Mt. Athos, May 28, 2016
The memory of All Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain was honored on Mt. Athos in the Russian St. Panteleimon monastery by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, reports a correspondent of “Russian Athos.”
Upon arrival to St. Panteleimon Monastery on May 27, Patriarch Kirill served a Moleben to All Russian Ascetics who have shone forth on the Holy Mountain.
In the night of May 27 to 28 in St. Panteleimon Monastery was served a festive All-Night Vigil which lasted about six hours and was dedicated to All Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain.
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill the Vigil was led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. The Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos, the Abbess of Mt. Holy Mt. Athos was served by Archbishop Theognost of Sergiev-Posad with a gathering of clergy from among the guests and brotherhood of the monastery.
The festive Vigil was attended by hierarchs of the Russian Church, heads of the monasteries, and innumerable pilgrims. Services of such magnitude and festivity happen a few times a year in the monastery: on the patronal feast of St. Panteleimon and the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos, and on the feast of Holy Pascha.
The icon of the Synaxis of Russian Athonite Saints, gifted to the abbot and brothers of the Russian monastery in 2013 by Patriarch Kirill during a visit to the monastery, was offered for veneration.
In the morning of the 28th Patriarch Kirill officiated at a festive Divine Liturgy in the Old Russikon Skete. Archbishop Theognost served Liturgy in the Coastal Russikon.
The patriarch and hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorated the podvig of the Athonite Russian ascetics at the festive Divine services.
More than forty ascetics have entered into the Synaxis of the Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain, glorified at various times by one or another Local Church. Some of them were Serbs, Greeks, and Georgians, although their lives were in one way or another connected with Holy Rus’ or with Russian monasticism on Athos. It is far from a full list.
Many of the remarkable ascetics of Russian Athos await their glorification. First of all are the great and God-bearing elders Arseny, Jerome, and Makary, through whom, by the providence of God, Russian monasticism on Athos was revived in the nineteenth century. Specifically, from them began and continues until now the unbroken spiritual succession of Russian Athonite eldership.
Worthy of the veneration and glorification of the earthly Church are many ascetics of St. Panteleimon monastery such as Elder John Vishensky, Hieromonk Arseny (Minin) and Hieron (Nosov), the elder-founders of St. Andrew’ Skete Vissarion (Tolmachov) and Barsanuphius (Vavilov), and also Innocent (Sibiryakov), the ascetics of St. Elias Skete, many Russian desert and cell-dwellers, such as Tikhon (Golenkov)—the teacher of the righteous Pasios of the Holy Mountain, the elders Theodosius and Nikodim of Karoulia, and many, many others—all without doubt glorified by God and praying now for their fellow countrymen. They are also remembered in the prayers following festive services as unnamed but revered Russian saints.
The Synaxis of Russian Saints of the Holy Mountain:
1. Venerable Anthony Of The Caves (†1073).
2. Reverend Moses Ugrin Of The Kiev Caves
(†1043).
3. Saint Sava, Archbishop of Serbia (†1236)
(glorified by the Serbian Orthodox Church).
4. Venerable Ammon of the Kiev Caves (thirteenth
century).
5. Venerable Isaiah the Athonite and Serbian, abbot of the
Russikon (†1380) (glorified by the Serbian Orthodox
Church).
6. Saint Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia
(†1406).
7. Venerable Sergius of Murom (†1412).
8. Saint Dionysius of Rostov (†1425).
9. Venerable Arseny of Konevets, wonder-worker of Novgorod
(†1447).
10. Venerable Savva Of Krypetsk (†1495).
11. Venerable Savva Of Vishera (†1461).
12. Venerable Nil Of Sora (†1508).
13. Martyr Anthony Carotis (†1516) (glorified by
the Patriarchate of Constantinople).
14. Venerable Innokenty Of Komelsk (†1521).
15. Athanasius III Patellaris, Wonderworker of Lubny,
Patriarch of Constantinople (†1654).
16. Monk-Martyr Pachomius the Russian
(†1730).
17. Monk-Martyr Constantine (Konstantii) (†1743)
(glorified by the Patriarch of Constantinople).
18. Monk-Martyr Agape (†1752).
19. Venerable Basil Polynomially (†1767).
20. St. Ignatius Mariupol (†1786).
21. Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (†1794).
22. Hieromartyr Nikita the Slav (†1808) (glorified
by the Patriarchate of Constantinople).
23. Monk-Martyr Paul (1821) (glorified by the Patriarchate
of Constantinople).
24. Venerable Ilarion Kanchaevli the Georgian
(†1864) (glorified by the Georgian Orthodox
Church).
25. Venerable Antipas of Valaam, Hieroschemamonk
(†1882).
26. Venerable Gabriel of Mount Athos (†1901)
(glorified by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church).
27. Venerable Aristotle, the Muscovite Wonderworker
(†1918) (glorified by the Russian Orthodox
Church).
28. Hieromartyr Danach (†1937) (glorified by the
Russian Orthodox Church).
29. Hieromartyr Gabriel Gur (†1937) (glorified by
the Russian Orthodox Church).
30. Hieromartyr Gabriel (Vladimirov) (†1937)
(glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church).
31. Hieromartyr Hilarion (Tsurikov) (†1937)
(glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church).
32. Hieromartyr John (Laba) (†1937) (glorified by
the Russian Orthodox Church).
33. Venerable Silouan the Athonite (†1938)
(glorified by the Patriarchate of Constantinople).
34. Hieromartyr Hilarion (Gromov) (†1938)
(glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church).
35. Hieromartyr Jonah (Sankov) (†1938) (glorified
by the Russian Orthodox Church).
36. Monk-Martyr Anthony (Korzh) (†1938) (glorified
by the Russian Orthodox Church).
37. Hieromartyr Antipas (Kirillov) (†1938)
(canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church).
38. Venerable Alexy (Kabaliuk), Carpatho-Russian,
Archimandrite (+1947) (glorified by the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church).
39. Venerable Theodosius (Kashin), Hieroschemamonk
(†1948) (glorified by the Russian Orthodox
Church).
40. Venerable Kuksha (Velichko), Schema-archimandrite,
Wonderworker of Odessa (†1964) (glorified by the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church).
41. Venerable Job (Kundra) of Ugol (1985) (glorified by
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church).
