the holy new martyrs of eastern russia - Coptic Orthodox teaching

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Monastery, Hieromonk Simeon, had arrived to carry out an investigation of
the affair of Archimandrite Augustine and an inspection of the character of
his administration. From July 24 the commission, joined by Archimandrite
Augustine, Igumen Polycarp, the treasurer Hieromonk Demetrius and
Hieromonks Raphael and George, set about their business. At the same time
Hieromonk Simeon began interrogating the whole brotherhood about the life
and behaviour of Archimandrite Augustine. The work of the commission and
Hieromonk Simeon lasted for several days. They brought to light a mass of
malpractices and filth which soon appeared in the columns of the
"Nizhegorod workers' and peasants' broadsheet".
"August came without anything of note happening. We received obscure
and confused rumours about the fate of the arrested Archimandrite
Augustine, but it never entered the head of anyone to think that this sad story
might have a bloody dénouement. It became known that he was being
accused, not because of the character of his monastic administration, nor even
for malpractices in that connection, but for counter-revolutionary activity
amidst the peasants of the settlements surrounding the monastery.
Unfortunately, just at the moment that Archimandrite Augustine was under
arrest, the attempt on the life of Lenin and the assassination of Uritsky took
place. In response to this there burst out a universal terror, the red terror, and
shootings began everywhere. This circumstance had a decisive influence on
the bitter fate of the unfortunate Augustine, too, which is testified by the
fragmentary information supplied by various people, among them myself
now. They recount that after Augustine had been transferred to prison, he
together with an ardent monarchist (Protopriest Nicholas Orlovsky of the
Kazan church in Nizhni-Novgorod) who was under arrest with him, and
another priest, celebrated the Liturgy together in the prison church around
the feast of the Dormition. This was his last priestly act.
"On the night of August 17-18 he appeared before the bench of the
military-revolutionary tribunal.
"'Do you recognise Soviet power?' he was asked.
"'I do not recognise it and never will recognise it!'
"With this reply Archimandrite Augustine signed his own death sentence.
By the decision of the military-revolutionary tribunal, he, Protopriest
Nicholas Orlovsky and 15 other people whom I do not know were sentenced
to shooting, and the so-called "Mochalny island", which was downstream
along the Volga a little below the Caves monastery, was assigned as the place
of execution.
"At dawn all those doomed to die were seated in a ferry which sailed to the
fateful spot. All the unfortunates were in an state of exaltation, animatedly
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