Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos, Bishop of Belgorod

Commemorated on December 28.

Two days after his arrest on the orders of Commissar Saenko, Bishop Νikόdēmos was shot secretly and was buried in a common grave outside the city.

After the capture of Belgorod by the Volunteer White Army (six months after Vladyka's execution), his grave was opened. Medical examination of the remains found that in addition to the presence of a non-lethal gunshot wound in the Saint's chest, there was a skull fracture caused by a heavy blow with a blunt object, a huge bruise at the top of the head, and a break in the laryngeal cartilage, indicating that he had been strangled by someone.

The holy relics of Saint Νikόdēmos were given due honors, and were buried at Holy Trinity Monastery near the shrine of Saint Joasaph of Belgorod.

On October 29, 2017, Metropolitan John (Popov) performed the rite of the great consecration and the first Liturgy in the church dedicated to the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos (Kononov), located in the Belgorod Metropolis at the place where the relics of the Saint were found. This coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start of the persecution of the Church, and the fifth anniversary of the discovery of the relics of the Hieromartyr Νikόdēmos.