John Mironsky

Holy Hieromartyr John Mironsky, a priest, in the world Ivan Nikolaevich Mironsky (Mironovsky), was born in 1877 in the village of Russkie Yurtkuli in the Spassk district of the Kazan province. He was first arrested in 1929, but was held only five days. The second arrest came on 6 April 1936. At that time he was working as a carpenter and had a wife and sons Pavel, Alexander and Dmitri. Father John was accused of being "a member of a counterrevolutionary group and of carrying on anti-⁠Soviet agitation" and was sentenced to five years of exile in Kazakhstan. He served the exile in the village of Orlovka in the Chayan district of the South Kazakhstan region, where he worked as a gardener.

On 20 December 1937 he was arrested in exile by the Chayan district branch of the NKVD. With him were arrested the monk Victor Matveevich Matveev and the priest Vladimir Preobrazhensky, who lived together in the Aksai gorge near Orlovka. A group case was opened against them, "of the counterrevolutionary organization of churchmen of the Chayan district, South Kazakhstan region, 1937". On 23 December the investigator interrogated Father John. He answered: "I carried on no anti-⁠Soviet work. I, as a servant of the religious cult, only read the Gospel at prayers." He said that he had read the Gospel in his own dwelling. About other things he said that he had done nothing and no anti-⁠Soviet work. After the interrogation an act was drawn up: the accused refused to sign the record, saying that he would never sign and that he accused the NKVD of falsification, and he gave as the reason for his refusal his religious convictions.

In the indictment it was written that the NKVD had uncovered a group of churchmen, a branch of a counterrevolutionary organization of churchmen of the South Kazakhstan region, which was said to have aimed at overthrowing Soviet power and setting up the power of the bourgeoisie with the clergy in the leading role, and that the group in the Chayan district had made two illegal houses of prayer, performed religious rites illegally and spread religious verses. The organization was said to be led by the bishops Joseph Petrovykh, Cyril Smirnov and Eugene Kobranov. Father John did not admit guilt.

On 30 December 1937 Father John Mironsky was sentenced to the supreme penalty. He was shot on 31 December 1937, at midnight, together with the monk Victor (Matveev) and the priest Vladimir Preobrazhensky. The place of burial of the holy hieromartyrs is not known.

The Church commemorates him on 31 December, the day of his death, in the new style, and on the movable day of the synaxis of the new martyrs.