Venerable (Monastic)16th century

Paisius of Uglich

died June 6, 1504

Also known as Paisius, Abbot of Uglich

Igumen of the Protection monastery near Uglich and a builder of monastic life in the Russian north.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Paisius, Abbot of Uglich

Life

Paisius of Uglich was a Russian monastic of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries who founded and led the Protection monastery near the town of Uglich, in the Russian north. According to the synaxarion he was born in the Tver district near the city of Kashin and was a nephew of Saint Macarius of Kalyazin. After the death of his parents he entered his uncle's monastery as an eleven-year-old child, and there was formed in a monastic life of obedience, fasting and prayer.

Under his uncle's guidance Paisius was set to the copying of soul-saving books, a labor of the manuscript tradition characteristic of monastic formation in Rus'. He is remembered as a builder of cenobitic monastic life, founding the Protection monastery in 1464, some three versts from Uglich, at the wish of Prince Andrew, and being chosen its igumen. He later founded and organized a second house, the Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya monastery, in 1489.

Paisius lived into advanced age and died on June 6, 1504. The tradition remembers him as a teacher of holiness and a wonderworker, and his relics are said to rest beneath a crypt in the Protection monastery, where they are venerated as glorified by miracles. He is commemorated on June 6, the day of his repose, and also on January 8.

Kontakion & Troparion3 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 8

Adorned with virtues, O God-inspired Paϊsios,
you are the beauty of the Church of Christ,
for you adorned her with monastic contests, O blessed one.
Therefore, we pray that you will entreat the Lord to free us from every attack of the Enemy,
as we cry out to you, "Rejoice, most blessed Father."

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 8

Out of love for Christ, you left your homeland and family,
and when you aspired to the angelic life, you became a follower of your Spiritual Father, Saint Makarios;
and reaching the city of Úglich, you dwelt near the water in the wilderness as directed by an Angel,
creating a beautiful abode of the Mother of God,
and gathering a multitude of monks, for whom you were a guide to salvation;
and you received from the Lord the gift of working miracles.
O Venerable Paϊsios, pray to Christ God for the salvation of our souls.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy father Paisius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline3 momentsReadHide

1464Founded the Protection monasteryEstablished the cenobitic Protection monastery near Uglich at the wish of Prince Andrew and was chosen its igumen.
1489Founded the Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya monasteryFounded and organized a second monastic house.
June 6, 1504ReposeDied in advanced age; his relics rest beneath a crypt in the Protection monastery.

Contributions & Legacy

1 contributionsReadHide

Monastic Foundations

The Protection monastery near Uglich, founded in 1464, was a cenobitic community established at the request of Prince Andrew, with Paisius as its first igumen. A second foundation, the Nikolsky Grekhozaruchnya monastery, followed in 1489. These foundations place Paisius among the monastic organizers who extended cenobitic life through the principalities of the Russian north in the fifteenth century.

By tradition the Protection monastery is associated with a wonderworking icon of the Protection of the Theotokos. The synaxarion of Saint Bogolep of Uglich, a disciple of Paisius who worked as a baker in the monastery, relates that Bogolep discovered such an icon near the Volga in 1482 and reported the find to Paisius.

Family1 relativeShowHide

Paisius's uncle, in whose monastery he was tonsured and formed

Macariusof Kalyazin

Companions2 figuresShowHide

A disciple of Paisius who worked as a baker and is said to have found the Protection icon

Saint Bogolepof Uglich

Among his first disciples and his cell-attendant at Uglich.

Saint Adrianof Uglich

Related Saints1 saintShowHide

Saints connected to his life, mission, and place in Orthodox tradition.

Whom he tonsured, and who lived some twenty years in his Pokrov monastery near Uglich.

Venerable Bassianof Uglich

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 8