Presbyter
Saint Martyr Platon Gornykh was born in 1860. After graduating from the Yekaterinburg Theological School, he entered the Perm Theological Seminary, which he completed in 1881. Having received the priesthood, he served in various churches, and from 1894 he served in the Pokrov Church of the village of Pokrovsk in the Irbit district.
Father Platon was awarded a skufia and a kamilavka for his diligent service. He had a large and harmonious family and sought to provide his children with a good education. His daughter Alexandra graduated from gymnasium and became a private tutor.
With the beginning of the revolution, the life of the family changed. In November 1917, Father Platon blessed his son Alexander to join the army of Ataman Dutov. In February 1918, Soviet power was established in the Irbit district, and arrests of priests began.
In July 1918, Father Platon was arrested by the Red Guards on a denunciation that claimed he was undermining trust in the Bolsheviks. Despite the protests of the parishioners, the priest was arrested and was to be shot. However, thanks to the intervention of local residents, he was released.
At the end of July 1918, Father Platon was arrested again and shot along with other priests. His death was instantaneous; he met it bravely, with his hands folded on his chest. He was buried without a funeral service, and on the fortieth day after the execution, a memorial service was secretly held.
In July 2002, Saint Martyr Platon Gornykh was glorified in the Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia from the Yekaterinburg Diocese.
