Our Venerable Father Paisius of the Far Caves of Kiev
Life
Venerable Paisius was a monk of the Kiev Caves monastery, numbered among the saints whose relics repose in the Far Caves of Saint Theodosius. Few details of his life are preserved, and no source records his birth, his death, or the century in which he lived; he is known chiefly through the Canon to the Kiev Caves monks venerated in the Far Caves.
What the tradition emphasizes is his close spiritual bond with Saint Mercurius of the Far Caves. The two are described as joined by oneness of mind and brotherly love. They were inseparable companions who shared a single cell, and after their deaths they were laid in the same grave; their relics now rest in separate reliquaries within the Far Caves. He is commemorated on July 19.
Contributions & Legacy
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Companionship with Saint Mercurius
The principal detail preserved about Venerable Paisius concerns his friendship with Saint Mercurius of the Far Caves, commemorated on November 24. The Canon to the Kiev Caves monks venerated in the Far Caves relates that the two were connected by oneness of mind and brotherly love, that they were inseparable, and that they lived together in the same cell.
After their repose the two were placed in the same grave. In later usage their relics were separated into distinct reliquaries, though they remain among the company of saints venerated together in the Far Caves.
Relics & Shrines
The relics of Venerable Paisius repose in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra, also called the Caves of Saint Theodosius. He is one of the monks whose relics rest there, and he is commemorated collectively with them in the Synaxis of the Saints of the Far Caves on August 28.
Fragmentary relics of the saint are also held elsewhere; the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Washington, D.C., records two relic fragments of Venerable Paisius among its collection.
