Presbyter
Saint Nikolai was born in 1870 in the village of Ivankovo, Yaroslavl Province, in the family of priest Nikolai Rozov. After graduating from the Yaroslavl Theological Seminary, he was ordained a priest at the church in the village of Spassk-Gorodets, where he served until 1928, and then was transferred to the church in the village of Chashnitsy.
During this time, collectivization was being implemented in Russia, which caused discontent among the peasants. The people perceived this as a war against them, and many flocked to the churches for confession and communion. On the feast of the Meeting of the Lord, February 15, 1930, the church in the village of Chashnitsy was full of worshippers. Father Nikolai predicted that this might be the last confession and urged them not to forget the faith in Christ.
The next day, the authorized representative for collectivization reported that many people had come for confession and demanded to send away the priest. On February 22, 1930, Father Nikolai was arrested and imprisoned in a jail in Yaroslavl. He denied the accusations of agitating against the Soviet government.
On March 16, 1930, the OGPU troika sentenced him to three years of exile in Arkhangelsk. Priest Nikolai passed away on March 20, 1930, in the Yaroslavl prison and was buried in an unmarked grave.
