Every year on August 20, churches in the Cherven Deanery hold services to honour the memory of Hieromartyr John Voronets. These services are especially solemn at the St. George Church in Smilovichi, where Father John served in the final years of his life. Like many Belarusian New Martyrs, he faced persecution, but remained true to his priestly calling, professing the Christian faith until his last breath.
John Vasilyevich Voronets was born on June 20, 1864, into a priest’s family in Kholopenichi, Borisov County. After graduating from the Minsk Theological Seminary, he served as a psalmist at Skepievo Village Church in Slutsk County. In March 1888 he became a priest.
Starting in 1891, Father John’s life became linked with pastoral service in the small town of Smilovichi, Igumen County, Minsk Province. There, he served as the rector of the Holy Trinity Church in Smilovichi and later at St. George’s Church. In recognition of his diligent service, he received a gold pectoral cross in 1912, his fourth award following the Nabedrennik, Skufia, and Kamilavka.
Hieromartyr John Voronets
Father John showed exceptional dedication to the St. George Church entrusted to his care. Visiting Smilovichi in the winter of 1915, Bishop Mitrofan (Krasnopolsky) of Minsk and Turov found the church’s orderliness remarkable, according to the “Minsk Diocesan News.”
During World War I, from 1916 to early 1917, rear military units were stationed in Smilovichi. Father John provided spiritual guidance to the soldiers and officers of these units, holding weekly talks on religion and moral subjects. He brought a living, inspiring word to people worn out by war. In a report dated February 18, 1917, Captain Mikhailov wrote to the Chief of the 9th Rear Stage Section of the Western Front:
“The stage under my command, based in Smilovichi, has benefited for 15 months from the tireless efforts of Father John Voronets, rector of the local St. George Church, in religious and moral education. Weekly talks instilled a sense of duty not only among the lower ranks but also among many civilians who gathered to hear the living and convincing words of the pastor. Father John Voronets accepted no compensation for church services for the lower ranks. I feel it my duty to report his highly beneficial activities and petition for him to be awarded the Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class.”
The report recommending Father John for an award demonstrates his dedicated service throughout the hardships of World War I.
Severe trials befell Father John when the Bolsheviks came to power. He was destined by the Lord to bear the unimaginable burden of life under the oppressive yoke of godless authorities.
Father John was first arrested in early 1930 for speaking out against the government’s policy of plundering the peasants. During one of his sermons, he boldly declared to his congregation, “In the collective, we will be slaves.” In another, he warned, “Do not listen to those who deceive you now. The Bolsheviks will not lead us to good. All their deeds lead to ruin.” Such statements soon led to his arrest. In April 1930, the authorities exiled him to Chernigov. After his exile, Father John returned to Smilovichi and resumed his service at the local St. George Church. But fulfilling his pastoral duties was becoming an uphill struggle.
St. George Church in Smilovichi
According to Fyodor Gutnik from Smilovichi, “Father John was often summoned to the NKVD, where its officers interrogated him all night. These abuses began on Saturday evenings or the eve of major church holidays. The goal was obvious — to intimidate the priest with endless interrogations, to find some fault in him and punish him. However, Father John stood firm in his convictions, rejecting all lies and slander.”
The clouds over Father John grew ever darker. In 1935, the St. George Church in Smilovichi was closed. When they shut down the church, Father John called upon the people to resist the authorities’ lawlessness, but his efforts were in vain.
In 1936–1937, despite the brutal persecutions, this confessor did not abandon his flock, performing religious rites in secret in the homes of his fellow villagers. When the All-Union Census began, Father John urged people in private conversations not to fear the authorities and to declare themselves believers on the census forms, thus professing their faith in Jesus Christ.
Father John’s independent spirit and the respect he rightfully earned among the residents of Smilovichi increasingly infuriated the authorities. Finally, on July 17, 1937, they arrested Father John again. During gruelling interrogations, he did not incriminate anyone and did not admit guilt. Here is an excerpt from the protocol of the troika meeting on August 12, 1937:
“We heard the case of Ivan Vasilyevich Voronets, a priest, Belarusian, kulak. He is accused of uniting kulak and church elements both before and after his exile, through which he conducted counter-revolutionary agitation, intimidated the population, called for resistance against church closures, agitated against subscribing to loans, and during the census urged people to declare themselves believers.
Decision: Ivan Vasilyevich Voronets is to be executed by firing squad.”
Archpriest John Voronets
Archpriest John Voronets was executed on the Feast of the Transfiguration, on 19 August 1937. He was buried in an unmarked grave.
A handwritten poem, copied by Father John shortly before his death, survives in his investigation file. The poem, “Song for the Mother of God” by Nikolai Gogol, reflects the unbroken spirit of this martyred priest during his time in the NKVD prison.
To You, O Mother Most Holy,
I dare to lift my voice in plea,
My face with tears is wet and lowly.
Hear me in my hour of grief!
Receive my warmest supplication.
From woes and evils set me free,
Pour into my heart salvation,
Guide me on the path of peace.
Let me be strange to my own will.
Ready for God to bear all pain,
Be my shelter in the bitter chill,
Do not let sorrow be my bane.
You are the refuge of the helpless,
For all you intercede with grace,
O protect us when the dreadful
Judgment Day we must face!
When Eternity ends time’s story,
The trumpet’s call will wake the dead,
And conscience’s book will show the glory
Of all my sins and dread.
You are the faithful’s shield and cover,
To You I pray with all my soul,
Save me, my joy like no other.
Have mercy, make me whole!
This moving poem was discovered in Father John’s case file by Father Fyodor Krivonos, who brought to light the martyrdom of many Belarusian clergymen.
Father Fyodor Krivonos
The St. George Church in Smilovichi, destroyed by authorities, was rebuilt in 1995. Only two relics, a crucifix-adorned altar cross and an 1842 Gospel, survived and were returned by residents. Because of the church’s small size and the large number of pilgrims, a new church was commissioned. Its altar, consecrated on July 25, 2015, honours St. George the Great Martyr, while the old church’s altar was dedicated to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
In 2012, the residents of Krashevichi village, whose ancestors once prayed at the St. George Church in Smilovichi, set out to erect a wayside cross on the Feast of the Transfiguration. In a communal effort reminiscent of old traditions, each household contributed funds for a massive oak cross. The collective labour brought the villagers closer together: men dug the hole, and women gathered stones from the fields. Those unable to join in brought stones to the site. Everyone wanted to be part of this noble cause. What joy they felt when the sacred cross finally stood on a mound of rocks! Villagers remarked, “Perhaps some of our ancestors, despite Father John’s pleas, denied their faith during the Godless era’s census? Maybe this sin still lingers upon us. It is time for repentance. Let our cross in Krashevichi stand as a symbol of our repentance.”
In March 1989, authorities posthumously rehabilitated Father John Voronets. In 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church’s Bishops’ Council canonised him as a New Martyr and Confessor of Russia, making him eligible for Church-wide veneration. St. George’s Church commemorates Father John’s martyrdom annually with a memorial service on the Feast of the Transfiguration.
On August 20, 2017, following a solemn Divine Liturgy led by Bishop Benjamin, then Bishop of Borisov and Maryina Gorka, a memorial plaque was installed and consecrated at St. George Church in Smilovichi. This plaque commemorates Hieromartyr Archpriest John Voronets, revered as an intercessor for the Cherven land.
