Saint Euthymios, Patriarch of Trnovo
Saint Euthymios lived between the XIV and XV centuries in Bulgaria. He was born around 1325-1330 in the then Bulgarian capital Trnovo (Търново) to a noble family, perhaps the Kablak. He was fortunate to have someone who would be his biographer, one of his family, Gregory Kablak, who later became Metropolitan of Kiev and took part in the Council of Costanza (1414 - 1417).
At a fairly young age he received the monastic Schema in the Monastery of the Hodēgḗtria Mother of God, in the suburbs of the Bulgarian capital.
In 1350 he entered the Monastery founded by Saint Theodosios of Tyrnovo at Kalifarevo, which was located on the same outskirts. Saint Theodosios himself introduced him to the spiritual and hesychastic life, and prospered according to Christ. At that time, Saint Theodosios, foreseeing the future of his servant, revealed that one day Saint Euthymios would be bound with chains and sent into exile.
In the year 1363, Saint Euthymios accompanied his teacher, along with three other disciples, to Constantinople. After the repose of Saint Theodosios, he remained for some time in the Studion Monastery of Saint John, one of the largest cultural and spiritual Byzantine centers. There he compiled the Life of Saint Theodosios, which was copied faithfully by Patriarch Kallistos of Constantinople.
Saint Euthymios visited Mount Athos in 1365. At first, he went to the Greatest Lavra and then to Zographou Monastery. It was then that he was accused by Emperor John V Palaiologos (1341 - 1391) of violating the practice that monasteries should not own land. Therefore, he was exiled, but later he was able to return to Mount Athos when the Emperor discovered the truth after having a vision.
Around 1371, Saint Euthymios returned to his homeland and founded Holy Trinity Monastery in the capital, which became one of the greatest centers of Slavic culture. Indeed, it was there that the spelling and grammatical reform of writing, the so-called "Euthymiani" took place, which led to a general revision of all works written in Slavonic. The reform of Saint Euthymios, which was based on uniform spelling and fidelity to the authentic Greek texts, characterized the liturgical texts of the entire Orthodox world until Peter the Great, who introduced more contemporary Canons.
In the year 1375, after the death of Patriarch Joachim, Saint Euthymios was elected Patriarch of Trnovo. From the Patriarchal throne he continued his work of revising texts, and writing letters to various personalities of the Orthodox world, consisting of pastoral and didactic texts, and he also composed Lives of the Saints.
Saint Euthymios reposed peacefully in the year 1402.