An Example of
Great Faith and Love
Today the Holy Church celebrates the Synod of New
Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, who suffered during the godless persecution
of 20th century. On this day we should listen to their appeal, and look upon
the example they have set for us.
Every Saint has a special grace to help us in with our
needs and circumstances, ones that he faced in his own life, and the lives of
New Martyrs are so close to us! Let’s look at the history of Russia. During the
last 300 years, She has seen continuous trials, neverending temptations. From
the reign of Peter I to the First World War, the population of Russia grew more
than ten times, but the number of Orthodox churches in that same period
increased only four times, and half of this increase occurred during the reign
of the last two Russian Tsars.
If we look at the state of monasticism, this soul of
the Church, we see embarrassing figures. There were 1,200 cloisters in the year
1701, their number was reduced to 380 by the second half of 18th century, and
only at the end of the reign of Tsar-Martyr was it nearly restored (to 1025).
The number of monks decreased from 25,000 to 6,000, but in the time of the last
Emperor it was already 95,000. Take note: we see the same thing today – the
same great increase in the number of churches and cloisters after a
persecution. But it is only an external increase, which doesn’t yet reach the
necessary inner depth.
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