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the holy new martyrs of eastern russia - Coptic Orthodox teaching

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*<br />

Nun Charitina (Ivanovna Denezhkina) was born in 1888 in <strong>the</strong> village <strong>of</strong><br />

Kondratyevo, Nizhegorod province, and received an elementary education.<br />

At <strong>the</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1930s she was arrested in a group case and sentenced<br />

to three years’ exile and sent to Kolpashevo region, Narymsk district. She<br />

took part in a secret monastery at Iltsevka. At <strong>the</strong> beginning <strong>of</strong> 1933 she was<br />

arrested for being “a participant in a counter-revolutionary monarchistinsurgent<br />

organization <strong>of</strong> churchpeople”, and on April 22 was sentenced to<br />

five years in <strong>the</strong> camps and sent to a camp. Nothing more is known about her.<br />

*<br />

Hieromonk Seraphim was serving in <strong>the</strong> village <strong>of</strong> Kobylino, Arzamas<br />

region, Nizhni-Novgorod province. He was a very kind and humble man, and<br />

had already been in prison. Once, not earlier than <strong>the</strong> 1930s, some people<br />

rushed into <strong>the</strong> house where he lived, bound up <strong>the</strong> woman who owned it<br />

and in a savage and bestial way mutilated Fr. Seraphim, tearing out all his<br />

intestines with a machine tool. After this Fr. Seraphim remained alive for a<br />

while and died after he had received Holy Unction and Communion from<br />

ano<strong>the</strong>r priest who arrived. He k<strong>new</strong> who his tormentors were, but did not<br />

name <strong>the</strong>m.<br />

*<br />

Anastasia, better known as “Nastya <strong>the</strong> cross-eyed”, lived in Diveyevo.<br />

She was also called “wonderful” because <strong>of</strong> her joyful disposition and<br />

unpredictable behaviour. In 1929 <strong>the</strong> Bolsheviks tried to remove <strong>the</strong> bells<br />

from <strong>the</strong> Kazan ca<strong>the</strong>dral. A large crowd <strong>of</strong> disturbed people blocked <strong>the</strong><br />

way. They say that Anastasia hurled a brick at one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> blasphemers. O<strong>the</strong>rs<br />

say that she only spat at him, someone else threw <strong>the</strong> brick. Come what may,<br />

she was arrested. Several women literally hung on <strong>the</strong> arms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> policemen,<br />

trying to tear her away. But she was put into prison in Ardatov. The whole <strong>of</strong><br />

Diveyevo was worried, <strong>the</strong> more since she had children who were left<br />

without supervision. Several years later, in <strong>the</strong> middle <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1930s, she was<br />

released. She lived until <strong>the</strong> first day <strong>of</strong> Pascha, and <strong>the</strong>n died.<br />

*<br />

Priest Simeon, by nationality a Mari, was serving in <strong>the</strong> village <strong>of</strong><br />

Lezhnevo, Sharanga region, Nizhni-Novgorod province. He was arrested in<br />

1930.<br />

Toge<strong>the</strong>r with him was arrested <strong>the</strong> warden <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> church, Ioann Lezhin.<br />

The a<strong>the</strong>ists’ aim was to close <strong>the</strong> church. The warden was accused <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

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