Lives of all saints commemorated on July 4

On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all the saints, known and unknown, who have shone forth in its territory. Accordingly, the Orthodox Church in America remembers the saints of North America on this day.

Saints of all times, and in every country are seen as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Their example encourages us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us” and to “run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). The saints of North America also teach us how we should live, and what we must expect to endure as Christians

Although it is a relatively young church, the Orthodox Church in America has produced saints in nearly all of the six major categories of saints: Apostles (and Equals of the Apostles); Martyrs (and Confessors); Prophets; Hierarchs; Monastic Saints; and the Righteous. Prophets, of course, lived in Old Testament times and predicted the coming of Christ.

The first Divine Liturgy in what is now American territory (northern latitude 58 degrees, 14 minutes, western longitude 141 degrees) was celebrated on July 20, 1741, the Feast of the Prophet Elias, aboard the ship Peter under the command of Vitus Bering. Hieromonk Hilarion Trusov and the priest Ignatius Kozirevsky served together on that occasion. Several years later, the Russian merchant Gregory I. Shelikov visited Valaam monastery, suggesting to the abbot that it would be desirable to send missionaries to Russian America.

On September 24, 1794, after a journey of 7,327 miles (the longest missionary journey in Orthodox history) and 293 days, a group of monks from Valaam arrived on Kodiak Island in Alaska. The mission was headed by Archimandrite Joasaph, and included Hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, and Athanasius, the Hierodeacons Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Herman and Joasaph. Saint Herman of Alaska (December 13, August 9), the last surviving member of the mission, fell asleep in the Lord in 1837.

Throughout the Church’s history, the seeds of faith have always been watered by the blood of the martyrs. The Protomartyr Juvenal was killed near Lake Iliamna by natives in 1799, thus becoming the first Orthodox Christian to shed his blood for Christ in the New World. In 1816, Saint Peter the Aleut was put to death by Spanish missionaries in California when he refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.

Missionary efforts continued in the nineteenth century, with outreach to the native peoples of Alaska. Two of the most prominent laborers in Christ’s Vineyard were Saint Innocent Veniaminov (March 31 and October 6) and Saint Jacob Netsvetov (July 26), who translated Orthodox services and books into the native languages. Father Jacob Netsvetev died in Sitka in 1864 after a life of devoted service to the Church. Father John Veniaminov, after his wife’s death, received monastic tonsure with the name Innocent. He died in 1879 as the Metropolitan of Moscow.

As the nineteenth century was drawing to a close, an event of enormous significance for the North American Church took place. On March 25, 1891, Bishop Vladimir went to Minneapolis to receive Saint Alexis Toth (May 7) and 361 of his parishioners into the Orthodox Church. This was the beginning of the return of many Uniates to Orthodoxy.

Saint Tikhon (Bellavin), the future Patriarch of Moscow (April 7, October 9), came to America as bishop of the diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska in September 1898. As the only Orthodox bishop on the continent, Saint Tikhon traveled extensively throughout North America in order to minister to his widely scattered and diverse flock. He realized that the local church here could not be a permanent extension of the Russian Church. Therefore, he focused his efforts on giving the American Church a diocesan and parish structure which would help it mature and grow.

Saint Tikhon returned to Russia in 1907, and was elected as Patriarch of Moscow ten years later. He died in 1925, and for many years his exact burial place remained unknown. Saint Tikhon’s grave was discovered on February 22, 1992 in the smaller cathedral of Our Lady of the Don in the Don Monastery when a fire made renovation of the church necessary.

Saint Raphael of Brooklyn (February 27) was the first Orthodox bishop to be consecrated in North America. Archimandrite Raphael Hawaweeny was consecrated by Bishop Tikhon and Bishop Innocent (Pustynsky) at Saint Nicholas Cathedral in New York on March 13, 1904. As Bishop of Brooklyn, Saint Raphael was a trusted and capable assistant to Saint Tikhon in his archpastoral ministry. Saint Raphael reposed on February 27, 1915.

The first All American Council took place March 5-7, 1907 at Mayfield, PA, and the main topic was “How to expand the mission.” Guidelines and directions for missionary activity, and statutes for the administrative structure of parishes were also set forth.

In the twentieth century, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, countless men, women, and children received the crown of martyrdom rather than renounce Christ. Saints John Kochurov (October 31) and Alexander Hotovitzky (December 4 and August 7) both served the Church in North America before going back to Russia. Saint John became the first clergyman to be martyred in Russia on October 31, 1917 in Saint Petersburg. Saint Alexander Hotovitzky, who served in America until 1914, was killed in 1937.

In addition to the saints listed above, we also honor those saints who are known only to God, and have not been recognized officially by the Church. As we contemplate the lives of these saints, let us remember that we are also called by God to a life of holiness.

In 1988, during the Millennial Celebration of the Baptism of Russia, the Jubilee Council of the Russian Orthodox Church met at Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra, and glorified several saints. Among these was Venerable Maximus the Greek (January 21), whom the Council described as "a holy man, a wonderworker, a venerable ascetic, and a master of the monastic life." Yet, because of the baseless slander of his enemies, he was thrown into prison for many years. Even so, he remained firm in his confession of the Orthodox Faith, and in his humility.

He was a learned man, and the author of many edifying works, defending Orthodox dogmas, and the traditions of the Holy Fathers. His glorification by the Council marked the end of centuries of unsuccessful attempts to exonerate him, and to prove that the accusations made against him during his lifetime were false. During the Saint's final years, he lived at Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra, where he was treated with respect and honor.

After his repose in 1556, several miracles occurred at his tomb, for those who sought his intercession. A Troparion and Kontakion were composed, as well as a Church Service. Later, iconographic representations of Saint Maximus began to appear. By the end of the sixteenth century, Saint Maximus the Greek was being venerated as a local saint.

There remained just one important question for the Jubilee Council of 1988: the whereabouts of the holy relics of Saint Maximus. The Acts of the Council state: "His honorable relics are buried by the northwestern wall of the Church of the Holy Spirit at Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra." But from the moment the Council decided upon his canonization, until the start of the excavation of his grave site eight years later, there were no indications of any tomb on the surface of the ground. Perhaps by the end of the sixteenth century the first chapel had been built over the grave, which was frequently rebuilt and enlarged. It survived, in its altered form, until the 1930s.

Because there was no discernible burial site for Saint Maximus the Greek, or for several other newly-glorified saints, the Jubilee Council of 1988 restricted itself to the adoption of the following formula: "Their honorable remains, wherever they may be, are to be considered holy relics."

Since only the approximate location of Saint Maximus' grave was known, it was necessary to conduct archaeological excavations. Patriarch Alexei II, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, gave his blessing for this.

Before the excavations began, on June 24,1996, a Moleben (Service of Prayer) to Saint Maximus was served in the Church of the Holy Spirit at the Lavra. The Service was performed by Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov), the Spiritual Father of the Lavra, and the monks of the Lavra. Students of the Moscow Ecclesiastical schools, and the archaeologists also participated. Then the excavations began. Since part of the area had been paved with a sidewalk, the pavement had to be removed first. Then the site was prepared. To avoid any mistakes, a large area was excavated; about ten meters on the east-west axis, and six meters on the north-south axis.

During the excavation, the foundations of several structures were uncovered, most of them from the nineteenth century: a chapel and a representation church, built in 1867, along with a church dedicated to St. Philaretos the Merciful (December 1) on the south side of the church of the Holy Spirit.

A discovery was made by the northwest corner of the church of the Holy Spirit. Here the foundations of the first, or one of the first chapels erected over Maximus' grave, was uncovered. The site of these foundations, in relation to the church of the Holy Spirit, its dimensions and the corresponding area they enclosed, corresponded exactly to the chapel over the grave as indicated in the plan of 1745. As soon as these foundations were unearthed, work was concentrated in that area.

Around noon on June 30, a sweet fragrance was noticed, coming from the southern part of the excavation, and it lasted for several days. After some time, the head of Saint Maximus became visible. Work continued that night until almost 2:00 A.M. It was determined that the burial was on a wooden slab, which was completely preserved (about 15 cm. high), and that the holy remains were on the spot where, according to the plan of 1745, the grave was located. Except for the holy remains within the foundations of the chapel, there were no other bodies. After this, it became clear that the sacred remains which had been discovered belonged to Saint Maximus the Greek.

On July 1, a detailed report about the results of the work that had been conducted, and concerning the discovery of the holy relics of Saint Maximus the Greek, was made to the Patriarch. It was noted that the historical and archaeological evidence, as well as the distinct fragrance, bore witness to the fact that the remains were those of Saint Maximus.

The Partiarch gave his blessing for an anthropological examination of the preserved remains. That was done on July 2, by the chief anthropologists of the Russian Academy of Science. A written affidavit states that (1) the remains were those of one person; (2) this person was male; (3) he died around the age of 80. A comparison of the head with old depictions of Saint Maximus made by the anthropologists showed similarities. The expert opinion of the anthropologists confirmed the previous conclusion that the remains were those of Saint Maximus the Greek.

On that same day, the findings of the anthropologists were presented to Patriarch Alexei. He gave his blessing to remove the honorable relics on the following day, July 3, 1996. After this, the work continued literally uninterrupted until the Patriarch arrived. There was only a short break from five to eight A.M.

It was decided that not the slightest part of the sacred relics would remain in the earth, and that they would be removed as a single piece; that is, along with the slab and a layer of soil. For this it was necessary to dig out the soil under the slab, but the gray clay broke up very poorly, and for a long time this prevented the relics from being removed as a single item. Finally, by two in the afternoon, the relics of Saint Maximus were transferred to a temporary casket, prepared for removal, and they were covered with a monastic Schema. The casket remained on the site where the grave was found.

Then the sound of the bells announced the arrival of the Archimandrite of Holy Trinity-Saint Sergius Lavra, and of Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and All Russia. As usual, the Patriarch began his visit at the Lavra by venerating the holy relics of Saint Sergius in Holy Trinity church. After leaving Holy Trinity church, he went to the church of the Holy Spirit to be vested. There the Archimandrite spoke with the superior and other residents of the Lavra, and learned about the progress of the excavations.

At 4:00 P. M. the Patriarch, with Bishop Alexis of Orekhovo-Zueva, Father Theognostos, the Superior of the Lavra, and other priests, among whom was Hieromonk Theoktistos, the Dean of the representation church of the Russian Monastery of Saint Panteleimon on Mount Athos, proceeded to the cathedral square. A Moleben to Saint Maximus the Greek was begun. After the reading of the Holy Gospel, the Patriarch and the priests approached the excavation, and the Service continued over the sacred relics of Saint Maximus.

At the end of the Moleben, which was read by the Patriarch, the Lavra choir under the direction of Archimandrite Matthew Mormyl, and the numerous pilgrims who attended the ceremony, began to sing the Magnification: "We magnify you, our Father Saint Maximus." During the Magnification, all the diggers lifted the casket containing the relics and placed it at the edge of the excavation, where the brethren of the Lavra and the residents of the Moscow representation church of Saint Panteleimon of Mount Athos took it. As the singing continued, the casket was borne into the church of the Holy Spirit, where it was placed in a spot prepared in the center of the church.

The year 1996 marked the 440th anniversary of the death of Saint Maximus the Greek. Saint Maximus came to the Lavra of Saint Sergius as a humble monk. His glorification, and the discovery of his relics were a fitting recompense for the many sufferings he endured during his earthly life.

The discovery of the holy relics of Saint Maximus the Greek was a joyous event for both the Russian Orthodox Church and for all of Orthodoxy. Saint Maximus is honored by both the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Orthodox Church of Greece.

Until recently, the relics of Venerable Maximus the Greek were kept in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra. On April 9, 2013, with the blessing of Patriarch Kyrill, their return to the church of the Holy Spirit occurred. A special shrine had been prepared for them, and so the Saint's relics were placed in the northern corner of the church.

Saint Maximus the Greek is also commemorated on January 21.

Saint Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, was born in the city of Damascus into a pious Christian family. Up until seven years of age the boy was mute and did not talk. However, after communing the Holy Mysteries of Christ he found the gift of speech and began to speak. And from that time the lad began earnestly to study Holy Scripture and the discipline of theology.

At fourteen years of age he went off to Jerusalem and there he accepted monastic tonsure at the monastery of Saint Savva the Sanctified. Saint Andrew led a strict and chaste life, he was meek and abstinent, such that all were amazed at his virtue and reasoning of mind. As a man of talent and known for his virtuous life, over the passage of time he came to be numbered among the Jerusalem clergy and was appointed a secretary for the Patriarchate -- a writing clerk. In the year 680 the locum tenens of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Theodore, included archdeacon Andrew among the representatives of the Holy City sent to the Sixth Ecumenical Council, and here the saint contended against heretical teachings, relying upon his profound knowledge of Orthodox doctrine. Shortly after the Council he was summoned back to Constantinople from Jerusalem and he was appointed archdeacon at the church of Hagia Sophia, the Wisdom of God. During the reign of the emperor Justinian II (685-695) Saint Andrew was ordained bishop of the city of Gortineia on the island of Crete. In his new position he shone forth as a true luminary of the Church, a great hierarch -- a theologian, teacher and hymnographer.

Saint Andrew composed many inspired writings, including the Great Canon of Repentance which is sung on Monday through Thursday of the first week of Lent, after the usual beginning of Compline, and following Psalm 69/70. In current Greek practice the Great Canon begins after the Doxology. The Great Canon of Repentance includes 250 troparia within its 9 Odes. Before each Troparion of the Canon, we make the Sign of the Cross and bow and sing "Have mercy upon me, O God, have mercy upon me." On Thursday of the fifth week, the Great Canon is sung continuously in its entirety. After Psalm 90/91 "God is with us," is read plainly and without a melody (outside of Great Lent). During Lent, however, the verses are sung slowly by the choir with the refrain "For God is with us" after each verse.¹

Saint Andrew has also composed the Canon for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, three Odes for Compline of Palm Sunday, and also in the first four days of Passion Week, as well as verses for the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, and many other Church hymns. His hymnographic legacy was continued by other great composers of following ages: Saints John of Damascus (December 4), Cosmas of Maiuma (October 12), Joseph the Hymnographer (April 4), Theophánēs the Branded (October 11), etc.

Church historians are not of the same opinion as to the date of death of the saint. One suggests the year 712, while others -- the year 726. He died on the island of Mytilene, while returning to Crete from Constantinople, where he had been on churchly business. His relics were transferred to Constantinople. In the year 1350 the pious Russian pilgrim Stephen Novgorodets saw the relics at the Constantinople monastery named for Saint Andrew of Crete.

¹ For further information consult The Lention Triodion by Mother Mary and Archimandrite Kállistos Ware.

Saint Andrew Rublev, Russia’s greatest iconographer, was born near Moscow sometime between 1360 and 1370. While still very young, he went to the Holy Trinity Monastery, and was profoundly impressed by Saint Sergius of Radonezh (September 25).

After the death of Saint Sergius in 1392, Saint Nikon (November 17) succeeded him as igumen. Saint Andrew became a novice in the monastery under Saint Nikon. Sometime before 1405 he moved to the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery founded by Saint Andronicus (June 13), with the blessing of Saint Nikon.There Saint Andrew received monastic tonsure and was taught iconography by Theophanes the Greek and the monk Daniel, Saint Andrew’s friend and fellow-ascetic.

Saint Andrew is first mentioned in the Chronicles in 1405, when he, Theophanes, and Prochorus painted the cathedral of the Annunciation. His next important project, which he undertook with the monk Daniel, was to paint the frescoes in the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir in 1408.

Saint Nikon of Radonezh asked Saint Andrew and Daniel to paint the new church in the reconstructed monastery of the Holy Trinity, which had been destroyed by the Tatars in 1408. At this time Saint Andrew painted his most famous icon: the Holy Trinity (actually, the Hospitality of Abraham).

Saint Andrew fell asleep in the Lord between 1427-1430, and was buried in the Andronikov Monastery. He was over seventy years old at the time of his death. The monk Daniel, who died before Saint Andrew, appeared to his friend and urged him to join him in eternal blessedness.

Saint Martha, mother of Saint Simeon of Wonderful Mountain (May 24), lived during the sixth century and was a native of Antioch. From her early years she yearned for monasticism, but her parents persuaded her to marry. Her husband, John, soon died, and righteous Martha with all her strength devoted herself to the raising of her son. She was an example of high Christian temperament for her son. She often visited the temple of God, she attended church services attentively and with piety, and frequently received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

Saint Martha rose up to pray each night, and her prayers were offered with heartfelt warmth and tears. She particularly venerated Saint John the Forerunner, who was for her a protector, frequently appearing to her in visions. Saint Martha was charitable towards the poor, she fed and clothed them, she visited the convalescent and she attended to the sick, she buried the dead, and for those preparing to receive holy Baptism she made the baptismal garments with her own hands.

Saint Martha was reserved, and no one heard from her a frivolous, false or vain word, no one saw her angry, nor fighting with anyone nor bitter. She was a model of chaste and pious life and by her example she guided many on the pathway to salvation. When her son, Saint Simeon, had become a renowned ascetic, she urged him not to exalt himself for his own efforts, but to thank God for everything.

The time of her death was revealed to Saint Martha. She beheld angels with candles saying that they would come for her in another year’s time. The saint was also granted visions of Paradise, and the All-Pure Virgin Herself showed to her the heavenly habitations prepared for the righteous.

Saint Martha’s death was peaceful, and her body was buried on Wonderful Mountain, at the place of the ascetic deeds of her son, Saint Simeon the Stylite.

Holy Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky (1110-1174), a grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, was the son of Yurii Dolgoruky and a Polovetsian princess (in holy Baptism Maria). While still in his youth he was called “Bogoliubsky” (“God-loving”) for his profound attention to prayer, his diligence for church services and “his adoption of secret prayers to God.” From his grandfather, Vladimir Monomakh, the grandson inherited great spiritual concentration, love for the Word of God and the habit of turning to the Scripture in all the circumstances of life.

A brave warrior [Andrew means “brave”], a participant in his military father’s many campaigns, more than once he came close to death in battle. But each time Divine Providence invisibly saved the princely man of prayer. Thus for example, on February 8, 1150, in a battle near Lutsk, Saint Andrew was saved from the spear of an enemy German by a prayer to the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, whose memory was celebrated that day.

The chronicles also stress Saint Andrew’s peace-making activity, a rare trait among the princes and military commanders of those harsh times. The combination of military valor with love for peace and mercy, of great humility with indomitable zeal for the Church were present in Prince Andrew in the highest degree. A responsible master of the land, and a constant coworker in the city construction and church building activity of Yurii Dolgoruky, he built with his father: Moscow (1147), Iuriev-Polsk (1152), Dmitrov (1154), and he also adorned the cities of Rostov, Suzdal’, and Vladimir with churches. In 1162 Saint Andrew could say with satisfaction, “I have built up white Rus with cities and settlements, and have rendered it with much populace.”

When Yurii Dolgoruky became Great Prince of Kiev in 1154, he gave his son Vyshgorod near Kiev as his appanage (land given by kings and princes to their younger children for their support), but God willed otherwise. One night in the summer of 1155, the wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God in the Vyshgorod church was removed. This icon was painted by the holy Evangelist Luke, and in some period before this had been transferred here from Constantinople. Later, it was called the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. On this night with the icon in hand, holy Prince Andrew left Vyshgorod going northwards to the Suzdal territory, secretly and without the blessing of his father, mindful only of the will of God.

The miracle of this holy icon, which occured on the way from Vyshgorod to Vladimir, was recorded by a clergyman of Prince Andrew, “the priest Mikula” [Nicholas], in his “Reports of the Miracles of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.”

Ten versts before reaching Vladimir, the horse bearing the icon suddenly stopped. During the night the Mother of God appeared to Saint Andrew with a scroll in her hand and commanded, “I do not want you to take my icon to Rostov, but rather leave it in Vladimir. Build a stone church here in the name of My Nativity.” In memory of this miraculous event, Saint Andrew commissioned an iconographer to paint an icon of the Mother of God the way that the All-Pure Virgin had appeared to him. He established Feast of this icon as June 18. The icon, named the Bogoliubsk, was afterwards glorified by numerous miracles.

Upon the place decreed by the Queen of Heaven, Prince Andrew built (in 1159) the church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos. He also remained in the city of Bogoliubov, which became his constant dwelling and the place of his martyric end.

When his father Yurii Dolgoruky died (+ May 15, 1157), Saint Andrew did not take up his father’s throne at Kiev, but rather remained prince at Vladimir. During the years 1158-1160 was built the Dormition cathedral at Vladimir, and in it was placed the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. In the year 1164 the Golden Gates were set in place, over which was the church of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God, and also the church of the Savior at the princely court.

Thirty churches were built by Prince Andrew during the years of his rule. The finest of them is the Dormition cathedral. The richness and splendor of the church helped to spread Orthodoxy among the surrounding peoples and foreign merchants. Saint Andrew had directed that all travellers, whether Latins or pagans, were to be led into the churches he built and to have “true Christianity” pointed out to them. The chronicler writes: “Both Bulgars, and Jews, and every sort of common person, beholding the glory of God and churchly adornment, came to be baptized.”

The conquest of the great Volga journey-way became for Saint Andrew a fundamental task of his civil service to Russia. The Volga Bulgars from the time of the campaigns of Svyatoslav (+ 972) presented a serious danger to the Russian state. Saint Andrew continued with the initiatives of Svyatoslav.

A shattering blow was struck against the enemy in 1164, when Russian forces burned and destroyed several Bulgar fortresses. Saint Andrew took with him on this campaign the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and a two-sided icon, on one side was depicted the Icon of the Savior “Not-Made-by-Hands,” and the “Veneration of the Cross” on the opposite side. [At the present time both icons are in the Tretyakov State Gallery.]

A great miracle from the holy icons occurred for the Russian army on the day of the decisive victory over the Bulgars, August 1, 1164. After the destruction of the Bulgar army, the princes (Andrew, his brother Yaroslav, his son Izyaslav and others) returned towards the infantry standing by the princely standards with the Vladimir Icon, and they made a prostration before the Icon, “bestowing on it praise and song.” And then all beheld the blinding rays of light, issuing from the face of the Mother of God and the Savior Not-Made-by-Hands.

Remaining a faithful son of the Orthodox Church in all things, vigilant in belief and canons, Saint Andrew turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a filial request to establish a separate metropolitan for northeastern Rus. And with the prince’s letter of accord there journeyed to Byzantium the candidate chosen by the prince, Archimandrite Theodore of Suzdal. Patriarch Luke Chrysoverges, however, only agreed to consecrate Theodore as Bishop of Vladimir, but not as Metropolitan. Yet at the same time, wanting to uphold the position of Prince Andrew as the most powerful among the rulers of the Russian Land, the Patriarch honored Bishop Theodore with the right to wear the white klobuk [monastic head covering], which in ancient Rus was a distinctive sign of church autonomy. Such recognition (the white klobuk) was also granted to the Archbishop of Novgorod. Evidently, since the Russian chronicles speak of Bishop Theodore with the title of “White Klobuk”, much later historians sometimes call him “the bishop of an autonomous diocese.”

In the year 1167 Saint Rostislav died at Kiev. He was the twin brother of Andrew, and had been able to carry out compromise during the complicated political and churchly life of the time. But after this, there was dispatched from Constantinople a new metropolitan, Constantine II. The new metropolitan demanded that Bishop Theodore come before him to be confirmed in his position. Saint Andrew again went to Constantinople for the affirmation of the autonomous status of the Vladimir diocese and again he requested a separate metropolitanate. The letter of reply from Patriarch Luke Chrysoverges has been preserved. It contains a categorical refusal for establishing a new metropolitan, a demand to accept the expelled bishop Leo, and to submit to the Metropolitan of Kiev.

In fulfilling this churchly obedience, Saint Andrew urged Bishop Theodore to journey in repentance to Kiev for the restoration of canonical relations with the Metropolitan. The repentance of Bishop Theodore was not accepted. Without investigation by a council, and in accord with the Byzantine morals of the time, Metropolitan Constantine condemned him to a terrible execution. Saint Theodore’s tongue was cut out, they cut off his right hand, and then they gouged out his eyes. After this he was drowned by servants of the Metropolitan (by other accounts, he died in prison).

Not only the churchly, but also the political affairs of Southern Rus demanded the decisive response of the Great Prince of Vladimir. On 8 March 8, 1169 an army of allied princes with Andrew’s son Mstislav at the head conquered Kiev. The city was devastated and burned, and the Polovetsians participating in the campaign did not spare even the churchly treasures. The Russian chronicles viewed this event as something that was deserved: “These misfortunes were for their sins (the Kievans), especially for the outrage perpetuated by the Metropolitan.” In the same year (1169) the prince moved an army against unruly Novgorod, but they were repulsed by a miracle of the Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign (November 27), which had been carried along the city walls by holy Archbishop John (September 7). But when the understandable wrath of the Great Prince gave way to mercy, and in peace he summoned the Novgorod people to him, the blessing of God returned to him. Novgorod accepted the prince appointed by Saint Andrew.

In such a manner, towards the end of 1170, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky was able to attain the unity of the Russian Land under his rule.

In the winter of 1172 he sent a large army under the command of his son Mstislav against the Volga Bulgars. The Russian forces gained the victory, but their joy was overshadowed by the death of the valiant Mstislav (March 28, 1172).

On the night of June 30, 1174 holy Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky accepted a martyr’s death at the hands of traitors in his own household. The Tver Chronicle relates that Saint Andrew was murdered at the instigation of his second wife (a Volga Bulgar), who participated in the conspiracy. At the head of the conspiracy stood her brothers, the Kuchkovichi: “and they commited murder in the night, as did Judas against the Lord.” A throng of assassins, twenty men, burst in upon the court, they killed the few guards and stormed into the bedchamber of the unarmed prince. The sword of Saint Boris, which hung constantly over his bed, had been treacherously removed that night by the steward Anbal. The prince succeeded in pushing the first of his assailants down on the floor. The conspirators then mistakenly ran him through with their swords. Soon they realised their mistake, “and then they perceived the prince, and he fought much with them, for he was strong, and they did thrust with swords and sabres, and gave him copious wounds.” The forehead of the holy prince was struck on the side with a spear, while all the remaining blows from the cowardly assassins were dealt from behind. When the prince finally fell, they abruptly rushed out of the bedchamber, taking along their murdered accomplice.

The saint was still alive, however. With his final strength he lowered himself along the palace stairway, hoping to alert a guard. Instead, his groans were heard by the assassins and they turned back. The prince was able to hide himself in a niche below the stairway and so they passed by him. The conspirators rushed to the bedchamber but did not find the prince there. “Disaster stands before us, since the prince is alive,” the assassins cried out in terror. But all around it was quiet, and no one came to the aid of the suffering prince. Then the evil-doers again regained their boldness, they lit candles and followed the bloody trail to seek out their victim. Prayer was on the lips of Saint Andrew when the assassins again surrounded him.

The Russian Church remembers and venerates its martyrs and makers. A special place belongs to Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky. Having taken in his hands the wonderworking icon of the Vladimir Mother of God, the holy prince, as it were, blessed the major events of Russian history with it. In 1395 was the year of the transfer of the Vladimir Icon to Moscow and the deliverance of the capital from the invasion of Tamerlane (August 26); the year 1480 marks the salvation of Rus from the invasion of Khan Akhmat and the ultimate collapse of the Mongol Horde (June 23); in the year 1521 Moscow was saved from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Makhmet-Girei (May 21). Through the prayers of Saint Andrew, his fondest dreams for the Russian Church came true. In the year 1300, Metropolitan Maximus transferred the metropolitan See of All-Russia from Kiev to Vladimir, making the Dormition cathedral the foremost cathedral of the Russian Church. There rest the relics of Saint Andrew, and the Vladimir wonderworking Icon is its chief holy object.

Later on, when the center of the Russian Church was moved to Moscow, selections of the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Russian Church were made before the Vladimir Icon. In the year 1448, a Council of Russian bishops raised up the first metropolitan of the autocephalous Russian Church, Saint Jonah. On November 5, 1917, in front of it was made the selection of His Holiness Patriarch Saint Tikhon, the first such election after the restoration of the patriarchate in the Russian Church. And in 1971, on the Feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, the enthronment of His Holiness Patriarch Pimen took place.

The liturgical activity of Saint Andrew was multi-faceted and fruitful. In 1162 the Lord granted the holy prince a great solace: in Rostov there was discovered the relics of Rostov saints -- the holy hierarchs Isaiah and Leontius. The glorification of these Rostov saints throughout all the Church took place somewhat later, but Saint Andrew initiated their national veneration. In 1164 the military forces of Saint Andrew crushed their long-time enemy, the Volga Bulgars. The victories of the Orthodox nation were marked by a blossoming of liturgical creativity within the Russian Church.

In this same year of 1164, at the initiative of Saint Andrew, the Church established the Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos on August 1 (venerated by the Russian people as “Savior of the First Honey”), in memory of the Baptism of Rus by holy Equal of the Apostles Vladimir and in memory of the victory over the Bulgars in 1164. The Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God on October 1 embodied in liturgical forms the faith of the holy prince and all the Orthodox nation in the acceptance by the Mother of God of Holy Rus beneath Her omophorion. The Protection of the Theotokos became one of the most beloved of Russian Church Feasts. The Protection is a Russian national holiday, unknown to the Latin West. It is a liturgical continuation and creative development of theological ideas inherent to the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Mother of God on July 2.

The first church consecrated to the new Feast was the Protection church at Nerla (1165), a remarkable monument of Russian Church architecture, built by the master artisans of Saint Andrew at the head-waters of the River Nerla, so that the prince could always see it from a window of his Bogoliubov garret.

Saint Andrew took an active part in the literary work of the Vladimir church writers. He participated in the compiling of the Service of the Protection (the most ancient copy is in the manuscript of a fourteenth century Psalter), and also a preface about the establishment of the Feast of the Protection in the Great Reading Menaion for October, as well as a “Discourse on the Protection.” He wrote an “Account of the Victory over the Bulgars and the Establishing of the Feast of the Savior in the Year 1164,” which in several of the old manuscripts is called, “Discourse concerning the Mercy of God by Great Prince Andrew Bogoliubsky.” The fate of Bogoliubsky is also noted in the Vladimir Chronicle entry for the year 1177, completed after the death of the prince by his confessor, the priest Mikula, who inserted his special “Account of the Murder of Saint Andrew.” To Saint Andrew’s time belongs also the final editing of the “Account of Boris and Gleb,” inserted into the “Dormition Sbornik” (“Compendium” or “Book of Collected Services” of these Rostov saints). The prince particularly venerated Saint Boris, and his chief household treasure was a cap belonging to Saint Boris. Saint Boris’s sword always hung over his bed. Another memorial of Saint Andrew’s prayerful inspiration is “A Prayer,” included in the chronicle under the year 1096 after the “Instructions of Vladimir Monomakh.”

Uncovering of the Relics of Saint Euthymius the Wonderworker of Suzdal, who died on April 1, 1405, occurred in the year 1507 during the construction of a new stone church when the monastery was headed by the igumen Cyril (later Bishop of Rostov). The incorrupt relics were the source of numerous miracles, and they were placed in the Transfiguration cathedral of the monastery. In 1511 after its restorations, the church (a rare memorial of fourteenth century architecture) was consecrated in the name of Saint Euthymius.

Saints Theodotus and Theodotia suffered martyrdom during the reign of Trajan because they refused to sacrifice to idols.

The Hieromartyr Theodore, Bishop of Cyrene, lived during the reign of the emperor Diocletian (284-305). Skilled at writing, and having attained great skill in calligraphy, he transcribed many books for the churches. His son Leo denounced him to the district governor, Dignianus, saying that his father possessed Christian books and was turning people away from idol worship, and bringing them instead to faith in Christ the Savior. Saint Theodore was brought to trial. Many Christians followed after him, including the women Cyprilla, Lucia and Aroa. The holy bishop was ordered to surrender his books and renounce Christ, but he refused this demand. They beat him with rods, but Saint Theodore was not intimidated. With a fiery zeal for the truth he destroyed the pagan sacrificial offerings. They tortured him for a long while, cut out his tongue, and then threw him in prison where he died. Also put to death were the women Cyprilla, Lucia and Aroa, and all who had accepted holy Baptism from the holy bishop.

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The Galatea Icon of the Mother of God is found in Galatea (one of the districts of Constantinople), at Perge (in a tower). In honor of the holy icon a monastery was formed, which existed until the seventeenth century. An exact copy of the icon is located in Moscow, in the Church of Saint Tikhon, at the Arbat Gate.

The Galatea Icon is of the Hodēgḗtria type.

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No information available at this time.

No information available at this time.