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Ilya (Archbishop of Novgorod)
Encyclopedia
Ilya also known as Ioann (John)' onMouseout='HidePop("38431")' href="/topics/Russia">Russia
n Orthodox hagiography), was Archbishop of Novgorod
from 1165 to his death in 1186.
. The church was rebuilt in 1407, destroyed during the Second World War, and has been rebuilt again; it still stands today. It is believed that Ilya was his first monastic name, thus his baptismal name is not known.
Ilya was appointed bishop
of Novgorod by Metropolitan
Ioann of Kiev
in 1165. He was the first to hold the title of archbishop
in Novgorod after the office was elevated to the archiepiscopal dignity a few months later. Nifont (1130-1156) held the title as a personal honor.
Ilya carried out a number of construction projects in Novgorod along with his brother, Gavril (also known as Grigorii), who succeeded him as archbishop (1186-1193).
Ilya died on September 7, 1186 and is buried in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom
in the west gallery next to the Predtechenskaia Porch. He was originally buried below the floor in the Martirievskii Porch (where his brother is still buried), but his relics were later moved.
His relics were desecrated during the Soviet anti-religious campaigns
on April 3, 1919. They are now in a new sarcophagus with a new sarcophagial effigy (from the 1990s) covering it.
Ilya was canonized at the Moscow Council of 1547. His feast day is September 7 (OS)/September 20 in the Gregorian Calendar.
Ilya is also depicted in the two fifteenth and sixteenth century Icons of the Battle of the Novgorodians with the Suzdalians
housed in the Novgorod Museum and the Russian Museum
in Saint Petersburg
. He is shown bringing the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign from the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilin Street
to the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom
during the Suzdalian siege of the city in 1169. The Mother of God
is said to have saved the city at that time. He is also featured prominently in the tale that surrounds the event and the chronicle accounts of the siege.
Ilya is also depicted in a 19th Century wall fresco
in the Pretechenskaia Porch of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Orthodox hagiography), was Archbishop of Novgorod
Archbishop of Novgorod
The Archbishop of Novgorod is the head of the eparchy of Novgorod the Great and is one of the oldest offices in the Russian Orthodox Church. The archbishops have, in fact, been among the most important figures in medieval Russian history and culture and their successors continued to play...
from 1165 to his death in 1186.
Life
The son of a priest, Ilya was himself priest of the Church of St. Blaise south of the Novgorod KremlinNovgorod Kremlin
Novgorod Kremlin stands on the left bank of the Volkhov River about two miles north of where it empties out of Lake Ilmen.-History:...
. The church was rebuilt in 1407, destroyed during the Second World War, and has been rebuilt again; it still stands today. It is believed that Ilya was his first monastic name, thus his baptismal name is not known.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Novgorod by Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
Ioann of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 1165. He was the first to hold the title of archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
in Novgorod after the office was elevated to the archiepiscopal dignity a few months later. Nifont (1130-1156) held the title as a personal honor.
Ilya carried out a number of construction projects in Novgorod along with his brother, Gavril (also known as Grigorii), who succeeded him as archbishop (1186-1193).
Ilya died on September 7, 1186 and is buried in the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
The Cathedral of St. Sophia in the Kremlin in Veliky Novgorod is the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Novgorod and the mother church of the Novgorodian Eparchy.-History:...
in the west gallery next to the Predtechenskaia Porch. He was originally buried below the floor in the Martirievskii Porch (where his brother is still buried), but his relics were later moved.
His relics were desecrated during the Soviet anti-religious campaigns
Religion in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was the first state to have as an ideological objective the elimination of religion and its replacement with atheism. To that end, the communist regime confiscated religious property, ridiculed religion, harassed believers, and propagated atheism in schools...
on April 3, 1919. They are now in a new sarcophagus with a new sarcophagial effigy (from the 1990s) covering it.
Ilya was canonized at the Moscow Council of 1547. His feast day is September 7 (OS)/September 20 in the Gregorian Calendar.
Ilya in literature and art
Ilya appears in a number of medieval tales (some of them set centuries after his death) as the quintessential archbishop of Novgorod. (He is almost always referred to as Ioann in them). The most famous tale depicts him conquering a devil and forcing it to transform itself into a horse and fly him to Jerusalem and back in a single night. In Jerusalem, he took the measurements of the Holy Sepulchre. This tale was developed to explain how a chapel matching the exact measurements of the Holy Sepulchre was established in the Cathedral. Ilya's monastic cell was kept in the archiepiscopal palace and transformed into a church several centuries after his death. The copper washing basin in which he is said to have captured the devil was shown to visitors at least into the early twentieth century.Ilya is also depicted in the two fifteenth and sixteenth century Icons of the Battle of the Novgorodians with the Suzdalians
Battle of the Novgorodians with the Suzdalians
The Battle of the Novogorodians with the Suzdalians is a twelfth century episode in which the city of Novgorod the Great was said to have been miraculously delivered from a besieging army from Suzdalia In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the episode became the basis for several...
housed in the Novgorod Museum and the Russian Museum
Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg....
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. He is shown bringing the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign from the Church of the Transfiguration on Ilin Street
Church of the Transfiguration on Ilin Street
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is a former Russian Orthodox Church that stands on Ilin Street in Novgorod the Great just east of the Marketplace. The current building was built in 1374 and frescoed by Theophanes the Greek in 1378...
to the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
The Cathedral of St. Sophia in the Kremlin in Veliky Novgorod is the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Novgorod and the mother church of the Novgorodian Eparchy.-History:...
during the Suzdalian siege of the city in 1169. The Mother of God
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
is said to have saved the city at that time. He is also featured prominently in the tale that surrounds the event and the chronicle accounts of the siege.
Ilya is also depicted in a 19th Century wall fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
in the Pretechenskaia Porch of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom.