The Hagiographic Icon of the Holy Monk Abbot Sergius of Radonezh

In the 9th century, the first icons appeared in Byzantium, depicting the image of a saint surrounded by small stigmata reflecting his life. Such icons are called hagiographic, telling about events and miracles in their entirety, regardless of time and place. Later, hagiographic icons were transferred to the territory of Ancient Russia and are widely used in Russian Orthodox art. Russian Russian icon surrounded by twelve stamps depicts the greatest ascetic, historical and political figure of the fourteenth century, a talented diplomat, one of the most famous Russian saints - Sergius of Radonezh, founder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, teacher and mentor of many Russian saints canonized by the Orthodox Church. The life and ascetic labors of St. Sergius of Radonezh took place during the formation of Moscow Rus, under the reign of Ivan Kalita and his grandson Dimitri Donskoy, for whom Sergius of Radonezh was a spiritual father. The life of Sergius of Radonezh was written at the turn of the XIV–XV centuries by the biographer Epiphanius the Wise. It is known from this work that St. Sergius was born in 1314 in the village of Varnitsy, near Rostov, into the family of the Rostov boyars Cyril and Maria, and was baptised Bartholomew. The first two stamps of the hagiographic cycle of the upper row of the icon tell about Christmas and epiphany. The following stamp is dedicated to the event reported by the biographies of St. Sergius – Receiving the gift of understanding letters. At the age of seven, Bartholomew found it difficult to study, but after his fervent prayers, the Lord sent him an Angel in the guise of an elder, who blessed him to master literacy, and since then the boy began to succeed in science. Around 1328, Bartholomew's family was forced to move to the city of Radonezh, where Bartholomew spent his youth. At the age of 23, having taken monastic vows with the name Sergius, Saint Sergius retired to the forest to live in the wilderness. There is a legend about the saint's friendship with a wild bear, with whom the hermit shared his meager food. The left stamp shows the plot - "Sergius feeds a wild bear." Monks began to seek advice and help from the recent hermit Sergius of Radonezh, who soon formed a brotherhood of twelve monks. This is how the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra was founded. In 1354, Bishop Athanasius of Volhynia consecrated the monk to the rank of hieromonk and elevated him to the rank of abbot. The stamp of the upper row depicts the plot – "The ordination of Sergius to the priesthood by Bishop Athanasius." The right-hand stamp depicts the scene of the miraculous "Vision of birds to St. Sergius," when the darkness of the night dissolved and many beautiful birds flocked to the monastery, and a voice was heard: "Sergius! You pray for your children, and the Lord has accepted your prayer: look at how many monks have gathered under your guidance in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity! The number of your disciples will multiply and will not decrease after you, if they want to follow in your footsteps." In 1374, Sergius became a confidant of the Moscow princes, being one of the confessors of Dimitri Donskoy, who supported the Grand Duke in the struggle against the Mongol-Tatar yoke. The stamp on the right row depicts the scene "The Blessing of Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy before the Battle of Kulikovo." As the Life of the monk testifies, Sergius of Radonezh performed miracles during his earthly life: "Once, after praying, the elder healed a seriously ill villager; there was a shortage of water, and through the prayers of the saint, an abundant spring broke out from the ground" (stigmata of the left row).The lower row of stamps depicts "The Service of the Divine Liturgy by St. Sergius with an Angel." This liturgy took place shortly before the repose of the saint. At that time, the silent Isaac saw a wonderful flame emanating from the monk and an Angel in the form of a wonderful man in shining robes, who served at the liturgy and followed Sergius with the Gospel. Nearby there is a stamp depicting the "Apparition of the Virgin to St. Sergius." During his ascetic life, St. Sergius was honored with a visit to the Mother of God with the Apostles Peter and John during prayer. During this miraculous visit, the Mother of God promised St. Sergius that she would protect those who were struggling in the Trinity Monastery and that the grace of this holy place would not be impoverished. Having reached a great old age, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, having seen his death in six months, called the brethren to him and blessed his disciple, St. Nikon, to the abbacy. In silent solitude, the Monk reposed to God on September 25, 1392 (the mark of the lower row). The day before, the great saint of God addressed the words of his testament: "Take heed to yourselves, brethren. First, have the fear of God, purity of soul, and unfeigned love..." In the table of contents of the hagiographic icon, the image of the Holy Trinity is a reminder of the founding of the Trinity Lavra by St. Sergius and the Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev, a disciple of Sergius of Radonezh. The words of the troparion run along the contour of the icon: "As an ascetic of virtues, as a true soldier of Christ God, you have struggled mightily in your temporal life, in penances, vigils, and fasts, having been your disciple, so may the Most Holy Spirit dwell in you." On the reverse side of the icon is a prayer to St. Sergius of Radonezh: "Oh, holy head. Our venerable and God-bearing Father Sergius, through your prayer, faith, and love for God, and purity of heart, who still established your soul on earth in the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, and vouchsafed you the angelic communion and visitation of the Most Holy Theotokos, and received the gift of miraculous grace, but after your departure from earthly life, most of all, come to God and partake of heavenly Powers, but do not depart from us in your spirit of love and your honest might, as a vessel of grace full and overflowing, leaving us! Having great boldness towards the All-merciful Master, pray to His servants to save you, who believe in His grace and flow to you with love. Ask us from our magnanimous God for every gift that is acceptable to all and to whom it is good, the observance of the immaculate faith, the establishment of our cities, peace, deliverance from gladness and perdition, preservation from the invasion of strangers, consolation for the sorrowful, healing for the sick, resurrection for the fallen, return to the path of truth for those who err."