Venerable Avramius (Avraamius), Archimandrite of Rostov, Averky in the world, left his parents' home from a young age and embarked on the path of Christian asceticism. Having accepted monasticism, Avramiy settled in Rostov on the shore of Lake Nero. There were many pagans in the Rostov region at that time, and the monk worked hard to spread the true faith. Not far from the saint's cell there was a temple where pagans worshipped the stone idol of Veles (Volos), which struck fear into the inhabitants of Rostov.
In a miraculous vision, the holy apostle John the Theologian appeared before Abramius and gave him a rod crowned with a cross, with which the monk crushed the idol. On the site of the idolatrous temple, Saint Abramius founded a monastery in honor of the Epiphany and became its abbot. In memory of the apparition, the monk erected a temple in the name of the Apostle John the Theologian. Convinced by Saint Abramius, many pagans were baptized.
His influence on children was especially great: he taught them to read and write, instructed them in the Law of God, baptized them, and tonsured them into monks. The saint received all those who came to the monastery with love. His life was a daily feat of prayer and labor for the benefit of the brethren: he chopped firewood for the bakery, washed monks' clothes, and carried water for the kitchen.
The monk reposed in old age and was buried in the Church of the Epiphany (+ XI century). His holy relics were found during the reign of Grand Duke Vsevolod (1176-1212). In 1551, Tsar John the Terrible visited the holy places before marching on Kazan. In the Epiphany-Avramiev monastery, he was shown the rod with which the Monk Avramiy crushed the idol of Veles. The tsar took the staff with him on a campaign, and left the cross in the monastery. After returning from the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, John the Terrible ordered the construction of a new stone church in honor of the Epiphany with four chapels in the Avramiev monastery and sent books and icons there.