On September 30 (September 17 on the Julian Calendar) we commemorate the monks of the Koryazhma Nikolaevsky Monastery, Saints Paul (Moiseyev), Theodosius (Sobolev), Nicodemus (Shapkov) and Seraphim (Kulakov), Martyrs of the Communist Yoke, who reposed in the Lord in 1918.
Saint Paul (Moiseyev)
The abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Paul (Pavel), in the world Ivan Yakovlevich Moiseyev, was born on February 16, 1849 in the village of Dresvishi, Gryazovetsky district, Vologda province, to a peasant family. He taught himself to read and write, using the Psalter. He loved to read the lives of saints and avoided village games.
Ivan made the decision to become a monk at a mature age, when he was already thirty. On the eve of Lent, March 19, 1880, Ivan was appointed a novice at the Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery, near the place where he was born and where he had visited many times.
After six months of obedience, on October 9, the day of the celebration of the locally venerated Korsun Icon of the Mother of God, he took monastic vows with the name Paul. A month later, on November 16, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on June 24, 1881, a hieromonk. In 1887, on behalf of the diocesan authorities, Fr. Paul managed the Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery for six months and was its treasurer. In 1890, he ended up in Ustyug, first becoming the abbot of the Nikolayevo-Prilutsky Monastery, and then the dean of the monasteries of the Veliky-Ustyug Vicariate.
He devoted much care and effort to saving the inhabitants entrusted to him. On June 24, 1898, Bishop Gabriel of Veliky-Ustyug elevated Hieromonk Paul to the rank of hegumen (abbot) and handed him a staff. On March 13, 1902, Hegumen Paul became the abbot of the Koryazhma Nikolaevsky Monastery. From now on and until his death, this monastery would be the place of his service. For the brethren, who were suffering all sorts of troubles, he became a strong moral support. With words of comfort, encouragement and admonition, he supported everyone, especially the weak in spirit, and helped them to come closer to God.
The decree of the new government, separating the Church from the state, worried Father Paul. On this occasion, the retired Archimandrite of the Vvedensky Monastery Feodosiy, a gray-haired 76-year-old Archimandrite, came to him from Solvychegodsk.
And there was reason to worry. News had already reached here about the shootings at the Moscow Kremlin churches, about the plundering of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, about the beating of monks and the murder of the Kyiv Metropolitan Vladimir by the Bolsheviks...
Saint Theodosius (Sobolev)
Archimandrite Theodosius, in the world Theodore (Feodor) Sobolev, was born on September 11, 1842. His father, Dormidont Sobolev, priest of the Zharovskaya Peter and Paul Church in the Velsky district of the Vologda province, was the son of a priest, and his mother Olga Alekseevna was the daughter of a deacon.
Theodore grew up in a family where Orthodox traditions were sacredly preserved. The basis of the children's upbringing was prayer and work. When his elder brother Konstantin entered the Vologda Theological Seminary, Theodore no longer doubted that he would follow his example, and after graduating from the Theological School he became a seminarian.
In 1864, after graduating from the Vologda Theological Seminary, Theodore started a family and in the same year was ordained a priest at the Totma City Assumption Church. In 1869, he was appointed to the position of a Latin teacher at the Totma Theological School and performed the job so well that the auditor of the Holy Synod, who inspected the Theological School in 1875, gave him approval for successful teaching. In March 1876, he was appointed a member of the Theological School Board and a clerk, and soon after, a priest at the Totma prison church.
Soon, Fr. Theodore suffered a great grief: his wife passed away. Having become a widower, he devoted himself entirely to serving God. On November 3, 1879, he was included in the brotherhood of the Totma Spaso-Sumorin Monastery. A year later, he was appointed treasurer. On March 6, 1881, in the same monastery, Fr. Theodore took monastic vows with the name Theodosius.
Since 1885, Hieromonk Theodosius was successively appointed as the rector of the Vologda Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, then the Kadnikovsky Dionysius-Glushitsky Monastery in the same province, with the elevation to the rank of hegumen. But the burden of the position began to weigh him down, and Fr. Theodosius soon filed a petition to be relieved of his position. He asked to be returned to the Spaso-Sumorin Monastery.
The request was granted: in December 1889, he returned to his native monastery, where a year later he was appointed to the position of spiritual father of the brethren. In 1892, he was appointed a religious teacher at the Totem Spaso-Sumorinskaya Church Parish School. Father Theodosius saw education as the path to salvation for people; he understood how much common people lacked knowledge of faith. The following year, the abbot's work at the Spaso-Sumorinskaya School was noticed - Father Theodosius was "awarded a book by the Holy Synod - the Holy Bible."
In 1896, a new period of movement began in his life - first to the position of abbot at the Gryazovetsky Arsenievo-Komelsky Monastery, then, confessor of the Ustyug Theological School, Michael the Archangel and John the Baptist Monasteries, then - abbot of the Ustyug Nikolayevo-Prilutsky Monastery, and finally, in September 1907, Abbot Theodosius became abbot of the Solvychegodsky Vvedensky Monastery. In November of the same year, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. On September 13, 1916, Archimandrite Theodosius, due to his advanced age and poor health, was retired at his own request. However, he did not withdraw from the affairs of the brethren, making his own contribution to strengthening the monastery. In August 1918, he went to the Koryazhma Monastery to discuss the changes taking place in the country...
Saint Nicodemus (Shapkov)
Hieromonk Nicodemus (Nikodim), who took an active part in the revival of the Koryazhma Nikolaevsky Monastery, was born in the Vologda province on October 20, 1852, to the family of Ustyug tradesman Konstantin Ivanovich Shchapkov and his wife Tatyana Lvovna. At birth, he was named Nikolai. At the age of 21, having left his father's house, Nikolai went to one of the remote Trinity Stefano-Ulyanovsky Monastery in the Vologda province.
For almost ten years he underwent obedience and prepared for monastic feat. Six years later Nikolai was ordained to the sticharion, then in 1883 he became a novice of the monastery. In the monastery, Nikolai was assigned the obedience of shoemaker, which he performed with his characteristic conscientiousness. On August 7, 1886, he took the tonsure with the name Nicodemus. A year later, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on May 25, 1896, on the day of the memory of the Apostle and Evangelist Mark, a hieromonk. He was 44 years old.
A year later, by decree of the Veliky Ustyug Spiritual Administration, Fr. Nicodemus was transferred to the Koryazhma Monastery. With his exemplary behavior and useful pastoral service, Fr. Nicodemus earned the respect of the inhabitants. In 1903, he was confirmed in the positions of treasurer, confessor and dean of the monastery.
Saint Seraphim (Kulakov)
Hieromonk Seraphim (in the world Nikolai) arrived at the Nikolaevsky Koryazhma Monastery at the age of 30 in 1904, being a novice of the Nikolaevsky Prilutsky Monastery. He was born into the family of a peasant from the Kostroma province of the Galich district, Yakov Kulakov. From an early age he was attached to the church. Here he learned to read and write. And when the boy discovered a good voice, choir obedience became his main occupation, which he performed with joy. At the age of twenty-four, with the blessing of his father, he left for the monastery.
Since 1898, Nikolai began to work in the Prilutsky Monastery, and a year later he was appointed its novice. He spent five years in this monastery, performing choir and cell obedience, and then was transferred to the Nikolaevsky Koryazhma Monastery, where on March 14, 1904, he took monastic vows with the name Seraphim. Two years later, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on July 1, 1907, a hieromonk. Father Seraphim devoted himself entirely to serving God and could not imagine any other path for himself.
October 1917 disrupted the established order in the monastery. For some time now, a representative of the new government, known as the monastery commandant, had settled in the monastery. He did not talk about his powers and did not particularly interfere in the life of the monastery. On September 27, 1918, on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, a festive service was held in the monastery. After the service, those present waited for the abbot's parting words. Archimandrite Paul understood that in these troubled times, their monastery, like others, would face severe trials. And they came.
On September 23, 1918, the Solvychegodsk Cheka received a statement from an illiterate citizen of the village of Naradtsev in the Veliky Ustyug district, who said that in the Yarensk district on the bank of the Cherna River in the forest huts of hunters and timber merchants "some rich people live, apparently the bourgeoisie is hiding." In addition, he reported that in the Koryazhma Monastery, where he had to spend the night, there were also "such dubious types, hiding from something." This statement served as the reason for the authorities to travel to the Nikolaevsky Koryazhma Monastery.
On September 30, the military commissar and members of the Solvychegodsk emergency commission descended on the monastery.
How events began to unfold is shown by an extract from the journal of this commission, which is in the case files. It states that "upon arrival at the monastery, the extraordinary commission demanded that the monastery administration hand over all the hiding places, including money, etc., to which the administration resisted and by its resistance expressed its disobedience to the existing authorities..."
It is not specified what exactly the resistance of the monastery administration was. The commandant of the monastery was instructed to interrogate the monastery administration. There are no interrogation protocols as such in the case files, as there is no information about those interrogated. On one sheet, the commandant placed the testimony of all five accused.
The protocol does not indicate what questions they were asked. It records the following:
Archimandrite Paul of the Nikolo-Koryazhemsky Monastery responded: "Hegumen Paul answered all questions in the negative, saying that there was nothing else in the monastery";
Hieromonk Nicodemus' response: "He also did not confess to anything. He answered all questions negatively";
Hieromonk Seraphim's response: "He also does not admit to anything, saying that he was not in charge of anything";
Archimandrite Theodosius's response: "He did not interfere in the monastery's affairs and lived separately."
In order to carry out the reprisal, the Solvychegodsk Cheka assigned to the administration of the Nikolaevsky Koryazhma Monastery the hieromonk Seraphim, who was not involved in its economic activities, and the retired archimandrite of the Solvychegodsk Vvedensky Monastery Theodosius.
It follows from the extract that "those accused of disobeying Soviet power, the persons mentioned in this resolution, who are the leaders of the opposing gang, Archimandrite Paul, Archimandrite Theodosius, Hieromonks Seraphim and Nicodemus - are to be shot."
The reason for the execution is not stated. At that time, the clergy were often executed for not handing over church property. But the new government was not interested in the decoration of the churches of the Koryazhma Monastery, the vestments and church utensils, it only needed the money donated for the maintenance of the monastery. During the search, no matter how hard they looked, they did not find it. No matter how much they tormented the elders, they could not get anything out of them.
And so great was the desire to break their monastic spirit, so strong was the malice, that, without waiting for the decision to be confirmed, they immediately dealt with those arrested.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon on September 30, 1918, on the road from the Koryazhma Monastery to one of the deserted islands along the Vychegda River, the following were shot: the retired archimandrite of the Solvychegodsk Monastery Theodosius (Sobolev), aged 77; the retired archimandrite of the Koryazhma Monastery Paul (Moiseyev), aged 70; and the hieromonks of the same monastery, 65-year-old Nicodemus (Shapkov) and 45-year-old Seraphim (Kulakov).
