Presbyter
Sergius Kotsurov was born on 17 May 1892 in the village of Derevyagino, Ryazan Province. He was the son of the priest John Kotsurov. In 1913, he completed his theological studies in Ryazan, while in 1915 he married Claudia, the daughter of the priest Peter Solovyov. That same year, he was ordained first as a deacon and subsequently as a priest.
During the years of persecution, he served at the church in the village of Ukholovo. In 1929, the Soviet authorities confiscated his property because he was unable to pay the excessive taxes imposed upon him. He was then transferred to the Church of the Prophet Elijah, which was soon closed by the authorities. In the summer of 1938, he began serving at the Church of the Holy Trinity in the village of Istra. His wife and their daughter remained in Sandiry, while Fr. Sergius lived alone in a small guardhouse beneath the church.
In the spring of 1940, government informants accused the saint of spreading counter-revolutionary ideas. One of them visited Fr. Sergius at his home, offered him wine, and attempted to draw him into a political discussion. Fr. Sergius refused. Following his arrest, he likewise rejected all the charges brought against him, affirming instead the truth of the Holy Scriptures.
On 28 September 1940, Fr. Sergius was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in a forced labour camp. On 5 October, he was transferred to the Ivdel labour camp. He fell asleep in the Lord on 12 December 1941 at the Bogoslov camp. He was buried in an unmarked grave.
