From manger to golgotha: life of the prior of the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Karnavatka archpriest Diodor Yakubovich (1868-1937)

Archpriest Diodor Yakubovich was figure who has made contributions to humanitarian development southern Ukraine. He was born May 8, 1868 in the village Tatarivka Kherson province in the family sexton Eugraph Yakubovich. Primary education he was in parochial school, and then in 1880–1884 he studied in the Elizabethgrad religious school, and in 1884–1890 – in the Odessa Theological Seminary. By diligent study he received honorable mention from the Board of the seminary. Diodor married in 1890 and was ordained a priest. Place his first service is not known, but the following it was church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the village Shesternia Kherson district. Here he was noted as one of the best religious teacher in the district. In May 1897 he was transferred to the town Krivoy Rog in the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin, which in 1903 there were 3118 people in the parish. They find solace and advice in father Diodor. Especially Superior supervised elementary school, which operated at the church and was recognized as one of the best in the district in 1902. In the beginning of the 20th century priest was also selected by the investigator the deanery of Shirokoe Kherson diocese. Together with priest Autonomy Lebedev father Diodor concluded guide to historical and statistical data on Kherson diocese, which was released in 1906 in Kherson. In 1912 he was invited to teach the law of God in Krivoy Rog Commercial College. From the beginning of the revolution in 1917, father Diodor moved to Odessa. However, during the reign P. Skoropadskiy he took part in the All-Ukrainian Church Synod, 1918 in Kiev, which was proclaimed Ukrainian Autonomy Church led by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky). Returning to Odessa, he begins to serve in the church Diocesan House, and after its closure – in the Church of the Ascension, where he created a strong active community that began to afflict the Soviet regime. In the absence of the bishop in Odessa clergy chose to Diodor Yakubovich post the actual head of the diocese to assist the bishop Onufriy (Gagalyuk), who was in exile in Kharkov. This continued until the arrival of the Archbishop Anatoly (Grysyuk) in 1928. Diodor was arrested several times: in 1921 he was accuse stealing church property, in 1926 – counterrevolutionary activities. However, the priest remained loyal canonical Orthodoxy. After the closure of the church in 1930th, he began attending the faithful at home, for which he was arrested on December 27 and executed on December 30, 1937. In April 18, 1989 Archpriest Diodor Yakubovich was rehabilitated. His life is an example of civic activism and courageous confession of the Orthodox faith.