Porphyrius (Gulevich)

In the world, he was Polycarp Vasilyevich Gulevich, born on February 26, 1864, in the village of Tokarevka, Litinsky Uyezd, Podolsk Governorate, in the family of a priest.

He graduated from the Podolsk Theological Seminary in 1885.

On October 22, 1886, he was ordained to the priesthood.

From 1914 to 1928, he was the dean and rector of the cathedral in the city of Olgopol, and also taught the Law of God in the local gymnasium.

In 1927, he was widowed and took monastic vows with the name Porphyrius.

That same year, the Kharkov OGPU summoned Father Porphyrius from the city of Olgopol to Kharkov. The formal reason was a letter that had fallen into the hands of the OGPU, written by Hieromonk Porphyrius to a certain Igumen Ignatius, reflecting his opinion on the Decree of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), the acting Patriarchal Locum Tenens, which canceled the commemoration of all diocesan bishops who were in exile. "It is impossible to renounce the exiled bishops; it is the same as renouncing ourselves," wrote Hieromonk Porphyrius in the letter.

This trip turned out to be favorable for Father Porphyrius in many ways. He became acquainted with the church life of Kharkov and got close to remarkable priests: Igumen Varsonofy (Yurchenko), Priest Gregory Seletsky, and Priest Vasily Podgorny. It was in Kharkov that Father Porphyrius met Archbishop (later Metropolitan) Konstantin (Dyakov) of Kharkov and Akhtynsk, Exarch of Ukraine, with whom he maintained a close relationship in the future. Apparently, it was in Kharkov that the decision was made for the episcopal consecration of Hieromonk Porphyrius.

On June 25, 1928, he was consecrated as the Bishop of Krivoy Rog, a vicar of the Dnepropetrovsk diocese. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Konstantin (Dyakov), Archbishop Onuphrius (Gagaluk), and Bishop Pavel (Kratyrov), who was in exile in the city of Kharkov.

From the very beginning of his episcopal ministry, the bishop gained the respect and love of both the clergy and the laity entrusted to his pastoral care.

On September 18, 1930, he was appointed as a vicar of the Odessa diocese and transferred to the Kirovograd see, previously occupied by Archbishop Onuphrius (Gagaluk). In Kirovograd, Bishop Porphyrius was remembered as a humble and wise hierarch, a tireless fighter against schismatics and the renovationist movement.

On September 11, 1931, he was transferred to the Crimean see.

In 1933, he was arrested. The reason for his arrest was his repeated open explanations to his flock about the significant differences between the followers of Patriarch Tikhon and the renovationists. The renovationists responded to his denunciations with threats. For instance, the renovationist Metropolitan Hierotheus (Pomerantsev) declared from the church pulpit that he would arrest Bishop Porphyrius, and the schismatic priest Popov, threatening the legitimate bishop from the pulpit, promised to "teach him a lesson." Ignoring the threats, the bishop publicly informed the Orthodox faithful about the cooperation of the renovationists with the godless authorities who protected them. As an example, he pointed to the illegal actions of the former responsible secretary of the cult committee at the Crimean Central Executive Committee, Golubchenko, who covered for the renovationists and oppressed the clergy loyal to Patriarch Tikhon, restricting their actions even when they fully complied with the law.

During these events, Bishop Porphyrius composed and distributed a letter to the parishes of his diocese, highlighting the inconsistencies between the law and how it was being observed. However, the bishop urged the faithful to endure all humiliations and persecutions to the end, despite the obvious injustices. All these actions gave rise to accusations against the bishop of counter-revolutionary activities, which he allegedly "covered up with church struggles against the renovationists, telling parishioners that the authorities were persecuting Tikhonites and encouraging renovationists, who were working as schismatics to please the authorities."

Two months later, he was released.

However, the trials did not end there, and the persecutions did not cease. The diocesan administration was imposed with an enormous tax that did not correspond to any income. The bishop appealed to the People's Commissariat of Finance, and the tax was reduced. However, at the same time, the cult tax was disproportionately increased. The bishop sought advice from former lawyer Anatoly Kordi. In discussing the financial problem, they agreed that the authorities' policies were fundamentally aimed at the destruction of religion as a whole. Nevertheless, the bishop wrote about the tax discrepancy to Moscow, and his request was granted. For some time, Anatoly Kordi continued to advise the bishop on all legal matters, giving valuable and timely advice, but soon he was arrested. During interrogations, he held himself courageously, did not admit guilt in the counter-revolutionary activities he was accused of, and was executed.

The bishop served at the Transfiguration Cathedral in Simferopol, surrounded by like-minded individuals: Protopriest Nikolai Kazansky, Protopriest Dmitry Polezhaev, and Igumen Makary (Gontsa). Bishop Porphyrius always walked to service on foot. He served with inspiration.

As a warning to the bishop, his closest assistant and co-prayer, Igumen Makary, was arrested after saying in a sermon, "…stand for the faith and the Holy Church, do not fear persecution, fight to the last drop of blood." But this did not intimidate Bishop Porphyrius; he, with the same zeal and fearlessness, addressing the people, said, "The Soviet government oppresses religion, arrests the clergy, reaching the point of lawlessness, but all this is for the best and temporary…" Openly from the pulpit, the bishop called on the Orthodox to pray for "the exiled and imprisoned, innocently suffering in exile, archbishops, clergy, monastics, and laypeople."

In one of his sermons, delivered in May 1932 in defense of the Orthodox people and denouncing the anti-people deeds of the communists, he said: "Our country is in famine, ... in Ukraine, the people are starving. I myself am starving. The government has brought the country to hunger and poverty, the people are supplied with nothing, and as a result, speculation develops, for which the authorities again punish."

The bishop warmly welcomed priests returning from exile and prisons into his diocese. When Father Dmitry Chaikin arrived and the religious cult sector took a long time to register him, the bishop provided him with his own house and supported him at his own expense. This was not the only instance where the bishop took an active part in the fate of his clergy.

By this time, there are recollections of the bishop as remembered by an eyewitness. He was tall, with a long gray beard and gray hair falling on his shoulders. His nose was large, with a hump. Thick, graying eyebrows were over his deep-set eyes. Sunken cheeks clearly outlined his cheekbones. Thin lips expressed will, concentration, and determination. All his movements were unhurried, measured, and archbishoply majestic. His voice was deep, seemingly coming from the depths of his heart. There was a sense of inner spiritual strength in it. With everyone who came to him, Bishop Porphyrius was kind and welcoming. To the weak and erring, he was indulgent. The bishop was known for his great capacity for work, and no one ever saw him tired.

The churchwarden Nikolai Tainov, who collaborated with the authorities, regularly informed his superiors. One of his reports on the bishop has survived:

"…Bishop Gulevich is an active ecclesiastical reactionary, striving in every possible way to strengthen the Church of Tikhon orientation and to protect the Orthodox Church from further destruction. He calls the Renovationist clergy nothing but 'antichrists who have sold themselves to the authorities...'"

On October 9, 1936, Bishop Porphyrius was arrested again. During interrogations, he remained calm and steadfast. He answered the investigator's provocative questions fearlessly, maintaining his episcopal dignity.

The archpastor was accused of blessing the clergy to pray for those already convicted, thereby demonstrating their innocence. The bishop did not deny this: "Some believers approached me with a request to pray for those convicted and imprisoned during the pronouncement of the litanies, and I did indeed say such words."

The bishop was accused of encouraging "the illegal activities of certain monastic underground organizations," of "excessive zeal in fighting the Renovationists," and much more. Along with him, ten other priests and monks were arrested. He was held in Simferopol prison for four months.

On January 3, 1937, he was sentenced to five years of administrative exile in Kazakhstan.

Upon arriving in the city of Alma-Ata, where the NKVD transit point was located, Bishop Porphyrius wrote a letter to Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) about his new situation and met with Archbishop Tikhon (Sharapov) of Alma-Ata.

In February 1937, he was exiled to the station Ush-Tobe in the Karatal District of the Taldy-Kurgan Region. There, Bishop Makarios (Karmazin) of Yekaterinoslav, exiled in 1935, was already residing with his niece Raisa Rzhevskaya and Priest Korolev. Relatives and close friends helped Bishop Makarios buy a small house on Depovskaya Street, 20. The exiled archpastors were delighted to meet, and their mutual support strengthened their resolve to stand firm for Truth and the Church of Christ until the end. Bishop Makarios offered Bishop Porphyrius to stay in his house. Soon, on October 2, 1937, Bishop Porphyrius’s niece Anna Petrovna Mikho arrived, bringing letters and parcels from his spiritual children in Crimea. The bishops lived a very secluded life, communicating little with the outside world, remaining in constant prayer and contemplation. Occasionally, they secretly celebrated the Divine Liturgy at home.

On November 20, 1937, Bishop Porphyrius and Bishop Makarios were arrested. They were accused of conducting anti-Soviet propaganda and discrediting Soviet power at the Ush-Tobe station, as well as maintaining connections with counter-revolutionary elements, systematically receiving material assistance from them.

During the interrogation, Bishop Porphyrius did not plead guilty. When the investigators demanded that he describe his counter-revolutionary activities, he replied:

"I have never conducted counter-revolutionary agitation, have not discredited the Stalin Constitution, and did not gather anti-Soviet elements around me. I had connections with the communities in Simferopol, Yalta, and Kerch, from which I received assistance. From 1928 until my exile to Kazakhstan, I served as a clergyman. I lived and performed religious rites in Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, and Simferopol, from where I was exiled to Kazakhstan. I have never been tried, except for arrests."

On December 1, 1937, Bishop Porphyrius (Gulevich), Bishop Makarios (Karmazin), and Raisa Alexandrovna Rzhevskaya were sentenced to death by the decision of the troika of the NKVD of the Alma-Ata region.

On December 2, 1937, Bishop Porphyrius (Gulevich) and Raisa Alexandrovna Rzhevskaya were executed.

By the conclusion of the Taldy-Kurgan regional prosecutor's office on April 27, 1989, Bishop Porphyrius (Gulevich) was rehabilitated.

He was canonized as a saint in the Assembly of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for general church veneration.

For a long time, the place of burial of the saint remained unknown. His relics were discovered at the end of 2013, 40 km from Alma-Ata, at the former NKVD "Zhanalyk" range, near the church in honor of St. Righteous John of Kronstadt in the village of Zhetygen, alongside the holy remains of the hieromartyrs Priest Sergius Brednikov and Priest Simeon Afonkin.