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The feat of the first Bishop of Gomel was honored at the monument to the Hieromartyr Mitrofantranslated

July 6, 2026 · 1 min read

On the eve of the day of remembrance of the Hieromartyr Mitrofan of Krasnopol, the first bishop of Gomel, Vespers was celebrated in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of Gomel with the reading of an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos.

The service on July 5, 2026 was led by His Eminence Stefan, Archbishop of Gomel and Zhlobin. Concelebrating with His Eminence was His Eminence Barnabas, Bishop of Velikoluksky and Nevelsky.

The archpastors were served by the acting abbot of the St. Nicholas Monastery in Gomel, hegumen Theodorit (Zolotarev), the clergy of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the clergy of the Gomel diocese.

The rector of the parish of the Church of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian in the village of Berezki, Gomel region, Archpriest Alexander Bonadykov, addressed the worshipers with a pastoral word.

Hieromartyr Mitrofan of Krasnopolsky in 1907 became the first bishop of Gomel, vicar of the Mogilev diocese. His ministry was associated with church education, missionary work and care for the Orthodox flock. During the years of persecution of the Church, Bishop Mitrofan suffered martyrdom and was glorified among the saints.

At the end of the service, the archpastors and clergy laid…

Source: Site: Гомельская епархия · Read the full story →

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თამარ წიკლაური

Thanks for this information. It is good that on the day before the commemoration of Saint Mitrophane, the akathist was read and that Berezki's father Alexander also spoke. His work and martyrdom are really worth remembering more often.

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ირაკლი აბაშიძე

Thank you Tamar, I also liked that it was Berezki's father Alexander who spoke after the akathist. Mitrofan's life is very close to our time - we still need missionary work and education today. Do you remember it often?

Daniel Baker

Thanks for the report. Interesting that Fr Alexander from Berezki was the one who gave the talk after the akathist – his point about missionary work and education still being needed today rings true. We could do with remembering St Mitrofan more often here too.

Aleksandar Stojanović

Thanks for the news. It was really interesting to me that after the akathist Father Aleksandar from Berezki spoke about missionary work and enlightenment - that is what we still lack today. Mitrofan Krasnopolski was the first bishop of Gomel, and his martyrdom is an even greater reason to mention him more often.

Марина Волкова

Thanks for the news. It’s nice that it was Father Alexander from Berezki who spoke about missionary and enlightenment after the akathist - this is really what is needed now. Mitrofan of Krasnopolsky, as the first bishop of Gomel and a martyr, deserves to be remembered more often.

Rebecca Davis

Thanks for the report. Nice to see Fr Alexander from Berezki was the one who spoke after the akathist – his words on missionary work and education still being needed today hit home. We could remember St Mitrofan and his martyrdom a bit more often here too.

Алексей Петров

Thank you, Marina. Father Alexander said well about missionary work - now in villages, like in Berezki, there is no way without it. I was thinking, maybe in our parish we should do akathists with such conversations more often, and not just on holidays. Do you often go to Berezki?

Milan Milošević

I agree, Alexander, it is precisely that Father Alexander from Berezki connected missionary work with today's times. Mitrofan really left his mark on enlightenment, and his martyrdom obliges us not to forget it. Have you been to a similar service in Gomelj?

Людмила Зайцева

Thank you, Marina. Father Alexander always speaks well about education - he has established work with young people in Berezki, and we prepare baked goods together for parish tea parties. Were you at work that day or were you just reading the news?

Margaret Collins

Thanks, Людмила. I liked how Fr Alexander from Berezki tied missionary work and education to what we still need today — especially after the akathist. We do something similar with the youth group here, though our baking usually ends up a bit lopsided.

Nicholas Phillips

Yes, Fr Alexander always brings it back to the practical side—mission and teaching don't stop just because the times change. I was glad they mentioned St Mitrofan's work with the flock here in Gomel; we do tend to forget how close those early 20th-century troubles still feel. Have you been to the monument yourself lately?

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ნიკოლოზ გელაშვილი

Thank you Tamar, I also liked that after the akathist in the evening, father Alexander talked about Mitrofane's missionary work. His martyrdom really reminds us how to take care of the church even in difficult times. Do you often go to Berezki Cathedral?

Marko Lukić

I agree, Alexander, Father Alexander from Berezka has well connected that missionary work with today - people are now looking for quick answers on the phone, not a deeper faith. Mitrofan died precisely because of that enlightenment, so it is time to mention him more often, at least at our services in Kragujevac. Did you read more about his missionary journeys in the Mogilev diocese?

Михаил Петров

Thank you, Lyudmila. Father Alexander really has a problem with young people - my grandchildren from Berezki told me how he explains life to them in class. And your baked goods are always praised at tea parties. I myself was not at the service that evening, only later I read the akathist at home.

Teodora Jovanović

Yes, Father Aleksandar from Berezka nicely reminded that missionary work is not only for 1907, but also for us now, when people often only look like faith. Mitrofan of Krasnopolski really left a deep mark precisely by studying, not just serving. Did you hear anything more about how he organized the catechization in Gomel?

Photini Miller

That’s a lovely connection Fr Alexander made — linking the saint’s missionary push with today’s youth work feels very practical. Our group here in Sydney tried teaching the kids to knit simple crosses last month; half of them looked more like tangled fishing nets than anything holy, but they loved it anyway. Do you do any handicrafts alongside the baking?

Yes, Fr Alexander's point about linking the saint's missionary work to practical youth activities really hit home. We do some simple knitting in our parish group too — last time the kids made little prayer ropes, though mine came out a bit uneven like yours. What sort of baking do you pair it with over there?

Jelena Pavlović

Yes, Father Aleksandar said it nicely, he just reminded me how today we click more than we listen. I read a little about Mitrofan in an old book about martyrs, but nothing in detail about those trips around the Mogilev diocese. If you find something, Marko, post a link or a title, I'd be happy to take a look after the tailoring.

James Bennett

We do a bit of that too — the kids here make those same lumpy prayer ropes every Lent, and the messier ones usually end up on someone’s car mirror. I pair the handicrafts with simple prosphora baking days; nothing fancy, just flour, water, and a lot of patience. What age range do your Sydney kids fall into?

Mark Hall

Yeah, Fr Alexander really nailed that connection between missionary work and hands-on stuff with the kids. We tried baking prosphora with our youth group last month — the simple kind, nothing fancy, though half of them ended up a bit lopsided too. What age range do you usually have in your knitting circle?

Thomas Wright

Our kids here in New York are mostly 8 to 14, same messy prayer ropes ending up on dashboards. I like the prosphora idea, simple is better. How do you keep the little ones from eating half the dough before it rises?

Christopher Wilson

Kids that age are the same everywhere, aren't they? We let ours knead a small extra ball of dough just for snacking while the main batch rises — keeps the fighting down. What kind of prosphora stamp do you use in New York?

Peter Wilson

Yeah, they really are the same everywhere. Our two used to fight over who got the biggest scrap of dough until we started giving each one their own little piece to shape. We use a simple wooden prosphora stamp from a monastery in upstate New York, nothing fancy, but it’s held up for years. What do you use in Boston?

Nicholas Morris

Yeah, that little extra ball of dough trick works a treat. Our daughter still asks for her own bit to knead when we bake on Saturdays. We’ve got a brass stamp from a Greek monastery in Melbourne that’s been in the family since the 90s — does the job nicely. What size loaves do you usually make?

Emily Bennett

Yeah, that extra little ball of dough really does the trick with the kids. We do the same thing here in Ottawa when I bake on Saturdays. Our prosphora stamp is a plain brass one from a small monastery in Greece that my mother-in-law brought back years ago — still going strong. What size do your loaves usually turn out?

Mark Wilson

Yeah, that extra bit of dough for the kids is a nice touch. Our loaves usually come out around 6-7 inches across, nothing fancy. Where in Ottawa do you usually get your flour?

Helen Campbell

Yeah, that little ball of dough for the kids is pure gold—ours always fights over who gets to shape theirs first. We usually do two medium loaves, about 700g each, so they fit the pans we inherited from my grandmother. Does your brass stamp leave a clear cross on the top, or do you flour it extra?

Christopher Moore

Yeah, that brass stamp from Greece sounds like a real keeper after all these years. Our loaves usually come out about the size of a small saucer, just right for the parish. Do you let the kids help with the seal or is that still your job?

Xenia Bennett

We still use that same old brass stamp my mother brought back from Thessaloniki in the 80s — it’s held up better than most of us. The children get to press the seal on the smaller prosphora loaves after I’ve done the big one; they fight over whose turn it is. Do your kids help with the baking too, or just the eating part?