Archbishop
Saint Demetrius (in the world Ivan Ivanovich Dobroserdov) was born on January 22, 1864, in the village of Pakhotny Ugl, Tambov Province, in the family of a priest. After graduating from the Tambov Theological Seminary in 1885, he was appointed as a teacher in a rural school in the Morshansk district. On May 6, 1889, he was ordained to the priesthood at the Nikolaev Church of the village of Mamontovo. In 1894, he entered the Moscow Theological Academy, graduating in 1898. On April 10, 1899, he was appointed rector of the Annunciation Church at the gymnasium. In 1908, he was tonsured a monk with the name Demetrius and appointed as a synodal sacristan. In 1914, he was consecrated as Bishop of Mozhaisk and appointed rector of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. In 1921, he became Bishop of Stavropol, but under pressure from the Renovationists, he was forced to leave the diocese. In 1923, he was appointed Bishop of Kozlov, where his popularity grew. During Great Lent in 1925, he began to be summoned for questioning by the OGPU, and in 1926, he was called to the OGPU commissioner. In 1932, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. On September 29, 1937, he was arrested and imprisoned in Butyrka prison. Not admitting his guilt, he refused to denounce anyone. Archbishop Demetrius was shot on December 12, 1937.
