by Julia Voznesenskay:
The following essay echoes the unspoken words of thousands of Orthodox Christians behind the Iron Curtain whose voices have been forcibly silenced. Written by the editor of a new Samizdat journal, “Maria,” who was recently expelled to the West, it speaks of the importance of the Glorification of Russia’s New Martyrs and fully justifies the Russian Church Abroad in taking this action on behalf of the entire Russian Church. The spiritual relationship of the Church Abroad to the persecuted Orthodox in the Soviet Union is portrayed as one of mutual love. Through the prayers of the Holy New Martyrs, may this bond be strengthened
The Glorification of the New Martyrs
and Confessors of Russia
(To the children of the Rusian Orthodox church abiding in the Homeland and in the Dispersion.)
The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, i.e. outside the homeland’s frontiers, confesses itself to be an inseparable part of the Mother-Church, which has nourished and nurtured the Russian people and given rise to its civilization and greatness as a state. She alone can speak on the part of the Church of the homeland.
Before fiery trials came thundering down upon the Church in Russia, the Provident Lord, by His mighty hand, led a small portion of her forth b e y on d the boundaries of the Russian State, in this manner preserving her ecclesiastical freedom and complete independence of any political power whatsoever.
Thirty-four Russian bishops, finding themselves abroad, and acting on the strength of the God-inspired decree of the Most Holy Patriarch Tikhon and the Holy Synod (dated November20, 1920), established the Russian Church Outside Russia, which continues to exist to this day…
Without breaking away from the Mother- Church, following her life with a watchful, loving, and devoted gaze, the part abroad rejoices in her triumphs and mourns her troubles and her trials. She knows and confesses that the life of the Church in the homeland, from 1917 and to this day, walks a grievous yet glorious path: the path of martyrdom and confession, of withdrawal into the catacombs of illegal existence, of war with militant god-lessness and its enslavement of the shepherds of the Church.
In the midst of the frenzy of the terrible, bloody, anti-theist revolution, many millions of Russian people, for the sake of preserving their well-being, joined the Renovationists, broke with the Church, shamefully renounced the faith of their forebears, even defected to the ranks of the godless and brought up their children outside of any religious belief.
In this terrible time of apostasy, mindful of the words of the Saviour: In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33), the Church brought forth to Christ a multitude of holy martyrs and fearless confessors, who suffered innocently and were slain for the Orthodox faith. Their blood washed away the shame of their blood brothers’ and blood sisters’ apostasy from God. They were a voluntary, purifying sacrifice for the sins of their people.
Then did the God-fighters celebrate their triumph over their innocent prey. They slew the meek Tsar, whom all had deserted, for he was the symbol of an Orthodox kingship and an Orthodox kingdom; they slew the shepherds of the Church who uphold her, monastics and laity, the Christ-loving-men, women, and even innocent children. They slew them with refined moral tortures, with mockery, with firing squads, with beatings unto death, with torture by famine, by cold, by unbearable labor in death camps. Drunk on the blood of their victims, the executioners reached the extremes of frenzy: they buried alive, thevy drowned in rivers, they severed tongues and ears, they hanged from Royal Gates in churches, they murdered their victims together with their wives and children.
And when they slew them, they had but one accusation to present: “servant of God” or “believing Christian.”
The faithful went like lambs to the slaughter, submitting to the will of God even unto death. Nothing could turn them away from their love of Christ-neither grief, nor straitened circumstances, nor persecution, nor hunger, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor the sword (Rom. 8:35).
Their spiritual heroism illumined the Orthodox Church with a new glory in the days of fierce persecutions; they became our triumph, our glory, and our joy. They passed victorious from the Church militant and entered into the eternal joy of the Church triumphant.
But the Church of Christ is ONE, and both the earthly Church and the heavenly Church live but one life, one love, in Christ. Beholding their spiritual heroism, we co- suffered with them, we prayed for them. But more and more frequently the faithful asked, is it not time to pray to them, rather than for them? Since, without any doubt, they have already entered into the joy of their Lord.
But in order that our prayers to them be perfect, soaring up from the entire Church “with one mouth and one heart,” it is proper that she should give her blessing in this matter by an action of canonizing the new holy martyrs. “I rejoice that the glorification of the martyrs will take place,” writes a confessor of our times from Russia. “I have been praying to them for a long time now but henceforth my prayer will become canonical, shared by the Church.”
Each autocephalous local Orthodox Church canonizes her own saints herself in a decision made by her Council of Bishops, which follows the wishes of her shepherds and flock, who believe in the sanctity of the martyr and wish to pray to him as a Church, with one common prayer.
The Russian Church in the Soviet Union cannot do this at the present time, being robbed of the possibility of expressing her opinion and acting in accordance with her convictions. She is clenched in the vise of a godless administration which has set as its goal her subjugation, and eventually her complete annihilation. She has no freely acting and participating bishops who could perform the official act of canonization. They are mute, while the godless falsely testify to the whole world that there never were any martyrs for the faith, that the faithful of Russia enjoy total freedom to confess their belief.
And now, what no one else could do has been accomplished by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, with godly fear and trembling, with pious awe before the blood of the martyrs, as a small part of the whole of the Russian Church, but in her name.
With joy we inform you, our brothers and sisters, that in New York on Sunday, October 19/November 1, 1981, our Council of Bishops did GLORIFY WITH THE SAINTS THE NEW MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS OF THE CHURCH OF RUSSIA, and in so doing gave voice to the wishes and prayerful striving of her shepherds and flock, as well as of the fearless confessors in the Homeland.
By the act of glorification, the Church expresses her love for the martyrs, her certainty that they are saints with the Lord, reverence before their spiritual heroism, a longing to emulate it and to pray to them lovingly for help to us sinners. And in this prayer of love is realized that holy mystery of Unity for which our Saviour prayed: That they all may be ONE; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee (Johnl7:21)…
Through the glorification of the martyrs we are made worthy of the greatest help of God by their prayers. And this help is needed by all those who wish to live according to God’s commandments-and of these, first of all, by the persecuted and suffering Christians of our terrible times.
Beloved brothers and sisters, let us fervently pray to them who are stronger than we are, and who abide with us. They conquered the world, in spite of the fact that they had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment being destitute, afflicted, and tormented (Heb. 11:36-37). But they, “of whom the world was not worthy,” in the words of the Apostle, “received not the promise” yet i.e. the fullness of bliss and joyintheeter- nal life, in expectation of us, as the same Apostle continues: that they without us should not be made perfect (Heb. 11:38-40) They are waiting for us! They are calling us to follow them!
Having them as our heavenly intercessors, let us lay aside every weight an’ the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, . lest we be wearied and faint in our minds (Heb. 12:1-3).
(Translated by Maria Belaeff.)