Kuksha

Kuksha


The Kuksha hieromonk of Kiev-Pechersk learned prayers to the Lord and to Christ in the monastery, and decided that he would go to the Vyatichs to preach the faith of Christ to the pagan union of tribes, which did not accept Christ, as other tribes accepted. Kuksha himself is from Vyatichi, and it was annoying for him that the Vyatichi tribes did not accept the true faith. He went to the east with his student Nikon. Along the way, the Vyatichi met him, and recognized him as their vyatich, but they did not know what faith Kuksha was, they believed that Kuksha was a pagan and was returning to his village. Near the Sereni River, not in the Kaluga region, he stopped in the village of Vyatichi, their leader was Vyat, a pagan who fiercely worshipped Perun and Veles.

- What are the guests, what have you come to us with, Kuksha, noble vyatich. Have some mead, pheasant and bread.

- Wild honey was captured by Kiev, the monks mined in the thickets of Kiev.

- Kiev, we traded with the glades, dregovichi and Drevlyans, their thickets of honey are abundant, rivers of fish, fields of bread, we give them furs, they give us honey and wheat. So after Kupala day we will go there, Kiev to see what kind of Kiev is it, does it glorify Perun, as before?

- There are no more idols of Perun there, they were cut down and cursed.

- Traitors, how they defiled and betrayed the faith, how Perun did not punish them, because they betrayed not only Perun, but also their tribe. And what they believe in now is Odin or the sun.

- False faith is a lie, false, there is no Perun, there is no Veles, cut down all the idols of Sereni that are dug in.

- How dare you, traitor, you accepted their faith, who are the true gods then? Or there are none, there are no gods, we reject all gods, a tribe without gods, burn this Kiev, sent traitors. Who are the true gods of Kuksha?

- There is only one true God, beyond the sun, in heaven. And the Son of God Christ is there, also in heaven, God revealed him to the tribe of Israel, but they betrayed him and crucified him, and the Lord took him back to heaven. Christ is like God.

- How can the faith of another tribe, which is beyond the seas, become our faith, until the leader of this tribe, we accept the faith of another tribe. And you are a traitor to us, a traitor to the Vyatichi, grab them and drag them to the grove of Perunov.

Kuksha and Nikon, beaten, were dragged to the Perunov Grove at dawn. They tied ropes to their necks and threw them between the trunks of birch trees.

- That the traitor Kuksha betrayed Perun, came here so that we could throw Perun out and accept the faith, as in Kiev, the city of evil. Either renounce God and Christ, glorify Perun, who is deluded by someone else's faith, accepted this faith. Say Perun and Veles are our gods, and there are no other gods more...

- I will not say anything, for then there will be fire, and fire for all you pagans, if you do not renounce Perun and idols. I will not deny you, Lord and Christ.

- Pull the ropes, and then chop them up.

So Kuksha and Nikon did not reject God and Christ. And the Vyatichi, having seen the example of Kuksha, accepted Christ, the Vyatichi noticed both the faith of Christ and the Lord.