Venerable Irakliy, born in 1863 in the Chernigov province, was named Iosif at baptism. In 1882, he entered the Holy Trinity Issyk-Kul Monastery, founded by Bishop Alexander. In 1905, he was tonsured into monasticism with the name Irinei. In 1916, during the uprising of the Kyrgyz, the monastery was attacked, and Irinei remained with a few brothers, awaiting the enemy's assault. On August 11, 1916, the monks became victims of a brutal attack, resulting in many being killed and the monastery being plundered.
After the monastery was closed in 1919, Irinei went into the mountains, where he lived in solitude. In 1921, after the destruction of the skete, he moved to the village of Talgar, where he built himself a cell and continued to pray. In 1928, after meeting Miron Dubin, he began living with his family, where he was visited by believers seeking counsel and prayer.
Schema-monk Irakliy, as he came to be called, lived in poor conditions, constantly praying and sharing spiritual experience with those around him. He considered it his sin that he had deviated from martyrdom during the attack of the Kyrgyz. In 1937, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, he fell seriously ill and passed away, leaving behind many people who came to his funeral, despite the persecutions.
