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The Life of St. Sergy and St. German did not reach us. All attempts of later Valaam
priors, especially hegumen Damaskin, to find it with the help of well-known historians were
fruitless. The reason is the age of the monastery and its hard fate. Located on the border of
Novgorod the Great lands and Sweden, it was ravaged by the Swedes several times. Thus,
in 1163 the monks expecting an invasion opened the tomb of the Saints and took their relics
to Novgorod to worship them there. According to some sources, it was the fourth moving of
the relics, another evidence of the age of the cloister.
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A Speed Ship Sailing to Valaam
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After the danger had passed, on
September 11, 1180 (this day is still celebrated as the day of memory of the Saints, along the
June 28, the old style), the monks brought the relics back to Valaam. To keep the relics from
defilement, the monks cut a deep tomb in the rock and burried the relics there. There they
still are. Numerous miracles performed with the relics were recorded in monastery chronicles.
Prayers addressed to them helped to save people drowning and freezing in the lake, healed
nervous, mental, and infectious diseases, as well as alcoholism.
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