Gennady (Rebeza)

In the world, Rebeza Grigory Matveevich, was born on April 22, 1880, in the village of Yankulovo, Vinnytsia County, Podolsk Province, into a peasant family.

The date of his monastic tonsure is unknown. According to his personal records, he had been "a religious servant since 1895, a monk by nature, and never married."

In 1906, he labored in the Glinsk Hermitage, then in the Dobrush St. Nicholas Monastery of the Kishinev Diocese. He served as an economist at the bishop's house in Kishinev. Besides his economic duties and episcopal services, he participated in public church celebrations; during World War I, he accompanied trains from Kishinev to the Stavka, where he performed services.

He was elevated to the rank of archimandrite before the 1917 revolution.

In 1919, he moved to Odessa, where he served at the Church of St. Demetrius of Rostov at the Second Christian Cemetery under Metropolitan Platon (Rozhdestvensky) of Odessa and Kherson; he was the abbot of the Bizyukov St. George Monastery of the Kherson Diocese.

In 1920, Metropolitan Platon offered him the opportunity to go abroad with him, but Father Gennady decided to stay; he was appointed to the Church of the Ascension (Meshchanskaya). He performed secret monastic tonsures and was the spiritual father of Metropolitan Anatoly (Grisyuk) of Odessa and Kherson.

In July 1927, he was arrested; he was released after three months of detention without charges being filed.

In 1932, he was imprisoned for two months in connection with the case of handing over valuables, where he was subjected to torture.

On December 9, 1936, he was arrested on charges of "counter-revolutionary agitation" and "maintaining connections with the True Orthodox Church."

On June 13, 1937, the Special Council under the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR sentenced him to exile in Kazakhstan for five years.

He lived in the village of Mayskoye, Beskaragay District, Pavlodar Region.

On November 25, 1937, he was arrested on charges of "counter-revolutionary activities while in exile," which he did not admit.
From the case materials:

On the investigator's question about the counter-revolutionary work he conducted together with other religious servants, he gave the following answer: "I did not engage in counter-revolutionary work while in exile, but I know all the exiled religious servants living in the village of Mayskoye personally, although I do not remember their surnames."

From the indictment in the group case:

“While in exile at the Mayskoye mine, under the leadership of Mishutin and Rebeza, they conducted counter-revolutionary work against the Soviet government, specifically: they spread propaganda that the constitution in the USSR exists only on paper and is not implemented in reality. During the announcement of the election campaign, with the aim of discrediting the electoral law, they said: ‘They write about broad democracy, but in reality, they nominate candidates themselves, and not the ones the workers want.’ Not reconciling with Soviet power, they spread rumors that the Soviet government is a temporary phenomenon and will soon collapse, and the old order will be restored where religion will be widely developed, so now it is necessary to intensify religious services.”

On December 1, 1937, the Special Troika under the UNKVD for the East Kazakhstan region sentenced him to execution by shooting.
He was executed by shooting on December 2, 1937, at two in the morning.
He was buried in an unmarked mass grave.
On May 17, 1956, he was rehabilitated by the Presidium of the Pavlodar Regional Court for the 1937 repressions.
He was glorified by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on December 28, 1999. He was canonized under his secular name, Grigory, and is currently venerated under his monastic name.
On April 1, 2015, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, his name was included in the newly formed Assembly of Vinnytsia Saints.