Gavril Svetogorec

Gavril Svetogorec (Gabriel of Mount Athos; 10 March 1926 – 12 January 1990) was an Eastern Orthodox monk, ascetic, and Macedonian Orthodox bishop. In 2017, he was canonized as a saint by the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

Biography He was born as Mijalče Parnadžiev on 10 March 1926 in Štip, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to Eastern Orthodox parents. In 1944, Parnadžiev joined the Yugoslav Partizans, becoming involved in World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia. Later, he became part of a defense unit stationed on the borders, including in Delčevo, Kavadarci, and the Kajmakčalan mountain. According to Macedonian Orthodox Church's hagiography, due to his service, Parnadžiev was recommended for membership in the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, but he was excluded because he went to church. There he took the monastic name Gavril (Gabriel), after the archangel Gabriel. After returning to Yugoslav Macedonia in 1971, he continued his monastic asceticism, staying in monasteries in the Skopje region, such as "St. Mary" in the village Pobožje, "St. Mary" at Matka Canyon, and the Markov monastery, "St. Demetrius". He became the abbot of Lesnovo Monastery In December 1975. After six years serving in Lesnovo Monastery, the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church appointed him as an archimandrite on 30 June 1981. He spent the rest of his life in Lesnovo Monastery as a hermit and ascetic. Shortly before his death, the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church consecrated him as Bishop of Velika on 28 August 1989. Internal conflicts in the Macedonian Orthodox Church affected his consecration. His feast day is commemorated annually on 12 January. His relics have been preserved by Lesnovo Monastery and Simonopetra Monastery.

Writings Parnadžiev was also a prolific author of works of theological prose and poetry, such as: Poetry Collection (1975) Holy Mountain – Heavenly Land (1978) Before the Greatest Jubilee of Man (1980) Rules and Regulations of the Orthodox Church on Fasting (1994) Father Cherubim (1997)