Righteous, Elder Theodore Kuzmich of Tomsk, Elder of Siberia

Righteous elder Theodore Kuzmich appeared in Siberia in 1836 as an unknown wanderer, was detained as a vagrant without documents, and was exiled to a settlement. He was distinguished by high education, noble manners, and a deep spiritual life, which gave rise to a legend, widespread among the people, identifying him with Emperor Alexander I, who allegedly staged his death in Taganrog in 1825 and withdrew from the world in the feat of wandering; historians have not conclusively resolved the question of their identity. Avoiding worldly fame, the elder frequently changed his residence (Zertsaly and neighboring villages), spending his last six years in Tomsk, in the home of the merchant Semyon Feofanovich Khromov. He died on January 20, 1864, in Tomsk. In 1984 he was numbered by the Russian Orthodox Church among the saints in the rank of the righteous, within the Synaxis of Siberian Saints. His memory is kept on January 20/February 1.