Barsanuphius of Tver

Venerable Barsanuphius of Tver was hegumen of the Savva-⁠Presentation Monastery near Tver. Almost no information has been preserved about his childhood and life in the world. His commemoration is on 2 March and in the Synaxis of the Saints of Tver.

Barsanuphius was set as hegumen of the Savva-⁠Presentation Monastery by the head of the monastery, Savva of Vishera, when the latter decided to leave the monastery to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain. Barsanuphius governed the monastery about five years, after which, seeking solitude, he withdrew into the wilderness, leaving the abbacy to his closest companion, Savva, since he was pure from his mother's womb and worthy of such grace. Savva was abbot of the monastery for another half century.

In hermit life Barsanuphius of Tver lived about forty years, and according to the words of Joseph of Volokolamsk, which have reached us, in all these years he had no other business than to pray, sing and read books. He took books from lovers of Christ and, after reading them, returned them, then took others elsewhere. The blessed one had nothing, not even a copper coin, for he loved poverty and freedom from possessions. For his long attention to himself, silence, prayer and reading of holy books, he received such grace that he knew all Holy Scripture by heart and freely passed it on to anyone who needed it. Many monks and noble lay people came to him from everywhere, some for spiritual profit, others asking the explanation of some passage of Scripture. Even the metropolitan of all Rus, Photius, from time to time sent to him, asking him to give an explanation of an obscure saying of Holy Scripture about which he had had a dispute with someone.

According to a legend, one of the monks of the monastery tried, out of desire for gain, to steal books from Barsanuphius's cell (which then cost very much), but fell dead at the exit when he tried to carry them out. The venerable one, by the help of prayers, managed to bring the erring man back to life, and the one thus raised served the monastery and its hegumen faithfully and honestly until the end of his life. Just before his death, Barsanuphius returned to the Savva Monastery, to his friend Savva, where he died, according to the source in the middle of the thirteenth century, which does not agree with the mention of Metropolitan Photius, of the fifteenth century.