14th century
Saints Sergius and Herman of Valaam
Monks who, according to tradition, founded Valaam Monastery on Lake Ladoga in the 14th century and spread Christianity in the region.
Biography
Saints Sergius and Herman settled on the island of Valaam, on Lake Ladoga, where, according to tradition, they founded a monastery and spread Christianity among the Karelians and Finns under difficult conditions.
Almost no details of their lives survive, and scholars still disagree even about their period — an old tradition places them in the 10th century, while a 16th-century note records Sergius's arrival at Valaam in 1329. In the most common account, the two monks died around 1353.