Archimandrite
Archimandrite Lev (Leonid Mikhailovich Yegorov) was born in 1898 in Novgorod. After the death of his parents, he and his two brothers were raised by their uncle. Leonid graduated from the Faculty of History and Archaeology at Saint Petersburg University and later enrolled at the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, completing his studies in 1918.
In 1915, he embraced the monastic life and became a disciple of Hieromonk Seraphim (Muravyov), the future Elder Seraphim of Vyritsa. He remained at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra until 1922.
That same year, he was arrested and sentenced to exile. He returned to the Leningrad region in 1924, where he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. He also began teaching at the Theological and Pastoral School, while continuing to care for the matters concerning the brotherhood of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
In 1926, he was appointed abbot of the Feodorovskaya Cathedral of the Mother of God, where he served until 1932.
In 1932, more than forty members of the brotherhood of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra were arrested. Among them was the Holy New Martyr Lev, who was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in a forced labour camp. When his sentence was later extended, he was placed in solitary confinement. During the mass purges of 1937, he was condemned to death. Throughout the proceedings, he maintained his innocence, declaring that he had devoted his entire life to the service of God.
