Ηegumen / Abbot
Saint Paisius of Uglich was born in the village of Bogorodskoye, near the city of Kashin. His father, Ioann Gavrenev, served the Uglich Prince Andrei Vasilyevich. In his childhood, he was taught to read and often visited the Kalazin Monastery, where he became filled with love for monastic life. At the age of ten, he became an orphan and was taken to be raised in the Trinity Kalazin Monastery, where he was tonsured as a monk with the name Paisius.
Under the guidance of his uncle, Saint Makarius, he grew in spirit, learning the virtues of obedience, fasting, and prayer. Soon, ten monks gathered around him, and he founded a new monastery on the left bank of the Volga, where he built a wooden church in honor of the Theophany of the Lord. The Archbishop of Rostov, Tikhon, ordained him to the priesthood, and he became the abbot of the new monastery, introducing a strict rule.
Prince Andrei Vasilyevich supported the monastery, making generous donations. In 1482, a stone church was consecrated in honor of the Feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. Saint Paisius showed care for the imprisoned princes Ioann and Dmitry, uplifting their spirits and promising them crowns for their sufferings.
He was granted the gift of healing and performed miracles, healing the sick and the possessed. During a fire in Uglich, he carried out the miraculous icon of the Protection of the Mother of God, and the fire was extinguished. He also prayed during a flood, and the water did not enter the church.
Saint Paisius lived in humility, fulfilling all obediences and teaching the brethren. In the last days of his life, he gathered the brethren to comfort them and entrusted the care of the monastery to Blessed Kassian. He died on June 6, 1504, and his burial was marked by miracles of healing.
In 1609, the monastery was ravaged by Polish-Lithuanian invaders, but it was later restored by the efforts of the inhabitants of Uglich.
