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119-602: The monastery was consecrated to the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos , for which cause it was sometimes referred to as the Dormition Monastery of St. Cyril . The monastery was founded in 1397 on the bank of Lake Siverskoye , to the south of the town of Beloozero , in the present-day Vologda Oblast . Its founder, St. Cyril or Kirill of Beloozero , following the advice of his teacher, St. Sergius of Radonezh , first dug

238-502: A cave here, then built a wooden Dormition chapel and a loghouse for other monks. Shortly before the creation of the monastery, the area fell under the control of the Grand Duchy of Moscow . Being a member of the influential Velyaminov clan of boyars , Kirill relinquished the office of father superior of the greatest cloister in medieval Moscow , the Simonov monastery . His close ties with

357-528: A four day battle. Advancing onward to Moscow, the second false Dmitrii set up court in Tushino , and laid siege to Moscow over the next eighteen months. According to Dunning, "Members of the Romanov clan, in particular, flocked to Tushino." In September 1608, Rozynski's men covered the areas west and south of Moscow, while Jan Piotr Sapieha 's men covered the area north, defeating Prince Ivan Shuisky's men, and besieging

476-428: A liar, his act of regicide, his hasty seizure of power without the approval of a zemsky sobor , and his lack of any serious effort to gain the support of the common people all combined to undermine Tsar Vasilii's credibility and to destabilize his reign from the outset." Referred to as the "boyar-tsar", Shuiskii had himself crowned on 1 June, he then stripped Filaret Romanov of his office. Yet, Mikhail Molchanov escaped

595-647: A monk, and imprisoned him in a Kremlin monastery. A council of Seven Boyars ruled, until a zemsky sobor could be convened. Yet, with the arrival of Zolkiewski's army, and the false Dmitrii's army threatening Moscow, according to Dunning, "Up to five hundred courtiers, gentry, bureaucrats, and others traveled to Zolkiewski's camp to negotiate...The council of seven now quickly agreed to invite Wladyslaw to rule, and on August 17, about ten thousand Russians swore an oath of loyalty to Tsar Wladyslaw ." Yet, Sigismund's true intentions of conquering and personally ruling Russia became known after he arrested potential candidates to

714-812: A much wider conflict that toppled the Godunov dynasty." After Godunov's death in 1605, False Dmitry I made a triumphal entrance into Moscow and was crowned tsar on 21 July. He consolidated power by visiting the tomb of Ivan the Terrible and the convent of Ivan's widow, Maria Nagaya , who accepted Dimitry as her son and confirmed his story. False Dimitry I was married per procura to Marina Mniszech on 8 May 1606, in exchange for promises of land grants and wealth. He converted to Catholicism, relying on Polish Jesuits and Polish nobles (who were prominent at his court) and on Mniszech's private armies . According to Dunning, "Tsar Dmitrii's nemesis, Prince Vasilii Shuiskii ,

833-687: A particular design. The most remarkable are the Chasuble , the Tent-like, the Vologda, and the Smithy towers. After the Bolsheviks , the monastery was secularised and turned into a museum (1924), a wooden shrine from 1485 and several traditional timber structures were put on exhibit on the grounds. During Soviet restoration works, superb 16th-century frescoes were discovered in the gate church of St. Sergius (1560–94). On

952-472: A popular movement against the false Dmitrii started in Galich , and soon spread to Vologda and Kostroma , one in which Aleksander Józef Lisowski was unable to stop in the early part of 1609. In February, Tsar Vasilii was the target of an unsuccessful coup attempt by Mikhail Tatishchev, followed by another by Ivan Kriuk-Kolychev in the spring, both of whom were put to death. Then Prokofy Lyapunov declared himself

1071-418: A premier prince of the blood, the popular and heroic Prince Ivan Petrovich Shuisky , and Fedor's brother-in-law, Boris Godunov . On the day of the coronation, Boris was named koniushii boiarin (master of the house or equerry ) – a title that immediately identified him as the most powerful member of the boyar council. Prince Ivan Mstislavsky made a bid for power in 1585. He was stopped by the other regents and

1190-405: A rumor was soon started that a foreigner resembling the tsar had been killed, which soon led to another civil war in the name of the "true tsar" Dmitrii. On 19 May 1606, Shuiskii's co-conspirators met at his townhouse, planning his assumption of power, and then proceeded to Red Square where he was proclaimed tsar. According to Dunning, "The narrowness of the group supporting him, his reputation as

1309-509: A runaway defrocked monk. Vasilii was condemned to exile, but then allowed to return to Moscow, and reinstated in the boyar council. Yet, "As soon as Vasilii Shuiskii returned to Moscow in late 1605, he began secretly conspiring to assassinate Tsar Dmitrii…By spring 1606, Shuskii could count on the support of some individuals at court, in the church, and among the merchant elite." False Dmitry I quickly became unpopular, since many in Russia saw him as

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1428-402: A threat emanating from the court faction supporting Ivan the Terrible's youngest son, Dmitrii – the child of Ivan's sixth and last wife, Maria Nagaia. In May, 1591, Tsarevich Dmitrii was reported to be dead. On the basis of testimony from several eyewitnesses," an investigative commission, "concluded that Dmitrii had accidentally slit his own throat during an epileptic seizure that came on while he

1547-785: A tool of the Poles . On 17 May 1606, ten days after his marriage, Dmitry was killed by armed mobs during an uprising in Moscow after he was ousted from the Kremlin . Many of his Polish advisors were also killed or imprisoned during the rebellion. Vasilii Shuiskii's conspirators included his brothers Dmitrii and Ivan, his nephew Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky , Vasily and Ivan Golitsyn, okolnichy Ivan Kriuk-Kolychev, okolnichy Mikhail Tatishchev, monks, priests, clerics, merchants, plus trusted dvoriane and deti boiarskie from Novgorod , Pskov , Smolensk , and Moscow . Several thousand Polish wedding guests were in Moscow for

1666-520: A truce with Sweden, allowing his army to advance upon Moscow, arriving there on 28 July 1612. Zarutski fled to Kolomna, with Marina, Ivan, and a few Cossacks. In January 1612, part of the Polish army mutinied because of unpaid wages and retreated from Russia towards the Commonwealth. The Second Volunteer Army joined the other anti-Polish Russian forces in Moscow, besieging the Polish garrison remaining in

1785-710: Is affirmed by Orthodox sacred tradition . Some apocryphal writings testify to this opinion, though neither the Orthodox Church nor other Christians accord them scriptural authority. The Orthodox understanding of the Dormition is compatible with Roman Catholic teaching, and was the dominant belief within the Western Church until late in the Middle Ages, when the slightly different belief in the bodily Assumption of Mary into heaven began to gain ground. Pope Pius XII declared

1904-638: Is depicted at the top of the icon in a similar aureola before the opening gates of heaven. This suggests that contemporary accounts of the deaths of the Desert Fathers accompanied by a sudden burst of light came to influence the development of the iconography of the Dormition. The Dormition is known as the Death of the Virgin in Catholic art, where it is a reasonably common subject, mostly drawing on Byzantine models, until

2023-739: Is from August 14 to August 28. In the Coptic Orthodox Church , Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , whose calendar is generally consistent with the Julian Calendar, the dates of the fast are from August 7 to August 22. The Dormition Fast is a stricter fast than either the Nativity Fast (Advent) or the Apostles' Fast , with only wine and oil (but no fish) allowed on weekends. As with

2142-569: Is more important to look for the Blessed Virgin's spiritual attitude at the moment of her departure from this world. In this regard, St Francis de Sales maintains that Mary's death was due to a transport of love. He speaks of a dying “in love, from love and through love”, going so far as to say that the Mother of God died of love for her Son Jesus (Treatise on the Love of God, bk. 7, ch. XIII–XIV). Whatever from

2261-485: Is not incapable of doing whatever he wills. No one knows her end. In the next chapter, Epiphanius compares Mary with three different people, who died in three different ways: Elijah, who was assumed into Heaven; John, who died a normal death; and Thecla, who was a martyr. This further shows that he was open to various options for her end, and did not know which of the options she actually experienced. And if I should say anything more in her praise, [she is] like Elijah, who

2380-727: Is not superior to the Son who underwent death, giving it a new meaning and changing it into a means of salvation. Involved in Christ's redemptive work and associated in his saving sacrifice, Mary was able to share in his suffering and death for the sake of humanity's Redemption. What Severus of Antioch says about Christ also applies to her: “Without a preliminary death, how could the Resurrection have taken place?” (Antijulianistica, Beirut 1931, 194f.). To share in Christ's Resurrection, Mary had first to share in his death. The New Testament provides no information on

2499-462: Is not to be found, so I may have found some traces of the holy and blessed Virgin. ...The holy virgin may have died and been buried—her falling asleep was with honour, her death in purity, her crown in virginity. Or she may have been put to death—as the scripture says, 'And a sword shall pierce through her soul'—her fame is among the martyrs and her holy body, by which light rose on the world, [rests] amid blessings. Or she may have remained alive, for God

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2618-546: Is shown higher than the apostles, increasingly so in later centuries, so that he seems to be floating in the air above rather than standing on the ground like the apostles. But his feet are always hidden behind the bier, leaving this ambiguous. There are similarities between the traditional depictions of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Byzantine icons and the account of the death of the Egyptian Desert Father , Sisoes

2737-549: Is that Church Tradition preserved a more ubiquitous oral tradition. According to Sophia Fotopoulou, "We have no historical data to indicate how long the Mother of God remained on earth after the ascension of Christ into heaven, nor when, where, or how she died, for the Gospels say nothing of this. The foundation for the feast of the Dormition is to be found in a sacred tradition of the Church dating from apostolic times, apocryphal writings,

2856-589: Is the national independence day of India . The Maronite Church has a tradition that their Third Anaphora of the Apostle Peter or Sharrar (the Maronite redaction of the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari ) was originally composed for and used at the funeral of the Theotokos. This tradition probably developed because in its final form the anaphora has twelve paragraphs, i.e., one for each concelebrating apostle present at

2975-543: The Assumption . On 25 June 1997 during a General Audience Pope John Paul II stated that Mary experienced natural death prior to her assumption into Heaven, stating: It is true that in Revelation death is presented as a punishment for sin. However, the fact that the Church proclaims Mary free from original sin by a unique divine privilege does not lead to the conclusion that she also received physical immortality. The Mother

3094-597: The Battle of Klushino , both De la Gardie and Valuev switched sides, while the Russian army's retreat became a rout, and the Poles advanced to Viazma . Simultaneously, the false Dmitrii's army advanced to Kolomenskoe . Tsar Vasilii was now without an army, and Prokofy Lyapunov, Vasilii Golitsyn , and Filaret Romanov , along with others, plotted the overthrow of the unpopular tsar. On 17 July, they arrested Shuiskii, forced him to become

3213-582: The Book of Mary's Repose . This Greek document, edited by Tischendorf and published in The Ante-Nicene Fathers , is dated by Tischendorf as no later than the 4th century. The Greek sources for the early period are only late copies and the first transmissions and earliest witnesses can be only found and accessed through the fragmentary translations into Christian Palestinian Aramaic and Syriac. Shoemaker identifies liturgical elements in "Pseudo-John", and

3332-674: The House of the Virgin Mary , and also with Constantinople where the Cincture of the Theotokos was enshrined from the 5th through 14th centuries. Eastern Christians celebrate the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15 (August 28, N.S. for those following the Julian Calendar ), the same calendar day as the Roman Catholic Feast of the Assumption of Mary . "Dormition" and "Assumption" are

3451-806: The Julian calendar corresponds to August 28 on the Gregorian calendar. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest 15 August. In Western Churches the corresponding feast is known as the Assumption of Mary , with the exception of the Scottish Episcopal Church , which has traditionally celebrated the Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15. Christian canonical scriptures do not record

3570-794: The Lesser Blessing of Water . In Eastern Orthodoxy it is also the day of the Holy Seven Maccabees, Martyrs Abimus, Antonius, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusebonus, Alimus, and Marcellus, their mother Solomonia, and their teacher Eleazar. Therefore, the day is sometimes referred to as "Makovei". Finally it is also considered the First of the three "Feasts of the Saviour" in August, the Feast to the All-Merciful Saviour and

3689-587: The Six Books Apocryphon (dated to the early fourth century ), which implies that the Dormition was a holy day in some circles by the 4th century. Additionally, the earliest known appearance of the Dormition in art is found on a sarcophagus in the crypt of a church in Zaragoza in Spain dated c. 330. The written historical and archaeological record aside, a fairly representative example of mainstream Orthodox teaching

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery - Misplaced Pages Continue

3808-580: The Theotokos has already undergone the bodily resurrection , which all will experience at the second coming , and stands in heaven in that glorified state which the other righteous ones will only enjoy after the Last Judgment . The Dormition tradition is associated with various places, most notably with Jerusalem , which contains Mary's Tomb and the Basilica of the Dormition , and Ephesus , which contains

3927-500: The siege of Smolensk . In late December 1609, the false Dmitrii fled for Kaluga . According to Dunning, "The 'tsar's' departure caused the entire Tushino camp to break up in disarray." On 4 February 1610, the Russian lords formally in the Tushino court signed a treaty with Sigismund III, hoping to end the civil war and restore order. According to Dunning, "Most Russian lords in the collapsing Tushino court came to believe that rebellion in

4046-641: The "Palm of the Tree of Life" narratives, the "Bethlehem" narratives, and the "Coptic" narratives—aside from a handful of atypical narratives. The events of the Dormition of the Virgin and her burial are dealt with in several known apocrypha such as the "Liber de transitu Virginis Mariae" by Pseudo-Melito of Sardis (5th century), a passing reference in Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite , and narratives by Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem, and Pseudo-Evodius. Around this time,

4165-721: The "Three Feasts of the Saviour in August". These are: the Procession of the Cross (August 1), the Transfiguration (August 6), and the Icon of Christ " Not Made by Hand " (August 16). It is customary in some places to bless fragrant herbage on the Feast of the Dormition. In some places, the Rite of the "Burial of the Theotokos" is celebrated at the Dormition, during the All-Night Vigil . The order of

4284-970: The "white tsar", and led a revolt from the Riazan area. In the summer of 1609, the Crimean Tatars invaded Russia capturing slaves for their markets. In February 1609, Prince Skopin-Shuisky signed a treaty with Charles IX of Sweden 's representatives in Vyborg . In return for the use of 3000 mercenaries composed of Germans, English, Scots and French, Sweden would receive the Korela Fortress and surrounding towns and villages. On 10 May 1609, Prince Skopin-Shuisky led these mercenaries, along with 3000 Russian soldiers, from Novgorod for Aleksandrov , where he joined Fedor Sheremetev 's army advancing from Nizhnii Novgorod after retreating from Astrakhan . In September 1609, King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland invaded Russia and began

4403-580: The 16th century. Of these, nine belong to the Uspensky (Dormition, the Orthodox equivalent of the Catholic holiday known as the Assumption of Mary ) priory by the lake. The Dormition cathedral, erected by Rostov masters in 1497, was the largest monastery church built in Russia up to that date. Its 17th-century iconostasis features many ancient icons , arranged in five tiers above a silver heaven gate endowed by Tsar Alexis in 1645. A lot of valuable objects kept in

4522-424: The Church," Emperor Maurice (582–602) issued an edict which set the date for the celebration of the Dormition on August 15. After this time more "mainstream" Dormition narratives began appearing, their content still in part based upon the earlier, mostly anonymous, narratives. Modestus, Patriarch of Jerusalem (630–632) said at this celebration, while preaching, that he regrets the lack of specific information about

4641-521: The Dormition began circulating as early as the third century and perhaps 'even earlier' such as the Book of Mary's Repose . According to some, before the 4th-5th century the Dormition was not celebrated among the Christians as a holy day. Recent scholarship has shown that The Dormition/Assumption of Mary (attributed to John the Theologian or 'Pseudo-John'), another anonymous narrative, may even precede

4760-505: The Great . In both Christ is seen coming to receive the soul of the dying saint surrounded by an aureola or cloud of blinding light and accompanied by the angels and prophets. In Byzantine icons the other Christs shown surrounded by such a cloud of light are those also seen in icons of the Transfiguration , the Resurrection and the Last Judgment . In some icons of the Dormition the Theotokos

4879-573: The Khlopko rebellion of September 1603 also caused social instability. According to Dunning, "Russia's first civil war came about as a direct result of the bold invasion of the country by a man claiming to be Tsarevich Dmitrii, somehow 'miraculously' rescued from the 'usurper' Boris Godunov's alleged assassination attempt in 1591 and now returning to claim the throne from the illegitimate 'false tsar' Boris." Conspiracies were rampant after Feodor's death. Rumors circulated that his younger brother, Dmitry ,

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4998-804: The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was one of the four functioning monasteries in Vologda Oblast. The ensemble of the monastery has been designated as a cultural heritage monument of federal significance. As of January 2013, images from the monastery and grounds were available on Google Street View . Dormition of the Theotokos Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Dormition of

5117-422: The Kremlin. Well-armed and organised, the Second Volunteer Army took Yaroslavl in March 1612 and set up a Russian provisional government supported by a number of cities. Minin and Pozharsky entered Moscow in August 1612 when they learned that a 9,000-strong Polish army under hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was on the way to lift the siege. On 1 September, the Battle of Moscow began; Chodkiewicz's forces reached

5236-475: The Most Holy Mother of God. In Orthodoxy and Catholicism, in the language of the scripture, death is often called a sleeping or falling asleep (Greek κοίμησις; whence κοιμητήριον > coemetērium > cemetery, a place of sleeping; Latin: dormire , to sleep). A prominent example of this is the name of this feast; another is the Dormition of Saint Anna, Mother of the Virgin Mary . The first Christian century may be silent, but anonymous traditions concerning

5355-400: The Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox , Oriental Orthodox , and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the Theotokos ("Mother of God", literally translated as God-bearer ), and her being taken up into heaven. The Feast of the Dormition is observed on August 15, which for the churches using

5474-406: The Poles and Lithuanians took and burned Vologda killing and capturing many of its inhabitants; many other cities were also devastated or weakened. According to Dunning, "On October 26, Mstislavskii...led Ivan Romanov, Mikhail Romanov , and other sheepish aristocrats out of the Kremlin. The next day, October 27, the Polish garrison surrendered unconditionally, and national militia forces entered

5593-419: The Poles occupying Smolensk in June. On 17 July 1611, Sweden's de la Gardie occupied Novgorod, and by early 1612, had annexed many border towns and fortresses, cutting Russia off from the Baltic Sea . Popular discontent had increased by early 1611, and many sought to end the Polish occupation. Polish and German mercenaries suppressed riots in Moscow from 19 to 21 March 1611, massacring 7,000 people and setting

5712-409: The Poles. The Time of Troubles united the Russian social classes around the Romanov tsars, laying the foundation for the later reforms of Peter the Great . Estimates of total deaths caused by the conflict range from 1 to 1.2 million, while some areas of Russia experienced population declines of over 50%. The cultivated area in Central Russia shrank by several times. Due to the shrinking population

5831-439: The Polish siege in 1612. The first construction works were supervised by Jean de Gron, a French military engineer known in Russian sources as Anton Granovsky. After the monastic authorities denigrated his Western-style design as alien to Russian traditions, Granovsky was replaced by a team of native masters. The fortress was the largest erected in Muscovy after the Time of Troubles ; its walls feature numerous towers , each built to

5950-454: The Pozharsky-Minin liberation of Moscow, the struggle between Boris Godunov and False Dmitry I, and Ivan Susanin , a peasant who supposedly sacrificed himself to lead the Poles away from Mikhail Romanov: Russian and Polish artists have painted a number of works based on the period. Chester Dunning, in his 2001 book Russia's First Civil War: The Time of Troubles and the Founding of the Romanov Dynasty , wrote that modern Russia began in 1613 with

6069-430: The Rurik dynasty, leading to a violent succession crisis with numerous usurpers and false Dmitrys (imposters) claiming the title of tsar . Russia experienced the famine of 1601–1603 , which killed almost a third of the population, within three years of Feodor's death. Russia was also occupied by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Polish–Russian War and lost Smolensk . The Time of Troubles ended with

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6188-451: The Russian Orthodox, though it is not by any means a standard service in all parishes, or even most cathedrals or monasteries. In Jerusalem, the service is chanted during the Vigil of the Dormition. In some Russian churches and monasteries, it is served on the third day after Dormition. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church , which is an Oriental Orthodox Church, celebrates the Feast of Dormition on August 15 with great importance, as that day

6307-454: The Russian throne. According to Dunning, "The source of the pretender scheme was a conspiracy among Russian lords. When Dmitrii finally revealed himself in Poland-Lithuania in 1603, Tsar Boris openly accused the boyars of organizing the pretender scheme. There is, in fact, quite a bit of evidence linking the pretender to the Romanov clan." Dimitrii had revealed his identity to the Ukrainian magnate Prince Adam Vishnevetsky , who helped him gain

6426-432: The Russian traitors who assisted them." Anti-Catholic and anti-Polish sentiment was aroused in Russia, which infuriated the pro-Polish boyars. Sweden continued the Polish–Swedish wars on the Baltic coast , ending their military alliance with Russia, and began the Ingrian War . By this time, Russia was a failed state ; the throne was vacant, the nobility quarreled among themselves, the Orthodox Patriarch Hermogenes

6545-424: The Russians against Sweden." By September 1604, Mniszech, as Dmitrii's commander-in-chief, had gathered about 2500 men. On October 1604, they crossed the Poland-Lithuania border into Russia. According to Dunning, "Dmitrii's invasion in October 1604 triggered the first phase of Russia's first civil war – a massive rebellion of southwestern and southern frontier provinces, towns, garrisons, and cossacks that grew into

6664-431: The Russo-Polish War continued until the 1619 Truce of Deulino . Although Russia gained peace through treaties and preserved its independence, it was forced by Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to make substantial territorial concessions; most, however, were recovered during the next сentury. Ingria was ceded to the Swedes (who established Swedish Ingria ), and Severia and the city of Smolensk were retained by

6783-452: The Trinity-St. Sergius monastery . According to Dunning, "Russia was virtually inundated by a wave of opportunistic copy-cat tsarist pretenders during the later stages of the civil war." This included up to ten more pretenders, but the Tushino imposter brooked no rivals, hanging "Tsarevich Fedor Fedorovich" and "Tsarevich Ivan-Avgust," who claimed to be the son of Ivan the Terrible and his fourth wife Anna Koltsovskaia . In November 1608,

6902-570: The Tsar's army dammed the Upa , flooding Tula. Amongst those captured were Bolotnikov and Tsarevich Petr. Shakhovskoi and Yury Bezzubtsev also were captured, but escaped, joining the "second false Dmitrii." However, Tsarevich Petr was tortured and publicly hanged outside Moscow, while Bolotnikov was executed in Kargopol . On 29 October 1607, the "second false Dmitrii" was joined by a group of Polish lords, with 1800 mercenaries, followed by another group of Polish lords and mercenaries in November. According to Dunning, "Also joining him at about this time

7021-433: The absence of Tsar Dmitri's arrival, "Petr could be tsar, since he was the true born son of Feodor Ivanovich and therefore the lawful heir to the realm." Tsarevich Petr was in reality Ilia Korovin, the illegitimate son of a Murom woman and the cobbler Ivan Korovin. In January 1607, Petr left Putivl for Tula with an army of 30,000. In May, Bolotnikov retreated to Tula following the siege of Kaluga. In June, Tsar Vasilii started

7140-420: The assassination plot, fleeing to Putivl , where he conspired with Grigory Shakhovskoy to initiate the uprising of Bolotnikov . According to Dunning, "Both before and during the siege of Moscow , Bolotnikov had written to Prince Shakhovskoi in Putvil urging him to find Tsar Dmitri and bring him to Moscow. Unable to comply, Shakhovskoi instead at some point made contact with the large group of cossacks on

7259-401: The capital." The Zemsky Sobor elected Michael Romanov , the 16-year-old son of Patriarch Filaret of Moscow , tsar of Russia on 21 February 1613, and was crowned on 21 July. According to Dunning, "It is one of the great and tragic ironies of Russian history that the founder of the Romanov dynasty quickly put an end to the Troubles in part by crushing the very same patriotic cossacks who saved

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7378-419: The circumstances of Mary's death. This silence leads one to suppose that it happened naturally, with no detail particularly worthy of mention. If this were not the case, how could the information about it have remained hidden from her contemporaries and not have been passed down to us in some way? As to the cause of Mary's death, the opinions that wish to exclude her from death by natural causes seem groundless. It

7497-535: The city on fire. The Polish commander Gosiewski had ordered the outer city burned, giving time for the Poles to stop the Muscovite uprising, and attacks of the "national militia," when Prince Pozharskii was seriously wounded. According to Dunning, "In that bloody work they were actively assisted by Mikhail G. Saltykov, members of the council of seven (especially Fedor Mstislavsky , Fedor Sheremetev, and Ivan Romanov ), other nobles, and rich merchants who greatly feared their own countrymen and knew what fate awaited them if

7616-439: The city, using cavalry attacks in the open and new tactics such as a mobile tabor fort . After early successes, Chodkiewicz's forces were driven from Moscow by Russian-aligned Don Cossack reinforcements. On 3 September, he launched another attack which reached the walls of the Kremlin; Moscow's narrow streets halted the movement of his troops, however, and he ordered a retreat after a Russian counter-attack. On 22 September 1612,

7735-416: The constant faith of the People of God, and the unanimous opinion of the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church of the first thousand years of Christianity." Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310/20–403), a Jew by birth, born in Phoenicia , converted to Christianity in adulthood and lived as a monk for over 20 years in Palestine from 335–340 to 362, writes in " Panarion " in "Contra antidicomarianitas" about

7854-399: The country and brought him to power." Romanov was connected by marriage with the Rurikids, and reportedly had been saved from his enemies by the heroic peasant Ivan Susanin . After he took power, Romanov ordered False Dmitry II's three-year-old son hanged and reportedly had Marina Mniszech strangled to death in prison. The Ingrian War lasted until the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, and

7973-533: The death of the Virgin Mary. According to Truglia, "John of Thessalonica ," another 7th century author, "wrote a narrative admittedly based upon details found in earlier homilies." Theoteknos, bishop of Livias sometime between 550 and 650, also wrote a Dormition narrative similar in its content. In Rome the feast called Dormitio Beatae Virginis was established by Pope Sergius I (687–701), borrowed from Constantinople. According to later tradition, Mary, having spent her life after Pentecost supporting and serving

8092-408: The death or Dormition of Mary. Hippolytus of Thebes , a 7th- or 8th-century author, writes in his partially preserved chronology of the New Testament that Mary lived for 11 years after the death of Jesus , dying in AD 41 . The use of the term dormition expresses the belief that the Virgin died without suffering, in a state of spiritual peace. This belief does not rest on any scriptural basis, but

8211-431: The different names respectively in use by the Eastern and Western traditions relating to the end of Mary's life and to her departure from the earth, although the beliefs are not necessarily identical. Both views agree that she was taken up into heaven bodily. The Orthodox Church specifically holds one of the two Roman Catholic alternative beliefs, teaching that Mary died a natural death, like any human being; that her soul

8330-411: The elder Yefrosin , and text-critical studies, exemplified by Nil Sorsky (1433–1508). Nil also founded a skete on the Sora River near the monastery. In the 16th century, the monastery was the second richest landowner in Russia, after its model, the Trinity Monastery near Moscow. Ivan the Terrible not only had his own cell in the cloister, but also planned to take monastic vows here. The cloister

8449-432: The election of Michael Romanov as tsar by the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, establishing the Romanov dynasty, which ruled Russia until the February Revolution in 1917. Tsar Feodor I was the second adult son of Ivan the Terrible , the first tsar of Russia . Feodor's elder brother, Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich , was the heir apparent ; Feodor was never considered a serious candidate for the Russian throne. However, Tsarevich Ivan

8568-669: The end of the Middle Ages . But often the moment just after death is shown, without Christ, but with the apostles crowded around the bed. The Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio , of 1606, is probably the last famous Western painting of the subject. After this depictions of the Assumption become usual, with the Virgin shown alive, rising to Heaven. Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles ( Russian : Смутное время , romanized :  Smutnoye vremya ), also known as Smuta (Russian: Смута , lit.   'troubles'),

8687-536: The end of the Virgin Mary the following: If any think [I] am mistaken, moreover, let them search through the scriptures any neither find Mary's death, nor whether or not she died, nor whether or not she was buried—even though John surely travelled throughout Asia. And yet, nowhere does he say that he took the holy Virgin with him. Scripture simply kept silence because of the overwhelming wonder, not to throw men's minds into consternation. For I dare not say—though I have my suspicions, I keep silent. Perhaps, just as her death

8806-401: The fall of 1611, Kuzma Minin , a butcher from Nizhny Novgorod , collected taxes from the populace, monasteries and crown peasant villages to fund a second militia ( Russian : Второе народное ополчение ). Minin recruited Prince Dmitry Pozharsky to lead them. Yaroslavl became the headquarters of the growing militia, and seat of the new provisional government. In June 1612, Pozharskii secured

8925-628: The false Dmitrii's camp in Kaluga. Tsar Vasilii made his brother Dmitry Shuisky his main commander following the death of Skopin-Shuisky. In June, aided by 10,000 mercenary troops supplied by King Karl, plus a spring levy, Dmitry Shuisky soon had an army of 30,000. Grigory Valuyev led an advance force of 6000 to Klushino, hoping to block Hetman Zolkiewski's advance. However, during the De la Gardie campaign , Dmitry Shuisky and Jacob De la Gardie failed to stop Zolkiewski's successful attack on Valuev's camp. During

9044-400: The feast corresponds to that of their Orthodox counterparts, whether Eastern Orthodox or Oriental Orthodox. The Catholic doctrine of the Assumption covers Mary's bodily assumption to heaven, but the dogmatic definition avoids saying whether she was dead or alive at that point. The question had long been in dispute in Catholic theology; although Catholic art normally portrays her as alive at

9163-451: The first Dormition narratives among mainstream authors appear, namely Jacob of Serug and Theodosius of Alexandria . These late—5th and 6th century Dormition narratives come from differing communions, so not all of their content was accepted, but only the basic idea that the Virgin Mary blissfully rested and her soul was received in heaven by her Son Jesus Christ at Dormition. According to Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos in his "History of

9282-814: The first day of the Dormition Fast. In the Greek tradition, during the Fast either the Great Paraklesis (Supplicatory Canon ) or the Small Paraklesis is celebrated every evening except Saturday evening and the Eves of the Transfiguration and the Dormition. The first day of the Dormition Fast is a feast day called the Procession of the Cross (August 1), on which day it is customary to have an outdoor procession and perform

9401-461: The four-month siege of Tula. In July 1607, a new impostor, False Dmitry II , came forward as the heir. According to Dunning, "At some point, the emissary from Tsarevich Petr and Bolotnikov, Ivan Zarutsky , stepped forward, also 'recognized' the tsar, and presented him with letters from the Tula leadership." On 11 October, False Dmitrii's army occupied Kozelsk . Tula had surrendered the day before, after

9520-449: The funeral mass of the Theotokos. In Byzantine art and that of later Orthodox schools the standard depiction shows the body of the Theotokos lying dead on a bed or bier . Behind this stands, or floats, Christ holding a small body wrapped in a winding cloth , representing the soul of the Theotokos. He often has a mandorla around him. The apostles surround the bier, and the sky may have figures of angels, saints and prophets. Christ

9639-415: The grave of the exiled Prince Vorotynsky . Although the tsar chastised them for having broken canonical requirements, the chapel — which became the first family mausoleum in Russia — survived Ivan's reign and was expanded to its present form in 1623. The monastery walls, 732 meters long and 7 meters thick, were constructed in 1654-80. They incorporate parts of the earlier citadel, which helped to withstand

9758-616: The hated foreigners. In January 1611, Nizhni Novgorod informed Prokofy Liapunov that the town, on the advice of Pariarch Hermogen and the 'entire realm,' had resolved to raise forces to liberate Moscow." Though imprisoned, "...Hermogen still managed to continue stirring up the patriot cause by writing incendiary letters to Russian towns right up to his death by starvation in February 1612." The cousins King Karl and King Sigismund were acting like competing conquerors, with Sweden occupying Korela in March, and

9877-512: The insurgents were successful." The Polish occupation was now reduced to the Kremlin and Kitaigorod , which the Poles looted. In the spring of 1611, the national militia was led by Prokofi Liapunov, and the Cossack leaders Dmitrii Trubetskoi and Ivan Zarutskii. On 22 July 1611 however, Liapunov was killed in a dispute with the Cossacks. Zarutskii became the militia leader, and he effectively stopped

9996-460: The latter a dogma of the Catholic Church in 1950 . The Feast of the Dormition is preceded by a two-week fast , referred to as the Dormition Fast. From August 1 to August 14 (inclusive) Orthodox and Eastern Catholics fast from red meat , poultry , meat products , dairy products (eggs and milk products), fish, oil, and wine. In churches that follow the old or Julian Calendar , the fast

10115-489: The middle of the 16th century, Russia suffered famines, pestilence and internal discord which were accompanied by Ottoman -backed raids by the Crimean Khanate . In 1571, Devlet I Giray , and his army ransacked its lands in the events known as Fire of Moscow . In 1591, Ğazı II Giray and his brother Fetih I Giray launched another raid  [ ru ] in Russia. After Tsar Ivan's death on 28 March 1584, Feodor

10234-438: The name of 'Tsar Dmitrii' was now a lost cause. Not surprisingly, they chose to negotiate with Sigismund III. Patriarch Filaret, other members of the Romanov clan, boyar Mikhail G. Saltykov, and Mikhail Molchanov were ready to support Sigismund's son, Wladyslaw, as tsar." Included in the Polish service were Rozynski, and Ivan Zarutsky's cossacks. However, Prince Shakhovskoi and Jan-Piotr Sapieha brought cossacks and foreign troops to

10353-881: The nascent Church, was living in the house of the Apostle John, in Jerusalem, when the Archangel Gabriel revealed to her that her death would occur three days later. The apostles , scattered throughout the world, are said to have been miraculously transported to be at her side when she died. The sole exception was Thomas , who was preaching in India . He is said to have arrived in a cloud above her tomb exactly three days after her death, and to have seen her body leaving to heaven. He asked her "Where are you going, O Holy One?", at which she took off her girdle and gave it to him saying "Receive this my friend", after which she disappeared. Thomas

10472-416: The other Fasts of the Church year, there is a Great Feast that falls during the Fast; in this case, the Transfiguration (August 6), on which fish, wine and oil are allowed. In some places, the services on weekdays during the Dormition Fast are similar to the services during Great Lent (with some variations). Many churches and monasteries in the Russian tradition perform the lenten services on at least

10591-592: The other hand, the monastic library and some other treasures were transferred to Moscow and St Petersburg . These included the oldest extant copies of the 12th-century Daniel's Pilgrimage and the Zadonshchina . The larger part of the monastery is still administered as the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum of History, Art, and Architecture. The monks were readmitted into the Ivanovsky priory in 1998. As of 2011,

10710-711: The peasants' wages improved and the process of enserfment which had intensified in the second half of the 16th century was rolled back to a degree. Unity Day was held annually on 4 November to commemorate the capitulation of the Polish garrison in the Kremlin until the rise of the Soviet Union , when it was replaced by celebrations of the October Revolution . It was reinstated by President Vladimir Putin in 2005. The Time of Troubles has inspired artists and playwrights in Russia and abroad. The three most popular subjects are

10829-457: The physical point of view was the organic, biological cause of the end of her bodily life, it can be said that for Mary the passage from this life to the next was the full development of grace in glory, so that no death can ever be so fittingly described as a “dormition” as hers." The Feast of the Dormition has a one-day Forefeast and 8 days of Afterfeast . The feast is framed and accentuated by three feasts in honour of Jesus Christ , known as

10948-429: The point of assumption, but typically rising from a sarcophagus , many Catholics believe she had died in the normal way. Pope Pius XII alludes to the fact of her death at least five times, but left open the question of whether or not Mary actually underwent death in connection with her departure, in his Apostolic constitution , Munificentissimus Deus (1950), which dogmatically defined ex cathedra (i.e., infallibly)

11067-420: The populace with heavy taxes, harassed the free cossacks, and in 1597, introduced a slave law converting contract slaves into slaves for life. Russia experienced a famine in 1601–1603 after extremely poor harvests, with nighttime temperatures in the summer months often below freezing. Famine enveloped the country in 1602, followed by disease, claiming a third to two thirds of the population. Hunger riots, and

11186-448: The prophecy literally, and reducing the number of options to either natural death or assumption: Neither the letter of Scripture nor history teaches that Mary passed from this life by suffering execution, for it is not the soul but the body [some speculate] which is pierced through and through by the material sword. More Dormition traditions began surfacing in manuscripts during the late 5th century. Stephen Shoemaker characterised them as

11305-577: The ruling elite can be convincingly demonstrated by his letters to sons of Dmitri Donskoi . It seems that the Muscovite rulers regarded Kirill's monastery as an important strategic point, both for Northern trade and in their struggle with the Novgorod Republic . By 1427, when Kirill died, the prince of Belozersk-Mozhaisk (subject to the Grand Prince of Moscow) was the monastery's patron, and the monastery

11424-491: The sacristy are personal gifts of the tsars who visited the monastery. The smaller Ivanovsky priory is dedicated to St. John the Precursor, the patron saint of Ivan the Terrible. The oldest church of the priory was commissioned by Ivan's father, for the benefit of the "mendicant brethren," soon after his visit to the monastery in 1528. Subsequently, the monks incurred the tsar's displeasure by constructing St. Vladimir's Chapel over

11543-523: The service is based on the service of the Burial of Christ on Great and Holy Saturday . An Epitaphios of the Theotokos, a richly embroidered cloth icon portraying her lying in state is used, together with specially composed hymns of lamentation which are sung with Psalm 118 . Special Evlogitaria for the Dormition are chanted, echoing the Evlogitaria of the Resurrection chanted at matins on Sundays throughout

11662-424: The southern frontier who were headed by the self-styled 'Tsarevich Petr,' the mythical son of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich who had supposedly been hidden from the evil Boris Godunov as a child and had grown up in obscurity. Shakhovskoi knew perfectly well that no such person existed, but he nevertheless invited Petr and his cossacks to hurry to Putivl to help restore Tsar Dmitrii to the throne." Shakhovskoi told Petr, that in

11781-558: The summer offensive of Jan Karol Chodkiewicz . False Dmitry III first appeared in Novgorod, then in Ivangorod on 23 March 1611. On 4 December 1611, this third false Dmitry arrived in Pskov . On 2 March 1612, a large number of Cossacks declared for the new false Dmitry. Yet Zarutskii viewed this new Dmitry as a threat, and organized his capture on 20 May 1612, and eventually had him hanged. In

11900-574: The support of the Zaporozhian and Don cossacks. Jerzy Mniszech housed Dmitrii, and helped secure several witnesses testifying him to be the Tsarevich Dmitrii. Dunning notes, "King Sigismund , Polish Catholic leaders, and the Jesuits soon took great interest in reports that Dmitrii was considering conversion to Catholicism. They dreamed, among other things, of converting all of Russia and then using

12019-500: The throne, continued the siege of Smolensk, allowed Polish raids on Russian towns, and then established a Polish garrison composed of 800 mostly German mercenaries under the command of Alexander Gosiewski . On 11 December 1610, the false Dmitrii was killed in an act of revenge by Prince Petr Urusov, the captain of his bodyguard, while his widow Marina gave birth to his son "Tsarevich Ivan Dmitrievich". Muscovites then, according to Dunning, "...came to loathe Moscow's brutal foreign rulers and

12138-425: The throne, the new tsar had himself 'elected' after the fact by a sham zemskii sobor." After the Romanov conspiracy of 1600, Feodor Romanov was forced to become a monk. "Boris Godunov has been called one of Russia's greatest rulers," according to Dunning, "The man responsible for the expansion of Russia at the end of the sixteenth century was Boris Godunov." Yet in 1592, he had effectively enserfed millions, burdened

12257-444: The tsar's guards. The tsar, fell and broke his leg while jumping out of a window, and was shot by Mylnikov. Shuiskii then attempted to justify the assassination by demonizing the tsar, claiming he was a sorcerer and skomorokh . His corpse lay on Red Square for three days, was denied a Christian burial, and was eventually burned. Legend states that his ashes were fired from a cannon in the direction from which he had arrived to Moscow. Yet

12376-496: The tsar's wedding to the Polish princess Marina Mniszech. On the morning of 17 May 1606, Vasily Golitsyn and Mikhail Tatishchev led the assault on the Kremlin Frolov gate while Vasilli Shuiskii sent heralds warning Muscovites that the Poles were attempting to assassinate the tsar. A terrible massacre followed with six or seven hours of rioting in which 420 Poles were killed, and several hundred Russians. This allowed assassins to kill

12495-504: The year as well as on Lazarus Saturday and Great and Holy Saturday. This Epitaphios is placed on a bier and carried in procession as is the Epitaphios of Christ on during Great and Holy Saturday. This practice began in Jerusalem , and from there it was carried to Russia , where it was followed in various Dormition Cathedrals, in particular that of Moscow . The practice slowly spread among

12614-433: Was crowned as the tsar three days later. The pious Feodor took little interest in politics, ruling through Boris Godunov (his closest advisor, a boyar , the son-in-law of Malyuta Skuratov and the brother of Feodor's wife, Irina Godunova ). Feodor produced one child: a daughter, Feodosia, who died at the age of two. According to Dunning, "At the outset of Tsar Fedor's reign, Boris Godunov and other regents moved against

12733-458: Was a period of political crisis in Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I , the last of the House of Rurik , and ended in 1613 with the accession of Michael I of the House of Romanov . It was a period of deep social crisis and lawlessness following the death of Feodor I, a weak and possibly intellectually disabled ruler who died without an heir. His death ended

12852-476: Was administratively subordinate to the Archbishop of Rostov. Under Hegumen Trifon (1434/5–1447/8), social and administrative reforms were undertaken, including the adoption of an Athonite cenobitic rule. A Byzantine-style secondary school was established at which translations of textbooks on grammar, semantics, geography, and history were used. A lasting legacy of the school were bibliographical studies, exemplified by

12971-501: Was allegedly killed in anger by his father on 19 November 1581, making Feodor the new heir apparent. According to Chester Dunning, "Tsar Ivan knew perfectly well that Fedor could not rule on his own; before his own death in 1584, he set up a council of regents to govern in his son's name. Ivan named as regents two leading boyars; Fedor's uncle, Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuriev (head of the Romanov clan), and Prince Ivan F. Mstislavsky ; he also named two leading members of his own court:

13090-497: Was also important as a political prison. Among the Muscovite politicians exiled to Kirillov were Vassian Patrikeyev , Tsar Simeon Bekbulatovich , Patriarch Nikon , and the prime minister Boris Morozov . In December 1612, the monastery was besieged by Polish-Lithuanian vagabonds, the Lisowczycy , who failed to capture it. The vast walled area of the monastery comprises two separate priories with eleven churches, most of them dating to

13209-563: Was another copy-cat pretender, 'Tsarevich Fedor Fedorovich,' who claimed to be Tsarevich Petr's younger brother. Foreign mercenaries, cossacks, and some of Bolotnikov's men from Tula, including his lieutenant Ivan Zarutsky, continued to join the army. Then in April 1608, the Ukrainian Prince Roman Rozynski joined with 4000 foreign mercenaries. In the spring, Dmitrii's army attacked Dmitrii Vasilii's men at Bolkhov , defeating him after

13328-502: Was forced to become a monk – which in Russia was an irreversible step. Out of this episode grew a tacit alliance between the Godunovs and the Romanovs to protect their families' interests." In 1586, after an anti-Godunov riot, "Aged Prince Ivan Shuisky was forced to become a monk and kept under heavy guard. Boris Godunov was now Tsar Fedor's sole regent and the most powerful man in Russia." In

13447-421: Was imprisoned, Catholic Poles occupied the Kremlin, Smolensk was still besieged, and Protestant Swedes occupied Novgorod . Tens of thousands died in battles and riots as bands of brigands swarmed, and Crimean Tatar raids depopulated and devastated Russia's southern borderlands. According to Dunning, "Almost overnight Pozharskii, Liapunov, and even Zarutskii gained enormous prestige and popularity for fighting

13566-399: Was one of the most senior and prestigious boyars whose family of Suzdal princes traced their ancestry back to Rurik …Tsar Dmitrii was a popular ruler while the conspirators represented only a relatively small group of disgruntled and ambitious individuals." Soon after Dmitrii's entry into Moscow , Vasilii, and his brothers Dmitrii and Ivan, spread the word that the tsar was Grishka Otrepyev,

13685-558: Was playing with a knife." In January 1598, Fedor died. According to Dunning, "The tsar's death without an heir brought to an end the only ruling dynasty Moscow had ever known." Irina abdicated the throne to the boyar council and entered a convent. The boyars convened a Zemsky Sobor to choose a new tsar. Godunov soon prevailed over his chief rival for the throne Feodor Romanov. Godunov was crowned in September 1598, and according to Dunning, "To help calm any discontent and to cement his claim to

13804-428: Was received by Christ upon death; and that her body was resurrected on the third day after her repose, at which time she was taken up, both in body and soul, into heaven when the apostles, miraculously transported from the ends of the earth, found her tomb to be empty. The specific belief of the Orthodox is expressed in their liturgical texts used at the feast of the Dormition. The Eastern Catholic observance of

13923-472: Was still alive and in hiding (despite official accounts that he had been stabbed to death at an early age, by accident or by Godunov's order). Russia's political instability was exploited by several usurpers, known as False Dmitrys , who claimed to be the tsarevich (and heir to the tsardom). False Dmitry I appeared in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1603, claiming to be the heir to

14042-464: Was taken to his fellow apostles, whom he asked to see her grave, so that he could bid her goodbye. Mary had been buried in Gethsemane , according to her request. When they arrived at the grave, her body was gone, leaving a sweet fragrance. An apparition is said to have confirmed that Christ had taken her body to heaven after three days to be reunited with her soul. Eastern Orthodox theology teaches that

14161-541: Was virgin from his mother’s womb, he always remained so perpetually, and was assumed and has not seen death. She is like John who leaned on the Lord’s breast, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” She is like St. Thecla; and Mary is still more honored than she, because of the providence vouchsafed her. Ambrose , however, who was a contemporary of Epiphanius, dismissed the view that Mary was martyred when exegeting Saint Simeon's prophecy in (Luke 2.35), seemingly critiquing those who took

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