Artemius of Verkola
Artemius of Verkola | |
|---|---|
 Russian hagiographic icon, 17th century | |
| Born | 1532 Verkola, Russia |
| Died | 23 June 1545 Verkola, Russia |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | c. 1619 by Russian Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 23 June |
| Patronage | Seriously ill; eye diseases; sick children; Verkola |
Artemius of Verkola (Russian: Артемий Веркольский, romanized: Artemy Verkolsky; 1532 – 23 June 1545) is a Russian child saint venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Life
Artemius was born in 1532 in the village of Verkola in the Russian North (now Pinezhsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast).[1] His family were peasants.[1] His father's name was Kosma, nicknamed Maly (lit. 'the small [one]'); his mother was named Apollinaria.[1] In addition, according to legend, the sister of Artemius was the righteous maiden Paraskeva of Pirinem, who was also famous for posthumous miracles.[1] Nothing is known about Artemius' life, except for his rejection of children's games, meekness, good faith, obedience to his parents, and diligence, as noted in his Life.
On 23 June 1545, when Artemius was 12 years old, the boy was harrowing a field with his father. At that time, a strong thunderstorm began, lightning struck and Artemius fell dead.[1] The superstitious villagers of Verkola considered the unexpected death of the boy a punishment for some secret sins, so they left his body in the forest without funeral service and burial, barely covered with brushwood and birch bark and fenced.[1] According to folk belief, the burial of those who died from a thunderstorm in a common cemetery could bring misfortune to the inhabitants of the village. Archaeological excavations have shown that in the 16th century, not far from Verkola, there was a cemetery of the mortgaged dead buried in a log cabin.
Finding relics and veneration
35 years after his death, in 1577, a local deacon named Agafonik saw a light emanating from the boy's resting place and discovered the boy's body showed no sign of decay.[1] Miracles of healing happened to people who venerated the boy's relics and he was proclaimed a saint.[2] The canonization of the saint took place around 1619, when the Life of the saint was completed.[1]
In 1648, by order of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich of Russia, the St. Artemius of Verkola Monastery was founded, and the relics of the saint were moved to the monastery on 17 November.[1] The monastery was later closed in 1919 following the October Revolution and the relics were hidden in 1920.[1] Services resumed in 1990.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Romanenko & Salnikov 2001, p. 463.
- ^ "Saint Artemy of Verkola". www.roca.org. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
Literature
- Дмитриев, Лев (1973). Житийные повести русского Севера как памятники литературы XIII–XVII веков. Эволюция жанра легендарно-биографических сказаний (6850 экз ed.). Ленинград: Наука. pp. 249–261.
- Рыжова, Елена (2003). "Севернорусская агиография в контексте традиционной народной культуры ("Почему убитые громом – святые")". Локальные традиции в народной культуре Русского севера (Материалы IV научной конференции «Рябининские чтения-2003) (сборник) (in Russian). 4 (2 (10)). Петрозаводск: 22–26.
- Romanenko, Ye. V.; Salnikov, A. K. (2001). "Артемий Веркольский". Православная энциклопедия — Т. III: Анфимий — Афанасий. Moskva: Православная энциклопедия. pp. 463–465. ISBN 5-89572-008-0.
- Савельева Н. В. (2010). Сказания XVII века о святых и подвижниках Русского Севера: Пинега и Мезень. Древнерусские сказания о достопамятных людях, местах и событиях. СПб.: Издательство Олега Абышко. ISBN 978-5-903525-41-6 – via Отв. ред. серии Г. М. Прохоров.