Biography
Tikhon of Kaluga
About Tikhon of Kaluga
Tikhon entered monastic life while young at the Chudov monastery in Moscow. He later sought solitude in the woods near Maloyaroslavets, beside the Vepreika River, where the church tradition says he lived in a hollow oak. His secluded dwelling became the setting for an encounter with Prince Basil Yaroslavich during a hunt.
According to the story, the prince raised a whip against the hermit but found his hand suddenly powerless. After repenting, he received healing and promised help in establishing a monastery. The incident is preserved as a miracle narrative, not an independently verified medical event. Tikhon became abbot of the resulting Dormition community, continuing there into old age. He received the great schema before his death in 1492. The notice records his burial in the monastery’s cathedral and an established local veneration by 1584.
Wondering how to weigh the stories and sources? Learn how to read a saint biography.