Arkady Dobronravov

Saint Arcadius Dobronravov, hieromartyr, was an archpriest of the Russian Church and died in prison on 20 April 1933. In 2007 the Holy Synod numbered him among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, as a hieromartyr.

He was born in 1868 in the village of Ustie, Yadrin district, Kazan governorate (now the Alikovo district of Chuvashia), in the family of the deacon Paul Dobronravov. After finishing the theological seminary of Kazan in 1889 he began to serve in the village of Pichkasy, Spassk district. For zeal during the building of the new church he received in 1893 the thanks of the Holy Synod, and in 1894 the priestly belt.

In 1896 he was transferred to the church of the Kazan Mother of God in the town of Tsivilsk. He received the thanks of the school council of the diocese of Kazan for diligent work at the parish school. In 1898, for taking part in Red Cross work during the Russo-⁠Japanese war, he received the silver medal on the double ribbon of Alexander. In 1909 he received the kamilavka, and in 1912 the Order of Saint Anne, third class, and was raised to the rank of archpriest.

In 1925 he was temporarily removed from service. Bishop Herman (Kokel) of Alatyr asked the authorities for permission to elect Father Arcadius to the diocesan council. On 30 April 1931 Archpriest Arcadius was accused of anti-⁠Soviet agitation (he had opposed the closing of churches). On 8 May 1931 the prison doctor wrote a report on Father Arcadius's health, noting that Dobronravov suffered from heart disease and that long walks were contraindicated for him. On 10 June 1931, on the same charge, he was sent for five years to the camps in Mordovia. He died in prison on 20 April 1933. On 27 December 2007 the Holy Synod numbered him among the saints, the new martyrs and confessors of Russia.