John Kochurov

Saint John Kochurov
Photograph of St. John as Chaplain of Tsarskoye Selo. Taken in 1916.
1st Hieromartyr of the Bolshevik Yoke
Born	July 13/25, 1871 Bigil'dino Surky, Ryazan Governorate
Died	October 31/November 13, 1917 Tsarskoye Selo
Venerated in	Eastern Orthodox Church
Canonized	December 1994, Moscow by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church
Major shrine	Relics enshrined in St. Sophia Cathedral in Pushkin
Feast	October 31/November 13
Patronage	Tsarskoye Selo

Saint John Alexandrovich Kochurov (Russian: Иоанн Александрович Кочуров), hieromartyr of the Soviet revolution, was one of a number of young educated priests who came to the United States in the late 1890s as missionaries among the émigrés from Carpathian Ruthenia and Galicia. He was active in establishing parishes and aiding communities, mainly in the Midwest. After returning to Russia he was assigned to Estonia where he put into action the teaching skills he learned in America before he was assigned in 1916 to Tsarskoe Selo. Here he was killed during the early days of the Bolshevik revolution. His feast day is celebrated on October 31. He is also commemorated on the feast of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, celebrated on the Sunday nearest to January 25, which was the date of the martyrdom of Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev, the first of the new martyrs.

John Kochurov was born on July 13, 1871. His father was a priest. His education included attendance at the Ryazan Theological Seminary before continuing at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. He excelled at his studies at both the seminary and academy.

After graduating in 1895, Fr. John married and then entered his life's work when he was ordained deacon. On August 27, 1895, he was ordained a priest at the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg by Bishop Nicholas (Ziorov) of the Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska.