Nikephoros Alfanov

Holy Venerable Nikephoros Alfanov was one of five Alfanov brothers, also called Sokolnitsky, who lived in Novgorod in the fourteenth century.

The brothers Nikita, Cyril, Nikephoros, Clement and Isaac Alfanov led a righteous life and founded the Sokolnitsky monastery. The chronicles say that in 1389 they raised, on Falcon Hill, a wooden church of Saint Nicholas and set up the monastery. The family was related to Jacob Anfal, or Alfan, known from the chronicles, who fled to the Dvina to escape persecution over ties with Moscow. Because of this kinship the brothers had to endure troubles, and through innocent suffering they were purified for eternity.

A Tale about the holy brothers describes the miracles worked by their relics after their death. A fire destroyed the Sokolnitsky monastery, and on 4 May 1775 their relics were moved to the Saint Anthony Monastery. Their memory was set on 4 May (in the old style) and on the third Sunday after Pentecost, in the Synaxis of the Saints of Novgorod. The page now gives 17 May and 11 July, in the new style.