"The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom." The Tale of Peter and Fevronia and other works The epic story of Peter and Fevronia of Murom

THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF THE HOLY NEW MIRACLES WORKERS OF MUROMKS - THE Blessed, Reverend and Praiseworthy PRINCE PETER, NAMED DAVID IN THE MONACY, AND HIS WIDE, THE Blessed and Reverend Princess FEVRONIYA, NAMED NONE IN THE MONACY RITE EUPHROSYNE.

This is my translation and retelling of the famous ancient Russian story into our modern language.

This story was probably written in the 15th century. It conveys a folk legend about the life of the noble rulers of the city of Murom, Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia, who lived in the 13th century and died on the same day in 1228.

***
Bless, father.

There is a city in the Russian land called Mur. Once upon a time an autocratic noble prince reigned there, whose name, as they say, was Pavel. The devil, who has hated the entire human race from time immemorial, sent a terrible flying serpent to the wife of this prince in order to seduce her into fornication. And this serpent appeared to the wife in his serpentine form, and to the people who came it seemed as if it was the prince himself sitting with his wife. And this deception lasted for a long time, until the wife, tired of fighting, finally decided not to hide, but to tell her husband everything: the terrible snake had begun to overcome her.

The prince wondered how he could drive away the snake, but he couldn’t think of anything. And he said to his wife like this:

Listen: when he appears to you again, when he begins a conversation, use cunning to find out from him what kind of death he is afraid of. If you can find out this and tell us, then not only in the present century will you be freed from his evil breath and sniffing, and from all his abomination, which is shameful to even talk about, but also in the next century you will appease the unhypocritical Judge Christ.

The wife firmly planted her husband’s words in her heart, deciding: “Good! So be it.”

Then one day that terrible snake flies to her. She, having a good memory in her heart, began to flatter herself towards that monster. She praised him with respect for a long time, and while praising him, she asked: you know a lot, but do you know the timing of your death, and what it will be, and why? The same terrible seducer, deceived by the good deception of a faithful wife, not thinking that he was revealing his secret, said:

My death from Peter's shoulder, from Agrikov's sword!

The wife, hearing such a speech, kept it firmly in her heart, and when the monster flew away, she told the prince, her husband, what the serpent had said. Here the prince was completely at a loss: what does “death from Peter’s shoulder, from Agrikov’s sword” mean?

He had a brother named Peter. Prince Peter heard that the snake was waiting for death from his namesake, he was filled with courage and began to think about how he could kill the snake. One thing confused him: he did not know what kind of Agrikov sword it was and where to get it.

Prince Peter had a custom: to walk around churches, seeking solitude. Outside the city in the women's monastery stood the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. The prince came there to pray alone. Then a certain baby appeared to him and said:

Prince! Do you want me to show you Agrikov’s sword?

He, remembering his desire, exclaimed:

Show me! I want to see him!

The baby says to him:

Follow me.

And he showed him a hole in the altar wall between the stones, where the sword lay. Blessed Prince Peter took that sword and from that day began to look for the right time to kill the snake.

Every day he went to bow to his brother and daughter-in-law. Somehow, having greeted his brother, he went to the princess's chambers and there he saw her sitting with her husband.

What is it? - Prince Peter asked the servant on the way back. - How did my brother manage to overtake me and be the first to come to his wife’s chambers? I didn’t hesitate at all...

The servant answered him:

No, sir, your brother did not leave his chambers!

The prince understood everything then and marveled at the craftiness of the crafty serpent. He returned to his brother and said:

Stay, brother, in your chambers, don’t go out anywhere, wait for me. Now I am going to fight the serpent, so that with God’s help the evil one will be killed.

He took Agrikov’s sword, came to his daughter-in-law, found there a snake who had turned into a prince, and firmly assuring himself that it was not a brother, but a monster, he struck him with the sword. The snake, appearing in its true form, began to writhe, fight and, before it died, splashed the prince with its blood.

And from that nasty blood scabs and ulcers spread across the prince’s body, and the prince became seriously ill. In his illness, he sought healing from doctors, but not a single one could help him.

***
Prince Peter heard that there were many skilled doctors in the Ryazan land, and he ordered to be taken to the Ryazan region, because he himself could not sit on a horse due to his great illness. Having arrived in the Ryazan land, he sent his servants to look for doctors.

A certain young man from the prince’s circle wandered into a village called Laskovo in search. He approached the first house, and without being met by anyone, he entered the gate. He goes up to the porch - no one. He entered the upper room and saw a wonderful sight: a girl is sitting in the middle of the upper room, weaving a linen, and a hare is jumping in front of her.

The girl says:

It’s bad for a house without ears and a chamber without eyes!

The young man did not understand her words and asked:

Where is the owner? Does this man live in this house?

The girl answers:

My father and mother went on loan to weep, and my brother went over his feet to follow death.

The young man was completely surprised:

What miracles am I seeing? You are sitting alone in the house, a hare is jumping in front of you, and you are saying strange words to me, and I cannot understand your words!

She answered:

What don't you understand? You went into the house, found me untidy, and if we had a dog, he would have smelled you and barked. So it turns out that a dog is the ears of the house. If we had a small child, he would see you and tell me. A small child is for the chambers of the eyes. About my parents, I said that they went to the funeral: now they are crying for the dead, and when they themselves pass away, they will cry for them; This is what “crying on loan” is. My brother, like his father, lives by collecting wild honey in the forest, climbing trees. He climbs a tree - he watches his feet so as not to stumble and get killed. This is what it means: “to follow death through your feet.”

The young man tells her:

I see you are smart!.. Tell me your name.

She answers:

My name is Fevronia.

He tells her:

I am the servant of Prince Peter of Murom. We are looking for doctors for our prince, but we don’t know anyone here. Can you tell me who we should contact? If that person heals the prince, he will receive expensive gifts.

She answers:

Bring your prince here. If he is kind in heart and humble in his answers, he will be healthy!

The young man soon returned to the prince and told him everything that had happened. Blessed Prince Peter says:

Take me to that girl!

And they took him to the village of Laskovo, and ahead the prince sent servants, ordering them to convey: "Whoever wants to treat me, let him treat me and receive big gifts." The maiden Fevronia firmly said to the prince’s servants:

I want to treat the prince, but I don’t demand gifts from him. Tell him this: “If I don’t become his wife, why should I treat him?”

The servant returned and conveyed her words. Prince Peter did not want to take those words to heart, thinking: “How can I, the prince, marry the daughter of a tree climber?”, but sent ambassadors to Fevronia:

Say that if there is a doctor, then let him do it; and if she heals, then I will take her as my wife.

The servants conveyed the prince’s word. She took a small vessel, scooped out some leaven of bread and, blowing on it, said:

Let them heat a bath for your prince, and let him anoint scabs and ulcers with this leaven in the bath, but let him leave one scab unanointed. And he will be healthy!

Hearing this, the prince ordered the bathhouse to be heated, but, wanting to test the girl to see if she was really as smart as the young man said about her, he sent his servants to her with a small bunch of flax: if, they say, this girl is really wise and wants to marry me, then let him make me a shirt, porta-potties, and a towel from this flax while I’m washing in the bathhouse.

The servant brought her flax and conveyed the prince's words. She tells him:

Climb on the stove, find a log there and bring it here.

He brought her a piece of wood. She, measuring with a span, says:

Cut out that much.

He cut it off. She says:

Take this to the prince and say: “While I am combing flax, let him make a loom from this stump so that I have something to weave linen on.”

The servant brought a stump of logs to the prince and said a girl's speech. The prince was surprised at her answer.

It's time for the prince to go to the bath. At the command of the girl, he anointed all his scabs and ulcers with leaven of bread, leaving only one scab. And I left the bath feeling better. The next morning, all the scabs disappeared from his body, except for one, which, according to the girl’s words, he did not anoint. And everyone was surprised at the speedy recovery. But he did not want to take the girl as his wife - he was of peasant descent, they say - but sent her rich gifts. She did not accept those gifts.

Prince Peter went to Murom, his fatherland, completely healthy, but he had a scab on him, not anointed by the maiden command. And from that scab, new ulcers began to spread throughout the body already on the first day on the way to Murom. And soon Peter was covered with many wounds, as before.

And again he returned to the girl for healing. He went up to her house and with shame began to ask for medicine. She, not in the least angry, said:

If he becomes my husband, I will heal him.

He then gave his firm word that he would take her as his wife. She healed him in the same way as we have already said. Having received healing, he married her. And so she became Princess Fevronia.

***
They came to their homeland, the city of Murom, and lived in all piety, not violating a single one of God’s commandments. A little time passed - Prince Paul passed away from this life, and the noble Prince Peter, after his brother, became the sole autocrat of the city of Murom.

The boyars did not love Princess Fevronia, they were offended for their wives: she did not become a princess by her race, but for the sake of the Lord, who glorified her for her good life.

So one of those close to her came to the blessed Prince Peter to complain about her: they say, every time she gets up from the table indecently for the princess - she sweeps bread crumbs into her hand, as if she were hungry. The blessed Prince Peter, wanting to test her, ordered the common table to be set. When dinner was over, she, as was her custom, swept the crumbs into her palm. Prince Peter caught her hand, unclenched her palm, and there was fragrant incense and incense. From that day on I left her and never experienced her again.

After a long time, the boyars come to him and say in rage:

We want to serve you righteously and have you as an autocrat, but we don’t want to see Fevronia as a princess, and we don’t want her to rule as our wives. If you want to remain an autocrat, take another princess. Fevronia, having taken enough wealth, let her go wherever she wants!

The noble Prince Peter, according to his custom, without being angry at all, answered with humility:

Tell Fevronia. Let's listen to what he answers.

They, frantic, filled with shamelessness and evil intent, decided to establish a feast. And they arranged it. And when they were already drunk, they began to make shameless speeches, like barking dogs. They said:

Empress Princess Fevronia! The whole city and all the boyars turn to you: give us what we ask of you!

She says:

Take what you ask for.

They said with one voice:

We all, madam, want Prince Peter to rule over us, but our wives do not want you to rule over them. Take enough wealth for yourself and go wherever you want!

She says:

I promised you that whatever you ask, accept. I’ll tell you: give me what I ask of you.

They, out of anger, not foreseeing the future, said with an oath:

Whatever you ask, we will give it without question!

She says:

I won’t ask for anything, only my husband, Prince Peter!

They responded:

If he himself wants it, we won’t object.

The enemy inspired them with the idea that if Prince Peter died, then they would elect another autocrat, for each of the boyars had in their minds that he himself would become an autocrat.

Blessed Prince Peter did not attach his heart to his temporary autocracy, he remembered only the commandments of God, and walking according to His commandments, he adhered to those words that the God-voiced Matthew in his Gospel proclaims: “Whoever lets his wife go, except in the words of an adulterer, and marries another, commits adultery." This blessed prince acted according to the Gospel: he considered his reign as nothing, as long as he did not go against the commandments of God.

The wicked boyars gave them river boats - after all, near that city there flows a river called the Oka. And the prince and princess sailed on boats along the river. There was a certain servant of the blessed princess Fevronia on the ship, and his wife was placed on the same ship. That man received a thought from the evil demon and looked at the saint with lustful desire. She guessed the evil thought of her servant and rebuked him, saying:

Stand on the starboard side of the boat and draw water from the river.

He scooped it up. She told him to take a sip of that water. He took a sip. Then she says again:

Now get up from the port side and scoop up water again.

And again she commanded him to taste the water. He tried. Then she asks:

Is the water equal in taste or will it be sweeter from one side?

He answers:

What is here, what is there - the same water.

Here she says:

This is the same with the nature of a woman: what one has, the other has the same. Why are you, forgetting your wife, thinking about strangers?

The man realized that she had the gift of insight, and from then on he was afraid to think bad things about her.

Evening was approaching, they began to moor to the shore. Here Blessed Prince Peter was overcome with thoughts: “How will I continue to live, having left the autocracy by my own will?” The marvelous Princess Fevronia answers him:

Do not grieve, prince: the merciful God, Creator and Provider of everything, will not leave us in poverty!

On the other side, they began to cook dinner for the blessed Prince Peter. The cook cut small trees and hung cauldrons on them. After dinner, Holy Princess Fevronia saw those trees, blessed them and said:

May they be great trees in the morning, with branches and leaves!

And so it became. Waking up in the morning, they saw all the great trees with branches and leaves. And when the princely people already wanted to load their belongings onto the boats, nobles came from the city of Murom with the words:

Lord Prince! From all the nobles, from the whole city, we came to you, may you not abandon us, the orphans! Return to your fatherland! Many nobles in the city died from the sword: everyone wanted to rule, and many killed each other. Those who remained, together with all the people, pray to you: Mr. Prince! Although we angered you, and irritated you, and did not want Princess Fevronia to rule over our wives, now we bow with all our households and our slaves: we call, and we love, and we pray - do not leave us, your slaves!

***
And blessed Prince Peter and blessed princess Fevronia returned to their city. And they ruled in their city, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord blamelessly, accepting prayers and doing mercy to everyone under their authority, like a child-loving father and mother. For they had equal love for everyone, they loved neither pride nor robbery, and they did not spare their perishable wealth, but grew rich in God. They were true shepherds of their city, not hirelings; they ruled the city, serving the truth, with meekness, and not with rage. Strangers were received, the hungry were fed, the naked were clothed, and the poor were delivered from misfortune.

When their reign was drawing to a close, they begged the Lord to repose together at the same hour. And they ordered to put them in one grave, so that two coffins lay in one stone, with only one partition between them. They themselves, on the same day, put on monastic robes. And Prince Peter was named David in the monastic rank, while the venerable princess Fevronia was named Euphrosyne.

At the same time, the Venerable Fevronia, named Euphrosyne, sewed air with the faces of saints into the cathedral church of the Most Pure One. The venerable and blessed Prince Peter, named David, sent to her to say: “Sister Euphrosyne! I already want to move away from the body, but I'm waiting for you so that we can resolve ourselves together. She answered: “Wait, sir, until I breathe air into the holy church!” He sends a second message to her: “I can’t wait for you for a long time!” And for the third time he sends: “I want to die already and I can’t wait for you!” She was finishing her work at that time, and did not have time to finish one saint’s robe, just finishing his face, but she stuck a needle and tied a thread, and sent Peter to say that they would repose together. And having prayed, the saints betrayed their souls in the hands of God in the month of July on the 25th day.

After their repose, people wanted to place Blessed Peter in the city near the cathedral church of the Most Pure Mother of God, and Fevronia outside the city in a convent near the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Life-Giving Cross, reasoning like this: “Since these saints were in the monastic rank, it means that they should not be placed next to each other in lay a grave." This is what they did, but the common grave, hewn out of stone, which was located near the same cathedral church of the Most Pure One, was left empty.

When people woke up in the morning, they discovered that the separate coffins of the prince and princess were empty, while their holy bodies lay in a common grave near the Church of the Virgin Mary. Foolish people, who did not give Fevronia peace during her life, and after her honest death did not abandon their custom: they again transferred them to different coffins and took them to different ends. And again in the morning the saints were discovered in a common grave. And people no longer dared to touch their holy bodies and left them where they themselves commanded: at the cathedral church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the middle of the city, to which they were given for enlightenment and salvation; those who venerate their holy relics with faith receive infinite healing.

***
We, according to our strength, will add our praise to them:

Rejoice, Peter, for you were given the power to kill the flying serpent. Rejoice, Fevronia, for in the head of the women, the husband of the saints, you had wisdom.

Rejoice, Peter, for while you bore scabs and sores on your body, you endured tribulation more valiantly. Rejoice, Fevronia, for from God you had the gift in your virgin youth to heal ailments.

Rejoice, Peter, for the commandments for the sake of God's autocracy, step aside by will, so as not to leave your wife. Rejoice, wondrous Fevronia, for with your blessing in one night the small tree grew great in age and wore out its branches and foliage.

Rejoice, honest leader, for in my possession I strive in humility and in prayers and in alms, without pride, through life; By the same token, Christ has given you grace, as even after death my body lies inseparably in the grave, but in spirit I stand before the Master Christ. Rejoice, venerable and blessed one, for even after death you invisibly grant healing to those who come to you with faith!

But we pray, O blessed spouses, that you pray for us, who create your memory by faith.

Remember me, the most sinful one, who wrote this down, having heard it all; not knowing what others wrote, leading more than me. Even if I am sinful and rude, but trusting in God’s grace and His bounty, and hoping for your prayer to Christ, I labored with my thoughts. I wanted to honor you, saints, with praises on earth, but did not even touch the praise. For the sake of your humble autocracy and reverence, I wanted to weave crowns for you upon your repose, but I didn’t even touch the weaving. You are glorified in heaven and crowned with true incorruptible crowns from the common Lord Christ, and to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, together with His beginningless Father and the Most Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The full title of “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” is “The Tale of the Lives of the Holy New Miracle Workers of Murom, the Blessed, Reverend and Worshipful Prince Peter, named in the monastic rank of David, and his wife, the Blessed and Reverend and Praiseworthy Princess Fevronia, named in the monastic rank of E phrosyne " This work was written in the 16th century by the monk Ermolai-Erasmus.

The story is based on Murom legends, which were passed down from mouth to mouth. The story is written in a unique genre that combines several areas of ancient Russian literature. The work is distinguished by a poetic mood and an abundance of humanistic ideas. It is written in such a way that it seems: everything rests on the confrontation between the two heroes Peter and Fevronia, but their unity and example of great love create an amazing plot, loved by many, regardless of religious beliefs. The work is also fighting social inequality: the boyars, who did not want to accept Fevronia, eventually paid for it and realized their mistake.

The story of Peter and Fevronia of Murom was written after the canonization of the saints.

The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom: content, plot

The story begins with a tragedy that broke out in the family of Prince Pavel, who ruled in Murom. A “fiery serpent” flew to his wife for fornication, which in a different way turned into Prince Paul himself. The prince ordered his wife to find out from the serpent how he could be defeated. The wife of Prince Pavel found out that the death of the fiery monster would come "from Peter's shoulder, from Agrikov's sword."

Peter readily agreed to come to the aid of his brother, Prince Paul. But he did not know where Agrikov could get the sword. A child came to help Peter, who showed a sword lying in the church of the Women's Vozdvizhensky Monastery in the altar wall between the stones.

Appearing to his brother, Peter saw that the serpent was already with his wife. He ordered Prince Pavel not to enter and dealt with the monster himself. Dying, the fiery serpent splashed his poisonous blood on Peter, causing him to develop leprosy. No one could heal the brave Peter, but it was revealed to him that salvation could come from the daughter of a tree climber who mined wild honey.

This girl was Fevronia, a peasant from the village of Laskovo in the Ryazan land. Fevronia agreed to heal a noble man on one condition - he would marry her after recovery. Peter made a promise, but did not keep it and, having healed, refused Fevronia, since she was a commoner.

Anticipating such an outcome, Fevronia deliberately did not heal one scab on Peter’s body. The illness took hold of him again. Repenting, Peter took Fevronya as his wife. The boyars already expressed dissatisfaction when Peter entered into the rights of inheritance to reign over Murom. The boyars told Peter: “Either let go of your wife, who insults noble ladies with her origin, or leave Murom.”

Peter did not betray his wife, took Fevronia, and they sailed together along the Oka. In Murom, meanwhile, turmoil and a struggle for power began. The boyars came to their senses and asked Peter and Fevronia to return. The boyars were not mistaken: over time, Fevronia was appreciated by all the townspeople for her wisdom in ruling.

In their old age, Peter and Fevronia, by mutual consent, took monastic vows. They died on the same day and hour.

The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom on the Day of Peter and Fevronia

The day of Peter and Fevronia of Murom is called “Orthodox Valentine’s Day.” Saints' Day of Remembrance is celebrated twice a year - on the Sunday preceding September 19, in honor of the transfer of their relics, and on July 8, on the day of their righteous death. On this day it is worth re-reading this work, which is an example of great love for Orthodox spouses.

Initially, “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” appeared as a folk legend. This happened no later than the middle of the 15th century, since it was by this time that the church cult of the Murom saints had developed. Over time, the story was subject to various author modifications, as a result of which more than one hundred and fifty copies of it in four main versions have reached our time from the Middle Ages. The number of these lists indicates the great popularity of both the legend itself and its heroes. One of the best versions of the story, created in the middle of the 16th century, was written by the talented medieval writer Nicholas Erasmus, which gave scientists reason to consider him the author of the story.

Murom Prince Peter and his wife Fevronia are real people who lived at the turn of the 12th–13th centuries, their relics for many centuries - until Soviet times - were kept in the Murom Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin. The source of the plot for “The Tale” was the legend of a wise peasant girl who became a princess (the village of Laskovo, five kilometers from the village of Solotchi and the former Solotchinsky monastery, where Fevronia was from, still exists today). At a church council in 1547, the couple were canonized. It is known that before glorifying certain persons, the Church conducts a thorough investigation of their earthly life and the miracles they performed after death. Consequently, she had the necessary data for the canonization of the wonderworkers Peter and Fevronia, noting the exact date of their repose and glorification - June 25 (July 8, new style) 1228. This canonization was preceded by a visit to Murom by the Tsar of All Russia, Ivan IV the Terrible. At that time, the very young tsar undertook a trip around the country with the aim of venerating the relics of his holy ancestors, whom he considered to be Prince Peter and his wife. And after the Kazan campaign of 1552, in gratitude for the prayerful help of the Murom wonderworkers, this sovereign ordered the construction of a new temple in Murom, dedicated to Saints Peter and Fevronia, and ordered a temple image of the wonderworkers.

However, historical sources indicate that at the noted time there was no prince named Peter in Murom, but was ruled by Prince David (1203–1228), who is repeatedly mentioned in Russian chronicles and other historical documents. He, just like in the story, has an older brother - a prince, who handed over his reign to him after his death. But the brother was also called by a different name than in the story - Vladimir, not Pavel. Based on this, some historians question the existence of real prototypes for the legend, or attribute the years of their life to a later time, about which no documents have been preserved. Other scholars refer to the fact that princes at that time were given double names.

The existence of double names for almost all princes is confirmed by numerous chronicle sources. Moreover, these were not just names taken out of thin air, or invented by parents. One of them was given to the newborn in honor of the saint on whose memory day he was born. Another name was generic - in honor of one of the child’s ancestors.

This tradition existed from ancient times until the last years of the Rurik rule. Thus, the Baptist of Rus', Grand Duke Vladimir Vsevolodovich, at his own baptism, received the name of St. Basil. In honor of his heavenly patron, he built a temple in Kyiv, on a hill where the idol of Perun had previously stood. The first Russian Sovereign, John III Vasilyevich, born much later, in 1440, was named Timothy at baptism, his son, Sovereign and Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich, was named Gabriel at baptism. It is not surprising that we know them under secular names, but the baptismal name given in many chronicles is known only to specialists. But it is also not surprising that if the Church decided to glorify them as saints, it would prefer their Christian names, given in honor of saints.

Double names of contemporaries of the Murom saints are also mentioned in the chronicles. This is how the Typographical Chronicle speaks about the birth of the future Grand Duke of Vladimir Vsevolod Yuryevich the Big Nest (1154–1212): “ In the summer 6662 <…>. That same summer, Gyurgu's son Vsevolod was born and named him in holy baptism Dmitry ". And it is with this baptismal name - Dmitry - that he is depicted on the frescoes of the Moscow Archangel Cathedral - on the northern edge of the south-eastern pillar next to Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. And on the northwestern pillar of the same temple, Peter and Fevronia are represented in monastic robes - also under their church names.

– In Rus', before Peter I, the chronology was carried out according to the Byzantine calendar - from the creation of the world and differed from the modern one by 5508 years.

In the same Typographic Chronicle, further under the year 6698 (1190), we already read about the birth of a son at Vsevolod himself: “ That same summer, Vsevolod Yaroslav, named Theodore, was born ". The founder of the branch of the Murom princes was also given a double name: Yaroslav - Pankraty Svyatoslavovich (1096–1129).

This list can be continued for a long time. Judging by the fact that the name of the Murom prince preserved in history - David - was also generic - several representatives of the Rurik family, including those from the Murom branch, had such a name - the middle name Peter was baptismal, in honor of the saint, on whose day of memory, Apparently, a prince was born. It is not surprising that it is precisely this concept that has become entrenched in the Orthodox tradition and in Russian literature. However, the first, Peter, was not forgotten: with this name (not by chance!?) The prince was called again before his death - when he accepted monasticism.

Together with Prince Peter, his wife Fevronia also took the hair under the name Euphrosyne. According to legend, during their lifetime, spouses who loved each other prepared a common coffin for themselves and ordered them to be buried side by side. However, the Murom residents were afraid to fulfill their will, because they became monks. The princess was taken to a convent, the prince was placed in a separate coffin in the Murom Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. However, in the morning the bodies of the spouses were nearby. They were separated again, but the miracle happened again. They were afraid to separate them any longer and buried them together. Initially, judging by the Tale, it was near the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. And only after being glorified as saints, their bodies were transferred to the temple. In the 17th century, a magnificent tomb was made for them, decorated with reliefs and images of saints.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the shrine with the relics of Peter and Fevronia ended up in the Murom Museum, and the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, where they rested for several centuries, was destroyed. In 1989, the shrine was returned to the Church and believers, after which it remained in the Murom Annunciation Cathedral for three years. And a few years later, on September 19, 1992, the relics of the Murom saints were solemnly transferred to the Holy Trinity Monastery for women, located in the central part of the city of Murom. The tomb with the relics was placed in the ancient Trinity Cathedral (the current church was consecrated in 1643) to the right of the iconostasis. There is a carved canopy above it, and the place is decorated with wonderful icons. Pilgrims from all over flock here to this day to venerate the relics of the Holy Saints Peter and Fevronia, who, by the grace given to them by God, are the patrons of love and Christian marriage. People ask them for help in finding a spouse and in having children. There are frequent cases of healing of people who prayed for health at their tomb, and other miracles also happen.

According to legend, one of the first miracles widely known among the people occurred after the veneration of the venerable spouses of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He came here, to Murom, before the decisive campaign against Kazan in 1552 and prayed for a long time in front of the tomb of the holy saints. It is not difficult to guess that he prayed to the patrons of family well-being not only for success in the campaign. He was married to Anastasia Romanova for five years, but he still did not have a son. This question was probably very painful in his family, because his father Vasily III did not have children for more than twenty-five years, which gave rise to considerable problems and rumors. And so, after returning from the Kazan campaign, happy news awaited the tsar: his wife gave birth to a son, Dmitry. And after his accidental death, as if as a consolation, in 1554 she gave birth to another son, Ivan. Obviously, according to the vow made during prayer to the saints, the tsar soon sent an artel of craftsmen to Murom, who erected a new stone church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary over the relics of Peter and Fevronia. They also erected several other churches in Murom.

There are many other cases of fulfillment of the requests of believers addressed to the holy saints Peter and Fevronia.

The day of glorification of Saints Peter and Fevronia - June 25 according to the old style or July 8 according to the new style - by decision of the secular authorities since 1992 has been celebrated as the Day of the city of Murom, one of the oldest in Russia - Murom was first mentioned in the "Tale of Bygone Years" together with Novgorod under 862.

On November 24, 2003, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the Council of the regional organization “People's Club “Family” established the public “Order of the Holy Blessed Peter and Fevronia of Murom”. The Order is awarded on the Day of Remembrance of Saints to Russian and foreign citizens and organizations for their significant contribution to strengthening the institution of the family, for fidelity, mercy and feat in the field of family and marriage relations. By decree of President V.V. Putin, the year 2008 was declared the year of the family, which also speaks of the importance of family relationships in our society.

The version of “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia” proposed by the author does not deviate from the traditional plot. This, however, did not prevent the volume of the story from being significantly expanded, for which historical documents, personalities, and ancient literary works were also used. For example, “Wedding Ceremony” from the ancient pre-Sylvester “Domostroy”. The details, however, should not have overshadowed the essence of the saints’ feat, their loyalty to each other, therefore the descriptions of the surrounding scenery, faces, clothes and other things not important for the plot were reduced to a minimum. All this was done with one goal - to convey to the largest circle of readers the story of the feat of the holy believers Peter and Fevronia, to remind them of the importance for every person of a happy family life.

The Appendix to this book contains the oldest list of the story about Peter and Fevronia in the old Russian language and its translation as presented by the medieval writer Ermolai Erasmus. Here are their lives, prayers to them, and an article by the most authoritative academician D. S. Likhachev, explaining to us the essence of the feat of the Murom saints.

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Chapter I
Scary guest

That evening, the husband seemed unusually excited and unusually fussy to Princess Murom. He appeared in her room without knocking, as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, so that, noticing him, the maid Elena shuddered and dropped the comb she was using to style her mistress’s hair.

According to custom, having served a small evening service in the house church, the princess went to her chambers to prepare for bed and now, already dressed in a nightgown, sat in a carved armchair in front of the dressing table, on which stood a new item - an oval mirror in a gilded frame. On its bronze surface, polished to a shine, she saw her elongated face of an unusually dark shade, completely different from her real skin color. The mirror, slightly larger than her face, was brought by the prince's treasurer from Novgorod the Great, from the spring fair, where, they say, merchants from all over Europe gathered. And for several days now, the princess and the noblewomen have been taking turns, or even together, looking at it, then at each other, comparing, discussing and coming to the conclusion that the mirror does not distort the appearance at all, and even on the contrary, darkening it slightly, makes it more mysterious . The old mirror, small and even more cloudy, was moved by the princess to the front room on the stand - there she received guests and could now look at it at any time and evaluate her appearance.

The husband, who appeared unexpectedly and silently at the door, as if surprised at the presence of the maid, made an impatient sign with his hand to hurry her up. A stream of air stirred the flames of numerous candles, and the ugly shadows of those present trembled on the wall. Frightened by the unexpected appearance of the master, Elena, having completed the work she had begun with a trembling hand, quickly straightened the lush pillows and, throwing back a corner of the blanket on the wide bed under the alcove, hurriedly slipped out of the room. The evening guest closed the door more tightly behind her and turned to the princess, who was always glad to see Prince Pavel, who was usually very busy, at her place. She smiled at him and nodded towards the chair standing next to him:

- Make yourself comfortable, my friend, I didn’t expect you to turn around so quickly. Are you satisfied with the trip?

Two days ago, just before dawn, her husband went with his younger brother Peter and a small squad to visit neighboring Ryazan at the invitation of the local princes to negotiate a campaign against the Volga Bulgarians. Such trips usually took at least three days, because the negotiations were accompanied by long friendly feasts, hunting trips, and waiting for the arrival of other princes.

Instead of answering, her husband pulled his chair towards her, and his eyes sparkled unusually. He stroked her hair, touched her neck, his hand slid under the open lace collar of her nightgown and fell to her chest. This hand, touching her, as if by magic, ignited the body with a previously unfamiliar passion, the blood rushed to the head, then flowed down, under the stomach, the eyes darkened, the chest, every cell of the skin longed for new similar touches.

Out of shame for such sinful thoughts, the princess blushed and froze, afraid even to admit to herself the irresistible lustful desire that had suddenly arisen. And he, meeting no resistance, dared everything, the movements of his hands became more and more confident, her nightgown was already getting in the way of him.

They had been married for a long time, but the princess had never experienced anything like this before. Their marital relationship was decorous, traditional, more even friendly than passionate. The husband was much older than her. He came into her chambers every evening, they talked about the past day. Once or twice a week, her husband came to her in his night clothes through the internal doors that connected their chambers with a covered passage, and stayed overnight, having first taken off his robe and nightgown and carefully laid them out on a wide bench standing right next to the bed. During fasting, they were generally limited to only a gentle kiss.

Now the prince seemed different, and she was afraid to look at him, although she was already exhausted with desire. He lifted her from the chair, pressed her to him and let out a groan that sounded like a growl. She suddenly remembered that, having appeared to her today, her usually talkative husband had not yet uttered a single word. But she herself was completely different today than before, which is why she immediately forgot her surprise and again turned into only desire.

Without letting go of her hands, he moved closer to the large candlestick near the table and blew out all the candles at once with one breath, leaving only two burning at the head of the bed. Already in the semi-darkness he pulled the shirt off her shoulders, and it fell to the floor. In one movement, it was unclear how, he shook off his clothes and himself, and in a moment they found themselves in bed on cool linen sheets. And only then did she finally decide to look at her husband, who was already taking possession of her and again uttering moans similar to growls. But before her eyes there seemed to be a veil of tears of passion, and she herself suddenly groaned, almost losing consciousness from the shock she experienced for the first time. And again she looked at her husband, who at that moment growled louder than before. Suddenly she saw in front of her a demon with burning eyes, black, creepy, with hair on his face. Horror gripped her, and she screamed as hard as she could, but instead of a scream, only a quiet wheeze escaped from her throat, and the princess actually lost consciousness.

I woke up alone, in silence, in my bed, two candles were still burning in the bedchamber. She looked around, felt the nearby pillow, which was wrinkled and still contained traces of someone else's presence. The princess jumped up, took a splinter and lit all the candles again, and for some reason looked under the bed. There was no one in the bedroom except her. She rushed to the icons, began to pray, asked the Lord for forgiveness, and burst into tears. She already realized that she had sinned not with her husband at all, but, most likely, with the messenger of the devil himself. But, immediately, she remembered the sensations she had experienced and, contrary to her will and thoughts, the desire to experience this unearthly passion again began to take possession of her. The princess rose from her knees, walked around all her rooms, looked out of the door of the bedchamber into the passage - everywhere was empty. The door to her husband's chambers was locked. After wandering around the tower and calming down, she returned to bed and quickly fell asleep. In the morning I learned that Prince Pavel had not yet returned from Ryazan.

The remaining days before his arrival passed in confusion. She ordered the servants to immediately report to her as soon as her husband announced his arrival, or to appear in person. I was painfully thinking about how to tell him about the sin that had happened and whether it was necessary to talk about it at all. Until now, she had no secrets from her husband. But this incident was special, and talking about it could destroy their good relationship. She told herself that she was not to blame for the sin that had happened, that she had no intention of cheating on the prince. But “this” happened? So we need to repent! But is it necessary?

She hasn't told anyone about what happened yet. The maid who saw the night guest did not ask anything, perhaps she decided that it really was Prince Pavel, who had somehow arrived home for a short time. The princess was tormented by her doubts and expectations. She felt that the night visitor would appear again. At first she confidently decided that as soon as this happened, she would raise a scream, noise, wake up the servants and would never allow him to get closer to her. Then she remembered who she was dealing with and realized that if he wanted, he could use his demonic charms, and she would either become numb or completely lose the ability to resist. This thought came more and more often as time passed, and she increasingly remembered his touch and its incredible effect on her body. Passions began to boil in her, it seemed to her that he was already nearby, at times she even wanted him to be nearby. She began to pray and repent, but the flesh did not obey her and demanded the pleasure she had once experienced.

In the evenings, and sometimes during long nights, the princess listened to every rustle outside the door, and the longer “That One” did not appear, the calmer she became about the idea that he should come to her again. In the end, not even three days had passed before she was already impatiently waiting for her terrible night visitor.

But Prince Pavel arrived. She herself guessed this from the noise in the courtyard, the clatter of hooves, and from the numerous ringing voices scattered throughout the wards. She hurried into the courtyard to meet her husband, went down the stairs from the gilded upper porch of her mansion straight into the courtyard, and Pavel joyfully hugged her right at the entrance. He had a good time, he loved his wife and was happy that everything was okay. At dinner he cheerfully told me what he did in Ryazan, where he visited, what he agreed with his relatives - the princes. And in the evening he came to her bedchamber, when she was already left alone.

The princess was waiting for her husband, but in the first minutes doubts nevertheless overcame her. Is this Paul? The lights of the candles reflected in his eyes, glinted across his face and clothes, and for a moment he seemed like a stranger to her, “That One.” But the prince slowly took off his clothes, carefully laid them out on the bench, and when he calmly lay down on the bed next to her, the princess was already sure that this was her husband. His touches were familiar, pleasant, but did not burn with passion, did not dizzy, did not excite the blood, did not bring me to a groan. He traditionally complained that God did not give them an heir, and expressed the hope that this time his efforts would not be in vain. The princess agreed with him and affectionately threw her arms around her husband. So, hugging each other, they fell asleep. She did not dare to tell about her terrible guest. Hoped everything would work out.

But it didn't work out. The next evening, "He" appeared. At first, the princess did not guess about it. He and the maid at the dressing table were putting jewelry into boxes and selecting those that needed repair. Appearing silently again, as if out of thin air, the guest sat down opposite her in a chair near the dressing table and stretched out his legs. At first she had no doubt that it was Prince Pavel, for he was in his usual embroidered caftan with silver buttons, in comfortable short boots that he wore at home, his dark brown small beard was neatly combed, his eyes were closed and barely attracted attention to himself .

The maid immediately took her leave, but then, after knocking, her husband’s younger brother Peter appeared - according to the established rule, to wish the princess good night. Cheerful and smiling, the young prince, right from the threshold, first bowed to the princess:

“Be healthy, sister, rest peacefully,” then he turned to his brother, “and I wish you health again, brother.” I just don’t understand how you got ahead of me, it’s like I just left you and didn’t go anywhere?

Noticing that his brother was not very pleased with his appearance and continued to remain silent, Peter exclaimed:

- Oh, yes, I stopped and gave orders to the servant! Apparently he overlooked you. However, it doesn't matter. I bow.

He once again shook his light brown curls right at the threshold and left, tightly closing the door behind him.

– Why are you so gloomy, my friend? – the princess asked her husband. – Are you tired, or have you received bad news? I know that Vladyka came to see you in the evening, probably again asking for some benefits or money for construction?

Life of Peter and Fevronia of Murom.

Peter and Fevronia of Murom. Gallery of icons of Shchigra.

Peter and Fevronia of Murom are spouses, saints, the brightest personalities of Holy Rus', who with their lives reflected its spiritual values ​​and ideals.

The life story of St. miracle workers, the faithful and reverend spouses Peter and Fevronia, existed for many centuries in the traditions of the Murom land, where they lived and where their honest relics were preserved. Over time, real events acquired fabulous features, merging in people's memory with the legends and parables of this region. Now researchers are arguing about which of the historical figures the life was written about: some are inclined to think that it was Prince David and his wife Euphrosyne, monastically Peter and Fevronia, who died in 1228, others see them as the spouses Peter and Euphrosyne, who reigned in Murom in XIV century

Memorable places associated with the names of Peter and Fevronia.

Icon of the faithful and reverend spouses Peter and Fevronia.

In Murom, in the Holy Trinity Convent, there is a shrine with the relics of the Murom saints Peter and Fevronia.

Pilgrims constantly come here to venerate the relics of the most famous Russian holy couple, patrons of family and marriage.

I wrote down a story about blgv. Peter and Fevronia in the 16th century. priest Ermolai the Preregrenny (monastically Erasmus), a talented writer, widely known in the era of Ivan the Terrible. Preserving folkloric features in his life, he created an amazingly poetic story about wisdom and love - the gifts of the Holy Spirit with a pure heart and humbleness in God.

Rev. Peter was the younger brother of the lord who reigned in the city of Murom. Pavel. One day, trouble happened in Pavel’s family - due to the devil’s obsession, a snake began to fly to his wife. The sad woman, who succumbed to demonic power, told her husband everything. The prince ordered his wife to find out the secret of his death from the villain. It turned out that the adversary’s death was “destined to come from Peter’s shoulder and Agrikov’s sword.” Having learned about this, Prince. Peter immediately decided to kill the rapist, relying on God's help. Soon, during prayer in the temple, it was revealed where Agrikov’s sword was kept, and, having tracked down the serpent, Peter struck him down. But before his death, the snake sprinkled the winner with poisonous blood, and the prince’s body became covered with scabs and ulcers.

No one could heal Peter from a serious illness. Enduring the torment with humility, the prince surrendered to God in everything. And the Lord, providing for His servant, sent him to the Ryazan land. One of the young men sent in search of a doctor accidentally walked into the house, where he found a lonely girl named Fevronia, the daughter of a tree frog, at work, who had the gift of insight and healing. After all the questions, Fevronia ordered the servant: “Bring your prince here. If he is sincere and humble in his words, he will be healthy!”

The prince, who could no longer walk himself, was brought to the house, and he sent to ask who wanted to cure him. And he promised him that if he cured him, he would get a big reward. “I want to cure him,” Fevronia answered bluntly, “but I don’t demand any reward from him. Here’s my word to him: if I don’t become his wife, then it’s not right for me to treat him.” Peter promised to marry, but in his heart he was lying: the pride of the princely family prevented him from agreeing to such a marriage. Fevronia scooped up some sourdough, blew on it and ordered the prince to wash himself in the bathhouse and lubricate all the scabs except one.

The blessed maiden had the wisdom of the Holy Fathers and prescribed such treatment not by chance. Just as the Lord and Savior, healing lepers, the blind and the paralytic, healed the soul through bodily ailments, so Fevronia, knowing that illnesses are allowed by God as a test and for sins, prescribed treatment for the flesh, implying a spiritual meaning. Bath, according to St. To Scripture, the image of baptism and cleansing of sins (Eph. 5:26), but the Lord Himself likened the Kingdom of Heaven to leaven, which will be inherited by souls whitened by the washing of baptism (Luke 13:21). Since Fevronia saw through Peter’s wickedness and pride, she ordered him to leave one scab undone as evidence of sin. Soon, from this scab, the whole illness resumed, and the prince returned to Fevronia. The second time he kept his word. “And they arrived at their patrimony, the city of Murom, and began to live piously, without breaking God’s commandments in anything.”

After the death of his brother, Peter became autocrat in the city. The boyars respected their prince, but the arrogant boyars’ wives disliked Fevronia, not wanting to have a peasant woman as their ruler, and taught their husbands evil things. The boyars tried to level all sorts of slander against the princess, and one day they rebelled and, having lost their shame, offered Fevronia, taking whatever she wanted, to leave the city. The princess wanted nothing but her husband. The boyars rejoiced, because everyone secretly set their sights on the princely place, and they told their prince about everything. Blessed Peter, having learned that they wanted to separate him from his beloved wife, chose to voluntarily renounce power and wealth and go into exile with her.

The couple sailed down the river on two ships. A certain man, sailing with his family along with Fevronia, looked at the princess. The holy wife immediately guessed his thoughts and gently reproached him: “Draw up water from one side and the other of the boat,” the princess asked. “Is the water the same or is one sweeter than the other?” “The same,” he answered. “So female nature is the same,” said Fevronia. “Why, having forgotten your wife, are you thinking about someone else’s?” The convicted person was embarrassed and repented in his soul.

In the evening they moored to the shore and began to settle down for the night. "What will happen to us now?" - Peter thought sadly, and Fevronia, a wise and kind wife, affectionately consoled him: “Do not grieve, prince, the merciful God, the Creator and Protector of all, will not leave us in trouble!” At this time, the cook began to prepare dinner and, in order to hang the cauldrons, cut down two small trees. When the meal was over, the princess blessed these stumps with the words: “May they become big trees in the morning.” And so it happened. With this miracle, she wanted to strengthen her husband, foreseeing their fate. After all, if “there is hope for a tree that, even if it is cut down, it will live again” (Job 14:7), then a person who hopes and trusts in the Lord will have a blessing both in this life and in the next.

Before they had time to wake up, ambassadors from Murom arrived, begging Peter to return to reign. The boyars quarreled over power, shed blood and were now again looking for peace and tranquility. Blzh. Peter and Fevronia humbly returned to their city and ruled happily ever after, giving alms with prayer in their hearts. When old age came, they took monasticism with the names David and Euphrosyne and begged God to die at the same time. They decided to bury themselves together in a specially prepared coffin with a thin partition in the middle.

They died on the same day and hour, each in his own cell. People considered it impious to bury monks in the same coffin and dared to violate the will of the deceased. Twice their bodies were carried to different temples, but twice they miraculously found themselves nearby. So they buried the holy spouses together near the cathedral church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and every believer received generous healing here.

You can get acquainted with the story of the life and love of Saints Peter and Fevronia by reading “ The Legend of Peter and Fevronia of Murom". This is a literary adaptation of a legend beloved by the Russian people, performed by order of Metropolitan Macarius by the writer and publicist Ermolai-Erasmus for the Moscow Church Council of 1547. At this cathedral the holy Murom spouses were canonized.

« The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom", telling about the life of Prince Peter and his wife Princess Fevronia, became a hymn to marital love and fidelity. The Russian people loved to read the story of the Murom miracle worker saints - hundreds of copies of this work in the 16th-17th centuries speak about the popularity of the work of Ermolai-Erasmus. But this love story is also interesting to our contemporaries, especially now, when in Russia Day of Peter and Fevronia of Murom(July 8) began to be celebrated in 2008 as the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity.

Below is a modern Russian-language version of “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom” (in the original the legend was written in Old Russian).

Listen to the Legend of Peter and Fevronia of Murom

YERMOLAI-ERAZM

THE TALE OF PETER AND FEVRONIYA OF MUROM

THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF THE NEW MUROMSKY HOLY WONDERWORKERS, THE BLESSED, AND REVEREND, AND PRAISE-WORTHY PRINCE PETER, NAMED DAVID, AND HIS SPOUSE, THE BLESSED, AND REVEREND, AND PRAISE-WORTHY PRINCE INI FEVRONIYA, CALLED EPHROSYNE IN MONSTITUDE, BLESS, FATHER

There is a city in Russian land called Murom. It was once ruled by a noble prince named Pavel. The devil, who has hated the human race from time immemorial, made it so that the winged serpent began to fly to the wife of that prince for fornication. And with his magic he appeared before her in the image of the prince himself. This obsession continued for a long time. The wife did not hide this and told the prince and her husband about everything that happened to her. The evil snake took possession of her by force.

The prince began to think about what to do with the snake, but was at a loss. And so he says to his wife: “I’m thinking about it, wife, but I can’t figure out how to defeat this villain? I don't know how to kill him? When he begins to talk to you, ask him, seducing him, about this: does this villain himself know why his death should happen? If you find out about this and tell us, then you will be freed not only in this life from its stinking breath and hissing and all this shamelessness, which is shameful even to talk about, but also in the future life of the unhypocritical judge, Christ, thereby you will appease.” The wife firmly imprinted her husband’s words in her heart and she decided: “I will definitely do this.”

And then one day, when this evil snake came to her, she, holding her husband’s words tightly in her heart, turned to this villain with flattering speeches, talking about this and that, and in the end, with respect, praising him, asking: “A lot of things.” you know, but do you know about your death - what it will be like and from what?” He, an evil deceiver, was deceived by the forgivable deception of his faithful wife, for, neglecting the fact that he was revealing the secret to her, he said: “I am destined to die from Peter’s shoulder and from Agrikov’s sword.” The wife, having heard these words, firmly remembered them in her heart and, when this villain left, she told the prince, her husband, what the snake had told her. The prince, having heard this, was perplexed - what does it mean: death from Peter’s shoulder and from Agrikov’s sword?

And the prince had a brother named Peter. One day Paul called him to him and began to tell him about the words of the serpent, which he said to his wife. Prince Peter, having heard from his brother that the serpent had called the one by whose hand he was to die by his name, began to think without hesitation or doubt how to kill the serpent. Only one thing confused him - he didn’t know anything about Agric’s sword.

It was Peter's custom to walk alone in churches. And outside the city stood in a convent the Church of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross. He came there alone to pray. And then the youth appeared to him, saying: “Prince! Do you want me to show you Agrikov’s sword?” He, trying to fulfill his plan, replied: “Let me see where he is!” The boy said: “Follow me.” And he showed the prince a gap in the altar wall between the slabs, and in it lay a sword. Then the noble prince Peter took that sword, went to his brother and told him about everything. And from that day he began to look for a suitable opportunity to kill the snake.

Every day Peter went to his brother and his daughter-in-law to pay homage to them. One day he happened to come to his brother’s chambers, and immediately he went from him to his daughter-in-law in other chambers and saw that his brother was sitting with her. And, going back from her, he met one of his brother’s servants and said to him: “I went out from my brother to my daughter-in-law, and my brother remained in his chambers, and I, without stopping anywhere, quickly came to my daughter-in-law’s chambers.” and I don’t understand how my brother ended up in my daughter-in-law’s chambers before me?” The same man said to him: “Sir, after your departure your brother did not leave his chambers!” Then Peter realized that these were the wiles of the evil serpent. And he came to his brother and said to him: “When did you come here? After all, when I left these chambers from you and, without stopping anywhere, came to your wife’s chambers, I saw you sitting with her and was very surprised how you came before me. And so I came here again, without stopping anywhere, but you, I don’t understand how, got ahead of me and ended up here before me?” Paul answered: “Brother, I did not leave these chambers anywhere after you left, nor did I visit my wife.” Then Prince Peter said: “This, brother, is the machinations of the evil serpent - you appear to me, so that I do not decide to kill him, thinking that it is you who are my brother. Now, brother, don’t go anywhere from here, I’ll go there to fight the snake, I hope that with God’s help this evil snake will be killed.”

And, taking the sword called Agrikov, he came to his daughter-in-law’s chambers and saw a serpent in the form of his brother, but, firmly convinced that it was not his brother, but an insidious serpent, he struck him with the sword. The serpent, turning into its natural form, trembled and died, sprinkling the blessed Prince Peter with its blood. Peter, from that evil blood, became covered with scabs, and ulcers appeared on his body, and a serious illness seized him. And he tried to find healing from many doctors in his domain, but not one cured him.

Peter heard that there were many doctors in the Ryazan land, and ordered to be taken there - due to a serious illness, he himself could not sit on a horse. And when they brought him to the Ryazan land, he sent all his close associates to look for doctors.

One of the princely youths wandered into a village called Laskovo. He came to the gate of one house and saw no one. And he went into the house, but no one came out to meet him. Then he entered the upper room and saw an amazing sight: a girl was sitting alone at a loom, weaving canvas, and a hare was jumping in front of her.

And the girl said: “It’s bad when the house has no ears, and the room has no eyes!” The young man, not understanding these words, asked the girl: “Where is the owner of this house?” To this she replied: “My father and mother went to cry on loan, but my brother went through the legs of death to look into the eyes.”

The young man did not understand the girl’s words, he was amazed, seeing and hearing such miracles, and asked the girl: “I came in to you and saw that you were weaving, and a hare was jumping in front of you, and I heard some strange speeches from your lips and I can't understand what you're saying. First you said: it’s bad when the house has no ears and the room has no eyes. About her father and mother she said that they went on loan to cry, but about her brother she said - “he looks into the eyes of death through the legs.” And I didn’t understand a single word of yours!”

She told him: “And you can’t understand this! You came to this house, and entered my upper room, and found me in an unkempt state. If there was a dog in our house, it would sense that you were approaching the house and would bark at you: these are the ears of the house. And if there was a child in my upper room, then, seeing that you were going to the upper room, he would tell me about it: these are the eyes of the house. And what I told you about my father and mother and about my brother, that my father and mother went to cry - they went to a funeral and mourned the dead man there. And when death comes for them, others will mourn them: this is crying on loan. I told you this about my brother because my father and brother are tree climbers, they collect honey from the trees in the forest. And today my brother went to be a beekeeper, and when he climbs up a tree, he will look through his legs to the ground so as not to fall from his height. If anyone breaks down, he will lose his life. That’s why I said that he went through the legs of death to look into the eyes.”

The young man says to her: “I see, girl, that you are wise. Tell me your name." She replied: “My name is Fevronia.” And that young man said to her: “I am the servant of the Murom prince Peter. My prince is seriously ill, with ulcers. He was covered with scabs from the blood of the evil flying snake, which he killed with his own hand. In his principality, he sought healing from many doctors, but no one could cure him. Therefore, he ordered to bring himself here, since he had heard that there were many doctors here. But we don’t know their names or where they live, so we ask about them.” To this she replied: “If someone asked for your prince, he could cure him.” The young man said: “What are you saying - who can claim my prince for himself! If anyone cures him, the prince will richly reward him. But tell me the name of the doctor, who he is and where his house is.” She answered: “Bring your prince here. If he is sincere and humble in his words, he will be healthy!”

The young man quickly returned to his prince and told him in detail about everything he had seen and heard. The noble Prince Peter commanded: “Take me to where this girl is.” And they brought him to the house where the girl lived. And he sent one of his servants to ask: “Tell me, girl, who wants to cure me? Let him heal and receive a rich reward.” She answered bluntly: “I want to cure him, but I don’t demand any reward from him. Here is my word to him: if I do not become his wife, then it is not right for me to treat him.” And the man returned and told his prince what the girl had told him.

Prince Peter treated her words with disdain and thought: “Well, how is it possible for the prince to take the daughter of a poison dart frog as his wife!” And he sent to her, saying: “Tell her - let her heal as best she can. If she cures me, I will take her as my wife.” They came to her and conveyed these words. She, taking a small bowl, scooped up some leaven with it, blew on it and said: “Let them heat your prince’s bathhouse, and let him anoint his whole body with it, where there are scabs and ulcers. And let him leave one scab unanointed. And he will be healthy!”

And they brought this ointment to the prince, and he ordered to heat the bathhouse. He wanted to test the girl’s answers - whether she was as wise as he had heard about her speeches from his youth. He sent a small bundle of flax to her with one of his servants, saying: “This girl wants to become my wife for the sake of her wisdom. If she is so wise, let her make me a shirt, and clothes, and a scarf from this flax while I am in the bathhouse.” The servant brought a bunch of flax to Fevronia and, handing it to her, handed over the prince's order. She said to the servant: "Climb on our stove and, having removed the log, bring it here." He, having listened to her, brought a log. Then she, having measured with a span, said: "Cut off this from the log." He cut it off. She tells him: “Take this stump of wood, go and give it to your prince from me and tell him: while I comb this bunch of flax, let your prince make a weaving mill from this stump and all the other equipment that will be used for weaving.” canvas for him." The servant brought a stump of logs to his prince and conveyed the words of the girl. The prince says: “Go tell the girl that it is impossible to make what she asks from such a small chick in such a short time!” The servant came and gave her the prince's words. The girl responded to this: “Is it really possible for an adult man to make a shirt, a dress, and a scarf from one bunch of flax in the short time it takes him to wash in the bathhouse?” The servant left and conveyed these words to the prince. The prince was amazed at her answer.

Then Prince Peter went to the bathhouse to wash and, as the girl ordered, he anointed his sores and scabs with ointment. And he left one scab unanointed, as the girl ordered. And when I left the bathhouse, I no longer felt any illness. The next morning he looks - his whole body is healthy and clean, only one scab remains, which he did not anoint, as the girl punished him. And he marveled at such a quick healing. But he did not want to take her as his wife because of her origin, but sent her gifts. She didn't accept it.

Prince Peter went to his patrimony, the city of Murom, having recovered. Only one scab remained on him, which was not anointed at the girl’s command. And from that scab new scabs appeared all over his body from the day he went to his patrimony. And again he was covered all over with scabs and ulcers, just like the first time.

And again the prince returned to the girl for the tried and tested treatment. And when he came to her house, he sent to her in shame, asking for healing. She, not at all angry, said: “If he becomes my husband, he will be healed.” He gave her a firm word that he would take her as his wife. And again, as before, she prescribed the same treatment for him, which I already wrote about before. He, having quickly recovered, took her as his wife. This is how Fevronia became a princess.

And they arrived at their patrimony, the city of Murom, and began to live piously, without breaking God’s commandments in anything.

After a short time, Prince Pavel died. The noble Prince Peter, after his brother, became autocrat in his city.

The boyars, at the instigation of their wives, did not love Princess Fevronia, because she did not become a princess by birth, but God glorified her for the sake of her good life.

One day, one of those serving her came to the blessed Prince Peter and said to her: “Every time,” he said, “after finishing a meal, she leaves the table inappropriately: before getting up, she collects crumbs in her hand, as if she were hungry.” ! And so the noble prince Peter, wanting to test her, ordered that she dine with him at the same table. And when dinner was over, she, as was her custom, collected the crumbs in her hand. Then Prince Peter took Fevronia by the hand and, opening it, saw fragrant incense and incense. And from that day on, he never experienced it again.

A lot of time passed, and then one day his boyars came to the prince in anger and said: “Prince, we are all ready to serve you faithfully and have you as autocrat, but we do not want Princess Fevronia to rule over our wives. If you want to remain an autocrat, let you have another princess. Fevronia, having taken as much wealth as she wants, let her go wherever she wants!” Blessed Peter, whose custom was not to be angry at anything, answered with meekness: “Tell Fevronia about this, let’s listen to what she says.”

The frantic boyars, having lost their shame, decided to throw a feast. They began to feast and, when they became drunk, they began to conduct their shameless speeches, like barking dogs, denying God’s gift to Saint Fevronia to heal, which God awarded her even after death. And they say: “Madam Princess Fevronia! The whole city and the boyars are asking you: give us whoever we ask you for!” She answered: “Take whoever you ask!” They, as if with one mouth, said: “We, madam, all want Prince Peter to rule over us, but our wives do not want you to rule over them. Having taken as much wealth as you need, go wherever you want!” Then she said: “I promised you that whatever you ask, you will receive. Now I tell you: promise to give me whatever I ask you.” They, the villains, rejoiced, not knowing what awaited them, and swore: “Whatever you name, you will immediately receive it without question.” Then she says: “I ask for nothing else, only my husband, Prince Peter!” They answered: “If he wants to, we won’t say a word to you.” The enemy clouded their minds - everyone thought that if Prince Peter was not there, they would have to install another autocrat: but in their souls, each of the boyars hoped to become an autocrat.

Blessed Prince Peter did not want to break God’s commandments for the sake of reigning in this life; he lived according to God’s commandments, keeping them, as the God-voiced Matthew says in his Annunciation. After all, it is said that if someone drives away his wife, who has not been accused of adultery, and marries another, he himself commits adultery. This blessed prince acted according to the Gospel: he neglected his reign, so as not to break God’s commandments.

These wicked boyars prepared ships for them on the river - a river called Oka flows under this city. And so they sailed down the river in ships. In the same ship with Fevronia, a certain man was sailing, whose wife was on the same ship. And this man, tempted by the evil demon, looked at the saint with thoughts. She, immediately guessing his evil thoughts, rebuked him, saying to him: “Draw water from this river from this side of this ship.” He got it. And she ordered him to drink. He drank. Then she said again: “Now scoop up water from the other side of this vessel.” He got it. And she ordered him to drink again. He drank. Then she asked: “Is the water the same or is one sweeter than the other?” He answered: “The same water, lady.” After this she said: “So the female nature is the same. Why, having forgotten about your wife, are you thinking about someone else’s?” And this man, realizing that she had the gift of clairvoyance, did not dare to indulge in such thoughts anymore.

When evening came, they landed on the shore and began to settle down for the night. Blessed Prince Peter thought: “What will happen now, since I voluntarily gave up the reign?” Precious Fevronia tells him: “Do not grieve, prince, the merciful God, the creator and protector of all will not leave us in trouble!”

Meanwhile, on the shore, food was being prepared for Prince Peter’s dinner. And his cook cut down small trees to hang the cauldrons on. And when dinner was over, the holy princess Fevronia, who was walking along the shore and saw these stumps, blessed them, saying: “May they be large trees with branches and foliage in the morning.” And so it was: we got up in the morning and found large trees with branches and foliage instead of stumps.

And when people gathered to load their belongings from the shore onto ships, nobles from the city of Murom came, saying: “Our lord prince! We came to you from all the nobles and from the inhabitants of the whole city, do not leave us, your orphans, return to your reign. After all, many nobles died in the city from the sword. Each of them wanted to rule, and in the dispute they killed each other. And all those who survived, together with all the people, pray to you: Our lord prince, although we angered and offended you because we did not want Princess Fevronia to rule over our wives, but now with all our household we are your slaves and we want you to be, and we love you, and we pray that you do not leave us, your servants!”

Blessed Prince Peter and Blessed Princess Fevronia returned to their city. And they ruled in that city, observing all the commandments and instructions of the Lord impeccably, praying unceasingly and doing alms to all the people who were under their rule, like a child-loving father and mother. They had equal love for everyone, they did not like cruelty and money-grubbing, they did not spare perishable wealth, but they were rich in God's wealth. And they were true shepherds for their city, and not like mercenaries. And they ruled their city with justice and meekness, and not with rage. Wanderers were received, the hungry were fed, the naked were clothed, the poor were delivered from misfortunes.

When the time came for their pious repose, they besought God that they might die at the same time. And they bequeathed that they both be put in one tomb, and ordered to make two coffins from one stone, having a thin partition between them. At one time they became monks and donned monastic robes. And in the monastic order, the blessed Prince Peter David was named, and the Monk Fevronia, in the monastic order, was named Euphrosyne.

At the time when the venerable and blessed Fevronia, named Euphrosinia, was embroidering the faces of saints in the air for the cathedral church of the Most Pure Theotokos, the venerable and blessed Prince Peter, named David, sent to her to say: “O sister Euphrosinia! The time of death has come, but I’m waiting for you so that we can go to God together.” She answered: “Wait, sir, until I bring air into the holy church.” He sent a second time to say: “I can’t wait for you for long.” And for the third time he sent me to say: “I’m already dying and I can’t wait any longer!” At that time, she was finishing the embroidery of that holy air: only one saint had not yet finished the mantle, but had already embroidered her face; and stopped, and stuck her needle into the air, and wound around it the thread with which she was embroidering. And she sent to tell the blessed Peter, named David, that he was dying with him. And having prayed, they both gave their souls into the hands of God on the twenty-fifth day of the month of June.

After their repose, people decided to bury the body of Blessed Prince Peter in the city, at the cathedral church of the Most Pure Mother of God, while Fevronia was buried in a suburban convent, at the Church of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, saying that since they became monks, they cannot be put in one coffin . And they made separate coffins for them, in which they laid their bodies: the body of St. Peter, named David, was placed in his coffin and placed until morning in the city church of the Holy Mother of God, and the body of St. Fevronia, named Euphrosyne, was placed in her coffin and placed in a country church Exaltation of an honest and life-giving cross. Their common coffin, which they themselves ordered to be carved out of one stone, remained empty in the same city cathedral church of the Most Pure Mother of God. But the next day, in the morning, people saw that the separate coffins in which they had placed them were empty, and their holy bodies were found in the city cathedral church of the Most Pure Mother of God in their common coffin, which they ordered to be made for themselves during their lifetime. Unreasonable people, both during their lifetime and after the honest death of Peter and Fevronia, tried to separate them: they again transferred them to separate coffins and again separated them. And again in the morning the saints found themselves in a single coffin. And after that, they no longer dared to touch their holy bodies and buried them near the city cathedral church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, as they themselves commanded - in a single coffin, which God granted for enlightenment and for the salvation of that city: those who fall with faith to the cancer with their relics generously find healing.

Let us, according to our strength, give them praise.

Rejoice, Peter, for you have been given from God the power to kill the flying fierce serpent! Rejoice, Fevronia, for in your woman’s head was the wisdom of holy men! Rejoice, Peter, for, bearing scabs and ulcers on his body, he bravely endured all the torments! Rejoice, Fevronia, for already as a girl you possessed the gift given to you from God to heal ailments! Rejoice, illustrious Peter, for, for the sake of God’s commandment not to leave his wife, he voluntarily renounced power! Rejoice, wonderful Fevronia, for with your blessing, in one night the small trees grew large, covered with branches and leaves! Rejoice, honest leaders, for in your reign you lived with humility, in prayers, doing alms, without being arrogant; For this, Christ has overshadowed you with His grace, so that even after death your bodies lie inseparably in one tomb, and in spirit you stand before the Lord Christ! Rejoice, reverend and blessed ones, for even after death you invisibly heal those who come to you with faith!

We pray to you, O blessed spouses, that you also pray for us, who honor your memory with faith!

Remember also me, a sinner, who wrote everything that I heard about you, not knowing whether others who knew more than me wrote about you or not. Although I am a sinner and an ignorant person, trusting in God’s grace and his generosity and trusting in your prayers to Christ, I worked on my work. While I wanted to give you praise on earth, I have not yet touched upon real praise. For the sake of your meek reign and righteous life, I wanted to weave wreaths of praise for you after your death, but I haven’t really touched on this yet. For you are glorified and crowned in heaven with true incorruptible crowns by the common ruler of all, Christ. To him belongs, together with his beginningless Father and the most holy, good and life-giving Spirit, all glory, honor and worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Summary of the story about Peter and Fevronia of Murom

Prince Pavel ruled in the city of Murom. The devil sent a flying serpent to his wife for fornication. He appeared to her in his own form, but to other people he seemed to be Prince Paul. The princess confessed everything to her husband, but he did not know what to do. He ordered his wife to ask the serpent why death could come to him. The serpent told the princess that his death would be “from Peter’s shoulder, from Agrikov’s sword.”

The prince had a brother named Peter. He began to think about how to kill the serpent, but did not know where to get Agrikov’s sword. Once in the church of the Vozdvizhensky Monastery, a child showed him Agrikov’s sword, which lay in a gap between the stones of the altar wall. The prince took the sword.

One day Peter came to his brother. He was at home, in his room. Then Peter went to his daughter-in-law and saw that his brother was already sitting with her. Paul explained that the serpent can take on his form. Then Peter ordered his brother not to go anywhere, took Agrikov’s sword, came to his daughter-in-law and killed the serpent. The serpent appeared in his nature and, dying, sprinkled Peter with blood.

Peter's body was covered with ulcers, he became seriously ill, and no one could cure him. The patient was brought to Ryazan land and they began to look for doctors there. His servant came to Laskovo. Entering one house, he saw a girl weaving cloth. It was Fevronia, the daughter of a tree frog who extracts honey. The young man, seeing the wisdom of the girl, told her about the misfortune that befell his master.

Fevronia replied that she knew a doctor who could cure the prince, and offered to bring Peter to her house. When this was done, Fevronia volunteered to take on the treatment herself if Peter took her as his wife. The prince did not take her words seriously, because he did not consider it possible to marry the poison dart frog’s daughter, but promised to do so if he was healed.

She gave him a vessel of her bread leaven and ordered him to go to the bathhouse and anoint all the ulcers there with leaven, except one. Peter, wanting to test her wisdom, sent her a bunch of flax and ordered her to weave a shirt, ports and a towel from it while he was in the bathhouse. In response, Fevronia sent him a stump of log so that the prince could make a loom out of it during this time. Peter told her that this was impossible. And Fevronia replied that it was also impossible to fulfill his command. Peter marveled at her wisdom.

The next morning he woke up healthy - there was only one ulcer on his body - but did not fulfill his promise to marry Fevronia, but sent her gifts. She didn't accept them. The prince left for the city of Murom, but his ulcers multiplied and he was forced to return to Fevronia in shame. The girl healed the prince, and he took her as his wife.

Pavel died, and Peter began to rule Murom. The boyars did not like Princess Fevronia because of her origin and slandered Petra about her. One person said, for example, that Fevronia, getting up from the table, collects crumbs in her hand as if she were hungry. The prince ordered his wife to dine with him. After dinner, the princess collected crumbs from the table. Peter unclenched her hand and saw incense in it.

Then the boyars directly told the prince that they did not want to see Fevronia as a princess: let him take whatever wealth he wants and leave Murom. They repeated the same thing at Fevronia’s own feast. She agreed, but only wanted to take her husband with her. The prince followed God's commandments and therefore did not part with his wife, although he had to renounce his principality. And the boyars were pleased with this decision, because each of them wanted to be a ruler himself.

Peter and Fevronia sailed out of the city along the Oka. On the ship where Fevronia was, there was another man with his wife. He looked at Fevronia with some thought. And she told him to scoop up water on the right and left sides of the boat and drink. And then she asked which water tastes better. Hearing that she was the same, Fevronia explained: female nature is the same, so there is no point in thinking about someone else’s wife.

Food was prepared on the shore, and the cook cut down small trees to hang the cauldrons on. And Fevronia blessed these trees, and the next morning they became large trees. Peter and Fevronia were planning to move on. But then nobles from Murom came and began to ask the prince and princess to return to rule the city.

Peter and Fevronia, having returned, ruled meekly and fairly.

The couple begged God to die at the same time. They wanted to be buried together and ordered two coffins to be carved in one stone, which had only a partition between them. At the same time, the prince and princess took monasticism. Peter received the monastic name David, and Fevronia became Euphrosyne.

Euphrosyne embroidered air for the temple. And David sent a letter to her: he was waiting for her to die together. The nun asked him to wait until she finished embroidering the air. In the second letter, David wrote that he could not wait long, and in the third, that he could wait no longer. Then Euphrosinia, having finished embroidering the face of the last saint, but without finishing the clothes, sent to tell David that she was ready to die. And after praying, they both died on June 25th.

Their bodies were laid in different places: David - near the cathedral church of the Mother of God, and Euphrosyne - in the Vozdvizhensky convent. And their common coffin, which they themselves ordered to hew, was placed in the Church of the Virgin Mary.

The next morning, their separate coffins were empty, and the bodies of the saints rested “in a single coffin.” People buried them as before. And the next morning they were found again in a common coffin. Then people no longer dared to touch the bodies of the saints and, having fulfilled their will, buried them together in the cathedral church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Those who come to their relics with faith receive healing.

The blessed Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia are the patron saints of the Russian family. “The Tale of the Life of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, written by Yermolai-Erasmus in the 16th century, is called a love story. Why is this word never mentioned in the story? What is this mysterious love that heals a person? And why did the faithful Prince Peter and Princess Fevronia become the patron saints of the Russian family? This will be discussed in the lecture by Alexander Nikolaevich Uzhankov, Doctor of Philology, theorist and historian of Russian literature and culture of Ancient Rus'.