Righteous Theoctistus, Archbishop of Novgorod

Saint Theoctistus, Archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov, was a Russian hierarch of the 13th–14th centuries. He took monastic vows at the Annunciation Monastery on Lake Myachino near Novgorod and eventually became its abbot. After the death of Archbishop Clement in 1299, the Novgorod veche unanimously chose Theoctistus as his successor. On June 29, 1300, he was consecrated archbishop in the Saint Sophia Cathedral — the first time in Novgorod's history that an archbishop was consecrated within the city itself rather than in Kiev or Vladimir. During his tenure he built the stone Church of the Archangel Michael (1301), restored Valaam Monastery, and took part in negotiations with Grand Prince Michael of Tver (1305). In the winter of 1307/1308, failing health led him to retire to the same Annunciation Monastery, where he reposed on December 23, 1310. Local veneration began in the mid-17th century, and he was glorified church-wide in 1664 after miraculous healings occurred at his tomb. In 1786 his relics were translated to the Yuriev Monastery.