Archpriest Vasily was imprisoned in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, and here he was interrogated for the first time. False witnesses, out of office and fear, gave the testimony necessary for the investigation, and the investigator asked questions to the priest in accordance with their testimony.

"The investigation knows," he declared, "that at the end of 1936 you conducted counter-revolutionary agitation against the Stakhanov movement among the believers of the village of Kabanovo. Do you confirm this?

"There could have been talk about the Stakhanov movement, but I did not give it a negative light," Archpriest Vasily answered.

—At the end of 1936, you had a conversation among believers in which you explained that the old owners of the factories, that is, the capitalists, cared more about the workers than the Soviet government now cares about the workers. Do you admit this?

"Yes, there could have been such a conversation, but I don't remember its content," the priest answered.

"The investigation knows that in your sermons you agitated against joining the collective farms. Do you confirm this?

No, in my sermons I have never touched on political issues.

"Citizen Daria Emelyanovna Fedoseeva, a resident of the village of Kabanovo, sometimes holds meetings with the participation of persons - Varvara Moloshkova, Maria Babkina and others. You also took an active part in these meetings, discussing various kinds of political issues. Do you confirm this?

"These people are known to me as pilgrims of our church, but they all live in the village of Dulyovo. They stop for the night at Fedoseeva's house on one holiday or another. But I have never been to these meetings, except for the occasion of the commemoration of Olga Prokhorova. Whether they had any conversations and about what, I do not know. In my presence, no political issues were touched upon in the conversations.

— Следствию известно, что вы неоднократно разрешали отправлять религиозные обряды в церкви в Кабаново без соответствующей регистрации посещающим вас священникам — Перову и Овчинникову. Подтверждаете ли вы это?

— Да, такие случаи имели место. Священник Овчинников служил несколько раз, а Перов для выполнения личных потребностей принимал участие в службе один раз. Это было, когда разрешения для службы посторонним священнослужителям не требовалось. После специального циркуляра Синода, запрещающего отправлять службы посторонним священнослужителям, я этого больше не разрешал.

— Вы разрешали иногда проживать у себя в квартире Перову и оказывали ему материальную помощь?

— Священник Перов у меня не проживал. В моем доме был один раз. Материальной помощи я лично от себя не оказывал.

—Вы знали, что Перов многократно арестовывался за контрреволюционную деятельность, и поддерживали его материально?