2020 was a difficult year, but ordinary at the same time. Nothing could have foretold such a sudden departure from this life. Even a COVID diagnosis couldn’t frighten Fr. Theodore. His brother had had COVID back in the spring, but it seemed it was just an ordinary disease and would soon pass. And anyways, Father had the best doctors. 

He was hospitalized on February 4. His last photo was iconic, showing Fr. Theodore, with his characteristic thoughtfulness and optimism, looking out the open hospital window as though it were a window to eternity, into his beloved spring and the expectation of Pascha. No one knew then that he would celebrate Pascha in Heaven, in the eternal abodes of the Lord. Everything went downhill literally overnight, and the doctors diagnosed him with total lung damage. 

Now Mother Olga is alone with their three children. She can only work as a part-time nurse, because her youngest son still has another year before starting school. The oldest son is in eighth grade, the middle is in fifth. 

Without our help, it will be very difficult for her to raise her three sons. 

The future priest Theodore Vyacheslavovich Pogodin and his twin brother Vladimir were born in Nizhny Novgorod on December 25, 1980. His father left the family, so his mother raised her three sons alone. Many years later, it was Fr. Theodore who managed to reconcile the whole family and restore relations with their father. He thus managed to overcome the difficult obstacles of silence, rejection, and bleeding resentment. 

The Gospel teaches us that “blessed are the peacemakers,” which is exactly how Fr. Theodore was: quiet and peaceful, without any sharp edges, without the barbs of stubborn vanity that prevent many from being true peacemakers. The ability to unite people near and far was useful to him in life as well. Maybe that’s why the Lord gave him the difficult path of frequently changing parishes, where he always became the connecting link, without which everything would fall apart. 

A sudden sickness prevented Fr. Theodore from finishing seminary but couldn’t interfere with his main service. Doctors didn’t know what caused his sickness, and he patiently bore his cross of excruciating pain and disability without grumbling or complaining. 

Theodore met his future wife Olga in his third year of seminary when he went to the hospital where she was working as a nurse. A friendship developed, which turned into love, and then a strong marriage. 

He was ordained to the priesthood at his beloved Diveyevo in late 2006. As Matushka Olga recalls, it was a wonderful, quiet nighttime Liturgy, without any crowds or commotion, with the prayerful singing of the nuns and the flickering light of the candles. It felt like the choir of angels and St. Seraphim of Sarov himself were invisibly present, blessing the new pastor for his new ministry. The service seemed to symbolize Fr. Theodore’s future ministryt vividly emphasized his deep-seated qualities of quietness and prayerful solitude. Every priest experiences his ordination as a new birth for a special ministry, which isn’t so easy to bear—and not all bear it to the end. 

Then began the everyday life, joys, and sorrows of the priesthood. After serving Liturgy for forty days in the monastery, Fr. Theodore was appointed to a number of parishes. The most memorable was the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the village of Fedyakovo, where he lovingly transfigured the church and managed to unify the community. It was with pain, but also humility, that Fr. Theodore left for a new assignment—so close had he become to his flock in Fedyakovo. 

Then, during another transfer in July 2013, his long-standing joint pain became very severe. The series of transfers was finally halted when Matushka Olga suddenly became ill after the birth of their youngest son. His last assignment was the Holy Resurrection Church in the city of Dzerzhinsk, where he remained until his death. 

Together, we can all help, because no good deed goes unnoticed by God. 

Священник: Fr. Theodore Pogodin
Матушка: Pogodina Olga Dmitrievna
Дети:
Pogodin Arseniy Fedorovich 05/31/2006
Pogodin Ivan Fedorovich 09/08/2009
Pogodin Fedor Fedorovich 06/10/2015
Место жительства: Nizhny Novgorod, Politboytsov street 7-96