St. Lazarus, of Greek origin, was a disciple of Bishop Basil of Caesaria, who sent him to Russia to serve Archbishop Basil of Novgorod. Initially the saint lived for several in Novgorod with his protector, but after the latter’s death he moved to the Murmansk Island in Lake Onega, which was inhabited by the wild tribe of pagan Laplanders. At first the saint suffered greatly from the pagans, but after a while he began to win them over with his meekness and miracles, and many of them he converted to Christ. Soon other people began to gather around the saint, and he then founded a monastery in honor of the resurrection of Lazarus. Later many monks from Constantinople and Mount Athos came to live at his monastery. St. Lazarus reposed on March 8, 1391. After-wards the St. Lazarus monastery was converted into a convent in which the aged and the poor were tended.