Presbyter
The Holy Hieromartyr Nicholas — Nikolai Vasilyevich Tolgsky — was born on February 20, 1886, in the village of Dorki, Bronnitsy district, Moscow Province. He was the youngest of three priest brothers, sons of Archpriest Vasiliy Tolgsky, who served in Dorki. His elder brother, Archpriest Sergius, served in Moscow at the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God on Kulishki, and later at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul on the Yauza. The middle brother, Father Alexander, became well known as the rector of the Church of the Prophet Elijah on Obydensk Lane.
Father Nicholas was ordained after graduating from the Moscow Theological Academy in 1911. He served at the Exaltation of the Cross Church in the village of Altufyevo, and later at the Church of St. Sergius in Pushkari.
He stood out as a bright and fervent figure in the church life of his time. Despite the intensifying persecutions against the Church, he actively engaged in spiritual and educational work, forming choirs and teaching the faith. His spiritual zeal attracted attention, and he became personally known to St. Patriarch Tikhon. He was appointed dean and awarded the right to wear a mitre.
In 1922, he was arrested for teaching the Law of God but was soon released. In 1935, he was sentenced to three years of exile in Chimkent. His third arrest took place on June 23, 1937, when he was accused of counterrevolutionary activity. During interrogation, he firmly denied all accusations. The NKVD troika sentenced him to be shot, and the sentence was carried out on August 27, 1937, in Lisya Balka, Chimkent. The place of his burial remains unknown.
The Holy Hieromartyr Nicholas was glorified among the saints at the Jubilee Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in the year 2000.
