Venerable Sergius of Shukhtom

Saint Sergius (Stephen, in the world) was a Schema-monk of Shukhtom (or Shukhtov) Monastery, located in the village of Shukhtom 50 km from the city of Cherepovets. His Holy Relics were buried under the floor of the monastery church, which later became the Protection parish church when the monastery was abolished.

Some information about the devout and ascetical life of Saint Sergius is given in a lengthy inscription on his tomb. It states that on May 19, 1609, the Feast of the Holy Martyr Patrick, the Bishop of Prussia, the servant of God, Schema-monk Sergius, reposed during the reign of Tsar Basil IV Shuisky, when His Holiness Ermogen (February 17 and May 12) was Patriarch of Moscow. The labor-loving body of Saint Sergius was buried in the chapel of the church of the Life-creating Trinity and the Protection of the Theotokos at Shukhtom, in the region of White Lake.

The Saint was born and raised in Kazan, and from his youth he had a profound reverence for the monastic Life, but considered himself unworthy of it. He spent three years wandering through Palestine, Constantinople, and Greece, worshipping at the holy places, and learning about the monastic life in various countries.

He visited Orthodox shrines from the Holy Land to Solovki Monastery, and his life was very austere. He fasted constantly, allowing himself to sleep only while sitting. Therefore, he received from God the great spiritual gifts of unceasing prayer, clairvoyance, and working miracles.

In 1603, the man of God came to the Vologda region, where he was tonsured with the name Sergius by the Superior, Archimandrite Isaiah of the Cherepovets Monastery of the Resurrection. Later, Father Isaiah painted an icon depicting the Saint's tonsure.

Saint Sergius reposed on May 19, 1609 at the age of seventy-nine, after fifty years of asceticism.