St. Dosithea (Daria Tiapkina) was born in Riazan province in Russia. Her parents were eager to marry her as soon as possible, but she foiled their plans by leaving home at the age of 15, dressed as a peasant boy and calling herself Dositheus. In this guise she entered the Lavra of St. Sergius. Three years later she fled to avoid discovery by her parents, and went to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. There she was turned away, since she had no passport; so she took up the hermit's life in cave near Kytayiv Skete. In 1776 she died peacefully.
A short while later, Dositheos’ sister once again came to Kyiv on pilgrimage. When she learned that the ascetic who had strengthened and comforted her had already reposed, she asked to learn more about him. The particulars of his life that had become known and the features of his portrait led her to the definite conclusion that Dositheos the Hermit of Kyiv was the very Daria.
In the 1990s, a marble tombstone with a mosaic icon was installed on the grave of Dosypheus, which is located near the northern wall of the Trinity Cathedral - the main temple of the Kytayiv monastery. In 1993, Dosythea was canonized by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a saint. Her feast day is on September 25 / October 8.
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