Church of Saint Stephen of Perm in Yuzhnoe Butovo
Stephen of Perm (ca. 1340, Veliky Ustyug – April 26, 1396, Moscow) was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, an outstanding missionary and baptizer of the Komi region. After taking monastic vows at the Monastery of Gregory the Theologian in Rostov, he diligently studied the Greek language to read the Holy Scriptures and the works of the Church Fathers in the original. In the late 1370s, he was ordained a priest in Moscow, and in 1379, he led a mission to the Perm lands, carrying a protective charter from Grand Prince Dmitry Ivanovich of Moscow.In 1383, his efforts culminated in the establishment of the Perm Eparchy, of which he became the first bishop. A crucial aspect of his work was preaching Christianity in the Komi language. To this end, Stephen created the Old Permic alphabet of 24 letters, drawing from Ancient Greek and Old Church Slavonic scripts as well as Komi-Zyrian clan symbols known as “pasy.” He translated liturgical books into this language, built churches-the first of which was consecrated in honor of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Vym River-and founded several monasteries for the Zyrians. According to tradition, he is also the author of the “Zyrian Trinity” icon, inscribed in Old Permic script. He died in Moscow while attending to eparchial matters and was buried there. The Russian Orthodox Church venerates him as a hierarch (svyatitel), commemorating his memory on April 26 (May 9). His canonization took place at the Macarius Council of 1549.His legacy continues: on September 28, 2011, the foundation stone for a church in his honor was consecrated, and the church itself was consecrated with a minor rite on October 1, 2013. Later, on September 19, 2018, a side altar in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh was consecrated within it, and on March 31, 2019, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill performed the great consecration of the church.The church actively conducts missionary, catechetical, and youth work, operates a Sunday School for children, runs a “Basics of Orthodoxy” group for adults, and organizes social ministry, including assistance to low-income and large families.
Address: Moscow, Akademika Semenova str., 1
