Presbyter
Saint Martyr Peter, Peter Vasilyevich Belyaev, was born in 1874. After graduating from the Vladimir Theological Seminary, he was appointed as a psalmist in the Church of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Karacharovo in the Vladimir district in 1895, and in 1897 he was ordained as a priest. He served in the Kazan Church of the Kazan Women’s Community at the Kaslinskiy Plant in the Perm Province, and from August 17, 1905, he served in the Assumption Church at the Kaslinskiy Plant. Father Peter became known as a diligent pastor who patiently and lovingly bore his cross.
In September 1905, he was appointed head of the Kaslinskiy Bashkir Orphanage, opened for teaching Bashkir Muslim children Russian literacy. Despite the difficulties, Father Peter and his assistant achieved success in education, for which he was awarded in 1907. In 1915, he was a member of the Missionary Committee for the Kaslinskiy Plant.
On April 18, 1918, the Bolsheviks organized an atheistic rally, where clergymen were subjected to attacks. On the second day of Pascha, April 23, a procession was held to the chapel of Saint George the Victorious, gathering a multitude of people. However, despite the outward adherence to faith, during the new persecution, no one defended Father Peter.
On June 3, 1918, after the liturgy, Father Peter was arrested and shot in the night of June 4. His body was found after the liberation of Kasli from the Bolsheviks. On July 7, a funeral service was held in the Kaslinskiy Plant for the priest and other victims of the Bolsheviks. The procession was numerous, and the people accompanied the deceased with prayers, expressing their sorrow and faith.
