Nine years ago, the Pskov priest Pavel Adelgheim was murdered. In his youth, he endured the horrors of Soviet camps but remained true to his Christian faith and rejected Bolshevism.

Father Pavel was born in Rostov-on-Don but was exiled to Kazakhstan with his mother, where he spent his childhood. Later, he moved to Kyiv and entered the Kyiv Theological Seminary.

Pavel Adelgheim remained a devoted follower of true Orthodoxy throughout his life and fought for the truth, for which he ended up imprisoned, where he lost his right leg during unrest in the camp.

After his release, he continued his service to Christ. In the last years of the USSR, he actively contributed to the revival of Orthodoxy, restored an old church, and founded an Orthodox school. However, his unwillingness to compromise made him unwelcome to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Father Pavel was stripped of his rights as a rector. He realized that his conflict with the local church authorities and unpopular views could lead to dire consequences, but he was not afraid.

He openly stated that he was not needed in the Russian Orthodox Church and was indifferent to when his death would come.

His principled stance earned him respect from many, and protodeacon Kuraev called him "the last free priest of the Moscow Patriarchate."

However, on August 5, 2013, Father Pavel was brutally murdered. He was stabbed by one of those he had sheltered, fed, and given a roof over their head.

The true motives of the murderer, deemed insane, remain unknown. He may have genuinely suffered from a mental disorder or faked illness, and it is also possible that he was influenced by someone.

Father Pavel was buried in the ancient Mironositsky cemetery, and later the Apostolic Orthodox Church canonized him as a saint.

With the passing of Father Pavel, we lost one of the last steadfast defenders of Orthodoxy, a true Christian, and a faithful servant of Christ.

God grant him the kingdom of heaven and eternal memory both on earth and in heaven.