Venerable Nilus of Sora

Nilus of Sora (also Nil Sorsky or Nil Sorski; Russian: Нил Сорский; secular name: Nikolai Maikov; Russian: Николай Майков; c. 1433 – 7 May 1508) was a Russian Orthodox monk, spiritual writer, theologian, and the founder of the Sora Hermitage. He is best known as the founder of a tendency in the Russian Orthodox Church known as the non-possessors (nestyazhateli) which opposed ecclesiastic landownership. The Russian Orthodox Church venerates Nilus as a saint, marking his feast day on the anniversary of his repose on 7 May. Nilus of Sora, a great ascetic of the Russian Church, was born in 1433, and descended from the Maikov nobility. Before becoming a monk, Nilus of Sora worked as a scribe and was engaged in book copying. He also journeyed to Palestine and Greece early in his life and was acquainted there with the Hesychast movement. Later in his life, he took monastic vows at the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, which had been known for its hostile stance towards monastic landownership. The founder of the monastery, Cyril of Beloozero, was himself known for rejecting villages that had been offered to him by devout nobles. Kirill's followers adopted his ways and would later become known as the startsy from out the Volga with Nilus of Sora as their leader. Soon, he went on a journey to the Holy Land and visited Palestine, Constantinople, and Mount Athos, acquainting himself with a mystical doctrine of Hesychasm and reading patristic literature. Upon his return to Russia sometime between 1473 and 1489, Nilus of Sora founded a cloister on the Sora River not far from the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, where he would settle down with his followers. He wrote extensively. This travelling to the holy places made a great impression upon him and changed all his individuality. Solitude, isolation, oblivion of the world became the main features of his character. Nilus of Sora was involved in the Novgorod heresy affair, which had stirred a lot of minds in Russia at that time.