Deacon
During the persecutions against the Russian Orthodox Church in the village of Bykovo, Ramenki district, priests John of Caesarea and Peter Kosminkov, deacon Simeon Krechkov, church starosta Evdokia Safronova, as well as church council members Peter Piskarev-Molokov and Alexander, Ekaterina and Dmitry Chilikins were arrested. They were detained from November 1 to 3, 1937, and imprisoned in Taganka prison in Moscow.
Saint John was born on January 30, 1878, in the village of Odishche, Kineshma district, Kostroma province, in the family of priest Nikanor Kesarijski. He graduated from the Theological Seminary and the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1904, he was ordained as a priest and served in the churches of the Moscow diocese, most recently in the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Bykovo. During the interrogation, he denied the accusations of counter-revolutionary activities and was unaware of the existence of a counter-revolutionary group.
Saint Peter was born on January 4, 1887, in the village of Pahrino, Podolsk district, Moscow province, in the family of Vasily Petrovich Kosminkov. He graduated from the Perervinsk Theological School and the Moscow Theological Seminary. In 1910, he was ordained as a priest and served in the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Bykovo. During the interrogation, he also denied his involvement in counter-revolutionary activities and was unaware of the group's members.
Saint Simeon was born in 1876 in the village of Ponižovye, Vereya district, Moscow province, in the family of psalmist Nikolai Krechkov. He received his education at the Perervinsk Theological School and the Moscow Theological Seminary. In 1903, he was ordained as a deacon and served in the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Bykovo until his arrest in 1937. During the interrogation, he also denied participation in the counter-revolutionary group.
On November 15, 1937, the NKVD troika sentenced priests John of Caesarea, Peter Kosminkov, and deacon Simeon Krechkov to execution by shooting. They were shot on November 16, 1937, and buried in an anonymous mass grave at the Butovo firing range near Moscow. The other participants were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. Evdokia Safronova died in custody on August 25, 1938, Peter Piskarev-Molokov on April 9, 1938, both were buried in an anonymous grave.
