In August 2009, in the village of Kolchedan in the Kamensky district, the remains of Priest Stephen Lukanin and the deacons George Begma and Nestor Gudzovsky, who had been executed in 1918, were solemnly reburied. A wooden cross bearing their names was erected at the place of their death. Abbot Nestor and Priest Nikolai celebrated a memorial service attended by nuns and representatives of the local administration.
The saints had refused to submit to the Soviet authorities and were executed at the Sinara railway station. During the early decades of the 21st century, they were recognized as New Martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church.
At one time, two monasteries stood in Kolchedan, though none of them survives today. The local population possesses little information concerning the spiritual life of the former parish or the fate of its clergy. According to one account, the martyrs were buried in the church courtyard, where a cross was later placed. Today, the Monastery of the Transfiguration plans to improve and preserve the area surrounding this site.
Alexander Lobanov, the great-grandson of Deacon George, has spoken about his grandmother — the daughter of the saint — who often shared stories about her father’s life. He also describes how the family fled to Yekaterinburg immediately after the murder. Among other, there survived a photographic archive, which offers a rare glimpse into the lives of the martyrs of Kolchedan.
