Today, on January 1 New Calendar / December 19 Old Calendar, the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Elias who is buried in the Near Caves of the Kiev Monastery. (The story of how the Near Caves or Anthony’s Caves came to be is briefly re-told in our Post from December 15.)
Since at least the 16th century - and very likely much earlier than that - this Saint Elias has been understood to be Elias of Murom - the legendary hero warrior of the Rus epic poetry and sagas, or more specifically, the man whose life was mythologized in the sagas. Whether this is so is perhaps not an appropriate question to ask with respect to a mythological hero and a real-life saint. Nonetheless, there are clear parallels between the two for those inclined to seek such parallels.
«Богатыри». Виктор Васнецов. 1881—1898
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