Commemoration of the hieromartyr Konstantin of Merkushino

Construction of the cathedral in Merkushino village

May 31st, 2002 is a usual day; there is din at the construction ground, people outvoicing the sounds of the machinery: the restoration of Archangel Michael’s church destroyed in 1931 is going on in Merkushino. And behold, there is an unexpected finding: on the ground which is being cleaned from the construction debris, a tomb was hit, the coffin's lid was tossed aside, and imperishable relics appeared before the eyes of casual observers. On the land where Orthodox people found the relics of Simeon of Verkhoturye more than three hundred years ago, for the second time during the past three centuries imperishable remains were discovered.

Tomb at the altar of the cathedral which is being presently restored

Sisters of the monastery knew from the stories of the old-timers that in 1918 a young, 22-year-old priest Konstantin Bogoyavlensky was executed in our village, but no one could point out the spot where he was buried. And immediately very minute work over the comparison of the details of Fr. Konstantin Bogoyavlensky's death in 1931 and the details of the finding of relics in 2002 began. Together with the relics, a church Gospel book, edition of 1893 in a metal framework was found. The leaves were perfectly preserved. On the fly-leaf a hand-written text was discovered. A date could be clearly discerned: May 4, 1917; also something that looked like “c.[ity] of Perm'” and “Konstantin.” Graphologic expert examination confirmed that the sign was made by Fr. Konstantin Bogoyavlensky: a sample of his handwriting was found in the birth registers of the Archangel Michael's Church. Docimasy was also made: a bullet aperture was discovered in the skull, the age and the date of burial of the killed man were approximately determined. In the archives various documents have been found that allowed the sisters to put together a brief biography of Fr. Konstantin.

Sisters in front of the relics

Many people noted the similarity between the circumstances of the discovery of Fr. Konstantin's relics with the circumstances of the discovery of saint righteous Simeon's relics: the same unexpected appearance of the coffin, the uncertainty of the name of the buried person, and finally — the imperishability of remains. Here is another interesting observation: when the relics of righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye appeared, bishop Ignatiy came to examine them. With him was abbot Isaak and a few other people from the clergy and secular power. As soon as bishop Ignatiy saw the relics of righteous Simeon, he said the following words: “These relics in their imperishability are like the relics of the ancient saints, such as Jonah and Aleksiy of Moscow, and Sergiy of Radonezh.” And the governor Tsikler added that these relics are like the relics of the saints in Kievan Caves. Also our ruling bishop Vikentiy, when he saw the remains for the first time, said quite amazed: “These are the real relics, as in Kievan Caves Lavra!”. Our bishop after three hundred years repeated the very same words.

This year on July 27th, it will be 85 years since the day of repose of hieromartyr Konstantin Bogoyavlensky. One of these days we got the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Aleksij II for the imperishable relics of the newly revealed saint of God to be placed in the church of Merkushino village for the general worship.

Holy hieromartyr, father Konstantin, pray to God for us!

Also read:
— Locally revered Saint