Venerable Herman of Solovki

The Settling of Solovki

Herman began his hermitic life around 1428 at the River Vyg, near a chapel, without formal education. In 1429 Saint Sabbatius, a monk of Valaam Monastery, discovered Herman and learned from him about the uninhabited island of Solovki, lying in the White Sea. The two monks crossed to the island together and built a cell beneath the Sekir Heights, where they lived as hermits for about six years.

Sabbatius reposed on September 27, 1435, while Herman was gathering supplies on the mainland. Herman returned to the continent, and in 1436 met Saint Zosimas near the mouth of the Suma River. Herman's prior experience on the islands proved instrumental: the two traveled to Solovki together, and soon other monks began to arrive, forming the community that became the Solovetsky Monastery, with Zosimas serving as its first hegumen (abbot) until his repose.

Founder and Chronicler

Herman is counted, with Saints Sabbatius and Zosimas, among the founders of the Solovetsky Monastery, which rose on the shores of the White Sea to become one of the great monastic and economic centers of northern Russia. He lived on the islands for more than fifty years.

Though he remained unlettered, Herman showed wisdom in preserving the young community's memory: he commissioned clergy to write down his recollections of Saints Sabbatius and Zosimas, and instructed his disciples to gather books at the monastery. In 1479 the hegumen Arseny sent Herman to Novgorod, where he reposed that same year at the Antoniev Monastery.

Relics & Shrines

Herman's relics were initially buried near the Svir River. In 1484 they were found incorrupt and transferred to the Solovetsky Monastery. He has been venerated as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church since 1692. His relics were returned to the Solovetsky Monastery in 1992.