Our Venerable Father Barlaam of Serpukhov, Builder and First Abbot of the Vladychny Monastery
Life
Barlaam of Serpukhov was a fourteenth-century Russian monastic associated with the foundation of the Vladychny Monastery at Serpukhov, in present-day Moscow Oblast. He is remembered as a disciple of Saint Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, who is credited in the liturgical tradition with guiding Barlaam in the monastic life.
Few biographical details of Barlaam survive. Tradition holds that he became the builder and first abbot of the monastery established at Serpukhov in 1360, a community later dedicated to the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. The Orthodox Church in America commemorates him on May 5.
Contributions & Legacy
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Foundation of the Vladychny Monastery
The Vladychny Monastery was founded in 1360 through the efforts of Saint Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow, under the patronage of Prince Vladimir the Bold. It stands at Serpukhov, near the confluence of the Nara and Oka rivers in what is now Moscow Oblast.
Barlaam is identified in the tradition as the builder and first abbot of this community. According to the liturgical texts commemorating him, he founded a monastery dedicated to the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple and served as an instructor of monastics. The principal cathedral bearing this dedication was later rebuilt in limestone during the reign of Boris Godunov.
Relics & Shrines
Barlaam's relics are kept at the Vladychny Monastery, housed within the main cathedral. The kontakion appointed for his commemoration describes his relics as hidden, while honoring him as a source of miracles and healings for the faithful who keep his memory.
The monastic community at Serpukhov continued through the centuries and was re-established as a convent in 1806, when Metropolitan Platon obtained permission to settle nuns there. Several of its churches survive from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
