[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints
Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints
readingsandsaints at orthodoxchurchalbion.org
Fri Sep 28 05:00:28 CDT 2007
Scripture Readings and Saints for Fri Sep 28 2007
----------------------------------------------------
------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------
Wisdom of Solomon 5:15-6:3 (Vespers, 1st Reading)
15 But the righteous live for ever, and their reward is with the Lord;
the Most High takes care of them.
16 Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem
from the hand of the Lord, because with his right hand he will cover
them, and with his arm he will shield them.
17 The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all
creation to repel his enemies;
18 he will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial
justice as a helmet;
19 he will take holiness as a invincible shield,
20 and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join with
him to fight against the madmen.
21 Shafts of lightening will fly with true aim, and will leap to the
target as a from a well-drawn bow of clouds,
22 and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult; the
water of the sea will rage against them, and rivers will relentlessly
overwhelm them;
23 a mighty wind will rise against them, and like a tempest it will
winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth, and
evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers.
1 Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; learn, O judges of the
ends of the earth.
2 Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, and boast of many nations.
3 For your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty
from the Most High, who will search out your works and inquire into
your plans.
Scripture Reading 1 of 8
-----------------------------
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 (Vespers, 2nd Reading)
1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no
torment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their
departure was thought to be affliction,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at
peace.
4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is
full of immortality.
5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt
offering he accepted them.
7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run
like sparks through the stubble.
8 They will govern nations and rule other peoples, and the Lord will
reign over them for ever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will
abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect,
and he watches over his holy ones.
Scripture Reading 2 of 8
-----------------------------
Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15 (Vespers, 3rd Reading)
7 But the righteous man, though he die early, will be at rest.
8 For old age is not honored for length of time, nor measured by
number of years;
9 but understanding is gray hair for men, and a blameless life is ripe
old age.
10 There was one who pleased God and was loved by him,
11 He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile
deceive his soul.
12 For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving
desire perverts the innocent mind.
13 Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;
14 for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him
quickly from the midst of wickedness.
15 Yet the peoples saw and did not understand, nor take such a thing
to heart, that God's grace and mercy are his elect, and he watches
over his holy ones.
Scripture Reading 3 of 8
-----------------------------
Matthew 4:25-5:12 (Matins Gospel)
25 Great multitudes followed Him-from Galilee, and from Decapolis,
Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was
seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they
shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all
kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in
heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Scripture Reading 4 of 8
-----------------------------
Ephesians 6:18-24
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for
all the saints-
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my
mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak
boldly, as I ought to speak.
21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus,
a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all
things known to you;
22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know
our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity. Amen.
Scripture Reading 5 of 8
-----------------------------
2 Corinthians 4:6-15 (Saint)
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of
the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is
written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and
therefore speak,
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up
with Jesus, and will present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread
through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of
God.
Scripture Reading 6 of 8
-----------------------------
Luke 6:12-19
12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain
to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from
them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and
John; Philip and Bartholomew;
15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the
Zealot;
16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a
traitor.
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd
of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and
Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear
Him and be healed of their diseases,
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they
were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out
from Him and healed them all.
Scripture Reading 7 of 8
-----------------------------
Luke 6:17-23 (Saint)
17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd
of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and
Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear
Him and be healed of their diseases,
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they
were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out
from Him and healed them all.
20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: Blessed
are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed
are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And
revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is
great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
Scripture Reading 8 of 8
----------------------------------------------------
------ SAINTS/FEASTS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
Venerable Chariton the Confessor the Abbot of Palestine
Saint Chariton the Confessor suffered at Iconium during one of the
persecutions against Christians under the emperor Aurelian. The
grace-bearing example of the holy Protomartyr Thekla (September 24)
encouraged him in his confessor's deed. She being a native of his
city, whose memory he in particular deeply venerated.
St Chariton bravely denounced the pagan gods and staunchly confessed
faith in the One True God, Christ the Savior. The holy Confessor
underwent fierce tortures but, through the Providence of God, he
remained alive. When the persecution abated, the saint was set free
from prison and he dedicated all his life to the service of the Lord.
Journeying to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the holy places, he fell into
the hands of robbers. They tied him up and threw him in a cave,
intending to kill him later, and they hastened away on business. The
saint prayed fervently in expectation of death. He gave thanks to God
and entreated him to do with him according to His will.
At this time a snake crawled into the cave and began to drink wine
from a vessel setting there, poisoning it with its deadly venom.
Returning to the cave, the robbers drank the poisoned wine and they
all perished. St Chariton gave thanks to God and began his ascetic
struggles at the place of his miraculous rescue. He distributed the
plundered gold of the robbers to the poor, and in the robbers cave he
built a church, around which in time there formed a monastery, the
renowned Pharan Lavra in Palestine.
St Chariton compiled a strict rule for his monastery. Yearning for
solitude, the monk went farther into the desert, but there also he did
not reject those who sought his spiritual guidance, and he founded two
more monasteries: the Jericho and the Souka, named the "Old Lavra." At
the end of his life, St Chariton struggled in a cave on a hill near
the Souka monastery, but he did not cease to provide guidance for all
three of the monasteries he founded.
According to Tradition, St Chariton compiled the office of taking
monastic vows. St Chariton the Confessor died in extreme old age and
was buried, in accord with his last wishes, in the Pharan monastery in
the church, built on the site of the robbers' cave.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Chariton of Syanzhemsk, Vologda
Saint Euthymius and his disciple St Chariton lived at the River
Syanzhema during the close of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
sixteenth centuries. St Euthymius came to the Spasokamensk monastery
from the outskirts of Volokolamsk. For a long time he continued as a
novice at the monastery, but later he settled on the eastern shore of
Lake Kuben near the mouth of the River Kushta.
The saint built a small cell in the impenetrable swamps and dense
woods, where he struggled in total solitude. After a while, St
Alexander of Kushta (June 9) came to him. He also had set out from the
Spasokamensk monastery and at first settled at the River Syanzhema. St
Alexander entreated St Euthymius to switch cells with him, since he
was seeking a place of complete quiet.
Moving over to the River Syanzhema, St Euthymius did not refuse the
local people his spiritual counsel and guidance. And there St Chariton
also came to him.
St Euthymius built a church in honor of the Ascension of Christ and
founded a monastery next to it. At Rostov, under the holy Archbishop
Dionysius (1418-1425), he received the permission to build. Evidently,
he was also ordained to the holy priesthood, and was made igumen of
the monastery he established.
Both monks were an example to the brethren in prayer, and in the works
of construction and supervision. They made do with food and clothing
that even the brethren regarded as worthless. In church, St Euthymius
stood in fear and trembling, and the brethren often saw tears of
tenderness upon his face. While working at handicrafts, the saint
always sang Psalms. St Euthymius died around the year 1465, though the
actual day of his death is unknown.
His successor as igumen was his beloved disciple St Chariton. For more
than forty years he continued the work at the monastery, and he died
in old age on April 11, 1509. Both monks were buried at the Ascension
church.
The memory of St Euthymius is celebrated also on January 20, and that
of St Chariton on September 28, when their patron saints are
commemorated.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Herodion the Abbot of Iloezersk
Saint Herodion of Elias Lake and Novgorod, was a disciple of St
Cornelius of Komel (May 19, 1537). After the death of his mentor, he
settled at Elias Lake, 20 kilometers from White Lake, and there on a
peninsula he built himself a cell and established a church in honor of
the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, marking the beginning of the
Elias Lake Ozadsk monastery.
The monk was strict at fasting, he spent the nights at prayer and he
received the Holy Mysteries every Saturday. An angel told the monk of
his approaching end. He died as a schemamonk on September 28, 1541 and
was buried in the chapel he had built.
The first icon of St Herodion was painted after his appearance to a
certain Sophonios. Sophonios impiously thrust his staff into the grave
of St Herodion and was struck blind, but after praying to the saint,
he recovered his sight.
A short Life of St Herodion was written by Archimandrite Metrophanes
of White Lake monastery, who in 1653, with the blessing of
Metropolitan (afterwards Patriarch) Nikon, witnessed a miracle worked
from the relics of St Herodion. Then an annual commemoration of the
saint was established. At the place of the chapel of St Herodion a
church was built in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos
together with a chapel dedicated to St Herodion of Elias Lake.
_________________________________________________________________
Prophet Baruch
The Holy Prophet Baruch was an inseparable companion, disciple, friend
and scribe of the great Prophet Jeremiah (May 1). He wrote an entire
scroll of his prophetic sayings and read them to the people in the
Temple of Jerusalem. Together with his teacher, St Baruch grievously
lamented the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and he taught
and censured the Jews, and he suffered spite and vexation from them.
He witnessed the stoning of the holy Prophet Jeremiah, and buried his
body.
After the martyr's death of the Prophet Jeremiah, St Baruch lived a
short while and died in Egypt, in the sixth century before Christ. The
holy Prophet Baruch prophesied the return of the Jews from the
Babylonian Captivity, and the desolation of Babylon. He clearly
prophesied the coming into the world of the Son of God, Who would
"dwell with mankind." His prophecy begins with the words, "He is our
God, and no other can compare with Him" (Bar 3:36).
The Book of the Prophet Baruch is regarded as uncanonical and is
appended to the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. On the eve of the
Nativity of Christ it is read as one of the Old Testament readings,
listed as a prophecy of Jeremiah.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Alexander and 30 others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
St Mark, a shepherd, was arrested for his open confession of the
Christian Faith in Pisidian Antioch. The thirty soldiers guarding him
were converted by St Mark, and they were beheaded at Nicea, but St
Mark was sentenced to tortures.
The brothers Sts Alexander, Alpheius and Zosimus were blacksmiths from
the settlement of Katalitea, or Kalitea. They were summoned to forge
the instruments of torture which would be used on St Mark the
Shepherd. The iron did not melt and fuse, however, and the hands of
the blacksmiths grew numb. Hearing a voice summoning them to suffer
with St Mark, the brothers believed in Christ.
After fierce torture they poured molten tin down their throats. After
enduring many tortures, St Mark was beheaded at Claudiopolis. When
they carried the head of the holy martyr into the pagan temple of
Artemis, all the idols fell down and were smashed. The witnesses of
this miracle, Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and other young men and women,
believed in Christ, confessed their faith and died martyrs at
Maromilium.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Alpheius and 30 others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
The brothers Sts Alexander, Alpheius and Zosimus were blacksmiths from
the settlement of Katalitea, or Kalitea. They were summoned to forge
the instruments of torture which would be used on St Mark the
Shepherd. The iron did not melt and fuse, however, and the hands of
the blacksmiths grew numb. Hearing a voice summoning them to suffer
with St Mark, the brothers believed in Christ.
After enduring fierce torments, they had molten tin poured down their
throats, thereby winning a crown of martyrdom.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Zosimus and 30 Others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
Sts Alexander, Alpheius and Zosimus were brothers who were blacksmiths
from the settlement of Katalitea, or Kalitea. They were summoned to
forge the instruments of torture to be used on St Mark the Shepherd.
The iron did not melt and fuse, however, and the hands of the
blacksmiths grew numb. Hearing a voice summoning them to suffer with
St Mark, the brothers believed in Christ.
After enduring fierce torments, they had molten tin poured down their
throats, thereby winning a crown of martyrdom.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Mark and 30 Others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
St Mark, a shepherd, was arrested for his open confession of the
Christian Faith in Pisidian Antioch. The thirty soldiers guarding him
were converted by St Mark, and they were beheaded at Nicea, but St
Mark was sentenced to tortures.
The brothers Sts Alexander, Alpheius and Zosimus were blacksmiths from
the settlement of Katalitea, or Kalitea. They were summoned to forge
the instruments of torture which would be used on St Mark the
Shepherd. The iron did not melt and fuse, however, and the hands of
the blacksmiths grew numb. Hearing a voice summoning them to suffer
with St Mark, the brothers believed in Christ.
After fierce torture they poured molten tin down their throats. After
enduring many tortures, St Mark was beheaded at Claudiopolis. When
they carried the head of the holy martyr into the pagan temple of
Artemis, all the idols fell down and were smashed. The witnesses of
this miracle, Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and other young men and women,
believed in Christ, confessed their faith and died martyrs at
Maromilium.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Nikon and 30 others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
Saints Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and other young men and women saw all
the idols in the temple of Artemis fall down and smash to pieces when
they carried the head of St Mark the Shepherd inside. They believed in
Christ, confessed their faith and died as martyrs at Maromilium.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Neon and 30 others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
Saints Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and other young men and women saw all
the idols in the temple of Artemis fall down and smash to pieces when
they carried the head of St Mark the Shepherd inside. They believed in
Christ, confessed their faith and died as martyrs at Maromilium.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Heliodorus and 30 others in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
Saints Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and other young men and women saw all
the idols in the temple of Artemis fall down and smash to pieces when
they carried the head of St Mark the Shepherd inside. They believed in
Christ, confessed their faith and died as martyrs at Maromilium.
_________________________________________________________________
30 Martyrs in Pisidia and Phrygia
The Holy Martyrs Alexander, Alpheius, Zosimus, Mark the Shepherd,
Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and others suffered for confessing the
Christian Faith in various places of Asia Minor during the reign of
Diocletian (284-305).
St Mark, a shepherd, was arrested for his open confession of the
Christian Faith in Pisidian Antioch. The thirty soldiers guarding him
were converted by St Mark, and they were beheaded at Nicea, but St
Mark was sentenced to tortures.
The brothers Sts Alexander, Alpheius and Zosimus were blacksmiths from
the settlement of Katalitea, or Kalitea. They were summoned to forge
the instruments of torture which would be used on St Mark the
Shepherd. The iron did not melt and fuse, however, and the hands of
the blacksmiths grew numb. Hearing a voice summoning them to suffer
with St Mark, the brothers believed in Christ.
After fierce torture they poured molten tin down their throats. After
enduring many tortures, St Mark was beheaded at Claudiopolis. When
they carried the head of the holy martyr into the pagan temple of
Artemis, all the idols fell down and were smashed. The witnesses of
this miracle, Nikon, Neon, Heliodorus and other young men and women,
believed in Christ, confessed their faith and died martyrs at
Maromilium.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Wenceslaus the Prince of the Czechs
The Holy Prince Wenceslaus (Vyacheslav) of the Czechs was a grandson
of the holy Martyr and Princess Ludmilla (September 16), and he was
raised by her in deep piety. He began to rule at age eighteen after
the death of his father Prince Bratislav (+ 920).
In spite of his youthful age, he ruled wisely and justly and concerned
himself much about the Christian enlightenment of the people. The holy
prince was a widely educated man, and he studied in the Latin and
Greek languages.
St Wenceslaus was peace-loving. He built and embellished churches, and
in Prague, the Czech capital, he raised up a magnificent church in the
name of St Vitus, and he had respect for the clergy. Envious nobles
decided to murder the saint and, at first, to incite his mother
against him, and later to urge his younger brother, Boleslav, to
occupy the princely throne.
Boleslav invited his brother to the dedication of a church, and then
asked him to stay another day. In spite of the warnings of his
servants, the holy prince refused to believe in a conspiracy and
exposed his life to the will of God. On the following day, September
28, 935, when Wenceslaus went to Matins, he was wickedly murdered at
the doors of the church by his own brother and his brother's servants.
His body was stabbed and discarded without burial.
The mother, hearing of the murder of her son, found and placed his
body in a recently consecrated church at the princely court. They were
not able to wash off the blood splashed on the church doors, but after
three days it disappeared by itself.
After repenting of his sin, the murderer transferred the relics of St
Wenceslaus to Prague, where they were placed in the church of St
Vitus, which the martyr himself had constructed (the transfer of the
relics of St Wenceslaus is celebrated on March 4). The memory of
Prince Wenceslaus has been honored from of old in the Russian Orthodox
Church.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Schemamonk Cyril the Father of the Venerable
Sergius of Radonezh
Saint Cyril and his wife Maria were the parents of St Sergius of
Radonezh (September 25). They belonged to the nobility, but more
importantly, they were pious and faithful Christians who were adorned
with every virtue.
When the child in Maria's womb cried out three times in church during
Liturgy, people were astonished. Although frightened at first, Maria
came to see this event as a sign from God that her child would become
a chosen vessel of divine grace. She and her husband agreed that if
the child was a boy, they would bring him to church and dedicate him
to God. This child, the second of their three sons, was born around
1314. He was named Bartholomew at his baptism.
Because of civil strife, St Cyril moved his family from Rostov to
Radonezh when Bartholomew was still a boy.
Later, when their son expressed a desire to enter the monastic life,
Sts Cyril and Maria asked him to wait and take care of them until they
passed away, because his brothers Stephen and Peter were both married
and had their own family responsibilities. The young Bartholomew
obeyed his parents, and did everything he could to please them. They
later decided to retire to separate monasteries, and departed to the
Lord after a few years. It is believed that Sts Cyril and Maria both
reposed in 1337.
Forty days after burying his parents, Bartholomew settled their
estate, giving his share to his brother Peter. He then went to the
monastery when he was twenty-three years old, and was tonsured on
October 7 with the name Sergius (in honor of the martyr St Sergius who
is commemorated on that day). As everyone knows, St Sergius of
Radonezh became one of Russia's greatest and most revered saints.
St Cyril was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. He is
also commemorated on January 18, and on July 6 (Synaxis of the Saints
of Radonezh).
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Schema-nun Maria the Mother of the Venerable
Sergius of Radonezh
Saint Maria and her husband Cyril were the parents of St Sergius of
Radonezh (September 25). They belonged to the nobility, but more
importantly, they were pious and faithful Christians who were adorned
with every virtue.
When the child in her womb cried out three times in church during
Liturgy, people were astonished. Although frightened at first, Maria
came to see this event as a sign from God that her child would become
a chosen vessel of divine grace. She and her husband agreed that if
the child was a boy, they would bring him to church and dedicate him
to God. This child, the second of their three sons, was born around
1314. He was named Bartholomew at his baptism.
Because of civil strife, the family moved from Rostov to Radonezh when
Bartholomew was still a boy.
Later, when their son expressed a desire to enter the monastic life,
Sts Cyril and Maria asked him to wait and take care of them until they
passed away, because his brothers Stephen and Peter were both married
and had their own family responsibilities. The young Bartholomew
obeyed his parents, and did everything he could to please them. They
later decided to retire to separate monasteries, and departed to the
Lord after a few years. It is believed that Sts Cyril and Maria both
reposed in 1334.
Forty days after burying his parents, Bartholomew settled their
estate, giving his share to his brother Peter. He then went to the
monastery when he was twenty-three years old, and was tonsured on
October 7 with the name Sergius (in honor of the martyr St Sergius who
is commemorated on that day). As everyone knows, St Sergius of
Radonezh became one of Russia's greatest and most revered saints.
St Maria was glorified by the Orthodox Church of Russia in 1992. She
is also commemorated on January 18, and on July 6 (Synaxis of the
Saints of Radonezh).
_________________________________________________________________
Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Near Caves
The Synaxis of Monastic Fathers who are venerated in the Near Caves of
St Anthony, is now celebrated on September 28. This general
commemoration was originally on the first Saturday after the
Leave-taking of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (i.e. after
September 21).
The general commemoration of the monastic Fathers of the Near Caves of
St Anthony on the Saturday after the Leave-taking of the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Venerable Cross dates to the year 1670. During the
restoration of the Caves, which had been damaged by an earthquake,
some of the relics of the ancient ascetics were uncovered and a church
was built in honor of the Exaltation of the Venerable Cross.
In 1760 a stone church in honor of the Exaltation of the Venerable
Cross was built over the Caves. In 1886, under Metropolitan Platon of
Kiev, the Synaxis of the Fathers of the Near Caves was moved to
September 28 because of the celebration of the Synaxis of the Saints
of the Far Caves on August 28 .
There are two Canons to the Monastic Fathers of the Near Caves. The
first was compiled by the hieromonk Meletius the Orphan (inscribed in
the Kiev Akathistnik of 1764). The second, found in the services in
honor of the Fathers of the Kiev Caves, was compiled by St Demetrius
of Rostov.
Among the Monastic Fathers of the Near Caves are:
Monk Anthony the First-Founder (July 10) Monk Abramius the Lover of
Labor (August 21) Monk Abramius the Recluse (October 29) Monk
Agapitus, Unmercenary Physician (June 1) Monk Alexis the Recluse
(April 24) Monk Alypius the Iconographer (August 17) Martyr
Anastasius the Deacon (January 22) Monk Anatolius the Recluse (July
3) Monk Arethas the Recluse (October 24) Monk Athanasius the
Recluse (December 2) Igumen Barlaam (November 19) Hosiomartyrs
Basil and Theodore (August 11) Hieromonk Damian the Healer (October
5) Monk Elias of Murom (December 19) Bishop Ephraim of Pereyaslavl
(January 28) Monk Erasmus the Black-Robed (February 24) Martyr
Eustratius (March 28) Monk Gregory the Iconographer (August 8)
Martyr Gregory the Wonderworker (January 8) Monk Helladius the
Recluse (October 4) Monk Isaac the Recluse (February 14) Monk
Isaiah the Wonderworker (May 15) Monk Jeremiah the Clairvoyant
(October 5) Monk John the Faster (December 7) John the God-pleasing
(December 29) Martyr John the Infant (December 29) (commemorated
with the 14,000 Infants killed at Bethlehem by Herod) Monk John the
Long-Suffering (July 18) Nun Juliana, Princess of Olshansk (July 6)
Hieromartyr Kuksha, Enlightener of the Vyati (August 27) Bishop
Laurence the Recluse of Turov (January 29) Monk Luke the Steward
(November 6) Monk Macarius (January 19) Monk Mark the Grave-digger
(December 29) Monk Matthew the Clairvoyant (October 5) Bishop
Mercurius of Smolensk (August 7) Martyr Moses the Hungarian (July
26) Monk Nectarius the Obedient (November 29) Monk Nestor the
Chronicler (October 27) Monk Nicholas Svyatosha, Prince of
Chernigov (October 14) Monk Nicodemus the Prosphora-baker (October
31) Igumen Nikon (March 23) Monk Nikon the Shriveled (December 11)
Bishop Niphon of Novgorod (April 8) Monk Onesimus the Recluse
(October 4 and July 21) Monk Onesiphorus the Confessor (November 9)
Monk Onuphrius the Silent (July 21) Monk Pimen the Faster (August
27) Monk Pimen the Much-Ailing (August 7) Archmandrite Polycarp
(July 24) Monk Prochorus the Orach-eater (February 10) Monk Sava
the God-pleasing (April 24) Monk Sergius the Obedient (October 7)
Monk Simon, Bishop of Suzdal (May 10) Monk Sisoes the Recluse
(October 24) Monk Spyridon the Prosphora-baker (October 31) Monk
Sylvester the Wonderworker (January 2) Monk Theophanes the Faster
(October 11) Monks Theophilus the Mourner (December 29) Monk
Theophilus the Recluse (October 24) Hieromonk Titus (February 27)
Twelve Master Architects of Constantinople who painted the
monastery church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos
(February 14)
Besides these Saints, there are thirty other Saints among the monks of
the Kiev Caves, whose myrrh-producing heads were preserved. In the
Service to the Monastic Fathers of the Near Caves on September 28 St
Ephraim the Priest is mentioned (Ode 9). The hieromonk Athanasius
Kalpophyisky wrote in 1638, that his incorrupt body, clothed in
priestly vestments, lay opposite the relics of St Elias of Murom.
Hieromonk Athanasius also mentions St Eustathius, (Ode 8), who was a
goldsmith before he came to the monastery.
In the Canon of Meletius the Orphan, St Dionysius, Archbishop of
Suzdal (June 26 and also October 15) is also mentioned. The holy
hierarch was detained by the Lithuanian prince at Kiev after his
consecration as Metropolitan of Moscow by the Patriarch of
Constantinople. He died on October 15, 1384 and was buried in the
Antoniev Cave.
Besides the monks mentioned in the Services, the hieromonk Athanasius
Kalpophyisky in his Manuscript of 1638 indicated even more Saints,
whose uncovered relics they venerated: St Hieronymos, Recluse and
Wonderworker; St Meladius, holy Elder and Wonderworker; St Pergius,
holy Elder; St Paul, a monk of remarkable obedience.
The names of the priests St Meletius, St Serapion, St Philaretos, St
Peter are preserved in the old manuscript Calendars.
On May 24,1853, in one of the branches of the Near Caves, an
inscription was discovered on an eleventh century crypt: "Lord,
preserve Thy servants Theodosius and Theophilus. Many Years." "The
Grave of the Cave-Dweller John. Here John the sinner lived and is
now." On an oak board: "John the Cave-Dweller." Thus the names of the
new Kiev Caves Fathers: Theophilus, Theodosius and John were revealed.
There is also a general commemoration of the Monks of the Near Caves
together with the Monks of the Far Caves on the second Sunday of Great
Lent, when the Synaxis of all the Monastic Fathers of Kiev Caves is
celebrated. The Canon of the Hieromonk Meletius the Orphan enters into
the Service of that feastday (the Service to the Kiev Caves Monastic
Fathers, and to all the Saints who shone forth in Little Russia,
inscribed from Akathists with a Canon). The service was printed by the
Kiev Caves Dormition Lavra in 1866.
Without doubt, not all the names of the Fathers of the Kiev Caves are
known. In the Synaxis, all the Fathers illumined by ascetic deeds in
the Caves are glorified. In the Oikos of the Service of September 28
we sing: "Who can praise Your Saints, O Good One? I try to count their
number, but they are multiplied more than the sands of the sea. O
Master Christ, Who have numbered the stars and named them all, grant
their petitions for us..."
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Anthony of the Kiev Near Caves
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Prochorus the Wonderworker
Saint Prochorus of the Caves was a native of Smolensk, and entered the
Kiev Caves monastery under the igumen John (1089-1103). He was a great
ascetic of strict temperance. In place of bread he ate pigweed (or
orach), and so he was called "pigweed-eater." Every summer, he
gathered pigweed and made enough bread from it to last him for a whole
year. He also ate prosphora from church now and then, and his only
drink was water. Seeing the patience of St Prochorus, God transformed
the usual bitterness of the pigweed into sweetness.
_________________________________________________________________
St John the Faster
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Blessed Virgin Princess Juliana of Olshansk
Uncovering of the Relics of Righteous Virgin Juliana, Princess of
Olshansk: St Juliana lived during the first quarter of the sixteenth
century. Her father, Prince Yurii Dubrovitsky-Olshansky, was one of
the benefactors of the Kiev Caves Lavra. The righteous maiden died at
the age of sixteen. Her body, buried at the Kiev Caves Lavra near the
great church, was found incorrupt in the time of Archimandrite Elisha
Pletenets (1599-1624). The holy relics were burned in a fire at the
great church in the year 1718, but the relics were put in a reliquary
and placed in the Near Caves. Archimandrite Peter Moghila (afterwards
Metropolitan of Kiev), to whom the saint appeared in a dream,
reproaching him for lack of attention to her grave, ordered a new
reliquary to be made. On the reliquary was the inscription: "By the
will of the Creator of heaven and earth doth dwell for all years
Juliana, patroness and great intercessor to Heaven. Here are the bones
... healing against all passions ... You adorn Paradise, Juliana, like
a beautiful flower ..."
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Martyr Basil of the Kiev Near Caves
The Hieromartyrs Theodore and Basil of the Caves pursued asceticism in
the eleventh century in the Near Caves of Kiev. St Theodore
distributed his riches to the poor, went to the monastery and settled
into the Varangian Cave, adjoining the Caves of St Theodosius. He
dwelt here many years in strict temperance.
When the Enemy aroused sorrow in him for giving away his possessions,
St Basil comforted him: "I implore you, brother Theodore, do not
forget the reward. If you want to have possessions, take everything
that is mine." St Theodore repented and dearly loved St Basil, with
whom he lived in the cell.
Once, St Basil was on an errand outside the monastery for three
months. The devil, having assumed his form, appeared to St Theodore
and indicated that there was a treasure hidden somewhere in the cave
by robbers. The monk still wanted to leave the monastery to buy
possessions to live in the world. When St Basil returned, the demonic
illusion disappeared. From that time, St Theodore started to be more
attentive to himself. In order not to be distracted by idle thoughts
during moments of inactivity, he set up a millstone, and by night he
ground grain. Thus, by long and zealous ascetic action he freed
himself from the passion of avarice.
A report reached Prince Mstislav Svyatopolkovich that St Theodore had
found much treasure in the cave. He summoned the monk to him and
commanded him to show him the spot where the valuables were hidden. St
Theodore told the prince that indeed he had once seen gold and
precious vessels in the cave, but fearing temptation, he and St Basil
had buried the treasure, and God took from him the memory of where it
was hidden.
Not believing the saint, the prince gave orders to torture him to
death. They beat St Theodore so much that his hair-shirt was wet with
blood, and then they suspended him head-downwards, lighting a fire
beneath him. In a drunken condition the prince commanded them to
torture St Basil also, and then to kill him with an arrow. Dying, the
martyr Basil threw the arrow at the feet of Prince Mstislav and
predicted that he himself would soon be mortally wounded by it. The
prophecy was fulfilled on July 15, 1099 during an internecine war with
David Igorevich. On the wall of the Vladimir fortress, Prince Mstislav
was suddenly struck in the chest by an arrow through an opening in the
timbers, and on the following night he died. Recognizing his own
arrow, the prince said: "I die because of the monastic martyrs Basil
and Theodore."
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Martyr Theodore of the Kiev Near Caves
The Hieromartyrs Theodore and Basil of the Caves pursued asceticism in
the eleventh century in the Near Caves of Kiev. St Theodore
distributed his riches to the poor, went to the monastery and settled
into the Varangian Cave, adjoining the Caves of St Theodosius. He
dwelt here many years in strict temperance.
When the Enemy aroused sorrow in him for giving away his possessions,
St Basil comforted him: "I implore you, brother Theodore, do not
forget the reward. If you want to have possessions, take everything
that is mine." St Theodore repented and dearly loved St Basil, with
whom he lived in the cell.
Once, St Basil was on an errand outside the monastery for three
months. The devil, having assumed his form, appeared to St Theodore
and indicated that there was a treasure hidden somewhere in the cave
by robbers. The monk still wanted to leave the monastery to buy
possessions to live in the world. When St Basil returned, the demonic
illusion disappeared. From that time, St Theodore started to be more
attentive to himself. In order not to be distracted by idle thoughts
during moments of inactivity, he set up a millstone, and by night he
ground grain. Thus, by long and zealous ascetic action he freed
himself from the passion of avarice.
A report reached Prince Mstislav Svyatopolkovich that St Theodore had
found much treasure in the cave. He summoned the monk to him and
commanded him to show him the spot where the valuables were hidden. St
Theodore told the prince that indeed he had once seen gold and
precious vessels in the cave, but fearing temptation, he and St Basil
had buried the treasure, and God took from him the memory of where it
was hidden.
Not believing the saint, the prince gave orders to torture him to
death. They beat St Theodore so much that his hair-shirt was wet with
blood, and then they suspended him head-downwards, lighting a fire
beneath him. In a drunken condition the prince commanded them to
torture St Basil also, and then to kill him with an arrow. Dying, the
martyr Basil threw the arrow at the feet of Prince Mstislav and
predicted that he himself would soon be mortally wounded by it. The
prophecy was fulfilled on July 15, 1099 during an internecine war with
David Igorevich. On the wall of the Vladimir fortress, Prince Mstislav
was suddenly struck in the chest by an arrow through an opening in the
timbers, and on the following night he died. Recognizing his own
arrow, the prince said: "I die because of the monastic martyrs Basil
and Theodore."
_________________________________________________________________
Archimandrite Polycarp of the Caves
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Igumen Barlaam of the Caves
Saint Barlaam, Igumen of the Kiev Caves, lived during the eleventh
century at Kiev, and was the son of an illustrious noble. From the
time of his youth, he yearned for the monastic life and he went to St
Anthony of the Caves (July 10), who accepted the pious youth so firmly
determined to become a monk, and he bade St Nikon (March 23) to
tonsure him.
St Barlaam's father tried to return him home by force, but finally
became convinced that his son would never return to the world, so he
gave up. When the number of monks at the Caves began to increase, St
Anthony made St Barlaam igumen, while he himself moved to another cave
and again began to live in solitude.
St Barlaam became the first igumen of the Kiev Caves monastery. In the
year 1058, after asking St Anthony's blessing, St Barlaam built a
wooden church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
Afterwards, St Barlaam became igumen of the newly-formed monastery in
honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius.
St Barlaam twice went on pilgrimage to the holy places in Jerusalem
and Constantinople. After he returned from his second journey, he died
in the Vladimir Holy Mountain monastery at Volhynia in 1065 and was
buried, in accord with his final wishes, at the Caves monastery in the
Near Caves. His memory is celebrated September 28 and on the second
Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Damian the Priest and Healer of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Damian the Presbyter of the Near Caves of St Anthony, was
mentioned by St Nestor the Chronicler (October 27).
St Damian remembered the Baptism of Rus (in 988). This zealous
imitator of St Theodosius (May 3) was gentle, industrious and
obedient, to the joy of all the brethren. He spent the entire night at
prayer and reading the Divine Scriptures. St Damian was strict in
fasting and ate nothing but bread and water. The Lord rewarded him
with the gift of healing ailments.
St Damian the Healer is also commemorated on October 5.
The general troparion to these saints is: "Your hearts were
enlightened with the light of Christ's commandments, and you dispelled
the dread darkness. Like an abode of the Trinity, from whom we receive
grace, O Fathers Damian, Jeremiah and Matthew, you heal the infirm,
and you announce the future in the communion with the angels, We pray
you to intercede with Christ God to grant to us the communion of the
saints." Their memory is also on September 28 and the second Sunday of
Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Nicodemus the Prosphora Baker of the Kiev Near
Caves
Saints Spyridon and Nicodemus, the Prosphora-bakers of the Kiev Caves,
Near Caves fulfilled their obedience of baking prosphora for thirty
years. St Spyridon came to the monastery in the time of Igumen Pimen
(1132-1141), when he was no longer a young man. The ascetic combined
his work with unceasing prayer and the singing of Psalms. Even during
his life St Spyridon was glorified by miracles. He was illiterate, but
knew the entire Psalter by heart.
Once, his mantle caught fire from the oven. The fire was put out, but
the mantle remained whole. St Nicodemus toiled together with St
Spyridon and led a very strict life. Their relics are in the Kiev
Caves of St Anthony. The fingers of St Spyridon's right hand are
positioned to make the Sign of the Cross with three fingers. They are
also commemorated on September 28, and the second Sunday of Great
Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Laurence the Recluse and Bishop of Turov
Saint Laurence, Hermit of the Caves and Bishop of Turov, in the Near
Caves at first lived as a hermit at the monastery of the Great Martyr
Demetrius, built by Great Prince Izyaslav at Kiev near the Monastery
of the Caves. Later, he transferred to the Kiev Caves monastery, and
was glorified by a gift of healing.
He was elevated to the See of Turov in 1182 (Turov is a city in the
Minsk region), and was a successor of St Cyril of Turov (April 28). He
died in 1194, and was buried in the Near Caves. His memory is
celebrated also on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great
Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Athanasius the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Athanasius, Hermit of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves, was a
contemporary of the archimandrite St Polykarp (July 24) of the Kiev
Caves. St Athanasius was grievously ill for a long time. When he died,
the brethren prepared him for burial, and on the third day the igumen
came to bury him. However, they all saw the dead man alive. He was
sitting up and weeping. To all their questions he replied only: "Seek
salvation, obey the igumen in everything, repent each hour and pray to
our Lord Jesus Christ, to His All-Pure Mother and to Sts Anthony and
Theodosius, to allow you to end your life here. Do not ask me anything
else, for I must pray" (There is a similar story of St Hesychius
[October 3] in THE LADDER of St John Climacus, Step 6).
After this he lived for twelve years more in solitude in a cave.
During that time he spoke not a word to anyone. He wept day and night,
and partook of a little bread and water only every other day. Just
before his death, he assembled the brethren, and repeated his earlier
words to them, and then he peacefully departed unto the Lord (in about
the year 1176).
The monk Babylas, who had suffered illness and an infirmity of the
legs for many years, was healed at his relics. "As I lay there," he
related told the brethren, " I cried out in pain. Suddenly, St
Athanasius appeared to me and said, 'Come to me, and I shall heal
you.' I wanted to ask him how and when he had returned here, but he
became invisible. I believed his words and asked to be taken to his
relics. And indeed, I have been healed." St Athanasius was buried in
the Antoniev Cave. His memory is celebrated also on September 28 and
on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Erasmus of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Erasmus of the Kiev Caves St Simon, Bishop of Vladimir (May 10),
wrote about him to his friend St Polycarp (July 24): "At the Caves was
Erasmus the black-robed. He acquired a legacy of fame because he used
everything he possessed for the adornment of the monastery church. He
donated many icons, which even now may be seen over the altar.
The saint experienced great temptations after he had given away his
wealth. The Evil One began to suggest to him that he should have given
the money to the poor, rather than spend it on the beautification of
the church. St Erasmus did not understand such thoughts, so he fell
into despondency and began to live in a careless manner. Because of
his former virtue the gracious and merciful God saved him. He sent him
a grievous illness, and the monk lay near death.
In this sickness Erasmus lay for seven days, unable to see or speak,
and hardly breathing. On the eighth day the brethren came to him and,
seeing the difficulty of his approaching death, said,"Woe to the soul
of this brother, for he lived in idleness and in sin. Now his soul
beholds something and tarries, not having the strenght to leave the
body."
Erasmus suddenly got up, as though he had not been ill, and said to
the monks, "Fathers and brethren! It is true that I am a sinner, and
have not repented, as you said. Today, however, our monastic fathers
Anthony and Theodosius have appeared to me, and said: 'We have prayed
for you, and the Lord has given you time for repentance.' Then I saw
the All-Pure Mother of God with Christ in Her arms, and She said to
me, 'Erasmus, since you adorned My Church with icons, I will also
adorn you and exalt you in the Kingdom of my Son! Arise, repent, take
the angelic schema, and on the third day you will be taken from this
life.'
Having said this, Erasmus began to confess his sins before all without
shame, then went to church and was clothed in the schema, and on the
third day he died." St Erasmus was buried in the Near Caves. His
memory is also celebrated on September 28 and on the second Sunday of
Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Menignus the Steward of the Caves
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
St Agapitus the Doctor of the Kiev Near Caves
St Agapitus of the Caves. This Unmercenary Physician was born at Kiev.
He was a novice and disciple of St Anthony of the Caves, and lived
during the eleventh century. If any of the monastic brethren fell ill,
St Agapitus came to him and selflessly attended to the sick one. He
fed his patient boiled herbs which he himself prepared, and the person
recovered through the prayers of the saint. Many laymen also turned to
the monastic physician with the gift of healing.
In Kiev at this time was an experienced Armenian physician, who was
able to diagnose the nature of the illness and even accurately
determine the day of death just by looking at a patient. When one of
these doomed patients turned to St Agapitus, the grace-bearing healer
gave him some food from the monastery trapeza (dining area), and the
patient became well. Enflamed with envy, the physician wanted to
poison St Agapitus, but the Lord preserved him, and the poison had no
effect.
St Agapitus healed Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Chernigov, the future
Great Prince of Kiev (1114-1125), by sending him boiled herbs. The
grateful prince went to the monastery and wanted to see his healer,
but the humble ascetic hid himself and would not accept gifts.
When the holy healer himself became sick, that same Armenian physician
came to him and after examining him, he said that he would die in
three days. He swore to became an Orthodox monk if his prediction were
not fulfilled. The saint said that the Lord had revealed to him that
He would summon him only after three months.
St Agapitus died after three months (on June 1, not later than 1095),
and the Armenian went to the igumen of the Caves monastery and
received monastic tonsure. "It is certain that Agapitus was a saint of
God," he said. "I well knew, that it was impossible for him to last
three days in his sickness, but the Lord gave him three months." Thus
did the monk heal sickness of the soul and guide to the way of
salvation.
_________________________________________________________________
St Alexis the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Alexis, Hermit of Caves, lived a life of asceticism in the Near
Caves of the Kiev Caves monastery during the thirteenth century. His
relics were uncovered after 1675. The memory of St Alexis is
celebrated on April 24, because his relics rest beside the relics of
St Sava of Caves. His memory is also celebrated on the Synaxis of the
Monastic Fathers of the Near Caves (September 28) and on the Synaxis
of all the Wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves (Second Sunday of Great
Lent).
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Sava of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Sava of the Caves lived in the Near Caves of the Kiev Caves
monastery during the thirteenth century. In the manuscripts, in the
"Book of the Saints," and in the Canon of the Services to the Fathers
of the Kiev Caves, he is called a wonderworker.
His memory is celebrated on April 24 because of his namesake, the Holy
Martyr Sava Stratelates. The memory of St Sava is also celebrated on
the Synaxis of the Monastic Fathers of the Near Caves (September 28),
and on the Synaxis of all the Wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves (Second
Sunday of Great Lent).
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Sergius the Obedient of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Sergius the Obedient of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves, was a Greek
who began his monastic life on Mount Athos. Later, he came to Russia
and settled in the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity under the
guidance of the venerable Sergius of Radonezh (July 5) and (September
25). After several years, with the blessing of the igumen, St Sergius
went into the Vologda forests and settled at the bank of the River
Nurma. There he set up a cross and built a chapel with a cell, in
which he lived an ascetical life in deep silence, "going forth in
angelic life", and patiently enduring temptation from demons and
malevolent people.
It pleased the Lord to summon the saint from his solitude, so that in
his attainment of wisdom and spiritual experience he should serve for
the salvation of others. From various places forty men gathered around
him, thirsting for the spiritual life. By their common efforts, the
brethren built a large church in honor of the Procession of the
Venerable Wood of the Life-Creating Cross of the Lord (August 1). The
monastic cells were built around the church.
St Paul of Obnora (January 10) led an ascetical life about three miles
from the Nurma monastery, and St Sergius often visited him for
soul-profiting conversation. When it was time for St Sergius to go
back to his monastery, St Paul would accompany him for two-thirds of
the way. Later, a chapel was built to mark the place where they
parted. St Sergius died on October 7, 1412. Since 1546, the Church has
venerated him for his saintly life.
_________________________________________________________________
St Mecurius the Bishop of Smolensk
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Pimen the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Pimen the Much-ailing attained the Kingdom of Heaven by enduring
grievous illness. This Russian ascetic was both born and grew up
sickly, but his illness preserved him from illness of the soul.
For a long time he besought his parents to send him to the Kiev Caves
monastery. When they brought their son to the famed monastery, they
then began to pray for him to be healthy. But the sufferer himself,
conscious of the high value of suffering, instead asked the Lord both
for the continuation of his sickness, and also his tonsuring into
monasticism.
One night, radiant angels appeared in the guise of monks, and tonsured
him. They told him that he would receive his health only on the day of
his death. Several of the brethren heard the sound of singing, and
coming to St Pimen, they found him attired in monastic garb. In his
hand he held a lit candle, and his tonsured hair could be seen at the
crypt of St Theodosius. St Pimen spent many years in sickness, so that
those attending to him could not tolerate it. They often left him
without food and water for two or three days at a time, but he endured
everything with joy.
Compassionate towards the brethren, St Pimen healed a certain crippled
brother, who promised to serve him until death if he were healed. But
after a while the brother grew lax in his service, and his former
ailment overtook him. St Pimen again healed him with the advice, that
both the sick and those attending the sick receive equal reward.
St Pimen spent twenty years in grievous sufferings. One day, as the
angels had predicted, he became healthy. In church, the monk took
leave of all the brethren and partook of the Holy Mysteries. Then,
having bowed down before the grave of Abba Anthony, St Pimen indicated
the place for his burial, and he himself carried his bed there.
Pointing to those buried there, one after the other of the monks, and
he predicted that the brethren would find one buried in the schema to
be without it, since this monk had led a life unworthy of it. Another
monk, who had been buried without the schema, would be found clothed
in it after death, since he had greatly desired it during his life,
and he was worthy.
Then St Pimen lay down upon his bed and fell asleep in the Lord. The
brethren buried him with great honor, glorifying God.
After the death of St Pimen, the brethren were persuaded of the truth
of his words. On the day of St Pimen's repose, three fiery columns
appeared over the trapeza, and moved atop the church. A similar event
was described in the chronicles under February 11, 1110 (See the
August 5 commemoration of St Theoctistus of Chernigov), therefore the
day of demise of St Pimen is surmised as also occurring on February
11, 1110.
The relics of St Pimen rest in the Antoniev Cave.
A second commemoration of the saint is made on September 28, the
Synaxis of the Monks of the Near Caves.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Nestor the Chronicler of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Nestor the Chronicler, of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves was born at
Kiev in 1050. He came to St Theodosius (May 3) as a young man, and
became a novice. St Nestor took monastic tonsure under the successor
to St Theodosius, the igumen Stephen, and under him was ordained a
hierodeacon.
Concerning his lofty spiritual life it says that, with a number of
other monastic Fathers he participated in the casting out of a devil
from Nikita the Hermit (January 31), who had become fascinated by the
Hebrew wisdom of the Old Testament. St Nestor deeply appreciated true
knowledge, along with humility and penitence. "Great is the benefit of
book learning," he said, "for books point out and teach us the way to
repentance, since from the words of books we discover wisdom and
temperance. This is the stream, watering the universe, from which
springs wisdom. In books is a boundless depth, by them we are
comforted in sorrows, and they are a bridle for moderation. If you
enter diligently into the books of wisdom, then you shall discover
great benefit for your soul. Therefore, the one who reads books
converses with God or the saints."
In the monastery St Nestor had the obedience of being the chronicler.
In the 1080s he wrote the "Account about the Life and Martyrdom of the
Blessed Passion Bearers Boris and Gleb" in connection with the
transfer of the relics of the saints to Vyshgorod in the year 1072
(May 2). In the 1080s St Nestor also compiled the Life of the Monk
Theodosius of the Kiev Caves. And in 1091, on the eve of the patronal
Feast of the Kiev Caves Monastery, he was entrusted by Igumen John to
dig up the holy relics of St Theodosius (August 14) for transfer to
the church.
The chief work in the life of St Nestor was compiling in the years
1112-1113 The Russian Primary Chronicle. "Here is the account of years
past, how the Russian land came to be, who was the first prince at
Kiev and how the Russian land is arrayed." The very first line written
by St Nestor set forth his purpose. St Nestor used an extraordinarily
wide circle of sources: prior Russian chronicles and sayings,
monastery records, the Byzantine Chronicles of John Malalos and George
Amartolos, various historical collections, the accounts of the
boyar-Elder Ivan Vyshatich and of tradesmen and soldiers, of
journeymen and of those who knew. He drew them together with a unified
and strict ecclesiastical point of view. This permitted him to write
his history of Russia as an inclusive part of world history, the
history of the salvation of the human race.
The monk-patriot describes the history of the Russian Church in its
significant moments. He speaks about the first mention of the Russian
nation in historical sources in the year 866, in the time of St
Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople. He tells of the creation of the
Slavonic alphabet and writing by Sts Cyril and Methodius; and of the
Baptism of St Olga at Constantinople. The Chronicle of St Nestor has
preserved for us an account of the first Orthodox church in Kiev
(under the year 945), and of the holy Varangian Martyrs (under the
year 983), of the "testing of the faiths" by St Vladimir (in 986) and
the Baptism of Rus (in 988).
We are indebted to the first Russian Church historian for details
about the first Metropolitans of the Russian Church, about the
emergence of the Kiev Caves monastery, and about its founders and
ascetics. The times in which St Nestor lived were not easy for the
Russian land and the Russian Church. Rus lay torn asunder by princely
feuds; the Polovetsian nomads of the steppes lay waste to both city
and village with plundering raids. They led many Russian people into
slavery, and burned churches and monasteries. St Nestor was an
eyewitness to the devastation of the Kiev Caves monastery in the year
1096. In the Chronicle a theologically thought out patriotic history
is presented. The spiritual depth, historical fidelity and patriotism
of the The Russian Primary Chronicle establish it in the ranks of the
significant creations of world literature.
St Nestor died around the year 1114, having left to the other monastic
chroniclers of the Kiev Caves the continuation of his great work. His
successors in the writing of the Chronicles were: Igumen Sylvester,
who added contemporary accounts to the The Russian Primary Chronicle;
Igumen Moses Vydubitsky brought it up to the year 1200; and finally,
Igumen Laurence, who in the year 1377 wrote the most ancient of the
surviving manuscripts that preserve the Chronicle of St Nestor (this
copy is known as the "Lavrentian Chronicle"). The hagiographic
tradition of the Kiev Caves ascetics was continued by St Simon, Bishop
of Vladimir (May 10), the compiler of the Kiev Caves Paterikon.
Narrating the events connected with the lives of the holy saints of
God, St Simon often quotes, among other sources, from the Chronicle of
St Nestor.
St Nestor was buried in the Near Caves of St Anthony. The Church also
honors his memory in the Synaxis of the holy Fathers of the Near Caves
commemorated September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent when
is celebrated the Synaxis of all the Fathers of the Kiev Caves. His
works have been published many times, including in English as "The
Russian Primary Chronicle".
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Eustratius of the Kiev Near Caves
Martyr Eustratius of the Caves was born in the eleventh century at
Kiev into a wealthy family. As an adult, he received monastic tonsure
at the Kiev Caves monastery, after giving away all his possesions to
the poor. St Eustratius humbly underwent obediences at the monastery,
strictly fulfilling the rule of prayer and passing his days in fasting
and vigilance.
In 1096 the Polovetsians captured Kiev and ravaged the monastery of
the Caves, doing away with many of the monks. St Eustratius was taken
into captivity, and was sold into slavery with thirty monastic
laborers and twenty inhabitants of Kiev to a certain Jew living in
Korsun.
The impious Jew tried to make the captives to deny Christ, threatening
to kill those who refused by starving them. St Eustratius encouraged
and exhorted his brother Christians, "Brothers! Let none of us who are
baptized and believe in Christ betray the vows made at Baptism. Christ
has regenerated us through water and the Spirit. He has freed us from
the curse of the Law by His Blood, and He has made us heirs of His
Kingdom. If we live, we shall live for the Lord. If we die, we shall
die in the Lord and inherit eternal life."
Inspired by the saint's words, the captives resolved to die of
starvation, rather than renounce Christ, Who is the food and drink of
Eternal Life. Exhausted by hunger and thirst, some captives perished
after three days, some after four days, and some after seven days. St
Eustratius remained alive for fourteen days, since he was accustomed
to fasting from his youth. Suffering from hunger, he still did not
touch food nor water. The impious Jew, seeing that he had lost the
money he had paid for the captives, decided to take revenge on the
holy monk.
The radiant Feast of the Resurrection of Christ drew near, and the
Jewish slave owner was celebrating the Jewish Passover with his
companions. He decided to crucify St Eustratius. The cruel tormentors
mocked the saint, offering to let him share their Passover meal. The
Martyr replied, "The Lord has now bestown a great grace upon me. He
has permitted me to suffer on a cross for His Name just as He
suffered." The saint also predicted a horrible death for the Jew.
Hearing this, the enraged Jew grabbed a spear and stabbed St
Eustratius on the cross. The martyr's body was taken down from the
cross and thrown into the sea. Christian believers long searched for
the holy relics of the martyr, but were not able to find them. But
through the Providence of God the incorrupt relics were found in a
cave and worked many miracles. Later, they were transferred to the
Near Caves of the Kiev Caves monastery.
The prediction of the holy Martyr Eustratius that his blood would be
avenged was fulfilled soon after his death. The Byzantine Emperor
issued a decree expelling all Jews from Korsun, depriving them of
their property, and putting their elders to death for torturing
Christians. The Jew who crucified St Eustratius was hanged on a tree,
receiving just punishment for his wickedness.
_________________________________________________________________
St Helladius the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Helladius the Recluse of the Near Caves of St Anthony is also
commemorated on October 4.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Jeremiah the Seer of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Jeremiah the Clairvoyant was mentioned by St Nestor the
Chronicler (October 27). He came to the Monastery of the Caves when he
was already very old, and was tonsured by Sts Anthony and Theodosius.
Because of the virtue and holiness of his life, the Lord allowed St
Jeremiah to see into the future, and to see into the moral condition
of a person. If he saw an evil thought or sinful intention in anyone,
he admonished them privately, and instructed them how to guard
themselves from the temptations of the demons.
St Jeremiah also knew when a monk was thinking of leaving the
monastery to return to the world. He would tell the brother that he
knew of his intention, then comforted him and encouraged him to be
patient and to remain firm in his monastic struggles.
He used his spiritual gifts for the benefit of the brethren, and went
to the Lord at an advanced age.
The general troparion to these saints is: "Your hearts were
enlightened with the light of Christ's commandments, and you dispelled
the dread darkness. Like an abode of the Trinity, from whom we receive
grace, O Fathers Damian, Jeremiah and Matthew, you heal the infirm,
and you announce the future in the communion with the angels, We pray
you to intercede with Christ God to grant to us the communion of the
saints." Their memory is also on September 28 and the second Sunday of
Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr Moses of Ugrin
Saint Moses the Hungarian of the Caves, was a brother of St Ephraim of
Novy Torg (January 28), and of St George. Together with them he
entered into the service of the holy Prince Boris (July 24). After the
murder of St Boris in 1015 at the River Alta (St George also perished
with him), St Moses fled and hid himself at Kiev with Predislava,
sister of prince Yaroslav. In 1018, when the Polish king Boleslav
seized Kiev, St Moses and his companions wound up in Poland as
captives.
Tall and handsome, St Moses attracted the attention of a certain rich
Polish widow, who burned with a passionate desire for him and wanted
to ransom him from captivity and make him her husband. St Moses
resolutely refused to exchange captivity for slavery to a wife.
Despite his refusal, the Polish woman bought the captive.
She did everything in her power to seduce the youth, but he preferred
hunger pains to banquets of food. Then the Polish woman began to
convey St Moses through her lands, thinking to captivate him by power
and riches. St Moses told her that he would not trade spiritual riches
for the perishable things of this world, and that he wished to become
a monk.
Passing through the area, an Athonite hieromonk tonsured St Moses a
monk. The Polish woman gave orders to stretch St Moses on the ground
and to beat him with iron rods, so that the ground became soaked with
his blood. She sought permission of Boleslav to do with the captive
all that she pleased. The shameless woman once gave orders to put St
Moses in a bed with her. She kissed and embraced him, but she
accomplished nothing by this.
St Moses said, "From the fear of God I loathe you as impure". Hearing
this, the Polish woman gave orders to give the saint each day a
hundred lashes, and then to emasculate him. Boleslav soon began a
persecution against all the monks in the land, but sudden death
overtook him. A revolt arose in Poland, in which the widow also was
killed.
Having recovered from his wounds, St Moses arrived at the Kiev Caves
monastery, bearing on himself martyr's wounds and a crown of a
confessor and courageous warrior of Christ. The Lord provided him
strength in his sufferings. A certain monastic brother, oppressed by
impure passion, went to St Moses and sought his help, saying, "I
promise to keep until death everything you tell me to do." St Moses
said: "As long as you live, do not speak a word to any woman." The
brother promised to obey the advice of the monk. St Moses had in his
hand a staff, without which he was not able to walk because of the
wounds which he had received. With this staff St Moses struck the
chest of the brother who had approached him, and immediately he was
delivered from temptation.
St Moses pursued asceticism at Kiev for 10 years; he died in about the
year 1043 and was buried in the Near Caves. After venerating the
saint's holy relics and fervent prayer to him, the monks were healed
of fleshly temptations.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint John the Much-Suffering pursued asceticism at the Kiev Caves
Lavra, accepting many sorrows for the sake of virginity.
The ascetic recalled that from the time of his youth he had suffered
much, tormented by fleshly lust, and nothing could deliver him from
it, neither hunger nor thirst nor heavy chains. He then went into the
cave wherethe relics of St Anthony rested, and he fervently prayed to
the holy Abba. After a day and a night the much-suffering John heard a
voice: "John! It is necessary for you to become a recluse, in order to
weaken the vexation by silence and seclusion, and the Lord shall help
you by the prayers of His monastic saints." The saint settled into the
cave from that time, and only after thirty years did he conquer the
fleshly passions.
Tense and fierce was the struggle upon the thorny way on which the
monk went to victory. Sometimes the desire took hold of him to forsake
his seclusion, but then he resolved on still greater effort. The holy
warrior of Christ dug out a pit and with the onset of Great Lent he
climbed into it, and he covered himself up to the shoulders with
ground. He spent the whole of Lent in such a position, but the burning
of his former passions did not leave him. The enemy of salvation
brought terror upon the ascetic, wishing to expel him from the cave: a
fearsome serpent, breathing fire and sparks, tried to swallow the
saint. For several days these evil doings continued.
On the night of the Resurrection of Christ the serpent seized the head
of the monk in its jaws. Then Saint John cried out from the depths of
his heart: "O Lord my God and my Savior! Why have You forsaken me?
Have mercy upon me, only Lover of Mankind; deliver me from my foul
iniquity, so that I an not trapped in the snares of the Evil one.
Deliver me from the mouth of my enemy: send down a flash of lightning
and drive it away." Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed, and the
serpent vanished. A Divine light shone upon the ascetic, and a Voice
was heard: "John! Here is help for you. Be attentive from now on, that
nothing worse happen to you, and that you do not suffer in the age to
come."
The saint prostrated himself and said: "Lord! Why did You leave me for
so long in torment?" "I tried you according to the power of your
endurance," was the answer. "I brought upon you temptation, so that
you might be purified like gold. It is to the strong and powerful
servants that a master assigns the heavy work, and the easy tasks to
the infirm and to the weak. Therefore pray to the one buried here
(Moses the Hungarian), he can help you in this struggle, for he did
greater deeds than Joseph the Fair" (March 31). The monk died in the
year 1160, having acquired grace against profligate passions. His holy
relics rest in the Caves of St Anthony.
We pray to St John for deliverance from sexual impurity.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Mark the Grave-Digger of the Kiev Near Caves
Saints Mark the Grave-Digger, Theophilus and John are mentioned in the
Kiev Caves Paterikon. Two brothers being monastics, Sts Theophilus and
John, so loved each other that they prevailed upon St Mark to prepare
a double grave so they could be buried side by side.
Many years later, the older of the two brothers was away on monastery
business. During this time his brother John fell ill and died. Several
days later, St Theophilus returned and went with the brethren to view
his brother's body. Seeing that he lay at the higher place in their
common grave, he became indignant with St Mark and said, "Why did you
put him in my place? I am older than he."
The cave-dweller Mark, bowed humbly to St Theophilus and asked that he
forgive him. Turning to the dead man, he said, "Arise, give this place
to your older brother, and you lie down in the other place." And the
dead man moved to the lower place in the grave. Seeing this, St
Theophilus fell down at the knees of St Mark begging his forgiveness.
The cave-dweller Mark told Theophilus that he ought to be concerned
for his own salvation, because soon he would join his brother in that
place.
Hearing this, St Theophilus became terrified and decided that he would
soon die. He gave away everything that he possessed, keeping only his
mantle, and every day he awaited the hour of death. No one was able to
stop his tears, nor to tempt him with tasty food. Tears were his bread
by day and by night (Ps 41/42:3). God granted him several years more
for repentance, which he spent in fasting and lamentation. He even
went blind from continuous weeping.
St Mark forsaw the hour of his death and told Theophilus he would soon
depart this life. Theophilus pleaded, "Father, either take me with
you, or restore my sight." St Mark said to Theophilus, "Do not desire
death, it shall come in its own time, even if you do not wish it. Let
this be the sign of your impending end: three days before you depart
this world, your eyesight will return."
The words of the saint were fulfilled. The body of St Theophilus was
placed in the Antoniev Cave in the grave together with his brother St
John, near the relics of St Mark. Their memory is celebrated also on
September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Nicholas the Prince of Chernigov
Saint Nicholas Sviatosha, Prince of Chernigov, and Wonderworker of the
Kiev Caves, Near Caves, was a great-grandson of Great Prince Yaroslav
the Wise and son of Prince David Svyatoslavich of Chernigov (+ 1123).
Nicholas was the Prince of Lutsk, and he had a wife and children (his
daughter was later married to the Novgorod prince St Vsevolod-Gabriel
(February 11).
On February 17, 1106 the holy prince, left his family and was tonsured
at the Kiev Caves monastery. Nicholas Sviatosha carried out his
obediences with great humility. For three years he worked in the
kitchen, for which he chopped wood and carried water. For the next
three years, he was gatekeeper at the monastery. The saint had a
garden around his cell. Out of his own means he built at the monastery
the temple of the Holy Trinity and the infirmary church in the name of
St Nicholas, his patron saint.
St Nicholas was the first of the Russian princes to accept
monasticism, patiently enduring the reproaches of his brothers for his
decision to lead a life of humble obedience. The saint's doctor,
Peter, pointed out to the royal ascetic, that such exploits of
obedience had injured his health. But suddenly the doctor himself fell
sick, and was healed only by the prayer of St Nicholas. Then Peter
himself was tonsured.
After he had progressed through various obediences, St Nicholas took
upon himself the vow of silence. When the saint received money, he
used it to beautify the church, and to procure books (because he loved
reading), or he distributed it to the poor. St Nicholas was a zealous
peacemaker, in 1142 he reconciled the Prince of Chernigov with the
Great Prince Vsevolod.
Soon after the death of the saint, his brother Prince Izyaslav fell
grievously ill. The igumen of the monastery sent the sick man the
saint's hairshirt. Izyaslav put it on and was healed.
_________________________________________________________________
Martyr George the Wonderworker of the Kiev Near Caves
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Onesimus the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Onesimus the Recluse of the Near Caves is also commemorated on
July 21 and October 4.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Matthew the Clairvoyant
Saint Matthew the Clairvoyant of the Near Caves of St Anthony is
mentioned by St Nestor the Chronicler (October 27).
Because of his ascetical struggles, God permitted him to see the
demons, and to know their evil plots and hidden snares. St Matthew
also had several visions which he revealed to the brethren for their
edification and salvation. Because of the gift of clairvoyance which
he had received, the Elder was able to tell the brethren how to avoid
the things which would endanger their souls.
Once, during Matins, he turned his gaze to St Nikon (March 23).
Instead of seeing the igumen, however, he beheld a donkey. Later he
told St Nikon of this vision, and he understood it at once. It seems
that the igumen had fallen into the habit of arriving late for
services. St Nikon corrected himself after hearing of St Matthew's
vision.
In the Iconographers' Manual it says, "Matthew with the appearance of
a clairvoyant Elder, with a black greyish beard like Vlas, in black
klobuk, a monastic robe, hands pressed to the heart."
The general troparion to these saints is: "Your hearts were
enlightened with the light of Christ's commandments, and you dispelled
the dread darkness. Like an abode of the Trinity, from whom we receive
grace, O Fathers Damian, Jeremiah and Matthew, you heal the infirm,
and you announce the future in the communion with the angels, We pray
you to intercede with Christ God to grant to us the communion of the
saints."
St Matthew is also commemorated on October 5 and the second Sunday of
Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Isaiah the Wonderworker of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Isaiah was one of the saints of the Kiev Caves who struggled
during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. He was known for his
quietness and his unflagging toil, for which he is named a
"lover-of-labor."
The holy ascetic died in the year 1115, and his relics are in the Near
Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. The commemoration of St Isaiah is on
May 15, September 28, and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Abraham the Lover of Labor of the Kiev Near Caves
St Abraham the Lover of Labor of the Near Caves of St Anthony is also
commemorated on August 21
_________________________________________________________________
St Niphon the Bishop of Novgorod
Saint Niphon Bishop of Novgorod is also commemorated on April 8.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Sylvester the Wonderworker of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Sylvester of the Caves lived during the twelfth century and was
igumen of the Mikhailov Vydubitsk monastery at Kiev. He continued the
work of St Nestor the Chronicler and he wrote nine Lives of the holy
saints of the Kiev Caves. In the service to the Fathers venerated in
the Near Caves, St Sylvester is called blessed and endowed with "a
miraculous gift to ward off demonic suggestions (Ode 9 of the Canon).
St Sylvester was buried in the Near Caves, and his memory is
celebrated on September 28, and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Pimen the Faster of the Kiev Near Caves
The Hieromartyr Kuksha and Saint Pimen the Faster died after the year
1114. St Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal (May 10), in a letter to
St Polycarp, Archimandrite of the Caves (July 24), wrote of St Kuksha:
"How can I worthily proclaim the glory of those saintly men dwelling
in the holy Monastery of the Caves, in which pagans were baptized and
became monks, and Jews accepted the holy Faith? But I cannot keep
silent about the holy hieromartyr and Black-Robed Kuksha of this
monastery. Everyone knows that he cast out devils, baptized the
Vyatichi, caused it to rain, dried up a lake, performed many other
miracles, and after many torments was killed together with his
disciple Nikon."
The death of the hieromartyr Kuksha was revealed to St Pimen the
Faster. Standing in the church of the Monastery of the Caves, he
loudly exclaimed, "Our brother Kuksha was killed today for the
Gospel." After saying this, he also surrendered his soul to God.
The Vyatichi, among whom the hieromartyr Kuksha preached and died,
were pagans living along the River Oka, and they occupied the area of
the Orlov and Kaluga districts. St Nestor the Chronicler (October 27),
writing about the Vyatichi, was shocked by their brutal customs and he
added that they live "only for the present day," remaining
unacquainted with the Law of God, and making their own law instead.
The Hieromartyr Kuksha preached to the Vyatichi during the era of St
Theoctistus, Bishop of Chernigov (August 5). He was buried, as was St
Pimen the Faster, in the Near Caves. The Monks of the Near Caves are
commemorated on September 28.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Onuphrius the Silent
Saint Onuphrius the Silent is also commemorated on November 9.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Anatolius the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Anatolius the Recluse of the Near Caves of St Anthony is also
commemorated on July 3 and October 31.
_________________________________________________________________
St Alypius the Iconographer of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Alypius of the Near Caves, one of the first and finest of
Russian iconographers, was a monastic disciple of St Nikon (March 23).
>From his youth he pursued asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery. He
studied the iconography of the Greek masters, and from the year 1083
beautified the Caves monastery church of the Dormition of the Most
Holy Theotokos.
If he learned that the icons in some church had become worn, he took
them with him and restored them without charge. St Alypius also
painted icons for those who were not able to pay him. If they did pay
him for his work, he set aside one third to purchase the materials he
needed for painting, then he gave one third to the poor, keeping only
one third for himself.
St Alypius was never famous, and he painted icons only to serve God.
He was ordained a hieromonk and was known for working miracles even in
his lifetime. St Alypius healed a man from Kiev who suffered from
leprosy and decay of the body by anointing his wounds with the paints
he used to paint icons.
Many icons painted by the saint were glorified with miracles. There
was one instance when angels of God painted icons for him. A certain
man of Kiev, having built a church, entrusted two monks of the Caves
to commission the icons for it. The monks concealed the money and said
nothing to St Alypius. After waiting a long time for the icon to be
painted, the man went to the igumen to complain about the monk. Only
then did they discover that he had not been told of the commission.
When they brought the boards given by the customer, they found that
beautiful images had already been painted on them.
When the church built for the icons was consumed by fire, all of the
icons remained unharmed. One of these icons (the Dormition of the Most
Holy Theotokos) received the title Vladimir-Rostov (August 15), was
taken by Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to a church he had
built at Rostov.
Another time, an angel painted an icon of the Dormition of the Most
Holy Theotokos, when St Alypius lay deathly ill. The angel accepted
the soul of St Alypius (he died on August 17 not earlier than the year
1114). He was buried in the Near Caves. On the right hand of St
Alypius the first three fingers were folded perfectly alike, and the
last two were bent to the palm. It seems that he died while signing
himself with the Sign of the Cross. One of the icons of St Alypius,
the Most Holy Mother of God with the Infant-Savior, surviving from the
time of Sts Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves is now preserved
in the State Tretyakov Gallery (named the Sven, and celebrated May 3
and August 17).
_________________________________________________________________
St Sisoes the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Sisoes of the Near Caves of St Anthony, lived as a recluse at
the Kiev Caves monastery and was buried in the Near Caves.
In the general service to the Fathers of the Kiev Caves St Sisoes is
called "radiant in fasting."
St Sisoes is also commemorated on October 24, and on the second Sunday
of Great Lent all the monks of the Caves.
_________________________________________________________________
St Theophilus the Recluse of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Theophilus the Silent (12th-13th century), of the Near Caves of
St Anthony, lived as a recluse at the Kiev Caves monastery and was
buried in the Near Caves.
St Theophilus, in the general service to the Fathers of the Kiev
Caves, is called "resplendant in miracles." He is also commemorated on
October 24, and with all the monks of the Caves on the second Sunday
of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Arethas the Recluse
Saint Arethas of the Near Caves of St Anthony, lived as a recluse at
the Kiev Caves monastery.
St Arethas was from Polotsk. While living at the monastery, he kept
many possessions in his cell. One day robbers made off with them.
Grieving over his lost riches, St Arethas began to murmur against God,
for which he was stricken with a serious illness. Being at the very
brink of death, he saw how both angels and devils had come for him and
were arguing between them. The devils asserted that he belonged to
them because of his avarice and complaints against God. Meanwhile, the
angels turned to him wailing, "You hapless man, if you had given
thanks to God for the pilfered riches, this would have been accounted
as charity for you."
After this vision, the saint recovered. He spent his final days as a
hermit, in distress and repentance over his sins, having renounced
everything earthly. St Arethas died not later than the year 1190. In
the Iconographic Manuals, he is described in this way:"In appearance
stooped over, beard similar in length to Kozmina, monastic robes."
St Arethas the Recluse is also commemorated on October 24, and with
all the monks of the Caves on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Spyridon the Prosphora baker of the Kiev Near Caves
Saints Spyridon and Nicodemus, the Prosphora-bakers of the Kiev Caves,
Near Caves fulfilled their obedience of baking prosphora for thirty
years. St Spyridon came to the monastery during the time of Igumen
Pimen (1132-1141), when he was no longer a young man. The ascetic
combined his work with unceasing prayer and the singing of Psalms.
Even during his life St Spyridon was glorified by miracles. He was
illiterate, but knew the entire Psalter by heart.
Once, his mantle caught fire from the oven. The fire was put out, but
the mantle remained whole. St Nicodemus toiled together with St
Spyridon and led a very strict life. Their relics are in the Kiev
Caves of St Anthony. The fingers of St Spyridon's right hand are
positioned to make the Sign of the Cross with three fingers. They are
also commemorated on September 28, and the second Sunday of Great
Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Onesiphorus the Confessor of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Onesiphorus the Confessor of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves pursued
the ascetic life in the Kiev Caves monastery. He was a presbyter and
had the gift of clairvoyance. He died in the year 1148 and was buried
in the Near Caves beside St Spyridon (October 31). His memory is also
celebrated on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Simon the Bishop of Suzdal
Saint Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal was an author of the KIEV
CAVES PATERIKON, and he became a monk at the Monastery of the Caves,
sometime in the second half of the twelfth century.
In the year 1206 he was appointed igumen of the Vladimir Monastery of
the Nativity of the Theotokos, and in 1214, at the wish of Prince
George Vsevolodovich (+ 1238), he was made the first bishop of
Vladimir-on-the-Klyazma and Suzdal.
In 1218 he consecrated a church at the Nativity monastery, and in the
year 1225, a cathedral church at Suzdal. The Great Prince deeply
respected St Simon and was prepared to establish a new bishop's See at
Suzdal for his friend, the monk Polycarp of the Kiev Caves monastery,
who sought after spiritual glory. St Simon, seeing that Polycarp was
not yet ready to assume such an office, talked the Great Prince out of
his idea, and he wrote a deeply moving letter to Polycarp, in which he
offered his friend advice on overcoming his spiritual shortcomings. St
Simon's own inner life, character, and virtue are also revealed in the
epistle.
St Simon was known as a learned teacher, and his epistle to Polycarp
was placed at the beginning of the KIEV CAVES PATERIKON. On the eve of
his repose in 1226, the saint received the schema.
Initially his body was buried at Vladimir, but later, in accordance
with the saint's last wishes, his body was transferred to the Kiev
Caves Lavra, where it rests in the Antoniev Caves.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Nikon the Igumen of the Caves
Saint Nikon of the Kiev Caves was the first disciple and
fellow-ascetic of St Anthony (July 10), the founder of the Kiev Caves
monastery, to which he came as a priest. At the monastery he tonsured
all the new monks, and among their number was St Theodosius of the
Caves (May 3 and August 14).
For tonsuring the favorites of the Great Prince Izyaslav, Sts Barlaam
(November 19) and Ephraim (January 28 ), St Nikon brought the wrath of
the prince down upon himself, but he refused to force the new monks to
leave the monastery. The princess calmed Izyaslav, and he left St
Nikon in peace.
When the number of brethren in the monastery had increased, St Nikon
desired to go into seclusion and live as a hesychast. He went to the
Tmutarakan peninsula (on the eastern banks of the Kerchensk straits)
and settled in an unpopulated spot. When news of his holy life and
spiritual gifts spread throughout the region, many gathered about him,
wishing to follow his example. Thus a monastery and a church were
founded in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos.
When he returned to the Kiev Caves monastery, St Nikon was obedient to
St Theodosius as his spiritual Father. According to St Nestor the
Chronicler (October 27), when St Theodosius had to go somewhere, he
entrusted all the brethren to the care of St Nikon. Sometimes he asked
St Nikon to offer instruction to the brethren in place of himself.
Often, when St Nikon was binding books, St Theodosius sat near him and
spun the thread for the binding.
When Prince Svyatoslav drove out his brother Izyaslav from Kiev, St
Nikon returned to the monastery he founded. He returned under the
igumen Stephen. When St Stephen (April 27) left the Kiev Caves
monastery, St Nikon was chosen as igumen of the monastery. He toiled
much to adorn his monastery with spiritual books and icons. He died at
a great old age (+ 1088) and was buried in the Near Caves of St
Anthony.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Theophanes the Faster of the Kiev Near Caves
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Macarius of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Macarius, Faster of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves, and Saint
Macarius, Deacon of Kiev Caves, Far Caves, were both deacons. Their
memory is celebrated on January 19 because of their namesake, St
Macarius of Egypt.
St Macarius of the Far Caves lived in the thirteenth-fourteenth
centuries, and was distinguished by his lack of covetousness. He was
very zealous for the house of God (Ps. 68/69:9), and he continuously
exerted himself in reading Holy Scripture and in fasting.
According to Tradition, he was frequently ill as a child, and his
parents vowed that they would offer their son to the Monastery of the
Caves if he were made healthy. Because of his meekness and humility he
earned the love of the brethren, who taught him to read and to write.
For his piety of life he was ordained as a deacon, and during his life
he possessed a gift of wonderworking.
In addition to this commemoration, St Macarius of the Near Caves
(twelfth century) is also celebrated on September 28, and St Macarius
of the Far Caves on August 28. The general commemoration of all the
wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves is on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Deacon Anastasius of the Kiev Near Caves
The Monk Martyr Anastasius, Deacon of the Kiev Caves, lived an
ascetical life in the Near Caves. The hieromonk Athanasius the Sooty
calls him brother of St Titus the Presbyter (February 27). In the
manuscripts of the saints he is called a deacon. In the Service to the
Synaxis of the Fathers of the Near Caves, it says that the Monk Martyr
Anastasius possessed such steadfastness in God, that he received
everything he asked for. His memory is celebrated also on September 28
and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Childmartyr John
Saints Mark the Grave-Digger, Theophilus and John are mentioned in the
Kiev Caves Paterikon. Two brothers being monastics, Sts Theophilus and
John, so loved each other that they prevailed upon St Mark to prepare
a double grave so they could be buried side by side.
Many years later, the older of the two brothers was away on monastery
business. During this time his brother John fell ill and died. Several
days later, St Theophilus returned and went with the brethren to view
his brother's body. Seeing that he lay at the higher place in their
common grave, he became indignant with St Mark and said, "Why did you
put him in my place? I am older than he."
The cave-dweller Mark, bowed humbly to St Theophilus and asked that he
forgive him. Turning to the dead man, he said, "Arise, give this place
to your older brother, and you lie down in the other place." And the
dead man moved to the lower place in the grave. Seeing this, St
Theophilus fell down at the knees of St Mark begging his forgiveness.
The cave-dweller Mark told Theophilus that he ought to be concerned
for his own salvation, because soon he would join his brother in that
place.
Hearing this, St Theophilus became terrified and decided that he would
soon die. He gave away everything that he possessed, keeping only his
mantle, and every day he awaited the hour of death. No one was able to
stop his tears, nor to tempt him with tasty food. Tears were his bread
by day and by night (Ps 41/42:3). God granted him several years more
for repentance, which he spent in fasting and lamentation. He even
went blind from continuous weeping.
St Mark forsaw the hour of his death and told Theophilus he would soon
depart this life. Theophilus pleaded, "Father, either take me with
you, or restore my sight." St Mark said to Theophilus, "Do not desire
death, it shall come in its own time, even if you do not wish it. Let
this be the sign of your impending end: three days before you depart
this world, your eyesight will return."
The words of the saint were fulfilled. The body of St Theophilus was
placed in the Antoniev Cave in the grave together with his brother St
John, near the relics of St Mark. Their memory is celebrated also on
September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Elijah of Murom
Saint Elias Muromets of the Caves, nicknamed "Shoemaker" or "Cobbler,"
was from the city of Murom. Popular legend identifies him with the
famous warrior hero Elias Muromets, who was the subject of Russian
ballads and of Gliere's Symphony No. 3.
St Elias died with the fingers of his right hand formed to make the
Sign of the Cross in the position accepted even today in the Orthodox
Church: the first three fingers together, and the two outermost
fingers folded onto the palm [in contrast to the Sign of the Cross
used by the "Old Ritualists"]. During the struggle with the Old
Ritualist Schism (seventeenth-nineteenth centuries). This information
about the saint served as a powerful proof in favor of the present
positioning of the fingers.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Nikon the Dry, of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Nikon the Shriveled, the son of rich and illustrious parents,
gave up everything for Christ and became a monk at the Kiev Caves
monastery. In the year 1096, during the incursions of Khan Bonyak, he
was taken into captivity with some other monks. The captors treated St
Nikon harshly, while waiting for a ransom to be paid. When the saint
refused to be ransomed, his masters began to torment him with hunger,
and left him exposed in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. He
was mistreated and beaten every day for about three years, for his
captors thought he would change his mind and send word to his
relatives, asking to be ransomed.
The saint gave thanks to God for everything, and once said to his
tormentor that the Lord, through the prayers of Sts Anthony and
Theodosius would return him to his monastery within three days, as St
Eustratius (March 28) had predicted while appearing to him.
The captor cut the tendons in St Nikon's legs and set a strong guard
over him. But suddenly, on the third day at the sixth hour, the holy
captive became invisible. At the moment the guard heard the words,
"Praise the Lord from the Heavens" (Ps. 148).
St Nikon was transported to the Dormition church, where the Divine
Liturgy was being served. The brethren surrounded him and began to ask
how he got there. St Nikon wanted to conceal the miracle, but the
brethren implored him to tell the truth.
St Nikon did not want to have his fetters removed, but the igumen
said, "If the Lord had wanted you to remain fettered, He would not
have delivered you from captivity."
After a long while St Nikon's former master came to the Kiev Caves
monastery and recognized his former captive, who was withered from
hunger and the loss of blood from his wounds. He came to believe in
Christ, and accepted Baptism. After receiving monastic tonsure, he
became a novice under St Nikon's direction.
St Nikon died at the beginning of the twelfth century and was buried
in the Near Caves. Though he did not enjoy good health in this life,
his holy relics were glorified by incorruption. His memory is
celebrated also on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great
Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
St Ephraim the Bishop of Pereslavsk
Saint Ephraim of the Caves, Bishop of Pereslavl, before his tonsure
into monasticism, was treasurer and steward of household affairs at
the court of the Kiev Great Prince Izyaslav (Demetrius) Yaroslavich
(1054-1068). Weighed down by this noisy and bustling life and wishng
to become a monk, he was accepted by St Anthony of the Kiev Caves and
was tonsured by St Nikon (March 23).
The enraged prince demanded that Ephraim return, threatening to lock
him up in prison and to destroy the Monastery of the Caves. St Anthony
and the brethren left the monastery and decided to go to another
place. Izyaslav, however, feared the wrath of God. He took his wife's
advice and withdrew his forces from the monastery in disgrace.
St Ephraim wished to go on pilgrimage to the holy places abroad. With
the blessing of St Anthony, he journeyed to Constantinople and settled
there in one of the monasteries. While in Constantinople, St Ephraim
made a copy of the Studite monastic Rule, and took it to Kiev at the
request of St Theodosius. As soon as he received the Rule, St
Theodosius implemented it in his monastery.
After the year 1072 Ephraim was made bishop in Pereslavl, with the
title of Metropolitan. He adorned Pereslavl with many beautiful
churches and public buildings, and he built stone walls around the
city in the Greek manner. He built free hospices for the poor and
travelers, and constructed several public bath-houses.
In the year 1091, St Ephraim participated in the opening and solemn
transfer of the relics of St Theodosius. A Life of St Ephraim existed
in former times, but it has not survived. We find an account of him
both in the Life of St Theodosius, and in the Russian Chronicles. To
St Ephraim is ascribed a tale and encomium for St Nicholas the
Wonderworker. St Ephraim died in the year 1098. He was buried in the
Antoniev Caves of the Kiev Caves monastery.
His memory is also celebrated on September 28 and on the second Sunday
of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Hieromonk Titus
Saint Titus, Presbyter of the Near Caves, lived in great friendship
with the deacon Evagrius, which later turned into a strong dislike and
hostility. Although Hieromonk Titus tried several times to make peace
with his former friend, the deacon Evagrius refused to be reconciled
(Compare the story of the Martyr Nicephorus on February 9).
When St Titus fell ill with a grievous illness and began to prepare
himself for death, he asked for Evagrius to be brought to him in order
to ask his forgiveness. The brethren brought Evagrius to the sickbed
by force. St Titus tearfully begged him for forgiveness, but Evagrius
remained obstinate. He declared that he would not forgive Titus in
this world, nor in the world to come. As he said this, he fell dead,
struck down by an angel. At that very instant, St Titus was healed,
and got up out of bed. He revealed that the demons were all around him
until he forgave Evagrius. When he had done so, the demons left him
and attacked Evagrius, while radiant angels surrounded St Titus.
After this, St Titus increased his ascetic struggles, and received
from God the gift of working miracles. He was also known for his great
humility.
St Titus reposed around 1190. His memory is celebrated also on
September 28 at the Synaxis of the Fathers of the Near Caves.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Chariton of Senyazemsk
No information available at this time.
_________________________________________________________________
St Chariton the Confessor
Saint Chariton the Confessor suffered at Iconium during one of the
persecutions against Christians under the emperor Aurelian. The
grace-bearing example of the holy Protomartyr Thekla (September 24)
encouraged him in his confessor's deed. She being a native of his
city, whose memory he in particular deeply venerated.
St Chariton bravely denounced the pagan gods and staunchly confessed
faith in the One True God, Christ the Savior. The holy Confessor
underwent fierce tortures but, through the Providence of God, he
remained alive. When the persecution abated, the saint was set free
from prison and he dedicated all his life to the service of the Lord.
Journeying to Jerusalem on pilgrimage to the holy places, he fell into
the hands of robbers. They tied him up and threw him in a cave,
intending to kill him later, and they hastened away on business. The
saint prayed fervently in expectation of death. He gave thanks to God
and entreated him to do with him according to His will.
At this time a snake crawled into the cave and began to drink wine
from a vessel setting there, poisoning it with its deadly venom.
Returning to the cave, the robbers drank the poisoned wine and they
all perished. St Chariton gave thanks to God and began his ascetic
struggles at the place of his miraculous rescue. He distributed the
plundered gold of the robbers to the poor, and in the robbers cave he
built a church, around which in time there formed a monastery, the
renowned Pharan Lavra in Palestine.
St Chariton compiled a strict rule for his monastery. Yearning for
solitude, the monk went farther into the desert, but there also he did
not reject those who sought his spiritual guidance, and he founded two
more monasteries: the Jericho and the Souka, named the "Old Lavra." At
the end of his life, St Chariton struggled in a cave on a hill near
the Souka monastery, but he did not cease to provide guidance for all
three of the monasteries he founded.
According to Tradition, St Chariton compiled the office of taking
monastic vows. St Chariton the Confessor died in extreme old age and
was buried, in accord with his last wishes, in the Pharan monastery in
the church, built on the site of the robbers' cave.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Nectarius the Obedient of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Nectarius the Obedient of the Caves, a monk of the Kiev Caves
monastery, pursued asceticism during the twelfth century. For his
unquestioning obedience to the will of elder brethren and his zeal for
work he was termed "the Obedient." St Nectarius was buried in the
Antoniev Cave. His memory is also celebrated on September 28 and the
second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Gregory the Iconographer of the Kiev Near Caves
St Gregory, Iconographer of the Caves, was a colleague of St Alypius
of the Caves (August 17). In the "Accounts of the holy Iconographers"
it says that he painted many wonderworking icons throughout the
Russian Land.
In the Ninth Ode of the Canon of the Service of the Synaxis of the
Kiev Caves Monastics, Venerated in the Near Caves (September 28), St
Gregory is called a "Byzantine." This probably means that he was among
the number of iconographers who had come from Constantinople to Kiev
to embellish the Great Church of the monastery, dedicated in honor of
the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.
_________________________________________________________________
Hieromartyr and Venerable Kuksha of the Kiev Near Caves
The Hieromartyr Kuksha and Saint Pimen the Faster died after the year
1114. St Simon, Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal (May 10), in a letter to
St Polycarp, Archimandrite of the Caves (July 24), wrote of St Kuksha:
"How can I worthily proclaim the glory of those saintly men dwelling
in the holy Monastery of the Caves, in which pagans were baptized and
became monks, and Jews accepted the holy Faith? But I cannot keep
silent about the holy hieromartyr and Black-Robed Kuksha of this
monastery. Everyone knows that he cast out devils, baptized the
Vyatichi, caused it to rain, dried up a lake, performed many other
miracles, and after many torments was killed together with his
disciple Nikon."
The death of the hieromartyr Kuksha was revealed to St Pimen the
Faster. Standing in the church of the Monastery of the Caves, he
loudly exclaimed, "Our brother Kuksha was killed today for the
Gospel." After saying this, he also surrendered his soul to God.
The Vyatichi, among whom the hieromartyr Kuksha preached and died,
were pagans living along the River Oka, and they occupied the area of
the Orlov and Kaluga districts. St Nestor the Chronicler (October 27),
writing about the Vyatichi, was shocked by their brutal customs and he
added that they live "only for the present day," remaining
unacquainted with the Law of God, and making their own law instead.
The Hieromartyr Kuksha preached to the Vyatichi during the era of St
Theoctistus, Bishop of Chernigov (August 5). He was buried, as was St
Pimen the Faster, in the Near Caves. The Monks of the Near Caves are
commemorated on September 28.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Gregory the Wonderworker of the Kiev Near Caves
Saint Gregory was tonsured at the Kiev Caves monastery in the time of
St Theodosius (May 3). The saint devoted much time to reading books,
which were his sole possession. He had the ability to bring thieves to
their senses. Several times robbers broke in on him in his cell or in
the garden, but the saint reasoned with them, the thieves repented,
and began to lead honest lives.
Once, when the monk went to the Dnieper River for water, some servants
of Prince Rostislav caught sight of the Elder and rudely began making
fun of him. The saint answered them, "Children, when you should be
asking for everyone's prayers, you are displeasing God. Weep, for
disaster approaches. Repent and ask God to be merciful to you on the
Day of Judgment. All you will find death in the water with your
prince." By orders of the enraged Prince Rostislav, the monk was bound
hand and foot, and he was drowned in the Dnieper with a stone around
his neck. Still, his prediction came true. Rostislav did not return
from the campaign. In that same year of 1093 the twenty-year-old
prince drowned in sight of his brother, Vladimir Monomakh, trying to
save himself as he fled from the Polovetsians.
Several sources identify St Gregory with St Gregory, a composer of
Canons in honor of the holy Prince Vladimir, St Theodosius, and the
holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb. But St Gregory, compiler of canons, lived
later and died in about the year 1120. St Gregory the Wonderworker
died in 1093 and was buried in the Near Caves. His memory is
celebrated also on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great
Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
Venerable Macarius the Deacon of the Kiev Caves
Saint Macarius, Faster of the Kiev Caves, Near Caves, and Saint
Macarius, Deacon of Kiev Caves, Far Caves, were both deacons. Their
memory is celebrated on January 19 because of their namesake, St
Macarius of Egypt.
St Macarius of the Far Caves lived in the thirteenth-fourteenth
centuries, and was distinguished by his lack of covetousness. He was
very zealous for the house of God (Ps. 68/69:9), and he continuously
exerted himself in reading Holy Scripture and in fasting.
According to Tradition, he was frequently ill as a child, and his
parents vowed that they would offer their son to the Monastery of the
Caves if he were made healthy. Because of his meekness and humility he
earned the love of the brethren, who taught him to read and to write.
For his piety of life he was ordained as a deacon, and during his life
he possessed a gift of wonderworking.
In addition to this commemoration, St Macarius of the Near Caves
(twelfth century) is also celebrated on September 28, and St Macarius
of the Far Caves on August 28. The general commemoration of all the
wonderworkers of the Kiev Caves is on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
_________________________________________________________________
More information about the ReadingsandSaints
mailing list