Presbyter
Saint Vladimir was born on February 27, 1870, in the city of Torzhok, Tver Province, in the family of psalmist Nikolai Damaskin. After his ordination, he was assigned to the church of the village of Ostrovno in the Udomlya district, where he served for most of his life. In 1930, he was arrested but was soon released and returned to serve.
In August 1937, by order of Stalin, the arrests of clergymen began. Father Vladimir was reported for collecting signatures from believers to defend the church and for expressing criticism of the collective farm system. On December 22, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Bezhetskaya prison, where, despite his old age and poor health, he was interrogated.
Despite denying all charges, on December 27, the NKVD troika decided to execute the priest. Father Vladimir Damaskin was shot on December 29, 1937. He was canonized among the ranks of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Archpastoral Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for public veneration.
