Are the Orthodox sons and daughters of the Most High God really not capable of handling the truth - that it "needs" to be censored for us? Is lying about the Saints blessed?
This post addresses the fictionalization of the Lives of Sts. Valentine Sventitsky, Victor of Glazov, Varenka of Pilna, and Hilarion Troitsky.
Other Saints whose Lives or Teachings are being altered or censored include: St. Lavrenty of Chernigov, possibly St. Luke of Crimea, St. John Maximovitch, Archimandrite Constantine Zaitsev of Jordanville, and Fr. Seraphim Rose.
The list above is CERTAINLY incomplete...
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When Metropolitan Sergius issued his apostatic declaration in 1927, St. Valentine separated from communion with him. The Saint viewed Metropolitan Sergius as following the same path as the "Living Church" and "Gregorian" schisms while, in his own words preserving "the fiction of canonicity and Orthodoxy".
After his repose his holy body was found to be incorrupt!
Fr. Seraphim Rose refers to St. Valentine as "a modern apostle of unadulterated Orthodoxy in a time of rising apostasy."
In our days, certain popular falsehoods are being disseminated concerning the anti-Sergianist stance of St. Valentine. Thus we read in the (2016) English language book* "Archbishop Luke: a Saint, Pastor and Physician Surgeon" the following:
St. Valentine "disallowed his spiritual children even to visit churches which were close to Metropolitan Sergius. Arrested in 1928, they sent him into exile ... While in exile he fell seriously ill. He repented and asked for forgiveness from Metropolitan Sergius ... (stating) 'forgive my sin ... I reunite myself with the Holy Orthodox Church'. Father Valentine fell asleep on October 20th, 1931, within the bosom of the Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Sergius accepted his repentance."
[*In this same book, Sts. Joseph of Petrograd and Cyril of Kazan are referred to as "schismatics" - although they both are canonized Saints of the Church!]
The truth however is revealed by Princess Natalia Urusova (1874-1963). (Princess Natalia was a member of the Russian Orthodox Catacomb Church who later became a spiritual daughter of Vladyka Averky of Jordanville. She was the mother of three Martyrs of the Catacomb Church and was highly praised by Fr. Seraphim Rose for her discernment).
Princess Natalia writes concerning St. Valentine: “In the church of St. Nicholas the Great Cross, there was an old priest. Fr. Valentine Sventitsky, who was unbending in his firmness against the Bolsheviks and in his open opposition to Metropolitan Sergius and his declaration.
When he served, the church was so full that masses of people stood not only on the staircase but alsoin the courtyard. Of course, the Bolsheviks would have killed him in exile if he had not fallen ill and died a natural death. His glory spread far, and the Bolshevik power, for which the end justified the means, needed to discredit him with a common lie before the believers.
He was dying without coming to consciousness [meaning he was unconscious before dying], and they printed in all the newspapers a letter supposedly written by him before his death, in which he addressed all his parishioners, beseeching them in his last moments to follow Metropolitan Sergius and recognize his declaration and commemoration.
A false signature was affixed to the letter. The Bolsheviks arranged a magnificent funeral for him. Many of the parishioners were led into deception and joined the sergianist church, but those with minds understood the new and diabolic cunning contained in the false signature.
It was a terrible time, quite indescribable. Those who rejected the commemoration [of Metropolitan Sergius] and did not agree to sign the declaration linked with the decree were immediately arrested and shot, no matter how many they happened to be.
As the rumor went, in the course of one month up to 10,000 people were shot in Moscow, beginning with a metropolitan and ending with readers, while laypeople were shot in their millions in Russia - while some others were imprisoned or exiled to theterrible conditions of the concentration camps of the North and Siberia.
The Lubyanka in Moscow became a place of mass martyrdom. Passers-by tried to avoid passing by the GPU’s house of death because of the intolerable stench of death that spread unto a great distance. The corpses were taken out at night; they tried to do this as secretly as possible, but did not succeed.”
Sadly, the fictitious story of St. Valentine's "repentance" is now widespread within Russia. In truth, however, it is nothing but Sergianist mythology!
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Concerning the falsification of the Life of St. Victor, Bishop of Glazov (pictured in the center):
St. Victor of Glazov, whose incorrupt relics were discovered in 1997, was the first Bishop to break communion with Metropolitan Sergius after his apostatic declaration of 1927. He reposed on May 2, 1934 in exile.
St. Victor wrote, among other things, concerning Metropolitan Sergius: "Being in all his activity an anti-church heretic, as transforming the Holy Orthodox Church from the house of the grace-filled salvation of believers into a graceless, carnal organization deprived of the spirit of life, Metropolitan Sergius has at the same time, through his conscious renunciation of the truth and in his mindless betrayal of Christ, become an open apostate from God the Truth."
And also: "It is precisely in his declaration that Metropolitan Sergius as it were confessed, and in his deeds is carrying out a lawless merging of that which is God’s with that which is Caesar’s, or rather, that which is Christ’s with that which is Antichrist’s, which is a dogmatic sin against the Church and is defined as the sin of apostasy.”
St. Victor was a firmly Orthodox and anti-Sergianist bishop!
However the life of St. Hilarion Troitsky, which was written by Metropolitan John Snychev (†1995) of the Moscow Patriarchate as found on orthochristian.com states:
"Archbishop Hilarion worked very hard to convince Bishop Victor of Glazov, who was very closely aligned with the Josephites (the Catacomb Church). He finally did manage to convince Bishop Victor, and not only did the latter recognize that he was wrong—he even wrote a letter to his flock enjoining them to cease their separations."
This fictitious story of St. Victor "repenting" and leaving the Catacomb Church is contradicted by the following facts:
1) Ivan M. Andreyev, the co-author (along with Fr. Seraphim Rose) of "Russia's Catacomb Saints" who was himself a prisoner in Solovki at this time speaks of St. Victor as a Catacomb bishop and mentions that "Archbishop Hilarion Troitsky was soon taken away somewhere from Solovki ... On the other hand Bishops (and Saints!) Victor, Hilarion (of Smolensk) and Nektary rather quickly found the possibility not only to meet, but also to concelebrate with Vladyka Maxim in secret catacomb services in the depths of the forests of Solovki."
Thus, according to the witness and friend of St. Victor - Vladyka Victor was a Catacomb Bishop who, after the departure of St. Hilarion from Solovki concelebrated with other Catacomb Bishops!
2) Additionally, I.M. Andreyev writes: "On January 21 (February 3), 1930, on the feast of St. Maximus the Confessor (Vladyka Maxim's name's day), we physicians got together and bought in our camp store an immense 'pontifical' porcelain teacup, of exceedingly fine workmanship, and solemnly presented it as a gift to our dear Vladyka. Vladyka ate little, but he loved to drink tea. The gift was a great success. This whole day we again spent, as on Pascha, together, in our cell, and Vladyka Victor told us much concerning interesting details in the trial of St. Maximus the Confessor. "You are fortunate, Vladyka, that you bear the name of such a great heavenly protector and confessor in our day," Vladyka Victor concluded his account with heartfelt joy."
This event occurred not only after St. Hilarion left Solovki but also after his repose in December of 1929 - and in it we see Saints Maxim and Victor (the one who supposedly left the Catacomb Church) sitting side by side as dear brothers in the Lord!
3) According to Soviet records, St. Victor was arrested (again) in mid-December, 1932. On the 22nd of that month he was interrogated. According to these records St. Victor stated, "According to my religious convictions, I am a follower of Patriarch Tikhon. I do not recognize renovationism or sergianism.”
4) Fr. Seraphim Rose reveals, in "Russia's Catacomb Saints" that, after 1931, St. Victor was "exiled for three years to the bank of the Onega River in the Archangelsk region, where, according to some reports, he was in contact with the catacomb hierarchs (and Saints), Metropolitan Joseph (ofPetrograd) and Bishop Damascene (of Glukhov).
5) Before his death (in 1934) Bishop Victor entrusted his followers to (the Catacomb) Archbishop (and Saint) Seraphim of Uglich. This is witnessed by (the Catacomb bishop and Saint) Damascene of Glukhov, whom Archbishop Seraphim, in his turn, asked to be useful to his “Vyatka children” (St. Victor of Glazov is also know as St. Victor of Vyatka) in the summer of 1935.
Thus, if St. Victor left the Catacomb Church (as the above version of the life of St. Hilarion states) - then why is he entrusting his disciples to a catacomb bishop right before his death (and 5 years after his last meeting with St. Hilarion)?
6) And finally, we have the 1934 Epistle of St. Victor in which he writes, among other things "by the grace given to us from our Lord Jesus Christ, "by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 5:4), we declare that the former Metropolitan Sergius is deprived of prayerful communion with us and with all of those who are faithful to Christ and His Holy Orthodox Church..."
Thus multiple sources prove this story of the "conversion" of St. Victor to be a myth, a lie, and slander.
But alas, it does not end with this inaccurate story of Metropolitan John; for Abbot Damascene (Orlovsky) of the MP writes concerning St. Victor of Glazov, as found in the "Orthodox Word" (Platina): "The differences of opinion between the Russian hierarchs after the publication of the declaration turned out to be so great that they were on the verge of a break with the substitute of the locum tenens of the Church. This did not occur..."
In this entire Life there is not a single mention of St. Victor breaking communion with Sergius! Rather they declare it never happened!
Why did Platina publish this falsified Life of St. Victor? Did they not read it before printing it? Or, if they did read it, did they really forget the unquestionably true facts concerning St. Victor as found in the book "Russia's Catacomb Saints" which was printed by their very own monastery by Fr. Seraphim Rose of blessed memory?
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Concerning the falsification of the Life of St. Varenka of Pilna:
Alevtina Vladimirovna Belgorodskaya, who had been a member of the Russian Orthodox Catacomb Church and who is buried in the Monastery Cemetery in Jordanville, NY, likewise raises the issue of Abbot Damascene (Orlovsky) censuring the Life of Saint Varenka (†1980) of Pilna. This is Saint is also known as St. Barbara of Pilna. She writes:
"Hieromonk Damascene Orlovsky wrote about her [St. Varenka] in his book "Martyrs, Confessors and Ascetics of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th Century", Tver, 1992, vol.1; but for some reason he failed to mention that Varenka belonged to the Catacomb Church, and that she had refused to accept the Soviet passport and the pension they offered..."
Alevtina also writes the following, which, of course, is not found in the MP version (by Hieromonk Damascene) of the Life of St. Varenka:
"At times the Sergianist priest Fr. John from Nizhny Novgorod (who venerated her) came to see her; she received him and when he offered to give her Communion she would say: "I have already corrected myself" (that is, she had already received the Holy Gifts). Varenka spoke thusly because she refused to receive Communion in the Soviet Church. When Fr. John died, she cried abundantly, as she knew his posthumous fate. For once the Lord showed her all of the Renovationists and Metropolitan Sergius, who were in a dark place and their hands were tied."
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| St. Varenka is pictured lying down. The priest with the cane is Fr. Philipp Anikin. |
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And finally concerning the alteration of facts concerning St. Hilarion Troitsky (pictured on the right) and the "declaration of Metropolitan Sergius":
It is an undisputed fact that St. Hilarion maintained communion with Metropolitan Sergius after the latter issued his declaration in 1927.
However, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) stated in 2017: "There were great saints among those who supported the declaration of Metropolitan Sergius: Archbishop Hilarion (Troitsky) - one of the most courageous New Martyrs of the 1920s..." (See his "Interview with Radio Liberty")
However, I.M. Andreyev writes that, Archbishop Hilarion "had condemned the Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius but had not broken off communion with him."
Also, according to Major-General Zaitsev, who was imprisoned on Solovki, in the autumn of 1927: "Archbishop Hilarion was taken to the Yaroslavl concentration camp, where Tuchkov, the GPU's representative attached to the Holy Synod, came to talk with him. Tuchkov suggested to Hilarion that he follow the political line taken in relation to Soviet power by Metropolitan Sergius, and also suggested that he sign the declaration of the Holy Synod which was marked for publication. This was the declaration which was published on July 16/29, 1927 under the signature of Metropolitan Sergius and the other bolshevizing hierarchs and which was sent abroad. Archbishop Hilarion unbendingly stuck to his views on the position of the Church in Russia in its present internal-political position and firmly declined all Tuchkov's suggestions."
From the above, it should be evident that St. Hilarion did not "support the declaration" of Sergius.
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Thus we have been presented with the facts concerning four Lives of our New Martyrs and Confessors which have been drastically altered.
One wonders how many other Lives (or writings) of our recent Saints they have altered?!
Let us be cautious!
The Antichrist will use these LIES against us!