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St. Tikhon (''né'' Vasily Ivanovich Belavin) was born on [[January 19]], 1865. His father was Ioann Belavin, a rural [[priest]] of the Toropetz district of the Pskov diocese. "From his early years he displayed a particular religious disposition, love for the Church as well as rare meekness and humility. ... From 1878 to 1883, Vasily studied at the Pskov Theological Seminary. ... His fellow students liked and respected him for his piety, brilliant progress in studies, and constant readiness to help comrades, who often turned to him for explanations of lessons, especially for help in drawing up and correcting numerous compositions. Vasily was called 'bishop' and 'patriarch' by his classmates." [http://www.oca.org/HSbiotikhon.asp?SID=7]

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*[http://www.oca.org/HSbiotikhon.asp?SID=7 Biography of St. Tikhon of Moscow]

*[http://ocaphoto.oca.org/MiscEventViewer.asp?EID=888 Icon of St. Tikhon with scenes from his life]