Evgeny (Zernov)

In the world, Semyon Alekseevich Zernov, born on January 18, 1877, in Moscow Governorate, into a deacon's family.

In 1898, he graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary and entered the Moscow Theological Academy.

In 1900, he was tonsured a monk with the name Evgeny, and in 1902, he was ordained a hieromonk. That same year, after graduating from the Theological Academy, Father Evgeny was appointed as a sect studies instructor at the Chernihiv Theological Seminary. In 1904, he became the inspector of this seminary.

In 1906, he was appointed rector of the Irkutsk Theological Seminary in the rank of archimandrite. At that time, there was extreme discontent among the seminary students against their administration. Father Evgeny managed to restore order in the seminary, which had been disrupted by the turmoil of 1905, without using any repressive measures, earning general trust and love. In Irkutsk, besides his duties as rector of the seminary, he also performed the complex duties of chairman of the diocesan school council, was a member of the missionary committee, the Geographical Society, the Brotherhood in the name of St. Innocent, and the editor of "Diocesan News".

He had a remarkable gift for preaching, and therefore the non-liturgical talks he conducted on Sunday afternoons in the seminary church were eagerly attended by students, intellectuals, and the common people.

In 1909, Father Evgeny was a member of the commission for the examination of the holy relics of St. Sophronius (Kristalevsky), Bishop of Irkutsk.

In 1910, he delivered a report on the teaching of missionary subjects in seminaries at the Irkutsk Missionary Congress; all the points raised in this report were unanimously accepted.

In 1913, he was consecrated as Bishop of Kirensk, vicar of the Irkutsk diocese. In 1914, he was appointed to the Amur and Blagoveshchensk see. He was a member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1917-1918.

In 1923, after the all-night vigil on the eve of the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, he was arrested at night and imprisoned, first in the city of Blagoveshchensk, then taken to Chita, and from there to Moscow.

The entire city rose to defend their archpastor, forcing the Chekists to call in a fire brigade, which managed to disperse the crowd by spraying water. Even sectarians came to defend the Vladyka, deeply respecting him for his peacefulness and truthfulness. While the Saint was held in the Blagoveshchensk prison, a cart with the sign "Bread for the Bishop in Prison" traveled around the city daily. The food collected was so abundant that the Vladyka fed all the prisoners held with him.

After his release in the same year, the holy Patriarch Tikhon elevated him to the rank of archbishop, and in 1924, he was included as a member of the Holy Synod under Patriarch Tikhon.

In 1924, the saint was arrested again and sentenced to three years in a labor camp, followed by three years of exile. Until 1927, he was imprisoned in the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp.
He was recognized as the senior among the bishops and remained so by the general agreement of the bishops, even after others senior in ordination arrived.

In July 1926, he participated in drafting the "Solovki Epistle" (an appeal to the USSR government by Orthodox bishops). The spirit of the document is marked by unshakable firmness in matters concerning the freedom of church life, entirely devoid of any trace of compromise, fearless in its testimony to the truth, and free in its expression of opinion amid imprisonment. The document outlined the facts of persecution against the Church and stated that "a political denunciation is completely incompatible with the dignity of a pastor."

From 1927 to 1929, Vladyka was in exile in the Zyryansk region. After the Declaration by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), he did not separate from him and did not consider it necessary to separate the deputy from the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Hieromartyr Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky).

Vladyka was a strict ascetic and, despite the conditions of camp life, never consumed meat or fish if it was offered at inappropriate times. He was profoundly wise in worldly matters, always tactful and calm. He made pastoral corrections privately and gently. His divine services were marked by grandeur, tranquility, and reverence.

After his release in 1929, he resided in the town of Kotelnich, Nizhny Novgorod region.
On August 13, 1930, he was appointed Archbishop of Belgorod, but the appointment was canceled.
In August 1930, he was appointed Archbishop of Kotelnich, Vicar of the Vyatka Diocese, and in 1933, temporarily managing the Vyatka Diocese.

In May 1934, he was transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod (Gorky) See.
 In 1935, after the Easter service, which coincided with the May 1 celebration, Vladyka prepared to go home. Those close to him suggested waiting until the demonstrators passed. "What should we fear?" he replied. "We should fear God." He then proceeded home in his klobuk. He was soon arrested in Gorky and accused of "anti-Soviet agitation," sentenced to three years in the Karaganda camp.

In September 1937, he was sentenced to death by a special troika of the Karaganda region.

He was executed by shooting on September 20, 1937.

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