Patriarch Hermogenes was imprisoned in the Miracle Monastery. Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'
Hieromartyr Ermogen (Hermogen), Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', came from the Don Cossacks. According to the testimony of the Patriarch himself, he was initially a priest in the city of Kazan at the Gostinodvorsky Church in the name of St. Nicholas (December 6 and May 9). He soon became a monk and from 1582 was the archimandrite of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Kazan. On May 13, 1589, he was consecrated bishop and became the first Metropolitan of Kazan.
During the service of the future Patriarch in Kazan, the appearance and discovery of the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God took place in 1579. While still a priest, he, with the blessing of the then Kazan bishop Jeremiah, transferred the newly appeared icon from the place of its discovery to the church in the name of St. Nicholas. Possessing an extraordinary literary talent, the saint himself composed in 1594 a legend about the appearance of the miraculous icon and the miracles performed by it. In the legend, he humbly writes about himself: “At that time... although I was stony-hearted, I nevertheless shed tears and fell before the image of the Mother of God, and the miraculous icon, and the Eternal Child, the Savior Christ... And at the command of the Archbishop, with with other holy crosses, I went with the icon to the nearby church of St. Nicholas, which is called Tula...” In 1591, the saint gathered in Cathedral newly baptized Tatars and for several days instructed them in the Christian faith.
On January 9, 1592, Saint Hermogen sent a letter to Patriarch Job, in which he reported that it was not happening in Kazan special commemoration Orthodox warriors, who laid down their lives for faith and the Fatherland near Kazan, and asked to establish a specific day of memory for the soldiers. In response to Saint Hermogenes, the Patriarch sent a decree dated February 25, which ordered “for all Orthodox soldiers killed near Kazan and within Kazan, to perform a memorial service in Kazan and throughout the Kazan Metropolis and the Sabbath day after the Intercession Holy Mother of God and include them in the large synodikon read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.” Saint Hermogen showed zeal for the faith and firmness in observing church traditions, and cared about enlightening the Kazan Tatars with the faith of Christ.
In 1595, with the active participation of the saint, the discovery and discovery of the relics of the Kazan miracle workers took place: Saints Guria, the first Archbishop of Kazan and Barsanuphius, Bishop of Tver. Tsar Theodore Ioannovich ordered the construction of a new stone church in the Kazan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery on the site of the previous one where the saints were buried. When the coffins of the saints were found, Saint Hermogenes came with a council of clergy, ordered the coffins to be opened and, seeing the incorrupt relics and clothes of the saints, informed the Patriarch and the Tsar. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Job († 1605) and by order of the king, the relics of the newly-minted miracle workers were placed in the new church. Saint Hermogen himself compiled the lives of Saints Gurias and Barsanuphius, bishops of Kazan.
For his outstanding archpastoral works, Metropolitan Hermogenes was elected to the primatial see, and on July 3, 1606, he was elevated by the Council of Saints to the Patriarchal throne in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. Metropolitan Isidore presented His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes with the staff of St. Peter, the Moscow Wonderworker († December 21, 1326), and the Tsar presented the new Patriarch with a panagia decorated precious stones, white hood and staff. According to the ancient rite His Holiness Patriarch Ermogen made a procession on a donkey around the walls of the Kremlin.
The activities of Patriarch Hermogen coincided with a difficult period for the Russian state - the invasion of the impostor False Dmitry and the Polish king Sigismund III. Patriarch Ermogen was not alone in this feat: he was imitated and helped by selfless Russian people. With special inspiration, His Holiness the Patriarch opposed the traitors and enemies of the Fatherland who wanted to enslave the Russian people, introduce Uniateism and Catholicism in Russia, and eradicate Orthodoxy. When the impostor approached Moscow and settled in Tushino, Patriarch Ermogen sent two messages to the rebellious traitors. In one of them he wrote: “...You forgot the vows of our Orthodox faith, in which we were born, baptized, raised and grew up, you broke the kiss of the cross and the oath to stand until death for the House of the Most Holy Theotokos and for the Moscow State and fell into a false to your imaginary king... My soul hurts, my heart hurts and all my insides are tormented, all my limbs are shaking; I cry and cry out with sobs: have mercy, have mercy, brothers and children, your souls and your parents, departed and living... Look how our fatherland is plundered and ruined by strangers, how holy icons and churches are desecrated, how the blood of innocents is shed, crying out to God. Remember against whom you take up arms: is it not God who created you? not on your brothers? Are you ruining your Fatherland?... I conjure you in the Name of God, leave your undertaking while there is time, so as not to completely perish.”
In another letter, the High Hierarch urged: “...For God’s sake, know yourself and be converted, bring joy to your parents, wives and children, and all of us; and let us pray to God for you."
Soon the righteous judgment of God was carried out on Tushino thief: he suffered the same sad and inglorious fate as his predecessor; he was killed by his own confidants on December 11, 1610. But Moscow continued to remain in danger, since there were Poles and traitorous boyars loyal to Sigismund III in it. Letters sent by Patriarch Hermogenes to cities and villages excited the Russian people to liberate Moscow from their enemies and elect a legitimate Russian Tsar. Muscovites started an uprising, in response to which the Poles set the city on fire and took refuge in the Kremlin. Together with Russian traitors, they forcibly removed the holy Patriarch Hermogenes from the Patriarchal throne and placed him in custody in the Chudov Monastery. On Easter Monday 1611, the Russian militia approached Moscow and began a siege of the Kremlin that lasted several months. The Poles besieged in the Kremlin more than once sent envoys to the Patriarch demanding that he order the Russian militias to move away from the city, threatening him with the death penalty. The saint answered firmly: “Why are you threatening me? I fear only God. If all of you, Lithuanian people, leave the Moscow state, I will bless the Russian militia to leave Moscow, but if you stay here, I will bless everyone to stand against you and die for the Orthodox Faith.” Already from prison, the holy martyr Hermogenes addressed his last message to the Russian people, blessing the liberation war against the conquerors. But the Russian governors did not show unanimity and coherence at that time, so they could not take the Kremlin and free their High Hierarch. He languished in severe captivity for more than nine months and on February 17, 1612 he died a martyr’s death from hunger.
The liberation of Russia, for which Saint Hermogen stood with such indestructible courage, was successfully completed through his intercession by the Russian people. The body of the holy martyr Hermogenes was buried in the Chudov Monastery, and in 1654 it was transferred to the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. The glorification of Patriarch Hermogenes as a saint took place on May 12, 1913. His memory is also celebrated on February 17.
Hieromartyr Hermogen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', glorified as a saint on May 12, 1913.
For three centuries, the memory of Patriarch Hermogenes as a martyr saint was passed on from generation to generation, and people's faith in him grew as an intercessor and prayer book for the Russian land at the Throne of the Almighty. In the difficult years of domestic disasters, the prayerful thoughts of the people turned to the memory of the Patriarch-Hero. Russian people went to his tomb with their personal sorrows, ailments and illnesses, reverently calling for help from St. Hermogenes, believing in him as a warm man of prayer and intercessor before the Lord. And the All-Merciful Lord rewarded this faith....
For the day of solemn glorification, which coincided with the 300th anniversary of the death of the holy martyr Hermogenes, believers from all over Russia began to flock to Moscow. Pilgrims rushed to venerate the relics of the holy Patriarch, located in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, where funeral services were served almost continuously. On the eve of the glorification, a religious procession was held, at the head of which they carried the icon of St. Hermogenes, and after it the cover from the tomb, on which the Saint is depicted full-length in a mantle and with a staff. Next to the icon of the Patriarch they carried the icon of his companion in spiritual and patriotic activities for the liberation of the Russian land from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders, St. Dionysius of Radonezh. On the bell tower of John the Great there was a huge inscription: “Rejoice, holy martyr Hermogenes, great intercessor of the Russian lands.” Hundreds of thousands of candles burned in the hands of believers, glorifying the saint of God. At the end of the procession at the shrine with the relics of the Patriarch, the reading of the Easter canon began with the addition of the canon to St. Hermogenes.
All-night vigils were held in the open air on all squares of the Kremlin. That night several healings took place through the grace-filled prayers of St. Hermogenes. For example, one patient came to the Assumption Cathedral on crutches, but felt healing after venerating the shrine containing the relics of the Saint. Another patient, who suffered severely from relaxation, was healed. He was brought on a towel to the shrine of the Holy Martyr Hermogenes, where he received complete healing. These and other similar healings, witnessed by numerous believers, became a significant confirmation of the holiness of the new Russian miracle worker;
On Sunday, May 12, at 10 a.m., the Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the Assumption Cathedral. His Beatitude Gregory, Patriarch of Antioch, arrived to celebrate the glorification of the new saint, leading the service. At the end of the liturgy, prayers to St. Hermogenes were served in all Moscow churches and a procession of the cross took place in the Moscow Kremlin, in which more than 20 bishops took part, accompanying the solemn procession by singing: “To St. Father Hermogenes, pray to God for us.” The service ended with a prayer to the holy martyr Hermogenes. From this day the liturgical veneration of St. Hermogenes began. Thus the desire of the Russian believers was fulfilled, through whose prayers the Russian Orthodox Church received the gracious Heavenly patron of our Fatherland.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Church established the days of celebration of the Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus': February 17 - repose (information about his life and feat is placed on this day) and May 12 - glorification as a saint.
Saint Hermogenes, a tireless fighter for the purity of Orthodoxy and the unity of the Russian land, is of great national importance. His church and state-patriotic activities for several centuries serve as a vivid example of fiery faith and love for the Russian people. The Church activity of the High Hierarch is characterized by attentive and strict attitude to the Divine Service. Under him, the following were published: the Gospel, Menaions of the Months for September (1607), October (1609), November (1610) and the first twenty days of December, and also the “Great Supreme Charter” was printed in 1610. At the same time, Saint Hermogenes did not limit himself to blessing the publication, but carefully monitored the correctness of the texts. With the blessing of Saint Hermogenes, the service to the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was translated from Greek into Russian and the celebration of his memory was restored in the Assumption Cathedral. Under the supervision of the High Hierarch, new presses were made for printing liturgical books and a new printing house was built, which was damaged during the fire of 1611, when Moscow was set on fire by the Poles. Concerned about the observance of the Divine service, Saint Hermogen composed a “Message of discipline to all people, especially priests and deacons, on the correction of church singing.” The “Message” denounces the clergy for committing hazing church services- polyphony, and the laity - in an irreverent attitude towards Divine services.
The literary activity of the High Hierarch of the Russian Church is widely known. His pen includes: the story of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and the service to this icon (1594); message to Patriarch Job containing information about the Kazan martyrs (1591); a collection that deals with issues of Divine services (1598); patriotic letters and appeals addressed to the Russian people (1606 - 1613) and other works.
Reviews from contemporaries testify to Patriarch Hermogenes as a man of outstanding intellect and erudition: “The sovereign is great in intelligence and sense and wise in mind,” “wonderful of great and many reasoning,” “greatly adorned with wisdom and book teaching elegant”, “all the books of the Old Law and the New Grace, and the statutes of the church and the rules of the law are constantly practiced in the Divine words.” Saint Hermogen worked a lot in monastery libraries, first of all, in the rich library of the Moscow Chudov Monastery, where he copied the most valuable historical information from ancient manuscripts, which served as the basis for chronicle records. In the 17th century, the “Resurrection Chronicle” was called the chronicler of His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes. In the writings of the Primate of the Russian Church and his archpastoral letters there are constantly references to the Holy Scriptures and examples taken from history, which testifies to a deep knowledge of the Word of God and erudition in the church literature of that time.
With this erudition, Patriarch Hermogenes combined his outstanding abilities as a preacher and teacher. Reviews from contemporaries characterize the moral image of the High Hierarch as “a pious man,” “a well-known pure life,” “a true shepherd of the flock of Christ,” “an unfalse stander in the Christian faith.”
These qualities of Saint Hermogenes manifested themselves with particular force during the Time of Troubles, when the Russian land suffered the misfortune of internal disorder, aggravated by the Polish-Lithuanian invasion. During this dark period, the High Hierarch of the Russian Church selflessly protected Russian state, in word and deed defending the Orthodox faith from Latinism and the unity of our Fatherland from enemies internal and external. Saint Hermogen crowned his feat of saving the Motherland martyrdom, which turned into grace-filled prayerful Heavenly intercession for our fatherland at the Throne of the Holy Trinity.
Hieromartyr Ermogen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', came from the Don Cossacks. According to the testimony of the Patriarch himself, he was a priest in the city of Kazan at the Kazan Gostinodvorsky Church in the name of St. Nicholas (December 6 and May 9). He soon became a monk and from 1582 was the archimandrite of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Kazan. On May 13, 1589, he was consecrated bishop and became the first Metropolitan of Kazan.
During the ministry of His Holiness the Patriarch in Kazan, the appearance and discovery of the miraculous Kazan Icon of the Mother of God took place in 1579. While still a priest, he, with the blessing of the then Kazan bishop Jeremiah, transferred the newly appeared icon from the place of its discovery to the church in the name of St. Nicholas. Possessing an extraordinary literary talent, the saint himself composed in 1594 a legend about the appearance of the miraculous icon and the miracles performed by it. In 1591, the saint gathered newly baptized Tatars to the cathedral and for several days instructed them in the faith.
In 1592, the relics of St. Herman, the second Kazan Archbishop (September 25, November 6, June 23), who died in Moscow on November 6, 1567, during a pestilence, and was buried near the church in the name of St. Nicholas, were transferred. With the blessing of Patriarch Job (1589 - 1605), Saint Hermogen performed their burial in the Sviyazhsk Dormition Monastery. On January 9, 1592, Saint Hermogen sent a letter to Patriarch Job, in which he reported that in Kazan there was no special commemoration of the Orthodox soldiers who laid down their lives for the faith and Fatherland near Kazan, and asked to establish a specific day of remembrance. At the same time, he reported on three martyrs who suffered in Kazan for the faith of Christ, one of whom was Russian, named John (January 24), originally from Nizhny Novgorod, captured by the Tatars, and the other two, Stefan and Peter (March 24), converted Tatars. The saint expressed regret that these martyrs were not included in the synodikon read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, and that they were not sung everlasting memory. In response to Saint Hermogenes, the Patriarch sent a decree dated February 25, which ordered “for all Orthodox soldiers killed near Kazan and within Kazan, to perform a memorial service in Kazan and throughout the Kazan Metropolis on the Saturday after the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and to include them in the great synodik, read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy,” it was ordered that the three Kazan martyrs be included in the same synodik, and the day of their memory was entrusted to determine Saint Hermogenes. The saint announced a patriarchal decree for his diocese, adding that all churches and monasteries should serve liturgies and memorial services for the three Kazan martyrs and commemorate them at litias and liturgies on January 24. Saint Hermogen showed zeal for the faith and firmness in observing church traditions, and cared about enlightening the Kazan Tatars with the faith of Christ.
In 1595, with the active participation of the saint, the discovery and discovery of the relics of Kazan wonderworkers took place: Saints Guria, the first Archbishop of Kazan (October 4, December 5, June 20), and Barsanuphius, Bishop of Tver (October 4, April 11). Tsar Theodore Ioannovich (1584 - 1598) ordered the construction of a new stone church in the Kazan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery on the site of the previous one, where the saints were buried. When the coffins of the saints were found, Saint Hermogenes came with a council of clergy, ordered the coffins to be opened and, seeing the incorrupt relics and clothes of the saints, informed the Patriarch and the Tsar. With the blessing of Patriarch Job and by order of the king, the relics of the newly-minted miracle workers were placed in the new temple. Saint Hermogen himself compiled the lives of Saints Gurias and Barsanuphius.
For his outstanding archpastoral qualities, Metropolitan Hermogen was elected to the primate cathedral, and on July 3, 1606, he was elevated by the Council of Saints to the Patriarchal throne in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. Metropolitan Isidore presented the Patriarch with the staff of St. Peter, the Moscow Wonderworker (October 5, December 21, August 24), and the Tsar presented the new Patriarch with a panagia decorated with precious stones, a white hood and a staff. According to the ancient rite, Patriarch Ermogen made the procession on a donkey.
The activities of Patriarch Hermogenes coincided with a difficult period for the Russian state - the invasion of the impostor False Demetrius and the Polish king Sigismund III. The High Hierarch devoted all his energies to serving the Church and the Fatherland. In this feat, Patriarch Ermogen was not alone: his selfless compatriots imitated and helped him. With special inspiration, His Holiness the Patriarch opposed the traitors and enemies of the Fatherland, who wanted to introduce Uniateism and Catholicism in Russia and eradicate Orthodoxy, enslaving the Russian people. When the impostor approached Moscow and settled in Tushino, Patriarch Ermogen sent two messages to the rebellious traitors. In one of them he wrote: “...You have forgotten your vows Orthodox faith ours, in which we were born, baptized, raised and grew up, we broke the kiss of the cross and the oath to stand until death for the house of the Most Holy Theotokos and for the Moscow State and fell to your falsely imaginary Tsar... My soul hurts, my heart hurts, and all my insides hurt mine are tormented, all my parts are trembling; I cry and cry out with sobs: have mercy, have mercy, brothers and children, your souls and your parents, departed and living... Look how our Fatherland is plundered and ruined by strangers, how holy icons and churches are desecrated, how the blood of innocents is shed, crying out to God. Remember against whom you take up arms: is it not God who created you? not on your brothers? Are you ruining your Fatherland?... I conjure you in the Name of God, leave your undertaking while there is time, so as not to completely perish.” In another letter, the High Hierarch urged: “For God’s sake, know yourself and be converted, bring joy to your parents, your wives and children, and all of us; and we will pray to God for you...” Soon, God’s righteous judgment was carried out on the Tushinsky thief: he suffered the same sad and inglorious fate as his predecessor; he was killed by his own confidants on December 11, 1610. But Moscow continued to remain in danger, since there were Poles and traitorous boyars loyal to Sigismund III in it. Letters sent by Patriarch Hermogenes to cities and villages excited the Russian people to liberate Moscow from their enemies and elect a legitimate Russian Tsar. Muscovites started an uprising, in response to which the Poles set the city on fire and took refuge in the Kremlin. Together with Russian traitors, they forcibly removed the holy Patriarch Hermogenes from the Patriarchal throne and placed him in custody in the Chudov Monastery. On Easter Monday 1611, the Russian militia approached Moscow and began a siege of the Kremlin that lasted several months. The Poles besieged in the Kremlin more than once sent envoys to the Patriarch demanding that he order the Russian militias to move away from the city, threatening the death penalty. The saint answered firmly: “Why are you threatening me? I fear only God. If all of you, Lithuanian people, leave the Moscow state, I will bless the Russian militia to leave Moscow, if you stay here, I will bless everyone to stand against you and die for the Orthodox faith.” Already from prison, the holy martyr Hermogenes addressed his last message to the Russian people, blessing the liberation war against the conquerors. The Russian governors did not show coherence, so they were unable to take the Kremlin and free their High Hierarch. He languished in severe captivity for more than nine months, and on February 17, 1612, he died a martyr’s death from hunger.
The liberation of Russia, for which Saint Hermogenes stood with such indomitable courage, was successfully completed by the Russian people. The body of the holy martyr Hermogenes was buried in the Chudov Monastery, and in 1654 it was transferred to the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. The glorification of Patriarch Hermogenes as a saint took place on May 12, 1913.
Troparion to the Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow, tone 4
The first throne of the Russian land / and a vigilant prayer book for it to God, / you laid down your soul for the faith of Christ and your flock, / you delivered our country from wickedness. / We also cry out to you: / save us with your prayers, / Hieromartyr Hermogenes, our father.
Kontakion to the Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow, tone 6
We exhaust you with prison and hunger, / you remained faithful even to death, blessed Hermogenes, / driving away cowardice from the hearts of your people / and calling everyone to a common feat. / In the same way, you also overthrew the wicked rebellion and you established our country, / so we all call you: // Rejoice, intercessor of the Russian land.
Troparion to the Hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow, tone 4
The day of a bright triumph has arrived, / the city of Moscow rejoices, / and with it Orthodox Russia rejoices / with spiritual songs and songs: / today is a sacred triumph / in the manifestation of the honest and multi-healing relics / of the saint and wonderworker Hermogenes, / like the unsetting sun, rising with radiant rays, / dispelling the darkness of temptations and troubles / from those who cry out truly: // save us, as our intercessor, the great Hermogenes.
Patriarch Hermogenes (Hermogenes, 1530-1612) is the third Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', who occupied the throne from 1606 to 1612. He proved himself to be one of the patriots of Russia, who actively opposed the Polish invasion during the Time of Troubles. He resolutely opposed traitors to the motherland and supporters of union with Catholics. During the invaders' stay in Moscow, he was forcibly deposed from his patriarchal post and imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery. The Church reveres Hermogenes as a holy martyr and guardian of the faith, who did not betray Russian Orthodoxy during the difficult years of the Time of Troubles.
Hermogenes (in the world Ermolai) was born around 1530, around the time when Ivan the Terrible was born. Little is known about the early period of the life of the great compatriot. There are versions about his belonging to the Don Cossacks, as well as the famous boyar dynasties of the Golitsyns and Shuiskys.
In his adolescence, he went to Kazan, where he was in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, which strengthened his religious views. At the end of the 70s. In the 16th century, Ermolai served as a parish priest in the Gostinodvor church in the name of St. Nicholas. As contemporaries of the future patriarch recalled, he stood out for his excellent knowledge of books and was “decorated with wisdom.”
The biography of Hermogenes includes an interesting episode related to the miraculous appearance of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. This happened in the summer of 1579, when there was intense heat and dryness in Kazan, which caused a severe fire. The fire from St. Nicholas Church spread to the Kremlin, and then to residential buildings. At this time, the daughter of local archer Daniil Onuchian, Matrona, had a dream three times that an icon of the Mother of God was kept underground. At first no one believed her, but after a threat that the girl might die from disobedience, her family went to the indicated place and found the shrine. After this, a religious procession was organized and the icon was solemnly transferred to the Annunciation Cathedral. Hermogenes was also a participant in this event, during which two blind men were healed.
Moving to Moscow
After the death of his wife in 1587, whose name has not been preserved, Hermogenes went to the Moscow Miracle Monastery, where he was tonsured a monk. Two years later he was consecrated (ordained) to the rank of bishop, and soon, under the patronage of the first Patriarch Job, Hermogenes was appointed Metropolitan of Kazan and Astrakhan.
In 1591, Hermogenes wrote a letter to Job, in which he indicated that in Kazan the commemoration of Orthodox soldiers who died during the capture of the city was not carried out, and proposed to introduce memorable date. In response, Job signed a decree ordering the celebration of a memorial service on the Saturday following the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Saint Hermogenes continued to serve the church, spreading Orthodoxy among the Tatars and other Turkic peoples. In 1592, he took part in the transfer of the remains of Kazan Archbishop German from the capital to the Assumption Monastery of Sviyazhsk, and three years later he wrote short life Saints Barsanuphius and Gurias. In 1595, he visited Uglich to attend the opening of the relics of the local appanage prince Roman Vladimirovich.
At the beginning of the Troubles
After the death in 1598 of the childless Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich the Blessed (1584-1598), the Rurik dynasty was suppressed and (1598-1605), who had previously been the brother-in-law of the late monarch, came to power. Hermogenes was present at the election of the new king and took part in the national prayer held at the walls of the Novodevichy Convent.
After the accession of False Dmitry I (1605-1606) to the throne, the Metropolitan began to participate in the work of the Boyar Duma, but showed himself to be a consistent opponent of Otrepiev. He categorically did not accept the election of Patriarch Ignatius and put forward a demand to convert the failed wife of False Dmitry I, a Polish adventurer, to Orthodoxy.
The murder of Otrepiev in May 1606 and the subsequent rise to power (1606-1610) seriously changed the fate of Hermogenes. On the initiative of the new king, Patriarch Ignatius was deposed, lost his episcopal rank and sent to prison in the Chudov Monastery. Hermogenes was quickly elected in his place, since Shuisky was afraid of Fyodor Romanov (Filaret) who was present in Moscow. On July 3, 1606, the Moscow Council confirmed him in this rank. Stubborn and tough in character, Hermogenes was often in confrontation with Shuisky, but always defended him, believing that he was consecrated by the royal crown and this must be taken into account.
Apogee of the Time of Troubles
Past peasant war under the leadership, the appearance of False Dmitry II near Moscow along with the Polish invaders undermined confidence in the tsar. In February 1609, a conspiracy arose with the participation of 300 people, headed by R. Gagarin and G. Sumbulov. They intended to achieve the resignation of Shuisky and by force dragged Hermogenes to the Place of Execution so that he would support the overthrow of the tsar. However, the patriarch demonstrated a strong will and did not succumb to the persuasion of the rebels. Unable to rouse the people to fight, the instigators of the conspiracy went to the camp of False Dmitry II. Hermogenes sent them two letters calling on them to return and repent of their deeds.
Shuisky's deposition nevertheless took place in July 1610, but even then the patriarch defended him to the last, cursing and not recognizing the forcible tonsure of the monarch. After Vasily was placed in the Chudov Monastery, he continued to insist on his return to the throne. Hermogenes strongly condemned the Seven Boyars, which replaced Shuisky, and tried to organize the elections of the Russian monarch. After the election of Vladislav Sigismundovich as Tsar in absentia, he agreed with a heavy heart to recognize him subject to the following conditions:
- withdrawal of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth army from Russian territory;
- his adoption of Orthodoxy.
During the outbreak of the Polish intervention, Hermogenes openly opposed the invaders, calling on the Russian people to come to the defense of the country. With his blessing, a copy of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God was transported from Kazan, which later became the main shrine of the militia.
After the capture of Moscow, Hermogenes found himself in the hands of enemies, showing in this situation an unbending will and strong character. They forcibly renounced his patriarchal rank and put him under arrest in the Chudov Monastery. When he was in prison, the Poles repeatedly demanded that Hermogenes order the militia to stop trying to take the city, but all their exhortations were unsuccessful. Instead, he addressed a final message to the country's patriots, blessing them to fight against the occupiers.
Patriarch Hermogenes died a martyr's death on February 17 (27), 1612, suffering from unbearable hunger and thirst. The case for which the saint fought was completed on October 24, 1612 by the II militia led by K. Minin and D. Pozharsky. They managed to expel him from Moscow, and in February 1613, the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613-1645) was elected to the throne, which Hermogenes really wanted.
Memory of Hermogenes in art
The name of the great patriarch was mentioned in the anonymous work “New Tale of the Orthodox Russian state", written approximately in 1611. She called for a fight against the Polish invaders and condemned the traitors who took their side. G. Dmitriev’s opera “Saint Hermogenes” is dedicated to Hermogenes, his historical role presented in the play of the Moscow Russian Drama Theater " The Royal Way" Among the most significant paintings about the patriarch, the painting by P. Chistyakov, written in 1860, “Patriarch Hermogenes refuses the Poles to sign the letter,” stands out.
The most famous monument to Hermogenes was erected in the Alexander Garden on the initiative of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. It represents a four-meter bronze figure of the patriarch, located on a marble pedestal. On its sides there are bronze bas-reliefs with scenes of famous historical subjects. In one of them, Hermogenes expelled the Poles and the boyars acting with them, who demanded submission and recognition of the citizenship of Vladislav Sigismundovich. It is interesting that they wanted to erect a monument to the patriarch on Red Square back in the 19th century on the site of the current Lenin mausoleum, but then these plans were not destined to come true.
In 1913, on the initiative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hermogenes was canonized as a holy martyr. His relics were placed in new cancer, created on the initiative of Nicholas II and his wife. Every year on March 2, the day of remembrance of the famous patriarch, who gave his life for the freedom of his country, is celebrated.
Saint, patriarch, spiritual writer. Participated in the election of Boris Godunov to the kingdom. He denounced False Dmitry I, demanding the baptism of Marina Mnishek into the Orthodox faith, for which he was disgraced. In 1606, under Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, he was elevated to the patriarchate and actively supported the activities of the tsar. Sent out letters against supporters of the uprising I.I. Bolotnikov, in 1608 spoke out against False Dmitry II.
Little is known about his early years: Polish. military leader A. Gonsevsky had a written certificate about him, taken from one Moscow. a priest, according to whom in his youth G. was “among the Don Cossacks.” First mentioned. as a clergyman already at the age of 50 as a priest of one of the cauldrons. churches, then took monastic vows there and became archimandrite of the Transfiguration Monastery in Kazan. According to his contemporaries, G. was “verbal and cunning, but not sweet-voiced,” “rude in character,” and “cranky in his words and opinions.” With the introduction of the patriarchate in Russia (1589), he was sent to lead the Kazan diocese with the rank of archbishop. An active proponent of the policy of forced Christianization is non-Russian. population of the Volga region, “Hermogenes declared himself zealous for Orthodoxy. In the Kazan land there were baptized foreigners who were considered Christians only in name; alien to the Russians, they hung out with their fellow tribesmen Tatars, Chuvash, Cheremis, lived paganly, did not invite priests in the event of the birth of babies, did not turn to the clergy during burials, and their newlyweds, getting married in the church, performed another marriage ceremony in their own way . Others lived in illicit marriages with German captives, who to Hermogenes seemed no different from the unbaptized. Hermogenes collected and called such bad Orthodox Christians to himself for teaching, but his teachings did not work, and the Metropolitan in 1593 turned to the government with a request to take coercive measures on its part. At the same time, he was also outraged by the fact that Tatar mosques began to be built in Kazan, while for forty years after the conquest of Kazan there was not a single mosque there. The consequence of Hermogenes’ complaints was the order to gather the newly baptized from all over the Kazan district, populate the settlement with them, build a church, place a reliable boyar’s son over the settlement and make sure that the newly baptized observe Orthodox rites, keep fasts, baptize their German captives and listen to teachings from the Metropolitan, and those who disobeyed were to be imprisoned, kept in chains and beaten.” With the accession of False Dmitry I (1605), a Senate was established, in which the highest clergy was supposed to sit. G. became a member of this Senate and was invited to Moscow. He consistently expressed the interests of Rus. Orthodox. The Church, realizing that its power is impossible without the support of the king. authorities. G. demanded the second baptism of the Polish. “girls” - Marina Mnishek, which displeased False Dmitry I, and he expelled the saint from Moscow to his diocese, ordering him to be imprisoned in one of the local monasteries. Having ascended the throne after the murder of False Dmitry I (1606), Tsar Vasily Shuisky, fearing Filaret (F.N. Romanov) who was in Moscow, who was presumably already preparing to take the patriarchal throne, sent him to the metropolitan see in Rostov, and his faithful He ordered the saints to ordain G., summoned from Kazan, as patriarch. But soon the relationship between them completely deteriorated: “Hermogenes was an extremely stubborn, tough, rude, quarrelsome person, moreover, he listened to headphones and trusted them. His subordinates did not like him: he was too strict. But despite all this, he was a straightforward, honest, unshakable man, who sacredly served his convictions, and not his personal views. Constantly in clashes with the tsar, he, however, not only did not shake hands with his many enemies, but always defended Vasily. A strict adherent of form and ritual, Hermogenes respected in him a person who, no matter how he reached the throne, was already sanctified by the royal crown and anointing.” During the civil war (1606-1607), G. mobilized the forces of the church to fight the rebels against the center. authorities, whom he declared heretics and excommunicated. 17 Feb 1609, during Oil Week, Ryaz. nobleman G. Sumbulov, Prince. R. Gagarin and T. Gryaznoy collected approx. 300 people conspirators and demanded that the boyars overthrow Shuisky. However, the boyars hid in their yards, and only the prince. V. Golitsyn went out to Red Square. The conspirators forcibly dragged G. to the Execution Ground, demanding that he support the deposition of Shuisky, but the patriarch, although he did not love the tsar, knowing how he received
or the throne, “nevertheless, he stood unshakably for him, as for the only power that still maintains order in the State, and did not succumb to the intimidation of the conspirators, who, having released him, then moved to the palace.” Having failed to obtain a voluntary abdication from the tsar and seeing that the people did not support them, the conspirators fled to False Dmitry II in Tushino. G. sent them after them to the impostor’s camp, 2 letters to them and other Russian. to the people who were there, so that they would repent and return to the rule of Tsar Vasily Shuisky, who would forgive them. The 1st letter began with the words: “Former Orthodox Christians of every rank, age and dignity, now we don’t know what to call you. I lack strength, my soul hurts and my heart hurts, all my insides are torn apart and all my limbs are trembling, I cry and cry out with sobs. Have mercy, have mercy on your souls and the souls of your parents, arise, come to your senses and return”; The 2nd letter began like this: “To our former brothers, but now we don’t know what to call you, because your deeds do not fit into our minds, our ears have never heard of such deeds before, and we have not read anything like that in the chronicles : Who wouldn’t be surprised by this? Who won't cry? We write this word not to everyone, but only to those who, having forgotten the hour of death and the Last Judgment of Christ and having broken the kiss of the cross, drove away, betraying the Sovereign Tsar and the whole Earth, their parents, wives and children and all their neighbors, especially God ; and those who are taken captive, like Metropolitan Filaret and others, not by their own will, not by force, and do not stand by the Christian law, do not shed the blood of their Orthodox brethren, we do not blame such people, but we pray to God for them.” During the deposition of Vasily Shuisky (1610), G. stood up for him, cursed Z. Lyapunov and his supporters, who actually removed the tsar from power, and did not recognize the forcible tonsure of the tsar, since it could not be sanctified even as a result of correctly performed over him ritual. When Shuisky was already in custody in the Chudov Monastery, he did not cease to insist on the return of the throne to him. G. simply ignored the circumstances that made such a step completely impossible at that time; for him there was only the holiness of observing religions. forms. Seeing that his efforts were in vain, and numerous people had already appeared on the throne. contenders, G. opposed the claims to the Tsar. Prince's crown V.V. Golitsyn nominated M.F. Romanov. However, at this time the majority leaned towards the Polish side. Prince Vladislav, as can be seen from the words of the chronicler: “In Moscow, the boyars and all the Muscovite people did not exile from the cities and depicted the Lithuanian prince Vladislav as the Muscovite state. .. Patriarch Hermogenes said to them with a prohibition: “If he is baptized and will be in the Orthodox Christian faith, I bless you; If he doesn’t get baptized, then there will be a violation of the entire Moscow state and the Orthodox Christian faith, may our blessing not be upon you.” The boyars sent a message to the etman [crown hetman S. Zholkiewski] about the congress. Yetman began to gather with them and talk about Prince Vladislav. And with that, they agreed that they would give them a prince for the kingdom of Moscow and he would be baptized into the Orthodox Christian faith. Etman Zheltovsky told the Moscow people that “the king will give his son Vladislav to the kingdom, and about baptism you will send ambassadors to beat the king.” Patriarch Ermogen strengthened them, so that he would not be placed in the kingdom without baptism; and about this they strengthened themselves and wrote notes on this, that they should be given a prince for the Moscow state, and Lithuania should not enter Moscow: etman Zhelkovsky should stand with the Lithuanian people in the New Maiden Monastery, and another colonel should stand in Mozhaisk. And with that they were strengthened and the cross was kissed by all of Moscow.” However, Zholkiewski did not wait for Moscow. the ambassadors will persuade the Polish. cor. Sigismund III changed the faith of his son, because he knew for sure that this would never happen, and began moving towards the capital. When he was already standing near Moscow, and the “Seven Boyars” were still trying to persuade the patriarch not to insist on Orthodoxy. At the baptism of the prince, the hetman finally made it clear to Moscow. to the boyars that his patience is not unlimited. Frightened Muscovites
The authorities drew up an agreement, trying, if possible, to protect the Orthodox Church. faith and went to ask for blessings from the patriarch, but he stood his ground: “If you do not think of violating the Orthodox faith, may the blessing be upon you, otherwise: may the curse of the four patriarchs and our humility fall on you; and you will accept vengeance from God, along with heretics and apostates!” On August 17, 10 thousand people swore allegiance to Vladislav. The next day the oath continued in Moscow. Assumption Cathedral in the presence of G. Russians also arrived here from near Smolensk. Tushins led by M. Saltykov, Prince. V. Mosalsky-Rubets and M. Molchanov, who “began to serve the king first of all... The Patriarch did not bless them and began to say to them: “You will come to the cathedral apostolic church truth, and not with flattery, and if in your intention there is no violation of the Orthodox Christian faith, then you will have a blessing from the entire ecumenical council and my sinful blessing, but if you came with flattery and in your intention there will be a violation of the Orthodox Christian true faith, then do not awaken the mercy of God on you and the Most Pure Mother of God and butte are cursed from the entire ecumenical council.” This is how his word came to pass. The same boyar Mikhailo Saltykov, with flattery and tears, told the patriarch that he would be a direct, true sovereign. He bless them with the cross.” However, when Molchanov [the murderer of Boris Godunov’s family] approached the blessing, Hermogenes was indignant “and ordered him to be kicked out of the church dishonestly.” After this, the embassy of Filaret and Golitsyn went “from the whole Russian land” to Sigismund’s camp to ask him to give it to Russia. kings of their son Vladislav under the terms of the agreement concluded with Zolkiewski. The Patriarch, faithful to his desire to recognize Vladislav Moscow. We eat the Tsar only after he has adopted Orthodoxy. faith, wrote a letter to the king with the following content: “Great autocratic king, grant us your son, whom God loved and chose as king, in the Orthodox Greek faith, which was predicted by the prophets, preached by the apostles, confirmed by the saints. fathers, all Orthodox Christians observed, which flaunts, brightens and shines like the sun. Grant us a king, who with faith accepted Holy Baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in our Orthodox Greek faith; For the sake of the love of God, have mercy, great sovereign, do not despise this request of ours, lest you also be rude to God and us, the pilgrims, and our countless people, and not offend.” The ambassadors were obliged by all means to ensure that the future tsar accepted Orthodoxy. faith. When during the negotiations the question of allowing Polish passage arose. troops to Moscow, G. sharply opposed the appearance of armed foreigners in the capital and so fiercely began to call on others to resist this fatal decision that one of the boyars (Prince F.I. Mstislavsky) even threw at him with anger: “Your business, Holy Father , look after church affairs, but you should not interfere in worldly affairs!” Polish the army entered Moscow, despite the murmurs excited by the patriarch. Zolkiewski, knowing his strong character, did not go to him at first, limiting himself to polite and respectful letters, with assurances of his respect for Orthodoxy. Later a short time He nevertheless arrived at his courtyard and behaved so deftly that the stern saint was forced to treat him politely, but without a shadow of friendliness: “there was no Latin scholar in the world with whom the stern archpastor could get along.” Soon Zolkiewski was replaced by A. Gonsevski. However, for now the entire population of Moscow. The state elected the son of Sigismund as its sovereign, the latter demanded the surrender of Smolensk, and the Polish. The army constantly fired cannons at this Russian. a city where Russians died every day. People. When Moscow The ambassadors, in response to the king’s demand to surrender Smolensk to him, replied that they did not have the authority to do so; in Moscow, the boyars loyal to Sigismund, M. Saltykov and F. Andronov, “impudently announced to the patriarch and boyars that they should rely on the royal will in everything.” The actions of the king and his servants outraged the patriarch and P. P. Lyapunov, who by that time had already become the head of the spontaneous people. movements against Poles and Lithuanians. He wrote a reproachful letter to the boyars in Moscow and demanded
So that they explain when the prince will arrive and why the agreement signed by Zolkiewski is being violated. The boyars forwarded this message to Sigismund, and Gonsevsky, knowing that one could not play hide and seek with Lyapunov, turned to the patriarch to reprimand this man. But G. understood the consequences this could lead to and flatly refused. 5 Dec. In 1610, the boyars led by F. I. Mstislavsky showed up to the patriarch. They brought a letter to their ambassadors near Smolensk, the essence of which was to do what the king says. Having asked G. to put his signature on it, they demanded that the patriarch calm Lyapunov with his spiritual power. The saint answered this: “Let the king give his son to the Moscow state and lead his people out of Moscow, and let the prince accept the Greek faith. If you write such a letter, I will put my hand to it. But to write in such a way that we all rely on the royal will, I will never do this, and I do not order others to do so. If you do not listen to me, then I will put an oath on you. It is obvious that after such a letter we will have to kiss the cross to the Polish king. I’ll tell you straight: I will write in the cities - if the prince accepts the Greek faith and reigns over us, I will give them a blessing; If he reigns and there is no common faith with us, and the royal people are not taken out of the city, then I will bless all those who kissed his cross to go to Moscow and suffer to death.” The boyars heatedly objected to the patriarch, and in the heat of the argument, M. Saltykov-Krivoy swung a knife at G. “I am not afraid of your knife,” the saint said firmly. “I will arm myself against the knife with the power of the saint’s cross. Cursed be you from our humility in this age and in the future!” The next morning the Patriarch ordered Moscow. people to gather in the cathedral church and listen to his word. When Gonsevsky was informed about this, he ordered the temple to be surrounded and no one allowed in. However, many of the Russians, apparently anticipating such a turn, came to the church in advance and heard the sermon of their archpastor, in which G. persuaded them to stand for Orthodoxy. faith and spread the news of your determination throughout Russia. cities and villages. After such a sermon, guards were assigned to the patriarch. Lyapunov, having learned about this, immediately wrote a letter to the boyars, in which he reproached them and the king for not observing the kiss of the cross, and threatened: “So know, I have already exiled myself to the Seversky and Ukrainian cities; we kiss the cross to stand with the whole earth for the Moscow state and fight to the death with the Poles and Lithuanians.” And in the beginning March 1611 Lyapunov had already begun to carry out his threat and was rapidly moving towards Moscow, joining forces with militias from other cities along the way. In Moscow, Poles and Lithuanians immediately felt a change in the mood of the townspeople, who were no longer afraid to openly express their attitude towards the interventionists. Before Holy Week The Poles, through their spies, learned that the forces of the rebel people were approaching Moscow, and Saltykov, by order of Gonsevsky, along with others. the boyars came to G. and said: “You wrote in the cities; you see, they are going to Moscow. Write to them so that they don’t go,” to which the patriarch replied: “If you, traitors, and all the royal people with you leave Moscow, then I’ll write to them so that they come back. If you don’t come out, then I, humble, will write to them so that they will certainly complete what they started. True faith is trampled underfoot by heretics and by you traitors; Destruction comes to Moscow, desolation comes to the holy churches of God; A Latin church was built in Boris's yard. I can’t hear Latin singing!..” “If you,” M. Saltykov interrupted him, “don’t write to Lyapunov and his comrades to go away, then you yourself will die an evil death.” “You promise me an evil death,” answered G., “but I hope to receive a crown through it and have long wanted to suffer for the truth. I won’t write - I’ve already told you, and you won’t hear another word from me!” Then G. was imprisoned in the Chudov Monastery, forbidding him to leave his cell, he was poorly maintained and disrespected his rank. After the murder of P. Lyapunov (1611), organized by Ataman I. Zarutsky, the militia, although still located near Moscow, consisted mainly
one of the Cossacks loyal to Zarutsky, and he, without hesitation, proclaimed the future king of the son of False Dmitry I and Marina Mnishek. However, G., despite his strict imprisonment, managed to send the letter to Nizh secretly from the Poles. Novgorod, in which he called upon the inhabitants of the Russian. cities under no circumstances recognize as king the son of an impostor and a Catholic woman, “cursed by the Holy Council and by us.” This letter, on his orders, was duplicated and sent to different cities and towns. degree influenced the preparation of the Second Militia. In 1612, when the Poles learned that in Nizh. In Novgorod, at the appeal of K. Minin, a new zemstvo army is gathering; they demanded from the patriarch that he write an appeal to the people of Nizhny Novgorod and instruct them to remain faithful to the oath to Vladislav, to which the saint sharply and firmly replied: “May there be mercy from God and blessing from ours upon them.” humility. And may the wrath of God be poured out on the traitors and may they be cursed in this age and in the future!” For this, the interventionists starved him to death, and on February 17 the patriarch died.
Patriarch of Moscow (1606-1612).
Reliable information about the young years of Patriarch Hermogenes (in the world - Ermolai) has not been preserved. There are versions about his origin from the Vyatka townspeople or the Don Cossacks.
For the first time in written sources, the name Ermolai appears in connection with his priestly service in the late 1570s. He was the rector of the Gostinodvorskaya St. Nicholas Church in the city. In 1579, he participated in the transfer to this temple of the newly appeared icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, found after a fire in the city.
In 1587, after the death of his wife, whose name history has not preserved, Yeromlay became a monk (most likely in the Chudov Monastery in), taking the name Hermogenes. Soon after this, he became archimandrite of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in.
In 1589, Hermogenes was consecrated as bishop to the see of Metropolitan of Kazan and Astrakhan. In this post he became an active promoter of the policy of Christianization of the non-Russian population of the Volga region.
In July 1606, a council of Russian hierarchs elected Hermogenes Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. In this post, he proved himself to be a devoted supporter of the tsar: he supported him in suppressing the uprising of the southern cities, and desperately opposed his overthrow.
Patriarch Hermogenes was an ardent opponent of the “Seven Boyars”. He tried to organize the election of a new tsar from the Russian family (he was the first to propose a candidacy). Reluctantly, he agreed to recognize the son of the Polish king as king, on condition that he Orthodox baptism and the withdrawal of Polish troops from. After the Poles refused to fulfill these conditions, Patriarch Hermogenes, from December 1610, began sending letters to cities calling for a nationwide uprising against the interventionists. The occupiers put Hermogenes under house arrest, and then forcibly removed him from the patriarchal throne and took him into custody in the Moscow Miracle Monastery.
The Poles besieged in the Kremlin more than once sent envoys to Hermogenes demanding that he order the Russian militias to move away from the city, threatening him with the death penalty. The patriarch responded with a decisive refusal to all attacks by the invaders.
After nine months of imprisonment, on February 17 (27), 1612, Patriarch Hermogenes died a martyr from hunger and thirst. He was buried in the Chudov Monastery. In 1654, his incorruptible relics were transferred to the Moscow Kremlin. In 1913, Patriarch Hermogenes was canonized as a martyr.
From time immemorial, God-fearing simple peasant men, wealthy merchants, highly moral, virtuous women, and illustrious rulers became saints in Rus'. The Russian Orthodox people sacredly honor their divine patrons, rely on the protection of the heavenly righteous, seek and find support in them on their own path of spiritual development.
Brief biography of His Serene Lord
Christianity in Russia has many great holy defenders. Patriarch Hermogenes is undoubtedly one of the most significant personalities in the history of Russian Christianity. Much in the biography of this man remains unclear. Until now, historians are engaged in intense debate regarding the significant milestones of his life and fate.
The biography of Patriarch Hermogenes is full of guesswork. It is known for certain that he was born in Kazan and was named Ermolai. Exact date His birth is unknown; historians date it back to 1530. There is also no clear information about the social origin of the patriarch. According to one version, Hermogen belongs to the Rurikovich-Shuisky family, according to another, he comes from the Don Cossacks. Historians are more inclined to believe that the future Saint Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow, was still of humble origin, most likely he was a simple person “from the people.”
Hermogenes' first steps in Orthodoxy
Ermolai began his service in the Kazan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery as an ordinary cleric. He became the parish priest of the Church of St. Nicholas of Kazan in 1579, took part in the ceremony of finding the face of the Kazan Mother of God and wrote “The Legend of the Appearance and Miracles of the Image of the Kazan Mother of God,” which was subsequently sent to Tsar Ivan the Terrible himself.
A few years later, Hermogenes accepted monasticism and soon became first abbot and then archimandrite of the Kazan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. Hermogenes' elevation to the rank of bishop and his appointment as Metropolitan of Kazan and Astrakhan took place in May 1589.
And even now, in the midst of a raging crowd, this elder tried to calm the people with the righteous word of God, to convince them “not to succumb to the devil’s temptation.” This time the coup was not successful, largely thanks to the wisdom and firmness of the word spoken by the patriarch. But still, about three hundred people treacherously managed to escape to the camp of the new impostor in Tushino.
A turning point in the Russian Troubles
Meanwhile, events began to occur in the state that contributed to changing the course of the Troubles. On one of the cold winter days of February 1609, Vasily Shuisky concludes an agreement with the Swedish ruler Charles IX. A detachment of Swedish soldiers was sent to Novgorod and placed under the command of the Tsar’s nephew, Voivode Skopin-Shuisky.
The Russian and Swedish military forces united in this way successfully attacked the army of the Tushino impostor and expelled them from the north-west of Russia. The signing of the treaty by Shuisky and Charles IX and the entry of the Swedish armed forces into Russian soil gave impetus to the start of open military offensives by the Polish king Sigismund against Russia. In the autumn of the same year, the Polish army approached Smolensk, counting on an easy capture of the city. But it was not there!
Smolensk courageously and valiantly, almost two many years, resisted the onslaught of the Poles. In the end, most of The Polish army relocated from near Tushin to besieged Smolensk, and at the end of the year the impostor himself fled from Tushin to Kaluga. In the early spring of 1610, the rebel camp was completely defeated and already on March 12, the capital's people enthusiastically greeted Skopin-Shuisky's army. Threat
The capture of Moscow by the troublemakers had passed, which, however, did not at all mean the end of the war with two aggressors at once - the impostor hiding in Kaluga and Sigismund, who was densely settled near Smolensk.
Shuisky's position at this time became somewhat stronger, when suddenly his nephew-hero Skopin-Shuisky suddenly died. His death leads to truly catastrophic events. The Russian army, advanced to Smolensk against the Poles, under the command of the sovereign's brother, was completely defeated near the village of Klushino. Hetman Zholkiewski, at the head of the Polish army, marched on Moscow and occupied Mozhaisk. The impostor, having gathered the remnants of the army, quickly moved towards the capital from the south.
Deposition of Tsar Vasily. Disgrace of the Patriarch
All these fatal events finally decided the fate of Vasily Shuisky. In the middle of the summer of 1610, rebels entered the Kremlin, captured the boyars, Patriarch Hermogenes, shouting about the deposition of the tsar, was forcibly removed from the Kremlin. The Lord of the Church was unsuccessful in calming down the raging crowd again; this time she did not hear him. The last tsar, who belonged to the ancient Rurik family, was overthrown from the Russian throne, forcefully tonsured as a monk and “exiled” to Tsarskaya Square, located (before his destruction) in the eastern part of the Moscow Kremlin.
Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow, even now did not renounce serving God and Tsar Vasily, whom, despite everything, he considered the true anointed to the Russian throne. He did not recognize Shuisky’s tonsure as a monk due to the fact that an indispensable condition for taking tonsure is the pronunciation of the words of the vow out loud directly to those who become a monk.
In the case of Vasily’s tonsure, the words of renunciation from all worldly things were spoken by Prince Tyufyakin, one of the rebels who forcibly overthrew the king from the throne. By the way, Patriarch Hermogenes later called Tyufyakin a monk. With the deposition of Shuisky, according to historians, the state-political activity of the Bishop ends and his earnest service to Orthodoxy begins.
The boyars completely seized power in the capital. The Patriarch falls into disgrace, the government, nicknamed the “Seven Boyars,” is deaf to all the demands, initiatives, advice and recommendations of Hermogenes. And yet, despite the suddenly deaf boyars, it was at this time that his calls sounded most loudly and firmly, which gave the strongest impetus to the awakening of Russia from the “devilish sleep.”
The fight for the Russian throne
After the deposition of Vasily, he stood before the boyars the most important question- who to make the new Tsar of Rus'. To resolve this issue, a Zemsky Sobor was convened, at which points of view were divided between the rulers. Hermogenes persisted in the opinion of returning Vasily Shuisky to the throne, or, if this was impossible, by anointing one of the Golitsyn princes or the minor son of the Metropolitan of Rostov, Mikhail Romanov, to the throne.
According to the instructions of the patriarch in all Orthodox churches they say prayers to God for the election of Boyars, in turn they advocate for the election of the son of the Polish ruler Sigismund, Tsarevich Vladislav, to the Russian throne. The Poles seemed to them the least evil in comparison with the self-proclaimed False Dmitry II and his Tushino “army”. Only the Patriarch realized how disastrous for Russia the path chosen by the boyars would be.
The boyars, who did not listen to Hermogenes, began to negotiate with the Polish government. The result of these negotiations was the agreement of the Seven Boyars to be anointed to reign. And here the patriarch showed all the strength of his character. He put forward several strict conditions - Vladislav would not be able to become the Russian Tsar without accepting the Orthodox faith, the baptism of the prince must occur before his arrival in Moscow, Vladislav would only have to marry a Russian girl, and cease all relations with the Catholic Pope and Catholicism in all its manifestations. The ambassadors sent to the Poles with these demands returned without a clear answer, to which the patriarch said that if the prince refused to be baptized, no further negotiations would be held about anointing him to the royal throne.
Betrayal of the Seven Boyars
Again, an embassy headed by Metropolitan Philaret and Prince Golitsyn is sent to Sigismund with a clear order from the Patriarch to urgently demand that Vladislav accept Orthodoxy. Hermogenes blessed the ambassadors, giving the order to stand firmly on this demand and not succumb to any tricks of the Polish king.
And then the Patriarch suffered a new blow. On September 21, at night, the boyars treacherously opened the capital gates to the Polish army led by Hetman Zholkiewski. The Bishop tried to be indignant at this action. But the boyars responded to all the indignation to the patriarch that the church had no business interfering in worldly affairs. Sigismund decided to take the Russian throne himself, in fact simply annexing Rus' to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A considerable number of boyars wished to swear allegiance to the Polish king. In its turn Russian ambassadors firmly carried out the orders of the patriarch, unwaveringly defending the state interests of the state of Russian and Orthodox Christianity.
One day, Vladyka Hermagen addressed the Russian people, exhorting the laity to oppose the election of the Polish ruler as Tsar of Rus'. The patriarch’s passionate speech, filled with righteousness, achieved its goal and found a response in the soul of the Russian people.
The boyars sent another letter agreeing to the accession of King Sigismund to the throne, but due to the absence of the signature of His Serene Patriarch, the Russian ambassadors said that from time immemorial on Russian soil any business, whether state or secular, began with the advice of the Orthodox clergy. And now that Hard times If the Russian state remains without a tsar, then there is no one else to be the main arbiter except the patriarch, and without his command it is impossible to resolve any matter. The angry Sigismund stopped all negotiations, the ambassadors returned to Moscow.
On a winter evening in 1610, False Dmitry II was brutally murdered, which caused real rejoicing among the Russian people. Calls for the expulsion of the Poles from Russian land began to be heard more and more often. Some testimonies from the Poles themselves about this time have survived to this day. They say that the Patriarch of Moscow secretly distributed orders throughout the cities, in which he calls on the people to unite and quickly move to the capital to defend the Christian Orthodox faith and expel foreign occupiers.
Monument to Patriarch Hermogenes on Red Square in Moscow:
Firmness of faith and feat of the Patriarch
And again a threat crept up on Patriarch Hermogenes. Traitors and Polish henchmen decided to separate the patriarch from the whole world in order to stop the delivery of the patriarch's appeals to the people.
On January 16, 1611, troops were brought into the patriarchal courtyard, the courtyard was plundered, and the Bishop himself was subjected to humiliation and ridicule. But despite the almost complete isolation, the calls of the Holy Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church spread among the people. Cities of Russia have once again risen to defend the state. Civil uprising poured towards the walls of the capital to liberate it from the Polish invaders. In February 1611, traitors deposed the Patriarch and imprisoned him in a dark dungeon at the Chudov Monastery, where they starved him and humiliated his dignity in every possible way.
Vladyka Hermogenes accepted martyrdom on January 17. Although historians have no clue on this issue consensus. According to some accounts, the Patriarch died of hunger, according to others, he was deliberately poisoned carbon monoxide or brutally strangled.
Some time after the death of the elder, Moscow was freed from the presence of Poles in it, and on February 21, 1613, the Russian throne was occupied by Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, for whom Hermogenes undoubtedly prayed to the Lord God.
Initially, the patriarch was buried in the Chudov Monastery. Subsequently, it was decided to transfer the Vladyka’s body to the Assumption Cathedral - the pantheon for the highest clergy of Moscow. At the same time, it turned out that the relics of the saint remained incorruptible, so the remains were not lowered into the ground. The canonization of the patriarch took place in 1913.