Since 2008, August 23rd has been observed as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism. In Romania, this day has also been designated as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Fascism and Communism by Law No. 198/2011.
Many victims of totalitarian regimes suffered because they valued their faith more than their lives or well-being. As evidence of this, more and more of these individuals are being recognized as saints after thorough investigations into their holy lives.
Thus, for Orthodox Christians, August 23 is more than a day of remembrance; it is a day to honour the saints of God, seek their help, and reflect on the value of the soul.
Romanian Saints who were victims of totalitarianism
As the Romanian Patriarchate’s Centennial approaches, the Holy Synod canonized sixteen saints this year, all living in the 20th century. Most of them were victims of the communist regime, including:
- Hieromartyr Liviu Galaction of Cluj (1898–1961) was imprisoned by the communists at Aiud and Gherla prisons and died as a result of inhumane treatment in prison.
- Saint Gerasimus of Tismana (1912–1951) was initially arrested in Craiova and later imprisoned at Aiud, Pitești, Gherla, and the Canal at Poarta Albă. After enduring long suffering with dignity, he fell ill and was taken to the Sanatorium in Târgu-Ocna, where he reposed in the Lord.
- Hieromartyr Hilarion Felea (March 21, 1903 – September 18, 1961) died in Aiud prison after nearly three years of imprisonment out of a twenty-year sentence.
- Hieromartyr Alexander of Bessarabia (1861–1941) was tortured for his faith in NKVD prisons and died after being deported to a camp in Kazan, now the capital of Tatarstan.
According to Bishop Iustin of Maramureș and Sătmar, the Holy Synod focused on canonizing clerics in this anniversary context. Still, the Synod will also recognize laypeople, such as Christian intellectuals, cultural figures, and strong-willed women who bore witness to their faith.
Saints from other countries who were victims of totalitarianism
- Saint Gregory Peradze (September 13, 1899 – December 6, 1942) was killed in the Nazi Auschwitz camp after taking responsibility for someone who had stolen bread.
- Saint Maria of Gatchina (February 11, 1874 – April 17, 1932) was arrested and tortured by Bolshevik revolutionaries and declared dead in a hospital, likely having been killed.
- Saint Elizabeth Feodorovna the Grand Duchess (November 1, 1864 – July 18, 1918) was thrown by communists into an abandoned mine near the town of Alapaevsk.
- Saint Alexander Schmorell (September 16, 1917 – July 13, 1943) was beheaded by the Nazis in a Munich prison.
- Saint Maria of Paris (December 20, 1891 – March 31, 1945) died in a gas chamber in the Nazi Ravensbrück camp.
The commemorations on August 23 are tied to the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact in Moscow in 1939 between the USSR and Nazi Germany.
Photo: Basilica.ro / Sorin Ionițe (a cell at Pitești Prison)
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