Saint Pimen, Bishop of Semirechensk and Vernensk, was born on November 5, 1879, in the village of Vasilyevskoye, Novgorod Province. He was raised in a pious family of priest Zacharias Ivanovich and his wife Maria Ivanovna. After graduating from the Novgorod Theological Seminary, he continued his education at the Kiev Theological Academy, where he graduated in 1904. In 1903, he accepted monastic tonsure with the name Pimen. In 1904, he was ordained as a hieromonk and appointed to the Urmia Orthodox Spiritual Mission in Persia. During nine years of missionary work, he mastered the languages and preached among the Syrian Nestorians, defended their interests, taught in a school, and published the journal 'Orthodox Urmia.'
In 1911, he was appointed rector of the Ardon Theological Seminary, and in 1914, he became the rector of the Perm Theological Seminary. On August 6, 1916, he was consecrated as a bishop and appointed to the Salmas See in Persia. In 1917, he arrived in Verny, where he revived public readings and discussions, condemned the lawlessness of the new authorities, and called for prayers for the salvation of the people.
On September 3 (16 N.S.) 1918, he was arrested by Red Army soldiers and killed. His body was secretly buried in a park near the cathedral. He was canonized as a local saint on October 12, 1997, and was included in the ranks of the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in August 2000.
