Latest / Saints and Scripture / Venerable Tryphon, Abbot of Vyatka: A Life of Faith and Monastic Dedication

Transcript

Venerable Tryphon, Abbot of Vyatka: A Life of Faith and Monastic Dedication · Saints and Scripture

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Saints in Scripture Podcast.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Today is Thursday, October 8th, 2026.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Today we remember venerable Trifon, Archimandrite of Vyatka.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: He was born in the middle of the sixteenth century in a remote northern province of Russia, in a village called Malaya Nemushka.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: His parents were wealthy peasants named Demetrios and Pelagia.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: At his baptism he was given the name Trophimos.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: After his father died young, Trophimos was obedient to his mother and older brothers.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: When he grew up, his family wanted him to marry, but from his youth he desired to live as a monk.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: So he left home and went to the city of Orlov, where he lived under the guidance of a pious priest named John.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Later he lived near a church in the town of Orletsa, enduring hunger and cold.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: From there he moved to the Holy Transfiguration Monastery at Pishkor on the Kama River.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: At age twenty two, he was tonsured a monk by Father Varlam and given the name Trifon.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Trifon was very devoted.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: He never missed a church service and worked in the monastery bakery.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: His ascetic struggles made him very ill, and while unconscious he saw an angel who wanted to take him to heaven.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But a voice told the angel to leave him on earth.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: When he woke he saw Saint Nicholas standing by his bedside.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Nicholas healed him and encouraged him to continue his spiritual efforts.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Wanting to avoid human glory, Father Trifon left the monastery secretly to find solitude.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: He settled near the Molyanka River where the city of Perm now stands.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: There he converted the local pagan peoples, the Ostiaks and Voguli to Christianity.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Later he founded a monastery dedicated to the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Chusova River.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: In 1580, Saint Trifon arrived in the city of Kinov in the Vyatka Diocese.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: He founded another monastery there, also dedicated to the Dormition, and was made Archimandrite, the monastery's leader.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: He was a strict ascetic, wearing a hair shirt and heavy chains.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: His soul longed to bring the light of faith to those who had not yet known Christ.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Before he died, Saint Trifon wrote a last testament to his brothers in the monastery.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: He urged them to love one another, quoting Christ's command to love one another, and the apostle Paul's words to bear one another's burdens.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: He warned against condemning each other and encouraged prayer, reverence, and faithful participation in church singing.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Triphon's founding of the Vyatka monastery was a fulfillment of a wish the citizens had, though they did not tell him at first.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: When their zeal cooled, the city was chastened with rain for weeks.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: The most holy Theotokos appeared to a pious citizen and commanded that they keep their promise to support the monastery.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: The monastery was completed and dedicated to the Dormition, with Saint Trifon as its first Archumendrite.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: He travelled to Moscow and Kazan on monastery business, and foretold to Metropolitan Germages that he would become patriarch and suffer a martyr's death.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Near the end of his life, Saint Trifon faced sorrow.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Some monks, unhappy with his strict rule, rebelled against him.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: His beloved disciple Jonah led this rebellion, and Saint Trifon was deposed and expelled.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Trifon traveled through various cities and monasteries, holding cross processions and giving alms.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: In the town of Slobodsk, he founded the Theophany Monastery.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: When he became ill, he returned to Vyatka, wishing to die in his own monastery.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Deacon Maximus found him sick on a boat.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Archimandrite Jonah repented and asked Saint Trifon to return.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: The saint was joyful and forgave Jonah, saying, May God forgive you, my child Jonah.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: The ancient enemy of our salvation is to blame for everything.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Trifon peacefully reposed on October 8, 1612, and was buried with great honor in the Vyatka monastery.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: His relics were found incorrupt in 1648.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: There is a special service and a cathodist in his honor.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Saint Trifon's life reminds us of the power of faith, humility, and forgiveness.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: May we be inspired by his example to love one another and remain steadfast in our spiritual journey.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Lord help us to love one another as you have commanded.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Give us strength to bear each other's burdens and to live in peace.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Guide us in our prayers and keep us faithful to your church.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, amen.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Lord help us to love one another as you have commanded.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Give us strength to bear each other's burdens and to live in peace.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Guide us in our prayers and keep us faithful to your church.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, amen.