Saint Gerasimus, Bishop of Perm

Saint Gerasimus was the third bishop of the Zyryan people, and a worthy successor of Saint Stephen, Enlightener of Perm. He was elevated to the See of Perm sometime after the year 1416, when only part of the Zyryani had been converted to Christianity.

He was concerned for his flock, which suffered incessant incursions from the Novgorodians and pagan Vogulians. He went into the Vogul camps, urging them to stop plundering the defenseless Christians of Perm. On one of these journeys in 1441, he was murdered by his Vogul servant (according to tradition he was strangled with his omophorion). He was buried in the Annunciation church of the village of Ust-Vym not far from the city of Yarenga, at the River Vychegda (also January 24).

Today’s common commemoration of these three saints acknowledges their apostolic activity in this Eastern expanse of Russia. Saint Gerasimus is also commemorated on January 24.