Nestor (Savchuk)

Hieromonk Nestor (Savchuk) was a martyr for the Orthodox Faith in Zharky. His body was found on December 31, 1993.

Early Life

Nestor was born in Crimea in 1960. As a young man, he concentrated on developing his wrestling, boxing and martial arts abilities. He was always distant from his family, had a keen awareness and stood out above his peers. Neither he nor his family knew at the time, but two of his great-uncles served at Pochaev monastery, one as a married priest and the other as a revered monk.

In the early 1980s, in an anti-Orthodox, communist Russia, Nestor travelled to Odessa to work as an apprentice to paint religious murals. However, it seems that Nestor was motivated less by spirituality than by the need to work, because it was at this time that his friends, the older artists, would begin to inspire him with stories of righteous monastics, spending 1000 years glorifying God in this life. Despite the government of the time, Nestor saw the world's vanity and desired to flee it in order to arrive at ancient Christianity.

Pochaev Monastery

When he made his decision, Nestor left Odessa for Pochaev Monastery, where he began his monastic life (and met his distant relatives). While the government regulated monasteries and required monks to be registered, Nestor never registered. In the mid-1980s the government began a persecution of the monastery, with some monks going to prison-cames and others 'disappearing'. Nestor knew that if he was found he would be treated similarly if he was found, but continued living, albeit in hiding, as an illegal monk. He was soon ordained a priestmonk.

Eventually conditions at Pochaev deteriorated to the extent that the monastery was almost empty: either through monks leaving, being taken to prison camps or being killed. His spiritual father, Elder John Kristiankin, told him to go to Zharky; Fr Nestor treated this as divine guidance and departed.

Priestmonk of Zharky

Zharky was a small, isolated and desolate village with few believers, surrounded by vast wilderness, and - due to flooded roads - only accessible in summer. The parish that Fr Nestor would be serving was old and run-down, but had many ancient icons; added to this, a prophecy had been proclaimed at the church by two fools-for-Christ, who were also martyred there: "The priest who shall serve here until the end will be saved". On arrival after his long journey, Fr Nestor went to his church. He was unaware of the prophecy, but he loved the ancient icons and the mystical air about the church, and said that he wanted to stay there the rest of his life.

Bibliography

Marler, J. and Wermuth, A., 1994, Youth of the Apocalypse, St Herman of Alaska Press, Platina.