Maria (Portnova)

Born in 1888 in the village of Vereshchagino, Moscow province.

She entered the monastery in 1916. She fulfilled the obedience of tending livestock and caring for angora foxes, whose fur was used by the sisters for knitting various items.

In 1920, the monastery was converted into an agricultural commune at the demand of the authorities and existed under the guise of a commune until 1928.

In 1928, the agricultural commune was liquidated, and the nuns were evicted from its territory.

In 1931, she was convicted under Article 58-10 and exiled to Pavlodar for 3 years.

By a resolution of the Pavlodar NKVD dated May 22, 1936, she was released and remained living in Pavlodar.

She was soon re-arrested in Pavlodar on September 25, 1937.

From the indictment:

"Maria Ilyinichna Portnova was a member of a counter-revolutionary organization of church members, on whose orders she conducted anti-Soviet agitation aimed at undermining Soviet power, and had counter-revolutionary connections with exiles, to whom she provided material assistance."

During interrogation, she gave the following testimony: "I do not know anything about the existence of a counter-revolutionary organization, I did not conduct counter-revolutionary work, and I did not notice others conducting counter-revolutionary work. I cannot give testimony on this matter."

By the decision of the NKVD Troika for the North Kazakhstan region, nun Maria (Portnova) was sentenced to the highest measure of punishment - execution, and was executed by shooting.

She was canonized as a holy martyr and confessor by the Russian Orthodox Church at the Jubilee Bishops' Council in 2000 for general church veneration.