Fr. Vladimir Zhukov, a cleric of the Diocese of Tver and Kashin, rector of the Church of St. Luke of Crimea, tragically lost his life in a car accident on February 26, 2019.

Just a few days before his death, Father had been appointed as dean and immediately began his numerous duties. He had worked many hours the day before the accident and slept very little—perhaps he was suffering from chronic fatigue. The roads were also very icy that day, and Fr. Vladimir lost control of the car, veering into the oncoming lane and colliding with a large truck.

He died on the spot before medical help could arrive.

Matushka Tatiana often goes to the spot where her husband died to weep and remember the good times they had. She was left alone with four children, one of whom is disabled with cerebral palsy and has to undergo daily treatments.

Together, we can help this family overcome these difficulties.

Throughout his ministry, Fr. Vladimir always gave money towards the building of churches, so the family was only recently able to acquire their own home. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to finish building their house, and now it has fallen upon Matushka’s shoulders. Without the help of caring people, she won’t be able to manage it.

They need to build a road, as there is presently no suitable path to the house, and they need to fix the fence and buy furniture for the children’s rooms. The little furniture they have is old, given to them by other people.

A considerable amount is spent on gas for heating the home, as the climate in the Tver Oblast, like in most regions of Russia, is rather harsh, meaning the house has to be heated from September to May.

The elder son is in college and has to pay for tuition and room and board. The third son, Nazary, is disabled, and besides his treatments, his mother has to be with him and take care of him at all times. He also needs tutors to be able to pass the school exams, as he cannot go to class at the local school. He also needs expensive made-to-order orthopedic shoes especially for the disabled, as well as massage and speech therapy.

If Nazary does not get treatment, his disease will progress and he won’t be able to walk on his own. Therefore, Matushka often has to deny the other children many things for his sake, and their house repairs are always being put off until later.

Matushka works at home as a seamstress, but with four small children, it can’t be a full-time job. As their village is far from the nearest city, and as the village has no school or medical center, she has to travel a long way with the children to school and Nazary’s treatments every day. It’s very expensive to take a taxi every day, and it’s burdensome to constantly ask people for rides, so Matushka has started to drive the family’s car, though it is very old and often breaks down.

Between her part-time job and government aid, there simply isn’t enough money for such huge needs.

Vladimir Petrovich Zhukov was born on May 1, 1982. He was baptized at age 7 and then started serving in the altar. The future pastor dreamed of the priestly ministry from a very young age, and the Lord fully fulfilled this dream. He was just 13 when he began serving as a subdeacon.

His path to pastoral ministry began with mission work in his native Crimea.

When Vladimir was 16, he met his future wife Tatiana. A friendship was formed, which later developed into a great and strong love, and in 2002, they were married. However, they were not destined to know the joys of a honeymoon, as Vladimir was scheduled to be ordained the next day after the wedding.

From 2002 to 2008, Fr. Vladimir served in the Dnipropetrovsk Province in Ukraine. At the same time, he studied and graduated from the Belgorod Seminary in 2005.

In 2008, Father and Matushka found out that all three of their children had a complex hereditary blood disease. It was a very grievous time for the family, having to fight for the life and health of their sons. They all underwent surgery to remove their spleens, which left the third son, Nazary, disabled, which in turn led to the difficult decision to move from Ukraine to Russia.

After they moved, Father was received as a cleric of the Tver Diocese, and with a hierarchical blessing, he organized a parish community and began to build a church. It was very difficult work, but the Lord blessed the pastor’s hard work and a wooden church gradually began to appear in a formerly empty field.

Later, in May 2016, Fr. Vladimir began construction on a large stone church.

Father’s entire life was dedicated to serving God and serving people. He devoted special attention to the organization of parish life and the spiritual education of the youth. He was tactful and careful in communicating with his fellow clergy and attentive to the spiritual needs of his parishioners.

Священник: Fr. Vladimir Zhukov
Матушка: Matushka Tatiana Zhukova
Место жительства: Tver region, Izvorot'n village, Russia