Chaplain (Colonel) Polish Army, Martyr
[4 May 1945]
Almighty God, who hast called thy servants to
spread the Gospel into the ends of the earth; we remember the work
of thy servant Vasily Martysz, who served the Orthodox Church as a
missionary in Alaska, and as the senior Orthodox Chaplain of the
Polish Army, and fell as a martyred priest of your holy church.
Grant that we might remember and emulate his courage in the face of
the enemy for thy name's sake. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Saviour, who with thee and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth
forever. Amen
" Blessed are ye, when men shall revile
you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against
you falsely, for my sake . Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you."
[Mt 5:11-12]
Colonel Vasily Martysz was an Orthodox Priest.
He was born on February 20, 1784. He served in parishes in Alaska,
and then was ordered back to Russia at the beginning of the Great
War. In 1921 he entered the Polish Army and was responsible for
building the Orthodox chaplaincy. He rose to the rank of Colonel
before retiring in 1936. He survived the war years in Poland until
May 4, 1945. He was warned that bandits were coming to his home,
but he refused to leave saying Christ did not flee. The villains,
seeking gold, broke into his home, tortured him, beat his daughter
causing her to miscarry and finally killed him
Colonel Martysz was named a Holy Martyr by the Orthodox Church in
2003, and his remains were translated to the Church of Saint John
Climacus in Moscow.
You may view the complete story at the Alaskan Diocese link
below
Source: The Orthodox
Diocese of Alaska
http://dioceseofalaska.org/pdf/martyr_vasily.pdf
Thanks to Centurion Christopher, LGOC, Tribunus h.c.
(Militant) of Illinois, Sunday before Advent, MMVIII