Archimandrite
Saint Mina (in the world Ivan Vladislavovich Shelaev) was born on September 15, 1882, in the village of Peresvetovo, Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow province. In 1885, his parents separated, and his mother, working as a domestic servant, tried to provide her children with an education. Ivan successfully graduated from the Moscow City Pетровско-Пятницкое School in 1896.
From 1902 to 1906, he worked as a brass caster, engaging in self-education and studying the Holy Scriptures. In 1906, he received the title of teacher of the parish school and taught at the monastery school of the Zaikonospassky Monastery. From 1910 to 1913, he worked at the Nikolsky Old Believer Monastery, where he demonstrated his missionary abilities.
On August 19, 1914, he was appointed psalmist at the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Znamenie” in the Ryazan province. In 1915, he was ordained as hierodeacon and then as hieromonk. His missionary activity was aimed at reconciling the Old Believers with the official Orthodox Church.
In 1917, he was appointed diocesan missionary and continued his work even in the tumultuous times. In 1935, he was arrested on charges of counter-revolutionary activity and sentenced to five years in a labor camp. In 1937, along with other clergymen, he was executed.
Saint Mina was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint in 2000.
