In the summer of 1922, the world was shaken by the news of the Petrograd trial, which took place against opponents of the confiscation of church valuables and ended with the execution of four people. Among them was 51-year-old Archimandrite Sergius, who came from an ancient noble family. In the world, he was known as Vasily Pavlovich Shein, who had previously served as a deputy in the State Duma of the fourth convocation.

Archimandrite Sergius was born on December 30, 1870, in the village of Kolpna in the Tula region. He was the tenth child in the family of a poor official, Pavel Vasilyevich Shein. From a young age, Vasily showed intelligence, strict obedience, and a special interest in studying the Law of God.

In 1893, Vasily Pavlovich graduated from a prestigious law school, becoming the best student and receiving a gold medal. After that, he began his career in the Ministry of Justice and taught at the law school. Due to his honest approach to work, he gradually climbed the career ladder and in 1908 took the position of head of the legislative department of the State Duma.

Four years later, Vasily Pavlovich was elected as a deputy of the State Duma, where he gained a reputation as a fervent patriot and joined the moderately nationalist faction. During the Russo-Japanese War, he actively assisted the Russian army.

After the February Revolution, Vasily Pavlovich participated in the Local Council and contributed to the revival of the Patriarchate. In 1920, he took monastic vows under the name Sergius. As an archimandrite, he became one of the irreconcilable enemies of the Bolshevik regime and the schismatic movement of the 'Renovationists,' created by the Chekists as an alternative to the official Patriarch Tikhon. In June 1922, Archimandrite Sergius was arrested and sentenced to execution. On the night of August 13, he accepted a martyr's death, and in 1992 he was canonized as a hieromartyr.