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Ukrainian Orthodoxy
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Orthodoxie ukrainienne

Saints of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Dr. Alexander Roman (email)

New Martyrs and Confessors of the Soviet Yoke

List of Glorified Ukrainian Orthodox New Martyrs and Confessors

The Glorification of all the known Ukrainian Martyrs and Confessors who perished for Christ during the Soviet period is far from complete.  Many may never be formally Glorified on earth, but they are Glorified by God in Heaven.  Here is a list of Glorified Ukrainian Orthodox New Martyrs and Confessors:

St Volodymyr, Protomartyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv;  St. Yuri Novitsky of Kyiv; St. Ivan Kovshariv of Odessa; St Alexander Hotovitsky of Volyn, Protopresbyter; St Alexander Petrivsky of Volyn, Archbishop;  St Constantine Dyakiv of Volyn, Metropolitan; St. Onyphry Hahalyuk of Lublin, Archbishop; St. Valentyn Mamchich, Archimandrite; St Ivan Timoniv, Priest; St Volodymyr Vasilivsky, Priest; St Nicholas Mihulin of Kharkiv, Priest; St Victor Yavorsky, Priest; St Dionysiy Chahovets, Priest; St Stepan Androniv of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Ivan Fedorvi, Priest; St. Lukian Fedotiv, Priest; St. Alexander Tatariniv of Kharkiv, Priest;  St. Yakiv Martinenko of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Cyprian Yankovsky of Kharkiv, Archimandrite; St. Paul Krasnokutsky of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Paisius Moskot of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Semen Oskin of Kharkiv, Priest; St. Nicholas Evfimiv of Kharkiv, Priest.  St. Gabriel Protopopiv of Kharkiv, Priest; St Spiridon Yevtushenko of Kharkiv, Deacon.  St Ivan Kononenko of Kharkiv, Regent;  St. Phillip Ordinets of Kursk, Regent; St Andriy Mischenko of Kursk, Regent.  St. Yakiv Redozubiv of Kursk, Protoierey; St. Nicholas Zahorivsky, Confessor, of Akhtyrka near Kharkiv, Protoierey; St Petro Doroshenko of Kharkiv, Protoierey; St Ivan Fedoriv of Kharkiv, Priest; St.Ilarion Zhukiv of Kharkiv, Priest; St Serhiy Shipulin of Byelske, Priest; St. Antin Horban of Poltava, Priest; St Luke Voyno-Yasenetsky of Taurich, Archbishop; St Varlaam Pohiliuk of Kamenets-Podilsky, Ieromonakh;  St. Porphyrius of Simferopil, Metropolian; Sts. Nicholas and Demetrius, Archbishops; St. Bartholomew, Hieromonk; Sts. John, Volodymyr, Timothy and Olesky of Crimea, Priests; St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopil, Confessor; St. Procopius, Archbishop of Cherson; Saints Constantine, Onuphry and Alexander, Hieromartyrs and All Holy New Martyrs of Slobozhanschyna.

Among the New Martyrs, St John Pommer, Archbishop of Riga and Latvia, who was shot to death by the Communists, deserves a special place in the Ukrainian Calendar as he helped many Ukrainian Catholics who desired to return to Orthodoxy do so in the 1940’s.

On August 20, AD2000, almost a thousand new Orthodox Saints and Martyrs, mainly from the period of the Soviet Yoke, were glorified by the Russian Patriarch together with the Patriarchs and representatives of many other Orthodox Churches.

Among those prior to the Soviet period are:  St Arsenius Matsievich of Rostov and St Parthenius the Ihumen of the Kyzyltashk Monastery who was martyred by the Crimean Tatars and whose cult is strong among Ukrainians in Crimea.  In addition, two groups of saints were glorified, both of which derive from the spiritual tradition of St Paisius Velichkovsky and which, therefore, belong to the Kyivan Church:  34 Martyr-Saints of Valaam, martyred by the Lutherans and the Choir of Venerable Saints of Optino.  Among the latter group, St Joseph Litovkin, a Ukrainian from Kharkiv, is numbered.

A number of Ukrainian New Martyrs were given a universal Orthodox cult, among them:

  • St Anatolius Hrysiuk, Metropolitan Of Odessa

  • St Onyphrius Hahaliuk Archbishop of Kursk

  • St Alexander Petrivsky, Archbishop of Kharkiv

  • St Serjih Zviriv, Archbishop of Eletsk

  • St Prokopius Tytiv, Archbishop of Kherson

  • St Basil Zelentsiv, Bishop of Prilutsk

  • St Porphyrius Hulevych, Bishop of Crimea

  • St Dmytry Kyraniv, Protoierey

  • St Nicholas Mezentsiv, Protoierey

  • St Bartholomew Ratnikh, Ieromonk

  • St Timothy Izotiv, Priest

  • St John Blumovich, Priest

  • St Volodymyr Pyschulyn, Priest

  • St  Anthony, Ierodeacon

  • St Nicholas Kazansky, Protoierey

  • St Eleazar Spiridoniv, Priest

  • The 103 Holy New Martyrs of Cherkas'

  • St Basil Bohoyavlensky, Archbishop of Chernihiv

  • St Mathew Pomerantsiv, Archimandrite of Chernihiv

  • St Alexius Zviriv of Chernihiv

  • St Luke Voyno-Yasenetsky, Archbishop of Crimea

  • St Makarius Karmazyn, Bishop of Uman

  • St Andrew Kosovsky, Protoierey

  • St Victor Kuraniv, Protoierey

  • St Dmytry Ihnatenko, Protoierey

  • St Michael Bohoslovsky, Protoierey

  • St Alexander Ilenkiv, Priest

  • St Mathew Alexandriv, Priest

  • St Stephan Nalyvayko of Crimea

  • St Dmytry Spiridoniv of Crimea

In addition, the Act of Glorification of August 20, 2000 also glorified all those who were martyred for Christ under the Soviet Yoke, those whose names we cannot know, but who are known only to God Himself and are glorified by Him in Heaven.  There are many Ukrainians listed as Saints under the different dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, and their backgrounds need to be researched.

The Feast of All Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of the Communist Yoke has been traditionally celebrated on the Sunday closest to February 7th, Julian Calendar, that being the day of the martyrdom of St Volodymyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv, the Protomartyr of the Communist Yoke who was shot against a wall of the Kyivan Caves Lavra.  

One could argue that all the New Martyrs of the Communist Yoke, whether they were Ukrainian or not, belong to the Kyivan Church as they are all children of the Kyivan Church tradition, as Metropolitan Ohienko writes.

The number of specified Ukrainian New Martyrs is still small and it is up to the Kyivan Patriarchate to glorify further Saints in future.

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