In the first half of the 20th century, the Orthodox Church gained more holy martyrs than in the entire previous millennium of Christianity in Russia. Among such ascetics was Bishop Nikifor of Pyatigorsk and the Prikum region, known in the world as Ivan Fomich Yefimov.

Ivan Fomich was born on September 11, 1888, in the Orenburg province to a peasant family. Unlike many of his contemporaries among the clergy, he received only a primary education. In his youth, he began working in a church institution of the local diocese and after many years of service became the secretary to Archbishop Eugene (Sernov). He took this position in 1917, when Russia was on the brink of Civil War and old foundations were collapsing.

While serving as the archbishop's secretary, Ivan Fomich took monastic vows under the name Nikifor. In 1921, he was ordained as a hierodeacon, and the following year he became a hieromonk. Despite the persecutions, the faith of Hieromonk Nikifor only strengthened, and he continued his ministry. Soon he became an abbot, and in 1923 he was arrested and spent a year in prison.

After his release, Nikifor continued to serve God. He was invited to Irkutsk, where he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, and in 1926 he became the Bishop of Khabarovsk.

The clergyman did not try to soften relations with the Soviet authorities and openly condemned the schismatic activities of the Renovationists. For this, in 1927, Bishop Nikifor was arrested again and spent a year in Butyrka prison. After his release, he temporarily headed the Vyatka diocese, and then became the Bishop of Pyatigorsk and the Prikum region. This appointment became his last. He was free for a short time, and in 1930 he was arrested again.

Bishop Nikifor was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. In captivity, he continued to pray and preach the Gospel. In 1937, he was again accused of anti-Soviet activities, and on September 1 of the same year, he was executed in the Sandarmokh area, where thousands of innocent people perished.