Presbyter
Saint Sergey was born in 1876 in the village of Podlesnaya Sloboda, Zaraysk district of Ryazan province, in the family of priest Mikhail Krotkov. His father died when the boy was three years old, and Sergey began to live with relatives. He was sent to the Ryazan Theological Seminary, after which he became a teacher of the Law of God. In 1903, he was ordained a priest. During World War I, he served as a priest in the 139th Morshansk regiment, for which he was awarded the Order of Saint Anna of the 3rd degree and the George Cross.
In 1922, Father Sergey was appointed rector of the Nikolsk church in the village of Tsarevo, where he served until 1930. During those times, he showed courage and faith despite the difficulties. The parishioners loved him for his piety and kindness. In 1930, he was appointed to the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in the village of Pokrovskoye, where he served for seven years.
At the end of 1937, the authorities decided to close the church. On March 2, 1938, after the liturgy, Father Sergey was arrested and accused of counter-revolutionary activity. On June 14, 1938, he was sentenced to death and executed on July 1, 1938, buried in an unmarked grave at the Butovo shooting range near Moscow.
