On April 28, 2019, on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, in the 93rd year of life, Archbishop Alipy (Gamanovich) mp

print version April 29, 2019 11:15 On April 28, 2019, on the feast of the Resurrection of Christ, in the 93rd year of life, Archbishop Alipy (Gamanovich) departed to the Lord, who for about thirty years ruled the Chicago and Mid-American Diocese of the Russian Church Abroad (1987-2016), the builder of the Pokrovsky Cathedral Cathedral in Chicago. The time and place of the commemoration of worship, funeral and burial will be announced later, the official website of the ROCOR reports. *** Nikolai Mikhailovich Gamanovich was born on December 19, 1926 in the village of New Mayachka, Kherson region of Ukraine in the family of a hereditary blacksmith. During the years of collectivization, the family was forced to leave their native village. During the Second World War in the occupied territories, the Germans recruited young people to work in Germany, Nikolai was among those who were forcibly taken away in early December 1942. Together with his fellow villagers, he ended up in a camp for Eastern workers - Ostarbeiter. When it was possible in camp conditions, I went to a temple in Berlin. On February 3, 1945, illegally leaving the camp, he joined the brethren of St. Job of Pochaev, who was evacuated from Slovakia before the Soviet offensive. After some time, the monastic brethren left Berlin and settled in southern Germany. After the capitulation of Germany, the brethren first moved to Geneva, and from there, on December 1, 1946, arrived in the United States to live in Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, founded by Archimandrite Panteleimon (Niznik) with the blessing and support of Archbishop Vitaly (Maksimenko). In Geneva, before leaving for the United States, he was tonsured into a rassophore with the name Alipy. In the Holy Trinity Monastery passed various obediences, but the main lesson was in the icon painting, where he worked under the leadership of hieromonk Cyprian (Pyzhov), a famous icon painter abroad. In 1948, together with two other novices (the future Metropolitan Laurus and Archimandrite Flore) Archbishop Vitaly (Maksimenko), he was tonsured into a robe. After graduating from the seminary at the monastery , he taught in her Church Slavonic and Greek languages ​​and other subjects; He compiled Church Slavonic grammar, published in 1964. In 1950, Metropolitan Anastasius (Gribanovsky) ordained a hierodeacon, and in 1954 - a hieromonk. In 1974, in the city of Chicago, with the participation of the Metropolitan of Eastern American and New York Philaret (Voznesensky), the Archbishops Seraphim (Ivanov) and Vitaly (Ustinov) and Bishop Laurus (Shkurly) was consecrated in the Bishop of Cleveland, the Vicar of Chikuga, which was used for the Bishop of Cleveland, and the Bishop of Chilegus, Shikurly, Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of the City of Cleveland, Chikugly, Bishop of Shredla, was baptized in the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of Cleveland, the Bishop of the City of Leoton In 1987, after the death of Archbishop Seraphim (Ivanov), he was appointed ruling bishop of the Chicago diocese. In 1990 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. In 1994, he was transferred to the Australian-New Zealand department , but due to poor health, the Australian consulate was slow with a permanent residence permit, and at the request of parishioners of the Pokrovsky Cathedral in Chicago was returned to its former place. In fulfilling his duties, he did not leave the icon painting - he had painted Sergievsky Cathedral in the city of Cleveland. During Lent of 2002, Vladyka Alipy fell in the fence of the cathedral, hitting his head against the asphalt, and as a result he suffered injuries that prevented him from moving independently. In 2003, Archimandrite Peter (Lukyanov) , former head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, was consecrated to help His Grace the bishop of Cleveland.

The Most Blessed Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem received a delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Most Blessed Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem received a delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Блаженнейший Патриарх Иерусалимский Феофил IІІ принял делегацию Украинской Православной Церкви print version April 27, 2019 09:41 On April 26, 2019, His Beatitude Theophilus III , Patriarch of Jerusalem, at his residence in Jerusalem, received a delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church led by the head of the UOC Metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovarsky Anthony . The head of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church noted that he was very pleased to see representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Holy Land and conveyed his assurances of fraternal love to His Beatitude Onufry , the episcopate, clergy and all believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine . “We must always pray, first of all, about the unity of our peoples, as well as the unity of all humanity. And we prayed and continue to pray in order to overcome the crisis that was created, and, unfortunately, continues to exist in Ukraine, ”said Patriarch Theophilus III. His Beatitude Vladyka wished the representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church "to love their enemies" no matter what. “The Primate of the Jerusalem Church. It is hard to say: love your enemies. But we must love them. There is nothing stronger than showing your opponent that you love him, ”said Patriarch Theophilus. “The patriarch said today that Divine glory is manifested through human suffering,” Metropolitan Antony, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after the meeting, told Strana.ua . - This is what the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are experiencing now. Indeed, some kind of madness occurs when people call themselves Christians, Orthodox who claim status in the Orthodox world, but break into churches, sometimes during worship, beat priests, beat believers. How then to call them Christians? The Patriarch told us a very laconic phrase: "The sign of the true Church is suffering." The Patriarch also conveyed greetings to Metropolitan Onufry, the episcopate, and said that we should not be discouraged, because the Resurrection always follows Golgotha. ” Metropolitan Anthony noted that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church does not ask for any privileges, just hopes that with the advent of the new government "we will begin to live by the law." “We say that we live in a state that has declared its democratic path. We hope that the new president, the new team that will come, will realize the destructiveness of the actions that the previous government has done. Even before the first round of presidential elections, Metropolitan Onufry openly declared at a meeting of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches, where Petro Poroshenko was present, that the chosen approach was a dead end. The division that we have in society, in the social and political sphere, is trying to introduce this division into the religious sphere, ”said Metropolitan Anthony. After the official meeting with the Primate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian delegation went to prayer in the Gornensky Monastery. On April 27, representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will take part in the divine service in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is expected.

Day of Commemoration of the Great Martyr Theodore Tiron

On March 16, 2019, on Saturday of the first week of Great Lent, the Day of Commemoration of the Great Martyr Theodore Tiron, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Liturgy at the Trinity Odigitrievsky Zosimov Desert Monastery . At the end of the service, the Primate of the Russian Church addressed the believers with the Primatial word. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! The first week of Great Lent was completed - a particularly fertile time, when the Church offers wonderful means of spiritual healing to her faithful children. The first week, if it is carried out in accordance with the church regulations in prayer, in abstinence, in reflections, first and foremost about oneself, is a very special means of man’s spiritual rebirth. Our life today is extremely complex, so quickly everything around us is changing - both in terms of external material factors, and in the sphere of culture and spiritual life. The fact that yesterday concerned the unshakable, perfect, that which was an example, today ceases to be so. And in this circle of life of modern civilization it is incredibly difficult to save your inner world from temptations, temptations and even destruction. And for those who want to follow the path proposed by the Church, the first week of Great Lent provides an opportunity to look at themselves, their loved ones, relatives, their work, what is happening in the country and society, from a certain distance. And this distance is not caused by indifference, but, on the contrary, it helps to see what is really happening. The first week of Great Lent was for many of us a time of separation from the hustle and bustle of the world - so that our eyesight sharpened and so that we learn not only to see, but also to understand the essence of the events, first of all, so that we can understand what is happening with ourselves. The last words of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian: "grant my peace my transgressions and not condemn my brother." These wonderful words we also need to understand correctly. What does it mean to see your transgressions? What sense organ do we see them? Sight, touch, taste, smell? Of course not! We see our transgressions by the power of our conscience. Conscience is a feeling that gives us an understanding of what we are doing, rightly or badly. Conscience helps us measure the level of our sinful acts, the level of our sinful thoughts. But conscience is a fragile vessel and a fragile feeling. And if the conscience is constantly broken, if you do not hear this voice, and trample it, then the conscience begins to gradually lose its strength. Then before the man opens the abyss of sin. The main deterrent factor, conscience, ceases to restrain a person, and he dies. Therefore, the preservation of conscience, the preservation of the ability to see one’s sins, is of great, perhaps even paramount importance for the life of every person, but especially a Christian: “Give me my sin . ” Great post gives us the opportunity to reflect on many things. He gives us the opportunity to strengthen ourselves spiritually and, above all, to bring sincere repentance - as often as we wish to do. As a matter of fact, the result of the action of conscience is repentance. Only when conscience begins to reproach us, does it become necessary to break free from this oppression, and repentance is the only means of liberating conscience. The people who piously spent the first week of Lent were not only those who had the opportunity to go to the temple every day, but also Orthodox believers who, because of their work, could not be in the temple every day even during the first week, usually on Friday and the Sabbath are confessed in order to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And when we come to confession, we must see our sins with our conscience. Confession cannot be a mechanical listing of sins, many of which have already been left and are completely irrelevant. It is strange when older people begin to repent of what young people usually hesitate to repent of. It seems that from youth to old age there was not a single confession. For some reason, the sins of youth are remembered, but what about the sins of today, including the elderly? Are they missing? The automatic, mindless enumeration of sins has nothing to do with genuine confession. It is necessary to repent of what you consider necessary to repent of sins, which are exposed by your conscience. This is where the most difficult comes, perhaps - to repent of what your conscience reveals you and even of what you are sometimes afraid of yourself or ashamed to confess. Confession enables the purification of the soul, mind, feelings. Confession gives you the opportunity to gain genuine liberation from sin and start life from scratch. And although this clean sheet will quickly fill with sins, it is important that every time we come to repentance, we have the ability and the power to genuinely bring such things before the cross and the Gospel and reveal our soul to God before God, asking for forgiveness of sins. St. Theophan the Recluse has wonderful words: “The door of salvation during the flood was the door of the ark. And the door of salvation from the flood of sin is repentance. ” As with the flood it was impossible to be saved without passing through this door of the ark, so today, overcome by sins, we cannot enter the ark of salvation except through the door of repentance. And may the Lord help us take advantage of this door, dismissing all sorts of prejudices and all that prevents us before the cross and the Gospel from bringing true repentance to God for our sins. Amen.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine opened proceedings on compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine of the Law No. 2626-VIII (on renaming religious organizations). This was announced on April 19, 2019 by the official KSU website Ccu.gov.ua.

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine opened proceedings on compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine of the Law No. 2626-VIII (on renaming religious organizations). This was announced on April 19, 2019 by the official KSU website Ccu.gov.ua. “By the resolution of the board of judges of the KSU openly constitutional proceedings on the case of compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine (constitutionality) of the Law of Ukraine" On Amendments to Article 12 of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" regarding the name of religious organizations (associations) that are included in the structure (are part) of a religious organization (association) whose governing center (administration) is located outside Ukraine in a state that is recognized by law to be such that it has carried out military aggression u against Ukraine and / or temporarily occupied part of the territory of Ukraine "dated December 20, 2018 No. 2662-VIII,” it was informed. Constitutional proceedings are open to the provision of 49 deputies, who believe that by adopting anti-church bill No. 5309, the Verkhovna Rada violated the Regulations and a number of articles of the Constitution. At the Legal Hotel of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church , the message KSU was called "good news." “We have repeatedly stated that Law No. 2662-VIII of December 20, 2018 (on renaming) was not only adopted with violations, and also does not comply with the Basic Law of the state - the Constitution of Ukraine. The state is not entitled to force the Church to change its name, even with the help of the law. We hope that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine will restore legality, protect the right to name all religious organizations of Ukraine and put an end to this issue, ”said Archpriest Alexander Bakhov, chair of the department. Earlier, on April 5, 2019, the District Administrative Court of the city of Kiev decided to declare illegal the actions of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine A.V. Parubiya regarding the adoption of the aforementioned law by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The bill number 5309, contrary to the requirements of the regulations, the speaker put on a second vote, wanting to achieve a pre-planned result - the forced renaming of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, according to Law.church.ua . On December 20, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a whole Bill No. 5309, according to which religious organizations “with the center in the aggressor state” are obliged to report this in their full official name. In addition, the clergy of such organizations are forbidden to spiritually nourish the military. According to critics, the adopted law is directed against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is in canonical unity with the Moscow Patriarchate. The legal department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church called the law unconstitutional.

The Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church includes the names of priests Andrei Zimin, Gregory Nikolsky, Pavel Kushnikov and Nikolai Zavarin

The Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church includes the names of priests Andrei Zimin, Gregory Nikolsky, Pavel Kushnikov and Nikolai Zavarin В Собор новомучеников и исповедников Церкви Русской включены имена священников Андрея Зимина, Григория Никольского, Павла Кушникова и Николая Заварина print version April 4, 2019 16:20 On April 4, 2019, the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church heard the reports of the chairman of the Synodal Commission for the canonization of the holy Bishop of the Holy Trinity Pankratia concerning the petitions received from the heads of Primorye and Kuban Metropolis to include the names of Archpriest Andrei Zimin ( magazine No. 29 ) and priest Gregory Nikolsky (journal No. 29 ) and priest Gregory Nikolsky (journal No. 29 ) and Priest Grigory Nikolsky. 30) to the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. The Bishops ’Jubilee Council of 2000 determined:“ In post-election time, to include the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in the composition of the already famous Cathedral of the Holy Baptism with the blessing of the Holy Patriarch and the Holy Synod, based on preliminary studies conducted by the Synodal Commission on the canonization of the saints ”(paragraph 14 of the Act on Conciliar Glorification New martyrs and confessors of Russia). The Synod decided to include the names of Archpriest Andrei Zimin and the priest Gregory Nikolsky into the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. The memory of the holy martyrs will be performed: to Archpriest Andrei - on January 5/18, to Priest Gregory - on June 27 / July 10, in the days of their martyr's death. Also, participants in the meeting re-examined the issue of including a number of names in the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church (Journal No. 31). Earlier, having familiarized himself with the materials presented by the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints, the Holy Synod found it necessary to decide on the inclusion of the names of priest Pavel Kushnikov ( magazine No. 122 of December 28, 2017) and priest Nikolai Zavarin ( magazine No. 124 of December 28, 2018) on consideration of the Bishops' Council. Having studied the additional information received from the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of the Saints to this meeting, the Holy Synod found it possible to return to the consideration of this issue. It was decided to include the names of the priest Paul Kushnikov and the priest Nikolai Zavarin in the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. The memory of the newly glorified saints will be performed on the days of their martyrdom: the martyr Pavel Kushnikov - February 23 / March 8, the martyr Nicholas Zavarin - August 6/19. The honorable remains of the martyrs Archpriest Andrei Zimin, the priest Gregory Nikolsky, the priest Pavel Kushnikov and the priest Nicholas Zavarin, if they are found, will be considered holy relics and they will be given proper reverence. Newly glorified saints are supposed to write icons for worship, according to the definition of the VII Ecumenical Council. *** Archpriest Andrei Simeonovich Zimin was born on August 14, 1872 in the family of the Trans-Baikal Cossack. After completing the full course of the Blagoveshchensk Theological Seminary, he was ordained in September 1894 as deacon and priest to serve in the cathedral of the city of Blagoveshchensk, where he was also appointed catechist and legislator of the parish school at the cathedral. He was zealous in preaching and conducting conversations with parishioners. In connection with the formation of the Vladivostok diocese, he was transferred in 1900 to the place of the abbot of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the village of Chernigovka. Here, as in Blagoveshchensk, Father Andrei Zimin diligently began to develop public education. He regularly published sermons and sermons in the diocesan journal. During the years of his reign, under his leadership, a two-story stone building was built in the village under a four-year school and a one-story brick building for a single-class ministerial school. In 1901 he was appointed Provost in the Chernigov volost. During the first ten years of service, the number of churches of the deanery has doubled. By his efforts at several temples, the Brotherhood of Sobriety was opened. Father Andrei paid great attention to the upbringing and education of children, teaching people the basics of Orthodox dogma, preserving traditions in performing religious services, and was an active participant in diocesan congresses. In 1913, at the request of the Holy Synod, he was awarded by the sovereign the Order of St. Anne (III degree). In the same year he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. In 1916, Archpriest Andrei Zimin was awarded the sovereign Order of St. Anne (II degree) "for special works incurred due to wartime circumstances". In 1918-1922 guerrilla groups of Bolsheviks acted in Primorye, who in June 1919 robbed the residents of Chernigovka and took the priest of the church with them to the taiga as a hostage. After keeping Father Andrey in captivity for about a month, after humiliations and insults, they let him go home in July of the same year. A few months later, on the eve of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, on the night of January 18, 1920, armed people rushed into the house of the priest, who began to cruelly torture him and his family members, after which they shot the wife, the mother-in-law and the daughters of the priest, and he himself was thrown onto the floor, they put a door on his chest and, standing on it, crushed Father Andrey with their weight. Father Andrei, according to the testimony of his relative priest John Konoplev, shortly before his death, he had a dream in which he was shown his future suffering death. Having described what he saw in the letter, he passed it on to Father John with permission to open the envelope after death. The bodies of the victims — the father’s superior Andrei and members of his family: Lydia’s wives, Domnik’s mother-in-law, and four daughters — were buried in ecclesiastical order in a common grave near the temple in Chernigovka. The exact burial place has been lost today, but the parishioners have installed a memorial cross near the church, where he would be the abbot, to which pilgrims come. *** Priest Grigory Nikolayevich Nikolsky was born on November 13, 1854 in the stanitsa of the Yaryzhenskaya Oblast of the Great Don Army to the family of a Cossack priest. Upon graduation from the Novocherkassk Theological School in 1871, he entered the civil service, which he completed as a provincial secretary in the Astrakhan province. In 1883 he was ordained deacon and priest, after which he served in various localities of the Astrakhan diocese , while taking an active part in the activities of the Astrakhan branch of the Missionary Society. From 1892 he served in the Stavropol Diocese , where, under the parish he headed, he organized a free public reading room. In those years, he regularly visited the Nicholas Caucasian Missionary Monastery, devoting himself to solitary prayer. From 1915 until his death, he was a cleric of the Black Sea Mary-Magdalinskaya female desert in the Kuban province. Here he headed the school of the women's department of the Kuban correctional shelter operating at the monastery, devoting much time and effort to conversations with the pupils. He also took care of the consolation of wounded soldiers who were in the monastery hospital. During his earthly life, Father Gregory was revered among people as a zealous and worthy shepherd, a talented teacher and temple founder. For his impeccable service and active educational activities, he was repeatedly awarded the diocesan authorities. Father Gregory’s life was filled with active love for one’s neighbors, care for the Christian enlightenment of children and adults. In the summer of 1918, the Kuban was seized by revolutionaries, and Soviet power was established everywhere. The Bolsheviks abused the population and carried out regular reprisals against the clergy. On June 27, one of the Bolshevik detachments came to the monastery. After the completion of the Divine Liturgy in the Ascension Cathedral of the monastery, the soldiers arrested Father Gregory and, with mockery, took him out of the church enclosure. Here the priest was severely beaten. When he tried to cross himself with the sign of the cross, punitive deliberately struck his hands. Then, with the words “we will attach you”, they fired a revolver in his mouth. The memory of the priest Gregory Nikolsky is especially revered in the restored Marie-Magdalinsky monastery, where memorial services are held regularly for him. *** Priest Pavel Aleksandrovich Kushnikov was born on December 16, 1880 in the family of a priest of the Transfiguration Church of Modena in the Ustyuzhensk district of the Novgorod province. In 1905 he graduated from the Novgorod Theological Seminary. He worked as a teacher parish schools. In 1913, he was ordained deacon and priest and appointed to serve in the Belsky church of Ustyugen county, where he was cleric for the next five years - until his death. During the First World War and the Revolution, the clergyman was concerned not only about the spiritual and moral well-being and health of his flock, but also about providing flocks with food. To this end, he created a parish public consumer store, distributing food between the parish residents. In 1917, some of the parishioners wrote a denunciation of him to the Ustyuzhensk county commissariat. He was charged with propaganda of disobedience to the new government, but according to the results of the investigation, Father Pavel was acquitted. On February 22, 1918, he was unexpectedly arrested by two delegates from the Ustyug Executive Committee, accused of hiding weapons for the “White Guards”, although nothing was found during the search. On February 23 (old style), Father Pavel was taken outside the village of Belskoye to the swamp and shot. His feat was testified by the Metropolitan of Novgorod and the Old Russian Arseny (Stadnitsky), presiding at the meeting of the All-Russian Church Council on April 9, 1918. September 20, 1918 at the last meeting of the Council, the Secretary of the Council V.P. Shein (the future holy martyr Sergius) in his report “On the Persecutions of the Church and the New Martyrs” among the clergymen “who suffered for the faith and the Church” mentioned the priest Paul Kushnikov. *** Priest Nikolai Kelsiyevich Zavarin was born on May 4, 1878 in the village of Kichmenga town of Nikolsky district of the Vologda province to a priest family. In 1892, he entered the Nikolsky Theological School, from which he expelled in 1895 due to illness. In 1897, having passed the exam for the title of a teacher of parochial schools, he entered the school of Verkhomolomsky Spasskaya parish school (Nikolsky district of the Vologda province). In August 1900, he was appointed acting psalm-reader of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Vyatsko-Nikolskoye of the same county. At the same time, the psalter Nikolay Zavarin was a teacher in a number of other schools. In 1913, he was ordained to the surplice, and in 1916 he was ordained a deacon to the same St. Nicholas Church. On April 25, 1926, in the midst of persecution of the Church, he was ordained to the priesthood and appointed to serve in the Vladimir Church of the village of Piksur. In 1931, he was convicted by the Narod court of Narzud for one year of imprisonment for failure to pay the arrears, but on the petition of his daughter Nadezhda on February 27, 1932 he was acquitted by the Nizhkraisud Presidium. Freed from prison, Father Nicholas served in the Trifonovskaya church in the village of Berezovo, Yuryansk district. In November 1932, he was again arrested for "anti-Soviet activities" and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1933, he was released early, after which he returned to the village of Pixur. In September 1935, activists of the Varzhensky Village Council decide on the closure of the Vladimir Church in the village of Piksur, ostensibly on the basis of the decision of the majority of voters living in the territory of the parish. The temple was covered with grain. With the blessing of Father Nikolai, the parishioners, led by his daughter, applied to Moscow with a petition to open the church. In December 1935, an order from the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to clean the church from oats within three days was handed to the Darovsk prosecutor. From the village council there were several more attempts to close the church under various pretexts, but each time the believers managed to defend their temple. February 16, 1937, Fr Nikolai and his daughter Nadezhda were arrested. Father Nicholas was accused of “being the organizer of a counter-revolutionary group among people close to the church, he conducted anti-Soviet agitation, called on women to unite around the church and fight against Soviet power, spread rumors about the fall of Soviet power and reprisals against God-offenders, agitating about the wrong policy of the Soviet government leading to hunger, explained the correctness of the struggle of the Trotskyists ". When arrested and searched, Father Nikolai answered the question about weapons: my weapon is the Gospel and religion, and I fight with them. During the investigation, the priest did not admit his guilt, and answered the questions of the investigator about “counter-revolutionary activities”: “Since I served in the church, I tried to maintain faith among the population, to defend the church so that it would not be closed, but I never spoke with anti-Soviet agitation.” He did not give any names, did not blame anyone, including his own false witnesses from among the clergy. Priest Nikolai was shot on August 19, 1937.

About the three holy rectors of the Kiev Theological Academy and their canonization mp

About the three holy rectors of the Kiev Theological Academy and their canonization About the three holy rectors of the Kiev Theological Academy and their canonization print version April 13, 2019 13:10 At a meeting of the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church held on April 3, 2019, it decided to canonize the three rectors of the Kiev Theological Academy - Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky), Archbishop Basil (Bogdashevsky) and Archpriest Alexander Glagolev. The current Rector of the CDA, Bishop of Belogorod Sylvester , told about the holy predecessors and their example of life, according to foma.in.ua. - Vladyka, why did you decide to canonize these three KDA rectors? - In 2016, on the eve of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Kiev Theological Academy, on the initiative of the Rector Metropolitan of Borispolsky and Brovarsky Anthony , a holiday was established - the Saints Cathedral of the Kiev Theological Academy. The cathedral includes all graduates and teachers of Kiev theological schools, canonized by various Local Churches. In accordance with this, the idea arose to start searching in the archives for the presence of a certificate of reverence for our graduates in order to expand the list of names included in the cathedral. And when we began to study the materials, it turned out that as much information as possible remained about the people who lived closest to us in time. In the 19th century, as rectors of the Kiev Theological Academy, there were enough famous personalities who, even during their lifetime, had the reputation of being righteous among their flock and subordinates. Some of them have already been canonized, for example, St. Innocent (Borisov), Archbishop of Kherson. I think that, perhaps, the Lord specially arranged so that the attention to the feat of these saints would fall precisely at a very difficult time for our Church. Up to this point, Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky) occupied a special place from among those not glorified among the saints. For many years he was an inspector, and then the rector of a theological school. About him preserved many memories of his contemporaries, testifying of him as a righteous man. We plan to soon publish a full corpus of memoirs of contemporaries about Vladyka Sylvestre (Malevansky), who in the society of believers gained the reputation of a man of holy life. All the money that he received as the rector of the Kiev Theological Academy, and the fees for his publications — for example, for the well-known five-volume “Experience of Orthodox Dogmatic Theology”, which brought him a name in the scientific world — was handed out to the poor on the day of receipt. And so he did his whole life. It is known that when St. Sylvester died, then after him there were literally a few silver rubles for a funeral and several vestments. Many people knew about the special mercy of the lord and went to him just in chains. There are many descriptions of contemporaries about the cases when the money was already running out, and the string was still stretching, and Vladyka Sylvester borrowed from someone not to let people go with nothing. We know that, for example, St. Philaret the Merciful was glorified for his mercy. And Vladyka Sylvester imitated this. There are two main criteria for canonization (of course, there are many more, but these are especially important) - this is the holiness of faith and the holiness of life. Regarding the sanctity of faith: Vladyka Sylvester was named in the scientific world as a well-known dogmatist, and a number of well-known researchers (both the 19th century and modern) believed that his works are the pinnacle of dogmatic science. And his “Experience ...” is still one of the unsurpassed works in terms of the amount of written, studied dogmatic material. Recalling the sanctity of life, we turn to the testimonies of contemporaries of Bishop Sylvestre (Malevansky), who describe him as a great prayer book. Already being at rest, the almost blind bishop never missed the prayer rule: in any weather he went from the cell to the church of the Kiev-Bratsk Epiphany Monastery, where, standing in front of the icon, he read a number of prayers that he knew by heart. It is also known that many righteous people of that time spoke with him. I do not know how much they considered him to be their spiritual father - as a rule, such things are not spoken by people of holy life, but are fixed by children, but, for example, it was Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky) who was funeral service for the Monk Iona of Kiev. And many famous righteous people of that era valued fellowship with Vladyka Sylvester. He died of 80 years old man in 1908. Here you need to understand one important point. There is such a condition for canonization - honoring the people. But this rule is freely realized when there is a continuous historical tradition. In this case, the scrapping of epochs led to the fact that not just people forgot the name of the lord - everything that was somehow connected with him and many other prominent church leaders was erased. I am convinced that if there were no revolution, then after 5-10 years popular veneer would have arisen. There is a lot of evidence that the people of Kiev were reverent towards Vladyka. Everything connected with Sylvester (Malevansky) was destroyed in the 1930s. The monastery where he lived and served is demolished. The cemetery where he was buried was demolished. The grave and relics were destroyed ... And unfortunately, there are no material “points of support” for research and worship. That is why the renewal of the memory of temples and monasteries destroyed in the twentieth century is an important historical task for our people and the Church. Reconstruction of the memory of them is certainly connected with the restoration in the memory of the people of the names of those devotees who carried their feat in these places. And Sylvester (Malevansky), of course, is the brightest devotee of piety who lived in Kiev in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. Therefore, the question of which of the rectors of the pre-revolutionary Academy worked hard enough to be canonized, did not cause any doubts. The second rector of the KDA - Archbishop Basil (Bogdashevsky) - is also a very bright person with an interesting life. Long-term professor, first he taught philosophical, then biblical science. And in both areas he achieved serious results. As a rule, in a difficult era, people do not want to take responsibility, avoid it. After all, responsibility is always hard, and in critical times, all the more so. But he, a significant part of his life being a layman, ultimately, in difficult times, not only accepts monasticism, but even priestly and then hierarchal dignity, knowing that this is unlikely to bring him honor, but rather a danger. Adoption of episcopal dignity meant drawing attention to himself and his activities, and if, as a layman, he could get lost, retire or retire, then as a bishop he could not do that. So, the very decision to go for it on the eve of terrible events (and Vladyka Vasily understood what he was going to) speaks of him as a confessor. It so happened that he headed the Kiev Theological School in the most difficult historical period - before its closure (1920). When this happened, she continued to exist for some time, classes and diplomas were held in professors' apartments, and he served as rector. In 1923, Vladyka Vasily was arrested and sent to Moscow for interrogation, for about a year and a half he remained in exile. But then he was released. The sad thing is that, when he was already an old man, Vladyka was left completely without means of subsistence. And there is clear evidence that he died of exhaustion. It was 1933. And although he did not die in prison, his life, the decision to accept the priestly, hierarchal and rector service in this era is a clear confession. I think that if Vladyka lived to 1937-38, he would share the fate of many other new martyrs and confessors. And, finally, Archpriest Alexander Glagolev - probably the most famous Kiev priest of the twentieth century. He was elected acting rector when Vladyka Vasily was arrested. Father Alexander is a man of encyclopedic knowledge. You can talk a lot about his erudition, incredible abilities ... For example, the fact that he knew 18 languages ​​(ancient and modern)! And already being an elderly man, so that, so to speak, not to lose his knack, he began to learn Italian. By human standards, this is a unique phenomenon. Plus, Father Alexander was a real shepherd. He loved worship, fellowship with the people. It is very important to understand that he lived in times of serious trials for the Church in the sense of not only persecutions, but also schisms. Father Alexander was faithful to the canonical Church (then she was called Patriarch, even though the patriarch was no longer in the year of his death), and remained faithful to her even in the most difficult situation — during the arrest in 1937. His investigative work took place “under one cover” with the case Martyr Constantine (Dyakov), Patriarchal Exarch of Ukraine. Then everyone was arrested, accused of the same thing - anti-Soviet activities. But Father Alexander was arrested precisely as a bright priest supporting the canonical first-hierarch, Metropolitan Constantine. It is God's grace that Father Alexander did not die from a bullet. He rested in the hospital Lukyanovskaya prison. He was called in for questioning 18 times. And after the last he became so ill that the priest was placed in the hospital, where he died. But I think that if he had even a little bit of strength left, there could hardly have been a different fate awaiting him than all the priests who had suffered from the Soviet repression. So, Father Alexander is known both as a true shepherd and as a priest devoted to the Church who supported Metropolitan Constantine. Thus, these three people — two hierarchs and a priest — are significant figures not only for the life of Kiev theological schools, but also for the life of the Church in this complex era. And it is important to understand that for us the canonization of these saints is needed not just to replenish the list of the names of the saints of the KDA and not so much to perpetuate their memory, but to admit that it is necessary to correctly evaluate the historical situation and take lessons from it. After all, canonization is not just a certain liturgical exaltation of a person, it is a canonization of a way of thinking and a way of life to imitate them. We must imitate not only life as a whole, but also the behavior of devotees under specific conditions. Therefore, if we are asked how to act in such a case, we can say: in such conditions, act as these three people did. Although one of them - Vladyka Sylvester - did not live to see the revolutionary events, but his image as a man of great piety also deserves imitation and attention. Everyone understands: history repeats itself. But if we repeat only history, not repeating the exploits of our predecessors, this will be a real break of tradition. But the true tradition is preserved when there is a transfer of spiritual experience and one of the links in the process of transferring this experience is canonization. - Why was it talked about canonization right now? For example, Archpriest Alexander Glagolev in the ROCOR was canonized in 1989. - Good question. When we started collecting materials, we approached this very thoroughly. Our teachers and some students studied the manuscript memories of Bishop Sylvestre (Malevansky) stored in the archive (not previously published anywhere). One of our teachers fully studied the investigative work of Father Alexander and wrote his dissertation on him, which became the basis for preparing materials for canonization. Some of our students and teachers wrote theses on Vladyka Vasily (Bogdashevsky). We approached complex canonization and prepared materials for a long period. The question of why there was still no canonization, arose immediately. You know, I did not find the answer. It seemed that there could be some experiences: suddenly, something in the investigation, suddenly, there was something in a person’s life that didn’t allow one to submit it to canonization ... And when we lifted everything up, we did not find anything seditious. Why did not canonization happen before? As believers, we must see in all the Providence of God. I think that, perhaps, the Lord specially arranged so that the attention to the feat of these saints would fall precisely at a very difficult time for our Church. Resuming the memory of churches and monasteries destroyed in the twentieth century is an important historical task for our people and the Church. Often we, after reading the book, put the book on the shelf and then forget it. During the period of churching, we read more lives, then interest in them begins to disappear. And then - you just know that there are such saints ... I look at the same "Lives" of St. Dimitry of Rostov - I started reading them when I was at school 20 years ago - and I understand that now I find time to reread at least one tom it's hard for me And when you prepare the material for canonization, you will, willy-nilly, look through, “lift up” everything connected with the saint. And I think that this “rise” of information about the holy rectors was carried out by the Lord specifically at this difficult time, in order to strengthen us, support us and show us that we were not the only people who worried about their Church, hoped and trusted in God's mercy. Thank God, we don’t have any serious tests, similar to those of Vladyka Vasily or Father Alexander. But if they are, we have examples that help to undergo all the tests. Many of our teachers are studying the investigative cases of priests and religious laymen arrested in Soviet times. Someone from those arrested stood up to the end, and someone gave up: he refused his faith or betrayed those who trusted him. When you read this, a thought always arises (not to condemn these people): once in a difficult situation, a person saved his life, maybe - extended for 5-10 years or more, but, alas, in the memory of the historical (not only the church) he stayed like a man who "broke down." Although it is also possible to “break” in different ways ... Also affects the cynicism of the Soviet investigative agencies. Many people were “broken”, promising to save lives, but in the end they were also destroyed. And there are such amazing investigative cases, when, for example, a person “rents” those who were gathered in an apartment to perform a liturgy or read underground lectures, and hopes to save his life by this, and they are all shot in one day. Such things are extremely difficult to perceive from the moral side, but they remind us of the need to be firm. - What were the difficulties in collecting materials about these saints? - The only difficulty is perseverance. Let it sound ironic. Imagine: investigative cases were sometimes typed, but many papers were filled in by hand. For example, the work of the father of Alexander. Most of the memories of Vladyka Silvestre are preserved in manuscripts — ink has faded, handwritings have been different (good, then they taught calligraphy). Parse someone else's handwriting, in principle, not as easy as it seems. Some documents are easy to read, some are not. But can you imagine what it means to translate about 500 pages of handwritten text into electronic format? It's very hard. And then re-read it all, see that there are no errors, and analyze it. And our employees and some students who have done this work have accomplished, I believe, a serious feat. Moreover, let’s say frankly, all this was done for free, only on the enthusiasm and desire to glorify these people. This is a very serious work. And, I think, if we have more time and such enthusiasts who are ready to work in the archives and waste their strength and vision, then there will be more saints who are canonized by the Church and whose biographies and feats of which will be known to the public. The memory of the Cathedral of Saints Kiev Theological Academy is celebrated on November 9. It includes more than 50 saints - teachers and graduates of the theological school who lived in different centuries and are canonized. Among them are the saints Peter the Grave, Theodosius of Chernigov, Dimitry of Rostov, Joasaph Belgorod, Paisiy (Velichkovsky), Feofan the Recluse, Innokenty of Kherson, etc. The festival was established in 2016 and was celebrated only in Kiev theological schools. In September 2018, the UOC Sacred Synod approved for liturgical use the text of the service in honor of the Cathedral of the Saints KAH. On April 3, 2019, the holiday was added to the church calendar of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. - Is it possible to get acquainted with the works of these three saints? - Many essays were published, including in the "Works of the Kiev Theological Academy." The writings of Bishop Sylvestre were reprinted several times, but reading the five volumes of the dogmatic text (and not for a tick) is not very easy. In addition, the philosophical and biblical writings of Vladyka Vasily (Bogdashevsky) require the reader to have serious skills in these areas. For example, he has studies on Emmanuel Kant. That is, you first need to understand seriously who Emmanuel Kant is, and then read Vladyka Vasily, realizing that he tried to write about Kant not just as a researcher, but as a professor at the Orthodox Theological Academy. Or, imagine ... Father Alexander - and he was a specialist in biblical studies and Jewish tradition - read in 18 languages ​​and, as was customary in his time, he often quoted in his writings according to the original.It is assumed that he would be interested in biblical studies - of course, also Greek and Hebrew. Alas, it is not so now. Until now, unfortunately, many works, even patristic, have not been translated to the extent desired. Many dogmatists of the XIX century. It will be a glance. Moreover, in Bible studies of Bogdashevsky and Glagolev, the number of such sorts of quotations is even greater. You need to grow it up. - KDA something already republished? “Unfortunately, we didn't reprint these works. But we want, as I said, to publish materials devoted to them. Moreover, we have studies, for example, our period. It is not the best pleasure. - Where are the relics of saints Sylvestre, Vasily and Alexander now? - Bishop Sylvester was buried in the cemetery at St. Nicholas Monastery, at Askold's grave. This cemetery was destroyed and his grave too. Vladyka Basil is buried in the Lukyanovka cemetery. Father Alexander was buried in a common grave at the same cemetery. - After canonization, their names will be included in the Saints Cathedral of the Kiev Theological Academy. What will the students of Kiev theological schools address in their prayers? What can any believer resort to? - I think that students, as is usually the case, will pray to them for enlightenment, for success in the sciences. And most people will be able to pray for perfection in the well-known Christian virtues, and especially for Saint Basil and Alexander, for resisting during trials. *** About the three holy rectors of the Kiev Theological Academy and their canonization Bishop Sylvester (Malevansky). Born in 1828 in the family of a priest in Volyn. He graduated from the Volyn Theological Seminary (1847) and the Kiev Theological Academy (1857). 1862-1881 - Inspector of KDA, 1883-1898 - Rector of the CDA and abbot of the Kiev-Bratsk Epiphany Monastery. From 1885 - Bishop of Kanev, Vicar of the Kiev Diocese. The author of the five-volume "Experience of Orthodox dogmatic theology." He died on November 12, 1908 Kiev Theological Academy and their canonization Archbishop Basil (Bogdashevsky). Born in the family of a priest in 1861 in Volyn. He graduated from the Volyn Theological Seminary (1882) and the Kiev Theological Academy (1886). In 1910 he became a priest, in 1913 he was tonsured, in 1914 he was ordained a bishop of Kanevsk, a vicar of the Kiev diocese. In the same year he was appointed rector of the KDA and abbot of the Kiev-Bratsk Epiphany Monastery. April 4, 1923 was arrested and sent to Butyrka prison, then - in exile in a. Izhma Zyryansky region. Upon returning to his homeland in 1924, he became the Bishop of Prilutsky, later elevated to the rank of Archbishop and re-appointed Vicar of the Kiev Diocese , Archbishop of Kanev. Known as an explorer of the New Testament books. He died on February 26, 1933 in Kiev. The grave is located at the Lukyanovsky cemetery. Kiev Theological Academy and their canonization Archpriest Alexander Glagolev. Born in the family of a priest in 1872 in the province of Tula. He studied at the KDA in 1894-1898. From 1899 he began teaching in it. He acted as the Rector of the CDA after the arrest of Vladyka Vasily (Bogdashevsky), was the rector of the St. Nicholas the Good Church in Podol (before closing in 1934), one of the best experts in the Old Testament in Kiev, owned eighteen ancient and new languages. He defended his thesis on the topic of the Old Testament Bible Doctrine of Angels, the author of the comments to the Explanatory Bible (ed. Lopukhin) on a number of books of the Old and New Testament (including the 3rd and 4th books of Kingdoms, the book of Tobit , Proverbs, Songs of Songs, the prophets of Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai and to the Catholic Epistles). In 1913 he acted as an expert in the “Beilis case”. In the same year, he crowned Mikhail Bulgakov, the writer imprinted him in the image of Alexander's father from the White Guard. He was arrested twice. The first arrest (in 1931) lasted five months, the second time the priest was taken to prison on October 20, 1937. He died from torture in the NKVD 36 days later - on November 25, 1937.

On the Day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Yoke, a memorial service was held in Moscow for the soldiers who died during the years of the Russian-Turkish war.

On the Day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Yoke, a memorial service was held in Moscow for the soldiers who died during the years of the Russian-Turkish war. В День освобождения Болгарии от османского ига в Москве совершена панихида по воинам, погибшим в годы Русско-турецкой войны print version March 4, 2019 16:39 March 3, 2019, on the Day of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Yoke (the national holiday of the Republic of Bulgaria) and the 141st anniversary of the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, a solemn commemoration of Russian soldiers was held at the chapel in honor of the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign and the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky - a monument to the heroes of Pleven in Ilinsky Park, Moscow. With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, the bishop of Dmitrovsky Feofilakt , the manager of the South-West Moscow Vicariate, made a requiem. His Grace was served by the Acting Archpriest Andrei Rechytsky, rector of the chapel, Archpriest Alexander Saltykov, representative of the Patriarch of Bulgaria under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Archimandrite Feoktist (Dimitrov) , representative of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Bodies, Archpriest Alexander Dobravryev, Archimandrite Dobrechev, Yevroshchevny of the Iversky Church District of Moscow; Archpriest Arseny Totev, Archpriest Alexander Kurnasov, Priest Gennady Lapshin, Protodeacon Konstantin Laptev, and also Cleric, Department of the flax cathedral in honor of the Okovetsky icon of the Mother of God in the city of Rzhev, Tver region ( Rzhev eparchy ), priest Victor Voznesensky. The liturgical chants were performed by the choir of the Suvorov Moscow Military-Musical School named after Lieutenant-General V.M. Khalilov. The ceremony was attended by Charge d'Affaires of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Russian Federation Alexander Kovachev, Deputy Director of the Fourth European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Igor Kalabukhov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee of the Federal Assembly on International Affairs Alexey Chepa, Head of the Department of Internal Policy of the Presidential Administration Evgeny Eremin, Deputy Head of the Department for the perpetuation of the memory of those killed in the defense of the Fatherland of the Ministry of Russia's major harrows, Major General Valeriy Kudinsky, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Foreign Economic and International Relations Department Sergey Cheremin, representatives of the Moscow Government, public associations “Russian Military-Historical Society”, “Union of Friends of Bulgaria”, etc. Employees of the Republic of Embassy also prayed at the service. Bulgaria in the Russian Federation and representatives of the Bulgarian diaspora, Cossacks, Cadets, Nakhimov, Suvorov. At the end of the memorial service, the participants and guests of the ceremony were greeted by A. Kovachev, I. Kalabukhov, A. Chepa, Major General V. Kudinsky and other officials. Then a wreath-laying ceremony and military honors were given to the soldiers who died for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. *** March 3 - the day of the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. - A national holiday of the Republic of Bulgaria in honor of the liberation of the country from the Ottoman yoke. After five centuries of foreign rule, Bulgaria gained freedom, for which thousands of soldiers of the Russian army, Romanian and Finnish soldiers, Bulgarian militiamen who died in the battles of Plevna, Grivitsa, Stara Zagora, Sheinovo and at Shipka Pass passed their lives. As a result of the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire on March 3, 1878, the San Stefano Peace Treaty was signed, which marked the beginning of the revival of the Bulgarian state. From 1878 to today, Emperor Alexander II and the soldiers who fell on the battlefield for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 are commemorated at the Liturgy in all Orthodox churches in Bulgaria. The Moscow chapel, a monument to the heroes of Plevna, built by the comrades of the fallen grenadiers and established in Soviet times during the persecution of the Church, today is an important reminder of the historical and spiritual unity of Russia and Bulgaria. The opening of the monument chapel took place on November 27, 1887, on the day of the decade of the Battle of Plevna. Up to the revolutionary events of the twentieth century, Muscovites always solemnly celebrated the memory of the deceased grenadiers. This tradition was restored in the 1990s by parishioners of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi.

In Sofia, the day of commemoration of St. Seraphim, Archbishop of Bogucharsky

In Sofia, the day of commemoration of St. Seraphim, Archbishop of Bogucharsky В Софии торжественно отметили день памяти святителя Серафима, архиепископа Богучарского print version February 27, 2019 13:20 On February 25, 2019, in the building of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, His Holiness the Patriarch of Bulgaria Neophytos met with Metropolitan Vladimir and Suzdal Tikhon , who arrived in Bulgaria for the celebration of the memory of St. Seraphim (Sobolev), Archbishop of Bogucharsky. Metropolitan Tikhon gave the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church congratulated Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill and the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, on the occasion of the construction of the anniversary of the Patriarchal throne, as well as thanks to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the congratulations on the 10th anniversary of the enthronement and direction delegation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to attend the celebrations in Moscow. The head of the Vladimir Metropolis thanked His Holiness Patriarch Neofit for the invitation to visit Bulgaria to participate in the celebration of the memory of St. Seraphim (Sobolev), Archbishop of Bogucharsky. “At the invitation of Your Holiness and with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, I have the opportunity to visit Sofia, the ancient capital of Bulgaria Veliko Tarnovo, Pleven. I was glad to celebrate Divine Liturgy with Metropolitan Gregory at Veliko Tarnovo Cathedral, to have fraternal communion with Metropolitan Ignatiy in Pleven, to bow to the tomb of the Patriarch of Bulgaria, Maxim in the Troyan Monastery, and to be warmly received by the Bishop of Soton, the clergy of the poem, and the lyrics of the lyrics, the lyrics of the poem. who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke, ”said the Metropolitan of Vladimir and Suzdal Tikhon. His Holiness Patriarch Neofit warmly welcomed the hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia accompanying him under the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev) and an employee of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate D.I. Petrovsky and as a sign of the Patriarchal blessing he gave His Eminence Tikhon the icon of the Good Shepherd - our Lord Jesus Christ. To prayer memory, Metropolitan of Vladimir Tikhon presented His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with an icon of St. Simon, the first Bishop of Vladimir and Suzdal, and the Blessed Prince George of Vladimir. The meeting was also attended by Metropolitan Nevrokopsky Seraphim, Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Bishop Melnissky Gerasim and Bishop of Belogradchishsky Polycarp, Vicar of the Sofia Metropolis. On the same day, the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church visited the largest in Bulgaria Rylsky Stavropegic Monastery, where it venerated the relics of the founder of the monastery, St. John of Rila, and other shrines of the monastery, met with the sights. Metropolitan Tikhon met Hegumen of the Rila Monastery Bishop Eulogius of Andrianopol. In the evening, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Bulgaria, A.A. In honor of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, Makarov gave a dinner at his residence, in which the main secretary of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Bishop Melnishsky Gerasim and Assistant Rector of the Sofia Theological Seminary, Hieromonk Meletii, also took part. On February 26, the Church commemorates Saint Seraphim, Archbishop of Bogucharsky. On the day of the congregation, with the blessing of the Holy Spirit, Patriarch of Moscow ), Protosingel of the Western and Central European Metropolis of Archimandrite Athanasius (Sultanov), Deputy Rector of the Sofia Theological Seminary. monk Meletios (Spassov), a cleric of the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Martyr Week (Kyriaki) svyaschennoekonoma Kirill Popov, Priest Dimitri Tuhchieva and patriarchal archdeacon Alexander Nesheva. Hieromonk Zotik (Gajewski) and the clergy of the Metropolitan of Sofia prayed at the Liturgy. Numerous parishioners gathered in the temple. The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Bulgaria A.A. Makarov, Counselor of the Russian Embassy V.I. Gusev, DIOC employee D.I. Petrovsky. Gospel reading was delivered in Bulgarian. Requests for the unity of the Orthodox Church and its preservation from divisions and divisions were proclaimed on a special litany. Then Metropolitan Tikhon offered a prayer for peace in Ukraine. The liturgical chants were performed by the choir of the Nikolsky church-monastery under the direction of V. Chenova-Stefanova. At the end of the service, Archimandrite Vassian (Serpents) addressed the audience with greetings. The rector of the monastery asked to convey the words of heartfelt thanks to His Holiness Patriarch Neophyte for his blessing to the hierarch and clergy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to take part in the service of the Liturgy on the memorial day of St. Seraphim, Archbishop of Bogucharsky. In memory of this, Archimandrite Vassian presented icons of St. Seraphim (Sobolev) to serving archpastors. His Holiness Patriarchs of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill and the Bulgarian Neophytos, the Bulgarian and Russian peoples and all those present in the church, were proclaimed many years. Then the prayer service at the relics of St. Seraphim in the crypt of the St. Nicholas Church, in cooperation with the Bishop Polykarp of Belogradchik, the priest of the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Archimandrite Vassian and the clergy of the Sofia churches were headed by Metropolitan of Vladimir and Suzdal Tikhon. Throughout the day, the anointing of the consecrated oil from the relics of St. Seraphim (Sobolev) was performed in the crypt of the Nikolsky Church.

Paul Kushnikov and priest Nikolai Zavarin

JOURNAL number 31 HAD A REPEATED CONSIDERATION on the inclusion of a number of names in the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. Reference: The Bishops ’Jubilee Council of 2000 determined:“ In post-election time, to include the new martyrs and confessors of Russia in the composition of the already celebrated Council of New Russians with the blessing of the Holy Patriarch and the Holy Synod, on the basis of preliminary studies conducted by the Synodal Commission on the canonization of the saints ”(clause 14 New martyrs and confessors of Russia). At the same time, having familiarized with the materials presented by the Synodal Commission on the canonization of saints, the Holy Synod found it necessary to decide on the inclusion of the names of priest Pavel Kushnikov (magazine No. 122 of 12/28/2017) and priest Nikolai Zavarin (magazine No. 124 of 12/28/2018) on consideration of the Bishops' Council. Having studied the additional information received from the Synodal Commission on the canonization of the saints for this meeting, the Holy Synod considers it possible to return to the consideration of this issue. *** Priest Pavel Aleksandrovich Kushnikov was born on December 16, 1880 in the family of a priest of the Transfiguration Church of Modena in the Ustyuzhna district of the Novgorod province. In 1905 he graduated from the Novgorod Theological Seminary. He worked as a teacher of parochial schools. In 1913, he was ordained deacon and priest and appointed to serve in the Belsky church of Ustyugen county, where he was a cleric for the next five years - until his death. During the First World War and the Revolution, the priest cared not only about spiritual and moral well-being and the health of his flock, but also about providing flocks with food. To this end, he created a parish public consumer store, distributing food between the parish residents. In 1917, some of the parishioners wrote a denunciation of him to the Ustyuzhensk county commissariat. He was charged with propaganda of disobedience to the new government, but according to the results of the investigation, Father Pavel was acquitted. On February 22, 1918, he was unexpectedly arrested by two delegates from the Ustyug Executive Committee, accused of hiding weapons for the “White Guards”, although nothing was found during the search. On February 23 (old style), Father Pavel was taken outside the village of Belskoye to the swamp and shot. His feat was testified by the metropolitan of Novgorod and the Old Russian Arseny (Stadnitsky), presiding at the meeting of the All-Russian Church Council on April 9, 1918. September 20, 1918 at the last meeting of the Council, the Secretary of the Council V.P. Shein (the future holy martyr Sergius) in his report "about the persecutions of the Church and about the new martyrs" among the clergymen who "suffered for the faith and the Church" mentioned priest Paul Kushnikov. *** Priest Nikolai Kelsiyevich Zavarin was born on May 4, 1878 in the village of Kichmengsky town of Nikolsky district of the Vologda province into a priestly family. In 1892 he entered the Nikolsky Theological School, from which he expelled in 1895 due to illness. In 1897, having passed the exam for the title of a teacher of parochial schools, he entered the school of Verkhomolomsky Spasskaya parish school of the Nikolsky district of the Vologda province. In August 1900, he was appointed acting psalm-reader of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Vyatsko-Nikolskoye of the same county. At the same time, the psalter Nikolay Zavarin was a teacher in a number of other schools. In 1913 he was ordained to the surplice, and in 1916 he was ordained deacon to the same St. Nicholas Church. On April 25, 1926, at the height of the persecutions of the Church, he was ordained a priest and appointed to serve in the Vladimir Church of the village of Piksur. In 1931, he was convicted by the Narcovite People’s Court for one year of imprisonment for not paying the arrears, but on the petition of his daughter Nadezhda on February 27, 1932, he was acquitted by the Nizhkraisud Presidium. After being released from prison, Father Nikolai served in the Trifonovskaya church in the village of Berezovo, Yuryansk district. In November 1932, he was again arrested for "anti-Soviet activities" and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1933 he was released early, after which he returned to the village of Piksur. In September 1935, activists of the Varzhensky Village Council decide on the closure of the Vladimir Church in the village of Piksur, allegedly on the basis of the decision of the majority of voters living in the parish territory. The temple was covered with grain. With the blessing of Father Nikolai, the parishioners, led by his daughter, applied to Moscow with a petition for the opening of the church. In December 1935, an order from the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to cleanse the temple of oats in three days was handed to the Darovsk prosecutor. From the village council there were several more attempts to close the temple under various pretexts, but each time the believers managed to defend their temple. February 16, 1937, Fr Nikolai and his daughter Nadezhda were arrested. Father Nicholas was accused of “being the organizer of a counterrevolutionary group among people close to the church, he conducted anti-Soviet agitation, called on women to unite around the church and fight the Soviet authorities, spread rumors about the fall of the Soviet authorities and the massacre of God’s offenders, agitated about the wrong policy of the Soviet government, leading to hunger, explained the correctness of the struggle of the Trotskyists ". When arrested and searched, Father Nikolai answered the question about weapons: my weapon is the Gospel and religion, and I fight with them. During the investigation, the priest did not admit his guilt, and answered the questions of the investigator about “counter-revolutionary activities”: “Since I served in the church, I tried to maintain faith among the population, to defend the church so that it would not be closed, but I never spoke with anti-Soviet agitation.” He did not give any names, did not blame anyone, including his own false witnesses from among the clergy. Priest Nikolai was shot on August 19, 1937. RESOLVED: 1. Include the names of priest Paul Kushnikov and priest Nikolai Zavarin in the Council of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. 2. To commemorate the newly glorified saints in the days of their martyrdom: Martyr Pavel Kushnikov - February 23 / March 8; Martyr Nicholas Zavarin - August 6/19. 3. The honest remains of the holy martyrs Pavel Kushnikov and Nicholas Zavarin, if they are found, be considered holy relics and pay them proper reverence. 4. To write icons to the newly glorified saints for worship, according to the definition of the VII Ecumenical Council.