Dionysius, Metropolitan of Kiev
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Saint Dionysius I (russian: Дионисий); secular name: David (1300? – 15 October 1385) was a
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
metropolitan in 1384–1385. A native of the Duchy of Kiev as a young man David entered the Kyiv Caves Lavra, where he was
tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...
d a
hieromonk A hieromonk ( el, Ἱερομόναχος, Ieromonachos; ka, მღვდელმონაზონი, tr; Slavonic: ''Ieromonakh'', ro, Ieromonah), also called a priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church and E ...
and given the
religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...
Dionysius. He is known to have spent a number of years living in a
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
that he dug out himself on the banks of the
Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
not far from
Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
. Later, Dionysius founded the Pechersky
Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
on that same spot, which was dedicated in honour of the
Ascension of the Lord The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the ...
. In 1374, he was
consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
the
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of
Suzdal Suzdal ( rus, Суздаль, p=ˈsuzdəlʲ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located on the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the admin ...
and won love and respect on the part of the locals. In 1378, Dionysius was recommended as Metropolitan of Kyiv by
St. Sergius of Radonezh Sergius of Radonezh (russian: Се́ргий Ра́донежский, ''Sergii Radonezhsky''; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392), also known as Sergiy Radonezhsky, Serge of Radonezh and Sergius of Moscow, was a spiritual leader and monastic ref ...
after the death of Metropolitan
Alexius Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios ( el, Αλέξιος, polytonic , "defender", cf. Alexander), especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. The female form is Alexia ( el, Αλεξία) and its variants such as Alessia ...
. However,
Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king or ...
Dmitri Donskoi Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...
had his own candidate – a priest by the name of Mikhail (Mityaya). Dionysius was one of a number of bishops at the council who opposed Mikhail, who was suspected of
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
(
Strigolniki The Strigolniki (singular Strigólnik– in Russian language, Russian) were followers of a Russian religious sect in the middle of the 14th and first half of the 15th century, established in Pskov and later in Novgorod and Tver. The origins of the ...
). If elected, Mikhail wanted to introduce a new way of enthroning the Metropolitan at home, in
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 ...
, rather than traveling to
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to be installed by the
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 ...
(at the time, Russia was not yet an
autocephalous Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Ort ...
church). In 1379 Dionysius went to Constantinople carrying a protest against the choice of Mikhail addressed to the Patriarch. Mikhail was afraid that Dionysius would get the patriarch's blessing and followed him to Constantinople. However, Mikhail died on his way there and one of his accompanying clergymen,
Archmandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom ...
Pimen, reached Constantinople ( Slavonic: '' Tzargrad'') before Dionysius and was named Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' in place of Mikhail. In 1382 the Dionysius received the title of
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
from the Patriarch, who was impressed with his piety and humility. In 1383, Dionysius returned from this long journey to his
congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...
at Suzdal and continued his struggle against the Strigolniki. He also implored Dmitri Donskoi against Pimen, whom he viewed as a usurper, since no one in the Russian Church, not even the Great Prince himself, had been consulted before Pimen was appointed Metropolitan. In 1384, Dionysius was sent back to Constantinople to ask for Pimen's deposition and his own appointment as Metropolitan. Patriarch Neilus Kerameus was not sure whether he could trust Dionysius and sent two metropolitans 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 million ...
, who were supposed to depose Pimen and install the archbishop of Suzdal. On his way back to Moscow, Dionysius stopped in
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 ...
, where he was detained by the Kievan prince
Vladimir Olgerdovich Vladimir Olgerdovich ( be, Уладзімір Альгердавіч, lt, Vladimiras Algirdaitis, pl, Włodzimierz Olgierdowic, uk, Володимир Ольгердович; died after 1398) was the son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and ...
at the insistence of
Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Chri ...
, Archbishop of Kiev, who was to have succeeded as Metropolitan of Moscow in 1378 upon the death of Alexius, but who was not finally welcomed into Moscow until 1390. Dionysius died in detention on 15 October 1385. He was buried in the Caves of St. Anthony at Kiev, in the monastery in which he began his spiritual life. 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 ...
used to celebrate 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 ...
on 19 July, but subsequently this tradition died down. He is now commemorated on 15 October of the traditional
Julian Calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
(28 October on the modern
Gregorian Calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
), where he is listed as "Metropolitan of Suzdal", since he was never able to take possession of his
Metropolitan See Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...
.


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St Dionysius, Archbishop of Suzdal
{{s-end Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow 1300s births 1385 deaths Monks of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra People who died in prison custody