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# The Translation of the Relics of Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves
- URL: https://uoj.news/history-and-culture/the-translation-of-the-relics-of-venerable-theodosius-of-the-kiev-caves/
- Published: 2026-08-27T16:43:32.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-25T16:07:45.000Z
- Description: Commemorating the great abbot who helped establish the monastic tradition of the Kiev Caves.
- Author: Subdeacon Gregory Levitsky
- Tags: #Category: History and Culture, Lives of the Saints, God, Relics

On Aug. 27, Orthodox Christians on the Old Calendar eagerly anticipate the great feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. In addition to the feast of the Holy Prophet Micah, there is another, lesser-known celebration held on the eve of the Dormition: the Translation of the Relics of Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves.

According to the *Lives of the Saints* by St. Demetrius of Rostov, the translation of St. Theodosius’ relics took place in 1091:

> “In the eighteenth year since the time that our venerable father Theodosius was translated in spirit from earth to heaven, it pleased the Lord that his body should also be translated from \[his\] cave to the holy and heavenly church. All of the brethren of the holy, great, and wondrous Caves Lavra, having gathered together with their leader, Abbot John, unanimously decided, after convening, to transfer from the cave to the great stone church the precious relics of the blessed and God-bearing Theodosius – a man venerable and lofty in life, marvelous in the virtues and glorious in miracles.”

There is an interesting parallel in the lives of the great founders of monasticism: Venerable Anthony the Great is traditionally called the “father of all monks,” having pioneered the solitary life, while Venerable Theodosius the Great, called the “Cenobiarch,” founded the coenobitic, or communal, monastic life. It was the same for their namesakes: Venerable Anthony of the Kiev Caves founded the solitary monastic life in Rus’, while Venerable Theodosius founded the coenobitic life there.

St. Theodosius’ life was recorded in detail by Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, and his vita is part of the Kiev Caves Patericon – the first original Slavic patericon (collection of lives of the saints) and a monument of medieval East Slavic literature.

St. Theodosius was born around 1009 A.D., in the town of Vasilev (Vasilkov), not far from Kiev, where the Great Prince Vladimir would hold court when not in the capital. At his naming on the eighth day, the priest, foreseeing that he would dedicate his life to God’s service, named him Theodosius (meaning “given by God”), after Venerable Theodosius the Great of Palestine. His family was wealthy and owned many servants. Yet young Theodosius would wear rags and threadbare clothes, and refused to play with the other children, despite his parents’ encouragement. He preferred attending church daily and studying Holy Scripture, as a result of which “he soon learnt all sacred Writ, so that everybody marveled at the child’s wisdom and understanding,” St. Nestor records.

The family later moved north to Kursk. When Theodosius was 13, his father reposed, and the youth began to go work in the fields with his family servants, despite the severe punishments his mother gave him for doing so. Desiring to see the places where our Lord lived and ministered, he ran away from home with a group of pilgrims heading for the Holy Land. His mother, learning of this, chased him for many days. Once she found him, she beat him and brought him home bound with ropes, and once home, put chains on him to prevent him from leaving. All of this St. Theodosius suffered obediently and with joy and promised not to leave again.

[![](https://uoj.news/content/images/2026/07/st-theodosius-cathedral-restoration-reaches-key-construction-milestones-808b35ba87cf.jpg)On this topicSt. Theodosius Cathedral Restoration Reaches Key Construction Milestones](https://uoj.news/news/st-theodosius-cathedral-restoration-reaches-key-construction-milestones/)

St. Theodosius saw that the local churches often ran out of prosphora for the services and resolved to bake them himself. He sold them only to cover his costs, and any profit was given to the poor. His mother, again upset at her son undertaking such lowly work, beat him. He therefore fled to a nearby town and lived there with a priest while he continued baking. His mother found him, and once more beat him, tied him up, and brought him home. She told him that wherever he went, she would find him. The boy soon took to wearing a heavy chain under his clothes as an ascetic labor.

Once, when his mother left on business, St. Theodosius, desiring to become a monk, left home for the great city of Kiev, having heard of the many monastic communities established there. Not knowing the way, he followed some merchants at a distance for several weeks. Once in Kiev, many monks turned him away, seeing his shabby clothes and assuming he was a beggar. Then St. Theodosius heard of the great ascetic St. Anthony, who lived in seclusion in a cave. He came to him and begged to live there with him.

St. Nestor records St. Anthony’s response: “‘My son, do you not see that this cave is a wretched place, narrow and confined? As you are still a child, I think, you will not be able to endure the discomfort of this place.’ He said this not only to test him, but he also had foreseen with prophetic vision that he would build up that spot and make a glorious monastery to assemble many monks.” St. Theodosius insisted and was soon tonsured a monk by Venerable Nicon the Dry, future abbot of the Kiev Caves. Of St. Anthony, Nicon, and Theodosius , the chronicler writes, “Three lights shone in the cave, expelling the demonic darkness by prayer and fasting.”

His mother searched for him for four years. Finally, hearing that he had become a monk near Kiev, she traveled there intending to bring him home. She came to St. Anthony and, thinking to trick him, asked his blessing and spiritual counsel. Only then did she reveal her true purpose. St. Anthony was sympathetic, and begged St. Theodosius to go see his mother, but he refused. She became agitated and even threatened suicide if her son would not come out, so he finally relented, but would not return to Kursk with her.

“Mother, if you want to see me every day, come to this town and enter one of the convents and be tonsured there. Thus, you could come here and see me and also save your soul. But if you do not do this, I tell you truly that from now on you will not see my face,” St. Nestor records. Finally, his mother relented. She entered a convent dedicated to St. Nicholas, where she lived piously for many years before reposing peacefully.

Several years later, St. Theodosius was ordained to the priesthood. “Every day he celebrated the divine liturgy with the utmost humility, for he was submissive by disposition, tranquil in his thoughts, innocent in mind, full of all spiritual wisdom, and possessing pure love for all the brethren,” the chronicler writes. The monks ate only bread and water, adding beans and boiled herbs on Saturdays and Sundays, though often these were not available. They labored throughout the day, making head coverings and sandals to sell in exchange for grain. They would then bake the grain into bread at night, between the divine services. Often St. Theodosius would grind the grain for others while they slept. He was also seen spinning wool on the hilltop as he sang the Psalter.

As St. Anthony wished to continue his ascetic labors in seclusion, the brethren that had gradually assembled with them elected St. Theodosius to be their new abbot. The saint accepted this with humility. 

He soon saw that their dwellings and the church had become too cramped for the number of monks now living there. Thus he initiated the construction of the new monastery, which would one day become the greatest in all Rus’ – the Kiev Caves Lavra. He found a location near their cave, and there built a church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, as well as many cells. He also communicated with Constantinople and received a copy of the Studite Typicon, which was used to govern the monastic community.

Every Lent, St. Theodosius would shut himself up in his cave until Palm Sunday. There, he was often attacked and terrorized by demons. Yet he had no fear and warded them off with the sign of the Cross and by singing the Psalter. Outside of Lent, he kept watch over the brethren, often visiting their cells at night to see who was praying or who was idling their time. He would admonish them as necessary. People reported seeing great lights shining from heaven over the monastery. Many boyars and princes came to him for spiritual advice, including Great Prince Izyaslav, who had great love for the abbot and followed his spiritual advice diligently.

Many great miracles occurred at the monastery. Once, robbers were determined to kill the monks and plunder what possessions they had. They waited until all of the brethren had gathered in the church. But as they ran up to attack, the church was raised into the air out of their reach. The would be murderers fled in terror. Others, including Prince Izyaslav, reported seeing the church “in the clouds” at various points, yet the monks supposedly never noticed anything amiss; these miracles were for the benefit of those around them.

After many years of labors and miracles, St. Theodosius was given foreknowledge by God of the day he would repose. He summoned the brethren and charged them to elect a new abbot in his place. When they elected Venerable Stephen as their new abbot, St. Theodosius blessed him, and soon reposed on the day he had foretold. He gave instruction that his body was to be buried in his cave. The whole city, led by Prince Svyatoslav, came out and wept for the holy abbot, though at his instruction he was buried privately, away from the eyes of the crowd.

Miracles by St. Theodosius began immediately after his repose, and he appeared in visions to many, helping them and healing their illnesses. Within a generation, it was decided to move the relics of the saint to the church. St. Demetrius records the brethren saying:

“Why do we deprive ourselves of our father and teacher in vain? It is not good for us to be deprived of our shepherd, nor is it good for the shepherd to abandon the sheep given him by God, that a wild beast might not scatter the noetic flock of Christ. Brethren, we ought to have always before our eyes the precious relics of our father, offering him worthy veneration at all times. It is of no comfort for him to remain outside of his monastery and church, for he laid its foundations and united the monastics… let us take the precious relics of our beloved father and transfer them here from the cave: for the Lord said, ‘Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house’ (Matthew 5:15).”

Thus, on the eve of the Dormition in 1091, many monks and faithful gathered, and several bishops carried St. Theodosius’ relics up to the Church of the Dormition, where they remained for centuries. St. Nestor took part in the entire ceremony and recorded it all in his *Chronicle*. In 1108, St. Theodosius’ name was added to the Synodicon, effectively marking his glorification. In 1131, his relics were encased in a large silver reliquary. Churches were named in his honor throughout Rus’, and small pieces of his relics were distributed.

The location of St. Theodosius’ relics is currently uncertain. Prior to the destruction of Kiev by the Mongols in 1240, the brethren buried his body “under a bushel” – in the floor by the western entrance of the church. His body was reportedly never found or was removed and remains buried in that area to this day.

We close with a sticheron from today’s service on “Lord, I have cried”:

“When they came to thy cave, O venerable one, desiring to translate thy body, then they opened thy tomb rejoicing, seeing thy relics lying holy and majestically, thy joints all intact and not subject to corruption; and the hairs of thy head dried to thy scalp and thy face radiant; thine eyes and God-speaking lips united to Christ our God Who hath glorified thee; do thou entreat Him, that He save and enlighten our souls.”

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