Presbyter
Saint Martyr Priest Stefan Fedorovich Grachev was born on December 30, 1886, in the village of Trostnaya, Orlov Province, into a peasant family. From the age of 10, he was raised in the Ploshchanskaya Pustyn, and in 1914, he was drafted into the army, where he showed bravery and received two George Crosses. After demobilization in 1918, he returned to his native monastery and married Anastasia Sergeyevna Kirilenko. From 1924, he served as a psalmist, and in 1930, he was ordained as a deacon and then a priest. He served in various churches, including the village of Kholmetsky Khutor, where he was respected by the parishioners.
In 1932, he was awarded a nabedrennik, and in 1935, a kamilavka. His family lived in poverty, especially after collectivization. Father Stefan did not refuse help to those in need, even under persecution. In 1936, he was arrested but was soon released due to lack of evidence. However, in 1937, he sensed a new arrest and prepared his family for it. On September 5, 1937, he was arrested again, and his family was left without means of existence.
Priest Stefan was imprisoned, where he was forced to renounce his faith, but he refused. On November 29-30, 1937, he was sentenced to death by shooting. He accepted his martyr's end on February 7, 1938, in Bryansk. He was rehabilitated on August 4, 1989. On July 17, 2006, he was canonized and included in the Assembly of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church of the 20th century.
Saint Martyr Stefan, pray to God for us!
