Dionysius, Metropolitan of Kiev

Who was Dionysius, Metropolitan of Kiev?

Saint Dionysius I; baptismal name: David was a Russian Orthodox metropolitan in 1384–1385.

As a young man David entered the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he was tonsured a monk and given the religious name Dionysius. He is known to have spent a number of years living in a cave that he dug out himself on the banks of the Volga River not far from Nizhny Novgorod. Later, Dionysius founded the Pechersky Monastery on that same spot, which was dedicated in honour of the Ascension of the Lord. In 1374, he was consecrated the Bishop of Suzdal and won love and respect on the part of the locals.

In 1378, Dionysius was recommended as Metropolitan of Moscow by St. Sergius of Radonezh after the death of Metropolitan Alexius. However, Grand Prince Dmitri Donskoi had his own candidate – a priest by the name of Mikhail. Dionysius was one of a number of bishops at the council who opposed Mikhail, who was suspected of heresy. If elected, Mikhail wanted to introduce a new way of enthroning the Metropolitan at home, in Russia, rather than traveling to Constantinople to be installed by the Ecumenical Patriarch.