November 14 at 19-00 on the stage of the Bryansk Drama Theater named after A.K. Tolstoy's tragedy "Kirillin's Day" will be shown.

“The Death of Ivan the Terrible,” one of the most famous plays of the Russian poet of the Golden Age, is full of great creative biography. It has always been a reason for cultural figures to speak on the topic of “state and power”, “ruler and people”, “tyrant and victim”. The most significant theatrical performances based on it reflected their time and the state of mind of its society.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a year after the opening of the Moscow Art Theater in 1899, K. S. Stanislavsky staged “...Grozny” and played the main role in this performance. After a short time he is replaced by Sun. E. Meyerhold. This role becomes iconic for the great reformer of the Russian stage. And it will always be like this. The image of the Terrible Tsar at all times remains a litmus test in society’s perception of its ruler, its “formidable Tsar” - both in history and in culture.

To this day, the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible is described in terms of the “two Ivans” - a great ruler, a collector of Russian lands and a fierce tyrant with paranoid characteristics.

The Bryansk Drama Theater named after A.K. Tolstoy has its own theatrical biography associated with the poet whose name it bears. From 1927 to 2005, the theater included in its repertoire eight times performances based on the works of A.K. Tolstoy. The theater addresses the tragedy “The Death of Ivan the Terrible” for the second time.

The play “Kirillin’s Day” has its own intrigue. Of course, first of all, this premiere is dedicated to the poet’s anniversary, but this performance does not have the usual “Danish” background. First of all, the non-formal attitude towards the play is associated with the name of the director invited to the production - Anatoly Slyusarenko, whose performances have always been distinguished by an ambiguous personal creative approach to the dramatic material he chose.

The director notes that he, like the author, is not interested in the chronicle of the theater, but in the artist’s truth. "A. K. Tolstoy, continues A. Slyusarenko, did not call his tragedy the life and bloody deeds of the Russian Orthodox Tsar, but called “The Death of Ivan the Terrible.” What does King John dream of? He understands perfectly well that power does not give freedom, it requires sacrifice.”

Simplicity and clarity of presentation are very important for the director, and the poetic text, being a rare phenomenon on the dramatic stage today, gives rise not only to careful, scrupulous work with the performers, but also to figurative symbolic staging, spatial and artistic solutions.

Stage director: Anatoly Slyusarenko
Scenography: Igor Kapitanov
Costume designer: Andrey Klimov
Choreographer: Irina Antipova
Assistant director: Natalya Kiryushina

The duration of the performance is 2 hours 20 minutes with intermission.

The national holiday Kirill's Day is celebrated on June 22, 2020 (according to the old style - June 9). In the Orthodox church calendar, the date is dedicated to St. Cyril of Alexandria, archbishop and St. Cyril of Beloezersk, abbot.

Story

Cyril of Alexandria is revered as one of the Fathers of the Church. He was born in 376. At a young age he came to the monastery of St. Macarius, which was located at the foot of the Nitrian mountains, and lived there for 6 years. When I became a deacon, I got the opportunity to conduct sermons.

After the death of the Patriarch of Alexandria in 412, Cyril took his place. He zealously guarded the purity Christian teaching and was adamant in defending the faith. The persecution of apostates, idolaters and Jews sometimes led to bloodshed. He expelled the Jews from Alexandria.

The authorities of Rome condemned Cyril’s behavior, but the monks of the Nitrian desert came to his defense. The firmness and ardor of the Patriarch of Alexandria was especially evident during the fight against the heresy of Archbishop Nestorius, which outraged the entire church community. The saint died in 444. After him there remained many works, most of which are devoted to biblical interpretations and a system of dogmas.

Kirill Beloezersky (Belozersky) was born in Moscow. His parents named him Cosma. The boy was left an orphan early. He was raised by a relative - a boyar. Social life oppressed the guy. Soon he went to the Simonov Monastery, where he took monastic vows with the name Kirill. There he worked in a bakery and cookery.

In 1390 he became archimandrite of the Simonov Monastery. Fame embarrassed him. Therefore, he soon retired to the shore of White Lake and became a hermit. In 1397 he founded the Kirillo-Belozersky Assumption Monastery and became its abbot.

Kirill had the gift of healing and insight. Died peacefully in 1427.

Traditions and rituals

Kirill's day is the longest of the year. This marks the beginning of difficult times for farmers - planting late seedlings and haymaking.

The time is coming for the most sunny days. People say that the sun gives its power to the earth to make it easier. Fearing that the heavenly body does not burn the harvest with its generous rays, on St. Cyril’s Day it is customary to carry out various rituals to appease it.

Signs and beliefs

On Kirill, spring ends and summer begins.

If the strawberries have already turned red, it means it’s too late to sow oats.

The rye has bloomed - it's time to mow and dry the hay.

The Christian holiday Cyril's Day is celebrated on June 22. In the church, this day is dedicated to St. Cyril of Alexandria and Cyril of Belozersky. It is also the longest day of the year. Landowners begin the hard work, planting late seedlings and making hay.

History of the name of the day

Cyril of Alexandria was born in 376 in Alexandria. He represented the archbishop's dynasty, which began with Athanasius and reached Cyril. Then it was passed on from him to his nephew Dioscorus. Parents gave Kirill a good upbringing and education. In his youth he was in the monastery of Macarius the Great, then he was ordained a deacon. Alexandria Church. When Theophilus died, Cyril was elected the new patriarch. He began to fight against the heresy of Novatus and Nestorius. For 32 years the saint of Alexandria ruled the church. After his death, many theological works remained.

Kirill Belozersky was of prestigious origin and was born in Moscow. He was left an orphan, so he lived with his uncle Timofey Velyaminov. Timofey was a deviant and served Dmitry Donskoy. One day Stefan Makhrishchsky came to them, who foresaw that the young man would work miracles in the name of the church and was able to persuade his uncle to let Cyril go to the monastery. After this, the young man was accepted into the Simonov Monastery, which was ruled by Theodore, nephew of Sergius of Radonezh.

In 1390, Kirill became the abbot of the Simonov Monastery. But he dreamed of solitude and asked the Mother of God to show him such a place. The holy woman told him to go to Beloozero. He came there together with the monk Ferapont. They dug a dugout and began to live and pray there. Then other monks from the monastery joined them. In 1397, Kirill built a temple on Beloozero in honor of Mother of God. There he did the same work as everyone else and introduced a strict rule according to which monks could only keep books in their cells. For his spiritual qualities, God gave him insight. Reverend Kirill could work miracles. He resurrected the monk so that he could receive communion before his death. Also, with the help of his prayers, the bread did not run out. He passed away in 1427.

Folk beliefs and traditions

From this day on, the peasant people could forget about frosts until autumn, because summer time began. People asked Kirill for a warm and clear summer. According to legends, the sun gave its power to the earth, giving a generous harvest. Therefore, people tried to appease him and performed rituals, and after them they planted late seedlings.

If the rye bloomed, it meant that we had to start mowing and drying the hay.

Strawberries ripen on this date. According to legend, at first this berry did not bear fruit. But little Jesus heard a plant that wanted to be useful. Then he leaned over and kissed her. From that moment on, the strawberries began to bear fruit. If strawberries are red on June 22, then it is too late to sow oats.

It was also believed that if a mosquito was killed on this day, their number would decrease.

Signs for the weather on this day

• you can expect a warm and fine day if the spiders have strengthened the web with strong, long threads and placed them at a great distance from each other;
• if people found a lot of berries, it meant a cold winter;
• if the day is cloudy, but the bees are not hiding in their hives, then there will be no rain;
• ants gathered near an anthill foretell fine days;
• the frequent cries of ravens indicate that it will rain soon;
• With clear weather and no ants, bad weather awaited.

On June 22, solar energy nourishes the earth and gives it its strength. The peasants began to harvest hay. There are also many other folk signs. On this day, by church calendar, the feast of the Two Saints Cyril is celebrated.

People's Christian holiday Kirill's day. Orthodox Christians honor the memory of two saints: Cyril of Alexandria, a saint and archbishop, and Cyril of Belozersky, a monastic saint and abbot.

Lives of the Saints

The future Archbishop of Alexandria was born in 376 (d. 444). Belongs to the famous dynasty of archbishops, the founder of which was Athanasius the Great. Kirill became the fourth in the chain in which the archbishop's see passed from uncle to nephew. Ranking high church post, he actively defended Christian faith, fought against heresy, idolatry and Jews who provoked bloodshed. His creative legacy is deeply meaningful theological works.

The first Beloozersky monk

In the world of Kozma, the future saint was born in Moscow in 1337. It is unknown who his parents were. It is believed that he is related to the boyar family of Velyaminov. In his youth, he took monastic vows at the Simonov Monastery, receiving the name Kirill. It is known that Sergius of Radonezh singled him out from the monastery brethren and talked with him for a long time in solitude.

When the abbot of the monastery died, the monks persuaded Cyril to become their mentor. The monk agreed, but he was drawn to solitude. He fervently prayed to the Most Holy Theotokos to show her the way forward. And one day I heard a voice: Mother of God ordered to go to Beloozero. Together with the monk Ferapont, Cyril went to the indicated place. There they dug dugouts and began to continue their monastic feat, spending all their time in prayer and fasting.

After some time, Ferapont, unable to withstand the harshness of the area, left his friend and moved to another place, founding a monastery on the picturesque Ferapont Hill. Kirill was left alone, but soon monks from Simonov began to join him, and over time a monastery was formed. In 1397 it was founded Holy Mother of God monastery known as Kirillo-Belozersky.

Reverend Kirill introduced strict rules: monks were not allowed personal belongings, and in their cells they could only keep church books and icons, it was forbidden to even have drinking water. The abbot himself served as a shining example for the brethren.

For his faith and asceticism, Kirill Belozersky (Beloezersky) received from the Almighty the gift of clairvoyance and could perform miraculous deeds. The monk died at the age of 90.

Folk beliefs and traditions

The holiday is also called Solstice, because spring ends and the sun turns to summer. This is the longest day of the year and the power of the Sun is enormous. Fearing that the sun's rays would burn the crop, the plants were not weeded or replanted, but late seedlings were planted.

On Kirill's day, strawberries ripened in the forests. There is a belief about this berry that it appeared after Jesus touched a strawberry bush with his lips. An important time had come for livestock breeders: if the rye bloomed, haymaking began.

Killing a mosquito was considered a good deed, because according to legend, before the solstice, hundreds of new ones appeared in place of one killed, and when the day wanes, you kill one bloodsucker, and hundreds will disappear with him.