On the eve of the memorial day of St. Athanasius of Syandem, the sisters of the Syandem Assumption Convent told the Sunday school students of the Olonets orphanage about the life of St. Athanasius, about the help and miracles performed through his prayers.
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St. Athanasius of Syandem was a disciple of St. Alexander of Svir. He was honored to witness the blessed visitation of his teacher by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He began his monastic exploits in Valaam, and then in the Svir monastery. After the death of his mentor, the saint went to desert in the dense forests of Karelia, where he founded a monastery on Lake Syandeme. As a result of the slander of local residents, St. Athanasius moved back to the Svir monastery, where he was elected abbot, but in 1577 he returned to Lake Syandem. The monk also labored a lot in the spiritual organization of the monastery.
The saint spent the last years of his life in solitude on one of the islands of the lake. St. Athanasius died in old age, and a church was built over his grave in the name of Saints Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria, which burned down during a fire in 1720.
During the construction of the new church, the incorruptible relics of St. Athanasius were found.