St. Gerasimus accepted the monastic tonsure at the Kiev Gniloe Dormition monastery, having been attracted to the Caves where the Kievan monk, St. Theodosius secluded himself during Great Lent. Out of obedience to the brethren, St. Gerasimus accepted the rank of hieromonk, and was sent off as a mission to the mouth of the River Vologda. There, he blessed the emerging settlement on the right bank, "foretelling that here would be a great city." He chose the dense virgin forest for his dwelling place, separated from the settlement by the Kaisarova creek. There the monk built a hut, and in the tranquil solitude he devoted himself to the contemplation of God. He built a church in honor of the Most Holy Trinity, and also the first monastery in the north of Russia named for the Most Holy Trinity came into being. Many of his deeds and miracles are recorded here in this anonymous late medieval texts regarding his supernatural power as a wonderworker.