The Holy New Martyr Stephen Vasilyevich Kreidich was born in 1874 in the village of Vavulichi, in the Grodno province, to a family of Belarusian peasants. From 1914 to 1918, he served in the army at the headquarters of the Smolensk Military District. Beginning in 1919, he served the Church as a chanter, reader, and member of the church choir in the village of Rogovo, in the Bryansk province. In 1923, he undertook similar ministries in Smolensk before returning to Rogovo in 1929.
In 1932, he was ordained to the priesthood and appointed to the church in the village of Robchik, in the Bryansk province.
In 1936, he was arrested and charged with "opposing collectivization, gathering children between the ages of twelve and fifteen, subjecting them to religious indoctrination, and promoting counter-revolutionary ideas." He was consequently sentenced to seven years of forced labor.
On 7 September 1937, while still imprisoned, he was arrested once again. The authorities accused him of having "not only failed to renounce his convictions, but also continued his activities by spreading religious beliefs among the prisoners."
During his interrogation, he declared: "I do not consider myself guilty. As for singing the Troparion of the Holy Trinity, I believed I had the right to do so. It was not forbidden."
On 20 September 1937, he was sentenced to death. The exact date of his execution remains unknown. On 29 March 1990, he name was officially restored.
By decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000, Saint Stephen was numbered among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
