Holy faces of Orthodoxy. Photo and meaning of the icons of all saints

According to the teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church, the saints, the saints of God, constituting the face of the saints, pray before God for their living brothers in faith, who, in turn, give them prayerful homage.

Some ascetics, famous for their sagacity and miracles, were revered by the whole people; sometimes even during their lifetime temples were built in their honor. For the most part, the saints were first made locally venerated (in monasteries or dioceses), and then, as the miracles from them increased, their celebration became common church.

The veneration of saints has become a custom since the very first days of the existence of the Christian Church. Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, Chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints, in his report “On the Canonization of Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church,” delivered at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 6-9, 1988, noted that “by the end of the first millennium, the Orthodox Church had a well-formed list of ecumenical saints, celebrated by each Local Church. The fame of some local saints grew, they began to build temples ”.

In the history of the canonization of saints of the Russian Orthodox Church, five periods are distinguished: from the Baptism of Rus to the Macarius Councils; the actual Makariyev Cathedrals (1547 and 1549); from Macarius Councils to the establishment of the Most Holy Synod; synodal and modern periods.

The rules by which the Russian Orthodox Church was guided when naming ascetics among the saints, in general terms, resemble the rules of the Church of Constantinople. “The main criterion for canonization was the gift of miracles, manifested during the life or after the death of the saint, and in some cases - the presence of imperishable remains. Canonization itself had three types. Along with the faces of the saints, according to the nature of their church ministry (martyrs, saints, reverends, etc.), the saints in the Russian Church differed, and according to the prevalence of their veneration - local temple, local diocesan and national. "

The right to canonize local temple and local diocesan saints belonged to the ruling bishop with the knowledge of the Metropolitan (later the Patriarch of All Russia) and could be limited only by an oral blessing to venerate the local ascetic.

The right to canonize common church saints belonged to the Metropolitan, or Patriarch of All Russia, with the participation of the Council of Russian hierarchs.

In monasteries, the veneration of ascetics could begin by decision of the council of monastic elders, who later presented the case for approval by the local bishop.

“The church celebration of the memory of the saint was preceded by the work of the diocesan authorities to certify the authenticity of miracles at the grave of the deceased (and often in the incorruptible relics), and then a solemn service was established in the local church and the day of honoring the saint was appointed, a special service was drawn up, an icon was written, and “Life” with the image of miracles, certified by the inquiry of the Church authority ”. In addition to the conciliar veneration and celebration of the days of the saints glorified by God, Christians celebrated the memory of ascetics not yet canonized by the Church with a special divine service - a requiem. “Since ecclesiastical memory is a national memory, it was often it that provided material for the canonization of this or that saint. In this sense, the constant (at all times) and ubiquitous (in many parishes and dioceses) prayer memory of the repose with the saints of ascetics was often the first step towards the canonization of this ascetic. At the same time, numerous testimonies about such saints at times abounded with a large number of stories about the miracles they performed. "

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the canonization of saints was a confirmation of the already existing facts of the people's church veneration of the departed ascetics of piety: the ecclesiastical authority consecrated this veneration and solemnly proclaimed the ascetic of faith and piety to the saints.

Canonization has always been thought of by the church consciousness as a fact of the manifestation of the holiness of God in the Church, acting through the blessed ascetic of piety. Therefore, at all times, the main condition for glorification was the manifestation of genuine sanctification, the holiness of the righteous. Metropolitan Yuvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, in his speech at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, sets out the following signs of the holiness of Orthodox ascetics:

"1. The Church's faith in the holiness of the glorified ascetics as people who pleased God and served the coming of the Son of God to earth and the preaching of the Holy Gospel (on the basis of this faith, the forefathers, fathers, prophets and apostles were glorified).
2. Death of martyrdom for Christ, or torture for the faith of Christ (this is how, in particular, martyrs and confessors were glorified in the Church).
3. Miracles performed by the saint through his prayers or from his honest remains - relics (saints, silencers, pillars, martyrs, passion-bearers, holy fools, etc.).
4. High ecclesiastical priestly and hierarchical ministry.
5. Great services to the Church and the people of God.
6. A virtuous, righteous and holy life.
7. In the seventeenth century, according to the testimony of Patriarch Nektarios, three things were recognized as the cause of true holiness in people:
a) Orthodoxy is impeccable;
b) the fulfillment of all virtues, followed by opposition for faith even before blood;
c) the manifestation of supernatural signs and wonders by God.
8. Quite often the great veneration of the people, sometimes during his lifetime, was evidence of the holiness of the righteous.

With the variety of reasons and grounds for the canonization of saints in different historical epochs of the existence of the Church, one thing has remained unchanged: any glorification of the saints is a manifestation of God's holiness, it is always performed according to the will and will of the Church itself.

The powers were of a certain importance in the question of canonization. According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, the relics of the saints are both completely preserved (incorruptible relics) and individual particles from the bodies of the righteous, glorified by God. The very name of them relics in Church Slavonic language means "power", "strength", that is, some miraculous, supernatural manifestations of them, which was evidence of their involvement in Divine grace. “The emergence of miracles or miraculous manifestations (the effusion of peace) from the relics in the Russian Church was often the beginning of the glorification of the saint. However, the relics of the saints often wore out from the earth after the canonization, from which one can conclude that the presence of holy relics remained only one of the possible conditions for the glorification of the saint. "

Any canonization was preceded by preparatory work on the study of the lives, works and deeds of the canonized. This prerequisite was observed both in the individual and in the group glorification of the saints of God. In each individual case, the Church, having considered the exploits of the canonized, determined the grounds for his canonization. After that, a decision was made on the canon of the proposed ascetic to the ranks of the saints of God. In the studies related to the proposed canonization, the results of the study of the lives, miracles, works and deeds of all the ascetics named below were presented. Their manifold deeds of spiritual development are intended to illuminate the path to salvation for the modern Christian. “The works on the preparation of this canonization revealed the need for further studies of the issue of the glorification of saints, both who lived in the last century and who completed their ascetic life and exploits in modern times. They are like stars in the firmament of heaven over the Russian land; but it takes enough time and profound labors to present their lives and deeds for the edification of the faithful. "

The canonization of saints in the Russian Orthodox Church carried out in the last period is evidence of the revival in it of the tradition of glorifying the ascetics of faith and piety, which has been inherent in the Church throughout its entire historical existence, which was interrupted for many decades.

The small Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints, formed at a meeting of the Holy Synod on April 10-11, 1989, cooperating with the episcopate, clergy and laity, performs a kind of coordinating role in the process of studying and preparing the glorification of devotees of the faith.

Depending on the degree of veneration of the ascetic, he is ranked among the locally venerated or church-wide saints, “but the criteria for canonization remain the same.”

As you know, the grounds for canonization were formed during the centuries-old church history. The grounds for canonization are: “tireless preaching of the word of God, martyrdom and confession for Christ, zealous hierarchical service, high righteous life, irreproachable Orthodoxy. The criteria for canonization are the popular veneration of ascetics, the gifts of miracles, attested during the life of the saint or after his death, and, often, although not necessarily, the presence of holy relics. " “Canonization should serve to strengthen the faith, unite the members of the Church in love and harmony, it should not create any reasons for confusion and division. Proceeding from these approaches, the Commission carefully and carefully examines all materials at its disposal and only after that provides them to the Holy Patriarch and the Holy Synod. "

Admission to locally venerated saints is carried out with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, and to general church saints - by the Bishops' or Local Councils. "Thus, the canonization of the saints expresses the conciliar reason of the Church."

At the meeting of the Commission for the Canonization of Saints, held on March 18-19, 1993, on the basis of the discussion, the following position was developed: “In the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, the right to canonize local temple and local diocesan saints belonged to the ruling bishop with the knowledge and blessing of the Primate of the Church - the Metropolitan, later - the Patriarch of all Russia. Evidence of holiness in the Church is the preaching of the word of God, martyrdom and confession for Christ, hierarchical service, a high righteous life, and irreproachable Orthodoxy. In the approach to the canonization of locally venerated saints, the same criteria were used as in general church glorification: the holiness of one or another ascetic of the faith is attested by his popular veneration, the gift of miracles of the saint during his lifetime or after death, and often by the presence of incorruptible relics. "

The ecclesiastical glorification of the saint was preceded by the work of the diocesan authority to authenticate the miracles associated with his name and to examine the relics.

Then liturgical texts were compiled in honor of this saint, icons and a life were written with a description of his deeds and miracles. “This practice of canonization of saints at the diocesan level, which has developed in the Russian Orthodox Church, must be restored and assimilated in the work of diocesan commissions for the canonization of saints to collect and study materials on the canonization of ascetics of faith and piety, the decision to create which was made at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Churches March 31 - April 4, 1992 ”.

On October 1, 1993, the Holy Synod heard a report from Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, Chairman of the Commission for the Canonization of Saints, who presented a document to this Commission - "On the Question of the Procedure for Canonization of Locally Revered Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church at the diocesan level." The Holy Synod approved the procedure for the canonization of saints presented by the Commission and recommended it for strict implementation in all dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. In connection with the beginning of the activity in a number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church of the commissions for canonization, organized according to the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church of March 31 - April 4, 1992, it was necessary for them to explain the procedure for canonization of locally venerated saints at the diocesan level. The conciliar decision on the creation of diocesan commissions for canonization was preceded by the Decision of the Holy Synod of March 25, 1991 on the collection at the diocesan level of materials about the life and deeds of martyrs and confessors of the faith of the 20th century. It noted that the collected materials should be sent to the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints for further study on the subject of canonization of the martyrs and confessors of Russia. Diocesan commissions for canonization should be guided by this Synodal Decree. The Diocesan Commission collects information about the life, exploits, miracles and veneration among the people of this ascetic. His life and the text of the deed about his canonization are compiled, his icon is written. Liturgical texts are compiled and submitted to the Synodal Liturgical Commission for consideration. The collected materials are sent by the diocesan bishop to the Synodal Commission for Canonization. After considering them in the Synodal Commission and if there are sufficient grounds for canonization, His Holiness the Patriarch blesses the canonization of the locally venerated ascetic of the faith and his veneration in the given diocese, which is reported to the diocesan bishop. The canonization of a locally revered saint is carried out by the diocesan bishop in the manner established in the Russian Orthodox Church.

The names of the glorified locally venerated saints are not included in the general church calendar, and the service to them is not published in the general church service books, but is published in a separate local edition.

Remembering the trials that befell the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century, I would like to especially note the growing veneration among the people of martyrs and confessors of the faith who laid down their holy lives for Christ and the Church. The report of Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsky and Kolomna, Chairman of the Commission of the Holy Synod for the Canonization of Saints, read at the Council of Bishops on November 29 - December 2, 1994, states that “no genuine suffering disappears in the memory of the Church, just as the Christian feat of every person does not disappear without a trace. deceased in Christ, for whom in the rite of a funeral service or a memorial service a fervent prayer is offered: And make him (or to her) eternal memory”. And therefore, the Church carefully preserves the "Lives" (biographies) of the holy sufferers and exhorts the believers to reverently revere them, edifying them with their great love for the Lord. “Among Christians of a righteous life, the Church especially singles out those sufferers, whose life, and especially death, most clearly and vividly testifies to their deepest devotion to Christ. Such sufferers are called by the Church holy martyrs, confessors, passion-bearers. The word "passion-bearer" used in the Slavic and Russian languages \u200b\u200bis a non-literal translation of the Greek word that the ancient Greeks meant "who won the competition and bears the signs of this victory as a reward." In Orthodox hymnography, however, this word is translated into Slavic and Russian languages \u200b\u200beither as “victorious” or as “passion bearer”. ” In the minds of the church people, the bishops, clergy and laity who suffered during the years of persecution against the Russian Orthodox Church performed the deeds of martyrdom and confession. Their name “New Martyrs of Russia” has already come into widespread use. "Having numbered Patriarch Tikhon among the saints, the Council of Bishops of 1989 glorified the saint primarily for his confessional standing for the Church at a difficult time for her." Tens of thousands of clergymen and millions of Orthodox laity suffered from the massive repressions of the 1930s. “But the impression of randomness in the choice of the victim is incompatible with the Christian worldview, for which there is no accident. The Lord said: “Are not two small birds being sold for an assarius? And not one of them will fall to the ground without the will of your Father; but even the hairs of your head are numbered ”(Matt 10: 29-30).

Therefore, we believe that Christians who died under torture in the name of Christ, who prayed to Him before being shot in prison cellars, who died with thanksgiving to God for everything, from hunger and hard work in the camps, were not victims of a tragic accident, but laid down their lives for Christ ”.

The canonization of the new martyrs, towards the accomplishment of which the Russian Orthodox Church is moving, should serve not to divide, but to unite the church people. Therefore, the choice of holy ascetics proposed for church glorification should be indisputable and self-evident. “I believe that it is our duty, the archpastors of the Russian Orthodox Church,” said Metropolitan Yuvenaly at the Council of Bishops, “to everyone in his diocese, to be sensitive and reverent to such a spiritual movement, giving it church leadership and preparing materials in our dioceses for the canonization of the new martyrs of Russia” ...

That is why the Council of Bishops, which took place from March 31 to April 4, 1992, decided “to form commissions for the canonization of saints in all dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church to collect and study materials for the canonization of ascetics of faith and piety, especially martyrs and confessors of the 20th century, within each diocese. ”.

In the event that the veneration of a local saint goes beyond the boundaries of a given diocese, the question of his general church canonization is submitted to the judgment of the Most Holy Patriarch and the Holy Synod after being examined by the Synodal Commission. “The final decision on the general church glorification belongs to the Local or Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. Between sessions of such Councils, the issue may be decided at an expanded session of the Holy Synod, taking into account the opinion of the entire episcopate of the Russian Orthodox Church. ”

The Commission for the Canonization of Saints at the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church prepared two documents - “On the Procedure for the Canonization of Locally Revered Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church at the Diocesan Level”, which were recommended at the meetings of the Holy Synod on March 25 and October 1, 1993 “for unswerving implementation in all dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church ”. The principles of canonization indicated in these documents should determine the activities of diocesan canonization commissions. Over the past two years, in a number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, canonizations of locally revered saints have been carried out at the diocesan level. The revival of the process of canonization of saints in dioceses testifies to the never-ending veneration of the saints of God among the church people. At the meeting of the Holy Synod on February 22, 1993, chaired by the Patriarch, a report was heard by His Grace Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsk and Kolomna, Chairman of the Commission for the Canonization of Saints, in which the results of the discussion of issues of liturgical practice related to the veneration of locally revered saints were presented.

“In the event that there is a troparion and a kontakion for a locally revered saint, but there is no service, then services to this saint can be performed according to the Common Menaion. In the event that the locally revered saint does not have a troparion and a kontakion, then the common troparion, kontakion and services can be used because of his asceticism. As for the compilation of new troparion, kontakion and services to this ascetic, this initiative may come from the ruling bishop, who must turn to the Most Holy Patriarch with a draft of the corresponding services or with a request to draw up such services to the Divine Service Commission. If there is a troparion and kontakion for a local venerated ascetic, compiled in the past, then it is necessary to conduct a study, whether these troparion and kontakion are a trace of his local veneration as a saint established in the past. If it is impossible to be convinced of this, then he should perform a panikhida without using the available troparion and kontakion. ”

In the church of St. Bartholomew of Armenia (San Bartolomeo degli Armeni - lit. St. Bartolomeo of the Armenians) in Genoa, a thousand-year relic is kept in a gilded silver setting - it is considered the only lifetime portrait of the Savior.

Tradition says that the Face of Christ was imprinted on the Holy Plate, but we are talking about a portrait painted with tempera - paint prepared on the basis of an egg, which they knew how to cook in Ancient Egypt, and much later, in Ancient Rome. The portrait is painted on linen - recent studies have allowed it to be dated to the era of the Roman Empire.

Generations of the Genoese from century to century passed on the famous legend about the messenger of Abgar, the king of the city of Edessa in Armenia, who brought the Face of Christ to his homeland. (Although, according to "Ashkharatsuyts", Edessa / Urkha was outside Greater Armenia, the Armenian role in the management of the city and region, the Armenian element in the population was very significant. During the era of the Crusades, numerous Armenian soldiers from the local population side by side with the crusaders, including immigrants from Italy, defended the city and the county of Edessa. The fall of Edessa in 1144 led to the Second Crusade. All this was reflected in the Genoese tradition. - Ed.)

The first to write about the Holy Face kept in Edessa was Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century), later about him wrote Movses Khorenatsi (5th century), Evagrius and Saint John of Dainasheno (6th century). Pope Adrian I confirmed to Charlemagne the existence of Saint Flax in Armenia.

Procopius of Caesarea attributes the salvation of the city during the siege of the army of the Persian Shah Khosrov in 544 to the letter of Christ addressed to Abgar, but the chronicler Evagrius already in 593 associates this miracle with the "image created by God" which has not been touched by human hands.

The relic remained in Edessa until 944 - after the victories of the Byzantine commander of Armenian origin, John Kurkuas, the emperor agreed with the city emir to transfer it to Constantinople, transferring 12,000 silver coins and 200 prisoners to the Arabs. The name of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus is often mentioned. He really was nominally emperor since 913, from the age of eight, but in reality until December 944 (and Lik was solemnly brought to the capital in August of that year), another monarch, the Armenian Roman Lakapin, ruled the empire. Having become the commander of the guard, he immediately gave his daughter Elena to the fourteen-year-old Constantine, became his guardian, and in December 919 ascended the throne without depriving his son-in-law of formal rights. At the end of 944, Emperor Roman I was overthrown and exiled to a monastery as a result of a conspiracy of his sons, and only in the following year, Constantine Porphyrogenitus gained full power.

On August 15, on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, both emperors-co-rulers, of whom Roman Lacapin had real power, in the Blachernae Church of Our Lady, in the presence of the entire court, were presented with two relics - the Holy Face on the board and the Image on the ribbon, his imprint. Then both emperors triumphantly cruised the capital with two relics on a ship, as “with the second ark of the Old Testament,” and returned in triumph through the Golden Gate. After the divine service in the church of St. Sophia, the entire court bowed to the face of the imperial throne. Only after that he was transferred to the palace Chapel of Pharos at the lighthouse, where he found his place "on the right side to the east." The plate with the Face and the Icon on the rim were kept in two golden caskets, suspended in the center of the chapel on thick silver chains. Soon, an annual holiday was established, celebrated on August 16 in honor of the transfer of the relics to Constantinople. According to eyewitnesses, the Face was decorated with a "now visible gold frame" and had the following inscription from the king of Abgar: "Christ God, who trusts in You will not be unsuccessful." In 1032, Edessa was liberated by the Byzantines, and the correspondence between King Abgar and Christ was also taken to the capital of the empire - it was lost during the Troubles of 1195.

The Holy Face on the board, as the archetype of all subsequent images of Christ, took a special position among the relics of the earthly life of Jesus, kept in the palace chapel. In the very near future, Constantine VII compiled the first description of the relic that has come down to our time. Perhaps that is why its transfer to the capital was most often associated with this emperor. For example, it is believed that on the famous icon from the monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai, King Abgar, who receives the payment with the Face, is endowed with the facial features of Constantine VII.

The image was repeated many times on frescoes and icons. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, he was called the Savior Not Made by Hands, he was also depicted on battle flags and banners. While most icons, as a rule, have a half-figure portrait scheme, the Image Not Made by Hands is depicted according to an abbreviated scheme - the imprint of the Face and hair on the background, symbolizing the boards.

After three centuries of staying in Constantinople, the Holy Face was placed in a precious setting of gold and silver with filigree - ten medallions of the setting illustrate the history of Face before his triumphant arrival in the Byzantine capital. The scenes begin at the top left with the order of the sick Abgar to bring a portrait, and end with the miracle of healing that the relic created in Constantinople.

The images in the medallions correspond to the legend of the Saint Face. Abgar's messenger fails to draw Christ. Christ washes his face in order to capture it later on the board. Having received the message and the image, Abgar is healed. When Lik is put on a column, a pagan idol is thrown down from another column. The fall into idolatry of the great-grandson of Abgar prompts the bishop, at the behest of Christ who appeared to him, to remove the Face from the city gates and brick it in the wall, walled up in a niche for fear of outrage. When the boards are reopened many years later during the siege of the city by the Persians, it is found that the lamp, lit by the bishop, did not go out, and the Likus left an exact imprint on the brick, or "Image on the lace". In the penultimate picture of the narrative, the bishop exterminates the Persians at the stake, into which he poured the oil exuded by the image.

By the middle of the XIV century, Turkish aggression forced Emperor John V Palaeologus to ask for military assistance from the Republic of Genoa - from here a detachment under the command of Captain Leonardo Montaldo went to Constantinople. It is not entirely clear how the Holy Face was received - as a gift from a Byzantine monarch or compensation demanded for help. In 1362, the relic was transported to Genoa. Montaldo donated other relics to the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, but Lik kept it in the cache of his castle. Only on his deathbed, Montaldo, who had become a Doge by that time, revealed the secret of his existence and presented the church of St. Bartholomew of Armenia.

In 1507, Leek was kidnapped by French troops, but the Genoese ambassadors and bankers at the court of Louis XII were able to agree on its return in a few months. Shortly thereafter, a copy of the Face was installed at the top of the city gate as a shrine designed to protect the city and its inhabitants. The relic itself was enclosed in a beautiful 17th century protective case made of silver with seven keys entrusted to the most pious people. At the beginning of the next, XVIII century, the case was decorated with precious stones. Only once a year, it was opened in the presence of a notary and representatives of the people, and Lik was put on public display.

During the Napoleonic conquests, Lik was hidden in private apartments, as many churches in the city were desecrated.

They began to study the Holy Face a long time ago; one can recall, in particular, A. Kalkanyino (early 17th century). The first truly scientific research was carried out at the request of the Cardinal of Syria in 1968 by Professor Colette Dufo of the University of Genoa with the technical support of Professor Pico Cellini (Rome) using radiography and tomography.

Under a layer of tempera, linen fabric was found, fixed on a cedar base, the edges of the fabric are clearly visible. Perhaps this is the very linen on which Christ, according to legend, sealed His Face. Over time, retouching was required to better reveal features that have worn off over time.

Research has made it possible to separate the original facial features from subsequent restorative additions. In addition, Pico Cellini was able to establish a correspondence between the Face of Genoa and the Turin Shroud.

The original cedar base keeps traces of the former decoration around the Face of Christ: it was a row of small pearls, from which holes still remain. During the research, another priceless element was revealed - fragments of ancient Persian (Sassanid era) and Arab (Fatimid era) fabrics. We are talking about the so-called "Brandoms" - "relics through contact", in these fabrics, apparently, Lik was wrapped. In the 15th century in Genoa, another priceless fabric was glued - Ligurian with the image of pomegranates in silver threads.

To this day, the relic is in the church of St. Bartholomew of Armenia, founded in 1308 by two Basilian monks from Black Mountain ( famous mountain Sev Ler. - Approx. ed.) in Cilician Armenia. Both the Basilian monks (they were also called Bartholomews) and the Armenian colonies in Genoa were closely associated with the cult of St. Bartholomew, there are still six churches dedicated to this Martyr Apostle, one of the two apostles who preached the faith of Christ in Armenia.

Today it is not so easy to find an old church, closed on both sides by a palace building of the late 19th century. Oddly enough, many modern Genoese do not even imagine the existence of a relic closely related to the history of the city, a relic that in the 15th century was revered on a par with the Holy Shroud. Until the middle of the last century, the Genoese flocked here for the feast of St. Bartholomew of Armenia with the belief that the Holy Face has the power to defend the city from adversity, just as it defended ancient Edessa.

So, in 1307 Martino Di Segarisi and Guglielmo, two Armenian Basilian monks ( We should not be surprised by these by no means Armenian names. Due to the unusualness and difficulty of pronunciation, Armenian names were often altered abroad in the local way. - Approx. ed.) from the Order of Saint Basil, who escaped the destruction of their monastery in the Antitavra mountains, reached Genoa and settled on a hill where the Castello region is now located. The banker Oberto Purpureiro, who had possessions in those places, presented them with an allotment of land for the construction of a church and a monastery, adding another 100 lire and, according to the testimony of the stele inside the building, asked in return to celebrate Mass for his soul.

The construction of the church was impossible without papal permission. Clement V was aware of the situation in Cilician Armenia - in 1306, the embassy of the new Armenian king arrived in Rome. In his letter to the Catholicos and Tsar Levon III (IV) of July 2, 1306, the Pope expresses his solidarity with the Armenian people in the difficult time of their suffering. In 1307, a number of decrees (later canceled) on convergence with the doctrine of Catholicism were adopted at the Sissky Council. In the same year, in his bull of February 20, the Pope authorizes Martin and his companions to build the Church of San Bartolomeo.

The original style was typically Armenian, with a central dome and two side chapels at the front of the building. In 1595, the temple was lengthened by an extension to the apse part of the wide nave.

The building was rebuilt in 1775. From the original structure, now there is an apse part with a dome, in which a lantern was opened at a later time ( we are talking about an architectural term that denotes a raised part of a covering with openings for lighting. - Approx. ed.) and the left chapel in the front. The right one, dedicated to Saint Pantaleo, was destroyed in 1883 during the construction of the palace, which now covers the church from the facade and the right side.

On the left side of the nave is the Chapel of St. Licus, erected at the end of the 16th century, with a towering loggia, where the Holy Relic was once exhibited for believers. Behind the loggia there is a marble chapel where the Holy Face is kept.

The rich decoration of the church is mostly associated with the Holy Relic. We can mention the frescoes by Paji (16th century) "Jesus gives Ananias the imprint of his Face" at the entrance, "The Stories of the Saint Face" by Orazio De Ferrari, Paji and Giulio Benzo on the front and right side wall, "Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew" by Lazzaro Tavarone (1596). ). Among the paintings are Paji's Annunciation, The Miracle of the Blind from Jericho by Orazio De Ferrari and the portrait of Blessed Alessandro Sauli by Giacomo Boni (1745). On the main altar there is a magnificent triptych of Turino Vani "Madonna with Saints" and "Stories of Saint Bartholomew" (1415), on the walls of the presbytery - the works of Luke Cambasso "Resurrection" (1559) and "Ascension" (1561), and "Angels" by Domenico Piola. The canvas by A. Cassoni represents the donation of relics by Doge Montaldo, four canvases by Gregorio de Ferrari - angels with hymns to the glory of Saint Face, written on paper ribbons.

Given the close commercial ties between Genoa and Cilicia, it should come as no surprise that one of the destinations chosen by the monks fleeing the attacks of the Mamelukes was the Ligurian port. Martino Di Segarisi and Guglielmo were not pioneers in this regard.

In the light of recent studies concerning the presence of Cistercians in Genoa and Liguria, it turns out that the patriarch of Antioch Opizzo Fieschi, who from 1288 to 1292 was the apostolic representative of the Genoese Archdiocese, facilitated the transfer of the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria del Gubino from the vicinity of Antioch to the Black Grief (Sev Ler). Earlier, in 1214 or 1215, this monastery passed to the Cistercian Order with the assistance of the Patriarch of Antioch Peter II, the first abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Santa Maria di Rivalta Scrivia. Perhaps the presence of the Cistercians from Rivalta Scrivia favored the fact that the Armenians settled in Pontecuron, on the former Roman Postum road, midway between Tortona and Voghera. The monks who fled from the invasion of Sultan Baybars found their first refuge in Nicosia in Cyprus, from where they finally moved to the northeastern outskirts of Genoa.

We know about the creation of the Pontecurone hospital only thanks to the 19th century erudite Giacomo Carnevale, who mentions Eustorgio Curione - “a very learned man from the Pontecurone region”. In his will, drawn up by the notary Vescontius on November 8, 1210, he wrote: “... to the venerable priests of St. Peter from the Order of St. Basil, it is compulsory to build a shelter in the same area for the sick and for travelers, and every year appoint two believers to serve and run this institution. " The choice of Eustorgio Curione to donate his funds to the Armenian monks could in some way be related to the appointment of Abbot Peter of Rivalta Scrivia by the patriarchy of Antioch and his good relations with the monks from Black Mountain. Perhaps, the granting of trade privileges to the Commune of Genoa by the king of Cilician Armenia Levon I in March 1201 played a role.

However, the first known document, indirectly concerning the monastery of Santa Maria del Giubino in Genoa, dates back only to May 6, 1308, when Archbishop Porchetto Spinola laid the foundation stone of the Church of St. Bartholomew of Armenia in the land donated on March 13 of the previous year to two Basilcan monks from Black Mountain. You can trace the links between two nearby parishes - Santa Maria del Gubino, already located in Genoa, and the new one - St. Bartholomew of Armenia.

The interest shown by some of the family unions of the Dertonense region (gentlemen from Bagnara and Pontecurone), their kinship with Fieschi, Conti Di Lavagna, as well as diplomatic relations between the patriarch of Antioch Opizzo Fieschi (1247-1292) and the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia could favor the move to Genoa of the monks from Santa Maria di Gubino and San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew). Relations between the donor of the land on which this last monastery was erected, the banker from Genoa Oberto Purpureiro, one of the main representatives of the Bagnar gentlemen - Giovanni, the archdeacon from Genoa, as well as the family ties of Cardinal Luca Fieschi with the royal house of Armenia (sister of King Hetum II was wife of Michael X Paleologos, whose brother was the wife of the cardinal's niece) can make it easier for us to understand what territorial, political and diplomatic network the Armenian diaspora could rely on and rely on in the period from 1210 to 1307.

According to the "Catholic Encyclopedia", following Genoa, Armenian monks continued to arrive from Cilicia to Parma, Siena, Florence, Bologna, Milan, united under the name of Bartholomites. They observed the monastery charter of St. Basil (basilican) and served the Armenian liturgy. However, very soon the situation changed - they were already celebrating Catholic Mass, observing the charter of St. Augustine and the customs of the Dominican order, which was recorded in 1356 by the decree of Pope Innocent VI. By the same decree, he approved the unification of the previously independent Armenian monasteries in Italy into one congregation. Boniface IX (1389-1404) granted the Bartholomite congregations the same privileges as the Dominicans, but forbade them to join any other order except the Carthusian. Sixtus IV (1471-1484) decreed that the leaders of the order, previously elected for life, would only be elected for three years. After two centuries of prosperity, the Armenian congregation began to decline - the number of monks declined, many monasteries had to be closed. Pope Innocent X (1644 -1655) demanded that the remaining Bartholomites either join another order, or remove their monastic dignity. In 1650, he dissolved the congregation, transferring its property for other purposes. The Church of St. Bartholomew in Genoa was entrusted to the Barnabite Fathers.

The absence of the common Catholic cult of the Lica stored in Genoa can be explained by the fact that it remained the archetype of the image of Christ in the East of the Christian world, while in the West the archetypal status acquired a different plate. According to legend, the pious woman Veronica gave it to Christ on the Way of the Cross, removing the cloth from her head. The Savior wiped the bloody sweat from His Face with them, having imprinted His features in a crown of thorns. It is believed that the shrine is located in St. Peter's Cathedral in the Vatican, although according to some versions the original was lost during the sack of Rome in 1527. Known copies of "Veronica" (in Spain - in Alicante and Jaene, in Austria - in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna) bear a clear resemblance to the Saint Face of Genoa, but this circumstance has not yet been studied in sufficient detail.

In this article you will find out why the holy emperor Nicholas II is not a martyr and redeemer, how insane are the holy fools for Christ's sake, and also which saints are the most on the church calendar.

Depending on the type of the feat for Christ's sake, it is customary to divide the saints according to the faces of holiness. Today we will consider what ranks (or faces) of saints exist in the Orthodox Church and how they differ from each other.

Martyrs

The ancient Greek word "μάρτῠρος" is translated into Russian not as "martyr", but as "witness." The fact is that the martyrs testified of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by their torment and death. And in its original meaning, the emphasis is not on the type of feat (torture), but on its meaning (a testimony of faith even under the threat of death).

Martyrs are one of the most ancient faces of holiness, the mostnumerous face of Christian saints and, at the same time, the most supported by documentary evidence.

In the first three centuries, while Christianity in the Roman Empire was considered a sect of the Old Testament religion of the Jews, and then simply a dangerous anti-state doctrine, open confession of oneself as a Christian or denunciation from ill-wishers almost always meant a trial with the then accepted methods of inquiry - torture and execution, as a result of an admission of guilt the defendant.

The entire course of the trial, the questions of the judge, the answers of the accused, testimony and apologies in defense of the person brought to trial were accurately recorded in the protocol. Therefore, many of the lives of the martyrs have a documentary basis, which was least of all touched by the additions of legends and traditions.

At the same time, from the first centuries of Christianity, only members of the Christian Church, not schismatics or sectarians, and only those who endured all the torment to death, without uttering renunciation and without sacrificing sacrifices to the pagan gods, were considered martyrs.

The bodies of the martyrs were usually taken by Christians in one way or another for burial in the catacombs or martyriums - special chapels built over the coffin. Quite quickly, a tradition was formed in the Church to perform divine services in front of and on the tombs of martyrs, which became the prototype of modern thrones in churches. On the modern throne, the Liturgy is always celebrated on an antimension - a special board, into one of the edges of which a capsule with a particle of the relics of one of the saints is sewn.

Different people became martyrs - ordinary laymen, clergymen, nobles and monks. Therefore, in relation to some saints from the face of martyrs, one can find such titles as "monk Martyr" - a martyr of the monastics, "Hieromartyr" - a martyr of the clergy, or "Great Martyr" - a martyr from among the royal persons or nobility. Now you can also find the name "new martyr", which refers to the feat of Christians who suffered for their faith in the USSR in the XX century.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, saints are called "great martyrs" who have accepted especially grievous, often many days of torture for Christ. But in the first centuries of Christianity, this tradition was preserved in other Local Churches, the people of noble birth who suffered for the faith were called great martyrs.

Confessors

Another face of holiness, whose feat in meaning is no different from the feat of the martyrs, is the confessors of the faith. Confessors are people who openly professed their faith, endured torment and torture for this, did not utter renunciation, but survived for one reason or another beyond their control.

Initially, the feat of the confessors was understood to be somewhat less important than the feat of the martyrs, but already in the middle of the 3rd century, Saint Cyprian of Carthage suggested that the confessors should be venerated on an equal basis with the martyrs, noting, however, that not every tortured and not renounced Christian who survived, but only the one who spent the rest of his life righteously and remained faithful to the Lord.

For obvious reasons, the number of confessors is significantly inferior to the martyrs, which cannot be said about the next order of saints - saints.

Reverends

Saints are the second largest rank of saints after the tormentors, and perhaps even equal in number to him. There are almost no days in the church calendar that do not include the memory of at least one of the monks.

In this rite of holiness, representatives of monasticism are revered, which appeared around the 2nd century, and already by the 3rd-4th centuries acquired the character of a mass movement in the Church. A little later, the monks begin to take priesthood and occupy the bishop's chairs.

The term “saints” refers to the saints from among the monastics who, through prayer and physical labor, acquired the Holy Spirit and became like God.

The presence of a huge host of monastic saints in the calendar is undoubtedly associated with their highest spiritual, cultural and moral authority among believers. Many reverend fathers were known for amazing ascetic deeds such as standing on a stone for thousands of days, living in a cage or on a pillar, wearing chains, etc. Also, many monks became the founders of huge monasteries and helped their contemporaries survive the upsurge of internal life on the scale of entire states (Anthony the Great, Savva the Sanctified, Savva Serbian, Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves and others).

Many reverend fathers became famous for the works of spiritual literature they created, for their active participation in the lives of the people around them, not only in terms of prayer, but also treatment, miracles, social assistance, and the distribution of alms.

The most revered in Russia are considered two reverend fathers: Sergius of Radonezh and Seraphim of Sarov, each of whom is dedicated to several hundred churches.

Apostles

The Apostles ("messengers") are the most important face of the saints, among whom are the direct disciples of the Savior from among the twelve (Peter, Andrew the First-Called, James Zebedee, John Zebedee (the Theologian), Thomas, Matthew, Nathanael (Bartholomew), Simon the Cananite (Zealot ), Jacob Alfeyev, Judas Alfeyev (Thaddeus), Philip and Matthias, chosen to replace Judas Iscariot), as well as the Apostle Paul, separately chosen by the Lord.

The companions in the sermon of the direct disciples of the Savior, who lived in the 1st century and are conventionally called "apostles from seventy" (in fact, there are more of them, and not all of them personally saw the Savior at least once) are also revered in the face of the apostles.

The feat of the apostles, in contrast to the feat of the saints, which will be discussed later, was not in keeping the Church locally, but in the preaching of the Gospel throughout the world, that is, it was inextricably linked with travel and missionary work.

Most of the apostles sooner or later ended their journey with martyrdom. Of the twelve disciples of Christ, only the Apostle John the Theologian died a natural death.

Among the apostles were not only men, but also women, such as Priscilla, who preached with her husband Aquila. Strictly speaking, Mary Magdalene, who is usually called "Equal to the Apostles", is in fact a woman apostle, since she preached Christianity in many places, and also knew the Lord personally and was a listener to many of His teachings.

Some confusion in the titles of certain saints in the Church can be found quite often. For example, one of the seventy apostles, Haggai, bore the nickname “Prophet” for the corresponding gifts of grace, but is not revered in the face of the prophets.

Saints

Saints are glorified righteous persons from among the church hierarchs - bishops who were worthy shepherds, and also showed personal righteousness.

The Greek word “bishop” is translated into Russian as “overseer”. The apostles, after preaching in this or that city, appointed one of their disciples - the most pious and best of all who mastered the Christian teaching - to oversee the life of the local community. When the apostles left the established Church and went on to preach, the bishop was charged with the responsibility of counseling the converts.

The names of the saints were entered into diptychs and regularly commemorated during the service. Local Churches exchanged similar diptychs and commemorated each other's saints.

The Church owes many of its traditions to the saints. For example, the Easter epistles were invented by St. Athanasius the Great, the processions of the cross - by St. John Chrysostom, and the centers of social assistance - by St. Basil the Great.

Equal to the Apostles

Equal to the apostles is the name for the group of saints who performed the apostolic ministry mainly after the first century after the birth of Christ. They were not direct disciples of the Lord and did not listen to his teachings personally, but, like the apostles, converted whole countries and peoples to Christ.

Equal to the apostles, like the apostles, are not very many. In this face of saints honor the memory of Averky of Hierapolis, Mary Magdalene, Apphia of Kolosskaya, Thekla of Iconium, Constantine the Great and his mother Elena, Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir, brothers Cyril and Methodius, Patrick of Ireland, Nicholas of Japan (Kasatkina), Savva of Serbia, Nina of Serbia , Tsar Boris of Bulgaria, Cosmus of Aetolia and Innokenty of Moscow (Veniaminov).

Prophets

The face of the holy prophets is the oldest of all, since almost all the holy prophets lived before the birth of Christ. The prophets preached repentance among the Jewish people, predicted the coming of the Messiah - Christ, and proclaimed the will of God to the Jew.

In total, in the rank of prophets, the Church honors eighteen saints, singling out twelve minor prophets and four great ones - Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel.

Somewhat apart among the prophets are the prophet Moses, who led the Jewish people out of Egyptian captivity into the Holy Land, and the prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, the only saint of the prophetic order who already lived in New Testament times and personally knew the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most of the prophets became famous for performing amazing miracles, predicting the future and openly exposing the sins of some Jewish and Asian rulers. Some prophets left behind whole books, and about some we know only from the stories of the historical books of the Old Testament.

Passion bearers

Passion-bearers are the "most Russian" face of the saints. In it, the Church revered mainly the noble righteous, who suffered not for their faith, but as a result of rampant human passions - a conspiracy, civil war, and who showed personal self-sacrifice and spitefulness.

Some Christians mistakenly call the family of the last Russian emperor Nicholas II martyrs, ascribing to him the role of a kind of "redemption" of the Russian people. In fact, the Russian people, and indeed all Christians in general, can have only one Redeemer - the Lord Himself, the God-man, with whom no even the greatest saint can compare. It is also incorrect to call the royal martyrs martyrs, since they were killed not because of the Orthodox faith, but as a potential living "banner" for the white movement.

At the same time, the Church does not question the holiness of Emperor Nicholas II and his family, venerating them in the face of passion-bearers along with princes Boris and Gleb, Dula of Egypt (who is also referred to as a saint), Tsarevich Dimitri of Uglich, and Prince Mikhail of Tver (who is also referred to as and to the face of the faithful).

The faithful

The rite of the faithful saints is another rite "for the nobility." The Church ranks the rulers who have done a lot to strengthen faith and morality, the development of the Church and enlightenment in the lands subject to them, to the faithful.

This face of holiness arose in the Church of Constantinople during the period of the Ecumenical Councils and was used in the canonization of the Byzantine emperors and their wives, and then began to be used in other Orthodox Churches.

Among the Russian noble princes revered: Alexander Nevsky, Yaroslav the Wise, Andrey Bogolyubsky, Dmitry Donskoy, John Kalita, Daniel of Moscow, Igor Chernigovsky, Oleg Bryanskiy and others.

Unsilkers

This is the name for the saints who renounced wealth and helped other people for Christ's sake for free. Almost all the saints of this face were related to the art of medicine and, with the help of prayer, miracles, drugs and medical skills, helped people to regain their lost health.

Christ Himself worked his miracles and healed people free of charge, for the sake of mercy to the suffering, and he commanded the same to his disciples: “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give ”(Matthew 10: 8). The Unmercenaries literally followed this covenant of the Savior.

Cosmas and Damian, the healer of Panteleimon, Ermolai, Cyrus and John, Samson the Stranger, the doctor Diomides of Nicaea, Tryphon, Photius and Anikita, Falaleus of Cilicia, Prokhor Lebednik, Agapit of Pechersky and others are worshiped in the face of the unmercenaries.

Sometimes these or those saints are also called miracle workers, but this is not a special face of holiness. Many saints abundantly performed miracles both during their lifetime and after their death, and the epithet "miracle worker" can be found both in relation to saints and to martyrs, unmercenaries, reverends and saints of other orders of holiness.

The righteous

In the first three centuries of Christianity, hundreds of thousands of Christians accepted martyrdom. Subsequently, in the history of the Church, we will also meet many turbulent periods when new martyrs have appeared. Monasticism was also very widespread, in fact, by the 7th century it had usurped the highest posts in church administration, founded thousands of monasteries, and had tremendous spiritual and moral authority both in the Church itself and in society as a whole.

This is not bad, but that is why the focus of the Church's attention was most often directed at the lives of martyrs and saints, whom we know many, and rarely noticed the quiet exploits of other saints - doctors, couples with many children, benefactors, soldiers, whom we know relatively little. In other words, the Church venerates literally a few of the righteous among the laity, but there were certainly many such saints among Christians. It's just that their lives and deeds remained hidden from us until the day of the Last Judgment.

Among the righteous, the most famous are such saints as: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, King David, Joachim and Anna, Job, Simeon the God-receiver, Simeon of Verkhotursky, John of Kronstadt, Alexy Mechev, John the Russian, Peter and Fevronia Murom Matrona of Moscow, Feodor Ushakov and others.

The righteous did not often exhaust themselves with some special deeds, but all their lives they tried to follow the will of God, for the sake of the Lord to help others, often attend services and pray at home and follow the spirit, not the letter of Holy Scripture. Many righteous people secretly did good to the needy and performed miracles.

Fools for Christ's sake (Blessed)

The Slavic word "holy fool" is translated into modern Russian as "fool, insane." The fools for Christ's sake were not insane - they only pretended to be insane in order to get rid of pride and the obligation to follow all the institutions of society (often far from Christianity) through the contempt of others.

The holy fools for Christ's sake, as a rule, began their feat by giving away to the needy almost all of their property and beginning to wander and live on alms. These saints prayed a lot, openly denounced human vices, predicted the future, helped those in need and, sometimes, healed those suffering from illness.

All the holy fools for Christ's sake are also called "blessed" and here confusion can arise. There are other saints who are consistently called "blessed" in the church tradition, but who do not belong to this face of saints - Augustine of Ippons (saint), Jerome of Stridon (reverend) and Matrona of Moscow (righteous).

Also, do not confuse the Orthodox blessed - the holy fools and the Catholic rite of "blessed" denoting the first stage of canonization, as it were, "revered Christians."

The predecessors of the blessed fools can be considered some of the righteous and prophets of the Old Testament - Job, Ezekiel, Hosea and others, who are known for their strange deeds that denounced social lawlessness.

Among the Orthodox blessed are the most revered: Xenia of Petersburg, Vasily Moskovsky, Andrei Yurodivy, Prokopy Ustyuzhsky.

Summing up, we can say that in the Orthodox Church there are mainly twelve faces of saints, which are divided both according to the type of their deed dedicated to God, and according to their position in society or the church hierarchy. At the same time, some saints, whose deeds are especially multifaceted, are sometimes referred to at once as two or more orders of holiness. Probably, this article will help some of our readers to orient themselves a little better in the life of the Church and to understand who and for what they worship in prayer, which will be very gratifying for the author.

Andrey Segeda

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For a person who has recently come to church or is simply looking at it with interest from afar, there are many incomprehensible phenomena and concepts. As an example, there are a large number of revered saints - and for some reason one is a saint, and the other is simply a saint, one is a passion-bearer, and the other is a martyr. To distinguish them will help our summary list of the faces of holiness that exist in Orthodoxy.

The veneration of saints has been established in Christianity since ancient times. The original cult extends to the apostles and martyrs, as well as to the Old Testament saints— forefathers and prophets. In the most ancient period, the veneration of the primates of local churches as saints was formed,— first within the local churches, and then as a general church cult. Historical development also leads to the emergence of other categories of saints, the veneration of which is organically included in the general cult (Fragments from the book "Holiness. A Brief Dictionary of Hagiographic Terms. Zhivov VM", furtherfragments from his bookhighlightedin italics).

Apostles (Greek ἀ πόστολος - ambassador, messenger) - these are the closest disciples of Jesus Christ, whom He sent to preach during His earthly life; and after the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, they preached the Christian faith in all countries. There were at first twelve, then Christ chose seventy more.

Two of the apostles, Peter and Paul, are called first-rate, since they worked harder than others in preaching Christ's faith. The four Apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John the Evangelist, who wrote the Gospel, are called Evangelicals.

Forefathers (Greek προπάτωρ) - a category of Old Testament saints revered by the Christian Church as executors of the will of God in sacred history before the New Testament era. The forefathers also include the righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Mother of God, and the righteous Joseph, the betrothed of the Mother of God.

Prophets (Greek προφήτης) - the category of Old Testament saints, revered by the Christian Church as heralds of the will of God, predicting the coming of Christ. In the Holy Scriptures, the Old Testament patriarchs Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses are called prophets. John the Baptist appears as the last of the prophets.

Equal to Apostolic (Greek Ισαπόστολος) - a saint, especially famous for the evangelism of the Gospel and the conversion of nations to the Christian faith. The Church applies this name to Saint Mary Magdalene as a co-worker of the apostles, to the holy emperor Constantine and his mother Helena, to the enlighteners of the Slavs Cyril and Methodius, to the holy prince Vladimir and the great princess Saint Olga, who baptized the Russian land.

Veneration saints in its modern form, it began with the veneration of the martyrs who witnessed the truth of Christianity with their blood; with the end of the persecution, they also began to recognize as saints those who, not having received the martyr's crown, became famous for their labors and piety (primarily hermits and monks).

Today the face of the saints is all the righteous, saints, martyrs, confessors, noble princes, for Christ's sake, holy fools, saints, prophets and apostles, evangelists.

Saint - a saint who attained holiness on the path of hierarchical ministry by righteous pastorship and a blameless life, by righteous death who fulfilled the Providence of God for the Church in her movement towards the Kingdom of Heaven. Among the most revered saints are Basil the Great (379), Gregory the Theologian (389), Gregory of Nyssa (c. 394), John Chrysostom (407), and Nicholas the Wonderworker (c. 345). The first Russian saint is St. Leonty, the third bishop of Rostov (c. 1077).

The doctrine of the multiplicity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (i.e., the diversity of forms of holiness) was formulated at the very beginning of Christian history. The Apostle Paul wrote: “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; faith to another, by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healings, by the same Spirit; to another miracles, another prophecy, another discernment of spirits, another different languages, another interpretation of tongues. Yet one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each separately, as he pleases "(1 Cor. 12.8-11)."

Martyr (Greek μάρτυς - witness) - a person who accepted torment and death for confessing faith in Jesus Christ, having testified to his faith by blood. The first martyr in the highest sense was Jesus Christ Himself, who gave the highest evidence of the fidelity of the salvation mission entrusted to Him by the Father by agreeing to sacrifice Himself for human sins. The first Christian martyr (first martyr) was the archdeacon and apostle Stephen of 70 (c. 33-36).

Great martyr(Greek μεγαλόμαρτυρ) - a martyr who endured especially cruel and prolonged torment and at the same time showed extreme firmness in faith. Singling out the great martyrs from the whole multitude of martyrs venerated by the Church emphasizes the significance of this kind of feat.

The modern calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church includes such names of the great martyr as: George the Victorious (303), Panteleimon the Healer (305), Demetrius of Thessaloniki (c. 306) and the Great Martyr Anastasia the Patterner (c. 304).

To the priest (Greek άγιομάρτυς) - holy martyrs who belonged to the sacred order (deacon, priest or episcopal). The martyrs constitute a special face of the saints. Although at the Liturgy they are remembered together with other martyrs, there are services for the holy martyr and the holy martyrs.

Famous hieromartyrs include Ignatius the God-bearer, Bishop of Antioch (107); of the Russian saints - Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1612), Kuksha of the Caves (+ after 1114). In our region, one can single out, in particular, sshmch. Dimitri Apansky (Nerovetsky) (1919).

Rev. (Greek όσιομάρτυς) - a martyr who belongs to the number of monastics. Pmchch. constitute a special face of the saints, since there are corresponding services to them. Among the Russian saints, they include Gregory, PMC. Pechersky, resting in the Near Anthony Caves (1093).

Passionate- the name of Christian martyrs who accepted a martyr's death not for the name of Christ, but because of the anger and deceit of people. The main thing in the feat of passion-bearers is good-naturedness and non-resistance to enemies. Passion bearers are the holy noble princes Boris and Gleb (1015), the last Russian emperor Nicholas II and members of his family (1918).

Confessors (Greek ὁ μολογητής) - a special face of the saints in Orthodoxy, glorified by the Church for the open expression of their faith during persecution; among the confessors were those Christians who, having endured torture, remained, in contrast to the martyrs, alive. In Ancient Russia, Maxim the Confessor (662) was especially known and revered; in the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) was glorified as confessors.

With the establishment of Christianity as a state religion, new forms of holiness naturally appear. In this context, the veneration of noble kings and queens arises, and with the development of monasticism - the veneration of saints. According to Christian ideas, the process of discovering new forms of holiness is inexhaustible and continues to this day.

Unmercenary(Greek άνάργυρος) - a saint, especially famous for his selflessness, refusal of wealth for the sake of his faith. This name is assimilated in the Orthodox tradition primarily by Sts. Cosma and Damian, brothers who suffered as martyrs in the second half of the 3rd century.

Faithful (Greek εὐ σεβής) - a ruler (prince, king), famous for his piety, mercy and concern for strengthening the Christian faith and canonized by the Church. For example, the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky (1263) belongs to the faithful.

Blissful (Greek μαχάριος) - in the 19th century. This epithet was applied in Russia to saints venerated in other Christian confessions, in those cases when their veneration was established before the division of the churches and thereby recognized by the Orthodox Church. Blessed Augustine (430) is glorified in the face. In ancient Russia, the name "blessed" was applied to holy fools, as in the case of St. Basil the Blessed.

Reverend - a person who acquired holiness on the path of monastic asceticism. In Russia, the organizers of monastic life, the founders of lavras and monasteries, such as Anthony (1073) and Theodosius (1074) of the Caves, Sergius of Radonezh (1392), Seraphim of Sarov (1833), are especially honored in Russia.

Anthony the Great (+ 356) and Ephraim the Syrian (+ c. 373-379) were the first saints in the Christian church who were glorified precisely for their monastic deed.

Righteous - a person who has achieved holiness in the world, in the usual conditions of family and social life. Such are in the Old Testament - Noah, Joa; in the New Testament - Joseph the Betrothed, Joachim and Anna; of the Russian saints - John of Kronstadt (1909).

Stylites (Greek στυλίτης) - saints who chose a special deed for themselves - standing on a pillar and concentrating on constant prayer. Venerable St. Simeon (c. 459). Of the Russian ascetics, St. Nikita Pereyaslavsky (1186) and Savva Vishersky (1461).

Miracle worker (Greek θαυματουργός) - an epithet of a number of saints who were especially famous for the gift of miracles, intercessors, who are resorted to in the hope of miraculous healing. Wonderworkers are not a special class of saints, since, in principle, all saints have the gift of working miracles, and witnessed miracles are the main condition for canonization. Among the wonderworkers venerated by the Russian Church, one can note St. Nicholas of Lycia (c. 345) and the Monk Anthony the Roman (1147).

Foolish (glorious mad) - an ascetic who portrays a madman for the sake of rejecting "the wisdom of this world", which "is madness before God" (1 Cor. 3:19). This kind of asceticism is a radical means of destroying pride in oneself. The most famous holy fools were Procopius of Ustyug (1303) and Vasily the Blessed of Moscow (1557).

Sources:

1. Holiness. A short dictionary of hagiographic terms. Zhivov V.M.
2. Bishop Mark of Yegoryevsk. Church protocol. - M .: Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2007.

In the Orthodox Church, there are various categories, so to speak, which relate to one general concept of the face of holiness. An ordinary person who has just recently come to the Church will be a little incomprehensible why one is a holy martyr, the other is a passion-bearer, etc. Admission to the Face of the Saints occurs during canonization or depending on the labors during his lifetime. An existing consolidated list of holiness can help sort this out.

Faces of Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church

Christians have venerated their saints since very ancient times. Initially, this cult extended to the apostles and martyrs, the holy Old Testament prophets and forefathers. In the same period, the veneration of the primates of the first local churches as saints took shape, and then a general church cult was formed. Historical development further leads to the formation of other ranks of saints, the veneration of which has organically entered the general cult.

Apostles

It all started with the closest disciples of Jesus Christ - the apostles, whom He sent to preach the Christian faith, after the Holy Spirit descended on them. At first there were twelve, but then Jesus chose seventy more. The two apostles Peter and Paul worked harder than others for the faith, and therefore they began to be called the supreme. But the four Mark, Luke and John are called Evangelists, since they wrote the Holy Gospel.

Forefathers

The Old Testament faces of the Saints who are revered by the Church as executors of God's will before the New Testament era are called forefathers. These include the parents of the Mother of God, the righteous Gods Joachim and Anna, and the betrothed of the Mother of God, the righteous Joseph.

Prophets

The Old Testament faces of the Saints, who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ and heralds of God's will, are called prophets. These include the Old Testament patriarch Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses and John the Baptist - the last prophet.

Equal to the Apostles

Martyrs

In the modern world, the faces of the Saints who shed their blood for the true Christian faith are called martyrs. The first martyr in the highest sense of this word was Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for human sins. The second martyr of the Christian faith was the apostle of 70, archdeacon Stephen (33-36).

Martyrs

Martyrs who have undergone especially cruel torture and punishment, but have shown firmness in the faith, are called great martyrs. These include George the Victorious, Panteleimon the Healer, Dmitry Thessaloniki and Anastasia the Patterner.

Hieromartyrs

Holy martyrs possessing a holy order are called martyrs. Among them are Bishop Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Hermogen, Kuksha of the Caves, Dimitri Apansky (Nerovetsky).

Reverend Martyrs

Martyrs who belong to the number of monastics are called Martyrs, among whom are the Faces of Russian Saints, for example, Gregory of the Caves, who rests in the Near Anthony Caves.

Passion bearers

Christians who are martyred not in the name of the Lord, but because of human malice and deceit, are called passion-bearers. Saints as well as the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family were considered to be Passion-bearers in Russia.

Confessors

Christians who, after torture and torture for the open glorification of faith in Christ during the persecution, remained alive, began to be called confessors. In Russia these were Maxim the Confessor and Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky).

Unmercenaries

A saint who renounced his wealth for the sake of faith was called the unmercenary. And these are primarily Cosmas and Damian, brothers by blood, who suffered as martyrs in the 3rd century.

The faithful

Princes and kings, glorified for a righteous and pious life, who cared about strengthening faith in Christ, were numbered among the Face of the Holy Faithful. These include Prince Alexander Nevsky and Prince Vladimir of Kiev.

Blessed

Representatives of the holy ascetics who chose a special feat of foolishness - images of external madness in order to achieve internal humility. In the 19th century Russia began to apply the epithet "blessed" to the saints, a synonym for the word "holy fool". Augustine is glorified in the Face of the Blessed Saints. In Ancient Russia there was

Reverends

Christians who attained holiness in monastic asceticism were called saints.

The founders of the laurels and monasteries have this special rank, these are Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, Sergius of Radonezh and Seraphim of Sarov.

In the Christian church Anthony the Great and Ephraim the Syrian began to be called saints.

The righteous

People who have achieved holiness in their ordinary family and social life are called righteous. In the Old Testament they were Noah and Job, in the New Testament - Joachim and Anna, Joseph the Betrothed, of the Russian saints - John of Kronstadt.

Stylites

The saints who have chosen a special feat for themselves - concentration on prayer and standing on a pillar - are called pillars. These include the Monk Simeon, Nikita of Pereyaslavsky and Savva Vishersky.

Miracle workers

The saints who are famous for the gift of working miracles are called miracle workers. The witnessed miracles are the main condition for the canonization of this or that saint.

Among the miracle workers, St. Nicholas and St. Anthony the Roman are especially revered.

Fools

Ascetics who take upon themselves the feat of madness are called holy fools. This kind of asceticism is a radical means of destroying pride in oneself. The most famous holy fools are Procopius Ustyuzhsky and Vasily the Blessed.

Who is numbered among the Saints

Today, all the righteous, saints, confessors, martyrs, noble princes, fools for Christ's sake, prophets, saints, apostles and Evagelists have the face of holiness.

And also people numbered among the Saints, who, not having received a martyr's death, became famous for their pious labors (hermits and monks). The process of the formation of new forms of holiness is still ongoing.

In any Orthodox church there are faces of the Saints. Icons with their images enable a person to focus on divine prayer, which helps him to find complete harmony not only with himself, but also with the outside world.