Archimandrite
St. Sergius (in the world Mitrofan Vasilyevich Srebryansky) was born on August 1, 1870, in the village of Three Saints in the Voronezh district. After graduating from the theological seminary, he entered the Warsaw Veterinary Institute, where he began attending an Orthodox church and met his future wife, Olga. In 1893, they were married.
His service as a priest began on March 2, 1893, when he was ordained as a deacon. In 1894, he became a priest of the 47th Dragoon Tatar Regiment. During the Russo-Japanese War, he served as a regimental priest, keeping a diary that was published and reflected his pastoral care for the soldiers.
After the war, Sergius was appointed the rector of the Protection Church of the 51st Dragoon Chernigov Regiment. In 1908, he became the spiritual father of the Martha and Mary Convent, founded by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Sergius actively worked in the convent, developing it and caring for the sisters and the needy.
After the 1917 revolution, the convent was closed, and Sergius was arrested. He was exiled to Tobolsk and then returned to Moscow. In 1925, the convent was closed again, and Sergius was arrested once more but was soon released. He settled in the village of Vladychnya, where he continued to serve and care for his spiritual children.
Sergius was arrested in 1930 and sentenced to five years of exile in the Northern Territory. After his release in 1933, he returned to Vladychnya, where he lived until his death on March 23, 1948. His life was filled with prayer and service, and he left behind many spiritual children who sought his help and intercessory prayers.
A cross with the inscription is placed on his grave: "Here lies the body of the Hieroschemamonk Sergius — Priest Mitrofan. Died in 1948, March 23. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race."
