Hieromartyr Philosophus (Filosof) Ornatsky of St. Petersburg, Archpriest

Hieromartyr Philosophus (secular name Philosophus Nikolaevich Ornatsky; "Philosophus" is a rare but genuine Russian baptismal name, not an epithet) was born on May 21, 1860, in Novgorod province. He served as sacristan, and from 1913 as rector, of Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. For 26 years (1892-1918) he headed the Society for the Spread of Religious-Moral Enlightenment in the Spirit of the Orthodox Church, under whose auspices 12 churches were built and schools and shelters for the poor were opened. He was a spiritual son of St. Righteous John of Kronstadt. After the 1917 revolution, he openly defended the Church against persecution. In 1918 he was arrested together with two of his sons — Nicholas (a military physician) and Boris (an artillery officer) — and shot by the Bolsheviks; the exact date and place of execution vary across sources (both late October and late July/early August 1918 are given; as for location, both Kronstadt and the Gulf of Finland coast between Ligovo and Oranienbaum are named). He was glorified among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia at the Jubilee Bishops' Council in August 2000. His memory is kept on May 31/June 13, and also in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church and the Synaxis of St. Petersburg Saints.