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Our father among the [[saint]]s '''Sergius I of Rome''' was the pope of the [[Church of Rome]] from 687 to 701. He was one of the popes considered part of the Byzantine Papacy. His election ended the [[schism]] between the antipopes Paschal and Theodore and led to a papacy that was dominated by his response to the [[Quinisext Council]], whose canons he refused to accept.
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'''The Nuns of Shamordino, Prisoners of Solovki and Vorkuta'''
  
==Life==
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[[File:Detail Closure and Arrest.jpg]]
Sergius was born about the year 650 in a Syrian family from Antioch that had moved to Palermo in Sicily. He received his education in Sicily before he traveled to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Adeodatus II during the 670s.<ref name="e223">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 223.</ref> [[ordination|Ordained]] by Pope Leo he was II a cardinal-[[priest]] of the Church of St. Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome.<ref>Horace Mann: ''The lives of the popes.'' Vol. I pt. 2, London 1903, p. 80</ref><ref name="e223"/>
 
  
As Pope Conon was dying in 687, two warring factions vied to elect a successor. In simultaneous elections after the death of Pope Conon the archdeacon Pascal and the priest Theodore were elected to the papal throne. However, an assembled group of [[clergy]] and people ignored these elections and chose instead the priest Sergius, who was then consecrated on [[December 15]], 687.<ref name="e217">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 217.</ref> Theodore, recognizing the support behind the election of Sergius, quickly acknowledged Sergius I as pope.<ref name="e216"/> Pascal, who had turned for help to the [[exarch]] of [[Ravenna]] John Platyn with offers of gold, was soon abandoned by the Exarch after the consecration of Sergius and eventually ending up confined to a [[monastery]] on charges of witchcraft.<ref name="e216"/>
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The sisterhood of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamordino_Convent '''Shamordino Convent'''], around 30 in number, were imprisoned in 1923 at the closure of the convent by the Soviet authorities, first in '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solovki_prison_camp Solovki prison camp]''', then the sisterhood was broken up and dispersed and, with the exception of one striking account by American prisoner [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Noble John H. Noble]<ref>{{cite book|last=Noble |first=John |date=1960 |title=I Found God in Soviet Russia |publisher=Marshall, Morgan & Scott Ltd. |location=London |page=161-168}}</ref> that emerged following his release some 30 years after the nuns' disappearance, it is generally unknown, apart from scant references<ref>[http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/76780.htm Memories of Nun-Martyr Augusta (Zaschuk; 1871-1938)]</ref>, what became of any other members of the sisterhood thereafter.
  
During the early years of his pontificate Sergius had numerous contacts with England and the English notables. He received King Caedwalla of the West Saxons and [[baptism|baptized]] him on [[April 10]], 689, before his death on [[April 20]], apparently from battle wounds. Under Pope Sergius' direction Caedwalla was buried in St. Peter's. He [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] St. Willibrord, an Englishman, bishop of the Frisians.
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[[File:Nuns of Shamordino - fair use detail 1.jpg]]
  
Much of Pope Sergius' pontificate involved the canons of the Quinisext Council of 692. While he did not attend the Council, Sergius sent legates including, as apocrisiarius, the suffragan [[Bishop]] Basil of Gortyna who had subscribed to the canons.<ref name="e220">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 220.</ref> However, Sergius rejected certain canons of the Council, although he continued to support political unity with Constantinople. While it is unknown which canons Sergius I objected to, he declared that he would "rather die than consent to erroneous novelties". The Quinisext Council did approve all eighty-five of the Apostolic Canons, while Sergius I would only have supported the first fifty. The bulk of the resistance probably stemmed from varying doctrines and practices between east and west. For example, Roman deacons were prohibited from living with their wives after ordination, Roman priests were prohibited from having married twice prior to ordination, and Roman Christians were prohibited from fasting on the Saturdays of [[Great Lent]] and allowed to consume animal blood. These and other practices differed from the Quinisext canons.
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== Historical Accounts ==
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'''Account of I.M. Andreyevsky, Professor, Psychiatrist, Author, and Political Prisoner'''
  
Enraged, Emperor Justinian II dispatched his ''[[magistrianus]]'', also named Sergius, to Rome to arrest Bishop John of Portus, the chief papal legate to the [[Sixth Ecumenical Council]] and Boniface, the papal counselor.<ref name="e223"/> The two high-ranking officials were brought to Constantinople as a warning to the pope.<ref name="e223"/> Eventually, Justinian II ordered Sergius I's arrest and abduction to Constantinople by his bodyguard ''[[protospatharios]]'' Zacharias.<ref name="e223"/> However, the militia of the exarch of Ravenna and the [[Duchy of Pentapolis]] frustrated the attempt.<ref name="e224">Ekonomou, 2007, p. 224.</ref> Zacharias nearly lost his own life in an attempt to arrest Sergius I.<ref>Ekonomou, 2007, p. 44.</ref> Rather than seizing upon the anti-Byzantine sentiment, Sergius I did his best to quell the uprising.<ref name="e224"/>
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[[File:Detail Threats to no Avail.jpg]] [[File:Detail Beatings.jpg]] [[File:Detail Torture.jpg]]
  
Pope Sergius died in Rome on [[September 8]], 701. He was succeeded by [[Pope John VI|John VI]].
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The account in English of what was the immediate fate of the nuns was provided by I.M. Andreyevsky<ref>[http://christthesavior.net/?p=550 Andreyevsky's English Biography]</ref> ({{lang-ru|[[:ru:Wikilink|Иван Михайлович Андреевский]]}}) in ''The Orthodox Word''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Andreyev |first=I.M. |date=July-August 1977 |title=Martyrology of the Communist Yoke: The Nuns of Shamordino |journal=The Orthodox Word |volume=13, No.4 |page=161-168; ISSN 0030-5839}}</ref>, a publication of monk [[Seraphim Rose]] and the [[St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood|'''Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery''']], which at the time of publication were under the '''[[Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia]]'''. The following points highlight their imprisonment: Under orders from their spiritual father, also imprisoned at Solovki, they were not to do any work for the Soviet regime because the system was actively dismantling the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. As a result of their steadfast adherence to the vow of obedience they had all taken upon their tonsure, they refused to do so much as a single stitch with a needle in service to the Soviets. They were threatened, beaten, tortured, starved, all to no avail. Finally, as a last resort, they were divided up and sent to various locations of forced labour and imprisonment throughout the Soviet Union in the hopes that total isolation would break their will and that they should submit to their captors. Other than these main details, little else was known of them until some 30 or 35 years later when an American prisoner was released and published his account (cited below) of his ten years of imprisonment in the ''Soviet Gulags''.
  
{{Reflist|2}}
 
==References==
 
*Ekonomou, Andrew J. 2007. ''Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern influences on Rome and the papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752''. Lexington Books. 
 
<references/>
 
  
{{start box}}
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'''Account of John H. Noble, American Political Prisoner'''
{{succession|
 
before=Conon|
 
title=[[List of Popes of Rome|Pope of Rome]]|
 
years=687 - 701|
 
after=John V}}
 
{{end box}}
 
  
==Sources==
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[[File:Detail Vorkuta Gulag.jpg]] [[File:Detail Frozen Windy Hilltop.jpg]] [[File:Detail Miracle.jpg]]
*[[Wikipedia: Pope_Sergius_I ]]  
 
  
[[Category: Bishops]]
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This account takes place at the arctic ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkutlag Vorkutlag]'' prison camp nearing the end of the ''Stalin Era''. The main points of John Noble's account are that they show that the wills of at least these three surviving nuns were unbroken, though they had by now been undergoing afflictions and punishments for some 25 years or so. They still refused to do any work whatsoever or under any circumstances. Moreover, they displayed astounding courage and strength: when subjected to torture, namely being placed in straight jackets that were extremely tight so as to cut off circulation, though writhing in agony they simply moaned quietly until they passed out. This was done repeatedly bringing them near to the point of death with no effect on breaking their will. After a respite, this torture was then increased in its torments by dousing the cotton jackets in water so that as it dried it tightened yet more. Again, racked with agony, yet to no avail. They endured all this without complaint or cursing their torturers but quietly and with a meek disposition. The camp commander, in a desperate bid to either get them to comply or die, then instructed them to be put outside in the snow on a hilltop in the winds of winter, and force them to stand there motionless for the full 8-hour workday and watch the other women prisoners work. Standing in prayer, they faithfully complied with this in the full sight of the other prisoners labouring in the fields. At the end of the day they returned, relaxed and warm, without any bodily damage. On the second day, the guards were ordered to put them out there again but stripped of hats and mittens. Though the workers were labouring and well-dressed they were complaining bitterly of the intense cold. The third day the same scene was repeated except that they had been divested of their scarves as well. On the fourth day, the guards were afraid and told the commandant that they refused to have any more to do with afflicting them. Even the commandant, being somewhat superstitious, was afraid at this point and relented. After that point, at least until John H. Noble's release, they were allowed to stay in a room by themselves, make habits for themselves, and were taken off punishment rations, being left in peace to observe their religious rule of prayer and communal life. This is the last that is known of what became of the ''Nuns of Shamordino''.
[[Category: Popes of Rome]]
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[[Category: 7th-8th-century bishops]]
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[[File:Nuns of Shamordino - fair use detail 2.jpg]] [[File:Detail Stalin Defeated and Imprisoned Eternally.jpg]]
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==Veneration and Canonical Standing==
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While they have not been officially glorified (recognized as saints), they are commemorated on November 12th on the [[Julian Calendar]] by some Orthodox Churches. It should be noted that in the [[Orthodox Church]] there is no need for official declarations of sainthood as there is in Roman Catholicism where the process of [[canonization]] is different (see [[Glorification#Eastern_Orthodox_Church|glorification]]). Many [[Eastern Orthodox]] saints have never been canonized in the official sense as practiced by the Vatican. [[https://orthodoxwiki.org/John_Chrysostom Saint John Chrysostom]] is such an example where the Orthodox Church has never felt the need to issue an official document declaring him a "canonical saint" as such. Hence, here also, the veneration of many "unofficial" Orthodox confessors and martyrs who courageously refused to bend to the oppression of the Soviet State is exemplified and encouraged by the [[iconography]] that has arisen.
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[[File:Nuns of Shamordino - Fair Use small copy.jpg]]
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== References ==
 +
{{Reflist}}
 +
 
 +
== External links ==
 +
* [http://russiascatacombsaints.blogspot.ca/2010/12/4-nuns-of-shamordino-in-solovki-prison.html Online copy of the article, ''"The Nuns of Shamordino: Prisoners of Solovki"'' from ''The Orthodox Word'']
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* [https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Андреевский,_Иван_Михайлович Biography of the article author, I.M. Andreyevsky in Russian Wikipedia]
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{{coord|67|30|51|N|64|05|02|E|region:RU-KO_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title}}
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[[:Category:Monasteries in Russia]]
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[[:Category:Russian Orthodox monasteries]]
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[[:Category:new martyrs]]
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[[:Category:Christian monasteries in Russia]]
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[[:Category:underground church]]
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[[:Category:gulag]]
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 +
<!--- Categories --->
 +
 
 +
[[:Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard]]

Latest revision as of 00:57, August 8, 2016

The Nuns of Shamordino, Prisoners of Solovki and Vorkuta

Detail Closure and Arrest.jpg

The sisterhood of Shamordino Convent, around 30 in number, were imprisoned in 1923 at the closure of the convent by the Soviet authorities, first in Solovki prison camp, then the sisterhood was broken up and dispersed and, with the exception of one striking account by American prisoner John H. Noble[1] that emerged following his release some 30 years after the nuns' disappearance, it is generally unknown, apart from scant references[2], what became of any other members of the sisterhood thereafter.

Nuns of Shamordino - fair use detail 1.jpg

Historical Accounts

Account of I.M. Andreyevsky, Professor, Psychiatrist, Author, and Political Prisoner

Detail Threats to no Avail.jpg Detail Beatings.jpg Detail Torture.jpg

The account in English of what was the immediate fate of the nuns was provided by I.M. Andreyevsky[3] (Russian: Иван Михайлович Андреевский) in The Orthodox Word[4], a publication of monk Seraphim Rose and the Saint Herman of Alaska Monastery, which at the time of publication were under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The following points highlight their imprisonment: Under orders from their spiritual father, also imprisoned at Solovki, they were not to do any work for the Soviet regime because the system was actively dismantling the Russian Orthodox Church. As a result of their steadfast adherence to the vow of obedience they had all taken upon their tonsure, they refused to do so much as a single stitch with a needle in service to the Soviets. They were threatened, beaten, tortured, starved, all to no avail. Finally, as a last resort, they were divided up and sent to various locations of forced labour and imprisonment throughout the Soviet Union in the hopes that total isolation would break their will and that they should submit to their captors. Other than these main details, little else was known of them until some 30 or 35 years later when an American prisoner was released and published his account (cited below) of his ten years of imprisonment in the Soviet Gulags.


Account of John H. Noble, American Political Prisoner

Detail Vorkuta Gulag.jpg Detail Frozen Windy Hilltop.jpg Detail Miracle.jpg

This account takes place at the arctic Vorkutlag prison camp nearing the end of the Stalin Era. The main points of John Noble's account are that they show that the wills of at least these three surviving nuns were unbroken, though they had by now been undergoing afflictions and punishments for some 25 years or so. They still refused to do any work whatsoever or under any circumstances. Moreover, they displayed astounding courage and strength: when subjected to torture, namely being placed in straight jackets that were extremely tight so as to cut off circulation, though writhing in agony they simply moaned quietly until they passed out. This was done repeatedly bringing them near to the point of death with no effect on breaking their will. After a respite, this torture was then increased in its torments by dousing the cotton jackets in water so that as it dried it tightened yet more. Again, racked with agony, yet to no avail. They endured all this without complaint or cursing their torturers but quietly and with a meek disposition. The camp commander, in a desperate bid to either get them to comply or die, then instructed them to be put outside in the snow on a hilltop in the winds of winter, and force them to stand there motionless for the full 8-hour workday and watch the other women prisoners work. Standing in prayer, they faithfully complied with this in the full sight of the other prisoners labouring in the fields. At the end of the day they returned, relaxed and warm, without any bodily damage. On the second day, the guards were ordered to put them out there again but stripped of hats and mittens. Though the workers were labouring and well-dressed they were complaining bitterly of the intense cold. The third day the same scene was repeated except that they had been divested of their scarves as well. On the fourth day, the guards were afraid and told the commandant that they refused to have any more to do with afflicting them. Even the commandant, being somewhat superstitious, was afraid at this point and relented. After that point, at least until John H. Noble's release, they were allowed to stay in a room by themselves, make habits for themselves, and were taken off punishment rations, being left in peace to observe their religious rule of prayer and communal life. This is the last that is known of what became of the Nuns of Shamordino.

Nuns of Shamordino - fair use detail 2.jpg Detail Stalin Defeated and Imprisoned Eternally.jpg

Veneration and Canonical Standing

While they have not been officially glorified (recognized as saints), they are commemorated on November 12th on the Julian Calendar by some Orthodox Churches. It should be noted that in the Orthodox Church there is no need for official declarations of sainthood as there is in Roman Catholicism where the process of canonization is different (see glorification). Many Eastern Orthodox saints have never been canonized in the official sense as practiced by the Vatican. [Saint John Chrysostom] is such an example where the Orthodox Church has never felt the need to issue an official document declaring him a "canonical saint" as such. Hence, here also, the veneration of many "unofficial" Orthodox confessors and martyrs who courageously refused to bend to the oppression of the Soviet State is exemplified and encouraged by the iconography that has arisen.

Nuns of Shamordino - Fair Use small copy.jpg

References


External links

Template:Coord

Category:Monasteries in Russia Category:Russian Orthodox monasteries Category:new martyrs Category:Christian monasteries in Russia Category:underground church Category:gulag


Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard