Venerable Theophilos and Jacob, wonderworkers of Omuch

Commemorated on December 29.

It is not known where or when Saints Theophilos and Jacob were born, but they spent some time on the island of Konevets with Saint Arsenios of Konevets (June 12), and perhaps it was there that they began their monastic labors.

Then, in 1395 or 1396, both ascetics left Konevets and crossed the Omuch River. There in Demyansk county, 65 versts from the city of Porkhov, they established a Hermitage in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God. It appears that Saint Theophilos, the founder of the monastery, was highly revered, because it was known as the Theophilos Hermitage, but it was Elder Jacob who put it in order. The monastery dates from the beginning of the XV century, around 1412.

Saint Theophilos reposed on December 29, 1412, and was buried in the wooden church of the Dormition. We do not know when Saint Jacob went to the Lord, nor the specific place where he was buried.

Saints Theophilos and Jacob are commemorated together on October 21. They are also commemorated on the Synaxis of the Saints of Novgorod, Saint Petersburg, and Ladoga (the third Sunday of Pentecost).

The holy relics of these God-pleasers have rested in the church of the Dormition of the Mother of God ever since the parish was founded in 1764.