Demetrius Chistoserdov

Holy Hieromartyr Demetrius Chistoserdov, a priest, was archpriest of the church of the Sign in Ivangorod, near Narva, and received the crown of martyrdom by shooting on 8 January 1919, together with the priest Alexander Volkov. The two priests were shot in Narva, on the second day of Christmas, on the feast of the Synaxis of the Mother of God, by order of the authorities of the Estonian Labour Commune. He is commemorated on 8 January, on 7 February, in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, on 11 July, in the Synaxis of the Saints of Petersburg, and on 1 December, in the Synaxis of the Saints of the Land of Estonia.

The two pastors

The two pastors, who died shoulder to shoulder, served together and had similar milestones in their lives. They served in neighbouring churches of Narva, on the Ivangorod side: Father Alexander at the Dormition church in the fortress, Father Demetrius at the church of the Sign, near the Petersburg road. Alexander Volkov was born in Narva in 1873, in the family of a priest, Pavlin Alexeevich Volkov, archpriest and rector of the Dormition in Ivangorod, who served in the parish for forty-⁠seven years. He finished the seminary in Petersburg in 1893, in the first rank. At twenty he was a teacher at the parish school in Merrekyul, and after three years he moved to the Alexander Nevsky Theological School, where he laboured ten years as supervisor, teacher of Russian and sacred history, and steward. On 6 November 1901 Bishop Constantine of Gdov ordained him deacon. In 1904 he received the Order of Saint Anne, third class, and on 6 November 1904 Bishop Cyril of Gdov ordained him priest. In 1907, after his father retired, at the age of seventy-⁠one, he received the place at the Dormition church in Ivangorod, built in 1507-1509. For nearly sixty years the priestly family of the Volkovs served there. He was also a teacher of religion at three schools in Narva.

Demetrius Chistoserdov was born on 14 October 1861 in the Petersburg province, in the family of a deacon. He finished the seminary in Petersburg in 1882, in the first rank, and worked at the Alexander Nevsky School as a supervisor. On 3 February 1889 he was ordained priest at the church of the Sign in Ivangorod, built in 1750, with three altars: the icon of the Sign of the Mother of God, the Holy Prophet Elijah, and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. He served there thirty years as rector, until his martyrdom. He was dean of two districts, of the churches of Narva and of the first district of the Yamburg area, chairman of the Yamburg branch of the diocesan school council and supervisor of the parish schools of the area, and taught religion in three schools. The word spoken by Archpriest John Kochurov on the twenty-⁠fifth anniversary of his ordination describes him as a zealous and tireless pastor and a sower of enlightenment among the people of the Narova region. His authority was so great that even in 1917, when many parishioners were seized by the spirit of the revolution and the clergy were being removed from the leadership of parishes and brotherhoods, he was elected to the council of the Narva branch of the Brotherhood of the Mother of God; no other priest of Narva and Ivangorod entered the council.

The persecution

In November 1918 the German military authority in Estonia was replaced by the dictatorship of the Bolsheviks, who proclaimed Estonia a Labour Commune. The first thing was to cleanse the country of the religious poison. On 10 December 1918 the Council of the Commune issued a decree of expulsion from the country of all those of clerical rank. After two days a resolution came out that forbade services, and on 30 December all buildings of worship were placed at the disposal of the local committees. On the basis of these decrees all the clergy of Narva were arrested, and the priests were ordered to leave the country in twenty-⁠four hours. Only three were not expelled: Father Alexander Volkov and Father Demetrius Chistoserdov, who were shot, and Father Vladimir Bezhanitsky, the priest of the Resurrection church in Krengolm, who was abused. No investigation was made; the lists were drawn up in advance, and the resolution of the chairman of the Narva commission for the fight against counter-⁠revolution, Oskar Ellek, was enough for a man to be shot. The priests were shot as Black Hundreds, though they had not meddled in politics. As pastors, they probably could not help telling their flock their views and convictions in that tragic time. For this alone, for sincerity and pastoral frankness, for loyalty to the Homeland and the Church that had raised them, they were condemned to death. On 8 January 1919 they were led out beyond the city and received a martyr's death.