Venerable Arsenius of Komel

Venerable Arsenius of Komel was born in Moscow in the second half of the fifteenth century, into the noble Sakharusov family. As a young man he was tonsured at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, where he copied manuscripts — a Gospel he transcribed in 1506 survives. From 1525 to 1527 he served as abbot of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but, seeking solitude, resigned and withdrew into the Komel forest near Vologda with his spiritual elder. Carrying a large wooden cross, he searched the forest for a place to found a monastery. In 1530 Grand Prince Basil III granted him land on the Kokhtysh River. As disciples gathered around him, he built a church in honor of the Placing of the Robe of the Theotokos at Blachernae, founding the Arsenievo-Komel Monastery. He reposed peacefully on August 24, 1550. Miracles of healing soon began at his tomb.