1464–1534
A merchant's son saved from drowning in a storm on Lake Onega, who in thanksgiving forsook the world and founded the Klimetzk Trinity monastery upon the place of his deliverance.
Our Venerable Father Jonah, Abbot of Klimetzk
Venerable Jonah of Klimetzk (born Ivan Ivanovich Klimentov, c. 1464) was a fifteenth-century monastic of the Russian North, remembered as the founder of the Klimetzk Holy Trinity Monastery on Lake Onega in the Olonets region of Karelia.
Born into a prosperous Novgorod family — his father, Ioann Klimentov, served as a posadnik, or civic magistrate, of Novgorod — Ivan inherited substantial wealth and engaged in trade. Caught in a violent storm while traveling on Lake Onega, he vowed that if his life were spared he would forsake the world and found a monastery in thanksgiving.
Delivered from the waters when his vessel was cast onto a sandbar, he interpreted his rescue as a divine call, took up the monastic life, and built the monastery he had promised. By his own choice he declined the office of abbot and lived to his repose in 1534 as a simple monk in the community he had established.
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 Jonah, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!
Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).
According to Russian sources, the saint was born in 1464 in Novgorod and bore the secular name Ivan (John) Ivanovich Klimentov. His father, Ioann Klimentov, held the office of posadnik — a magistrate or civic official — of Novgorod.
Ivan inherited considerable wealth from his family and was engaged in trade. It was during a commercial voyage that the event occurred which would turn the course of his life.
In 1490, while traveling on Lake Onega, Ivan was overtaken by a storm. When all hope of survival was lost, he cried out to the Lord, entreating that his life be preserved so that he might repent and fulfill a vow to found a monastery.
The waves cast his vessel onto a sandbar, and he was saved. Understanding his deliverance as a summons, he received a directive to establish a monastery in honor of the Holy Trinity. By tradition, he discovered a holy icon upon a juniper tree, which he took as confirmation of his calling.
Upon the place of his deliverance — an island in Lake Onega in the Olonets region (in the present-day Medvezhyegorsk district of Karelia) — Jonah founded the Klimetzk Holy Trinity Monastery in 1490.
He raised two churches there: one dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and another to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the protector of travelers and sailors — a dedication fitting to one delivered from peril on the water.
Though the brethren asked him to lead the community as hegumen (abbot), Jonah declined the office and chose instead to remain a simple monk among them.
Saint Jonah reposed on June 6, 1534. After his death a church was built over his relics, dedicated to Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth.
His remains were uncovered during archaeological excavations in 2020 and verified through anthropological and forensic examination. In January 2024, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow officially recognized them as the authentic relics of Saint Jonah of Klimetzk. A second commemoration, connected with the discovery of the relics, is observed on June 29.
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