Therapont of Belozersk (1331 – 1426) (russian: Ферапонт Бело(е)зерский, ), also known as Therapont of Mozhaysk, known to the world as Feodor Poskochin, was a Russian Orthodox

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 ...

credited with the foundation of the

Ferapontov Monastery The Ferapontov convent (russian: Ферапонтов монастырь), in the Vologda region of Russia, is considered one of the purest examples of Russian medieval art, a reason given by UNESCO for its inscription on the World Heritage List ...

in Northern Russia, now close to Kirillov in

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 1,202,44 ...

, and the

Luzhetsky Monastery Luzhetsky Monastery , whose complete name is the Nativity of the Theotokos and St.Therapont Luzhetsky Monastery (russian: Богородице-Рождественский Ферапонтов Лужецкий монастырь), is a medieval for ...

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. ( rus, Можа́йск, p=mɐˈʐajsk) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to th ...

close to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Therapont is venerated as a saint of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. Therapont was born as Fyodor Poskochin in a noble family in

Volokolamsk Volokolamsk (russian: Волокола́мск) is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Po ...

in the 1330s. Being already an adult, he decided to become a monk and arrived to the

Simonov Monastery Simonov Monastery (russian: Симонов монастырь) in Moscow was established in 1370 by monk Feodor, a nephew and disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh. It became one of the richest and most famous monastery, comprising six major churches ...

in Moscow. There he get acquainted with Cyril, who was to become later Cyril of White Lake. Apparently, Therapont was once commissioned by the monastery to travel to the North of Russia, to the Lake Beloye area. At a certain point, Cyril decided to leave the monastery and seek for a remote area where he could become a hermit. Ferapont agreed to accompany him and suggested that the Lake Beloye area would be most appropriate for that. Between 1390 and 1397 Cyril and Therapont left the Simonov monastery and travelled north to Lake Siverskoye, where they stayed in the place which eventually became

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (russian: Кирилло-Белозерский монастырь), translated into English as White Lake ranslation of the town name of BeloozeroSt. Cyril's Monastery, used to be the largest monastery and the stron ...

. For a year they lived together, and then Therapont left and moved to a location in about a dozen kilometers to the northeast now known as Ferapontovo. 1398 is considered as the year when the Ferapontov Monastery was founded. At the beginning, there were not more than 15 monks living in the monastery. Ferapont refused to become a

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 ...

, but lived for ten years at the monastery. The monastery was located in the

Principality of Beloozero Principality of Beloozero or Beloozero Duchy (russian: Белозерское княжество) was a Russian principality or duchy, which flourished between the 13th and 15th centuries in the Russian North. In terms of the current administra ...

, which at the time was administered jointly with the

Principality of Mozhaysk A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

. The prince,

Andrey of Mozhaysk Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/ Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *A ...

, resided in Mozhaysk, and was a brother of

Vasily Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...

, the Grand Prince of Moscow. He was also one of the main sponsors of the monastery. In 1408, he sent a letter to Therapont urging him to come to Mozhaysk, and Therapont was obliged to obey. Even though Therapont, after arriving to Mozhaysk, expressed very clearly his wish to return to White Lake, the prince never let him go. They made a deal, and Therapont founded Luzhetsky Monastery in Mozhaysk. He died in the monastery in 1426. Therapont has been venerated as a saint since 1549.

References

{{authority control Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 14th-century Christian saints 15th-century Christian saints 1331 births 1426 deaths