Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver, wonderworker

"Save me, God!".
Thank you for visiting our website, before you start studying the information, please subscribe to our Orthodox community on Instagram, Lord, Save and Preserve † - https://www.instagram.com/spasi.gospodi/. The community has more than 60,000 subscribers. There are many of us like-minded people and we are growing quickly, we post prayers, sayings of saints, prayer requests, and timely post useful information about holidays and Orthodox events... Subscribe. Guardian Angel to you!

Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver founded the Assumption Zheltikovsky Monastery at the end of the fourteenth century. He performed miracles during his lifetime, and after his death legends were made about them.

Life of Arseny Tverskoy

The boy grew up in a wealthy family, but lost his parents early. He was raised according to God's laws and turned his home into a refuge for the poor and wanderers, which aroused the anger of his relatives. Not finding reconciliation with them, he decided to go to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Saint Cyprian liked the kind, educated, hardworking and intelligent young man, so he elevated him to hierodeacon. When the saint was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow, Arseny followed him and became an archdeacon.

At the end of the fourteenth century, contradictions arose between Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich and Archbishop Efimy of Tver, who was subsequently sent into exile. In this regard, the Metropolitan of Moscow appointed Arseny Bishop of Tver:

Saint Arseny defended the offended, put an end to princely enmity, took care of the poor, and ransomed people from slavery and captivity.
Under his leadership, many churches and monasteries of the diocese were erected.
Many Orthodox Christians, having heard about his virtuous deeds, went to him to receive a blessing, as well as miraculous healing.
He enjoyed authority among the boyars. Thanks to him, the two brothers Tverskoy and the Kashinsky prince reconciled.

The best article for you, go to: Icons and prayers to help you get pregnant and during pregnancy

Archbishop Arseny was the initiator of the creation of the ancient version of the Kiev-Pechersk collection of the lives of saints and the history of the formation of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery.

The saint died in 1410; his incorruptible relics were in the Zheltikovsky Monastery. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, during the retreat of the Russian army, the monastery was blown up, and as a result, the remains were lost. The days of remembrance of St. Arseny are March 2, March 15 and the first Sunday in July, the feast of the Council of Tver Saints.

Saint Arseny of Tverskoy, bishop

Brief life of Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver

Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver, was born in Tver, and in his young years took monastic vows at the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.
Even among the monks of the ancient monastery, who were distinguished by piety, Arseny stood out for his holy life - strict keeping of monastic vows, knowledge of the Church Rules, erudition in the Holy Scriptures and hard work. Under Metropolitan Cyprian of Kiev (1380–1382) he served as archdeacon and during the absence of the metropolitan he managed the affairs of the Kyiv Metropolis. On July 3, 1390, he and Metropolitan Cyprian arrived in Tver, where, at the request of Tver Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich, a Council of Russian and Greek hierarchs was held for the trial of Tver Bishop Euthymius. The prince and the bishop were in a long-term quarrel; many Tver residents brought serious accusations against the bishop. After unsuccessful attempts to establish church peace in Tver, Metropolitan Cyprian “dismissed” Euthymius from his episcopate and sent him to Moscow, to the Chudov Monastery. Saint Arseny was appointed to the Tver See. But he was “afraid of accepting the dominion in Tver, seeing there was a lot of enmity and abuse there, and was confused and horrified.” Upon the return of Metropolitan Cyprian and Archdeacon Arseny to Moscow, the Prince of Tver sent his boyars with a petition to the Metropolitan for the consecration of Arseny to the Tver See. Arseny did not agree this time either. According to the chronicler, in 1390 “I barely begged Archdeacon Arseny Metropolitan to be in Tver.” Under the threat of a cathedral ban, the Metropolitan and the prince finally received his consent to the consecration, which took place on August 15, 1390. Among the bishops who took part in his ordination was St. Stephen, Bishop of Perm (April 26). Having ascended the cathedra, Bishop Arseny, as a great man of prayer and peacemaker, was able to end many discords in the Tver principality. During his bishopric, from 1390 to 1409, cathedrals in honor of the Archangel Michael were built and consecrated in Staritsa and Mikulin, the Transfiguration Cathedral was renewed, and the cathedral bell tower was laid. The saint founded the Zheltikov Monastery on the Tmaka River, near Tver, where, in the likeness of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, a church was built in the name of St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Pechersk (1394) and a stone Assumption Cathedral (1406).

Wishing that the monks of the new monastery would always be edified by the exploits of the Pechersk fathers, Saint Arseny ordered in 1406 to make a list from the Kiev-Pechersk Paterikon, representing the oldest edition of this precious monument of Russian writing that has survived to our time, which received the name Arsenyevskaya.

The saint reposed in 1409, on March 2, and was buried in the Zheltikov Monastery of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he created. In 1483, his relics were found incorrupt and placed in the monastery cathedral. In the same year, Hieromonk Theodosius wrote the life and canon of the saint. At the Council of 1547, a church-wide glorification of St. Arseny took place.

Complete life of Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver

Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver, according to church tradition, was born in the city of Tver. The year of his birth and the names of his parents are unknown. He was brought up in piety and fear of God. Having lost his parents early and remaining the heir to a rich estate, he turned his house into a shelter for the strange and poor, thereby incurring reproach from his relatives. Desperate to overcome “much hostility and warfare,” the young man decided to part with the world and prayed to the Lord to show the way. Hearing a voice in a dream calling him to Kyiv, the young man secretly left the city of Tver and went to the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, where he took monastic vows. A virtuous and hardworking monk, who “from his youth adopted the good behavior of Christ,” knowledgeable in church rules, attracted the attention of Metropolitan Cyprian, who was then living in Kyiv, the future saint of Moscow († 1406; commemorated September 16). Saint Cyprian fell in love with the monk Arseny and brought him closer to him, ordaining him to the rank of hierodeacon. When Saint Cyprian took the throne of the Moscow Metropolis, he took Saint Arseny with him to Moscow. Saint Arseny was the archdeacon of the bishop, he was also entrusted with writing, and he was involved in all matters related to the internal structure of the metropolis.

At that time, strong disagreements arose in Tver between the Tver Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich and the slandered Bishop of Tver Euthymius. Bishop Euthymius was unjustly deprived of his see and exiled to the Chudov Monastery in Moscow, where he soon died († 1392).

In place of Bishop Euthymius, Metropolitan Cyprian appointed his archdeacon (protodeacon in the Nikon Chronicle) Arseny, “a wonderful and deliberate and virtuous man.” Saint Arseny did not agree for a long time, but could not resist the will of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. Among the bishops who participated in the consecration of Saint Arseny on August 15, 1391 in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Tver was Saint Stephen, Bishop of Perm (April 26).

Having assumed the archpastoral see, Saint Arseny strove to put an end to princely strife and to establish peace and harmony in his native Tver. In 1403, he managed to reconcile the Tver prince Ivan Mikhailovich with his brother Kashinsky prince Vasily Mikhailovich. Saint Arseny zealously preached the Word of God and in everything set an example of a worthy archpastor.

Feeling the approach of his death, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich of Tver († 1399) came to Saint Arseny with a request to tonsure him as a monk. Saint Arseny, thanking the Lord, clothed the prince in a monastic image and gave him the name Matthew. Over the course of many years of episcopal service, Saint Arseny built and consecrated cathedrals in honor of the Archangel Michael in Staritsa and Mikulin, in honor of St. Nicholas in Staritsa, renovated the stone Transfiguration Cathedral in Tver and laid the foundation for a new cathedral bell tower. 20 versts from Tver in 1397, on the Tma River, he founded the Savvin Sretensky Monastery, the first monks of which were the Monks Savva and Barsanuphius (March 2), who took monastic vows on Holy Mount Athos.

Saint Arseny did not forget the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, where he began his monastic labors. On the banks of the Tmaka River, 4 versts from Tver, on the Zheltikovo tract, in 1394 he founded a monastery, where a wooden church was built at the same time in the name of St. Anthony and Theodosius of Pechersk. On August 30, 1405, in the Zheltikov Monastery, Saint Arseny consecrated a stone church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Towards the end of the construction of the Zheltikov Monastery, by order of St. Arseny in 1406, a copy was made from the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, the oldest edition of the precious monument of Russian writing that has survived to our time (the first collection of lives of Russian saints), which received the name Arsenyevskaya in science. Of the books copied at the behest of St. Arseny, two handwritten “Ladders” by St. John Climacus (1402 and 1404) have survived to this day. The death of Saint Arseny followed Great Lent in 1409. On the so-called “conciliar” Sunday (the Sunday after the first week of Great Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy; on this day priests came to the bishop and formed a diocesan council), as usual, the clergy came to Tver. On Tuesday, Saint Arseny delivered a sermon to the shepherds, blessed them and dissolved the council. The saint died on March 2.

Saint Arseny was buried in the Zheltikov Monastery, in the narthex of the right chapel in the name of the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands of the Assumption Church, in the very tomb that he made with his own hands. According to the chronicle, many healings took place at his tomb, coming with faith.

In the “Iconographic Original” Saint Arseny is described as follows: “In the likeness of an old man, gray-haired, brada like Sergius, in the schema, a mantle with springs, an omophorion thrown over his shoulders with rings in front, the right hand is blessed, in the left is the Gospel.”

The relics of Saint Arseny were found incorrupt in the Zheltikov Monastery in 1483. From the same year, a celebration was established for him in Tver with the blessing of Tver Bishop Vassian.

On the silver shrine of St. Arseny were depicted his seven miracles: the first - the resurrection of the fisherman Terenty; the second is the gift of a son to John Kartash; third - the healing of Archpriest Alexy, who suffered from leg problems; fourth - the healing of the girl Ustinia Golovlenkova; fifth – saving one person from being strangled; sixth - with the saint’s cover (when the Poles burst into the Zheltikov Monastery in 1606, one horseman tore off the cover over the saint’s shrine and put it on his horse. The horse reared up and fell along with the rider, both were found dead); seventh - the healing of Gregory and his wife, formerly mentally ill.

The canonization of Saint Arseny took place at the Moscow Council in 1547. It is celebrated on March 2.

The celebration of the Council of Tver Saints is now timed to coincide with the second memory of Saint Arseny, on the first Sunday after June 29.

Miracles of the Saint

Legends remained about the miracles of the Tver bishop after his death:

Fisherman Terenty became addicted to drinking and lost his mind. His mother and father brought him to the Zheltikovsky Monastery, where he died. After 2 days, the body was taken to the church and placed next to the remains of Saint Arseny, against whom the parents of the deceased began to grumble. When the holy minister read the Gospel, the saint stood up and began to cry about his sin. Then the mother and father realized their guilt and repented before him.
During the Polish intervention, one soldier stole an embroidered cover from the remains of a saint and placed it on his saddle. Some force lifted the rider into the air and then hit the ground. The enemy died, and the shroud flew onto the roof of the church.
One man hid money in the ground of a forest thicket, and when he returned for it, he did not find it. He became upset and wanted to commit suicide. But a monk passed by and asked why he wanted to die in sin. The man told about his grief. Then the monk hit the ground with his staff and forced them to look for the lost money. He only demanded that when he found it, he should visit the Zheltikovsky Monastery and thank the Lord. This was the appearance of Saint Arsenius, because the man found his savings.

The best article for you, go to: Hieromartyr Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna

And today many Christians offer their prayer requests to the icon of the saint, with the hope of his miraculous help.

Oh, great saint of God, Holy Hierarch Father Arseny! Behold, we, sinners and unworthy children of yours, bring you songs of praise, and we magnify your deeds and virtues, and your many mercy to all who flow with faith to your fatherly protection. Accept with love the offering of faith and love of ours, and bring it to the Almighty God, from Whom comes down every good gift and every perfect gift, and as you have done good in your earthly life to all who sought your help, so even now, gracious father, do not deprive us of your before God of powerful intercession. Behold, your imperishable and multi-healing powers have been given to us by the Lord as assurance, for the great boldness of the Lord towards Him and for the greatness of your intercession before the Throne of His goodness. Moreover, do not leave us orphaned and helpless, but always remember us in your holy heavenly prayers. Strengthen our feet to walk firmly and unwaveringly along the path of the commandments of the Lord, strengthen our hands to perform prayer and do good deeds, warm our hearts with love for the Lord and for life live forever. Ask the Tsar of the Heavenly City of Tver and your holy monastery for the welfare and the entire Russian country for God’s mercy and preservation from all evil. Ask, O saint of God, and to all who with faith resort to the race of your holy relics and reverently call on your name, for whom the gift is beneficial: healing for the sick, deliverance for the needy, comfort for the sad knowledge, knowledge of the truth for those who go astray, correction for sinners, advancement for those who strive, and all the way to life for everyone temporally and eternally necessary, for the glory of the wondrous God in His saints, in the Trinity glorified and worshiped, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Temple of Arseny Tverskoy

In September 2004, a worship cross was installed in the Pervomaisky microdistrict of the city of Tver. In ancient times, there were forest thickets on the site of the residential area. Nearby there was a road along which people went to pray.

The best article for you, go to: Icon of Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, meaning and what it helps with

The construction of the church began at the request of the residents. They expressed a desire for the social infrastructure to be decorated by the Church of St. Arseny of Tver in Tver, and not by an entertainment establishment. Orthodox Christians in the residential area supported the initiative and prayed to the saint every week on Wednesday.

Who founded the Church of St. Arseny of Tver? The construction was carried out by the community of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the rector, Archpriest Sergius Droboi, patrons of the St. Nicholas parish.

God bless you!

You will also be interested in watching a video story about Tver Bishop Arseny:

Used materials

Life in the calendar on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House:
Menaia-March, part 1, ed. Moscow Patriarchate, p. 54-55, 159-160:
and (troparion)
and (kontakion)

Menaion-July, part 1, ed. Moscow Patriarchate, p. 94-95, 100:

and (troparion)
(kontakion)

[1] A memory separate from the Council of Tver Saints, celebrated on the same day. Calendar page on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House. Nun Taisiya. Russian Saints. Saint Arseny, Bishop of Tver (+ 1409) -

[2] Menaion-July, part 1, ed. Moscow Patriarchate, p. 630, .