There are still martyrs
This is an fascinating story: a Russian soldier who was killed on his 19th birthday in 1996 is being venerated in his home country as a martyr and an icon of him is giving off aromas of myrrh:
Today according to Inferfax of Russia in Penza, an Icon of Evgeny Rodinov gave off aromas of myrrh in the St. Lukas Church at the Penza regional oncologic dispenser. Russian soldier Rodionov was executed in Chechnya in 1996 after refusing to renounce Orthodox faith and take off his cross.
“Myrrh came out in two spots, in a palm of his hand and where one wears the cross,” the church Rector Alexy Burtsev told journalists.
According to the Church Rector, it happened during the All-Night Vigil on February 15. Those in attendance, at the Church, stood behind praying, and took in the strange pleasant aroma.
The priest noted that on February 15, 1996, Penza-born Evgeny Rodionov was captured in Chechnya, imprisoned for hundred days and when he refused to renounce Christian faith, militants beheaded him.
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Rodionov (Russian: Родионов Евгений Александрович) (May 23, 1977 – May 23, 1996) was a Russian soldier who was kidnapped and later executed in Chechen captivity. The purported manner of his death has garnered him much admiration throughout Russia, and even prompted calls for his elevation to sainthood.
Rodionov was born in the village of Satino-Russkoye, near Podolsk, Moscow Oblast. Though he aspired to be a cook, he was conscripted into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 1995. Private Rodionov was deployed to Chechnya, he served in border troops and on February 13, 1996 he was captured by Chechen rebels. They held him captive for more than three months.
On his 19th birthday Rodionov was beheaded on the outskirts of the Chechen village Bamut. According to his killers, who later extorted money from his mother in exchange for knowledge of the location of his corpse, they beheaded him after he refused to renounce his Christian faith or remove the silver cross he wore around his neck.
Yevgeny Rodionov was posthumously awarded the Russian Order of Courage. There is a growing movement within the Russian Orthodox Church to canonize him as a Christian saint and martyr for faith. Some Russian soldiers, feeling themselves abandoned by their government, have taken to kneeling in prayer before his image. One such prayer reads:
Thy martyr, Yevgeny, O Lord, in his sufferings has received an incorruptible crown from thee, our God, for having thy strength he has brought down his torturers, has defeated the powerless insolence of demons. Through his prayers save our souls.
As of 2003, religious icons depicting Yevgeny were becoming increasingly popular. Yevgeny’s mother has one herself; she has suggested that the icon of her son sometimes emits a perfume which she believes to be holy, to the extent that it actually drips with it.
Evgeny Rodinov, pray for us!
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Fascinating. It’s good to hear about Christians like this. I once asked a Catholic friend if he would deny Jesus if the alternative was beheading, and he said yes. Thank you for this beautiful story.
This is amazing. Miracles happen every single day.
I AM CATHOLIC AND I WOULD NEVER DENY JESUS; even if the alternative was beheading.
Praise be Jesus for his strength and courage in not denouncing Christ. His reward is great! One must not fear death of the body, rather fear death of the soul. Remember, heaven awaits those who trust in Jesus. While teaching religion classes last year and reading about the disciples I often wondered If I would be a brave soul and stand up for Christ if faced with death. Prayer and fasting eliminates fear and now I know I can and will.
I pray that if I have to make such a decision, that I do not deny my faith, but until that moment, I have no idea how I will react.
Peace
Marquis
[...] with permission by Eric Sammons of The Divine Life. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Chechclear VideoTHE CONFLICT IN [...]
Pingback by Russian Christian Soldier a Martyr of the Chechen War « The American Catholic — February 20, 2010 @ 4:49 pm20th Century Russia is drenched in the blood of the Martyrs. This is a sign to the whole world, but alas, those in the West know so little about the martyrdom of the Orthodox in the 20th century.
Eric, I read your conversion story. In it, when discussing your searching after leaving the Methodist church, you never mentioned the Orthodox Church once. Did you not know of its existence?
Now, you seem to have a great appreciation of The Orthodox Church. Perhaps you should examine it on its own terms and visit the holy places (even in America) of the Orthodox? Looking at it through the lens of ecumenism you will never get an accurate picture. But, perhaps you are already too bias to get that? Patriarch Bartholomew is only one cleric, and a compromised one at that. He weighs his words on a political expedience scale before speaking. You won’t hear the whole Truth from him. Meet the Saints – like this new Martyr – and examine them and their words about the Pope and Roman Catholic teachings. Even those in the Vatican today are doing this, reading the lives of St. Seraphim of Sarov and decalaring him a Saint of their church, for instance. But, why stop there. Right there in America you have Fr. Seraphim Rose – the translator of his life and teachings and a follower of his ways. . .
Joseph,
When I converted to Catholicism I knew next-to-nothing about Orthodoxy. Later, however, I did extensive studies on it and considered its claims very closely. While I came to greatly appreciate Orthodoxy’s spiritual life and history, in the end I concluded that the Catholic Church has been faithful to the teachings of Christ, the apostles and the Fathers and that I should remain Catholic.
I have read the biography of Fr. Seraphim Rose as well as the biographies of other great Orthodox saints (such as St. Gregory Palamas). I truly appreciate and admire all they have done in service to Jesus Christ. But none of my readings have convinced me of the need to convert to Orthodoxy.
Eric,
So, you would agree, for instance, that the charismatic movement, which has the blessing of the Pope and the Roman Catholic world in general, is consistent with the experience and witness of the Fathers of the Church? Which Fathers have you read to see if this is the case?
In no way are the two – the charismatic movement and traditional Christian spiritual life – reconcilable. So, for us, the acceptance of contemporary R-catholicism of the charismatic movement is a sign of great spiritual delusion.
I give you just this one example of the chasm between traditional Orthodox Christian spiritual life and practice and contemporary R-catholicism. Have you also considered this and decided that this spirituality is the same of the Church throughout the ages?