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Antoniy PankeevBishop of the Russian Church; from November 21, 1933 Bishop of Belgorod. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
Date of Birth: 01.01.1892
Country:  Russia |
Content:
Bishop Anthony (Pankeev)
Early Life and EducationBorn Vasily Alexandrovich Pankeev on January 1, 1892, in Sadvoye, Ukraine, Anthony came from a priestly family. He graduated from the Odessa Theological Seminary in 1912, studied at the Kiev Theological Academy until 1915, and earned degrees in archaeology and theology from the Petrograd Archaeological Institute and Petrograd Theological Academy in 1917.
Priestly Ministry
Anthony entered monastic life on January 17, 1915, and was ordained a hieromonk a week later. He served as a chaplain in the All-Russian National Union during World War I, and later taught at the Odessa Theological Seminary. In 1922, he briefly joined the Renovationist movement but repented and returned to the Orthodox Church in 1924.
Episcopal Service and Persecution
Patriarch Tikhon consecrated Anthony as Bishop of Mariupol in 1924, but his tenure was brief due to arrest and exile. After spending time in the Solovetsky labor camp, he returned from exile in 1932 and became Bishop of Belgorod in 1933. In 1935, he was again arrested and sentenced to 10 years in the Dallag labor camp.
Martyrdom
Anthony's imprisonment continued to be harsh, and in February 1938, he and Archbishop Onufry (Gagalyuk) were accused of counterrevolutionary activities. On March 17, they were sentenced to death by the Troika of the NKVD and executed on June 1.
Canonization
In 2000, the Bishop's Council of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Anthony (Pankeev) as a New Martyr and Confessor of Russia.
