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Arsenius the Lover of Labor of the Kiev Caves

Portrait of Arsenius the Lover of Labor of the Kiev Caves

About Arsenius the Lover of Labor of the Kiev Caves

Arsenius is remembered as a fourteenth-century monk of the Kiev Caves monastery dedicated to the Dormition of Mary. The Orthodox Church in America's notice explains his epithet, Lover of Labor, through his dedication to work and unceasing prayer. It also describes a strict fast in which he ate only after sunset. The account attributes miracles to him and associates his remembrance with the fathers of the Far Caves. These details form a received monastic portrait, rather than a dated record of separate life events. No family history, exact birth or death year, or circumstances of death are supplied.

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