Russi's story. Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky. What role did Andrei Bogolyubsky play in the emergence of the Russian state

Prince ANDREY YURIEVICH BOGOLYUBSKY

Icon of St. mch. Andrey Bogolyubsky

Andrei (1111-1174) - the second oldest son of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky and his wife, the Polovtsian princess, in the holy baptism of Mary, daughter of the Polovtsian khan Aepa Asenevich.
Wife: Ulita, daughter of the boyar Kuchka.
Sons: Yuri, Izyaslav, Vladimir, Mstislav.

Before his baptism, Andrei was called China, he grew up and matured in Suzdal, received an excellent education, which was given to their sons by the Rurikovichs according to the behest of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (who knew five European languages, perfectly mastered both the art of war, and knowledge of urban planning science, and theology). Like Vladimir Monomakh, Prince Andrei possessed an inquisitive philosophical mind, loved to read the Holy Scriptures, and engage in divine contemplation. From childhood, he was used to standing idle for long church services, the entire annual liturgical circle: he knew the calendar by heart. For his piety, he received the name Bogolyubsky. The upbringing of the young prince included exercises in the art of war, the development of courage, resourcefulness and other qualities necessary for a prince-military leader. The habit of military discipline, the ability to organize himself and even in the most urgent matters to find time for prayer more than once helped him later in life.

Prince Dorogobuzhsky: 1150 - 1151

Ritual grand-ducal hatchet of Andrey Bogolyubsky

In the battle near the city of Lutsk, in which Izyaslav's brother Vladimir was besieged, in 1150 St. Andrei courageously smashed the front ranks of the enemy, his spear broke, the saddle was pierced with a lance, and only a fervent prayer to the great martyr Theodore Stratilates, whose memory was performed on that day (February 8), saved the prince from the spear of a German mercenary.

Prince of Ryazansky: 1153 BC

In 1146 Andrey together with his elder brother Rostislav expelled from Ryazan the ally of Izyaslav Mstislavich - Rostislav Yaroslavich, he fled to the Polovtsians.
In 1153, Andrei was imprisoned by his father in the Ryazan reign, but who returned from the steppes with the Polovtsy expelled him.

Prince Andrey loved the Zalessky region, his homeland. Upon reaching adulthood, the prince's sons were usually given a city to rule. Andrei received from his father Vladimir, at that time an insignificant city inhabited by artisans, merchants, "little fingers" people.

Prince Vyshgorodsky: 1149, 1155

After Yuri Dolgoruky became the prince of Kiev in 1155, he surrounds himself with his sons, giving them the neighboring Kiev inheritances. He places his eldest and talented son Andrei closest of all, making him the prince of Vyshgorod, located only 10 versts from Kiev, so that he is always “at hand” of his father. Andrei reigned in Vyshgorod for about a year. But he didn’t like the life here. He did not like revelry or feasts, he could not endure the constant troubles and strife of his relatives. Realizing the futility of attempts to change the order in the south, Prince Andrew began to look for the possibility of his departure to the north in order to organize life there on the principles of a strong and wise princely power.

Even in his youth, Prince Andrew, having reached adulthood, undertook a journey to the shrines of the East. He was in Jerusalem and Constantinople, where he lived for several years, studying the life and customs of the peoples of the Byzantine Empire. The Greek kings were his relatives, since along the line of his grandfather Vladimir Monomakh, born of the Greek princess Irina, he was the great-grandson of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh. It was then, during his stay in Byzantium, that Prince Andrew conceived the idea of ​​creating the same integral Orthodox state with an autocrat at its head on the territory of the fragmented and disunited Russian lands at that time.
He understood that behind the princely strife in the struggle for the Kiev throne and the best cities, behind fratricides and perjury, there was a great threat and danger for Russia. In Kiev, the grand-ducal power was severely limited by the influential and volatile city veche.
The noble Kiev squad was too headstrong, and the southern border with the restless Polovtsian steppe lay nearby, so a new capital was needed to carry out Prince Andrey's plans. By the Providence of God, the city of Vladimir was indicated.

Immediately after the beginning of his reign in Vyshgorod, Prince. Andrei began to ask his father to let him go to his homeland in the Rostov-Suzdal Territory, but Prince. Yuri categorically refused him, not wanting to lose his most reliable and faithful assistant. Book. Andrew began to pray, asking that the Lord Himself dispose of his fate. At this time in the Vyshgorod women's monastery there was a miraculous icon of the Mother of God.
Painted in Byzantium around 1130, the wonderful image of the Mother of God belonged to the type of icons called "Eleus", and in Russia this word was translated as "Tenderness". This name was assigned to this type of composition. This icon became a national shrine of the Russian land, and the name "Vladimirskaya" came to it later.
Many residents told amazing things about this icon: several times it left its place in the temple and hung in the air. When the icon was moved to the altar, it left its place there too, turning to face the exit. In front of this shrine, the pious Prince Andrew often prayed at night, and the miracles coming from the icon revealed the will of the Lord to him. Taking with him this and a few more icons, a family and a small squad of loyal people, Prince. Andrei left for his homeland, secretly, without a father's will.
Russian people believed that the Mother of God "Tenderness" is capable of performing miracles.

Secret transfer of the icon of the Mother of God from Vyshgorod

IN. Klyuchevsky says that Bogolyubsky with an icon from Vyshgorod swam in water to Moscow, across the Vazuza and Moskva rivers, then “through the Rogozh fields on the Klyazma to Vladimir” (V.O. Klyuchevsky. Op., Vol. 2, M., 1957 , page 9).
The primordial town of Moscow, as the western border outpost of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, appeared, in the 12th century, according to I.K. Kondratyev, a kind of center or gathering place "for the militias passing through it, because the princes and governors of Vladimir, Novgorod, Ryazan and Chernigov converged in it with their troops, heading in different directions of the vast appanage Russia." (I.K. Kondratyev. The gray antiquity of Moscow. M., 1893, p. 6.)
Then Bogolyubsky sailed along the Klyazma on boats to Vladimir-Zalessky downstream.
Prince Andrey decided to carry the miraculous icon from Vladimir to via Suzdal. The overland route from Vladimir to Suzdal apparently passed through the modern village. Bogolyubovo, and Prince Andrey rode along it.
On the way from Vladimir to Rostov, eleven versts from Vladimir, the horses carrying the icon suddenly stopped, and no force could move them. The chronicle text says: "And ottole (from Rogozhskie fields) reached near the city of Vladimirer and always went to the river on the Klyazma and that stasha horses with an icon" ...
Everyone considered it a wonderful omen. After serving a prayer service, we decided to spend the night here. Long after midnight the light was burning in the prince's tent, set up on the steep bank of the full-flowing Klyazma. The prince prayed at night in front of the miraculous icon, when the Most Pure Mother of God Herself appeared before him in inexpressible radiance and advertisements: “I don’t want, but carry My image to Rostov, but put Him in Vladimir: in this place, in the name of My Nativity, erect a church and make an abode for monks ". Andrew fell to his knees in awe, ready at the same moment to carry out the Heavenly command. Then, in memory of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God to him, Vol. Andrew ordered the icon painters to paint an icon of the Mother of God such as the Most Pure One appeared to him, and established the celebration of this icon on July 1. Called the Bogolyubskaya (God-loving) icon of the Mother of God, she later became famous for numerous miracles.

Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God

In connection with all these circumstances, the new city on the site of the appearance of the Most Pure Theotokos was named Bogolyubov ("a place beloved by God"), and the prince himself was nicknamed Bogolyubsky.

Grand Duke Vladimirsky
1157 - 1174

In 1157, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky was poisoned during a feast at one of the Kievites named Petrila, who was an Osmenik, i.e. senior over eight warriors. His death led to the plundering of the households of the prince himself and other Suzdal residents. After the revolt subsided, the Kievites began to await retribution from Prince Andrew. But he was in no hurry to go to Kiev with a sword in order to establish himself on the "golden" Kiev throne by force, like his predecessors. He stayed in the northeast, in order to create a new capital of Russia here, based on the policy of strengthening a single and absolute power.
After the death of his father, Andrei was elected prince of Rostov-Suzdal, but he did not stay to live either in Rostov or in Suzdal, but went to his beloved city of Vladimir. In order to strengthen autocracy, Andrei expels several boyar families from Rostov and Suzdal, the most loyal servants of his father, and also sends his relatives to reduce the risk of internecine disagreements and encroachments on his princely authority. Mstislav, Vasilko and Vsevolod, together with the widowed parent (stepmother of Andrei), left for Constantinople in 1162.

Emperor Manuel received them with honor. Vsevolod spent 7 years in exile. Gleb at this time reigned in Pereslavl Yuzhny.

Since 1149 Rostov, Suzdal and Murom dioceses.
From 1164 (1172) Rostov and Murom diocese.
Since 1198 Rostov, Suzdal and.

Before his death, Dolgoruky asks for masters from Frederick Barbarossa. First, the masters are sent by Frederick to Yuri, then the masters come to his son Andrei in Vladimir. From the message of V.N. Tatishchev, it follows that they built at least the Assumption Cathedral and the Golden Gate in Vladimir. We do not know when exactly the construction of the Golden Gate began (their approximate dating is 1158-1164). But regarding the Assumption Cathedral, it is known for certain that it was founded on April 8, 1158.
From Barbarossa came masters of sculptural decoration and, possibly, an architect. But if the arrival of the latter did take place, then rather narrow tasks were set before him:
- development of decor iconography and guidance by appropriate craftsmen;
- an increase in the size and quality of buildings.
Despite the arrival of craftsmen from Western Europe, the local construction personnel, formed under Yuri, were still of decisive importance under Andrei.

Cathedral of the Assumption of Rostov the Great

In 1160 the oak Cathedral of the Assumption Church of Rostov burned down. In 1162, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky laid a stone cathedral church on the site of the burnt church.
At the same time, incorruptible relics were found while digging ditches under the walls of the newly laid temple. Prince Andrew sent a stone coffin in which the relics of Leonty were placed and a small side-altar was erected in honor of him on the south side of the altar of the cathedral church. The white stone cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1204.
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COUNTRY FORTRESS - BOGOLUBOVO

On the site of the settlement there was a 9-10th century Meryan settlement, possibly fortified.

The construction of the suburban fortress lasted from 1157 to 1165. According to the plan of Andrey Bogolyubsky, it was a small, but well fortified castle, following the example of the Western European one, surrounded by powerful earthen ramparts with a base of up to 20 m and a height of up to 6 m.Their perimeter reached 800 m. On top of the ramparts, stone walls were erected with combat white-stone towers ... During excavations in 1934-1954. The remains of the foundation of a wall or tower, beautifully built of white hewn stone, were discovered, and on the crest of the western rampart - the foot of a powerful foundation of the wall, built of cobblestones on lime mortar.
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The prince launches a grandiose construction in Vladimir. The city turned into a huge fortress surrounded by 7 km long ramparts, surpassing in this respect both Kiev (4 km.) And Novgorod (6 km.).
Around the city, military fortifications were erected with high wooden walls and loopholes, in front of which a wide moat was dug.
Cutting the rampart in the western part of the Monomakh town showed that it was built a little later than Ivanovsky, on the cultural layer of the 12th century, inside it had powerful wooden structures in the form of log cabins with dimensions of 5.4x5.8 m. Made of logs 0.2-0.4 m thick, connected by “ in a flash ".

Bookmark of the city of Vladimir and the Assumption Cathedral of the Prince. Andrey Bogolyubsky. Miniature of the Obverse Chronicle Code. Laptev volume. 2nd floor XVI century (RNB. F. IV. L. 133)

Golden Gate

Golden Gate. Reconstruction by A.V. Stoletov.

Golden Gate. Reconstruction by E.I. Deshalt.

The Golden Gate (1158-1164) was built by analogy with the main gates of Kiev and Constantinople, which had the same name.
During the construction of the Golden Gate, the following miracle occurred. The prince wanted to time the opening of the Golden Gate to the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Forests and circles were removed ahead of time, and the limestone had not yet had time to dry and strengthen. During the prayer service, with a large crowd of people, part of the gate collapsed, and 12 people fell asleep with stones. Then the prince prayed fervently to the miraculous icon of the Mother of God: "If you do not save these people, I, a sinner, will be guilty of their death!" When the gates were raised and the stones were dismantled, all the crushed ones were safe and sound.
On April 26, 1164, the construction of the Golden Gate was completed.
The Church of the Robe was erected over the triumphal arch, renovated in 1469 by V.D. Ermolin; rebuilt in 1810

Golden Gate of Vladimir

We entered Vladimir from the west through the Golden Gate, and from the east through the Silver Gate. The fortress also had the Volga Gate - an exit to the Klyazma River, Mednye - an exit to the Lybid River and Irinina - not far from the Golden Gate.
The Golden Gate has survived to this day and has become the oldest defensive monument in Russia. It is a powerful structure of white stone, more than 20 meters high, cut by a high arch. The gates used to be bound with gilded copper and could be seen from afar. The dome of a small temple, which is completing its construction, also sparkled with gold.
The church, which looks like a toy from a distance, actually accommodates over a hundred people.
In 1238, the Golden Gate served the people of Vladimir during the defense of the city from the Mongol-Tatar army.
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Remains of ground and semi-earthen buildings were investigated in different parts of the Monomakh town. Above structures were log structures, mostly single-chamber, their dimensions did not exceed 5-6x4-6 m. The buildings were without foundation devices or with simple “chairs” made of log stumps at the corners of the frame, usually with large and deep underground pits. The walls of the semi-dugouts were decorated with wood. As a rule, these were log cabins lowered into the foundation pit. Stoves in both ground and semi-earthen dwellings were predominantly adobe.
Among the finds from the Old Russian layer of the Monomakh town are old Russian and late medieval pottery, numerous and varied tools of artisans, household items, many glass bracelets. Finds of majolica tiles are frequent.
At the Knyagin's monastery, the remains of an above-ground residential building were examined, in the collapse of the furnace of which two silver hryvnias were found, apparently hidden during one of the enemy invasions. Near the Golden Gate, a semi-dugout measuring 4.0x3.6 m was excavated with traces of wall cladding with wood (probably a log house) and an adobe stove in the southeastern corner.

Church of the Savior

Prince of Kiev in 1108 lays the first stone church in Vladimir. “That same summer, Volodymer Monomakh made the city of Vladimir Zaleshsky by Volodimer Monomakh, and built in it a church dedicated to the stone of the Holy Savior.” After the fire, this temple was completely dismantled.

Under Andrei Bogolyubsky, a new white-stone Church of the Savior was built near the Golden Gate (1164). The white-stone Church of the Savior stood for about six centuries, until the strongest fire in 1778 destroyed it. A few years later, at the end of the eighteenth century, the remains of the church were dismantled, and a new Church of the Savior was built in its place, which has survived to our time.

Church of the Savior

Before the start of construction, archaeological excavations were carried out at the site of an ancient temple of the twelfth century. The researchers managed to restore the original appearance of the Church of the Savior Andrei Bogolyubsky, of course, most of the architectural elements were restored based on guesswork. Nevertheless, archaeologists have found the slabs that covered the floor of the temple, fragments of the carved stone decoration of the facade.
The architects tried to repeat as accurately as possible the image of the Church of the Savior, built during the reign of Prince Bogolyubsky. Archaeologists claim that the new temple of the Savior is indeed very similar to the ancient one. The church building is encircled by a series of semi-columns starting from the middle of the walls and reaching almost to the gate. In addition, the walls are richly decorated with carved stone details. The architects used a special method of applying plaster, thanks to this, it seems that the Church of the Savior was laid out of natural white stone (like its predecessor).
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Vladimirsky Assumption Cathedral

In the Middle City, Andrei creates the white-stone Assumption Cathedral (1158-1160).
The Assumption Cathedral was erected at the direction of Andrei Bogolyubsky on the high relief of the area and is visible from afar. The temple was assigned a role similar to St. Sophia of Kiev. The example was the eponymous cathedral of the Pechersk Monastery in Kiev. The desire to make Vladimir a new political and cultural center of Russia led to the search for previously unknown ideological and artistic means. The appearance of the main temple had to correspond to the tasks set. For the construction of the temple, the prince allocated a tenth of his income and invited craftsmen from different lands.

Scientists believe that architects from Western Europe participated in the construction of the Assumption Cathedral. They creatively used the experience of local builders and the traditions of this land. The temple was lavishly decorated outside and inside with stone carvings, frescoes, and gilding.
The architect Barbarossa failed to achieve either a fundamentally new design, or a significant increase in size, or sufficient reliability of the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral. The large Rostov cathedral (the side of the dome square is 6.7 m) did not last long - only 42 years.

The icon of the Vladimir Mother of God adorned the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos built in 1160. For her salary, according to legend, the prince gave more than 30 hryvnia of gold, except for silver, precious stones and pearls.
After the death of the prince, many hunters were found to take possession of this shrine.
Visited the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in the hands of the Ryazan prince Gleb. It was in terrible danger when in 1238 hordes of Tatars broke into Vladimir. According to legend, Batu Khan himself gazed at the mournful face of the Mother of God for a long time and, unable to withstand Her gaze, left the temple.

Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir

The historical days of May 21, June 23 and August 26, associated with this holy icon, have become memorable days of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The most solemn celebration takes place on August 26, established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir Icon when it was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow.
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Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sretenskaya Church was built on the banks of the Klyazma River by order of the Grand Duke Andrey Bogolyubsky in 1164.
A special reason for its construction was chosen - in this place, the prince, accompanied by the clergy, with a large crowd of local residents, met the Vladimir icon of the Mother of God transported from Bogolyubov to the Assumption Cathedral from Bogolyubov on September 21, 1160. In a glorious and significant event for Vladimir, the wooden church "Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos" was built.
During the construction of the Sretensky Church, the prince established a procession of the cross on September 21 (according to the old style), which was performed by the priests of the Assumption Cathedral. This tradition did not last long, and already in 1177 the procession was canceled by the cathedral clerk.
During the devastation of Vladimir in 1238, the "wild hordes of Mongols" burned, among others, the Sretenskaya Church. Since then, it has not been renewed for a long time and only in 1656 is it mentioned in the archives as "coming again". Rebuilt and renovated, the temple is later found in documents of the second floor. XVII century At this time, he was also assigned to the Assumption Cathedral, but already in 1710 his priest conducted services in the Sretenskaya Church. Cm. .

Shoulder pad of St. kn. Andrew. Enamel onlay depicting the Crucifixion of Christ

Armilla Barbarossa - two paired gilded copper plates in a pentagonal shape. Decorated with enamel miniatures with Gospel scenes of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. Shoulders made around 1170-1180. jewelers of the Moselle school and, possibly, are ceremonial shoulder bracelets - armills, which were one of the regalia of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. Their likely owner is called Friedrich Barbarossa, who, according to legend, presented them to the Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Bogolyubsky.

Sculptural portrait of Andrey Bogolyubsky


Vladimir's plan of the XII-XIII centuries. (after N.N. Voronin)

The numbers on the plan indicate:
I - the city of Monomakh (Pecherny city); II - Vetchy city; III - New city; IV - detinets; 1 - Church of the Savior; 2 - Church of George; 3 - Cathedral of the Dormition; 4 - Golden Gate; 5 - Orin's gate; 6 - Copper gate; 7 - Silver Gate; 8 - Volga gate; 9 - Dmitrievsky Cathedral; ten - ; 11 - Rozhdestvensky monastery; 12 - Assumption (Knyaginin) monastery; 13 - Trading gate; 14 - Ivanovskie gates; 15 - the gate of the Detinets; 16 - Church of the Exaltation to the Auction.

In 1158-1164. the western part of the city, named New town, is also surrounded by a line of defensive fortifications - ramparts (about 9 m high), on which the wooden walls of the fortress are erected. In this part of Vladimir there were four gate towers, three of them were wooden. The gates located in the towers were called "Volzhskie", "Irinin" and "Copper".
Excavations here revealed the remains of the Irina's passage gate in the form of a wooden base and a passage flooring.
In the central part of the New Town, in the area of ​​the Trade Rows, approx. 2000 sq. m. The oldest buildings here belonged to the XII-XIII centuries. These are the underground pits of above-ground dwellings, the collapse of adobe ovens and stoves, utility pits, traces of the stockades that separated the estates. A construction sacrifice was discovered at the junction of two estates: a special burial of the heads and parts of the skeletons of two horses.

Posad was intensively populated in the XII - early. XIII century Here, at the alleged Silver Gate in the area of ​​modern street. Frunze examined the remains of two semi-dugouts measuring 4.2x3.0 m, one of which belonged to a blacksmith.
The eastern part of the city of Vladimir, where in the second half. XI century the posad was located, during the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, it was also protected by ramparts and wooden fortress walls. On this side was another white stone gate known as Silver... But here the wooden walls of the fortress soon fell into disrepair, and therefore the eastern part of Vladimir was named Ham city(that is, "shabby").

Archaeologists have identified two building horizons in the construction of defensive fortifications in the eastern part of the city (Ivanovsky Val). the preserved height of the first building horizon is 0.9 m. On the surface of the shaft of the first building horizon, the remains of wooden structures adjacent to the shaft, damaged by the fire, were recorded. Stoves were found inside the log cabins. In the layer of fire, numerous fragments of pottery vessels were collected. XII - mid. XIII centuries

In ancient times, the fire layer was leveled and an embankment of the second building horizon was erected, which remained at a height of 1.8 to 1.9 m. It was erected in two stages without intra-shaft structures: first, the core of the shaft was poured, then the front side was additionally strengthened. The body of the shaft was significantly increased in height and width.

On the second building horizon, powerful undisturbed soil strata were traced, formed on the rampart by the 16th century. The upper part of the rampart was ripped off in the end. XVIII - early. XIX centuries.
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By the XIII century. territory of st. B. Moskovskaya, received four wooden churches and 200 courtyards. XVI - XVII centuries there were already posad settlements, which were adjacent to the territories of Sergievsky, Uspensky and Mother of God monasteries and monastic settlements.

Most of the finds from the Old Russian period are represented by glass bracelets, knives for woodworking and bone carving, bone products and tools for drilling bone, stone products. The most massive finds are represented by fragments of ceramic products, from which it was possible to reconstruct 3 vessels for wine and oil. Elements of decoration of temples were also found.

Over the years of his reign, Andrei built over 30 churches. All visitors: both Latins and pagans, Vol. Andrew gave orders to be taken to the erected churches and to show them true Christianity.

The scattered lands united around the city of Vladimir, which at that time became the spiritual and cultural center of Russia.
In 1153 Ryazan was captured by Andrei Bogolyubsky, but was expelled by Rostislav with Polovtsian help. S.M. Soloviev dates this event to 1154, and D.I. at that time, the Kiev grand throne of the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavich.
In 1159, the Murom regiments took part in the campaign of the troops of Andrei Bogolyubsky in support of Svyatoslav Vshchizhsky and his uncle Izyaslav Davydovich, who at that time fought for the Kiev and Chernigov thrones against the Smolensk-Volyn-Galician coalition.

In 1160 he sent his son Mstislav to the upper Don with an army against the Polovtsians.

One of the state tasks set for itself, Prince. Andrew saw the conquest of the Great Volga Route, which passed through the territory of Russia and connected the countries of Scandinavia with the eastern states. Volga Bulgaria from the time of the campaigns of Prince Svyatoslav (972) against the Khazars represented a serious danger to the Russian state.
A crushing blow to the enemy was dealt in 1164, when Russian troops burned and destroyed several Bulgarian fortresses.
In 1164, Prince Yuri of Murom sent troops to help Andrei Bogolyubsky against the Volga Bulgarians. Andrei took with him on this campaign the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and a double-sided icon, which depicted the Savior Not Made by Hands on one side and the Adoration of the Cross on the other.
A great miracle was shown to the Russian army from the holy icons on the day of the decisive victory over the Bulgarians on August 1, 1164. After the defeat of the Bulgarian army, the princes Andrei, his brother Yaroslav, his son Izyaslav and others returned to the infantry, who stood under the princely banners at the Vladimir icon, and, bowing icon, "praises and songs to her". And then everyone saw the dazzling rays of light emanating from the face of the Mother of God and from the Savior Not Made by Hands. In that year, by order of Saint Andrew, it was established 14 august celebration of the All-Merciful Savior () and the Most Holy Theotokos - in memory of the baptism of Russia by the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir and in memory of the victory over the Bulgarians.

Soon the prince instituted a holiday, hitherto unknown to either the Latin West or the Greek East: a holiday (celebrated on October 1/14), which embodied the faith of the holy prince and the entire Russian people in the acceptance of Holy Russia by the Mother of God under Her Protection. The initiative to create the holiday is attributed to Andrei Bogolyubsky himself and the Vladimir clergy, who dispensed with the sanction of the Kiev Metropolitan. The emergence of a new feast of the Mother of God in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality seems to be a natural phenomenon arising from the political aspirations of Prince Andrei. In the "Lay on the Intercession" there is a prayer that the Mother of God would protect her people with a divine cover "from arrows flying in the darkness of our division," a prayer for the need to unite the Russian lands.
In 1165, a church () arose at the mouth of the Nerl, dedicated to a new holiday in honor of the Mother of God - the Intercession.

The prince's participation is noticeable in the compilation of the Vladimir annals, completed after the death of the prince by his confessor, priest Mikulitsa, who included in it a special "The Tale of the Murder of Saint Prince Andrew". The final version of The Legend of Boris and Gleb also dates back to the reign of Prince Andrey, since the prince was their special admirer: the main shrine of Andrey Bogolyubsky was the hat and sword of the holy martyr Prince Boris (Prince Rostov). A monument to the prayerful inspiration of the holy prince remained "Prayer", entered into the chronicle in 1906, after "The Teachings of Vladimir Monomakh." From the Volga gate of the city of Vladimir, the Old Ryazan tract began, which passed along the bed of the Pol and Buzha rivers, bypassing the lakes - to the left bank of the Oka, to Ryazan.
When the cathedra of the patriarch was still in Kiev, the winter Patriarchal route from Kiev through Ryazan to Vladimir ran across the ice of the Pra, Meshchera lakes and Buzhe.
In 1171, according to the chronicles, Andrei Bogolyubsky laid in the southern reaches of Meshchera Andreev Gorodok... Then another trade route arose along the left bank of the Kolp and Gus rivers, connecting Vladimir with Gorodets Meshchersky. Cm.
1158 to 1165 Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky strengthened the southern borders of Zalesskaya Rus: he created a chain of fortifications on the left bank of the Klyazma: Vladimir, a fortress over the Sungir caused strong discontent among the old boyar nobility.

Fortified guard posts are being built along major rivers and major roads. Obviously, such posts can be considered Makeev Gora (Kameshkovsky district, village Makeevo), a settlement near the village of Kunitsino in the same area, a settlement near (Kovrovsky district).

Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, paying his last debt to his parent, who died in 1157, by building churches and monasteries in Vladimir and down from the city of Bogolyubov along the course of the Klyazma River on its right bank, built the first church in the name of the Savior, which in Kupalishchi (where there were still pagans and worshiped God - Kupala).
On the day of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Grand Duke arrived at the place where now the village of Lyubets (Kovrovsky district), which has the most picturesque location. The Prince liked this place. “Love is here,” he said and ordered to build a church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God.
The Prince wanted to visit Starodub, but circumstances distracted him to the Princes of Suzdal. The Grand Duke, returning in the winter from Suzdal again to Starodub, lost his way due to a blizzard and, no longer hoping for salvation, ended up in the camp of the village of Elifanovka (the future city of Carpets) on the eve of the Nativity of Christ. On the occasion of his miraculous deliverance from certain death, he ordered the construction of the Nativity Church here.
In the morning, having warmed up and rested, the Grand Duke went to mass in (now called the Klyazminsky town). From here he went further and at the mouth of the Tara and Msterka rivers ordered to build a church in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord, where it is today.
Since the time when the Grand Duke ordered to build a wooden church in the village of Elifanovka, this village received the name of the village of Rozhdestvenskoye.
Elifan's son Vasily Elifanov undertook to cut down and build this church. At its consecration, the Grand Duke awarded him with wastelands, forests and meadows from the Nerekhta River along the Gremyachy enemy along the Klyazma to a crooked oak and an old willow to Nerekhta, as it appears in the scribe books of Clerk Mikhail Trusov and Fyodor Vitovtov. Later, these lands passed from clan to clan called the Elifanovsky wastelands. In 1162, wishing to create in the new capital of Russia - the capital city of Vladimir - an episcopal see, Andrei Bogolyubsky, asked the Patriarch of Constantinople to allocate the city of Vladimir from the Rostov diocese and create a metropolitanate separate from Kiev. He proposed his favorite abbot Theodore as a candidate for the metropolitan see. But the patriarch Luke Khrisoverg did not agree to this, and the flattering and crafty Theodore, who slandered the Rostov bishop Nestor, advised to remove him from himself.
In 1168, a large Council of 150 clergy was convened in Kiev on the occasion of disputes about fasting on Wednesday and Friday. From Vladimir Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky, hegumen Theodore was sent to the Council with a proposal to overthrow Metropolitan Constantine of Kiev and elect a new one, but the proposal was not accepted. Then Abbot Theodore with a supply of gold and silver went to Constantinople to the Patriarch with a report that there was allegedly no metropolitan in Kiev, and asked to be appointed Metropolitan of Kiev. The patriarch disagreed. But this did not bother Abbot Theodore. He brought rich gifts to the patriarch and asked to be made bishop of Rostov, saying that there was allegedly no bishop there, and in Russia there was no one to supply the bishop, since there was no metropolitan in Kiev. The patriarch heeded his prayer, and on June 16, 1170 Theodore was consecrated bishop of Rostov (see). At the same time, striving to preserve the disposition of Prince Andrey, the most powerful among the rulers of the Russian land, he honored Bishop Theodore with the right to wear a white klobuk, which was a hallmark of church autonomy in ancient Russia.

In 1167, Saint Rostislav, Andrew's cousin, died in Kiev, who knew how to bring peace to the complex political and church life of that time, and a new metropolitan was sent from Constantinople. The new metropolitan demanded that Bishop Theodore come to him for confirmation. Saint Andrew again turned to Constantinople for confirmation of the independence of the Vladimir diocese and with a request for a separate metropolitanate. A letter of reply from Patriarch Luke Chrysover was preserved, containing a categorical refusal to establish a metropolitanate, as well as a demand to accept the exiled Bishop Leon and submit to the Kiev Metropolitan.
Andrew persuaded Bishop Theodore to repentantly go to Kiev to restore canonical relations with the Metropolitan. The repentance of Bishop Theodore was not accepted. Without a conciliar examination, Metropolitan Constantine, in accordance with Byzantine customs, condemned him to a terrible execution: Theodore's tongue was cut off, his right hand was cut off and his eyes were gouged out. After that, he was drowned by the servants of the Metropolitan.

In 1159 Izyaslav Davydovich was expelled from Kiev by Mstislav Izyaslavich Volyn and Galician army, Rostislav Mstislavich, whose son Svyatoslav reigned in Novgorod, became the Kiev prince. In the same year, Andrei captured the Novgorod suburb of Volok Lamsky, founded by Novgorod merchants, and celebrated here the wedding of his daughter Rostislav with Prince of Vshchizh Svyatoslav Vladimirovich, nephew of Izyaslav Davydovich. Izyaslav Andreevich, together with the Murom help, was sent to help Svyatoslav near Vshchizh against Svyatoslav Olgovich and Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich.
In 1160, the Novgorodians invited Andrei's nephew, Mstislav Rostislavich, to reign, but not for long: the next year Izyaslav Davydovich died while trying to seize Kiev, and Svyatoslav Rostislavich returned to Novgorod for several years.

Capture of Kiev

Mstislav (the prince of Kiev and the son of Izyaslav) continued the family tradition, gathering in the early spring (following the example of Monomakh) in 1169 the troops of twelve princes - all the available forces of Southern Russia in one of the most ambitious campaigns against nomads. Crowned with an almost bloodless victory at the mouth of the river. Aureli, where many slaves were freed again. The Polovtsi did not try to resist and fled. The light cavalry of the black hoods, under the command of their commander Basti, pursued them at a great distance, capturing crowds of prisoners. The Dnieper group was again significantly weakened, but the next strife that began did not allow the success to be consolidated.
In March 1169, the troops of the allied princes, led by Andrei's son Mstislav, besieged Kiev. At this time, Prince Mstislav Izyaslavovich ruled in Kiev. The allies of Mstislav of Kiev (Yaroslav Osmomysl Galitsky, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and Yaroslav Izyaslavich Lutsky) did not undertake a deblocking strike against besieged Kiev.
On March 8, the city was destroyed and burned. The Polovtsians who took part in the campaign did not spare even church treasures. The Russian chronicles viewed this event as a well-deserved retribution: "Behold, hiding for their sins, even more for the metropolitan's untruth." The city was taken by storm "on the shield", which before the Russian princes had never done in relation to Kiev. The Kiev prince Mstislav fled. The victors robbed him for two days, there was no pardon for anything or anyone. “We were in Kiev then,” the chronicler said, “all the people were moaning and melancholy, weeping inconsolable and incessant grief.” Many Kievites were taken prisoner. In monasteries and churches, soldiers took away not only jewelry, but also all the holiness: icons, crosses, bells and vestments. The Polovtsi set fire to the Pechersky Monastery. St. Sophia Cathedral was plundered along with other churches.
Andrey's younger brother Gleb reigned in Kiev, Andrey himself remained in Vladimir.

Hike to Novgorod

In 1168 the Novgorodians summoned Roman, the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich of Kiev, to reign. The first campaign was carried out against the Polotsk princes, Andrey's allies. The land was devastated, the troops did not reach Polotsk 30 miles. Then Roman attacked the Toropetsky volost of the Smolensk principality. The army sent by Mstislav to help his son, led by Mikhail Yuryevich, and the black hoods were intercepted by the Rostislavichs on the way.
Having subjugated Kiev, Andrey also organized a campaign against Novgorod. Prince of Murom Yuri sent troops to help Andrei Bogolyubsky at the end of 1169 against Roman Mstislavich of Novgorod.
In the winter of 1170, Mstislav Andreevich, Roman and Mstislav Rostislavichi, Vseslav Vasilkovich Polotsk, Ryazan and Murom regiments came to Novgorod.
By the evening of February 25, Roman with the Novgorodians defeated the Suzdal people and their allies. The enemies fled. The Novgorodians captured so many people of Suzdal that they sold them for next to nothing (2 legs each). However, soon there was a famine in Novgorod, and the Novgorodians chose to make peace with Andrei at all their will and invited Rurik Rostislavich to reign, and a year later - Yuri Andreevich.
According to other sources, the residents of Vladimir were thrown back by the miracle of the Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, which was carried to the city wall by the holy Archbishop John. But when the enlightened prince changed his anger to mercy and peacefully attracted the people of Novgorod, God's favor returned to him: Novgorod accepted the conditions set by Saint Andrew.

Siege of Vyshgorod in 1173

After the death of Gleb Yuryevich in the Kiev reign (1171), Kiev at the invitation of the younger Rostislavichs and secretly from Andrey and from another main contender for Kiev - Yaroslav Izyaslavich Lutsky was occupied by Vladimir Mstislavich, but soon died. Andrew gave the Kiev reign to the eldest of the Smolensk Rostislavichs - Roman. Soon Andrei demanded that Roman extradite the Kiev boyars suspected of poisoning Gleb Yurievich, but he refused. In response, Andrei ordered him and his brothers to return to Smolensk. Andrei planned to give Kiev to his brother Mikhail Yuryevich, but he instead sent his brother Vsevolod and nephew Yaropolk to Kiev, who were then taken prisoner by Davyd Rostislavich.
In Kiev, Rurik Rostislavich briefly reigned. An exchange of prisoners was carried out, according to which the Rostislavichs were extradited earlier expelled from Galich, captured by Mikhail and sent to Chernigov, Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, and they released Vsevolod Yuryevich. Yaropolk Rostislavich was detained, his older brother Mstislav was expelled from Trepol and was not accepted by Mikhail, who was then in Chernigov and who, apart from Torchesk, claimed Pereyaslavl.
The Kiev chronicler describes the moment of Andrey's reconciliation with the Rostislavichs as follows: “Andrey lost his brother and Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, and started to Rostislavich”. But soon Andrei, through his swordsman Mikhn, again demanded that the Rostislavichs "not be in the Russian land": from Rurik - to go to his brother in Smolensk, from Davyd - to Berlad. Then the youngest of the Rostislavichi, Mstislav the Brave, conveyed to Prince Andrey that before the Rostislavichi held him as a father "out of love", but would not allow them to be treated as "helpers". Roman obeyed, and his brothers cut off the beard of Ambassador Andrei, which gave rise to the outbreak of hostilities.
In addition to the troops of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, the campaign was attended by regiments from the Murom, Ryazan, Turov, Polotsk and Gorodensky principalities, the Novgorod land, princes Yuri Andreevich, Mikhail and Vsevolod Yurievich, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, Igor Svyatoslavich. The Rostislavichs chose a different strategy than Mstislav Izyaslavich in 1169. They did not defend Kiev. Rurik locked himself in Belgorod, Mstislav in Vyshgorod with his regiment and David's regiment, and Davyd himself went to Galich to ask for help from Yaroslav Osmomysl. The entire militia laid siege to Vyshgorod in order to take Mstislav prisoner, as Andrei ordered. Mstislav took the first battle in the field before the start of the siege and retreated to the fortress. Meanwhile, Yaroslav Izyaslavich, whose rights to Kiev were not recognized by the Olgovichi, received such recognition from the Rostislavichi, moved the Volyn and auxiliary Galician troops to help the besieged. Upon learning of the approach of the enemy, the huge army of the besiegers began to retreat in disorder. Mstislav made a successful sortie. Many, crossing the Dnieper, drowned. “So,” says the chronicler, “Prince Andrey was such a clever man in all matters, but ruined his meaning by intemperance: he was inflamed with anger, became proud and boasted in vain; but the devil instills praise and pride in the heart of man. "
Yaroslav Izyaslavich became the prince of Kiev. But over the next years, he, and then Roman Rostislavich, had to cede the great reign to Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, with the help of which, after the death of Andrei, the younger Yuryevichs were established in Vladimir.

According to legend, the Patriarchal Garden in Vladimir was founded by the holy noble Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. There was no patriarch's residence in Vladimir, but a cherry orchard was specially planted, where the capital's clergy came to rest. Cm.

In Georgia, this Vladimir prince was called "Tsar Andrew the Great", and in Armenia - "Tsar of the Russians." Princes: Kiev, Smolensk, Chernigov, Ryazan and Murom, even Volyn princes, and in the end, the free "lord Novgorod", walked according to his grand ducal will. Most of the time the prince spent in Bogolyubovo in solitude and prayer. There he also received foreign ambassadors and merchants. He often went to the mouth of the Sudogda to hunt with a small number of loved ones.

Cancer with the relics of St. Gleb Vladimirsky in the Assumption Cathedral

Having performed on June 20, 1174, a funeral in the Church of the Mother of God over his son Gleb (), Andrei avoided the noisy life of the capital in his beloved Bogolyubov, so that here, in the silence of monastic solitude, he could satisfy the sorrow of his soul with his pious pursuits. While here, in his solitary prayer house, he cast down his sorrow before the Lord, in Vladimir, in his absence, in the midst of his family and friends in the summer of 1174, a villainous conspiracy was drawn up.
He was then 63 years old. This was the handiwork of the boyars Kuchkovich, relatives of his first wife, the daughter of the boyar Kuchka, who was executed by Yuri Dolgoruky, the original owner of Moscow, and the second wife of Andrei, a Bulgarian by birth, she could not forgive him for glorious victories over her tribe. The reason for the murder was Andrey's order to execute one of the Kuchkovichs. There were twenty conspirators, and none of them was personally offended by the prince, but many, on the contrary, were benefited by him, especially two foreigners - Anbal, by origin Yas (Ossetians), and the Jew Efrem Moizich.

On the night of June 28-29, on the day of commemoration of St. Peter and Paul, a drunken crowd of murderers of twenty people made their way to the palace, cut out the guards and broke into the unarmed prince's bedchamber. The housekeeper Anbal the day before treacherously stole the sword of Saint Boris, which was constantly hanging over Andrey's bed.

Sword of Saint Boris

Andrei, who in old age possessed powerful strength, managed to knock the first of the attackers to the floor with a blow, whom the conspirators immediately hacked to death with swords, mistaking in the dark for a prince. But soon the murderers realized their mistake: "and therefore I knew the prince, and I wrestled with him velmi, byashe bo is strong, and swords and swords, and sabers, and spear ulcers gave him."

The saint's forehead was pierced with a spear, all other blows were delivered by the cowardly killers from behind. When the prince finally fell, they abandoned him, carrying away the murdered accomplice. But the prince was still alive. With groans, bleeding, he descended the palace stairs, summoning the guards. But the murderers heard his groaning, they turned back. The prince managed to hide in a niche under the stairs. “We are about to die, for the prince is alive,” the villains cried in horror, not finding the prince in the bedroom. But all around it was quiet, no one came to the aid of the sufferer. Then the villains grew bolder, lit candles and found their victim on the bloody trail. Boyarin Joachim Kuchkovich cut off his left arm. “What have I done to you? God will avenge my blood and my bread! Lord, into Thy hands I commit my spirit, ”were the last words of the holy martyr prince.

When in the morning his friend Kuzmische from Kiev came to the place of the prince's murder and, not finding him, began to ask: "Where is the master killed?" we say that we want to throw it to the dogs, and if anyone starts after him, that is our enemy and we will kill him. " Unafraid of the threats, Kosma said: “Monster Anbal! Throw off at least a carpet or something to cover or something to cover our master. Oh, unfaithful! And do you really want to throw it to the dogs? Do you remember, Jew, what you came here in? Now you are standing in the axamit, and the prince is lying naked; but I beg you, throw me something. " And Anbal threw off the carpet and bedspread. Having wrapped them around the body of the prince, Kosma carried him to the church; but it was locked. “Unlock,” he told the church ministers. "Throw it at a party," they answered, "get drunk bo byahut," the chronicler notes. The villains have already gotten them drunk. “And your servants do not recognize you, Lord,” Kosma cried and condemned, “and sometimes a guest comes from Constantinople or from other countries, you order everyone to be escorted to the church, to the chambers (choirs) - let them see the Glories of God and decorations; but now you yourself are not allowed into your church. " Kosma was forced to leave the body of the prince on the porch, where it lay for two days. On the third day, Abbot Arseny persuaded the Bogolyubovski kliroshans to bring the prince's body into the church. “Although we have been waiting for the senior abbots for a long time, how long does this prince lie like this? Unlock the church for me, I will drink it and put it in the tomb. " The faithful servant of Kiev, Kosma, carried the body of his prince to the temple, which was placed in a stone coffin and, together with hegumen Arseny, performed the burial rite, the prince was buried and lowered into the tomb, lined with stone.
The rebels plundered the prince's house, "gold, silver, ports and pavoloks and estates, he has no number", gathered a squad of people ready to do anything for money and wine, and, having caused indignation among the people, left for Vladimir. there were also in Vladimir worthless people who, with the help, probably, of the Kuchkovichs, here too, provoked indignation among the people. Both in Bogolyubovo and here, the rebels robbed and beat the mayor (in ancient times the chiefs of the clan of civil governors were called posadniks), tiuns (tax collectors), swordsmen and other servants of the prince, and only on the 5th day, according to the conviction of the clergy, a revolt began. Archpriest Mikulitsa (Nikolai) with the clergy in vestments with icons went through the streets of the city and calmed the rioters. On the 6th day (Friday July 4), the people of Vladimir asked the hegumen Theodulus and Luka, the householder of the Most Pure Theotokos, to prepare, as it should, the funeral stretcher and with the clergy and people go to Bogolyubov to transfer the body of the Blessed Prince to Vladimir; and Archpriest Mikulitsa was asked with all the city clergy in robes and with the icon of the Mother of God, to meet the coffin at the Silver Gate. Many people gathered to welcome the funeral procession. As soon as the grand-ducal banner appeared from afar (the banner usually worn in front of the coffin during the prince's funeral), all the residents of Vladimir burst into tears. "Ilyudye," the chronicle says, "not daring to hold back, but everyone will fight, from tears I can’t see and the cry can’t be heard far away." Are you going to Kiev, Lord, did the people lament over the prince, "whether with the same golden gates, or into the church that you wanted to build in the great courtyard, on Yaroslav's" (Not long before his death, Andrei conceived to build in Kiev a temple similar to the Vladimir Cathedral "yes there will be a memory for his whole fatherland ”and has already sent masters there from Vladimir.). After the solemn funeral service in the Assumption Cathedral Church, with due honor and songs of praise, the coffin with the body of the sufferer was placed in the Cathedral Church of the Mother of God.

The assassination of Prince Andrew. Frescoes in the staircase tower of the princely castle

In 1702, the incorruptible relics of Prince Andrew were found. “Seven centuries have passed since the Grand Duke Andrei Georgievich Bogolyubsky transferred the throne of the Grand Duchy here from Kiev, and Vladimir became the capital of the Grand Duchy and the center of state administration - the Vladimir reign was destined to initiate a beneficent autocracy in Russia: Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky was the first of the Russian Princes to express in actions of their own idea of ​​autocracy "- this is how the well-known Vladimir region scientist K.N. Tikhomirov after the end of the celebrations on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the transfer of the Grand Ducal capital from Kiev to Vladimir, which was celebrated on July 4, 1857, on the day of memory of the holy blessed Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky. In 2007, 850 years have passed since the transfer of the grand-ducal capital of Ancient Rus from Kiev to Vladimir. This event, which undoubtedly became one of the key events in Russian history, made us think about the historical significance of the figure of Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose personality and deeds for many years were clearly underestimated by official Soviet science, or even presented by it in a distorted light.

St. Blgv.vl.kn. Andrey Bogolyubsky. Icon from the iconostasis of the Bogolyubsky temple

2011 marked the 900th anniversary of the birth of Andrei Bogolyubsky.

Cancer with the relics of St. Andrey Bogolyubsky

The relics of St. Andrei Bogolyubsky are in the cancer in Vladimir.

Saint Andrew. Fresco of the Dormition Princess Monastery. North side of the southwest pillar. Vladimir. 1647-1648

Saint Andrew. Fresco of the Dormition Princess Monastery. Vladimir. 1647-1648

Icon of ap. Andrew the First-Called and St. Andrey Bogolyubsky. 1650s - 1660s). 167 x 112. From the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

Children

Julitta gave birth to five children:
mind. 1158 g.
Prince Yaropolk Rostislavich. 1174 - 1175 - Prince of Vladimir.
1175-1176 - Prince of Vladimir (Suzdal).
... 1176-1212 - Grand Duke of Vladimir.

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