The pious parents of St. Theodosius lived in the city of Vasilyev. When their son was born, on the eighth day he was given a name, on the fortieth - they christened him. Then the blessed parents moved to the city of Kursk.

The boy grew up, went to church every day, avoided children's games, and his clothes were shabby and in patches. Theodosius, at his request, was given to the teacher. The lad studied the divine books and achieved great success in this.

Theodosius was thirteen years old when his father died. The lad at that time became even more zealous for work and, together with his slaves, worked in the field. Such behavior was a disgrace to her mother, and she often beat her son. Mother wanted Theodosius to dress better and play with his peers.

Having heard about the holy places, Theodosius prayed to God to visit them. Wanderers came to his city, heading for the Holy Land. They promised to take the young man with them. At night, Theodosius secretly left the house and followed the wanderers. But God did not want Theodosius to leave his country.

Three days later, Mother Theodosius found out that her son had left with the pilgrims. She went in pursuit. Having caught his son, his mother beat him, tied him up, showered the wanderers with reproaches and took the young man home. Two days later, she untied Theodosius, but ordered to wear shackles. When the son promised his mother that he would not run away again, she allowed her to remove the shackles.

Theodosius again began to go to church every day. Often there was no liturgy in the church, because no one baked prosphora. Then the young man himself took up this matter. Peers laughed at him, and his mother persuaded to stop baking prosphora. Theodosius so intelligently answered her about the importance of this matter, that his mother left him alone for a whole year. And then she began to convince her son again, now kindly, now by beatings. In desperation, the young man went to another city and settled with the priest. His mother found him again and brought him home beaten.

The lord of the city fell in love with Theodosius and gave him light clothes. But Theodosius gave it to the poor, and he dressed himself in rags. The lord gave other clothes, and the young man gave them again, and so repeated several times.

Theodosius began to wear chains - he encircled himself with an iron chain. When he changed clothes for the holiday, so that among other young men to serve at the feast of the nobles, his mother noticed this chain. With anger and beatings, she tore the chains. And the lad humbly went to serve at the feast.

The young man began to think about how to get a haircut as a monk and hide from his mother. When mother Theodosius left for the village, he went to Kiev. The merchants went the same way, and Theodosius secretly followed them. Three weeks later, the young man arrived in Kiev. He went around all the monasteries, but they didn’t accept him anywhere, seeing poor clothes.

Then Theodosius heard of the blessed Anthony living in the cave, and hurried to him. Anthony, experiencing Theodosius, expressed doubt that the young man could endure all hardships. Although Anthony himself perspicaciously saw that it was Theodosius in the future who would arrange a glorious monastery here. Theodosius promised Antony to obey in everything. He allowed the young man to stay. Priest Nikon, who also lived in this cave, tonsured Theodosius and clothed him in monastic clothes.

Devoting himself to God, Theodosius spent days in labor, and nights in prayer. Anthony and Nikon marveled at his humility and firmness of spirit. And the mother, meanwhile, was looking for Theodosius both in her city and in the neighboring ones. She announced that everyone who brings her information about Theodosius will receive a reward. People who saw Theodosius in Kiev told their mother how the young man was looking for a monastery. The woman went to Kiev and went around all the monasteries. She came to the cave of Anthony. When Elder Anthony went out to the woman, she had a lengthy conversation with him, and at the end she mentioned her son.Anthony told her to come the next day to see her son. But Theodosius, despite the entreaties of Anthony, did not want to see his mother. The woman came and began to shout in anger at Anthony: “You have abducted my son ...” Then at last Theodosius went out to his mother. She hugged her son, cried and began to persuade her to return home, because she could not live without him. And Theodosius urged his mother to get a haircut in the convent: then he would see her every day.

Mother at first did not want to hear about it, but in the end she succumbed to the entreaties of her son. She cut her hair at the convent of St. Nicholas, lived for many years in repentance and died. She herself told one of the monks about the life of Theodosius from childhood to the time when he came to the cave.

At first there were three monks in the cave: Anthony, Nikon, and Theodosius. They often came to a noble lad, the son of the first of the princely boyars, John. The young man wanted to become a monk and also settle in a cave. Once he put on rich clothes, mounted his horse and rode to the old man Anthony. In front of the cave, he folded his clothes, put his horse in rich decoration and renounced wealth. The young man begged that Anthony tonsure him. The elder warned the youth of his father's anger. Nevertheless, he tonsured him and called him Varlaam.

Then with the same request came to the cave Skopets, beloved princely servant. He was tonsured and named Ephraim. And Prince Izyaslav was angry at the fact that without his permission she tonsured a monk and a young man. The prince ordered Nikon to convince the new monks to go home, threatening to otherwise fill the cave and imprison the monks.

Then the black men gathered to go to another land. And the wife of Izyaslav began to tell her husband that the departure of the monks threatens the earth with disaster. And the prince forgave the monks, allowing them to return to the cave.

But boyar John, the father of the cut hair, blazing with anger, burst into the cave, tore off monastic clothes from his son, dressed in boyar dress. And since the youth Barlaam resisted, his father ordered his hands to be tied and led through the city. The son, on the way, tore off his rich clothes.

At home, Barlaam did not want to eat food. His wife tried to seduce him, but he only prayed and sat motionless in place for three days. Then the father took pity on his son and allowed him to return to monastic life.

Since then, many came to the holy fathers Anthony and Theodosius, many became Chernets. And Nikon left the cave and settled on the island of Tmutorokansky. Ephraim-Skopets began to live in one of the monasteries of Constantinople, and the other monk, former boyar, on the island, which was later named Boyarov.

Theodosius became a priest. At that time there were already fifteen people of the brethren, while Abbot was Baron. Anthony, loving solitude, dug a cave on another hill and lived in it without leaving anywhere. When Varlaam was transferred by the hegumen to the monastery of St. Dmitry, Theodosius became the new abbot. The number of brothers increased, they did not have enough space in the cave. Then Theodosius near the cave built a church in the name of the Virgin, many cells and surrounded this place with a wall.

Theodosius sent one monk to Constantinople, to Ephraim the Skopje. He rewrote for him the charter of the Studio monastery, and Theodosius in his monastery arranged everything according to this model.

During Lent, Theodosius shut himself in his cave. Here many times demons harmed him, but the saint chased them away with prayer. Even evil spirits mischief in the house where the brethren baked bread. Theodosius went to the bakery and spent the whole night in prayer. After that, demons did not dare to appear there. In the evenings, Theodosius went around all the monastic cells: is anyone busy with empty talk? And in the morning he instructed the guilty.

Princes and boyars often came to the monastery, confessed to the saint. They brought rich gifts. But Prince Izyaslav especially loved Saint Theodosius. Once, the prince arrived at the monastery in the afternoon, when it was ordered not to let anyone in. The gatekeeper did not let the prince go, but went to report to the abbot. Izyaslav was waiting at the gate. Then the abbot himself went out and accepted him.

Barlaam went to Jerusalem.On the way back, he fell ill and died. His body was buried in the monastery of Theodosius. And hegumen of the monastery of St. Dmitry became another monk from the monastery of Theodosius - Isaiah. Nikon returned to the monastery to Theodosius. Hegumen revered him as a father.

Theodosius did not shun any work: he himself helped knead the dough, bake bread. He carried water and chopped firewood. He came to work and church earlier than others and left later than others. He slept sitting and wore a wretched hair shirt.

Once Theodosius came to Prince Izyaslav and stayed late. The prince ordered Theodosius to be taken back in the cart so that he would sleep on the way. The driver, looking at the clothes of Theodosius, thought that he was a poor monk. He asked Theodosius to sit on a horse, and he lay down in a cart and fell asleep. At dawn, the abbot woke him. The charioteer, waking up, was horrified to see that everyone was bowing before Theodosius. Arriving at the monastery, the abbot ordered to feed the driver. The charioteer himself spoke about this incident to the brethren.

Theodosius taught all monks humility and struggle with evil spirits. One of the monks, Hilarion, was harassed by demons every night. He wanted to move to another cell, but St. Theodosius did not allow. When Hilarion was exhausted, Theodosius baptized him and promised that demons would no longer appear. And so it happened.

One evening, an economist entered Theodosius and said that there was nothing to buy food for the brethren. But Theodosius advised him not to care about tomorrow. After some time, the housekeeper came back in and spoke about the same thing, and the abbot answered in the same way. When the housekeeper came out, a certain lad appeared before Saint Theodosius and gave gold. Then the abbot called the housekeeper, told him to buy everything he needed. And the goalkeeper later said that no one entered the monastery at all that night.

Theodosius prayed at night, but pretended to others that he was sleeping. In the monastery there was a monk Damian, who imitated Theodosius in everything and became famous for his holy life. On his deathbed he prayed that God would not part him from Theodosius in the next world either. Then an angel appeared to him in the form of Father Superior Theodosius and said that Damian’s request was heard.

The brotherhood became larger, and St. Theodosius expanded the monastery. When the fence was broken during construction, robbers came to the monastery. They wanted to rob a church. It was a dark night. The robbers approached the temple and heard singing. They thought that the service had not yet ended, but in fact angels sang in the church. Throughout the night, robbers approached the church several times, but each time they saw the light and heard singing. Then the villains decided to attack the fraternity during morning prayers, kill all the monks and seize the church wealth.

But when they ran up, the temple ascended into the air with all those who were in it, who did not even feel anything. The robbers, seeing a miracle, were horrified and returned home. Then the chieftain with three robbers came to Theodosius to repent.

One of Prince Izyaslav’s boyars saw the same miracle: the ascended church, which before his eyes sank to the ground.

Another boyar, preparing for the battle, promised that if he won, he would donate gold and a salary to the icon of the Virgin to the monastery. Then he forgot about this promise, but the voice that came from the icon of the Virgin reminded him. He brought the holy gospel as a gift to the monastery, and the perspicacious Theodosius learned about this before the nobleman showed the gospel.

Prince Izyaslav, dining at the monastery, was surprised: why is the monastery food tastier than expensive dishes at the prince's table? Theodosius explained that in the monastery, a meal is prepared with prayer, with blessing, and the princely servants do everything "quarreling and laughing."

If the abbot found something in the monastery’s cells that wasn’t according to the charter, then he threw it into the furnace. Others, unable to withstand the strictness of the charter, left the monastery. Theodosius mourned and prayed for them until they returned. One monk, who often left the monastery, came and put before Theodosius the money that he had acquired through his labor in the world. The abbot ordered everything to be thrown into the fire.The monk did so and spent the rest of his days in the monastery.

When the robbers who were robbing one of the monastery villages were caught, Theodosius ordered to untie and feed them, and then, having instructed them, he released them in peace. Since then, these villains have no longer been outraged.

Theodosius gave a tenth of the monastery property to the poor. Once, a priest from the city came to the monastery and asked for wine for the liturgy. The saint ordered the sexton to give the priest all the wine, leaving nothing to himself. He did not obey immediately, reluctantly, but that evening three carts arrived in the monastery, in which there were korchans with wine.

Once the abbot ordered to bring to the table some white bread brought by someone. Kelar set them aside the next day. Upon learning of this, Theodosius ordered the bread to be thrown into the water, and imposed penance on the cellar. He did this when something was done without blessing. Already after the death of Theodosius, when Abbot Nikon, the following happened. Kelar lied that he did not have flour for making special white bread with honey. In fact, he set aside flour for later. And when he was about to bake bread from it, then, pouring water on the dough, he discovered a toad defiled by water. I had to throw out the dough.

On the feast of the Assumption, the monastery did not have enough wooden oil for the lamps. The housekeeper suggested using linseed oil. But a dead mouse was in the vessel, and the oil was poured. Theodosius placed his hope in God, and on the same day a certain man brought a tin of wooden oil to the monastery.

When Prince Izyaslav arrived in the monastery, the abbot ordered to prepare dinner for the prince. Kelar said that there is no honey. Theodosius ordered him to see again. Kelar obeyed and found a vessel full of honey.

Theodosius once drove demons out of a barn in a neighboring village, as before from a bakery. And then another miracle happened with flour. The senior baker said that there was no flour left, but through the prayers of St. Theodosius he found the bun full.

One person was shown in a vision the place where the brethren of the monastery subsequently moved. The arc of fire rested at one end at that place, and the other at the existing monastery. Others saw at night a procession going to the place of the future monastery. In fact, the procession was not people but angels.

Theodosius often argued about Christ with the Jews, wanting to convert them to Orthodoxy. The igumen’s prayer protected the monastic possessions from all harm.

At that time, the two princes went to war against Izyaslav and drove him out. Svyatoslav became the Kiev prince. Arriving in the city, he invited Theodosius to a feast, but he refused, and instead began to denounce the prince in his unrighteous act with his brother, Izyaslav. Theodosius wrote an accusatory letter to Svyatoslav. Having read, he became furious. Many feared that the prince would imprison Theodosius, and begged the saint to stop exposing, but he did not agree. However, the prince, although angry, did not dare to cause harm to the abbot Theodosius. And he, seeing that the conviction did not achieve anything, left Svyatoslav alone. Upon learning that the wrath of Theodosius had subsided, the prince came to him in a monastery. The saint taught the prince about brotherly love. And he laid all the blame on his brother and did not want to put up. But Theodosius he listened to attention. The abbot also began to visit the prince. Svyatoslav, out of respect for the saint, stopped worldly music when Theodosius appeared. The prince was glad every time the abbot came, but did not want to return the throne to his brother. And in the monastery the brethren prayed for Izyaslav as for the prince of Kiev.

Theodosius planned to move to a new place and create a large stone church in the name of the Virgin. Prince Svyatoslav himself was the first to dig land for construction. St. Theodosius did not finish this work during his lifetime, the church was completed under the abbess Stephen.

Many scoffed at the dilapidated clothing of Theodosius. Many, seeing him, mistook him not for the abbot, but for the cook. Theodosius himself sometimes humbly hid his name from those who came and at the same time helped everyone: once he helped a woman who was offended by a judge.

Saint Theodosius knew in advance the day of his death.He called the monks, instructed them, and then he let go and began to pray. After three days of serious illness, he reunited the brethren and ordered her to elect a new abbot. The monks were saddened. They elected Stephen the abbot of the church regent, Theodosius blessed him and made him hegumen. He called the day of his death - Saturday.

When Saturday arrived, the Monk Theodosius said goodbye to the weeping brotherhood. He commanded that no one but the monks themselves should bury him. Then the saint let everyone go and died with prayer on his lips.

At this time, Prince Svyatoslav saw a pillar of fire over the monastery and realized that Theodosius had died. But no one else saw this. However, many people came to the monastery, as if somehow miraculously learned of the death of a saint. The fraternity for the pearl of the gate and waited for the people to disperse. It began to rain, people scattered, and immediately the sun shone. The monks buried the body of Theodosius in a cave.

Theodosius died in 1074, May 3.