Presbyter
Hieromartyr Paul (Fyodorovich Smirnov) was born on December 6, 1877, in the village of Tiskovo, in the Moscow Province, into the family of the priest Fyodor Konstantinovich Smirnov. He graduated from the Pererva Theological School and later from the Moscow Theological Seminary. He married Claudia and together they were blessed with four children.
In 1902, Fr. Paul was ordained to the priesthood and was assigned to the Church of the Holy Prophet Elijah, where he served for the greater part of his pastoral ministry. In 1914, through his own initiative and with the financial support of the benefactor Vargin, he oversaw the construction and opening of the parish school. In recognition of his many years of faithful and exemplary service, he received ecclesiastical honors in 1921, he was elevated to the rank of Protopresbyter in 1924 and was honored once again in 1927 for his devoted ministry.
In 1929, the Soviet authorities forbade Fr. Paul from celebrating the Paschal services in the villages of his parish. Despite repeated threats, he proceeded with all the traditional Easter processions and services. As a result, he was arrested and sentenced to six months of forced labor. During this period, he was not held in prison but was required to perform assigned labor each day before returning to his village in the evening. Although he remained at liberty, his church was closed, while he, as a convicted man, was forbidden to celebrate the Divine Services.
In 1930, his home was confiscated and his family's belongings were plundered. As Pascha approached, on April 15, 1930, nearly seventy villagers gathered before the local council, demanding that the church be reopened. They also called for the return of the priest's confiscated property and for the removal of those who had been forcibly enrolled in the collective farms. Their appeals were ultimately successful. The authorities reversed their decision, the church was reopened and upon Fr. Paul's return, the Divine Services resumed.
In August 1930, Fr. Paul and his wife were arrested once again on charges of anti-Soviet propaganda. They were sentenced to three years of exile in Kazakhstan. After completing his sentence and returning from exile, he was appointed rector of the Church of Saint Nicholas in the village of Karacharovo.
In 1937, he was arrested for a third time and got imprisoned. False witnesses testified against him, accusing him of anti-Soviet activity. On December 7, 1937, an NKVD troika sentenced him to ten years of imprisonment. He reposed in prison on March 1, 1938, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery of the prison camp.
Through unwavering faith, pastoral devotion and steadfast endurance, Hieromartyr Paul remained faithful to Christ, bearing witness to the Gospel through his life of sacrificial service.
