Saint Gabriel, the founder of the Lesnovo Monastery near the city of Kratovo, refused to marry. After the death of his parents, he withdrew to Mount Lesnovo, where he became a monk. There, he built a church dedicated to the Archangel Michael and gathered a large community of monks around him.
He appointed an abbot and then left the monastery, renouncing all his possessions. He withdrew to a cave in the mountain, where he lived in ascetic struggle for thirty years, overcoming demonic temptations through fasting and continual prayer.
Many years later, he returned to the Lesnovo Monastery, where he reposed in peace. Thirty years after his death, his relics were discovered and through God’s grace they began to bring about numerous miraculous healings. They were eventually transferred to and enshrined in the Teldovo (Tarnovo) region of Bulgaria.
