Venerable (Monastic)15th century

Venerable Paul of Obnora

1317–1429

Also known as Paul of Obnora and Vologda

A disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh who lived as a hermit in the Vologda forests and founded the monastery of Obnora.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Paul of Obnora, Hermit of Vologda

Life

Venerable Paul of Obnora was a Russian monastic and hermit of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, remembered as one of the prominent disciples of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. After years of cenobitic obedience and prolonged solitude, he founded the monastery on the Obnora associated with his name in the forests of the Vologda region.

Born at Moscow in 1317 to a wealthy family, he left the world in his early manhood for the monastic life, passing through tonsure on the Volga and a long apprenticeship under Saint Sergius before withdrawing into the northern wilderness. His life is marked by an extended hermitage and a severe ascetic regimen, culminating in the foundation of a community he ultimately entrusted to a disciple.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 8

Turning all of your spiritual longing toward God, steadfastly you followed His call with all your soul.
Having settled in the wilderness and, having lived there in an angelic way, you were a path to salvation for many.
Hence, Christ has glorified you, and enriched you with the gift of miracles.
Therefore, we cry out to you: Hail, Venerable Paul, dweller in the wilderness.

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

TroparionTone 1

Inflamed with divine love from your youth, O venerable Paul, and despising all earthly attractions, you came to love Christ alone,
and for His sake, you settled in the inner wilderness
and lived with the wild animals, entirely for Christ.
Thus, the All-Seeing Eye, having beheld your labors,
enriched you with the gift of miracles, even after your repose.
Therefore, we cry out to you:
Pray unceasingly for us who always revere your honorable memory with hymns of praise.

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

Timeline7 momentsReadHide

1317Birth at MoscowPaul was born in Moscow to wealthy parents who intended him for a secular life; from youth he was noted for piety and compassion toward the poor.
c. 1339Tonsure on the VolgaAt twenty-two years of age he secretly left his parental home and received monastic tonsure at the Nativity monastery on the Volga, in the Yaroslav diocese.
mid-14th centuryDiscipleship under Saint Sergius of RadonezhHe transferred to the Holy Trinity monastery of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, serving for several years as Sergius's disciple, and then, with the elder's blessing, lived fifteen years as a hermit in a separate cell near the monastery.
early 15th centuryHermitage in the Komel forestSeeking deeper solitude, he wandered the wilderness, spent time with Saint Abraham of Chukhloma, and settled in the Komel forest, dwelling three years in silence in the hollow of an old linden tree at the Gryazovitsa River before moving to the River Nurma.
1414Foundation of the monasteryWith the blessing of Saint Sergius and the agreement of Metropolitan Photius, he built the Holy Trinity church, around which the monastery later known by his name developed.
1429ReposeSaint Paul reposed at an advanced age, having charged the brethren to keep love among themselves and observe the rule of the community.
1547GlorificationHis Life was written about 1546, and his glorification followed in 1547.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributionsReadHide

Monastic Formation

According to his Life, Paul was born at Moscow in 1317 into a wealthy household that prepared him for a secular career, but he inclined from youth toward piety and care for the poor. At twenty-two he left home secretly and was tonsured a monk at the Nativity monastery on the Volga, in the Yaroslav diocese.

He subsequently came to the Holy Trinity monastery of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, where he lived for several years as Sergius's disciple in obedience to the elder. With Sergius's blessing he then took up the life of a hermit in a separate cell a short distance from the monastery, remaining there for fifteen years.

Hermitage and Asceticism

Desiring still greater solitude, Paul left the vicinity of the Holy Trinity monastery to wander the wilderness in search of a quiet place. The sources record that he spent time with Saint Abraham of Chukhloma before settling in the Komel forest.

At the Gryazovitsa River he made his dwelling in the hollow of an old linden tree, where he is said to have lived for three years in complete silence. He afterward moved to the River Nurma, where he built a hut and dug a well. His ascetic regimen was severe: according to the tradition recorded in his Life, he took no food on five days of the week, eating only some bread and water on Saturday and Sunday.

Foundation of the Obnora Monastery

With the blessing of Saint Sergius of Radonezh and the agreement of Metropolitan Photius, Paul built the Holy Trinity church in 1414. A community gathered around it, which came to be called the Monastery of Saint Paul of Obnora.

He composed a strict monastic Rule for the brotherhood and entrusted the active leadership of the monastery to his disciple Alexis, while continuing to keep his own solitary cell on a nearby hill.

Repose and Veneration

The tradition recorded in his Life states that Saint Paul reposed at an advanced age, his final words urging the brethren to keep love for one another and to hold to the rule of the monastic community. His Life was composed about 1546, and his glorification took place in 1547.

He is commemorated on January 10. Within the Russian tradition additional commemorations are observed, and relics attributed to him have been distributed; fragments are kept, for example, in a reliquary at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Washington, D.C.

Works & Further ReadingReadHide

Notable Works

Monastic Rule for the Obnora brotherhood — A strict rule of monastic life that he composed for the community gathered around the Holy Trinity church he founded.

Companions4 figuresShowHide

Teacher: Paul lived several years as his disciple at the Holy Trinity monastery before taking up the hermit's life with his blessing.

Sergiusof Radonezh

Fellow disciple of Sergius of Radonezh: close companion in the northern forests, sharing the January 10 commemoration.

Venerable Makariosof Pisma

Fellow disciple of Sergius: Paul spent time with him in the wilderness before settling in the Komel forest.

Venerable Abramiusof Galich

Hierarch: gave his agreement for Paul's foundation of the Holy Trinity church in 1414.

Saint PhotiusMetropolitan of Kiev

Related Saints2 saintsShowHide

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

A fellow disciple of Saint Sergius, hermit in the same Obnora wilderness.

Venerable SylvesterAbbot of Obnora

Who began his monastic life and was formed as an elder in the monastery he founded.

Venerable Longinusof Koryazhemsk

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 10