Archbishop
Saint Martyr Silvester, in the world Justin Olszewski, engaged in missionary work for over 20 years. At the age of 31, he was ordained a presbyter by Bishop Illarion of Poltava on the condition of being unmarried. He personally knew Father John of Kronstadt and served the liturgy with him.
At the end of 1910, he accepted monasticism, and on January 16, 1911, he was consecrated as Bishop of Priluki. His Grace called for steadfastness and love for the truth in difficult times. He defended the freedom of faith, asserting that everyone has the right to believe or not to believe.
In 1915, he was appointed to the Omsk diocese. During the arrest of the bishop in Omsk, the economist Nikolai Tsikura was killed. Soon after, the Civil War began, and Bishop Silvester led Admiral Kolchak to take the oath as the Supreme Ruler of Russia.
At the end of 1919, after the retreat of Kolchak's troops, the Bolsheviks arrested the archpastor. For two months, they tortured him, demanding repentance for his Christian activities. The saint accepted a martyr's end on January 13 (26 new style) 1920 in captivity in Omsk, being brutally killed.
He was canonized among the ranks of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Archpastoral Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for public veneration.
