Arseny (Streltzof)

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Piotr Andreyevitch Streltzof (1893 – 1973), better known as Father Arseny, was a spiritual father in Russia during the period of communist rule under Stalin. Father Arseny is believed to have performed many miracles during harsh times in the cold Siberian prisons, where there was little hope for those who were encamped.

In Stalin's Russia, priests were considered anti-communists because many of them had different political views than Stalin. As a parish priest, Father Arseny was convicted for anti-communist propaganda and became Prisoner No. 18376.

Life in the barracks was brutal. Many of the prisoners were often ordered to work outside in the below-freezing weather, while others had specific duties inside, such as keeping facilities heated. If any of the tasks were not performed properly, prisoners were beaten severely (sometimes to the point of death) by those in charge of them.

While in prison, Father Arseny encountered a former student by the name of Alexei. Alexei was an atheistic individual who mocked God and all of those who followed him, but when he met Father Arseny, he began to see life in a different light.

An event that decisively persuaded Alexei to believe in God occurred when both Father Arseny and Alexei were sent outside to be punished for petty offenses. The lieutenant in charge ordered Father Arseny and Alexei to stay in a metal shack for 48 hours without food and drink. The temperature was -30° Celsius, which felt worse in the freezing metal shack.

While in the shack, Father Arseny and Alexei recited prayers to God and visualized being in a warm place. Father Arseny and Alexei survived the 48 hours. Before them, nobody had been able to live after being in the metal shack for 48 hours. How they survived the cold weather without food and drink is still a mystery today. However, his spiritual children believe it was the work of God.

Under Stalin, many innocents were imprisoned due to the dictator's quota on the number of people that needed to be arrested for anti-communist activities. Those who met Father Arseny, and lived to tell their stories, praised him as a man of God who touched many lives in the camp through prayer and faith.

Sources

This article is partially based on wikipedia:Father_Arseny.

"the servant of God, Alexander", ed., Vera Bouteneff, trans. Father Arseny, 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father. Crestwood, NY, 1998, ISBN 0881411809, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press