In 2000, at the Local Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, under the chairmanship of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, several hundred saints were canonized, who received the title of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. Several years later, at different times, some more Russian saints were added to the ranks of the holy new martyrs.
Holy martyrs who have undergone persecution for the Christian faith in Russia since the period of Soviet rule are called New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. After the revolution of 1917, people who hated the Orthodox Church came to power in the old days. Many monasteries and churches were closed and collapsed. The clergy were persecuted. There were numerous cases of murders not only of the clergy, but also of ordinary people who professed the Orthodox faith. Several thousand believers, both in the priesthood and the laity, suffered from the Soviet authorities. Among the slain clergymen and laypeople, there stood out people known for their holy lives. The Orthodox Church calls such Russian new martyrs. Russian confidants are those who did not accept death because of torment, but suffered greatly during the years of persecution. There were also many such holy people. Many archpastors, ordinary priests, deacons and laity were sent to various exiles and imprisonments for practicing Christianity.
Among the new martyrs and confessors of Russia there are hieromartyrs. These are holy martyrs, clothed with the sacred dignity of the episcopate or priesthood. Among them are Patriarch Tikhon (Belavin), Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev (Epiphany) and many others.
Other new martyrs can be called monastic martyrs. These are holy monks tortured to death by the Soviet authorities. Priests in monastic tonsure who were killed during the persecutions in Russia after 1917 can also be called monastic martyrs. There are also hundreds of names among them. For example, Appolinarius Verkhotursky, Gabriel Optinsky and others.
A special place among the new martyrs is occupied by the royal family of Nicholas II. Emperor Nicholas, his wife and children are called royal passion-bearers.
Among the faces of the new martyrs, holy women can also be distinguished. For example, Princess Elizabeth and the nun Varvara, the new martyr Evdokia, the Mother Superior of Mogilev Esther, the Mother Superior Margarita of Svyato-Ilyinskaya. Many abbess of convents and ordinary novices and laity have also been canonized by the Church as new martyrs and confessors of Russia.
It is difficult to talk about the total number of holy new martyrs, because the exact numbers of the murdered saints are unknown. However, it is possible to assert about several thousand already glorified in the face of the new martyrs and confessors of Russia. It is worth mentioning that the possibility of glorifying the new martyrs of that period in the Russian Orthodox Church is not excluded.
