Hieromartyr 11th century

Saint Leontius Bishop of Rostov

11th century (reposed c. 1073)

Also known as Leontius of Rostov

A bishop sent to the still-pagan land of Rostov, who, driven out and threatened, won the people at last by gentleness and the teaching of the children, and sealed his apostolic labor with a martyr's death; his relics were uncovered incorrupt in 1164.

Feast Day

May 23

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, Enlightener of the Rostov Land

Come to them for

Missionary Work

Life

Saint Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, was an eleventh-century hierarch and missionary remembered as the enlightener of the Rostov land. A monk formed in the Kiev Caves (Kyiv-Pechersk) Monastery, he was sent as bishop to a region still largely pagan, where earlier bishops had been driven out, and he labored to bring its people into the Christian faith.

Meeting hostility and threats, he won the population not by force but by patient teaching, drawing the children first and then their elders. Orthodox tradition records that he sealed his apostolic work with a martyr's death at the hands of pagans. Though little known in his own lifetime, after his repose he was venerated so widely that he came to be honored as one of the first glorified saints of the Russian land; his relics were uncovered incorrupt in 1164.

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

11th century Monastic formation at the Kiev Caves Of Greek origin, Leontius became a monk at the Kiev Caves (Kyiv-Pechersk) Monastery, the cradle of monasticism in Rus'. He is counted among the first hierarchs drawn from that community.
11th century Sent as Bishop of Rostov He was appointed bishop to the still-pagan land of Rostov, where his predecessors had been expelled by a hostile population.
11th century Mission and conversion Driven out and threatened, he settled near the city and preached patiently, baptizing the children first and then the adults; tradition relates that he went out unarmed, cross in hand, to meet an angry crowd and turned many to the faith.
c. 1073 Martyrdom Orthodox accounts record that he was put to death by pagans, stirred up by their priests, sealing his missionary labor with a martyr's end.
1164 Uncovering of the relics His relics were found incorrupt during the building of a new stone Dormition (Assumption) Cathedral in Rostov, under Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, and were enshrined there.

Contributions & Legacy

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Mission to Rostov

Rostov in the eleventh century remained one of the least-evangelized regions of Rus', and the bishops sent there before Leontius had been forced out by a populace attached to its old beliefs. Leontius, formed in the discipline of the Kiev Caves Monastery, took up the same charge and refused to abandon it despite the same hostility.

According to tradition, rather than confront the people head-on he settled outside the city and began with the youngest, instructing and baptizing the children before their parents. When an angry crowd came against him with threats to his life, he is said to have come out to meet them bearing a cross, and his fearless gentleness stopped them and won many to the faith. For this apostolic labor he is honored as the enlightener of the Rostov land.

Veneration and Legacy

Almost unknown during his lifetime, Leontius became after his death one of the most beloved saints of northern Rus'. The see of Rostov came to be spoken of as "the chair of Leontius the Wonderworker," and he is regarded as among the first glorified saints of the Russian Church. The great number of legends and tales gathered around his memory — by one account more than two hundred — testifies to the breadth of his veneration.

His relics were credited with miraculous healings, accounts of which were carried even to the Khan of the Golden Horde in 1253. The oldest surviving narrative of the finding of his relics was composed about 1160-1170, close in time to the event itself. He is also commemorated together with the other holy hierarchs and saints of Rostov.

Relics & Shrines

Saint Leontius was buried in Rostov, and his relics were uncovered in 1164 during the construction of a new stone Dormition (Assumption) Cathedral, raised under Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky to replace an earlier wooden church that had burned. Found incorrupt, the relics were enshrined in that cathedral, where they have remained the center of his veneration.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints