The Monk Savva of Vishera was the son of the boyar Ivan Borozda from Kashin. The monk was distinguished by his piety from childhood. Initially, he labored in the Tver Savvina hermitage, where the brethren elected him abbot. Avoiding honors, the Monk Savva retired to Athos, where he worked on copying the liturgical books. Upon returning from Athos to Rus', he chose a secluded place for his exploits, 7 miles from Novgorod on the banks of the Vishera River. Here, with the blessing of Novgorod Archbishop Simon, the monk in 1418 built a small monastery in honor of the Ascension of the Lord. Near the monastery, the Monk Savva built a pillar and asceticised on it.
The monk died in 1461 at a ripe old age, 80 years old. He appointed his disciple Andrei, known for his strict, ascetic life, as his successor.
The local celebration was established under the Novgorod Archbishop Jonah († 1470) in connection with the healing of the abbot of the Savvo-Vishera Monastery. Archbishop Jonah then ordered that an icon of the saint be painted and a canon drawn up. The church-wide glorification of the Monk Sava took place at the Moscow Council in 1549. The service to him was compiled by Hieromonk Pachomius the Serb.
2 Mar. George of Athos († 1794, commemorated October 2)