Antony of Siya (; 1479–1556) was a
Russian Orthodox
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
who was proclaimed a saint after his death. He founded the
Antonievo-Siysky Monastery on the
River Siya in modern
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
Antony was born a peasant. He married while a young man and was a normal peasant until after the death of his wife. He then entered the monastery at
Kargopol
Kargopol () is a town and the administrative center of Kargopolsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on both sides of the Onega River, several miles north of Lake Lacha, in the southwestern corner of the oblast. Population:
...
. He did not stay there long and afterward became a wandering monk along the shores of the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...
.
In 1520, Antony founded his monastery. He received permission from
Vasily III
Vasili III Ivanovich (; 25 March 14793 December 1533) was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1505 until his death in 1533. He was the son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil (). Following on t ...
to erect monastic buildings on state land. He also was a vocal advocate of
monastic control of peasant villages.
Vasily's grandson
Ivan
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...
wrote a biography on Antony.
References
*
External links
Biography of St. Antonyon the official site of
Antonievo-Siysky Monastery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antony of Siya
1479 births
1556 deaths
16th-century Christian saints
Russian Orthodox monks
Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church