Saint Elisei Sumsky

Saint Elisha of Suma (Yelisey Sumsky) was a venerable monk of the Russian Orthodox Church who lived in the 15th century in the village of Suma (now Sumsky Posad in the Republic of Karelia) and received the tonsure at the Solovetsky Monastery. Little is known about Elisha's life. It is mentioned in the Life of the venerable Zosimas and Sabbatius of Solovki in connection with the miracle of a certain monk named Elisha. With the blessing of his abbot, he lived by fishing alongside four other elder monks on the banks of the Vyg River, near the village of Zolotets, 60 versts from the monastery. Sensing his end was near, he wished to take the Great Schema. The nearest hieromonk was 70 versts away in Suma (3 kilometers from Onega Bay), where Elisha traveled by water accompanied by the elders. He was added to the list of local saints in the 18th century. His body is buried under the altar of Saint Nicholas Church in Suma. His feast day is observed on June 14 in the Julian calendar, or June 27 in the Gregorian calendar. A church dedicated to Saint Elisha of Suma was built in Sumsky Posad. In July 1929, Elisha's remains were seized by local communist authorities to prevent public veneration and were placed in the collections of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia. They were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990, which placed them in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Petrozavodsk.