Stephen of Perm

Stephen was born at Veliky Ustyug and became a monk at Rostov, where he mastered Greek and the study of the Scriptures. Burning to bring the Gospel to the pagan Zyrians (the Komi people) of the far north, he devised an alphabet for their language, the Old Permic script, and translated the Scriptures and church services into their tongue, one of the earliest such missionary translations in history. He preached along the rivers of the Perm lands, famously confronting the pagan sorcerer Pam and felling the sacred birch venerated by the people. In 1383 he was consecrated first bishop of Perm, where he built churches, opened schools, and defended his flock from famine and exploitation. He reposed in Moscow in 1396 and is honored as an equal of the apostles among Russian missionaries.