Holy Prince Andrei Yurievich Bogolyubsky

The builder of «White Russia», so calls Prince Andrew chronicle. Fearless warrior, peace-loving politician, learned scribe, for believers he forever remained a man who built the most beautiful temples of Ancient Russia, gave rise to the Vladimir chronicle and contributed to the creation of numerous stories glorifying the Virgin.

Planted by his father, Yuri Dolgoruky, to rule in Vyshgorod, Andrei decided to move to Rostov. With him he took the icon of the Virgin from the convent, which later received the name Vladimir. Near Vladimir, the horses refused to go forward. The prince had a vision.
The voice told him not to bring the icon to Rostov, but to put it in Vladimir. And in the place where he stood now would build a temple.

Andrew, a prayer-book and scribe, dared not disobey. He brought the icon to Vladimir, and on the place where his vision was built the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Soon there grew a town, which was called by the nickname of Prince Bogolyubovo.

Prince Andrew built about 50 churches throughout the Vladimir, Suzdal and Rostov lands.
He invited foreign masters and local workers for this. He ordered it to be made of white stone.

The construction of temples attracted people. The land of Vladimir changed considerably during his reign: it became crowded, overgrown with towns and villages.

The prince tried to obtain a metropolis for the Rostov principality, but did not succeed. The patriarch granted Theodore, whom the prince nominated, only the episcopal rank, and even then for a short time.

But culturally, Prince Andrey made Vladimir a center of enlightenment like Kiev. The libraries of Rostov monasteries exceeded the number of books Novgorod and Chernigov. And the cities of Suzdal, Rostov, Vladimir are still included in the Golden Ring of Russia.

Great people always have many enemies. The policy of the prince did not like the close boyars. They had their own interests, and it was not easy to think about the common benefit. The boys plotted and attacked the unarmed Prince Andrew in his bedroom. The wounded prince got out and hid under the stairs. However, he was found on a bloody trail and finished off. The body was dumped in the street.

In 2015 in Pereyaslavl-Zalleskom in one of the temples (Savior-Preobrazhensk) was found an inscription with a detailed description of the murder. The names of the conspirators were also listed. So we found out there were 20 people involved in the conspiracy. The names of some were known earlier from the annals, but some were made public for the first time. However, a study of the remains, conducted in the first decade of the 21st century, showed that the real killers were only two people. No other injuries.

The body of the prince was picked up and carried to the church by the “guest of Kiev” Kuzma Kiyanin. There he was sung, and then moved to the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir and buried.

But the prince could not find peace for a long time.

In 1919, the commission of the Revolutionary Military Council opened cancer with relics. A medical report was given, which confirmed the method of murder described in the chronicle.

In the first decades of Soviet rule, the body was then exhibited as a museum exhibit, then sent for research in Moscow. Then they returned to Vladimir again. And then they were sent back to Moscow. For some time the remains were in the State Historical Museum.
But in the 60s they were returned to Vladimir.

Finally, in 1987, the relics were transferred to the Assumption Cathedral. They are now in the same place where they were first buried.