Among the images of the saints of God, looking at us from the walls of Orthodox churches, you can see the icon of a warrior holding a military weapon in his hands, but at the same time dressed in a monastic schema, testifying to his monastic service. This is St. Andrew (Oslyabya) of Radonezh, whose path of earthly life is connected with a bright and heroic event in our history - the Battle of Kulikovo.
Brothers from the city of Lubutsk
Reliable information about the life of Andrey Oslyaby has been preserved very little. Even the exact dates of his birth and death are hidden from us. It is only known that he and his brother, who took the name of Alexander (Peresvet) as a monk, came from the ancient Russian city of Lubutsk, which was once on the right bank of the Dvina River, not far from the confluence of its tributary, the Dugna. From birth, the future saint received the name Rodion, with whom he parted, taking monastic vows.
Inoks called to battle
The main information about his life available to researchers is contained in a literary work of the 15th century bearing titled "The Legend of the Battle of Mamaev". According to this historical document, Grand Duke Dimitry I Ivanovich, who later received the title of "Donskoy", before going to the decisive battle with the hordes of the Tatar temnik (commander) Mamai, arrived at the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonezh to ask for his blessing.
“The Great Sorrower of the Russian Land”, as St. Sergius is usually called, not only blessed the Moscow prince, but also sent two schemamonks to his squad - brothers Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyabya. It is quite clear that by their presence the young monks could not increase the power of the princely army of many thousands, and their call to battle had a purely spiritual significance. The strength of God's people was not in the perishable weapons, which they, by the way, perfectly owned, but in the incorruptible Cross of the Lord, the image of which was sewn on their monastic vestments.
In parting words to Alexander Peresvet and Andrei Oslyabya, St. Sergius urged them to fight hard for the Fatherland and the faith of Christ, trampled on by filthy foreigners. He also put battle swords into their hands, sprinkled them with holy water and served a prayer service for granting victory to the Orthodox army. Overshadowed by the blessing of their spiritual father and mentor, the brothers set off together with Prince Dimitri to where the Nepryadva River flows into the Don, and where the famous Battle of Kulikovo took place on September 8, 1380, culminating in the complete defeat of the Mamayev hordes.
Two mutually exclusive versions
About how thethe further fate of the monk Andrei, there are two versions, each of which has many supporters in the scientific world. According to some sources, he died during the battle, while according to others, he survived and even distinguished himself in public service. As proof of this version, excerpts from documents from the early 90s of the XIV century are cited, which mention that a certain black monk named Andrey Oslyabya was included in the delegation of the Russian Metropolitan Cyprian, who was leaving for Constantinople on a diplomatic mission.
Opponents of this version quite reasonably claim that there is no reason to assert that the monk who went with Metropolitan Cyprian to Byzantium was the same monk Andrei, whom St. Sergius of Radonezh sent to the army of the Moscow prince. These could be completely different people, and the commonality of names (very common then in a monastic environment) can hardly serve as indisputable evidence.
The hero of the famous painting
As for the brother of the monk Andrei Oslyabi - Alexander Peresvet, his heroic death is colorfully described in the above-mentioned "Tale of the Battle of Mamaev". As the author of the work testifies, before the start of the battle, according to tradition, he met in a duel with the Tatar hero Chelubey, and both of them fell, piercing each other with spears. This scene is captured in the famous painting by the artist M. Avilov, painted by him in 1943 during the Battle of Stalingrad. A reproduction of the canvas is given in the article.
Saving the Grand Duke
As you know, many events in history, and especially those that are removed from us by the past centuries and sparingly reflected in historical documents, give impetus to the birth of legends. This happened with the participation of the Radonezh monk Andrei Oslyabi in the Battle of Kulikovo.
A legend has been preserved, nowhere, however, documented, according to which, at the height of the battle, a terrible blow from the Tatar club fell upon Prince Dimitri Donskoy, and falling from his horse, he lost consciousness. Probably, the Russian army would have remained without its leader if the monk Andrei had not arrived in time. He lifted the lifeless body of the prince from the ground and, cutting through the enemy army, carried him to a safe place, thereby preserving her God-chosen son for Holy Russia. In honor of this feat, the Russian battleship Oslyabya, which died heroically during the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905, received its name.
We also note that historians, who disputed the version of the death of St. Andrew on the battlefield, cite as evidence the fact that in the memorial synodics of that time, as well as in the annalistic lists that have survived to this day of persons killed on the Kulikovo field”, only the name of the monk Alexander Peresvet is found, while nothing is said about his brother.
Holy Martyr Brothers
It is known that the popular veneration of Andrei Oslyabi began much later than his brother Alexander, who became famous for his death in a duel with the Tatar hero Chelubey. Moreover, the oldest documents telling about the Battle of Kulikovo do not contain any mention of it, and only one of them - a literary monument of the turn of the XIV and XV centuries, known as "Zadonshchina" - contains a mention that during the battle two warrior monks gave their lives - Alexander and Andrey.
There is also no exact data on when the legendary brothers were canonized, it is only known that in the middle of the 17th century their names were included in the calendar, and they themselves are mentioned as saints of God, canonized as saints. At the end of the same century, a book was published in Moscow called "Description of the Russian Saints", and in it both of them already appeared as martyrs, that is, people who suffered torment and gave their lives for the faith. The most ancient icons depicting brothers that have come down to us belong to the same time.
Grave of brothers
The burial place of St. Andrei Oslyaby and his brother Alexander Peresvet is considered to be the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in Simonova Sloboda on the left bank of the Moskva River. The tombstone built over their graves was repeatedly dismantled and restored again, and in the Soviet period it was completely destroyed. Already in the years of perestroika, when the temple closed in 1928 was revived, a stone canopy was installed at the burial site. The remains of the saints themselves were not found. Nowadays, the Andrey Oslyabya spiritual sports center opened in Moscow at the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh (on Khodynka) has become a kind of monument to one of the brothers.
Icon of the holy warrior
On the icons, the image of St. Andrew of Radonezh is presented in several versions. Sometimes he is alone, but there are also versions (canonically acceptable options) depicting him with his brother Alexander or in combination with other historical figures, such as his spiritual father, St. Sergius of Radonezh, Prince Dmitry Donskoy or Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow. It also appears on the icon "Cathedral of the Radonezh Saints". But, regardless of the compositional and plot features of the icon, St. Andrew always appears before the audience in monastic vestments and with weapons in his hands - as an indestructible defender of faith and the Fatherland.
