Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich was the nephew of Andrey Bogolyubsky and the son of Vsevolod, nicknamed the Big Nest. In those days, it was considered that the son inherits the honor or dishonor of his father. This determined the moral qualities of the prince who began his reign. The prince was always expected to continue his father's affairs: good or bad, depending on what the parent was very good at. It was only as he grew older, made his own decisions, and did things his own way that he could change the public's attitude toward him. Georgy Vsevolodovich's father, Vsevolod the Big Nest (so called because he had a large family), left behind a good memory, which rarely remained after other princes. Vsevolod went down in the history of Russia as the mainstay of the Russian land in difficult times. He forced the rebellious residents of Rostov and Suzdal to respect the law, executed the murderers of his own brother Andrey Bogolyubsky. Vsevolod united the feuding princes of Kiev, southern, and Vladimir, northern, Russia, and became related to them, marrying his children with their children. He, perhaps, the last of the Old Russian princes managed to continue the work of Vladimir Monomakh. Civil strife subsided: peace was established in the country, and it really began to resemble a big nest, where everyone lived well and comfortably. Dying, the Grand Duke bequeathed to his sons to live in peace and harmony, to protect, like the apple of his eye, the Russian land. His son Georgy Vsevolodovich remembered this testament all his life. When the blessed prince was nineteen years old, his mother. Grand Duchess Maria became seriously ill and became a nun at the Monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos in Vladimir-on-Klyazma. After becoming Grand Duke of Vladimir, Georgy Vsevolodovich often visited his mother in the monastery and talked about theological topics there. From his father, he inherited a statesman's mind and ingenuity, from his mother-a kind heart. It is quite clear that the inhabitants of the Vladimir-Suzdal land did not want to see anyone as their ruler except the pious prince. And he perfectly carried out his rule: he judged according to honor, built temples, reconciled rebellious brothers, although the strife between them increased more and more, which led George Vsevolodovich to sad thoughts. But what could he do? Even the Mongol-Tatar defeat of the combined forces of the Russian princes on Kalka did not have a sobering effect on the latter. Meanwhile, a threatening cloud was moving in from the East. Every year it swelled up like a rain of blood. And in 1236, the first thunderclaps were heard, the earth trembled, and flames broke out... Historian Professor N. Ustryakov describes the Mongol-Tatar invasion as follows: "The eleven grandsons of Genghis Khan united their hordes to conquer Eastern Europe. The main leader was Genghis ' grandson, Batu, son of Chuchi. He led up to half a million wild steppe people. It was not internal strife, not the weapons of the victors, not the impoverishment of the country that moved this people from their native nomads: they went with an unaccountable, fantastic thirst for blood, murder, and ruin. The main principles of Mongol tactics were: a united strike, a rapid onslaught, a skilful ambush, a timely retreat, desperate bravery in times of danger, death to a coward, responsibility of private leaders in case of failure, correct division into detachments and unity in actions.

It was impossible for us to fight against such a people; we defended our freedom with desperate courage; no city surrendered without resistance; few princes fled from their enemies without a fight; the people stood with their breasts for the princes, for the faith, fought back in fortresses, in the name of God.temples and [best wanted to perish in flames, in cruel torment with their wives and children].

before you drop your weapon. But each city was defended separately. The most obvious danger could not reconcile the princes and unite their forces to one goal."

First, the hordes of Batu approached Ryazan. The envoys came to the city and demanded a tribute: "The ninth part of all that you have, let it be ours." "When no one is left alive, then you will take everything," the Ryazan princes replied. For five days there were bloody battles under the walls of the city, and on the sixth day, as the chronicle tells us, "the filthy ones came to the city early in the morning - some with lights, others with vices, and others with innumerable ladders - and took the city of Ryazan in the month of December on the twenty-first day. And in the city many people, both wives and children, were flogged with swords. And others were drowned in the river, priests and monks were flogged without a trace, and the whole city was burned. But the temples of God were destroyed and much blood was shed in the holy altars. And there was not a single living person left in the city: all the same, they died and drank a single cup of death. There was no one moaning or crying - no father and mother for their children, no children for their father and mother, no brother for brother, no kinsmen for kinsmen, but all lay dead together. And all this was for our sins."

A terrible, cruel picture is drawn to us by an unknown chronicler, but at the same time he looks the truth in the face: "... it was for our sins." One can only guess how Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich felt when he learned that Batu had set fire to Ryazan and moved on Vladimir. Being aware of the number of enemies and realizing that one could not cope with them, the grand Duke left to collect the militia. He recklessly left his family in the city, hoping that his "native city" would survive. Meanwhile, the Mongol-Tatar cavalry advanced rapidly. On the outskirts of Vladimir, Batu saw the golden domes of the Spassky and Voznesensky monasteries, and heard the alarm bell of the Assumption Church. But what is all this for a steppe ravager? It is not for nothing that the Russian people say about complete ruin:"How Mamai passed". Batu did the same...

"The story of our calamity," the chronicle testifies, " could have moved not only people and cattle to weep and groan, but also unfeeling stones themselves! And who can describe in words the cup of bitterness poured out upon us by the wrath of God, the sickle that reaped and destroyed us, the sword that not only despoiled us, but also destroyed our children and their families?"

Dozens of Russian cities were reduced to ashes, entire families of princes were exterminated, thousands of people were killed by death and slavery. Grand Duke George Vsevolodovich did not pass the bitter cup either. Contemporaries are struck by the fortitude and Christian humility with which he met the blows of fate. He gathered under one banner on the City River (a tributary of the Volga) the united squads of his numerous relatives-princes. But I was struck to the heart by the terrible news. Under the walls of Vladimir, fighting with the enemies, his beloved sons died: Vladimir, Vsevolod, Mstislav. But that wasn't all... Spattered with mud and blood, the messenger tearfully told of the Grand Duchess ' painful demise. Fleeing from the Mongol-Tatar troops that broke into the city, the wife of the Grand Duke with her daughter, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, many boyars and ordinary people locked herself in the Assumption Cathedral. Nomads broke down the doors, robbed the cathedral and burned it together with the people who were there. Before his death, many took the monastic image from Bishop Mitrofan. It happened on February 7, 1237.

After hearing the sad news, the Grand Duke exclaimed: "Lord, Lord! You have called this multitude of new martyrs to you, so why have you kept me alone to shame? O Most Merciful Lord! Do not deprive me, a sinner and unworthy one, of suffering with Christ as they suffered, for the sake of Your holy name!"

Prayer strengthened him, and the grand Duke began to seriously prepare for battle.

Together with his brother Svyatoslav and three nephews, the prince went out to meet the enemies. There was a terrible battle, the Russian regiments suffered great damage, and the Grand Duke was killed. Georgy Vsevolodovich's prayer was heard: he fell in battle as a brave soldier, as a martyr for the faith and Orthodox Russia.

The enemy army swept through like a hurricane, leaving many dead Russians in its wake. Shortly after the battle, Bishop Kirill of Rostov returned to his flock. His path was not far from the City River. The bishop decided to pray for the souls of the valiant soldiers who fell for the faith and the Fatherland. Among the many dead, the saint recognized the body of Grand Duke George by his grand-ducal garb. It was decapitated. With reverence, the bishop brought the hero's body to Rostov the Great, read the funeral service, and buried it in the cathedral Church of the Mother of God. After some time, the head of the suffering prince was found and buried with the body.

The new Grand Duke, the brother of the deceased, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the father of St. Alexander Nevsky, settled in Vladimir, cleaned the city of corpses and restored the churches, in 1239 sent to Rostov for the body of the blessed George for his reburial. Near Vladimir, the remains of the great sufferer were met by Metropolitan Kirill with all the clergy, Grand Duke Yaroslav with his brother Svyatoslav and children, with all the boyars and residents of Vladimir. At the sight of the coffin, people sobbed, drowning out the church singing. Everyone vividly recalled what they had experienced several years ago and mourned not only the lost prince, but also thousands of innocent Christian souls who had been killed.

In 1645, the body of the blessed Prince George was found incorruptible.

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