Metropolitan of All Rus' Peter. Saint Peter the Wonderworker, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus'

(1596–1647)

Biography

The future Saint Peter (Mogila) was born on December 21, 1596 in Suceava, the third son in the pious family of high-born Moldavian boyars Mogila (in modern Romanian transcription - Movila), who at that time occupied the royal thrones of the Danube principalities. At baptism he was named in honor of St. Peter of Moscow, as he was born on the day of his memory. His father Simeon Mogila was the ruler of Wallachia in 1600-1602, and from 1606 until his death in 1607, the ruler of Moldavia. In 1612, the Graves, after their defeat by Cantemir Murza, who took over the reign, had to flee to Poland, where they had strong and wealthy relatives.

He received his education at the Lviv fraternal school in a strictly Orthodox spirit, hostile to the union. He continued his education by traveling abroad, where he attended lectures at various universities - in particular, he took a course in verbal science and theology at the University of Paris.

He served in the Polish troops and distinguished himself in the battle of Khotyn. However, probably under the influence of the Kyiv Metropolitan Job (Boretsky), he decided to leave military service and take holy orders. Around 1624, he entered the Kiev Pechersk Lavra to share the fate of the Orthodox monks persecuted by the Polish authorities. At that time, many highly educated and active monks gathered here, the translation of patristic books, the compilation and publication of works in defense of Orthodoxy were underway. In such an environment he completed his education.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Job and Archimandrite Lavra Zacharias (Kopystensky), at his own expense he sent several capable young people abroad to improve in the sciences.

In 1627, after the death of Archimandrite Zacharias, at the insistence of the learned monks, he was elected archimandrite of the Lavra. Through his care, the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was renovated, the holy caves were decorated, the ancient Hermitage-Nicholas Monastery was returned under the control of the Lavra, the Goloseevskaya Hermitage was founded, and an almshouse was established at his expense.

Under his leadership, the condemnation of the “Apology” of Meletius (Smotrytsky) took place in 1628.

Being nominally subordinate directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople as a stauropegial “great archimandrite,” he was not subject to the Metropolitan of Kyiv. Peter was close to Metropolitan Job (Boretsky) - the latter, dying, left his library to Peter and appointed him executor. But with his successor, Metropolitan Isaiah (Kopinsky), Peter developed a less trusting relationship - according to some historians, hostile. This opposition may have been the reason why Peter took up the founding of a new Orthodox educational center in Kyiv, despite the already existing Kiev fraternal school.

Archimandrite Peter put a lot of effort into founding a new higher theological school at the Lavra - the first of its kind in the East Slavic lands. Upon the return of the young men sent abroad, he appointed them as teachers, and also took scientists from the Lvov brotherhood. He organized the first hostel for poor students in the Lavra, giving several villages from his estate and Lavra volosts to support the school. A new school “for the teaching of the liberal sciences in Greek, Slavic and Latin” opened in 1631. Soon, when the Kyiv brothers recognized him as the guardian and guardian of their school and subordinated it exclusively to the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Peter united his Lavra school with the brotherly one. This work was blessed by Patriarch Kirill (Lukar) of Constantinople, Metropolitan Isaiah (Kopinsky-Borisovich) of Kiev, and approved in writing by Orthodox bishops and the most distinguished clergy and the Lavra brotherhood.

By that time, the Polish heir to the throne, Prince Vladislav, showed himself ready to give the Orthodox the right to legal existence, having developed a corresponding bill in the Sejm commission. Archimandrite Peter, who was then in Warsaw, wrote from there to all Russians, so that they would not agree to accept the conditions set out in the draft, and convinced them to use the elected Diet to achieve full satisfaction of the demands. When the Sejm came, at which Vladislav was elected king on November 8, 1632, new conditions for the legalization of Orthodoxy were adopted, according to which, for the first time after the conclusion of the Union of Brest in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the existence of the Orthodox Kiev Metropolis and four dioceses was solemnly recognized at the state level. One of the conditions for the legalization of the Orthodox Church was the dismissal of many previously elected bishops and the election of new ones. At the same time, at the Sejm, Metropolitan Isaiah was declared defrocked and the Orthodox delegates elected Peter (Mogila) as the new metropolitan, retaining the Lavra archimandriteship for him. This was done in the context of a new war with the Moscow state, in which Vladislav needed the support of the Orthodox Russian population of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the former Orthodox hierarchy, which had suffered the hardships of persecution against Orthodoxy in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, leaned towards the side of the Russian Orthodox Church and Moscow. In addition, Archimandrite Peter pointed out to the Orthodox delegates of the Sejm that the fight against the Uniates was now just flaring up, and the decrepit Metropolitan Isaiah would not be able to wage it energetically enough.

Immediately at the Sejm, already as an elected metropolitan, Peter began to petition for the transformation of the Fraternal Epiphany School he had established into an academy. The Roman Catholic and Uniate clergy, as well as some of the noblest members of the Diet, strongly opposed this. But the king did not dare to antagonize the Orthodox and, at the persistent request of Peter, gave him the privilege, where, instead of an academy, the school was called a college with an extensive course in theology and philosophy.

The removal of Metropolitan Isaiah was legalized by the church by the fact that the Patriarch of Constantinople Kirill (Lukar) sent the elected Bishop Peter an archpastoral blessing for the metropolis. However, among the Orthodox there were also supporters of the removed Metropolitan Isaiah, who blamed Peter for personal ambition. Therefore, Peter arranged his consecration not in Kyiv, but in Lvov. Here, on St. Thomas Week, April 28, 1633, he was consecrated bishop with the elevation to the rank of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia, and the former Metropolitan Isaiah was “degraded.” The ordination was led by the Lvov bishop, using the powers of the exarch of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Then the newly installed metropolitan went to Kyiv, where upon entering he was greeted with two famous panegyrics - from the Lavra brethren and the fraternal school. Upon entering Kiev, he had to ban and depose the priests who stood for Isaiah, and forcibly transport the former metropolitan himself to the Lavra.

Upon his accession to the metropolitan throne, he began to organize the Kyiv Collegium, which invariably enjoyed his special attention and received the name Mogilyanskaya in his honor. She was completely settled and provided for, although she suffered oppression from the Kyiv governor. The Kiev-Mohyla College became the first higher educational institution in the East Slavic lands. In order to confront modern Roman Catholic scholarship on the same level, Metropolitan Peter borrowed the entire structure of the new school from Latin-Polish models, which he thus instilled in the South Russian Orthodox environment. Subsequently, the Metropolitan also opened a lower school in Vinnitsa.

He returned and restored a number of ancient Kyiv shrines. He returned the St. Sophia Cathedral and the Vydubitsky Monastery, previously captured by the Uniates. He restored and built the Church of the Savior on Berestov and the Church of the Three Saints - the latter was given to the Brotherly Master. In 1635, the remains of the Tithe Church were discovered and cleared of ruins, under the ruins of which the relics of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir were found. Metropolitan Peter planted a linden tree near the ruins that same year. Funds for the restoration of churches and monasteries came from the Lavra, from the metropolitan’s personal property, from donations from pious people, from grants from the Tsar of Moscow.

He paid great attention to the publication of church books, and demanded that no books be printed without comparing them with Greek originals. The Missal, the Colored Triodion and the Breviary with important instructions for clergy were significantly revised, expanded and published. Divine services under the Metropolitan began to be performed especially solemnly and splendidly. Metropolitan Peter actively introduced and restored Greek prayers and rites among the Slavic people. In his Trebnik, for example, the prayer of St. Sophronius of Jerusalem for the Great Blessing of Water was introduced; in his Lenten Triodion, for the first time in the Slavic world, a complete Synodik appeared on the Sunday of Orthodoxy - one of the most significant doctrinal documents of the Orthodox Church. However, at the same time, under Roman Catholic influence, a number of rites that were new to the Orthodox Church were introduced, the most notable of which were the Lenten passions in remembrance of the Passion of Christ and the reading introduced into the Trebnik. Wherein

Under Bishop Peter, Righteous Juliania, Princess Olshanskaya, was glorified. He made efforts to glorify the Pechersk saints throughout the church, and under him the Patericon of Pechersk was compiled.

Among the numerous theological works of Metropolitan Peter, a special place was occupied by the defense of the Orthodox against accusations of Protestantism and the expression of the correct teaching in catechetical form. The appearance in 1629 of the Calvinist “Confession of Faith” under the name of the Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril (Lukar) caused confusion in the Orthodox community, aggravated the polemics of Roman Catholics against Orthodoxy, and prompted Metropolitan Peter to respond. A special occasion was the denunciation of the writings of the apostate from Orthodoxy Cassian Sakovich, who accused Orthodoxy of adopting reformist opinions. In response to this libel, Metropolitan Peter took an active part in the compilation of the accusatory collection “Λίθος, or Stone,” as well as in the preparation of a religious treatise - the so-called. “Confessions of Peter Mogila” (see more details).

In 1640, Metropolitan Peter convened a Local Council in Kyiv, at which Sakovich’s work was refuted and, after some corrections, the prepared Orthodox confession of faith was adopted. At the Council of Iasi in 1642, this confession was further adjusted and sent for translation and verification to the Eastern patriarchs. In 1645, the Metropolitan published one of the editions of the “Confession” in Kyiv, after which a number of new editions appeared in different languages ​​and became widely circulated as an important doctrinal document of the Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Peter was fully fluent in Latin and Greek. He led a strictly ascetic life. He was in awe of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and considered it a place of the special presence of God.

Before his death, he bequeathed to the Kyiv College his library, real estate acquired for it and a significant amount of money, and ordered its mentors to live by his rules and commemorate him every Thursday. He bequeathed a lot to the Lavra and other monasteries and churches that he built from the ruins. He died on December 31, 1646, on the night of 1647. According to his will, he was buried in the crypt of the Great Assumption Church of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, under the left choir in the middle part of the temple.

The body of Metropolitan Peter rested at the burial site until the Second World War. In November 1941, the Great Lavra Church was blown up, and the explosives were placed near the burial place of the saint. The coffin with the remains was completely destroyed; only silver plates with the family coat of arms and epitaph were preserved, which were found during excavations in 1982 by an archaeological expedition led by V. Kharlamov.

Troparion, tone 4

Like a hardworking heli-grader, you were the Holy Hierarch, Father Peter the Wise, with your teachings you fertilized our entire land, with the prayers of the saints of Pechersk we constantly strengthen. Moreover, together with them, we stand before the Throne of the King of Glory, praying to protect our flock from the evil of the superstitious, to deliver this city and our country from all troubles, and to give peace and great mercy to people.

Kontakion, tone 2

You truly appeared to the zealot and luminary of the Metropolis of Kiev, Father Peter, the companion of the Monk Job in protecting the Orthodox Church, of piety and the dogmas of the fathers. And you fearlessly armed yourself against the wiles of the devil. In the same way, now do not cease to pray for us to the Lord, so that our souls may be saved.

Kirillin V. M.

In the 14th century, for the first time in ancient Russian literary practice, a saint’s life was created. This is a hagiobiography of Metropolitan Peter, an outstanding church figure who contributed to the rise of Moscow among other Russian cities.

Peter became Metropolitan in 1305. And despite the fact that his candidacy was proposed by the Galician Grand Duke Yuri Lvovich, almost immediately after his initiation in Constantinople he went to North-Eastern Rus'. Here he, being involved in the struggle between princes Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy and Yuri Danilovich Moskovsky for the great reign, took the side of Moscow. Probably for this reason, and also due to the fact that the protege of the Tver prince George did not receive the metropolis, Peter was accused by the Tver bishop Andrei of the sin of bribery. On this occasion, in 1310 or 1311, a Council was held in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, at which most of the clergy spoke out against Peter, but with the support of the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita, he was acquitted. In 1313, Peter was honorably received into the Golden Horde, where he received confirmation of the old benefits for the clergy, as well as a new one, namely the right of metropolitan court over all church people in all cases, not excluding criminal ones. Throughout his entire primacy, Peter consistently took the side of the Moscow princes in their struggle with the Tver princes. Moreover, in the 20s of the 14th century he gradually moved to Moscow, and not long before his death he announced that he wanted to be buried in Moscow. With his blessing, in August 1325, Prince Ivan Danilovich founded the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, similar to the Vladimir Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, Peter was not destined to consecrate this cathedral. On December 21, 1326 he died. Very soon, miracles of healing began to take place at his tomb, so that already at the beginning of 1327, on the initiative of Ivan Danilovich of Moscow, Metropolitan Peter was locally glorified as a saint.

Undoubtedly, it was in connection with this act that the first biography of St. Peter was compiled. According to V.O. Klyuchevsky, this happened no later than August 1, 1327 - the day of the consecration of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. The life was written by the Rostov Bishop Prokhor, a protege of the Metropolitan. His name is indicated in the title of some copies of the work: “The Repose of Peter, Metropolitan of All Rus'; and this is his reading, the work of Prokhor, Bishop of Rostov.” At the end of the text, it is said about the participation of Ivan Kalita in this matter: “Prince Ivan, having written those miracles, sent an ambassador to the city of Volodymyr to the holy cathedral...”. Subsequently, on the occasion of the all-Russian canonization of St. Peter in 1339, it was partly revised. So, on the basis of Prokhor’s work, the initial edition of the Life was compiled, known from copies starting from the 15th century.

This work is written in a new, comparatively literary manner: very simple, concise, without any verbal intricacies. At first, Prokhor says that Peter was born to “a peasant parent.” At the same time, he notes that before Peter’s birth, his mother had a wonderful dream about him. Then Prokhor briefly talks about Peter's childhood, youth and monastic life. Prokhor dwells in more detail on the metropolitan installation of Peter, while he also notes the miraculous facts. So, the Holy Mother of God herself helped him, and Patriarch Athanasius foresaw by the fragrance in the church that it was Peter who was overshadowed by the grace of God. Prokhor also writes in detail about the trial of Peter in Pereyaslavl, and places the blame for this trial on the Bishop of Tver Andrei, in whom the devil put it in his heart to send blasphemy against Peter to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Prokhor attributes Peter's transfer of the metropolis from the city of Vladimir to Moscow to the initiative of Peter himself: having visited many cities, he saw that this particular city was “pure in meekness in humility, called Moscow.” The Life tells in detail about the death and burial of Peter and his posthumous miracles, in particular, about the appearance to a certain Gentile that Peter, during the funeral procession, sitting on his bed, blessed the whole people. “So God glorified the land of Suzhdal with such a saint, and the city called Moscow, and the blessed Prince John, and his princess, and his children...”

Artistically, this initial biography of Metropolitan Peter is undoubtedly inferior to many literary works of the 11th-12th centuries. However, from an ideological point of view, it is remarkable that it reflected the fact of the actual transformation of Moscow from the capital of a small principality into an all-Russian national center: while telling about the first Moscow saint, the Life at the same time tells about the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita.

This ideological beginning of the Life was subsequently highly developed by Metropolitan Cyprian, who twice turned to its plot and created two new literary works on the theme of the life of St. Peter.

Metropolitan Cyprian lived in a completely different era, when Moscow, especially after the victory over the Horde on the Kulikovo Field, had already firmly established its role as the political and spiritual center of Rus'. Probably, then an urgent need arose among the people to express feelings of gratitude to the patron saint of Moscow. One must also think that Cyprian, when starting to revise the original edition of the Life of Peter, was guided by personal motives, for, undoubtedly, he saw in the life of his predecessor many parallels to his own destiny.

Originally from Bulgaria, Cyprian, before his arrival in Rus', was first a resident of the Studite monastery, and then labored on Mount Athos. In December 1375, Patriarch Philotheus Kokkin of Constantinople ordained him Metropolitan of Lithuania and Little Rus', and under the still living Russian Metropolitan Alexy. This caused dissatisfaction with the Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who had his own protege - Archimandrite Mikhail-Mitya of the Spassky Monastery. In the summer of 1378, after the death of Alexy, Cyprian tried to take the high priestly throne in Moscow, but the prince did not allow this. Then, in 1380 in Constantinople, after the unexpected death of Mityai, the little-known Pimen was elected Metropolitan of All Rus', so Cyprian had to be content with his previous title. However, in Lithuania, he diplomatically contributed to the victory of Dimitri Ivanovich over Mamai in the summer of 1380, and also found support in Moscow from the most authoritative church figures - the spiritual inspirers of the struggle for the unification of Rus' and its liberation from Horde dependence, Sergius of Radonezh and Theodore Simonovsky. Therefore, in May 1381, he was nevertheless called to Moscow, but not for long: after the invasion of Tokhtamysh, during which Cyprian showed cowardice, the prince removed him and sent his new protege, Suzdal Bishop Dionysius, to Constantinople. The latter was ordained as the primate of the Russian Church. But he never returned home: in the spring of 1384 he was captured in Kyiv, where the disgraced Cyprian was, and died in captivity. Pimen remained in Moscow as metropolitan. Only after the death of Dmitry Donskoy, under his son Prince Vasily, in March 1390, Cyprian finally firmly established himself in Moscow as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'. In this capacity he lived his last sixteen years.

So, Cyprian’s appeal to the life of St. Peter was not accidental. He recognized himself as his successor and considered him his patron. By revising the original edition of the hagiobiography, Cyprian significantly enriched it with new facts and gave it a completely new sound. Most likely, Cyprian undertook this work during his first stay in Moscow. As a result, a new text appeared: “The month of December on the 21st day. Life and life and small confession from miracles like the saints of our father Peter, Archbishop of Kiev and All Rus'. Copied by Cyprian, the humble Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'.” A large number of copies of this monument have been preserved, with the earliest dating back to the end of the 14th century.

He prefaced the biography of Peter with his own introduction, in which, reflecting on the righteous, he recalls the words of the Psalmist: “The righteous live forever, and their reward is from the Lord, and their building is from the Most High.” When a righteous man is praised, people will rejoice. It is proper to praise the righteous. Realizing his weakness, Cyprian, however, begins a difficult task for him - the story of one of these righteous people. Complementing the information about Peter's childhood, he provides details about his studies: it turns out that at first the boy studied without desire and success, which greatly saddened his parents. But one day a certain man in holy robes appeared to him in a dream. He touched his tongue with his hand and blessed the boy. After this, Peter quickly excelled in his studies.

Cyprian paid great attention to the monastic works of Peter, emphasizing his virtue: “in the monastery he was always a mentor in all obedience and to the brethren without laziness, serving not as a man, but as God himself. And your image was good to all for virtuous living with humility and meekness, and silence." Therefore, by reasoning of the mentor, he was ordained first to the rank of deacon, and then to the rank of priest. Cyprian prefaces the story of Peter’s founding of the Ratskaya monastery with the remark: “It is not worthy for such a person to even go through all the degrees and then sit on the teacher’s seat.”

In the story about the icon-painting activity of Peter, Cyprian introduced a description of this creative process: “It is a custom in many: as soon as he remembers a beloved face, he turns to tears from love. The divine saint creates from these spherical images to the prototypes of the mind.” . It is possible that Cyprian personally saw, knew and highly appreciated the original works of Peter, and among them, perhaps, the image of the Virgin Mary, presented to Metropolitan Maxim. In any case, he talks in detail about how the icon was created, how Abbot Peter gave it to Metropolitan Maxim when he met him, and how the saint rejoiced at this gift.

In contrast to the Initial Edition of the Life, Cyprian talks in detail about the appointment of Abbot Peter to metropolitan. At the same time, he emphasizes that during the time of the ascetic, the land of Volyn was glorious and rich. Not only the Volyn prince, but the whole country knew about Peter’s virtue. Cyprian also reports about the desire of the Volyn prince to create an independent Galician-Volyn metropolis and about his conversations about this with Peter: “And this is done for many days, when the prince himself spoke to Petrov, and when the boyar and his advisor sent to him." In secret from the ascetic, he wrote to Constantinople about his desire to see the Ratsky abbot on the holy throne.

The life of Metropolitan Peter of Kyiv is not rich in biographical data. We only learn that he was born in Volyn, was sent to book teaching for seven years; At first he studied poorly, and then after one miraculous vision in a dream he began to show extraordinary success. At the age of twelve he entered a monastery, where he learned the art of icon painting. Then Peter retired to a deserted place, founded his own monastery and became its abbot. Princes and nobles soon began to show him special honor.

Metropolitan Maxim, who died in 1305, was buried in Vladimir on the Klyazma, where he moved from weakened Kyiv in 1299. After his death, a certain abbot Gerontius took possession of the metropolitan see with the consent of Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich. He went to Constantinople to be appointed metropolitan. At the same time, Yuri Lvovich, Prince of Galich and Volyn, after the death of Maxim, planned to establish a special Galician-Volyn metropolitanate. In 1302 or 1303, Constantinople agreed to elevate the Galician bishopric to the degree of metropolitanate. The first Galician metropolitan was Nifont. He died almost simultaneously with Metropolitan Maxim, and Yuri Lvovich sent the respected abbot Peter to Patriarch Athanasius to Constantinople for initiation as Nifont’s successor. Gerontius, who left North-Eastern Rus', was detained at sea by contrary winds, and Peter arrived in Constantinople before him. Patriarch Athanasius ordained Peter, giving him the usual title of Metropolitan of “Kyiv and All Rus'.” When Gerontius then arrived, the patriarch took from him all the sacred accessories of archpastoral dignity and handed them over to Peter (1308). The newly installed Metropolitan Peter spent the first time in Kyiv, but then, following the example of Maxim, he established his stay in Vladimir-on-Klyazma (from 1309). From here he made difficult journeys through the Russian regions to establish church order, and tried to restrain the restless princes from their quarrels over volosts.

Metropolitan Peter. 15th century icon

In northern Rus', part of the clergy, apparently, was dissatisfied with the elevation of the Galician candidate to the metropolitan throne. His main opponent was Bishop Andrei of Tver, the son of the Polotsk-Lithuanian prince Gerden, who, apparently, on the basis of his noble origin, expected to occupy the metropolitan see himself. Some important denunciation against Peter was sent to the Byzantine patriarch. Behind all these intrigues was Mikhail Tverskoy, dissatisfied with the fact that his former candidate Gerontius was rejected in Constantinople. The Patriarch sent a learned cleric to examine Peter’s case with the Russian clergy. A church council was held in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky (1310 or 1311). When the indictment was read, and debate and noise arose, Peter offered to voluntarily resign his rank. But the matter ended with the denunciation of the slanderers, and Peter said to Andrei Gerdenevich: “Peace be in Christ, child, it was not you who did this, but the original envier of the human race, the devil.” In connection with this council, there was also a denunciation of a new heresy, the instigator of which was one Novgorod archpriest: he taught about the destruction of the earthly paradise and blasphemed monasticism, so that many monks, carried away by him, left the monastery and got married. Present at the Pereyaslav Cathedral were the Tver princes Dmitry and Alexander and the brother of Yuri of Moscow, Ivan Kalita, who was then sitting on the Pereyaslav inheritance. By all indications, he sided with the metropolitan, and at the head of the latter’s opponents was the bishop of Tver, supported by his prince. Most likely, this is where Peter’s friendship with Ivan Kalita began, which later helped so much in the rise of Moscow. When soon Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich decided to take Nizhny Novgorod away from the descendants of Andrei Gorodetsky, Metropolitan Peter imposed a church ban on further campaign. Dmitry Mikhailovich barely got the Metropolitan to “allow” him and returned home without success (1311?).

In subsequent years, Metropolitan Peter became increasingly close to the Moscow princes. Already at the beginning of the reign of Ivan Kalita (1325–1341), even before the final triumph of Moscow over Tver, the center of the Russian metropolitanate moved from Vladimir to Moscow. The Metropolitan's stay in Moscow greatly increased the importance of this city, conveying to it the importance of the church capital of not only Northern, but also Southern and Western Rus'.

Metropolitan Peter. Icon by Dionysius, 1480s

Formal there was no actual resettlement; It’s just that during his tours of the Russian regions, Metropolitan Peter returned to Vladimir less and less, and stayed longer and longer in Moscow. As he reached old age, he began to think about where his bones would be laid. His predecessor Maxim was buried in the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral. If Peter wanted to establish the metropolitanate in Moscow, then it was necessary to take care of the construction of a worthy cathedral church in it, in which he could find peace for himself. According to his life, Metropolitan Peter began to ask Ivan Kalita (who had not yet received the label for the great reign) to erect in Moscow the same stone cathedral in the name of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, which was in Vladimir. Metropolitan Cyprian, at the same time, puts the following prophecy into Peter’s mouth: “if, son, you listen to me, then you yourself will become famous more than all the princes, and your whole family, and this city will be magnified above all Russian cities; the saints will dwell in him and his hands will be lifted up against the splash of his enemies.” Kalita laid the stone foundation for the Assumption Church in the Moscow Kremlin in the summer of 1326. The foundation had barely been laid and Metropolitan Peter had barely time to prepare a niche in the wall with a tomb for himself when he died in December of the same year and was buried in this tomb. The following year, the Assumption Church was completed, although neither in size nor decoration could it be equal to the creation

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Among the large number of saints, there are those whom Russians especially reverence. These include Peter of Moscow. It is believed that he is the patron saint of the capital of Russia and the entire territory of the country. Many interesting facts are connected with the years of the saint’s life, as well as after it.

The life of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, is based on the information that has come to us from all sorts of handwritten sources. His birth dates back to 1260 in the family of the boyar Theodore and Eupraxia in Volyn. Just before the birth of his mother, there was a vision about his belonging to the Lord. Her dream was that in her arms there was a lamb, which between its horns had a tree with flowers and leaves. Candles were burning between them and a fragrance was emanating.

When the boy was 7 years old, he was sent to learn to read and write. But it was very difficult for him. From birth he was speechless and tongue-tied. Father and mother constantly asked the Lord to help solve the problem and their requests were heard. After being given the gift of knowledge, he significantly surpassed all his peers in the study of Scripture.

From the age of 12, he began to actively show interest in the life of a monk, so he entered a monastery in Volyn. He considers John Climacus his mentor and leader, whose sacred texts and recommendations he follows. He was always the first to arrive at work and the last to leave. I never stood leaning against the wall during it. Due to his zealous attitude towards religion, he was initially awarded the rank of deacon, and then the priesthood.

Icon painting was considered one of his talents. Some Orthodox images of his hand have survived to this day. After some time, Peter asked for a blessing and retired to a deserted place near a tributary of the Bug, where he later founded a temple in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. A little later, he founded the Novodvorskaya monastery. After the death of the then Metropolitan, Peter was given the rank not only of Galicia, but of all Rus'.

At the beginning of the 14th century, a petition was sent to him from John Kalita. He advised moving the metropolitan see to Moscow from Vladimir. He died in the 20s while conducting an evening service. Many miracles occurred even after he passed into another world.

What do they pray to the Metropolitan of Moscow for?

There is a lot of information that when asking before the icon of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, even the most daring requests can be accomplished. Those who expressed their requests noted special assistance in solving health problems. But besides this, you can ask him about:

• getting rid of troubles and illnesses;
• solving everyday problem situations;
• finding a way out in difficult situations and choices, etc.

Saying prayers in front of his holy face can relieve not only physical discomfort from an illness, but also improve your mental state in many ways and gain balance.

Holy relics

During the transfer of the relics of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, there were many nobility and other clergy in the church. At that moment, one of the non-believers began to say that it was inappropriate to give such honors to the deceased. But before he finished thinking about it, he was able to see Peter sitting on his bed, blessing the people on both sides. He himself bore witness to this incident. In 1339 he was canonized.

There are many references to the fact that a large number of sovereign affairs could not be accomplished without prayer to him. At his grave the naming and election of Russian High Hierarchs took place.

The relics are still kept in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin to this day. There are also some of them in the Veliko-Petrovsky Monastery in Moscow. It is also important that the spirit of the saint appeared to the wife of Ivan the Terrible and forbade her to open her coffin. After that, it was sealed and forbidden to anyone to open it. There are also certain days of remembrance. They fall on:

• January 3;
• 6 September;
• October 18;
• October 23.

Temple in honor of the saint

Among the most famous buildings of this saint is the Church of Peter the Metropolitan of Moscow in St. Petersburg. It’s not difficult to find it at the intersection of Romenskaya and Dnepropetrovskaya streets. It belongs to the St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was built in 1911-1912 on the territory of the Holy Trinity Tvorozhkovsky Convent.

For a long time after the revolutions, the monastery was buried, and all valuables were removed from it. Then the buildings were transferred to the plant, and the structures were dismantled, the buildings were rebuilt, and the interior was destroyed. And only in 1994 it was returned to the complex of the diocese's courtyard. Since then, reconstruction work has been underway there to return it to its previous condition. Thanks to the donations of caring people and parishioners, the goal is gradually being achieved. You can find more information about it online on the parish website.

Prayers to the holy metropolitan

Remember that regardless of whether you turn with prayer to Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, or simply in your own words, it is important that they come from a pure heart. Only sincere requests from the bottom of your heart can work miracles.

“O great saint, glorious miracle worker, First Throne of the Russian Church, guardian of the city of Moscow and zealous prayer book for all of us, Our Father Peter! We humbly fall to you and pray: stretch out your hands to the Lord God and pray for us, sinners and unworthy servants of His, that He may add to us His mercy and send down to us all that is useful for our temporary life and eternal salvation, the gifts of His goodness, and especially may He protect us with peace, brotherly love, piety from all the temptations of the enemy the devil and grants us to be your faithful child, not only by name, but also by all our life. We pray to you, Saint of Christ, to preserve through your heavenly intercession the city of Moscow and its people. Hey, servant of God! Hear us kindly and be a helper and intercessor to all of us in all troubles and misfortunes, do not forget us even at the hour of our death, when we most especially require your intercession, so that with the help of the prayers of your saints, we, sinners, will be honored to receive a good death and the Kingdom of Heaven to inherit, gloriously wondrous in His saints, our God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

If it’s difficult for you to remember, then write it on a piece of paper and read it. If you follow all the recommendations, it will help cure a large number of all kinds of ailments.

Troparion

Another strong text is the troparion to St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow.

Troparion, tone 4:
The formerly barren earth, now rejoice: behold, Christ is a lamp in you, shining clearly in the world, and healing our ailments and illnesses. For His sake, rejoice and rejoice with boldness: for the saint is the one who has done this most High.

Another troparion, tone 8:
Rejoice, the most blessed city of Moscow, having within you Bishop Peter like the dawn of the sun, illuminating all Russia with miracles: for he heals that infirmity, and drives away ailments like darkness from those who cry out to him: Rejoice, hierarch of the Most High God, who through you has done good for your flock.

Kontakion, tone 8:
To the chosen and wondrous wonderworker of our land, today we flow to you with love, weaving a god-bearing song: for having boldness in the Lord, deliver us from manifold circumstances, so that we call to you: Rejoice in the establishment of our city.

But we should not forget that the gift of God’s grace will descend upon us if we do not forget that it is worth not only constantly asking for something, but also thanking higher powers for what we already have.

God bless you!

You will also be interested in watching a video story about Holy Metropolitan Peter of Moscow:

Saint Peter was born in the Galicia-Volyn land in the second half of the 13th century into a family of pious Christians Feodor and Eupraxia, who probably belonged to the boyar class.

At the age of seven, Peter was sent to learn to read and write at a monastery school. He studieddiligently, but at first he was not given a letter. O Trok prayed to God to give him the gift of understanding the Scriptures. And one day in a dream Peter appeared a man in holy robes who said to him: “Open your mouth, child.” When Peter did this, the saint touched his tongue with his hand, and Saint Peter felt that his throat was filled with something sweet. And from that time on, the blessed youth discovered such talents that he was soon ahead of all his peers.

At the age of twelve, Peter retired to a monastery, where he carried out obedience; After the required years had passed, for a virtuous life and zealous fulfillment of the entrusted obedience, the abbot of the monastery decided to ordain the monk Peter to the rank of hieromonk.
While asceticizing in the monastery, he humbly and zealously fulfilled the obediences assigned to him, spent a lot of time praying and reading the Word of God, and studied icon painting. Subsequently, he mastered this art and became a true master. The images he created were distributed among the brethren of the monastery and pilgrims.
After many years of labors in the monastery, Hieromonk Peter asks the abbot of the monastery for a blessing to leave the monastery in order to retire to a secluded place to continue his monastic feat. On the banks of the Rata River he set up a small cell for himself. And soon the place of the secret feat of the future metropolitan became a monastery, where he was elected abbot.
The ascetic abbot became known far beyond the monastery. Prince Yuri Lvovich of Galicia often came to the monastery to hear the spiritual instructions of the holy ascetic.

As abbot, he painted an icon of the Mother of God that was unlike any other; later it was named after the author - Petrovskaya.

Once the monastery was visited by Metropolitan Maxim of Kiev, who was touring the Russian land with words of teaching and edification. Receiving the saint's blessing, Abbot Peter brought as a gift to the archpastor an image of the Most Holy Theotokos he had painted, before which Saint Maximus, until the end of his life, prayed for the salvation of the Russian land entrusted to him by God.

When Metropolitan Maxim died, the throne of Russian metropolitans was unoccupied for some time. The Grand Duke of Vladimir, Saint Michael of Tver, sent Abbot Gerontius to the Patriarch of Constantinople with a request to appoint him to the Russian Metropolis. Gerontius took with him the image of the Mother of God, which was in the possession of Metropolitan Maxim.

At the same time, Prince Yuri of Galicia sent Abbot Peter to Constantinople, wanting the Patriarch to appoint him Metropolitan of Galicia. The Mother of God appeared to Gerontius, who was sailing the Black Sea at night during a storm, and said: “You work in vain, you will not get the rank of hierarch. The one who wrote Me, Abbot Peter of Ratsk, will be elevated to the throne of the Russian Metropolis.” The words of the Mother of God were exactly fulfilled: Patriarch Athanasius of Constantinople with the Council of Bishops elevated St. Peter to the Russian Metropolis, handing over to him the holy vestments, staff and icon brought by Gerontius. Upon his return to Russia in 1308, Metropolitan Peter stayed in Kyiv for a year and then moved to Vladimir.

The High Hierarch experienced many difficulties in the first years of ruling the Russian Metropolis. In the Russian land, which suffered under the Tatar yoke, there was no firm order, and Saint Peter had to often change his places of residence. Grand Duke Mikhail of Tverskoy, upset that it was not his man who became the Russian Metropolitan, was never able to receive Saint Peter, so the Metropolitan could not stay in Vladimir for a long time. During his constant tours of dioceses, he tirelessly taught the people and clergy about the strict preservation of Christian piety. He called on the warring princes to be peaceful and unity.

However, Bishop Andrei of Tver brought charges against the saint before the Patriarch. For the trial of Metropolitan Peter in 1311, a council was convened in Pereyaslavl, which was attended by the envoy of the Patriarch, the clergy, princes and boyars. Saint Peter was especially zealously defended by representatives of Moscow, among whom was the young prince Ivan Danilovich. The accusations against Metropolitan Peter were recognized as slander. Saint Peter turned to Bishop Andrew with the words: “Peace be with you, child of Christ! It was not you, but the primordial envier of the human race - the devil - who aroused this war. Be careful in future that the worst does not happen to you. God will forgive the past.”.

In 1313, when Uzbek, the first of the khans to convert to Islam, became the khan of the Golden Horde, Saint Peter went to the Horde to confirm his powers. He was received there with honor and released with a new label. The previous benefits of the clergy were confirmed and a new one was added: all church people in all cases, not excluding criminal ones, were subject to the metropolitan court.

Traveling throughout Rus', Saint Peter increasingly visits Moscow. Seven hundred years ago Moscow was still a small city within the modern Kremlin, but even then it was quite noisy and crowded. The saint needed a place for solitary prayer. Such a place turned out to be the elevated bank of the Neglinnaya River, not far from the Kremlin, where the small village of Vysokoye was located among the forests. This place reminded Metropolitan Peter of the monastery on the banks of the Rata River, where he had previously been abbot; This is where the monastery was built. In it, Metropolitan Peter erected a wooden church in the name of the holy chief apostles Peter– his heavenly patron– and Paul, which is why the monastery was originally called Peter and Paul (this name for the monastery was found in documents even more than three hundred years after the reconsecration of its main church in honor of St. Peter himself). This is how the history of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery began.

Here, praying for the fate of Rus', Metropolitan Peter became more and more convinced of the idea of ​​transferring the metropolitan see to Moscow. In 1325 the saint finally moved to this city. The prince built a “vast courtyard” for Metropolitan Peter in the eastern part of the Kremlin. However, the saint still loved to stay at the small monastery he founded. A road was built from the monastery to the Kremlin in the forest, which to this day is called Petrovka.

Saint Peter predicted liberation from the Tatar yoke and the future rise of Moscow as the center of all Russia.

At the request and advice of Saint Peter, Grand Duke Ivan Danilovich Kalita founded the first stone church in Moscow in 1326 in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. " If you listen to me, my son,- said the saint to the Grand Duke, - and you will erect the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos in your city, and you yourself will become famous more than other princes, and your sons and grandsons throughout generations and generations, and this city will be famous throughout Rus', and the saints will live in it, and it will defeat its enemies, and it will become famous God is in him. My bones will also be placed in it.”. Construction began on August 4. The holy metropolitan, with his own hands, built himself a stone coffin in the altar of this church, near the altar, and wanted to see the construction completed, but the Church of the Assumption was consecrated after his death, in 1327, on August 14 - on the eve of the patronal feast.

The move of Saint Peter to Moscow, the construction on his advice of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, which became not only the tomb of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also the main cathedral of Rus', which was being revived after the Tatar invasion, contributed, as the saint predicted, to the unification of Russian lands around Moscow. Thanks to the fact that Saint Peter made Moscow the place of his primal labors and his resting place, it became the spiritual center of Rus' and in the future the Russian capital.

From the words of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow andof all Rus' Kirill after the service inVysoko-Petrovsky MonasterySeptember 6, 2014:« And then something very symbolic happens, which ultimately predetermined the rise of Moscow as the city of the Grand Duke, although at that time it was not one... When St. Peter was buried at the northern wall of the Assumption Cathedral under construction, it became clear that Moscow was becoming the Mother See. And after St. Peter, all the Kyiv metropolitans of that time– Primates of the Russian Orthodox Church– Moscow was chosen as their place of residence. And therefore, by right, we call them all Metropolitans of Kyiv, Moscow and All Rus'».
According to legend, the day of his death was announced to the Metropolitan by an angel and Peter,“Filled with spiritual joy, he performed the Divine Liturgy that day, offered prayers for Prince John, for all the Christians of the Russian land, his flock, and remembered the departed. Arriving from the temple, the saint called the church clergy and gave him the last instruction. Then calling the poor, the wretched and his servants, he distributed abundant alms to them. Saint Peter distributed the rest of his property for his commemoration among clergy and monks, and allocated a significant part for the construction of the Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Prince Ivan Danilovich was then away, and Saint Peter turned to his nobleman Protasius with the words:“My son, here I am leaving this life. I leave mercy, peace and blessings from God to my beloved son, Prince John, and to his seed forever. For the fact that my son calmed me down, may the Lord God reward him a hundredfold in this world, may he inherit eternal life, may the succession of possessing his place not be taken away from his family, and may his memory spread.”

As evening approached, the saint began to perform Vespers. During prayer, he turned to Archimandrite Theodore: “Peace be with you, my son, I am dying."

On December 21 (Old Art.), 1326, Saint Peter departed to God. His holy body was buried in a stone tomb prepared by him himself in the Assumption Cathedral.

During the solemn transfer of the relics to the temple, looking at the numerous clergy, prince, nobles, and townspeople accompanying this procession, an unknown infidel reproachfully expressed doubts about the need to give such honors to a dead person. And as soon as he expressed this, he saw Saint Peter sitting on his bed, blessing the people on both sides of him. At the same time, three sick people received healing from the relics of the saint.

A few days after the burial of the saint, miracles of healing began to take place at his tomb. Thus, a young man who had been unable to use his hands since the day of his birth was cured. Soon here, through prayer, hearing returned to the deaf, sight to the blind, and a miracle happened to the hunchback, who received “stretching” (straightening) from the metropolitan’s tomb. Many other miracles happened to those who came to Metropolitan Peter with prayer. Prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita ordered a description of the saint’s miracles to be compiled, which was publicly read by Bishop Prokhor of Rostov in Vladimir from the church pulpit during a cathedral service on the holiday. At this time, the gentile testified about the vision that happened to him during the burial of the saint.The first Metropolitan of Moscow was locally canonized a year after his repose. This was an event of extreme spiritual significance for the Moscow princes and the entire state.

Many miracles happened through the prayers of the saint of God. From the day of his repose, deep veneration for the High Hierarch of the Russian Church was established and spread throughout the Russian land. Thirteen years later, in 1339, under Saint Theognostus, he was canonized by the Council in Constantinople. Thus, Saint Peter became the first canonized Moscow saint. At the tomb of the saint, the princes kissed the cross as a sign of fidelity to the Grand Duke of Moscow. As a particularly revered patron of Moscow, the saint was called as a witness when drawing up state treaties. The Novgorodians, who had the right to elect their rulers at St. Sophia, after joining Moscow under John III, swore an oath to install their archbishops only at the tomb of St. Peter the Wonderworker. At the tomb of the saint, Russian High Hierarchs were named and elected.

Russian chronicles constantly mention Metropolitan Peter; not a single significant state undertaking was complete without prayer at the tomb of St. Peter. In 1472 and 1479 the relics of St. Peter were transferred. In memory of these events, celebrations were established on October 5 (18) and August 24 (September 6).