Hierodeacon
Venerable Varlaam (in the world Vasily Yefimovich Konoplev) was born in 1858 in the Yugo-Knauf factory of the Osinsky district of the Perm province into a peasant family of Old Believers without priests. From an early age, he sought to know the truth and, studying the Holy Scriptures, came to realize the necessity of the priesthood for salvation.
In the 1890s, after long searches, he joined the Orthodox Church through the sacrament of chrismation. In November 1893, Vasily was tonsured into the rassophore and settled on the White Mountain, where he began to gather those wishing for monastic life. On February 1, 1894, he accepted the monastic tonsure with the name Varlaam and was ordained as hierodeacon, and on February 22 — as hieromonk.
Father Varlaam became the manager of the newly built monastery, restored Orthodox worship, and paid attention to preaching. In 1913, he was spoken of as a wise and experienced spiritual mentor, to whom people flocked in search of comfort and advice.
In June 1917, the consecration of the Belogorsky Cathedral took place in the monastery, which attracted many pilgrims. However, in August 1918, the Bolsheviks seized the monastery, desecrated it, and arrested Father Varlaam, who was shot on August 12 (25). Many monks of the monastery also accepted a martyr's end.
In 1998, they were glorified as locally revered saints of the Perm diocese, and in August 2000, they were canonized among the ranks of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia for universal church veneration.
