Holy Poles who were martyred by the Papists-Holy Hieromartyr Paul and presbytera (Matushka) Joanna.

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Holy Hieromartyr Paul and presbytera (Matushka) Joanna.

He was born in the village of Zablotse in the eparchy of Helm, of the family Svaikof. Following his general studies, he entered the Hieratic School of Ekaterinoslav (in today's Russia) and in 1918 after graduation he returned to his place of birth. At the age of 30, he married the 24 year old Joanna Lototska at the village Gogie Levitinskie, county Cremienietsk, from where his wife came, at the Church of Saint Nicholas. She was, for that time, quite well educated, having studied at a school of Economics and Commerce. Joined through the mystery of Marriage, they created an exemplary Christian family, an "in family church" and bore the burdens of family life by helping each other.

After their marriage, they dedicated themselves to the Orthodox Church and in 1924 he was ordained deacon and presbyter (priest) at the Church of Saint John the Theologian in Helm by Archbishop Dionysius of Barsobia. His presbytera would follow him and would help him in his spiritual work. The first parish of Fr. Paul was in the city of Potok Gurni of county Bilgorai.

At the end of 1927 the authority in charge, sent him to southern Poland, to the eparchy of Lemkovotsizna. There he continued his pastorsal work with the same zeal and many former Uniates, among them Lemkonv, returned to their ancestral faith, Orthodoxy. In his eparchy he would serve in the villages Sviotkova and Desnitsa of county Giaslo.

When the persecution of the Orthodox expanded in the eparchy of Helm, in 1938, Father Paul with his wife - he was then 44 years old- was sent there and took over the parish of the city Sienliski, of county Zamots. During these difficult times, when the Roman Catholics would force with every means the Orthodox to turn over to papism, Father Paul would strengthen them to remain Orthodox.

At the end of the Second World War he continued at the same eparchy serving various parishes, while living in the village Sniatitse. The environment was hostile towards Orthodoxy and himself with his wife many times suffered persecutions, as well as beatings, robberies of their possessions and threats, yet despite all these, he remained steadfast in his service.

Finally in 1943 he was sent by his ecclesiastic authority to the village Graboviets of the same eparchy, where the hostility of the heterodox had reached its peak, due to his Godly zeal. So the papist rebels, on the day of the Assumption of the Theotokos, seized him and his wife and subjected them to horrible torture and finally they killed them because they (papists) could not tolerate their steady persistence in their ancestral faith.

Publications: Orthodox Kypsel, Thessaloniki