On the pages of one of the manuscripts of the library of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery we will find a record made in 1584 by the hand of the book guardian Arseny Vysoky: “On June in “Y” the day of the stichera and the canon for the Presentation (ecclesiastical meeting) of the image of the wonderworker Demetrius.” This reference to a church service is for us historical evidence about the feast of the Presentation of the Icon of St. Demetrius, Abbot of Prilutsk, Vologda Wonderworker. The image of St. Demetrius was brought to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery in 1503. In memory of this event, a holiday was established, which takes place on June 3 (old style; in the new style - June 16) and is in church calendar Vologda is especially significant.
History has not left us a description of the miraculous icon brought to the monastery, but God's Providence preserved, like other shrines, the icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky with the life, written at the beginning of 1503. For five centuries now, this holy icon has been with the Vologda residents, giving help and consolation to everyone who comes to it with faith. At the same time, this icon is the oldest surviving icon of the Vologda wonderworker; its appearance in the monastery was associated with the feast of the Presentation. After the closure of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery in 1924, it was taken to the Vologda Museum, where it remains to this day. In 1996, following the ancient custom, for the newly opened monastery, with the blessing His Holiness Patriarch
All Rus' Alexy, a new icon was made, especially revered in the monastery - a copy from an ancient shrine.
From life it is known that the Monk Demetrius was gifted by God with extraordinary physical beauty and tried in every possible way to hide it. He undertook the feat of fasting and abstinence so that this beauty would fade, so as not to serve as a temptation for others.
However, from fasting his face brightened even more, just as the faces of the three youths in Babylonian captivity bloomed, strictly observing the commandment of fasting (Dan 1:11-15) “Now the wonderful Demetrius shines on earth like the sun, illuminating many monks with abundant miracles and signs.” , - they sang the miracle worker in the Eulogy to him.
Looking at the icon of St. Demetrius, people see the light with which the face and golden background shine, visibly testifying that “the deification achieved by the saint is the beginning of the transformation of the whole world.”
The icon “with all its shapes, lines and colors” reflects the inner state of a person, “whose face shines with a blessed light more than the sun.” And therefore, all suffering, sick and weak people, to whom the mercy of God appeared through the prayers of St. Demetrius both in the 16th and 20th centuries, saw the Saint in the image of a “holy old man” illuminated with light.
On the icon, the marks with “deeds” are located around the prayer image of the Saint in the order of their reading, in rows from left to right. “Reading” them, we follow the Saint in his footsteps, learning from the example of the Saint’s life a humble, meek Christian life. The Monk Demetrius was born at the beginning of the 14th century in the village of Ves-levo near Pereyaslavl. It is unknown what the name of the Saint was in the world. Tradition has preserved the surname and title of his father - merchant Pokropaev. The monk was destined to engage in trade, which his father conducted, but he early realized that earthly wealth and blessings, with their temptations and passions, are fleeting and changeable. The Reverend's favorite reading was Holy Bible, and he often recalled the words of Christ in the Holy Gospel: “And whoever has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). He himself was looking for something different in life, eternal - God, and when he was very young in the Pereyaslavl Goritsky Monastery of the Assumption
Holy Mother of God “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”(Matthew 11:29), he cut off his will. The teachers of monasticism and the holy fathers attach great importance to cutting off one’s will (obedience). important. Through the submission of his will (in which sinful passions operate, where good is mixed with evil) to the will of his spiritual father, the ascetic acquires the skill of subordination to the Will of God. As a young monk, with his humility and obedience in his labors for the brethren, constant prayer, fasting and patience, and simplicity, Demetrius surprised even the older brethren.
Soon, in the Dormition Monastery “like those on Goritsy,” the Monk Demetrius received the rank of priesthood (stamp 2).
Having become a hieromonk and striving for solitude, the Monk Demetrius decided to found a monastery. He chose the marshy shore of Lake Pleshcheevo, on the opposite side of the Goritsky Monastery, and settled in a cell built on this place. Around 1350 (according to other sources, in the 1370s) a temple was built here in honor of St. Nicholas, new cells appeared around it, and lay people began to come who wanted to accomplish the salvation of their souls in monasticism. In the St. Nicholas Monastery, soon after its founding, Abbot Demetrius established a cenobitic charter (stamp 3).
In 1354 there was a meeting between the Monk Demetrius and the Monk Sergius of Radonezh (the Monk Sergius then came to Pereyaslavl to ask for the abbot to his Holy Trinity monastery). Then the Monk Demetrius visited the Monk Sergius many times, who became hegumen at the Trinity Monastery, performed joint divine services with him, was his “close friend and interlocutor,” learning from him the wisdom of performing unceasing, silent prayer and guiding the brethren of the monastery to salvation (stamp 4).
The Monk Demetrius, observing the increasing glory around him, saw in it the danger of vanity, vanity and decay. He left his monastery, taking with him a devoted disciple - Pachomius. Arriving in the North, where they wanted to please God in silence through labor, fasting and prayer, they found a place in the Avnezh volost, at the confluence of the Velikaya and Lezha rivers, and built a church here in the name of the Holy Resurrection of Christ.
Local residents, fearing for their lands, raised a murmur, and the Monk Demetrius left, leaving Avnega forever (stamp b).
Having reached Vologda, again decorated with many churches after the devastating fire of 1335, he and Pachomius stopped three miles from the city, in a bend of the Vologda River. Here, on an elevated shore, my heart felt the beauty and harmony of the world and thanked the Creator for everything. Local residents Ilya Rakov and Isidor Vypryag greeted the Saint warmly and did not spare the field sown with grain, giving the land for the monastery. Having learned about the stay of “his elder,” Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy sent donations and gifts, and gradually the first cenobitic monastery in Vologda began to be established (stamp 7).
One day, when the brethren were engaged in ordinary monastic affairs, it was suddenly revealed to the Monk Demetrius, who was standing nearby, that the Grand Duke Demetrius Donskoy had passed away from this temporary life, and the Monk began to immediately ask God for the repose of the prince with the righteous. The witnesses who happened at this did not understand, about than the Saint says, but they remembered his words, and a few days later the sad news came from Moscow about the death of Grand Duke Demetrius on the very day when the Monk Demetrius prayed for him (stamp 8) In Pereyaslavl the Saint had brother
Being among those few people who, having found the narrow path and the narrow gate leading to eternal life (Matthew 7:14), walked along it with humility and patience, the Monk Demetrius lived for many years, reached a respectable old age, became adorned with gray hair and became completely infirm. After pointing out the imminent end of his life, he turned to the brethren and blessed his spiritual son Pachomius to be hegumen in his place (stamp 10).
The Monk Demetrius reposed in 1392, February on the 11th (24th) day. The brethren learned about the blessed death of their abbot at night by the wonderful fragrance of incense that spread throughout the monastery. Arriving at his cell, the brothers saw the abbot who had died in Bose, illuminated by a wondrous light (mark 11).
The venerable body of St. Demetrius was buried in the church, which the Saint himself erected and where he labored until last days life (stamp 12).
A little more than ten years passed after his death, and Vologda was attacked by an army of Vyatchans - residents of Vyatka and the lands adjacent to it. Separating from the Moscow state during the civil strife that began, the Vyatichi, although they were Christians, ravaged the city and nearby villages, and plundered the Dimitriev monastery.
Some of the soldiers entered the church, and one of them began to remove the cover from the miraculous tomb of the Saint. But by divine power in the form of an angel, he was hit on the church floor and lost his life. The daring warrior was buried in the monastery (stamp 13). The possessed Simeon was brought to the monastery by his relatives, bound with iron rods, making bestial sounds, swearing, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, looking terrible, and they were barely forced into the church.
When, after another fire in the monastery, they began to rebuild a new (third) cathedral church, the abbot and the brethren did not have enough materials, as well as bread, to feed the people working on the construction, and there were more than two hundred of them. Then one monk, in a shallow sleep, saw the “elder of the sacred” carrying logs from the river to the church. Other people standing in front of the monastery gates saw the same image, recognized it as the holy abbot and were surprised that “Dimitri himself wears anciently.” It was unusual for worldly people to see the gray-haired abbot doing hard work. From that day, the construction of the church proceeded at a rapid pace, the help of the monastery in distress through the prayer of the Monk Demetrius assured everyone of the power of his prayer (stamp 15).
A certain John, who lived in Vologda, was possessed by the demon of drunkenness and once, when the monastery celebrated the day of memory of St. John the Theologian, he drank from morning until lunch. Suddenly, from the influence of the devil, he lost his mind and became numb, and began to behave indecently. His relatives immediately brought him to the monastery and laid him at the tomb of the Saint. Then the mute saw the Venerable Demetrius, invisible to anyone, quietly hitting him on the cheek with the words: “Why, man, don’t you speak?” At that very hour the dumb man was healed (mark 16).
Like other events in monastic history, the appearance of the icon in the monastery and the establishment of a holiday in honor of its transfer are described in all editions of the life of St. Demetrius. The story “The Miracle of the Church of the Saint” talks about the appearance of the Monk Demetrius to one monk during the construction of the wooden Church of the All-Merciful Savior and about the miraculous help of the holy abbot to the monastery. Following this, the story is told of how the same monk saw himself “as if in reality” in the new cathedral church among the handsome elders standing along the walls. “The Monk Demetrius must be among them,” thought the monk. As if in response to his thoughts, he heard a thunderous voice come from the altar, exclaiming: “Are you looking for Demetrius? Now he is in Kazan.” One of the texts of the life of the late 15th - early 16th centuries says that on the same day when the Prilutsk monk had a vision, the Russian army won a victory in Kazan (presumably we are talking about the Kazan campaign of 1487. The victory in it had political significance - it was established dependence of the Kazan Khanate on the power of the Moscow prince).
The hagiographical narrative was later supplemented with details about the icon, which had long been passed down orally in the monastery. In the description of the appearance of the Monk Demetrius during a military campaign, from about the middle of the 17th century, the name of Grand Duke John III Vasilyevich began to be mentioned. In the 19th century, this text turned into an independent narrative and received the name “The Legend of the Meeting of the Miracle-Working Image of Our Reverend and God-Bearing Father Demetrius of Prilutsk, the Wonderworker.”
From the Legend we learn that, remembering the mercy of God and the prayer of St. Demetrius, who appeared to John III Vasilyevich, apparently during the Kazan War, the Grand Duke, in gratitude, sent to the monastery of the All-Merciful Savior in 1503 a “newly depicted” icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsk. She was met in Vologda. A church was erected at the meeting place of the holy icon. A celebration was established in honor of the Presentation of the Image of the Saint.
This information is confirmed by the local chronicler and the calendar of the 17th century: "7011 (1503) The meeting took place in Vologda to the image of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, who was brought from Moscow". They entered the literature of the 18th-19th centuries and are often cited in the works of modern historians of church art. There is information about the revered icon in the documents of the archive of the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery: “... the miraculous image of St. Demetrius with the miracles of ancient writing, sent in 1503 from Moscow by Grand Duke John III Vasilyevich after the victory won over the Tatars in Kazan.”
Various historical sources of the 15th-17th centuries definitely speak about the Kazan campaign of John III, about the appearance of the Wonderworker to the Grand Duke and about the new icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, which was sent to Vologda and brought to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, connecting people and events at first glance inexplicably and mysteriously. However, there is no reliable information about the time and some circumstances of the appearance of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky to John III, which prompted the creation of the icon of the Saint, for the spiritual life of man is always connected with the mystery of God.
Understanding the events that took place five hundred years ago, we turn to the history of the Spaso-Prilutsk monastery. For local church history, the beginning of the Dimitriev Monastery in the vicinity of Vologda was as important as the founding of the hermitage by St. Sergius in the Moscow forests. The Monk Demetrius appeared as the “first leader of the Vologda monks,” for with him a new monastic life was formed within the Vologda region. The monastery arose near the small village of Vypryagova. Abbot Demetrius was destined to carry out elder service in it, teaching Christian life to both the brethren - a living example of monastic asceticism - and the laity - loving mercy, meekness, compassion and patience.
First wooden temple was built with the zeal of local residents, and was consecrated on August 1 in honor of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos on the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, for the consecration of the waters. In the very dedication of the monastery, the true faith of the Orthodox Russian person in the boundless mercy of God shone forth. This belief in the closeness of God’s gracious help and protection in disasters and misfortunes, like rays of sunlight, illuminated the lives of common people and sovereigns, therefore the Vologda monastery of the All-Merciful Savior acquired special significance in local history.
After the victory over the Volga Bulgars on August 1, 1164, the pious Vladimir prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, giving thanks to the Savior and His Most Pure Mother, established a special local celebration on this day. At the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, the text of the church service was compiled, and on August 1, solemn services began in all churches. The Vologda Demetrius Monastery became the first monastery dedicated to the All-Merciful Savior, among the monasteries of which there were more than a hundred.
Its foundation is considered to be 1371 (according to some sources, 1378). This is a very important period in the life of Russian monasteries, because they began to revive ancient system monastic life - hostel (cinema). Like the founder of communal life in Rus', Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, the monks had to strictly observe the statutory rules: non-covetousness (lack of personal property), obedience to the abbot, joint prayers and meals, labor for the monastery, unpretentiousness in food and clothing. The history of Russian monasticism in the second half of the 14th-15th centuries showed how salvific the life of monks was in the monastic community and how fully they embodied themselves in it main commandment Gospels: “You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.”(Matt. 22:37-39). The founders of many of these monasteries shone in the ranks of the Saints, and the monasteries themselves entered the history of the Russian Middle Ages.
In the Vologda region, in a short time (1370-1380), four similar monasteries were founded by the closest followers of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
One of them was the Monk Demetrius of Prilutsky.
The appearance of the Saint in Vologda, who was looking for more favorable conditions for spiritual asceticism, was preceded by his arduous monastic life in Pereyaslavl, his acquaintance with the Monk Sergius, and through him the Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich himself. His arrival had missionary significance for the inhabitants of Vologda, which was then in the joint possession of the Novgorodians and the Grand Dukes of Moscow.
For more than a century since its foundation, life has passed in the monastery, inspired by the spirit of strict monastic asceticism, taught to the brethren by the holy founder.
The Monk Demetrius began to be venerated in the monastery almost immediately after his repose. His successors - abbots Pachomius, Constantine, Mikhail - had the opportunity to be eyewitnesses of the terrible disasters that befell Vologda at the beginning of the 15th century, in which gracious help appeared to the townspeople through the prayers of the Saint. In 1409, an epidemic of the “korcheta” disease broke out, and in 1417 the Vyatchans attacked the monastery. At that time, the first healings took place at the tomb of St. Demetrius, which served to strengthen the saving faith in the Saint’s intercession before the Lord. In the first half of the 15th century, there was already an early edition of his life with a description of the five miracles, compiled by Pachomius. Half a century later, Abbot Macarius, who had a brilliant literary talent, created a new edition of the life (with a preface, a description of fourteen miracles, a word of praise) and a service to the Saint. In this text, “The Miracle of the City of Vologda” appeared, telling about the attack on Vologda by the troops of the rebellious Galician prince Dimitry Shemyaka, about the appearance of the Prilutsk abbot to several of its residents at once and the deliverance of the city from final ruin. The image of the Monk Demetrius, the namesake of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, has since then been associated in the minds of Vologda residents with the image of an assistant to the Orthodox in military affairs. After 1450, a local, and at the end of the 15th century, church-wide canonization of the Saint took place. The Church celebration of St. Demetrius of Prilutsk began to take place on February 11. in the spiritual life of the monastery, but the city also experienced a period of its “exaltation.” In 1447, Vasily II Vasilyevich received Vologda as an inheritance. Under John III, Vologda became a reliable capital: first - of the Vologda principality (the inheritance of Andrei the Lesser), and from 1481 - of the Vologda district of the Moscow state. Part of the grand ducal treasury was kept here, and enemies of the sovereign power were imprisoned. Thanks to its location, the city acquired the significance of a reliable rear and became a gathering place for troops.
The valiant Vologda residents took part in five campaigns against Kazan, which took place during almost the entire reign of John III.
The Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery received its first land grants from Andrei Vasilyevich the Lesser. Subsequently, the monastery supported spiritually and materially the power of the great princes and Moscow metropolitans.
In 1542, a new stone Spassky Cathedral was consecrated in the monastery. A lower floor appeared in the huge temple - a basement with low arches, where pilgrims came to worship at the tomb of the Reverend, and every day the brethren sang “a prayer song to the Reverend Father Demetrius.” On the top floor of the cathedral there was a throne in honor of the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, and in the right aisle a temple was built in honor of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky. It is known that after 1622 and until the 20s of the 20th century, the miraculous image in a gilded icon case was almost always in the main iconostasis of the cathedral church. It was located on right side, near the southern altar doors, “seen by all of us.”
Saint Philaret of Moscow said: "The prayer of faith is a spiritual magnet that attracts gracious and miraculous power". In 1503, a sick person was healed near the icon. A certain resident of Vologda, suffering from relaxation and unable to speak or look due to illness, was brought to the monastery to the tomb of the miracle worker. After the prayer service served by the brethren, he could only mentally pray to the miracle worker and say: “O Saint Demetrius, have mercy on me!”, and soon the sick man recovered. This story, called a “wonderful miracle,” was included in the 17th century in one of the manuscripts with the text of the life of St. Demetrius. From that time on, the image of St. Demetrius began to be revered as miraculous, although, according to Archimandrite Anatoly Smirnov (1892), “there was no book of recording miracles from this icon and there has never been one before”. But, undoubtedly, good deeds and healings were and are being performed, remaining recorded by believers in their hearts.
The shrine was preserved in the monastery for centuries, surviving the destruction of the monastery during the Time of Troubles and during a fire that suddenly occurred in the closed cathedral. One of the monastery people took it out of the burning temple, and the chronicler briefly wrote down: “1811. September 17. There was a strong fire in the Church of the All-Merciful Savior, from which the iconostasis, the holy image and all the church utensils burned down. One icon of the miracle worker Demetrius saved." From the experience of spiritual life it is known that the line between miraculous and non-miraculous icons is not unconditional and not fundamental, but only factual. In prayer for the consecration of the icon Mother of God it says: "And give it (the icon) the power and strength of miraculous action". We can say that every icon, through the grace present in it, is miraculous.
Manifesting miracles, becoming miraculous, the icon from the place of the hidden presence of Divine power becomes the place of its appearance.
The fact that the icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsk was lost in Vologda at night is evidenced by copies of copies made from it. One of them - the image of the wonderworker Demetrius surrounded by stamps with “deeds” was painted for the church of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky, built on the site of the Meeting of the Image. There were icons of the Saint with his life in many Vologda churches located in the ancient part of the city, along the way of transferring the image to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery. According to the Legend, the new icon of St. Demetrius was decorated with “silver and gold,” for in this way honor was given to God, who glorified the Saint. Now we do not know what the original decoration was like, since in the Time of Troubles, according to Abbot Kirill, the monastery was plundered:
“The thieves came to the monastery, brothers and servants and peasants, flogged and tore off the images in the Church of Divine Mercy.” . After 1613, the silver frame, crown and hryvnia were re-made on the icon. The figure of the Saint was covered with a robe made of silver with gilding and a crown, visually highlighting the main thing - the prayer image of St. Demetrius. It is noteworthy that during the 17th century it was replaced several times, and in the second half of the century the image of the Holy Image of the All-Merciful Savior Not Made by Hands was placed on the crown; the decoration of the icon, renewed in 1884, is captured in a photograph of the early 20th century. It has long been a pious custom to bring prayer gifts to the image of the Saint: crosses, small icons, panagias, coins.(that is, hollow inside. - Comp.), And the other is cut on black bone, on both sides it is lined with silver filigree, at the top is a pearl. Yes, the panagea is made of stone, the image of the Not Made by Hands under Crystal is written on it, it is overlaid with silver and not gilded. Yes, a silver cross has arrived again, with the words “Rejoices in You” carved in places. One of the descriptions of the icon mentions “six gilded kopecks” that were hung on the Wonderworker’s crown. In the life there is a lively story about the widow Antonina, who was blind in one eye, weak in hand and, in addition, poor. She lived near Vologda and often called upon St. Demetrius in her prayers, since rumors of his miracles spread throughout the entire region. Once she saw in a dream a “grand old man” commanding her to come to the monastery for healing on the Feast of the All-Merciful Savior and venerate the tomb of “Elder Demetrius.”
Responding to her words about poverty and the impossibility of bringing anything as a gift to the Lord, the Saint ordered to collect berries, sell them for one silver coin and bring it as a gift. Despite her weaknesses, the widow showed obedience and did all this. Miraculously, a buyer was found who gave her a huge sum for the berries at that time. Arriving at the monastery, Antonina prayed with faith to the Monk Demetrius, placed a silver coin on his solid coffin and soon recovered.

The decoration of the icon was complemented by a cloth veil located under the image. Like all the shrouds in the iconostasis of the cathedral church, it depicts a cross. Three icons had more ornate crosses: the All-Merciful Savior, the Most Holy Theotokos and Demetrius the Wonderworker. The Most Holy Theotokos, one cannot help but see in the local celebration on June 3 the likening of the appanage city to grand-ducal Moscow, and under John IV, in the second half of the 16th century, the self-awareness of Vologda as the future capital of all of Russia.
In the Church Charter of the late 16th - early 17th centuries there is an entry under June 3 (16): "Meeting of the miraculous icon of our venerable father Dmitry the Wonderworker of Vologda".
The Arkhangelsk origin of the manuscript indicates the spread of the holiday beyond the borders of not only Vologda, but also the diocese. The service to the Presentation in the mid-17th century is found in a collection of services to South Slavic (Serbian, Bulgarian) and Russian saints.
A remarkable document has been preserved, testifying to the significance of this holiday in monastic life. In 1667, Archimandrite Joseph and his brethren wrote a petition to the Vologda Archbishop Simon, in which they asked for the blessing to celebrate the Presentation in the absence of the Bishop, as usual - with a council of the holy fools' clergy and with a procession of the cross. "To the Most Reverend Simon, Archbishop of Vologda and Belozersk, your pilgrims of the Savior of the Prilutsky Monastery beat with their foreheads Archimandrite Joseph, cellarer Elder Hilarion Lazarev, with the greatest mercy we ask the Sovereign Bishop of God. We celebrate the head of our monastery at the meeting of the miraculous image of our venerable father Demetrius the Wonderworker June in "G" On the 3rd day, Sovereign, on the feast day of the Holy House, your holy mercy comes from the conciliar and apostolic Church to our monastery with holy icons for the sake of the prayer of Orthodox Christians to the Lord God and to the Monk Demetrius the Wonderworker and For the sake of the walk of holy icons, there are many Christians in our monastery. And without your Saintly visit, the holy icons from the cathedral and apostolic church with the entire consecrated cathedral to our monastery, let the merciful Most Reverend Simon, Archbishop of Vologda and Beloozersk, grant us his pilgrims for the sake of the All-Merciful Savior and His saint. of God, the leader of our monastery, Demetrius the Wonderworker, and for the sake of Orthodox Christians, the prayers of June on “G” day. Order the Sovereign from the conciliar and apostolic Church, as before, to release the Holy Icons with the entire consecrated cathedral to celebrate the feast in honor of the Lord God and Saint Demetrius the Wonderworker for prayer and forgiveness of sins of all Orthodox Christians. Sovereign, please have mercy." Reading the simple and expressive words of the message, we see not only love, living and deep veneration by the brethren of the Rev. Father Demetrius, but, as it were, identification of the icon with the Saint himself.
In the monastery, the holiday of June 3 was called the “great celebration of the monastery.” The rector of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, adjacent to the monastery, Archpriest Konstantin Maslov recalled: “The solemn celebration of the miraculous image of our reverend father with the usual - All-City procession of the cross, and the ceremonial - Bishop's Divine Service. After this Divine service, at the meal of our most hospitable father Archimandrite Anatoly, everything was as before: the same zealous refreshment, the same contentment at the meal, the same guests, gathered in large numbers, we have the honor right there that we had in previous years.” On this day, obviously, consecrations and elevations took place. ecclesiastical rank , for Father Konstantin himself June 3, 1893"in the assembly of many clergy at the Bishop's Divine Service in the monastery"
was awarded the elevation of His Eminence Israel to the rank of archpriest. Information has been preserved that the celebration of the Presentation of the Icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsk took place over several days. A. N. Muravyov, who visited the Dimitriev monastery in 1855, wrote in his diary: “There was a lot of movement in the settlement of Prilutskaya, people crowded around the monastery and in the fence, because it was the second day of the summer holiday of this monastery - the memory of the transfer of the icon of the Venerable , which was sent by Grand Duke John, on the occasion of a vision he had during the Kazan campaign. The day before, the Bishop of Vologda served in Priluki, and large numbers of city residents flocked to the monastery..." The bishops remained in the monastery on the following days of the holiday, visiting the parish churches closest to the monastery. In 1874, June 4,
"on the next day of our famous holiday"
According to contemporaries, “the whole city came together” for the holiday on June 3rd.
A resident of the village of Priluki, Anna Dolgova, recalled that the celebration of the Presentation of the miraculous image lasted three days. Townspeople and villagers prepared ahead of time for “Demetrius's Day” by cleaning their houses and polishing their samovars. On the day of church celebrations and after it in Priluki, numerous boats with townspeople who had arrived for a walk approached the monastery pier, and there was a brisk fair trade. “The mentioned holiday on June 3 in honor of the bringing of the icon still remains one of the largest in Vologda,” wrote in the local press even at the end of the 1920s. Reverent veneration of the Monk Demetrius - a warm prayer book not only for the monks of his monastery, but also for all residents - was preserved for centuries in commercial and industrial Vologda. Wonderful help The saint appeared again to the townspeople during the Time of Troubles, when Vologda became a gathering place for warriors to liberate Moscow from the Poles-Lithuanians. At this time, a certain Vasily Verbyshev, an eyewitness to another transfer of the icon of St. Demetrius of Prilutsky (from the monastery to Vologda), left a description of this event. The words of his letter, sent on January 15, 1609 to Sol-Vychegda, are filled with a feeling of deep faith, “... and you would not be discouraged and put your trust in the All-Merciful God and in the invincible governor on
Vologda then escaped the attack of the Poles-Lithuanians and remained unharmed through the prayers of the wonderworker Demetrius. A wooden church was built in his honor in the city square. With the construction of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in 1777 on the new Sennaya Square in Vologda, a side-chapel was built in it in honor of Demetrius the Wonderworker, in which there was both a hagiographic icon of the Saint and a “local” prayer image of the Saint.
In times of turmoil in state and church affairs, rebellious unrest and despondency of people, the appearance of the Saint and the bringing of his icon became miraculous and bright events in the city. In the 17th century, St. Demetrius of Prilutsky was revered not only in the city. From this time on, the construction of wooden and stone churches
, the establishment of throne churches in Vologda, in monastic estates and villages in the districts closest to Vologda. In the places where St. Demetrius first stayed in the Vologda region - on the Velikaya and Black Shingar rivers - the parish churches located there were renovated in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the second half of the 17th century, the celebration of the Presentation quickly spread, and a second canon to the Saint appeared in church services. The miraculous icon of St. Demetrius was especially diligently decorated, at this time it was written great amount his other icons K XVII century
include icons depicting the Presentation of the image of the wonderworker Demetrius.
The meeting of the icon in 1503 and the church processions that accompanied it are described both in the life of the Saint and in the Legend. In Vologda, Bishop Nikon solemnly greeted the icon with crosses being carried. Together with the clergy of all the city churches, he served the first prayer service to the Saint before the brought image. At the meeting place of the icon, in addition to many residents, there were governors and other city leaders. His Grace Nikon blessed the transfer of the holy icon to the Monastery of the All-Merciful Savior in a procession with icons and crosses and himself led the solemn procession. Meeting the icon, Abbot Sergius and his brethren walked from the monastery in a procession of the cross.
In the cathedral church they again performed a prayer service and reverently kissed the brought icon, after which the crowded procession returned to Vologda. Similar to the Moscow celebration of the Presentation of the Vladimir Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the holiday of June 3 in Vologda was held very solemnly, with a procession of the cross from the city to the monastery with the blessing of local bishops and a divine service in the monastery. was the main feature of the Feast of the Presentation and expressed it spiritual meaning- prayer to the All-Merciful Savior and St. Demetrius. Since 1503, it has been performed annually, with a break at the beginning of the 18th century, when in the time of Peter the Great the celebration of revered, miraculous icons ceased. Probably, the first religious procession during the transfer of the icon took place in the ancient center of Vologda, located in the Lazy Platform area, along the road along the high bank of the Vologda River, Trinity Street and stopped at the village of Lazarevskaya (now Sloboda), near which at that time there was a crossing to the monastery. After the transfer of the bishop's court to the new cathedral religious processions to the monastery began to leave from the St. Sophia Cathedral. In 1797, this custom was consolidated with the blessing of His Grace Arseny, who streamlined all religious processes in Vologda.
On June 3, numerous pilgrims flocked to the cathedral square not only from the city, but also from many surrounding villages. The religious procession began at 9 o'clock in the morning from the cathedral at bell ringing
at all city churches along the cathedral bridge over the Vologda River, continued along the embankment to Arkhangelskaya Street and passed along this street to the city outpost. The further path to the monastery went along the large Arkhangelskaya Road (now Chernyshevsky Street). The entire path from the cathedral to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery was more than five kilometers long. A procession of clergy and pilgrims took about half a kilometer. After the Divine Liturgy, performed in the Cathedral of the All-Merciful Savior, a prayer service was served to St. Demetrius. The procession of the cross returned to Vologda from the monastery along the same route.
According to the definition of St. Philaret of Moscow, a religious procession with icons has the spiritual meaning of “walking under the leadership of the saints, whose icons are marching in it, here the earthly shrine signifies and calls upon the heavenly shrine.” Residents of the city and the surrounding area passed it, accompanied by the revered and miraculous icons of Vologda. With the blessing of the Right Reverend Bishops, icons from the St. Sophia Cathedral were “released” to participate in it. Later, new shrines were added to these icons: the image of the All-Merciful Savior and the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. Demetrius of Prilutsk. It is known that these were the miraculous icons of Vologda - the All-Merciful Savior from the Cathedral of the All-Merciful Savior and the Most Holy Our Lady of All Who Sorrow Joy from the St. Sophia Cathedral Sometimes these icons were joined by the venerated miraculous icon The Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow from the prison castle, which according to legend belonged to the blessed Prince John Andreevich of Uglich, in monasticism to the Venerable Ignatius Prilupky. During the religious procession they certainly carried the icon of St. Demetrius - a copy of the miraculous image of St. Demetrius of Prilutsk - located in the church erected on the site of the Presentation
The festive religious procession brought together townspeople of different classes. It is known that the zealous admirers of the Saint were trade people who had great faith in his prayerful help, remembering the hagiographical story about how the Monk Demetrius blessed his brother for trading business that brought profit. The famous merchant Gabriel Fetiev was among the townspeople people who asked Archbishop Simon in 1682 to allow a religious procession on the Feast of the Presentation to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery "...the orphans of the Sovereign of Vologda, the people of Zemstvo old age of Posatsk, Oska Polyanin and all the people of Hradtsk are beating with their foreheads the mercy of you, the Great Saint, all the Hradtsk people ask. We celebrate at the All-Merciful Savior the Meeting of the miraculous icon of our reverend father Demetrius of Prilutsk, the miracle worker of June "G" (3) date and on the feast day to that Holy House in the monastery to the All-Merciful Savior and to the Reverend Father Dimitri, prayers for the sake of and your Hierarchical blessing, proceed from the crosses and from the holy images from long ago, be the merciful Sovereign, the Right Reverend Simon<...>Perhaps we, the orphans of the Sovereign, all the city people, for the sake of the all-merciful Savior and the reverend Father Dimitri Prilutsky, the miracle worker, commanded, Sovereign, that the entire consecrated cathedral, as before, now release the holy icons from the crosses for prayer...". As you know, the residents of the city considered it “an indispensable and sacred duty for themselves every year” to accompany the procession of the cross to the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery and back, no matter what the weather, in the firm hope of gaining for themselves with this feat the blessing and intercession of St. Demetrius for the entire next year.
“What is a church holiday if not pious contemplation, in which the spirit rests from the labor of the flesh and gathers strength for the working days of life?” At the present time, these words of the Moscow saint about the spiritual power of church celebration have acquired special meaning for the monastery brethren and life meaning

. After many years of oblivion, spiritual and working life was resumed in 1991 at the Spaso-Prilutsk Monastery. By the Providence of God, the first prayer service to St. Demetrius was performed on June 3. Once again, the brethren and Vologda residents prayed at the resting place of the Prilutsk wonderworker, chanting the troparion: “Today rise up, like the sun, / the most honorable image of your sacred likeness, / more than the sun, illuminating everyone with the rays of your miracles, / creating the darkness of demons without a trace, / which I joyfully found, / The spiritual faces are greater, / we continually cry out to you: / Demetrius, our father, / pray to the Savior of all / to preserve your city and our country, / giving salvation to your flock / and great mercy.”