Finding and Uncovering of the Relics of St Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov (1896)

Saint Theodosius, Bishop of Chernigov, a descendant of the illustrious family of the Uglitskys, was born at the beginning of the 1630s in Ukraine, in the province of Podolia. The young man was educated at the Kiev Brotherhood College attached to the monastery of the Theophany. After finishing it he became a monk in the Kiev Caves Lavra with the name Theodosius.

Dionysius, Metropolitan of Kiev, ordained the blessed father archdeacon of the church of Saint Sophia in Kiev. Soon the saint left the city and went to the distant Krutitsky monastery, known for its strictness, where he was ordained hieromonk. Because of his deep learning and understanding Saint Theodosius took part in deciding almost all the important questions of church and civil life.

In 1688 Saint Theodosius was chosen abbot of the Yeletsky monastery in Chernigov, and in 1692 he was consecrated bishop.

During the episcopate of Saint Theodosius monasteries and monks multiplied in Chernigov; everyone knew of Theodosius’s holy and strict life. The hierarch was distinguished by wonderful mercy; even people of other faiths and confessions came to him asking for help.

The holy hierarch commended his soul to the Lord in peace on 5 February 1696 (see the reading for that day). The uncovering of his incorrupt relics and his canonisation took place on 9 September 1896.