Old Style Date: April 17th. Zosima of Solovetsky is a saint of the Russian Church, revered among the monks. He was born in the Novgorod diocese and later moved to Pomorye, where he met the monks German and Savvati. In 1436, they together built a cell on the Solovetsky Island. Soon, disciples began to gather around Zosima, who constructed a church and a monastery there—the famous Solovetsky Monastery. Both Zosima and Savvati were considered in Russia as patrons of bees and protectors of beekeepers. On Zosima’s day, similar to Pudov’s day, it was customary to take beehives to the pasture. During this time, a table covered with a clean tablecloth was set up in the middle of the pasture, where bread and salt, Epiphany water, and a candle left from the Easter service were placed. Afterwards, prayers were said to Zosima and Savvati, and they would walk around the pasture with the lit candle, sprinkling the territory with holy water, chanting: "The swarm swarms - Zosima rejoices." Beekeepers closely observed the insects buzzing around the early flowers. For instance, it was said: "The kind of bread the bee goes to, that grain will be good." They also observed how the bees had survived the winter: "Few losses in bees - a good buckwheat harvest." Bees were highly respected among the people. Many proverbs were created about them: "Without a bee (i.e., without wax) neither the priest nor the poor man serves"; "Tiny bee, yet knows more than the great"; "To keep bees, one must love them with the heart"; "For a good beekeeper, there are no bad years"; "A good person is not stung by a bee." On this day, it was considered good to taste honey. In Russia, honey was not only consumed in its pure form but was also used in preparing various dishes. Honey was even added to dishes made of meat, poultry, and fish. Pork or duck baked in honey were especially popular. Mead, a drink made from honey and spices, was also highly appreciated. Names celebrated on this day Adrian, Alexander, Zosima, Ephrem, Ivan, Mikhail, Semyon, Theodore