St. Simeon was at first a “zupan,” that is, the sovereign prince of a small principality, then he became the great zupan of Serbia, and finally united under his rule all the lands where the Serbs lived. Like his father, he was somewhat dependent on the Byzantine emperor, but then became a completely independent ruler of Serbia. All this happened in the 12th century.

As for the religious dependence of Serbia, it should be noted that Serbia first depended in this regard on Rome. But then Stefan Nemanja (who is also Simeon; Simeon is his monastic name, and Nemanja is his surname) saw that Catholicism, the further time goes by, the more and more Orthodoxy and the free development of its people become. Having recognized this, he decided to break all ties with papism and carried out his intention. First of all, he solemnly accepted his second baptism Orthodox rite. Subsequently, he firmly adhered to Orthodoxy, thanks to which he gained the universal love of the Serbs, who adhered to Orthodox faith. Therefore, when he was attacked by zhupans hostile to him, as well as by his own brothers, the people took his side. In this struggle, God did not leave Stephen without His heavenly help. So, when one day the brothers brought Hungarians, Germans and Greeks against him, one priest had a vision that consoled Stefan Nemanja. A certain warrior appeared to this priest at night and when the priest asked who he was, he answered: “I am Christ’s servant George, I was sent to help your sovereign Stephen.” And indeed, Stefan won a brilliant victory over his enemies. Thanks to this victory, his brothers had to humble themselves and renounce all relations with the pope.

The pious Stephen showed no less persistence in the fight against Arianism, which had taken root in Serbia.

Stephen convened a council at which Arianism was condemned; He subjected the followers of this wicked teaching to various punishments; he took away their houses and property in favor of the poor and sick. The chief teacher and leader of the Arians had his tongue cut out because he did not confess Christ as the Son of God, and then he and his wicked books were driven out. Just as Stefan persecuted the Arians in the most firm manner, he did not tolerate the Bogomils, he drove them out of Serbia, and at the end of the 12th century they hid only in the gorges of Bosnia and Croatia. This pious prince also destroyed the remnants of paganism, which by his time still survived in some remote places of Serbia.

Thanks to such measures of the pious prince, the unity of the holy faith was established in Serbia. Pure Christianity infused life, order and strength into the political body of Serbia. Stefan returned to Serbia the indigenous Slavic settlements occupied by the Greeks and elevated the Serbian people, although this cost him a long struggle.

Loving the holy Orthodox faith, Stefan Nemanja zealously built nurseries Christian faith- monasteries. St.'s concerns Stephen also extended to the parish clergy; he gave the command that the population strictly give the clergy the firstfruits of their fruits.

The essence of the activities of this pious prince was especially well presented by his son St. Savva. The latter wrote to Stephen, his father: “Moved by the apostolic spirit, you enlightened your people with Orthodoxy, destroyed heresies, overthrew demonic temples and erected churches to God. Now it remains for you to fulfill the words of the Son of God, who says in the Gospel: “Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me.” Stefan took these words to heart and decided to put this advice into practice. He gathered the nobles and chosen people and announced to them his desire to leave the world and take monastic vows; a receiver must be assigned to him. In vain they tried to persuade him to cancel his decision; he was adamant. Soon, to his joy, he was ordained a monk with the name of Simeon; his wife followed suit.

St. Simeon first labored in the Studenitsky monastery, then moved to Athos to join his son. Here he settled in the Vatopedi monastery. Together with his son, he underwent various feats, fasted and often prayed to God. Soon a happy thought came to his mind - to establish a monastery on Mount Athos where only Serbs could become monks. Choosing a place for such a monastery, St. Simeon and St. Savva came across the deserted Hilandar monastery. The Greeks, however, did not want to give it to them. Then Savva turned to the abbot of the entire mountain, and he provided them with Hilandar. The Hilandar monastery was quickly rebuilt and soon received the rights of an independent monastery. There was no shortage of Serbian monks. But St. did not have long to live. Simeon in Hilandar: only 8 months old. Feeling the approach of death, he asked the brethren of the monastery to pray for him, to transfer his body to Serbia and not to forget the Serbian land and church. At midnight, despite his weakness, he received Holy Communion and was dressed in all his monastic attire. The great moment has arrived. Having said: “Thank God for everything,” he fell into oblivion. In the morning the brethren came to the sick man to visit him. Surrounding him, they wept, but the monk with a joyful face looked at the image of the Savior and whispered: “Let every breath you take praise the Lord.” The Monk Simeon died peacefully on February 13, 1200, at the age of 86 years.

His relics were discovered a year after his death. His marble coffin was filled with fragrant myrrh. Everyone who saw this was amazed and exclaimed: “Lord have mercy!” Sick, obsessed evil spirits, being anointed with myrrh, received healing. Therefore St. Simeon is called in ancient monuments only as the “myrrh-streamer.”

On February 22, 2017, at 13.00, an image of St. St. St. Petersburg was delivered to the restored Church of the Nativity of Christ in Volokolamsk by the church’s patrons and parishioners. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming Wonderworker from Hilendarsky Athos Monastery. The holy icon was greeted by the clergy and parishioners of the temple, a prayer service was served with the reading of an akathist to the saint.

On February 26, 2017, on Sunday, on the day of the feast of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming, at the end of the Divine Liturgy Procession around the temple with the image of the saint.

Venerable Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming, King of Serbia, in the world he was the great zupan (prince) of Serbia, bore the name Stefan Nemanja (Nemanja). Lived in the 12th century. The prince worked hard for his fatherland: he united most of the Serbian lands and achieved political independence for his country. He zealously defended his people from the influence of Latinism and from heresies. At the age of 80, Stephen retired to Athos, where his son, the Monk Savva (January 12), had already become famous for the holiness of his life. There they together rebuilt the deserted Hilendar monastery, where monks from different countries. Saint Simeon was a great ascetic and wise mentor of monks. The Monk Simeon died on February 13, 1200. His relics began to exude myrrh. The Monk Sava brought the remains of his father to his homeland, Serbia, and laid them in the church Holy Mother of God on the Studenica River. Saint Simeon erected this temple and richly decorated it while he was a prince. (Remembrance Day is February 26.)

The saint never allowed any compromise between the true Orthodox Faith and heresy, therefore he sharply and irrevocably excluded Bogomilism from his country.

Through the prayers of the saint, the Lord gives children to Orthodox spouses.

The saint is an effective assistant in the construction and restoration of temples, since he himself erected many monasteries and temples.

From the editor. In continuation of the material about the shrines of Athos, at the numerous requests of friends of our museum website, especially readers, a short note about the miraculous vine of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming in the Serbian monastery of Hilandar ( see photo). She became famous healing power resolve the infertility of spouses, which has become a mass phenomenon in our days, as evidenced by the crowds of suffering women at the belt of the Blessed Virgin Mary, brought to Russia from the Holy Mount Athos: http://expertmus.livejournal.com/84029.html

It should be noted that both the “belts” of the Virgin Mary from Vatopedi and the vine seeds of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming of Hilandar can be completely freely received as an Athonite blessing by all who hope to get rid of their illness, if you send your petition by mail to the address of these monasteries ( see below).

Blessing of the Serbian Royal Lavra, HILENDAR monastery. Holy Mount Athos

On the southern side of the Hilendar Cathedral Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, every pilgrim is struck by a highly grown and highly branched vine, bent down and forming, as it were, a gazebo from its branches ( see photo). Its stem comes out of the wall at a height of one and a half meters from the ground, from the tomb of St. Simeon (Stefan Nemanja), which is located next to the same wall, on the inside of the temple ( see photo).

The Hilendar legend about this 800-year-old vine reads: “When seven years had passed since the death of Saint Simeon (February 13, 1200) and when Saint Sava came from the Kareya cell to the monastery in order to prepare the transfer of the relics of Saint Simeon to Serbia, so that To promote the reconciliation of their warring brothers, the monks of Hilendar cried inconsolably. Then Saint Simeon appeared in a dream to Abbot Methodius and said that his relics needed to be transferred to his homeland, but as a consolation to the Hilendar brothers, a vine would grow from his empty tomb; and as long as it bears fruit, his blessing will rest on Hilendar.”

The fact that this vine has survived to this day and that every year, without exception, it bears rich fruit, although it receives no other care except pruning, and no measures are taken against Phylloxera or other diseases and pests, is a great thing. The miracle of God is the greatest moral consolation and spiritual encouragement for our Hilendar brotherhood and for all believing Serbs in general.

But this is not the only reason why this vine is exceptional. It also has another property. Its fruits resolve the infertility of spouses who, through faith and prayer, take this miraculous remedy. .

The oldest surviving legend about this dates back to 1585, when a Turk brought his first-born son to leave him in Hilendar to serve God, for he received him, like his other children, after eating the grapes of Saint Simeon.

From then until now, our holy monastery has been constantly distributing this miraculous grape to pilgrims or delivering by mail to those who contact it with a letter. Once upon a time, pilgrims from Russia came in droves to the Holy Mountain and asked for these grapes in large numbers. Now they ask for it from all over Greece, because, especially in Lately, the results from its use are amazing.

Here it will be useful to cite one incident, instructive for those who want to someday taste the grapes of St. Simeon. We will talk about Mrs. Catherine R. from Thessaloniki, who suggested that her husband ask for St. Simeon’s grapes from Hilendar. But he did not agree to this, because he lacked faith. However, his wife took the trouble to obtain these grapes herself in other ways and began to follow the instructions about its use, fulfilling that part of the duties that, according to the instructions, her husband was also supposed to perform. When the Lord blessed them with the first conception, this woman told her husband about her deed; and since then this family, driven by a feeling of gratitude, has maintained constant contact with our monastery.

And the Serbs, since ancient times, when the Khnlendar monks walked among their people, knew about this miraculous grape. In our Hilendar, manuals for its use printed in old times have been preserved to this day. But in recent decades, the Serbs have not asked for it, and younger generations no longer know about it.

After the screening of the “Film about Hilendar,” our compatriots both in our homeland and abroad have recently again learned everything they need to know about the vine of St. Simeon. The first person who, after watching this film, asked for grapes from this vine, and then received children, was Brother Nicola J. from Worcester (England).

Since the demand for St. Simeon’s grapes has now increased on the Serbian side, the administration of our monastery decided to publish in a new form the old manual on the use of this miraculous grape

Since the people of our time have weakened in faith, and every miracle, not excluding this one, manifested through the grapes of St. Simeon requires strong faith, then before consuming this miraculous grape you need to prepare yourself for it accordingly.

Here is just one example of this. Recently, again in Thessaloniki, such a case occurred. One priest, who had no children, took some of Saint Simeon’s grapes while passing through our Hilendar, but hesitated in consuming it. One day a certain parishioner asked him to get her some of these grapes, and he willingly gave her his. Some time later, on one of Sundays, after the Holy Liturgy, this woman, all illuminated with joy, again thanked this priest for that gift. "... If I had faith I would have children today “, this priest told us just recently when he passed through our monastery again.

INSTRUCTIONS TO INFERTILITY SPOUSES SELECTED FROM THE SCRIPTURE

There is no better textbook for teaching faith than the Holy Scriptures, and there is no best place and time to live by faith than our daily life. Our Lord Jesus Christ always asked the one on whom he performed a miracle of healing: “Do you believe?” Or after healing He said to the healed person: “Your faith has saved you!” So, our faith is always a precondition for the Lord to show His power over us.

We recommend, therefore, to teach faith, reading chapter 11 of the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, which especially talks about faith, its power and its meaning in our lives. You should also read the parallel passages given in the margins of this chapter.

But since our faith is supported and increased by fervent prayer, then we must devote our attention to it. Special attention. Those who live in prayerful communion with the Lord take His promises from Holy Scripture, as in, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7) or “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and it will be done for you” (Mark 11:24), and they ask the Lord - but they ask stubbornly! - so that He would fulfill these promises on them. And He, being our Heavenly Father, always willingly does this to us, for the Lord Jesus Christ tells us in the Holy Gospel: “So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him? "(Matthew 7:11).

And our holy fathers Simeon and Sava were moved by strong faith to leave worldly glory and come to the Holy Mountain and from their Hilendar, again with faith, to revive their entire Serbian people, serving them to this day before the Lord. Let them serve as an example and encouragement for you, infertile parents, to believe in the fulfillment of your parental desire to have children. Pray to them that they will support your faith and complement your prayer with their intercession before the throne of the Most High Life-Giver.

We beg the spouses whom the Lord, after eating the grapes of St. Simeon, blessed with children, inform our Office about this, so that from time to time printed messages about this will strengthen the faith of other childless spouses.

Those who, by God's blessing, wish to have the fruit of their womb should turn with prayers to Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming, who, after leaving his Serbian kingdom, was an ascetic on Holy Mount Athos. He built the Hilendar monastery, in which, after many great labors during his godly life, he died; and for this he received from God the gift of working miracles: resolving the infertility of those spouses who resort to him with faith.

To do this, grapes and twigs are taken from the vine that miraculously grew from the very tomb of St. Simeon. You need to take three grapes and one piece of cut vine. This piece is dipped in half an oka (650 grams) of blessed water, and both spouses drink this water on an empty stomach for 40 days. Then the husband eats one grape, and the wife eats the remaining two. During these 40 days, the spouses must adhere to the following rule: eat only fast food and perform fifty prostrations daily: 25 in the morning with the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us” and 25 in the evening with the prayer “Reverend Father Simeon, pray to God about Us". Anyone who wishes can double the bows, i.e. add another fifty bows a day with the prayer “Most Holy Theotokos, save us.” During this entire time, the spouses must have a separate bed. After these 40 days, the spouses must confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and then the Lord according to their faith with His blessing He bestows the fruit of their womb.

After conception, throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding, spouses must completely cease marital relations and live in purity. From the life of the prophet Samuel, we see that his mother Anna nursed her son Samuel for three years, living all this time separately from her marital bed in purity, and after that she had more children, although everyone considered her barren, for “everyone wants God, the order of nature is overcome,” and the birth of children is a gift of God, and not a human invention, for the Lord says: “I am the creator of man and the spirit in man.” The Apostle commands parents to remain in fasting and prayer and to subordinate marital pleasures to higher purposes, so that “those who have wives may be as if they had not” (1 Cor. 7:29). After this, he convinces the spouses not to be slaves of the flesh, but to live in the spirit, for all Christians are called by God not to impurity, but to holiness.

Let's look at animals, which, according to the law of nature given to them by God even at the creation of the whole world, and to this day strictly observe this law with absolute accuracy, for after the conception of the fetus they do not allow copulation, not only after birth, but also during the entire period of feeding the baby . But man, as you can see for yourself, becomes to some extent a beast and, indulging in passionate lusts, forgets about his dignity given to him by God, Who created him in his own image and in his likeness - and thereby violates the law God damages nature and thereby evokes the righteous wrath of God on his offspring. The consequences of God’s righteous wrath are also the following: infidelity of spouses, frustration and all sorrow, incurable diseases, from which children suffer, the early and premature death of a husband or wife, as well as children dear to them. And who could list the terrible manifestations of God’s wrath over spouses who have lost the fear of God and moved along the path of carnal wisdom, which is the enemy of God, and over those who do not submit to God and His law. Such kill their children and their offspring up to the third and fourth generation and deprive themselves forever of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Spouses must, even before the resolution of their infertility, strictly follow the church rules and fulfill the church rules established for spouses, namely: marital beds must be separated from one another on the night before holidays and Sundays, on the eve of Wednesday and Friday, during all four established The Church fasts, especially during the Great Pentecost, i.e. Great Lent. The rest of the time they can use in chastity and fear of God for married life. For the Lord gave the man a wife as help for life together, and blessed them, and said: “Grow and multiply”; but not for the sake of lustful sensuality, which knows neither time nor measure in its intemperance.

Therefore, we ask you, blessed Christians, our spiritual children in Christ Jesus and dear brothers in baptism: keep your holy marriage in all purity and righteousness of God, following all the commandments of God, and then the Heavenly Doctor of soul and body will resolve your infertility, and you will see the blessing of the Almighty to your family. And for doing works of your mercy to needy brothers in Christ, you will not only receive the gift of having children, but will also inherit the promised Kingdom of Heaven those who love God, and you will be in communion with all works of mercy that pleased God, in which may our True Lord Jesus Christ help us, through the intercession of His Most Pure and Most Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, the prayers of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streamer, the miracle worker, and all the saints of Athos: may we all inherit the blessed the end of life and we will move from this temporary life to eternal life, where we will glorify the All-Holy Name of the Most Holy, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

(Published by the Hilendar Monastery. Holy Mount Athos. 1966)

Hilandar Monastery Address: MONASTERE HILANDAR 63086, KARYES, MOUNT ATHOS, GREECE Phone: 8-10-30-23770-23797

In order to receive the berries of the healing vine, you just need to write a letter to Mount Athos and indicate in it the names of the spouses in Holy Baptism. The monks do not need any money - it is completely free. In about a month and a half, an envelope with 3 berries will arrive from Athos, with detailed instructions in Russian how to eat them and with the message that the brethren of the Hilandar monastery began to intensively pray to God for the suffering for 40 days, so that the Lord would relieve them of the burden of this illness. The only thing you need to do is pay for the postal parcel (within a dollar) upon receipt at the post office. And the Hilandar brothers also ask that when your baby begged from God is born, you inform them about it and, if possible, send a photo (see video:

St. Stephen, in monasticism Simeon, King of Serbia, Myrrh-Streaming (1200).

Born in 1114 from Zhupan David, Stefan (Simeon in monasticism) was the youngest of four sons. Even at an early age, he ruled so wisely and piously that after the death of his father, most of the country was given to him to rule; and then he suffered all his life from the wrath of his brothers. God consoled him by giving him Princess Anna, the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor, as his wife. And they, having themselves acquired holiness, gave birth to two sons, who also became saints. Trying to transform Serbia into an Orthodox Kingdom, the Monk Simeon erected and maintained many churches in Serbia itself and throughout the Christian world. The crowning achievement of his life was his abdication of the Throne, when he followed his son, Saint Sava, at the age of 82. Together they labored on the Holy Mountain, founding the Serbian Hilandar Monastery here. With his face illuminated by heavenly light, the Monk Simeon fell asleep in God at the age of 86. His relics remained soft and warm and exuded gentle myrrh. When Saint Sava returned to Serbia, he brought with him the relics of his father, and all the people witnessed that Simeon’s body was still warm and looked alive, as if he was sleeping. Currently, his relics reside in the Studenitsky Monastery, which he erected and in which he began his monastic life. And to this day they by God's grace bring healing and consolation to all who come.
The Monk Simeon was the ruler of Serbia, but he renounced the earthly kingdom and devoted his entire life to winning for himself the incorruptible Kingdom in heaven. He founded many monasteries in his country and built them on the banks of the Studenica River in the name of the Most Pure Mother of God. Mother of God magnificent temple, he ordered to lay it inside from the base to the ceiling with marble and decorate it with gold. Always supplying the poor with everything they needed, Saint Simeon finally distributed all his incalculable wealth to the poor: After this, having voluntarily transferred to the management of his son Stephen all the lands that were under his rule, he immediately left the world and followed his son, the Monk Savva,2 before this he accepted monasticism in one of the monasteries Mount Athos. Arriving at the holy mountain, the monk, with the assistance of his son, restored here a deserted monastery with a church, called Hilandar, and began to asceticize in it. Having learned the fear of God and unswervingly fulfilling the rules of monastic life regarding prayer and fasting, Saint Simeon achieved dispassion, humbled his sinful mind and, with the assistance of the grace of God, became a great ascetic. In abstinence and fasting, he reached such a height that he became like the Angels.

Therefore, even during his lifetime, many monks flocked to his monastery from different countries to glorify God, and to many of them he was a mentor and leader on the path to salvation. Having lived his life there piously, the Monk Simeon, in deep old age, with joy and bright hope of eternal bliss, went to the Lord, whom he loved so much during his life.

After the repose of the saint, the Lord honored him with the gift of miracles for his great virtues. His body began to exude myrrh, and through him, by the power of God, many miracles began to happen. After this, the saint’s son, the Monk Sava, carried his father’s body to Serbia and honorably laid it in the church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos, on the Studenica River, which Saint Simeon himself built with such love at his own expense. And to this day, pious Christians from the shrine, where the relics of St. Simeon rest, take myrrh, anoint themselves with it for various illnesses and receive healing.

THE VINE OF SAINT SIMEON THE MYRRHSTREAMING (help for childless couples)

I am a mother! My daughter is only a few months old, but her birth changed the life of my family, our relatives and loved ones. And it’s not about those pleasant changes in everyday life and the daily schedule that a new, small family member naturally changes. It's about a miracle that changed us all...

When I was 24 years old, my husband and I had the opportunity to be parents, but due to my youth, stupidity and ambitious nature, I crossed out this opportunity. I mean abortion. Yes, abortion, the murder of an unborn baby. This terrible act will be my endless pain for the rest of my life. Now I know that at eight weeks the fetus’s heart is already beating, its fingers are formed, and the Lord gives the unborn little man immortal soul, a meeting with which I now cannot avoid...

Now I have become a believer. And then there was a completely different life, in the foreground in which there was a career. For her sake, our child was sacrificed. We both had careers, material well-being increased many times over, but for whose sake? What were these acquisitions and sacrifices for? In the evenings, in a large apartment, it was just the two of us, and there was complete silence around us... The things for which I took mortal sin on my soul: career, material well-being, comfort, life for myself - everything depreciated and became meaningless. It was bitter and scary to realize this...

It was then that my husband and I remembered God. We got married. This an important event happened after six years of marriage, at the very beginning of our path to the Church. I began to hope that now that we have repented of what we have done, the Lord, perhaps, will forgive us and send us a child.

But years passed and nothing changed. Only faith in God was strengthened, the understanding that everyone was given their own cross in life, which must be borne without complaint. We always remembered that the Lord gave us a chance, but we rejected it. So we had no one to blame for our childlessness but ourselves. My husband and I constantly went to confession and received communion, which for us was the main type of “treatment” for infertility. In addition, we spent five years seeing doctors, titled and not so, both of them passed an innumerable number of all kinds of tests, underwent more than one course of treatment - the funds allowed, but nothing helped. The treatment was terribly exhausting, I could not think about anything except this problem. As a result, I found myself in a vicious circle of depression, which poisoned my life even more. Doctors made a diagnosis: a severe inflammatory process, as a result of which pregnancy, if possible, would only be ectopic. It was a sentence that we had to live with. Our parents spared us and tried not to ask questions. But their silent anxiety made us suffer doubly. Only my close friend, also a believer, but, unfortunately, without a family, was unshakably confident that everything would be fine with us, that the Lord was simply testing us and raising us. I thought that the solution for our family would be to adopt one or two orphans, but my husband honestly admitted that he would not be able to raise other people’s children, that he would not be able to truly love them. After another useless course of treatment, I decided that it was the last.

My husband and I were thirty-three years old, and we had come to terms with the idea that we would never have children. All the more surprising and long-awaited was what happened to us after this medical verdict! One fine day, the priest told us that a monk he knew had come from the holy Mount Athos and brought an amazing ancient shrine: a piece of a grape twig and three dried grapes.

This vine grows in the Hilendar Monastery. Its trunk emerges from the wall of the cathedral church at a height of one and a half meters from the ground, from the empty tomb of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming (Stefan Nemanja). The monastic legend says: “When 7 years had passed since the death of Saint Simeon (February 13, 1200), Saint Sava (son of Saint Simeon) came to the monastery in order to take his relics to his homeland in Serbia, for the reconciliation of the warring princes . Hilendar's monks wept inconsolably.

Then Saint Simeon appeared in a dream to Abbot Methodius and said that his relics needed to be transferred to his homeland, but as a consolation to the Hilendar brethren, a vine would grow from his empty tomb, and as long as it bore fruit, his blessing would rest on Hilendar... “Since then, for eight centuries until the present day, the vine bears fruit abundantly every year. This vine is also amazing and wonderful in that its fruits resolve the infertility of spouses. From ancient times to this day, the brethren of the monastery have been preparing, and then distributing and mailing such “envelopes of hope” to infertile spouses around the world. In response, the monks ask for only one thing - to report on the healings that have occurred and, if possible, send photographs of newborn babies to the monastery. The monks pray for the health of each new child of Saint Simeon...

Father gave this holy vine to my husband and me. In the envelope, in addition to the shrines themselves, there was also a letter with recommendations from the monastery on how spouses should accept the given shrine.

As stated in the letter, we ordered a prayer service to St. Simeon in the church for the gift of children, and dipped a piece of vine into the blessed water. Forty days, during which the spouses should take this water on an empty stomach, they had to spend in fasting and have a separate bed, and also make fifty bows daily with prayer to the Savior and the Mother of God. We timed this period to coincide with the Nativity Fast, and on November 28, 2001 we began to receive the shrine. Every day we turned to St. Simeon, begging him to grant a miracle. I did not doubt the power of the saint’s prayer, for the Lord more than once gave us the opportunity to verify the power of the intercession and intercession of the saints for us sinners, but I was afraid that it was not God’s will for our family to have children. My husband, on the contrary, was surprised at my fears and believed so simply and firmly that his spiritual attitude was transmitted to me. He and I decided that if we had a child, we would order a large painted icon of St. Simeon into our church and insert a piece of the very vine that resolved our infertility.

The Nativity fast is over, and the forty-day period of eating the shrine is over. And on February 17 (I will always remember this day) the test showed that I was pregnant. To be honest, even then I had doubts, I thought that the test was wrong, and I did two more. But they all showed positive result! Then everything was like a dream. We immediately served thanksgiving prayers to the Savior, the Mother of God and Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming. Since the doctors spoke about the possibility of only an ectopic pregnancy, we immediately did an ultrasound, which showed that everything was completely fine.

We immediately reported what had happened to our priest. We cannot express how grateful we were for such a wonderful gift! In the depths of my soul, I immediately decided that only he would godfather our baby. We didn’t immediately tell our parents the good news, but only three months later. And they told us in detail why we are expecting a child. We wanted the people around us to also be able to touch the amazing miracle. How wonderful it is that even in our age of materialism, rationalism and lack of faith, such a holiday of Faith is celebrated!

My pregnancy was easy. I almost didn’t feel tired, although I had to work a lot and hard in the first trimester. Father blessed me to receive communion every Sunday, and after going on maternity leave, at every Divine Liturgy when I could be in church. Knowing how doctors sometimes irritate pregnant women with bad tests, too much or too little weight gain and other “horror stories,” I kept visits to medical institutions to a minimum. Once a month I visited the antenatal clinic and took the required tests every other time. “Well-wishers” often frightened me with my age (33 years old), working on a computer, and advised me to see an expensive doctor at one of the well-known medical centers. But I didn’t pay attention to these tips and I don’t regret it at all.

The only thing my husband and I decided for ourselves at the beginning of pregnancy was to choose a good maternity hospital and give birth together. And again they dissuaded me, saying that a husband shouldn’t watch his wife’s birth process, that this is the “wrong side of life,” and lying with a child is very difficult, I won’t get enough sleep, and by the time I’m discharged I won’t have the strength. Fortunately, I didn’t listen to this advice either. We chose a maternity hospital in the city of Dolgoprudny, small and very cozy. Then everything was very simple. I was admitted without waiting for the start of labor, because the planned date had already passed. In addition, I have poor vision (about minus 7), and I was repeatedly offered (in other maternity hospitals) to have a caesarean section. But after a couple of days, labor began. I immediately called my husband, and within half an hour he was already at the hospital. Previously, we took courses in preparation for childbirth, so my husband actively helped me breathe correctly, gave me a pain-relieving massage, gave me something to drink, wiped my face with cool water, called a doctor when necessary, and most importantly, made it clear every minute that he was nearby. and everything is going well.

We must pay tribute to the high professionalism and human support of doctors, obstetricians and all the medical staff of the maternity hospital. The birth went quickly, without a single hemorrhage in the eyes and without any complications at all. My newly born daughter, still wet, was placed on my stomach. This is such a huge and difficult to describe happiness! Never before in my life have I experienced such unearthly happiness.

Another shock awaited us when we opened church calendar and began to choose a name for their daughter. She was born on November 12, on this day the only female names were Anastasia and Elena. After reading more closely, we saw that this is the day of remembrance of Helen, Queen of Serbia. This seemed to us like providence, since Saint Simeon, who begged our daughter, was the first-crowned king of Serbia. Imagine our joy and surprise when, already at home, we read that Queen Helena was the daughter of Saint Simeon (King Stefan Nemanja). That's how the whole royal family took us under their protection.

Now there are three of us in the family. We grow and rejoice in every new day, never ceasing to thank God for admonition and the miracle given to us. And if my example and my mistakes help change the decision of at least one woman and avoid this terrible, mortal sin - killing her child, my life will not be lived in vain.

Dear women! If you decide to have an abortion because of financial problems, for the sake of a career or something similar, remember that the Lord will still take away what the murder was committed for. God forbid anyone to have prosperity at such a terrible price! I know this from myself... We have fulfilled our vow to the end, and now in our church there is an icon of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming with a piece of healing vine. And all infertile spouses who dream of children, but do not have the opportunity to visit Holy Mount Athos (only men are allowed there), can come to the Trinity Cathedral in the city of Yakhroma and pray before the holy image of Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming. And through your prayer and faith it will be given to you...

contacts:

Holy Mount Athos code 03770
Hilandar convent tel. 23797
its konak or representative office in Kareya (on Mount Athos) tel. 23203
Information about telephone numbers on Athos 23209
Panteleimonovsky Monastery tel. 23252 konak 23201 In Moscow, the courtyard of Panteleimonov Convent tel. 095 2980558
Society "Russian Athos" 095 2913586

You can write to the monastery of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming in Greece. You can write in Russian.
You will be sent a twig of vine and grapes with instructions on how to use them, and an icon.

The only thing you need to do is pay for the parcel (within a dollar) upon receipt at the post office. And they also ask you to let us know when your baby is born and, if you want, to send a photo.

Monastery address:

Monastery Hilandar:
63086 Karyes: Mount Athos Greece

Troparion of St. Stephen, in monasticism of Simeon, King of Serbia, Myrrh-Streaming

voice 3
Having been enlightened by divine grace, / and after death you show the lightness of your life, / you exude the fragrance of myrrh / flowing to the race of your relics, / and you have guided your people to the light of God’s understanding, / Simeon our Father, / pray to Christ God / to grant us great mercy.

Kontakion of St. Stephen, in monasticism Simeon, King of Serbia, Myrrh-Streaming

voice 6
Having loved the life of angels on earth, / worldliness and leaving peace, / you followed Christ, Simeon, with fasting, / you apostolically instructed those who love you without courage, crying: / love God as He loved us.

Miraculous Vine of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming

About the miraculous vine of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming in the Hilandar Monastery on Holy Mount Athos is told by the monastery’s resident, Fr. Dositheus. On the southern side of the Hilendar Cathedral Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, every pilgrim is struck by a highly grown and highly branched vine, bent down and forming a kind of gazebo from its branches. Its stem comes out of the wall at a height of one and a half meters from the ground, from the tomb of St. Simeon (Stefan Nemanja), which is located next to the same wall, on the inside of the temple. The Hilendar legend about this 800-year-old vine reads: “When seven years had passed since the death of Saint Simeon (February 13, 1200) and when Saint Sava came from the Kareya cell to the monastery in order to prepare the transfer of the relics of Saint Simeon to Serbia, so that To promote the reconciliation of their warring brothers, the monks of Hilendar cried inconsolably. Then Saint Simeon appeared in a dream to Abbot Methodius and said that his relics needed to be transferred to his homeland, but as a consolation to the Hilendar brothers, a vine would grow from his empty tomb; and as long as it bears fruit, his blessing will rest on Hilendar.”

This miraculous vine has a special property - its fruits resolve the infertility of spouses through faith and prayer of those who take this miraculous remedy.

Those who, by God's blessing, would like to have offspring, let them turn their prayers to St. To Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming, who, having left his Serbian kingdom, labored on Holy Mount Athos, founded the Hilandar monastery and died there after many godly works, having been rewarded by the Lord with the gift of miracles - may he resolve the infertility of spouses who resort to him in faith. For this purpose, you need to take a bunch and part of a branch from the vine, which miraculously grew from the very tomb of St. Simeon. Three berries and one piece of stem are placed in one bag. This piece should be placed in a vessel filled with blessed water(650 grams), and both spouses drink from the vessel before each meal for 40 days. Then the husband must taste one berry, and his wife - two. During these 40 days, spouses must follow the following rule: Eat only fast food and make fifty bows daily: 25 in the morning with the prayer Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us, and 25 in the evening with the prayer: Reverend Father Simeon, pray to God for us. Anyone who wants can double the number of bows, that is, add another 50 with the prayer: Most Holy Theotokos, save us. All this time it is necessary to abstain from marital intimacy. After 40 days, the husband and wife must confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and then the Lord, by faith, will bless the spouses with conception.

After conception, throughout the entire period of pregnancy and breastfeeding, spouses must abstain from marital intimacy and live in purity. From the life of the prophet Samuel it is clear that his mother Anna breastfed her son for three years, all this time without sharing his bed with her husband, and then gave birth to more children. Although everyone thought that she was barren, where God wants, natural laws are defeated. After all, the birth of a child is a gift of God, and not human will. The Lord said: I am the seven who creates man and breathes spirit into man. The Apostle commanded parents to remain in fasting and prayer, subordinating marital desires to higher goals, so that those who have wives would be as if they had not (1 Cor. 7:29).

Therefore, let us repeat to the spouses once again: do not be slaves of the body, but work for the spirit, for all Christians are called by God to live not in uncleanness, but in light.

Look at the animals that to this day follow with absolute precision the natural law given to them by God at the creation of the world and which says that after the conception of the fetus, intercourse is not allowed, neither during pregnancy nor during feeding. And man, as you can see, becomes worse than cattle, indulging in passionate desires and forgetting about his dignity given to him by God, who created him in His image and likeness. By violating God's law, a person acts against nature and brings the righteous wrath of God upon his offspring. The consequences of this anger are the following: infidelity of a spouse, discord and other troubles, incurable diseases from which children suffer, premature death of a husband, wife, as well as their beloved children. This is how the Lord punishes spouses who do not obey God and His laws, who have lost the fear of God and who have followed the path of carnal wisdom, which is the enemy of God. They kill themselves, their children and their offspring up to the third and fourth generation, depriving themselves of the Kingdom of Heaven forever.

Spouses must, even before resolving their infertility, strictly follow the church rules established for them, namely: abstain from intimacy on the eve of Sundays and holidays, on the eve of Wednesday and Friday, during all four fasts prescribed by the church, but especially during the Great Pentecost, i.e. Great Lent. The remaining time can be used in decency and fear of God for married life. But the Lord gave the man a wife as help in their common life, blessing them with the words: Be fruitful and multiply, and not for the sake of lustful sensuality, which knows neither time nor measure in its unrestraint.

Therefore, we pray to you, Orthodox Christians, our spiritual children in Jesus Christ and beloved brothers in baptism: guard your holy marriage in all purity and truth of God, follow all the commandments of God, and then the Heavenly Physician of soul and body will heal your infertility and overshadow your family with His By grace. And for the fulfillment of your request, give alms to the poor and needy. After all, you will not receive the gift of giving birth to a child by yourself, and, in addition, you will achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, which is promised to those who love God, and you will be together with those who have pleased God with deeds of mercy, in which may Jesus Christ help us, through the intercession of the Most Pure One and His Most Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, through the prayers of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming Wonderworker and all the saints of Athos, for whose sake may we be given a blessed end to this temporary life and eternal life, where we will ceaselessly glorify the Most Holy, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit , to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen.

Blessing of the Serbian Royal Lavra,
HILANDARA monastery,
Holy Mount Athos

Listen to the video prayer to Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming for infertility

Venerable Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming.

This is one of the most amazing saints. In many ways he has no equal and never will be, for too much in his life, in his destiny, in his soul, in his holy heritage is completely exceptional and has no similarity in church history. At the same time, this saint is practically unknown in Russia: his son, Saint Sava of Serbia, is much better known. In our collection for the first time we publish a detailed life of St. Simeon translated into Russian, taken from the Serbian monthly book along with a word of praise to the saint. And yet, before the life itself, clarifications should be given, because in the Serbian life much is implied.

First of all, you need to understand why the Monk Simeon is glorified with the honorable title of the Myrrh-Streamer. If the incorruption of relics in the Church is quite common, then the flow of myrrh from relics is a much rarer phenomenon and often appears one-time or periodically, and not constantly. The Monk Simeon is called the Myrrh-Streamer, because his relics have been glorified by myrrh-streaming since ancient times. This indicates that this royal righteous man especially pleased God.

His special holiness is also confirmed by the fact that he became the only founder of a dynasty in the world, which gave birth to many saints and is called in Serbian history the “Light Vine Nemanjina” after the worldly name of the saint - Nemanja.

The sons of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming were Saint Savva of Serbia (1169-1237) - founder Serbian Church and Saint Stephen the First-Crown (1196-1228) - the first all-Serbian king, crowned king Orthodox tradition, in 1221 in the Žiča monastery. His heirs were Saint Stefan Radoslav (1228-1234) and Saint Vladislav (1234-1243). Then Saint Urosh the Great (1243-1276) became king. He was succeeded by his sons: Dragutin (1276-1282), who voluntarily left the throne and took monasticism with the name Theoktist, and Saint Milutin (1282-1321). Both brothers became famous as great defenders of Orthodoxy. The son of Saint Milutin was the holy martyr King Stefan of Dečanski (1321-1331), and the grandson of the martyr king Stefan of Dečanski was the holy King Uroš Nesilni (1355-1371), under whom the kingdom of Serbia began to fragment. In the future there are less well-known saints and more distant descendants of Saint Simeon in a straight line and in female lines kinship.

The Nemanjić light-bearing vine is not only a beautiful poetic epithet of the dynasty, but also a very specific miracle. Saint Simeon himself planted a fertile vine on Holy Mount Athos, and for many centuries people who have eaten its fruits have received healing from infertility. As just mentioned, Saint Simeon received such great grace from God that he became the progenitor of many saints who became defenders of Orthodoxy. Such a great reward, no one except him, in New Testament Church He was not worthy of Christ. How great was the power of holiness in this extraordinary man, that it was enough for many reigns of the holy kings - his direct descendants, and for the entire Serbian people, to whom it was he who gave a great movement towards holiness along the sacred path of the Orthodox faith!

The Monk Simeon gave an unfading example of holy governance of the country and people. The Great Martyr of Christ George rode in front of his army on a white horse, defeating the enemies of the saint. The elders of Athonite revered him when in his declining years he left the throne and last years spent his life in great monastic deeds. His immortal soul belongs to the entire Church - to all of us, by the great grace given to him by God, but he is especially close to Montenegro.

He was born in Podgorica when his father hid here for many years during the Troubles, and here he spent his childhood. Later, having united all Serbian lands, he established his second royal court here - in the Montenegrin Littoral, in the city of Kotor, which gave its name to the Bay of Kotor. He fortified and rebuilt this city. He also strengthened and rebuilt the southernmost city of modern Montenegro - Ulcinj, and the most important port of modern Montenegro - the city of Bar. And he rebuilt (renewed) the famous city of Skadar, which gave its name to the most beautiful Skadar Lake, so much so that he can rightfully be considered its second founder. And this is not counting other, less significant cities that he rebuilt on the land of modern Montenegro after the reconquest from Byzantium in 1186.

I would like to note an important deed in his life. Having been baptized into Latin in his youth, he later considered this baptism completely invalid and was baptized for real - in the Orthodox way, never allowing any compromises between true Christianity and heresy, albeit very widespread and influential. That is why he so sharply and irrevocably eradicated Bogomilism in his country. This holy love of truth forever shaped the Serbian national soul, giving it that special directness and strength that is still felt in Serbian Orthodoxy. This particularly striking feature of his character, without a doubt, was formed in him precisely in his young years spent in Montenegro, where people have long been distinguished by their direct, harsh, uncompromising and warlike character, which alone made possible the later emergence of an extraordinary theocratic state here.

It was here, in his native land, that the saint received that sacrificial, selfless, heroic holiness of his character, which subsequently led the whole of Serbia along its special path in world history - just as heroic and sacrificial. He later became the prince of Raska, a small part of which now belongs to Montenegro (far north and northeast), while most of historical Raska belongs to Serbia. Raska under Saint Simeon became the core of the unification of Serbian lands and still has the honorary name of “Old Serbia” among the Serbian people. In the Montenegrin part of Raska, the monastery of Durdievi Stupovi, that is, the “Pillars of George” - St. George the Victorious, who helped St. Simeon, was founded in 1113 by the nephew of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming Pervoslav Nemanjic.

As already mentioned, on the site of modern Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, Saint Simeon was born (the city was then called Rybnitsa) and grew up. He carried his love for his native land throughout his entire subsequent life. He won back the Serbian lands of Primorye, which were captured by Byzantium after St. John Vladimir. The same applies to Skenderia - the immediate surroundings of Lake Skadar. In addition, the holy ruler of Serbia moved his court, where his future heirs grew up, to the lands of modern Montenegro - to the city of Kotor, in Primorye. This proves his special love for his native land.

Almost all the lands of modern Montenegro were spiritually and politically united by him in the 12th century - Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming. So we can consider that he was not just a Montenegrin saint, but also laid the foundation for the future greatness of Montenegro, becoming the spiritual unifier of these indigenous lands of the heroic Serbian people, leaving here forever the best, brightest part of his great holy soul.

The life of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming before his abdication of the throne.

The great ascetic, our reverend father Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming - Stefan Nemanja was first the great ruler of the Serbian people, the unifier of the Serbian lands, the creator of an independent Serbian state, the defender of Orthodoxy, the destroyer of heresy. At the same time, he was a man all his life great faith, great love, great prayer, great mercy, great evangelical zeal. He, according to his biography, Hilandar hieromonk Domentian, “from his youth desired to serve God with holiness and truth all the days of his life before Him.” His life, full of God and the truth of the Gospel, was described by his two holy sons: Saint Sava and Saint Stephen the First-Crown, as well as the disciple of Saint Sava, Hilandar hieromonk Domentian.

Stefan Nemanja was born around 1113 in Zeta, in Rybnitsa, and here he was baptized in Latin. When his father returned to his capital (to the city of Ras, the capital of the Raska region, where the saint himself later began to rule - Trans.), he was baptized by Orthodox saint and the bishop in the Serbian land, in the temple of the all-validated and supreme saints Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul.

This Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul is the most ancient Serbian temple. It is located north of New Pazar at the confluence of the Dezheva River with Raska, on its left side. Here Stefan Nemanja convened a council against the Bogomils, here he abdicated the throne; there was also the see of Bishop Raska.

Stefan Nemanja was the youngest of the brothers, but "by God's grace above all." The chosen one of God grew up in the house of his parents in all piety and purity, and as a prince he received from his father one of the borders of his fatherland: Toplitsa, Ibar, Rasina. Being wise and careful, he first became the great župan of Raška in 1168. In a short period from 1183 to 1186, Nemanja united most of the Serbian lands. Soon after this, he becomes the first ruler in history to unite under his rule all the lands where the Serbs lived.

Saint Sava says about this: “He renewed the inherited fatherland and strengthened it with God's help and the wisdom given to him by God. He returned the lost heritage of his great-grandfathers, returning from Primorye the region of Zeta with cities, from Rabna - both Pologs, from Byzantium - Patkovo, all of Khvoeno and Podrimlje, Kostrats, Drashkovina, Sitnitsa, Lab, Liplyan, Glubochitsa, Reke, Ushna and Pomoravle, Zagrlata, Levche, Belitsa Everything that was once taken by force from his great-grandfathers, he collected with his courage and labor.” At first, Stefan Nemanja, like his father, was a vassal of the Byzantine emperor, but later freed himself from it and became a completely independent ruler, with the title “Lord of all Serbian lands.” Its capital was located “in the middle of the Serbian land.” This was the city of Ras, half an hour's journey from modern New Pazar.

Along with the reunification of all Serbian lands, Stefan Nemanja worked zealously to establish Orthodoxy, thereby satisfying both his personal spiritual interests and state interests. At the same time, he argued with his brothers, from whom he suffered a lot of trouble. Full of faith, he lovingly built a temple in his area in Toplice, at the mouth of the Kosanitsa River. And, having decorated it with everything necessary for worship, he established a dormitory for nuns there, headed by his honest and God-loving wife Anna. He entrusted to her care both the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos and the nuns of this holy monastery. She obeyed him with all her good soul, preserving the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos, which her holy master entrusted to her. And again, Saint Stephen the First-Crown tells us, this holy master of ours, unable to stop his heart, inflamed by love for Christ, began to build a temple to the holy bishop and wonderworker Nicholas, not far from the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos at the mouth of the Banskaya River. Until his death, he walked barefoot, for the sake of fulfilling the words of the Savior: everyone who exalts himself will be humiliated, and he who humiliates himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11). While he was building a temple to the holy wonderworker Nicholas, a quick helper in troubles, his brothers, prompted by the devil and overwhelmed by evil jealousy and fierce anger, decided to sadden the saint and upset his work, saying: “Why are you doing what you shouldn’t do? You didn’t come to an agreement with us, but you are doing something that is better than what we have!” And the saint meekly and with a kind smile answered them: “My dear brothers! We are the sons of one father and one mother; let this work of mine, which I began for the Lord, and which I will complete in my domain, not anger you. Whatever I do, be it good or bad, let it be my share, at my expense. Ask the Lord God for His bounties and mercies - may each of you accept them.”

And he completed the temple to the holy wonderworker Nicholas, establishing a monastic rule in it so that they would constantly glorify the Lord God. And he lived in peace, thanks to God and the Most Holy Theotokos and the holy wonderworker Nicholas, until the evil of the devil washed over him. For the brothers conspired among themselves, not excluding the eldest brother, who then owned the entire Serbian land (free from Byzantium - Transl.), so that, calling on this chaste and holy man, they would seize him, bind him in chains and throw him into a stone cave. Sitting in a cave in sad thoughts, he prayed to the holy warrior - Great Martyr and Victorious George, saying the following words: “O holy sufferer, martyr George, who for the sake of Christ endured suffering and all sorts of countless torments and wounds! - and you were in grave captivity, you were torn to pieces and you called on your Master, your Lord Jesus Christ, to come to deliver you, heal and console you. You also looked at your death as at the slaughter, like the gentle lamb of Christ, saying: accept, Lord, my prayer - let those who are in trouble and captivity, or in prison, or at sea, and in my name call on Your love for mankind, then You to them, Lord, for the sake of Thy ineffable mercy, be merciful! And the Lord heard your prayer and fulfilled your request for the sake of your worthy labors. For, truly, you have deservedly pleased, holy sufferer of Christ, your Lord Christ. But I speak to the Lord, being a sinner and unworthy. With what eyes, darkened, will I dare to look into the heights of heaven, with what lips will I call on the terrible Heavenly Father and you, holy one?! But have pity, sufferer of Christ, over me, passionate and poor, beg your Lord Jesus Christ, Who promised you to fulfill your requests! May I now, by invoking your holy name, get rid of these torments and chains in order to serve you, holy one, all the days of my life, until my last breath: in a manner that will be pleasing to the height of your suffering, by the mercy and mercy of Christ, who glorified and crowned you in the whole world for all ages, amen!”

The martyr of Christ heard the prayer of the holy man and fulfilled everything he prayed for. And the holy sovereign began quickly, without any delay, with zeal and love to build a temple to the holy and glorious Great Martyr George. He finished the construction, calling on his good assistant, decorated the temple in every possible way and provided it with everything necessary for worship. He established a monastic rule, and the monks here served the Lord with holiness and truth and constantly glorified the Great Martyr George, the holy protector in troubles and dangers. This was done for the praise of the saint and for sanctification, as well as for the salvation of the souls of the monks.

When the evil-doing brothers hired German, Byzantine and Hungarian troops to fight their brother and led them against the saint right into his inheritance and reached a place called Pantin, he cried out from the depths of his soul to his Lord Jesus Christ and to the Great Martyr of Christ George , begging for help. And when he was near the city of Zvecan, where there was a church of the Great Martyr George, he chose several priests and sent them to pray to Saint George so that he would come to his aid and fight with him against the enemies. The priests he sent, at the behest of their master, served all-night vigil and matins, and then holy and Divine Liturgy. When they, after many hours of prayer, lay down to rest and fell asleep, the holy ambulance appeared to one of the priests in full military gear. In horror, the priest asked: “Who are you, sir?” And he answered: “I am the servant of Christ George, sent by the Lord God Himself to help your master, in order to defeat his enemies with the weapon of the cross and destroy their vain intentions.”

The priest immediately informed his master about this, and the next morning a fierce battle took place. With God's help and the help of the holy, glorious Great Martyr of Christ George, Stefan Nemanja defeated his enemies and foreign peoples. Then he returned to his power to the throne of his fatherland and began to live, thanking the Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Theotokos, the quick helper in troubles of the wonderworker Nicholas and the comrade-in-arms in the battles of the holy Great Martyr George, who kept him unharmed from his enemies. The holy ruler ordered and stood in large numbers for day and night services before the Lord. Having accepted power over his fatherland, he served the Lord with a humble spirit, a pure and contrite heart. Sons and daughters were born to him, and he raised them in all piety and purity and taught them the fear of God, great humility and wisdom. Says Domentian: “Who can worthily tell of his many prayers by night and his works of mercy by day? For he once heard the word of the Lord spoken through the prophet Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar: O king, may my advice be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness and for your iniquities with mercy towards the poor (Dan. 4:24). What the monk listened to, he did in practice, responding to every request, clothing the naked, feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty, visiting the sick, ransoming debtors, freeing slaves.”

The Christ-loving sovereign, full of holy zeal for the divine truth of the Orthodox faith, tried with the courage of a confessor to eradicate heresies in his fatherland, where heretics poisoned the soul of the orthodox people with their false teachings. One of the faithful warriors said to him: “Sir, I am one of the worst and least of your servants and, seeing your zeal for your Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Most Pure Lady Theotokos, and for the holy saints of God - your defenders, who with a strong hand support your power unshakable, I must tell your power that the vile and damned heresy is taking root more and more in your power (We are talking about Bogomilism, in which Christian doctrine intertwined with various Middle Eastern and Slavic mystical teachings and superstitions).

Nemanya immediately convened a council, to which he called his bishop Euthymius, monks and abbots, honest priests, elders and nobles from small to great. And, turning to everyone, he said: “You see, fathers and brothers, that I am the worst among my brothers, but the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother Theotokos do not look at the face of man and have honored me, the worst, who believes in the consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, so that kept the flock they handed over to me, which you see now - so that the seed of the evil and disgusting devil would not be sown in it. I never thought that he was so present in my country, but more and more now I hear that this evil one is behind short time has taken root and blasphemes the Holy Spirit and divides the indivisible Divinity, as the mad Arius said, cutting apart the consubstantial Trinity. So these crazy people follow his teachings, they don’t know, poor people, that because of such faith they will find themselves with him in the bottom of hell.”

While the great discord was in full swing at the cathedral, the daughter of one of Nemanya’s true-believing nobles came and was married to one of those crooked believers. She was in their company and realized all their uncleanness and filth, but was not at all soiled by their faith. She fell at the feet of the saint and unequivocally confessed, saying: “Lord, my lord! - we see how your power is in this vile and disgusting faith. Truly, my lord, according to the marriage law, I was begged from my father, your servant, who thought that in your kingdom there was only faith. And I was with those lawbreakers and saw, sir, where they really serve Satan himself, who has fallen from the glory of God. And I can no longer endure the stench of deaf idols and vile heresy, I left their hands and ran here and cry out to your power: strike with the cross these who are fighting us, so that the wicked enemies will test how strong your faith is, sir!

The holy sovereign brought this woman out and put her in front of everyone at the council, and exposed the crooked heretics. And the council decided to eradicate heresy. Jealous of the Lord God Almighty, as once the prophet Elijah, the God-loving Nemanja sent an army against the heretics, executed them in various ways, and distributed their houses and property to lepers and the poor. He cut out the tongue of their chief teacher and elder for not confessing Christ as the Son of God, burned his wicked books, and sent him into exile, forbidding even the mention of his cursed name. And he completely eradicated this damned faith, and from now on it was not remembered in his dominion, but the consubstantial, inseparable and life-giving Trinity was glorified: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Having spiritually united the people with common faith, Nemanja devoted himself to the task of annexing to his power those areas that were inhabited by Serbs, but were under the rule of Byzantium. “And he annexed,” says Saint Stephen the First-Crown, “to the land of his fatherland the region of Nishava to the edge, Lipljan and Morava, and the one called Vranje, the Prizren region, and both Canopies to the edge. He returned Dukla and Dalmatia - his fatherland and place of birth, his true heritage, which the Greek people held by force, so that that region was called Greek. Cities were built in it with his hands: Dan city, Sardrnika city, Drivost, Rosaf city, called Skadar, Svac city, Lcinj city (Ulcinj is the southernmost city of modern Montenegro. - Transl.) and the glorious city of Bar (now the most important port in Montenegro. - Transl.). And Kotor (the main city of Boka Kotor - Kotor Bay; was one of the most significant centers of navigation on the Adriatic. - Trans.) strengthened and moved his court to it (the capital still remained the city of Ras in the Raska region. - Trans.) " . And Saint Stephen the First-Crown adds: “He defeated his enemies, unremittingly bearing the cross of Christ before his eyes and with it winning victory over the enemy barbarians. And he lived in thanksgiving to God and in prayer day and night.”

When, with God’s help, all this was accomplished, says the holy First-Crown King, this holy master of mine, always having in his heart the unspeakable fear of God, was afraid of one of the Savior’s parables, saying: “Lest the words from the parable would come true for me, a sinner.” My Lord, which He told: a certain rich man had a good harvest in the field<…>and said:<…>I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather there all my bread and all my goods, and I will say to my soul: soul! you have a lot of good things lying around for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry! (Luke 12, 16-19); and, not paying attention to time, the very word spoken at the end by God strives to overtake me: Mad! This night your soul will be taken from you; who else will get what you have prepared? (Luke 12:20). Oh! Then, brothers, who will be able to withstand or endure this formidable and terrible judgment seat of Him or the irresistible wrath of God that will rush upon us sinners? But, Lord, Lord, have mercy and mercy on Your servant, for, I know, my iniquities are truly great and are always open before You, Lord! Therefore I will make a beginning in my heart: let him endure and fear Your holy name. According to the Apostle Paul, I say: You who have wives, be as if you have none, keep yourselves pure and in the commandments of the Lord. Therefore, I, a sinner, present as a witness to my firm decision, as his Guardian for the sake of Your holy name - the Most Pure and Most Holy Mother: Lord, for your sake I separate myself from connection with my wife and put You, my Lord Jesus Christ, as the Leader and Guardian my old age and Mentor on the path, walking along which and glorifying Your name, I do not want to stumble. I also want to erect a temple to Your Most Pure and All-Immaculate Mother, Benefactor, and there I want to fulfill for You all my vows that my lips have spoken!”

And he began to build the temple of the Most Holy One on Ibara, on the river called Studenica. Working on this, he constantly offered up prayers to the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ and to His Most Pure Mother. He also sent donations to the holy saints of God: great church Church of the Lord in Jerusalem and the Church of St. John the Baptist, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Bar, the Church of the Holy Ever-Virgin Mother of God Evergetis in Constantinople, the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Skopje, which he erected, the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in Thessaloniki and the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon in Niš, which he erected. Day and night he cried incessantly: “Saints who stand before Christ, and archangels, prophets and apostles, martyrs and hierarchs, venerable fathers and hermits, monks and venerable virgins, pour out your prayers before the Lord of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, that He may not condemn me on the day of the Last Judgment and terrible trial, but may he be merciful, quiet and forgiving to me; and, for the sake of the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and your prayers, may He grant me to pass through the storm of this temporary life and enter into a quiet and true undisturbed refuge and see my unfading Light - my Lord and Savior and my God, King Jesus Christ, to Whom, among the saints, be the praise of Israel. For the Prophet says: Our fathers trusted in You and were not ashamed; in You I hope and will be saved (Psalm 21:5-6). Therefore, Lord, do not forsake me, the poor one who hopes in Your mercy; do not reject, Savior, and have mercy on Your sinful creation, so that, having rejected the beauty of this world, I will follow You, praising and thanking Your holy and gentle name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.”

Praying like this from the depths of his heart, he labored in spiritual joy at the Most Holy Temple, caring for its complete completion. For when this holy master of mine, says Saint Stephen the First-Crown, saw how the Most Holy Temple was erected, then, believe me, gentlemen and brothers, I myself saw how he directed his mind into the sky - like an eagle created to soar in the heavens, but chained on the ground with iron chains and wanting to free himself and fly into the heights in order to reach that immortal and holy Source and see the temple of the City of God - the Heavenly Jerusalem, of which he truly became a citizen.

Stefan Nemanja leaves the throne and becomes a monk.

When the thirty-seventh anniversary of the power of our God-loving father arrived, says Saint Sava, the all-merciful Lord did not despise his whole-hearted prayer, but, as one who graciously accepts labor and rewards it, he wanted everyone to be saved. When the right time came, this perspicacious man, who considered all the glory and all the honors of this world as nothing and saw the beauty of this world as smoke, since the love for Christ grew in him, inflaming his heart, - as if a house preparing to receive Christ was preparing to become the purest abode of the Holy Spirit. For Christ dwelt in his mind and led him. And he called to him his noble children and chosen boyars, people small and great, and began to tell them this teaching:

“My dear children, whom I fed and raised! You all know how God, by His Providence, made me ruler over you, you also know how I took over our land at the beginning of the disaster, but with the help of God and Holy Lady Our Mother of God, I, to the best of my ability, was not lazy, did not give myself rest until I corrected everything. And, with God’s help, he expanded our land in length and breadth, which everyone knows. Until now, I have taught you, like my children, to adhere to the Orthodox faith. Many foreigners rushed at me and attacked me like a swarm of bees, but with the name of the Lord I rose up against them and won. Therefore, you, my dear children, do not forget the teaching and the faithful law that I established. For, holding on to it, you have God as your helper, and the Most Holy Theotokos, and my sinful prayer.

And now let me, your master, go in peace, so that my eyes can see the salvation that the Lord has prepared in the face of all people - light for the revelation of tongues and for the glory of you, my flock. For we see that everything human, whatever remains after death, is vanity: wealth and glory do not remain, for when death comes, it destroys all this. Because of this, we try in vain. The path we follow is short: our life is smoke, steam, earth and dust. It appears quickly and ends quickly. Therefore, truly, everything is in vain. This life is shadow and darkness, and every earth-born labors in vain, as the book says: when we leave this world, we will settle in a tomb, where both kings and the poor will lie. Therefore, my dear children, let me go so that I can quickly go to see the consolation of Israel.”

With these words the good lord and the good shepherd taught them, and they all cried and cried and said to him: “Do not leave us orphans, sir, but enlighten us and teach us, good shepherd, who lay down your life for the sheep, for never in your days a wolf did not take a sheep from the flock God gave you. And during all the thirty and seven years of your reign, we were preserved and nourished and educated by you, and we do not know another father and another master except you, our master!”

And the blessed elder, who in a fatherly manner advised them with wise words to stop wailing and crying, “out of holy insight, chose his faithful son Stephen and made him autocratic master of his entire power” and said to everyone: “You now have him instead of me! - a good root that came out of my womb. I place him on the throne in the power given to me by Christ.” And, rising from his throne, says Domentian, he handed it over to his son with every blessing and, blessing him, said: “My beloved child, this throne of my power was given to me by the Lord, the King of Heaven; I did not take it by any of my own strength, but The Lord looked upon my humility, dethroned the strong man from the throne and raised me, the humble one, to him. And by His power I have had power on this throne until this hour. And from my youth I wanted to follow my Lord. But as the Lord willed for me, so it became with me. Now the Lord’s time has come for my salvation. And you, my dear son, bless the Most High God, Who reigns for endless ages. And may this throne of mine be blessed by the Lord God, so that it can pass from your father to you and your children, and after your children to all your descendants forever.

And may the Lord my God help you on it, walking, and lying, and standing with you, delighting and cheering your soul and heart with the consolation of the Holy Spirit. And may the Lord my God protect you, and may He be your Patron in every place. And may the Lord my God protect you from all evil! And may the Lord my God protect your entry and departure into battle with your adversaries, with your enemies! And may the Lord my God teach your hands to fight and your fingers to fight against your enemies who rise up against you! And may the Lord my God with His holy angels protect you in all your ways! And my holy angel, who has kept me from my youth to this day, may he be with you and, by the abundant mercy of the Lord my God, may he be the leader of your regiments, as he was the leader of my regiments!* Let him stand with you in the military ranks all your battles! And may the Lord my God and my strength teach your feet to do the will of God here, on this throne, and to endless ages. Amen".

And he also taught him, says Stephen the First-Crown himself, to strive for every good deed in his kingdom, to be kind in heart to the Christian people who were given to him in power, to the flock given to him by God, saying: “My dear child, shepherd This Israel is mine and take care of it, leading it like Joseph leading the lambs!” He commanded him to take care of the churches and their ministers, listen with pleasure to bishops and clergy, honor the priests and watch over the monks, “so that they pray for you, and may you not be ashamed of anything before God and people.”

In the same way, Stefan blessed Nemanja and his other dear son, Prince Vukan, and made him grand duke, and allocated him enough land, and gave him the commandments given before to Stefan. And the good father put them both before him and said to them:

“Sons, do not forget my laws, and let your heart keep my words, so that the years of your life may be added to you. Do not abandon alms and faith, tie them at your doors and write them on the tablets of your hearts and receive grace. Think about what is good before God and people. Rely on God with all your heart and do not try to exalt yourself with your wisdom. See to it that the paths you walk in are straight, so that you do not stumble. Do not think highly of yourself, but fear the Lord and turn away from all evil - then your body will have health and your bones will have rest. Honor the Lord with your righteous labors and give Him the first fruits of your righteous fruits, so that your barns will be filled with plenty of wheat, and your wine presses will flow with wine. Sons, do not despair when God punishes you, and do not shy away when He exposes you. For the Lord punishes whomever he loves and beats every son whom he receives. Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who has seen understanding. For it is better to acquire wisdom than sacristies of gold and silver. She is more precious than precious stones, she is not afraid of any evil, and she is sweet to everyone who approaches her. Every other treasure is more insignificant than this, for the length of the days of life is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and glory. Truth comes from her mouth, and she carries law and mercy on her tongue. Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are in the world. She is the tree of life for all who hold on to her and lean on her as if on an indestructible wall.

I give you this commandment: love one another and have no ill will between each other. You, Vukan, submit and be obedient to your brother, both from God and from me, placed on my throne. And you, Stefan, when you rule, do not harm your brother, but honor him. For whoever does not love his brother does not love God. God is love. Therefore, whoever loves God, let him also love his brother. For this is the whole law: the apostles learned it, the martyrs were crowned with it, the prophets spoke about it. So, if you want and obey me, then you will inherit earthly blessings, but if you do not want and do not obey me, then weapons will destroy you. May peace from the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God rest upon you, my dear sons, sheltering and shielding you from all enemies, visible and invisible, and directing you to the path of peace.

May peace be with you too, my nobles and boyars! Peace also to you, young men whom you raised and raised from the birth of your mothers. Peace to all of you, the verbal flock of Christ, given to me by God - I shepherded you and kept you intact, like a good shepherd, laying down my life for you. Therefore, I pray to you, my beloved children, rich and poor, old and young, adhere to my teaching - the teaching of your father. Fear God, honor those with authority, decorate churches so that they adorn you, listen to bishops, honor priests, respect the monastic order, so that they always pray for you. And you, living in truth and in love among yourself, do not forget about alms. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen".

All those present cried and sobbed that they were parting with such a ruler and shepherd, they cried and sobbed and could not be consoled. For truly, I myself am at a loss,” says Saint Sava, “how to call him: a good master?” teacher of orthodoxy? kind father? a shepherd who faithfully tended the flock entrusted to him? a church educator and teacher of good customs, who was always in prayer? a great servant of the poor, who loved them? A mentor of orthodoxy and a teacher of good faith and a luminary of purity in the universe? A mentor full of faith and a model of meekness and fasting? A teacher of wisdom and an adviser and a punisher of the foolish? Guardian of his flock and wise protector of all those who live near him? For, truly, all this was in him, he was full of wisdom and understanding, and the grace of God was on him.

Having blessed his people, this wise and wondrous man left the power given to him by God, and all his varied and numerous blessings, for this was pleasing to Christ God and the Most Holy Theotokos, in order to satisfy his inexpressible and holy desire. Having distributed all his property to the poor, he leaves the throne, his children and his wife and becomes a participant in the indescribable, and honest, and holy angelic, and apostolic face, small and great, and the name Simeon was given to him on the Holy Annunciation on March 25, 1195. On the same day, the wife Anna, given to him by God, the mistress of the entire Serbian land, took on the same holy image, and the name Anastasia was given to her. “Desiring the Kingdom of Heaven,” says the creator of his life, Domentian, “he left the earthly kingdom and this world and everything in this world. And, leaving the earthly earthly things, seeking the highest, he followed Christ.” Having accomplished all this, says Saint Sava, our lord and father retired to our monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos, Studenica, which he erected, and Mrs. Anastasia went to the monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos in Ras. And this wonderful father of ours and ktitor, Mr. Simeon, remained among us in all good faith and purity, thriving and teaching everyone with his spiritual exploits. For truly he fulfilled what was written in the Gospel: he sold everything he had and bought one pearl of great price - Christ (Matthew 13:46), for whose sake he did all this, fulfilling the commandment of the Savior given to the young man: if you want to be perfect, go, all sell what you have and give it to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me, taking up the cross (Mark 10:21). Having accomplished all this, the blessed elder remained in Studenica for two years and increased the number of the flock of Christ in the monastic order. And he lived here with honest monks according to the rules and commandments of the holy and God-bearing fathers and was never lazy.

He desired to ascend to the highest spiritual level, bearing in mind the words of the Holy Scripture: no prophet is accepted in his own country (Luke 4:24.) In the soul of our blessed father Simeon, along with the desire for a higher spiritual life, there was also a fiery desire to join to his son - Saint Sava on the Holy Mountain, who from the very beginning called him from the Holy Mountain to renounce the throne and follow Christ through monasticism. The creator of the life of Saint Domentian wrote about it this way:

“Our holy and reverend father Simeon with all his heart wrote a letter full of paternal love to the Holy Mountain to his dear son - the godly Savva, mentor of monks and inhabitant of the desert, a carnal angel, an imitator of the disembodied Heavenly Powers, a zealot for the deeds of the saints and their companion, a heavenly citizen, who through fasting, vigil and prayers earned heavenly gifts. And he wrote to him like this: “Listen, my beloved child in Christ, what you wrote to me earlier was fulfilled by the Lord our God, and your prayers for my salvation were not in vain, and what you asked for, what you desired, what you expected with all my soul and what I sought with all my strength - this was given to me by the merciful Creator, not because of my righteousness, but because of His immeasurable mercy, which He has in general for all sinners who turn to Him. And he did not reject me, but adorned me, worthy of the grace of an angelic face with the saints, and, following Him according to the Gospel, taking His holy cross on my shoulders, I, according to His false commandment, now joyfully follow Him and you, dear child , and I try to reach you on the Holy Mountain. And pray for me, our beloved Christ, so that, at my one and tenth hour, joining you, my beloved child, I will become a tiller of Christ’s vineyard, and may the All-Good Lord God not deprive me of His reward, but may He bestow His abundant mercy both here and in endless eyelids. Amen". The holy First-Crown King conveys this letter from our blessed father Simeon in the following words: “Know, beloved in Christ, that what I asked for and what I desired and what I strove for with all my strength with all my soul, he gave me, Having mercy on me, my Creator - not because of my iniquities, but because of His endless and ineffable mercy and love for mankind: He was worthy of what I desired - an honest angelic face. Rejoice over me and pray for me to your Lord, so that I, unworthy, may be worthy to enter at the twelfth hour, so that I may appear with you as a worker in the vineyard of Christ, so that we may receive our reward.”

Having received the letter, the God-loving Savva rejoiced in spirit and, multiplying, multiplied his prayers before his Lord, with tears praising the Lord God Almighty and His Most Pure Mother, Our Lady Theotokos, saying: “I thank you, Lord my God Jesus Christ and my Most Pure Lady Theotokos, that we heard my prayer and they did not despise my supplication. And through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother, the Intercessor of our family, You, Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You, and those who hope in You and who work for the sake of Your name.”

And he wrote a letter to his venerable father, saying:

“I accepted the Scripture of your holiness and found in it indescribable joy and unspeakable joy, for the Lord, Who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the mind of truth, chose your holiness from this vain seething world and joined it to all the saints, reverend and righteous, offering you angelic life ... Try to come quickly, my lord, come, reverend one, for Christ, beloved by you, through me - your beloved child, has prepared for you a heavenly and earthly abode - so that those who trust in Him will not be ashamed. Come, holy lover of God, and enter into the joy of your Lord, for all things work out for good to those who love Him. Come, O God-bearing one, let us fulfill the will of God and fulfill his true commandment: let us seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and then everything will be added to us (see Matt. 6:33), and let us bring to our beloved Christ the face of the monks and the council of saints and congregations many, all the faithful, so that when they look at us and follow us in this earthly kingdom, we receive double grace - for ourselves and for those for whom we will become an example for their sanctification and for their salvation in God... Come and come, my lord and father, may you teach your children the fear of God, and show us the good path of salvation, and show great humility to us, who want to live according to your piety, so that we, your children, may magnify the Lord with you, and may the Lord with your holy prayers and we will be honored to follow in your holy footsteps. You worked more on the apostolic creation of what is fundamental in the faith of Christ and for this you want to accept the highest reward from Christ, Who distributes gifts to everyone according to his work... Come and come, lamp of God, burning with the grace of God, who shines with the Holy Spirit, for your master Christ is waiting you, to bring Him fruit from the good land - your immaculate soul, which you strive to cleanse with cruel abstinence and great humility, in order to bring an immaculate gift to your beloved Christ... Come and come, beloved of your child, come, led by the Holy Spirit along the divine path and along the small my path, and labor and find the offspring of your much-loving heart. And come, and come, and help me, and make progress, so that we may receive the bounty of the Lord promised to us and to all who love God and who desire eternal life... Come and come, dearest sorrow of my soul, be like Jacob the God-seer, for you will become the second Israel and you will experience unexpected joy because of your child, like Jacob because of Joseph, and I, too, will enjoy your holy love, I, who for many years have removed myself from the greatest love of my child-loving father. Come and come, my lord and holy father, may I look at your holy gray hairs, and may I kiss them with love, and may I kiss your holy image, which was written in heaven by the Lord God even before your birth... Come, and while we in this transitory life Let us direct a unanimous prayer to the Most Pure Mediatrix of our life, so that She will readily open the heavenly doors of Her mercy to us on high, and we will remain with our Lord for endless ages. Amen"".

The departure of the Monk Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming to the Holy Mountain and his life on it.

Having received a letter from his son Sava, who honors the Lord, the blessed elder Simeon became inflamed in spirit and began to pray to God, saying: “To the King of glory, the only immortal, Father of heaven and power, who, in the kindness of His Providence, does not want a single person to perish, but that all may be saved, do not leave me to perish, for I know how great Your mercy is towards me. And now, Lord, I pray to You, let me complete this desire!” Having said this, he sent for his sons, whom God had given him. When they, together with the nobles and boyars, gathered, the Monk Simeon gave them his blessing for the second time and went to the Holy Mountain on October 8, 1197. When he left, he ordered his son, Lord Stephen, to keep his commandments and take care of the monastery in Studenica. Also, when leaving, he appointed the venerable man, Hieromonk Dionysius, as abbot in Studenitsa and ordered him to take care of the flock of Christ, which was gathered in this holy place, and to take care of it.

And he, blessed one, says Saint Sava, reached the Holy Mountain on November 2, 1197. The God-bearing and reverend fathers who lived on the Holy Mountain received him with joy and great honor. And first he stopped at the Vatopedi monastery, for here he found his desired, lost lamb - this is what Saint Sava says to himself - and, kissing him and lifting him onto his shoulders as if he had reformed, he took him into his service.

And here they lived in spiritual joy,” says Saint Stephen the First-Crown, “in divine services and vigils and in honest prayers day and night. Prot and all the brethren of Svyatogorsk came to him, and bowed to each other to the ground, and talked with him with tears about spiritual benefits, and he asked them about their lives and about monastic rules. And everyone was amazed and glorified the Lord Christ, Who does glorious and majestic deeds and Who made blessed Simeon leave his kingdom and the glory of this world and come to the Holy Mountain for monastic deeds. And this holy master of mine,” continues Stephen the First-Crown, “has bestowed upon everyone, from the greatest to the smallest, all kinds of gifts according to the dignity of each one, and has lit his lamp for everyone.

Heavenly people and earthly angels, says Domentian about blessed Simeon and God-bearing Savva, having reached quiet true humility and despising everything that was lost in this transitory world, they cared only about the salvation of their souls. According to the word of the Lord, they did not care about anything earthly, but sought only the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness (Matthew 6:33), which they found. Both began to work for the Lord from their youth and continued until death according to the true word of the Lord - he who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13; Matt. 10:22). Both took the cross of Christ as a mighty weapon, and went with invincible strength into battle against their enemies, and with their great patience they escaped many snares. Burning with the love of Christ, they extinguished the fire of evil with their feat with holy tears and appeared as many-bright lamps of the Church of Christ, sent from God and His Most Pure Mother, and therefore were crowned with incorruptible crowns and received the same glory with the Highest Powers.

Having spent a certain time in Vatopedi, says Saint Sava, blessed Simeon justified his reign in the world, and here he desired to find a place of salvation for everyone who came from everywhere. And he begged the Greek king Alexei, his friend, for an empty place to build a monastery on the Holy Mountain. Having found an empty place called Hilandar, says the First-Crown Saint, this saint reverend elder with his son Sava, he sent a letter to his son, the ruler of Serbia, Stefan, to send them in abundance what was necessary for the construction and renovation of Hilandar, the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos. The letter said: “Oh, beloved child and servant of Christ! Know that the Lord God and the Most Holy One, by His will and with my blessing, left you to rule there! I am writing to you that I have found an empty place in the middle of the Holy Mountain, in honor of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos, called Hilandar. Do not be lazy, but hasten with your strength to erect and create a Most Holy Temple in my memory on this earth, and besides, may it be after me and for your children and grandchildren in your family forever.

For you are the patron of this, because earlier in writing I handed over to you in my power the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos Benefactor in Studenica - not to you together with someone else, but only to you alone and to your descendants after you. I remind you of the prophetic word: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will accomplish it. And he will bring out your righteousness like the light, and your justice like the noonday” (see Psalm 36:4-6). Therefore, do not be late, do not sleep, but strive, so that, having fulfilled these words of mine, you will complete your good deed with my blessing.”

His son accepted with all his heart with great joy the message of the holy master Simeon and his embassy. He stood up from his throne, fell prostrate to the ground and said with tears: “I thank You, my Master Lord Jesus Christ, that You allowed me, Your unworthy servant, to follow the affairs of my former guardian, who cared to preserve my earthly body, and now , moving away from me, constantly and unceasingly takes care of my soul and guides me on my path, so that I will follow his deeds. For truly, Lord, Thy true and true servant is the one who follows Thy words and does not disdain to bring to Thy love for mankind the lost, the fallen, the prodigal and the sinful, just as I am unworthy. Although I am far from Him, He makes me a participant and patron of His holy temples, not because of my dignity, but because of His ineffable mercy. Therefore, how can I repay You, Lord, or what can I bring to You from my unworthiness for Your good deeds that You have done and are doing to me, a sinner? For how can I express or express the greatness of Your power or the bottomlessness of Your love for mankind? Or how can I endure Your uncontrollable anger, which is against us sinners? But You are doubly good, Lord, and do good as the Merciful. Therefore, I, marveling at Your power, exclaim to You: “Glory to Your love for mankind, O Lord, forever. Amen!""

After this, through Abbot Methodius, the powerful Stefan sent his parent many and immeasurable gifts for the founding and completion of the Church of the Most Holy One, and more than once. Every year he sent everything that was necessary for the holy master, until he completed the Most Holy Temple. He sent not only gifts, but also from his land, doubling the flow of funds, gave them for complete completion to the holy lord and the monks, saying this: “Give true bow to my lord - this is what your servant says: “All your commandments are fulfilled and the desire of your heart is fulfilled. For in what way or with what reason would I, poor man, turn away and not fulfill your holy commandments?! How could I forget your kindness to me and your good upbringing? For Christ breathed spirit into me, and you raised me, and directed, and taught me. And, by the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ, protected by the fair teaching and blessing of your lips and your holy prayer, I will not be afraid when they attack me from everywhere, I will not be afraid of the hands of foreign barbarians. After all, Peter said to his Lord when washing his feet: Lord! Not only my feet, but also my hands and head (John 13:9). So, sir, I, your unworthy servant, constantly cry out to your holiness: not only what I bring you now, but also my entire earthly body, if your holiness needs it. But, my lord, command other things, and everything that must be done, for I will not weaken until my last breath. For I did not acquire all this myself, but you did it, my lord, and you do everything with the help of your Lord. After all, you returned what was lost and collected what was wasted, and drove out heresies with the help of your Christ, and you raised the people and land of your power as if from the abyss, teaching you to magnify God and glorify holy name His. After all, you are truly a good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep, driving away heretical teachings from your flock like mental wolves. And what am I, sir?! - only obedience that looks at your exploits! But pray to the Lord for me, may I not transgress your holy commandments, may I not diminish the trust in Christ that you sacredly established, but may I complete and complete, as Solomon the Wise supplemented and completed what his father David did not finish. After all, the Truth itself - Christ is the Witness of your many deeds and the holy church of the Most Holy Theotokos, which you adorned with your great wisdom, and sculpted with wisdom, and clothed in splendor, and graciously elevated it to the heights of heaven! Through Her most pure and unceasing prayers and your holy prayers, may the all-merciful Lord not deprive me of Kingdom of Heaven with his unspeakable glory, abiding blessings and endless life. Amen".

When Abbot Methodius with gifts reached the God-bearing duo - Saints Simeon and Savva, he handed over the letter and told with what great honor he was received, and everything that happened, and how his dear son fulfilled the will of his heart and fulfilled all his commandments. And they praised God and His Most Pure Mother for everything they heard about their beloved. And with God’s help,” says the biography writer Domentian, “and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, and the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the feat of the godly lamps - the Monk Simeon and the God-bearing Savva, the Hilandar monastery was created, and near it there was a city, and in the middle of the city a high tower, similar to the royal one. house, and high chambers, also similar to the royal ones.

After that we moved into Hilandar,” says Saint Sava. - And our reverend father spent a year and five months with me on the Holy Mountain. Who can tell the exploits and labors of this blessed one? For everyone who lived in the surrounding area was truly amazed at him, looking at God’s unspeakable condescension towards him, and came to him for blessing. The sacred, God-fearing and Christ-loving monks of the Holy Mountain and the entire consecrated clergy did not leave him, marveling at his humility and gaze of meekness, marveling at the teacher of fasting and the follower of the teachings of the Holy Gospel: Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all (Mark 9 , 35), if not<…>you will be like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3), blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3), blessed are those who weep now, for you will laugh (Luke 6:12), blessed are those who weep , for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:4-8), etc.

Our blessed father and ktitor, Mr. Simeon, was the executor of all these words of the Lord and in no good custom did not exalt himself and did not distance himself, but received salvation with those who live for the sake of Christ. And, having gathered enough monks in Hilandar, he appointed one reverend man, the monk Methodius, as their elder. And having arranged everything in the monastery as necessary, he lived in it for eight months, performing feats and experiencing inexpressible spiritual states that the human mind cannot express. And not only did he benefit his monastery, but he also gave abundant alms to the entire Holy Mountain, to all the monasteries, as a memorial to himself and all his descendants.

Illness and death of St. Simeon the Myrrh-Streaming.

And blessed Simeon lived in prayerful silence with his child Savva, says the holy First-Crown, in prayerful silence, in their monastery, in the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Holy Mountain, they lived a monastic life, fulfilling all the monastic rules. Day and night are their constant worship, for they walked along the narrowest and most cramped path, forgetting about everything earthly. They left everything corruptible and fixed their minds on heaven, standing with their bodies on earth, and staying in heaven with their minds and souls. Below they saw Christ Himself (on the icon - Transl.), and above at that time they were with the angels, and, spending their lives like the ancient holy teachers of monasticism, the venerable ones, looking at the rewards for their labors, strived even more, moving on to to the best. They spent a lot of time in their monastery, as long as it pleased the One who created human bodies and who knows human secrets, and in whose hand every living creation is, who by His mercy determines the end of each. And He was pleased to bring the blessed old man to the best for him - to reward him for his labors, physical exhaustion, for his abundant tears, for his various virtues, and to call him to a secret meal, and to give him drink from an immortal source, and to settle him with Himself with those that they pleased Him, so that He might rejoice continually with His angels. After all, what person can live and not see death? Wanting to show him as a heavenly man and earthly angel, He showed His ineffable mercy and prepared His ladder for the exodus of the monk, which he had built for himself beforehand and handed over to his Lord, so that he could set it up for him at the hour of his repose.

On the seventh day of the month of February, writes Saint Sava about his father, honest old age began to afflict him. And the blessed elder, Mr. Simeon, immediately called me, unworthy and insignificant, and began to quietly speak to me holy, precious and sweet words: “My sweet child and the consolation of my old age! Listen carefully to my words, incline your ear to my words, keep them in your heart - and the sources of your life will not dry up, for they are life for those who achieve them. Remove stubbornness from your lips and crookedness from your lips. Let your eyes look straight and let your eyelids with their movements point to what is righteous. Walk straight with your feet and straighten your paths. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left, for only God walks on the paths on the right, and on the paths on the left are corrupt paths. And you learn the direct - and let your desire be in peace. Son, listen to my wisdom, incline your ear to my words, so that you may preserve my good thought; With my lips I say what I feel. Take care, son, of your father’s law, do not reject your mother’s teachings. He who reproaches the wicked brings hatred upon himself, and he who exposes the wicked brings it upon himself. Do not expose the evil, lest they hate you. Convict a wise man and he will love you. Point out to a wise man his falsehood - and he will be even wiser; give instruction to the righteous - and he will continue to accept it. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the saints creates understanding. By doing this, you will live a long time, and the years of your life will be added to you (the saint taught a lesson on the Book of Proverbs. - Trans.).”

And, stretching out his hands, the blessed one laid them on my sinful neck, and began to cry with sadness, and, kissing me sweetly, began to say: “My dear child, the light of my eyes, the consolation and preservation of my old age! Now the time has come for our parting, now the Lord lets me go in peace, according to His word, so that what has been said may be fulfilled: dust you are, and to dust you will return (Genesis 3:19). But you, child, do not be sad when you look at my parting, because this cup is one for all. We are parting here, but we will meet where there will be no more partings.” And, raising his most pure hands and placing them on my head, he said: “Blessing, I bless you! May the blessed Lord God prepare your salvation and, instead of earthly blessings, grant you grace, mercy and the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him straighten the path that you are following, which you followed even before me, having both here and there my sinful prayer inseparable from you.”

And I,” says Saint Sava, “fell prostrate at his most pure feet and said with tears: “I have received many gifts from you, and great gifts, my blessed lord Simeon! But, poor and ungrateful, I forgot everything, mixed it with unreason and things akin to it, for I am poor in good deeds and rich in passions, filled with shame, lacking courage before God, mourned by the angels, ridiculed by the devil, exposed by his conscience, disgraced by his evil deeds. Dead before his death and before Last Judgment I am already condemned by myself, in the face of endless torment I am tormenting myself with despair. Because of this, I bow and fall at your most honorable feet, so that, even if I remain incorrigible, I may receive at least some small relief at the terrible Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And when the eighth day of that month arrived, the blessed father said to me: “My child, send for my spiritual father and for all the honest elders of the Holy Mountain, so that they come to me, for the day of my exodus is approaching.” I fulfilled his commandment, and many monks came, like the myrrh-bearing flowers growing in this desert. And when they came to him, they accepted each other’s blessing, and did not allow them to leave him, saying to them: “Stay next to me until you sing my body with your holy prayers and bury it.” And the blessed elder from the seventh day until his death did not accept either bread or water, but only every day he partook of the Holy and Most Pure Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

On the twelfth day of the same month,” says Saint Sava, “I saw that the blessed elder was preparing to depart, and I said to him: “Oh, blessed Mr. Simeon! Behold, your good transition into your eternal rest is approaching. But just as I myself heard that you blessed your heirs, so now give me yours. last blessing! And he, raising his hands, began to say with tears: “To the Most Holy Trinity, our God, I glorify Thee, and I bless Thee, and I pray to Thee, and I think to Thee - behold, for the third time I give a blessing to my heirs! Lord Almighty, God of our fathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the seed of the righteous! preserve them and strengthen them in the power that I owned, with the help of the Most Holy Theotokos, and may my, albeit sinful, prayer remain with them from now on and forever. And I give them a general commandment: have love among yourself! But if any of them departs from this, which I have made a law for them, then may the wrath of God swallow both this man and his descendants!” After all this he said: “Amen!”

Then the blessed elder said to me: “My child, bring me the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, for I promised that I would give up my spirit before it.” I did what I was told. And when evening came, the blessed one said to me: “My child, show me love, throw a robe over me for my burial and completely prepare me in a sacred way for placement in the grave. And make my bed on the ground and lay me on it. And put a stone under my head so that I can lie there until the Lord comes to take me away from here.” I did everything that he commanded me. Then the blessed one said: “Call to me, child, the priest and all the brethren, so that they can see my outcome. For, behold, the servants of the Lord my God and the mighty warriors are already approaching; my ears hear their voice and their singing. Hurry, my beloved!

And when all those invited had gathered, the saint lay on the mat, awaiting the arrival of the angel. And those invited sat sadly near him and said to him, wailing: “Do not leave us orphans, reverend! Do not deprive us of your teachings! For who will now teach us and to whom will we now resort?” And they wept loudly out of great sadness. Among them, Savva, says the First-Crown, forever blooming with the flower of his virginity, wept bitterly and said: “O Reverend! We see that you are going to the Lord! But do not forget us in your prayers and ask us for mercy from Christ God. For how can we live without your bright face? How can I adopt our way of life without my good shepherd? Who can I find for a heart-to-heart conversation? From whom will I receive comfort? Who will heal my spiritual damage? Pray to your Lord to accept me into His eternal dwellings, for I cannot bear parting, my sweet light!” And all those present said with one voice: “Remember us, Reverend, in your blessed peace!”

And when night came,” says Saint Sava, “everyone said goodbye to him, and received a blessing from him, and went to their cells to do their prayer rule and rest a little. But I stayed and kept one priest with me, and we were near him all that night. At midnight the blessed elder calmed down and did not answer me anymore. And when the time came for Matins and the service began in the church, the face of the blessed elder immediately brightened and he said, looking upward: Praise God in His saints, praise Him and to strengthen His power! (Psalm 150:2). And I asked: “Father, who do you see and with whom do you speak?” And he, looking at me, said to me: Praise him according to His strength, praise him according to His great dominion! (Psalm 150:3). Having said this, he immediately gave up his divine spirit and fell asleep in the Lord. And I fell to his face and wept bitterly for a long time; then, rising, he thanked God for deigning me to see such a death of this reverend man (Reverend Simeon rested on February 13, 1200, when he was 86 years old from birth. - Trans.).

When the brethren heard about the repose of the saint, they all began to come to him, and were amazed at the enlightenment of his face, and said: “Oh, blessed Simeon, who, with his last breath, was honored to see such a vision that the Lord deigned to grant you for the exploits of your labors, so that at the departure of your soul you cheerfully exclaimed sweet words: Praise God in His saints, praise Him and in establishing His power, praise Him and according to His abundant dominion! You will be blessed everywhere and that is why you said such blessed words!”

After that,” says Saint Sava, “taking the venerable body, we honorably placed it in the middle of the church according to custom. And at the end of Matins, in the presence of countless monks, they began to sing the prescribed hymns over the body of the saint, and what was said was fulfilled: The Lord glorifies those who fear Him (Psalm 14:4). Many monks from other nations also came to venerate the saint and with great honor sing his funeral service with soulful songs: first the Greeks sang, then the Ivers (Georgians - Trans.), then the Russians, then the Bulgarians, after them again we, the Serbs, collected his herd. And when time passed after the liturgy and when the entire scheduled service was completed, everyone kissed the body of the saint. And I, a sinner, fulfilled his will and commandment - I wrapped myself around the blessed body and laid it in a new coffin. The assembled multitude of monks did not disperse until the ninth day, serving a holy service for him every day.

Virgo