[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

[Daily Orthodox Readings and Saints]

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Oct 31 2007

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1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
1 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in
vain.
2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at
Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the
gospel of God in much conflict.
3 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was
it in deceit.
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel,
even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.
5 For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know,
nor a cloak for covetousness-God is witness.
6 Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when
we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her
own children.
8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart
to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you
had become dear to us.
Scripture Reading 1 of 4


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Hebrews 13:7-16  (St. John)
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to
you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it
is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which
have not profited those who have been occupied with them.
10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no
right to eat.
11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the
sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.
12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His
own blood, suffered outside the gate.
13 Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His
reproach.
14 For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4


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Luke 11:42-46
42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner
of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to
have done, without leaving the others undone.
43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues
and greetings in the marketplaces.
44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like
graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not
aware of them.
45 Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by
saying these things You reproach us also."
46 And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with
burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with
one of your fingers.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4


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Luke 12:32-40  (St. John)
32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to
give you the kingdom.
33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags
which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail,
where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
35 Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning;
36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he
will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may
open to him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will
find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and
have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.
38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third
watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour
the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house
to be broken into.
40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an
hour you do not expect.
Scripture Reading 4 of 4



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Priestmartyr John Kochurov
The Life of St John Kochurov, Hieromartyr Missionary in America First
Clergy Martyr of the Russian Revolution
On October 31, 1917, in Tsarskoye Selo, a bright new chapter, full of
earthly grief and heavenly joy, was opened in the history of sanctity
in the Russian Church: the holiness of the New Martyrs of the
twentieth century. The opening of this chapter is linked to the name
of the Russian Orthodox pastor who became one of the first to give his
soul for his flock during this twentieth century of fighters against
God: Archpriest John Kochurov.
Father John Kochurov was born on July 13, 1871, in the village of
Bigildino-Surka of the district of Danky in the Ryazan region, into a
pious family with many children. His parents were the priest Alexander
Kochurov and his wife Anna (Perehvalskaya). Father Alexander Kochurov
served almost all his life in the Church of Theophany in
Bigildino-Surka village in the Diocese of Ryazan from the time of his
ordination on March 2, 1857, combining his years of service in the
parish with the fulfillment of his obligations as a teacher of God's
Law in the Bigildino public school. His example was imprinted in the
conscience of his sons, and particularly John, the most spiritually
sensitive of them. They regarded their father as a radiant image of
the parish priest, full of deep humility and high inspiration.
Fr John's upbringing, based on the remarkable traditions of many
generations of the clergy and bound with the people's natural
following after Orthodox piety, foretold that he would set out on the
path of preparation for pastoral service. Father John's study
(initially at Danky Theological School and afterward at Ryazan
Theological Seminary) was marked not only with outstanding success in
the mastery of theological and secular disciplines, but with
remarkable examples of churchly piety which he demonstrated at a time
when the everyday life of a provincial theological school was not
always spotless in the moral sense.
The future Father John successfully graduated from the Theological
Seminary in Ryazan in 1891. Having passed the entrance exams for the
St Petersburg Theological Academy, he became a student at one of the
best theological schools in Russia.
During the time that Fr John studied at the St Petersburg Theological
Academy, his inclination to regard theological education as a
preparation primarily for future service as a parish priest became
clearly defined. Already during his student days Fr John combined the
possibility of his service as a parish priest with that of missionary
activity, which he saw as the embodiment of the ideal of an Orthodox
pastor. After his graduation from St Petersburg Theological Academy
(1895) with the distinction of a true student, Fr John was sent to the
Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska in accordance with his
long-standing desire for missionary service.
Soon after his marriage to Alexandra Chernisheva, Fr John's arrival in
Protestant America put him in touch with a life dissimilar in many
respects to his accustomed life in Orthodox Russia. For his first
sojourn in the U.S.A. Fr John arrived in New York, which with its
mundane ways, was so different from the spiritual life of the Russian
cities. Though he had not yet learned the English language, Fr John,
thanks to the brotherly support of the New York Orthodox community (of
modest size at that time) did manage to adjust himself to the life of
the country, till then unknown to him, without any particular
psychological or other complications. It must be noted that Church
life in the Diocese of Alaska and the Aleuts was very different in
character from that in other parts of the country, which was vast in
its territory but rather small in the number of clergy. Specifically,
the Russian Orthodox missions in Northern California, on the Aleutian
Islands, and in Alaska had at that time already existed for about a
hundred years, and Church life was conducted on a foundation of rather
numerous parish communities which possessed significant financial
resources. After several generations in America, the parishes had
become accustomed to life in their new home. Orthodox life in the rest
of the country, however, was only in its initial stages. It required a
great deal of evangelical activity by the clergy to create normal
Orthodox parishes within the multinational and multi-confessional
local population. It was precisely to that part of the diocese that Fr
John was destined to be sent when he was ordained to the holy
priesthood on August 27, 1895, by the Most Reverend Nicholas, Bishop
of Alaska and the Aleuts.
The beginning of Fr John's parish service was associated with the
opening of an Orthodox parish in Chicago in 1892 by Bishop Nicholas.
Assigned in 1895 by order of the Holy Synod to be a parish priest at
St Vladimir's Cathedral in Chicago, Fr John was put in touch with a
parish life that was strikingly different from the Orthodox parishes
in Russia, which were organized and rooted in a living tradition many
centuries old.
Being a remote island of Orthodox Christian life, many hundreds of
miles from the other scattered Orthodox parishes in North America, St
Vladimir's Church in Chicago, and the Church of the Three Hierarchs in
the town of Streator with which it was affiliated, required heroic
labors from the young Fr John to be established in a proper way.
Almost three years after its founding, the parish still had not
managed to achieve full parish status.
Beginning his work at the parish of Chicago and Streator, which was
rather small and multinational in its constituency, Fr John nourished
these people, who represented a rather poor class of immigrants, in
the Orthodox faith. He was never able to be supported in his work by a
sound parish community with sufficient material resources at its
disposal.
In an article written in December 1898, Fr John gave the following
vivid description of the Chicago-Streator parish community: The
Orthodox parish of St Vladimir's Church in Chicago consists of a small
number of the original Russians, Galician and Hungarian Slavs, Arabs,
Bulgarians, and Aravians. The majority of the parishioners are working
people who earn their bread by toiling not far from where they live,
on the outskirts of the city. Affiliated with this parish in Chicago
is the Church of the Three Hierarchs in the city of Streator. This
place, together with the town called Kengley, are situated ninety-four
miles from Chicago, and they are famous for their coal mines. The
Orthodox parish there consists of the Slovaks who work there who have
been converted from the Unia.
The unique characteristics of the Chicago-Streator parish community
demanded of Fr John a deft combination of pastoral-liturgical skills,
as well as missionary ones. These abilities would permit him not only
to stabilize the membership of his parish community spiritually and
administratively, but to enlarge his flock continually by means of
conversions, or by the return to Orthodoxy of the ethnically diverse
Christians living in Illinois. Already during the first three years of
Fr John's parish service 86 Uniates and five Catholics were added to
the Orthodox Church, bringing the number of permanent parishioners
up to 215 men in Chicago, and 88 in Streator. There were two
functioning church schools affiliated with the parishes, with more
than twenty pupils enrolled in them. The course consisted of Saturday
classes during the school year, and daily classes during the school
vacations.
In his work, Fr John continued the best traditions of the Russian
Orthodox Diocese in North America. He organized, in Chicago and
Streator, the St Nicholas and Three Hierarchs Brotherhoods, which
established a goal of setting up a program of social and material
mutual aid among the parishioners of the Chicago-Streator parish, as
members of the Orthodox Mutual Aid Society.
Father John's abundant labors for the building of a healthy,
flourishing parish life in the communities entrusted to him did not
hinder him from fulfilling other important diocesan responsibilities
that were laid upon him. So it was that on April 1, 1897, Fr John was
appointed to be one of the members of the newly-created Censorship
Committee of the Diocese of Alaska and the Aleutians to review texts
in the Russian, Ukrainian, and English languages. On May 22, 1899,
Fr John was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Mutual Aid
Society by a decree of Bishop Tikhon of Alaska and the Aleutians,
who had recently arrived in the diocese.
The varied labors of Fr John were soon rewarded; after just the first
years of his pastoral service, he received awards of priestly
distinction from the Most Reverend Bishop Nicholas.
A significant obstacle to the normal functioning of the Church
liturgical cycle at the Chicago-Streator parish was the condition of
the buildings, which were unfit for the purpose. St Vladimir's Church
in Chicago occupied a small part of a rented edifice located in the
southwestern part of the city. On the ground floor of the house a wall
separated the church from the kitchen and a room where an attendant
lived. On the first floor there were several small rooms which were
occupied by Fr John together with his family, and by the church
Reader. The church of the Three Hierarchs in Streator employed the
lobby of the Russian section of the Chicago World Exhibition [the
Columbian Exposition of 1892-Ed.].
The assignment of Bishop Tikhon, the future Patriarch of Moscow, to
the Diocese of Alaska and the Aleutians on November 30, 1898, was
especially significant for the resolution of problems of church life
in the parish entrusted to Fr John.
Zealously fulfilling his hierarchal obligations, Bishop Tikhon in his
first months as diocesan bishop had already managed to visit almost
all the Orthodox parishes scattered throughout the vast territory of
the Diocese of Alaska and the Aleutians, in an effort to discern the
most fundamental needs of the diocesan clergy.
Arriving in Chicago for the first time on April 28, 1899, Bishop
Tikhon gave his archpastoral blessing to Fr John and to his flock. By
the next day he had already inspected a plot of land proposed as the
site where the new church, so necessary for the parish in Chicago,
would be constructed. On April 30, Bishop Tikhon visited the Three
Hierarchs Church in Streator and presided at the Vigil service at St
Vladimir's Church in Chicago. On the following day, after serving the
Divine Liturgy, he approved the minutes of the meeting of the
committee for the construction of the new church in Chicago, which was
chaired by Fr John.
The limited financial resources of the Chicago-Streator parish, where
the people being ministered to were primarily poor, did not permit Fr
John to begin construction immediately. And since more than five years
had passed from the time of Fr John's arrival in North America, his
great desire to visit his beloved Orthodox Russia, at least for a
brief time, prompted him to submit an application to Bishop Tikhon
requesting leave for the journey to his motherland.
Mindful of the needs of the parish entrusted to him, Fr John decided
to use the vacation granted to him from January 15 to May 15, 1900, to
collect money in Russia which would allow the Chicago parish to begin
construction of the new church building, and of the first Orthodox
cemetery in the city. Successfully combining his journey to his
motherland with raising significant funds for the parish, Fr John
began the construction of the church soon after his return from leave.
Bishop Tikhon arrived on March 31, 1902, for the ceremony of the
laying of its foundation.
With true pastoral inspiration, combined together with sober,
practical record-keeping, Fr John managed to build the new church,
which was completed in 1903. The church cost fifty thousand dollars, a
very significant sum of money for that time.
The consecration of the new temple, which was named in honor of the
Holy Trinity, was performed by Bishop Tikhon, and it became a real
festival for the whole Russian Orthodox diocese in North America. Two
years later, in greeting Fr John on the occasion of his first ten
years of service as a priest in the Church, the highest praise went to
his careful pastoral labors in the construction of the Holy Trinity
Church, which had become one of the most remarkable Orthodox churches
in America. "The year has been filled with the most vivid of
impressions, sometimes agonizing, sometimes good. A year of endlessly
trying fund-raising in Russia, a year of sleepless nights, worn-out
nerves, and countless woes; and here is the testimonial of your care:
a temple made with hands, in the image of a magnificent Russian
Orthodox temple, shining with its crosses in Chicago, and the peace
and love not made with hands that are springing up in the hearts of
your flock!" 
For his inspiring labors, Fr John was awarded the Order of St Anna
(Third Class) on May 6, 1903 at Bishop Tikhon's recommendation.
Zealously fulfilling his numerous obligations as a parish priest, he
was the only priest there during the first nine years of his service
in the parishes of Chicago and Streator. At the same time, Fr John
continued to participate actively in resolving various issues in the
life of the North American diocese. In February 1904, Fr John was
assigned as a chairman of the Censor Committee of the Diocese of
Alaska and the Aleutians, where he had already participated as a
member of the council for seven years.  In June 1905, he was an
active participant in the preparatory meetings of diocesan clergy,
held in Old Forge [PA.] under the guidance of Bishop Tikhon, where
issues were discussed in connection with preparation for the first
Council in the history of the Diocese of North America and the
Aleutians. It was in the solemn atmosphere of the sessions of this
Council, on July 20, 1905, that Fr John celebrated his first decade of
priestly service The actual date of the anniversary was August 27.
In St Michael's Church in Old Forge, before a large group of diocesan
clergy with the Most Reverend (now St) Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn
presiding, Fr John was awarded a gold pectoral cross, and the speeches
offered a perceptive and thoroughly objective description of the whole
period of Fr John's pastoral service in North America. "Directly after
your study at seminary, having left the motherland, you came to this
strange land to expend all your youthful energy, to devote all your
strength and inspiration to that holy concern to which you were
attracted in your vocation. A hard legacy was left for you: the church
in Chicago was then located in an untidy church setting, in a wet,
half-ruined building. The parish, with its loosely defined parish
membership, was scattered over the huge city with a heterodox
population torn asunder by the wild beasts. All that might fill the
soul of a young laborer with great confusion, but you bravely accepted
the task of selecting a precious spark from the pile of rubbish, to
fan the sacred fire into a small group of faithful! You were forgetful
of yourself: calamities, illnesses, the poor location of your house,
with its ramshackle walls, floors, and cracks that gave open access to
the outer elements, with destructive effects on your health, and the
health of your family members.... Your babies were sick, your wife was
not quite healthy, and bitter bouts of rheumatism seemed to wish to
destroy your confidence, to exhaust your energy.... We greet you,
remembering another of your good deeds, the performance of which is
plaited as an unfading laurel in the crown of honor of your decade of
sacred service: we have in mind here your sacrificial service in the
office of Chairman of our beloved Mutual Aid Society, in the office of
Censor to our enlightening missionary publishing house, and in
extending our evangelical efforts, organizing the parishes in Madison
[IL] and Hartshorne [OK]. To complete your tribute, let us mention
another circumstance, which magnifies the valor of your labor and the
grandeur of its results. The remoteness of your parish in Chicago has
torn you from your bonds with your colleagues in America, depriving
you during these years of the chance to see your brother-pastors....
You were bereft of that which, for the majority of us, adorns the
missionary service through which we pass. How touching, and how great
a degree of isolation was yours, is witnessed by the fact that you had
to baptize your children yourself, because of the absence of the other
priests around you.... Let this Holy Cross we present serve you as a
sign of our brotherly love, and the image of our Lord's Crucifixion on
it permit you to accept the hardships, misfortunes, and sufferings
that are so often met with in the life of a missionary priest, and let
it encourage you to more and more labors for the glory of the Giver of
Exploits and the Chief Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ."
Less than a year after the celebration of the tenth anniversary of Fr
John's priestly service, the highest Church authority granted him one
of the most honorable priestly orders, which deservedly crowned his
genuine exploits in the Diocese of North America and the Aleutians. By
order of the Holy Synod, Fr John was elevated to the dignity of
Archpriest on May 6, 1906.
Now a new period in Fr John's service began. As one of the most
respected archpriests of the Diocese, thanks to his outstanding
pastoral work in his parish and in diocesan administrative activities,
Fr John, at the initiative of Bishop Tikhon, who valued him highly,
became more and more deeply involved in resolving the most pressing
issues of diocesan administration. In May 1906, Fr John was appointed
Dean of the New York area of the Eastern States, and in February
1907, he was destined to be one of the most energetic participants of
the first North American Orthodox Council in Mayfield, which dealt
with the rapidly increasing conversions within the Diocese of North
America and the Aleutians in the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic
Church in America, which was the basis on which the Orthodox Church in
America was later founded.
During the period 1903-1907, the Chicago-Streator parish, built by his
labors, was transformed into one of the most self-sufficient and
flourishing diocesan parishes. But however successful the external
circumstances of Fr John's service in North America may have seemed,
his deep, fervent homesickness for his beloved Russia, which he had
only seen once for a few months' leave since he came to America, and
the necessity of providing his three elder children with an
undergraduate education in Russia, compelled Fr John to think about
the possibility of continuing his priestly ministry in his native
Russian land. A rather significant circumstance furthering Fr John's
submission of an application for transfer back to Russia was the
insistent request of his elderly and seriously ailing father-in-law,
who was a clergyman of the Diocese of St Petersburg, and who dreamed
of handing over his parish to the guidance of such a deserving priest
as Fr John had shown himself to be. In accordance with his
application, Fr John received a release from his service in the
Diocese of North America and the Aleutians on May 20, 1907, whereupon
he began preparing himself for his move back to Russia. The week
before their departure, however, Fr John and his family had to bear
some sudden startling news from Russia: Alexandra's beloved parent had
succumbed before they could return.
In July 1907, leaving the Chicago-Streator parish which was so dear to
his heart, and where he had given twelve years of missionary service,
Fr John set out for the unknown future that awaited him in his
motherland, where he would spend the rest of his priestly service.
Fr John's return to Russia in the summer of 1907 signified for him not
only the beginning of his service in the Diocese of St Petersburg,
familiar to him from his student years, but it challenged him with the
need to apply the pastoral skills he had earlier acquired in America
in the field of theological education. By order of the St Petersburg
Church Consistory, in August 1907 Fr John was assigned to the clergy
of Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Neva, and beginning August 15,
1907, he began to perform his duties as a teacher of Law in the male
and the female gymnasia in Narva. By order of the chief of the St
Petersburg Area Educational Department, effective October 20, 1907, Fr
John was confirmed in his service in the male gymnasium as a teacher
of God's Law [this Russian term refers to the totality of Orthodox
teaching - Ed.] and was a hired teacher of the same subject in the
female gymnasium of Narva, which became the main sphere of his Church
service for the next nine years of his life.
The common way of life in small, provincial Neva, where the Russian
Orthodox inhabitants made up scarcely half the population, reminded Fr
John, in some measure, of the atmosphere familiar to him in America,
where he performed his pastoral service in a social environment
permeated with heterodox influences. However, the circumstances of his
work as a teacher of God's Law in two secondary schools where the
Russian cultural element and Orthodox religious ethos indisputably
dominated, permitted Fr John to feel that he was breathing an
atmosphere of Russian Orthodox life reminiscent of his childhood.
In those years, Father John's teaching load usually consisted of
sixteen hours a week in the male gymnasium and ten hours in the female
gymnasium. This required of him a fairly significant effort, taking
into account that to teach God's Law in the different classes, because
of the breadth of the subject, a teacher had to be familiar with
various matters of theological as well as of a mundane character.
However, inasmuch as the twelve years of his labors at the
Chicago-Streator parish had transformed Fr John from an inexperienced
beginner into one of the most authoritative pastors in the diocese,
his nine years service of teaching God's Law (not marked by any
spectacular events, but filled with concentrated work in imparting
spiritual enlightenment) was one in which Fr John became a most
conscientious practical Church teacher and learned Orthodox preacher.
After just five years of teaching Divine Law in the Neva schools, Fr
John was awarded the Order of St Anna (Second Class) on May 6,
1912. Four years later, Fr John's achievements in the field of
theological education were recognized by his award of the Order of St
Vladimir (Fourth Class) which (added to his numerous Church and State
awards) gave the deserving archpriest the right of receiving the title
of nobility.
The manifest successes of Fr John in his activity as a teacher during
all these years were supplemented by his joy at the fact that all of
his four elder sons, while studying in Neva gymnasium, had the
opportunity to receive their spiritual upbringing under his immediate
guidance.
However, along with undeniable advantages of this new period of the
pastoral service of Fr John, after his return to his fatherland
following many years of absence, there still existed a circumstance
which could not help but burden the heart of such a genuine parish
pastor as Fr John was for the whole of his life. Being only attached
to the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in dreamed, and not being a
member of its staff clergy, Fr John, because of the peculiarity of
this situation, on account of his fulfilling his duties as a teacher
of Gods Law at the gymnasium, was deprived not only of the chance to
lead, but even to participate fully in the parish life of Holy
Transfiguration Cathedral in Narva. Only in November of 1916, by order
of the St Petersburg Church Consistory, was Fr John assigned as a
parish priest to the vacant second position at St Catherine's
Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo, whereby his dream of resuming service
as a parish pastor in the motherland was fulfilled.
Tsarskoye Selo, which had become the remarkable incarnation of a whole
epoch in the history of Russian culture, happily combined in itself
the qualities of a quiet provincial town with those of the resplendent
capital of St Petersburg. St Catherine's Cathedral occupied a special
place in the town; of the parish churches there, which were
predominantly parishes of the imperial court and of the military, it
was the largest. In becoming a member of the clergy at St Catherine's
Cathedral, and taking up residence there together with his matushka
and five children (the oldest son, Vladimir, was at the time
fulfilling his military service), Fr John received, at last, his
longed-for chance to be immersed fully in the life of a parish priest
in one of the most notable churches of the St Petersburg diocese.
Having been warmly and respectfully received by the flock of St
Catherine's, Fr John, from the first months of his service there,
showed himself to be zealous and inspiring not only as a celebrant of
the divine service, but also as an eloquent and well-informed
preacher, who gathered under the eaves of St Catherine's Cathedral
Orthodox Christians from all around the town of Tsarskoye Selo. It
seemed that so successful a beginning of parish service at St
Catherine's Cathedral would open for Fr John a new period in his
priestly service. In this period, Fr John's pastoral inspiration and
sacrificial demeanor, so characteristic of him in his former activity,
might be combined with the daily routine of the outward conditions of
his service and with the spiritual and harmonious personal
relationships between a diligent pastor and his numerous pious flock.
But the cataclysms of the February Revolution that burst out in
Petrograd just three months after Fr John's assignment to St
Catherine's began little by little to involve Tsarskoye Selo in the
treacherous vortex of revolutionary events. br>
The soldiers' riots that had taken place in the military headquarters
at Tsarskoye Selo already during the first days of the Revolution, and
the imprisonment of the royal family at Alexandrovsky palace over a
period of many months, brought the town to the attention of
representatives of the most extreme revolutionary elements. These
circles had propelled the country toward the path of civil war, and
eventually, complete internal political division, the beginnings of
which lay in Russia's participation in the bloodshed of World War I.
These developments gradually changed the quiet atmosphere of Tsarskoye
Selo, diverting the inhabitants' attention, day by day, from the
conscientious fulfillment of their Christian and civil
responsibilities to Church and fatherland. And during all these
troubled months the inspiring message of Fr John continued to sound
forth from the ambo of St Catherine's Cathedral, as he strove to
instill feelings of reconciliation into the souls of the Orthodox
Christians of Tsarskoye Selo, calling them to the spiritual perception
of their own inner life, so that they might understand the
contradictory changes taking place in Russia.
For several days after the October 1917 seizure of power by the
Bolsheviks in Petrograd, reverberations from the momentous events
happening in the capital were felt in Tsarskoye Selo. Attempting to
drive Gen. Paul Krasnov's Cossack troops, which were still loyal to
the Provisional Government, out of Tsarskoye Selo, the armored groups
of the Red Guard (the soldiers and sailors supporting the Bolshevik
upheaval) were on their way from Petrograd.
On the morning of October 30, 1917, stopping at the outskirts of
Tsarskoye Selo, the Bolshevik forces subjected the town to artillery
fire. The inhabitants of Tsarskoye Selo, like those in all of Russia,
still did not suspect that the country was involved in a civil war. A
tumult erupted, with many people running to the Orthodox churches,
including St Catherine's, in hopes of finding prayerful serenity at
the services, and of hearing a pastoral exhortation from the ambo
pertaining to the events taking place. All the clergy of St
Catherine's Cathedral eagerly responded to their flock's spiritual
entreaties. A special prayer service, seeking an end to the civil
conflict, was offered beneath the arches of the church, which was
jammed with worshipers Later, the dean of the Cathedral, Archpriest N.
Smirnov, with two other priests, Fr John and Fr Steven Fokko, reached
a decision to organize a sacred procession in the town, with the
reading of fervent prayers for a cessation of the fratricidal civil
strife.
For several days, the newspaper All-Russian Church Social Messenger
presented the testimony of a certain Petrograd newspaper correspondent
describing the events which had taken place, as follows: "The Sacred
Procession had to be relocated under the conditions of an artillery
bombardment, and notwithstanding any predictions it was rather
crowded. The lamentations and cries of women and children drowned out
the words of the prayer for peace. Two priests delivered sermons
during the procession, calling the people to preserve tranquility in
view of the impending trials. I was fortunate enough to understand
clearly that the priests' sermons did not contain any political
tinges."
"The Holy Procession lingered. Twilight changed into darkness. Candles
were lit in the hands of the praying people. Everybody was singing."
"Precisely at that time the Cossacks were withdrawing from the town.
The priests were warned about it. 'Isn't it time to stop the prayers?'
'We shall carry our duties to completion,' they declared. 'These have
departed from us, and those who are coming are our brothers! What kind
of harm will they do us?'"
Wishing to prevent an outbreak of fighting in the streets of Tsarskoye
Selo, the Cossack leadership began to withdraw troops from the town on
the evening of October 30, and on the morning of the 31st the
Bolshevik forces entered Tsarskoye Selo, encountering no opposition.
One of the anonymous witnesses to the aftermath of these tragic events
wrote a letter to the prominent St Petersburg Archpriest F. Ornatsky,
who himself was destined to receive martyrdom at the hands of the
godless authorities. The writer told in simple but profound words of
the passion-bearing that became Fr John's destiny. "Yesterday (on
October 31)," he wrote, "when the Bolsheviks entered Tsarskoye Selo
with the Red Guard, they began to make the rounds of the apartments of
the military officers, making arrests. Fr John (Alexandrovich
Kochurov) was conveyed to the outskirts of the town, to St Theodore's
Cathedral, and there they assassinated him because of the fact that
those who organized the sacred procession had allegedly been praying
for a victory by the Cossacks, which surely was not, and could not
have been, what actually happened. The other clergymen were released
yesterday evening. Thus, another Martyr for the Faith in Christ has
appeared. The deceased, though he had not been in Tsarskoye Selo for
long, had gained the utmost love of all, and many people used to
gather to listen to his preaching."
The Petrograd journalist mentioned earlier reconstructed a terrifying
picture of Fr John's martyrdom and its aftermath, ascertaining these
details: "The priests were captured and sent to the headquarters of
the Council of the Workers and Soldier Deputies. A priest, Fr John
Kochurov, was trying to protest and to clarify the situation. He was
hit several times on his face. With cheers and yelling the enraged mob
conveyed him to the Tsarskoye Selo aerodrome. Several rifles were
raised against the defenseless pastor. A shot thundered out, then
another, after which the priest fell down on the ground, and blood
spilled upon his cassock. Death did not come to him immediately... He
was pulled by his hair, and somebody suggested, Finish him off like a
dog. The next morning the body was brought into the former palace
hospital. According to the newspaper The Peoples' Affair, the head of
the State Duma, and one of its members, saw the priest's body, but his
pectoral cross was already gone...."
This latter circumstance accompanying Fr John's martyrdom, as
mentioned by the reporter, takes on a particular spiritual
significance when viewed against the background of some words spoken
by Fr John twelve years before his death, which proved to be
prophetic. In faraway America, when he received his gold pectoral
cross at the ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of his priestly
service, he said with emphasis, "I kiss this Holy Cross, a gift of
your brotherly love for me. Let it be my support in times of
tribulation. I will utter no pathetic comments about my intention not
to be separated from it even till my grave.That would have a
grandiloquent sound, but would not be prudent. It does not have any
place in a grave. Let it remain here on earth for my children and
posterity as a holy family relic, and as a clear proof that
brotherhood and friendship are the most sacred things on the
earth...."
In this manner did Fr. John express his gratitude towards his
colleagues and his flock, not suspecting that this very prayer about
that brotherhood and friendship would descend on the Russian Orthodox
people at a time when love and clemency were scarce in long-suffering
Russia, provoking a pitiless hatred toward him on the part of the
apostates, who deprived him of his earthly life and snatched away the
pectoral cross from his chest, but were not able to rob him of the
imperishable glory of Orthodox martyrdom.
At the beginning of November 1917, the Bolshevik power could not yet
secure unfettered control even over the suburbs of Petrograd, and
terror on a state level had not yet become an unavoidable part of
Russian life. So, with the populace of Tsarskoye Selo and Petrograd in
a state of complete horror and exasperation, this first malicious
execution of a Russian Orthodox priest inspired the former organs of
power, who were not yet ousted by the Bolsheviks, to form an
investigating commission which included the two representatives of the
Petrograd city council. It was soon abolished by the Bolsheviks,
without having managed to identify Fr. John's murderers.
For Russian Church life, however, this first martyrdom of a Russian
Orthodox pastor in the twentieth century was deeply significant.
It aroused a profound spiritual response within the hearts of many
laity, clergy, and hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church. The
Church service for the departed, and his burial in the crypt of St
Catherine's Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo were served by the shocked
local clergy in an atmosphere of great dismay and anxiety. At the
time, the Most Reverend Benjamin, Metropolitan of Petrograd, the
future Holy Martyr, was attending the All-Russian Church Council being
held in Moscow. Within a few days after the burial, the leadership of
the Petrograd diocese, with Metropolitan Benjamin's blessing,
published the following announcement in the newspaper All-Russian
Church-Social Herald:
"On Wednesday, November 8, the ninth day after the death of Fr. John
Kochurov who was murdered October 31 in Tsarskoye Selo, a hierarchal
Memorial Service will be served in Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral at 3
p.m. for the eternal memory of Archpriest John and of all the Orthodox
Christians who have perished in a time of civil conflict. Parish
clergy free of serving obligations are invited for the Memorial
Service. Vestments should be white."
"Soon after this hierarchal Memorial Service served in Our Lady of
Kazan Cathedral, the diocesan council of Petrograd published a
proclamation "To the Clergy and the Parish Councils of the Diocese of
Petrograd." This became the first official recognition of the martyric
character of the Fr. John's death pronounced in the name of the
Church, but also the first Church statement to specify concrete
measures of assistance to the families of clergymen persecuted and
assassinated by the theomachists in Russia. In this remarkable
document of church history, eloquently expressed with deep humility in
the face of the anticipated future persecution of the Church, and
embodying genuine sympathy for Fr. John's bereaved family, the
leadership of the Petrograd diocese reacted to the death of the first
diocesan Holy Martyr.
"Dear brothers," the statement by the Petrograd diocesan council
began. "On October 31 of this year the town of Tsarskoye Selo suffered
the martyrdom of one of the good shepherds of the Petrograd diocese,
the Archpriest of the local Cathedral, John Alexandrovich Kochurov.
Without any blame or justification for this on his part, he was seized
in his apartment, conveyed to the suburbs, and there, in an open
field, was shot by the possessed mob...."
"It was with feelings of profound sorrow that the Petrograd diocesan
council received this news; the grief has been considerably augmented
by the realization that, with the Archpriest's demise, a large family
is left behind, consisting of six members who now are without food,
shelter, or any means of subsistence."
"God is the Judge of the cunning villains who violently ended the life
that was still young. Even if they flee unpunished from trial at the
hands of men, they can never elude the judgment of God. But our
obligation now is not only to pray for the peace of this innocent
sufferer's soul, but with all our sincere love, attempt to treat the
deep and incurable wound that has been inflicted on the very hearts of
the poor, bereaved family. The diocese and the diocesan clergy are
directly obligated to provide for the martyred pastor's orphaned
family, to give them the opportunity to live in material comfort, and
to provide the children with a proper education."
"The diocesan Church Council, being moved by the loftiest of
sentiments, now appeals to the clergy, parish councils, and all the
Orthodox faithful of the diocese of Petrograd with an ardent entreaty,
asking most earnestly, for the sake of Christ's love, that you stretch
forth a brotherly helping hand, and by whatever amount you can offer,
support a poor family left to be at the mercy of fate. Great is the
need, and it should not be delayed!"
". . . His martyrdom is, for each of us, a dire reminder, an ominous
warning. Therefore, we must be ready for anything. And to prevent such
situations of destitution as we now have, we must prepare, between the
times of trial, an assistance fund to be allotted for the defenseless,
persecuted, and tormented clergy that those in such cases, and in
similar ones, may have material aid from their kindred in spirit."
". . . Though the deans, special lists will be sent to each parish in
the diocese for the collection of donations, those that are voluntary
and from the Church funds, to help the family of the deceased
Archpriest John Kochurov, and also for the establishment of the
special fund for the assistance of clergy in all similar cases."
"...An immense task requires means commensurate with it. The Diocesan
Church Council hopes that with God's help such means will be found.
The modest offering of the diocese and clergy, made voluntarily and
laid on the Christian conscience of each person, will provide an
opportunity to dry the tears of unhappy orphans, and to make a
beginning of that concern for good brotherly assistance, for which our
clergy have a great need particularly now...." "It has thundered; now
is the time to make the sign of the Cross!"
On one of his regular visits to his diocese during the All-Russian
Church Council in Moscow, Metropolitan Benjamin served the Divine
Liturgy on November 26, for the patronal feast at St Catherine's
Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo. "The Liturgy ended with a fervent
exhortation from the hierarch, during which he appealed to the people
for unity, love, and brotherhood," wrote a correspondent for the All
Russian Church-Social Herald. "The Metropolitan also mentioned the
terrible event, the assassination of the beloved pastor of the local
Church, Fr. John Kochurov. He noted that though it is a very sad
occasion, it has been a cause of reconciliation as well, through the
realization that the pastor had laid down his life for love of God and
of neighbor, providing an example of martyrdom."
The archpastoral message had a strong effect on everyone, and tears
were seen on many faces. Following the liturgy, the Litya for the
departed took place at Fr. John's tomb in the burial vault of the
cathedral. After the service the Metropolitan visited the rectory,
where he met the family of the deceased. Thus, for a second time,
and now from the mouth of the diocesan hierarch who remembered the
slain clergyman of his diocese, the Russian Orthodox Church
characterized Fr. John's death as a martyrdom.
The All-Russian Church Council was just then taking place in Moscow,
and this death had deeply touched the hearts of the delegates,
arousing loud lamentation. Archpriest P. Mirtov was commissioned to
compose a proclamation expressing the sense of the Council, giving
information about the untimely death of the deceased Fr. John
Kochurov, who fell victim (to violence) while zealously fulfilling the
obligations of his rank.
The Most Holy Patriarch Tikhon had become well acquainted with Fr.
John during the many years they worked together in the diocese of
North America and the Aleutians, and therefore felt a deep respect for
him. Expressing a genuine conviction formed at the Council that the
Russian Orthodox Church had gained a new martyr saint by Fr. John's
death, the Patriarch sent a letter of sympathy to Alexandra Kochurova,
the deceased pastor's widow: "With great sadness the Most Holy Council
of the Russian Orthodox Church has received a report concerning the
martyrdom of Father John Alexandrovich Kochurov, who has fallen victim
(to violence) while zealously fulfilling the obligations of his rank,"
wrote the future Confessor, the Most Holy Patriarch Tikhon. "Joining
our prayers with those of the Holy Council for the repose of the soul
of the slain Archpriest John, we share your great grief, and we do so
with a special love, because we knew the deceased Archpriest well, and
have always held his inspiring and strong pastoral activity in high
esteem."
"We bear in our hearts the sure hope that the deceased pastor, adorned
with the wreath of martyrdom, now stands at the Throne of God among
the elect of Christ's true flock. The holy Council, with earnest
sympathy for your bereaved family, has decided to petition the Holy
Synod to give you the proper assistance."
"May the Lord help you to endure the trial sent to you by God's
Providence, and preserve you and your children unharmed amid the
storms and calamities of our time."
"We invoke God's blessing on you and on your family." - Patriarch
Tikhon
Exactly five months after Fr. John's death, on March 31, 1918, by
which time the number of murdered clergymen known to the Holy Synod
had already reached fifteen, the first Memorial Liturgy for the New
Hieromartyrs and Martyrs in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church
in the twentieth century was served in the church of the Moscow
Theological Seminary, by the Most Holy Patriarch Tikhon, four other
hierarchs, and ten archimandrites and protopresbyters. At the Memorial
Liturgy and Memorial Service, when the supplicatory prayer was
pronounced "For the repose of the servants of God who have perished
for the Faith and the Orthodox Church, after mentioning the
first-slain hierarch, Metropolitan Vladimir, the first-slain
Archpriest, Father John Kochurov was remembered, who by his
passion-bearing death ushered in the service offered by the
confessors, the assembly of the Russian New-Martyrs of the twentieth
century.
Translated from the Russian by Anatoly Antonov
Sources and Literature The Central State Historical Archive of St.
Petersburg (CSHA of S.-P.), F. 14 University of Petrograd, 3, f.31575,
1.8, 10. The personal folder of the student Dmitry Alexandrovich
Kochurov. CSHA of S.-P., F. 277, 1, f. 3220, par. 1,2,3,4,5,6,8.
CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 37. American Orthodox
Messenger (AOM), 1907, N14, p. 269. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f.
4167, par. 37. AOM, 1898, N24, pp. 681-682. AOM, 1896, N7, p.
117 AOM, 1898, N24, p. 682. Ibid. AOM, 1897, N14, p. 290.
AOM, 1900, N10, p. 215. AOM, 1896, N1, p. 14; CSHA of S.-P.,
F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par. 38-39. AOM, 1898, N24, p. 682. AOM,
1899, N11, pp. 305-306. AOM, 1901, N1, pp. 26, 32. AOM, 1902,
N8, pp. 171-173. A. Maltsev, The Russian Orthodox Churches and
Institutions Abroad. St. Petersburg, 1906, p. 419 (in Russian)
AOM, 1905, N17, pp. 340-341. CSHA of S.-P., F.19, 113, f.4167,
par. 40. AOM, 1904, N5, p. 81. AOM, 1905, N17, pp. 340-342.
AOM, 1906, N10, p. 206.  AOM, 1906, N10, p.206.  AOM,
1907, N14, pp. 269-270. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4167, par.
37.  Circular of the Department of Education of St. Petersburg,
from 1907, p. 294. CSHA of S.-P., F.139, 1, f. 11305, par. 28.
Tserkovniye Vedomosty, a newspaper, 1912, N18, p. 128. Ibid,
1916, N18-19, p. 167. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113, f. 4333, par. 12.
Tsarskoselskoye Delo, 1916, 18 Nov. CSHA of S.-P., F. 19, 113,
f. 4366, 1.20. Vserosiysky Tserkovno-Obschestvenniy Vestnik
(VTOV), 1917, 5 Nov. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.  AOM, 1905,
N17, pp. 340-342. VTOV, 1917, 5 Nov.  VTOV, 1917, 1 Dec. 
VTOV, 1917, 7 Nov.  Tserkovniye Vedomosty, 1917, N48-50, pp. 2-3.
VTOV, 1917, 1 Dec.  VTOV, 1917, 2 Nov.  VTOV, 1917, 15
Dec.  Pribavleniye k Tserkovnym Vedomostyam, 1918, N15-16, p. 519.
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Apostle Amplias of the Seventy
The Holy Apostles of the Seventy: Stachys, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus,
Apelles and Aristobulus:
Saint Amplias was a bishop in the city of Diospolis.
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Apostle Urban of the Seventy
Saint Urban, one of the Seventy Apostles, was made a bishop by St
Andrew (November 30), and was active in Macedonia. They were killed by
Jews and pagan Greeks because of their zeal in preaching the Gospel.
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Apostle Narcissus of the Seventy
Saint Narcissus, one of the Seventy Apostles, was made Bishop of
Athens by the Apostle Philip.
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Apostle Apelles of the Seventy
Saint Apelles, one of the Seventy Apostles, was bishop at Heraclion in
Trachis.
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Apostle Aristobulus of the Seventy
Saint Aristobulus, one of the Seventy Apostles, was the brother of St
Barnabus (June 11) and proclaimed the Gospel in Britain, where he died
in peace. He is also commemorated on March 16.
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Apostle Epimachus of Alexandria
The Holy Martyr Epimachus of Alexandria was a native of Egypt. For a
long time he lived in seclusion on Mount Peleusium. During a
persecution against Christians at Alexandria (about the year 250), St
Epimachus in his fervent zeal came into the city, destroyed pagan
idols, and fearlessly confessed Christ. For this the saint was put to
torture. Among the people watching the torture was a woman who was
blind in one eye. A drop of blood from the martyr healed her
infirmity.
After fierce tortures, the saint was beheaded by the sword.
St Epimachus is also commemorated on March 11.
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Venerable Spyridon the Prosphora-baker of the Kiev Caves
Saints Spyridon and Nicodemus, the Prosphora-bakers of the Kiev Caves,
Near Caves fulfilled their obedience of baking prosphora for thirty
years. St Spyridon came to the monastery in the time of Igumen Pimen
(1132-1141), when he was no longer a young man. The ascetic combined
his work with unceasing prayer and the singing of Psalms. Even during
his life St Spyridon was glorified by miracles. He was illiterate, but
knew the entire Psalter by heart.
Once, his mantle caught fire from the oven. The fire was put out, but
the mantle remained whole. St Nicodemus labored with St Spyridon and
led a very strict life. Their relics are in the Kiev Caves of St
Anthony. The fingers of St Spyridon's right hand are positioned to
make the Sign of the Cross with three fingers. They are also
commemorated on September 28, and the second Sunday of Great Lent.
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Venerable Nicodemus the Prosphora-Baker of the Kiev Caves
Saints Spyridon and Nicodemus, the Prosphora-bakers of the Kiev Caves,
Near Caves fulfilled their obedience of baking prosphora for thirty
years. St Spyridon came to the monastery in the time of Igumen Pimen
(1132-1141), when he was no longer a young man. The ascetic combined
his work with unceasing prayer and the singing of Psalms. Even during
his life St Spyridon was glorified by miracles. He was illiterate, but
knew the entire Psalter by heart.
Once, his mantle caught fire from the oven. The fire was put out, but
the mantle remained whole. St Nicodemus labored with St Spyridon and
led a very strict life. Their relics are in the Kiev Caves of St
Anthony. The fingers of St Spyridon's right hand are positioned to
make the Sign of the Cross with three fingers. They are also
commemorated on September 28, and the second Sunday of Great Lent.
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St Maura of Constantinople
Saint Maura pursued asceticism at Constantinople, where she founded a
monastery, where she died in the fifth century.
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Apostle Stachys of the Seventy
Saint Stachys, one of the Seventy Apostles, was made Bishop of
Byzantium by St Andrew (November 30). He built a church at
Argyropolis, and many people gathered there to hear him preach. He was
a good shepherd to his flock, tirelessly laboring for their salvation.
He died in peace.
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100,000 Martyrs of Tbilisi by the Mongols
In 1227 Sultan Jalal al-Din of Khwarazm and his army of Turkmen
attacked Georgia. On the first day of the battle the Georgian army
valorously warded off the invaders as they were approaching Tbilisi.
That night, however, a group of Persians who were living in Tbilisi
secretly opened the gates and summoned the enemy army into the city.
According to one manuscript in which this most terrible day in
Georgian history was described: Words are powerless to convey the
destruction that the enemy wrought: tearing infants from their mothers
breasts, they beat their heads against the bridge, watching as their
eyes dropped from their skulls.
A river of blood flowed through the city. The Turkmen castrated young
children, raped women, and stabbed mothers to death over their
childrens lifeless bodies. The whole city shuddered at the sound of
wailing and lamentation. The river and streets of the city were filled
with death.
The sultan ordered that the cupola of Sioni Cathedral be taken down
and replaced by his vile throne. And at his command the icons of the
Theotokos and our Savior were carried out of Sioni Cathedral and
placed at the center of the bridge across the Mtkvari River. The
invaders goaded the people to the bridge, ordering them to cross it
and spit on the holy icons. Those who betrayed the Christian Faith and
mocked the icons were spared their lives, while the Orthodox
confessors were beheaded.
One hundred thousand Georgians sacrificed their lives to venerate the
holy icons. One hundred thousand severed heads and headless bodies
were carried by the bloody current down the Mtkvari River.
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