Archbishop
Saint Herman, Archbishop of Kazan, was born in the city of Staritsa in the 16th century, from the noble family of Polevye. He took monastic vows in the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery from Saint Guriy. In 1551, he was elected as the archimandrite of the Staritsa Assumption Monastery, where he took care of the monastery's well-being and admonished the monks. Later, he returned to the Volokolamsk Monastery as a simple monk.
In 1553, he was summoned to the Moscow Council to condemn the heretic Matvey Bashkin. In 1555, after the conquest of Kazan, he was appointed as the archbishop of the Kazan diocese, where he established the Assumption Monastery in Sviyazhsk. Under his guidance, the monastery became a center of enlightenment.
On March 12, 1564, he was consecrated as the Bishop of Kazan. His administration was marked by concern for the construction of churches and the enlightenment of the region. In 1566, Ivan the Terrible summoned him to Moscow and ordered him to be elected to the metropolitan see. Saint Herman refused, but was forced to remain in the metropolitan chambers.
After two years of disgrace, on November 6, 1567, he passed away and was buried in the church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. In 1592, at the request of the residents of Sviyazhsk, the relics of the saint were transferred to the Sviyazhsk Assumption Monastery, where he was met by Saint Ermoghen, Metropolitan of Kazan.
