Presbyter
Saint Vladimir the Martyr was born on March 23, 1877, in the city of Suzdal, in the Vladimir Governorate. He was born into the family of the priest Basil Speransky. In 1899, he graduated from the Theological Seminary and began working as a teacher. In 1901, he was ordained a deacon and subsequently a priest.
His first place of ministry was the Church of Petrovo. He served throughout the surrounding region until 1933. That same year, he moved to Moscow, where he began serving in the Taldom district, at the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the village of Zaprudnya.
In January 1937, he met a young man who served at the military registration and enlistment office in Yegoryevsk. During their conversation, Father Vladimir expressed his opposition to the policies of the Soviet government. Although the conversation was brief, it aroused suspicion, and the saint’s name eventually came to the attention of the Communist authorities.
On August 21, 1937, Father Vladimir was arrested. During the interrogations, he denied any involvement in anti-Soviet activities, maintaining that his sermons were purely religious and had no political implications. Nevertheless, the investigation found him guilty of anti-Soviet propaganda.
On August 29, Saint Vladimir was imprisoned in Taganka Prison. On October 19, the NKVD troika sentenced him to death. He was executed at the Butovo shooting range near Moscow on October 21, 1937, and was buried in an unknown mass grave.
