Peresvet, like a whirlwind, rides his steed,
Cross in left, in right the spear he wields with heed.
His foe's shield shatters 'neath the spear's might,
While wreaths incorruptible alight
Upon the heads of soldiers staunch and true,
Bathed in paradise’s dew, a hallowed crew.
Apostates, their teeth clenched in bitter plight,
Bleed from wounds deep, despairing in their fight,
With hands so pale, in their dark hour of need.
– Poem by Gavrila Derzhavin
Tradition holds that the Battle of Kulikovo, fought on 21 September 1380, began with a duel between the Tatar-Mongol warrior Chelubey and the Russian monk Alexander Peresvet. With the blessing of St Sergius of Radonezh, Peresvet and his fellow monk Andrei Oslyabya joined the Russian forces on the Kulikovo Field. Chelubey, renowned as an ‘immortal’ among the pagans and considered undefeatable, was a master of martial arts, his reputation striking fear into the hearts of opponents. Yet, St Sergius’s profound wisdom and foresight are revealed in this battle’s true significance: it was a fight between light and darkness.
Unarmoured, wearing only the attire of a Russian schema-monk, Peresvet met Chelubey in single combat with nothing but his spear. Though mortally wounded, Peresvet succeeded in killing the ‘invincible’ warrior, sending shockwaves through the Tatar forces, who witnessed a seemingly impossible feat. The accepted order of things had been upturned, and the laws governing their worldview were shattered.
The relics of the Venerable Alexander Peresvet and Andrei Oslyabya in the Simonov Monastery, Moscow
“Vladimirites, Muscovites, Suzdalians, Nizhny Novgorodians went to the Kulikovo field, and Russians returned from there.”
– Lev Gumilev
The army assembled on the Kulikovo Field was not solely that of Moscow’s Prince Dimitry Ioannovich; it was a united Russian force, with regiments from the lands of Serpukhov, Belozersk, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Bryansk, and Polotsk. According to chronicles, this diverse army moved as a cohesive force, acting in concert as if a single entity.
The Tale of the Battle with Mamai records that just before the battle began, Grand Prince Dimitry disguised himself in the armour of an ordinary soldier, joining the front ranks. He dressed his close friend and boyar, Mikhail Andreyevich Brenok, in his scarlet robe and gilded armour. Mikhail, who closely resembled the prince, stood beneath the Grand Prince’s banner adorned with the image of the Saviour, taking on the role of Dimitry’s double.
But Mikhail was not simply a decoy. His role was to draw the Tatars’ focus to the left flank, defended by the ambush regiment where the strategic commanders — voivode Dimitry Bobrok-Volynsky and Prince Vladimir Andreevich Serpukhovsky — lay in wait in an oak grove. From the outset, the plan included the left regiment’s withdrawal, the probable death of the “false prince” Brenok, and a subsequent rear attack on the Tatars. Mikhail’s death was, in fact, foreseen as a sacrifice for victory.
This strategy succeeded: the enemy struck directly at what they believed to be Prince Dimitry’s command post, seeking to ‘decapitate’ the Russian army. Mikhail Brenok and the princes and boyars with him were among the first to fall, while the true prince, though gravely wounded, survived and was later found by common soldiers under a tree. Mikhail Brenok’s heroic sacrifice fulfilled the Gospel teaching to “lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (cf. John 15:13), a testament to his dedication and valor.
A memorial stone in honour of boyar Mikhail Brenok, who died in the Battle of Kulikovo with the Tatar-Mongols in 1380
Princes, voivodes, and simple soldiers alike followed this example of self-sacrifice on the Kulikovo Field. Although not all of their names have survived in the records of the era, they are all known to the Most High. Research by M. Karateyev reveals that 64 princes fought in the battle, including 57 of the Rurikid lineage, 5 Gediminids, and 2 local leaders. Of these, 33 princes perished in the battle. Among them were:
● Roman and Gleb of Bryansk
● Fyodor Ivanovich and Mstislav Ivanovich of Tarusa
● Andrei Konstantinovich and Semyon Andreevich of Obolensk
● Semyon Mikhailovich, Feodor Semyonovich, Feodor Romanovich, and Ivan Feodorovich of Beloozero
● Andrey Andomsky, also of the Beloozero princes
● Semyon (or Andrei) Vasilievich Kemsky and Gleb Kargolomsky, both of Belozersk
● Ivan Mikhailovich of Mologa
● From Uglitsky, Roman Davydovich, Boris Davydovich, Ivan Romanovich, Vladimir Romanovich, Svyatoslav Romanovich, and Yakov Romanovich
● Vladimir of Dorogobuzh, from the Smolensk princes
● Gleb Ivanovich of Drutsk
● Dimitry Vladimirovich of Kholm
● Fyodor and Mstislav of Turov
● Yuri Feodorovich of Meshchersk, a local dynastic leader
Many soldiers remained nameless, forever unknown, and the Orthodox Church in those days prayed for the forgiveness and repose of all Russian soldiers — named and unnamed — who laid down their lives for Russia and the Orthodox faith.
The Russian army had never known a victory like this. It was akin to the sacred wars of Old Testament history when God Himself fought alongside ancient Israel, bringing victory not by sheer numbers or military skill but by faith in His ever-present help. That day on the Kulikovo Field became one of both great joy and deep sorrow — victory mingled with the grief of great loss. Friends, family, and compatriots had perished. This victory on the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary marked the Mother of God as a special intercessor for the Russian land.
The chronicle recounts: “The great prince stood on bones on the other side of the Don for eight days until the Christians were separated from the wicked. The bodies of the Christians were laid to rest in the earth.” According to tradition, most of the fallen Russian soldiers were buried on the high bank at the confluence of the Don and the Nepryadva.
Prince Dimitry Ioannovich survived the Battle of Kulikovo. Returning to Moscow with his army on 1 October 1380, he established the Church of All Saints in Kulishki and soon began the construction of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery in memory of the battle. Later, Dimitry earned the honorific title “Donskoy” in recognition of his victory. In 1386, Princess Maria, mother of the heroic Prince Vladimir the Bold of Serpukhov, founded the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery in Moscow in gratitude to God for preserving her son’s life. She later took monastic vows there, adopting the name Martha, while the monastery’s first residents were widows of Russian soldiers who had lost their husbands on the Kulikovo Field.
To commemorate the victory, Prince Dimitry traveled to the Monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity to give thanks to God. With the blessing of the Venerable Hegumen Sergius, he held memorial services for the fallen soldiers. He also ordered that an annual memorial service be held on the Saturday before the feast day of his patron saint, the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki (8 November, New Style). According to a spiritual verse, the holy prince was blessed with an extraordinary vision: he was transported in spirit to the Kulikovo Field, where he saw the Most Holy Mother of God herself performing a memorial service for the soldiers, accompanied by the apostles.
Over time, this tradition of remembering fallen soldiers evolved. Prayers for the fallen began to include prayers for deceased family members and for all Orthodox Christians who had departed this life. Thus, “Dimitry Saturday” transformed into “Parents’ Saturday,” as it is now known, becoming a day of communal prayer and hope for God’s mercy upon the departed.
Since Prince Dimitry’s time, this sacred custom has fostered unity among generations, binding them together in prayer and ecclesiastical fellowship. Following the defeat of Napoleon’s army, for example, Dimitry Saturday included prayers for soldiers who had “laid down their lives for faith, tsar, and Fatherland” in the Patriotic War of 1812-1815. The Church also prayed on this day for those who perished in the Crimean War, as well as for Russian soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of fellow Orthodox Christians in the Balkans during the reign of Alexander III. Dimitry Saturday became a day of national prayer during both World Wars as well.
Today, as in the past, Orthodox believers continue to gather on Dimitry Parents’ Saturday, praying for the departed, finding comfort in their grief, and trusting that they will be reunited with their loved ones in eternal life through the mercy of the Lord.