Hierarch 15th century

Euthymius of Novgorod

c. 1396 – 1458

Also known as Euthymius II of Novgorod · John · Ioann

Born to pious parents who dedicated him to God and given the baptismal name John, he became a monk and was elected Archbishop of Novgorod in 1429. He was a notable builder of churches and patron of sacred arts, and his relics were found incorrupt.

Feast Day

March 11

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Euthymius, Archbishop of Novgorod, the Wonderworker

Life

Euthymius of Novgorod was a fifteenth-century hierarch of the Rus' Church who served as Archbishop of Novgorod from his election in 1429 until his death in 1458. Baptized John, he entered monastic life as a youth and rose to lead one of the most powerful and prosperous sees of medieval Rus'. He is remembered above all as a builder and restorer of churches and a patron of sacred art, and is venerated as a wonderworker. He is commemorated on March 11.

According to the hagiographical accounts, he was born to a priest named Micah (named Fedor in some sources) and his wife Anna, who had prayed for a child and vowed to dedicate him to God. Given the name John at baptism, he left home at the age of fifteen, around 1411, for the Vyazhishchi Monastery a short distance northwest of Novgorod, where the abbot Pachomius tonsured him a monk with the name Euthymius. He later served as steward to the archbishop of Novgorod, an administrative office he is said to have accepted with reluctance.

Following the death of his predecessor, Archbishop Euthymius I, in 1429, Euthymius was chosen to head the see. He entered the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Novgorod but delayed his formal installation, and was not consecrated archbishop until May 24, 1434, when he was raised to the episcopate at Smolensk by Metropolitan Gerasimus rather than at Moscow. He governed the diocese of Novgorod for some twenty-nine years.

Timeline 7 moments Read Hide

c. 1411 Tonsured at Vyazhishchi At about the age of fifteen, John left home for the Vyazhishchi Monastery near Novgorod and was tonsured a monk with the name Euthymius by the abbot Pachomius.
1429 Chosen Archbishop of Novgorod After the death of Archbishop Euthymius I, he was chosen to head the see and entered the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom, delaying his formal installation.
1433 Palace of Facets built He built the Palace of Facets (the Faceted Chamber) northwest of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Novgorod.
May 24, 1434 Consecrated at Smolensk He was consecrated Archbishop of Novgorod at Smolensk by Metropolitan Gerasimus, rather than at Moscow.
1438–1439 Churches at Vyazhishchi He raised a stone church of Saint Nicholas in 1438 and a church of Saint John the Theologian in 1439 at the Vyazhishchi Monastery.
1458 Repose He reposed and was buried at the Vyazhishchi Monastery; his relics were found incorrupt when a letter of pardon from Metropolitan Jonah arrived after his death.
1549 Canonized He was formally canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Moscow Council of 1549.

Contributions & Legacy

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Builder and Patron of the Arts

Euthymius is counted among the most prolific patrons of architecture and sacred art of all the archbishops of Novgorod. During his long tenure he constructed and restored a great number of churches, an effort made especially urgent by the devastating fires that swept the city in 1431 and 1442. Among the works attributed to him are churches dedicated to Saint John Chrysostom, the Guardian Angel, and the Twelve Apostles, as well as a church of John the Forerunner.

At his own monastery of Vyazhishchi he raised a stone church in honor of Saint Nicholas in 1438 and another dedicated to Saint John the Theologian in 1439. He is also credited with the Palace of Facets (the Faceted Chamber), built in 1433, which stands northwest of the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom and survives as one of the most notable monuments of his archiepiscopal building program.

Ascetic Life

Despite the heavy administrative and civic burdens that fell upon the archbishop of Novgorod, the sources remember Euthymius for maintaining a strict personal monastic discipline. He is said to have risen an hour before Matins to keep his own cell rule of prayer, to have worn chains secretly beneath his vesture, and to have kept severe fasts, withdrawing to fast at Vyazhishchi during the first week of Great Lent.

Repose and Relics

Euthymius reposed in 1458 and was buried at the Vyazhishchi Monastery; the date is recorded as March 10 in the Orthodox lives, while his commemoration is kept on March 11. By the traditional account, a letter of pardon (absolution) sent by Metropolitan Jonah of Moscow arrived after his death, and when his grave was opened so that the letter could be placed in his hand his body was found to be incorrupt. This discovery contributed to his veneration as a wonderworker.

His Life was already in circulation by the late fifteenth century, and he was formally canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Moscow Council of 1549. His relics rest at the Vyazhishchi Monastery, where in the modern era they were placed in a church dedicated to him.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints; en.wikipedia.org