When did Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom live? Why are they so revered in Rus' and why are they considered protectors of married couples? The Life of Saints Peter and Fevronia: we tell you the most important things.
When did Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom live?
Saints Peter and Fevronia lived in the 12th–13th centuries. Russia at that time was not a single Empire, but was fragmented into many principalities. Each principality lived with its own interests, traditions, and regulations.
All this could be called a country conditionally, since the princes often fought among themselves. In fact, the principalities were united only by the fact that they were all Slavic, and all were under the wing of the Russian Orthodox Church. (Sometimes additional unity between the principalities could be created by the fact that they were ruled by close relatives (brothers, fathers and children), but more often it did not, and brother often rebelled against brother).
At the same time, the phenomenon of locally revered saints was widespread. These were ascetics who were well known and revered in a separate principality, but about whom their neighbors knew nothing. Peter and Fevronia were exactly like that for the Murom land. They were canonized by the Church only in the 16th century - when Russia by that time had already finally become a full-fledged, single, strong kingdom: with a single law, a single ruler and single calendars.
Saints Peter and Fevronia: what is known about them?
Almost nothing - and precisely because of the fragmentation of the country. The Principality of Murom belonged to the province - in contrast to Novgorod or Kyiv, almost no chronicles were kept or were not preserved. The Murom residents knew well what was happening among them, and the memory of important events was passed down from mouth to mouth and from generation to generation, but nothing left the land.
However, the fact that Peter and Fevronia were canonized suggests that the Church had enough evidence of their spiritual feat - even if only rare legends have reached our time. (And in fact, there is only one “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom”, which is also not fully proven, who exactly wrote it).
Brief life of Peter and Fevronia
In general, everything that is known about the life of Peter and Fevronia of Murom can be summarized in several theses:
- Saint Peter was from a princely family. (Researchers still do not know exactly which Murom prince we are talking about, because Peter is the name that the saint received during monastic tonsure, shortly before his death. But what was his name “in the world”?)
- One day Peter became very (perhaps fatally) ill. The doctors threw up their hands. A simple believing girl from the village managed to cure him, but under a promise: that he, the prince, would take her as his wife.
- Peter married her only “the second time.” At first he refused this promise and tried to simply give Fevronia a gift, but soon he fell ill with the same disease again and they got married only after that.
- Peter and Fevronia lived in peace and respect for each other, lived according to the Commandments, and tried to rule Murom according to the laws of Love and truth.
- At the same time, all the boyars, and especially their wives, were embarrassed that Princess Fevronia had a simple origin. How can you obey her?
- The discontent was so strong that at some point Peter and Fevronia had to go into exile, going through many hardships. However, they were soon asked to return, because Murom was mired in strife without them.
- Shortly before their death, Peter and Fevronia entered a monastery.
- They died on the same day.
- Despite the fact that the spouses were buried separately, the next night the bodies of the spouses ended up in one coffin - which they made for themselves shortly before their death.
Love of Peter and Fevronia
This is their life path. In general terms, these facts do not say anything about holiness, because apart from the incorruptible relics, no other evidence of the miraculous action of Grace has been preserved on them. It is not known that they healed anyone; There are also no mentions of any external supernatural events, apart from their joint repose in the same coffin.
However, the canonization of saints in the Church is not only a tribute to the ascetic and his miracles, but a great collection of inspiring examples of how in various life, social and historical circumstances one can come to holiness.
Saints Peter and Fevronia are an example of how one can acquire the Grace of the Holy Spirit through marriage, as well as evidence that holiness is possible not only among the poor and wretched, monks or pilgrims, but even among rulers. The ways of the Lord are inscrutable and life in Christ is possible everywhere, and not just in a monastery or desert, since holiness is built not by external circumstances, but by the inner structure of a person.
So, what can the life of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom inspire?
A lot!
“Lessons” of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom
A man's responsibility for his word
Someone says that all this is not very similar to Orthodox life: Fevronia married Peter “forcibly and with conditions” - through his illness.
However, this story is not about an “ultimatum”, but about a “man’s word” and a man’s responsibility to a girl - no matter what extent their relationship reaches.
If you promised to marry, get married, otherwise don’t promise.
If you are courting a girl, do not deceive her with your advances, do not pass off frivolity as love.
And in general, as a man, bear responsibility for every action in a relationship, and let this principle become not a cage for you, but a core and foundation for finding strong, real, love.
Because what distinguishes a man from a boy is responsibility, and where there is a man, there will always be a woman’s love for him.
"Illness for good"
The story about Peter’s illness gives another parting message. Behind every event in our life lies God's Providence for us - even if it is a serious illness or other sorrow.
After all, if we judge: if Peter had not gotten sick, would he have met the peasant woman Fevronia? Most likely no. And if he had met, would their marriage have become possible, even if it did not happen right away even under the conditions of “healing”? It is clear that it is impossible.
And if Peter had not found Fevronia, would he have been able to walk his path to holiness? Hardly…
What a good lesson this is for us: not to despair and to accept difficulties and sorrows in peace! Because in them - if you look - all the Lord’s concern for eternal life for us.
Let it be difficult for the human mind to understand and hard to believe...
The sanctity of trust between spouses. Miracle of St. Febronia with crumbs
Tradition says that the boyars always suspected Fevronia of witchcraft. Firstly, she was able to heal Peter when no one could. Secondly, they did not understand many of her habits. For example, the boyars drew Peter's attention to the fact that his wife was collecting crumbs from the table in her palm. Fevronia simply treated all food with trepidation, as a gift from God, but the people around came up with God knows what...
One day Peter heeded the suspicions of the boyars and asked Fevronia to open her palm. The princess obeyed, but in her hand instead of crumbs she found blessed incense. After this, Peter never “checked” his wife and did not listen to any conversations about her.
This lesson goes deeper than just a story about suspicion. It is about complete trust, which is established between spouses by the Grace of the Holy Spirit. Trust, which is built not only on respect for each other, but also on trust in God’s Providence, which can be expressed not only in the right decisions of a spouse, but also in their mistakes.
After all, if you look at the essence of things, then marriage is service to God through the person next to you. And love in a Christian family is not only the direction of feelings from one person to another (from wife to husband and vice versa), but Love in itself, which is established in the heart with Christ, and which graces everything around.
“Acquire a peaceful spirit and thousands around you will be saved,” said the monk. Thousands around, but first of all - your “other half”!
Christ sanctified marriage by attending a marriage in Cana of Galilee, establishing for centuries that marriage for God's sake is the same full-fledged path to the acquisition of Grace and holiness as virginity (which later in Christianity took the form of monasticism).
Icon of marriage in Cana of Galilee
That is why any marriage is holy and any divorce is a “tragedy in heaven.” And that is why Peter at some point refused to divorce his peasant wife, although the boyars begged him to do so.
Devotion. Expulsion of Peter and Fevronia
After the rebellious boyars expelled Peter and Fevronia from the city, the couple lived for some time almost in an open field in tents. A period that shows that marriage is not only words and feelings, but also deeds. In this case, on the part of the wife, who, for the sake of her husband, went with him from the palace to the hut. And she not only accompanied him, but supported him in the hours when he was discouraged.
Women's support preserves the marriage and strengthens the man. Who knows how everything would have turned out if the obstinate wife had been in exile in Fevronia’s place. Would Peter have preserved his health and life by the time the boyars came to bow to him and did not ask them to return?
Saint Febronia and the boatman
One day, the boatman who was transporting Fevronia thought about her with lust. The saint understood this and asked the man to draw water first from one side of the boat, then from the other, and try the water from there and from there. The water tasted the same. “So the essence of women is the same everywhere,” Fevronia explained to the boatman.
How many marriages would be saved if husbands did not look at other women.
Moreover, they did not even begin to simply look and evaluate, because any action and any sin begins with a thought, which gradually strengthens in a person and takes root in him.
Peter and Fevronia died on the same day
This is not even a lesson, but a beautiful story. Peter sent a messenger to Fevronia several times with the message: “I’m dying,” and each time she answered: “Wait, don’t die, I need to finish finishing the veil for the temple.” And only the third time she put aside her sewing, leaving it unfinished - in order to move from the earthly world to the eternal world together with her husband...
There is no need to take death at one time as a miracle or some kind of mystical event - very often spouses who have lived their whole lives together then die one after another, because the life of the other in marriage is also your life and with the life of the other and part of you goes away .
The one-time death of Peter and Fevronia is, rather, a symbol of their marital service, which was expressed in such a beautiful, memorable way.
At first they were buried separately, but then they were surprised to find them in the same coffin - which they ordered for themselves shortly before their death. And now this is a miracle - the seal of the Lord on their lives, adding this wonderful married couple to the host of Russian saints: the holy saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom!
Saints Peter and Fevronia: days of remembrance
The Russian Orthodox Church established two days of their memory:
- July 8 is the day of Peter and Fevronia. In the state it is celebrated as Family Day.
- and September 19 - the day of the return of the holy relics of the Church in 1992, after they had been in a Soviet museum for 70 years.
Where are the relics of Peter and Fevronia kept?
Since 1992, the relics of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom have been kept in the cathedral church of the Murom Holy Trinity Monastery.
Icon of Peter and Fevronia
Saints Peter and Fevronia, pray to God for us!
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Peter and Fevronia of Murom are Russian Orthodox saints who are revered as patrons of family and marriage. Their marriage is considered exemplary in Orthodoxy. The Holy Blessed Prince Peter, in monasticism David, and the Holy Blessed Princess Fevronia, in monasticism Euphrosyne, Murom miracle workers. The blessed Prince Peter was the second son of Murom Prince Yuri Vladimirovich. He ascended the Murom throne in 1203. A few years earlier, Saint Peter fell ill with leprosy, from which no one could cure him. In a dream vision, it was revealed to the prince that he could be healed by the beekeeper’s daughter, the pious maiden Fevronia, a peasant woman from the village of Laskovoy in the Ryazan land. Saint Peter sent his people to that village. When the prince saw Saint Fevronia, he fell in love with her so much for her piety, wisdom and kindness that he vowed to marry her after healing. Saint Febronia healed the prince and married him. The holy spouses carried love for each other through all trials. The proud boyars did not want to have a princess of ordinary rank and demanded that the prince let her go. Saint Peter refused and the couple were expelled. They sailed on a boat along the Oka River from their hometown. Saint Febronia supported and consoled Saint Peter. But soon the city of Murom suffered the wrath of God, and the people demanded that the prince return along with Saint Fevronia. The holy spouses became famous for their piety and mercy. They died on the same day and hour, June 25, 1228, having previously taken monastic vows with the names David and Euphrosyne. The bodies of the saints were laid in one coffin. There is another version of this story. It is stated by D. S. Likhachev as follows: “The heroine of the story is the maiden Fevronia. She is wise with folk wisdom. She makes wise riddles and knows how to resolve life's difficulties without fuss. She does not object to her enemies and does not insult them with open teaching, but resorts to allegory, the purpose of which is to teach a harmless lesson: her opponents themselves realize their mistakes. She works miracles in passing: she makes the branches stuck for the fire bloom into a large tree overnight. Her life-giving power extends to everything around her. Crumbs of bread in her palm turn into grains of fragrant incense. Prince Peter tries to deceive her only once, at the beginning, when he decides not to marry her, contrary to his promise. But after the very first lesson taught to him by Fevronia, he listens to her in everything and, having got married, lives with her in harmony, their love crosses the threshold of death.” The essence of this story, apparently, is the same. Which of them was in reality is unknown, since the Tale of Peter and Fevronia was recorded by the Chronicler Ermolai the Pregreshny by order of Metropolitan Macarius in the 16th century. Peter and Fevronia were canonized in 1547. Saints' Day of Remembrance is June 25 (July 8, New Style).
Why exactly Peter and Fevronia?
These saints are glorified by the Church not as saints, although they accepted the schema at the end of their lives, and not as martyrs and confessors, although they were expelled from their city. Fasting and prayer were part of their family life, and they were subjected to humiliation and danger for being faithful to each other. Saints Peter and Fevronia gave an example of an ideal Christian family. It is for this that they are awarded church veneration, which is why their life for more than eight centuries has served as an example of the proper attitude of spouses towards church marriage and towards each other.
The effectiveness of prayer to these saints, which the Church has been doing for 450 years, convinces us of the authenticity of the appearance of Peter and Fevronia, which was recreated by Ermolai-Erasmus in his “Tale”. They truly became the patrons of Christian marriage.
It is they who should pray for peace to be sent into the family, for strengthening marital ties, and for achieving family happiness. Thus, Saints Peter and Fevronia are included in the majestic picture of the Christianly understood history of the world; they are placed on a par with the apostles and martyrs and other great saints. And they were awarded such glorification “for the sake of courage and humility” that they showed in keeping the commandments of God regarding marriage. In this way they fulfilled their calling as Christians. This means that each of those who strive in Christian marriage and follow their example can be placed in this rank and can win the crown that Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom were awarded.
Priest's comment
Archpriest Andrey Efanov:
“We know extremely little reliably about the life of Saints Peter and Fevronia. It is known that this princely couple lived in the 13th century, they had three children, they died on the same day, having accepted monasticism at the end of their life. As a one-of-a-kind exception, the prince and princess were buried in the same coffin.
Probably, it was precisely these circumstances of their lives that caused Saints Peter and Fevronia to become patrons of family and marriage. Indeed, what a beautiful ending to life, like in a fairy tale: “they lived happily ever after and died on the same day.” Which newlywed doesn’t dream of this?
However, such a death must still be earned. Raise wonderful children: patriotic sons, a daughter - the wife of the Grand Duke. Do not betray each other in times of trial, always stay together, in joy and sorrow. Firmly preserve the Orthodox faith. Only then can one hope for the mercy that was shown to the Murom saints.
There is a lot of beauty in the tale of Peter and Fevronia. I remembered the case when the prince’s hater wanted to separate him from his wife. However, the holy prince chose exile rather than be separated from his beloved wife. How many are now ready to follow the example of the saint?
Today, our society needs Family and Fidelity Day like air, like water. Marriages are being destroyed more easily than ever before; not everyone is ready to even remember about marital fidelity. But still, when getting married, most newlyweds dream of happiness, of love until death.
By choosing the Murom saints as patrons of their marriage, the newlyweds lay, albeit one, cornerstone in the foundation of their marriage. If the foundation of this house is strong faith, marital fidelity, love and mutual respect, if the children in this marriage are raised in Christian traditions, then nothing can destroy such a marriage. Any adversity, trial, or disaster can only shake such a house a little, but this will make each pebble fit even more tightly to the next one, and as a result, the house of such a marriage will only become stronger.
The Trinity Convent in Murom is not much different from other monasteries of this kind. But when you approach the relics of the wondrous Murom saints, all this is completely forgotten. Here the worshiper remains alone with Eternity. But alone does not mean alone.
TV story about celebrating the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity in Samara
July 8(June 25 according to the Julian calendar) The Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Murom holy spouses Peter and Fevronia, who lived at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries. Their marriage is a model of Christian marriage. Saints Peter and Fevronia were revered in Rus' as the patrons of married life; It was believed that with their prayers they brought down heavenly blessings on those entering into marriage.
The life story of Peter and Fevronia existed for many centuries in the legends of the Murom land, where they lived and where their relics were preserved. Over time, real events acquired fabulous features, merging in people's memory with the legends and parables of this region. In the 16th century, the love story of Peter and Fevronia was described in detail and colorfully in the famous ancient Russian “The Tale of Peter and Fevronia” by a talented writer, widely known in the era of Ivan the Terrible, priest Ermolai the Prereshny (in monasticism Erasmus). Researchers argue about which of the historical figures the life was written about: some are inclined to think that it was Prince David and his wife Euphrosyne, monastically Peter and Fevronia, who died in 1228, others see them as the spouses Peter and Euphrosyne, who reigned in Murom in XIV century.
According to the Lives of the Saints, the blessed Prince Peter was the second son of Murom Prince Yuri Vladimirovich. He ascended the Murom throne in 1203. Several years before his reign, Peter fell ill with leprosy, from which no one could cure him. In a dream, it was revealed to the prince that he could be healed by the beekeeper’s daughter Fevronia, a peasant woman from the village of Laskovoy in the Ryazan land. Fevronia was beautiful, pious and kind, besides, she was a wise girl, she knew the properties of herbs and knew how to treat ailments, wild animals listened to her. The prince fell in love with Fevronia for her piety, wisdom and kindness and vowed to marry her after healing. The girl healed the prince, but he did not keep his word. The illness resumed, Fevronia again cured the prince, and he married the healer.
After the death of his brother, Peter inherited the reign. The boyars respected their prince, but the arrogant boyar wives disliked Fevronia, not wanting to have a peasant woman as their ruler. The boyars demanded that the prince leave her. Peter, having learned that they wanted to separate him from his beloved wife, chose to voluntarily renounce power and wealth and go into exile with her. Peter and Fevronia left Murom, sailing on a boat along the Oka River. Soon, unrest began in Murom, the boyars quarreled, seeking the vacated princely throne, and blood was shed. Then the boyars, who came to their senses, gathered a council and decided to call Prince Peter back. The prince and princess returned, and Fevronia managed to earn the love of the townspeople. They ruled happily ever after.
In their old age, Peter and Fevronia took monastic vows in different monasteries with the names David and Euphrosyne, and prayed to God that they would die on the same day, and bequeathed themselves to be buried together in a specially prepared coffin with a thin partition in the middle.
They each died in their own cell on the same day and hour - July 8 (Old Style - June 25) 1228.
People considered it impious to bury monks in one coffin and violated the will of the deceased: their bodies were placed in different monasteries. However, the very next day they ended up together. Twice their bodies were carried to different temples, but twice they miraculously found themselves nearby. So they buried the holy spouses together in the city of Murom near the Cathedral Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Approximately 300 years after their death, Peter and Fevronia were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Now the relics of Saints Peter and Fevronia rest in the Holy Trinity Convent in Murom.
On this day, it is customary for Orthodox believers, first of all, to visit churches. In their prayers, young people ask God for great love, and older people ask for family harmony. The day of Peter and Fevronia is popularly considered lucky for love. Also, according to popular belief, from this day you should wait for forty hot days.
On March 26, 2008, at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, the Federation Council unanimously approved the initiative to establish a new state holiday on July 8, the Day of the Patron Saints Peter and Fevronia - “All-Russian Day of Married Love and Family Happiness.” The first celebration will take place on July 8 this year in Murom, the homeland of Saints Peter and Fevronia.
Attention! Poll for women only! The men who joined him can be easily identified by their blue color!
The diaries sound perplexed: “What now - pick up an unwashed homeless person?”
Maybe so. When Prince Peter came to Fevronia for treatment, he hardly looked attractive and impressive. But the main thing is that it was still the prince whom Fevronia wanted to marry.
What was important to her? Why didn't she do the same to some man or soldier? We put the wealth, power and influence of the prince aside as an option: Fevronia easily endured the exile, and the attacks from the boyars towards her, a commoner, were not pleasant.
What motives drove this woman? Love for a handsome prince? How handsome he is when he arrived sickly... The fact that he is a hero, and women love heroes? Maybe so, but it’s unlikely that this was important for Fevronia.
The most precious thing that she herself voiced was her husband. And here comes the most important question for our ABC students: are you weak? Or will the husband come in second place after the cat, dog, child, mom and dad, apartment, car?
Is it hard to resist the temptation to play love with someone else’s warrior while your husband isn’t looking? And to whom did she say the words: “Scoop up water from the left side, and then from the right?” Fevronia probably knew the correct answer. And she didn’t say this to the warrior, but to herself - most likely! Today, in common language in swear words, it sounds something like this: “To change something for something is just a waste of time!” I hope it's clear what I mean?
The roles in the family of the prince and Fevronia were clearly distributed: he was involved in men's affairs, she was in charge of women's affairs. It is unlikely that Fevronia asked her husband to help her around the house, just as he did not invite her to think about issues of national importance (then the principalities were separate states). In general, everyone in the family specifically played their role. And, as we see, this was only beneficial for the family, and the mess usually begins where everyone starts to mind their own business: the wife teaches her husband how to drive a car, and he instructs her how to cook cabbage soup.
The spouses could not even imagine being without each other, or being next to someone. And this is the most important thing! This is the meaning of the question published below, the answer to which is important for those men who came to ABC to find a life partner. The opinion of the men reading this depends entirely on what women write in the comments! Well... and vice versa, of course! We are chosen, we choose... How often this does not coincide...
Once again I draw the attention of women: Fevronia was the first to invite Peter to marry her! The prince was probably stunned by such impudence, but... this was precisely what played a decisive role! So, dear ladies, are there any among you capable of such a feat?
And finally, are we, today's men and women, capable of loyalty, love, devotion to each other? Weak? Or how? Or, with a smartphone or laptop in hand, do we think that the appearance of spouses in the same coffin after death is a fake? Are we so lacking in faith that we consider this a fairy tale? Are there anyone here who believes in this - besides me?
Are we capable of continuing to love each other? When will we become wrinkled, gray, bald, thin or fat, unsuitable for sexual relations?
