In 1147 St Igor Ol’govich (September 19, June 5) was defeated
and captured by Izyaslav Mstislavich, the grandson of St Vladimir (July
15). Izyaslav then replaced St Igor as Great Prince.
The See of
Kiev had been left vacant after the death of Metropolitan Michael in
1145, and Izyaslav chose the learned Schemamonk Clement of Smolensk to
succeed him. He wanted the candidate to be consecrated by bishops in
Russia, instead of sending him to Constantinople for consecration.
Because of the great distance between Kiev and Constantinople Izyaslav
called a council of Russian bishops, and ordered them to consecrate
Clement as Metropolitan of Kiev.
Not all of the bishops were in
agreement with this plan, notably the holy Archbishop Niphon of Novgorod
(April 8). Other hierarchs also refused to participate in the
consecration without the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Nevertheless, Clement’s consecration took place in spite of the
objections that had been raised.
After Izyaslav’s reign, he was
succeeded by Yuri (George) Dolgoruky. This Great Prince regarded the
consecration as illegal and uncanonical, and so he sent St
Constantine(Smolyatich) to Constantinople to be consecrated as
Metropolitan of Kiev by the Patriarch. Upon his return to Kiev, St
Constantine, by the authority of the Patriarch, deposed Clement from his
rank, and also deposed those who had been ordained by him.
When
the Great Prince Yuri completed the course of his life disputes arose
over who should succeed him as Great Prince. There was also disagreement
about who was the rightful Metropolitan of Kiev, and Izyaslav’s son
Mstislav supported Clement. Therefore, the Russian princes decided that
both Clement and Constantine should be deposed, and requested the
Patriarch of Constantinople to send them a new Metropolitan for Kiev.
Hoping to put an end to the disputes among the princes, the Patriarch
sent Theodore to Kiev as the new Metropolitan. St Constantine, wishing
to avoid further tumult in the Church, stepped down as Metropolitan and
went to Chernigov, where he became gravely ill.
Feeling that he
was approaching the end of his life, St Constantine composed a
Testament, which he entrusted to Bishop Anthony of Chernigov. He also
made Bishop Anthony promise that he would fulfill all the directives
contained in the Testament after Constantine’s death.
When St
Constantine reposed in 1159, Bishop Anthony took the Testament to Prince
Svyatoslav of Chernigov, broke the seal, and read the document aloud.
One of the provisions of the Testament was that St Constantine’s body
should not be buried, but dragged out of the city to be left as food for
dogs. This was because he felt responsible for the discord in the
Church.
Everyone who heard the reading of the Testament was
filled with horror. Prince Svyatoslav told the bishop to do as he saw
fit. Since he had given his promise to St Constantine to abide by the
terms of the Testament, he did not dare to go back on his word. So the
saint’s body was taken from the city and left in a field.
On that
very day the sky grew dark over Kiev, and strong winds, earthquakes,
thunder and lightning broke out. It is said that eight people were hit
by lightning at the same time.
Prince Rostislav of Kiev was in
Povari at Vyshgorod at the time. He had received news of the death of
Metropolitan Constantine, so he sent messages to the Church of the Holy
Wisdom and to other churches, asking for all-night vigils to be
conducted throughout the city. He believed that the citizens of Kiev
were being punished by the Lord for their sins.
While all of
these things were taking place in Kiev, the sun shone brightly in
Chernigov. However, three pillars of fire appeared at night over the
body of St Constantine. Seeing this marvel, many were filled with fear.
On the third day that the body lay in the field, Prince Svyatoslav
ordered that the body of the Metropolitan be buried with all the honor
befitting his rank.
The body of the saint was carried into the
city and buried in the church of the Savior, where St Igor, who was
killed by the inhabitants of Kiev, had also been interred. After the
burial of St Constantine, peace returned to Kiev, and all the people
glorified God.
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