😉 Greetings to regular and new readers! The article “Stephen of Perm: Life, Interesting Facts and Video” contains a short story about the life of a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Saint Stephen (1345 -1396), having renounced life in the Rostov monastery, alone decided to go into the forests inhabited by by no means friendly Permian Komi.
He went to these people, having learned their language, in order to give them not only a new faith, but also writing. He did not expect to receive gratitude for this, on the contrary, he was even ready for a martyr’s death.
Life of Stephen Permsky
Stefan was born in the city of Veliky Ustyug. It is a city in the Vologda Oblast in northern Russia. In the XIV century, Russian cities here were islands in the Komi-Zyryan environment. These lands were claimed by Novgorod, on the one hand, and Moscow, on the other.
Further to the east, near the Kama River, Great Perm began. Those who lived there only by rumor knew about the Russian people. It was the wrong side.
Stephen was the son of a singer in Simeon’s church. Perhaps the father taught his son to read and write, and he was very successful in learning. The boy devoted a lot of time to reading the Holy Scriptures, which formed his ascetic lifestyle. It became clear to the parents that their son had only one road – to become a monk.
The young man went to Rostov, where he was tonsured in the monastery of St. Gregory the Theologian, the abbot of which was the Greek Parthenius. Stefan learned Greek from him. It is unlikely that in North-Eastern Russia at that time there were other people who spoke Greek and Permian languages.
Only Stephen could convey all the Greek learned wisdom to the Komi pagans. Moreover, in the library he read not only theological literature, but also the works of the philosophers Plato and Aristotle, the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles.
Mission of the saint
Stefan often visited his friend Sergius of Radonezh and talked with him for a long time. Perhaps only Stefan told him about his innermost dream – the enlightenment of the Komi people. Stefan not only dreamed, but also acted actively. On the basis of the runic signs, he compiled the alphabet and translated a part of the Bible into the Zyryan language.
He did not even think about the Russification of the Zyryans – he carried the Holy Scriptures to them in their national language. All that remained was to receive the blessing of the hierarchs of the church and begin missionary activity.
Stefan Permsky. Album of images of holy icons published by E.I.Fesenko chromolithography in Odessa. End of the XNUMXth century
As soon as it became known about Stefan’s idea, she immediately had many opponents. Their main argument was that there is no need to convert a new people to the faith of Christ when the end of the world is not far off anyway.
The end of the world was expected in 1492 from the birth of Christ. Nevertheless, the Bishop of Kolomna, who was also the deputy metropolitan of all Russia, gave his blessing to Stephen for his missionary work.
At first, the missionary found himself in the circle of recently converted Komi. They came to the preacher, sat around him and asked questions. Their unbaptized friends also came, asked, listened, thought.
Not everyone was so good-natured. Some came with clubs and stakes, threatening to kill the saint. And once they even tried to burn it. But why should a Christian be afraid, with him is God’s power and His intercession.
Stefan, on the other hand, began to destroy the idols, which were uninhabited huts, where there were only animal skins. With a blow of an ax he smashed rotten idols into dust. The Zyryans gathered in a large crowd and were ready to tear to pieces the missionary, but … according to the ancient custom, they did not start the battle first. The pagans retreated.
Church of the Annunciation
And through the efforts of the saint and his few friends in the “capital” of the Zyryans, the village of Ust-Vym, the Church of the Annunciation was erected. The church was very beautiful. And since there is a church, then missionary activity has gone more successfully.
Church founded by Stefan Permsky in Ust-Vym
Adults, and even more children, came not only to admire the beauty of the temple, they were interested in what St. Stephen of Perm was doing there. The missionary’s activities attracted the attention of a local sorcerer named Pama.
Pama said that Christians have one God, and the Komi have many. Like, everyone should understand: the more gods, the better. Then, seeing that they were not listening to him, he demanded that Stefan walk with him through fire and water.
And when he agreed, Pama was afraid of the test of faith. The Zyryans wanted to put the deceiver to death, but through the intercession of the saint they only expelled Pama from their land.
Video
In this collection of videos additional information “Stephen of Perm: the life of the saint”
😉 If you liked the article “Stephen of Perm: the life of the saint”, share it with your friends on social networks. Until next time! Come in, there are many stories ahead.