Protoiereus
Priest Andrei Simeonovich Zimin was born on August 14, 1872, into the family of a Transbaikal Cossack. After graduating from the Blagoveshchensk Theological Seminary, he was ordained a priest in 1894 and served in the cathedral church of Blagoveshchensk, where he actively engaged in catechization and education.
In 1900, he was transferred as the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Chernigovka, where he continued to develop popular education by building schools and publishing sermons in the diocesan journal. In 1901, he became the dean of the Chernigov volost, increasing the number of churches in the deanery.
Father Andrei paid attention to the upbringing of children and the foundations of Orthodox teaching, being an active participant in diocesan congresses. In 1913, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna (III class), and in 1916 — the Order of St. Anna (II class) for his work during wartime.
From 1918 to 1922, partisan detachments of the Bolsheviks operated in Primorye. In 1919, Father Andrei was kidnapped and held captive. On the night of January 18, 1920, his house was attacked, and he witnessed the brutal murder of his family. Father Andrei was killed, having placed a door on his chest and crushed it.
Before his death, he had a dream about his martyr's death and left a letter describing the vision. His and his family’s bodies were buried according to church rites in a common grave near the church in Chernigovka, where a memorial cross was erected.
