Valens Nikolsky

Holy Hieromartyr Valens Nikolsky, a priest, was born in 1885 in the village of Linevo in the Bor district of Nizhny Novgorod province. He served in the village of Trofimovo in the Lyskovo district. In June 1937, on the basis of statements extracted in prison from two workers, the priests of the Lyskovo district were arrested, accused of setting fire to the houses of collective farmers. Among them was arrested Father Valens Ivanovich Nikolsky.

He rejected all the accusations and, despite pressure, did not sign false testimony against others. On 21 September an NKVD troika sentenced him to death, and on 4 October 1937 the sentence was carried out.

He is commemorated on 4 October, on 7 February (a movable date) in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church, and on 12 September (a movable date) in the Synaxis of the Saints of Nizhny Novgorod, all in the new style.