Golden cross “Holy Trinity. Lord Almighty. St. Sergius of Radonezh" p02653 Onyx

The largest monastery in Russia grew out of a tiny wooden church in the name of the Holy Trinity, cut down in the impenetrable Radonezh forest by St. Sergius and his brother Stephen in 1337. In 1422, a student of St. Sergius, St. Nikon of Radonezh, the burnt ancient temple was replaced with a new stone one. It was for the iconostasis of this cathedral that St. Andrei Rublev painted the icon of the Holy Trinity - the greatest creation of Russian spirituality and a masterpiece of world art. The central image on one side of the cross reproduces the iconography of the great shrine. The icon painter, glorified as a saint, is depicted to the right of his icon.

At the top is an icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Precisely as “praise” to him, as the embodiment of his spiritual testament, St. Andrei Rublev painted his great image.  St. Sergius taught that in the holy image of the Triune God there is ineffable perfection and a model for human life, a spiritual ideal to which one must strive. By “looking” at the image of love that unites the Divine Persons, “the fear of the hateful discord of this world” is overcome, enmity and pride are healed. To the left of the image of the Trinity is the beloved disciple of St. Sergius, St. Nikon of Radonezh. The saint left his monastery and his disciples for spiritual nourishment, and bequeathed him to bring to the world a sermon about the Triune God as the image of perfect love.

The teaching of St. Sergius changed Ancient Rus' and helped overcome the feudal fragmentation that was destroying it. According to contemporaries, St. Sergius “with quiet and meek words” could influence the hardest and most bitter hearts and reconcile the warring princes.  In 1356 he visited  Rostov prince,  then Nizhny Novgorod, was with the Ryazan saint, blessed Oleg, and with many other local princes of fragmented Rus'. Thanks to his activities, by the time of the Battle of Kulikovo, by 1380, many Russian princes had reconciled with the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy and recognized his supremacy. For this activity, historians have called Saint Sergius the spiritual collector of the Russian people. Below, under the icon of the Trinity, there is a scene of the blessing of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, St. Sergius of Radonezh to fight Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo.

The Monk Sergius, in the world Bartholomew, was born on May 16 (3), 1314 into a noble boyar family. The piety of his parents, his own faith and spiritual purity, sincere love for God and zeal in prayer already in childhood revealed to the saint the joy and beauty of spiritual life. For this, the Lord rewarded the saint with the gift of miracles and revealed himself to him in miraculous phenomena. An icon depicting one such event is placed on the other side of the cross, below, under the majestic image of Christ Pantocrator. This is an image of the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to Sergius of Radonezh, accompanied by the apostles Peter and John the Theologian. The memory of the Mother of God's visit to the Trinity Monastery and Her promise was sacredly preserved by the disciples of St. Sergius. An icon of the appearance of the Mother of God was placed on the tomb of St. Sergius, which began to be revered as a great shrine.

St. Sergius showed the world an example of holy love through many of his disciples, who dispersed throughout the Russian land. Before his death, he commanded the brethren, first of all, to strictly preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith and love. 

The memory of the Mother of God's visit to the Trinity Monastery and Her promise was sacredly preserved by the disciples of St. Sergius. An icon of the appearance of the Mother of God was placed on the tomb of St. Sergius, which began to be revered as a great shrine.

St. Sergius showed the world an example of holy love through many of his disciples, who dispersed throughout the Russian land. Before his death, he commanded the brethren, first of all, to strictly preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith and love. 

The memory of the Mother of God's visit to the Trinity Monastery and Her promise was sacredly preserved by the disciples of St. Sergius. An icon of the appearance of the Mother of God was placed on the tomb of St. Sergius, which began to be revered as a great shrine.

St. Sergius showed the world an example of holy love through many of his disciples, who dispersed throughout the Russian land. Before his death, he commanded the brethren, first of all, to strictly preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith and love.