Right-Believing Right-Believing Prince Vsevolod, in Holy Baptism Gabriel, of Pskov

Right-Believing Prince Vsevolod, in holy baptism Gabriel, of Pskov was the eldest son of Grand Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich the Great (baptized Theodore) and a grandson of Vladimir Monomakh; he was born in 1092 in Novgorod the Great. From his youth he ruled in Novgorod, first as his father's deputy and then in his own right; together with Bishop Nifont of Novgorod he built churches, including a magnificent cathedral dedicated to St. John the Forerunner, cared for the poor, the sick, and orphans, and during the terrible famine of 1127 distributed his own stores to the starving. A successful military commander, he never sought conquest for personal gain.

After his father's death in 1132 and the strife that followed, the people of Novgorod twice drove him out; he was eventually invited to rule in Pskov, which thereby became, for the first time, a princely seat chosen by its own citizens. In his brief reign of little more than a year he laid the stone Cathedral of the Holy Trinity — the heart of the future Pskov — and bequeathed the city his sword as a token of its protection. He died on February 11, 1138, and was buried in the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica. In 1192 his incorrupt relics were uncovered and translated to the Trinity Cathedral, where many healings occurred. His general church glorification took place in 1549.