Veniamin Venerable Martyr (1874–1922), was Metropolitan of Petrograd (Saint Petersburg, Russia) and Gdov

Gdov

Gdov is a town and the administrative center of Gdovsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Gdovka River, just from its outflow into Lake Peipus. Population:...

 in 1917–1922.

Life

Kazansky took monastic vows

Religious vows

Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices and views.In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of religious vows are taken by the lay community as well as by...

 under the name of Veniamin in 1895. After graduating from St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1897 he spent some time teaching at Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

 Theological Seminary, and then served as Inspector of Kholmsk

Kholmsk

Kholmsk is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Kholmsky District. Population: 35,141 .-History:The town was founded in 1870 as a military post. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, the town was transferred to Japanese control, along with the rest of southern...

 Theological Seminary in 1898, and Inspector of St. Petersburg Theological Seminary from 1899. He became Rector of Samara

Samara, Russia

Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...

 Theological Seminary in 1902, before being appointed Rector of St. Petersburg Theological Seminary in 1905. From 1910 Veniamin served as Bishop of Gdov and Vicar of St. Petersburg Eparchy. Veniamin led the annual Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 and Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 divine services at Putilovsky and Obukhovsky factories of St. Petersburg, and organised the charitable foundation

Foundation (charity)

A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....

 of the Mother of God for the Care of Abandoned Women.

Archbishop and Metropolitan

From March 1917, he served as Archbishop of Petrograd and Ladoga, and as Metropolitan of Petrograd and Ladoga from August and as Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov since 1918. In 1922, he came into the conflict with the Renovated (Obnovlentsy) Supreme Ecclesiastical Administration, outlawed this institution in his epistle to the Petrograd congregation, and excommunicated the members of the board and their associates. The same year he was arrested for his stand against the requisitioning of church valuables, and executed by firing squad

Execution by firing squad

Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...

 by the decision of Petrograd Provincial Revolutionary Tribunal. In 1992, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 as a Venerable Martyr; a cenotaph cross was placed in his memory at Nikolskoe cemetery of Alexander Nevsky Lavra.