Venerable-Martyr11th century

Eustratius of the Kiev Caves

11th century (martyred c. 1097)

Also known as Eustratius the Faster · Eustratius of the Near Caves · Eustratius the Martyr

Born to a wealthy family, he gave away his possessions and became a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery. Taken captive during a raid and sold into slavery, he endured martyrdom for refusing to deny Christ.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Eustratius, Monastic Martyr of the Kiev Caves

Life

Eustratius of the Kiev Caves was a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery who was taken captive during a raid, sold into slavery, and put to death for refusing to deny Christ. He is venerated as a venerable-martyr, the rank given to a monastic who dies for the faith, and his relics rest in the Near Caves of the monastery.

Born in the eleventh century to a wealthy family of Kiev, he gave away his possessions to the poor and entered the Caves monastery, where he became known for strict fasting. When the monastery was overrun, he was carried off and sold, and he led his fellow captives to endure death rather than apostatize.

Timeline3 momentsReadHide

1096Capture in the raid on KievWhen Polovtsian (Cuman) forces attacked Kiev in 1096 and ravaged the Caves monastery, Eustratius was taken captive along with many monks and townspeople. The account records that some fifty captives—monastic laborers and laypeople—were carried off to Korsun and sold to a Jewish slaveholder.
c. 1097The captives resolve to die rather than apostatizeThe slaveholder demanded that the captives renounce Christ on pain of starvation. Eustratius urged his companions to keep the vows of their Baptism, and they chose to die of hunger rather than deny the faith. Most died within several days, but Eustratius, hardened by monastic fasting, survived fourteen days.
c. 1097Crucifixion and recovery of the relicsAs Passover approached, the slaveholder had Eustratius crucified. According to the account he was pierced with a spear upon the cross and his body cast into the sea; his relics were afterward recovered and transferred to the Near Caves of the monastery.

Contributions & Legacy

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Life and Captivity

Eustratius was born in the eleventh century into a wealthy Kiev family. According to his life, he distributed his fortune to the poor and entered the Kiev Caves Monastery, where he gave himself to rigorous ascetic discipline and was noted for his fasting.

In 1096 Polovtsian forces attacked Kiev, devastated the Caves monastery, and enslaved many of its monks. Eustratius and a company of others—numbering about fifty, including both monastic laborers and townspeople—were taken to Korsun and sold to a Jewish merchant.

Martyrdom

The merchant demanded that the captives abandon Christ under threat of starvation. Eustratius exhorted them not to betray the vows of their Baptism, and the captives chose death over apostasy. The synaxarion relates that most died within three to seven days, but Eustratius endured fourteen days without food, sustained by his lifelong habit of fasting.

As Passover drew near, the enraged slaveholder had Eustratius crucified, and he was pierced with a spear. His body was cast into the sea, and his relics were later found incorrupt and brought to the Near Caves of the Kiev Caves Monastery. The tradition further relates that the slaveholder was afterward punished when the Christian authorities of the region acted against those responsible.

Member ofReadHide

Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Near Caves

Commemorated together · Sep 28

Companions1 figureShowHide

Fellow monk of the Lavra, to whom by tradition he appeared in captivity and foretold his release.

Venerable Nikonthe Dry of the Kiev Caves

Related Saints2 saintsShowHide

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

Co-founder of the Kiev Caves Monastery, the community in which Eustratius took up the monastic life.

Anthonyof the Kyiv Caves

Co-founder of the Kiev Caves Monastery, whose cenobitic rule shaped the community Eustratius entered.

Theodosiusof the Kyiv Caves

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints