Presbyter
Saint Martyr Dmitry was born on October 24, 1890, into the family of a psalmist in the village of Ivashkovo, Volokolamsk district of the Moscow province. In 1907, he graduated from the Volokolamsk Spiritual School, and in 1914 – from the Vifanskaya Spiritual Seminary, and was ordained as a priest at the Trinity-Odigitrievskaya Zosimova Hermitage. His ministry proceeded in relative peace until the onset of persecution against the Church.
On May 12, 1922, church valuables were confiscated from the monastery. Father Dmitry managed to negotiate with the authorities to replace the valuables with silver items. In the early 1930s, the monastery was closed, and the nuns were arrested. Father Dmitry was arrested on May 28, 1931, and imprisoned in the NKVD dungeon.
In 1935, Father Dmitry was appointed to the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” In 1936, he was elevated to the rank of protodeacon. In 1937, after the arrest of priest Evgeny Arkhangelsky, Father Dmitry was transferred to his position, where he also faced persecution.
On September 8, 1937, he was arrested. The investigation accused him of counter-revolutionary activities, including calls for prayer for the arrested pastor. Father Dmitry acknowledged his words but did not admit to some accusations. He was imprisoned in Butyrka prison, and on October 8, 1937, the NKVD troika sentenced him to execution. On October 9, 1937, he was executed and buried in an unmarked grave at the Butovo firing range near Moscow.
