A GULKEVICHI PASTOR (TO THE BIOGRAPHY OF PRIEST NIKOLAY VOZNESENSKY)
The article deals with one of the numerous tragic episodes in the history of Russian Orthodox Church in 20th century - death of Nikolay Ivanovich Voznesensky (1882-1937), priest from the city of Gulkevichi (Krasnodar Territory), who originated from a priest family of Pskov region. His life became an example of the difficult trials the Russian Orthodox Church went through in the post-revolutionary period. The author monitors the priest’s career stages, administrative and pedagogical appointments, and rewards. During First World War Nikolay Voznesensky took part in social activities related to people’s mobilization to the front. As a representative of the clergy he had problems with Soviet government in the late 1920s - the priest was deprived of voting rights, while his family members were forced to live separately from each other. In 1937 Fr. Nikolay was arrested. In attempt to protect his son who was also accused of collaboration with fascist organization, the priest was bound to partly accept the accusations and evidences against himself. His fate was decided within a month. He was accused of “counter-revolutionary agitation and activity against Soviet government” and then executed by shooting. His son was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. When studying the priest’s biography the author used documents from the State Archives of Pskov, Stavropol and Krasnodar Regions, as well as publications of the Stavropol Diocesan Gazette. Materials from the family archive of Voznesensky’s descendants (who cherish memory of their tragically lost ancestor) have been an important contribution to the current study. The final part of the article contains some facts on the fate of Gulkevichi church and descendants of the priest. In the city of Gulkevichi, the memory of Father Nicholas and his tragic death is now lost. This article is intended to restore justice and compensate for the memory losses.