Venerable Sabbas of Vishera

St. Sabbas of Vishera was born in Kashin, the second of eight sons of the noble boyar Ivan Vasilyevich Borozda. From his youth he was drawn to monastic life, was tonsured in a monastery in the Tver region, and humbly performed various obediences. He traveled to Mount Athos, where his ascetic resolve was strengthened, and afterward chose a solitary spot seven versts from Novgorod on the bank of the Vishera River. With the blessing of Archbishop Simon of Novgorod, he founded a small monastic community there in 1418, dedicated to the Ascension of the Lord. He became renowned for a distinctive feat of stylitism: he erected a pillar near the monastery on which he spent weeks in fasting and silent prayer, descending only for the Sunday liturgy and to meet with the brethren. Disciples gathered around him, and a monastery grew up in his wake. He reposed around 1460. His church commemoration was formally established by council decree in 1549.