Christian saints. Persecution of Christians

May 18 (new style) The Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Great Martyr Irene. Irene, a Slav by birth, lived in the second half of the 1st century and was the daughter of the pagan Licinius, ruler of the city of Mageddon in Macedonia, so Saint Irene began to be called Macedonian.
At birth she was given the name "Penelope". When Penelope began to grow up and turned 6 years old, she seemed to have an unusually beautiful face, so that she outshone all her peers with her appearance. Licinius assigned Elder Karia to his daughter as a teacher. Licinius also instructed an old man named Apelian to teach her book wisdom. Penelope's father did not know that Apelian was a secret Christian. The girl spent six years and three months like this, and when she turned 12 years old, the father began to think about who to marry his daughter to.
One day, when the girl was sitting in her room, a dove flew into her open window facing east, holding a small branch in its beak; placing it on the table, he immediately flew out of the room through the window. Then, an hour later, an eagle flew into the room with a wreath of different flowers, and he, too, placing the wreath on the table, immediately flew away. Then a raven flew in through another window, carrying a small snake in its beak, which it placed on the table, and itself also flew away.
Seeing all this, the young woman, together with her teacher, were very surprised, wondering what this arrival of birds foreshadowed? When teacher Apelian came to them, they told him what had happened.
Apelian explained it this way:
- Know, my daughter, that the dove means your good character, your meekness, humility and maiden chastity. The olive branch signifies God's grace which will be given to you through baptism. An eagle, soaring high, represents a king and a winner, signifies that you will reign over your passions and, having risen in the mind of God, you will defeat invisible enemies, just as an eagle defeats birds. A crown of flowers is a sign of the reward that you will receive for your exploits from the King Christ in His heavenly kingdom, where an imperishable crown of eternal glory is being prepared for you. A raven with a snake signifies the enemy, the devil, who is trying to inflict grief, sadness and persecution on you. Know, girl, that great king, who holds heaven and earth in His power, wants to betroth you to His bride and you will endure many sufferings for His name.

Saint Panteleimon (Panteleimon), often called "Panteleimon the Healer", was born in the 3rd century in the city of Nicomedia (now Izmit, Turkey) into a noble pagan family and was named Pantoleon. Pantoleon's mother was a Christian, but she died early and did not have time to raise her son in Christian faith. Pantoleon was sent by his father to a pagan school, after which he began to study the art of medicine from the famous physician Euphrosynus and became known to Emperor Maximian, who wanted to see him at his court.
Saint Hermolai, who lived in Nicodemus, told Pantoleon about Christianity. Once a young man saw a dead child on the street, bitten by a snake that was still nearby. Pantoleon began to pray to Christ for the resurrection of the deceased and the killing of the poisonous reptile. He firmly decided that if his prayer was fulfilled, he would be baptized. The child came to life, and the snake scattered into pieces in front of Pantoleon's eyes.
Saint Hermolai baptized Pantoleon under the name Panteleimon - “all-merciful” (it is the spelling “Panteleimon” that is canonical in Orthodoxy, the version of the name with “th” is a secular version of this name). Panteleimon's father, seeing how he healed a blind man, also received baptism.

Conversation between Saint Panteleimon and Saint Hermolai

Saint Panteleimon devoted his life to healing the sick, including prisoners, among whom were Christians. The fame of a wonderful doctor who did not charge money for treatment spread throughout the city and the rest of the doctors were left without work. Embittered doctors reported to the emperor that Panteleimon was treating Christian prisoners. Emperor Maximian demanded that Panteleimon renounce his faith and sacrifice to idols. The saint suggested that the emperor call upon one incurable patient and arrange a test to see who would heal him: he or the pagan priests. The pagan priests were unable to heal the sick man, but Panteleimon, by the power of prayer, granted healing to the sick man, proving the true Christian faith and the falsity of paganism.

Almost everyone knows what "Valentine's Day" is, but few know the history of Saint Valentine himself. This article will examine the origins of the legend of St. Valentine, and will also present images of this saint, including Orthodox icons of him.

On February 14, Catholicism celebrates the day of remembrance of three Saint Valentines: Valentine of Rome, Valentine the Bishop of Interamna, and Valentine from the Roman province of Africa. Almost nothing is known about the third; the first two are possibly the same person. Due to this confusion, in 1969 the Catholic Church excluded Valentine from the universal Roman calendar (Calendarium Romanae Ecclesiae) - a list of those saints whose memory is obligatory for liturgical veneration by all Catholics. At the same time, the name of Valentine remained in the Catholic martyrology - a list of saints, the decision to venerate them is made at the level of local churches. In Russian Orthodox Church The day of memory of Valentin Interamsky is celebrated on August 12, and the day of memory of Valentin Rimsky is celebrated on July 19 (both dates are according to the new style).

On December 7, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria (287 - 305).

Catherine was the daughter of the ruler of Alexandria of Egypt, Constus, during the reign of Emperor Maximian (305 - 313). Living in the capital - the center of Hellenic learning, Catherine, who had rare beauty and intelligence, received an excellent education, having studied the works of the best ancient philosophers and scientists.

Carlo Dolci. Saint Catherine of Alexandria reading a book

In Christianity, several saints bearing the name Paraskeva are revered. In Russian Orthodoxy, the most revered holy martyr of the 3rd century is Paraskeva-Friday (commemorated on November 10). Another saint with the name Paraskeva, called “Petka” in these countries, is popular among Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria and Serbia. Saint Paraskeva-Petka is commemorated on October 27. In Russian Orthodoxy, Saint Petka is called Serbian or Bulgarian Paraskeva.

Saint Petka (Paraskeva Bulgarian/Serbian)

Jerome is a Christian saint, venerated in Catholicism (feast day on September 30) and in Orthodoxy (feast day on June 28). Main merit Saint Jerome - translation of the Old Testament into Latin language and editing the Latin version of the New Testament. The Latin Bible, created by Jerome and called the Vulgate, is the canonical Latin text of the Bible to this day. Saint Jerome is considered the heavenly patron of all translators.

Jerome was born around 340-2 (according to other sources, in 347) in the Roman province of Dalmatia, in the city of Stridon (not far from where the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, is now located). Jerome went to study in the capital of the empire - Rome, where he was baptized in the period from 360 to 366. Jerome studied with the famous grammarian Aelius Donatus, a specialist in ancient and Christian literature. While continuing his studies, Jerome traveled a lot. In the Syrian city of Antioch in the winter of 373-374, Jerome became seriously ill and had a vision that forced him to abandon secular studies and devote himself to God. Jerome retired to the Chalcis desert in Syria, where he began to study the language of the Jews with the aim of reading biblical texts in the original. Jerome returned to Antioch in 378 or 379, where he was ordained bishop. Later Jerome leaves for Constantinople and then returns to Rome. In the capital of the empire, Jerome gained great confidence among the famous noble women of Rome: Jerome's peer Paula and her daughters Blesilla and Eustochia, under the influence of Jerome, abandoned their aristocratic lifestyle and became ascetics.

On September 30, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the holy martyrs Faith, Nadezhda, Love and their mother Sophia, who suffered in Rome under Emperor Hadrian (2nd century AD).

Saint Sophia, a strong Christian, managed to raise her daughters in ardent love for God. The rumor about the good behavior, intelligence and beauty of the girls reached the Emperor Hadrian, who wished to see them, having learned that they were Christians.

Adrian called on all three sisters in turn and affectionately persuaded them to sacrifice to the goddess Artemis, but received a firm refusal from everyone and agreement to endure all the torment for Jesus Christ.

Vera was 12 years old, Nadezhda - 10 and Lyubov - 9. In front of their mother's eyes, they were tortured in turn. They beat Vera mercilessly and cut off her breasts, but instead of blood, milk came out of the wound. Then she was placed on a hot iron. The mother prayed with her daughter and strengthened her in suffering - and the iron did not burn Vera. Being thrown into a cauldron of boiling resin, Vera loudly prayed to the Lord and remained unharmed. Then Adrian ordered her head to be cut off.

Next Nadezhda and Lyubov were tortured and killed.

To prolong the mother's torment, the emperor did not torture her; he gave her the tortured bodies of three girls. Sophia put them in an ark and buried them with honors on a high hill outside the city. The mother sat at the grave of her daughters for three days and finally gave up her soul to the Lord. Believers buried her body in the same place.

The relics of Saints Faith, Hope, Love and Sophia rest in Alsace, in the Church of Escho.

Tatiana Rimskaya (in Church Slavonic language Tatiana) is a holy martyr, whose memory is honored in Orthodoxy on January 25.

Tatiana was born in Rome into a noble family. Her father was elected consul three times, he was a secret Christian and raised his daughter in the Christian faith. When Tatyana reached adulthood, she decided not to get married and to be the bride of Christ. Tatiana's piety became known in Christian circles and she was chosen as a deaconess (the duties of a deaconess included visiting sick women and caring for them, preparing women for baptism, “serving the elders during the baptism of women for the sake of decency,” etc.). In 222, Alexander Severus became emperor. He was the son of a Christian woman and did not persecute Christians. However, the emperor was only 16 years old and all power was concentrated in the hands of Ulpian, who fiercely hated Christians. Persecution of Christians began. Tatyana was also captured. She was brought into the temple of Apollo and forced to bow to his statue. She prayed to the true God and the idol of Apollo fell and broke, and part of the temple collapsed with it.

They began to torture Tatyana. The author of the life of Saint Tatiana, Dmitry Rostovsky, writes about it this way:
“At first they began to beat her in the face and torment her eyes with iron hooks. After long torment, the tormentors themselves became exhausted, for the body of the sufferer of Christ was hard for those who inflicted wounds on her, like an anvil, and the tormentors themselves suffered more than the holy martyr. And the angels stood invisibly near the saint and struck those who tortured Saint Tatiana, so that the tormentors cried out to the lawless judge and asked him to order an end to the torment; they said that they themselves were suffering more than this holy and innocent virgin. ", courageously enduring suffering, she prayed for her tormentors and asked the Lord to reveal to them the light of truth. And her prayer was heard. The heavenly light illuminated the tormentors, and their spiritual eyes were opened.". The eight executioners who tortured Tatiana converted to Christianity and were executed for it.

The next day, Tatyana was tortured again (she was healed from previous torture). They began to cut Tatyana's body, but milk flowed from the wounds.
“Then they spread her out crosswise on the ground and beat her with rods for a long time, so that the tormentors were exhausted and often changed. For, as before, the angels of God stood invisibly near the saint and inflicted wounds on those who struck the holy martyr. The torturer’s servants were exhausted, declaring, that someone was striking them with iron sticks. Finally, nine of them died, struck by the right hand of an angel, and the rest fell to the ground barely alive.”
The next day they began to persuade Tatyana to make a sacrifice to the goddess Diana. She prayed to the true God and fire fell from the sky, burning the statue, the temple and many pagans.

Natalia is a female name formed in the first centuries of Christianity from Lat. Natalis Domini - birth, Christmas. The meaning of the name "Natalia" is Christmas. Of the bearers of this name in Orthodoxy, the most famous is Saint Natalia of Nicomedia, whose feast day falls on September 8. Saint Natalia is venerated together with her husband, Saint Adrian.
Adrian and Natalia lived in Nicomedia of Bithynia under Emperor Maximian (305-311). Adrian was a pagan, and Natalia was a secret Christian. When their marriage was one year and one month old, the emperor instructed Adrian, as the head of the judicial chamber of Nicomedia, to draw up protocols of interrogations of 23 Christians arrested on the denunciation of pagans in the caves where they secretly prayed. The martyrs were severely beaten, but did not renounce Christ. Adrian wanted to know why Christians suffer so much and they told him about belief in eternal life and divine reward. This faith entered Adrian’s heart, he converted to Christianity and added himself to the list of arrested Christians. Natalia, having learned about this, was delighted, because now her husband shared her secret faith. Natalia went to prison and began to beg Adrian to courageously accept the crown of martyrdom for the sake of Christ. She looked after Christians crippled by torture, alleviating their suffering. When Adrian was sent home to tell his wife about the day of his execution, she at first did not want to let him into the house, thinking that he had renounced Christ. On the day of execution, Natalia, fearing that Adrian might hesitate at the sight of the suffering and death of other martyrs, asked the executioners to begin the execution with her husband and she herself placed his feet on the anvil. When Adrian's legs were broken, Natalia exposed his hand to the blow of the hammer. The executioner cut it off with a strong blow and Adrian died. He was 28 years old. Natalia secretly took her husband's hand and hid it. Maximian, having executed all the Christians in prison, ordered the bodies of the martyrs to be burned. But by the will of God, a strong thunderstorm began, and many of the tormentors were killed by lightning. The rain extinguished the burning stove, and Christians were able to remove the bodies of the saints, undamaged by the fire, from the stove. A pious Christian named Eusebius collected the remains of the saints and brought them to the city of Argyropolis near Byzantium. The emperor wanted to give Natalia as a wife to a noble military leader, then Natalia took Adrian's hand and went by ship to Argyropolis. The military commander, having learned about Natalia's escape, pursued her on the ship, but was caught in a storm and turned the ship back, while many of those sailing on it drowned, and the ship with Christians was bypassed by the storm. Adrian saved them by appearing to them in a blaze of light. Upon arrival in Argyropol, Natalia came to the temple with the bodies of the martyrs and connected Adrian’s hand with his body. The sufferer died that same day.
Natalia, despite her bloodless death and the fact that she was not subjected to bodily torture, was numbered among the martyrs for her boundless compassion for her husband and other martyrs.

Modern name Audrey (Audrey) comes from the Old English name Ethelfrith (option - Edilfrida) (Aethelthryth, aethele - noble, excellent, excellent + thryth - power, authority, strength). In Latinized form, the name sounded like Etheldreda, Etheldred. German forms of the same name are Edeltraud, Edeltrud.
The name “Etheldreda” entered history thanks to the saint who bore this name.

Saint Audrey (Etheldreda) on stained glass in St Leonard's Church (Horringer, England)

Saint Etheldreda (Saint Audrey) was born in 630 in Exning, the estate of the kings of the East Angles, located in western Suffolk. She was the daughter of Anne, the future king of the East Anglian Land. She was baptized by the Apostle of East Anglia, St. Felix. While still a young girl, Etheldreda, thanks to the influence of St. Felix, as well as his friend and associate St. Aidan and the latter’s student, the future abbess Hilda (Hilda), felt a strong attraction to monastic life. However, in 652 she was married to a nobleman from the "Lowland" (located on the border of what is now Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire). As a dowry, Etheldreda received the city of Ely and the island on which it was located.

In 655 her husband died; They probably never entered into a marriage relationship. Contrary to her hopes of starting a monastic career in Ely, in 660 she was again forced to marry for political reasons, this time to the 15-year-old king of Northumbria, thus becoming queen of that country.

It began to spread, and then it had enemies in the form of Jews who did not believe in Jesus Christ. The first Christians were Jews who followed Jesus Christ. The Jewish leaders were hostile to the Lord. At the very beginning, the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. Then, when the preaching of the apostles began to spread, persecution of the apostles and other Christians began.

The Jews could not come to terms with the power of the Romans and therefore did not like the Romans. The Roman procurators treated the Jews very cruelly, oppressed them with taxes and insulted their religious feelings.

In the year 67, the Jewish uprising against the Romans began. They were able to liberate Jerusalem from the Romans, but only temporarily. Most of the Christians took advantage of the freedom to leave and went to the city of Pella. In 70, the Romans brought new troops, which very brutally suppressed the rebels.

After 65 years, the Jews rebelled against the Romans again. This time Jerusalem was completely destroyed and it was ordered to walk through the streets with a plow as a sign that this was no longer a city, but a field. The Jews who survived fled to other countries. Later, on the ruins of Jerusalem, the small city of Elia Capitolina grew up.

The fall of the Jews and Jerusalem means that the great persecution of Christians by the Jews ceased.

Second Persecution by the pagans of the Roman Empire

St. Ignatius the God-Bearer, Bishop of Antioch

Saint Ignatius was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian. He was called a God-bearer because Jesus Christ Himself held him in His hands when He said the famous words: “If you do not turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (). In addition, Saint Ignatius was like a vessel who always bore the name of God within himself. Around the year 70, he was ordained bishop of the Antiochian Church, which he ruled for more than 30 years.

In the year 107, Christians and their bishop refused to take part in the revelry and drunkenness that was organized on the occasion of the arrival of Emperor Trajan. For this, the emperor sent the bishop to Rome for execution with the words “Ignatius should be chained to the soldiers and sent to Rome to be devoured by wild beasts for the amusement of the people.” Saint Ignatius was sent to Rome. Antiochian Christians accompanied their bishop to the place of torment. Along the way, many churches sent their representatives to greet and encourage him and show him their attention and respect in every possible way. Along the way, Saint Ignatius wrote seven epistles to local churches. In these messages, the bishop urged to preserve the right faith and obey the divinely established hierarchy.

Saint Ignatius joyfully went to the amphitheater, repeating the name of Christ all the time. With a prayer to the Lord, he entered the arena. Then they released wild animals and they furiously tore the saint to pieces, leaving only a few bones of him. The Antiochian Christians, who accompanied their bishop to the place of torment, collected these bones with reverence, wrapped them up as precious treasure and took them to their city.

The memory of the holy hieromartyr is celebrated on the day of his repose, December 20/January 2.

St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, together with Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer, was a disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian. The Apostle ordained him bishop of Smyrna. He held this position for more than forty years and experienced many persecutions. He wrote many epistles to Christians of neighboring Churches to strengthen them in the pure and right faith.

The holy martyr Polycarp lived to old age and was martyred during the persecution of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (second period of persecution, 161-187). He was burned at the stake on February 23, 167.

The memory of the holy hieromartyr Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna is celebrated on the day of his presentation, February 23/March 8.

Saint Justin, a Greek by origin, became interested in philosophy in his youth, listened to all the then known philosophical schools and did not find satisfaction in any of them. Having become acquainted with Christian teaching, he became convinced of its divine origin.

Having become a Christian, he defended Christians from the accusations and attacks of pagans. There are two well-known apologies written in defense of Christians, and several works that prove the superiority of Christianity over Judaism and paganism.

One of his opponents, who could not overcome him in disputes, denounced him to the Roman government, and he fearlessly and joyfully met his martyrdom on June 1, 166.

The memory of the holy martyr Justin, the Philosopher is celebrated on the day of his presentation, June 1/14.

Holy martyrs

Along with the martyrs in the Church of Christ there are many women, holy martyrs who suffered for the faith of Christ. Of the large number of Christian martyrs in the ancient church, the most remarkable are: Saints Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia, Great Martyr Catherine, Queen Augusta and Great Martyr Barbara.

St. Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia

The holy martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia lived in Rome in the 2nd century. Sophia was a Christian widow and raised her children in the spirit of the holy faith. Her three daughters were named after the three cardinal Christian virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13). The oldest was only 12 years old.

They were reported to Emperor Hadrian, who continued the persecution of Christians. They were called and beheaded in front of their mother. This was around 137. The mother was not executed and she was even able to bury her children. After three days, due to the shock she experienced, Saint Sophia died.

The memory of the holy martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia is celebrated on September 17/30.

Great Martyr Catherine and Queen Augusta

The Holy Great Martyr Catherine was born in Alexandria, came from a noble family and was distinguished by wisdom and beauty.

Saint Catherine wanted to marry only her equal. And then one old man told her about a young man who was better than her in everything. Having learned about Christ and Christian teaching, Saint Catherine accepted baptism.

At that time, Maximin, a representative of Emperor Diocletian (284-305), known for his cruel persecution of Christians, arrived in Alexandria. When Maximin called everyone to a pagan holiday, Saint Catherine fearlessly reproached him for worshiping pagan gods. Maximin imprisoned her for disrespect for the gods. After that, he gathered scientists to dissuade her. The scientists were unable to do this and admitted defeat.

Queen Augusta, the wife of Maximin, heard a lot about the beauty and wisdom of Catherine, wanted to see her, and after the meeting she herself also accepted Christianity. After this, she began to protect Saint Catherine. For everything, it was King Maximin who killed his wife Augusta.

Saint Catherine was first tortured with a wheel with sharp teeth, and then her head was cut off on November 24, 310.

The memory of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine is celebrated on the day of her repose, November 24/December 7.

St. Great Martyr Barbara

The Holy Great Martyr Barbara was born in Iliopolis, Phoenician. She was distinguished by her extraordinary intelligence and beauty. At her father's request, she lived in a tower specially built for her, away from her family and friends, with one teacher and several slaves.

One day, looking at the beautiful view from the tower and after much thought, she came to the idea of ​​a single Creator of the world. Later, when her father was away, she met Christians and converted to Christianity.

When her father found out about this, he gave her over to cruel torture. The torment had no effect on Varvara and she did not renounce her faith. Then the holy great martyr Barbara was sentenced to death and her head was cut off.

The memory of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara is celebrated on the day of her repose, December 4/December 17.

In the late 80s and early 90s, in Dagestan, as well as, in principle, throughout Russia, missionaries of Protestant churches intensified their activities. By the way, it is definitely worth mentioning that the first Protestant communities appeared much earlier - at the beginning of the 20th century.

However, under Soviet power they could not have such a scale of propaganda for obvious reasons - mass atheism was rampant in the country of the Soviets. These people began to actively conduct missionary activities precisely from the collapse of the Iron Curtain. They carried out propaganda work in different ways and completely openly.

All kinds of seminars, various kinds of youth concerts under the auspices of “A World Without Drugs”, distribution of literature were held, but perhaps the loudest propaganda campaign was the translation of the film “Jesus” into almost all the languages ​​of the peoples living in the republic, and its distribution to all villages and cities and villages of Dagestan. In addition to the film, the Bible was also translated into many languages.

In general, all mechanisms were used to convey the Gospel message to the residents of Dagestan villages and auls, not only cities. Agree, the task is quite risky and dangerous. Everyone understands perfectly well that in Dagestan the majority of the population professes Islam and missionaries often encountered misunderstandings, and attempts to bring non-traditional Christianity, alien to Muslims, into homes ended in beatings of people, persecution, and, at best, simply closing the door in their faces.

However, neither fear for their own lives nor anything else could stop the Christian missionaries. Churches of different denominations were replenished with new people, not only from the Russian-speaking population, but also from among the indigenous peoples of Dagestan. People of Dagestani nationalities who converted to Christianity were considered renegades in their families and villages. For a Muslim, changing religion is considered terrible sin, betrayal of Allah, and many families were in conflict with their relatives.

But faith in the new teaching penetrated so deeply into the souls of these people that even the renunciation of their relatives did not in any way affect their choice of fate and faith in Jesus Christ. There were, of course, those who broke under the pressure of relatives and loved ones, but there were also those who stood the test of faith to the end.

Several basic Christian teachings are widespread in Dagestan; often even the Russian Orthodox Church mistakenly calls these denominations sects, although throughout the world they are listed as Protestant Christians (so to speak). So, let’s highlight some of them, first of all - the Baptist Church of Christ, Seventh Day Adventis, Pentecostals or the Hosanna Church, the Good News Church of Christ, the latter does not even have its own temple, they mainly meet in the apartments of their “brothers” and "sisters" or rent premises.

In the mid-90s, Baptist Pastor Victor Gamm came to Makhachkala with a course of preaching the Gospel message, which caused considerable excitement among the population of Makhachkala, as a result of which a fairly large number of Dagestanis converted to Christianity. This is just one example. In general, many such preachers came to the Caucasus and of completely different confessions.

Persecution

Of course, this could not but worry Islamic imams. How could it be otherwise when loved ones and relatives convert to Christianity, especially not the traditional one. A large-scale campaign of anti-propaganda of the new teaching began, Islamic newspapers were full of articles about the new alien teaching that was corrupting the youth of Dagestan, and all kinds of programs on local television. All kinds of death threats were received against churches of different denominations, beatings of church bishops, theft of church property, and in some cases there were pogroms of houses for worship.

Such disgusting antics continued periodically, and with something local police(often consisting of relatives of these same hooligans) fought, but they clearly turned a blind eye to something. But the bomb really exploded in March 1997, when the first blood of Christian martyrs was shed.

First blood

On March 4, 1997, two people were publicly burned in the Dagestan town of Buynaksk. Dagestan is part of Russian Federation, - this is worth mentioning, because not everyone in Russia is sure of this. The “Caucasus” already seems to many to be a whole cut piece. No, in Buinaksk no one was going to leave Russia. Before burning people, a crowd of thousands listened to speeches only in Russian, very correct, even literary. Apparently, because Russian here is not a common language, but an “official” one.

A few days before the burning, on February 25, a 12-year-old girl, Shahruzat Omarova, disappeared in the city. The girl's family and the police immediately assumed that Shahruzat had been kidnapped by a sexual predator. The police compiled a list local residents who had previously served time for rape. A certain Gadzhiev also got there. That he committed the crime once was cited as "some evidence of guilt." One of the former police officers, a relative of Shahruzat, received the list. Thus, the secrecy of the investigation was grossly violated.

The girl's remains were found in the forest. At the rally there was a lot of talk about the fact that the girl’s insides had been cut out. The video footage, however, shows that this is a small part of the truth. In fact, the remains were skeletonized, no, not only the insides, but also the limbs, only bones remained. According to the preliminary conclusion of the examination, the girl was killed by a wild animal.

The relatives, however, were no longer able or willing to abandon the version of murder by a person. They stopped talking about a sexual maniac and started talking about the villains who cut out the girl’s organs to sell for transplantation. However, they continued to look for “scoundrels” using the list of former convicts. The thirst for revenge could not be satisfied by hunting wolves.

Khadzhi-Murat Gadzhiev turned out to be a suitable candidate. He and his wife (which is especially absurd if they were suspected of rape, but relatively logical if people were accused of “trafficking in entrails”) were detained by his relatives and began to be tortured. Some witnesses claim that a whole line of forty people lined up in the courtyard of the Omarovs’ house, who took turns mocking the unfortunate people. When they were brought to the square, doused with gasoline and set on fire, they were already dead.

Gadzhiev differed from other “suspects” in that he was an Adventist. This, apparently, was the decisive factor for choosing him as a victim of revenge. At the age of 20, Khadzhimurat was sent to fight in Afghanistan. At the age of 27 he went to prison. Here he met Adventists. His behavior changed so much that the head of the prison released him without an escort for baptism. Upon his release, he married a Russian woman, Tatyana Dmitrenko. Tatyana - a former Komsomol worker, a geologist by training - came to the Adventists just as they were preparing to go to prison, and immediately went with them - out of curiosity. There I saw Khadzhimurat. Both considered it significant that on the same day they first heard about Christ and saw each other. They loved each other and died on the same day...

The Gadzhievs were burned to hide the crime of one family in the crime of an entire city. A conspiracy for taking grief out on innocent people, for torture and murder in the basement of one’s own house would have to answer. Now there is hope that the case will be hushed up: it is impossible to condemn a crowd of five thousand people. The meeting was carefully filmed, and the speeches were also recorded on tape.

There was no hysteria, there was a cold-blooded staging of hysteria. So far this hope has been justified: comments from television and newspapers (including those in Moscow) are based on the conviction that nothing can be done because a crime has been committed by an entire nation. Meanwhile, the crowd did not beat or burn. The rally was held in the square for an hour, then the people dispersed. And only an hour later, burning corpses were “found” behind the building of the local cinema.

The police knew that the Gadzhievs were captured by the relatives of the deceased, but did nothing. Fear, bribery, incompetence, kinship? At the rally, which was organized by relatives, the police were present; their representatives supported the incendiary speeches of the “avengers” and helped maintain a cordon around the burning bodies. But, perhaps, even more to blame is the “cordon” that is now being created by normal people, journalists and prosecutors, religious and secular figures, Makhachkala residents and Muscovites, who are afraid to call lynching a crime, slander - slander, murder - murder, who accepted the version of a “rally reprisal."

To prevent the tragedy from repeating itself, it is necessary to firmly hammer it into people’s heads: lynching always proves the guilt of only those who committed lynching. A person is innocent until proven otherwise by a court, this court. Talk about the weakness of our justice hides the attempt of the killers to evade this very justice.

The killers tried to give the whole case a social overtone. They say thousands of people disappear, their insides are cut out and sold. It was picked up. The Gadzhievs were allegedly only agents of a huge criminal syndicate selling internal organs - like in Western Ukraine.

The killers tried to give the whole case a political overtone. “Youth of Dagestan” said: “It is only shameful for the mediocre actions and absurd speeches of local and Moscow police bureaucrats. But the matter is much more serious - more than two million Dagestanis are put in a humiliating position. They are forced to live in constant fear; criminal gangs are becoming the rightful masters of our cities and villages... Why is no one seriously engaged in restoring order in Dagestan?” They even remembered Albania.

The killers tried to give the whole case a religious overtones. Inflaming the crowd, they called for children to be raised “in religion.” The burning was presented as a "Sharia court". Mufti of Dagestan Said-Muhammad Abubakarov, speaking on TV, said about Gadzhiev: “To be honest, my soul rejoices that such a monster was not in Islam,” that he is unworthy of his name (“Hadzhi” - the first part of Gadzhiev’s name - “righteous man” ").

The mufti knows very well that the Koran, firstly, prohibits an unjust trial - and in this case there was no trial at all, and secondly, that the Koran does not approve of either the burning of criminals or torture. The Koran does not approve of lies, and relatives lie desperately, claiming that they “saw” how Gadzhiev put the girl in his car, that in the trunk of his “Zaporozhets” they found 15 thousand dollars, “medical instruments and chemicals necessary for extraction and preservation internal organs"that Dmitrenko was also convicted. They lie that the Gadzhievs confessed and that the confession was filmed on videotape; they lie that there were witnesses who saw the Gadzhievs steal the girl. And they lie like children: the witnesses, they say, are afraid of revenge and therefore will not testify, and the videotape with the confession was burned because the tape could contain the faces of people who could now be accused of murder. Although the film of the rally was not burned, and there all the likely murderers appear, whipping up hysteria.

The local newspaper “Nurul Islam” (“Light of Islam”) published an article emphasizing that Hajiyev “returned from prison renouncing Islam and accepting Christianity of the above-mentioned sect.” At the “rally” it was said that the Gadzhiev family had a “wrong upbringing”, that “a child who grows up in a family with religion will never commit evil.”

Without a doubt, if the Gadzhievs were Orthodox, religious theme Be careful not to touch it. Orthodoxy is seen as a “traditional” religion. In the first reading, the republic adopted a law (contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation), which, while providing benefits to Islam and Orthodoxy, prohibits all proselytism.

The rector of the church in Makhachkala, Fr. Nicholas publicly stated that “there is a cunning destruction of the country, the church from within, with the help of sectarian influence, movements alien to us... The sects emerging among us, religious societies They declare themselves to be churches, but in reality they are not such.”

The tragedy in Dagestan is especially terrible precisely because there is nothing specifically “Dagestan” about it. On the contrary: local fanatics are only repeating what is said and done by secular and church leaders in Moscow.

It is in Moscow that you can now get a free leaflet in the metro from Orthodox booksellers called “The Road to the Sect,” which says: “Thousands of foreign sectarians continue today in Russia the work of communist atheists... It is our duty to warn you: Protestants hate Orthodoxy... Adventists deny the immortality of the soul … If you silently endure accusations against the Church, do not put down the slanderer and do not try to find out the truth, the sin of apostasy is already close to your heart.”

It is in Moscow that the State Duma has now adopted in the first reading a law on freedom of conscience very similar to the Dagestan one, which will show Adventists where the crayfish hibernate. In Moscow, now, even the intelligentsia is divided into those who defend freedom of conscience, those who advocate the dispersal of “sectarians,” and those who disdainfully distance themselves from “interfaith squabbles.” The first responses from central newspapers show that journalists are trying to play at objectivity in exactly the same way as under Soviet rule. As a result, a grain of truth is drowned in the retelling of dozens of false testimonies.

The killers of these two innocent people have not yet been punished; apparently, God’s judgment for these bastards will be in separate proceedings.

By the way, it is also worth saying that after the murder of these people, there was an active rumor, in addition to the truth about the wild beast at that time, that the “son - pedophile - scumbag” of some high-ranking official was involved in the murder of this unfortunate girl, and the Gadzhiev family was used as “ scapegoats."

Nowadays

This story with the family of Christian martyrs has long been erased from memory by many residents of Dagestan. It is still not customary to talk about this. And what’s most terrible is that many of the residents of Dagestan are on the side of these monsters, who brutally killed innocent people. It is worth recalling that no one has yet canceled the presumption of innocence, but the Lynching and the Hammurappi trials seem to have long ago sunk into oblivion. However, it is not.

The persecution of Protestant Christians continues to this day. Arsons of churches, such as in Kaspiysk, and pogroms periodically occur today. One has only to “take off my hat” to the tenacity of faith of people who are not afraid of such provocations.

But still, blood is shed today. Thus, in Makhachkala on July 15, near the House of Prayer on Beybulatov Street at about 19.00, the pastor of the Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) “Hosanna” Artur Suleymanov was shot in the head. Here are some media reports on this case:

Arthur Suleymanov became one of the pioneers of the mission among Muslims, which became truly successful. He was one of the famous Christian ministers in Russia, both because he was a smiling, charming person, and because he managed to create the largest Protestant church in the North Caucasus - the Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith “Hosanna” in Makhachkala. From the very beginning of his mission, Pastor Arthur Suleymanov prayed for the salvation of the peoples of Dagestan; threats were rained down on the community and preachers, but the pastor did not back down and seemed to not pay attention to any difficulties.

On the right is the murdered pastor Artur Suleymanov.

The transition of Dagestanis to Christianity (mainly to Pentecostalism) became an unexpected and psychologically difficult, but, nevertheless, ideological choice that embraced many hundreds, if not thousands of Dagestanis.

The success of this mission in the post-Soviet period has not yet been realized, but it was the sermon of Arthur Suleymanov that marked the beginning of the Christianization of the Dagestan peoples in modern times. The existing Orthodox parish in Makhachkala has never claimed to be representatives of local peoples belonging to Islam, and consists mainly of Russians with rare exceptions.

Christianity, including Orthodoxy, has always been little widespread in this region of the North Caucasus, with the exception of isolated pockets of Russian influence. In the 19th century, attempts were made at missionary work among the local Caucasian Muslim population, which yielded virtually no results. For the most part, Russians have remained Orthodox. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Orthodox Church also did not have a mission among Muslims, so the Orthodox Church considers the republics of the North Caucasus to be a kind of “canonical” territory of Islam, one of the “traditional” religions of Russia. However, for missionaries there are often no conventions or barriers to one single task - spreading their faith.

Dagestan became a territory open to missionaries, but, as in many other regions of Russia, purely foreign missions did not achieve much success, and in this republic the preaching of the American ended rather sadly. In the 1990s, Western missionaries made several attempts to organize Christian communities from Dagestanis. These attempts had, albeit modest, success (thus, 5-7 communities of 10-50 people each were created).

The story of the American missionary Herbert Gregg from the World Team organization (USA), who founded the Good News Church in Makhachkala in 1995, has become widely known. Pastor Gregg taught English at the Dagestan Pedagogical University, taught classes to students orphanage- played basketball with them, taught English. And in November 1998, Gregg was kidnapped by militants and taken to Chechnya. The militants demanded a ransom of $1 million for the American pastor. Gregg was tortured and abused, and his finger was cut off. American authorities, including President Clinton, approached Russian authorities with requests for assistance in freeing Gregg. Gregg was released in June 1999 after 8 months of captivity and left Russia forever. However, after his departure a small Pentecostal community of Dagestani students remained.

But a really noticeable, one might even say massive phenomenon in the life of Dagestan was the Pentecostal church “Hosanna”, created by the Avar who converted to Christianity, Artur Suleymanov, a heating network engineer by training. In 1999, the author of this article was in the field sociological research in Makhachkala, where he was in the Hosanna Church and talked with Pastor Suleymanov himself (then talked with him several times in Moscow). Material about the Hosanna Church was published both in the Atlas of Contemporary Religious Life in Russia and in the collection Religion and Society. Essays on modern religious life in Russia" in articles about the North Caucasus and the Christian mission among the indigenous peoples of Russia.

At the same time, even now, 11 years after visiting Makhachkala, we can say that the Hosanna Church and its pastor remained the brightest and a unique phenomenon in our country, an example of a large national church that overcame local stereotypes and transformed the traditional way of life of people.

The Church of Christians of the Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) “Hosanna” in Makhachkala has been active among Muslims for more than 16 years - the authorities and Islamic leaders are forced to take its missionary activities quite seriously (there are about 1 thousand people in the church).

The history of the church is the history of the gradual formation of a balanced national community. Since 1993, Suleymanov was a member of the Baptist community. In 1994, he met the American Jim Price, a pastor of an evangelical church in Tennessee, who taught economics at the University of Dagestan. Jim Price led a group of people who separated from the Baptists. Then he returned to his homeland and left Arthur Suleymanov as his successor-pastor.

In 1994, on the initiative of some members of the Baptist community, a hall was rented in the center of Makhachkala, and from that moment open preaching began among the Dagestanis. Since the beginning of the Hosanna Church, almost every Sunday Muslims came to services, tried to disrupt the meeting, jumped onto the stage and snatched the microphones. Since 1999, Muslims, usually students of Islamic educational institutions, came towards the end of the meeting and tried to carry out anti-evangelism.

The preaching of Pentecostalism achieved its greatest success among the Laks. Therefore, Lak national leaders are especially outraged by the activities of Hosanna. In the late 1990s, the leader of the Lak people and a supporter of building an Islamic state, Nadir Khachilayev, repeatedly made threats against Suleymanov. A meeting with Khachilaev was specially organized for Suleymanov. After this, Khachilaev stopped publicly speaking out against Hosanna. To my question, how can a radically minded Muslim, who hopes to build an Islamic state, be convinced to come to terms with the successful preaching of Christianity among his fellow tribesmen, Pastor Arthur replied: “God spoke through my lips, and He knows how to convince.”

And yet you shouldn’t delude yourself. In Dagestan, the conversion of indigenous peoples has always met with stiff resistance. For many indigenous residents of Dagestan, Orthodoxy and Christianity in general are, first of all, a Russian religion, perceived with hostility. However, the activities of the charismatic church “Hosanna” in such a dangerous area bordering Chechnya proved the possibility of the existence of Christianity among the Dagestan peoples, which had lost the features of the “Russian faith” and became closer to the peoples of Dagestan with the help of preaching and the Bible in their native language.

At least the church pastor Artur Suleymanov managed to solve national problem in the church through competent work with relatives of Dagestani believers. Some neophytes are thrown out of their homes, many are threatened, but in the church the new converts are told that they must love their relatives even more.

Conflicts often result in meetings between relatives and Pastor Artur Suleymanov; they begin to become indignant and threaten, but the pastor takes a peaceful position. This sometimes leads to the fact that the pastor, believers and relatives of the neophyte find mutual language and often the indignant relatives themselves become members of the Hosanna Church.

The Christian community, despite the stereotypes associated with the perception of Protestant communities as communities that deny all traditions, has become a national cultural center. In the church there are instrumental and dance groups, where they are performed and national dances. Done regularly in church theatrical performances Theater "Hosanna" Children of church members attend Sunday school. Church members patronize the orphanage and help it with humanitarian aid. Hosanna actively spreads the Gospel and Christian literature in the languages ​​of the peoples of Dagestan, in home groups during services, songs are sung in the Lak language.

Due to the sharply negative attitude of family members of Dagestanis towards their transition to Christianity, many representatives of the Dagestani peoples do not attend general church services, but only go to home groups or are even secret Christians.

There are especially many such secret Christians in Dagestan villages, where missionaries of the Hosanna Church preached among their relatives and fellow villagers. Conversion to Christianity in villages is sometimes directly related to a threat to life. In one of the villages at the beginning of 1999, a member of the Hosanna Church was killed.

Nevertheless, Christian missions of the Hosanna Church also operate in some Dagestan villages, mainly in Southern Dagestan, where the situation is more stable than in the North (there is a community in Izberbash). In the capital of Southern Dagestan, the city of Derbent, the community of the Hosanna church was formed from the mission of the Krasnoyarsk church “Vineyard” (in 1997-98, the Norwegian preacher Rick Fiesna from the church “Vineyard” from Krasnoyarsk came to Derbent). This mission was successful - in fact, a national Lezgin church was created.

The Suleymanov community never experienced pressure or harassment from officials (local authorities could oppose the mission only in the districts). The authorities of the republic pursue a generally tolerant policy towards Christians. In addition to the Orthodox, the authorities also show tolerance towards other faiths, including Protestants.

Pastor Arthur Suleymanov is a member of the Expert Advisory Council under the Government of Dagestan. In 2000, the republican authorities entered into an agreement with the Hosanna Church on joint social and charitable events. According to the agreement, the church received greater opportunities to carry out its social work.

Bright missionaries leave a mark on the history of a particular people, sometimes even deeper than the legacy of, for example, writers and artists. The preacher sows the word, cultivates faith in people, and after his death, what is sown can produce fruits that the preacher himself did not expect during his lifetime.

It is no coincidence that the Russian Bible Society, in its condolences over the murder of Artur Suleymanov, recalled the mission of one of its founders, Father Alexander Men (September 9, 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of his murder): “20 years have passed, but the books of Fr. A. Thousands of people continue to read me, gaining faith and hope for themselves. During this time, the Russian Bible Society published hundreds of thousands of Bibles and Gospels. So you can kill the righteous, but you cannot kill the cause that the righteous served. It will continue from century to century. This is the eternal memory for which we pray, remembering our mentors.”

A true missionary with a warm heart and sincere faith simply walked forward, without looking back, feeling the strength that God gives. It was thanks to such missionaries that the message of salvation spread throughout the world, but it was precisely such missionaries who paid the least attention to the conventions and dangers of the surrounding reality. Pastor Arthur Suleymanov was such a missionary who wanted to save peoples for eternal life.

Afterword

In this article, Caucasian Politics focused on the persecution and murder of Christians in the Republic of Dagestan. However, unfortunately, in recent years there have been murders of imams among traditional Muslims. Imams of traditional Islam do not accept the teachings of radical Islam and often criticize such propaganda among young people, for which they pay with their lives. But this is a separate conversation.

Nikolsky E.V.

Throughout the history of the Church, martyrdom has been especially revered by it. What is martyrdom and who do we call martyrs?

The Holy Monk Ephraim the Syrian (IY century) wrote: “Behold life is in the bones of the martyrs: who will say that they do not live? These are living monuments, and who can doubt that? They are impregnable strongholds where a robber can enter, fortified cities that know no traitors, high and strong towers for those who have taken refuge in them, inaccessible to murderers, death does not approach them.”

These words, spoken in ancient times, have not lost their truth in our time. Let us turn to the patristic heritage. Saint John Chrysostom wrote about the martyred saints: “Their ages are different, but their faith is the same; different feats, but the same courage; those are ancient in time, these are young and recently killed. Such is the treasury of the church: it contains both new and old pearls... and you do not venerate the ancient or the new martyrs in any other way... You are not searching for time, but looking for courage, spiritual piety, unshakable faith, inspired and ardent zeal... "

In the Christian Church, only those who have suffered for Christ and the Christian faith are awarded the crown of martyrdom. All other suffering - for your loved ones and loved ones, for your homeland and compatriots, for great ideas and ideals, for scientific truths, no matter how lofty they may be, have nothing to do with holiness.

In Byzantium, one pious emperor suggested that the patriarch officially glorify all the soldiers who died in the war waged by the empire with the barbarian peoples. To this, the high priest reasonably replied that the soldiers who died on the battlefield are not, in the proper sense of the word, martyrs for Christ. That's why Christian church installed a number special days in the year when a certain rite of prayer is performed for the repose of the souls of killed soldiers.

Issues related to the veneration and glorification of those who suffered in the name of Christ have now acquired special significance for Russian Orthodox Christians. After all, in 2000 our Church glorified a host of martyrs for Christ and the Orthodox faith who suffered in Russia in the 20th century. This undertaking, very important for the entire Church of Christ, in one way or another concerns - or should concern - every Christian. It is hoped that this short essay on martyrdom can help the reader better understand why the work of glorifying martyrs is so important to us, and how exactly he can help and take part in it.

Martyrdom in the history of Christianity

The holiness of martyrs is the oldest type of holiness that has received recognition in the Church. The word itself comes from the Greek word “martis”. The main meaning of this Greek word is “witness,” and in this sense it can refer to the apostles who saw the life and resurrection of Christ and received the grace-filled gift of testifying before the world about His Divinity, about the appearance of God in the flesh and about the good news of salvation that He brought.

Holy Scripture also applies this word to Christ Himself, “Who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5). The Risen Lord, appearing to the Apostles, says to them: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect witness of our Heavenly Father, who accepted death out of love for us and for the sake of our salvation, can truly be called a Martyr - moreover, He is the Model and Example of every other Christian martyrdom.

From the very beginning, the Church was accompanied by persecution. Already in Holy Scripture we find the first examples martyrdom for Christ. For example, the story of the first martyr Stephen. Standing before the Sanhedrin that condemned him to death, St. Stephen “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said: Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56). From these very words it is clear how martyrdom, in a special way striving for the triumph of the Kingdom of God, closely unites the martyr with Christ, introducing him into a special relationship with Him. When St. Stephen was stoned, he exclaimed in a loud voice: Lord! Do not impute this sin to them. And having said these things, he rested” (Acts 7:60). We see that in his martyrdom, St. Stephen follows to the end the model and example given by Christ Himself, who prayed to the Father: “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Subsequent persecution of the Church by the Roman authorities also led to the martyrdom of many Christians. For its part, the church, encountering this experience, could understand more clearly and deeply its meaning and value, as well as its significance for itself.

In the early period of the history of the Church, martyrdom, the strongest evidence of the truth of the Christian faith, proved especially effective in its spread. Sometimes even executioners and persecutors turned to Christ, shocked by the example of the inexplicable courage of the martyrs in the face of suffering and death. It is precisely this, in the true sense of the word, missionary meaning of martyrdom, that the Christian writer of the 3rd century Tertullian had in mind when he wrote that the blood of a martyr is the seed of new Christians.”

Subsequently, the Church was persecuted more than once. It would be fair to say that these persecutions have always continued - in different forms and in different territories. Therefore, the testimony of martyrdom never ceased, and the martyrs always confirmed the truth of the Christian faith by their feat, which included the most obvious and direct imitation of Christ.

Veneration and feat of martyrs in the history of the Orthodox Ecumenical Church

From the very beginning of their history, Christians have attached special importance to martyrs and recognized their special holiness. Martyrdom was seen as the triumph of grace over death, of the City of God over the city of the devil. It is martyrdom that is the first form of holiness recognized by the Church - and on the basis of the development of an understanding of the meaning of martyrdom, any other veneration of saints subsequently develops.

The tradition of reverently preserving the memory of the martyrs and surrounding it with pious veneration arose very early. On the days of death of the martyrs, which were considered as the days of their birth to a new life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Christians gathered at their graves, performing prayers and services in memory of them. They are addressed in prayers, seeing in them friends of God, endowed with a special gift of intercession for the members of the Earthly Church before the throne of the Most High. Special veneration was given to their graves and remains (relics). Descriptions of their martyrdom were recorded and documents about them were collected (the so-called “acts of martyrs”).

According to the “Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna”, every year, on the anniversary of his death, the community gathered at his grave. The Eucharist was celebrated and alms were distributed to the poor. Thus, the forms gradually appeared in which the veneration of martyrs, and then other saints, was clothed. By the 3rd century, a certain tradition of universal veneration of martyrs was established.

Saint Ambrose of Milan, who lived in the 4th century, says: “... We should pray to the martyrs, whose protection, at the cost of their bodies, we have been awarded. They can atone for our sins, because they washed them away with their blood, even if they themselves committed them in some way. They are the martyrs of God, our patrons, they know our lives and our affairs. We are not ashamed to have them as intercessors of our weakness, for they also knew bodily weaknesses, although they overcame them.” So, since ancient times, the Church has believed that its holy martyrs intercede for her before God.

Special buildings were erected over the graves of the martyrs in their memory, and this tradition led, after the end of the first persecutions, to the custom of building churches near the resting places of the bodies of saints. It should be noted that pagan customs, as a rule, prescribed avoiding burial places of the dead. The fact that among Christians the graves of martyrs become the centers of the religious life of the community shows that they were not perceived as dead, but rather as living and active members of the Church, especially united with Christ and capable of giving His grace to others.

After the cessation of persecution, in the 4th-5th centuries, the need arose in the Church to regulate the veneration of martyrs in a certain way. From this time on, the procedure for the formal glorification of martyrs began to exist - the recognition by the Church of the authenticity of their holiness, their martyrdom. The celebration of the memory of martyrs grows from a private rite performed over the grave into a solemn event for the entire Church - first local, and then universal. Days of remembrance of martyrs are recorded in special “martyrologies”, on the basis of which a fixed annual cycle of worship is subsequently created.

The era that came after the death of the Christian holy monarchs Constantine Equal to the Apostles and Theodosius the Great (+ 395; commemorated in the Greek Church on January 17/30) was favorable to the spread of the Christian faith, in other words, the era of martyrdom was replaced by a time of righteousness (venerableness, sainthood, etc., and also the pious life of lay Christians). However, this period lasted until the 9th century, when Byzantine Empire Iconoclast emperors came to power and state repressions began again against Christians who did not agree with the official policy of the Constantinople court.

If you carefully examine and study the calendar of the Orthodox Church, you will find there many names of saints who suffered for their faith no longer at the hands of pagans, but from heretics. This time can be called the second era of persecution, the second era of mass martyrdom.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council and the local councils that followed it officially approved the dogma of the need to venerate the icons of saints. The persecution stopped. However, in the period from the 9th century until the fall of Constantinople, we encounter isolated facts of martyrdom, without which none of the “prosperous” eras of the existence of Christian civilization could do.

We especially note that the very faith in the Savior and the fulfillment of His commandments have always been a challenge to the world, “lying in evil,” sometimes the conflict between the “city of God” and the “city of the devil” reaches its highest point, when a Christian is faced with a choice: loyalty to Christ (or His commandments) or death. If a person chose the second, then he became a martyr. To a certain extent, this group of confessors of Christ can also include missionaries who died while preaching among the pagans (for example, St. Wojciech-Adalbert, Archbishop of Prague, killed in 997.

in East Prussia, or holy martyr. Misail Ryazansky, who suffered during a sermon in the Volga region in the 16th century).

The situation changed after the capture of Constantinople and the enslavement of the Slavic and Greek settlements on the Balkan Peninsula by the Turks. Although the Istanbul government did not officially pursue a targeted policy of state proselytism, the life of Christians in the Ottoman Empire became significantly more difficult. In particular, a ban was imposed on preaching the Gospel among Muslims; conversion from Islam to Orthodoxy was punishable by death. During this period there were repeated cases of persecution for the Orthodox faith, often ending in the death of the ascetic.

We adopted the very name “new martyrs” from the 16th, 19th, 19th, and 19th centuries in connection with the suffering of Greek and Serbian Christians in the Balkans, who were killed only because they refused to blaspheme the faith in Christ and accept Mohammedanism. This term was specifically introduced in order to distinguish in the practice of church piety the holy confessors who suffered in antiquity (before St. Emperor Constantine) and during the period of iconoclasm from the new passion-bearers who died in a collision with the world of Islam in new historical conditions.

Such sufferers were usually immediately canonized as holy martyrs by the Orthodox Church. They are not required to live a pious life before suffering. Suffering for Christ, for the name of Christ, is counted to them as righteousness, because... they died with Christ and reign with Him. (After all, it is enough to remember the last of the forty martyrs of Sebaste, who knew nothing about Christ, but was accepted along with the rest of the martyrs for their determination to die with them.)

One can recall John the New from Ioannina, John Kulik from Epirus, who suffered in the 16th century; the Great Martyr John of New Sochaevsky, who refused to blaspheme the faith in Christ and after terrible torment was beheaded, and thousands of Greek, Serbian and other Balkan sufferers for the faith, who were killed only because they professed themselves to be Christians. They were also forced to change their faith, they were also killed for one word “Christian” or “Orthodox”.

In the distant times of Turkish rule in Crimea, the Cossacks defended the Russian land from attacks by foreigners and infidels. In one of the battles, the wounded Cossack Mikhail was captured by the Turks. Through terrible torture they tried to force the Cossack to betray his faith and his brothers, renounce Christ and convert to Islam. They baked it at the stake, but the Cossack Mikhail did not become an apostate and traitor.

And now in Cossack village Urupskaya in the temple there is an icon that depicts the feat of the Zaporozhye Cossack Mikhail - a martyr for the faith.

130 years ago it became known about the martyrdom of the non-commissioned officer of the 2nd Turkestan Rifle Battalion, Foma Danilov, who was captured by the Kipchaks and barbarously killed by them after numerous and refined tortures because he did not want to convert to Mohammedanism and serve them. The khan himself promised him pardon, reward and honor if he agreed to renounce Christ the Savior. The soldier replied that he could not change the Cross and, as a royal subject, although in captivity, he must fulfill his duties to Christ and to the king. Having tortured him to death, everyone was surprised by the strength of his spirit and called him a hero...

Unfortunately, to this day the feat of the warrior-martyrs Michael and Thomas has not become known to the general public. And their names are still not included in the calendar.

A special fact of Christian history was the feat of 222 Orthodox Chinese who died in 1901 at the hands of pagans supported by the Chinese government during the so-called Boxer Rebellion. This event became a kind of fatal omen of the bloody persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. For those who did not heed the voluptuous speeches of the false prophets of the earthly paradise and remained faithful to Christ, the Way, the Truth and Life, accepted various sufferings and hardships for their faith, even to the point of martyrdom.

The situation that developed in the USSR was in some ways reminiscent of what took place in the pre-Constantinian Roman Empire and iconoclastic Byzantium and, partly, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, during periods of active implantation of the union (the sufferings of the martyr Athanasius of Brest, the confession of St. George of Konis and many others) .

In 2000 and subsequently, about 2,000 new martyrs for the faith were canonized. Their icons were decorated (placed for worship) in many churches in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

However, it is, in our opinion, impossible to declare unfoundedly that the era of the new martyrs ended with the death of the last surviving confessors who died in freedom in the 70s and 80s. This statement contains only a grain of truth: the period of state persecution of believers has come to its historical end. For this it is only proper to thank the Lord. However, with the advent of the era of democracy, Christianity and the gospel did not cease to be a challenge to a world “lying in evil”; the struggle between the “city of God” and the “city of the devil” took on other forms. Therefore, the emergence of new sufferers for Christ and His Gospel, unfortunately, has not passed from the present to the past. This is especially true on the border between the world of the Cross and the world of the Crescent.

Therefore, the term “new martyrs” should not be considered something related only to history, but the ascetics of the last two decades (M. Veronica, M. Varvara, Father Methodius from Russian Jerusalem; priests - Fr. Igor Rozov, Fr. Peter Sukhonosov, Fr. . Anatoly Chistousov, warrior Yevgeny Rodionov, who died in Chechnya) are worthy not only of the title of new martyrs and, if the authenticity of the fact of their martyrdom is confirmed, canonization.

On the feast of the new Russian martyrs and confessors, we remember not only those who suffered during the years of communist persecution, but also those who suffered for Christ in our days. We know the names of Hieromonk Nestor, Hieromonk Vasily and other Optina monks, Archimandrite Peter and many innocent Orthodox Christians, among whom there are many priests, monks, girls and children. Many people know about the murder in Moscow in 1997 of the altar boy Alexy after the night Easter service, when the killers forced him to take off his cross.

Just like the brutal murder of the custodian of the myrrh-streaming Iveron Icon of the Mother of God Joseph and many others.

The coming era, let us hope, will bear its spiritual fruit in the form of new saints of God. Among them, of course, there will be saints, reverends, and righteous people, perhaps missionaries. But neither Christian conscience nor scientific objectivity allows us to exclude from their number the few (God willing) new martyrs.

Martyrdom in modern Orthodox theology

Existing since ancient times, martyrdom has not lost its meaning today. Since ancient times, the Church has applied the words of Christ to martyrs: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The modern Magisterium of the Church does not forget to remind believers of the significance of the feat of martyrs for all Christians.

After all, since Jesus Christ, the Son of God, showed His love by laying down His soul for us, no one has greater love than the one who lays down his life for Him and for his brothers. From the very beginning, some Christians have been called - and will always be called - to give this greatest testimony of love to everyone, especially to their persecutors. Therefore, martyrdom, by which a disciple (that is, a Christian who consciously perceives faith) is, as it were, “likened” (that is, follows in the footsteps) of his Divine Teacher, who voluntarily accepted death for the salvation of the world, and is conformed to Him through the shedding of blood, is revered by the Church as the most precious gift and the highest proof of love.

We especially note that martyrdom is the highest evidence of the truth of faith. It means witness unto death. The martyr testifies of Christ who died and rose again, with whom he is united by love. It testifies to the truth of faith and Christian teaching. He accepts violent death. The Church cherishes with the most careful attention the memories of those who gave their lives to testify to their faith. The deeds of the martyrs constitute testimonies of the Truth, written in blood.

After all, a sign of truth Christian love, constant, but especially eloquent in our days, is the memory of the martyrs. Their testimony must not be forgotten.

The Church of the first millennium was born from the blood of martyrs: “Sanguis martirum - semen christianorum” (“the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians”). Historical events related to Constantine! The great ones would never have provided the Church with the path it took in the first millennium if there had not been a seed of martyrs and a legacy of holiness that characterized the first Christian generations. By the end of the second millennium, the Church had once again become the Church of Martyrs. The persecution of believers - priests, monastics and laity - caused an abundant sowing of martyrs in different parts Sveta.

The testimony brought to Christ, even the testimony of blood, has become the common property of Orthodox Christians. This testimony must not be forgotten. Despite great organizational difficulties, the Church of the first centuries collected testimonies of martyrs in martyrologies. In the 20th century, martyrs appeared again - often unknown, they are like the “unknown soldiers” of the great work of God. We must try our best not to lose their testimony to the Church.

We must do everything possible so that the memory of those who accepted martyrdom does not sink into oblivion, and to do this, collect the necessary evidence about them. By proclaiming and honoring the holiness of her sons and daughters, the Church gave the highest honor to God Himself. In the martyrs she revered Christ, the source of their martyrdom and holiness. Later, the practice of canonization spread and continues to this day in the Orthodox Church. Canonization has increased in recent years. They testify to the vitality of the Church of Christ, which are now much more numerous than in the first centuries and generally in the first millennium.

The Holy Orthodox Church not only has not changed its reverent attitude towards the feat of martyrdom and towards the martyrs, but also constantly reminds us of the need to preserve the memory of their testimony.

Theological meaning of martyrdom

By thinking about martyrdom from a theological perspective, we can understand its true significance for Christian faith and life. In short, we can emphasize several especially important points thinking like this:

The feat of martyrdom is addressed to Christ: The martyr correlates his entire life with Christ, Whom he regards as the Way, Truth and Life. Jesus Christ is placed for him at the center of history - not only the history of mankind, but also his own, personal history. For the martyr, Christ is the center of the entire universe and the measure of all things and events. A person's life acquires true significance only in the light of the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the martyr recognizes himself as called to follow Him and imitate Him in everything, including His martyrdom on the Cross. The death of a martyr, thanks to its aspiration towards Christ, thus becomes a sign of true Life, and the martyr himself enters into a relationship of the deepest unity and union with Christ. (The moment of martyrdom is sometimes even likened to the moment of marriage between the soul of the martyr and its Lord).

The feat of martyrdom is addressed to the triumph of the Kingdom of Heaven: In the death of a martyr, the final triumph of the Kingdom of God, towards which his life was directed, is realized. Martyrdom confronts us with the need to re-realize the meaning, the meaning and the ultimate goal human life and human history. Martyrdom is the triumph of the kingdom of grace and life, the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of sin and death, the forces of darkness operating in transitory reality. This is an event indicating that without the presence of Christ, reality would have no meaning or value.

The feat of martyrdom is addressed to the Church: The martyr dies in the Church and in the faith of the Church. He dies not for beliefs or views, but for the Person of Christ, who embraces the fullness of Truth. Therefore, the death of a martyr is unthinkable outside the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Dying in the faith of the Church, the martyr is born into a new life and is numbered among the Church Triumphant, remaining involved in the life of his Christian community, interceding for it and strengthening its faith.

Finally, the feat of martyrdom is also addressed to the world: Martyrdom is always a public witness to Christ and His truth in the face of the world and in the face of persecutors. Therefore, in his feat, the martyr is likened to Christ, who came into the world so that the world would know the Father. Accepting death for Christ, the martyr proclaims Him to the whole world. In every martyr for the faith there is a particle of the Spirit of Christ, a particle of Christ’s destiny. Their difficult way of the cross, suffering and torment became our salvation. And it was thanks to them, those bright and courageous soldiers of Christ, that our Church grew stronger and survived, and subsequently was reborn and returned in even greater glory and greatness.

And even now, being with the Lord somewhere in another, absolutely perfect world of eternal peace, they remain for us that bright light showing the way to God, our intercessors before Him, our spiritual salvation.

Since all of them, like He, the God-man, chose the thorny path to the light, doomed themselves to patience, suffering, and death for the sake of saving their people, for the sake of truth, for the sake of holy truth. These ordinary, humble ministers of the Church were people great faith, a strong spirit that nothing could break. Their whole life was an example of true loyalty to the Lord, His Holy Church and His people.

It seemed that not so long ago, from the point of view of time itself, the names of many martyrs for the faith sank into oblivion. They were not officially remembered, but many witnesses of those times kept the memory, considered themselves their disciples, spiritual followers, taking an example from their church deeds and spiritual beliefs. After all, it is impossible to destroy the holy truth.

Concluding this brief overview of the theological meaning of martyrdom, we note that the martyr’s refusal to “make sacrifices” to the idols of an atheistic state, to listen to false prophets who proclaimed an earthly paradise or the culture of the “city of the devil” is interpreted as a refusal to follow anachronism, as overcoming the decline and decrepitness of the “city of the devil” and its criteria. The martyr realizes that the fullness of times has come in Christ, which gives meaning to everything and liberates everything. Therefore the martyr is truly free man and the only true martyr of freedom. In his "unpredictable tenacity" he shows that he wants to remain in new history, born from the pierced side of Christ, from where “the meaning of time poured out.” He declares his desire to live, and not remain a corpse or a ruin on the sidelines of the true Church. He entered into Christ. And this gave him eternal life.

The process of glorifying a martyr

In the Orthodox Church, the glorification of a person among the saints is a complex process that has many components. The purpose of all existing norms of canon law is to give the Church the opportunity to verify the authenticity of the holiness of the candidate proposed for glorification or the reality of his martyrdom. After all, the Church is called, in glorifying her son or daughter, to give all the faithful a proven and reliable example of faith and a role model, to authoritatively confirm that this person is truly a saint, and the death of a martyr was truly a true testimony of his faith in Christ and Christian love.

To begin the process of glorifying a candidate, it is also necessary that there is an opinion among the faithful that he is truly a martyr and that private veneration is paid to him. Public veneration - such as depicting a candidate with attributes of holiness, displaying his image in churches along with images of saints, addressing prayers to him during official services of the Church, etc. - is unacceptable and prohibited by the laws of the Church. But it is quite permissible - and necessary for glorification - private veneration: reverent preservation of photographs and images of the alleged martyr, things that belonged to him, private prayerful appeals to him by believers - such appeal is quite acceptable even from a group of believers, say, members of a community or association of lay people , unless it occurs during liturgical services. Publications and articles about the candidate may be published, and the authors can express their personal conviction in his holiness.

For the process to begin, at least 5 years must have passed since the death of the candidate. Usually the process is started by an initiator - this can be an individual believer, a community, a parish, etc. In the case of the trial of the Russian “new martyrs,” the initiators were various groups of believers who approved the program for its preparation; All the materials necessary for its beginning were collected - information about the life of the candidate, documents about his martyrdom and testimonies about him, confirmation of the existence of an opinion about his martyrdom and his private veneration, his manuscripts and printed works. Information is also collected about miracles that are attributed to the candidate’s intercession, if they occurred. The candidate's biography is being prepared.

The collected materials are presented to the bishop, who has the right to begin the process of canonization of the candidate. Usually this is the bishop of the diocese in which the candidate was buried. The Bishop asks the Synodal Commission whether it has any objections to the start of the process. When permission from the Church Authorities is received, a diocesan Council is created, which reviews all the collected documentation and interviews witnesses, making a first judgment about the candidate for sainthood.

In the history of the Church there has been a long development of legal norms relating to the canonization of saints and regulating the public cult paid to them.

Since ancient times, canon law has provided a traditional definition of the elements necessary to speak of a person as a martyr. Let us describe some of the conditions necessary for this.

The candidate must have suffered persecution or persecution for his faith. These persecutions can be carried out by individuals, groups or societies. In order to speak of persecution, it must be proven that the “persecutors” actually persecuted a person because they harbored hatred for God, the Church, the Christian faith, or any of its essential and irreducible parts (for example, they considered it a crime to practice any - some Christian duty, the commandments of God, the laws and regulations of the Church). In case of persecution for faith from outside Soviet authorities such motives undoubtedly existed, which has a huge amount of evidence.

The fact of the actual physical death of the martyr must be proven. In order to speak of martyrdom, it must be confirmed that this death occurred as a direct result of persecution (shooting, death from beatings, death in prison or exile) or as their direct consequence (death resulting from severe damage caused to human health and prison , camp, special settlements, etc.).

The decisions of the Diocesan Council and the necessary documents are then transferred to the Commission for the Canonization of Saints, where the study of the collected materials about the candidate continues, which has several stages. In the case of the glorification of martyrs, it is not required that the miracles attributed to the intercession of the candidate necessarily take place. Therefore, soon after such approval, the canonization of the candidate, or his canonization of the Orthodox Church, may already occur.

Honoring candidates and helping prepare their glorification

Candidates are proposed, documents about them are collected, and witnesses are sought. As at other stages, at this time the help of volunteers who would approach this matter from different angles is very important.

Some people and congregations may promote private veneration of a particular candidate. Articles and publications dedicated to candidates may be published, private prayers may be offered to them, and their photographs or portraits may be distributed (but without an aura of holiness). Outside the liturgical part of the temple, you can hang a photograph of a candidate and pay respect to her. For example, bring flowers to her. When the burial place of a candidate is known, you can go there to honor his memory or pray to him. It is even possible to organize pilgrimages to such a grave, but only privately and not on behalf of the Church.

In addition, direct assistance to the church-wide program “New Martyrs of Russia” is needed from volunteers with various experience and qualifications. We need people who would help in collecting materials, in archival work in different parts of the country, editors, specialists in book business, people who would search for witnesses (people who remember the candidates or have heard stories about them from eyewitnesses). Donations from believers donated to the program would also provide invaluable assistance. It faces a lot of tasks that are still difficult to implement due to a lack of financial and other resources. And here the help of volunteers and benefactors would be invaluable.

Holy Martyrs Dada, Gavedday and Kazdoya accepted death for Christ from the Persian king Sapor. Dada was the first courtier under Sapor, and Saints Gaveddai and Kazdoya are the natural children of this cruel king.

Not knowing that Saint Dada was a Christian, the king appointed him ruler of one of the Persian regions. Then Dada decided to no longer hide his faith and openly began to worship Christ. When news of this reached the king, he sent his son Habedday with the nobleman Adramelek to put Dada on trial and execute him.

Calling Dada, they lit a large furnace to throw the martyr into it. But the saint overshadowed the flame sign of the cross– and it suddenly went out. The young prince was shocked and fell at the feet of the saint, begging to be introduced to Christ.

The king, having learned about his son's conversion to Christianity, fell into a rage and ordered him to be tortured. Four warriors lashed Gavedday with thorny rods. But the young man endured the beatings without a single sound, for he was covered by the invisible armor of faith. The Angel of the Lord Himself strengthened him, saying that patience would bring an eternal reward, and each time the Lord restored him to strength and health.

Seeing the miraculous healings of the holy martyr, many prisoners who were in prison with him became Christians and also accepted martyrdom.

The sister of the martyr Gaveddaya, Princess Kazdoya, secretly visited her brother in prison and brought him water. Kazdoya saw her brother again when the tormentors tortured him again. The holy martyr was hanged on the cross, and many arrows were shot at him, but the arrows rebounded and turned against the shooters. Seeing his sister, he convinced her to believe in Christ.

Saint Kazdoya confessed herself to be a Christian and, by order of her father, King Sapor, she was severely beaten and thrown into prison, where her brother was languishing. Suffering from wounds, Saint Kazdoya asked her brother-martyr to pray for her. Saint Gabeddai, having prayed, assured his sister that they would not torture her anymore.

The next day, during new tortures, Saint Habeddai, seeing two presbyters in the crowd - Dadius and Obadiah, asked them to bring oil and water, since he really wanted to accept holy baptism. At this time, a cloud overshadowed the martyr, from which water and oil poured out on him, and a voice was heard: “Servant of God, you have already received Baptism.” The martyr's face lit up, and a fragrance filled the air. The torturer ordered the saint to be pierced with spears, and a few hours later he died with a prayer on his lips. His body was cut into three parts, but the priests Dadius, Avdiy and Deacon Armazat took the holy remains and buried them with honor.

The body of the holy martyr Dada, who was also tortured for a long time and cut into pieces alive, was also secretly buried by Christians.

At midnight, the martyr Gabeddai appeared to the priest Dadius, handed him a vessel with oil and sent him to the martyr Kazdoya to anoint her with oil and partake of the Holy Mysteries, which the priest did, finally saying to the holy martyr: “Sleep, sister, until the coming of the Lord,” and Saint Kazdoya went to the Lord. The mother of the holy martyr prepared her for burial and buried her next to the martyr Habedai.