Day of Remembrance of St. Elijah Muromets, Pechersky (01/01)

On January 1, the memory of the Russian saint St. Elijah, the miracle worker of Murom, is honored. He was a warrior and monk, served the Fatherland under the reign of Vladimir Monomakh.

Elijah spent his entire life hiking, and at the end of his life he took monastic vows and locked himself in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. He died in 1188. This is where his holy relics rest.

It is also known about St. Elijah that he died by folding the fingers of his right hand for prayer in the same way as is now customary in the Orthodox Church — the first three fingers together, and the last two bent to the palm. During the period of struggle against the Old Believer schism (late 17 — of the 19th century), this fact from the life of the saint served as strong evidence in favor of three-finger addition.

By the way, it was this saint that folk legend identified with the famous epic hero Ilya Muromets. And in some military units of Russia chapels were built in the name of St. Elijah Muromets.



Article «Ilya Muromets — who is he really? 7 interesting facts»

357