Feodor Ushakov was born in 1745 into a noble family. His parents did not have much, but they placed God above all and raised their children in faith and goodness. After completing his studies at the Naval Cadet Corps in Saint Petersburg, the young officer began his service with the Baltic Fleet as a midshipman. By 1787, Captain First Rank Ushakov commanded the Saint Paul in Sevastopol Bay.
With the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War, his ship, at the vanguard of the Russian fleet, achieved numerous victories against the Ottoman navy. In 1790, he became a rear admiral and took charge of the Black Sea Fleet. He understood that the Lord aids His armies, and so after each triumphant sortie, he would return to port and issue this order: “I offer my sincerest thanks and recommend that tomorrow be set aside to raise prayers to the Almighty for the victory so happily granted. All who are able, both from the ships and among the fleet’s priests, are to gather in the Church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker at ten past midnight; after the thanksgiving service, fire a 51-gun salute from the ‘Nativity of Christ’.”
The righteous warrior faithfully attended church services. Eyewitnesses recount that he took part daily in “matins, the liturgy, and evening prayers, and never engaged in reviewing military or legal matters before prayer”. Empress Catherine II presented the hero — who had won great renown throughout Russia — with a gold folding cross containing holy relics of several saints. She elevated him to vice admiral, and as eyewitnesses observed, he was “a man honest, modest, and little concerned with the ways of high society.”
Under Emperor Paul I, Feodor rose to full admiral. When Alexander I came to power, Ushakov accepted the new policies and requested retirement, saying, "My heartfelt feelings and sorrow, having exhausted the strength of my health, are known to God — may His holy will be done. I accept all that has happened to me with the deepest reverence..."
The admiral spent his final years in fasting and prayer, departing to the Lord in 1817.
