Viktor Vasilyevich Ellansky

Born on September 16, 1874, in the village of Ploskoye, Ostryansky district, Chernigov province, into a priest's family.

In 1914, after graduating from the Kiev Theological Academy, he was ordained a priest in one of the churches in Kiev. He was one of the close aides to Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky).

In 1924, he was arrested and sentenced to three years of exile. After returning to Kiev upon completing his sentence, he resumed his ministry and was elevated to the rank of Archpriest.

In March 1929, he was arrested again and imprisoned in the Kiev House of Pre-Trial Detention. In October, he was sentenced to three years of exile, which he served in the Irkutsk region. After the exile, he was prohibited from living in 12 regions of the country.

In January 1934, he settled in the city of Michurinsk, Tambov region, and received the blessing of Archbishop Vassian (Pyatnitsky) of Tambov and Michurinsk to serve in the diocese's churches. In Michurinsk, Father Viktor proved himself as a zealous pastor, often serving not only in the city but also in nearby villages.

In March 1935, he was arrested and imprisoned in Michurinsk. During the interrogation held the same day, he was accused of "anti-Soviet agitation," which allegedly consisted of him telling believers about the transience of Soviet power and predicting its imminent downfall. Father Viktor did not admit his guilt and explained: "All authority is given by God; I, as a deeply religious person, recognize the Soviet power as power given by God."

On December 18, 1936, a traveling session of the special collegium of the Voronezh Regional Court sentenced him to five years of imprisonment. Subsequently, the prison sentence was replaced with a labor camp sentence, and on April 15, 1936, he arrived at the Karaganda Corrective Labor Camp, where he worked as a bookkeeper in the "Alikhan" camp unit.

In 1937, he was arrested in the camp, accused of "conducting counter-revolutionary agitation of a defeatist nature among the inmates, declaring: 'The Soviet power will soon be destroyed by God... In addition to conducting counter-revolutionary agitation, Ellansky conducted church services, gathering former priests around him. Being religious to the point of fanaticism, he sang the Troparion of the Trinity on Trinity Sunday. He did not admit his guilt in counter-revolutionary activities."

He was executed by shooting on September 8, 1937, by the decision of the NKVD Troika of the Karaganda region from August 31.

On April 3, 1990, he was rehabilitated by the prosecutor of the Karaganda region for the 1937 repressions.

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