Georgy Stepenyuk

Georgy Stepenyuk was born in 1880 in the village of Polichna, Brest County, Grodno Province.
From 1900, he worked as a teacher in a village school. The death of his three children in infancy motivated Georgy to become a priest. He studied at the Moscow Theological Seminary.

In 1911, he was sent to the village of Glinovka, Lepsinsky County, Semirechye Province.
In 1913, he was transferred as a priest to the village of Andreevskoye in the same county and appointed as a teacher of law and arithmetic at the parish school.

When the Civil War broke out, his wife suggested he hide to avoid the turmoil. However, Father Georgy responded, "The Feast of the Holy Trinity is soon. What will the people say?" and stayed.

In 1918, he was arrested by Red Army soldiers and held for two weeks. He was brought before the people to gather evidence against him, but none was found, and he was released.

On July 9, 1918, another detachment of Red Guards entered the village, and several guards immediately went to the priest's house. His wife tried to convince them that her husband was not home, but Father Georgy came out and was arrested. While under guard, Father Georgy, not wanting to leave church affairs in disarray, asked his wife to bring the church record books and put them in order. He also wrote a letter to Protopriest Vladimir Tsedrinsky, asking him to take care of his wife and children.

That afternoon, escorted by a mounted convoy, Father Georgy was led to his execution. He bid farewell to his wife and children and walked down the village's main street. Women and teenagers followed the grim procession. Reaching the steep riverbank, the Red Guards dismounted and descended to the river with the priest. Father Georgy knelt by the water, raised his hands to the sky, and prayed. Then he turned to face his executioners, folded his hands in the shape of a cross on his chest, and, sighing to God, said, "Receive, O Lord, my sinful soul!" The Red Guards fired and killed the priest.

He was buried in the village cemetery. The funeral service was conducted by four priests from neighboring villages, including Hieromartyr Michael Sushkov. Father Georgy's grave was venerated by believers.

He was canonized at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.