Saint Kuksha of Odessa

Kuksha of Odessa, born Kuzma Kirillovich Velichko (25 January [O.S. January 12] 1875 in Arbuzynka, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire – 24 December 1964 in Odessa, USSR), was an imperial Russian priest and a Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) saint who was canonized in 1995. Kosma Velitchko was born on 12 January 1875 in the village of Arbuzynka in the Nikolaev Province of the Kherson Governorate to Kirill and Kharitina Velitchko. Although his mother dreamed of becoming a nun in her youth, she married to obey her parents. She had two more sons—Theodore (Fedor) and John (Ivan)—and a daughter, Maria, hoping that one of her children would enter the monastic life. During his youth, Velitchko walked to the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, the far-northern Valaam and Solovki monasteries, and Jerusalem and the Holy Land in 1895. He lived in Jerusalem for six months, and visited all of Palestine's sacred places. On his way back, Velitchko visited Mount Athos. Before leaving the mountain, the pilgrims went to the archimandrite of Saint Panteleimon monastery for a blessing and Velitchko expressed his desire to join the monks there. The archimandrite told him to return after a year, and gave him a small icon of Saint Panteleimon (the monastery's patron saint). Velitchko kept it for his entire life. Velitchko arrived at Athos (with his parents’ blessing) in 1896, became a novice at Saint Panteleimon Monastery and was placed in charge of altar offerings (prosphoras). He visited Jerusalem again with his mother in 1897. Two events occurred in Jerusalem. Pilgrims unable to have children tried to bathe first at the Siloam baths, so God would grant them children. Velitchko fell into the water, to the amusement of the people who began saying that he would have many children. The second event occurred when he visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where pilgrims wanted to anoint themselves with oil from the lamps.