the holy new martyrs of eastern russia - Coptic Orthodox teaching

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Joachim, and, not finding him, asked: “Where is the hierarch?” They replied:
“In the Caves.” They went there and arrested Bishop Laurence.
Vladyka was two months in prison, first in the new palisade, and then in
the old. At that time there were still house churches in the prisons. There they
brought hierarchical vestments for Vladyka, and he served there on feastdays.
There were many people in the cells, but no cots, everyone slept on the floor,
but Vladyka had a bed, and the prisoners believed that whoever lay on
Vladyka’s bed would be released to go home – which was what happened.
Many people asked to rest on his cot. Every day matushka and her relatives
brought him parcels. Vladyka sent back notes, linen and empty bowls. Once
he sent back a worn out prayer rope, requesting that it be exchanged for a
new one. This prayer rope was given to Fr. Barnabas (the future bishop), who
took them and said: “A working prayer rope.”
On October 21 Vladyka was summoned to the Cheka. He went on foot
through the whole city, accompanied by one soldier with a rifle. Along the
road people went up to him and asked for his blessing, while those who
followed him noticed that Vladyka often took out a handkerchief and,
evidently, wept. Passing a church, he stopped. It was the church’s patronal
feast, and the all-night vigil was in progress. Some of the worshippers came
out, and Vladyka blessed them.
Until then there had been no interrogations. But now they accused him of
writing an appeal to the people at a conference of the clergy in the summer, in
which the following words of the Apostle Paul were quoted: “Put on the
whole armour of God”. His signature was under the appeal as being the
president of the conference. Protopriest Alexis Alexandrovich Porfiriev, the
superior of the cathedral, had also signed as deputy president. They were
summoned together.
Fr. Alexis was born in 1856 in Simbirsk province. He came from a large
peasant family, and was the son of a reader. A great man of prayer, he
especially venerated the icon of the Mother of God, “The Joy of All Who
Sorrow”. He went to Simbirsk theological seminarcy and St. Petersburg
Theological Academy, graduating in 1882. Then he went to serve as a teacher
in the Nizhni-Novgorod theological seminary. He was an active member of a
missionary anti-schismatic brotherhood in the name of the Holy Prince
George Vsevolodovich. In 1886 he was ordained to the priesthood, and went
to serve in the Verkhneposadskaya church of St. Nicholas in Nizhni-
Novgorod province. In 1888 he had very successful talks with Old Ritualists
in the church of the theological seminary. On July 15, 1893 he was appointed
rector of the cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael in Nizhni-Novgorod,
with promotion to the rank of protopriest. In 1901 he was head of the second
diocesan missionary congress, and in 1902 was appointed a member of the
Consistory for the affairs of the Old Ritualist schism. On April 12, 1905 he was
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