Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Isaiah of Rostov (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1062 – died 1089 or 1090) was a Russian

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary and bishop. His

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

in the Russian Orthodox Church is celebrated on May 15. Isaiah was born near

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. He was tonsured at

Kiev Pechersk Lavra Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Mon ...

, and became abbot of Saint Dmitry's Monastery. In 1077, he became the second bishop of Rostov, succeeding Leonty of Rostov. As Christianity was not yet well established in the area, he spent his tenure converting

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

s, destroying

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...

and encouraging the spread of Christianity. The seat of Bishop of Rostov remained vacant for more than a century after Isaiah's death. Relics of Leonty and Isaiah were discovered in 1162 or 1164. In 1474 they were re-interred in a new cathedral of Rostov. The first historical reference to Isaiah appears in the ''Life of Theodosius of Kiev'' (russian: Житие Феодосия Печерского). Life of Theodosius // Library of old Russian literature, vol. 1, 1997 (Библиотека литературы Древней Руси / РАН. ИРЛИ; Под ред. Д. С. Лихачева, Л. А. Дмитриева, А. А. Алексеева, Н. В. Понырко. – СПб.: Наука, 1997. – Т. 1: XI–XII века

/ref> According to the biographer of Theodosius, in 1062 prince Iziaslav I of Kiev selected Isaiah, a monk of Pechersk Lavra, to the newly instituted Demetrios Monastery, and in 1077 secured appointment of Isaiah as the Bishop of Rostov. Isaiah is mentioned in the

Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...

twice: in 1088 Isaiah has consecrated St. Michael's church in Vydubitsy; in 1089 Isaiah and metropolitan John jointly consecrated the Church of

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

in Pechersk Lavra. Both these facts are reproduced in the ''Life of Isaiah of Rostov''; these were actually ''all'' the facts available to the medieval biographer. He converted a routine mention of Isaiah' presence in Kiev in 1089 into a tale of magical instant flight from Rostov to Kiev and back. However, the year and circumstances of Isaiah' death remain unknown. Kagan, M. D. Life of Isaiah of Rostov // Glossary of Russian literature and writers, part 2, vol.1, 1988 (Словарь книжников и книжности Древней Руси. Вып. 2 (вторая половина XIV – XVI в.). Ч. 1: А–К / АН СССР. ИРЛИ; Отв. ред. Д. С. Лихачев. – Л.: Наука, 1988) ''Life of Isaiah of Rostov'' exists in two versions; the second and larger version incorporates long quotes from earlier chronicles and scriptures but does not add anything to biography itself. 19th-century historians attributed the first, brief, version to 13th-century Rostov chronists. According to contemporary authors, it was actually compiled around 1474, the year of canonization.

References

{{authority control 1090 deaths 11th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 11th-century Christian saints Religious leaders from Kyiv Russian abbots Russian bishops Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Miracle workers Year of birth unknown