On October 6 (September 23 on the Julian Calendar) we commemorate Saint John Pankratovich, priest and martyr of the Communist yoke, who reposed in the Lord in 1937.
Hieromartyr Ivan (John) Fyodorovich Pankratovich was born in 1870 in the town of Kletsk, Slutsk district, Minsk province. The dates of his deacon and priestly ordination are unknown. In 1913, he became rector of the Holy Protection Church in the village of Chizhevichi, Minsk region (now a village near the city of Soligorsk, Minsk region). In 1918, on Easter, he was awarded a skufia for his zealous service.
Father John became the last rector of the church in Chizhevichi before it was closed by the Soviet authorities. In 1934, the Holy Protection Church was closed. The 19th-century iconostasis was burned on the central square in front of the church. The priest continued to secretly perform services: he blessed houses, baptized newborns, performed funeral services for the deceased, and also called on his parishioners to express their strong disagreement with the actions of the authorities and sign up for the resumption of church services. In 1937, during the All-Union Population Census, he told parishioners not to hide their faith and to indicate their affiliation with the Orthodox Church in the questionnaire.
On August 23, 1937, Archpriest John Pankratovich was arrested. He was accused of "going around villages and calling on peasants to sign up for the reopening of a previously closed church. During the All-Union Population Census, he instructed many parishioners to register as believers." He was sentenced to death by firing squad. During interrogations, Father John was asked to renounce his rank, but he categorically refused. He did not admit guilt in illegal actions.
On August 28, 1937, the priest was sentenced to death by a special troika of the NKVD of the BSSR. On October 6, 1937, he was executed and buried in an unmarked grave.
On October 28, 1999, Archpriest John Pankratovich was canonized by the Holy Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church as a locally venerated saint of the Belarusian Orthodox Church. He was added to the ranks of the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in August 2000 at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church for church-wide veneration.
