Presbyter
During the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1937, the entire clergy of the church, including priests and singers, was arrested. On November 21, 1937, an NKVD officer interrogated the secretary of the village council, Vasily Yazikov, who signed testimony about the counter-revolutionary activities of the priests serving in the church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva. On the same day, a collective farmer, Ivan Krylov, was also interrogated, and he signed the necessary testimony under pressure. On November 27, the NKVD arrested Protopriest Georgy Kolokolov and psalmist Peter Tsarapkin, and the next day – Protopriest Nazariy Gribkov. All of them were imprisoned in Butyrka prison in Moscow.
Saint Martyr Georgy was born on October 22, 1876, in Moscow to the family of deacon Iosif Kolokolov. He graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary in 1898. In 1904, he was ordained as a priest and appointed as the law teacher at a public school. In 1931, he was arrested and sentenced to five years of imprisonment. After his release in 1933, he became the rector of the church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva. On November 27, 1937, he was arrested and interrogated, where he confirmed that he spoke about the hard life in the camps but did not engage in anti-Soviet propaganda.
Saint Martyr Nazariy was born on October 22, 1879, in the Ryazan province. He received his education at the theological seminary and was ordained as a priest in 1919. In 1929, he became the rector of the church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva. In 1931, he was arrested and sentenced to five years of exile. He returned from exile in 1936 and continued his ministry in the same church. On November 28, 1937, he was arrested.
Martyr Peter was born on December 10, 1883, in the Moscow province. He worked in photo studios and sang in church choirs. In 1937, he was appointed as the psalmist in the church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva. On November 27, 1937, he was arrested. On December 5, the NKVD troika sentenced him to ten years of imprisonment, where he died. Protopriest Georgy Kolokolov was executed on December 9, and Protopriest Nazariy Gribkov – on December 11, 1937, at the Butovo firing range near Moscow.
