Venerable Damian the Healer of the Kiev Caves

Venerable Damian the Healer, presbyter of the Kiev Caves, labored at the Kiev Caves Monastery under Abbot Theodosius in the second half of the 11th century. He remembered the Baptism of Rus (988) and was a zealous imitator of the life of St. Theodosius — gentle, hardworking, and obedient. He spent whole nights in prayer and reading Scripture, and kept a strict fast of bread and water alone. For his virtuous life God granted him the gift of healing: with the blessing of St. Theodosius, Damian cured the sick who came to the monastery through prayer and anointing with holy oil. His life is recorded by Nestor the Chronicler within the life of St. Theodosius and appears in every copy of the Kiev Caves Patericon. He reposed in the 1070s; his relics rest in the Near Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra.