Venerable Paphnutius of Borovsk

Venerable Paphnutius of Borovsk (baptized Parthenius) was born in 1394 in the village of Kudinovo near Borovsk; by tradition, a grandson of a baptized Tatar tax official. At twenty he was tonsured with the name Paphnutius under a disciple of St. Nikita, himself a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh. Around 1426, under Metropolitan Photius, he became abbot of the Protection Monastery at Vysokoye near Borovsk. In 1444 he founded a new monastery on the Protva River — the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery — where the icon-painter Dionysius later worked, adorning the monastery with frescoes. He was known for a strict communal rule, mercy toward the poor, and the gift of foresight. He became the spiritual mentor of the young Joseph of Volotsk, the future great abbot and polemicist. Having foretold his own death, he reposed on May 1, 1477. He was canonized at the Council of 1547. He is venerated as one of the significant ascetics and spiritual writers of medieval Rus'.