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Saint Sergius (Sergei Radonezhski)
(1314-1392) was a young nobleman who renounced his title and wealth to become a
simple Russian monk. He dedicated his life to bringing unity among Russian
princes and helping Moscow to lead the fight for the liberation of the country
from Tatar rule. His father, boyar Kirill (Cyrill), was one of the first to
side with Ivan Kalita in his efforts to put an end to internecine struggles. To
demonstrate his preferences, he even moved from Rostov to Moscow, sometime
around 1330. Ten years later his son, then already monk Sergius, went about
forty miles east from Moscow, and there, by himself, built a little wooden
church, on a hill in the woods and dedicated it to the Trinity, the symbol of
unity. This was the first of many monasteries that Saint Sergius founded or
helped establish. He clearly saw that many monasteries, built throughout the
country, far from administrative centers, not only could serve as religious
centers but also as strongholds in the future battles against Tatars, which he
knew were bound to come.
The developments that followed proved him right. Around monasteries mushroomed
new settlements and villages, and their population rapidly increased. The
monastery that Saint Sergius founded became one of the strongest military
fortifications in Russia, and at the same time the most important religious
center. Word of the virtues and piety of Saint Sergius spread throughout the
country and attracted many monks. His disciples later founded new monasteries
and kept his teachings and ideas alive, and the movement indeed became
national. The esteem he enjoyed among the people helped him to induce several
Russian princes to try to throw off the Tatars' suzerainty. At the same time he
raised the hopes of the people and gave them much-needed encouragement to begin
the fight. He inspired and convinced the hesitant Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoi to
go and face the Tatars. The Chronicle says that Saint Sergius told Dimitri:
"The moment has come to show the enemy the strength of your kingdom with
the sword." He blessed the Grand Duke and Russian units before they
marched south to the Kulikovo field and the river Vozha, where in 1380 they
gained their first victory over the Tatars, a battle which played an enormous
role in the history of the nation.
Defeated Khan Mamai was soon chased out of the Golden Horde by Khan Tokhtamysh,
the ruler of the White Horde, who already, in 1382, on his way to Moscow, had
destroyed and burned several Russian towns, as well as Saint Sergius'
Monastery. Legend says that when the Tatars left the Monastery, Nikon, who
succeeded Saint Sergius as Abbot, found the body of the Saint, who had been
dead for several months, almost intact. Nikon decided to build a new stone
church where the first wooden church, built by Saint Sergius had stood, and to
bury his remains there.
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