Fr. Valery Churilov, the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Ekaterinino, reposed on February 28, 2020.
His wife, Matushka Tatiana, was left taking care of four children and her seriously ill mother by herself. Three of the children are minors, and all of them live at home, dependent upon their mother. The son, Vanya, and the eldest daughter are both students at a vocational school, while the younger ones are still schoolchildren.
Father’s parents are also very sick and elderly and in need of Matushka’s help. All these problems have fallen on her shoulders, while Vanya has taken up all the difficult manly work.
The family lives in a village where they have a large garden that needs to be cultivated to provide them with enough food. Vanya has learned how to mow, to dig, and even to uproot trees, and he takes care of the garden. He’s also responsible for all the renovations in the house, and never has any time to relax.
These are hard times for the family, but together we can support them and help get the children on their feet, and most importantly, provide them with an education.
Without our help, it will be extremely difficult for them.
Matushka works in the village administration, though civil servant salaries are very small outside of cities—not enough for Father’s and Matushka’s sick and elderly parents and the four growing children.
The family often thinks about Fr. Valery, about how he stood praying in the services, about how he always helped, baking prosphora and delicious breads and rolls. They feel orphaned without him, trying to cope with their grief all together. The family is always in church. Vanya serves in the altar, and Matushka and the girls sing on the kliros.
Valery Vladimirovich Churilov was born on December 30, 1974. He was interested in the meaning of life and started going to church with his parents from a young age.
From the age of 14, he spent every summer helping his father, working on a combine in a village where there was no church. But Valery always wanted to go to the services, and his parents would always drive him to the neighboring village where there was a church.
After graduating from school, he decided to study to be a metalworker and a driver. In 1997, he started dating his future Matushka Tatiana. Interestingly, Valery and Tatiana had the same last name.
Husband and wife are one flesh, which is an immutable rule in the family of a priest. The many difficulties endured by a priest are shared by his matushka, and their survival together largely depends on her.
The priestly path is joyful and bright, but at the same time, extremely thorny. To face the problems of others on a daily basis, to comfort the despairing, to hear confessions, to overcome temptations—only love for God can give the strength to do all this, but a priest also won’t make it without the support and aid of a loving spouse.
For several years, the Churilovs served in a church in the Muchkapsky District, and next year will mark 10 years from the time Fr. Valery became the rector of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Ekaterinino.
The couple always wanted a large family with many children, and they ended up having four in six years. It was very difficult, but joyful at the same time.
When the couple arrived at the parish, they were warmly welcomed by the parishioners who had known Fr. Valery since he was a child. They really loved him as a priest for his wise approach to people and his kindness and responsiveness.
However, the typical problems of a village priest awaited the family there. The pay wasn’t enough for even the most basic things. They lived very poorly, but Fr. Valery never despaired. He hoped in God’s help, saying it was even harder for other people. He never complained, but thanked the Lord for everything, and always tried to help those who turned to him.
The Lord called him to His service, and he fervently served until his repose.
On February 27, 2020, Father went to pray with his spiritual father Hieroschemamonk Mitrophan (Zasypkin) at the cemetery in Tambov. Apparently his soul felt the call to Heaven, and he called Matushka and said: “Tatiana, don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’ll come home.” He didn’t answer the phone anymore after that.
He was gone all night, and his wife and children were restless. The next morning, they got a call from the hospital that Fr. Valery had died. His heart stopped.
When the grief-stricken Matushka gathered his things from the hospital, she found out that he had gotten sick on the bus on the way there and had asked it to stop and got out. He made it to the cemetery to see his spiritual father, but he never returned home—he went into a diabetic coma and his heart stopped.
According to Matushka, Father always had heart and blood pressure problems but categorically refused to go to the doctors. He simply had no time—he was always busy with the parish and the services.
