St. John of Rila

A Bulgarian who gave away everything as a young man and went into the mountains to live alone, first in a hollow oak and then in a cave in the Rila range, where he lived on plants and prayer for decades. Disciples gathered in spite of him, and the monastery they built became the Rila Monastery, which kept Bulgarian learning and faith alive through the Ottoman centuries. The tsar came to see him and he refused the gifts. His Testament to his disciples warns them against money and against honours. He died in 946 and is the patron of Bulgaria. Feast: October 19.