🧵"The Forgotten Holocaust: Revisiting the Christian Genocide in Bolshevik Russia"
The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 brought to power men who hated God and Christianity in all its forms. Lenin, who would end up being embalmed and put on display like a dead pope after his premature passing, once called the idea of God an “unutterable vileness.” The Russian… https://t.co/GDUbRtKfb6twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
The Assault Begins: Targeting the Russian Orthodox Church
From the moment the Bolsheviks seized power, they wasted no time in persecuting the Russian Orthodox Church. Over 12,000 clergy were murdered outright– they were shot, beaten to death, hanged or drowned. A secret police… https://t.co/Y78YwNKVfFtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Unleashing Terror: Archbishop Adronik and the Camp of Special Purpose
The wave of terror unleashed by the Bolsheviks was unprecedented in scale and viciousness. Archbishop Adronik of Perm was forced to dig his own grave, and then shot. Bishop Germogen of Tobolsk was lashed to… https://t.co/i8kiiPayB4twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Decree on Land: Seizing Church Property
Just one day after taking power, the Communists issued the Decree on Land on October 26, 1917, which led to the seizure of all church property and buildings. The following month, church weddings were invalidated, and the registration of… https://t.co/29rG5OgClktwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Defiance and Brutality: Resistance and Violent Crackdown
The Bolsheviks went straight to work to silence any dissenting voice. John Kochurov, an arch-priest in St. Petersburg, was murdered on October 31, 1917. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev was strangled with the chain of his… https://t.co/n6HyBEjigqtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Destruction of Churches: Icons and Broken Souls
The churches were blown up, vandalized, and smashed—many broken churches still dot the Russian countryside today. Occasional instances of outraged resistance by the faithful were often effective—at the time, the Bolsheviks… https://t.co/FKXwspRmKztwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Targeting All Christian Denominations: Wider Persecution
It was not just the Russian Orthodox, either. The Bolsheviks despised all forms of Christianity, and Mennonite, Catholic, and Lutheran settlements also came under attack. Occasionally, they even banded together to fend off… https://t.co/x37zGR7ty6twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Confiscation of Ecclesiastical Artifacts: Propaganda and Accusations
The Communists pressed on, and in February of 1922 the Soviet government demanded that the Orthodox Church turn over all ecclesiastical art and artifacts. Resigned, Patriarch Tikhon agreed to turn over… https://t.co/oK5cl5oXuFtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Show Trials and Verdicts: Sham Trials and Swift Executions
In order to draw attention to this “merciless war,” show trials for clergy and laypeople who the Soviets claimed had resisted their confiscation orders were held, with some trials featuring more than a hundred accused at… https://t.co/mwIh5PSpT3twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Campaigns against Religious Beliefs: League of the Militant Godless
Campaigns to drive people away from church continued alongside all of this, with the aptly-named League of the Militant Godless under Yemelyan Yaroslavsky performing blasphemous parades and grotesque public… https://t.co/IT0tdw6uuhtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Conclusion
The Bolshevik persecution of ethnic Christian Russians was a tragic chapter in history characterized by genocide, purges, and the brutal suppression of religious freedom. The loss of millions of lives and the destruction of sacred institutions and artifacts stand as… https://t.co/UV0ecMNGu9twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
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