The Feast of All Saints of Russia

Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow

In 1528–1529 nephew of St Joseph of Volokolamsk monk Dositheus Toporkov during work on a fix of Sinai Patericon lamented in its afterword that although the Russian land and has many holy men and women, who worthy of veneration and glorification as much as the eastern saints of first centuries of Christianity, but they "because of our negligence, [they are] left without proper attention and not recorded in the written works, some [of them] we ourselves know" (11, 74, 12, 275). Dositheus performed his work for the blessing of the Archbishop Macarius of Novgorod (later Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus).

The main merit of St. Macarius was his long, painstaking and hard work on the collection and systematization of all hagiographic, hymnographic and homiletic heritage Orthodox Russia, known at that time. More than 12 years, since 1529 to 1541, St. Macarius and his assistants worked on the twelve-drawing collection, went down in history under the name of Great Macarius Menaion Reader (Великие Макарьевские Четьи Минеи). This collection includes the lives of many Russian saints, who revered in different parts of the Rus, but did not have the general church glorification. The publication of a new compendium, compiled on a calendar basis, and contains biographies of many Russian ascetics, accelerated the process of preparation of the first praise for the widespread veneration of a host of saints in the history of Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1547 and 1549 years, St Macarius, who become Metropolitan of all Rus, convene in Moscow two Councils, known under the name Macarius councils; both ones was decided only one question: the glorification of Russian saints. Firstly, the issue has been resolved on the principle of canonization for the future: establishing church-wide memory of sints now became subject to the judgment of the whole Church. Main act of the solemn was celebration of 30 (or 31) new saints: 18 church-wide and 9 locally venerated saints.

At the Council in 1547 were canonized:

1. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (+ 1461);
2. John, Archbishop of Novgorod (+ 1186);
3. Macarius of Kalyazin (+ 1483);
4. Paphnutius of Borovsk (+ 1477);
5. Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky (+ 1263);
6. Nikon of Radonezh (+ 1426);
7. Paul of Komel and Obnora (+ 1429);
8. Michael of Klopsk (+ 1456);
9. Reverend Sabbas of Storozhi (+ 1406);
10. Zosimas (+ 1478) and 11. Sabbatius (+ 1435) of Solovki;
12. Reverend Dionysius of Glushita (+ 1437);
13. Alexander of Svir (+ 1533).

For local veneration at the Council were glorified:

1. Blessed Maximus of Moscow, Fool for Christ (+ 1434);
2. Pious Prince Constantine of Murom and his children of Michael and Theodore (+ 1129);
5. Blessed Prince Peter and 6. Fevronia of Murom (+ 1228);
7. Arsenius of Tver (+ 1409);
8. Blessed Procopius (+ 1303) and 9. John (+ 1494) of Ustyug, fools for Christ's

Council also 1549, details of which survived much less, were allegedly glorified following saints:

1. Niphon, Archbishop of Novgorod (+ 1156);
2. Jonah (+ 1470) and Euthymios (+ 1458) of Novgorod;
3. James, Bishop of Rostov (+ 1392);
4. Stephen of Perm (+ 1396);
5. Prince Vsevolod of Pskov (+ 1138);
6. Prince Michael of Tver (+ 1318);
7. Reverend Abraham of Smolensk (+ the beginning of the XIII);
8. Martyrs John, Eustace, Anthony of Lithuania (+ 1347);
9. Reverend Euthymius of Suzdal (+ 1404);
10. Gregory of Pelshema (+ 1442);
11. Reverend Sabbas of Vishera (+ 1460);
12. Euphrosyne of Pskov (+ 1481);
13. Ephraim of Perekom (+ 1492);
14. Abraham of Bulgaria (+ 1229);
15. Arsenius of Serbia (+ 1266).

Finally, the main act of the Councils, in addition to the roll-glorification of Russian saints, was to establish the date of the shared memory of the "new Russian miracle workers", which together with the already earlier revered saints of the Russian Church have made a host of its fixtures. Members of the Council in 1547 formulated its decision: "We have established now celebrate for new miracle workers, that Lord glorified them, His pleasers, with a number of and various signs and wonders, but there are was not conciliar chanting in their honor until this day".

All Russian Saints holiday was first established on 17 July as the next day to the memory of St. Prince Vladimir (July 15). Later, however, the date of the celebration of the memory of All Russian Saints changed several times. It was accomplished in the first Sunday on St. Elijah day, and in one of the weekdays of days before the Sunday of All Saints.

Very soon after the Moscow Macarius Councils in Russia there was "a lot of lives of Russian saints, or their new versions, service, words of praise, begin intense written icons Russian saints, to build a temple in their honor, discoveries are made relics of Russian saints". Establishment of a holiday in honor of all Russian saints and writing required service of this holiday. This difficult task was accomplished by monk Gregory of St. Euthymius monastery in Suzdal, who left behind "total of 14 agiological works as an individual saints and a summary of the work of all Russian saints". Lists of the service and eulogy all Russian saints are widely used already in the 16th century. However, in printed form they were published only for the first time only in the first half of the 18th century. (24, 296).

Generally, after a great spiritual ascent in the Russian society, caused by the Moscow Council in 1547 and 1549, by the end of the 16th century the feast of All Russian Saints became forgotten and celebrated only in certain parts of Russia. This trend in the 17th century began to grow, and eventually throughout the Synodal period, the veneration of the feast of All Russian Saints in the Russian Church was finally consigned to oblivion and preserved only in the Old Believers.

July 20, 1908 peasant Nikolai Osipovich Gazukin, who lived in of Sudogda County of Vladimir Governorate, sent to the Most Holy Synod of the petition for the establishment of the annual celebration of "All Russian saints, who celebrated since beginning of Russia" with a request "to honor this day specially composed church service". The application was shortly rejected by synodal definition on the grounds that the existing feast of All Saints includes the memory of the Russian saints.

Botis Turaev

The merit restore and honoring the memory of the day of All Russian Saints belong to professor of Petrograd University Boris Turaev and hieromonk Athanasius (Sakharov). Both were members of All-Russian Local Council, held in 1917-1918.

March 15, 1918 Boris Turaev, at a meeting of the Division of worship, preaching and the church, introduced the report to the Council, where, in particular, notes that "in our sorrowful times, when a single Russia became broken when our sinful generation trampled fruit feats of Saints who worked in the caves of Kiev and in Moscow, and in the Thebaid of the North, and Western Russia on the creation of a unified Russian Orthodox Church, would seem it's good time to restore this forgotten holiday, but it reminds us and our rejected brothers from generation to generation about the unified Orthodox Russian Church, and let him be a small tribute to our sinful generation, and a small atonement of our sins".

August 20, 1918 Turaev's report was reviewed by Council, and finally, on August 26, on the Saint's day of Patriarch Tikhon, It made the historic Decree: "1. Rebound existed in the Russian Church, celebration of the memory of the day of All Saints Russian. 2. The celebration of this takes place in the first Sunday of Peter's Fast".

Council decided to publish revised and expanded Service of monk Gregory at the end of Color Triodion. But hurry involved in this work, Boris Turaev and hieromonk Athanasius soon came to the conclusion that borrow from of the monk Gregory service can be only a very small part, whereas everything else it was needed to remake: partly by composing of entirely new hymns (this work has assumed mainly Boris Turaev) partly to select the most characteristic and best of existing prayer books, mostly from individual services Russian saints (this job did by monk Athanasius).

Turaev and Hieromonk Athanasius strongly wish "to push through the Council," their service, as long as the Council was about to be closed. Therefore, September 8, 1918, at the penultimate meeting of the liturgical department of the Local Council, incomplete new service has been reviewed, approved and transferred to the subsequent approval of the Patriarch and the Holy Synod.

Bishop Athanasius (Sakharov)

November 18, after the close of the Local Council, Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod blessed the new printing services under the supervision of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Vladimir, which was carried out before the end of 1918 in Moscow with great difficulty. Finally, on December 13 of same year, all the diocesan bishops was sent to a decree restoring the memory of the day of All Russian Saints, and June 16, 1919 and sent to typographically printed text indicating the service to make it into the nearest Sunday after receiving.

Printing Service 1918 "dispersed by the hands of participants of the Council ... and not widespread," soon becoming a rarity in a short time, and the "hand-written lists (with it) were very few churches," and others do not have it.

Boris Turaev, who strongly willing to continue to work on additions and corrections hastily composed service died July 23, 1920, and hieromonk Athanasius, who became Archimandrite in 1920 and bishop in 1921, did not dare to take on such responsible work alone.

In Autumn 1922 Bishop Athanasius during his first arrest in the 17th chamber of the Vladimir prison, met with a number of one mind with him admirers just restored holiday. Bishop Athanasius gave the names of 11 people: Archbishop Nicander (Fenomenov) of Krutitsy, Archbishop Thaddeus (Uspensky) of Astrakhan, Bishop Cornelius (Sobolev) of Vyazniki, Bishop Basil (Summer) of Suzdal and others.

According to bishop Athanasius, this council oа prisoners "after numerous lively discussions about this holiday, a service, an icon of the temple in the name of this holiday was put the beginning of a new revision, rectification and additions of service, published in 1918," as well as "was suggested that the desirability to complement the service so as to it could make not only the 2nd week after Pentecost, but on request and at a different time, and not necessarily on Sunday". And in the near future service has undergone several changes: Some hymns were swapped, there are new, dedicated to the saints, not mentioned in the service in 1918.

Finally, there, in prison, November 10, 1922, the day of the repose of St Demetrius of Rostov, the first time the celebration has been made to all Russian saints, not on Sunday and according to remediation services.

March 1, 1923 at the 121st solitary confinement Taganka prison, Bishop Athanasius made consecration the stowed antimension in honor of All Russian Saints for his secret Church.

The above developments have further strengthened Athanasius in mind that service to all Russian saints, approved by 1917-1918 Council, need to be supplemented further. At the same time appeared "the idea of the desirability and necessity of the establishment another day for the common celebration of all Russian saints, in excess to one, established of the Council".

The time of commission of the second celebration of All Russian Saints Athanasius was nominated on July 29 - the day after the commemoration of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, the Baptist of Russia. In this case, the "feast of our equal-to-apostle Forefeast will be like for the holiday of All Saints, blossoming in the land in which it is saving the seeds of all the Orthodox faith". Athanasius also suggested that the next day after a holiday to remember "polyonymous host, though not even glorified to the church honoring, but great and marvelous ascetics and saints, as well as builders of Holy Russia and a variety of figures of church and state", to thereby, the second celebration of all Russian saints solemnly committed in the whole Russian Church for three days.

It was only in 1946 published a "Service to all the saints in the Shone Forth in the Russian Land", published by the Moscow Patriarchate, and then began the widespread celebration of the memory of all Russian saints in our Church. Nevertheless, after-holiday service printing, work on it correction and complement has not ended. The author of most chants, bishop Athanasius, continued to work on service until his blessed repose, followed in 1962.