Venerable (Monastic) 12th century

Gerasimus of Vologda

12th century (reposed 1178)

Also known as Gerasim of Vologda

A monk tonsured at the Kiev Caves who travelled north and laboured as the first monastic settler and wonderworker of the Vologda region of Russia.

Feast Day

March 4

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Gerasimus of Vologda, the First Wonderworker of Vologda

Life

Gerasimus of Vologda was a monastic of the Kievan Rus' who is venerated as the first saint and the first monastic settler of the Vologda region in northern Russia. Commemorated by the Orthodox Church on March 4, he is honored as the First Wonderworker of Vologda.

According to the tradition preserved in the synaxarion, Gerasimus was born in Kiev and received monastic tonsure at the Kiev Gniloe Dormition Monastery, having been drawn to the Caves where Saint Theodosius secluded himself during Great Lent. He took the name Gerasimus after the custom of naming a new monk for the saint commemorated on the day of his tonsure, and out of obedience to the brethren he accepted ordination as a hieromonk at the age of thirty.

In imitation of the desert fathers, Gerasimus was drawn northward into Rus' and, by the tradition, arrived at the River Vologda on August 19, 1147. There he became the first to establish monastic life in the region, founding a church and monastery dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity.

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

Aug 19, 1147 Arrival at the River Vologda By tradition, Gerasimus arrived at the River Vologda and blessed the settlement on the right bank, foretelling that it would become a great city.
12th century Foundation of the Trinity monastery He built a church in honor of the Most Holy Trinity by the Kaisarova creek, said to be the first monastery in northern Russia dedicated to the Trinity.
Mar 4, 1178 Repose Gerasimus reposed peacefully on the day of his monastic tonsure and the feast of Saint Gerasimus of the Jordan.
1649–1666 Miracles recorded at his relics Approximately thirty-seven miracles are reported to have been documented at the saint's relics during this period.
1841 Local canonization After formal canonization was reportedly declined in 1699, Gerasimus received local canonization.

Contributions & Legacy

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Monastic Foundation at Vologda

On reaching the River Vologda, Gerasimus blessed the small settlement on the right bank and, the tradition relates, foretold that it would become a great city. He withdrew into the surrounding forest, separated from the settlement by the Kaisarova creek, where he devoted himself to solitude, the contemplation of God, unceasing prayer, and manual labor.

There he built a church in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, which was also reckoned a monastery. By the account preserved in the sources, this became the first monastery in the north of Russia to be dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, marking Gerasimus as the pioneer of organized monastic life in the Vologda region.

Repose

Gerasimus reposed peacefully on March 4, 1178, the same day as his monastic tonsure and the feast of his namesake, Saint Gerasimus of the Jordan. He is remembered as the first saint of Vologda and is commemorated on that date as the First Vologda Wonderworker.

Relics & Veneration

The sources relate that numerous miracles were recorded at the saint's relics in the seventeenth century; one account documents approximately thirty-seven miracles between 1649 and 1666. Although formal canonization was reportedly declined in 1699, local canonization is said to have followed in 1841.

By tradition his relics were subsequently lost when the stone church associated with him was demolished in the twentieth century, and a memorial chapel is reported to have been consecrated in 2013.

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