Saint Euthymios Petrovich Kotchev the New Martyr was born in 1867 in the village of Viligort, in Ust-Sysolsky district of the Vologda province. He came from a peasant family. After completing his three-year education in the rural school, he became fluent in the Russian language. He learned the trade of carpentry, while he also engaged in other manual occupations.
The saint was actively involved in the life of the Church, making donations to the local Church of the Presentation of the Lord. In 1936, he was ordained a presbyter. In June 1937, when the authorities decided to close the church, he collected signatures in an effort to keep it open.
On September 13, NKVD officials arrived in the area to carry out the order. However, he refused to hand over the church keys and attempted to gather the people in order to protest together with him. As a result, he was arrested on September 14 and got imprisoned. During the interrogation, he admitted that he had defended the church, but denied the accusations of active counter-revolutionary activity.
On September 16, he was sentenced to the highest penalty and was executed on September 18. He was buried in an unmarked grave. His name was included in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia on October 6, 2001.
