He was Archimandrite of the Kiev Monastery of the Caves from 1247 until 1274, and was bishop of the diocese of Vladimir, Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod from 1274 until his death the following year.
The territory of the diocese at the time consisted of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and the principalities of Gorodets, Kostroma, Moscow, Pereslavl, Starodub, Suzdal, Nizhny Novgorod and Yuriev.
His main theme is the disaster of the Mongol invasion, seen as divine punishment for Russia because if its people's sins.
The fifth is presumably older, and was most likely written shortly after the destruction of Kiev in 1240.
In one of his late sermons, he denounces the persecution of witches.