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Venerable (Monastic)Byzantine

Venerable Paisius of the Kiev Far Caves

Also known as Paisius of the Caves

A monk of the Far Caves of Kiev; few details of his life are preserved.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Paisius of the Far Caves of Kiev

Life

Venerable Paisius was a monk of the Kiev Caves monastery, numbered among the saints whose relics repose in the Far Caves of Saint Theodosius. Few details of his life are preserved, and no source records his birth, his death, or the century in which he lived; he is known chiefly through the Canon to the Kiev Caves monks venerated in the Far Caves.

What the tradition emphasizes is his close spiritual bond with Saint Mercurius of the Far Caves. The two are described as joined by oneness of mind and brotherly love. They were inseparable companions who shared a single cell, and after their deaths they were laid in the same grave; their relics now rest in separate reliquaries within the Far Caves. He is commemorated on July 19.

Troparion1 hymnReadHide
TroparionTone 8

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile,
and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance.
By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe!
O our holy father Paisius, pray to Christ our God to save our souls!

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

Contributions & Legacy

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Companionship with Saint Mercurius

The principal detail preserved about Venerable Paisius concerns his friendship with Saint Mercurius of the Far Caves, commemorated on November 24. The Canon to the Kiev Caves monks venerated in the Far Caves relates that the two were connected by oneness of mind and brotherly love, that they were inseparable, and that they lived together in the same cell.

After their repose the two were placed in the same grave. In later usage their relics were separated into distinct reliquaries, though they remain among the company of saints venerated together in the Far Caves.

Relics & Shrines

The relics of Venerable Paisius repose in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra, also called the Caves of Saint Theodosius. He is one of the monks whose relics rest there, and he is commemorated collectively with them in the Synaxis of the Saints of the Far Caves on August 28.

Fragmentary relics of the saint are also held elsewhere; the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Washington, D.C., records two relic fragments of Venerable Paisius among its collection.

Member ofReadHide
Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Far Caves
Commemorated together · Aug 28
Companions2 figuresShowHide
His inseparable companion (commemorated Nov 24), bound to him in oneness of mind; they shared a single cell and were laid in one grave.
Venerable Mercuriusthe Faster of the Kiev Caves
With whom he shared a deep spiritual bond, and beside whom he was originally buried.
Saint MercuriusBishop of Smolensk
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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints