Saint Tikhon was born on May 30, 1875, in the village of Bolshoye Popovo, in the Voronezh province, into the family of the priest John Arkhangelsky. He lost his parents at an early age, so that he was raised by his cousin and her husband. After graduating from the Theological School, he married the pious Chionia, who had been born on April 8, 1883, in the village of Novy Kopil. Together they had eighteen children, nine of whom survived. Tikhon was ordained to the priesthood and served in the church of the village of Troekurovo, while his family worked in agriculture.
Chionia devoted herself to raising their children, teaching them to pray and to fast. In 1928, the authorities closed the church. Following an official decree, Tikhon and Chionia moved to the town of Lebedyan, where the saint continued serving as a priest until the churches began t close one after another. In 1937, he was arrested and, despite his testimony declaring his innocence, was sentenced to death on October 4, 1937. He never renounced his faith. On October 17, he was executed and buried in an unmarked grave.
Chionia, persistently trying to learn the fate of her husband, was also arrested on December 12, 1937, and sentenced to eight years of forced labor. She was released at the end of 1944 and lived together with her daughter in Michurinsk.
She reposed in December 1945.
