Presbyter
Saint Nicholas was born on March 30, 1877, in Moscow, into the family of the priest Vladimir Pavlovich and Yekaterina Alexeyevna Benevolenko. In 1892, he graduated from the theological school. In 1898, he completed a course in Moscow and entered the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1901, he submitted a request to be tonsured a monk, but soon abandoned this intention.
After graduating from the academy in 1902, he became a teacher of theology at the Oryol Spiritual Seminary. In 1909, he married Agnia, the daughter of a priest, and in the same year, he was appointed priest at the Nikolayevskaya Church in Moscow. While serving there, Nicholas helped poor parishioners and never accepted payment for the holy sacraments.
In 1917, he became a rector of the Church of Saint Simeon the Stylite, where he served until the church was closed in 1929. He then moved to the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God. In 1932, officers entered his apartment but did not arrest him. In 1933, he was transferred to the Ascension Church in Sergiev Posad.
In 1934, he was honored by the Church. Despite the dangers of that time, he continued to preach and hear the confessions of the faithful. In 1939, he was arrested after being denounced by an NKVD informant. The investigation lasted about a month, after which his case was sent to a special assembly of the NKVD.
On June 3, 1940, he was sentenced to five years in a correctional labor camp. In the camp, he worked under harsh conditions, enduring physical and spiritual suffering. He wrote letters to his family, expressing his love and care for them and asking for their help and support.
