A martyr is someone who, when faced with the choice of renouncing his or her faith or death, chooses death. A "“confessor"” is someone who endures great suffering rather than renounce the faith, although without dying as a result. We need to be reminded of this, for we live in a time when there are people who strap explosives to themselves, and go into public places and detonate the explosives, killing themselves and as many others as they can manage --– and who are considered to be "“martyrs"” for their cause. It is not so for Christians. Our example is our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, at the time of His arrest, told His disciples (one of whom had drawn a sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest), "“Do you not know that the Father would send me twelve legions of angels if I asked for them in prayer?"” Our example is the Lord Jesus, Who spoke not a word of hatred or reproach for those who falsely accused Him, who beat Him, or who mocked Him. Our example is our Lord Jesus Who, as He was dying for the life of the world on the Cross, prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
The New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia are also examples for us, for they suffered greatly, and so bore witness to Christ, and did not deny Him, or renounce their faith. They suffered the single greatest, and most persistent and perfidious, persecution ever to attempt to destroy the Church. Every brutality that might come to the human mind, every depravity, every cruelty, was practiced on those whose only "“crime"” was that they would not depart from their faith in God. We need to be reminded of this, for we live in a place where we have enjoyed freedom and prosperity, where suffering is not something to be embraced, but avoided. When one has all the material comforts, it is not easy to prepare to suffer; it is not easy to contemplate martyrdom.
Our freedom to worship is dependent upon the state; and if the power of the state is turned against us, as it was in Russia after the revolutions in 1917, how will we fare? It isn't likely that the persecutions will be as overt and brutal as took place in Russia; but we should not ever think that, "It can't happen here."” There are already efforts being made to change the status that churches have in our society. We hear increasingly that we have no "“right"” to go to the government to enact laws that express Christian morality. We hear increasingly that we have no right to speak out about moral conditions in our society; the day is coming when warning people about the dangers of sin will be a crime against the state. It won'’t begin with prisons and camps; it will begin with lawsuits, by which they will take away our buildings; and when we try to meet in homes, or in some other place, we will find ourselves in violation of some other law. And, if we persist in speaking the Truth of our salvation in Christ, and of the way that God desires us to live, we will be silenced in one way or another --– and then there will be prisons and camps for the faithful. It may not come in this generation; but we must never think that it will never come to pass.
What, then, can we do to prepare? We must fully embrace the Orthodox way of life. We must pray: publicly, as we do here today, and privately, in our prayer corners. We must fast, so that we not only weaken our flesh and its desire to satisfy the passions, but also to strengthen us to do without. We must give; and we must struggle to overcome our passions. We must study the Scriptures, and the services of the Church, and the teachings of the fathers, and the lives of the saints, so that these are so written in our lives that, should every book be confiscated and destroyed, our faith and Church and way of life will still go on. We must love and care for each other; and we must do our best to bring others the light of the kingdom and the love of God, so that they also will join us in the labor to save our souls.
Brothers and sisters, there is one more thing we need to do, as we remember the testimony of faith we have received from the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Let us pray and ask them to guide our hierarchs to know and do the will of God with regard to the healing of the suffering and divided Russian Orthodox Church. Ask them, if the current plan is pleasing to God, to allow it to go forward; and if it is not, to reveal to our hierarchs the way, and the time, that God desires. For in the days to come, we will need the strength of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia to help us remain faithful in a time of troubles; so let us ask now, and follow their example.
Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, pray to God for us!
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