Marching on foot to Novgorod, a journey of more than a thousand miles,
through a country without a road, Zosima went up to the great city,
where he was received by the Vladika, and was ordained a priest. From
the mayor and chief boyars he obtained a more definite cession of the
isles than Prior Yon had been able to secure; and thus he came back to
his convent as pope and prior, with the fame of a holy man, to whom
nothing might be denied. Getting leave to remove the bones of Savatie
from Soroka to Solovetsk, he took up his body from the earth, and
finding it pure and fresh, he laid the incorruptible relics in the
crypt of his infant church.
More and more monks arrived in the lonely isles; and pilgrims from far
and near began to cross the sea; for the tomb of Savatie was said to
work miraculous cures. But as the monastery grew in fame and wealth,
the troubles of the world came down upon the prior and his monks. The
men of Kem began to see that this bank in the Frozen Sea was a
valuable prize; and the lords of Anzersk and Moksalma quarrelled with
the monks; disputing their right over the foreshores, and pressing
them with claims about the waifs and strays. At length, in his green
old age, Zosima girded up his loins, and taking his pastoral staff in
hand, set out for Novgorod, in the hope of seeing Marfa in person, and
of settling, once and forever, the question of his claim to these
rocks by asking for the lordship of Kem itself to be vested in the
prior of Solovetsk!
On a column of the great cathedral of St. Sophia, in the Kremlin of
Novgorod, a series of frescoes tells the story of this visit of St.
Zosima to the parent state. One picture takes the eye with a singular
and abiding force--a banquet in a noble hall, in which the table is
surrounded by headless guests.
Passing through the city from house to house, Zosima was received in
nearly all with honor, as became his years and fame; but not in all.
The boyars of Kem had friends in the city; and the Marfa's ear had
been filled with tales against his monkish guile and monkish greed.
From her door he was driven with scorn; and her house was that in
which he was most desirous of being received in peace. Knowing that he
could do nothing without her aid, Zosima set himself, by patient
waiting on events, to overcome her fury against the cause which he was
there to plead. At length, her feeling being subdued, she granted him
a new charter (dated 1470, and still preserved at Solovetsk),
confirming his right over all the lands, lakes, forests and
fore-shores of the Holy Isles, together with the lordship of Kem, made
over, then and for all coming time, to the service of God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account