Alexander Talyzin

Saint Hieromartyr Alexander Talyzin (1870 to 1938) was a priest in the village of Shablykino, in the Tver region, and was shot on 20 February 1938. He is commemorated on 20 February, on 7 February with the synaxis of the new martyrs, and on 18 July with the saints of Tver.

He was born on 15 August 1870 in the village of Tipnya, Vesyegonsk district, Tver province, into the family of the priest John Talyzin. After the seminary he was ordained priest and served in churches of the Tver diocese. In 1928, in the time of the persecutions, he was arrested, accused of anti-⁠Soviet agitation and sentenced to two years of exile. Returning in 1930 to the Tver region, he was sent to serve in the village of Shablykino, Krasny Kholm district, and served there until his arrest.

He was arrested on 10 February 1938 and imprisoned at Krasny Kholm. The investigator demanded that he name his connections in the district and outside it; he answered that he had no connections except his sons, one of whom worked at Krasny Kholm station, repairing the track, and the other in a carpentry workshop. Asked about the "anti-⁠Soviet and counter-⁠revolutionary work" done among the peasants, he answered that he had not carried on and was not carrying on anti-⁠Soviet agitation and did not admit guilt. The investigator, lacking evidence, called duty witnesses, and they signed the necessary testimony. On 12 February the investigation was closed and sent to the NKVD troika, which on 13 February sentenced him to death. The priest Alexander Talyzin was shot on 20 February 1938 and buried in an unmarked common grave.