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Sergius of Radonezh
Abbot of Holy
Trinity, Moscow, 1392
(Sep 25th)
Sergius, the patron saint of
Russia, is the most popular of all the Russian saints. He was born on May 2,
1314 in Rostov (near Moscow) and was given the name Bartholomew. When he was a
child, civil war forced his family to relocate, moving forty miles northeast of
Moscow to earn a living farming in Radonezh. Bartholomew showed little interest
in reading or writing until his life was changed by a mysterious monk. Then he
began reading the Bible, books on liturgy and the Church Fathers. He also
visited monasteries. He longed for a life of solitude, but remained with his
parents for as long as they lived.
In 1336, he and his older brother, Stephen, secluded themselves in a local
forest and built a chapel in honor of the Holy Trinity. His brother moved to a
monastery in Moscow, but Bartholomew remained and developed the chapel into a
monastery. A priest-monk gave him the tonsure and the name Sergius; he was
ordained a priest when he was thirty.
Like St. Francis, Sergius was known for his love of animals and his lack of
attachment to the goods of the world. He lived a simple life, had a gentle
disposition, a mystical temperament, and an ongoing concern that the monks at
the monastery serve the needs of their neighbors. Refusing an opportunity for
higher advancement to the office of Patriarch of Moscow in 1378, Sergius served
as abbot of the monastery for the rest of his life. He is a national hero to the
people of Russia. His unwavering support of Prince Dimitri Donskoi contributed
to Dimitri’s decisive victory over the Russians’ Tartar oppressors in 1380.
Sergius accompanied various Russian princes on missions of peace. The Monastery
of the Holy Trinity became a destination for religious pilgrims and one of the
principal centers of Russian spirituality. He died on September 25, 1392 at the
monastery he and his brother had founded, and was buried at the monastery
church. Pilgrims continue to flock to his grave.
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