Christianity is well known to have almost "countless" number of
known and unknown Christian martyrs. Martyrdom has been considered
of a high esteem especially in the dawn of Christianity. Short
after the martyrdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, many faithful to his
teaching (including many of the holy apostles) endured martyrdom
similar to the Lord's crucifix on Golgotha.
We're almost living in a peaceful age with no official persecution
of Church the if compared to many of the previous centuries.
Nomatter faithful Christian still shed their blood for Christ.
Probably in Christian missions, all around the world even in the
moment of writting this article some faithful Christ servent is
suffering martyrdom. In this post I will devote to one modern day
Russian martyr saints of our Orthodox Christian faith - Father
Danail Sysoev. He is most recent martyr saint I know of. Fr.
Sysoev is still not officially canonized in the Russian Orthodox
Chuch because according to Church canons, to proclaim someone
officially a saint - 50 years or so has to pass since the saints
earthly death. Fr Danail Sysoev was a faithful God servent who has who lead
a lot of people to the Lord Jeuss Christ, by writting books, radio
and TV talks, preaches and spiritual governing. I heard of him by
Vsevolod a Russian brother in Christ from Moscow, I met just
few days ago. Vsevolod shared with me that he is a spiritual child
of father Danail Sysoev, because it was through him he was lead to
Christ ....
Father Danail Sysoev was a fervent missionary for Christ and
turned probably tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands)
of people to faith in Christ in the only fully thruthful Orthodox
Christian faith.
The Father was threaten numerous times over phone to stop preaching
Christ or else he would be killed. But the continuing threats did
not frightened him at all but on the contrary he even more
fervently continued preaching the Gospel following the instructions
of the Lord himself who said himself:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the age.
- Mathew 28:19-29
The father has done a great work for the heavenly kingdom, writting
in his short 35 years of eartly living - 28 books and pamphlets
! ! !, besides that he was leading holy liturgies, doing
missionary work, was a confessor of many and was taking care for
his family ! ! !
The new-martyr saint works are explaining in good detail the
Orthodox Christian faith and how by following and understanding
correctly our faith we can reach paradise (The Heavenly Jerusalem)
our Lord Jeus Christ promised us.
The Hierarch inspired hundred of thousands Christians all around
the world to do a missionary work and live a life for Christ and is
a well known and probaly the most bright nowadays primer of a
person who strived for the kingdom like our Church holy priests did
in past. Danail Sysoev was dreaming for martyrdom and explained in
his works that Martyrdom is one of the best glorious ending a
Christian can have for his faith.
The Father was famous among muslims in Russia for leading
open debates with Muslims, questioning validity of Islam and
showing with multiple sources that Christ is the only "door"
through which one can enter heaven.
Because of that and because of his truthful life like every
Christian again in accoradnce with what Christ said in Holy Gospel
that true Christians will be persecuted, blasphemed and killed for
his name the father had many enemies.
The missionary work Fr. Sysoev is one of the biggest missionary
works within the Russian Orthodox Church.
Whole Russian nation was in shock in 20th of November 2009, when an
unknown masked man entered a Church, called out Father Sysoev's
name and shot him twice - once in forehead and once in chest
...
The whole brutal scene occured in a Church building which the
father built himself collecting money in his lifetime....
Below is a short TV report of the brutal murder of the new-martyr,
as well as the last preach of the father translated to
English:
By the preach it is easy to determine the great spiritual
experience and spiritual hights the martyr reached prior to his
martyrdom.
There is also a full length documentary in Russian about Father
Danil Sysoev life but unfortunately I couldn't find it with
english subtitles and it is worthy for Christians who knows at
least a bit of Slavic language. You can check Q idu domu (Pamqti
otca Daniila Sysoeva) here -
http://youtu.be/sqk0EambOQw.