Cloud of Witnesses
Reviewed entry
Venerable (Monastic)12th century

Venerable Onesiphorus the Confessor of the Kiev Near Caves

Reposed 1148

Also known as Onesiphorus of the Kiev Caves

A priest-monk of the Kiev Near Caves known for ascetic life and clairvoyance, who reposed in 1148.

November 9New Calendar
Feast Day
November 22Old Calendar
Suggest a correctionContribute
Icon galleryBrowse icons and imagery elsewhere
Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Onesiphorus the Confessor, Presbyter of the Kiev Near Caves

Life

Onesiphorus the Confessor was a priest-monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery (the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra) who pursued the ascetic life there and held the rank of presbyter. He is remembered chiefly for his ascetic discipline and for the gift of clairvoyance, or spiritual insight into hidden things.

He reposed in the year 1148 and was buried in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony, alongside Saint Spyridon. He is venerated as a Confessor, a designation marking one who endured suffering or hardship for the faith without dying a martyr's death.

He should not be confused with the Apostle Onesiphorus of the Seventy, nor with the earlier Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius of Ephesus, who are commemorated on the same day of November 9 but are entirely distinct saints.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

Champion of Orthodoxy, teacher of purity and of true worship,
the enlightener of the universe and the adornment of hierarchs:
all-wise father Onesiphorus, your teachings have gleamed with light upon all things.
Intercede before Christ God to save our souls.

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

Timeline2 momentsReadHide
  1. 12th centuryMonastic life at the Kiev CavesOnesiphorus pursued the ascetic life at the Kiev Caves Monastery as a presbyter, and was known for the gift of clairvoyance.
  2. 1148Repose and burialHe reposed and was buried in the Near Caves of Saint Anthony, beside Saint Spyridon.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Life and Ministry

Onesiphorus lived and struggled as a monastic within the Kiev Caves Monastery, one of the foremost centers of monastic life in the lands of Rus'. He was ordained to the priesthood and served as a presbyter of the community.

The sources record that he possessed the gift of clairvoyance, also described as perspicacity or spiritual insight into hidden truths. Beyond this and his reputation for ascetic labor, little biographical detail survives; English-language reference coverage of him is limited, and no dedicated entry exists in works such as Wikipedia.

The Near Caves and His Generation

Onesiphorus belonged to the monastic community whose members are buried in the Near Caves, the caves associated with Saint Anthony at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. These caves preserve approximately seventy-nine surviving burials of ascetic monastics spanning the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.

Having reposed in 1148, he belonged to the generation following such figures as Nestor the Chronicler, Saint Kuksha, and Alipy of the Caves, all of whom died around 1114. He was interred beside Saint Spyridon, whose own commemoration falls on October 31.

Veneration

His principal commemoration is observed on November 9. He is also commemorated on September 28 as one of the fathers included in the Synaxis of the Holy Fathers of the Near Caves, and on the Second Sunday of Great Lent.

The Synaxis of the Near Caves fathers was originally kept on the first Saturday after the Leave-taking of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and was later fixed to September 28. In the Eastern Orthodox calendar his feast is marked November 9 Old Style, corresponding to November 22 New Style.

Member ofReadHide
Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Near Caves
Commemorated together · Sep 28
Related SaintsShowHide

Browse other saints who share his calling and place.

More Confessors177More Priests383More Russia560More Slavic Saints752More Byzantine Saints1282More Monastics1353
Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints