Athanasius Dmitrievich Milov

He was born in 1877 in the village of Soldatskoye, Novo-Lomovsky District, Penza Region. He completed a three-year school in his native village.

Until 1930, he served as a priest in the village of Shchuchye, Mamlyutsky District, North Kazakhstan Region, and was then transferred to the city of Kuznetsk. In 1932, he moved to the village of Prudki, after which he returned to the village of Shchuchye. He maintained relations with the clergy of the Nikolsky Church in the city of Petropavlovsk, which, during the time of the renovationist schism, was a stronghold of Orthodoxy in the city.

He was arrested in the village of Shchuchye on November 28, 1937, on the grounds that "in 1937, at one of the meetings, he was nominated by the church council as a deputy to the Supreme Soviet, as a leader, for his qualities."

Father Athanasius Milov was accused of "...he and his group intended to disrupt and boycott the elections to the Supreme Soviet."

During interrogations, Father Athanasius Milov stated that "this nomination and agitation for my candidacy was without my knowledge, I was presented with the fact that they wanted to elect me."

When asked by the investigator to tell about his counter-revolutionary activities, Father Athanasius Milov replied: "Indeed, I openly preached the Gospel teaching in the village. When meeting with citizens, they complained about living conditions, and I said that such a time had come that one had to endure, just as I had to wander in my old age."

By the resolution of the NKVD troika of the North Kazakhstan Region on December 2, 1937, Father Athanasius Milov was sentenced to the highest measure of punishment – execution by firing squad. The sentence was carried out on December 5, 1937. The place of burial is unknown. He was rehabilitated on April 10, 1989.

He was glorified by the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.