Priest-Monk Nestor

Fearless Fighter of Injustice

Nestor (born Nikolai Ivanovich Savchuk) was born in southern Ukraine in 1960. Having finished high school and then college, he served in intelligence, where he passed special training and learned hand-to-hand combat. Later he entered Odessa University in the geology/geography department. As a young man, he concentrated on developing his wrestling, boxing and martial arts abilities. 

In the early 1980s, he lived in the atheist and communist state of USSR, where the Russian Christian heritage had been largely erased from public memory, as religion was prohibited by the government. When Nikolai was in his 20s, he was told that a church in the poor village of Yaski near Odessa had a roof full of holes and there was no one to fix it. He took an academic leave and went to help with repairs. He ended up becoming an apprentice to an artist who was brought in to paint or restore the religious art of the church. Initially it seems that Nikolai was motivated less by spirituality than by the need to work. Here he became friends with the older artists, who began to inspire him with stories of righteous monks and nuns who devoted their lives to God. A spark was kindled in his heart and mind. He began to burn with a desire to flee the vanity of the world and tap into his ancient Christian roots.

Nikolai eventually left Odessa for the ancient 13th-century Pochaev Monastery. Here he lived, worked and prayed with the monks, although at that time monastic life was challenging as the atheistic government made sure the monastery didn’t thrive. During his time in Pochaev, as providence would have it, Nikolai discovered that he had two long-lost great-uncles who served at the monastery. One was a married priest who lived with his family in the town, and the other was a greatly revered old monk who had been known for his righteous life. 

At the time, the monasteries in communist Russia were regulated by the government. All the monks were required to be registered with the state which was atheist. Nikolai, being against atheism, never registered. In the mid-1980’s the government began to persecute the monastery–some monks were taken to prison-camps, while others simply “disappeared.” Because he was not registered with the state, Nikolai knew he would be put in prison or killed if he were found by the government officials so he left the monastery and traveled the Ivanovo Diocese, visiting churches and carrying out various assignments for the bishop of the region. 

On one trip he passed through the village of Zharki, surrounded by vast wilderness and beautifully situated on the high bank of a river. The small village church was the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, and inside was a miracle working icon of Mary. Nikolai felt a special grace in this church, the special presence of the Queen of Heaven. He once said: “If I am ever ordained, I will ask to go to this church—there is such grace there.”

Near the walls of the church are buried two holy men—the fools-for-Christ Blessed Alexei and Mikhail who were tortured and killed by the Soviet secret police. Before they were murdered, they prophesied saying that, “The priest who shall serve here until the end will be saved.” Not aware of the prophecy but sensing a mystical air about the old church, Nikolai immediately said that he loved the place with all his heart and wanted to stay there the rest of his life.

Soon after his visit, Nikolai was appointed as the warden of the church in Zharki. In 1989, he was tonsured a monk and was given the name Nestor in honor of the St. Nestor the Chronicler (†1114) and soon thereafter he was ordained a hieromonk (priest-monk). As the new priest of the Church in Zharki, his dream came true.

As is the lot of those who pursue righteousness, suffering awaited Fr. Nestor. The police warned him of an icon-stealing ring run by the Russian Mafia from Odessa who would steal icons from rural churches and sell them on the black market for big money. Nearly all the churches in the area had been burglarized. Soon after being assigned to the church he was attacked by thugs for being a priest. 

One day, Fr. Nestor tucked in his long hair and beard as was his custom when traveling, so as to keep a low profile, and headed out for the bus stop with some important documents. At the bus stop, three drunken youths approached him and began to harass him. “Show me your cross,” they taunted him, and began grabbing under his jacket to get at his cross. So as not to allow them to defile his cross, Fr. Nestor was forced to deflect their hands. Not knowing that he was skilled in martial arts, the youths tried to attack him. But he dodged their punches, making the fight to look more like a dance. Suddenly, remembering that his documents were unguarded, Fr. Nestor hesitated; at that moment he was hit by a blow in the eye. Soon the police arrived, but the forgiving priest told them to let the youths go. He hadn’t forgotten that he too had once been a rebellious youth. A month later the youth who had punched Fr. Nestor in the eye came to his house to say he was sorry. After talking to him for a while the young Andrew decided to join forces with him, moved into his house, and began to follow his strict way of life.

With his youthful zeal he had brought life to the desolate village of Zharky. Fr. Nestor also traveled to several other churches in the surrounding region, helping all in need, Christian or non-Christian. To the Russian people, the young Fr. Nestor was a reminder of their ancient Christian roots. 

In addition to is selfless work for others, Fr. Nestor maintained an austere life of prayer and fasting. He became known as a true ascetic. He was known to go to great lengths to fulfill his priestly ministry. After traveling to visit his spiritual children in other villages, he would walk home at night. He didn’t like to travel in cars; these late-night walks were the only time he had to himself. Even through the winter snow, he would walk as far as twelve miles to get home. This was his time to be alone with God; he would immerse himself in prayer, losing track of time. Nestor would return home to complete his rigorous prayer rule, which consisted of hours of singing ancient chant, and kneeling in prayer with tears.

In time, Nestor traveled to the war zone of Abkhazia, Georgia (a small country bordering southern Russia, formerly part of the Soviet Union) in order to help the suffering people there and to spread the light and truth of Christ. He began to thrive in the warlike conditions, and the ultimate sacrifice a Christian can give was born in him–the desire to be martyred for faith in Christ. Knowing that death was imminent in the hostile land of Abkhazia, Nestor felt drawn to stay. His spiritual father back in Russia, however, guided him back to the village of Zharky by saying to him, “Would a mother abandon her own children to raise another’s children?” Nestor realized that he had to return to his own spiritual children.

Upon returning to Russia, Fr. Nestor met with more hardship and even persecution. The church was robbed several times, caught on fire once, and Nestor even suffered a backlash of envy and strife from his own people. He once told a friend that it was the ones, he gave the most to, who troubled him the most.

In 1993 three monks were murdered at the famous Optina Monastery in central Russia. In the 19th century, Optina was the spiritual capital of Orthodox Russia. Crowds of people including the authors Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and others had flocked to Optina Monastery for spiritual guidance from the great Elders. The three monks were stabbed to death on Easter night, during the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection. The autopsy showed what seemed to be a ritualistic killing–each had had his throat slit, and the stab wounds were in a specific pattern. A blood-stained dagger was found on the monastery grounds with the numbers 666 inscribed on the blade. Later, a man confessed to the murders and admitted that the killings were a ritual of a satanic cult that he had deliberately killed the three best monks in the monastery.

Nestor often spoke of the Optina martyrs with great reverence, and it became evident that he longed to follow them. He longed for a martyr’s crown himself. Once a friend tried to counsel him that it was better to be longsuffering and endure the tedious trials of life. To this Nestor replied, “You know, my friend, I have such a fiery desire to receive a martyr’s crown because I led a loose life as a youth and lived only for myself. How can I repay God for what He has given me?” The friend pleaded with him, “It’s too daring to desire martyrdom; you must suffer for a long time.” Nestor again replied, “Yes, I understand that, but maybe if I will pray for martyrdom–perhaps I will be able to pray it out.”

Truly Nestor was ablaze with that fire of faith that burns for the other world. He saw death not as an end of life but as a beginning. His faith was deep–to the extent that he had begun to pray for suffering and even death not as an escape from this world, but in order to be mystically crucified with Christ.

Fr. Nestor’s church was robbed again. This time Nestor had had enough–his poor church was being extorted. He said to those around him, “My heart boiled when I saw the desecrated church.” Father spotted tire tracks in the snow and ran several miles through the wet snow in the surrounding fields and forests trying to find the thieves. In the distance was a parked car. To conceal the fact that he was a monk, Nestor took off his monk’s cap, pulled up his robe, and approached the car staggering and yelling as if he were drunk. Inside the car sat a gangster who immediately jumped out of the car and attacked him. Once again Nestor’s experience in the martial arts came to his aid, as he was able to deflect the gangster’s punches and so buy enough time to get the license plate number of the vehicle. The police eventually caught the gangsters and returned the icons to the church. Word came to Nestor that if he pressed charges, the Mafia would hunt him down. His closest friends pleaded with him not to do it. Nestor met with the gangster who had attacked him, and asked him why he had done it. The gangster replied, “Money.” And Nestor asked him if he regretted stealing from the church. But he answered without a drop of remorse, “I have no regret whatsoever.” Nestor knew he had to make a stand. If he let the Mafia intimidate him his poor church would suffer. To one who tried to talk him out of it, Nestor explained, “If these were my personal enemies, I could forgive them; but these men are enemies of the simple believers and of God. They have no remorse for the evil they have done. I cannot let them go.” Then began several attempts on Nestor’s life which he narrowly escaped. 

The robberies of icons had become widespread–every church in the region had been burglarized at least once. Nestor began to guard the church at night. The Mafia was not just after the icons anymore–they wanted Nestor’s life.

On one occasion, Nestor heard a knock at the door. When he opened the door, he was held at gunpoint. Not backing down, Nestor fearlessly looked straight into the eyes of the thugs, turned around, and walked into his house, and locked the door. The hoods came after him, breaking in the window. Grabbing a flare gun, Nestor fired some shots to scare them off. But, knowing he was a monk and priest and so would not shoot them, they barged through the window. Nestor then ran into his room and locked the door, and as he was climbing out of the window, he cut his arm and began to bleed. Quickly he bandaged his arm and then escaped. As he fled, blood dripped on the ground–the very ground on which he would later shed his life’s blood.

Knowing that each day could be his last, Nestor began to double his missionary work. A close friend of his recalls, “To each he would give his all; they would flock to him. At times it was difficult. Sometimes he would lock himself in his room for two or three days to fast and pray. In this way he received strength to go on. In the last year I knew him, he became so deep . . . a simple depth that came from trust in God. He was not afraid of anything. He was an unusual man who gave himself to the will of God. He was fearless.”

Fr. Nestor had broken through the wall that separates God and man, and God had become a living force in him. A close friend remembers one of his last conversations with Priest-monk Nestor: “We talked about the enemies of the church. He said to me, ‘Why should we be afraid?’ I said, ‘But those wicked thieves are everywhere!’ He spoke calmly, ‘To all is God’s will. To suffer for Christ–this is a great joy.’ He talked about the spiritual war going on in the world today . . . He was already prepared for death.”

On December 31, 1993, Fr. Nestor was found dead with his throat slit along with multiple stab wounds. That night, once he returned to the church, the killers were apparently waiting for him in his cell. They tortured Fr. Nestor, cut up, and stabbed his body and drained out all his blood. The priest’s young face was horribly disfigured, beaten with glass and his hair was pulled out. His entire cell was covered with blood.

The reason why he was murdered is uncertain. However, many believe he was killed for his defense of the icons of his Church and standing up to injustice. The person charged with his murder received a sentence of 4 years. Most people believe the whole situation was a coverup, and that there were more people involved with the murder. In a sense he was a victim of human greed, and is an example of modern spiritual decay. Nestor’s original awakening to faith in God had come from religious images and later he died for these ancient images (icons) of Christ and the saints. Nestor looked at religious icons not as wood and paint, but rather he saw them as windows that opened up the heavens. Today Nestor (†1993) is venerated in Russia as Hieromartyr Nestor, Defender of icons.