On Friday, October 17, 2025, one of the founders and pillars of the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia Orthodox Church of Sparks, NV, Lydia Vladimirovna Sourova, reposed in the Lord.
The handmaid of God Lydia, was born in the Soviet Union (Russia) in a family of artists and performers. When describing her character, one could say that her God-given, sensitive, and artistic soul was augmented by a good education in literature. As a very young child in the late 1940s, Lydia providentially survived an earthquake that killed tens of thousands in the city where her parents were working at the time. Today, it is clear that her natural attributes and the circumstances of her life prepared Lydia for the great mission of founding a parish in the Reno/Sparks, NV, area. Many of her friends at the parish would mention that Lydia Vladimirovna was preserved from the earthquake to be sent by God for this great task. She herself had often pondered how it was that so many perished in one night, yet rescuers pulled her as a young, frail child from the rubble. The brush with death made her ponder the meaning of life and became the impetus behind her drive to create something for the glory of God.
Lydia joined her son, Alexander Gousev, in Reno, NV, in the mid-1990s. The Iron Curtain had fallen, and little by little, people started to immigrate from the former Soviet Union to the United States. Many people, now in a foreign land, were forced by a new set of circumstances to contemplate their religious roots that had been kept from them in their fatherland. Lydia and Alexander were among such people. In their zeal to come to know God and to participate in church life, they would gather other Russian Orthodox from the Reno area and take the long and sometimes difficult drive over to the Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Church of Sacramento. Navigating Donner Pass in the winter storms presented a great obstacle for many. But even this did not stop them from trekking over the mountains to participate in the Sacraments. Alexander became a reader and would arrive extra early before Divine Liturgy on Sunday to read the 3rd and 6th Hours.
As more and more people from Nevada would visit Holy Ascension Church, it became obvious that a Russian Orthodox mission in the Reno/Sparks area could be sustained over a long enough period for it to take root. Nonetheless, such a serious task could only be wrought by sober and zealous people with the tenacity not to give up under temptations and hardships. Lydia and Alexander were suited perfectly for the undertaking. The fruits of their labors, along with many other faithful, dedicated parishioners and benefactors, is the Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia Orthodox Church in Sparks, NV, which already marks its Silver Jubilee this year!
It would seem that Lydia would not let anything stop her from founding and nourishing the mission and the parish. There is no doubt that she had a “calling” from on high for this. It has been noted that some of her labors, at times, appeared to be beyond human strength. Despite her many and prolonged illnesses, she would insist on arranging (when necessary) and attending the Divine Services. She was behind every fundraiser from the organization of them to the conducting of them on the set date. Lydia maintained a large correspondence with donors and benefactors throughout the Western American Diocese, the entire country, and even internationally. Her dedication to the church’s Heavenly Patron, Holy Tsar-Martyr Nicholas and His August family was venerable. Through the publication of the parish newsletter, Lydia showed this much misunderstood figure in his true light: as a man of deep piety, intellect, capable leadership, and love for his subjects. The readership of the newsletter owes Lydia a great debt of appreciation. Lydia’s son, Alexander, was ordained a deacon for the parish in 2001. He served with reverence and zeal until his repose in 2020. His departure from this life left a gap in the altar and in parish life. It was a terrible blow for his mother, Lydia, who accepted this new trial, like all of the others throughout her life, as from the hand of God.
Lydia Vladimirovna truly doubled the talent given to her by God in this life. May she now hear our Lord’s words: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:23).
Before her repose, Lydia received the Sacraments of Unction and Holy Communion. The newly departed was buried on October 30th. His Grace THEODOSY Bishop of Seattle, presided over the funeral. Concelebrating with him were Archpriest Andrei Kudriavtsev (Rector), Archpriest Paul Volmensky, Priest John Longero, and Deacon John Mitchel. Although it was a weekday, the church was filled to capacity with family and parishioners. After the burial, a meal was served at the church, where many heartfelt stories were told about the newly departed.
Deepest condolences are extended to Lydia’s husband, Michael Mellow, her daughter-in-law, Mary, and grandson, Alexander, and all of the clergy and parishioners of Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia Orthodox Church.
Memory Eternal!
“With the Saints, O Christ, to the soul of Thy servant!”
Today, the Lord has gathered us all together to pray for the repose of the soul of the newly departed handmaid of God, Lydia, a person with a loving heart and a generous spirit. Lydia was born in Russia and may have spent part of her life there searching for the truth. Her excellent knowledge of literature indicated that she was a creative person, primarily concerned with educating readers of her stories and publications, which could serve as additional sources of information for many.
Once abroad, the lives of Lydia and her son, Deacon Alexander, changed. They became churchgoers, not only attending but also becoming church builders. Lydia’s son, Father Deacon Alexander, said that the main work of his life was to found a community and a church in Reno, where there had never been a Russian church. There were parishes of other jurisdictions, but the Russians always considered themselves guests there, even though they participated in the Sacraments offered at these churches.
Lydia, together with her son Alexander, created a temporary church right in their home. The kitchen became the altar, and the dining room became the center of the church and a place for parishioners. Over twenty years ago, I served in this very church, whose altar was dedicated to the "Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia." It is the only church in our diocese dedicated to these saints. After the service, the altar again became the kitchen, and the dining room became a refectory for the parishioners. It reminded me of early Christian churches, as well as services in our homeland during the persecution of Christians. In addition to this church, the parish also used other places of worship. Finally, this commercial property was purchased, and it was transformed into a church in recent years.
Besides caring about the liturgical services, Lydia applied her professional skills to creating a parish bulletin. The bulletin was called "The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness," since much of this part of Nevada is a desert. The newspaper described parish life, published interesting spiritual articles, the lives of saints, birthday celebrations, and obituaries. The newspaper was distributed not only throughout our diocese and America, but also beyond this country's borders, reaching our homeland — Holy Rus’ — as well as our monasteries in the Holy Land.
As a devoted Christian, in 2011, Lydia visited the Holy City of Jerusalem and, together with our group, all the holy sites of Palestine. She was able to ascend the Mount of Temptation, attend the midnight services at the Holy Sepulcher, and attend the early liturgies in Bethlehem, where a Russian guesthouse for pilgrims was located. In these holy places, she participated in the Sacraments of Communion and Confession. Until the last day of her life, she was coming to this Church of the Holy Royal Martyrs to fulfill her obedience at the candle stand and to work in the sisterhood. She deeply grieved for the death of her son, Deacon Alexander. She asked her other son, a priest serving at the altar of the Lord in Moscow, to pray for his brother and for her soul. In her life, the covenant given by God to the Apostle John the Theologian, through which all Christians are familiar, was fulfilled: "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). She receives this crown in this present time from our Savior.
The beautiful words of Archimandrite Raphael Karelin speak wonderfully about what we now contemplate as we bid farewell to the newly departed: "The deceased is now near and yet far from us; she is here, and she is elsewhere; she is, and she is not; she was, and she will be again; she is visible to our eyes and invisible. This is the mystery of death, upon which lies the seal of eternity."
Eternal memory to you, Lydia. The Lord has now prepared for your soul the path to eternity, where may your soul abide in that world: "where there is no sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life everlasting."
+Bishop Theodosius of Seattle
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