At the Svyatogorsk Lavra, the two oldest monks were tonsured into the Great Schema

On June 12, 2026, the two oldest monks of the Svyatogorsk Lavra were tonsured into the Great Schema. With the blessing of the monastery’s abbot, Metropolitan Arsenius (Yakovenko) of Svyatogorsk, the rite was performed in private—in seclusion, without a solemn divine service.

According tothe press service of the Svyatogorsk Lavra, the tonsure was received by Monk Simeon (Belous) and Monk Pachomius (Tishchenko). The first was tonsured with the name Simeon—in honor of St. Simeon the Stylite of Divnogorets—and the second with the name Anthony, in honor of St. Anthony the Great.

Both monks are among the oldest members of the monastery’s community: one is 89 years old, and the other is 83. Before entering monastic life, they worked at enterprises in the Donbas region during their adult years and chose the monastic path in their twilight years.

Schemamonk Simeon, born Anatoly Ivanovich Belous, was born on June 6, 1937, in the Vinnytsia region. He entered the Svyatogorsk Lavra on January 1, 1994, in the early years following the monastery’s revival, and served as a shoemaker for over thirty years. This past spring, the elder suffered a serious illness, which was one of the reasons for his private tonsure. It is noteworthy that the Church commemorates his new heavenly patron—the Venerable Simeon of the Wonderful Mountain—on June 6, the day of the schema-monk’s birth.

Schemamonk Anthony, born Peter Yakovlevich Tishchenko, is also a native of the Vinnytsia region. He entered the monastery in August 2018, when he was 74 years old, and has since been undergoing monastic training at the Svyatogorsk Lavra.

The Great Schema is considered the highest degree of monastic devotion and symbolizes complete renunciation of the world for the sake of union with Christ. According to the tradition established in the monasteries of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the schema is bestowed upon brothers who have attained spiritual maturity, as well as upon the oldest and infirm inhabitants.