Venerable (Monastic)13th century

Saint Peter of Korisha

c. 1211 – 1275

Also known as Peter of Korisa

A Serbian ascetic who from childhood loved prayer and, forsaking the world, struggled in a cave near Korisha, overcoming fierce temptations to become a beacon of holiness.

June 5New Calendar

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June 18Old Calendar

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Peter of Korisha

Life

Peter of Korisha (Serbian: Petar Koriški) was a thirteenth-century Serbian ascetic remembered as the first hermit-saint of the medieval Kingdom of Serbia. Drawn to prayer and fasting from childhood, he forsook the world after the death of his parents and withdrew, together with his sister Helena, into the monastic life before settling as a solitary in a cave near the village of Korisha, in the region of Prizren in present-day Kosovo.

There he passed decades in extreme austerity, enduring the seasons in his rock-cut cell and, according to his hagiography, withstanding fierce spiritual assaults before gathering disciples in his final years. He reposed on 5 June, and his life was set down around 1310 by the monk Teodosije the Hilandarian. He is venerated by the Serbian Orthodox Church on 5 June, a distinction noted because he was neither a ruler nor a head of the Church, as most early Serbian saints were.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 6

You fled from the company of men, and lived in stony caves and cliffs.
You were filled with divine desire and love for your Lord, O Peter,
from Whom you received a crown.
Pray unceasingly that our souls may be saved.

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

TroparionTone 1

You were revealed as a desert dweller,
an angel in the flesh and a wonderworker, O our God-bearing Father Peter.
You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigils, and prayers;
you healed the infirm and the souls of those who have recourse to you with faith.
Glory to Him Who strengthened you.
Glory to Him Who crowned you.
Glory to Him Who, through you, works healings for all.

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

Timeline5 momentsReadHide

c. 1211Birth near PechPeter is born in the village of Ujmir (also rendered Unjimir or Unyemir, present-day Uymir), southwest of Peja, between the city of Pech and the Field of Kosovo, to Orthodox Christian parents. He has a younger sister, Helena.
YouthDeath of his parentsBy tradition his father dies when Peter is fourteen and his mother when he is sixteen. Having delayed the monastic life to care for his widowed mother, after her death he and Helena sell the family possessions, distribute the proceeds to the poor, and seek the monastic life together.
Early adulthoodMonastic beginningsThe siblings first associate with the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul near Pec, Helena entering a nearby women's community, before withdrawing into greater solitude and eventually moving to the region of the Black River (Crna Reka) near Prizren.
MaturityThe cave at KorishaPeter settles alone in a mountain cave on Rusenica, in the Šar Mountains near the village of Korisha (modern Kabash), where by tradition he lives for decades on wild plants and acorns, enduring the heat of summer and the cold of winter.
Final yearsDisciples and reposeMonks gather to learn asceticism from him in his last years. Having dug out a tomb in the wall of his cell, Peter reposes on 5 June, by various accounts in 1270 or 1275.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Ascetic Struggle

The hagiographic tradition dwells at length on Peter's spiritual warfare in the cave near Korisha. The synaxarion relates that he was beset by demonic assaults taking the form of serpents, black ravens, and distracting visions intended to break his resolve.

By tradition, after forty days of fasting and fervent prayer the Archangel Michael appeared, overcame the tormenting serpent, and encouraged him to continue; thereafter Peter is said to have been granted a vision of the Uncreated, or divine, Light and consoled in his solitude. He reportedly healed those who came to him, and his renown gave rise to a regional veneration sometimes described as the 'Cult of Petar of Koriša.'

Relics & Shrines

Peter's cave-cell became a place of pilgrimage, and his rock-cut hermitage is known as the Hermitage of St. Peter of Koriša. About seventy years after his repose, King Dušan of Serbia is said to have built a church over his relics.

By tradition the relics were later moved during the Ottoman period; accounts describe their transfer to the Black River monastery, associated with the cave church of Saint Michael, and to a church at Kalashin (Kolašin). Pilgrims have continued to visit these sites.

Sources & Veneration

Peter's life was recorded around 1310 by the monk Teodosije the Hilandarian (Teodosije of Hilandar), whose 'Life of Petar of Koriša' is noted for its vivid, realistic narrative manner. He is commemorated by the Serbian Orthodox Church on 5 June (Old Calendar).

He holds a distinctive place in Serbian hagiography as a saint who was neither a member of the ruling dynasty nor a hierarch of the Church, unusual among the early Serbian saints, and he is often described as the first hermit-saint of medieval Serbia.

Family1 relativeShowHide

Peter and his Sister Helena

After their parents' deaths Peter and his younger sister Helena sold the family inheritance, gave it to the poor, and together sought the monastic life before Peter withdrew into solitude.

Sister — who entered a nearby women's monastic community when the two siblings forsook the world together.

Helena, sister of Peter of Korisha

not commemorated

Companions1 figureShowHide

Who is said to have lived in his cave at the Black River.

Saint Joanniciusof Devich

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