The Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop of Vereya, was an outstanding theologian, preacher, and valiant defender of the Church of Russia who suffered during the first decade of Bolshevik rule in Russia. A compatriot of Patriarch Tikhon, he strongly defended the Church against the attacks of the communist regime and the Bolshevik backed Living Church, its renovationists policies, and the Gregorian schism. His feast day is December 15.
Born Vladimir Alexeyevich Troitsky on September 13, 1886 into a family of hereditary clergymen in the village of Lipitsa in the Kashira district of Tula Province, the future Archbishop Hilarion was an eager student from an early age. Vladimir was raised by his mother's sister Nadezha, who was a teacher, as his mother died while he was very young. He learned to read at an early age. He began his education in the local church school. Then, he continued on at the seminary in the Tula Province, before being sent to the Moscow Theological Academy.
