The meaning of Elizabeth of Constantinople in the Orthodox encyclopedia tree. Life of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth (Romanova) Icon with the face of Elizabeth of Constantinople
As presented by St. Demetrius of Rostov
The Venerable Elizabeth, even from her mother’s womb, was chosen to serve God, for before her mother was born, it was announced from God that she would have a daughter who would be the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit. From her youth, given over to the service of God and ignorant of the immortal Bridegroom Christ, Saint Elizabeth in the rank of Angels served God, among other virgin nuns 1, exhausting her body with fasting and labor, and she pleased God so much that she received from Him the gift of healing the ailments of people, not only physical, but also mental. With her prayer she healed every bodily illness, and with her speeches and God-inspired instructions she healed human souls, instructing them to repentance and all virtues. Only a stiff hair shirt served as clothing for her, and although her body was frozen from the cold, her spirit always burned with the flame of divine love. Having been appointed abbess over the sisters, the saint showed even greater feats, caring for the salvation of their souls.
Her abstinence was excessive, for she spent many years without eating bread and eating only fruits and vegetables; she never tasted oil or wine in her entire life. Very often she fasted for forty days, like the great Moses 2, not eating anything during this time 3. For three years, she, imitating the humility of the Gospel tax collector (Luke 18:13), did not raise her bodily eyes to heaven, but with her spiritual eyes she always looked to the God who lives in heaven and, contemplating Him in her thoughts sitting on a high and adorned throne surrounded by seraphim, she did not turn her thoughts to earthly objects. When, as usual, she prayed alone at night, she was illuminated by heavenly light from above.
In addition, Saint Elizabeth performed many miracles: she once killed a fierce serpent with prayer; another time she healed a woman who had been bleeding for a long time, also cast out unclean spirits from people, and performed many other miracles. Miracles were performed by her not only during her life, but also after her blessed death. At her tomb many different healings were given to the sick; for example, many blind people received their sight at her tomb. May Christ God, wondrous in His saints, be glorified through her!
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1 Saint Elizabeth was a nun of the Constantinople monastery, built in honor of the holy unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian by Emperor Justin I (who reigned from 518 to 527). In this monastery she later became abbess (abbot). It is impossible to indicate the exact time of her life and activity due to the lack of information about this in historical monuments. But based on the fact that in honor of her in the second half of the 9th century. The canon was written by Saint Joseph the hymnographer (who died in 883), they conclude that Saint Elizabeth lived between the 6th and 9th centuries.
Icon of St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker. End of the 19th century. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Monastery
January 6/19, 2002 to the St. John the Baptist Monastery from the Church of Sts. App. Peter and Paul on the Yauza, two revered shrines of the monastery were returned: the ancient miraculous image of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John with a hoop and the icon of St. St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker, Abbess of Constantinople. Church of St. App. Peter and Paul, which was not closed during the Soviet period, became the guardian of these shrines of the Ivanovo monastery by God's providence, to which they returned soon after the revival of monastic life in it.
ABOUT Let us first come to the image of St. Elizabeth, since her church was the first to be restored in the monastery in 1995, and before the consecration of the Cathedral of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, services were performed in the house Elizabeth church. Icon of St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker was written in the second half of the 19th century for the new cathedral of the monastery, which was restored in 1879. The monastery existed for no more than 40 years after its renewal. In 1918, it was one of the first to be closed, and a concentration camp was located on its main territory. The cathedral continued to operate together with the Elizabethan Church until 1926 and early 1927.
According to the inventory of property that was in use of the Orthodox Christian Society at the Church of St. John the Baptist, in 1923 this image was in the main altar of the monastery Cathedral: “Icon of St. Venerable. Elizabeth in an icon case under glass with a chased gold border, picturesque, size 11/2 arch. x 1 arsh. 3 inches*" 1 . The icon is made, like many other similar icons, on metal - zinc. This is evidenced by the same inventory: “In the walls of the temple there are picturesque images of saints of various sizes in gilded baguettes on zinc and linen” 2 .
After the closure of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist at the end of 1926 - beginning. In 1927, the community of believers moved with some of the church property of the monastery to the Church of St. Trinity in Serebryaniki. Icon of St. Elizabeth is in the “Inventory of liturgical objects and church property transported from the temple b. Ivanovo Monastery to the Church of St. Trinity in Serebrenichesky lane." 3 dated April 30, 1927. When the turn of closure came to the Church of St. Trinity, icon of St. Elizabeth was transferred to the Church of St. App. Peter and Paul.
Now the restored icon of St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker is located in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Monastery of St. John the Baptist 4.
House church in the name of St. St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker in the John the Baptist Convent was established with the blessing of St. Philaret of Moscow and according to the will of the wealthy widow and benefactor of the monastery Elizaveta Alekseevna Makarova-Zubacheva in honor of her heavenly patroness.
By the providence of God, the ancient holy abbess of the 5th century, Elizaveta the Wonderworker, inspired Elizaveta Alekseevna with the good idea of reviving the ancient Moscow monastery, devastated by the French in 1812. Elizaveta Alekseevna, remembering her late husband, the same name as John the Baptist, and with the prayers of St. St. Elizabeth, fulfilling the will of God, bequeathed her entire considerable fortune to the renovation of the monastery. And the holy abbess Elizabeth became one of the patrons of the St. John the Baptist monastery.
The image of the reverend abbess is made in a soft combination of pink, blue and soft greenish shades, and shows us the spiritual appearance of the saint. St. Elizabeth is depicted in full growth standing on the bank of a river or lake, behind which the outlines of a number of low hills can be seen, as if in a light haze. The saint is clothed in a reddish color, similar to the earth at her feet, a tunic and a green mantle, which, like the blue of the heavens around her, covers her. The head of the saint is shrouded in a lilac omophorion and a schematic pendant of the same color is visible under the mantle on the tunic. There are no external symbols of the abbot’s power on the icon, but the prayerfully focused face of the Holy One and the restrained, integral and soft appearance reveal in it the gifts of unceasing prayer before the Lord and spiritual power - care for those who ask for her help. Her right hand is bent towards her chest and, as it were, points to her heart, which is constantly turned to God. Left hand of St. Elizabeth holds an unfolded scroll with the words of prayer for all those who come running under her protection:
“Lord my God, hear me, grant remission of sins to the one who remembers the name of Elizabeth, and at the hour of departure, accept his soul in peace and give him a place of peace.”
Such is the spiritual power, strength and boldness of the saint, who cares about the forgiveness of sins, repentance and the eternal fate of souls, for which she calls on the mercy of God.
A special providential gift and truly a miracle of God was the discovery of the complete life of St. Elizabeth, which was preserved only in one Florentine manuscript of the 14th century, discovered in the 50s. XX century 5, Its first edition was carried out in 1973 by the Catholic scholar-hagiographer, a member of the Jesuit-Bollandist congregation, Fr. François Alken in the collection Analecta Bollandiana 91 6. The Bollandists are known as a society of learned monks engaged in the research and publication of the Lives of the Saints of the Eastern and Western Churches. The activities of this society were started in 1643 by John Bolland 7 . Several years ago, the life was translated from Greek into Russian by the historian A.Yu. Vinogradov and first published in Russian by the St. John the Baptist Monastery in 2002. In it St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker is not only the patroness of female cenobitic monasticism, but also the vessel of the Holy Spirit from which flow the grace-filled gifts of miracles and healings from various diseases.
Even before her conception in her mother’s womb, she was given the name of the righteous Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, “for (as life tells) she will be like the mother of the Baptist and Baptist John” 8. As a daughter given by God to barren parents, she undoubtedly has the grace to help those burdened with this sorrow. Very young she became the abbess of the monastery of St. Vmch. George in Constantinople, where her paternal aunt had previously been abbess. In the abbess of St. Elizabeth was installed by Saint Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople (458-471). Thanks to her deepest humility and truly monastic life according to the Gospel commandments, the Lord granted her many gifts at a young age. She healed incurable diseases, cast out demons in the name of Christ, received many revelations and predicted the future for the salvation of her neighbors. Thus, she predicted a terrible fire in Constantinople in 465, which was extinguished by the power of the prayers of St. Elizabeth and etc. Daniel the Stylite; She also delivered one of the outskirts of Constantinople from the terrible serpent that was destroying people. She provided special assistance to many women who suffered from continuous female bleeding; healed from blindness. She was notified 24 days in advance of her death, for which she prepared and, with her constant instructions and teachings, prepared the sisters of her monastery, and blissfully gave up her spirit to God after the patronal feast day in her monastery of St. Vmch. George. After her death, by the power of God, she performed the same miracles of healing as during her life: she healed a withered man, a blind man, and a demon-possessed man; many other miracles “because of their abundance” are not set forth in detail in the life, “but are recorded elsewhere” 9 .
St. St. Elizabeth the Wonderworker, the patroness of the St. John the Baptist Monastery, still prays for all those who resort to her help. She was connected by a special spiritual relationship even before her conception and birth with St. Prophet John and his righteous parents more than fifteen centuries ago. And we see this special prayer cover and unity in our monastery in the construction and revival of two churches of St. St. Elizabeth and St. Prophet John, and in the simultaneous return of two shrines after the opening of the monastery.
* Arshin = 71.12 cm (16 vershok), vershok = 4.445 cm.
1 - TsGAMO. F 66. Op. No. 18. D. No. 334. L. 18 vol.
2 Ibid. L. 22 rev.
3 Ibid. L. 46. No. 9.
4 In 2002, the icon was placed in the house Elisabeth church of the monastery, where it remained until 2005. At the request of pilgrims, with the blessing of the abbess of the monastery, the icon was transferred from the house church to the cathedral.
5 Bibliotheca hagiographica graeca. Bruxellex, 1957. No. 2121.
6 Orthodox Encyclopedia. M., 2001. T. 2. P. 79, 213.
8 Life of the Venerable Elizabeth the Wonderworker. M.: Ioanno-Predtechensky Monastery, 2002. P.6.
Day of Remembrance: May 7 - April 24
Venerable Elizabeth the Wonderworker - St. John the Baptist Monastery in Moscow
The house church in the cell building of our monastery is consecrated in honor of the Venerable Elizabeth, Abbess of Constantinople, the wonderworker, and in the main cathedral of the monastery there is a revered icon of her.
Homeland of the Rev. Elizabeth's capital was Heraclea Thracian, and her parents were not some unknown and ignorant people, but noble ones, renowned for their wealth and outstanding in virtue (Eunomian is the name of his father, who was then a disciplinarian, and his mother is Euphemia). Living according to the meaning of their names, loving and pleasing to God, and constantly practicing the law of the Lord, they were known to everyone and extolled by everyone. For living near the mentioned city, in a place formerly called Frakocrina, and now Avidina, they were, like righteous Job, pious and blameless and, imitating the hospitality of the patriarch Abraham, generously provided those in need with everything they needed. Therefore, they receive, like him, according to the promise, the fruit of the womb worthy of their own beauty and charity, and how this happened will explain our story. After all, although sixteen years had passed since their wedding, they remained childless and, deprived of offspring, naturally grieved, suffered and earnestly begged God, Who Looks at hearts, to resolve their sadness about childlessness and give them a child who would inherit their family and wealth. The Lord, who fulfills the desires of those who fear Him, graciously listened to their prayer and did not despise their prayer for what was pleasing to Him.
Elizabeth the Wonderworker, Constantinople(), abbess, reverendSaint Elizabeth was chosen to serve God even before her birth. Her mother had a revelation that the young woman would be the chosen vessel of the Holy Spirit. From childhood, her parents sent the girl to a monastery.
She grew up in fasting and labor and received the gift of healing not only physical ailments, but also mental ones. The sisters elected the venerable abbess. The monk wore clothes made of sharp hair shirt. Her body was freezing, but her spirit was burning with the flame of Divine love.
The saint's abstinence was immeasurable: for many years she ate only herbs and vegetables without bread, and never took wine or oil. Many times the Monk Elizabeth spent the Holy Pentecost without eating anything. Imitating the publican’s humility, she did not raise her eyes to heaven for three years, but always looked to God with her spiritual eyes.
The saint performed many miracles: she killed a fierce snake with prayer, healed a bleeding woman who had been ill for many years, and drove away unclean spirits from people. Upon death, the coffin of St. Elizabeth also provided healing from illnesses. Even the very ashes taken from her relics granted sight to the blind.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 8
Adorned with virtues, O all-validated one,/ and admirable to all in fear of God,/ having appeared to the poor as treasure, and received riches in Heaven,// remember us to those who honor us, glory to the righteous.
Kontakion, tone 6
Truly, you will gain a fair amount of the word of life, your church, / the righteous without doubting the heights, / punishers of God, pleasing God, / all the more you will rejoice in nature; / for this reason we call you: rejoice Hey, Elisaveto the wise.
AUGUST 1 - DISCOVERY OF THE RECENTS OF THE REVEREND SERAPHIM, THE WONDERWORKER OF SAROV (1903). JOY OUR FRATE SERAPHIM Pastors on how to acquire love and affectionate attitude toward everyone Today the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the discovery of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. The Wonderworker Seraphim greeted everyone with the exclamation “My joy! Christ is risen!” Next to the priest, hearts thawed, faith in the Living God arose, and repentance came. Priests Dimitry Shishkin and Nikolai Bulgakov told the correspondent of the portal Pravoslavie.Ru how to acquire love and an affectionate attitude towards everyone. “If we do not have complete love, we will do deeds of love” Priest Dimitry Shishkin Priest Dimitry Shishkin, rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village. Pochtovoe of the Bakhchisarai region (Simferopol and Crimean diocese): - When we talk about the Christian attitude towards one’s neighbor, we must remember that affection can easily turn into endearment and people-pleasing. Excessive affection and “condescension” can, after all, destroy a person. This is especially evident in our time, when it is “philanthropy” that is used to justify extreme leniency towards human passions and vices. The Holy Fathers always distinguished the attitude towards the person himself, no matter how low he fell, from the attitude towards the spirits of darkness, towards the passions that possess this or that person. We lack those who, while comforting us, would not flatter our pride and selfishness. The affectionate attitude of the saint of God, St. Seraphim, has a special quality: it stems from the depths of a God-loving heart. And this love of God, suffered and acquired as a priceless gift, allows you to truly love a person precisely in the awareness of his true calling. The love and affection of St. Seraphim embraces the whole person, contributing not only to his mental and physical peace, but most of all to salvation in eternity. How we miss such people who, while comforting and inspiring us to spiritual life, at the same time would not flatter our pride and selfishness. And that’s exactly what Saint Seraphim is like! His affection, extreme warmth and love extended, as a rule, to those whose souls were softened by repentance or at least an inclination towards it. It is precisely to repentance that true love and spiritual affection encourage to an even greater extent. But if the monk met an arrogant and proud person, entrenched in sins and unwilling to change, we see completely different examples - considerable severity and even accusatory harshness. However, this harshness is actually filled with love and extreme anxiety for the eternal future of man, for his salvation. We, of course, need to treat each other not only with outwardly kind and affectionate treatment, but also, most importantly, with true and unfeigned brotherly love. The Lord Himself commanded us to do this; the holy apostles spoke about this more than once. But brotherly love is not acquired immediately. It is given bit by bit by the Lord as we ourselves seek love and learn to acquire it. That is why the Lord says: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). He does not say “ask,” but “ask,” that is, in your good desire, in your soul-beneficial request, you need to show persistence and patience, extending even to the last moment of earthly life. This is how spiritual life works—nothing can be settled here completely, nothing can be considered a done deal. Everything requires extreme sobriety and attention. And in the matter of acquiring love, too. But even if we do not have that very heartfelt and full love from which truly spiritual and affectionate treatment of our neighbors comes, we will at least do deeds of love. We will try to please God just by good deeds performed for the sake of Christ. And the Lord, seeing our need, our heartfelt request, seeing our constancy in good deeds, will certainly give us spiritual love for Him and our neighbors, and this is the greatest treasure of a Christian! It is in this constancy, in this daily and careful fulfillment of the Commandments of Christ, in contrite and attentive prayer, that probably the main “recipe” for acquiring love from St. Seraphim is contained. *** “Faith makes a good attitude towards any person” Priest Nikolai Bulgakov Priest Nikolai Bulgakov, rector of the Church of the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Kratovo, Moscow region: - “My joy!” - so affectionately the Monk Seraphim of Sarov greeted everyone who came to him. Of course, we also need affection. We all love to be treated kindly. “Beat everyone with affection and love,” this was the advice Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, a younger contemporary of St. Seraphim, gave to his sisters. But where do you get it, this tenderness? She must be sincere. You can't pretend to be affectionate. If you try to deliberately say “My joy!”, and there is coldness in your words, there will be no sense. The main thing is not what is outside, but what is inside. You won't get far on the outside. How did St. Seraphim do this? How he managed to speak in a kind voice to everyone - although, probably, those who spoke to him not kindly also visited him. And those who came to him were sinners! Father Seraphim knew everything about them - more than even they knew about themselves. The Lord revealed it to him. Why were they a joy to him? What did they do to make him happy? And the fact that they are people. That they live in the world. That God created them. That He loves them, provides for them, endures, forgives, cares: He sends them to His saint for advice, and gives him a good thought - which will be useful to them. It will become easier for them to live, more joyful...
