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| St. Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov (Feast Day - February 1) |
Saint Tryphon was abbot of Moscow’s Novospassky Monastery from 1453 to 1462 and was confessor to Great Prince Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark. On May 23, 1462 he was consecrated as Bishop of Rostov and Yaroslavl by Metropolitan Theodosius of Moscow, and was then elevated to the rank of Archbishop.
Archbishop Tryphon was a witness of a significant event in the life of the city of Yaroslavl - the discovery of the relics of the Holy Noble Prince Theodore Rostislavich (+ 1298) and his sons David and Constantine. This took place on March 5, 1463. The chronicler, an eyewitness to the event, recorded under that year: “At the city of Yaroslavl in the Monastery of the Holy Savior they unearthed three Great Princes: Prince Theodore Rostislavich and his sons David and Constantine, and brought them above the ground. Great Prince Theodore was a man of great stature, and they placed his sons David and Constantine beside him. Their stature was less than his. They had lain in a single grave.” The bodies of these righteous people, for some inexplicable reason, remained hidden under the earth for more than a hundred years, and the coffins were in a crypt under the church. Archimandrite Christopher began to petition the prince for permission to bury the late princes and received permission to do so. But during the ceremonial funeral service that preceded the burial, two people were healed in front of everyone, and soon after, two women saw a vision of them while praying at their tombs. The relics were transferred to the church and made known the incident in Rostov. Archbishop Tryphon did not consider it necessary to go personally to Yaroslavl, but sent there to testify of the relics his archpriest Constantine, a proud and arrogant man. Having no firm faith about the miracles that had happened, the archpriest shouted at the archimandrite of the monastery and so rudely and roughly began to examine the relics that he tore off the schematic analogue on Prince Theodor Rostislavich. For this, he was immediately punished with a disease. When the news of this reached Rostov, Archbishop Tryphon himself felt relaxed for his unbelief. The archpriest loudly repented with tears for his lack of faith and ordered to immediately be taken to Yaroslavl, where he received healing. He made a rich contribution to the monastery and no longer wished to return to his department, but spent the rest of his days at the tomb of the wonderworkers.
On August 6, 1467 Saint Tryphon retired to the Savior Monastery in Yaroslavl, where he died on December 30, 1468 (certain local documents indicate the year 1466). His commemoration was transferred to February 1, it seems, so that he would be honored with his namesake Saint Tryphon of Lampsacus. He is buried in a chapel in his name next to the church of the monastery.
