in his holy intention, so that, having laid his hand on the head, he will no longer look back. But Bartholomew also knows the dignity of what he desires. Remembering the commandment of God: “Honor your father and mother” (Matthew 15:4), he agrees to torment himself for the time being with an unfulfilled desire in order to preserve the memory of his parents and thereby inherit their blessing. And parents, of course, from everything loving heart blessed the obedient son with their holy blessings until their last sigh!”

The spirit of monasticism insensitively communicated from the son to the parents: at the end of their sorrowful life, Cyril and Maria themselves, according to the pious custom of antiquity, wished to take on the angelic image. At that time, the custom of accepting monasticism in old age was widespread in Rus'. This is what simple people, princes, and boyars did.

About three versts from Radonezh there was the Intercession Khotkov Monastery, at that time both male and female . The righteous Cyril and Maria sent their feet to this monastery, so that there they could spend the rest of their days in the feat of repentance, preparing for another life. Almost at the same time, a sad change occurred in the life of Bartholomew's elder brother, Stephen: he did not live long in marriage, his wife, Anna, died, leaving him with two sons - Clement and John. Having buried his wife in the Khotkovsky Monastery, Stefan did not want to return to the world. Having entrusted his children, probably, to Peter, he immediately remained in Khotkovo, so that, having accepted monasticism, at the same time he could serve his weak parents. However, the schema-monks-boyars did not work long in their new rank: in 1337 they went to the Lord in peace for eternal rest . The children honored them with tears of filial love and buried them under the shadow of the same Pokrovsky monastery, which from that time became the last shelter and tomb of the Sergius family .

The repose of the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh

Paying his last debt to filial love, Bartholomew spent forty days incessantly in the Khotkovo monastery, remembering his newly departed parents and distributing alms to the poor. Then, giving the inheritance left by his parents to his younger brother Peter, he hastened to his exploits in a deserted place. Imitating the ancient ascetics, he built himself a cell and a chapel. Here Bartholomew was tonsured a monk with the name Sergius and became famous as the founder of the Holy Trinity Lavra.

In difficult times for the Russian people and the Holy Church, the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh and his parents, Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria, interceded before God more than once for their earthly brothers. So, for example, in 1770-1771 Russia suffered one of the greatest national disasters. A terrible disease - a pestilence - destroyed the population of the cities and villages of our Fatherland and, reaching Moscow, destroyed many people there. Sergeev Posad also lost many of its residents, although their number was much lower than the number of deaths in other cities and towns of the Moscow province. In the very monastery of St. Sergei, after the brethren performed a religious procession around the monastery with prayers for deliverance from the destructive disease, despite the fact that the Lavra was open to everyone who came, both the monastics and the students of the Seminary, of whom there were about 200 people, remained unharmed. Even among the servants of the Lavra, who lived in Posad and had their own houses between the houses of those dying of an ulcer, none died. Then many monasteries and villages that previously belonged to the Lavra took holy icons from it for blessing .

In the Khotkovsky Intercession Monastery, from August to December 1771, the nuns of the monastery tirelessly read the Psalter and prayer to the saints Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria at their tomb. “And from other countries those who came to them with faith to pray and during the pestilence served a prayer service at the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, adding this prayer to the saints: “O servants of God, Schema-monk Kirill and Schema-nun Mary! Even though you have ended your natural temporary life in body, you do not depart from us in spirit; you guide us to Christ God, instructing us to walk according to the commandments of the Lord, and to bear our cross, and to follow our Master. You, venerable ones, together with our venerable and God-bearing father Sergius, your beloved son, have boldness towards Christ, our God, and towards His Holy Mother of God. Be prayer books and intercessors for us, unworthy, living in our holy monastery, and you are its leaders. Be the helpers and intercessors of this other chosen by God, so that those who live in this place and come with faith through your prayers may remain unharmed from demons and from evil people, glorifying the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen" .

In the city of Rostov, and especially in its environs, in the summer of 1871, cholera was raging, there were many sick and dying. In the Trinity-Varnitsa monastery, through the prayers of the intercessor of their homeland, St. Sergius of Radonezh and his parents, everyone remained alive, so that “none of the monastic brethren and employees were sick.” .

The list of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God mentioned in the Chronicle of the Khotkovsky Intercession Monastery was located in the refectory of the Intercession Cathedral near the tombs of Saints Cyril and Mary. During the cholera epidemic in 1848, the Tikhvin icon with prayer singing was carried to all cells, and not one of the sisters fell ill. From the end of May to October, people from surrounding villages flocked to Khotkovo in large numbers to pray in front of the icon of the Mother of God. Prayer singing and all-night vigils were constantly performed in front of her, ending with a memorial service for the parents of St. Sergius. “In memory of this miraculous deliverance from the disease, it is established to perform a prayer service in front of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God after the hours before the liturgy every Saturday, at which the entire canon is read with the singing of choruses, a prayer to the Mother of God and a prayer to the saints of God, Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria.” .

Honor was also given to the parents of St. Sergius when the icon of St. Sergius was taken from the Lavra to the surrounding places. On August 24, 1848, with the blessing of Metropolitan of Moscow Philaret (Drozdov) and the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Anthony, the procession from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to the Khotkov Monastery and to the village of Radonezh with the image of St. Serius, written on a board from the tomb of the ascetic.

Venerable Sergius at the tomb of his parents, the Venerable Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria

According to legend, this icon resembled the living face of the Saint. When she was carried high above the crowd, it seemed as if St. Sergius himself was marching to the aid of those calling on him.

“In the village of Mashino, the nuns and belitsa of Khotkovsky were waiting for the image of St. Sergius, who carried the icon from here to their monastery. Far in front of the monastery, the Khotkovsky archpriest met the image of the Venerable One with the clergy, with banners and holy icons, and the abbess with the sisters, brought it into the monastery, into the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, and placed it at the tombs of his parents, the Venerables Cyril and Mary. It was impossible to look at this visible union of the saints - the holy son with the holy parents - without tears.

After the prayer service and blessing of water, the all-night service to St. Sergius began in the church and in the abbess’s cells. According to the sixth song of the canon, the governor of the Lavra read an akathist to St. Sergius, and it was touching to listen to those places in the akathist where the names of the parents of the great son were mentioned: “Rejoice, good and chosen fruit of good parents! Rejoice, from your mother’s womb you were called to the service of the Heavenly King, like a warrior who wants to be faithful to him! Rejoice, having surprised all those who heard you by your threefold birth in the womb, by the proclamation of your parents! Rejoice, wonderful continence revealed from the mother’s breast!”

So vividly the bonds that once united the Reverend with his parents in the flesh and, by the grace of God, now became holy and, of course, never to be dissolved, were now vividly imagined. The light of the glory of St. Sergius also illuminates the resting place of his parents, and for four and a half centuries their memory has been blessed from generation to generation and their name is pronounced with reverence by the lips of admirers of St. Sergius. From the grave of Saints Cyril and Mary, the icon of the Saint was transferred to ancient Radonezh. The people, flocking in thousands from everywhere, greeted the image with joyful tears and listened with tenderness to the prayer read by the governor of the Lavra to the saint of God in the place anciently consecrated by his feet.” .

The monastic chronicle preserved the story of the third (after 1771 and 1848) deliverance of the monastery from cholera through the patronage of the Mother of God and the prayers of St. Sergius and his parents. In 1871, a religious procession was held from the Lavra with the icon of St. Sergius written on his coffin board. At the end of May, the icon was transported around the surrounding area on a special hearse; the icon was taken from the Lavra a second time at the end of July. “Our monastery,” the Khotkovsky priest Voznesensky says in the chronicle, “on both visits we were honored with icons and banners, in the presence of all the monastics and inhabitants of the monastery, to meet him, accompanied by numerous people... Our monastery was spared, as in the previous cholera , from the epidemic by intercession Holy Mother of God, St. Sergius and his parents. Not a single sister, despite the large gathering of pilgrims, among whom were sick, was susceptible to infection.” . In the same year, the death of horses, which befell the nearest villages simultaneously with cholera, stopped.

The spiritual bonds that forever united St. Sergius and his parents were also manifested in the miraculous events that took place at the relics of Schema-monk Kirill and Schema-nun Maria. The chronicle of the Khotkovo Intercession Monastery provides evidence of how a prayerful appeal to St. Sergius and his parents saved people from serious illnesses. Khotkovo Archpriest Alexy Lebedev tells about one of these miraculous healings: “The daughter of a peasant of the Simbirsk province, the girl Tatyana Ivanova, from an early age, after falling into a river in winter time, suffered from rheumatism, which caused lumps to form all over her body, and then wounds opened on her right leg and left arm. Her neck was bent to one side from the cones, she could not walk and lay in bed, and the wounds had a foul odor, which lasted for twelve years, until 1868. That year, her brother, the peasant Alexei Ivanov, wanted to take her to the barn for Easter, where there were calves and lambs. Tatyana found this order from her brother very sad, and she cried bitterly before God that her brother could no longer tolerate the stench of her wounds and she should spend bright and joyful days with calves and lambs. With tears in her eyes, she seemed to fall asleep before the Matins of the Bright Christ's Resurrection, and she imagined that a gray-haired old man in a robe was standing in front of her, with his head bowed, and saying: “Don’t cry, don’t grieve and don’t complain, but give thanks, and pray to God, and call on St. Sergius and Cyril and Mary.” And, having blessed her, he became invisible. After that, she woke up and saw that there was no one, and only the lamp was glowing, and she felt relief and no longer felt the aches. Her mother in the morning took the rags off the wounds and, seeing that only bare bones and sinews remained, and learning from her that the aches and pains had subsided, she washed her, put on clean linen and began to await her death. The brother began to reproach his mother for not taking her out into the barn again, to which the mother said: “Why take her out - she will soon die.” Tatyana, on the contrary, felt much better and began to sit. On Bright Tuesday, her wounds began to heal and close, and the stench from them was no longer there since Bright Tuesday, and she began to get better hour by hour. When she began to walk and became somewhat stronger, they began to tell her to go and pray to God and thank St. Sergius for the healing. But her mother, seeing her weakness, did not let her go, fearing that she would die on the road, and the girl postponed her pilgrimage until another year. Despite this, many convinced her not to put off thanking God and to go without fail, which is what she decided to do.

On the way, when she entered the Sarov hermitage, where she confessed and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the schema-monk, whose name he does not remember, saw her and grabbed her shoulder from behind, said to her: “Go to St. Sergius and thank him, his parents Cyril and Maria healed you, thank them too.” At first she thought that this old man appeared to her in a dream, but, looking at him carefully, she did not recognize him as the one who appeared to her, and said that she was afraid that due to poor health she might die on the road. He answered: “Don’t be afraid, Cyril and Maria and St. Sergius will preserve you with their prayers, and you will be completely healthy. It is not far from the monastery of St. Serius and his venerable parents rest in a nunnery in Khotkovo, which is only 10 miles away. And if you don’t go, the Lord will punish you, and you won’t even think about returning home.”

View of the Pokrovsky Khotkov nunnery before 1917

Surprised by this elder, who for some unknown reason learned about her illness and the appearance of St. Sergius, she decided to go and the closer she came to the monastery of St. Sergius, the stronger her strength and health became, and she came to the monastery on Peter’s Fast. Having prayed to the Lord God and thanked St. Sergius for his appearance, she went to the Khotkov Monastery. When she began to venerate the image of St. Cyril, her head, which until then had been tilted from the contracted veins, right side, suddenly became straight, the neck also straightened and began to turn freely. Rejoicing at such a wonderful healing and kissing the image Venerable Mary, she began to talk about this healing and was taken to the abbess of the monastery, Philarete, to whom she told everything. Having been healed, she remained in the monastery. Now she is completely healthy, only when she does hard work she soon gets tired. Written by her spiritual father, Archpriest Alexy Lebedev.

I testify to this by the priesthood of her spiritual father - Khotkovsky Archpriest Alexy Lebedev" .

The relics of Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria invariably rested in the Intercession Cathedral, even after its numerous reconstructions and the construction of a new church on the site of the ancient one.

“The coffins of Cyril and Mary are located on the refectory of the monastery Intercession Cathedral, on the right side. On the upper side of the tomb, overshadowed by a canopy of forged silver-plated copper, the saints of God are depicted in full height, their images are decorated with silver vestments, which were arranged in 1827 by Abbess Eupraxia. On the front side of the tomb there are inscriptions: “In the summer of 6845 (1337) the servant of God, monk Cyril, the father of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the wonderworker, reposed. In the summer of 6845 (1337) the servant of God, the monk Maria, the mother of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the miracle worker, reposed. At their coffins, memorial services are held for pilgrims." . According to the church chronicle, “contributions were sent to this subject from the royal house. Thus, in 1738, Empress Anna Ivanovna gave 5 rubles for funeral services to the parents of St. Sergius.” .

Chroniclers and life writers report a lot about the special veneration of the burial place of the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh - Cyril and Mary. The inventory of 1642 says: “In the church lie Sergius’s parents, miracle workers, above them are tombs, and on the tombs two yuft covers are placed for daily use and two Kamkaev black covers are placed for holidays.” The inventory of 1763 also mentions tombs and covers on them: “Two covers of black velvet, crosses with silver braid... covers of red damask are covered with a circle of yellow damask, crosses with tinsel braid.”

Above the tomb of Saints Cyril and Mary there was an icon, which was already early XIX century was considered “ancient writing”, it embodied the idea of ​​heavenly protection extended over the monastery. On this icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” the Mother of God is depicted in full height; under Her feet is the tomb of Cyril and Mary; on one side of her, according to the inscriptions made, are their children: Bartholomew, Peter and Stefan, and on the other - Stefan’s wife Anna and Peter’s wife Catherine . Obviously, this particular icon is mentioned in the inventory of the monastery property made in 1642: “Above the miracle workers, Sergius’s parents, the image of the Most Pure Mother of God “The Sign” on the green in the icon case.” .

The veneration of Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria is directly connected with the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius: “Evidence of church tradition about their holiness is numerous, they go back to the 16th century. Already in the front Life of St. Sergius, his parents are depicted with halos.” .

The memory of the parents of St. Sergius was celebrated in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Khotkovsky Pokrovsky nunnery on September 28 and January 18: in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra for Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria, “the funeral Liturgy ... with the reading of a special prayer is performed on September 28 and on the Thursday of the week of the publican and Pharisee" .

There is a legend according to which St. Sergius commanded - “before going to him, pray for the repose of his parents over their tomb.” . And so it happened. Pilgrims going on pilgrimage to the Trinity Lavra considered it their duty, according to the commandment of the Reverend, to first visit the Khotkovo monastery and venerate the tombs of Saints Cyril and Mary . “Simple pilgrims coming from the Vladimir and Yaroslavl provinces often pass by the Holy Lavra to fulfill this custom. And already from Khotkov they return again to the sacred walls of the glorious Sergius Monastery. The custom is touching: in order for the saint of God to hear the prayer, so that he may graciously accept the stranger under his blessed cover, this stranger first goes to bow at the grave of his righteous parents, in order to appear to the blessed son from his dear grave, as if with parting words from the righteous parents themselves.” .

During their pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Patriarchs of Moscow and All Rus' Nikon (1656), Joachim (1676 and 1688) donated alms to the nuns of the Khotkovsky monastery .

Emperor Peter I, during a visit to the Khotkovo Monastery, “having seen a large number of nuns, ordered them, during the time free from prayer, to engage in women’s handicrafts and promised to send craftswomen from Holland to the monastery, which he fulfilled.” .

In 1755, Empress Catherine II undertook a trip from Moscow to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and visited the Intercession Khotkov Monastery, “where the righteous parents of St. Sergius Cyril and Maria rest.” .

In the 19th century, the veneration of the Venerable Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria spread throughout Russia.

Before the device railway pilgrims going to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, considering it their duty to pray at the Intercession Khotkovsky Monastery, on the way from Moscow “turned to the left from the village of Rakhmanova, from which Khotkov is 12 miles away . The construction of a railway running near the Khotkov Monastery attracted a larger number of pilgrims to the monastery than in the past. "IN summer time Sometimes up to 200 pilgrims or more leave from Khotkovskaya station to the monastery.” .

“And to this day, in the consciousness of our people, one can feel the spiritual communication of the holy son - the great saint of God - with his righteous parents - humble schema-monks, whom he buried in the Khotkovo monastery and to whose grave, according to popular legend, he often visited during his life from his then deserted Lavra . And now pilgrims in large numbers, both in the Lavra itself and in Khotkovo, buy icons in which St. Sergius is depicted praying at the tomb of his parents, with a censer in his hand. This is a monument to his sons’ love for their parents, whom he served until his blessed death.” .

The names of Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria are included in the lists of locally revered holy ascetics of piety in northeastern Rus' . Ethnographers also testify to this: Archbishop of Kazan and Sviyazhsk Dimitri (Sambikin), who placed their lives in the “Monthly of the Saints”, published in 1878 , and Archbishop of Vladimir and Suzdal Sergius (Spassky), who placed the names of the parents of St. Sergius in the “Complete Monthly Book of the East” .

The prayer to the parents of St. Sergius - Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria, with the blessing of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, was published several times (the latest edition is in the “Complete collection of prayers to the Savior, the Most Holy Trinity, the holy saints of God and the Ethereal Powers” ​​(St. Petersburg, 1913, pp. 257-258 and St. Petersburg, 1915).

After 1917, the monastery suffered the same fate as many other monasteries in Russia: until the last church was closed in the 30s, some sisters lived on the territory of the monastery, forming a handicraft artel. Then the temples were occupied by workshops and warehouses. Since the 70s, restoration organizations have appeared here .

July 10, 1981, with blessing His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, the celebration of the Council of Radonezh Saints was established - July 6 (19), the day after the holiday in honor of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria are on the list of the Council of Radonezh Saints, and their prayer is included in the July Menaion, published with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Rus' in 1988 .

Reverends Kirill and Maria

In the service of the Council of Radonezh Saints it is said about St. Sergius and his parents: “He himself is a good branch from the good root of your parents, blessed Cyril and Mary, who died in the holy schema.” .

In 1989, the Church of the Intercession of the Khotkovo monastery was returned to believers. On March 26, the first prayer service was held there, and on the Cross Worship Week of Great Lent - all-night vigil And Divine Liturgy. Resumed liturgical life temple, although internal restoration work continues. “The ancient center of Russian spirituality, which had died out for a time, is being revived, the candle of prayer to St. Sergius and his pious parents is again lit. The celebration of the memory of Saints Cyril and Mary has been resumed - September 28 (October 11) and January 18 (31). Requiem services are served again at their relics and after each service a prayer is heard to the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh.” .

In 1989, the Spiritual Council of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra expressed its desire, in connection with numerous requests from the “church community, to promote the All-Russian glorification of the locally revered saints Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria.” . On November 17, the vicar, Archimandrite Theognostus, and the Spiritual Council, in a report addressed to His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Pimen, stated their request: “With filial love we turn to you, Your Holiness, and ask for the glorification throughout the Russian Orthodox Church of the saints and saints venerated in the land of Moscow righteous schema-monk Kirill and schema-nun Maria with the establishment of their memory on September 28. They grew and through them God gave the Russian land the collector of Rus' and the conqueror of the Hagarians, St. Sergius of Radonezh. The locally revered veneration of the righteous schema-monk Kirill and schema-nun Maria, the holiness and power of their prayers have been attested in the minds of pilgrims for centuries.” .

On June 16, 1990, the Spiritual Council of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra decided: “To ask His Holiness, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, with filial love for the glorification of the saints and righteous Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria.” .

The righteous parents of St. Sergius, Schemamonk Cyril and Schemanun Maria, raised their son in piety, put into his soul love for God and the Church, for work, mercy, and his native land, and St. Sergius, having accepted a rich spiritual inheritance from them, generously passed it on to the Russian people. He is rightfully considered one of the most worthy shepherds of our Fatherland, for he was the greatest ascetic, the founder of desert-dwelling monasticism in northeastern Rus'. St. Sergius, reverently revered by all, known for his piety even outside our country, is the patron and mentor of monks and shepherds, a peacemaker, defender and patriot of his Fatherland. Abba Sergius is an intercessor and prayer book for the entire Russian land, a miracle worker during his lifetime and a great intercessor before God for the Russian flock after death.

Numerous admirers and spiritual children of St. Sergius of Radonezh believe that his parents, Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria, being in the heavenly abodes, together with St. Sergius, help the children of the Russian Orthodox Church in achieving salvation. This faith is strengthened by the signs and wonders performed by Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria. “At the tombs of Saints Cyril and Mary, located in the Khotkovsky Intercession Monastery,” writes Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl), a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, “numerous healings of infants are attested, whose parents turned to the saints with prayer.” . Modern miracles were witnessed in 1992 by the rector of the Intercession Church in Khotkovo, Hieromonk German (Khapugin), nun Ekaterina (Oskina), parishioners of the temple and pilgrims.

On April 3, 1992, in the year of celebrating the 600th anniversary of the repose of St. Sergius, a church-wide glorification of Schemamonk Kirill and Schemanun Maria took place at the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Prayers are read about establishing family piety and assisting in the formation of the moral and religious character of children.

The Monk Cyril and Maria came from a noble family boyar family and lived their lives in the ancient Principality of Rostov. The pious family already had one son named Stephen, when the Lord gave them another son, whom the couple named Bartholomew. The youngest son Bartholomew in the future had the chance to become St. Sergius of Radonezh.
The righteousness of St. Cyril and his wife Mary was glorified and known not only to the Lord. The spouses have always been strict guardians of all divine statutes, they helped the poor, but they especially sacredly cherished the commandment of the holy Apostle Paul: “Do not abandon the love of strangers, especially since the Angels do not know how to accept strangers.” They taught all this to their children, instilling in them the idea of ​​not missing an opportunity to invite a wandering monk or other weary pilgrim to their monastery. Until our time, no more detailed information has been preserved about the pious life of this happy couple, however, we can, together with St. Plato, declare that the very fruit they generated showed better than any sweet-tongued praise the good-heartedness of the blessed race. Blessed are the parents whose names are forever glorified in their offspring and offspring! Blessed are the children who not only did not disgrace, but also strengthened and magnified the honor and nobility of their fathers and eminent ancestors, since true nobility lies in virtue!

At the end of his life path Reverends Kirill and Maria decided on at will become a monk. They rushed to the Intercession Monastery, which was located 3 versts from Radonezh, and at that time connected 2 monasteries: for the elders and for the old women. In this place the Monk Kirill and his wife Maria spent their last days, preparing for eternal life. First they took monastic tonsure, and later the schema. Burdened with old age and illness, the schema-monks labored in a new rank for a short period of time. Around 1337, the couple departed in peace to the kingdom of God.

In 1992, the Bishops' Temple of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to canonize St. Cyril and his wife Mary.
St. Philaret of Moscow wrote lines in which he says that the immortal relics of saints prosper with the glory of their virtues so that they, often being diminished in mortal life, acquire greatness after death. And after death they show in themselves the spiritual power of life, miraculously exuding to those around them. Jesus Christ prefers to live among His chosen ones even physically, since He disposes them to internal communion with Him. He settles in the heart and brings into it new life. And the body, constantly cleansed by asceticism and deeds, even in mortal life becomes God-bearing and overflows with the power of the Lord for others... And since the power of Christ is eternal, it is self-evident that it, settling in human beings who are Christ’s (Gal. 5:24) ), and immortality is broadcast to their bodies; since there is no limit to the power of the Lord, it also agrees that through them it works miracles when the Lord pleases... This immortality and the healing power that comes from them teaches us piety and pushes us to imitate their faith.

The power of the intercession of the Mother of God, St. Cyril and his wife Mary, as well as their son Sergius, is manifested in the divas that were performed throughout the history of the Khotkov Monastery. During a difficult period for the Russian people and the Holy Church, they repeatedly interceded with the Lord for their earthly brothers, the Venerables Cyril and Mary, as well as their son Sergius.

The relics of St. Cyril and Mary of Radonezh are located in the Pokrovsky Khotkovsky stauropegial convent, Moscow region, Sergiev Posad district.

The power of the intercession of the Mother of God, St. Cyril and Mary and St. Sergius is manifested in miracles performed throughout the history of the Khotkov Monastery.

In 1770–1771, Russia suffered one of the worst national disasters. Cholera, or, as they said then, a pestilence, destroyed the population of various cities and villages of our fatherland and, reaching Moscow, exterminated many people here. The Khotkovo nuns turned to the intercession of the Mother of God and their heavenly patrons, the Venerables Kirill and Mary. Before the image of the Tikhvin Mother of God, water-blessing prayers were served, and a prayer was compiled for the saints to read at each “Glory” the Undying Psalter at their holy relics. This prayer in the Intercession Monastery was read constantly and rewritten. As the records of that dangerous time say: “It was read from August to December. And through the prayers of God’s saints, the entire monastery was delivered from this plague. And from other countries those who came to them with faith to pray during the pestilence served prayer services to Our Lady of Tikhvin, enclosing this prayer to the saints.” Thus, through the prayers of heavenly representatives, the monastery got rid of a terrible disease.

Reverends Kirill and Maria.

Sacristy of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra

The second similar miracle occurred in 1848, during another cholera outbreak. The Tikhvin icon with prayer singing was carried around all the monastery cells and not one of the sisters suffered from illness. From the end of May to October, large numbers of people from surrounding villages gathered in Khotkovo for prayer singing and all-night vigils, ending with a memorial service for the parents of St. Sergius. Thanks to the intense prayers of the Mother of God and Saints Cyril and Mary, the epidemic stopped in the vicinity of the monastery. The Church Chronicle of the Intercession Khotkovo nunnery says: “In memory of this miraculous deliverance from the disease, it is established to perform a prayer service before the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God after the hours before the Liturgy every Saturday, at which the entire canon is read with the singing of choruses, a prayer to the Mother of God and a prayer to the saints of God, Schemamonk Kirill and Schema-nun Maria." This tradition was reverently observed in the monastery before the revolution.

The monastery chronicle preserved the story of the third deliverance of the monastery from cholera. In 1871, a religious procession was again held from the Lavra with the icon of St. Sergius. At the end of May, the image was carried around the surrounding area on a special hearse; The icon was taken from the Lavra for the second time at the end of July. “Our monastery,” the Khotkovsky priest Voznesensky says in the Chronicle, “on both visits to him (the image of St. Sergius) was honored with icons and banners in the presence of a host of all the monks and nuns of the monastery to meet him, accompanied by a large crowd... Our monastery was delivered, as in the previous cholera, from the epidemic through the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Sergius and his parents. Not a single sister, despite the large gathering of pilgrims, among whom were sick, was susceptible to infection.” Also in the vicinity of the monastery, the epidemic and death of horses, which befell the nearest villages simultaneously with cholera, stopped.

Khotkovo Archpriest Alexy Lebedev talks about the miraculous healing of the daughter of a peasant from the Simbirsk province, Tatyana Ivanova: “This happened in 1868. After falling into the river in the winter, she fell ill with rheumatism. The disease caused ulcers to form all over the body, from which a foul odor emanated. She could not walk and was in bed for more than 12 years. On the eve of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, her brother cruelly offended her, ordering her to be taken to a cattle hut for the holiday because of the stench. Tatyana found this order from her brother very sad, and she cried bitterly before God that her brother could no longer tolerate the stench of her wounds, and she should spend bright and joyful days with calves and lambs. With tears in her eyes, she seemed to fall asleep before the Matins of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, and she imagined that a gray-haired old man in a robe stood in front of her, with his head bowed, and said to her: “Don’t cry, don’t grieve and don’t murmur, but give thanks and pray to God.” , and call upon St. Sergius and Cyril and Mary.” And, having blessed her, he became invisible. After that, she woke up and saw that there was no one, and only the lamp was glowing, and she felt relief and no longer felt the aches. Her mother in the morning took the rags off the wounds and, seeing that only bare bones and sinews remained, and learning from her that the aches and pains had subsided, she washed her, put on clean linen and began to await her death. The brother began to reproach his mother for not taking her out to the barn again, to which the mother said: “Why take her out - she will soon die.” Tatyana, on the contrary, felt much better and began to sit. On Bright Tuesday, her wounds began to heal and close, and the stench from them was no longer there since Bright Tuesday, and she began to get better hour by hour. When she began to walk and became somewhat stronger, they began to tell her to go and pray to God and thank St. Sergius for the healing. But her mother, seeing her weakness, did not let her go, fearing that she would die on the road, and the girl postponed her pilgrimage until another year. Despite this, many convinced her not to put off thanking God and to go without fail, which is what she decided to do. On the way, when she entered the Sarov hermitage, where she confessed and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the schema-monk, whose name she does not remember, saw her and grabbed her by the shoulder from behind, said to her: “Go to St. Sergius and thank him, his parents Cyril and Maria healed you, thank them too.” At first she thought that this old man appeared to her in a dream, but, looking at him carefully, she did not recognize him as the one who appeared to her, and said that she was afraid that due to poor health she might die on the road. He answered: “Don’t be afraid, Cyril and Maria and St. Sergius will preserve you with their prayers, and you will be completely healthy. It is not far from the monastery of St. Sergius and his venerable parents rest in a nunnery in Khotkovo, which is only 10 miles away. And if you don’t go, the Lord will punish you, and you won’t even think about returning home.” Surprised by this elder, who unknown how learned about her illness and the appearance of St. Sergius, she decided to go and the closer she came to the monastery of St. Sergius, the stronger her strength and health became, and she came to the monastery on Peter’s Fast. Having prayed to the Lord God and thanked St. Sergius for his appearance, she went to the Khotkov Monastery. When she began to venerate the image of St. Cyril, her head, which until then had been tilted to the right side due to the contracted veins, suddenly became straight, her neck also straightened and began to turn freely. Delighted by such a miraculous healing and venerating the image of the Venerable Mary, she began to talk about this healing and was taken to the abbess of the monastery, Philarete, to whom she told everything. Having been healed, she remained in the monastery. Now she is completely healthy, only when she does hard work she soon gets tired. I testify to this by the priesthood of her spiritual father, Khotkovsky Archpriest Alexy Lebedev.”

Another Khotkovo priest, Sergius Ternovsky, gives a story about the healing of the ryassophore novice of the Khotkovo monastery Agrippina, a monk named Archelaus, who suffered from paralysis for three months. Unbearable pain did not allow the unfortunate woman to sleep. “On the night of January 8, 1879, Agrippina, as usual, did not sleep and, in great grief of heart, having lost hope of receiving any benefit from the treatment, began to mentally turn in prayer to St. Sergius and ask him for help. Before the stroke of Matins, at about 4 o'clock, having fallen asleep from exhaustion, she sees the following dream: she seems to be standing in the temple of St. Sergius, in which there was no one except her. Approaching the saint’s shrine, she really wanted to look at his face and dared to lift the veil from his face. At that very moment it seemed to her that the Reverend was getting up from the shrine, which she was greatly frightened of and rushed to run to Khotkov shouting: “Sisters! The Reverend is coming!” He came to her in the hospital and ordered her to kneel, pray and repent, and he himself knelt and prayed with her. Having confessed her, reminding her of all the sins of her youth, the Reverend prayed again and left. Waking up from a knock on the door, Agrippina thought that he had returned and got out of bed, although until that moment she could not move. She thanked the Reverend with tears and from then on she was not ill until her death.

The saints of God protect our monastery and all those who trust in their help and intercession. The tombs of Saints Cyril and Mary, located in the Intercession Khotkovo Monastery, testify to numerous healings of infants whose parents turned to the saints in prayer.

Tyutkova G.V. from Serpukhov reported the healing of her son Bogdan from encephalitis. “The doctors said: if the child is not treated, he will not be able to sit or walk. My grief knew no bounds. This child was long-awaited and late, since my husband and I had been waiting for him for six years. I went to church, prayed to the Lord God, received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and the Lord sent us a child. We named him Bogdan. Father Nikon (in Serpukhov) told us that we needed to bring the boy’s cap and vest and place it in the holy tomb of the Venerables Cyril and Mary (part of the relics of the Saints is kept in the Vysotsky Monastery). He himself put the child's things there, where they lay for some time. Father copied the Reverend’s prayer for us, we read it every day and constantly communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ to our boy. Gradually, Bogdan began to get better, then he began to sit and walk, keeping up with his peers in development, to think rationally, and to speak everything. Now he has been removed from the neurologist’s register of patients. Our whole family thanks the Lord God for miraculous healing our son. December 19, 1993"

An employee of the pilgrimage service of the brotherhood of St. Alexy V. Khokhlova reports on one of the trips: “We left Samara after the Annunciation, on April 8, 1995, and the next morning we were already at the Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow. In Khotkovo, in the Intercession Cathedral of the monastery, pilgrims witnessed a miracle. When we entered there, one woman from our group, without having time to take a few steps, suddenly stopped and froze. Her face took on the features of a marble statue, her hands were twisted, and she was unable to move them. The husband, walking next to the woman, began to overshadow her sign of the cross. The nuns of the monastery anointed her with oil from the lamp, then they laid the unfortunate woman on a bench and decided to apply it to the relics reverend parents Sergius of Radonezh. The woman was dragged with difficulty to the shrine, with great effort they applied it to the shrine, and in front of everyone she turned pink, smiled, and after a few minutes she began to walk around the temple. Later I found out that a few years ago the woman turned to psychics, received treatment from them, and then also took courses from these pseudo-healers. During one of the classes, she lost consciousness: a demon entered her and tied up her body. She had to turn to the true healer - God. My husband and I began to travel to holy places, which made her feel noticeably better. Our pilgrim group returned to Samara for Palm Sunday. We were greeted by the gentle sun and blue sky. Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful trip."

“I arrived at the Khotkov Monastery on March 24, 1996 with a group of pilgrims from Samara. These were dark times for me. I had a seemingly problem-free life, Good work and a prosperous family, but inside there was bitterness, despair, hopelessness, disappointment in people and disbelief in one’s own spiritual rebirth. The life around me seemed dirty, and my own spiritual wretchedness unbearable. All attempts to break out of this deadlock were unsuccessful. It seemed to me that I was at some point... I entered the monastery bitter and depressed, without love and pity for people, without hope and faith for the best. I approached the relics of Saints Cyril and Mary because everyone else was approaching. At the same time, I thought about St. Sergius of Radonezh as a real saint. I didn’t believe in the holiness of his parents. Then, standing in the church at the service, I felt that the pain in my right hand, which had been bothering me for the last eight months, had gone away. Pain and weakness in the hand were associated with forced positioning right hand while working on an ultrasound machine when examining patients. I got used to this state, and it was so joyful and unexpected that everything disappeared. I came to treat my soul, not my hand. Saints Cyril and Mary took pity on me as their daughter, who had little faith and was unlucky, and gave me a sign of hope. I entered the monastery with a burnt branch, and came out with a small green leaf at the end. Ahead was the Trinity-Sergiva Lavra. Ageeva N.D. (43).”

Pilgrim from the village of Mokshan, Penza region Sidorova N.S. says: “At the beginning of September 1996, we arrived at the monastery for evening service. My six-year-old grandson Seryozha was with me. Doctors diagnosed his adenoids of the second degree, the disease progressed, his hearing had already begun to decline, and the child was predicted to undergo surgery. Seryozha was happily looking forward to his trip to St. Sergius of Radonezh. With hope and tenderness, he approached the holy relics of his faithful parents in Khotkovo and fervently prayed before the icon of St. Sergius. We spent the night in the temple. At five o'clock in the morning we arrived at the Lavra. There we were accompanied by an icy and piercing wind. I thought I had ruined the boy. With trepidation and reverence we venerated the relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh. After mass and Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, we visited the holy spring. On the way back home, I spoke to Seryozha and discovered that he had clear speech and excellent hearing! Soon this event became known to our companions. And now I tirelessly tell people about this healing.”

“Mothers, forgive me, bless me! ... I have no one to ask to go to your monastery, but I can’t do it myself. I have run out of holy oil from the relics of St. Kirill and Maria. This oil is amazing for burns. I’ve already burned my fingers 4 times badly, either with boiling water or with matches, it was very painful, but after I smeared it with this oil, after a while the pain completely went away. Maybe you will have a chance to share some butter with someone... Gubaidullina A.V. Moscow. 2001"

The priest of the Intercession Khotkov Monastery, Hieromonk John (Korchukov), told how in August 2004, in the monastery, a woman of about thirty, who had come from the city of Georgievsk, Stavropol Territory, approached him for confession and told him her story: she suffered great sorrows in her family, The relationship with my husband became complicated. He left his family and caused her a lot of suffering. She revered Saints Cyril and Mary, prayed to them, and one day heard an amazing voice: “We are Saints Kirill and Mary, we will not let you be offended.” After some time, peace and former prosperity returned to the family. The woman went to the Intercession Monastery to thank her for the promised help.

In 2004, a child, Daniil, was born to a young couple from Moscow. He had an intestinal obstruction, he was kept in the hospital all the time and was already being prepared for a complex operation. The young mother’s aunt turned to Hieromonk John (Korchukov) at the Pokrovsky Monastery, who advised them to gather all their relatives for confession. Nine people gathered. Father John confessed, and Father Varnava (Losev), dean of the Moscow Theological Academy, performed the Baptism of the baby. During the Sacraments, everyone approached the holy relics. People sincerely prayed, kissed each other, and asked Saints Cyril and Mary for healing. After the Sacraments were performed, they called in the evening and reported that the child’s intestinal activity had improved, and in the coming days, the chief pediatric surgeon, having examined the child, unexpectedly announced that no illness was observed and therefore surgery was no longer required. Everyone understood that through the faith, prayer and repentance of the family, the Lord showed His mercy to the child.

“Glory to the Lord for everything! Vladislav, Tatyana and Jr. are writing this story. Anastasia. On January 31, 2006, our long-awaited daughter, Nastenka, was finally born. Before that, we didn’t have children for 13 years. In April 2005 we came to the Lavra, to St. Sergius of Radonezh. The relics had the idea to go to his parents, to the Khotkovsky Monastery, which we did. And a month later I was already pregnant. The doctors didn’t believe it at first, they said “it couldn’t be.” Through the prayers of St. Cyril and Mary, we are now happy in the child. We gave birth to Nastya at 38 years old. Glory to Thee, O God in Thy Saints! Yastrebova Tatiana"

"I want to talk about wonderful help Khotkovsky Saints to our family. At the very beginning of my pregnancy, we came to the Intercession Khotkov Monastery in order to venerate the Holy Monks Cyril and Mary. At the shrine with the relics, we prayed fervently and asked for help from the Saints. I was 36 years old. I placed all my hope, all my trust in the Lord, the Queen of Heaven and the Holy Saints of God. The pregnancy proceeded without complications. IN allotted time my daughter asked to be born. The birth was quick and easy. Our baby was born on January 31 - the day of remembrance of the Holy Monks Cyril and Mary. They christened their daughter with the name Maria. We are happy to come to the Holy Abode. The monks became patrons of our family. We strive here with our hearts and souls. Again and again, with gratitude, trembling and reverence, we resort to the precious Shrine and receive as a gift consolation, strengthening, and joy. Saints Reverends Cyril and Maria, pray to God for us! Aleshin family. Moscow region."

“Dear in the Lord, Mother Olympias and sisters! Peace to you! I cordially congratulate you on the Patronal Feast of St. Rev. Cyril and Mary of Radonezh! Thank you for your holy prayers. During the birth of my eldest daughter Valeria, you read the Indestructible Psalter, and so Vanechka was born, although prematurely, but I visited you, prayed, and all the diagnoses that he was given in the hospital after birth did not happen again, thank God! I am sending a photo of Vanechka as a bow from him and from us, and I ask him to bless him. With love in the Lord, Tatyana and all my loved ones. Perfilyeva T.A. Krasnoyarsk 30.01.2008"

A young female doctor working as a resuscitation surgeon in a famous hospital spoke about the miracle that happened to her. In February, during childbirth, she died on the operating table from severe bleeding and prayed for salvation. Suddenly the Monks Kirill and Maria appeared to her and said: “You will stay alive for the salvation of other people, but do not dare take money from the sick.” She gave birth safely and lived. She herself informed Mother Superior about what had happened.

On October 7 of this year, my friend and I went to worship at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. On the way we stopped in Khotkovo, at the Pokrovsky Monastery. While still on the train, my friend became ill. We had a stroller and three children. We barely reached the monastery. The friend stayed on the playground. I went to the temple and then barely persuaded her to go and venerate the relics. She barely stood up. As soon as I kissed, everything went away immediately. And the other day my godfather was admitted to the hospital. When my mother and I arrived there, we were immediately told that it would take days, even hours. Thrombus. He lay all blue. I brought oil and water with me. He was able to drink a couple of sips, they anointed him with oil, and at night he felt better. The doctors and nurses didn't believe it. They didn't even think that he would get up. Now he feels much better and is walking. And in the ward they were surprised at what happened. After all, everyone heard what the doctor said: “He will die at any moment.” The oil is on his shelf, everyone uses it. God willing, it will help them too. Servant of God Elena, 2011

I, Nadezhda Ivanovna Zhuravleva, who lives in Melitopol in Ukraine, often come to see my sick sister. She lives in the Moscow region in the city of Ivanteevka, her legs hurt, and she could hardly walk with a stick. I brought her to the relics of the saint. Cyril and Mary, ordered a prayer service, and venerated the holy relics. The next day my sister walked without a cane. So the prpp helped her. Kirill and Maria. We are very grateful to them. In Melitopol, Orthodox Christians love and know the saint. Cyril and Mary, etc. Sergius, they are healed with oil from their relics, they treat sore spots with holy water, they order prayer services for them, and I happily bring oil to my friends, St. water from your monastery. I bow to you to the ground.

One of the letters about healing ends with the following words of gratitude: “Wonderful are Your works, Lord! God is marvelous in His saints! Glory, honor and praise to the holy saints of God, St. Cyril and Mary, to our wonderful free doctors and miracle workers. I turn to them constantly in the circle of my everyday life, both big and small, and I always feel their help, intercession, and guidance. And it becomes so fused with your life that you simply begin to take it all for granted, you feel like a child, a part of one big family, headed by the parents of St. Sergius, and therefore our spiritual parents – Reverends Kirill and Maria.”

Many other miracles are being performed these days related to the name of Saints Cyril and Mary, the Wonderworkers of Radonezh. So to this day, fervent prayer offered at their holy relics receives a quick answer, and whoever turns with faith to these wondrous saints of God will undoubtedly receive heavenly help from them.

Rejoice, Saints Cyril and Mary, zealous prayer books for us before God!

Saints KIRILL and MARY OF RADONEZH, parents of Saint Sergius of Radonezh (†1337)

The Monk Sergius gave the commandment: “before going to him, pray for the repose of his parents over their coffin.” All those undertaking a pilgrimage trip to the Trinity Lavra make it their duty - in accordance with the will of the Monk - to first visit the Khotkovsky Intercession Monastery and venerate the tombs of his parents. (The reliquary with the relics of the Venerable Schemamonk Cyril and Schemanun Maria of Radonezh and Khotkovo miracle workers is currently in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Intercession Khotkovo Monastery).

At the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th century, 4 km from Rostov the Great, on the banks of the Ishni River, in the village of Varnitsa, there was an estate of the noble Rostov boyars Cyril and Maria (On the site of the estate of Cyril and Mary near Rostov there is now the Varnitsky Monastery).

Kirill was in the service of the Rostov princes - first with Prince Konstantin II Borisovich, and then with Konstantin III Vasilyevich, whom he, as one of the people closest to them, more than once accompanied to the Golden Horde. St. Cyril owned a fortune sufficient for his position, but due to the simplicity of the morals of that time, living in the countryside, he did not neglect ordinary rural labor.

The couple already had a son, Stephen, when God gave them another son - the future founder of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, St. Sergius (in total, the couple had 3 children - Stefan, Bartholomew (the future Sergius of Radonezh) and Peter). Long before his birth, God's Providence gave a sign of him as a great chosen one of God. According to legend, when his mother, pregnant with him, was in church, the child, to the great amazement of all those present, exclaimed three times in a loud voice in his mother’s womb: at the beginning of the reading of the Gospel, before the singing of the Cherubim and at the moment when the priest exclaimed: “Let us hear, Holy of Holies!” After this, the mother began to especially monitor her spiritual state, remembering that she was carrying a baby in her womb, who was destined to be the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit. Maria observed fasting throughout her pregnancy, without giving herself any concessions.

Righteous Mary and her husband make a vow: if they have a boy, they will bring him to church and give him to God.

May 3, 1314 The righteous parents were visited by great joy: a boy was born. On the 40th day after his birth, the Baby was brought to church to perform the sacrament of baptism on him. Priest Michael named the baby Bartholomew, for on this day (June 11) the memory of the holy Apostle Bartholomew was celebrated. This name in its meaning - “Son of joy (consolation)” was especially comforting for parents. The priest felt that this was a special baby and, overshadowed by the Divine Spirit, predicted: “Rejoice and be glad, for this child will be the chosen vessel of God, the abode and servant of the Holy Trinity.”

From the first days of his life, baby Bartholomew surprised everyone with his fasting: on Wednesdays and Fridays he ate nothing at all, and on other days he refused mother's milk, if Mary ate meat. Abstained by fasting in the womb, the baby, even at birth, seemed to require fasting from the mother. And she began to observe fasting more strictly: she completely abandoned meat food, and the baby, except for Wednesdays and Fridays, always fed on her milk after that.

When Bartholomew was 7 years old, his parents sent him to learn to read and write so that he could read and understand the Word of God. His two brothers also studied with him: the elder Stefan and the younger Peter. The brothers studied successfully, but Bartholomew was far behind them. The teacher punished him, his comrades reproached him and even laughed at him, his parents persuaded him; and he himself strained all the efforts of his childish mind, spent his nights over a book, and often, hiding from human gaze, somewhere in solitude, he wept bitterly about his inability, fervently and earnestly praying to the Lord God: “Give me, Lord, to understand this letter; teach me. Lord, enlighten and enlighten me!” But he was still not given a diploma. Until one day, sent by his father to the field to fetch horses, 13-year-old Bartholomew met an elder schema-monk. He asked him to come to his parents’ house; at dinner, the elder predicted to Cyril and Mary that “the boy will be great before God and people for his virtuous life.” Having blessed them, the schema-monk left. From then on, Bartholomew’s diploma, to his parents’ joy, began to come easily.

When Bartholomew turned 15 years old (around 1328), the Rostov Principality came under the rule of the Moscow Grand Duke Ivan Kalita. One of the Moscow boyars was appointed governor of Rostov, who oppressed and robbed the inhabitants. Many of the Rostovites began to leave the city. Among them was boyar Kirill. In addition to the oppression of the Moscow governors, he also went bankrupt, and did not want to stay where he once lived in wealth and honor. For residence he chose the small town of Radonezh in the Moscow lands (12 km from the Trinity Lavra, towards Moscow, there is the village of Gorodishche or Gorodok, which in ancient times bore the name Radonezh).

According to the custom of that time, Cyril was supposed to receive an estate, but due to his old age he could no longer serve the Moscow prince, and this responsibility was assumed by his eldest son Stefan, who by that time was already married. The youngest of the sons of Cyril and Mary, Peter, also married, but Bartholomew continued his exploits in Radonezh. When he was about twenty years old, he asked his parents for a blessing to become a monk. The parents did not object, but asked to wait only until their death: with their departure they would have lost their last support, since the two older brothers were already married and lived separately. The blessed son obeyed and did everything to appease the old age of his parents, who did not force him to marry.

At that time, the custom of accepting monasticism in old age was widespread in Rus'. This is what simple people, princes and boyars did. According to this pious custom, Cyril and Maria, at the end of their lives, also took first monastic tonsure, and then the schema in the Khotkovsky Intercession Monastery, which was located 3 km from Radonezh and at that time was both male and female. Almost at the same time, a sad change occurred in the life of their eldest son Stefan: his wife died, leaving two sons. Having buried his wife in the Khotkovsky Monastery, Stefan did not want to return to the world. Entrusting his children to his younger brother Peter, he became a monk here in Khotkovo.

In 1337 Schemamonk Kirill and schemanun Maria departed to the Lord. Before their blessed death, they blessed Bartholomew for his monastic feat.

The children buried them under the shadow of the Intercession Monastery, which from that time became the last shelter and tomb of the Sergius family.

The reliquary with the relics of the Venerable Schemamonk Cyril and Schemanun Maria of Radonezh and Khotkovo Wonderworkers is currently in the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the Intercession Khotkovo Monastery

Already being an abbot, Venerable Sergius often walked from the monastery he founded (now - Trinity-Sergius Lavra) to the graves of parents and, according to legend, He bequeathed those coming to him to first pray for his parents in Khotkovo. And so it happened: before going to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, pilgrims came to the Intercession Monastery in Khotkovo, wanting to “bow at the grave of his righteous parents in order to appear to the blessed son from his dear grave as if with parting words from the righteous parents themselves.”

Until the revolution of 1917, the relics of the saints rested under the floor of the Intercession Cathedral in the Khotkovsky Monastery. And after the liquidation of the monastery, the workers who were rebuilding it into warehouses and workshops... allowed the believers to take away the relics and, moreover, they themselves helped open the floors of the temple and take out the remains. The relics were placed in a crypt on the territory of the monastery, and no signs or inscriptions were placed on the crypt - only the direct participants in these events remembered the place...

The church-wide glorification of Cyril and Mary as saints took place in 1992, exactly 600 years after the repose of their “son of joy,” St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Today their relics have been returned to the Khotkovsky Monastery. The memory is celebrated one day after the memory of their famous son - October 11, January 31 and on the day of the Council of Radonezh Saints - July 19, the day after the commemoration of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius, abbot of Radonezh.

The chronicle of the Khotkovo Intercession Monastery provides evidence of how a prayerful appeal to St. Sergius and his parents saved people from serious illnesses. Their intercession was especially evident during national disasters - the terrible pestilence of 1770-1771, cholera epidemics in 1848 and 1871. Thousands of people flocked to Khotkovo. At the tomb of the saint’s parents, the Psalter and prayer to the saints Schemamonk Cyril and Schemanun Maria were read vigilantly. At the same time, they were already locally revered in the monastery. And every time many people were saved from destructive diseases.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

for the Temple Life-Giving Trinity on Vorobyovy Gory

Prayer to Saints Cyril and Mary
O servants of God, St. Cyril and Mary!Even though you have ended your natural temporary life in body, you do not depart from us in spirit; you guide us to Christ God, instructing us to walk according to the commandments of the Lord and to bear our cross and follow our Master. You, reverend ones, together with our reverend and God-bearing father Sergius, your beloved son, have boldness towards Christ our God and towards His Holy Mother of God. Be prayer books and intercessors for us, unworthy, living in your holy monastery, and you are its rulers. Be the helpers and intercessors of this squad gathered by God, so that those who live in this place and come with faith, preserve by your prayers, remain unharmed from demons and from evil people, glorifying the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever centuries. Amen.

Troparion, tone 3
Participation in the beatitudes of Christ, honest marriage and care for children of good character,righteous Cyril and Mary, the fruit of piety, St. Sergius revealed to us,with him, fervently pray to the Lord to send us a spirit of love and humility,May we glorify the Trinity of the Consubstantial One in peace and unanimity.

Kontakion, tone 4
Today, having come together, let us praise the blessed duo of the blessed Cyril and the good-natured Mary,You pray together with your beloved son, the Venerable Sergius, to the One in Holy Trinity God,to establish our fatherland in orthodoxy, to protect our homes in peace, to deliver young people from misfortunes and temptations,strengthen old age and save our souls.

Greatness
We bless you, we bless you, Reverend Cyril and Mary and Reverend Our Father Sergius,and we honor your holy memory, mentor of monks and interlocutor of Angels.