Bishop
Saint Gerasim, Bishop of Velikoperm, became the successor of Saint Stephen, the founder of the Ustyvym Diocese. He was elevated to the Permian see during a difficult time when the flock suffered from the attacks of pagan tribes and oppression from the Novgorod and Vyatka freebooters. Saint Gerasim diligently cared for the spread of the Christian faith, penetrating into remote places and providing assistance in desperate circumstances. His activities were appreciated by Metropolitan Photius, who confirmed that the Permian land now performs divine service according to the Christian law.
Saint Gerasim participated in the Moscow Councils, where his opinions and intercessions were important for his flock. In the last years of his saintly life, the raids of the Voguls on the Christian Zyryans did not cease, and he himself traveled to their camp, asking for peace for the Zyryans. His name began to be pronounced with reverence, but the health of the saint was undermined.
Saint Gerasim accepted a martyr's end on January 24, probably around 1441, being suffocated with an omophorion by the hand of a Vogul. He was buried in the Blagoveshchensky Cathedral in Ustyvym, where many miraculous healings occurred. The celebration of his memory was established in 1607. In 1649, a church was erected in Vologda in their honor.
