Fr. Roman Bocharov died of a heart attack on June 14, 2018, leaving Matushka Maria to take care of their daughter and her sick mother.

For a year now, they’ve been living at the Church of St. John of Kronstadt in the village of Koltushi in the Leningrad Oblast, as the family doesn’t have any housing of its own. Matushka works in the trapeza and bakery at the church, and this year, she also began training to be a seamstress, which requires tuition and additional fees. Her dream is to learn how to sew vestments.

Her daughter also needs money for her education, including for a new computer, paid courses, and tutors, which is all very expensive.

Matushka’s mother is disabled with a heart condition, but she helps at church as much as her strength allows. Since Fr. Roman’s death, everyone in the family has suffered faltering health, and medicine is a constant expense for them.

The family simply has no money for clothes, shoes, or the daughter’s education. The small salary from the church and their state benefits are not enough for all their needs.

They are in great need of our financial assistance.

Fr. Roman was born in Tolyatti in the Samara Oblast to the family of a soldier and a teacher. His parents’ Church life had such an impact on his young soul that he decided to become a priest.

After graduating from high school, Roman immediately entered the Saratov Orthodox Theological Seminary. After seminary, he met his future wife, Matushka Maria. They fell in love immediately, and in September 2001, they were married.

After being ordained a priest, he was sent to serve in the city of Volsk in the Saratov Oblast, where he became known for his remarkable attention to every parishioner and never refusing spiritual help to anyone.

Roman and Maria loved each other very much, but they didn’t have a child to fulfill their happiness. For seven years, they tearfully begged the Lord in hopes that he would grant them a child. Having great faith, Fr. Roman supported his wife and never gave her a reason to doubt in God’s help or that the Lord would hear their prayers.

And finally, the long-awaited miracle came to the family in 2008, when a daughter, Alexandra, was born. From that moment on, Fr. Roman was as if soaring on wings, literally carrying his daughter and Matushka in his arms.

Fr. Roman’s ministry was difficult. His parish assignment changed frequently, and he had to move his family from place to place. He seemed energetic, indefatigable, but his health began to falter as his ministry continued to grow. He began to have heart problems, and in 2016 he underwent a difficult operation.

Despite his weak health, Fr. Roman continued to serve with the same zeal as before, not sparing himself in the least, thinking only of his many parishioners and pupils.

Less than ten months before his death, Matushka Maria’s father died from a serious illness and she had to start taking care of her elderly mother. This was the first heavy blow to the family, literally knocking Father and Matushka off their feet.

On the feast of the glorification of St. John of Kronstadt, June 14, 2018, Fr. Roman suffered a sudden heart attack and departed to the Lord. He was home alone that day. He lost consciousness, and by the time help arrived, it was already too late.

This family lived by the Church and service to God. With the death of Fr. Roman, everything in their lives turned upside down, and unremitting pain became their constant companion.

Fr. Roman is buried in the Volsk city cemetery near the Vladimir Convent.

Священник: Fr. Roman Bocharov
Матушка: Matushka Maria Bocharova
Место жительства: Leningrad Region, Vsevolozhsky District, village Koltushi, Russia.