Valerian Novitsky

Holy Hieromartyr Valerian Novitsky was a village priest in Belarus. He was born in 1897 in the village of Grabovo, Minsk province, and was shot in 1930 near the village of Timkovichi, Kopyl district. He was numbered among the saints of the Russian Church in the year 2000. His commemoration is on 10 February by the old calendar (23 February by the new).

He was born into the family of a village priest. His brother was Archbishop Veniamin (Novitsky) (1900 to 1976). His wife was named Dominika Ignatyevna, and his children were Nina, Irina and Evgeny. He finished the clerical school and began the Minsk seminary, but did not complete it because of its closing. From 1921 to 1923 he studied at the law faculty of the Belarusian University. From 1923 he was rector of the church of the Holy Trinity in the village of Telyadovichi, Kopyl district, succeeding his late father in this service. According to his wife's recollections, he explained his choice with the words: The faith must be saved. He spoke out strongly against atheist propaganda and said that he would not bury peasants who attended atheist circles, whose members staged plays against the Church. He was a wonderful preacher and brought back to faith in God many of his fellow villagers.

On 14 January 1930 he was arrested and sent to the prison in the city of Slutsk, accused of propaganda against the collective farms. In prison he was proposed to renounce the priestly rank, by writing a note to this effect in a newspaper. In return his life and help in finding work were promised. He refused and sent his wife a note in which he wrote that to save his life he had been asked to renounce God and his holy rank, but he had refused, and he asked how she would manage with the children. His wife replied that he should renounce neither God nor the priestly rank, and that the Lord would help her. On 23 February 1930 the three-⁠man tribunal of the political police at the plenipotentiary representation for the Belarusian Military District sentenced him to death by shooting.

A few days later Father Valerian, another priest and a layman were led out under heavy guard into the forest near Timkovichi. Before death, the condemned dug their own graves, then were again proposed to renounce God. After they refused, they were shot. One of those who took part in the execution told of it before his death, in the 1970s. The priest's family was evicted from the village within twenty-⁠four hours and almost all their property was taken. Holy Hieromartyr Valerian Novitsky was glorified by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church in August 2000.