CANONIZATION OF NEW MARTYRS
IN THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

V. A. Orlovskiy (archimandrite Damaskin)

Synodal Commission on Canonization of Saints,
Russian Orthodox Church

The article examines the canonization of new martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, presented by the author as a historically significant phenomenon of the twentieth century in its religious, philosophical, and moral aspects. Analyzing the problem in a historical perspective, the author demonstrates the fundamental similarities in essential identity between the martyrs of antiquity and the new martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, manifested in the confession of faith, spiritual content, and personal qualities of the victims in the years of repression. The system and methods for collecting evidence for possible canonization have changed in the late twentieth century because of the peculiarities of this epoch. The obvious complication of social relations in the twentieth century, the unprecedented state control over individuals, and the ideologization of all aspects of life significantly hampered the Church in its assessment of believers’ life trajectories. Under these circumstances a thorough assessment of the Orthodox ascetic path, historically and ethically justified, is possible only through a scholarly approach. In this regard, this article and its extensive bibliography fill lacunas in Russian historiography.

Keywords: Russian Orthodox Church, canonization, new martyrs, repressions, clergy, judicial investigative cases, archival documents, Russia, twentieth century.

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