Artemius of Verkola

Artemius of Verkola (Артемий Веркольский; 1532 - 23 June 1544) is a child saint venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Life
He was born in village Verkola in Russian North (now Pinezhsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast). His father's name was Kosma, nicknamed Maly (literally small [one]); his mother named Apollinaria. In addition, according to legend, sister of Artemius was the righteous maiden Paraskeva of Pirinem, who was also famous for posthumous miracles. Nothing is known about Artemius' life, except for the rejection of children's games, meekness, good faith, obedience to parents and diligence noted in his Life.

In 1545, when Artemius was 12 years old, the boy was harrowing a field with his father. At that time, a strong thunderstorm began, lightning struck and Artemius fell dead.

The superstitious villagers of Verkola considered the unexpected death of the boy a punishment for some secret sins, so they left his body in the forest without funeral service and burial, barely covered with brushwood and birch bark and fenced. According to folk belief, the burial of those who died from a thunderstorm in a common cemetery could bring misfortune to the inhabitants of the village. Archaeological excavations have shown that in the XVI century, not far from Verkola, there was a cemetery of the mortgaged dead buried in a log cabin.

Finding relics and veneration
Thirty-three years after his death a local deacon named Agafonik saw a light emanating from the boy's resting place and discovered the boy's body showed no sign of decay. Miracles of healing happened to people who venerated the boy's relics and he was proclaimed a saint.

In 1648, by order of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich of Russia was founded the St. Artemius of Verkola monastery, and relics of the saint was moved into it.

In 1918, the Bolsheviks destroyed his relics in Verkola, thus making him a martyr for the Orthodox Church.

Iconographer Philip Zimmerman of New Florence, PA received a waking vision of the child saint who asked him, "to paint what he saw. For the children at the Village." After much discernment and 5 years of contemplation Mr. Zimmerman painted what he saw at the direction of Father John Namie of the Antiochian Village Camp located in Bolivar, PA. This icon is still enshrined within the camp precincts and is still venerated each year by the children attending this Antiochian Orthodox Christian Youth Camp. Many following visitations and revelations to Mr. Zimmerman by the saint have confirmed what he saw in his dream about the history and he hagiography of this 16th Century Wonder working child saint.