Venerable Savva of Vishera, Abbot of Novgorod

Short life

Venerable Savva was the son of Ivan Borozda, a noble boyar of Kashin. Known for piety from his youth, he was drawn to monastic life and received the monastic tonsure at one of the monasteries of Tver. He later withdrew to a wilderness location about twenty versts from Tver, a place later called the Saint Savva-Tver Hermitage. The brethren recognized the virtue of his life and chose him as their igumen, or abbot. Savva did not seek this honor, however, and around 1411 he left for Mount Athos.

Life and context

Savva returned from the Holy Mountain with a copy of the Rudder, a collection containing canons of the Ecumenical and local Councils of the Orthodox Church. This copy was later used by Archbishop Bassian (Ryle) of Rostov. After returning, Savva chose a solitary site on the banks of the Vishera River, seven versts from Novgorod. With the blessing of Archbishop Simon of Novgorod, he founded a small monastic community there in 1418 and dedicated it to the Ascension of the Lord. He erected a pillar near the monastery and lived as a stylite. Savva reposed in 1461 at the age of eighty, appointing his disciple Andrew, noted for strict ascetic life, as his successor.

Why he is venerated

Savva’s veneration first received approval locally in the Novgorod region. According to Church tradition, the igumen of the Savva-Vishera Monastery was healed after praying to the saint. Archbishop Jonah of Novgorod then approved his local veneration and commissioned an icon and a canon in his honor. Savva was glorified throughout the Church at the Moscow Council of 1549. A service in his honor was composed by the Serbian hieromonk Pakhomios. His memory offers a quiet example of monastic humility: he accepted responsibility for the brethren, yet did not cling to position, and he sought prayerful solitude while remaining rooted in the life and order of the Church.

Related articles