The Tale of Peter and Fevronia of Murom: An Hagiographic Monument of the 16th Century
June 25/July 8
This is an absolutely unique piece. It is the tale of two saints, Peter and Fevronia, both of whom are commemorated tomorrow (June 25/July 8). What makes this so unique is that it is utterly medieval in character, blending many elements of oral tales that were typical of medieval literature, both in the East and West: riddles, fantastical events, trickery, wisdom, and of course, Christian piety. It would be difficult to differentiate between fact and flourish, if that is how you approach such literature. But I think it is far more beneficial to see this as the product of several generations of oral retelling, with each colorful episode highlighting either a true event or a true characteristic of these saints. If any are fans of Western medieval literature, I hope you will enjoy this life, a uniquely Russian expression of the medieval lives of saints. (Spoiler - there are no knights).
You will notice at once that this was intended to be read aloud, or rather, to be chanted, as was the tradition in Russia and still practiced by many Old Believers today.
The Tale from the Lives of the New Holy Miracle Workers of Murom, the Pious, Venerable, and Praiseworthy Prince Peter, Named David in Monasticism, and His Wife, the Pious, Venerable, and Praiseworthy Princess Fevronia, Named Euphrosyne in Monasticism. Bless, Father.
Glory to God the Father, and the eternally existing Word of God the Son, and the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, one and without beginning in the divine essence, worshipped, praised, glorified, honored, exalted, and confessed as one in the Trinity. In Him we believe and thank, the Creator and Maker invisible and indescribable, accomplishing everything according to His will with His wisdom from the beginning, creating and enlightening, and glorifying those whom He chooses by His will. He first created His angels in Heaven, His spirits and servants, a flaming fire, the angelic ranks, the bodiless host, whose strength cannot be described, all created invisibly to us, so that it is incomprehensible to the human mind. He also created the visible heavenly elements: the sun, the moon, and the stars. On earth, from ancient times, He created man in His image and, like His three-sunned Divinity, endowed him with three qualities: reason, speech, and soul. The reason of a man is like the father of his words; the word comes from the mind, like the Son sent by the Father; and the spirit rests on the word because no man's mouth can pronounce words without spirit, but the word comes out with the spirit, and the mind directs it. Let us end the word about the human essence and return to what we began to speak of.
God, without beginning, having created man, honored him, making him king over all that exists on earth, and loving all the righteous in the human race, forgiving sinners, He wished to save all and bring them to true reason. By the Father's blessing, by His will, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, the one from the Trinity - the Son of God, none other than God - the Word, the Son of the Father, was pleased to be born in the flesh on earth from the Most Pure Virgin Mary and became Man, not losing His Divinity; and although He walked on the earth, He did not separate from the Father's bosom. And when He suffered, His divine essence did not suffer. And this impassibility cannot be defined, nor can it be expressed by any allegory, nor compared with anything, because everything is created by Him Himself; and in His creations, there is impassibility - for example, if a tree stands on the earth and the sun shines on it, and if the tree is cut down, the solar ether within it will not disappear, nor will it perish with the tree, nor suffer.
We speak of the sun and the tree because they are created by Him, but the Creator and Maker of them cannot be defined by human words. He suffered in the flesh for us, nailing our sins to the cross, redeeming us from the devil at the cost of His precious Blood. This is what the chosen one of God, Paul, said: "Do not be slaves of men, for you were bought at a high price." And after the crucifixion, on the third day, our Lord Jesus Christ rose, and on the fortieth day ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father, and on the fiftieth day, by the will of the Father, sent the Holy Spirit to His holy disciples and apostles. They enlightened the whole universe with faith and holy baptism.
And those who were baptized in the name of Christ should serve Christ. And if they serve Christ, let them not deviate from His commandments and live not like deceivers and liars who, after baptism, forgot the commandments of God and were seduced by the temptations of this world, but like the holy prophets and apostles, as well as the martyrs and all the saints who suffered for Christ, enduring sorrows, hardships, persecutions, and wounds, being in prisons, unsettled in life, in labors, in vigils, in fasting, in repentance, in meditations, in patience, in kindness, abiding in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love, in words of truth, in the power of God - all known to the One who knows all the secrets of the heart. Through them, the Lord enlightened the earth and adorned it like the sky with stars, honoring them with the gift of performing miracles - some for their prayers, repentance, and labors, others for their firmness and humility, as well as those saints whom our tale will be about.
I
There is a city in the Russian land called Murom. It was once ruled by a pious prince named Pavel. However, the devil, who has hated the human race since the beginning, made it seem to the people that a winged serpent started flying to the wife of that prince for adultery. By his magic, the serpent appeared to her in the form of the prince himself, sitting with his wife. This deception lasted for a long time. The wife did not hide this and told her husband, the prince, about everything that had happened. The evil serpent had taken control of her by force.
The prince began to think about how to deal with the serpent but was puzzled. He said to his wife: "I am thinking, wife, but I cannot figure out how to defeat this villain. I do not know how to kill him. When he speaks to you, ask him, deceiving him, if he knows what will cause his death. If you find out and tell me, you will be freed not only in this life from his foul breath and hissing and all this shamelessness, which is even shameful to talk about, but also in the next life, you will appease the impartial judge, Christ." The wife firmly sealed her husband's words in her heart and decided: "I will certainly do this."
One day, when the evil serpent came to her, she, keeping her husband's words firmly in her heart, addressed the villain with flattering speeches, speaking of this and that, and finally, with respect, praising him, asked: "You know many things, but do you know about your death - what it will be like and from what?" The evil deceiver, fooled by the innocent deception of the faithful wife, disregarded the fact that he was revealing a secret to her and said: "My death will come from Peter's shoulder and Agrikov's sword." The wife, hearing these words, firmly remembered them in her heart and, when the villain left, told her husband, the prince, what the serpent had said to her. The prince, hearing this, was puzzled - what did it mean: death from Peter's shoulder and Agrikov's sword?
The prince had a brother named Peter. One day, Pavel called him to himself and began to tell him the words of the serpent that he had said to his wife. Prince Peter, hearing from his brother that the serpent named the one from whose hand he should die, his name, began to think, without hesitation and doubt, how to kill the serpent. Only one thing bothered him - he knew nothing about Agrikov's sword.
Peter had a habit of walking alone to the churches. Outside the city, there was a church of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross in a women's monastery. He went there alone to pray. And behold, a youth appeared to him, saying: "Prince! Do you want me to show you Agrikov's sword?" Eager to fulfill his plan, he replied: "Yes, show me where it is!" The youth said: "Follow me." And he showed the prince a crack between the stones in the altar wall, and in it lay a sword. Then the pious Prince Peter took the sword, went to his brother, and told him everything. From that day on, he began to look for an opportunity to kill the serpent.
Every day Peter went to his brother and his sister-in-law to pay his respects to them. Once it happened that he came to his brother's chambers, and immediately went from him to his sister-in-law's chambers, and saw that his brother was sitting with her. And, leaving her, he met one of his brother's servants and said to him: "I left my brother and went to my sister-in-law, but my brother stayed in his chambers. I quickly came to my sister-in-law's chambers and do not understand and am amazed how my brother got to her chambers before me." The man said to him: "Sir, your brother did not leave his chambers after you left!" Then Peter realized that it was the deceit of the cunning serpent. He went to his brother and said: "When did you come here? For when I left you in these chambers and quickly went to your wife's chambers, I saw you sitting with her and was greatly amazed at how you came before me. And now, I have come back here quickly, and you have beaten me to it again!" Pavel replied: "I did not leave these chambers after you left, and I was not with my wife." Then Prince Peter said: "This, brother, is the deceit of the cunning serpent appearing to me as you so that I would not dare to kill him, thinking that it is you - my brother. Now, brother, do not leave here, I will go to fight the serpent, hoping that with God's help the cunning serpent will be killed."
Taking the sword called Agrikov's, he went to his sister-in-law's chambers and saw the serpent in the form of his brother. But, firmly convinced that this was not his brother but the treacherous serpent, he struck him with the sword. The serpent, turning into his natural form, trembled and died, spraying the blessed Prince Peter with his blood. Peter, covered in the serpent's foul blood, developed sores and ulcers on his body, and a severe illness overcame him. He tried to find healing from many doctors in his lands, but none could cure him.
II
Peter heard that there were many doctors in the land of Ryazan, and he ordered himself to be taken there - because of his severe illness, he could not sit on a horse. When they brought him to the land of Ryazan, he sent all his close associates to search for doctors.
One of the prince's servants wandered into a village called Laskovo. He came to the gates of a house and saw no one. He entered the house, but no one came out to meet him. Then he went into the chamber and saw an astonishing sight: a girl was sitting alone at a loom, weaving cloth, and before her, a hare was jumping.
The girl said: "It's bad when a house has no ears, and a chamber has no eyes!" The youth, not understanding these words, asked the girl: "Where is the master of this house?" She replied: "My father and mother have gone to borrow some tears, and my brother has gone to stare death in the face through his legs."
The youth did not understand the girl's words, marveled at seeing and hearing such wonders, and asked her: "I came to you and saw you weaving, and before you, a hare is jumping, and I heard strange words from your lips and cannot comprehend what you are saying. First, you said: it’s bad when a house has no ears, and a chamber has no eyes. Then you said about your father and mother that they went to borrow some tears, and about your brother that he went to stare death in the face through his legs. I did not understand a single word you said!"
She replied: "You cannot even understand this! You came into this house and entered my chamber, and found me in an untidy state. If there were a dog in our house, it would have sensed you approaching and started barking at you: these are the ears of the house. If there were a child in my chamber, seeing you coming in, they would have told me about it: these are the eyes of the chamber. As for what I said about my father and mother and my brother, my father and mother went to borrow some tears - they went to a funeral to mourn the deceased. And when death comes for them, others will mourn them: this is borrowed crying. I said about my brother that my father and brother are tree-climbers, gathering honey from trees in the forest. Today my brother went beekeeping, and when he climbs up the tree, he will look through his legs at the ground to avoid falling from the height. If anyone falls, they will lose their life. Therefore, I said he went to stare death in the face through his legs."
The youth said to her: "I see, girl, that you are wise. Tell me your name." She replied: "My name is Fevronia." The youth said: "I am a servant of the Murom prince Peter. My prince is gravely ill, covered in sores. He developed ulcers from the blood of the evil flying serpent he killed with his own hand. In his principality, he sought healing from many doctors, but no one could cure him. Therefore, he ordered himself to be brought here, as he heard there are many doctors here. But we do not know their names or where they live, so we are asking about them." She replied: "If anyone demands your prince for themselves, they could heal him." The youth said: "What are you saying - who can demand my prince for themselves! If someone heals him, the prince will richly reward them. But tell me the name of that doctor, who he is, and where his house is." She replied: "Bring your prince here. If he is sincere and humble in his words, he will be healed!"
The youth quickly returned to his prince and told him in detail everything he had seen and heard. The pious prince Peter ordered: "Take me to where this girl is." And they brought him to the house where the girl lived. He sent one of his servants to ask: "Tell me, girl, who wants to heal me? Let them heal me and receive a rich reward." She straightforwardly replied: "I want to heal him, but I do not require any reward from him. Here is my word to him: if I do not become his wife, it is not fitting for me to heal him." The servant returned and conveyed to his prince what the girl had said.
Prince Peter disdainfully responded to her words, thinking: "How can a prince take the daughter of a tree-climber as his wife!" He sent word to her, saying: "Tell her - let her heal me as she can. If she heals me, I will take her as my wife." They came to her and conveyed these words. She, taking a small bowl, scooped some bread leaven, blew on it, and said: "Let them heat a bathhouse for your prince, and let him anoint all his body with this where there are sores and ulcers. Let him leave one sore unhealed. And he will be healthy!"
They brought the ointment to the prince; he ordered the bathhouse to be heated. The girl wanted to test him in answers - whether she was as wise as he had heard from his youth. He sent her, with one of his servants, a small bundle of flax, saying: "This girl wants to be my wife because of her wisdom. If she is so wise, let her make me a shirt, a dress, and a handkerchief from this flax in the time while I am in the bath." The servant brought the bundle of flax to Fevronia and, handing it to her, conveyed the prince's order. She said to the servant: "Climb onto our stove, and taking a log from the shelf, bring it here." He, listening to her, brought the log. Then she, measuring it with her palm, said: "Cut off this part from the log." He cut it off. She said to him: "Take this log piece, go and give it to your prince from me and tell him: in the time it takes me to prepare this flax, let your prince make a loom and all the necessary equipment to weave the cloth for him from this log." The servant brought the log piece to his prince and conveyed the girl's words. The prince said: "Go tell the girl it is impossible to make what she asks from such a small log in such a short time!" The servant went and conveyed his words to her. The girl replied: "And is it possible for a grown man to make a shirt, a dress, and a handkerchief from one bundle of flax in the short time while he is bathing?" The servant returned and conveyed these words to the prince. The prince marveled at her answer.
Then Prince Peter went to the bathhouse to wash and, as the girl had instructed, anointed his sores and ulcers with the ointment. He left one sore unhealed, as the girl had instructed. When he came out of the bathhouse, he felt no illness. The next morning, he saw that his entire body was healthy and clean, except for the one sore he had left unhealed, as the girl had instructed. He marveled at such a quick recovery. But he did not want to take her as his wife because of her origin and sent her gifts. She did not accept them.
Prince Peter returned to his estate, the city of Murom, healed. Only one sore remained on him, which had not been anointed by the girl's instruction. From that sore, new sores began to spread over his entire body from the day he went to his estate. And he again became covered in sores and ulcers as he had been the first time.
And again, the prince returned for the proven treatment to the girl. When he came to her house, he sent to her with shame, asking for healing. She, not being angry at all, said: "If he becomes my husband, he will be healed." He gave her his firm word that he would take her as his wife. And she again prescribed the same treatment for him as I wrote about earlier. He, quickly recovering, took her as his wife. Thus Fevronia became a princess.
They arrived in their estate, the city of Murom, and began to live piously, never transgressing God's commandments.
III
Shortly after, Prince Pavel passed away. The pious Prince Peter then became the ruler of his city in place of his brother.
The boyars, incited by their wives, did not like Princess Fevronia because she had become princess not by her origin but through the will of God, who glorified her for her virtuous life.
One day, one of the servants who served her came to the pious Prince Peter and slandered her, saying: "Every time," he said, "after the meal, she does not leave the table in proper order but gathers crumbs in her hand as if she were hungry!" When the pious Prince Peter heard this, he wanted to test her, so he commanded that she dine with him at the same table. And when the meal was over, she gathered the crumbs in her hand, as was her custom. Then Prince Peter took Fevronia’s hand and opened it, and saw frankincense and myrrh. From that day on, he never tested her again.
A considerable amount of time passed, and one day, the boyars came to the prince in anger and said: "Prince, we are all ready to serve you faithfully and have you as our ruler, but we do not want Princess Fevronia to rule over our wives. If you wish to remain the ruler, let there be another princess for you, and let Fevronia take whatever wealth she desires and go wherever she wishes!" Blessed Peter, who was accustomed to not being angry, answered gently: "Tell this to Fevronia, and we will see what she says."
The enraged boyars, losing their shame, decided to hold a feast. They began to feast, and when they were drunk, they started to speak shameful words, like barking dogs, denying the holy gift of healing that God had bestowed upon Fevronia both in life and after death. They said: "Lady Princess Fevronia! The whole city and the boyars ask you: give us what we ask of you!" She responded: "Take what you ask for!" They, as if with one voice, said: "We, lady, all want that Prince Peter should rule over us, and our wives do not want you to have authority over them. Take as much wealth as you wish and go wherever you desire!" She then said: "I promised you that you would get whatever you asked for. Now I tell you: promise me that you will give me whatever I ask of you." They, wicked ones, rejoiced, not knowing what was in store for them, and swore: "Whatever you ask for, you will receive without question." Then she said: "I ask for nothing else but my husband, Prince Peter!" They replied: "If he wants it himself, we will not oppose you." The enemy darkened their minds - each thought that if Prince Peter were gone, they would have to make another ruler, and each of the boyars secretly hoped to become the ruler himself.
Blessed Prince Peter did not want to break God’s commandments for the sake of ruling in this life. He lived by God’s commandments, keeping them as the God-voiced Matthew proclaims in his Gospel. For it is said that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. Thus the blessed prince followed the Gospel, disregarding his own rule to uphold God’s commandments.
The wicked boyars prepared boats for them on the river - under the city flows a river called the Oka. And so they set out on the river in the boats. In one of the boats with Fevronia was a man whose wife was on the same boat. This man, tempted by a wicked demon, looked at the holy one with lustful thoughts. She, perceiving his evil thoughts, rebuked him, saying: "Draw water from the river from this side of the boat." He drew water. She told him to drink it. He drank. Then she said: "Now draw water from the other side of the boat." He drew water. She told him to drink it again. He drank. She asked: "Is the water the same or is one side sweeter than the other?" He answered: "The water is the same, lady." Then she said: "Just as the water is the same, so is the nature of women. Why then do you, forgetting your wife, think of another?" Seeing that she possessed the gift of discernment, the man did not dare entertain such thoughts any longer.
When evening came, they reached the shore and began to prepare for the night. Blessed Prince Peter wondered: "What will become of us, now that I have willingly renounced my rule?" The wise Fevronia said to him: "Do not grieve, prince. The merciful God, Creator and Defender of all, will not abandon us in our distress!"
Meanwhile, on the shore, they prepared food for Prince Peter. The cook cut down some small trees to hang the pots on. When the meal was over, the holy princess Fevronia, walking along the shore and seeing the cuttings, blessed them, saying: "Let them become great trees with branches and leaves by morning." And so it happened: in the morning, the cuttings had grown into large trees with branches and leaves.
When the people gathered to load their belongings from the shore into the boats, the nobles from the city of Murom came and said: "Our lord, prince! We have come from all the nobles and the people of the city to you, asking you not to leave us, your orphans, and return to your rule. For many nobles have perished in the city by the sword. Each of them wanted to rule, and in their strife, they killed each other. All the survivors, along with all the people, beg you: our lord, prince, though we have angered and offended you by not wanting Princess Fevronia to rule over our wives, now we, with all our households, are your servants and wish for you to be our prince. We love you and beg you not to leave us, your servants!"
Blessed Prince Peter and Blessed Princess Fevronia returned to their city. And they ruled the city, observing all the Lord's commandments and teachings impeccably, praying continually, and performing acts of charity for all people under their authority as loving father and mother. They loved all equally, eschewed cruelty and greed, and cared not for perishable wealth, but enriched themselves with God’s riches. They were true shepherds for their city, not as mercenaries. They governed their city with justice and gentleness, not with anger. They welcomed travelers, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and delivered the poor from their troubles.
IV
When the time for their pious departure arrived, they prayed to God to die at the same time. They instructed that they both be laid in one tomb, and ordered two graves to be made from one stone, separated by a thin partition. At the same time, they took monastic vows and donned monastic garments. The blessed Prince Peter was named David in monasticism, and the venerable Fevronia was named Euphrosyne in monasticism.
At that time, when the venerable and blessed Fevronia, named Euphrosyne, was embroidering the images of saints on the aer for the cathedral church of the Most Pure Theotokos, the venerable and blessed Prince Peter, named David, sent word to her saying: "O sister Euphrosyne! The time of departure has come, but I am waiting for you so that we may depart to God together." She replied: "Wait, my lord, until I finish embroidering the aer for the holy church." He sent word a second time: "I cannot wait much longer." And the third time he sent word: "I am already dying and cannot wait any longer!" At that moment, she was finishing the embroidery of the holy aer: she had only one saint's mantle left to complete, the face already embroidered. She stopped, stuck her needle into the aer, wrapped the thread around it, and sent word to the blessed Peter, named David, that she was dying with him. And praying, they both gave their holy souls into the hands of God on the twenty-fifth day of June.
After their departure, the people decided to bury the body of the blessed Prince Peter in the city, at the cathedral church of the Most Pure Theotokos, and to bury Fevronia in the suburban women's monastery, at the church of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross, saying that since they had become monks, they could not be laid in one grave. They made separate graves for them: the body of the holy Peter, named David, was placed in his grave and left until morning in the city church of the Most Pure Theotokos, while the body of the holy Fevronia, named Euphrosyne, was placed in her grave and left in the suburban church of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. Their common tomb, which they had ordered to be hewn from one stone, remained empty in the same city cathedral of the Most Pure Theotokos.
But the next morning, the people found that the separate graves where they had placed them were empty, and their holy bodies were found in the city cathedral church of the Most Pure Theotokos in the common tomb they had ordered to be made for themselves while alive. Foolish people, both during their lives and after the holy departure of Peter and Fevronia, tried to separate them again: they placed them back in separate graves. But again in the morning, the holy ones were found in the same tomb. After this, they dared not touch their holy bodies again and buried them near the city cathedral church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, as they had instructed - in the same tomb, which God granted for the enlightenment and salvation of that city. Those who approach their relics with faith are generously healed. Let us, to the best of our ability, give them praise.
Rejoice, Peter, for the power to kill the fierce flying serpent was given to you by God! Rejoice, Fevronia, for the wisdom of holy men was contained in your womanly head! Rejoice, Peter, for bearing sores and ulcers on your body, you endured all suffering courageously! Rejoice, Fevronia, for even in your maidenhood you possessed the gift of healing from God! Rejoice, glorious Peter, for, in keeping with God’s commandment not to leave your wife, you voluntarily renounced your rule! Rejoice, marvelous Fevronia, for by your blessing small trees grew large and branched with leaves in one night! Rejoice, honorable leaders, for in your rulership you lived humbly, praying, giving alms, without exalting yourselves; for this, Christ overshadowed you with His grace, so that even after death your bodies lie inseparably in one tomb, and in spirit, you stand before the Sovereign Christ! Rejoice, venerable and most blessed ones, for even after death you invisibly heal those who come to you with faith!
We pray to you, O most blessed spouses, intercede for us who honor your memory with faith!
Remember me too, a sinner, who wrote all that I heard about you, not knowing whether others, more knowledgeable than I, have written about you or not. Although I am sinful and ignorant, trusting in God’s grace and His mercies, and hoping for your prayers to Christ, I worked on my labor. Desiring to give you praise on earth, I have yet to touch upon true praise. I wanted to weave wreaths of praise for you after your departure for your meek rule and righteous life, but have yet to touch upon it. For you are glorified and crowned in heaven with true incorruptible wreaths by the common Sovereign of all, Christ. To Him be all glory, honor, and worship, together with His Unoriginate Father and the Most Holy, Good, and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.