In 1175, the Prince received once in the possession of the father of Vyshgorod, the residence of the Kiev princes, but he chose to retire to the north and founded the stone city of Bogolyubovo, not far from Vladimir. Having loved Christ and the Most Holy Theotokos from a young age, Prince Andrew erected the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the city center. And he adorned her with precious icons, gold, and expensive stones, and large, priceless pearls - he sprinkled it with a splendor so that it was painful to watch, because all of it in gold became. Everyone who saw this miracle could not convey in words of its incredible beauty. Prince Andrei and the city of Vladimir made impregnable: he built a golden gate to it, built in Vladimir a church of the Assumption of the Virgin, which was not inferior in luxury to the Bogolyubsky. In addition, he created many other churches and monasteries.

The prince was the breadwinner for the monks and the poor, and for people of any rank he was like a beloved father. Remembering the words of the Lord “and whoever does not give one of these little ones a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, will not lose his reward”, he ordered every day to bring food and drink around the city, and not a single beggar who comes to him asking, did not refuse alms, believing that it was Christ who came to check him. The prince had many virtues, and all his habits were noble: at night he entered the church and lit candles and, seeing the image of God and the images of saints, humbled himself in spirit; broken in heart, sighed and mourned his sins. Having loved the immortal above the corruptible, the heavenly more short-lived, and the life with the saints of the Almighty God is greater than the kingdom of the earth, he was rewarded with virtues, like the wise Solomon.

But anyone living in virtue cannot but have enemies. Prince Andrew, having learned in advance about his impending murder, did nothing, saying: “The Lord God, my Almighty and his creator, the chosen people nailed on the cross, saying:“ May his blood be on us and on our children. ” He also recalled the words of the holy evangelists: "There is no longer that love, as if someone would lay down his soul for his friends." The same God-loving prince did not set his soul for the Creator himself, but for his own sake.

So, the treacherous council of criminal villains took place on Friday at the Mass. The prince had a servant Yakim, whom he trusted. Having learned from someone that his brother had been ordered by the prince to be executed, he rushed screaming to his friends, evil accomplices; as Judah once before the Jews, trying to please his father, Satan, he began to say: "Today he executed him, and tomorrow - us." And they conceived the murder in the night, like Judah against the Lord. Night has come. Grabbing their weapons, they went to the prince like wild animals, but, as they walked to his bedroom, fear and awe pierced them. And, going down to the cellar, they drank wine. The leader of the murderers was Peter, the son-in-law of the rich boyars of the Kuchkovichi - all in all, twenty people who entered into a sinful conspiracy, including the key keeper of Prince Anbal. Having broken the door to the princely bedroom, the killers attacked Andrei. The blessed one jumped up, wanted to grab the sword, but there was no weapon in the place, for the key keeper had hidden it that day. The prince was strong: he threw one of the murderers under himself, but wounded him with swords and sabers, and he exclaimed: “Oh, woe to you, dishonorable! What evil have I done to you? If you shed my blood on the earth, may God take revenge on you! ” Having decided that the prince was killed, the conspirators disappeared, but the prince, overcoming pain, came down with a groan from the porch and turned to God: “Although I have sinned a lot, Lord <...> I know that you are merciful when you see the crying <...> If the blood mine and shed, then venerate me your holy martyrs. " One of the conspirators, hearing the prince's voice, called for everyone else. The damned jumped up and killed him. Peter cut off his right hand.

The conspirators entered the chambers, took the gold, jewelry and, having loaded on the best princely horses, sent them home. And themselves, seizing the treasured weapon of the prince, they began to collect soldiers, saying: “Wait until the squad comes from us from Vladimir?” And they gathered a detachment, sending a message to Vladimir: “Are you planning anything against us? We want to settle it with you: it’s not only one of us who planned it this way, and among you there are our accomplices. ” And the people of Vladimir answered: “He who is your accomplice will be with you, but we do not need” - and they parted and rushed to rob. Came to the princely court Kuzma, a Kievite, and began to question where the master was killed. They answered him: “There he lies, dragged into the garden. But do not dare to take it, everyone decided to throw it to the dogs. Whoever comes to him is the enemy to us, we will kill him! ” And he began to mourn Prince Kuzma, and then, not afraid of threats, he carried the body to the church. But the dead man lay in the narthex for two days and two nights, because the lackeys were drunk and did not want to recognize the master. On the third day, Abbot Arseny came, brought the body to the church and performed the funeral rite.

At that time many troubles happened: the houses of the posadniks and rulers were looted, and they themselves, and the servants, and the guards were killed. The robbery also spread to Vladimir. Until Mikula began to walk with the image of the Holy Virgin in vestments in the city, then the robberies stopped.

When the troubles subsided in Bogolyubov, they decided to transfer the body of the prince to Vladimir. The people could not resist tears, and sobbing, people said: “Already after all, not to Kiev, our lord, you went! In that Vladimir church under the golden gate, which I ordered to do, saying: "I will build a church as golden as the gate - let it be to the glory of my whole country!" And so the whole city cried for him, and, removing his body with honor and with songs, they laid him in the church of the Holy Virgin, which he himself erected.

The apostle teaches: “Whom God loves, he punishes him, and he beats every son he accepts; for if you endure punishment, you become like a son to God. ” For God did not set the beautiful sun in one place, from there to illuminate the entire universe, but arranged for him to ascend, zenith and sunset. In exactly the same way, he did not take his servant, Prince Andrei, free of charge, but gave him a soul to exploit, washing his sins with blood, and, according to his brothers, Boris and Gleb, came to God according to God.