Martyr Nikolai was born on November 25, 1881, in the Ovruch district of Volhynia province in the family of official Georgy Varzhansky. From a young age, he aspired to Orthodoxy and entered the Theological Seminary, and later the Moscow Theological Academy, which he graduated from in 1907 with the degree of Candidate of Theology. In 1907, Nikolai married Zinaida, the daughter of Protopriest Neofit Lyubimov, and their activity in preaching the word of Christ was crowned with the martyr's wreath.
In 1908, he was appointed as an assistant to the anti-sectarian missionary, and then as the Moscow diocesan missionary. Nikolai Yurievich fought against drunkenness, organizing the Varna Society of Sobriety, where he conducted lectures, inviting well-known professors.
He wrote and published about forty books and brochures, including "Good Confession. Orthodox Anti-Sectarian Catechism," which was published in 1910. The book quickly spread, and in 1912 a second edition was released.
After the February Revolution, his enlightening activity became complicated. On April 24, 1917, he was arrested during a lecture held at the Varna Society of Sobriety. In 1918, Nikolai Yurievich was sentenced to death, and on May 31, he was imprisoned in Butyrka prison. He was executed and buried in a wasteland behind the fence of Kalitnikovsky cemetery in Moscow.
