The story of the white hood - St. Sophia Cathedral. White hood The legend of the Novgorod white hood

The rector of the most honorable and great, holy cathedral and apostolic church of Sophia, the wisdom of God, Mr. His Grace Archbishop of Great Novgorod and Pskov, Vladyka Gennady, the servant of your Holiness Mitya the Small beats with his forehead. With your most holy blessing and through your prayers, I reached the great city of Rome in full health, and by your most holy command I could hardly find the legend of the white klobuk in the Roman annals, because, fearing disgrace, they hide it very much there. And now I will tell you how I found the legend about this.

First of all, I flattered myself to the book keeper of the Roman church by the name of Jacob and gave him many gifts. The bookkeeper, seeing my kind attitude, showed me great hospitality with many refreshments and drinks. And often I came to him and dined with him in his house. And when one day I came to him, according to custom, to have dinner, he met me with pleasure and, taking me by the hand, led me into his house. And then I dined with him, praising our Greek faith to him, and also spoke to him about the Russian land, about faith and prosperity, and about miracle workers who shone in the Russian land with numerous prophecies and miracles. And then he told him a very surprising story about that white hood, which you, the saint of great Novgorod, wear on your head. And the book keeper, as soon as he heard all this from me, sighed bitterly and said: “From the oldest and most reliable husbands, we once had the same story about this, as if this honest white hood, which you are talking about, was created in this the great city of Rome by Tsar Constantine, and as a token of honor to the Pope of Rome, Selyvestra was given to be worn on the head. But for many of our sins committed in Rome, this hood was sent to Constantinople to the patriarch. The patriarch sent him to the Russian land in great Novgorod. "

I asked, "Is it all written down?" He answered: "There is a new exposition, but there is no ancient one." And I began to question him in detail, but cautiously, so that he would tell me the whole truth, known about this white hood. And that bookkeeper, having suppered with me for a long time with great pleasure, saw how important everything that I asked for was important to me, and told me this story.

“Many of us,” he began, “various heard stories about this in the city, but some say one thing, and others say another, but no one knew the truth, because out of envy of the Orthodox, the former rulers of the city destroyed everything written about this. However, many years later, after the Turks took possession of the reigning city, some pious men from Constantinople took a lot of Greek books, wanting to save the Greek faith from the godless Turks, and went to Rome by sea. for some time they wanted to get acquainted with the writings of Eastern teachers, but earlier the Greek kings did not allow them to do this because of their apostasy from Orthodoxy.And then they took the opportunity and translated the books brought from Greece into their Latin language, while the Greek books themselves were burned in the fire.And about white klobuk, about which you ask, also the story from the Greek books into the Latin books was rewritten, because before that, because of the shame in the Latin books, it was not told ia about the white hood. And now they hide it very much."

But when I heard all this from the bookkeeper, I was even more inflamed with the desire to read it, and with an ardent request fell on his knees to give me notes about it. And with great prayers he barely begged him, and secretly rewrote everything for sure, and also the Eight-Part Book, and the Peaceful Circle. And I sent all this to you with a Moscow merchant with Foma and Sarev. Stay, sir, being saved and healthy in Christ, and do not forget us in your holy prayers, as before.

From Roman history, a brief message about the amazing orders of the king, about the rank of saint, from part of the life of the faithful Tsar Constantine of Rome about the creation of a white hood, and also from where and how the archbishops of Veliky Novgorod first perceived it, that they wore it on their heads, unlike other hierarchs , - here about all this authentic news is contained.

After the death of the impious king Maxentius, the persecution of Christians ceased, and complete calm ensued. The people who lived near Rome, although they were obsessed with unbelief, celebrated this great event in their city with merriment and joy, accepted the great and glorious Constantine into the kingdom with praises, calling him a savior and benefactor. And himself ready for the good, Tsar Constantine accepted the scepter of the Roman kingdom, and by his command everything was as it should be in both secular and ecclesiastical authorities. And to those who remained in the Christian faith, he commanded to live without persecution, and the Christians, seeing this beneficence, rejoiced all the more and, having fun, celebrated the victory, constantly glorifying the almighty God and Tsar Constantine also insanely magnifying. The Orthodox faith of our Lord Jesus Christ in Rome was then preserved and strengthened by the blessed Sylvester, the Christian bishop; he was then with a small number of associates and in harassment and taught his followers to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, but he did this in secret, and not openly - for fear of persecution from the faiths of the Jews and pagans, because Tsar Constantine himself then adhered to the pagan faith: worshiped idols.

In the third year of his reign, blessed Sylvester, Pope of Rome, baptized one of the king's associates, named Isumfer, and successfully instructed him to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. And there was a certain Zambria in Rome, a Jew and a sorcerer, beloved by all, with whom later the blessed Sylvester performed a great miracle, which, however, we will say elsewhere. And this Zambria could not see the Christian faith and gathered, calling, pagans and Jews. They all came to the king and said: “Lord, all-powerful king! The city of this Christian Bishop Sylvester, reviling us and reproaching us with obscene speech, meanwhile successfully preaches about some Crucified One, and denounces our glorious and great gods and declares them unworthy of veneration. Isumfer the nobleman with his speeches deceived and persuaded him to believe in the Crucified One. And by this he brought us bewilderment and great sadness. Meanwhile, he expounds the same to Your Majesty, wishing to seduce you with faith in the Crucified One, as happened already with Isumfer. , we cannot even hear about this villain and we implore you, great king, just command us, and we will destroy him. The king, having learned this, was terribly angry with the bishop because of Isumfer and wanted to seize him and lock him in prison, and disperse the other Christians. And Sylvester, having only heard of the royal wrath, was frightened and fled and hid on some mountain, so that God would save him for useful deeds. And he remained in hiding for a long time.

But the Creator of all creation, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not by force incline the human race to salvation, but at will, and as He always brings into the mind by action, so He wished to glorify the saint here too. And so, in the seventh year of his reign, the king fell into elephant leprosy, covered with ulcers all over his body, and lay in scabs, barely breathing. And many sorcerers and sorcerers came not only from the Romans, but even the Persians, but did not succeed in anything. And then they decided on a terrible thing and the wicked ones almost inspired the king to do this, saying: “It is necessary to put a font in the Roman Capitol and fill it with pure blood of newly born baby boys and wash yourself with this hot blood, then you will recover; the bodies of these babies give as a sacrifice to the gods. The king ordered this to be done as soon as possible, and three thousand baby boys were brought from all over the Roman region. And on the appointed day, when the king went with those sorcerers to the Capitol to bathe in infant blood, as soon as the priests were ready to slaughter the children, terrible groans and incessant cries were suddenly heard. Hearing them, the king was horrified and stood as if rooted to the spot and saw a multitude of bare-haired women standing and shouting and weeping and groaning with loud voices. And the king asked those who were going with him who these women were and what was the reason for their weeping. And they answered him that on the occasion of the slaughter of these children, it is their mothers who weep. And the king was imbued with pity, and, sighing from the depths of his heart, he began to cry loudly and say: “It is better for me to die for the salvation of these children than to be killed by them.” And, having said this, he returned to his chambers and not only commanded that the children be returned to the mothers, but also, honoring them with gifts, let them go. And those women were united with their children in great joy.

When that day had passed and the silence of the night had come, the holy apostles Peter and Paul appeared to the king in a dream, saying thus: “Since you did not want to sin and shed the blood of the innocent, we were sent from Christ our God to give you a way to be saved, and through it you will receive health. Hear our command and do what we command you. Since Bishop Sylvester of this city, avoiding your persecution, hides in the gorges of the state on Mount Sarente, then, having called him, they ordered him to come to you with honor. It is he who will show you the font of salvation, in which, having washed, you will cleanse all the filth of your scabs, and you will become healthy, and you will be granted eternal life thanks to the life that you gave to undefiled babies. and may the Orthodox Churches throughout the universe, at your command, be renewed with sacred beauty, and may the name of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be glorified in them, and may the service to His glory be are painted."

After the appearance of the holy apostles, Tsar Constantine began to look for the bishop, and as soon as they found him, they brought him with honor to the king. And as soon as the bishop entered the chambers, the king stood up and kissed the bishop first and said: “Receiving you in health [Hello, we received you], we rejoice, honest father!” And Sylvester answered: "Peace will be given to you from heaven and victory." And the king told him about the vision: “Some,” he said, “two men came to me in a dream at night, Peter and Paul called themselves and announced to me about you. And now, you have come, so do everything for me that you can, God's blessing and cleanse me from this disease. But I will also ask you, holy bishop: who are these gods, named Peter and Paul? If you have their images, then show me and make them visible, then I will definitely understand what is truly they are sent from God." Sylvester said: "It is wrong to call them gods, for they are the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, but after him they are worthy of all honor." Father Sylvester ordered his deacon to bring images of the holy apostles, and, seeing them on the icons, the king immediately recognized them, and admitted this before his princes and nobles, and said: “Truly I saw them in a dream, and they said to me: “Send to the bishop Selyvestre - and he will show you the font of salvation!" - and fell at the bishop's feet. The blessed Bishop Selyvestre raised him and, having instructed him according to the Divine Scripture, ordered him to fast for seven days, standing in one sackcloth, and ordered alms to be distributed, and then, having blessed, announced it catechumen - and went out.

And when they were ready for the service on Sunday, Sylvester said to the king: “This water, sovereign, as you see it, by turning to the holy and life-giving Trinity, received divine power, and now it will cleanse any body from the outside of all filth, but at the same time the soul will be cleansed of all sin and all filthiness and will become brighter than the sun. Having said all this and much more, and having blessed the holy water, as soon as the bishop anointed the king with holy oil, and as soon as he entered the holy water - oh! the great sacrament of God then happened! When he was baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, a sudden brilliance of some infinite light shone from heaven and a voice resounded like ringing copper, and the good-natured and great Tsar Constantine emerged from the water completely healthy, and the scabs fell off his body like scales, and all he cleared. And he said to Selyvestre: “O glorious father! I will tell you the great beneficence of God: when I was placed by you in the depths of the font, I saw with my eyes a hand from heaven that touched me, and from it I rose clean, immediately feeling cleansed of all leprosy. ". Blessed Sylvester, hearing this, covered him with white robes and anointed him seven times with myrrh, saying: "The God of faith marks you with his seal in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." And the whole congregation answered, "Amen!" Saint: "Peace be with you."

So, by the grace of God, Tsar Constantine recovered and in holy baptism was named Flavian: filled with much joy, giving great glory to Christ God and St. Selyvester and did not recognize him as a person, but honored him as if God were his father and called him and declared pope. And all the people who were under Roman rule rejoiced not only at the king's recovery, but also for their children, whom they had gathered for slaughter for the sake of the king's health. All of them were received alive by their mothers, and then great joy reigned throughout the entire Roman state.

After his healing, Tsar Constantine, at the command of the holy apostles and on the teaching of the blessed Pope Sylvester, first of all ordered to collect the remains of the holy martyrs who died at the hands of impious kings for the faith of Christ, and dutifully commanded them to be buried. And he returned all those who were in exile, and freed those sitting in dungeons and prisons, commanded to return the seized estates, to renew the churches of God with all utensils, and ordered to destroy pagan temples and burn them with fire, and transfer their property to the holy churches. And the word was soon followed by deeds, and everything settled down, as it should be for Christian sovereigns. For Pope Selyvestre, Tsar Constantine presented many gifts for church services, and for the service of the most holy pope, from his royal funds and court ranks, he created a dignity worthy of the occasion, and even wanted to place the royal crown on his head. But the pope said: "Great Sovereign, it is not fitting for us to wear your royal crown on our heads; even if I am worthy of episcopal dignity, I am still a simple monk by my vow. And therefore let us pray to Almighty God so that in the future life we will receive eternal blessings from him" . The king, full of gratitude, was offended by these words about the crown, but the pope said: “Do not be offended, sovereign! Your business is to wear a golden crown and all the beauty of this world; our business is to pray to God for your kingdom and instead of royal beauty to wear on your body And we should also lift up a prayer to God for the whole world, not only for those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, but also for unbelievers, for we pray for believers - for salvation, for unbelievers - for baptism, so that they too received baptism in Jesus Christ, just as the blessed apostle Paul said. Hearing all this, the tsar was moved and with great desire invited the saint to dine with him.

And when the pope came to the royal palace, the king himself met him and hugged him. He gave the same great honor to other church ranks, and clerics, and monks. During dinner, the God-loving sovereign personally served dishes to His Holiness the Pope and everyone else, and revered him in every possible way, and, in great joy, being before him, incessantly peered into his face, and relentlessly pondered what kind of robe to come up with that could be worn. on his head instead of a royal crown, and could not think of it. And he fed the other holy monks just as satisfyingly, treating them to all sorts of royal brashnas and pleasing them in everything for the glory of the church. At the end of this glorious feast, the holy pope wished to return to himself. The worshiper of piety, the faithful king ordered that a chariot with horses worthy of his majesty and royal dignity be brought, and with infinite reverence he embraced the holy pope, and seated him in a place of honor, and, bowing, let him go in peace. And then he went into his bedchamber to rest. And when he slept on his bed at night, the holy apostles Peter and Paul appeared to him in a dream in infinite radiance and said: “Sir, rejoice in your recovery and the fact that you were vouchsafed holy baptism from Bishop Sylvester, having believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified Jews, and resurrected on the third day, and everything that the holy bishop taught you. But the bishop did not take the crown of your kingdom and did not want to wear it on his head, for he is a monk: he refused to wear gold jewelry. to honor above all others, make him a headdress to wear, the color of the whitest, and in appearance like that of priests or monks. And they showed him what they had in their hands, a white headdress worthy of the head of a saint. The king said to them: " My lords, I will fulfill everything commanded by you, tell me who you are - as soon as you entered, my heart rejoiced and a sweet light shone on me. "They answered:" We are two - the apostles Peter and Paul, we have been with you before when else you believed falsely god. Now you have known the true God, but also God has known about you. Therefore, we were sent a second time by the Savior God Christ to show you the meaning of piety in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, since you heeded our commands and received eternal life by the hand of the most holy bishop." And the king said: "Now, my lords, I really see and acknowledge your holy faces, and I understand that if you had not appeared before me then, I would have succumbed to the spells of the pagans. And if the Lord had not helped me, my soul would soon have fallen into hell, and even without that, evil enemies and apostates, servants of demons, almost destroyed me on earth. And the apostles said: "From now on, do whatever the bishop commands you to do, and you will be saved, and you will become a son of light and a heavenly city inhabitant." And having said so, they disappeared. The king, awakening from sleep, immediately went to the pope in joy and conveyed to him everything that the apostles had said. And the pope thanked God for the fact that his work had not gone unnoticed by God. And the king immediately returned to his place.

And prompted by desire, admonished by the Holy Spirit, in great joy he ordered to gather as soon as possible the best tailors, skilled in embroidering all sorts of outfits, and ordered them to make a white hood instead of the royal crown on the head of the holy pope - at the command of the apostles and according to the pattern that these men indicated to him. holy apostles. And with his own hand he inscribed for them what he saw in the hands of the holy apostles.

So, with God's help, after a few days, the craftsmen made a klobuk at the command of the king, and decorated it wonderfully, and brought it to the king. And immediately a great fragrance came from him. The king, seeing him, was amazed at both the creation and its perfection.

And on the solemn day of the feast of God, although it was still very early, Pope Sylvester was on his way to the morning service, when suddenly on the way a heavenly light shone on him and a voice rang out, saying this: “Bishop, take heed - Emperor Constantine has prepared for you to wear on your head, white robe; but having taken it, put it in the church of God in which you serve, until the Master of the house arrives, to whom this lamp is destined. And immediately after what was said, that light soared to the heavens, and the sky parted and received it. The pope froze in place and was amazed at the vision, and the light shone on his heart and all those walking with him; and they saw this light and heard the voice of God. And after such a light, night fell again, and everyone was horrified. Sylvester marveled at the vision and comprehended the meaning of these words, so that, entering the church, he stood and pondered all the morning service, saying to himself: “Who will enlighten me, what is the meaning of this glorious vision and what will happen?”

And at the appointed hour of the day when the solemn service was performed, after the arrival of the pope to the church, the faithful Tsar Constantine put on royal clothes, and put the royal crown on his head, and went surrounded by many of his courtiers. And he brought this holy hood to the church and with his own hands solemnly laid it on the head of the holy pope, saying: “This is how it is worthy for you to be bright, like the sun among people, O holy father and teacher!” And the pope made the sign of the cross over the king with his hand, and the king kissed the pope's hand and klobuk, and bowed respectfully before him. Selyvestre, in that hood, descended from his place, and, stepping back a little, reverently bowed before the king in it, and returned to his place. At that time in the church there was one of the king's nobles, named Simeon, who stood before the king, holding a golden dish adorned with pearls and precious stones, on which the king used to place the royal crown. And the pope asked the king for that dish, and removed the hood from his head and put it on the dish. And then, together with all the servants, he reverently kissed him and placed him in the temple in a place of honor, in accordance with the voice that appeared to him in the Lord's radiance. And from now on, only on the Lord's feasts did he place a klobuk on his head with reverence and then put it in the same place. He bequeathed to do the same after his death.

In the thirteenth year of his reign, the faithful Tsar Constantine made a great decision and said: "Where the priestly power and the head of Christian piety is established by the heavenly King, it is not fitting for an earthly king to have power." And, having set forth in the law, as it should be, he transferred the power and, having accepted the blessing from the pope, great Rome entrusted his power; he himself went over to Byzantium, and built a great and glorious city, and named it after his own name Constantinograd, and lived here.

And after the death of the most holy Pope Sylvester, all Orthodox popes and bishops rendered great honors to the holy white klobuk, as bequeathed by blessed Sylvester. And so many years passed.

The adversary of God and the human race, adversary and enemy, the devil brought a great war on the holy church. He raised a certain king, named Charles, and Pope Formosus, and taught them to seduce the Christian race with their false teachings, and ordered them to depart from the Orthodox faith of Christ and break the pious unity of the holy apostolic church. So, according to demonic plans, those wicked teachers rejected the Orthodox faith of Christ and the testaments of the apostles and holy fathers, and fell into the Apollinarian heresy, and recognized the unleavened service as correct, and declared the true testaments of Christ, and the holy apostles, and holy fathers, to be false. And the holy apostolic church was defiled with false teachings and services. And they didn’t recognize the holy white hood and didn’t pay honor to him, although it was bequeathed from the beginning, but they took him and put him on the same dish in the far aisle and laid him in the wall, writing on the lid the words in Latin speech like this: “Here is hidden the white hood of Pope Sylvester ". And he stayed there for many years, protected by God.

Time passed, and another pope of the same Latin rite appeared, who did not at all love the Christian faith and the covenants and teachings of the holy apostles, was lifted up with pride and forever abolished the worship of holy icons. And then one day he entered the altar, and saw on the lid of this word about a white hood, and, having read the inscription, wished to see him, and commanded to open the cache. When it was opened, a fragrant smell came out, inexpressible and strong and infinitely wonderful. And papa took the dish with the klobuk and marveled at its perfection. But, instigated by the demon, he hated him, and again laid him in the same aisle, and sealed him tightly. And after that, for many nights and days, that pope often hears a voice in a dream, saying in gospel words like this: “The city cannot hide itself, standing on top of a mountain; they don’t light a lamp, hiding it in a vessel, but put it on a candlestick to shine everyone." And the pope, marveling at that voice, announced it in the assembly of his advisers and scientists. And they realized that the voice was reminiscent of a hood, and then, instigated by the demon, they wanted to burn it in the middle of the city of Rome. When God did not allow them to do this, fear fell on them and they were afraid of the believers. And they came to a different idea: to send the klobuk to distant overseas countries, where they professed the same false teaching, and there to abuse and destroy it to intimidate all other Christians. And therefore, taking that holy hood, they wrapped it in dirty rags, but kept the golden dish with them, and then, having detached rude and arrogant ambassadors, they gave them written orders what they should do, and sent them in ships with merchants who came to Rome to trade. When they were sailing on the sea, one of the messengers, by the name of Indrik, - a rude man and a pagan in character, - drunk to the point of drunkenness, vomited nasty things with his lips and even wanted to sit on the holy hood. And immediately pitch darkness attacked him and an invisible divine force did not allow him to sit down, and threw him away from that place, and hit the ship's deck, and again threw him up, and hit him on the sides of the ship. And his arms and legs were taken away from him, and his face turned back, his eyes revolved, and he shouted incessantly: "Oh, have mercy on me!" That's how terribly he died, crying: "Oh, have mercy on me!" The rest of his assistants, seeing all this, were horrified and, afraid to keep the dead man on the ship, so as not to suffer from a terrible sea storm, they immediately threw him into the sea, and he drowned.

And among those ambassadors was another, named Yeremey, who secretly adhered to the faith of Christ and gave many alms to the poor, and secretly revered this holy klobuk. As soon as he saw his companion, who had died so terribly, he was seized with fear. And as they sailed on the sea for five more days, in the middle of the night, when the rest were overcome by sleep, a voice was heard saying: "Jeremey, be strong in the Lord God, and honor the shrine with honor, and keep what you wear, and you will be saved in a storm" . And Yeremey, hearing the voice, arose from sleep, and fear seized him, and he wondered what such a speech meant. But then suddenly darkness attacked them, and strong thunders resounded, and many lightnings shone in the sky, and set fire to the ship, and melted the ship's tar, and everything that was in it, both people and goods, were burned and sunk, the ship itself fell apart and all who were in it perished. And only Yeremey escaped on one plank, and, grabbing a rag with a hood, he held it tightly, constantly shouting in a loud voice: "The noble Tsar Constantine and his teacher, the holy Pope Sylvester! For the sake of this sacred hood, you created, save me this hour from misfortune looming over me!"

And immediately there was silence, and the light shone, and two men appeared in the radiance of light, from which the air sparkled: they walked on the sea as on dry land. One of them is in military armor with a royal crown on his head, while the other wore hierarchal robes. They took a rope from the wrecked ship, and tied it to the end of the board, and dragged Yeremey to the shore, already visible from the sea.

And then they took out the holy hood from the rag, and, having kissed him with great reverence, put it again in the same rag, and returned to Yeremey, saying: “Take it for yourself, Yeremey, and keep diligently what you wear, and tell everyone about what happened, for God saved you only for this reason." And they disappeared. Yeremey took that rag with a hood, and, carrying it with him, arrived in Rome three days later, and told the pope everything that was with him.

Dad, hearing this, was horrified by great fear and began to tear and bite his beard. And then he ordered that the hood be put in its original place on the same golden dish and put it in the church. And after that, he did not dare to inflict any harm on the hood, but he did not pay any honors either: he was overshadowed by devilish machinations, he finally fell into heresy along with other apostates. And he constantly thought about doing such a bad thing with that hood.

But God, who loves mankind, forms everything for the benefit and therefore kept his shrine for universal reverence. One night, when dad was sleeping on his bed, the Lord's angel appeared to him in a frightening form, with a flaming sword in his hands. And he issued from his mouth a voice like thunder - and from such a voice the palaces of the pope shook. And the angel said to him: “O evil and worthless teacher! Isn’t it enough for you to desecrate the holy church of Christ, and destroy many Christian souls with your indecent teachings, and deviate from the righteous path of God, choosing the path of Satan? recklessness: you planned to send the white holy hood to unclean places, you wanted to desecrate it and destroy it.But the lord of all creation preserved it with his vigil, but you, useless, now with great honor send this holy hood to Constantinograd to the patriarch, and that they will tell you what to do with him further. If you do not do this, then I will burn your house, and bring an evil death on you, and betray you ahead of time to eternal fire. And having said all this, he disappeared.

And dad jumped up from sleep, shaking all over, possessed by great fear, and did not dare to disobey the commanded angel. In the morning he called his supporters and told them the frightening appearance of an angel. When he came to the church, wanting to take that holy hood, he immediately saw a wondrous vision: before he touched the hood, the golden dish, together with the hood, rose above human height and again returned to its place. The pope, with great fear, took them with both his hands and put them together in a proper vessel, and sealed them with his seals, and detached glorious men, and, having handed them his message, sent them to Constantinograd to the patriarch.

And in Constantinograd was then Patriarch Philotheus, glorified by fasting and every virtue. It was to him in a night vision that a bright young man appeared and said: “The holy teacher, in ancient times the Roman Tsar Constantine, after the appearance of the holy apostles and admonished by God, to the praise of the holy and apostolic church and to the glory of the blessed Pope Sylvester, he made a white hood on his head So now, the criminal pope of Rome now wanted to destroy that holy hood, having abused it. By a sign of my frightening appearance, that evil pope now sends this hood to you. And when messengers with that hood come to you, you accept it with honor and having attached a blessing letter, send that holy klobuk to the Russian land in Veliky Novgorod, and let there Archbishop Basil wear it on his head to the glory of the holy catholic and apostolic church of Sophia, the wisdom of God, and to the praise of the Orthodox. the Orthodox faith of Christ. And for this pope, for his shamelessness, the Lord will bring swift vengeance." And, having said that, he disappeared. The patriarch woke up from his sleep, filled with fear and joy, and remained awake all night, thinking about this vision. And then he ordered to call early for matins, and with the onset of the day he called all his close associates and told them about this vision. And everyone gave praise to God, realizing that a holy angel appeared to the patriarch, but they could not decide anything about what he had said.

And so, when they were sitting in their assembly, joyfully surprised, the servants of the patriarch came and told him that messengers had come from the pope. And the patriarch ordered to bring them to him. The envoys entered, bowed, and gave him letters from the pope. The patriarch, having read what was written, was surprised and, having given praise to God, informed Tsar John, then ruling, nicknamed Kantakuzenos, about everything, and with all the consecrated cathedral he met the divine treasure. And, accepting the ark with honor and breaking the seals, he took out the holy white hood and kissed it with love. And, looking at him, he marveled at his beauty and the wonderful fragrance emanating from him, he also marveled. Ah, the patriarch was at that time ill with his eyes and head; but as soon as that saint put the klobuk on his head and put it to his eyes, immediately both his head and eyes were cured. And he rejoiced with great joy, and gave glory to Christ God and the ever-memorable Tsar Constantine, who created such a wonderful thing, and he also glorified the blessed Pope Sylvester. And he put the holy hood on a golden dish, which the pope sent along with the hood, and placed it in the main temple in a revered place until he decides with the king what to do next.

Having sent the holy klobuk from Rome, the malicious pope, taught by heretics, became angry with the faith of Christ and raged, already greatly repenting that he had missed the klobuk, and wrote a false and deceitful message to the patriarch, ordering that klobuk be returned to him along with the golden dish. But the patriarch, having read the letter and comprehending the wickedness and cunning of the pope, sent him excerpts from the holy writings, calling him both a cruel and godless apostate from the Christian faith, the forerunner of the Antichrist, and cursed him with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy apostles, and holy fathers . And these writings reached the pope. The pope, having read them and having learned that the patriarch holds a white klobuk in great honor and wants to send him to the Russian land in Veliky Novgorod, roared in pain, and changed in his face, and fell into an illness: that pope did not love the Russian land so filthy from -for her Orthodox faith, which he could not even hear about. And all his flesh crumbled, and two sores sat on his chest on both sides, and other sores dispersed from them all over his body from head to toe. And a great stench came from him, and many worms were born in his body, and his back was doubled. Many doctors came, but could not heal him. With bulging eyes, he constantly shouted in a loud voice, and spoke absurdities, and howled like a wolf dog, and grabbed the impurities coming from his body with his hands and, stuffing them into his mouth, ate. And so he did for many days, suffering severely, and fear seized all around him. One of those who were here, by his bed, took a towel and wanted to wipe his mouth, as if a dog grabbed a towel with his teeth and stuck it in his throat, and immediately his body swelled up, and he burst all over - because he was fat, filthy in body. So he ended, damned, his life. And the Romans, having heard about the similar end of this evil pope, did not go to his burial, but spat upon and cursed him. The rulers of the city, taking into account the shameful death of the pope, buried him secretly, and concealed his name in the annals and replaced it with another name: some call him Gervasius, others Eugene, but no one knows his true name. Meanwhile, Patriarch Philotheus, seeing the beauty of the holy hood shining, began to think about whether to keep him in Constantinograd to wear on his head. And with that, he began to go often to the tsar, and wanted to write to all the patriarchs and metropolitans in order to summon them all to the council. But it so happened on a Sunday after matins that the patriarch entered his room and, as usual, sat down to rest. And then he plunged into semi-forgetfulness and saw in a dream two unknown husbands entering him through the doors, truly bright. One is like a warrior with weapons, with a royal crown on his head, while the other, wearing patriarchal robes, is decorated with noble gray hairs; and the second said to the patriarch: “Philotheus, leave the thought of wearing a white hood on your head. If our Lord Jesus Christ had deigned to be, then it would have happened earlier and would have happened at the creation of this city. from heaven, and the voice of God addressed to me, I was admonished and comprehended the Latin heresy that was coming to us and that falling away from the faith would come in Rome. And in this now reigning city of Constantine, after some time, Muslims will begin to rule for the multiplication of human sins, and they will desecrate and destroy all the shrines, as was also predicted when the city was created.

For ancient Rome fell away from the Christian faith due to pride and self-will, but in the new Rome - in Constantinograd, the Christian faith will also perish under the oppression of the Muslims. And only in the third Rome, that is, on the Russian land, the grace of the Holy Spirit will shine. So know, Philotheus, that all Christian kingdoms will come to their end and converge in a single Russian kingdom for the benefit of all Orthodoxy. For in ancient times, by order of the earthly king Constantine, from this reigning city, the royal crown was given to the Russian Tsar. This white hood, by the will of the heavenly King Christ, will now be given to the archbishop of Veliky Novgorod. And how much more worthy this crown is, because at the same time it is both a royal crown of the Archangel degree and a spiritual one. So don’t hesitate, this holy klobuk went to the Russian land to great Novgorod at the very first appearance of the holy angel; and believe my words. Let the Orthodox be enlightened and praised in their faith, and let the Muslims, the descendants of the filthy, not rule over them, and let them not abuse the klobuk, as the Latin pope wanted to do. And just as grace and glory and honor were taken away from Rome, so the grace of the Holy Spirit will be taken away from the reigning city during the years of Muslim captivity and all the shrines will be transferred by God to the great Russian land. The Lord will exalt the Russian Tsar over all nations, and many of the foreign kings will fall under his rule. The patriarchal rank will also be transferred to the Russian land in due time from this reigning city. And that country will be called Russia, illuminated by the light, for God wished with such a blessing to glorify the Russian land, fill it with the greatness of Orthodoxy and make it the most honest of all and above all the former. "And, having said this, they wanted to leave, but the patriarch, being in great fear, fell at their feet and asked: “Who are you both, my lords, you, whose appearance so terrified me and from whose words my heart was afraid and trembling invaded my bones?” And the one who was in patriarchal robes said: “I - Pope Sylvester, has come by the command of God to tell you the great mystery of God about what will come true in due time. " And he, pointing with his hand to another who came with him, said: "And here is the faithful Tsar Constantine of Rome, whom I revived in the sacred font and led to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And he was the first Christian king and my child in Christ, who made this white klobuk for me instead of the royal crown. ”And, having said this and blessing the patriarch, both disappeared.

The patriarch, having awakened from sleep, and great fear attacked him, as soon as he remembered the words spoken to him by those who appeared, about the white hood, about the conquest of Constantine by godless Muslims, and wept for a long time. When the time for the Divine Liturgy arrived, he came to the church, fell before the icon of the Most Pure Theotokos, and wept for a long time. Then he got up and, with great fear, took the holy white hood, kissed it with love, and laid it on his head, and applied it to his eyes, and to his heart also, and felt more and more love for him in his heart, and did all this sobbing endlessly. The attendants, who were nearby, stood and saw him sobbing inconsolably, but did not dare to ask anything. And the patriarch, having slightly calmed down from weeping, told everyone in detail about the appearance of the blessed Pope Sylvester and Tsar Constantine and about their words. And, having heard such speeches from the patriarch, they all sobbed pitifully and said: "The will of the Lord be done." The patriarch, having mourned the impending troubles of Constantinograd, did not dare to disobey God's command and said: "Wherever He wishes, there the Lord will arrange His shrine." And on the advice of the pious Tsar John, he took that white hood and golden dish and reverently placed it in the already known ark. And, having sealed it with his seals, and also describing everything at the command of the holy angel and the blessed pope Selyvestre, he commanded Archbishop Vasily and all subsequent archbishops of Veliky Novgorod to wear this white klobuk at the head. But in addition, he sent many other honorable and wonderful gifts from his church service, for the deanery for the sake of the saintly, and above all, robes embroidered with crosses to the glory of the holy and apostolic church. But this has already been put in another ark. And he handed everything over to one bishop, named Eumenius, and with joy, but with regret, he let them go.

At that time in Veliky Novgorod, the archbishop was Vasily, glorified by fasting and all sorts of virtues. And then one night, when he was praying to God, he sat down to rest and, having dozed off a little, he clearly saw an angel of the Lord, meek in appearance and bright in face, who appeared before him, in a white hood, very similar to those worn by monks, And, with his finger pointing his hands at his head, he said in a quiet voice: “Basil, this white hood that you see on my head, from Rome. did not allow him to be in those lands because of the infamous Latins falling into heresy. Well, in the morning, hospitably go out of the city to meet the messengers of the patriarch and the ark that the bishop carries; in it, on a golden platter, a white hood such as you see - accept it piety. This white hood marks the bright resurrection of Christ three days after the crucifixion. From now on, wear the hood on your head, and let all the other archbishops after you also wear it on your head. And therefore I showed it to you in advance I so that you may believe and then doubt no more." And having said this, he disappeared.

Archbishop Basil, waking up from sleep, marveled at the vision with fear and joy. Early in the morning he sent several close associates to the crossroads to see if everything he had dreamed was true. And the messengers, having slightly moved away from the city, saw an unfamiliar bishop who was walking in their direction, and, bowing, they returned to the city to the archbishop, and they reported everything to him. And then the archbishop sent heralds throughout the city to gather both the priests and the multitude of people, and ordered all the bells to ring. And he himself, with all his clergy, put on the hierarch's robes. And as soon as he had departed not far from the church of St. Sophia, the above-mentioned bishop approached from the patriarch, carrying from him a reliquary with the seals of the patriarch and with his honorary gifts. Approaching the archbishop, the envoy bowed dignifiedly and handed over the patriarchal letters handed over with him. Then they received a blessing from each other and kissed each other in the name of Christ. And Basil the Archbishop, reverently accepting the letters of the patriarch and the ark with his own hands, took another ark with honorary gifts, and they all went to the church of St. Sophia, the wisdom of God, and placed the ark in the middle of the church in the most honorable place. Vasily ordered the letters sent from the patriarch to be read aloud.

All the Orthodox who were in the church, after listening to the letters, gave praise to God and rejoiced with great joy. And Archbishop Basil the Ark opened it and threw back its lid - and immediately an inexpressible fragrance came out of it and an all-wonderful light shone in the church. And Archbishop Vasily and everyone who was there, seeing all this, were amazed. Yes, and the envoy of the Patriarch Eumenius, only then seeing all of God's grace, was very surprised. And all together they praised God and offered prayers. The archbishop took a white hood from the ark, and saw that it looked exactly the same as it was on the head of the holy angel, and kissed it with love, and laid it on his head. And at the same instant, a loud voice came from the church dome from the Lord's image: "Holy to the holy!" And, after a little silence, three times the same voice uttered: "Ispolati Despot [Many years, lord]!" And when the archbishop heard those words, and everyone who was here heard, filled with fear and joy, they said: "Lord have mercy!"

And then Basil ordered all those who were in the church to be silent and told them the words of the angel about the holy hood and, in order, everything else that the holy angel had told him at night in a dream. And, thanking God, in that klobuk he went from the church to his place, and the subdeacons walked in front of him in solemn robes by candlelight and with singing, and it was both dignified and glorious to see all this. The people, crowding each other, jumping up, looked over their heads at the hierarch's attire and marveled at it.

By such an action and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the blessing of His Holiness Philotheus, Patriarch of Constantinople, a white hood was established on the heads of the holy archbishops of Veliky Novgorod.

The archbishop, filled with joy, treated the priests and deacons and all the churchmen of all Veliky Novgorod for seven days, endowing them with many dishes. He also fed the beggars, monks, and prisoners gloriously, and asked everyone else to be released. The honorable and holy gifts of the patriarch, with the blessing of the patriarch, he placed in the cathedral for church service. And he also gave the golden dish, on which lay the holy white hood, for worship in the church of St. Sophia. He gloriously honored the envoys of the patriarch and bestowed many gifts, not forgetting to write detailed letters with a petition, and sent them to the king and the patriarch, dismissing all the ambassadors with great honor.

And for a long time afterwards, people from many cities and kingdoms came to Veliky Novgorod and, as if looking at a marvelous miracle, seeing the archbishop in a white klobuk, were amazed again, and told in all countries and kingdoms. And it's all written about the holy white hood up to this point.

THE MARK OF ARCHBISHOP GENNADY

And, having studied all this description to the subtlety, Archbishop Gennady rejoiced terribly with great joy that "I was honored during my archbishopric, during the bishopric in Veliky Novgorod, to receive this information about the holy white klobuk, about where it was created and how it got into Veliky Novgorod; everything else about the same white klobuk I found little by little in the Novgorod Sophia in books. And all this multi-colored multitude, as if various flowers in an open field, having gathered together in my description and having completely clarified the essence of the matter, I handed over to the cathedral church for information to the Orthodox Dmitry the interpreter spent two long years in Rome and Florence in his inevitable search, and when he returned from there, I, the humble Archbishop Gennady, thanked him with an estate, as well as with clothes and food, I gave him.

From that time on, the lover of piety, His Holiness Archbishop Gennady, handed over such an institution to the cathedral church.

When he was about to serve the Divine Liturgy, entering the church, he took off his hood from his head, putting it on his shoulder. And, entering the altar, after venerating the holy icons, he would return to his place in the church, where he would put on the hierarch's vestments. The priest, who served with him, brought him a gilded silver dish, and the archbishop, taking off his hood from his shoulder, laid it on this dish. The priest, moving a little away, bowed respectfully to the archbishop, and set up a dish with a hood in the altar in a place of honor near the throne until the very end of the church service.

And after the completion of the holy service, the archpriest or chief of the abbots, who served with the archbishop in full denunciation, took the dish on which the holy klobuk lay and offered it to the archbishop. The archbishop, accepting the dish with the holy hood, placed the hood on his head and departed. Just as reverently in his cell, the saint laid that hood on a dish.

On the glorious and great feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Pure Theotokos, and especially on the day of the flower-bearing Easter, when you need to walk on a foal or a donkey to the temple of holy Jerusalem (this custom was created by the God-loving Archbishop Basil), Archbishop Gennady in the house of Hagia Sophia, the wisdom of God , in a large chamber, he set up a meal for princes and boyars, feeding the noble people of the Orthodox of the great city, but also treating all the priests gloriously with many brashens. At the end of such an honorable and solemn feast and after the distribution of the Mother of God's rolls, His Holiness Gennady ordered everyone who was at the feast to be silent, and the best reader to read aloud the story of the holy white klobuk. And everyone listened to the story to their heart's content, and marveling at God's miracles, they glorified the saint's white hood.

After the reading, the priests, and the choir deacons, and subdeacons sang for many years to the sovereign sovereign, the Grand Duke, and after him to the archbishop. And then His Holiness Gennady blessed everyone, and they kissed him on the klobuk. And he handed out the chalice of the Most Pure Theotokos with his own hand to all the Orthodox, without bypassing anyone, and then retired to himself, preceded by subdeacons in solemn robes and with candles, who glorified the holiday, seeing him off with honor. And Archbishop Gennady rewarded them enough. And that's it.

Notes.

The text of the Russian translation is given according to the Monuments of Literature of Ancient Rus' [PLDR], ser.XVIin., M., 1985

The Church Slavonic text itself is an end listXVIin. the first lengthy edition of the Tale (GPB,Q1-1409, fol. 394-423); its few lacunae (the largest - due to the loss of the sheet) and errors were filled in and corrected according to the list published by N. I. Kostomarov (Monuments of ancient Russian literature, vol. 1, M., 1860, p. 287-303). The writing of Archbishop Gennady, which is missing from these lists, is published according to the list of the middleXVIIin. Solovetsky Library (GPB, Sol. 855/965, fol. 413-415).

About the mission of Rus' - to take the place of Byzantium, the special responsibility of Rus' tells "The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk", especially revered by the Old Believers . This story is a legend of the 14th-16th centuries. conveys the doctrine of the coming kingdom of the Holy Spirit. In a figurative form, the story tells about the "schism" between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches and differences in dogmas.

The theme of the inevitable coming of the time of the triumph of God's truth is rooted in the first centuries of Christianity, to the messianic teaching of chiliasm, condemned in the 3rd century for a distorted idea of the Messiah and the kingdom of God.

The doctrine of the kingdom of the Holy Spirit began to spread again in connection with the expected end of the world. The Last Judgment, which heralded the onset of a new spiritual and holy age, was to come in 1492 (7000 according to the biblical chronology). But although the end of the world did not come in 1492, nevertheless, eschatological sentiments continued to spread. The next date for the end of the world, some European and Russian theologians began to indicate the year 8000 (2492), while others - 1666, because. this date contained the number of Antichrist 666. Eschatological expectations of the end of time were fulfilled in Rus' in the 17th century in the tragic events of the destruction of the usual Orthodox spiritual life.

"The Tale of the White Hood" symbolically recreates the pious essence of Orthodoxy, at the same time revealing the apostasy of the Catholic Church from the apostolic faith and its withdrawal into "heresy". The Pope in the story is a fictional character, the personification of apostasy and heretical Catholicism, in the view of the Orthodox author. The division between the secular authorities and the church is substantiated. The legend is this:

Having defeated the cruel and dissolute usurper Maxentius, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, at the behest of the apostles Peter and Paul, who appeared to him in a dream, is baptized by Pope Sylvester. Constantine wants to place a royal crown on the head of Sylvester, whom he reveres, but the pope does not agree to this. The apostles Peter and Paul appear to the emperor, who show him in their hands “the robe is white, which is worthy of being worn by the saint on the head”. The Christian emperor orders "the wisest wearers" to create "a white hood for the blessed pope." This white hood is solemnly placed on the head of the pope.

Constantine leads a horse by the bridle, on which Pope Sylvester is seated. Fresco in the Chapel of San Silvestro, Rome

Reigning for many years, Constantine came to the conclusion that where there is hierarchical authority, where the head of Christian piety is established by the heavenly king himself, there should not be the authority of an earthly king. On this basis, Constantine, having taken a blessing from the pope, entrusted Rome to him, and he built himself a new city, which he called Constantinople.

After the death of Pope Sylvester, the white hood initially enjoyed great reverence. But then other times came: the devil raised up a certain king Karul (Charlemagne) and Pope Farmus (Formosa) and taught them to deceive the Christian race with false teachings. They ordered to depart from the Orthodox faith and tear apart the holy apostolic church; they fell into the heresy of Apolinaria and imputed the use of unleavened bread (according to the teachings of Apolinarius, the Son of God received only flesh from the Mother of God, without a soul; whoever partakes of unleavened bread, he takes dead flesh, and not living, because the dough itself is soulless; kvass for the dough is the same as the soul for the body). From that time on, they did not like the holy white klobuk either, and they locked him up "in a chapel of some kind of church walls."

“After many times,” another pope of the Latin ministry arose, who began to reject the worship of holy icons. He tries to burn the white hood, send it to distant countries, and there scold it and exterminate it, but he does not succeed. Then the pope orders to put a klobuk in the church, "but he did not pay any honors to him." In a dream, an angel of the Lord of a terrible appearance appears to the pope with a flaming sword in his hand and tells the pope to send the holy klobuk to Constantinople to the patriarch. The Pope is following God's command.

At that time in Constantinople the patriarch was Philotheus, distinguished by fasting and other virtues, and the king was Ivan Kandakuzen. Patriarch Philotheus in night vision “A bright young man appeared and said: “Holy teacher, in ancient times the Roman Tsar Constantine ... he made a white hood to wear on his head. So, the criminal Pope now wanted to destroy that holy hood, outrageously over him. By the sign of my frightening appearance, that evil dad now sends this hood to you. And when messengers come to you with that hood, you accept it with honor and, attaching a letter of blessing, send that holy hood to the Russian land in Veliky Novgorod, and let Vasily the Archbishop there (actually held the chair from 1330 to 1352)wears it on his head to the glory of the holy catholic and apostolic church of Sophia, the wisdom of God, and to the praise of the Orthodox. For it is only there that the Orthodox Christian faith now really holds. And for this pope, for his shamelessness, the Lord will make a speedy vengeance. "And, having said this, he disappeared<…>.

Having sent the holy hood from Rome, the malicious pope, taught by heretics, angrily inflamed with the Christian faith and raged, already greatly repenting that he had missed the hood, and wrote a false and deceitful message to the patriarch, ordering him to return that hood along with a golden dish. But the patriarch, having read the letter and comprehending the wickedness and cunning of the pope, sent him excerpts from the holy writings, naming him both a cruel and godless apostate from the Christian faith, the forerunner of the Antichrist, and cursed him with the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy apostles, and holy fathers . And these writings reached the pope. The Pope, having read them and learned that the patriarch holds a white hood in great honor and wants to send him to the Russian land in Veliky Novgorod, roared in pain, and changed in his face, and fell into an illness: that pope did not like the Russian land so filthy because of her Orthodox faith that he could not even hear about it. And all his flesh crumbled.

What follows in the text is a description of the terrible, disgusting illness of the Pope and his no less terrible death. Probably, according to the author's intention, the description of the terrible unnatural death was to characterize the Pope in the eyes of the Orthodox as an extreme wicked man, who was overtaken by God's punishment, and, accordingly, to extend this characteristic to the entire "Latin faith", which the Pope was the leader. Disgust and hatred for the “filthy” and “evil” Russophobe reach such an extreme that, the author states, “the Romans did not go to his burial, but spat on and cursed him. The rulers of the city, taking into account the shameful death of the pope, buried him secretly, and concealed his name in the annals and replaced it with another name: some call him Gervasius, others Eugene, but no one knows the true name ”(this reflects the oldest axiom, known even in ancient Sumer: if a person or an object does not have a name, then it’s as if he himself does not exist ...).

Patriarch Philotheos of Constantinople fell into temptation at the sight of the radiance of the holy klobuk and began to think about whether to keep it in Constantinograd in order to wear it on his head. But Pope Sylvester and Tsar Constantine of Rome appeared in a dream. The king said: “Filotheus, leave the thought of wearing a white hood on your head. If our Lord Jesus Christ had deigned this to happen, then it would have happened earlier and would have happened during the creation of this city. But already of old, by the appearance of the light of the Lord, which came down from heaven, and the voice of God addressed to me, I was admonished and comprehended the Latin heresy that was coming to us and that falling away from the faith would come in Rome. And that is why I did not want to wear that holy klobuk on my head and also commanded everyone after me. And in this now reigning city of Constantine, after some time, Muslims will begin to dominate for the multiplication of human sins, and they will desecrate and destroy all the shrines, as was also predicted when the city was created. For ancient Rome fell away from the Christian faith due to pride and self-will, but in the new Rome - in Constantinograd, the Christian faith will also perish under the oppression of the Muslims. And only in the third Rome, that is, on the Russian land, the grace of the holy spirit will shine. So know, Philotheus, that all Christian kingdoms will come to their end and converge in a single Russian kingdom for the benefit of all Orthodoxy. For in ancient times, by order of the earthly king Constantine, from this reigning city, the royal crown was given to the Russian Tsar. This white hood, by the will of the heavenly King Christ, will now be given to the archbishop of Veliky Novgorod .... at the same time he is both the royal crown of the Archangel and the spiritual. So don’t hesitate, this holy klobuk went to the Russian land to Veliky Novgorod at the very first appearance of the holy angel; and believe my words.

Let the Orthodox be enlightened and praised in their faith, and let the Muslims, the descendants of the filthy, not rule over them, and let them not abuse the klobuk, as the Latin pope wanted to do. And just as grace and glory and honor were taken away from Rome, so the grace of the Holy Spirit will be taken away from the reigning city during the years of Muslim captivity and all the shrines will be transferred by God to the great Russian land. The Lord will exalt the Russian tsar over all peoples, and many of the foreign tsars will fall under his power. The patriarchal rank will also be transferred to the Russian land in due time from this reigning city. And that country will be called illumined by the light of Russia, for God wished with such a blessing to glorify the Russian land, fill it with the greatness of Orthodoxy and make it the most honest of all and above all the former "... And, having said this and blessing the patriarch, both disappeared."

If the beginning of the "Tale" is most likely composed in Constantinople; its ending, which speaks of the transfer of the klobuk to Rus', was undoubtedly composed by a Russian. The story is composed as "Message from Dmitry Grek Tolmach to Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod" about his journey to Rome and the search there for information about the white klobuk. The whole story is a “story within a story” by the “bookkeeper of the Roman church” Jacob, whom Tolmach met in Rome. Jacob gave Tolmach an oral, ancient version of the legend about the white hood of Tsar Constantine.

Since then, "the white hood has been established on the heads of the saints by the Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod." Interestingly, when in 1564 the question was raised at a church council why the Novgorod archbishops wear a white hood, it turned out that “There is no scripture for him, which, for the occasion, the archbishops of Novgorod wear white klobuks.” This is probably how the “de facto” legend came to life. In 1564, the Moscow Local Council adopted a regulation on the right of the Moscow metropolitan to wear a white hood. After the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia in 1589, the patriarchs of Moscow began to wear a white klobuk.

From the history of this legend, it is known that in the "schismatic" 1667, the story condemned the Moscow Cathedral as "lying and wrong "and written by Dmitry Tolmach "from the wind of his head". The practice of discrediting the cultural and historical heritage had already become by that time part of the information war waged by the West against the Russian state. Probably, The Tale of the White Hood was of great ideological significance if it was included in the Nikonian "black list" of literature.

* * * * * * * *

The legend of the White Cowl formulated the national idea of strong faith as the basis and condition for the greatness of the Russian state. It was emphasized that the mission is to be the guardian of the true faith, " white cowl, entrusted to Russia by God's Providence itself, just as faith in Rus' is from Christ himself. In the eyes of the Russian people, their country became Holy Russia.

The theory of the Chiliasts about the advent of the kingdom of the Holy Spirit, having got to Rus', merged with the chronicle evidence of the prediction of the Apostle Andrew - “ on Russian soil the grace of the Holy Spirit has risen ". Later versions of the story say that "all kingdoms will converge in Rus'." Here is a call-indication for the unification of all Orthodox Russian lands around Moscow, and the hope that all Christian peoples together with Russia will form one single kingdom after she herself turns into the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the Holy Spirit. To fulfill this destiny, Rus' must only preserve pure Orthodoxy. “Her historical tasks and duties in relation to Orthodoxy and all Christianity were defined as protective-conservative, and not missionary-expansive. Moreover, the new doctrine imposed on Russia not new rights, but new responsibilities. These duties were clearly defined: - the preservation by the Russian people of the true Orthodox faith until the coming end of the world and the preservation of the Russian people themselves in the purity and holiness of the Orthodox teaching " (S. Zenkovsky. "Russian messianism").

* * * * * * * *

In our time, the idea of the unity of “all kingdoms” into the universal Kingdom of God was formulated by the philosopher Alexander Sergeevich Panarin (1940-2003) as a GREAT INTERNATIONAL TASK FOR THE PEOPLE OF RUSSIA: “If we could save ourselves alone - as a special chosen area - we would cease to be Christians. Our salvation coincides with the laws of the world's salvation - therefore, it is not for us to turn away from it and oppose ourselves to others in the spirit of the "clash of civilizations" paradigm. Our conflict with modernity, privatized by the victor, is the struggle for all mankind, for a creative time that opposes the militaristic aggression of space and opens up the horizons of what is otherwise possible.

Contrary to the liberal myth of “the end of history” and the principle “no other choice”, we affirm that history is not over, but something else is ahead. The laws of Orthodox life are such that we cannot discover the "other" for ourselves - it cannot be privatized. Only by opening it to others, we have a chance to find it for ourselves.. Such is the paradox of our messianism.”(“Orthodox Civilization in the Global World”).

The fight against heretics for the right faith

“And, having studied all this description to the subtlety, Archbishop Gennady rejoiced terribly with great joy ...”, - says “The Tale” Gennady (from the boyar family of the Gonzovs), who had previously been the archimandrite of the Moscow Chudov Monastery, was appointed archbishop of Pskov and Novgorod in 1484. Together with hegumen Joseph Volotsky, Gennady promoted the theory of the exceptional importance of Russia in the fate of the entire Christian world.

Saint Gennady (lithograph, 1895)

Gennady put the interests of Orthodoxy above all else, and in any violation of them he saw not only an insult to religion, but also a dishonor to his native land and state. Gennady Gonzov was called by his contemporaries "a bloodthirsty intimidator of criminals against the church." The entire 19-year stay of Archbishop Gennady at the Novgorod cathedra passed mainly in the fight against the so-called "heresy of the Judaizers" that came from the West.

In the 15-16 centuries. in Western Europe, the so-called Renaissance has long come, giving rise to naturalistic, anti-Christian tendencies, and with them - neo-pagan, in fact, occult movements and all kinds of heresies. Some of them actively penetrated into Russia, mainly through the Baltic lands and Novgorod, close to the West, where there was strong opposition to Moscow from the Lithuanian party. There can be no doubt that behind these heretical interventions there were plans for the West to seize Russian spiritual space, and with it political power.

The preacher, known as "Skhariya Zhidovin" (Zakharia), allegedly arrived in Novgorod from Kyiv in the retinue of the Lithuanian prince Mikhail Olelkovich in 1471. Other Jews arrived in Novgorod along with the warlock and astrologer Skhariya.

* * * * * * * *

Zechariah "seduced into Judaism" the Novgorod priests Alexei and Denis, Ivan Cherny, who, apparently, became the main distributors of heresy in Novgorod, and then in Moscow. This Jew was not concerned with propaganda among the people. He was interested in the clergy and the upper classes of society. The goal of Zechariah and the "heretics" was to seize political power in Moscow, which then sought to annex Novgorod.

The “Judaizers” followed some Jewish prescriptions, denying the main Orthodox dogmas: worship of icons, relics and the cross, sacraments, fasts, holidays, temples, monasticism and church hierarchy. They did not recognize the deity of Jesus Christ, considering him a son of man, and a prophet like Moses, they denied the Second Coming of Christ and His Last Judgment, they denied the Holy Trinity. Heretics rejected the apostolic and patristic writings, while practicing sorcery, Kabbalah and astrology.

Supporters of Zechariah were able to find an arrangement in the grand prince's circle, using understandable material messages. They demanded that the monasteries renounce the ownership of land and serfs, and this could not but find sympathy with the Moscow prince Ivan III. The issue of church land ownership became so acute largely due to the fact that the landowners, expecting the imminent end of the world (in 1492), transferred their possessions to the monasteries for “commemoration of the soul”, and the possessions of the monasteries expanded significantly to the envy of those in power.

By the time of the archbishop Gennady's heresy spread widely not only in Novgorod, but also in Moscow, where many influential people at the court of Ivan III were infected with it. The Grand Duke brought the priests Alexei and Denis closer to him, and in 1480 they received the positions of archpriests in the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals in Moscow. Their preaching attracted many Muscovites to the heresy, including the daughter-in-law of the Grand Duke Elena, close associates of the Grand Duke, among whom was the diplomat and writer clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn. The heresy of the Judaizers set itself the goal of subordinating Rus' to the West through undermining Orthodoxy and the institution of the church in Rus' and seizing spiritual power. As a matter of fact, it was an informational and spiritual sabotage against the Russian state.

Saints of God - Joseph Volotsky and Gennady Novgorodsky against the heresy of the Judaizers

Together with Rev. Joseph Volotsky, Archbishop Gennady courageously rebelled against false teachers, wrote accusatory letters against them. Several times he pointed out to Ivan III the danger to the church, described all the obscene riots, pathological debauchery taking place in the diocese. “I bring harlots to my temples,” writes the Monk Joseph, “and defile with them with fornication and bathe with them in the trough and take this filthy water and pour this into wine and honey and send that wine and honey to the saints and priests, and to the Bolars and to the guest and to all Orthodox Christians. Reverend Joseph is indignant, arguing that "psychics do not eat anything like that."

Insisting on the execution of heretics, Gennady wrote in 1490 to Metropolitan Zosima of Moscow: “Look, the Franks, according to their faith, what a fortress they hold! When passing through Novgorod, the Tsar's ambassador told me about the Spanish king, how he cleared his land, and I sent you a list from those speeches. Through the mediation of diplomat Yuri Trakhaniot, Gennady ordered to write down from the words of the German imperial ambassador and send to Moscow "Speeches of the Ambassador of the Tsar» about the Inquisition established in Spain. But Metropolitan Zosima did not come out radically in defense of the faith; he himself was a rather vicious, weak character and, in fact, generally prone to unbelief.

Finally, St. Gennady managed to achieve the convocation of a council, which took place in 1488-1490. At the council of 1490, the Judaizers were anathematized. However, Ivan III limited himself only to the punishment of heretics. They were beaten with a whip, and then sent to the Novgorod bishop for condemnation by a church council.

Gennady, gave them a shameful entry into Novgorod. For 40 kilometers from the city, they were put in clownish clothes on horses with a "ridge to the horse's eyes", that is, back to front, on their heads they put on birch bark helmets with the inscription "This is Satan's army" And in this form they drove around the city. In conclusion, birch bark helmets were burned on their heads. Some heretics, as the chronicle tells, were burned at the request of Gennady on the Dukhovskoye field, while others he sent to prison. Subsequently, Archbishop Gennady changed the method of struggle to information and propaganda: he began to search for and distribute books needed to fight heretics.

Gennady and the circle of church scholars that formed around him in Novgorod fought for the independence of the church from the state. Heretics for a long time still retained influence at the court of the Moscow prince. In 1504, Gennady and his associates succeeded in obtaining a complete condemnation of the heretics; but Gennady himself in June of the same year, by the will of the Grand Duke, was removed from the chair. He died on December 4, 1505 at the Miracle Monastery.

"The Tale of the White Hood"(“The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk”) is a monument of ancient Russian literature of the 15th-16th centuries, an essay about the miraculous appearance in Rus' of a white hood, the mystical symbol of the “Third Rome”.

Some researchers believe that a short edition of The Tale of the Novgorod White Klobuk was created in the 1550s, and a complete one between 1589 and 1601. "The Tale of the White Hood" received the widest distribution in the manuscript tradition of the 16th-18th centuries. - about 300 handwritten lists are known. She was especially popular among the Old Believers.

Like the legend of the Babylonian kingdom, where the transfer of secular power from Babylon to Constantinople and from there to the Russian prince is figuratively presented, this legend tells about the transfer of the symbol of spiritual power from Rome to Constantinople, then to Novgorod.

The story tells that the holy apostles Peter and Paul appeared in a dream to Tsar Constantine and showed him the form according to which the white hood of the pope should be sewn as a sign of his church leadership; Constantine ordered a klobuk to be sewn and placed it on the head of Pope Sylvester, after which, not wanting to reign in the same place where the vicar of God rules, he transferred his capital from Rome to Constantinople.

The successors of Sylvester forgot the pious life and did not honor the klobuk, for which they had to send this symbol of their power to Constantinople. But then a “bright young man” appeared to the patriarch at night and ordered to send a klobuk to Veliky Novgorod, “and let him be there on the head of Vasily the archbishop”; since then, "the white hood has been established on the heads of the saints by the archbishop of Veliky Novgorod."

Historical influence

In 1564, the Moscow Local Council adopted a regulation on the right of the Moscow metropolitan to wear a white hood. After the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia in 1589, the patriarchs of Moscow began to wear a white klobuk. In 1667, the story was condemned by the Great Moscow Cathedral as “deceitful and wrong”, written “from the wind of his head” by Dmitry Tolmach (different experts understand this name as either Dmitry Trakhaniot or Dmitry Gerasimov, both of them bore this nickname).

The Tale of the White Hood

The story tells that the holy apostles Peter and Paul appeared in a dream to Tsar Constantine and showed him the form according to which the white hood of the pope should be sewn as a sign of his church leadership; Constantine ordered to sew a hood and put it on the head of Pope Sylvester, after which, not wanting to reign in the same place where the vicar of God rules, he transferred his capital from Rome to Constantinople.

Historical influence

In the same year, the Moscow Local Council adopted a regulation on the right of the Moscow Metropolitan to wear a white klobuk. After the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia in the year, the patriarchs of Moscow began to wear a white klobuk. In the year the story was condemned by the Great Moscow Cathedral as "false and wrong", written "from the wind of his head" by Dmitry Tolmach (different experts understand this name as either Dmitry Trakhaniot, or Dmitry Gerasimov, both of them bore this nickname).

Notes

Sources

// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

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The Tale of Peter and Fevronia
A Tale of Two Cities

See what "The Tale of the White Hood" is in other dictionaries:

The Tale of the White Hood- - a legendary journalistic essay, preserved in the manuscript tradition of the 2nd floor. 16th century and: subsequent tense. P. came in short and lengthy editions (the latter - in two forms); in addition, in some lists of the monument there are also ... ...

"THE STORY ABOUT THE NOVGOROD WHITE KLOBUK"- a monument to Russian Literature 15-16 centuries. It is based on the legend about the origin of the klobuk (headdress) of the Novgorod bishops, associated with the name of Archbishop Vasily Kaliki (14th century). According to the Tale, a white hood, created by the Roman imp. Konstantin ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

THE STORY ABOUT THE NOVGOROD WHITE KLOBUK- a monument of Russian literature of the XV-XVI centuries. It is based on the legend about the origin of the klobuk (headdress) of the Novgorod bishops, associated with the name of the archbishop. Vasily Kaliki (XIV century). According to the Tale, a white hood created by the Roman imp. Constantine ... Russian history

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GENNADY- (Gonzov or Gonozov, in the schema Galaktion?; 1st quarter of the 15th century 12/4/1505, Moscow Miracles Mon r), St. (commemorated December 4, on the 3rd week after Pentecost in the Cathedral of the Novgorod Saints, on Sunday before August 26 in the Cathedral of the Moscow Saints, on Saturday between ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Gerasimov, Dmitry- interpreter; was born around the 60s of the XV century, it is not known where; as a child, he studied in Livonia, where he acquired knowledge in Latin and German, served as an interpreter, or interpreter, at the embassy court and repeatedly traveled with embassy ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

Trakhaniot Dmitry Manuilovich- (nicknamed Old) (2nd half of the 15th century) - a diplomat who served at the court of Ivan III, publicist and translator. Greeks by origin, T. and his brother Yuri Manuilovich Trakhaniot initially served the family of Thomas Palaiologos (brother of the last Byzantine ... ... Dictionary of scribes and bookishness of Ancient Rus'

Tsar- one of the monarchical titles, equivalent to the title of king (see). In other languages, there is no distinction that the Russian language makes between tsars and kings, calling the first name almost exclusively the monarchs of the ancient East and the classical world, a ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Legend- (from the Church Latin "legenda", the plural form of the noun of the neuter gender "legendum" "a passage to be read", meaningful later as a form of the singular of the feminine gender). 1. In the original meaning of the word L., excerpts from "lives" and ... ... Literary Encyclopedia

Legend- LEGEND (from the Latin word legenda, what should be read, or recommended for reading) is a term used in several meanings. In a broad sense, an unreliable narrative about the facts of reality, in a narrower sense ... ... Dictionary of literary terms

white cowl

The claims of the Novgorod church to a special place among the Orthodox dioceses are reflected in the legend of the white hood, which tells how the Novgorod archbishop Vasily Kalika received this symbol of special grace from the Patriarch of Constantinople. An in-depth analysis of The Tale of the White Hood belongs to Academician D.S. Likhachev, whose article we present with some abbreviations.

The white klobuk was presented to Pope Sylvester by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Constantine made this hood to the pope at the behest of the apostles Peter and Paul who appeared to him in a dream, as a symbol of spiritual power, equal to the royal crown. With the fall of Rome from Orthodoxy, the Pope was commanded from above to send a white klobuk to Constantinople. However, an angel appeared to the Patriarch of Constantinople and ordered that the klobuk be sent to the Russian land, to Veliky Novgorod: “There, now, the faith of Christ is truly glorious.” “Old Rome has fallen away from glory and from the faith of Christ by pride and its own will,” the angel explained, “in the new Rome, which is in Konstyantinegrad, the Christian faith will also perish by the Hagarian violence; on the third Rome, the hedgehog is on the Russian land, the grace of the Holy Spirit is exalted. The Patriarch sends a white klobuk to Novgorod along with a message to the Archbishop of Novgorod. Warned in a dream by an angel about the arrival of the hood, Vasily solemnly greets him with a bell ringing, escorts him to Sofia, and here, with a huge confluence of people, he reads the message of the patriarch, tells the story of the white hood in church and puts it on his head.

The story is preceded by a short preface in the form of a letter from Dmitry Tolmach to the Novgorod Archbishop Gennady. Dmitry writes how he found in Rome, on the orders of Gennady, the story of the white klobuk, which the Romans “for the sake of shame hide Velmi”, how he managed to persuade the book keeper of the Roman church Jacob and “with much prayer” persuaded him to give it to him.

Dmitry Gerasimov Tolmach, on behalf of whom the preface of the story about the white hood is being written, is a bright personality. He was educated in Livonia under the guidance of Misyur-Munekhin, was an interpreter for the embassy court, an envoy to the Swedish, Danish, Prussian, Viennese and Roman courts. Dmitry repeatedly fulfilled various book assignments of Archbishop Gennady. He was the most suitable person to inquire about the white hood.

Nevertheless, the affiliation of the story to Gerasimov is doubtful, although the possibility is not ruled out that Gerasimov had something to do with it, really fulfilling Gennady's instructions on the issue of the white hood.

In addition to Dmitry, this could have been done by numerous Catholic missionaries, whose stay in Novgorod and Pskov is historically attested. In the time of Gennady, “gray blacks from the Germans” came to Pskov, and “many Latins” lived in Novgorod in 1493, including the Dominican Veniamin, Gennady’s closest assistant in compiling the Bible. It was they who could inspire the Novgorod clergy with the idea that if there were no pope, there would be no white klobuk of the Novgorod archbishops.

However, this basically Latin edition of the story, which has not come down to us, was then redone and supplemented in an Orthodox way: the white hood still goes to Novgorod not from Rome, but from Byzantium. God takes away the hood from impious Rome and transfers it to Constantinople, but in the second Rome Orthodoxy soon “darkened”, and the white hood goes to where the only “true faith shines” - to Novgorod, which, thus, becomes the successor to the ancient piety of Rome and Byzantium. Novgorod is the new center of the universe. Above all churches is the Russian Church, and in it the Archdiocese of Novgorod is of particular importance.

In this concept of the story, the influence of the theory about Moscow - the Third Rome is clearly felt. The very idea of the story - to depict the passage of "grace" to Novgorod along with the white hood of Pope Sylvester - is not something exceptional in medieval literature. The transition of world significance from one kingdom to another was constantly depicted in medieval literature as the transition of sacred objects and symbolic signs of power (crown, wreath, scepter).

This plot is also reflected in the Novgorod legend of the 16th century about the icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin. The icon of the Mother of God, the legend tells, was miraculously transferred through the air from Byzantium captured by the Turks to the Novgorod region. She appeared in various Novgorod areas, as if sanctifying them with her presence, until she finally stopped on the banks of the Tikhvinka River, where the church was originally founded, and then the monastery.

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The story of the white hood - St. Sophia Cathedral. White hood The legend of the Novgorod white hood

Historical influence

Historical influence

see also

Notes

Links

Sources

See what "The Tale of the White Hood" is in other dictionaries: