Saint Nil of Sora, born in 1433, was a great father of the Russian Church and a teacher of the simplicity of the hermitage. He received monastic tonsure in the monastery of Saint Cyril of Belozersk, where he learned from the elder Paisius of Yaroslavl. After wandering through the holy places of the East and living on Mount Athos, he founded the first Russian skete on the Sora River, following the rules of desert solitude.
Saint Nil studied the Divine Scripture and the works of the holy fathers, striving to live according to their teachings. His life in the skete was dedicated to prayer and spiritual vigilance. He actively opposed the corruption of church books and was present at the Council against the Judaizing heretics in 1491, where his opinion was important for Archbishop Gennadius.
At the Council of 1508, he proposed that monasteries should not have villages, which caused disputes with other ascetics. In his last will, he requested that his body be thrown into the wilderness or buried with contempt, as he considered himself unworthy of burial. Saint Nil reposed on April 7, 1508, and his relics rest in his wilderness.
From him remain letters and the Rule of skete life, in which he shares teachings about the inner ascetic life and the struggle with thoughts, emphasizing the importance of humility and prayer.
