Venerable Constantine and Cosmas

Saint Constantine and his companion Cosmas were disciples of Saint Varlaam of Khutyn and his successor, Saint Anthony of Dymsk. Around 1220, leaving the Khutyn monastery, they withdrew to a deserted peninsula located 3 versts from the city of Staraya Russa, between the rivers Polist and Smezhna, and over time founded a monastery in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Constantine served as the abbot of the monastery until his death around 1240. Saint Cosmas continued the work of his mentor and was buried in the same grave as Saint Constantine. Their bodies rest under the porch of the Nicholas church, built in 1820 on the site of the saints' burial.