Bienheureux LEONID IVANOVIČ FËDOROV, évêque et martyr

 

Леонид Федоров, настенная роспись в Унивской Лавре

Icona di Fëdorov nella chiesa di Sant'Antonio presso il Russicum

Bienheureux Léonide Féodorov

Martyr (+ 1935)

Né dans une famille orthodoxe, il fut reçu à Rome dans la pleine communion catholique. Il fit alors ses études à Rome puis à Fribourg et fut ordonné prêtre en Bosnie en 1913, selon le rite oriental de l'Église gréco-catholique. Devenu moine studite, il retourne à Saint Petersbourg, où il est arrêté et déporté en Sibérie. Il en revient en 1917, reçoit la charge d'exarque de la communauté catholique. Il est arrêté à nouveau en 1923, envoyé au camp de Solovsky au Grand Nord puis déporté au camp de travaux forcés de Vladka (maintenant Kirov) en Sibérie. Il y succombera après douze ans de détention pour sa fidélité au Christ et à l'unité de l'Église. Le procès de sa béatification a été entamé en 1937. Il a été béatifié à Lviv par Jean-Paul II le 27 juin 2001.

Au camp de travaux forcés de Vladka (maintenant Kirov) en Sibérie, l'an 1935, le bienheureux Léonide Féodorov, prêtre et martyr. Né dans une famille orthodoxe, il fut reçu à Rome dans la pleine communion catholique et, devenu moine studite, puis exarque de la communauté catholique, il succomba après douze ans de détention pour sa fidélité au Christ et à l'unité de l'Église.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10739/Bienheureux-L%C3%A9onide-F%C3%A9odorov.html

Bienheureux Leonid FEODOROV

Nom: FEODOROV (FËDOROV)

Prénom: Leonid

Nom de religion: Leonid

Pays: Russie

Naissance: 04.11.1879  à Saint-Petersbourg

Mort: 07.03.1935  à Vladka

Etat: Prêtre -Exarque - Moine Studite - Martyr du Groupe des 25 martyrs d'Ukraine  2

Note: Orthodoxe russe, il quitte son séminaire en 1902 et vient à Rome où il devient catholique. Prêtre de rite oriental en 1911. Moine au monastère de Saint Théodore le Studite en Bosnie en 1913. Il revient à Saint-Pétersbourg. Emprisonné en Sibérie, libéré en 1917. Exarque de l'Église catholique russe de rite oriental. En 1923 il est déporté aux îles Solovky et à Vladka où il meurt en martyr de la foi, le 7 mars 1935.

Béatification: 27.06.2001  à Lviv (Ukraine)  par Jean Paul II

Canonisation:

Fête: 27 juin

Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano: 2001 n.26 p.1-5  -  n.27 p.9-10  -  n.28 p.12  -  n.29 p.2.5

Réf. dans la Documentation Catholique: 2001 n.15 p.747-749

Notice

Leonid (Léonide) Fëdorov (Feodorov) naît le 4 novembre 1879 à Saint-Pétersbourg dans une famille orthodoxe russe. En 1902 il quitte son séminaire orthodoxe et fait un voyage à Rome où il devient catholique. Il étudie à Anonia, Rome et Fribourg. Le 25 mars 1911, il reçoit l'ordination sacerdotale dans le rite oriental en Bosnie. C'est là qu'en 1913 il devient moine au monastère de Saint Théodore le Studite. Il revient à Saint-Pétersbourg. Au bout d'un certain temps, il est arrêté et envoyé en Sibérie. A sa libération, en 1917, il est nommé Exarque de l'Église catholique russe de rite oriental. En 1923, il est arrêté une seconde fois. Condamné à 10 ans de déportation, il est envoyé aux îles Solovky sur la Mer Blanche et à Vladka. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 7 mars 1935. En 1937, son procès de béatification est entrepris avec l'appui du métropolite André Sheptytsky.

SOURCE : https://www.bibliotheque-monastique.ch/bibliotheque/bibliotheque/saints/hagiographie/fiches/f0555.htm

MARTYRS D'UKRAINE

(1919-1973)

Bx Nicolas Charnetsky et 24 compagnons

NOTE INTRODUCTIVE

Ces martyrs appartiennent à l'Église grecque-catholique ukrainienne de rite oriental, excepté le bienheureux Léonid Fedorov, exarque des catholiques russes de rite byzantin, mais les démarches en vue de sa béatification ont été conduites par le métropolite ukrainien André Sheptytsky.

CONTEXTE HISTORIQUE

Kiev est le berceau du christianisme en Europe orientale. Cette terre est évangélisée par des missionnaires venus de Constantinople. En 988, le Prince Wladimir se fait baptiser à Kiev avec son peuple. C'est de là que la foi et la civilisation chrétienne se répandent dans l'Orient européen, région à vocation œcuménique pour une Europe invitée à respirer "avec ses deux poumons" comme autrefois. Au 20e siècle la majorité des Ukrainiens est orthodoxe. Les catholiques se trouvent surtout dans la région de Lviv à l'Ouest. Dans ce pays charnière vivent également de nombreux Juifs, des protestants et des Musulmans; tous ont subi les vicissitudes de l'histoire de ce siècle terrible: les deux guerres mondiales, la rivalité entre la Russie et la Pologne sur son territoire, la domination tyrannique et sanguinaire de deux régimes athées: le communisme et le nazisme. On se rappelle en particulier que Staline a réussi à faire de l'Ukraine, ce "grenier de l'Europe", un pays où les affamés moururent par millions. D'autre part il a rattaché de force les catholiques Ukrainiens à l'Église orthodoxe. Nombreux sont ces martyrs qui ont donnés leur vie par fidélité à Rome.

En 1986, une épreuve d'un autre ordre marque le pays: la catastrophe de Tchernobyl dont les conséquences se font sentir encore actuellement. Sans effusion de sang, l'Ukraine a pu se libérer du joug soviétique, peu après avoir célébré solennellement le millénaire de son baptême en 1988, et depuis 10 ans, l'Église catholique Ukrainienne connaît un extraordinaire essor des vocations, mais le pays souffre d'une crise morale et économique et les jeunes, en particulier, émigrent en masse.

Le voyage et les béatifications de Jean Paul II

Jean Paul II a visité l'Ukraine du 23 au 27 juin 2001 pour encourager ses habitants. "Je rends grâce à Dieu qui a rendu possible ce pèlerinage qui me tenait tant à cœur. Il a voulu être un acte d'hommage à ce peuple, à sa longue et glorieuse histoire de foi, de témoignage et de martyre." (Audience Générale du 4 juillet 2001).

Le 26 juin il a béatifié en rite latin:

Joseph BILCZEWSKI

Au terme du synode des évêques sur l’Eucharistie, clôturant l’Année eucharistique voulue par Jean Paul II, le Pape Benoît XVI, son successeur, canonise le Dimanche 23 octobre 2005 (Dimanche des Missions) cinq Bienheureux qui se sont distingués par leur dévotion eucharistique, notamment Saint Joseph Bilczewski.

Jozef (Joseph) Bilczewski naît en 1860 à Wilamowice, près de Kety, à l'époque diocèse de Cracovie, aujourd'hui de Bielesko-Zywiec (Ukraine). La région faisait alors partie de l'Autriche-Hongrie et aujourd’hui de l’Ukraine. Il est l'aîné d'une famille de paysans comptant neuf enfants. Il fait ses classes élémentaires à Wilamowice et à Kety, puis fréquente le lycée de Wadowice (ville natale de Jean Paul II) où il obtient le baccalauréat en 1880. Il entre au séminaire de Cracovie et il est ordonné prêtre en 1884. Dès les premières années de son sacerdoce, il cultive une passion ardente pour la vérité qui le conduit à faire, de la recherche théologique, une voie originale pour traduire en comportements concrets le commandement de l'amour envers Dieu. En même temps il témoigne d'un grand amour envers le prochain. En 1886, il obtient un doctorat en théologie à l'université de Vienne. Il poursuit ses études à Rome et à Paris où il se spécialise dans la théologie dogmatique et l'archéologie chrétienne. En 1890 il entre à l'université Jagellone de Cracovie et l'année suivante à celle de Jean Casimir de Lviv: il est professeur de théologie dogmatique. Doyen puis recteur de l'université (1900), il est l'auteur de nombreux ouvrages d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'Église. Avec ses collègues professeurs et ses étudiants, il cultive des rapports respectueux et cordiaux et ceux-ci lui rendent en retour grande estime et affection. Malgré son jeune âge, il acquiert une renommée de scientifique. Le Pape Benoît XVI dans son homélie de canonisation note que c’est un homme de prière : « La Messe, la Liturgie des Heures, la méditation, le chapelet et les autres exercices de piété scandent ses journées. Un temps particulièrement long est consacré à l’adoration eucharistique. » On l’appelle ‘l’apôtre de l’eucharistie’.

Ses capacités extraordinaires d'esprit et de cœur poussent des gens influents à demander à l'Empereur d'Autriche François-Joseph de le présenter au Saint Père comme candidat au siège métropolitain de Lviv alors vacant. Le Pape Léon XIII agrée favorablement cette requête et le nomme Archevêque de rite latin de Lviv en 1900. Il propage la doctrine sociale de l'Église, fonde des journaux et des revues, et soutient les mouvements naissants de protection sociale des ouvriers. Au cours de ses 23 années de service pastoral éclate la grande guerre de 1914-18. Lors de la guerre polono-ukrainienne (1918-1919) il s’emploie à faire cesser les luttes fratricides entre les deux populations. Puis c'est l'invasion bolchevique (1919-20) qui se déchaîne avec toute sa furie contre l'Église catholique, et enfin la guerre polono-soviétique (1920-21) dont l'Ukraine est l'un des enjeux. Entre 1918 et 1920, l'Archidiocèse perd environ 120 prêtres. Période de grandes souffrances où l'Évêque intervient souvent auprès des autorités pour défendre Polonais, Ukrainiens ou Juifs. Il encourage les fidèles et secourt tous les pauvres, sans distinction de race, de confession ou de rite. Il apparaît vraiment comme "l'icône vivante du Bon Pasteur". Mais sa santé déjà faible est minée par ces événements. Il meurt en 1923 et, comme il l'avait demandé, on l'enterre au cimetière des indigents, lui qui, toute sa vie, a marqué un amour de prédilection pour les pauvres.

Notons que Jean Paul II, comme il l’a rappelé lui-même lors de la béatification, était "dans la lignée de la succession apostolique" du bienheureux: car il a été ordonné évêque par Mgr Eugène Baziak, lui-même ordonné évêque par Mgr Twardowski, lequel avait été ordonné par Mgr Bilczewski.

Sigmund GORAZDOWSKI

Au terme du synode des évêques sur l’Eucharistie, clôturant l’Année eucharistique voulue par Jean Paul II, le Pape Benoît XVI, son successeur, canonise le Dimanche 23 octobre 2005 (Dimanche des Missions) cinq Bienheureux qui se sont distingués par leur dévotion eucharistique, notamment Saint Sigismond Gorazdowski.

Zygmunt (Sigismond) Gorazdowski (Horazdowski), "authentique perle du clergé latin de Lviv" naît en 1845 dans une famille profondément respectueuse des principes chrétiens. Mais il grandit dans un climat de souffrance et d'épreuves. Dès son jeune âge il est atteint d'une grave maladie aux poumons. Voulant aidé ceux qui souffrent comme lui, il entreprend des études de droit, interrompues lorsqu’il entend l’appel au sacerdoce. Entré au grand séminaire de Lviv, il est ordonné, en 1871, malgré son très mauvais état de santé après avoir suivi deux ans de thérapie intensive. En dépit de cet handicap de santé, sa charité extraordinaire le conduit à se consacrer inlassablement aux pauvres. Il exerce son ministère dans différentes villes: Tartakov, Wojnilow, etc. La figure de ce jeune prêtre qui, au mépris du danger de contagion, se prodigue parmi les malades de Wojnilow atteints du choléra est demeurée dans la mémoire des contemporains comme un témoignage vivant de l'amour miséricordieux du Sauveur. Sa passion ardente pour l'Évangile le porte à être présent dans les écoles, dans le domaine de l'édition et dans diverses initiatives catéchétiques. Il publie le "Catéchisme pour le peuple" et "Conseils pour les jeunes" à l’intention des jeunes gens et des jeunes filles. Son activité écrite vise à lutté contre la perte de la foi, spécialement parmi les minorités, ce qui lui vaut de solides inimitiés anticléricales qui le poursuivront toute sa vie. Il exerce un intense ministère pastoral à Lviv pendant de nombreuses années, jusqu'à sa mort. L'évêque de cette ville est Mgr Joseph Bilczewski , canonisé avec lui. Sigmund Goradowski écrit encore "Principes et normes d'éducation", ainsi que d'autres textes au contenu religieux et social. Il fonde l' "Association Bonus Pastor" pour les prêtres. Son action apostolique s'accompagne d'un engagement caritatif sans relâche. Il fonde une "Maison du travail volontaire" pour donner un emploi aux pauvres et aux sans-abri, une Cantine populaire, un "Service d'hospitalisation", un Institut pour séminaristes et étudiants pauvres, une "Maison de l'Enfant-Jésus" pour mères seules et orphelins, une "École catholique Saint-Joseph". Sa créativité et son dévouement dans ce domaine ne connaissent pratiquement pas de limites. Dans le souvenir des fidèles de Lviv, il demeure le "père des pauvres" et le "prêtre des sans-abri". Pour continuer les œuvres de charité qu'il avait entreprises, il fonde le 17 février 1884, la Congrégation des "Sœurs de la Miséricorde de Saint-Joseph", Sœurs tertiaires franciscaines Quant à lui, notait Jean Paul II, il donne l'image d'un "véritable religieux quoique sans vœux particuliers" par le témoignage de sa pleine fidélité au Christ pauvre, chaste et obéissant. Il meurt en 1920, restant pour tous un témoin privilégié de la divine miséricorde.

Le 27 juin il a béatifié en rite byzantin-ukrainien :

Théodore ROMZHA

Teodor (Théodore) Georges Rhomzha naît dans une humble famille le 14 avril 1911 à Velykyj Bychkiv dans la Transcarpathie au Sud-Ouest de l'Ukraine. Enfant joyeux et étudiant très populaire, il étonne tout le monde en annonçant son intention de devenir prêtre. Il part à Rome en 1930 pour se former au "Russicum", collège pontifical créé à la demande de Pie XI, dans le but de se préparer à un travail missionnaire dans la Russie soviétique. Il fréquente aussi l'Université grégorienne. Ordonné prêtre le 25 décembre 1936, il obtient une licence l'année suivante. De retour dans son pays, il est nommé au printemps de 1938 curé de Berezovo dans la région de Chust, prêtre pauvre parmi les pauvres. En mars 1939, après l'occupation des Carpates par les Hongrois alliés aux allemands, le Père Romzha est nommé directeur spirituel et professeur de philosophie au séminaire d'Oujgorod (Uzhorod). Il est ensuite nommé administrateur apostolique de Mukachevo et le 24 septembre 1944 il est ordonné évêque de cette éparchie (ou diocèse). Après avoir subi la main de fer des Nazis de 1941 à 1944, on s'attend d'un moment à l'autre à l'occupation russe, ce qui advient. En 1946, Staline supprime d'autorité l'Église uniate (catholique) et la rattache aux orthodoxes. L'évêque refuse de renier l'union avec le Saint-Siège, et se fait l'infatigable défenseur des droits de l'Église catholique. Il s'oppose aux expulsions de prêtres et à la confiscation des biens du clergé, ce que les Rouges réalisent quand même par la force. Finalement les Soviétiques lui proposent un marché: Ils cesseront leurs persécutions s'il entraîne ses fidèles à rejeter le Vatican pour se rallier au Patriarcat orthodoxe de Moscou. Il refuse de céder à leurs intimidations et encourage au contraire prêtres et fidèles à rester fidèles à Rome. Son exemple contribue au maintien de la foi dans son diocèse et fait de lui un symbole de la résistance. Étant donné qu'il est difficile de trouver une raison même fictive à son arrestation, son assassinat est alors projeté. A l'occasion d'une visite pastorale, il est renversé volontairement dans un accident d'automobile. Grièvement blessé, il est transporté à l'hôpital de Mukacevo. L'Évêque convalescent est empoisonné par le général de la police d'État et ses agents spéciaux et meurt le 1er novembre 1947. Il savait que sa confession de la foi lui coûterait la vie.

Émile KOVCH

Emilian (Émile) Kovch naît le 20 août 1884 à Kosmach près de Kosiv en Ukraine orientale. Son père est un prêtre gréco-catholique de rite oriental. (Dans ce rite il y a des prêtres mariés; le bienheureux Emilian le sera aussi.) Il étudie philosophie et théologie à Lviv, puis à Rome au collège ukrainien et à l'Université urbanienne. Ordonné en 1911, il exerce d'abord son ministère sacerdotal en Galicie  , puis en Bosnie (Yougoslavie) parmi les immigrés ukrainiens. En 1919, il devient aumônier de l'armée ukrainienne engagée contre les troupes bolcheviques. De 1921 à 1941, il est curé à Peremychlyony, village de 5'000 habitants des environs de Lviv. C'est un prêtre plein de zèle et son apostolat est dynamique. Sa maison connue comme "la maison où les anges volent sur le toit" offre toujours un abri aux enfants pauvres et orphelins, bien qu'il ait déjà lui-même six enfants. Au cours de la dure occupation allemande, il se prodigue pour combattre l'anti-sémitisme, car son village est peuplé en majorité de juifs. Il les aide et les baptise en masse sur leur demande pour mettre leur vie à l'abri de la persécution, mais l'occupant interdit cela. Il est arrêté en décembre 1942 et jeté en prison. De nombreuses personnalités, dont le métropolite André Cheptytsky, alors à la tête de l'Église gréco-catholique, font tout leur possible pour obtenir sa libération. Quant à lui, il ne faiblit pas comme en témoigne cet extrait de son interrogatoire par un officier de la Gestapo : "Est-ce que vous saviez qu'il était interdit de baptiser les Juifs?  ― Je n'en savais rien. ― Et maintenant, vous le savez ? ― Oui ― Est-ce que vous continuerez à les baptiser ? ― Bien sûr."

En août 1943, il est transféré dans un camp de concentration à Majdanek. Là il vit une expérience de communion dans la souffrance qui lui fait écrire: "Hormis le ciel, c'est l'unique endroit où je voudrais être. Ici nous sommes tous égaux: les Polonais, les Juifs, les Ukrainiens, les Russes, les Lettoniens et les Estoniens. Je suis le seul prêtre ici. Lorsque je célèbre la liturgie, ils prient tous. Chacun dans sa langue. Mais est-ce que Dieu ne comprend pas toutes les langues? Ici, je vois Dieu, Dieu est le même pour tous, en dépit des différences de religion qui nous séparent." Il écrit aussi: "Priez pour ceux qui ont construit ce camp et le système… Que le Seigneur prenne pitié d'eux." La veille de sa mort il écrit encore aux siens qui faisaient des démarches pour le libérer: "Je vous en prie, ne le faites pas. Hier ils ont tué 50 hommes. Si je n'étais pas là, qui les aiderait à supporter de telles souffrances? Que pourrais-je demander de plus au Seigneur? Ne vous inquiétez pas pour moi. Réjouissez-vous avec moi…" Il meurt brûlé dans les fours crématoires le 25 mars 1944. En 1999, il a été reconnu comme un "Ukrainien juste" par le Conseil des Juifs d'Ukraine.

Josaphata HORDASHEVKA

Michaelina Hordashevska naît en 1869 à Lviv en Ukraine occidentale dans une famille pauvre. A 18 ans, elle fait une retraite avec le Père Jérémie Lomnytsky, qui devient son directeur spirituel. La même année, elle entre au couvent dans un monastère de Sœurs contemplatives de l'ordre basilien, appartenant à une congrégation féminine de rite oriental, la seule existante dans le pays. En 1892, la Congrégation décide de fonder un ordre de religieuses apostoliques. Elle en est la cofondatrice avec le Père Kyrylo Seletsky: c'est la première congrégation féminine de rite byzantin-ukrainien consacrée à l'apostolat actif. Elle est élue pour en être la première Supérieure. Elle prend alors le nom de Josaphata. La sainteté de la bienheureuse consiste à accomplir le devoir quotidien dans l'amour de Dieu et du prochain. Elle entraîne ses jeunes sœurs à "servir leur peuple là où le besoin se révèle le plus grand". En effet, à cette époque, les gens en Ukraine sont pauvres et délaissés matériellement et spirituellement. Le domaine de l'apostolat qui s'ouvre aux Sœurs est très vaste: soin aux malades, écoles maternelles, catéchisme pour enfants et adultes. Elles s'occupent d'églises à l'abandon et de vêtements liturgiques; elles prennent une part active à la vie des paroisses.

Le développement de la Congrégation est merveilleux: au bout de 10 ans, il y a déjà 23 maisons avec 123 Sœurs. Elles se rendent au Canada, en Croatie, au Brésil. (dernière implantation en date: le Kazakhstan). En se remémorant chaque jour le Christ, Sœur Josaphata trouve la force de supporter en paix de nombreux problèmes. Atteinte d'un cancer des os qui la fait terriblement souffrir, elle meurt à 49 ans. Sa tombe se trouve à Rome dans la Maison Généralice.

LE GROUPE DE MARTYRS

Nicolas CHARNETSKY et 24 compagnons :

Nicolas CHARNETSKY

Mykola (Nicolas) Carneckyj (Charnetsky) naît le 14 décembre 1884 à Semakivtsi (district de Horodenka - Ukraine occidentale). En 1903, il entre au séminaire de Stanislaviv (aujourd'hui Ivano-Frankivsk). Durant les années 1903 à 1910, il étudie au Collège ukrainien de Rome, obtenant un doctorat en Théologie. Ordonné prêtre en 1909, il enseigne au séminaire de Stanislaviv, où il est également Père spirituel. En 1919, il entre dans la Congrégation des Missionnaires Rédemptoristes à Zboiska, près de Lviv. En 1926, Pie XI, sur la requête du Métropolite Andriy Sheptytsky, le nomme Visiteur Apostolique pour les grecs-catholiques de Volyn et Polissia, où les structures de l'Église grecque-catholique avaient été détruites par le régime tsariste du 19e siècle. En 1931, il est nommé Ordinaire des catholiques de rite byzantin-slave en Pologne et reçoit l'ordination épiscopale le 8 février 1931 à Rome.

Durant la première occupation bolchevique, le Métropolite Andriy le désigne comme Exarque Apostolique de Volyn et Pidlassia. Le 11 avril 1945, il est arrêté à Lviv par les agents du KGB, avec tous les Évêques grecs-catholiques. Condamné au début à cinq ans de travaux forcés en Sibérie, il passe 11 ans dans les prisons. Il subit des tortures et des humiliations permanentes, qu'il accepte et supporte avec une patience et une sainteté héroïques, priant pour ses compagnons de camp, pour lesquels il est un véritable bon pasteur. En 1956, il est libéré et retourne à Lviv. Mais dans un état de santé grave. Il poursuit son ministère épiscopal à Lviv: de son lit il dirige l'Église des catacombes. Il meurt à Lviv le 2 avril 1959. Dès le début, les fidèles de Lviv le considèrent comme un saint Évêque et un martyr de la foi catholique. Chaque jour, de nombreux fidèles prient sur sa tombe.

Grégoire KHOMYSHYN

Hryhorij (Grégoire) (Khomyshyn naît le 25 mars 1867 à Hadynkivtsi dans la région de Ternopil. Après ses études au séminaire et son ordination sacerdotale, le 18 novembre 1893, il enrichit sa formation théologique en allant étudier à Vienne entre 1894 et 1899. En 1902, le métropolite Andrej Sheptytsky le nomme Recteur du séminaire de Lviv. En 1904, il est nommé évêque de Stanislaviv (actuellement Ivano-Frankivsk) et il reçoit l'ordination épiscopale du même métropolite dans la cathédrale Saint Georges de Lviv. Il est arrêté une première fois en 1939 par le NKVD (KGB). Il est arrêté une seconde fois et déporté à Kiev. Il meurt dans les prisons du NKVD le 17 janvier 1945.

Josaphat KOTSYLOVSKY

Josaphat Kocylovsky naît le 3 mars 1876 au village de Pakoshivka dans la région de Lemko. En 1907 il termine avec succès ses études de théologie à Rome et le 9 octobre de cette année il est ordonné prêtre. Peu après, il est nommé vice-recteur et professeur de théologie au séminaire grec-catholique de Stanislaviv (actuellement Ivano-Frankivsk). Le 2 octobre 1911, il entre au noviciat de l'Ordre basilien de Saint Josephat. Le 23 décembre 1917, il est ordonné évêque à Premeshyl (Przemysl). En septembre 1945, les autorités polonaises communistes l'arrêtent une première fois, puis le relâchent ; ils le reprennent en 1946 et le livrent à l'Union Soviétique. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 17 novembre 1947 à la prison de Kiev.

Symeon LUKACH

Symeon Lukac (Lukach) naît le 7 juillet 1893 à Starunya dans la région de Stanislaviv (aujourd'hui Ivano-Frankivsk). Ses parents sont de simples villageois qui cultivent la terre. En 1913 il entre au séminaire. Ses études sont interrompues pendant 2 ans par la première guerre mondiale, mais il les complète en 1919. La même année, il est ordonné prêtre par le bienheureux évêque Grégoire Khomyshyn. Il enseigne la théologie morale au séminaire d'Ivano-Fankivsk jusqu'en avril 1945, où l'on se doute qu'il a été ordonné secrètement évêque par le même Mgr Khomyshyn. Le 26 octobre 1949, il est arrêté par le NKVD. Il est libéré le 11 février 1955. Il vit et agit alors en évêque de l'Église clandestine. En juillet 1962 il est arrêté une seconde fois et comparaît au tribunal avec le Bienheureux Ivan Slezyuk qui est également évêque clandestin. En prison il contracte la tuberculose, ce qui hâte sa fin, laquelle survient le 22 août 1964.

Basile VELYCHKOVSKY

Vasyl (Basile) Velycovskyj (Velychkovsky) naît le 1er juin 1903 à Stanislaviv (aujourd'hui Ivano-Frankivsk). En 1920, il entre au séminaire grec-catholique de Lviv. Il fait ses premiers vœux de religieux Rédemptoriste à Holosko près de Lviv en 1925 et est ordonné prêtre le 9 octobre 1925. Frère Basile est professeur et missionnaire à Volyn. En 1942, il devient higoumène (Prieur) de son monastère de Ternopil. C'est là qu'il est arrêté en 1945 et emmené à Kiev. Sa peine de mort est commuée en 10 années de travaux forcés. Il retourne à Lviv en 1955. En 1963, il est ordonné secrètement archevêque à Moscou. En 1969, il est emprisonné pour la seconde fois et condamné à une peine de 3 ans. Ce confesseur de la foi, déjà proche de la mort est relâché et autorisé à se rendre à Rome, puis à Winnipeg au Canada où il meurt moins d'un an plus tard, le 30 juin 1973.

Ivan SLEZYUK

Ivan Slezyuk naît le 14 janvier 1896 au village de Zhyvachiv dans la région de Stanislaviv (aujourd'hui Ivano-Frankivsk). Il est ordonné prêtre en 1923. En avril 1945, le bienheureux évêque Grégoire Khomyshyn l'ordonne comme coadjuteur avec droit de lui succéder si lui-même était arrêté par les Bolcheviques. Peu après, le 2 juin 1945, l'évêque Ivan est arrêté et déporté pour 10 ans dans le camp de travail de Vorkuta en Russie (Nord de l'Oural). En 1950 il est transféré dans le camp de travail de Mordovia, toujours en Russie. Il est libéré le 15 novembre 1954 et revient à Ivano-Frankivsk. Il est arrêté pour la seconde fois en 1962 et condamné à 5 ans de régime dur en prison. Il est relâché le 30 novembre 1968, mais il est régulièrement convoqué au KGB pour des “conversations”. La dernière a lieu 2 semaines avant sa mort. Il meurt le 2 décembre 1973 à Ivano-Frankivsk.

Mykyta BUDKA

Mykyta (Nicetas) Budka naît le 7 juin 1877 à Dobromirka dans la région de Zbarazh. En 1905, après avoir obtenu ses diplômes de théologie à Vienne et Innsbruck, il est ordonné prêtre par le métropolite Andrej Sheptytsky. Le 14 octobre 1912, il est consacré évêque à Lviv. La même année il est nommé par le Saint-Siège premier Exarque apostolique (évêque) des Ukrainiens catholiques du Canada. En 1928, il devient évêque auxiliaire de l'archevêque grec-catholique à Lviv. Le 11 avril 1945, le gouvernement communiste l'arrête et le condamne à 8 ans de prison. Il meurt martyr le 1er octobre 1949 dans un camp de concentration à Karaganda, au Kazakhstan.

Grégoire LAKOTA

Hryhory (Grégoire) Lakota naît le 31 janvier 1883 au village de Holodivka dans la région de Lemko. Il étudie la théologie à Lviv et il est ordonné prêtre en 1908 dans la ville de Przemysl. Il obtient un doctorat en théologie à Vienne en 1911. En 1913, il devient professeur au séminaire grec-catholique de Przemysl, puis en devient le recteur. Le 16 mai 1926 il reçoit l'ordination épiscopale et il est nommé évêque auxiliaire de Przemysl. Le 9 juin 1946 il est arrêté et emprisonné pour 10 ans à Vorkuta en Russie. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 12 novembre 1950 au village d'Abez près de Vorkuta.

Leonid FEODOROV

Leonid (Léonide) Fëdorov (Feodorov) naît le 4 novembre 1879 à Saint-Pétersbourg dans une famille orthodoxe russe. En 1902 il quitte son séminaire orthodoxe et fait un voyage à Rome où il devient catholique. Il étudie à Anonia, Rome et Fribourg. Le 25 mars 1911, il reçoit l'ordination sacerdotale dans le rite oriental en Bosnie. C'est là qu'en 1913 il devient moine au monastère de Saint Théodore le Studite. Il revient à Saint-Pétersbourg. Au bout d'un certain temps, il est arrêté et envoyé en Sibérie. A sa libération, en 1917, il est nommé Exarque de l'Église catholique russe de rite oriental. En 1923, il est arrêté une seconde fois. Condamné à 10 ans de déportation, il est envoyé aux îles Solovky sur la Mer Blanche et à Vladka. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 7 mars 1935. En 1937, son procès de béatification est entrepris avec l'appui du métropolite André Sheptytsky.

Nicolas KONRAD

Mykola (Nicolas) Konrad naît le 16 mai 1876 au village de Strusiv dans la région de Ternopil. Il fait ses études philosophiques et théologiques à Rome. Il est ordonné prêtre en 1899 et obtient un doctorat. Il commence par enseigner dans des écoles supérieures à Berezhany et à Terebovlia ; puis en 1930, le métropolite André Sheptytsky l'invite à enseigner à l'Académie théologique de Lviv. Plus tard il lui confie la paroisse du village de Stradch. Il est assassiné non loin de là par les Bolcheviques avec le bienheureux Volodymyr Pryjma. Ils revenaient tous les deux d'une visite à une paroissienne malade qui leur avait demandé les derniers sacrements. C'était le 26 juin 1941.

André ISHCHAK

Andrij (André) Išcak (Ishchak) naît le 23 septembre 1887 à Mycolayix dans la région de Lviv. Il complète ses études théologiques aux universités de Lviv et d'Innsbruck. En 1914 il obtient son doctorat en théologie à l'université d'Innsbruck et il reçoit l'ordination sacerdotale. En 1928 il enseigne à l'université de Lviv tout en étant curé du village de Sykhiv, près de Lviv. C'est là qu'il meurt en martyr de la foi, par les mains des soldats de l'armée soviétique en retraite, le 26 juin 1941.

Roman LYSKO

Roman Lysko naît le 14 août 1914 à Horodok, près de Lviv. Diplômé de l'Académie théologique de Lviv, il passe une jeunesse heureuse avec sa femme au service des jeunes. Le 28 août 1941, il est ordonné prêtre par le métropolite André Sheptytsky. Le 9 septembre 1949, il est arrêté par le NKVD et mis en prison à Lviv. Les gens racontent qu'après avoir été torturé, le jeune Père chanta des psaumes de sa voix la plus forte, et qu'ensuite, il fut emmuré vivant. La date officielle de sa mort est le 14 octobre 1949.

Nicolas TSEHELSKY

Mykola (Nicolas) Cehelskyj (Tsehelsky) naît le 17 décembre 1896 au village de Strusiv près de Ternopil. En 1923, il est diplômé du département de théologie de l'université de Lviv et il est ordonné prêtre 2 ans plus tard, le 5 avril 1925, par le métropolite André Sheptytsky. Chargé de la paroisse du village de Soroko, c'est un prêtre zélé qui prend soin de la vie spirituelle, de l'éducation et du bien-être de ses paroissiens. Il construit une nouvelle église. Après la 2e guerre mondiale commence une ère de répression totalitaire. Le Père Nicolas fait personnellement l'expérience d'intimidations, de menaces et de coups, avant d'être arrêté le 28 octobre 1946. Le 17 janvier 1947, il est condamné à 10 ans de prison. Bien qu'il ait une femme, deux fils et deux filles, il est déporté dans un camp de travaux forcés en Moravie. Il connaît des conditions de vie effrayantes dans ce camp connu pour sa rigueur et sa cruauté. Il endure de terribles souffrances et meurt le 25 mai 1951 en martyr de la foi. On l'ensevelit au cimetière du camp.

Petro VERHUN

Petro Verhun naît à Horodok près de Lviv le 18 novembre 1890. Il est ordonné prêtre par le métropolite André Sheptytsky dans la cathédrale Saint Georges à Lviv le 30 octobre 1927. Il est envoyé à Berlin pour s'occuper des grecs-catholiques de cette ville et peu après il devient Visiteur Apostolique pour les catholiques Ukrainiens d'Allemagne. En juin 1945, il est arrêté et envoyé en Sibérie. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 7 février 1957 au village d'Angarski dans le territoire de Krasnoïarsk (Russie).

Oleksa ZARYTSKY

Oleska Zarytscky naît en 1912 au village de Bilche dans la région de Lviv. En 1931 il entre au séminaire de Lviv et en 1936 il est ordonné prêtre par le métropolite André Sheptytsky. En 1948 il est emprisonné pour 10 ans et déporté à Karaganda au Kazakhstan. Après sa libération anticipée en 1957, il est nommé Administrateur Apostolique du Kazakhstan et de Sibérie, mais peu de temps après il est de nouveau emprisonné pour une peine de 3 ans. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 30 octobre 1963 au camp de concentration de Dolynka près de Karaganda (Kazakhstan).

Clément SHEPTYTSKY

Klymentij (Clément) Šeptyckyj (Sheptytsky), le plus jeune frère du métropolite André Sheptytsky, naît le 17 novembre 1869 au village de Prylbychi dans la région de Lviv. En 1911, il entre au monastère de Saint Théodore le Studite, renonçant ainsi à une carrière prometteuse dans le monde. (C'est son frère qui a implanté en Ukraine le monachisme studite.) Il reçoit sa formation théologique à Innsbruck. Le 28 août 1915, il est ordonné prêtre. Pendant longtemps, il est higoumène (prieur) du monastère Studite à Univ, et en 1944 il devient Archimandrite (Abbé). Durant la 2e guerre mondiale il donne refuge à des Juifs persécutés. Le 5 juin 1947, il est arrêté par des agents du NKVD et condamné à 6 ans de travaux forcés. Il meurt en martyr de la foi le 1er mai 1951 à la prison de Vladimir (Nord-est de Moscou).

Severian BARANYK

Severian Baranyk naît le 18 juillet 1889. Il entre le 24 septembre 1904 au monastère de Krekhiv de l'Ordre de Saint Basile le Grand et fait ses vœux perpétuels le 21 septembre 1910. Le 14 février 1915 il est ordonné prêtre. En 1932 il devient higoumène (prieur) du monastère basilien de Drohobych. Le 26 juin 1941, le NKVD l'emprisonne. Ensuite personne ne le revoit vivant. Après le retrait des Bolcheviques, le peuple, en faisant des recherches, retrouve son corps dans la prison, torturé et mutilé.

Joachim SENKIVSKY

Jakym (Joachim) Senkivsky naît le 2 mai 1896 au village de Haji Velyky près de Ternopil. Après avoir accompli ses études théologiques à Lviv, il est ordonné prêtre le 4 décembre 1921. Il poursuit ses études à Innsbruck où il obtient un doctorat en théologie. En 1923, il devient novice de l'ordre basilien à Krekhiv. Après ses premiers vœux, il est transféré au village de Krasno Pushcha, puis à celui de Lavriv. De 1931 à 1938, il occupe des fonctions variées au monastère de Saint Onuphre, à Lviv. En 1939, il est nommé proto-higoumène (sous-prieur) au monastère de Drohobych. C'est là qu'il est arrêté par les autorités communistes le 26 juin 1941 et le 29 juin il meurt torturé à l'eau bouillante dans la prison de Drohobych.

Zénon KOVALYK

Zynovij (Zénon) Kovalyk naît le 18 août 1903 au village d'Ivachev non loin de Ternopil. Il entre dans la Congrégation des Rédemptoristes où il fait ses vœux le 28 août 1926. Il complète sa formation philosophique et théologique en Belgique. Après son retour en Ukraine, il est ordonné prêtre le 4 septembre 1932. Il est nommé à Volyn. Le 21 décembre 1940 il est arrêté par le KGB à cause des sermons qu'il prêchait au monastère des rédemptoristes de Lviv où l'on célébrait une neuvaine en l'honneur de L'Immaculée Conception. En 1941 il est martyrisé par les communistes qui le crucifient par dérision contre un mur, dans la prison de Bryhidky (autrefois couvent de Brigittines) à Lviv.

Vital BAYRAK

Vitalij (Vital) Bajrak (Bayrak) naît le 24 février 1907 au village de Shvaikiytsi dans la région de Ternopil. Le 4 septembre 1924 il entre chez les Basiliens. Il est ordonné prêtre le 13 août 1933. En 1941 il devient Higoumène (supérieur) du monastère de Drohobych. Le 17 septembre 1945, le NKVD l'arrête. Le 13 novembre, ses biens sont confisqués et il est condamné à 8 ans de travaux forcés. Juste avant Pâques 1946, il meurt après avoir été sévèrement battu dans la prison de Drohobych près de Lviv.

Ivan ZIATYK

Ivan (Jean) Ziatik naît le 26 décembre 1899 dans le village d'Odrekhova (aujourd'hui en Pologne). Il est ordonné prêtre en 1923. En 1944 durant l'occupation nazie, il est nommé Higoumène du monastère de Ternopil. Lorsque le Père Provincial Josef de Vocht est expulsé en Belgique(1948), le Père Ivan est nommé Provincial et Vicaire général de l'Église grec-catholique. Il commence alors à être “connu” des autorités. Il est arrêté par les communistes le 5 janvier 1950. Il séjourne d'abord dans la prison de Zolochiv. Ensuite il est déporté en Russie à Ozerlag (Irkoutsk). Il meurt à la suite de tortures.

Tarsykia MATSKIV

Olha Mackiv (Matskiv) naît le 23 mars 1919 au village de Khodoriv dans la région de Lviv. Le 3 mars 1938, elle entre chez les Servantes de Marie-Immaculée. Elle y reçoit le nom de Tarsykia et fait ses premiers vœux le 5 novembre 1940. Prieure de son couvent lors de l'arrivée des communistes à Lviv, elle fait un vœu privé en présence de son directeur spirituel, le Fr. Volodomyr Kovalyk osbm, stipulant qu'elle voulait sacrifier sa vie pour la conversion de la Russie et le bien de l'Église catholique. Les Bolcheviques étaient décidés à détruire le monastère. Dans la matinée du 17 juillet 1944, à 8 h., on sonne à la porte : des soldats russes investissent le couvent et Sœur Tarsykia est tuée par une balle.

Olympia BIDÀ

Olha Bidà naît en 1903 au village de Tsebliv dans la région de Lviv. Elle entre chez les Sœurs de Saint Joseph et prend le nom d'Olympia. Elle sert dans de nombreuses villes ou villages comme catéchiste. Elle est maîtresse des novices et prend soin des personnes âgées et infirmes. Elle a un charisme spécial pour les jeunes et s'occupe personnellement de l'éducation d'un grand nombre de jeunes femmes. Nommée supérieure du couvent de la ville de Kheriv, elle fait de son mieux pour discerner les besoins spirituels et sociaux de la population en dépit de la pression exercée par les communistes pour entraver leur travail. En 1951 elle est arrêtée avec deux autres religieuses, emprisonnée pendant un certain temps, puis envoyée en exil dans la région de Tomsk en Sibérie. Soumise à de rudes travaux forcés, Sœur Olympia essaie de remplir ses devoirs de supérieure auprès de ses Sœurs, faisant venir des Sœurs isolées dans d'autres camps afin de prier et de s'entraider ; mais peu de temps après son arrivée, elle succombe à la maladie et meurt le 28 janvier 1952.

Laurentia HERASYMIV

Leukadia Herasymiv naît le 31 décembre 1911 au village de Rudnyky dans la région de Lviv. En 1931, elle entre chez les Sœurs de Saint-Joseph. Elle y reçoit le nom de Laurentia et fait ses premiers vœux en 1933. En 1951, elle est arrêtée par des agents du KGB et envoyée à Borislav, puis déportée à Tomsk en Sibérie. Bien qu'elle ait une très faible santé, elle partage une chambre avec un paralytique atteint de tuberculose dont personne ne voulait par crainte de la contagion. Tout en supportant avec patience des conditions de vie inhumaines, elle continue à prier intensément. Elle meurt le 28 août 1952 au village de Kharsk dans la région de Tomsk.

Volodymyr PRYJMA

Volodymyr Pryjma naît le 17 juillet 1906 au village de Stradch dans la région de Yavoriv. Après avoir obtenu son diplôme dans une école de chantre patronnée par le métropolite Sheptytsky, il devient chantre et directeur de chœur à la paroisse de Stradch. Le 26 juin 1941, alors qu'il revenait avec le bienheureux Père Nicolas Konrad de visiter une paroissienne malade, ils sont, dans une forêt près du village, torturés sans merci et mis à mort par des agents du NKVD.

Il est le seul laïc parmi les 32 Ukrainiens béatifiés par Jean Paul II à Lviv les 26 et 27 juin 2001.

SOURCE : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/martyrs_ukraine.html

Икона Федора Ромжи в церкви св. Антония

Icona di Fëdorov nella chiesa di Sant'Antonio presso il Russicum

Blessed Leonid Feodorov

Also known as

Father Leontios

Leonid F’odorov

Memorial

7 March

27 June as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe

Profile

Russian Orthodox family and upbringing. His father died when Leonid was very young, and he was raised by his mother, Liubova Dimitrievna. He started his studies in the Orthodox seminary in 1901, but in 1902 he left, travelled to Rome, Italy, and converted to Catholicism.

Studied at Anagni and Rome, and the Freiburg, Germany. Assisted at the coronation of Pope Pope Pius X on 9 August 1903. Doctorate in philosophy in 1905; degree in theology in 1907. Deacon on 22 March 1911, and ordained a Greek Catholic priest on 25 March 1911 in Bosnia. Monk at the Studite monastery in Bosnia, beginning his noviate on 20 May 1912 and admitted to the habit on 12 February 1913, taking the name Father Leontios.

He returned to Saint Petersburg and was immediately arrested for his faith, and sent to Siberia. Released in March 1917 during an amnesty for political and religious prisoners, he returned to Saint Petersburg, and was appointed Exarch of the Russian Greek Catholic Church. The Communist takeover later that year began a period of persecution of the faith and the faithful, with 1922 ushering in the era of violent suppression of Christianity. All churches were ordered closed on 5 December 1922. Father Leontios and fourteen priests were arrested for their faith in January 1923, sent to Moscow for trial; sentenced to ten years exile to Solovky and Vladka.

Released in 1926, he relocated to Kaluga. Arrested again for spreading the faith, he was sentenced to ten years in Solovetsky where a large monastery had been converted to a prison. There he continued to minister to the faithful, conducting covert Masses, using wine made from raisins sent by the families of prisoners. Transferred to forced labour camp at Pinega on 6 August 1929 where he was billeted with an imprisoned Orthodox priest; after work, Leontios conducted catechism class for local boys. Transferred to Arkhangelsk, to Kotlas, and to Poltava. The poor conditions and steady overwork broke his health, and in 1932 he was certified as an invalid. He completed his sentence in 1933, but was barred from returing to many Russian cities, and had to live in exile the rest of his life. One of the Martyrs Under Communism in Eastern Europe.

Born

4 November 1879 at Saint Petersburg, Russia

Died

7 March 1935 of “natural causes”

buried at Kirov, Russia

Venerated

24 April 2001 by Pope John Paul II (decree of martyrdom)

Beatified

27 June 2001 by Pope John Paul II in Ukraine

Additional Information

other sites in english

Hagiography Circle

Wikipedia

images

Wikimedia Commons

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición

fonti in italiano

Dicastero delle Cause dei Santi

Santi e Beati

Wikipedia

nettsteder i norsk

Den katolske kirke

Readings

O Merciful Lord Jesus, Our Saviour, hear the prayers and petitions of Your unworthy sinful servants who humbly call upon You and make us all to be one in Your one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Flood our souls with Your unquenchable light. Put an end to religious disagreements, and grant that we Your disciples and Your beloved children may all worship You with a single heart and voice. Fulfill quickly, O grace-giving Lord, your promise that there shall be one flock and one Divine Shepherd of Your Church; and may we be made worthy to glorify Your Holy Name now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. – prayer for unity by Blessed Leonid

MLA Citation

“Blessed Leonid Feodorov“. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 July 2023. Web. 7 March 2024. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-leonid-feodorov/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-leonid-feodorov/

FEODOROV, LEONID

Exarch; b. St. Petersburg, Russia, Nov. 4, 1879; d. Vyatka (or Kirov), Russia, March 7, 1935. Feodorov studied for the priesthood in St. Petersburg at the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Academy, then under the influence of solov'ev, but in 1902 he journeyed to Italy to enter the Catholic Church. On his way, he visited in Lvov Metropolitan Andrĭi sheptyts'kyĬ, under whose guidance he remained all his life. While studying in Rome, he defended the rights of the Ukrainian Rite Catholics in the U.S. In 1911 he was ordained in Constantinople by the Bulgarian Archbishop Mirov, and then entered the Studite monastery of Kamenitza in Bosnia. He took an active part in the conferences in Velegrad concerning reunion. In 1914 he returned to St. Petersburg, but was deported to Tobolsk by the Russian police.

In 1917 he was named exarch of the Russian Catholics of the Russian Rite by Metropolitan Sheptyts’kyĭ. Benedict XV confirmed his nomination and created him prothonotary apostolic (1921). Feodorov then organized the first Russian Catholic communities of this rite. In 1923 he was tried in Moscow with 15 other Catholics for defending the Church's rights and was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, but he was released in April of 1926. Two months later he was rearrested and sent to the Solovki Islands where he organized a secret liturgical life for the prisoners. He was transferred to Pinega (1929), to Kotlas (1931), and finally to Vyatka (1934).

Unlike the Latin rite clergy in Russia, Feodorov maintained that Russian converts to Catholicism should embrace the Russian rite. He also advocated that this rite be preserved in its purity, unaffected by Latin influence. Before his arrest and while in prison, Feodorov established fraternal contacts with the Orthodox clergy and with Patriarch tikhon. He used to call his communities of Russian Catholics prototypes of the corporate reunion that would take place some day.

Bibliography: P. A. Mailleux, Exarch Leonid Feodorov, Bridgebuilder between Rome and Moscow (New York 1964).

[P. A. Mailleux]

New Catholic Encyclopedia

SOURCE : https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/feodorov-leonid

MARCH 07, 2015

Blessed Leonid Feodorov - Martyr

Blessed Leonid Feodorov,

Pray for us !

Saint of the Day : March 7

Other Names :

• Father Leontios • Leonid F'odorov

Memorial :

• 27 June as one of the Martyrs Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe

Born :

• 4 November 1879 at Saint Petersburg, Russia

Died :

• 7 March 1935 • Buried at Kirov, Russia

Russia is a land of melancholy poets and writers, where the dark and wintry nights lay bear the souls loneliness and lights the flame of some of Russia's greatest writers and artisans.

In a landscape as harsh as Russia, the people have learnt over generations to be stoic of heart and long suffering by nature. For at the core of Russia lay its people and their struggle to overcome poverty, persecution and war.

The Russian people are not known for their timidity, but for their fierceness, for to live well in Russia one had to learn to survive at a very young age or perish. It is a land of contrasts, where Palaces live alongside hovels and nature alongside polluted factories, a land of revolutions and times of peace. But in the end Russia is about survivors.

Into this harsh landscape was born Leonid Feodorov in the year 1879 at Saint Petersburg. Unfortunately for the young Leonid his father died while he was young and it was left to his forceful mother, Liubova to raise him. She did so with every means available to her, in that she longed for her son to gain the education needed to get on in life and not live a life of mere existence.

Towards this end Liubova sent her son to the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Academy where he stayed for a couple of years. But it was at this school that he began to question his Orthodox Faith and as the questions mounted in his heart, so he leaned more and more towards Catholicism.

During this time Leonid began attending services at Saint Catherine’s Catholic Church, and so began a friendship with the Priest of this parish, Fr. Jan Szyslawski, who knowing of Leonid’s confusion was able to lend him books from the parish library.

So during the long wintry nights Leonid would stay up late and read these books on the Catholic faith, its teachings and its Traditions. But the more Leonid learnt the more dissatisfied he became with Orthodox teachings. These were perplexing times for the young Leonid as questions soon became resolutions as to which way God was calling him.

Upon talking to the Rector of his school, Leonid decided to visit Rome and on the way stayed at L'viv with his friend Andrew Sheptystsky, before continuing his journey, both physically and spiritually.

It was in 1902 that Leonid made his decision to convert to the Catholic Faith, where he was presented to Pope Leo III and entered the Pontifical College at Anagni. He struggled at first to master both Italian and Latin but with his usual tenacity it didn’t take Leonid long to be fluent in both languages.

Great things began to happen in Leonid’s life as he attended the coronation of Saint Pius X and when in 1905 he gained his Doctorate in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Theology. In gaining these degrees the next step would be the Priesthood but before taking this step Leonid first became a Deacon where he was ordained by Bishop Michael Mirov of Constantinople. Leonid was then ordained a Priest a few weeks later by the same Bishop.

Though Leonid had proved himself to be of vast intellect it was the monastic life which he felt compelled to follow and so Fr. Leonid entered a Monastic Order in Bosnia under the guidance of the starets, Elder Josaphat. And it was Fr. Josaphat that gave Leonid his tonsure and little habit, where upon Leonid took the name Father Leontios.

But politics was never far away and the Serbian people were very much opposed to having a Catholic monastery in their midst and so in the year 1913, the little monastery was closed.

So in 1913 as the political situation destabilised in Serbia Fr. Leonid decided to return to his homeland, Russia where he could then embark on evangelising the people. But fate was not to be kind to Fr. Leonid who's faith would soon be tempered in steel. For upon arriving in St. Petersburg he was arrested and sent to Tobolsk a very inhospitable land in the Ural Mountains, where he spent the next 3 years.

But things did not quieten down as rumours of revolution swirled around the courts of Imperial Russia. So in haste Leonid was proclaimed a Bishop of the Russian Catholic Church, this was done in secrecy as even the Royal Czar was opposed to a Catholic 'presence'.

It was during this time that Exarch Leonid remembered a prophetic statement he had made when he was at Anagni, "Russia will not repent without travelling the Red Sea of the blood of her martyrs and numerous sufferings of her apostles." How true his words would be, much to his and his people's sorrow.

And so it was that the red terror would launch itself upon the world in the form of its leader Lenin a name synonymous with evil. And under the Communist regime the persecution of the Church began, for Lenin understood that the greatest threat to his power would come from the Catholic Church.

And so the order went out to arrest Catholic Priests, Monsignors and Bishops among which was Bishop Leonid Feodorov. During the bogus trial Bishop Leonid was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Siberia.

These were hard and difficult years for Bishop Leonid, in such an unforgiving terrain as Siberia, but through it all his Faith sustained him and his prayer life strengthened him for the rigours which lay ahead of him.

Bishop Leonid would find himself released and upon practicing his Faith he would then be re-arrested but his Faith in God was tempered in steel and the communists could never break this heart forged in the love of God and the Church.

For nothing would stand in the way of this indomitable Bishop as he secretly held Mass and gave Catechism classes to the youth and those who wished to learn about the Catholic Church.

Through it all, confusion, decision, peace, war, revolution and persecution. Bishop Leonid’s Faith remained intact if not strengthened by his ordeals.

Bishop Leonid Feodorov died in 1935.

Blessed Leonid Feodorov was beatified in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.

SOURCE : https://saintscatholic.blogspot.com/2015/03/blessed-leonid-feodorov.html

Saint of the Day – 7 March – Blessed Leonid Feodorov (1879-1935) Martyr

Posted on March 7, 2019

Saint of the Day – 7 March – Blessed Leonid Feodorov (1879-1935) Priest, Martyr, Monk, Exarch of the Russian Greek Catholic Church of the See of Peter, Philosopher.   Born as Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov on 4 November 1879 at Saint Petersburg, Russia and died on 7 March 1935 of “natural causes”.   His body is buried at Kirov, Russia.

Feodorov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on 4 November 1879, into a Russian Orthodox family.   His father, Ivan, was a moderately successful restaurant owner and the son of a serf.   His mother, Lyuba Feodorov, a woman of Greek descent, raised him as a single mother after his father’s early death.   Although she attempted to raise her son as a devout member of the Russian Orthodox Church, she simultaneously encouraged him to read the popular novelists of the day.

He later recalled, “So I began to devour the best known French novelists of the day, Zola, Hugo, Maupassant and Dumas.   I became acquainted with the Italian Renaissance and its corrupt literature, Boccaccio and Ariosto.   My head came to be like a sewer into which the foulest muck was emptied.”

After his graduation from the Second Imperial Gymnasium in 1901, he enrolled in the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Academy in order to study for the priesthood in the Russian Orthodox Church.   After much soul-searching, he left the academy in the summer of 1902 and travelled to Rome by way of Austrian-ruled Lviv, where Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church blessed his mission.

On 31 July 1902, Feodorov was formally received into the Catholic Church at the Church of the Gesù in Rome.   In the aftermath, he began studying at the Jesuit seminary at Anagni under the pseudonym of “Leonidas Pierre,” which was meant to keep the Tsar’s secret police, or Okhrana, off his trail.

Although Leonid had originally promised to adopt the Latin Rite, while studying in the Jesuit seminary at Anagni, he came to believe that it was his duty to remain faithful to the liturgy and customs of the Christian East.   With the full permission and encouragement of Pope Pius X, Leonid transferred to the Russian Byzantine Catholic Church.   As a result of his decision, Leonid was disowned by his former Jesuit mentor and afterwards depended for his finances on Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky of Lviv.

On 25 March 1911, he received ordination in Bosnia as a Byzantine rite priest.   He spent the following years as a monk in Bosnia and Ukraine and was tonsured with monastic name ‘Leontiy’ on 12 March 1913.

On the eve of the First World War, he returned to Saint Petersburg whereupon he was immediately exiled to Tobolsk in Siberia as a potential threat to the Tsar’s government which held Russian Orthodoxy as its state religion.

After the February Revolution, the Provisional Government ordered the release of all political prisoners.   Pope Benedict XV named him Exarch of Russian Catholics of Byzantine rite.   A three-day Synod of the Russian Byzantine Catholic Church opened in Saint Petersburg under the leadership of Metropolitan Andrey.

Open persecution of religion began in 1922.   The clergy were forbidden to preach religion to anyone under eighteen years of age.   Then, all sacred objects were ordered to be seized for “famine relief” and lay councils were installed in each parish with the intention of making the priest a mere employee.   When both the Exarch Leonid and the Latin Rite Archbishop Jan Cieplak refused to permit this, all Catholic parishes were forcibly closed by the State.

In the spring of 1923, Exarch Leonid, Archbishop Cieplak, Monsignor Konstanty Budkiewicz and fourteen other Catholic priests and one layman were summoned to Moscow trial before the revolutionary tribunal for counter-revolutionary activities.   The international uproar which followed the trial gave the Soviet government pause, however.   Leonid was sentenced to prison but serving the first three years of his sentence in Moscow’s Butyrka prison, he was transported to enforced labour in Siberia – the Gulag in the White Sea.

There, in a former monastery, now a prison, Blessed Leonid was a pioneer of ecumenism together with the Orthodox with whom he shared the harsh captivity.   In Solovki, Roman Catholic Mass was offered in a chapel which had been restored for the purpose with the permission of the guards.   Exarch Leonid would offer the Divine Liturgy of the Russian Byzantine Catholic Church every other Sunday.   When the camp authorities cracked down on this in 1929, the Masses continued in secret.

On 6 August 1929, Exarch Leonid was released to the town of Pinega and put to work making charcoal.   After continuing, against all odds, to teach the Catechism to young boys, he was transferred to the village of Poltava, 15 km from Kotlas, where he completed his sentence in 1932.   He chose to reside in Kirov, Kirov Oblast, where, worn out by the rigours of his imprisonment, he died on 7 March 1935.

On 27 June 2001, Exarch Leonid Feodorov was Beatified by Pope John Paul II.   He remains deeply venerated among Russian Greek Catholics and by the Eastern Catholic Church.   He is regarded as a Martyr Killed Under Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe and is included in an additional memorial commemorating all of them on 29 June.

Author: AnaStpaul

Passionate Catholic. Being a Catholic is a way of life - a love affair "Religion must be like the air we breathe..."- St John Bosco Prayer is what the world needs combined with the example of our lives which testify to the Light of Christ. This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions. This Site is placed under the Patronage of my many favourite Saints and especially, St Paul. "For the Saints are sent to us by God as so many sermons. We do not use them, it is they who move us and lead us, to where we had not expected to go.” Charles Cardinal Journet (1891-1975) This site adheres to the Catholic Church and all her teachings. PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY GLARING TYPOS etc - In June 2021 I lost 95% sight in my left eye and sometimes miss errors. Thank you and I pray all those who visit here will be abundantly blessed. Pax et bonum! VIEW ALL POSTS

SOURCE : https://anastpaul.com/2019/03/07/saint-of-the-day-7-march-blessed-leonid-feodorov-1879-1935-martyr/

Bl. Leonid Feodorov

Birth: 1879

Death: 1935

Beatified By: June 27, 2001, Ukraine by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Leonid Ivanovich Feodorov (Russian: Леонид Иванович Фёдоров; 1879–1935) was Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church, in addition to being a survivor of the GULAG. After painstaking investigation, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 27, 2001.

More about Bl. Leonid Feodorov from Wikipedia

Early life

Feodorov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on November 4, 1879 into a Russian Orthodox family. His father, Ivan, was a moderately successful restaurant owner and the son of a serf. His mother, Lyuba Feodorov, a woman of Greek descent, raised him as a single mother after his father’s early death. Although she attempted to raise her son as a devout member of the Russian Orthodox Church, she simultaneously encouraged him to read the popular novelists of the day.

He later recalled,

“So I began to devour the best known French novelists of the day, Zola, Hugo, Maupassant, and Dumas. I became acquainted with the Italian Renaissance and its corrupt literature, Boccaccio and Ariosto. My head came to be like a sewer into which the foulest muck was emptied.”[1]

After his graduation from the Second Imperial Gymnasium in 1901, he enrolled in the Orthodox Ecclesiastical Academy in order to study for the priesthood in the Russian Orthodox Church. After much soul-searching, he left the academy in the summer of 1902 in order to embrace Catholicism. He traveled to the Vatican by way of Austrian-ruled Lviv, where Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church blessed his mission.

Conversion and ordination

On July 31, 1902, Feodorov was formally received into the Catholic Church at the Church of the Gesù in Rome. In the aftermath, he began studying at the Jesuit seminary at Anagni under the pseudonym of “Leonidas Pierre,” which was meant to keep the Tsar’s secret police, or Okhrana, off his trail.

Although Leonid had originally promised to adopt the Latin Rite, while studying in the Jesuit seminary at Anagni, Leonid came to believe that it was his duty to remain faithful to the liturgy and customs of the Christian East. With the full permission and encouragement of Pope St. Pius X, Leonid transferred to the Russian Catholic Church. As a result of his decision, Leonid was disowned by his former Jesuit mentor and afterwards depended for his finances on Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky of Lviv.

After years of playing a cat-and-mouse-game with the Okhrana, Leonid was ordained a priest at Constantinople by Bishop Mikhail Mirov of the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church on March 25, 1911. He spent the following years as a Studite hieromonk in Bosnia and Ukraine and was tonsured with monastic name ‘Leontiy’ on March 12, 1913.

Return to Russia

On the eve of the First World War, he returned to Saint Petersburg whereupon he was immediately exiled to Tobolsk in Siberia as a potential threat to the Tsar’s government which held Russian Orthodoxy as its state religion.

After the February Revolution, the Provisional Government ordered the release of all political prisoners. A three-day Synod of the Russian Catholic Church opened in Saint Petersburg under the leadership of Metropolitan Andrey. The Metropolitan appointed the Hieromonk Leonid (Feodorov)’ as Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church. Rumors have circulated since then that Metropolitan Andrey also secretly consecrated Hieromonk Leonid as a bishop. As if to confirm the rumors, a photograph survives of Exarch Leonid dressed in the vestments of a bishop.

The Cieplak Trial

Open persecution of religion began in 1922. The clergy were forbidden to preach religion to anyone under eighteen years of age. Then, all sacred objects were ordered to be seized for “famine relief” and lay councils called dvatsatkii were installed in each parish by the GPU with the intention of making the priest a mere employee. When both the Exarch Leonid and the Latin Rite Archbishop Jan Cieplak refused to permit this, all Catholic parishes were forcibly closed by the State.

In the spring of 1923, Exarch Leonid, Archbishop Cieplak, Monsignor Konstanty Budkiewicz, and fourteen other Catholic priests and one layman were summoned to Moscow trial before the revolutionary tribunal for counter-revolutionary activities.

According to Father Christopher L. Zugger,

“The Bolsheviks had already orchestrated several ‘show trials.’ The Cheka had staged the ‘Trial of the St. Petersburg Combat Organization’; its successor, the new GPU, the ‘Trial of the Socialist Revolutionaries.’ In these and other such farces, defendants were inevitably sentenced to death or to long prison terms in the north. The Cieplak show trial is a prime example of Bolshevik revolutionary justice at this time. Normal judicial procedures did not restrict revolutionary tribunals at all; in fact, the prosecutor N.V. Krylenko, stated that the courts could trample upon the rights of classes other than the proletariat. Appeals from the courts went not to a higher court, but to political committees. Western observers found the setting — the grand ballroom of a former Noblemen’s Club, with painted cherubs on the ceiling — singularly inappropriate for such a solemn event. Neither judges nor prosecutors were required to have a legal background, only a proper ‘revolutionary’ one. That the prominent ‘No Smoking’ signs were ignored by the judges themselves did not bode well for legalities.” [2]

New York Herald correspondent Francis McCullagh, who was present at the trial, later described its fourth day as follows:

Krylenko, who began to speak at 6:10 PM, was moderate enough at first, but quickly launched into an attack on religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular. “The Catholic Church”, he declared, “has always exploited the working classes.” When he demanded the Archbishop’s death, he said, “All the Jesuitical duplicity with which you have defended yourself will not save you from the death penalty. No Pope in the Vatican can save you now.” …As the long oration proceeded, the Red Procurator worked himself into a fury of anti-religious hatred. “Your religion”, he yelled, “I spit on it, as I do on all religions, — on Orthodox, Jewish, Mohammedan, and the rest.” “There is no law here but Soviet Law,” he yelled at another stage, “and by that law you must die.”[3]

Unlike the other defendants, Exarch Leonid insisted on acting as his own attorney, which led to some of the most dramatic moments of the trial. According to Father Zugger,

“Dressed in the traditional Russian black cassock, with his long hair a beard often described as ‘Christ-like’, Feodorov was a man of the narod, of the ordinary Russian people for whom the Revolution had been fought. His presence put the lie to the usual description of Catholicism as ‘the Polish religion.’ His presentation — a moving testimony of Russian spirituality and the history of the Church in that country — evoked the best of Russian Christendom. He pointed out that Greek-Catholics greeted the Revolution with joy, for only then did they have equality. There was no secret organization, they had simply followed Church law. Religious education, the celebration of Mass, and the administration of the Sacraments of marriage and baptism had to be fulfilled. He pointed out that the Church, accused of having neglected the starving, was at that moment feeding 120,000 children daily. Following a scathing rebuttal by Krylenko, Exarch Feodorov rose for his final remarks: “Our hearts are full, not of hatred, but of sadness. You cannot understand us, we are not allowed liberty of conscience. That is the only conclusion we can draw from what we have heard here.”[4]

With the verdict and sentences already decided upon in advance, Archbishop Cieplak and Monsignor Budkiewicz were both sentenced to death. Exarch Leonid and all the other defendants were sentenced to the term of ten years in Solovki prison camp.

The GULAG

The international uproar which followed the trial gave the Soviet government pause, however. After serving the first three years of his sentence in Moscow’s Butyrka prison, Exarch Leonid was transported to Solovki prison camp, located in a former island monastery in the White Sea.

In Solovki, Roman Catholic Mass was offered in a chapel which had been restored for the purpose with the permission of the guards. Exarch Leonid would offer the Divine Liturgy of the Russian Catholic Church every other Sunday. When the camp authorities cracked down on this in 1929, the Masses continued in secret.

Release and death

On August 6, 1929, Exarch Leonid was released to the town of Pinega in the Arkhangelsk Oblast and put to work making charcoal. After continuing to teach the Catechism to young boys, he was transferred to the village of Poltava, Ukraine, where he completed his sentence in 1932. He chose to reside in Viatka, where, worn out by the rigours of his imprisonment, he died on March 7, 1935.

Legacy

On June 27, 2001 Exarch Leonid Feodorov was beatified by Pope John Paul II. He remains deeply venerated among Russian Catholics.

See also

References

Fr. Paul Mailleux, S.J., Exarch Leonid Feodorov: Bridgbuilder between Rome and Moscow, 1964. Pages 8-9.

Father Christopher Lawrence Zugger, “The Forgotten: Catholics in the Soviet Empire from Lenin through Stalin,” University of Syracuse Press, 2001. Page 186.

Captain Francis McCullagh, The Bolshevik Persecution of Christianity, E.P. Dutton and Company, 1924. Page 221.

SOURCE : https://icshrine.org/new-martyrs-of-ukrainian-church/bl-leonid-feodorov/

Holy Man of Russia: Blessed Leonid Feodorov

 MAR 21, 2018  ELEONORE VILLARRUBIA

Blessed Leonid Feodorov, First Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church; Bridgebuilder Between Rome and Moscow, by Paul Mailleux, S.J.

A Review by Eleonore Villarrubia

Do you know the meaning of the title “Exarch?” I did not until I read this excellent and moving account of the holy life of Blessed Exarch Leonid Feodorov, a Russian Orthodox-turned- Catholic whose short and difficult life was lived at the beginnings of the God-hating Soviet Union and the ensuing bitter Gulag years when all of this huge nation became an enormous prison camp. In the vast prison system of this cruel regime the prisoners were not merely common criminals, they were priests, nuns, religious persons of all stripes, even rabbis, Muslims and lay believers who clung to their “superstitions” against the directives of Communist law.

Leonid was born to humble beginnings, his grandfather having been a serf of the Czar, Alexander III. When this reform-minded ruler liberated his serfs, Leonid’s grandfather, Theodore, and his father, John, settled in the St. Petersburg area and opened a small restaurant. Leonid’s mother was of Greek extraction and worked very hard to educate her only child in the classics. She knew that he was a very bright and sensitive boy and saw a good education as his only way out of a rigid system. He attended the Gymnasium (the Russian high school) where he acquired a reputation as an idealist. He was somewhat stand-offish because he refused to engage in the debaucheries of his fellow students. He was well-read at a very young age and knew that he had a vocation as a priest or a monk — of the Russian Orthodox Church, of course.

To better understand the peculiar situation of Catholicism in Russia at the time, one must go back to the original schism of the Orthodox and the Latins. When the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire of the fourth century, there eventually came about a distinctive difference between the civil governments of the area and the religious government of the Church under the Pope. As the Western Empire broke up into the various states, the independence of the Western Catholic Church was zealously defended by the successors of Saint Peter, making him the supreme arbiter of all things spiritual.

Because the Empire became so large, Constantine founded a second capital in Byzantium, Constantinople. The head of the Church was also the head of the Eastern Empire, a situation which endured until 1453. There was no distinction between spiritual and political rulers. This philosophy carried over into the Russian Christian areas where the ONLY approved Church was the Russian Orthodox. Here the Divine Liturgy was prayed in Russian and no citizen who was of that persuasion could convert to any other religion without grave consequences. For example, if a Russian subject became a member of the Roman Catholic Church, his property would be confiscated and the priest who welcomed him into the fold would be deported to Siberia, leaving his own Latin congregation without their priest.

During the lifetime of our subject, Blessed Leonid, most of the Latin Catholics living in Russia were foreigners, or descendants of foreigners, mainly Polish. There was great animosity between the Latin Poles and the Russian Orthodox. Many of the Poles or their ancestors had been displaced from their homeland by Russian conquests; so there was that resentment. The Russians, for their part resented the presence in their midst of the Latin “enemies” of the Eastern Church. They had not forgotten the tragic and terrible sack of Constantinople by invading Crusaders in 1204. These supposed soldiers of Christ invaded the holy Church of Santa Sophia, the seat of Saint John Chrysostom, placed a Latin Patriarch there and went on to create great havoc and destruction in the Rome of the East by their brutish behavior.

In turn, Latin Christians remembered the equally brutal massacre of Latin Catholics by the Easterns in Constantinople in 1182. Many considered the occurrences of 1204 in the Fourth Crusade payback for that incident. In short, it was a very complex and long-standing animosity that had been smoldering for centuries. And by some accounts, still exists to this day.

After the Turks invaded and captured Constantinople in 1453, the Christian Empire of the East moved to Moscow, which then became the “Third Rome.”

Leonid Seeks Catholicism

It was generally well-known by his teachers in the gymnasium, and then the seminary, that Leonid had Catholic leanings. He had read the Fathers of the Church and believed in the primacy of the Pope. His greatest desire and wish was to have a genuinely Catholic Russian Church which celebrated the liturgy in the Eastern style and not in Latin. Of course, the ultimate goal of the Russian Catholics was to reunite the Orthodox Church with Rome and end the long-standing schism. To achieve the immediate goal — getting ordained a Catholic priest — he knew that he would have to leave his homeland and seek ordination in a foreign country. It also meant that he would have to leave his beloved mother who had worked so hard for his education. He had the blessing of a few of his teachers to do this. He had also found a small network of other Russians who shared his beliefs and worked tirelessly for the same goal.

One of his Latin Rite contacts in Russia was the good Polish priest, Father Stislavsky, pastor of Saint Catherine’s Church in St. Petersburg, Father Stislavsky accompanied Leonid to the Capital of Christendom. In Rome, at the Church of the Gesu, Leonid Feodorov professed his Catholic Faith and confessed to Father Stislavsky in front of the relics of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, thereby being received into the Catholic Church on that saint’s feast day, July 31, 1902. In Rome, Leonid had the good fortune to meet Pope Leo XIII who offered him a scholarship to the seminary that he had established at Anagni. Leonid gratefully accepted the offer. He excelled in his studies, even though he did not know a word of Italian when he began. He proved to be a quick study in learning to speak, understand and read the language — so well, that “he spoke it like a native,” according to his fellow seminarians.

Meanwhile, Back in Russia

It was a time of great upheaval in the homeland. The Russo-Japanese War brought the Empire to its knees in 1904 and 1905. Also in 1905, the first of the three revolutions occurred, culminating in “Bloody Sunday” when unarmed civilians led by a priest marched on the Winter palace to present a petition to the Czar and were fired upon by soldiers. Many of those protesting citizens died. While this revolt was crushed, it laid the groundwork for the two revolutions that took place in 1917, leading to the Bolshevik takeover of the Russian government. In addition, the Empire was mired in World War I and the Russian Army was faring poorly. This led to dissatisfaction with the Czarist rule and the eventual abdication of Czar Nicholas II.

Leonid’s life, as well, was in upheaval. After three years at Anagni, he was warned by the Russian ambassador that he would be banned from the homeland forever, if he “continued to study under the Jesuits” who were considered spies by the Russian government and the Orthodox Church. Since his life’s goal was to live and work in Russia as a Byzantine Rite Catholic priest with the aim of uniting the Orthodox under the Pope, he complied and found a seminary in Switzerland.

Eventually, he was ordained by Bishop Michael Mirov, Bulgarian Greek-Catholic Bishop in Constantinople, on March 25, 1911. His had been a long journey. Little did he know that it was only the beginning of an arduous life as a priest in the homeland. When the Russian Revolution began in 1917, one of the early positive results under the Provisional Government was the declaration of religious freedom and the liberating of all religious prisoners. Immediately, the few Russian Catholic priests opened a little church in St. Petersburg. A few days later, under Pope Benedict XV, the earlier and unpublished proclamation of Pope Pius X was announced which had named Father Leonid Feodorov Exarch (equivalent to bishop) with episcopal jurisdiction in Russia. Sadly, this improved situation was short-lived.

As we know only too well, the godless Bolsheviks made life in Russia hell for all believers. One of the cruelest laws that they enacted was that no children could be taught religion, their aim being to eradicate God from the minds and hearts of the people. Any priest, nun or even parent who spoke of God or religion to children could be jailed or sent to the Gulag. Little by little, the Orthodox and Catholic priests had their religious rights taken away from them. Eventually, after harsh treatment, poor food and other deprivations, most were sent to the island of Anzer in the far north where it was always freezing. Nevertheless, they — both Orthodox and Catholics, Latin and Byzantine rites — were able to hold secret Masses in a huge fort turned prison. Some, including Exarch Leonid, who had been arrested, were made to work cutting down trees in the brutally cold forests and hauling them away. It was work made to break the strongest of men. The mortality rate was very high.

One of the most touching stories of life in the far north is the way these brave priests got the wine for the sacred liturgies. Sometimes they might receive packages from home with a bit of wine. When that was no longer allowed (or the wine was stolen by the guards), they would save raisins from their paltry food supply and make wine. Using just drops of the precious wine to consecrate into Our Lord’s Blood, they were able to have at least one secret Mass in some hidden corner of the vast prison every day.

The touching story of this brave and holy priest is not only uplifting spiritually — to know what Christians and believers of all stripes endured during the awful Communist years in Russia — but it is most interesting from a historical and religious point of view as well. This is a very heart-wrenching and sweet read. Father Leonid was a Catholic who knew what his life’s goal should be and might have succeeded had the Bolsheviks not intervened. It is a well-written book and just the right length. Any Catholic interested in spreading the Faith would gain inspiration from the story of this holy Blessed.

Blessed Leonid was far from the only Catholic priest to suffer under the Bolsheviks. These others include Blessed Basil Hopko, Blessed Theodore Romzha, and Blessed Ivan Ziatyk, martyrs all. In fact, there are so many that in June of 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified twenty-five of them at the same time. Thousands more Christians whose names we will never know were killed in odium fidei. May they wear their crown of glory in Heaven forever!

This book available from our bookstore.

Related

Russia’s Eastern-Rite Catholics, Hope for True UnionJun 16, 2014In "Current Issues in the Church"

Glorious Ukrainian Martyrs, Victims of Communist BarbarityFeb 10, 2011In "Articles"

The Conversion of RussiaJun 27, 2005In "Articles"

SOURCE : https://catholicism.org/holy-man-of-russia-blessed-leonid-feodorov.html

Glorious Ukrainian Martyrs, Victims of Communist Barbarity

FEB 10, 2011  BRIAN KELLY

Having just read on Zenit News website about the vocation surge in Ukraine — which, unfortunately, for half of those aspiring to the priesthood, is more than the seminaries can handle — I don’t know whether to weep or rejoice. Something ought to be done — and quickly — to accommodate these young men. Delay is not a good thing when the summons from God takes root in a soul. Perhaps, for the older aspirants, they could be sent to Rome. Let’s keep this situation in our prayer intentions, lest the fire be diminished in hearts that are ready, but have found no room yet in the inn.

The Ukrainian Church is the largest of the eastern rite Churches in union with Rome. They number five million faithful. At the beatification process of the martyr Saint Josaphat, born in Volodymyr, Volyn (which today is in Ukraine) in 1643, whom we must remember is the Church’s official patron saint of unity, Pope Urban VIII uttered these prophetic words: “Oh my Ukrainians, I look to you to convert the East.”

The Stalin Persecution and Genocide

The Ukrainian Catholics, religious and lay, suffered intense persecution from the Russian communists, especially under the cruel dictator Joseph Stalin and his savage enforcer, the “Butcher of Ukraine,” Lazar Moses Kaganovich, chairman of the Soviet Presidium. Stalin’s collectivization of the people’s farms and confiscation of their grain from 1932-1933, led to the forced starvation of ten million Ukrainians. This was done as a punishment for the rise in Ukrainian patriotism and the emergence of a powerful nationalist movement that arose about a decade after the Bolsheviks took over. Kaganovich, who had already spearheaded the murderous purges in Russia, posted armed guards at all the grainaries to prevent the Ukrainian people from access to their own harvest and when starving people tried to reach the border in search of food they were gunned down. The West ignored the crisis, preferring to believe the USSR propaganda that there was a famine. Only one pro-Soviet American reporter, Walter Duranty of the New York Times, was allowed into Ukraine at the time. In that paper he denied the genocide calling it “partial crop failures.” Sometime after receiving the Pulitzer Prize for journalism, he later admitted, according to British Diplomatic Reports, that “as many as ten million” may have perished.

Reasonable estimates put the percentage of murdered Ukrainians in that two-year period at a quarter of the population, roughly ten million. Most of the victims were poor children. When the granaries were re-opened in 1934, the people were reeling in shock and despair. Before the genocide, the Catholic Church was flourishing in Ukraine, or at least it appeared to be. There were many vocations to the religious life, especially in Lviv, Ukraine’s cultural center, where seminaries and monasteries thrived. After and during the horrific two-year ordeal many lost faith in God, but others accepted the chastisement as a purification and the seminaries and convents began to rebound. The suffering under the yoke of Communism was not over, it would last for another sixty-four years (except for the Nazi occupation from 1941-1944), until the nation achieved its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Genocide wasn’t enough, Stalin still wanted absolute control over all of Ukraine. In 1939, he sent his Red Army into western Ukraine; prior to this it was the eastern part of the country that took the brunt of his sadistic brutality. There was now only one major force in his way, the Catholic Church. Half of the Catholics in Ukraine had been deported and dozens of priests executed. The schismatic Orthodox Church, under the Moscow Patriarchate, cooperated with the Communist Party and kept its worship private. The Catholic Church (i.e., the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) under the authority of the pope continued its mission as mandated by Christ to teach, preach, administer the sacraments wherever needed, and evangelize. In 1939, the order came down from Stalin to intensify the persecution of the Roman Catholic Church in western Ukraine, liquidate it by terror if its leaders could not be bought outright. Everything the Church owned was confiscated — convents, schools, hospitals, the Catholic press, and many Catholic churches were burnt to the ground. It was during the height of the persecution, in 1941, that the Nazis drove the Reds out of Ukraine. With Germany’s defeat in WWII, the communists re-consolidated their hold in Ukraine, half the Catholic clergy were sent to prison and one- fifth were exiled; the schismatic orthodox took over all the Catholic churches and all Church properties were seized by the atheistic state.

Beatifications and Canonizations, a Strong Spiritual Stimulus

On June 27, 2001, Pope John Paul II beatified twenty-eight Ukrainian martyrs: bishops, priests, nuns, and one layman who suffered and died for Christ and His Vicar under the communist scourge. Now, ten years later, we read about the flood of vocations in Ukraine, which has caused the seminaries to turn back half of the young men seeking to enter. There is certainly a connection to be made here. Beatifications and canonizations of saints can lift up the soul of a nation, especially when the venerated are martyrs.  Father Igor Luzar, postulator for the cause of Venerable Lojze Grozde, a nineteen-year-old Catholic martyred by communist thugs for carrying prayer books in his pocket, said that the beatification of Blessed Lojze represents “a strong spiritual stimulus” for the people of Slovenia. How true! How true for Slovenia; how true for Ukraine! I might add, how true this would be for China, a country which has produced countless martyrs who have suffered and died in communist prisons and labor camps, and whose faithful still are suffering various forms of incarceration and slave labor for their Faith in Christ and fidelity to His Vicar on earth.

Below I will post a list of these twenty-eight beatified bishops, priests, nuns, and one layman of Ukraine with a brief sketch of the more important facts concerning them.

Champions of the Faith: Feodorov, Sheptytsky, and Slipyi

Three figures stand out that personify the fortitude of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. They are Exarch Leonid Feodorov, Metropolitan Andrej Sheptytsky, and Joseph Cardinal Slipyi.

Blessed Martyr, Exarch Leonid Feodorov was a convert to the Faith from Russian Orthodoxy. He entered the Church while studying in Rome and joined the monks of the Studite Order in Bosnia. He came back to Tsarist Russia as a Catholic priest during WWI. The Catholic Church being at the time outlawed by the schismatics, he was caught, arrested, and sent to Siberia. When he was released in 1917, he was appointed head of the Russian Greek Catholic Church as Exarch. Then, six years later, the communists arrested him and sent him to prison. After ten years of incarceration, he died in exile in 1935, a martyr for the Faith and Church unity. Unlike the other subjects of this article, Exarch Feodorov was not Ukrainian but Russian.

Seven-foot tall, Metropolitan Andrej Sheptytsky, who continued the Exarch’s work for bringing the schismatics back to unity with the pope, wanted him canonized. Many of the priests and bishops, including Joseph Slipyi, were ordained and/or consecrated by Sheptytsky. Although he was not called to follow them in blood martyrdom, they were his spiritual sons, each of them inspired by the Metropolitan’s wisdom, courage, and holiness. He was called the “Moses” of the people of Ukraine. You can read the life story of this great apostle for Church unity here on our website.

Joseph Slipyi was born in western Ukraine in 1882 to a well-to-do Catholic family. He entered the diocesan seminary while studying philosophy at the University of Lviv. He was ordained in 1917. He was then sent to Rome for more studies and, completing his doctorate in theology, he returned to Lviv where he taught in the university there as rector of the Theology Academy. During this time he wrote numerous books on the Faith. In 1939, because of the monitoring of religious groups by the KGB, Metropolitan Sheptytsky secretly consecrated Slipyi Archbishop of Lviv with the right to succeed him. In 1944 the Reds took over Ukraine again, after the defeat of the Nazis, just months before Sheptytsky died. In April, 1945, Slipyi was arrested and taken to prison in Kyiv, as were many other priests and bishops. He was told that all that he had to do to gain his freedom was to submit to the schismatic Patriarch of Moscow, a pawn of the communists. When the communists re-consolidated their hold in Ukraine the schismatic orthodox took over all the Catholic churches, as mentioned above. All the other properties of the Church were seized by the atheistic state. When Metropolitan Joseph refused to sever his allegiance to the pope he was sentenced to eight years of hard labor and put on a train headed for the gulag in Siberia. That sentence was extended three times before he was sent to the worst hellhole of all, Siberia’s Morodovvia “from which [camp] no one comes out alive.” From there he wrote letters, from one of which the following excerpt is taken:

“What a blessing this Siberia has been for us all, for all the followers of Christ, for the growth and the life of Christ’s kingdom. This place, once barren, today is soaked with the bloody sweat of prisoners and the unconquered sons of an enslaved nation. Not only laments and curses have come forth from this alien land . . . Words of calm and sincere prayer have also gone up to the Almighty . . . For a number of years now, from various corners and caves the new sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ has been offered. A spiritual school has been born and thrives, which helps in the upbringing of new ministers of Christ. This very Siberian land has seen a truly new human being, true Christians, true and faithful sons of Christ’s Church . . .”

In 1963, with the help of the U.S. State Department, Pope John XXIII procured Slipyi’s release. In 1965, his secret elevation to the cardinalate by Pope Pius XII (in pectore) was made known publicly at Pope Paul VI’s first consistory. The pope, however, resisted the pressure to confer the title Patriarch on Slipyi, lest he incur the fury of the schismatic Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchs who were under the Moscow Patriarch. Instead a new title was invented, Major Archbishop, for the chief hierarch in the UGCC. Having no stomach for any compromising détente with Moscow, Cardinal Slipyi reluctantly bowed to Pope Paul’s wishes. He did, however, ruffle feathers in the Curia when, in 1977, acting as it were “patriarchal,” he consecrated three bishops without papal approval. This is forbidden by the canon law of the Latin Church, but not under the code of the eastern rites. Disillusioned with compromise, he still remained loyal to the Pope and the unity of the Church for which he suffered so much, until his death in 1984.  He died in exile, in Rome, at the age of ninety-two. His cause for canonization has been introduced.

Introducing the Twenty-Eight New Ukrainian Beati

Here are the twenty-eight Ukrainians beatified by Pope John Paul II June 27, 2000. All of the following information is culled from the magnificent booklet: Church of the Martyrs, The New Saints of Ukraine. The booklet was published in Lviv at Saint John’s Monastery, but it can be obtained from the Redemptorists, 250 Jefferson Ave., Winnipeg, Canada, R2V 0M6.

Sister Josaphata Hordashevska: She was born in Lviv in 1869. In 1892, she founded what would be the largest female religious community in the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. An example of holiness and charity in performing her labors among the poor, she died of bone cancer in 1919.

Priest and Martyr, Nicholas Konrad: Born in 1876, he studied for the priesthood in Rome. He was ordained in 1899. He was very active with the Catholic students whom he taught in Lviv, forming an association with them, called Renewal, to enhance their spiritual lives. Returning from a sick call, he was accosted by thugs from the KGB and beaten to death on June 26, 1941.

Martyr Volodymyr, Cantor: He was martyred together with Father Konrad.

Priest and Martyr, Andrew Ishchak: Born in Lviv region. After earning his doctorate in theology in 1914, he was ordained a priest. He taught at the Lviv Theological Academy. While doing pastoral work, he was killed for the Faith by soldiers of the retreating Red Army on June 26, 1941. Notice that the first three of the martyrs listed were slain on the same day, June 26, 1941.

Priest and Martyr, Severian Baranyk: Born in 1889, he joined the Basilian Fathers in 1904. He became prior of a Basilian monastery, where he was known for his habitual joy and his work with the youth and orphans. He was arrested by the KGB and sent to prison and died there of multiple fractures in June, 1941.

Priest and Martyr, Joachim Senkivskyi: Born in 1896, he was ordained a priest in 1921. He earned a doctorate in theology at the University of Innsbruck, afterwards he joined the Basilians. Father Joachim was extremely active doing pastoral work in several villages and, later, he was made abbot of a Basilian monastery. He was arrested during the blitzkrieg KGB sweep of June 26, 1941 and sent to the local prison. Three days later, according to the testimony of other prisoners, he was boiled to death.

Priest and Martyr, Zynovil Kovalyk: Born in 1903, he entered the Redemptorists in 1926. After studying in Belgium, he returned to Ukraine and was ordained in 1937. In 1940, while preaching a homily he was seized by the Reds and thrown into prison. He was tortured horribly during his incarceration and finally crucified in mockery of His Savior at the end of June, 1941.

Priest and Martyr, Emilian Kowcz: Born in 1884, he went to Rome to study for the priesthood. There, he was ordained in 1911. Father Emilian was a married man prior to ordination. He served as chaplain for a while and worked among the poor and the soldiers during WWII. Arrested by the Gestapo, he died praying for and giving consolation to fellow prisoners in a concentration camp in 1942.

Nun and Martyr, Sister Tarsykiia Matskiv: She made her religious profession in 1940 with the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate, founded by Blessed Sister Josaphata. Even before the Reds over ran Lviv she had made a private vow with her confessor to sacrifice her life for the conversion of Russia and the good of the Church. On July 17, 1944, Soviet soldiers surrounded her convent. Sister heard a knock at the door and opened it, thinking it was a priest whose arrival the sisters were awaiting. A shot rang out and Sister Tarsykiia fell dead. Her sacrificial intention was accepted unto martyrdom.

Priest and Martyr, Vitalis Bairak: Born in 1907, he entered the Basilian Order in 1924. In 1941 he was appointed superior of the Drohobych monastery to take the place of recently martyred Father Joachim. He was arrested by the KGB in 1945 and sent to the same local prison where Father Joachim was boiled to death. In this horror house he was savagely beaten and, just prior to Easter, 1946, he died of his wounds.

Priest and Martyr, Roman Lysko: Born in 1914 in the Lviv region. Married, he attended the Lviv Theological Academy. He was ordained a priest by Metropolitan Sheptytsky. Refusing to sign a statement of conversion to the Orthodox Church, he was arrested in 1949 and imprisoned in Lviv and allowed no visitors. The date of his death is unknown. Reports had it that he was sealed up alive in a wall, a martyr for the Faith and Church unity.

Bishop and Martyr, Gregory Khomyshyn: Born in 1867, he attended the Lviv seminary in his youth. Ordained in 1893, he continued studies in Vienna, where he earned a doctorate. Metropolitan Sheptytsky appointed him rector of the Lviv seminary and consecrated him a bishop in 1904. He was arrested by the KGB for the first time in 1939 and again in 1945. He died of ill health that same year while in prison.

Bishop and Martyr, Theodore Romzha: Born in 1911, he went to Rome to study for the priesthood at the Gregorian University. After ordination he returned to Ukraine where he was assigned pastoral work in remote villages. He also taught philosophy in the seminary. In 1944 he was consecrated bishop, and in his post as shepherd he refused every attempt by the communists to get him to join the Orthodox Church. In October, 1947, communist soldiers rammed a military vehicle into his carriage in an attempt to kill him and his companions. Seeing that he survived, they beat him and the others into unconsciousness. While recovering in a hospital he was poisoned to death.

Bishop and Martyr, Josaphat Kotsylovskyi: Born in 1876, he studied for the priesthood in Rome. After ordination, he taught theology at the Stanislaviv Seminary in Ukraine. He entered the Basilian Order during this time. In 1917, when Metropolitan Sheptytsky returned from prison in Russia, he consecrated Father Josaphat a bishop in Poland. The bishop was arrested in Poland by the communists who took him to Russia and then to a prison in Kiev. He died a martyr in a concentration camp in Kiev in 1947.

Bishop and Martyr, Nykyta Budka: Born in 1877, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1905 by Metropolitan Sheptytsky. Assigned to minister to Ukrainian emigrants, he was consecrated bishop in 1912 and appointed the first bishop for Ukrainian Catholics in Canada. In 1928, he returned to Lviv, where he served as Vicar General for the Metropolitan’s curia. Arrested with other bishops in 1945, he was sent to the gulag. He died in a labor camp in Kazakhstan in 1949.

Bishop and Martyr, Gregory Lakota: Born in 1883 in the Lviv region, he studied theology at the Lviv Academy. He was ordained to the priesthood in Poland in 1908. He served for eighteen years as professor and rector in the seminary at Przemysl before being consecrated that city’s bishop in 1926. Arrested in 1946, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. He was then exiled to a labor camp in Vorkuta, Russia. Bishop Gregory was beloved by his fellow prisoners, often taking on the labors of others in order to ease their suffering. He died near Vorkuta in 1950.

Priest and Martyr, Archimandrite Clement Sheptytsky: Younger brother of Metropolitan Sheptytsky, Abbot Clement was born in 1869. He studied law and received a doctorate from the University of Krakow. After serving various governmental positions in Austria, he entered the Studite monastery in 1912. He was ordained a priest in 1915. He was elected prior and later abbot of the Studite monastery at Univ, Ukraine. In 1947, the abbot was arrested by the KGB in Kiev. He died in prison in 1951 in Vladmir, Russia.

Priest and Martyr, Nicholas Tsehelskyi: Born in 1896, he graduated from the Theology Academy at Lviv University in 1923. He was ordained a priest in 1925 by Metropolitan Sheptytsky. He suffered much as a priest, both from threats and beatings, because he refused to become an Orthodox. He was arrested by the Reds in 1946 and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Father Nicholas had a wife and three children who were taken into custody and sent to Russia’s Chita region. Father Nicholas was deported to a notoriously severe labor camp in Russia’s Mordovia. Here he died, in 1951, while enduring with great patience a painful illness that resulted from his cruel treatment.

Priest and Martyr, Ivan Ziatyk: Born in 1899, he was ordained in 1923. Twelve years later, he joined the Redemptorists. He was appointed superior of the congregation in Ternopil, and served in this capacity during the Nazi occupation. He was arrested by the communists in 1950 for the crime of “preaching the ideas of the Pope of Rome regarding the spread of the Catholic Faith among the nations of the whole world.” He was sent to prison in Russia where he endured the torture of seventy-five interrogation sessions. He gave his life for Christ in 1952 after being savagely beaten and thrown out in the cold drenched with water. He died later in the prison infirmary.

Nun and Martyr, Sister Olympia Bida: Born in 1903 in the Lviv region of Ukraine, she entered as a young woman the congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. She later became the superior of one of their convents. When the Soviets took over Ukraine after WWII, the convent suffered a number of attacks. In 1950, she was arrested by soldiers of the KGB and taken to a harsh labor camp in Siberia. She was sentenced for her “anti-Soviet activities.” This is where she died, in 1952, after enduring intense suffering.

Nun and Martyr, Sister Lavrentia Herasymiv: Born in the Lviv region in 1911, she entered the convent of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Tsebliv at the age of twenty. After taking first vows she joined Sister Olympia at the convent in Khyriv. She was arrested with Sister Olympia in 1950 and, already sick with tuberculosis, sent to the same labor camp. She died the same year as her devoted companion from the inhuman conditions in which she was forced to live.

Priest and Martyr, Peter Verhun: Born in the Lviv region in 1890, he studied philosophy and earned a Ph.D. He was ordained a priest by Metropolitan Sheptytsky in 1927 and later sent to Germany as Apostolic Visitator for the Ukrainian Catholics who lived there. Beloved by his flock, he was hated by the Soviet communists in Berlin. They arrested him and sent him to do eight years of hard labor in Siberia. He continued his priestly work among the prisoners amid the harshest of conditions. He died in exile in 1957.

Priest and Martyr, Oleksii Zarytskyi:  Born in the Lviv region in 1912, he pursued his studies as a young man at the Theological Academy in Lviv. Metropolitan Sheptytsky ordained him a priest in 1936 and assigned him to serve as pastor in the village of Strutyn. The KGB arrested him in 1948 and sentenced him to a labor camp in Siberia for the crime of refusing to renounce his Catholic Faith and join the Orthodox Church. After his release he returned to western Ukraine and worked tirelessly, not only among his own people, but among Poles, Germans, and even Russians. Despite the danger, he visited Metropolitan Josef Slipyi when he was in exile. Arrested a second time, he was sent to a labor camp in Karaganda where he died two years later in 1963.

Bishop and Martyr Nicholas Charnetskyi: Born in 1884, in the Stanislaviv region of Ukraine, he studied for the priesthood first in Ukraine, then in Rome. He was ordained in Rome in 1909 after earning a doctorate in dogmatic theology. Returning to Ukraine, he taught in the seminary at Stanislaviv and, ten years later, joined the Redemptorists in Lviv. In 1926, he was appointed Apostolic Visitator for the eastern rite Catholics living in Poland. His main work was trying to ignite a desire among the Orthodox to return to unity under the pope. In 1931, Father Nicholas was consecrated a bishop. Fourteen years later his Calvary began in earnest. Arrested by the KGB in 1945, he was sent to a notoriously hard labor camp in Siberia. For the next eleven years he was interrogated for a total of six hundred hours, tortured, and shuffled around thirty different camps. Terminally ill, he was allowed to return to Ukraine in 1956 where he continued to perform his episcopal duties. Known for his outstanding patience and goodness, he was, in his own lifetime, considered a saint. He died as a result of his maltreatment in 1959.

Bishop and Martyr, Simeon Lukach: Born in 1893, he entered the seminary of Stanislaviv near his home village. Ordained in 1919, he taught moral theology at the same seminary. Secretly, in 1945, he was consecrated a bishop by Blessed Bishop Gregory Chomyshyn, who was expecting his own imminent arrest. Bishop Gregory’s account was given earlier in this tribute. A year later, the Bishop was arrested by the Soviet KGB and sentenced to hard labor at a lumber camp in Krasnoyarsk. He was freed in 1955 and returned to Ukraine. In 1962, he was arrested again and sent to a worse camp. After two years, dying from tuberculosis, the Bishop was allowed to return to his home village. He died a martyr shortly thereafter, in 1964, as a result of his maltreatment.

Bishop and Martyr, Ivan Sleziuk: Born in 1896 in the same region as the two previously-mentioned martyrs, he entered the eparchial seminary, graduating in 1923, and ordained the same year. He, too, was secretly ordained by Bishop Gregory Chomyshyn just prior to the latter’s arrest in 1945. Two months after his consecration, he was arrested and sent to a labor camp in Moldovia, Russia. When he was released he returned to his post and served as eparchical administrator. But, in 1962, he was arrested again, together with Bishop Simeon Lukach. Six more years were spent in hard labor. Even after his release in 1968, he was continually harassed by the KGB. After one of their sadistic summons for a “conversation,” he fell so ill that he never recovered. He died a martyr in 1973.

Bishop and Martyr, Basil Velychkovskyi: Born in 1903, also in the Stanislaviv region, he entered the seminary in Lviv. In 1925, he was ordained and took vows as a Redemptorist. After years of missionary work in Volyn, he was elected prior for the house in Ternopil. He was arrested in 1945 and sentenced to hard labor at a Siberian camp above the Arctic Circle. Released in 1955, he returned to Lviv where he continued with his pastoral work. In 1963, in a Moscow hotel, he was secretly consecrated an archbishop by Metropolitan Slipyi, who was on his way to exile in Rome. His assignment was to head the underground Ukrainian Catholic Church and to secure the apostolic succession for the catacombed UGCC. In 1969, Archbishop Basil was arrested again and sent to prison where he was subjected to physical, chemical, and psychological torture. Three years later, he was released but sent outside the USSR and Ukraine into exile. With a failing heart, caused by the treatment he received in prison, he went to Canada to lead the Ukrainian Catholic diaspora which had immigrated to that country. Archbishop Basil died a martyr, in Winnipeg, in June of 1973. There is a martyrs shrine, dedicated to him and other Redemptorist martyrs, at Saint Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg. Pilgrims have flocked to his tomb seeking healings ever since his mortal remains, fully intact, were transferred to the shrine in 2002.

Martyr and Exarch, Leonid Feodorov. The brief sketch of his life was given earlier.

Related

Pope Remembers Ukrainian Victims of Stalin’s Forced FamineNov 24, 2008In "History"

Blessed Nykyta Budka, Bishop of Canada, MartyrMar 27, 2015In "Catholic America"

Metropolitan Sheptytsky, Apostle of Church UnityMay 15, 2008In "Articles"

SOURCE : https://catholicism.org/glorious-ukrainian-martyrs-victims-of-communist-barbarity.html

Beato Leonida Fedorov Vescovo e martire

7 marzo

>>> Visualizza la Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene

San Pietroburgo, Russia, 4 novembre 1879 – Kirov, Russia, 7 marzo 1935

Nacque il 4 novembre 1879 a San Pietroburgo da una famiglia ortodossa russa. Nel 1902 lasciò il seminario ortodosso e fece un viaggio a Roma, dove si convertì al cattolicesimo. Terminati gli studi, il 25 marzo 1911 ricevette l'ordinazione presbiterale in Bosnia come greco-cattolico, cioè di rito bizantino. Due anni dopo divenne monaco nel monastero di San Teodoro lo Studita. Tornato a San Pietroburgo venne deportato in Siberia, ma già nel 1917 fu liberato e ricevette la nomina ad Esarca dei Cattolici russi di rito bizantino. Nel 1923 fu arrestato una seconda volta e condannato a dieci anni di prigionia e inviato alle isole Solovky sul Mar Bianco ed a Vladka. Fu pioniere dell'ecumenismo insieme con gli ortodossi con i quali condivise la dura prigionia. Morì il 7 marzo 1935 presso Kirov. Fu beatificato da Giovanni Paolo II il 27 giugno 2001, insieme ad altre 24 ucraini vittime del regime sovietico, primo beato russo dei tempi moderni. (Avvenire)

Martirologio Romano: Nella città di Kirov in Russia, beato Leonida Fëdorov, vescovo e martire, che ricoprì l’incarico di esarca apostolico dei cattolici Russi di Rito bizantino e, sotto un regime ostile alla religione, meritò di essere discepolo fedele di Cristo fino alla morte.

Nel 1928, sacerdoti cattolici ed ortodossi, deportati nel Grande Nord della Russia, tengono conferenze ecumeniche di una levatura e di una cordialità eccezionale. Grazie a libri presi a prestito da monaci ortodossi, un sacerdote cattolico, Padre Fëdorov, spiega la dottrina sull'infallibilità del Papa. Dopo una lunga discussione, l'arcivescovo Ilarion, ex ausiliario del Patriarca di Mosca, dichiara: «Inteso in questo modo, non vedo più perchè questo dogma ripugnerebbe al mondo ortodosso». Il 27 giugno 2001, Papa Giovanni Paolo II beatificava Leonida Fëdorov, la cui preoccupazione costante era stata l'unità dei Cristiani.

Leonida Fëdorov nasce il 4 novembre 1879, in una famiglia ortodossa. Suo padre muore prematuramente e la Signora Fëdorov continua a gestire da sola un ristorante a San Pietroburgo. Leonida è un adolescente mite e gentile. Sua madre fa di tutto per iniziarlo alla devozione cristiana. Di un temperamento indipendente e idealistico, il giovane legge avidamente gli autori francesi, italiani o tedeschi. Dopo aver letto opere di filosofia indù, pensa: «A che serve questa vita senza valori? A che servono l'attività, l'agitazione, gli slanci generosi, lo sforzo? Non è preferibile il riposo perpetuo del nirvana, in cui si spegne ogni aspirazione, in cui si instaura la quiete eterna dell'annientamento?» Ma tali disposizioni d'animo sono passeggere. Influenzato da un sacerdote ortodosso, che alleava virtù e scienza con un grande talento pedagogico, l'anima del giovane si pacifica e, dopo gli studi medi superiori, condotti brillantemente, entra all'Accademia ecclesiastica, scuola superiore di teologia.

Un'auspicata riconciliazione

Il ristorante della Signora Fëdorov è un luogo d'incontro per gli intellettuali. Fra di essi, si trova un giovane e brillante professore di filosofia, Vladimiro Soloviev, che insiste sulla responsabilità dei Cristiani, predica con foga il ritorno ad un cristianesimo integrale e la riconciliazione della Russia con il Papato. Influenzato da lui, tutto si chiarisce in Leonida: «Avevo già vent'anni, scriverà più tardi, quando, attraverso la lettura dei Padri della Chiesa e della Storia, riuscii a scoprire la vera Chiesa Universale». Ma la legislazione russa rende praticamente impossibile il passaggio di un Ortodosso al cattolicesimo.

Infatti, la Chiesa nazionale russa, ortodossa, era profondamente legata al potere temporale. Avendo salvato molte volte la nazione nei momenti cruciali, essa appariva come assolutamente necessaria alla sua vita. Separarsi da essa equivaleva a separarsi dalla comunità russa stessa. Infatti, i Cattolici russi erano quasi tutti di origine straniera e in maggioranza di origine polacca; la lingua dei Cattolici era il polacco ed il rito seguito, quello latino. Per i Russi ortodossi, il rito latino era quello di coloro che riconoscono la supremazia del Papa, ed il rito bizantino-russo una specie di patrimonio familiare inalienabile. Il governo russo non voleva a nessun costo che si instaurassero chiese in cui i fedeli avrebbero pregato secondo il rito bizantino, pur riconoscendo il Papa come pastore supremo.

Nella sua ricerca della verità, Leonida si intrattiene con il Rettore della chiesa cattolica principale di San Pietroburgo, poi decide di farsi Cattolico, e, pertanto, di andarsene all'estero. Il 19 giugno 1902, parte alla volta dell'Italia. A Leopoli, in Ucraina, va a trovare il Metropolita cattolico di rito orientale, Andrea Cheptitzky, che gli fornisce una raccomandazione scritta indirizzata a Papa Leone XIII. Leonida giunge a Roma nel corso del mese di luglio del 1902, e il 31, festa di sant'Ignazio di Loyola, fa professione di fede cattolica nella chiesa del Gesù, tenuta dai Gesuiti. Poco dopo, il Santo Padre lo riceve in udienza privata, lo benedice e gli attribuisce una borsa per gli studi sacerdotali.

Leonida si reca al seminario di Anagni, a 50 km. a sud di Roma e diretto dai Gesuiti. L'esuberanza dei giovani compagni meridionali talvolta lo infastidisce, ma si sforza di non brontolare e si piega ad un regolamento assolutamente nuovo per lui. Inizia i compagni ai problemi religiosi russi. «Si conosce talmente male la Russia a Roma, ripete. Infatti, la Russia è molto più prossima di Roma che non i paesi protestanti, ma qualsiasi provvedimento inopportuno nei suoi riguardi può causare un gravissimo pregiudizio alla causa dell'unione». Dopo tre anni di sforzi notevoli, consegue il grado di dottore in filosofia ed inizia gli studi di teologia. «Gli anni di studio, scriverà in seguito, furono per me una vera rivelazione. La vita austera, la regolarità, lo studio razionale e profondo che mi furono richiesti, i compagni che vi frequentai, pieni di gioia e di vitalità, non ancora corrotti dagli scritti atei dell'epoca, il popolo italiano, anch'esso tanto vivace, tanto intelligente e pervaso della vera civiltà cristiana, tutto ciò mi rimise veramente in sesto e mi iniettò una nuova energia». Aggiunge tuttavia: «Mi si aprirono gli occhi sulla disuguaglianza che regna nella Chiesa cattolica fra i vari riti e il mio animo si ribellò contro l'ingiustizia dei Latini nei riguardi degli Orientali, contro la loro ignoranza generale della cultura spirituale orientale». Infatti, per molti sacerdoti cattolici di allora, il rito latino era considerato come il rito cattolico per eccellenza, essendo gli altri riti soltanto tollerati. Leonida non condivide quest'opinione: «Meditando le istruzioni del Metropolita Cheptitzky, scriverà, mi resi conto che il mio vero dovere di Cattolico era quello di rimanere irremovibilmente fedele al rito ed alle tradizioni religiose russe. Il Sommo Pontefice lo esigeva molto chiaramente». Non per questo Leonida assume una mentalità gretta: si appassiona per tutte le iniziative della Chiesa d'Occidente.

Ma in Russia, la rivoluzione incombe. Alla fine di ottobre 1905, lo Zar è costretto a fare concessioni, a riconoscere in particolare la libertà di coscienza. Tuttavia, quando una persona molto coraggiosa, la Signorina Ouchakoff, organizza una cappella cattolica di rito orientale a San Pietroburgo, il governo rifiuta di approvare tale iniziativa. «Si permetteva, in Russia, scrive un testimone, la costruzione di moschee, di pagode buddiste, di cappelle protestanti di quasiasi genere, tutta una serie di logge massoniche e perfino chiese cattoliche di rito latino, ma mai una chiesa cattolica di rito russo! L'attrattiva sarebbe stata troppo grande!»

Partenza immediata

Nel 1907, Leonida ottiene per decreto pontificio il riconoscimento ufficiale della sua appartenenza al rito bizantino. Tale decreto di Papa san Pio X segnava una svolta nell'attività apostolica della Chiesa cattolica in Russia, poichè i Cattolici russi potevano ormai esser riconosciuti ufficialmente da Roma, pur conservando il loro proprio rito, il rito bizantino-russo. Nel giugno 1907, quando Leonida chiede il rinnovo del passaporto, il governo russo risponde: «Se Leonida Fëdorov non lascia immediatamente un istituto diretto dai Gesuiti, gli si vieterà per sempre il rientro in Russia!» Leonida lascia Anagni per il Convitto della Propaganda, a Roma città. Si trova ormai in un ambiente molto cosmopolita che gli permette di toccar con mano l'universalità della Chiesa cattolica.

Durante l'estate del 1907, Leonida si reca al primo Congresso di Velehrad, in Moravia, dove s'incontrano specialisti delle questioni orientali per «aprire la via della pace e della concordia fra l'Occidente e l'Oriente, per proiettare luce sulle questioni controverse, per correggere le idee preconcette, per ravvicinare i più ostili, per ristabilire l'amicizia totale». Gli viene affidata una missione urgente in favore degli Orientali greco-cattolici emigrati negli Stati Uniti; questi, mal compresi dai vescovi del paese, si avvicinano agli Ortodossi. Leonida intercede per essi presso la Santa Sede, che accorderà loro, nel maggio 1913, uno statuto giuridico corrispondente alle loro necessità.

Alla fine dell'anno scolastico 1907-1908, a seguito di una nuova richiesta del governo russo, Leonida deve lasciare Roma; si reca in incognito a Friburgo, in Svizzera, per finire gli studi. Durante l'estate del 1909, torna a San Pietroburgo, dove ritrova commosso sua madre, la quale ha anch'essa fatto professione di fede cattolica. Alla stessa epoca, il Metropolita Cheptitzki chiede ed ottiene da Papa san Pio X una vera e propria giurisdizione sui Greco-cattolici di Russia, che non saranno così più sottoposti a vescovi polacchi di rito latino.

Far scomparire un'opera diabolica

Il 26 marzo 1911, Leonida è ordinato sacerdote. Il 27 luglio, partecipa al congresso di Velehrad. L'assenza di prelati ortodossi a tale congresso lo addolora; scrive loro: «È nostra intenzione servirci della ricerca scientifica per preparare le vie del nostro mutuo ravvicinamento. I congressi di Velehrad non sono istituzioni esclusivamente confessionali (vale a dire riservate ai Cattolici) bensì piuttosto riunioni di studiosi, animati da spirito religioso e convinti che la disunione è un'opera diabolica che bisogna far scomparire».

Tuttavia, da parecchi anni, Padre Leonida si sente attirato dalla vita monastica. Nel maggio del 1912, viene accolto in un monastero in cui la vita si divide fra la celebrazione dell'Uffizio divino secondo il rito bizantino e i lavori dei campi. Grazie alla sua salute robusta ed al suo carattere conciliante, si piega senza troppa difficoltà all'austerità dello stile di vita. L'isolamento dal mondo ed il raccoglimento lo soddisfanno, benchè gli manchino lo studio della teologia e le informazioni sulla situazione politica. Scopre nel proprio temperamento una certa durezza nei riguardi del prossimo, che non si manca di fargli notare, e contro cui lotta con successo. «Parlava con molta dolcezza, potrà dire di lui uno dei confratelli. Era sempre di umore costante».

Durante l'estate del 1914, scoppia la prima guerra mondiale. Padre Leonida torna immediatamente a San Pietroburgo, diventata Pietrogrado. Ivi lo attende una penosa sorpresa: il governo lo esilia a Tobolsk, in Siberia, poichè è legato a nemici della Russia. Padre Leonida si sistema in una stanza d'affitto e trova un lavoro nell'amministrazione locale. Così passano gli anni 1915 e 1916, contrassegnati da una lunga immobilizzazione a letto, dovuta ad una violenta crisi di reumatismi articolari. Ma la guerra ha disorganizzato l'economia nazionale ed il popolo soffre a causa della penuria di viveri. Nel febbraio del 1917, scoppia la rivoluzione, e il 2 marzo, lo Zar Nicola II abdica. Un governo provvisorio, presieduto dal Principe Lvoff, proclama un'amnistia totale per i delitti in materia religiosa ed abolisce tutte le restrizioni alla libertà di culto. Il Metropolita Cheptitzky, anch'egli esiliato, viene quindi amnistiato e riorganizza l'attività dei Cattolici russi. Sceglie Padre Leonida in qualità di esarca, vale a dire quale rappresentante dell'autorità religiosa sul territorio russo. Amnistiato a sua volta, egli torna a Pietrogrado. Il Metropolita ha in animo di conferirgli la consacrazione episcopale, ma Padre Leonida rifiuta.

Cattolico, russo, di rito bizantino

Il nuovo esarca inizia l'opera pastorale preoccupandosi dell'unità dei cristiani d'Oriente e d'Occidente. Per lui, la vera soluzione va ricercata in una riconciliazione tramite le gerarchie. La sua piccola comunità dimostra con i fatti che si può essere Cattolici, rimanendo totalmente Russi e conservando il rito orientale. Ma il 25 ottobre, i Bolscevichi rovesciano il governo ed installano un rivolgimento radicale dell'ordine sociale. Cominciano cinque anni di privazioni, di lotte e di angosce. All'inizio del 1919, Padre Leonida scrive ad un amico: «Attribuisco ad un miracolo della bontà divina il fatto di essere ancora in vita e che la nostra chiesa continui ad esistere. Buon numero dei nostri Cattolici russi sono morti d'inedia. Gli altri si sono dispersi di qua e di là, per sottrarsi al freddo e alla fame». Nel 1918, egli ha il dolore di perdere sua madre, poi la Signorina Ouchakoff. Tuttavia, fa conoscenza con una donna molto colta, docente universitaria, la Signorina Danzas, che, dopo essersi convertita al cattolicesimo, lo assiste con una grande dedizione.

Esercita il suo apostolato in tre centri: Pietrogrado, Mosca e Saratov, che riuniscono circa 200 fedeli, cui vanno aggiunti 200 altri che si sono dispersi nell'immenso territorio russo; giudica che sono circa 2000 quelli che hanno lasciato la Russia o sono morti. La Signorina Danzas scriverà di Padre Leonida: «L'amore di Dio e la fervente fede dell'esarca si manifestavano particolarmente attraverso il di lui modo di celebrare la Santa Liturgia. Soprattutto in questo modo egli conquistava le anime. Come predicatore, non era sempre alla portata del pubblico; era un teologo profondo, ed aveva talvolta difficoltà a mettersi al livello dell'assistenza composta di gente semplice... Come confessore, era eccezionale e tutti quelli che hanno avuto l'occasione di sottomergli casi di coscienza hanno sempre conservato il commosso ricordo del modo in cui egli si dava totalmente a questo ministero».

L'estate del 1921 è contrassegnata da una siccità eccezionale che, aggiunta alla politica agraria del governo, porta con sè una spaventosa carestia, causa della morte di circa cinque milioni di persone. La Santa Sede incarica Padre Walsh, Gesuita, di organizzare i soccorsi che manda agli affamati tramite un'associazione americana. In poche settimane, migliaia di Russi vengono salvati, grazie alla generosità dei Cattolici di tutto il mondo. Padre Leonida incontra il Gesuita e fra di loro nasce una profonda amicizia. Su consiglio dell'esarca, Padre Walsh fornisce viveri al clero ortodosso, nelle regioni in cui i sacerdoti soffrono la fame.

Lo smarrimento e la persecuzione dei Cristiani in Russia chiariscono loro vigorosamente i vantaggi di un'unione con il resto del mondo cristiano ed in particolare con il Sommo Pontefice. Proteste comuni, firmate da prelati ortodossi e cattolici, cosa che non si era mai riscontrata nella storia della Russia, vengono indirizzate al governo, per difendere gli interessi comuni. Conferenze apologetiche comuni vengono progettate, in vista di lottare contro la propaganda degli atei. Padre Fëdorov compone una breve preghiera che possa esser recitata senza reticenze tanto dai Cattolici quanto dagli Ortodossi.

Ma il governo intensifica le persecuzioni. Ai sacerdoti è vietato insegnare la religione ai ragazzi minori di 18 anni. L'ateismo viene insegnato ufficialmente nelle scuole. Con il pretesto di comprare viveri per nutrire gli affamati, le autorità civili spogliano le chiese dei vasi sacri e oggetti preziosi. All'inizio del febbraio 1923, Padre Fëdorov riceve l'ordine di recarsi a Mosca, con altri ecclesiastici di Pietrogrado, per comparire davanti alla Suprema Corte Rivoluzionaria. Lo si accusa di essersi opposto al decreto che spogliava le chiese dei vasi sacri, di aver intrattenuto rapporti criminali con l'estero, di aver insegnato la religione a minorenni ed infine di essersi impegnato nella propaganda antirivoluzionaria.

Qualunque cosa dica la legge...

Iniziato il 21 marzo, il processo dura cinque giorni. Il Procuratore non riesce a nascondere l'astio che lo anima: «Sputo sulla vostra religione, come sputo su tutte le religioni...». Rivolgendosi all'esarca, lo interroga: «Ubbidisci o no al Governo sovietico? – Se il Governo sovietico mi chiede di agire contro la mia coscienza, non ubbidisco. Per quanto concerne l'insegnamento del catechismo, la dottrina della Chiesa cattolica esige che i bambini ricevano un'istruzione religiosa, qualunque cosa dica la legge». Verso la fine del processo, il Procuratore dichiara: «Fëdorov è all'origine delle riunioni con il clero ortodosso... Deve esser giudicato non solo per quel che ha fatto, ma per quello che può ancora fare», e richiede la pena di morte. Due avvocati sono autorizzati a difendere i sacerdoti di rito latino. L'esarca, per quanto lo concerne, espone personalmente la propria difesa. Dimostra abilmente come tutto il processo non sia altro che una commedia già preparata, ma lo fa senza acredine, come un uomo la cui posizione è talmente salda, che non ha alcun bisogno di difendersi. Alla fine, afferma: «Il desiderio del mio animo è quello che la nostra Patria riesca a capire che la fede cristiana e la Chiesa cattolica non sono un'organizzazione politica, ma una comunità d'amore». La sentenza viene emessa: l'esarca è condannato a dieci anni di reclusione.

Padre Leonida approfitta della reclusione per redigere due catechismi in russo. «Posso attestare, scriverà la Signorina Danzas, dopo aver reso visita all'esarca, che il suo atteggiamento era ancora più calmo e più lieto del solito. Mi diceva che non si era mai sentito tanto felice. Padre Leonida mantiene, dalla prigione, una fitta corrispondenza con i fedeli. Si preoccupa di intrattenere i rapporti con gli Ortodossi: «Qui, scrive, ci sono due vescovi e circa venti sacerdoti ortodossi. I nostri rapporti sono ottimi». Verso la metà di settembre nello stesso anno 1923, Padre Leonida viene trasferito in un'altra prigione, dove il regime è molto più severo. Lì, è sottoposto ad una segregazione cellulare totale. Nell'aprile del 1926, una generosa ed energica signora, membro della Croce Rossa, ottiene la liberazione del prigioniero. Ma, nel corso del mese di giugno, egli viene nuovamente arrestato, poi condannato a tre anni di deportazione nelle isole Solovki, nel Mar Bianco (Grande Nord della Russia europea).

Le isole dell'arcipelago Solovki, dove il clima è molto freddo ed umido, sono coperte di foreste. I Soviet hanno trasformato il monastero ortodosso, che esisteva fin dal XV secolo, in un'immensa prigione. Padre Fëdorov ci arriva verso la metà di ottobre del 1926. Tutte le mattine, i prigionieri vengono condotti nelle foreste, per lavorarvi in qualità di boscaioli. I Cattolici di rito bizantino hanno ottenuto la facoltà di pregare, utilizzando un'antica cappella, a trenta minuti di strada dall'ex monastero. A partire dall'estate 1927, il Santo Sacrificio vi è celebrato la domenica, nel rito latino e nel rito bizantino, in alternanza.

Un sacerdote scriverà dell'esarca: «Quando potevamo beneficiare di un po' di riposo nei nostri lavori forzati, ci piaceva raggrupparci intorno a lui; ci attirava... Si distingueva per una cortesia ed una semplicità eccezionali... Se notava che uno o l'altro di noi attraversava un periodo di depressione, lo aiutava a riprendersi, risvegliando in lui la speranza di tempi migliori. Se per caso riceveva da fuori un soccorso d'ordine materiale, aveva l'abitudine di dividerlo con gli altri».

In terra russa, per la Russia

Ma, all'inizio del novembre 1928, la cappella viene chiusa ed una perquisizione confisca tutto quello che può servire al culto. «Chiesi allora all'esarca, riferirà un sacerdote, se bisognasse continuare a celebrare il Santo Ufficio sotto la minaccia di penose sanzioni. Mi rispose allora con le seguenti memorabili parole: «Non dimentichi che le Liturgie Divine che celebriamo a Solovki sono forse le sole che celebrano sacerdoti cattolici di rito russo in terra russa per la Russia. Bisogna far di tutto perchè almeno una liturgia venga celebrata ogni giorno»». Nella primavera del 1929, lo stato di salute dell'esarca si deteriora considerevolmente ed egli viene ricoverato presso l'ospedale del campo. Alla fine dell'estate, si conclude il periodo dei tre anni di campo di concentramento, ma egli deve rimanere in esilio per altri tre anni. Passerà gli ultimi anni di vita presso agricoltori del Grande Nord. Nel gennaio del 1934, si stabilirà in una città a 400 km. più a sud, presso un ferroviere. All'inizio del febbraio 1935, è spossato e oppresso da una continua tosse; il 7 marzo, esala l'ultimo respiro.

Come il beato Leonida Fëdorov, abbiamo a cuore l'unità dei Cristiani e seguiamo le esortazioni del Concilio Vaticano II: «Che tutti i fedeli si ricordino che favoriranno l'unione dei Cristiani, ed anzi che la realizzeranno, per quanto si applicheranno a vivere più puramente secondo il Vangelo. Quanto più stretta, infatti, sarà la loro comunione con il Padre, il Verbo e lo Spirito Santo, tanto più essi potranno rendere intima e facile la mutua fratellanza... Questa conversione del cuore e questa santità di vita, come pure le preghiere pubbliche e private per l'unità dei Cristiani, devono esser considerate come l'anima di tutto l'ecumenismo e possono a giusto titolo essere chiamate ecumenismo spirituale» (Unitatis redintegratio, 7-8).

Autore: Dom Antoine Marie osb

Fonte  Lettera mensile dell'abbazia Saint-Joseph, F. 21150 Flavigny- Francia - www.clairval.com

SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92946

Martiri Greco-Cattolici Ucraini

(†1959)

BEATIFICAZIONE:

- 27 giugno 2001

- Papa  Giovanni Paolo II

 Celebrazione

RICORRENZA:

- 2 aprile

Mykola Čarneckyj (1884-1959), Vescovo di Lviv, che svolse il suo ministero di esarca apostolico di Volyn’ e Pidljashja in tempo di persecuzione contro la fede e, seguendo come pastore fedele le orme di Cristo, per sua grazia raggiunse il regno celeste; e 24 compagni, martiri

 Nessuno ha un amore più grande di questo: dare la vita per i propri amici (Gv 15,13)

Mykola Čarneckyj, nacque il 14 dicembre 1884 in Semakivtsi (Ucraina Occidentale). Nel 1903 entrò nel Seminario di Stanislaviv. Negli anni 1903-1910 fu alunno del Collegio Ucraino a Roma, coronando gli studi con il dottorato in teologia. Ordinato sacerdote nel 1909, insegnò nel seminario di Stanislaviv, dove era anche padre spirituale.

Nel 1919 entrò nella Congregazione dei Missionari Redentoristi. Nel 1926 fu nominato Visitatore Apostolico per i greco-cattolici in Volyn, dove le strutture della Chiesa greco-cattolica furono distrutte dal regime zarista nel XIX secolo. Nel 1931 fu nominato Ordinario dei cattolici di rito bizantino-slavo in Polonia e fu ordinato Vescovo l'8 febbraio 1931 a Roma. 

Fu arrestato l'11 aprile a Lviv dagli agenti del KGB, insieme a tutti i Vescovi greco-cattolici. Condannato inizialmente a cinque anni di lavori forzati, passò undici anni nelle carceri. Subì continue torture ed umiliazioni. Accettava tutto questo e sopportava con eroica pazienza e serenità, pregando per i persecutori e confortando i suoi compagni di lager, per i quali era veramente un buon pastore. Nel 1956 fu scarcerato e riportato a Lviv ormai moribondo. Ripresosi continuò il suo ministero vescovile a Lviv: dal suo letto dirigeva la Chiesa nelle catacombe.

Il Servo di Dio morì a Lviv il 2 aprile 1959. Sin dall'inizio fu ritenuto dai fedeli ucraini un santo vescovo e un martire della fede cattolica. Ogni giorno molti fedeli pregano sulla sua tomba.

SOURCE : https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/mykola-carneckyj-e-24-compagni.html

Den salige Leonid Fëdorov (1879-1935)

Minnedag: 2. april

Den salige Leonid Fëdorov [Feodorov] ble født den 4. november 1879 i en russisk-ortodoks familie i St. Petersburg i Russland. Hans far døde mens han var svært ung og han ble oppdratt av moren Lioubova Dimitrievna. Han begynte i 1901 på et ortodokst seminar i St. Petersburg. Men i 1902 forlot han seminaret og reiste til Roma, hvor han ble katolikk. Deretter studerte han i Anagni, Roma og Freiburg. Kontakt med metropolitt Andreas Septyckyj [Sheptytsky] (Andrij), som ledet den ukrainsk-katolske Kirke fra 1901 til sin død i 1944, hadde stor innflytelse på Leonids åndelige utvikling.

Han assisterte ved kroningen av den hellige pave Pius X (1903-14) den 9. august 1903. Han tok doktorgraden i filosofi i 1905 og en grad i teologi i 1907. Han ble diakonviet den 22. mars 1911, og den 25. mars ble han presteviet i Bosnia etter østlig ritus. Den 20. mai 1912 påbegynte han novisiatet som munk i Bosnia i et kloster hos studittene (Monachi e Regula Studitarum [Monaca Studiti Ucraini] – MSU), en av de tre tradisjonelle bysantinske (gresk-katolske; «unerte») munkeordenene ved siden av basilianerne og redemptoristene av bysantinsk ritus. Han ble ikledd drakten den 12. februar 1913 og tok ordensnavnet p. Leontios.

Senere vendte han tilbake til St. Petersburg. I forbindelse med utbruddet av Første verdenskrig ble han arrestert av tsarregimet fordi han var katolikk og sendt til Tobolsk i Sibir. I 1917 ble han løslatt etter et amnesti for politiske og religiøse fanger. Han vendte tilbake til St. Petersburg og ble utnevnt til leder for den russiske katolske Kirken av østlig ritus med tittel av eksark (apostolisk vikar).

Senere i 1917 overtok bolsjevikene makten, noe som betydde forfølgelser av Kirken og de kristne. Alle kirker ble beordret stengt den 5. desember 1922. P. Leontios ble arrestert for andre gang, nå av bolsjevikene, sammen med 14 andre prester i januar 1923. Han ble sendt til Moskva for rettssak og ble dømt til ti års fengsel.

Han ble løslatt i 1926 og flyttet til Kaluga. Men han ble arrestert på nytt for å spre troen, og han ble dømt til ti års fengsel. Fra 1926 til 1929 sonet han i Solovki (Solovetsky), et kloster som var omgjort til fengsel. Der fortsatte han å gjøre tjeneste for de troende, feiret hemmelige messer og brukte vin laget av rosiner som var sendt av fangenes familiemedlemmer. Den 6. august 1929 ble han overført til tvangsarbeidsleiren Pinieza (Pinega), hvor han ble innkvartert sammen med en fengslet ortodoks prest. Etter arbeidet holdt han katekesetimer for lokale gutter.

Han ble senere overført til Arkhangelsk, Kotlas og Poltava. De elendige forholdene og kontinuerlig overarbeid hadde brutt ned hans helse, og i 1932 ble han erklært som invalid. Han fullførte soningen i 1933, men han ble utestengt fra mange russiske byer, og han måtte leve i eksil resten av livet.. Han døde som martyr for sin tros skyld den 7. mars 1935 og ble gravlagt i Viatka. Med hjelp fra metropolitt Andreas ble hans saligkåringsprosess åpnet i 1937.

Den 24. april 2001 ble dekretet som anerkjente hans og 24 ukraineres martyrium (gruppen den salige Nikolas Carneckyj og hans 24 ledsagere) promulgert i Vatikanet av Helligkåringskongregasjonen i nærvær av pave Johannes Paul II (1978-2005). Dermed fikk de tittelen Venerabilis, «Ærverdige», og veien til saligkåring var åpnet. Gruppen består av åtte biskoper, seks sekularprester, syv ordensprester, tre ordenssøstre og en legmann.

De ble saligkåret den 27. juni 2001 av pave Johannes Paul II under hans besøk i Ukraina. Deres minnedag er 2. april, Nikolas Carneckyjs dødsdag. Samtidig ble to andre gresk-katolske ukrainere, en rutensk biskop og to latinske katolikker også saligkåret. Leonid var den første russeren som ble saligkåret av pave Johannes Paul II (1978-2005).

Kilder: Patron Saints SQPN, papalvisit.org.ua, vatican.va, EWTN/OR - Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden - Sist oppdatert: 2005-07-04 23:39

SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/lfedorov

El beato Leoniv Feodorov: primer católico ruso víctima del comunismo soviético

 junio 15, 2019  Que No Te La Cuenten

Por Mª Jesús Echevarria para Que no te la cuenten

Contexto histórico

La historia del Exarca Greco-Católico de Moscú y la del Metropolitano Ortodoxo de Petrogrado, Benjamín, convergieron en un punto, ambos fueron juzgados por un tribunal, en años consecutivos y por el mismo delito.

En 1921 comenzó la primera gran hambruna en Rusia, que no fue provocada sino que tuvo su origen en las malas cosechas y el desastre de las continuas guerras por el poder, y que llevaron a los bolcheviques al control de lo que había sido el Imperio Ruso.

La hambruna se llevó un millón de vidas y entonces el gobierno, liderado por Lenin, se asustó de verdad ante lo que les venía encima hasta el punto que pidió ayuda externa, que se le envió desde varios países y la Cruz Roja hizo acto de presencia en Rusia. Como consecuencia de esto los comités políticos de las distintas ciudades pidieron ayuda a las iglesias para que contribuyeran con los “tesoros” acumulados en los templos. La respuesta, tanto de católicos como de ortodoxos, fue que contribuirían con todo aquello que pudieran vender que no estuviera dedicado al culto, como los cálices y otros objetos similares. Por otro lado las iglesias se negaron a que los comités revolucionarios entraran en los templos sin control y se lo llevaran todo y se ofrecieron a entregar ellos mismos los objetos, e incluso en algunos casos, los mismos feligreses estuvieron dispuestos a contribuir con cuanto de valor tuvieren para evitar la venta de objetos sagrados. La respuesta no gustó y esa fue la causa de ambos juicios, la del Metropolitano de Petrogrado Veniamin (segunda autoridad de la Iglesia Ortodoxa después del Patriarca Tikhon de Moscú), y la del Exarca Greco-Católico de Moscú Leoniv (Leónidas) Feodorov, ambos acusados de “contrarrevolucionarios”.

El Metropolitano Veniamin (Benjamín) fue juzgado por los tribunales revolucionarios de Petrogrado mientras que el Exarca católico lo fue por el fiscal Krylov en Moscú, juez del llamado Tribunal del Pueblo. Hay constancia de ambos juicios porque fueron abiertos y asistieron periodistas y extranjeros que todavía permanecían en Moscú. El hecho de que se conserven relatos periodísticos y testigos del juicio permitió abrir la causa de beatificación de Leoniv Feodorov. 

El Metropolitano de Petrogrado fue condenado a muerte junto con varias personas más, entre ellos sacerdotes ortodoxos y un abogado (ignoro si fue el mismo que asumió su defensa en el juicio). Antes de su fusilamiento fueron rapados y vestidos con ropas no eclesiásticas y muy pobres para que el pelotón de fusilamiento no se diera cuenta de que estaban fusilando a miembros de la Iglesia, no fuera que tal cosa supusiera problemas ya que en aquel momento los bolcheviques no podían saber a ciencia cierta la adhesión de muchos de sus camaradas a la Iglesia Ortodoxa. Sus cuerpos fueron cremados y sus cenizas arrojadas al río Neva. La Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa ha canonizado a San Benjamín de Petrogrado.

La conversión de un ortodoxo

Leoniv Feoderov nace el 4 de noviembre de 1879, en el seno de una familia ortodoxa. Su padre fallece prematuramente, y su viuda continúa regentando sola un restaurante en San Petersburgo. Leónidas es un adolescente cariñoso y delicado, y su madre no escatima esfuerzos a la hora de iniciarlo en la piedad cristiana. De carácter independiente e idealista, el joven lee con fruición a los autores franceses, italianos o alemanes. La lectura de obras de filosofía hindú, le mueven a la siguiente reflexión: «¿Para qué esta vida sin valor? ¿Para qué la actividad, la agitación, los impulsos generosos y el esfuerzo? ¿Acaso no es preferible el reposo perpetuo del nirvana, donde toda aspiración se apaga, donde se establece el apaciguamiento eterno del aniquilamiento?». Pero esas disposiciones del espíritu son pasajeras. Bajo la influencia de un sacerdote ortodoxo que sabe conjugar virtud y ciencia con un gran talento pedagógico, el alma del joven queda pacificada y, al terminar sus estudios secundarios, que aprueba con brillantez, ingresa en la Academia Eclesiástica, escuela superior de teología.

Entre los clientes del restaurante de su madre está nada menos que el teólogo Vladimir Sóloviev que predica un cristianismo integral y el retorno a la unión de la Iglesia Rusa y el Papado. Bajo su influencia Leónidas escribe: «Ya tenía veinte años cuando, mediante la lectura de los Padres de las Iglesia y de la Historia, acabé descubriendo a la verdadera Iglesia Universal». Sin embargo, la legislación rusa hace prácticamente imposible que un ortodoxo pueda pasarse al catolicismo.

La Iglesia Católica en Rusia se considera una “iglesia de polacos y para polacos”, no hay opción para los rusos que, al separarse de la iglesia oficial, quedan desgajados de su propia nacionalidad.

En su búsqueda de la verdad, Leónidas se entrevista con el rector de la principal iglesia católica de San Petersburgo, decidiendo después hacerse católico y, para ello, marcharse al extranjero. El 19 de junio de 1902, parte para Italia. En Lvov, antigua Galitzia del Imperio Austrohúngaro, visita al metropolita católico de rito oriental, Andrei Sheptytskyi, quien le entrega una recomendación dirigida al Papa León XIII.

Leónidas llega a Roma a lo largo de julio de 1902 y, el día 31, festividad de San Ignacio de Loyola, realiza su profesión de fe católica en la iglesia del Sacro Nome di Gesù (Santo Nombre de Jesús), regentada por los jesuitas. 

Acude al Seminario de Agnani a 50 Km. de Roma, donde estudia Filosofía durante tres años consiguiendo el grado de doctor y comenzado sus estudios de Teología. Durante este tiempo se da cuenta de que, para los católicos occidentales, solo existe el rito latino y de su desconocimiento del catolicismo oriental:

«Se me abrieron los ojos ante la desigualdad que reina en la Iglesia Católica entre los diferentes ritos, y mi alma se sublevó contra la injusticia de los latinos con respecto a los orientales y contra la ignorancia general de la cultura espiritual oriental» y, más tarde: «Meditando sobre las instrucciones del metropolita Sheptytskyi, me di cuenta de que, como católico, mi verdadero deber consistía en permanecer inquebrantablemente fiel al rito y a las tradiciones religiosas rusas. El Sumo Pontífice así lo deseaba claramente».

Sin embargo sigue interesado por todas las aportaciones de la Iglesia de Occidente.

En 1907, un decreto pontificio concede a Leónidas el reconocimiento oficial de su pertenencia al rito bizantino. Ese decreto del Papa san Pío X significaba un cambio de rumbo en la actividad apostólica de la Iglesia Católica en Rusia, ya que los católicos rusos podían en adelante ser reconocidos oficialmente por Roma, aunque conservando su propio rito, el rito bizantino ruso. En junio de 1907, cuando Leónidas solicita la prórroga de su pasaporte, el gobierno ruso responde: «Si Leóniv Feodorov no abandona inmediatamente una institución dirigida por los jesuitas, el regreso a Rusia le será prohibido para siempre». Leónidas deja Anagni para ingresar en el Colegio de la Propaganda, en la misma Roma. En adelante se encuentra en un medio muy cosmopolita que le permite conocer de primera mano la universalidad de la Iglesia Católica.

A finales del curso escolar 1907-1908, a instancias de nuevo del gobierno ruso, Leónidas debe abandonar Roma, dirigiéndose de incógnito a la ciudad suiza de Friburgo, a fin de concluir sus estudios. Durante el verano de 1909, regresa a San Petersburgo, donde se reencuentra emocionado con su madre, que también ha profesado la fe católica. En esa misma época, el metropolitano Sheptytskyi solicita y obtiene del Papa San Pío X una verdadera jurisdicción sobre los greco-católicos de Rusia, que de ese modo ya no estarán sometidos a obispos polacos de rito latino.

Sacerdote de la Iglesia greco-católica

El 26 de marzo de 1911 Leónidas es ordenado sacerdote. A pesar de su inclinación a la vida monástica, y en razón de los graves acontecimientos que llevan a Rusia a la Gran Guerra, en 1914 vuelve a San Petersburgo, convertida en Petrogrado, y se encuentra con la sorpresa de que el gobierno le exilia a Tobolks porque lo relacionan con los enemigos de Rusia. Después de la abdicación del Zar, y debido a una amnistía, tanto él como el Metropolitano Sheptytskyi, que estaba en el exilio, vuelven a su actividad y el Metropolitano le nombra Exarca, con autoridad sobre los católicos de Rusia, pero su intento de nombrarlo arzobispo es rechazado por él.

Triunfa la Revolución Bolchevique y la situación de las iglesias se va haciendo cada vez más difícil. El padre Leónidas escribe lo siguiente a un amigo:

«Considero un milagro de la bondad divina el hecho de que me encuentre todavía con vida y de que nuestra iglesia siga existiendo. Gran número de nuestros católicos rusos han muerto de inanición y, los que quedan, se han dispersado por todas partes para librarse del frío y del hambre». 

Ejerce su apostolado en tres centros: Petrogrado, Moscú y Sarátov, reuniendo alrededor de 200 fieles, a los que hay que añadir otros 200 que se habían dispersado en la inmensidad del territorio ruso; calcula que son unos 2.000 los que han abandonado Rusia o han muerto. El testimonio de una feligresa dice:

«El amor a Dios y la ferviente fe del exarca se manifestaban con creces en su manera de celebrar la Sagrada Liturgia. Conseguía sobre todo ganarse las almas de ese modo. Como predicador, no siempre se hallaba al alcance de los oyentes; era un profundo teólogo y, a veces, tenía dificultades para ponerse al nivel de un auditorio de gente sencilla. Como confesor, resultaba admirable, y todos los que tuvieron ocasión de exponerle el estado de sus conciencias han conservado siempre un recuerdo emocionado de la manera en que se entregaba por completo a ese ministerio».

Y así llegamos al año fatídico de 1921, cuando la hambruna se apoderó de Rusia y las iglesias llegaron a la situación descrita en el capítulo 1.

A principios de febrero de 1923, el padre Feodorov recibe la orden de dirigirse a Moscú, en compañía de otros eclesiásticos de Petrogrado, para comparecer ante al Alto Tribunal Revolucionario. Se le acusa de resistirse al decreto que despoja a las iglesias de sus vasos sagrados, de haber mantenido relaciones criminales con el extranjero, de haber enseñado la religión a menores y, finalmente, de haberse entregado a la propaganda contrarrevolucionaria.

El Juicio Cieplak 

En la primavera de 1923, el exarca Leonid, el arzobispo Cieplak, monseñor Konstanty Budkiewicz , y otros catorce sacerdotes católicos y un laico fueron citados en el juicio de Moscú ante el tribunal revolucionario por actividades contrarrevolucionarias.

Testimonio del padre Christopher L. Zugger:

“Los bolcheviques ya habían orquestado varias » pruebas espectáculo «. La Cheka había organizado la ‘Prueba de la Organización de Combate de San Petersburgo’; su sucesor, el nuevo GPU , el ‘ Juicio de los socialistas revolucionarios ‘. En estas y otras tales farsas, los acusados ​​fueron inevitablemente sentenciados a muerte o a largas penas de prisión en el norte. El juicio de Cieplak es un excelente ejemplo de la justicia revolucionaria bolchevique en este momento. Los procedimientos judiciales normales no restringían en absoluto los tribunales revolucionarios; de hecho, el fiscal N.V. Krylenko , declaró que los tribunales podían pisotear los derechos de las clases distintas del proletariado. Las apelaciones de los tribunales no fueron dirigidas a un tribunal superior, sino a los comités políticos. Los observadores occidentales encontraron el escenario, el gran salón de baile de un antiguo Club de Nobles, con querubines pintados en el techo, particularmente inadecuado para un evento tan solemne. Ni a los jueces ni a los fiscales se les exigía tener un formación legal, solo una apropiada «revolucionaria». El hecho de que los jueces ignoraran las prominentes señales de «No Fumar» no era buena señal con respecto al cumplimiento de las legalidades».

Testimonio de Francis McCullagh del New York Herald:

“Krylenko, quien comenzó a hablar a las 6:10 PM, fue lo suficientemente moderado al principio, pero rápidamente se lanzó a un ataque contra la religión en general y contra la Iglesia Católica en particular. «La Iglesia Católica», declaró, «siempre ha explotado a las clases trabajadoras». Cuando exigió la muerte del Arzobispo, dijo: «Toda la duplicidad jesuítica con la que usted se ha defendido no lo salvará de la pena de muerte . Ningún Papa en el Vaticano puede salvarlo». … A medida que avanzaba su largo discurso, el Procurador Rojo se convirtió en una furia de odio antirreligioso. «Tu religión», gritó, «la escupí, como lo hago en todas las religiones, ortodoxa, judía, mahometana y todas las demás».» No hay ley aquí sino ley soviética «, gritó en otra etapa,» y por esa ley debes morir”.

A diferencia de los otros acusados, el exarca Leonid insistió en actuar como su propio abogado, lo que llevó a algunos de los momentos más dramáticos del juicio. Según el padre Zugger:

“Vestido con la sotana negra rusa tradicional , con su largo cabello y una barba a menudo descrita como ‘como la de Cristo’, Feodorov era un hombre del narod , del pueblo ruso común por el que había luchado la Revolución. Su presencia puso en evidencia la mentira de la descripción habitual del catolicismo como «la religión polaca». Su presentación, un conmovedor testimonio de la espiritualidad rusa y la historia de la Iglesia en ese país, evocó lo mejor de la cristiandad rusa. Señaló que los greco-católicos saludaban a la Revolución con alegría, porque solo entonces tenían igualdad. No había ninguna organización secreta, simplemente habían seguido la ley de la Iglesia. La educación religiosa, la celebración de la misa y la administración de los sacramentos del matrimonio y el bautismo debían cumplirse. Señaló que la Iglesia, acusada de haber descuidado a los hambrientos, en ese momento estaba alimentando a 120.000 niños diariamente. Tras una mordaz respuesta de Krylenko, el Exarca Feodorov se levantó para sus comentarios finales: «Nuestros corazones están llenos, no de odio, sino de tristeza. No nos puede entender, no se nos permite la libertad de conciencia. Esa es la única conclusión que podemos extraer de lo que hemos escuchado aquí «. 

La sentencia, preparada de antemano, fue de muerte para el Arzobispo Cieplak y Monseñor Budkiewicz* y el exarca Leonid y todos los demás acusados ​​fueron sentenciados a diez años de prisión.

Sin embargo la presencia de testigos internacionales formó un alboroto tal en el extranjero que después de cumplir los primeros tres años de su sentencia en la prisión de Butyrka en Moscú , el exarca Leonid fue trasladado al campo de prisioneros de Solovki ,  ubicado en un antiguo monasterio isleño en el Mar Blanco ** .

El 6 de agosto de 1929, el exarca Leonid fue liberado en la ciudad de Pinega en el Óblast de Arkhangelsk y se puso a trabajar haciendo carbón. Después de continuar enseñando el Catecismo a niños pequeños, fue trasladado a la aldea de Poltava, a 15 km de Kotlas (que no debe confundirse con la ciudad de Poltava , Ucrania ), donde completó su sentencia en 1932. Eligió residir en Kirov, Óblast de Kirov , donde, agotado por los rigores de su encarcelamiento, murió el 7 de marzo de 1935.

Por Mª Jesús Echevarria

*Las sentencias a muerte fueron revocadas por la presión internacional, o eso dijeron, y fue así en el caso del Arzobispo Cieplak, que con el tiempo fue liberado- consultada la Hemeroteca de Madrid-pero Monseñor Konstanty Budkiewicz fue ejecutado el 31 de marzo de aquel año de un tiro en la cabeza al bajar las escaleras de la cárcel Lubianka, según testimonio del P. Frances Rutkowski encarcelado con él. Su proceso de beatificación está abierto.

**Primer asentamiento del GULAG dónde también estuvo encerrado, y dónde murió, el filósofo ortodoxo Pável Florenski.

SOURCE : https://www.quenotelacuenten.org/2019/06/15/el-beato-leoniv-feodorov-primer-catolico-ruso-victima-del-comunismo-sovietico/

Breve biografía de los veinticinco 

Siervos de Dios greco-católicos

Mykola Čarneckyj (1884-1959)

Exarca apostólico de los ucranios de Volyn' y Pidljasja, de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor (1884-1959). Mártir

Nació el 14 de diciembre de 1884 en Semakivtsi (Ucrania occidental). Prosiguió los estudios en Roma, ciudad en la que durante siete años frecuentó el Colegio Ucraniano (se licenció en sagrada teología en 1910). Recibió la ordenación sacerdotal en 1909; realizó su apostolado en la diócesis de Stanislaviv (actualmente Ivano-Frankivsk, Ucrania). En 1919 entró en el noviciado de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor, y el 16 de diciembre de 1920 emitió la profesión religiosa. Pío XII lo nombró obispo titular de Lebed y visitador apostólico para los ucranios de la región de Volyn' y Pidljasja. El 8 de febrero de 1931 fue ordenado obispo en Roma. Durante la primera ocupación soviética de Ucrania occidental (1939-1941), el metropolita Septyckyj lo nombró exarca apostólico para los ucranios de la misma región. Expulsado de Volyn' por los comunistas en 1939, se estableció en Lvov. El 11 de abril de 1945 las autoridades comunistas lo arrestaron junto con otros obispos de la Iglesia greco-católica. Comenzaron enseguida las torturas, tanto físicas como morales. Fue declarado culpable de colaboración "con el régimen nazi" y de ser "agente del Vaticano". Lo condenaron a seis años de cárcel por la primera acusación y a diez por la segunda. Cumplió la pena en diversos campos de concentración siberianos. Las autoridades, convencidas de que moriría de un momento a otro por su grave enfermedad, lo dejaron libre en 1956, al cabo de once años de prisión. Murió el 2 de abril de 1959, a los 74 años de edad, en Lvov.

Gregorio Khomysyn

Obispo de Stanislaviv de los ucranios (1867-1945). Mártir

Nació el 25 de marzo de 1867 en Hadynkivtsi (región de Ternopol). Terminados los estudios en el seminario de Lvov, se ordenó sacerdote el 18 de noviembre de 1893. En 1902 fue nombrado rector de dicho seminario y, dos años después, el 19 de junio de 1904, obispo de Stanislaviv. Los comunistas lo detuvieron por primera vez en 1939 y, después, el 11 de abril de 1945. Falleció el 28 de septiembre de ese mismo año en el hospital de la prisión de Lvov a causa de las torturas que le infligieron durante los interrogatorios.

Josafat Kocylovskyj

Obispo de Przemysl de los ucranios, de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat (1876-1947). Mártir

Nació el 3 de marzo de 1876 en Pakosivka (región de Sianok, Polonia). Estudió en Roma y recibió la ordenación sacerdotal el 9 de octubre de 1907. Fue vicerrector y profesor en el seminario de Stanislaviv. El 2 de octubre de 1911 ingresó en el noviciado de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat. El 23 de septiembre de 1917 fue ordenado obispo de Przemysl. Las autoridades comunistas lo arrestaron la primera vez el 17 de septiembre de 1945, y lo liberaron en febrero del año siguiente. El 11 de febrero de 1946 ordenaron la deportación de los ucranios residentes en Polonia. El 26 de junio de 1946 lo arrestaron otra vez y lo llevaron a los calabozos de Kiev, donde enfermó gravemente. Después lo trasladaron al campo de concentración de Capaivca (Kiev), en el que rechazó la propuesta de pasar a la Iglesia ortodoxa. Murió allí, a los 71 años, el 17 de noviembre de 1947.

Simeón Lukac

Obispo de la Iglesia greco-católica ucraniana "clandestina" (1893-1964). Mártir

Nació el 7 de julio de 1893 en Starunya (región de Stanislaviv). Ordenado sacerdote en 1919, desde 1920 hasta 1945 enseñó en el seminario de Stanislaviv. Entre marzo y abril de 1945, previéndose el arresto inminente de toda la jerarquía greco-católica ucraniana, fue ordenado secretamente obispo. El 26 de octubre de 1949 fue detenido y condenado a diez años de cárcel en el campo de concentración de Krasnoyarsk, en Siberia, por ser "fiel al Vaticano y obispo ilegal". Liberado en 1955, fue detenido otra vez por su actividad pastoral clandestina. En 1962 lo condenaron a cinco años de trabajos forzados. En marzo de 1964, ya moribundo, fue puesto en libertad. Murió el 22 de agosto de ese año; tenía 71 años.

Basilio Velyckovskyj

Obispo de la Iglesia greco-católica ucraniana "clandestina", de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor (1903-1973). Mártir

Nació el 1 de junio de 1903 en Stanislaviv (actualmente Ivano-Frankvisk). En el mes de agosto de 1925 entró en el noviciado de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor y, poco después, fue ordenado sacerdote. Durante siete años fue misionero en la región de Volyn'; en 1942 fue nombrado superior en Ternopol. El 11 de abril de 1945 fue arrestado y condenado a diez años de detención en el campo de concentración de Vorkuta, en Siberia. Liberado en 1955, volvió a Lvov, donde en 1959 fue nombrado clandestinamente obispo. Debido a la dura persecución, no pudo ser ordenado hasta 1963. Volvieron a arrestarlo por el delito de "organizar estudios teológicos secretos en Ternopol"; lo condenaron a tres años de exilio. El 27 de enero de 1972, antes de liberarlo, le inyectaron una sustancia "desconocida".Falleció a los 69 años, en Winnipeg (Canadá), el 30 de junio de 1973.

Iván Slezyuk

Obispo de la Iglesia greco-católica ucraniana "clandestina" (1896-1973). Mártir

Nació el 14 de enero de 1896 en Zhyvachiv (región de Stanislaviv). Recién ordenado sacerdote, enseñó el catecismo en las escuelas de Stanislaviv. Entre marzo y abril de 1945, previéndose el arresto inminente de toda la jerarquía greco-católica ucraniana, fue ordenado clandestinamente obispo. La policía lo detuvo en junio de 1945; fue condenado a diez años de cárcel. Liberado el 15 de noviembre de 1954, prosiguió su servicio pastoral hasta el 22 de octubre de 1962, año en que de nuevo fue condenado a cinco años de detención por "organización de la actividad religiosa ilegal de los sacerdotes greco-católicos". Excarcelado en 1968, reanudó su actividad clandestina a pesar de los continuos interrogatorios por parte de las autoridades comunistas de Stanislaviv. El 2 de diciembre de 1973, al final de un interrogatorio en los calabozos de dicha ciudad, se sintió mal y falleció. Tenía 77 años.

Mykyta Budka

Obispo auxiliar de Lvov de los ucranios, primer obispo de los católicos ucranianos de Canadá (1877-1949). Mártir

Nació el 7 de junio de 1877 en Dobromirka (situada en la región occidental de Ucrania). Recibió la ordenación sacerdotal el 10 de octubre de 1905 e inmediatamente inició su ministerio como prefecto del seminario de Lvov. El 14 de octubre de 1912 fue nombrado primer obispo de los católicos ucranianos residentes en Canadá. En 1928 volvió a Lvov, donde fue nombrado protosincello y canónigo de la catedral de San Jorge. El 11 de abril de 1945, juntamente con los demás obispos de la Iglesia greco-católica, fue arrestado y condenado a ocho años de trabajos forzados en Siberia. Murió el 28 de septiembre de 1949, a los 72 años, en el hospital del campo de concentración de Karadzar (República de Kazajstán).

Gregorio Lakota

Obispo auxiliar de Przemysl de los ucranios (1883-1950). Mártir

Nació el 31 de enero de 1883 en Holodivka, actualmente Zadnistriany (región de Lvov). Fue ordenado sacerdote el 30 de junio de 1908; desempeñó su ministerio pastoral en la diócesis de Przemysl (Polonia). Terminados los estudios en Viena, ejerció la docencia desde 1913 hasta 1918, año en que fue elegido rector del seminario de Przemysl. El 6 de mayo de 1926 fue consagrado obispo auxiliar de Przemysl. Ese mismo mes las autoridades lo deportaron a Ucrania. Se le infligió una pena de diez años de cárcel en el campo de concentración de Abez, en las cercanías de Vorkuta (Siberia). Falleció allí el 5 de noviembre de 1950.

Leonidas Fëdorov

Exarca de los católicos rusos de rito bizantino y sacerdote de los Monjes Estuditas (1879-1935). Mártir

Nació en un hogar ruso ortodoxo, en San Petersburgo (Rusia), el 4 de noviembre de 1879. En 1902 dejó el seminario ortodoxo y viajó a Roma, donde entró en la Iglesia católica. Estudió en Roma, Anagni y Friburgo, y el 25 de marzo de 1911 fue ordenado sacerdote de rito oriental en Bosnia, donde en 1913 ingresó en los Monjes Estuditas. Regresó a San Petersburgo, ciudad en la que fue arrestado y deportado a Siberia. En 1917, después de recuperar la libertad, fue nombrado exarca de la Iglesia católica rusa de rito oriental. Su segundo arresto tuvo lugar en 1923; lo internaron durante diez años en el campo de concentración de las islas Solovski y en Vjadka. Entregó su alma a Dios el 7 de marzo de 1934.

Mykola Konrad

Sacerdote de la archieparquía de Lvov de los ucranios (1876-1941). Mártir

Nació el 16 de mayo de 1876 en Strusiv (región de Ternopol). Licenciado en filosofía y teología, realizó estudios de posgrado en filosofía en la Academia de Santo Tomás de Aquino. Recibió la ordenación sacerdotal en 1899; incardinado en la archieparquía de Lvov. Enseñó religión en escuelas ucranianas y húngaras, y fue párroco en Stradch. Al retirarse las tropas soviéticas durante la segunda guerra mundial, fue fusilado junto con el laico Vladimiro Pryjma en el bosque de Birok, en los alrededores de Stradch, el 26 de junio de 1941, mientras iba a casa de una mujer enferma para administrarle los sacramentos.

Andrés Iscak

Sacerdote de la archieparquía de Lvov de los ucranios (1887-1941). Mártir

Nació el 23 de octubre de 1887 en Mykolaiv (región de Lvov). Después de realizar sus estudios de filosofía y teología en Innsbruck, fue ordenado sacerdote en 1914, incardinado en la archieparquía de Lvov. Como primera labor apostólica desempeñó el cargo de prefecto en el seminario de Lvov. Luego fue profesor en la Academia teológica. En 1930 viajó a Roma para frecuentar el Pontificio Instituto Oriental. Era párroco de Sykhiv (región de Lvov) cuando, el 26 de junio de 1941, un pelotón de las tropas soviéticas, que estaban escapando de la avanzada alemana, lo fusiló.

Román Lysko

Sacerdote de la archieparquía de Lvov de los ucranios (1914-1949). Mártir

Nació el 14 de agosto de 1914 en Horodok (Lvov). En 1938 se casó con Neonila Huniovska. El 28 de agosto de 1941 fue ordenado sacerdote; desarrolló su apostolado en la archieparquía de Lvov. Durante 1944 fue párroco de Belzets. Su rechazo a pasarse a la Iglesia ortodoxa le costó la cárcel en Lvov, en la que murió, a la edad de 35 años, por un "paro cardíaco", aunque algunos prisioneros testimoniaron que fue golpeado brutalmente por sus carceleros.

Mykola Cehelskyj

Sacerdote de la archieparquía de Lvov de los ucranios (1896-1951). Mártir

Nació el 17 de diciembre de 1896 en Strusiv (región de Ternopol). El 31 de agosto de 1924 se casó con Josefa Sartych, con la que tuvo cuatro hijos. Se ordenó sacerdote el 5 de abril de 1925, incardinándose en la archieparquía de Lvov. Las autoridades lo arrestaron el 28 de octubre de 1946, y lo condenaron a diez años de trabajos forzados en el campo de concentración de Javas (Mordovia), donde falleció a los 55 años, el 25 de mayo de 1951.

Pedro Verhun

Sacerdote de la archieparquía de Lvov de los ucranios y visitador apostólico para los católicos ucranianos residentes en Alemania (1890-1957). Mártir

Nació el 18 de noviembre de 1890 en Horodok (región de Lvov). Fue ordenado sacerdote el 30 de octubre de 1927. Desempeñó su ministerio, al principio, como responsable de los católicos ucranianos residentes en Alemania. En el año 1937 Pío XII le confirió el título de "monseñor", y el 23 de noviembre de 1940 lo nombró visitador apostólico para los católicos ucranianos residentes en Alemania. En junio de 1945 los servicios secretos rusos lo detuvieron en Berlín. Fue condenado a ocho años de trabajos forzados. Recuperó la libertad en 1952. Gravemente enfermo, murió en Angarsk (Krasnoyarsk, Siberia), el 7 de febrero de 1957; tenía 67 años.

Alejandro Zaryckyj

Sacerdote de la archieparquía de Lvov de los ucranios (1912-1963). Mártir

Nació el 17 de octubre de 1912 en Bilche (región de Lvov). Recibió la ordenación sacerdotal en la archieparquía de Lvov el 7 de junio de 1936.Fue párroco en Strutyn y en Zarvanytsia.El año 1948 las autoridades lo detuvieron en Riasna Ruska (Lvov), ciudad adonde se había trasladado durante la segunda guerra mundial. Lo condenaron a ocho años de exilio en Karaganda (Kazajstán). Excarcelado el 10 de abril de 1956 gracias a una amnistía general, volvió primero a Halychyna y después a Karaganda, con el propósito de organizar las comunidades católicas clandestinas. El 9 de mayo de 1962 lo arrestaron de nuevo y lo condenaron por "vagabundo" a dos años de cárcel. Tenía 51 años cuando murió en el hospital del campo de concentración de Dolinka, el 30 de octubre de 1963.

Clemente Septyckyj

Sacerdote profeso de los Monjes Estuditas ucranianos y archimandrita del monasterio de Univ (1869-1951). Mártir

Nació el 17 de noviembre de 1869 en Prylbychi (entonces Polonia y hoy Ucrania occidental). Cursó sus estudios en la Universidad Jagellónica de Cracovia y en Munich; fue embajador en el Parlamento de Viena y diputado en el Consejo de Estado. En 1911 entró en el monasterio de San Teodoro Estudita. Fue ordenado sacerdote el 28 de agosto de 1915 en Kryzhevtsi (Croacia). En 1926 ejerció el cargo de superior del monasterio de Univ y, a partir de 1944, el de archimandrita de los monjes de la Regla Estudita. Las autoridades lo detuvieron el 5 de junio de 1947 y, a pesar de su edad avanzada -había cumplido 77 años-, lo condenaron a ocho años de cárcel por desarrollar "actividades antisoviéticas y colaboracionistas con el Vaticano, poder extranjero". El 1 de mayo de 1951, expiró en la prisión de la ciudad rusa de Vladimir.

Severiano Baranyk

Sacerdote profeso de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat (1889-1941). Mártir

Nació el 18 de julio de 1889. El 24 de septiembre de 1905 ingresó en el noviciado, y el 16 de mayo de 1907 hizo la primera profesión en la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat. Recibió la ordenación sacerdotal el 14 de febrero de 1915. Se dedicó a la actividad pastoral en Zhovka, y a continuación fue superior del monasterio de Drohobych. En 1939 llegaron las tropas soviéticas, pero Severiano permaneció junto a su grey. Los agentes del servicio secreto soviético lo arrestaron el 26 de junio de 1941 y lo enviaron a la cárcel de la ciudad. Cuando llegaron las tropas alemanas, se encontraron con que los presos habían sido asesinados. El cuerpo de Severiano no fue hallado. Se supone que murió entre el 27 y el 28 de junio de 1941.

Joaquín Senkivskyj

Sacerdote profeso de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat (1896-1941). Mártir

Nació el 2 de julio de 1896 en Hay Velyki (región de Ternopol). Se ordenó sacerdote el 4 de diciembre de 1921; el 10 de julio de 1923 entró en el noviciado de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat. Ejerció el ministerio pastoral en Krasnopuscha (1925-1927) y la docencia en Lavriv (1927-1931). En 1932 se trasladó al monasterio de Lvov, y en 1939 al de Drohobych. Como Severiano Baranyk, fue arrestado el 26 de junio de 1941 y encarcelado en la prisión de la ciudad. Hallaron su cuerpo hinchado y amoratado. Falleció entre el 27 y el 28 de junio de 1941.

Cenobio Kovalyk

Sacerdote profeso de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor (1903-1941). Mártir

Nació el 18 de agosto de 1903 en Ivachiv Horisnyj (región de Ternopol). Hizo su profesión el 28 de agosto de 1926 en la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor, y el 9 de agosto de 1932 fue ordenado sacerdote. Los soviéticos lo arrestaron en la madrugada entre el 20 y el 21 de diciembre de 1940, y lo encarcelaron en la prisión de "Bryghidki", en Lvov. Ante la avanzada alemana, los soviéticos, al retirarse de la ciudad, mataron a los presos. El cuerpo sin vida de Cenobio fue hallado a fines de junio en uno de los calabozos.

Vidal Bajrak

Sacerdote profeso de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat (1907-1946). Mártir

Nació el 24 de febrero de 1907 en Shaikivtsi (región de Ternopol). El 4 de septiembre de 1922 entró en el noviciado de la Orden Basiliana de San Josafat, y el 9 de mayo de 1926 emitió la primera profesión, tomando el nombre de Vidal. Fue ordenado sacerdote el 13 de agosto de 1933. Desempeñó su actividad pastoral en el monasterio basiliano de Zovkva. Cuando murió Joaquín Senkivskyj, en 1941, lo reemplazó como superior del monasterio de Drohobych. Fue detenido el 17 de septiembre de 1945 con la acusación de "haber escrito una artículo con falsedades sobre el partido bolchevique, que se publicó luego en un diario antisoviético". Lo condenaron a ocho años de cárcel en un campo de reeducación. La noticia de su muerte se difundió en la víspera de Pascua de 1946. Había cumplido 39 años cuando murió en la cárcel de Drohobych, el 16 de mayo de 1946.

Iván Ziatyk

Sacerdote profeso de la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor y vicario general de la Iglesia greco-católica ucraniana (1899-1952). Mártir

Nació el 26 de diciembre de 1899 en Odrechova (Polonia). Recibió la ordenación sacerdotal en 1923, en Przemysl. Fue prefecto y profesor del seminario ucraniano. En 1935 entró en la Congregación del Santísimo Redentor. En 1948 los comunistas expulsaron al viceprovincial de los redentoristas, y él fue elegido para sustituirlo. El metropolita Septyckyj lo nombró vicario general de la Iglesia greco-católica ucraniana. Las autoridades lo privaron de la libertad el 5 de enero de 1950 y lo condenaron a diez años de trabajos forzados en un campo de concentración por el delito de ser "redentorista y predicador de las ideas del Papa de Roma". Fue sometido a torturas por los guardias del campo de concentración de Oserlag (Irkutsk), en cuyo hospital expiró el 17 de mayo de 1952, a los 53 años.

Tarsicia Mackiv (en el siglo, Olga)

Religiosa profesa de la congregación de las Esclavas de María Inmaculada (1919-1944). Mártir

Nació el 23 de marzo de 1919 en Hodoriv (región de Lvov). El 5 de noviembre de 1940 emitió la profesión religiosa en la congregación de las Esclavas de María Inmaculada. A causa de los intensos bombardeos de las fuerzas soviéticas que se produjeron el 17 de julio de 1944, las religiosas se escondieron en los sótanos de su convento de Krystonopol (Polonia). El 18 de julio de 1944, mientras esperaban al capellán, un militar soviético llamó a la puerta. Cuando Tarsicia abrió, el soldado le disparó a bocajarro y acabó con su vida. Al día siguiente el militar se presentó de nuevo en el convento, jactándose de haber asesinado a Tarsicia "porque era una religiosa católica".

Olimpia Bidà (en el siglo, Olga)

Religiosa profesa de la congregación de las Religiosas de San José (1903-1952). Mártir

Nació en 1903 en el pueblo de Tsebliv (región de Lvov). Aunque no se han encontrado documentos sobre su ingreso en la congregación de las Religiosas de San José, se sabe que desarrollaba su actividad en el pueblo de Zhuzhil. Después de 1945 realizó clandestinamente su labor pastoral, sustituyendo a diversos sacerdotes desaparecidos en los campos de concentración soviéticos. La capturaron en abril de 1950 en compañía de sor Lorenza Harasymiv, mientras acompañaban a un fiel difunto al cementerio. El 27 de mayo de 1950 fue declarada culpable de "actividad antisoviética" y deportada al campo de concentración de Kharsk (Siberia). Murió en ese campo a los 49 años, el 28 de enero de 1952, por las penalidades sufridas y por falta de asistencia médica.

Lorenza Harasymiv (en el siglo, Leocadia)

Religiosa profesa de la congregación de las Religiosas de San José (1911-1952). Mártir

Nació el 17 de agosto de 1911 en Rudnyky (región de Lvov). En mayo de 1931 entró en la congregación de las Religiosas de San José. En abril de 1950 fue arrestada en las mismas circunstancias de Olimpia Bidà y deportada también ella al campo de concentración de Kharsk. Antes de la deportación se contagió de tuberculosis, enfermedad que le causaría la muerte. Sor Olimpia la asistió en el último período de su vida. Tenía 42 años cuando falleció en el campo de concentración, el 26 de agosto de 1952.

Vladimiro Pryjma

Laico y padre de familia (1906-1941). Mártir

Nació el 17 de julio de 1906 en la localidad de Stradch (región de Lvov). En 1931 se casó con María Stojko, con quien tuvo cuatro hijos. Laico y padre de familia, fue cantor en la parroquia de su pueblo. Al replegarse las tropas soviéticas durante la segunda mundial, Vladimiro -junto con el padre Mykola Konrad, párroco del mismo pueblo-, fue fusilado en el bosque de Birok mientras acompañaba al sacerdote a administrar los sacramentos a una mujer. Era el 26 de junio de 1941.

SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20010627_carneckyj_sp.html

Voir aussi : Martyrs Killed in odium fidei under Communist Regimes ~

in Eastern Europe [3] : http://newsaints.faithweb.com/martyrs/East01.htm

http://passionistedepolynesie.e-monsite.com/pages/saints-et-saintes/sts-l/bx-leonide-feodorov.html

https://www.clerus.org/clerus/dati/2009-06/19-13/IT_Fedorov.html