Hieromartyr
Bishop Arkady (Ostalsky), Bishop of Bezhetsk
25 апреля 1889 — 29 декабря 1937
Also known as: Аркадий Тверской, Аркадий Бежецкий, Аркадий Иосифович Остальский
Hieromartyr Arkady (Arkady Iosifovich Ostalsky), Bishop of Bezhetsk, vicar of the Tver diocese — arrested in autumn 1937 while attempting to flee mass arrests, shot at the Butovo firing range near Moscow on December 16/29, 1937; canonized among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in 2000.
The Hieromartyr Arkady was born on April 25, 1889, in Zhitomir province. His official title was "Bishop of Bezhetsk, vicar of the Tver diocese" (hence the designation "of Tver" that has become attached to him in some sources). In autumn 1937, amid a mass wave of arrests of clergy, the bishop attempted to evade persecution by leaving Tver by train, but was detained. He was sentenced to death and executed at the Butovo firing range near Moscow on December 16 (O.S.) / December 29 (N.S.), 1937.
He was canonized by the Jubilee Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000, among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. He is also venerated in the Synaxes of Tver, Zhitomir, and Butovo New Martyrs.
IMPORTANT IMAGE CORRECTION: the original image was labeled by its source as "Arcadius (Afonin) of South Sakhalin" — a completely DIFFERENT, contemporary person: Bishop Arkady (Afonin) of the South Sakhalin diocese (b. 1943, d. 2021, ruling bishop 1993-1997 and 1999-2001), unrelated to Hieromartyr Arkady (Ostalsky). The mismatched image has been removed from this entry.