Demetrius Ignatenko

Holy Hieromartyr Demetrius Ignatenko, a priest, lived from 1872 to 1935. He was a graduate of the Kiev Theological Academy, a teacher of religion and a zealous defender of Orthodoxy, arrested several times for his resistance to the Renovationists and for preaching the faith. He died in the prison hospital in Simferopol on 27 September 1935, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. He is commemorated on 28 September, on 7 February, in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, on 2 December, in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Crimean Metropolis, and on 28 December, in the Synaxis of the Saints of Crimea.

He was born on 17 July 1872 in the village of Agotmany, in the Melitopol district of the Zaporozhye region, in a priest's family. After graduating from the Kiev Theological Academy, in 1898, he was ordained priest. Until 1920 he was a teacher of religion at the boys' gymnasium, then a parish priest and head of the diocesan chancery. In December 1922 Archpriest Demetrius Ignatenko was brought together with his diocesan bishop, the future hieromartyr Nikodim Krotkov, before a proletarian court, charged with unwillingness to give up the liturgical objects to be mocked, and for two illegal gatherings, one devoted to condemning the Renovationists of the Tauride diocese, the second connected with the ordination as bishop of Melitopol of Sergei Zverev. The trial lasted from 5 November to 1 December 1922. Father Demetrius did not admit guilt and was sentenced to three years in a camp.

After serving his term he came to Simferopol, was again accused of anti-⁠Soviet agitation and expelled from Ukraine. Returned home, he continued to preach and to defend the interests of the Church. His strict life, unceasing prayer, ardent faith and undivided hope in God's providence gave him a special boldness in rebuking the enemies of Orthodoxy. In 1926 he was arrested again and, by decision of the OGPU troika, sent for three years to the Mari region. After the exile he settled in Melitopol and, after a time, received a parish in the village of Kruchi, in the Zaporozhye region. At the beginning of July 1935 he was arrested again, under the charge usual at that time of anti-⁠Soviet activity. His sermons, which contrasted with the official ideology, were held against him. At the interrogations he did not hide his views and religious convictions and emphasised that on matters of religion he had differences of principle with Soviet power. All this time he was in the prison at Simferopol. He was sixty-⁠three, and the post-⁠revolutionary years full of trials had undermined his health. The investigation was nearing its end and, though the priest's bodily strength was spent, his soul remained firm and unshaken in the confession of the Orthodox faith. On 9 September he was placed in the prison hospital. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Archpriest Demetrius Ignatenko departed to the Lord, having carried the cross of his life to the end.