Presbyter
Priest Gaidai Pavel Ignatievich was born on January 15, 1886, in Bessarabian province, in Izmail. In his youth, he followed the spiritual advice of the holy righteous priest John of Kronstadt. After his death, Pavel fulfilled the blessing and moved to Odessa, where he served as a psalmist. Father Ion did not bless him for monasticism but found him a bride, with whom he lived as a brother with a sister. Pavel was ordained a deacon and then a priest and began his ministry in the Peter and Paul Church of Odessa, attracting the hearts of Orthodox Christians with his sermons and love for people. However, his spiritual influence led to his exile to a remote farm, and then to the village of Kapaklievka, where he continued to serve and heal the suffering.
On April 30, 1929, Father Pavel was arrested and exiled to Turukhansk for 3 years. His wife, Kaptolina, and adopted daughters accompanied him in exile. After his release in 1933, he moved to Leningrad, where he served in the Georgievsky Church, but soon he was arrested again and sentenced to 3 years. In 1935, he was arrested again, and he declared a hunger strike, demanding his release. On January 22, 1936, the Akmolinsk People's Court sentenced him to 10 years in camps. On August 31, 1937, he was sentenced to death by shooting, which was carried out on September 5, 1937. The burial place is unknown.
