Saint Saint Procopius of Sázava

Saint Procopius of Sázava (Latin: Procopius Sazavensis, Czech: Prokop Sázavský; died 25 March 1053) was a Czech Christian canon and hermit, who is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic church. Little about his life is known with certainty. According to hagiographical tradition, he was born in 970, in a Central Bohemian village of Chotouň near Kouřim. He studied in Prague and was ordained there. He was married and had a son, called Jimram (Emmeram), but later entered the Benedictine order, presumably at Břevnov Monastery, and eventually retired to the wilderness as a hermit, living in a cave on the banks of Sázava River, where over time he attracted a group of fellow hermits. The community of hermits was incorporated as a Benedictine monastery by the duke of Bohemia in 1032/3, now known as Sázava Monastery, or St Procopius Monastery, where he served as the first abbot for the span of twenty years until his death. Local veneration of Procopius as a saint is recorded for the 12th century when the first biography Vita minor has been written. He was first canonized by the Roman Catholic church in 1204; however, there is still much debate on how his canonization was performed. It is stated that Pope Innocent III canonized him in 1204 or that during a liturgical elevation and translation of his body to the altar in Sázava his canonization took place. This was at that time the equivalent to canonization After his canonization, he became greatly venerated throughout Bohemia, to the point of his being considered the national saint of the Kingdom of Bohemia. His life and wonders were described by the Vita antiqua from the second half of the 13th century, and Vita maior from the 14th century. His remains were transferred to All Saints Church in Prague Castle in 1588.