Paisius Yaroslavov (; died 1501) was the most famous

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

of the

Kamenny Monastery Kamenny Monastery (Russian: Спасо-Преображенский Свято-Каменный монастырь) was the name of a Russian Orthodox monastery situated on a small eponymous island in the very centre of the Kubensky Lake, in Ust- ...

, located on the

Lake Kubenskoye Lake Kubenskoye (russian: Кубенское озеро) is a large and shallow lake in Vologda Oblast of Russia, situated at the height of 110.1 metres above mean sea level, stretching for 54 km from north-west to south-east. The lake area i ...

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast ( rus, Вологодская область, p=vəlɐˈɡotskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Vologodskaya oblast, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The Oblast has a population of 1,202,444 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Historians do not know much about Paisiy Yaroslavov. He appears to have been a prominent figure during the reign of

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...

. In 1478-1482, he was an

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

at the

Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...

. Archbishop Gennadius of Novgorod is known to have asked for Paisius Yaroslavov's opinion on the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...

. Ivan III proposed to Paisius to replace Metropolitan

Gerontius Gerontius (; Latinized Greek for 'old man') can refer to: Music and literature * ''The Dream of Gerontius'', a 1900 choral work by Edward Elgar, a setting of a poem of the same name by John Henry Newman * ''The Dream of Gerontius'', the poem by ...

upon the latter's death in 1489. During the church sobor of 1503, Paisiy Yaroslavov spoke against monastic landownership. Paisius Yaroslavov is known to have authored ''Сказание о Спасокаменском монастыре'' (The Tale of the Kamenny Monastery), which tells about the history of this monastery and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

's struggle against

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

in the area. He also wrote ''О втором браке великого князя Василия'' (On the Second Marriage of Grand Prince Vasili), which provides valuable information on the role of different clergymen in this marriage and also contains messages from four

ecumenical patriarch The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

s and monks from

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

Activity

Together with his closest associate,

Nilus of Sora Nil Sorsky (russian: Нил Сорский, also Nilus of Sora and Nil Sorski; birth name: Nikolai Maikov (russian: Николай Майков) ( – 1508) became a leader of a tendency in the medieval Russian Orthodox Church known as the Non-p ...

(† 1508), Paisiy Yaroslavov enjoyed extraordinary respect, both among the contemporary Russian hierarchy and from the Grand Duke. In 1489,

Gennady of Novgorod Gennadius (Gennady, russian: Геннадий; died 4 December 1505) was Archbishop of Novgorod the Great and Pskov from 1484 to 1504. He was most instrumental in fighting the Heresy of the Judaizers and is famous for compiling the first complet ...

, entering into a struggle with the local

Sect of Skhariya the Jew The Thought of Skhariya the Jew, much more commonly known in the church terminology as the Heresy of the Judaizers ( ''Zhidovstvuyushchiye''), was a religious concept that existed in Veliky Novgorod and Grand Duchy of Moscow in the second half of ...

and reporting them to the Rostov archbishop, asked the latter to consult Paisiy Yaroslavov and Neil Sorsky, who lived within his diocese, and attract them to the fight: it was about rumors spread among the people about the near demise of the world. Gennady himself wanted to talk with reputable and learned elders, and for this purpose even invited them to his place. With great respect for Paisius and the Nile, the Grand Duke himself

Ivan III of Russia Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...

. According to contemporaries, both elders “for the sake of a strong residence and virtue of the multitude had great daring to the Sovereign and were zealously acceptable and revered by him” ... Paisius was close to the grand-princely family, being a tutor to the children of the grand duke. In 1480, together with

Gerontius, Metropolitan of Moscow Gerontius (''Геронтий'' in Russian) (died 1489) was Metropolitan of Moscow from 1473 until 1489. He was the fourth Metropolitan in Moscow to be appointed by the civil authority without the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Consta ...

and Vassian Patrikeyev, Paisius interceded before the Grand Duke for his brother. {{authority control Russian religious leaders Russian saints