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the holy new martyrs of eastern russia - Coptic Orthodox teaching

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131<br />

since <strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> Patriarch Tikhon he had submitted to Metropolitan Peter,<br />

although he considered Metropolitan Cyril to be <strong>the</strong> lawful heir <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

patriarchal throne.<br />

The o<strong>the</strong>r prisoners conducted <strong>the</strong>mselves with similar courage. Thus<br />

Bishop Nectarius at his interrogation on June 5, 1931 said that after arriving in<br />

Kazan in 1928 he had begun to mix with <strong>the</strong> exiled priest Volokitin, who did<br />

not recognize Metropolitan Sergius, that <strong>the</strong>y had visited each o<strong>the</strong>r, but that<br />

<strong>the</strong>y did not constitute one whole and had not conducted any counterrevolutionary<br />

activity. He did not deny that he had mixed with <strong>the</strong> three<br />

nuns.<br />

Nun Eugenia (Alexandrovna Antipina) was born in 1880 in <strong>the</strong> village <strong>of</strong><br />

Vyatskie Polyany, Vyatka province, and received an elementary education.<br />

She lived in Kazan, and worked as a milliner at home. She illegally<br />

reproduced and distributed <strong>the</strong> sermons and letters <strong>of</strong> Archbishop Andrew<br />

among <strong>the</strong> believers. In 1925 she was arrested and exiled “for distributing <strong>the</strong><br />

counter-revolutionary appeals <strong>of</strong> Archbishop Andrew Ukhtomsky”, but in<br />

January, 1928 she was released because <strong>of</strong> her health and after promising not<br />

to leave <strong>the</strong> city. On August 30, 1930 she was arrested in connection with a<br />

group case, and on January 5, 1932 was sentenced to three years’ exile and<br />

sent to <strong>the</strong> north. Nothing more is known about her.<br />

Her daughter, Nun Olga (Mikhailovna Antipina), was born in 1910 in Ufa<br />

into a merchant’s family, and received a secondary education. In 1925 she was<br />

arrested and exiled with her mo<strong>the</strong>r “for distributing <strong>the</strong> counterrevolutionary<br />

appeals <strong>of</strong> Archbishop Andrew Ukhtomsky”, but in 1930, after<br />

returning from exile, and being forbidden to live in six places, she settled in<br />

Kazan. On August 30, 1930 she was arrested in connection with a group case<br />

<strong>of</strong> churchmen, and was accused that: “toge<strong>the</strong>r with her mo<strong>the</strong>r she took an<br />

active part in anti-Soviet activity in a group <strong>of</strong> ‘Grigorians’ and joined <strong>the</strong><br />

Kazan branch <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> All-Union church-monarchist organization, <strong>the</strong> True<br />

<strong>Orthodox</strong> Church”. On October 15, 1930 she wrote <strong>the</strong> following in her own<br />

hand in <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> investigator: “To <strong>the</strong> question who is my spiritual<br />

fa<strong>the</strong>r and whe<strong>the</strong>r I confessed with Bishop Andrew I cannot answer since I<br />

consider that <strong>the</strong> sphere <strong>of</strong> my personal life does not belong to <strong>the</strong> jurisdiction<br />

<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> OGPU. Consequently my attitude to <strong>the</strong> existing order, “<strong>the</strong> socialist<br />

construction”, has not yet been established, since I am now interested in<br />

questions <strong>of</strong> religion, and not politics. I have been at <strong>the</strong> Volokitins, and was<br />

present at <strong>the</strong> kind <strong>of</strong> services that are standard in <strong>the</strong> <strong>Orthodox</strong> Church.<br />

Moreover, I categorically declare that I personally know <strong>of</strong> no meetings in <strong>the</strong><br />

indicated house except prayer meetings. I consider <strong>the</strong> preaching <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Christian <strong>teaching</strong>, as well as everything decreed in <strong>the</strong> Gospel as obligatory<br />

for myself, except in <strong>the</strong> case envisaged by <strong>the</strong> words: ‘Cast not your pearls<br />

before swine’.” At <strong>the</strong> next interrogation she said: “The OGPU has itself<br />

violated <strong>the</strong> acting laws <strong>of</strong> Soviet power on freedom <strong>of</strong> conscience and<br />

131

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