Venerable (Monastic)16th century

Venerable Tryphon Abbot of Pechenga

1495–1583

Also known as Tryphon of Kola · Metrophanes

A Russian priest's son who became a missionary to the Lapps and founded the Pechenga monastery.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Tryphon, Abbot of Pechenga, Enlightener of the Lapps

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Missionary Work

Life

Venerable Tryphon of Pechenga (1495–1583), known in the world as Metrophanes, was a Russian monastic missionary who carried Christianity to the Sami (Lapp) peoples of the Kola Peninsula in the far north of Russia. Born into a priestly family of the Novgorod region, he settled on the banks of the Pechenga River, learned the language and beliefs of the indigenous Lapps, and over decades of preaching founded the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery, which became the northernmost monastic center of the Russian Church.

He is commemorated as the Enlightener of the Lapps and Abbot of Pechenga, with a feast day of December 15. By tradition Russian mariners of the north invoke his protection.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 8

Turning all your spiritual aspiration toward God,
you steadfastly followed His call from your soul, settling in the remote wilderness;
there you lived like the Angels and Apostles, and were a path to salvation for many.
Therefore, Christ has glorified you and enriched you with the gift of miracles.
Thus, we all cry out to you: “Rejoice, O confessor of Christ our God;
rejoice, for your city is an unshakable fortress, O Tryphon our Father.”

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

TroparionTone 8

You were a guide and instructor on the path which leads to life,
for at first, Venerable Father Tryphon, you came to the Norwegian land,
and then to the farthest ends of the northern lands.
You enlightened the pagans, giving birth to them by water and the Holy Spirit,
and planted your children like olive trees in the barren wilderness.
You built the great Monastery of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity,
one in essence and indivisible, and you gathered many Monks.
Therefore, regarding you as an equal of the Apostles and of the desert dwellers,
we bow down and cry out:
“Pray to the God of all for us, and for all those who honor your memory.”

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

Timeline6 momentsReadHide

1495BirthBorn Metrophanes (Mitrofan), the son of a priest, in the Novgorod region of Russia; sources name Torzhok as his birthplace and June 1495 as the date.
c. 1520Journey to the Kola PeninsulaResolving to preach to the pagan Laplanders, he journeyed north to the Kola Peninsula and settled on the banks of the Pechenga River, studying the language and religious beliefs of the local people.
1532Tonsure and founding of the monasteryAfter a church was consecrated and converts baptized, he was tonsured a monk with the name Tryphon and established the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery, which he led.
1556Imperial supportTsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) helped and richly endowed the monastery; according to one account Tryphon returned that year with a new abbot, Gury, and an imperial charter granting the monastery concessions.
1583ReposeHe reposed at Pechenga on December 15, 1583, having lived among the Lapps for several decades.
1589Destruction of the monasterySix years after his death, the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery was destroyed by the Swedes, an event he had foretold to the brethren before his repose.

Contributions & Legacy

4 contributionsReadHide

Early Life and Vocation

Tryphon was born in 1495 in the Novgorod region, the son of a priest, and was raised by pious parents. Sources record that from his early years he resolved to devote his life to apostolic work and to proclaim the Gospel to the pagan Laplanders. According to the Wikipedia account he received training as a military engineer before pursuing a religious vocation.

By tradition he received his call while praying in the forest, prompted by a voice to go north to preach. About the year 1520 he journeyed to the wild lands of the Kola Peninsula and established himself on the banks of the Pechenga River.

Mission to the Lapps

Tryphon first acquainted himself with the language and pagan religious beliefs of the Sami (Lapp) people before beginning to preach. His early efforts were met with great mistrust: the synaxarion relates that local sorcerers incited the people against him, and he endured hardships, insults, and beatings, at times hiding in caves and living as an ascetic devoted to prayer through the night.

Through his meekness and kindly words, the number of those who listened to him gradually grew, and many came to believe. In 1532 the hieromonk Elias (Elijah) came to consecrate the church and baptize the converts, and it was he who tonsured Metrophanes with the monastic name Tryphon.

The Pechenga Monastery

Beside the church, Tryphon established the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery, situated on the cold northern sea near the frontier of Murmansk, and served as its leader. He is also credited with founding the Church of the Annunciation in the region.

Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) supported and richly endowed the poor monastery. One account records that the monks expelled their abbot in 1548, forcing Tryphon to wander for some years collecting alms, and that in 1556 he returned with a new abbot named Gury and an imperial charter granting the monastery concessions.

Repose and Legacy

Tryphon reposed on December 15, 1583, at Pechenga. Sources differ on his age at death — some give 88 and others 98 — and on how long he lived among the Lapps, variously about sixty or seventy years.

Before his death he foretold to the brethren the ruin of the monastery and their death by the sword. This came to pass in 1589, when the Swedes destroyed the Pechenga-Trinity Monastery; the rebuilt community was later moved to the Kola Peninsula. His relics rest at his burial place, and following a restoration of the monastery between 2009 and 2012 a new church was built over them.

Related Saints2 saintsShowHide

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

A widowed priest who became Tryphon's disciple at Pechenga and was martyred during a raid on the monastery Tryphon founded.

Martyr Jonahof Pechenga

A fellow saint of the Kola peninsula in the same century.

Venerable Barlaamof Keretsk

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