Biography
Hilarion the Schemamonk of the Kiev Caves
About Hilarion the Schemamonk of the Kiev Caves
Hilarion is remembered as an eleventh-century monk, disciple, and fellow ascetic of Theodosius at the Kiev Caves. The Orthodox Church in America's notice describes strict fasting and prolonged prayer. It also preserves a concrete picture of his work: Hilarion copied books in his teacher's cell while Theodosius chanted psalms and spun wool. The notice calls him a chronicler and places literary work alongside the community's prayer and manual labor. It does not identify a particular surviving manuscript as his or supply exact life dates. These limited personal details support a short account of his place in the monastery, rather than a reconstructed history of his childhood or later career.
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