Venerable (Monastic)17th century

Venerable Job of Ushchelsk

d. 1628

Also known as Job the Gorge-dweller

A monk of Solovki who founded a community in the Mezen region of the Russian north, and was slain by robbers in 1628.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Job of Ushchelsk

Life

Venerable Job of Ushchelsk (born Patrick Mazovsky) was a monastic of the Russian north who founded a community in the Mezen region and was slain by robbers in 1628. He is also known by the epithet 'the Gorge-dweller.'

Originally a monk of the Solovki Monastery, Job was ordained a hieromonk by Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod on November 10, 1608. In 1614 he was sent to the Mezen region, where at the confluence of the Rivers Ezeg and Vazhka with the River Mezen he established a new monastic settlement.

After the early community struggled in poverty, with monks living among lay relatives, a grant of lands and fishing rights from Tsar Michael enabled Job to build a church and monastic cells. He was tortured and beheaded by robbers seeking the monastery's treasury on August 5, 1628, and his veneration grew through miracles in the decades that followed.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide

TroparionTone 1

The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Father,
for you took up the Cross and followed Christ.
By so doing you taught us to disregard the flesh for it passes away
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore your spirit, venerable Job, rejoices with the angels.

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

Timeline7 momentsReadHide

November 10, 1608Ordained hieromonkA monk of the Solovki Monastery, Job was ordained as a hieromonk by Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod.
1614Sent to the Mezen regionJob was sent to the Mezen region, where at the confluence of the Rivers Ezeg and Vazhka into the River Mezen he built a chapel honoring the Nativity of Christ.
reign of Tsar Michael (1613–1645)Grant of lands and fishing rightsAfter Tsar Michael granted lands together with fishing rights, Job constructed a church and monastic cells, enabling the community to live on its own rather than among lay relatives.
August 5, 1628Martyred by robbersWhile the monks worked in the hayfields, robbers attacked the monastery. They tortured Job in search of the treasury and then beheaded him; finding nothing, they departed. The brethren buried his body with honor.
1658First icon paintedThe first icon of the saint was painted, an early sign of his growing veneration.
1660sLife composedJob's Life was written during this decade, by which time about fifty miracles had been recorded in the 17th century.
November 3, 1739Relics examined; glorification establishedArchbishop Barsanuphios examined Job's relics, and it was blessed to chant a Moleben to the saint, formally establishing his glorification.

Contributions & Legacy

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Foundation in the Mezen Region

Job came from the Solovki Monastery, the great northern house in the White Sea, where his father is recorded under the name Patrick Mazovsky. After his ordination as a hieromonk, he was sent in 1614 to the Mezen region of the Russian north.

At the confluence of the Rivers Ezeg and Vazhka with the River Mezen he first built a chapel honoring the Nativity of Christ. The early community was poor, and its monks lived among lay relatives until a grant of lands and fishing rights from Tsar Michael allowed Job to construct a church and monastic cells, placing the new foundation on a stable footing.

Martyrdom

On August 5, 1628, while the monks were at work in the hayfields, robbers attacked the monastery. They tortured Job in the hope of seizing the community's treasury, then beheaded him. Finding nothing of value, they departed.

The brethren buried his body with honor. His death is remembered as that of a martyr, slain in the course of his monastic labors in the northern wilderness.

Veneration and Relics

About fifty miracles attributed to Job were recorded over the course of the 17th century. His first icon was painted in 1658, and his Life was composed in the 1660s.

A chapel raised over his relics later became a church dedicated to the Righteous Job. On November 3, 1739, Archbishop Barsanuphios examined the relics, and it was blessed to chant a Moleben to the saint, formally establishing his glorification.

In iconography Job is depicted as a bearded, greyish schema-monk holding a scroll that quotes Matthew 10:28.

Related Saints3 saintsShowHide

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

Co-founder of the Solovki Monastery, the northern house from which Job came before his mission to the Mezen.

Zosimasof Solovki

Co-founder of the Solovki Monastery, Job's spiritual home in the White Sea.

Venerable Sabbatiusof Solovki

Co-founder of the Solovki Monastery alongside Zosimas and Sabbatius.

Venerable Hermanof Solovki

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