Cyril of Beloozero (;

secular name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of Civil registry, registration of the birth ...

: ''Kozma''; 1337 – 1427) was a Russian

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 ...

. He is venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

by the

Russian Orthodox Church 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 ...

. Cyril was a disciple of

Sergius of Radonezh Sergius of Radonezh (; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392) was a Russian spiritual leader and monastic reformer. He was the founder of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius near Moscow, what is now the most venerated monastic house in Russia. He exer ...

. In 1397, he founded the

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (), known in English as White Lake St. Cyril's Monastery, is a Russian Orthodox monastery in Kirillov, Russia. It used to be the largest monastery and the strongest fortress in Northern Russia. The monastery was co ...

in northern Russia, in present-day

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...

Biography

Cyril was born as Kozma in Moscow in 1337. His origins are not entirely clear, but he was in any case close to the

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

family of Velyaminov. Cyril's parents died when he was a child. Around 1380, he became a monk in the

Simonov Monastery Simonov Monastery () in Moscow was established in 1370 by the monk Feodor, a nephew and disciple of St Sergius of Radonezh. It became one of the richest and most famous monasteries, comprising six major churches (often with multiple side chapels ...

and took the name of Cyril (Kirill). In the monastery, he got in contact with

. In 1387, the

archimandrite The title archimandrite (; ), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot ('' hegumenos'', , present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monaste ...

of the Simonov Monastery, Feodor, was appointed as a bishop of Rostov, and Cyril became his successor. However, he soon realized that the position of archimandrite required too much involvement in public affairs, and at first he resigned, then moved to a neighboring monastery as an ordinary monk, before deciding to move to a deserted place where he could pray in peace. Together with St. Therapont, previously the monk of the same monastery, Cyril left for

Lake Beloye Lake Beloye or White Lake (, ; ) is a lake in the northwestern part of Vologda Oblast in Russia. Administratively, the lake is divided between Belozersky District (south) and Vashkinsky District (north) in the oblast. The town of Belozersk is ...

. On arrival, following the advice of Sergius of Radonezh, he first dug a cave, and then built a wooden

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

chapel and a loghouse for other monks. Therapont, who found the restriction imposed by Cyril too strict, left within a year and founded nearby the

Ferapontov Monastery The Ferapontov Monastery is a monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ferapontovo, Kirillovsky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia. The monastery was founded by Saint Ferapont in 1398. The In 2000, the monastery was added to the UNESCO list of ...

. In what became Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Cyril established a very strict order. The monastery grew and later became the largest monastery of

northern Russia The Russian North () is an ethnocultural region situated in the Northwest Russia, northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast (including Nenets Autonomous Okrug), Murmansk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republi ...

. Cyril, as the first

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

, arranged purchases of large areas of land by the monastery. Cyril died in the monastery in 1427, at the age of 90.

Makaryev Sobors image:Metropolitan Macarius.jpg, 200px, Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow Makaryev Sobors () were two Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Local Council meetings of the Russian Orthodox Church, convened in 1547 and 1549 by Macarius, Metrop ...

of the

recognized him as a saint in 1547. At present, there are several churches in Russia bearing the name of Cyril. His day is marked by

on June 9.''"Преподобный Кирилл, игумен Белоезерский", Orthodox Calendar, Pravoslavie.RU, in Russian''

References

{{authority control Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 1337 births 1427 deaths 14th-century Russian people 15th-century Russian people 15th-century Christian monks 15th-century Christian saints Russian monks