Martin, gracious Bishop of Tours. Promised restoration. One of the most famous songs on this day: “Ich gehe mit meiner Laterne”

6026 25.10.2011

One day he met a half-naked beggar, almost completely numb from the cold. Martin, without thinking for a long time, took off his cloak and, dividing it into two halves, gave one to a poor man suffering from the cold, and wrapped himself in the other half.

Saint Martin came from Pannonia, from the city of Sabaria; his parents were pagans. His father had previously served as a common soldier, but through his diligent service he rose to the rank of military tribune and occupied a high position. Martin's childhood years passed in Ticin, where, while he was still a child, his father, due to service circumstances, had to move. Even at a very early age, the saint, with his meekness, mercy and purity of soul, pleased God, showing in himself signs of a calling from above. At that time, the Christian faith was spreading quickly and openly throughout the Roman Empire, and Martin, having met the believers, heard from them the truths of the faith of Christ and began to strive for it with all his soul, comprehending the truth with his pure, unspoiled heart. Inflamed by love for the virtues and holy life of Christians, the youth in his tenth year, against the wishes of his parents, became a catechumen. He did not study science, being content with only the teachings of Christ. When he was twelve years old, he had a pious desire to become a hermit, imitating the solitary ascetic life of Saint Anthony. But God judged differently, so that his piety would be all the more obvious even before enlightenment in the baptismal font. Martin's father was extremely dissatisfied with his son's friendly relations with Christians and his pious inclinations, especially since, overwhelmed by ambitious aspirations, he wanted to make of this strong and active boy a prominent warrior who would glorify his name on the battlefields. And so, when Martin reached the age of fifteen, in accordance with the imperial decree, according to which the sons of veterans were to enter the army, his father grabbed him, imprisoned him in chains and forced him to take the military oath. As the son of a tribune and as a prominent and strong young man, Martin became an equestrian officer and acquired great power of attorney from his superiors.

Martin's new prominent position did not change his humble and pious lifestyle. His means enabled him to have with him two or more servants from among the soldiers; but he was content with only one, whom he treated not as a slave, but as a friend and brother, and served him more himself than accepted services from him. He showed great love to his colleagues and aroused in them not only sincere affection for himself, but also respectful surprise at his strictly well-behaved life amid constant examples of temptation. Even as a soldier, Martin devoted himself entirely to works of Christian charity. Keeping from his salary only as much as was needed for food and denying himself everything, he used the rest to help the unfortunate, clothe the naked, feed the poor and perform other acts of mercy.

Martin carried out his service in Gaul. Together with the army, he had to stay in winter quarters in Amiens. The winter was extremely harsh, and Martin, always distinguished by mercy, gave all the more generously at this time from his estate to feed and support the poor. One day, passing through the gates of the city, he met a half-naked beggar, almost completely numb from the severe cold. Those passing by did not pay any attention to him and left him without any help, probably because they themselves were in need and had nothing extra. Martin also had nothing; he could not give the beggar any alms, for he had previously given away all his money. But his heart was squeezed with sorrow and compassion at the sight of this unfortunate poor man. Then Martin, without thinking for a long time and only wanting to provide the unfortunate man with speedy help, quickly took off his military belt, threw off his cloak and, dividing it into two halves, gave one to the poor man suffering from the cold, and wrapped himself in the remaining half. Some of the passers-by saw this act and began to laugh at him at the sight of his strange attire. But the heart of the merciful warrior was filled with joy; he was not embarrassed by ridicule, remembering the words of the Divine Savior: “naked and clothed me... before you have created one of these lesser brothers of mine, you have created for me.” And the Lord strengthened Martin’s faith and consoled him for his great mercy with a heavenly vision. At night, while sleeping, Martin saw the Lord Jesus Christ, who, appearing to him wearing part of his cloak, told him to look to see if this was the same half that he had given to the beggar at the gate. Martin stood in reverent silence; Christ turned from him to the host of upcoming angels and said loudly:
- Martin dressed me with this cloak, although he is still just a catechumen.

Delighted by such a wondrous, comforting vision, the young man woke up. This was three years after he entered military service. After this, Martin did not hesitate further and immediately accepted holy baptism, being eighteen years old. After baptism, he began to strive even more zealously to leave military service, which was completely alien to his pious inclinations and did not agree with his cherished desire for a solitary, ascetic life. However, he had to refuse to immediately fulfill his desire. His tribune, who was a Christian, was extremely reluctant to part with him. When Martin informed him of his intention to leave military service and become a monk, the tribune promised that if he waited until the end of his service, then he would also leave the service with him and leave the world. Martin was forced to yield to the wishes of the tribune and remained in the army for two more years, taking part in the difficult campaigns of King Constantius against the wild Alemanni.

During these campaigns, undertaken to repel the incessant raids of numerous barbarians on the border regions of the Roman Empire, the command of part of the troops, where Martin also served, was entrusted by the king to his cousin Julian, who was appointed Caesar. The detachment of troops was not large enough, and Julian, to encourage his troops, decided to give them gifts from the booty captured from the Alemanni. In order to further inspire the soldiers in view of the upcoming battle, Julian ordered each warrior to be called out by name and personally distributed gifts to them. When Martin was named, he stepped forward and boldly said to his commander:
- Caesar! Hitherto I served with you in the cavalry, but now let me enter into the service of God. May your gift be used by someone else who will continue your service! And I am a warrior of Christ and therefore should no longer fight for you.
“You are a coward, Martin,” the angry Julian answered reproachfully. - Tomorrow there will be a battle. And so, the fear of battle, and not the fear of God, makes you evade service.

But Martin continued boldly:
“If you take my renunciation for cowardice and not for loyalty, then put me tomorrow alone without any weapons in the most dangerous place of the battle.” Then you will see that without any weapons, with only the name of Christ and the sign of His Holy Cross, I will fearlessly advance on the ranks of the enemy.
“So be it,” said Julian and ordered Martin to be taken into custody until the next day.

The next day, the Alemanni, seeing Julian’s well-arranged army, sent ambassadors to him for peace negotiations with an offer of complete submission. Peace was concluded. After this, Martin was released from his military oath and hastened to immediately leave the army. He went to Hilary, bishop of the city of Poitiers, famous for his holiness of life and Christian Orthodox education, to place himself under the spiritual guidance of this holy man. Hilary received the young man with heartfelt love and, after a short test of his character, wanted to ordain him as a deacon; but Martin, out of deep humility, refused this rank, and he could only be persuaded to accept the more modest, although more difficult, position of exorcist).

Having spent a short time in his new position, Martin began to worry at the thought that his parents were still pagans, and, as a result of a vision in a dream, he, a short time later, went to his homeland to convert them to Christ. He had to cross the Alps), often got lost in trackless mountain deserts and was exposed to danger from robbers. One day he fell into their hands. One of the robbers raised his sword to cut off Martin's head, but his comrade, taking pity on the young man, stopped the attacker. Martin was tied up and placed in the custody of the robber who saved his life:
- Who are you? - asked the robber.
“I am a Christian,” the young man answered meekly.

After this, a long conversation began between them, during which Martin made such an impression on the robber that he was ashamed of his villainous, shameful life. He immediately released Martin and with tears began to ask his prayers for himself. After this, the former robber began to lead a pious life and subsequently labored as a monk in the Gallic monastery of St. Martin.

Having finally entered the borders of Italy and continuing his journey, among many trials and difficulties, Martin met an extremely disgusting and scary-looking man who attacked him with many curious questions, and especially tried to get an answer to the question of where he was going.
“I intend to go,” answered Martin, “where the Lord calls me.”
“Okay,” his questioner said angrily, “but remember that wherever you go and whatever you do, I will always be your opponent.”

This meeting and conversation made a deep impression on Martin; however, he was not afraid, but only meekly and with firm trust in the all-good Providence of God remarked:
- The Lord is with me; I'm not afraid of what a person can do to me.

With these words, the interlocutor instantly disappeared. Then it became clear to Martin that this was the primordial enemy of man - the devil, who had taken upon himself the image of a man.

Having reached his home, Martin found his parents alive. His father treated him very unfriendly and remained adamant to his preaching. But his mother was inclined to his convictions and was enlightened by the light of the Gospel, as were many other residents of his hometown. But the success of the saint’s Gospel preaching in Sabaria was short-lived. At that time, due to the patronage of the wicked king Constantius of the Arians, their heresy spread throughout Pannonia. Martin armed himself against this evil teaching and for this he was persecuted and, after bodily torture, was expelled from the city. He went to Italy and, stopping in Mediolan, built himself a hermit’s cell there, but from here, after all kinds of persecution and insults, he was expelled by the Arian bishop Auxentius. Then the saint decided to become a hermit on the secluded rocky island of Gallinaria, from where he later moved to Capraria, which was completely deserted, as it was all overflowing with poisonous snakes. There he lived in feats of contemplation and prayer with only one companion, eating only desert plants. God's providence miraculously protected the holy ascetic, and he did not suffer any harm from snakes.

Hearing that his teacher Hilary, who had been expelled from Poitiers by the Arians, had received permission to return, Martin went to him in Poitiers, and after five years of separation they joyfully embraced each other. Hilary again urged him to accept the priesthood, or at least the deaconate, but Martin stubbornly refused, wanting to remain a simple monk until the end of his days. Hilary allowed him to found a monastic monastery and allocated a place for this not far from Poitiers, in the village of Lokotsiag, or Liguzhe). Friends and disciples quickly gathered around the pious young man to learn from him the perfect monastic life. Martin received everyone with love and served as the best example of an ascetic, godly life for everyone. Having received almost no education, he nevertheless, by the power of the grace of Christ that dwelt in him, made wise by the thought of God and the exploits of a virtuous monastic life, admonished and instructed people on the path of true Christian life and people who were knowledgeable and deeply enlightened, some of whom, under his influence, renounced the vain world, devoting himself entirely to serving God and desert exploits. The monastery of St. Martin in a short time flourished and became famous, becoming the first monastery in Gaul and becoming a famous nursery of monasticism in this country.

At that time, one of the catechumens, who had entered the monastery of St. Martin to receive soul-helping instructions in the holy faith and pious life, but had not yet had time to be baptized, suddenly fell ill with a fever and died. The monk was not in the monastery at that time. Returning, he found one lifeless body of a catechumen among the weeping brethren. The monk sent everyone out of the cell and, having prostrated himself in prayer, two hours later, by the grace of Christ, he called the deceased to life. He who was brought back to life immediately accepted holy baptism and after that lived pleasingly to God for a long time. Subsequently, he said that when his soul was separated from his body, he was brought before some formidable Judge, who pronounced a guilty verdict over him; but two angels told the Judge that he was the one for whom Martin was praying, after which the Judge ordered him to be returned to Martin.
From that time on, fame spread about Martin as a holy and wondrous apostolic man, clothed with power from above.

Attracting to himself numerous disciples from persons of various ranks and status and influencing them by the example of his virtuous and strictly ascetic life, Saint Martin had a great influence on them with his teaching. He himself clearly saw the truth of Christ and was firmly convinced of it, and with the same clarity, vividness, simplicity and persuasiveness he knew how to communicate and explain it to believers and non-believers. He loved to teach with parables that made a strong impression on his listeners.

Seeing the great exploits of Saint Martin and not tolerating his holy, godly life, the primordial enemy of the human race - the devil - raised an insidious attack on him, appearing to him and tempting him in every possible way. But although the saint constantly saw around him demons and the prince of demons himself, he never showed the slightest fear of him. He even openly challenged the devil to fight.
“If you have any stake in me,” he said, “then show it in action.”

Then Satan tried to deceive and seduce the saint by taking on the appearance of a bright angel, for, as the Apostle says, sometimes “Satan himself is transformed into a bright angel.” And so, one day he appeared to Martin during prayer, preceded and surrounded by a purple light, dressed in royal clothes, adorned with a crown of pearls and gold, wearing sandals covered with gold, with a cheerful and joyful face. At the sight of this extraordinary, wondrous phenomenon, Martin was at first greatly embarrassed, and both of them remained silent for a long time. Finally the devil said:
- Do you recognize, Martin, who you are seeing now? I am Christ. Before appearing again for my second coming, I wanted to reveal myself to you.

The saint hesitated and did not give any answer.
- Why do you doubt to believe in the vision? - said the evil one. - I am Christ.

Then Martin, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, knew that it was the devil, and said:
“My Lord Jesus Christ did not promise that He would appear in purple and a brilliant crown. I do not want to believe that I see the return of Christ until He comes in the same form in which He suffered, and above all, does not show visibly the wounds that He suffered on the cross.

Then the devil disappeared like smoke and filled the cell with such a terrible stench that there was no doubt left that it was the devil.
But along with these seductive visions, the saint also had comforting and grace-filled appearances of angels and saints of God from the afterlife; Thus, the holy apostles Peter and Paul repeatedly appeared to him and consoled him with divinely inspired conversation. The grace of God clearly rested on Saint Martin, manifesting its presence with him visibly, with the eyes of all his disciples, especially during his touching performance of the Divine service and at the time when he blessed the people. So one day they saw that when he raised his right hand for blessing, some extraordinary shine emanated from it. At another time they saw a light appear around his forehead.

“The hail cannot hide from the top of a mountain while standing. Below they burn a lamp, and place it in secret, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the temple.” So, with regard to Saint Martin, it became clear to everyone that God had chosen him not for silent deeds in the solitude and silence of a monastery cell, but in order to place him high on the priesthood of the Church, so that with his grace-filled gifts, good deeds and holy life he would illuminate the believers , as a shepherd of the numerous flock of Christ. His great and ever-increasing fame made it certain that the people of some church would sooner or later appeal to him for the rank of bishop. And so, when the episcopal see in the city of Tours became free, the people wished to have Saint Martin as their bishop. But at the same time, everyone knew Martin’s deep humility, which previously prompted him to persistently refuse to accept the priesthood or even the deaconate. Then they decided to resort to cunning and force. One citizen named Ruritius came to the saint in his monastery and, falling at his feet, asked him to come and pray for his sick wife. The saint has gone; but then a large crowd surrounded him and brought him by force into the city and the temple and proclaimed him bishop.

Elevated to the cathedral, Saint Martin did not change at all, he continued to be an example of deep humility for everyone, he was content with simply clothing and the merest food, and devoted most of his time to monastic deeds, withdrawing from the world and striving for silence. Not far from the city, he chose a wild, secluded place for his monastic exploits; this place was closed by rocks and on one side by the Loire River, and access to it was possible only along one path. Here Saint Martin built a wooden cell. Other devotees of piety, who were looking for a desert life, also began to settle near him. Some built themselves the same huts, others hollowed out caves for themselves in the mountain rock. And thus, up to 80 brethren gathered around St. Martin and a new monastic monastery was formed. It was called the monastery of Martin, as well as the large monastery and subsequently Marmoutier. The monks of this monastery accepted Martin’s rule and labored in feats of fasting and prayer, under his experienced leadership, using his soul-helping and at the same time publicly accessible, simple instructions and the example of his own highly ascetic life. The brothers had nothing of their own; they had everything in common. It was not allowed to buy or sell anything, and only young monks could do handicrafts by copying manuscripts of Divine and spiritual books; the elders exclusively practiced prayer. They rarely left their cells except for general service; no one drank wine, except perhaps the sick; their food, which they ate only once a day, consisted only of bread, vegetables and olives; their clothing consisted of coarse camel hair, although many of the monks were of noble origin. The brothers lived in unconditional obedience and for the most part in silence. From this monastery came many bishops who worked hard to spread Christian enlightenment among the pagans.

Saint Martin himself worked zealously to convert the pagans and overthrow idolatry in most of Gaul. In this apostolic ministry, he was a courageous, fearless and selfless preacher of the truth of Christ. For this purpose, Martin often left his beloved monastery and walked around the surrounding countries, destroying pagan temples and cutting down the sacred trees of idolaters, building churches and instructing the pagans in the faith of Christ. The evangelical preaching of Saint Martin was such a great success that it was often accompanied by signs and wonders performed by the holy power of Christ before the eyes of all the infidels. The first place of conversion of the pagans was Amboise. Having founded a church here with his preaching, he entrusted it to the management and care of some of his disciples. But paganism was still strong there, and Christians were in great danger from infidels; for there still remained a pagan temple with a large idol, which was revered by the people. The disciples of Saint Martin did not dare to destroy this refuge of idolatry, despite the command of the saint. Martin himself came to Amboise again, but became convinced that it was indeed difficult to destroy that temple. Then he, choosing a secluded place for himself, spent the whole night in fiery prayer to God. And the Lord heard this prayer of His saint: in the morning a terrible hurricane arose, which destroyed the pagan temple to the ground and crushed the idol that was located there.

Passing through the country of Aeduan with the word of the gospel, Saint Martni reached the city of Augustodon and stopped here to pray at the tomb of the holy martyr Symphorian and to help Bishop Simplicius in the extermination of paganism. Near the chapel in which the relics of Saint Symphorian rested, there stood a pagan temple in honor of Saron, where the most respected priests among the pagans lived - the so-called Druids of Sharon.
Saint Martin fearlessly entered this pagan temple and overthrew the statue and altar of Sharon. Then he was attacked by a crowd of armed pagans embittered by this. One, more courageous, was already raising his sword over him, but an invisible force threw him at the feet of the saint, and, struck with fear, the daring pagan humbly with tears began to ask the saint for forgiveness and pardon. At the sight of this miracle, all the other pagans who were there believed in Christ, and the pagan temple was converted into the sanctuary of the true God.

An equally amazing miracle occurred through the prayer of the saint in the village of Leprose. Moved by apostolic zeal, he also wanted to destroy the temple, which was highly revered by the pagans; but the inhabitants drove him away. Then he retired to the safe place closest to the village, where he remained in fasting and prayer for three days, praying to God for the destruction of the pagan temple. In response to his fervent prayer, two bright angels appeared to him, as if in armor, who announced that they had been sent by God to help him against the pagans. Hearing this, Martin hastened to immediately return to the village and, by the power of the grace of Christ, miraculously turned the altars and idols to dust in the sight of the people, bound by the invisible Divine power. Having seen such a miracle and the wondrous destruction of the temple, the inhabitants of that village recognized the futility of idols and turned to Christ.

One day, Saint Martin and some of his disciples, on the way to the city of Carnot, passed near a populous village. A huge crowd came out to meet them, all consisting of pagans, for no one in that area knew Christ or heard the truths of the faith of Christ. So great was the glory of this holy man that it attracted even a multitude of pagan people to him, who covered the fields over a distant space. Martin saw that it was necessary to act and take advantage of this opportunity to convert the unfaithful to Christ. And so, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he loudly began his fiery sermon, proclaiming God’s word to the pagans and often sighing from the depths of his soul that such a multitude of people did not know the Lord Savior.

At this time, one woman, whose son had recently died, brought his soulless body and, laying it at the feet of the saint, stretching out her hands to him, said:
- We know that you are a friend of God. Give me back my son, for I have only one.

A crowd of people joined the unfortunate mother and co-exclaimed his requests.
Saint Martin took the body of the deceased in his hands, knelt down along with all the people and, having said a prayer, stood up and returned the boy to his mother already alive. Seeing this, everyone who was there began to unanimously confess Christ God and, throwing themselves at the feet of the saint, earnestly asked him to make them Christians. The saint immediately, right there on the field, announced them with the word of truth. Rumors about this miracle quickly spread throughout the country. With the same success, Saint Martin spread the light of the Gospel in other areas of Gaul.

One day, a certain layman named Evanthius, struck by a severe illness and already close to death, invited Martin to his place. The saint immediately went to him; but he had not yet walked half the way when the sick man, feeling the strength of the one walking and suddenly receiving healing, himself went out to meet Saint Martin and the disciples accompanying him. The next day, Martin prepared to return, but remained behind due to the intense prayer of the healed man. Meanwhile, the serpent fatally bitten one youth from the Evanthia family. The latter brought the dying youth on his shoulders to the feet of the holy man, believing in his great miraculous power and convinced that nothing was impossible for him. The snake's venom had already spread throughout all the boy's limbs, his veins rose, his insides swelled up like fur. Martin, stretching out his hand, ran it over all the members of the youth, and pressed his finger near the wound caused by the deadly sting of the serpent. And then all those who were present saw with amazement that poison from all over the body began to flow down to Martin’s finger and come out along with the blood from the hole in the wound. After this, the boy stood up completely healthy, and all the witnesses of the miracle glorified God, marvelous in His saints.

An equally amazing miracle was performed by Saint Martin in the city of Carnot on a mute girl. A twelve-year-old girl, mute from birth, was brought to Martin. Her father begged the saint to loosen her tongue with his prayer. The saint left this to the bishops Valentinus and Victoria who were with him, claiming that this was beyond his strength, and that for them, as more perfect in virtues, everything was possible. But they, combining their requests with the pleas of the unfortunate father, convinced Martin to do what was expected of him. Then Martin ordered the upcoming people to leave and, in the presence of only the bishops and the father of the girl, he prostrated himself with fervent prayer, then blessed a little oil and poured it into the mouth of the girl, holding her tongue with his fingers. And a wondrous miracle justified the saint’s faith. When the saint asked the girl the name of her father, she immediately answered him clearly, and the father, hugging the saint’s knees, exclaimed with joy and tears and testified before all those gathered that this was his daughter’s first word.
One day, Martin, entering Paris, accompanied by many people, met a leper in the most pathetic form, whom everyone abhorred. But the saint, having mercy on him, kissed him and blessed him, and so the sufferer was suddenly cleansed of leprosy and the next day came to church, giving thanks for his healing.

Peacock, a pious state dignitary, who later became famous for his holy life, began to suffer severely from an eye disease, and already a dark darkness covered his pupil; but Saint Martin touched his eye with a rag, and the pain immediately disappeared.

The feats of mercy and Christian love for the unfortunate and wretched were innumerable in Saint Martin, for which he earned himself the title “Merciful.” One day in the winter months, on the way to church, he met a half-naked beggar who began to ask him for clothes. The saint, calling the archdeacon, ordered him to clothe the freezing man; then, entering the secretarial room, he sat there alone as usual; and since the deacon did not give clothes to the beggar, this one, bursting into the blessed husband, began to complain about the cleric and about the cold. Then the saint secretly took off his tunic from under his outer clothing, ordered the poor man to dress in it and leave. A little later the deacon entered and announced to the holy bishop that it was time to perform a solemn service, for the people were waiting in the church. To this the saint answered, meaning himself:
“First you need to clothe the poor: I can’t go to church if the poor doesn’t receive clothes.”

The deacon, not understanding anything, because he did not notice that the saint was naked inside, began to apologize by saying that he could not find the poor man.
But Martin insistently repeated:
“Let the clothes that are prepared be brought to me: the poor man will not be unclothed.”
Compelled by necessity, the cleric, angry, grabbed short, rough clothes from the neighboring shops for five coins and laid them with anger at Martin’s feet, saying:
“Here are the clothes, but the poor man is gone.”

The saint calmly ordered him to stand outside the door for a while and, secretly dressing in the same clothes, went out to the temple to perform the liturgy. And the Lord immediately rewarded Martin for this secret work of Christian charity. On that day, when he blessed the altar, during the service a ball of fire appeared shining from his head, so that the flame, rising upward, produced a long beam. This glorious phenomenon on this day, in the presence of a great crowd of people, was seen only by a select few, such as: one pious disciple of Saint Martin named Gallus, one of the virgins, one of the presbyters and three of the monks.

The meekness that Martin was distinguished by made even the pagans love him. He hardly had any enemies at all, but if he had any, they hated him for his virtues, which they themselves did not possess and which they could not imitate. Meanwhile, Martin did not condemn anyone, did not repay anyone with evil for evil. Despite all the insults, he was so patient that he was sometimes insulted with impunity by the lower members of his clergy: he never deposed because of the sorrows caused to him and, as far as it depended on him, did not deprive them of his love. No one had ever seen him angry, or upset, or laughing. He was always the same, wearing a kind of heavenly joy on his face. Never on his lips was anything other than piety, except the name of Christ. There was never anything in his heart but piety, peace and regret. Often he cried about the sins of even those of his detractors who, in his presence or in his absence, attacked him with serpentine lips and poisonous tongues.

What kind of patience and meekness Saint Martin had in relation to his offenders is clearly shown by the following example. Among the clergy in the monastery there was one young man named Brictius, who came from the lowest rank, but whom Martin sheltered, educated and subsequently elevated to the rank of deacon. Excited by evil spirits, Brictius began to terribly revile his gentle teacher to his face and behind his back. The holy man tried to reason with him with gentle instructions; but this had no effect on the madman, and he continued to spew even greater blasphemies and then ran away. Having met a sick man on the road who asked him where he could find Saint Martin, Brictius called the saint an old deceiver and other shameful nicknames. When shortly after this, after the healing of this sick man, Martin met Brictius, he only meekly asked him:
- Why did you call me a deceiver?
“I never called you that,” answered the deacon.
“Wasn’t my ear at your mouth, although you spoke behind my back?” - the saint noted. “You, too, when I die, will become a bishop, and you will have to suffer a lot.”

After this, Brictius had fits of rage, and one day, when Martin was sitting on a bench in front of his cell, Brictius attacked him with furious curses, and on the neighboring rocks he could see two demons, encouraging him to madness.
“I am holier than you,” said the deacon, “I was raised in a monastery, and you were once a soldier.”
The brethren demanded that Brictius be subjected to exemplary punishment and deprived of the priesthood; but Martin calmly endured his curse. When, soon after, Brictius, touched by the saint’s meekness, came to his senses and threw himself at his feet, tormented by remorse, Martin only remarked:
- Brictius only harmed himself, not me. The Lord Jesus Christ even tolerated Judas around him: shouldn’t I, after this, tolerate this young man around me?

Martin's prediction came true. Brictius subsequently changed so much that after the death of the saint he was made his successor, after which he had to endure many sorrows and reproaches and then died in peace.
How irresistible and strong the influence of Saint Martin was on the most arrogant and hard-hearted people, even on the powerful of this world, is shown by the following examples. Even at the beginning of his priesthood, Tours was horrified by the visit of the cruel regional governor Avician, whose rage was not inferior to the rage of wild animals. His retinue was followed by long rows of prisoners, whose execution the cruel ruler wanted to bring terror to the city. The philanthropic Martin, not afraid of the ruler’s rage, decided to intercede both for his prisoners and for his episcopal city, and at midnight he went to the doors of Avician’s palace. That night, the regional commander’s restless sleep was suddenly interrupted, as it seemed to him, by a strong shock, and some unknown voice said to him:
“You sleep here, while the servant of God lies outside the doors at your threshold.”

Avician ordered his servants to look behind the doors, but they, having made a casual inspection, assured him that it was just imagination, and he, having calmed down, fell asleep again, but was soon awakened a second time by a loud voice: “Martin is standing at the door.” Then the ministers found that this was indeed the case. The regional commander ordered the saint to be brought to him and asked him:
- Why did you do this?
“I know your intention,” answered Saint Martin boldly, “before you expressed it.” Go and do not let the wrath of heaven destroy you.

Frightened by the inspired, prophetic voice of the saint and convicted by his conscience, Avician hastened to fulfill his command: he released the prisoners and left the city. The reproaches of Saint Martin subsequently had a good influence on the character of this cruel regional leader. One day, when Avicianus again visited the city of Tours, the saint entered his room and, silently, stubbornly looked at him.
“Why are you looking at me so persistently, holy man?” – asked Avician.
“I’m not looking at you,” answered Martin, “but at the disgusting demon that sits on your neck.”

And the word of the saint again had a good effect and stopped the cruel regional governor from fulfilling his evil intentions.
Emperor Valentinian, hearing from all sides about the glory of Saint Martin, expressed a desire to enter into friendly relations with him; but his wife Justina, who was a zealous Arian, did not allow him to do this. Therefore, when one day Martin arrived in Trier on important business, where the emperor’s court was then located, he, prejudiced against him by his wife, did not order him to be allowed into his presence. After futile efforts to introduce himself to the sovereign, the saint devoted himself to prayer and fasting. On the seventh day, an angel appeared to him and ordered him to go to the palace to the emperor. Having received this divine inspiration, Martin hurried to the palace and, finding the doors open, appeared before the emperor without any report. Valentinian became very angry, but suddenly felt that the chair under him seemed to be all engulfed in fire below. Forced to get up, he suddenly changed and received the saint with a warm embrace, talked with him for a long time, kept him with him as a dear guest for several more days, promised him to fulfill everything he asked, and at parting offered him rich gifts , which the saint, however, refused, which aroused even greater respect for himself.

In 383, the Roman troops proclaimed Maximus emperor, and the son and successor of Valentinian I, Gratian, was defeated and killed as a result of the treason of the soldiers; his brother Valentinian II was forced to flee and was deprived of the throne, leaving behind only part of his possessions. Then Saint Martin went to Trier to the Emperor Maximus to intercede for those who were on the side of Gratian and who were threatened with death. It was of the utmost importance to Maximus to secure for himself the devotion of the clergy and, above all, if possible, of such a beloved and famous bishop as St. Martin was. Therefore, he reacted very favorably to his arrival and invited the saint to the palace for the royal dinner. But Martin refused and answered with extraordinary courage:
“I cannot sit at the table of a man who deprived one emperor of his life and another of his throne.”

At the same time, Martin warned the emperor that even though at first he was successful in his affairs, his reign would be short-lived, and he would soon die. Maxim restrained his anger and convincingly represented to the saint that he did not lay the crown on himself of his own free will, but that it was laid by the soldiers to protect the kingdom from enemies. Finally, yielding to the emperor’s convictions, Saint Martin agreed to come to the royal dinner, which was attended by the highest ranks and noble persons, and Martin was seated in the most honorable place, and the priest accompanying him was given a place between the emperor’s brother and uncle. During the feast, the emperor was given a cup of wine, and he ordered it to be served first to Martin in order to receive it back from the saint’s hands. But Martin, having tasted from it, handed it back not to the king, but to one of those present, as if this latter was a person of a higher rank than the king. This surprised the king and all the former. However, Maxim not only did not become angry, but from then on began to show Saint Martin even greater respect. The emperor often called and respectfully received Martin in his palace, talking with him both about contemporary affairs and about the future life, the eternal glory of the saints and other spiritual subjects. The pious queen, with tenderness and tears, listened to Martin’s holy conversations and instructions and, finally, with the consent of her husband, arranged a meal for one Saint Martin, which she prepared with her own hands, served herself, sitting at his feet, and served food and drink; then at the end of lunch she collected all the crumbs and leftovers and made lunch out of them for herself. But Saint Martin reacted to all this with the greatest humility, and in his heart and mind he remained in the monastery cell, among the simple monks whom he had gathered around him.

As presented by St. Demetrius of Rostov

Saint Martin came from Pannonia, from the city of Sabaria 1; his parents were pagans. His father had previously served as a simple soldier, but through his diligent service he rose to the rank of military tribune 2 and occupied a high position. Martin's childhood years passed in Titsina 3, where, while he was still a child, his father, due to the circumstances of his service, had to move. Even at a very early age, the saint, with his meekness, mercy and purity of soul, pleased God, showing in himself signs of a calling from above. At that time, the Christian faith was spreading quickly and openly throughout the Roman Empire, and Martin, having met the believers, heard from them the truths of the faith of Christ and began to strive for it with all his soul, comprehending the truth with his pure, unspoiled heart. Inflamed by love for the virtues and holy life of Christians, the youth, in the tenth year of his life, against the wishes of his parents, became a catechumen. He did not study science, being content with only the teachings of Christ. When he was twelve years old, he had a pious desire to become a hermit, imitating the solitary ascetic life of Saint Anthony. But God judged differently, so that his piety would be all the more obvious even before enlightenment in the baptismal font. Martin's father was extremely dissatisfied with his son's friendly relations with Christians and his pious inclinations, especially since, overwhelmed by ambitious aspirations, he wanted to make of this strong and active boy a prominent warrior who would glorify his name on the battlefields. And so, when Martin reached the age of fifteen, in accordance with the imperial decree, according to which the sons of veterans 4 were to enter the army, his father grabbed him, imprisoned him in chains and forced him to take the military oath. As the son of a tribune and as a prominent and strong young man, Martin became an equestrian officer and acquired great power of attorney from his superiors.

Martin's new prominent position did not change his humble and pious lifestyle. His means enabled him to have with him two or more servants from among the soldiers; but he was content with only one, whom he treated not as a slave, but as a friend and brother, and served him more himself than accepted services from him. He showed great love to his colleagues and aroused in them not only sincere affection for himself, but also respectful surprise at his strictly well-behaved life amid constant examples of temptation. Even as a soldier, Martin devoted himself entirely to works of Christian charity. Keeping from his salary only as much as was needed for food, and denying himself everything, he used the rest to help the unfortunate, clothe the naked, feed the poor, and perform other acts of mercy.

Martin served in Gaul 5. Together with the army, he had to stay in winter quarters in Amiens 6. The winter was extremely harsh, and Martin, always distinguished by mercy, gave all the more generously at this time from his estate to feed and support the poor. One day, passing through the gates of the city, he met a half-naked beggar, almost completely numb from the severe cold. Those passing by did not pay any attention to him and left him without any help, probably because they themselves were in need and had nothing extra. Martin also had nothing; he could not give the beggar any alms, for he had previously given away all his money. But his heart was squeezed with sorrow and compassion at the sight of this unfortunate poor man. Then Martin, without thinking for a long time and only wanting to provide the unfortunate man with speedy help, quickly took off his military belt, threw off his cloak and, dividing it into two halves, gave one to the poor man suffering from the cold, and wrapped himself in the remaining half. Some of the passers-by saw this act and began to laugh at him when they saw his strange attire. But the heart of the merciful warrior was filled with joy; he was not embarrassed by ridicule, remembering the words of the Divine Savior: “I was naked, and you clothed Me... just as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”(Matthew 25:36).

And the Lord strengthened Martin’s faith and consoled him for his great mercy with a heavenly vision. At night, while sleeping, Martin saw the Lord Jesus Christ, who, appearing to him dressed in part of that cloak, told him to look if this was the same half that he had given to the beggar at the gate. Martin stood in reverent silence; Christ turned from him to the host of upcoming angels and said loudly:

Martin dressed me with this cloak, although he was still just a catechumen.

Delighted by such a wondrous, comforting vision, the young man woke up. This was three years after he entered military service. After this, Martin did not hesitate further, and immediately accepted holy baptism, being eighteen years old. After baptism, he began to strive even more zealously to leave military service, which was completely alien to his pious inclinations and did not agree with his cherished desire for a solitary, ascetic life. However, he had to refuse to immediately fulfill his desire. His tribune, who was a Christian, was extremely reluctant to part with him. When Martin informed him of his intention to leave military service and become a monk, the tribune promised that if he waited until the end of his service, then he would also leave the service with him and leave the world. Martin was forced to yield to the wishes of the tribune and remained in the army for two more years, taking part in the difficult campaigns of King Constantius against the wild Alemanni 7 .

Caesar! Hitherto I served with you in the cavalry, but now let me enter into the service of God. May your gift be used by someone else who will continue your service! And I am a warrior of Christ and therefore should no longer fight for you.

“You are a coward, Martin,” the angry Julian answered reproachfully. - Tomorrow there will be a battle. And so, the fear of battle, and not the fear of God, makes you evade service.

But Martin continued boldly:

If you take my renunciation for cowardice and not for loyalty, then place me tomorrow alone, without any weapons, in the most dangerous place of the battle. Then you will see that without any weapons, with only the name of Christ and the sign of His Holy Cross, I will fearlessly advance on the ranks of the enemy.

“So be it,” said Julian, and ordered Martin to be taken into custody until the next day.

But the next day, the Ademans, seeing Julian’s perfectly organized army, sent ambassadors to him for peace negotiations with an offer of complete submission. Peace was concluded. After this, Martin was released from his military oath and hastened to immediately leave the army. He went to Hilary, the bishop of the city of Poitiers, famous for his holiness of life and Christian Orthodox education, 9 to place himself under the spiritual guidance of this holy man. Hilary received the young man with heartfelt love and, after a short test of his character, wanted to ordain him as a deacon; but Martin, out of deep humility, refused this rank, and he could only be persuaded to accept the more modest, albeit more difficult, position of exorcist 10. Having spent a short time in his new position, Martin began to worry at the thought that his parents were still pagans, and, as a result of a vision in a dream, he, a short time later, went to his homeland to convert them to Christ. He had to cross the Alps 11, often get lost in trackless mountain deserts and be exposed to danger from robbers. One day he fell into their hands. One of the robbers raised his sword to cut off Martin's head, but his comrade, taking pity on the young man, stopped the attacker. Martin was tied up and placed in the custody of the robber who saved his life:

Who are you? - asked the robber.

“I am a Christian,” the young man answered meekly.

“I intend to go,” answered Martin, “where the Lord calls me.”

“Okay,” his questioner said angrily, “but remember that wherever you go and whatever you do, I will always be your opponent.”

This meeting and conversation made a deep impression on Martin; however, he was not afraid, but only meekly and with firm trust in the all-good Providence of God remarked:

The Lord is with me; I'm not afraid of what a person can do to me.

With these words, the interlocutor instantly disappeared. Then it became clear to Martin that this was the primordial enemy of man - the devil, who had taken upon himself the image of a man.

Having reached his home, Martin found his parents alive. His father treated him very unfriendly and remained adamant to his preaching. But his mother was inclined to his convictions and was enlightened by the light of the Gospel, as were many other residents of his hometown. But the success of the saint’s Gospel preaching in Sabaria was short-lived. At that time, as a result of the patronage of the wicked king Constantius of the Arians, their heresy spread throughout Pannonia. Martin armed himself against this evil teaching and for this he was persecuted and, after bodily torture, was expelled from the city. He went to Italy and, stopping in Mediolan 12, built himself a hermit's cell there, but from here, after all kinds of persecution and insults, he was expelled by the Arian bishop Auxentius. Then the saint decided to become a hermit on the secluded rocky island of Gallinaria, from where he later moved to Capraria, 13 which was completely deserted, as it was all overflowing with poisonous snakes. There he lived in feats of God-thinking and prayer with only one companion, eating only desert plants. The providence of God miraculously protected the holy ascetic, and he did not suffer any harm from snakes.

Hearing that his teacher, Hilary, who had been expelled from Poitiers by the Arians, had received permission to return, Martin went to him in Poitiers, and they, after five years of separation, joyfully embraced each other. Hilary again urged him to accept the priesthood, or at least the deaconate, but Martin stubbornly refused, wanting to remain a simple monk until the end of his days. Hilary allowed him to found a monastic monastery and allocated a place for this not far from Poitiers, in the village of Lokotsiag, or Liguzhe 14. Friends and disciples quickly gathered around the pious young man to learn from him the perfect monastic life. Martin received everyone with love and served as the best example of an ascetic, God-pleasing life for everyone. Having received almost no education, he, nevertheless, by the power of the grace of Christ that dwelt in him, wise by the thought of God and the exploits of a virtuous, monastic life, admonished and instructed people on the path of true Christian life and people who were knowledgeable and deeply enlightened, some of whom, under his influences, renounced the vain world, devoting themselves entirely to serving God and desert exploits. The monastery of St. Martin in a short time flourished and became famous, becoming the first monastery in Gaul and becoming a famous nursery of monasticism in this country.

At that time, one of the catechumens, who entered the monastery of St. Martin to receive soul-helping instructions in the holy faith and pious life, but had not yet had time to be baptized, suddenly fell ill with a fever and died. The monk was not in the monastery at that time. Returning, he found one lifeless body of a catechumen among the weeping brethren. The monk sent everyone out of the cell and, having prostrated himself in prayer, two hours later, by the grace of Christ, he called the deceased to life. He who was brought back to life immediately accepted holy baptism and after that lived God-pleasingly for a long time. Subsequently, he said that when his soul was separated from his body, he was brought before some formidable Judge, who pronounced a guilty verdict over him; but two angels told the Judge that he was the one for whom Martin was praying, after which the Judge ordered him to be returned to Martin.

From that time on, fame spread about Martin as a holy and wondrous apostolic man, endowed with power from above.

Attracting to himself numerous disciples 15 from persons of various ranks and status and influencing them by the example of his virtuous and strictly ascetic life, Saint Martin had a great influence on them with his teaching. He himself clearly saw the truth of Christ and was firmly convinced of it, and with the same clarity, liveliness, simplicity and persuasiveness he knew how to communicate and explain it to believers and non-believers. He loved to teach with parables that made a strong impression on his listeners.

Seeing the great exploits of Saint Martin and not tolerating his holy, God-pleasing life, the primordial enemy of the human race, the devil, raised an insidious attack against him, appearing to him and tempting him in every possible way. But although the saint constantly saw demons and the prince of demons around him, he never showed the slightest fear of them. He even openly challenged the devil to fight.

If you have any stake in me,” he said, “then show it in action.”

Then Satan tried to deceive and seduce the saint by assuming the appearance of a bright angel, for, as the Apostle says, sometimes "Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light"(2 Cor. 11:14). And then one day, he appeared to Martin during prayer, preceded and surrounded by a purple light, dressed in royal clothes, adorned with a crown of pearls and gold, wearing sandals covered with gold, with a cheerful and joyful face. At the sight of this extraordinary, wondrous phenomenon, Martin was at first greatly embarrassed, and both of them remained silent for a long time. Finally the devil said:

Do you recognize, Martin, who you are seeing now? I am Christ. Before appearing again for my second coming, I wanted to reveal myself to you.

The saint hesitated and did not give any answer.

Why do you doubt to believe in the vision? - said the evil one. - I am Christ.

Then Martin, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, knew that it was the devil, and said:

My Lord Jesus Christ did not promise that He would appear in purple and a brilliant crown. I don’t want to believe that I see the return of Christ until He comes in the same form in which He suffered and, above all, shows visibly the wounds that He suffered on the cross.

Then the devil disappeared like smoke and filled the cell with such a terrible stench that there was no doubt left that it was the devil.

But, along with these seductive visions, the saint also had comforting and grace-filled appearances of angels and saints of God from the afterlife; Thus, the holy apostles Peter and Paul repeatedly appeared to him and consoled him with divinely inspired conversation. the grace of God clearly rested on Saint Martin, manifesting its presence with him visibly, with the eyes of all his disciples, especially during his touching performance of the Divine service and at the time when he blessed the people. So, one day they saw that when he raised his right hand for blessing, some extraordinary shine emanated from it. At another time they saw a light appear around his forehead.

“A city standing on top of a mountain cannot hide. And when they light a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:15). Thus, it became clear to everyone about Saint Martin that God had chosen him not for silent deeds in the solitude and silence of a monastery cell, but in order to place him high on the priesthood of the Church, so that with his grace-filled gifts, good deeds and holy life he would illuminate the believers, as a shepherd of the numerous flock of Christ. His great and ever-increasing fame made it certain that the people of some church would sooner or later call him to the rank of bishop. And so, when the episcopal see in the city of Tours 16 became free, the people wished to have Saint Martin as their saint. But at the same time, everyone knew Martin’s deep humility, which previously prompted him to persistently refuse to accept the priesthood or even the deaconate. Then they decided to resort to cunning and force. One citizen, named Ruritius, came to the saint in his monastery and, falling at his feet, asked him to come and pray for his sick wife. The saint has gone; but then a large crowd surrounded him and brought him by force into the city and in chorus and proclaimed him bishop.

Elevated to the cathedral, Saint Martin did not change at all; he continued to be an example of deep humility for everyone; he was content with simple clothing and the merest food and devoted most of his time to monastic deeds, withdrawing from the world and striving for silence. Not far from the city, he chose a wild, secluded place for his monastic exploits; this place was closed by rocks and on one side by the Loire River, and... access to it was possible only along one path. Here Saint Martin built a wooden cell. Other devotees of piety, who were looking for a desert life, also began to settle near him. Some built themselves the same huts, others hollowed out caves for themselves in the mountain rock. And thus, up to 80 brethren gathered around St. Martin and a new monastic monastery was formed. It was called the monastery of Martin, as well as the large monastery and subsequently Marmoutier 17. The monks of this monastery accepted Martin’s rule and labored in feats of fasting and prayer, under his experienced leadership, using his soul-helping and at the same time publicly accessible, simple instructions and the example of his own highly ascetic life. The brothers had nothing of their own; they had everything in common. It was not allowed to buy or sell anything, and among the handicrafts, only young monks were provided with the copying of manuscripts of Divine and spiritual books; the elders exclusively practiced prayer. They rarely left their cells except for general service; no one drank wine, except perhaps the sick; their food, which they ate only once a day, consisted only of bread, vegetables and olives; their clothing consisted of coarse camel hair, although many of the monks were of noble origin. The brothers lived in unconditional obedience and for the most part in silence. From this monastery came many bishops who worked hard to spread Christian enlightenment among the pagans.

Saint Martin himself worked zealously to convert the pagans and overthrow idolatry in most of Gaul. In this apostolic ministry, he was a courageous, fearless and selfless preacher of the truth of Christ. For this purpose, Martin often left his beloved monastery and walked around the surrounding countries, destroying pagan temples and cutting down the sacred trees of idolaters, building churches and instructing the pagans in the faith of Christ. The evangelical preaching of Saint Martin was all the more successful because it was often accompanied by signs and wonders, which the saint performed with the holy power of Christ before the eyes of all the unfaithful. The first place of conversion of the pagans was Amboise 18 . Having founded a church here with his preaching, he entrusted it to the management and care of some of his disciples. But paganism was still strong there, and Christians were in great danger from infidels; for there still remained a pagan temple with a large idol, which was revered by the people. The disciples of Saint Martin did not dare to destroy this refuge of idolatry, despite the command of the saint. Martin himself came to Amboise again, but became convinced that it was indeed difficult to destroy that temple. Then he, choosing a secluded place for himself, spent the whole night in fiery prayer to God. And the Lord heard this prayer of His saint: in the morning a terrible hurricane arose, which destroyed the pagan temple to the ground and crushed the idol that was in it.

Passing through the country of Aeduan 19 with the word of the gospel, Saint Martin reached the city of Augustodon 20 and stopped here to pray at the tomb of the holy martyr Symphorian and to help Bishop Simplicius in the extermination of paganism. Near the chapel in which the relics of Saint Symphorian rested 21 there was a pagan temple in honor of Saron 22 where lived the most respected priests among the pagans - the so-called Druids of Sharon 23 . Saint Martin fearlessly entered this pagan temple and overthrew the statue and altar of Sharon. Then he was attacked by a crowd of armed pagans embittered by this. One, more courageous, was already raising his sword over him, but an invisible force threw him down at the feet of the saint, and, struck with fear, the daring pagan humbly with tears began to ask the saint for forgiveness and mercy. At the sight of this miracle, all the other pagans who were there believed in Christ, and the pagan temple was converted into the sanctuary of the true God.

An equally amazing miracle occurred through the prayer of the saint in the village of Leprose 24. Moved by apostolic zeal, he also wanted to destroy the temple here, which was highly revered by the pagans; but the inhabitants drove him away. Then he retired to the safe place closest to the village, where he remained in fasting and prayer for three days, praying to God for the destruction of the pagan temple. In response to his fervent prayer, two bright angels appeared to him, as if in armor, who announced that they had been sent by God to help him against the pagans.

Hearing this, Martin hastened to immediately return to the village and, by the power of the grace of Christ, miraculously turned the altars and idols to dust in the sight of the people, bound invisibly by Divine power. Having seen such a miracle and the wondrous destruction of the temple, the inhabitants of that village recognized the futility of idols and turned to Christ.

One day Saint Martin and some of his disciples, on the way to the city of Carnot 25, passed near a populous village. A huge crowd came out to meet them, all consisting of pagans, for no one in that area knew Christ or heard the truths of the faith of Christ. So great was the glory of this holy man that it attracted even a multitude of pagan people to him, who covered the fields over a distant space. Martin saw that it was necessary to act and take advantage of this opportunity to convert the unfaithful to Christ. And so, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he loudly began his fiery sermon, proclaiming God’s word to the pagans and often sighing from the depths of his soul that such a multitude of people did not know the Lord Savior.

At this time, one woman, whose son had recently died, brought his soulless body and, laying it at the feet of the saint, stretching out her hands to him, said:

We know that you are a friend of God. Give me back my son, for I have only one.

The crowd of people joined the unfortunate mother and co-exclaimed her requests.

Saint Martin took the body of the deceased in his hands, knelt down along with all the people and, having said a prayer, stood up and returned the boy to his mother already alive. Seeing this, everyone who was there began to unanimously confess Christ as God and, throwing themselves at the feet of the saint, earnestly asked him to make them Christians. The saint immediately, right there on the field, laying his hands on them, announced them with the word of truth. Rumors of this miracle quickly spread throughout the country 26 . With the same success, Saint Martin spread the light of the Gospel in other areas of Gaul.

One day, a certain layman named Evanthius, stricken by a severe illness and already close to death, invited Martin to his place. The saint immediately went to him; but he had not yet walked half the way when the sick man, feeling the strength of the one walking and suddenly receiving healing, went out to meet Saint Martin and the disciples accompanying him. The next day, Martin prepared to return, but remained behind due to the intense prayer of the healed man. Meanwhile, the serpent fatally bitten one youth from the Evanthia family. The latter brought the dying youth on his shoulders to the feet of the holy man, believing in his great miraculous power and convinced that nothing was impossible for him. The snake's venom had already spread throughout all the boy's limbs, his veins rose, his insides swelled up like fur. Martin, stretching out his hand, ran it over the youth’s limbs, and pressed his finger near the wound caused by the deadly sting of the serpent. And then all those who were present saw with amazement that poison from all over the body began to flow down to Martin’s finger and come out along with the blood from the hole in the wound. After this, the boy stood up completely healthy, and all the witnesses of the miracle glorified God, marvelous in His saints.

An equally amazing miracle was performed by Saint Martin in the city of Carnot on a mute girl. A twelve-year-old girl, mute from birth, was brought to Martin. Her father begged the saint to loosen her tongue with his prayer. The saint left this to the bishops Valentinus and Victoria who were with him, claiming that this was beyond his strength, and that for them, as more perfect in virtues, everything was possible. But they, combining their requests with the pleas of the unfortunate father, convinced Martin to do what was expected of him. Then Martin ordered the upcoming people to leave and, in the presence of only the bishops and the father of the girl, he prostrated himself with earnest prayer, then blessed a little oil and poured it into the mouth of the girl, holding her tongue with his fingers. And a wondrous miracle justified the saint’s faith. When the saint asked the girl the name of her father, she immediately answered him clearly, and the father, hugging the saint’s knees, exclaimed with joy and tears and testified before all those gathered that this was his daughter’s first word.

One day, Martin, entering Paris, accompanied by many people, met a leper in the most pathetic form, whom everyone abhorred. But the saint, having mercy on him, kissed him and blessed him, and so the sufferer was suddenly cleansed of leprosy and the next day came to church, giving thanks for his healing.

Peacock 27, a pious state dignitary, who later became famous for his holy life, began to suffer severely from an eye disease, and already dark darkness covered his pupil; but Saint Martin touched his eye with a rag, and the pain immediately disappeared.

The feats of mercy and Christian love for the unfortunate and wretched were innumerable in Saint Martin, for which he earned himself the title “Merciful.” One day in the winter months, on the way to church, he met a half-naked beggar who began to ask him for clothes. The saint, calling the archdeacon, ordered him to clothe the freezing man; then, entering the secretaries 28, he sat there alone as usual; and since the deacon did not give clothes to the beggar, this one, bursting into the blessed husband, began to complain about the cleric and about the cold. Then the saint secretly took off his tunic 29 from under his outer clothing and ordered the poor man to put it on and leave. A little later the deacon entered and announced to the holy bishop that it was time to perform a solemn service, for the people were waiting in the church. To this the saint answered, meaning himself:

First you need to clothe the poor: I cannot go to church if the poor does not receive clothes.

The deacon, not understanding anything, because he did not notice that the saint was naked inside, began to apologize by saying that he could not find the poor man.

But Martin insistently repeated:

Let the clothes that are prepared be brought to me: the poor will not be unclothed.

Compelled by necessity, the cleric, angry, grabbed short, rough clothes from the neighboring shops for five coins and laid them with anger at Martin’s feet, saying:

Here are the clothes, but the poor man is not there.

The saint calmly ordered him to stand outside the door for a while and, secretly dressing in those clothes, went out to the temple to perform the liturgy. And the Lord was not slow to reward Martin for this secret work of Christian charity. On this day, when he blessed the altar, during the Divine Service a ball of fire appeared shining from his head, so that the flame, rising upward, produced a long beam. This glorious phenomenon on this day, in the presence of a great crowd of people, was seen only by a select few, such as: one pious disciple of Saint Martin, named Gallus, one of the virgins, one of the presbyters and three of the monks.

The meekness with which Martin was distinguished made even the pagans love him. He hardly had any enemies at all, but if he had any, they hated him for virtues that they themselves did not possess and which they could not imitate. Meanwhile, Martin did not condemn anyone, did not repay anyone with evil for evil. Despite all the insults, he was so patient that he was sometimes insulted with impunity by the lower members of his clergy: he never deposed them for the grief they caused him and, as far as it depended on him, did not deprive them of his love. No one had ever seen him angry, or upset, or laughing. He was always the same, wearing a kind of heavenly joy on his face. There was never anything else on his lips other than the name of Christ. There was never anything in his heart but piety, peace and regret. Often he cried about the sins of even those of his detractors who, in his presence, or in his absence, attacked him with serpentine lips and poisonous tongues.

What was the patience and meekness of Saint Martin in relation to his offenders is clearly shown by the following example. Among the clergy in the monastery there was one young man named Brictius, who came from the lowest rank, but whom Martin sheltered, educated and subsequently elevated to the rank of deacon. Excited by evil spirits, Brictius began to terribly revile his gentle teacher to his face and behind his back. The holy man tried to reason with him with gentle instructions; but this had no effect on the madman, and he continued to spew even greater blasphemies and then ran away. Having met a sick man on the road who asked him where he could find Saint Martin, Brictius called the saint an old deceiver and other shameful nicknames. When, soon after the healing of this sick man, Martin met Brictius, he only meekly asked him:

Why did you call me a liar?

“I never called you that,” answered the deacon.

Was not my ear at your mouth, although you spoke behind my back? - noted the saint. “You, too, when I die, will become a bishop, and you will have to suffer a lot.”

“I am holier than you,” said the deacon, “I was raised in a monastery, and you were once a soldier.”

The brethren demanded that Brictius be subjected to exemplary punishment and deprived of the priesthood; but Martin calmly endured his curse. When, soon after, Brictius, touched by the saint’s meekness, came to his senses and threw himself at his feet, tormented by remorse, Martin only remarked:

Brictius only harmed himself, not me. The Lord Jesus Christ even tolerated Judas around Him: shouldn’t I, after this, tolerate this young man around me?

How irresistible and strong the influence of Saint Martin was on the most arrogant and hard-hearted people, even on the powerful of this world, is shown by the following examples. Even at the beginning of his priesthood, Tours was horrified by the visit of the cruel regional governor Avician, whose rage was not inferior to the rage of wild animals. His retinue was followed by long rows of prisoners, whose execution the cruel ruler wanted to bring terror to the city. The philanthropic Martin, not afraid of the ruler’s rage, decided to intercede both for his prisoners and for his episcopal city, and at midnight he went to the doors of Avician’s palace. That night, the regional commander’s restless sleep was suddenly interrupted, as it seemed to him, by a strong shock, and some unknown voice said to him:

You sleep here, while the servant of God lies outside the doors at your threshold.

Why did you do this?

“I know your intention,” answered Saint Martin boldly, “before you expressed it.” Go and do not let the wrath of heaven destroy you.

Why are you looking at me so persistently, holy man? - asked Avician.

“I’m not looking at you,” Martin answered, “but at the disgusting demon that sits on your neck.”

And the word of the saint again had a good effect and stopped the cruel regional governor from fulfilling his evil intentions.

Emperor Valentinian I 31, hearing from all sides about the glory of Saint Martin, expressed a desire to enter into friendly relations with him; but his wife Justina, who was a zealous Arian, did not allow him to do this. Therefore, when one day Martin, on important business, arrived in Trier 32, where the emperor’s court was then located, he, prejudiced against him by his wife, did not order him to be allowed into his presence. After futile efforts to introduce himself to the sovereign, the saint devoted himself to prayer and fasting. On the seventh day, an angel appeared to him and ordered him to go to the palace to the emperor. Having received this Divine inspiration, Martin hurried to the palace and, finding the doors open, appeared before the emperor without any report. Valentinian became very angry, but suddenly felt that the chair under him seemed to be all engulfed in fire below. Forced to get up, he suddenly changed and received the saint with a warm embrace, talked with him for a long time, kept him with him as a dear guest for a few more days, promised him to fulfill everything he asked, and, at parting, offered him rich gifts, which the saint, however, refused, thereby arousing even greater respect for himself.

In 383, the Roman troops proclaimed Maximus emperor, and the son and successor of Valentinian I, Gratian 33, due to the betrayal of the soldiers, was defeated and killed; his brother Valentinian II was forced to flee and was deprived of the throne, leaving behind only part of his possessions. Then Saint Martin went to Trier to the Emperor Maximus to intercede for those who were on the side of Gratian and who were threatened with death. It was of the utmost importance to Maximus to secure for himself the devotion of the clergy and, above all, if possible, of such a beloved and famous bishop as St. Martin was. Therefore, he reacted very favorably to his arrival and invited the saint to the palace for the royal dinner. But Martin refused and answered with extraordinary courage:

I cannot sit at the table of a man who deprived one emperor of his life and another of his throne.

At the same time, Martin warned the emperor that even though at first he was successful in his affairs, his reign would be short-lived, and he would soon die 34 . Maxim restrained his anger and convincingly represented to the saint that he did not lay the crown on himself of his own free will, but that it was laid by the soldiers to protect the kingdom from enemies. Finally, yielding to the emperor’s convictions, Saint Martin agreed to come to the royal dinner, which was attended by the highest ranks and noble persons, and Martin was seated in the most honorable place, and the priest accompanying him was given a place between the emperor’s brother and uncle. During the feast, the emperor was given a cup of wine, and he ordered it to be served first to Martin in order to receive it back from the saint’s hands. But Martin, having tasted from it, handed it back not to the king, but to one of those present, as if this last one was a person of a higher rank than the king. This surprised the king and all the former. However, Maxim not only did not become angry, but from then on began to show Saint Martin even greater respect. The emperor often called and respectfully received Martin in his palace, talking with him both about contemporary affairs and about the future life, the eternal glory of the saints and other spiritual subjects. The pious queen, with tenderness and tears, listened to Martin’s holy conversations and instructions and, finally, with the consent of her husband, arranged a meal for one Saint Martin, which she prepared with her own hands, served herself, sitting at his feet, and served food and drink; then at the end of lunch she collected all the crumbs and leftovers and made lunch out of them for herself. But Saint Martin reacted to all this with the greatest humility, and with his heart and mind remained in the monastery cell, among the simple monks whom he gathered around him.

Towards the end of his life, Martin, hearing that a bitter feud had arisen between the clergy in the Kanda district 35, hurried there to restore reconciliation between the quarreling clergy. Having called his monks, he predicted to them that his death was approaching, and set off on his journey, guided by their tears and cries. Having restored peace in Kanda, the saint suffered a severe fever there and, feeling the approach of his death, ordered his disciples to lay themselves on the floor in a shroud and ashes, because, according to him, this is how Christians should die. At the same time, it seemed to him that he saw the devil near him.

Why are you standing here, you terrible beast? - said the saint. “You have no part in me: Abraham’s bosom will receive me.”

These were his last words, and the brothers around him were amazed at the brilliance and beauty of his face when he was already lying dead 36. Two thousand monks and a choir of virgins accompanied his body to Tours, where he, in front of a great crowd of people, was given a solemn burial. After the blessed death of His great saint and wonderworker, God granted him the incorruptibility of his body, and at his grave great and numerous miracles were performed 37 to the glory of God, wondrous in His saints forever. Amen.

________________________________________________________________________

1 Pannonia is one of the significant Danube regions of the Roman Empire; now forms part of Hungary. Sabaria - now Stein on Anger. Saint Martin was born in the first half of the 4th century.

2 That is, up to the rank of commander of a well-known separate regiment in the army.

3 Ticinus - now Pavia, a significant city in northern Italy near the river. Ticino, not far from its confluence with the Po.

4 This was the name given by the Romans during the Empire to old soldiers who had not yet been retired; they were free from all work and were called up for military service only to protect the fatherland from external enemies.

5 Gaul - present-day France.

6 Amiens is now the main city of the French department of Soyma, on the banks of the river of this name, 124 versts north of Paris.

7 The Alemanni were a wild people of a Germanic tribe who lived between the Danube, Main and upper Rhine rivers, near the border provinces of the Roman Empire, into which they carried out frequent devastating raids. The campaigns of Emperor Constantius against the Alamanni date back to 354-355.

8 That is, an assistant and co-ruler of the emperor, who could count on becoming his successor over time. By Julian we mean the cousin and successor of Constantius, who remained in history with the name Julian the Apostate.

9 St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, famous Father of the Church and defender of Orthodoxy, † 368. His memory in the Roman Church is celebrated on January 14. His name is not in the current monthly books of the Greek Church, although the holiness of his life is undoubted and justified by miracles. Poitiers is the main city of the French department of Vienna, 340 versts southwest of Paris.

10 This was a special position within the clergy in the ancient Christian church, which consisted of reading special prayers over those possessed by evil spirits, those possessed by demons, those suffering from epilepsy, and similar patients. There is currently no such special position in the church.

11 The Alps are the highest mountains in Europe, which stretch in an arc around the entire upper (northern) Italy, separating the Apennine Peninsula on all sides from the mainland.

12 Mediolan - now Milan - the most significant city in Northern Italy, in the region of Lombardy; founded in ancient times and has always been of great importance.

13 Gallinaria is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in Liguria in upper (northern) Italy. Capraria is a small island on the same sea.

14 Monastery of St. Martin was located about 8 versts from Poitiers. This was the first properly established monastery in the West, and Martin is one of the chief founders of monasteries in the West.

15 Among them was a rich man named Sulpicius Severus, one of the most educated ancient writers of the Western Church, who later became Martin’s biography, and one of the saint’s closest and best students, Gall, from whose words Sulpicius wrote down much of Martin’s life.

16 Tours is a city in Gaul, on the left bank of the Loire, 238 versts southwest of Paris.

17 The monastery of Marmoutier subsequently acquired great fame and was of great importance in the history of monasticism not only in Gaul, but throughout the West.

18 Amboise is a city 22 miles from Tours.

19 The Aeduan country was located southeast of Paris, between the Loire and Saone rivers.

20 Augustodon is the main city of the Aedui, who inhabited the Aeduan country; now - Autun in the department of Loire and Saone, with many ruins.

21 Martyr Symphorian, honored by the Roman Church, † under the emperor Marcus Aurelius in 178.

22 Saron is the fabulous king of Gaul, whom the Aedui honored as the patron god of their country.

23 The Druids are the highest priestly class, which has dominated Gaul since time immemorial and enjoyed enormous respect and influence among the Gauls.

24 Leprose - now Levroux, a small town about 250 versts south of Paris.

25 Carnot - now Chartres, a city 84 versts southwest of Paris.

26 In memory of this miracle, a church was subsequently created in Chartres in the name of “Saint Martin the Merciful, giver of life.”

27 Peacock was still a pagan at that time. He subsequently received holy baptism and was bishop of Nolan; † 431; known with the name “Merciful” and canonized by the Church. His memory is celebrated on January 23rd.

28 The secretary is a special department at the temple.

29 The tunic - the ordinary undergarment of Roman citizens - was a kind of shirt and was made mostly of wool.

30 Brictius was elected Bishop of Tours after Martin, but after 33 years he was expelled by the people in disgrace, on one false accusation, and only after 7 years of severe exile was he returned to his episcopal see, where he finally died in peace. Brictius changed morally so much and became famous for his virtuous life that he was subsequently canonized by the Roman Church (his memory is celebrated there on November 13).

31 Valentinian I - Emperor of the Western Roman Empire - reigned from 364 to 375.

32 Trier or Trevy is the populous, flourishing main city of the northern region of Ancient Gaul (the so-called Belgica).

33 Gratian - Emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 375 to 383.

34 St. Martin's prediction was fulfilled with precision: at first, Maximus actually ousted Valentinian II from Italy in 387. But the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Theodosius II the Younger, who had previously accepted Valentinian II under his protection during his childhood, victoriously restored the latter to his rights the following year. Maxim was defeated, was brought to Theodosius and executed.

35 City at the confluence of the Loire and Vienne.

37 Bishop Perpetua erected over the tomb of St. Martin's magnificent church. Parts of his relics were subsequently distributed to different churches. Protestants in 1562 plundered his tomb and burned his relics in Tours. The remaining parts of the relics were placed and are still kept in the Cathedral of Tours. Many of the posthumous miracles of St. Martin were originally described in the 6th century by Gregory of Tours, canonized in the West, who himself experienced the wondrous miraculous power of the saint of God.

, Pannonia, Roman Empire - November 8, Candia, Lugdunian Gaul, Western Roman Empire) - Bishop of Tours, one of the most revered saints in France.

Biography

Saint Martin was born at the beginning of the 4th century in Pannonia. From early youth, almost from childhood, he dreamed of monasticism, having before him a heroic example to follow in the person of St. Anthony the Great. However, Martin grew up in a non-Christian family, and his father insisted on his military career. It was then that the saint came to Gaul, where he served as an officer. While still a military leader, one winter he tore his cloak and gave half of it to a completely naked man. Pious tradition identifies this beggar with Christ. He refused to fulfill the obligation to fight with enemies in wartime, since a Christian fights only with criminals with a sword, and comes out to the enemy with a cross and would prefer to be killed himself than to kill. When the opportunity arose to leave the army, Martin retired to the Ligugé desert, near Poitiers, where a small monastery soon arose around him, which, according to the author of the life, became a hotbed of monastic work in Gaul (the monastery still exists today). It is important to note that Martin spread the traditions of Eastern, Egyptian monasticism in the West, following St. Anthony in everything.

Soon, by deception (in order to pray for a sick woman), the saint was summoned to the city of Tours and proclaimed bishop. He himself had previously avoided ordination even as a deacon, preferring the more modest position of exorcist - reader of special prayers over the possessed. Martin was characterized by rare kindness and thoughtfulness. Combined with the courageous and majestic appearance of a former military man, this especially endeared him to people. Martin constantly cared for the sick, the poor, and the hungry, receiving the nickname “Merciful” for this. At the same time, the saint did not give up his dream of monasticism.

Having taken the priestly see in Tours, Martin almost simultaneously founded a monastery in Marmoutier, where the usual rules for Eastern monasticism were established: community of property, unconditional obedience, striving for silence, eating food once a day, rough and simple clothing. In his monastery, where he himself often retired to prayer, Saint Martin paid special attention to the feat of prayer and the study of the Holy Scriptures. Many bishops emerged from Marmoutier who worked hard to spread Christian education among the pagan Celts. The scope of Saint Martin’s activities is evidenced by the fact that about 2 thousand monks gathered for his funeral in 397 (while in Marmoutier itself the number of brethren did not exceed 80 people).

Saint Martin rested in the Lord during prayer in Candes, in a temple located at the confluence of the Vienne and Loire rivers. Local residents wanted to bury him, but the residents of Tours stole the body, exposing it to the window of the temple, and went home with it upstream in boats. According to local legend, despite the autumn season, flowers bloomed and birds sang along their route. Relics of St. Martin from the 5th century to this day rests in the Basilica of St. Martin in Tours.

Patronage

Saint Martin of Tours is considered one of the five Catholic patrons of France:

Saint Remigius of Reims
Saint Martin of Tours

In pop culture

The image of Saint Martin is of great importance in the film by P. Verhoeven "Flesh and Blood", which takes place in the Middle Ages.

Write a review of the article "Martin Toursky"

Notes

Literature

Gregory of Tours, "History of the Franks"
Life of Saint Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours. // Lives of the saints, set out according to the guidance of the Fourth Saints. *Dmitry of Rostov. October. Day twelve. - Optina Pustyn, 1993.
Fedotov G.P. Saint Martin of Tours is a devotee of asceticism. // Orthodox thought. 1928, no. 1.
www.nsad.ru/index.php?issue=11§ion=4&article=130
la-france-orthodoxe.net/ru/sviat/martin2
web.archive.org/web/20070814061819/www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/saintsm.htm

Excerpt characterizing Martin of Tours

The son just smiled.
“I’m not saying that this is a plan that I approve,” said the son, “I just told you what it is.” Napoleon had already drawn up his own plan no worse than this.
“Well, you didn’t tell me anything new.” - And the old man thoughtfully said to himself in a patter: - Dieu sait quand reviendra. - Go to the dining room.

At the appointed hour, powdered and shaved, the prince went out into the dining room, where his daughter-in-law, Princess Marya, m lle Burien and the prince's architect, who, by a strange whim, was allowed to the table, was waiting for him, although by his position this insignificant person could not count on such an honor . The prince, who firmly adhered to the differences in status in life and rarely allowed even important provincial officials to the table, suddenly proved to the architect Mikhail Ivanovich, who was blowing his nose into a checkered handkerchief in the corner, that all people are equal, and more than once inspired his daughter that Mikhail Ivanovich was nothing worse than you and me. At the table, the prince most often turned to the dumb Mikhail Ivanovich.
In the dining room, hugely high, like all the rooms in the house, the household and waiters standing behind each chair were waiting for the prince to leave; the butler, with a napkin on his hand, looked around the table setting, blinking at the footmen and constantly running his restless gaze from the wall clock to the door from which the prince was supposed to appear. Prince Andrei looked at a huge, new to him, golden frame with an image of the family tree of the Bolkonsky princes, hanging opposite an equally huge frame with a poorly made (apparently by the hand of a home painter) image of the sovereign prince in a crown, who was supposed to come from Rurik and be the ancestor Bolkonsky family. Prince Andrei looked at this family tree, shaking his head, and chuckled with the look with which one looks at a portrait that is ridiculously similar.
- How do I recognize him all over here! - he said to Princess Marya, who approached him.
Princess Marya looked at her brother in surprise. She didn't understand why he was smiling. Everything her father did aroused in her a reverence that was not subject to discussion.
“Everyone has their own Achilles’ heel,” continued Prince Andrei. - With his enormous mind, donner dans ce ridicule! [give in to this pettiness!]
Princess Marya could not understand the boldness of her brother’s judgments and was preparing to object to him, when the expected steps were heard from the office: the prince entered quickly, cheerfully, as he always walked, as if deliberately, with his hasty manners, representing the opposite of the strict order of the house.
At the same instant, the large clock struck two, and others echoed in a thin voice in the living room. The prince stopped; from under hanging thick eyebrows, lively, brilliant, stern eyes looked at everyone and settled on the young princess. At that time, the young princess experienced the feeling that the courtiers experience at the royal exit, the feeling of fear and respect that this old man aroused in all those close to him. He stroked the princess's head and then, with an awkward movement, patted her on the back of her head.
“I’m glad, I’m glad,” he said and, still looking intently into her eyes, quickly walked away and sat down in his place. - Sit down, sit down! Mikhail Ivanovich, sit down.
He showed his daughter-in-law a place next to him. The waiter pulled out a chair for her.
- Go, go! - said the old man, looking at her rounded waist. – I was in a hurry, it’s not good!
He laughed dryly, coldly, unpleasantly, as he always laughed, with only his mouth and not his eyes.
“We need to walk, walk, as much as possible, as much as possible,” he said.
The little princess did not hear or did not want to hear his words. She was silent and seemed embarrassed. The prince asked her about her father, and the princess spoke and smiled. He asked her about mutual acquaintances: the princess became even more animated and began to talk, conveying her bows and city gossip to the prince.
“La comtesse Apraksine, la pauvre, a perdu son Mariei, et elle a pleure les larmes de ses yeux, [Princess Apraksina, poor thing, lost her husband and cried all her eyes out,” she said, becoming more and more animated.
As she perked up, the prince looked at her more and more sternly and suddenly, as if having studied her sufficiently and formed a clear concept about her, he turned away from her and turned to Mikhail Ivanovich.
- Well, Mikhaila Ivanovich, our Buonaparte is having a bad time. How Prince Andrei (he always called his son that in the third person) told me what forces were gathering against him! And you and I all considered him an empty person.
Mikhail Ivanovich, who absolutely did not know when you and I said such words about Bonaparte, but understood that he was needed to enter into a favorite conversation, looked at the young prince in surprise, not knowing what would come of it.
– He’s a great tactician! - the prince said to his son, pointing to the architect.
And the conversation turned again to the war, about Bonaparte and the current generals and statesmen. The old prince seemed to be convinced not only that all the current leaders were boys who did not understand the ABCs of military and state affairs, and that Bonaparte was an insignificant Frenchman who was successful only because there were no longer Potemkins and Suvorovs to oppose him; but he was even convinced that there were no political difficulties in Europe, there was no war, but there was some kind of puppet comedy that modern people played, pretending to do business. Prince Andrei cheerfully endured his father’s ridicule of new people and with visible joy called his father to a conversation and listened to him.
“Everything seems good that was before,” he said, “but didn’t the same Suvorov fall into the trap that Moreau set for him, and didn’t know how to get out of it?”
- Who told you this? Who said? - the prince shouted. - Suvorov! - And he threw away the plate, which Tikhon quickly picked up. - Suvorov!... After thinking, Prince Andrei. Two: Friedrich and Suvorov... Moreau! Moreau would have been a prisoner if Suvorov had had his hands free; and in his arms sat Hofs Kriegs Wurst Schnapps Rath. The devil is not happy with him. Come and find out these Hofs Kriegs Wurst Rath! Suvorov didn’t get along with them, so where can Mikhail Kutuzov get along? No, my friend,” he continued, “you and your generals cannot cope with Bonaparte; we need to take the French so that our own people don’t get to know our own and our own people don’t beat our own people. The German Palen was sent to New York, to America, for the Frenchman Moreau,” he said, hinting at the invitation that Moreau made this year to join the Russian service. - Miracles!... Were the Potemkins, Suvorovs, Orlovs Germans? No, brother, either you've all gone crazy, or I've lost my mind. God bless you, and we'll see. Bonaparte became their great commander! Hm!...

St. Martin's Day: Lanterns in November. What do German children celebrate on this day, who is Saint Martin, and why a lantern. Read about all this in the article!

It’s November, it’s getting dark outside early, it’s already getting wet and cold, snow won’t fall in Germany any time soon, and Christmas is still a long way off - how fittingly the German Laternenumzug (loosely translated - “Procession with lanterns”) was invented!

Laterne- this is a paper lantern on a stick, children glue it in kindergartens and schools so that on November 11, St. Martin's Day, they can walk through the city streets with lit lanterns.

Who is Saint Martin?

He lived on the territory of modern France (which is why the French also love him) in the 4th century. In his youth, Martin was a Roman soldier. They say that one cold night he rode on horseback past the gates of the city of Amiens (“Sankt Martin ritt durch Schnee und Wind”) and saw a beggar in rags. Martin himself was in a warm raincoat (“Sein Mantel deckt ihn warm und gut”), and the beggar was in rags (“Hat Kleider nicht, hat Lumpen an”). Martin cut off half of his cloak with a sword.

Legend says that the next night Martin had a dream - Jesus Christ appeared before him, wrapped in half a cloak. Christ said to Martin: “You did good for my brother, which means you did good for me.” Martin left military service and became a preacher and later the bishop of Tours. For his kindness and care for the poor, Saint Martin is called the Merciful.

All German children know St. Martin. In kindergarten they are told that they need to share, just as Saint Martin shared with everyone.

Why is the holiday of this saint associated with lanterns?

According to one version, when Martin was offered to become the bishop of Tours, he wanted to refuse out of modesty and even hid in a goose coop. The townspeople were looking for him, running through the city streets with lanterns. The noisy birds betrayed Martin with their cackling, and he had to become a bishop. And roast goose has become a traditional treat on St. Martin's Day. Although this is only one version.

Around this time, peasants had to pay for the land, and often instead of payment they brought geese. Perhaps goose was also chosen as a festive dish because the Nativity Fast begins at this time, when you cannot eat meat.

Children insert a low candle inside the laterna (for safety it is placed in a glass jar). Nowadays, electric flashlights are also sold in stores. They look like a fishing rod with an LED attached to the end. At the end of such a “fishing rod” you put a paper lampshade, which you can make yourself.

Children leave kindergarten or school and walk down the street singing. Songs are learned at school in advance. In addition to schools and kindergartens, churches organize colorful processions (sometimes a rider on a horse, symbolizing St. Martin, also takes part in them). The holiday is celebrated by both Catholics and Protestants. (By the way, Martin Luther, the reformer of the German church, was born on November 10 and was named after St. Martin). Saint Martin is also revered by the Orthodox Church.

Saint Martin taught everyone to share, so on this day children go from house to house singing,
and they give them candy for it.

One of the most famous songs on this day:
“Ich gehe mit meiner Laterne”

The origin of this song is unknown today, but its words and melody are discovered already in the 19th century. At first, apparently, this song was not associated specifically with St. Martin's Day. Children usually sang it at the end of autumn, when they walked around in the evening with flashlights. Lines that have a connection with St. Martin's Day come to the fore in the mid-twentieth century.

Daria Velizhanina, Deutsch Online

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I. 1. Most mortals are [subject to] passions and vainly crave worldly glory. Therefore, they believe that they will achieve eternal memory of their name if they describe the lives of outstanding people in an exalted style. 2. Such actions always, unlike the original plan, do not lead to an eternal result, but to a very small result, and the memory of oneself, one might say, is empty, is inflated [immensely]. In addition, all this leads to immodest comparisons with the given examples of great men. Therefore, this vanity of theirs has nothing to do with a blessed and eternal life. 3. How will the glory of their works benefit them at the end of this age? And what will descendants find useful when reading about the fighting Hector or the philosophizing Socrates? Therefore, it is not only foolish to imitate them, but even insane to argue, for whoever seeks to evaluate human life only by momentary deeds and according to rumors, dooms his soul to death, 4. because they believe that only human memory will make them eternal, whereas a person should to seek more eternal life than eternal memory, and not through writing, war or philosophizing, but through holy piety and religious life. 5. And this error, being transferred to paper, increases so much that it either gains many followers of vain philosophy, or leads to stupid persistence in error. 6. Therefore, I will consider my labor not in vain if I describe the life of the most holy man, which will become an example for future generations and through the description of which readers will undoubtedly be introduced to true wisdom, the Heavenly host and Divine virtue. In addition, our mind is inclined so that we trust not in vain human memory, but in eternal memory, given by God. For even if we ourselves did not live in such a way as to become an example for others, we created this work so that what should be imitated would not remain in obscurity. 7. And so, I began to describe the life of Saint Martin in order to [show] how he behaved before [gaining the rank of] bishop and after that, although in no way did I succeed in this [description]. After all, we do not know what only he knew, for, not striving for human glory, Martin kept a lot to himself and wanted to hide his virtues. 8. Moreover, we omitted many of those that were known to us, believing that his greatness had already been sufficiently noted. At the same time, care should also be taken about the readers, so that the abundance of what has been collected does not lead [them] to distraction. 9. I beg everyone who will read [this book] to treat what is told with confidence, for I myself personally checked and weighed everything I learned before writing. And in general, I would consider it better to remain silent than to tell a [deliberate] lie.

II. 1. So, Martin was from Savaria, a city in Pannonia, but he was raised in Ticinum by parents who were by no means of simple origin and who occupied far from the last place in this world, but pagans. 2. His father was first an [ordinary] warrior, then a military tribune. And Martin himself, having devoted himself to military service from his youth, remained in the ranks of the imperial cavalry guard - first under Caesar Constantius, and then under Julian, but not at his own request, for almost from the first years [of his life] the boy was more attracted to his bright, holy childhood dedicated to serving God. 3. So, when he was ten years old, he fled to church from his stubborn parents and demanded there that he be numbered among the catechumens. 4. Soon, miraculously, he completely turned to God’s work, after turning twelve years old, Martin longed for solitude and would have fulfilled his desire if his early age had not become an obstacle. But having forever turned his spirit to the monastery and the Church, he prepared him throughout his youth to then devote himself to the priesthood. 5. But when the emperor promulgated an edict that the sons of veterans should be assigned to the military, then at the age of fifteen, due to the efforts of his father, who was very dissatisfied with his successful [spiritual] exploits, Martin became bound by the military oath. To serve himself, he asked only one slave, whom, however, he himself served so much as a master that he often took off the shoes from his feet and repaired them himself. They both ate the same food, but Martin often served him. 6. So he remained in the army for almost three years [before his baptism], untainted by those vices that people of such rank usually sin with. 7. And his kindness to his colleagues was great, his love was amazing, and his patience and humility were beyond human capabilities. There is no need to praise his moderation, for it became so common that even at that time he was considered not a warrior, but a monk. By these deeds he so endeared himself to his companions that they revered him with a feeling of great amazement. 8. And not yet born in Christ, Martin, with his good deeds, already acted as one thirsty for baptism, that is, he began to help those who worked, provide assistance to the unfortunate, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, leaving nothing of his salary for himself except for one day’s food: already then the zealous follower of the Gospel did not think about tomorrow.

III. 1. And then one day in the middle of winter, which at that time was so severe than usual that many froze from the cold, when Martin no longer had anything left except weapons and modest military clothing, he met a completely undressed beggar at the gates of the Ambian city. He begged passers-by to take pity on him, but everyone avoided the unfortunate man. Then the man, full of God, realized that he was destined to [do] what others lacked mercy for. But what could he do? 2. He had nothing except the cloak in which he was dressed, for he had spent everything else [long ago] on matters of this kind. And so, taking out the sword that he wore on his belt, Martin cut [the cloak] in half and gave one half to the beggar, and put the rest on himself again. And during this, none of those around laughed, although, of course, the cutting disfigured the clothes. On the contrary, many who had a less callous heart were very sad that no one had done such a thing, although those who had money could have clothed the unfortunate man without any particular deprivation for themselves. 3. And at nightfall, when Martin fell asleep, he saw Christ dressed in that half of his cloak with which he had covered the beggar. And he was ordered to look carefully at the Lord and recognize the clothes that he gave [to the poor]. Soon he heard Jesus speaking in a wonderful voice to the multitude of angels standing around him: “Martin, while he was still a catechumen, covered me with this garment.” 4. Indeed, the Lord clearly remembered what he said before: Just as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me., for it was the Lord Himself who appeared in the form of a poor man covered with clothes. As a testimony to the good deed, He honored Martin by appearing to [him] in the clothes that the beggar had accepted. 5. After this vision, the blessed man did not exalt himself in human glory, but saw God’s mercy in him, and when Martin was eighteen years old, he came to baptism. However, Martin did not immediately leave military service, but was retained by the requests of his tribune, with whom he was in friendly communication; he promised him at the end of his term of office [also] to retire from the world. Therefore, Martin, bound by this promise, was formally in the service for almost two years after his baptism.

IV. 1. Meanwhile, Caesar Julian, when the barbarians invaded the borders of Gaul, gathered his entire army near the city of Vangio and began, as was usually done, to distribute money to the soldiers, for which they were called out one by one. And now it was Martin’s turn. 2. Then, believing that the right moment had come, he asked for his dismissal from service, because he could not consider himself an honest man if he took the money without intending to serve further. 3. “Until now,” Martin said to Caesar, “I served you, but now I want to become a warrior of God. Let those who go into battle take your gift, but I am a warrior of Christ: I should not fight.” 4. Hearing such words, the tyrant cried out, claiming that Martin was fleeing the army not because of his faith, but simply out of fear of the battle that was to take place the next day. 5. But the fearless husband, even more persistent and overcoming the timidity that had appeared, said: “If you attribute cowardice to me and not faith, then tomorrow I will stand in front of the ranks unarmed and in the name of the Lord Jesus, protected by the sign of the cross, and not by a shield and helmet, I will break into the ranks of the enemies.” 6. And so, it was ordered to take Martin into custody in order to verify his words and expose him without weapons before the barbarians. 7. The next day the enemies sent envoys asking for peace, entrusting [the Romans] with all their [goods] and themselves. Can anyone doubt that this victory was given to the blessed man, so that, unarmed, he would not be sent to battle? 8. And although the merciful Lord could preserve His warrior among the enemy’s spears and swords, in order not to burden the saint’s gaze with the deaths of others, He destroyed the reason for this battle. 9. For Christ should not give His warrior any other victory than the subjugation of his enemies in a bloodless way.

V. 1. After Martin left military service, he rushed to Saint Hilary, bishop of the city of Pictau, who was a man of proven and clear faith in the works of God, and lived with him for some time. 2. Hilary tried to tie Martin closer to himself through his elevation to the rank of deacon and service to God. But since he resisted very much, saying that he considered himself unworthy, the highly intelligent husband realized that there was only one way to humble Martin - if he was given a position to serve that would seem unfair to him; therefore he commanded him to be an exorcist. Martin did not reject this decision, so that it would not seem as if he had lost his humility. 3. Some time later, after being reminded in a dream that he should visit for religious purposes the places of his youth and his parents, who were still stuck in paganism, Martin, with the permission of Saint Hilary, set off on a journey bound by many requests and tears of the bishop for so that later he will definitely come back. Martin, as they say, set out sadly, adjuring his brothers to steadfastly endure many difficulties in order to later reap the fruits of success. 4. And so, walking along the impassable Alps, he encountered robbers. And when one of them, swinging an ax, struck him on the head, the other intercepted the striker’s hand. Then, as they say, the robbers grabbed him, undressed him and tied his hands behind his back. And when he and Martin headed to a more remote place, along the way they began to ask him who he was. 5. “I am a Christian,” answered Martin. Then the robbers asked if he was afraid. Martin answered with great firmness that he had never been so calm [as now], for he knew better the mercy of God in the current trials. It grieves him much more that those who gave themselves up to robbery did not receive the mercy of Christ. 6. And having begun a conversation about the Gospel, he told the word of God to one of them. What else can you say? The robber believed and, having escorted Martin, led him back onto the road, begging him to pray to God for him. After this, he himself turned so much to religious life that what we told above was told by him himself.

VI. 1. And so Martin, following further and passing Mediolan, met on the road the devil, who took on human form and rushed to question him. And when he received an answer from Martin that the Lord had called him on the road, he said to him: “Wherever you go or whatever you do, the devil will be your adversary.” 2. Then Martin answered him with a prophetic word: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid: what will man do to me?. Immediately the enemy disappeared from his sight. 3. And having conquered the mind and soul of his mother, Martin freed her from pagan error, but his father continued to persist in evil. However, many were saved by Martin’s example. 4. After the Arian heresy [widely] spread throughout the world and especially in Illyricum, when in fact only Martin decided to speak out against the infidelity of the priests and was subjected to many oppressions - for he was publicly flogged with rods, and then, expelled, left the city - then he headed to Italy, for in Gaul with the departure of Saint Hilary, whom the heretics forced into exile, the Church, as is known, [was mired] in turmoil. Martin stayed in the Mediolan monastery. There he was cruelly oppressed by Auxentius, one of the instigators and leaders of the Arians, and, having suffered many injustices, Martin was expelled from the city. 5. And so, after some time, he was condemned to exile to an island called Gallinaria, in community with a certain presbyter, a man of great virtues. There, for some time, Martin lived on the roots of herbs and even used hellebore, a poisonous herb, as they say. 6. But when one day he felt, under the influence of the poison spreading throughout his body, the approach of death, he averted the inevitable death with prayer, and immediately all the pain went away. 7. And some time later, when Martin learned that Saint Hilary, due to the emperor’s repentance, was given the opportunity to return, he decided to rush to him in Rome and went to this city.

VII. 1. But since by that time Ilarius had already left, Martin rushed in his footsteps. And he was received most favorably by Hilary, and settled not far from the city in a monastery. There a certain catechumen became attached to him, seeking instructions from the holy man in the faith, but a few days later, seized by a debilitating fever, he fell ill. 2. At that time, Martin was accidentally absent and when he returned three days later, he discovered an already lifeless body: death came so unexpectedly that the catechumen departed from human affairs without baptism. Having opened access to the body, the mourning brethren were already commemorating [the deceased] with a sad service, when Martin came running, crying and sobbing. 3. And so, filled with all his heart by the Holy Spirit, he commanded those present to leave the cell in which the dead man lay, and, closing the doors, prostrated himself over the lifeless body of his brother. Then, having spent a long time in prayer and feeling that through the Spirit of the Lord he was filled with strength, Martin rose a little, pressed himself to the lips of the dead man and fearlessly began to wait for the result of his prayer and God’s mercy. And so, when almost two hours had passed, it seemed that the dead man suddenly moved all his limbs and froze, clearly showing signs of life. 4. Then Martin cried out to the Lord with a loud cry, and the cell was filled with shouts of gratitude for what he had done. Hearing this, those who were standing near the door immediately ran inside. And a miracle appeared to them, for they saw alive the one whom they had previously left dead. 5. And so, he who returned to life immediately accepted baptism, lived after that for many more years and was the first testimony and example of Martin’s virtues among us. 6. And he used to assert that, having then left his body, he was brought to trial and heard the sad sentence intended for the mob and the common people. But two angels told the judges that before them was the one for whom Martin was praying. And then, through the same angels, it was ordered to resurrect the dead, restore his former life and return him to Martin. 7. And after this the name of the blessed man shone so much that he began to be revered by everyone as a saint, even equated, and rightly, with the Apostles.

VIII. 1. Some time later, when Martin passed by the field of a certain Lupician, a venerable and kind layman, he met a [large] crowd of people groaning and emitting mournful cries. 2. And when the alarmed Martin approached them and asked for what reason there was such crying, he was told that a certain young slave lost his life through a noose. Hearing this, Martin entered the closet where the body was laid, and, having removed everyone who was there, prostrated himself over the deceased and remained in prayer for some time. 3. Soon the facial features of the deceased came to life, and in the presence of Martin, he began to rise with his eyes closed: slowly, with great difficulty, the awakened one stood up, obeying the right hand of the blessed husband, until he finally established himself on his feet. Then they walked together, in full view of everyone, to the exit of the house.

IX. 1. Around the same time, they began to beg Martin to become bishop of the Turonian community, but since it was very difficult to remove him from the monastery, a certain Rusticius, one of the inhabitants [of Tours], falling at his feet, nevertheless achieved, under the pretext of his wife’s illness, so that he went [outside the monastery]. 2. There Martin [was literally seized by force] by a crowd of townspeople who came especially for this purpose and, as if under guard, was taken to the city. All this was like a great miracle, for a huge number of people came not only from this city, but also from neighboring ones, in order to cast their vote. 3. Everyone had one desire, one opinion and decision: Martin is a most worthy bishop, and the Church will be blessed with such a high priest. However, some of the bishops who were called to elect the high priest began to wickedly resist: they argued that this candidacy was worthy of contempt, because a person of such pitiful appearance, in [shabby] clothes and with unkempt hair could not lay claim to the position of bishop. 4. Then the people, out of sound judgment, ridiculed the folly of those who said such things, trying to discredit an outstanding man. And there was nothing else left for them to do but to act according to the desire of the people of God. However, among the bishops who were there at that time, they say, a certain Defensor especially persisted, for which he was severely reproached with prophetic words, for which he later became famous. 5. For when by chance the reader who had the chance to read that day [during the service in the church] did not come, because the people prevented him from doing so, one of the frightened priests, taking the Psalter, opened it at random and read the first verse he came across. 6. The psalm was as follows: From the mouths of babes and sucklings You have created praise for the sake of Your enemies, in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.. At the end of the reading [of this verse], the people erupted into an exclamation [of surprise], while the other side was in confusion. 7. It was decided that [not by chance], but by the will of God, this Psalm was read, so that Defensor could hear the testimony of his deed, revealed by the Lord through the lips of babies and infants for the glorification of Martin; and this was shown in the most obvious way, and the enemy was put to shame.

X. 1. With his acceptance of the episcopal rank, Martin surpassed [everyone] so much that it is beyond our power to tell about it. For he became even more zealous in what he had been zealous about before. 2. Humility still remained in his heart, and unpretentiousness in his clothes. And so, having [great] fame and influence, Martin accepted the dignity of the episcopal rank, but by no means in order to abandon his monastic aspirations and way of life. 3. Therefore, for quite a long time he lived in a closet at the church. Later, when it became impossible to endure the inconvenience of [numerous] visitors, Martin founded a monastery two miles from the city. 4. This place was almost unknown and inconspicuous, so that nothing would disturb the silence of the desert. One part [of the monastery] was located on a steep rock protruding from the mountain, while the other was fenced off [from the rest of the world] by the Liger bend. There was only one road leading there, and even then it was a very narrow road. 5. Martin built himself a log cell, and many brothers did the same. Others, having crossed the mountain, dug caves for themselves there. There were about eighty novices in total, and the blessed teacher himself was an example to them. 6. No one there had any property of their own; everything was for common use. They did not buy or sell anything, as is customary with most monks. If anything was allowed from the craft, it was only the copying of books, but the young were assigned to this work, while the elders offered prayers. 7. Rarely did anyone leave their cell, except when they were going to the place of prayer. No one drank wine except in cases of illness. 8. Many wore hair shirts: softer clothing was then considered a crime. And even more so, this should be considered a miracle, since many of them, being of noble origin and a different upbringing, acquired such humility and patience. We later saw many of them as bishops. 9. For is there any city or church that would not strive to have a priest from the monastery of Martin?

XI. 1. Now let us proceed to [describe] other virtues of Martin that were manifested during his bishopric. Not far from the city, next to the monastery, there was a [certain] revered place, for there, according to the false opinion of people, the martyrs were supposedly buried. 2. There was also an altar there, erected by previous bishops. However, it is no coincidence that Martin, finding the faith of his predecessors very dubious, demanded that the presbyters and clergy tell the name of the martyr and the time when he suffered persecution: Martin was driven by great doubt that human memory had preserved anything clear and definite on this matter. 3. Therefore, some time later, he forbade visiting this place, not relying either on [universal] faith, for it was very doubtful, nor adjusting his opinion to the judgment of the crowd, so that superstition would not increase. And then one day, calling several monks with him, he went to this place. 4. Then, standing over the grave, he turned to God in prayer to find out whose tomb this was and why it was here. And so, when he turned to the left, he saw the most disgusting and terrible ghost. Then Martin ordered him to identify himself and tell about his sin. He gave his name and talked about the crime. He was once a robber, for which he was executed, but he became revered thanks to the delusion of the crowd. He had nothing in common with the martyrs, for they were prepared for glory, while he was prepared for torment. 5. Like a miracle, those who were present at the story listened to the narrator’s voice, but did not see him himself. Then Martin made sure that they [could] see him, and ordered the altar that was there to be taken away from this place. Thus Martin freed the people from superstitious delusions.

XII. 1. However, after some time it happened that, while walking along the road, Martin came across the body of a certain pagan, which was being carried to its resting place in an unholy manner. Seeing a crowd coming towards him in the distance, Martin stopped, for all this was [very] unusual. They were separated by five hundred paces, so [at first] it was difficult to recognize what was happening there. 2. But soon he saw a group of peasants, shrouds fluttering in the wind, covering the body [of the deceased]. Then he thought that this was a ritual of pagan sacrifice, for such was the custom among the peasants of Gaul that, in their terrible madness, they carried around their fields images of demons dressed in white robes. 3. And then, having made the sign of the cross over them, Martin commanded the crowd not to move from their place and to lower their burden [to the ground]. Immediately, miraculously, these unfortunates first froze like stones, 4. and then, when with great effort they tried to continue their path, they were unable to move forward and began to spin around in place until, finally, giving up, they laid down the body to the ground. Amazed [by what had happened], they looked at each other, trying to understand what had happened to them. 5. But when the blessed man learned that this crowd intended to simply bury [the deceased], and not make him an object of worship, he immediately raised his hand and gave them permission to leave and carry away the body. So Martin, at his own request, first forced them to stop, and then allowed them to leave.

XIII. 1. Also, when in a certain village Martin destroyed a very ancient temple and cut down a pine tree, which was highly revered in the immediate area, the chief priest of that place and other pagans, having gathered in a crowd, resisted him. 2. For, although they were calm by the will of God during the destruction of the temple, they did not tolerate the destruction of the tree. Martin urged them that there was nothing sacred in this tree and it would be better if they worshiped the God Whom it serves, but the tree should be cut down, for it is dedicated to the demon. 3. Then one of the pagans, who was bolder, said: “If you have anything from your God, whom you say you honor, I will put up a deposit - we will cut down this tree ourselves, and you can take it for yourself. And if your God, as you say, is with you, then you will leave [from here unharmed].” 4. Then Martin, fearlessly trusting in God, promised to do so. And the whole crowd of pagans agreed to these conditions, believing that it would be easy to fell the tree, unless they met resistance from the local gods. 5. And so, when one of the [pagans] bent the tree in the direction where it, having been cut, was supposed to fall, they put the bound Martin there and left him under the supervision of the peasants, for no one doubted that the pine tree would fall on him. 6. After this, the pagans themselves began to cut down their tree with great joy and rejoicing. A little distance away stood a crowd of onlookers. And the pine tree had already [begun] to sway little by little and was already threatening to collapse. 7. The monks standing nearby were in despair and, frightened by the obvious danger, lost all hope and faith, preparing to see Martin’s inevitable death. 8. And he, fearlessly trusting in God, waited for the pine tree to collapse on him with a great noise. And now she was already hanging over him, now she was falling, but he, raising his hand to meet her, created the saving sign [of the cross]. Immediately - one might think that the felled tree turned around on its own - the pine was thrown in the opposite direction so far that it almost knocked down the peasants who were standing at a safe distance from the scene of the event. 9. The pagans, turning to heaven, let out a cry and froze, [amazed] by this miracle. The monks wept with joy, and everyone joyfully proclaimed the name of Christ. Enough was done that day to save the area. For there was almost not a single one of this huge multitude of pagans who, having cast aside ungodly error, did not see in this event the merciful right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ. And truly, before Martin, few people in this area recognized the name of Christ, and, in fact, no one [recognized]. And so, the blessed man strengthened him so much with his example and virtues that after Martin there was no longer a single area that would not have found either frequently visited churches or populous monasteries. For where he destroyed pagan temples, there he erected churches and monasteries.

XIV. 1. Then Martin showed considerable virtue in another similar matter. For when he came to one village, where there was a very ancient temple and a very revered fire, it so happened that a gust of wind spread the flame to a nearby house. 2. Seeing this, Martin quickly climbed onto the roof and rushed towards the flaring fire. And so, miraculously, the flame turned against the wind, as if some kind of struggle had broken out between two elements. Thus, by the [extraordinary] strength of Martin, the fire was kept where the blessed man commanded it. 3. And in [another] village, whose name was Leprosa, Martin wanted to destroy the same temple overflowing with wickedness, but he encountered such resistance from a crowd of pagans that he was unjustly expelled from there. 4. Then, going to a neighboring place, putting on a hair shirt there for three days, [sprinkling his head] with dust and giving himself up to fasting and prayers, Martin asked the Lord that if the hand of man could not destroy this temple, then let the heavenly power overthrow it. 5. And then suddenly two angels, armed with spears and shields, showed him the image of the heavenly army, saying that they were sent by God so that no one would oppose Martin during the destruction of the temple: therefore he returned back, wanting to complete the work he had started. 6. And so, entering the village, in the presence of a silent crowd of pagans, Martin destroyed the wicked building to the ground, and turned all the altars and idols to dust. 7. Seeing in this a command from God not to oppose the bishop, the amazed and frightened inhabitants of the village almost all believed in Christ, loudly shouting that [only] Martin’s God should be revered, but idols are worthy of contempt since they could not protect themselves [or others] .

XV. 1. Now I will tell you about what happened in one of the Aedui villages. There Martin, as usual, destroyed the temple, and many pagan peasants, enraged, attacked him. And when one of them, the bravest, drew his sword and swung it at the blessed husband, the blow reflected by the bishop's pallium fell on Martin's bare neck. 2. By this the pagan almost killed him, but when he again raised his hand against the bishop, he immediately found himself thrown to the ground and, frightened by the wrath of God, began to beg for forgiveness. 3. And there is nothing surprising in this. For one day someone tried to hit Martin, who was throwing down idols, with a knife, but from the same blow the iron itself fell out of [the attacker’s] hands. 4. And often to the peasants who contradicted him, Martin softened their pagan souls so much that, in the light of the truth that was revealed to them, they themselves destroyed their sanctuaries.

XVI. 1. And Martin had such great grace that there was almost no one who, coming to him sick, did not immediately receive healing. This is clearly evident from the following example. 2. A certain girl from Trevir was so severely paralyzed that for a long time her body could not perform anything that is characteristic of the human body. And she was almost dead, and life was barely glimmering in her. 3. The saddened relatives had long been awaiting the inevitable funeral. But then it became known that Martin had come to this city. When the girl’s father found out about this, he ran to ask for his half-dead daughter. 4. And Martin was already entering the church at that time. And so, in front of all the people and many bishops present there, the elder, sobbing, fell at his feet and said: “My daughter is dying, struck down by a terrible disease, and this is worse than just death. She lives only in spirit, but in body she has been dead for a long time. I ask you to come to her and bless her, for I believe that through you she will find health.” 5. Martin, embarrassed by such words, was surprised and resisted, saying that he did not have such power, that the elder’s judgment was wrong, for he, Martin, was not worthy for the Lord to show a sign of such power through him. The old man began to cry even more, persist and beg to visit the lifeless woman. 6. Finally, prompted by the bishops surrounding him, Martin went to the girl’s house. A huge crowd watched at the door to see what the servant of God would do. 7. And first of all, there were her household, who had everything necessary for such cases. Martin prostrated himself on the floor in prayer. Then, looking intently at the sick woman, he demanded that she bring him oil, for when he blessed the girl, he forcibly poured the consecrated liquid into her mouth. And immediately those around her let out a cry: 8. After the first touch, her limbs began to come to life and soon she was standing firmly on her feet.

XVII. 1. At the same time, the slave of a certain Tetradius, a man of proconsular rank, being seized by a demon, was tormented by severe pain. And so, when they asked Martin to lay his hand on him, he ordered to bring this slave to him. However, the unclean spirit did not allow the slave to leave his closet where he lived, and he attacked everyone who entered with great rage. 2. Then Tetradius threw himself at the feet of the blessed man, begging him to come to the house in which the demon-possessed man lived. 3. And Martin, in order to overcome the wickedness of the pagan, for Tetradius at that time was still entangled in the prejudices of idolatry, agreed to come to his house. After this, the proconsul swore that if the demon was cast out of the boy, then he, Tetradius, would become a Christian. 4. And so Martin, laying his hand on the possessed man, put the evil spirits to flight. Seeing this, Tetradius believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and was immediately proclaimed, and a little later baptized. And he always revered Martin as the creator of that miracle and his salvation. 5. In the same city, approaching the house of a certain [venerable] father of the family, Martin found him standing at the very threshold. And this husband said that in the atrium of his house he had just seen a terrible demon. Then Martin commanded the evil spirit to leave, but he, seizing the hesitant owner of the house, began to torment him and everyone around him in the most merciless way. The house shook, the family was alarmed, the people began to run. Martin rushed towards the raging man and first ordered him to freeze. 6. And when he began to terribly gnash his teeth and open his mouth wide, Martin put his fingers there and said: “If you have any power, bite them off.” 7. And even if at that time a red-hot iron had been stuck into his throat, the fingers of the blessed man could still have touched his teeth for as long as desired and without any consequences. Then the evil spirit was forced to flee from the body, engulfed in pain and torment. However, it was not allowed to leave through the mouth, therefore, leaving behind a vile trace, it erupted along with the feces of the womb.

XVIII. 1. Then news appeared in that city about the uprising and invasion of the barbarians. Martin immediately ordered the demon-possessed man to be brought to him and ordered him to state in detail how true this rumor was. 2. He admitted that ten demons were sitting in him, who spread this fabrication among the people in order, at least in this way, to frighten Martin and force him to flee the city: they do not know about any invasion of the barbarians. And when the evil spirit publicly confessed to what she had done, the city was freed from all fear and excitement. 3. Also, when at Parisius Martin, together with a huge crowd, entered the gates of the city, to everyone’s horror he kissed and blessed the unfortunate leper: immediately all his illness passed away. 4. The next day, shining with clear skin, he came to church and brought gratitude for the healing he had received. It is also impossible to remain silent about the fact that the cut edges of Martin’s outerwear and hair shirt, [being placed] on the paralytic, often restored their strength. 5. Also, by inserting fingers or placing them on the neck, the blessed man often drove away illnesses from the afflicted.

XIX. 1. The former prefect Arborius, a man of very holy and strong faith, when his daughter was struck by a severe fever, placed a letter [addressed] to Martin on the chest of the girl [throwing about] in the heat, in which the essence of the unfortunate incident was stated, and immediately the fever was expelled. 2. This event made such a strong impression on Arborius that he dedicated his daughter to God and eternal virginity. And directing her to Martin, he presented him with a genuine testimony of his virtues, for the blessed man was given the power to heal even while absent [bodily]. Arborius also wished that no one else, but only Martin, would give her the clothes of a virgin and perform the initiation ceremony. 3. Paulinus, who later became a husband who [set] a wonderful example, somehow became seriously ill with his eyes and had already covered them in impenetrable darkness, but when Martin touched his eyes with a sponge, he immediately removed all the pain and returned him to his former health. 4. And Martin himself, once leaving the refectory for some business and falling from the stairs due to uneven steps, received many wounds. And so, when, seized by severe pain and almost lifeless, he was laid in his cell, then at night he saw an angel who washed his wounds and anointed his bruises and bruises. The next day his health was so restored that no one believed that any trouble had happened to him the day before. 5. But it would take a long time to list such examples. Probably this small number is enough for us not to remain silent about the truth contained in the most outstanding of them, and to avoid negligence in the description.

XX. 1. And in order not to confuse the small with the great - although this is characteristic of our age, in which everything is already spoiled and damaged and almost the exception is the high priest who does not constantly subservient to the secular authority - [let's say that] when many bishops from all over the world came to the Emperor Maximus, a man of arrogant disposition, exalted by victory in the civil war, and when base flattery flourished around him, and the dignity of the priestly dignity was humiliated due to the whims of the royal clients, then only in Martin did apostolic power reside. 2. For even if it was necessary to ask for someone before the emperor, he rather demanded than asked. Martin often refused imperial feasts, [directly] saying that he could not share a meal with one who deprived one emperor of his state and another of his life. 3. And so, when Maxim established himself in power, seized not of his own free will, for by the will of God he took upon himself, through his soldiers, the duty of defending the state with weapons, and quite clearly in this one could see no one else’s will, but God’s, since it was so incredible Thus, he won a victory, and none of his opponents fell in battle - then Martin, defeated in the end by reflection or persuasion, came to the feast; this miraculously served to glorify the emperor, which is what he sought. 4. At this feast gathered, as if for a festive celebration, the most important and prominent men, the prefect, also the consul Evodius, a man for whom no law had ever existed, two comites endowed with supreme power, the emperor’s brother and uncle. Presbyter Martin sat between them, and the blessed man himself sat down on a chair near the king. 5. About halfway through the feast, as is customary, the servant handed the cup to the king. He ordered that it be handed over to the holy bishop as quickly as possible, expecting and hoping to accept the cup from Martin’s hands. 6. However, Martin, after drinking, handed the cup to his presbyter, thereby showing that he does not attach any importance to who will drink first after him, that he does not care who he prefers: the presbyter, the king himself or his entourage. 7. By this act the emperor and everyone who was present there were very surprised, for thereby Martin appreciated them. And instantly it spread throughout the palace what Martin had done at the king’s dinner, for none of the bishops had acted so fairly at a banquet towards their inferiors. 8. And long before this, it was predicted to the same Maxim that if he moved to Italy, where he was going to go to war against the Emperor Valentinian, he would quickly win the first battle, but after some time he would be killed. 9. This, as we know, is what happened. For with the invasion of Maximus into Italy, Valentinian fled, but a year later, having gathered people, he killed the captive Maximus within the walls of Aquileia.

XXI. 1. It is also known that quite often Martin saw angels, and they spoke to him, warning him that the devil also appears just as clearly and plausibly before his eyes, appearing either in his own guise or in other images [and] gives attractiveness any obscenity, hiding under many guises. 2. For when the devil realized that he could not hide, he often fled, since he was not able to deceive Martin with his machinations. One day [the devil], carrying a [man] wounded by a bull in his arms, burst into [Martin’s] cell with great noise and, pointing at the victim and rejoicing at the atrocity he had just committed, said: “Where is your strength, Martin? I just killed one of yours.” 3. Then Martin, calling the brethren, told them what the devil had told him. Then he ordered the shocked [monks] to go to their cells one by one. Everyone was amazed by this event. And although at that time none of the brethren were absent, [there was still] one peasant who had hired out to transport a load of firewood for a fee. They said he went into the forest. 4. Then [Martin] ordered someone to come out to meet him. And then, not far from the monastery, he was found almost lifeless. But with the last of his strength he told the monks the reason for his wound and death, namely: while he was tightening the weakened reins of a team of oxen, one of them, butting his head, plunged his horn into his stomach. Soon after this [the peasant] died. Probably, by the will of God such power was then given to the devil. 5. What was amazing about Martin was that not only what we had already told us earlier, but also many things of this kind, if they happened, he foresaw long before or communicated to the brethren what he had learned.

XXII. 1. Also often the devil, trying to oppress the holy man with the tricks of thousands of obstacles, appeared to him in person in a variety of guises. Sometimes he appeared in the form of Jupiter, most often Mercury, and often also Venus and Minerva, against which the undaunted Martin defended himself by making the sign of the cross and resorting to prayer. 2. And the cries that this demon uttered with shameless voices in confusion were often heard, but [Martin], knowing all the futility and falsity of his reproaches, was unshakable. 3. Some of the brethren also testified that they themselves heard a demon shouting in evil voices at Martin and pointing out the crimes of a few: for some reason in the monastery, some of the monks who had once stained baptism with various errors were then again accepted into communion. 4. Martin, fighting the devil, firmly answered him that previous sins are cleansed by turning to a better life and, by the mercy of God, sinners should be freed from sins if they have stopped sinning. Then the devil, objecting, began to assert that mercy does not extend to criminals and no leniency from God can be given to those who have fallen once and for all. 5. Here Martin exclaimed: “If you yourself, unfortunate one, would retreat from the oppression of people and repent for your deeds on the day of the imminent Judgment, then I, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, would promise you forgiveness.” Oh, how great [was] [Martin’s] hope in God’s mercy: even if it was impossible to fulfill [the promise], then how much love [was] manifested! 6. And therefore there was a rumor about the devil and his tricks, apparently not without foundation, which should be said when narrating what took place, for in all this a certain power of Martin was partially revealed, and an event worthy of the name of a miracle and mentions. [But one should be very] careful in imitation if this happens somewhere else.

XXIII. 1. A certain Klar, a noble young man, then a presbyter, and now, after his successful death, a blessed one, when, leaving everything, he came to Martin, he in a short time achieved the fullness of the highest faith and all the virtues. 2. And so, when he built himself a hut not far from the episcopal monastery and many brothers began to live nearby, a certain young man named Anatoly came to him, hiding under the guise of a humble and innocent monk in everything, and lived for some time with others. 3. But after some time, he began to claim that he was communicating with angels. When no one believed this, he forced many to believe with certain evidence. Finally, Anatoly came to the point that he began to claim that messengers were walking between him and God and already wanted to declare himself one of the prophets. However, he could not persuade Klyar to believe. 4. Anatoly threatened him with the wrath of God and earthly punishments, because he did not believe in his holiness. 5. In the end, they say, he exclaimed: “This night the Lord will give me white clothes, dressed in which I will publicly appear before you, and this will be a sign to you that the grace of God is on me; on the one to whom God gives clothes.” 6. Then many gathered and began to wait for this event. And then, at about midnight, the earth shook with a great roar and everyone saw: the monastery stood in the same place, and the cell in which this young man lived shone with a bright light, thunder struck in it and the roar of many voices was heard. 7. And when silence followed, one of the brothers [named Sabatius], going inside, saw the tunic of the young man, in which he [usually] dressed. 8. The amazed Sabatius called everyone else, Klyar himself ran up, and the clothing illuminated by the light completely clarified everything to everyone. It was very soft, extraordinary white, shimmering purple, but it was impossible to understand what origin it was or what wool it was made from. Nevertheless, to an attentive glance or the touch of fingers, it seemed nothing more than clothing. Meanwhile, Klar forced the brothers to indulge in prayer, so that the Lord would show them something more obvious than it already was. 9. Therefore the rest of the night was devoted to songs of praise and psalms. When the day came, the brethren wished, taking Anatoly by the hand, to take him to Martin, knowing for sure that it was impossible to deceive him with devilish spells. 10. Then the unfortunate man, in order not to appear before Martin, began to resist and shout loudly that this was forbidden to him. And when they nevertheless forced him to go against his will, the [wonderful] clothes disappeared right in the hands of those holding him. 11. After this, no one doubted that Martin was given the power so that, having appeared before the blessed husband, the devil could not hide or conceal his obsessions for a long time.

XXIV. 1. However, it became known that at about the same time a young man appeared in Spain, who, having gained wide fame for himself by many testimonies, ascended to such a degree that he proclaimed himself Elijah. 2. And when many unexpectedly believed in him, he went even further and declared that he was the Christ. This misled everyone so much that a certain bishop named Rufus began to worship him as God, as a result of which we now see Rufus defrocked. 3. Many of our brothers claimed that at the same time someone appeared in the East claiming to be John. From all this we can conclude that with the appearance of this kind of false prophets, the coming of the Antichrist is approaching, who through them makes the secret of evil obvious. 4. And, probably, we should not remain silent about how skillfully the devil tempted Martin during these same days. For one day, while anticipating prayer, he was enveloped in a purple light, the brightness of which can be more easily deceived, and also dressed in royal clothes, crowned with a diadem of precious stones and gold and wearing golden shoes, with a friendly smile and pleasant appearance, so that nothing [made] him think about the devil; he appeared before the praying Martin in his cell. 5. And since at first Martin was embarrassed by his appearance, they both remained in complete silence for a long time. Then the devil spoke first: “Find out, Martin, who is in front of you: I am Christ. Intending to descend to earth, first of all I decided to appear to you.” 6. When Martin remained silent to this and did not say anything in response, the devil once again decided to show his insolence: “Martin,” he said, “why are you slow to believe in what you see? I am Christ.” 7. Then Martin, enlightened by the Holy Spirit that it was the devil and not God, said thus: “The Lord Jesus said that he would come neither clothed in purple, nor in the radiance of a diadem: I will not believe in any other Christ except in that guise in which He suffered, and those signs of the cross that He showed.” 8. At these words, the devil immediately disappeared like smoke and the cell was filled with such a stench that he thereby left clear evidence that it was Satan. I heard about this incident, which I have just described, from the lips of Martin himself, so that someone would not accidentally consider all this to be fiction.

XXV. 1. For when we were inflamed by his well-known faith, life and desire for virtue, we undertook a pilgrimage in gratitude and to behold him, since even then we had a passionate desire to describe his life, which we learned in part from himself, as far as he allowed himself to be questioned about this, partly from those who were eyewitnesses or knew those whom we knew. 2. But at the same time, it was impossible to believe with what humility, with what meekness he accepted me, thanking and rejoicing most of all to God, as if he had gained [much] more from us than we, who had undertaken this journey, had received from him. 3. To me, unworthy - I [never] dared [to ask him] for confession - when I was worthy of joining my holy meal, I myself offered water for our hands, and in the evening I washed our feet. And I could not resist or be angry, for I was so overwhelmed by his greatness that I considered it a sin to express my displeasure. 4. His conversation with us was about nothing other than the temptations of the world and the frailty of secular life; so that we may be worthy children and warriors of the Lord Christ. And he gave us the most remarkable example of the outstanding man of our time, Paulinus - we have already mentioned him - who strove with all his might to follow Christ, [being] almost the only one in those times filled with the gift of the Gospel; 5. He called on us to follow him, to imitate him: and blessed is this age, since it is possible to give an example of such virtue, when, following the word of God, the rich and possessing much [of his] sold and distributed to the poor, which was an unheard-of act. 6. And how much greatness, how much dignity there was in Martin’s words and speech! How passionate, how tireless he was, how easily and accessible he answered the questions of those who wanted to write [about him]! 7. And since I know that many unbelievers will [react with doubt] to everything that has been said, for they certainly will not believe what I myself have witnessed, I call Jesus and [our] common hope as witnesses that I have never heard the speech , [filled] with so much intelligence, good character and pure words. And how small is this praise for Martin’s virtues! 8. And wasn’t all this a miracle for an uneducated man, although not devoid of [certain] talents?

XXVI. 1. But [my] book already requires finishing, the work must be completed. And not because everyone who could talk about Martin died, but because we, like mediocre poets, careless at the end of [our] work, are overwhelmed by the abundance of material. 2. For, if we were somehow able to express his actions in words, then his inner life and everyday habits, his soul always directed toward heaven, can never, to be honest, be expressed in any words. Namely: this firmness and moderation in abstinence and fasting, tirelessness during night vigils and prayers, nightly and, equally, daytime activities after this. And there was no interruption in [caring for] the work of God, when he would devote himself to rest or [extraneous] activity, even to food or sleep, except perhaps by natural necessity. 3. And, I confess honestly, if, as they say, Homer himself appeared to him from the underworld, then this could well be, for everything in Martin was [much] greater than could be described in words. Never an hour or a moment passed without him rushing to prayer or reading; however, even during reading or other activities, he never distracted his soul from prayer. 4. After all, blacksmiths, for example, have this custom: during their work, for the sake of rest, they strike an empty anvil. So Martin, while doing seemingly unrelated things, always prayed. 5. Oh, truly this was a blessed man in whom there was no guile (cf. John 1:47): I did not condemn anyone, I did not curse anyone, I did not repay anyone evil for evil. For he gained such patience against all injustices that when he became a bishop, without any censure he endured the reproaches of the lowest clergy and therefore either expelled them later, or still held them with his love, in which he himself [constantly] abided.

XXVII. 1. No one ever saw him angry, no one - irritated or laughing: [he] was always even. It seemed that heavenly joy, surpassing human nature, always abided on his face. 2. There was never anything in his speech but Christ, there was never in his heart anything but piety, peace and mercy. And many of his ill-wishers, who slandered the innocent and humble with serpentine tongues and poisonous words, he used to mourn for their sins. 3. Of course, we meet envious people of his virtue and life, who hate in him that which they do not find in themselves and which they do not have the strength to imitate. Therefore, how ungodly is the sorrow and grief of those who are almost persecutors of him, and of those who themselves were expelled by the bishop. 4. You shouldn’t call anyone by name [here], although we ourselves are barked at from all sides. It will be enough if one of them reads this, admits it and is ashamed. If he becomes angry, [it means] he will confirm that [this] was said about him, while we may have meant others. 5. We do not exclude the possibility that we are also hated along with this husband. 6. I think it is certain that all saints [men] will like this book. Otherwise, if someone reads it wickedly, he himself will sin. 7. I know about myself [only] what I wrote, motivated by love for Christ and with faith in [my] cause, making public what is indisputable, speaking the truth; I hope that the reward prepared by God will not be the one who [only] reads, but the one who believes.

Translation from Latin by A. Donchenko

Saint Martin of Tours and the beggar.
Modern drawing

Sulpicius Severus. Vita sancti Martini episcopi et confessoris // Sulpicii Severi Opera. Vindobonae, 1866 (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum. Vol. I). Sulpicius Severus (c. 365 - c. 425) - a Latin church writer, a native of Aquitaine, after the death of his wife, left his position as a lawyer and retired to the town of Primouliac (southern France), where he founded a hermit community. He made numerous pilgrimages to Tours, where he met Saint Martin of Tours. Author of the “Life of Saint Martin” (c. 396), “Dialogues” (403), which are a continuation of the “Life” and dedicated to proving the superiority of Martin of Tours over the hermits in Ghent, “Chronicles” in 2 parts (c. 401), in which sets out the history of mankind according to the Old Testament, the final part of the “Chronicle” is devoted to the history of the churches of the West (mainly Spain, southern Gaul) in the 4th century, as well as a number of letters.
Desiderius - the identity of the addressee is not precisely established. Today, there are two versions regarding him: 1) a presbyter from Aquitaine, who also appears as the addressee of Blessed Jerome. Perhaps it was to this Desiderius that Sulpicius Severus sent the “Life” in 396 or 397; 2) the seventh bishop of Nantes.© Translation, notes. A. I. Donchenko, 1998
The Codex Verona further states: “Be healthy, venerable brother in Christ, adornment of all the just and holy.”
Savaria (modern Szombathely, Hungary) is the administrative center of Upper Pannonia. Saint Martin was born in 316 (according to other sources - in 336).
Ticinus is now the city of Pavia (Italy).
A military tribune was an officer (there were six of them in the legion) who performed primarily military-administrative functions in shifts for two months a year.
Emperor Constantius (337–361) - son of Constantine I the Great.
This refers to Emperor Julian the Apostate (361–363).
Catechumen (kathcoЪmenoj) - in the ancient Church, one who came to the Christian faith from paganism or Judaism and, before receiving baptism, underwent lengthy preparations through instruction in the truths of the Christian faith.
A veteran is a soldier of the Roman army, who, at the end of his service (which lasted 20 years for legionnaires, and 25–26 years for soldiers of auxiliary units), remained in the army and enjoyed numerous benefits. After honorable retirement, veterans received land plots and tax advantages. Soldiers of auxiliary units also received Roman citizenship rights
The Ambians were a tribe that lived in northern Gaul on the Samara River (now the Somme). The main urban center of this tribe is Samarabriva (now Amiens).
Matthew 25:40.
Also in Paulinus (about him, see note 2 on p. 239), whom de Prato quotes: “The fourth, with the exception of two years, five years have passed” (Sulpicii Severi Opera ad MSS. Codices emendata. Vol. 1, 2. Verona, 1741–1754 / Et. H. de Prato).
The Vangiones are a Germanic tribe that lived on the left bank of the Rhine, in the province of Upper Germany, the main city is Barbetomag (now Worms).
Saint Hilary of Pictavia (Hilary of Poitiers, †367) - great teacher of the Western Church of the 4th century. In 353 he was elected bishop. He became famous as a consistent and convinced opponent of the Arians.
Exorcism is the expulsion of evil spirits from the possessed.
Hebrews 13:6.
Auxentius - Bishop of Mediolan (Milan, †374), supporter of Arianism, predecessor of Saint Ambrose. For more details, see Pareli A. Saint Ambrose of Milan and his time. Bergamo, 1991. - pp. 68–77.
Nowadays the island of Galinara, near Genoa (Italy).
In his “Chronicle” (II. 45, 4) Sever interprets this episode differently.
This event took place in 360 and marked the birth of the first monastery in Gaul, better known by its modern French name Liguge.
The Turons were a Gallic tribe that lived in the area of present-day Touraine (France), with the main city of Caesaredun (now Tours). Martin's election took place in 371.
Ps 8:3. The translation of this fragment is given according to the synodal text and therefore does not convey the play on words that the North is hinting at. The synodal “avenger” in the Vulgate and in the Life of Martin corresponds to defensor “persistent,” but this is also the name of the main opponent of Martin’s election to the episcopal throne.
Liger - now the Loire River (France). This was the second monastery, founded in 372, the famous Marmoutier.
The pagan cult of trees was very widespread in Gaul.
De Prato compares this place with a fragment from the “History of the Franks” by Gregory of Tours (VIII, 15): “... prayed to Divine mercy that heavenly power would destroy what human efforts could not overthrow” (translated by V. D. Savukova, which believes that Gregory directly borrows this phrase from Sulpicius (see Gregory of Tours. History of the Franks. M., 1987. - P. 413).
“No others,” added de Prato. Wed. Gregory of Tours (II, 29): “Your gods, whom you worship, are nothing, for they are not able to help either themselves or others”; (II, 31): “...began to inspire him to leave pagan idols that could not benefit either themselves or others” (translated by V.D. Savukova).
The Aedui were a Celtic tribe that lived in the territory of Central Gaul between the Loire and the Seine.
This refers to Augusta Trevirov, a city in the province of Belgica First (now the city of Trier, Germany).
The atrium is the main room in a Roman house, the first room from the entrance.
Now Paris.
Peacock of Nolan (353–431) - spiritual writer, son of a senator, studied with the famous Ausonius, was a senator, consul and ruler of Campania. In 389 he was ordained a priest and retired to Spain. In 409 he became bishop of Nola (Italy). He was in friendly communication and correspondence with St. Ambrose of Milan, Blessed Augustine, St. Martin of Tours, Pelagius and Sulpicius Severus.
This refers to the usurper Magnus Maximus, who in 383 seized power in Britain and Gaul. By 387 he controlled virtually the entire west of the Empire. He died in 388 in a battle with the troops of Theodosius I.
Signs of the cross, or stigmata (from the Greek st…gma ‘prick, scar, sign’) - in this case we mean traces of the wounds received by Jesus Christ during the agony of the cross.
This refers to eternal life.
Further in the Verona Codex it follows: “Completed on the life of St. Martin the Bishop [compiled by Sulpicius] Severus, monk of Massilia. His death was 3 days before the Ides of November (that is, November 11 - A.D.). The letter from the same North begins.” In the Monastic Code No. 3711, the “Life” ends with these words: “The first book about the life of Saint Martin, bishop and confessor has been completed. The letter of Severus to Eusebius the presbyter, later the bishop, begins.”