Boris and Gleb are the first canonized saints, passion-bearers, who in the name of peace abandoned the fratricidal war, during which they were killed without offering resistance.

Saints Boris and Gleb

Russian saints Boris and Gleb were named Roman and David after baptism. Their father, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, treated his younger sons with special love, and the prince had 12 children in total, which repeatedly aroused envy, jealousy and irritation of his elder brother Svyatopolk. He was born to a Greek woman, whose husband Vladimir killed before his repentance, seduced by her beauty. For his ferocity and malice, the people called Svyatopolk the Accursed.

Boris and Gleb - the youngest sons of Prince Vladimir

Born during the beginning of Christianity in Rus', the boys Roman and David were raised in a special veneration of Jesus Christ. Vladimir the Great, who was an ardent pagan and had several wives, a persecutor of fans of the Messiah, after baptism completely changed his outlook on life.

The mother of the saints, future passion-bearers, was the Byzantine princess Anna, the sister of the reigning emperor Basil the Second, the granddaughter of Constantine the Seventh, popularly called Porphyrogenitus.

Important! Vladimir's children were brought up in the veneration of Christian shrines, observing all the canons of the Orthodox Church.

Each of the 12 sons received their inheritance. Boris ruled Rostov, Gleb got Murom, Yaroslav reigned in Novgorod.

Holy life and death of Boris

28 years after the baptism of Rus', Vladimir the Great fell ill from illness, and at the same time the Pechenegs marched as an army to the holy Russian land. The prince called his beloved and obedient son Boris and sent him to fight against the atheists, providing him with troops and weapons.

• During the campaign, a messenger arrived to the ruler of Rostov and reported the death of Vladimir. The insidious Svyatopolk secretly carried the body of the Great Vladimir from the Kyiv chambers to the Church of the Holy Mother of God, and arbitrarily took the throne.
• The ninth son of the ruler of Rus' grieved greatly, but decided not to challenge his elder brother’s right to rule, even if he had to die.
• The Rostov prince decided to go to his elder brother and recognize his rule, hoping to meet Gleb in his father’s house.
• Boris knew that his father took the throne dishonestly, but he did not take gold, silver, fast horses, honor or tribute to his grave, so he did not want to follow the unrighteous path of his parent. Remembering the corruption of everything earthly, the young prince exalted his love for Svyatoslav over the right of inheritance, like Solomon, recognizing everything as vanity.
• The young man understood that Svyatoslav was not so kind and could kill him; people, seeing the sad and sometimes tear-stained face of the prince, also grieved with him. The meek and humble ruler of Rostov was loved by all its residents, for they saw only love, pardon and help from the prince.

Relying on the love of the Lord, the ruler of Rostov went to Svyatoslav, who sent a letter with an invitation to come to Kyiv and receive part of the inheritance.

Boris and Gleb on the ship

At the same time, Svyatoslav arrived in Vyshegorod and ordered the secret killing of the co-heirs of the Kyiv throne.

• The army returning from the campaign, led by the ninth son of Vladimir, stopped on the banks of the Alta River. The squad proposed to take the throne from Svyatoslav by force, foreseeing benefits for themselves, but Boris refused to go against his brother.
• Seeing the young prince’s reluctance to seize power, the squad left him, leaving only the youths.
• Boris spent his last night on this earth in lamentations and prayers; in the morning he ordered the divine service to begin, during which the passion-bearer sang psalms.
• A crowd of armed people burst into the tent, they pierced the prince with a sword, and the youth George of Venger, who threw his body to cover the owner.
• The wounded Boris asked the killers to give him time to pray. After which he turned to the soldiers with tenderness, called on them to finish what they had planned and offer Svyatopolk the forgiveness of the blessed one.

The wounded Boris was killed with a blow to the heart, wrapped in a tent and buried near the Church of Vasily in Vyshegorod on July 24, 1015.

Life and murder of Gleb

Svyatoslav understood that now his brothers would take revenge on him both for the throne and for the murder of Boris. He sends his younger brother a letter about his father’s illness, the young man rushes to Kyiv, but on the way he receives a message from Yaroslav and learns the truth about the death of his father and brother.

• In great sorrow, the young prince stopped with his army near Smolensk on the banks of the Smyadyn River, where the killers sent by Svyatoslav found him.
• In great tenderness and humility, Gleb swam to meet the envoys of the eldest son of Vladimir the Great, hoping for good news, but soon his face became covered with tears.
• The young prince could not understand why they wanted to kill him, he asked to be taken to Svyatoslav for an explanation, and when he realized that his death could not be avoided, he prayed to God, calling on his father and mother in his prayers.
• On September 5, by order of the accursed Goryaser, the traitor of the young prince Torchin cut the young man’s throat and threw the murdered man into the desert.
• Yaroslav the Wise could not tolerate the murder of his brothers and went to war against Svyatoslav, overthrowing the fratricide from the throne in the summer of 1019.

At night, shepherds and travelers saw a luminous pillar over the saint’s burial and sometimes heard a choir of angels; based on these signs, the body of the innocent murdered man was found.

Years passed, and Yaroslav found the bodies of both passion-bearers, while Gleb’s body, which had lain in the ground for many years, turned out to be untouched and fragrant.

Veneration of the Saints

All subsequent descendants of Prince Vladimir honored their murdered relatives. Most of all, Vladimir Monomakh served them, who in 1102 transferred the holy relics, decorating the coffins with gold, silver and crystal candlesticks.

On a note! The names of the passion-bearing brothers became known throughout the earth as an example of humility and obedience to the Lord.

Throughout the year, the Orthodox Church celebrates the patronal feasts of the passion-bearers Roman and David several times:

• On May 15, Orthodox Christians pay tribute to the memory of the saints, whose relics were transferred in 1115 to the Vyshgorod tomb, built by Izyaslav Yaroslavich.
• On August 6, the Orthodox world honors both brothers - passion-bearers.
• September 18 is the patronal holiday of Prince Gleb.

Icon of the martyrs Boris and Gleb

In ancient literature, the lives of Saints Boris and Gleb were the basis for many tales and traditions, which were subsequently supplemented by testimonies of miracles performed through the prayers of the holy martyrs.

The blood of humbly loving brothers marked the beginning of the end of internecine strife in Rus'. This fertile seed was sown to strengthen the Russian lands.

The first canonized saints

The Christian feat of Saints Boris and Gleb, manifested in virtue - love, was a new phenomenon in Rus', where it was the norm to take revenge with blood for blood.

The young princes, through their humble acceptance of martyrdom, showed the Christian world an example of obedience to the older generation, having received the grace of becoming the first saints canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church as passion-bearers.

Important! Passion-bearing is a rite of holiness; this name is given to a saint who accepted martyrdom in the name of God, without violating God’s commandments.

The brothers did not hold a grudge against Svyatopolk, with tenderness they forgave and blessed their murderer, offering no resistance when the executioners arrived.

Historians have not found the exact date of the brothers' canonization.

1. According to some sources, this happened in 1020, when the relics of the martyr Gleb were transferred to Vyshegorod.
2. Others claim that the great event dates back to 1021, during the consecration of the first church built in honor of the passion-bearers Boris and Gleb, whose lives have been revered since the day of their burial.
3. Most theologians are inclined to the date of 1072, when the sons of Yaroslav the Wise consecrated a new stone temple and transferred holy relics to it.

Important! The Russian people honor the brothers Boris and Gleb as defenders of Russian Christian values ​​and the Russian land.

Saint images depicting the brothers appeared simultaneously with their canonization. The first icon was painted by order of Yaroslav the Wise; it is dated 1070.

In the 11th-12th centuries, images of brothers appear on reliquaries.

According to tradition, Boris and Gleb are depicted together in one icon, they are dressed in princely attire, holding a cross, symbolizing martyrdom, and a sword, a symbol of the principality.

Miracles through prayers

The life of the passion-bearers is filled with patience and humility, great love for the Lord.

The Lord did not disregard obedience and love for enemies, blessing the relics of the saints great power healing. For thousands of years, Orthodox Christians have constantly celebrated miracles granted through prayer at holy relics.

At the dawn of Christianity, the smell of incense constantly hovered over the reburied relics.

• Residents of Vyshgorod witnessed how a cripple without lower limb The leg grew back during the service.
• Dorogobuzh witnessed how three riders on white horses rode into the yard of a woman working on the feast of St. Nicholas, two of them were young. When asked why she was violating the sanctity of the day, the angry woman replied that she was a widow and had no time to rest. As punishment, the senior horseman ordered her house to be scattered and the sinner herself thrown into the yard.

All the time until Lent began, the woman lay motionless. The paralyzed woman was spoon-fed until meat week, during which the patient was brought to the Church of St. Nicholas, after which the woman stood up, but her hand remained dry.

Hearing about the healings in the temple of Roman and David, the withered woman went to Vyshegorod on the eve of the Dormition Mother of God and was healed by the grace of the brothers Boris and Gleb, whose life became an example for many Orthodox believers.

• A blind man who lived in Vyshegorod constantly prayed in the Church of St. George, however, in a dream the Victorious One himself appeared to him and said that he should go to the holy martyrs - passion-bearers and ask them for healing.

The blind man was brought to the temple of Roman and David, where for several days he prayed and cried out to the holy martyrs, until in an instant he saw with his inner vision the brothers who crossed the eyes of the sick man, after which he regained his sight.

Miracles of healing continue to this day.

The Life of the Holy Princes and Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb

Photo kudago.com/ icon painter Viktor Morozov

On August 6, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the day of remembrance of the holy noble princes-passion-bearers Boris and Gleb.

Who are Boris and Gleb?

Princes Boris and Gleb (baptized Roman and David) are the first saints canonized by the Russian Church. They were the younger sons of the Kyiv Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich (Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir). The brothers were born shortly before the Baptism of Rus' and were raised in the Christian faith.

Why is the day of Saints Boris and Gleb celebrated several times?

Indeed, there are several days a year dedicated to the memory of Saints Boris and Gleb. So, May 15 is the transfer of their relics to a new church-tomb in 1115, which was built by Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich in Vyshgorod, September 18 is the memory of the holy Prince Gleb, and August 6 is the joint celebration of the saints.

What feat did the saints accomplish?

The lives of the saints were sacrificed for love. Boris and Gleb did not want to raise their hands against their brother and support the internecine war. The brothers chose death as a sign of boundless love for Christ, in imitation of his suffering on the cross. The feat of Boris, as well as his brother Gleb, lies in the fact that they voluntarily abandoned the worldly, political struggle in the name of brotherly love.

How did Boris and Gleb die?

Vladimir, shortly before his death, called Boris to Kyiv. He gave his son an army and sent him on a campaign against the Pechenegs. Soon the prince passed away. His eldest son Svyatopolk arbitrarily declared himself Grand Duke of Kyiv. Svyatopolk took advantage of the fact that Boris was on a campaign. However, the saint had no intention of opposing this decision. He disbanded his army with the words: “I will not raise my hand against my brother, and even against my elder, whom I should consider as my father!”

But Svyatopolk was still afraid that Boris would want to take the throne away from him. He ordered his brother to be killed. Boris knew about this, but did not hide. He was attacked with spears while he was praying. It happened on July 24, 1015 (August 6, new style) on the banks of the Alta River. He said to his murderers: “Come, brothers, finish your service, and may there be peace to brother Svyatopolk and to you.” Boris's body was brought to Vyshgorod and, secretly from everyone, was laid in a church in the name of St. Basil the Great.

Soon Svyatopolk killed his second brother. Gleb lived in Murom at that time. Gleb also knew that they wanted to kill him, but the internecine war was worse than death for him. The killers overtook the prince at the mouth of the Smyadyn River, near Smolensk.

Why were Boris and Gleb canonized?

Boris and Gleb were canonized as passion-bearers. "Passion-bearer" is one of the ranks of holiness. A saint who accepted martyrdom for fulfilling God's Commandments. An important part of the passion-bearer’s feat is that the martyr does not hold a grudge against the murderers and does not resist.

When writing the text, materials from the site were used

On September 18 (September 5, O.S.), the Orthodox Church celebrates the day of remembrance of the holy noble Prince Gleb. The blessed Prince Gleb, in holy baptism David, is one of the first Russian martyrs and passion-bearers. He suffered along with his brother Prince Boris (in holy baptism Roman).

Author of “History of the Russian State” N.M. Karamzin emphasizes: Prince Gleb, son of the baptist Kievan Rus, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, became the first prince of Murom. Gleb's mother, like his older brother Boris, according to the great Russian historians Solovyov and Tatishchev, was the Byzantine princess Anna. Gleb Vladimirovich, Prince of Murom, was born around 984, but the exact date is unknown.

Grand Duke Vladimir had a special weakness for the “younger royal” children, singling them out among his twelve sons. This probably played a fatal role in their future fate.

ARRIVAL OF THE PRINCE

This is how our first local historian Alexey Alekseevich Titov describes the arrival of Prince Gleb to his patrimony, the city of Murom, in the “Historical Review of the City of Murom”:

“The young prince, having easily reached the city under the guidance of a trustee, thought that the citizens, having accepted him as a strong ruler, distinguished more than others by the love of Vladimir the Great, would soon turn to the knowledge of the Christian faith. But in this respect he did not have the blessed lot of his parent. The residents of Murom did not accept Christian teachings from Gleb and his spiritual mission. Even the example of their neighboring Suzdal residents, who accepted the Christian faith in 991, did not influence them. According to the conviction of Vladimir himself and the two bishops who came there for this purpose, they were not accepted because the people of the Murom region, who converted more than others in matters of trade and local industry, were reluctant accepted religious suggestions, fearing to admit without special testing a faith that did not agree with their domestic traditions ... ".

So the young prince had to found his court not in the center of Murom, in the fortress, but on the very edge, in a forest. For own safety he ordered to strengthen his courtyard with a strong and high wall.

He lived there with his courtiers and clergy, as the son of the Russian sovereign, for several years.

It is difficult to say when Prince Gleb left Kyiv for Murom as his inheritance. According to the chronicle, Vladimir distributed the cities to his twelve sons in 988. At that time, Gleb was still a baby, or, more likely, according to historians, he was not born at all. Indeed, in the tragic year 1015, Prince Boris, his beloved brother, is depicted as a young man who is just growing a mustache and beard; and Gleb was younger than Boris. It is believed that the arrival of Gleb on the Murom land can be approximately dated back to 1010.

THE GAP IN PAGAN IGNORANCE

There is no doubt that the main concern of the young prince was the inculcation of Christianity in connection with the concerns of Grand Duke Vladimir about the spread new religion. But he never managed to solve this problem radically. As it is said in the prologue about Saint Gleb: “... having made many attempts, it is impossible to overcome him (Murom) and convert him to Holy Baptism; but after living two miles away (two summers) he was called to flattery from Svyatopolk.”

After the death of Prince Gleb, paganism remained the basis of the faith of the inhabitants of the land of Murom. Only Prince Constantine managed to “instill” the foundations of Christianity almost a hundred years later.

At the turn of the 10th-11th centuries, Murom was considered a fairly large and economically developed city. He had close trade ties with Kama Bulgaria, the Arab East and Scandinavia. Therefore, regarding religion, the city residents had their own arguments. They did not trade their principles, and they did not betray their natural faith and preserved it as long as they could.

Prince Gleb settled and founded a princely court further up the river. Here he built the first temple in the name of All-Merciful Savior, and then a monastic monastery to enlighten the Murom land with the faith of Christ. Nowadays it is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. After the brutal murder, Prince Gleb was canonized and became the first passion-bearer saint of Rus'.

Later, Saint Basil, Bishop of Murom and Ryazan, the holy saints Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia, and the righteous Savva of Moshok stayed in the monastery at the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. And the Monk Seraphim of Sarov visited the holy elder Anthony Groshovnik in the monastery.

There is another version of the first prince’s stay in Murom. It is known that in 988 Prince Vladimir divided his land between his sons. Murom went to Gleb. When he arrived in the city, he was unlucky. The inhabitants turned out to be malicious pagans. They did not accept the Christian faith and did not let him into the city.

Having a squad, the young prince could force the Murom residents to let him in. But he decided not to enter the city by force. Prince Gleb left Murom and settled 12 versts from it “on the Ishna River” (now Ushna).

According to legend, he strictly carried out the will of his parent, Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir, who “commanded him to build holy churches in Murom.” It is believed that it was Prince Gleb who founded the monastery next to his princely court on the Ushna River, where the village of Borisogleb later grew. The St. Boris and Gleb Monastery successfully existed for over 600 years and was liquidated by decree of Empress Catherine the Great in 1764, like many other monasteries in Russia. Its remains adorn this ancient village to this day.

But in any case, it is Prince Gleb who holds the honor of the first sower of Christianity on the Murom land. It was he who made the first breach in the pagan ignorance and darkness that reigned on our ancient land for a long time.

TRAGEDY ON THE SMYADYNI RIVER

1015 He went down in the history of Ancient Rus' as one of the darkest. It was in this year that a terrible crime occurred in the grand ducal family of Rurikovich. On the way to Kyiv, at the direction of his half-brother Svyatopolk, who was striving for power, the first Murom prince, Gleb, was killed. In The Tale of Bygone Years, Svyatopolk is shown as an example of an exclusively negative prince. There is not a single bright feature in his appearance; all his actions are atrocities.

Having taken the vacant throne after the death of the Grand Duke of Kyiv and the Baptist of Rus' Vladimir, he was afraid of everyone and everything. Svyatopolk felt insecure. And he planned a murder: “I will beat all my brothers, and I will take over the Russian power alone.”

And it happened as follows. In 1015, Prince Gleb of Murom received a message from his older brother Svyatopolk from Kyiv. He wrote that Gleb needed to come to the capital city of Kyiv as soon as possible, because his father was sick and was calling him to say goodbye: “Come on board, your father is calling you, he’s not well.” How loving son, Prince Gleb could not remain indifferent and, taking with him a small squad, set off on the road.

The prince did not immediately leave for Kyiv. He first visited his brother Boris in Rostov the Great, where he reigned. But Gleb did not find his brother at home. He had previously been sent by his father at the head of a large grand ducal squad to fight the Pechenegs. And the Murom prince did not know that his brother had already died at the hands of hired killers.

Then the Murom prince was seen in Veliky Novgorod, where his elder brother Yaroslav reigned. Gleb invited him to go with him and visit his sick father. But Yaroslav refused. Moreover, he tried to dissuade him from the suspicious trip. But the younger brother did not listen.

From the horse, Gleb and his squad moved onto the boat and headed along the Smyadyn River, a tributary of the Dnieper, towards Smolensk. It was here that the envoys of his brother Yaroslav caught up with him, who in the near future would go down in the history of Ancient Rus' under the nickname Wise.

In his message, the elder brother warned: “Don’t go, brother, your father died, and Boris was killed by Svyatopolk.”

Great grief gripped Prince Gleb. Hearing this, he began to cry and pray, and in the meantime the killers sent by Svyatopolk arrived, whom he sent to intercept Gleb on the road. Having quietly crept up to the prince's ship, the killers captured it and disarmed all his servants. This tragedy happened at the confluence of the Smedyn into the Dnieper, five miles from Smolensk.

The body of the Murom prince was thrown onto the shore and left between two birch trees in a simple, roughly put together coffin, like a commoner, while they galloped away. When local residents discovered him several years later, it seemed to them that Gleb had been killed quite recently. He was brought to Vyshgorod and buried in the church of St. Vasily next to his brother Boris, who suffered the same tragedy a month and a half earlier.

Later Grand Duke Yaroslav expelled the traitor-fratricide Svyatopolk from Kyiv. Soon he ordered the relics of Gleb and Boris to be transferred to the capital and buried in the church of St. Basil. After the great fire of this temple, it seemed that the bodies should have been completely burned. But the fire spared them. And on May 2, 1072, the relics were transferred to a newly built temple in the name of Boris and Gleb in the capital city of Kyiv. The last reburial took place under Vladimir Monomakh on May 2, 1115.

Christian feat of the prince

Why did the prince allow himself to be killed? This question worries many generations of researchers of the history of Ancient Rus'. From the heights of our time, it is difficult to understand that Prince Gleb Vladimirovich of Murom behaved humbly as death approached. Moreover, he knew that inevitable death awaited him on the way to Kyiv.

There were other harbingers of tragedy. While moving along the road, a bad omen happened: Gleb’s horse stumbled. The prince injured his leg. There was also a direct warning when he received written news from his elder brother Yaroslav about the death of Grand Duke Vladimir and the murder of Boris at the hands of mercenaries sent by Svyatopolk. But Prince Gleb didn’t even try to defend himself in order to save his life. He prayed: “Woe is me, Lord! It would be better if you died with your brother than live seven times in the world.”

On all icons and in many stories, the Murom prince Gleb is shown as still very young and almost a youth. Although he was appointed to reign in the blessed city of Murom by his father in 988, as reported in the Tale of Bygone Years. The insidious murder occurred in 1015. It turns out that Gleb reigned on Murom land for 27 years! Unfortunately, history does not tell us the age of his actual entry into the reign. Perhaps the governors did this for him. But even if he was proclaimed Prince of Murom in the year of his birth, he was clearly not a youth and could well stand up for himself. Moreover, his squad was nearby.

The author of “The Tale of Bygone Years,” in a departure from the tragic narrative, spoke about “the meeting of siblings in paradise.” They were very happy and rejoice that they will never be separated again. The author concluded the biography of the martyred princes with great praise. He compared their feat with the feat of Christ himself, for Boris and Gleb sacrificed their lives, praying for the happiness of their living compatriots.

The names of the brothers already in ancient times were covered with an aura of holiness. Their death was perceived as a feat of civil and religious asceticism. The brothers' hyper-humility elevated their act to the rank of a religious feat. They were not just killed, but voluntarily accepted death so as not to violate in any way not only family and civil institutions, but also religious ones, not only human, but also divine.

The first Russian saint

Prince Gleb gave his life for the sake of peace between the princes and the tranquility of his homeland. By this he secured eternal life for himself. The exact date of his canonization is controversial. According to A.A. Shakhmatov, it is associated with the transfer of Gleb’s body from the bank of the Smyadyn River to Vyshgorod around 1020 and his burial at the Church of St. Basil. And historian V.P. Vasiliev in his essay “The History of the Canonization of Russian Saints” (1893) also connects the beginning of veneration with the above fact, but expands the time frame of canonization to 1039. But in any case, the Murom prince Gleb, like his half-brother Boris, is the first Russian saint. He is also considered the health educator of the Murom-Ryazan country, where the memory of him from ancient times has been preserved to this day as the first preacher of the Christian faith and patron.

In 1072, an annual festival was established in honor of the holy princes. “As the first Russian saints,” says Professor Golubinsky, “they were recognized as patrons of the Russian land, and for this reason, in the pre-Mongol period, their memory was celebrated very solemnly and was included in the annual holidays of the Russian Church.”

And in the post-Mongol period, their memory enjoyed great honor among us: this is evidenced by the many temples and monasteries in different places dedicated to their name. During the Mongol invasion, Vyshgorod was completely devastated, its churches were looted or destroyed. The relics of Saints Boris and Gleb disappeared to an unknown location. Although attempts to find their traces were made over many centuries, including under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1743, under Alexander I in 1814 and 1816, and in modern times. But all searches remained in vain.

In Murom already in the 12th century there was a church of Saints Boris and Gleb. And there were many of these throughout pre-Mongol Rus'. Images of Gleb and Boris were popular. It is interesting to note that the Muromo-Ryazan diocese in the old days was called Borisoglebskaya in honor of St. Gleb, the sovereign and first enlightener of the Muromo-Ryazan land.

Today, few people know that in 1853, on the site of the death of St. Gleb, the ancient Smyadyn well was superbly equipped. This was done at his own expense by the Murom merchant, city mayor A.V. Ermakov as a sign of special respect for the memory of the guardian and patron of the city of Murom.

Today in Murom there is no church in honor of the patron saint of the city, Prince Gleb. There is no monument to Saint Prince Gleb, although he deserves it like no one else. Such a monument would certainly not only decorate Murom and attract new tourists and believers to the Orthodox Church, but would also play a positive role in educating new generations of townspeople.

The holy noble princes-passion-bearers Boris and Gleb (in Holy Baptism - Roman and David) are the first Russian saints canonized by both the Russian and Constantinople Churches. They were the youngest sons of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir (+ July 15, 1015). The holy brothers, born shortly before the Baptism of Rus', were raised in Christian piety. The eldest of the brothers, Boris, received a good education. He loved to read Holy Bible, the works of the holy fathers and especially the lives of the saints. Under their influence, Saint Boris had an ardent desire to imitate the feat of the saints of God and often prayed that the Lord would honor him with such an honor.

From early childhood, Saint Gleb was brought up with his brother and shared his desire to devote his life exclusively to serving God. Both brothers were distinguished by mercy and kindness of heart, imitating the example of the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, merciful and responsive to the poor, sick, and disadvantaged.

While his father was still alive, Saint Boris received Rostov as an inheritance. While ruling his principality, he showed wisdom and meekness, caring primarily about inculcating the Orthodox faith and establishing a pious way of life among his subjects. The young prince also became famous as a brave and skillful warrior. Shortly before his death, Grand Duke Vladimir called Boris to Kyiv and sent him with an army against the Pechenegs. When the death of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir followed, his eldest son Svyatopolk, who was in Kyiv at that time, declared himself Grand Duke of Kyiv. Saint Boris was returning from a campaign at that time, having never met the Pechenegs, who were probably frightened of him and fled to the steppe. Upon learning of his father's death, he was very upset. The squad persuaded him to go to Kyiv and take the grand-ducal throne, but the holy Prince Boris, not wanting internecine strife, disbanded his army: “I will not raise my hand against my brother, and even against my eldest, whom I should consider as my father!”

However, the insidious and power-hungry Svyatopolk did not believe Boris’s sincerity; In an effort to protect himself from the possible rivalry of his brother, who had the sympathy of the people and troops on his side, he sent assassins to kill him. Saint Boris was informed of such treachery by Svyatopolk, but did not hide and, like the martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity, readily met death. The assassins overtook him while he was praying for Matins on Sunday, July 24, 1015, in his tent on the banks of the Alta River. After the service, they burst into the prince’s tent and pierced him with spears. The beloved servant of Saint Prince Boris, Georgy Ugrin (originally a Hungarian), rushed to the defense of his master and was immediately killed. But Saint Boris was still alive. Coming out of the tent, he began to pray fervently, and then turned to the murderers: “Come, brothers, finish your service, and may there be peace for brother Svyatopolk and you.” Then one of them came up and pierced him with a spear. Svyatopolk's servants took Boris's body to Kyiv; on the way they met two Varangians sent by Svyatopolk to speed up the matter. The Varangians noticed that the prince was still alive, although he was barely breathing. Then one of them pierced his heart with a sword. The body of the holy passion-bearer Prince Boris was secretly brought to Vyshgorod and laid in a church in the name of St. Basil the Great.

After this, Svyatopolk just as treacherously killed the holy Prince Gleb. Having insidiously summoned his brother from his inheritance - Murom, Svyatopolk sent warriors to meet him in order to kill Saint Gleb on the road. Prince Gleb already knew about the death of his father and the villainous murder of Prince Boris. Deeply grieving, he chose death rather than war with his brother. The meeting of Saint Gleb with the murderers took place at the mouth of the Smyadyn River, not far from Smolensk.

What was the feat of the holy noble princes Boris and Gleb? What is the point in dying like this - without resistance at the hands of murderers?

The lives of the holy passion-bearers were sacrificed to the main Christian good deed - love. “Whoever says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother is a liar” (1 John 4:20). The holy brothers did something that was still new and incomprehensible to pagan Rus', accustomed to blood feud - they showed that evil cannot be repaid with evil, even under the threat of death. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). The holy martyrs Boris and Gleb gave their lives for the sake of obedience, on which a person’s spiritual life and, in general, all life in society is based. “You see, brethren,” notes the Monk Nestor the Chronicler, “how high is obedience to an elder brother? If they had resisted, they would hardly have received such a gift from God. There are many young princes today who do not obey their elders and are killed for resisting them. But they are not likened to the grace that these saints were awarded.”

The noble passion-bearing princes did not want to raise their hands against their brother, but the Lord Himself took revenge on the power-hungry tyrant: “Vengeance is mine, and I will repay it” (Rom. 12:19).

In 1019, Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev, also one of the sons of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, gathered an army and defeated Svyatopolk’s squad. By God's providence, the decisive battle took place on a field near the Alta River, where Saint Boris was killed. Svyatopolk, called the Accursed by the Russian people, fled to Poland and, like the first fratricide Cain, did not find peace and refuge anywhere. Chroniclers testify that even his grave emanated a stench.

“From that time,” the chronicler writes, “sedition in Rus' died down.” The blood shed by the holy brothers to prevent internecine strife was that blessed seed that strengthened the unity of Rus'. The noble passion-bearing princes are not only glorified by God for the gift of healing, but they are special patrons and defenders of the Russian land. There are many known cases of their appearance in difficult times for our Fatherland, for example, to Saint Alexander Nevsky on the eve Battle on the Ice(1242), to Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy on the day of the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). The veneration of Saints Boris and Gleb began very early, shortly after their death. The service to the saints was compiled by Metropolitan John I of Kyiv (1008-1035).

The Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise took care to find the remains of Saint Gleb, which had been unburied for 4 years, and buried them in Vyshgorod, in the church in the name of Saint Basil the Great, next to the relics of Saint Prince Boris. After some time, this temple burned down, but the relics remained unharmed, and many miracles were performed from them. One Varangian stood irreverently on the grave of the holy brothers, and a suddenly emanating flame scorched his feet. From the relics of the holy princes, a lame youth, the son of a resident of Vyshgorod, received healing: Saints Boris and Gleb appeared to the youth in a dream and made the sign of a cross on his sore leg. The boy woke up from sleep and stood up completely healthy. The blessed prince Yaroslav the Wise built a stone five-domed church on this site, which was consecrated on July 24, 1026 by Metropolitan John of Kyiv with a cathedral of clergy. Many churches and monasteries throughout Rus' were dedicated to the holy princes Boris and Gleb; frescoes and icons of the holy passion-bearing brothers are also known in numerous churches of the Russian Church.

AND The lives of the first Russian saints, the passion-bearing princes Boris and Gleb, are especially loved by our people. Many generations of our ancestors were raised on them. Reading the touching story about the young princes who wished to share the suffering of Christ and voluntarily accepted death at the hands of murderers, the Russian people learned to accept the will of God, whatever it may be, and cultivated in their hearts the seeds of humility and obedience.

However, the historical outline of the events of that time is also interesting, which makes it possible to imagine the situation in which the characters were formed that gave us this great example. We offer our readers an article by the historian D.V. Donskoy, who studies the period of Ancient Rus' and compiled the “Dictionary of Russian Rurik Princes”.

The holy princes of Ancient Rus', primarily the princes from the Rurik family, constitute a special, very numerous rank of saints of the Russian Church. Until the end of the 15th century, more than a hundred princes and princesses were canonized for general or local veneration. These are princes equal to the apostles, monks, passion-bearers and princes, glorified by their public service. The passion-bearing princes Boris and Gleb were not the first saints of the Russian land, but they are the first saints canonized by the Russian Church. The main sources of information about their life and veneration are preserved in Russian chronicles, hagiographic works and various liturgical monuments.

Let's turn to historical realities. The beginning of the first decade of the 11th century, the reign of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir Svyatoslavich, the Baptist of Rus', is coming to an end. He steers with a firm hand the political ship of the Russian state, which occupies important place in the system of interstate relations of that time. The chronicler emphasizes the friendly nature of relations between Rus' and its western neighbors: “with Boleslav Lyadsky and with Stefan Ougrsky and with Andrichom Cheshsky.” However, the Grand Duke is concerned about his internal family affairs.

At the end of his life, seventy-year-old Vladimir Svyatoslavich had eleven relatives and one adopted son from different wives; The prince had fourteen daughters. The two eldest sons - Svyatopolk (adopted; † 1019) and Yaroslav († 1054), having matured, try to pursue their own policies. This greatly worries the Grand Duke, who, despite his father’s feelings, deals harshly and even cruelly with troublemakers.

Murderers at the tent of Prince Boris
(up); murder of Prince Boris
and Georgiy Ugrin (below).
Miniature from Silvestrovsky
collection 2nd half of the 14th century

The first, Svyatopolk, on suspicion of conspiracy and an attempt on the power of his father, was imprisoned with his wife (daughter of the Polish prince Boleslav I the Brave from the Piast dynasty) and her confessor, Bishop of Kołobrzeg Reinburn. The second, Yaroslav, who reigned in Veliky Novgorod from 1010 after the death of his elder brother Vysheslav, in 1014 refused to transfer the usual tribute of two thousand hryvnia to Kyiv. The Grand Duke perceives this as open rebellion and announces his intention to go to war against his son. In turn, Yaroslav, “fearing his father,” brings Varangian squads from overseas.

The confrontation between sons and father ended with his death, which followed on July 15, 1015 at the princely residence in the village of Berestovo near Kiev. The body of the Grand Duke, wrapped in a carpet and, in accordance with custom, placed on a sleigh, according to the chronicles, is transported to Kyiv. Here the Grand Duke is buried in the stone Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God(Tithing), to which he gave generously throughout his life. According to the testimony of the German chronicler, Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg, the marble sarcophagus of the Grand Duke stood “in plain sight in the middle of the temple.”

After the death of his father, Prince Svyatopolk, as the eldest in the family, is released from prison and takes the Kiev table, contrary to the plans of his stepfather, who intended Boris, one of his younger sons, to be his heir. Svyatopolk, by distributing generous gifts, tries to win over the residents of Kyiv to his side, and then he begins a bloody struggle against his half-brothers, the Vladimirovichs.

Now let's turn to the brothers Boris and Gleb. The following is known about them. Boris (baptized Roman) Vladimirovich is the ninth son of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir Svyatoslavich and a certain princess, “Bulgarian”. According to the Tver collection, compiled in 1534, he and his brother Gleb were the sons of another wife of Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich - Anna, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Roman II (from the Macedonian dynasty; † 963). According to non-chronicle data, their mother's name was Milolika.

Boris's date and place of birth are unknown; he was baptized in honor of the Venerable Roman the Sweet Singer. As a child, Boris was very friendly with his younger brother Gleb (baptized David, in honor of the prophet David). The date and place of birth of Gleb are also unknown.

Boris, taught to read and write, reads the lives of the saints, praying to God to “walk in their footsteps.” The brothers love to give alms, following the example of their father, whose love of poverty is repeatedly reported in the chronicle. Boris also shows this same mercy and meekness when reigning in his volost, where Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich sends him, already married (“for the sake of the Tsar’s law and obedience for the sake of his father”).

First, the prince was planted by his father in Vladimir-Volynsky (on the right bank of the Luga, the right tributary of the Western Bug), where Boris lives after his marriage. Then, according to non-chronicle data, he owns Murom (on the left bank of the Oka), but is located in Kyiv. And finally, from 1010, the Grand Duke transferred his son to reign in Rostov (on the northwestern shore of Lake Nero). Gleb has reigned in Murom since that time.

In the spring of 1015, Boris is in Kyiv near his dying father, because “we love our father more than anyone else.” The Grand Duke sends him at the head of an army of eight thousand to repel the attack of the Pechenegs. Historical sources they preserved a portrait of Prince Boris, a real warrior, who “had a tall, handsome body, a great face with round shoulders, a good man in the loins, a cheerful face, a small beard and a mustache, still young.”

Having not met any enemies, Boris turns back and at a distance of one day's journey to Kyiv, on the Alta River (the right tributary of Trubezh, near the city of Pereyaslavl-Russky), having set up a camp, he learns from the messenger about the death of his father. He is seized by a premonition that his elder brother Svyatopolk, who by right of eldest sat on the Kiev table, is seeking to destroy him. But in the name of brotherly love, fulfilling the commandments of Christ, Boris decides to submit to his brother and accept the crown of martyrdom, for power and wealth are transitory. The governors from his entourage, on the contrary, advise him to go to Kyiv, start a fight with his older brother for the Kiev table and become a Grand Duke. But Boris refuses, not wanting to “lay hands on his elder brother.” The squad leaves him and probably goes over to Svyatopolk’s side, and Boris is left alone, only with his people: “and then it was the Sabbath day.”

Varangians pierce the heart with a sword
Prince Boris (above); prince's coffin
Boris is carried to burial (below)

In his tent on the river bank, the prince spends the night in prayer on the eve of his death, then prays for Matins. On Sunday, July 24, he is overtaken by assassins, Vyshgorod “Bolyarets” led by a certain Putsha, sent by Svyatopolk. The killers burst into the tent and pierce Boris with spears. His faithful servant, Georgy, “was born Ugrin (Hungarian - Note auto)”, who tried to cover the prince with himself, was killed on his chest. Having wrapped Boris's body in a tent, the villains put him on a cart and take him to Kyiv. On the way, it turns out that Boris is still breathing, and two Varangians, Eymund and Ragnar, finish him off with swords. Prince Putsch's hat and the other murderers present Svyatopolk as proof of the crime.

Prince Boris is buried in Vyshgorod, 15 versts north of Kyiv, near the wooden church of St. Basil the Great, since the people of Kiev, for obvious reasons, fearing his half-brother Svyatopolk, “did not receive him.”

Having dealt with Boris, Svyatopolk, whose depth of fall knows no limits, decides to commit a second murder - his brother Gleb. Fear of revenge on the part of the surviving brothers, primarily Yaroslav, fear for their throne and not last resort the audacity of despair pushes him to this new crime.

Svyatopolk sends a messenger to Gleb to deceive him into Kyiv: “Go ahead and call your father, you won’t fight him.”

According to the chronicle and the anonymous “Tale of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb,” the prince travels by water, along the Volga and Dnieper, from his volost, from Murom to Kyiv. Having reached Smolensk “in a boat” and sailed about three miles downstream, Gleb moored to the left bank of the Smyadyn River (now dried up) at its confluence with the Dnieper. Unexpectedly, he receives news from Veliky Novgorod, from his brother Yaroslav, with a warning about an assassination attempt on him. This news does not stop him - he does not want to believe in the villainy of his brother Svyatopolk.

According to another version of events, according to the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, the author of “Reading on the Life and Destruction of... Boris and Gleb,” at the time of his father’s death, Gleb is in Kiev and flees to the north (“the holy gate that exists elsewhere”), fleeing from Svyatopolk . He sets sail on a ship, sails to Smolensk (but only from the south) and also stops at Smyadyn.

On Monday, September 5, the killers sent from Svyatopolk arrive. They capture the ship of Prince Gleb, and the warrior Goryaser, the messenger of the fratricide Svyatopolk, orders one of Gleb’s people, a traitor cook with the characteristic name Torchin (that is, from the Torks, Turkic nomadic tribe. - Note auto) to kill his prince. The prince's body is buried on the shore "between the two decks", that is, according to a simple peasant custom - in hollowed out logs, and not according to a prince - in a stone sarcophagus.

The killers are waiting for Prince Gleb
(up); murder of Prince Gleb (below)

At the end of the same year or the beginning of the next year, 1016, the noble prince Yaroslav the Wise, having gathered a large army of a thousand Varangians and three thousand Novgorodians, goes against Svyatopolk, burning with the desire to avenge his innocent brothers. The mayor Konstantin Dobrynich (died after 1034) remains in Veliky Novgorod.

Svyatopolk, having learned about the approach of Yaroslav, in turn, attracts the Pechenegs to his side. The troops meet near the city of Lyubech (on the left bank of the Dnieper) and, separated by the river, wait for three months, not daring to start a battle. On the eve of the battle, Yaroslav receives news from his informant that Svyatopolk is carousing with his squad. He crosses the river to the right bank and unexpectedly attacks the enemy. Due to the fact that the lakes covering Svyatopolk's position are covered thin ice, the Pechenegs cannot help him. Svyatopolk suffers a crushing defeat and flees to Poland to his father-in-law, Prince Boleslav I, and his wife is captured by Yaroslav. And then Yaroslav was 28 years old, the chronicler notes.

In the spring of 1016, Yaroslav entered Kyiv and took his father's throne. In 1017, he entered into an alliance with the German Emperor Henry II against Svyatopolk and Boleslav the Brave. In the same year he goes to the city of Berestye (on the right bank of the Bug), where, according to some sources, Svyatopolk established himself. Then he defeats the Pechenegs who approached Kyiv.

In the summer of 1018, the army of the Polish prince Boleslav, joined by Svyatopolk, invaded Rus' and on July 22 defeated Yaroslav on the Bug River. Yaroslav, with only four men, flees to Veliky Novgorod, intending to further “flee overseas”, but the Novgorod mayor Konstantin Dobrynich prevents him, and the Novgorodians “cut open” his boats.

Wanting to continue the war with Boleslav and Svyatopolk, the Novgorodians collect money and hire a large army. Meanwhile, on August 14, Yaroslav’s opponents entered Kyiv. Boleslav the Brave sends Metropolitan John I of Kyiv († around 1038) to Veliky Novgorod with a proposal to exchange his daughter, who is in captivity, for Yaroslav’s relatives captured during hostilities. The story of Merseburg Bishop Thietmar clarifies their composition: “There was the stepmother of the mentioned king (the widow of Yaroslav’s father, her exact origin is unknown. - Note auto), his wife (her name Anna is known from later sources of the 16th century. - Note auto) and nine sisters; one of them, Predslava, whom he had lawlessly sought before, forgetting about his wife, was married by the old libertine Boleslav.” Yaroslav refuses this proposal and at the same time sends an embassy to Sweden to the Swedish king Olav Shotkonung († 1022) with a proposal to create an anti-Polish military alliance.

Construction of a five-domed church
(up); transfer of holy relics
to the newly built church (below)

Meanwhile, in the autumn of the same year, a quarrel occurs between Boleslav and Svyatopolk. Boleslav leaves Kyiv, taking with him the stolen goods, as well as the boyars Yaroslav and his sisters. At the beginning of 1019, Yaroslav sets out from Veliky Novgorod. Having learned of his approach, Svyatopolk flees from Kyiv to the Pechenegs, and Yaroslav again occupies the Kiev table.

In the same year, Svyatopolk, together with a large Pecheneg army, goes to Rus'. In the decisive battle on the Alta River, the site of the death of brother Boris, Yaroslav wins complete victory. His opponent runs to Berest and soon dies a terrible death, which he deserves according to all laws of God and man. Yaroslav, according to the chronicler, “to Kiev wiped off the sweat with his retinue, showing victory and great labor.”

Presumably in the summer of 1019, the Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav begins to collect information about the place of death of his brother Gleb. “In one summer (in 1020 - Note auto)" various witnesses report light and radiance at the murder scene on the Smyadyn River. Then Yaroslav sends priests to Smolensk with instructions to find Gleb’s body; Upon discovery, Gleb’s body is transported to Vyshgorod and buried next to the grave of brother Boris at the Church of St. Basil, built by the father of the passion-bearers.

One day, at the burial site of the brothers, parishioners see a “pillar of fire” over the grave of the saints and hear “singing angels,” and then two incidents occur that became the beginning of the people’s veneration of the passion-bearing princes. One of the Varangians “entered” out of ignorance Holy place, where the princes were buried, then fire burst out of the grave and scorched the feet of the one who unintentionally desecrated the holy place. Then the second sign occurs: the Church of St. Basil, next to which the graves were located, burns down, but the icons and all church utensils are saved. This is perceived as a sign of the intercession of the passion-bearers.

The incident is reported to Yaroslav, who informs Metropolitan John I about it. The Bishop remains “in disbelief,” wondering whether this revelation can be trusted. And finally, the metropolitan comes in “dream and joy,” having believed in a miracle. Yaroslav and the Metropolitan decide to open the princely tombs.

In Vyshgorod, where the burnt church stood, a small wooden chapel (“cage”) is being built, the crayfish is solemnly opened, the recovered relics, which remain incorrupt, exude a fragrance. The coffins are brought “into that temple... and I placed them above the ground on the right side of the country.”

Soon two new miracles occur: the lame youth of the city manager named Mironeg is healed after calling upon the saints, and then the same thing happens to a certain blind man. Mironeg himself reports these miracles to the Grand Duke, who reports them to the Metropolitan. The Metropolitan gives the prince the “good thing to please God”: to build a church in the name of the saints (“reward the church’s name with it”), which is what is being done. Then the relics from the “cage”, where they still rested, are transferred to the newly built five-roofed church and installed there. The day of their transfer, July 24, which coincides with the anniversary of the death of Boris, is declared a day of general memory of the princes and is included in church calendar. On the occasion of the holiday, the Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav throws a feast.

Before us detailed story about the canonization of saints in all its stages, which is rare in Byzantine and Old Russian literature. After the first miraculous signs (fire from the grave, the fire of the church, in which its decoration and utensils were not damaged), which, due to their ambiguous nature, could not immediately be unconditionally attributed to genuine miracles, the assumption arises whether Boris and Gleb are saints. On this basis, the relics are raised and exhibited for local veneration, permitted by the Church, but not yet officially established.

After some time and two subsequent healing miracles, documented in detail and earning the trust of the Metropolitan, the latter, together with the Grand Duke, decides on canonization. In pursuance of this decision, a church was built in the name of the saints, an annual holiday was established and a service to the passion-bearers was compiled, which was either the personal work of Metropolitan John I, or the work of an unknown author who worked on the orders of the Bishop.

It remains to clarify the chronological detail - the year of canonization of the holy princes Boris and Gleb. According to the testimony of St. Nestor the Chronicler, the healing of the lame man takes place in the presence of Metropolitan John I and Grand Duke Yaroslav. Therefore, the miracle should be dated at the latest to 1039< . Поскольку акт перенесения мощей был совмещен с актом канонизации и приходился на праздничный день, на воскресенье, следует выяснить, на какие годы падает соотношение «24 июля - воскресенье» в период от середины 20-х до конца 30-х годов XI века. Юлианский календарь сообщает нам, что такими годами были 1026-й и 1037 годы.

The choice in favor of the last date is obvious. Firstly, the year 1026 is too close to the events associated with the discovery of the remains and the beginning of the veneration of the holy princes Boris and Gleb. Secondly, it should be borne in mind that only after 1036, when with death younger brother Mstislav (ruler of the eastern Dnieper region and the Left Bank) and the imprisonment of another younger brother, the Pskov prince Sudislav, Yaroslav became the “autocrat” of the entire Russian land (excluding the Principality of Polotsk). At the same time, the establishment in Kyiv of a special metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (“metropolis of the statute”), the opening of which was achieved by the Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise. The canonization of the holy passion-bearing princes was supposed to strengthen the independent position of the Russian Church.

So, we can definitely conclude that the holy princes Boris and Gleb were canonized under the Grand Duke of Kiev Yaroslav the Wise and Metropolitan of Kiev John I, on Sunday, July 24, 1037 in the Kiev diocese (first stage).

The subsequent fate of the brothers' holy relics is also of considerable interest: they were transferred twice more, both times on Sunday and in May.

After the death of the Grand Duke of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise, veneration of the holy passion-bearers grew. Their new reburial occurs in 1072, when their nephews, princes Izyaslav (at that time Grand Duke of Kiev; † 1079), Svyatoslav († 1076) and Vsevolod († 1093) Yaroslavich, as well as Russian hierarchs led by Metropolitan George († after 1073) on Sunday, May 20, the remains of the holy brothers are transferred to the new one-domed church. This church was built at the expense of the Grand Duke on the site of the former five-domed one, which was already dilapidated.

Transfer of the relics of Prince Boris
(up); transfer of relics
Prince Gleb (below)

The princes carry Boris’s wooden coffin on their shoulders, and then in the church they transfer the relics into a stone sarcophagus. Then a stone sarcophagus with the relics of Gleb is brought on a sleigh. At the opening of the tombs of the holy princes, the Metropolitan blesses the three brother princes with the hand of Saint Gleb. Then it is done Divine Liturgy, after which a feast is held.

From that time on, the process of all-Russian glorification of the holy passion-bearers Boris and Gleb began (the second stage of canonization).

It should be noted that when Boris’s coffin was first opened and the church was filled with the fragrance of the relics (an important fact during the canonization that had already taken place), Metropolitan George, being “not firm in his faith,” fell on his face and began to pray and ask for forgiveness: “ Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned in disbelief towards your saints.”

It should be clarified here that the Greek Metropolitan’s doubts were quite natural. Boris and Gleb are precisely passion-bearers, participants in the passion of Christ, and not martyrs for the faith (the canonization of the princes required additional approval from Constantinople).

The princes fell victims of a political crime, died in princely strife, like many before and after them. At the same time, the third brother, Svyatoslav, fell at the hands of Svyatopolk in the fall of the same year, about whose canonization there was no talk. However, the motives of the holy brothers were completely different, unprecedented in Rus': they sought to act according to the word of Christ, to preserve peace by their death.

Let us also note that almost all the saints of the Greek calendar are among the martyrs for the faith, venerables (ascetic ascetics) and saints (bishops). Laymen in the rank of “righteous” are extremely rare. We must remember this in order to understand the exceptional nature of the canonization of princes killed in civil strife, and, moreover, the first canonization in the new Church, which until quite recently cared for the pagan people.

At the end of the 11th century, the spread of veneration of the holy princes Boris and Gleb became so widespread that “the grace from God in this country of Russia to sling and heal every passion and illness” prompted the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatoslav Yaroslavich to begin building a stone church “80 cubits” high. Construction was completed shortly before the death of the next Grand Duke, Vsevolod, but after the sudden collapse of the church dome, “there was oblivion about this church” for some time.

Heavenly intercession of the saints
princes Boris and Gleb in battle
Russian troops with the Pechenegs

In 1102, attention to the shrine was attracted by a new generation of princes: the great-nephew of the holy passion-bearers, Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov († 1115), took upon himself the work of erecting a new stone church in Vyshgorod, while another great-nephew, Pereyaslavsky (at that time time) Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh († 1125), ordered the forging of silver boards with images of saints, built a fence of silver and gold for their relics, decorating it with crystal pendants, and installed gilded lamps. The tomb was so skillfully decorated that later pilgrims from Greece, who repeatedly visited the shrine, said: “Nowhere is there such beauty, although we have seen the shrines of saints in many countries.”

Finally, in 1113, the church in Vyshgorod was completed, but the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich († 1114), who ruled at that time, was jealous Prince of Chernigov Oleg, that it was not he who erected the temple for the saints, did not give consent to the transfer of the relics. And only after his death, when the Kiev throne was occupied by Vladimir Monomakh, on Saturday May 1, 1115 (in the year of the centenary of the death of the brothers) the newly built stone church was consecrated.

Boris and Gleb Church was one of the largest in pre-Mongol Rus'; it can be compared, for example, with the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov. The new cross-domed building, with a tower for climbing to the choir in the north-west corner, had a length along the west-east axis of 42 meters, with a small width of 24 meters.

The walls were made of brick using the “hidden row” masonry technique, the facades were decorated with arched niches with ledges, and the roof was covered with lead. The inside of the temple was painted with frescoes and paved with glazed tiles. Prince Vladimir Monomakh decorated (“forged with silver and gold”) niches. The temple stood until the end of 1240, when the army of Batu Khan ravaged Kyiv and neighboring cities. Mentions of him in chronicles after Tatar-Mongol invasion disappear. The relics of the holy passion-bearers were lost during those events.

On the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, May 2, 1115, in the presence of Metropolitan Nikephoros I of Kyiv and All Rus' († 1121), a council of bishops, abbots, princes and boyars, a solemn transfer of the relics took place to the new stone cathedral. The procession took place in front of a huge crowd of people, so that the shrines with relics moved forward with great difficulty. The ropes (“snakes”) on which the sleigh with crayfish were pulled could not stand it and were continuously torn, so that their transportation took place from Matins to the Liturgy. The brought crayfish were left at the entrance to the church and remained there until May 4, so that during these two days people could venerate the relics of the holy passion-bearers.

After the shrines were brought into the temple, no place was chosen for them, as a dispute arose between the princes. Vladimir Monomakh wanted to place the remains in the middle of the temple “and place a tower of silver over it,” while Oleg and his brother David († 1123) wanted to place them “in a mosquito (an arched crypt for burial. - Note auto), where my father... designated (Grand Duke Svyatoslav Yaroslavich 40 years ago. - Note auto)". The dispute between the princes was decided by the lot cast on the throne in favor of the Svyatoslavichs.

Over the following centuries, the veneration of the holy princes Boris and Gleb as assistants to the Russian princes and defenders of the Russian Land constantly increased. Their miraculous help and intercession was manifested in the fight against the Polovtsians and Pechenegs (11th century), then before the Battle of the Neva (1240), when Saints Boris and Gleb appeared in a boat, among the rowers, “clothed with darkness,” placing their hands on each other’s shoulders. “Brother Gleb,” Boris said then, “let us row, so we can help our relative Oleksandr” (Grand Duke Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky; † 1263). Victory on Lake Peipsi(1242) was also won by “the holy martyr Boris and Gleb... with great prayers,” their prayerful help appeared during the capture by the Novgorod army of the Swedish fortress of Landskrona at the mouth of the Neva (1301), during the uprising in Tver (1327) under Prince Alexander Mikhailovich ( † 1339), who raised the holy Russian kings Boris and Gleb against the Tatars “with the newly revealed prayer”