Presbyter
Saint Nikolai Kelsievich Zavarin the New Martyr was born on May 4, 1878, in the village of Kikhmengsky Gorodok, in the Vologda Governorate. In 1897, he became a teacher at parish schools. In 1926, he was ordained a priest and appointed to the Church of St. Vladimir in the village of Piksur.
In 1931, he was sentenced to one year in prison, but was released in 1932. After his release, he served at the Church of St. Tryphon. In 1932, he was arrested again and sentenced to five years in prison. However, he was released early and returned to his home in 1933.
In 1935, his parishioners defended the Church of St. Vladimir when the Communist authorities sought to suppress its operation. The church remained open.
On February 16, 1937, Fr. Nikolai and his daughter, Nadezhda, were arrested. He was accused of anti-Soviet propaganda. He denied all the charges and maintained to the very end that “the Gospel is his weapon and salvation.”
Saint Nikolai was executed on August 19, 1937.
