It is not known when exactly Saint Gregory of the Kiev Caves lived, but possibly, in the 14th century. Through a pious life of prayer and fasting, Saint Gregory received the gift of healing. He ate only raw vegetables and herbs, and spent nights in prayer. The sick who came to him, ate his food, and by the prayers of Saint Gregory, God granted them healing. Not much else is known about the saint, except that a medical examination of his relics revealed that he was approximately between 40 and 50 years old when he reposed. In other words, it does not appear that he died of old age. The saint’s holy relics rest in the Far Caves, or those of Saint Theodosius.
In the Near Caves, or those of Saint Anthony, there rest the holy relics of another Saint Gregory whose memory is also celebrated on this day. Saint Gregory of the Near Caves lived in the 11th century and died in the year 1093. Gregory received instruction in monastic living from Saint Theodosius, one of the founders of the coenobium in the Kiev Caves. By the fervent prayers of Saint Gregory, demons were cast out. Because of this gift, Saint Gregory is called a miracle-worker in the Paterikon of the Kiev Caves.
The story of the death of Saint Gregory raises more questions than provides answers. According to the hagiography, Saint Gregory was getting water from the Dnieper River when Prince Rostislav, the youngest brother of Grand Prince Vladimir Monomachos, was passing by with his retinue on his way to the monastery. The prince intended to receive a blessing before a battle against the Cumans. It is not entirely clear what happened at the river, but it appears that some of the warriors may have said something offensive to the monk. In turn, Saint Gregory predicted that the prince and his retinue would drown in a river. Perhaps, the words came across as other-than-dignified, or perhaps, the prince understood them to be a curse, rather than a foretelling of the future - it is impossible to know, but Rostislav ordered that Gregory be tied up with a stone around his neck and thrown into the river.
The prince decided not to go to the monastery after killing one of the monks and continued to the battle without a blessing. He and his retinue were indeed defeated by the Cumans near Tripolye (present-day Ukrainian name Trypillya) and drowned in the Stugna River. Saint Gregory’s body, still tied up and with a stone around his neck, was found by other monks in the saint’s cell two days later. His incorrupt relics rest in the Near Caves. A medical examinations reveled that he was between 50 and 60 years old at the time of his death and had several broken ribs.
Sadly, this was not the only time that the monks of the Kiev Caves Monastery suffered the wrath of a Rus prince. Those were violent times, and those were violent people.
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