Presbyter
Alexander Vasilievich Petrovaplovsky was born into a noble family, lost his father early, and sang in the church choir from childhood. After graduating from the Yaroslavl Theological Seminary, he served as a psalmist, then as a deacon in the village of Rybnitsy. In 1929, he was ordained as a priest and assigned to the church in the village of Breytovo, where his family faced severe hardships. The OGPU confiscated the family's property, and two of his children died of pneumonia. In the mid-1930s, he was transferred to the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the village of Prozorovo, where he continued to endure oppression. Father Alexander was an educated and merciful pastor, refusing to compromise with the authorities in order to preserve spirituality. In 1937, he was arrested on charges of anti-Soviet agitation. Despite torture, he did not confess to any wrongdoing and was executed on November 16, 1937. He was rehabilitated on September 16, 1959, and glorified by the Hierarchical Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
