Presbyter
Saint Martyr Sozont was born on September 21, 1894, in the village of Kocherzhintsy, Uman district, Kiev province, in the family of peasant Fyodor Reshetilov. After finishing the church-parish school, he became a novice in a monastery, where he remained until 1915, when he was drafted into the active army. In 1918, he married Ekaterina Stepanovna Targonskaya, a deeply devout girl. Deciding to choose the service of a priest, he completed pastoral courses and was ordained a deacon at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city of Uman in 1921. In December 1921, Deacon Sozont was ordained a priest at the St. Nicholas Church in the village of Korzhevyy Kut. In 1924, he was transferred to the village of Tomashovka. In 1928, the authorities arrested him for tax evasion and sentenced him to three months of imprisonment. In 1930, the church was closed, and Father Sozont was left without income. In 1931, he was appointed to serve in the church of the village of Sychovka, and then returned to his native village of Kocherzhintsy. In 1932, Father Sozont moved to the Moscow region and began serving in the Nikolsky Church of the village of Mishino. He was a man firmly convinced in faith and a zealous pastor. After the godless authorities decided to persecute the Russian Orthodox Church, the NKVD officers began to gather false testimonies against the priest. On October 21, 1937, around one o'clock at night, he was arrested. Father Sozont met them calmly, being prepared for arrest. For three days, he was interrogated in the prison of the city of Zaraysk, where he rejected all accusations. On November 3, 1937, the NKVD troika sentenced him to execution by shooting. Priest Sozont Reshetilov was shot on November 5, 1937, and buried in an unknown common grave at the Butovo firing range near Moscow.
