Presbyter
Saint Martyr Sergius was born in 1876 in the family of the priest Dmitry Rokhletzov in Veliky Ustyug. After graduating from a theological school, he was ordained a priest at the church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva Friday, where he served during all his life. Father Sergius was a preacher of the word of the Gospel. He became a teacher at the church-parish school of the village of Chizhkov and was the spiritual father of the elder Maxim Yugov.
The church of the Great Martyr Paraskeva was located far from his house, since the parish consisted of several small villages. Father Sergius used to perform all rites and celebrate the Divine liturgy almost daily, for which he became a protodeacon and was honoured by the church.
He was arrested on December 4, 1937, and got imprisoned in Veliky Ustyug. During the interrogations, he insisted that he never took part to counter-revolutionary activities. On December 10, 1937, the NKVD =sentenced him to ten years of imprisonment in a correctional labor camp. Saint Sergius Rokhletzov died in prison on May 8, 1938, and was buried in a common grave at the city cemetery.
