Venerable Gregory the Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves

Saint Gregory the Wonderworker of the Kiev Caves was tonsured by St. Theodosius of the Caves himself (d. 1074) and gave away all he owned, keeping only his books, to which he devoted most of his time — earning the epithet "wonderworker" for his diligence in reading and copying manuscripts. He had a gift for turning repentant thieves from crime: when robbers broke into his cell or garden, his gentle admonitions moved them to repentance. In 1093, drawing water from the Dnieper, Gregory met the retinue of Prince Rostislav Vsevolodovich marching against the Polovtsians. When the young warriors mocked him, he prophesied they would all drown with their prince. The enraged Rostislav ordered him drowned in the Dnieper with a stone tied to his neck. Three days later the brethren found his body incorrupt inside his locked cell. The prophecy was fulfilled when Rostislav drowned fleeing the Polovtsians. His relics rest in the Near (Anthony's) Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra.