Venerable Paphnutius the Recluse of the Kiev Caves

Venerable Paphnutius the Recluse labored in the Far (Theodosian) Caves of the Kiev Caves Monastery, likely in the 13th century. He spent his entire monastic life in enclosure, unceasingly weeping in repentance for his own sins and those of all mankind. Across successive cave surveys his name grew more specific: an inventory of 1638 calls him "the blessed monk Paphnutius," while descriptions of 1661 and 1703 already name him "Paphnutius the Recluse." Before his death he was granted a vision confirming his hope of salvation. His relics rest in the Far Caves of the Kiev Caves Lavra. He is venerated in the Synaxis of the Venerable Fathers resting in the Far Caves.