Archbishop
In the world, Zverev Vasily Konstantinovich, born on February 18, 1878, in the village of Veshnyaki near Moscow in the family of a priest. In early childhood, he loved to play church services and saw the Savior in his dreams, which influenced his future life.
In 1895, he graduated from gymnasium and entered the historical and philological faculty of Moscow University, then was accepted into the Kazan Theological Academy.
On January 19, 1900, he was tonsured into monasticism with the name Peter and ordained as hierodeacon, and on June 15 of the same year — as hieromonk. He was awarded the degree of Candidate of Theology and assigned to the brotherhood of the Zvenigorod Monastery.
On September 30, 1902, he was appointed as the Moscow Eparchial Anti-Cult Missionary. In 1906, he was appointed inspector of the Novgorod Theological Seminary, and on June 3, 1909 — as the abbot of the Belev Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery.
During World War I, a hospital was established in the monastery. In 1916, he was appointed for missionary service in the North American Diocese, but the trip did not take place due to the revolution.
On March 6, 1918, he was appointed abbot of the Uspensky Zheltikov Monastery in Tver. On February 15, 1919, he was consecrated as Bishop of Balakhna, vicar of the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese.
In Nizhny Novgorod, he established the teaching of the Law of God to children and strictly observed the service regulations. In 1920, he was transferred to reside in the village of Kanavino, where he continued to serve.
In 1921, he was arrested, but after his release, he served in churches. In the summer of 1922, he addressed the flock with an appeal against the Renovationist schism, for which he was arrested on November 24, 1922.
In 1923, he was sentenced to exile in Turkestan. He spent more than a year in exile, suffering from harsh conditions and illnesses. On February 7, 1929, he died of typhus in a hospital on Anzer.
He was buried in a separate grave with the observance of church rites. On June 17, 1999, his relics were found, and he was canonized as a locally venerated saint of the Voronezh Diocese.
