Presbyter
Saint Matthew was born on August 1, 1879, in the village of Stenikino near Ryazan in the family of priest Alexander Aloin. After graduating from the Ryazan Theological Seminary, he was ordained a deacon in 1899 and a priest in 1909. In 1929, he was elevated to the rank of protopresbyter. He served in various dioceses, successively in the Chernihiv and Ryazan dioceses, and later in the churches of the Kolomensky district of the Moscow region. In 1937, the Soviet authorities decided to close the Assumption Church in the village of Myachkovo, where he served. The faithful defended the church from closure.
In the summer of 1937, the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church began. On October 31, 1937, Protopresbyter Matthew was arrested by NKVD officers. He was accused of anti-Soviet activities, but he denied all charges. On November 14, 1937, the NKVD troika sentenced him to death. Protopresbyter Matthew Aloin was shot on November 25, 1937, at the Butovo firing range near Moscow and buried in an unknown common grave.
