Presbyter
Saint Vasileios of Smolensk the New Martyr was born in 1869 in the village of Savelyevo. In 1891, after graduating from the Moscow Theological School, he was ordained to the priesthood.
In 1918, he was arrested. However, he was soon released and returned to his pastoral duties. In 1929, following a denunciation, he was arrested again and sentenced to three years of exile. After returning in 1933, he served at the Church of Saint Nicholas. In 1936, he was arrested once more after expressing his objections to the policies of the Soviet authorities. In 1941, during the war, he served in the village of Kholmets, where he was arrested in March 1942 on charges of collaborating with the enemy.
The day of July 15, 1942, was set as the date of his execution. However, the sentence was never carried out, as the saint reposed on June 12, 1942, in the prison hospital. He was buried in an unmarked grave.
