Sergius of Radonezh

Saint Sergius of Radonezh (Russian Сергий Радонежский / Sergi Radonezhsky, scientific transliteration Sergius Radonežskij; * as Bartholomew 1314 in Rostov, Russia, † September 25, 1392 in Sergiev Posad ) is a highly revered saint in Russia and founder of Holy Trinity Monastery in Sergiev Posad.

Life

Bartholomew was on the estate of his father Cyril, who was in the service of the princes of Rostov, was born. The family moved to Radonezh ( at Sergiev Posad ) after the Principality of Rostov was made in 1329 under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

Only after the death of his parents he could get his wish to become a monk implement. Together with his widowed brother Stephen, he moved as a hermit in the forest north of Radonezh, to settle at a water point.

Together they built a chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity. In 1342, to Bartholomew was the abbot Mitrofan shears monk and took the religious name Sergius. While his brother, who was already a monk, soon incorporated it back into an existing monastic community continued Sergius the hermitage continued. His consistent lifestyle attracted imitators, he was trying to sell first. Gradually a hermit colony grew. Instead the first choice to accept as abbot, he preferred first to practice as a humble and hardworking role model. Only after the death of the first abbot, he participated in the subsequent election and was ordained a priest. It corresponded to his modesty, the offer to become Metropolitan rejected.

Effect

Sergius blessed 1380 the Moscow Grand Prince Dmitri Donskoi before his defense campaign against the Tatar - Mongol Golden Horde. The Battle of Kulikovo field, in the Tartar army was defeated and the first time to mark the beginning of a liberated by Tatars Russian state.

Following the example of the Lavra more than thirty other monasteries were founded. This Sergius had a strong influence on the colonization of northern Russia.

From 1450 began the veneration of relics and pilgrimages. It has been regularly reported healing miracles in his coffin. His extraordinary way of life was transfigured by miracle stories. The Trinity Monastery is one of the intellectual centers of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Churches of Sergius of Radonezh there are in Russia and Germany.