Martyr Michael (Mikhail Pavlovich Arefyev) was born on June 27, 1865, in the city of Kaluga. Before 1917, he worked as a clerk and trusted person for one of the Kaluga manufacturers. Being a deeply believing person, in 1928 he became a member of the church council of the Odihriev Church in Kaluga. In October 1937, the authorities arrested him. During the interrogations, Mikhail Pavlovich did not admit guilt for the charges brought against him.
On November 19, 1937, the NKVD Troika sentenced Archbishop Augustine (Belaev), Archimandrite Ioanniky (Dmitriev), Priest Ioann Speransky, psalmists Alexey Gorbachyov, Apollon Babichev, and church council member Mikhail Arefyev to execution by shooting.
Archbishop Augustine, Archimandrite Ioann, Priest Ioann, psalmists Alexey Gorbachyov, Apollon Babichev, and church council member Mikhail Arefyev were shot on November 23, 1937, and buried in a common unmarked grave.
