Holy MartyrLeonid

Leonid (Antoshchenko) was born on August 6, 1872 in the village of Malaya Nikolaevka, Artemovsky district, Dnepropetrovsk region, in a family of peasants.

In 1888, at the age of 16, he took monastic vows at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Upon elevation to the rank of hieromonk, he was treasurer of the Chudov Monastery in Moscow.

Arriving at the Mari Republic, Lord Leonid settled at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village ofSemenovka, near Yoshkar-Ola. Here,on December 21, 1937, he was arrested. During the investigation, the Lord was placed in Yoshkar-Ola prison. On December 22 and 27, two interrogations were conducted. The bishop was accused of counter-revolutionary activities and the creation of an "ecclesiastical fascist organization." He pleaded not guilty to anything.

On December 29, 1937, special NKVD troika sentenced Lord Leonid to death. The sentence was carried out on January 7, 1938,on the day of theChristmas feast.

On July 17, 2002, by the decision of the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the clergyman Leonid was numbered among the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. For the residents of Yoshkar-Ola city the monument to the Holy Martyr Leonid is a reminder of those who died for the faith.

The monument was erected, opened and consecrated on July 4, 2008.

The height of the sculpture is 3.6 m, the material is bronze, the author is Andrey Kovalchuk.