Kuksha of Odessa - Death (1964) and Canonization (1995)

Death (1964) and Canonization (1995)

In October 1964, the elder fell and broke a hip. Lying in such a state on the cold ground, he caught a cold and pneumonia. He never took medicine, calling the Holy Church to be the curer. He foresaw his own death. The spiritual daughter of the elder schema-nun A. used to recollect that the elder sometimes said: "90 years and Kuksha will be no more, they will bury him quickly quickly, take the shovels and cover". His words came true. He died when he was almost 90, at 2 a.m. The cross was set over his grave at 2 p.m. in the afternoon of the same day. The Soviet authorities, being afraid of the influx of the believers, gave 2 hours for the burial. News of the death spread quickly and even patriarch Alexiy I with worry asked why they acted so with the elder's relics.

Blessed Kuksha died on December 24, 1964 and was buried at the cemetery of the Holy Dormition monastery in Odessa.

After the collapse of the communist regime in the Soviet Union, elder Kuksha was glorified as venerable by the decision of the Holy Synod of Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 1995.