On February 10, 2020, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Synod of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church (traditionally, since 2000, this holiday has been celebrated on the first Sunday after February 7). To date, the Cathedral includes more than 1700 names. Here are just a few of them.
, archpriest, first martyr of Petrograd
The first priest in Petrograd who died at the hands of the God-fighting authorities. In 1918, on the threshold of the diocesan administration, he stood up for women insulted by the Red Army, and was shot in the head. Father Peter had a wife and seven children.
At the time of his death he was 55 years old.
Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia
The first bishop of the Russian Church, who died during the revolutionary turmoil. Killed by armed bandits led by a sailor commissar not far from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
At the time of his death, Metropolitan Vladimir was 70 years old.
, Archbishop of Voronezh
The last Russian emperor and his family were shot in 1918 in Yekaterinburg, in the basement of the Ipatiev House, by order of the Ural Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies.
At the time of the execution, Emperor Nicholas was 50 years old, Empress Alexandra 46 years old, Grand Duchess Olga 22 years old, Grand Duchess Tatyana 21 years old, Grand Duchess Maria 19 years old, Grand Duchess Anastasia 17 years old, Tsarevich Alexy 13 years old. Together with them, their confidants were shot - life doctor Yevgeny Botkin, cook Ivan Kharitonov, valet Alexei Trupp, maid Anna Demidova.
And
The sister of the Empress-Martyr Alexandra Feodorovna, the widow of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich killed by the revolutionaries, after the death of her husband, Elisaveta Feodorovna became a sister of mercy and abbess of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy in Moscow, which she herself created. When Elisaveta Feodorovna was arrested by the Bolsheviks, her cell-attendant, nun Varvara, despite the offer of freedom, voluntarily followed her.
Together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich and his secretary Fyodor Remez, Grand Dukes John, Konstantin and Igor Konstantinovich and Prince Vladimir Paley, the Martyr Elisaveta and the nun Varvara were thrown alive into a mine near the city of Alapaevsk and died in terrible agony.
At the time of her death, Elisaveta Feodorovna was 53 years old, and nun Varvara was 68 years old.
Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov
In 1922 he was arrested for resisting the Bolshevik campaign to confiscate church valuables. The actual reason for the arrest is the rejection of the renovationist split. Together with Hieromartyr Archimandrite Sergius (Shein) (52 years old), Martyr John Kovsharov (lawyer, 44 years old) and Martyr Yuri Novitsky (Professor of St. Petersburg University, 40 years old), he was shot in the vicinity of Petrograd, presumably at the Rzhev firing range. Before the execution, all the martyrs were shaved and dressed in rags so that the executioners would not recognize the clergy.
At the time of his death, Metropolitan Veniamin was 45 years old.
Hieromartyr John Vostorgov, Archpriest
A well-known Moscow priest, one of the leaders of the monarchist movement. He was arrested in 1918 on charges of intending to sell the Moscow diocesan house (!). He was held in the Internal Prison of the Cheka, then in Butyrki. With the beginning of the "Red Terror", he was executed extrajudicially. He was publicly shot on September 5, 1918 in Petrovsky Park, along with Bishop Ephraim, as well as the former chairman of the State Council Shcheglovitov, former ministers of internal affairs Maklakov and Khvostov, and Senator Beletsky. After the execution, the bodies of all those executed (up to 80 people) were robbed.
At the time of his death, Archpriest John Vostorgov was 54 years old.
, layman
The ailing Theodore, who suffered from paralysis of the legs from the age of 16, was revered during his lifetime as an ascetic by the faithful of the Tobolsk diocese. Arrested by the NKVD in 1937 as a "religious fanatic" for "preparing for an armed uprising against Soviet power." He was taken to the Tobolsk prison on a stretcher. In the cell, Theodore was placed facing the wall and forbidden to speak. They did not ask him anything, they did not take him to interrogations, and the investigator did not enter the cell. Without trial or investigation, by the verdict of the "troika", he was shot in the prison yard.
At the time of the execution - 41 years old.
, archimandrite
Famous missionary, monk of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, confessor of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood, one of the founders of the illegal Theological and Pastoral School in Petrograd. In 1932, together with other members of the brotherhood, he was accused of counter-revolutionary activities and sentenced to 10 years in Siblag. In 1937, he was shot by the "troika" of the NKVD for "anti-Soviet propaganda" (that is, for talking about faith and politics) among the prisoners.
At the time of the execution - 48 years.
, laywoman
In the 1920s and 30s, Christians throughout Russia knew about it. Employees of the OGPU for many years tried to "unravel" the phenomenon of Tatyana Grimblit, and, in general, to no avail. She devoted her entire adult life to helping prisoners. She carried parcels, sent parcels. She often helped people completely unfamiliar to her, not knowing whether they were believers or not, and under what article they were convicted. She spent almost everything she earned herself on this, and encouraged other Christians to do the same.
Many times she was arrested and exiled, together with the prisoners she traveled along the stage through the whole country. In 1937, being a nurse in the hospital in Konstantinov, she was arrested on false charges of anti-Soviet agitation and "deliberately killing patients."
She was shot at the Butovo training ground near Moscow at the age of 34.
, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
First Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, ascended to the Patriarchal throne after the restoration of the patriarchate in 1918. In 1918, he anathematized the persecutors of the Church and the participants in the massacres. In 1922-23 he was kept under arrest. In the future, he was under constant pressure from the OGPU and the "gray abbot" Yevgeny Tuchkov. Despite blackmail, he refused to join the Renovationist schism and conspire with the godless authorities.
He died at the age of 60 from heart failure.
, Metropolitan of Krutitsy
He took holy orders in 1920, at the age of 58, was the closest assistant to His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon in matters of church administration. Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne from 1925 (death of Patriarch Tikhon) until the false announcement of his death in 1936. From the end of 1925 he was imprisoned. Despite constant threats to extend his imprisonment, he remained faithful to the canons of the Church and refused to remove himself from the rank of Patriarchal locum tenens before the legitimate Council.
He suffered from scurvy and asthma. After a conversation with Tuchkov in 1931, he was partially paralyzed. Last years life was kept as a "secret prisoner" in solitary confinement in the Verkhneuralsk prison.
In 1937, at the age of 75, by the verdict of the “troika of the NKVD in the Chelyabinsk region, he was shot for “slandering the Soviet system” and accusing the Soviet authorities of persecuting the Church.
, Metropolitan of Yaroslavl
After the death of his wife and newborn son in 1885, he took holy orders and monasticism, and since 1889 he served as a bishop. One of the candidates for the post of locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne, according to the will of Patriarch Tikhon. We persuaded the OGPU to cooperate, but to no avail. For resistance to the renovationist split in 1922-23 he was imprisoned, in 1923-25. - in exile in the Narym region.
He died in Yaroslavl at the age of 74.
, archimandrite
Coming from a peasant family, he took holy orders at the height of the persecution of the faith in 1921. In prisons and camps spent in total 17.5 years old. Even before the official canonization in many dioceses of the Russian Church, Archimandrite Gabriel was revered as a saint.
In 1959 he died in Melekesse (now Dmitrovgrad) at the age of 71.
, Metropolitan of Almaty and Kazakhstan
Coming from a poor family with many children, from childhood he dreamed of monasticism. In 1904 he took tonsure, in 1919, at the height of persecution of the faith, he became a bishop. For resistance to renovationism in 1925–27 he was imprisoned. In 1932 he was sentenced to 5 years in concentration camps (according to the investigator, "for popularity"). In 1941, for the same reason, he was exiled to Kazakhstan, almost died of starvation and disease in exile, and was homeless for a long time. In 1945, he was released from exile ahead of schedule at the request of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), and headed the Kazakh diocese.
He died in Almaty at the age of 88. The veneration of Metropolitan Nicholas among the people was enormous. Vladyka's funeral in 1955, despite the threat of persecution, was attended by 40,000 people.
, archpriest
Hereditary village priest, missionary, unmercenary. In 1918, he supported the anti-Soviet peasant uprising in the Ryazan province, blessed the people "to go to the fight against the persecutors of the Church of Christ." Together with Hieromartyr Nicholas, the Church commemorates with him the martyrs Cosmas, Victor (Krasnov), Naum, Philip, John, Paul, Andrew, Paul, Basil, Alexy, John, and Martyr Agathia. All of them were brutally killed by the Red Army on the banks of the Tsna River near Ryazan.
At the time of his death, Father Nikolai was 44 years old.
Saint Kirill (Smirnov), Metropolitan of Kazan and Sviyazhsk
One of the leaders of the Josephite movement, a staunch monarchist and opponent of Bolshevism. He was repeatedly arrested and exiled. In the will of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, he was named as the first candidate for the post of locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne. In 1926, when a secret gathering of opinions on a candidate for the post of Patriarch took place among the episcopate, largest number votes were given to Metropolitan Kirill.
To Tuchkov’s proposal to head the Church, without waiting for the Council, Vladyka replied: “Eugene Alexandrovich, you are not a cannon, and I am not a bomb with which you want to blow up the Russian Church from within,” for which he received another three years of exile.
, archpriest
The rector of the Resurrection Cathedral in Ufa, a well-known missionary, church historian and public figure, he was accused of "agitation in favor of Kolchak" and shot by Chekists in 1919.
The 62-year-old priest was beaten, spat in his face, pulled by his beard. He was led to the execution in his underwear, barefoot in the snow.
, metropolitan
An officer of the tsarist army, an outstanding artilleryman, as well as a doctor, composer, artist ... He left worldly glory for the sake of serving Christ and took the holy rank in obedience to his spiritual father - St. John of Kronstadt.
On December 11, 1937, at the age of 82, he was shot at the Butovo training ground near Moscow. He was taken to prison in an ambulance, and carried out on a stretcher to be executed.
, Archbishop of Vereya
Outstanding Orthodox theologian, writer, missionary. During the Local Council of 1917–18, the then Archimandrite Hilarion was the only non-bishop who was mentioned in backroom conversations among the desirable candidates for the patriarchate. He received the episcopal dignity at the height of the persecution of the faith - in 1920, and soon became the closest assistant to the holy Patriarch Tikhon.
In the Solovki concentration camp he spent a total of two three-year terms (1923–26 and 1926–29). “I stayed for a second course,” as Vladyka himself joked… Even in prison, he continued to rejoice, joke and thank the Lord. In 1929, during the next step along the stage, he fell ill with typhus and died.
He was 43 years old.
Martyr Princess Kira Obolenskaya, laywoman
Kira Ivanovna Obolenskaya was a hereditary noblewoman, belonged to the ancient Obolensky family, which traced its lineage from the legendary Prince Rurik. She studied at the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens, worked as a teacher at a school for the poor. Under the Soviet regime, as a representative of "class alien elements", she was transferred to the position of a librarian. She took an active part in the life of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood in Petrograd.
In 1930-34 she was imprisoned in concentration camps for counter-revolutionary views (Belbaltlag, Svirlag). Upon her release from prison, she lived at the 101st kilometer from Leningradral, in the town of Borovichi. In 1937, she was arrested along with the clergy of the Borovichi and shot on false charges of creating a "counter-revolutionary organization."
At the time of the execution, the martyr Kira was 48 years old.
Martyr Catherine of Arskaya, laywoman
Merchant's daughter, was born in St. Petersburg. In 1920, she experienced a tragedy: her husband, an officer in the Tsarist army and headman of the Smolny Cathedral, died of cholera, then five of their children. Seeking help from the Lord, Ekaterina Andreevna joined the life of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood at the Feodorovsky Cathedral in Petrograd, became the spiritual daughter of the Hieromartyr Leo (Yegorov).
In 1932, along with other members of the brotherhood (a total of 90 people), Catherine was also arrested. She received three years in concentration camps for participating in the activities of a "counter-revolutionary organization." Upon returning from exile, like the martyr Kira Obolenskaya, she settled in the city of Borovichi. In 1937 she was arrested in the case of the Borovichi clergy. She refused to admit her guilt in "counter-revolutionary activities" even under torture. She was shot on the same day as the martyr Kira Obolenskaya.
At the time of the execution, she was 62 years old.
, layman
Historian, publicist, honorary member of the Moscow Theological Academy. The grandson of a priest, in his youth he tried to create his own community, living according to the teachings of Count Tolstoy. Then he returned to the Church and became an Orthodox missionary. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, Mikhail Alexandrovich entered the Provisional Council of the United Parishes of the city of Moscow, which at its very first meeting called on the faithful to stand up for the defense of churches, to protect them from the encroachments of the atheists.
Since 1923, he went into hiding, hiding with friends, writing missionary pamphlets ("Letters to Friends"). When he was in Moscow, he went to pray at the Exaltation Church on Vozdvizhenka. On March 22, 1929, not far from the temple, he was arrested. Mikhail Alexandrovich spent almost ten years in prison, he led many of his cellmates to the faith.
On January 20, 1938, he was shot in a Vologda prison at the age of 73 for anti-Soviet statements.
, priest
At the time of the revolution, he was a layman, assistant professor of dogmatic theology at the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1919, the academic career came to an end: the Moscow Academy was closed by the Bolsheviks, and the professorship was dispersed. Then Tuberovsky decided to return to his native Ryazan. In the early 1920s, in the midst of anti-church persecution, he took holy orders and, together with his father, served in the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin in his native village.
In 1937 he was arrested. Other priests were also arrested along with Father Alexander: Anatoly Pravdolyubov, Nikolay Karasev, Konstantin Bazhanov and Evgeny Kharkov, as well as the laity. All of them were deliberately falsely accused of "participation in a rebel-terrorist organization and counter-revolutionary activities." Archpriest Anatoly Pravdolyubov, the 75-year-old rector of the Church of the Annunciation in the city of Kasimov, was declared the “head of the conspiracy” ... According to legend, before execution, the convicts were forced to dig a trench with their own hands and immediately, putting their faces to the moat, were shot.
Father Alexander Tuberovsky was 56 years old at the time of the execution.
Martyr Augusta (Zashchuk), schema-nun
The founder and first head of the Optina Pustyn Museum, Lydia Vasilievna Zashchuk, was of noble origin. She spoke six foreign languages, had literary talent, and before the revolution she was a well-known journalist in St. Petersburg. In 1922 she took monastic vows in Optina Hermitage. After the closure of the monastery by the Bolsheviks in 1924, she managed to preserve Optina as a museum. Many of the inhabitants of the monastery were thus able to remain in their places as museum workers.
In 1927–34 schema-nun Augusta was imprisoned (she was involved in the same case with hieromonk Nikon (Belyaev) and other “optintsy”). From 1934 she lived in the city of Tula, then in the city of Belev, where the last rector of the Optina Hermitage, Hieromonk Issakiy (Bobrikov), settled. She headed a secret women's community in Belev. She was shot in 1938 in the case at 162 km of the Simferopol highway in the Tesnitsky forest near Tula.
Schema-nun Augusta was 67 at the time of the execution.
, priest
Hieromartyr Sergius, son of the holy righteous Alexis, Presbyter of Moscow, graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. During the First World War, he voluntarily went to the front as a nurse. In the midst of persecution in 1919, he took holy orders. After the death of his father in 1923, Hieromartyr Sergius became rector of the church of St. Nicholas in Klenniki and served in this church until his arrest in 1929, when he and his parishioners were accused of creating an "anti-Soviet group."
the saint himself righteous Alexy, already known during his lifetime as an old man in the world, said: "My son will be higher than me." Father Sergius managed to rally around him the spiritual children of the deceased father Alexy and his own children. Members of the community of Father Sergius carried through all the persecutions the memory of their spiritual father. Since 1937, upon leaving the camp, Father Sergius, secretly from the authorities, served liturgy at his home.
In the fall of 1941, following a denunciation from his neighbors, he was arrested and accused of “working to create underground so-called. “catacomb churches”, promotes secret monasticism in the manner of the Jesuit orders, and on this basis organizes anti-Soviet elements for an active struggle against Soviet power.” On Christmas Eve 1942, Hieromartyr Sergius was shot and buried in an unknown common grave.
At the time of the execution, he was 49 years old.
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New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia- this is how the Church calls all those who suffered for their faith in Christ in Russia during the period of post-revolutionary persecution.
Their exact number is unknown, but presumably exceeds one million people.
Among those who died for professing Christianity are about 200 bishops and from 300 to 380 thousand priests.
The murders of believers by the anti-Christian authorities began immediately after the revolution and culminated in 1937-38, when every second priest (106,800) was shot, and most of the survivors served long terms in camps.
By 1940, only four hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church remained free, and about a hundred parishes continued to operate.
Among the New Martyrs and Confessors are the murdered Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, heir to the throne Tsarevich Alexei, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev (Bogoyavlensky), Metropolitan Veniamin of Petrograd (Kazansky), locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne Metropolitans Peter (Polyansky) and Agafangel (Preobrazhensky), Archbishop Thaddeus (Uspensky), Bishop Platon (Kulbush) of Revel and Estonia, and many tens of thousands of famous and unknown clergymen, monastics and laity, who, by death and suffering in bonds, testified their fidelity to Christ.
The cathedral glorification of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia took place at the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in August 2000.
The Christian Church throughout its two centuries of existence proved its fidelity to God. The best proof is human life. Neither theological works, nor beautiful sermons, nothing proves the truth of religion as a person who is ready to give his life for its sake.
Living in modern world, where everyone can freely profess their faith, express their opinion, it is hard to imagine that just a hundred years ago this could lead to execution. The 20th century left a bloody trail in the history of Russia and the Russian Church, which will never be forgotten and will forever remain an example of what an attempt by the state to gain total control over society can lead to. Thousands of people were killed just because their faith was objectionable to the authorities.
Who are the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia
Major Christian denomination Russian Empire- Orthodoxy. After the revolution of 1917, representatives of the faith were among those who were subjected to communist repression. It was from these people that the host of saints later descended, which is a treasure for the Orthodox Church.
Origin of words
The word "martyr" is of ancient Greek origin ( μάρτυς, μάρτῠρος) and translates as "witness". Martyrs have been revered as saints since the beginning of Christianity. These people were firm in their faith and did not want to renounce even their valuable lives. The first Christian martyr was killed around the year 33-36 (First Martyr Stephen).
Confessors (Greek ὁμολογητής) are those people who openly confess, that is, they testify to their faith even in the most difficult times, when this faith is prohibited by the state or does not correspond to the religious beliefs of the majority. They are also revered as saints.
The meaning of the concept
Those Christians who were killed in the 20th century during political repressions are called New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia.
The martyrdom is divided into several categories:
- Martyrs are Christians who gave their lives for Christ.
- New martyrs (new martyrs) are people who suffered for the faith relatively recently.
- A holy martyr is a person in the priesthood who has been martyred.
- Reverend Martyr - a monk who was martyred.
- A great martyr is a martyr of high rank or rank who has endured great torment.
For Christians, to accept martyrdom is a joy, because when they die, they resurrect for eternal life.
New Martyrs of Russia
After the Bolsheviks came to power, their main goal was to preserve it and eliminate enemies. They considered enemies not only structures directly aimed at overthrowing the Soviet regime ( white army, popular uprisings, etc.), but also people who do not share their ideology. Since Marxism-Leninism assumed atheism and materialism, the Orthodox Church, as the most numerous, immediately became their opponent.
History reference
Since the clergy had authority among the people, they could, as the Bolsheviks thought, incite the people to overthrow the government, which means they posed a threat to them. Immediately after the October uprising, persecution began. Since the Bolsheviks were not completely consolidated and did not want their government to look totalitarian, the removal of representatives of the Church was not due to their religious beliefs, but was presented as a punishment for "counter-revolutionary activities" or for other invented violations. The wording was sometimes absurd, for example: "tightened church service in order to disrupt field work on the collective farm" or "he deliberately kept a small change of silver coin, pursuing the goal of undermining the correct circulation of money."
The fury and cruelty with which innocent people were killed sometimes exceeded that of the Roman persecutors in the first centuries.
Here are just a few such examples:
- Bishop Feofan of Solikamsk in front of the people on severe frost undressed, tied a stick to the hair and lowered into the hole until it was covered with ice;
- Bishop Isidore Mikhailovsky was impaled;
- Bishop Ambrose of Serapul was tied to the tail of a horse and let it gallop.
But most often mass execution was used, and the dead were buried in mass graves. Such graves are still found today.
One of the places for execution was the Butovo training ground. There were killed 20,765 people, of which 940 are clergy and laity of the Russian Church.
List
It is impossible to enumerate the entire Council of New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. According to some estimates, by 1941, about 130,000 clergymen were killed. By 2006, 1,701 people had been canonized.
This is just a small list of martyrs who suffered for the Orthodox faith:
- Hieromartyr Ivan (Kochurov) is the first of the murdered priests. Born July 13, 1871. He served in the United States, conducted missionary activities. In 1907 he moved back to Russia. In 1916 he was appointed to serve in the Catherine's Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo. On November 8, 1917, he died after prolonged beatings and dragging along the sleepers of the railway tracks.
- Hieromartyr Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) - the first of the murdered bishops. Born January 1, 1848. Was the Metropolitan of Kiev. January 29, 1928, being in his chambers, he was taken out by sailors and killed.
- Hieromartyr Pavel (Felitsyn) was born in 1894. He served in the village of Leonovo, Rostokinsky District. He was arrested on November 15, 1937. He was charged with anti-Soviet agitation. On December 5, he was sentenced to 10 years of work in a forced labor camp, where he died on January 17, 1941.
- Venerable Martyr Theodosius (Bobkov) was born on February 7, 1874. The last place of service was the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in the village of Vikhorna, Mikhnevsky District. On January 29, 1938 he was arrested and on February 17 he was shot.
- Hieromartyr Alexy (Zinoviev) was born on March 1, 1879. On August 24, 1937, Father Alexy was arrested and imprisoned in the Taganka prison in Moscow. He was accused of holding services in people's homes and conducting anti-Soviet conversations. On September 15, 1937 he was shot.
It should be noted that often during interrogations they did not admit to what they did not do. It was usually said that they were not engaged in any anti-Soviet activities, but this did not matter, because the interrogations were purely formal.
Speaking of the martyrs of the 20th century, one cannot fail to mention St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (January 19, 1865 - March 23, 1925). He is not glorified as a martyr, but his life was a martyr because the patriarchal ministry fell on his shoulders during these difficult and bloody years. His life was full of hardships and suffering, the biggest of which is to know that the Church entrusted to you is being destroyed.
The family of Emperor Nicholas is also not canonized as martyrs, but for their faith and worthy acceptance of death, the Church venerates them as holy martyrs.
Memorial Day of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia
Even at the Bishops' Council of 1817-1818. decided to commemorate all the dead who suffered in persecution. But at that time no one could be canonized.
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was the first to take a step towards their glorification November 1st, 1981, and set a date for the celebration February 7, if this day coincides with Sunday, if not, then on the nearest Sunday. In Russia, their glorification took place at the Council of Bishops in 2000.
Celebration traditions
The Orthodox Church celebrates all its holidays with the Holy Liturgy. On the feast day of St. This is especially symbolic of the martyrs, because at the Liturgy the sacrifice of Christ is experienced, and at the same time the sacrifice of the martyrs who gave their lives for Him and for the holy Orthodox faith is remembered.
On this day, Orthodox Christians remember with bitterness those tragic events when the Russian land was saturated with blood. But a consolation for them is that the 20th century left the Russian Church with thousands of holy prayer books and intercessors. And when they are asked who the new martyrs are, they can simply show old photographs of their relatives who died in persecution.
Video
This video contains a slide of photographs of the New Martyrs.
"Russian Golgotha" - a film about the feat of the Saints of the twentieth century.
Why do the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia remain unknown saints?
Martyr, martyr is a witness. He bears witness to the Truth - not just in words, but in such a terrible and glorious way: without renouncing it in the face of terrible torment and death. The martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity cemented its foundation with their blood. But in the 20th century, under the blows of demonic forces, its walls shook and swayed, already undermined by negligence and apostasy. And again, blood was needed. And again there was a call, inaudible to carnal ears: Faithful, testify! Nobody heard the latest evidence, except for the NKVD investigators and members of the legendary "troikas". The vulture "secretly" sealed the voices of the doomed - the executioners were sure that forever. But - there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed(Mark 4:22). The hour struck, hands were found, untied the laces of gray folders with black vultures. The candle that they tried to hide in the deaf darkness, the Lord Himself placed at the right time on a candlestick(see: Mark 4:21). And we have a lot to see now - by the light of this candle.
But why are we not in a hurry to see? Why do the fates of the Russian New Martyrs, even those of them who are commemorated at every all-night vigil, not arouse mass interest and attract the attention of, well, perhaps historians and individual well-read parishioners? Why do these people, who are not far from us in time, remain unknown saints to us?
Why do we, today's Orthodox Christians, who have received our happiness - the happiness of freely and openly belonging to the Church - for free, think so little about what blood, what torments, so many sacrifices our happiness is actually paid for?
Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood), rector of the church in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine on Vspolye (Moscow Compound of the Orthodox Church in America):
— I am not at all convinced that the Russians do not know their newly glorified saints. On the contrary, I feel that the Russian people love them. Hieromartyr Peter Postnikov is especially dear to our parishioners, the clergy of our church.
For me personally, as a son of the American Orthodox Church, the closest, of course, are those of the New Martyrs whose earthly path is somehow connected with the American continent. This is Archpriest John Kochurov, who served at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago. It was through his efforts that the community in Chicago raised funds to build a beautiful church consecrated by St. Tikhon, the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, when he was Archbishop of the Aleutian and North American. I had the honor and special grace - I was ordained a deacon at the throne of this cathedral. Also close to my heart is Hieromartyr Alexander Khotovitsky, who was martyred as a dean of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and previously served on the American continent, was an associate of St. Tikhon and Father John Kochurov.
The blood of the new martyrs has become a grace for thousands and thousands of Russian people who have become acquainted with the saints of the 20th century through reading their lives, through stories about their sufferings and deeds, and finally, through prayerful communion with them. The host of New Martyrs and Confessors is the great wealth of the Russian Orthodox Church, and they are reverently revered now in its entirety. That's why His Holiness Patriarch serves annually Divine Liturgy at the Butovo training ground. Every year I serve His Holiness on this Russian Golgotha, and these services have great spiritual significance for me.
Marina Shilova, director of the Sunday school at the church in the name of Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky, Saratov:
- Every new holy name- a new example of human destiny, an example for each of us. This is the image of a burning candle, love for others. This is the alarm, at which we only look back in confusion - what to do? This is the voice of the soldiers of Christ, appealing to our conscience: “Stop sleeping! Think again! Start loving each other with a merciful love. Throw away everything petty and superficial, ignite your hearts with faith and do not let everyday bustle put out this weak flame. The Russian New Martyrs completely trusted the will of God and remained faithful and courageous until death. The veneration of these saints is one of the first steps towards the revival of our Fatherland.
Why, then, do they remain unknown saints to us?.. You often come across the fact that people can name no more than two or three names of the New Martyrs of Russia. Apparently, there are many reasons: both the fact that we learned about them relatively recently, and the fact that there are no akathists, services ... But a huge layer of the history of our country is connected with the names of the new martyrs and church history. But they will remain unknown saints if we do not strive to learn more about them and pass on our knowledge to children. As a Sunday school teacher, I try to work in this direction. In extracurricular activities, at school-wide events for pupils and their parents, we pay special attention to the topic of the New Martyrs of Russia. Children and parents get acquainted with the life of Saratov Hieromartyr Mikhail Platonov, because the history of the church in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov is connected with this saint. Days of Remembrance are held at the school, when each pupil can light a memorial candle and sing “Eternal Memory” together with everyone. On October 10, together with the children, we visit the Resurrection Cemetery, where a prayer service and memorial service are served at the place of death and burial of the Saratov New Martyrs.
This year, teachers and pupils of our Sunday school visited the holy places of the Yekaterinburg diocese, the places of the martyrdom of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers - the family of the last Russian Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II and the Monk Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth. Such trips help to reflect on the meaning of our Christian life. New martyrs are ordinary Russian people who lived on our land a little earlier than us; people who have attained holiness are for us a vivid example of true Christian life and, perhaps, death. I think that it is to the New Martyrs of Russia that every Russian should cry for help, so that our faith is strengthened, so that our Fatherland has someone and for whom to protect.
Priest Georgy Ivankov, Rector of the Church of the Holy Royal Martyrs, Dubki, Saratov District:
On the one hand, it is a matter of time. The tradition of veneration cannot be formed in a few years. No matter how much we would like to say that the New Martyrs are our countrymen, their descendants live among us, they are newly glorified saints. And we have been venerating St. Nicholas for more than a thousand years, and he came to Russia already a saint.
But on the other hand, this is also our - priests - fault. We tell people very little about these saints, although we commemorate them at the all-night vigil, although we commemorate them on the appointed day. It is impossible to plant the cult of the New Martyrs by force, “from above,” but it is our duty to help form the tradition. It seems to me that it would be possible to hold special classes, seminars for priests on this topic. Books about them are also needed, hagiographic literature. When there are such books in the temple, they are in demand and attention. And the parishioners respond when you tell them about these people and about the miracles that really happen - for example, when referring to the Royal Passion-Bearers, to the family of the latter Russian emperor: the rumor about a miracle diverges especially quickly.
Priest Vyacheslav Danilov, rector of the church in honor of the Nativity of Christ, p. Rybushka of the Saratov region:
Yes, there is no wide public veneration, there are few churches consecrated in the name of the new martyrs today, many of these saints remain only locally venerated. The rest are commemorated at services dedicated to the cathedrals of saints, but only a few of the parishioners praying at these services can tell something about those who are commemorated. There are few such newly glorified saints who are known to many: Saint Alexy Mechev, his son, Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev, Hieromartyr Hilarion, Archbishop of Vereya, and some others. The reason is perhaps that the canonization of the New Martyrs was not a consequence of their popular veneration. The oppression of the anti-religious authorities could not but affect all aspects of church, spiritual life. The people's memory has preserved very little. It can be said that the people do not remember the feat of the martyrs and confessors of the twentieth century: the memory is etched. Information about the life of confessors has to be collected bit by bit.
In our church, the throne was consecrated in the name of Hieromartyr Cosmas of Saratov. And when I tell people who come to Rybushka for the first time about him, when I distribute his life to the parishioners (I try to ensure that every parishioner has one), people very often ask the question: have his relics been preserved? Is it possible to go to the place of his burial? And we have to explain that this is impossible in this case.
Reestablish people's memory To create and strengthen the tradition of venerating the saints who suffered for Christ in the Soviet years is a lot of work, but it is quite realistic.
Archpriest Alexy Abramov, rector of the church in the name of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, Saratov:
— The Soviet period became crowned for the Russian Orthodox Church: a host of holy martyrs and confessors were honored with martyrdoms. Most of them died in obscurity (which the Soviet authorities took care of). Those of our contemporaries who know that their relatives were martyred for Christ often do not attach much importance to their deeds, do not remember their names; their feat does not become an example of Christian life. I recall the story of a rural woman living in the Saratov region: during the period of the persecution of the Church, her relative was a priest, after his arrest no one was allowed to visit him or give him any food. The priest was starved to death, and after death, the body was given to the relatives. However, this woman could not tell any details - where he served, in what rank, or at least what his name was, although he was related to her. In part, this ignorance is due to the horror of the Soviet state and the careful desire to forget, to hide from others and even from their own children, involvement in the "enemy of the people." That is why they forgot their names, did not keep their memory of the martyr's Christian feat, and only a faint echo remained in the family tradition: "there was ...".
Our church is one of many monuments to the Christian martyrdom. The rector of the church in the name of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene at the Mariinsky Institute for Noble Maidens, Archpriest Sergius Ilmensky, who, after the death of his wife, was tonsured with the name Feofan, and later the episcopal rank, received a martyr's crown and was glorified in the host of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. The parishioners of our church honor his memory with special love. We collect historical evidence about him, for which a trip to the homeland of the holy martyr was organized; thanks to the hard work of the parishioners, his icon was painted; a bell was cast with his icon and a prayer to him. His memory day - December 24 - we celebrate as a special parish holiday. You and I, living after one of the most cruel persecutions of the Church, considering ourselves the heirs of those who suffered for the faith of Christ, must remember Tertullian's words that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christianity." Let us be worthy workers in the field of Christ, so that the fruits of these seeds will sprout already in our lifetime.
Alexey Naumov, historian, author of the books “Lands of the Khvalynsk Temples”, “Russian Cross of Count Medem”, “Counts of Medem, Khvalyn branch”:
the world is undergoing global changes. There is a devaluation, or rather, a substitution of concepts: love, faith, honor. A person ceases to believe in goodness. Mass media culture forms its own cult: glamour, parties, luxury. Society as a whole has a consumer consciousness. The stratum of true believers is small. Through their efforts, churches in honor of the New Martyrs are built and consecrated, their holy relics are found, historical studies and lives are written. Someone's work may seem like a drop in the ocean, but streams can gather from such drops, which someday will merge into rivers and seas.
The New Martyrs of the 20th century are our great-grandfathers, grandfathers, and for the older generation, their parents. Their spiritual feat is part of the history of our families. But I think it will take time to fully appreciate and comprehend everything. Many New Martyrs lack attributes corresponding to the saint: extended hagiography, icon-painting image, troparion. But there are new martyrs and confessors who are already revered throughout the Orthodox world. For example, St. Luke of Crimea (Voyno-Yasenetsky), Royal Martyrs. And here a big role belongs to the Russian Diaspora, or rather, emigrants and refugees of the first wave and their descendants. They lost their homeland, but no one took away their God and the opportunity to build temples.
And further. It took ten years of work to make the holy martyr Count Alexander Medem known in the Saratov region! This includes speeches at conferences, and a book that has now been translated into German and published in Germany, and a memorial plaque on the house where he lived, this is an art exhibition "Khvalynskaya Alexandria". And here is the result: the Orthodox gymnasium in Khvalynsk is named after our saint! For many, Count Medem has already become a source of spiritual strength, and I am sure that the number of his admirers will grow.
Nelli Tsygankova, library worker at the church in honor of the Intercession Mother of God, Pokrovsk (Engels):
“They will remain unknown saints if we do nothing to honor them, to perpetuate their martyrdom. It seems to me that on the days of their memory it is necessary not only to mention their names during the service, but to talk about them separately, as the priests tell in sermons about other saints. It would be nice to hang out somewhere in a conspicuous place in the porch a leaflet about the service and martyrdom of that new martyr whose memory falls on this day. You just need to work with the calendar and find the necessary information in advance in books or on the Internet. Not even priests could do this, but employees of temple libraries or regular parishioners. In Sunday schools, classes should be held on the New Martyrs of Russia, and, of course, in churches on their memorable days, their icons should be placed on lecterns.
I have a special relationship with the New Martyrs, which is partly why. My grandfather, Pavel Petrovich Bogoyavlensky, came from the village of Malaya Moroshka, the former Morshansky district of the Tambov province. My grandmother, who took me as a child to one of the two churches that operated at that time in Saratov, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, did not tell me anything about my grandfather, but there were rumors in the family that he was from the family of clergymen. All the Epiphany in this village were from the priestly class. And in the same village in 1848 was born Vasily Nikiforovich Bogoyavlensky, the future Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia Vladimir, who under the Soviet regime became the first holy martyr in the rank of bishop. According to our family tradition, the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Vladimir was my grandfather's second cousin. Like it or not, it is virtually impossible to establish with accuracy now. But I greatly revere the New Martyrs and consider the prayerful memory of them a matter of extreme importance.
Svetlana Kleimenova, Bibliographer of the Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts of the Zonal scientific library them. V.A. Artisevich of Saratov state university:
—Unfortunately, not much is known about the new martyrs. So many names - and behind each name someone's fate ... It seems to me that the point is precisely in insufficient awareness, and by no means in indifference to the fates of these people, because their fates cannot leave anyone indifferent.
I read about the Holy Martyr Vladimir Ambartsumov, whose childhood was spent in Saratov, his father founded the Saratov School for Deaf Children. In the fate of Father Vladimir, it is striking how long and patiently the Lord led him from Lutheranism, through Baptism, to the true faith - Orthodoxy, to the adoption of holy orders, and finally - to the martyr's crown, which he was waiting for, to which he walked consciously. Father Vladimir became the founder of a large, friendly Orthodox family. His son is a priest, as are numerous grandchildren. Daughter Lydia, in the marriage of Kaleda, in the monasticism of George, died recently. Another evidence of that terrible era, when I read about these people, was remembered and amazed. Little boy asks his mother: “Mom, why are they taking everyone away, but they don’t come for us?” And the mother calmly replies: “That’s because, son, we are not worthy to suffer for Christ.” The boy grew up and became a priest, this is Father Gleb Kaleda. But after all, the majority of Soviet children went to school, taught, as expected, "The Death of a Pioneer", "Left March" and about nothing such didn't think about it.
On the whole, the feat of our saints of the 20th century is a book to be opened… Here, much will depend on the efforts of historians, who will recreate them through painstaking archival work. life path each of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Many now say that the New Martyrs of Russia are like the Christians of the first centuries. True. However, the veneration of Christians of the first centuries was shaped by a centuries-old tradition. Our new martyrs showed the same fidelity to Christ as the first Christians, but the time has come for everyone to learn about the podvig of their faith quite recently.
Alisa Orlova, journalist, Moscow:
- I am a direct descendant of the repressed, my great-grandfather died in the camp, my grandfather served time and left, my great-grandmother got a nervous illness from constant fear that everything would happen again, that they would come again ... In the Soviet post-Stalin years, the population was divided into two categories: repression did not know or did not want to think about it, because it did not affect their families; others, those directly affected by it, remained silent. My grandfather never talked about what he experienced, I know a little, in particular, that he wore a cross sewn into a camp padded jacket.
It so happened that I came on my journalistic business to the temple in the name of St. Sergius Radonezh in Rogozhskaya Sloboda; the last rector of this church before the closure was the holy martyr Peter Nikotin, an archpriest, he was shot at the Butovo training ground along with four of his parishioners. Entering the temple, I immediately saw such an information stand, and on it, among other documents telling about the last rector, was the protocol of his interrogation in 1937. I read it and couldn't put it down. What courage must have been possessed by a person who calmly said in the face of his tormentors: “My worldview does not correspond to the Soviet one ... Another system, not the Soviet one, should rule the country.” But this was not the first arrest in his life! After that, I read everything I could find about the Hieromartyr Peter and about his church.
In order to remember and honor the New Martyrs, we need to learn more about them, we need to find the strength within ourselves; go where they served, where they accepted their martyr's crowns - to the Butovo training ground, to other similar places - and touch this shrine. This is our most recent history. Whether we honor our saints does not depend on anyone else, but on ourselves.
Journal "Orthodoxy and Modernity" No. 18 (34), 2011
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