Jacob the Worthy of Slatina

Jacob, called the Worthy, was a hieromonk and the first abbot of Slatina Monastery, from 1558 to 1572, confessor of Prince Alexander Lăpușneanu. He passed to the Lord in 1572. He is named in the Romanian Paterikon and venerated by the faithful, without synodal canonization.

He came from Neamț Monastery, where he was a known confessor. When Alexander Lăpușneanu began to build Slatina, at the urging of the hermit Pachomius, the work was entrusted to him. In 1558 he became spiritual father of the monastery and supervised the construction skilfully. On 3 September 1559 the church was consecrated in the presence of the founder and tens of thousands of faithful, and Jacob became secret counsellor and confessor of the princely family.

During the fifteen years he led Slatina he formed a community of more than sixty monks: schemamonks who practised the Jesus Prayer, confessors, teachers of Greek and Slavonic, chroniclers and calligraphers. Under his supervision many philokalic and liturgical books were copied, pages of the chronicle of Moldavia were written and hundreds of young men were trained for village priesthood. Hesychast life flourished around the monastery, where dozens of Pachomius's disciples lived, whom the abbot supported. He adorned the church with princely treasures, built cells and endowed the monastery with gifts. The people called him the Worthy, for his wisdom, fear of God and boldness before danger.

He urged the prince to build other holy places, in the country and on Athos. By his counsel the monasteries of Bistrița, Tazlău, Bogdana-⁠Rădăuți, Saint Demetrius in Suceava and several Athonite houses were renewed, among them Dochiariou, rebuilt entirely. Seeing the prince's end near, he advised him to receive the monastic schema; in 1568 he tonsured him at Slatina with the name Pachomius. The prince died soon after, and Jacob buried him in the church, together with Lady Roxandra and their sons. He himself passed to the Lord in 1572.