Ceremony of examination of the relics of Theodosius of Totem. Venerable Theodosius of Totem prayer

One of the ancient Totem legends tells about a city resident named Joseph and his wife Anna, who for a long time could not have children and for many years fervently prayed to God to grant them the fruit of childbearing. Finally, the Lord, “instilling barrenness in the house,” heeded their prayers and gave the couple a child “of the male sex.” The baby was named Vasily and baptized “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

However, the irreparable soon became clear: the child was seriously, terminally ill. The “shaking” that gripped the baby’s tiny limbs did not subside, despite all the efforts of the doctors to alleviate his suffering. The baby feverishly kicked his legs, unable to find relief for his torment. Day after day, the child, in an exhausting struggle with fever, lost strength and seemed to be approaching an untimely death with each passing hour. After difficult months a mother, distraught with grief, struggling with symptoms terrible disease a short-term remission occurred, but it was interrupted after a week or two by new, even more violent attacks of the painful illness. The fight against fever lasted two years.

The child was given communion and unction, wrapped in leaves medicinal shrubs, sprinkled with pollen from forest inflorescences, gave her water with infusions of healthy herbs, but all efforts were in vain, moreover, the disease obviously progressed. The parish priest, who administered unction to little Vasya a week before the onset of the crisis, directly told his parents that the demon of fever, which had taken possession of the baby, refused to leave the fragile vessel of his corruptible body. The last attack of the disease was especially terrible, accompanied terrible colic, hoarse, senile sighs and endless crying. “No,” flashed through the mind of the tired mother, “this torment cannot last forever, someday the end will come.” And this end now, after months of fruitless struggle, no longer seemed as terrible to her as it had been at the beginning.

Joseph himself could not listen to the sounds of his only son's crying for a long time; he retired to the backyard, and the mash helped the unfortunate man forget about the pain that had sucked away his heart for many months.

The baby's crying, which accompanied the last of the attacks, at some point began to subside, as if this sound, tearing apart the walls of the log hut from the inside, broke through the trunks of the log house and drowned in the muddy waves of Dog Money. A minute later, the child fell silent, his breathing could not be heard, and everyone present decided that Vasily had died. Anna walked up to the cradle and, with sad but courageous determination, pulled the patterned curtain aside. A living boy with a childish gaze, filled with quiet suffering, looked at her, again filling his mother’s heart aching pain. Vasya sighed several times and again began to cry in agony. Not fully realizing what she was doing, Anna quickly bent down to the baby, pressed him to her chest, rushed outside, threw on a warm coat in the hallway and ran headlong out of the hut.

“She’s beside herself with grief,” the pale mother-in-law decided. - She will kill her son, saving him from unnecessary suffering... Osip, run, stop her.

But when Joseph ran out after his wife, her trail disappeared, and the clouds that obscured the moonlight prevented him from continuing the pursuit.

She knew: she had to cry out her maternal grief in a heartfelt petition at the grave of St. Theodosius

The woman, however, knew where she was running, and in the impenetrable darkness she unerringly chose the right path. The country road, covered with yesterday's snow, twice gave a small detour, but Anna clearly remembered that she had to go all the time to the west, only to the west. Half an hour later, she fell exhausted to the side of the road, choking on dry sobs, and wiped her back side palms, sweat appeared on the face. The unfortunate woman gave free rein to tears, which rolled down her feverishly flushed cheeks like large, shiny pearls; she had not cried for many days in a row, because tears could not bring relief to her baby, which means that intoxication with them was cruel and unfair to him. However, now she sobbed with unprecedented bitterness: everything childish, innocent, defenseless, angelically tender and so painfully suffered in her son appeared in her mind's eye. Opening the collar of her zipun, the woman looked at the child: the boy was breathing heavily, clinging tightly to her chest. She understood: everything that she was now experiencing in her soul had to be carefully conveyed to Theodosius in her heartfelt petition. She carefully got up and walked further, somewhat more slowly, as if afraid to spill the feeling of reverent hope that gripped her.

Dawn greeted the traveler at the holy gates of the Transfiguration Monastery; Having struck the wooden cage twice with the iron ring, Anna crossed the threshold. With some timidity, she walked deeper into the monastery courtyard, justifying her insolence by the suffering that had brought her here. On the porch of the Resurrection Cathedral, an old man bent over the years called out to her. After a short hesitation, Anna approached him and, now flaring up, now fading, began to tell something, until finally she showed the monk her son hidden under her clothes. The elder listened to the stranger in silence, bowing his head and lowering his eyes, but when she fell silent, he made a sign to follow him. A minute later they approached a stone tombstone, the slabs of which laid to rest the venerable founder of the monastery, Theodosius of Totemsky.

The monk left the woman alone, and Anna, releasing the baby from her bosom, knelt in front of the tomb of the monk and carefully laid her dozing son next to her. The mother’s heart sank painfully once again: the child’s face was a sickly gray color. When two years ago the first fervent prayers remained unheard, Anna’s faith was somewhat shaken and she could no longer see in prayer an omnipotent remedy capable of dispelling her grief, but now too much had boiled in her heart that had to be revealed to Theodosius, the warm representative of the inhabitants of Totma, yes and the entire Vologda region...

Anna began to whisper the words of her prayer:

See, elder Theodosius, that this happened to my son...

She cast a sidelong glance, first towards the tomb, and then at the baby, as if calling on the monk to see with his own eyes the truth of her words.

For two years now, Vasily has suffered more than he could endure. And I no longer have the will to witness his torment, behold, like a mother, a child-loving creature... - Anna choked on a sob.

She began to speak louder, with force, distinctly and even into a chant, pronouncing each word:

If you have the power to eat, father, pray to Christ God that I may accept torment for my son. Alas for me, my dear child Vasily! Light to my eyes! Where did this evil infirmity come from, and when I see you, you are sick in this infirmity?

The sobs grew like a snowball...

For our many sins, this punishment and infirmity is brought upon us by Christ God. If you don’t help us, holy servant of Christ, Reverend Theodosius, what will I do? How can the imam get away from you?

The mother was still frantically whispering the words of prayer, and Vasily was already smiling - more and more, more and more joyfully

Exhausted from tears, Anna mournfully fell to the stone floor of the tomb, but for a long time, loudly sobbing, she repeated the words of the prayer. A minute later, the wind rushed into the cage, threw up a frosty blanket of snowflakes under the lintel, quietly sang some kind of November song, and the pale blanket fell with a quiet rustle on the woman and her son. The snow star that fell on the baby's cheek slowly melted, and the boy smiled for the first time in many months. The mother was still frantically whispering the words of prayer, crouching to the floor, and Vasily was already smiling - more and more widely, more and more joyfully, until he finally laughed, loudly, cheerfully, as perhaps he laughed for the first time in his life. Anna silently and reverently bowed...

Rumor has preserved another legend - about a girl named Justina. This girl was born not far from Totma, in the Fetinskaya village. She was born sighted, alive and cheerful, and even five long dark years of blindness could not erase from her memory neither the bright, bottomless blue of the sky on the day of the July haymaking, nor the smallest bends of the horizon line when, hiding from the pouring rain under a lonely oak tree, she slowly traced with a curious glance at the distant border of the blue forest, the eastern slope, the ravine with a dried-up stream and the vague outlines of his native village.

All the beauty of the universe faded for Justina in one day, without warning, without dangerous bells foreshadowing the proximity of impending danger. One day, seeing a fluffy squirrel tail on the trunk of a tall linden tree, Justina decided to climb the tree to get to know the forest animal better. A moment later she had already climbed onto the lower branch, then higher, even higher. However, at that moment, when the curious one was already stretching out her hand to the shaggy squirrel’s back, the branch on which she was sitting broke off and the girl fell down. The blow was so strong that Justina lost consciousness, broke several ribs, but most importantly, lost her sight. She was found a few hours later and taken home by the hand to her mother.

Justina’s father had died several years earlier, and her mother, who had since been forced to work for other people’s families in order to feed herself and her daughter, did not have the opportunity to lead the girl by the hand, introducing her to the beautiful, unknown world, and therefore the impenetrable darkness that surrounded Justina , had a terrifying character, inspiring a feeling of complete helplessness.

Five years passed when one day Justina’s mother, having heard from her fellow villagers about the miracles that Theodosius of Totemsky was performing with his prayer, ordered her daughter to pray to the monk and she herself began to prepare for the journey - to the monastery of the Holy Transfiguration.

In the monastery, the woman begged the abbot to allow her to stay overnight at the tomb of Theodosius with her daughter, and at night the pious widow began to pray intensely, reading psalms and singing songs of praise. The sounds of her mother's voice quickly lulled Justina to sleep, and she fell asleep in a sweet, golden sleep.

Justina saw how the elder hurried to help the one who was more exhausted than others in obedience.

In a dream, Justina saw (this was the extraordinary charm of the dream for the last five years, which equated her with the sighted) a holy old man who walked around the monastery courtyard, visiting various services: he ground bread with flour millers, carried water with water carriers, dug up beds with farmers and each time hurried to help one of the brothers who, more than the others, was exhausted in obedience. Justina did not dare to call out to the elder and ask him for healing, but she watched his every move with hidden joy and admiration.

When the sun disappeared behind the plowshares of the Church of the Transfiguration, the elder, as if wishing to rest from the day’s labors, headed towards the tomb, where Justina was waiting for him. It seemed that only now Theodosius saw the young woman leaning against the wall of the tomb and silently catching his every gesture. At that moment, he threw back the wide sleeve of his robe, and Justina saw that he was holding an expensive luminous vessel in his hand. She herself approached the elder, and he sprinkled her eyes with holy water. Nothing changed in the dream, only the old man blessed her and disappeared behind the marble slabs of the tombstone. And the girl still sat, leaning against the wall, with wide open eyes, absorbing the soft velvet of the monastery night.

Then it began to get light, and she kept imagining that she was dreaming. Then her mother woke up and rubbed her tired eyes. The hardworking woman rose up, leaning on her elbow, and looked into her daughter’s face with a curious, still sleepy gaze. “What a long, what an amazing dream!” - Justina introduced herself this time too. For a long time she refused to believe that everything she was seeing was not a dream, not a mirage, and not a cloud, and therefore she was afraid to rejoice and was in no hurry to hug her mother, who silently crossed herself and her healed daughter with wide waves of her hand. However, this time it was not a dream, not an illusion or a figment of the imagination. This was an ordinary miracle, which Theodosius of Totemsky performed in abundance.

Indeed, at the tomb of the monk, the eyes of the blind were cleared, the hearing of the deaf was opened, the spirits of malice left the possessed with inhuman cries, and the ailments that only yesterday threatened them with inevitable death departed from the sufferers. All this was a gift from God to ancient Totma, to the region of which Theodosius, one of the faithful disciples of the Monk Demetrius of Prilutsky, the Vologda miracle worker, once came.

Theodosius was born in Vologda, into the family of pious Christians Julian and Evdokia and, still “young in body, the old man surpassed many years in mind.” Adolescent games and cheerful gatherings of peers inspired the young man with bewildered sadness; Once or twice, having by chance found himself at a friendly feast, Theodosius felt like a stranger among his own. However, it would be a mistake to consider him lonely: “theirs” were waiting for him every evening and every morning within the walls of the Vologda shrines and with a quiet gaze they looked into the innermost corners of his young soul, calling him to follow them along the path of Christian perfection. At the same time, the young man was raised in good obedience to the will of his parents, who insisted on his marriage.

However, marriage changed little for Theodosius; as before, his heart remained close to the church altars, and his soul listened more to church praises than to the vain rumors of the world. The imminent death of his parents and young wife freed the hands of the righteous man - the Spaso-Dimitriev Prilutsk monastery opened its gates to the young widower. The abbot, having seen in Feodosia the chosen vessel of Divine grace, accepted him into the monastery, giving him obedience to one of the experienced elders. The ascetic life of the monk within the walls of the tonsured monastery amazed many of the inhabitants: Theodosius’s strict fast was combined with selfless labor in the most difficult obediences, but even after exhausting daily labors, the monk reverently ran to the tomb of the Monk Demetrius, “praying with tears, imitating his traveling footsteps.”

And when they lit a fire to boil the salt, Theodosius, standing nearby, remembered the fire of Gehenna

As the years passed, Theodosius’s authority grew in the eyes of the clergy, and when the abbot needed to send one of the sensible and economical monks to Totma to develop the salt mines, the choice fell on him. By order of Theodosius, a salt well was drilled on the outskirts of Totma, the monk hired workers and personally supervised all matters. Boiling the solution required a large amount of firewood, and Theodosius, together with ordinary workers, cut down the forest, stacked woodpiles, and, when they lit a fire to boil the salt, stood nearby, remembering the fire of Gehenna that awaits unrepentant sinners in the next century. The meekness and humility of the saint towards the salt workers was unparalleled: “when they saw his virtuous life, they called themselves not like a man, but like an angel of God.”

However, responsible obedience broke the silence of the monk, a habit of which had developed over the years that he spent in the monastery of St. Demetrius. The main thing was done - the salt production, this guarantee of the economic well-being of the monastery, was established, and now all that remained was to maintain what had been started. Theodosius asked the abbot for a blessing to retire to the desert to concentrate on prayer and contemplation of God.

He found a place not far from Totma itself, between two rivers - Kovda and Pesya Denga, surrounded on both sides by hills covered with forest. Here, in the interfluve, the monk built his first hut, and a little later he dug a cave “for the winter for the sake of staying.” A year later, Theodosius built the first cell, to the threshold of which the surrounding people soon trodden the right path. “Reverend Theodosius, talking with them about the benefits of their souls, sent them away to their homes.”

Here, in the interfluve of Kovda and Pesya Dengi, Theodosius, less than ever, gave “sleep of the eye, always doze and peace of the scrania.” These blessed months and years of solitary prayer were the time of searching for “a place of settlement for the house of the God of Jacob,” on which the prosperity of the monastery of the Holy Transfiguration was later built. Soon, through the intercession of the Totmich residents, the sovereign's blessing was received for the construction of a new monastery and the consecration of its cathedral church: “and soon set up a church, and a meal, and cells according to the order of the monastery, with citizens who contributed to him, and with multiplying brothers, his monastery was filled with all sorts of abundance.”

Theodosius spent the last fifteen years of his life within the walls of the monastery he founded. Despite his present old age, the monk not only did not weaken his labors and feats of prayer and all-night standing, but also placed heavy chains on himself, having previously donned a cruel hair shirt, the sharp needles of which mercilessly perforated his body. The amazed brethren learned about all this only after his death, reverently wrapping his laborious body.

Before his death, the monk gathered the monks for the last lesson and, having blessed each one, bequeathed to them peace, love and unity. Very soon the elder, “with prayer still in his mouth, gave up his holy soul in peace in the hands of all God.” However, Theodosius left, leaving behind not only temples and their rich decoration, but also a precious memory of his feat; he became that link in the endless chain of transmitted spiritual experience from generation to generation, which united the army of Heavenly, scattered in time and space, into a single regiment. Tsar.

The monk did not leave forever, he left to return later and heal the dying baby Anna, to give sight to Justina and to instill hope in the souls of many unfortunate people who with faith resorted to his prayerful intercession. After all, where the warm prayer of an Orthodox monk once sounded, Christ, looking at the petitions of his saint, takes away every tear from the face of the suffering, and the black hood and monastic rosary become the guarantee of the monk’s sacrificial love for the world and its infirmities, which promises the orphans and for the poor, relief from suffering.

Reverend Theodosius of Totemsky was born around 1530 in Vologda into a pious family of noblemen, the Sumorins. Raised by his father Julian in the fear of God and taught to read and write by him, Theodosius felt in his young heart, thanks to reading soul-helping books, a desire for monastic life. This desire was also facilitated by the abundance of monastic monasteries in the vicinity of Vologda. Having reached adulthood, Saint Theodosius, however, at the insistence of his parents, entered into marriage, from which he had a daughter. Family life not only did it not distract Saint Theodosius from active love for God, but only strengthened him in spiritual zeal. When visiting the temple of God and immersing himself in prayer with all his heart, Saint Theodosius tried to avoid standing in the crowd and chose secluded places for himself somewhere behind the columns. His soul aspired to spiritual perfection: he prayed a lot at home, especially at night, and constantly reflected on the meaning of the Divine words heard in church.

After the death of his parents and wife, the Monk Theodosius, giving all his fortune to his relatives for the upbringing and care of his daughter, retired to Spaso-Preobra convent in the name of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, located near Vologda. Seeing the piety of the Monk Theodosius, the abbot of the monastery tonsured him as a monk without going through the usual process in such cases probationary period and entrusted it to an experienced elder, to whose will the novice monk devoted himself entirely. The Monk Theodosius humbly bore all the difficult monastic obediences: he chopped wood, baked bread, ground flour, carried water, worked in the kitchen, doing everything with zeal, love and trying to serve each of the brethren. At the same time, he was the first to arrive at the church for the Divine service and did not miss a single one. prayer rule. The ascetic ate only bread and water. Every day at the tomb of St. Demetrius he prayed for spiritual help and admonition.

On behalf of the abbot, the Monk Theodosius was sent to the city of Totma as caretaker of the monastery saltworks. The monk treated the workers with care, was kind, meek and merciful with them. Never before have saltworks generated so much income. After the inhabitants of Totma began to move to a new place, located two miles from the city, and the mines were empty, the Monk Theodosius found a place surrounded by wooded mountains on a high cape, washed by two rivers. Having taken the blessing of the abbot of the Prilutsky Monastery to build a new monastery here, the Monk Theodosius began asceticism, first in a hut, then in a dugout, and then built a wooden cell with his own hands. The inhabitants of Totma joyfully received the news of the monk’s intention to found a monastery in these places. They began to bring the monk everything he needed for life, and many made large donations. Such zeal of the population prompted the Monk Theodosius to go with a petition to Moscow to Tsar John Vasilyevich. On February 20, 1554, he received a royal charter, which freed the newly built monastery from all taxes.

Metropolitan Macarius (1542 - 1563) ordered the Rostov Archbishop Nikandr (1549 - 1566) to bless the Monk Theodosius to build the temple and provide everything necessary for its consecration. On the way back, the monk went to the Transfiguration Monastery to ask for a blessing from the holy relics of the great saint of God, Demetrius of Prilutsky. From the abbot of the monastery he received an icon of the Mother of God, which later became famous for many miracles and became known as “Sumorinskaya” (after the name of the saint).

Upon returning to Totma, the Monk Theodosius immediately began construction and within one year, with the help of the surrounding residents, erected a wooden church, a refectory, cells for the brethren and other necessary buildings. Soon the monastery began to be replenished with monks. The monk, who received a good education in his youth, strove for the spiritual enlightenment of the brethren; Over time, he collected an extensive library in the monastery. According to the rules, the monks of his monastery were supposed to eat from the labors of their hands, give alms and remain in constant prayer, especially for the dead.

Economically, the monastery was also exemplary. For the abbot's deep humility, the Lord granted him His mercy.

The skillful management and tireless diligence of the monk allowed Archbishop Nikander of Rostov to entrust him with the construction of a desolate monastery located in the same Totem district. The monk restored this monastery, called the Ephraim Hermitage, and established a brotherhood in it.

Being the rector of now two monasteries, the Monk Theodosius was constantly in prayer and labor, setting an example for the brethren to follow. Anticipating his imminent death, Saint Theodosius dictated a spiritual testament, in which, in particular, he persistently emphasized the need church prayer for all the departed, no matter how righteous they may have seemed during their lifetime.

On January 28, 1568, the Monk Theodosius, having blessed and fatherly kissed each of the brethren, reposed in the Lord. Only after his death was it discovered that the monk wore a hair shirt and chains, and an iron cap under the schema doll. During the life of the monk, no one ever noticed a shadow of fatigue on his face. Saint Theodosius was buried in the monastery he founded.

There are about 150 posthumous miracles associated with the name of St. Theodosius. Many were passed down orally and were later written down. Thus, one woman brought her blind daughter Justina to the monastery and asked permission to spend the night at the tomb of St. Theodosius. At night, she saw two monks heading towards the church, one of whom said: “I’m going to church, bringing holy water to wash the eyes of blind Justina.” Then the vision disappeared, and the girl felt that her eyes were being washed and sprinkled with water; She also heard movement and singing. In the morning it turned out that the blind woman had received her sight.

In 1626, the icon painter Popov painted an icon of St. Theodosius, using the stories of one hundred-year-old elder who remembered the appearance of the holy abbot.

In 1655, the church near which the Monk Theodosius rested was burned, but his wooden tomb remained unharmed. Emperor Peter I, during his trip to Arkhangelsk, visited the Spaso-Sumorin Monastery on July 17, 1693 and laid an amber Crucifix on the icon of St. Theodosius. In 1729, a service to the saint was compiled; it was served not only in the monastery, but also in the churches of Totma and the surrounding area, although the saint had not yet been canonized.

Over time, the veneration of St. Theodosius was forgotten. In 1764, under Empress Catherine II, a Decree on full-time and supernumerary monasteries was issued, according to which more than half of all monasteries in Rus' were closed. The Spaso-Sumorin Monastery was also included in the state. The monastery began to decline. By 1798, only a 75-year-old elder and two novices remained. Although the churches in the monastery were stone and newly built, the Ascension Church was in danger of falling, and it was proposed to dismantle it. On September 2, 1796, during the reconstruction of the Church of the Ascension, incorruptible relics were discovered. According to the words embroidered on the schema, it was revealed that in the coffin lay the body of the Monk Theodosius Sumorin, the founder and head of the monastery. For 228 years it lay in an unknown and forgotten grave.

On January 28, 1798, after the triple examination of the relics, the glorification of the saint of God took place

In the 1920s, the Spaso-Sumorin Monastery was abolished, and the relics of St. Theodosius ended up in the Vologda Museum of Local Lore. In 1988, in the year of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', they were transferred to the Vologda diocese and were located in the Lazarus Church in the city of Vologda. In 1994, the solemn transfer of the holy relics took place to the city of Totma, where they rest to this day.

The future ascetic Theodosius Yulianovich Sumorin was born at the beginning of the 16th century in the city of Vologda into a family of pious parents. From an early age, his soul yearned for God, but by the will of his parents, upon reaching adulthood, he entered into marriage, in which his daughter Marina was born. Living in marriage, Theodosius increasingly desired a monastic life, but could not leave his wife. The death of his parents and wife allowed him to fulfill the long-standing dictates of his heart. Having transferred his young daughter and funds for her maintenance to relatives, Theodosius entered the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.

The young monk, despite a large number of difficult obediences (procuring firewood, water, cooking), did not miss a single service, during which he tried to be near the tomb of the founder of the monastery - St. Demetrius, whose life he also tried to imitate: he ate only bread and water, was affectionate and friendly with everyone, meek.

At the end of the summer of 1539, Vologda and the surrounding area, including the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, were plundered by the Kazan Tatars. Monk Theodosius was sent to restore the economy of the monastic villages. For almost three years he successfully fulfilled this obedience. Seeing his diligence and responsibility, the abbot of the monastery blessed him to go to the city of Totma to restore the salt brew. And in this field, Theodosius achieved great results: acting on the workers with love, meekness and affection, he achieved diligence from them, which significantly increased the profitability of the saltworks. For about 10 years the monk successfully managed a salt factory, but life outside the walls of the monastery weighed on him, and also upset him that there was no holy monastery in the vicinity of the city. Then he decided to found it.

With a request to resign from his supervisory position at the salt production and to give his blessing for the construction of the monastery, Theodosius went to the abbot of the Prilutsk monastery, Arseny. Having received what he asked, Theodosius cut down a wooden cell at his favorite place - a cape, washed on both sides by water and fenced by wooded mountains, where he began to asceticize. Residents of the city of Totma joyfully received the news of the beginning of a new monastery and began to zealously donate not only what they needed for life, but also shares in the varnitsa, land, and land, and also submitted a petition to Tsar Ivan the Terrible for the construction of the monastery. The Monk Theodosius himself went to Moscow with this petition. Soon he received a royal non-judgmental letter, which gave permission to build a temple and monastery in a chosen place and freed it from all taxes and the court of the Totem governor.

On the way back, Theodosius went to his native Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery to bow for the last time to the tomb of St. Demetrius. The Prilutsk abbot also lovingly supported the head of the new monastery, giving him as a blessing the icon of the Mother of God, which later became known as the Sumorinskaya-miraculous icon.

Returning to Totma, the monk immediately began construction. In one year, with the help of surrounding residents, he erected a wooden church in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. At the same time, cells for the brethren, a refectory, and other necessary buildings were built. During the life of the saint, all the monastery buildings were surrounded by a fence with the Holy Gates.

In 1560, Theodosius was entrusted with the restoration of the Spaso-Nicholas Ephraim Hermitage. After a 15-year break, thanks to the tireless labors of the monk, the monastery was again filled with monks.

Being the abbot of two monasteries, Saint Theodosius cared not only about their economic independence. He paid a lot of attention spiritual education brethren, for which he acquired the theological works of St. John Chrysostom, St. Ephraim the Syrian and other teachers of the Church, as well as strengthening the monks Christian virtues. But the brethren received the main lessons of kindness, obedience, humility, non-covetousness, prayerfulness, and love for church service by observing the life of their rector.

How truly ascetic the saint’s life was became known only after his blessed death February 10(according to the present day) 1568 - when it was discovered that he wore iron chains and a stiff hair shirt, which tormented his body until he bled. The body of the beloved elder was buried with great honor and many tears in the monastery he created near the walls of the Transfiguration Church.

The veneration of the saint began immediately after his repose. More than 150 cases of his grace-filled help and healings are recorded. Frequent fires in the monastery caused the churches to be rebuilt, and the burial place of the monk was gradually forgotten, but this only served to further glorify him when his incorruptible relics, which had lain in the ground for more than two centuries, were discovered. This event happened September 15th(according to modern standards) 1796. Three years later, the glorification of the saint of God took place.

During Soviet rule, the relics were placed in the Vologda Museum. In 1988, the relic was returned to the church.

The relics of St. Theodosius of Totem are located:

– in the Church of the Nativity (Totma);

– Nikolo-Solbinsky Convent, Assumption Church (a piece of relics).

Icon of St. Theodosius of Totem with a particle of relics:

- Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki.

Prayer to St. Theodosius of Totem

O our good shepherd and godly mentor, Rev. Father Theodosius! Hear us sinners praying to you and calling for your quick intercession to help us: see us sinners in our current circumstances, see us weak, caught from everywhere, deprived of every good and darkened in mind from cowardice: strive, servant of God, do not leave us in the sinful captivity of being Let us not be joyfully our enemy, and let us not die in our evil deeds. Pray for us, unworthy of the Savior Lord, to whom you stand with disembodied faces. Make us merciful to us as our Creator in the present world and in the future, so that He may not reward us according to our deeds and the impurity of our hearts, but rather reward us according to His goodness: trusting in your intercession, we boast of your intercession, we call upon your intercession for help and Falling down to your whole-bearing tomb, unworthy of healing, we ask: deliver us, saints of Christ, from the evil ones that come upon us, and tame the waves of passions and troubles that rise upon us, so that for the sake of your holy prayers the attack will not overwhelm us, and we will not wallow in the abyss of sin and in the mire our passions. Pray, Reverend Father Theodosius, to Christ our God, that he may grant us a peaceful life, forgiveness of sins, salvation for our souls and great mercy. Amen.

The Monk Theodosius was born in the first decades of the 16th century in the city of Vologda into the pious family of the Sumorins. His father Julian raised his son in the fear of God and taught him to read and write. Literacy gave the youth access to church and spiritual books and very early disposed him to the idea of dedicating his life to God in the monastic rite.

At that time, in the vicinity of Vologda there were already many monastic monasteries and it was not difficult for the pious young man to find a place for his exploits. But Theodosius remained in his parents’ house until he reached adulthood and, at the will of his parents, entered into marriage. From this marriage he had a daughter, Marina, who was later married to a Vologda resident. Theodosius's marriage and his love for his wife and daughter did not hinder his growth in spiritual life. Diligently visiting the temple of God, Theodosius immersed himself in prayer with all his heart and therefore avoided standing in the crowd, standing somewhere in the corner of the temple or behind a pillar. With such concentration, he took to heart the Divine words he heard in the temple and thought about their meaning. The Lord’s saying especially sank into his heart: Whoever loves a father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And those who do not accept their cross and come after Me are not worthy of Me.(Matt. 10:37-38). Obeying the will of his parents and living married in the midst of the world, Theodosius hoped to reach the heights of moral perfection, and the words of the Gospel encouraged him to ask himself whether his innate and natural affection for those closest to him was compatible with true love for God. He was worried to the point of tears, resolving this bewilderment, he thought and prayed a lot. It is not difficult to understand what decision he had to lean towards as soon as the bonds that tied him to the world began to fall. Theodosius's parents died, apparently, and his wife left this world, leaving behind his daughter Marina and hereditary property. Theodosius begged his relatives to take Marina into their care, and also to save his family property for her.

The hesitation is over. Theodosius left the world and went to the nearby Prilutsky Monastery to ask the abbot for monastic tonsure. The abbot of Prilutsk, who knew the piety of Theodosius, agreed to fulfill his request: without subjecting him to the usual test, he tonsured him as a monk and entrusted him to an experienced elder. The new monk surrendered himself to the will of his mentor. By his order, he went through all the difficult monastic obediences: he chopped wood, carried water, ground flour, baked bread, worked in the kitchen and did everything with zeal and love, trying to serve each of the brethren, and at the same time was the first to succeed come to church for worship and did not miss a single rule. The food of the ascetic was bread and water, and then in moderation. Setting himself the example of the founder of the monastery, St. Demetrius, Theodosius came to his tomb every day and prayed with tears to receive the strength to imitate the ancient ascetic.

It is unknown how long the monk spent in the Spaso-Prilutsk monastery. Then he was sent by the abbot to Totma to the salt factory as a caretaker of the monastery's varnishes.

After fervent prayer at the tomb of the Monk Demetrius, having accepted the blessing of the abbot, the Monk Theodosius went to Totma and with zeal began to carry out the assigned work. His management was such that the Prilutsky monastery never received as much benefit from the varnishes as under him. Theo-dosiy, according to the remark of the ancient biography, was quiet, meek, merciful and kind to everyone, especially to the servants who worked in the barns. In their caretaker they met a father and benefactor, always ready to help them, and began to look at him as an Angel of God.

Carrying out monastic obedience amid the troubles and bustle, the Monk Theodosius desired solitude, and therefore more and more often came to the idea: either return to the monastery himself, or build a monastery here in Totma. At that time, the inhabitants of the old settlement moved from the varnitsa two miles away to the bank of the Sukhona River, where the city of Totma now stands, and with their removal, there was less noise and rumor from the factory. This is how the construction of the monastery was prepared. Moreover, there was a need for a monastery: there was no monastery near Totma. The monk began to look for a place near the city in the mountains and wilds, looked at many places and found that it would be best to build the monastery on an elevated place, washed by two rivers, Kovda and Pesya Denga, and surrounded by high wooded mountains. This land belonged to a certain widow Maria Grigorievna Istominskaya. The monk went to Mary with a request to give up the land to build a monastery on it, and she joyfully gave up the land according to a special deed of gift, which has survived to this day.

Then Theodosius went to the Prilutsky Monastery and began to ask the abbot for dismissal from the supervisory position at the salt pans and for the blessing to build a new monastery in the place he had chosen. Hegumen Arseny, who then ruled the Prilutsky monastery, did not want to interfere with his pious intentions and, having taught him instructions, released him with prayer and blessing.

Theodosius returned to Totma, placed a cross in the chosen place and offered a fiery prayer, asking for God's blessing on the undertaking. Strengthened by prayer, he set about building a home for himself. First, a hut made of brushwood, then a dugout for protection from the winter cold, and finally, a wooden cell were made by the saint’s own labors. The population of Totma and surrounding villages, who knew and loved Theodosius back in Varnitsa, having heard about his settlement between the Kovda and Pesya Denga rivers and his intention to found a monastery here, came to him with an expression of their spiritual joy and brought everything necessary for life. Zeal extended to the point that some donated their shares in the barns, neighboring fields, harvests and various lands to the future monastery. Seeing such zeal of the population, Theodosius asked to write a petition to the king for permission to build a monastery. The petition was written and it said: “There is no monastery in Totma and in the entire Totem district, and if someone in old age or death wanted to take monastic vows, there is nowhere to do this. And they want to build a church on Totma, and build a monastery, and Elder Theodosius Sumorin to build in that monastery.” The Totemites asked Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich to fulfill their desire. The monk was sent with a petition to Moscow to the Tsar and Metropolitan and on February 20, 1554 received a letter of indemnity, by which the Tsar gave permission to build a monastery in a chosen place and freed the future monastery from the court of the Totem governor. Metropolitan Macarius
for his part, he ordered the Rostov Archbishop Nikandr to issue Theodosia a charter for the construction of the temple and to supply it with everything necessary for its consecration. On the way back, Theodosius did not fail to bow to the tomb of the Venerable Demetrius in the Prilutsky Monastery, from whose abbot he received
as a blessing to the icon of the Mother of God, hitherto known in the monastery under the name of the miracle-working Sumorinskaya.

Upon returning to Totma, the monk immediately began building a monastery and within one year, with the help of neighboring residents, he erected a wooden church in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord, a refectory, cells for the brethren and other services and buildings necessary for the hostel. The monastery was soon filled with monks. So that the inhabitants would not remain idle and the monastery would not suffer the need for the most necessary things, the guardian builder took care to purchase a mill on Pesya Denga and the one lying opposite it
on the other side there is a hayfield, also a barn and a threshing floor, and in 1555 he obtained a royal charter for ownership of his pipes in the Totem saltworks and for the duty-free sale of the salt mined there.

The economic stewardship of the Monk Theodosius and his tireless diligence persuaded the ruler of Rostov to entrust him with the restoration of the desolate Ephraim Hermitage, which lay in the Levonidovs’ estate on the Rezha River, in the same Totem district. Theodosius restored the named monastery
and gathered the brethren into it.

But the monk was not the only one involved in the management of the monastery. Always in prayer and work, he was a constant example and embodied edification for the brethren. It is also noteworthy that, having himself received a sufficient education and loved reading, the monk strongly encouraged the brethren to become spiritually enlightened. For this purpose, he collected in his monastery, in addition to liturgical books, teaching books and mainly patristic works and extracts compiled from these works, such as Ephraim, Chrysostom and the like. Despite all this, the builder and head of the two monasteries, revered and loved by everyone, out of his modesty did not dare to accept holy orders and until the end remained an ordinary monk - a schema-monk. The same personal modesty or natural humility was the reason that no one ever knew his secret exploits, these chains and hair shirts that he placed on his body as soon as he became the head of the monastery.

The monk lived for fifteen years in the Totem monastery he built. Anticipating his imminent death, he called the brethren and ordered to write down his spiritual will on how to manage the monastery after his death. The spiritual life of the saint has survived to this day. What is most instructive here is the humble faith of the ascetic, who was so successful in all his undertakings in life. The need for church prayer for the departed, no matter how righteous they may have seemed during their lifetime, is explained in the will with all insistence. Having assigned monetary contributions for the commemoration of his family and himself “ten rubles for Priluk to the Savior, and in Totma for the thrones for all forty-ones for half a ruble,” the dying man convinces those who remain alive to invariably remember the testator and his family, so that the prayer books themselves receive forgiveness from God. The spiritual was compiled on December 19, 1567, when the monk was still holding out
on foot. But then the Christmas holidays came and he stopped leaving his cell completely. Then the ascetic again gathered all the brethren to himself and, having informed them of his imminent departure, gave his last instructions, blessed and said goodbye to everyone, hugging and kissing everyone, like a loving father, and asking everyone for forgiveness and prayer.

The date came January 28, 1568. The elder, in full consciousness, partook of the Holy Mysteries and, praying, died quietly, as if immersed in deep dream. When the brethren, following custom, began to wash the body of the deceased, then they only saw with amazement that on his body itself, under his clothes, he was wearing a hair shirt and heavy chains that had already cut into his body, which no one had suspected before, had never noticed There is not a shadow of suffering or exhaustion on the boss’s face.

The venerable body of St. Theodosius was buried with great honor and many tears in the monastery he created. A stone slab with an appropriate inscription was placed over his grave.

Since the Monk Theodosius personally asked during his life and in his spiritual bequeathed to the brethren to remember him in prayers, after his death the brethren, and with them the admirers of the deceased, did not leave to serve a memorial service for him. It became a custom for all wanderers and pilgrims who visited the monastery to pray for the repose of its organizer. The general veneration and memory of the godly life and works of the deceased prompted many to ask the venerable saint himself for prayerful intercession before God.

And according to the faith of those praying, through the intercession of the Monk Theodosius, a stream of miraculous signs and healings from the tomb, which continues to this day, soon began. So, in 1606, 38 years after the repose of the saint, when people who knew him personally were still alive both in the monastery and in the city, the maiden Irina, the daughter of a Totem resident, who had been lying in relaxation for a year and a half, once saw in a dream a monk with an icon of the Mother of God in his hands, who ordered her to go to the monastery and send a prayer service to the Savior and the Mother of God
and promised healing from illness. When this was done, the patient became healthy, as if she had never been sick. Based on her stories about the appearance of the monk who appeared to her, everyone recognized him as Theodosius.

When the rumor about the miraculous healing of the paralytic spread in the surrounding area, one woman from the village of Fetino brought her daughter Ius-ti-na, who had not seen anything for many years, to the monastery, and asked to sing a prayer service for her to the Savior and the Mother of God . At the end of the prayer service, the blind woman kissed the saint’s tomb, and the mother and daughter asked the priest for permission to stay in the church overnight for prayer. In the morning, when they were both praying with tears at the tomb of the saint, they heard an extraordinary noise, so that they fell to the ground in fear and lay as if dead. Justina's mother was the first to come to her senses and hears someone talking
behind the wall of the church. Rising, she goes to the window and sees two monks walking towards the church and talking.

“Where are you going, brother, and what are you carrying?” - one asked the other. - “To church, I bring blessed water to wash the eyes of blind Justina.” - "Good deed!"

Both women fell to the tomb with intense prayer. Justina hears singing, she feels that they are sprinkling water on her and wiping her eyes with a sponge and a cloth from the tomb, she hears movement near her, but sees nothing. But then the movement and singing stopped, and the blind woman received her sight. The women did not hide anything from the night’s incidents, and everyone glorified God and His wonderworker, St. Theodosius.

Soon the peasant Cornelius, who had suffered from a serious mental illness for three years, was brought to the monastery. Obsessed with fits of illness, he repeatedly attempted suicide. Those who brought him asked him to serve a prayer service to the Savior, the Mother of God and the Monk Theodosius. The sick man was brought to the tomb, and he became healthy.

The woman, named Tatiana, was so relaxed that she did not control a single member of her body. Barely alive they brought her to the monastery, brought her to the church and laid her near the tomb of the saint. With great zeal and tears, she began to pray and suddenly felt completely healthy.

The monk of the Totem monastery Uar for a long time could not get out of bed from illness and, without receiving relief from measures taken, asked the brethren to take him to the tomb of St. Theodosius. The brothers fulfilled his wish, and Uar, lying on his bed, began to pray to the miracle worker with tears. While praying, he suddenly felt healthy, jumped to his feet with joy and began to praise and thank God and His saint. Hearing about this, the abbot and the brethren came to the church and were amazed to see Uar, who an hour before had been brought to his bed barely alive, healthy, as if he had not been sick.

Boyar Irina Golovacheva, the wife of the Totemsky governor, fell into such a serious illness that she lost her mind, tore out her hair, cast wild glances around and spoke crazy speeches. The governor, having heard about the miracles of the Monk Theodosius, ordered her to be taken to the monastery and laid at the tomb, and asked for a prayer service with the blessing of water for the sick person. As soon as, at the end of the prayer service, the abbot made the sign of the cross over her and sprinkled her with holy water, the sick woman felt herself, got up from her bed, kissed the saint’s coffin and left completely healthy.

Grigory Bolonin, the scribe of the Totemsky hut, while in Moscow, became so unwell that he already despaired of life, since both day and night his nose was constantly bleeding. Preparing to die, he confessed and received the Holy Mysteries. That same night, the Monk Theodosius appears to him in a dream with an icon in his hands; Waving his hand three times, he seemed to sprinkle sand on him and said: “Rise up!” Upon awakening, Bolonin felt healthy.

Grigory Evtikhiev Firsov, the Totem clerk, while in Moscow on the case of scribe books, became seriously ill; His whole face was covered with scabs, from which stinking pus flowed. Having tried all medical remedies and not receiving relief, Firsov remembered the Monk Theodosius and wished to venerate his tomb. However, his illness prevented him from going, and the books were not finished. Then the monk himself appears to him in a dream, takes him by the hand, carries him to Totma to his mother’s house and says to her: “Receive your son healed of an evil illness.”

The clerk wakes up in horror and cannot understand what the dream he saw means. Out of habit, he touches his sore face with his hands and does not find a single scab, but feels strength and health throughout his body. And he understood the saint’s help, rejoiced and thanked God for his healing.

There were many other miraculous healings through the prayers of St. Theodosius. Observing all this, the abbot of the Spaso-Sumorin monastery of Galaktion asked the Totem icon painter Jacob Popov to paint an image of the saint. Popov in 1626 depicted the Monk Theodosius based on the stories of one hundred-year-old elder who knew Theodosius during his lifetime. In 1635 the image was painted big size and laid on a shrine over which a canopy was built. In 1655, on the very feast of the Epiphany, during the blessing of water on the river, a fire broke out from a fallen candle. The fire was extinguished with difficulty, and to everyone’s amazement it turned out that the floor and the grate surrounding the tomb were burned, but the canopy, images and covers remained intact. And this incident was understood as a new indication from above that the Monk Theodosius was pleasing to God. Crowds of worshipers heading to our shrines in the north made it a custom to visit the Spaso-Sumorin Monastery, and those seeking heavenly help through the prayers of the saints of God found joy, consolation and healing from illnesses in this monastery. Emperor Peter I, during his trip to Ar-Khan-Gelsk on July 17, 1693, visited the monastery of Theodosius and placed an amber cross on the image of the monk that was on his tomb. In 1729, a service to St. Theodosius was already compiled, in memory of his repose, and was sent to the monastery, in Totma and throughout the surrounding area. At this time, a local celebration of St. Theodosius in his monastery.

The discovery of the saint's incorruptible relics served as a reason for his church-wide glorification. Over time, the tombstone with the inscription over the grave of St. Theodosius turned out to be broken due to former fires. When the number of those who came to the saint with prayer increased, a shrine was placed in the church itself, an image of the saint was placed on it, and a canopy was erected over the shrine. But the wooden churches in the monastery were subject to fire more than once. At the end of the 18th century, the shrine with the image of the saint stood in the cold Ascension stone church, built in 1757. With church reconstructions and transfers of the shrine with the image of the saint from one church to another, with the change of monastery residents, the exact legend about the burial place was lost Venerable Theodosius.

The stone Ascension Church was dismantled in 1795, and in next year started digging ditches for construction new church according to a different plan. Precautionary measures were taken so that when digging they would not disturb the coffin of the reverend, which was supposed to be under the place where the shrine with the icon stood in the old church. But due to the weakness of the soil, the earth slid from that place into a ditch dug nearby for the foundation, and neither the coffin nor the bones were found in that place. When they began to dig a ditch on the western side of the former church, on September 2 they found a coffin lying across the ditch, and since it interfered with further work, they wanted to move it to another place, as they did with other coffins found during the same job. They began to lift the coffin with ropes, accidentally touched the lid, and the coffin opened. Then they saw in him a body covered with schema, whose head, hands, entire body and clothes were intact. From the words embroidered on the schema it was clear that this was the body of St. Theodosius Sumorin, the founder of the monastery. The builder of the monastery, Israel, ordered the found coffin with the body to be sealed on all sides with boards and placed it in a deliberately constructed wooden chapel, locked it with a padlock, and reported the incident to his spiritual superiors. A little later, the coffin with the body of St. Theodosius was buried in the ground; Finally, it was placed in a niche in the wall of the Church of the Transfiguration.

More than two hundred years have passed since the burial of the saint. Numerous miracles performed through the prayers of the saint of God have long made his name holy, which is why church services were performed for him as a recognized saint. But it was considered untimely by the church authorities to announce the incorrupt body found in 1796 as the authentic relics of St. Theodosius without a deliberate and thorough study. Therefore, for two years the found body remained inaccessible to pilgrims, but was subjected to triple examination by clergy, bishops and presbyters on special orders of the Holy Synod, and statements about miracles that occurred in the monastery of the saint during this time were subject to strict scrutiny. verke. Finally, the Holy Synod, having accepted in respect the triple testimony of the relics, the numerous healings that followed from them, the general growing zeal of the people for them, as well as the holy and godly life of the reverend, determined: the incorruptible found in 1796 in the Totemsky Spaso-Sumorin Monastery the body of the Venerable Theodosius, the Wonderworker of Totem, and the holy relics will be announced for the perfection, with celebration according to the previous local establishment.

Emperor Paul I on this occasion wrote on September 28, 1798: “Confirming the report received by us from the Holy Synod about the appearance of the miraculous relics of the Vologda diocese, in the Totemsky Spaso-Sumorin Monastery, the Monk Theodosius of Totemsky, marked by grace in healing ailments from the - with the zeal of those who resort to them, We accept the appearance of the holy relics as a sign of the excellent blessing of the Lord on Our Kingdom and, sending up our warm prayer and thanksgiving to the Benefactor in the highest for this, we entrust the Holy Synod to make a public announcement about this famous phenomenon throughout Our State according to the rites and the traditions of the Church and the holy fathers.” Such an announcement was made by printed decrees of the Holy Synod of September 30.

In Totma, upon receipt of the decree of the Holy Synod, the wooden chapel over the coffin of the saint was removed, but the coffin itself had not yet been opened. To honor him, the image of St. Theodosius was placed on him. But on December 28, the diocesan bishop Arseny arrived at the monastery, examined the holy relics again and took care of making a richly decorated cypress shrine, where on December 31 the coffin with the incorruptible remains of the saint was placed. His face was covered with schema, and a hole was left above his right hand for application. The New Year 1799 began for Totma with a bright holiday in honor of the Monk Theodosius before the discovery of his holy relics. Nowadays these relics rest in the stone main Church of the Ascension under an arch open to the northern aisle dedicated to St. Theodosius. Miraculous healings that began at the tomb of St. Theodosius shortly after his death, many events that took place during the days of the discovery of his relics continue to this day.

The monastery book records 146 miracles performed by St. Theodosius, and they stopped recording subsequent miracles long ago.

Complete collection and description: St. Theodosius of Totem, prayer for the spiritual life of a believer.

Memory January 28 / February 10

A kind family man who became a monk after the death of his wife, a hardworking and wise manager of the monastic household, an ascetic, the founder of the Totem Monastery. The peculiarity of its charter is such that monks must eat only what they produce themselves, constantly read the Psalter about the departed and remain in prayer. Collected for spiritual enlightenment large library spiritual books: the works of St. John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, etc. About 150 posthumous miracles of St. Theodosius are known.

Venerable Theodosius of Totem. Icon, 1796.

Troparion to St. Theodosius of Totem, tone 1

From your youth, Reverend Theodosius, you entrusted your desire to Christ God, for whose sake you left the city and fatherland and vain glory, having counted dust as dust, you followed the Reverend Demetrius and your monastery cohabitant you were, moving to the city of Totma and settling in between the rivers, fasting and With vigils, and with hair-cloth, and with chains, you have oppressed your body. For this reason, God, having seen your labors, after your repose, enriched you with miracles: you drive out demons and enlighten the blind, you deliver those who come to you with faith and cry out from all ailments and troubles: glory to Him who gave you strength, glory to Him who crowned you, glory to Him who gives you healing to everyone.

Second to St. Theodosius of Totem, tone 2

Having come from worldly rebellion, O Reverend Father Theodosius, and reached a quiet refuge, you were the roommate of the Reverend Demetrius, and from there, guided by the Spirit of God, you settled in the city of Totma, and in your father’s watery abode you built yourself, where, having lived like the angels, you followed You are for Christ, for whose sake you wore a hair robe and chains on your body. Having adorned yourself with humility and love of poverty, you despised vain glory and squandered your fatherly property well, but with prayer to God and streams of tears you put demons to shame, and after your dormition, Christ enriched you with the gift of miracles. Having therefore boldness towards the Lord, Reverend Our Father Theodosius, pray to Christ God to save our souls.

Kontakion to St. Theodosius of Totem, tone 8

With abstinence you exhausted the flesh and with unceasing prayers, like an Angel, you exalted yourself, but you immersed the demonic shelves with streams of tears. And now, in the unevening Light, you rejoice in Christ God and you endlessly grant healing to those who come to your holy tomb; by faith they cry out to you: Rejoice, Father Theodosius the God-Wise.

Prayer to St. Theodosius of Totemsky

O our good shepherd and God-wise mentor, Reverend Father Theodosius, hear us sinners praying to you and calling for your speedy intercession for help; see us, sinners, in our present circumstances, see us, weak, caught everywhere, deprived of every good and darkened in mind from cowardice, striving, servant of God, do not leave us in the sinful captivity of being, so that we may not joyfully be our enemy and die in our evil deeds. Pray for us, unworthy, of the Lord the Savior, to Him you stand before the Incorporeal Faces. Make our Creator merciful to us in the present world and in the future, may He not reward us according to our deeds and the impurity of our hearts, but may He reward us according to His goodness, for we trust in your intercession, we boast of your intercession, we call upon your intercession for help and , to your wholesome relics falling, unworthy, we ask for healing: deliver us, saints of Christ, from the evil ones that come upon us, and tame the waves of passions and troubles that rise upon us, so that for the sake of your holy prayers the attack will not overwhelm us and we will not wallow in the abyss more sinful and in the mud of our passions. Pray, Reverend Father Theodosius, to Christ our God, that he may grant us a peaceful life, forgiveness of sins, salvation for our souls and great mercy. Amen.

Prayer to St. Theodosius of Totem:

. A kind family man who became a monk after the death of his wife, a hardworking and wise manager of the monastic household, an ascetic, the founder of the Totem Monastery. The peculiarity of its charter is such that monks must eat only what they produce themselves, constantly read the Psalter about the departed and remain in prayer. For spiritual enlightenment, he collected a large library of spiritual books: the works of St. John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, etc. About 150 posthumous miracles of St. Theodosius are known

Akathist to St. Theodosius of Totem:

Canon to St. Theodosius of Totem:

Hagiographic and scientific-historical literature about St. Theodosius of Totem:

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Venerable Theodosius of Totemsky, wonderworker

Brief life of St. Theodosius of Totem, wonderworker.

Reverend Theodosius of Totemsky was born around 1530 in Vologda into a pious family of noblemen, the Sumorins. Raised by his father Julian in the fear of God and taught to read and write by him, Theodosius felt in his young heart, thanks to reading soul-helping books, a desire for monastic life. This desire was also facilitated by the abundance of monastic monasteries in the vicinity of Vologda. Having reached adulthood, Saint Theodosius, however, at the insistence of his parents, entered into marriage, from which he had a daughter. Family life not only did not distract Saint Theodosius from active love for God, but only strengthened him in spiritual zeal. When visiting the temple of God and immersing himself in prayer with all his heart, Saint Theodosius tried to avoid standing in the crowd and chose secluded places for himself somewhere behind the columns. His soul aspired to spiritual perfection: he prayed a lot at home, especially at night, and constantly reflected on the meaning of the Divine words heard in church.

After the death of his parents and wife, the Monk Theodosius, having given all his fortune to his relatives for the upbringing and care of his daughter, retired to the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in the name of the Monk Demetrius of Prilutsk, located near Vologda. Seeing the piety of the Monk Theodosius, the abbot of the monastery tonsured him as a monk without going through the usual probationary period in such cases and entrusted him to an experienced elder, to whose will the new monk devoted himself entirely. The Monk Theodosius humbly bore all the difficult monastic obediences: he chopped wood, baked bread, ground flour, carried water, worked in the kitchen, doing everything with zeal, love and trying to serve each of the brethren. At the same time, he was the first to arrive at the church for the Divine service and did not miss a single prayer rule. The ascetic ate only bread and water. Every day at the tomb of St. Demetrius he prayed for spiritual help and admonition.

Economically, the monastery was also exemplary. For the abbot's deep humility, the Lord granted him His mercy.

Being the rector of now two monasteries, the Monk Theodosius was constantly in prayer and labor, setting an example for the brethren to follow. Anticipating his imminent death, Saint Theodosius dictated a spiritual testament, in which, in particular, he persistently emphasized the need for church prayer for all the departed, no matter how righteous they may have seemed during life.

In 1626, the icon painter Popov painted an icon of St. Theodosius, using the stories of one hundred-year-old elder who remembered the appearance of the holy abbot.

On January 28, 1798, after the triple examination of the relics, the glorification of the saint of God took place

Venerable Theodosius of Totem

The young monk, despite the large number of difficult obediences (procuring firewood, water, cooking), did not miss a single service, during which he tried to be near the tomb of the founder of the monastery - St. Demetrius, whose life he also tried to imitate: he ate only bread and water , was affectionate, friendly, meek with everyone.

Being the abbot of two monasteries, Saint Theodosius cared not only about their economic independence. He paid a lot of attention to the spiritual education of the brethren, for which he acquired the theological works of St. John Chrysostom, St. Ephraim the Syrian and other teachers of the Church, as well as strengthening Christian virtues in the monks. But the brethren received the main lessons of kindness, obedience, humility, non-covetousness, prayerfulness, and love for church service by observing the life of their rector.

During Soviet rule, the relics were placed in the Vologda Museum. In 1988, the relic was returned to the church.

The relics of St. Theodosius of Totem are located:

– in the Church of the Nativity (Totma);

– Nikolo-Solbinsky Convent, Assumption Church (a piece of relics).

Icon of St. Theodosius of Totem with a particle of relics:

- Church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki.

Prayer to St. Theodosius of Totem

filaretuos

The realities of our life

Friends and enemies

Theodosius of Totemsky

son sschmch. Sergiy Mechev.

Description of the discovery of the relics of St. Theodosius of Totem

Taking the coffin of the Rev., the archimandrite and the priests carried it out of the altar, and placed it on a prepared table in the middle of the church, measuring the length, breadth, height and entire appearance of it and not seeing any damage from the soil of the earth, for it was white and vigorous 1), as would have been buried a month before. They opened the top board and, looking at the clothes that had been in the ground for 228 years, found everything intact: the kukul paramon (paramand) and the cover with which the head and face were covered, the mantle, the orchard, whiter than new, shoes and all other clothing of the slightest aphids were not subject to. There are 4 letters F on this paramon! E! D! ABOUT! and on the cover the cherubs are intact, as if these days were carved on a tree. The very hay sent under it turns green. When they opened their face and hands and wiped them with their lips, worthy of every surprise, every member of the face and head was intact and very white, not a single hair on the head, on the eyebrows, brad or eyelashes seemed to have been lost; hands 1), except index finger right hand, whose first finger fell off (which?) and lies with the nail on the chest of the body, next to his hand, whole, white, clean and imperishable; his entire myrrh-streaming body is incorruptible and has some softness, except for the legs, on which there are eyes from the knees; 2) there is no body, but not a single composition is separated from the other. The tops of the boots were torn, and by any means it was impossible to remove the soles from them. The fragrance of every member and every bone is so sensitive to the sense of smell that even the tongue cannot tell in detail; the whole monastery is always (?) filled with it. There is no need to mention the tears of the meeting that took place that day, as even the faces of the infants were watered with them. As before, so now countless things happen through (miracles?) many, everyone who comes with faith receives perfect healing.