Deacon
John Stepanovich Plotnikov was born in 1864 in the family of a clergyman in the village of Kataiskoe. In 1880, he graduated from the Dolmatov Spiritual School and became a psalmist at the Holy Trinity Church. He collaborated with the Ural Society of Lovers of Natural Science and was awarded an Archpastoral letter for his collection of climate observations.
In 1906, he was ordained as a deacon and served in the parish in honor of the Meeting of the Lord. Father John faithfully served the Lord even during difficult times when the Bolsheviks seized power. On June 30, 1918, he was brutally killed by the Bolsheviks as a representative of the 'reactionary class.'
Information about his life was gathered by the parishioners of the Sretene Church. In 2000, Father John was glorified in the rank of locally revered saints of the Yekaterinburg Diocese.
On the feast day of Saint Martyr John, a festive service was held in Staropyshminsk, led by Mitrophor Priest Vladimir Zyazev. The parishioners prayed to the holy martyr and received the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
The service concluded with a general Cross procession to Mount Vysokaya, where Father John met his death. At the foot of the mountain, there is a restored spring in honor of the Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos 'Softener of Evil Hearts.'
A brief moleben was held at the spring, after which the parishioners ascended the mountain, where a Pilgrim Cross was erected. At the base of the cross, there is a commemorative granite slab with the date of Father John's martyrdom. From the mountain, there is a view of the restored Sretene Church and the entire village of Staropyshminsk.
