“The follower and heir of Optina eldership – this is how Saint Sebastian is called in the tropare.”
His life began in Orel province, and ended in central Kazakhstan. But wherever his fate threw him, Saint Sebastian was firm in his faith.
Born into a pious family, little Stepan loved to go to church. Even more than the Liturgy, he loved to visit the Optina of the Deserts. The wisdom of the elders was fascinating. Their humility, love for the Lord and desire to serve people sparked in the boy’s heart the desire to also devote his life to the service of Christ.
At the age of 25, he settled in the skete of Optina Desert. He served as a cellist for the elders, performed the necessary work. In 1917, on the threshold of a new era, the era of godlessness, he took tonsure. In January 1918, the desert was closed. Father Sebastian became a parish priest. He served in Kozelsk, Kaluga, Kozlov.
In 1933, the priest was arrested. During interrogation, he was forced to renounce his faith. But he unwaveringly defended his views. Then he was exposed to the cold in one cassock.
The guard, in half-coats and boots, changed every 2 hours. The saint stood still all night. Later he recalled that he saw the Mother of God cover him with a small hut, in which it was very warm.
Having not achieved abdication, Sebastian was sentenced to 7 years of camps. In the spring of 1934, he was brought to the village of Dolinka, in the Karaganda region. When his term ended, the elder decided to stay in Karaganda. He said he would do more good here.
As always, a group of like-minded people quickly gathered around Sebastien.
They organized a house church in which the elder served until his death in 1966.
When he became ill, his relatives grieved, I asked, “How will we live without you?” Who am I, what am I? God is, was and will be, with me or without me, faith will save anyone. Respect for the elder in the mining region was very great. There are still people who have seen miracles done through his prayers.
In 1997, the elder was glorified as a local saint. In the same year they found their power. A little later, at the Bishops’ Council, St. Sebastian was counted among the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Land.
The relics of the elder are in the Vveden temple of Karaganda. Every day dozens of pilgrims come here to receive spiritual consolation and pray to the last Optina elder.
Remembrance days
22 October
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