Fr. Michael Saphonov, the rector of the Church of the Archangel Gabriel in Samara, died on March 17, 2020, at the age of 41. His wife, Matushka Natalia, was left to take care of four children by herself.

Fr. Michael was born on September 7, 1978, in the village of Ponomarevka in the Orenburg Oblast. His parents, Alexander and Natalia Saphonov, were musicians.

The family resettled in Samara in 1980.

His parents set an example of hard work for him. His father was a pianist, a soloist in the Samara Philharmonic, and his mother taught piano at a music school.

Fr. Michael was a gifted child. Thanks to his many talents, he loved to deeply explore the world around him. He was a kind, direct, and cheerful boy, and this bright nature was sanctified by a “Divine spark” from an early age.

But by God’s providence, his youthful dream of becoming a priest was not realized immediately. The future priest’s father insisted that he study economics, and he took St. Sergius as an example of obedience to his parents. Fr. Michael defended his doctoral dissertation and graduated from the Planned Economy Academy in 2001, and went on to hold senior positions working as an economist.

On September 15, 2002, he married his future matushka, Natalia.

On September 20, 2003, the couple gave birth to their first child, a son named Bronislav (Boris in Baptism).

Father really loved his children. His whole family went to church and Sunday School at the Church of the Elevation of the Cross in Samara, and he and his wife did everything possible for the health and development of their children. But at the same time, Fr. Michael knew all the local children, and his children’s birthday parties were always celebrations for the whole neighborhood.

On February 8, 2014, he was ordained as a deacon, and on March 2 that year, the metropolitan ordained him as a priest. In 2014, Fr. Michael was assigned to the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the village of Petra Dubrava in the Volzhsk District of the Samara Oblast.

Fr. Michael was loved for his kindness, openness, and responsiveness, and he was respected for the sincerity of his faith. People would say he was a “faithful father” who “gives life.”

He put all he had into the services, the church, and his parishioners. People were everything to him! He saw the image of God in everyone. He never passed by someone else’s troubles. He saved frostbitten homeless people and nursed them back to health. He helped drug addicts “get off the needle” and tried to lead them to the faith. And he did!

Matushka Natalia was always with Fr. Michael. She was his helper in everything at the parish and with their three sons and daughter.

His most difficult obedience was his five years of caring for the Orthodox prisoners of the maximum-security prison. “They are my brothers in Christ,” Fr. Michael would say, again giving himself to people without reserve. Through Fr. Michael’s and the prisoners’ joint efforts, the Church of the “Seeker of the Perishing” Icon of the Mother of God was erected in 2019.

Father bore the cross of sickness courageously, with Christian humility. Only his family and doctors knew how hard it was for him. Therefore, his departure from this life was an unexpected and irreparable loss for his parishioners and all who knew him.

Just a week before his death, Fr. Michael rejoiced to see the result of some more of his important work, when a large, 1,500-lb. memorial cross was erected over the village of Krasnaya Glinka!

Father didn’t celebrate the services during his last month. On March 17, 2020, three hours after an operation on his blood vessels, he departed to the Lord.

On March 18, the parishioners of the Church of the Archangel Gabriel bid farewell to their beloved pastor. Priests, friends, and spiritual children came, and they served panikhidas deep into the night.

His priestly ministry in the Church began and ended under the protection of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Noting how much Fr. Michael labored and accomplished in a short time, Archpriest Sergei Pushkarev, rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, compared people’s lives with the passing of an exam. He said you can spend two and a half hours on an exam, or forty minutes. “Fr. Michael finished his most important exam from the Lord in just forty minutes,” he said.

His orphaned family is in need of financial assistance. Matushka Natalia is looking for work from home, as she can’t leave the children unattended, all four of whom are still schoolchildren. Their state allowance is barely enough even for food, and they also need to be clothed and provide for their educations.