The small church in the wilderness was consecrated in the name of the Holy Trinity. Varfolomei took gladly to asceticism, while his brother Stefan had more difficulty. In the end, the elder brother decided to return to the monastery, and Varfolomei was left alone. Occasionally he was visited by the elder monk Mitrofan, who tonsured the young man and gave him the monastic name of Sergius. The life of the saint was full of miracles. One of them was when as a hermit, he came across a bear. The monk saw the hungry beast in front of the hut, and was not afraid, but fed him a piece of bread.