In 1472, a peasant named Ivan Dementyev, while cutting down trees, discovered an entrance to a cave with the inscription: “The cave built by God.” A priest named Ioann, nicknamed “Shestnik,” a settler from the Moscow land, came there to establish a monastery. After the death of his wife, who took the monastic name Vassa, he became an ascetic and accepted monasticism with the name Jonah.
Jonah dug out a cave church and asked priests to consecrate it, which took place on August 15, 1473, in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. During the consecration, a miracle occurred: a blind woman received her sight. The icon associated with this event is kept in the altar of the Dormition Church.
Venerable Jonah labored until 1480 and peacefully departed to the Lord. A chainmail shirt was found on his body, which was hung above his grave as a testament to his ascetic life. The relics of Venerable Jonah rest in the caves alongside the relics of Venerable Elder Mark and Venerable Vassa.
During an attack on the monastery, a knight from Lifonia, mocking the relics, attempted to open the grave of Vassa but was scorched by the flame emanating from it. The traces of this fire are visible on the grave of Venerable Vassa.
