This book is one of the first attempts to comprehensively and consistently tell the riddles surrounding the life of the Wonderworker of Zvenigorod, one of the most revered saints in Russia—Rev. Savva of Storozhevsky, known as the “prayer-giver for kings” and the “protector of Moscow.” Very little is known about his life. A student and associate of Sergius of Radonezh, the spiritual father of Dmitry Donskoy’s family, he was connected to great deeds and transformations in Rus’ after the victory on the Kulikovo Field. The author, the well-known writer and historian Konstantin Kovalyov-Sluzhevsky, chose the genre of an engaging fictional-historical investigation and proposed new dates and hypotheses.
Who raised Muscovite Rus’, fought the Golden Horde, and defeated Volga Bulgaria? Who inspired Andrei Rublev to create the “Zvenigorod Savior” and the “Trinity,” blessed the construction of new cathedrals and the Heavenly City on the Moskva River? When was the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery founded in Zvenigorod, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims? Why did the rulers of Rus’ sometimes choose not the most successful paths for the development of the state—and who influenced their decisions? The gathered legends and myths, sources and facts will help the reader in searching for answers to these and many other questions related to the mysteries of our ancient history.