Hieromartyrs of Egorievsk

Nickolay Golyshev

Nickolay Vlasovich Golyshev was born 13 May 1882 in the village of Goubino, Moscow province to a pious peasant family. There were nine children in the family, six of them died in the early age.

In 1903, Nickolay moved to Egorievsk and became a bookkeeper at the Bardygin cotton mill. In 1914, he was employed by the local city council as an accountant deputy, and in 1917 became a manager of the financial department.

Nickolay played a number of musical instruments and had a good voice. He often sang in the Assumption (White) cathedral of Egorievsk.

In 1917, he married Alexandra Ermolaeva, a daughter of the local lunch bar owner.

In 1920, Nickolay became a deacon of the Assumption cathedral and in 1929 a priest of St. Nicholas church of Nickolo-Kroutiny village.

3 February 1931 father Nickolay was arrested and accused in anti-Soviet agitation and conspiracy against Soviet agricultural policy. The charges against him were as follows: « [He] walked through the local villages and prayed since the 9th of May, thought such praying was not supposed to be organized that time. The result was a mass escape of the peasants from the collective farms».

The interrogation protocol witnesses the following answers of the priest: «I do not agree with the atheistic policy of the Soviets. However, I pray to the Lord to enlighten them. I am an enemy of the Soviet power if it desecrates the name of God. As to your accusations, I am not guilty. I did not carry out any anti-collective farm agitation».

Two month after father Nickolay was exiled to Siberia for 5 years, which considerably damaged his health. After being back father Nickolay continued to serve in his church. The parishioners said that time he had been praying for the long hours standing on his knees. Sometimes he was worshiping even when nobody was in the church. Even his wife blamed him for that. «To worship the Lord is my holy duty», was his answer.

His small home was a shelter for many people, which were coming to pray from the remote villages. The priest’s wife was feeding and accommodating these them.

Father Nickolay was a kind man. He often mowed grass for his aged neighbors and rejected the pay. Sometimes that caused misunderstanding in his family coming through the hard time and mortgaging their possessions.

In the end of 1930s, the authorities started a new campaign to annihilate clergy and the most active churchgoers. The church of father Nickolay was under repeating attacks of the local hooligans. The local Soviets played them off and father Nickolas was standing alone to stop all those vandals.

In the end of 1937, the investigators of NKVD (Secret police) interrogated four locals witnessing against father Nickolay. Some Voronov told that in the time of his father’s funerals the priest said: «You, grandpa, has lived your life. You were sinning, but you believed in God. Not all people now days are like you. Your children are of another spirit. What can we do about it? They do not follow your path».

The Voronov’s sister witnessed: «I know Golyshev as a counterrevolutionary. Under the coverage of religion, he is struggling against Soviet power. In 1936 he preached encouraging the people to fast and imitate the saints.» Another false witness retold the advice of the priest to one of the parishioners «to pray, not to work in a collective farm and to wed the daughter in the church».

19 January 1938 the NKVD (Secret police) arrested and imprisoned father Nickolay. He managed the pass out a farewell letter to his wife and two children.

2 February Hieromartyr Nickolay was sentenced to death and 17 February shot in the village of Boutovo near Moscow. He was buried in a mass grave there. His commemoration days have been established on the 7th and 17th of February.

Dmitry Troitsky

Dmitry Vasilyevich Troitsky was born in 1882 in the village of Maksheevo near Kolomna, to a clerical family. He was a priest of the Transfiguration church of the Pochinky village, Egorievsk district, Moscow region.

6 September 1937 father Dmitry was arrested by the NKVD (Secret police), accused in «anti-Soviet agitation» and sentenced to death.

21 September 1937 hieromartyr Dmitry was shot in Boutovo, near Moscow. He was buried in a mass grave.

Alexander Bobrov

álexander Ilyich Bobrov was born in 1882 in the village of Letovo, Ryazan Province to a clerical family. He was a priest of Transfiguration church in the Pochinky village, Egorievsk district, Moscow region.

6 September 1937 father Alexander was arrested and charged in «counterrevolutionary fascist and defeatist’s agitation». Few days later, he was sentenced to death.

21 September 1937 Hieromartyr Alexander was shot in the village of Boutovo, near Moscow and buried in a mass grave.

Nazary Gribkov

Nazary Stepanovich Gribkov was born in 1879 at the village of Agryzkovo, Egorievsk District. In 1906 was graduated from the Ryazan Theology Seminary with a diploma of teacher. The same year was appointed a psalm-reader to the Assumption Cathedral of Egorievsk. In 1916 was appointed a deacon, and in 1919 a priest of the same cathedral. In the same year, he was transferred to be a parish priest of Pochinky village, and in 1929 – to the village of Tougoles.
In 1930 father Nazary was arrested by NKVD (Secret Police) and sentenced to 5 years of exile. To 1936 he lived in Kazakstan.
Since 1936 he had returned to Paraskeva church of Tougoles.
28 November 1936 father Nazary was arrested again. That time he was a widower, bringing up an 11 y. o. son.
5 December the NKVD sentenced him to death for the «counterrevolutionary agitation».
11 December father Nazary was executed in Boutovo, near Moscow and buried in a mass-grave.
20 August 2000 Russian Orthodox Church glorified Nazary Gribkov as a hieromartyr. His commemoration was appointed on the 11th of December, and on the 25th of January, on the day of All Russian New Martyrs.