Rodion Oslyabya (russian: Родион Ослябя) was a Russian

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

from

Saint Sergius Sergius (or Serge) and Bacchus were fourth-century Roman Christian soldiers revered as martyrs and military saints by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. Their feast day is 7 October. According to their hagiography ...

's Trinity Abbey who became famous for his part in the

Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo (russian: Мамаево побоище, Донское побоище, Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was fought between the armies of the Golden Horde, under the command ...

. Most details of his life are legendary. According to a 15th-century source, he was a nobleman (

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

) rather than a monk. He fought in the

Battle on Pyana River ) , date = , result = Decisive Tatar victory , combatant1 = PereyaslavlYaroslavl YuryevPrincipality of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal Murom , combatant2 = Golden Horde , commander1 = Knyaz Ivan Dmitriyevich , commander2 = Khan Ar ...

, in a rank of '' tysyachnik'' (leader of a thousand knights), and survived the defeat. According to hagiography, he accepted vows just prior to Battle of Kulikovo. His relative (some say brother) was

Alexander Peresvet Alexander Peresvet – also spelled Peresviet (Russian language, Russian: Александр Пересвет, d. 8 September 1380) – was a Russian Orthodox monk who fought in a single combat with the Tatar champion Temir-murza (known in most R ...

, although it is likely that this relationship is merely the product of later hagiographic tradition. Oslyabya reportedly fought and survived the battle of Kulikovo, along with his son Yakov. There's no certainty if he survived the battle. According to some accounts, he did, and later participated in a diplomatic mission to the Byzantine Emperor in 1398. According to other accounts, he was killed in that battle. Oslyabya lies buried at the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

Church in Simonovo,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

together with Peresviet. The

Russian battleship Oslyabya ''Oslyabya'' (russian: Ослябя) was the second of the three second-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy at the end of the nineteenth century, although construction delays meant that she was the last to be ...

was named after him.

References

Sources

In Russian language * Благословение преподобного Сергия. Под редакцией В.Силовьева. Изд.совет РПЦ, 2005 {{ISBN, 5-94625-127-9 * Титов А. А. Предание о ростовских князьях. М., 1885 * Лошиц Ю. М. Дмитрий Донской., М., 1996 * Розанов Н. П. История церкви Рождества Пресвятые Богородицы на Старом Симонове в Москве. К её пятисотолетию (1370—1870). М., 1870 O Russian knights