Vasiliy Kondratyev Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church Date of Birth: 01.03.1887

1. Life and Background
2. Religious Involvement and Persecution
3. Further Incarceration and Martyrdom
4. Canonization and Veneration

Life and Background

Saint Vasily Kontratiev was a martyr in the Russian Orthodox Church, canonized in 2000 for universal veneration. Born in the Moscow region, he worked as a shopkeeper and a tradesman before moving to Sergiev Posad in the 1920s.

Religious Involvement and Persecution

From 1925 to 1935, Kontratiev served as a warden at the Church of All Saints in Kukuevo, where the martyr Mauritius (Potayev) officiated. On October 21, 1935, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Butyrka prison. As part of a group prosecution in 1936, he was convicted and sent to the Karlag camp in Kazakhstan for three years of hard labor.

Further Incarceration and Martyrdom

In the camp, Kontratiev faced further accusations lié to his religious activities. He was alleged to have distributed Bibles and icons to fellow prisoners. Despite denying guilt, he admitted to possessing an icon. On September 28, 1937, he was tried and executed in Karlag on the same day as Mauritius.

Canonization and Veneration

In 2000, Kontratiev was canonized as a saint during the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. His memory is observed on the Sunday of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (February 7 in the old style) and the anniversary of his martyrdom (October 4 in the old style).