Ioannicius Averkiev

Venerable Ioannicius (Averkiev), in the world Trofim Nikitich Averkiev, was a hieromonk of the Holy Mountains Lavra in Ukraine and is venerated as a local saint of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. He was born in 1823 into a family of state peasants in the Livny district of the Oryol province, and departed to the Lord in 1882.

At sixteen he began to ask his parents to bless him to enter a monastery. Receiving no permission, he secretly left home for the Transfiguration monastery of Tolshevo in the Voronezh province. After three months his father found him in the monastery and took him home by force. After his father's death, his mother gave him her blessing to enter a monastery.

On 10 October 1845 he arrived at the Holy Mountains, where he became cell attendant to the hieromonk Theodosius, the confessor of the brethren. On 24 March 1850 he was tonsured a rassophore with the name Timon and received the obedience of cave-⁠keeper, serving Venerable John the Recluse in his cave. On 2 April 1854 he was tonsured into the mantle with the name Ioannicius, and on 16 August 1857 he was ordained hierodeacon. Later he was assigned to the skete of Saint Arsenius the Great. Through excessive labours he fell ill and spent nearly half a year in the monastery infirmary, and after recovering he remained in weak health.

On 14 August 1864 he was ordained hieromonk and appointed confessor of the pilgrims. He was often sent to the surrounding villages for various services and read prayers of deliverance over those troubled by evil spirits. His free time he devoted to prayer and reading. Before his death he suffered gravely from inflammation of the lungs. He was buried beside the underground church of Saints Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves.

On 8 May 2008 the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church decided on his local canonization in the diocese of Donetsk, in the Synaxis of the Saints of the Holy Mountains. The glorification service took place on 12 July 2008, during the visit of Metropolitan Volodymyr of Kyiv and All Ukraine to the Lavra, in the Dormition cathedral. He is venerated locally.