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Our father among the [[saint|saints]] '''Gury''' (+1563) was the first [[Archbishop]] of [[Diocese of Kazan|Kazan]], and enlightener of Tatarstan's natives. He is commemorated by the church on [[December 5]].

[[Image:Gury-relics-kazan.jpg|right|thumb|340px|Relics of Saint Gury, first Archbishop of Kazan and Sviajsk, and enlightener of Tatarstan's natives. (XVI s century) ]]'''Gregory Grigoroevic Rugotin''' was born in Radonezh to a poor but aristocratic family<ref name="stjohndc">[http://www.stjohndc.org/Russian/saints/e_9812c.htm ''St. Gurias, archbishop Archbishop of Kazan''.] Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, DC.</ref>.He entered the service of Prince Ivan Penkov, where after . After some years he was

he was thrown into prison for two years.It is said that after two years, he was miraculously released one day when his cell was filledwith extraordinary light and the door was opened<ref name="kazan_bishops">[http://eng.kazan.eparhia.ru/bishops/bishops/ ''Kazan bishops.''] Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church</ref>. Upon leaving prison, he joined the [[monastery]] of St. [[Joseph of Volokolamsk]], where he was [[tonsure|tonsured]] with the name '''Gurias'''. In 1543, he became the [[abbot]] ([[Igumen|hegumenos]]) of the monastery. After serving in this capacity until 1552, he left the position and lived for 2 years as a simple [[monk]]. He became abbot of the Selizharov Monastery in Tver<ref name="stjohndc"/><ref name="epar">http://eng.kazan.eparhia.ru/bishops/bishops/ ''Kazan bishops.''] Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church</ref>. === Bishop of Kazan ===In July, 1555, he was chosen to be the first [[bishop]] of the new [[Diocese of Kazan]], where he accomplished many missionary activities. He was successful in converting many inhabitants of the region to Orthodoxy, and took special care to build schools and look after the education of children in the Christian faith. Over the course of his eight years as bishop, he labored to build four monasteries, the [[Annunciation Cathedral of Kazan Kremlin]], and many churches<ref name="kazan_bishops"/><ref name="Walsh">Walsh, Michael J. (July 30, 2007). ''A New Dictionary of Saints:East and West.'' Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0814631867.</ref>. === Death ===Partly due to ill health from his prison experience, in 1561 Gurius fell seriously ill. Over the next two years, he was unable to stand or walk, and needed to be carried into the church on feast days.Shortly before his death, he was [[tonsure|tonsured]] into the [[Schema#Great_Schema|Great Schema]]Gurius died on December 5, 1563 and was buried in the Holy Transfiguration Monastery<ref name="stjohndc"/>. His relics were found on [[October 4]], 1595<ref name="kazan_bishops"/>.