Early Life
The date of his birth is unclear: it could be 1314, 1319, or 1322. As his medieval Life states, he was born to a boyar family near Rostov Velikiy, where Varnitsy Monastery now stands. He was originally baptized with the name Bartholomew (Варфоломе́й Varfolomei in Russian). His parents Kirill and Maria became impoverished and moved to Radonezh together with their three sons: Stefan, Bartholomew and Peter. Although an intelligent boy, Bartholomew had great difficulty learning to read. His Life states that a starets (spiritual elder) met him one day and gave him a piece of prosphora (holy bread) to eat, and from that day forward he was able to read. Orthodox Christians interpret the incident as being an angelic visitation.
Read more about this topic: Sergius Of Radonezh
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