October 8/September 25 - Repose of St. Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, Wonderworker of All Russia.translated

The Monk Sergius of Radonezh was born in 1319 into the family of pious boyars Cyril and Maria. From a young age, the Reverend (who bore the name Bartholomew in the world) wanted to devote his entire life to serving God. However, Cyril and Maria did not bless their son for a monastic life for a long time. And only when, shortly before their righteous death, they retired to a monastery, the Monk Sergius of Radonezh and his elder brother Stephen settled on a wooded hill, lost in a dense thicket. The future Abbot of the Russian Land was then 23 years old. With their own hands, the brothers built a wooden cell and a church here, which, at their request, was consecrated in the name of the Life-Giving Trinity.

Life in deep solitude was beyond the strength of the elder brother of the monk, Stephen, and he soon left these places. The monk was left completely alone. With even greater zeal, he devoted himself to the feat of fasting and prayer. Soon the young man’s cherished wish was fulfilled - the abbot of one of the nearby monasteries, Mitrofan, tonsured him into monasticism.

The Monk Sergius of Radonezh did not spend a single hour of time in idleness. Wisely combining prayer and work, psalmody and reading divine books, he rose from strength to strength with each day...