Venerable
Venerable Cyprian of Storozhev (Stozhensky)
XVI век — †после 1598
Also known as: Киприан Стороженский, бывший разбойник
Venerable Cyprian of Storozhev (Stozhensky) — formerly the leader of a band of robbers on Lake Ladoga; converted to Christ by St. Adrian of Ondrusov, he took monastic vows and founded the St. Nicholas Stozhensky Monastery on the site of the former robbers' lair; he became known for works of mercy and the gift of miraculous healing even during his lifetime.
According to tradition, Venerable Cyprian was in the world the ataman (chief) of a band of robbers who operated on Lake Ladoga and its surroundings. He was brought to repentance by St. Adrian of Ondrusov, after which he left his former life, took monastic vows under the name Cyprian, and became his disciple. On the site of his former robbers' den on the shore of Lake Ladoga (now the locality of Storozhno in the Volkhov district of Leningrad Oblast), he founded a monastery dedicated to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker — the St. Nicholas Stozhensky Monastery. Venerable Cyprian's ascetic life, marked by works of mercy and strict fasting, earned him the gift of healing even during his lifetime. He died after 1598; his relics rest under the altar of the monastery he founded. His memory is kept on August 26/September 8 and November 2/15.