Venerable
Venerable Stephen of Makhrishche
? — 1406
Venerable Stephen of Makhrishche (d. 1406) — founder of the Trinity Stephen-Makhrishchsky Monastery, spiritual friend of St. Sergius of Radonezh.
Venerable Stephen of Makhrishche was born in Kiev and tonsured at the Caves Monastery. Persecution forced him to Moscow, where Grand Prince Ivan II let him settle at Makhrishche; in 1358 he founded a communal Trinity monastery. With his disciple Gregory he later founded another monastery on the Avnega River near Vologda. A close spiritual friend of St. Sergius of Radonezh, he returned to Makhrishche, introduced a strict rule, and governed until his death on July 14, 1406. He is venerated as a wonderworker of all Russia.