Saint Cornelius Perejasławski

Cornelius of Pereslavl, born Konon, was a saintly monk of the Russian Orthodox Church. He came from a merchant family in Ryazan. In his youth, he ran away from home to become a spiritual disciple of Elder Paul, a monk at the Lukyanov Hermitage near Pereslavl-Zalessky. He subsequently moved to the Saints Boris and Gleb Monastery in the same city. After serving as a novice for five years, he took his perpetual vows and received the name Cornelius. He then asked his superior for a blessing to live in complete solitude as a recluse. With the abbot's permission, he began this life of prayer and constant fasting. This severely affected his health; upon his recovery, the abbot ordered him to live in the monastery alongside the other monks. Cornelius then took on the duties of bell-ringer and cook, and also worked in the monastery orchard. Throughout this time, he maintained complete silence, leading the other monks to believe he was deaf and mute. On June 22, 1693, shortly before his death, he took the vows of the Great Schema. He was buried in one of the monastery chapels. Nine years later, the monks reportedly discovered that his body had remained incorrupt. He was canonized in 1705 at the initiative of Demetrius, Bishop of Yaroslavl and Rostov.