Nicholas Bogoslovsky

Holy Hieromartyr Nicholas Bogoslovsky was an archpriest in the Olonets region, born on 3 May 1875 and shot on 4 November 1937 at Petrozavodsk. He was numbered among the saints by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2004. He is commemorated on the day of his death, 4 November (22 October by the old calendar).

He was born the sixth and youngest child in the family of the priest John, of the church of the Ascension at Payanitsa. After graduating from the theological seminary of Olonets, in September 1896 he entered service as psalm-⁠reader at the Alexander Nevsky factory church and taught at the parish church school attached to it. He was ordained priest on 2 March 1897 by Bishop Paul of Olonets and Petrozavodsk and appointed to the Oshta parish, Lodeynoye Pole district. From 1897 to 1918 he was teacher of religion at the Oshta girls' church school and the Lazarevo zemstvo school, and then teacher of religion and head of the Lazarevo church school.

In 1909 he was elected spiritual investigator, in 1913 he was confirmed as a member of the deanery council. He was a deputy at the district school congress, and in 1915 he was father-⁠president of the 48th congress of father-⁠deputies of the Petrozavodsk school district. He engaged in works of charity and was on the board of the Oshta society for the aid of the poor and orphans.

After the revolution of 1917, from 1918 to 1925, he worked as an employee, a senior accountant. In 1925 he returned to priestly service in the cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Petrozavodsk. He organised and gave lectures in a circle of lovers of Christian religious and moral education attached to the cathedral and was secretary of the parish council. In 1926 he was raised to the rank of archpriest. After the cathedral of the Holy Spirit was closed by decision of the Petrozavodsk city council in February 1930, the clergy and community moved to serve at the cemetery church of Saint Catherine.

On 2 September 1937 Father Nicholas was arrested on the charge of counter-⁠revolutionary insurgent activity. He signed none of the investigation records and did not admit guilt. The charge was brought under Article 58-2-10-11 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. By decision of the NKVD troika of the Karelian ASSR he was shot on 4 November 1937 in the Sulazhgora area and buried in an unknown common grave. He was rehabilitated on 9 January 1957 by the Supreme Court of the Karelian ASSR.

In 2004 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church entered the name of the holy hieromartyr Nicholas Bogoslovsky in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, from the Petrozavodsk and Karelia diocese. Three brothers of Father Nicholas completed the Olonets seminary; two of them, Alexei and Alexander, were ordained, Alexei serving in parishes of the Olonets diocese and Alexander as protodeacon in the cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Petrozavodsk. He had two sisters, one of whom, Anna, was married to the priest Fyodor Maklionov (1872 to 1938). For his zealous and useful service he received the hip-⁠cloth (1898), the skufia (1903), the kamilavka (1909), the Red Cross medal in memory of the Russo-⁠Japanese War (1907), the silver medal for 25 years of parish church schools (1910), and in 1913 he was proposed for the pectoral cross from the Holy Synod; in 1928 he was proposed for the palitsa.