Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod Province, Russia, October 29, 2024
Photo: prilukicerkov.by
The relics of a 13th-century princess-saint were discovered during the restoration of a church in Veliky Novgorod, 330 miles northwest of Moscow.
It was known that the relics of St. Charitina of Lithuania were buried at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul on Sinichya Hill but researchers weren’t certain exactly where. But during restoration work at the 12th-century church, her relics were found and identified, His Eminence Metropolitan Leo of Novgorod announced at a recent service, reports the Government of the Novgorod Province.
“We spent a long time searching for the saint’s relics. Archaeologists initially made some mistakes, beginning excavations in one place on the south side, while historically there was information that she was reburied on the northwest side of the church. She was buried in a log coffin, which had decomposed. The veil that covered her was embroidered with gold and silver threads. This was determined from the remains, threads found in the area of the frontal bone. She was an abbess of the monastery, and monastics’ faces are covered during burial,” the Metropolitan explained.
Photo: novreg.ru
The church, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was in severe disrepair until its transfer to Novgorod Museum-Reserve management in 2019. Restoration finally began in 2024 with support from the Museum Board and local and federal authorities. The project has already completed significant renovations including foundation reinforcement, facade restoration, roof work, and electrical installations.
Sts. Peter and Paul Church on Sinichya Hill is one of the few surviving monuments of pre-Mongol Novgorod architecture. Its unique construction technique is linked by researchers to the tradition of Polotsk masters. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with other Novgorod churches, in 1992.
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St. Philaret of Chernigov writes about St. Charitina:
According to historical records, St. Charitina was a Lithuanian princess by birth and labored in asceticism in the Sts. Peter and Paul Convent for women on Sinichya Hill in Novgorod.
The time of her ascetic deeds is vaguely indicated in the records, so it must be determined through conjecture. However, this time may reveal something distinctive about the spiritual life of the princess. It is known that the stone church of the monastery, where the relics of the saint rest, was built in 1192.
If the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul already existed when Blessed Charitina began to live in Novgorod, then her time in Novgorod should be attributed to the 13th century. It is also known that the second half of the 13th century was a turbulent and bloody time for Lithuania. In 1265, many members of the Lithuanian princely family fled Lithuania to Russia: Prince Dovmont to Pskov, and the son of Prince Tautvilas with his court fled from Polotsk to Novgorod.
According to the chronicles, the Novgorodians at that time wanted to kill the Lithuanians who had fled to them because of Lithuania’s previous offenses against Novgorod, but Prince Yaroslav did not allow this to happen. Thus, it becomes clear that Princess Charitina of Lithuania was among those persecuted by the turmoil of the time, apart from her personal affairs. [One version of her Life says that she was to be wed to the brother of St. Alexander Nevsky, Prince Feodor Yaroslavovich, but the young prince died suddenly under mysterious circumstances.—OC.]
Rejected by the world, she sought nothing more from it and dedicated her entire life to serving the Lord. Having taken monastic vows, she was made the abbess of the monastery for her virtuous life and remained a model of humility, purity, and strict abstinence for those under her care until her death. Thus, Christian virtue does not need earthly happiness to flourish; it grows even stronger through misfortune and raises its devout follower from earth to Heaven.
According to records, Princess Charitina reposed on October 5 in either the 6000th or 7000th year (by ancient reckoning—from the creation of the world). Converting this indefinite time to a more specific date, based on chronicles, we believe that the holy princess and abbess completed her spiritual labors on October 5, 6790 (or 1281).
Since 1764, the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, where her relics rest underground, has been a cemetery church on the St. Sophia Cathedral side of Novgorod. Her memory is celebrated on October 5/18.
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