From the Life of St. Victor of Glazov:

"Immediately after the arrest, the interrogations began. The investigators demanded of Vladyka [Victor] that he implicate other arrestees. For the first eight days of interrogations, he was not permitted to sit or sleep. A protocol with absurd accusations and false testimony was prepared ahead of time, and day after day the interrogators, one after the other, kept repeating the same thing, screaming in the prisoner’s ear, “Sign it! Sign it! Sign it!”

However, Vladyka, having prayed, made the sign of the Cross over the interrogator, and something akin to an attack of demonic possession occurred: the interrogator began to jump up and down strangely and to shake. The bishop prayed and asked the Lord not to let any harm come to that man. The attack soon ceased, but with that the interrogator again started on Vladyka, demanding that he sign the protocol. However, all his efforts were in vain—the hierarch did not agree to slander himself or others."

"Altogether, one can divide the Russian Orthodox population in the USSR into the following groups:

The first group of strict and true Orthodox Church people, who for the most part live a spiritual life in the interests of the church, as the Body of Christ. This group has in no way ever recognized and does not recognize the Soviet Patriarchate. This group has completely gone into the catacombs.

The second group consists of people of little faith, who rarely attend church, who by tradition believe mechanically in God in a lukewarm way, or are drawn towards the Orthodox Church services in an aesthetic way. They do not understand the finer points of the Church’s spirit. They notice only the “outer clothing” of the church, which has not changed. They readily attend the church, kept open by the godless Soviet authority, which permits small doses of “opium for the people.”

The third group is represented by “diplomats”, rationalists, who live for the interests of the Church as an organization (and not as an organ of the Holy Spirit). They justify the church politics and Sergius and Alexis, which according to them, is saving the church. Those people gladly visit the Soviet churches, not noticing that the preserved organization has lost the most important thing —the spirit of Christ.

The fourth group consists of those who also accepted the declaration by Metropolitan Sergius in 1927, with a painfully heavy heart, and all following words and actions by the Soviet Patriarchs, but reckon that grace nevertheless has been preserved in the Orthodox Church for the sake of those millions of unfortunate Russian people who receive great comfort in the church. With extreme heavy feelings, listening to the panegyric of the Soviet Church of the godless authority, they continue to come into the open churches and pray with tears before miracle-working icons. These are people with souls which did not yet reach the spiritual understanding of religion. The comfort of their souls they take as spiritual sacraments of grace.

The fifth group consists of those who personally did not speak with the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Soviet Church, and, therefore, are ignorant of the essence of that church. The majority of these people, familiar with some of the facts published in the USSR in different declarations, signed seemingly unknowingly, suppose that everything that was announced in the names of the “patriarchs” Sergius and Alexis or printed in the official church press are just plain lies, manufactured by the Soviet authority. Therefore, not accusing the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Soviet church personally, but not accepting in their hearts what the anti-christ authority says in their name— this group, even though they went into the catacombs, still continues to commemorate the names of the highest prelates in their secret liturgies. But the ones who have had the opportunity to personally speak with the representatives of the highest hierarchy know that the latter are freely and consciously in solidarity with the Soviet authority and are sincerely defending the unnatural friendship of Christ’s Church with the antichrist state."

- Professor I.M. Andreyev

Archimandrite Michael (Kostiuk) of Kiev! - please see the post immediately above!

Concerning the Martyric death of Archimandrite Michael (Kostiuk) of Kiev:

The Elder often said that no-one would know where his grave would be. And so it turned out. He knew both the day and the hour when they would arrest him. On the eve he said to his novice:

"Tomorrow come with your cassock. We shall have 'guests'!"

He arrived as the Elder had ordered him, suspecting nothing. At the appointed hour the Elder himself put on his cassock and ordered his novice to put his on... And then came the chekists:

"Are you (surname, Christian name, patronymic)?"

"Yes."

"And who is this?"

"This is my secretary, Hieromonk (such-and-such)."

The procurator's order for his arrest was read out. And they led them away to the MGB (KGB) prison. In the "order of investigation" the Elder underwent repeated beatings in a particular place with rubber hoses. And when the hands of those who were beating him became tired, they continued with their feet. After this beating the Elder lost consciousness. In this condition they carried him into a one-man cell where they left him motionless. When he came to, he was unable to stand and was tormented by a terrible thirst. Days passed and he began to move... And they again subjected him to beating until loss of consciousness. This was repeated several times.

This was a specially premeditated and refined method of execution. They were killing the holy Elder slowly. They suspected that he was of royal descent... And this slow killing was carried out in the following manner. They placed him face downwards on the floor. His hands were spread out in the shape of a cross, one on the right and the other on the left. There were four executioners. One was stationed on each hand. These people changed places. While two were beating, two were standing on the hands of the Elder, resting. They bared his spine, pulling his cassock over his head. But when the hands of all four were tired, they beat him with their feet. At this point the Elder lost consciousness.

The Elder himself related all this to someone before he died.

On November 25, 1944, according to a Resolution of a Special Conference of the People’s Commissar of Interior Affairs of the USSR, Archimandrite Michael was sentenced to be shot and all his personal property confiscated.

The sentence was carried out on December 21, 1944. There are indications that Archimandrite Michael was a secret bishop.

This text is appearing here for the 1st time ever (in non-video format) in the English language!

May we have the holy prayers of the Martyred Bishop Sergius of the Russian Orthodox Catacomb Church!

https://catacombhistory.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-life-of-assassinated-bishop-sergius.html

Blogspot

A Life of the assassinated Bishop Sergius (Kudryavtsev), †1955

A blog featuring the history and teachings of the Russian Orthodox Catacomb Church.

A text from Professor Andreyev. I don't believe this exists in English YET!

https://eshatologia.org/apostasia/bolshevizm/statii/rech-na-vladimirskom-prazdnike-12-25-iyulia-1954

"Orthodox Christians! Stand up against the power of the red Antichrist! Do not listen to anyone's calls to reconcile with him, no matter from whom these calls come! There is no peace between Christ and Satan. By the authority given to me by God, I absolve and release all believers from the oath given to the Soviet self-proclaimed government, for Christians are not subjects of Satan. With the power given to me from God, I bless every weapon that is raised against the red Satanic power, and I forgive the sins of all who, in the ranks of the rebel squads or as a lone avenger of the people, lay down their lives for the cause of Russia and Christ."

- Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky of blessed memory

Saints Daniel Bondarenko, Onesimus, and Arsenius Kordi (this is the same Archimandrite Arsenius who is mentioned in the Life of St. Joseph of Petrograd and who dug out the underground church at which Vladyka served in Alma Ata - see the Life of St. Joseph of Petrograd in "Russia's Catacomb Saints")

Note: I'm not sure who is who in this picture. The names are not necessarily in any order.

Woe and alas! - may this not occur to any of us!

A. V. Krivolutsky, the son of the well-known Catacomb Confessor Fr. Vladimir Krivolutsky, writes:

"... we are reminded of a story about one Staretz, likewise being a bustling and very paternal individual, who was firmly convinced that the basis of his assiduous activities was his genuine love of his neighbor. This tireless staretz believed in this up to his final days. The townspeople regarded him as a great ascetic for his philanthropic acts and loved him dearly. Countless numbers of people shed tears after his death… However, the Lord said to the Angel of Death: 'Take his soul and agonize it for it gave Me no rest for one minute during his lifetime.'"

In general one may say that the unparalleled sufferings of contemporary Russia have caused many of us to be rather too loose with our use of the words “martyr” and “confessor”. These words have specific meaning for Orthodox Christians: they refer to those who consciously suffer and die for Christ and His True Church, not for “humanity” or “Christianity in general” or even for “Orthodoxy” if it is not true Orthodoxy.

- Fr. Seraphim Rose of blessed memory

(Source: "The Catacomb Tikhonite Church 1974" as found in "The Orthodox Word", #59, Nov.-Dec. 1974)