Russian New Martyrs - Lesson 3: The Renovationists and The Orthodox Response

LESSON 3 of Russia's New Martyrs & The Catacomb Church: A Type of the End Times - Spring-Summer Course 2: May 25 - July 27, 2021

———————————————————————————————

Q & A Session —
RUSSIA’S NEW MARTYRS & THE CATACOMB CHURCH

SEE ALSO: Lesson 3 Q & A (this Thursday):


———————————————————————————————

Outline of Course

General Description

This course will introduce and examine the witness and stance of the new martyrs under the atheist yoke, as well as the life, witness and stance of the Church in Russia during the first two decades of Bolshevik rule (1918-1938).

Objectives of the Course

This course aims to present the ecclesiological and spiritual stance and witness of the confessors and martyrs of the Church under militant atheism, for the purpose of learning valuable lessons for the faithful today, who face the rise of authoritarianism and Caesaropapism in the post-Covid world.

Further Aims of the Course

- To better understand the historical conditions to which the Church of Russia was subjected from 1918-1938.
- To encounter and be edified by the witness of the confessors and martyrs during this period.
- To glean spiritual and ecclesiastical insights from the stance of the new martyrs for application to our own situation today.
- To discern the errors of Caesaropapism (and “Sergianism”) and how the saints understood and countered this error.

Lecture Times and Dates:

Meets: Tuesday evenings, 9 PM (EST), 6 PM (PST).

Lectures are held: May 25; June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; July 6, 13, 20, 27.

Viewable through Crowdcast, Youtube, Twitter, and Facebook pages.

Q&A sessions are held exclusively through Crowdcast on Thursday evenings 9 PM (EST), 6 PM (PST).

Lecture Topics:

Lesson 1: May 25th: Introduction: Russia’s Golgotha, A Type of the End Times
Lesson 2: June 1st: The Onslaught of Persecution and Resistance under St. Tikhon
Lesson 3: June 8th: The Renovationists and the Orthodox Response
Lesson 4: June 15th: The Satanic Bolshevik Mentality and Methodology
Lesson 5: June 22nd: The Lives and Witness of the New Martyrs (1918-1928)
Lesson 6: June 29th: The Declaration & Stance of Metropolitan Sergius (“Sergianism”)
Lesson 7: July 6th: Consequences of the Declaration and the Orthodox Response
Lesson 8: July 13th The Catacomb Church
Lesson 9: July 20th: The Lives and Witness of the New Martyrs (1928-1938)
Lesson 10: July 27th: Conclusion: Lessons for the Last Christians

Please submit your questions ahead of each lesson. Questions can be submitted directly to the Crowdcast page of the particular lesson, which is preferable, or under the announcement in Patreon for each lesson. All questions submitted during the lecture will be answered at the Question and Answer session on Thursday evening.


Course Texts:

Russia’s Catacomb Saints by Ivan Andreyev and Fr. Seraphim Rose

[drdexter]

As I usually watch the replays of Father Peter's lectures here on YT instead of watching live (it's usually past my bedtime), and sometimes glance over at the chat replay and noticed quite a bit of back and forth on the topic of modernization. I'm a recent convert Orthodoxy, but am beginning to understand from reading some of Father Seraphim Rose's books his view of modernism and the dangers he thought it posed to Orthodoxy. It seems that Fr. Seraphim's response to modernism was out of his understanding of how the Schism of 1054 started a series of events (The Renaissance, Protestant Reformation, The Enlightenment, et cetera) that took humanity down the path of lawlessness and apostasy and the further we find ourselves from antiquity, the further we find ourselves from The Fullness of Truth.

While reading Father Damascene's biography, I found this interesting passage that Fr. Seraphim wrote to his Spiritual Father emphasizing the danger of modernization:

"“I am now
near the end of my second year as an Orthodox Christian, and if I am, not worthy of Orthodoxy — for no one can be worthy of it — but at least pointed in the right direction, I owe a great deal of gratitude to you for helping me. Your friendship and spiritual example have been very important in setting me on the straight Orthodox path. I only hope that there will be more Orthodox to take
such good care of their spiritual ‘children, ’ once American conversions to Orthodoxy become more frequent, as I think they will. Only by such immediate spiritual contacts and examples can Orthodox converts in America hope to preserve the fulness of Orthodoxy and avoid the common pitfalls of relaxation
and modernization.”

Thanks Father Peter for these lectures and thanks John Coffman for moderating the YT chats...that can't be an easy job..

God Bless you.

[simonedmondson]

God bless you Father. This is without doubt one of the most powerful, important lessons of history I've been meaning to look for a book outlining the experience of the Orthodox church under communism as I had an intuition it was profoundly important for understanding what's happening and where we are going. You've saved me the cost of the books and hours of reading. I'll definitely be joining you on Patreon! 😊🙏

[maaikekamstra]

Thank you dear Father for sharing this with us. We love you and we pray for you and your family to be save.

[ivansince]

The intro is beautiful, fr. Peter, God bless you.

[isaachenke]

Thank you Father! Since you were part of my coming into Orthodoxy in the early 1990’s related to our involve the in protecting the unborn, it is no surprise you continue to be so now. I pray that God blesses and keeps you and yours in peace and safety!

[dorothydeyev]

That introduction, with the 'mug shot' faces passing by on the screen of martyrs as arrested prisoners before execution was chilling and sad. Found myself saying a prayer for each sad face going by. What a terrible end they suffered.
It's haunting to realize that the aura of this same dark demonic spirit that once tormented Russians then for almost the whole of last century is growing in power today in America.

[exposingpowerfullieslivest]

Thank you Father, for these incredible videos! Christ is Risen!

[annak]

Hello Fr. Peter, you don't need to apologize for you pronunciation of the names. It's excellent, very easy to understand without looking at the slides.
Just want to clarify for the listeners that Metropolitan Benjamin and Venyamin is the same man.
Thank you for sacrificing your sleep for us.

[stottthescottjohndunn]

Thank you Fr. Peter. You have restored a stifled joy in my heart.

[simeoncomanescu]

Thank you Father!
May the Lord keep you; we love you, Father Peter!

[eliasandrinopoulos]

These lectures are invaluable! Particularly as YT seems to have censored so much of this information in regards to the Bolshevik Revolution. Great point that many of the renovationist figures were not “evil” or even totally bad, but passionate, and in many cases, intelligent people who lacked discernment. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, indeed.

Thank you once again, Father! God Bless you, your work, & your family. ☦️😊🙏🏻👏🏻

[Orange_Laowai]

“Do not depart from the Patriarch of Moscow. The other local Churches will fall from that Faith near the End but not the Third Rome” - St. Matrona of Moscow

[nicolaj]

Thanks Father for this edifying lecture!
It is a so sad to read the chat and see how easy people considering themselves "orthodox" judge and demonish other humans.

[jeffinjapan]

What was the name of the article Father Heers mentioned there at the end? I didn’t see anything over at Patreon

[theresamason]

Father Bless! May I ask which church you belong to then? Which one is true to Orthodoxy?

[thehammared]

1:10:00 Exactly what's happening in Ukraine with the OCU.