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Fr. Nikolai Aksenov
 Fr. Nikolai AksenovThe son of a Russian Orthodox bishop, Fr. Nikolai Aksenov worked briefly as a railway engineer before graduating from St. Petersburg Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1980 and has served as the rector of St. Nicholas Church in Sablino since 1981. He is married and the father of three sons. Vanya, the oldest son, graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Seminary, where the second son, Misha, is a student. Grisha, the youngest son, is in Middle School. Fr. Nikolai often is referred to as “The Priest of the County” because of his extensive social outreach programs. "The church was an outcast in the social life of Russia," Fr. Nikolai explained of the conditions under communism. "Outreach ministries were impossible and illegal. Now the position of the church has changed. New laws allow it to design and carry out Christian ministries such as programs in education, medicine, care of the homeless, of orphans and of the elderly. The church and the community are developing a new relationship. . . We are now free to do this, but it is difficult because ministries require financial support."
After the Orthodox Church’s social service programs expanded in the early 1990s, Fr. Nikolai started a Sunday School for his parish and became the chaplain at a large women's prison where he baptized almost 20 women each month. He also provided guidance and assistance to an orphanage in neighboring Nikolskoye. With support from MVERN, a free-standing chapel was built at the women’s prison, a Nikolskoye Community Center and Chapel were built in neighboring Nikolskoye, and professional alcohol and drug addiction programs were started in the nearby Tosno high school. The focus of his outreach ministry now is the Sablino Youth Center which has become a model for similar ventures in other Russian villages. |