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Published by Orthodoxy in
China, June 24, 2005
Holy Chinese
Martyrs |
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English
Translation by Nina Tkachuk Dimas
For the First Time in Decades a Service Honoring
222 Chinese Martyrs
Took Place in Beijing
For the first time in over than half a century in
Beijing in the former bishop's quarters of the the
Russian Spiritual Mission in China (RSMC) which
since 1956 are located on the territory Russia's
Embassy in the Peoples Republic of China services
were conducted to honor the 222 Chinese martyrs
executed in 1900 for the Orthodox faith during the
Yihetuan Rebellion. On the morning of June 24th -
on the day for observing the memory of the Chinese
martyrs, priest Dionisy Pozdniaev of the Dept. of
External Church Relations/MP served the Divine
liturgy, according to Patriarchia.Ru.
The Yihetuan Rebellion, also known as the "Boxer"
Rebellion due to a mistranslation by English
sinologists, left a terrible bloody mark on
history of the beginning of the XX century. Among
those brutally killed and tortured by the rebels
were not only foreign preachers and technical
experts, merchants and scientists, but also
Chinese officials, soldiers and officers,
peasants.
Special cruelty distinguished the rebels when they
killed Chinese who professed the teaching the
Christ. Churches were pillaged and fell to ruins.
The courtyard of Russian Orthodox Mission was
turned to ashes. Yihetuan killed all without
discrimination - women, children, old men; their
victims were subjected to the most refined
tortures. The night of June 23 to June 24th (on
new calendar), 1900 entered history as
"Bartholomew's night of Beiping" (as Beijing was
known until 1949).
In May 1902 decree No. 2874 of the Most Holy Synod
established a day for celebrating the 222 Chinese
martyrs. Their holy relics were placed under the
altar of the temple of All Holy Martyrs which was
built in the center of Mission territory. In the
temple constructed in an old Russian tent-style,
together with holy relics of the Chinese flock,
were later buried archpastors of the Russian
Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Innokenty
(Figurnovsky), the chief of the XVIII Mission who
built the temple of the All Holy Martyrs,
Archbishop Simon (Vinogradov), the chief of the
XIX Mission.
Next to the temple there was the tomb of general
Dmitry Leonidovich Horvat, the last Russian
managing director of KVZHD. A monument to the 222
Chinese martyrs also stood near the temple.
According to some sources, in the Chinese martyrs
monument in Beijing, in the right side addition to
the temple, were also secretly buried in 1947 the
remains of victims of the Alapayevsk murders,
members of the Imperial family. In 1956 after the
property of the RSMC was transferred to USSR
authorities, the temple was
destroyed.
Remembering at the All Night Vigil and at Divine
Liturgy the Christian feats of endurance of the of
222 Chinese martyrs, the Russian Orthodox, who
assembled for the service in what were previously
the bishop's quarters, prayed before festal icons
that the Lord grant them to re-discover the relics
of "Chinese martyrs who, for Christ, fell victim
in the city of Beijing".
Moreover, recent investigations carried out with
special equipment on the territory of Russia's
Embassy to the PRC, at the foundation of the
temple of All Holy Martyrs do not exlude the
possibility of finding the holy relics in the
destroyed temple's altar section.
"O, holy martyrs of China, pray to God for us."
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