russia-insider--2020-06-19--The Valiant History of the Underground (Catacomb) Church Persecuted by the Soviet Regime

Introduction by The Saker : Today I have decided to post a short article by Professor Ivan Andreev ( see his interesting biography here ) describing how the Russian Orthodox Church also had to ascend to Her own Golgotha when the Bolshevik theomachs took power in 1917 .
It is important to keep in mind that this text was written in 1947 , already 71 years ago , and that what Professor Andreev describes are events which he witnessed before WWII .
The situation in Russia today is dramatically different , yet the full implications of the “ crucifixion ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soviet regime have not been widely understood in Russia , even by pious Orthodox Christians .
My point today is not to discuss these implications ( although they are tremendous ) but simply to bring back to our collective awareness the events which I believe should never be forgotten .
I will conclude this short introduction by saying that the Greek word “ martyr ” means witness ( just as the Arabic “ shahid ” , by the way ) and that the Church of Christ was always built by , and on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Himself being the first one ) .
Every time a Christian makes the sign of the cross he voluntarily places upon his body a symbolic cross whose prototype is the Cross on the Golgotha .
Many today would rather forget about the martyrdom of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century .
I refuse to do so .
However , since this topic is bound to trigger some outraged “ gnashing of teeth ” by quite a few people , and out of respect for this day and the martyrs described in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow comments under this post .
During his short career as Pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church ( 1918-1925 ) , the holy patriarch Tikhon sailed the ship of the Church through a raging sea of horrific events with uncommon courage .
In order to lessen the incredible suffering of the clergy and lay people who were being persecuted by the godless government , he made a whole series of concessions and compromises .
The Soviet government was not satisfied with these concessions and demanded that the Church be spiritually enslaved by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holy patriarch stopped all compromise , for which he was arrested ; he died shortly afterwards in 1925 , having apparently been poisoned .
After the death of the holy patriarch , three remarkable directives that forced the basis of the true way of the Russian Orthodox Church remained in force .
The first dealt with the essence of the Soviet government , which the holy patriarch Tikhon characterised as the rule of the antichrist and thus anathema .
Soviet power had been execrated by the holy patriarch .
The second directive was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Russia : “ I call you , beloved children of the Orthodox Church , I call you to come suffer with me !
” .
The third directive was related to all Orthodox Russians “ in dispersion over the world ” .
In special Order no.362 of 7/20 November , all Orthodox outside of the USSR were called upon to unite and create a Higher Ecclesiastical Administrative Centre .
Under the management of this Centre , all Orthodox Russians abroad would live in detachment from the Russian Mother-Church until peace and order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accordance with this Order , the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was formed under the leadership of the Russian Foreign Council and Synod .
Its representative after the death of His Eminence metropolitan Antonius and up to current times remains His Eminence metropolitan Anastasiy .
This Church is the only mystically , canonically , and historically true Russian Orthodox Church outside of the USSR .
The enemy of the human race , the great traducer , liar , and killer of men , the devil , hurled himself with full force against the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and enslave Her .
Outside of the USSR there begun disorders , divisions , and splits , but the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , loyal to the commandments and orders of the holy patriarch Tikhon and under the command of the Russian Archdiocese Synod Abroad remained the undefiled Bride of Christ , and this is why , in accordance with the infallible promise of the Saviour Himself , it remains unconquerable by hell itself !
If the life of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was rich in heavy , dramatic events @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orthodox Church in the USSR was truly a tragedy !
After the death of the holy patriarch Tikhon , metropolitan Piotr Krutitsky became locum tenens .
He was an unshakable “ rock ” and fearless martyr for the purity of the Christian faith .
No temptations , no threats , no excruciations and tortures could cause the great martyr , the Pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church to waver .
His name shall forever be part of the history of the Russian Church alongside the names of metropolitan Fillip and patriarch Hermogenes [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tortured with incredible methods and excruciated to death , metropolitan Piotr did not waver and did not sign the Declaration that the Soviet government demanded from him .
His last order was a directive that his name should continue to ascend in the liturgy of the entire Orthodox world as a symbol of the unity of the Russian Church until his passing was confirmed , even despite the rumours of his death ( see the testimony of bishop Damascene , vicar of Chernigov ) .
After the arrest of the locum tenens , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tenens became metropolitan Sergius Nizhegorodskiy .
In 1927 , metropolitan Sergius betrayed the commandments of patriarch Tikhon and metropolitan Piotr and signed his famous Declaration , in which he called upon the Orthodox faithful to “ rejoice ” in the mirth of the theopic government and show this accursed state of the antichrist general gratitude “ for taking notice of the needs of the Orthodox population ” .
As they remembered the incredible persecutions against the Orthodox Church , the martyr ’ s death of metropolitan Veniamin and “ those like him ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ holy patriarch Tikhon , the exile and suffering of metropolitan Piotr , the destruction of churches and monasteries , the blasphemy against relics , the ban on bell ringing , the establishment of “ Komsomol Easter ” [ 2 ] , the custody of many hundreds of bishops ( more than 200 bishops languished in concentration camps in 1927 ) , tens of thousands of priests and monks , millions of faithful Christians , condemned for matters related to the Church , the true Orthodox faithful could not accept the Declaration of metropolitan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took place .
At the head of the true Orthodox who remained loyal to the holy patriarch Tikhon , who had anathemised the Soviet governments and called up the loyal children of the Orthodox Church to be martyred , and to metropolitan Peter , who was exiled to suffering because he did not agree to sign the Declaration that was signed by metropolitan Sergei came to be the metropolitan of Petrograd , Joseph .
Those who were loyal to metropolitan Sergei began to be called “ Sergianites ” , and the followers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
Approval for the position of metropolitan Joseph was obtained from the exiled metropolitan Piotr of Krutitsk and metropolitan Kirill of Kazan .
The “ Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood ” ( at the location of the murder of emperor Aleksandr II ) becomes the centre of true Orthodoxy in Petrograd in the years 1928-1929 .
Mitrophic archpriest father Vasily Verjuzhsky was the abbot of this temple .
Apart from this church , the “ Josephites ” had several other churches in Petrograd and the surrounding area : the Petrograd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which was located at a getaway for elderly artists on the Petrovsky Island ( archpriest father Viktor Dobronravov was the abbot of this temple ) ; the Church of the Tikhvin Mother of God in Lesnoye ( headed by archpriest father Aleksandr Sovetov ) , the Church in “ Strelnya ” ( headed by father Izmail ) and several others .
Along with father Vasily Verjuzhsky , exceptional preachers held sermons in the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood : archpriest father Fyodor Konstantinovich Andreev ( a friend of father Pavel Florensky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Moscow Spiritual Academy , and archpriest father Sergei Tikhomirov .
Father Fyodor was the confessor of many academics from the Academy of Sciences and professors of the University of Petrograd .
In 1929 , father Fyodor ( professor Andreev ) , after having endured torturous questioning in several prisons , was released to “ die at home ” .
The funeral proceedings of this remarkable preacher took on a grand and demonstrative character .
“ Petersburg had not seen such a collection of people since the burial of Dostoyevsky ” , – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friend .
Around 1930 , all “ Josephite ” churches had been closed , with the exception of one ( The Tikhvin Mother of God in Lesnoye ) .
All of the most famous “ Josephites ” were shot in 1930 : bishop Maksim , archpriest Nikolai Prozorov , archpriest Sergei Tikhomirov , archpriest Aleksandr Kremyshansky , priest Sergei Alekseev and many others .
Archbishop Dmitriy ( Gdovsky ) was sentenced to ten years in a political prison in Yaroslavl , which was also the place he was to die in .
Metropolitan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a multitude of clergy and laymen were sent to concentration camps .
Many laymen were arrested and exiled just for the fact that they visited the one “ Josephite ” church in Lesnoye .
In 1936 this church too was closed .
As far back as 1928 separate , secret services began to be held in houses throughout Petrograd .
After 1930 , the number of these secret services significantly rose .
And from 1937 onwards , we can consider the Catacomb Church to have been fully formed .
In the rest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , catacomb churches had been formed somewhat earlier .
There were not enough catacomb services in Moscow , and many Muscovites sought nourishment in Petrograd .
The catacomb churches did not have an administrative centre or clear hierarchy .
Metropolitans Kirill and Joseph were seen as the church ’ s spiritual leaders .
Piotr Krutitsky was recognised as the rightful locum tenens of the patriarchy , and this title switched to metropolitan Joseph after the former ’ s death .
From 1929 to 1930 secret consecrations were held in the Solovetsky concentration camp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were held ( Maksim of Serpukhov , Viktor vicar of Vyatka , Hilarion vicar of Smolensk , and Nectarius of Trezvinsk ) [ 3 ] .
Secret bishops and an immense number of hidden priests appeared .
I personally know only of the Petrograd region and secret catacomb services that were held in it between 1937 and 1941 .
Later , between 1942 to 1945 I was to meet participants of catacomb services ( from different places in Russia ) : I have no information after 1945 .
There was an extraordinarily large @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1941 in Petrograd and the local area .
Where weren ’ t these services held ?
In the apartments of several academics ( professors from the Military-Medical Academy and the University of Petrograd ) , in the building of the naval technical college , in the submarine school , in the adult school for water transportation , in hospitals , and in several institutions with a limited entry .
Secret services were held very intensely in the suburbs of Petrograd and towns that were farther away : in Shuvalovo , Ozerki , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Popovka train station , Kolpino , Sablino , Chudovo , Malaya Vishera , Okulovka , the Oksochi station ( in the Ushinski children ’ s camp ) , in Gatchina ( in the apartment of the caretakers of the famous ascetic mother Mariya ) , in Elizavetino , Volosovo , Oranienbaum , Martyshinko , Strelnya ( where the famous priest father Izmail was ordained ) and in many other places .
The persecution of the Catacomb Church , which metropolitan Sergius had named “ counterrevolutionary ” and its flock “ political criminals ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a godless government ) was unusually harsh .
An especially great number of churchgoers were arrested and tortured to death in 1937 and 1938 , during the so-called “ time of Yezhov ” [ 4 ] .
This is why from 1939 onwards the Catacomb Churches started to become extraordinarily guarded , and it became very difficult to reach them .
But those who honestly sought found what they were looking for .
Also , if the number of secret catacomb services strongly declined in 1939 , their spiritual quality significantly rose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian times : the legend over the hidden city of Kitezh was becoming a reality !
[ 5 ] As I heard later , during the war ( especially after Sergius became the Soviet patriarch ) catacomb services , despite the harshest persecution , once again took off , for true Orthodox believers could not be reconciled with the total spiritual enslavement of the Orthodox Church to the accursed regime of the antichrist .
Under patriarch Aleksei ( Simansky ) , the persecutions gained more strength , for there are now no more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open churches and take part in secret services at home !
“ Members of the Catacomb Churches were numbered among the heaviest of political criminals !
” .
But “ numbered among the crooks ” was even the Saviour Himself !
It is now clear why I must protect and hide the names of the flock of the Catacomb Church , especially the names of bishops and priests .
I would like to tell so much about the work of father Aleksei , father Georgy , father Aleksandr , father Piotr , father @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known to the true Orthodox of the Petrograd region .
But the time is not yet here !
After all , they might be alive and secretly holding services to this very day !
And the smallest detail that could give them away threatens deadly torture to them and their families .
And they are not waiting for human glory .
They , those many male and female martyrs ( for there were many nuns among the active members of the Catacomb Churches ) lay down their souls for their friends , thereby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love .
Here , abroad , one sometimes encounters persons who acknowledge the merits of the Catacomb Church while at the same time recognising the truth of the “ Sergianite Church ” .
They need to know that in the USSR their position would be strongly rejected by both sides .
After all , if patriarch Sergius and patriarch Aleksei banned the servants of the “ Josephite ” Church from holding services and named the “ political criminals ” , the latter , in turn , forbade the faithful from going to open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian Orthodox population of the USSR can be divided into the following groups : The first is a group of staunch and true Orthodox , who live a predominantly spiritual life and serve the interests of the Church as Body of Christ .
This group never in any way acknowledged nor does it acknowledge the Soviet patriarchy .
All its members went into the catacombs .
The second group consists of weakly religious people who by virtue of traditional inertia continue to lukewarmly believe in God or are at least aesthetically drawn to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the particulars of the ecclesiastical spirit .
They only notice the “ clothing ” of the Church , which by itself had not changed at all .
They eagerly go to churches that were opened by the godless Soviet government , which has decided to allow small doses of “ opium for the people ” .
The third group is made up of “ diplomats ” , rationalists who live for the interests of the Church as an organisation ( and not as an organ of the Holy Spirit ) .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Aleksei , which according to them is saving the Church .
They eagerly visit Soviet churches , all the while not noticing that at as it is currently organised the Church has lost its most important component : the spirit of Christ .
The fourth group consists of those who excruciatingly painfully accept the 1927 Declaration of metropolitan Sergius , as well as all further words and deeds of the Soviet patriarchs but think that the grace of the Orthodox Church has still been safeguarded because of those millions of Russian unfortunates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
While listening to the Soviet Church ’ s panegyrics on the godless state , they continue to visit the open churches and pray under miraculous icons with tears in their eyes .
They are spiritual people who have not yet reached a spiritual understanding of religion .
They see spiritual solace as gracious religious mystery .
The fifth group is formed by those who have not had a personal conversation with the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Soviet Church , and as a result are uninformed about the essence of that Church @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowing that a series of different declarations were published in the USSR behind their backs and signed with their apparent approval , naively think that everything that has been said by patriarch Sergius or patriarch Aleksei , or anything that has been published in the official Church press is just a lie created by the Soviet government .
Therefore , although they do not personally fault the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Soviet Church , but at the same time not allowing their hearts to acknowledge that the realm of the antichrist is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaves for the catacombs , but continues to commemorate the names of the Church pontiffs in the secret liturgies .
But those who have had the opportunity to personally speak with the representatives of the highest ranks of the Soviet Church know , that the latter are voluntarily and consciously identifying themselves with the Soviet government and are honestly defending the unnatural friendship of the Church of Christ with the realm of the antichrist .
It is totally impossible to even approximately determine the percentage of believers who have left for the catacombs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best of the millions have left !
Because it does not have the capabilities to root out and destroy them all , they Soviet government has started to deny the presence of the Catacomb Church and to call it a myth .
If there exists a “ myth about Christ ” written by the pastor professor Arthur Drews [ 6 ] , a “ myth about the Catacomb Church in the USSR ” is also possible .
I have personally visited the Catacomb Church from 1937 to 1941 .
Later , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1942 to 1945 .
All that time , the spiritual sentiment in the Church remained high and pure .
1937 , December .
After the concentration camp I do not have the right to reside in the capital and live 200 kilometres from Petrograd ( we only name the city of Saint Peter Leningrad in official situations ) .
There is not one church in a radius of more than 100 kilometres from where I live .
There are only two churches in Petrograd : the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral ( near the Marinsky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vladimir ( near the Tuchkov Bridge ) .
Both of them are Sergianite churches .
Me and my many friends have not gone to Sergianite temples from the end of 1927 , i.e .
10 years already .
I secretly go to Petrograd and visit an acquaintance .
A secret nun visits her .
She takes me to a secret service of the Catacomb Church .
I do not ask her anything and do not inquire where we are going .
I deliberately do not want to know , so that if ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I can not be made to give up any details , even under torture .
Late in the evening .
It ’ s dark .
We board a train at one of the stations .
An hour passes .
We exit at a small half-station and walk 2-3 kilometres in the darkness .
We arrive at some village .
We go to the first house at the village ’ s edge .
It ’ s nearly night .
Darkness .
Silence .
A soft knock on the door .
The door opens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We go into a clean room .
The windows are covered with heavy curtains .
There are a couple of old paintings in the corner .
Icon-lamps are burning in front of them .
There are about fifteen people , more women headscarves than men , of which there are three of middle age : there are some children aged 12-14 .
The priest is an acquaintance .
He was once a teacher in the high school that I went to .
He remembers me from when I was a little boy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , kisses me .
“ We ’ ll begin now !
” – he says while putting on his vestments .
-— “ And you can write some prescriptions for medicinal Vaseline ” , – he says while turning to me .
He knows that I am a doctor .
– “ you can still get that stuff in pharmacies with a prescription .
There isn ’ t anything else .
The Lord will forgive you .
And it ’ s good for the icon-lamps… ” I write prescriptions for nearly all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Vaseline at the same day and at the same pharmacy .
Vespers begins .
People sing and speak at a whisper .
Many have tears of tenderness in their eyes .
Praying is easy !
… Nothing disturbs you , nothing distracts you .
Never and nowhere else have I so deeply and clearly experienced the demands of saint John Climacus [ 7 ] : “ seal your mind in the words of the prayer !
” I do not know anyone except for the priest .
But they are all family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all have such pure , such bright , such warm and welcoming eyes , such spirited faces !
..
It is impossible for me to transmit through words what I experienced at that vigil .
After the service had ended , I drank a cup of tea with bread .
As I left , I kissed everyone present three times… It is the end of the night .
Me and the nun calmly go back .
My heart is calm and focussed .
We board the train that will take us to Petrograd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ride the train home to work… 1938 , the second nightmarish year of “ Yezhov ’ s reign ” … I am arrested not long before Easter .
I stood in the “ doghouse ” for 4 days .
That ’ s what they call the standing room , because it is impossible to sit there , the space is too cramped .
They occasionally call us up for interrogation .
Some return quickly , others linger , which is all the more nerve-wracking for them .
After all , they will sign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The only difference is that they will be beaten and tortured .
I am finally called up .
I go and pray : “ Lord , be merciful , save me , and keep me safe !
” I had never prayed so strongly before , because I knew that I could not have any trust in the human .
I prayed with my eyes closed , with all of my soul , all of my mind , all of my heart : “ Lord , free me !
” I clearly felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right of me , that he heard everything , knew everything , understood everything , could do everything !
… “ Lord , free me , through the prayers of all of Your martyrs through all of Russia !
Through prayers from all over the Russian land , secret prayers , through those of Your servants who are praying to You in the catacombs with whispers and tears !
… Lord , free me !
Lord , free me , so that when I am free I can tell others about what is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The Lord heard my prayer .
A wonder took place !
It is difficult for me to say how everything turned out , it is difficult for me to relay and hard for me to believe what happened !
..
The NKVD unit of my province .
I am sitting on a stool in a large room .
The walls are made of plywood .
I hear everything that is said behind the wall .
“ You idiot !
” — the commander yells at the investigator ( the investigators are mainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , so-called “ trainees ” ; because of the immense numbers of detainees , there is a shortage of real investigators ) .
— “ What article did you bring him in on ?
” — “ 59 ” .
— “ What does that article deal with ?
” — “ Banditry !
” — “ Well , and who did you interrogate ?
” … — “ But he confessed and signed the document !
.. ” — “ Oh , you idiot , that ’ s not what I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in time , even a dead man will sign the document !
… This isn ’ t about a signature… And answer me , who is that old coot , a sectarian ?
” — “ Yes , a Tolstoyan !
” — “ Well , there you go !
Did you know that those Tolstoyans don ’ t even wear boots , that they walk around in galoshes , and that they sleep without pillows… Why ?
To not use animal skin or chicken feathers… they think that killing a fly is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banditry !
Go and write down 58 ” ( art .
58 par .
10 of the USSR Criminal Code is applied against agitators against the Soviet government ) … — “ They ’ re not stupid in Moscow “ , — the commander continued to grumble , — “ the document will make go to Moscow !
Go and correct it !
.. ” — “ Comrade commander !
” — says another voice , a shy one , — “ I don ’ t fully understand this either .
I questioned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me what a “ reader ” is , is that a rank or something ?
… Or this – “ Bezpopovtsy ” [ 8 ] , what does that mean ?
” — “ The devil knows what that means ” , — the commander interrupts… — “ Comrade commander ” , — a third quiet voice says , — “ they brought in some kind of sectarian doctor for questioning , he probably knows all this and can explain !
.. ” — “ Well , call him then !
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member of ?
” — “ None !
” — “ Why don ’ t you go to church ?
” — “ I pray at home !
” — “ Well , do you know something about sects ?
” — “ I do ” .
And here I am , an expert and consultant on several matters relating to the raskol .
As a result , I am suddenly set free – why ?
How ?
It is true that I was absolutely innocent , except for my being a practicing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not visit Soviet churches .
I had recently been released from a concentration camp and remembered the friendly advice from one commander well : “ Well , doctor , now you ’ re free , work like you want an A+ , and we ( i.e .
the NKVD ) will give you a C- .
Every mistake of yours will be a crime ” .
This is how I worked , always for an A+ ; I was the eternal “ shock-worker ” [ 9 ] , the eternal “ excellent pupil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything , and they released me !
This was an incredible miracle under the conditions of the USSR .
I was released during Holy Week .
On Holy Saturday I managed to secretly go to Petrograd with my five-year-old daughter .
Matins were held in one of the rooms of a large government institution , the entrance to which required special passes .
I and my young daughter received such passes .
We entered into a clean and comfortable room .
There were up to thirty people there .
Several of them turned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ priest father Georgy led the sermon .
It is impossible for me to forget these matins .
“ Christ is Risen ” was sung quietly and happily .
It seemed as if instead of human beings , angels were singing !
… My daughter stood holding a candle , and she shone like a candle herself .
I had never before in my life seen eyes that were happier , more joyful than hers .
Did this truly happen ?
Was this not a golden dream ?
I can not , I dare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place… The heavens had descended to earth and people had become like angels !
A sea of love !
We embrace each other , We forgive each other ; The name of Christ We hold within us !
The joy that I received from those bright matins in the Catacomb Church to this very day gives me the strength to live after losing everything : my family , my fatherland , my happiness , my scientific career , my friends , and my health !
… [ 1 ] : Saint Philip the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) was metropolitan of Moscow during the reign of Ivan the Terrible .
He was one of the very few churchmen who openly dared to confront the Tsar and was probably murdered for his vocal opposition against the oprichnina .
Saint Hermogenes of Moscow ( somewhere before 1530 – 1612 ) was Patriarch from 1606 onwards .
He ignited the popular rebellion that dethroned the pretender Tsar Dmitri I .
[ 2 ] : “ Komsomol Easter ” was a crude holiday instated by the Soviet government to replace the traditional Russian Easter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mob attacks on the Orthodox faithful .
[ 3 ] : Maksim ( Zhizhilenko ) ( 1885 – 1931 ) was one of the foremost representatives of the Josephites .
From 1928 onwards , he became bishop of the city of Serpukhov .
In 1929 , he was sent to the Solovetsky concentration camp , where he served as both doctor and priest to his fellow inmates .
He was eventually sent to the infamous Butyrka prison in Moscow , where he was tortured .
He died in 1931 ; ROCOR includes him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Ostrovidov ) ( 1875 – 1934 ) was a Josephite vicar of the city of Vyatka .
He endured many persecutions from the Bolshevik government and died in exile in the Komi Republic .
Hilarion ( Belsky ) ( 1893 – 1937 ) was vicar of Smolensk and from 1928 onwards a warrior for the Josephite cause .
He spent the last six years of his life in exile and was killed by the Soviet government in 1937 .
Nektarius ( Trezvinsky ) ( 1889 – 1937 ) served in Petrograd and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spent his life in internal exile .
He was executed by a kangaroo court in 1937 .
These four men form the “ hard core ” of the Josephite movement and are among the greatest neomartyrs of the Orthodox Church .
[ 4 ] : The Time of Yezhov ( Ежовщина ) refers to the period when the NKVD was dominated by Nikolai Yezhov ( 1895 – 1940 ) .
He was known as the “ poison dwarf ” for his short stature and extreme cruelty and was chosen by Stalin to oversee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1937 .
Yezhov is responsible for the deaths of around 150.000 people in the Gulag and 681.692 summary executions .
He eventually lost Stalin ’ s favour and was executed in 1940 .
[ 5 ] : The city of Kitezh is a settlement allegedly constructed by Georgy II , Grand Prince Vladimir somewhere in the 13thcentury .
When the Mongols invaded Russia , the citizens of the city prayed ardently to the Lord for salvation , which was granted in the form of the town becoming submerged under a lake .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading to the city , and some say that singing and the chiming of bells can be heard when near Lake Svetloyar ( its apparent resting place ) .
It is a popular subject of Russian folklore ( Christian or otherwise ) .
[ 6 ] : Arthur Drews ( 1865 – 1935 ) was a German writer and philosopher .
He was a representative of the German school of monism , which agitated for the creation of a uniquely German religion based on the works of philosophers and poets .
He is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work The Christ Myth ( Die Christusmythe , 1909 ) which states that Jesus Christ was originally a deity that was later humanised .
[ 7 ] : Saint John Climacus , also known as Saint John of the Ladder was a Byzantine monk of the 6th and 7th centuries .
He is most famous for his Ladder of Divine Ascent , which became one of the most popular spiritual works of Eastern Orthodoxy .
[ 8 ] : The bezpopovtsy ( безпоповцы ) are one of the variants of the Old Believer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it hold that all priests have become corrupted by the taint of the antichrist .
The bezpopovtsy thus reject any official hierarchies and live without a formal priesthood .
[ 9 ] : “ Shock-worker ” ( ударник ) was an honorary title conferred on the most productive Soviet workers .
It guaranteed better accommodations and rations for the title holder .

Introduction by The Saker: Today I have decided to post a short article by Professor Ivan Andreev (see his interesting biography here) describing how the Russian Orthodox Church also had to ascend to Her own Golgotha when the Bolshevik theomachs took power in 1917. It is important to keep in mind that this text was written in 1947, already 71 years ago, and that what Professor Andreev describes are events which he witnessed before WWII. The situation in Russia today is dramatically different, yet the full implications of the “crucifixion” of the Russian Orthodox Church by the Soviet regime have not been widely understood in Russia, even by pious Orthodox Christians. My point today is not to discuss these implications (although they are tremendous) but simply to bring back to our collective awareness the events which I believe should never be forgotten. I will conclude this short introduction by saying that the Greek word “martyr” means witness (just as the Arabic “shahid”, by the way) and that the Church of Christ was always built by, and on, the blood of martyrs (Christ Himself being the first one). Every time a Christian makes the sign of the cross he voluntarily places upon his body a symbolic cross whose prototype is the Cross on the Golgotha. Many today would rather forget about the martyrdom of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century. I refuse to do so. However, since this topic is bound to trigger some outraged “gnashing of teeth” by quite a few people, and out of respect for this day and the martyrs described in this text, I have decided not to allow comments under this post.
The Saker
During his short career as Pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church (1918-1925), the holy patriarch Tikhon sailed the ship of the Church through a raging sea of horrific events with uncommon courage.
In order to lessen the incredible suffering of the clergy and lay people who were being persecuted by the godless government, he made a whole series of concessions and compromises. The Soviet government was not satisfied with these concessions and demanded that the Church be spiritually enslaved by the state. In response, the holy patriarch stopped all compromise, for which he was arrested; he died shortly afterwards in 1925, having apparently been poisoned.
After the death of the holy patriarch, three remarkable directives that forced the basis of the true way of the Russian Orthodox Church remained in force.
The first dealt with the essence of the Soviet government, which the holy patriarch Tikhon characterised as the rule of the antichrist and thus anathema. Soviet power had been execrated by the holy patriarch.
The second directive was his dying appeal to all Orthodox Russians in Russia: “I call you, beloved children of the Orthodox Church, I call you to come suffer with me!”.
The third directive was related to all Orthodox Russians “in dispersion over the world”. In special Order no.362 of 7/20 November, all Orthodox outside of the USSR were called upon to unite and create a Higher Ecclesiastical Administrative Centre. Under the management of this Centre, all Orthodox Russians abroad would live in detachment from the Russian Mother-Church until peace and order had been restored to Her.
In accordance with this Order, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was formed under the leadership of the Russian Foreign Council and Synod. Its representative after the death of His Eminence metropolitan Antonius and up to current times remains His Eminence metropolitan Anastasiy. This Church is the only mystically, canonically, and historically true Russian Orthodox Church outside of the USSR.
The enemy of the human race, the great traducer, liar, and killer of men, the devil, hurled himself with full force against the Russian Orthodox Church, wishing to destroy and enslave Her.
Outside of the USSR there begun disorders, divisions, and splits, but the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, loyal to the commandments and orders of the holy patriarch Tikhon and under the command of the Russian Archdiocese Synod Abroad remained the undefiled Bride of Christ, and this is why, in accordance with the infallible promise of the Saviour Himself, it remains unconquerable by hell itself!
If the life of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was rich in heavy, dramatic events, then the life of the Russian Orthodox Church in the USSR was truly a tragedy!
After the death of the holy patriarch Tikhon, metropolitan Piotr Krutitsky became locum tenens. He was an unshakable “rock” and fearless martyr for the purity of the Christian faith. No temptations, no threats, no excruciations and tortures could cause the great martyr, the Pontiff of the Russian Orthodox Church to waver. His name shall forever be part of the history of the Russian Church alongside the names of metropolitan Fillip and patriarch Hermogenes [1].
Arrested, exiled, tortured with incredible methods and excruciated to death, metropolitan Piotr did not waver and did not sign the Declaration that the Soviet government demanded from him.
His last order was a directive that his name should continue to ascend in the liturgy of the entire Orthodox world as a symbol of the unity of the Russian Church until his passing was confirmed, even despite the rumours of his death (see the testimony of bishop Damascene, vicar of Chernigov).
After the arrest of the locum tenens, in 1926 the replacement of the locum tenens became metropolitan Sergius Nizhegorodskiy.
In 1927, metropolitan Sergius betrayed the commandments of patriarch Tikhon and metropolitan Piotr and signed his famous Declaration, in which he called upon the Orthodox faithful to “rejoice” in the mirth of the theopic government and show this accursed state of the antichrist general gratitude “for taking notice of the needs of the Orthodox population”.
As they remembered the incredible persecutions against the Orthodox Church, the martyr’s death of metropolitan Veniamin and “those like him”, the arrest and death of the holy patriarch Tikhon, the exile and suffering of metropolitan Piotr, the destruction of churches and monasteries, the blasphemy against relics, the ban on bell ringing, the establishment of “Komsomol Easter” [2], the custody of many hundreds of bishops (more than 200 bishops languished in concentration camps in 1927), tens of thousands of priests and monks, millions of faithful Christians, condemned for matters related to the Church, the true Orthodox faithful could not accept the Declaration of metropolitan Sergius: the Church schism of 1927 took place.
At the head of the true Orthodox who remained loyal to the holy patriarch Tikhon, who had anathemised the Soviet governments and called up the loyal children of the Orthodox Church to be martyred, and to metropolitan Peter, who was exiled to suffering because he did not agree to sign the Declaration that was signed by metropolitan Sergei came to be the metropolitan of Petrograd, Joseph.
Those who were loyal to metropolitan Sergei began to be called “Sergianites”, and the followers of metropolitan Joseph were known as “Josephites”.
Approval for the position of metropolitan Joseph was obtained from the exiled metropolitan Piotr of Krutitsk and metropolitan Kirill of Kazan.
The “Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood” (at the location of the murder of emperor Aleksandr II) becomes the centre of true Orthodoxy in Petrograd in the years 1928-1929. Mitrophic archpriest father Vasily Verjuzhsky was the abbot of this temple. Apart from this church, the “Josephites” had several other churches in Petrograd and the surrounding area: the Petrograd Church of saint Nicholas the Wonder-Worker, which was located at a getaway for elderly artists on the Petrovsky Island (archpriest father Viktor Dobronravov was the abbot of this temple); the Church of the Tikhvin Mother of God in Lesnoye (headed by archpriest father Aleksandr Sovetov), the Church in “Strelnya” (headed by father Izmail) and several others. Along with father Vasily Verjuzhsky, exceptional preachers held sermons in the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood: archpriest father Fyodor Konstantinovich Andreev (a friend of father Pavel Florensky) who was a former professor of the Moscow Spiritual Academy, and archpriest father Sergei Tikhomirov. Father Fyodor was the confessor of many academics from the Academy of Sciences and professors of the University of Petrograd.
In 1929, father Fyodor (professor Andreev), after having endured torturous questioning in several prisons, was released to “die at home”. The funeral proceedings of this remarkable preacher took on a grand and demonstrative character. “Petersburg had not seen such a collection of people since the burial of Dostoyevsky”, – professor A. I. Brilliantov wrote to a friend.
Around 1930, all “Josephite” churches had been closed, with the exception of one (The Tikhvin Mother of God in Lesnoye). All of the most famous “Josephites” were shot in 1930: bishop Maksim, archpriest Nikolai Prozorov, archpriest Sergei Tikhomirov, archpriest Aleksandr Kremyshansky, priest Sergei Alekseev and many others. Archbishop Dmitriy (Gdovsky) was sentenced to ten years in a political prison in Yaroslavl, which was also the place he was to die in.
Metropolitan Joseph, bishop Sergius of Navra, and a multitude of clergy and laymen were sent to concentration camps. Many laymen were arrested and exiled just for the fact that they visited the one “Josephite” church in Lesnoye. In 1936 this church too was closed.
As far back as 1928 separate, secret services began to be held in houses throughout Petrograd. After 1930, the number of these secret services significantly rose. And from 1937 onwards, we can consider the Catacomb Church to have been fully formed. In the rest of Russia (especially in Siberia), catacomb churches had been formed somewhat earlier. There were not enough catacomb services in Moscow, and many Muscovites sought nourishment in Petrograd. The catacomb churches did not have an administrative centre or clear hierarchy. Metropolitans Kirill and Joseph were seen as the church’s spiritual leaders. Piotr Krutitsky was recognised as the rightful locum tenens of the patriarchy, and this title switched to metropolitan Joseph after the former’s death. From 1929 to 1930 secret consecrations were held in the Solovetsky concentration camp, where several “Josephite” bishops were held (Maksim of Serpukhov, Viktor vicar of Vyatka, Hilarion vicar of Smolensk, and Nectarius of Trezvinsk) [3]. Secret bishops and an immense number of hidden priests appeared. I personally know only of the Petrograd region and secret catacomb services that were held in it between 1937 and 1941. Later, between 1942 to 1945 I was to meet participants of catacomb services (from different places in Russia): I have no information after 1945.
There was an extraordinarily large number of catacomb services between 1937 and 1941 in Petrograd and the local area. Where weren’t these services held? In the apartments of several academics (professors from the Military-Medical Academy and the University of Petrograd), in the building of the naval technical college, in the submarine school, in the adult school for water transportation, in hospitals, and in several institutions with a limited entry. Secret services were held very intensely in the suburbs of Petrograd and towns that were farther away: in Shuvalovo, Ozerki, the village of Jukki near Levashevo, the Popovka train station, Kolpino, Sablino, Chudovo, Malaya Vishera, Okulovka, the Oksochi station (in the Ushinski children’s camp), in Gatchina (in the apartment of the caretakers of the famous ascetic mother Mariya), in Elizavetino, Volosovo, Oranienbaum, Martyshinko, Strelnya (where the famous priest father Izmail was ordained) and in many other places.
The persecution of the Catacomb Church, which metropolitan Sergius had named “counterrevolutionary” and its flock “political criminals” (thereby betraying it to the tortures of a godless government) was unusually harsh.
An especially great number of churchgoers were arrested and tortured to death in 1937 and 1938, during the so-called “time of Yezhov” [4].
This is why from 1939 onwards the Catacomb Churches started to become extraordinarily guarded, and it became very difficult to reach them. But those who honestly sought found what they were looking for. Also, if the number of secret catacomb services strongly declined in 1939, their spiritual quality significantly rose. These truly were new, primordially Christian times: the legend over the hidden city of Kitezh was becoming a reality! [5] As I heard later, during the war (especially after Sergius became the Soviet patriarch) catacomb services, despite the harshest persecution, once again took off, for true Orthodox believers could not be reconciled with the total spiritual enslavement of the Orthodox Church to the accursed regime of the antichrist. Under patriarch Aleksei (Simansky), the persecutions gained more strength, for there are now no more justifications for those who do not visit open churches and take part in secret services at home! “Members of the Catacomb Churches were numbered among the heaviest of political criminals!”. But “numbered among the crooks” was even the Saviour Himself!
It is now clear why I must protect and hide the names of the flock of the Catacomb Church, especially the names of bishops and priests. I would like to tell so much about the work of father Aleksei, father Georgy, father Aleksandr, father Piotr, father Vladimir and many others who are well known to the true Orthodox of the Petrograd region. But the time is not yet here! After all, they might be alive and secretly holding services to this very day! And the smallest detail that could give them away threatens deadly torture to them and their families. And they are not waiting for human glory. They, those many male and female martyrs (for there were many nuns among the active members of the Catacomb Churches) lay down their souls for their friends, thereby fulfilling Christ’s commandment about supreme love.
Here, abroad, one sometimes encounters persons who acknowledge the merits of the Catacomb Church while at the same time recognising the truth of the “Sergianite Church”. They need to know that in the USSR their position would be strongly rejected by both sides. After all, if patriarch Sergius and patriarch Aleksei banned the servants of the “Josephite” Church from holding services and named the “political criminals”, the latter, in turn, forbade the faithful from going to open Soviet churches.
In general, the Russian Orthodox population of the USSR can be divided into the following groups:
The first is a group of staunch and true Orthodox, who live a predominantly spiritual life and serve the interests of the Church as Body of Christ. This group never in any way acknowledged nor does it acknowledge the Soviet patriarchy. All its members went into the catacombs.
The second group consists of weakly religious people who by virtue of traditional inertia continue to lukewarmly believe in God or are at least aesthetically drawn to Orthodox services. They are not well-versed in the particulars of the ecclesiastical spirit. They only notice the “clothing” of the Church, which by itself had not changed at all. They eagerly go to churches that were opened by the godless Soviet government, which has decided to allow small doses of “opium for the people”.
The third group is made up of “diplomats”, rationalists who live for the interests of the Church as an organisation (and not as an organ of the Holy Spirit). They justify the ecclesiastical policy of both Sergius and Aleksei, which according to them is saving the Church. They eagerly visit Soviet churches, all the while not noticing that at as it is currently organised the Church has lost its most important component: the spirit of Christ.
The fourth group consists of those who excruciatingly painfully accept the 1927 Declaration of metropolitan Sergius, as well as all further words and deeds of the Soviet patriarchs but think that the grace of the Orthodox Church has still been safeguarded because of those millions of Russian unfortunates who take great consolation in the Church. While listening to the Soviet Church’s panegyrics on the godless state, they continue to visit the open churches and pray under miraculous icons with tears in their eyes. They are spiritual people who have not yet reached a spiritual understanding of religion. They see spiritual solace as gracious religious mystery.
The fifth group is formed by those who have not had a personal conversation with the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Soviet Church, and as a result are uninformed about the essence of that Church. The majority of these people, knowing that a series of different declarations were published in the USSR behind their backs and signed with their apparent approval, naively think that everything that has been said by patriarch Sergius or patriarch Aleksei, or anything that has been published in the official Church press is just a lie created by the Soviet government. Therefore, although they do not personally fault the patriarchs and metropolitans of the Soviet Church, but at the same time not allowing their hearts to acknowledge that the realm of the antichrist is speaking in their name, this group leaves for the catacombs, but continues to commemorate the names of the Church pontiffs in the secret liturgies. But those who have had the opportunity to personally speak with the representatives of the highest ranks of the Soviet Church know, that the latter are voluntarily and consciously identifying themselves with the Soviet government and are honestly defending the unnatural friendship of the Church of Christ with the realm of the antichrist.
It is totally impossible to even approximately determine the percentage of believers who have left for the catacombs. One thing can be said: the best of the millions have left! Because it does not have the capabilities to root out and destroy them all, they Soviet government has started to deny the presence of the Catacomb Church and to call it a myth.
If there exists a “myth about Christ” written by the pastor professor Arthur Drews [6], a “myth about the Catacomb Church in the USSR” is also possible. I have personally visited the Catacomb Church from 1937 to 1941. Later, I met persons who had visited it from 1942 to 1945. All that time, the spiritual sentiment in the Church remained high and pure.
1937, December. After the concentration camp I do not have the right to reside in the capital and live 200 kilometres from Petrograd (we only name the city of Saint Peter Leningrad in official situations).
There is not one church in a radius of more than 100 kilometres from where I live. There are only two churches in Petrograd: the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral (near the Marinsky Theatre) and the Church of Prince Vladimir (near the Tuchkov Bridge). Both of them are Sergianite churches. Me and my many friends have not gone to Sergianite temples from the end of 1927, i.e. 10 years already. I secretly go to Petrograd and visit an acquaintance. A secret nun visits her. She takes me to a secret service of the Catacomb Church. I do not ask her anything and do not inquire where we are going. I deliberately do not want to know, so that if (God forbid) I am later arrested, I cannot be made to give up any details, even under torture.
Late in the evening. It’s dark. We board a train at one of the stations. An hour passes. We exit at a small half-station and walk 2-3 kilometres in the darkness. We arrive at some village. We go to the first house at the village’s edge. It’s nearly night. Darkness. Silence. A soft knock on the door. The door opens, and we enter the hut. We go into a clean room. The windows are covered with heavy curtains. There are a couple of old paintings in the corner. Icon-lamps are burning in front of them. There are about fifteen people, more women headscarves than men, of which there are three of middle age: there are some children aged 12-14. The priest is an acquaintance. He was once a teacher in the high school that I went to. He remembers me from when I was a little boy. The priest meets me cordially, blesses me, kisses me. “We’ll begin now!” – he says while putting on his vestments. -— “And you can write some prescriptions for medicinal Vaseline”, – he says while turning to me. He knows that I am a doctor. – “you can still get that stuff in pharmacies with a prescription. There isn’t anything else. The Lord will forgive you. And it’s good for the icon-lamps…”
I write prescriptions for nearly all present, warning them not the by the Vaseline at the same day and at the same pharmacy.
Vespers begins. People sing and speak at a whisper. Many have tears of tenderness in their eyes. Praying is easy!… Nothing disturbs you, nothing distracts you. Never and nowhere else have I so deeply and clearly experienced the demands of saint John Climacus [7]: “seal your mind in the words of the prayer!”
I do not know anyone except for the priest. But they are all family, more than family!… They all have such pure, such bright, such warm and welcoming eyes, such spirited faces!..
It is impossible for me to transmit through words what I experienced at that vigil. After the service had ended, I drank a cup of tea with bread. As I left, I kissed everyone present three times… It is the end of the night. Me and the nun calmly go back. My heart is calm and focussed. We board the train that will take us to Petrograd. I go to another station and ride the train home to work…
1938, the second nightmarish year of “Yezhov’s reign”… I am arrested not long before Easter. I stood in the “doghouse” for 4 days. That’s what they call the standing room, because it is impossible to sit there, the space is too cramped. They occasionally call us up for interrogation. Some return quickly, others linger, which is all the more nerve-wracking for them. After all, they will sign anything that has been drafted before. The only difference is that they will be beaten and tortured. I am finally called up. I go and pray: “Lord, be merciful, save me, and keep me safe!” I had never prayed so strongly before, because I knew that I could not have any trust in the human. I prayed with my eyes closed, with all of my soul, all of my mind, all of my heart: “Lord, free me!” I clearly felt that God was near, to the right of me, that he heard everything, knew everything, understood everything, could do everything!… “Lord, free me, through the prayers of all of Your martyrs through all of Russia! Through prayers from all over the Russian land, secret prayers, through those of Your servants who are praying to You in the catacombs with whispers and tears!… Lord, free me! Lord, free me, so that when I am free I can tell others about what is happening in Russia right now!…”
The Lord heard my prayer. A wonder took place! It is difficult for me to say how everything turned out, it is difficult for me to relay and hard for me to believe what happened!..
The NKVD unit of my province. I am sitting on a stool in a large room. The walls are made of plywood. I hear everything that is said behind the wall.
“You idiot!” — the commander yells at the investigator (the investigators are mainly boys between 16 and 18 years old, so-called “trainees”; because of the immense numbers of detainees, there is a shortage of real investigators). — “What article did you bring him in on?”— “59”. — “What does that article deal with?” — “Banditry!” — “Well, and who did you interrogate?”… — “But he confessed and signed the document!..” — “Oh, you idiot, that’s not what I’m asking you about… At this point in time, even a dead man will sign the document!… This isn’t about a signature… And answer me, who is that old coot, a sectarian?”— “Yes, a Tolstoyan!” — “Well, there you go! Did you know that those Tolstoyans don’t even wear boots, that they walk around in galoshes, and that they sleep without pillows… Why? To not use animal skin or chicken feathers… they think that killing a fly is a sin… And you hit him with banditry! Go and write down 58” (art. 58 par. 10 of the USSR Criminal Code is applied against agitators against the Soviet government)… — “They’re not stupid in Moscow “, — the commander continued to grumble, — “the document will make go to Moscow! Go and correct it!..” — “Comrade commander!” — says another voice, a shy one, — “I don’t fully understand this either. I questioned an Old Believer. Could you explain to me what a “reader” is, is that a rank or something?… Or this – “Bezpopovtsy” [8], what does that mean?” — “The devil knows what that means”, — the commander interrupts… — “Comrade commander”, — a third quiet voice says, — “they brought in some kind of sectarian doctor for questioning, he probably knows all this and can explain!..” — “Well, call him then!”
And they called me…
— “What sect are you a member of?” — “None!” — “Why don’t you go to church?” — “I pray at home!” — “Well, do you know something about sects?”— “I do”.
And here I am, an expert and consultant on several matters relating to the raskol. As a result, I am suddenly set free – why? How? It is true that I was absolutely innocent, except for my being a practicing Orthodox Christian who for some reason did not visit Soviet churches.
I had recently been released from a concentration camp and remembered the friendly advice from one commander well: “Well, doctor, now you’re free, work like you want an A+, and we (i.e. the NKVD) will give you a C-. Every mistake of yours will be a crime”.
This is how I worked, always for an A+; I was the eternal “shock-worker” [9], the eternal “excellent pupil”…
I was not guilty of anything, and they released me! This was an incredible miracle under the conditions of the USSR.
I was released during Holy Week. On Holy Saturday I managed to secretly go to Petrograd with my five-year-old daughter. Matins were held in one of the rooms of a large government institution, the entrance to which required special passes. I and my young daughter received such passes.
We entered into a clean and comfortable room. There were up to thirty people there. Several of them turned out to be acquaintances. The elderly priest father Georgy led the sermon. It is impossible for me to forget these matins.
“Christ is Risen” was sung quietly and happily. It seemed as if instead of human beings, angels were singing!… My daughter stood holding a candle, and she shone like a candle herself. I had never before in my life seen eyes that were happier, more joyful than hers.
Did this truly happen? Was this not a golden dream? I cannot, I dare not say in words what had taken place… The heavens had descended to earth and people had become like angels! A sea of love!
We embrace each other,
We forgive each other;
The name of Christ
We hold within us!
The joy that I received from those bright matins in the Catacomb Church to this very day gives me the strength to live after losing everything: my family, my fatherland, my happiness, my scientific career, my friends, and my health!…
Translator’s notes:
[1]: Saint Philip the Second of Moscow (1507 – 1569) was metropolitan of Moscow during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. He was one of the very few churchmen who openly dared to confront the Tsar and was probably murdered for his vocal opposition against the oprichnina. Saint Hermogenes of Moscow (somewhere before 1530 – 1612) was Patriarch from 1606 onwards. He ignited the popular rebellion that dethroned the pretender Tsar Dmitri I.
[2]: “Komsomol Easter” was a crude holiday instated by the Soviet government to replace the traditional Russian Easter. Celebrations included large-scale public spectacles and mob attacks on the Orthodox faithful.
[3]: Maksim (Zhizhilenko) (1885 – 1931) was one of the foremost representatives of the Josephites. From 1928 onwards, he became bishop of the city of Serpukhov. In 1929, he was sent to the Solovetsky concentration camp, where he served as both doctor and priest to his fellow inmates. He was eventually sent to the infamous Butyrka prison in Moscow, where he was tortured. He died in 1931; ROCOR includes him in its list of neomartyrs. Viktor (Ostrovidov) (1875 – 1934) was a Josephite vicar of the city of Vyatka. He endured many persecutions from the Bolshevik government and died in exile in the Komi Republic. Hilarion (Belsky) (1893 – 1937) was vicar of Smolensk and from 1928 onwards a warrior for the Josephite cause. He spent the last six years of his life in exile and was killed by the Soviet government in 1937. Nektarius (Trezvinsky) (1889 – 1937) served in Petrograd and Vyatka. From 1925 onwards, he spent his life in internal exile. He was executed by a kangaroo court in 1937. These four men form the “hard core” of the Josephite movement and are among the greatest neomartyrs of the Orthodox Church.
[4]: The Time of Yezhov (Ежовщина) refers to the period when the NKVD was dominated by Nikolai Yezhov (1895 – 1940). He was known as the “poison dwarf” for his short stature and extreme cruelty and was chosen by Stalin to oversee the worst of the Great Purge of 1937. Yezhov is responsible for the deaths of around 150.000 people in the Gulag and 681.692 summary executions. He eventually lost Stalin’s favour and was executed in 1940.
[5]: The city of Kitezh is a settlement allegedly constructed by Georgy II, Grand Prince Vladimir somewhere in the 13thcentury. When the Mongols invaded Russia, the citizens of the city prayed ardently to the Lord for salvation, which was granted in the form of the town becoming submerged under a lake. The most faithful can find a secret path leading to the city, and some say that singing and the chiming of bells can be heard when near Lake Svetloyar (its apparent resting place). It is a popular subject of Russian folklore (Christian or otherwise).
[6]: Arthur Drews (1865 – 1935) was a German writer and philosopher. He was a representative of the German school of monism, which agitated for the creation of a uniquely German religion based on the works of philosophers and poets. He is most (in)famous for his work The Christ Myth (Die Christusmythe, 1909) which states that Jesus Christ was originally a deity that was later humanised.
[7]: Saint John Climacus, also known as Saint John of the Ladder was a Byzantine monk of the 6th and 7th centuries. He is most famous for his Ladder of Divine Ascent, which became one of the most popular spiritual works of Eastern Orthodoxy.
[8]: The bezpopovtsy (безпоповцы) are one of the variants of the Old Believer faith. The various groups that compose it hold that all priests have become corrupted by the taint of the antichrist. The bezpopovtsy thus reject any official hierarchies and live without a formal priesthood.
[9]: “Shock-worker” (ударник) was an honorary title conferred on the most productive Soviet workers. It guaranteed better accommodations and rations for the title holder.
Translation and notes by Edvin Buday. Sourse - Eshatologia


russia-insider--2020-06-19--Compilation Video of Russian Military Trucks - Impressive Technology and Toughness

Disabling adblock for a specific site just takes a couple of clicks .
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russia-insider--2020-06-19--TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Hospital in China Treats Russians Online for Free

HARBIN , June 2 ( Xinhua ) -- A traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM ) hospital in northeast China 's Heilongjiang Province , which borders Russia , has provided free consultations online to eight Russian patients suffering from cerebral palsy .
The patients , including four children , received rehabilitation instructions given online by the second hospital affiliated to the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine , as they were unable to go to the hospital for the treatment amid the novel coronavirus pandemic .
`` We are excited that our son is making progress , '' Ulyana Putintseva , mother @ @ @ @ @ @ @ palsy , said during the virtual consultation .
Tang Qiang , Party chief of the hospital , said the hospital adopted acupuncture , massage and herbs to help with the rehabilitation of the patients .
The combination of TCM and modern rehabilitation technology has drawn patients from Russia .
With many doctors speaking Russian , the hospital has received more than 1,000 patients from Russia over the past 10 years .
The hospital is also cooperating with foreign medical facilities providing training for foreign doctors .
With better rehabilitation effects achieved , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said Tang .
Enditem

HARBIN, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, which borders Russia, has provided free consultations online to eight Russian patients suffering from cerebral palsy.
The patients, including four children, received rehabilitation instructions given online by the second hospital affiliated to the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, as they were unable to go to the hospital for the treatment amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"We are excited that our son is making progress," Ulyana Putintseva, mother of a two-year-old patient diagnosed with cerebral palsy, said during the virtual consultation.
Tang Qiang, Party chief of the hospital, said the hospital adopted acupuncture, massage and herbs to help with the rehabilitation of the patients.
The combination of TCM and modern rehabilitation technology has drawn patients from Russia. With many doctors speaking Russian, the hospital has received more than 1,000 patients from Russia over the past 10 years.
The hospital is also cooperating with foreign medical facilities providing training for foreign doctors. With better rehabilitation effects achieved, the TCM will be better learned and recognized, said Tang. Enditem


russia-insider--2020-06-19--Belarus - A US Sponsored Color Revolution Is Underway

U.S. engineered attempts to overthrow a foreign government by stirring civil arrests are usually named after a color or , at times , a flower .
Thus we had an `` rose revolution '' in Georgia , a `` green movement '' in Iran and an `` orange revolution '' in the Ukraine .
But now the CIA and its assortment of supporting organizations seems to have run out of color choices .
How else can one explain that their latest attempt in Belarus is called a `` slipper revolution '' .
No , the Guardian , which published the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changed it , did not come up with that stupid moniker by itself .
The U.S. State Department funded Belsat.eu TV station was the first to mention slippers in a picture caption on May 31 .
On June 6 the U.S. government funded RFE/RL was the first to use it in a headline .
Yesterday the U.S. government and NATO funded Atlantic Council mentioned slippers in a Belarus piece .
The Washington DC based and funded Center for European Policy Analysis avoided the 'slippers ' but its yesterday published piece on Belarus covers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government funded organizations and media come up with explainer pieces about one not yet westernized country at the very same time one can be sure that something is up .
Someone has obviously briefed these folks .
So what is up with Belarus ?
The country has an interesting geographic position squeezed between NATO aligned countries and Russia .
With some 9.5 million inhabitants Belarus is rather small .
Since 1994 it is ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko .
He has stuck to Soviet-era policies .
The country has a well developed industry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts of the economy are still state owned and support the local towns and cities .
The country thereby avoided the economic catastrophe that happened in Russia under Boris Yelzin but it also missed out on the economic development that happened in Russia after President Vladimir Putin took over .
Since 1995 Russia and Belarus have an agreement to form a Union State : The treaty , signed in 1999 , also includes a common defense and economic integration as well as a Union parliament and other institutions .
It is essentially aimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soviet Union states ) with Russia .
But within a full fledged Union State Lukashenko 's personal role would be largely diminished .
He has dragged his feet whenever Russia made attempts to push for further steps towards it .
Russia has subsidized the price of natural gas and crude oil it delivers to Belarus .
The oil is only partly used within the country itself .
Belarus refines it and sells the resulting products for hard currencies into western markets .
The subsidized oil was until recently the 'integration rent ' paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its side .
In late 2019 Lukashenko and Putin met for a summit in Sochi .
Putin again pressed for more progress towards forming the Union State while Lukashenko continued to drag his feet .
In consequence Russia cut the 'integration rent ' by demanding higher prices for its oil .
Back from Sochi and faced with a diminishing economy Lukashenko changed tack .
He openly courted the U.S. and other western countries and suddenly emphasized Belorussian sovereignty .
He even bought U.S. shale oil : Lukashenko has long balanced keeping Russia close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throws up any roadblocks to Russian policies .
But Lukashenko also has resisted the Kremlin ’ s push for the two countries to form a unified state — something they agreed to in 1999 .
...
So when they failed in December to agree on a new price for oil Moscow sells to Minsk , Russia temporarily cut the supply .
Lukashenko then vowed to diversify Belarus ’ s oil suppliers .
He delivered by purchasing shipments from Azerbaijan , Norway and Saudi Arabia all in the past five months , capitalizing on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... Pompeo visited Minsk in early February , when he first offered to sell American oil “ at a competitive price.
” It marked the first trip to Belarus by the top U.S. diplomat since Lukashenko took power .
Then in April , the two countries formally reestablished diplomatic relations when Julie Fisher , a top State Department official for Europe , was named ambassador to Belarus — a position that had been vacant for more than a decade .
Lukashenko 's unsustainable stunt of buying oil elsewhere worked to a certain extent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deliver oil to Belarus but only half the amount of previous years .
But to get nearer to the 'west ' also has a price .
A U.S. ambassador in town means that regime change plots are never far away .
The sudden attention that Belarus now receives from U.S. aligned organizations is a sure sign that one is underway .
On August 9 Belarus will hold presidential elections .
Lukashenko will do his best to win again .
Color revolutions are usually launched over controversial elections .
The results are publicly put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When the results finally arrive western media will claim that they diverge from the expectation it created and therefore must have been faked .
People will be pushed into the streets to protest .
To increase the chaos some sharp shooters may be put to work to fire at the police and at protesters like it was done in Ukraine .
The revolt ends when it is flogged down or when the U.S. favorite candidate is put into place .
Last year the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy financed at least 34 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. does not do that out of charity but to put its finger on the scale .
The U.S. seems to have at least two candidates in the race .
The first one is the Navalny like rabble rousing 'slipper man ' : Two candidates can probably be taken seriously : Babariko , as former head of a Gazprom bank , is presumed to be Russia 's favorite candidate while Tsepkalo is likely the one who the U.S. would like to see in office .
Both have quite similar neoliberal programs which argue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Lukashenko may take steps to remove candidates who could endanger his position .
Police say they found $ 900,000 in a house owned by the 'video blogger ' Tsikhanouski .
He is also accused of attacking police at an unsanctioned rally .
Last week Babariko 's former bank was raided over accusations of a tax evasion scheme .
Tsepkalo was fired as head of the Belarus Hi-Tech Park after he had used it to enrich himself .
There are several obvious fraud cases that could be raised against him .
The economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
Lukashenko 's response to the Covid-19 epidemic has been as bad as Trump 's .
The state income from refining and selling products from subsidized Russian oil is down .
There are reasons to vote him out of office .
But there are also reasons for wanting him to stay .
The GDP per person in Belarus is around $ 20,000 ( PPP ) .
That is double the number of its neighbor Ukraine and some 30 % lower than in Russia .
Income equality in Belarus is relatively high .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant degree .
It is not at all reasonable to claim that Lukashenko could not be a legitimate election winner .
A color revolution , as it is now in preparation , would probably end up destroying the country .
Should Belarus fall into the hand of a 'western ' sponsored candidate its future would be bleak .
The state owned industries would be privatized for pennies and much of the Soviet Union like social system , which still works well for most of its people , would be dismantled .
The economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end Belarus would probably be worse off than even the Ukraine .
The long term future of the country lies with Russia which has the resources and interests to manage it well .
The economies of both countries are already highly integrated .
Their people speak the same language .
They have a common history and the same religion .
Russia has high interest to keep Belarus within its realm .
It is difficult to predict how it will react should a U.S. directed color revolution proceed .

U.S. engineered attempts to overthrow a foreign government by stirring civil arrests are usually named after a color or, at times, a flower. Thus we had an "rose revolution" in Georgia, a "green movement" in Iran and an "orange revolution" in the Ukraine.
But now the CIA and its assortment of supporting organizations seems to have run out of color choices. How else can one explain that their latest attempt in Belarus is called a "slipper revolution".
No, the Guardian, which published the 'Slipper revolution' headline today but later changed it, did not come up with that stupid moniker by itself.
The U.S. State Department funded Belsat.eu TV station was the first to mention slippers in a picture caption on May 31.
On June 6 the U.S. government funded RFE/RL was the first to use it in a headline.
Yesterday the U.S. government and NATO funded Atlantic Council mentioned slippers in a Belarus piece. The Washington DC based and funded Center for European Policy Analysis avoided the 'slippers' but its yesterday published piece on Belarus covers the same ground.
When these western government funded organizations and media come up with explainer pieces about one not yet westernized country at the very same time one can be sure that something is up. Someone has obviously briefed these folks.
So what is up with Belarus?
The country has an interesting geographic position squeezed between NATO aligned countries and Russia.
With some 9.5 million inhabitants Belarus is rather small. Since 1994 it is ruled by President Alexander Lukashenko. He has stuck to Soviet-era policies. The country has a well developed industry that mainly exports heavy machinery. Large parts of the economy are still state owned and support the local towns and cities. The country thereby avoided the economic catastrophe that happened in Russia under Boris Yelzin but it also missed out on the economic development that happened in Russia after President Vladimir Putin took over.
Since 1995 Russia and Belarus have an agreement to form a Union State:
The Union State does provide citizens of Russia and Belarus the right to work and permanently settle in either country without formal immigration procedures otherwise mandatory for foreign nationals. They retain their national passports and other identification papers.
The treaty, signed in 1999, also includes a common defense and economic integration as well as a Union parliament and other institutions. It is essentially aimed at integrating Belarus (and other former Soviet Union states) with Russia. But within a full fledged Union State Lukashenko's personal role would be largely diminished. He has dragged his feet whenever Russia made attempts to push for further steps towards it.
Russia has subsidized the price of natural gas and crude oil it delivers to Belarus. The oil is only partly used within the country itself. Belarus refines it and sells the resulting products for hard currencies into western markets. The subsidized oil was until recently the 'integration rent' paid by Russia to keep Belarus near to its side.
In late 2019 Lukashenko and Putin met for a summit in Sochi. Putin again pressed for more progress towards forming the Union State while Lukashenko continued to drag his feet. In consequence Russia cut the 'integration rent' by demanding higher prices for its oil.
Back from Sochi and faced with a diminishing economy Lukashenko changed tack. He openly courted the U.S. and other western countries and suddenly emphasized Belorussian sovereignty. He even bought U.S. shale oil:
Lukashenko has long balanced keeping Russia close but not too close. He rarely throws up any roadblocks to Russian policies. But Lukashenko also has resisted the Kremlin’s push for the two countries to form a unified state — something they agreed to in 1999.
...
So when they failed in December to agree on a new price for oil Moscow sells to Minsk, Russia temporarily cut the supply. Lukashenko then vowed to diversify Belarus’s oil suppliers. He delivered by purchasing shipments from Azerbaijan, Norway and Saudi Arabia all in the past five months, capitalizing on a coronavirus-induced shock to oil prices.
...
Pompeo visited Minsk in early February, when he first offered to sell American oil “at a competitive price.” It marked the first trip to Belarus by the top U.S. diplomat since Lukashenko took power. Then in April, the two countries formally reestablished diplomatic relations when Julie Fisher, a top State Department official for Europe, was named ambassador to Belarus — a position that had been vacant for more than a decade.
Lukashenko's unsustainable stunt of buying oil elsewhere worked to a certain extent. In May Russia again agreed to deliver oil to Belarus but only half the amount of previous years.
But to get nearer to the 'west' also has a price. A U.S. ambassador in town means that regime change plots are never far away. The sudden attention that Belarus now receives from U.S. aligned organizations is a sure sign that one is underway.
On August 9 Belarus will hold presidential elections. Lukashenko will do his best to win again.
Color revolutions are usually launched over controversial elections. The results are publicly put into doubt even before the election begins. When the results finally arrive western media will claim that they diverge from the expectation it created and therefore must have been faked. People will be pushed into the streets to protest. To increase the chaos some sharp shooters may be put to work to fire at the police and at protesters like it was done in Ukraine. The revolt ends when it is flogged down or when the U.S. favorite candidate is put into place.
Last year the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy financed at least 34 projects and organizations in Belarus. The U.S. does not do that out of charity but to put its finger on the scale.
The U.S. seems to have at least two candidates in the race. The first one is the Navalny like rabble rousing 'slipper man':
During the early stages of the current election campaign, thousands have been queuing up in towns and cities to sign petitions backing the candidacies of Lukashenko’s main rivals. Candidates must collect 100,000 signatures by early July in order to be eligible for the ballot. Some anti-Lukashenko protesters have begun brandishing slippers in response to popular YouTube vlogger and presidential hopeful Syarhey Tsikhanouski’s call to squash the Belarus president “like a cockroach”. This has led to tentative talk of a looming “slipper revolution” in line with the branded protest movements that have succeeded in toppling authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.
Two candidates can probably be taken seriously:
Viktor Babariko is the former head of Belgazprombank, while Valery Tsepkalo is a former senior Lukashenko administration official who served as Belarusian ambassador to the United States before more recently heading up the Belarus Hi-Tech Park, one of the largest IT clusters in Central and Eastern Europe. Unlike the puppets and outsiders who are generally permitted to run against Lukashenko, Babariko and Tsepkalo have the necessary seniority and establishment experience to be taken seriously as alternatives to the current political status quo.
Babariko, as former head of a Gazprom bank, is presumed to be Russia's favorite candidate while Tsepkalo is likely the one who the U.S. would like to see in office. Both have quite similar neoliberal programs which argue for privatization and a more open economy.
Lukashenko may take steps to remove candidates who could endanger his position. Police say they found $900,000 in a house owned by the 'video blogger' Tsikhanouski. He is also accused of attacking police at an unsanctioned rally. Last week Babariko's former bank was raided over accusations of a tax evasion scheme. Tsepkalo was fired as head of the Belarus Hi-Tech Park after he had used it to enrich himself. There are several obvious fraud cases that could be raised against him.
The economy of Belarus is likely to shrink this year. Lukashenko's response to the Covid-19 epidemic has been as bad as Trump's. The state income from refining and selling products from subsidized Russian oil is down.
There are reasons to vote him out of office. But there are also reasons for wanting him to stay.
The GDP per person in Belarus is around $20,000 (PPP). That is double the number of its neighbor Ukraine and some 30% lower than in Russia. Income equality in Belarus is relatively high. Social security and services function to a significant degree.
It is not at all reasonable to claim that Lukashenko could not be a legitimate election winner.
A color revolution, as it is now in preparation, would probably end up destroying the country.
Should Belarus fall into the hand of a 'western' sponsored candidate its future would be bleak. The state owned industries would be privatized for pennies and much of the Soviet Union like social system, which still works well for most of its people, would be dismantled. The economic relations with Russia would suffer. In the end Belarus would probably be worse off than even the Ukraine.
The long term future of the country lies with Russia which has the resources and interests to manage it well. The economies of both countries are already highly integrated. Their people speak the same language. They have a common history and the same religion.
Russia has high interest to keep Belarus within its realm. It is difficult to predict how it will react should a U.S. directed color revolution proceed.


russia-insider--2020-06-22--Was COVID-19 Created in a US Lab?

Was COVID-19 Created in a US Lab?

It was amusing to watch the emergence of this debate on the US-China stage .
The Chinese were understandably unwilling to be blamed for the emergence of a virus in which they had no part , and thus reacted strongly to accusations the virus originated in a Wuhan lab .
The Americans proved to be even more terrified at the possibility of scientific proof that the virus escaped from one of their bio-labs , and resorted to the only weapon they had which was to turn up the volume on blaming China .
There were two main reasons for this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The US was the only country known to contain all the varieties that were being spread worldwide .
[ 2 ] The US is the only nation in the world known to have repeatedly used biological weapons on other countries , beginning with North Korea and never ceasing .
Of even more damning consequence is the known locations of about 400 American bio-weapons labs spread throughout the world , to say nothing of the pathetically-lax institution at Fort Detrick .
[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Moreover , Trump recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Afghanistan within days .
“ Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth .
It would be gone and this is not using nuclear .
It would be over in – literally , in 10 days.
” Biological weapons would seem the only alternative .
Hemorrhagic Fever and Hantavirus worked for the US in North Korea ; perhaps also Afghanistan .
[ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Mr. Trump later denied intention to carry out his threat , but let ’ s dispense with the fiction of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Fort Detrick and the 400 foreign labs are performing only benevolent “ peace medicine ” functions .
If it were China with the above history and SARS , MERS , AIDS , EBOLA , bird flu , swine flu , and COVID-19 first erupted in the US , the Americans would claim this as 100 % proof that China was responsible .
It can not be a surprise that much of the world today is naturally tending to lay these outbreaks at America ’ s doorstep .
But returning to our topic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seems everyone has been a little too eager to dismiss the possibility ( or probability ) of these viruses having a ( human ) helping hand .
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho of the Institute for Science in Society cites a Journal of Virology report ( Feb 2000 ) [ 7 ] that described a method for inducing desired mutations into coronavirus to create new viruses .
“ Manipulating viral genomes is now routine , and it is easy to create new viruses that jump host species in the laboratory in the course of apparently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not even necessary to intentionally create lethal viruses , if one so wishes .
It is actually much faster and much more effective to let random recombination and mutation take place in the test tube .
Using a technique called ‘ molecular breeding ’ , millions of recombinants can be generated in a matter of minutes .
These can be screened for improved function in the case of enzymes , or increased virulence , in the case of viruses and bacteria .
In other words , geneticists can now greatly speed up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and bacteria that never existed in all the billions of years of evolution on earth.
” [ 8 ] It wasn ’ t widely publicised , but Dr. Ho called for a full investigation into the possible genetic engineering and dissemination of the SARS virus .
[ 9 ] Then another article in which the author explained that scientists eager to dispel the notion of an artificial origin , do so by pointing out that these new coronaviruses didn ’ t reflect their computer simulations , the author stating , “ To put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that SARS-CoV-2 was not deliberately engineered because if it were , it would have been designed differently.
” However , the London-based molecular geneticist Dr Michael Antoniou commented that this line of reasoning fails to take into account that there are a number of laboratory-based systems that can select for high affinity RBD variants that are able to take into account the complex environment of a living organism .
“ So the fact that COVID-19 didn ’ t have the same RBD amino acid sequence as the one that the computer program predicted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it was genetically engineered.
” [ 10 ] The article further states that “ [ The ] authors of the Nature Medicine article seem to assume that the only way to genetically engineer a virus is to take an already known virus and then engineer it to have the new properties you want .
On this premise , they looked for evidence of an already known virus that could have been used in the engineering of SARS-CoV-2 .
Since they failed to find that evidence , they stated , “ Genetic data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from any previously used virus backbone.
” But Dr Antoniou told us that while the authors did indeed show that SARS-CoV-2 was unlikely to have been built by deliberate genetic engineering from a previously used virus backbone , that ’ s not the only way of constructing a virus .
A well-known alternative process that could have been used has the cumbersome name of “ directed iterative evolutionary selection process ” .
In this case , it would involve using genetic engineering to generate a large number of randomly mutated versions of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RBD ) , which would then be selected for strong binding to the ACE2 receptor and consequently high infectivity of human cells .
“ This selection can be done either with purified proteins or , better still , with a mixture of whole coronavirus ( CoV ) preparations and human cells in tissue culture .
This preparation of phage , displaying on its surface a “ library ” of CoV spike protein variants , is then added to human cells under laboratory culture conditions in order to select for those that bind to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repeated under more and more stringent binding conditions until CoV spike protein variants with a high binding affinity are isolated .
Once any of the above selection procedures for high affinity interaction of SARS-CoV spike protein with ACE2 has been completed , then whole infectious CoV with these properties can be manufactured .
Such a directed iterative evolutionary selection process is a frequently used method in laboratory research.
” There is , incidentally , another possible way that COVID-19 could have been developed in a laboratory , but in this case without using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Nikolai Petrovsky , a researcher at the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University in South Australia .
Petrovsky says that coronaviruses can be cultured in lab dishes with cells that have the human ACE2 receptor .
Over time , the virus will gain adaptations that let it efficiently bind to those receptors .
Along the way , that virus would pick up random genetic mutations that pop up but don ’ t do anything noticeable .
“ The result of these experiments is a virus that is highly virulent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it no longer resembles the original bat virus .
Because the mutations are acquired randomly by selection , there is no signature of a human gene jockey , but this is clearly a virus still created by human intervention.
” Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman .
He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms , and owned an international import-export business .
He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai ’ s Fudan University , presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes .
Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writing a series of ten books generally related to China and the West .
He can be contacted at : [ email protected ] He is a frequent contributor to Global Research .

It was amusing to watch the emergence of this debate on the US-China stage. The Chinese were understandably unwilling to be blamed for the emergence of a virus in which they had no part, and thus reacted strongly to accusations the virus originated in a Wuhan lab. The Americans proved to be even more terrified at the possibility of scientific proof that the virus escaped from one of their bio-labs, and resorted to the only weapon they had which was to turn up the volume on blaming China. There were two main reasons for this state of affairs:[1] The US was the only country known to contain all the varieties that were being spread worldwide.[2] The US is the only nation in the world known to have repeatedly used biological weapons on other countries, beginning with North Korea and never ceasing. Of even more damning consequence is the known locations of about 400 American bio-weapons labs spread throughout the world, to say nothing of the pathetically-lax institution at Fort Detrick.[1][2][3]
Moreover, Trump recently claimed he could kill the entire population of Afghanistan within days. “Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth. It would be gone and this is not using nuclear. It would be over in – literally, in 10 days.” Biological weapons would seem the only alternative. Hemorrhagic Fever and Hantavirus worked for the US in North Korea; perhaps also Afghanistan.[4][5][6] Mr. Trump later denied intention to carry out his threat, but let’s dispense with the fiction of the US having no biological weapons and that Fort Detrick and the 400 foreign labs are performing only benevolent “peace medicine” functions. If it were China with the above history and SARS, MERS, AIDS, EBOLA, bird flu, swine flu, and COVID-19 first erupted in the US, the Americans would claim this as 100% proof that China was responsible. It cannot be a surprise that much of the world today is naturally tending to lay these outbreaks at America’s doorstep.
But returning to our topic of man-made COVID-19 or COVID-20, it seems everyone has been a little too eager to dismiss the possibility (or probability) of these viruses having a (human) helping hand.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho of the Institute for Science in Society cites a Journal of Virology report (Feb 2000)[7] that described a method for inducing desired mutations into coronavirus to create new viruses. “Manipulating viral genomes is now routine, and it is easy to create new viruses that jump host species in the laboratory in the course of apparently legitimate experiments in genetic engineering. It is not even necessary to intentionally create lethal viruses, if one so wishes. It is actually much faster and much more effective to let random recombination and mutation take place in the test tube. Using a technique called ‘molecular breeding’, millions of recombinants can be generated in a matter of minutes. These can be screened for improved function in the case of enzymes, or increased virulence, in the case of viruses and bacteria. In other words, geneticists can now greatly speed up evolution in the laboratory to create viruses and bacteria that never existed in all the billions of years of evolution on earth.”[8] It wasn’t widely publicised, but Dr. Ho called for a full investigation into the possible genetic engineering and dissemination of the SARS virus.[9]
Then another article in which the author explained that scientists eager to dispel the notion of an artificial origin, do so by pointing out that these new coronaviruses didn’t reflect their computer simulations, the author stating, “To put it simply, the authors are saying that SARS-CoV-2 was not deliberately engineered because if it were, it would have been designed differently.” However, the London-based molecular geneticist Dr Michael Antoniou commented that this line of reasoning fails to take into account that there are a number of laboratory-based systems that can select for high affinity RBD variants that are able to take into account the complex environment of a living organism. “So the fact that COVID-19 didn’t have the same RBD amino acid sequence as the one that the computer program predicted in no way rules out the possibility that it was genetically engineered.”[10]
The article further states that “[The] authors of the Nature Medicine article seem to assume that the only way to genetically engineer a virus is to take an already known virus and then engineer it to have the new properties you want. On this premise, they looked for evidence of an already known virus that could have been used in the engineering of SARS-CoV-2. Since they failed to find that evidence, they stated, “Genetic data irrefutably show that SARS-CoV-2 is not derived from any previously used virus backbone.” But Dr Antoniou told us that while the authors did indeed show that SARS-CoV-2 was unlikely to have been built by deliberate genetic engineering from a previously used virus backbone, that’s not the only way of constructing a virus. A well-known alternative process that could have been used has the cumbersome name of “directed iterative evolutionary selection process”. In this case, it would involve using genetic engineering to generate a large number of randomly mutated versions of the SARS-CoV spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD), which would then be selected for strong binding to the ACE2 receptor and consequently high infectivity of human cells.
“This selection can be done either with purified proteins or, better still, with a mixture of whole coronavirus (CoV) preparations and human cells in tissue culture. This preparation of phage, displaying on its surface a “library” of CoV spike protein variants, is then added to human cells under laboratory culture conditions in order to select for those that bind to the ACE2 receptor. This process is repeated under more and more stringent binding conditions until CoV spike protein variants with a high binding affinity are isolated. Once any of the above selection procedures for high affinity interaction of SARS-CoV spike protein with ACE2 has been completed, then whole infectious CoV with these properties can be manufactured. Such a directed iterative evolutionary selection process is a frequently used method in laboratory research.”
There is, incidentally, another possible way that COVID-19 could have been developed in a laboratory, but in this case without using genetic engineering. This was pointed out by Nikolai Petrovsky, a researcher at the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University in South Australia. Petrovsky says that coronaviruses can be cultured in lab dishes with cells that have the human ACE2 receptor. Over time, the virus will gain adaptations that let it efficiently bind to those receptors. Along the way, that virus would pick up random genetic mutations that pop up but don’t do anything noticeable. “The result of these experiments is a virus that is highly virulent in humans but is sufficiently different that it no longer resembles the original bat virus. Because the mutations are acquired randomly by selection, there is no signature of a human gene jockey, but this is clearly a virus still created by human intervention.”
Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman. He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms, and owned an international import-export business. He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes. Mr. Romanoff lives in Shanghai and is currently writing a series of ten books generally related to China and the West. He can be contacted at: 2186604556@qq.com. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.
Notes
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/virus-biological-us-army-weapons-fort-detrick-leak-ebola-anthrax-smallpox-ricin-a9042641.html
[2] https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/02/gary-d-barnett/the-u-s-is-the-world-leader-of-bio-weapons-research-production-and-use-against-mankind/
[3] https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-military-bio-labs-in-ukraine-production-of-bio-weapons-and-disease-causing-agents/5605307
[4] https://www.globalresearch.ca/did-trump-tacitly-threaten-use-biological-weapons/5687936
[5] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-24/why-did-donald-trump-say-he-could-kill-10-million-afghans/11342794
[6] https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/08/21/604070/US-President-Donald-Trump-Afghanistan-war-win-without-nuclear-weapons
[7] http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/10627550
[8] https://www.i-sis.org.uk/SAGE.php
[9] m.w.ho@i-sis.org.uk
[10] https://gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/19383-where-did-the-covid-19-virus-come-from