THE SAINTS OF THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko of Blessed Memory wrote that the Saints of Ukraine are Her highest Protection before the Throne of Almighty God. While we honour all the Saints, those who lived and worked and were glorified in Ukraine occupy a special place in the hearts of all Ukrainians. Our Choir of Saints confirms the salvific holiness of the Kyivan Church and Kyivan Christianity.
The following list is based on the work of Metropolitan Ohienko, supplemented wherever possible with new information and newly Glorified Saints in contemporary times.
Visitors and readers are asked to let the Webmaster know of any new Saints they may come across or any other pertinent information regarding this topic.

Early Saints of Rus’-Ukraine
Our Apostolic Founders
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church venerates St. Andrew the First-Called as its Apostle and Founder. It was St. Andrew who visited the hills of Kyiv and blessed them and the city that was to be built on them and which was to become the Beacon of Orthodox Christianity for centuries after. St. Andrew placed a Cross on one of the hills and this is now kept as a Relic in the Church of St. Andrew in Kyiv. The familiar St. Andrew’s “X” shaped Cross is highly honoured in the Ukrainian Church and the slanted lower bar on the Orthodox Cross also refers to the St. Andrew’s Cross and identifies the Ukrainian Church as the Apostolic Church of St. Andrew. St. Andrew’s disciple, St. Titus, is also venerated alongside the Apostle. Three early Scythian disciples of St. Andrew who accompanied him to the Kyivan area are also honoured: Sts. Ina, Pina and Rima. Yet another associate of St Andrew is a woman saint: the Virgin-Martyr Oriozela of Reuma. Other Gothic martyrs at this time are Sts. Triphon, Parthenius and Kalohera, Basilisk of Comana and Savvas the Reader.
Another Apostolic Founder of the Ukrainian Church is Pope St. Clement I, a disciple of Sts. Peter and Paul who was banished to Crimea where he died a martyr’s death by drowning with an anchor around his neck. His symbol is the anchor and a church in his honour was under the waters of the Black Sea, but the tide always lifted for his Feast Day so that people could visit it, see his Relics and the anchor. St. Clement wrote the Epistle of St. Clement that was formerly read in churches throughout the Roman Empire and he is said to be the scribe who helped St. Paul write the Epistle to the Hebrews.
St. Volodymyr the Great took relics of St. Clement to Kyiv and made him a Patron of Kyiv and his Royal House. St. Volodymyr’s devotion to St. Clement is also based on Volodymyr’s Scandinavian background where Clement was Protector and Patron of Sailors. A Scandinavian parish, which continues in London, England to this day, is named for St. Clement.

An Icon of St. Clement adorns St. Sophia Cathedral to this day. Sts. Cyril and Methodius took relics of St. Clement to Rome from the place of his Martyrdom where a Christian community flourished and where they already found a written Slavic literature on which they built their Church Slavonic language.

The Cyrillo-Methodian Heritage of Kyiv
Sts. Cyril and Methodius are also numbered as the Teachers of the Slavs in the Ukrainian Church along with their five disciples: Sts. Clement, Gorazd, Nahum, Angelar and Sava.
Cyril and Methodius were sent out as missionaries to the Slavs by St Photios, Patriarch of Constantinople, who is therefore listed in the Calendar of Ukrainian Saints by Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko.
It was the Kyivan Prince Askold who, on 18 June AD860, arrived with his fleet of over 200 ships, into the Bay of the Golden Horn to threaten Constantinople. St Photios the Patriarch ordered prayer to be said by one and all in the City of Constantine, especially in the Church of Blachernae which contained the holy Robe of the Mother of God.
This Robe was taken in procession around the Church and was dipped into the water. An
honourable truce was soon concluded between Askold and the Emperor. St Photios then declared July 2nd a Feast Day in honour of the Placing of the Robe at the Church of Blachernae to commemorate the saving of Constantinople.
The spiritually moving events of that time left their mark on the Kyivan Prince, however. Askold sent a delegation to Constant inople in October of that same year to conclude further treaties, among which were articles about the Baptism of Kyivan Rus'. Sts. Cyril and Methodius were then sent by St Photios the Patriarch to Kyiv where the two brothers met with Prince Askold in AD861.
Askold was baptized, as were many of his subjects, and received the name "Nicholas." Sts. Cyril and Methodius sent the Slavonic service and other books to Kyivan Rus'.
Metropolitan Michael became the first Primate of Kyiv on the appointment of Patriarch St Photios. Askold and Dir were later killed as defenders of Orthodox Christianity in their struggle against Oleh. It was Oleh however who popularized Kyiv as the "Mother of all the cities of Rus'," a play on the Greek meaning of the word, "Metropolia."
Askold and Dir, locally venerated in Kyiv, deserve to be formally Glorified as Ukraine's first Christian Rulers and Enlighteners, who introduced the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition there and throughout the Slavic lands, and who initiated the first Baptism of Kyivan-Rus'.
Along with the first Baptism of Kyivan Rus' came a great devotion to the Blachernae Mother of God and Her Robe. From that time, Kyivan Rus' was very devoted to the Mantle of Protection of the Virgin Mary, or the Pokrova and its feast, October 1, became a national holiday in Ukraine. The very first Church of the Kyivan Caves Lavra was that of the Blachernae Mother of God.
The same Mantle of Protection that saved Constantinople, saved many places in Ukraine, especially the Pochayiv Mother of God. The Akathist Hymn in honour of the Mother of God is said to date from AD860 to thank Her for the saving of Constantinople. It was at the singing of its first verse at Pochayiv in the seventeenth century during a Turkish seige of the monastery that the Mother of God appeared and spared the people there.
Thanks to Blessed Mykola Askold and Dir, Sts. Cyril and Methodius came to Kyiv and from there began their apostolic activity westward among the Slavs, armed with their Slavonic texts. St Nestor the Chronicler also notes that it is from this time, AD860, that the name "Rus'" comes into vogue as the name for the Kyivan lands.
The Cyrillo-Methodian Choir of Saints was recently enlarged by the Glorification of the Orthodox Slavic Prince of Moravia, Saint Rostislav, who later received the missionaries in his country.
Poland itself was the beneficiary of the Cyrillo-Methodian heritage and Poland’s initial Rite, before AD1054, was the Byzantine Rite, before political and other considerations led to the adoption of the Roman Rite. To this day, Poland’s Patronal Icon is the Byzantine (Ukrainian) Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa (Kyiv-Belz).
The same is true of the Czech lands, Bohemia and Moravia. The Orthodox Church in the Czech and Slovak Republics is not “something new” being introduced from the outside, but the reestablishment of a strong, historic link to Orthodoxy.
That link was strengthened by the blood of a New Martyr who was recently Glorified by the (Ukrainian) Metropolitan and Primate of the Czech and Slovak Orthodox Churches - His Beatitude, Dorotej. The Holy New Hieromartyr Gorazd was a Serbian Orthodox Bishop serving to the needs of the Orthodox Christians of Prague and the then Czechoslovakia. Gorazd was trained in Serbia under Ukrainian professors of theology and philosophy.
With the outbreak of World War II and the occupation of Prague by the Nazis, Bishop Gorazd witnessed powerfully and wonderfully to the strength of Christ’s love to all the Czech people, Orthodox or not. With the assassination of the Nazi “protector” of Czechoslovakia in 1942, thousands of Czechs were tortured and shot in an effort by the Germans to root out the assassins. Bishop Gorazd received into his care the Czech heroes and other soldiers trying to escape the Nazis and hid them in the crypt of his cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
One of the soldiers turned traitor and the Church was attacked at dawn by the SS guards
who killed them all right in the Cathedral. Bishop Gorazd was tried for treason by the
Nazis and then shot. He was Glorified as a New Hieromartyr and is loved by all Czechs
for his heroism. To this day, the Crypt of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral is a shrine

to the heroes that died there as it is to St Gorazd. St Gorazd showed himself to be a true
Disciple of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in showing his sacrificial love for his adopted
people before whom He witnessed the truth of Orthodoxy. It is interesting that this Holy
Bishop also bore the name of one of the actual disciples of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, St
Gorazd himself.
The Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius is today served by Ukrainian Orthodox
Priests. As a matter of fact, the Metropolitan of Prague regularly communicates with his
faithful in four languages: Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian and Russian. These Ukrainian
Orthodox Priests at the Cathedral are among the most zealous promoters of veneration for
St Gorazd of Prague, distributing Icons and prayers in honour of the Hieromartyr. St
Gorazd deserves to be counted among the Cyrillo-Methodian Choir of Saints and he
deserves to be in the Ukrainian Orthodox Calendar.
The Crimean Choir of Saints
Pope Saint Martin I was also banished to Crimea and is also venerated highly in the
Orthodox Church as an Orthodox Bishop of Rome and Hieromartyr. St. Flavia Domitilla,
a Roman noblewoman was also banished to Crimea.
Saint Clement the Pope belongs to the Crimean Saints, as do his two assistants martyred
with him, Saint Cornelius and Saint Titus.
There were even some who were banished to Crimea who were of the Coptic Church
such as Timothy Aelurus (the “Cat” because of his tall, thin appearance) a Monophysite
Patriarch of Alexandria who is venerated as a saint by the Oriental churches. This could
explain some Coptic influence in the life of the Kyivan Church.
St. George of Mitilene, a Confessor (+ 820, April 7) was banished to Khersones in Tauria
in 815 where he reposed. The Venerable Joseph the Hymnographer (+883, April 4) was
likewise banished to Khersones where he died.
Among the Scythian saints who are included in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church is St. John Cassian, a Scythian from Constantinople who visited the Thebaid in
Egypt. He wrote the “Conferences” which are excellent treatises on the spiritual life and
also recollections of the life of the Desert Fathers. He also wrote a refutation of
Nestorianism. Cassian then settled in Marsilius in Gallia, (Marseilles, France) and helped
establish some monastic communities based on the Egyptian model. Defending the
Eastern Church’s teaching on Original Sin and Grace, Cassian opposed Blessed
Augustine as did the bishops of Orthodox Gaul. For this, he is not honoured as a Saint in
the Roman Catholic West (except locally in Marseilles itself). His monastic observations
influenced the Kyivan Caves Lavra and there is one Kyivan Saint who took his monastic
name from Cassian.

Two other notable Scythian Bishops are St Betranes and St Theotimos of the Danube
who defended Orthodoxy against the Arians. Two other Scythian Martyrs are St
Epictetus, Presbyter, and Astion (AD290).
There are a number of Martyrs of Crimea listed in the Orthodox calendar who should be
in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church since they were of the earliest Church
communities on what was to become eventually Ukrainian territory:
St Bathusius, St Bercus, St Arpilus, St Abibas, St Agnus, St Reasus, St Igathrax, St
Iscoeus, St Silas, St Signicus, St Snoriulus, St Suimbalus, St Thermus, St Phillus, St
Anna, St Alla, St Larissa, St Manca, St Mamica, St Virko, St Animais, St Gaatha, Queen
of the Goths and St Duklida the Gothic Princess and St Hermenigild the Gothic Prince,
the soldier Isaiah. These and others number more than 300 Martyrs of Crimea.
An argument could be made also for the inclusion of the Tatar Orthodox Saints, like St.
Peter of the Horde, for the same reason.
There was also a Gothic Christian community in Crimea and St. John, Bishop of the
Goths in Crimea took part in Church Councils on behalf of his flock. The Ukrainian
Church has always had devotion to two Gothic Saints, Nikita and Sava, especially in the
Bukovina and Bessarabia regions.
St. Sava Stratelates or the General is honoured along with his group of 70 soldiers,
Gothic Martyrs (April 24).
An early archbishop of Surozh or Sudak in Crimea, St Stephen, participated in the First
Ecumenical Council on behalf of the Church there. Another is Saint Sava, Archbishop of
Surozh, who lived in the 12th century. The Greek Menologion states that the Church in
which Saint Sava reposed was 5 versts from Surozh at the foot of a mountain called “ai-
Sava.” In 1872, an ancient Icon of St Sava was discovered there and his feast is April 2
(April 15). A third Archbishop of Surozh is Saint Basil, honoured with St John the
bishop of the Goths.
Among the early Saints of the Ukrainian Church, there are seven Holy Hieromartyrs
venerated from posterity: Sts. Basil, Ephraim, Eugene, Elpidius, Agathodorus, Eutherius
and Capito, Bishops of Cherson.
A Venerable Father and Martyr of the Kyivan Caves is numbered among the Crimean
Choir, Saint Eustratius, who was martyred at Korsun.
Saint Constantine, Prince of Mangoup is venerated and he reposed as a monk with the
name of "Cassian."
Archaeologists in Crimea are studying the remains of Christian settlements there and are
not only uncovering old objects, but also the shrines of Saints that have been forgotten
long ago!

Two such recent finds include a "Saint whose name we do not know," but who is now
included among the Saints of Crimea and a Holy Hieromartyr, a nameless priest who was
martyred by the Turks.
This is also occurring at the Kyivan Caves Lavra where scholars are finding the shrines
of new Venerable Fathers that had been covered over during earthquakes. Their names
are now being brought to light and are being restored to the calendar.
Future archaeological work will doubtless uncover other saints' shrines in that area that
witness to the great Christian Church of Tauria/Crimea and its several Eparchies that, at
one time, were so prominent that its bishops were invited to Ecumenical Councils!
And, of course, Saint Volodymyr himself is numbered among the Crimean Choir of
Saints since this is where he was baptized.
The Archbishop of Cherson, Saint Innocent, reposed ni 1857 and is a glorified Saint of
Crimea with his feast day on June 21.
A Ukrainian physician and surgeon who lived in Crimea and reposed in 1961, St Luke,
was recently glorified. The Feast of All Saints of Crimea is December 15.
The Saints of the Caucasus are also highly honoured in Ukraine and these include St Nina
the Equal to the Apostles, Enlightener of Georgia, the Holy King David the Builder and
the Queen Tamara, along with St Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia.
Royal Saints of Kyivan Rus’-Ukraine
Princely Enlighteners and Defenders of the Church
The Princes, Blessed Mykola Askold and Dir were locally venerated in Kyiv and St. Olha
the Great built Churches over their graves as a way of confirming their holiness as
martyrs. They have yet to be formally Glo rified, as Metropolitan Ohienko notes.
Other early Saints of Kyiv include St Theodore and his son St. John who would not
worship idols and were martyred for Christ as a result. On the site of their martyrdom,
St. Volodymyr built the Church of the Tithe (since he gave one-tenth of his wealth to
have it built). This Church contained the famous Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God
which was set up at the source of the River Dniepro, facing it. This is one of the reasons
why this River is so sacred to Ukrainians.

St. Volodymyr and St. Olha were both devoted Christians who also believed in allowing
other, competing religious confessions to have their say before they decided which
doctrine to accept. St Volodymyr was related to the two Saint Olaves of Norway and
Sweden. St Olave of Norway caused discontent among his subjects by the harsh way in
which he tried to put down paganism. He fled to Gardarike in Kyivan Rus' for a time.
Upon returning to Norway, he was killed in the battle of Stiklestad near Trondheim on 29
July, 1030 which is his feast-day.
Trondheim was also the "liturgical capital" of Scandinavia which developed its own Rite
which, at one time, spread throughout Northern Europe, including some of the Channel
Islands of England. St Olave of Sweden lived a century earlier than Olave of Norway
and was martyred by his subjects for refusing to sacrifice to idols. His feast is July 30th.
St Volodymyr and St Olha are thus linked by royal blood lines to the great sovereigns of
Scandinavia, including St Erik the King and others.
In November of 1999, the governing council of Volyn proclaimed a new flag for the
Oblast of Volyn. In honour of St Volodymyr, who built Volodymyr-Volyn and other
landmarks in Volyn, and to commemorate Volodymyr's Nordic, Varangian ancestry, the
council adopted the red and white Scandinavian Cross flag, known in Denmark as the
"Dannesbrog." In the upper right hand corner, a white Kozak Cross pattee is also placed
in honour of the heroic Kozak period.
In St. Olha’s time, a number of Western Rite missionaries, then in communion with the
Orthodox Church visited Kyiv, including Celtic Missionaries who brought with them the
Celtic Cross that has since remained popular in Ukraine, especially since both the Celtic
and Byzantine Slavic traditions developed in regions with similar pre-Christian cultural
elements, such as the cult of the sun. St. Hyacinth of Kyiv came to preach Western Rite
Christianity before St. Olha. When he was saying Mass, enemy troops surrounded his
Church. He then took the large image of the Mother of God from the Altar, according to
legend, and then crossed the Dniepro River with it, which seemed to part its waves for
him, much like with Moses. This frightened the enemy troops who left Kyiv alone.
St. Adalbert of Prague and his missionary group were banished from Kyiv by St. Olha’s
son, Sviatoslav. They met a martyr’s end in and around Bohemia. The strong religious
and cultural influence of Kyivan Christianity in countries of the west at this time period is
notable. The Kyivan Caves Chronicles include a Hungarian Orthodox Saint, St Moses
“the Hungarian” who was martyred by a Princess because he refused to give up his
monastic vows to marry her. St Moses is the Orthodox Patron of Youth and purity and
His Relics were actually directly applied to people suffering from sensual temptations.
Hungary’s Crown of St Stephan is actually a Byzantine Crown made in Kyiv and, to this
day, it bears Church Slavonic inscriptions.
St. Volodymyr is the Enlightener of Rus-Ukraine and among the Saints who came to
Crimea to baptise the people of Rus’ included St. Joachim of Korsun and St. Michael the
first Metropolitan of Kyiv. Volodymyr’s two sons, Boris and Hlib died in the subsequent

battle at the hands of their brother, Sviatopolk the Damned. St. Yuri the Hungarian, a
servant of Boris and Hlib, also perished. Another servant, St Ephrem, escaped and
became Ihumen at Novotorzhok where he is venerated together with his disciple, St.
Arkady. St. Ihor Olhovych died a similar death as a Passion-bearer in the Kyivan Caves
Lavra. Recently, the Shrine of the granddaughter of St. Volodymyr the Great was
discovered in Germany, near a hollowed out oak tree where St. Edigna lived as a recluse.
It is now visited by Ukrainians and she deserves to be included in the Ukrainian calendar.
Yaroslav the Wise is now formally a Saint of Ukraine. His wife, St. Irene-Anna and
eldest son, St. Volodymyr are venerated along with St. Mstislav and St. Theodore and St.
Rostislav Prince of Kyiv. St Timothy-Dovmont, Prince of Pskov, was descended from an
ancient Ukrainian Princely family based in Lithuania. He died of a pestilence after
defeating the Teutonic Knights on 20 May 1299.
Along with St Alexander Yaroslavich ("Nevsky") who also defeated the Teutonic
Knights, Timothy represented the determination of Kyivan Rus' to remain independent of
western Europe's colonial grip. It is interesting to note, however, that the Cross of the
Teutonic Knights, which was also that of the Knights Templar from which they derived
their origin, became popular throughout Ukraine, especially among the Kozaks.
The Kozaks saw themselves as new Crusaders and defenders of Orthodoxy, which they
certainly were. The Cross Pattee of the Kozaks became their symbol which represented
the highest ideals of knightly chivalray of the strongest Crusader divisions which were
the Templars and the Teutonic knights. The Kozaks wore this Cross around their necks,
placed it on their raspberry-red banners, and this Cross also adorned their graves.
This Cross and the Knightly-Kozak tradition it embodied was passed down to other
Ukrainian military formations, such as the "Sich" and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army,
(UPA), originally organized in Volyn whose emblem has always been the Kozak Cross,
to name two.
The following is an up-to-date list of all glorified Royal Saints of Kyivan Rus', apart from
Sts. Volodymyr and Olha:
Sts. Boris and Hlib (+1015)
St. Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv, in baptism "Yuri" (+1054)
His wife and son, St Anna and St Volodymyr of Novhorod (+1052)
St Svyatoslav II of Kyiv (+1076)
St. Isyaslav of Kyiv (+1078)
St Yaropolk-Peter of Volodymyr-Volyn (+1086)
St David Prince of Chernihiv (+1123)

St Volodymyr-Basil Monomach, Grand Prince of Kyiv, (+1125)
Sts. Constantine, Irene and their sons Michael and Theodore of Murom (+XII)
St Mstislav-Theodore/Harold, Prince of Kyiv (+1132)
St Vsevolod-Gabriel of Pskov (+1138)
St Ihor of Chernihiv and Kyiv (+1147)
St Boris of Turiv (+1160)
St Izyaslav Volodymyrsky (+1165)
St Hlib Horodensky of Kyiv (+1166)
St Rostislav of Kyiv (+1167)
St Mstislav of Volodymyr (+1172)
St Andrew Boholiubsky (+1174)
St Hlib Andriyivich of Volodymyr (+1174)
St Michael Volodymyrsky (+1176)
St Mstislav-Yuri the Courageous of Novhorod (+1180)
St Mary/Martha of Volodymyr (+1206)
St Basil of Novhorod (+1219)
Sts Peter and Febronia of Murom (+1228)
St Mstislav of Novhorod (+1228)
St Theodore of Novhorod (+1233)
St Theodore, Evpraksia and their son John, Martyrs of Zaraisk (+1237)
St Yuri of Volodymyr, Martyr (+1238)
St Basil of Rostov, Martyr (+1238)

The Holy Royal Martyrs: Vsevolod, Mstislav, Volodymyr and Dmytry Volodymyrsky
(+1238).
The Holy Royal Martyrs: Agatha, Theodora, Maria, Christina Volodymyrsky (+1238).
Sts. Yaroslav-Theodore (+1246) and his wife, Theodosia-Euphrosinia (+1244) of
Volodymyr.
St. Michael of Chernihiv and his Boyarin Theodore, Martyrs and Confessors (+1245)
St Martyr Oleh Krasniy-Pronsky (+1247)
St Michael of Smolensk (+1248)
St Svyatoslav-Gabriel Yurievsky (+1253)
St Basil (+1249) and St Constantine (+1257) Yaroslavsky
St Alexander Nevsky (+1263), his son St Dmytry Volodymyrsky (+1269) and his
daughter St Eudocia Volodymyrska (+XIII).
St Roman of Ryasan, Martyr (+1270)
St Hlib of Rostov (+1280)
St Roman of Ukhlich (+1285)
St Oleh of Briansk (+1285)
St Dmytry Volodymyrsky (+1294)
St Dovmont-Timothy (+1299) and Maria/Martha (+1300) of Pskov
St Theodore of Smolensk (+1299) and his sons Sts David (+1321) and Constantine
(+1321) of Yaroslav
St Volodymyr and St Agrippina of Irzhevsk (+XIII)
St John of Putyvl, Martyr (+XIII)
St Daniel of Moscow, son of Alexander Nevsky, (+1303)
St Andrew of Suzdal (+1365) and Ven. Theodora-Anastasia of Nizhorod (+1378)
St Dmytry Donsky (+1389) and Ven. Eudocia (+1407)

St Michael of Tver and Mykulyn (+1400)
Holy Martyrs Sts Simeon and Juliania Vyazemsky (+1406)
St Andrew of Smolensk, (+XV)
St Hlib of Smolensk (+XV)
Sts. Dmytry and Maria of Volohda (+1424)
St Theodore of Volohda
St Basil of Terebovyl
St. Dmytry Krasniy of Halych and Bezhets (+1440)
St Andrew of Ukhlich (+1494)
St Dmytry Prylutsky (+1540)
St Dmytry the Tsarevich of Ukhlich (+1591)
St. Theodore, Grand Prince of Moscow (+1598)
Holy Equals-to-the-Apostles of Ukraine
While St Andrew and St Clement are the Apostolic Founders of the Church of Kyiv,
there is another group of Saints who bear the above title owing to their Apostolic labours
in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Teachers of the Slavs bear this title. So do Sts. Volodymyr
and Olha, both also termed "The Great." In addition, St Innocent, the Apostle of America
and missionary to Siberia and Alaska whose spirituality was formed in Ukraine also bears
this title of distinction. It is important to note that he also took his episcopal name from
the Ukrainian St Innocent Kulchitsky and that a son of Kyivan spirituality is the patron of
Orthodoxy in North America! St. Nicholas Kassatkin, the Apostle of Japan likewise
bears this title and he was a spiritual child of St Innocent as well as spending a good deal
of time at Kyiv.
Early Missionary Outreach Across Asia
A great grand-son of the Grand Prince of Kyiv, St Rostislav, was St Theodore of
Smolensk and Yaroslavl and his two sons, St David and St Constantine. St Theodore was
also the best friend of the son of St Alexander Nevsky, Aleksy. Widowed at an early age

and removed from his princely seat at Smolensk, Theodore was on a diplomatic mission
on behalf of Kyivan Rus’ to the Khan. There he found such favour with the Khan that he
gave him his daughter in marriage to Theodore and ordered that she receive Orthodoxy!
Theodore’s sons, David and Constantine, were born of this marriage. For Theodore’s
sake, the Khan honoured the Orthodox Church and Faith. This opened the first avenues
of Kyivan missionary outreach into the Far East. By 1330, there are references to
Orthodox Churches and Kyivan missionaries in China and Mongolia. St Andrei of
Smolensk who died in Pereyaslavl- Zalesski is another Ukrainian princely Saint of the
same family.
A direct descendant of St Theodore through his father, Dmitri Basilovich Zaozersky, was
Saint Joasaph Kaminsky, the Wonder-worker of Volohod. "Andrew" in the world,
Joasaph became a monk at the Kubensk Monastery of Spaso-Kaminske and became a
Recluse/Hermit there. In the final year of his life, he only ate once a week. His feast is
the day of his repose, 10 September (1453 AD).
Saint Volodymyr Monomakh and the English Connection
Saint Volodymyr Monomakh is another in this same category as Yaroslav and Svyatoslav
II, all three of whom were venerated by their people as Saints and were even called such
by historical writers, but who have yet to be Glorified. When the Battle of Hastings was
fought and lost by King Harold, his daughter, Gytha, emigrated first to Sweden where she
received baptism at the hands of the English missionary, St. Sigfried, who also baptised
St. Anna of Novhorod. St Sigfried was invited to come to Norway by St Volodymyr's
relative, St Olave and he became well acquainted with the rulers of Kyivan Rus'. St
Sigfried, whose Feast is February 15th (and his companion, St Eskill (Aeschilus) Bishop
of Sweden and martyr (Feast: June 12), therefore deserve to be in the Ukrainian Calendar.
Gytha then moved to Kyiv where she became the wife of Volodymyr Monomakh! Their
son, Mstislav, received two baptismal names – Theodore-Harold after his English
grandfather. He is now St. Mstislav of Kyiv. The English Orthodox today venerate
Gytha’s father, St Harold of Hastings, King of England, together with those fallen in
battle with him.
Saint Volodymyr Monomakh (of the Byzantine Imperial family of the Monomakhoi)
stands as truly one of the greatest Princes and Kings not only of Rus’-Ukraine, but of
Europe as a whole. A number of western historical commentators who discuss
Volodymyr often comment about his great holiness as a deeply Christian ruler.
In his “Pouchenniya Dityam” or “Teachings for the Children” written for the Royal
Family of Rus’-Ukraine and for all its citizens, Volodymyr Monomakh discusses rules of
prayer and behaviour. He clearly enunciates the practice of the Jesus Prayer when he
teaches that this prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner, may
be said anywhere and at any time, while riding on one’s horse or when working – this is
truly the very best of prayers!”

He set down an excellent constitution for his Kingdom as well. The “Crown of
Monomakh” (sometimes also called a “Cap”), became the Royal Symbol of the Throne of
Kyivan Rus’-Ukraine. It was taken by the Muscovites who used it to crown their Tsars
until the time of Peter I when he decided to substitute it with a (quite ostentatious)
western-style Imperial Crown and changed the name of the despots of Russia from
“Tsar” to that of “Emperor.” Tsar Nicholas II, a Slavophile, returned the use of the
Crown of Monomakh and the title of “Tsar” which is Slavonic for “King” (i.e. the
beginning of the Divine Liturgy, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father . . .
Blahoslovenne Tsarstvo Otsia . .).
Kyiv – The Mother of Churches
The Kyivan Empire stretched northwards as did the influence and jurisdiction of the
Kyivan Church. Saints Anthony, John and Eustathius (Ostap) of Lithuania were Slavs
who opposed their pagan prince and died a martyr’s death.
In Dorpats, Estonia, during the persecutions of the Latins, St. Isidore, a priest and 72
Orthodox Christians were thrown into a river and drowned for refusing to convert to
Roman Catholicism.
Belarus was always intimately connected with the Church of Kyiv and the Belarussian
and Ukrainian Churches share a number of Saints. The Saints of Belarus are therefore
the Saints of the Kyivan Church as well, including Saint John of Korma and the Holy
New Martyrs of Belarus.
Kyivan influence extended to Bulgaria, as Metropolitan Ilarion noted. Ukrainian Princes
visited Bulgaria and, later, Ukrainians contributed to the development of Bulgarian
Church life and culture. St John of Rila and St Parasceva, early Bulgarian Saints, had
and continue to have a widespread cult in Ukraine.
Royal and Venerable Women Saints of Kyivan Rus'
A number of Royal Princesses of Rus' turned their backs on the world and took the
monastic veil:
St Anna of Kyiv (+1112)
St Euphrosyna the Ihumena of Polotsk (+1173)
St Eupraksia the Princess of Pskov (+1243)
St Euphrosina the Princess of Suzdal (+1250)
St Charitina the Princess of Lithuania (+1281)

St Paraskeva the Ihumena of Irzhivske (+XVI)
St Sophia, Grand Princess of Suzdal (+1542)
St Helen the Ihumena (+1548)
St Juliania Olshanska (+1550)
St Sophia, Princess of Slutske (+1612)
Kyiv - A Royal Fount of Holiness
Other Royal Saints of Ukraine include Sts. Michael, Prince of Chernihiv and his Boyarin,
Theodore, martyred by the Horde. Michael’s grandson, St. Ole h of Briansk, was
miraculously healed of blindness through the Miraculous Icon of the Kyivan Caves called
“Svinska” which is still honoured there. St Polykarp of Briansk was, in the world, Peter
Boryatinsky, a Ukrainian descendant of St Michael of Chernihiv. St. Lavrenti of Kaluga,
was descended from a Ukrainian noble family in Peremyshl. St. Yaropolk of Volyn, St.
Euphrosinia of Polotsk and St. Euphrosinia of Vilna were also Ukrainian Saints. St.
Roman Olhovych of Ryazan was a Royal Martyr as well as were St Mstislav-George,
Prince of Novhorod and St George, another Kyivan Prince and the son of Vsevolod III
who died in battle with the Khan Batij in 1238 and whose Relics are in the Volodymyr
Cathedral.
In 1230, the above St. George (Vsevolodovich) installed the Relics of a Tatar Orthodox
Martyr and Wonderworker, Saint Avramii the Bulgar, in the Volodymyr Cathedral. St.
Avramii came from the city of Bulgara near the Volga (whence his surname). Raised as
a Muslim, Avramii became a Christian and for this was tortured and then executed by
quartering and beheading. The Ukrainians living in the city quietly took possession of
some of Avramii’s Relics which are today a great Shrine in the Volodymyr Cathedral.
Two other Royal Saints of Ukraine are St Svyatoslav-Gabriel and his son Dmytry of
Yuriev (1285).
St. Andrew Boholiubsky and his son St. Hlib are also numbered among the Saints of the
Kyivan period before the development of Russian Muscovy.
St. Alexander Nevsky was a Ukrainian Saint, who actually forced the issue of the
Glorification of Sts. Volodymyr and Olha who were, until that time, locally venerated
only. St Daniel Alexandrovich is the princely son of Alexander Nevsky. Alexander’s
brother, St. Theodore is also a Ukrainian Saint as is Theodore’s son, St. Michael of Tver.
St. Vasilko, Prince of Rostov is a Ukrainian Royal Saint as well as his nephew St. Roman
of Ukhlich, as is St. Anna Vsevolodivna, St. Vsevolod of Pskov and St. Euphrosinia
Suzdalska, daughter of St. Michael of Chernihiv. St Dovmont-Timothy was also a Prince
of Pskov, of a Royal Ukrainian line that lived in Lithuania and he died on May 20, 1299
after defeating the Teutonic Knights, as did St Alexander Nevsky.

Kyivan Patrons of Newly-Weds
Saint David and Saint Euphrosinia, Prince and Princess of Murom reposed in the Lord in
1228. These were their monastic names, as they received the monastic tonsure before
their deaths. David was called Peter and Euphrosinia was Febronia. As a Prince of
Murom, an ancient city of Kyivan Rus’, Peter became very ill. It was only through the
knowledge of herbal medicine of Febronia, a daughter of a local beekeeper, that Peter
became well. He fell in love with Febronia and married her, to the displeasure of his
boyars. They expelled Peter and Febronia from Murom, but then received them back
when God made His displeasure known . . . Peter and Febronia lived together and ruled
Murom for many years, helping the poor and the destitute, and living lives of deep
prayer. They received the monastic tons ure shortly before their repose in the Lord and
were glorified as Saints of God and Patrons of newly-weds.
Royal Patrons of the Married Life in Christ
On April 16 (April 29, Greg. Cal.) is commemorated St Theodora-Anastasia or Vassa, as
she was called, of Nizehorod who lived in the fourteenth century. She was the daughter
of the Boyar of Tver, Ivan and was married to Prince Andrij Konstantinovich. After
being widowed, she was tonsured a nun by the Ukrainian Kyivan Pechersk Archbishop,
St Dionysius of Suzdal. She then spent the remainder of her days in prayer and charitable
works.
When the city of Novotorzhok was part of Kyivan-Rus’, three Saints were glorified there
by God. First there was St Ephrem who was a servant of Saints Boris and Hlib and
escaped there after the two Holy Princes met a Passion-Bearer’s end. Then there was St
Ephrem’s associate, St Arkady. The third was Saint Juliania, Princess of Novotorzhok,
daughter of the Boyar Maxim Danyliv and wife of the Prince of Vyazemske, Simeon
Mstislavich. During the attacks of the Lithuanian king, Vitovt, Simeon and his wife
Juliania left and settled at Novotorzhok. Prince Yuri Svyatoslavych fell in love with
Juliania and even killed her husband in a bid to obtain her as his wife. As Juliania was
steadfast in her refusal, Yuri murdered her and threw her into the river. Juliania’s Relics
were later found floating in the river, they were retrieved and enshrined. She was
Glorified as a miracle-working Saint at Novotorzhok and declared a patron of marital
fidelity.
Missionary Work as a Family Affair
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Kyivan Rus’-Ukraine, there lived the Holy
Princes St Constantine and his sons, St Michael and St Theodore of Murom. Holy Prince
Constantine was a direct descendant of St Volodymyr the Great, Enlightener of Kyivan
Rus’. In the foot-steps of his illustrious ancestor and his namesake, the Holy Emperor

Constantine, St Constantine undertook the Christianization of the pagan city of Murom.
His son, Michael, was killed outright by the inhabitants. Constantine then petitioned the
Kyivan Caves Monastery for a copy of a beautiful Icon of the Mother of God, called
today, “Kyiv-Murom.”
The icon depicts the Child Jesus reclining on His Mother’s arm, looking up at Her
smiling and gently touching Her face with His Hand. It is truly one of the most beautiful
and moving Slavic Icons of the Theotokos! Having procured a copy, St Constantine
brought it with him to Murom.
When the pagan inhabitants saw it, the miracle of their instant conversion took place and
they accepted baptism in the River Oka. St Constantine then worked with his other son,
St Theodore, in bringing Christianity to Murom, through the intercession of the Most
Holy Mother of God and Her Icon of Kyiv-Murom. In 1129, St Constantine reposed in
the Lord and was buried in the Annunciation Cathedral in Murom beside his two sons, St
Michael and St Theodore. Their feast-day is May 21st (Julian Calendar).
Saints of the Kyivan Caves Lavra
On the banks of the River Dniepro (also called “Slavutych”), in Kyiv, the Capital of
Ukraine, is the famous Monastery of the Caves in which repose the relics of many
Venerable Saints. They are divided into the “Nearer Caves” of St. Anthony and the “Far
Caves of St. Theodosius, the two Founders of the Monastic Community. Their lives as
well as those of the early Fathers of Kyiv were written in the Kyivan Pechersk Paterikon
and constitute a fascinating Hagiography.
The Saints of the Kyivan Caves Lavra form the largest urban Choir of Saints anywhere in
the world today. They are the Patrons of Kyiv, Ukraine and the Eastern Slavic Churches.
Icons of All Saints of the Kyivan Caves Lavra can be obtained at the Lavra or else
through the Jordanville Bookstore in the U.S. Services with Canons in their honour in
English can be obtained from the St. John of Kronstadt Book Service.
The Saints of the Nearer Caves are honoured on September 28 (Julian Calendar), the
Saints of the Far Caves on August 28 and they have a common Feast on the Second
Sunday of Lent. They are also honoured along with all Saints of Ukraine on the Second
Sunday after Pentecost.
The names of all the Saints of the Kyiv Caves Lavra are far from known, as Metropolitan
Ohienko wrote in his books on Ukrainian Saints. As the service to them states:
“The praises to all those, whomever do be Thy Saints, O Blessed One, do reckon them
multiplied more than the very sands. But Thyself, O Master Christ, having counted out
the stars and named all named, grant them our prayers . . .”

The Venerable Fathers of the Nearer Caves of St. Anthony:
St. Anthony, the First-Founder; St. Prokhor the Wonderworker; St. John the Fast; St.
Juliania the Maiden, Princess of Ol’shansk; Saint-Martyrs Basil and Theodore; St.
Polykarp, Archimandrite; St. Varlaam, Ihumen; St Damian the Presbyter and Healer;
St. Nikodim the Prosphora- maker; St. Lavrentii the Hermit, Bishop of Turiv; St.
Athanasius the Hermit; St. Erasm the Black-Robed; St. Luke the Steward; St Agapit, the
Gratuitous Physician; St Theophilus the Exact-sighted; St John the God-pleasing; St.
Nektary the Obedient; St Gregory the Iconographer; Holy Hieromartyr Kuksha,
Enlightener of the Vyati; St Alexei the Hermit; St Sava the God-pleasing; St Serhiy the
Obedient; St. Mercurius, Bishop of Smolensk; St. Pimen the Much- ill; St. Nestor the
Chronicler; Venerable Martyr Eustrathius; St. Elladii the Hermit; St Jeremiah the
Perspicacious (could see the future); Venerable Martyr Moses the Hungarian; St. John the
Much-suffering; St. Mark the Grave-digger; St Mykola Svyatosha, Prince of Chernihiv;
St. Gregory the Wonderworker; St Onysim the Hermit; St. Matthew the Perspicacious; St
Isaiah the Wonderworker; St. Avramy the Lover of work; St. Nyphont, Bishop of
Novhorod; St. Sylvester the Wonderworker; St. Pimen the Faster; St. Onuphrius the
Silent; St. Anatolius the Hermit; St. Alypius the Iconographer; St Sisoi the Hermit; St.
Theophil the Hermit; St Aretha the Hermit; St. Spiridon the Prosphora- maker; St.
Onysiphor the Confessor; St John the Ihumen; St John and his son St Zechariah; St.
Simon, Bishop of Suzdal; St. Nikon, Ihumen of the Caves; St. Theophan the Faster; St.
Makarius; Venerable Martyr Anastasius the Deacon; Twelve Saints-Greek Master
Architects of the Kyivan Caves Great Church in honour of the Dormition of the Most
Holy Mother of God; St Avrami the Hermit; St. Isaac the Hermit; St. John the Infant
(one of the children martyred at Bethlehem by King Herod at the time of the Nativity of
our Lord Jesus Christ); St. Elias of Murom; St Nikon the Lean; St. Ephrem, Bishop of
Pereyaslavl; St. Titus the Priest-Monk;
In addition to these are thirty unknown Saints of God whose preserved and myrr-earing
Heads are with the Relics of the Fathers of the Nearer Caves.
In the Service to the Fathers of the Nearer Caves are also mentioned:
St Ephrem the Priest and St. Eustathius the goldsmith. Also, Saint Dionysius,
Archbishop of Suzdal; St. Jerome, Hermit and Wonderworker; St. Meladius, Elder and
Wonderworker; St. Perhius, Elder; St. Paul the Obedient; St Meletius the Priest; St.
Serapion, St. Philaret: St. Peter.
On May 24, A.D. 1853, these Saints of the Kyivan Caves Lavra were newly-revealed: St.
Theophil; St. Theodosius; St. John the Cave-Dweller.
Other newly revealed Saints in the Near Caves of the Lavra include:

St Azarius the Faster, St Bassian, St. David, St Eliseus, St Innocent, St Hesychius, St
Joachim, St Nicephorus, St Niphont, a second St Sergius, a second St Silouan, a second
St Sylvester, St Sisoes the Canonarch, St Stephen the Faster and St Timothy.
The Venerable Fathers of the Far Caves of St. Theodosius:
St. Theodosius, Founder: St. Moses the Miracle-worker; St. Lavrenti the Recluse; St.
Ilarion the Schema- monk; St. Paphnutius the Recluse; St. Martyrius the Deacon; St.
Theodore, Prince of Ostrih (Ostrozhky); St. Athanasius the Recluse; St. Dionysius the
Recluse; St. Theophil, Bishop of Novhorod; St. Zenon the Faster; St. Gregory the Miracle
Worker; St. Hypatius the Healer: Holy Hieromartyr Lucian; St. Joseph the Muchsuffering;
St. Paul the Obedient; St. Sisoi the Schema- monk; St. Nestor the Unlettered:
St. Pambo the Recluse; St. Theodore the Silent One: St. Sophronius the Recluse; St.
Pancratius the Hieromonk; St. Anatolius the Recluse; St. Ammon the Recluse; St.
Mardarius the Recluse: St. Pior the Recluse; St. Martyrius the Recluse; St. Rufus the
Recluse; St. Benjamin; St. Cassian the Recluse: St. Arsenius the Lover of Work; St.
Euphemius the Schema- monk; St. Titus the Soldier; St. Achilles the Deacon; St. Paisius;
St. Mercurius; St. Macarius the Deacon; St. Pimen the Faster; St. Leontius and St.
Gerontius the Canonarchs; St Zachary the Faster; St. Siluan the Schema-Monk; St.
Agaphon the Miracle-Worker; St. Ignatius the Archimandrite, St. Longinus the Door-
Keeper; and the Relics of St. Theodora (Bohdanna) of the Carpathian Mountains, brought
to the Kyiv Caves Lavra in the nineteenth century. Also, St. Pachomius the Roman, a
Roumanian Bishop who was devoted to the Saints of the Kyiv Caves Lavra all his life,
and asked to be buried at the Lavra. He has since been glorified a Saint by the Roumanian
Orthodox Church.
The Relics of the Holy Hieromartyr Saint Volodymyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv, the
Protomartyr of the Bolshevik Terror, are now enshrined in the Far Caves, as are those of
the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Saint Filaret Amfiteatriv, who reposed in 1857.
The great Sobor of the Holy Dormition of the Kyivan Caves Lavra is where a number of
other Tonsured Kyivan Caves Saints are enshrined. Among these are: Saint Paul
Koniuskevych, who was tonsured at the Lavra and who returned there at the end of his
life; Saint Peter Mohyla, Metropolitan of Kyiv.
Among the newly revealed Saints of the Far Caves of the Lavra are:
St. Anastasius (a second); St Barsonophius; St Gennadius: St Gerasim; St Daniel the
Staretz; St Dmytry; St Peter; St Timothy the Ihumen; St Pimen the Ihumen; St Avramius
the Ihumen; St Dositheus I the Ihumen; St Acindynus I the Ihumen; St Dositheus II the
Ihumen; St Acindynus II the Ihumen; St Isidore the Recluse; St Eulogius the Staretz; and
another St Anastasius.
There are also 31 myrrh-bearing Heads of Unknown Saints buried with the Fathers of the
Far Caves of St. Theodosius. Together, the Myrrh-bearing Heads number 61.

New but Old Ukrainian Saints - the Venerable-Martyrs of Zverynetsky
Monastery
In Kyiv, near the Monastery of the Holy Trinity founded by St Jonah of Kyiv are the
remains of the "first Kyivan Caves Monastery" that archaeologists have determined predate
the Lavra of Sts Antony and Theodosius and even the Baptism of Kyivan Rus'.
The Zverynetsky Monastery of Kyiv boasted many Holy Monks who lived in caves just
as their later brothers of the Lavra did.
The Mongols destroyed this spiritual centre and it remained forgotten for centuries.
Work to unearth it began in the early part of the 20th century, but the Soviets put a stop to
it.
In 1997, new archaeological digs at the site unearthed many relics of its monastic past
including the remains of prayer ropes ("chotki"), monastic scapulars and others.
Finally, the inner monastic Church was uncovered and it was seen to contain a listing of
the early Ihumens or Abbots of the monastery including: Leontius, Markian, Michael,
Menas, Clement, Manuel and the Venerable Fathers Andronicus and Theodore.
The Relics of the Venerable Martyrs of Zelenetske were also uncovered, killed by the
Mongols. These were collected and will be placed in a special reliquary at the unearthed
monastery.
The Orthodox Church has numbered these Holy Monk-Martyrs among the Saints - after
so many years of being forgotten by men, although they were always remembered by
God. Three times in one month the Divine Liturgy is now celebrated in the old monastic
Chuch there which is constantly being repaired. An icon of the martyrs, together with
their akathist, is at: http://akafist.narod.ru/Z/Zv.htm.
They are called the "Kyivan Caves Fathers of Zverynetske." The Choir of these Fathers
includes:
The Venerable Ihumen Markian (Feastday: October 25)
The Holy Hieromartyr St Leontius, Bishop of Rostov (and possibly an ihumen of Kyivo-
Zverynetske, Feastday: May 23).
Saint Michael, Bishop of Yuriyiv (and possibly an ihumen of Kyivo-Zverynetske,
Feastday: September 6).
The Venerable St. Sophronius, Ihumen (Feastday: March 11).

The Venerable Manuel, Ihumen (Feastday: June 17).
The Venerable Clement, Ihumen (Feastday: November 25).
The Venerable Andronik, the grave-digger, of Kyivo-Zverynetske (Feastday: May 17).
The Venerable Theodore "kolyka" of Kyivo-Zverynetske (Feastday: February 17).
The Venerable John of Kyivo-Zverynetske (Feastday June 24).
The Holy Venerable Monk-Martyrs of Kyivo-Zverynetske, martyred by the Polovtsi, and
"who are known by God" (Feastday: July 20).
Saint Menas, Bishop of Polotsk (and possibly an ihumen of Kyivo-Zverynytske).
Saint Lazar, Bishop of Pereyaslav, Ihumen of Kyivo-Zverynetse and of Vydubytske
(Feastday: September 6).
Recently Glorified Fathers of the Kyivan Caves:
St. Theophil the Fool for Christ’s Sake; St. Parthenius, Staretz-Elder; St. Dosithea, in
reality of woman, Ihumen of the Caves, who blessed St. Seraphim to go to Sarov; St.
Paisius, Fool for Christ’s Sake; St. Alexei, Staretz-Elder; Saint Filaret, Metropolitan of
Kyiv, numbered with All Saints of Siberia; St. Lavrentii the Perspicacious; and the great
Metropolitan of Kyiv and Archimandrite of the Kyivan Caves Lavra, St. Peter Mohyla.
There are also four, as yet unglorified, locally venerated holy ones of the Kyiv Caves
Lavra (doubtless there are more):
Blessed Agapit; Blessed Vassian the Blind; Blessed Theophane and Blessed Jonah; In
addition, there is a much-venerated nun at the Holosiyivo Convent associated with the
Lavra, Blessed Alypia who reposed on Oct. 17, 1988.
Saints Tonsured at and associated with the Kyivan Caves Lavra
There is also an entire group of Saints, Bishops and Missionaries who received their
Monastic Tonsure at the Kyiv Caves Lavra, who are glorified as Saints, but who are, by
and large, not buried at the Caves:
St. Menas, Bishop of Polotsk; St Dionysius of Polotsk (July 6); St Symeon of Polotsk; St.
Arsenius, Bishop of Tver; St. Philotheus Leshchynsky, glorified with All Saints of
Siberia, the Apostle of Siberia who built more than 2,600 Churches there; St. Innocent
Kulchitsky, Bishop of Irkutsk whose relative helped defend Vienna against the Turks; St.
Paul Koniuskevych, Metropolitan of Tobilsk; St. John Maximovitch, Metropolitan of

Siberia; St. Nikita, Bishop of Novhorod; St. Leontius Bishop of Rostov; St. Stephan
Makhrischy; St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Volodymyr-Volynhia; St. Theoktist, Bishop of
Chernihiv; St. Herman, Bishop of Novhorod; St. Sophrony Krystalsky, Bishop of
Siberia and his associate St Synesius (May 10); St. Serapion, Bishop of Volodymyr; St.
Stephan, Bishop of Volodymyr-Volynhia; St. Simon, Bishop of Volodymyr; St. Ephrem
of Novotorzhok, Archimandrite – one of the servants of Sts. Boris and Hlib; St. Cyril
Bishop of Turiv; St. Joasaph, Bishop of Bilhorod near Kyiv; St. Tikhon Zadonsky; St.
Theodosius Archbishop of Chernihiv; St Nikon of New-Jerusalem, mentioned in a
service to the Kyivan Caves Saints; St Stephan Makhrischky and his associate, the
Venerable Martyr St Gregory of Avnesh, who was killed by the Tatars; St Cosmas of
Yakhromsk; St. Meletius, Archbishop of Kharkiv and Okhtyrka.
In addition, there are: Saint Lavrenti of Turiv, Saint Luke of Bilhorod, Saint Marinus of
Yuriyiv, and Saint Nicholas of Pereyaslav. The Holy Venerable-Martyr St Athanasius of
Brest lived at the Lavra in 1672 as did St Dmitri of Rostov (1684-1686) and Saint Paisius
Velichkovsky (years unknown). Saint Jonah Miroshnychenko and founder of the Holy
Trinity "Joninsky" Monastery in Kyiv also lived at the Lavra as well as Saint Kuksha of
Odessa who struggled as an ascetic at the Lavra in 1913 until its closing by the
Bolsheviks and again in the years 1947-1951).
In May of 2003, the third Archbishop of Voronezh and Zadonsk, Anthony, was glorified
a Saint. St. Anthony was tonsured in the Kyivan Caves Lavra where he worked and
served God faithfully before being called to Voronezh. Along with the Hieromartyr
Arsenius Matsievich, he was to have been glorified a Saint in 1918, but the Russian
Revolution prevented this. His Feast Days are: January 2nd, May 23, and 17 September
which is the feast of All Saints of Voronezh.
Voronezh always had strong and ancient ties with its Mother Church in Kyiv and these
Saints are rightly celebrated by the Kyivan Church.
St Anthony is the one who glorified the first bishop of Voronezh, Saint Mitrophan,
himself from a Ukrainian family in Vladimir. St Anthony venerated Saint Mitrophan
highly all his life, receiving many pilgrims to his relics.
St Anthony also began the glorification process for the second Ukrainian bishop of
Voronezh, St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, although his successor completed the formal act of
Glorification fifteen years after St Anthony's repose in the Lord.
St Anthony himself knew another great Kyivan Caves Saint, Saint Seraphim of Sarov,
with whom he corresponded.
Even before the canonization of St Mitrophan became a public matter, St Seraphim wrote
a letter to St Anthony congratulating him on a new Saint of Voronezh . . . "How could he
know?" St Anthony thought . . .

In Poltava there is a locally venerated Bishop Ambrose who was tonsured at the Lavra
and whose Relics are incorrupt. Blessed Theophylact Lopatynsky and Blessed Simon
Todorsky, locally venerated Orthodox Hierarchs awaiting their Glorification, were also
tonsured at the Lavra. St Jonah, Founder of Holy Trinity Monastery in Kyiv, was also
tonsured at the Lavra (+1902). Blessed and locally venerated Schemanun Gabriela
recently reposed in 1992 and she was from the same monastery.
St. Dmytry Tuptalo, Metropolitan of Rostov was associated with the Lavra as a Preacher
there, as was Holy Great-Hieromartyr Arsenius Matsievich, also Metropolitan of Rostov
who should have been Glorified a Saint in 1918 but this was interrupted due to the
Russian Revolution. St. Paisius Velichkovsky was likewise a fervent devotee at the
Lavra as was another teacher of the Jesus Prayer, St. Theophane the Recluse, a convert
from Calvinism. St. Seraphim of Sarov came to the Lavra to ask for guidance from St.
Dositheus (in reality Dosithea). We know that St Seraphim was tonsured at the Lavra
before going to Sarov. A religious conference was held at the Lavra this year in honour
of St Seraphim, "the most famous of all those tonsured at the Kyivan Caves." One of St
Seraphim's spiritual children, now glorified, was the Venerable Saint Alexandra
Melgunov, who, in 1760, received the monastic tonsure (at the Kyivan Monastery of
Saints Florus and Laurus) and experienced a vision in which the Mother of God told her
to found the famous Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery.
A further study on the influence of the Lavra in the life of the Russian Church is to see
how many Russians and others were tonsured and studied at the Lavra.
The Kyivan Caves Lavra also possesses the precious Relics of the following Saints:
St. Michael, Metropolitan of Kyiv; St. Macarius, the Holy Hieromartyr, slain while at the
Altar; St. Stephan the Protomartyr; St. Volodymyr the Great, King of Rus’-Ukraine; St.
Olha the Great, Queen of Rus’-Ukraine; Sts. Boris, Hlib and Ihor, Passion-Bearers; Sts.
Dmytry of Rostov, Theodosius of Chernihiv, Job of Pochayiv, Joasaph of Bilhorod and
Tikhon Zadonsky.
Another Glorified Hierarch tonsured at the Lavra is Saint Theophan Zatvornyk, the
Recluse of Vysha, who was born in 1815. He completed his theological training at the
Kyiv Academy and became a professor at the Kyiv Sophia School. His guide in those
years was St Parthenius of the Kyiv Caves Lavra who told him the one thing needful in
life was, "To pray unceasingly in your mind and heart to God." Later, Saint Theophan
became a recluse at the Vysha Hermitage near Volodymyr where he wrote many letters
of spiritual guidance to those who sought his advice. He reposed on January 6, the Feast
of the Theophany in 1891, with his right arm folded as if for a Bishop's blessing.
Finally, many Fathers of the Kyivan Caves were killed as New Martyrs and Confessors
who are yet to be formally Glorified as such by the Orthodox Church. St. Volodymyr,
Metropolitan of Kyiv in 1918 was martyred by firing squad who put him up against the
wall of one of the buildings in the Kyivan Caves Lavra. The Lavra is truly the holiest
Shrine of Ukraine and of Eastern Europe.

Choir of all Venerable Fathers tonsured at the Lavra who then
laboured and reposed elsewhere and all Venerable Fathers:
St Ephrem Novotorzhok (+1053)
St Sudislav-Yuri, Prince of Pskov, Kyivan Recluse (+1063)
St Avramiy, Archimandrite of Rostov (+1077)
St Arkady Novotorzhok (+1077)
St Martin of Turiv (+1146)
St Anthony the Roman (+1147)
St Andrew the Ihumen of Novhorod (+1147)
St Avraamiy of Mirozh (+1158)
St Gerasim of Volodha (+1178)
St Nikita the Stylite of Pereyaslav (+1186)
St Varlaam of Khutyn (+1192)
St Cyril the Ihuman of Novhorod (+1196)
St Avraamiy the Ihumen of Yaroslav (+1219)
St Avraamiy (+1224) and St Ephrem (+XIII) of Smolensk
St Antony Dymsky (+1224)
St Constantine and St Cosmas Kosinsky (+1240)
St Elisey Lavrishevsky (+1250)
St Theodore Kaminsky (+1260)
St Xenofont Robeysky (+1262)
St Cyprian of Ustiuh (+1276)
St Peter of the Horde (+1290)

St Michael, Chain-Bearer of Vyaznikiv (+1333)
St Macarius the Desert-Dweller of Novhorod (+XIV)
St Bassian Krestomyrivsky (+XIV)
St Sergius and Herman of Valaam (+1353)
St Avraamiy of Halich (+1375)
St Barlaam and St Gideon of Serpukhiv (+XIV)
St Cyril of Chelmohir (+1378)
St Sylvester of Obnora (+1379)
St Pachomius of Nerekht (+1384)
St Athanasius and Theodosius of Cherepovetske (+1388)
St Lazar and St Athanasius of Murmansk (+1391)
Sts. Eleazar, Nazariy and Eumenius of Murmansk (+XV)
St Dmytry Prilutsky (+1392)
Sts. Sergius and Nicon, Ihumens of Radonizh (+1392 and +1426 resp.)
Sts. Cyril and Maria of Radonizh, Schemamonks (+1337)
St Stephen of Moscow (+XV)
St Mitrophane, Ihumen-Staretz of Radonizh (+1337)
St Basil the Dry of Radonizh (+1392)
St Jacob of Radonizh (+XIV)
St Onisimus and his son Eliseus of Radonizh (+XIV)
St Simon, Archimandrite of Smolensk (+1392)
St Isaac the Silent of Radonizh (+1388)
St Macarius of Radonizh (+1392)

St Elias of Radonizh (+1384)
St Simon the Ecclesiarch of Radonizh (+1392)
St Micah of Radonizh (+1385)
St Nektary of Radonizh (+XIV)
St Alexander and St Andrew, schemamonks, (+XIV)
St Bartholomew and St Naum of Radonizh (+XIV)
St Joannicius of Radonizh (+XIV)
St Ignatius of Radonizh (+1392)
St Epiphanius the Most Wise (+1422)
St Methodius of Peshnosh (+1392)
Sts. Sava and Jacob Strominsky (+XIV)
St Roman of Kirzhach (+1392)
St Athanasius Vysotsky the Younger of Serpukhiv (+1395)
St Athanasius Vysotsky the Elder of Serpukhiv (+1401)
Sts. Andronyk, Sava, Alexander, Ihumens, and Sts. Andrew and Daniel the Icon-writers
(+XV)
St Gregory Holutvinsky and St Dmytry Tsilibinsky (+XIV)
Sts. Nikita, Cyril, Nicephorus, Clement, Isaac and their two brothers of Novhorod (+XV)
St Euthymius of Suzdal (+1404)
St Stephen of Makhrische (+1406)
St Sava of Zvenihorod (+1407)
St Theodore and St Paul of Rostov (+1409)
St Sergius of Volohda (+1412)
St Theophilus and Jacob of Omutch (+1412)

St Nicephorus and St Nicetas of Borovske (+1421)
St Therapont Borovinsky (+XV)
St Cornelius and St Avraamiy of Olonetske (+1420)
St Paul of Hlushitske (+1422)
St Therapont of Mozhaiske (+1416)
St Cyril of the White Lake (+1427)
St Ignatius and St Dositheus of the White Lake (+XV)
St Paul of Obnora (+1429)
St Macarius of Kostroma (+XV)
St Leonty Karikhivsky (+1429)
St Savvatiy of Tver (+1434)
Sts. Euthymius, Antony and Felix of Karelia (+1435)
Sts Dionysius, Taras and Theodosiy of Hlushitske (+1440)
Sts. Alexander, Antony, Bartholomew, John the Golden and Ignatius the Icon-writer of
Simoniv (+1442)
Sts Jacob of Zeleznoboriv and Jacob Brilyiv (+XV)
St Jacob of Halych (+XVI)
St Gregory of Pelshenske (+1442)
St Macarius of Unzhenske (+1444)
St Varnava of Vetluha (+1445)
St Arsenius Konivsky (+1446)
St Amphilochius of Hlushitske (+1452)
St Joasaph Kaminsky (+1453)

St Michael Klopsky (+1456)
St Philip of Rabanga (+1457)
St Barsonofiy of Tver (+1459)
St Euphrosine of Tver (+1460)
St Paisius of Halych (+1460)
St Barlaam of Uhlich (+1460)
Sts. Sava and Andrew of Vysherske (+1461)
Sts Barlaam and Paisius of Vazhky (+1462)
St Cassian Kaminsky (+1463)
Sts Peter and Pachomius Kaminsky (+XV)
St Stephen and St Timothy of Kubenske (+XV)
St Timothy the Ihumen of Volohda
Sts. Cyril, Spiridon and Faustus of Volohda
St Euthymius of Syanzhemske (+1465)
St Sava of Tver (+1467)
St Paphnutius and St Elias of Borivske (+1477)
Sts. Savvaty, Zosima and Herman of Solovetsky (+XV)
Sts John, Basil, Macarius the Fisherman, Onuphrius, Gerasim, Januarius, Stephen, Philip
and Dositheus of Solovetsky (+XV-XVI)
St Alexander Oshevinsky (+1479)
St Macarius of Hlushetske (+1480)
Sts Mark, Jonah and Bassa of Pskov-Caves (+1480)
St Euphrosyne and St Serapion of Pskov (+1480)
Sts. Ignatius, Charalampius and Pamphilus of Pskov (+XV)

St Dositheus of Pskov (+1482)
St Antony of Krasny-Kholm (+1481)
St Martinian of the White Lake (_1483)
St Macarius of Kalyazin (+1483)
St Cosma of Yakhroma and the Kyiv Caves Lavra (+1492)
St Moses of the White Lake (+1492)
St Nectarius Ihumen of Bezhetske (+1492)
St Nectarius Ihumen of Pokrovsky and Tver (+XVI)
Sts. Ephrem and Roman of Perekom (+XV)
Sts Tikhon and Nicephorus of Kaluzh (+XV)
St Levky of Volokolam (+1492)
Sts. Zosima and Adrian of Volokolam (+XVI)
St Sava Kripetsky (+1495)
St Job the Archimandrite of Volodymyr (+XV)
St Avraamiy and St Copriy of Pechenga (+XVI)
St Auxentius and St Onuphrius of Volodha (+XVI)
St Eliseus of Sumske (+XVI)
S Alexander of Halych (+XV)
St Sebastian Sokhotsky (+1500)
St Tykhon of Kostroma (+1503)
St Barlaam and St Photiy Lukhivsky (+XVI)
Sts Paisius, Adrian and Boholep of Ukhlich (+XVI)
St Cassian the Greek of Ukhlich (+1504)

St Galacteon of the White Lake (+1506)
St Herman the Wondrous of the White Lake (+1508)
St Nil Sorsky (+1508)
St Bassian of Ukhlich (1509)
St Bassian Karhopilsky (+XVI)
St Chariton Syanzhensky (+1509)
St Joseph Volokolamsky (+1515)
St Gerasim Chorny, Cassian Bosiy and Photios of Volokolam (+XVI)
Sts Pachomius and Paphnutios of Kenske (+1515)
St Gennadius Vasheozersky (+1516)
St David of Serpukhiv (+1520)
St Innocent of Komel (+1521)
St Volodymyr of Serpukhiv (+1522)
St Euthymius of Archangelohorod (+1523)
St Ignatius Prilutsky (+1523)
St Philip Irapsky (+1527)
St Theognost of Peremyshl (+1530)
St Cyril of the New Lake (+ 1532)
St Onuphrius Katromsky (+1532)
St Macarius Oredezhsky (+1532)
St Alexander Svirsky (+1533)
Sts. Ignatius, Leonid, Dionysius, Theodore, Therapont, Cornelius and Athanasius of
Ostrivske (+XVI)

St Jona Klimenetsky, St Cornelius, St Cassian and St Lavrenti of Komel (+1537)
St Longinus Koryazhensky (+1540)
St Daniel of Pereyaslav (+1540)
St Irodion of Ilozerske (+1540)
St Stephen Ozersky (+1542)
St John and Longinus of Yarenga (+1545)
St Leonid Poshekhonsky (+1549)
St Cyprian Yaroslavky (+XVI)
St Zosima Vorbozomsky (+1550)
St Arseny Komelsky (+1550)
St Joachim Opochsky (+1550)
St Niphont of Ustiuh (+1553)
St Gerasim Boldinsky (+1554)
St Arkady Dorohobuzhsky (+XVI)
St Nil Stolbensky (+1554)
St Maksym the Greek (+1556)
St Anthony Seysky (+1556)
Sts Alexander, Joachim and Elias Seysky (+XVI)
St Nicephorus Vasheozersky (+1557)
St Bassian and Jonas Pertomeysky (+1561)
St Simon Soyhynsky (+1552)
Sts Jonas and Nectary of Kazan (+1563)
St Gennady Lubymohorodsky (+1565)

St Niphont Kozheozersky (+1565)
St Joasaph the Recluse of Nizhorod (+1567)
St Dmytry of Nizhorod
St Theodosius Totemsky (+1568)
St Zenoby Otensky (+1568)
St Arseny of Novhorod (+1570)
St Theodoret, the Enlightener of Kola (+1571)
St Christopher Solvichehidsky (+1582)
St Cyril of Astrakhan (+1576)
St Athanasius of Syanzhemske (+1577)
St Ananias the Iconographer of Novhorod (+1581)
St Nicon and Dionysius of Novhorod
St Nicander of Pskov (+1581)
St Triphon of Pechenga, Enlighter of Kola (+1583)
St Barlaam, Ihumen of Makhrische, Bp of Suzdal (+1585)
St Sergius of Malopineha (+1585)
St Jonas Yashezersky (+1592)
Sts. Ignatius (+1591) and Isaac (+XVII) of Yaroslav
St Onyphrius of Pskov (+1592)
St Serapion of Izborske (+XVI)
Sts. Prochor and Bassian of Volodymyr (+1592)
St Stephen Husynsky and St Therapont of Monzenske (+1597)
St Cyprian Storozhensky (+1598)

St Anthony of the Black Lake (+XVI)
St Cyril Syrynsky (+XVI)
Sts. Nicon, Basil and Tykhon Sokolovsky (+XVI)
St Tykhon Karachevsky (+XVI)
St Daniel Shuzhorsky (+XVI)
St Chariton Kudynsky (+XVI)
St Barlaam Keretsky (+XVI)
St Athanasius Navlotsky (+XVII)
St Macarius the Roman of Novhorod (+XVII)
St Xenophont of Tver (+XVII)
St Vincent of Volohda (+XVII)
St Peter, Priest of Cherevkiv (+XVII)
St Nicander Horodnozersky (+XVII)
St Paphnutius Balakhinsky (+XVII)
St Martyrius Zelenetsky (+1603)
St Gurias Shalatsky (+1603)
St Sergius Shukhtomsky (+1609)
St Adrian Monzensky (+1610)
St Theodosius the Labourer of Monzenske (+XVII)
St Stephen of Kostroma (+XVII)
St Serapion of Kozheozero (+1611)
Sts. Cornelius, Longinus, Herman and Boholep of Kozheozero (+XVII)
St Antony Leochnovsky (+1611)

Sts. Joseph, Antony and Joannicius of Zaonikyiv (+XVII)
St Avraamy Koryazhemsky (+XVII)
St Tryphon Vyatsky (+1612)
St Antony Solovetsky (+1613)
St Jacob Solovetsky (+1614)
St Herman Stolbensky (+1614)
St Irinarch the Recluse of Rostov (+1616)
St John the Recluse of Pskov (+1616)
St Polycarp of Bryansk (+1620)
St Irinarch of Radonizh (+1621)
St Dorotheus of Radonizh (+1622)
St Dorotheus and St Ilarion Yuhsky (+XVII)
St John of Karhopil (+1622)
St Macarius Zhabynsky (+1623)
St Bassian Tiksnensky (+1624)
St Mark Belavinsky (+1630)
St Dionysius of Radonizh (+1633)
St Diodore (+1633) and St Prochor (+XVII) Yurihorsky
Sts. Irinarch, Andrew, Nikiphor, Misael, Adrian, Nestor, Timothy, Sava, Ephrem the
Black, Alexius, Joseph I, Tikhon, Theodulus, Triphon, Joseph II, Sebastian, Gurias,
Cyriacus, Cassian, Auxentius, Axius, Taras - all of the Solovetsky Islands (+XVII)
St Antony Kensky (+1634)
St Nicodim Kozheozersky (+1640)
St Macarius Krasnohorsky (+1640)

St Euphrosyn of Karhopil (+1652)
St Anthony Krasnokholmsky (+1642
St Dionysius Pereyaslavsky (+1645)
St Joachim Shartomsky (+XVII)
St Dalmatus of Perm (+1646)
St Gennadius the Iconographer of Chernihiv (+XVII)
St Job of Pochayiv (+1651)
St Leonid Ustnedumsky (+1654)
St Lukian Alexandrivsky (+1654)
St Eliezar Anzersky (+1656)
St Philip Sukhonsky (+1662)
St Tykhon Vokhmivsky (+1690)
St Cornelius Alexandrivsky (+1681)
St Macarius of the High Lake (+1683)
St Macarius Menuzhky (+1684)
St Theodosius Sysky (+1687)
St Isaias and St Nicanor Seysky (+XVII)
St Avraamy of Pineha
St Cornelius Pereyaslavsky (+1693)
St Cyril, Schemamonk Borisohlibsky
St Pimen the Recluse and Chain-Bearer of Rostov (+XVII)
St Carpus of Moscow
St Titus of Yuryiv

St Zosima Alexandrivsky (+1713)
St Job Anzersky (+1720)
St Sinesius the SchemaArchimandrite of Siberia (+1787)
St Misael of Abalak (+1797)
St Andrew of Tobilsk (+1820)
St Seraphim of Sarov (+1833)
St Herman of Alaska (+1837)
St Daniel of Siberia (+1843)
St Barlaam of Siberia (+1846)
St Macarius, Missionary to the Altai (+1847)
St Aretha of Siberia (+1915)
All Holy Venerable Fathers of the Kyivan Caves Lavra and the Fruits of the Kyivan
Church, pray unto God for us!
Other Ukrainian Saints
A Patron of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada
St. John of Suchava (“the New”) is the Patron of Bukovina and a New Martyr. He lived
in the fifteenth century and was actually a merchant by trade. It is clear that he was also a
respected Churchman with theological training, as he attended Church Councils in an
official lay capacity.
A fellow merchant became jealous of John’s success in business and told the local
Muslim authorities that John had publicly maligned their Prophet Muhammad. The
punishment for this was death, but John was offered his freedom if he only rejected
Christ and accepted the Muslim faith. He refused and, after four days’ torture, was
beheaded. St John was Glorified as a New Great-Martyr, or a martyr that suffered many
things for Christ before expiring.
Alexander the Good, Prince of Moldavia, had St. John’s relics brought to Suchava where
His Shrine continues to this day. Ukrainians in Bukovina and Bessarabia made regular
pilgrimages to St John’s Shrine on his Feast Day, June 15th. Ivan Franko, the Ukrainian

poet, referred to one of these pilgrimages and exclaimed, “Look how they gather ‘round
the Relics of the Martyr-Saint!”
Olha Kobylanska, a famous Bukovinian writer, also made many pilgrimages to St John of
Suchava and wrote about them. It was very often the case that the throng of people were
so great in the Cathedral that someone was known to faint at almost every pilgrimage!
Ukrainians from Bukovina emigrated to Canada and established the Ukrainian Orthodox
Cathedral of St John of Suchava in Winnipeg. The street on which the Cathedral stands
is also named for him.
Kozak Saints of Ukraine
St. John the Ukrainian Confessor under the Turkish Yoke was a Kozak who was captured
by the Tatars in battle. He was taken to Crimea where he was sold to a wealthy Turkish
family as their servant-slave. While in captivity, John lived a life of deep prayer. He
walked to an Orthodox Church that was boarded up and closed by the Turks and stood in
front of it as he prayed the Psalms from memory. Many Kozaks, in fact, knew the Psalter
off by heart in case they were captured in battle and so that they would be able to pray
them from memory, as well as the Jesus Prayer.
God glorified His servant, John with miracles that convinced his Turkish masters of their
slave’s great sanctity. When the father of the house was away on business, the mother
prepared a dish of rice“holubtsi.” The family members remarked how terrible it was that
the father was so far away and could not enjoy this delicious food. John was then
inspired to tell the family to fetch the father’s most favourite, decorated dish. He then put
“holubtsi” on it and took it into his room to the laughter of everyone in the house. He
placed the dish on his little bed and then begged God with tears to perform this miracle to
demonstrate Christ’s power before this family. The dish was then transported
miraculously to the father. He brought home his decorated dish as proof that he had
eaten the holubtsi, but wondered how they got to him, along with his dish!
After St John’s repose in the Lord, miracles would not cease from His Relics. The
Turkish family actually helped build the first Church to house His Relics at Procopion.
When this was destroyed by the Turks, the Orthodox Christians built another Shrine for
St John at New Procopion. Three Orthodox Churches glorified this New Ukrainian
Confessor: Constantinople, Greece and Russia. He is now accepted as a Saint by the
entire Orthodox Church. The Greeks have a special veneration for him whom they call:
“Agios Ioannis o Rossos.”
Another Ukrainian New Martyr is St Pakhomy (Pachomius) who was born in Ukraine, as
the Greek Menologion relates. Taken captive by the Tatars, he was sold to a Turk in the
city of Usaki (Philadelphia in Anatolia). He spent 17 years in servitude, enduring abuse
for his faith. Upon obtaining his freedom, Pakhomy went to Mount Athos where he
became an ascetic under the guidance of his staretz, the Priestmonk Joseph.

Pakhomy then resettled in the Kapsokalyvia Monastery, where he lived under the staretz,
Akakios. Pakhomy then returned to Usaki, where he openly confessed himself a
Christian. Arrested by the Turks, Saint Pakhomy refused to accept the Muslim faith and
was beheaded in Usaki on the day of the Ascension of our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus
Christ, 7 May AD1780. The relics of St Pakhomy the New Martyr are in the monastery
of St John the Theologian, where the Apostle wrote the Book of Revelation, on the Isle of
Patmos.
Other Ukrainian New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke include Constantius the Ukrainian and
Nikita, a Ukrainian or Belorussian born in Albania who became a monk at the Ukrainian
Monastery of St Panteleimon on Mt. Athos and was martyred for Christ in the nineteenth
century on April 4.
St. Nicephorus the Confessor, mentioned in Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko's work, "The
Canonization of Saints in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," was recently glorified. He
was a staunch defender of Orthodoxy against Poland's intrusion into Ukrainian Church
affairs through the Unia and suffered a martyr's death through starvation in prison.
The Greek founder of the City of Mariupol, the "City of Mary" on the Aziv Sea was
recently glorified a Saint by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. St Ignatios Metropolitan of
Mariupol ("Gotfeysky" and "Kefaysky"). In 1778, he brought the Greek community of
Crimea to Mariupol as a result of enduring difficulties experienced by living under the
Crimean Tatars.
The Holy Elder St Daniel Achynsky was born in the 18th century in Ukraine and his feast
is 15 April (reposed in 1843). Sent Siberia, he became a miracle-worker in the midst of
hardship.
Another Ukrainian Saint of this period is the recently glorified Saint John of the Holy
Mountain (Svyatohorsky) whose feast is Ukrainian Independence Day, 24 April.
Devoted to the Jesus Prayer, he relied on it throughout his period of blindness and died in
great holiness.
Finally, the Akathist and Service to St Tikhon of Kaluga emphatically affirms that he was
born in Kyiv and later moved northwards.
Choir of all Martyrs of the Kyivan Church
Sts. Theodore and his Son John the Varangians of Kyiv (+983)
St George the Child (+1015)
St Avraamiy the Volga-Bulgar of Volodymyr (+1229)
St Mercurius of Smolensk (+1238)
St Theodore the Philosopher of Kamske (+1323)

Sts Antony, John and Eustathius of Lithuania (+1347)
St. John of Kazan (+1529)
Sts. Stephen and Peter of Kazan (+1552)
Sts. Boris, Jacob, Theodore, Silvanus, Theodore, Basil, Theodore, Dmytry, Michael, John
and Basil of Kazan (+XVI)
Sts Simeon, Cyprian, Joseph, Basil and those with them in Siberia (+XVII)
St Paul the Ukrainian (+1683)
St Gabriel of Bilostok (+1690)
St Paul of Vilnius (+XVII)
St Eustathius the Child of Crimea (+1752)
St Pachomius the Ukrainian Kozak on Patmos (+1780)
St Kuksha of the Kyiv Caves Lavra (+1114)
Sts. Mitrophan the Archbishop, St Pachomius the Archimandrite, St Daniel the Ihumen
and Theodosius the Ihumen of Volodymyr (+1238)
St Simeon Bp of Pereyaslav (+1239)
St Lukian of the Kyiv Caves (+1243)
St Anthimus Sarsky, Bishop
St Patrick, Priest of Volodymyr (+1411)
St Gerasim Bp of Velikoperm (+1441)
St Pitirim, Bp of Velikoperm (+1456)
St Isidore and 72 Companion-Martyrs of Yuryiv (+1472)
St Macarius Met. Of Kyiv and those with him (+1497)
St Theoktist, Archbp of Tver (+1609)
St Germogen, Patriarch of Moscow (+1612)

St Misail, Archbp of Ryazan (+1655)
St Joseph, Met. Of Astrakhan (+1672)
St Nicephorus, Hieromonk of Crimea (+1730)
St Constantine the Ukrainian (+1743)
St Nicetas the Slav of Mount Athos (St Panteleimon) (+1808)
Sts. Moses the Hungarian, Gregory the Miracle-Worker, Eustratius, Theodore and Basil
and Anastasius of the Kyiv Caves Lavra
St Clement, Ihumen of Kyiv-Zverinetske and those with him (+1097)
Sts. Joasaph, Basil, Joseph and Constantine of Pskov (+1299)
Sts. Gregory and Cassian of Avnezh (+1392)
St Antony of Chudiv (+1451)
Sts Sava and Benjamin, Ihumens of Zeleznoborivske (+XV)
Sts Ephrem, Dionysius, Jerome and Isaac of Obnora (+XVI)
St Adrian Ondrusivsky (+1549)
St Adrian of Poshekhon (+1550)
St Cornelius and St Bassian of Pskov Caves (+1570)
St Gelasius the Ihumen of Novhorod (+1570)
St Agapit Markushevsky (+1584)
Sts. Jonas, Gurias and Herman Kolsky (+1590)
St Gregory the Priest-Monk (+XVII)
St Daniel, Ihumen of Hrikhozarutsky and with him 30 Venerable Martyrs and 200
Martyrs (laity) of Ukhlich (+1608)
St Constantine, Ihumen of Novotorzhok and his Companions (+1609)
St Anastasia the Ihumena and with her 35 Nuns of Ukhlich (+1609)

St Antony the Ihuman of Pokrova, St Gerasim the Archimandrite, Sts Euthymius and
Barsonofius the Priest-Monks and Venerable Monk-Martyrs Sts. Macarius, Matthew,
Bassian, Gurias, Job, Ilarion, Job, Acacius, Onuphrius, Joseph, Gerontius, Leontius,
Tykhon, Filaret, Gelasius, Joseph, Bassian, Christopher, Serapion, Herman, Markellus,
Nikita, Arseniy, Theodosius, Jona, Jude, Simeon, Michael, John, Macarius, Mamantus,
Gregory, Nicephorus, Ilarion, Athanasius, Polyeuctus, Cosmas and, with them, thousands
of Martyrs-Laity at Ukhlich (+1609)
St Joasaph Borivsky, Archimandrite of Holy Trinity and his Brethren (+1610)
St Euphrosyne of the Blue Lake (+1612)
St Galacteon of Volohda (+1612)
St Job Uschelsky (+1628)
St Simon Volomsky (+1641)
St Athanasius of Brest (+1648)
St Macarius of Kaniv (+1678)
Saints of Orthodox Volyn
The land of Volyn in Western Ukraine is an historic and proud bastion of Orthodoxy and
Ukrainian patriotism. On October 10(23 New Cal.) there is celebrated the Synaxis of the
Saints of Volyn: St Amphilochius and St Stephen, Bishops of Volodymyr-Volyn, St
Yaropolk-Peter, Prince of Volodymyr-Volyn, St Juliania Olshanska, Princess, St
Theodosius Ostrozhky, Prince, St Makary, Archimandrite of Kaniv and Obruch, St Job,
the Miracle-Worker of Pochayiv. Recently added to this number is another monk of
Pochayiv, Saint Amphilochius Holovatiuk. The Icon of the Saints of Volyn appear on a
wall in the Pochayiv Lavra of the Mother of God and to their number are added two more
Saints who were born in Volyn: St Peter (I) Akerovych, Metropolitan of Kyiv and St
Innocent Kulchitsky, Bishop of Irkutsk and Missionary to Siberia. Today, the Choir of
the Saints of Volyn has been expanded to include a number of Holy New Martyrs and
Confessors, among whom is St Alexander, Archbishop of Kharkiv, who was born in
Volyn and who is commemorated on 1 June (new style) and the transfer of His Relics is
commemorated on 12 November.
St Job of Pochayiv was, in the world, John Zelizo, before becoming a monk. He founded
a printing-publishing house at Pochayiv at a time of great crisis for the Holy Orthodox
Church living under Poland. He printed and promoted Orthodox liturgical books for
Church services, catechetical and spiritual literature of the Fathers of the East, and all
manner of good literature. His books helped keep the Ukrainian Orthodox within the fold

of their Church, despite the persecution of Orthodoxy. St Job became a truly national
Saint of Ukraine and both Orthodox and Greek Catholics venerated, and continue to
venerate him. Roman Catholics too invoked the help of St Job. One Polish Catholic lady
suffering from a painful disease was cured at the Shrine of St Job and converted to
Orthodoxy in thanksgiving. The story of this miracle, along with those of twenty other
famous miracles, are painted on the walls of the Pochayiv Lavra, the Fount of Miracles of
the Most Holy Mother of God and St Job.
When the Lavra came under Catholic control (until the nineteenth century whereupon it
was returned to the Orthodox), Orthodox and Catholics alike did not stop making
pilgrimages to the Shrine of St Job.
As Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko relates in his marvellous work on the Holy Lavra, the
Catholic monks at the Lavra petitioned Rome with the view to having the Pope canonize
St Job for the Catholic church! But just when Rome was actually preparing to do this, the
Lavra returned to Orthodox hands and the matter became dormant. The cult of the
Orthodox St Job of Pochayiv continued among both Roman and Greek Catholics,
however.
When the Icon of Pochayiv was crowned by the Polish Catholic Church (crowing is a
way to acknowledge Icons which are Miracle-Working) Medals of the Icon of Pochayiv
were struck for the occasion. On the reverse side is the Icon of St Job of Pochayiv. Not
only Catholics were drawn to St Job, but Turks as well. After the Miracle of the defense
of the Lavra against a Turkish army by the Mother of God and St Job, a number of Turks
converted to Orthodoxy and became monks at the Lavra. Muslims continued to visit the
Lavra and make their own pilgrimages there for years afterwards, recalling the crushing
defeat of their ancestral army through the Mantle of the Mother of God. That Muslims
should visit Christian shrines is no surprise as they do in other places, e.g. the Shrine of
St Peter in Montenegro and the Christian Shrines in Egypt, Syria and Ethiopia.
In addition to St Job, the first Ihumen of Pochaiv, St Methodios, is also honoured.
Recently, St Amphilokhy of Pochaiv was glorified a saint and is commemorated on 1
January (having reposed in 1971).
A great man of God and miracle-worker, Amphilokhy was the spiritual Father to many,
including many young people who lived under communism. He became a "Sche-
Ihumen" and is now venerated along with St Job of Pochaiv at the monastery.
It should also be added that in addition to the Miracle-Working Icon of Pochaiv and the
Miracle-Working Footprint of the Mother of God at the Monastery, there is also another
Icon of Pochaiv that also depicts Her Footprint on a rock. This was brought to Pochaiv in
1859 from Kyiv and has been honoured there ever since.
There is one more miraculous icon there, the Icon of the "Gerondissa" from Mt Athos
depicting the Mother of God as an Abbess. Before any service is celebrated at Pochaiv,

the clergy come before the icon and ask for the blessing of the Mother of God, much as
one asks for a blessing from the priest or bishop before taking up one's duties.
There are, as well, more than 300 Miracle-Working copies of the Icon of Pochaiv
throughout the world!
St Job of Pochaiv was from Galicia and recently, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
established the Third Sunday after Pentecost as the "Feast of All Saints of Galicia."
Among them are included St Job of Pochaiv, St Innocent Kulchitsky, St Paul
Koniuskevich and St John Maximovych - all missionaries in Siberia. There are also
included in this number St Alexis Toth of Wilkes-Barre in the United States and by this
act, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has declared him to be a Saint of Ukraine as well!
The Lemko Hieromartyr, St Maximos Sandovich is included and so is the locally
glorified Saint Nicephorus the Hieroconfessor who was martyred for Orthodoxy in the
17th century.
Go East, Holy Man . . .
In the ancient Kyivan Rus’ city of Ustiuh, there was (and still is) found a famous
Ukrainian Miraculous Icon of the Annunciation of the Mother of God (of Ustiuh). It
depicts the Archangel St Gabriel announcing to the Virgin Mary that She is to become
the Mother of God and the Mother of God Herself standing with the Figure of Her Son.
Closely associated with this Ukrainian Icon is Saint Procopius, the Fool- for-Christ’s
Sake.
A German Catholic merchant working in Novhorod, Procopius converted to the Kyivan
Church and Her Orthodoxy and became a wandering Fool- for-Christ’s sake. He
eventually came to Ustiuh. He went barefoot, dressed only in a poor, thin cloak and
carried three staffs.
During one winter in Ustiuh, when even the birds were freezing and falling from the sky,
Procopius was rejected by one and all. Even the dogs ran from him. As he lay freezing,
an angel appeared to him and touched him. He then felt warm all over and survived.
During a terrible storm that saw lightning bolts destroy buildings in Ustiuh, the people
ran to the Cathedral to ask the Mother of God for help. That is when they saw St
Procopius praying for them before the miraculous Icon from which flowed Holy Oil. The
storms ceased soon after.
After his repose in the Lord, the people found the Psalter-book used by St Procopius to
pray. They marvelled that St Procopius prayed in Latin. Along with St Procopius is
another Fool- for-Christ’s Sake, St John of Ustiuh and they are commemorated together,
along with the Miraculous Mother of God of the Annunciation.

Choir of all Blessed Fools-for-Christ's Sake and Miracle-Workers
St Procopius of Ustiuh (+1303)
St Zachary the Priest (+1325)
St Theodore of Novhorod (+1392)
St Nicholas of Novhorod (+1392)
St Yuri of Novhorod
St Maksym of Moscow (+1434)
St Yuri of Shenkurske (+1462)
St Isidore Tverdislov of Rostov (+1474)
St Leonty of Ustiuh (+1492)
St John of Ustiuh (+1494)
St Cyryl Velsky (+XV)
St Basil Kaminsky (+XV)
St Trophim Suzdalsky (+XV)
St Lavrenti Kaluzhsky (+1515)
St Sergius the Schemamonk of Pereyaslav (+XVI)
St Basil of Moscow (+1557)
St Timothy of Pskov (+1569)
St Nichola Salos of Pskov (+1576)
St John the Merciful of Rostov (+1580)
St Parthenius of Suzdal (+XVI)
St Simon of Yuryivitz (+1584)
St John of Moscow (+1589)

St Stephen of Rostov (+1592)
St Constantine of Novotorzhok (+XVI)
St John of Mozhaiske (+XVII)
St Jacob the Labourer (+XVII)
St Theodore (+1600)
St Cyprian of Suzdal (+1622)
St Procopius Vyatsky (+1627)
St Martha of Moscow (+1638)
St Elias of Yaroslav (+XVII)
Sts John I and John II Solovetsky (+XVII)
St Maksym Totemsky (+1650)
Sts. Thomas, Irodion, Michael, John and Basil of Solvichehodske (XVII)
St Andrew Totemsky (+1673)
St Athanasius of Rostov (+XVII)
St Onyphrius of Yaroslav
St Cyprian Karachivsky
St John of Siberia (+1701)
St Kosmas of Verkhoturye (+1706)
St Eudocia of Suzdal (+1776)
St Domna Tomsky of Siberia (+1872)
Ukrainian Servants of Christ and His Church
Other Ukrainian Saints include: St Abramius of Rostov and his associate St Ignatius the
Bishop of Smolensk; St. Dmytry of Priluki; St. Nikita Pereyaslavsky, who became a Saint
while living on a pillar, as did St. Cyril of Turiv; St. Paul the Ukrainian Confessor under

the Turks. Blessed Martin of Turiv was a very humble Ukrainian Saint in the Turiv
region who served many Turiv Hierarchs.
St Cyril, Bishop of Rostov, administered the Rostov diocese, when it was still part of
Kyivan Rus’-Ukraine, from 1231-1262. A former Hegumen of the Volodymyr-Nativity
Monastery, Cyril was very learned and a great orator. To hear Cyril preach, people came
not only from Rostov, but from all surrounding cities and from the entire region! Under
the influence of Cyril’s preaching, Prince Peter of Ordynsk received Christianity and was
baptized. Some of St Cyril’s writings that have survived to this day include: “About the
Fear of God,” “About the Heavenly Powers,” “About Publicans” and others. His feast
day is May 21st (Jul. Cal.).
The Holy Hieromartyr Athanasius Filipovich, Ihumen of Brest who defended the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church against the Union of Brest-Litovsk for which he was tortured
by the Poles, forced to dig his own grave, shot in the head and buried alive. His modern
descendant, Bishop Leonty Filipovich of Chile, is a candidate for Glorification as a saint
as well. Saint George Konissky, Archbishop of Belarus was a Ukrainian Hierarch who
was a strong defender of Orthodoxy in the eighteenth century. St. Gabriel, a Child-
Martyr. Saint Parthenius, Patriarch of Constantinople died in Ukraine as did St.
Athanasius “the Sitting” Patriarch who was buried as patron of Poltava in the sitting
position.
St. Job of the Pochayiv Lavra is a Miracle-Worker who also participated in the
miraculous preservation of the Lavra from the Turkish forces. In addition to His Shrine,
there are two miraculous Icons of the Pochayiv Mother of God and Her Miraculous Foot-
Print on the Rock of Pochayiv. Devotion to the Foot-Print asks the Mother of God to be
the Guide of all our foot-steps in life.
Sainted Ukrainian Primates
There is also a Choir of 21 Sainted Metropolitans of Kyiv which include:
St. Michael, (988-992)
St Ilarion (1051-1055)
St John II (1077-1089)
St Nicholas (1097-1101)
St Constantine I (1155-1159)
St Cyril II(III?) (1247-1281)
St Maximos (1283-1305)
St Peter Akerovych (1308-1326)
St Theognost (1328-1353)
St Alexius (1354-1378)
St Cyprian (1381-1406)
St Dionysios (1384-1385)
St Photios (1408-1431)

St Jonah (1448-1461)
St Macarius (1495-1497 martyred by the Tatars while in his Cathedral)
St Peter II Mohyla (1633-1646)
St Philaret (1837-1857)
St Volodymyr the New Hieromartyr (1915-1918)
St Michael the Hieromartyr (1925-1929)
St Constantine (Dyadkiv) Hieromartyr (1934-1937)
St Alexander Petrivsky Hieromartyr (1937-1940)
Together with St Oleksiy the Metropolitan is venerated his devoted disciple, St Barlaam
who died a year before him. This is the St Barlaam who is today associated with the
Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God on which is a Chalice and before which services
are served for those who suffer from drunkenness. This is a very popular icon in
contemporary Russia.
Although a patriarch of Moscow, St Hermogen was, in fact, descended from the
Ukrainian Don Kozaks – a source of pride for Hermogen throughout his life. Both St
Hermogen and St Philip the Metropolitan were Ukrainian primates of Moscow. A longtime
Metropolitan of Kazan, Hermogen was found to be a zealous promoter of the
welfare of the Church there. He was especially devoted to the evangelization of the
Tatars and baptized a number of them into the Orthodox Church. He also oversaw the
Glorification of three Martyrs who were killed for Christ at Kazan: St John of Kazan, a
Ukrainian born at Nizny-Novhorod, and two Orthodox Tatars, St Stephen and St Peter of
Kazan. He established a Church-wide commemoration of all Orthodox soldiers. He also
promoted the veneration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, whose miraculous
copies abound throughout Ukraine. St Hermogen died a Hieromartyr’s death by
starvation opposing the enemies of Orthodoxy at Moscow.
Another Saint of Ukraine was recently glorified. Saint Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson
and Tauria, who reposed on June 25, 1857, was a great Church writer of liturgical texts.
Perhaps his most famous and best-loved work is His moving Canon and Akathist to the
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This work was so well known that it was translated into English for use by the High
Church Anglicans (Anglo-Catholic movement) by John Mason Neale in the nineteenth
century. Neale is himself listed in the Anglican calendar of saints. It is interesting to
note that many Anglican converts to Orthodoxy continue to privately honour their
Anglican worthies such as Neale, George Herbert and King Charles and others who had
extensive contact with and knowledge of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Saints of the Kyivan Baroque Period

Holy Ukrainian Hierarchs of Kozak Ancestry
In the Kyivan Baroque era, there arose a special Choir of Saints who truly revived
Orthodox spirituality and missionary vision. Many of them were tonsured at the Kyivan
Caves Lavra. Chief among them is St. Dmytri Tuptalo, Metropolitan of Rostov, a most
Holy Orthodox Bishop and Ascetic who wrote movingly and warmly about devotion to
Christ and His most Holy Mother. He wrote the full Lives of the Saints which continues
to inspire generations of Orthodox (and other) believers.
Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian national poet and bard, read from the works of St.
Dmytri which inspired his poetry. St. Dmytri always prayed the prayer to the Mother of
God, “Rejoice, Theotokos Virgin” at the turn of each and every hour, even at night. He
practised unceasingly the Prayer of Jesus and was, in every way, a true teacher and
Doctor of the Church as well as gracious pastor of his flock and the Ukrainian Church.
There is a Saint associated with St Dmytri, St Kornelius of Pereyaslavl, for Whom he had
a great veneration, Whose holy relics Dmytri examined in his capacity as Metropolitan
and whose process of Glorification he was in charge of.
Others in this same tradition are: St. John Maximovitch, Metropolitan of Siberia, St. Paul
Koniuskevich, St. Joasaph Horlenko, St. Sophrony Krystalsky and St. Tikhon Zadonsky,
who worked among the Don Kozaks as a great witness to the power of Gospel simplicity.
The Impact of Gospel Simplicity and Devotion
Saints often have such a tremendous impact on the lives of their disciples that they give
rise to a whole Choir of Saints under their inspiration. St. Tikhon Zadonsky has such a
holy group of yet not Glorified persons who are commemorated in the calendar and who
belong, by right, to the Ukrainian Church. These are: Theophane, Aaron, Nicander,
Cosmas, Metrophan, Matrona, and Agapitus.
Saint Arsenius of Tver left in his wake the following Saints in the Tver Region who were
his disciples: St Savvati, St Euphrosyne, St Barsonophius and St Sava, all of Tver. They
all worked under the omophorion of the Metropolitan of Kyiv and also deserve to be in
the calendar of the Ukrainian Church. St. Daniel of Pereyaslav- Zalesski is another
Ukrainian saint of the fifteenth century. At times, the Ukrainian Bishop-Saints “adopted”
as their own a Saint from among the peoples which they were Evangelizing. This was
the case with St Basil of Mangazeya in Siberia, a martyr. St Philotheus Leschynsky and
St Paul Koniuskevych, missionaries to Siberia, venerated him highly, composed liturgical
services in his honour and had icons painted of him, one of which is in the Volodymyr
Cathedral in Kyiv. St Basil belongs in the Ukrainian Calendar as a blessed Fruit of the
Evangelizing Missions of the Kyivan Church in Siberia.

A Northern Base of Kyivan Christianity
Also, the City of Novhorod has an entire Choir of largely Ukrainian Saints from her
heritage as a daughter of the Church of Kyiv. Among these are: St Joakim of Korsun
who helped with the Baptism of Rus’ and is Novhorod’s first bishop; St Luke the Jewish
(a convert); St Herman; St Arkady; St Gregory; St Martyrius; St Anthony; St Basil; St.
Symeon; St Nikita; St Nyphont; St John; St Theoctist; St Moses; St Euphymius; St Jonah
and St Serapion. Included in this Choir is also the tenth century St Anthony the Roman
of Novhorod. An Orthodox Christian of the Italo-Greek tradition, he was a solitary living
on an outcropping of rock. During a storm, the rock broke off the mainland and
miraculously carried him to Novhorod where he was received under the Omophorion of
St Nyphont and appointed Ihumen of the Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God
in Novhorod. A great Miracle-Worker, St Barlaam was the Abbot of Chutyn Monastery
at Novhorod and reposed on November 6, 1192.
Choir of All Holy Kyivan Hierarch-Saints
St Michael, Metropolitan Of Kyiv and all Rus' (+992)
St Theodore, Bishop of Rostov (+1023)
St Joachim of Korsun, Bp. Of Novhorod (+1030)
St Ilarion, Met. Of Kyiv (+1053)
St Luke the Jewish, Bp of Novhorod (+1060)
St Leonty the Hieromartyr, Bp. Of Rostov (+1073)
St Nicholas, Bp of Tmutorokan (+1088)
St John II the Prophet, Met. Of Kyiv (+1089)
St Luke, Bp of Bilhorod (+1089)
St Isaiah Bp. Of Rostov (+1090)
St Stephen, Bp of Volodymyr-Volyn (+1094)
St Marinus, Bp of Yuriyiv (+1095)
St Herman, Bp of Novhorod (+1096)
St Ephrem, Bp of Pereyaslav (+1098)
St Nicholas, Met. Of Kyiv (+1103)

St Nikita, Bp of Novhorod (+1108)
St Menas, Bp of Polotsk (+1116)
St Amphilochius, Bp of Volodymyr-Volyn (+1122)
St Theoktist, Bp of Chernihiv (+1123)
St Panteleimon, Bp of Chernihiv (+1142)
St Euthymius, Bp of Pereyaslav (+1149)
St Simon, Bp of Suzdal (+XII)
St Niphont, Bp of Novhorod (+1156)
St Constantine, Met. Of Kyiv (+1159)
St Arkady, Bp of Novhorod (+1162)
St Dionysius, Bp of Polotsk (+1182)
St Cyril, Bp of Turiv (+ 1183)
St John, Archbishop of Novhorod (+1186)
St Luke, Bp of Rostov (+1189)
St Gregory, Archbishop of Novhorod (+1193)
St Lavrenti, Bp of Turiv (+1194)
St Martyrius, Archbishop of Novhorod (+1199)
St Ignatius, Bp of Smolensk (+1210)
St John, Bp of Rostov (+1213)
St Simon, Bp of Volodymyr (+1226)
St Anthony, Archbishop of Novhorod (+1231)
St Mercurius, Bp of Smolensk (+1239)
St Cyril, Bp of Rostov (+1262)

St Serapion, Bp. Of Volodymyr (+1275)
St Cyril II, Met. Of Kyiv (+1280)
St Theodore, Bp of Volodymyr (+1286)
St Ignatius, Bp of Rostov (+1288)
St Simeon, Bp of Tver (+1289)
St Basil, Bp of Ryazan (+1295)
St Maksym, Met. Of Kyiv (+1305)
St Theoktist, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+1310)
St Peter I, Met. Of Kyiv (+1326)
St Prochor, Bp of Rostov (+1328)
St Antony, Bp of Rostov (+1336)
St Basil Kalika, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+ 1352)
St Theognost, Met. Of Kyiv (+1353)
St Moses, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+1362)
St Theodore the Good, Bp of Tver (+1367)
St. John, Bp of Suzdal (+1373)
St Alexius, Met. Of Kyiv (+1378)
St Cyril, Bp of Rostov (+1384)
St Dionysius, Archbp. Of Suzdal (+1385)
St Jacob, Bp of Rostov (+1392)
St Theodore, Archbp of Rostov (+1394)
St Stephen, Bp of Velikoperm (+1396)
St Michael, Bp of Smolensk (+1402)

St Cyprian, Met. Of Kyiv (+1406)
St Arsenius, Bp of Tver (+1409)
St Gregory the Most Wise, Archbp of Rostov (+1416)
St Simeon, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+1421)
St Dionysius the Greek, Archbp. Of Rostov (+1425)
St Photios, Met. Of Kyiv (+1431)
St Ephrem, Archbp. Of Rostov (+1454)
St Euthymius, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+1458)
St Jonas, Met. Of Kyiv (+1461)
St Tryphon, Archbp of Rostov (+1468)
St Jonas, Bp of Velikoperm (+1470)
St Jonas, Archbp of Novhorod (+1470)
St Philip I, Met. Of Moscow (+1473)
St Theodosius, Met. Of Moscow (+1475)
St Bassian I Archbp of Rostov (+1481)
St Theophilus, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+1482)
St Gerontius, Met. Of Moscow (+1489)
St Gennadius, Archbp of Novhorod (+ 1505)
St Simon, Met. Of Moscow (+1511)
St Bassian II, Archbp of Rostov (+ 1516)
St Serapion, Archbp of Novhorod (+1516)
St Joasaph, Met. Of Moscow (+1555)
St Gurius, Archbp. Of Kazan (+1563)

St. Macarius, Met. Of Moscow (+1564)
St Acacius, Bp of Tver (+1567)
St Herman the Hieromartyr, Archbp. Of Kazan (+1567)
St Philip II the Hieromartyr, Met of Moscow (+1569)
St Pimen, Archbp. Of Novhorod (+1571)
St Barsonophius, Bp of Tver (+1576)
St Anthony, Bp of Volohda (+ 1588)
St Gregory, Bp of Suzdal
St Alexander, Bp. Of Pereyaslav
St Alexander, Bp of Tver
St Theodosius, Archbp of Astrakhan (+1606)
St Job, Patriarch of Moscow (+1607)
St Arsenius, Archbp of Suzdal (+1627)
St Afonius, Met. Of Novhorod (+1653)
St Sofronius, Archbp of Suzdal (+1654)
St Athanasius, Patriarch of Constantinople of Lubensk (+1656)
St Serapion, Met. Of Sarske and Podonske (+1659)
St Markellus, Archbp of Volohda and Solovetsk (+1663)
St Nektarius, Archbp of Tobilsk and Siberia (+1667)
St Theodosius, Archbp of Chernihiv (+1696)
St Pitirim, Bp of Tambov (+1698)
St Simeon, Met. Of Smolensk (+1699)
St Mitrophane, Bp of Voronezh (+1703)

St Ilarion, Met. Of Suzdal (+1707)
St Dmytry, Met. Of Rostov (+1709)
St Arsenius the Hieromartyr, Met. Of Rostov
St Peter Mohyla, Met. Of Kyiv
St Yuri Konissky, Archbp of Mohiliv
St John, Met. Of Tobilsk and Siberia (+1715)
St Philotheus, Met. Of Tobilsk and Siberia (+1727)
St Innocent, Bp of Irkutsk (+1731)
St Antony, Met. Of Tobilsk and Siberia (+1740)
St Joasaph, Bp of Bilhorod (+1754)
St Paul, Met. Of Tobilsk and Siberia (+1770)
St Sophronius, Bp of Irkutsk (+1771)
St Tikhon, Bp of Voronezh (+1783)
St Barlaam, Archbp of Tobilsk and Siberia (+1802
St Meletius, Archbp of Kharkiv and Okhtyrka (+1840)
St Philaret, Met. Of Kyiv (+1857).
A long list indeed . . .
Saints Who Weren’t Ukrainian, But Should Have Been . . .
There have always been Saints who have been so loved by the Ukrainian Church that
devotion to them has become a particular trait of Kyivan Christianity. This is true of St
Barbara, a Patron of Kyiv. In former times, tourists to Kyiv could always expect to
receive a copy of St Barbara’s Akathist as a souvenir. It was because St Barbara was
boiled in oil by her father for her Christian faith that Ukrainians have the tradition of
boiling pyrohy ("perogies") in oil on her feast day.
Relics of St Barbara were brought to Canada by Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko and now
rest in Winnipeg as one of Canada’s greatest Orthodox Shrines.

St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker is another such Saint, whose many miraculous Icons,
including that of St Nicholas the Drenched, attest to the great devotion the Ukrainian
people have to him, including the Feast of “Warm Nicholas” or the Transfer of His
Relics, on May 9 (22). The original miraculous Icon of St Nicholas the Drenched,
credited with saving a boy from drowning in the River Dnipro, has now been returned to
the St Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.
Another Orthodox miraculous Icon of St Nicholas that is also associated with water is in
the Greek Orthodox Cathedral at Tarpon Springs, Florida. Two other famous miraculous
St Nicholas Icons are honoured highly on Mount Athos. One of them was retrieved from
the water and it was found to have a conch-shell stuck to the Head of St Nicholas. When
it was plucked off, blood spurted from the Icon and left its mark on the Icon to this day.
Holy Myrrh continues to flow from the Relics or Bones of St Nicholas in Bari, Italy. The
Myrrh is a water- like substance that constantly comes out of St Nicholas' remains and is
distributed to people. Many miracles are attrib uted to it and the jars or vials in which the
myrrh is contained are also honoured as Relics for having contained the myrrh. The
writer of these lines is in possession of this myrrh and can attest to the great spiritual
power of the intercession of St Nic holas through his Relics. St Andrew, the Founder of
the Kyivan Church, is also blessed with this miracle of flowing myrrh from His Relics at
Amalfi, Italy, not too far from Bari itself.
St. George was also highly venerated by the Kozak Host. The Feast of St George in May
began the agricultural year in Ukraine, and the Feast of the St. George’s Church in Kyiv
in November ended it. He is the only Saint with a Universal martyr's cult throughout the
world. His emblem is the Cross of the Patriarchate of Jerus alem, the Red Cross on a
white background. St George is patron of all knights, soldiers and Royalty, as well as of
farmers and tillers of the ground.
St Michael the Archangel was greatly honoured as the Patron Saint of Kyivan Rus'-
Ukraine and of Kyiv itself. St Michael was the Patron of the People of God in the Old
Testament and he was adopted as the Patron of the newly baptized People of God, the
Ukrainians.
St Volodymyr the Great and his immediate successors would often sew cloth Icons of St
Michael into their Royal robes. From this developed the later practice of sewing such
Icons on the inside of coats worn by Orthodox Christians out of devotion.
For about 400 hundred years in Ukraine's history, the Icon of St Michael the Archangel
displaced the Trident as Ukraine's Royal and National symbol, although the Trident
always figured prominently and continuously in the personal arms of Ukrainian Royalty
and Nobility, like the Boyars.
As an aside, the gold Trident of St Volodymyr the Great was actually his Royal Cypher.
For example, the cypher of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of Canada, is "E II

R" or "Elizabeth the Second, Regina." It is therefore a symbolic representation of the
name of the Sovereign, a personal Royal Seal.
The fact that he had a Royal Cypher is one indication among others that Volodymyr the
Great considered himself to be a King or, in the Slavic translation, a Tsar (Tsarstvo =
Kingdom, Tsar David = King David). Byzantine history writers continued to call
Volodymyr a "Grand Prince" to indicate his alleged subservience to the Byzantine
Emperor. But there is no indication anywhere in early Ukrainian history, however, and
especially not with either Askold or Volodymyr, that there was ever any such
subservience. Such subservience existed in the minds of the Byzantine Emperors
themselves and their court clerks entrusted with the writing of "official" Byzantine
history.
Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko often illustrates his works with copies of ancient icons,
among which are icons of St Volodymyr the Great where the lettering on the icon
explicitly refers to him as "Tsar" or "King." To call St Volodymyr a "Velykyj Kniazh" or
Grand Prince is to repeat Byzantine colonial propaganda aimed against the historic
sovereignty of the empire of Kyivan Rus' Ukraine which, in land size, was five times that
of the Byzantine Empire!
Getting back to he Trident, it was originally the symbol of the pagan god Poseidon, was
used according to many forms by peoples who lived near water, including the Byzantines
from whom Volodymyr adapted his Trident. Even the flag of the Province of
Newfoundland includes a Trident on its side to indicate the people's historic relationship
to the ocean.
St Volodymyr made his Trident appear as two Cyrillic "B's" for "Volodymyr Velykij" or
Volodymyr the Great, which are facing each other. The middle bar is topped with a
Cross Pattee, which was later adopted as the Kozak Cross, to indicate Volodymyr's
Christian Faith as Ukraine's Enlightener and Baptizer.
The Trident of St Volodymyr with the Cross became Ukraine's national symbol until the
beginning of the twentieth century when the Cross was removed. It has yet to be
replaced by the current Ukrainian government. Without the Cross, the Trident is not that
of St Volodymyr, nor is it the Trident of Ukrainian history.
Finally, a note on the blue and yellow colours associated with Ukrainian Christian
heraldry and the contemporary national flag. Blue and yellow have always been colours
the Ukrainians have been fond of. For example, Ukrainian scholars have shown that the
pejorative word used by Russians to describe Ukrainians, "Khakhol," is actually a
Mongolian word. In the Mongolian language, "Khakh" means "blue," while "oulo"
means "yellow." The Mongols therefore nicknamed Ukrainians, with whom they came
into contact in the thirteenth century, as the "blue-yellow people."
Blue and yellow were actually Royal, not popular, colours. Blue represented Royal
lineage ("blue-blood") and also represented the blue colour which, in the Hebrew

Scriptures, was used by the Children of Israel to demonstrate outwardly their loyalty to
God as His People. Yellow, in actual fact gold signified the gold crown of Kings and
also signified Divinity and Eternal Life. And so the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine
represents not a "wheatfield against the blue sky," but the colours of St Volodymyr the
Great and his successors as Christian Sovereigns of Kyivan Rus'-Ukraine.
St. Savvaty and St. Zosima of the Solovetsky Islands became the Patron Saints, together
with St. John the Baptist, of beekeepers in Ukraine and Russia. On the Feast of St
Alexius the Man of God (March 30th), Ukrainian beekeepers would begin their chores by
hanging small icons of Savvaty and Zosima in little shrines placed among their beehives,
an event celebrated in one of the poems of the Ukrainian poet, Ivan Franko.
Beekeeping was and is so popular a form of agriculture that the Slavonic liturgical "Book
of Needs" or "Trebnik" which contains blessings for many items has no less than four
liturgical blessings of: New bees (called the "voiceless ones"), new bee- hives and
beekeepers, beekeeping implements and new honey and beeswax to be used in the
making of Church candles.
These blessings were added to the Greek Trebnik by the early Metropolitans of Kyiv as a
way to inculcurate Christianity into the life of the newly baptised Ukrainian people.
Honey itself was always considered a symbol of Divine Grace and this is why the Church
service books often call Saints, like Basil the Great or John Chrysostom, "Divine Bees"
who produced the honey of excellent theology. Honey was often given as a popular gift
on St Nicholas' Day to children, not only because it was sweet, but also as a symbol of
the Divine Bee, St Nicholas Himself.
An old Ukrainian tradition of the Kozak times dictated that the same Ukrainian word
used to denote the death of human beings (it being different from that used to denote the
death of animals), be used also to denote the death of honeybees (a person and a bee
"umirayiut," while animals "zdikhayiut"). All this shows the tremendously close
relationship between Ukrainians and Nature. Perhaps this traditional and historic
relationship will help the people overcome their current environmental problems in
Eastern Europe.
The Prophet Elias or Elijah is immensely popular in Ukraine. The first ever Christian
Church there was dedicated to him. Like other Saints, he took over from the pagan cult
of Perun, the god of Thunder, like the Norse god Thor. After all, Elijah ascended bodily
into Heaven on a chariot, so the connection with rain and lightning was made. Blessed
candles from the Feast of the Meeting of our Lord were always kept by Icon Corners in
Ukrainian homes and whenever lightning storms occurred, these candles were lit and St
Elijah was invoked for protection.
Beautiful and popular traditions in honour of other saints, like St Peter, St John the
Baptist ("Ivan Kupalo"), St Catherine and many others punctuate the Ukrainian religious
and cultural calendar year.

Saint Paisius Velichkovsky and the Hesychast Tradition
A Great Renewer of Christian Faith and Life
In the eighteenth century, there arose a great Saint and teacher of the Jesus Prayer in the
person of St Paisius Velichkovsky. A native of Poltava, which he always underlined
whenever he signed his name, and of a noble Ukrainian family, Paisius left the Kyivan
Academy to travel to Athos and Moldavia. He studied and translated the Fathers’
teaching on the “Prayer of the Heart.” His disciples included Orthodox Christians from
ten nationalities, including Ukrainians and Hutsuls, which are listed separately. He wrote
a Monastic Rule which basically teaches the constant, unceasing practice of the Jesus
Prayer, the reading of Scripture and the Fathers, work to support oneself and other points.
His Rule and teaching inspired and reformed monasteries throughout Ukraine, Russia,
Mount Athos and Rumania where he is called “St. Paisius of Rumania.”
The Choir of Saints of the Jesus Prayer
The disciples of St Paisius Velichkovsky were of different nationalities and became
missionaries in their countries and a number of them have been glorified as Saints such as
St. Callinicus of Cernica and St. Theodore of Sanaxar. Ukrainian disciples of St Paisius,
who have yet to be glorified, include: Blessed Cleopas and Blessed Theophane of
Solovki, Blessed Paul of Simoniv Monastery, Blessed Martha Protasieva, Blessed
Cleopas of Valaam, Blessed George of Cernica, and Blessed Athanasius of Ploshchansk
Monastery. Another is the Righteous Melchizedek of the Roslavl forests who lived to be
125 years of age! The Optina Hermitage is the off-spring of the Paisian tradition and
among the 14 Optina Fathers who have been glorified as Saints is St. Joseph Litovkin of
Optina. Blessed John the Fingerless was so humble that he refused to become a Priest.
When obliged by obedience to accept ordination, he cut off a finger from his hand and so
was prevented from being ordained.
One of the most famous and widely-read books on the Jesus Prayer is the "Way of the
Pilgrim." This book, mentioned in J.D. Salinger's "Franny and Zooey," is the story of the
spiritual experiences of an unidentified pilgrim who wanders from place to place in
Ukraine and Russia in the nineteenth centur y, praying the Prayer of Jesus Christ many
times.
A recent study on this work by Moscow Theological Academy professor Aleksey
Pentkovsky revealed the identity of this hitherto unknown pilgrim. Arseny Troyepolsky,
a Ukrainian priest-monk who moved around various Ukrainian and then Russian
monasteries, actually wrote the "Way of the Pilgrim," which is a record of his spiritual
experiences with the Prayer of Jesus. In this book, and a number of others, none of which
carry the author's name, Arseny writes extensively about St Paisius Velichkovsky and
Ukrainian Saints.

Arseny's book on the Jesus Prayer has reached, and continues to reach, millions of people
of all faiths and he continues to teach the saving practice of the Jesus Prayer to this day.
He definitely belongs to the Choir of as yet unglorified persons belonging to the Paisian
tradition.
A recently published book on St. Paisius discusses his disciples, all of whom enjoy a
local cult, and there is no reason why this entire Choir of Saints of St. Paisius should not
be included in the calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Ukrainian Mission Outreach to East and West
Alaska Warms to Kyivan Christianity
The Orthodox missionary movement throughout Siberia extended to Alaska when it was
still part of the Russian empire. To the Aleutian peoples came the monk St. Herman of
Alaska who was of Ukrainian background. We know this on the basis of his signature
where he used the Ukrainian “G” something a Russian would never use. Indeed, the
Ukrainian “G” became one of those symbols of resistance against Russification in
history. St. Herman followed closely the Kyivan tradition of missionizing, respecting
local customs and traditions and otherwise allowing Orthodoxy to inculturate itself into
the soul of the Aleutian people.
St. Herman’s spiritual offspring, St. Peter the Aleutian, died a martyr in San Francisco in
1815 for refusing to become baptised by the Roman Catholics after they took over the
city. St. Innocent Veniaminov, Metropolitan, was also a missionary in Alaska. His
inspiration, as he wrote, was the life and work of the Ukrainian Saint Innocent
Kulchitsky, Bishop of Siberia, whose name he took for himself and under whose
patronage he placed himself. Under this same inspiration, Innocent prepared the young
monk Nicholas Kassatkin who would become Missionary to Japan and its patron Saint.
Ukraine Honours a Patriarch-Martyr
In addition, the Holy New Hieromartyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople, was
hanged by the Turks over the door of the Patriarchal Residence in Constantinople. His
body was then thrown into the Bosphorus where it was picked up by Ukrainian sailors
and taken to Odessa. St Gregory’s Relics remained in the Odessa Cathedral until his
formal Glorification at which time they were returned to Greece where they are now
enshrined in the National Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Athens, along with the Relics of
St Philothea of Athens. He is a patron of the city of Odessa as well. To this day, the door
of the Patriarchal Residence over which St Gregory V was hanged is never closed, but is
always left open.

The Ukrainian Kozaks are warmly remembered by the Greeks during the time of the
Turkish Yoke because of their self-sacrifice in defending Orthodoxy and rescuing
Orthodox prisoners taken by the Turks and the Tatars. One Greek Archbishop wrote
movingly about how God took the Kozaks who fell in battle with the enemies of
Orthodoxy directly into His Heaven. In the seventeenth century, the locally venerated
Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Theophan, consecrated a new Orthodox Hierarchy for the
Kozak Ukraine.
The Kozaks maintained their own traditions, some of which were derived from pre-
Christian times in Rus'-Ukraine. For example, kolbasa was actually a ritual food
associated with the pagan cult of the wild boar, which was once extensively practiced
throughout central Europe. Scotland's first Royal Banner was that of the wild boar. For
this reason, the Orthodox Patriarchs sometimes wrote missives to the Kozaks asking them
to give up a number of such practices dating from pagan times. Of course, the Kozaks
never would listen . . .
Choir of our Holy and Righteous Fathers and Mothers
Sts. John and Maria of Ustiuh (+1262)
St Juliania of Novhorod (+XIV)
Sts. Basil and Irene Kashinsky (+1420)
St Sergius and St Barbara Svirsky (+1474)
St Thecla of Pereyaslav (+XV)
St Glyceria of Novhorod (+1522)
St Jacob of Borovichi (+1540)
St Artemius of Verkholske and his sister Parasceva (+XVI)
St Barsonofius of Moscow (+XVI)
St Pelagia Irzhivska (+XVI)
Sts. Jacob and John of Meniuzhke (+1569)
St Sava the Priest of Volodymyr (+1592)
Sts. Gabriel and Anastasia of Volodymyr (+XVII)
St Basil of Mangazeya of Siberia (+1602)

Sts Juliania the Merciful (+1604) George (XVII) and Theodosia (+XVII) of Murom
St Simeon of Verkhoturye in Siberia (+1642)
St John the Child-Martyr of Ukhlich (+1663)
St Boholep the Child-Schemamonk of Chornoyar (+1667)
St Carpus Kovrivsky (+XVII)
St Procopius Ustyansky (+XVII)
Sts Gregory, Dmytry, Artemy and Euphrosynia of Volodymyr
St Juliania Solvichehodska
St Parasceva Kevrilska (+XVIII)
St John the Ukrainian Confessor (+1730)
St Peter the Child of Siberia (+1820)
St Theodore Tomsky of Siberia (+1864)
St Stephen Omsky of Siberia (+1876)
Defenders of Holy Orthodoxy
The Holy Hieromartyr St Maksym Sandovich, shot by Austro-Hungarian forces for
Orthodoxy, was recently glorified and he is the very first Lemko Saint of the Carpathians.
St Maksym is venerated by both Orthodox and Greek Catholic Lemkos and many others.
The Venerable Schemarchimandrite Alexius the Carpatho-Rusyn was recently glorified a
Saint and a Confessor. He began the "Back to Orthodoxy" movement among his people
and is highly venerated by Orthodox Carpatho-Rusyns, Ukrainians and Czechs both in
Eastern Europe and in North America.
The first Orthodox Bishop of Carpatho-Rus', St Dositheus Vasich, later became the
Metropolitan of Zagreb, having supported St Alexius in his mission. He died a Confessor
from maltreatment during the Second World War.
A few years ago, St Alexis Toth of Wilkes-Barre in the U.S. was glorified a Saint. He
was from the Trans-Carpathians and a Ukrainian from that Magyarized region. He was
originally a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic priest and a member of the Basilian Order. He
received Orthodoxy, however, and after arriving in the U.S., worked with many

Ukrainian and other immigrants who wished to return to Orthodoxy from Greek
Catholicism.
It was because he was a former Greek Catholic priest that he understood very well the
sensitivities of the new converts and he helped ensure a smooth spiritual transition for
them. For example, he would not try to separate the new converts from their devotions to
the Rosary, Way of the Cross etc. These two newly- glorified Saints have a strong
significance for all Orthodox Christians, especially those in countries where they must
struggle against Western and other “missionaries” who try to pull the children of the
Orthodox Catholic Church away from their Mother.
Apostles to the Diaspora
In this century, a descendant of St. John Maximovitch, Metropolitan of Siberia, would
take up his forefather’s desire to work in China. St. John Maximovitch (II) became
Archbishop of Shanghai where he built two Ukrainian-style Orthodox Churches, one of
which had the miraculous Icon of the Mother of God “Sporuchnitsa Hrishnykh” or “Help
of Sinners.” St. John then moved to the Philippines where he founded an orphanage.
Before the Japanese invasion, St. John moved his children to California where he built his
Church of Our Lady, Joy of All who Sorrow on Geary Boulevard (to which Natalie
Wood bequeathed a generous sum).
Before that, St. John Maximovitch was Professor of Theology in Serbia, founded the
French Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church of the Netherlands and ordained the first
Spanish Orthodox Priest. He translated the Divine Liturgy of a number of Western Rites,
most notably the Gallican Rite. He also served the Divine Liturgy in Chinese and was a
great servant and helper of the Chinese Orthodox. One of St John’s greatest
achievements was his work in returning the Orthodox Saints of the West back to the
Orthodox Church Calendar. The Celtic, Old English, Gallican and other Orthodox Saints
were researched by him and many Orthodox Churches, including the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church of Canada, now have Western Orthodox Saints in their calendars, thanks to St
John.
The historic Kyivan Church always had Western Saints in its Calendar, including, as was
mentioned, Pope St Clement whose Icon adorns the Cathedral of St Sophia in Kyiv.
Nowhere else among the Eastern Orthodox Churches are Western Saints so honoured as
in the Church of Kyiv. And this was, as Metropolitan Ohienko wrote, because “Ukraine
was never afraid of western culture and civilization!”
St John often walked bare- foot and French Roman Catholics even called him, “St Jean
nus-pieds.” He did not sleep on a bed for over forty years and practiced other austerities.
He reposed in the Lord in 1966 and immediately a stream of miracles came from his
Relics and intercession.

God glorified his Servant and he is truly the Apostle of the Diaspora and his spiritual
children pray to him in many languages. During the formal Glorification ceremony in
San Francisco in 1994, the orphans he had nurtured and protected carried his Ark or
Coffin to the altar. His cult is widely recognized and accepted by Orthodox and even
non-Orthodox Churches and communities.
Another Orthodox Apostle of the Diaspora is Saint Raphael Hawaweeny, Bishop of
Brooklyn, New York (Glorified on May 28-May 29, 2000, Feast: February 27th). Born
in Syria in 1860, Raphael graduated from the Kyiv Theological Academy in 1889. After
arriving in America, he worked with Orthodox immigrants of different cultural
backgrounds, including Ukrainians, whom he received under his Omophorion. Although
a Syrian, he was very “pro-Slavic,” owing to his education at Kyiv which allowed him to
appreciate Slavic culture and traditions. At a time at the turn of this century when
Ukrainian and other Orthodox immigrants were trying to make a new home for
themselves in North America, St Raphael of Brooklyn made them feel welcome as one of
the Fathers of North American Orthodoxy. He also translated service books into English
and these are still used today.
First-Fruits of Missionary Outreach
As we have seen, the Ukrainian Church began its missionary outreach to the Far East
with St Theodore of Smolensk who married the Khan’s daughter which event helped
open the doors of Asia to Orthodoxy. This was followed by the pioneering work of the
Ukrainian missionaries to the Orient, especially St John Maximovitch, Metropolitan of
Siberia and St John Maximovitch II, Archbishop of Shanghai. In 1900, several hundred
Chinese Orthodox Christians were martyred during the Boxer Rebellion and have since
been Glorified as Saints and Martyrs by the Orthodox Church. This group of Martyrs is
headed by St Mitrophan the Hieromartyr, first Chinese Orthodox priest, ordained by St
Nicholas of Japan who worked in the tradition of the Ukrainian St Innocent of Irkutsk, his
wife, St Tatiana (Tanya), St Ia the Teacher and many others. These Chinese Orthodox
Martyrs are the first-fruits of Orthodoxy, planted in China by the Ukrainian Church of
Kyiv. They therefore, by right, also belong to Kyiv.
A Martyr of Nazi Oppression
During the Second World War, Mother Maria Skobtsova distinguished herself in serving
the victims of that war in Paris, France. Arrested and taken to a death camp, Maria
quickly took the place of another woman on her way to the gas chambers and so earned a
martyr’s crown. Maria Skobtsova is venerated by millions of Orthodox and others and
Orthodox jurisdictions in the U.S. have Glorified her a Saint. In fact, St. Maria of Paris
was Ukrainian - Elizabeth Pilenko.

New Martyrs and Confessors of the Soviet Yoke
The Glorification of all the known Ukrainian Martyrs and Confessors who perished for
Christ during the Soviet period is far from complete. Many may never be formally
Glorified on earth, but they are Glorified by God in Heaven. Here is a list of Glorified
Ukrainian Orthodox New Martyrs and Confessors:
St Volodymyr, Protomartyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv; St. Yuri Novitsky of Kyiv; St. Ivan
Kovshariv of Odessa; St Alexander Hotovitsky of Volyn, Protopresbyter; St Alexander
Petrivsky of Volyn, Archbishop; St Constantine Dyakiv of Volyn, Metropolitan; St.
Onyphry Hahalyuk of Lublin, Archbishop; St. Valentyn Mamchich, Archimandrite; St
Ivan Timoniv, Priest; St Volodymyr Vasilivsky, Priest; St Nicholas Mihulin of Kharkiv,
Priest; St Victor Yavorsky, Priest; St Dionysiy Chahovets, Priest; St Stepan Androniv of
Kharkiv, Priest; St. Ivan Fedorvi, Priest; St. Lukian Fedotiv, Priest; St. Alexander
Tatariniv of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Yakiv Martinenko of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Cyprian
Yankovsky of Kharkiv, Archimandrite; St. Paul Krasnokutsky of Kharkiv, Priest; St.
Paisius Moskot of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Semen Oskin of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Nicholas
Evfimiv of Kharkiv, Priest. St. Gabriel Protopopiv of Kharkiv, Priest; St Spiridon
Yevtushenko of Kharkiv, Deacon. St Ivan Kononenko of Kharkiv, Regent; St. Phillip
Ordinets of Kursk, Regent; St Andriy Mischenko of Kursk, Regent. St. Yakiv Redozubiv
of Kursk, Protoierey; St. Nicholas Zahorivsky, Confessor, of Akhtyrka near Kharkiv,
Protoierey; St Petro Doroshenko of Kharkiv, Protoierey; St Ivan Fedoriv of Kharkiv,
Priest; St.Ilarion Zhukiv of Kharkiv, Priest; St Serhiy Shipulin of Byelske, Priest; St.
Antin Horban of Poltava, Priest; St Luke Voyno-Yasenetsky of Ta urich, Archbishop; St
Varlaam Pohiliuk of Kamenets-Podilsky, Ieromonakh; St. Porphyrius of Simferopil,
Metropolian; Sts. Nicholas and Demetrius, Archbishops; St. Bartholomew, Hieromonk;
Sts. John, Volodymyr, Timothy and Olesky of Crimea, Priests; St. Luke, Archbishop of
Simferopil, Confessor; St. Procopius, Archbishop of Cherson; Saints Constantine,
Onuphry and Alexander, Hieromartyrs and All Holy New Martyrs of Slobozhanschyna.
Among the New Martyrs, St John Pommer, Archbishop of Riga and Latvia, who was shot
to death by the Communists, deserves a special place in the Ukrainian Calendar as he
helped many Ukrainian Catholics who desired to return to Orthodoxy do so in the 1940’s.
On August 20, AD2000, almost a thousand new Orthodox Saints and Martyrs, mainly
from the period of the Soviet Yoke, were glorified by the Russian Patriarch together with
the Patriarchs and representatives of many other Orthodox Churches.
Among those prior to the Soviet period are: St Arsenius Matsievich of Rostov and St
Parthenius the Ihumen of the Kyzyltashk Monastery who was martyred by the Crimean
Tatars and whose cult is strong among Ukrainians in Crimea. In addition, two groups of
saints were glorified, both of which derive from the spiritual tradition of St Paisius
Velichkovsky and which, therefore, belong to the Kyivan Church: 34 Martyr-Saints of
Valaam, martyred by the Lutherans and the Choir of Venerable Saints of Optino. Among
the latter group, St Joseph Litovkin, a Ukrainian from Kharkiv, is numbered.

A number of Ukrainian New Martyrs were given a universal Orthodox cult, among them:
St Anatolius Hrysiuk, Metropolitan Of Odessa
St Onyphrius Hahaliuk Archbishop of Kursk
St Alexander Petrivsky, Archbishop of Kharkiv
St Serjih Zviriv, Archbishop of Eletsk
St Prokopius Tytiv, Archbishop of Kherson
St Basil Zelentsiv, Bishop of Prilutsk
St Porphyrius Hulevych, Bishop of Crimea
St Dmytry Kyraniv, Protoierey
St Nicholas Mezentsiv, Protoierey
St Bartholomew Ratnikh, Ieromonk
St Timothy Izotiv, Priest
St John Blumovich, Priest
St Volodymyr Pyschulyn, Priest
St Anthony, Ierodeacon
St Nicholas Kazansky, Protoierey
St Eleazar Spiridoniv, Priest
The 103 Holy New Martyrs of Cherkas'
St Basil Bohoyavlensky, Archbishop of Chernihiv
St Mathew Pomerantsiv, Archimandrite of Chernihiv
St Alexius Zviriv of Chernihiv
St Luke Voyno-Yasenetsky, Archbishop of Crimea
St Makarius Karmazyn, Bishop of Uman
St Andrew Kosovsky, Protoierey
St Victor Kuraniv, Protoierey
St Dmytry Ihnatenko, Protoierey
St Michael Bohoslovsky, Protoierey
St Alexander Ilenkiv, Priest
St Mathew Alexandriv, Priest
St Stephan Nalyvayko of Crimea
St Dmytry Spiridoniv of Crimea
In addition, the Act of Glorification of August 20, 2000 also glorified all those who were
martyred for Christ under the Soviet Yoke, those whose names we cannot know, but who
are known only to God Himself and are glorified by Him in Heaven. There are many
Ukrainians listed as Saints under the different dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church,
and their backgrounds need to be researched.
Before the general Glorification of the New Martyrs in 2000 AD, another Ukrainian
Martyr was recognized in 1992.
Saint Yuri Novitsky was born in 1882 in Uman of the Kyivan Province. He became a
lawyer, a criminalist and a university professor in Kyiv and in St Petersburg. His work
continued after the Soviet takeover, but it was only a matter of time before he would be

arrested for his Orthodox Christian faith and practice. As he opposed the robbing of
Church property by the Bolsheviks, Yuri was arrested, condemned and then shot on 13
August 1922. He was glorified a New Martyr-saint by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1992.
Last year, 2002, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church glorified the Holy Hieromartyr St
Joasaph Mohilivsky of the Chernihiv region. Descended from a wealt hy aristocratic
family, Joasaph rejected the world and became a monk and a priest, having built the
Church of St Luke (which was destroyed by the Bolsheviks). He became its pastor but
was martyred by the communists in the 1930's. He is now a popular saint in the
Chernihiv area and his feast day is November 5th.
The Feast of All Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of the Communist Yoke has been
traditionally celebrated on the Sunday closest to February 7th, Julian Calendar, that being
the day of the martyrdom of St Volodymyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv, the Protomartyr of the
Communist Yoke who was shot against a wall of the Kyivan Caves Lavra.
One could argue that all the New Martyrs of the Communist Yoke, whether they were
Ukrainian or not, belong to the Kyivan Church as they are all children of the Kyivan
Church tradition, as Metropolitan Ohienko writes.
The number of specified Ukrainian New Martyrs is still small and it is up to the Church
to glorify further Saints in future.
Recently, the Polish Autocephalo us Orthodox Church glorified the Orthodox New
Martyrs of Kholm who perished for their faith in the years 1942-1945.
Among them are included:
Venerable Martyr St Ignatius from the Yablochny Monastery of St Onuphrius
Hieromartyr St Basil Martysh, Priest
Hieormartyr St Leo Korobchuk, Priest
Hieromartyr St Nicholas Holtz, Priest
Hieromartyr St Sergius Zakharchuk, Priest
Hieromartyr St Peter Ohrizhko, Priest
Hieromartyr St Paul Shvayko Priest and his Presbytera, St Ivanna.
These all perished near the towns of Hrubeshiv and Zamost. The Feast of the New
Martyrs of Kholm has been established on the First Sunday of June each year.
Martyric Heroism Beyond All Proportions
Among the locally venerated New Martyrs is Archbishop Joachim of Nizhni-Novhorod
who, in 1920, was nailed by the hands and feet on a cross by the Bolsheviks in
Sevastopil, in front of the Royal Doors, like St Peter, upside down.

In a recent report into the torture and execution of the New Martyrs of Eastern Europe,
the Russian investigator presenting his findings in Moscow said that he found many
instances of crucifixion of Orthodox priests and bishops on the Royal Doors of the
Iconostases of their Churches, as well as other hideous tortures. But, for him, the worst
was the spraying of naked Orthodox Christians with water and then leaving them out on
icy lakes in winter to freeze to death. Thus, our New Martyrs have imitated the
sufferings of the 40 Martyrs of Sebastea and even of the Apostles, such as St Peter and St
Andrew.
A great witness to Christ before the Soviets was the recently glorified Saint Jonah
Otamansky, Priest of Odessa who reposed in 1924 (May 17). Jonah was famed for his
miracles. When a young child who was diagnosed as incurably blind was brought to him,
he prayed standing for nine nights straight! On the tenth night, the child regained its
sight. The Bolsheviks held a trial of Fr. Jonah, but the professor of opthamology insisted
that it was a true miracle. The Orthodox people of Odessa have a great veneration for
their Saint who continues to send them miracles from Heaven.
The Metropolitan and Founder of the Autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is
St. Basil Lypkivsky, the New Hieromartyr. He has been Glorified by a Ukrainian
Orthodox jurisdiction in Ukraine, although his cult has yet to be extended to all of
Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
At a time when Russification was smothering the Ukrainian Church, and when other
Orthodox Churches refused to grant an independent hierarchy to the Ukrainian
Authocephalous Orthodox Church, St Basil decided to consecrate this hierarchy in
accordance with the principle used in the history of the Patriarchates of Alexandria and
Seleucia-Ctesiphon. The principle, not recognized by Orthodox canon law, was that 12
or more Priests could, in circumstances of dire need, consecrate a Bishop.
St Basil Tserkvostrij (Church-Builder) wrote many sermons, insitituted the Ukrainization
of the Church which had floundered for so many years under her Russian colonial
masters, and re-awakened a renewed interest in the Church among the Ukrainian
intelligentsia. Sent to Siberia, St Basil met a martyr's death in the camps. His veneration
is widespread among the Ukrainian Orthodox faithful, and even among a number of
Ukrainian Catholics.
By way of illustration, one Ukrainian Orthodox layman the writer of these lines once
came across had a large portrait of St Basil enshrined in his apartment. Before it was a
beautifully appointed table. He proudly exclaimed that St Basil always had fresh flowers
before him throughout the year! He prayed before his Icons and the portrait of St Basil.
He wept before the portrait and spoke to the Metropolitan as one would to a dear friend
who was in the room then and there . . .

Basil's successor, Metropolitan Nicholas Boretsky, (Glorified by a Ukrainian Orthodox
jurisdiction in the U.S.) and other hieromartyrs of this period of Ukrainian Church
history, have widespread local cults as well.
Future Saints
There are strong local cults of Holy Righteous individuals who may one day be formally
Glorified as Orthodox Saints of Ukraine continue, including the cults of Elders who are
titled, “Staretz” and contemporary veneration for martyrs such as the priest Nestor of
Odessa. who was murdered on December 25th in 1993. Another Holy Elder is the
Staretz Melchisedek, an ethnic Ukrainian, of the Roslavl forests who died having reached
the age of 100 years!
Also, the formal Glorification of historical Ukrainian personages of great holiness is also
a matter for future consideration. Included in this group are such historical figures like
Askold and Dir, Metropolitan Stephan Yavorsky, the Venerable Job and Theodosius
Kniahynytsky of the Manjava Skete and Prince Constantine Ostrozhky and his son,
Alexander (discussed by Metropolitan Ilarion Ohienko in his work, Ukrainian Patrology).
That there was a non-official cult in honour of the Ostrozhky Princes is shown by the fact
of the burning of their dead bodies by the Poles for fear that they would be glorified. The
Poles did this because they apparently thought the Orthodox Church would not glorify
them if there were no physical remains or relics of them.
Sometimes, due to political or other reasons, people had to be content with the nonofficial
cult of a Ukrainian Saint. For example, before his formal Glorification at the end
of the nineteenth century, St. Theodosius of Chernihiv was highly venerated by the
Kozaks and there are stories of Kozaks reciting Troparions in honour of Theodosius.
Seven Akathists in his honour were printed and circulated for popular devotion. All
seven were rejected by the Moscow Church Canonization Committee for his
Glorification, however. A new Akathist to St. Theodosius was later developed.
Also, sometimes veneration for a popular saint takes on interestng proportions. The Great
Hieromartyr Saint Arsenius Matsievich was walled up in a fortified prison where he died
from neglect. The local Orthodox population was not told who this prisoner really was
i.e. an Orthodox Hierarch for fear by the authorities that there would be a local revolt.
200 miracles ascribed to him were accepted by the Church and his Glorification was
approved but was interrupted by the Soviet Revolution. Arseny was Glorified a Saint on
August 20, AD2000. Members of the Russian Aristocracy, even those who were not very
religious, often had a veneration for Arsenius. A number even built life-size copies of his
fortified prison where he died in their gardens and backyards!
There is a local cult in honour of Danylo Kushnir, mentioned by Metropolitan Basil
Lypkivsky, who was martyred by Catholics – he was forcibly removed from the
Orthodox church in which he was attending services and killed. During the eighteenth

century, a movement developed in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in favour of a possible
glorification of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky and Bayda-Vyshnevetsky.
Other Saints, such as Seraphim of Sarov, who clearly recognized Kyiv as his Spiritual
Mother, are also children of the Kyivan Church, whose spiritual influence extended
throughout Eastern and even Western Europe and across the Asian mainland to North
America.
Recent Saints of Ukraine include St Jonah of Kyiv, formerly John Miroshnechenko, from
Poltava who built a monastery in Kyiv, St Basil Zelentsiv, New Hieromartyr of Poltava,
St Gabriel of Kyiv and Mt. Athos, St Alexius of Carpatho-Rus', and St Theophan the
New Recluse of Poltava.
“We glorify you, All you Saints who shone forth in the Ukrainian Land!”