Konstantin Zhdanov

Holy Hieromartyr Konstantin Zhdanov was an Orthodox priest, a victim of the Bolshevik terror, killed in 1919 at Dzisna in Belarus. He was canonized in 2011 by the Belarusian Orthodox Church as a martyr for the faith.

Little is known of his early life, chiefly the circumstances of his baptism. His priestly service began in 1900, when he married and was ordained deacon. At first he planned to serve in the village of Yuditsino, but after his father's death he asked for and received a transfer to Sharkovshchina, to help his younger brothers. There he almost at once began to look for funds to build a new church, because of the critical state of the old building, but for a long time he was in dispute with the diocesan authorities, who gave their consent only after four years. The building and consecration of the new church took about six more years, and the official opening ceremony was held on 13 November 1912.

During his service he became very well known for his sermons, which he continued even after the establishment of communist power, despite persecution. In the end he was arrested together with Father Alexei, the rector of the parish in Yazna, but while the latter chose to flee, taking advantage of the drunken state of his guards, Father Konstantin stayed, judging that he must accept the fate that God had prepared for him.

The details of the execution are known from Father Alexei, who became an involuntary witness. According to him, the communists tortured and tormented the old man for a long time, then, after he said a prayer as his last wish, killed him and buried him in a pit. The body could be buried honourably only after two months, in June 1919, when Polish troops, with the support of local insurgents, freed the Dzisna district from the communists. The priest was buried in the basement beneath the altar of the church of the Hodegetria Icon in Dzisna.

The local people kept the memory of Father Konstantin Zhdanov for decades. In 1995 special memorial services for the holy martyr began to be held in the church at Sharkovshchina. In 2010 Patriarch Kirill of Moscow blessed the canonization of the priest. Father Konstantin Zhdanov was canonized on 4 June 2011 in the Holy Resurrection church in Dzisna. The martyr's relics are kept in the same church, although the source earlier mentions the grave beneath the altar of the Hodegetria church.