Theodosius of the Caucasus - meaning, icons, relics, life

Life of Theodosius

The exact date of birth of the saint and the circumstances of his life before he appeared in one of the monastic monasteries on Athos - where the belt of the Most Holy Theotokos is kept - are unknown. The brethren accepted him, soon the young man was ordained to the priesthood, and also had the right to take confession (in Greece this is not given to everyone; usually the confessor must gain experience). It was in 1897. Theodosius of the Caucasus was cultivating the land in the monastery with his brethren.

The Life of Theodosius of the Caucasus is compiled from various sources. It does not describe the exact reasons why he left the holy mountain. Father often traveled to Constantinople, where he closely communicated with his spiritual daughters. There, a small community formed around him, which the monastic authorities were dissatisfied with - it was customary for monks to live only on Athos.

One of his admirers in men's clothing came with Theodosius to Athos. After the exposure, a loud scandal and expulsion followed, as secular sources testify. The monk retired to Constantinople, where he lived for several years. Then he moved to the holy land, where he served near the Holy Sepulcher. There Saint Theodosius of the Caucasus met an influential official who persuaded him to return to Russia. Thus, the elder returned to Russia, stopping in the Caucasus.

Biography

Some historical documents and fragmentary memoirs of contemporaries tell about the life of Father Theodosius. But the main information is contained in the lives written by his novices.

Venerable Theodosius of the Caucasus

Early years

Various sources give different dates of birth of the future confessor.

The date 1800 appears in many lives. It looks quite fantastic, since in this case the old man was 148 years old at the time of his death.
According to other sources, Theodore was born in the 40s.
The most likely date of birth is considered to be 1862. This information is confirmed by both official documents and indirect evidence from contemporaries.

Fedor was born into a family of peasants, the Kashins, in the Perm province. The family was devout and pious, starting not only important matters with prayer, but also everyday activities. The woman who received the baby claimed that he was destined to become a great servant of the Lord, since he was born wearing a monastic headdress.

According to legend, little Fedor from an early age loved to retire to the forest to pray. He developed quickly and often asked his mother Catherine to read the words of the psalms aloud.

At a young age, Fedor left his father’s house and went with pilgrims to Saint Athos. Different sources indicate different ages of the young traveler: from 3 to 14 years. Having reached the island, the boy came to the gates of the Monastery of the Position of the Belt of the Mother of God and asked to be allowed to live.

Hegumen Ioannikiy agreed to accept a wonderful child within the walls of his monastery. The young novice humbly carried out his assigned work, learned to read and write and prayed a lot. Already at this time he led an ascetic life, which consisted of the following:

righteous, humble work;
tearful prayer to the Lord;
strict fasting;
silence, broken when particularly necessary.

Tempted by the devil, the monastery brethren treated the young man with disdain and envy. This feeling intensified after the miracle of healing of the wife of a Russian general. According to legend, she was possessed by a demon for many years. But one day a young man appeared to her in a dream, and the Almighty Voice told her that it was this young monk, living in one of the Athos monasteries, who would be able to heal her.

The monks of the monastery of the State went out to the pier, but the woman did not recognize any of them as the young man from the vision. Then they called novice Fyodor. Seeing him, the possessed Christian woman screamed in a rough voice that this young man would cast out the demon. After a three-day fast, the young man blessed water on the icon of the Mother of God and sprinkled it on the woman, who soon got rid of the obsession.

Icon of Saint Theodosius of the Caucasus

After some time, Fedor had to take monastic vows. The abbot, who learned that the young man was not an orphan, ordered him to take permission from his parents before this event. Despite the difficulties, the journey was successful, and at the age of 18 Fyodor became a monk, taking the name Theodosius.

Interesting: in addition to the congenital mark, there was another sign of little Fedya’s chosenness by God. One day, during a common family meal, a dove, miraculously appearing from behind the icons, landed on the child’s hand. The mother ordered to drive him away, and the bird flew away to the corner from which it appeared. Only many years later, Ekaterina Kashina realized that the dove was the messenger of the Lord.

Maturity

Within a few years, Theodosius reached the rank of hieromonk. His rapid spiritual growth, humility in service and the good attitude of the abbot towards him instilled sinful envy in the souls of the brethren. Many times the monks turned to the Patriarch of Constantinople with denunciations against the humble monk.

After a message that said that Theodosius allegedly brought a young woman into his cell under the guise of a young man, he was shackled and thrown into prison. But this time the Lord did not abandon his son. Within three days, the messenger of God appeared to the patriarch with an order to release the innocent monk. Realizing the mistake he had made, the patriarch released him from captivity and appointed him a priest at the Constantinople temple.

For several years, Theodosius was obedient to helping people in need in Constantinople. After which he went to the Holy Land, where he was honored to serve in the Edicule of the main temple in Jerusalem. Eyewitnesses note that the educated monk performed a prayer in the language of the parishioners who were in the church at that moment.

It is not known exactly how many years the monk spent in Jerusalem, but by the end of the 19th century he returned to the Athos monastery. The abbot of the monastery of the Position was still Ioannikios, who was the spiritual father and teacher of Theodosius. In the monastery there was a custom to transfer the post of abbot of cells (small monasteries) by will to students. So Hieromonk Theodosius became abbot of the monastery. He was burdened by this position, the worries of which distracted him from the main goal of life - serving the Lord.

In 1901 the monk returned to Jerusalem. Here he lived until 1905 or 1913. A retired Russian general, who had an estate near the village of Platnirovka, helped him return to Russia. For several years, Theodosius and several novices wandered across Russian soil. They visited the Perm region, Chelyabinsk and settled in Kuban. A small community settled in two small houses in the area of Temnye Buki, a few kilometers from the Gornenskaya monastery.

Holy spring in the Desert of Theodosius of the Caucasus

Many people came to Father Theodosius, illuminated by the grace of the Lord with the gift of insight, in need of blessing and help. Children came to the inhabitants of the small desert and were taught to read and write by the novices. Peasants brought food to the monastery as payment for tuition.

Soviet regime

In the first years after the Bolshevik revolution, the life of the elder and his novices flowed in the usual direction. There is information that with the help of local residents a shelter for street children was organized.

A few days before Easter in 1925 (1927), the Bolsheviks arrived in the desert and arrested the elder on charges of anti-Soviet propaganda. The old monk was sentenced to three years of camp imprisonment. Precise information about the place of his imprisonment has not been preserved. Presumably the elder spent some time in the Solovetsky camp, and then was transferred to one of the Kazakh colonies.

Important! After his release in 1931, Theodosius settled in the city of Mineralnye Vody in a small house, which was purchased by two of his novices who left the monastery in Temnye Buki immediately after the elder’s arrest.

In a coastal city, the elder led a double life: during the day he appeared to the townspeople in the guise of a holy fool, and at night, in a secret church organized in the house he occupied, believers saw a strict priest. With the help of the Lord, he accomplished many good and wonderful deeds.

The end of the earthly journey

In the last years of his life, Elder Theodosius experienced physical weakness. He spent most of his time in bed, rising from it along a tight rope. Despite this circumstance, hundreds of people continued to come to him. The priest received all of them and helped with words and prayer in their sorrows.

Like many righteous people marked by the Lord, the Caucasian elder knew in advance about the day of his death. He asked his disciples to wash him with baptismal water, after which he blessed them and ordered them to read the prayer of Christ, without worrying about burial, since the Almighty Father himself would arrange everything. Three days later, on August 8, 1948, his earthly life ended.

Many miraculous events are associated with the funeral events of Theodosius.

After the death of the righteous man, an old man in sandals and a wooden staff in his hands appeared on the threshold of his house. He asked the disciples of the late confessor to allow him to perform the funeral service. The surprised novices agreed to the request of the old man, who in a beautiful strong voice said all the required demands and prayers. At the end of the ceremony, he walked out the threshold and disappeared.
When the coffin with the old man’s body was taken out of the house and they wanted to take the last photo, the photographer was unable to take a single frame, as a bright glow emanated from it.
Local residents carried the small coffin to the outskirts of the city. But as soon as the procession passed the last street, 4 handsome young men in rich clothes appeared on the road. They took the coffin and carried it to the cemetery, lowered it into the grave, threw in a handful of earth and disappeared without anyone noticing.

Contemporaries recall that many people gathered for the confessor’s funeral. Weak people fell on the road under the tomb of the righteous man and received healing from their ailments.

Life of Theodosius of the Caucasus in Russia

Work as a courier at Yandex.Eda (up to 3,400 rubles per shift) leave a request →

Theodosius of the Caucasus settled in an old house on the site of a destroyed monastery. Miracles accompanied him constantly - people came in an endless stream. He prayed for hours in the gorge, and was even honored with the appearance of the Mother of God, as the legend says. During revolutionary times (in the 20s), the elder was arrested. According to the testimony of his spiritual children, he told them to prepare for Easter, and he himself expected that they would come for him. And so it happened.

It is not known exactly where the elder stayed, perhaps on Solovki. He was gone for six years. Then he was released from prison and lived for a long time. In Mineralnye Vody he became known as the holy fool. He wore a bright shirt and ran with the kids. The people loved the kind old man very much.

Miracles

People from all over the country traveled to the deserts of Theodosius of the Caucasus - he healed many and gave instructions. But he refused to some - he ordered one woman to return home and leave her illegitimate husband. Only after that he promised to accept her. During the war years he also performed many miracles, which were narrated by his spiritual daughters.

One day Theodosius of the Caucasus passed by wagons with ammunition. Eyewitnesses saw how he moved them to the side with the power of prayer. Later there was a raid and an enemy shell hit this place.
During the German offensive, the elder took the children out of the kindergarten. It later came under fire, but no one was killed.

The saint also taught local children to read and write; they brought food instead of payment. He commanded his visitors to pray - to always recite the Jesus Prayer. After his departure to another world, people continued to come to the desert asking for help. In the 90s, the church decided to study the life of the ascetic, since he was revered by the people as a saint.

Ideas and teachings

Disciples and pilgrims who come in large numbers to Elder Theodosius remember that he said that the only way to save a person can be found in the bosom of the Orthodox Church - the only one that has not changed since the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He pointed out to his disciples the need to begin and end any work with prayer. Even making the sign of the cross over oneself is accompanied by mental prayer.

In Soviet times, Theodosius sided with Patriarch Tikhon, rejecting the churches of schismatics and renovationists. In the post-war period, local authorities invited a respected elder in the city to the renovated temple opened by the Sergians. The weak old man went to the Church of the Intercession with a staff in his hands and a sleigh.

The stone on which Theodosius of the Caucasus prayed

Not reaching the building a few meters, he slipped and fell. On a sled, which the old man rolled behind him, he was taken to his home. Many eyewitnesses and disciples of the righteous man saw in this event the Lord’s reluctance to allow his son into the new temple.

Relics

The relics of Theodosius of the Caucasus were raised in 1995. Today they are kept in Mineralnye Vody, in the Intercession Cathedral. Suffering people continue to come here and leave testimonies of help.

Healing a child from diseases of the nervous system through prayer and after anointing with oil from the relics.
The woman developed polyps that she had suffered from for many years.
Help in selling an apartment.

Become a courier of the Yandex.Food service right now (up to 3,400 rubles per shift) leave a request →

You can contact the monk for any need. A prayer and an akathist have been compiled for Saint Theodosius of the Caucasus - you can read it in front of the image at any time.

Saint Luke Voino Yasenetsky
Saint Job of Pochaev - read here
Savva Storozhevsky -