Gabriel of Bezhetsk

Blessed Gabriel of Bezhetsk (†1856) was a fool for Christ in the town of Bezhetsk, in the Tver region. He is venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.

The sources about him are the life of Hieromonk Adrian of Yuga, whose death he foretold, and the oral traditions of the people of Bezhetsk. In Adrian's life the surname is Ryzhenkov, while on the gravestone beside the cemetery Transfiguration church stands another name, Sapozhilov, together with the year of his death and a text from the First Epistle to the Corinthians: "If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise." According to tradition, Gabriel was a rich merchant who gave his wealth to the poor and took on the feat of folly for Christ. Many pilgrims are healed of illnesses at his grave. The community of the Transfiguration church is gathering materials for his canonization.