“Heresies arise during times of prosperity for the Church. There are no heresies during times of persecution.”
This observation was shared just recently by our parish priest, Archpriest Dimitry Ptashinsky, when he spoke about the holy Seven Youths of Ephesus in his sermon. This is actually a very profound thought. If you look at the history of the Orthodox Church, it truly is so.
It is very hard for us now to imagine how deeply our country was infected with sectarianism before the 1917 Revolution. In the Russian Empire—the heir to Byzantium and a prosperous Orthodox power—entire regions were stricken, like leprosy, with sectarian movements of various kinds. And the Russian Church opposed them as best as it could. There was a dedicated body in the Russian Empire tasked with counteracting heresies and sects: the Orthodox Missionary Society, which was under the patronage of the Most Holy Synod. Of the New Martyrs of Russia , a significant number were prominent missionaries who carried out educational work (which almost always meant fighting against sectarianism) in different parts of the empire.
And during that sermon another thought crossed my mind: how much our Motherland suffered, and what difficult times it went through when, following the upheavals of 1917, it was struck not only by the persecution of the Orthodox Church, but also by the Renovationists with their pseudo-religious structures, created and backed by the godless regime! You can’t even call it sectarianism, because there was nothing religious about it—nothing but deception and perverted lies utilizing various methods of enticement—intimidation, brown-nosing, and bribery…
Very often, those who opposed sectarianism in the Russian Empire stood up to defend the Mother Church against the encroachments of the so-called Living Church followers (Renovationists) after the collapse of the great country. We know the names of many New Martyrs who were missionaries. These include the Hieromartyrs Archpriest Sergei Strelnikov, Priest Nikolai Udintsev, the great missionary Archpriest John Vostorgov (a name I will mention again), Archbishop Iakov/James (Maskayev), the Venerable Martyr Archimandrite Ardalion (Ponomarev), and the Hieroconfessor Sylvester (Olshevsky)—a true titan in the field of missionary work (the list could go on and on). This article is dedicated to the New Martyr Nikolai Yurievich Varzhansky—a brilliant missionary and a man of great intellect.
On November 25, 1881, a boy was born into the family of the government official Georgy (Yuri) Varzhansky in the Ovruch district of Volyn province. When converting dates from the old calendar to the new calendar for the period of between 1800 and 1900, twelve days should be added to that date. Consequently, within our familiar calendar range, the aforementioned event took place on December 7. On December 19, the Holy Church honors the memory of St. Nicholas, the Wonderworker of Myra. It is completely logical that the newborn was named Nikolai in Baptism.
New Martyr Nikolai Varzhansky
His Life says from the very first lines: The birthplace of the future martyr was completely plagued by various sects. However, Newton’s Third Law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The laws of physics can be observed in everyday life, and very often even in its non–material manifestations. The forceful impact of sectarian movements triggered a complete rejection in the young soul of Nikolai; he did not just cling to the Orthodox Church as the sole ark of salvation, but firmly resolved to devote his life to combating sectarianism. Driven by this exact motive, Nikolai entered first a theological seminary and later the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1907 with the degree of Candidate of Theology.1
At that time, the rector of the Holy Resurrection Church at the Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow was Archpriest Neophyte Lyubimov (a hieromartyr; feast: October 30). Fr. Neophyte was a prominent church figure, a talented teacher, and an excellent missionary. Looking ahead, let me mention that in July 1918, Archpriest Neophyte celebrated a memorial service for the murdered Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II, for which he was later executed by firing squad. It was Fr. Neophyte’s daughter, Zinaida, whom Nikolai Varzhansky married on graduating from the theological academy. Two children were born of this marriage: a daughter, Elena, and a son, Konstantin.
Nikolai Varzhansky’s missionary career developed rapidly. In 1908, he was an assistant to the anti–sectarian missionary of the Moscow Diocese, then an assistant to the Moscow diocesan missionary. In 1911, simultaneously with performing his missionary duties, St. Nikolai served in the chancery of the Most Holy Synod and taught at the Moscow Theological Academy. In 1912, he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class; and in 1914, the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class.
Nikolai Varzhansky organized the St. Barnabas Temperance Society to fight the plague of alcoholism, which devoured people’s souls no less than sectarianism. In this field, he won the sincere love of the working people. Let us dwell on this in more detail.
Prior to the revolutionary upheavals, there were two of the largest and oldest temperance societies in Moscow: St. Daniel’s and St. Barnabas’. However, the latter was not called so until 1914. A year before being renamed, the society’s location also changed: it moved into the two-story property of I. N. Denisov near the Semyonovskaya Zastava (25 Sokolinaya Gora Street). On December 22, 1914, the consecration of the Church of the Apostle Barnabas took place in the large hall on the second story of the building.
Apparently, Nikolai Varzhansky’s organizational efforts belong to this period of the society’s existence. The St. Barnabas People’s Temperance Society became the center of missionary anti-sectarian activity in Moscow.
The society was headed by Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) of Serpukhov; he wrote: “Anti-sectarian missionary discussions take place here on Sundays at seven o’clock, catechism and missionary courses on Wednesdays and Fridays, singing lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, illustrated lectures on Mondays, Vigils with common singing and missionary preaching on Saturdays and before feasts, and lastly, solemn prayer services with akathists, the Blessing of the Waters, and missionary preaching on Sundays and feasts. Pastoral missionary meetings of the clergy take place on the society’s premises. A massive church choir in which all sing, tireless missionary preaching and teaching, the exceptional national spirit and ecclesiastical nature of this society, and especially the presence here of the highly venerated and grace-filled Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, attract crowds of people.”
Incidently, the start of evening services was moved from six to half past seven in the evening so that workers could attend them after their workday. This short note reveals the grand scale of the society’s activities. Furthermore, this text clearly shows that the society enjoyed immense popularity (“attracts crowds of people”). This deeply displeased certain other categories of people: those who sold alcohol under the guise of various activities, and those who intended to destroy the Russian Empire. Through its educational work and its impressive results, the society significantly hindered the goals of both groups.
Continuing with St. Nikolai’s achievements, he authored about forty books and pamphlets on various sectarian movements. In 1917, at the Local Council of the Russian Church (1917–1918), he served as the executive secretary of the Department of External and Internal Missions and Church Discipline. He actively participated in missionary congresses, serving as a delegate to the Fifth Missionary Congress held in the summer of 1917. Only a short time remained before the empire-wide catastrophe…
Yet before the October Revolution of 1917, outside forces began to actively interfere with missionary work, opposing it. The February Revolution of 1917 gave many a free hand. There is an episode in the Life of St. Nikolai Varzhansky that cannot be left unmentioned.
Good Confession. A book by St. Nikolai Varzhansky On April 24, 1917, lectures were held at the St. Barnabas Temperance Society. As the Life relates: “Nikolai Varzhansky chaired the readings, and prominent professors and priests sat on the presidium. About 1,000 listeners—men and women, mostly workers—were present in the hall.” 1,000 people is a lot for a single room. Let’s remember that.
History remains silent on how Stepanov, the chairman of the local Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, came to be present at the lecture. However, it is known that he deeply disliked the content of the lectures and called a squad of security forces. Armed men burst into the hall during the fourth orator’s speech. To quote the Life: “Pointing their revolvers at the presidium members, they shouted, ‘Don’t move, you are under arrest!’ Stepanov leaped onto a table and read out a document stating that the premises of the St. Barnabas Temperance Society had been requisitioned for cultural and educational purposes. At that moment, cries rang out: ‘Get out! We are going to shoot!’ Panic broke out in the hall.”
It turns out the requisition document had been prepared in advance. Stepanov arrived at the lecture hall with the paperwork already in hand. The conclusion: the provocation was carefully planned.
Shooting inside a room with 1,000 people gathered at once is a purely barbaric act. Take the tragedy at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22, 2024. There were around 6,000 people there, but the venue was also dozens of times larger. In a situation like this—firing into a crowd—the number of victims multiplies exponentially. Panic in a crowd always triggers a stampede. And that means even more victims.
The Life remains silent on whether there were victims; it states that most people rushed into the house Church of the Apostle Barnabas, praying on their knees for an end to the lawlessness. Perhaps the Lord prevented bloodshed.
I will quote the Life once more: “The guards who surrounded the arrested missionary Varzhansky and Professor Kuznetsov told them that they had no real objection to the content of the lecture, but that it distracted the people from their main task—the revolution. ‘You are inviting people to join non-partisan church organizations,’ one of them said, ‘while they need to engage in politics. Once Russia is back on track, then you can do this.’ While speaking with the guards, Varzhansky and Kuznetsov pointed out that the former regime used to restrict freedom of speech and the Church, but, oddly enough, this was happening again now. ‘We are not using force,’ objected the guards, who had just dispersed the audience and were holding those arrested at revolver point.”
I must emphasize that these events took place before the October Revolution of 1917. The catastrophe that befell our Fatherland was not sudden. It was a chain of events linked by cause and effect. Nikolai Varzhansky and Professor Kuznetsov were released. There was nothing to charge them with. After the October Revolution, the situation became even more complicated.
Another remarkable event happened in 1918. The Bolsheviks decided to celebrate May Day, which that year coincided with Holy and Great Wednesday. For the May Day celebrations at the Nikolsky (“St. Nicholas’”) Gate, an icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker —St. Nikolai Varzhansky’s patron-saint—was covered with a red banner that read: “Long live the May Day international holiday!” That banner inexplicably ripped to pieces and dropped to the ground. It appeared as if the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker had freed itself from the cloth covering it!
Nikolai Varzhansky published a leaflet titled, The Tale of the Miraculous Icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker over the Nikolsky Gate in Moscow.” I find it necessary to give its text here:
“All through the night from Holy Tuesday to Holy Wednesday, Red Square was guarded, and no one could approach it. On the morning of Holy Wednesday, it was noticed that the red cloth that hung there had torn in such a way that the miracle-working icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker became visible to everyone and, as noted by many, appeared incomparably brighter than before. The red cloth began to tear into ribbons, and finally fell down completely. At first they tried to explain that the cloth had supposedly been torn by the wind, and later it was written that the cloth had allegedly been hung already slit, even though thousands of people had seen that it was whole and uncut. Be that as it may, the Lord did not allow the wonderworking icons to be covered with a red cloth. The cloth that had covered the miracle-working icon of St. Nicholas fell down.
“St. Nicholas the Wonderworker saved us from the Tatars in the past2 —and he will protect us again now provided we pray to him fervently and stand up for the holy Orthodox Faith and for our sacred shrines even to death.”
On May 31 (according to other sources, May 30), 1918, Nikolai Varzhansky was arrested at the apartment of the prominent missionary Archpriest John Vostorgov (a hieromartyr; commemorated September 5) and sent to the Butyrka Prison. Of course, in addition to his lectures and other activities (the incident at the St. Barnabas Temperance Society resurfaced), he was also held accountable for his leaflet about St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The indictment read: “An out-and-out reactionary, always conducting pogromist agitation in the style of the monarchist Black Hundred Movement. His main stronghold was the St. Barnabas Temperance Society.” During interrogation, Nikolai Varzhansky testified: “In preaching I have never touched on political matters, except for those points that intersect with church life.”
On June 6, 1918, while in prison, he was given an icon of the Mother of God, “The Seeker of the Lost”, with the inscription: “We pray fervently for our dear passion-bearers.”
Archpriest Neophyte Lyubimov made incredible efforts to help his son-in-law. He wrote personally to Vladimir Lenin: “I served in Simbirsk together with your father.3 He was the principal of public schools, and I was a teacher… He passed away in my presence; I prayed for him then, and I still pray for him now… I dare to address you in these days of my present difficulties… with a humble request: My son-in-law Nikolai Varzhansky was arrested by accident—he entered the apartment of Archpriest Vostorgov while a search was being conducted there, and was arrested along with the others… I ask you, for the sake of your father’s memory and my past services in the education and upbringing of your sister Maria Ilyinichna, to help me in my grief: Release Varzhansky from prison and return him to his family…” There was no response to his letter.
Nikolai Varzhansky stands next to Fr. Neophyte Lyubimov
But apart from Fr. Neophyte, a great many different people stood up for Nikolai Varzhansky. These included both private appeals to the authorities and letters from various organizations. “The rector and board members of the Moscow Theological Seminary, the Union of Parish Communities United under the Moscow Holy Transfiguration Church in Preobrazhenskoye, the Council of United Parishes, and the Council of the St. Barnabas People’s Temperance Society all appealed to the Cheka.4 Patriarch Tikhon also joined these numerous requests for the release of the innocent confessor,” the Life relates.
In particular, Patriarch Tikhon wrote to the Supreme Tribunal and the Vecheka:5 “The severe imprisonment to which they have been subjected for a month and a half threatens them with a complete breakdown of health and is hardly justified by the demands of justice, since their timely appearance in court can be ensured both by their own recognizance and by the bail of reliable persons. Several thousand Orthodox Christians who know these prisoners well have already submitted a petition for their release from prison, under their personal recognizance. Knowing His Eminence Ephraim, Archpriest Vostorgov, and Priest Korneyev as worthy servants of the Church of God, and N. Varzhansky as a beneficial church figure, I join the petition submitted by several thousand Orthodox Christians for the release of the detainees under our personal bail, guaranteeing that those subject to trial will not evade it and will not go into hiding.”
However, all of these appeals were rejected. Similarly, the request from Nikolai Varzhansky’s wife to visit her husband was denied. On June 20, 1918, the investigator proposed that everybody involved in the case be executed by firing squad.
The Life does not say what happened the following month. However, on July 23, 1918, the Collegium of the Cheka’s Investigation Department ruled to terminate Varzhansky’s case and archive it. What did this mean? His case was separated from the general case, in which death sentences had been handed down (most notably, to the Hieromartyr John Vostorgov). There was no death sentence in Nikolai Varzhansky’s case—in fact, there was no sentence at all—but the prisoner was apparently not released. There is no information whatsoever regarding what happened to him from the moment the decision to archive the case was made until his martyrdom.
The dates are also somewhat unclear. His feast-day was fixed on September 5, which is usually the date of a martyr’s death. However, according to some sources, Nikolai Varzhansky’s earthly life ended on September 19, 1918.
Let us refer to his official Life. The chronology is as follows.
On September 8, 1918, an appeal was sent to the VTsIK (All-Russian Central Executive Committee) to resolve cases through extrajudicial proceedings, as a result of which Varzhansky’s case was transferred to the Cheka.
On December 3, 1918, the Presidium of the Collegium of the Department for Combating Counter-Revolution sentenced Nikolai Varzhansky to death by firing squad.
The exact date of the execution remains unknown; at least, it is not mentioned in the hagiography compiled by Archimandrite Damascene (Orlovsky). The date of September 19, 1918, is inconsistent with the date the execution order was issued (December 3, 1918). The feast-day of the New Martyr Nikolai Varzhansky is celebrated on September 5, the same day Archpriest John Vostorgov and the others involved in his case were executed.
Nikolai Varzhansky was executed by firing squad behind the fence of the Kalitnikov Cemetery in Moscow (now in the Tagansky district of central Moscow) and buried there. His relatives knew his burial site. A photograph of the gravesite has survived to this day. A cross had been set up there, but it was later broken, and the burial site was lost.
Yet it is neither the exact date of the execution nor the burial site that occupies my mind the most. I have always marveled at how our New Martyrs received news of their imminent, inevitable and merciless death, and how they lived through it. Such courage and sobriety are beyond human strength! It is only with God’s help, by His power, that one can accept the inevitability of their martyrdom this way. They found the fortitude to care for their loved ones and to say goodbye to them, even when there were not in person. They found the strength to comfort their families.
On receiving news of his death sentence, Nikolai Varzhansky passed on the icon of the Mother of God, “The Seeker of the Lost”—which had been sent to him in the Butyrka Prison—to his wife, writing on the back: “May the Most Pure Intercessor, the Mother of Light, preserve you and shield you with Her Maternal Protection. Pray to the Theotokos, dear Zinochka,6 my sweet turtledove. She will shelter your early widowhood and our little orphans. Forgive me, my darling, and pray for me.”
The icon, “The Seeker of the Lost”, sent to prison As it turned out, this was not the only icon Nikolai Varzhansky had in his cell. On the back of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was a spiritual testament to his daughter: “A blessing to my beloved daughter Elena, for her strengthening in the Christian faith, grace, truth, purity and chastity. Be a Christian above all else, my dear girl. Your [illegible], who is dying for Christ, asks this of you. Pray for me, my dear!”
His small icon of St. Seraphim of Sarov was covered in writing: “Holy Father Seraphim, remember before the throne of Almighty God the imprisoned Nikolai. This icon was blessed and rested on the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov on June 18, 1918. In fond memory [illegible] Dimitr.” This icon was a blessing for his son.
The final letter from the New Martyr Nikolai to his wife has survived as well. It is a tender farewell, filled with sincere care for his loved ones—his wife and his children—concerning not only their spiritual future but also their daily bread. The letter has come down to us because it was carefully preserved by the New Martyr Nikolai’s descendants and published by his grandson Eugene Vsevolodovich Ovchinnikov, a professor at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music.
I want to conclude with this letter. It is not about death—it is about life, the coming meeting, hoping for God’s mercy, love, and eternity.
St. Nikolai Varzhansky’s letter to his wife “Lord, bless! Farewell, my darling, my dear Zinaidochka. I am, without a doubt, departing for eternity, where Pavlusha7 is, where my brother Kostya8 is, where Kolya9 Vachin is, and where many of my friends are. At first, I was anxious for a minute, but then I calmed down. Forgive me, my darling, if I have ever upset or angered you in any way; and pray for me, pray more fervently that the Heavenly Lord does not deprive me of His mansions. I implore you, raise our children in piety and purity, so that they may know the Christian Faith of God and prayer. I believe that the Mother of God will provide you with sustenance, and there I will pray to the Lord of Hosts for it. Only do not murmur against the mercy of God; it must be so, and it is for the better. Sell my gold watch that Grandfather gave me and give [illegible] for firewood. Sell my study furniture or the blanket and give it for 147 + 192 rubles to Petrovskoye.
“My dear children, believe in God, study the Holy Bible, and pray every day for your father, the servant of God Nikolai, so that the Lord may grant me His forgiveness and Heavenly joy! Kostya and Lena,10 preserve chastity! When you grow up, your Mother will explain to you why it is necessary. My children, be in complete obedience to your mommy, and always remember that you are the children of a preacher of God’s Faith and Christian truth, and that it does not become you to live in an unchristian way. Life will be very difficult for Mommy, so you may have to become indifferent to food and drink—if only you might remain holy. Children, do not play cards, do not drink spirits, always tell the truth—or if you cannot, state plainly that you will not lie. Always be of good cheer and do not lose heart in life. Pray for me your whole lives, every single day; I beg you, do not forget this request.
With his wife Zinaida “My sweet turtledove Zinaidochka, once again I ask for your peace of mind; perhaps the children will grow up better in poverty than by my side. Petition for a pension, appeal to His Holiness; when life stabilizes, they will grant it. But believe me, one should not worry too much about this life. I have long awaited death and have felt all the vanity of life. Do not forget my mother either. I embrace my sweet, dear Grandmother and Grandfather, unless he goes with me. I thank them for taking care of me. Dear grandmother, I am going to Pavlusha—he is younger, yet he died, whereas I am more sinful, and the Lord has granted me time to repent. Pray for me, I beg of you. We all must die someday anyway. And I will see you, my dear ones—all of you, my beloved ones—again.
“I embrace you and kiss you all with my final earthly kiss; may the Lord grant that we also kiss with a Heavenly kiss. In truth, my soul is at peace. It feels exactly as if I am waiting for sleep. In times of trouble, my darling, turn to Vladyka Anthony. But above all, do not lose heart, do not weep, and do not grieve. Goodbye… Your deeply loving Kolya.
“I bless the children: Kostya with the icon of St. Seraphim; Lenusya11 with the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; and you, my dear, with the icon, ‘The Seeker of the Lost’.
“Farewell Anya and Uncle Kolya. Ask Nikolai Nikolaevich for his prayers, and ask [illegible] for forgiveness and prayers, too.”
