Roman Olegovich Ryazan martyr prince. Roman Ryazan, noble prince. Prayers before the icon of St. Roman of Ryazan

Troparion of the Holy Martyr Prince Roman of Ryazan

With strangely terrible torments / and the valor of patience / you surprised everyone, Prince Roman: / your honest members were cut in composition / and your whole body was crushed / you suffered for the faith of Christ. representative of the Ryazan Church. / Pray to the Lord, / may peace and prosperity give our city, / and ask Him for mercy and salvation / to those who honor your sacred memory, long-suffering.

Kontakion of the Holy Martyr Prince Roman of Ryazan

Slandered before the khan in blasphemy of his wickedness, / boldly appeared thou to the ungodly judge; / fearing the Last Judgment of Christ, / spat the khan’s command and fear, holy Romane. / With a body, like a rod, cut, / in suffering became like Jacob the Persian / and thou art a fair great martyr, / pillar and affirmation of the Church of Ryazan, / intercessor and governor of Russia, glorious.

The holy noble prince Roman Olegovich of Ryazan was from a family of princes who, during Tatar yoke became famous as defenders of the Christian faith and the Fatherland. Both of his grandfathers died for the Fatherland in the battle with Batu. Brought up in love for the holy faith (the prince lived in tears and prayers) and his homeland, the prince took care of his ruined and oppressed subjects with all his might, protecting them from the violence and robberies of the khan's Baskaks (tax collectors). The Baskaks hated the saint and slandered him before Tatar Khan Mengu-Timur. Roman Olegovich was summoned to the Horde, where Khan Mengu-Timur announced that he had to choose one of two things: either martyrdom or the Tatar faith. The noble prince answered that a Christian cannot change the true faith to a false one. For his firmness in confessing his faith, he was subjected to cruel tortures: they cut off his tongue, gouged out his eyes, cut off his ears and lips, cut off his arms and legs, tore off the skin from his head and, having chopped off his head, put it on a spear. This happened in 1270.

The veneration of the prince-martyr began immediately after his death. The chronicle speaks of the saint: "Purchase yourself with passion the Kingdom of Heaven and a crown received from the hand of the Lord with your kinsman, the Grand Duke of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who suffered in Christ for the Orthodox Christian faith."

It has been taking place in Ryazan since 1854 procession and a prayer service on the feast day of St. Roman. In 1861, a church was consecrated in Ryazan in honor of Prince Roman.

Holy Great Martyr Prince Roman, pray to God for us!

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE DIARY: The Holy Great Martyr Prince Roman of Ryazan is my patron saint.

The holy noble prince Roman Olegovich of Ryazan was from the family of princes who, during the Tatar yoke, became famous as defenders of the Christian faith and the Fatherland. Both of his grandfathers died for the Fatherland in the battle with Batu. Brought up in love for the holy faith (the prince lived in tears and prayers) and his homeland, the prince took care of his ruined and oppressed subjects with all his might, protecting them from the violence and robberies of the khan's Baskaks (tax collectors). The Baskaks hated the saint and slandered him before the Tatar Khan Mengu-Timur. Roman Olegovich was summoned to the Horde, where Khan Mengu-Timur announced that he had to choose one of two things: either martyrdom or the Tatar faith. The noble prince answered that a Christian cannot change the true faith to a false one. For his firmness in confessing his faith, he was subjected to cruel tortures: they cut off his tongue, gouged out his eyes, cut off his ears and lips, cut off his arms and legs, tore off the skin from his head and, having chopped off his head, put it on a spear. This happened in 1270.
The veneration of the prince-martyr began immediately after his death. The chronicle speaks of the saint: "Buy yourself the Kingdom of Heaven with passion and a crown received from the hand of the Lord with your kinsman, the Grand Duke of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who suffered in Christ for the Orthodox Christian faith." . In 1861, a church was consecrated in Ryazan in honor of Prince Roman.

More about Prince Roman on the website of the Ryazan diocese.

Holy Blessed Prince Roman Olegovich of Ryazan (in the world Yaroslav was born shortly before the invasion of the Tatars to the Russian land, in 1237) came from a valiant family of Ryazan princes, who during the Tatar yoke became famous as defenders of the Christian faith and the Fatherland. Both of his grandfathers died for the Fatherland in the battle with Batu. Brought up in love for the holy faith (the prince lived in tears and prayers) and his homeland, the prince took care of his ruined and oppressed subjects with all his might, protecting them from the violence and robberies of the khan's Baskaks (tax collectors). The Baskaks hated the saint and slandered him before the Tatar Khan Mengu-Timur. Roman Olegovich was summoned to the Horde, where Khan Mengu-Timur announced that he had to choose one of two things: either martyrdom or the Tatar faith. The noble prince answered that a Christian cannot change the true faith to a false one. For his firmness in confessing his faith, he was subjected to cruel tortures: they cut off his tongue, gouged out his eyes, cut off his ears and lips, cut off his arms and legs, tore off the skin from his head and, having chopped off his head, put it on a spear. This happened in 1270.
The veneration of the prince-martyr began immediately after his death.
Since 1854, a religious procession and a prayer service have been held in Ryazan on the day of the memory of St. Roman. In 1861, a temple was consecrated in Ryazan in honor of the Blessed Prince Roman.
The Holy Blessed Prince Roman Olegovich of Ryazan, a descendant of the Holy Prince Constantine, the Wonderworker of Murom, descends from him in the 6th degree, and in the 9th degree from the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir.
Saint Roman's father, Blessed Prince Oleg Ingvarevich Krasny, was the grandson of Igor Glebovich, and Gleb was the grandson of Saint Constantine (Yaroslav) of Murom (1129), who was the ancestor of independent princely branches: the princes of Ryazan and Pronsk, as well as Murom.
The uncles of Roman the Passion-Bearer, the Grand Duke of Ryazan Georgy Ingvarevich and Roman Ingvarevich, died fighting for the Fatherland in the battle with Batu. Father - Oleg Ingvarevich, a hero and a handsome man, was dying of wounds on the battlefield. Batu, marveling at the courage of the prince, wanted to cure him and take him into his service. “I cannot be on friendly terms with the enemy of Christians,” said the dying prince. The father of the holy martyr Roman endured many torments from the Tatars: seriously wounded, captured by Batu, he languished in the Horde for 14 years.
Holy Blessed Prince Roman was born shortly before the Mongol invasion of Russia. According to princely custom, parents, in memory of their sovereign ancestor, gave him a Slavic name - Yaroslav. In Holy Baptism he was called Roman, which in Greek means "strong". The grace of God, having filled the soul of the newly enlightened infant, gave him wisdom and an unprecedented strength of mental and bodily strength.
Initial education, according to the customs of that time, took place under the supervision of the mother, then passed into the hands of the "uncle". The education of all Russian people at that time was predominantly ecclesiastical. So the upbringing of the warrior-prince went hand in hand with the upbringing of Christian piety in the youth. Quiet by nature, indifferent to the amusements of his age, always a stranger to absent-mindedness, he clung to the Lord with all his soul. According to the inscrutable fate of God's Providence, the good and pious Roman from his youth was faced with a path of sorrows and suffering. His soul, like gold, had to go through the crucible of severe trials.
The dark times of the Mongol-Tatar yoke have come. The Russian people, having accepted Christianity with all their hearts, subtly felt that the Lord allows everything mournful “according to our sin,” therefore, they considered their main task to be the establishment of Orthodoxy in their own souls, repentance and prayer. Particularly great importance was attached to this in princely families, whose heirs, having matured, had to lead the people by their own example. Christianity, from an early age, instilled in future leaders a sense of responsibility for themselves, and for each person entrusted to them by God, and for the entire principality.
Saint Roman, following the example of his elders, was diligent in reading the Holy Scriptures, especially the Gospel and the Psalter. The church service in the church, which was dilapidated after the devastation, was not an obligation for him, but a need, and his whole soul strove to meet the Lord, listening to the words of church reading and singing. And after the Psalmist, he was ready to exclaim: “How sweet are your words to my throat! better than honey to my mouth” (Ps. p8, 103). From here the living streams of heavenly teaching were drawn, his mind was strengthened and his spirit was elevated.
But thoughts about the earthly structure of the principality sometimes came into the hot youthful mind ... They dreamed of battles, of revenge on the invaders for the ruin of cities and villages, for the humiliation of people. And I wanted not to spare myself in order to get the people the long-awaited liberation. Lines from my favorite book came to mind, so often heard during worship: “The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior, whom I fear; The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? (Ps. 26.1). And only an example of the elders, meekly and wisely, according to the word of the Lord (Matt. 10, 16), who held the helm of power, found compromise solutions at that difficult time, cooling their youthful ardor.
According to the custom of the princes of those times, Saint Roman was married at a very early age to the maiden Anastasia, the daughter of the Prince of Kiev. God blessed the marital union with the birth of three sons - Theodore, Yaroslav and Konstantin.
When Roman Olegovich entered the Ryazan princely table in 1258, the borders of the Ryazan principality stretched from the west along the right bank of the Oka River up to the mouth of the Protva River (now the Tula Region), from the north - along the left bank of the Oka River further Kolomna up the Moscow River to the Morskaya River (now Nerskaya in the Moscow region) and further in Zaochye to the Klyazma River (present-day Vladimir Region), in the east - to the Moksha River, on which stands the city of Kadom (present-day Ryazan Region), to the south, on both sides of the Don, they extended beyond the Bystraya Sosna River , where the city of Yelets stood, to the Tikhaya Sosna River, and in general from this side the Ryazan border deepened into the steppes. In addition to the Ryazan land proper, it included the principality of Pronskoye and some populated areas of the Chernigov and Seversky principalities.
Ryazan land bordered on the Wild Field, so it was always the first to be attacked by the steppe hordes. Due to the lack of natural borders from the southeast, the road was open to the invaders. The thought of an unintentional attack by the barbarians constantly disturbed minds and hearts. Nobody was safe; no one could take care of improving their life as they should. Fear took away his hands. Seeing a thick cloud of dust or the distant glow of a fire, the people abandoned their occupations, hurried to gather their families and herds, grabbed what they could take with them, and, if they had time, escaped to the neighboring forests. Huts and belongings were left as a sacrifice to the fire, and the unharvested harvest disappeared under the hooves of the horses.
Fearing every minute to lose their property and life, the inhabitants of the Ryazan land were looking for safer places to settle and went further north in droves, especially to the Moscow possessions beyond the Oka, where there was much more peace than in Ryazan. That is why, even in the central part of the principality, neither new settlements nor new cities were built at that time. And the principality of Ryazan, despite its vastness, was powerless at that time.
Therefore, neither Ingvar Ingvarevich, nor his brother Oleg Krasny - Roman's father (who returned in 1251, thanks to St. Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, from Tatar captivity), nor Roman himself dared even think about the struggle for the freedom of the land of Ryazan. Although the example of the legendary Yevpaty Kolovrat inspired me, although there were still heroes on the Ryazan land ... But one man is not a warrior in the field, the forces were too weak ...
Only in unconditional external obedience to the khan did the princes find the only way to retain their possessions and save them from new devastation: they fulfilled all the requirements of the khan, often traveled to the Horde with gifts and led their squads to help the Tatar troops. Such was the state of the principality of Ryazan after the death of Oleg Ingvarevich.
Roman Olegovich ruled in the Ryazan principality with one hope for the all-good Providence of God, and during the 12 years of his reign (March 20, 1258 - July 19, 1270), the most difficult, he knew how to keep it from new devastation.
Faith nourished hope for the freedom of the principality. Reasoning from the Lord never exceeds human strength and is always accompanied by clear help from above. But the day of freedom was still far away. Under Khan Berkay, oppression reached its highest level. Screams and groans were heard throughout the cities. Saint Roman prudently adhered to the rule, bequeathed by his father, to unquestioningly obey the will of the khan and saw what subtle caution one had to have in dealing with the Tatars. Metropolitan Saint Kirill of Moscow (1243-1281) also advised this, and even such a courageous warrior as the holy prince Alexander Nevsky adhered to the same rule in order to protect the people from the greater cruelty of barbarism.
The first 25th anniversary of the Tatar yoke, the most difficult for the Russian people, was coming to an end. Finally, in 1266, the Christian people sighed with joy: Berkay died. Chronicles recorded: "and the Christian was weakened by the violence of the besermen." Batu's grandson from his second son, Tutukan, Mengu Temir, Berkay's successor, freed the Russians from the violence of the Khiva tax-farmers. Roman Olegovich thanked God for alleviating the bitter lot of his people and lovingly engaged in the organization of the principality, first of all, building churches and monasteries, for only the Orthodox faith can make the Russian people strong.
Thus passed 4 years of Meshu's reign. “The Mongolian historian Abulkhazi praises Temir for his great intelligence and wisdom in ruling. But his mind did not soften his cruel heart. His dominion is marked in our chronicles by the martyrdom of the Grand Duke of Ryazan, Roman Olegovich, for confessing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The modern compiler of the life of the holy noble prince Roman, following N.M. Karamzin, suggests that the prince's torment followed his refusal to accept Mohammedanism. However, this is unfair, because according to the Record in the "Book of Powers", the prince says: "he is not worthy to follow the customs of idolatry." Karamzin himself describes the religious views of the Tatars of that time as follows: “As for their Law, they believe in God, the Creator of the Universe, rewarding people according to their dignity; but they offer sacrifices to idols made of felt or silk cloth, considering them to be patrons of cattle; they adore (endow with the qualities of God - author) the sun, fire, moon, calling it the great queen, and kneel, facing south; they are famous for tolerance and do not preach their Faith; however, sometimes Christians are forced to follow the Mughal customs... Not knowing the rules of true virtue, they instead of laws have some traditions and consider it a sin to throw a knife into the fire, lean on a whip, kill a chick, pour milk on the ground, spit food out of their mouths ; but killing people and ruining states seems to them a permissible pastime. They don’t know how to say anything clear about eternal life, but they think that they will eat, drink, engage in cattle breeding, etc.
Modern researchers involved in the history of the Golden Horde argue that Islam began to influence the morality of the Tatar-Mongols only in the XIV century. “The turning point in the history of the legal development of the state and the law of the Golden Horde was the adoption of Islam as the state religion. Mongolian rulers were distinguished by religious tolerance and, in general, treated representatives of various faiths in the same way. Berkay (1257-1266) became the first Muslim ruler of the Horde, but his religion did not affect either the attitude towards other religions in the Golden Horde and its vassal states, or its right: it was still based on the Yasa of Genghis Khan and decrees (primarily - labels) of great khans. The official conversion of the Horde to Islam takes place in the first quarter of the 14th century under Khan Uzbek (1313-1342), who came to power with the help of the Muslim clergy and brutally cracked down on the entire Horde elite who refused to accept Islam.
From all of the above, we can conclude that the ordinary slander of an official who, in addition to certain taxes, is trying to collect from people also in his own favor, suddenly, due to the simple whim of the khan, turned into a martyr's act of confession for Christ.
The most likely scenario seems to be the following: one of the Baskaks, in addition to collecting legal tribute, was also engaged in extortion in his favor, distinguished by particular cruelty. Probably, the prince at first exhorted him that it was unworthy to do so not only according to Christian law, but even according to pagan faith. When he did not stop his atrocities and violence, he threatened to report this to the khan. Then the Baskak decided to preempt the prince and reported to the khan that the Ryazan prince "reproaches the great king." The addition in later sources “and his faith” can be confidently reckoned among later inserts, because, as was mentioned, the Tatars were distinguished by complete religious tolerance.
There were in the Horde, in the words of the chronicler, "villainous people" who confirmed the words of the Baskak. The king believed the slander, became furiously angry with the daring prince and ordered him to immediately appear in the Horde.
Meek Prince Roman calmly listened to the sad news. He had a presentiment that he was waiting for him in the Horde, but with devotion to the will of God, he calmly distributed the inheritances to his sons: he assigned the throne to the eldest son Theodore in Ryazan, the second - Yaroslav was assigned to Pronsk, Konstantin remained with his older brother and mother. Having blessed the children and instructed them to follow the divine rules in life: to live in love, brotherly harmony and complete obedience to the mother, the prince, instructed by the tears of all the inhabitants of Ryazan, left his capital without hope of returning.
Appearing in the Horde, Saint Roman presented himself to Khan Meta Temir.
- Wicked, - Temir exclaimed menacingly, when Roman finished his greeting, - do you know why you were presented before my bright eyes?
- Tell me, khan, - and I will know.
“They told me about you that you are an offender to my most radiant honor!”
- This is slander, khan!
- The evidence is clear: you spoke insulting speeches against me in front of these witnesses.
- Is it true that the prince of Ryazan censured my honor? Temir sternly asked the scammers standing in the distance.
- Truth! truth! Yes! Yes! reproved, - the slanderers roared.
“I would like,” Temir said slyly, turning to the prince, “so that you justify yourself before me.
- The great lord of the peoples! The person who would know how to defend his innocence against impudent slander and malice has not yet been born. But the Omniscient knows and sees whether I am guilty. However, time, khan, will show whether I am a submissive tributary to you or only a daring blasphemer of your majesty.
Then the hater of the human race put a cruel joke into the heart of the khan. “But I would like, prince, that you now prove your obedience to me. Here is my command: kneel in reverence before these gods, and he pointed with his hand to the idols standing nearby.
He listened with contempt to St. A novel of Temir's crazy words. - Why are you silent, Prince of Ryazan? Will you obey my will? Your answer should decide your fate.
Saint Roman answered with Christian enthusiasm:
- It is better to obey God rather than man. He who reigns in heaven and controls the fate of thrones, He, by whom the king reigns and the mighty write the truth, for our sins will subject us to an alien yoke. With patience and faith we obey His holy will, until He pleases to free us from this yoke. We, at your first word, are ready to go to your capital Saray and bring you gold and gifts. But know, Khan, that a Christian prince will never bring you a gift of his conscience and faith, he is not worthy to follow the customs of idolatry.
- Despiser of royal majesty and relics! Do you know what for these crazy speeches await you deprivation of the princely throne, prison, torture, exile, death?
- Threat, if you can, something else, and these threats are not terrible for me. You will deprive me of the throne - I will receive the crown of truth. Will you put me in a dungeon? Conclude! The Lord “will bring my soul out of prison” (Ps. 141:8). Will you order me to torment my body with torture and torment? torment! My body will provide less food for worms. Are you threatening me with exile, death? Send! "The Lord's land and its fulfillment" (Ps. 23, I). Kill! It will rather give me joy to stand before the face of Christ, my God, to whom my soul has long yearned. No, khan, threaten with something big, and this threat is not terrible for me.
Like an angry beast, Temir jumped up from his seat: his eyes sparkled, his face burned, his lips trembled, anger seethed in his heart to the point that he could not speak. He had never heard such bold speeches and did not imagine that anyone could speak like that to the "ruler of nations."
- Blood! One blood can wash away such an insult! - yelled, finally, furious khan.
- Wicked! To his death! To the death of Roman!
The prince wanted to speak more, but the cruel executors of the khan's iniquity came out; to them Timur betrayed the prince to torment. They dragged him out and began to force him to worship idols. Confessor of Christ, Prince Roman was not at all afraid of terrible threats. The holy feeling of the offended Christian inflamed the heart of the prince, and he boldly expressed what he wanted to say to the khan: “Orthodox Christians are not worthy to leave the true God, the immaculate Orthodox faith, accept the filthy Besermen faith and follow the customs of demonic charm, godless idolatry of filth and your vile faith I not only don’t accept it, but I also spit on it and curse!” The Tatars burned with rage and gnashed their teeth at the saint, and seeing his steadfastness, they savagely rushed at him, seized him, and began to torture him mercilessly. “I am a Christian,” exclaimed the prince, showered with blows, “truly, the Christian faith is holy; your faith is Tatar trash and is vile.
He wanted to, it was, still to speak, but they gagged him with a handkerchief and, after putting chains, threw him into prison. In a stuffy dungeon, bound hand and foot, Saint Roman was weakened in body, but matured in spirit. Devotion to the Providence of God strengthened the sufferer and infused new strength to endure the coming torment. The inspirational psalms of King David shed sweet consolation in the heart. The prince foresaw what awaited him, felt and prayed... Temir had already ordered the Tatars to kill him in the most terrible way.
Saint Roman was praying when the executioners entered, accompanied by helpers of the crime, with instruments of torment in their hands, with a thirst for blood in their hearts...
- The wicked, the contempt of the royal greatness, - the Tatars roared terribly, - the son of heaven, the great owner of the universe, our bright Temir sent you mercy ...
And with these words they rushed at the prince, grabbed him with laughter and curses, dragged him out of the dungeon and dragged him to the place of execution: ridicule, abuse, blows rained down ... The prince was calm ...
Imbued with reverent obedience to the Providence of God, Christian humility and faith in Christ the Savior, the confessor of Christ was not afraid to die for Him.
At the place of execution, Saint Roman for the last time wanted to test the power of the word over the barbarians. With a meek speech, he began to reproach them with superstition and cruelty, praising the Christian law, threatening the wrath of heaven ... The wicked could not hear the confession of the faith of Christ, reproach and denunciation ...
The martyr Roman was cut off his tongue and thrown aside. The vigor of the spirit of the sufferer has not diminished. With great tension, he raised his voice, expressing contempt for the Tatars and reproaching them for their delusions... The Tatars became furious and, in order to get rid of the prince's reproaches, they gagged his mouth with a handkerchief...
Deprived of the opportunity to speak, the martyr denounced the tormentors with his gaze... They cut out his eyes... After that, they began to torment St. Roman like savage beasts. Their inhumanity did not spare a single member of the martyr... He was cut at the joints. First they cut off the fingers and threw them aside. Then they cut off the ears and mouth ... Then they cut off the arms and legs and threw it all aside again.
There was only one chopped off, disfigured torso, but still with a spark of life. The bloody spectacle ended with a terrible atrocity: the Tatars tore off the skin from the head and chopped it off, stuck it on a spear and paraded it to the people. In such terrible suffering, Saint Roman ended his life! Isn't this death similar to the martyrdom of the Christians of the first three centuries? The day of the martyrdom of the prince remained unforgettable for posterity: it was July 19, 1270. The Church at the same time recognized him as a holy martyr and commemorates him on July 10, calling him “the holy noble prince”10.
Tradition says that the precious remains of the body of the martyr were secretly brought by servants to their homeland in Ryazan (Old) and there they were buried with due honor.
Contemporaries inscribed the name of St. Roman in their chronicles, kept the memory of his sufferings as a cherished shrine, called him a new martyr, a blessed prince, who through suffering bought himself the Kingdom of Heaven, revered him on an equal footing with the pious princes Boris and Gleb, St. Michael, Prince of Chernigov, and his boyar Theodore and by his sufferings they likened him to St. James of Persia.
In 1547, the Council of Hierarchs, chaired by Metropolitan Macarius, establishing a feast in honor of the new saints, did not include the name of St. Roman, as well as Prince Michael of Chernigov with the boyar Theodore, among those who had not had any feast before. The name of St. Roman has long been written in calendars and calendars.
Reverent for the memory of the holy martyr Prince Roman Olegovich of Ryazan, our ancestors left us a precious description of his external appearance for depiction on the icon. Saint Roman is described as “young, similar to Russian; his hair is short, curly, and little curled from his ears in thin braids. Princely clothes: a sable coat is worn on the shoulders, open to the floor; velvet drag - crimson in circles. The right hand is a prayer service; in the left he holds a hail, - and in it is a church. Thus, and appearance Saint Prince Roman matched his inner beauty. In the "Original icon painting" under July 19 - the day of memory of St. Roman, it is written: "On the same day of the Holy Blessed Prince Roman, the middle one, the brotherhood of the share of Kozmina, the robes of the monks."
The Lord more than once showed to his descendants the sign of the great intercession of the Holy Blessed Prince Roman of Ryazan. In the year of the French invasion in 1812, the Russians won their first victory over them at Klyastitsy on the day of the memory of St. Roman of Ryazan on July 19 (O.S.). In memory of this glorious event, they ordered to paint an icon of St. Roman Olegovich in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
In 1854, at the height of Crimean War Russia with a coalition of France, Ottoman Empire, Great Britain and Sardinia for dominance in the Balkans, in the Black Sea basin, in the Caucasus and the Far East coast 1853-1856), a people's militia was formed from each region. Fourteen cross-bearing banners for the Ryazan militia, with reverent prayer, were consecrated and handed over by St. Gabriel of Ryazan to the head of the militia on July 19, the day of memory of St. Roman.
Is it not a clear sign of his holy patronage of this people's militia, when, after a year, the defenders of the Fatherland returned precisely to the day of memory of St. Prince Roman?
On July 1, 1854, those victory banners were solemnly brought into the cathedral, where St. Gabriel, after the Divine Liturgy and the thanksgiving service to the Lord, received them from the head of the people's militia, handed them over to the clergy, who then placed them in a prepared place for storage as a keepsake for posterity.
In memory of this event, since 1854, St. Gabriel of Ryazan ordered prayers to be sung to St. Roman as the defender of the Ryazan land, together with St. Basil, the first bishop of Pereyaslavl Ryazan (now Ryazan), in processions.
Faith and zeal for the Holy Prince Great Martyr Roman decorated churches with his holy images on icons. The first icon was painted by the Ryazan icon painter Nikolai Vasilyevich Shumov and placed in the iconostasis of the chapel in the name of the Three Hierarchs in the seminary Vladimir Church.
Archbishop of Ryazan Smaragd (Kryzhanovsky) of blessed memory accepted with special attention the sacrifice of Mr. Mokiy Panov, the curator of the Spaso-Yarskaya Church, the second icon of St. Roman. He himself consecrated it in the Cross Church of the Bishop's House in the Kremlin, while singing the troparion and kontakion composed by him to the holy prince Roman. And at the same time he said to the coming people: “This icon is St. Roman, Prince of Ryazan. Pray to him. He was the owner of the Ryazan land. He is our intercessor and prayer book even now.” On the back of the icon is written: “In the summer of June 1859, during the prosperous reign of Emperor Alexander Nikolayevich II under His Eminence Archbishop Smaragda of Ryazan, this icon of St. The Great Martyr, Blessed Prince of Ryazan Roman Olgovich, out of zeal and special faith in St. To the Great Martyr Merchant Mokiy Panov, to the Ryazan Cathedral, so that this holy Icon is worn in all religious processions and, by diligence, in houses. Written in a city in Ryazan by the artist of the Imperial Academy Nikolai Shumov.
About 600 years have passed since the martyrdom of the holy noble prince Roman, but not a single church has yet been built in his honor in the entire Ryazan diocese. The first church of St. Roman was arranged by Archbishop Smaragd in the country dacha of the Bishop's House on Novopavlovka, in memory of his arrival at the Ryazan cathedra on July 19, 1858.
On September 20, 1861, Archbishop Smaragd, in remembrance of his 50-year service in holy orders, consecrated this church. In his speech on this occasion, Vladyka Smaragd presented the greatness of the suffering of St. Roman for Christ and turned with reverent prayer to the holy prince, asking him to “look at this temple” - the first in his name and accept under his high patronage the humble temple builder and all Ryazan residents. Thus, thanks to Vladyka Smaragd of Ryazan, the martyr of Christ was glorified in the Church of Ryazan.
A letter from one of the daughters of the famous icon painter, Zinovia Shumova, says: “Shortly after the construction of the church in the name of St. Prince Roman in Pavlova Grove, the family of the artist Shumov experienced the effect of the prayers of this martyr. In April 1864, a daughter was born in this family and from the day she was born she was ill all the time. The doctor traveled constantly and finally announced that there were no more means to cure her. Then the artist Shumov prayerfully in the simplicity of his heart said: “Prince Roman! I arranged and decorated your temple - heal my daughter! It was just July 19, the feast day of the Holy Great Martyr Roman. And on the same day, the doctor found a new remedy - it was used, the girl recovered, grew up and is still in good health.
Priest Ioann Dobrolyubov in 1884, in his “Historical and Statistical Description of Churches and Monasteries of the Ryazan Diocese,” in an article about the Bishop’s House, wrote: “In addition, the suburban Novopavlovskaya dacha, where the vil. house for the summer stay of the Ryazan rulers with a church in the name of St. Roman book. Ryazan, hosted by the Ryazan arch. Smaragd for the amount collected partly from the clergy of the Ryazan diocese, and partly from other sources. The land under the buildings is 27 sazhens long and 6 sazhens wide, under the garden and vegetable garden, meadows and forest 22 dess. 140-0 sq. soot."
Unfortunately, we no longer find any information about the church in the name of St. Roman of Ryazan in the clergy's journals for 1915. The documents contain an addition that a few years ago the country house burned down. Indeed, several fires at the beginning of the 20th century caused great damage to the dacha and the temple. The first fire happened on October 21, 1902.
As archival documents testify, they tried to restore the last suburban bishop's house. So in 1903, on the eve of the day of remembrance of the holy martyr Roman of Ryazan, the Board of the Ryazan Bishops' House was allowed to start building a new wooden wing on the old stone foundation, and in the fund of the Ryazan Spiritual Consistory, "Estimates for the construction of the Bishop's House for 1904", as well as deeds on the repair of church buildings until 1909 in the village of Novopavlovsky, Ryazan district.
Among other documents there is an Imperial decree, according to which a project was drawn up for a house and a temple with him in the Novopavlovskaya dacha by the provincial architect Tsekhansky.
In 1905, an iconostasis project for this temple was presented and a statement by the iconostasis master, merchant Ivan Andreevich Khrenov, about the price for the work.
It is known that many well-wishers donated their funds to the restoration of the temple in the name of St. Roman of Ryazan.
So in 1906, the Yegorievsk merchant Bardygin donated utensils for the temple, the merchant M.I. Rozhdestvensky donated iron for the roof, noisy Makar, who repeatedly served in this temple, - 100 rubles. The clergy of the village of Zimarov, where the miraculous "Zimarovskaya" icon of the Mother of God was located, having learned about the disaster, sent 150 rubles to restore the iconostasis. It is difficult to list all those who wanted to restore the church in memory of Prince Martyr Roman. solitude and just relaxation. The project of the pavilion and services at the bishop's summer house for 1908 has been preserved: it gives some idea of what was supposed to be realized. By that time, the temple had already been restored. The donated bells, chandelier and banners were already in it, The Ryazan Construction Commission was ordered to draw up a detailed report on the construction of dacha and church buildings, as well as to make an inventory of all buildings and objects.
The act, which was drawn up by members of the special commission, stated that the foundation wooden house was destroyed by fire almost to the ground, and roofing iron "is easily broken through with a stick." Almost nothing survived the fire, but attempts to revive the buildings were still made, albeit weak ones. It was already 1910.
It is possible that, not hoping for the restoration of the church in the name of St. Roman of Ryazan in the Novopavlovskaya dacha, in 1916 it was decided, when the Vladimir seminary church in the city of Ryazan was expanded, to consecrate the fourth altar in the annex in honor of the Great Martyr Roman of Ryazan and St. Seraphim of Sarov.
Although many historians and local historians believed that significant damage was caused to the Vladimir Church during the restructuring, justice was nevertheless restored - the name of the Great Martyr Blessed Prince Roman of Ryazan was not forgotten by grateful descendants. Unfortunately, this temple has not survived to this day.
At present, the Boriso-Glebsky Cathedral has a side throne, consecrated in honor of the Holy Blessed Prince Roman of Ryazan and St. Seraphim of Sarov. He consecrated it with the blessing of His Grace Boris (Skvortsov), Bishop of Ryazan and Kasimov, Archimandrite Abel (Makedonov).

Troparion
Great Martyr Blessed Prince Roman of Ryazan, tone 1:

Terrible torment /
and valor of patience /
you surprised everyone, Prince Roman: /
honest bo members of your composition cutting /
and your whole body fragmentation /
suffered thou for the faith of Christ.
Thou hast also ascended to the Throne of the King of Christ God /
and the new representative of the Ryazan Church appeared. /
Pray to the Lord,
May peace and prosperity grant our city, /
and ask Him for mercy and salvation /
honoring your sacred memory, long-suffering.

Kontakion
Great Martyr Blessed Prince Roman of Ryazan, tone 2:

Slandered before the khan in blasphemy of his evil faith, /
boldly presented yourself to the judge of the ungodly; /
afraid of the terrible Judgment of Christ, /
khan's command and fear spat thou, holy Roman./
Body, like a rod, cut, /
in suffering you were likened to Jacob the Persian /
and thou art a great martyr,
pillar and affirmation of the Church of Ryazan, /
intercessor and voivode Russian glorious.

Prayers

Terrible torments /
and valor of patience /
you surprised everyone, prince Roman: /
honest bo members of your cutting composition /
and your whole body fragmentation /
suffered thou for the faith of Christ. /
Thou hast also ascended to the Throne of the King of Christ God /
and thou hast appeared to the new representative of the Church of Ryazan. /
Pray to the Lord,
Yes, peace and prosperity bestows on our city, /
and ask Him for mercy and salvation /
honoring your sacred memory, long-suffering.

life

The veneration of the prince-martyr began immediately after his death. The chronicle speaks of the saint: Buy yourself the Kingdom of Heaven with passion and receive a crown from the hand of the Lord with your kinsman, the Grand Duke of Chernigov, Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who suffered in Christ for the Orthodox Christian faith.

Since 1854, a religious procession and a prayer service have been held in Ryazan on the day of the memory of St. Roman. In 1861, a church was consecrated in Ryazan in honor of Prince Roman.

Life is short

Roman Olegovich was summoned to the Horde, where Khan Mengu-Timur announced that he had to choose one of two things: either martyrdom, or the Tatar faith. The noble prince answered that a Christian cannot change the true faith to a false one. For his firmness in confessing his faith, he was subjected to cruel tortures: they cut off his tongue, gouged out his eyes, cut off his ears and lips, cut off his arms and legs, tore off the skin from his head and, having chopped off his head, put it on a spear. This happened in 1270.

The veneration of the prince-martyr began immediately after his death. The chronicle says of the saint: “Purchase yourself with passion the Kingdom of Heaven and a crown received from the hand of the Lord with your kinsman, the Grand Duke of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who suffered in Christ for the Orthodox Christian faith.”

Since 1854, a religious procession and a prayer service have been held in Ryazan on the day of the memory of St. Roman. In 1861, a church was consecrated in Ryazan in honor of Prince Roman.

Life is complete

The Holy Prince Roman Olegovich of Ryazansky (in the world Yaroslav) was born shortly before the invasion of the Tatars to the Russian land, in 1237. He came from a valiant family of Ryazan princes who cared about faith and piety. The ancestor of the family, the great-grandson of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, Prince Yaroslav-Konstantin and his children Princes Michael and Theodore (Comm. 21 May/3 June) became famous for their holiness of life. The grandson of Konstantin, Vladimir Svyatoslavich, was an example of disinterestedness and selflessness, the holy miracle worker of Murom Peter (+ 1228; Comm. 25 June/8 July) was also the grandson of Konstantin. Grandfather of the Holy Prince Roman, Prince Oleg, founded the Olgov Assumption Monastery near Ryazan. Two grandfathers - princes Yuri and Oleg Igorevich - died in 1237 for the faith and the fatherland in the battle with Batu. Holy Prince Roman multiplied the virtues of his ancestors, glorifying the Ryazan land with the feat of confession.

The childhood and youth of the Holy Prince Roman fell on the very first period of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, and this left an imprint on the fate of the Holy Prince Roman, as well as thousands of his contemporaries. He also lost his parents. It is known about the father of the holy prince Oleg Igorevich that he was taken prisoner by Batu and returned to his homeland in 1252. It is not known how the young prince Roman survived from the Tatars. There is an assumption that he was taken away by Bishop of Ryazan and Murom Euphrosynus Svyatogorets to Mur.

Deprived of relatives and shelter, holy prince Roman from his youth went to the feat of confession through sorrows and sufferings. His upbringing was, according to the pious Russian custom, churchly. The beginning of wisdom - the fear of God - was supposed to be the foundation of life through the reading of Holy Scripture. The meek prince from his youth burned with love for Christ and was affirmed in the Orthodox faith. Piety and patience, love for the fatherland and perfect devotion to the will of God distinguished the future passion-bearer and confessor.

When his father returned from Tatar captivity, the noble prince was already a family man. His wife, Princess Anastasia, came from the family of the Grand Duke of Kiev and was distinguished by sincere faith and charity. Three sons - princes Theodore, Yaroslav and Konstantin - were brought up in piety and the fear of God.

On March 20, 1258, after the death of his father, Prince Oleg, who had taken monastic vows before his death, the noble Prince Roman ascended the throne of the vast Ryazan principality, which at that time was slowly recovering from the Tatar pogrom. The Holy Prince Roman took over the administration of the principality with one hope for the Providence of God, and during the twelve most difficult years of his reign, he managed to save the Ryazan lands from new devastation. The noble prince prayed with tears for his homeland and tried to alleviate the fate of the devastated people.

By the word and example of his life, he inspired those around him with love for native land and Holy Church. The Tatar tribute collectors (Baskaks) were angry with the holy prince, because he constantly kept them from violence and interceded for the offended. One day, one of the Baskaks reported to Khan Mengu-Temir that the noble prince Roman blasphemed the Khan and vilified his pagan faith. There were people who confirmed the slander, and the khan summoned the saint to Odra for trial.

The meek prince calmly listened to the sad news and began to gather in the Horde, to the sorrow of the family and all the inhabitants of Ryazan, who sincerely loved him.

Going to the khan, the noble prince Roman distributed the inheritances of his principality among his sons and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In the Horde, the holy prince, according to the chronicler, “justified himself in slander, but the Baskak learned many from the Tatar princes, and they began to force him to their faith.” And at the command of the khan, the noble prince had to accept their faith for his justification. In a fit of pious indignation and love for the faith of Christ, “he said to them: “It is not worthy of Orthodox Christians, leaving their Orthodox faith, to accept the Basurman faith.” Then start to beat him. He also said: “There is a Christian, and truly, the Christian faith is holy, but your Tatar faith is filthy.”

The Tatars burned with rage and gnashed their teeth at the saint, but, seeing the inflexibility, rushed at him and began to beat him mercilessly. “There is a Christian,” exclaimed the prince, showered with blows, “and the Christian faith is truly holy!” He wanted to talk more, but they gagged him and, having chained him up, threw him into prison. In a stuffy dungeon, bound hand and foot, St. Prince Roman was weakened in body, but strengthened in spirit. Submission to the Providence of God, which was one of the main virtues of his life, supported the sufferer and poured new strength into him to endure the coming torment. The prince had a premonition of what awaited him, and only prayed. His lot had already been decided by the khan: he gave the Tatars a command to kill the noble prince Roman. With cruel curses, they took the martyr out of the dungeon and led him to the place of execution.

The prince calmly went to torment; his face reflected a feeling of Christian humility and peace of mind, which are given to the lot of the few who have been cleansed in the crucible of temptations. The Confessor of Christ was not afraid to die for Him, but did not know what awaited him the most terrible of deaths - slow death. Arriving at the place of execution, the saint decided for the last time to test the power of his word against the barbarians and began to reproach them with superstition and cruelty, threatening them with the wrath of God. His tongue was cut off, and then he was subjected to terrible torments: his eyes were gouged out, his lips were cut off. The inhumanity of the torturers did not spare a single member of the sufferer, St. the martyr was cut in pieces: first, the fingers of the hands and feet were taken away, then the hands and feet were cut off. "And as if the corpse remained one, they peeled off the skin from his head and threw up a spear."

The valiant prince of Ryazansky Roman Olegovich endured such suffering in the Horde on the 19th day of the month of July 1270. Tradition says that the holy relics of the martyr Roman of Ryazan were secretly transferred to Ryazan and there they were buried with reverence. The place of burial remains unknown. Church veneration of the Right-Believing Prince Roman as a saint began immediately after his martyrdom. Contemporaries called him a new martyr and compared him with the great martyr Jacob the Persian (+ 421; Comm. 27 November/10 December). The chronicle says of the saint: “Purchase yourself with passion the Kingdom of Heaven and a crown received from the hand of the Lord with your kinsman, the Grand Duke of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who suffered in Christ for the Orthodox Christian faith.”

In 1812, on the day of memory of the faithful Prince Roman, Russian troops won their first victory at Klyastitsy. In memory of this, on the wall of the Moscow church in honor of Christ the Savior, the image of the Holy Prince Roman was painted. According to legend, the noble prince was depicted on icons as follows: “The prince is not old, with fair-haired, curly hair falling on his shoulders in a thin wave, in a sable coat on his shoulders, in a velvet undershirt; the right hand is stretched out for prayer, and the left holds the city with the church.

Since 1854, a religious procession and a prayer service have been held in Ryazan on the day of the memory of St. Roman. In 1861, a church was consecrated in Ryazan in honor of Prince Roman. Currently, in the main altar of the Ryazan Cathedral Boris and Gleb Cathedral there is a portable throne, consecrated in the name of the holy noble prince Roman of Ryazan. During the Divine Liturgy in this cathedral, along with the temple and ordinary troparions, a troparion is sung to the passion-bearer Roman, the wise organizer of the Ryazan land, a prayer book, confessor, and defender of the Orthodox faith.

Prayers

Troparion of the Holy Martyr Prince Roman of Ryazan

voice 1