Saint Dositheus the Hermit of Kiev

Orthodox icon of Saint Dositheus/Dosithea the Hermit of Kiev on thick plywood 20mm, which does not sting and keeps its shape over time. Preparation with acrylic stucco and have been used acrylic colors. It has been covered with varnish to keep the colors undiluted in time and humidity. Hanging clip included on the back of the icon. 

St. Dositheus was actually a woman, St. Dosithea. She was born in 1721 in Riazan province. Her parents were eager to marry her as soon as possible, but she foiled their plans by leaving home at the age of 15, dressed as a peasant boy and calling herself Dositheus. In this guise she entered the Lavra of St. Sergius. Three years later she fled to avoid discovery by her parents, and went to the Lavra of Kiev. There she was turned away, since she had no passport; so she took up the hermit's life in cave near Kitayev Skete. In 1744 she received monastic tonsure. Later, the eremitic life was banned in Russia by Imperial decree, so Dositheus moved to the Kiev Caves Lavra, then to a remote cell at the Kitaya Skete. In 1776 she died peacefully; only in preparing her for burial was it discovered that she was a woman. Her feast day is on September 25.