Our Father among the Saints Gerasimus, Bishop of Perm
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Gerasimus was the third bishop of the see of Perm in northeastern Russia and a successor of Saint Stephen, the enlightener of the Zyrian (Komi) people. Raised to the episcopate sometime after 1416, when the conversion of the Zyrians was still incomplete, he labored to extend and protect the young Christian community in a frontier region exposed to raiding.
He is remembered for venturing into the camps of the pagan Voguls to plead for the safety of his flock, and for the manner of his death: by tradition he was strangled with his own omophorion by a servant. He is commemorated on January 24 and again on January 29 among the hierarchs of Perm.
Timeline 4 moments
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after 1416Elevation to the see of PermRaised to the episcopate as third bishop of the Zyrian people, succeeding Saint Stephen of Perm and Bishop Isaac, at a time when only part of the Zyrians had been converted.
1438 and 1441Church synods at MoscowAccording to one account he took part in Church councils held at Moscow in 1438 and 1441.
1441 (or 1447)MartyrdomMurdered while laboring among his people; by tradition he was strangled with his omophorion by a Vogul servant. He was buried at Ust-Vym on the River Vychegda.
1607Establishment of his commemorationHis formal commemoration was established, and he is honored together with the other hierarchs of Perm, Pitirim and Jonah.
Contributions & Legacy
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Episcopate and Mission among the Zyrians
Gerasimus was the third bishop of the Zyrian (Komi) people, following Saint Stephen, the enlightener of Perm, and Bishop Isaac. He was elevated to the see sometime after 1416, when only a portion of the Zyrians had yet received Christianity, and so inherited both a missionary task and the care of an exposed frontier church. One account records that he took part in synods of the Russian Church held at Moscow in 1438 and 1441.
His flock suffered repeated incursions from the Novgorodians and from the pagan Voguls, who plundered the Christian settlements of Perm. Gerasimus went in person into the Vogul camps to urge the raiders to cease their attacks on the defenseless people under his care.
Martyrdom and Veneration
It was during these labors that Gerasimus was killed. According to tradition he was strangled with his own omophorion by a Vogul servant; one account adds that this was a young man he had raised from childhood and meant to train as a preacher. The sources give the year as either 1441 or 1447.
He was buried in the church at Ust-Vym on the River Vychegda, the burial place of the first bishops of Perm, later the Annunciation church. Healings were reported at his relics, his commemoration was established in 1607, and he is remembered on January 24 and on January 29 among the hierarchs of Perm.
His companions & kin
The enlightener of the Zyrian people and first bishop of Perm, whose missionary work Gerasimus continued as third bishop of the see.
Stephen of Perm
His successors in the see of Perm, commemorated together with him among the hierarchs of Perm on January 29.
