He founded the Church of St. Sophia Metropolis. "Book teaching" in ancient Russia. Schools in other regions of Russia
In the Tale of Bygone Years, under the year 988, there is an entry that St. Prince Vladimir "sent to collect children from the best people and send them to book education." “The mothers of these children,” continues the chronicler, “wept for them; for they were not yet established in the faith, and wept for them as if they were dead.” The following is a whole teaching on the enlightenment of the Russian Land by holy baptism. At the same time, the words of the prophet Isaiah are recalled: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will hear ... and the language of the googly (i.e., tongue-tied) will be clear” (Is. 35: 5,6). So, according to the author, the spread and strengthening of faith is associated with the education of children, i.e. the upbringing of the new generation, which knows and understands the "book words", in contrast to the uneducated older generation, which is not fully aware of the benefits of this matter.
Indeed, if you think about the meaning of the usual words "literacy", "education", "enlightenment", you can notice their different semantic shades. Literacy means mastering the skills necessary for practical, professional activities. The ability to read, count, write, or to produce something, to produce, allows you to solve certain tasks of an operational nature. In this sense, we call someone a competent, competent specialist. But if we want to note the versatility of a person's knowledge, their integrity, then we say that he is educated, knowledgeable. Finally, when we want to emphasize the ideological enthusiasm of someone, the direction of his practical activity for spiritual benefit, and not for material gain, then we call such a person enlightened, spiritualized.
“True enlightenment is an end in itself; but literacy, the ability to read, is only a means. He who can read and write and does not read anything, he, in fact, does not yet have any enlightenment. Literacy involves a special kind of self-enlightenment through more or less reading of books.
Russian church historian, academician E.E. Golubinsky (1834-1912).
Thus, having noted the connection between literacy and enlightenment in ancient Russia and having defined the terms, let us turn to ancient Russian history in order to find out what literacy, education and enlightenment were then. It matters to us today. Firstly, because the lands of modern Belarus were then an organic (integral) part of Kievan Rus (for all the independence of the Polotsk princes, who looked at their land as a fiefdom), and secondly, because the beginning of that spiritual influence belongs to the Old Russian period , the educational tradition that was fed by the Orthodox faith and became the spiritual basis on which the cultural image of the Belarusians was formed.
At present, it can be argued that literacy is widespread among the inhabitants of ancient Russia. This is evidenced by materials of archaeological finds. For example, the owners made inscriptions on various objects, in particular, on vessels, whorls and combs. So, in Polotsk, a whorl was found with the word "princess", in Minsk with the inscription "Irinino", in Pinsk - "Nastasino spinning", "Yaropolche wine" (on an earthen vessel for storing wine).
Throughout Russia, writings for wooden boards rubbed with wax (tsery) were found. These boards could be used many times: one entry on soft wax was overwritten and a new one was made. Cers were sometimes tied with a cord, and a kind of book was obtained from two or more boards (diptych, triptych, polyptych). The oldest manuscript on the territory of Russia is currently considered to be such a “board” Psalter (Ps. 75 and 76), found in Novgorod, which is dated to the beginning of the 990s - end. 1010s This book was discovered during an archaeological expedition in 2000.
Among the inscriptions on the walls of ancient temples (graffiti) come across not only purely church or commemorative, but also comic. For example, on the wall of the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod, it is inscribed: “Yakim will fall asleep standing up, but he won’t break his mouth and the stone (that is, he won’t open it).”
A lot of information about the ancient Russian way of life is given by the finds of birch bark letters, many of which were found in Novgorod, because. local moist soil contributed to their preservation. The number of open charters at present is more than 1150. These are records of a personal and business nature that date back to the 11th-15th centuries. On the territory of Belarus, birch-bark letters were also found in Mstislavl (about the purchase of wheat during a crop failure in 1219-1220) and Vitebsk (XIII century - about the purchase of barley). Texts on birch bark are mostly economic (debt records, purchase agreements), but there are also very sincere letters, for example, of the following content: “A letter from Gyurgiy to his father and mother. Having sold the yard, go here to Smolensk or Kyiv: bread is cheap [here]. If you don’t go, then send me a letter, how you are alive and well.” And here is an example of a school joke (beginning of the 14th century): “The ignoramus wrote, the idler said, and whoever read it is the one ...” (the curse is torn off). The letters here are arranged in the form of a rebus: two lines one above the other, but read vertically.
I would especially like to note that among the texts of the everyday plan there are characteristic church phrases: “God is with you!”, “God will clean up”, “God will judge”.
The spread of literacy raises the question of school education in ancient Russia. There are two points of view on this:
1. Church historian E.E. Golubinsky: “During the pre-Mongolian period, our ancestors did not have real enlightenment and had only literacy ... nevertheless, it (an educated society in ancient Russia) should be delivered higher in its development than in the subsequent one (in Moscow Russia before Peter the Great).” The author believes that in Russia there were only individual teachers who practiced privately, the real school education, begun by Vladimir and Yaroslav, did not receive further development.
2. The Soviet historical school: “The teaching of the book is a real school education according to the Byzantine model, literacy in Russia was known long before the book. Vladimir” (academician B.D. Grekov). It was not just individual grammar teachers who practiced, but there were real state (actually, princely) schools with a whole course of sciences, even for women. Among the schools, those in Kyiv and Novgorod stood out in particular. The first may have been some sort of institution of higher learning.
“And Yaroslav loved church statutes, he loved a lot of priests, especially Chernorizians, and he loved books, reading them often both night and day. And he gathered many scribes, and they translated from Greek into Slavonic. And they wrote a lot of books, believing people learn from them and enjoy the teaching of the divine. As if one plows the land, another sows, while others reap and eat food that never fails, so is this one. After all, his father Vladimir plowed the land and softened it, that is, enlightened him by baptism. This same one sowed the hearts of believers with bookish words, and we reap, accepting bookish teaching.
Tale of bygone years under the year 1037.
The question of the existence of schools and their levels in ancient Russia remains debatable. On the one hand, objects with printed letters of the alphabet were found, which testifies to the initial formation (although some letters are missing in the oldest inscriptions, for example: Щ, Ы, Ъ, В, Л). In addition, various sayings and proverbs from antiquity speak of schooling (“to know for yat”, “sell a caftan - buy a letter”, etc.), from graffiti on the walls of St. Sophia of Kyiv it becomes known about teaching foreigners (Armenians, Varangians) Slavic writing . Russia gave examples of high rhetorical art (“The Word on Law and Grace: Metropolitan Hilarion”, “Words” of St. Cyril of Turov). On the other hand, evidence of schools in ancient Russia is found in V.N. Tatishchev (XVIII century), and there is every reason to consider them an exaggeration, a desire to wishful thinking. In general, numerous monuments of everyday and business writing testify to the relative literacy of the inhabitants, so it can be argued that there was an organized elementary education.
The princes, boyars, clergy, city dwellers were literate. Apparently, the original schools were opened at episcopal sees (as in Byzantium). The first subjects here were learning to read, write and begin counting. At another stage, one could learn the Greek language from Greek teachers who came along with the Greek hierarchs and the Greek wives of Russian princes. Knowledge of Greek was necessary for translators of books into the Slavic language. Finally, the third level of education involved familiarity with figures of speech and classical Greek education. Whether such training was on a permanent basis, whether it was systematic, or whether it was given in fits and starts, depending on the zeal of this or that metropolitan or bishop, is a question. Over time, along with schools of the cathedral and cathedral type (i.e., urban), monastic schools came to the fore, where reading and memorizing the most important texts, their reproduction or imitation (pedigree) dominated.
Education in ancient Russia did not consist in acquiring abstract, theoretical knowledge, but in teaching practical knowledge (writing, reading, counting, probably even some languages). However, this did not exclude interest in the subjects of the worldview order and the systematic and integrity of the acquired knowledge. Since education was in the hands of church people, then it itself acquired a church character. The system of knowledge about God, the world and man was not given from textbooks and manuals like the modern catechism. The teaching text was the sermon of this or that saint, and most often the Psalter, consisting of inspired hymns-meditations. With such a formulation of the matter, a moral attitude to the surrounding reality developed. The categories of Christian commandments became the measure of good and evil, dignity and vice. In this context, we can talk about real enlightenment in ancient Russia.
From the teachings of the Bishop of Novgorod, St. Luke († 1058): “The first commandment that Christians must observe is faith in the One God in the glorious Trinity. Believe also in the Resurrection. Stand in the church with the fear of God. Have love with every person. Do not condemn your brother even mentally, remembering your own sins. Rejoice with those who rejoice, grieve with those who are sad. Honor the shrine ”(abbreviated).
An excerpt from the Sermon on Wisdom by St. Cyril of Turov from a birch bark found in Torzhok (dated from the 70s to the middle of the 90s of the XII century): “Step-mother’s children are pride, disobedience, enumeration, arrogance, blasphemy, slander, malevolence, anger, enmity, drunkenness , satanic games and all evil. And dirt is slander, blasphemy, anger, condemnation, enumeration, quarrel, fight, envy, enmity, rancor, disobedience, malice, evil thoughts, fun with laughter and all demonic games; also drunkenness, usury, robbery, robbery, theft, murder, corruption, slander, poisoning, fornication, adultery, witchcraft. Here the stepmother is greatness (vanity).
In fact, the main science that a person must master in the Christian sense is the ability to manage oneself: "avoid evil and do good." The practical significance of such a setup is obvious. But at the same time, it is also a valuable, ethical maxim that spiritualizes the educational process. The Church itself became a real school of life. Its ministers informed their pupils of the beginnings of literacy, for a better understanding of church worship, for mastering spiritual wisdom. Of course, one should not idealize the past and argue that the people of ancient Russia were free from vices. However, the “book teaching” helped to make a real revolution in the minds of ancient Russian society, when instead of blood feud, the lawfulness and forgiveness of the offender began to be affirmed, instead of polygamy and bride kidnapping, the ethical norms of Christian marriage were gradually assimilated. For its time, it was a real civilizational breakthrough.
Priest Alexy Khoteev
In the year 6545 (1037). Yaroslav laid the great city, near the same city the Golden Gate; he founded the church of St. Sophia, the metropolis, and then the church on the Golden Gate - the Holy Mother of God of the Annunciation, then the monastery of St. George and St. Irina. And under him, the Christian faith began to multiply and expand, and the Chernorizians began to multiply, and monasteries appeared. And Yaroslav loved church statutes, he loved a lot of priests, especially Chernorizians, and he loved books, reading them often both night and day. And he gathered many scribes, and they translated from Greek into Slavonic. And they wrote a lot of books, believing people learn from them and enjoy the teaching of the divine. As if one plows the land, another sows, while others reap and eat food that never fails, so is this one. After all, his father Vladimir plowed the land and softened it, that is, enlightened him by baptism. This same one sowed the hearts of believers with bookish words, and we reap, accepting bookish teaching.
After all, great is the benefit of the teaching of the book; we are instructed and taught by books on the path of repentance, for from the words of the book we gain wisdom and temperance. After all, these are the rivers that water the universe, these are the sources of wisdom; there is immeasurable depth in books; by them we console ourselves in sorrow; they are the bridle of restraint, Wisdom is great; after all, Solomon, glorifying her, said: “I, wisdom, instilled light and reason, and I called for meaning. The fear of the Lord ... My advice, my wisdom, my affirmation, my strength. Caesars reign by me, and the strong legitimize the truth. By me nobles are magnified and tormentors govern the earth. I love those who love me, those who seek me will find grace." If you diligently search in the books of wisdom, you will find great benefit to your soul. For whoever often reads books converses with God or with holy men. He who reads prophetic conversations, and gospel and apostolic teachings, and the lives of the holy fathers, finds great benefit to the soul.
Yaroslav, as we have already said, loved books and, having written a lot of them, he put them in the church of St. Sophia, which he created himself. He adorned it with gold, silver and church vessels, and in it the prescribed hymns are raised to God at the appointed time. And he set up other churches in cities and in places, appointing priests and giving salaries from their riches, ordering them to teach people, because they were entrusted with this by God, and to visit churches often. And the elders and the Christian people multiplied. And Yaroslav rejoiced, seeing many churches and people of Christians, and the enemy complained, defeated by new Christian people.
In the year 6546 (1038). Yaroslav went to the Yotvingians.
In the year 6547 (1039). Metropolitan Feopempt consecrated the Church of the Holy Mother of God, which was created by Vladimir, Yaroslav's father.
In the year 6548 (1040). Yaroslav went to Lithuania.
In the year 6549 (1041). Yaroslav went to Mazovshan in the boats.
In the year 6550 (1042). Vladimir Yaroslavich went to Yam and defeated them. And the horses of the soldiers of Vladimirov fell; so that even the still breathing horses were skinned: such was the pestilence on horses!
THE DEPOSIT OF METROPOLITAN HILARION AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE PECHERS MONASTERY
In the year 6551 (1043). Yaroslav sent his son Vladimir to the Greeks and gave him many soldiers, and entrusted the voivodeship to Vyshata, Yan's father. And Vladimir set off in boats, and sailed to the Danube, and headed for Constantinople. And there was a great storm, and broke the Russian ships, and the prince's ship was broken by the wind, and Ivan Tvorimirich, the governor of Yaroslav, took the prince into the ship. The rest of the soldiers of the Vladimirovs, up to 6000 in number, were thrown ashore, and when they wanted to go to Russia, no one went with them from the prince's squad. And Vyshata said: "I will go with them." And he landed to them from the ship, and said: "If I live, then with them, if I die, then with the squad." And they went, intending to reach Russia. And they informed the Greeks that the sea had broken the boats of Russia, and the king, named Monomakh, sent 14 boats behind Russia. Vladimir, seeing with his retinue that they were following them, turned, broke the Greek boats and returned to Russia, boarding his ships. Vyshata was seized along with those thrown ashore, and brought to Tsargrad, and many Russians were blinded. Three years later, when peace was established, he was released to Russia to Yaroslav. In those days, Yaroslav gave his sister to Casimir, and instead of a wedding gift, Casimir gave eight hundred Russian prisoners captured by Boleslav when he defeated Yaroslav.
In the year 6552 (1044). They dug up two princes, Yaropolk and Oleg, the sons of Svyatoslav, from the graves, and christened their bones, and laid them in the church of the Holy Mother of God. In the same year, Bryachislav, the son of Izyaslav, the grandson of Vladimir, the father of Vseslav, died his table, and his mother bore him out of bewitchment. When his mother gave birth to him, there was a wound on his head, and the wise men said to his mother: "Put this wound on him, let him wear it until death." And Vseslav wears it on himself to this day; that is why he is not merciful to bloodshed.
In the year 6553 (1045). Vladimir founded Saint Sophia in Novgorod.
In the year 6555 (1047). Yaroslav went to the Mazovshans, and defeated them, and killed their prince Moislav, and subjugated them to Casimir.
In the year 6558 (1050). The princess, Yaroslav's wife, has passed away.
In the year 6559 (1051). Yaroslav Hilarion was appointed metropolitan, Russian by birth, in St. Sophia, having gathered bishops.
And now let's say why the Caves Monastery is named like that. The God-loving prince Yaroslav loved the village of Berestovoye and the church that was there, the holy apostles, and helped many priests, among whom was a presbyter named Hilarion, a gracious man, bookish and fasting. And he went from Berestovoye to the Dnieper, to the hill where the old Pechersky monastery is now located, and there he prayed, for there was a great forest there. He dug a small cave, two sazhens, and, coming from Berestovoye, sang the church hours there and prayed to God in secret. Then God put the idea on the prince's heart to appoint him as a metropolitan in St. Sophia, and this cave arose. And a few days later, a certain man turned up, a layman from the city of Lyubech, and God put the idea in his heart to go wandering. And he went to the Holy Mountain, and saw monasteries there, and went around them, falling in love with monasticism, and came to one monastery, and begged the abbot to tonsure him a monk. He listened, tonsured him, gave him the name Anthony, instructing and teaching how to live in a black way, and said to him: "Go back to Russia, and may the blessing of the Holy Mountain be upon you, for from you many will become blacks." He blessed him and released him, saying to him: "Go in peace." Anthony came to Kyiv and began to think where to settle; and went to the monasteries, and did not love them, because God did not want it. And he began to walk through the wilds and mountains, looking for a place that God would show him. And he came to the hill where Hilarion dug a cave, and loved that place, and settled in it, and began to pray to God with tears, saying: "Lord! Strengthen me in this place, and may the blessing of the Holy Mountain and my abbot, who shorn me." And he began to live here, praying to God, eating dry bread, and then every other day, and drinking water in moderation, digging a cave and not giving himself rest day and night, being in labor, in vigil and in prayers. Then good people found out and came to him, bringing everything he needed, And he was known as the great Anthony: coming to him, they asked him for blessings. Later, when the great prince Yaroslav passed away, his son Izyaslav assumed power and sat down in Kyiv. Anthony was glorified in the Russian land; Izyaslav, having learned about his holy life, came with his retinue, asking him for blessings and prayers. And the great Anthony became known to everyone and honored by everyone, and the brethren began to come to him, and he began to receive and tonsure them, and the brethren gathered to him in number 12, and they dug out a great cave, and a church, and cells, which to this day are still exist in a cave under the old monastery. When the brethren gathered, Anthony said to them: “It is God who has gathered you, brethren, and you are here with the blessing of the Holy Mountain, according to which the hegumen of the Holy Mountain tonsured me, and I tonsured you - may there be a blessing on you, the first from God, and the second from the Holy Mountain. And so he said to them: “Live on your own, and I will appoint an abbot for you, and I myself want to retire in this mountain, since I have already got used to living in solitude before.” And he made Varlaam hegumen for them, and he himself came to the mountain and dug a cave under the new monastery, and in it he died his days, living in virtue, without leaving the cave anywhere for forty years; his relics lie in it to this day. The brethren with the abbot lived in the former cave. And in those days, when the brethren multiplied and could no longer fit in the cave, they thought to build a monastery outside the cave. And the hegumen and the brethren came to Anthony and said to him: "Father! The brethren have multiplied, and we cannot fit in the cave; if God had commanded, through your prayer, we would have built a church outside the cave." And Antony commanded them. They bowed to him and set up a small church over the cave in the name of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God. And God, through the prayer of the Holy Mother of God, began to multiply the Chernorizians, and the brothers and the abbot made a council to build a monastery. And the brothers went to Anthony and said: "Father! The brethren are multiplying, and we would like to establish a monastery." Anthony said with joy: "Blessed be God in everything, and the prayer of the Holy Mother of God and the fathers of the Holy Mountain be with you." And, having said this, he sent one of the brothers to Prince Izyaslav, saying this: "My prince! Here God multiplies the brethren, but the place is small" oh: would give us that mountain that is above the cave. "Izyaslav heard this and was glad, And he sent his husband, and gave them that mountain. The abbot and the brethren founded a great church, and fenced the monastery with a prison, set up many cells, completed the church and decorated it with icons. cave, and was nicknamed the monastery of the Caves.The monastery of the Caves was founded with the blessing of the Holy Mountain.When the monastery was strengthened under Abbot Varlaam, Izyaslav set up another monastery, St. Dmitry, and brought Varlaam to the abbess of St. wealth. After all, many monasteries were erected by Caesars, and boyars, and the rich, but they are not the same as those that were erected by tears, fasting, prayer, vigil. Antony, after all, had neither gold nor silver, but achieved everything about tears and fasting, as I said. When Varlaam went to St. Dmitry, the brothers, having held a council, went to Elder Anthony and said: "Establish us an abbot." He said to them: "Who do you want?" They answered: "Whom God wants and you." And he said to them: "Which of you is more than Theodosius - obedient, meek, humble - let him be hegumen to you." The brethren were glad, bowed to the elder; and they appointed Theodosius abbot of the brethren, 20 in number. When Theodosius accepted the monastery, he began to follow abstinence, and strict fasts, and prayers with tears, and began to gather many Chernorizians, and gathered 100 brethren. And he began to look for the monastic charter, and then he was found Michael, a monk of the Studian monastery, who came from the Greek land with Metropolitan George, - and Theodosius began to ask him the charter of the Studian monks. And I found from him, and wrote off, and introduced the rule in his monastery - how to sing monastic songs, and how to bow, and how to read, and how to stand in church, and the whole church routine, and behavior at the meal, and what to eat in what days - all this according to the charter. Having found this charter, Theodosius gave it to his monastery. From the same monastery, all the monasteries adopted this rule, which is why the Pechersky Monastery is revered as the eldest of all. When Theodosius lived in a monastery, and led a virtuous life, and observed the monastic rules, and accepted everyone who came to him, - I came to him - a thin and unworthy slave - and accepted me, and I was 17 years old. I wrote this and determined in what year the Pechersky Monastery began and why it is called Pechersky for the sake of it. And let's talk about the life of Theodosius later.
In the year 6560 (1052). Vladimir, the eldest son of Yaroslav, reposed in Novgorod and was laid in St. Sophia, which he erected himself.
In the year 6561 (1053). Vsevolod had a son from the royal daughter, a Greek woman, and named him Vladimir.
In the year 6562 (1054). The Grand Duke of Russia Yaroslav has passed away. Even during his lifetime, he gave instruction to his sons, saying to them: “Here I am leaving this world, my sons; have love among yourselves, because you are all brothers, from one father and from one mother. And if you live in love with each other, "God will be in you and subdue your enemies. And you will live in peace. But if you live in hatred, in strife and strife, then you yourself will perish and destroy the land of your fathers and your grandfathers, who obtained it with their great labor; but live peacefully, obeying brother brother. Here I entrust my table in Kyiv to my eldest son and your brother Izyaslav; obey him, as they obeyed me, let him be you instead of me; and I give Chernigov to Svyatoslav, and Pereyaslavl to Vsevolod, and Vladimir to Igor, and Smolensk to Vyacheslav. And so he divided the cities between them, forbidding them to cross the limits of other brothers and expel them, and said to Izyaslav: "If anyone wants to offend his brother, you help the one who is offended." And so he taught his sons to live in love. He himself was already ill at that time, and when he arrived in Vyshgorod, he became very ill. Izyaslav was then ... and Svyatoslav was in Vladimir. Vsevolod was then with his father, for his father loved him more than all his brothers and always kept him with him. And the end of Yaroslav's life came in time, and he gave his soul to God on the first Saturday of the fast of St. Theodore. Vsevolod dressed up the body of his father, laying it on a sleigh, took him to Kyiv, and the priests sang the prescribed chants. People wept for him; and, having brought it, they laid it in a marble coffin in the church of St. Sophia. And Vsevolod and all the people wept for him, He lived for 76 years.
At which the Golden Gate is now, he laid the church, St. Sophia Metropolis, and then the Church of the Holy Mother of God of the Annunciation on the Golden Gate, then the monastery of St. George and St. Irina. Under him, the Christian faith began to be fruitful and spread, and the Chernorizians began to multiply, and monasteries to appear. Yaroslav loved church statutes, he was very fond of the priests, especially the Chernorizians, and showed zeal for books, often reading them both at night and during the day. And he gathered a multitude of scribes who translated from Greek into Slavonic. And they wrote many books, according to which believers learn and enjoy the divine teaching. As it happens that one plows the land, another sows, and still others reap and eat food that never fails, so it is here. After all, his father Vladimir plowed the land and softened it, that is, enlightened him by baptism. This same one sowed the hearts of believers with bookish words, and we reap, receiving bookish teaching.
After all, there is great benefit from the teaching of the book; books instruct and teach us the path of repentance, for we gain wisdom and temperance in the words of the book. These are the rivers that fill the universe, these are the sources of wisdom, after all, there is immeasurable depth in books: with them we console ourselves in sorrow; they are the bridle of restraint. If you diligently search for wisdom in books, you will find great benefit for your soul. Whoever reads books often talks with God or with holy men. Reading the prophetic conversations and the gospel and apostolic teachings and lives of the Holy Fathers, we receive great benefit for the soul.
This Yaroslav, as we said, loved books and, having copied a lot of them, he placed them in the church of St. Sophia, which he created himself. He decorated it with gold, silver and church vessels; in it, the prescribed prayers are offered to God at the appointed time. And he set up other churches in cities and other places, appointing priests and giving them money from his treasury, ordering them to teach people, because it was entrusted to them by God, and to visit churches often. And the number of presbyters and baptized people increased. And Yaroslav rejoiced, seeing many churches and baptized people, and the enemy complained about this, defeated by new baptized people.
The death of Yaroslav and instruction to his sons
In the year 6562 (1054). The Grand Duke of Russia Yaroslav has died. Even during his lifetime, he gave a will to his sons, saying to them: “Here I am leaving this world, my sons; live in love, because you are all brothers, from one father and one mother. And if you live in love for one another, God will be with you and subdue your enemies. And you will live in peace. If you live in hatred, in strife and civil strife, then you yourself will perish and destroy the land of your fathers and grandfathers, which they obtained with their great labor, but live peacefully, obeying brother brother.
From The Tale of Bygone Years praise to Yaroslav the Wise
Questions and tasks for document No. 16:
2. What could you add to the characterization of Prince Yaroslav?
3. Select the facts characterizing the contribution of Prince Yaroslav to the development of the ancient Russian state and its culture.
- Prince Yaroslav received the nickname "Wise" only in the 19th century. Why wasn't his contemporaries honored with this nickname?
In the year 6545 (1037). Yaroslav laid the big city, which now has the Golden Gate, and laid the church, St. Sophia Metropolis, and then the Church of the Holy Mother of God of the Annunciation on the Golden Gate, then the monastery of St. George and St. Irina. Under him, the Christian faith began to multiply and spread, and Chernorizians began to multiply, and monasteries appeared. Yaroslav loved church statutes, he was very fond of the priests, especially the Chernorizians, and showed zeal for books, often reading them both at night and during the day. And he gathered a multitude of scribes who translated from Greek into Slavonic. And they wrote many books, according to which believers learn and enjoy the teachings of the Divine. As it happens that one plows the land, another sows, and still others reap and eat food that never fails, so it is here. After all, his father Vladimir plowed the land and softened it, that is, enlightened him by baptism. This same one sowed the hearts of believers with bookish words, and we reap, receiving bookish teaching.
After all, great is the benefit of the teaching of the book; books instruct and teach us the path of repentance, for we gain wisdom and temperance in the words of the book. These are the rivers that water the universe, these are the sources of wisdom, after all, there is immeasurable depth in books; by them we console ourselves in sorrow; they are the bridle of restraint.<,..>If you diligently search for wisdom in books, you will find great benefit for your soul. Whoever reads books often talks with God or with holy men. Reading the prophetic conversations and the gospel and apostolic teachings and lives of the holy fathers, we receive great benefit for the soul.
This Yaroslav, as we said, loved books and, having copied a lot of them, he placed them in the church of St. Sophia, which he himself created. He decorated it with gold, silver and church vessels; in it, the prescribed prayers are offered to God at the appointed time. And he set up other churches in cities and other places, appointing priests and giving them money from his treasury, ordering them to teach people, because it was entrusted to them by God, and to visit churches often. And the number of presbyters and baptized people increased. And Yaroslav rejoiced, seeing many Churches and baptized people, and the enemy complained about this, defeated by new baptized people.
