3 May

It’s the feast day of Theodosius of the Caves, an 11th-century Ukrainian saint who brought Cenobitic Monasticism to Kievan Rus' and, together with Anthony of Kiev, founded the Kiev Caves Lavra (Monastery of the Caves).

"When Theodosius took over in the monastery, he began to practice abstinence, fasting, and tearful prayer...He also interested himself in searching out monastic rules. There was in Kiev at the time a monk named Michael, who had come from Greece...Theodosius inquired of him the practices of the Studite monks. He obtained their rule from him, copied it out, and established it in his own monastery to govern the chanting of monastic hymns, in making reverences, reading of the lessons, behavior in church, the whole ritual, conduct at the table, proper food for special days, and to regulate all else according to prescription.”

Above: 17 century icon of St. Theodosius.