Presbyter
The Holy Hieromartyr Vasily Danilovich Zalesky was born in 1887 in the village of Fyodorovka in the Astrakhan region, into the family of a church chanter. He graduated from the Theological School and was ordained a deacon at the Church of the Nativity of Christ in the Astrakhan region. In 1916, he was ordained a priest at the Church of St Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, near the Alexandrinsky Orphanage.
After the Revolution, the church was closed, and in 1920 Fr Vasily returned to the Church of the Nativity of Christ. In 1923, when the Renovationists took control of the church, the saint moved to the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God.
For many years, Fr Vasily and his parishioners visited the grave of Archbishop Mitrofan (Krasnopolsky) of Astrakhan and his assistant, who had been executed in 1919. He venerated their grave and performed memorial services. For this reason, he was arrested on 15 July 1927, as these services were regarded as a political statement against the Soviet authorities. He was sentenced to three years in a forced-labour camp. Although he managed to have his sentence reduced, he remained in the Kem Camp, where he worked as an assistant to the warehouse manager at the OSLON store.
In January 1930, criminal proceedings were initiated against the management of the warehouse on charges of embezzlement. Fr Vasily was considered a suspect and was sentenced to an additional five years in prison. He was subsequently sent to work on the White Sea–Baltic Canal. He was released in 1934 and returned to Astrakhan.
In 1936, he was granted permission to serve at the Church of St Vladimir. However, in 1937, the church was closed amid unrest and ongoing conflicts with the Renovationists. On 20 January 1938, he was arrested and accused of anti-Soviet activities and counter-revolutionary propaganda. He was sentenced to death and executed on 15 February 1938. His body was buried in an unmarked common grave.
On 20 April 2005, the Holy Hieromartyr Vasily was numbered among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia by a decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
His feast day is commemorated on 16 February (3 February according to the Old Style calendar), as well as on the Feast of the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
