Derbent, Republic of Dagestan, Russia, June 28, 2024
The funeral for Fr. Nikolai Kotelnikov. Photo: goragospodnya.ru
The priest and church guard who were brutally murdered in the terrorist attacks in Dagestan over the weekend were prayerfully laid to rest earlier this week.
Two churches, a synagogue, and a traffic police post were attacked on Sunday, leaving many dead, including Archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov, 66, and a church guard named Mikhail Vavilin, whose sacrifice saved many others.
The funeral for Mikhail Vavilin. Photo: goragospodnya.ru
On Tuesday, June 25, His Eminence Archbishop Varlaam of Makhachkala and Grozny served the funeral for Mikhail Vavilin at the Holy Dormition Cathedral in Makhachkala. He was then buried behind the cathedral altar, reports Patriarchia.ru.
The next day, the funeral for Archpriest Nikolai was served in the Holy Protection Church in Derbent, which it where he served and was shot and killed. The service was again led by Abp. Varlaam, and attended by a number of public officials.
Fr. Nikolai was buried behind the altar of the church where he had served for 44 years.
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Fr. Nikolai was born on February 4, 1955, in the Republic of Ingushetia.
In 1974, he graduated from a railway vo-tech school, and in 1974-1975, he served in the Soviet army.
He later studied at the Stavropol Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1977 and then moved to Dagestan, where he served in the Znamenny Church in Khasavyurt from 1977 to 1979.
In 1979, he was appointed rector of the Holy Protection Church in Derbent, where he went on to serve for nearly 45 years.
In 1999, he was appointed confessor of the clergy of the Baku-Caspian Diocese.
He had three daughters, all of whom became matushkas. He had 11 grandchildren.
He was posthumously honored by both His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and President Vladimir Putin.
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