Venerable (Monastic)14th century

Venerable Barlaam of Serpukhov

Also known as Barlaam of Serpukhov

A Russian monastic of Serpukhov who labored in asceticism; few details of his life are preserved.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Barlaam of Serpukhov, Builder and First Abbot of the Vladychny Monastery

Life

Barlaam of Serpukhov was a fourteenth-century Russian monastic associated with the foundation of the Vladychny Monastery at Serpukhov, in present-day Moscow Oblast. He is remembered as a disciple of Saint Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, who is credited in the liturgical tradition with guiding Barlaam in the monastic life.

Few biographical details of Barlaam survive. Tradition holds that he became the builder and first abbot of the monastery established at Serpukhov in 1360, a community later dedicated to the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. The Orthodox Church in America commemorates him on May 5.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 8

O Venerable Father Barlaam, although your revered relics are kept hidden,
they pour forth bright rays of miracles and healings
for all who turn to you with faith and pray zealously to you;
for you appeared as a true God-pleaser,
ever interceding for all who lovingly honor your holy memory.

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

TroparionTone 3

Taught to please God by Metropolitan Alexei,
you adorned your soul with virtues, and therefore you were the chosen one of the Mother of God,
and you founded a monastery dedicated to the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple,
for the salvation of many human souls.
As a good instructor of monastics, and a fervent intercessor with God for us,
O Venerable Barlaam, our Father,
pray for the salvation of our souls.

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

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributionsReadHide

Foundation of the Vladychny Monastery

The Vladychny Monastery was founded in 1360 through the efforts of Saint Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, under the patronage of Prince Vladimir the Bold. It stands at Serpukhov, near the confluence of the Nara and Oka rivers in what is now Moscow Oblast.

Barlaam is identified in the tradition as the builder and first abbot of this community. According to the liturgical texts commemorating him, he founded a monastery dedicated to the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple and served as an instructor of monastics. The principal cathedral bearing this dedication was later rebuilt in limestone during the reign of Boris Godunov.

Relics & Shrines

Barlaam's relics are kept at the Vladychny Monastery, housed within the main cathedral. The kontakion appointed for his commemoration describes his relics as hidden, while honoring him as a source of miracles and healings for the faithful who keep his memory.

The monastic community at Serpukhov continued through the centuries and was re-established as a convent in 1806, when Metropolitan Platon obtained permission to settle nuns there. Several of its churches survive from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Companions1 figureShowHide

His spiritual father and guide in the monastic life, who founded the Vladychny Monastery at Serpukhov that Barlaam built and led as its first abbot.

Saint AlexisMetropolitan of Moscow

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