Moscow, July 26, 2024
St. Alexei Lopatin. Photo: sr.isa.ru The Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate resolved to canonize another saint among the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.
Thus, August 12/25 will now mark the feast of the Hieromartyr Alexei Lopatin, who was martyred by the godless authorities in 1918, reports Patriarchia.ru.
St. Alexei was also included in the Synaxis of the Saints of Vyatka. Should his remains be uncovered, they are to be venerated as holy relics.
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Archpriest Alexei Lopatin was born in 1868 in Kukarka, Vyatka Governorate, and graduated from the Vyatka Theological Seminary.
From 1890 until October 1916, Fr. Alexei served in the Holy Transfiguration Church in the village of Verkhovino. From 1906, he served as the dean of the 4th deanery district of the Orlov district and was a law teacher in several schools.
The pastor repeatedly participated as a deputy in the Vyatka Diocesan congresses and was a member of the preparatory commission for conducting diocesan congresses. In addition, Fr. Alexei was a member of the Vyatka Brotherhood of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Orthodox Missionary Society, the Orlov Guardianship of Public Sobriety, and so on. For his work, the pastor was awarded various Church honors. In October 1916, Fr. Alexei was appointed rector of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Slobodskoy and elevated to the rank of archpriest, and in February 1917, he became the dean of local city churches.
In January 1918, Bishop Nikander of Vyatka and Slobodskoy sent Fr. Alexei the “Appeal of the Holy Council to the Orthodox People Regarding the Decree of the People’s Commissars on Freedom of Conscience” adopted by the Council of the Orthodox Russian Church of 1917-1918, calling for unity in defense of Orthodox holy sites and relics.
According to the bishop’s instructions, this appeal was to be read in the churches of the city of Slobodskoy and the faithful were to be called to defend the holy faith. Fulfilling the bishop’s instructions, Fr. Alexei convened a deanery meeting on January 30 during which he condemned the persecutions of the Church that were then beginning. In conclusion, Fr. Alexei invited the members of the assembly to discuss ways to protect the Church against violence from the local Soviet authorities. The clear and courageous position of the clergy of Slobodskoy was largely due to the firmness of Fr. Alexei.
On Sunday, April 21, 1918, Fr. Alexei delivered a sermon to the parishioners of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, in which, narrating the life of St. Mary of Egypt, he compared the modern life of the Russian people to the first half of this saint’s life. He said: “We have abandoned the precepts of our ancestors; we have ceased to fulfill our Christian duties.”
On the same day, the Red Guards arrested Fr. Alexei twice and took him to investigative commission. At the request of the parishioners, the pastor was initially released, but at midnight he was arrested again and transferred to the Vyatka Correctional House. Fr. Alexei behaved courageously during interrogations, denying all the charges against him.
At the request of Bp. Nikander, Fr. Alexei was released along with other arrested Vyatka pastors for the Paschal holiday. However, on May 23, 1918, his apartment was searched, followed by a repeated arrest. The Ural Cheka sentenced Fr. Alexei to the highest measure of punishment, and the pastor was shot on August 25, 1918, in the city of Vyatka.
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