Friday, December 04, 2009

Holy Poles who were martyred by the Papists- Holy Martyr Nicholas

From here.
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Holy Poles who were martyred by the Papists
Holy Martyr Nicholas

Holy Martyr Nicholas was bon in 1907 in the village of Cotlatsov, in the county Zitomir, in the very large family Holts. After the 2nd World War he moved back with his parents in the historic city of Vladimir, in the eparchy of Bolynia. He felt the calling to the hieratic step and studied Theology during the 1930's in Bulgaria.

After his studies, he got married and in 1935 he was ordained priest. As a newly ordained, he was sent to assist the officiating priest in the parish of the village Babitse, while he was staying in the village Obsa, in the county Bilgorai. The years of his priestly service were especially difficult and he was unassigned, living totally on the charity of the faithful. At the same time the papist government of Poland was trying to curtail his pastoral activity and underhandedly suggested numerous proposals to lead him astray and even change his faith.

From 1937 until the start of the War, due to various difficulties and restrictions, he served as a priest in the parishes of the villages Dougose and Cochilno of the county Bolynia. During the War years he went to the parish of the village Nobosioulki, in the county Tomasouf, of the eparchy of Helm. During that period of fear and terror he helped and saved the lives of many Orthodox and non-Orthodox, performing his pastoral work with dedication and without any concern even for his life.

In 1944 after the withdrawal of the German troops, the activity of the Polish Catholic rebels against the Orthodox became widespread. Then Father Nicholas with a group of faithful of the above parish, in the month of April, was martyred for not submitting to the suggestions of the papists, who attacking the Church during the time he was performing the Mystery of Baptism, they forcefully seized him and took him outside together with all those present and having tortured them in multiple ways they murdered them all.

The Holy Hieromartyr Nicholas was buried in place, where in 1938 the papist government had leveled the previous parish church. A special ecclesiastic commission could not find his relics or his tomb, in consideration that the papists had converted all that area into cultivated fields.

Publications: Orthodox Kypseli.

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