Hieromartyr
Hieromartyr Karp (Elb) of Petrograd
5 февраля 1869 — †24 сентября 1937
Also known as: Карп Карпович Эльб
Hieromartyr Karp (Elb) of Petrograd — an archpriest of Estonian origin, rector of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God church at the Krasnenkoye Cemetery in Leningrad, shot at the Levashovo wasteland on September 24, 1937, by decision of an NKVD "troika"; canonized among the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in 2001.
Hieromartyr Karp, secular name Karp Karpovich Elb, was born on February 5, 1869, in the village of Olo, Fellin (Viljandi) County, Livonia Governorate (present-day Estonia), into an Estonian peasant family. He worked as a teacher, but out of deep love for the Church and for children accepted the invitation of Fr. Pavel Kulbush, rector of the Estonian parish in St. Petersburg (later Hieromartyr Platon, Bishop of Reval), to take the position of deacon.
He was later ordained a presbyter and served as rector of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God church at the Krasnenkoye Cemetery in Petrograd (later Leningrad), ministering in particular to the city's Estonian flock.
In 1937, at the height of the Great Terror, he was arrested; his case was decided extrajudicially by an NKVD "troika" for Leningrad Oblast. On September 24, 1937, Archpriest Karp was shot at the Levashovo wasteland near Leningrad.
By decree of the Holy Synod of February 21, 2001, Archpriest Karp (Elb) was canonized among the new martyrs and confessors of Russia.
His feast is kept on September 11/24 (day of repose), and also in the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church.