Many Russian military units have their own patron saint, who is believed to ensure their success in military affairs. The Russian Border Troops are no exception in this regard.
The patron saint of the border troops of the Russian Federation is the famous epic hero Ilya Muromets.
Ilya Muromets as an epic character
Various historical studies prove that Ilya Muromets was not at all mythical, but a very real character who lived in Russia around the 12th century. His family lived in the Vladimir region, in a village located near the city of Murom, thanks to which Ilya got his nickname.
It is believed that the first 30 years of his life, Ilya was paralyzed, but then magically healed of his illness and decided to turn the acquired strength for the good of the Fatherland. He became a member of the military squad of the Kiev ruler Vladimir Monomakh and, as part of this military unit, won a large number of victories over the most powerful enemies.
In one of the difficult battles with the eternal enemies of the Russians - the Polovtsy - Ilya was seriously wounded in the chest area, which made it impossible for his further active participation in military exploits. As a result, he decided to go to a monastery and became a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Dormition Monastery. There he spent the last years of his life and died at the age of about 45. According to historians, this happened around 1188.
Ilya Muromets as the patron saint of the border troops
in 1643 the Russian Orthodox Church decided to rank Ilya Muromets among the saints for all the deeds that he performed in the name of his native land. He became a part of the Cathedral of the Murom saints, that is, saints who were born on the Murom land. At the same time, together with him, 69 more monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Dormition Monastery were numbered among the saints.
As one of the most famous Russian heroes who made great efforts to protect the border borders of his homeland, Ilya Muromets was elected the patron saint of the border troops of the Russian Federation. In addition to them, representatives of the missile forces and military special forces are considered their patron saint of the epic hero.
In 1998, in the Moscow region, a church was built in the name of the Monk Elijah of Murom, which was subsequently consecrated in accordance with all the canons of the Russian Orthodox Church. In this case, the building of the temple is located on the territory occupied by the Main Headquarters of the Missile Forces. The central part of the inner composition of the temple is the altar, which contains a particle of relics inside it, specially brought to the new structure during its construction from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, which is the main place where the relics of the Monk Elijah Muromets are located.
