Leoncjusz

Leontius, secular name Lew Fomich Stasievich (born 20 March 1884 in Tarnogród, died 9 February 1972 in Mikhaylovskoye) was a clergyman of the Russian Orthodox Church, archimandrite, one of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church.

He came from a peasant family in Tarnogród. At the age of 26, he entered the St. Onuphrius Monastery in Jabłeczna, where he also received diaconal and priestly ordinations. In 1915, along with other monks, he went into exile in Moscow. Between 1922 and 1923, he served as the superior of the Transfiguration of the Lord and St. Euthymius of Suzdal Monastery in Suzdal. He then served as a parson in Suzdal, Vorontsov, Mikhaylovskoye, Yelchovtsy, and again in Mikhaylovskoye. He was sentenced three times to labor camp under charges of counter-revolutionary agitation and organizing anti-Soviet associations, spending years in camps between 1930 and 1933, 1935 and 1938, and 1950 and 1955. In 1989, he was posthumously fully rehabilitated.

Recognized during his lifetime as a starets, endowed with the gifts of healing and prophecy, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church with permission for local veneration in the in 1999; in 2000, this veneration was permitted throughout the Moscow Patriarchate. Archimandrite Leontius is also venerated in the Polish Orthodox Church; the main center of his veneration in Poland is Tarnogród.

Biography

Youth He was the only son of Katarzyna and Tomasz Stasievich, deeply religious Orthodox peasant parents living in Tarnogród. His uncle Adam was an Orthodox clergyman and held the rank of protoiereus. As the future clergyman recalled, during his childhood, pilgrims often stayed overnight at their home, telling him about the shrines they visited and the saints honored there. According to , he received his basic education at the local school, and then attended a four-year gymnasium.

At the age of 15, he began working as a clerk at the court in Tarnogród. Six years later, his father died. His time at the monastery in Jabłeczna played a significant role in the life of the future saint, who always considered its patron, St. Onuphrius, his special protector.

From 1913 to 1915, he served as the treasurer of the monastery. According to some sources, he began studies at the Moscow Theological Academy but, due to its closure in 1919, did not obtain a diploma.

Activity in Woroncow and re-arrest In July 1947, Leontius resumed his service within the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church. By the decision of Bishop Michael of Ivanovo and Kineshma, he took over the parish of the Holy Trinity in Woroncow. The clergyman organized the renovation of the parish church despite being burdened with a high tax.

On 7 February 1972, he celebrated the Holy Liturgy (his last in life). The following day, he suddenly fell ill and died on 9 February in the parish house, surrounded by the church choir, which sang liturgical hymns for him.

The cult of Archimandrite Leontius also exists in the Polish Orthodox Church. Since 2008, his icon with a relic has been displayed in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Tarnogród.