On a recent trip to Moscow, Bishop Basil (of the Orthodox Church in America) received many interesting impressions which he shared in an article that appeared in 3 consecutive issues of the Russian newspaper, “Novoye Russkoye Slovo” (Feb. 13-20, 1932). The Moscow Patriachate did not allow the Bishop to serve anywhere, but he was able to visit a number of churches including the Donskoi Monastery where New Martyr Tikhon, the last Patriarch, reposes. Of particular interest was the reaction of Russians to the canonization of the New Martyrs. It seemed that all Moscow had heard about it, either through the “Voice of America”, the BBC, or their own newspapers. The believers, especially those who lived through the, events of 1917- 1918 and afterward and who experienced the turmoil and who still suffer from persecution and limitations, these people understand the real meaning of the canonization. That is why they accept it as a very logical happening and without hesitation.

 We should be grateful to our Council of Bishops that they carried out this difficult task. As our Synod has pointed out, those abroad and those believers in the Soviet Union are all part of the same Russian Orthodox Church. The only difference is that here we are free from persecution and from control of communist authorities For. just this one difference we can justify all our efforts to maintain this free branch of the Russian Church. Those efforts have paid off a thou- sand fold. We can exclaim with the entire Russian Church, “New Russian Martyrs, pray for us!”

(Condensed from “Orthodox Way”, 3/14/82)