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the holy new martyrs of eastern russia - Coptic Orthodox teaching

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273<br />

Holiness Patriarch Tikhon as a candidate in <strong>the</strong> event <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> death <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Patriarch, myself, Cyril and Anthony [Khrapovitsky, metropolitan <strong>of</strong> Kiev<br />

and first President <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Russian Church Abroad?].'<br />

"Joseph was sent by <strong>the</strong> Patriarch to Leningrad, but when Sergius took<br />

over <strong>the</strong> administration, he sent Alexis <strong>the</strong>re, <strong>the</strong> one who is now<br />

metropolitan in Leningrad. But Joseph was imprisoned and sent into exile,<br />

while Alexis ruled in Leningrad until he was appointed Patriarch. A year after<br />

Agathangel, Cyril also completed his term in exile and arrived in Kazan. Then<br />

Tuchkov arrived in Kazan from Metropolitan Sergius and asked Cyril to<br />

withdraw his candidature. He did not agree and was immediately sent for<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r ten years in exile."<br />

According to one (dubious) source, Vladyka Peter took part in <strong>the</strong> so-called<br />

“Nomadic Council” <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Catacomb Church, which took place in various<br />

places between March and August, 1928. He signed <strong>the</strong> decisions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

Council through <strong>the</strong> priest John (Lysenko?). However, he did not accept its<br />

eleventh canon, which decreed that <strong>the</strong> “worshippers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Name <strong>of</strong> God”<br />

had been unjustly excluded from <strong>the</strong> Church and should be received “with<br />

honour, as confessors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Faith”.<br />

In December, 1928, Bishop Peter fell ill with an unknown disease, and in<br />

<strong>the</strong> same month, as he writes, "I was arrested [in connection with <strong>the</strong> Ufa<br />

branch <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> True <strong>Orthodox</strong> Church] and taken to <strong>the</strong> GPU in Ufa.”<br />

According to Nina Ivanovna Pashko, he was accused <strong>of</strong> reading prayers over<br />

sick people in church, and <strong>the</strong>y demanded money from him. “I could not go<br />

up <strong>the</strong> stairs, and <strong>the</strong> GPU carried me on <strong>the</strong>ir arms. 7 people were arrested<br />

with me: Priest John Lysenko, who served in Chetveropetrovsk, Cosmas<br />

Panchenko, who served in Kuznetsovskaya, Michael Panchenko, who served<br />

in Ryazanovskaya; four nuns: Maria Smolnikova, Aleutina Mikhailovna,<br />

Vera Salnikova and Christine Pashko. We were in prison from December,<br />

1928. In April, 1929, a show trial was carried out on us; it began on <strong>the</strong><br />

Monday <strong>of</strong> Holy Week and continued every day for <strong>the</strong> whole week. On Holy<br />

Saturday at 6 p.m. <strong>the</strong>y read out <strong>the</strong> sentence: for Maria Smolnikova and<br />

myself - two [three] years imprisonment followed by five years free exile<br />

outside Bashkiria; for John Lysenko - one year; for Cosmas and Michael<br />

Panchenko - one year and five months; for Aleutina Mikhailovna and<br />

Christine Panko - six months. The priest John Lysenko and <strong>the</strong> Panchenkos<br />

completed <strong>the</strong>ir tems and were freed, while Maria and I were freed after one<br />

year and nine months in prison.<br />

"270 <strong>of</strong> us were put into one barracks. They read out a list <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sentences<br />

and declared:<br />

"'Go to whatever town you want and feed yourselves at your own expense.<br />

And look for flats yourselves.'<br />

273

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