In the framework of the exhibition-forum “Joy of the Word” in Astrakhan, the conference “The feat of the new martyrs of the Russian twentieth century” was held

In the framework of the exhibition-forum “Joy of the Word” in Astrakhan, the conference “The feat of the new martyrs of the Russian twentieth century” was held В рамках выставки-форума «Радость Слова» в Астрахани прошла конференция «Подвиг новомучеников Российских ХХ века» print version June 3, 2019 13:10 On June 1, 2019, a conference titled “The feat of the new martyrs of the Russian twentieth century” took place as part of the business program of the Joy of Word Exhibition and Forum, an educational project of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in Astrakhan State Joint Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve. The Metropolitan of Astrakhan and Kamyzyaksky Nikon addressed the conference participants with the opening speech. Vladyka thanked the chairman of the Publishing Council of the Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement for visiting the Astrakhan Metropolis and cooperation in organizing the events of the Joy of Word exhibition and forum. Metropolitan Clement conveyed to the conference participants and to all Orthodox Astrakhans the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill. In his report, Vladyka Clement spoke about the difficult period of Russian history in the first half of the 20th century, when it was extremely difficult to maintain the peaceful spirit of evangelical love for one’s neighbor, while the new martyrs and confessors, continuing to live life in Christ, prayed for their persecutors and even for executioners. The archpastor, on the example of the feats of Kaluga new martyrs, drew the attention of those present, that these are only a small number of saints, about which we are known today by God's mercy. Only the Lord knows about the exploits of others, but this does not detract from their intercession about the Christians living now. “Being humiliated and insulted, they showed the strength of the spirit, which they gained by their confession and martyrdom, without having exchanged them for visible well-being and wealth. We, immersed in the daily bustle, often forget about them. Let us think, don't we betray them, when we are thoughtlessly following a broad path of excessive anxiety and concern for exclusively earthly well-being. This is the way of forgetting your gospel duty towards God and your neighbors and immersing yourself in virtual reality, where the sin is committed as if it’s “make-believe”, but also defiles the immortal soul, makes it deadly, unresponsive to the grace of Christ the Resurrection. We need to remember, honor and know the lives of holy confessors, whom we often bracketed our consciousness. Why don't everything work out in a Christian way? Because they have lost the firmness of faith that Christians of the era of persecution of the twentieth century had. After all, it was their blood that paid for the years of our prosperity, their feat of faith restored our Church after 70 years of persecution. In vain are the contemporary like-minded supporters of those persecutors, watching how, in the conditions of the most severe modern crisis, destroying state borders and independence of countries, weakening the spiritual foundations and moral foundations of society, our Church is reborn and becomes the focus of salvation for Russia and the entire Russian world, ”concluded Metropolitan Clement. The winner of the Patriarchal Literary Award, the author of the book Living in Help, writer Viktor Nikolaev, in his word explained that the study of the feat of the new martyrs and their memory serve as an example and contribute to the education of honesty, loyalty and patriotism in our society. A report on the feat of Astrakhan priest-martyr Mitrofan (Krasnopolsky) was made by the tree guard, the head of the department for canonizing the saints of the Astrakhan diocese, Hegumen Iosif (Marian). The ministry and works of Vladyka Mitrofan remain relevant not only for Orthodox Astrakhan, but also for the entire Russian Orthodox Church. Thanks to the personal example of Metropolitan Mitrofan, his pupils defended the shrines in the Astrakhan diocese and became assistants to the scholars. Thaddeus (Ouspensky) already in the 20s. Twentieth century. As a representative from the Astrakhan Diocese, Vladyka Mitrofan took an active part in the restoration of the Patriarchate at the Local Council of 1917-18. Another merit of Vladyka Mitrofan was the ascetic works on glorifying the martyr Joseph, Metropolitan of Astrakhan, now revered as the patron saint of Astrakhan land. With his martyr's demise, Vladyka Mitrofan set an example of steadfastness in the Orthodox faith for Christians for all subsequent times. Elena Dolmatova, Head of the Resource Department of the Astrakhan Regional Scientific Library, also made a presentation on the new martyrs. The conference was held by the leading expert of the Publishing Council, Priest Andrei Stepanov.