Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk Province, Russia, October 17, 2023
Photo: mitropolia74.ru
On August 24, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized the New Martyr Priest Vasily Nosov (†1937). And on Saturday, October 15, his canonization was liturgically celebrated in the Chelyabinsk Diocese in the Urals.
The Divine Liturgy with the glorification of St. Vasily was celebrated at the St. Simeon Cathedral in Chelyabinsk by 10 bishops, including the local hierarch His Eminence Metropolitan Alexei of Chelyabinsk and Miass, His Grace Bishop Anthony of Moravica, the representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the Patriarchate of Moscow, and severl other hierarchs of the Russian Church, reports the Chelyabinsk Diocese.
Also serving were Archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky), the representative of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and Archpriest Daniel Andrejuk, the representative of the Orthodox Church in America.
The glorification was attended by numerous descendants of St. Vasily.
After the Small Entrance, the icon of St. Vasily was carried out of the altar to bless all the faithful as the decision on his canonization was read out.
Photo: mitropolia74.ru
The chairman for the Chelyabinsk Diocese Commission for the Canonization of Saints, Archpriest Boris Krivonogov, gave the homily, in which he noted that St. Vasily is the first saint to be canonized at the initiative of the Chelyabinsk Diocese.
After the Liturgy, a moleben to the Synaxis of the Saints of the Chelyabinsk Metropolis was served.
Met. Alexei of Chelyabinsk stressed that Fr. Vasily’s example shows that holiness and the Kingdom of Heaven are attainable if we can remain faithful to Christ regardless of circumstances.
Booklets on the life of St. Vasily and icons were distributed to all the faithful following the service.
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St. Vasily Mikhailovich Nosov was born on January 29, 1886 in the village of Yekaterinovskaya in the Kuban in the family of the Kuban Cossack Mikhail Nosov and his wife Agafia. He graduated from the parochial school and passed the exam for the title of teacher of the public school. In 1908, his family moved to the Kustanai District of the Turgai Region. In 1913, Vasily Nosov entered the pastoral missionary school at the Orenburg Bishop’s House, where missionary priests were trained.
Upon graduation, Vasily Nosov married and in 1915 was ordained a deacon, then a priest. Fr. Vasily served in various churches in the Kustanai District and taught the Law of God in a rural school, and in 1919 he was transferred to the city of Miass.
In 1922, a Renovationist split broke out. Fr. Vasily did not accept Renovationism and was sent to forced labor to fell wood five miles from the city of Miass. Believers continued to secretly come to Fr. Vasily. Communicating with them, he forbade going to the services of the Renovationists and asked them to make every effort to free the church from them. The representative of the Higher Church Administration came to Fr. Vasily and proposed that he accept Renovationism in exchange for a return to service in the Sts. Peter and Paul Church, but received a categorical refusal.
In early 1923, Fr. Vasily was released and returned to Miass, where he continued his ministry in the Sts. Peter and Paul Church. The parishioners fell in love with Fr. Basil for his devotion to the faith of Christ, kindness and piety, for the impeccable performance of pastoral duties.
On February 6, 1930, Fr. Vasily was again arrested and imprisoned in the Zlatoust prison on charges of anti-Soviet activities and statements against collective farm construction. During interrogation, he pleaded not guilty. In April, Fr. Vasily was sentenced to 8 years in a concentration camp. He served his sentence in the Vishera camp and on the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal.
Five years later, Fr. Vasily was released ahead of schedule. Returning to Miass, he wanted to continue serving in the church, but the authorities did not provide him with registration, and he was forced to take a job as a carpenter.
Believers began to come to Fr. Vasily for pastoral care at home, and sometimes invited him to celebrate services in their homes. Relatives advised him to leave Miass, fearing that he would be arrested again. To these persuasions, the priest replied: “The Lord did not hide from His enemies, and I will not do this, and I will not give my spiritual children to the wolves, but there, as God wills, His holy will is for everything.”
In February 1937, the priest was again arrested and imprisoned in the Chelyabinsk prison, and in September of the same year he was sentenced to death. During interrogations, he denied his guilt, did not slander anyone and did not name names. On October 4, 1937, Fr. Vasily Nosov was shot and buried in a common grave.
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