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Reverend Andrei Rublev, icon painter (XV century) His memory is celebrated on July 4, the day of his namesake with St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete (+ 712) and July 6, together with the Council of Radonezh Saints. Year of birth of St. Andrei Rublev is not known, and his origin is not known,

A ray of sun slid across the mosaic, and a rainbow glow flowed from the multi-colored pieces of smalt. And a white dove, appearing from nowhere in the temple, began to spin in the stream of this light. And at once the noisy Greek mosaicists fell silent, looking at the sparkling Face of the Most Pure One, and the thin apprentice boy looked fascinated at this unearthly triumph of color and light...

In the Near Caves of the ancient Kiev-Pechersk Lavra lie the relics of St. Alypius (otherwise known as Alimpius), who is rightfully considered the ancestor of all Russian icon painters. And although not a single icon has survived to this day, about which it can be said with complete certainty that it belongs to the brush of the monk, the life and service of Alypius are a model for all subsequent generations of isographers. As a boy, he helped Greek isographers prepare mosaic tiles and rub paints; as a young man, he painted chambers and clothes, and when he became an adult, he was entrusted with painting faces. And he, a monk of the Pechersk monastery, a wise master, realized that this was not the most important thing in his life. That icon writing is only obedience, and monastic work, prayer for the suffering is the true meaning of his earthly existence. Reliable historical information about the life of the Monk Alypius has not been preserved. “The Life of St. Alipius, the Pechersk icon painter, resting in the Near Caves,” compiled by St. Demetrius of Rostov, and the “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon” are mostly based on oral sources about the first Russian icon painter.

It is known that as a youth he was sent by his parents to “teach icon imagination” to Byzantine masters, who were invited to work in Kiev churches. There, “learning with the help of his master,” Alypiy learned the basics of icon painting. Then, having taken monastic vows, he “painted icons for nothing” until the end of his days. If he found out that the icons in some church were dilapidated, he took them to himself and corrected them free of charge. If it happened that he was paid for his work, the monk spent one part on purchasing materials for icon painting, distributed the second to the poor, and kept only the third for himself. He always did this, giving himself no rest either day or night; for at night he remained in vigil, performing prayers and prostrations; when the day came, he took up handicraft with all humility, non-covetousness, purity, patience, fasting, love, and contemplation of God. The Monk Alypius was never idle and abandoned icon painting only for the sake of the Divine service” (from the life of the Monk Alypius).

According to the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, the monk took monastic vows under Abbot Nikon, who later elevated Alypius to the rank of hieromonk. The entire monastic life of the icon painter was inextricably linked with the greatest spiritual shrine - the Holy Dormition Kiev Caves Lavra - the first cave monastery in Russia.

The foundation of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is associated with 1054. It was in this year that the Monk Anthony settled in the Varangian caves, which would later become known as Dalniye. By 1057, a community of 12 monks had gathered around the monk. Striving for complete solitude, the Monk Anthony appoints the head of the community, the Monk Varlaam (the first abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra), and he himself retires to a new underground cell, which gave rise to the future Near Caves.

In 1060-1062, when the Monk Theodosius was the abbot of the Far Caves, a wooden monastery was built on the surface of the earth, where the brethren moved. At the same time, on the basis of the charter of the Studite Monastery, its own Pechersk charter was created. In the 70s of the 11th century, active construction of above-ground structures was underway: churches, cells and utility buildings. Caves become a place of solitude for individual ascetics and a place of burial. The first person buried in the Near Caves was the Monk Anthony (1073), and in the Far Caves the Monk Theodosius (1074). The Lavra of the pre-Mongol period was the concentration of the spiritual forces of Kievan Rus. Chroniclers, scientists, architects and doctors served in the monastery. Here, around 1113, the chronicler Nestor compiled an outstanding monument of ancient Russian writing - “The Tale of Bygone Years”.

Holy Dormition Pochaev Lavra

In 1240, the monastery was destroyed by the Horde of Khan Batu, but the life of the monastery was not interrupted. In the second half of the 14th century, the monastery came under the rule of the Principality of Lithuania, and then of the gentry of Poland. Unfortunately, almost no written sources have survived about the long period of the monastery’s history (from the second half of the 13th century to the end of the 16th century).

In the 17th century, the Kiev Pechersk Lavra founded its own printing house, and at the same time the book “Teraturgima” appeared, which contained detailed descriptions of caves and schematic plans. It was from this time that the cartography of the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra began. In the 17th-18th centuries, the formation of the architectural ensemble of the Lavra, which has survived to this day, ends. On the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Kievan Rus, in 1988 and 1990), the government of the Ukrainian SSR decided to transfer part of the territory of the Kiev-Pechersk State Historical and Cultural Reserve to the Ukrainian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

During his monastic life, the Monk Alypius painted a fairly large number of icons, and according to some historians, such as the largest Byzantinist and expert on ancient Russian art D.V. Anailov, the first Russian isographer, could well have taken part in the picturesque decoration of the St. Michael’s Monastery in Kiev (12th century).

Today it is impossible to say with certainty that the icons painted by the Monk Alypius have survived to our time. For a long time it was believed that the copy from the icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir belonged to the brush of Alypius. This icon was in the Assumption Cathedral of Rostov the Great for several centuries, and in Soviet times it was placed on display at the Rostov Museum of Fine Arts.

According to the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, “Vladimir took one of the icons, the Holy Mother of God, and sent it to the city of Rostov, to the local church, which he himself created. And this is what happened in Rostov: the church collapsed, but that icon remained undamaged and was transferred to a wooden church, which burned down in a fire, but the icon again remained unharmed, and there are no signs of fire on it.”

In fact, the icon located in Rostov was painted at the end of the 17th century. Having studied the stylistic features of the icon’s writing, Academician N.P. Kondakov, the famous art critic N.E. came to this opinion. Grabar and other specialists in ancient Russian painting.

As for the icon of St. Alypius, its fate is unknown. Historians, in particular D.V. Anailov, it was suggested that the icon mentioned in the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon is in the Tretyakov Gallery and is known under the name “Great Panagia” (“Yaroslavl Oranta”). This icon was found in 1919 in the Transfiguration Monastery of the city of Yaroslavl, where the Rostov See was transferred in 1788. By the nature of the writing, the large (almost 2 meters in height) “Great Panagia” belongs to the pre-Mongol period and is dated by modern researchers to the beginning of the 13th century. And the Monk Alypius ended his earthly existence in 1114. Consequently, the first Russian icon painter could not be the author of the “Great Panagia”.

Likewise, the Svensk Icon of the Mother of God cannot be unconditionally recognized as having come from the brush of this isographer. This image is associated with the name of St. Alypius because the icon depicts the founders of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra: St. Anthony and Theodosius. The Svensk icon is dated back to 1288, when Prince Roman of Chernigov founded the Assumption Svensky Monastery near Bryansk. According to legend, the icon was revealed to the blind prince on an oak tree near the bank of the Svenya River. Having regained his sight after the miraculous appearance of the image of the Most Pure One, the prince founded a monastery in memory of this event. However, the “Tales of the Miracle-Working Icons of the Mother of God and Her Mercies to the Human Race” says that the Svensk Icon before its discovery was in the Pechersk Monastery and was painted by the Monk Alypius. In response to the request of the prince who had lost his sight, the Pechersk monks, accompanied by monks, sent the icon, famous for its miracles, on a boat along the river to Bryansk, where the prince was at that time. At some point, the boat stopped, and the icon moved to the other side, where it was found by Roman of Chernigov.

Icon "Great Panagia" ("Yaroslavl Oranta"). 13th century

The essence of this legend, which is most likely of a legendary nature, is that the icons of St. Alypius were highly valued even after a long period of time after his death, and also that many miraculous icons were attributed to the brushes of the monk, in view of his highest status among the first Russian icon painters. But if the icons of St. Alypius have not survived to this day, if he did not leave behind a noticeable school of icon painting, then the question arises: how can we get an idea of ​​his work? And, answering this question, first of all, it should be noted that the word “creativity” has little application to icon painting. From the point of view of a church person, icon painting is not the self-expression of the author, but service and ascetic work.

Icon of the Mother of God "Svenskaya". 13th century

The author (artist) creates an image generated by his creative imagination and which is a form of conveying his own worldview. The worldview, in turn, depends on objective reasons: the historical situation, the political system, the type and character of the artist’s personality, and his way of life. All outstanding artists knew how to feel what worried their contemporaries and, refracting the social nerve of the era through themselves, left on the canvas a concentrated artistic image of their time.

An icon is a revelation of God, expressed in the language of lines and colors, which is given to both the entire Church and the individual. The worldview of the icon painter is the worldview of the Church. An icon is timeless, it is a reflection of otherness in our world.

The authorship of the icon painter is deliberately hidden, since the icon is a cathedral creation. If the artist puts his signature on the finished painting, which means not only authorship, but also the degree of responsibility for the work, then the name of the one whose face appears on the icon board is inscribed on the icon. In an ontological sense, there is a connection between name and image. The icon painter’s brush is dispassionate: personal emotions should not take place. In the liturgical life of the Church, the icon, like the manner of reading prayers by the psalmist, is deliberately devoid of external emotions; empathy for spoken words and perception of iconographic symbols occur on a spiritual level.<…>

History has left us the names of many ancient Russian icon painters. In addition to the Monk Alypius, one can recall his student, the Monk Gregory. Then, in the 13th century, the name of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, appears, who, according to contemporaries, was a “skillful icon painter.” Next come the names of Theophanes the Greek, Reverend Andrei Rublev, Daniil Cherny, Prokhor from Gorodets, Alexa Petrov. In the 16th century, Simon, Metropolitan of Moscow, Varlaam, Macarius, and Dionysius were known as icon painters. The icons were painted by the Venerable Pachomius of Nerekhta and his disciple Irinarchus, Saint Theodore of Rostov, as well as the Venerables Ignatius of Lomsky, Dionysius Plushnitsky and Ananias.

But the essence of their life (both laity and monastics) was not only in the decoration of churches. Icon painting for them was only a service, a support - a kind of staff on the difficult path of spiritual formation.

Therefore, it is not so important that the icons of St. Alypius are inaccessible to our contemporaries. The first Russian isographer is known as a man of the highest spirituality, as a hieromonk, whose goal in life is prayer for people.

The Kiev-Pechersk Patericon describes the following event:

“One of the rich people of Kiev was a leper. And he was treated a lot by the magicians and doctors, and sought help from people of other faiths and did not receive, but only became more ill. And one of his friends persuaded him to go to the Pechersk Monastery and ask one of the fathers to pray for him. When they brought him to the monastery, the abbot ordered him to drink from the well of St. Theodosius and wet his head and face. And suddenly he was covered with pus because of his unbelief, so that everyone began to avoid him because of the stench emanating from him. He returned to his house crying and complaining and did not leave there for many days, ashamed of the stench. And he said to his friends: “Shame covered my face. I became a stranger to my brothers and a stranger to my mother’s sons, because without faith I came to Saints Anthony and Theodosius.” And every day he expected death.

Finally, over time, he came to his senses, reflected on his sins and, coming to the Monk Alimpius, repented to him. The blessed one said to him: “Son, I did well, confessing my sins to God before my unworthiness, because the prophet David said: “I will confess my crimes to the Lord, and he will forgive the wickedness of my heart.” And having taught him a lot about the salvation of the soul, he took The venerable vapnitsa and multi-colored paints with which he painted icons, painted the patient’s face and covered up the purulent scabs, giving the leper his former appearance and beauty. Then he brought him to the divine Pechersk Church, gave him communion of the holy mysteries, and ordered him to wash himself with the water with which priests wash themselves. immediately his scabs fell off and he was healed.

Everyone was surprised at such a quick healing. The Monk Alimpius said to them: “Brothers! listen to him who said: “A slave cannot serve two masters.” This one had previously served the enemy, trying to be healed by enchantment, and then he came to God, not believing in his soul about his salvation, and leprosy attacked him more powerfully. him for his unbelief. “Ask,” said the Lord, “and not just ask, but ask in faith, and you will receive.” And the healed one went to his home, glorifying God and the Most Pure Mother who gave birth to him, and our reverend fathers, Anthony and Theodosius, and Blessed Alimpius. This is our new Elisha, who healed Naaman the Syrian from leprosy.”

The name of the icon painter Alypius is semi-legendary for us. The name of St. Alypius of Kiev-Pechersk has been venerated annually on August 30 (August 17, old style) in the church calendar for several centuries, and the Church on this day offers prayers to the saint, asking for his intercession for those living today before God.

Monk Alypius is called “a modern Raphael” by those who saw the faces of saints he painted. Now the Valaam icon-painting workshop, revived after a long break, where he works, has formed its own style. Experts consider it canonical.

25.08.2017 Through the labors of the monastery brethren 3 905

The Valaam hieromonk Alypius (+1901) is called “a modern Raphael” by those who saw the faces of saints he painted. Now the Valaam icon-painting workshop, revived after a long break, where another monk Alypius, our contemporary, is already working, has formed its own style. Experts consider it canonical. It was adopted back in ancient Byzantium: with some conventions, sketchiness, without unnecessary details. The small room where the images are born is located on the second floor of the Vladimir Skete. RIA Novosti correspondent Yulia Chicherina managed to meet with the icon painter and find out the intricacies of his craft.
- Father Alypiy, tell us about your work, how many people work in this workshop?

Only four people. But the main thing is not the number of people and the size of the room, but the fact that on Valaam they began to revive icon painting, which ceased to exist in difficult times for our country. It's gratifying that it is now being revived.

In our work we use the technologies that were used back in the 12th century. We write mainly with tempera - a natural paint. We do everything ourselves: we grind it and grind it with egg yolk. Its main feature is that it does not fade. This has been proven for centuries, which cannot be said about modern paints. Of course, writing with real tempera is difficult - you just need to get the hang of it for at least four years. Tempera is a transparent paint, and in order for it to look bright, you need to go through at least five layers, and sometimes more, when picking up the color. Boards for the icon - linden and pine.

Each icon has its own character, its own history and its own inner light, which the master tries to convey through his vision of a particular image.

- How far did you go before you got to Valaam?

- I’ve only been in Valaam for a year. When I was 22 years old and already had an artistic education behind me, I decided to go into monastic life. And for more than 30 years I have been working for the benefit of monasteries. I lived in Pskov for more than 19 years - first the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery became my monastery, then I worked in the Mirozhsky Monastery. But I didn’t start doing icon painting right away.

Those who enter a monastery do not always do something “close” to them. This is what happened with Alypius: after coming to the monastery, he was asked what he liked to do most, to which he spoke about painting. Having heard the worker’s enthusiastic story about painting, he was sent to work in... a cowshed, to learn a new craft. It turned out that “everything that is around you must be loved,” and only then will a person be able to open a new world and discover his capabilities.

- What qualities should a person have in order to paint the faces of saints? What is the most difficult thing in this matter?

The most important thing is prayer, which accompanies a person in any activity, and especially in such an activity as painting icons. One of the main difficulties is that you convey the image not from nature, but from your heart. He looks the way your soul imagines him. You transfer onto the board all the love and all the beauty gleaned from prayer. That's why we always pray before we start work.

- What was the most difficult icon-painting work in your life?

- This is the icon of the Mother of God “Vsetsaritsa”. It is now in the altar of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, in the Annunciation chapel. It took seven years to create it. It is quite large: about more than two meters high, two meters wide. Of course, such work was difficult.

One of the easiest jobs is considered to be working on a “window” - an icon that is in a frame. I will not be mistaken if I say that it is difficult to paint the “sky” - the vaults of the temple. Not every master undertakes such work: it is quite painstaking, does not tolerate mistakes and is physically difficult. For example, now I am working on the “window” - I am painting the face of Xenia of St. Petersburg. This icon will be located in one of the churches in Pskov.

- Are the beauties of Valaam reflected in your works?

Painting is mystical. Everything that is around the artist during work causes a direct echo in his work. And the nature of the holy island is necessarily present in the images and mood that is conveyed to the faces of the saints. By the way, I really like Japanese graphics: spots, silhouettes and lines - all these details are very close to icon painting.

- Each of your work has its own character. Are there repetitions?

An icon cannot be repeated; it is not a stamp. Here in front of you are two images of Xenia of St. Petersburg (points to her works. - Author's note), look closely: the face is the same, but yet they are different. Many factors play a role here: color, mood, emotional impulse, emotions or, conversely, joy in the heart, the sun - an abyss of feelings. And there were cases that before painting the holy face, he appeared to me in a dream. When he woke up, he hurried to the studio to capture and convey this image.

In the 1990s, I graduated from the Simferopol Art School and decided to enter a monastery. Then I was often in “thoughtlessness”, that is, without thoughts - not moving forward, comprehending and learning something new... It was as if life stopped, and I froze along with it.

There are disadvantages to this, but there are also advantages. Sometimes this state helps me: you stand “within yourself,” without any thoughts, write a paper, and someone guides your hand. This is a blissful state. You switch off, and then you see the result and admire every stroke.

I ended up in a monastery. I can say that my development as an icon painter was helped by the prayer of the elders - Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov and the resident of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, Archimandrite John (Krestyankin). When I met them, I asked them for prayers to help.

- What, in your opinion, is the main purpose of the icon?

In icon painting, the most important thing is the foundation: purity of heart. The icon acts as an assistant in achieving the main goal - love, kindness and warmth. An icon is the art of art; it is more than creativity. While we work, we pray unceasingly.

The monastic task is to convey the inner purity of the heart. A person must see it within himself - there is an abyss there in which you will find answers to all questions. To the extent that a person purifies his heart, the icon becomes miraculous.

RIA Novosti material

Name of St. Alipia (Alimpia) of Pechersk stands first among Russian icon painters. He is called the founder of Russian icon painters and reveals a number of remarkable Russian masters.

The monk lived at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries. Presumably, his homeland was Kyiv. The parents saw in their son a penchant for fine art and sent him to the Greek masters who arrived in Kyiv to decorate the Assumption Church of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery. (“This Alimpiy, in the days of the blessed prince of Kiev Vsevolod Yaroslavich, was betrayed by his parents to the Greek icon painters who came (1084 .) for the decoration of the holy Pechersk churches for the teaching of icon images” Patericon of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery - Kyiv, 1863, l.147) Soon young Alypius worked with his teachers, helping them. Humility, hard work and non-covetousness were his characteristic features. After completing the painting work on the temple of St. Alypius takes monastic vows at the Kiev Pechersk Monastery from St. Nikon.

The young monk icon painter was distinguished by his exceptional hard work and love for his holy work. Developing your talent, St. Alypius feared idleness most of all. The saint's unselfishness and charity were combined with humility, purity, patience, and love. (The kindness of the heart of St. Alypius is also reflected in his service - “Never have you been upset at those who insult you, nor have you repaid evil for evil.” Troparion 8 canon ) For the high Christian qualities of St. Alypius was ordained a hieromonk.

The godly life of the righteous man attracted people to him asking for prayer for them. The life describes cases of the saint working miracles, the miraculous painting of the image of the Savior, the Mother of God, and saints. (Especially remarkable were the 7 great icons that St. Alypius painted, commissioned by a Kievite for the wooden church he built in Podol. They were painted “very cunningly”; after the fire preserved unharmed in the temple. - Macarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan of Moscow. History of the Russian Church.) The icon of the “Assumption of the Mother of God” was miraculously painted when the saint was already on his deathbed. When asked by the abbot who wrote the icon, the monk replied, “An angel wrote it, and the same is to come, even if I am taken to death.” These were the reverend's last words. The righteous death of St. Alipia has arrived August 17, 1114., one day after the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. The saint's memory is celebrated on August 17/30.

Sources indicate several icons that belong to the brush of St. Alipia: an icon "Our Lady of Vladimir" from the Rostov Cathedral, (This is one of the first copies of the icon of the “Vladimir Mother of God”. According to legend, it was written by the Angel himself for St. Alypius. Brought to Rostov by Prince Vladimir Monomakh. It was located in the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral. The icon died at the hands of an inexperienced “restorer” at the beginning 19th century icon "Mother of God of Pechersk"from the Svensky Monastery of the city of Bryansk and an icon "Tsar by king" or “Presta Queen” from the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. (According to the research of specialists, this icon dates back to the 14th century. It is known that the icon was renewed in the 18th century by the icon painter K. Ulanov)

Theophanes the Greek.

The works of Theophanes the Greek and others. Andrei (Rublev) puts an imprint on all church art of the 15th century, during which it reaches the pinnacle of its artistic expression. This is the classical era of Russian icon painting.

The Byzantine metropolitan artist arrived in Novgorod as a mature master, having already painted many churches in Constantinople, Chalcedon and Galata (altars of Constantinople), Cafe (in Crimea), and possibly some other cities. According to some sources, before his arrival in Novgorod, he painted at least 40 churches. He is called “a glorious sage, a highly skilled philosopher.” As noted by Rev. Epiphanius the Wise, Theophanes did not turn to samples at all, but wrote while reflecting and talking with those who came to see the birth of his creations.

Theophanes the Greek was first mentioned in Novgorod in 1378 during the painting of the Church of the Transfiguration. Great creative energy allowed Feofan to work on the paintings of several temples in a short time and have many followers of his work.

Having left a bright mark on Novgorod art, Feofan the Greek soon found himself in North-Eastern Rus', in Nizhny Novgorod. The master participates in the creation of frescoes and iconostasis in the Spassky Cathedral and the Church of the Annunciation Monastery. It is possible that in 1392 Feofan painted the cathedral in Kolomna, which was built by Dmitry Donskoy. In addition to Kolomna, it is possible that Theophanes the Greek worked in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Pereslavl-Zalessky around 1403.

The appearance of the famous master in Moscow is noted in the chronicle in 1395, when he, together with Simeon Cherny, painted the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Cathedral (1399) and a number of other churches (It is also known that Feofan painted the walls of the stone chambers of Grand Duke Vladimir Andreevich "unknown painting")

Theophanes the Greek was one of the leaders of the hesychasm movement in Rus'. According to Epiphanius the Wise, in his work “he discerned the distant and reasonable with his mind, with his sensual eyes he saw the goodness of reason,” that is, with his mind he comprehended the distant spiritual, for with enlightened, spiritualized sensual eyes he saw spiritual beauty.

The main works that have survived to this day, undoubtedly belonging to the hand of the great master, are now in Novgorod, in the iconostasis of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Kremlin(1405). The year of death of Theophanes the Greek is unknown, the chronicles do not mention him after 1405. His creativity and enormous original talent had a huge influence on Russian church culture. It gave a vivid example of the creativity of many masters.

Among the first and greatest artists of the era of hesychasm is Theophanes the Greek. He arrived in Rus' at the end of the 14th century, already a famous master. Epiphanius the Wise reports that the Greek painted forty churches in Constantinople, Galata, Cafe and other cities. Theophan's first known work in Rus' is the painting of the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilyin Street in Novgorod (1378). The consecration of this temple in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord became the basis of the program for its painting. Unfortunately, the frescoes are poorly preserved; only small fragments have survived to this day. But even in such a fragmentary form, the work of Theophanes the Greek amazes with its amazing pictorial skill, depth and originality of the master’s imaginative thinking. As soon as you cross the threshold of a small but very elongated temple, you are literally stopped by the gaze of Christ the Pantocrator, depicted in the dome: lightning seems to sparkle from his wide-open eyes. This image makes us recall the words from Holy Scripture: “Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12.29) or “I have come to bring down fire on the earth” (Luke 12.49). The image of Pantocrator dominates the space of the temple, and it provides the key to the figurative reading of the entire ensemble. For Theophanes, as for every hesychast, God is first of all Light, but this Light appears here in the hypostasis of fire. The world is tested by this fire, the world is judged by this fire, this fire burns all untruth, dividing creation into light and darkness, heavenly and earthly, spiritual and mental, created and uncreated. Fire is the sword that pierces the flesh of the world (Heb. 4.12). Hence the pictorial language of Feofan - he reduces the entire palette to a kind of dichotomy: he writes everything with two colors - ocher and white; we see lightning flashes of white glare (light, fire) flashing on an ocher-clay background (the color of earth). Everything is written incredibly energetically, with some exaggerated effects, with increased semantic accents.

There has been a lot of discussion in the research literature about the unusual coloristic solution of Feofanovskaya painting. Some scientists have put forward the version of a fire that discolored the painting. But archaeologists found no traces of the fire, and restorers confirmed that the paint layer was like this originally. In addition, familiarity with hesychast painting in other countries, for example the Balkan region, shows that such a case is not isolated. And the figurative structure of the Feofanovskaya painting speaks of this. that monochrome was chosen by the master quite consciously, as a metaphorical language. The color minimalism of this painting can be correlated by analogy with the rejection of verbosity in prayer, which was professed by the hesychasts; By reducing their rule to a few words of the Jesus Prayer, the hesychasts achieved incredible concentration of thought and spirit. Theophanes the Greek also achieves the same concentration.

Of the entire ensemble of the Church of the Transfiguration, the dome with the drum turned out to be the most preserved. Let's take a closer look at it. In the skufya around Christ Pantocrator, angelic forces are depicted, below, in the drum - prophets. The selection of prophets is unusual, like everything in Theophan, which allows one to “read” his plan. Here are depicted the so-called pre-Flood prophets, that is, the forefathers who lived before the Flood, before the first Testament that God concluded with humanity in the person of Noah. Thus, we see: Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah. Of the later prophets, only Elijah and John the Baptist are included in this series. The idea is very transparent: the first world perished from water, the second will perish from fire, salvation in the first catastrophe of Noah in the ark is the proclamation of the Church. The fiery prophet Elijah announced this divine fire and himself ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 1-2). The last prophet of the Old Testament, John the Baptist, preached that Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3.11).

The paintings in the small chapel dedicated to the Holy Trinity are relatively well preserved - this is a small room in the choir intended for individual prayer. The program for this painting was the contemplation of the Holy Trinity by the ascetics. On the eastern wall is written the image “The Appearance of Three Angels” (“Hospitality of Abraham”). At the bottom of the fresco, Abraham and Sarah are depicted preparing a meal. At the top there is an image of the Holy Trinity - three Angels around a sacrificial meal. And here Feofan is faithful to his principle of monochrome - even the images of Angels are painted in two colors - ocher and white. The general tone of the figures and background is written in a brown palette, and the main accents are marked and indicated with white - the outlines of halos, highlights on the wings, staves with trefoils at the end, toroki-rumors in the hair, movements on the faces and eyes. Moreover, attention is drawn to the fact that the pupils in the eyes of the Angels are not written; instead, they have bright white white strokes - “His lights are like a flame of fire” (Ogkr. 1.14). It should be recalled that in the book. Genesis follows the description of Abraham's Hospitality with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah - “And the Lord rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah rain, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (Gen. 19.23).

Along the walls, on three sides, are depicted stylites and hermits - those same ascetics of prayer who fled from the world in order to practice silent contemplation in solitude. All of them stand before the Holy Trinity. In the images of ascetics, the dichotomy of Feofanovsky coloring acquires special tension. Before our eyes, the activity of white color increases from image to image. Here the saint appears with his hands extended forward, on the tips of his fingers there are energetic strokes of white - he seems to be touching the light, feeling it almost physically. He enters this light. This is the holy pillar Daniel. The light glides freely over his clothes, pulsates on the curls of his hair, and is reflected in his eyes. St. Simeon of Divnogorsk is presented in the pose of an oranta with his arms spread to the sides. The lights on his clothing resemble sharp, piercing lightning bolts piercing his decrepit flesh like arrows. There are no pupils in the open eyes, but whitening engines are depicted in the eye sockets (we saw the same technique in the images of the Angels of the “Holy Trinity” composition) - the saint sees this light, he is filled with this light, he lives by it. The stylite Alimpius is depicted with his hands folded on his chest, his eyes are closed, he listens to his heart, as the hesychasts advised: “Lower your mind into your heart and then pray.” And, finally, the apotheosis of transformation and immersion in light - the image of St. Macarius of Egypt. The elongated candle-shaped figure of the ascetic is completely enveloped in light, like a white flame; this is a pillar of light. On the white figure, the face and hands (!) painted in ocher stand out, put forward in front of the chest with palms open outward. This is a posture of acceptance of grace, openness. Whitening highlights are written in flashes on the face of Macarius, but the eyes are not written at all. This strange technique was again chosen deliberately: the saint does not need bodily eyes, he sees God with his inner (spiritual) gaze, he does not look at the external world, he is entirely within. St. Macarius lives in the light, he himself is this light (“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Gal. 2.20). The face and hands against the background of light, in which the outlines of the figure of the saint are barely visible - an image of exceptional power, found by Theophan. This is a classic illustration of the Orthodox mystical experience: the ascetic, in the process of communion with God, is immersed in the light, in the divine reality, but at the same time does not dissolve like salt in water (as eastern religions teach, for example), but always retains his personality, which requires purification and transformation , but always remains sovereign. Christianity professes the integrity of the individual and the interpersonal principle of communion with God, which stems from the mystery of the Divine Trinity, within which the Persons reside “unmerged and indivisible.” Christ prayed for the unity of the disciples: “that they all may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us” (John 17.21). You and I are always preserved in the communication of God and man; only man as a person can respond to a personal God. This principle was not always strictly observed in the ascetic tradition of Eastern Christian monasticism, but the hesychast fathers always reminded us of this.

We can say that the images of the pillars and hermits of the Trinity chapel represent, as it were, different stages of deification, different steps of that ladder, about which one of the pillars of Hesychasm, St. John Climacus, abbot of the Sinai Monastery. And at the highest level Theophan places St. Macarius of Egypt, an ascetic of the 4th century who stood at the origins of monasticism. The beginning of the hesychast tradition is usually associated with his name. Theophanes clearly demonstrates to us how the Tabor light affects the ascetic. This is a unique and very vivid preaching of the hesychast path, a call to follow it. In a letter to Bishop Kirill of Tver, Epiphanius the Wise wrote that Theophan was a philosopher and very skillful in conversation, captivating everyone with his stories. Looking at this painting, you can perfectly imagine it. And here, in his work on the painting of the Novgorod Church of the Transfiguration, the Greek master manifests himself not only as a virtuoso painter, but also as a profound theologian and brilliant preacher. Due to the unusual artistic manner of Feofan, some researchers tried to attribute to him a connection with the heretical movements of contemporary Novgorod, in particular, with the Strigolniki. But these versions are completely untenable, because the Strigolniki were anti-Trinitarians and would never have risen to such heights of confession of the Holy Trinity, as we see in Theophan. On the contrary, it is precisely thanks to the vivid imagery of the Greek’s artistic language that his painting becomes a real sermon of Orthodox spiritual experience, by that time still little known in Rus', an experience associated with the very origins of Christian orthodoxy.

Theophanes the Greek is also credited with creating the famous icon of the Don Mother of God (c. 1395). There is no reliable information in favor of the authorship of Theophanes, but the style of painting betrays the hand of a Greek master, and the a-shaped structure of the icon indicates the hesychast orientation of his thought. The image of the Mother of God of the Don was clearly painted under the influence of the famous Our Lady of Vladimir, which at the end of the 14th century was transferred from Vladimir to Moscow. The painting style is rich, free, the colors are rich, deep, and the fluid strokes create a precious surface. This is how they wrote at that time in the best workshops of Constantinople. And the very image of the Mother of God and the Child Christ is interpreted in a deep and extraordinary way. Blue and gold play a particularly active role here. In addition to the background (now the background has been cleaned to gesso and looks white), the clothes of Christ (a symbol of His royal dignity), the border on the maforia of the Mother of God (a symbol of Her spiritual gifts with which She is adorned) and the stars (a symbol of Her purity) are written in gold. The clave on Christ's sleeve, the cap and sleeve of Mary's lower dress are written in a deep blue tone. But the most amazing detail is the blue scroll in Jesus' hand, intertwined with a thin gold thread. This is a symbol of the teachings of Christ, the Word who came into the world.

The faces of Christ and the Mother of God are amazingly painted - the soft melt with a slight blush seems to retain the warmth of the flesh, a gentle light flows from the eyes. I would like to say that this is a quiet light, but in the depths of the eyes lies an incredible source of energy that gives the images strength and internal charge, an extraordinary concentration of spirit. Here Feofan dispenses with outwardly extravagant techniques, as was the case in the Novgorod frescoes, but by activating the traditional language, the master creates an image of no less persuasiveness and spiritual strength.

Icon of Our Lady of the Don, double-sided, portable. On its reverse side is written the image of the “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” as it was intended for the Assumption Cathedral of Kolomna. The artist presents the composition of the Assumption in a condensed, abbreviated version (without apocryphal plots - the transfer of the apostles from different parts of the world to the bed of the Mother of God, etc.). The master focuses all his attention on the main thing - Christ comes for the soul of the Mother of God. The Mother of God reclines on the bed, surrounded by the apostles who have come to say goodbye to Her. The laconicism of the iconographic scheme makes every detail work more actively. For example, a candle standing in front of the bed of the Virgin Mary is a very polysemantic symbol. This is the life of a saint, who, when burned, gives off light, and a prayer that is offered to God; the candle is also a symbol of the Mother of God, who in the Akathist is called the “light-receiving candle.” The candle corresponds with the figure of Christ in golden robes. Above the head of Christ is a bright red seraph. The image of Christ also resembles a candle. The candle and the figure of Christ define the main vertical axis of the composition; together with the horizontal bed of the Mother of God, a cross is formed - a symbol of Christ's victory, Resurrection, Triumph of life over death. The chambers flank the composition on both sides, as if directing our attention to the center, to the action taking place at the bed. The concentrated, somewhat squeezed space is divided, as it were, into two zones, like reality, divided into two layers: visible and intelligible. In the first - the apostles who came to say goodbye to the dying Mother of God, in the second - the appearance of Christ with the soul of Mary in his arms in the form of a swaddled baby. Next to Christ are two saints - James the Brother of the Lord and Hierotheus of Athens (both martyrs who lived in the 1st century). The first thing that catches your eye is the strange dark, blue-black color of the mandorla surrounding the figure of Christ. Mandorla is a sign of divine glory, light, radiance that accompanies Christ. Why does Theophanes paint the mandorla dark blue, almost black? Let us turn again to the hesychast tradition. The hesychast fathers call the divine light super-light darkness, teaching that in its depths this light is impenetrable, just as God is unknowable. This unapproachable light can be perceived by a person as darkness. Light blinds a person, and meeting with it was perceived by many ascetics as entering darkness. Let us remember that Paul was blinded by this light on his way to Damascus (Acts 22.6-11). St. writes about this. Simeon the New Theologian, Gregory Palamas and other mystics and theologians. Against the dark background of the mandorla, the figure of Christ in golden robes and above His head a fiery seraph of bright red color stands out clearly - here Feofan remains faithful to his love of expressive techniques.

So, using the example of two works by Theophan the Greek - frescoes of the Church of the Transfiguration in Novgorod and the icon of Our Lady of the Don with the Assumption on the reverse from Kolomna - we can judge the artist as the brightest representative of the art of hesychasm. An energetic manner, vivid, memorable images, deep spiritual insights and knowledge of mystical contemplative experience - all this reveals to us an original, temperamental, unusually gifted personality.

Our reverend father showed himself to be an imitator of the holy Evangelist Luke 1, for he served the Lord, who created us in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), like that Luke, namely: he not only miraculously depicted the faces of saints on icons, but also embodied in their souls their virtues; besides, he was a wonderful doctor; His pious life appears to us in this form:

During the reign of the blessed prince of Kyiv Vsevolod Yaroslavich 2, under the abbot Reverend Nikon, by the dispensation of God and on the advice of the venerable fathers Anthony and Theodosius 3, who miraculously appeared in Constantinople in the tenth year after their repose, Greek icon painters arrived to decorate the holy Pechersk church; Blessed Alypius was given to these icon painters by his
parents in teaching painting.

Venerable Alypius, icon painter of Pechersk

Saint Alypius was an eyewitness to that wondrous miracle, which is narrated in the legend about the Pechersk church, namely: when the icon painters decorated the altar with paintings, then in it the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was depicted by itself: at the same time, this icon became illuminated and shone brighter than the sun: then a dove flew out of the mouth of the Most Holy Theotokos, which, after flying for a long time (through the church), flew into the mouth of the Savior, depicted on the icon located in the upper part of the church.

It was then that this blessed Alypius studied, helping his teachers; and he also painted beautifully in his soul, for the grace of the Most Holy Spirit abided in that Pechersk church.

When the aforementioned icon painters finished their work and decorated the holy church with icons, Alypius was also decorated by the Venerable Abbot Nikon with a miraculous image of the holy angelic monastic order. And Saint Alypius began to learn the art of depicting the virtues of saints in his soul, having already been trained in the art of depicting their faces materially (on icons).

Saint Alypius was so skilled in his work that, by the grace of God, with a visible image on the icon he reproduced, as it were, the most spiritual image of the virtues; for he studied the art of icon painting not for the sake of acquiring wealth, but for the sake of acquiring virtues; he constantly worked, painting icons for the abbot, for the brethren and for all those in need, charging nothing for his work.

Blessed Alypius asked everyone who saw dilapidated icons in any church to inform him about it; then, without demanding any remuneration, he decorated those churches with his art.

If the saint was free from such work, then he practiced the art of icon painting for himself and painted icons, which he gave to those from whom he borrowed the gold and silver needed to decorate the icons. The saint did this in order not to spend time in idleness; he was likened to the ancient holy fathers, who were constantly engaged in handicrafts, and to the supreme Apostle Paul 4 himself, who says about himself: “ these hands have served my needs and the needs of those who were with me(Acts 20:34).

If, however, when Saint Alypius happened to earn any amount of money through his needlework, he divided it into three parts: the first part he spent on renovating icons, the second on alms to the poor, and the third he gave for monastic needs. This is what the saint did every year, giving himself no rest either day or night; for at night he practiced prayerful vigil and prostrations, while during the day he practiced handicrafts with great humility, non-covetousness, purity, patience, fasting, love, and contemplation of God; no one had ever seen him idle; but despite all this, he never missed prayer meetings, at least for his studies.

When the abbot noticed such great virtues and icon-painting art in the monk, so that he was worthy, wearing the angelic image of the monastic order, to be an imitator of the Son of God Jesus Christ, a Priest according to the order of Melchizedek 5, he elevated him to the degree of priesthood. Then the monk was placed as a lamp on the candlestick (Matthew 5:15), or, better to say, as a role model in a high place, shining with the extreme beauty of monastic and priestly virtues; and the saint was not a simple example, for he worked miracles; Of his many miracles, we will recall here a few.

One of the rich citizens of the city of Kyiv suffered from leprosy; This one sought help from many doctors, wizards and pagans, but not only did he not receive relief from his illness, but fell into an even worse state. Then one of the patient’s friends advised him to go to the Pechersk monastery to ask for prayer from the holy fathers; he agreed, but with displeasure.

When this sick man was brought to the Pechersk monastery, the abbot ordered that he be given water from the saint’s well to drink, and also ordered that his face be washed with the same water. And immediately so much pus appeared on the sick man’s body, as a punishment for his lack of faith, that everyone shunned him, not being able to bear the foul smell emanating from the sick man’s body.

Then, weeping and indignation, this leper returned to his house, and did not leave the house for many days, because of the stench emanating from him, saying to his friends: “ they cover my face with dishonor. I have become a stranger to my brothers and a stranger to my mother's sons(Ps. 68:8-9), because I did not show faith to the venerable fathers Anthony and Theodosius; and every day he expected his death.

However, having come to his senses, this husband decided to confess all his sins; Therefore, he went again to the Pechersk monastery to the Monk Alypius and confessed his sins to him. The monk said to him:

“You did well, child, that you came to confess your sins to God before my unworthiness; This is how the prophet testifies to himself, crying out to the Lord: “ I said, “I will confess my crimes to the Lord,” and You took away the guilt of my sin.(Ps. 31:5).

Then the Monk Alypius taught him for a long time with soul-saving speeches, then, taking iconographic paints, he decorated his face, anointing the purulent places; After this, Saint Alypius led the sick man to church, communed him with the Divine Mysteries and commanded him to wash himself with the water with which the priests usually washed themselves after receiving the Holy Mysteries; Soon after this, the purulent scabs disappeared from the patient and he became healthy, as before.

In this miracle-working, our reverend father Alypius revealed himself to be an imitator of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself; for just as Christ, healing a leper, commanded him to appear to the priest and bring a gift for his cleansing (Matthew 8:4), so this monk ordered the leprosy patient to appear to him as a priest during the priestly service, and to bring as a gift that what the prophet says: “ What shall I repay to the Lord for all His good deeds to me? I will accept the cup of salvation(Ps. 116:3-4). Let us also mention here the gift, for the great-grandson of this leper, in gratitude for his cleansing, bound the ark in gold, which was located above the holy altar in the Pechersk church.

In addition, the Monk Alypius revealed himself to be an imitator of Christ, who healed the man born blind; for, just as Christ, healing a man born blind, first anointed his eyes with clay, then commanded him to wash himself in the font of Siloam (which means “sent”) (John 9:6-7), so this saint first anointed the scabs of the leper with iconographic paints, then ordered him to wash himself with the water with which priests, the messengers of God, usually wash themselves; In this way, the saint healed the sick man both from physical leprosy and from sinful blindness, so that everyone who came from the city with the sick man was greatly amazed at such a quick healing. But the Monk Alipius told them:

- Brothers! Notice what it says: " no one can serve two masters(Matthew 6:24); for this man was originally enslaved to the demon because of his sins; therefore, when he came to God, but on the advice of the enemy, he despaired of his salvation and did not believe in the Lord, Who alone could save him, then leprosy took hold of his body with even greater force, as punishment for his unbelief;
for the Lord said: “ ask, and not just " ask, but with faith, " it will be given to you(Matthew 7:7). When now he turned a second time with repentance to God, in my presence, then “ God rich in mercy(Eph.2:4), healed him.

Having heard this, the people bowed to the saint and set off on the return journey together with the healed man, glorifying God and the venerable fathers Anthony and Theodosius, as well as their disciple, our venerable father Alypius; and they said about this holy Alipias that he was revealed to them as the new Elisha 6, for he healed that sick man of leprosy, just as Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian of leprosy (2 Kings 5:14).

There was also someone from the same city of Kyiv, a pious man. This one built a church and wished to have seven large icons to decorate the church; this man gave the silver, along with the boards intended for drawing icons, to two monks of the Pechersk monastery, familiar to him, asking them to consult with Saint Alypius regarding the writing of icons. But the monks did not say anything to Alypius, and appropriated the silver for themselves. After some time, that husband sent to ask the monks whether his icons were painted or not? They replied that Alypius demanded more silver.

Then again, taking the silver sent from that husband, they appropriated it for themselves. Then, reaching the extreme of shamelessness, these two monks again sent to tell that husband (slander of the saint) that Alypius demanded as much silver as he had received. The Christ-loving man gave the silver a third time, saying:

“I greatly desire to receive prayer and blessing from the work of his hands.”

Saint Alypius knew nothing about what the monks were doing.

Finally, the husband sent again to find out for sure whether the icons had already been painted? The monks, not knowing what to answer, said that Alypius took all the silver sent three times, but did not want to paint icons.

Then that Christ-loving husband arrived at the Pechersk monastery along with his retinue, went to Abbot Nikon and told him about the reason for the sadness inflicted on him (allegedly) by Alypius. The abbot, calling Alypius, said to him:

“Why are you, brother, causing such an insult to this son of ours, who very much begged you to paint icons and gave you the amount of silver you asked for?” But you, having taken so much silver and made a promise to paint icons, did not paint them, although in other cases you painted icons without any payment.

Blessed Alypius answered this:

- Honest father! You know well that I have never shown laziness in this matter; but now I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

Then the abbot said to him again:

– You charged triple the price for painting seven icons; but you haven't written them yet.

And immediately, wanting to expose the saint, he ordered to bring boards intended for painting icons (those boards the day before were seen standing in one of the monastery buildings, and nothing was depicted on them): the abbot also ordered to call those monks, through whom This husband handed over the silver to the saint, so that these monks would expose Alypius.

Those sent for the boards found them very skillfully painted and brought them to the abbot.

Seeing this, everyone who was there was very surprised and fell into great fear; then, with trepidation, they fell prostrate to the ground and worshiped those images not created by the hand of man - namely, the image of the Lord, the image of the Most Holy Theotokos and other images of the saints of God.

Then those two monks came who slandered Alypius; not knowing anything about this miracle, they entered into an argument with the saint, saying:

“You took triple the price, but you don’t want to paint icons!”

Hearing these words, everyone who was there showed the icons to those monks, saying:

“These icons, painted by God Himself, certify the innocence of Alypius!”

Those monks, seeing the icons, were horrified by such a great miracle. They were immediately convicted by the abbot of theft and lies, were expelled from the monastery and deprived of all their property.

But these monks did not stop their malice: they began to spread blasphemy against the Monk Alypius in the city, claiming that they themselves had painted those icons; “Our boss,” they said, “not wanting to reward us for our work, in order to remove us from work, lied about the icons, that they were painted by God Himself, who wanted to justify Alypius.

Hearing such speeches, many citizens went from the city to the monastery in order to see those icons and venerate them.

However, despite the fact that many of the citizens believed those monks who slandered the Monk Alypius, God glorifies His saints, as He Himself says in the Holy Gospel: “ a city on top of a mountain cannot hide(Matt.5:14); and further: " Having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house(Matthew 5:15),
- God did not hide the virtuous deeds of this righteous man; for the news of this miracle performed by the Lord for the sake of Saint Alypius reached Prince Vladimir Monomakh 7; This miracle was also confirmed as follows:

By God's permission, a fire occurred in Kyiv, from which almost the entire Podol 8 in Kyiv burned; in this part of the city there was also a church with the mentioned icons, which also burned down; however, after the fire they found all those icons completely intact.

When the prince heard about this, he personally came to the place of the fire, wanting to see the miracle that took place there. Seeing the icons that remained unharmed by the fire, the prince first of all learned that they were painted in one night according to the dispensation of God, who wanted to justify Alypius from the slander that had been leveled against him.

Then Prince Vladimir Monomakh zealously glorified the Creator of all Boa, who performed such great miracles for the sake of the virtues of the Monk Alypius.

Then, taking one of those icons, namely the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, he ordered it to be sent to the city of Rostov, to the stone church that was located there, built by him.

This church in Rostov was once destroyed, but the icon remained completely undamaged. Then the icon was placed in a wooden church; but this church, too, burned down from a fire some time later; The icon again remained undamaged, so that there was not even a small scratch on it after the fire.

All this undoubtedly confirmed the virtuous life of our venerable father Alypius, for whose sake that icon was painted by itself.

Let us now move on to the miracle that took place at the death of the saint, in order to see how marvelously this man, a skilled creator of icons, passed from this temporary life to eternal life.

A certain pious man asked our venerable father Alypius to paint an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos; On this occasion, he asked the saint to paint this icon for the day of the Feast of the Dormition. But the monk fell ill soon and was already approaching his death; and the icon, meanwhile, was not painted; That man was very sorrowful over this incident and greatly disturbed the saint. Blessed Alypius said to him:

- Child! Don’t bother me, but cast all your sorrow on the Lord, and He will do as He wishes: the icon will be in its place on His holiday.

That husband, believing the words of the saint, went to his house with joy. Then he again came to Alypius on the eve of the Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Seeing that the icon was not painted. Seeing also that the Monk Alypius became even more ill, that husband began to reproach the blessed one, saying this:

- Why didn’t you tell me anything about your serious illness? Then I would give the icon to another icon painter, who would paint it for me, so that the holiday would be honest and solemn; but now you plunge me into great shame.

The monk answered him with meekness:

- Oh child! Did I do this out of laziness? However, God can write an icon of His Mother with a single word; Now I myself am leaving this world, as the Lord revealed this to me, but I don’t want to leave you in sadness.

That husband passed away in deep sorrow. Immediately after his departure, a certain bright young man went to the Monk Alypius, who began to paint an icon for that husband. Alypius thought that the man, offended by him, had sent a new icon painter, and at first mistook that young man for a man; however, the speed and grace of his work showed that something was an angel; for in the course of three hours he painted a very beautiful icon, now putting gold on the icon, now rubbing various colors on stone and painting with them; then he said to the monk:

- Father! Perhaps there is still something missing here, or have I made a mistake?

The monk answered:

– You did everything perfectly; God Himself helped you paint the icon with such splendor; He Himself did this through you.

When evening came, that icon painter and the icon became invisible.

Meanwhile, the owner of the icon could not sleep all night from sadness, because he thought that the icon would not be ready for the holiday; therefore, he considered himself unworthy of such mercy of God and called himself a great sinner. For this reason, getting up in the morning, the next day, he went to church in order to confess his sins to the Lord there.

But as soon as he opened the doors of the temple, he saw the icon standing in its place. He immediately fell to the ground in fear, thinking that it was a ghost: then, rising a little from the ground, and looking attentively at the icon, he realized that it was his icon.

As a result of this, he came into great fear and horror and remembered the words of the Monk Alypius, who told him that the icon would be ready for its feast; then he went and woke up all his household. His family hurried joyfully to the temple with candles and censers; Seeing here an icon shining like the sun, everyone fell to the ground, bowed to the icon and kissed it with a joyful soul.

After this, that pious man went to the abbot and told him about the miracle that happened to the icon; Then they went together to the Monk Alypius and found him already departing from this world. Despite this, the abbot asked him:

- Father! By whom and how was the icon painted for this husband?

Alypius told them everything he had seen and said:

“An angel wrote that icon, and he is standing here intending to take my soul.”

Having said this, the blessed one gave up his spirit into the hands of the Lord on the seventeenth day of the month of August 9. The brothers covered his body with swaddling clothes and carried him to the church; then, having performed the usual funeral chants, they laid the body of the saint in the cave of the Monk Anthony.

This is how this holy miraculous icon painter decorated heaven and earth; Having lived on earth in body, he ascended to heaven with a virtuous soul, to glorify the Chief of icon painters, God the Father, Who said: “ Let us make man in Our image [and] after Our likeness(Genesis 1:26), as well as according to “ the image of His hypostasis(Heb. 1:3), God the Son, who looking like a man(Phil.2:7); together with the Holy Spirit, who descended from heaven in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16) and in the form of tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). Let us praise all these, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who are in one being, together with our venerable father Alypius, and glorify them to endless ages. Amen.

1 St. Luke - Apostle of the 70, writer of the third Gospel and the book of the Acts of the Apostles, companion and collaborator of St. Apostle Paul. St. Luke was from Antioch in Syria; he was a doctor, how to talk about this Ap. Paul to the Colossians (4:14) and a painter, according to the testimony of Philostorgius and Nikephoros Callistus. According to legend, he painted an icon of the Mother of God. He died at the age of 80 in Thebes of Boeotia. His relics were transferred to Constantinople in 360. - His memory is committed to St. Church on October 18.

2 Vsevolod Yaroslavich reigned for the first time from 1075 to 1076 (six months) and for the second time - from 1078 to 1093.

3 Reverends Anthony and Theodosius are the founders of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Memory of St. Anthony is celebrated by St. Church on July 10, and St. Feodosia - May 3. Antonia and Feodosia together - September 2, Old Style.

5 Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, is mentioned in the book of Genesis (14:18). The Book of Genesis, which tells about Melchizedek, says nothing either about the origin of Melchizedek or about the end of his life, which, along with the blessing of Abraham, made Melchizedek, according to the explanation of St. The Apostle Paul (Heb. 6:20) is a prototype of Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest and King. The prophet and king David also pointed out the educational significance of the Melchizedek priesthood when he spoke of the Son of God: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4). But the educational significance of Melchizedek is revealed especially clearly and in detail by St. Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews (chap. 7).

7 Vladimir Monomakh reigned from 1114 to 1125.

8 Part of the city.

9 The death of the Monk Alypius followed in 1114.