View source for New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia

The '''[[New Martyrs]] and confessors of Russia were Orthodox Faithful who suffered during the Soviet period (1917 to 1991) for their faith.

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia glorified the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in 1981.  Immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Church under the leadership of Patriarch Alexei II began glorifying some of the New Martyr's, beginning with [[Elizabeth the New Martyr|the Grand Duchess Elizabeth]], [[Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) of Kiev and Gallich|Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev], and Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd in 1992.<ref>Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, New Edition, (London: Penguin Books, 1997), p. 164, see also [http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/martyrs/nmruss.html New Martyrs, Confessors, and Passion-Bearers of Russia]</ref> In 2000, the All-Russian Council glorified Tsar Nicholas II and his family, as well as many other New Martyrs.<ref>Sophia Kishkovsky, [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/16/europe/16russ.php?page=2 Russian Orthodox Church is set to mend a bitter schism], International Herald Tribune, May 16, 2007; [http://www.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/0008f.html#31 Second day of bishops' council: Nicholas' canonization approved], Communications Service, Department of External Church Relations, Moscow Patriarchate, 14 August 2000</ref>  More names continue to be added to list of New Martyrs, after the  Synodal Canonization Commission completes its investigation of each case.<ref>Maxim Massalitin,[http://www.pravoslavie.ru/enarticles/040106180408 The New Martyrs Unify Us: Interview with Archpriest Georgy Mitrofanov, participant of the All-Diaspora Pastoral Conference in Nyack (December 8-12, 2003)], Pravoslavie.ru, December 13, 2003</ref>
The Russian Church celebrates the feast of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia on the Sunday nearest January 25th (o.s.) / February 7th (n.s.) -- the date Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev's martyrdom (the first Hieromartyr of the Bolshevik Yoke. 

==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>

==External Links==
*[http://www.allsaintsofamerica.org/martyrs/nmruss.html New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (Icon and Explanation of the Icon)]
*[http://www.orthodox.net/russiannm/index.html The Lives of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia]

[[Category:Russian Saints]]
[[Category:Saints]]