Sebastian (Fomin)

In the world, Stepan Vasilyevich Fomin, he was born on October 28, 1884, in the village of Kosmodemyanskoye, Oryol province, into a poor peasant family. After the death of his parents, five-year-old Stepan lived with his elder brother’s family. His middle brother took monastic vows at Optina Hermitage. Stepan completed a three-class parish school with good results, receiving books to read from the parish priest. Due to his poor health, he couldn’t participate in fieldwork but tended to the livestock as a shepherd. During winter, he often visited his brother at Optina Hermitage.

On January 3, 1909, he was admitted to the skete of Optina Hermitage as a cell attendant to Elder Joseph. After Elder Joseph's death in 1911, Stepan transferred to the spiritual guidance of Father Nektarios and remained his cell attendant until 1923.

In 1917, he was tonsured as a monk with the name Sebastian.

On January 10, 1918, Optina Hermitage was officially closed, although the monastery continued to exist under the guise of an agricultural cooperative. Many, especially the young novices, unable to endure the hard labor and strict requirements, left Optina. Simultaneously, a museum was established on its grounds. By this time, the sketes no longer existed. Everyone lived practically one day at a time. In 1923, all monastic services were completely halted, and the authorities began evicting the monks. The brothers' cells were rented out by the museum to summer residents. Throughout this time, Father Sebastian remained under the spiritual guidance of Elder Nektarios of Optina.

In 1927, he was ordained as a hieromonk by the Bishop of Kaluga.

He served as the cell attendant to the elder Hieroschemamonk Nektarios until his death on April 29, 1928. Following the elder's blessing to serve in a parish after his death, Father Sebastian first went to Kozelsk, then to Kaluga, and subsequently to Tambov, where he received an assignment to serve in the town of Kozlov (now Michurinsk), at the Church of St. Elijah, whose rector was Protopriest Vladimir Nechaev, the father of the future Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechaev), from whom Father Sebastian would later take the schema. During Protopriest Vladimir's arrest, Father Sebastian cared for his large family.

He served at the Church of St. Elijah from 1928 until his arrest in 1933. Father Sebastian did not favor unspiritual choral singing and strove to establish reverent monastic chanting in his parish. During this period, he actively fought against the renovationists in Kozlov and maintained connections with the scattered brethren of Optina Hermitage.

In February 1933, he was arrested. During interrogations, Father Sebastian gave a straightforward response: "I view all measures of the Soviet government as the wrath of God, and this government is a punishment for people. I expressed these views among my close associates and other citizens with whom I had the opportunity to discuss this topic. I said that we must pray, pray to God, and live in love, only then will we be delivered from this. I was very dissatisfied with the Soviet government for closing churches and monasteries, as this destroys the Orthodox faith."

Subsequently, Father Sebastian recounted: "When they forced me to renounce the Orthodox faith, they made me stand outside all night in the frost in just my cassock, with a guard assigned to watch me. The guards changed every two hours, but I stood unmoving in one place. Yet, the Mother of God cast over me a 'little shelter' that kept me warm. In the morning, they took me to the interrogation and said: 'Since you did not renounce Christ, go to prison.'"

He was sentenced to seven years of logging work despite his frail health and injured left hand.

He served his sentence in the Karaganda Corrective Labor Camp (KarLag), part of the "Karaganda State Farm-Giant of the OGPU."

By the mid-1930s, KarLag had developed a massive "model" economy with its own factories, industrial workshops, and scientific programs. It was during this time that the future Karaganda community began to take shape. Father Sebastian began to gather spiritual children within the camp, and his former spiritual children also awaited his release.

"I was in prison," Father Sebastian recalled, "but I did not break the fasts. If they gave some gruel with meat, I did not eat it and exchanged it for an extra portion of bread."

After his release on April 29, 1939, Father Sebastian settled in the outskirts of Karaganda. "My dear ones," he told the sisters, "we will live here. We will do more good here; this is our second homeland."

He provided spiritual guidance to all those seeking God, visiting them in their homes and performing religious rites, although he did not have official permission from the authorities — "the people in Karaganda were faithful — they wouldn't betray." Father Sebastian was loved even in the surrounding areas, and spiritual children of the elder began to come from all over the country. He welcomed everyone with love and helped them settle in the new place. Often, the elder would bless nuns who came to him for spiritual guidance to live with a family, which was in the spirit of the Optina elders. These nuns became like guardian angels of the house.

In 1944, the community set up a house church in the village of Bolshaya Mikhailovka — the village gradually became populated with "Father's people."

In the 1950s, the life of the Karaganda community began to improve. In 1953, they received permission for a prayer house, and in 1955, they managed to get the religious community officially registered.

Father Sebastian selected the priests for himself. A women's monastic community gathered around him. Archbishop Joseph (Chernov) of Petropavlovsk and Kustanai said this about his community: "Father planted a vineyard here, which he then watered with tears to grow." "A small church, not visible from the ground, but the pillar of light burns up to the sky."

On December 22, 1957, he was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite.

Father Sebastian strictly adhered to the impeccable observance of the church canons, not allowing omissions or abbreviations during services. Church services were an inseparable part of his inner life. In his conversations, his favorite image was that of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian — he often urged his flock to venerate this Apostle of Love. Father Sebastian had great reverence for holy icons, saying they were given to us to help against dark forces. He believed some icons were especially filled with the glory of grace, and that centuries-old prayerful icons carried grace from the Lord like streams. He quoted Elder Nektary of Optina, saying that wisdom, understanding, and discernment are gifts of the Holy Spirit that lead to piety.

Father Sebastian had a subtle sense of humor and loved to joke, always with goodwill. He never spared time for conversation with anyone. Every piece of advice he gave led to well-being.

The authorities, seeing his influence, tried in every possible way to close the church, but they never succeeded. Whenever they summoned him, Father Sebastian disarmed them to the point where they were rendered speechless, and after he left, they would marvel, "What kind of old man is this, that we can do nothing against him?"

Father Sebastian always taught to rely on the will of Divine Providence in everything. He also loved nature and had compassion for animals; once, he saved newborn kittens.

Speaking about the possessed, he said: "Here they suffer, but there, they will pass through the tollhouses without pain... I don't want to remove your crosses. Here you will suffer, but in Heaven, you will receive a great reward." Father Sebastian possessed spiritual wisdom and great patience. If someone complained about another in his presence, he would say: "I endure all of you, and you don't want to endure one person." If there was discord, he would worry: "I am the rector, but I listen to all of you."

He cared deeply about the salvation of each person; this was his goal. He would implore: "Live more peacefully." Once, during a conversation about people's behaviors, Father Sebastian pointed out: "These people cannot be touched; they will not endure any remarks or reprimands due to their pride. But others, because of their humility, can be." He placed great importance on prayers for the departed and urged others: "Pray for the departed more than anything. Glory to God for everything! Glory to God for all things!"

On April 16, 1966, he took the schema from Bishop Pitirim (Nechaev).

Absorbing the traditions and the grace-filled spirit of the Optina Monastery and being a disciple of its great elders, having endured exiles and imprisonments in Bolshevik labor camps, he, by the unfathomable will of God, carried out his elder service in the capital of the scorching steppes of central Kazakhstan, the much-suffering Karaganda.

He passed away on April 19, 1966, on Radonitsa. He was buried in the Mikhailovskoye cemetery.

In 1997, he was glorified as a locally venerated saint of the Almaty Diocese. On November 4, 1997, his holy relics were discovered and transferred to the new Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Karaganda.

He was canonized among the ranks of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000 for universal veneration.