"The Tale of Boris and Gleb": similarities and differences with canonical lives. Life Literature. "The Tale of Boris and Gleb

The appearance of original hagiographic literature was associated with the general political struggle of Russia to assert its religious independence, the desire to emphasize that the Russian land has its own representatives and walkers before God. Surrounding the personality of the prince with an aura of holiness, the lives contributed to the political strengthening of the foundations of the feudal system.

An example of the Old Russian princely life is the anonymous "Tale of Boris and Gleb", created, apparently, at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries.

The Tale is based on historical fact the murder of Svyatopolk of his younger brothers Boris and Gleb in 1015. When in the 40s of the XI century. Yaroslav achieved the canonization of the murdered brothers by the Byzantine church, it took the creation of a special work that would glorify the feat of the martyrs and the avenger for their death, Yaroslav. Based on a chronicle story at the end of the 11th century. and was written by an unknown author "The Tale of Boris and Gleb."

The author of The Tale retains historical specificity, setting out in detail all the vicissitudes associated with the villainous murder of Boris and Gleb. Like the chronicle, the "Tale" sharply condemns the murderer - the "cursed" Svyatopolk and opposes fratricidal strife, defending the patriotic idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe unity of the "Russian Great Country".

The historicism of the narrative of the "Tale" compares favorably with the Byzantine martyrs. It carries an important political idea tribal seniority in the system of princely inheritance.

The “Tale” is subordinated to the task of strengthening the feudal legal order, glorifying vassal fidelity: Boris and Gleb cannot break loyalty to their older brother, who replaces their father. Boris refuses the offer of his warriors to seize Kyiv by force.

Gleb, warned by his sister Predslava about the impending murder, voluntarily goes to his death. Also glorified is the feat of vassal fidelity of the servant of Boris - the lad George, who covers the prince with his body.

The "Tale" does not follow the traditional compositional scheme of life, which usually describes the whole life of the ascetic - from his birth to death. It sets out only one episode from the life of its heroes - their villainous murder. Boris and Gleb are portrayed as ideal Christian martyr heroes. They voluntarily accept the "martyr's crown".

The glorification of this Christian feat is sustained in the manner of hagiographic literature. The author equips the narrative with copious monologues - the cries of the heroes, their prayers-sayings, which serve as a means of expressing their pious feelings. The monologues of Boris and Gleb are not devoid of imagery, drama and lyricism.

Such, for example, is Boris’s lamentation for his dead father: “Alas for me, the light of my eyes, the radiance and dawn of my face, the breeze of my anguish, the punishment of my misunderstanding! Alas, my father and lord! Who will I run to? To whom will I take? Where can I be satisfied with such a good teaching and the testimony of your mind? Alas for me, alas for me! How zaide my light, I don’t dry that one! .. "

This monologue uses rhetorical questions and exclamations characteristic of church oratorical prose, and at the same time reflects the figurativeness of folk lamentation, which gives it a certain lyrical tone, allows you to more clearly express the feeling of filial grief.

Gleb's tearful appeal to his killers is filled with deep drama: “Don't reap me, I haven't eaten from life! You won’t reap class, you’ve not already eaten, you won’t bear the milk of laziness! Do not cut the vines, not up to the end of life, but the fruit of the property!

Pious reflections, prayers, laments that are put into the mouths of Boris and Gleb serve as a means of revealing inner world heroes, their psychological mood.

Heroes pronounce many monologues “in their minds and thinking”, “say in their hearts”. These internal monologues are the product of the author's imagination. They convey pious feelings, thoughts of ideal heroes. The monologues include quotations from the Psalter, Paremiion.

The psychological state of the characters is also given in the author's description. So, abandoned by the retinue, Boris "... in an ace and sadness, depressingly hearted and climbed into his tent, crying with a crushed heart, and with a joyful soul, pitifully emitting a voice."

Here the author is trying to show how two opposite feelings are combined in the hero's soul: grief in connection with a premonition of death and the joy that an ideal hero-martyr should experience in anticipation of a martyr's end. The living immediacy of the manifestation of feelings constantly collides with etiquette.

So, Gleb, seeing the ships at the mouth of the Smyadyn, sailing towards him, with youthful gullibility, "rejoiced in his soul" "and I would like to receive kisses from them." When the evil killers began to jump into Gleb's boat with naked swords sparkling like water, "abie oars from the hand of a degenerate, and rise from the fear of death."

And now, having understood their evil intention, Gleb, with tears, “losing” his body, prays to the killers: “Do not harm me, my dear and dragging brothers! Don't hurt me, you've done nothing wrong! Do not shave (touch) me, brethren and Lord, do not shy! Here we have before us the truth of life, which is then combined with the etiquette dying prayer, befitting a saint.

Boris and Gleb are surrounded in the "Tale" with an aura of holiness. This goal is served not only by the exaltation and glorification of the Christian traits of their character, but also by the widespread use of religious fiction in the description of posthumous miracles.

This typical technique of hagiographic literature is used by the author of the Tale in the final part of the narrative. The same purpose is served by the praise with which the Tale ends. In praise, the author uses traditional biblical comparisons, prayer appeals, resorts to quotations from books of "holy scripture".

This is the characterization of Boris: “Telm was red, tall, face round, shoulders great, tnk in the loins, eyes of kindness, merry face, small beard and mustache, young be still, glowing like a Caesar, strong body, decorated in every way, like the color of the flower in his humility, in ratkh harbr, wise in light, and reasonable with everything, and the grace of God tsvetyaashe on him.

The heroes of Christian virtue, the ideal princes-martyrs in the "Tale" are opposed to a negative character - the "cursed" Svyatopolk. He is possessed by envy, pride, lust for power and a fierce hatred of his brothers.

The author of the Tale sees the reason for these negative qualities of Svyatopolk in his origin: his mother was a blueberry, then she was stripped and taken as a wife by Yaropolk; after the murder of Yaropolk by Vladimir, she became the wife of the latter, and Svyatopolk descended from two fathers.

The characteristic of Svyatopolk is given according to the principle of antithesis with the characteristics of Boris and Gleb. He is the bearer of all negative human qualities. When depicting him, the author does not spare black colors. Svyatopolk is “cursed”, “tracked”, “second Cain”, whose thoughts are caught by the devil, he has “bad lips”, “evil voice”.

For the crime committed, the Holy Regiment bears a worthy punishment. Defeated by Yaroslav panic fear he flees from the battlefield, “... breaking his bones, as if he were not strong enough to ride a gray-haired horse. And carry him on a stretcher." He constantly hears the clatter of the horses of Yaroslav chasing him: “Run! Get married again! Oh me! and you can’t stand in one place.”

And if the brothers killed by him “live forever”, being the “visor” and “affirmation” of the Russian land, and their bodies turn out to be incorruptible and emit a fragrance, then from the grave of Svyatopolk, which is “to this day”, “come. .. the stink of evil at the testimony of a man.

Svyatopolk is opposed not only to the "earthly angels" and "heavenly people" Boris and Gleb, but also to the ideal earthly ruler Yaroslav, who avenged the death of his brothers. The author of the "Tale" emphasizes the piety of Yaroslav, putting into his mouth a prayer, allegedly uttered by the prince before the battle with Svyatopolk.

In addition, the battle with Svyatopolk takes place in the very place, on the Alta River, where Boris was killed, and this fact becomes symbolic meaning. With the victory of Yaroslav, the "Tale" connects the cessation of sedition ("And from that time on, sedition reigned in the Russ of the earth"), which emphasized his political topicality.

The dramatic nature of the narrative, the emotionality of the style of presentation, the political topicality of the Tale made it very popular in ancient Russian writing (it has come down to us in 170 lists).

Kuskov V.V. Story ancient Russian literature. - M., 1998

Lord, bless, father! “The generation of the righteous will be blessed,” says the prophet, “and their descendants will be blessed.” So it happened shortly before our days under the autocrat of the whole Russian land, Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav, the grandson of Igor, who enlightened the whole Russian land with holy baptism. About his other virtues we will tell in another place, but now is not the time. We will talk about the same that we started in order. Vladimir had 12 sons, and not from one wife: their mothers were different. The eldest son is Vysheslav, after Izyaslav, the third is Svyatopolk, who planned this evil murder. His mother is Greek, formerly a nun. Vladimir's brother Yaropolk, seduced by the beauty of her face, cut her hair, and took her as his wife, and conceived from her the accursed Svyatopolk. Vladimir, at that time still a pagan, having killed Yaropolk, took possession of his pregnant wife. So she gave birth to this accursed Svyatopolk, the son of two fathers-brothers. Therefore, Vladimir did not love him, because he was not from him. And from Rogneda Vladimir had four sons: Izyaslav, and Mstislav, and Yaroslav, and Vsevolod. From another wife were Svyatoslav and Mstislav, and from a Bulgarian wife - Boris and Gleb. And Vladimir planted them all different lands to reign, about which we will say elsewhere, but here we will tell about those about whom this story is.

Vladimir put the accursed Svyatopolk to reign in Pinok, and Yaroslav in Novgorod, and Boris in Rostov, and Gleb in Murom. However, I will not go into too much explanation, so as not to forget the main thing in verbosity, but about whom I started, we will tell this. A lot of time passed, and when 28 years had passed after holy baptism, the days of Vladimir came to an end - he fell into a serious illness. At the same time, Boris came from Rostov, and the Pechenegs again moved the army to Russia, and great sorrow seized Vladimir, because he could not oppose them, and this greatly saddened him. He then called Boris to him, named Roman in holy baptism, blessed and quick to obey, and, giving him many soldiers under his command, sent him against the godless Pechenegs. Boris went with joy, saying: “I am ready to do before your eyes what the will of your heart commands.” About such Pritochnik said: "There was a son obedient to his father and beloved by his mother."

When Boris, having set out on a campaign and not meeting the enemy, returned back, a messenger came to him and told him about the death of his father. He told how his father Vasily had died (this name was Vladimir in holy baptism) and how Svyatopolk, hiding the death of his father, dismantled the platform in Berestovo at night and, wrapping the body in a Carpet, lowered him on ropes to the ground, took him on a sleigh in the Church of the Holy Mother of God. And when Saint Boris heard this, his body began to weaken, and his whole face was wet with tears, shedding tears, unable to speak. Only in his heart did he think like this: “Alas for me, my light, the radiance and dawn of my face, the bridle of my youth, the mentor of my inexperience! Alas, my father and my lord! To whom shall I resort, to whom shall I turn my gaze? Where else can I find such wisdom and how can I manage without the instructions of your mind? Alas for me, alas for me! How did you go down, yoe sun, and I was not there! If I were there, I would honestly do it myself your body removed and betrayed to the grave. But I did not carry your valiant body, I was not honored to kiss your beautiful gray hairs. O blessed one, remember me at your resting place! My heart burns, my soul confuses my mind, and I don’t know who to turn to, who to tell this bitter sadness? Brother, whom I revered as a father? But he, I feel, cares about worldly fuss and plots my murder. If he sheds my blood and decides to kill me, I will be a martyr before my Lord. I will not resist, for it is written: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." And in the epistle of the apostle it is said: "Whoever says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, is a liar." And again: "There is no fear in love; perfect love casts out fear." So what will I say, what will I do? Here I will go to my brother and say: “Be my father - after all, you are my elder brother. What command me, my lord?"

And thinking so in his mind, he went to his brother and said in his heart: “Will I even see my younger brother Gleb, like Joseph Benjamin?” And he decided in his heart: “Let your will be done, Lord!” I thought to myself: “If I go to my father’s house, then many people will persuade me to drive my brother away, as I did, for the sake of glory and reign in this world, my father until holy baptism. And all this is transient and fragile, like a cobweb. Where will I go after my departure from this world? Where will I be then? What answer will I get? Where will I hide my many sins? What did my father's brothers or my father gain? Where is their life and the glory of this world, and scarlet, and feasts, silver and gold, wine and honey, plentiful dishes, and frisky horses, and decorated mansions, and great, and many riches, and countless tributes and honors, and boasting of their boyars . All this seemed to have never happened: everything with them disappeared, and there is no help from anything - neither from wealth, nor from many slaves, nor from the glory of this world. So Solomon, having experienced everything, having seen everything, mastering everything and gathering everything, said about everything: “Vanity of vanities - all is vanity!” Salvation is only good deeds, in true faith and in unfeigned love.”

Going his own way, Boris thought about his beauty and youth, and shed tears all over. And he wanted to hold back, but he couldn't. And all who saw him also mourned his youth and his physical and spiritual beauty. And each in his soul groaned from the sorrow of his heart, and all were seized with sorrow.

Who will not mourn, presenting this pernicious death before the eyes of his heart?

His whole appearance was dull, and his holy heart was contrite, for the blessed one was truthful and generous, quiet, meek, humble, he pitied everyone and helped everyone.

This is how God-blessed Boris thought in his heart and said: “I knew that my brother evil people incite to my murder and he will destroy me, and when he sheds my blood, then I will be a martyr before my Lord, and the lord will receive my soul. Then, forgetting mortal sorrow, he began to comfort his heart with God's word: "He who sacrifices his soul for me and my teaching will find and keep it in eternal life." And he went with a joyful heart, saying: “Lord, merciful, do not reject me, who trusts in you, but save my soul!”

Svyatopolk, having sat down to reign in Kyiv after the death of his father, called the people of Kiev to him and, having generously endowed them, let them go. He sent the following message to Boris: “Brother, I want to live with you in love and I will add more to the possession received from my father.” But there was no truth in his words. Svyatopolk, having come to Vyshgorod at night, secretly summoned Putyla and the Vyshgorod husbands to him and said to them: “Confess to me without hiding - are you devoted to me?” Putyla replied: "We are all ready to lay down our heads for you."

When the devil, the primordial enemy of everything good in people, saw that Saint Boris placed all his hope in God, he began to intrigue and, as in ancient times, Cain, plotting fratricide, caught Svyatopolk. He guessed the thoughts of Svyatopolk, truly the second Cain: after all, he wanted to kill all the heirs of his father in order to seize all power alone.

Then the accursed accursed Svyatopolk called to himself accomplices of atrocity and instigators of all untruth, opened his filthy lips and cried out in an evil voice to Putsha's squad: “Since you promised to lay down your heads for Me, then go secretly, my brothers, and where you will meet my brother Boris, having improved the time is right, kill him." And they promised him to do it.

The prophet said about such people: “They are quick to kill. Defiled by bloodshed, they bring misfortune upon themselves. Such are the ways of all those who commit iniquity - with wickedness they destroy their souls.

Blessed Boris returned and spread his camp on Alta. And the squad told him: "Go, sit in Kyiv on your father's princely table - after all, all the soldiers are in your hands." He answered them: “I cannot raise my hand against my brother, besides, also the oldest, whom I honor as a father.” Hearing this, the soldiers dispersed, and he was left only with his youths. And it was the Sabbath. In anguish and sadness, with a dejected heart, he entered his tent and wept in contrition of heart, but with an enlightened soul, plaintively exclaiming: “Do not reject my tears, lord, for I trust in you! May I be rewarded with the fate of your servants and share the lot with all your saints, you are a merciful God, and we praise you forever! Amen".

He remembered the torment and suffering of the holy martyr Nikita and saint Vyacheslav, who were killed in the same way, and how the murderer of Saint Barbara was her father. And he remembered the words of the wise Solomon: "The righteous live forever, and from the Lord their reward and adornment from the Almighty." And only these words comforted and rejoiced.

Meanwhile, evening came, and Boris ordered Vespers to be sung, and he himself went into his tent and began to create evening prayer with bitter tears, frequent sighing and incessant lamentations. Then he went to bed, and his sleep was disturbed by dreary thoughts and sadness, bitter, and heavy, and terrible: how to endure torment and suffering, and end life, and save faith, and accept the prepared crown from the hands of the Almighty. And, waking up early, he saw that it was already morning time. And it was Sunday. He said to his priest: "Get up, start matins." He himself, having put on his shoes and washed his face, began to pray to the Lord God.

Those sent by Svyatopolk came to Alta at night, and came close, and heard the voice of the blessed martyr singing the Psalter at matins. And he had already received the news of the impending murder of him. And he began to sing: “Lord! How my enemies have multiplied! Many rise up against me" - and the rest of the psalms to the end. And, having begun to sing according to the Psalter: “A crowd of dogs surrounded me and fat calves surrounded me,” he continued: “My God, my God! I trust in you, save me!” And after that he sang the canon. And when he finished matins, he began to pray, looking at the icon of the Lord and saying: “Lord Jesus Christ! Like you, who appeared on earth in this image and by your own will let yourself be nailed to the cross and suffer for our sins, grant me to accept suffering like that!

And when he heard an ominous whisper near the tent, he trembled, and tears flowed from his eyes, and said: “Glory to you, Lord, for everything, for you honored me with envy for the sake of accepting this bitter death and enduring everything for the love of your commandments. You didn’t want to avoid torment yourself, you didn’t want anything for yourself, follow the commandments of the apostle: “Love is long-suffering, believes everything, does not envy and does not exalt itself.” And again: “There is no fear in love, for true love casts out fear." Therefore, lord, my soul is always in your hands, for I have not forgotten your commandment. As the Lord wills, so be it." And when they saw the priest Borisov and the youth serving the prince, his master, embraced by grief and sorrow, they wept bitterly and said: “Our merciful and dear Lord! What goodness you are filled with, that you did not want to oppose your brother for the love of Christ, and yet how many soldiers you kept at your fingertips! And, having said this, she was sad.

And suddenly he saw those rushing to the tent, the gleam of weapons, drawn swords. And without pity the honest and many-merciful body of the saint and blessed was pierced. Passion-bearer of Christ Boris. The accursed ones struck him with spears: Putsha, Talets, Elovich, Lyashko. Seeing this, his youth covered the body of the blessed one with himself, exclaiming: “Let me not leave you, my beloved sir, where the beauty of your body fades, here I will be able to end my life!”

He was a Hungarian by birth, named George, and the prince rewarded him with a golden hryvnia, and was loved by Boris immensely. Then they pierced him, and, wounded, he jumped out of the tent in a daze. And those standing near the tent spoke: “Why are you standing and looking! Having begun, let us complete what has been done to us.” Hearing this, the blessed one began to pray and ask them, saying: “My dear and beloved brothers! Wait a bit, let me pray to God." And looking up at the sky with tears, and sighing to grief, he began to pray with these words: “Lord, my God, many-merciful and merciful and merciful! Glory to you for having granted me to escape from the seductions of this deceitful life! Glory to you, generous giver of life, for vouchsafed me a feat worthy of the holy martyrs! Glory to you, Lord-philanthropist, that you made me fulfill the innermost desire of my heart! Glory to you, Christ, glory to your immeasurable mercy, for you directed my groans to the right path! Look from the height of your holiness and see the pain of my heart, which I suffered from my relative - because for your sake they kill me on this day. I was made equal to a ram ready to be slaughtered. After all, you know, gentlemen, I do not resist, I will not contradict, and having under my arm all the soldiers of my father and all whom my father loved, I did not plot anything against my brother. He raised as much as he could against me. “If the enemy reproached me, I would endure it; if my hater slandered me, I would hide from him. But you, Lord, be a witness, I will execute judgment between me and my brother and do not condemn them, Lord, for this sin, but accept my soul in peace. Amen".

And, looking at his killers with a sorrowful look, with a haggard face, shedding tears all over, he said: “Brothers, when you start, finish what was entrusted to you. And may there be peace to my brother and to you, brothers!”

And all who heard his words could not utter a word from fear and bitter sadness and abundant tears. With bitter sighs, they lamented and wept plaintively, and each one wailed in his soul: “Alas for us, our merciful and blessed prince, guide to the blind, clothing to the naked, staff to the elders, mentor to the foolish! Who will direct them now? I didn’t want the glory of this world, I didn’t want to have fun with honest nobles, I didn’t want greatness in this life. Who will not be amazed at such great humility, who will not humble himself, seeing and hearing his humility?

And so Boris rested, betraying his soul into the hands of the living god on the 24th day of the month of July, 9 days before the August calendars.

They also killed many youths. They could not remove the hryvnia from George, and, having cut off his head, they threw it away. Therefore, they could not identify his body.

Blessed Boris, wrapped in a tent, put on a cart and taken away. And when they were riding in the forest, he began to raise his holy head. Upon learning of this, Svyatopolk sent two Varangians, and they pierced Boris in the heart with a sword. And so he died, assuming an unfading crown. And, having brought his body, they laid it in Vyshgorod and buried it in the ground near the church of St. Basil.

And didn't stop at this murder cursed Svyatopolk, but in his fury he began to prepare for a greater crime. And, seeing the fulfillment of his cherished desire, he did not think about his villainous murder and the severity of sin, and did not repent of his deed in the least. And then Satan entered his heart, beginning to incite to even greater atrocities and new murders. Thus the accursed one spoke in his soul: “What shall I do? If I dwell on this murder, then two fates await me: when my brothers find out about what has happened, they will lie in wait for me and reward me worse than what I have done. And if not melting, then they will expel me and lose the throne of my father, and regret for my lost land will gnaw me, and the reproaches of those who reproach me will fall on me, and another will seize my reign, and there will be no living soul left in my dwellings. For I have destroyed the beloved of the Lord, and I have added a new sore to the sickness; I will add lawlessness to iniquity. After all, the sin of my mother will not be forgiven, and I will not be inscribed with the righteous, but my name will be taken out of the books of life. And so it happened, about which we will tell later. Now is not the time yet, but back to our story.

And, having planned this, the evil devil's accomplice sent for the blessed Gleb, saying: “Come without delay. Father is calling you, he is seriously ill.

Gleb quickly got ready, mounted his horse and set off with a small squad. And when they came to the Volga, a horse in a pit stumbled under him in the field and slightly injured his leg. And how Gleb came to Smolensk, departed not far from Smolensk and stood on Smyadyn, in a boat. And at this time, news came from Predslava to Yaroslav about the death of his father. And Yaroslav sent to Gleb, saying: “Do not go, brother. Your father died, and your brother was killed by Svyatopolk.

And, hearing this, the blessed one cried out with bitter weeping and heartfelt sorrow, and so he said: “Oh, alas for me, Lord? Doubly weeping and groaning, doubly lamenting and grieving. Alas for me, alas for me! I weep bitterly for my father, and even more bitterly I mourn for you, my brother and lord, Boris. How was he pierced, how was he killed without pity, if not from the enemy, but from his brother did he accept death? Alas for me! It would be better for me to die with you than to live alone and orphaned without you in this world. I thought that I would soon see your angelic face, but what a misfortune befell me, it would be better for me to die with you, my lord! What will I do now, unfortunate, deprived of your kindness and the much wisdom of my father? O my dear brother and lord! If your prayers reach the Lord, pray for my sorrow, so that I may be able to accept the same torment and be with you, and not in this vain world.

And when he so groaned and wept, irrigating the earth with tears and invoking God with frequent sighs, his evil servants sent by Svyatopolk, ruthless bloodsuckers, fierce brother-haters, ferocious beasts, tearing out the soul, suddenly appeared.

The saint was sailing at that time in a boat, and they met him at the mouth of the Smyadyn. And when the saint saw them, he rejoiced in his soul, and when they saw him, they became gloomy and began to row towards him, and he thought - they want to greet him. And, when they swam alongside, the villains began to jump into his boat with naked swords shining like water in their hands. And immediately all the oars fell out of their hands, and everyone died from fear. Seeing this, the blessed one realized that they wanted to kill him. And, looking at the murderers with a meek gaze, washing his face with tears, humbled himself, in contrition of heart, sighing tremblingly, bursting into tears and weakening his body, he began pitifully to beg: “Do not touch me, my dear and dear brothers! Don't touch me, who hasn't done you any harm! Have mercy, my brothers and masters, have mercy! What offense have I done to my brother and to you, my brothers and masters? If there is any offense, then take me to your prince and to my brother and master. Have pity on my youth, have mercy, my lords! Be my masters, and I will be your slave. Do not destroy me, in the life of a young man, do not reap an ear that has not yet ripened, poured with the juice of malice! Do not cut the vine that has not yet grown, but has fruit! I beg you and surrender to your mercy. Be afraid of the apostle who said through the mouth: “Do not be children of the mind: be like babies for an evil deed, but be of full age in your mind.” But I, brothers, are still young in deed and age. This is not murder, but savagery! What evil have I done, tell me, and then I will not complain. If you want to get enough of my blood, then I, brothers, are in the hands of yours and my brother, and your prince. And not a single word put them to shame, but like fierce beasts attacked him. He, seeing that they did not heed his words, began to say: “May my beloved father, and Mr. Vasily, and my mother, my lady, and you, brother Boris, be the mentor of my youth, and you, brother and accomplice Yaroslav, and you, brother and enemy Svyatopolk, and all of you, brothers and squad, may everyone be saved! I will no longer see you in this life, for they forcefully separate me from you. II said, crying: “Vasily, Vasily, my father and master! Bow your ears and hear my voice, look and see what happened to your son, how they kill me for nothing. Alas for me, alas for me! Hear, heaven, and listen, earth! And you, Boris, brother, hear my voice. I called my father Vasily, and he did not heed me, do you really not want to hear me? Look at the sorrow of my heart and the pain of my soul, look at the streams of my tears flowing like a river! And no one listens to me, but you remember me and pray for me before the ruler of all, for you are pleasing to him and stand before his throne.

And, kneeling down, he began to pray: “The most generous and merciful Lord! Do not despise my tears, have mercy on my sorrow. Look at the contrition of my heart: they kill me for no one knows what, no one knows for what guilt. You know, my God! I remember the words you said to your apostles: “For my name, for my sake, they will raise their hands against you, and you will be betrayed by relatives and friends, and brother will betray brother to death, and they will kill you for the sake of my name.” And again: “With patience, strengthen your souls.” Look, Lord, and judge: my soul is ready to stand before you, Lord! And we give glory to you, father and son and holy spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen"

Then he looked at the murderers and said in a plaintive and broken voice: “Since you have begun, having begun, do what you were sent to do!”

Then the accursed Goryaser ordered to kill him without delay. The cook, Glebov, named Torchin, took a knife and, grabbing the blessed one, slaughtered it, like a blameless and innocent lamb, on the 5th day of September, on Monday.

And a pure and fragrant sacrifice was offered to the Lord, and he ascended to the heavenly abodes to the Lord, and saw his beloved brother, and both received the heavenly crown that they were striving for, and rejoiced at the great and inexpressible joy that they received.

The accursed murderers returned to the one who sent them, as David said: “The wicked will return to hell and all those who forget God.” And again: “The wicked draw their sword and draw their bow to strike those who walk in the straight path, but their sword will enter into their own heart, and their bows will be crushed, and the wicked will perish.” And when they told Svyatopolk that “they fulfilled your command,” then, having heard this, he ascended in his heart, and what the psalmist David said came true: “Why do you boast of strong villainy? Iniquity in this day, your tongue has conceived iniquity. You loved evil more than good, more lies than telling the truth. You have loved all kinds of disastrous speech, and your tongue is flattering. Therefore, God will crush you to the end, tear you down and uproot you from your dwelling place and your family from the land of the living.”

When they killed Gleb, they threw him in a deserted place between two logs. But the Lord, who does not leave his servants, - as David said, - "guards all their bones, and not one of them will be broken."

And this saint who lay for a long time, God did not leave in ignorance and neglect, but kept it unharmed and marked it with phenomena: merchants, hunters and shepherds passing by this place sometimes saw a pillar of fire, sometimes burning candles or heard Angolan singing. And not a single one who saw and heard this came to mind to look for the body of the saint, until Yaroslav, unable to endure this evil murder, moved on the fratricide of the accursed Svyatopolk and began to fight cruelly with him. And always by the will of God and the help of the saints, Yaroslav won the battles, and the accursed fled to shame and returned defeated.

And then one day this accursed one came with many Pechenegs, and Yaroslav, having gathered an army, went out to meet him on Alta and stood in the place where Saint Boris was killed. And, raising his hands to heaven, he said: “The blood of my brother, as before Abel, cries out to you, lord. And you will avenge him and, like the fratricide of Cain, plunge Svyatopolk into horror and awe. I pray you, Lord, - may my brothers be avenged! If you left here in body, then by grace you are alive and stand before the Lord and help me with your prayer!

After these words, the opponents met with each other, and the Altskoye field was covered with a multitude of warriors. And at sunrise they went into battle, and there was a slaughter of evil, they fought three times and fought like that all day, and only in the evening Yaroslav defeated, and the accursed Svyatopolk fled. And madness seized him, and his joints became so weak that he could not sit on a horse, and they carried him on a stretcher. They ran with him to Berest. He says: “Let’s run, because they are chasing us!” And they sent to reconnoiter, and there were neither pursuing nor following in the footsteps of him. And he, lying helpless and rising, exclaimed: “Let's run further, they are chasing! Woe is me!" It was unbearable for him to stay in one place, and he ran through the Polish land, driven by the wrath of God. And he ran to a deserted place between the Czech Republic and Poland and then dishonorably died. And he accepted vengeance from the Lord: he brought Svyatopolk to death the illness that seized him, and after death - eternal torment. And so he lost both lives: here he not only reigned, but also lost his life, and there he not only did not receive the kingdom of heaven and did not receive stay with the angels, but was betrayed to torment and fire. And his grave has been preserved to this day, and a terrible stench comes from it as a warning to all people. If anyone does the same, knowing this, he will pay even worse. Cain, not knowing about revenge, accepted a single punishment, and Lamech, who knew about the fate of Cain, was punished seventy times harder. Such is revenge on those who do evil: here is Julian Caesar - he shed a lot of blood of the holy martyrs, and a terrible and inhuman death befell him: it is not known by whom he was pierced with a spear in the heart. Likewise, this one - it is not known from whom, running away, died a shameful death.

And since then, the strife in the Russian land has ceased, and Yaroslav took over the entire Russian land. And he began to ask about the bodies of the saints - how and where were they buried? And they told him about Saint Boris that he was buried in Vyshgorod. And not everyone knew about Saint Gleb that he was killed near Smolensk. And then they told Yaroslav what they heard from those who came from there: how they saw light and candles in a deserted place. And, having heard this, Yaroslav sent priests to Smolensk to find out what was the matter, saying: "This is my brother." And they found him, where there were visions, and, having come there with crosses, and many candles, and with censers, she solemnly laid Gleb in a boat and, returning, they buried him in Vyshgorod, where the body of the blessed Boris lies: having dug up the earth, they also laid Gleb with due honor.

And this is what is wonderful and marvelous and worthy of memory: for so many years the body of Saint Gleb lay and remained unharmed, untouched by any beast of prey, no worms, not even blackened, as usually happens with bodies of the dead, but remained bright and beautiful, whole and fragrant. So God preserved the body of his passion-bearer.

And many did not know about the relics of the holy martyrs lying here. But, as the Lord said: “A city standing on the top of a mountain cannot hide, and, having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but put it on a candlestick so that it shines for everyone.” So God set these saints to shine in the world, to shine with numerous miracles in the great Russian land, where many suffering people are healed: the blind receive their sight, the lame run faster than the chamois, the hunchbacked straighten up.

It is impossible to describe or tell about the miracles being performed, truly the whole world cannot accommodate them, for there are more marvelous miracles than the sand of the sea. And not only here, but also in other countries, and throughout all the lands, they pass, driving away diseases and illnesses, visiting those imprisoned in dungeons and shackled. And in those places where they were crowned with martyr's crowns, churches were created in their name. And many miracles happen to those who come here.

I don’t know, therefore, what praise to give you, and I’m perplexed, and I can’t decide what to say? I would call you angels, for without delay you appear to all who mourn, but you lived on earth among other people in human flesh. But if I call you people, then by your countless miracles and help to the weak you surpass the human mind. Whether I proclaim you Caesars or princes, you surpassed the most simple and humble people with your humility, and this led you to hot places and dwellings.

Truly you are Caesars to Caesars and princes to princes, for with your help and protection our princes defeat all opponents and are proud of your help. You are our weapons, Russian lands protection and support, double-edged swords, with them we overthrow the audacity of the filthy and trample the devilish machinations on earth. Truly and without a doubt I can say: you are heavenly people and earthly angels, pillars and support of our land! You defend your fatherland and help in the same way as the great Dmitry did to his fatherland. He said, "As I was with them in joy, so in their destruction I will die with them." But if the great and merciful Dmitry said this about only one city, then you are not about a single city, not about two, not about some village, you are baking and praying, but about the whole Russian land!

O blessed are the tombs that received your honest bodies as a valuable treasure! Blessed is the church in which your holy tombs are placed, keeping your blessed bodies in themselves, O saints of Christ! Truly blessed and majestic than all Russian cities and high city having such a treasure. There is no equal to him in the whole world. It is rightfully called Vyshgorod - higher and higher than all cities: the second Thessalonica appeared in the Russian land, healing free of charge, with God's help, not only our united people, but bringing salvation to the whole earth. Those who come from all lands receive healing for free, as in the holy gospels the Lord said to the holy apostles: “Freely you have received, freely give.” Of these, the Lord himself said: “He who believes in me, in the works that I do, will do them himself, and will do more than these.”

But, O blessed martyrs of Christ, do not forget the fatherland where you lived your earthly life, never leave it. In the same way, in prayers, always pray for us, so that misfortune and illness do not come upon us, so that the body of your servants does not touch. Grace has been given to you, pray for us, because God has set you as intercessors and intercessors for us. Therefore, we resort to you, and, falling down with tears, we pray that we will not be under the heel of the enemy, and the hand of the wicked may not destroy us, may no harm touch us, remove hunger and bitterness from us, and deliver us from the enemy's sword and internecine strife, and from every trouble and attack, protect us who trust in you. And bring our prayer to the Lord God with zeal, for we sin greatly, and there is a lot of iniquity in us, and we act outrageously with excess and without measure. But, hoping for your prayers, let us cry out to the Savior, saying: “Lord, one without sin! Look from your holy heavens at us, the poor, and although we have sinned, forgive us, and although we do iniquity, have mercy, and those who have fallen into error, like a harlot, forgive us and, like a publican, justify.

May your mercy descend on us! May your kindness pour on us! And do not let us perish because of our sins, do not let us fall asleep and die a bitter death, but deliver us from the evil reigning in the world and give us time to repent, for many of our iniquities are before you, Lord! Judge us according to your mercy, Lord, for your name is condemned in us, have mercy on us and save and protect us with the prayers of your glorious martyrs. And do not betray us to reproach, but pour out your mercy on the sheep of your flock, because you are our God and we send glory to you, father and son and holy spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen".

About Boris, what a view.

This faithful Boris was of good roots, obedient to his father, obeying his father in everything. He was handsome in body, tall, with a round face, broad shoulders, thin at the waist, kind eyes, cheerful in face, small in age and mustache was still young, shone royally, was strong, was decorated with everything - as if he bloomed in his youth, on ratakh is brave, wise in advice and reasonable in everything, and the grace of God blossomed in him.

Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich had twelve sons from different wives. The third in seniority was Svyatopolk. Svyatopolk's mother, a nun, was stripped and taken as a wife by Yaropolk, Vladimir's brother. Vladimir killed Yaropolk and took possession of his wife when she was pregnant. He adopted Svyatopolk, but did not love him. And Boris and Gleb were the sons of Vladimir and his Bulgarian wife. Vladimir planted his children in different lands to reign: Svyatopolk - in Pinsk, Boris - in Rostov, Gleb - in Murom.

When the days of Vladimir came to an end, the Pechenegs moved to Russia. The prince sent Boris against them. He went on a campaign, but did not meet the enemy. When Boris was returning back, the messenger told him about the death of his father and that Svyatopolk tried to hide his death. Hearing this story, Boris began to cry. He realized that Svyatopolk wanted to seize power and kill him, but decided not to resist. Indeed, Svyatopolk treacherously took possession of the throne of Kyiv. But, despite the persuasion of the squad, Boris did not want to drive his brother out of the reign.

Meanwhile, Svyatopolk bribed the people of Kiev and wrote Boris an affectionate letter. But his words were false. In fact, he wanted to kill all of his father's heirs. And he began by ordering the squad, which consisted of Vyshgorod husbands, headed by Putynya, to kill Boris.

Boris, on the other hand, pitched a camp on the Alta River. In the evening he prayed in his tent, thinking about imminent death. Waking up, he ordered the priest to serve matins. The assassins, sent by Svyatopolk, approached Boris's tent and heard the words of holy prayers. And Boris, hearing an ominous whisper near the tent, realized that they were murderers. The priest and servant of Boris, seeing the sadness of their master, grieved for him.

Suddenly, Boris saw the killers with naked weapons in their hands. The villains rushed to the prince and pierced him with spears. And the servant of Boris covered his master with his body. This servant was a Hungarian named George. The killers hit him too. Wounded by them, George jumped out of the tent. The villains wanted to inflict new blows on the prince, who was still alive. But Boris began to ask to be allowed to pray to God. After the prayer, the prince turned to his murderers with words of forgiveness and said: “Brothers, having begun, finish what was commanded to you.” So Boris died on the 24th day of July. Many of his servants were also killed, including George. They cut off his head to remove the hryvnia from his neck.

Boris was wrapped in a tent and taken away in a cart. As they rode through the forest, the holy prince raised his head. And two Varangians pierced him again with a sword in the heart. The body of Boris was laid in Vyshgorod and buried near the church of St. Basil.

After that, Svyatopolk conceived a new atrocity. He sent Gleb a letter in which he wrote that his father, Vladimir, was seriously ill and was calling for Gleb.

The young prince went to Kyiv. When he reached the Volga, he slightly injured his leg. He stopped not far from Smolensk, on the Smyadyn River, in a boat. The news of the death of Vladimir, meanwhile, reached Yaroslav (another of the twelve sons of Vladimir Svyatoslavich), who then reigned in Novgorod. Yaroslav sent Gleb a warning not to go to Kyiv: his father had died, and his brother Boris had been killed. And, when Gleb was crying about his father and brother, the evil servants of Svyatopolk, sent by him to kill, suddenly appeared before him.

Holy Prince Gleb was then sailing in a boat along the Smyadyn River. The murderers were in another boat, they began to row towards the prince, and Gleb thought that they wanted to greet him. But the villains began to jump into Gleb's boat with drawn swords in their hands. The prince begged them not to destroy him. young life. But the servants of Svyatopolk were inexorable. Then Gleb began to pray to God for his father, brothers, and even for his murderer, Svyatopolk. After that, the cook Glebov, Torchin, stabbed his master. And Gleb ascended to heaven, and met there with his beloved brother. It happened on September 5th.

The murderers returned to Svyatopolk and told him about the order they had carried out. The evil prince rejoiced.

Gleb's body was thrown in a deserted place between two decks. Merchants, hunters, shepherds passing by this place saw a pillar of fire, burning candles there, heard angelic singing. But no one thought to look for the body of the saint there.

And Yaroslav moved with his army to the fratricide Svyatopolk in order to avenge the brothers. Yaroslav was accompanied by victories. Arriving at the Alta River, he stood at the place where Saint Boris was killed, and prayed to God for final victory over the villain.

The battle on Alta lasted all day. By evening, Yaroslav won, and Svyatopolk fled. He was overcome with madness. Svyatopolk was so weak that he was carried on a stretcher. He ordered to run, even when the chase stopped. So they carried him on a stretcher through the Polish land. In a deserted place between the Czech Republic and Poland, he died. His grave has been preserved, and a terrible stench emanates from it.

Since then, strife has ceased in the Russian land. Yaroslav became the Grand Duke. He found the body of Gleb and buried him in Vyshgorod, next to his brother. Gleb's body turned out to be incorrupt.

Many miracles began to emanate from the relics of the holy martyrs Boris and Gleb: the blind received their sight, the lame walked, the humpbacked straightened up. And in those places where the brothers were killed, churches were created in their name.

When Prince Vladimir died, his stepson Svyatopolk seized the throne. He was not a legitimate heir, because Vladimir had many children of his own. To get rid of the applicants, Svyatopolk sent his people to kill these children. Boris and Gleb were the eldest, and therefore the most dangerous.

Boris immediately said that he did not want a war between his native people, so he disbanded the squad and renounced the throne. He was ready to take Svyatopolk for his father, if only not to fight and not to sow enmity. But when he was praying, the envoys of Svyatopolk stabbed him to death.

Gleb was warned about the murder of his brother and was told that perhaps the same fate awaited him. Svyatopolk decided to deceive Gleb. He made up a story about his father's illness.

Gleb immediately left the house. He was very sad, so he did not notice how the enemies swam up to his boat. The envoys of Svyatopolk attacked and killed. Gleb did not resist, but accepted death with humility, as he understood that the dark heart of Svyatopolk could no longer be corrected.

After the death of Boris and Gleb, the people enrolled them as saints, since everyone was struck by the strength of their faith and martyrdom.

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Updated: 2017-08-07

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Translation by D. S. Likhachev

Lord, bless, Father! “The generation of the righteous will be blessed,” says the prophet, “and their descendants will be blessed.” So it happened shortly before our days under the autocrat of the whole Russian land, Vladimir, the son of Svyatoslav, the grandson of Igor, who enlightened the whole Russian land with holy baptism. About his other virtues we will tell in another place, but now is not the time. We will talk about the same that we started in order. Vladimir had 12 sons, and not from one wife: their mothers were different. The eldest son is Vysheslav, after Izyaslav, the third is Svyatopolk, who planned this evil murder. His mother is Greek, formerly a nun. Vladimir's brother Yaropolk, seduced by the beauty of her face, cut her hair, and took her as his wife, and conceived from her the accursed Svyatopolk. Vladimir, at that time still a pagan, having killed Yaropolk, took possession of his pregnant wife. So she gave birth to this accursed Svyatopolk, the son of two fathers-brothers. Therefore, Vladimir did not love him, because he was not from him. And from Rogneda Vladimir had four sons: Izyaslav, and Mstislav, and Yaroslav, and Vsevolod. From another wife were Svyatoslav and Mstislav, and from a Bulgarian wife - Boris and Gleb. And Vladimir put them all in different lands to reign, which we will say in another place, but here we will tell about those about whom this story is.
Vladimir put the accursed Svyatopolk to reign in Pinok, and Yaroslav in Novgorod, and Boris in Rostov, and Gleb in Murom. However, I will not go into too much explanation, so as not to forget the main thing in verbosity, but about whom I started, we will tell this. A lot of time passed, and when 28 years had passed after holy baptism, the days of Vladimir came to an end - he fell into a serious illness. At the same time, Boris came from Rostov, and the Pechenegs again moved the army to Russia, and great sorrow seized Vladimir, because he could not oppose them, and this greatly saddened him. He then called Boris to him, named Roman in holy baptism, blessed and quick to obey, and, giving him many soldiers under his command, sent him against the godless Pechenegs. Boris went with joy, saying: “I am ready to do before your eyes what the will of your heart commands.” About such Pritochnik said: "There was a son obedient to his father and beloved by his mother."
When Boris, having set out on a campaign and not meeting the enemy, returned back, a messenger came to him and told him about the death of his father. He told how his father Vasily had died (this name was Vladimir in holy baptism) and how Svyatopolk, hiding the death of his father, dismantled the platform in Berestovo at night and, wrapping the body in a Carpet, lowered him on ropes to the ground, took him on a sleigh in the Church of the Holy Mother of God. And when Saint Boris heard this, his body began to weaken, and his whole face was wet with tears, shedding tears, unable to speak. Only in his heart did he think like this: “Alas for me, the light of my radiance and the dawn of my face, the bridle of my youth, the mentor of my inexperience! Alas, my father and my lord! To whom shall I resort, to whom shall I turn my gaze? Where else can I find such wisdom and how can I manage without the instructions of your mind? Alas for me, alas for me! How did you go down, my sun, and I was not there! If I were there, I would remove your honest body with my own hands and betray it to the grave. But I did not carry your valiant body, I was not honored to kiss your beautiful gray hairs. O blessed one, remember me at your resting place! My heart burns, my soul confuses my mind, and I don’t know who to turn to, who to tell this bitter sadness? Brother, whom I revered as a father? But he, I feel, cares about worldly fuss and plots my murder. If he sheds my blood and decides to kill me, I will be a martyr before my Lord. I will not resist, for it is written: "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." And in the epistle of the apostle it is said: "Whoever says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, is a liar." And again: "There is no fear in love; perfect love casts out fear." So what will I say, what will I do? I’ll go to my brother and say: “Be my father, because you are my elder brother. What will you command me, my lord?
And thinking so in his mind, he went to his brother and said in his heart: “Will I even see my younger brother Gleb, like Joseph - Benjamin?” And he decided in his heart: “Let your will be done, Lord!” I thought to myself: “If I go to my father’s house, then many people will persuade me to drive my brother away, as my father did for the sake of glory and reign in this world before holy baptism. And all this is transient and fragile, like a web. Where will I go after my departure from this world? Where will I be then? What answer will I get? Where will I hide my many sins? What did my father's brothers or my father gain? Where is their life and the glory of this world, and scarlet, and feasts, silver and gold, wine and honey, plentiful dishes, and frisky horses, and adorned and great mansions, and many riches, and tributes, and countless honors, and boasting of their boyars . All this seemed to have never happened: everything with them disappeared, and there is no help from anything - neither from wealth, nor from many slaves, nor from the glory of this world. So Solomon, having experienced everything, having seen everything, mastering everything and gathering everything, said about everything: “Vanity of vanities - all is vanity!” Salvation is only in good deeds, in true faith and in unfeigned love.”
Going his own way, Boris thought about his beauty and youth, and shed tears all over. And he wanted to hold back, but he couldn't. And all who saw him also mourned his youth and his physical and spiritual beauty. And each in his soul groaned from the sorrow of his heart, and all were seized with sorrow.
Who will not mourn, presenting this pernicious death before the eyes of his heart?
His whole appearance was dull, and his holy heart was contrite, for the blessed one was truthful and generous, quiet, meek, humble, he pitied everyone and helped everyone.
This is how the blessed Boris thought in his heart and said: “I knew that evil people would incite my brother to kill me and he would destroy me, and when he sheds my blood, I will be a martyr before my Lord, and the Master will receive my soul.” Then, forgetting mortal sorrow, he began to comfort his heart with God's word: "He who sacrifices his soul for the sake of Me and My teaching will find and keep it in Eternal Life." And he went with a joyful heart, saying: “Lord, merciful, do not reject me, who trusts in You, but save my soul!”
Svyatopolk, having sat down to reign in Kyiv after the death of his father, called the people of Kiev to him and, having generously endowed them, let them go. He sent the following message to Boris: “Brother, I want to live with you in love and I will add more to the possession received from my father.” But there was no truth in his words. Svyatopolk, having come to Vyshgorod at night, secretly summoned Putyla and the Vyshgorod husbands to him and said to them: “Confess to me without hiding - are you devoted to me?” Putyla replied: "We are all ready to lay down our heads for you."
When the devil, the primordial enemy of all that is good in people, saw that Saint Boris placed all his hope on God, he began to intrigue and, as in ancient times, Cain, plotting fratricide, caught Svyatopolk. He guessed the thoughts of Svyatopolk, truly the second Cain: after all, he wanted to kill all the heirs of his father in order to seize all power alone.
Then the accursed accursed Svyatopolk called to himself the accomplices of the atrocity and the instigators of all untruth, opened his filthy lips and cried out in an evil voice to the Putyl squad: “Since you promised to lay down your heads for me, then go secretly, my brothers, and where you will meet my brother Boris, having improved the time is right, kill him." And they promised him to do it.
The prophet said about such people: “They are quick to kill. Defiled by bloodshed, they bring misfortune upon themselves. Such are the ways of all those who commit iniquity - with wickedness they destroy their souls.
Blessed Boris returned and spread his camp on Alta. And the squad told him: "Go, sit in Kyiv on your father's princely table - after all, all the soldiers are in your hands." He answered them: “I cannot raise my hand against my brother, besides, also the oldest, whom I honor as a father.” Hearing this, the soldiers dispersed, and he was left only with his youths. And it was the Sabbath. In anguish and sadness, with a dejected heart, he entered his tent and wept in contrition of heart, but with an enlightened soul, plaintively exclaiming: “Do not reject my tears, Master, for I trust in You! May I be rewarded with the fate of your servants and share the lot with all your saints, You are a merciful God, and we praise You forever! Amen".
He remembered the torment and suffering of the holy martyr Nikita and saint Vyacheslav, who were killed in the same way, and how her own father was the murderer of Saint Barbara. And he remembered the words of the wise Solomon: "The righteous live forever, and from the Lord is their reward and adornment from the Most High." And only these words comforted and rejoiced.
Meanwhile, evening came, and Boris ordered Vespers to be sung, and he himself entered his tent and began to perform the evening prayer with bitter tears, frequent sighing and continuous lamentations. Then he went to bed, and his sleep was disturbed by dreary thoughts and sadness, bitter, and heavy, and terrible: how to endure torment and suffering and end life, and save faith, and accept the prepared crown from the Hands of the Almighty. And, waking up early, he saw that it was already morning time. And it was Sunday. He said to his priest: "Get up, start matins." Himself, putting on shoes and washing his face, began to pray to the Lord God.
Those sent by Svyatopolk came to Alta at night, and came close, and heard the voice of the blessed martyr singing the Psalter at matins. And he had already received the news of the impending murder of him. And he began to sing: “Lord! How my enemies have multiplied! Many rise up against me" - and the rest of the psalms to the end. And, having begun to sing according to the Psalter: “A crowd of dogs surrounded me and fat calves surrounded me,” he continued: “Lord, my God! I trust in You, save me!” And after that he sang the canon. And when he finished matins, he began to pray, looking at the icon of the Lord and saying: “Lord Jesus Christ! Like you, who appeared on earth in this image and by your own will let yourself be nailed to the cross and accept suffering for our sins, grant me to accept suffering in this way!
And when he heard an ominous whisper near the tent, he trembled, and tears flowed from his eyes, and said: “Glory to Thee, Lord, for everything, for You have honored me with envy for the sake of accepting this bitter death and enduring everything for the love of Thy commandments. You yourself did not want to escape the torment, you did not wish for yourself, follow the commandments of the apostle: "Love is long-suffering, believes everything, does not envy and does not exalt itself." And again: "There is no fear in love, for true love casts out fear." Therefore, Lord, my soul is always in Your hands, for I have not forgotten Your commandment. As the Lord wills, so shall it be." And when they saw the priest Borisov and the youth serving the prince, his master, embraced by sorrow and sadness, they wept bitterly and said: “Our merciful and dear lord! What goodness you are filled with, that you did not want to oppose your brother for the love of Christ, and yet how many soldiers you kept at your fingertips! And having said this, they were sad.
And suddenly they saw those rushing to the tent, the gleam of weapons, drawn swords. And without pity the honest and many-merciful body of the holy and blessed Christ's martyr Boris was pierced. The accursed ones struck him with spears: Putsha, Talets, Elovich, Lyashko. Seeing this, his youth covered the body of the blessed one with himself, exclaiming: “Let me not leave you, my beloved sir, where the beauty of your body fades, here I will be able to end my life!”
He was a Hungarian by birth, named George, and the prince rewarded him with a golden hryvnia, and was loved by Boris immensely. Then they pierced him, and, wounded, he jumped out of the tent in a daze. And those standing near the tent spoke: “Why are you standing and looking! Having begun, let us complete what we have been commanded.” Hearing this, the blessed one began to pray and ask them, saying: “My dear and beloved brothers! Wait a little, let me pray to God." And looking up at the sky with tears, and sighing to grief, he began to pray with these words: “Lord, my God, many-merciful, and merciful, and merciful! Glory to Thee, for having granted me to escape from the seductions of this deceitful life! Glory to Thee, generous giver of life, for vouchsafed me a feat worthy of the holy martyrs! Glory to Thee, Lord-philanthropist, who made me fulfill the innermost desire of my heart! Glory to Thee, O Christ, glory to Thy immeasurable mercy, for Thou hast directed my steps to the right path! Look from the height of Your holiness and see the pain of my heart, which I suffered from my relative - because for Your sake they kill me on this day. I have been equated with a ram ready to be slaughtered. You know, Lord, that I do not resist, do not contradict, and having under my hand all the soldiers of my father and all whom my father loved, I did not plot anything against my brother. He raised as much as he could against me. “If the enemy reproached me, I would endure it; if my hater slandered me, I would hide from him. But You, Lord, be a Witness and judge between me and my brother and do not condemn them, Lord, for this sin, but accept my soul in peace. Amen".
And, looking at his killers with a sorrowful look, with a haggard face, shedding tears all over, he said: “Brothers, when you start, finish what was entrusted to you. And may there be peace to my brother and to you, brothers!”
And all who heard his words could not utter a word from fear and bitter sadness and abundant tears. With bitter sighs, they lamented and wept plaintively, and each one wailed in his soul: “Alas for us, our merciful and blessed prince, guide to the blind, clothing to the naked, staff to the elders, mentor to the foolish! Who will direct them now? I didn’t want the glory of this world, I didn’t want to have fun with honest nobles, I didn’t want greatness in this life. Who will not be amazed at such great humility, who will not humble himself, seeing and hearing his humility?
And so Boris rested, betraying his soul into the hands of the Living God on the 24th day of the month of July, 9 days before the August calendars.
They also killed many youths. They could not remove the hryvnia from George, and, having cut off his head, they threw it away. Therefore, they could not identify his body.
Blessed Boris, wrapped in a tent, put on a cart and taken away. And when they were riding in the forest, he began to raise his holy head. Upon learning of this, Svyatopolk sent two Varangians, and they pierced Boris in the heart with a sword. And so he died, assuming an unfading crown. And, having brought his body, they laid it in Vyshgorod and buried it in the ground near the church of St. Basil.
And the accursed Svyatopolk did not stop at this murder, but in his fury he began to prepare for a greater crime. And, seeing the fulfillment of his cherished desire, he did not think about his villainous murder and the severity of sin, and did not repent of his deed in the least. And then Satan entered his heart, beginning to incite to even greater atrocities and new murders. Thus the accursed one spoke in his soul: “What shall I do? If I dwell on this murder, then two fates await me: when my brothers find out about what has happened, they will lie in wait for me and reward me worse than what I have done. And if not melting, then they will expel me and lose the throne of my father, and regret for my lost land will gnaw me, and the reproaches of those who reproach me will fall on me, and another will seize my reign, and there will be no living soul left in my dwellings. For I have destroyed the beloved of the Lord, and I have added a new sore to the sickness; I will add lawlessness to iniquity. After all, the sin of my mother will not be forgiven, and I will not be inscribed with the righteous, but my name will be taken from the Book of Life. And so it happened, about which we will tell later. Now is not the time yet, but back to our story.
And, having planned this, the evil devil's accomplice sent for the blessed Gleb, saying: “Come without delay. Father is calling you, he is seriously ill.
Gleb quickly got ready, mounted his horse and set off with a small squad. And when they came to the Volga, a horse in a pit stumbled under him in the field and slightly injured his leg. And how Gleb came to Smolensk, departed not far from Smolensk and stood on Smyadyn, in a boat. And at this time, news came from Predslava to Yaroslav about the death of his father. And Yaroslav sent to Gleb, saying: “Do not go, brother. Your father died, and your brother was killed by Svyatopolk.
And, hearing this, the blessed one cried out with bitter weeping and heartfelt sorrow, and so he said: “Oh, alas for me, Lord! Doubly weeping and groaning, doubly lamenting and grieving. Alas for me, alas for me! I cry bitterly for my father, and even more bitterly I cry and mourn for you, my brother and lord, Boris. How was he pierced, how was he killed without pity, if not from the enemy, but from his brother did he accept death? Alas for me! It would be better for me to die with you than to live alone and orphaned without you in this world. I thought that I would soon see your angelic face, but what a misfortune befell me, it would be better for me to die with you, my lord! What am I going to do now, unhappy, deprived of your kindness and wisdom of my father? O my dear brother and lord! If your prayers reach the Lord, pray for my sorrow, so that I may be able to accept the same torment and be with you, and not in this vain world.
And when he so groaned and wept, irrigating the earth with tears and calling on God with frequent sighs, his evil servants sent by Svyatopolk, ruthless bloodsuckers, fierce brother-haters, ferocious beasts that vomited out the soul, suddenly appeared.
The saint was sailing at that time in a boat, and they met him at the mouth of the Smyadyn. And when the saint saw them, he rejoiced in his soul, and when they saw him, they became gloomy and began to row towards him, and he thought - they want to greet him. And, when they swam alongside, the villains began to jump into his boat with naked swords shining like water in their hands. And immediately all the oars fell out of their hands, and everyone died from fear. Seeing this, the blessed one realized that they wanted to kill him. And, looking at the murderers with a meek gaze, washing his face with tears, humbled himself, in contrition of heart, sighing tremblingly, bursting into tears and weakening his body, he began pitifully to beg: “Do not touch me, my dear and dear brothers! Don't touch me, who hasn't done you any harm! Have mercy, my brothers and masters, have mercy! What offense have I done to my brother and to you, my brothers and masters? If there is any offense, then take me to your prince and to my brother and master. Have pity on my youth, have mercy, my lords! Be my masters, and I will be your slave. Do not destroy me, in the life of a young man, do not reap an ear that has not yet ripened, poured with the juice of malice! Do not cut the vine that has not yet grown, but has fruit! I beg of you and put myself at your mercy. Be afraid of the apostle who said through the mouth: “Do not be children of the mind: be like babies for an evil deed, but be of full age in your mind.” But I, brothers, are still young both in deed and in age. This is not murder, but savagery! What evil have I done, tell me, and then I will not complain. If you want to get enough of my blood, then I, brothers, are in the hands of yours and my brother, and your prince. And not a single word put them to shame, but like fierce beasts attacked him. He, seeing that they did not heed his words, began to say: “May my beloved father, and Mr. Vasily, and my lady mother, and you, brother Boris, be the mentor of my youth, and you, brother and accomplice Yaroslav, and you, brother and enemy Svyatopolk, and all of you, brothers and squad, may everyone be saved! I will no longer see you in this life, for they forcefully separate me from you. And he said, crying: “Vasily, Vasily, my father and master! Bow your ears and hear my voice, look and see what happened to your son, how they kill me for nothing. Alas for me, alas for me! Hear, heaven, and listen, earth! And you, Boris, brother, hear my voice. I called my father Vasily, and he did not heed me, do you really not want to hear me? Look at the sorrow of my heart and the pain of my soul, look at the streams of my tears flowing like a river! And no one listens to me, but you remember me and pray for me before the Lord of all, for you are pleasing to Him and stand before His Throne.
And, kneeling down, he began to pray: “Most generous and merciful Lord! Do not despise my tears, have mercy on my sorrow. Look at the contrition of my heart: they kill me for no one knows what, no one knows for what guilt. You know, Lord my God! I remember the words you said to your apostles: “For My Name, for My sake they will raise their hands against you, and you will be betrayed by relatives and friends, and brother will betray brother to death, and they will kill you for the sake of My Name.” And again: “With patience, strengthen your souls.” Look, Lord, and judge: my soul is ready to stand before you, Lord! And we give glory to you, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen"
Then he looked at the murderers and said in a plaintive and broken voice: “Since you have begun, having begun, do what you were sent to do!”
Then the accursed Goryaser ordered to kill him without delay. The cook, Glebov, named Torchin, took a knife and, grabbing the blessed one, slaughtered it, like a blameless and innocent lamb, on the 5th day of September, on Monday.
And a pure and fragrant sacrifice was offered to the Lord, and he ascended to the heavenly abodes to the Lord, and saw his beloved brother, and both accepted the Heavenly Crown, which they aspired to, and rejoiced in the great and inexpressible joy that they received.
The accursed murderers returned to the one who sent them, as David said: "The wicked will return to hell and all those who forget God." And again: “The wicked draw their sword and draw their bow to strike those who walk in the straight path, but their sword will enter into their own heart, and their bows will be crushed, and the wicked will perish.” And when they told Svyatopolk that “they fulfilled your command,” then, having heard this, he ascended in his heart, and what the psalmist David said came true: “Why do you boast of strong villainy? Iniquity in this day, your tongue has conceived iniquity. You loved evil more than good, more lies than telling the truth. You have loved all kinds of disastrous speech, and your tongue is flattering. Therefore, God will crush you to the end, tear you down and uproot you from your dwelling place and your family from the land of the living.”
When they killed Gleb, they threw him in a deserted place between two logs. But the Lord, who does not leave his servants, - as David said, - "guards all their bones, and not one of them will be broken."
And God did not leave this saint, who had been lying for a long time, in ignorance and neglect, but kept him unharmed and marked the appearances: merchants, hunters and shepherds passing by this place sometimes saw a pillar of fire, sometimes burning candles or heard Angolan singing. And not a single one who saw and heard this came to mind to look for the body of the saint, until Yaroslav, unable to endure this evil murder, moved on the fratricide of the accursed Svyatopolk and began to fight cruelly with him. And always, by the will of God and the help of the saints, Yaroslav won the battles, and the accursed fled to shame and returned defeated.
And then one day this accursed one came with many Pechenegs, and Yaroslav, having gathered an army, went out to meet him on Alta and stood in the place where Saint Boris was killed. And, raising his hands to heaven, he said: “The blood of my brother, as before Abel, cries out to You, Master. And you will avenge him and, like the fratricide of Cain, plunge Svyatopolk into horror and awe. I pray you, Lord, may my brothers be avenged! If you have departed from here with your body, then by grace you are alive and stand before the Lord and help me with your prayer!
After these words, the opponents met with each other, and the Altskoye field was covered with a multitude of warriors. And at sunrise they went into battle, and there was a slaughter of evil, they fought three times and fought like that all day, and only in the evening Yaroslav defeated, and the accursed Svyatopolk fled. And madness seized him, and his joints became so weak that he could not sit on a horse, and they carried him on a stretcher. They ran with him to Berest. He says: “Let’s run, because they are chasing us!” And they sent to reconnoiter, and there were neither pursuing nor following in the footsteps of him. And he, lying helpless and rising, exclaimed: “Let's run further, they are chasing! Woe is me!" It was unbearable for him to stay in one place, and he ran through the Polish land, driven by the wrath of God. And he ran to a deserted place between the Czech Republic and Poland and then dishonorably died. And he accepted vengeance from the Lord: he brought Svyatopolk to death the illness that seized him, and after death he received eternal torment. And so he lost both lives: here he not only reigned, but also lost his life, and there he not only did not receive the Kingdom of Heaven and did not receive stay with the angels, but was betrayed to torment and fire. And his grave has been preserved to this day, and a terrible stench comes from it as a warning to all people. If anyone does the same, knowing this, he will pay even worse. Cain, not knowing about revenge, accepted a single punishment, and Lamech, who knew about the fate of Cain, was punished seventy times harder. Such is revenge on those who do evil: here is Julian Caesar - he shed a lot of blood of the holy martyrs, and he suffered a terrible and inhuman death: it was not known by whom he was pierced with a spear in the heart. Likewise, this one - it is not known from whom, running away, died a shameful death.
And since then, the strife in the Russian land has ceased, and Yaroslav took over the entire Russian land. And he began to ask about the bodies of the saints - how and where were they buried? And they told him about Saint Boris that he was buried in Vyshgorod. And not everyone knew about Saint Gleb that he was killed near Smolensk. And then they told Yaroslav what they heard from those who came from there: how they saw light and candles in a deserted place. And, having heard this, Yaroslav sent priests to Smolensk to find out what was the matter, saying: "This is my brother." And they found him, where there were visions, and, having come there with many crosses and candles, and with censers, they solemnly laid Gleb in the boat [