Venerable Arsenius the Laborious of the Kiev Caves

Venerable Arsenius, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery, labored in the late 13th–14th century in the Far (Theodosian) Caves. He was given the epithet "the Laborious" because, while laboring in the caves, he knew no rest: no one ever saw him idle — he was either praying or fulfilling monastic obediences, and did not eat before sunset. For his humility and diligence, the Lord granted the venerable one the gift of wonderworking. After many labors and struggles, Venerable Arsenius departed to the Lord, and his incorrupt body was placed in the Far Caves, where it still reposes. His memory is kept on May 8/21, as well as August 28/September 10 in the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers of the Far Caves.